Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Cherry Bomb
SERIES: Mercury Rising #2
AUTHOR: Samantha Kane
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
LENGTH: 192 Pages
BLURB:
Officially, Turnstiles CEO Brian Curland is in Mercury to set up a new data center. Unofficially, he’s using this trip to re-evaluate his life, because for a man who has everything, he’s feeling pretty empty.
He could buy any car he wants. But no, he had to rent a piece-of-crap Chevy—which is now broken down on the side of the road. When he’s rescued by a sexy local, Brian does what he always does. Go for what he wants, even if it’s just temporary.
Evan Michaels stops to help because that’s what good guys do. He grew up in Mercury, eventually becoming minister of the local Unitarian church. Though everyone knows him, being gay and being in a gay relationship are two different things. He wants Brian, but their affair has to be secret or he can’t play.
When Evan unleashes his long-suppressed sexuality, Brian is more than up to handling the heat. Yet even though they fall hard for each other, it might take the whole town to convince them it’s a forever kind of love.
REVIEW:
When I spied this book as an upcoming release on Samhain’s website, I pretty much leapt out of my chair in astonished excitement. This is a title that I’d randomly search for every now and again without actually expecting to get a result. So when this purrdy cover popped up, I didn’t hesitate to add it to my review list and claim it as my own.
I loved the first book in this series. It’s one of those books that I actually appreciate more each time that I read it. A Southern small-town setting, with a real focus on the characters rather than any huge melodrama, and although there is some homophobia it’s the exception rather than the rule in Mercury. I expected much the same from this second book, which is set in the same town and bumps one of the secondary characters from the first book into a main character role. It can be enjoyable to be surprised by the unexpected in a story, but sometimes, it’s definitely nice to get just what you were expecting. Which was the case with Cherry Bomb.
Billionaire Brian Curland has decided to head to the small town of Mercury so he can oversee the setting up of his new data center and attempt to convince his friend (MC from the first book), to return with him to LA. But before he even makes it to town he meets local minister, Evan Michaels and finds a new focus for his visit. The men form an immediate connection, and though they say over and over that it’s just sex and they know it can’t last…well, easier said than done.
I’m usually one of those judgey people who would roll their eyes at the word billionaire and move onto the next blurb. I prefer real characters that I can relate to, and that word tends to be a red flag to me. But it’s the second Mercury Rising book, so what was I to do? Thankfully, this author writes without resorting to tired, overused clichés. Yes, Brian is ridiculously loaded, but he remains a very relatable character. He’s pretty much a “normal” person. Evan, as the small town minister was a great character. He loved his calling and the author never tried to excuse that in anyway. I’m not a religious person myself, but it seems to me that religion is so often portrayed as a negative these days. Evan was full to overflowing with love and faith, and the fact that he was a gay minister was never used to create homophobic tension.
There were some brilliant scenes in this story, which were somehow both simple and memorable. When the two men started dancing in Evan’s home, I was practically cooing over their cuteness, but what I loved most was when Evan and Brian would assure each other, often lying wrapped together, that when the time came for them to part, any heartache would be worth what they were experiencing at the time. OMG, that turned me to absolute mush!! The book really is angst free. The conflict in the story comes from the fact that the men can’t see how they could possibly manage to have a real relationship…but since you know that everything is going to end up cherry pie sweet – no angst.
In the back of this book, we’re teased with a title and a “coming soon” for the third Mercury book. I really hope that Trey is going to get his HEA and I can’t wait to see more of our other Mercury guys popping back up for a relationship update.
It’s not necessary that you read Cherry Pie before Cherry Bomb, but you’ll probably wish that you’d done so. The characters from that first book are very much present and you’ll end up wanting to know their story too.
RATING: 
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