Reviewed by Roberta
TITLE: Blowing It
AUTHOR: Kate Aaron
PUBLISHER: Croft House
LENGTH: 277 pages
BLURB:
Owen Barnes never expected writing to make him rich, much less with a YA novel written for a bet. Being nominated for the Carnegie Medal, the most prestigious award a children’s author can win, is a dream come true. But Owen’s newfound fame comes at a price, and not just changing his surname to Black.
Gruff, gentle building surveyor Magnus Cassidy is the first man to catch Owen’s interest in almost two years. Owen’s agent, Max, might be trying to control his image, but Magnus sees the real Owen: the eyeliner, drainpipe jeans, and sexy underwear, not the Young Conservative in a tweed jacket Max is turning him into.
When a photo of Owen and Magnus appears online, just weeks before the Carnegie ceremony, Max starts damage limitation. Out and proud since he was fourteen, Owen isn’t going back into the closet without a fight, and he refuses to let his agent erase Magnus from his life. Encouraged by his friends, Owen lashes out, not realising his behaviour could hurt the man he’s doing it all for. Can Owen find a way to reconcile his public and private lives, or has he already blown it?
Contents: passive tops and slutty bottoms, bitchy best friends, bad jokes, sexy underwear, an excess of beards, and a smattering of angst. May contain nuts.
REVIEW:
This wonderful little ditty written by Kate Aaron was such a cute, fun read. I enjoyed having the opportunity to read a book from an author that is new to me. I have to say that I have found a wonderful new author who can write a great story that holds your attention.
Owen Barnes is a young man who finally got lucky in the writing business. Owen has known that he wants to write and just happened to get lucky in the YA genre. Now that Owen’s book has sold and he’s got a contract for a 5 book series, his life is no longer his own. He’s signed this contract with a clause regarding his personal life…he feels that he’s sold out. Owen has the outline of where and how he wants his series to go and he’s afraid of rocking the boat, even as he fights the constraints that he’s now held by.
Magnus Cassidy…this man is just such a sweetheart. Magnus has the greatest heart that I’ve ever seen in a character. He has this job that he loves and yet, it drives him a bit crazy…don’t we all, right. He babysits his niece when needed, has a strong family bond and is really liked at his job. He’s not really a party guy…he’s more of a homebody. He is getting out of a long-term relationship with a guy how hurt him yet, he still is able to open his heart. I really like Magnus. He meets Owen and they get along well and…
Now, this book does have some intimate scenes, however, they were not explicit in the least. This book does such a wonderful job of really not focusing on the sex. Now, while it wasn’t really focused on…it was tastefully done and non explicit. It was just another aspect of their growing relationship. I will say that Owen’s fetish for pretty undergarments…that was both sweet and pretty hot from Magnus’ POV. I love that Magnus accepted Owen’s fetish and didn’t only accept it, but he found it sexy as well.
Now the secondary characters, Ryan-Owen’s best friend and Sameer-Ryan’s husband and Owen’s good friend, these guys are Owen’s go-to guys in his life. They love him so much and they won’t sugarcoat the truth for him. They allow him to live his life up to a point and then…they try and rein him in, just a bit. Becky joined the crew about 3/4th of the way through, however, her character was a catalyst for Owen and Magnus. I will say that she’s wasn’t a bad character…just wanted to be a friend as well as a colleague. Katy wasn’t such a bad character…she just wanted to be able to do her job. Max…now…he wasn’t the most liked character to me, however, I see where he was coming from. He wanted Owen to succeed and yet, his underhanded ways did grate on the nerves.
This book was so sweet and wonderful. I really liked Magnus’ character. I really loved how sweet and kind he was. I also loved how he stood up for himself and what he believed in. Throughout the book, Magnus was just the sweetest, most mellow character and when he blew up….I totally was surprised and yet, I also understood where he was coming from. This book had a bit of angst, but it wasn’t over done. There was just enough to keep the book interesting and flowing smoothly.
Kate Aaron wrote a really sweet, comfortable book with such wonderful fully dimensional characters. You won’t be disappointed reading this book. The banter not only between the MC’s, but all of the wonderful secondary characters…it had me laugh out loud. This is a nice, easy weekend read kinda book that you’ll enjoy.
RATING: 
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