Fool of Main Beach by Tara Lain

Merle Justice wants to reach for the stars, but it’s tough to get respect when playing a teenybopper vampire on TV. Then he meets a famous director anxious to give him all he thinks he wants—and maybe a bit more. Everything’s looking up until a life-threatening encounter with some homophobes on Main Beach puts Merle face-to-face with a Sasquatch-sized hero in a pink puffer coat.

Tom Henry defies description. As unsophisticated and simple as an angel, he walks through life content with who he is and asking for very little except to care for his sister, Lily, and the dogs he loves. Then he meets Merle, the embodiment of dreams he barely knows he has. Merle knows the people who hold his future in their hands might love Tom—but they’ll never understand Merle and Tom together. Tom knows it too. With lives this far apart, who’s really the fool of Main Beach?

Book 5
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angie – ☆☆☆☆☆
I really enjoy this series and this book was just as awesome as the previous books. You do not have to read all the books in the series, but it would give you some background on other characters in this book. This story is about two totally different lifestyles crashing into each other and just working. Merle is a movie star and Tom is a blue collar worker. This was a heartwarming story. These two guys had it bad for each other and both thought the other deserved better. When Tom's sister joins the mix, I thought the poop was going to hit the fan, but she added to the story and helped knock some sense into these two lugs! Great story that made me shed a tear and melted my heart.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
When the star of a teen vampire show is rescued from a gay-bashing, he finds himself drawn to the rescuer he initially describes as a Sasquatch. Tom is a gentle and very simple man who can’t help but want more than a friendship with the beautiful TV star.

As the odd man out in a family of important academics, Merle has always felt unimportant and slightly embarrassed by his career as an actor. In some ways, this is his growing up story as he is forced to choose between a partner who will impress his parents and a partner who will make him happy. I loved Merle’s conflicted reaction to Tom. The man is gorgeous and sweet but also very simple and childlike. He’s a refreshing change from the scheming people Merle meets in Hollywood, but Merle can’t bring himself to take advantage of someone so basically good.

I had a mixed reaction to Tom. I could appreciate Merle’s attraction. I couldn’t help but like Tom’s kind, gentle, and loyal nature. But for me, true love is as cerebral as it is physical and emotional. I struggled to see the balance in Merle and Tom’s relationship – even the sex didn’t feel quite right. I couldn’t see Merle moving beyond his role as Tom’s saviour and possibly even his caregiver. This is one of the more thought provoking romances I can remember reading because the relationship between Merle and Tom poses some interesting questions.

This isn’t as fluffy as some of the Balls to the Wall and Love in Laguna books, but it is fun and it’s a pretty light read. This is the fifth Love in Laguna story and I loved catching up with the characters from earlier books. Tom works for Billy. Merle wears Ru’s clothes, he acts with Grey, and he lives in their spare bedroom. To fully follow this story, readers will want to start this series at the beginning. This has been a fun, easy series from the start and I have enjoyed each one of the unlikely pairings.


Erica – ☆☆☆
3.5 Stars

I was highly anticipating Fool of Main Beach, enjoying the light amd fluffy, stress-free series to decompress and put a smile on my face. This installment of the Love in Laguna series didn't disappoint, but a few things did make me slightly uncomfortable, one of which I used to push the boundaries of my thinking.

A major happy point is seeing past narrators grace the pages, for levity and added lightheartedness, with a dose of warmth in the heart.

Merle Justice – I've been waiting for his book since he overindulged with drink books ago. The gay actor plays a teen heartthrob in a vampire TV series, on the cusp of critically acclaimed fame. No matter how many people he surrounds himself with – the previous narrators in the series – he's alone in a crowd. Merle tugged at my heartstrings.

Tom Henry is Sasquatch in a pink jacket – Merle's savior. He's kind, compassionate, understanding, protective, a volunteer, and a dog-lover, but also suffers from a lack of self-worth due to not being book-smart and because he's socially awkward (no filter, no true understanding of the trickery the majority of all people use in any given situation).

Together, the two guys made sense, adding opposing strengths to the relationship. But this was a romance that pushed the boundaries on my thinking. Not because I didn't think someone like Tom deserved Merle's love, but because I feared it not being enough in the future for Merle, as well as being taken advantage of. I realize this is fiction, and I applaud the author for writing a book that had me questioning my own mindset. It was difficult, because I was on the boundary of whether or not Tom was able to consent. I believed Merle and Tom loved one another, but the ease of which it would be to take advantage of Tom was a struggle, as well as fearing for situations in the future, which would no doubt come to pass if they were in reality.

I smiled with a warm heart. I laughed. I cried. But I couldn't pass out a 5-star rating, no matter the gamut my emotions ran. The angst between Merle and Tom felt a bit contrived, where a simple conversation would have cleared up any and all confusion – so no matter how much I enjoyed the couple and their journey, the push-pull of their romance felt forced.

The main reason was due to the over-the-top nature of the conflicts, the villainous characters were beyond anything in reality that it forced me to accept I was reading a book, instead of falling into it and escaping. Especially when I realized it was 75%+ of all females in the book (both mothers and the sister painted in a negative light, overbearing and abrasive or abusive – for the majority of the book, anyway). I would put my Kindle down and groan at the dialogue the 'bad' characters were saying, take a deep breath, and quickly read those portions as to not lose interest.

There was a lack of fluidity to the dialogue. In regards to Tom, it made sense due to how his mind functioned. But this flowed over into all dialogue, with choppy, short sentences, and everyone addressing everyone by name in most dialogue, even if they had greeted them already. Example made up off the top of my head, but a representation of what is on the pages during conversations: "Hi, Tom!" "Hi, Merle!" "Hi, Billy!" "How's it going, Tom?" "Great, Billy. How about you, Merle?" ... and so on, even when only two people were conversing, their names were used in the majority of all dialogue/interactions. I realize I'm being nitpicky, but this actually yanked me from the story. I probably wouldn't have noticed if it hadn't been a pet-peeve of mine when watching old TV shows, where that is the norm, one where my family is always wondering how many times a specific character's name is said in each episode.

I'm thankful I read Fool of Main Beach, and felt Tara Lain did justice to a character who I was waiting to read his story – Merle Justice. I enjoyed opening my mind and meeting Tom, being refreshed by his innocence (if you remove the terror I felt, in reality knowing someone like him would be swallowed whole by the sharks in Hollywood). I highly recommend this series to MM romance fans, and do look forward to what is to come.

Also Available in the Love in Laguna Series

Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Dreamspinner Press

For reviews & more info, check out our Prince of the Playhouse post.

Book 4
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Dreamspinner Press

For reviews & more info, check out our Lord of a Thousand Steps post.

Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011. Her best-selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, Best Erotic Romance, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft. She lives with her soul-mate husband and her soul-mate dog in Laguna Beach, California, a pretty seaside town where she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!

Connect with Tara

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Fool of Main Beach (Love in Laguna #5) by Tara Lain to read and review.

Lord of a Thousand Steps by Tara Lain

To architecture student Ian Carney, family means everything. Taken in by his brother, Jim, when his father threw him out at eighteen for being gay, Ian yearns to create his own family with his boyfriend, Rico. But Rico’s in Mexico caring for a sick father, Ian hasn’t had sex in a month and a half, and his gorgeous boss, Braden Lord, CEO of the architectural firm Ian interns for, is looking better and better.

Braden’s life is chaos. Just out of the closet and going through an ugly divorce from his wife of fifteen years who’s trying to take custody of his two children, he desperately resolves not to succumb to a completely inappropriate attraction to Ian—even though his kids adore both the man and his crazy cat.

When Rico proves to be a snake in the grass and Ian exercises his powers of seduction, what starts as a “friends with benefits” fling turns into real life real fast. Can Ian give up his romantic dreams for an “old guy” who didn’t come out until he carried a mountain of baggage? It’ll only take a thousand steps.

Book 4
Buy Links

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Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆
4 Angsty Stars.

A lonely college student/intern meets a lonely boss, mixed with a renegade/absentee boyfriend, a brother getting married, a greedy ex-wife-to-be, a precocious 5-year-old girl, an angsty teenage boy, and a big cat who likes to go to the beach. That's Lord of a Thousand Steps in a nutshell.

Ian is truly the Lord of a Thousand Steps, even if Braden Lord lives overlooking the Thousand Steps beach. Lonely, feeling ashamed and guilty for living off his brother and soon-to-be brother-in-law, Ian works hard at college and his architectural internship, dreaming of the day he and Rico make a home of their own – a family of their own. But for now, it's just Ian and Anderson Cooper.

Braden Lord is suffering through a painful divorce. After hiding in the closet until his mid-to-late-thirties, he's ready to live his own life, because he believes that would be best for the happiness of his own children. If Dad was happy, his kids would be happy. But his wife is money-hungry as a way to soothe her own bent pride after learning she was Braden's beard for over fifteen years. (Aside from her bad behavior through the book. C'mon, ladies! Look at your husbands/boyfriends. THAT HAS GOT TO STING! aka, be earth-shattering)

Why do I bring that up? I'd love to read a story where the wife is NOT the villainess. I get that we have to make the MC our hero, so he can do no wrong. But the guys are always using the women as a beard, blaming the women for their being miserable, then taking their children away after a lengthy custody battle to satisfy the need for a nuclear family for our new gay couple. (speaking of MANY books) Just once, I'd like to see the woman's emotions brought up, and how this behavior on the MAN's part is horrible to the woman.

It's all how it's written, right? The guy doesn't want to admit he's gay, so he uses a woman to hide. Then when he's comfortable to come out of the closet (be it months with her, or two decades), he destroys the woman he used. In context, it's gross, and I don't blame these women for going off the rails. That has got to change them on an emotional and mental level.

Anyway back to my review.

So that's the setup. The book is angsty, with both men pulling away from each other at one point or another, multiple times, for multiple reasons. There's miscommunication. There are outside forces pounding down on the couple. But the majority of the book is Ian and Braden getting in their own way.

I enjoyed Lord of a Thousand Steps, getting emotional a few times. Overall, I've enjoyed the series as a whole. Some books work for me, and others kind of work for me, but that's individual to my reading style (taste). Personally, I felt the story's pacing to be on the slow side, drawing to a crawl at some points, with too many pages to support so few storyline threads.

Heartwarming, funny, sweet, and a bit heartbreaking, a sign of a good book is when I want the next immediately. One with a slight pacing problem is when I want the next book while still reading the current storyline. Or that could mean I want Lain's words anyway I can get them, and I have a problem with instant gratification and patience.

I want Rico's story – something tells me that's a little bit dark.

Highly recommended to fans of Tara Lain, the Love in Laguna series, and MM Romance, especially those who enjoy a warm, character-building storyline without a ton of shock-value or bells and whistles.


Angie – ☆☆☆☆
This book starts with Ian’s boyfriend, Rico, leaving for Mexico to help his sick dad. Happens all the time right? With technology these days we can call, text, email, etc., when we need to get ahold of people. Why the hell Ian didn’t CALL Rico to see what the hell was going on right away is beyond me. That was my biggest hang up about this book, Ian kept trying to text and wouldn’t call and when he did call Rico was a jerk. Braden, I fell in love with instantly and felt so bad for all the crap he was going through with his soon to be ex. The kids were a great addition to the story and of course so was the cat, Anderson Cooper. This book was full of emotions and some steamy sex. Another good addition to the series.

Characters: Well written and easy to relate to
Sex: Yes
Religious: No
Would I recommend to others: Yes
More than one book in the series: Yes
Genre: M/M Romance
Would I read more by this author: Yes

Also Available in the Love in Laguna Series

Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Dreamspinner Press

For reviews & more info, check out our Prince of the Playhouse post.

Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011. Her best-selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, Best Erotic Romance, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft. She lives with her soul-mate husband and her soul-mate dog in Laguna Beach, California, a pretty seaside town where she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!

Connect with Tara

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Lord of a Thousand Steps (Love in Laguna #4) by Tara Lain to read and review.

Prince of the Playhouse by Tara Lain

Driven by his desire to become a successful fashion designer and concerned with hiding his questionable past, Ru Maitland has let obsession with action movie star Gray Anson on the big screen replace his social life. Then obsession and reality collide when Ru is asked to design fashion costumes for a special performance of Hamlet at the Playhouse in Laguna starring none other than Gray Anson. Gray turns out to be a compelling mix of shy and brash and, despite a high profile engagement to a female socialite, the signals Gray sends Ru have his libido doing the salsa.

Gray Anson has what most people only dream of—great wealth, huge fame, a job he loves. For that, he’s given up any semblance of privacy and the right to say no to the thousands of people who depend on him and the millions who love him. He sees everything he’s ever wanted just outside the bubble of his life, but how can he make the compromises needed to embrace it? When Ru’s shady past crashes into Gray’s paparazzi-haunted present, both men have to learn that sometimes the only acceptable compromise is the truth.

Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Dreamspinner  Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆
4 highly anticipated stars

I've been on the lookout for Prince of the Playhouse since I finished Knave of Broken Hearts, and was ecstatic to be offered the opportunity to review. Prince of the Playhouse didn't disappoint – instead of devouring it, I savored it over the course of several days.

We finally get Laguna's resident fashion designer's story. We readers thought we knew Ru Maitland, but we hadn't even scratched the surface. Ru wears his secrets on his back, refusing to take off his shirt to expose his past. Ru's a little bit self-deprecating when it comes to his nonexistent love life, a whole lot confident in his designing abilities, and 100% a queen who wants to be in charge.

For several years, Ru has been obsessed with the country's biggest blockbuster action star, watching the movies like a drug addict takes a hit of their favorite drug. Busy with trying to get ready for fashion week, Ru is offered the chance to design for the modern day version of Hamlet. He's more than ready to pass on the opportunity, fearing spreading himself too thin professionally. But then he learns Gray Anson – his celebrity crush – will be starring in the production.

Every breath Gray takes is stalked, then filmed and released to the public at large. Maintaining his image is more than just a job. All of those who work for him, are employed because of him, he holds the weight of their livelihoods on his conscience. Unable to be who he truly is, he has to watch every step he takes. No secrets are safe, real friends are impossible to come by, and everything is released to the public.

Gray truly is self-deprecating in all things. He's unsure of his acting chops, thinking all he's good for is to be blown up in action scenes. Stressed, he's bombing as Hamlet, and not in a good way. He asks Ru to help him understand the script, and what Ru gives him in return is priceless – confidence and friendship, along with a healthy dose of lust.

Prince of the Playhouse surrounds the production of Hamlet, Ru dealing with new-found fame while trying to survive the criminal element, and Gray coming to terms with who he is while trying not to let those in his life down. Proof that size doesn't dictate your personality, Ru is a take-charge person, and larger than life Gray likes others to take over for him. The perfect balance between the main characters, if only Gray would stop others from dictating his every decision.

The side cast was entertaining as always, setting up the next book for sure. There was a singular scene where I hadn't laughed that hard before. Hamlet & Horatio get drunk together, stagger to Ru's home, and make total fools of themselves. The dialogue during the scene was priceless and quote-worthy.

Why not 5 stars? I'm not sure why, but I never had the sensation where I had to click to turn the page and find out what happens next. The voracity never hit me. Instead, I found Prince of the Playhouse to be more of a comfort read I could enjoy at leisure. I read it over the course of 4 days, not eager to finish it, but not entirely because I didn't want it to end. I don't know if it was because I've never been a fan of celebrity plots, or just how the story flowed.

I will say I felt the celebrity storyline was written with more maturity than those I've read previously. It was less about how much money a person has in their bank account, and the fancy clothes and expensive cars, and more about the emotional impact of fame. The stalking by the paparazzi, right down to drones buzzing overhead, and the loneliness of never truly connecting with someone in fear they will use whatever you said against you, was perfectly portrayed. Gray was an open book for the reader, a fully fleshed out character.

Ru, whom I adored, was more closed off, and not as a personality trait. Even with his past popping up, I felt I barely got a taste of who he is, which means I didn't connect to Ru as much as I wish I had.

Overall, Prince of the Playhouse fits perfectly in the Love in Laguna series, and I can't wait to get my hands on the fourth book.

Highly recommended to fans of MM contemporary romance.


Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
Tara Lain is a new-to-me author. Until the review opportunity came up for Prince of the Playhouse, I’d never read any of her writing despite owning Knight of Ocean Avenue. While my co-reviewer assured me that I could read this one as a standalone, she recommended that I read the previous books first because there is a lot of character crossover from one book to the next, and that they were well worth the read if I could fit them into my schedule. Turns out, she was not wrong. I agree that Prince of the Playhouse can be read on its own, but I found the reading experience much richer because I had already met Ru in book one and was familiar with his relationship with Shaz, and knowing what Shaz and Billy went through made it easy to understand why Shaz kept encouraging Ru whenever he needed it.

Because I read book one, I began this book already adoring Ru. But as his story unfolded, my admiration for him increased in leaps and bounds at his drive to overcome his roots and his willingness to put in the amount of hard work needed to achieve his dreams. His desire to earn his own way rather than accepting a handout (his words) from Shaz merely bolstered my already high opinion of him. But I will admit, what really did it for me, was when he took down the thug who attempted to mug him. Hot dang, was that a scene or what?!?!? Sadly, it also opened him up to the undeserved attention of a bigoted police officer who seemed to take affront to a gay man being able to defend himself. Thankfully, the bad in the story is balanced with the good. And the shadow the bigoted cop cast on Ru’s life was frequently overshadowed by the blazing light of Hollywood heartthrob and action star Gray Anson – who just so happens to be Ru’s secret crush. When the opportunity to costume the cast of the playhouse’s performance of Macbeth develops the added chance to help Gray better understand Shakespeare’s writing to improve his performance, Ru can’t decide if he is in Heaven or in Hell. After all, Gray Anson is as straight as a man can be … isn’t he? And even if there’s a possibility Gray’s interested in men, he’d never be interested in someone like Ru Maitland … would he?

>>> Possible Spoilers (but not really if you’re familiar with the series) <<<

There were so many things I enjoyed about Prince of the Playhouse that I’m sure to forget to mention some of them. Actually, I’m not sure there’s anything I didn’t like, except for the bigoted cop, and regrettably, men like him are an unfortunate reality in the world. First, I enjoyed the whole “out for you” theme of the book. Unbeknownst to his fans and family, Gray Anson is gay and has known that about himself since he was a teen. But going from small town living, where he knew he couldn’t come out, and being catapulted into being a major action star didn’t allow him to be himself. Because we all know, Hollywood action stars can’t be gay, right? Gray’s mom was one of the best moms I’ve ever read. Her showdown with the preacher at church was beyond awesome and I wanted to give her a standing ovation for it. That she made it easy on Gray when he was finally ready to admit his homosexuality to her had me tearing up, especially when she apologized for making him ever think that she put religion as a higher priority than her son. If more parents were like her, the world would be a much happier place. I was very surprised by Ru’s willingness to keep his relationship with Gray a secret, until we learned more about Ru’s past, that is. Of course, the action-packed ending was a surprise and perfect considering all that we knew and didn’t know about what was going on. I absolutely loved the Prince of the Playhouse and will definitely be checking out more of Lain’s writing. My fingers are crossed that Merle will get his own book next.

Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011. Her best-selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, Best Erotic Romance, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft. She lives with her soul-mate husband and her soul-mate dog in Laguna Beach, California, a pretty seaside town where she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!

Connect with Tara

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Prince of the Playhouse (Love in Laguna #3) by Tara Lain to read and review.