Practice Makes Perfect

Housemates, Book 3

By: Jay Northcote

Narrated by: Mark Steadman

Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Getting experience with the guy next door seems like a great idea - until the lines blur.

Dev, a geeky first year physics student, has zero sexual experience and he's determined to change that ASAP. After a bad time in halls of residence, he's starting the summer term with different housemates and a new plan of action.

Ewan lives in the house next door to Dev. He's young, free, and single, and isn't looking to change that anytime soon. When awkward circumstances throw them together, Ewan offers to help Dev out in the bedroom in return for math tutoring, and Dev jumps at the chance.

They work their way through Dev's sex to-do list, but what starts as a perfect no-strings arrangement gets more complicated as their feelings for each other begin to grow. If they're going to turn their lessons in lovemaking into something more permanent, they need to work out how they feel about each other - before they get to the end of Dev's list.

©2016 Jay Northcote (P)2017 Jay Northcote

✫✫ 4 Stars ✫✫

Dev & Ewan's story was great. Their meet-cute is one I will remember for sure ;) This is a sweet and sexy couple who start as FOB and fall in love. Not only did they have a sweet non-relationship, they were seriously HOT too. Love that this book was very low on drama and in the end I was smiling because of their Happily Ever After <3

Mark Steadman was perfect for these characters.

Casual to not

I just adore this entire series so far and cannot wait to continue. I have been wanting to get back to it, and Ewan and Dev were just what I was needing. They are both first years and are neighbors. One of their first meetings is the best I have ever read and it was just perfect. I really loved how much emotion both MCs conveyed through that entire interactions. Then with Grindr it was just all the best. I thought this was a realistic depiction of how a friends with benefits arrangement can turn into so much more. While there was quite a bit of internal angst just with each MC not knowing where the other stood, it felt natural and perfect for them. I also completely loved this narration. Mark Steadman did a fantastic job with both MCs. I just love the way he brought the story to life. Definitely recommend this read to anyone looking for a college romance with a realistic quality.

Adorable Awkward Main Character

Oh my god! I loved this book!

Dev is an awkward vir*in character who is good at maths but relatively bad at...socialising. I could identify so much with the last one. Ewan is an adorable Scottish neighbour who needs help with maths so they come up with a plan. Dev helps Ewan with maths, and Ewan helps Dev to explore his sexuality. I don't know how to say more than I adore this book so much. This is a thing I keep saying about Northcote's books, but they are all just amazing <3

Light hearted and romantic

This series gets better with each new book.

Practice Makes Perfect have the ideal combination of sweetness, naiveté , hotness, romance and humor. I love listening to a Jay Northcote book as it takes me away from the every day hustle and grind and gives me a needed escape from reality.

Mark Steadman once again did a fantastic job in his narration , especially his hot AF Scottish accent for Ewan and the intensity and passion in the sexy scenes.

I am definitely addicted to this author work. Onward to book 4 .

Practice Makes Perfect, Housemates 3

My Favorite in the housemates series....
You can read/listen to this one as a standalone, but you will be seeing some of the characters from previous books so you might want to just start at the beginning since the first two books are great too.
This one is funny and cute and deliciously sexy. Dev is sweet and awkward and shy, kind of geeky and totally innocent. He likes to make To-Do Lists for everything, even when deciding what Sexual things he would like to learn about and do. lol. And once Ewan finds out how inexperienced Dev is he comes up with the excuse that he needs help studying math just to help Dev mark items off that sexy to-do list. I think this book was even better once you listen in Audio too, I was Laughing and Blushing right along with Dev and Ewan during Mark Stedman's narration of this book. I really liked his accent used for Ewan's voice since it was so different from all the others so far, I think it gave the audio a little extra that was needed for this book. It was really fun to listen to and will be one I come back to listen to again.

Hot New Adult Romance

Jay Northcote's words are a perfect match with Mark Steadman's narration. Great story that features friends with benefits to more.

great book in this series i love!

What made the experience of listening to Practice Makes Perfect the most enjoyable?

everything about it really.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Practice Makes Perfect?

the respect between them, its a hookup or a fling but they are still so honest and there is no big drama.

What about Mark Steadman’s performance did you like?

the narrator what very good, loved is accent and the way he differentiated each character. He was sometime a bit flat, especially in sex scenes when I would have liked more emotion or feeling in his voice.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes!!!

Any additional comments?

i really like Jay Nortcote's books, maybe because he is a trans man he can add another dimension of masculinity. I know it sounds odd but I feel like he really pays attention to things other books don’t. It's a nice read with a HEA from an author who brings a new edge to LGBT M/M romance, in my opinion anyway, and I loved it A LOT.I liked the fact the fast way the Dev and Ewan together was so believable even though it was fast and out of the blue. Dev is so cute and the way they explore each other is lovely, respectful while still sexy and romantic. I haven't read the other book in this series but now I will definitely read them, especially the newest one about a transgender man starting over and learning how to live as a man while transitioning. I think it's so important to have these voices and characters that are not mainstream but still in a romantic HEA setting.

Housemates and hot neighbours

What did you love best about Practice Makes Perfect?

I'm a sucker for Ewan's accent as he teaches Dev from the house how to...well... all the ins and outs of gay sex! Jay's third tale in this series is a cute addition. Jez and Mac are still together from the first book, and Josh & Rupert from the second book are the ones who help Dev move into the house after a semester from hell in the halls of residence.
Sweet little Dev was targeted by homophobic bullies, forcing him to look elsewhere for sanctuary.

What other book might you compare Practice Makes Perfect to and why?

If you enjoyed this, look for the other Housemates books.

Practice Makes Perfect

Any additional comments?

*Audible code provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author for my listening pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

Practice Makes Perfect is Book 3 in Jay Northcote's Housemates series. These books can be read on their own, but there are reoccurring characters and I think it would be more enjoyable to know all their stories as well!

Dev is a geeky virgin who lives by lists. He's moved into a shared residence after a bad incident in the dorm he lived in and is looking to change his virgin status. He's created a list to help, join a hook-up app in hopes of getting experience, try everything he can, get a boyfriend. It seems simple enough in his mind until he joins the hook-up app and is getting unexpected messages. Dev's new neighbor notices him on the app, and Ewan decides to talk to Dev about it despite the awkward first meeting they had. When Ewan goes to see Dev, instead he finds himself volunteering to teach Dev everything he wants to know in exchange for help with one of his classes. Both men decide to have a friends with benefits arrangement to work through Dev's list, but didn't expect the attraction they would actually feel.

This was a funny, awkward, sweet story of discovery with little angst. Dev was exactly what one expects of a young, smart, geeky boy and underneath that was a very sexual being looking to escape. Ewan was sweet and unexpectedly protective of Dev. This book was full of discovery between two college boys, who found more than they were looking for. As you can imagine, a story full of firsts was hot and steamy.

The narrator of this story is Mark Steadman and this was the first time I've listened to a narration by him. I enjoyed listening to him and found his voice to be very soothing. So soothing in fact, that sometimes I had to go back in the story to relisten because I would zone out and just listen to the narrator's voice and not focus on the words he was saying! He had a good pace, flow, and was able to provide recognizable different voices for characters.

Overall: 4.5 stars
Performance: 5 stars
Story: 4.5 stars

The ginger and the geek!

This was a quick listen and I didn’t want to stop once I started! Mark Steadman’s vocal performance was really good. He floated into the Scottish brogue seamlessly and had clearly distinctive voices for each character. He brought the emotions of the book to life!

I loved these characters! Dev the shy, nerdy virgin and Ewan the more experienced, more confident, not as studious neighbor (and a ginger to boot!) were the perfect balance for each other. These two were adorable together. They bumbled around each other a bit but when in a sexual haze held nothing back.

The story is a bit predictable but still good with not a lot of angst. I loved seeing Mac & Jez as well as Josh and Rupert from the previous books. They served as a great supporting cast in the story.

Love this series!

This is the third book in the Housemates series. Each story focuses on a couple who are brought together through a ‘friends with benefits’ type arrangement. In this case, Ewan teaches Dev ‘how to do’ the various sexual acts on his ‘to-do list'.

Dev is different from most characters I’ve read. For an eighteen year old, he is extremely mature, as are all the Housemates characters—think teenage bodies with men’s heads. Dev has set ways of doing things and is well organised. He is very logical, down to writing lists of things he has to do. He is a socially awkward and rather geeky guy, susceptible to bullying, and struggling to find his way during his first year at uni. All these things made him adorable.

Ewan is the gorgeous ginger hunk of a neighbour who volunteers to help Dev gain experience with sex in exchange for some Maths tutoring.

Of course, they soon fall for each other and give the impression they are only going through the motions so Dev is prepared for his first boyfriend—which Ewan is at pains to point out he doesn’t want when they first meet.

And herein lies the problem. Neither has the nerve to admit their arrangement has led to feelings developing for the other, nor do they have the confidence to ask the other out on a date. One partially overheard conversation almost leads to the end of their budding friendship. I particularly enjoyed the angsty scenes that followed this miscommunication, though. I just love all those tingles. And no worries, it’s all resolved pretty swiftly.

There are plenty of cute moments between the two guys along the way. Plus their inhibitions seem to disappear during their very steamy and hot sex scenes together. We are treated to recipe tips too as Ewan teaches Dev how to cook. They make a captivating couple, although I would have liked more dialogue to show them getting to know each other and what they liked about the other person rather than focusing mainly on the actions of what they do.

I liked that we get glimpses of the previous happy couples—Jez and Mac and Josh and Rupert—and see they are still very much in love as well as contributing to this storyline.

Overall, another enjoyable sexy and very British story from Jay.

The audio version is superbly narrated by Mark Steadman. I'm glad he has continued to narrate this series. I like his voice and the fact that it sounds the right age for these young characters. He narrates at a steady pace and packs plenty of emotion into the more intense scenes. His distinctions between the various voices and personalities are subtle but clear, and his Scots accent for Ewan was soft and sexy to match his personality.

Incredible series

Great series by Jay Northcote, I've listen to the audio version and read the Ebooks.
Read by Mark Steadman who brings Jay's characters to life and I actually feel like I'm part of the group of Housemates by the end and that the college students are your friends.
I always feel a loss when I finish one of Jay's books but he always promises an HEA.