After reading Red, White and Royal Blue again, and then following it up with the movie adaptation, it’s no surprise that Zarah Detand’s Pull Me Under is what I flocked to next.
Probably harshly, it is nowhere near as perfect as Red, White and Royal Blue is, but it was also way better than I was preparing myself for. I think back to Boyfriend Material, a book I tried to read right after reading Red, White and Royal Blue the first time, and was severely disappointed. This one has a somewhat similar premise to Boyfriend Material, but I felt that these characters were more likeable.
Ben is on a premiere league football team in England and has just been outed. Truthfully, I can’t remember how, but in order to quell any doubts from the public and his teammates, his PR people decide it’d be a good idea if he has a boyfriend. One that he’s been in a committed relationship for quite sometime. Only thing is, Ben has never had a boyfriend because he’s been so far in the closet for his entire life in fear of this very situation. Luckily, his manager’s boyfriend has a roommate willing to help out. Enter, Henry. He’s in school studying music, is a bit of a free spirit, very nice, and FIT.
Ben knows pretty early on that he’s screwed, catching feelings by their second fake date. As the book goes on, it’s clear to everyone except for Ben apparently that Henry is also catching feelings. They get a little more touchy feely with each other, then kissing is on the table, then they enter a friends with benefits situation which everyone with a brain knows will end badly. To be fair though, all that drama lasts only one blessed chapter, as Ben is smart enough to take his best friend’s advice.
I would have been fine where it ended, but then the author decided to add a “coda” to this novel, detailing further into not only Ben and Henry’s relationship (all the way to and ENGAGEMENT people!), but also a handful of peripheral characters. From their perspectives. That was odd and frankly, unnecessary. Why not just release a few short stories someday with all of these things? For that, it kind of took me out of it. It’s not going to be a novel I come back to, or will be likely to remember this time next year, but it was a pleasant enough follow up to the real king of this genre.