chez_jae: (Books)
Off Key (Whispering Key #3)Off Key by May Archer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


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Completed the book Off Key by May Archer last night. It's the third in her "Whispering Key" series of male/male romances. Main characters are Rafe Goodman, a Whispering Key lifer, and Jay Rollins, up-and-coming rock star.

Rafe and Jay grew up as besties, spending their summers together on Whispering Key. Rafe developed a crush on Jay as they got older, but he knew he had no chance with his straight BFF. When he had a chance to help Jay's sister, Aimee, via a marriage of convenience, Rafe took it, not knowing he was breaking Jay's heart in the process.

Jay always knew he wanted to write songs and play music, but he also knew the industry wasn't kind to gay men. For that reason, he kept his sexuality to himself along with his burgeoning feelings for his friend Rafe. Once he found success as "Jayd Rollins" and learned that Rafe and Aimee got married, Jay couldn't bear to spend time with either of them. He made sure he was always too busy to get together or even call. His attitude resulted in a huge falling out with Rafe, and now the two of them haven't spoken in years, never mind that "Jayd's" gold album was filled with songs inspired by Rafe.

When Aimee goes no-contact with both her brother and her ex-husband, Jay and Rafe are forced to travel together to find her and make sure she's okay. Being in close proximity reminds each of them of the closeness they once shared, but both are too scared to admit to any feelings or make the first move. It's going to take a kinda-sorta kidnapping, a stolen van, a phone call from Aimee, and the quirky residents of Whispering Key to convince Rafe and Jay that they were always meant to be together.

This one hit all the right feels. Typically in a romance, there's the getting to know one another stage, falling in love, then some drama or conflict before the HEA. In this story, we dive right into the drama and conflict stage. I was pleasantly surprised that, once Jay and Rafe finally talked to one another and got through it, there were no further monkey wrenches thrown into their lives other than the dilemma of how they would handle Jay being a famous musician, while Rafe hates to fly. Hint: the Key is the key! Characterizations were marvelous, even those characters who merely flitted through the narrative. I adored Jay's friend, Oak. The plot had great pacing, the dialogue was witty and heart-warming, and the sexy times were amazing.

Favorite lines:
♦ I had the resources to enjoy myself to the fullest. So what was I doing? Chaperoning a meeting of the Extravaganza Committee. As one does.
♦ A dynastic marriage with a dowry of loaded nachos was not the weirdest setup for a Whispering Key love story I'd ever heard. Literally not even the weirdest this month.
♦ "The Rafe I know and tolerate is a bitter little ball of righteous indignation."
♦ "Did thinking of the giant penises rot your brain?"
♦ Every time I open my mouth, I make a noise like an Edvard Munch painting.
♦ "Choose dicks at every opportunity, you hear me?"
♦ If I kept trucking down Pity Party Lane, I was pretty sure I'd end up sobbing into my fritters.
♦ When I was with him, something in my soul sighed and whispered, "Ah, there you are!" And I was pretty sure it always would.
♦ "Lord a'mercy, we got us a geyser! The end-times are upon us!"*
♦ "A man never appreciates what he has until shit's half a foot high and rising, am I right?"
♦ "And this guy loves a good topping."
♦ "The kidnapping wasn't for nothing. Best kidnapping I've ever experienced. Ten out of ten."
♦ "Responsibility is stupid. We should throw away our phones and just stay here."
♦ I might have worried that the rapture had come, except my cousin Fenn wasn't replying either, and there was no way that fucker wouldn't be left behind just like me.


May Archer always makes me laugh! Loved this story, five stars.
chez_jae: (Archer book)
On the Run (Whispering Key #2)On the Run by May Archer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I finished reading On the Run by May Archer last night. It's the second book in her "Whispering Key" series of male/male romance. Main characters are Toby Elford and Beale Goodman.

Toby was planning to vacation in the Maldives, but when a photo that appears to place him in a compromising position with a supposedly straight male celeb hits the tabloids, Toby flees to Whispering Key, where his friend Mason now lives. Toby hadn't reckoned that Mason would be gone, nor that he would end up sharing the guest house with Beale Goodman--the cousin of Mason's husband, Fenn. Having lost his phone and credit card, Toby waves goodbye to his dignity and makes the best of his situation. Beale is unlike anyone he's ever known, and Toby soon finds himself fitting in amongst the eccentric locals. As his feelings for Beale grow, Toby wants to come clean about That Photo, but explaining his side of the story would mean outing the other party.

Beale has always believed in the power of positive thinking, and he's convinced he has a soul mate out there, just waiting for him. Toby Elford is the exact opposite of the man Beale envisioned. He's surly, snarky, and melodramatic. However, Toby has the ability to really see Beale and understand him. Beale has never felt more alive than when he's with Toby. It soon has him wishing that what they have going on between them would be more than temporary, even though he knows Toby is keeping secrets. Unfortunately, Beale never anticipated just how large of a secret Toby was harboring.

Even knowing that Toby's secret was going to blow up in his face, this was pure, delightful fun. He's just so extra, and it was amusing to see how Beale learned to understand and appreciate him. I loved how all the other characters peopling the island were so accepting of Toby, especially when they believed he was the soul mate that Beale had been holding out for. Toby was utterly perplexed that total strangers would so readily embrace him. The inevitable fall-out from Toby's secret was heartbreaking, especially when both he and Beale were hurting so much.

Favorite lines:
♦ The fates wouldn't be cruel enough to heap yet more tragedies upon me.
♦ It was impossible to slay someone with my rapier wit when they didn't realize we were dueling.
♦ "You have the things for the girls, right?" // "Packed in the suitcase. It's like a unicorn threw up in there. Competition for best bonus uncle will be fierce, but Constantine's no match for my shock-and-awe campaign. He's going down."
♦ "I'm not gonna kill you," he said, which is exactly what he would say if he were going to kill me.
♦ "Do you always bring your cat when you break in to murder people? Is she trained for this? Have you trained a murder cat? Oh my God, Florida, why?"
♦ "Why are you looking at me like I just boiled your bunny?"
♦ "I was talking about audiobooks!" // "Sex is better than audiobooks." // "Maybe you need better audiobooks." // "Beale, honey, maybe you need better sex."
♦ Toby Elford was a snarky little rain cloud of a human, and it shouldn't have been possible for him to light up my days, but he did.
♦ "Who decides when you're happy enough? You do. You decide when you're as happy as you want to be."


Fun, fabulous story! I enjoyed the author's nods to her other series (Beale's brother, Gage, ends up in "Sunday Brothers" and Mason's brother, Micah, is in "Love in O'Leary"). Loved it! Five stars!
chez_jae: (Books)
Off Plan (Whispering Key #1)Off Plan by May Archer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I spent a good part of the weekend reading Off Plan by May Archer. This is the first book in her "Whispering Key" series of male/male romances. Once again, story is told in alternating points of view between the main characters, Fenn Reardon and Mason Bloom.

After getting dumped by his fiancée, Mason decides to shake up his orderly, planned life. On a whim, he accepts the job as the resident doctor at a tropical resort in Florida. For once, Mason is going to do something spontaneous, something for himself. What he hadn't counted on was that the resort is falling apart. It seems Mase hitched his dreams to someone else's dream and now he's stuck here until the mayor, Big Rafe, can find a replacement and Mason can land another job. He hadn't counted on the zany characters peopling the island or that he'd come to care for them, nor had he counted on his undeniable attraction to tour guide Fenn Reardon. Especially since Mason is straight...right?

Fenn didn't appreciate being sent to collect the new doctor from the airport, especially when he sees Dr Bloom. Everything about him reminds Fenn too much of the last time he made a mistake and hooked up with a "straight" guy. Plus, Mason intends to bail at the first opportunity...right?

If two people ever needed their heads knocked together, it was this pair. I give Mason credit, however; he went into a quasi-relationship with Fenn with thoughtful deliberation. He'd never thought of himself as being attracted to guys, but he's definitely attracted to Fenn. As for Fenn, he kept pushing Mason away when things got too intense, but if the two dunderheads had just talked to one another, there wouldn't have been so many misunderstandings and confusion and hurt feelings. Guh. Characters were fully realized, including all of the secondary ones. I especially liked Fenn's cousin, Beale. It was also fun to see how the author is tying this series to others: Fenn's cousin, Gage, is in "Sunday Brothers", while Mason's brother, Micah, is part of the "Love in O'Leary" series.

Favorite lines:
♦ Nobody ever told you Florida was the gateway to hell until it was too late.
♦ "Sounds like an episode of Scooby Doo. You're basically asking for mysteries and hijinks."
♦ What a clusterfuck of enormous, never-before-seen-proportions of clusterfuckery.
♦ "Don't touch another man's knob, Loafers."
♦ "It's either going to be glorious or horrifying."
♦ "Try asking yourself if it's better to be a little important to a lot of people, or to be really really important to a few people."
♦ I was done giving headspace to how other people viewed my life.


Funny, touching, hot--checks all the boxes for a romance. Five stars from me.

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