Off Campus: A Hurt/Comfort, College Roommates-to-Lovers MM Romance (Bend or Break Book 1)

Still love this book. This was a reread and I had previously rated it five stars, which is not changing. The writing is excellent, and the inner dialogues are so well done, so easy to identify with. I am so glad there was a complete character arc in terms of Tom asking for help, then coming to terms with his identity and how to separate it from what he thought was expected, then the relationship. I won't be able to articulate this well, but I rarely feel like there's an entire world created in contemporary romance, but I do feel that here. That instead of me just peeking in on a specific timeframe, I've got a whole picture of Tom's life, his inner thoughts, his character. Just an excellent book all around. This time I'm gonna read the rest of the series too, it's so good.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a story in a college setting, so it was nice to get back to it here in Off Campus. While the story moved at a slower pace than I’d prefer, it had plenty of character exploration and development that got me quite invested in both Tom and Reese. That coupled with the relatively slow burn of their relationship and supporting characters who had my interest piqued as well made for a very enjoyable read for me. Both Tom and Reese have things that have happened in their pasts that have affected them deeply-Tom as collateral damage from his father’s actions and Reese from his own personally violated history. They both deal with these things in a similar fashion by trying to hide away from the outside world whenever possible, putting them in close proximity for some awkward encounters. As they spend more time together and things start to develop, it leads Tom on a path of self discovery, and starts both of them on their own paths of healing. The ups and downs from that-especially as things become difficult for Tom to deal with without him thinking he’s being too unfair to Reese-and seeing Tom come to accept his situation for what it is and finally really deal with it are what drive the story. The supporting characters in this story contributed quite a bit. I got a kick out of Tom’s best friend Cash and Reese’s best friend Steph. They helped lighten things up and I loved the way Cash interacted with Reese-I always had a smile on my face after each time they were in scenes together. Even the abrasive Jack helped lend tension to the story, and in the end I was actually feeling bad for him. I’m looking forward to the other books in the series where these characters appear to see how things work out for all of them. Off Campus was a solid 4-star read for me, and I really liked Tom and Reese together. Even with their highs and lows, and the awkwardness they go through…in the end their story was very satisfying and I’m glad things worked out the way they did. I’d recommend this story to any M/M new adult romance fan, and this book is meant for readers 18+ for adult language, M/M sexual content and references to past assault that may be upsetting to some readers.

3 1/2 Stars.. just can't give it 4. I was looking forward to this book and and I did enjoy it expect for a few things. The writer does a great job with the angst and I really wanted things to get better for Tom. I wanted to see Tom & Reese together and loved how their love life progressed. I loved watching Tom become more and more comfortable in his sexuality. College and coming out stories are some of my favorites. The author has a good grip on what college life is like. The writing kept me engaged for most of the book and I loved the variety of the sex. But the reason I can't give this book more than 3 stays is the books needs better editing particularly at the end. I found the last few chapters from the climax till the epilogue confusing. Sometimes I don't like how a book ends, and in this case that isn't the problem it's how it's written. There is a change in style and it's confusing and distracting. I found myself very confused, was it only a few days or a few weeks? Did they break up? The style of the last few chapters the authors jumps forward in time and then explains briefly what happened over those weeks. In addition to the problems with the end there were also several times through the story where I couldn't figure out who was speaking in a section of dialog, there was one I had to re-read over 3 times and then guess. A simple.. Tom said, or Reese said after the first dialog would have helped. The other reason I can't give this book a higher rating was because the author needs to do a bit more research. I'm still freaking about the scene where Resse puts Tom's 2nd degree burned hand in a bucket of ice water, as if this what the correct first aid. DO NOT PUT A BURN IN ICE WATER, a simple Google check of 1st aid for a 2nd degree burn will tell you this. This is one of the reason's I'm writing this review because I can't get this out of my head till I say this here. A bucket of cool water is a good idea. Ice water can damage the skin. BTW all college students in Mass are required to have health insurance. Of course this is a pivotal scene in the book so I can imagine Tom may just not have know this. But I would have liked to have heard how his arm healed. Huge scene in the book and then the arm is forgotten. Despite this issues the author has a lot of promise. Make sure the next books is better edited. This book has what I find missing from many m/m books, writing that makes me CARE about the outcome for the main characters. I will consider her next book but probably wait to see how the reviews come out first.

This is a male/male romance of forced proximity, which is a trope that I like. Tom is returning to college after a year and a half off. His father was a Bernie Madoff-type, swindling tons of people out of their savings. After the scandal, Tom kept a low profile. Paparazzi were staked out in front of his house for months while he survived on canned food, and now he earns money as a gypsy cab driver in Boston. He’s been homeless, sleeping in his car, so when he finally arrives in the special dorm for older or non-traditional students, all he wants is a bed. Reese is Tom’s totally gay roommate. Reese has posters of half-naked men on the wall, he wears eyeliner, and he really does not want to share his room. He brings different guys back to the room every night, hoping to drive Tom out. But the college doesn’t have anywhere else for Tom to go, and he’s not going to live in his car again, so Tom stops hiding in the hallway when Reese brings someone over. He lays in bed, listening. I almost worried that this was a gay-for-you story. Then Tom reveals that he had a sexual encounter with another guy at boarding school. Tom considers himself bisexual, or equal opportunity. It’s just that girls are so much easier, so he hasn’t gone out of his way to be with a guy. When Tom accepts a blow job from Reese, Reese assumes it’s a one-time thing, a straight guy being curious, and they’ll never speak of it again. But Tom has been fantasizing for so long that he can’t pretend it never happened. It’s not easy for him to convince Reese that he’s serious, but he is all in. Tom admires Reese’s inner strength, and the way Reese seems to know what he’s thinking. Tom definitely feels unworthy in the relationship, but he tries his best. Now, because of the scandal in Tom’s past, he is anti-attention. He doesn’t want anyone to look at him for too long, he doesn’t want people taking pictures of him, or talking about him. He’d be happy just going to classes and hiding out in his room. This causes conflict because Reese is out, he can’t go back in the closet. Reese would love to have a boyfriend holding his hand on a date. But Tom argues that people would talk about him again if he were suddenly gay, so Reese agrees to hold off on PDA. Reese has his own hangups. He was abused in the past, and he can’t handle being overpowered or restrained. Tom, being bigger, is always careful about how he holds Reese. "Tom never forgot to make himself smaller, pull himself in so as not to threaten. He wondered if Reese understood how Tom measured his actions, his posture, his very location in a room, in order to make sure Reese felt in control." I loved this book. So much of it takes place just in their dorm room, and it makes every little movement so important. Tom is the sole narrator, and he’s observant, and careful, and thoughtful. He takes baby steps, and messes up, and he’s so honest about what’s going on in his mind. Besides that, this book was sexy (so sexy), and romantic, and immersive, and I couldn’t put it down (seriously, I was hiking in the rain with my family trying to read it). Rating: A This review was originally posted on Red Hot Books at: http://redhotbooks.com/2015/10/review-off-campus-by-amy-jo-cousins.html

(I will round up to 4 stars here) There are things about this story that I liked, and also things that totally irritated me about these characters. Overall the writing for this book was done well, just personal preference *Tom bugs me*.. LOL. I love the whole Premise of College Guys being thrown together as roommates and then becoming Closer as they are stuck spending more time together. Also there are scenes in this book that are totally completely HOT to me. Voyeurism, written at its best.. These characters both have a lot to deal with emotionally during the course of this book and its kind of hard to determine where they will end up, and whether they will actually even be together, but it does end with a HEA.. Just not a very exciting one. I wanted more when the inevitable Break up / get back together happened and it just didn't feel like enough.. Tom - Dealing with the blowback of his fathers Ponzi scheme. Trying to make enough money on the side to get through college. Refuses help from everyone. Martyr. Jock. Introvert whos afraid of being friends with anyone, and letting anyone in. Not sure if he's gay or straight or bi, or whatever. Worries constantly about what every single person he doesn't even know thinks about him. Inner-monologue every detail of his life to death. UUGGHHH.. He is Frustrating and I wanted to Shake him on more than one occasion, especially for some of the times he treats Reese like crap. Reese - Sometimes Hard to like. Unapologetically gay. Defensive. Fragile. Tries to push everyone away, especially his stupid roommate. Dealing with some leftover PTSD from his previous college year. Just wants his boyfriend to not be ashamed of being in public with him. You cant help but like him.... Audio - I liked this one.. I just cant decide if I liked reading this book or listening to it better, and I guess it doesn't really matter since I have both options now. Cooper North is a pretty dependable narrator, getting the story out with no errors. He makes sure that the characters are all different so you don't get lost listening to him, and instead you will get more of the actual story. I think he did good with this one for sure and I would recommend others to give it a chance and listen to the Audio version.

Wow - this was totally NOT what I expected from the synopsis. To be honest, I had expected a hot and sexy read, with some angst and relationship issues, but pretty much a light hearted read with an easy HEA. I was not expecting a completely thorough and complex story, very much real-life in terms of Tom's and Reese's emotional baggage from their experiences. I was not expecting to have so many buttons pushed by Tom's troubles and how he chose to deal with them (or not deal with them); how hard it was for him to trust or ask anyone for help, or even tell anyone that he was in trouble at all. I felt so much for Tom, because I could totally relate to how he closed himself off. And to how amazed he was at the response he got, when he did finally ask for assistance. I LOVED Reese (and his dad). Given his sexual assault, Reese was actually coping really well, especially when he and Tom started their physical relationship. Yes, he was making sure he was always in control of his sexual encounters, and it wasn't very healthy (emotionally) how he was going about things, but he was putting himself out there, trying make himself not afraid or at least not let those other guys take his sexual side away from him. I definitely think his supportive father and friends were a big part of that, and that was a big difference between him and Tom, who did not have that support structure. I loved the commonalities and differences between them, in terms of the fact that they were both in Perkins under extraordinary circumstances, and how they each reacted to and dealt with their struggles. I also loved Cash - he was such a breath of fresh air, who said exactly what he thought, and was not nasty or malicious but was almost innocent in how he handled finding out that Tom and Reese were dating, and how he kept pushing his way into Tom's life, reminding him that he was there and he was a friend. I could go on and on, and pretty much retype the story here, but I won't.... There are highs and lows to this book, and it made me really introspective at times, and to be honest, I was wondering how Tom and Reese were going to resolve their differences in a real way (and not a sudden 'HEA'). It was also interesting to me how, objectively, Reese's bad experience should have been the worst one (in terms of messing him up), even though his was short-lived, while Tom's had been an 18 month long struggle, when the two meet. And yet, Reese was the one coping (or at least trying to cope) with the aftermath, while Tom was just hiding. Of course, Tom was still going through his nightmare. I am struggling to really articulate all my feelings about this book. I will say that if I had had any inkling of the emotional rollercoaster I would be riding, I probably would have not have bought this book. But that was because I was looking for a fairly lighthearted and hot read, which as I said, is what I was expecting from my quick read of the synopsis. That said, I am so VERY glad I bought the book. It has definitely challenged my thinking and outlook, and I will probably be reflecting on it for quite some time. Definitely worth the read!!

Off Campus is the up close and personal story of Tom Worthington -- how he finds himself and regains his self respect in the aftermath of his father's crimes. All Tom wants to do is work, finish school and make his own way but he doesn't count on his roommate to shake up his life the way Reese Anders does. After a very contentious start, Tom and Reese develop feelings other than anger toward each other, and I loved that it took a little while before they found their way into bed together. There's an emotional relationship developing here along with a scorching hot physical relationship. Reese has some things he's dealing with too, and I loved how Tom was incredibly considerate of the things that triggered Reese. But when Reese wants to take their relationship public, Tom isn't comfortable with that and it threatens their relationship in a big way. I love how Reese knew exactly who he was and what he wanted from this relationship. For some this book might seem slow, but for me, I loved getting inside Tom's head. It was great to see how he worked through some of his issues, with and without Reese's help. This book was rich in emotions and introspection, and I liked that very much about this story. Even though Tom's reactions were sometimes hard to take, it was evident that he had some things to work through on his own. There were a few technical issues that kept me from rating this higher. I don't like when one character poses a question and then the other goes into pages of internal monologue before answering the question. This takes me out of the story and I often have to go back to see what the question was when it finally gets answered. Some of the transitions between scenes weren't as smooth or easily identified as different scenes and that too took me out of the story a bit. Overall, I really liked this story and give it a solid 4 star rating. It's not just a coming-out sort of story, but a story of determining what you are really made of. When all was said and done in the book, I loved Tom's journey and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

I have many books that I bought over the years that I have yet to read. This was one of them. So six years later, I decided to give it a try because six years ago, I clearly wanted to read it. It started well. Especially for someone who doesn’t do college romances as much anymore. I was hoping for a dual POV but Tom was narrating well enough for me to go with the flow. I don’t know if it’s a thing of that era or just differing writing styles but it started to feel like the last book I read (Call Me By Your Name) and I was as tiring of the back and forth, push and pull internal thoughts of Tom. I feel like I got lost along the way because I still don’t understand how they moved from Tom watching Reese have sex to extending an invite to do the same. Honestly, I truly don’t understand a lot of the jumps in their relationship with the exception of the inevitable separation. (As you can tell, there will be some minimal spoilers) Still, I liked the nuances of their relationship and their openness with sex. There is a big issue here for Reese but because this was narrated from Tom’s POV, we focused more on his trust issues. Which, compared to Reese’s thing, just didn’t feel like a focal point I cared much about. Especially because in the beginning, Tom was very open with all that he was doing with Reese. So this big shutter over their relationship half way through the books felt odd. He LITERALLY proclaimed that he wasn’t struggling with his sexuality then started to struggle with his sexuality. It’s a small and likely insignificant thing but his size for a runner felt odd for me. I get muscles. But likening him to a NFL player's build was odd to me. But I digress. I believe they are real good together and I would have loved some of Reese’s POV or for him to put up some real struggle/fight when things were in the toilet. Other than to set up book two, I don’t know the purpose of Jack. For the first time, I feel no need to read the books in the sequence of stories. While I have every intention of reading their second book that shows them navigating the real world, I do not care to read about any other characters in this universe. Not even Cash and Steph and definitely not Jack.

I so loved it ! The MCs are great and I needed a story like this one. It's not my first by Amy Jo Cousins and I so want to read more. Enjoy !

This was a truly great book that had me hooked from the first chapter. Tom and Reese are roommates, something that was never supposed to happen. Tom is trying to lay low and finish college after it turned out his father was a lying jerk who stole millions from his customers. Reese was promised a private room after what happened his first year in Res and is not willing to have another big dumb jock in his space. Forced together, Tom won't back down and leave with nowhere to go, while Reese can't stand him staying. Reese begins playing a game of gay chicken, but instead of driving Tom away it reminds him of experiences he has denied himself, and starts an unlikely spark between the two. Reese is amazing. He has been a victim, but he is doing everything he can to reclaim his life in the face of what happened. Reese is strong and caring, and amazingly willing to work with Tom once he gets to know him. Reese may be screwed up, but he isn't letting that screw up what he wanted from life, and seeing his strength is amazing. Tom is someone who has had a dramatic life change and come out of it changed himself. Now he is fragile and afraid, not something you would expect from a spoiled jock rich boy. Tom is trying to build a life that won't hurt anyone, not like his Dad did. At the same time, he is so hurt himself, having lost family, possessions, and friends all in one big mess, and now too afraid to open up and try again. Tom has to work through a lot to be with Reese and the way he did it was wrong and heartbreaking at times, but it was also difficult and real. Tom fumbles his way through, trying to be an adult and make a life, while still missing out on the supports he should have had. Tom is makes those mistakes you know you shouldn't but everyone does. Watching him find his way was as amazing read! This book is full of rich characters and difficult life decisions. It has heat and heart and I look forward to reading other books in this series!

Ich brauch mehr von diesere Autorin. Es ist eine tolle Story, die trotz aller Probleme einen immer wieder zum lachen bringt. Ich fand es wunderbar wie Tom immer versucht hat ,so unbedrohlich wie möglich auf Reese zu wirken, so dass dieser nie wirklich in Panik gerät.Am Ende vielleicht etwas zu lang, ansonsten aber klasse

Wow - that was unexpectedly good! Rating 4.8 stars. Lots of lovely sexy scenes all through the book but what, for me, made this really good, was the back story of the two main characters and also Toms attempts at coming out, especially given his back story. It also featured some minor bullying scenes. This book was "gritty" in the situations it made the characters face and therefore possibly more realistic than many books I have read, where everything goes smoothly. It also seemed rather longer than many books I have read recently. I stayed up very late finishing the last chapter, which was very long, as I so wanted to find out what happened. I am not sure that I will read any more in this series but I am really glad that I read this.

It's a shame, but it hasn't convinced me as much as I expected. The story is fine, the two MCs have a very difficult past that affects their lives not only economically and socially but also emotionally. The beginning is very good and in my opinion it is well carried out. The distance and mistrust between Reese and Tom is evident, the former's attempts to scare the latter away are really fun, realistic and entertaining. I was delighted to see how they start getting a little closer to each other, how the desire between them increases. Above all, I liked the way the author normalizes the homosexuality topic between the two of them and how she gradually introduces Tom's bisexuality. But there is a moment in which the relationship between them changes and let's say that... in some way they begin to have a more serious relationship, and from this moment on, the read has gradually fallen for me. We still have good moments throughout this second part, I liked their relationship and there are scenes that I actually loved, but generally speaking, I think this second half falls into a repetitive emotional loop: I want and I can not , the doubts, the excuses, the fears...