Level Up

Franklin U 2, Book Four

By: Max Walker

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

Joey 'Jay' Cruz

Moving to San Luco wasn’t my choice. I was kicked out of my old school because of a protest I organized that went south. Now, I was attending Franklin University with only a semester left until graduation and not knowing a single soul.

Until I meet Ryan Redpine at a frat party. He’s handsome, muscular, has a great smile, and I quickly find out he’s the son of a CEO hell-bent on destroying the environment.

I push Ryan out of my mind, deciding to keep my sanity and morals in tact.

But fate had other plans. When Ryan ended up as my surprise dorm mate, avoiding him became impossible. And so was avoiding the feelings that started to develop... Maybe getting expelled wasn't the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. Maybe it was actually the best?

Ryan Redpine

Jay entered my life like a lightning bolt.

I’d never met someone I was so attracted to, and someone who clearly didn’t want me. The moment he learned about my dad, he shut me out. Then I get reassigned to his dorm. Cue complications, especially when his bed breaks and we're forced to share.

Things quickly heat up, but Jay's adamant about keeping us under wraps. He's planning this big protest at the beach for an oil drilling project and doesn't want my family name tied to it.

So how do I tell Jay my dad is one of the backers? And how do I make sure I don’t lose him in the process?

©2024 Max Walker (P)2024 Max Walker

I feel bad for those that didn’t finish

I really enjoyed this book. Granted it was up and down at times but once it hits its stride it is a great book! Romance tends to have beats that it has to hit, once this book shakes off notions of what it is supposed to be it is a surprising gem! Max Walker has created a story that has main and side characters you can really get behind! The romance is great but this story goes beyond that. I encourage everyone who did not finish to give it another try. And as usual Nick Russo voices the characters brilliantly! The thing that is most important is that every story is not for everyone but for me this was a great story!

Very Political

Just a heads up this book has one of the main characters who is heavy on political activism even mentioning protests that had gotten volant. If you’re not into heavy mentions of politics then this is not the book for you. If this element was taken out of the book then this would have been a good read.

just don't

I have never rolled my eyes so hard and so often as while listening to this book. it was painful to listen to.

Barely made it through

The writing was overly dramatic and lacked the sharp whit I've grown used to from the FU authors. I am an avid FU fan and have read all the books that branch out from the FU universe, so I didn't want to miss out on part of the story, but I didn't enjoy it.

Did not finish

I really tried to stick it out since I love the FU series and don’t want to miss any tidbits linked to other books, but I give up. I love all the other books and they all manage to fit seamlessly together despite all the different authors, but this one sticks out, and not in a good way.

I really don’t like how it’s written, I’m not quite sure how to explain it but there was just too much information given that should have been read between the lines, making the scenes feel unnatural. Lots of things characters said and did didn’t feel like how real people would talk or act in those situations.

There was also a lot of unnecessary attempts to be poetic, like “The conversation between us always flowed as easily as a river babbled over a bed of smooth rocks and pebbles.” When it would have been more natural to have the character think something like “The conversation between us flowed as easily as it always did.”

I also couldn’t get over the “daddy” thing which tinged any sex scene with cringe and disgust for me personally. So ridiculous and random, especially when they’re both in their early 20’s.