Title: Deeds & Confetti (Mary’s Boys: Book Four)
Author: Brandon Witt
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 100 Pages
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: I looove a good May-December romance, and Deeds & Confetti certainly fits that bill. I’m so glad I picked this one up. I enjoyed reading it and can’t wait to fall more in love with the rest of the folks at Mary’s when I go back and read the other books.
Reviewed By: Jules
Blurb: 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….
Review: Deeds & Confetti is the fourth and final book in Brandon Witt’s Mary’s Boys series, a series of novellas based on the staff of a Hamburger Mary’s franchise in Denver. I’ve known about this project since before the first release, but have somehow just jumped on board now. For those of you who also haven’t read the first three books, it’s important to know that Deeds & Confetti can be read as a standalone; BUT, also know that it will make you want to immediately read the other three books. I not only fell in love with Ryan and Steven, the main characters of this book, but also with some of the other characters. And, really, just with the premise behind the series. I love stories about chosen families, those people who we choose to be closest to in our lives. Oftentimes our chosen family can be more supportive than even our blood relatives, which is what some of the MCs in these books discover.
I think the main reason this blurb jumped out at me was probably the age-gap. I looove a good May-December romance, and this one certainly fits that bill. Relationships with large age gaps can have such interesting dynamics. Sometimes they start off smoothly, with hardly any mind being paid to the age issue at all, and sometimes things are a bit rockier in the beginning, as both parties try to find their footing. With Steven and Ryan, it was the latter situation. Steven had a very difficult time letting go of the age thing, and that Ryan was his nephew’s best friend. When Steven seems like he’s about to throw in the towel before things really even get going between them, Ryan talks him into one more date, as a test to see if their connection is real. During the date, Ryan teases Steven about how hung up he is on being older. I loved this:
“Let’s just get this out on the table now. If we pass this test, me teasing you about your age is gonna be a thing. A frequent thing.”
I also really liked that, even with the age difference, Ryan and Steven were actually at very similar places in their lives. Steven, unsatisfied with his career in finance and tired of being lonely, bought a Hamburger Mary’s franchise because he was sure it would be just the light, fun thing he needed in his life. Once a successful artist, Ryan lost his joy for painting and grew tired of trying to live up to his parents’ expectations, and decided to open an event planning business. Both are doing something just for them, against family wishes or advice, leaving lucrative career situations to jump into something that, while risky, is also potentially more fulfilling.
The relationship between Steven and Ryan is definitely somewhat insta-love-y, which I know doesn’t work for some readers, and sometimes it doesn’t for me either. But, here I felt it totally did work. While the feelings do come on fast, I think perhaps because Ryan has had a crush on Steven for so long, and they do have a bit of history, it feels like a truer, more organic connection rather than an insta-love forced by an author. I loved them together.
Another huge plus for this book, and I imagine the series as a whole, is the cast of characters. Steven’s sister Pat is AMAZING. She is absolutely his biggest cheerleader. I loved her to pieces. Steven’s head bartender at the restaurant, and best friend, Vahin, is also completely awesome and such a good and loyal friend to Steven. I will absolutely be reading his book, Vodka & Handcuffs, very soon. Ryan’s best friend, and Steven’s nephew, Topher, has a couple of wonderful moments in the story. And, of course, there is plenty of Mandonna, who I fell in love with in Witt’s Under a Sky of Ash, and Ariel Merman, whose story is told in the third book in the series.
I’m so glad I picked this one up. I enjoyed reading it and can’t wait to fall more in love with the rest of the folks at Mary’s when I go back and read the other books. I was sad when I learned this was the final one! I’m sure it was tough for the author to say goodbye to this crew. Maybe we’ll end up seeing more of them in the future. 😉 I sure hope so!
You can buy Deeds & Confetti here:
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