Book Reviews

Book Blurb

New York Times best-selling mystery writer Bay Whitman leads the life of a celebrity—at least on the surface. In public he’s self-assured and in control. Women hang on his every word, while men envy his confidence and swagger. But in reality, Bay is a loner. He’s shy and introverted, and his life consists of sitting in a dimly lit room writing his famous Jack Robbins mystery novels. His one vice—gambling. Winning an escort in a poker game will change Bay’s life in ways he never imagined.

 

Matthew “King” Slater is one of the hottest tickets in gay porn. He spends his days in front of the camera and his nights as a highly paid escort to the rich and famous. Deep down, he craves romance and a real connection, but his past makes it hard to separate the needs of his body from those of his heart. For now, it’s easier to think of sex as just a job. But while doing a shoot in Vegas, King is hired for a tryst at a famous hotel and casino, and his handsome client might blur the line between work and play.

 

Book Review

People who live in the public eye either love it or hate it and, if they have no choice, try to find ways of dealing with it. ‘From a Jack to a King’ is the story of a shy mystery writer who has a very hard time dealing with his fame and being a celebrity. King is a gay porn star and has no issue with being adored by his fans. They meet purely by coincidence, are intrigued but not initially attracted to each other, and their past experiences plus a few twists and turns make honesty between them very difficult. They face a tough road if they ever want to truly get to know and accept each other, and, for the longest time, I wasn’t sure if they’d ever succeed. Scotty Cade certainly managed to keep me in suspense!

Bay has not had it easy, and even though he is now rich and famous, he has trouble dealing with most aspects of public life. He only comes out of his shell when on a book tour, and even then, he can only do it when pretending to be someone else – his hero, Jack Robinson. Bay’s past only emerges slowly but it explains a lot, not that he shares any of it willingly. King totally throws him for many reasons, and one of them is the fact that he challenges Bay’s self-image of being straight.

King was an equally shy boy when he grew up, but his lack of acceptance has led him down a different path. It takes a while for him to open up, though many hints make it clear what his issue might be. I can’t imagine how difficult it makes his life and, in addition to being a well-known gay porn star and an escort, it makes finding romance and love an extremely uphill battle. In fact he doesn’t think he will ever succeed, never mind how much he secretly craves it.

Both King and Bay are emotionally damaged, and while it is clear they could help each other if they only tried, instead they spend the first half of the book pretty much hurting each other. Some wounds are unintentional because they just don’t know each other, or like when Bay is still trying to come to terms with the fact that he may be bisexual or even gay and rejects King to protect himself. Some is totally planned, like when King takes revenge for being rejected and makes Bay watch one of his porn scenes being filmed. The way out of this mess is painfully slow, but once they build a little trust between them that allows them to stop being overly protective of themselves, things begin to look more positive. I have to admit that the mix between entertainment and character study confused me and, much of the time, I was torn between really enjoying the story and cringing on behalf of one or both of the characters.

If you prefer your romances to be challenging and to have a very hard-fought happy ending, if the glamour of Las Vegas and life in the limelight as a setting is your thing, and if you’re looking for a read that tackles serious issues like bullying, addiction, and overcoming a lack of self-confidence, all while providing a sometimes angsty, painful journey of two complicated men toward a loving relationship, then you might like this novel.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook, print and audio
Length	Novel, 200 pages/68532 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	03-July-2018
Price	$6.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback, $14.99 bundle, $13.97 audiobook
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/from-a-jack-to-a-king-by-scotty-cade-9718-b