Irresponsible Puckboy (ARC Review / Tour Post)

Book Title: Irresponsible Puckboy
Authors: Eden Finley and Saxon James
Release Date: May 11th, 2022
Genres: Gay Romance, Sports Romance, LGBTQ+
My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Synopsis:

Tripp

The worst part of being in love with my straight best friend is the fact he’s too oblivious to see it.

Years of pining have left me exhausted, and I need a break from Dex. I need space to get over my feelings. But when his relationship falls apart and he turns to me for comfort, I cave immediately.

If there’s one thing I hate more than being hurt, it’s seeing Dex struggle. I can’t leave him in a time of need, even if my friends say it’s my biggest downfall.

They say Dexter Mitchale is my weakness, but if that’s true, I don’t want to be strong.

Dex

I’ve always been the dumb one. It’s what I’m known for, and usually I don’t let it get to me.

I have hockey, and I have my best friend, Tripp. What more do I need? To settle down? No thank you. Marriage? Hard pass. According to ex-girlfriends, that makes me “irresponsible.”

But the solution I come up with to get over my fear of commitment might be my dumbest idea yet. Not only does it have team management breathing down my neck, but it puts a strain on my friendship with Tripp.

This PR nightmare could lose me the only person I’ve ever loved. Losing girlfriends is nothing. Losing Tripp? It’s not an option.

I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him.

My Review:

There were two things on my mind when I finished Egotistical Puckboy in January. 1 – That was amazing and I loved it. 2 – If Tripp and Dex aren’t the protagonists of the next story, I’m going to be very sad. Because friends to lovers!!!! Look, I will not lie. I am a sucker for a friends-to-lovers trope. I’m an enemies-to-lovers person as much as all of you, but if there’s one trope I love more, it’s a good friends-to-lovers. So, when I read the synopsis for Irresponsible Puckboy, my expectations were pretty high. I tried to lower them just because it seemed a little ridiculous how crazily excited I was for this book, but it was to no avail, since my expectations remained as high as ever.

Thankfully, Eden and Saxon did not let me down! They’re one of my favorite writing duos, and this book perfectly highlighted some of the reasons why. I just love the fact that Irresponsible Puckboy and Egotistical Puckboy are so different. They’re clearly in the same universe, and they feature a lot of the same characters, but theses are two very different protagonists with a very different love story than the previous two.

There are so many things I want to say about this book, but as someone who went in knowing relatively little about how their relationship would progress, I want to keep a lot of the details to myself, because it really elevated my experience with the book. So, without further ado, let’s get into the review. Though, I am going to be keeping this one shorter, just because I want you all to experience the same joys and surprises as I did.

First off, Irresponsible Puckboy was absolutely ridiculous. The scenarios these characters get themselves into is hilariously absurd, and had me shaking my head and smiling at every turn. There’s not as much back and forth banter in this one as in Egotistical Puckboy, but I think it really worked for these two. Because they already had a preestablished friendship, they had a lot of inside jokes they would share. So, while I didn’t laugh quite as much in this one, that in no way diminished my enjoyment of it, because I was smiling through practically the whole thing.

Okay, now it’s time to rave about the friends to lovers trope. It was so good!!! Watching Tripp pining over Dex was kind of sad but also really sweet, because he just loves him so much. But at the same time, watching Dex being oblivious but still completely in love was also so adorable. These two care about each other so deeply; so much so that Dex, a commitment-phobe, would do anything possible to keep Tripp in his life. I also want to point out how wonderful it is that Dex isn’t afraid to be affectionate with Tripp, even when he still doesn’t understand his feelings. There is no toxic masculinity in their friendship, and honestly no boundaries, considering Dex just plops right into bed with Tripp and his hookup at one point (silly Dex).

The progression of their relationship was so good and authentic. It felt natural, and not too rushed (some might argue differently for this, but I really think with both of their characterizations and their predetermined friendship that it was the natural development). They were so adorable and sweet, and I absolutely loved them! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Friends to lovers is my kryptonite and I adored this take on the trope.

Irresponsible Puckboy was so endearing and wholesome, while also dealing with some serious issues and topics, especially surrounding the NHL and less than accepting teammates. This was such a joy to read, and I cannot wait for Oskar’s story (which I assume will be next, but we’ll see!).

Thank you so much to Eden Finley, Saxon James, and Foreward PR & Marketing for bringing this wonderful book into my life! I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Purchase it at: Amazon

Check out my last blog post: Beauty and the Besharam (Tour Post)

The stunning cover was designed by Story Styling Cover Design, and features cover model Lochie Carey!