Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Off Key
SERIES: Whispering Key #3
AUTHOR: May Archer
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 318 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2021
BLURB:
I’m about to sing you the saddest song in the universe, and it’s called “The Man of My Dreams Married My Sister.”
It’s kinda my theme song. And trust me when I tell you, it’s heavy on the violins.
Because the man in question? He’s not just any guy, he’s Rafe freakin’ Goodman.
My former best friend.
The boy who made my summers on Whispering Key magical. The guy who inspired every love song that led to the chart-topping music career I have today. The man I always sort of figured would wait for me, while I pursued my dreams and finally found a way to tell the world I was gay…
But instead of waiting, he married Aimee.
Rafe and Aimee’s marriage has been over for a while now, but it doesn’t really matter. He doesn’t love me even though I feel like I’ll love him until the day I die. Trying to be “just friends” would tear me apart.
We’re a broken chord. A blue note. Hopelessly out of tune.
Or so I thought.
But when circumstances throw us back together on a crazy cross-country road trip, suddenly all kinds of secrets come to light that make it seem like maybe our show’s not over yet.
If I want a life with the man of my dreams, though, I’ll have to be honest–with Rafe and the rest of the world, too–and find the courage to write us a new song.
One that’s exactly like us: perfectly imperfect… and a little off key.
REVIEW:
I expected to love Off Key because, well, May Archer. Plus, a road trip, Rafe and Jay, Whispering Key, and all the Goodman family. What I was not expecting was all the feels. Archer switched it up this time; it’s not quite as falling-on-the-floor hilarious as Off Plan and On the Run, but the trade-off is the sizzling, unresolved sexual tension arising from the friends-to-enemies-to-lovers dynamic and the more poignant emotions.
Off Key begins with a prologue when the boys were twenty-years-old. Rafael “Rafe” Goodman is living on the small island of Whispering Key, off the coast of Sarasota, Florida. His close-knit family – younger brothers Beale and Gage, cousin Fenn, and father Big Rafe – all live close by, and the small community of absurd residents practically lives in their pockets with as much as they’re in the Goodman business. Jay Rollins and his family summered on the island and Rafe and Jay became the best of friends. Talk about two men made for each other: they grew up as the boys of summer, every moment spent together. They crushed hard on each other, but while Rafe was out, Jay couldn’t admit he was gay and their feelings for each other were never revealed.
The present day – eleven years later – picks up shortly after the end of On the Run with the Whispering Key Extravaganza just one week away. Poor Rafe got suckered into planning it, and he’s fuming that his dad arranged for now-famous rock star, Jayd (Jay) Rollins, to perform as the main event. The intervening years have resulted in a few insurmountable misunderstandings – mainly because Rafe married Jay’s little sister, Aimee – and all the frustration, jealousy, anger, and resentment has come to a head. It’s a wild ride. Literally.
“We were engaged in a lifelong game of Fuck, Marry, Kill, where he was my first and only answer in every single category.”
As I mentioned, I adore a good road trip, and this one is special because of all the animosity, jabs, and snark that accompany their travels. Aimee has gone missing and since Rafe is the only one who knows his ex-wife’s dark secrets, Jay kidnaps him and sets off from Florida to Wyoming to find her. Their ridiculous pseudo arguing is hilarious. They meet some memorable characters along the way, and like any worthwhile road trip, there are the hot and heavy, horny hotel scenes!
“Like bone-deep rage-lust that made you wanna simultaneously kiss your former friend until he melted into a puddle and shake him until his teeth fell out.”
We’re treated to time with all the Goodman family: Fenn and Mason, Beale and Toby, Gage, and Big Rafe. Of course, this is a small town which equals nosy, interfering, but good-natured neighbors headlined by Littlejohn Jennings, elderly Lorenna McKetcham, and Jonquil Pepper. Lorenna brings the laughs with her phallus themed Extravaganza decorations, including a fifteen-foot tall, lifelike balloon penis centerpiece. (Rafe’s all onboard with this idea because he thinks Jay’s a giant dick.) Jay’s best friend, Oak, is a new character that me thinks we might see again very soon. On a related note (maybe?), Gage’s love story is up next in Pick Me, the kickoff to Ms. Archer’s new series, The Sunday Brothers.
Off Key caps off the Whispering Key series with aplomb. Ms. Archer is a talented wordsmith who once again brings a magic recipe of endearing leading men, lots of chuckles, a nothing less than superb secondary cast, and this time around, smoking hot UST. And of course, a perfect happily ever after. Enjoy!
RATING: 
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