My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Rafe Hawthorne is a talented but commitment‑averse glassblower who knows he needs help if he wants to rise to the top of his field. Unfortunately, the one person with the skills and connections to get him there is also the man who nearly ruined his career: his old rival, Jake Mathers. Jake, meanwhile, has built his reputation on a carefully maintained web of lies. The only truths he’s certain of are his desire to move to the UK and his long‑buried feelings for Rafe. When his façade finally collapses, he turns to the one person who could save him — and proposes a fake engagement that might benefit them both. As their rivalry turns into partnership and their fake relationship starts feeling dangerously real, the two men must decide whether they can turn all the lies between them into something true.
I went into this one hoping for a satisfying rivals‑to‑lovers arc, but the story never quite delivered on the emotional potential between Rafe and Jake. The sheer number of lies Jake was juggling — and the fallout from them — overwhelmed the romance, making it hard to root for the relationship. On top of that, Rafe’s constant anger and resentment toward Jake took up so much space that their connection never had room to breathe. There was a real chance for these two to build something meaningful, but the layers of deception and conflict kept pulling the focus away from the love story. In the end, the tension overshadowed the tenderness, leaving the romance feeling more frustrating than fulfilling. This was an MM story with mature content.
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