— One day you’ll be pumping my gas —
Mike Miller’s life has gone to shit. The formerly popular high school quarterback now works at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. The last thing he needs is meeting the guy he used to bully at school and seeing him all sorts of polished up. James is now the proud owner of an amazing silver Jaguar and a self-made millionaire. It seems that the day … millionaire. It seems that the day couldn’t get any worse for Mike, but James ‘Lovelace’ Austin might just turn out to be his golden ticket out of the job he hates.
When James Austin meets Mike Miller, his high school crush and tormentor all in one, working at an old, dirty gas station, it feels as if the stars have finally aligned in his favor. He wants to finally get his revenge on the guy, but when Mike turns out to be gay, the whole afternoon takes a turn for the surreal. Instead of just humiliating Mike at his workplace, James decides to hire him for a weekend at a conference he’s attending. A hot guy by his side is the only accessory James needs to rub his success in the faces of his frenemies.
Only problem is, a gay Mike Miller might be too much of a blast from the past than James ever expected. If James wants his nerdy heart safe from the hunky jock, he needs to keep Mike at arms length. The task would be a lot easier if Mike wasn’t unashamedly hitting on James. Or is it just James’s money Mike is after?
POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
Themes: cinderfella, enemies to lovers, escort, bullying, jock/nerd, mechanic, millionaire, old flame, high school crush
Genre: contemporary M/M romance
Length: ~ 33.000 words
Contains some adult M/M content.
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I’ve liked pretty much everything I’ve read by K. A. Merikan so when I spotted this as a freebie on Amazon it was an immediate “Must have.”
K. A. Merikan seems to write the best revenge based plot-lines I’ve encountered. Perhaps it’s their espoused belief that sometimes even villains deserve happy endings. In this case the bad boy is Mike Miller, he terrorized James Austin in High school. Now a decade later Mike is working as a grease monkey in a rundown service station for a boss he hates. Meanwhile James is a millionaire who drives his Jaguar into that service station. James is on his way to a medical convention where he’ll be touting the latest model of the medical device he invented which has made him rich.
In the best traditions of Pretty Woman, James “hires” Mike to take along as his fake boyfriend. While initially seems like a recipe for disaster, as the two learn more about each other we get into full on enemies to lovers territory.
Of course this tale is pure fantasy fulfillment. Mike is still as fit as he was in high-school and James has been seriously working out as well so both are attractive under 30s. Mike’s real problem, even in high school stemmed from the fact that he was secretly gay and was too immature to deal with that. The school-aged teasing, (or bullying depending on whose viewpoint you accept) was actually motivated by Mike’s wanting to get the attention of the only gay guy he knew, no matter how inexpertly he did it. Mike’s not matured much in the last decade. It’s clear he’s still a very impetuous young man who has some growing up to do if he’s ever gonna be truly happy. But maybe, just maybe, James can help with that.
This is actually a sweet/sappy M/M romance with an almost YA level of sexuality but there is a bit. Still, it’s a fast, fun read, and it’s free. This was originally written as part of a 2014 Loves Landscape challenge
James is the geek who was bullied in high school by Mike, the quarterback, and years later gets the chance to turn the tables when he drives his Jaguar into a filling station and his former bully is the mechanic on duty. This is a really fun novella-length story with LOTS of heat, as these two get to know each other on a new and completely different level when James makes a mutually beneficial proposition to Mike. An opportunity to exorcise the demons of the past and move forward in their lives is what elevates this story beyond a simple Cinderfella/revenge trope into something that is sweeter and hotter.
it’s a fun premise, but once i got past the first scene, i found the story was actually a lot fluffier and a lot more, uh, pretty woman-esque than i had originally signed up for? which is fine, but it isn’t what i’ve come to expect from these authors!
i believe that the writers behind the K.A. Merikan moniker are from overseas and not native english speakers, so i’m not sure if the jarring nature of the writing style was a translation issue or not. there was also some pretty off phrasing that kind of took me out of the story. not an issue i’ve had with other books by them.
Audio Review
Overall – 4
Story – 4
Performance – 3
This was just OK for me.
I’ve listened to a few other audiobooks performed by Wyatt Baker and I’ve really enjoyed them. Unfortunately, I don’t think he was the right narrator for this book. I love a good hot and sexy MM romance and I think if I’d read this story instead of listening to it, I probably would have loved it. The narration just wasn’t sexy to me, it seemed kind of crude and not really in a good way.
The story itself was pretty good and I liked the ending.
A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator.
Mr Jaguar by KA Merikan is a contemporary.m/m romance with an ex-bully/enemies to lovers theme, and a fake boyfriend theme too for an added spice. Mike and James are pretty much opposites attract but they have chemistry that burns red hot. There is a sweetness as well and some moments of great romantic getters, and then some humor. Its a quick listen with angst, steam and a really great ending.
Narrator Wyatt Baker does a great job bringing the story to the audio book listener. Great voice work that made the story and characters shine. Very enjoyable.
I loved this novella. Mike Miller is such a force of nature. He’s charming, confident, and sexy, but down on his luck with no prospects. Jamie is a wonderful mix of Sugar Daddy and insecure businessman. I love how Mike infuses Jamie with confidence. It was so sweet watching their fake relationship turn into something real.
Overall Rating: 3.75 Stars. I wish this was longer. It was a wonderful story that was well written. Cute and sexy, I highly recommend it.