Anyta Sunday

Leo Tops Aries

A new person will enter your life in the early year, Leo. Look past any moments of frustration they might bring and laugh-this could be the start of a thriving friendship. Theo Wallace usually laughs at the horoscopes his mom sends. Still hung up on his ex-girlfriend and practically friendless, this one begs him to reconsider. Because a friendship that stuck, that thrived... Well, that would be a reason to leave past pains behind and look to the Bright Future. When his sister Leone challenges him to find her the perfect date for a spring wedding, Theo uses it as a chance to make new friends. Theo's ex economics tutor and newest roommate Mr. Jamie Cooper seems to be a possible and convenient match. Real convenient. Like written in the stars, convenient. All he has to do is make sure this Jamie is good enough. Could really be The One for her, and the friend for him. But watch out, Leo, the stars have a surprise in store... "Leo Loves Aries" is a sweet, slow burn, M/M romance with HEA. This New Adult, college, GFY, friends-to-lovers novel can be read as a standalone.

Leo Loves Aries

Jamieson

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review


actual rating: 3.5*

another author who doesn't wanna use the B word and I ain't talking about bitch, butt or badass-motherfucker, im talking about bisexual

Seriously, how hard is it for authors to just use the word and not erase the fact BISEXUAL PEOPLE EXIST!!!!!!!!! 


  “The worst thing I've done on a date? Ask who her favorite serial killer is. Under a bridge. In the dark.”


Leo Loves Aries is a m/m romance that's fairly fluffy and fun but not really groundbreaking or deep. 
Reading this is like eating an entire block of chocolate yourself. It's enjoyable, it makes you happy, it feels good but ultimately there isn't really much substance. 

It follows Theo (who is basically Matthew Daddario apparently) and his sister Leone. The two live together and are both heartbroken after theo's ex (samantha) and leone's ex (derek) ditched them and GOT TOGETHER. (which I highkey cannot get over what a dog move) 
Theo and Leone's mum is a big believer in horoscopes and tells her twin kids that someone new will come into their life soon, who will be an aries. Lo' and behold, Jamie Cooper, one of Theo's ex lecturers, needs a roomate and Leone and Theo are looking. Theo tries to hook his sister up with Jamie, but instead ends up falling for him instead. 

The whole plot is basically Jamie/Theo banter and will they get together, will they not get together? and don't get me wrong, it's super funny and addictive. The main couple have a really fun dynamic and the story is super fluffy so it carries you along really quickly but really nothing happens. 

The real plus of this book, for me, is it's short and it goes by fast. I didn't really ever feel like it was dragging it and that made it a quick read.
But I just wish it had been a little .... more

There were some elements I really liked and I think were really well done. 

• The slow-burn was super well done, nothing felt rushed and the romance felt authentic 
• It was kind of soft? I appreciated it wasn't super angsty and didn't have random annoying plot points thrown in just to make them suffer. I am literally soft okay like sometimes I become angst emo but mostly I love the soft
• leone was blind and from my pov pretty good representation. she was independent, determined, super kind, wasn't desexualised and loved to read !! which is such a great subversion I loved she listened to audiobooks and that was okay
• good family relationships !! I loved leone/theo and jamie's families so much
• there is a side character in a relationship who says he's demisexual and explains that that means whooo
• the sex scenes were well written and not like fanfic cringey 


  BUT BECAUSE IT'S ME THE DRAMA LLAMA WHO CAN NEVER BE HAPPY WITH ANYTHING


• the lgbt+ discussions were kinda ..... ehh. 
• first of all, theo, puts his attraction to Jamie down to the fact he's "not sexually repressed" rather then like,,,, the fact he might be bi or pan ?? 
• he's surrounded by lgbt+ friends and none of them are like 'hey man, bisexuality'
• so the erasure was really fucking annoying
• ur bisexual, theo. not sexually promiscuous. 
• BI REPRESENTATION WAS BAD, to be brief. 
• the fact that theo was like 0% concerned about coming out if he chose to do that because "his family supported rainbows" which ... 
• okay it's hard to comment on coming-out experiences because everyone is different
• but having a supportive family does not necessarily mean you're 110% cool with coming out
• there are alot of societal pressures and childhood cultural socialisation factors that impact why people don't wanna come out
• basically society is homphobic and we're taught straight = good. gay = bad. 
• we had a good oppurtunity here for him to go "hey, maybe I don't wanna label myself as bi because of my ingrained homophobia" 
• that would have been good !!!
• that is not what I got. 
• and I just thought the whole thing with him coming out super trivilised the issue of coming out and very much simplified it and eh
• I'm pretty sure Anyta Sunday is straight (she might not be im not 100% sure) so I guess she wouldn't have the experience herself but she could have researched

Also, the characters were not really very deep or complex. They were okay, I think Theo was a much better character then Jamie in terms of how well they were written and neither of them was so 2D it was unbearable but neither of them was incredibly deep either. 



However, despite these criticisms I think OVERALL this is an okay lgbt+ read. It's really light, fluffy and fun. The banter and dynamic between the main couple is really well written and I think it'd be hard not to root for them to be together. They are really cute and considerate of eachoters needs and if you're here for super sweet couples but who also like, rip the shit out of eachother you'll like theo and jamie. It's nice to just have a happy, cute lgbt+ couple who don't have to die and suffer like so many others. 

Theo reminded me of Neil Josten so ofc I liked him. Leone was a really good support character and I also liked Ben/Kyle. 

Another tiny thing I liked, this book has little chapter headers which are super cute and funny. I thought they were really unique and fun and they made me laugh a few times

This book just pipped 270 pages I think? So it's a good one for a single sitting cute fluffy read I think but it's definitely not anything groundbreaking. But you'll probably have a really good time reading it anyway !

Jasmine

4.25 Stars
This was such an adorable light read!! Love Jamie & Theo playfulness, snark, and banter so much! This book was just so refreshing it nice once in a while to find a book that genuinely makes you happy and Leo Loves Aries was that for me. Usually, I'm admittedly kinda an angst whore who finds most cute books too sickly sweet, and nowhere near the drama and tension I need so I get bored quickly.

 Here I individually falling in love with these dorks personalities and was actively rooting for their happiness. How Theo was so completely clueless that he was falling for Jamie I will never know because their chemistry was jumping off the pages only a few chapters in. In most instances that would've bothered me whereas I just found it funny hearing him constantly justifying everything as normal friend behavior and me being like "okay, just keep telling yourself that. I wonder how many chapters it will take before your dumbass finally clues into what's going on". We also got some great tropes Roommates, friends to lovers, and friends with benefits. We also have Leone and Theo's wonderful bother and sister relationship. I was here for pretty much all the dynamics in this book and I very much want to continue the other standalones in the series especially if they have these characters.

Demi

This book was an extremely quick m/m romance story (I read it in like an hour and a half) that was super fun and cute! I don’t have too much to say as it was a super light/easy read.

I really enjoyed the characters and the different relationships we got to see. I also really enjoyed the writing style and the way the story was told. I was 100% rooting for Jamie and Theo to end up together throughout the whole story. They had such a cute and interesting relationship that I really enjoyed.

Overall, this was a super fast friends to lovers read that had both cute and steamy scenes! Definitely recommend for romance lovers!!

Kailey Rios

this book does the friends to lovers trope so incredibly well and the slow burn was just as fantastic.

i was literally yelling at the character to just get together already so that should give you a clue as to how invested i was in the story.

can’t wait to read more by this author!


  4.25 stars

Amy Grieve

Wow! I think this is everything I needed this month. This is the most unproblematic, adorable romance I’d ever read for a long time and proves that you can have a mm romance without any dubious content. Just in love, please pick this up if you ever get a chance.

Sahi K

** spoiler alert **
           This book starts with twins Theo and Leone trying hard to move on after breaking up with their exes – who actually fell in love with each other. That’s understandably rough. They decide to find each other dates for “The Wedding”. In the meantime, they also interview roommates and Theo finally settles on his previous semesters’ econ tutor Jamie. What follows is a story of friendship, trust, jealousy and love in all it’s fun forms.

Theo is very funny and sweet and adorable but absolutely clueless in certain matters. He loves getting Jaime’s skin, irritating him to no end but also enjoying their encounters. Leone is legally blind and can only slightly see outlines and some colors but she is fierce, loyal and independent. Jaime is calm, cool, smart, a health food nut and gives back as good as he gets to Theo. The three of them develop a great dynamic living together and it was fun seeing their daily interactions.

Jaime is always attentive towards Leone’s needs but also considerate to let her be and figure out her surroundings in a new place. This makes Theo want to setup his sister with Jaime but fate has other ideas.

When Theo goes on a date with Liz and Leone and Jaime join them, Theo ends up spending most of his time with Jaime. He gets incessantly jealous seeing with his childhood best friend Sean. The banter between them is absolutely hilarious and so full of sexual innuendo but Theo is as usual his oblivious self. Even when they take their friendship to the next level, he couldn’t get it through his thick head that he was in love and his insistence that they were just friends with benefits fooled no one.

The book also has good side characters and I loved all the friendships. Sean is a great, supportive best friend to Jaime and I loved the progression of his relationship with Leone. Ben and Kyle are also a cool addition to their group and definitely help Theo figure out his feelings. But the most charming of all is the twins’ mother Crystal – her obsession with the zodiac and insisting that the predictions in the horoscope will work was very funny. But her emphasis that the sexual chemistry between Leo and Aries will be explosive does turn out to be true. I can’t wait to see more of her in the remaining books of the series.

To wrap up, I just have to say that this book has great elements – beautiful friendships, amazingly positive sibling relationship, very slow burn romance and hilarious entertaining banter. It is also quite angst-free and will make for a delightful read when in need for some fun.

Rochelle Ferguson

This was a cute romance. I loved the relationship between Theo and Jamie as well as the friendships and the family relationships in the book.

Анастасия Розова

Absolutely adorable and super hot. I love those guys sooo much.

4.25/5


  “You’re so organized. No wonder I drove you up the wall.” 
A few seconds passed before Jamie responded. “That’s cute.” 
“What is?” 
“Your use of past tense.” 


I had a sudden urge to read some contemporary romance. Which was also gay. Which was also adorable. Which was also fucking amazing! I've finished this book in a day and I still can't believe it. I haven't read books like this one in a while and I missed it. 

First of all, it was funny. I loved the dialog between the characters, especially when they texted each other. Sometimes I snickered in public transport. That must've been the sight... 
I loved the plot. It wasn't anything original, but it was something I like and so I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Reminded me of all the good fanfiction I used to read then I was younger. 

The characters also made me happy. I definitely enjoyed the family dynamics, the way Theo cared about his sister, the way he loved her and his family. 
His sister Leone was pretty fucking cool, I think she was a strong female character and I wish we had more characters who handles their disability so well. In general I loved how the disability was handled in this book, although I can't judge for myself, but I felt like it was done very nicely.
Also moms. Both of them. Such wonderful ladies, I wanna meet them!

The way friendship was also a focus here. How Theo tried to make friends, how he cherished them... That was very important.

Definitely loved the lack of animosity towards exes. Or at least the lack of abundance of it (not sure how to phrase it). Because often we can see "exes are jerks" trope, but here it wasn't always the case and I appreciated it.

The romance. Of course. They were so cute and adorable I almost fucking cried my eyes out from all the joy. And the sex scenes (which are rather explicit, so be warned) didn't read dirty, they were rather well written. I didn't realize I needed this book in my life until I started reading it. I fell in love within the first two chapters.

Can't wait to continue with this series and maybe check out Anyta Sunday's other books.

Leo Tops Aries

Reviews