One Time Only by Lauren Blakely

Narrated by Jacob Morgan and Teddy Hamilton

Standalone male/male Romance. Prequel is available.

I am not usually a big m/m reader because A- I like to imagine myself as the heroine, and B- they tend to be a little more sex than story. But Lauren Blakely never fails me. And after LOVING A Guy Walks Into My Bar, I couldn’t wait for One Time Only.

We have met Stone in Lauren’s sexy menage romance One Night Only, but now she brings us a rock star romance featuring Stone Zenith and his bodyguard Jackson Pearce. These two have been secretly attracted to each other for a while, but Stone thought Jackson was straight, and Jackson wouldn’t want to mix work and play. Until one particular trip, when the attraction comes to a head (pun intended).

He gives me a casual, sexy shrug. “Maybe we need to deal with it.”
In the bedroom. Please say in the bedroom.

Like most m/m books, this one had a lot of sex, but that’s pretty typical for guys, and I like that Lauren changed her style a bit to accommodate that. Stone and Jackson tried so hard not to cross the line, and I love the way the tension built up.

“Do I want to go in? I want it more than I want food. More than sanity. More than I’ve ever wanted another person.”

One Time Only was clearly written as a vessel to highlight the two narrators, Jacob Morgan and Teddy Hamilton. Their intensity and chemistry came through so perfectly because it was written for them.

I’ll be honest, this isn’t the deepest book. It’s light and fluffy, and it will appeal to an audience that doesn’t normally read m/m. There is very little angst, and as always, Lauren writes a world where love is love, and nobody gives a damn. Sigh….if only.

“Love is the most important rule of all – love, just love.”

Likes:

A light, feel-good read.
Lots of crossover from other books, but you would never notice if you hadn’t read them.
HOLY HOTNESS.
Lauren’s world where love is love and there are no obstacles to that. Nobody cares.
“Jackstone”
The duet-style epilogue
All of the bonuses at the end.

Dislikes:

It didn’t really have the unique spin Lauren puts on common tropes. I don’t know how memorable this will be in a sea of rock star/bodyguard books.

The Narration:

Since One Time Only was written for Jacob Morgan and Teddy Hamilton, listening is a very special experience. They both embodied the characters completely. I will admit though, with the two male voices, in dual narration style I often got confused as to whose POV we were listening to.

However, the epilogues were done in duet style. And HOLY COW, I LOVED IT. I don’t usually prefer duet, but with m/m it absolutely helped to follow whose point of view you are in. I hope future Lauren Blakely m/m books are done duet style.

The Down & Dirty:

Lauren Blakely never disappoints me. I really enjoyed One Time Only. It was a little light on depth and heavy on sex, but that works for m/m for me. The real standout was the narration. Because the story was written for the narrators, they really became the characters completely, and when the duet style started in the epilogue, I was even more impressed. I think One Time Only will appeal to any fans of Lauren or the narrators whether you like gay romance or not.