Review: Midnight Musicals and Coffee Ice Cream by Layla Dorine

Takashi never imagined that a simple call to an escort service would result in meeting Zander. What started out as a date to the winter gala at his office, morphed into a series of paid dates that offer him several unique opportunities to get to know the handsome, enigmatic escort.

Zander hates feeling like an ornament. After four years he’s ready for a new occupation. Unfortunately, he isn’t skilled enough for any job that would pay him the money he needs to make to support himself and his family. So, he stays with Mateo’s agency and keeps on taking clients, refusing to call them dates because that’s too personal.
Until Takashi.

Now their both trying to make the best of the brief moments they have together, blurring the lines more and more with every passing night. Takashi wants more, Zander wants to give it to him, but only after he gets the rest of his life worked out. Only problem is, he has no idea how.

 DNF - 25%

I really wanted to love this story, as the blurb grabbed my attention, but unfortunately this didn't work for me. It is a slow burn, and generally I’m okay with that but for some reason I had trouble engaging with the story and I didn’t really get to that part.

Takashi’s disinterest in relationships in the beginning kind of set the tone for me for the part of the story I read. Even though he was very interested in Corban, I couldn’t seem to shake his overall ennui which manifested in how I read the pages.

I was also not keen on the edge of judgement for sex workers in what I read, and this further set my mood while reading. I respect that Corban had his own way of making money, but there were a lot of veiled jabs at sex work from both characters and it came across poorly.

I did try to pick it up again a few more times, thinking fresh eyes and a clear mind would help, but I must admit defeat with this one and walk away.

I thoroughly enjoyed Layla Dorine’s book Guitars and Cages so I will definitely pick up more from this author. Unfortunately this just missed the mark for me.

I recommend checking out other reviews to determine if this is something you would enjoy.

A review copy was provided for an honest opinion.


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