Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Deal Maker
SERIES: Mixed Messages
AUTHOR: Lily Morton
NARRATOR: Joel Leslie
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 11 hours and 8 minutes
BLURB:
Sometimes your mouth makes deals that your heart can’t honour.
Jude is a highly successful model, but a very reluctant one. His life is full of casual hook-ups with pretty men in glamorous locations, but it’s still empty. However, circumstances decreed a long time ago that this was his path, so he’s resolutely stayed on it and accepted his fate with good grace. He made a deal with himself and his hook-ups. Get in, get out and no ties with anyone.
However, an accident at home one night leads to him making a new deal and accepting the offer of help from an unlikely source. It leads to an unexpected summer of falling in love with a larger than life man and his child.
But by the end of the summer his reasons for not staying are still valid. Will he turn away? Can he?
Asa is a talented actor who has spent time away from the scene to look after his son. But now he’s back, and the last thing he needs are complications from the gorgeous man who is staying with him. Scarred from too many betrayals, he has no intention of forming a lasting tie with anyone. However, he can’t resist the beautiful man with secrets, and to his horror he develops feelings.
But a deal’s a deal and they said it was just for the summer. What can Asa do with a man who has forever in his eyes and goodbye on his lips?
From the Amazon bestselling author of ‘Rule Breaker’ comes another scorchingly hot romantic comedy.
REVIEW:
Note: While this is the second book in this series, it can be read as a stand alone, although it does contain spoilers for Book 1 and frankly Book 1 is brilliant – so go get it 🙂
Jude Bailey, underwear model and man about town, has suffered a great indignity at his flat and finds himself without a place to live. He can’t afford another flat, so his friend Dean, another model, calls his stepbrother and makes arrangements to have Jude stay with him while his flat is being repaired. Except somehow the conversation got completely garbled and Asa, Dean’s stepbrother, isn’t expecting Jude and thinks Jude is Dean’s boyfriend. When Asa finds out that Jude is a model, he goes cold and treats Jude like he hasn’t a brain in his head. So Jude decides to teach Asa a lesson and give him what he’s expecting. In return for staying at Asa’s, Jude is going to “help him out” as a his PA since his last one fled in a huff just as Jude arrives.
Asa is a well known actor (although not be Jude really – which brings it’s own priceless moments) and he’s really not fond of models. While we find out later, Jude is furious that he’s been reduced to his profession and decides to teach Asa a lesson. A very very funny and long-lasting lesson. If it’s a feather brained idiot he wants, then that’s what he shall have. The scenes that ensue had me laughing out loud – again! The hysterical responses to Asa’s fan mail that lead off each chapter are an absolute comedy goldmine. Others in the household are on to Jude’s scheme, but he endeavors to keep Asa off balance for just as long as he can. The things he comes up with to screw with Asa’s head are brilliant 😉
The other main player in this story is Billy, Asa’s young son. Billy is the result of Asa’s brief liaison with Eve, Billy’s deceased mother. Billy is the apple of Asa’s eye and the reason that Asa has curtailed his acting up til now. There also was a very very painful breakup with a man who he was in a long term relationship with and that has put Asa off any real relationships for some time. Billy is a hoot – a very very funny little boy who is great friends with Jude. Jude has fun with Billy and he watches out for him too.
Asa realizes at some point that Jude is purposely messing with him because of Asa’s immediate dismissal of Jude as any kind of person of substance. But he’s honestly having so much fun with it himself, that he doesn’t mind. But then there is a bit of a crisis and Jude steps up and shows his true self in a way that Asa appreciates more than anything. So they move on to another deal – this one involving Billy 🙂 Since Billy loves Jude and the feeling is very much reciprocated, this is a no-brainer. And of course Asa finally admits his attraction to Jude and things move away from being purely platonic 😉
Things go along pretty well, until a real crisis in the form of a PR nightmare comes up. Asa counts on Jude to help him and keep Billy out of the limelight. Jude learns all about who Asa hates models and what loyalty and love really mean. He also figures out that his heart isn’t going to get out of this unscathed at the end of the summer when his flat is ready. Asa is developing strong feelings for Jude and he doesn’t want reality to intrude on them, but he’s under no illusions that Jude is going to stick around.
While things get back to semi-normal after the PR crisis, Jude and Asa kind of pretend that things are going to be OK even though Jude has things going on that he hasn’t shared with Asa. It seems that Jude has been burned as well but his former love. He’s got obligations that he simply can’t ignore and he’s made them his priority and that’s that. He doesn’t feel like he will ever be out from under these burdens and he can’t take anyone else down with him. Even though Dylan and others have tried to talk some sense into him, he just doesn’t see a way out.
When another crisis looms, Jude has to make a decision to either support Asa or to completely walk away. Of course he can’t just walk away from Asa and Billy though at this point. He’s going to have to figure out a way to handle his life with Asa and Billy in it as well.
From the hilarious opening scene to the beautifully poignant ending, this is yet another brilliant entry from Lily Morton and Joel Leslie. Jude is one of my favorite Lily Morton characters ever. He is snarky and hilarious and smart and sensitive and loving and compassionate and we completely understand why he and Dylan (from the previous book Deal Maker) are BFFs for life. There are so many great scenes in this book. Jude made me laugh so many times, I stopped counting. His clever banter with his friends, with Billy, with Asa, even with his enemies is worth listening to this book alone. But the sensitive and tender moments are also really well done. Billy is a funny and believable kid in this story too. We feel for him and like most little kids, he makes us laugh with his sense of logic. Asa is a gruff teddy bear. He comes across as tough – and he is in many ways – but he’s mostly protecting his sorely abused heart. There are too many favorite scenes in this book to pick just one, but the “adult magic wand” scene, the scene with Jude’s ex, and the pool party are a couple of the best. Everything in this book is why Lily Morton is an auto-buy for me and why Joel Leslie is the perfect narrator for her stories. His voices and accents make the stories just that much more vital and engaging. Highly recommended!
RATING: 
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