Hi there! Today I’m sharing a release day review and giveaway for a new contemporary M/M romance from DJ Jamison. FULL DISCLOSURE is a bit rom-com bit police romance and a fun read.
Drop down to read an excerpt, my review and enter to win a $20 GC in the giveaway!
About the book:
A new real estate agent gets more than he bargained with his first client ….
Camden
I’m desperate to make a fresh start as a real estate agent after leaving my alcoholic boyfriend of way too long. Getting a call to list a house while parading as a hot dog for a few bucks seems like my lucky break. Then things go sideways. My apartment is broken into and burglarized. Getting caught half-naked while squatting in my own listing is a low point. Seeing the sexy-voiced stranger who is now my client — and his gorgeous, cold boyfriend? — major bummer. But hey! I might sell a house … if we can ever get it in decent shape for the market and all the odd questions surfacing about my client don’t get in the way.
Reid
I’m a washed up US marshal turned bodyguard, and even that’s lost its appeal. A leave of absence to deal with a house I inherited from my great-uncle seems like a good opportunity to get my head straight. But then my boss pulls me aside and asks me to take on a witness in danger. We’d be off the grid, so to speak. The guy is a criminal, but he’s young and gay, so we set up a cover as a couple. Might seem risky in Kansas, but all the gossip about those gay guys will make a great smokescreen to our true secret: Lee is a target of the Dragon Boyz gang, and I have to keep him safe until trial. Of course, I wasn’t counting on the gorgeous blond, blue-eyed Realtor who makes me want something more in my life. When he starts asking questions, do I set him straight or risk losing him for good? And then there’s still those gang members to think about.
FULL DISCLOSURE: includes inappropriate attire, gunfights, flirting while in a fake relationship and male/male naughtiness.
How about a little taste?
I shimmied my hips, which in turn shook my moneymaker.
Sadly, I wasn’t on the dance floor, swishing for attention. I was wiggling and jiggling to reach my phone, which was inconveniently positioned in the waistband of my briefs.
The phone rang — and vibrated — turning my shimmy into a spastic hop.
People stared. Though that might have been caused by the hot dog costume encasing me in a sweaty, straining mess rather than the bun action going on. (See what I did there? Bun action. Ha, ha. No, seriously. My life is a joke.)
The sidewalk baked under my feet, and the thick, humid heat of Kansas summer hung heavy in the air. A fan inside the costume kept me from heat stroke, but sweat still poured from my body. The phone slipped and slid against my skin, evading my grasp.
My shoulder twinged with pain, but I managed to pull the dang phone free.
“You’ve reached Camden Lewis,” I answered breathlessly.
With luck, I sounded at least a bit professional. I didn’t intend to be the hot dog in Dogs N Stuff’s marketing campaign a minute longer than necessary.
I had already launched my new venture, as a real estate agent, but business was a little slower getting off the ground than I’d hoped. And my safety net — i.e. my well-paid boyfriend, Austin — was no longer a viable option.
Thus, the humiliating, poorly paid work.
“You’re the real estate agent?”
“Yes!” I responded with a little too much excitement. Clearing my throat, I tried to rein myself in. “Yes, sir, I am. How might I help you today?”
“My name is Reid Bishop. I inherited the place on Ivy Lane, owned by my great-uncle, Robert Winters? Have you heard of it?”
Nope. “Yes, sir. Are you looking to sell then?”
Please please please!
“I am. I live out of state, and I have no idea what condition the property is in presently. I need an agent I can trust to go check out the place and advise me on any steps I need to take to prepare it for market. I will be coming to town in a week or two. I’m not sure of the timetable just yet.”
Score!
“I can absolutely help you with that, Mr. Bishop. There’s some paperwork to get the process started, even if you’re not ready to go on market. I could fax that to your office?”
A loud, nasally voice interrupted my surprise sales call.
“Cam! I’m not paying you to talk on the phone!”
Damn. Dogs N Stuff’s manager, Mike White, who thought supervising a fast-food restaurant made him hot shit, was crossing the street at a jog.
“Fax works. Should I give you the number now?” Reid Bishop asked, his deep baritone smooth as coffee in my ear.
I could listen to that voice all day. But I didn’t have all day, or even all of a minute. Edging down the sidewalk, I put more distance between me and Mike while talking fast.
“Actually, Mr. Bishop, I’m driving. On my way to a showing. You know how it is, all work for us busy real estate agents! But if you want to text the info, I’d be happy to get everything started when I get back to the office.”
“Sure, sounds good. I normally do more homework and check reviews, but I’ve got my hands full.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Bishop. If you’re not satisfied with my work, you can withdraw the listing and work with another agent. There’s very little risk.”
“Well, you sound like you know what you’re talking about. Thank you.”
Yesss. Score 1 for the art of bullshitting.
“Thank you. Talk to you again soon, sir.”
I ended the call not a second too soon.
“Cam!” Mike bellowed as he grabbed my arm. “I pay you to work, not take calls. Hot dogs don’t have cell phones!”
I turned an irritated look on him. “Hot dogs don’t have legs. Do you want me to cut off my legs?”
“What? No—”
“It was an emergency call. It won’t happen again.”
God, please let it happen again.
If someone else called, maybe I’d finally have enough clients to leave the hot dog business.
My Review:
Camden Lewis is a little down on his luck. His long-time boyfriend is an alcoholic, and borderline physically abusive, so Cam took off, first staying with his best friend, Miguel. But that only made Miguel’s boyfriend upset, so he took a dump of an apartment he’s about to get evicted from, if he can’t get a commission soon in his new line of work: realty. He has one set of clients looking for a home, and one house listed for sale, and no new leads.
Reid Bishop was a US Marshal, but politics and problems drove him out of the service. He’s been doing personal security, but that gig’s about to dry up now that he let some C-List actor get swarmed at an outing. He’s just about to take an extended leave to Kansas to investigate the house his great-uncle left him when his former boss calls with a personal favor. One of their trial witnesses is in jeopardy, and a leak in the Marshals service has them rattled. They want Reid to take the witness–a Vietnamese young man they are calling Lee–out of California and into a safe, unknown space. Kansas it is. Now, Reid and Lee are pretending to be boyfriends, because they are both gay, while Reid takes his time cleaning up his new property and preparing it for sale.
Cam’s ecstatic about listing Reid’s home, until he walks in. It’s in a state of disrepair that ensures it won’t sell fast enough for Cam to get a quick commission. Still, he’s willing to give it a serious go, and even takes Reid up on an offer to work hourly to clear up the house. Lee isn’t happy that Cam’s around so much, because he sees how attracted Reid is to the lithe, upbeat man, and Cam feels awkward about his own attraction to Reid.
They have some stellar missteps, like Reid and Lee meeting Cam in a most revealing way–stepping out of their shower. And there’s strangeness afoot, with shadowy folks checking out the property, digging holes in the yard and breaking in. Reid’s worried it’s hitmen come for Lee, and nearly scares the pants off Cam and others as he totes that gun of his all around. Reid’s jumpiness sets Cam’s wheels a-turning. Are they really boyfriends on an extended leave? Or, are they criminals? Reid’s attraction to Cam is hard to mistake. He’s throwing out come-ons like they’re going out of fashion. It’s highly inappropriate, and Cam’s confused by the mixed signals. That said, Cam’s intrigued to investigate more, and almost afraid to get his heart’s desire.
For me, this was a cute and sweet odd-couple romance. Reid’s near-complacency regarding his and Lee’s welfare didn’t quite jibe with the clear and present danger they were in, so that was a miss for me, but the romance aspect was fun. The story was a bit of a caper, and reminded me of rom-coms that I’ve loved. Lee’s a snot, and he learns some valuable lessons, as do all the characters. Cam learns to stand on his own feet, and respect himself, which was really awesome to see; he’d survived years of emotional abuse from his former partner. Reid’s effusive compliments really help boost Cam’s spirit, and Reid’s time in Kansas limbo help him to sort out his own path–which doesn’t seem to lie in security or law enforcement. There’s a little bit of sexytimes, and they’re yummy, too. Expect an HEA, and a lead-in to a sequel.
Interested? You can find FULL DISCLOSURE on Goodreads and Amazon.
****GIVEAWAY****
Click on this Rafflecopter giveaway link for your chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card.
Good luck and keep reading my friends!
About the Author:
DJ Jamison grew up in the Midwest and worked in newsrooms for more than 10 years before trying her hand at romance writing. Her first m/m romance stories focused on a series of love connections between small-town Kansas newspaper staffers, their sources and their readers before she expanded into novels venturing into emergency rooms and other settings. She lives in Kansas with her husband, two sons and three glow-in-the-dark fish who are miraculously still alive. The same can’t be said for the hamster she got in college. RIP Bogie.
Catch up with DJ on her website, Facebook, twitter, and Goodreads.
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