Title: How I Met Your Father by L.B. Gregg
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic, Romance, M/M
Length: 98 pages/Word Count: 28,000
Book Rating: A
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher
Summary:
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 Basinger’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.
Note: 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/.
The Review:
I absolutely loved every heartwarming, hilarious and sexy word of L.B. Gregg’s holiday novella How I Met Your Father. This quick read will have you laughing out loud as the members of the now defunct boy band Rhythm Method travel to an idyllic tropical island to help celebrate one of their former bandmate’s upcoming wedding.
Justin Hayes’ biggest concern about attending his best friend’s wedding is keeping out of the limelight. One rough flight and hot hook up later, he soon discovers publicity is the least of his concerns. The bride and groom are concealing a big secret and that anonymous encounter turns out not be so anonymous when he comes face to face with Jack Basinger and learns of Jack’s unexpected connection to the wedding party.
There is a surprising amount of depth to this fun-filled romance. Justin is still firmly in the closet, hiding behind the womanizing persona he perfected when the band was still together. Jack is rock solid and comfortable in his skin, but his relationship with his kids is not as close as he would like. Jack is older than Justin but the age gap is not as great as I first assumed and it was not really an issue for either of them.
Equally enjoyable is the rapport between Justin and his ex-band mates Chuck, TJ and Matt. Their scenes together are some of the funniest in the book, but many of them are also quite poignant. I really liked that they are not the stereotypical ex-rockers who crashed and burned. Instead, they are fairly well-adjusted and living pretty normal lives. They are supportive of each other but they are also brutally honest when they need to be.
An absolutely delightful story with a charming cast of characters, How I Met Your Father is a delectably steamy, light-hearted romance. The characters are three-dimensional and the various relationships are well developed. The dialogue is quite witty and the plot is unique and fast paced. The lush island setting is the perfect location for a destination wedding and L.B. Gregg’s descriptive prose brings it vibrantly to life. A sweet epilogue nicely wraps up this outstanding angst-free holiday story.
