Early Morning Mocha

by Becca Brant

James: Ryan's been my best friend since freshman year of college. We've always done everything together--including opening a queer-friendly coffee shop in the trendy St. Louis neighborhood of Maplewood. The shop was struggling as rents rose, but when a customer's random selfie caught me giving Ryan the kiss of the century, the whole internet tuned in. (And collectively lost their minds, as far as I can tell.)

I didn't mean anything by it, but now the world can't get enough of the Coffee Boyfriends, and business has never been better. No craze lasts forever--all we have to do is keep up the act until the internet gets distracted by something else. Then we can go back to being best friends.

Piece of cake, right? So why can't I stop thinking about that kiss?

Ryan: Yeah, I've had a crush on James since college--who can blame me? But someone as hot as him would never waste their time with too-skinny, too-short me. I'd made peace with that...right up until the internet started having a whole lot of feelings about him sticking his tongue down my throat.

I'm having a lot of feelings about that, too. Very explicit feelings.

I've been dreaming of James kissing me for years, but not like this--not when it's all just a publicity stunt. How pathetic am I, that I'd go along with this scheme just to get a taste of what it'd be like to be James's boyfriend? I just hope that between our obsessive fans, malfunctioning equipment, and bizarre new employees, I have a chance to enjoy it before he finds me out and puts a stop to it.

Ingredients: each 66,000 word serving of Early Morning Mocha contains a stand-alone gay romance, two clueless best friends kissing, thousands of sex-crazed internet fans, frequent detailed accounts of man-on-man loving, a few dozen tacky t-shirts, and one very, very naughty dog. 

Genres: M M Romance, Friends To Lovers, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2017

Reviews

[Pixie · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF'd at 71%. Started out cute but once the two got together it was chapter after chapter of making out or fucking. I started to skim but quickly realized that basically left nothing much to read.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice and sweet story. I so loved Ryan and James together.

[Amanda Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet friends to lovers story. No angst. Just friends who discover they have always been meant for each other.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seit dem College sind der Sportler James und der Nerd Ryan beste Freunde. Inzwischen führen sie zusammen einen kleinen Coffeeshop. Dieser war immer Ryans Traum und irgendwann wurde es eben auch James‘ Traum. Das Cafe läuft nicht schlecht, aber reich sind sie bislang nicht geworden. Ihre Freundschaft hat schon viele Höhen und Tiefen er- und überlebt. Doch insgeheim empfindet Ryan mehr für James, der in seinen Augen großartig aussieht. Er ist einfach unerreichbar und nicht in seiner Liga.

James hat jedoch nie ernstes Interesse von Ryan an ihm wahrgenommen, deswegen stellte sich für James die Frage nach ‚mehr‘ auch nicht. Doch dann werden sie plötzlich zu einer Berühmtheit und ein Bild, auf dem sie sich im Shop küssen, macht seinen Weg in der digitalen Welt. Ein Schnappschuss, der plötzlich alles verändern könnte. Denn wieso nicht diesen Umstand ausnutzen und sich als süßes Paar aus dem Coffeeshop präsentieren, wenn es dem Geschäft dient?

Doch wie so oft im Leben läuft nicht alles so glatt und schon bald geraten die Gefühle der einst besten Freunde völlig durcheinander. James will mehr und auch Ryan kann nicht mehr verleugnen was er für James tatsächlich empfindet. Gleichzeitig machen ihm diese Gefühle Angst und auch James hat Angst um ihre solide, langjährige Freundschaft.

Ja, die Geschichte ist ein wenig glatt und bietet jetzt auch keine besonders großen Konflikte. Allerdings ist es wirklich schön und sehr romantisch zu lesen wie Ryan und James sich finden, sich annähern und den letzten Teil ihres ‚Ichs‘ dem Anderen offenlegen. Das verlangt ihnen beiden sehr viel ab. Außerdem müssen sie mit ihrer neuen ‚Berühmtheit‘ umgehen und ihr Alltag wird deutlich aufregender und hektischer, da das Cafe natürlich boomt und sie sich vor Kunden kaum retten können.

Das Rad wurde auch bei dieser Geschichte nicht neu erfunden und so manche Komponente kommt dem Vielleser bestimmt bekannt vor. Allerdings schreibt die Autorin sehr cozy und lässt keine Längen aufkommen. Auch seltsame oder unglaubwürdige Ereignisse wird man nicht finden. Dafür punktet sie mit sympathischen Helden, einem dreisten Hund und vielen wohlmeinenden Freunden und Kollegen.

[Len Evans Jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is apparently the first written by this author; at least under this pen name. Regardless, the story is incredibly well-written and the characters complex and believable. I especially like the fact that the author did not go for some earth-shattering crisis or an ex etc. to push Ryan and James together. Instead other than them having to deal with the whole internet celebrity the only major relationship issue was Ryan's low self-esteem. Which is something almost every gay man has had to deal with at some point or points in their lives. It was also nice to see a couple whom pretty much already had a deep, emotional relationship just taking to the next logical step. In all, this story was very realistic and an extremely satisfying read! Well Done!!!!

[thebloggerandthegeek · Rating 3 out of 5]

What to say... I liked the book but not in an I-will-re-read-soon type of like. It was fun but not very realistic, and I know, is a book it doesn't mean it has to be realistic but it wasn't the plot as much as the character. Typical, Ryan is anxious and shy and has secret feelings for James who's hotter than fire and has girls and boys hanging off his arm. The fact they jump on each other bones from a kiss, without truly navigate into a deep romance was bothering me from starting to ending, I did enjoy Felix and Ali, they were fun to read. But overall, it didn't stand out and didn't truly paved a way for Evan (who's Evan?) the main character in the following book.

[Aubrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and sugary

Nothing unexpected, no angst or made up drama. Just smooth sailing to an inevitable HEA. James and Ryan are cute, best friends who run a coffee shop together, they get caught in a photo during a casual kiss and thing kind of (unrealistically) exode as they become an internet sensation. Its a cute story, wuth the typical "let's pretend we are in a relationship that turns into something real" story. It is cute, and the leads are both adorable. It is dual POV, however the voices arent very distinct if Ryan isnt being all insecure, at least. There are a lot of sexy scenes (kind of unnecessarily draws the book out, tbh).

[TL Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caffeine and a kiss!

Absolutely adorable! I love it when the big, perfectly chiseled hunk falls for the cute, insecure guy. It's a clear case of never judging a book by its cover. Loved it!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

review to follow when I have wifi

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.75

Kinda boring, ended up skimming through it a lot.

[Ottilee B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

D.N.F. for M.O.I.

Could not dredge up enough to read over 15% . Once I read beginning, I felt story was predictable and passed. Maybe read to 20% next time!

[Meghannf · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF around 60%. Cute in the beginning but starts to get a little bit boring after the main event happens. Once they get together it is no longer interesting...

[Anu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an adorable story. James and Ryan have been best friends since first day of college and now, fifteen years later they have a coffee shop together. A kiss between friends turns into an internet sensation and the guys decide to continue the charade of being boyfriends for the sake of the business. But soon enough the pretence turns real and actual feelings come to the surface.

This was a lovely best friends to lovers by way of pretend boyfriends story and I enjoyed it so very much. There was no drama, no breakup or grand misunderstandings - just low level insecurities that come with the territory of a new relationship. Look forward to seeing where this series goes, whether the follow up book(s) have the same magic.

[MaryAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

There wasn't much to this book. It's a very quick friends-to-lovers and not much time goes by before they get together. Literally half the book is them hooking up in pretty much every chapter.
With the quirky characters I think this story had potential, but the author didn't do much with it. Honestly after they get together there's not much else to read about

[Fallon Cahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

James and Ryan are maddeningly sweet, even as best friends. As boyfriends, they are the whole package. This is the first book in a series and I hope to see a lot more. This book has a high and ongoing heat level. I loved it, but I just wanted to mention that for those who don't care for it as well as those who do. This author does well blending the steamy and romantic while throwing in a sweet curve. Also, the pet rescue of 'Trish' will melt you along with the way she seamlessly blends into their lives. This was a wonderful way to spend a few hours... it was very easy to get caught up in the characters lives, they were well developed and the supporting cast went along well with them. I wouldn't mind seeing more of them in future installments. I've voluntarily read an Advance Reader Copy for my honest opinion and review.

[jennifer Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story..Great writing..Great author

This was a wonderfully well written story that kept me engaged the entire time. It was a sweet tale about best friends to lovers that was just a feel good read. I will definitely look for more by this author.

[K.M. Neuhold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Friends to lovers at its absolute best. Loved every second of this story. Sweet, sexy, completely full of happy. Read it.

[Ashley]

I only put this book on my DNF shelf for now because I'm going through a horrible book hangover and can't get into this book properly.
The writing was good, and the story was good too, but at 68% I'm just not feeling it right now. At some point in the future I'll come back to it and finish it up cause there's nothing wrong with the book or story, I just can't show it the respect it needs right now to get really into it and enjoy it.

[Kaila · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a sweet and fun read. no angst no drama.. no real issues.. just sweet. i really enjoyed it and im glad i got to review it

[Antoinette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ryan and James have been best friends since freshman year of college, 15 years. They do everything together even opening and running a LGBT friendly coffee shop together. One day James gives Ryan a thank you kiss, which isn't unusual for them, and it's caught in camera. Next thing they know everyone thinks they're a couple and they become an internet sensation. The shop, which hadn't been doing good lately, starts being jammed with customers wanting to meet them and know they're story. They agree to a fake relationship for the sake of the shop. Before long Ryan realizes the crush on James he's been suppressing for years has come back full force and James realizes his feelings for Ryan are a lot deeper than he thought. I loved it, I had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading it, 4.5 stars. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot and steamy

This is one hit and steamy read, couldnt put the book down , loved how they got together and how there relationship played out,some smoking hot scenes in it to.cant wait for the next book.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars