Author: Josephine Myles
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages/Word Count: 62 Pages
At a Glance: Locked Out is such a heaping helping of sweet, wrapped in a Martin shaped package.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Blurb: Clothing is overrated…
Getting accidentally locked out of his hotel room on Valentine’s Day night is embarrassing enough for teacher Martin Cooper, but the fact he’s stark naked makes it even worse. It doesn’t help that the one person he runs into is Rod, the gorgeous man he’d been checking out earlier in the hotel pool. But when Rod offers Martin a refuge, the night heats up. Now if only Martin could get the hang of this seduction business…
Review: Martin Cooper is an outstanding brother. There probably aren’t many guys out there who’d do his sister a solid by accompanying her on a romantic Valentine’s spa weekend after she’d been dumped by her boyfriend right before the holiday. But, that’s Martin—he’s sweet, kind, and slightly awkward in an adorkably nerdy sort of way, just the type of character Josephine Myles writes so well.
With a head full of champagne and some highly questionable advice from said sister, Martin’s errant middle-of-the-night bathroom adventure soon finds him butt-naked in the hotel corridor. And, of course, who’s both the best and worst person Martin could run into while publicly nekkid? Yes, Rod, god of the Speedo, the guy both Martin and Michelle had been checking out at the hotel pool earlier in the day. What could possibly go wrong, you ask? Pfft. Plenty. But it’s what goes right in the end that matters.
The short story/novella isn’t an easy medium to pull off, but Josephine Myles always manages to make it look effortless. In Locked Out we somehow manage to get to know Martin simply by watching him interact with his sister, Rod, and some of the children he teaches. In fact, him being an elementary school teacher—a near novelty for a man—says a great deal about what a gentle soul he is, which makes the way he meets and then leaves Rod (and why he does it) so out of character, yet also reveals even more about the sort of man Martin is. Certainly not the love ‘em and leave ‘em kind, that’s for sure.
A bit of serendipity goes a long way toward giving Martin a much needed, and, quite honestly, a deserved second chance to make a good first impression on Rod. Because Michelle’s advice… well, let’s just say this time he meets Rod as Martin Cooper—no more, no less necessary.
Locked Out is such a heaping helping of sweet wrapped in a Martin shaped package, a lovely and romantic confection for the holiday. I thoroughly enjoyed this small gem.
You can buy Locked Out here:
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