Hi there! Today I’m sharing a review and giveaway for a new contemporary M/M romance from the writing team of KA Merican. MANIC PIXIE DREAM BOY is a rock romance between a bisexual rock frontman and the sexy eye-candy he meets at a remote gas station in nowhere. I’ve really enjoyed books by this writing team in the past, including THE BLACK SHEEP AND THE ROTTEN APPLE, so I was eager to read this one.
Catch the epic meet-cute excerpt, my review and enter the book giveaway below.
About the book:
You can’t hide the cracks under the spotlight
Dusk. Leader of The Underdogs. Destined for greatness. Lives in the now.
Abe. AKA Lolly. Iridescent. Unicorn.
All Dusk wants out of life is for his band to become world famous. He also wants to have a lot of fun along the way. And to get his rocks off. When he wants something, he goes for it, consequences be damned. So when he sees a gorgeous pink-haired guy who is the human equivalent of tattooed cotton candy, he can’t help but have a taste. But it’s when Lolly ends up on their tour bus that Dusk knows their meeting was destiny.
Abe is the kind of guy who goes with the flow. He was hitchhiking anyway, so why not spend the week with a hot piece of rocker beefcake, getting smothered by his sexy long hair? And why not play the part of the supportive cutie while he’s at it? It’s not like he’d be sticking around for long anyway.
All plans hit a wall when photos of Abe and Dusk emerge online, suddenly pushing the band into the spotlight. To take advantage of the sudden popularity, the band offers Abe money for staying.
Which means money for being in a fake relationship with Dusk.
Which isn’t even fake.
Or is it?
How about a little taste?
The sun hit him like a red-hot hammer, and he squinted, rushing through the courtyard and into the shadow of the roof. His mouth was already smiling when he saw the logo of an ice cream manufacturer in the window. Since they’d already stopped, he might as well have something sweet to go with the savory. Or, possibly-maybe get peanut butter ice cream and win at breakfast?
The store greeted him with fresh, cool air that he inhaled with pleasure, delving between the shelves to find his prize. He could already see it from afar, next to a few jams, and coffee, and—who the fuck was that?
Dusk stopped breathing and just watched the dreamy, pink-haired creature move along the aisle, headbanging gently to music he was listening to through his mint-colored headphones. There was a lightness to his step, and Dusk followed the guy as if he were a rabbit leading Dusk to Wonderland.
The guy’s hair was styled into two thick, messy boxer braids tied with glittery bands. A pair of rollerblades swung from the guy’s large backpack. With each hypnotizing movement of slim hips clad in well-fitting denim shorts that ended just above the knees, Dusk was beckoned closer to the creature who was so at odds with the coarse surroundings, he must had stepped out of a fairytale and gotten lost in the New Mexican desert. His bare calves were nicely toned and dusted with blond hair, twitching slightly as the angel of a guy danced his way through the aisles.
He only stopped once he approached a newspaper stand and pulled out a music magazine. Leaning slightly against the wall, he finally allowed Dusk a good look on the profile of his boyish yet angular face. Working his way through the pages, he seemed completely immersed in his own little world.
One arm, tattooed in pastel-colored shapes that Dusk could not discern from afar, rose, and the guy pulled on a little white stick that peeked out of his mouth, revealing a shocking pink lollipop that he must have been sucking on all along.
Dusk licked his lips, wishing he could be that lollipop. He checked himself out in a mirror next to a stand with hats, just to make sure he didn’t have anything stuck to his face, and he moved closer to the pastel-hued poisonous butterfly. The guy was cute, colorful, but there was an edge to his look. His neck was inked, and his septum pierced. Oh, how Dusk craved to put his hand against the guy’s Adam’s apple.
He couldn’t recall the last time he was rendered speechless, since he was anything but shy. This guy though, casually sucking on a pink lollipop at this gas station in the middle of nowhere, was making Dusk’s throat dry, his palms sweat, and his dick beg for action.
Lolly blinked and gave a short laugh, staring at something in the magazine. Still gently moving his body to the music coming from his headphones, he rhythmically tapped the lollipop against his lips, only to greedily suck it back in. Every time he smiled, a little black star under his eye moved. At first Dusk had assumed it was painted-on, but as he stared more intently, he recognized it as a tattoo.
That was it. Dusk needed to get himself a piece of that.
He took a few steps closer and reached for a magazine off a shelf above Lolly’s head to get an opportunity to stretch in front of the guy, and when their eyes met, he smiled.
Lolly’s eyes were big and so blue they fit right in with his image. He leaned his head back to look at Dusk more comfortably and pushed the headphones to rest around his neck, revealing flesh plugs of the same minty color. Score.
He moved the lollipop in his mouth with his tongue so that the stick was at the side and wouldn’t prevent him from speaking. “What’s up?”
“What’s the flavor?” Dusk pointed to Lolly’s mouth. He bet it now tasted of wet hot sin.
Lolly pulled on the lollipop so that it slid halfway out of his mouth, only to suck it back in, loudly and without shame. “What flavor do you like?”
“I like fruity. And my manager only allows me one sweet thing a day, so I gotta choose wisely.” It was utter bullshit, but did it matter when their gazes met so intensely neither of them blinked? “Can I try yours to see if I wanna buy it?”
Lolly pulled on the stick, so tantalizingly slow, teasing Dusk with his blue eyes and long lashes, with his perfect tanned skin, with his toned arms that were tattooed into various landmarks and animals. Lolly was not only hot. He wasdesire.
“What do I get in return?”
Sink or swim. Dusk would either get a kick in the nuts or a laugh. He leaned down to whisper into Lolly’s ear. Worst case scenario, he could play it down into a joke and continue from there. “You give me something sweet, I give you something salty.”
Dusk’s skin tingled where they almost touched, and he closed his eyes when the soft, frizzy hair brushed against his cheek. Lolly smelled of something sweet, and yet a bit bitter, in a delicious masculine way that made Dusk want to savor him all the more. Cotton candy made of seaweed? No. That made no sense.
Lolly gave a short laugh, and his fingers briefly rubbed Dusk’s chest. “I’m intrigued.”
Dusk pulled back just enough to look into Lolly’s eyes, and the spot on Dusk’s chest where he’d been touched seemed to tingle as if invisible unicorns galloped along his pecs. How far could he push his luck? The guy wasn’t offended by the dirty joke. Sparks of attraction shone between them as if they’d been glitter bombed, and Dusk found it hard to focus on anything but the pretty lips and blue eyes.
“Intrigued enough to follow me outside and risk that I’m a total psycho serial killer?”
Lolly pulled the candy out of his mouth and slowly moved it along the pink line of his tempting lips, leaving behind a sticky sheen. “Maybe you could taste my lollipop in the restrooms?”
“Fuck yes…” Dusk thought it, but then realized he’d also said it out loud. Oh, who cared? His dick was already filling at the thought of all the things Dusk wanted to do with the sweet lips of this heavenly creature. Was the restroom here actually big enough to fuck in? It better be, because one way or another, he would be scoring soon.
My Review:
Dusk Hill is the frontman and lead guitarist of The Underdogs, a rock band he’s formed with his brother Dawn, his bestie Mage and Sid, an experienced drummer. Sid and Dawn are gay, but quiet about it, and Dusk is bisexual, but only out to friends and family. He meets a slender, pink-haired tattooed man in a gas station convenience store–and the attraction is instant.
They actually have to make a run for it, after Dusk and the sucker-licking man he calls ‘Lolly’ in his head make a giant mess of the bathroom they use for a tryst. Lolly was hitchhiking his way to LA and he’s more than happy for the ride(s) Dusk offers by way of their jerry-rigged tour bus…and his narrow cot.
Abe is a drifter wanting to make art, but willing to take his chances with Dusk and his Underdogs. It’s a lark, right? Until it seems like more. Not that Abe’s really prepared for more, or to fall hard for Dusk. An inadvertent photo outs Dusk as bi, and the band wants Lolly to stick around to turn the fallout into a publicity opportunity. Abe isn’t sure this is cool, getting paid a little to cozy up to Dusk in public seems to cross some lines, but Dusk is persuasive, and hawt. They get it on an on and on…
But, as the weeks wear on and Abe isn’t getting any farther with his art dreams, it makes him more uncomfortable. It’s only more frustrating that Dusk doesn’t even know his true name. Dusk is content to play his way through life, and it upsets Abe in ways he didn’t expect. This comes to a meltdown that ruins just about everything between them but Dusk is unwilling to let Abe just walk away. He offers friendship, and a real job managing social media and fan relations for the band–with the sheets-burning sex they’d shared previously now off the menu. And that’s equally rough on both of them.
I loved how these guys transitioned from the hot and horny hook up to the unrequited lovers-turned-friends. It’s bittersweet, knowing how intense their feelings remain, but heartening to see how hard they work to build something awesome between them. Abe’s art is helping the band get noticed, and raise his own visibility, to the point that he’s offered his own freelance gigs that will take him away from the tour. Can Dusk manage to make his true feelings known before Abe walks away? The tension is high and the sex is frequent and dirty. Expect public options to abound, and an epic HEA that brings the audience to its feet. I’m really excited to read on in this new series.
Interested? You can find MANIC PIXIE DREAM BOY on Goodreads and Amazon US | Amazon UK.
****GIVEAWAY****Click on this Rafflecopter giveaway link for your chance to win a backlist book from KA Merikan!
Good luck and keep reading my friends!
About the Authors:
K.A. Merikan is the pen name for Kat and Agnes Merikan, a team of writers, who are mistaken for sisters with surprising regularity. Kat’s the mean sergeant and survival specialist of the duo, never hesitating to kick Agnes’s ass when she’s slacking off. Her memory works like an easy-access catalogue, which allows her to keep up with both book details and social media. Also works as the emergency GPS. Agnes is the Merikan nitpicker, usually found busy with formatting and research. Her attention tends to be scattered, and despite being over thirty, she needs to apply makeup to buy alcohol. Self-proclaimed queen of the roads.
They love the weird and wonderful, stepping out of the box, and bending stereotypes both in life and books. When you pick up a Merikan book, there’s one thing you can be sure of – it will be full of surprises.
Catch up with this duo on their website, Facebook, Twitter (run by Kat), Agnes Merikan’s Twitter, Goodreads or Pinterest.
