'Gobsmacked' by L.B. GREGG

From the BLURB:

No more Mr. Nice Guy.

Mild mannered Mark Meehan-s good judgment flies out the window when he finds his lover banging another man. Things go from bad to worse as Mark-s crazy revenge scheme uncovers shocking secrets-sending him straight into the arms of hunky lawman and old friend, Tony Gervase, a man of limited patience and secrets of his own.

This is the first book in Gregg's 'Men of Smithfield' series.

I absolutely loved the opening of this book.

After walking in on his boyfriend and their hairy landlord, Mark Meehan corners his cheating lover while he takes Mass – whacking him on the back of the head with a Bible:

My hands clenched the book rack, and my fingers brushed against the Bible proudly displayed there. Staring at Jamie’s once sweet curls hugging his rough jaw, I slid the good book out of its safe haven. The cracked leather was worn, but its bulk reassuring. Encouraging, even. So I hauled back, fueled by boiling rage, and gobsmacked that bastard as hard as I could in front of God and everyone. The Bible hit the back of Jamie’s head with a resounding Thwack!

Ah, sweet revenge – best served Biblically.

As Mark’s life unravels he learns more and more the extent of Jamie’s betrayal. Not only did he screw anything with an XY chromosome, Jamie also stole $20,000 right out of Mark’s bank account. Learning the depths of Jamie’s depravity, Mark seeks help from childhood friend and gay policeman, Tony Gervase.

Mark and Tony have a history. Tony was the friend of Mark’s older sister, and both harboured secret crushes on each other – Mark kept his secret in case Tony turned him down, and Tony never made a move because he was in the closet throughout high school. L.B. Gregg tries to communicate Mark and Tony’s history – but it falls a little flat. There’s one flashback too short to reveal much and the rest of their ‘history’ is attempted through Mark’s internal monologue recounting his feelings for Tony.

Regardless, Mark and Tony are hot and left my M/M addiction well fed. They absolutely smoulder on the page, even without much believability behind their unrequited high school crush story.

My biggest complaint about ‘Gobsmacked’ was length. Right at the most interesting point in the story, when Mark learns the extent of Jamie’s betrayal, the story hastily wraps up. I think the e-book could have conceivably gone on for another 50 pages at minimum.

Despite this rather big qualm, I really enjoyed ‘Gobsmacked’. Mark was funny in spite of living out the worst 2 days of his life. Mark and Tony were absolutely sizzling and delicious and Gregg absolutely knows her way around M/M erotica.

Thanks to Ms. Smexy for recommending another M/M winner.

3.5/5