The Perfect Mess

by K. Sterling

Landon Bright was two months away from a new job in a new city when an encounter with an old friend changes everything. Despite common sense telling him it's a bad idea, Landon gives in and goes on a blind date.

Ben Marshall is completely over men and dating but gives in when his sister's boyfriend insists he has the perfect guy for Ben and agrees to be set up. Not only is Landon the perfect guy, but Ben has the best night of his life. The only fault he can find is that Landon is moving in a few months.

For a moment, Landon was sure Ben was going to kiss him and he tilted his head forward as he held his breath. There was a soft clink on the counter and Landon had to blink several times to get his eyes to focus. He pulled them away from Ben’s lips and the bartender gestured at their drinks.
“Want to get a table?” Ben asked. His voice had gone deep and smokey and Landon nodded as he reached for their glasses and handed one to Ben.
“Definitely,” he said then waved toward the booths across the room. Ben turned and Landon’s eyes fell to Ben’s ass as he followed and he wondered if it was too soon to offer his face as a seat. Jesus, slow down! He scolded as they reached the table. Landon watched as Ben sat then quickly scooted onto the bench next to him before he had a chance to overthink it. “I hope you don’t mind,” he said as he stretched his arm along the back of the seat behind Ben’s shoulders. Ben smiled as he shook his head.
“Not at all,” Ben murmured as he turned sideways so he could face Landon. “I hate when you have to talk loud or strain to hear someone and this place looks like it could get really busy later,” he replied and Landon smiled as he raised his glass and sipped. He swallowed and took a deep breath and Ben’s soft scent made Landon dizzy. He smelled rich and warm, like sandalwood, vanilla and fabric softener. Landon leaned closer and inhaled again.
“You smell incredible, I can’t get enough of it,” he admitted and Ben choked on his drink. Landon scrubbed his hand over his eyes and swore under his breath. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m coming on so strong. I’m nervous and out of practice. And I wasn’t prepared for you to be so…” His voice died when Ben’s hand wrapped around his thigh. “Hot,” Landon whispered hoarsely as heat washed over him. Ben chuckled as his head tilted forward.
“I like it.” Ben’s breath was warm and a sweet blend of whiskey and mint against Landon’s lips. “I’m a lot more nervous than I expected too,” he admitted and the heat spilled lower and pooled in Landon’s groin. Landon’s heart beat hard against his ribs and his eyes felt heavy as his lips tingled. It was taking every ounce of strength he had not to press them against Ben’s. He swallowed past the knot in his throat then coughed softly to clear it.
“Could we maybe…” Landon licked his lips and Ben’s parted. “I think it would be a lot easier for me to concentrate if we got the first one over with,” he murmured.
“The first what?” Ben asked quietly as his hand tightened around Landon’s thigh.
“Kiss,” Landon breathed and Ben’s head nodded faintly as it lowered.
The first brush of their lips was gentle and tentative. Landon gasped as the lush softness and warmth of Ben’s lips sent a ripple of giddiness through him. Ben exhaled and Landon could taste it. He moaned as he angled his head and pressed his lips firmly against Ben’s as his tongue slid into the sweetness of Ben’s mouth.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT

122 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 13, 2015

About the author

Author of the popular Nannies of New York and Boys of Lake Cliff book series, K Sterling has self-published dozens of books. K. is known for fast-paced romantic thrillers and touching gay romcoms. There might be goosebumps and some gore but there’s always true love and lots of laughter.

Reviews

[~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

FLUFFTASTIC PORN ALERT!

It's all about the ass, baby!



Plot: Landon has to choose between the out-of-state job he's always wanted and the man of his dreams? WHAT WILL HE DO? What would YOU do?

This book isn't deep. Ben and Landon are an interracial couple, and at one point Ben, who's of Jamaican heritage, feels like less of a man because he likes to take it up the ass. When he did the fucking, he was just a man who wasn't sexually into women, but if a man fucks him, he's "totally" gay. As opposed to partially gay?

This concept wasn't explored, and the side plot regarding Ben's sister was sort of dropped. There were also a few grammatical issues.

But, seriously, who cares? I did not read this book to have a philosophical discussion about gender roles. Or commas.



I read it for the sex. And the sex was SMOKIN'!



We also get an absurdly adorable HEA!

Feel-good, slutty read.

[Ele · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was ok....I think. I didn't hate it but I didn't like it either. I actually felt nothing.

Oh well...

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This book had a lot of sex. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. It was a bit much, but I still enjoyed this a great deal.

This book is pretty cheesy, has all the insta-love and almost no angst.

Landon and Ben meet and immediately hit it off. Like, love at first sight hit it off. Their first meeting was really sweet. I truly felt the chemistry between Ben and Landon. They were immediately smitten with each other.

Unfortunately Landon is leaving New York in 5 weeks because he has landed his dream job, in California. Both men know it’s not fair to Landon to ask him to give up his dream for someone he just met.

But they are so in love, and they both know it’s going to hurt so much when Landon has to leave.

”I want to keep being near you and I think I want every moment that I can get because I know I’m going to miss you and I’ll wish that I had just a few more moments.”

It did get even more cheesy for the last 25%, especially the thing with the sister, but I was in the mood for cheesy and this fit the bill.

[Ivana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miss Sterling you vixen, you've done it again!

I almost dropped a star for Ben's bullshit in the beginning but he redeemed himself enough in the end that it earned another fan girl squeal from me. I hate the 'masc must mean top' culture. There is nothing more delicious and beautiful to me than a muscly man's man submitting to someone smaller and more fem. Hot!

Oh that ending, you know how to satisfy me with those endings.

Another fantastic read from this author. K. Sterling is an autobuy for me, just bring a change of underwear!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a recommendation and I'm really pleased I read it! This is the first book I have read by the author and I plan on reading more!

Landon and Ben meet on a blind date and both unexpectedly fall hard for each other, but their time is limited as Landon is due to move to the other side of the country in 9 weeks time for his dream job......so begins a relationship on fast forward, trying to cram in as much time with each other as possible. A slice of insta-love with a side -order of soul mates, slowly marinated to a HEA.

There are moments of fun, flirty behaviour, lots of smexy time (doors preferred!) and quiet moments of pure emotion, it was a slow build up but my stomach rolled with the impending grief of separation and my heart ached when Ben begged for Landon to stay...... The solution to the issue seemed a little too well wrapped up, but to be frank, who the fuck cares - the boys are back - yay!!!

The side characters were fab - Ben's sister Michelle and Landon's friend Jason were humorous and added some comical scenes to the story - the "return home" conversation had me grinning like a loon!! And we must not forget Keith the hamster, she only graced the book for a couple of pages, but she was sorely missed when she went home!

It was a sweet ending and finished with a fluffy epilogue several years later, leaving me with a contented smile.

Enjoyable read.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this might be my second or third K. Sterling read and she has a definite handle on sex scenes. Whew!! Hot, hot and hotter. But I was pleasantly surprised and blown away by the nicely balanced storyline, the relatable secondary characters and most of all, by our MCs Landon and Ben. First kudos to Ms. Sterling for giving us a multicultural couple. My only quibble and it is small, is that I wish that she had stayed away from those silly stereotypes about men of color. Sadly so many writers feel that they have to resort to using those if a character isn't white. But I will say that the way she handled Ben's feelings about his sexuality was brilliantly executed. Love those questions about levels of gayness. Landon and Ben meet on a blind date and fall in lust immediately. Now the story could have taken a wrong turn into too-much-sex land but the author gave us a lovely, emotional, funny and crazy sexy build up to Landon and Ben's relationship. The weaving of their storyline with Jason and Ben's sister, Michelle, was excellent! Ben and Landon click but there is a time limit on this relationship because Landon is moving to California in 9 weeks. Towards the end, I was sobbing. I suspected that it would be handled the way it was, but that didn't take away from the awesomeness of the ending. And that epilogue! Oh my, hope we see more of Ben and Landon and the rest of the family. Left me with tears of happiness. What's next Ms. Sterling????

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Automatic but, immediate read

Sigh, I love all of K. Sterling's books. I love HEAs, the journey to said HEA, especially if there's humour and just a smidgen of angst (none works as well). Me Sterling's books always deliver that and more - for me at , least. Now I have to wait for the next book... Sigh

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok so the sex scenes were hot as they tend to be with this author, but the story was kind of blah for me. It was angst free which is sometimes great but there was no conflict really and the HEA was a no brainer. Hot sexy love making scenes though, so if your looking for some skinamax you should read this. ☆☆☆

[Jenn C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another winner by K. Sterling. Not s lot of angst except for the whole - Landon is moving across the country in 9 weeks. I really did enjoy how the author included Bens feelings/hang ups about his masculinity when he was out with Landon once roles were reversed. It was interesting..

[Daphne · Rating 3 out of 5]

K Sterling is so consistent and I love it.

[Otterpuss · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Ben and Landon meet on a blind date and get on like a house on fire.
Landon had been offered his dream job but it has a catch...its miles away from Ben. What's a guy to do???

Ben and Landon are smoking hot together and the story is sweet and fluffy.

There are a few issues such as the whole story line around Ben's sister was dropped half way through and I really feel that Ben's confusion about how he feels about bottoming as opposed to being the top could have been explored so much more. It was just dropped with no conclusion.

The story basically consists of sex and going out to eat but it's sweet and fluffy with no angst and I enjoyed it.

[Tami · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Leaundra · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars..Landon and Ben were so sweet, sexy and hot together.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nur noch ein paar Wochen, dann ist Landon Bright endlich am Ziel seiner Träume. Mit seinem Leben in New York hat er abgeschlossen und sieht einer aufregenden Zeit in Californien entgegen. Dort hat er seinen absoluten Traumjob an Land gezogen und kann es kaum noch erwarten. Doch dann schlägt das Schicksal gnadenlos zu. Ausgerechnet neun Wochen vor seiner Abreise begegnete er Ben Marshall. Initiiert wird diese Begegnung (Blind Date) von Landons Freund Jason, der mit Ben’s Schwester zusammen ist.

Eigentlich will Landon gar nicht gehen, doch was soll ausser einem Disaster oder einem netten Abend schon passieren? Und dann ist alles anders. Denn Ben ist einfach – wunderbar. Landon weiss schon beim ersten Augenblick, dass er in Schwierigkeiten geraten wird. Und seine Vorahnungen bewahrheiten sich, denn Landon und Ben verlieben sich Hals über Kopf ineinander. Dabei spielt Landon aber mit offenen Karten und lässt Ben nicht ins offene Messer laufen. Sie sind sich bewusst, dass ihre gemeinsame Zeit begrenzt sein wird. Doch alle guten Vorsätze, Ratschläge und Bedenken werden ob der Dynamik ihrer Anziehung ausser Kraft gesetzt.

Der Titel des Buches ist Programm und die Geschichte ist sehr, sehr hot und auch romantisch. Ben und Landon verknallen sich wirklich sehr schnell ineinander, tun das aber als reine Sex-Geschichte ab. Insgeheim empfinden sie aber mehr und verbringen die letzten Wochen vor Landons Abreise fast nur noch zusammen. Dabei kommt es aber auch zu kleineren Reibereien, denn eigentlich sind sei beide Alphatiere und Tops. Vor allem Ben lässt sich nur schwer auf die Bottom-Rolle ein. Das liegt aber vermutlich an seiner ethnischen Herkunft. Allerdings gelingt es ihnen diese Schwierigkeiten ohne unnötig herbeigeschriebenes Drama zu überwinden.

Während Landon eben seine Zukunft in Californien sieht, kann Ben sich nicht vorstellen New York zu verlassen. Zwar würde er als Studiomusiker auch dort Arbeit finden, doch seine Schwester Michelle kann er einfach nicht verlassen. Sie ist die einzige Angehörige, die ihm noch verblieben ist und er hängt sehr an seinem Zwilling. K. Sterling schreibt vielleicht nicht besonders tiefsinnig und -schürfend. Aber ihre Geschichten sind einfach angenehm zu lesen und hinterlassen immer ein zufriedenes Schmunzeln. Weder Humorn, noch Erotik oder Romantik kommen zu kurz. Gleichzeitig geht sie aber sehr wohl auf die Nöte der Helden und ihre Zukunftsängste ein.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story raised my expectations for m\m stories, especially where interracial couples are concerned. Even though I love interracial romance stories, I hate how so many of them adhere to archaic racial stereotypes.

Every story I've read with a gay black man depicts him as this massive, physically intimidating man, who scares little children. It's so annoying. As a black woman, I find it insulting to read those stories. I enjoy how Sterling didn't go down there road. Ben was awesome. I like how the topic of masculinity was addressed because society, as a whole, put way too much thought into who tops or bottoms. Even in straight culture, people frown at other couples who deviate from "vanilla sex." It was nice seeing Ben struggle with the idea without losing his mind about it. I like how Landon basically told him that he was looking to much into his actions.

Landon and Ben are definitely the cutest couple I've read about. Even though they fell in love fast, nothing about their relationship seemed forced or incomplete. I enjoyed all their moments together, inside and outside the bedroom. When they went into the gallery and the store for the gnome table was so adorable. I've been reading, unintentionally, a lot of stories where the couples don't get a HEA, which annoys me. It was so refreshing to read a story where I want to scream, "This is what makes a good romance story! Stop with all The Notebook-esque crap!"

I hope to find more interracial BM\WM stories like this where it's an actual love story instead of a glorified porno.

[Jenny Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute.

Landon's friend Jason wants him to go on a date with his girlfriends brother Ben. Knowing he's leaving New York for a job that takes him across the country to California. It's his dream job and he's worked really hard for it, but he and Ben hit it off immediately and can't get enough of each other. Days turn into weeks as their counting down the time that Landon has to go, they don't talk about it but it's always there in the back of both of their minds. They talk about it after the first day and decide that they'd rather be together for the little time they have than not take advantage of their connection while they have time, so they spend every minute they can together...

I have to say, I didn't think Landon would go and it broke my heart when he did. I felt so bad for Ben after he finally begged him to stay.
Overall it was a very low angst, very sweet story. I was wierded out about Ben's view of bottoming making him "real gay" and nothing seeming to get worked out about all that, but I mean I guess for as much as he brought it up, it couldn't have bothered him too bad cuz he kept doing it. They were super cute together though and I love that it worked out for them in the end.

[Antoinette · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars! I ready liked this story. Landon and Ben have given up on meeting that special someone intimate they're set up by a mutual friend. They realizes very quickly (within a few hours) that they've met the perfect guy, possibly their soulmate. For Landon this comes at the most inopportune time, he moving away in two months. They decide to keep dating to see where it goes rationalizing that they probably won't still be interested in each other when the time comes for Landon to leave. The way they move full speed ahead and become completely immersed in each others' lives pretending that impending deadline might not be smart but its makes the next 7-8 weeks amazing. I mean its better to love and lose than to not love at all, right? They might have to deal with soul crushing, heartbreak in the end but it'll be worth it right? Read this boo and find out.

[Billy J Stratton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable book.

Landon is fixing to change jobs and move to another state in a couple of months. He is getting his dream job with pixelworks. He runs into his college room mate at the grocery store and Jason wants to set him up on a date with his girlfriend's brother. Landon tells Jason that there really isn't any need because he's moving soon. Jason gives him Ben's number and tells him to call anyway just to have some fun. Landon calls and meets Ben for drinks and they are immediately attracted to each other. They wind up sleeping together that first night and wishing that Landon wasn't moving. Things keep getting better and better but neither one is going to agree to stay with the other one. Ben can not bring himself to leave his twin sister and Landon can not give up his dream job. Read this story and see what is going to happen to these guys.

[Charo · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 star awesome.. a must read.

Omg ! 5 star awesome in every way. Superb writing, storyLine and dialogue- I was hanging onto every word. Excellent characters, you just fall in love with. And yes, this is truly scorching hot delicious erotica at its very best. I highly recommend. A must read. Wow!!!
Charo

[Char Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book!

First time reader of this author. I really enjoyed this book. Landon and Ben were so awesome together. I loved the chemistry between them. I laughed, cried, and cheered with these guys and I loved the ending!!! I will definitely read more from this author in the future!

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

When a main character feels like a woman - and I don't just mean feminine, but like a stereotypical protagonist in a heteromance, it's time to bail. I finally put it aside when he stood there passively waiting for his date to unbutton his shirt, after a evening of tonsil hockey in the bar before the scene. Really?

[Antisocial Recluse · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 58%. There were some thoughts expressed by one MC regarding the ethnicity of the other MC, that I felt were unnecessary. Not really offensive, just not needed. And I reached a truly weird role-play scene, and couldn't read anymore. I'm disappointed in this one.

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love at first sight really happens

Imagine you just landed your dream job and fate steps in. A blind date turns into your happily ever after. Try this fast paced take no prisoners love story and you will not be disappointed.

[Krinessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply great reading

All of K. Sterling's books are wonderful. The stories tug at your heart strings and never let you go. They are exactly what romance is all about. They are just simply great reads.

[Jennifer Nino · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Jenn "Awww Yeaaahhh" · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. Definitely a re read

[♥J ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not a long book but it didn't feel like a short one. Really enjoyed the dynamic with this couple and those sex scenes were delicious. A new author for me to look forward to :-)

[Denise Koopman · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book by this author and glad I ran across her while seeking books for my Kindle. Can wait to read more.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge K. Sterling fan so of course she did not disappoint in this great story.