Release Day Review: Two Pet Dicks by John Inman AND GIVEAWAY!!!!

Old friends and business partners, Maitland Carter and Lenny Fritz, may not be the two sharpest pickle forks in the picnic basket, but they have big hearts. And they are just now coming around to the fact that maybe their hearts are caught in a bit of turmoil.

Diving headfirst into a whirlwind of animal mayhem, these two self-proclaimed pet detectives strive to earn a living, reunite a few poor lost creatures with their lonely owners, and hopefully not make complete twits of themselves in the process.

When they stumble onto a confusing crime involving venomous reptiles, which is rather unnerving since they’re more accustomed to dealing with misplaced puppy dogs and puddy tats, they take the plunge into becoming real-life crime stoppers.

While they’re plunging into that, they’re also plunging into love. They just haven't admitted it to each other yet.

Hello Friends! So, today is awesome and you are going to thank your lucky Unicorn Stars you came to visit the clubhouse today. Why, you ask? Because I read an awesome book and the author of said awesome book is offering up an eBook for one super duper lucky commenter. Check out the end of the review for more information and how to enter. 

Now, to get to the Two Pet Dicks . . . 

Sometimes you get lucky enough to read the book that is perfect for you in that moment. This was that book for me and my moment. I needed some fun and John Inman delivered it in spades with these Two Pet Dicks. This is the story of two best friends who decide to open a pet detective agency. They’ve been best friends since they were kids and friends with benefits since they were 13. They’ve always been each other’s firsts, even with boyfriend breaks as they got older. Maitland and Lenny are adorably dense and so San Diego, I loved it. Being a San Diego native along with the author, I can tell you that our town has a certain vibe to it that John Inman captures perfectly.

So, Maitland and Lenny have gotten the boot out of Lenny’s dad’s basement and have opened a storefront for their business. The name, Two Pet Dicks, sounded much better in their heads than it looks on the sign above their door, but it’s all they had cash for and these guys definitely don’t sweat the small stuff. Thus the entrepreneurs embark on the new phase of their business. They get to work right away with an interesting mix of cases; a stolen lizard (that come with bitter exes), a missing foul mouthed and mangy parrot (whose owner is also foul mouthed and mangy), a lost dog with an owner who can only pay with an ice cream cone (he’s an adorable neighbor kid), a missing gerbil (from a familiar setting) PLUS Maitland’s own incontinent Chihuahua, Pudding Pop and Lenny’s wayward brother’s monkey, the perpetually horny, Ed. This is really only the tip of the iceberg of the crazy.

While there are a lot of laughs and plenty of physical humor, it’s not ridiculously over the top so that you feel like your reading a gay version of Dumb and Dumber. Maitland and Lenny may not be, as the author says, “the sharpest pickle forks in the picnic basket”, they’re really good guys with good hearts. I couldn’t help but love them both.

The story is told from Maitland’s POV and while he has no problem pointing out Lenny’s shortcomings in the common sense department, he does it in such a sweet loving way that it never comes across as mean spirited. Plus, in the same breath, he’ll sing Lenny’s praises and the balance is perfect for their relationship. Not to mention, Maitland has his own challenges that are plenty obvious and he has no problem admitting them as well.

The entire tale is entertaining as hell from start to finish. What I loved the most though is common for John Inman’s books and that’s the evolving relationship between the MC’s. While I was told about the history that Maitland and Lenny shared, I saw it and felt it right from the beginning. Their conversations read so naturally I could easily see that these guys had been best friends forever. Then, as the relationship starts to evolve into something more, these guys stay in character and roll with it organically and didn’t depend on unnecessary angst or miscommunication to more the story along. That’s not to say they jumped from friends to boyfriends, that wasn’t the case. But, they did start with the sweet little confessions, the extra touches and the lingering looks. It was really the sweetest, dorkiest courtship I’ve ever read and I loved every little ‘moment’.

Maybe we were now heading down a road we’d been shooting toward all along but were too dumb to see coming. 

We couldn’t be that stupid, could we? Let me answer that. Yes. Yes, we could be that stupid. What other two adults would try to make a living in this day and age as pet detectives? Yeah, I think “stupid” probably describes us pretty well.

There was a mystery that was moving along at the same time their relationship was moving forward, so they had interruptions at pivotal moments, but with each little conversation, the guys would share something new and move closer to big confession time. Since these guys have been friends with benefits since they figured out how fun dicks were, the sex was hot as hell and the temp increased as the book progressed. Their new found feelings made the connection stronger and the sexy times more meaningful. As a reader, I appreciate a good character connection, it makes the boning more than just boning. The feels make the sexy times just that much more delicious.

One little thing that stuck with me was Lenny’s use of the shortened version of Maitland’s name, Mait. Really, not a big deal, but it struck me as adorable and I realized how much I like that name. Obviously Lenny did too. Ok, one more little thing, Lenny could not get a handle on ‘herpetologist’ and that running joke amused me to no end. Herpetologist? Herbivore? Hermaphrodite? All the same right? Oh Lenny, bless your heart.

I would be completely remiss to not mention the absolutely fabulous appearance of Arthur from the Belladonna Arms. He was gerbil sitting apparently when the critter went missing and hired the Dicks to locate the wayward rodent. I like to think he was the perfect Fairy Drag Mother for Lenny and Maitland making sure the love pollen was spread judiciously over the two. Good to know the love pollen works for more than just the residents of the Belladonna Arms.

This is one of John Inman’s FUN books, so there were HEA’s all around and the bad guys/gals got the justice that was their due. I started this on a Sunday afternoon and didn’t break until I finished. I got laughs and just the right amount of feels and heat to keep me hooked from the time the guys hung their sign above the door.

For more information on Two Pet Dicks, head over to Dreamspinner Press

Who’s ready to win a book? Yeah, we know you are! 

In the comments section, share your funniest pet story and we’ll pick a winner at random to win an eBook of Two Pet Dicks. Get your stories in by March 25th, 2016 9pm PST (and leave us your email address), that’s when we’ll pick a winner.  Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hrs or we will choose another winner. 

Good luck!