Deeds & Confetti by Brandon Witt #LGBT #Review #ReleaseDay

Dana reviews Deeds & Confetti (Mary’s Boys Book 4) by Brandon Witt (Published by Dreamspinner Press, September 27, 2017, 100 pages) A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

To read the review for Nachos & Hash (Mary’s Boys Book 1) click here. To read the review for Vodka & Handcuffs (Mary’s Boys Book 2) click here. To read the review for Mascara & Bandages (Mary’s Boys Book 3) click here.

Blurb:

A Mary’s Boys Novella

Steven Conley loves the excitement of owning his own Hamburger Mary’s restaurant in Denver, Colorado, and his chosen family of coworkers makes life even better. Steven never regretted leaving the corporate grind behind until his father’s harsh deathbed words leaves him doubting himself.

Ryan Fuller abandoned a lucrative career to start his own party-planning business, but he keeps afloat by coordinating funerals for the local mortuary. When Ryan bumps into Steven—his best friend’s uncle and the man Ryan has secretly crushed on forever—the attraction explodes into a night of passionate abandon for both men.

Steven is blown away by the care and deep connection he feels for the hot young mortician—until Ryan admits who he really is. Reeling from the recent upheaval in his life, Steven must decide whether to give Ryan a chance. To find love, they must risk it all….

Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon | B&N | Add to Goodreads

I so loved reviewing this series. Each book has offered such different stories that pull at different heart strings. As far as page length, this story is the shortest and I worried about that at first. I knew Deeds & Confetti would be the last book of the series and I worried the ending would feel rushed. However, the length felt perfect for me. Not to say I wouldn’t love more of these two characters, or any of the previous main characters because the author wrote them in a way that it’s impossible not to want to keep reading about any of them. In the end, though, there is a complete story; one that had me crying happy and sad tears.

In the previous Mary’s Boys books, Steven has been on the sidelines as a good friend or a past friend with benefits. I liked him for the care he displayed but I didn’t feel like I knew him. He was much more complex than I thought, and in getting to know him, I began to love him and his sister Pat a lot. They formed a strong bond when Pat helped take care of him after his mother passed and his father pushed his expectations of what he thought Steven should be. And though Steven did cater to some of those expectations, his heart wasn’t in it and that was when he decided to open his location of Hamburger Mary’s.

Ryan knew Steven from years before as his best friend’s uncle. Ryan has held an attraction for Steven for a long time, but it was one sided, since Ryan really was too young for Steven to notice. When they meet again, Steven doesn’t remember his nephew’s friend. There is an age difference between them, and I really enjoy the May/December trope so I was excited when the truth was revealed. There is the question of should I or shouldn’t I on Steven’s part and I really like when characters defy convention and let their heart lead the way. There is great chemistry between them and their lives are similar after Ryan left his successful career to plan parties which is something he could put his heart into.

Between dating a younger man, his disapproving father’s death, and financial concerns leave Steven questioning what his life has become in this book. Ryan, Pat, and the whole Hamburger Mary’s family have plans to let him know how important he is to them. Oh, my heart. I could really feel the joy and pain in this book and an overwhelming sense of love between everyone and before I knew it my eyes were leaking. But in such a good way. When a book allows me to feel for and with the characters so strongly, I absolutely love it. I would definitely recommend this book and the whole series.

10/10 Pots of Gold (100% Recommended) – Compares to 5/5 Stars

Brandon Witt’s outlook on life is greatly impacted by his first eighteen years of growing up gay in a small town in the Ozarks, as well as fifteen years as a counselor and special education teacher for students with severe emotional disabilities. Add to that his obsession with corgis and mermaids, then factor in an unhealthy love affair with cheeseburgers, and you realize that with all those issues, he’s got plenty to write about….