Manny Get Your Guy

When I saw the title Manny Get Your Guy, I admit I figured it for the kind of sweet and easy comfort read Amy Lane does so beautifully. On one hand that is completely true, but nestled in amongst the banter between old friends, some scorching sexual tension, and several just plain adorable scenes with the kids, Lane slips in a powerful message. Duty, family, honor, and appreciating what we have.

Manny Get Your Guy is the second in The Mannies Series but can definitely be read as a standalone.

There are some very poignant moments when Taylor looks back at his life before being wounded in the Army. He says his life was full of one want after another - a job, an education, leisure time, hot sex “‘I wanted it all and I wanted it now.’” Then his unit was attacked and he woke up in a hospital bed, which slammed everything into perspective.

The Taylor who returns to his home-town is a very different man from the guy who left years before.

He’s burned some bridges with actions from his past, but it’s not long before people see him for who he is now.

As the story progresses Taylor develops a relationship with Brandon, cousin to the family who’s given Taylor a manny job.

Brandon, with his open and honest nature, is able to coax Taylor out of his shell.

Brandon’s support helps Taylor start to recover from the injuries he sustained, both physical and emotional. It broke my heart how starved for affection Taylor was after spending a year in rehab, and Brandon is the perfect guy to give Taylor a start on a new life.

Amy Lane’s character descriptions are so vivid, and listening to them read in John Solo’s beautifully expressive voice is the perfect combination.

Solo’s Taylor is gruff and a little bit unsure of himself, while his Brandon is macho with a huge side of sweet and tender. One of my favorite narrators, Solo has an incredible variety of voices which he needs in this story. There are quite a few women and kids, which he did very well. I was especially impressed with the voice he uses for Mitchell Grayson, Brandon’s father, who is ill and old. He has the crotchety old codger down pat.

Manny Get Your Guy sure gave me something to think about. It wasn’t what I was expecting but I was incredibly pleased. Amy Lane really gets into the heart of these characters and delivers an intense message without coming off preachy. I highly recommend this story and I’m going to look into book one in the series, The Virgin Manny.

4 Family Tension Stars
Manny Get Your Guy was a much better read than the title lets on… no seriously, it was good (and the title is a little awkward). When we meet the main character, Brandon, he’s living in his cousin’s house and they are expecting another baby… setting him up to bring his construction crew over to build on an addition and a need for someone to take care of the large brood of kids the family already has. Enter, Taylor.

When Taylor walks into the backyard family BBQ, recently returned as a Vet with injuries, Brandon immediately goes on the defensive questioning why he was fit to take care of the kids he loves so much… and why was he so dang hot? Brandon was certain that Taylor was not going to be a good fit for the manny role – but things worked out even better than planned.

In typical Amy Lane fashion, the beginning of the book had me utterly confused. Maybe it was all of the names, and intros, and jumping right into the story… I don’t know what it is, but I usually spend the first 15 pages always thinking, “What am I missing?” However, it’s always worth sticking in because they payoff and storytelling is always a sure thing.

I loved how easy going the characters were, even as they showcased a serious depth and backstory. Their lives had been very different, but at the end of the day, they were both searching for the same thing – a home and family. Together, they balanced each other and grew together (a bit insta at moments, but still sweet).

This is a great read for anyone who loves a family-centered love story; two hot guys (hello, construction college guy and Vet); love and kindness; and finding a true home with each other while sharing the family around them.

Review Copy of Manny Get Your Guy provided by Dreamspinner Press for an honest review. Reviewed by Mel at Alpha Book Club.

Brandon has to learn that it isn't a good idea to judge people on their appearance or their reputation as a teenager. Taylor has to learn that it's okay to trust and to accept that people really want them to be a part of the family they build. As they work out these truths they begin to notice each other. Sweet satisfying story.

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Christy Duke's review Jun 28, 2017 · edit
it was amazing
bookshelves: m-m, on-my-kindle, reviewed

4.5 Stars ~ One of the first things that I loved about book one in this series, is how full of family it is. That feeling of no matter what happens in your life, you can ask for help, and it'll be given immediately, no questions asked. How sometimes your family consists of more than just blood relatives, people who have become family because they've been there for so long. I grew up in a family like that and I'm grateful every day for it. Taylor didn't. Neither did Brandon. That's okay, though, because they're members of the Robbins-Grayson and Robbins-Lowell families, respectively.

I can't believe it has been ten years since Tino and Channing fell in love. They have a houseful of kids and are still just as much in love as ever. Tino’s best friend, Jacob, married his sister, Nica, and now they're expecting a fifth child. No matter how many times Jacob apologizes and swears they tested him after his vasectomy and he had no “swimmers”, he and Nica are going to have to make some changes. Taylor is Nica’s best friend from grade school on, and Brandon is Jacob’s cousin. See what I mean about family?

“He’d seen a happy family, and he’d seen a young man with a future. These things were not for him.”

Taylor tore my feelings to shreds. He sees himself as completely broken and not worthy of this family, regardless that they consider him a member already. As far as he is concerned, Brandon is a kid, and has no business wanting to get involved with Taylor. Brandon feels exactly the opposite, of course! Taylor, in his heart of hearts, desperately wants someone to take care of him, be in charge, love him for himself, and be a true partner. He grew up in an abusive household with an über-macho father. Brandon has an instinctive need to take care of the people he loves, so this sounds perfect to me. Brandon grew up in an emotionally cold environment and has spoken to his parents four times in two years since he left and moved in with Jacob and Nica. Both of these men know about emotional baggage and pain.

“Brandon’s furious desire to care for Taylor surprised him, but it also invigorated him. He’d been waiting all his adult life to have a prince come sweep him off his feet. Imagine his shock to find that he was the prince, and he had a job to do.”

This is only my second Dreamspun Desires read, and just like the first, it is like sinking back to the days when I first discovered romance books as a teenager. I liked Brandon and Taylor even more than Tino and Channing, and I didn't realize that could happen. I liked the emotional neediness (not in a bad way) of both men and I adored the way they communicated. It was truly a dance of love from the moment they met. There was some drama with Brandon’s family, and everything going on with Nica and Jacob, but overall, this was all about Brandon and Taylor.

Absolutely adored this book and I can't wait for more in the series. There's so much joy in reading something so wonderfully romantic with two amazing main characters!

NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews

Reviewed by Erin for Diverse Reader

I'll admit, I'm a total sucker for Amy Lane's angst. I love it, crave it, revel in it. But that being said, there is something special about her brand of sweet and charming and funny that just hits you right where you live, and it hits hard and stays there. Manny Get Your Guy is the second book in Amy's wonderful The Mannies series and *whispers* I truly believe this could wind up being my very favorite series of Amy's. Just don't tell Deacon and Crick, okay? But all joking aside, I fall more and more in love with these characters and this family and I really wish if there was a way, that I could experience these amazing people in real life.

A caveat though, in order to truly appreciate all of the family and friend dynamics going on in Manny Get Your Guy, you need to have read book 1, The Virgin Manny. Brandon is a new character, but Taylor Cochran, oh boy, he's so not and there's a good possibility that, if you're like me, your impression of him wasn't the very best. Expect that to change. Immediate like. From Taylor's first appearance in this newest book, you'll fall in love with him so hard. Manny Get Your Guy takes place ten years after the end of The Virgin Manny so Tino, Channing, Sammy, Nica, Jacob, and the rest are older, their lives are full of kids and new jobs and they've changed as people do as they get older and life happens. Thus is the case for Taylor. Lots of life has happened, most not so good, and he comes back from the military damaged, scarred, and mostly broken. This is not the confident flirt from the first book at all. Taylor has been though a lot, has suffered a disfiguring and painful injury and thanks to his steadfast best friend, Nica, has a place where he can breathe. Though there won't be a lot of time for breathing since he's on board to be the new manny for Jacob and Nica since they're expecting child number five. Taylor really has no idea what he's doing, but he's out of choices and he can't deny the pull of Jacob and Nicca's huge, rambunctious, loving family. There's just one problem, or one main one anyway, and that's none other than Brandon. He's Jacob's cousin and lives above the garage. He's younger, gorgeous, and their first meeting could have gone better.

Brandon Grayson is Jacob's cousin and has been living in the small apartment above Jacob's garage while he goes to school and works in construction. He loves Jacob, Nica, and all of the kids, is close to Sammy, Tino, and Channing and is not a happy camper when Taylor Cochran appears on the scene. After some pretty harsh words for Taylor and then quite the dressing down from Tino, Brandon admits that maybe all is not what it looks like on the surface. It doesn't take long for Brandon to see just how much Taylor loves and cares about not only his best friend since grade school Nica, but there's lots of history there between Taylor and Tino and Jacob as well. And, that Taylor isn't quite as horrible a manny as Brandon thought he'd be ... in fact he's pretty great. Following close behind those revelations comes the attraction to scarred but still beautiful Taylor and Brandon isn't at all subtle about it either. It was so fun to watch Taylor try, though I don't think he tried ALL that hard, to resist Brandon's advances and it doesn't take long before Brandon gets Taylor to agree to go on a date. There might be seven years between them, but Brandon knows who he wants, and he wants Taylor, broken though he may be.

This book is so full of family and friendships and all these moments that just make you smile and your heart warm. So many. And there isn't anyone better at showing how family is often the one you make, not the one you're born into. I read this just wanting to be invited over to Channing and Tino's for a barbecue so I could hang out with all these fabulous characters. Nica and her no-nonsense approach to parenting and being a wife, Jacob so laid back and completely adoring of his wife and kids. Channing and Tino, the older, wiser ones that impart wisdom with grace and subtlety. And then we have Brandon and Taylor who SO belong with one another. Their connection might not be the thing of sparks and fire, but it's a gentle, soft connection that fits these two so well. Yeah, there's a bit of insta-love going on, but that doesn't mean it's not believable, because it is. I just loved these two together so much. Taylor desperately needs that safe place to be, to heal from the trauma of war and injury, and Brandon so desperately wants to be that person for Taylor.

It wouldn't be a true Amy Lane book if she didn't hurt your heart a little bit, so there is some angst, but it's minor and doesn't last long. Just long enough to show how great Taylor and Brandon are for one another. Mostly, this was a sweet, charming book that left me with one hell of a smile of my face ... and a message to Amy begging for Sammy's book. It's coming and I can't wait!