Books

I’ve Got This by Louisa Masters

Derek Bryer is very good at what he does, and he loves his job as one of key managing directors of the sprawling theme park complex, Joy Universe. But he’s having one of the worst Mondays of his career. Not only does he have to deal with a grisly murder at one of his resort hotels, but half of the performers from the main theme park are down with a severe case of food poisoning.

Trav Jones, an actor/singer/dancer who is part of a touring production that is playing in one of the Joyville theaters, gets the call to come work in the theme park. Quadruple pay for a couple days work? Sure, why not?

Derek comes to the rehearsal hall to personally thank the performers for stepping in on such short notice. Trav is immediately attracted to Derek but is also put off by his cocky bravado and take-charge attitude. Derek is immediately attracted to Trav but is thrown for a loop when Trav doesn’t seem swayed by his charms. He’s aloof, stand offish.

What’s that about? Everybody loves Derek.

While putting out fires at Joy Universe, Derek can’t stop thinking about Trav, so he does some digging and finds out that Trav is the most famous Broadway performer that no one has ever heard of. Critics and audiences adore him, but he never plays a lead role and seems unwilling to take his career to the next level.

After a few days, things finally calm down and Derek takes the opportunity to go see Trav in his show. Derek is mesmerized by his performance and afterward goes backstage to congratulate the cast and chat up Trav.

Derek’s personal assistant, who probably know Derek better than he knows himself, mentions that Trav is volunteering at a local community theatre and needs some reliable transportation. Derek offers Trav his old car which he has yet to sell.

They go out to dinner and Derek learns that the reason Trav was so uncomfortable when they first met, was that he reminded Trav of the alpha male jocks who used to torment him in school. They talk and get to know one another during dinner, Derek showing Trav that there’s a real person beneath the golden boy persona he projects to the rest of the world.

There’s definite chemistry between them and a sizzling goodnight kiss proves to be an auspicious start to a whirlwind summer fling. Things get serious rather quickly and their relationship is soon tested when, through a strange set of circumstances, Trav is forced to go on in his show in the lead role.

Derek passes this boyfriend test with flying colors, instilling confidence in Trav, calming his anxiety, assuring him that he has more than enough talent to pull this off, and generally being awesome by supporting the man that he loves in every conceivable way.

The next test comes in the guise of the sociopath who murdered her husband at Joy Universe, spinning a wildly improbable conspiracy theory to shift blame and get her off the hook by disparaging the theme park, Derek specifically.

It’s a PR nightmare and Derek is at the center of the storm. Trav is furious that Derek seems intent on handling it all himself, unwilling to share the burden. Derek eventually comes to realize that there are, in fact, many people in his life who genuinely care about him, including Trav and the entire team at Joy Universe.

Some shrewd legal moves from Joy Universe and Derek’s expert handling of the challenging situation repairs the momentary damage to the park’s reputation and cements Derek’s position within the company. Which leaves the situation with Trav.

With the current run of his show now over, it seems like the only option for Trav is to return to work in New York City. But with a bold, audacious new plan from the team at Joy Universe, there might just be a way for both Derek and Trav to stay together and achieve their perfect fairytale happily-ever-after.

To put it simply, I think everything about this book is perfectly swoon-worthy. I loved Derek and Trav. Their chemistry and heat was sweet and genuine.

Not only were the characters wonderful, but I thought Louisa Masters really brought this story to life with the unique worlds that our heroes were a part of – careers in the theatre world and theme park hospitality/entertainment.  So much fun, so interesting.

It’s clear that the author thought things through in regard to the fictional world of Joy Universe, and the glimpses that we get behind the scenes were intriguing and fun, but it’s not bogged down in detail. No worldbuilding overkill. No info-dumps.

Derek and his assistant often do a lot of ‘walk and talk’ scenes like on TV’s The West Wing. It’s a fun, active way to get across a lot of information without the characters having to sit and spout a lot of exposition.

I’ve Got This is a terrific sweet romance, with to-die-for heroes in a wonderfully unique setting.

This review originally appeared as part of episode 207 of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.

The Amorous Attorney by Frank W. Butterfield

The Amorous Attorney picks up just a few days after the events in The Unexpected Heiress, the first book in the Nick Williams mystery series.

Eager to get his new business venture off the ground, Nick needs the services of his lawyer friend Jeffrey Klein, who’s gone missing, presumably too busy canoodling with Taylor Wells, his movie star boyfriend.

At the request of the foulmouthed fixer at MGM, Nick and friends head to LA and quickly find Jeffrey shacked up with his beau at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Jeffery wants to run away with the handsome hunk, but Nick makes sure he understands what a truly terrible idea that is. Heartbroken, Jeffrey returns to San Francisco with Nick and Taylor goes back to work.

One day later the news hits the gossip columns that Taylor is engaged to co-star, an up-and-coming Hollywood ingénue. Taylor promptly goes missing again. So Nick, his boyfriend Carter, and a whole passel of their friends and collogues head south of the border to Ensenada where they find Taylor and Jeffrey at a hotel on the Mexican riviera.

Jeffrey is ready to chuck everything for the man he loves, but after a few days, he comes to realize that he and Taylor might not have what it takes to make it in the long run.

That evening, in a very Agatha Christie turn of events, everyone gathers together, including Taylor’s fiancé Rhonda, who has her girlfriend in tow. Dinner doesn’t go as expected. Jeffrey gets sloshed and drunkenly muses about what might have been if things hadn’t ended with Nick, who is harassed by Don Maldonado, a local corrupt politico who is convinced that millionaire Nick wants to buy the hotel.

The next morning, Nick and Carter are awakened by a gunshot. They find Taylor dead and Jeffrey is nowhere to be found. The handsome and flirtatious Captain Esparza takes statements from the hotel guests, but it’s clear that he has his eye set on both Nick and Carter, inviting them to his home later that evening.

They arrive at the soiree and are shocked to find what must be every gay man within a fifty-mile radius in attendance. The odd evening ends without any clues as to who killed Taylor.

Esparza questions Nick and later sequesters him, along with Carter and the rest of their friends, on a yacht. They’re busy enjoying their detainment when the plot involving Esparza, Moldanado, and others comes to light. It’s all a scheme to gain local political power. Nick uses his quick wits to diffuse the situation, but it also helps that Carter is an excellent shot.

Jeffery is found and cleared of all wrongdoing, while Taylor’s killer faces karmic justice.

Our heroes return to the city by the bay, ready to face the next chapter in their lives.

Author Frank W. Butterfield does a wonderful job with this, the second book in the Nick Williams series. It builds on the previous installment, telling us more about the lives of the characters that we’re getting to know (and love), while showing us the bond that’s beginning to form between the large cast of intriguing characters.

We get to know Nick and Carter even more this time around, and its impossible not to root for this pair of mystery solving lovebirds. They’re seriously nuts about one another and I like the little movements between them that show how two men, in a committed relationship in the 1950’s, continue to grow and evolve together.

It’s also cute how, in this installment in the series, they’re ‘trying out’ calling one another husband, which is pretty progressive considering the time in which they’re living… there might’ve even been a ring involved in one of the quieter moments of The Amorous Attorney.

I’d like to quickly mention that I also enjoy the author notes that Butterfield includes at the end of each novel, explaining what is based on fact, or is fictional, and the research he did into the specific time and events depicted in each book.

I loved this installment in the adventures of Nick Williams and am looking forward to what he and his friends get up to in the future.

This review originally appeared as part of episode 207 of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.

Family Camp by Eli Easton

Nice guy schoolteacher Geo is a brand-new foster dad to 5-year-old Lucy and surly pre-teen Jayden. A week at family camp should be the perfect bonding experience for all of them, but things get off to a rocky start when Geo’s car runs out of gas on the drive up to Big Bear. A breathtakingly handsome good-Samaritan helps them out, and they’re soon back on the road.

Pro baseball player Travis loves returning each summer to the camp that his family runs. It’s home to him. Helping an attractive, but clueless dad and his kids on his drive in wasn’t any trouble, but an off-hand comment gives Travis the impression that Geo has no interest in providing a forever home for his foster kids.

Travis was adopted. Maybe Geo isn’t so cute after all.

When Geo shows up at Camp Evermore, Travis tries his best to avoid him, which proves difficult since Travis’ job is to make sure that the campers, allof them, have the best possible time.

After sharing a series of outdoor activities (canoeing, hiking, sing-a-longs) Travis is drawn to Geo, Lucy and Jayden. They might be a new family, but Travis can see that they’ve got something special. After spending more time together, Travis and Geo iron out their misunderstanding – Geo is, in fact, doing everything in his power to adopt Lucy and Jayden.

The kids start to come out of their shells, making friends and bonding with Geo. Even some dramatic moments (because what’s family life without a series of unexpected disasters?) can’t deter this newly formed family.

Some of the camp moms point out that the flirtatious attraction between Geo and Travis hasn’t been particularly subtle. Their quiet moments shared after lights out and stolen kisses in the woods just aren’t enough. At the parents-only party on the last night of camp, Travis takes Geo back to his room at the main house and they spend an amazing night together. They want to make things work despite the obstacles facing them.

Travis receives word that a tabloid site has published a picture of him kissing Geo and he immediately leaves for L.A.

On the final morning of camp, Geo is disappointed and a little broken-hearted that Travis didn’t even say good-bye. He also must console his kids, because if there was anyone who loved Travis more than Geo, it would be Lucy and Jayden.

Travis is given the choice of denying the picture or telling the truth. He does what no other pro baseball player has ever done – he comes out of the closet.

Once the details of his career are ironed-out, Travis has Geo, Lucy and Jayden come to one of his games. After Geo wraps his head around being the boyfriend of a famous athlete, they all live happily ever after – as a family.

I’m so glad that I read ‘Family Camp’. It was the perfect end of summer read.

I loved Geo and Travis so very much. Two terrific characters who over the course of the story open their hearts, learn to trust and create a family that was perfect for them.

I really loved all the secondary characters as well, they provided a great support system for our heroes on their journey towards love.

Speaking of journeys, though the bulk of the story takes place over the course of just seven days, I didn’t feel like the romance felt rushed or unrealistically insta-love-ish. I think the author made the most of the interactions the characters had, building the foundation of their feelings one camp activity at a time.

This review originally appeared in episode 204 of the BigGayFictionPodcast.