French Fancy
By Lily Morton
The Model Agency, Book 2
Pip Simmonds is the twinkiest twink in London. He’s loud, proud, and packed to the brim with sass. But when he’s laid low by illness, even his hotpants lose their sparkle and his worried boss sends him to the South of France to recuperate in his holiday home.
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is beautiful, and the periwinkle-blue villa is luxurious, but the real draw for Pip is the villa’s other resident—his boss’s younger brother, Olivier Durand.
Olivier owns a perfume empire and has spent his whole life running from any other form of commitment. He’s worldly, carefree, wild, and the perfect choice for a holiday fling.
Drawn together by proximity, the two men become lovers and friends and then something more. Something special. But will their special bond hold true after summer’s end, when they both must return to their real lives?
This is the second book in the bestselling Model Agency series, but it can be read as a standalone.
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Excerpt
A brilliant idea occurs to me. “And you’d better go now because the owner is here. He’s inside.”
I still can’t see his face, but somehow, I know he’s amused. My impression is confirmed when he says, “Really?” with a great deal of lively scepticism.
“Oh yes.” I shift from one foot to the other rather awkwardly. I’m used to being naked in front of men, but more pleasurable things are usually on the agenda. “He’s my lover, and he’s gone to make drinks. Then he’ll be out here, and there’ll be hell to play.”
“Oh, dear. That does sound worrying. Is he dangerous?”
His beautiful French accent lingers on the last word, and I’m lost for a second. Then I rally.
“Oh, very,” I say airily. “He’ll kill anyone who looks twice at me.”
“He must be a very busy man.”
The compliment disarms me. “Oh well, of course,” I say, regaining my composure. “Thank you. You’re quite right, stranger who is not an axe man.”
“I am definitely not that. I don’t think I could fit an axe in my shorts’ pockets, no?”
“You’d be surprised. I’ve met a few men who’ve got enough room down there to stock the contents of B and Q,” I say unthinkingly.
He throws his head back, laughing. It’s a very attractive sound.
“You should go,” I say wistfully. This is the most exciting thing that’s happened to me since my ex shagged me in a glass lift.
“Ah, because your lover will emerge soon, yes?”
I nod.
“And your lover is?” he asks.
“Oh.” My thoughts immediately spin towards the enigmatic brother of my boss. “He’s Olivier Durand.”
“Really?”
I raise my eyebrow. “He’s insanely possessive of me.” I wave a hand down my body. “And who can blame him?”
“Indeed.”
I narrow my eyes. “I can’t help feeling you don’t believe me, stranger danger.”
He steps forward, and a torch sheds light on his face. I stiffen. It’s a face I last saw in a photo in the kitchen—the picture that showed him smiling with my boss’s arm over his shoulders.
“Sh*t,” I say morosely.
Olivier Durand chuckles, his eyes dancing. “I do believe you. You are incredibly convincing, but now I am in a quandary.”
“Sounds painful.”
“So painful, because I’m afraid I will now have to visit a doctor.”
“Why?” I ask faintly.
“For my memory loss, of course. Here was I thinking myself a hale, fairly hearty, and very single young man, when pouf, I am the victim of amnesia and cannot remember the name of my beautiful young lover. And after that, I shall have to get my shotgun ready to begin shooting your many suitors in a fit of insane rage.”
“Oh dear.”
He starts to laugh again. “It is Pip, yes?”
I put my hands on my hips. “Who else?”
Carra's Review
Pip’s character intrigued me when I first encountered him in The Sunny Side. He was funny, a bit snarky, and is one of those side characters that captures your attention, just crying out for their own story. Thankfully we didn’t have to wait long to see him again!
Pip has an air of self confidence around others, even if he may not actually feel that himself. He thinks quickly on his feet, with snappy comebacks and witty remarks. He’s an all-around fun character to read.
Olivier lives a no-strings-attached lifestyle, not content to tie himself down to one person. While an open relationship style is not at all my type of thing personally, so not a lifestyle I can identify with myself, it’s something that has always worked for him. Or at least, it always has in the past. Enter Pip.
These two dance around each other for quite a while, more so on Olivier’s side than Pip’s. They spend a lot of time together, enough to develop a truly wonderful friendship on its own. So while they do eventually get physical with the understanding that a little fun is all it is, they already have that foundation set, making it so much harder to keep it as just fun when it comes to their hearts.
A bit of drama is introduced with Olivier’s mother and his former lover, and I do have a nit-pick with what happened as I felt like the resolution was a slight stretch given his mother’s nastiness. There are some extenuating circumstances that bring the resolution about, but to me it still felt just a bit off…though that could be chalked up to my own life outlook and how I see things like this (sorry for being vague, I don’t want to spoil anything for readers).
Overall, French Fancy was really entertaining with some fun characters that kept a smile on my face, making it a 4.5-star read for me. Plus we get appearances from Dean and Jonas from The Sunny Side along with some other supporting characters from that story, which I loved. I think all M/M romance fans will enjoy this story, which is meant for readers 18+ for adult language and sexual content.
Joel Leslie does an incredible job with the narration. Parts of the story that elicited a little giggle-snort from me when reading the ebook had me laughing out loud when performed in the narration. Excellent differentiation in character voices, perfect pacing, and spot-on emotions in the narration made for a wonderful listening experience. 5 stars for the narration!
Enter the Giveaway:
To celebrate the AUDIO release of French Fancy, we are giving you a chance to win your choice of any book from Lily’s backlist! Three winners will be chosen!
Check out Book 1 of The Model Agency with The Sunny Side
Jonas Durand is successful, rich, and controlled. He owns a prestigious modelling agency and has the world at his fingertips, but a turbulent childhood has taught him to be focused and never deviate from a plan.
Dean Jacobs threatens that stance. He’s one of the world’s most sought-after supermodels, but he’s also laidback and lighthearted and free in a way that Jonas has never quite managed.
Dean has always been interested in Jonas and has never made any secret of his admiration, but from the beginning, Jonas put him in a neat little box labelled, “Don’t touch,” turned the key, and never looked back.
However, the universe seems determined to thwart Jonas’s plans. Over the course of one hot summer, the two men come together, and Jonas’s well-ordered life becomes something a whole lot wilder.
Moving from the glamorous worlds of London and Paris Fashion Weeks to the sleepy South of France, Jonas finds himself liberating partridges, chasing his supermodel, and falling in love.
From bestselling author, Lily Morton, comes a romantic comedy set in the fast-paced and snarky world of modelling. This is the first book in the Model Agency series.
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About the Author
Lily is a bestselling gay romance author. She writes love stories filled with heat and humour.
She lives in sunny England with her husband and two children, all of whom claim that they haven't had a proper conversation with her since she got her Kindle.
Lily has spent her life with her head full of daydreams, and decided one day to just sit down and start writing about them. In the process she discovered that she actually loved writing, because how else would she get to spend her time with hot and funny men?
She loves chocolate and Baileys and the best of all creations - Chocolate Baileys.
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