Pink

by Jason Collins

JESSE:

He wants to explore my feminine side, and I’m going to guide his hands.

I need a man’s man in my life, and not just because they’re hot. I run a soap business, but my line of men’s products is a flop. Now I need an official Straight Guy Consultant to teach me what men want to buy.

Enter the hot foreman from across the street. When Austin walks in with a dirty problem only I can solve, I want to scrub every inch of him clean. He’s over six feet of muscle and Southern charm. He’s also as straight as can be—or so I think.

When we end up getting dirty in the soap shop, I discover Austin isn’t the kind of guy who scoffs at the finer things. And for a straight guy, he doesn’t have any trouble staying on top of me.

He’s as masc as I am fem, and we’re getting as dirty as we are clean.

AUSTIN:

He’s all pink, and I’m turning all red.

When Jesse brings me on as his consultant, I don’t know what I’m getting myself into. He’s a firecracker that just won’t burn out, and I’ve got to admit, he’s charming. I’ve been straight all my life, but what Jesse’s offering is too good to pass up.

Soon I’m looking at him in a not-so-straight way, and no cold shower will keep us from lathering ourselves up and rubbing each other down. Jesse loves himself and knows what he wants—my hands all over him.

I don’t care if my coworkers turn their noses up at all the frilly self-care products he likes. They should take a few lessons from him, but only after he’s given me a private session.

Jesse's cleaning me up, and he’s not afraid to get dirty doing it.

Note to readers: This is an extra spicy standalone MM romance, heat level 10. Readers can expect several steamy scenes that will leave you breathless.

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Romance, Gay, LGBT, Adult, Gay For You

ebook

First published July 22, 2019

Reviews

[Len Evans Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say that based on the cover and the blurb for this book I was not so sure it would be my cup of tea. I am so very happy to say that this was not the case... in fact this is one of my very favorite books by this author! What can one say about Jesse... that he's FABULOUS goes without saying... but he is so much more than just his shiny, sparkly and pink exterior! His waters run deep and I think that is one of the things that impresses Austin so very much and explains just how hard and fast he falls for him. This story has so much humor and fun to it, so much sizzling hot naked time and has a huge heart! The author continues with his expected very high quality of writing in this book, reading anything he writes is not only a joy but such a real pleasure. Just the sheer number of highlights I made on Goodreads (44) gives you an idea of just how good it was. I LOVED this book and definitely plan to reread it again in the near future!

[Jennifer☠Pher☠ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2★'s = it was ok.

And it was ok. It was…something. Cute I guess. I didn’t hate it or anything it just lacked depth, maybe?



There was so much soap and skin care and hardhats and donuts and not enough of anything else. Where were their families? Had they had relationships before? I felt like I know nothing about these two guys aside from their jobs. There was zero foundation. Jesse was gay and Austin was masc (ugh, I hate this term). There is your depth. It was odd.



There was a bad guy in the book, who wasn’t really but kind of when it was necessary, but he seemed like an afterthought and there was like no big showdown or anything, he was just gone. Strange.



So, I’ll leave my review with cute but shout from the hills that I hate the cover and have no idea what it even has to do with the book. Is that supposed to be one of the guys? There is no way that is Jesse but truthfully, I can’t recall a description, aside from size and Jesse’s clothes (which sound HORRIBLE). I don’t’ know what they look like! I’m sure I just missed it.

One more thing I think I'm missing. Should I know who Luke Harrison is? Is he from another book or something? He was mentioned a few times like I should know who he is. Anyone else find this weird?

[Zuzu]

DNF - 21%
Just not doin it for me.

[Lori¸¸¸.•*❀Ɍɛɑɗs̱LɪƙɛIʈs̱H̱ɛɍJɔɓ 유❤유]

DNF at 12%.

I just find the writing to be terrible and the story underwhelming and unbelievable.

[BR11 · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. Ehhh.... nothing much happens here. This ‘straight’ guy is mesmerized by femme Jessy and that’s it and that’s that. No questioning at all... he basically becomes his boyfriend from day 1.

[Shelba · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 48%.

I enjoyed the first bit of this book. It was nice, light and fun. But then instead of having a drawn out flirtation, Austin goes from being the Straight Guy Consultant to getting a blowjob from Jesse in like 0 seconds. Apparently he had never been attracted to men before (though he mused that that actor on the billboard would probably appreciate his soft hands on his body :|) to announcing to everyone at work 2 days later that he's dating Jesse. I would have liked things to have progressed a little more slowly. Even just a week or two would have been better than the 24 hours it took for Jesse and Austin to hook up and start dating.

But the most annoying thing is that these guys go out for drinks, then out for dinner the following night. The next morning they go for brunch and order 5 different dishes, then go to the spa for massages and bath soaks. Then a few days later they go for mani-pedis. Like, really? And here Jesse is crying over blowing all his product development budget while spending hundreds of dollars in the span of a few days on dates. You lost me at the mani-pedi date.

And Austin rolling his eyes at Garth for pointing out Jesse can't be at a worksite without a hardhat. Way to be following safety guidelines, Foreman Austin.

Also, masseuse is feminine, so if you're going to throw around "masseuse/masseur", at least refer to Mitch as a masseur.

[Tara♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had lots of cute and the potential to be really great but it needs a heavy edit in my opinion. Still, no drama instalove is always worth reading I guess.

[Amber J (Thereadingwitch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 3.89 out of 5 stars

Jesse is a flamboyantly gay man who loves pink and runs his own soap business. Austin is an open minded straight man who is the foreman for a construction crew. After Jesse's help that ultimately wins Austin's crew a bid, Austin invites Jesse out for a drink and discover's that he may have some not so straight feelings toward Jesse. Jesse is having trouble with his male line of soaps and after talking with very attractive Austin they come to an agreement. Austin will be his Straight Guy Consultant, but it doesn't take long for things to heat up between the two.

I liked this book. It had some very steamy scenes which was nice. I thought romance was a bit unrealistic though. Mostly cause a guy like Austin seems highly fantasy. Whether gay or straight, I just highly doubt there is such a perfect man. He's supposedly straight but accepts his attraction to Jesse with no problems, and he's highly open minded to all of Jesse's whims. Just no lol. It's a great fantasy but took the realism away from the story for me. This is one of my first M M romances. I definitely love the genre

My rating system:
initial feeling= 3.5
writing= 3.75
story= 3.5
originality= 4.5
unpredictability= 4
ending= 4
interest= 4

[Sunne]

When I find myself skipping over the repetitive ramblings of the characters in the sample already, I'm not convinced the book is for me.
The idea had so much potential and I've been really looking forward to a funny and charming story. But it got drowned in the multiple descriptions of Jesse.....

[Alisa]

DNF'D @20%
Super boring to me.

[Ottilee B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gotta say first, I'm a fan of Jason Collins. I'm also a newish fan of the Femme category. HOWEVER, are Masc men just straight men who are now gay? I don't think so but I really don't know. Anyhoo, I liked this book and the budding relationship between Jesse and Austin: it was believable. I'd still recommend this read. Great standalone!

[Mrs.V · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny and hot!
I loved this book! A gay for you story, which isn't unusual for Jason Collins, with a sassy and super fem, pink-loving handmade soap maker and a masc, but open to new things and self discovery, construction foreman.
When Austin steps into Jesse's shop with a grease emergency on his hands, the connection between the two men is instantaneous. I love that Jason Collins supposedly straight characters are usually quite chill when finding themselves attracted to the same sex. This book is low angst and high steaminess! Loved it!

[F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful, pink, easy reading tale of a flamboyant femme guy finding his prince. Very little angst - just a pink energizer bunny bouncing through life.
A new author for me that I will definitely try again.

[Kaila · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow this was sexy and hott.. sweet and steamy... lots of feel good moments.. lots of emotions and sweetness.. and it was just all around an amazing story

[Jenn (not Lily) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, fast, and surprisingly well-written -- I'll be looking for more to read by this author!

[Jenn C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just loads of fun. Smart, sexy and steamy.

[Sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has no depth. Like 0 depth. It’s all about Jesse’s fascination with pink, soaps, lotions and all things “feminine”. Austin is the big, strong, straight man that comes to turn our flamboyant gay man inside out like an used sock.

I know there are “feminine” gay men and kudos for them but this reads like a fanfic made by a woman showing us what she thinks gay men are. And if this was written by a man, then this is a secret fantasy or the author thinks all twinks are like Jesse.

Idk. It reads like a cheap novel at Walmart. Just sex, quirky characters, “funny” scenes, sexual innuendos, a funny “feminine” gay man and it’s bear (straight) partner.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, I really did. I enjoy femme/masc stories (Femme, Masc) but the story was pretty boring. the first chapter was the MC telling us what kind of person he is. over and over. Seriously, say it once, if you feel you need to, even better is writing the story to show the reader what kind of person you are. Predictability is not interesting

[LauraSt · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 STARS

This had so much potential! I have to admit I’m really disappointed in this, the plot and main MC’s had the makings of a great story, but the story just didn’t reach its potential. I pretty much found myself skimming after the first 30 percent, the interactions felt so stilted and unbelievable really, this sort of had a fantasy reality vibe to it, and it just couldn’t get into it, only reason I didn’t DNF was because I hate doing so, and I always wonder about the ending. But I wouldn’t recommend this one.

[Shawna (endemictoearth) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This showed up in my AMZ recs because I read Fem by Seth King last week. This definitely doesn't take itself as seriously. It's gfy adjacent, which I didn't love . . . this rather macho construction manager just, full on * shrug emojis * into a relationship with a flamboyant shopkeeper who sells soaps and fragrances. Not saying it couldn't happen, but it really strained credulity, though it had some cute moments. If it weren't 170 pages, I probably would have DNF'ed.

[Earlyn]

pink

Started off with promise. As I kept reading it was more unbelievable than a sweet romance.
Hard to believe that someone guy who was hetero for all his life. Met someone and a budding romance started. There was no questioning his sudden change of affections. It was just too unbelievable.
Gave up when there was really no story.

[Essie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet story.
Almost too sweet (for my taste anyway).
They met, fell in love, a lot (a lot!) of skin care. The End.
There was no drama, no plot twist, no depth.
Perfect if you need a light, fluffy read.
But it was too fluffy for my taste.

[Krissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a little too much focus on Jesse's business. I started to skim a bit when the talk of lotions and soaps and scents and testing started to go on too long. But Austin and Jesse were adorable together and I enjoyed them!

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skimmed the last 20% tbh. There was no anticipation, no major conflict needing to be resolved or whatever. Everything was too perfect that it was boring. The beginning was intriguing, but it sputtered out to a flat line by the halfway point.

[**Alma** · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was cute at times. The summary sounded so good but the apparent lack of almost no conflict, with any problem resolved in an easy peasy manner, lost me after a while.

[WingingIt29]

DNF at 34%, though I did skim ahead a bit.

This book had so much potential, but in the end, was really just an odd one:

-> Awarkward writing, including odd structuring of sentences. For example: "... he said with a ravenous look up and down me". I got hung up re-reading sentences like that.

-> Austin: Hey, I'm a heterosexual Southern gentleman and we've only hung out a few times, but I'm gonna whip out my dick and I expect you to suck it even tho you've haven't verbally communicated to me that you'd be down.

-> Austin: I've never had sex with a man before but I'm so amazing that I don't need tips on gay sex or even to hear what you personally prefer in bed.

-> Additionally, I live in the South. The majority of people down here are not cool with gay people, men in particular. The easy acceptance of Jesse himself, as well as Austin's relationship with Jesse, is not a thing that would happen in my neck of the woods. Someone like Garth would lose his shit.

So while there are things to love here (like Jesse's fabulousness), the writing is difficult and the story isn't particularly believable. Pass.

[Ren || Reading What I Want · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝗠𝗖𝘀: Jesse + Austin

P{recious}
I{nclusive}
N{eed}
K{indness}

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲, 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝗺, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗸.

This was my first read by Jason Collins and it won’t be my last. Such a precious, inclusive, need-heavy, absolutely KIND love story. I feel like I could gush about this story forever. Jesse was pinkalicious, feisty, smart, and so confident. I loved his entire outlook on life. He gave me life. And Austin! That big, golden retriever, alpha, blue collar working man with a heart of pure gold.

These two were utterly perfect. Their dates were amazing. So much care went into every description of their interactions. It was passion and respect and butterflies.

Austin was a straight construction foreman until he met the small, gorgeous soap maker, Jesse. Such a great plot and vibes atmosphere. I’m seriously SO HAPPY after reading this one. I could go one and on. I need this in paperback.

[Miss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skip the end and it's a really good read.

This book is so much better than the other one I've read so far by Jason Collins. It's a bit wordy, but that works for Jesse. The themes in this and the pace of the story are right up my alley. Austin and Jesse were great characters to bring together. The manufactured drama at the end almost killed it for me, though. Yes, it's just a brief scene and easily overlooked, but that just emphasizes how needless it was to be included at all. This is a fun, instalove kind of story that doesn't need that level of implausible conflict. Add in the additional scenes afterward going too far past sappy to teeth rotting saccharine and I have to recommend not reading the last 10% of this. Trust me, they get their happily ever after.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my! I almost melted into a puddle reading the interactions between these two sweet men. This was a simple, gentle love story, no angst, which is nice now and then, just a soft, easy story. I noticed quite a few DNF's in the comments, I can get that if they were looking for more action, a more deeper story, but I think it was a beautiful, relaxing, easy read that made its mark for me.

[D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pengemasannya apik dan ga ngebosenin. Jesse itu karakter yang luar biasa, mencintai dan menerima dirinya sendiri tanpa peduli kata orang dan Brock karakter yang hebat. Meski digambarkan sebagai laki macho dan maskulin pokoknya laki banget tapi dia bisa menerima Jesse apa adanya dengan keunikan dan keesentrikannya dia yang membuat Jesse itu spesial di mata Brock.