Title: Mummy Dearest
Series: The XOXO Files 01
Author: Josh Lanyon
Genre: Contemporary/Paranormal
Length: Novella (85pgs)
Publisher: Samhain Publishing (4th October 2011)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4 ½Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: The truth is out there. Way, way, way out there!
Drew Lawson is racing against the clock. He’s got a twenty-four-hour window to authenticate the mummy of Princess Merneith. If he’s not at his boyfriend’s garden party when that window closes, it’ll be the final nail in their relationship coffin.
The last thing he needs traipsing on the final shred of his patience is brash, handsome reality show host Fraser Fortune, who’s scheduled to film a documentary about the mummy’s Halloween curse.
The opportunity to film a bona-fide professor examining the mummy is exactly the aura of authenticity Fraser needs. Except the grumpy PhD is a pompous ass on leave from his ivory tower. Yet something about Drew has Fraser using a word he doesn’t normally have to draw upon: please.
With no time to waste — and a spark of attraction he can’t deny — Drew reluctantly agrees to let Fraser follow his every move as he unwraps the mummy’s secrets. Soon they’re both making moves behind the scenes that even the dead can’t ignore!
Product Warnings: Who so shall ever open this tomb, er, book shall suffer the curse of the Pharaohs. Okay, maybe not. But set aside a chunk of time for marauding mummies, too many cosmopolitans, illicit sex in hotel rooms, and other non-academic shenanigans.
Review: Drew is expecting to examine an Egyptian Mummy at a small museum in Walsh, Wyoming. What he doesn’t expect is Fraser and his film crew to mess with his schedule. Fraser is at the museum making a film about the mummy’s curse of Princess Merneith. He doesn’t expect the stuck up Professor but decides to use him in the filming.
I enjoyed this story as it’s a light-hearted read. Drew is having some doubts about his relationship and although Fraser annoys him he finds himself attracted to him. Fraser is also attracted to Drew but he doesn’t have high hopes. We then see these two men drawn into the mystery of the mummy’s curse, while Drew tries to sort out his relationship. There are movie references and witty banter that has you giggling. The interaction between the two MCs is good and the mystery surrounding the mummy’s curse was ok. It is written well and moves smoothly along.
This is a great Halloween romp which I will recommend to everyone who wants a light-hearted romp that will leave you with a smile on your face.