Nicole Dykes new series opener The Pretty Boy Vs. The Bad Boy gives us a rivals to lovers in the world of high speed racing that features lots of steamy times, some mild angst, and an HEA that will have you swooning!
From the blurb:
I’m the good one, the pretty one.
The one who follows the rules and always takes the high road.
I’ve hidden my true self for so long, I barely know who I am anymore.
But I don’t know if I can do it much longer.
I love the race, but I’m tired of sacrificing my soul to do what I love.
Axel
I’m the rebel, the bad one.
I follow no rules on the track or anywhere else. I’m the obnoxious bad boy the fans secretly root for.
I don’t mind playing my role. I’m good at it, and it pays to be the dark to his light.
Until the good boy starts to get to me.
I’m confused and unsure of what I want when it was all so clear before.
They say good always wins, but is that truly the case?
In the race between the far too pretty good boy and the angry bad boy, who will actually win?
Only time will tell.
Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's Review:
"Who knew in the race between the bad boy and the pretty boy, we'd both win and lose so damn hard at the same time."
A rivals to lovers sports romance by Nicole Dykes? SOLD! I really enjoyed this new series opener. Sebastian and Axel were both likeable MCs. Sebastian for his morals and bravery. For standing up for what he thought was right and wanting to live his life on his own terms. And then there's Axel. He broke my heart. He's confident in his persona. His skills on the track speak for themselves. However, he's also incredibly terrified of losing everything he's worked so hard to get and being outed as a gay racer is a threat to all he holds dear. As a foster kid, Axel grew up with nothing. Now that he's made something of himself, he swears he will never let himself go back to having nothing ever again. Even if it means losing the man he's somehow grown to love.
"We both know...it really is the end of something that could have been so damn great. If I wasn't such a goddamn coward."
These two had a lot of hurdles against them. What started off as a convenient and discrete hookup over the years slowly changed into more. But just like their relationship changed, people also change too. They are both older, more set in their careers. Sebastian is finally ready to live his truth, while Axel is still firmly keeping a terrified choke hold on his closet door. In the end they both have to decide if the fallout is worth it. Since this is a romance we know the books going to end with an HEA. And it does. In epic Axel fashion and I couldn't have asked for anything more.
Rating: 5 Stars
SNik's Review:
First in series (On the Track). Rivals to lovers. Dual POV.
It’s all an act, Sebastian has to play the good guy to Axel’s bad boy anytime they are on the race track or in public. Behind closed doors Axel and Sebastian become lovers, and they keep each other’s secret, strictly hooking up, no feelings involved. Until there comes a time where Sebastian wants to live his life out and proud, but there is no way Axel is ready for that, so the clock begins ticking for the end of their arrangement.
Both these characters experience a lot of growth during the story, Axel has a difficult past that he can’t and won’t let go of, and Sebastian’s feelings about coming out publicly are compelling and heartfelt.
Plenty of steam, and eventually some honest communication between them, allows for feelings to build.
Both Axel and Sebastian respect each other's choices, and eventually get their swoony HEA. Looking forward to more as this is the first in the series and there are some seriously supportive secondary characters that deserve their own HEA’s.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Heather's Review:
After a dearth of racing stories, we've been graced with several lately, but Nicole Dykes take the race car angel/devil story to a whole new level! We learn a lot about the characters and they learn a lot about themselves and each other . I absolutely loved the angst around coming out, the clandestine nature of Sebastian and Axel's relationship, and the general mood of the book!
Speaking of mood, Jenny is a kick-ass side character and I love that Axel's manager is married to a reporter! I can't wait to see where this series goes next!
Rating: 5 Stars
Tatted_book_freak's Review:
As usual, Nicole delivers a sweet yet touching coming-out story, normalizing this sensitive topic matter. As always, I love how she uses her platform to join together a fantastic community, giving them their time to shine.
๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด, ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ข๐ด๐ด, ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ.
Axel and Sebastian shocked me even more this time with how their love affair began. Especially with how the author paints their animosity, right up to Axel’s proposition. And did that initial scene set ablaze to the pages, never fizzling out until the very last word. I loved the execution of their relationship, how they slowly developed feelings throughout the years and coming to terms with their sexuality in the public eye.
๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ’๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐ด๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐ด๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ. ๐๐ธ๐ฐ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ต.
Nicole has a way of displaying honest communication between her characters. Learning their backstory, where they came from, added to the story’s depth. Sebastian’s struggles of being accepted with his true identity and for Axel to finally prove his worth with his upbringing, touched me, allowing me to feel their pain. Cannot wait to see what Nicole does with this series, though I already know it’s going to be great!
Rating: 4 Stars
The Pretty Boy vs The Bad Boy is available to buy as an ebook, paperback, hardback, or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.
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