Presidential son and ballsy playboy Hank McClaren isn’t going to make his dad’s reelection easy. He’s got something to prove and it’s all about exposing the man behind the presidency. Or rather, that was the plan, until Secret Service agent Montegue is assigned to cover Hank’s detail. Now, it’s all about melting Monty’s cocky resolve and making him sweat.
Montegue has worked hard to be the president’s number one security agent. Now the antics of the president’s son have him demoted to babysitting duty. He’s not pleased. Especially since Hank knows all the right ways to turn him on, and he’s finding it harder and harder to hold back.
But Hank has an ulterior motive, and Monty’s about to get caught in the cross-fire…
I SUCK at remembering to log in and approve friends. I'm so sorry I've made some of you wait. Please forgive my apparent chill, I swear it's not intended. Come hug me!
FOUR & A HALF STARS--Well knock me over with a feather, this book was seriously good. I need to read more of this series!! "Cock and Balls", the title might make some think this book is sex-filled PWP at first glance but this story is much deeper than that. The cock and balls even have a meaning.(yes, folks more than just a fun zone)
Presidential son and major brat Hank has been wreaking havoc to his father's re-election campaign. He is partying, making sure to get caught with plenty of pictures and giving the slip to the Secret Service...well all but one agent-Montegue aka 'Monty'. Monty has been on Hank's father's detail but now he's been reassigned to handle Hank and contain his outrageous actions for a few weeks.
Sounds like a great set up and believe me, it delivers on it. But there's more to just a gay playboy and hunky Secret Service agent being trapped together in Alabama. There's a reason to why Hank is acting the way he is - he is grieving from his mother's recent death. It's put a strain on his familial relationship that we get a good glimpse of. (Thank you for the scene with Hank and his father actually talking, it was great)
Hank is the epitome of a brat. What he did for attention was...I wanted to strangle Hank at some points. But I get where he was coming from. He was so angry, he let it consume him and damn the consequences. It's a messed up way to be but hey that's real life.
Do I think Hank was forgiven too easily? Yes. But I'm sure Monty will make him pay for it in all kinds of positions.
Monty was also a great love interest for Hank because he really understood the parts that made the man. And the way he played Hank...hotness. The dirty talk and teasing was Grade A in my opinion.
So if you are looking for a novella with legs, sexy men and depth, give this one a try.
I've just had a long run of angst and emotionally charged books so I just wanted to fit in a couple of ' easy fun reads'. I've read a few Mia watts so when I spotted this I thought it would fit the bill nicely and I was right It did. I love a good hunky bodyguard story.. What's not too like? This was a really fun sexy story. Hank is the presidents son with daddy issues ( parental not Dom! ) and of course in bratty son style he's doing his best to annoy dad who obviously can't afford any scandal being the Pres! Enter Garret Montegue Secret Service agent and no 1 fave of his dads. Both are gay but dad doesn't know, so when he assigns Monty to keep Hank out of trouble you know straight away that ain't going to happen, Ooh nooo! Sparks fly, sexual tension is high and due to Hanks naughty behaviour, not long after, they're holed up together in an out of the way cabin. Monty is sex on legs- Hank is gorgeous and a tease. Do the math... ;D
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Its got some funny moments, the chemistry is spot on, the story is engaging and there's even a little poignant under story that stops it from just being just another formulaic sexy romance. Love scenes sizzle! The only thing that I found a bit niggly was the ending. It was all wrapped up a little bit to easily, considering what Hank had put Monty through but still very satisfying. Left me smiling and stress free. Just what I needed!
I would have enjoyed this a lot more if Hank hadn't so petulant for the majority of the story. I kept expecting his reasoning behind it all to be more than what it ended up being so I wasn't impressed with his actions.
Garrett (Monty) Montegue was a lot more forgiving that he should have been considering .
I thought that Garrett was a great character and while Hank was starting to grow up by the end of the story it was too little too late for me to like and respect his character.
Where do I even begin to try to explain this story? It has two stubborn men, enough passion to burn the pages (were this a paper book), a storyline that contains as much psychology as it does discovery and "open heart" emotional surgery, and on top of it all the stakes for both characters are about as high as they can get. The way it is written and plays out made me yell at the characters' stupidity, but tugged at my heartstrings as well. It is an emotionally very intense ride, and kept me on my toes from beginning to end.
Hank McClaren may be he president's son, but he is a playboy, a spoiled brat, and has only himself and his pleasure on his agenda. Or so everyone thinks, and he lets them. In fact, he supports that sort of thinking with his behavior, intending to make life for his father as difficult as possible. He has a deep-seated grudge against him. First, for not being a good father after he got involved in politics; this is understandable, but a fairly childish view, considering he was never mistreated or neglected. Second, Hank blames his father for abandoning his wife, Hank's mother, when she was dying of cancer six months ago. Here, too, there is another side to the story. But it is a side Hank refuses to see, and his only objective is now to sabotage his dad's reelection.
Montegue, or Monty as Hank calls him, is the Secret Service agent who has been constantly by the president's side over the last four years. He has his own explanation for what happened between Hank and his father, and he also has a unique perspective on how the president dealt with his wife's illness and death. On top of it, he now has the task of making Hank behave. Of course, he has a plan for this, and he sets off to make it happen. The battle for dominance that ensues is epic. Hank keeps Monty on his toes, challenges him and his ideas at every turn, and puts up more walls than should be possible. Needless to say, Monty perseveres. Unfortunately, he also falls even more deeply in love with Hank – and that, combined with Hank's devious plan, causes a crisis of even bigger proportions.
Hank has a lot of growing up to do, and Monty has to learn he isn’t infallible. Very hard lessons for both of them, but they are uniquely suited to teach them to each other. If you like intense, emotionally draining stories, if you enjoy two strong men trying to outmaneuver each other at every turn – and failing, and if you're looking for a super-hot read with an interesting plot and fascinating psychology, then you will probably like this book as much as I did. Just – don’t expect to be able to put it down once you started.
NOTE: This book was provided by Resplendence Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
This had it all: humor, emotion, a bad-ass secret service agent (Monty) and a bad boy presidential son (Hank)...who did everything in his power to cause his father and Monty grief. Fortunately Monty was an even bigger control freak and kept Hank in line...or so he thinks.
Hank was bad, so bad, but he was funny...he had me laughing out loud quite a bit.
Monty was just delicious and the sex between these two was scorching!
HOWEVER!!!
The glossed over, too easily forgiven ending ruined a perfect book for me....growl growl growl. Just a bit more groveling and little longer for the "I love you's" and it would have been perfect for me.
I enjoyed this from the get go. Yes, Hank has some major issues with his father (the President of the USA) stemming mostly from his mother's death, which causes him to lash out and basically be a giant spoiled brat. Monte (Head Bodyguard to the Pres) sees something else in Hank, beyond his continuous antics. He tries his best to get through especially when they are forced to put Plan B in effect. The sex is hot and I really loved Monty.
The underlying issue was resolved a little too easily and the ending concluded a little too quickly for me. I would have like to have seen it drawn out a bit more.
Mia totally blew me out of the water with this book!! I have to say that this is officially my favorite book of the Handcuffs and Lace series, no joke!! If I could read a book written by Mia everyday for the rest of my life, I would be content. I love her guys that much!! I totally recommend this awesome book to everyone who loves to read.
So this didn't start out so great for me. Hank annoyed the hell out of me. But once they got to the cabin, things really took off!
Monty is awesome, confident, and a bit of a psychologist too with having to deal with Hank and his daddy issues.
It was very well written, although I did find some conversations a bit confusing b/w the MC's. Had to go back and re-read a few to keep the dialogue straight.
BLOODY-FAN-FREAKIN'-TASTIC!!!!! Loved Hank and all his snarkiness... he seriously had me in stitches... and Monty... that man was all about being strong and silent but underneath it, he was really the biggest sweetheart!!!
I interpreted this short story much differently from the majority. I liked Hank. I disliked Monty. I despised Hank's emotionally neglectful father, McClaren. Monty was prejudice in taking the president's side. He was arrogant in thinking he could "fix" Hank. He was insincere because his actions were to protect the president, not to help Hank. McClaren's turnaround toward Hank was unbelievable. Monty and Hank getting together was incredible too. The sex was hot but there was no real relationship development. Tentative ending.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the first part of the book, but then at 80% of the story everything felt ridiculous and forced and just didn't work for me.
Things I liked
- Monty was amazing character! I loved him so much! - OH THE HOTNESS! The sex is probably one of the best I've read in M/M books, so hot and sexy. - Romance between the president's son and his bodyguard? yes, please!
Things I didn't like
- Hank. He is on my list of the worst characters ever. He was a manipulative and selfish jerk. He didn't mature at all and definitely didn't deserve Monty. - The HEA felt so forced and ridiculous. - The cheesy, awful ending
Thanks to reading books by another author from this publisher, it was suggested I read this book. I'm glad it was.
There was a lot to like about this book. Hank and Monty were hilarious and hot and easy to root for. I was hooked from the very beginning and was particulary fascinated by Monty's character.
When Hank pulled his major sabotage, my jaw dropped. I was so shocked and so mad at him that I had to put the book down and walk away. When a book can do that, get you so emotionally invested, I call that a good book.
I will be making a point to pick up more of Mia's books after enjoying this one so much.
I really liked the premise of the story and the blurb made it sound very interesting. However, as the story progressed, it became increasingly unrealistic. Firstly, a summer cabin? Really? Shall we name the gazillion books that prominently feature a summer cabin? Or even better, an agent's summer cabin from his childhood? How original(!) Secondly, what the fuck?? Did I step into a porn film? Because that was about as realistic as one.
If I were rating this as porn, it would get a well deserved 3.2 stars. However, I am not rating it as porn and therefore it gets a barely-there 2.0 star rating.
This book was so good. A little clichéd storyline, but the writing didn't feel clichéd at all. I absolutely adored how real and raw Hank and Monty were. Their banter was perfect and the sex was A+. I love the emotions and the overall character development journey Hank went through without realizing, and how Monty understood him and pushed all the right buttons to get him there. With all this being said, I give this book a 4 because while I loved the ending, I feel that it was a little early for them to hit the l-o-v-e stage. but other than that minor thing, I loved this book!
Like most of the other books in the series Mia Watt has written this one is just as fun and enjoyable to read. There were however, some aspects of the book that got on my nerves (mostly Hanks attitude and antics). The story was good and the reasoning behind Hanks behavior worked. It might be handy to have some tissues on hand since Hank's anguish might pull on some heartstrings (I know I was a bit tearful).
This was amazingly better than I thought it would be. I chose this book, solely for the reason that it was set in Alabama. The blurb sounded like a cheesy movie. But turned out that it was a fun little read.
At one point I thought I was gonna give it 4 stars. I thought the ending was a little weak. There needed to be some major groveling, and begging to make up for the drama...but seemed like "I'm sorry" was all it took.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed this. It was fun, and hot.
Fluffy little book that I oddly enjoyed. There wasn't much depth to the story considering how short it was, but in the little word count a lot happened. I think what made this book an enjoyable read was that it took so long for Monty to warm to the idea of making moves on the presidents kid. Although little bit of a downfall would be that there was too much sex at the end.
Still I like it. Mia Watts will definitely continue to be one of my guilty pleasure authors.
With that title and length of book, I was thinking this would be some kind of fluffy, goofy story. It wasn't that at all. It was frustrating and sweet and sexy and fun. It wasn't super intense but it did have some nice emotions and we did get to know these guys quite well. Much better than expected.
Hank's continuing antics are annoying throughout the story. Plus while the idea of hot secret service agent affair is... hot.. I fount this to be lacking. Mostly due to the idea of an agent who is supposed to be protecting someone apparently falls down on the job leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Even though he was 'off the clock' it's unbecoming in these circumstances.
I think the best type of books are when you see yourself in the characters. I've been waiting my whole life for a Monty to come and tame the Hank in me. Hey ya never know ;-) One negative which resulted in the lost star was there seemed to be an overage of monologue for both characters. Also their back and forth actually got a little tedious midbook.
Hank is self-destructive and tries to pull down his dad and Monty in his grief and anger at his dad. Monty is assigned to protect him. They end up falling for each other before Hank's final act separates them. Hank resolves his issues with his dad before pursuing Monty where they confess their lover for each other.
This was much better than I expected it to be. I never know what I'm going to get with Mia Watts -- she's a bit hit or miss for me. I feel like sometimes her stories are a bit silly, but this one was a bit deeper than I was expecting and definitely not just PWP. Nice surprise!