Hay

Made Marian #8.5

by Lucy Lennox

**NOTE: Hay is a 25k word SHORT.**
When sports journalist Hayworth Buchanan lands the interview of his dreams, he gets the chance to visit famous NFL coach Christian Lasley at his secluded ranch in Wyoming. Despite the cold weather outside, things get plenty steamy inside when sparks fly between Hay and his celebrity sports crush. But Hay's been down this road before, and he knows from experience hot connections never turn into the real deal for him. After all, everyone he's ever been interested in has left him for their childhood love.

So when Christian's on-again, off-again childhood love shows up at the ranch hoping to reconcile, Hayworth knows he a decision to make. Does he hand over the ball and slink off the field, or does he step up and try to make the winning play?

While Hay is set in the Made Marian world, this story stands completely on its own.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Sports, Contemporary, Audiobook, Novella, LGBT

106 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 11, 2019

About the author

I write M/M romance with humor, heart, and heat. Check out my backlist here on GR for a selection of series and standalone or visit www.LucyLennox.com!

I only keep a small list of my very favorite books and series in my bookshelf here. I read A LOT and it's hard to keep the list updated!

Reviews

[Meags · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

I needed this. I needed Hayworth to finally get his own HEA after being the dumpee not once, not twice, but three fricken times over the course of the Made Marian series.

Hayworth deserved to find a forever love and he got that here in such classic Lennox fashion – that is to say, this story was the perfect balance of sweetness, heart, humour and steam.

This shorty put a smile on my face and legitimately made me teary, which is more than I can say for a lot of the short stories out there. Talk about a freebie win!

[Carol [Goodreads Addict] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hay is book #8.5 in the Made Marian series by Lucy Lennox. I loved this little short story so much. We have met Hay previously in the other books and I adored seeing him in this one finally get his man.



Hayworth (Hay) Buchanan is thirty two years old. He is a popular sports journalist that has a sports comedy podcast. Poor Hay. In previous books, we know that he’s a bit unlucky in love. Every man he felt serious enough to want to see a future with, has gone back to their high school love interests, always leaving Hay once again alone. Hay is so excited to have scored an interview with the newly out coach of the Jackson Jackals who is also someone Hay may have a tiny crush on. He is traveling to his ranch to interview him.



Christian Lasley is thirty eight years old. He is a formal football player and now successful coach. He has just recently come out to the media. It was easy to choose the person he wanted to do this interview with. The gay podcaster with the sexy voice.

As soon as these two meet, sparks are flying. I love when that happens. But their connection is much more than just physical. They connect in every way. Their conversation comes easily which makes the attraction even stronger. But soon, Hay learns that Christian has had an on again, off again secret relationship with a man he went to school with. Hay is convinced that it’s just a matter of time until history repeats itself and Christian goes back to him, once again leaving Hay alone.



I loved these two so, so much. Both of them were strong, successful men. Lately it seems like I’ve been reading books where I like one of the men but not so much the other but not the case with this one. It’s a short story. I almost wish it were longer, I didn’t want it to be over so soon. The epilogue was adorable and made my heart happy.

For more about this book and so many others, come and visit me at Carol's Crazy Bookish World.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carol...

[~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read only a couple books in the Made Marian series, so I didn't recognize Hayward.

Now I know that Hay is really insecure and kept waiting for Christian to leave him. Indeed, he begged Christian to leave him. Christian said no, but it takes a strong person to put up with such low self-esteem in a partner

This is a cute story and sexy to boot, but I didn't really connect with either MC. There wasn't enough background information, so the story happened in a vacuum.

Bonus points for the great epilogue!

[Cat the bookworm (semi hiatus ish) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hay? What kind of name is that? 🙄

I’m trying very hard not to name-shame anyone here, especially as I’m no native speaker, and -who knows? Maybe it’s a common name in some parts of the U.S? But I think one of the biggest problems I had with this book was that whenever I heard the name “Hay”, the picture of a huge bale of… well… HAY… popped up on my mind, and distracted me from whatever was happening.

Sorry to all the Hays out there. I couldn’t help it. I guess Hayworth is one of the names I’d NEVER use the short form for.

That being said, the rest of the book was… ok. It’s been a long time since I’ve read the Made Marian series, and I couldn’t remember Hayworth, so I missed a bit of his backstory - I guess you’ll like the book more if you’re fully immersed in that universe.

The romance itself is cute enough, albeit a bit insta everything in a “omg we just met but after laying eyes on you, I already know you’re IT and I’ll do everything to keep you” kind of way.

It’s a novella, narrated by Michael Dean, and it’s been part of a free audio book package on BookFunnel.

3 stars - not the best thing I’ve read by Lucy Lennox, but not the worst, either.

[Vanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!! 🤩💕 L❤️VED it!! I have to admit that it has been a while since I read the Made Marian series and except the MCs I don't remember the other characters....🙄. But as I read about Hay, I did feel bad that he had been dumped 3 times😢 in a span of 3-4 years..😭. I can believe that something like that would leave a scar on someone's psyche and it has. Although he has a successful career, an active social life and a confident happy persona; Hay has some massive insecurities which interfere with his long term happiness. When he meets Chris (a recently out football coach of an NFL team who is both handsome and available😉), he instantly feels the attraction, but is hesitant to hope for anything more than a casual hook-up. However Chris, despite his newness at being openly gay, knows what he wants; and he wants Hay 😍 💘.
The passion between them is truly explosive🔥💥💕; the banter, full of sass and humor😆 and finally the HEA a truly sweet way to give closure to Hay. 😍💝. This is Ms. Lennox at her best.. 👏👏 Highly recommended 👍👍

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is why I try and grab freebies when I can. I don't think I would have read this series before and know I want to start at the beginning and meet everyone!
Fun snarky humor, steamy sexy lovin', and instalove at it's finest.
I truly don't mind a quick connection when it is done right, and Lucy nailed here.
Thanks for the V-day treat...looking forward to more!

[Kaity · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4 stars

Short, sweet, and no Tilly… aka a win! Hahaa

Hay and Chris were great for a book about 100 pages this flowed pretty well, yes the declaration of love was fast but for a novella I let it slide.

I was glad Hay got his happy ever after, since seeing him from Maverick’s book.

[Erth · Rating 5 out of 5]

After struggling with coming out, these two men who admired each other for their sports contributions through the years, become very aware of significant steamy attraction to each other! The greatest part is their strength to show their confidence to the world as they rock each others world! Hot and sexy!

[Aղցela W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short quick read from the "Made Marian" series. Hayworth Buchanan who we met in book 5 of this series lands his dream interview with Christian Lasley who is the head coach of an NFL team Christian is also openly gay. When these two meet they are crushing on each other but Hay has some insecurities and he doesn't think that he is long-term relationship material Hay was in a relationship with Beau until Maverick returned and with Josh until Cyrus returned. Christian who came out to the world was in a on again off again relationship with Lane. This was a short quick read that I was glad that Hay got his happy ever after. When Lane shows up wanting to start things up again with Chris he says no he is in love with Hay when Hay tells him about being left by exs whose childhood sweethearts show up I felt bad for him. This was a really good read and I loved that Chris was accepted by the other coaches and players that he coached. This book had some hot sex scenes in it. I did wanted to get Marian updates. This book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling.

[Gabi]

DNF @85%

I really enjoyed this at first despite the insta-lust/love. Poor Hayworth has been dumped 3 times in the previous books (Made Marian series) and he deserved his happy ending.
It started out really good. Hay is funny and quirky, I was having fun. But then the drama got to be too much for me. But it wasn't a complete waste of time.

[Ben Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Hay is a short novella about a sports journalist and a recently out NFL coach, Hayworth and Christian respectively. Their romance was cute. Most sport romances I've read feature one of the players so it was interesting to get a love interest that was the coach. However, as this was short it wasn't utilized as much as I'd have liked.

They were really sweet and supportive of one another. The conflict, of Hay's crushes always leaving him for their childhood loves, didn't take up too much space thankfully.

While this novella is book 8.5 in a series, it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone. It's definitely got me interested in the series, so I will be checking out book 1 eventually!

[Denise H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

***** Lucy Lennox gives us a highly entertaining short story with everything we like.
* Christian, with blonde wavy hair is nearly 6'5", 38,

a coach now, was a football player, Heisman winner, Super Bowl winner, and recently came out to the world. He runs his Flying L Ranch in Wyoming, which is where Hayward must go for his interview.
* Hayworth/Hay, 32, city guy from South Carolina

-then San Francisco, has styled dark hair, full bottom lip, and is a successful sports blogger, out, too.

Hay arrives at the sprawling ranch, begins the interview, where the conversation flows and time flies. They are totally comfortable and at ease together. Hay gets bundled up for the cold trip to the barn, and then meets the dogs, the pregnant mare, and gets a sexy, melting kiss from Christian.

* Christian wants Hay, no doubt, so he needs to crack Hay's shell. We find out later what Hay is afraid of. We get deep conversations, humor, comfort, and hot and heavy sexiness. These two are really made for each other on every level. They fit, they trade places, and are perfect in their needs. Full characters with depth that we fall for and we want them to work it out.


There's a new colt whose name is awesome, and we get glimpses of what they could have. Chris's ex shows up and riles Hay.

* It's a terrific short story with sexy cowboys, hot football players, it's super sexy and completely exciting.
Highly recommended. ENJOY !
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Be sure to read Lucy's forward where she explains her changes from "real" sports.

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[Bookreader87(Amanda) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars
Yay! I am so happy Hayworth finally got his HEA 😁

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short actually made me really like Hay after disliking him in Moving Maverick. It was nice to see him address his insecurities and also to see him achieve so much!

[Moraa · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

[MishyJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this much better than the last few.

[Trio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy a Lucy Lennox short. She's amazing, the way she can establish characters, show their scorching attraction grow into love, and wrap it all up with a happily-ever-after in so few pages.

Performed by Michael Dean, nobody can bring Lennox's characters to life quite like he can.

[Barb ~rede-2-read~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a nice story about a secondary character passed over for love in the Made Marian series. The author decided to give Hayworth a chance for everlasting love in the arms of former pro football player and now coach, Christian. Hay stars in his own sports news podcast that's been highly popular and so Christian, who generally shuns media attention, agrees to an interview with him only.

Naturally the two hit it off and there's immediate sexy times but there's also more than that and over the course of (a relatively short) time they end up with real feels. I don't recall Hay from previous books but I do like him in this one. He's a fun guy, who seems to have his life planned out. Christian has recently come out and is ready for a commitment. It's a perfect storm situation.

I liked the age gap--not too much--the silver in Christian's hair, the commitment to relationship rather than fling on both their parts and the feel and pace of the story. The cherry on top of this delicious ice cream sundae is that the author provided it free. How can we lose?

[Jessica Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

For such a short story, this one packed a nice punch. Both guys were fleshed out, sweet, funny, hot, and you could immediately feel their chemistry. I really enjoyed reading this and definitely recommend this freebie to any fans of Lennox. While some of these characters are introduced in the Made Marian series, you can easily jump into this one without having read that series and still enjoy.

[Elsa Bravante · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mono, pero rozando peligrosamente el psé.

[Valentina Campi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una novella molto carina. È stata una lettura veramente piacevole.

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

yeeee that was cute, that was cute!! We love a MM romance with low angst novella

[CamiBookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les inconditionnels du slow burn devraient passer leur chemin, car ici, on ne perd pas de temps 🔥

Hay n'a jamais été très chanceux en amour. S'il a déjà eu quelques relations qu'il aurait aimé plus sérieuses, celles-ci se sont plutôt mal terminées : ses ex l'ont quitté pour des amours de jeunesse.

Lorsqu'il se rend chez le célèbre coach de football américain, Christian Lasley, dont il est fan, c'est le coup de foudre instantané. Coup de foudre réciproque. Débute alors une relation passionnée entre ces deux grands gaillards au cœur tendre.

Y a pas à dire, Lucy Lennox sait y faire ! En tout cas, ça fonctionne parfaitement avec moi. Ça a beau être rapide - trop rapide -, les personnages sont très attachants et exactement comme je les aime. C'est bourré de sentiments et c'est sexy à souhait.

En bref, une petite lecture sans prise de tête qu'on a du mal à lâcher avant le mot fin.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this story ... and it is not often that a novella get 5 stars from me.
Could it have been longer ? Yes of course but nevertheless this was really good with a solid story and a well developed relationship

I think it is one of my favourites from this series and I loved it

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Good instalove romance. Good humor, good characters, great sex.

[Pj · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Jenn (not Lily) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute story, even though I didn't completely remember who Hayworth was in the Marian series at first.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

RTC

[Wendy Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad Hay got his HEA