From Riptide:
The Christmas Eve wedding Evan Cleary pulled together in four weeks is crashing down around him and taking his fledgling event planning business with it. With an empty altar and over a hundred guests arriving soon, he turns to the resistant, gorgeous brother of the runaway groom for help.
When Richard Patterson’s flamboyant brother storms out hours before he’s scheduled to marry his equally dramatic partner, Richard is left dealing with the fallout. The last thing he wants is more drama, yet he can’t deny his attraction to the effeminate event planner trying to salvage the wedding.
Evan thinks his crush on Richard is a lost cause, but one steaming kiss later, he learns different. What starts as a night of hot sex turns into a connection neither expected. But Evan knows their relationship is hopeless unless the ultra-conservative Richard can embrace every part of him—both in private and in public.
Kimi’s thoughts:
Recently there seem to have been a trend in the m/m publishing world that harkens me back to the old Harlequin romance novel days, circa the early to mid 1970’s. Those were the very first romance novels I ever read, pulled from the family back shelf once I was old enough to read them. This definitely follows the fluffy formula, complete with the requisite head hopping so one knows that the gruff romantic lead is as head over heels and unsure of himself as his quarry is. It’s a short and sweet romance with the reasons for self doubt being gay specific enough that it didn’t read as if a m/f romance had been done over for a new audience, but written specifically for the m/m audience.
It’s one of those reads where you don’t have to think or feel too much, just sit back and enjoy the tasty treat as it’s served up. Admittedly, every thing is a little TOO pat, but it’s perfect for de-stressing or just general relaxation (such as a poolside or for reading on the work commute), this is not the read if you want something meaty or filled with deep angst. It’s a one night stand after weeks of apparently gazing surreptitiously at each other from across rooms, but it’s a one night stand that ends with a sugary sweet as cotton candy happy ever after that’s even tacked on as a very brief epilogue.
Rating: 
