Series: The Speakeasy book 4
Authors: K. Evan Coles & Brigham Vaughn
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Publication Date: June 9, 2020
Length: 261 pages
Reviewed by Sammy
Synopsis
Love, served straight up.
Malcolm Elliott has been keeping secrets. Helping his mom through a financial crisis has nearly emptied both his bank account and his kitchen cupboards, despite his thriving career with Corporate Equality Campaign. Malcolm is also bothered by his inability to tell the most important people in his life that he identifies as gray ace.
Stuart Morgan has a secret of his own. Though years have passed since the tattooed chef fled the Mormon Church in Utah for New York, he’s never truly come to terms with the kink that ruined that rigid but outwardly perfect life. Experience has also taught Stuart that keeping his love of lacy things under wraps is safer than telling the truth.
After Malcom’s boss, Carter, hires Stuart’s restaurant to cater a gala fundraising event, the strait-laced Malcolm is thrown together with badass biker Stuart. Despite their differences and a couple of false starts, the men discover they work well together and a friendship quickly forms.
As Malcolm’s feelings for Stuart deepen, his sexuality awakens, but he remains tight-lipped about his problems. And though Stuart grows more and more attached to Malcolm, he remains fearful of confessing his kink.
When both of their secrets are finally exposed, they find themselves at a crossroads in which they must choose between playing it safe or finally coming clean to the person they love.
Reader advisory: This book contains references to homophobia and polyamory.
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Review
Malcolm has always felt slightly out of step in the dating
world. His final analysis that he is definitely asexual means that he must feel
a deep attraction to a person in order to have any interest in physical
intimacy of any kind with them. Not only that but even then sex just isn’t
really something he needs or even feels comfortable with—it’s not that he
dislikes it, rather it just doesn’t even ping his radar, such as it is. But no
one, not even his close friends at the speakeasy, know that about Mal.
When he meets the chef who will cater a major fundraising
event he is responsible for, the man sparks some sort of reaction in Mal.
Confused and afraid to even attempt to get to know the man, Mal finds himself
slowly becoming friends with Chef Stuart Morgan. If Mal is going to try to
explore the funny feeling being close to Stuart produces deep inside Mal then
he’s going to have to come clean and hope Stuart understands. Little does he
know Stuart has a secret of his own that helped cost him his marriage but every
attempt to establish another relationship after that.
Straight Up by K.
Evan Coles and Brigham Vaughn is the final novel in their Speakeasy series. While some may say it’s not critical to have read
the others in this series prior to picking up this novel, I would caution
against that thinking. There are multiple characters whose interwoven
relationships are central to this story and have been established in the other
books and keeping them straight will be a monumental task if you’re not familiar
with their pasts. It’s funny that the authors chose to make that a bit of a
problem for Stuart—as if acknowledging that you should read the others in this
series before attempting this one. Plus the series is really great so I
recommend reading these in order.
I really loved this novel. The way in which the authors
delicately and lovingly handled both Malcolm’s place on the spectrum and
Stuart’s kink is just really praise worthy. I love how they use Mal’s attempt
to help Stuart understand how Mal views sex and not just the act but physical
intimacy itself to educate the reader. It is done in as thorough and respectful
way as possible and I felt it really paid attention to the fact that this is a
difficult area for most to understand. I also love how they allow Stuart and
Mal’s relationship to develop slowly—particularly in the bedroom. I feel this
is true to the character Mal has been established as in prior novels and really
helps the reader understand all the inner thoughts of someone who is asexual. It’s
also so refreshing to read about two men who communicate rather than just run
when confronted with difficulties in their relationship.
There is very little I would change about this book. Seeing
all the other characters from previous novels was delightful, and experiencing
the magical moment between Riley and Carter, who began this series, is just so
special and felt like it made the books come full circle. I felt such
compassion for poor Stuart—not only because he was thrown into this group and
had to deal with how close they all were but also because his worry about
exposing his own personal kink kept him in fear and some embarrassment until he
is able to come clean with Mal.
I am sad to see this series end but couldn’t really have
asked for a better novel than Straight Up to tie them all together. I am so glad Mal
found his one true love and that the boys are all content and happy. It has
been a lovely ride with this gang and I will miss them.
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