My first MN Bennet!
I was super excited to be able to get an arc from this author, as I have been eyeing their other works.
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Title: Bend Him Break Him
Author: MN Bennet
Genre: MM dark college romance
Ages: Adult
Publisher: Indie
Release: Sept, 15th, 2025 !!
Order: Amazon | Bookshop.org
Colton has always walked the line of golden boy meets bad boy. It helped catapult his popularity as the starting pitcher in his first year of college and during the scandalous exposé when he came out as bi. But Colton struggles with the accolades he receives, balancing who he is versus who he was versus who he’s expected to be. Because before Colton was a queer icon for star athletes, he was a closeted bully who made one guy’s life completely miserable.
Isaac hates Colton. But to be fair, Isaac hates everyone—maintaining an icy distance from even his closest friends. Mostly, Isaac wants to shove Colton off the pedestal he’s been placed upon. Just because he came out publicly doesn’t mean he’s some sort of hero. It doesn’t help that Isaac once fawned over the closeted jock in high school. He cared deeply for Colton and did everything he could to please the star athlete, even keeping their private rendezvous a secret. Which meant Isaac paid the price of utter humiliation, taunting, and bullying as the weirdo loner gay guy with a creepy crush.
When Isaac catches Colton cheating on an exam, he plans to ruin his enemy by destroying his academic standing and costing Colton his baseball scholarship. Isaac wants nothing more than to see Colton kicked out of campus. But when the jock offers to do anything to keep this a secret, Isaac decides to test the lengths Colton is willing to go to make things right between them. Isaac’s over secrets, but this is an opportunity unlike any other. He presents an ultimatum that’ll push Colton to the edge of his limits. In this sordid hate-fueled lust, all Isaac wants is revenge and all Colton wants is redemption.
First Impressions:
Loved the university name! lol
Uh-oh. I was a little worried this would be too cringe for me after the repeated use of “alphahole” in the dialogue at the beginning. I even wrote in my book journal: conversations between Isaac and his college friends = unrealistically cringey ‘alphahole’ wutttt
However, I was pleasantly surprised by how solid the writing turned out to be. Once I mentally purged the word “alphahole,” from my brain. I had to admit…not all the dialogue was cringey. Some of it was actually pretty funny.
Overall thoughts:
Colton is the classic dumb himbo jock and Isaac the brooding goth, but I really appreciated how the author gave them more depth. They definitely leaned into their stereotypes, but they were also so much more than that. Bennett has a way of making you genuinely invested in the story through the characters.
Yes, it’s dark, but it’s also funny. It’s enemies-to-lovers with dom/sub vibes, and honestly? This book has it all—and does it all well. I think a lot of dark romance gets side-eyed (myself included) because the writing can be juvenile, but I had zero issues with the writing here. The dialogue was a bit much at times (see: alphahole lol), but not so much that it turned me off completely.
That said, I do feel like Isaac never really got his revenge? I mean, yes, it’s enemies to lovers, but Colton seemed a little too eager to go along with the whole “revenge” thing. That and they never really worked through their past issues? I felt it wasn’t addressed fully.
Second-hand embarrassment/anxiety:
⬇️very minor spoilers⬇️
Okay, this one’s somewhat on me because I knew going in that it was a dark bully revenge romance. And now you’re probably wondering, “EJ if you hate bully romance, why did you even read this?” Great question. And what can I say… I hate bullying plots, but I love revenge arcs, and those two unfortunately go hand in hand. Sooo sue me.
Anyway, once I got a sense of what had happened to Isaac in the past, I just skipped a few pages ahead and all was good—anxiety-wise for me, that is… not for Colton or Isaac.
The main focus here is Isaac getting his revenge on Colton, which Colton doesn’t seem to mind Isaac’s so-called “revenge.” So I didn’t really have any major secondhand anxiety moments after that… except—
The constant outdoor sexcapades:
Secluded bathroom stall? Fine.
In a car, parked far away from anyone? Fine.
The dugout after a game?? Not fine. I was just sitting there like, WHAT ARE Y’ALL DOING… I’m nervous!!
So yeah—rather than secondhand embarrassment, this book gave me more secondhand anxiety. Constantly on edge, hoping no one would walk in mid-scene. The tension wasn’t just in the plot, it was in me. 😭😂
I also started wondering what the third-act situationship drama was going to be. And my lord… can you give me a break please??
Spice
The smut? Often and well done. Honestly, I think this book has some really well-written scenes, and if you’re into the dom/sub dynamic, this would be the perfect read for you. Just make sure to check the trigger warnings.
random bits and bobs:
- varsity baseball team?? Are there varsity teams in college? I thought that was just in highschool…
- Also do pitchers hit? Colton also hits in this and I thought pitchers just pitch…clearly I have never played baseball before hahaha
In Conclusion:
Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️ (4 hearts!)
Since this is a smutty romance, I’m using my hearts rating system—but honestly, this book holds up beyond the spice. It’d easily be a 4-star read on its own merit too.
Rereading this & I feel like the tone of this review might come off more negative than I intended—but I really enjoyed this one! & if you read the blurb and thought you might be interested, you will definitely enjoy this one. It delivers exactly what it promises, and then some.
This post contains affiliate links which earn me a commission at no additional cost to you.
ejbookblog 