Title: Don’t Twunk With My Heart
Series: Loving You 02
Author: Renae Kaye
Narrator: Joel Leslie
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 5 hrs, 52 mins
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press LLC (24th January 2017)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Prime
Blurb: Kee Smith isn’t sure who he is anymore. He knows who he used to be – the ignored gay son who chose a blue-collar job just because no one expected it, the submissive bottom who en-joyed large, masculine jocks who put him in his place, the sleek, fashionable twink who partied all night. But after his ex-boyfriend hit Kee and called him names,
Kee retired from the social scene.
Back after a year’s hiatus, Kee still doesn’t know where he fits. His friends say he’s a twunk – a twink who put on muscle and turned into a hunk – but Kee is searching for somewhere to be-long. Instead of going back to his usual type, Kee hooks up with twink Tate Stevens – a fashion-industry professional who works the image hard. It proves to be the best decision he’s ever made, and not just because he’s starting to regain his sexual confidence.
With Tate, Kee can open up about his fears and confusion without ridicule. Tate has his own fears about putting on weight and getting old. It will take work to make a relationship of oppo-sites succeed, but they begin to realize the compromises will be worth it if they can be together.
Purchase Link: Audible US | Audible UK | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Review: Don’t Twunk With My Heart is the second book in Renae Kaye’s Loving You series.
I’m going to keep my comments on the author because this is a feeling that echoes throughout the whole series for me. At this point I am warming up to Renae Kaye’s writing. For me, an Aussie author writing about her own city is major plus for me. Since we’re not here for a geography lesson, suffice to say that I connect with the very Aussie tone in her writing. I feel the humour and love hearing the slang that is part of my everyday life in my favourite genre of book. So far there’s been a bit of a pattern in her writing where we have at least one main character who doesn’t want to come out of the closet because of his very blokey workplace (lots of miners, industrial workers) or his very manly-man type father. Not that it’s a bad thing, if you like a book with that sort of storyline.
The narration for this book was by Joel Leslie, who takes over from Dave Gilles in the narration of the series. In fact, I have to say that I think this was a good move. While I enjoyed Gilles narration and it was overall great, it annoyed me when his Aussie accent slipped a bit (I know it’s a really stupid thing to get annoyed at). However, I loved Leslie’s Aussie accent, it was really well. I also am a fan of pretty much all of Joel Leslie’s performances because I always feel the emotions from the characters and hear their distinct voices.
Don’t Twunk With My Heart is really sweet and a great return to the world of the Loving You series. Jay is as loud and out there as ever, Liam is as stoic and as sweet as ever. But this book moves onto Jay’s friend, Kee Smith. Kee was a twink but a horrific experience meant that he stayed away from the Perth gay scene for a year and focused on his work, very physical work that has meant that in the space of a year he lost his twink physique. In short, he is now a twunk.
Side note: Jay incessant babbling where he goes through twinks, twunks and twanks is hilarious and definitely one of my favourite moments of the book.
On Kee’s first night back in the scene he meets Tate. Tate is most definitely a twink and he finds himself somewhat confused by the all the twink, twank and twunk talk. However, it is impossible to deny that there is an attraction between the men. They are both out of the closet already too, although Kee’s family are not that nice, so their story is about how a person change. Change is not bad in this case, it’s more of a change into the person who they really are. Kee feels a little lost and finds a lifeline with Tate as finds himself in the world once more. Tate is pretty complicated as well, he is in his thirties and older than Kee. Since he works in fashion he fears putting on weight and getting old, something that Kee picks up and helps Tate just as Tate helps Kee.
This is a really sweet story. Kee and Tate have a wonderful connection with great chemistry. The characters are down to earth and relatable. Another enjoyable book by Renae Kaye, I’m ready for the next!