My Perfect Screwup By Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood, Performed By Alexander Cendese
Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM,
Tropes: Second chance, age-gap, found family, college prof/student
Released: Audio and eBook: August 9, 2023
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 6 hrs, 7 mins / 299 pages
Daniel
I got my Ph.D. and a fantastic teaching job by keeping my nose to the grindstone and avoiding relationships. Not that I didn’t like men—quite the opposite—but getting involved took time I didn’t have.
One summer evening, I went out for a drink and met the most beautiful guy I’d ever seen. After an unforgettable night, I couldn’t wait to meet up again, but I missed our date. Imagine my panic when I realized we’d forgotten to trade numbers.
Caleb
A summer job as a law firm intern kept me busy, but one night, I needed to blow off some steam. At the bar, a gorgeous man saved me from an overzealous admirer. My rescuer gave me the kiss of my life, and I wound up in his bed. After the night turned out to be even better than the kiss, we made a date to meet again. Unfortunately, he no-showed on me, leaving me disappointed and confused for months.
The following spring, when I showed up for a class taught by some hotshot new professor, a breathtaking man walked into the room. My heart stopped because my new professor was the guy who stood me up last summer. Was I glad to see him? I wasn’t sure. But one thing was certain—I was the very last person he wanted in his class.
One man is trying to get tenure in the job of his dreams; the other is set to graduate and begin law school. Life brought them together under random circumstances, and their path isn’t an easy one. How can they make a relationship work without sacrificing everything?
My Perfect Screwup is a contemporary gay romance involving a missed opportunity and second chance to get it right. The book includes a relationship between a college professor and student, age gap, unwavering connection, incendiary heat, found family, and dreamy HEA.
Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003
I enjoyed reading this and liked the audiobook even more.
As it sometimes happens…I loved the audiobook and Alexander Cendese’s performance of this story elevated it to a higher level for me than when I read it with my eyes. I loved the voices he gave each character and the emotion he put into his performance. Below is a copy of my review from when I read the eBook.
I loved all of the hockey stories by this writing duo and I enjoyed this, too, but there were just a couple of things that kept me from giving it a full five-star rating (for the writing).
Teacher/student stories can be really hot because of the perceived taboo subject. I don’t really think it’s so taboo when both MCs are over 21, one is a college student and the other a professor who’s only eleven years older. There was a bit more dithering about the age difference than I like.
This was a super-hot story about two guys who meet in a bar for what they thought would pretty much be a one-off but they really made a connection. Daniel is sitting alone in a bar when Caleb sits down next to him and asks Daniel to rescue him from some creep. That leads to a night of super-hot sexy time and plans to meet up again. Unfortunately, something goes wrong and Daniel doesn’t show. This is where I had a problem when I read the book. I don’t always read the blurb before reading a book or if I do, I might not remember details. I was confused when reading the book because at the end of chapter one Caleb says he’s hurt and I couldn’t figure out why – it just wasn’t mentioned in the story until MUCH later (I did guess what happened and I was right). Later I realized that this information was in the blurb.
There were also many, many references to a trip to Europe that Caleb and his friends are going to take after graduation but then nothing at all about the actual trip, not even a mention of having a great time. The epilogue came with a time jump of fourteen months after the end of the main story. I loved the epilogue but couldn’t understand why there was absolutely no mention of the big trip the group of friends took.
Story: ♥♥♥♥
Narration: ♥♥♥♥♥
O Factor: Scorcher
Available borrow with Kindle Unlimited.
♥ Audible ♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon UK ♥
I may have been slow, but when I realized what was happening, my heart took off at a gallop. Holy shit. I can’t do this. We’re in public, and he’s my student. I haven’t even filled out the disclosure form.
Yet I never doubted I would follow him. I’d have followed him anywhere.
I got up and stopped at the next table to whisper to the waiter. “My friend will be back in a few minutes, and I need to make a phone call. We’re looking forward to dessert.”
As nonchalantly as possible, I made my way to the restrooms. They were down a small hallway from the dining area, and when I turned a corner, Caleb was waiting. No one else was there.
“What the hell?” I asked. “Why did you want me to come back here?”
He tilted his head. “I thought we could have some fun, Professor.”
“Don’t call me that. It creeps me out.”
Ignoring me, he nodded at an unmarked door. “That’s a storage closet. I’ve always wondered if they keep it unlocked, and we’re in luck—they do.”
“Caleb, this could be dangerous.”
“Mm.” He wiggled his eyebrows and opened the door. Unable to help myself, I followed him inside and locked us in. He found a wall switch, and when the lights came on, their soft glow barely lit the space. The area was about ten-feet square, with storage units on all sides. Dusty boxes were stacked on the shelves.
Caleb stepped close and slid his hands under my jacket. “I’m so glad to be here with you. I have an exam first thing in the morning, so I need to go back to school after dinner. But before we go, I wanted to show you how excited I am.”
I cradled his cheeks in my hands and snickered. “As much as I’ve dreamed about this, I never thought our first time back together would be in a restaurant bathroom.”
He snorted. “Storage closet.”
“Same difference.” Wrapping my arms around him, I pulled him closer and covered his lips with kisses.
“You’re so hot,” he murmured. “I wish I could go home with you.”
“Next time?” He nodded, and I kissed him again. After a moment, he grazed his hands down my chest and stomach. Lust possessed me, and I pushed him against the shelves.
“Fuck yes,” he said, still holding me.
I covered his mouth with mine and thrust a knee between his legs. He groaned as I pressed against him, and I trapped his hands against the shelves while I explored his mouth.
Moving his head to the side, he asked, “You really want this? Dating, I mean.”
“I’m not playing around.” I kissed him again to emphasize the point, but he pulled his head back.
“Gotta be lots of fucking,” he whispered.
“Better be. I won’t be able to keep my hands off you.”
“Good!” He kissed me, and I tasted wine and lip gloss. When he eased his tongue into my mouth, my need exploded into a fight for dominance. I held him in place while our tongues battled.
Our moans echoed in the small room, making me worry we were making too much noise. I reluctantly broke the kiss. “Gotta be quiet. You sure you can’t come to my place?”
“Not tonight. Soon though.”
“Not soon enough.”
Between pants, he whispered, “I’ve got a packet of lube in my pocket. You have a condom?”
Fuck! I didn’t even think of that. “Whole box at home.”
“Lot of good that does us. I’ve got another idea.”
“Anything! Let’s do anything!”
After silencing me with another kiss, he turned us so my back was to the shelves. “Ready?” “Yes!”
He slid down my body, a maddeningly slow glide that set every one of my nerve endings on fire. When he was on his knees, he kissed my erection through my pants and then looked up. “You have no idea how much I’ve dreamed about doing this.”
MY PERFECT SCREWUP: Copyright © 2023 Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood. All rights reserved.
To celebrate the release of My Perfect Screwup in audio, Ryan and Josh are giving away three direct to Kindle copies of My Perfect Screwup. The giveaway starts on 09/01 and ends on 09/14. Click the link below to see how you can enter.
Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood write gay romance with heat and heart. With thirteen books and eight audiobooks to their credit, they have earned high praise for their exciting, sweet, steamy, and (mostly) low-angst stories. The Bethesda Barracudas Hockey series is a hit with readers and listeners, and their most recent series, Mohegan U Hockey, has been even more popular. The MUH books are emotional reads, sweet and steamy with some angst. All of Ryan and Josh’s books are carefully crafted to be read as standalones, even when they are part of a series.
Ryan and Josh were married in 2017. They began writing to celebrate their own romance and are passionate about telling authentic stories about gay men who fall wildly in love and find their own “happily ever afters.”
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Joshua Harwood’s Goodreads Profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18708074.Joshua_Harwood
Promotional materials and review copy provided by the authors.
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