Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells [Paperback]

EM Lynley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 2009

Kieran Quinn, a Texas native living in Manhattan, works as a columnist for a national magazine. He's famous for his snarky, sardonic columns, but deep down he's more interested in what makes people tick than his editor would like. He keeps his desire to find his own Mr. Right hidden under a sexy, carefree persona that favors champagne and underwear models of the male variety. Jaxon Lang is the handsome, confident high school principal in a tiny Texas town, where he relocated from Dallas to pursue his relationship with a woman he thinks is his future bride, despite the fact that she has already left three other grooms at the altar. When Kieran goes to Texas to cover the latest wedding of this real-life "runaway bride," he falls hard for the gorgeous-and straight-groom. But Kieran's charm and unique attitudes about sex and attraction soon challenge Jaxon's concept of what - and who - he wants. Will anything change when Kieran discovers the bride's shocking secret?

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is honestly one of the best M/M romance novels I have read, and EM Lynley has found herself one very happy new fan." -- 5 "cups" and a Coffee Time Recommended Read --Coffee TIme Romance

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Ravenous Romance; 1st edition (April 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1607777851
• ISBN-13: 978-1607777854
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,164,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

EM Lynley works in the wine industry, though she'd rather be writing hot, sexy man-on-man action. She spent 15 years as an economist and financial analyst, including a year as a White House Staff Economist, but only because all the intern positions were filled. Tired of boring herself and others with dry business reports and articles, her creative muse is back and naughtier than ever. She has lived and worked in London, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., but the San Francisco Bay Area is home for now.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IThe path to true love nver did run smooth, February 22, 2009

By 

mistry89 "mistry89" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex, Lies and Wedding Bells (Kindle Edition)

It started off with a bang, literally, and kept my attention all the way through. Scenes of note: Loved the faux-phone-sex between Alexa and Keiran ("Hey, Lex ..", pg 59). Something that struck me early on was that it wasn't a sweet and gently romantic version of The Runaway Bride and despite the humour and romance, it told a story about real, flawed characters.
At first it was Keiran - self-centred and slightly arrogant, coasting in his job and just skipping through one-night stands. But he did have enough self-awareness to acknowledge it all, so I knew he wasn't The Bad Guy. So too with Jaxon, not a Stepford Husband or bland about-to-be-whipped groom - and any distaste I would have had for the "infidelity" he indulged in with Keiran was lost in my dislike of Danetta. And that is where I surprised myself, I expected to loathe her all the way through and label her as The Baddy, but it was hard to reconcile that with the fact that even those who didn't like her didn't really hate her. *g*. Despite her behaviour (before and during the span of the story) toward the men in her life, Jaxon in particular, I felt sorry for her. She had enough nous to realise and to worry that she could end up in a marriage as dysfunctional as her own parent's one, but not enough to see that she was already well down that slippery slope of manipulation and control - living with the lie would have meant subsequent secrets and lies, leaving her inside a marriage to someone she could never be honest with. Not a Good Thing. So, I ended up feeling a little sorry for her (and I'm not forgiving of manipulative women in general), well done to the writer for getting me to that point.
Oddly, I was surprised that the story spanned such a time-scale (excluding the epilogue!), not sure why I thought it would wrap up just after the wedding, in a good way, I should add!
This meant that the changes in Jaxon and Keiran felt more "real" - I adore flawed characters that change through the course of a story, not just because of the Love Of A Good Man, but because they have recognised that they aren't happy living/thinking as they do and that whether or not this relationship/event/whatever pans out, they won't be going on as they did before. Guess it means I like some angst in the HEA.
Hoping to see more from E M Lynley.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific read!, February 28, 2009

By 

Storm Grant "www.stormgrant.com" (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex, Lies and Wedding Bells (Kindle Edition)

EM may have taken the basic Runnaway Bride premise, but the story is completely her own, featuring a journalist in danger of becoming jaded finding his one true love under original and entertaining circumstances.

The novel-length story sucks you in from the first scene, and comes alive with believable characters and convincing descriptions. You can watch the boys falling for each other. I loved some of the secondary characters, too. The "bad guy" is interesting and conflicted--by no means some wooden Snidely Whiplash.

And the sex is hot, hot, hot!

The writing is clear and tight, and easy to follow. I recommend it.

My only criticism is the cover. It leads the buyer to believe it's menage, when it ain't. It's all male.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells, May 16, 2009

By 

Carole Lake "lakeaustin" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells (Paperback)

Kieran Quinn has the ultimate job at Gloss magazine: he writes funny, snarky columns that are so popular that Gloss, which is something like the New Yorker, won't even post them on their website so that more people will buy the print magazine. It works, and sales are up. Kieran is Gloss's fair-haired boy. He's also quite the gay man about town, with a taste for one-night stands with hunky underwear models, while he's waiting for real love to find him.

Kieran runs across a possible story in Buckwheat Springs, Texas, of all places, where a bride named Danetta has left three previous bridegrooms at the altar, and has now scheduled yet another wedding. It's not your typical 'runaway bride' story because all her previous fiancés seem to think well of her, wish her well, and even like her newest fiancé Jaxon Lang. How can Danetta ditch all these guys literally at the altar and still have them like her?

So Kieran travels from New York to Buckwheat Springs to write one of his trademark snarky columns, whether or not Danetta actually steps up to the plate (or rather to the altar) this time. Danetta is pretty much what he expected, but Jaxon is not only the most gorgeous man Kieran's ever seen, but is genuinely a nice guy. It's too bad that he's (a)straight and (b)getting married on Saturday.

It's up to Kieran to solve the mystery of why men are willing to move to Buckwheat Springs and marry Danetta, even with her history of leaving men at the altar. Danetta's pretty and sweet, but, really, there's clearly something up here, and Kieran wants to know the truth. His growing attraction to Jaxon is only part of his motivation, though he is spurred on by Jaxon's reluctant reciprocal feelings.

Can Kieran solve the mystery? Can he save Jaxon from Danetta's plot? Will the wedding go through? And, even if it doesn't, what happens then? Is there a future for New York Kieran and Buckwheat Springs Jaxon?

This book is a fast, fun, frothy read. It made me laugh out loud more than once, and brought tears to my eyes a few times, too. The characters are beautifully drawn, and the twisty plot is satisfyingly unpredictable. I stayed up till 2am to finish reading Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells because I wanted to see how on earth EM Lynley was gong to draw all this together, and she does. I loved it and I think you will, too.

I read this book on my Kindle. It doesn't appear to be linked to Kindle on this page, but it is available if you search under the author's name.