Romance Languages (South Rock High #3) by A.J. Truman

Romance Languages gives us Julian's story and it seems he's going to follow his besties' example and fall head over heels for a jock. What is in the water at South Rock High? 

From the blurb:

Can my straight friend help me cash in my v-card by my birthday?

In one month, I turn thirty-five with my virginity still intact. Is there anything more embarrassing than knowing most of my French students have gotten more action than me? Je suis triste

When I accidentally reveal this secret to my close friend and co-worker Seamus, South Rock’s baseball coach, he offers to help me round the bases.

It has to be a joke, because Seamus is one million percent straight.

There’s no way he’d want to fool around with a chubby language nerd like me, even though I’ve harbored a secret crush on him since the day he first walked into the teachers lounge.

But then I realize he’s not joking.

I’m either entering thirty-five with a bang…or a friendship going up in flames.

Romance Languages is a virgin, nerd/jock, friends to lovers romance filled with humor and heart. It's the third book in the South Rock High but can be read as a standalone.

Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's Review:

"𝑫𝒊𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒛𝒂? 𝑨 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒛𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆? 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏..."

This series always makes me smile. The queer teacher group chat is of course always a highlight. Amos, Everett, Julian, and Chase are such a great group of friends and even though they give each other a hard time, you know it comes from a place of love. Even when they inadvertently upset Julian, they all made sure to apologize and make it right. Each of them always cheers for the other's accomplishments. They also are always there if someone needs a pick me up. Like I said, great group of friends.

Know who else is also a good friend? Seamus. I mean what other straight guy would offer to be a partner for Julian to explore sex for the first time? *insert eye roll here* Yes, I know exactly what you're thinking. Straight my ass, or should I say Seamus' ass? Either way kudos to Julian because not only is Seamus a good friend, but he also has a good heart. It's just that Seamus is the only one who doesn't see it.

"𝑾𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒔𝒐 𝒅𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆?

'𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓. '

𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒓 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎."

*snort laugh* Yup. Good ol' friendly Seamus. I really loved how he boosted up Julian's confidence. Not being Mr. perfect abs and constantly getting ragged on for his weight has left Julian with pitifully low self-esteem. I wanted to cheer when he finally started gaining some confidence in himself. It also wasn't all one sided. Seamus has a past which has been a total burden on his present. Not only did Julian not judge him for this, but he also made sure that Seamus understood that his past didn't define his whole life. It was a real give and take, exactly what a healthy relationship should be.

Special shout out goes to Julian's grandmother. That woman is a freaking hoot! It was also nice to see Greg and Ethan from Out in the Open married and still very much in love. There's only one man left at South Rock High who needs his HEA and that's our chemistry nerd Chase. We actually meet his love interest, or should I say interests, at the end of this one and ho boy it sounds like Advanced Chemistry: An MMM, Age Gap Romance is going to be quite the story!

Rating: 5 Stars

Jacquie's Review:

I loved the whole teaching him about sex while teaching him how to love himself thing that Romance Languages had going on.

Seamus was perfect for Julian in every way, adding humor into tense situations and giving the man some poorly needed confidence. I loved their friendship and how it evolved into something more. That friendship was such a strong base for their romantic relationship.

Loved the dirty talk!

Rating: 5 Stars

Sheena's Review:

This is the third in the South Rock High series, but can be read as a standalone (although you'd benefit from reading the others first).

This is Julian and Seamus' story, and I think it's possibly my favorite of the South Rock stories.  We have met both Julian and Seamus before in the other books, briefly.  They are both language teachers at the school and have classrooms across the hall from each other.  I loved Julian right away, and I really felt for him.  It's good to see an MC who isn't all ripped and perfect, there are too many of those in books, and Julian felt real to me.  His struggle with his body image and the casual cruelty of people made me mad on his behalf more than once before Seamus picked up on it.  I liked Seamus too, especially once I found out he had his own struggles.  Also, his housemates are a hoot (I've since found out they have their own book).  

Sometimes sex coach stories can be a bit hit or miss for me, but I liked this one.  Seamus had never been with a man before but was bi-curious so this was more like they were discovering new things together and growing closer in the process.  Also, who knew reserved Jules had such a potty mouth?  I didn't but I was here for it.  I'm also always in awe of a sassy grandma, and Jules' grandma was epic.  His mother, not so much.  She's the root cause of most of Jules' issues with his body and I think he let her off to easily.  That's a minor gripe though.

I really enjoyed this story, I think it might be my favorite of the South Rock stories so far, and I can't wait for Chase.

Rating: 4.25 Stars

SNik's Review:

Third in series (South Rock High), can be read as a standalone but might be more fun if read in order. Friends to lovers. Dual POV. 

High school French teacher Julian has a crush on his fellow language teacher and friend Seamus, so when they enter into an arrangement for Julian to get some sexual experience he knows he will have to work hard not to fall further for the man. Seamus has never been with another man, but he cares about Julian and wants to help him out, perhaps his attraction to Julian will help with his bi-curiosity, no strings attached. 

Julian and Seamus are both likable characters with depth, Julian battles for self confidence due to his weight and Seamus has pulled himself out of a gambling addiction but is still paying the price in more ways than one. 

I enjoyed every single interaction between them, the kindness and caring, the honesty and humility, the friendship and attraction, these two have a true friendship where they are supportive and loving which of course turns to a deeper romantic love. 

A supportive and fun secondary cast of characters with a well-deserved HEA. This story had me tearing up in places and it was just such an enjoyable read, this series does not disappoint with the relatable characters that I wish I was friends with in real life.

Rating: 5 Stars

Heather's Review:

I loved this book - the genuine friendship that these men have before embarking on their arrangement is wonderful and I love that Seamus is open and willing to try new things as he embarks on his bi-awakening... and helps Julian to find his own true voice and accept himself as worthy...

This book gives us lots of feels, lots of friends and a particularly feisty grandmother whom I adore! It's well paced and my only complaint is that I wish Julian's mother had more of a reckoning, but I'm glad she is seeing the error of her ways...

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Romance Languages is available to buy as an ebook, paperback, or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.