Review: Shiny! by Amy Lane

Will Lafferty and Kenny Scalia are both having sort of a day. Will gets fired for letting fifth graders read Harry Potter, and Kenny finds his boyfriend and his sex toys in bed with a complete stranger. When Will knocks over Kenny's trash can—and strews Kenny's personal business all over the street—it feels like the perfect craptastic climax to the sewage of suckage that has rained down on them both.

But ever-friendly, ever-kind Will asks snarky Kenny out for a beer—God knows they both need one—and two amazing things occur: Kenny discovers talking to Will might be the best form of intercourse ever, and Will discovers he's gay.

Their unlikely friendship seems like the perfect platonic match until Will reveals how very much more he’s been feeling for Kenny almost since the beginning. But Kenny’s worried. Will’s new-found sexuality is bright and glittery and shiny, but what happens when that wears off? Is Will's infatuation with Kenny strong enough to stay real?

Ahhhhhhh.

Amy Lane Lite is my favorite. *explodes*

There's just something so comforting about knowing I'm going to get a great story, super interesting characters, and a lovely HEA...minus Amy Lane's trademarked Angst and Pain.

After pulling myself out of a year-long vortex of freebie fanfics and online fiction, I decided to tackle the plethora of books I hadn't yet read, but that were waiting for me on my Kindle. Shiny! was right there...all shiny and new and eager to please.

And please it did! I really enjoyed this story, and the way Will and Kenny went from friends to lovers was lovely and magical. The characters felt real, and their struggles, while not super duper angsty, were touching and thoughtful. This is feel-good Amy Lane, and damn, did I feel good after reading it.

Will is my boo. (Side note: Sorry, the phrase "my boo" has been in my head ever since watching the blind auditions on "The Voice" recently. Pharrell called Gwen his boo, and Blake had no idea what that meant. ANYWAY...uhhh...back to my review. heh.) Yes, so...Will! He was awesome. I wanted to wrap him up and hug him close. He was just so genuine, authentic, sweet, and kind. I don't blame Kenny for being skeptical about how Will could possibly be real. He was Prince Charming, and I absolutely LOVED how he stood up for himself and his feelings later on in the book. He has a backbone, and he'll fight for what he believes in. The way Will accepted his sexuality--embraced it, really--was refreshing, and seeing him explore sex and loving with Kenny was sweet and emotional.

My only quibble was the structure of the story, which begins at a wedding with the guys (already a couple) telling the tale of how they met. When the narrative bounced back to the wedding at intervening points towards the end of certain chapters, the listeners' comments/reactions/etc. and Will and Kenny's own thoughts in "present day" pulled me a little out of the story.

Otherwise, though, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to fellow readers who aren't as much into the angst, but still appreciate and have fun with the characters Amy Lane creates. Super charming, super cute, super fun and shiny!

Also, isn't that cover kinda sorta just flat out adorable?? =)

More info on this book available at Goodreads!