Sunday, July 2, 2017

Random Review: Manny Get Your Guy by Amy Lane #Review #Giveaway



Author: Amy Lane
Book: Manny Get Your Guy
Series: The Mannies #2
House Line: Dreamspun Desires
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond
Publication date: July 1, 2017
Length: 236 pages

Reviewed by Erin

Synopsis

tarting over and falling in love.

Tino Robbins’s sister, Nica, and her husband, Jacob, are expecting their fifth child. Fortunately, Nica’s best friend, Taylor Cochran, is back in town, released from PT and in need of a job.

After years in the service and recovering from grave injury, Taylor has grown a lot from the callow troublemaker he’d been in high school. Now he’s hoping for a fresh start with Nica and her family.

Jacob’s cousin Brandon lives above the garage and thinks “Taylor the manny” is a bad idea. Taylor might be great at protecting civilians from a zombie apocalypse, but is he any good with kids?

Turns out, Taylor’s a natural. As he tries to fit in, using common sense and dry wit, Brandon realizes that Taylor doesn’t just love their family—he’s desperate to be part of it. And just like that, Brandon wants Taylor to be part of his future.


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Review

I'll admit, I'm a total sucker for Amy Lane's angst. I love it, crave it, revel in it. But that being said, there is something special about her brand of sweet and charming and funny that just hits you right where you live, and it hits hard and stays there. Manny Get Your Guy is the second book in Amy's wonderful The Mannies series and *whispers* I truly believe this could wind up being my very favorite series of Amy's. Just don't tell Deacon and Crick, okay? But all joking aside, I fall more and more in love with these characters and this family and I really wish if there was a way, that I could experience these amazing people in real life.

A caveat though, in order to truly appreciate all of the family and friend dynamics going on in Manny Get Your Guy, you need to have read book 1, The Virgin Manny. Brandon is a new character, but Taylor Cochran, oh boy, he's so not and there's a good possibility that, if you're like me, your impression of him wasn't the very best. Expect that to change. Immediate like. From Taylor's first appearance in this newest book, you'll fall in love with him so hard. Manny Get Your Guy takes place ten years after the end of The Virgin Manny so Tino, Channing, Sammy, Nica, Jacob, and the rest are older, their lives are full of kids and new jobs and they've changed as people do as they get older and life happens. Thus is the case for Taylor. Lots of life has happened, most not so good, and he comes back from the military damaged, scarred, and mostly broken. This is not the confident flirt from the first book at all. Taylor has been though a lot, has suffered a disfiguring and painful injury and thanks to his steadfast best friend, Nica, has a place where he can breathe. Though there won't be a lot of time for breathing since he's on board to be the new manny for Jacob and Nica since they're expecting child number five. Taylor really has no idea what he's doing, but he's out of choices and he can't deny the pull of Jacob and Nicca's huge, rambunctious, loving family. There's just one problem, or one main one anyway, and that's none other than Brandon. He's Jacob's cousin and lives above the garage. He's younger, gorgeous, and their first meeting could have gone better. 

Brandon Grayson is Jacob's cousin and has been living in the small apartment above Jacob's garage while he goes to school and works in construction. He loves Jacob, Nica, and all of the kids, is close to Sammy, Tino, and Channing and is not a happy camper when Taylor Cochran appears on the scene. After some pretty harsh words for Taylor and then quite the dressing down from Tino, Brandon admits that maybe all is not what it looks like on the surface. It doesn't take long for Brandon to see just how much Taylor loves and cares about not only his best friend since grade school Nica, but there's lots of history there between Taylor and Tino and Jacob as well. And, that Taylor isn't quite as horrible a manny as Brandon thought he'd be ... in fact he's pretty great. Following close behind those revelations comes the attraction to scarred but still beautiful Taylor and Brandon isn't at all subtle about it either. It was so fun to watch Taylor try, though I don't think he tried ALL that hard, to resist Brandon's advances and it doesn't take long before Brandon gets Taylor to agree to go on a date. There might be seven years between them, but Brandon knows who he wants, and he wants Taylor, broken though he may be. 

This book is so full of family and friendships and all these moments that just make you smile and your heart warm. So many. And there isn't anyone better at showing how family is often the one you make, not the one you're born into. I read this just wanting to be invited over to Channing and Tino's for a barbecue so I could hang out with all these fabulous characters. Nica and her no-nonsense approach to parenting and being a wife, Jacob so laid back and completely adoring of his wife and kids. Channing and Tino, the older, wiser ones that impart wisdom with grace and subtlety. And then we have Brandon and Taylor who SO belong with one another. Their connection might not be the thing of sparks and fire, but it's a gentle, soft connection that fits these two so well. Yeah, there's a bit of insta-love going on, but that doesn't mean it's not believable, because it is. I just loved these two together so much. Taylor desperately needs that safe place to be, to heal from the trauma of war and injury, and Brandon so desperately wants to be that person for Taylor. 

It wouldn't be a true Amy Lane book if she didn't hurt your heart a little bit, so there is some angst, but it's minor and doesn't last long. Just long enough to show how great Taylor and Brandon are for one another. Mostly, this was a sweet, charming book that left me with one hell of a smile of my face ... and a message to Amy begging for Sammy's book. It's coming and I can't wait!





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