French Fancy by Lily Morton (The Model Agency #2)

TITLE: ⟫ French Fancy (The Model Agency #2)

AUTHOR: ⟫ Lily Morton

RATING: ⟫ /5

BLURB: ⟫ Pip Simmonds is the twinkiest twink in London. He’s loud, proud, and packed to the brim with sass. But when he’s laid low by illness, even his hotpants lose their sparkle and his worried boss sends him to the South of France to recuperate in his holiday home.

Cap Ferrat is beautiful, and the periwinkle-blue villa is luxurious, but the real draw for Pip is the villa’s other resident—his boss’s younger brother, Olivier Durand.

Olivier owns a perfume empire and has spent his whole life running from any other form of commitment. He’s worldly, carefree, wild, and the perfect choice for a holiday fling.

Drawn together by proximity, the two men become lovers and friends and then something more. Something special. But will their special bond hold true after summer’s end, when they both must return to their real lives?

This is the second book in the bestselling Model Agency series, but it can be read as a standalone.

REVIEW: ⟫ Currently reading – review to follow.

Confetti Hearts by Lily Morton (Confetti Hitched #1)

Title: ⟫ Confetti Hearts (Confetti Hitched #1)

Author: ⟫ Lily Morton

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ Joe Bagshaw doesn’t believe in love or marriage anymore, which is rather a hindrance for a wedding planner.

His own marriage was a whirlwind affair that ended before the ink could dry on the wedding certificate. Nevertheless, even with his divorce pending, he’s getting by. Or at least he was until he finds himself snowed in at a remote Scottish hotel with the wedding party from hell, a terrible ABBA tribute band, and his soon-to-be ex-husband.

Lachlan has missed Joe from the second his husband walked away. He wants Joe back and is prepared to do anything to get him. Being snowed in together seems to offer the chance Lachlan needs, but does he have what it takes to get Joe to trust in love and their marriage again?

From bestselling author Lily Morton, comes a romantic comedy about love, matrimony, and the best of second chances.

This is the first book in the Confetti Hitched series.

Review: ⟫ I clicked request for this one as soon as I saw Lily Morton’s name, which meant that I didn’t read the blurb and got a little bit confused initially – Joe seemed to be in love with his husband, how was he going to fall in love with someone else?!

This was typical Lily Morton, full of banter, snark and sarcasm and oodles of chemistry between our two leads. Joe and Lachlan meet and hook up at a wedding – something Joe sees as an extremely hot and pleasant one-night kind of thing until he meets Lachlan at yet another wedding. And somehow those two nights have changed into something more, although neither him nor Lachlan are prepared to put a label on things.

When they end up drunkenly getting married, Joe realises just how little he knows about his husband, and this distance between them as well as some well hidden insecurities mean that he and Lachlan don’t go the distance, especially with Lachlan’s housekeeper and assistant making it perfectly clear that Joe just isn’t good enough.

Lachlan is feeling out of control and terrified of it, and when he should be making himself vulnerable and sharing himself with Joe, he’s pulling away, even whilst dragging Joe to the altar. It’s only when he loses Joe – to the point of divorce paperwork – that he finally realises what he has done and decides to do everything he can possibly do to get his husband back. (Can I just say the signing of the divorce papers had me giggling for ages?)

This is a very typical Lily Morton story so if you have enjoyed previous books of hers, you know what to expect. It’s hot, sweet and sexy, being a lot of fun to read as well as satisfying when you reach the end.

I received an ARC from GRR.

Vow Maker by Lily Morton (Mixed Messages #4)

Title: ⟫ Vow Maker (Mixed Messages #4)

Authors: ⟫ Lily Morton

Blurb: ⟫ Dylan Mitchell wants to get married.

However, after seven years of being engaged, that’s looking slightly doubtful. After going through ten wedding planners, they’re gaining a reputation somewhat akin to Henry the Eighth on the wedding circuit.

Gabe has vetoed symbolic dove releases, forests of flowers, fire-eating performers, and puce as a wedding colour. He’s confounded an army of wedding professionals, and now Dylan, the man who knows and loves him better than anyone, has joined the ranks of the confused. Can anything please his fiancé and get them to the altar?

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes the sequel to Rule Breaker. A romantic comedy novella full of family chaos, meddling friends, sexy bathroom encounters, and love. Always love.

Review: ⟫ It was lovely to catch up with Dylan and Gabe – it made me want to go back and re-read their story. As usual, this story was full of snarky banter, heavy sarcasm, a whole lot of innuendo and chock-full of love and sex. We had cameos from other beloved characters and an introduction to at least one that I imagine is going to get his own book.

I really enjoyed this book – it was like snuggling down with an old favourite but with new information. I did grab the book Short Stack but didn’t have time to read it, but having been reminded of the amazing cast of men that Lily has written about, I think I’m going to re-download it.

An easy, relaxing, amusing read – well worth it.

The Sceptic by Lily Morton

Title: ⟫ The Sceptic

Author: ⟫ Lily Morton

Blurb: ⟫ As the best friend of a psychic, Will Buchanan can’t help but believe in the dead. It’s the living that he finds to be problematic. However, after a spate of betrayals, he finally has the chance of a new life within his grasp, and he’s not going to risk it for anyone or anything. Staying safe is the name of Will’s game.

Jem Dawson defines the word temporary. A talented cameraman, he’s here today and will undoubtedly be gone tomorrow chasing adventure and danger. But, while he’s in York, he’s made it clear he wants Will, and Will can’t help liking the charming daredevil.

This inconvenient attraction results in Will accompanying Jem to the site of a notorious poltergeist outbreak. A malevolent spirit has targeted a family, and now the ghost hunting team for whom Jem does camerawork are going to be locked down in the house for three days.

The house is strange and filled with sinister and violent undercurrents. One by one, the group experiences threatening incidents, and as events escalate, Will has to ask himself if he's risking not just his heart but also his life with this impulsive gesture.

This is the first book in the Arcana Books series featuring characters from the bestselling Black and Blue series.

Review: ⟫ It seems like it’s been my week for reading about extremely tall men with lots of tattoos, which lets be honest is a great way to spend the week.

I haven’t read the Blue Billings books although I might try to grab hold of them after reading this. The Sceptic was a really interesting combination of romance, suspense and quite a bit of terror – some of the nightmares in there actually freaked me out a little and my daughter accidentally jump-scared me as I was reading and didn’t see her come into my room! The spooky side of things was very well written – possibly a little bit too well – and I really wanted to know what was in the house as much as Jem and Ben. I also completely understood Will wanting to run away and never come back!

The relationship between Jem and Will was so much fun – they both seemed able to see the truth about each other, warts and all, yet appreciate the other person anyway. Will’s character didn’t have the typical background of a male lead and I appreciated that – he wasn’t a cardboard cut-out, but was full of fears, desires and aspirations – when was the last time a male lead aspired to be an accountant!

As always, very strong writing, believable side-characters, but with enough of a break from reality not to be depressing. I would like to know more about the characters in the bookshops and can see myself following the Arcana series in the future.

I received an ARC from GRR.

The Sunny Side by Lily Morton (The Model Agency #1)

Title: ⟫ The Sunny Side (The Model Agency #1)
Author: ⟫ Lily Morton
Rating: ⟫ 5/5
Blurb: ⟫ Jonas Durand is successful, rich, and controlled. He owns a prestigious modelling agency and has the world at his fingertips, but a turbulent childhood has taught him to be focused and never deviate from a plan.

Dean Jacobs threatens that stance. He’s one of the world’s most sought-after supermodels, but he’s also laidback and lighthearted and free in a way that Jonas has never quite managed.

Dean has always been interested in Jonas and has never made any secret of his admiration, but from the beginning, Jonas put him in a neat little box labelled, “Don’t touch,” turned the key, and never looked back.

However, the universe seems determined to thwart Jonas’s plans. Over the course of one hot summer, the two men come together, and Jonas’s well-ordered life becomes something a whole lot wilder.

Moving from the glamorous worlds of London and Paris Fashion Weeks to the sleepy South of France, Jonas finds himself liberating partridges, chasing his supermodel, and falling in love.

From bestselling author Lily Morton, comes a romantic comedy set in the fast-paced and snarky world of modelling. This is the first book in the Model Agency series.

Review: ⟫ I had a bad day and then this turned up and the sun came out. This book was delightful! I don’t always enjoy Lily Morton – sometimes I’m just not in the right mood – but I really loved this book. Dean was an absolute delight, especially with how literally he took everything! And his charm shone through, from Pen at the police station to the way in which he treats absolutely everyone with respect.

But my main love for this book was for Jonas – poor Jonas, with his sharp tongue, incredible wit and complete inability to stop the train that is Dean from dragging him along the tracks to happiness. The cast of characters were entertaining, with throw away lines that made me giggle, whilst seeing people from Lily’s other books was great – enough for fans to think ‘oh yes, I read about him’ but not enough to make it feel like you’d read it all.

I loved how strong Jonas was, how protective he was of everyone, but I especially loved it when he let loose and allowed himself to be out of control with Dean. That scene in the car was so steamy, and later in the book when he’s jealous of a party Dean attended, he was the ultimate alpha male whilst still remaining as caring as loving as he had been throughout the book. I thought Ruby was very well written – she was a five year old and sounded like a five year old, which was a nice change as I often find children written in books often sound like scaled down adults.

I needed this book today and am truly glad I stayed up late finishing it. I look forward to reading more from the Model Agency series, especially if the characters are as engaging and entertaining as Dean and Jonas.