Taylor Maid

I'm in Tara Lain's vibes.
I'm enjoying this one more than I expected. Funny how author's can 'read' what's on your mind and you don't even know each other in real life.
I had this story in my head for a while, but, you know, I can't write (poor me).
So, when I read this, I really enjoyed the story. It was funny, fluffy and cheesy, with a little pinch at the end of the book (I've anticipated this from Tara, she's a ending torturer all the time).
Kinda story I enjoyed when I'm so relax and alone, at home.
This is a definite Harlequiny story, all the dreams come true, you know.
So, if you're not into this kind of story, this one's not for you.
But this is my comfort read, and recommended for you who's seek for light, fluffy read.
Refreshing, like a lemon juice :)

This story has drama, humor, and deception of all kinds. But what seems to be the ruin of Taylor backfires and seems to be the making of him instead. Both him and Ally have a world of possibilities open up to them.

Taylor Fitzgerald has just found out that for him to gain his inheritance that his grandfather left he must be married before his 25th birthday. Taylor turns 25 tomorrow!
As soon as he overhears his father’s conversation Taylor has to completely rethink his lifestyle and his current choices. If he hadn’t already committed the money, he wouldn’t even entertain the idea of marrying a woman! Taylor is as gay as they come, he’s out and he’s proud of it! But, in order to fulfil his obligations, he has to find a woman to marry him.
When hotel maid Ally May is approached by the most incredibly handsome man she’s seen and he asks her to marry him? She thinks it’s a joke until he offers her a million dollars to stay married to him for a year. Ally refuses right up to the moment she sees a couple of big beefy men who scare the crap out of her then she decides that, yes she’ll marry him.
Taylor can’t believe his luck when Ally May, the maid at the hotel he’s staying at agrees to marry him. He can’t explain why he’s attracted to her, he’s gay. He thinks he might be coming down with something! After the ceremony they catch a plane back to San Francisco where Taylor lives, they’ve barely put their feet on the ground when Taylors best friends invite them both to dinner and a show at their club. This is when Taylor askes Ally to sing for him as she has the most incredible voice he’s ever heard.
It’s after Ally meets Taylors friends, one who happens to be a drag queen and recognises the same quality’s in Ally May! When he rings Taylor to ask him does he realise he is married to a man? Taylor is actually overjoyed, hurt that Ally hadn’t told him but incredibly relieved that he was in fact still a gay man. After Taylor confronts him Ally ‘Alessandro Macias’ May explains that his father who happens to be a Brazilian hotel magnate, wants him to get married to a “friends” daughter to strengthen the family business. Whilst Ally’s father won’t accept the fact that he’s gay Taylors father is quite happy for once that he is gay because it means he will get Taylors money!
With all the subterfuge, running around and hiding Taylor and Ally have to do to maintain the façade that they’re a happily married man and wife instead of a happily married man and man, Taylor and Ally manage to fall in love. They both realise they have to find a way to be together as themselves and still have Taylor inherit.
Taylor Maid is a truly beautiful love story with lots of angst, love and hate. Tara has managed to weave a great love story out of what could have been a very overused storyline. There is just enough angst and love/hate between the main characters and their respective fathers to give the book a depth which is sadly lacking in a lot of other books. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and have no hesitation in recommending it as a must read!!

* I received an ARC through Love Bytes Reviews for a fair and honest review.

Taylor accidentally finds out he has a day to get married to secure his inheritance from his grandfather. Only problem is he’s gay. But 50 million dollars would go a long way to help finance the gay youth center he wants to open. So he needs a wife and fast. Through the help of some friends, Taylor finds himself in Las Vegas waiting on the girl a service is sending him. In the meantime, he hears a voice singing and is intrigued. He needs to meet the maid with the angel’s voice. Ally May is beautiful, but she’s a girl and that’s not something Taylor ever thought would catch his interest. So why has his interest peaked? When the girl he’s waiting for doesn’t show, can he talk Ally into taking her place? Alessandro Macias is the grandson of a mobster. He’s trying to hide in plain sight from his father, as Ally May. Yep, Ally is in drag, working as a maid in his father’s hotel. And he returns Taylor’s interest, but he needs to stay Ally and not be Alessandro.
This story has everything I love about a Tara Lain story. Lovable characters, villains you hate and all the romance you want and need. All of the characters feel like real people. I love both Ally and Taylor from the start. Taylor’s and Ally’s dads are just the guys you love to hate. Beautifully written, the story flows along smoothly. There are laughs and you pull for the guys to beat both of their dads. It’s a sweet beautiful read.

This was not my first Tara Lain read. In fact, when I was a mere babe in the m/m reading world, I tore through her Balls to the Walls series without stopping. One of the things I really loved about this author, is she did not write straight men, being gay. Meaning, these were not all big buff guys, with no softer qualities, alpha males, etc. She wrote men with character, some small in stature, some who liked makeup, or feminine clothing, artists, etc. It seemed to be a specialty of hers, at least in my eyes.
Nothing has changed with Taylor Maid. She has written a character that, though tall, was able to pass for a woman, while hiding from his father. This was a Dreamspun Desires take on the “marriage of convenience”, in that Taylor found he needed to marry at the last minute in order to gain his $50 million inheritance.
This book was similar to many of the Harlequin contemporary books that I read as a teen, with of course, the m/m romance twist. I did have a hard time initially with understanding how no one could fathom that this was a man, but with makeup and the correct clothing, it is entirely possible. Ms. Lain was able to explain some of those nuances with information such as scarves for the Adam’s Apple and very thick makeup to cover the beard shadow.
I did feel very sorry for out and proud gay man Taylor who was confused from day one with his reaction to his “wife” Ally. He couldn’t understand how he could be attracted to a woman, when the thought had never even crossed his mind before. I also felt that the wrap-up with the fathers did feel like it was missing a piece.
I did enjoy this book, even with the somewhat overused-although really isn’t that what Harlequin romances were famous for?-plot line of a marriage of convenience. The gay club, with Coco was particularly fun. The relationship between the two characters definitely flowed naturally, not needing a lot of sex to be fulfilling. They grew to know each other, and then were able to find their love.
3.5 stars
received an arc for honest review