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A review by booksafety
Lost in a Moment by Nicky James
3.0
Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.
3.5 ⭐️
I’ve been putting of writing this review because I had to sit with it for a little while. I got super invested in this story immediately and I could barely put it down, even when I wish I could because it was hurting so much. I know this author is angsty, and it was marketed as ‘moderate angst’ while someone else said it was low angst. Apparently what others feel is moderate or low is sky high to me, lol. I would have been fine if the focus stayed on Gray and his recovery, but there was a lot of relationship angst, pretty much from the very start until the epilogue. That is not to say that everything Gray was dealing with didn’t turn angsty, but it’s a different beast and the kind I can handle really well. It just felt like it never once let up, and reading it was draining.
“Beck.” I didn’t turn around. He didn’t ask me to. “Just… If you decide this was a big mistake, I understand. But please…please don’t shut me out. I can forget it ever happened if that’s what you want. But I can’t lose my best friend.”
I am always amazed at how visceral the fear feels in Nicky’s books. She does not shy away from tricky subjects or complicated characters, but she does it so well, most of the time. It’s a balance not many authors can manage.
I’m not a stranger to Nicky’s more assholeish characters, and they usually redeem themselves or are assholes in a more endearing and understandable way (Takoda from The One That Got Away, for example), but I’m afraid I didn’t end up liking Beck all that much, even after the very end. He did not have an easy time either and it’s understandable that he struggled, but there was something about his overall personality that didn’t lend itself to a main character in a romance book (for me). His derogatory comments about women did not help. A former hookup has braces and he comments on her lack of blowjob skills several times throughout, and when he goes on another date with her he tunes her out because she talks a lot, and then thinks about how it makes sense he put her mouth to use last time, so she’d stop talking. I’m paraphrasing, but you get the idea. I genuinely considered DNFing at this point, but I was massively invested in Grayson’s story.
A complicated story for sure, and maybe not the perfect fit for me, but this author is so talented and kept me in it anyway.
When the last of my anxiety dripped away, I was left feeling ashamed and alone. Rattled from the experience but empty in my core as though I was missing something vital.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & content tags ⚠️
Best friends to lovers
Bisexual awakening
Forced proximity
Only one bed
Hurt/comfort
Disability rep
Pining
Lifelong crush
Chronophobia (fear of the passing of time)
Tattooed MC
Playboy MC
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Details of injury and MC being trapped for several days (on page)
Hospitalization and off-page amputation
Brief references to IVF (MC’s parents)
Dark self-deprecating jokes
Vomiting
Suicidal thoughts and ideation
Anxiety and symptoms of depression
PTSD symptoms
References to child neglect (MC, past)
Mentions of alcoholism and gambling addiction (MC’s parents)
Derogatory comments about woman by MC
Destroying property in anger/during mental episode
Internalized homophobia
Long periods of dissociation (on page)
Physical shoving between MCs
MC detained by police (off page)
Brief mention of friend committing suicide (off page, past, no details)
Explicit sexual content
Alcohol consumption (drinking to deal with trauma)
Panic attacks
Prescription medication (anti-anxiety, anti-depressants)
Using sex as emotional outlet (in unhealthy way)
Obsessive compulsive behavior
Mild dub-con moment: Beck grinds against Gray while asleep, nearly to completion. Gray is awake and does not stop Beck, instead encouraging it.
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: Yes. Beck sets up date with former hookup in order to get laid (after both have started catching feelings, before hookup with each other). He goes home with her after the date and they grind and make out, but he leaves before it goes further. In general there is quite a lot of talk about hookups with other people.
Beck goes to a gay bar alone at 89%, trying to see if he’s attracted to men other than Gray. The MCs have been together for a while at this point.
Breakup: Sort of, and over a month of separation with minimal contact. Beck also ghosts Grayson for three days after their first hookup.
POV: 1st person, dual
Genre: Contemporary romance
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile
Main characters’ age: 30 and 30
Series: Interconnected standalone
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages: 273
Happy ending: Yes
Fifteen years loving him the wrong way, and fifteen years hating on every girl he introduced me to, talked about, fucked, or made eye contact with. It made me question just what kind of friend I was most days.
“I’m not gay,” I pronounced slowly and with emphasis. “This isn’t happening, Gray. Do you hear me? I was asleep. It wasn’t you I was thinking about.” “Believe me, I know. I accepted that a long time ago.” Fuck him for looking so goddamn defeated and torn up.
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?igsh=MWZ3azhkdDc2Y2ludg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
3.5 ⭐️
I’ve been putting of writing this review because I had to sit with it for a little while. I got super invested in this story immediately and I could barely put it down, even when I wish I could because it was hurting so much. I know this author is angsty, and it was marketed as ‘moderate angst’ while someone else said it was low angst. Apparently what others feel is moderate or low is sky high to me, lol. I would have been fine if the focus stayed on Gray and his recovery, but there was a lot of relationship angst, pretty much from the very start until the epilogue. That is not to say that everything Gray was dealing with didn’t turn angsty, but it’s a different beast and the kind I can handle really well. It just felt like it never once let up, and reading it was draining.
“Beck.” I didn’t turn around. He didn’t ask me to. “Just… If you decide this was a big mistake, I understand. But please…please don’t shut me out. I can forget it ever happened if that’s what you want. But I can’t lose my best friend.”
I am always amazed at how visceral the fear feels in Nicky’s books. She does not shy away from tricky subjects or complicated characters, but she does it so well, most of the time. It’s a balance not many authors can manage.
I’m not a stranger to Nicky’s more assholeish characters, and they usually redeem themselves or are assholes in a more endearing and understandable way (Takoda from The One That Got Away, for example), but I’m afraid I didn’t end up liking Beck all that much, even after the very end. He did not have an easy time either and it’s understandable that he struggled, but there was something about his overall personality that didn’t lend itself to a main character in a romance book (for me). His derogatory comments about women did not help. A former hookup has braces and he comments on her lack of blowjob skills several times throughout, and when he goes on another date with her he tunes her out because she talks a lot, and then thinks about how it makes sense he put her mouth to use last time, so she’d stop talking. I’m paraphrasing, but you get the idea. I genuinely considered DNFing at this point, but I was massively invested in Grayson’s story.
A complicated story for sure, and maybe not the perfect fit for me, but this author is so talented and kept me in it anyway.
When the last of my anxiety dripped away, I was left feeling ashamed and alone. Rattled from the experience but empty in my core as though I was missing something vital.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & content tags ⚠️
Best friends to lovers
Bisexual awakening
Forced proximity
Only one bed
Hurt/comfort
Disability rep
Pining
Lifelong crush
Chronophobia (fear of the passing of time)
Tattooed MC
Playboy MC
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Details of injury and MC being trapped for several days (on page)
Hospitalization and off-page amputation
Brief references to IVF (MC’s parents)
Dark self-deprecating jokes
Vomiting
Suicidal thoughts and ideation
Anxiety and symptoms of depression
PTSD symptoms
References to child neglect (MC, past)
Mentions of alcoholism and gambling addiction (MC’s parents)
Derogatory comments about woman by MC
Destroying property in anger/during mental episode
Internalized homophobia
Long periods of dissociation (on page)
Physical shoving between MCs
MC detained by police (off page)
Brief mention of friend committing suicide (off page, past, no details)
Explicit sexual content
Alcohol consumption (drinking to deal with trauma)
Panic attacks
Prescription medication (anti-anxiety, anti-depressants)
Using sex as emotional outlet (in unhealthy way)
Obsessive compulsive behavior
Mild dub-con moment: Beck grinds against Gray while asleep, nearly to completion. Gray is awake and does not stop Beck, instead encouraging it.
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: Yes. Beck sets up date with former hookup in order to get laid (after both have started catching feelings, before hookup with each other). He goes home with her after the date and they grind and make out, but he leaves before it goes further. In general there is quite a lot of talk about hookups with other people.
Beck goes to a gay bar alone at 89%, trying to see if he’s attracted to men other than Gray. The MCs have been together for a while at this point.
Breakup: Sort of, and over a month of separation with minimal contact. Beck also ghosts Grayson for three days after their first hookup.
POV: 1st person, dual
Genre: Contemporary romance
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile
Main characters’ age: 30 and 30
Series: Interconnected standalone
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages: 273
Happy ending: Yes
Fifteen years loving him the wrong way, and fifteen years hating on every girl he introduced me to, talked about, fucked, or made eye contact with. It made me question just what kind of friend I was most days.
“I’m not gay,” I pronounced slowly and with emphasis. “This isn’t happening, Gray. Do you hear me? I was asleep. It wasn’t you I was thinking about.” “Believe me, I know. I accepted that a long time ago.” Fuck him for looking so goddamn defeated and torn up.
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?igsh=MWZ3azhkdDc2Y2ludg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr