To the End of the Line

Greer’s rocky debut tracks the slow burn romance between Nicholas, a curmudgeonly gay PhD student, and his older brother’s best friend, golden boy Matías, who is “everything Nicholas despised wrapped in a loud, obnoxious package.” His unresolved issues with Matías stem from a betrayal of trust six years before the start of the book, so he’s understandably upset when his brother and roommate, Will, announces that Matías is going to crash with them for a while. Though Matías, a “sex god with dimples,” claims he has changed, Nicholas avoids him and, when they do end up spending time together, he’s often needlessly unkind. Then Nicholas learns that Matías has come out as bisexual, forcing him to reevaluate his perception and possibly let go of his long-standing grudge. Even after the pair kiss in the rain, however, Nicholas’s insecurities tell him, “No one is going to look at us and think we make sense.” Unfortunately, the backstory of what exactly Matías did to betray Nicholas is teased out for far too long and underwhelms when it arrives. Meanwhile, the central romance is often back-burnered by Nicholas’s academic issues, including a crush on his TA that leads to humiliation, as well as his complicated relationship with Will. There’s some good character work, but as a romance, this disappoints. (May)