This story is
devastatingly beautiful,
heartbreaking,
and feels horrifyingly personal.
Andrew, Thomas, and Dove, once an inseparable trio, begin their senior year in bording school, carrying the pieces of what's left of them after an unexplained, but terrible, unnamed thing shattered what they once were.
Andrew now more isolated than ever, even from his twin sister, who used to be his comfort and closest companion. Now he is left to survive senior year while battling anxiety and the gruesome thoughts that haunt his mind and the halls of the school mannor. Only Thomas remains by his side, his best friend, the boy he secretly loves, and the one now under suspicion after his parents’ disappearance.
They find themselves fighting monsters bone-deep into the woods every night. But the worst monsters may not be the ones lurking in the forest. They may be the everyday horrors of loneliness, fear, hunger, anger, violence, and grief.
This book is surely to leave you wondering where fiction ends and reality begins.
For it, With it, Never Against it
(When the Tides Held the Moon)
by. Venessa Vida Kelley
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Benny doesn't belong anywhere.
Not fully in this new city.
Not fully with other immigrants.
Not even fully within himself at the beginning of this story.
He's a Puerto Rican immigrant in New York. He feels isolated from this new world that rejects him for being brown, and isolated from other immigrants for being queer. He doesn't belong anywhere.
Until he does.
In a group of misfits. Rejected souls. Shared trauma and survival.
"For it, with it, never against it"
The kind of found family?I hadn't read since Green Creek.
And then, there's Rio.
The quiet moments between Beny and Rio are some of the most special parts of this story. Them making music together, literally and metaphorically, is a thread that runs so beautifully through the book.
Their connection builds slowly.
Survival.
Friendship.
Trust.
Safety.
Then something deeper.
Kisses read meaningful.
Love-making emotionally grounded while supernatural
You don't sit and question the mechanic. You just feel it. It makes sense, it feels intimate. The book isn't witholding by keeping certain moments closed door, it pulls you into the emotional core instead.
Benny's growth follows his connection with Rio and his new found family. Each character revealing a new layer of this world.
The last stage of Benny's growth happens when he accepts his love for Rio. It's only then he truly learns to swim.
Through Rio, he discovers a world that won't reject him, for as all of Neptune children are different and welcome.
This book spoke loud. of belonging and marginilization, of choosing your family, all while giving you a love story that feels earned.
The writing is polished, lyrical, tightly crafted, with layers of meaning, it is self reflecting, it is historically grounded.
🌧️ Still thinking about this book
🌶️ Spice: restrained, intimate, emotionally immersive
Why The Darkness Outside Us proves MM Romance isn't niche
“Intimacy is the only shield against insanity. Intimacy, not knowledge. Intimacy, not power.”
This book is a benchmark for this blog.
Not just as an MM romance, but as an example of why MM romance shouldn’t be treated like a niche corner of reading. The Darkness Outside Us works because it leads with story. It asks to be read as sci-fi first, tense, thoughtful, plot-driven, and lets the romance grow naturally inside that. That alone makes it a cornerstone for me, and part of why this blog exists.
At its heart, this is sci-fi. The plot is clever and tightly constructed. The story feels intimate and claustrophobic in a way that pulls you in rather than pushes you away.
The relationship isn’t there to soften the story or check a genre box. It is the reason the story works. Intimacy here isn’t a reward, it’s how the characters survive.
Ambrose and Kodiak's connection makes sense in a very human way: when you’re completely alone, connection stops being optional.
One small note, their age does feel like a choice meant to frame the book as YA. Personally, the story would have worked just as well with slightly older characters, given how important the mission is. That said, it never broke my trust in the story or in their bond.
This book constantly makes you question what’s real, what you’re being told, and who actually has control. That uncertainty creates tension, and it makes every reveal hit harder. When the pain comes, it comes fast, but it never feels pointless. The pain is part of the story, and the book earns it every time, because the writer makes you care.
The MM romance label shouldn't limit who this book is for. This isn’t romance wearing a sci-fi costume. It’s sci-fi that understands these stories only matter when they’re grounded in flawed, emotional humans. Keeping the intimacy mostly fade-to-black was the right choice, it keeps the focus on the relationship and the stakes.
These book carries a strong sense of “I would love you in any lifetime” energy.
I’d recommend this book widely, and confidently. It’s emotionally intense, deals heavily with isolation, and humanity, and you do need to be in the right headspace. But if you want a story that proves MM romance belongs in the larger literary conversation, this one is a powerful place to start.
📖 Plot check: heavy, clever, essential
🫠 MC attachment: yes, protective, lasting
🧠 After finishing: thoughtful, existential, changed
🫖 Comfort Read
🧠 Neurodivergency representation
🌶️ Spice: explicit and plot-relevant
🔁 Would I reread? absolutely — comfort reread
"We'll never be done. Me and You, we don't have an ending"
This was my first Emmy Sanders book and immediately knew this is one of those stories I’ll come back to when I need something kind.
My heart genuinely grew while reading about Ellis and Lucky. This isn’t a loud or dramatic book. It’s gentle, patient, neurodivergent, and deeply human, the kind of story where the feelings don’t hit you all at once, but quietly settle in and stay.
"I love you more than anything. I love you, I love you, so please, my beautiful firefly, fly back to me soon"
What really worked for me is how naturally the romance is woven into the characters’ emotional journeys. Nothing feels rushed or forced. The love grows alongside trust, care, and self-understanding, which made everything feel earned. The plot isn’t flashy, but it’s intentional, it gives the romance room to breathe instead of overpowering it.
This book felt like safety.
Like being seen.
If you’re in the mood for a character-driven romance with tenderness, emotional honesty, and neurodivergence representation, this one is the one for you.
Welcome to romancewithaplot, a cozy corner where I share my journey through reading mm romance where stories matter.
You'll find here, book reviews and recommendations about MM books:
📖 plot with intention,
💗 romance that shapes the characters,
🌿 comfort and emotional safety,
😭 yearning and 🔥 spice that serves the story
