playing house coverRating: 4 stars
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Length: Novel


Logan and Christian have been best friends since childhood and they only started dating six months ago. Growing up as the only black kids in a small Georgia town left them fearful to be together, but college offered new opportunities for them in many ways.

Christian always wanted to be an actor, but his parents didn’t approve. Even though he has a college scholarship, he chose accounting as a major to make his parents happy, but Christian is definitely unhappy with that choice. He pursues an acting role over the summer and he knows the stage is where he belongs, even is his family won’t support him.

For Logan, living with Christian is everything. He knows that he’s overly dependent on Christian due to their past and fears that Christian will leave him behind. Logan knows that Christian is a shining star and feels Christian will just become tired of him. Christian loves Logan with no reservations, and he needs Logan to finally accept that. But their other roommate, Noah, has captured both Logan and Christian’s attention. Noah’s boyfriend, Daiki, who is away for the summer, fully supports them all hooking up, but Noah, who is transgender, doesn’t trust easily. Their relationships will be tested as friends and as lovers, but this could be the summer that changes all of their lives.

Playing House follows Playing Around and is best read in order, as the first book builds the foundation for Logan and Christian’s relationship. They have been dating for six months and are living together over the summer and are completely into each other. But being 19, they know there are a lot of changes ahead of them and, while Christian knows Logan will always be his, Logan struggles with fear of being left behind.

The guys are also living with Noah, who revealed to them in the last book that he was transgender. Noah has a boyfriend, Daiki, who is away for the summer, and while they are still together, they have an openness about seeing other people. Daiki is especially onboard with Noah hooking up with Logan and Christian, as he knows Noah is attracted to both of them.

The book is character driven and relationship driven. While there were parts that seemed slower as I was reading, there is a lot of movement to their story by the end. Logan is all in with Christian, but also develops feelings for Noah. He talks to Christian about it and once the idea is sparked, Christian realizes what Logan sees in Noah and feels it as well.

We don’t get much from Noah as everything is seen through either Logan or Christian’s view. Noah discusses his limits when the time comes, but Noah is fearful and we don’t know his whole story. The men are just in the beginning stages of what their relationship may look like, but Noah also has Daiki, and while we get glimpses of their relationship, we aren’t really told where they stand.

Which is what the next book will hopefully bring. This book ends with Logan and and Christian still solid as always, but their relationship with Noah is still a work in progress as the end of the summer approaches and Daiki returns.

I like all the characters here, as well as the story, and while I did need more in some areas, this series is a good choice for open-minded characters as their relationships and lives change through college.