Mr. Jaguar by K.A. Merikan

Hey everyone,

As promised a second blog post in a single weekend, don’t say I never spoil you! A slight change in genre from yesterday as Mr. Jaguar by K.A. Meridian is a contemporary MM romance. This book was written as part of the Love’s Landscapes event created by the M/M Romance group on Goodreads and is therefore inspired by a photograph, but thats enough background about the book. Also if you missed Saturday’s post feel free to check it out!.

The Book:

Mike Miller’s life has gone to shit. The formerly popular high school quarterback now works at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. The last thing he needs is meeting the guy he used to bully at school and seeing him all polished up. James is now the proud owner of an amazing silver Jaguar and a self-made millionaire. It seems that the day couldn’t get any worse for Mike, but James ‘Lovelace’ Austin might just turn out to be his golden ticket out of the job he hates.

When James Austin meets Mike Miller, his high school crush and tormentor all in one, working at an old, dirty gas station, it feels as if the stars have finally aligned in his favor. He wants to finally get his revenge on the guy, but when Mike turns out to be gay, the whole afternoon takes a turn for the surreal. Instead of just humiliating Mike at his workplace, James decides to hire him for a weekend at a conference he’s attending. A hot guy by his side is the only accessory James needs to rub his success in the faces of his frenemies.

My Thoughts:

Mr. Jaguar was so much more than I expected an amazon freebie. This is a fantastic portrayal of the enemies to lover’s trope, with both Mike and James learning to look beyond their high school knowledge of each other. Since leaving education they have both grown beyond the stereotypes of the quarterback and the nerd. Yet in many ways, like in real life, the experiences they had in school have helped define their personalities. Particularly James who is still socially awkward around people, despite being a successful businessman; he lacks confidence around his peers in the industry, hence his decision to hire Mike for the weekend.

James frowned. “If you’d like to join me for the weekend, you can hear all about it. Would two thousand be enough for you time?”

James is definitely the more reserved of the two, he’s formal in his speech, initially struggles to trust Mike who bullied him in school and although open and accepting of his sexuality he wants to represent himself in a certain light. In the words of Mike, what James wants out of this deal is to be the ‘Gay Obamas’ of the medical conference; classy is the name of the game. As a side note I loved the humour K.A Merikan added to this book.

The term I would use to describe Mike would be a rough diamond. Deep down he’s a sweetheart who’s merely lost and confused about his sexuality and his path in life. On the outside, however, he’s extremely confident, loud and almost obnoxious in his actions.

“Hey.” Mike grinned back, feeling all gooey on the inside, like a lava cake.

I really liked the characters of Mike and James, they felt believable and their story although fast-paced was realistic given their joint past. They complimented each other, Mike brought James out his shell and encouraged him to take personal risks and James gave Mike the confidence to pursue his dreams. This was an extremely enjoyable short read that I finished in one sitting. Although both James and Mike have insecurities this isn’t a dramatic angst ridden contemporary but instead a sweet story of second chances. I would highly recommend it and have given it four stars.

My rating:

Happy reading everyone and see you next time!