Review Tour ~ Average Gray by A.C. Katt ~ (Review + Excerpt)
Author Name: A.C. Katt
Book Name: Average Gray
Series: Sunset Club (You can read it as a standalone)
Book: Five
Release Date: July 19, 2016
Publisher: MLR Press
Cover Artist: Lex Valentine
Pages or Words: 58,550
Categories: Contemporary, gay, m/m, Jersey Shore
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Blurb
Grayson Grey spends all of his time working at the Sunset and taking care of his mother who has leukemia. He has a huge crush on Enzo Del Monte but Enzo seems to what to spend his time with the manager of the Sunset, Mike Green. Then Gray finds out that Mike is not gay, about to take Enzo for a large sum of money and is stealing from the Sunset. Gray attempts to ride to the rescue but winds up being rescued himself.
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Excerpt
Gray put Bobby’s Heineken in front of him and shot a dark glare at Mike down the end of the bar. Bobby raised an eyebrow. Gray grunted in disgust. “All Mike wants is his money. He’s a poser.” Gray finished polishing the highball glass and held it up to the light to check for fingerprints. He placed the glass next to the others on the mirrored shelf. “He’s been trying to tap into Enzo’s wallet since he met him.”“Why would you say that?” Bobby’s leg twitched. It always did that when he was upset. Up in everyone’s business as always, he was interested in why Gray disliked Mike.
“Because he’s straight. He’s the only bartender in the place who is and Keith and Zach don’t know.”
“Jason worked with the guy, he vouched for him.” Bobby’s leg twitched so hard he had to hold it down. Since his friend Jack married Carlo, Carlo’s extended family bonded with Jack’s adopted family. Bobby didn’t like the fact that Mike was playing games, not only with one of his husband’s customers, but with Enzo, Carlo’s cousin, who Bobby considered to be one of his own.
“When Jason told Mike that a job was available at the Sunset, he jumped at the chance. He knew how much money he could make here. Besides, Keith couldn’t have refused him the job just because he’s straight. But even though he had to know that, he lied to Keith’s face.” Gray washed another glass. “Mike would have pretended to be a Martian if that would have gotten him the job. He knew if he was gay, he’d get better tips.”
“How do you know all this, if Jason doesn’t?” Bobby’s voice switched to a lower, gruffer register and he tightened his grip on his glass.
“I’ve seen him around town with his girlfriend. When he introduced me, he said her name was Cathy, that was it, no point of reference. I saw them at the mall. I needed to pick something up for Mom. Cathy left us to go to a store when he dragged me aside and told me she was his sister. Why wouldn’t he plain introduce her as his sister? Why would he draw me aside?” Gray put the last glass on the rack with a little more force than necessary.
“Maybe his sister doesn’t know he’s gay.” Bobby’s brows drew together. At this point, his leg was banging against the rungs of the bar stool.
“Do you play tonsil hockey with your sister? I was waiting in line to get into the movies last Monday night when I saw them. My neighbor sat with my mom so I could get away for a few hours. I didn’t want to talk work so I avoided him and he didn’t see me. I sat on the other side of the theater to the back. They made out throughout the entire show. Somebody has to tell Enzo.” Gray’s fist clenched around the bar towel.
“Why don’t you tell Enzo?” Bobby asked with mistrust.
“You know damn well why.” Gray snapped the bar towel. “Enzo doesn’t know I exist. I like Enzo, a lot, and I’d love it if he noticed me, but even if I can’t have him, I can’t let Mike do him dirty. Mike needs money. He’s going to ask Enzo for a loan. He’s planning on skipping town once he gets the check.” Gray wiped at the bar furiously. “He’s been playing Enzo since day one.”
Bobby leaned over the bar, leg moving up and down like a carnival horse. “And you know this how?”
“No one pays me much attention. I’m average, nondescript, plain faced, medium height—people tend to overlook average. They see handsome, ugly, tall, short, but not average—gray. My name suits me, Grayson Grey. Mike didn’t notice I was there when he was on the phone with Cathy. He told her he’d get the money from Enzo and they’d elope to Las Vegas. He said he’s been setting Enzo up since the bachelor party and she shouldn’t worry. Enzo was chaffing at the bit and would give it to him without a question. From what I could hear, and I admit, I stood there and eavesdropped, she was pissed because he gambled away their savings.” Gray sighed and took Bobby’s empty glass off the bar. “Enzo doesn’t see me either, but I can’t let Mike do that to him.” Gray swiped at his eyes with the bar towel.
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*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review. ***
Gray considers himself average in looks and temperament, completely overlooked by others because of that. He's been crushing on handsome billionaire, Enzo Del Monte, from the moment he first saw him, but there's no way Enzo would ever look twice at Gray, especially since he's been paying lots of attention to Mike, one of Gray's coworkers, who only wants Enzo for his money.
Unbeknownst to him, Enzo Del Monte has been looking at Gray for a long time and it's only because Mike told him that Gray was engaged to be married, that he didn't try to date him before. When Gray comes clean to his boss regarding Mike's real motives for getting close to Enzo, they discover Mike's tangled web of lies. But there might be more problems lurking on the horizon for Enzo and Gray before they find their HEA.
I really wanted to love this book. I liked the cover and loved the blurb, but somehow, it didn't quite meet my expectations. I couldn't shake the feeling that Enzo treated Gray like a little kid sometimes, for example, helping him put on his seatbelt or asking him not to forget his sweater or even taking over Gray's mother's treatment and moving them into Enzo's house. Rather than feeling like he was caring for Gray, I felt his behavior was more than a bit overbearing. For as independent and used to caring for his mother as Gray had been from a very early age, he just sat back and allowed Enzo to just take over his life and do as he saw fit. That's not my idea of being partners with someone.
I enjoyed the first part of the book a whole lot more than the second. While there were a lot of characters in the first half and sometimes it was a bit overwhelming, at least things moved along at a good pace. Then the focus turned from Enzo and Gray towards Gray's mom's treatment and it completely took over the story. I didn't need to know every single detail of the treatment, and we're talking pages upon pages of it, if I want to know about that, I can research it online and not have it take over a book in the way it did. The secondary 'mystery' plotline with Gray's father was also unnecessary in my opinion and it just made me dislike Gray's mom even more when I saw her trying to protect the creep and not the son who'd turned his life upside down to take care of her.
Perhaps some might like the book, maybe even love it, and it's not that it's badly written, it just wasn't for me and I'm very sorry to say I just can't recommend it.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
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Review
Gray considers himself average in looks and temperament, completely overlooked by others because of that. He's been crushing on handsome billionaire, Enzo Del Monte, from the moment he first saw him, but there's no way Enzo would ever look twice at Gray, especially since he's been paying lots of attention to Mike, one of Gray's coworkers, who only wants Enzo for his money.
Unbeknownst to him, Enzo Del Monte has been looking at Gray for a long time and it's only because Mike told him that Gray was engaged to be married, that he didn't try to date him before. When Gray comes clean to his boss regarding Mike's real motives for getting close to Enzo, they discover Mike's tangled web of lies. But there might be more problems lurking on the horizon for Enzo and Gray before they find their HEA.
I really wanted to love this book. I liked the cover and loved the blurb, but somehow, it didn't quite meet my expectations. I couldn't shake the feeling that Enzo treated Gray like a little kid sometimes, for example, helping him put on his seatbelt or asking him not to forget his sweater or even taking over Gray's mother's treatment and moving them into Enzo's house. Rather than feeling like he was caring for Gray, I felt his behavior was more than a bit overbearing. For as independent and used to caring for his mother as Gray had been from a very early age, he just sat back and allowed Enzo to just take over his life and do as he saw fit. That's not my idea of being partners with someone.
I enjoyed the first part of the book a whole lot more than the second. While there were a lot of characters in the first half and sometimes it was a bit overwhelming, at least things moved along at a good pace. Then the focus turned from Enzo and Gray towards Gray's mom's treatment and it completely took over the story. I didn't need to know every single detail of the treatment, and we're talking pages upon pages of it, if I want to know about that, I can research it online and not have it take over a book in the way it did. The secondary 'mystery' plotline with Gray's father was also unnecessary in my opinion and it just made me dislike Gray's mom even more when I saw her trying to protect the creep and not the son who'd turned his life upside down to take care of her.
Perhaps some might like the book, maybe even love it, and it's not that it's badly written, it just wasn't for me and I'm very sorry to say I just can't recommend it.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
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Buy the book
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Meet A.C. Katt
AC Katt was born in New York City’s Greenwich Village. She remembers sitting at the fountain in Washington Square Park listening to folk music while they passed the hat. At nine, her parents dragged her to New Jersey where she grew up, married and raised four children and became a voracious reader of romantic fiction. At one time she owned over two thousand novels, until she and her husband took themselves and the cat to New Mexico for their health and its great beauty. Now, most of AC’s books are electronic (although she still keeps six bookcases of hardcovers), so she never has to give away another book. AC is a late bloomer, however, she claims to have found her niche writing LGBT romance.Where to find the author:
Facebook: Mary Lynn Hansel & AC Katt
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.
Twitter: @ackatt
Pinterest: A.C, Katt
Blog: ackattsjournal.com
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