Review: A Taste of Honey by Ari McKay

2nd Edition

Boone Phillips needs a girlfriend-now! If he shows up to the family reunion alone, his mother will throw every woman in sight at him. But the only "woman" Boone trusts enough to ask is Honey, the drag queen alter ego of his best friend, Rob. It's a crazy idea, but Boone is desperate.

Boone wins Rob over to the idea after first going on a "date" with him as Honey, but everything feels different once the plan is set in motion. Between nosy relatives, illegal moonshine, and the sight of Rob in white lace panties, Boone starts to wonder if he's as straight as he thought. When an earth-shattering kiss sends Rob running, however, Boone learns some surprising things about both his family and himself. Now he needs to convince Rob to give him another chance, or his first taste of Honey might also be his last.

First Edition published by Torquere Press, 2016.

GAH! This was exactly the book I needed after a blah read. It’s books like this that give me the spark that ignites my reading frenzy and reminds me of why romance is solidified deep in my heart. This was fun. This was sexy and this was everything to me snuggled warm in my bed on a chilly Sunday night where I stayed up past my bedtime to read.

Le freaking sigh.

Told from the dual POV’s of BFF’s Rob and Boone, we meet the men as they are having their standard weekly dinner out so neither of them have to cook. When Boone tells Rob his family is having a function and very southern Mama has asked if he was bringing anyone special home, Boone gets a bit freaked out. He doesn’t have the best track record with dating and he simply couldn’t force his over the top meddlesome family on any ex-girlfriend friend of his but Boone needs to find someone and quick. It’s a good thing the person he trusts most in the world is not only his best friend, but an amazing drag queen.

When Boone suggests Rob’s drag persona, Honey, accompanies Boone home Rob balks for a few reasons. The main one, he’s been crushing on his straight BFF for years and knowing he’d have to play girlfriend to Boone and all the sweet talk and touching that comes along with it? It’s a double edged sword for Rob but he wants to help Boone out so he suggests if Boone really wants it, he’ll earn it and by earn it, he’s got to take Honey out on a date before they head south.

ACK! The date was so much fun. I love that Boone knows what Honey looks like when she’s on stage but when he shows up at her apartment to take her out, he is met with a milder version that knocks his socks off. It was so sweet to be in Boone’s head as he acknowledged how gorgeous Honey looked and how much of Rob was still under the makeup and clothes of Honey. We get bits of Boone and his always wondering how straight he really was and seeing him flirt with Honey and get lost in her was adorable.

The boys decide they are going through with this charade and once they get to Boone’s childhood home, the show began. I was curious how it would all go down, how they would play up the relationship and the fact that Boone’s mother has met Rob before and how Rob’s sister Honey just happened to appear and be Boone’s girlfriend. I have to say I loved Boone’s mama and his uncle Jack. They took to Honey like bees (yes, I went there) and welcomed her into the family with open arms.

Knowing that Rob’s family is not accepting of his life nor sexuality, it was lovely to see how open Boone’s family was with Honey. The whole food prep scene between Honey and Boone’s mother melted my heart and Uncle Jack’s moonshine opens up more than anyone could have imagined.

When Moonlight and Moonshine can be blamed for many things and in this story, you can’t fight the moonlight when true love is what’s at stake. True love and beautiful men in white lace panties… *bites fist*

GOODNESS! Seriously, when Boone makes a move it was amazing and I am so glad we were in his POV for it so we know who he was with. Boone is slow on the uptake when it comes to his feelings but once he owns them, they are his truth and nothing will stop him.

The end of this was so sweet and then really sexy. I liked how Boone’s family took the news about Honey being Rob and their own admissions to the men and the romantic ending was nothing less than what I expected.

A Taste of Honey is a short, sweet and sexy (the best trifecta there is) friends to lovers story about taking the long road to see what is right in front of you but taking every pleasure in the ride.

Review: Locked Out by Josephine Myles

Getting accidentally locked out of his hotel room on Valentine’s Day night is embarrassing enough for teacher Martin Cooper, but the fact he’s stark naked makes it even worse. It doesn’t help that the one person he runs into is Rod, the gorgeous man he’d been checking out earlier in the hotel pool. But when Rod offers Martin a refuge, the night heats up. Now if only Martin could get the hang of this seduction business…

Previously published as part of the Brit Boys: On Boys anthology.

This short little gem has just the right balance of adorable, heat and angst to make for a perfect afternoon escape read. Martin accompanies his newly single sister to a Valentine resort getaway she had already bought and paid for before she got dumped, so Martin is along to keep her company and be a good drinking partner and listener. The two of them read as siblings from start to finish. Snark with a side of love so they were really good together and their banter gave me a good idea of Martin’s character in a short period of time.

Martin does not lead an exciting life. He’s a teacher in a quiet little town with a history of a couple of boyfriends, and not a single one-night stand. As he says, it was “Just another way in which I failed at being a gay stud”. After engaging in a little eye fucking with a delicious man in a Speedo by the pool, Martin resigns himself to a solo weekend with his sis and a continued lack of one night stand love. Circumstances being adorable, Martin manages to lock himself out of his room nekkid in the middle of the night. His sister is caught in a serious sleep buzz so she doesn’t hear him knocking. Sooooo, who comes walking down the hall? Delicious Speedo Man!

One thing leads to another and Martin finally gets his one night stand. Thing is, it was more than what he had hoped for, he honestly felt a connection to Rod (Delicious Speedo Man). Problem is, he gave Rod a bit of false info as to who he was and what he did for a living. The bit of misinformation was enough to keep Martin locked up in his lie, because for every moment he let it go on, it became too difficult to come clean. He also was pretty unclear as to how one night stands worked and listened to his sister instead of his own brain. Not that she was necessarily off the mark, she advised him to make himself more interesting, live vicariously through his new persona, because, why the hell not? That fits her personality, not his, so it’s no wonder the whole thing backfired on Martin like it did. Fast forward to real life and Martin is back at work and still has regret about not being able to pursue the connection with Rod. Instead he snuck out before morning and hasn’t seen Rod since.

This is a sweet RomCom of a story though, so the two do meet again under real life circumstances and it was a little awkward but Rod is a good guy and some honest communication moved the story along in an angst-free way. The author did a really good job of building both Martin and Rod for a shorter story. There was enough backstory and personality shown without just being told making it easy to get to know both of them. Plus, the chemistry they shared was damn hawt, the connection between them was obviously more than one night stand level heat so it really made me want an HEA for them. I was right there with Martin, I felt his regret as well as his nervousness and excitement when they met up again. And finally, I absolutely loved the role that Martin played in the bedroom with Rod. His sister told him to live it up outside of his ‘boring’ routine, I think Martin just needed to find the right partner to make that be a thing for him.

**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**

For more information on Locked Out, check it out over on Goodreads.

Review: His Heart's Desire by J.P. Barnaby

If Santa Claus could have one wish, what would it be? 

Each century, Father Time selects a new Santa Claus. In return for his service, the lucky St Nick receives his heart’s greatest desire. Unfortunately, Matthew Carpenter is down to his last night as Santa and has no idea what his heart desires. 

Short story previously released as part of the 'Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas, Manlove Edition anthology.

I never do this but... never is a long time and, really, that cover?!?! What's going on with that cover? It has exactly bupkis to do with this story. I mean, the dog and the dude are cute and all but... B.U.P.K.I.S.

Aside from an odd cover choice this story is sweet, sexy and a bit of a novel idea for Santa jizz. 

Matthew chose to become the jolly man himself at 21. He left his home and family for the North Pole and 100 yrs of Santadom. At the end of 100 yrs of service he will be rewarded with his heart's desire.

However, that day is upon him and he's yet to decide what exactly his heart desires.

Good thing Father Time has a little omnipotence. He reunites Matthew with his childhood bestie, Luca, and gives them until Noon the following day to become reacquainted. High Noon, if you will. Will they decide they are each other's heart's desire?

Now what do you suppose two boyhood friends who are both virgins would come up with to occupy themselves for 24ish hours? SPOILER ALERT: The did not play Battleship I'll tell you that.

I fully expected this to be kinky which it wasn't, but it's sweetness hit the spot and put a smile on my face. They're both a little bit awkward, very eager and happy just to be together, innocent, cute. It's too short to really sink your teeth into it, but for 20 odd pages it delivers the vanilla Santa jizz with two cherries on top.

Yap! I totally went there. Sorry. Not sorry.

And that ending... *cue D'AWWWW*

A feel good Santa jizz nugget sure to please even the Grinchiest of Grinches.

A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more on Goodreads.

Review: Toy With Me by Annabelle Jacobs

Aaron is hiding something in his drawers—but that’s not his only secret.

When he moves in with his new housemates, Aaron intends to tell them about his sexuality from the outset. But a large pink item of a personal nature, given as a joke, scuppers his plans and he misses his chance.

Fellow housemate Rob is out and proud. He guesses Aaron is gay, and when he finds Aaron’s other secret concealed in his sock drawer, he takes it upon himself to help Aaron out with a little sexual experimentation.

What do you need to know about this book? Let's summarise:

1. University guys
2. Huge pink dildo
3. Fun times (including first time toy play...)
4. .....actually, nope that's all you really need to know. I suppose I could tell you that it's a thoroughly enjoyable read, written in Annabelle Jacobs wittily romantic way. Or that, even though it's <10k it is still a proper story and not just PWP. Or that it's one of the sexy secrets quartet. But, truly, you don't need to know that stuff. Points 1-3 cover it quite enough.

A copy of this story was given in exchange for an honest review

For more information check out Goodreads