Rating: 4 stars out of 5
When website designer Rick Pruitt takes his eight-year-old son Micah to see the latest Pokémon movie, he expects to be bored out of his mind. What he doesn’t expect is to fall in love with the guy ahead of them in line.
Self-confessed nerd and Harry Potter look-a-like, Marty Owens runs a comic shop downtown. Marty needs a new website to help grow his business and Rick needs a guy he can eat cozy meals with, snuggle up to, and … But no matter how many of Rick’s boxes Marty checks, there’s still Micah to consider. Fortunately Micah and Marty hit it off, connecting over a love of video games and all things Pokémon.
Rick starts coming by the comic shop after hours to work on Marty’s website. Can they build something long-lasting and meaningful offline, too?
First of all—great title! That attracted my attention to the story more than anything else. And I’m glad it did. This was a delightful story, very much in line with what is stated in the blurb, but even more lighthearted and fun. Both MCs were well-developed and engaging and the good news is: the author struck the right balance in making Micah, the eight-year-old, just annoying enough, but not over-much, so that he added to the reading enjoyment, rather than detract from it as some children in MM stories do.
There was definitely a slow buildup to the romance as the men got to know one another both during the movie “date” with Rick’s child and during the subsequent week of working on Marty’s website. It was natural when they finally fell into bed together and ended with the promise of a possible happy future for the two. I wouldn’t mind seeing them together again in a sequel—one that could explore their attraction further while letting readers follow what their future turns out to be.
For Pokeman lovers, this is the perfect book, delving into discussions that only those fully vested in the app would understand. Don’t get me wrong—I didn’t find that boring at all—in fact, I found it quite interesting and gave me a new appreciation for why the kids in my neighborhood seem to be obsessed with their cell phones, even while riding their bikes. 😀
If you want a light read that leaves you feeling good, check this one out. I found it to be the perfect cure for a rainy day Sunday, and I highly recommend it.
The cover by Written Ink Designs attracted my attention, and though I can’t visualize the men on the cover as the MCs in this story, the spirit of the relationship is there.
Sales Links
Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 79 pages
Published August 20th 2016 by JMS Books LLC
ASINB01KRYVMW8
Edition LanguageEnglish
John loves his job as head rigger for Cirque Brilliance. The heavy scarring over half his face makes it a little hard to meet new people, but John’s got a good crew and a nice found family, and he’s content with his lot in life.
What do you do when the body you wake up in isn’t yours?
Julian Wilkes has been keeping to himself for over a year—ever since he walked in on his lover with another man. Distraught and self-flagellating for missing the signs that his lover had been having outside affairs for quite a while, Julian suffers from writer’s block—not good for any author—and is hiding away in his hometown. His sister is his only friend, and she spends most of her time berating him for wallowing in self-pity.
Brandon Faulkner has a thing for Goth guys and hangs out in the Goth chat room hooking up with strangers. He hasn’t met any of them yet, but since he can’t decide between the three that he considers the hottest or most intriguing, he decides to play all three as if they were the only man in his life. Making plans to meet with all three over the course of a weekend leads to a few shocking discoveries when his “dates” turn the tables and he’s the one sent off-balance.
When he arrives at the scene of a raging fire with his unit, Morgan doesn’t waste any time going in to rescue a disabled man from his burning apartment. The moment the family who owns the house tells him about their trapped tenant, Morgan notifies his captain and goes. Getting permission isn’t as important to him as saving the man’s life, and it’s a good thing he didn’t hesitate because he manages to pull Richard out of the apartment with no time to spare. Morgan cares about the people he pulls from burning buildings and always checks on them the next day, so when he heads to the hospital to check on Richard, he’s shocked to find that Richard is Richie, his childhood best friend. 
Lee Aung is an omega werewolf who refuses to follow tradition. Omegas are expected to mate with an alpha and produce children, which they would then nourish and cherish until the child is of age to move on. Homebodies, omegas are happiest when serving their alphas. Lee is far from that! In fact, at forty-two, he’s past the age of going into heat, so alphas would no longer be attracted to him. But he has a secret weapon—he uses Wet Heat, an experimental spray-on fragrance that simulates the scent of an omega in heat, thereby giving Lee all the hookups he can manage. 
This is a very, very enjoyable story of a young cab driver, Jaxon, who suffers from dyslexia and has been told how dumb he is all his life. It’s also about a young executive, Caleb, who stutters so much he finds it difficult to mingle socially.
Pate Hawkins wanted to be a dancer from the moment he stepped into a dance studio at age ten, and he’s among the few who achieved his dream of being well-known to Broadway audiences. But he’s returned to Atlanta, his hometown, pursuing his backup dream—to open a dance studio where he can inspire young talents to go for their dreams. A severe knee injury ended his career on Broadway, but with a few more months left in his therapy, he knows he’s going to dance again—just not in a Broadway show.
A cute short story, this is the prequel for Phonebook, a story I had the pleasure of reading a few months ago.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 