Release Day Reviews: Deeds and Confetti by Brandon Witt (Giveaway)

Title: Deeds and Confetti

Author: Brandon Witt
Release Date: September 27, 2017
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 100

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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....

*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

Deeds & Confetti is the fourth novella in Brandon Witt’s Mary’s Boys series. Though you could get away without reading all the other books in the series, I truly think a reader will get more enjoyment reading it in the appropriate order. This series has reoccurring characters in every novella, and throughout the series, you see the building of Mary's family.

Steven owns Mary's restaurant and is a familiar character throughout the series. But, in this novella we don't see the Steven we've come to know from the previous stories. This Steven has been rocked by the death of his father and his father's harsh words before his death. He and his father didn't have a relationship, his father never approving of him. While his father was alive, Steven was able to ignore and live his life, but the deathbed words affected him. Steven was questioning his life, his business, his sexuality, his future. Steven was adrift and when distraction came in the form of the hot guy working at the funeral home, Steven took it. Only, that distraction wasn't a stranger and was a young man he'd known most of his life, Ryan, his nephew's best friend. Ryan has had a crush on Steven since his teens, and knew that Steven didn't remember him but decided to take what he could get. But, Ryan wants more than a couple nights and decides to show Steven why they work.

I love the characters in this series and feel like every novella is even better than the previous. I know I end each one thinking the newest one I read was my favorite and this is no exception. Every single one of these novellas brought me to tears, but this one had tears streaming down my face when I got to the last part of the story. It was such a beautiful, sweet, wonderful tribute to Steven.

As I always say, novellas are so difficult (in my opinion)! You have limited number of pages to tell a story and have your characters find love, and make it believable but I think this series shows that it is possible to do it. In my opinion, Mary's Boys is among the best novellas in romance. Each book is packed full of heartbreak, healing, family and love. That's a lot to squeeze into a novella! And though the love is instalove in many cases, it's believable. If you haven't read this series, you should take the time now to do so! Each book only takes a couple of hours to read, but the love you'll remember for much longer.

Rating: 5 stars!

5 Stars

Steven Conley is the owner of Hamburger Mary's in Denver. Having left Corporate America behind, he loves his life and his makeshift family. Steven has never been close to his father, but his dying words leave Steven desolate and doubting his choices.

Ryan Fuller has secretly crushed on Steven for years. Having recently left the art world to start his own party planning business, Ryan coordinates funerals on the side to stay afloat. When Ryan and Steven "hook up", Steven doesn't realize Ryan is his nephew's best friend. When the truth comes out, Steven has to look at the recent turns his life has taken and decide if loving Ryan is worth the risk.

I really enjoyed Steven and Ryan's journey to love. Just being with Ryan makes Steven's worries lessen, he can finally relax and enjoy life. He just has to let go of past hurts to live and love in the moment. Ryan's sweet, romantic crush on an older more world-weary Steven gives the story the lift it needed into a light and beautifully written book.

It was wonderful to see a bit from all of Mary's Boys, but I am heartbroken that this is the final book. I want more stories!! Keeping my fingers crossed for a follow-up. Maybe a holiday novella?

*** Copy provided to the reviewer by the author for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement* 

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