and honestly compared some of Ms Celeste other stories...in particular 'Midnight Clear'/'Need You Now' for me this one just didn't measure up. I was a little put off by Chris's 'I don't know what my sexuality is so I'll be ACE...oh wait, hot man sighting, I must be gay.' while admittedly I'm neither ACE nor gay, I am pretty sure that it doesn't quite work that way. I really think that it would have been a whole lot more convincing given Chris's lack of experience and how sheltered he was in regards to matters of sexuality, sexual identity and just sex in general if maybe he had just been portrayed as someone who was confused and a bit uniformed in this area but it was what it was.

 

The other part that just wasn't working for me was the extended breaks in the mystery part or the story that happened so that Micah and Chris could explore Chris's sexuality...you remember Chris, the 'ACE' character...trust me folks he was definitely making up for lost time.

 

There were also a couple of issue in regard to the mystery part of this story that I found to be a bit questionable so that wasn't really going tickity boo for me either but I'm not going to spoil anything for future readers by saying more than this.

 

Derrick McClain provided the narration for this one and if I'm rating strictly in regards to that aspect of things I'd probably be rating this a bit higher but in spite of the solid job provided for the narration it wasn't enough to make me overlook what didn't work so I'm leaving this one at 3 stars overall.

Originally reviewed at Sinfully.

3.5 stars

This is definitely Mercy Celeste light. The lightest I’ve read from her and I did have fun with it. It’s a friends to lovers story set on the honeymoon cruise Zack was to take after he married his best friend Brian’s horrible sister. Luckily the marriage doesn’t happen and Brian decides to join Zack on the trip.

Brian and Zack grew up together and shared an apartment when they went to college. Best friends with benefits, they also shared hand jobs throughout the years. They went their separate ways when Brian dropped out of college and moved to California. Brian has known he was gay since he was young, but never told anyone, not even Zack. He is still closeted to his family, but has been able to live his life out and proud since he moved. Just one reason he never plans to move back to Atlanta. Another secret he’s been keeping is that he’s been in love with Zack for years.

Zack really has a lot to learn about himself. Zack suffers from low self-esteem, not helped by the comments from his fiancée. He may be book smart, he’s a medical doctor waiting to find out where he will be placed for his residency, but he doesn’t think he has much to offer anyone. He also knows that he loves Brian but never considered that he may be in love with Brian. Zack struggles with his sexuality a bit, but mostly seems to roll with it. After all, he has been physical with Brian since they were teenagers. As Zack reveals more of his relationship with Ronnie and his past, it appears he may be demisexual, although Zack only labels himself as Brian-sexual.

Zack and Brian are both sweethearts and they are adorable together. During their 10 day “honeymoon” they play pretend husbands in public, they drink, they fight, they have sex and they get in touch with their true feelings for each other. Some of my favorite scenes were when they were just having fun together being tourists and you could see the deep connection they’ve built over the years outside of the overwhelming lust that seems to rule when they are alone in their cabin. There were times where I felt the story could have been streamlined a bit. There were some repeated thoughts and conversations, but not all of them bothered me. Some of the time it actually made it feel more real because seriously, Zack is a mess and Brian is afraid of losing Zack so the flip-flopping on things shouldn’t be surprising. These guys are working through something that had been beneath their friendship for years; Brian coming out and telling Zack he loves him and Zack just realizing and coming to terms with the fact that he’s made some bad decisions just to keep close to Brian. So some of that repetition worked and some was frustrating.

But of course, what would a Mercy Celeste book be without family drama? With the men out of contact for the duration of the cruise, it doesn’t happen until the end, but when it does it explodes! We see just how dysfunctional Brian’s family is and comments and hints dropped by Brian finally made sense. Even though Brian behaves quite badly toward the end, these two do get their happy ending and we do meet someone who I believe will be one of the MCs in the next book.

I’m a sucker for Mercy Celeste’s brand of angst and drama and WTF moments and while this was a lighter story there were still those elements. Despite some uneven parts, I enjoyed the story and will be looking forward to the next in the series.

I reviewed the for a Quick Bite at Sinfully. Click here for your chance to win a copy from July 3-5.

Although labeled book 6 and the latest published in the series, I think Any Given Sunday is best read as book 3 in the series as it fills out the story of Bo and Dylan, and runs concurrently with the first two books. Although a number of people have issues with Bo and Levi’s story, many more adore the storyline and AGS fleshes out what occurred during the six years Dylan was in the service and the details of Bo and Levi/Liv’s romantic relationship. There’s plenty of hot sex here, but also plenty of real emotion.

I was thrilled to have the fuller story and I think this might also change some minds on the Bo and Levi front when you see just how important this relationship was and how heart-breaking the whole situation turned out to be. It also gave me a better understanding of how it affected the three men even after couples Bo and Dylan, and Tracy and Levi were happily together. It also provides more insight into how Bo and Dylan dealt with their relationship during their long separation. A must read for fans of the series!

 

Laissez les bons temps rouler, bebe!



Whoo boy, was this an unexpected surprise from MC.
A Jizzmas gift from a fave MC couple, Darcy and Caleb (Remy)!

Mercy Celeste is my kinda comfort read: hot times between passionate guys and dramatics to keep the page turning.

And for less than 100 pgs, we get just that.

Lagniappe starts months later from the ending of Behind Iron Lace. The couple is going strong in Oregon. But Darcy is Darcy, clueless and trying to help everyone. And Caleb's new restaurant & bar is almost open.

But their exes won't let the lovebirds be great. Jealousies, light OTT antics and a plot twist that you could see a mile coming happens in this Jizzmas tale. Throw in insatiable sex and chemistry when their exes aren't testing Darcy and Caleb's limits.

The ending isn't one I saw coming (for a pair of secondary characters). I'm kinda happy with it. Expect twists

a baby!

(spoiler show)

This is an erotic glimpse in the future. The Cajun is just as hot and volatile. *grins*

There were a few editing issues but I didn't care. I came for Darcy and Caleb and their hot loving.

And it's what I got.

Also, I'd like to thank my secret Jizzmas Santa for getting me this. You're A++++!

Was thrilled to get more Caleb and Darcy but I still can't stand Bailey so I really did hope she wouldn't have played a part here (yes I hold grudges and would have been happy without her getting a HEA).