Review: Rebel by K.M. Neuhold and Nora Phoenix

Title: Rebel

Series: Ballsy Boys: Book One

Authors: K.M. Neuhold and Nora Phoenix

Length: 248 Pages

Category: Contemporary

At a Glance: This a casual-to-serious trope that’s very nicely done. All in all, the plot was good, though I liked the second book more. I think Tank is my favorite character so far.

Reviewed By: Ky

Blurb: “I don’t do relationships, I break them.” ~ Troy

If there’s one thing life has taught me it’s that everyone eventually leaves. But that’s okay because I have a strategy: no friends, no boyfriends, limit repeat hook-ups, no sleep overs, and above all leave them before they leave me. I’ve put my break-up skills to work doing others’ dirty work for them.

The last thing I expected when I agreed to do an embarrassing breakup song and dance was to end up on the doorstep of the very recognizable—and stupidly sexy—Rebel. When you meet a man like Rebel you’d be insane not to make a move. And just because he has me tossing out every single one of my rules doesn’t mean I’m in trouble, right?

“I’m everyone’s friend, but no one’s everything.” ~ Rebel

I love working for Ballsy Boys, but when you make the kind of videos I do relationships are pretty damn impossible. Besides, guys find me sexy and want to either be with me or be me, but no one has ever cared enough to see the real me.

Until I meet Troy. He has no problem whatsoever with my job, but he’s determined to keep me at a distance. For the first time, a hook-up alone is not enough. I want more with him. Hell, I want everything. But he resists at every step until I’m about ready to give up. What do I need to do to show him that this is real and worth fighting for?

Review: Rebel is the first book in the Ballsy Boys series, but I did things a bit backwards and read Tank first. Maybe that lessened my enjoyment of this book, because I already knew some things about Rebel and Troy’s relationship and knew what would happen from mentions in the second book, but I still liked getting their full story. These books are standalones, but I think they should be read in order. It’s clear that they are parts of a series, even if the main characters are different for each one. They are still connected in a way that you can’t separate them. Even though I didn’t have any problem getting into the story, and I loved Tank and Brewer, I can see how much more I would have enjoyed it if I had read Rebel first.

As I said, in the second book we get some spoilers about Rebel and Troy’s relationship, so I knew from the beginning what would happen near the end of the book. Also, Rebel contains the events that lead to the scene with Tank and Brewer together, which was the start of them getting over their hostility. We also see them here acting pissy towards each other, and get a glimpse of all that hatred that was present between them from the moment they met. In the second book, there are no descriptions of characters, except for one making his first appearance there. I was hoping that was because they had already been described here, and I’m happy to say that was exactly the case. In Rebel we get the descriptions of all the characters that I felt were missing from Tank.

On to the actual plot of the book.

It’s a casual-to-serious trope that’s very nicely done. Troy had a fear of abandonment because of his past, and he had voted to never get close to anyone so that no one could ever hurt him by leaving. Rebel, on the other hand, wanted a relationship but had been unlucky in the past and had decided that he could never have a boyfriend while still working in porn, because nobody would be okay with that.

Rebel has an amazing and super supportive family; their get-togethers were great, funny and lighthearted. I couldn’t wait to read what would come out of his mother’s or sister’s mouth next. He had chosen to do porn, and his family knew about it and supported him. He wanted to remain part of the business, but he also wanted to settle down with someone, so he was trying to find a way to fit both into his life.

The story got a bit teary near the end, and I could have done without it, but it was still nice to see Troy starting to work through his emotional issues. All in all, the plot was good, though I liked the second book more. I think Tank is my favorite character so far. Let’s see what the rest of these guys’ stories will bring us!

You can buy Rebel here:
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