Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: The Honeymoon Gambit
AUTHOR: I.M. Flippy
SERIES: Catalina Dreams
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 200 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 14, 2020
BLURB:
Todd Ellis and Eric Yoo don’t exactly mesh.
So pretending to be a couple is not going to be easy.
At Jackson & Larrabee Associates, one of L.A.’s up and coming ad firms, they’re both rising stars.
There’s just something about Todd that rubs Eric the wrong way. Todd is messy, chaotic, and makes too many jokes.
Eric is too serious and has a huge stick up his ass. Todd wishes he would just loosen up. And if Todd always thought Eric was distractingly hot, well, that’s his business.
But when a new client invites Eric and Todd out to Catalina, it’s time to pull out all the stops. The gay couple that founded Gigi Entertainment have a lot of couples and families working for them.
So what better way to sell them on a campaign than by pretending to be a couple?
All they have to do is get through the week without killing each other…and somehow resist the growing sexual tension between them.
Welcome to Catalina Island.
REVIEW:
The fake boyfriend trope is one of my favorites and The Honeymoon Gambit doesn’t disappoint. The setup here is somewhat unique, though. Usually the trope has one man convincing another to pose as a fake boyfriend so that he can, for example, attend an event and appear more successful and settled than he actually is; ward off potential suitors, usually women who don’t believe he’s gay; or appease parents who want to see them in a relationship. In this case, it’s a mutual agreement that a fake relationship will benefit both men in their careers. There is the usual memorizing of facts about each other, but what’s charming here is that the men already know so many details about each other without ever having had much conversation. Hmm, it seems the boys have more interest in each other than they pretend.
Todd and Eric work for an advertising firm as a creative guy and an account manager, respectively. They have been coworkers for years but are opposites in personality and have never quite meshed. Now they are teamed together to present a pitch and hopefully win a lucrative account. But their competition is a jerk within their own agency. Todd and Eric recognize that the potential clients – gay, married parents – appreciate family values, and thus feel their best competitive advantage is to appear as a couple in love.
I enjoyed the plot and the storytelling and appreciate the different take on a familiar trope. There was a plot hole at the end concerning a non-existent non-compete agreement that was bothersome, only because I value accuracy.
One thing I was glad to see is a lead character with a less than perfect body, but even more so, his love interest who isn’t bothered by it. Todd has what he considers too much extra padding and body hair, and is embarrassed by his unfit body. Eric, on the other hand, is beautifully fit, a hot AF guy who, in many books, would be attracted to a similar body type or equally fit and gorgeous man. Here, it’s a non-issue; in fact, Eric finds Todd’s physique sexy. It’s refreshing.
Although the book is the second in the Catalina Dreams series, it’s a complete standalone. I wish Jason and Charlie from book one, Moored Heart, had been incorporated in a small way. For example, they could have struck up a conversation in a bar or café. I was disappointed not to see the previous couple; it seems readers are always delighted to receive a cameo and perhaps a small update on former characters. Andy did make a very brief appearance, however.
All in all, The Honeymoon Gambit is a cute book focused on Todd and Eric’s jobs as much as their relationship. There is, of course, the beloved Only One Bed in the Hotel Room scenario, and a satisfying happy ending. I look forward to the next installment. Andy’s story maybe?
RATING: 
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