Well apparently in the case of Ricky you can use one word a lot and I do mean A LOT!!! Ricky's favorite word is 'sweetheart' that's right, it's his tagline if you will. He calls everyone 'sweetheart'. He actually uses the word somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 times give or take a 'sweetheart', that's right I counted. I have to admit overusing a term of endearment is one easy way to haul me out of a story, but ironically in the case of this book it didn't seem to bother me that way. I suppose it was because Ricky used the term the most of us would use 'he' or 'she' or 'hey you', it really didn't hold any personal intimacy.

 

I found Ricky to be an interesting character. He was flamboyant, totally over the top, he ran a bookstore by day and was a Drag Queen DJ by night. He was also brave and outspoken and fearless when he needed to be. Except when it came to his personal life than Ricky was a runner whether he was actually running as in packing his bags and getting the hell out of Dodge or running figuratively by making rules that kept people at arms length, rules like...1. No names, 2. No second dates 3. No breakfast and 4. No falling in love. He'd loved once and he'd lost, making emotional detachment his coping mechanism.

 

Ricky lost the love of his life 10 years ago and he wasn't going through that again if he could avoid it. I can empathize with that, I understand not wanting to feel that kind of heartache again but seriously I'm of the 'better to have loved and lost' school of philosophy myself. So on this level I just couldn't quite connect with Ricky, other than to say it made me sad that someone who was so vital and vibrant and had so much to share with the world was hiding...such a waste of life.

 

This brings us to Chase. Chase is handsome, covered in tats and mouth-watering muscle. He runs a gym with his brother, he lives for his son, Dylan, the happy result of a one night stand that ended with Chase becoming a single father nine months later when there was a knock on his door and a baby delivered into his arms. 

 

Chase's commitment to Dylan was 100% except on that one night a week when he went out. The one night that resulted in him crossing paths with Ricky...a beaten and badly injured version of Ricky but still one that Chase felt compelled to help and found himself drawn to.

 

'Ricky' ended up just being ok for me. It was a bit on the longish side and I felt like it could have been a bit shorter and probably delivered a better paced story. The other thing that took away from this story for me was the number of secondary characters that just were not likable and ironically this was also one of the things that impressed me about this book, so let me explain...

 

Probably the only secondary character that I really liked was Chase's neighbour Annie. She was a sweet and kind grandmotherly type and I loved the lack of judgement that she had and her quiet but solid acceptance of Chase.  As for Chase's family...holy crap!!! I have to admit, that a family like this produced a nice, sweet guy like Chase is astounding. His father was simply a jerk from the word go, his brother was following in daddy's footsteps and the sister-in-law had a bitch level all her own. The step-mom didn't do much more than blip my radar but I think she might have been ok. And last but not least we have Chase's son, Dylan.

 

While I by no means disliked Dylan, I didn't really like him either.  I don't actually recall the last time I encountered a child real or fictitious who left me feeling so ambivalent. For me Dylan just had no personality and given the emotional response that this author drew from me in regards to secondary characters I'm a little surprised and disappointed at the lack of personality displayed by Dylan. For me it just didn't feel right.

 

Also I just need to quickly mention Ricky's friend Tom. I'm not even really sure why but I just didn't like this character. I didn't think he was bad or evil in any way. He just struck me as whiny and not someone I'd care to know.

 

The fact that the author created secondary characters that long after I've finished the book can still bring out a bit of a visceral reaction in me...case in point the sister-in-law, Natalie, she was definitely my least favorite person in the whole book. Natalie was the personification of a pretentious, self-centered, self-absorbed bitch (sorry, I just don't have another word for her). That the author was able to draw such strong feelings from me about a secondary character, for me, speaks to the author's skill as a writer and his ability to create vivid images.

 

Unfortunately when my emotional responses are stronger to secondary characters than they are to the MCs than there's just something not working quite right for me. So while I am impressed with the authors ability to create these strong visual and emotional responses within me, as a reader I needed to make more of an emotional connection with the MCs than I was making in order for the story to really work.

 

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A copy of 'Ricky' was graciously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

Review originally posted at Sinfully.

3.5 stars

Although this book is a standalone, if you’ve read [b:Timing|29756459|Timing|Ashley John|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459536880s/29756459.jpg|50115224]Timing you’ll remember Ricky as Tom’s friend and also remember his alter-ego, Miss Kitty Litter the drag DJ. I really liked Ricky in that book and was glad to see more of him here, though it may be harder for you to warm up the brashness that is Ricky if you haven’t already seen his sweet, caring side.

Ricky equates love with heartbreak. He has spent last 10 years having meaningless sex, following rules that keep feelings out of the picture. He’s basically a “one and done” kind of guy. He says he’s happy the way he is, but his friends Tom and Cole aren’t convinced. Soon even Miss Kitty Litter isn’t enough to keep Ricky from cracking.

Tattoo covered, muscular gym owner Chase lives for his six year old son. He works and goes home except for the occasional nights where he finds a hook up at one of the gay bars. He tolerates the father that walked out on him and his family when he was a kid for the sake of his son. His brother seems to be a lot like his father and his bitchy sister-in-law harps on him non-stop about his parenting skills and finding Dylan a mother. The only one who seemed tolerable in the family was Barbara, the woman his father left the family for, but she really didn’t have a lot of page time. He allows his awful family to shape the way he thinks, and is convinced he needs to find a mother for his son, so he hides his attraction to men.

When Chase is on his way back to a hook-up’s apartment one night, he finds Ricky badly beaten in an alley and calls for help, staying with Ricky in the hospital until he wakes up. When Ricky takes him up on his offer of some self-defense classes, they strike up an unlikely friendship that soon turns physical. Chase’s brother makes it clear that he doesn’t know why Chase is wasting his time hanging around Ricky and Chase’s bigoted father turns out to be the officer who is investigating Ricky’s case. Chase tries to keep the nature of his relationship with Ricky secret from his family and Ricky tries to keep Chase at arm’s length.

These two have plenty of secrets that slowly come out and some hurt more than others. The real crux of the problem however is can Ricky let go of the past and risk his heart again on Chase and, does he even want to? For Chase the problem is bigger. Even as he starts to admit that he’s not completely straight, and starts to accept himself, he still allows the family that thinks so little of him to have a lot of sway over his life choices, and they’ve convinced him he needs a mother for his son. He is afraid to come out to this horrible family for some reason and goes to great lengths to hide Ricky from his family and his family from Ricky.

I was a bit hot and cold on Chase. I understood he was trying to figure out his sexuality and trying to do what was best for his son, but one moment he’s being a doormat and the next saying he didn’t care what anyone thinks, it was pretty frustrating at times. Ricky was pretty consistent throughout although he does take some drastic steps when all the feelings between him and Chase got too strong. I would have liked to see Ricky interact more with Chase’s son Dylan as the little time we did see them together was pretty awkward and adorable.

The two had great chemistry and I did enjoy much of their time together. They are both trying so hard to fight the best thing to have happened to either of them in a long time though and it did, at times, become a bit repetitive. I think a bit of editing would have definitely helped the flow of the book.

There was a lovely bit of support in Chase’s elderly neighbor Annie and of course, Cole and Tom are back and have plenty of interaction with the guys too. The book definitely had its highs and lows for me, but I think if you liked Ricky in Timing you’re going to want to read this. There was a lot of back and forth, but not a lot of angst. If hurt-comfort is your thing and you don’t mind occasionally wanting to knock some sense into your MCs as they really fight against getting to their HEA Ricky will probably work well for you.

DNF at 12%

I normally don’t rate books I DNF at 12%, but this was so so bad, I have to give it a rating.

When I read the blurb I got al giddy. This looked like such a great hurt/comfort book! But boy, this really really sucked.

For me it was hate at first sight with MC Ricky. He calls everyone sweetheart in a condescending tone, and have everyone treat him like the queen he is. He also just leaves his best friend at a flea market they’re both at, to go screw some guy he just picked up there. And when he is still tying off the condom, he literally kicks that guy to the curb, naked. A real gem this guy.

And let me tell you about the other MC, Chase.
Chase is a single father of a 6 year old. But this poor man has ‘only’ 1 night a week to go clubbing. So he arranges a babysitter every Friday night to pick up guys. Yes, he has a hard life.



And oh, even though he fucks a different guy every week, he’s not sure he is gay. He could be just curious….



And let me tell you some more about Chase. This guy does not have a cock, he has a MANHOOD. Such a sexy word don’t you think. Oh yes, come here with your manhood.
And also this monster is 10 INCHES LONG. That is a lot of manhood dude! Does he have to roll it up to get it in his pants?



I stopped reading after Chase’s anaconda came out to play with some random guy he picked up at the bar.

Review originally posted at Sinfully.

I’ve read two other Ashley John stories that were both pretty angsty, but this story was light and sweet. A city boy meets farm boy romance, where timing is everything, even if it’s all wrong. Tom and Cole are about to learn that love doesn’t care whether you’re ready for it or not.

Tom’s life is very neat and orderly and pretty boring. He is a journalist with a local weekly paper, a job he doesn’t particularly like with a boss who seems to hate him, and is toiling away for a promotion he desperately needs but is sure will never come. The rest of his time is spent in his apartment watching The X-Files with his cat, Mulder. It’s been three years since the horrible ending of his last relationship and since then he’s done nothing but work. The timing isn’t right for dating since he’s working on his career and he’s not interested in meaningless sex. His best friend Ricky aka drag queen Miss Kitty Litter is so exasperated with Tom that he bets him 100 quid (that Tom doesn’t have to lose) that he doesn’t have sex before Ricky’s birthday.

Cole has lived his whole life on the farm owned by the aunt and uncle who raised him and he can’t imagine working or living anywhere else. Circumstances have forced him to take a job in a gay bar in Manchester to help keep the farm and him and his aunt afloat. Cole’s sex life consists of occasional hook ups, but his main concern is making sure his aunt and the farm are taken care of.

Both Tom and Cole live in the same village but have never met until literally running into each other on the train platform. As both are rushing for the train Cole, nervous about his first day at work, spills his coffee all over a late and hungover Tom. Cole would like nothing more than to continue talking with Tom after their train ride, but Tom doesn’t seem interested. Luckily for Cole they run into each other later that day, but Cole isn’t very smooth and things don’t go much better. They do start up a friendship and agree to a date. Both are at a time of change in their lives and Tom wants things to move slowly, but it is clear early on that they are just so good together, he’s not too sure he can hold out.

Through some missteps, a growing friendship a little hot sex and a few X-Files marathons, the two men fall into an easy and loving relationship neither expected nor experienced before. Tom is still uncertain, hanging onto his job but feeling more and more at home on the farm and in the house Cole shares with Aunt Belinda. While Cole is more certain of what and who he wants out of life, Tom finds it hard to fully invest in what Cole is offering and trust in things. This leads to a bad decision that Tom immediately regrets, but hurts Cole deeply nonetheless, setting up a bit of drama at the end of an otherwise angst free story.

Tom shows real growth during the story and is the character with the most personal issues to get over. It took me longer to warm up to him than it did Cole, but the two have good chemistry and I was really pulling for Tom to grow a pair and do the right thing. Lucky for him he has not just Cole, but also Ricky who is a great secondary character. Sassy and supportive of Tom and later Cole, Ricky’s had his share of pain and loss and urges Tom to think about what’s really important to him. I wouldn’t mind seeing Ricky get his happily ever after in a book of his own.

Ashley John’s words paint a lovely picture throughout the story and I could easily picture the characters and the settings. The story flowed at a very good pace and I never felt things dragging. The big misunderstanding at the end wasn’t drawn out and the Epilogue guarantees us that the two men are sharing a very happy ending. With lots of love, a bit of humor and some engaging characters, this was a feel good love story that would be a perfect little weekend pick me up for anyone who loves a sweet romance.

I loved the last book I read from this author, but this one didn't work for me at all. Some things really bothered me. One of those was how welfare was thrown in. That isn't how welfare works. Elias would never have been eligible in the first place, and people on welfare have to actively be in school or a work placement program. Instances of things being used incorrectly kept coming up and distracting me from the story. I was still liking the guys getting to know each other, but then the stuff with the mom just went so far. Everything was too overly dramatic for my tastes. This book was definitely not a win for me, but I will check out more from this author in the future.

***copy given in exchange for an honest review***