Jeremiah

Jayce Ellis’s Jeremiah was one helluva wonderful, upbeat, and enlightening read. Jeremiah himself is intense, sexy, and one of the most authentic Black male characters I’ve encountered in far too long. (Just another reason I plan to take active steps to read words written by BIPOC authors, not just about BIPOC characters.) It was so refreshing to see a genuine depiction of a Black man without any white-washing (purposeful or not) and void of any stereotypes (again, purposeful or not). Instead, Jeremiah is a relatable, lovable character who respects and loves his family and friends, has a strong work ethic and moral value system, and knows how to truly be there for a person, no matter how that might look from moment to moment. The running theme of Jeremiah giving Collin “what [he] need[s]” was so heart-wrenchingly beautiful that it brought a literal happy sigh to my lips every time one of those moments came up. He is this perfect combination of sweet, sexy, and in complete control that’ll just leave you breathless. I definitely felt some subtle Dominant/submissive vibes between Jer-Bear (frickin’ adorable nickname from his fam that I just can’t even with) and Collin. It was handled so beautifully. Jeremiah never pushed Collin’s boundaries, and he was always so careful to be sure Collin was taken care of and content. I honestly can’t recommend this book enough. To anyone who loves words, but especially anyone who loves love. Because Jeremiah and Collin and their journey toward love gave me all the happiest of sighs. Plus, there is some seriously positive LGBTQ+ rep in this book. Something I adore. Yes, there’s some homophobia that results in a bit of violence and some pretty hurtful and widespread ramifications, but it’s handled respectfully and realistically by the author. It isn’t a plot device wedged into the story without purpose, and it doesn’t dictate how the story itself flows. None of the LGBTQ+ characters allow their gender or sexuality to change who they are or how they live their lives—beyond a few small and specific points I won’t mention for spoiler reasons—but even those are character rather than plot driven, so it feels organic and anything but “in your face.” Everything is addressed with care and I commend Ms. Ellis for the clear effort she put into making this story heartfelt and genuine.

Great contemporary romance. I really liked reading this book. The author delivered a good contemporary book with the writing style to match. Both MC's Jeremiah and Collin are introverts who are both just coasting through their respective life. Until Jeremiah has to take steps to be in control of his life again. I like how both men are affectionate and loving with eachother. However they both need to deal with their family situations. The side characters aka friends and sone family are also well wriitten. I reconmend this book to readers who like an mm romance with a bit of angst andd a hea/hfn. 4,5* I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I struggled with this first High Rise book in the beginning. Well, more like about 60% of the way through. There is a lot, and I do mean a lot, of internal monologue. So much so that it felt like I was never going to get to the romance. Jeremiah and Collin clearly have sexual chemistry, and I did start to warm up to Jeremiah when he seemed to prefer taking things slowly with some build-up to intimacy. The blurb hints at an out for you story, but really, the only time Jeremiah seemed to be keeping any secrets is with his immediate family. He has no problem with public displays of affection or even drawing attention to himself and Collin in a crowd of people, so I didn't really get the out for vibe from this story. There are also a couple of other plotlines going on in the periphery, but some things almost felt like an outline rather than fleshing out those characters and their stories. Nevertheless, by the last half of the book, I had warmed up to these characters, and Jeremiah and Collin had won me over. They are adorable together once they get comfortable with each other and start to figure things out. In the end, there were things I liked and things I didn't about this one, but this is my first read by Jayce Ellis and I will check out the next in the High Rise series to see how things go. Not everything was all tied up by the end of Jeremiah, so hopefully, we'll get some answers as the series progresses.