In the beginning of this novel, the first person narrator tells us that he's been with his boyfriend, now fiancé, for five years, and they're about to get married. The rest of the book is a flashback relating how these two mundane characters got together.

Twink DC lobbyist Jay Reynolds immediately crushes on new hire Peter Morgan, who turns out to be the team leader of their firm's new campaign. Jay's sure that Peter is straight, maybe even homophobic. Then when Peter criticizes Jay's presentations for what Jay terms petty writing errors, the egocentric Jay decides he hates Peter.

However, when he runs into Peter at a gay club, Jay does an about-face, and the two establish a friends-with-benefits relationship. This state of affairs isn't good enough for Jay, who's now decided that the reserved, often aloof, standoffish Peter is The One. So Jay goes into full court press to peel away Peter's secrets and his reason for not wanting more in a relationship, reasons that aren't uncommon to those who've read romance fiction before.

There are no surprises in this book of love blooming between two cookie cutter characters. Jay comes off like a winsome third grader, and it's often difficult to believe that he's even marginally successful as a lobbyist where slick and sophisticated are the names of the game.

Peter, the iceberg with a banal secret, is even less believable as the head of a lobbying campaign. He's said to be the guru of lobbyists and an up-and-coming phenom, but he seems more lost and befuddled by his attraction to Jay and at a crossroads in his life than anything else. He certainly doesn't have the steel spine and ruthless attitude displayed by the Capital Hill crowd.

Read the rest of my review at The Romance Reviews: http://glbt.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=12850 ( )

3.5 ( )