Frat House Troopers (Manga) (Brandt and Donnelly Capers) Paperback – February 26, 2019

4.5 Stars!Jointly reviewed:[...]Gitte: So Jenny I absolutely LOVED this book, what a surprising read, for so many reasons. I almost didn't pick it up because I thought, at the time, this title is kind of cheesy and I wasn't too keen on the cover, but then that's me, I am a cover snob. However, this story was not only hot, it was so funny, sweet and most importantly very well written. This story was just what I needed!Jenny: I absolutely agree GG. Great find and yes, it was all that and more. I will admit it, when you first said we should read this I wasn't sure what to expect, given the title and the cover, I was the same. I thought it would be a bit of a cheesy romp but wow! How wrong was I? I absolutely loved this book. It was indeed well written and well, just an all `round fun, sweet, hot and entertaining read.Gitte: I thought this story was really well paced. We got to know the characters, connect with them and fall love with them, as the story unfolded naturally. The intrigue had me guessing all the way through and there were just enough twists and thrills in regard to the undercover case which Brandt was working on. Gabriel and Ethan were gorgeous and so lovable; especially Gabriel, I have to say he had me *sighing*, he was such a funny and "take me as I come" character, with a hint of vulnerability too. I wanted to cuddle him so many times in this story. Now, Ethan, umm wow...shower scene!! What is it about shower scenes??Jenny: Without a doubt GG! I definitely connected with Troopers, Ethan Brandt and Gabrielle Donnelly (geez, even their names are hot!) and absolutely loved the interaction between these two.Both characters brought so much to the story and both these men were such relatable and loveable characters and ummm yeah, THAT shower scene.....gulp!!!! The story was indeed well paced and I especially loved how the author tested the waters with their relationship and let it build in its own time right to the end. It wasn't rushed and it certainly wasn't slow. Yes, this story unfolded perfectly for me.Gitte: Okay Jenny, so what did I love? I loved the friendship between Gabriel and Ethan. I loved the comical scenes with them on their shopping trips, the "handholding" when things went outside the comfort zone, as well as the "pretend Chess scene". I loved that once the "discovery" had been made how sweet they went about trying things out. It wasn't full on; it was hesitant and loving from the start. I LOVED Bryce...seriously I wish I knew a Bryce because he has to be one of the most FAB-U-LUSH and vivacious characters I have come across oh and Nestor...the pair of them...hilarious. Seriously Jenny, can you imagine us two on a night out with them...how FUN would that be!!Jenny: Haha! GG the shopping trips floored me!!! Two "heterosexual" guys shopping in a gay shopping precinct made for some fun reading. There were so many funny lines on those shopping trips I would have been highlighting for pages. Bryce absolutely killed me. He was gorgeous and so bloody funny!"Your panties need to say, "Tear me off, for I contain wonders!" Those say, "Look away while I complete your tax forms"I loved the comical discussions they had: "what do you think women use theirs for? Shooting out doves at weddings?" (folks you'll have to read the book to understand that one haha) and yes, I absolutely loved seeing these two outside their comfort zone and how they reacted. The relationship was handled so well and it was never rushed nor felt contrived.Gitte: Now I have no idea whether or not the straight to gay psychology in this story is realistic, but I have to say I don't really care. I think this story has some great emotional moments, fab humour, and intrigue and yeah it was hot!! I read it in one sitting because I could simply not put it down.Jenny: Oh me neither! I don't care if any of it's true or realistic. It didn't matter to me because I was swept up in this story. I just loved it for what it brought and how I felt reading it. I enjoyed the emotional, the funny, the steam factor and I enjoyed the warmth of the characters both main and secondary. They all brought something to the table and made this such an enjoyable read that we both couldn't put down."He studied Brand's face carefully, as carefully as Brandt had searched his, and then he knew - he knew what Brandt meant"

I only encountered this book published in 2012 four years later. I am thus new to Xavier Mayne's writing, and although it was "tough" for me to get through the first half of the book with all the effeminate guys working in the gay neighborhood shops.......... once that part was over, I really got into the book and can say that towards the end I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think I like Xavier Mayne's writing enough that I'm going to order his 2nd book "Wrestling Demons" with my next amazon order.Our lead character has no fewer than 4 names in the book: Jason, Mason, Ethan (his real first name) & Brandt (his real last name), which is used most of the time as is the case in most uniformed professions. He and his "co-worker" Donnelly (last name) - first name Gabriel - had a good bond as troopers until this off-beat assignment was given to Brandt to infiltrate a frat house ("a cooperative environment for fraternity brothers to expand on their abilities and understanding of the universe" - Urban Dictionary's definition).The story development grew on me as the novel unfolded, and I was totally into both Brandt & Donnelly's characters. I thought they were very likable & identifiable people. Once they'd made peace with their sexual attraction for each other AND allowed it to be expressed, the real story started taking off in a positive direction and I really fell in love with them and this book.As I stated above, I am eager to explore the rest of Xavier Mayne's writing & look forward to more good characters who I can identify with and like - a prerequisite for me to call a book successful. I obviously recommend this book for lovers of good m2m romance novels. I give it a 9/10 - not 10/10 only because of the challenge with the effeminate characters in the first half of the book. Sorry fellow gays who enjoy being effeminate; I hope I didn't offend you; you have an equal right to be present and visible; I just don't care for that section of our gay culture, and feel that I am free to express that.

OK, so state-trooper Brandt has the unlikely undercover job of trying to infiltrate a gay porn operation featuring supposedly straight college guys... This IS explained, whether you buy it or not is another thing. But although there is a HUGE suspension of disbelief gap to get over, the tone of the writing is so sure and smooth that I could put any reservations on a back-burner and just go along with it.Brandt is not happy with the assignment, but he's young and good-looking enough to actually not be laughed at as he tries to get into the operation to see if there's cooked books or something illegal going on. The feelings of doing something way beyond his usual boundaries (yeah, he's straight and has never even looked at another man in lust), is eased by some sweet/cute intro to the gay life as he tries to dress for the part. The shop assistants at the kookily named shops are just hilarious. Stereotypes, perhaps, but kindly depicted and lots of fun. And the Intro to Gay lessons keep going in a way that is sometimes over-the-top, but seemingly fitting in this whole crazy scenario.I had to say that I really, really enjoyed the read. It was somewhat serious, not entirely believable, but I WANTED to believe, and was otherwise just plain fun and not a little bizarre, but in a good way. The crazy mix made it a bit of a stand-out where m/m romances can sometimes get as formulaic as the m/f romances. This one was different (even when employing lots of familiar tropes), and a heck of a lot of fun. Hot and sexy love and crazy characters just add to the spicy fun. And it's not quite as silly as the title implies. I can hardly wait to read more from this writer.

つい昨日アップしたレビューが密林狩りに遭ったようである。メゲずに再レビューをする。こんなもんを買って損をする哀れな日本人はアテクシだけで十分。本書はゲイ読者向けのオカズみたいなもんでマトモな「小説」ではない。作者は小説の書き方なんて知らないし、技巧意識なぞもゼロ。それで恬として恥じるところもない。シニカルである。おまけに本国では発売早々五つ星レビューが並んでいる。明らかにフェイクレビューを上げてきている。設定は、二十四歳の新米警官がゲイポルノサイト会社に囮捜査に潜入させられるというもの。この時点で結構終わっている。新米警官はパトロールしてるもんで囮捜査を任せられたりしない。その為にまず「ゲイっぽい服装」をすべくゲイ区に赴いてショッピングする。このシーンが延々と続く。しかもこのショッピング場面が何度も出てくる。作者的に面白いらしい。こっちは全く面白くない。そいでこのポルノサイトは「単独マスタベ」が売りってんでストーリー的に無意味なマスタベ場面が一回に五ページくらい続く。それがまた何度も出てくる。実に退屈。更に馬鹿っぽいのは、主人公含めて五人くらい「ノンケだけどゲイ」って意味不明のキャラが登場するあたり。ゲイのノンケファンタジーに媚びてんのか、作者がゲイのゲイ嫌いのどっちかだ。「ノンケだけどゲイ」のキャラはノンケなんだけど何故か男の裸体に興奮して特定の相手（♂）とだけは恋愛関係になる。本書の主人公も囮捜査してるうちにゲイ行動に目覚めて相棒の警官と恋仲になる。設定が突飛な話ほど上手い作家が書かにゃ読めたもんじゃない。こんなヘッタクソがこんな話を書いてマトモな知能の読者が読めるかいな。しかも内容的には五十頁で終わる中身のもんを要らんエピソードで脂肪太りさせて260頁だ。ゲイ向けオカズだからってゲイ読者はこんなバッタモンを買ってはいけない。金出すならもっとちゃんと書かれたポルノ小説をお選びになるべき。

Okaaaaay - I should give the book 3 stars but I'll make it 4 stars.Why???Because it's just cute and the guys are funny. The author delivered for me the best dialogues. Therefore they get the additional star.I laughed a lot in the beginning. Brandt and Donnelly are just hilarious together and very entertaining.But...and here are the reasons why it should be less stars:I hated the indecisive POV. Generally I'm not against changing POVs. But then it must be well written and thoughout the whole book. Here we start with Brandt for a long time, then suddenly we get short and less short POVs from secondary characters like Bryce and Eugene (and there was really no reason at all why we did). Then back to Brandt for a while and suddenly we do a ping pong in headhopping between Brandt and Donelly, in some scenes I felt like being in both heads at the same time. Seriously..sometimes I wasn't sure in whose head I was while reading.And for me...sorry, the sex didn't do it. That was kind of over the top exagerated and a bit ...*cough* boring. I started to skip the 69. Less would have been more in my opinion (and seriously I love good sex scenes).So that had been all I had to nag about, both a reason to deduct a star. But as I said, for the funny dialogues I'll add another one.

So. What I want to know is, where has writer been hiding from me all these years? I discovered accidentally - through the recommendation of one of you fabulous people - a book by Xavier Mayne called Frat House Troopers. A sort of GFY story but so much more. The story is cute; the angst there but not overwhelming. Dialogues are simply sensational. There is drama and humour - I frightened the dogs on my beds a few times with my outbursts of laughter. The supporting cast is to die for.The writing is divinely liquid and simple. I enjoyed this so much that I went out and got all the published books in the series. I have started the second one and yes, it was not a fluke. As good as the first one... Do your jaded palates a treat!

Ich fand den schreibstil grottig. Außerdem war viel zu viel gay for you vorhanden. Die shopping Trips haben nach dem zweiten mal auch nur noch genervt. Die Love Story war unglaubwürdig.Nicht meins kann ich nicht empfehlen.

A very enjoyable book from start to finish