Shiver: For Puck's Sake, Book 1
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 2,643 ratings
Price: 29.66
Last update: 10-06-2024
About this item
A touch so intimate, a kiss so deep…
Egon Wolf is on a hockey scholarship but failing at everything else. Knowing he's going to lose his ride if he doesn't get his academic act together, he seeks out a tutor.
Rakesh Aahnu is a dual major and dangerous when bored. What he enjoys more than anything is the challenge of making straight men fall for him before walking away. Just because he can.
Both Egon and Rakesh are about to discover that life has a way of throwing you in the sin bin when you least expect it.
And when faced with an unfamiliar play? All you can do is shiver.
Shiver is an LGBT+ story intended for mature listeners.
Top reviews from the United States
“I want to take care of him. The fact that he needs me to only feeds into some weird hidden desire that I didn’t know I had. I’m gripping my fork so tight my knuckles are white, just so I don’t reach for him again.”
“I shiver again at his words. See? Not something I should be praised for, but it makes me feel good all the same. Like even the little things I accomplish matter to him. He sees it all.”
I love so much about this story. I love how Rake, the “nerd” in this nerd/jock steamy mm romance, is not a stereotypical nerd. He’s beyond confident, he’s actually kind of a preditor—a guy who seeks out straight men to show them how flexible sexuality can actually be, only to become bored once he’s made his conquest. Plus he’s attractive and well rounded. Sometimes in stories where one MC avoids commitment because they get bored easily, they need the novelty of something new or challenging, I worry about how or why the love interest is supposed to satisfy the MC in the long run. So I also love in this book how clear it is that there is something about Egon that awakens a nurturing side in Rake that he didn’t know he had—didn’t, in fact, believe himself capable of. And I love just how nurturing Rake is—making sure Egon eats enough, always ordering three times as much food and packing him lunches and snacks. It’s sweet. Rake is a great boyfriend without realizing it. I love that Egon is not a dumb jock. He’s overwhelmed, he’s naive, he’s but he’s smart, and he’s not afraid to get help when he needs it. He’s also kind and trusting, which bites him in the butt a couple of times, but his overall sweetness draws people to him and he engenders loyalty in those around him. Speaking of which, I love his teammates, especially Caulder. They are so supportive and understanding. This book has a bit of D/s vibes with some praise kink and possessiveness that’s fun and makes for some spicy spicy scenes.
A couple of things bothered me in this book: first, while I’m okay with codependent relationships in romances, this one was off balance to me. I kept waiting for Egon to take any interest in Rake’s life at all, but he never did. At the end, we get a line about how they talked about all the getting to know you stuff, so I guess that was him taking an interest? But I would have liked, just once, for Egon to ask Rake what he wanted, what he liked, what would make him happy. Even if Rake said “making you happy,” at least it would have been some interest in Rake. I know these are fictional characters, but it felt very out of balance for Rake to be so intensely interested in every and any thing Egon was interested in and to not have that reciprocated at all. Also, while I love how well Rake takes care of Egon, in someways it feels a little too much—like he babies Egon too much. I can see why Egon likes it, but I’d be afraid that Rake would eventually feel resentful of always being the one who does everything for the other person. Second, could authors who write about places they don’t live please use google maps or some other map app to check distances? There is no way anyone who lives in LA and goes to an event in Anaheim wouldn't just go home afterwards. It’s a 40 minute drive, maybe 60 minutes if traffic is really bad. It completely throws me out of a story when things like this happen.
There will be spoilers ????????????????????????
Rake is a tough pill to swallow a large portion of the time. The whole genius gay who repeatedly & unapologetically targets straight men for sport is not only sociopathic but a good way to get killed- so not the most favorable MMC. Egon is good guy just trying to fair shake, but breakdown is OTT and unbecoming of his character. There’s such a thing as too unhinged.
The narration was well done and editing is fair.
Trust me Creed, Ethan, & Jabuk’s story is a worthy read