Why I read it: I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley. I’m a big fan of this author’s work so it was a lovely surprise to see a new release.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) The man of your dreams could be sitting right next to you.
Former boy band member Justin Hayes isn’t looking for a man. He just wants a quiet, scandal-free Christmas at home in Chicago, out of the public eye. But his best friend and bandmate is subjecting everyone to his destination wedding, and Justin can’t dodge the “best man” bullet. All he has to do is get to the island on time, survive the reunion, and get Chuck to the altar with as little drama as possible. What could possibly go wrong?
Jack Bassinger’s own plans for a quiet Christmas have been dashed by the summons to his daughter’s hasty wedding with a man Jack has hardly met. On the bumpy flight to the island, he finds himself comforting a nervous—and extremely attractive—young man. One hasty sexual encounter in an airport bathroom later, they both feel much better. No one ever has to know, after all.
Now Justin and Jack must find a way to explore their attraction, despite the distractions of disapproving family members, unexpected announcements, an impromptu concert, and an island paradise that proves there’s no place like home.
20% of all proceeds from this title are donated to the Ali Forney Center in New York, whose mission “is to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) youth from the harm of homelessness, and to support them in becoming safe and independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood.” To learn more about this charity or to donate directly, please visit http://www.aliforneycenter.org/.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): At first I wondered if Justin was a bit of a jerk – his behaviour as he left the plane at the start of the book wasn’t great. But what happened next revealed a slightly different take than my iniital one so I went into the rest of the story a bit more open-minded about him.
Justin and Jack meet on a flight to San Juan – unknown to both, they are connecting to Nevis where they are attending the same wedding – of Jack’s daughter to Justin’s best friend and fellow former-boy-band member, Chuck. An airport hookup leads to Justin feeling pretty embarrassed when he realises who Jack is. Jack is more assured and seemingly not at all phased by it – I admit I would have enjoyed more of him in the story; as it is told in first person by Justin, we don’t get any of his point of view. He is a slightly older man (44 to Justin’s 29) and he certainly comes across as being very self-assured and confident in what he wants and in his homosexuality. Justin and his friends Matt, TJ and Chuck were all members of a boy-band, Rhythm Method when they were teens and they grew up in the spotlight. Their image was very carefully crafted and Justin coming out would have had a significant negative impact on his friends, their careers and finances. So he has remained in the closet and paranoid about the media finding out. The band split some six years prior to the events of the novella but Justin is still hiding in his closet for the same reasons – although, do they really hold true any longer?
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