Sex and Candy by Diana DeRicci

81pSgKJCECL._SL1425_TITLE: Sex and Candy
SERIES: Arbor Heights, #4
AUTHOR: Diana DeRicci
GENRE: Contemporary
LENGTH: Novella (107 pages)
PUBLISHER: MLR Press (March 13th, 2014)
HEAT LEVEL: Explicit
HEART RATING: ♥♥♥♥3.5Hearts
BLURB: Brad’s dream of happily ever after with his best friend, Geoff, is destroyed when he receives a wedding invitation to Geoff’s wedding – to a woman. After accepting that waiting for the man has gained him nothing, he intends to wipe him clear of his heart and mind. With a night at Blue Dogs.

Tristan is captivated by Brad and what begins as a night of pure release starts something for Tristan that he can’t deny. A wanting to know the other man beyond sex. Can Tristan win Brad’s heart away from an unrequited love? It may not be as easy as he’d like when Geoff reappears begging for forgiveness.

PRODUCT LINK: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=DDRSXCDY

REVIEWER: Prime

REVIEW: Brad needs to find a way to get over his constant pining for his best friend, Geoff, after he receives an invitation to Geoff’s wedding. The catch is that Geoff is so deep in the closet that he’s marrying a woman. What is more wounding is that Brad isn’t even asked to be in the wedding party.

One of Brad’s friends brings him to Blue Dogs. It’s a private club run out of Tristan’s home. It’s where the local gay men get together for no strings sex. Tristan is immediately attracted to Brad when he spots him at a Blue Dogs night, and vice versa. The problem is they have to work through various baggage and issues, one of which is Brad’s concerns about Blue Dogs being conducive to a monogamous relationship.

This is book 4 in Diana DeRicci’s Arbor Heights series. However, particularly with this installment, there is no need to read the previous volumes. They are all standalone books, with some past characters occasionally popping up, although in Sex and Candy (don’t think of the song!) I don’t think any previous characters were mentioned.

I really like this story. It’s somewhat charming. We get to see Brad basically grow up from his childhood crush, to falling in love with the real thing, Tristan. Tristan is a teddy bear, albeit a matchmaking cuddly one with a massive heart. Brad is also very kind, though he doesn’t hide his softer side like Tristan.

Brad seems to be running around fixing people’s problems, and Tristan, is very willing to help Tristan as well as get to the man he’s falling in love with. It’s pretty clear that Brad gets his kindness from his way awesome parents. There is some voyeurism and ménage involved in the background when it comes to Blue Dogs, which plays a major part of the plot. However, everything with Blue Dogs was tastefully done.

I also loved the minor characters Vance, Kris and Grant. I wouldn’t mind Grant getting his own story, and likewise learning more about Kris and Vance. Geoff is an odd character, I really don’t like him, but I do feel sorry for him. There were at least three other subplots happening, which is why I would like that these characters have their own story to give them justice rather than the sneak peek that we got here.

Many books have misleading blurbs, this is one of them. If you expect a big blow up because of Geoff between Tristan and Brad, you may well be relieved that this isn’t one of those stories. Again, this goes back to the fact that Tristan is some damn lovable, cuddly and kind. I never refer to covers but I must in this case, Brad is a baker and there is a distinct lack of baking! Perhaps this is my real life work seeping through, but if it’s not important to the plot then why is it being presented immediately to the reader on the cover?