Reviewed by Sid

TITLE: Shiny!

AUTHOR: Amy Lane

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 200 Pages

BLURB: Will Lafferty and Kenny Scalia are both having sort of a day. Will gets fired for letting fifth graders read Harry Potter, and Kenny finds his boyfriend and his sex toys in bed with a complete stranger. When Will knocks over Kenny’s trash can—and strews Kenny’s personal business all over the street—it feels like the perfect craptastic climax to the sewage of suckage that has rained down on them both.

But ever-friendly, ever-kind Will asks snarky Kenny out for a beer—God knows they both need one—and two amazing things occur: Kenny discovers talking to Will might be the best form of intercourse ever, and Will discovers he’s gay.

Their unlikely friendship seems like the perfect platonic match until Will reveals how very much more he’s been feeling for Kenny almost since the beginning. But Kenny’s worried. Will’s new-found sexuality is bright and glittery and shiny, but what happens when that wears off? Is Will’s infatuation with Kenny strong enough to stay real?

REVIEW:

I always believed for a book to be good, it has to have a good drama! With characters yelling, throwing tantrums, crying and dying, being stubborn asses they are – it makes up for an interesting read 😀 But Shiny! proved to me that sweet, fluffy Romance can be just as good!

Shiny! introduces us to a very adorable couple – Will and Kenny. They are at a wedding when Aunt Cara pleads for them to tell their story. And we take a ride down their memory lane, as they take turns narrating the events from the time they met –

That day hadn’t started out well for them. Will gets fired from his day job at a school where he teaches, while Kenny finds his boyfriend in bed with another man. So after kicking out his boyfriend, Kenny is out dumping everything that he had shared with the disgusting man (and that includes some kinki sex toys, hihi!). And Will comes driving, knocking over his trash can. The idea of Kenny being gay and living with another man amazes and intrigues Will as he is introduced to an entirely new world unknown to him. The sex toys he finds brings up lots of questions in his mind … which he asks openly and OMG! It is hilarious.. you have to read it to experience the hilarity of that scene.

That did it for me and I simply couldn’t stop! After that chance meeting, Will asks Kenny out for a drink and they bond over a common liking to comic art! They decide to work on a project together and slowly, their friendship begins to grow tighter. Kenny has doubts but keeps thinking Will to be a straight guy. On the other hand, Will has already come to terms of his own sexuality and has developed a huge crush on his new friend.

The moment when Will gets it off his chest to tell Kenny about his true feelings – it was the most beautiful moment that is written in this book. It’s powerful and I could sense the growing tension between the men. And then it happens! The hot, hot sex! Damn, I must have died in happiness several times reading it. I was rooting for them so hard!

Will’s momma’s boy personality is very cute. I think he was my most favorite character because throughout, I kept having the urge of pinching his cheek. Ha! Imagine me doing that an imaginary character … but well, you see? That’s how well-developed Amy Lane’s characters are.

The end of this book was Shiny in true terms, I thought… the kind that never wears off and I sighed pleasantly. It was truly satisfying.

RATING:

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