About The Book
From New York Times bestselling author, J. Daniels, comes an all-new standalone forbidden romance.
They say the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.
They say the best way to stay sober is to love yourself.
I’m great at making bad decisions.
Addict? Check. Poor impulse control? Check. Obsessed with the guy I’m sponsoring? Check Check Check.
There is no one worse for me to want in my bed than Jake Tully. He’s hot and grumpy and literally a terrible idea. Terrible. Worse, no one has ever made me feel the way he does — valued. But here I am – thinking about him again.
Falling for my sponsor is not my worst idea yet, but it’s damn close.
Felix Fields is everything good. He’s thoughtful and kind. I can’t help but think about every bad thing we could do between these sheets.
But we can’t be together. I’m not willing to risk my recovery for anyone – even if he might be perfect for me.
Finding a love like this is nothing short of a tragedy.
**Author’s Note: This book ends in a Happily Ever After, but getting there isn’t easy.
My Review
The Tragedy of Felix and Jake is a standalone novel and the newest release of J. Daniels. J.Daniels hasn’t been writing for a few years, as she had a baby during covid and suffered from some postpartum issues. But she came back with a winner of a romance! I can’t tell you how much I embraced this book and it just had my emotions all over the place. Its not going to be an easy read, so be aware of what you are getting into with this one. I really admired how well this author handled her first MM romance but also in the way that she tackled addiction recovery because it felt so real and this couple will always have my heart.
The Tragedy of Felix and Jake is about two young men who meet at a meeting, where a solid friendship forms between them instantly. But for Felix, who is gay, he wants Jake so badly. Jake however, is bi sexual and doesn’t recognize the signs of attraction at first, and he is more nervous when it comes to relationships. But Felix is instantly ALL in for Jake and seeing his devotion to Jake was so precious. But very quickly these two embrace what they have for each other while also being each other’s support on their addiction recovery journey’s.
What is so precious about this book is the relationship building aspects of the relationship. I loved how well done this author conveys the solid mix of spice, emotional connection and trauma healing within this one here. I was so hooked into this story and I couldn’t put it down. I have only read J.Daniels in Audio, so to physically read one of her books was such a five star experience. I definitely need to start going through her backlist, that is for sure.
The romance that develops between these two is so captivating and I just wanted to see them get to their HEA but its a journey and it takes time but the way in which our characters are so understanding and patient with each other and just FIGHT for one another was beautiful and heartwarming. This is a story that will stay with you for quite a long while and I am so excited to see what this author will deliver in the future.
Title: The Tragedy of Felix and Jake
Author: J. Daniels
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Length: 431 Pages
Book Links
Amazon| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club
Book Evaluation
Storytelling Quality: 5
Story Itself: 5
Character Development: 5
Writing Style: 5
World Building 5
Feels + The Romantic Heart 5
Pacing 5
Plot 5
Cover Art 4
Ending 5
Book Ratings
Overall Rating of the Book
Steam Level
Simmering—soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warm- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Trigger Warning
Drug Abuse, Addiction
About The Author
J. Daniels is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Alabama Summer, Dirty Deeds and Sweet Addiction series.
Best known for her sexy, small-town romances, her debut novel, Sweet Addiction, was first published in 2014 and went on to become an international bestseller. Since then, she has published more than ten novels, including the Dirty Deeds series with Forever Romance.
Daniels grew up in Baltimore and currently lives in Maryland with her husband and three kids. A former full-time Radiologic Technologist, she began writing romance after college and quickly discovered a passion for it. You’ll still catch her in scrubs every now and then, but most of her time is spent writing these days—a career she is eternally grateful for.
Always an avid reader, Daniels enjoys books of all kinds, but favors Romance (of course) and Fantasy. She loves hiking, traveling, going to the mountains for the weekend, and spending time with her family.
Great review for a great book. I also loved this one.
Lovely review. i am glad to see her back.
I haven’t read this author but I love the sound of this book!
Great review! I’ve enjoyed J. Daniels’s books since way back in the day. I’m glad to hear she’s writing again and that you enjoyed this story so much.