Praline Goes To Washington: Or, the Erotic Misdeeds of a Newly Native Californian in Our Nation's Capitol

The Perils of Praline #2

by Marshall Thornton

In the long-awaited sequel to The Perils of Praline, TV reality star Helmut Dump is unexpectedly and illogically elected to the presidency causing an epidemic of politically induced impotence. When Praline’s boyfriend Jason falls victim to the malicious malady, our hero must find a way to cure it. Meanwhile, Jason’s mother, actress Yolanda Grimes, has been invited to perform at Dump’s Inauguration. After she invites Jason and Praline to attend with her, Praline sees the opportunity he’s been looking for—all he needs to do is get to the new president and convince him to start being nice to people and stop scaring them. Along the way, Praline encounters a collection of bizarre and sometimes sexy characters, some old and some new. Will Praline meet the new president and convince him to turn over a new leaf, or will he find another way to rescue his sex life?

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Gay, Satire

211 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 10, 2017

About the author

Three-time Lambda Award-winning author, Marshall Thornton is best known for the Boystown and Pinx Video mystery series. Other novels include the erotic comedy The Perils of Praline, or the Amorous Adventures of a Southern Gentleman in Hollywood, Desert Run and Full Release. Marshall has an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA, where he received the Carl David Memorial Fellowship and was recognized in the Samuel Goldwyn Writing awards.

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Reviews

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person · Rating 3 out of 5]

NTS: I borrowed the first book, The Perils of Praline from KU, but the files were mixed up and this is what downloaded instead.

I love, love this author’s writing and he is effortlessly humorous but this story, though very good, did not agree with me. That is what is reflected in my rating.

If someone wants to read these two books, go for it. This book is humorous and prophetic.

[LenaRibka]

A little appetizer...

“There are facts. And there is the truth. Which are you going to believe?"

Everyone who is familiar with the works of Marshall Thornton knows that along with the gay mystery, the comedy belongs to one of his home genres. And he is good in it.

I like this unobtrusive smart and dry humor so typical for his characters, and not only in the comedy's novels.

With Praline Goes To Washington: Or, the Erotic Misdeeds of a Newly Native Californian in Our Nation's Capitol Marshall Thornton has proved that political satire, as a genre of literature, is not alien to him.

I fucking love the first book in The Perils of Praline series , it is one of the most hilarious, sarcastic and quotable book I ever read. It is the very finest social satire full of ridiculous situation, witty dialogues and great lines.

I expected the same (even more!) from the second book, and was excited to hold the copy in my hands.

Praline Goes To Washington is an excellent written piece of political satire, and at the same time it is an example of a very rare genre that is most likely doomed to remain in the niche.

I'll try to explain:

Political satire & Gay erotica

Readers who enjoy Political Satire (judging from my life experience) are usually not regular readers of Gay Erotica(this one is VERY GRAPHICALLY delicious). Readers who enjoy Gay Erotica don't read Political Satire, normally.
And...THIS KIND OF GAY EROTICA won't read an average MM Romance Reader. ("He said that he loves him on the page 5 and he fucks someone else on the page 10!")

To enjoy political satire, you have to know the political/social background.

I had to admit, much to my regret, I didn't know all the necessary information behind the scenes to be able to enjoy this militant irony. There were so many names (slightly modified) that every American reader would immediately recognize and identify with a real person AND... COULD easily understand the sarcasm and exaggeration that was hidden behind, but I didn't. I knew who was hidden behind Helmut Dump and his wife Melanoma, but not more. I have openly to confess that I GOT TIRED from all this political circus at the end and even AVOIDED all political discussions ON PURPOSE recently. Since I tried to express my opinion about it on FB and got a lot of feedback like "go away/disappear and don't disturb other people to express their temper", I am not politically motivated at all, FYI.

You have to be a passionate democrat (that is only logical).That is easy, I think.

You have to be a child, in your heart.

YES. Because Praline is such a kind naive sweetheart. I try to imagine that his IQ is simply too low not too academic and ignore an obvious fact that he is an idiot a charming naive young man.

It is a NOW/TODAY fiction.

It won't be very actual and interesting probably/maybe 4 years from now later.

I REALLY REALLY wish more readers from the TARGET AUDIENCE read it. Those who are political NOT ignorant. Those who can enjoy Gay Erotica. Those who read the first book in the series and enjoyed it. Those who are fans of Marshall Thornton. Those who are NOT fans of the current president.



Reading Challenge 2017 - 15. A book with a subtitle.

[Georgie-who-is-Sarah-Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good-humoured adventures of faux-innocent Praline ever-so accidentally tangling with the minions of President-elect Helmut Dump & his wife, Melanoma. Depressed by the Republicans' political triumphs, Praline's boyfriend, Jason, has:

"developed a lingering case of politically induced impotence. Apparently, due to the election results, it was nearly epidemic.
“How can I even think about sex when our country has elected a fascist?” Jason had explained.
Praline did not know how to answer that question. He was certain President-elect Dump was not a fascist. For one thing, he didn’t have a German accent and all the fascists he’d seen in movies had German accents. So how could Dump be a fascist? It’s true that Helmut might be a German name, but that didn’t mean anything. There were lots of girls named Tiffany and that didn’t mean they were jewelers."

While this isn't as inventive as the joyously bawdy and anarchic The Perils of Praline: Or, the Amorous Adventures of a Southern Gentleman in Hollywood, there are some choice moments - for instance, Dump's PA, Keely Angst, protesting in an interview:

"Please don’t call it fake news. That’s disrespectful to the people who disseminate it. It’s alt-real.”
Ander frowned at the camera. “Alt-real suggests there is some way in which the story might be real.”
“Exactly. It’s science. And not junk-science like what they use to support the completely made-up theory of climate change. This is the real, concrete, absolutely provable multiverse hypothesis.”
“Multiverse hypothesis?”
“Yes, Ander, there are multiple realities and there are those who walk among us living in their own alt-real world. That’s completely supported by data by the way."

Good definitely-not-clean fun.

[⚓Dan⚓ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another funny book by Marshall. The resemblance to our present Presidency is remarkable considering this was written over a year ago.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was...oh my gah lol. I laughed so hard at all the stuff that Praline does in this book or what he gets into. This book was funny BUT when you get the underlying message it's more than that as well. It was very satirical.

Praline gets himself into more trouble than just about anyone on the planet. He finds himself in the oddest positions and a lot of them sexual, lol. That boy finds sex everywhere as well. From the office in a restaurant, to security check-ins, to elevators and meeting rooms. He finds trouble in the same spots. And his whole purpose, bless his heart, is to try to get to the President to tell him to be nice to help his boyfriend with his problem. Praline is so clueless and naive but so sweet and so wanting to please. He reminds of a little puppy sometimes. He's so happy to be praised for whatever he does and he's so happy to please someone, even his boyfriend’s mother, who repeatedly calls him by the wrong name. But as long as she talks to him and includes him, he's happy and doesn't care. He's a starstruck young man who just wants everyone to be nice and happy. But along the way he really does learn a little about how the world really works and he even has his opinions on it. Which makes you so proud.

Everything in this book is funny or sexual but even though it pokes fun at the government and things going on, so much of it is true. There are blatant parallels to our real life government; the lies being told left and right, the betrayals, the underhandedness. When you read this book some of the things the President and his wife are saying may seem funny but when you think of it, just as the book makes clear, it's all bullshit. It's selfishness. The media blowing things in the wrong direction as they so often do. Or hell, the media just blowing things up to get things started. And Praline, though, naive and clueless as he may seem, had the right idea. Why can't everyone be nice to each other and take care of each other? We are all human. No matter race, sexuality, gender etc. We all deserve to love and be loved. No one person is better than the other. And just because you're rich doesn't make you better. It should make you want to help others who aren't rich to be better off instead of poor or desolate.

Very commendable book! And though I didn't get a chance to read the first one, after reading this sequel, and several of the author’s other works, I'm sure it is just as good and recommend this book and this series.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better than the first book! In this sequel, Praline encounters a new danger—politicians. Written—I think—before Trump became president but after the 2016 election, it’s surprisingly precognitive regarding Trump. The author calls the new president Helmut Dump, which was very funny in context. The Dump campaign. Praline is torn because his mother loves Dump, feeling that his tough on crime stance can only enhance her illegal  career as a pot saleswoman. Legal pot has been a bummer for her since now everyone wants certified organic weed. Meanwhile the MC’s boyfriend suffers from election induced impotence since Dump became president elect. Which means the MC is also suffering. Our hero feels that he needs to talk to Dump and remind him of the importance of kindness. Then he can ease his boyfriend’s anxieties and go back to business as usual. Of course, this leads to lots of trouble.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Marshall Thornton. I especially love his Pinx Video Mysteries series. I hesitated reading Praline Goes to Washington, because I thought it might be too much to stomach a satire on the first Trump presidency. But it was wonderfully silly and yet poignant, and reminded me we don't have to accept the cruelty. We can choose love and respect each day, as difficult as this time period is for the large majority of Americans who do not support this hateful administration. Praline got back his hope and so can we. 3.5 out of 5.

[Robert Fontenot · Rating 2 out of 5]

To a large extent, this is just about bad timing. I put this book on my TBR list a while ago, well before the 2024 election. Now that Trump has started his second term and is currently dismantling the government in the silliest, most painful ways possible, this political satire about the start of his first term is very dispiriting to read. This truly feels like the product of a simpler time.

[Mercedes Hightower · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book it was funny, ridiculous and horrifyingly accurate to the world we currently live in. Can’t wait for me hopefully.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2. The problem is that it's just not very funny. Not through any fault of the author, it's just that it's beyond satire and we had 4 years of it after the inauguration.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was FUN. Marshall. Praline, who apparently can't stay out of bed with a fairly wide variety of men, is in Washington, D.C., with his boyfriend. They can't manage to do it.

[Doujia2 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Perils of Praline, but the sequel was too heavy on the politics side, and not in a fun way.

[Melissa]

Currently FREE on Amazon US (not sure about other locations)
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