2nd Edition
Boone Phillips needs a girlfriend and fast! His family reunion is approaching, and if he shows up alone, his mother will throw every woman in sight at him. But the only “woman” Boone trusts enough to ask is Honey, the alter ego of his gay, cross-dressing best friend Rob. Desperate, he begs for Rob’s help.
Rob has doubts about the wisdom of agreeing to help because he’s had a crush on his straight friend for years. After a practice date, however, he decides to go along with the charade, despite the chance that Boone might discover his secret infatuation.
Between nosey relatives, illegal moonshine, and the sight of Rob in white lace panties, Boone starts to wonder if he’s as straight as he’d thought. When an earth-shattering kiss sends Rob running to protect his heart, however, Boone learns some surprising things about both his family and himself. Now he needs to convince Rob to give him another chance, or else his first taste of Honey might also be his last.
Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon
Tams gives this one 4 stars...
Short, sexy and steamy... my three favorite colors! This was just a fast, fun read about two best friends, one wants more but is content to be just the best friend as long as he's got Boone in his life. The other, well his arrow may not be a straight shooter after all. The synopsis pretty much tells you everything I could without giving spoilers. What I will say is that I devoured this book in one setting, but it is a novella. Boone's southern family was amazing and I really enjoyed the way the Author conveyed both men's thoughts as the relationship progressed to something more. Now, you have to keep in mind that these two young men have been friends for a couple of years. This is not an Insta-love story, at least I don't see it that way. Rob has known what he wanted since the start, but was content with the friendship, realizing the object of his infatuation was straight. And Boone, well he quickly realizes the reason why he's never been able to have a relationship with a girl for any period of time is because he's shopping in the wrong department.
Definitely worth a read folks, I just loved it!
Excerpt...
“I’m sorry I’m late,” he said, giving Rob an apologetic look. “I got a phone call right when I was trying to leave.”
“No problem.” Rob reached for his wineglass and took a sip, watching Boone with concern. Boone was usually laid-back and difficult to fluster, and Rob was curious about what had gotten him wound up. “Did something go wrong with your project?”
If it was something work related, Rob might be able to help. They worked at the same video game company in Silicon Valley, although in different departments. Rob was a graphic artist and Boone was a software developer; they’d met a few years before when they were assigned to the same game.
“If only it were that simple.” Boone made a face. “No, it’s family. My situation isn’t as complicated as yours, by any stretch of the imagination, but they still have their moments.”
“Is Big Mama pestering you to visit again?”
Rob had started calling Boone’s mother “Big Mama” after hearing how much influence the Phillips matriarch wielded over her South Carolina clan. He’d met her once when she came to San Francisco to visit, and he could tell that for all her steamroller ways, she adored Boone, which Rob envied. Then again, Boone was a straight former high school quarterback, not a gay drag artist like Rob.
“Not exactly,” Boone replied. “You know how I’m going home week after next for a visit? Well, my mother decided that would be the perfect time to have a family reunion. So instead of a long weekend at home, I get to deal with the Phillips and Underwood clans, which means all my aunts and uncles, the cousins, both sets of grandparents, my sister, her husband and kids, and my brother-in-law’s parents.”
“Oh, fun,” Rob drawled. He could scarcely wrap his mind around the idea of a family reunion that large. His own family was on the small side and wasn’t big on reunions.
“That’s not the worst of it either.” Boone paused as Kamon returned to their table, bringing his usual glass of wine. He thanked her, then took a deep swallow. “I may need something stronger before the night is over,” he continued, “because Mama asked if I would be bringing anyone special home with me.”
Rob knew all about Boone’s love life—or rather, the lack thereof. Despite being handsome, intelligent, and having a well-paying job, Boone hadn’t had much luck with relationships. He’d had one bad experience with a clingy girlfriend, and most of his other attempts at dating had ended with Boone and the woman in question as friends rather than lovers.
“What’s so bad about that?” Rob asked.
Boone rolled his eyes. “Oh, if you only knew! I thought I was going to escape with the continued comments about when I was going to settle down, but I think Mama is about to ramp up the pressure, which means that if I don’t bring someone home with me, at least half-a-dozen ‘nice girls’ will be invited to the reunion and thrown in my path.”
“There’s a simple solution to that,” Rob replied with an insouciant shrug. “Take a girl home with you. You’ve got plenty of female friends. I’m sure one of them would be willing to help you out for a few days.”
“Oh Lord.” Boone took another sip of wine, then gave Rob a rueful smile. “I love Mama, I really do, but you didn’t see her when my sister got married. We called her mother-of-the-bride-zilla. Yes, I have female friends, but I can’t think of a single one who would be speaking to me afterward if I took them home to Mama.”
“Really?” Rob leaned forward, his curiosity shifting into morbid fascination. Boone’s experience with family was so far removed from his own that he could scarcely believe Boone’s stories of his sprawling Southern clan were all true. “Why?”
“Let’s see… it would probably start with Mama giving her the fifth degree about her family, her education, her career, and her ex-boyfriends. All in the most polite way, of course. My mama is always polite, but she has interrogation tactics the FBI would kill to get their hands on. Then the questions about children would start, and I can’t think of anyone who would be willing to put up with that just to do me a favor. Especially not for days on end.” Boone shook his head, looking glum.
“Yeah, you’d have to offer a huge incentive.” Rob gave him a sympathetic smile. “Your exes like you, but not that much.”
“Even if any of them did, I’m not sure they’d have the strength to hold out against her. It would take someone who was really self-confident, you know? Someone with a big personality who wouldn’t be cowed by Mama’s bulldozer tactics and who could lie while looking like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.” Boone looked thoughtful, and then his eyes suddenly widened. “Oh God. I know just who I need. I need Honey.”
“What?” Rob gaped at Boone, stunned to have “Honey” Coombs, his drag alter ego, brought up as a possibility. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Actually, no, I’m not.” Boone leaned forward, a gleam of enthusiasm in his dark blue eyes. “In fact, I think Honey might be the only woman who would stand a chance against Mama. She’s larger-than-life, she’s confident, and she’s gorgeous. She’d be perfect!”
Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who have been writing together for over a decade. Their collaborations encompass a wide variety of romance genres, including contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and action/adventure. Their work includes the Blood Bathory series of paranormal novels, the Herc’s Mercs series, as well as two historical Westerns: Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. When not writing, they can often be found scheming over costume designs or binge watching TV shows together.
Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.
McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.
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Sounds intriguing. The excerpt left me wanting more
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
I love Ari McKay books! This one sounds right up the alley I love to read. Thank you! pringlez22@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review & excerpt!
ReplyDeletelegacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com
This sounds like a lot of fun to read. Congratulations and much success, Ladies!
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