Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway: Not Dating Material by Saxon James

31 August of 2023 by ButtonsMom2003

Not Dating Material By Saxon James

Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM

Tropes: Roommates-to-lovers, found family

Released: August 30, 2023

Publisher: Self-Published

Series: Accidental Love, Book 2

Length: 288 pages / 6 hrs, 43 mins (not available at Audible yet)

Cover Design: Story Styling Cover Design

Photo: Michelle Lancaster

Model: Chase

Synopsis

Moving to Seattle is supposed to be all about getting a fresh start and leaving the bitter man I was becoming behind.

I have new roommates–quirky, sometimes strange, roommates–a nosy, next door neighbor and a grumpy kitty for company, but even surrounded by people, I still don’t feel like I belong. Plus, it turns out the men in Seattle are exactly the same as the ones I left behind, and my string of romantic disconnections continues.

It’s not until one of my roommates, Seven, hits me with some hard truths that I realize where I was going wrong.

Maybe the men aren’t the problem.

I am.

And there’s only one way to fix that.

SEVEN

Being found tied up naked to my bed by my cute new roommate isn’t an ideal way for us to start a friendship.

But apparently a quid-pro-quo is.

He keeps his pretty lips zipped about the compromising position, and I step in as his dating coach. We go out, I point out where he’s going wrong, and he magically becomes dating material.

The problem is, between my codependent brother Xander and a new best friend I can’t get rid of, Molly and I are the target of a matchmaking scheme. My life is way too busy to add another person to it, and Molly is the kinda guy who needs to be made a priority, which I just can’t do. Xander’s medical anxiety takes up too much of my time, and I’ve never found a partner who doesn’t resent it.

I’m determined to help Molly find his ever after.

But that guy will never be me.

Teaser Graphic

Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

I loved it!

I read the ebook of Not Dating Material but then I had the pleasure of listening to the audio via my local library’s Hoopla site (as of this writing it’s not yet available on Audible). Teddy Hamilton did a fantastic job performing the audiobook. He’s a very popular narrator and audiobooks like this one are the reason why.

I enjoyed Seven and Molly’s story. The creative non-four-letter swear words Seven used were pretty cute and when he finally broke down and said an actual swear word it was a bit of a surprise. This story is absolutely a standalone but Saxon James fans might recognize Molly as the young guy who crushes on Ford in Budding Attraction from her Divorced Men’s Club series.

This story was a new take on fake dating. Seven agrees to help Molly figure out why he can’t seem to find and keep a guy so they go on practice dates. Seven does not do relationships so it’s clear from the start that there will never be a serious relationship between them. I got very emotional when learning all of the bad stuff that Seven had been through as a kid. His devotion to Xander, another of the housemates and his former foster brother, was very touching.

The epilogue was wonderful. What Molly’s dad says and does for Seven made me tear up. I don’t know which housemate will get the next story but I kind of hope it’s Xander.