Unwritten Law: Steele Brothers Book 1, Eden Finley

Boy meets boy, boy is surprised to be so attracted to boy, boy lies to boy to satisfy curiosity, curiosity becomes affection, affection breeds confusion and guilt, surprise reveal breeds hurt and mistrust, drama brings about a resolution, happiness wins.  Got all that?  Yeah, me neither.

Lawson is outwardly straight but inwardly bi.  Anders is strictly gay.  So is Reed.  The tangled mess they all end up in starts with Law enabling his twin brother's need to run away and avoid conflict by taking his place to break up with Anders' latest flings.  With one big exception.  A blind date turns into more when Law can't help but use the mutual attraction between himself and Reed to delve into his long-ignored attraction to men.  Confident that it will be a one-time occurrence, Reed's appearance in his dojo throws him for a loop.  He isn't expecting to crave the physical part of being with Reed, nor is he expecting the emotional connection they're building either.  The only problem is Reed thinks the man he's sleeping with is Anders, and the man he's friends with is Lawson...but they're both Law and he's sinking deeper into both his feelings for Reed and the lies he's perpetuating.

Lies are horrible.  They're unnecessary, deceitful, hurtful, and often unforgivable.  I hate them.  There are so many times that Lawson could have come clean and I'm disappointed when doesn't...again and again and again.  But I honestly can't help loving this befuddled man either.  I don't excuse his lies at all.  I can see where he's coming from and I don't think they're really good enough reasons to keep the lies going, but I can understand why he kept chickening out.  Doesn't make it okay, but it does make him human.  And he definitely gets to suffer under both the weight of his lies and the consequences when it all comes to light.

Reed is mostly innocent here.  I will say, though, that he could have been more honest up-front about what he really wanted.  Ultimately, though, I thought the distance he used to figure out what he really felt was good for both of them.  Together they had the magic of awesome banter, quirkiness, and tons of chemistry.  Their steamy moments were definitely that.  While they were tempered by "Anders'" need to flee after each encounter, it doesn't take away from the way they worked together on so many levels.

"When you're an adult, you don't have someone telling you to put on pants every day.  You have to remember that shit on your own."
"That's the hardest part of adulting for you?  Remembering pants?"
"The struggle is real."

I loved reading their interplay both when Law was kind of being Anders and when he was being himself.  He was always Law, though, even when he was "pretending", so my feelings regarding honesty were a little confused for a while.  On the one hand, he didn't tell Reed who he really was in both aspects of their relationship.  On the other, aside from the name Reed used in their more private, sexy moments, he was genuine in his reactions, confessions, and desire.  It made it all the more sweet when Reed and Law finally got everything sorted.

There was also the Davey parts of the story.  He served as a way to bring the two men closer together as well as trigger some key moments to bring Lawson's portion of the tragic history to the fore.  It also gets both men to realize the depth of their feelings for one another.

While I did love both of these men I also felt like I got to know Lawson so deeply that what we get of Reed seems lacking.  As a person he seems really great and I like who he is with Law but on his own, I think he falls a bit flat.  We don't get a ton of background information on him and his awful past relationship is mentioned quite a few times but the explanation of why the relationship was so bad is barely revealed.  It's vague and unsatisfying.  But pair his funny mind and hot body with all that is the vulnerable, damaged, yet fierce Law?  They're magic.

Overall the story was such a fun read!  I liked the surprising moments of humor that made me smother my face in a pillow so as not to wake up my kids with my laughter at 3am.  I enjoyed the whole cast and am excited for their stories.

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