I've Never Read Anything Like These MM Romances

[00:00:00]Hey guys, my name's Caitlin and welcome back to my channel. This is a bit of a strange thing to point out, but I don't think I have worn this jumper since one of like my very first MM romance videos that I ever filmed. I think it was like a series recommendations video. And it was one of the first videos where I ever spoke about like the Puck Boys series and the Monsters series.

[00:00:18]Just brings back good vibes. But anyway, today I think we are in for what is going to be one of my shortest, if not the shortest ever YouTube video that I have filmed. Because I only have two books to talk about with you today. So let's get started. Oh gosh. Someone commented on a previous video and asked if I could talk about the most unique MM romances that I've ever read. And honestly, I feel like I only have two recommendations that truly fit the profile of unique in that I have not read anything like it before. It doesn't really fit the standard tropes that we normally categorize books by. And so those are the only two that I'm going to be talking about today. But by all means, if you have any that you want to pop in the comments below, please do. Be careful I think we're always looking for something that hits a little bit different. Now, I feel like this first one isn't really a surprise because I have referenced it as being one of the most unique books I've ever read previously. And that has to be The Fall by Tal Bauer. It is a standalone romance, but it is like 7 or 800 pages.

[00:01:16]So I just brace for that. This is a hockey romance, but honestly, I have never read another book like this one.

[00:01:22]And let's delve into why. At the start of this book, one of our main characters, Tory, his life is hanging on by a thread. His hockey career is really not going well. He is struggling with his sexuality and he's really, really not in a good place mentally. But then one night, while he is on the ice playing a game, he takes a hit and wakes up 12 months in the future. Like a whole year of his life just gone. Like for him, the night before, he was on the ice, he just took a hit to the head, expects to wake up in hospital, right?

[00:01:54]As you do. But instead, he wakes up in a bed with a man next to him calling him babe. And he's like, "What the actual is going on right now?" And Tory takes a little bit of time and comes to realize that he is indeed 12 months in the future in his own life. And that somehow in this 12 months, he has created the life that he has always wanted for himself. He is playing the best hockey he's ever played. He has accepted his sexuality. He is in love and in a very loving relationship. He's playing for a completely different team in a different state. And the coaches that he can't remember any of it. He doesn't remember how he got here, what he did, what he changed for him. And his struggling and mental health, hockey career, life in general was only yesterday. And honestly, Tory's kind of happy to not tell anyone what happened because he's terrified that if he goes to someone and confesses what's truly going on, that he has no memories of the last year of his life, that this new life is going to get ripped away from him. And he [clears throat] doesn't want that. He is finally where he's always wanted to be. And so his plan is just fake it till you make it. Like he is going to keep going, keep playing, keep living his life, and just hope that eventually these last 12 months worth of memories will come back to him. The entire time that I was reading this book, I was just fixated. I could not stop thinking about what on earth is happening. Like how have we gone a whole year that we don't know what's happened?

[00:03:18]Like what happened in that year? What did you change? How did you end up here?

[00:03:22]And I know that Tory wants to know those things as well. And I'm there like right along with him. I'm dying to get this information.

[00:03:30]I needed it. I need it now. So it's kind of part sports romance, part mystery, part love story. And Tal Bauer has managed to string all of it together beautifully. I love this book. I have read it cover to cover twice purely because I will only read this book if I have literally no plans and can just spend the entire day reading the book because I don't want any interruptions when it comes to this book. I have read so many books over the years. I have read so many sports romances, so many hockey romances. This one just takes the cake of unique books. Like I know it just sounds like any old hockey romance, guy has amnesia, what's the big deal? But like I can't delve too much into it without potentially spoiling anything. So I'm just going to stop there. And you know, once you read it, you'll get it. I think that's all you should do. I think you should just take that information and go in blind and just have a ball because I read this book and it was fabulous. The only time I stopped was to go to the gym. And the entire time I was at the gym, I was talking to my friend about it and I was like, "Girl, I can't wait to get home and keep reading this book." Love it.

[00:04:33]Like she doesn't even read a minute romances and she was also interested. So that that tells you anything, give it a shot. All right, my second and final recommendation for this video is of sunlight and stardust by Christine Lee and Riley Hart. I loved this book so much. I have two copies of it. I just couldn't help myself. I have the model cover and then we have the alternate cover as well, which I love.

[00:04:53]Fabulous. Unlike The Fall, which was unique in terms of the premise, I think what makes this story unique is the way that it slowly unravels itself. And honestly, I guess my recommendation for The Fall where I'm like, read the blurb, stop there, don't go any further, also applies to this book. Don't go digging through goodreads reviews, don't try to find out any other information. Just if you're interested from the blurb, leave it at that and delve straight in because I do think that finding out anything else could potentially spoil it for you and I feel like going into it and just experiencing the whole thing is just what's going to make this experience so much better. This story follows Tanner and Cole. We start with Tanner wanting to honor his late wife's memory of restoring this old barn that she was for some reason always drawn to. Like every time they drove past it, she would look at it, she would wonder what the history behind it was. And so this is his way of honoring her after she's passed. Then we have Cole who has recently been released from prison and he is looking for a fresh start. He sees this barn, and he goes over to see if he can find any work helping to restore it. When the two meet, they agree that Cole will help restore the old burned-down barn in exchange for room and board on Tanner's property. And while they're looking through the barn, they find this old journal from 1948. Inside the journal is the story of a young man named Tom, who is hopelessly in love with his best friend. And the more that Tanner and Cole restore this barn, and the more that they read this journal together, the more and more they are interested in what actually happened back in 1948.

[00:06:23]Now, at the same time, Tanner and Cole's friendship starts to move into a bit more of a relationship-type dynamic. And you're probably thinking this just sounds like any old dual timeline romance. We're reading about present-day romance, we're reading about 1948 romance, but I promise you, at the same time that it does follow that aspect, it is so much more than that. The journal, the history of the barn, the dual timelines, like what happened in 1948 versus what's happening in the present, it all comes together in this story in a way that just consumed me when I was reading it. I could not put this book down. I was obsessed with it. I honestly, I reckon when I got maybe like five chapters from the end, I set up my camera and I started recording myself because I had a hunch of how this book was going to go, and I needed to record my reaction to it. I do have a reading vlog about it. I will pin it somewhere, but then again, don't watch that until after you've read it because I can't remember if I spoil anything. I don't think I do. I think I just can't stop going on about how unique it is and how I was crying, but you know. Honestly, I think I called that vlog like this book made me feel every emotion under the sun, which is not a lie, and I'm just going to leave it at that. I don't want to tell you anything else because I don't want to risk spoiling anything. Um don't even take the fact that I cried as a spoiler because I cry at Barbie movies.

[00:07:38]If anything is too emotional, just hits me in the feels in the right way, I will stop blubbering. So, don't judge me for that. And please just give it a chance, delve into it. I don't think you'll regret it. It is so fun. It is so unique. What else is there to say? But there we have it. Those are the two books that I would class as the most unique MM romances I have ever read. If you have read either or both of them, please let me know down in the comments what your thoughts were on these books because personally I love them. I know that not everybody is going to feel the same, but would love to know your opinions. And also, drop a comment below what was your most unique MM romance read. If you have more than one, by all means, give me a list. I love a list, but like I want to know. If you had to film this video, what books would you say were your most unique reads? Give a gal some recommendations. But as always, thank you guys so much for watching this video and staying with me, and I will see you next week with another video.

[00:08:28]Bye, guys.

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