Review: His Leading Man by Ashlyn Kane

He wrote a comedy. Fate directed a romance.

Drew Beaumont is bored of the same old roles: action hero, supervillain, romantic lead. He’s not going to let a fresh gay buddy comedy languish just because they can’t find him the right costar. No, Drew bats his eyelashes and convinces everyone that the movie’s writer should play Drew’s not-so-straight man.

Aspiring writer Steve Sopol has never had a screenplay optioned. Now one of Hollywood’s hottest properties wants to be in a movie Steve hasn’t finished writing—and he wants Steve as his costar. Turns out the chemistry between them is undeniable—on and offscreen.

Drew swore off dating in the biz, but Steve is the whole package: sharp, funny, humble, and cute. For Steve, though, giving in to the movie magic means the end of the privacy he cherishes. Will the credits roll before their ride into the sunset?


By now it’s not even a secret that I love the Dreamspun Desires series. I am hooked on it and even when I am stuffed full of the fluff, there is always room for more of these stories that simply make my hopeless romantic heart sing. Adding Ashlyn Kane to the mix just ramped up that singing to opera levels because I adore the romance Kane delivers and she delivered it hard Steve and Drew.
You know how some people you click with right away and everything’s smooth and good, and you just get along with them and trust them? And after a short time it’s like you’ve known them forever and you’re totally comfortable?
That quote right there can sum up my feelings with this book as well as the relationship and how it builds with Steve and Drew. I fell so easily into this book with the biggest smile my face as we get Hollywood Hot Shot Drew Beaumont screen testing with numerous actors to fill the role of Morgan on his latest film, Dog Gone. Not one of these guys is cutting it and when it’s suggested that the script writer, Steve Sopol show these boys how it’s done, Drew gets an idea to make this movie great.

I am writing this with the biggest grin on my face and I am trying to find words that aren’t gushing about the book but just like Drew and how he feels about Steve, I’m having a hard time.

I loved that we got both POV’s in this and I am always a fan of the dual POV. Drew and Steve are amazing together from the first read through and they chemistry was off the charts. This isn’t an insta love kind of story though the men are in constant contact with shooting the film, what we get is time for them to get to know one another and then act on the growing attraction. They take it slow though and the slow gave some beautiful moments of UST that had fantastic pay off.

This was so much fun. The whole shooting the movie deal was done so well it was if I could see all of it as it happened and loved being in Steve’s head while he wrote the script. Honestly, I would LOVE to see Dog Gone made as an actual film because it’s freaking funny! I laughed reading and I the chance to get to see all that dog napping and bro buds fall for each other would make my day!

Drew was a blast to read. He’s totally a diva and owns it and that makes a difference. He’s had his downfalls as a child actor, then teen actor who went off the rails to now an adult who is all about making his own decisions and choosing roles on his own terms. He has issues with being away from his family and his trust of relationship instinct isn’t the sharpest. His reason for wanting to be part of an independent film with a low budget and no publicity needs to be read first hand and he won my heart so damn fast it gave me whiplash. But being witness to his feelings for Steve and how he lets himself be vulnerable on all levels as he falls for his co-star was truly sigh worthy.

Steve! Oh wow did I love Steve. I knew from the beginning there was something he was hiding and even though I did figure it out, it was still great to watch it all unfold. Steve has always been someone who wanted to write so when he started script doctoring and was good at it, writing his own script was a natural progression. There are so many things I loved about Steve from being an introvert, his morning runs and everything to do with Rita and his mom. We know he has a few Hollywood ties and that he’s familiar with the business but Steve’s secret lends a bit of turbulence to this romance as it takes off on its flight to Happily Ever After. Don’t worry though, Steve and Drew are amazing co-stars and co-pilots of their destiny and they land carefully and comfortably.

Speaking of Steve being an introvert! I dug how that part of him was handled and not made to be a downer at all. Drew knows what Steve needs when he has peopled too much and he gives him his space even when he’d rather be the big spoon to Steve. It was lovely to see how Drew took care of him and how he never pushed Steve to be anything more than he was.

Acceptance and communication were abundant in this romance and it made the bumps the men had to get over easy to read because they worked through it. Even the recasting of a dog or fixing a scene, these two work so well together that I know they will be able to handle anything thrown their way.

Ack!

I have so much in my head right now from reading this and I have to tell you, I read this in a day. In a time where reading had started to feel like a chore for me that is telling you A LOT about this book. Once I started I couldn’t stop flipping the page while smiling and feeling all the emotions you get when you get lost in a book and fall in love with it. And I fell in love with this.

One last thing… the last lines of this book and the last page turn…what we get… Perfection. OMG. It was perfection.



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