review 1: I was going to just leave the good rating, but I think this book deserves an actual review. This book was unique among MM's and I find myself recalling tidbits about it whenever I see the cover In my book listings. I really like how the mc is just kind of going along in life when something happens that sort of forces him into the life he deserves to explore and rather earns it. The daily lunches and cat definitely make it memorable as well!! I have read several stories by this author and they are all quite different. I love the imagination, sigh...quite envious actually! ;). I would definitely recommend and encourage people who like humor, with some nice steam, low angst (my fave) and a good HEA. Also, no freakin' cliff hanger trying to create a sequel or ... moremore. review 2: Sweet & Lovable & Cute & Sexy & Hot & All That...This is sort of a sequel to JL Merrow's Pricks and Pragmatism in that it includes a scene with the protagonists of that story, Luke and Russell, that may seem out of place at first but truly ties the theme of the two books together. In Pricks and Pragmatism you had two openly gay characters, one a bit of a slut (Luke) and the other still a virgin in his late 20 (Russell), living together as roommates without benefits. In this one you have an openly gay character (Matt) who is the young, somewhat klutzy but sexy repairman in a bike shop where his temporary boss is the soon-to-be-divorced, bewildered and besotted Tim (also in his late 20s), tall, attractive in a slightly nerdy way--co-workers without benefits.Tim is running the bike shop because his raging hetero brother Jay has broken his leg and feels that Tim, who is an accountant but newly out-of-work, could handle the shop for a while. Tim narrates this book and as you read along it is obvious that he is coming to deal with his closeted life in a way that allows him to spill more beans as the plot develops. He is attracted to Matt, but the latter is in a relationship and Tim is lost as to how he can start to live a life he always wanted, but in a small town that is not as open or varied in venues as London, where he has lived since he was married.This is a pleasant, sweet, read with some interesting character and plot developments, including the fact that our man Tim is a newly designated black belt in karate. How he uses that to his advantage is the only real crisis point in this book which ambles along, smiling and occasionally sighing, until an explosion of sexual heat overtakes Tim and sets us on our way to a jolly good ending. Along the way you'll meet and adore two "gingers"--one two-legged and one four-legged--who spice up the action and give us a laugh or two between the sighs and smiles. less
