reviews_and_ramblings | Sex, Lies and Wedding Bells by E.M. Lynley

First of all a big warning: this is not a menages! Last week I discovered this new publisher, Ravenous Romance and its Panamour line (same-sex romance); they have already some titles available, but at first I bough only the two by Ryan Field, since I knew the author (not personally, I read two short stories before) and reading the blurb and looking the covers, I was sure they were not menages. Sex, Lies and Wedding Bells by E.M. Lynley I almost skipped since it didn't pass my three steps test: 1) tagged M/M: OK, 2) no female in the blurb: KO, 3) no female on the cover: KO (in the ebook version). Two on three and I didn't buy it. Then someone told me it was not a menage, it was a real male on male romance, and so stepped back (see, I can change my mind!).

Reading this book I can almost make a sure bet that the author likes the romantic comedy movie. Apart the obvious reference to The Runaway Bride, she even named the movie from the first pages, I find also a resemblance with In&Out: an handsome, and very tall, reporter that arrives in little country village and fall in love with the principal of the local high school? (all right Kevin Kline was not the principal, but still...). There is even a scene that reminds me Sleepless in Seattle... Anyway the story is all it promised, a good and full male on male romance, that covers all the salient points: before, during and after, you will have the full package!

Kieran is an handsome New Yorker reporter for a fashion and entertainment magazine. His main qualification as reporter is to be snarky, and as man to be practically a slut: more nights than not he ends in bed with an unknown body, and sometime he even knows the name. In one thing Kieran is open and clear: he is gay and he likes sex. But lately this seems to be not enough: very pregnant the sentence in which Kieran thought that "he would much rather have woken up in someone’s arms than someone’s mouth" (since in the very first scene Kieran is receiving a blow job from one of those unnamed bodies above). And even in his works he is starting to loose biting, he is not enough evil according to his editor. And so Kieran decides to do a piece on a Runaway Bride, exactly like in the movie, who is marrying for the fourth time (and the previous three she dumped the groom at the altar).

Problem is that, instead of the bride, like in the movie, Kiernan falls in love for the groom. Jaxon is really a good guy, friendly and sincere, and exactly the perfect man Kieran would want in his life and bed, but Jaxon is not gay. At first I thought that the direction of the book was for Kieran to find out that Jaxon was gay and that his marriage with Danetta was a fake one, and instead I was wrong (and I will not say what is really the story ;-) ). The author is very good in not letting go the story and manage to maintain her little mystery for almost half the book: she unveils her secret only when she decides it's time, and only since she needs the other half of the book for something else (and for me better).

It's all about romance in this book, maybe sometime even a bit too much: Jaxon is a bit too perfect, sometime he is almost like a starstruck teen (above all regarding sex); all right Kiernan at first thought of him not nice things, but he is not so far from the reality... Jaxon is really too open and naivee! But well, I like him like that, it's strange, he has this "childish" behavior, this way to approach almost with pliers, he seems always ready to say please and thanks, but all in all I don't find him a weak character, he is only an old fashioned man (but yes, probably he would be not him to wear the trousers at home, even if he married a woman!).

http://www.ravenousromance.com/panamour/sex-lies-and-wedding-bells.php

Amazon Kindle: Sex, Lies and Wedding Bells

Amazon: Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading+list&view=elisa.rolle

Sex, Lies and Wedding Bells by E.M. Lynley

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Thanks for the heads up on this one. I'd been reluctant to buy it because I couldn't figure out whether it was M/M or a menage.

Amanda Young

Thanks, Elisa and what a quick review!

I'm very pleased you cleared up that this book is, in fact, strictly M/M and that chick never gets in bed with my boys. The cover is a bit misleading, because even though the woman is another room looking on, she's in her knickers, so it's not clear at all!

So I'm glad you enjoyed the book, and didn't give away any of the twists!

Edited 2009-02-05 00:50 (UTC)

Hi Amanda,
Apparently you were not the only one. I certainly hope I don't lose m/m readers who think it's menage and upset menage readers who don't get what they want.

--Em

It was not the first time that, even if tagged M/M, a story was really a menages and so now I'm cautious. I thought to state clear from the beginning that this is not a menages since probably other like me had the same problem. Elisa

You are welcome EM. As I said, I almost skipped your book due to that girl on the cover, and so it was a really nice surprise to discover that she is not "involved" ;-) Elisa

I don't believe a reader who is expecting a M/M/F romance would be upset if they found only an M/M, but I'm sure that a lot of readers who want to read an M/M wouldn't like a menages. So I hope with my post to clear the mind for some of them ;-) Elisa

We have the same process of elimination Eliza. If I see a girl on the cover, I pass the story right on by..no hesitation. And if I see a hint of "f" anywhere near my m/m..right on by I go as well.
So now that you have reviewed it, I can go back and take a look at it as well :)
Although I may wait until it is at fictionwise.

Thanks much :)

It's a light comedy, enjoyable. If you like the movie I mentioned, probably you would like also the book. Elisa

It's already up at All Romance eBooks. Or you can buy it directly off the Ravenous Romance site for a couple of bucks less. I did and it was a pretty painless process.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the head up. Actually also I used All Romance Ebooks for my purchase from Ravenous Romance, even if I noticed that on the publisher site there was a discount. I have a strange mind...

I get that. We're reluctant to give our credit card or other ID info to yet-another site. Or we earn points by frequent buying. A pal bought GYM DANDY from Fictionwise because she had a credit there. People have online gift certificates. Or they had a bad experience...

There's any number of reasons to buy from one place rather than another. That's why our books are made available so many places, right? 8-D

I'm like this, I prefer to just buy from one place so i don't give out my information too much. I usually just stick to Fictionwise, but sometimes I do cave and buy from the publishers. I have never bought from Ravenous Romance before though.
It's so amazing how many publishers there are, I keep getting introduced to new ones.

Probably it's also a bit of laziness ;-) Elisa

Some publishers don't last long (not referring to Ravenous Romance obviously), even if they have interesting title. Dark Eden Press, for example. But Ravenous Romance seems to have rather interesting title, and the website is nice. They are two good points. Elisa

I don't think anyone could accuse you of laziness with all the reviews you post.

Oh, you don't know...

I think you're wise in that. Who wants to give their credit card info to someplace you've never heard of.

Ravenous is brand new. It was started by a literary agent who wanted a piece of the hot market, I guess. Dark Eden (mentioned by Elisa, in her comment) went away due to ill health of the owner, but if I have the story straight, her second-in-command took her knowledge and experience and opened Lyrical Press. I have a novella coming out from them on the 16th and I'm really impressed with them as publishers. You might want to check them out... but you can still buy their books on Fictionwise, too.

Lol, see what I mean "Lyrical Press" I have never looked at them before either. I will check them out.

Thank you :)

Thank you Elisa for clearing this one up. I did not buy this one when I saw it in allromanceebooks, thinking it is a M/M/F which I really dislike. Now I will of course get it after your review. Writers must be more careful with the cover. Seeing a female in the midst of the gorgeous nude male bodies is really misleading.

I'm so glad that Elisa made the point that it's m/m, but I honestly had no idea what the cover would look like until the book came out--I didn't get to see it in advance. I had suggested she be wearing a wedding dress, so how they got the idea of putting her in underwear is beyond me.

I don't think that authors in general have much say in our cover art. The editors work with the artists and if we are lucky we get to see it early. So, please don't hold it against authors in general.

I am very happy you want to read the book! That's a lovely compliment--about the writing!

I don't know if it was the author or the publisher (there is another M/M romance in their catalogue, with a female on the cover, but also in the blurb I could understand it was a menage). But yes, in this case the story is far from being a menage. Elisa

Yes I suppose it was not an author's choice, since the cover really has nothing to do with the story. But well, other than the cover, to be honest with the publisher, they tagged right the book and the blurb is not misleading. Elisa

Sex, Lies and Wedding Bells by E.M. Lynley

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject