Review: Bennie's Wish by Xara Xanakas

Bennie's Wish by Xara X. Xanakas
Dreamspinner Press
Short Story: 74pgs
3.75 Pants Off

Blurb:
For years, Ally Theodisius has suspected his “friends” have been humoring him to stay in his good graces—and his wallet—so when a No Pants Day breakfast ends in his humiliation, he finally takes a stand.

When model Bennie Arnold runs into Ally, his first impression is of a cute, adorably dimpled writer in dire need of a real friend. Bennie would be happy to fill the role. There’s just one little problem: he’s going commando, and it happens to be No Pants Day. If he has any hope of getting his wish, Bennie will have to use his best assets to convince Ally he’s the real deal.

Review:
Ally Theodisius is rich and wants to be a writer, but all his work keeps getting rejected. He can't understand why, when his friends are saying that his work is genius. Ally suspects that they might just be leading him on to keep on spending his money, and he could maybe go so far as ruling them out as friends. His entire life has consisted of people being kind to him because of what he could offer them, and he wonders why he even keeps around the leeches but in the end it beats being completely alone. It's No Pants Day and his so called friends are finding ways to spend his money again, and after reading some of his writing Ally is going to give his friends one more chance to prove some sort of sincerity and then take it from there.

Ally is a little apprehensive about not wearing pants because of his less than stellar body (his opinion and pointed out by his douchbag leeches) he decided to make it work. They hit up a local restaurant where Ally sees a beautiful man and is instantly smitten. But of course said man is out of league that is until he is approached by the beauty and he realizes that this man calling himself Bennie is nothing but a prostitute (or is he?) Ally is humiliated by how low his friend's are willing to stoop to get him laid, but he's taking it no more. As the saying goes "don't bite the hand that feeds you" and clearly Ally Theodisius has been bitten too many times.

This is another story that I wished was longer, Bennie and Ally are so super cute that I wanted them to have more pages. I liked and was frustrated by the whole prostitute situation. I could understand Ally believing the worst, because a good-looking guy like Bennie has never shown interest in him without money somehow being involved. I just wanted Bennie to shout "Hey I like you and those sexy dimples and I gots my own money" would that have been so hard? Don't even get me started on those sorry excuse for friends, I loathe them and wanted them to cry just a little (leech ass Mofos).

In the end it was a really cute story with likable characters so likable that they needed another 100pgs more. I hope I see them again because I am missing out sexy scene time because somehow I feel like they would set fire to the pages.

Geek Level: 2.5 out of 5. Ally is clearly geek but it doesn't really get set in the story until the very end. kudos for the celebrating of No Pants Day, but the icing on the cake was Towel Day ( Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). I feel like if it were longer it would have been a strong 4 geek wise.

What's Happening This Week: Geek Week!!!

Howdy folks! I know it’s been awhile, but life has kicked my butt these past few months. Well...the time of sucking is over and it’s back to our regularly scheduled programming, and I am back with a whole lot of awesome. It's Geek Week, and I am hitting you up with some great giveaways, guest posts, and reviews. I am so excited about this week because I am a serious lover of all things nerd/geek and I would definitely say I am one myself. I feel like geek characters don't get enough love, so this is me paying tribute to how they fill me with so much joy and prove how sexy the mind can be.

It's a jam-packed week with over 20 scheduled posts (that’s more than I've ever pulled off in a whole week). I am flailing around by the amount, but you guys are worth all the work :D Without further ado...

Here's what’s causing a pants losing this week...

Reviews:
How To Repair A Mechanical Heart by J.C Lillis
Your Biggest Fan by Missy Welsh
Dirty Laundry by Heidi Cullinan (Fehu)
Social Skills by Sara Alva
Tech Support by Jet Mykles
Venetian Masks by Kim Fielding (Fehu)
Bennie's Wish by Xara Xanakas
Taxes and TARDIS by N.R Walker (Fehu)
Astronomical by Silvia Violet
Nobody's Hero by Katey Hawthorne (Fehu)

Guest Post & Giveaways
Geek Week Giveaway
The Matrix of Geekdom by Lex Chase
Guest Post by Sara Alva
Guest Post by Salome Wilde
Kim Fielding is A Geek by Kim Fielding 
Guest Post by Silvia Violet
Roan McKichan is an Action Hero Nerd by Andrea Speed

Other Posts
A Geek Interview with Nessa Warin
Favourite Geek Books

~Have Great Week!~

Review: The Party Boy's Guide To Dating A Geek by Piper Vaughn & Xara Xanakas

The Party Boy's Guide To Dating A Geek (Clumsy Cupid Guidebook #1) by Piper Vaughn & Xara X. Xanakas
Less Than Three Press
Novel
5+ Pants Off

Blurb:
Ashley Byrne only wants one thing in life: to finish his tattoo apprenticeship and fulfill his dream of owning his own shop. In the meantime, he spends his nights partying, flirting, and having sex. After all, what else is there for him to worry about? Aside from his hair and his clothes, not much. He’s hot, and rest assured no one knows it better than him. He’s also used to getting what he wants—until he meets Felipe Navarro.

Fee Navarro has everything he needs: a great IT job, a nice apartment, and all the high-tech toys his geeky heart could ever want. He doesn’t do casual, and he knows guys like Ash are nothing but. Ash may burn hot for Fee, but Fee isn’t willing to take a chance on a vain, little party boy with too many tats and an oversized ego. He wants someone to share his life with, and he won’t settle for anything less. Too bad Ash has never been the type to give up easily. He has a plan, and he’s not stopping until he proves he’s more than just a pretty face—he’s someone worthy of winning Fee’s heart.

Review:
OMG my ass is just all kinds of love in love with this story just all kinds of love. It was sexy, funny, and just cotton candy sweet without the toothache. I was expecting to like this one but I was not expecting to love it, this one is a 5+ Pants Off.

Ash is the pretty party boy and he makes no apologies about it. He can get anyone he wants and knows he's above average when it comes to looks and all that. As a tattoo artist, he has dreams of opening a tattoo parlour with his best bud but until then he's gonna party the night away and also fuck it away. When he runs in to Fee while helping his brother's girlfriend move his initial reaction is geek and not interested. Suddenly he's getting all hot under the collar for Fee and decides to make a move because after all what geek is gonna turn him down.

Well, Fee turns him down and Ash is left in shock but he knows the man is interested so he goes on the offensive. I am talking the dating guide that shows you how to connect with your geek. Learn his lingo to ultimately get in his pants and win his heart. Ash is having a hard time of it and is making a fool of himself in the process. Maybe, Fee is not interested and who could blame him. He has past of dirty deeds longer than his arm and Fee looks like he would be in it for the long run. Ash is thinking maybe with Fee he could think about forever too.

I just loved the hell out of Ash. He is so funny and cute and really shined in the book. I enjoyed how he ultimately stopped trying so hard and went about being himself. Fee is now my new CLIF (character I'd love to fuck. I stole this from Amy Lane). He's all geeky but when you let him out of his cage, he sets the sheet and your pants on fire. Omo, I need a sexy nerd.

The build up of the relationship between the men was done very well. It started as friendship but developed in a very believable long lasting love. The sex is not frequent but when it does happened, GAWD I literally hyperventilated. I read so much sex that most of the time I don't really notice a difference. I noticed it here. Maybe it’s all to do with Fee's cool exterior but man.... Shit was hot. There relationship is also set in motion by supporting characters, characters I am very much looking forward to getting their own books (Ahem Jae) can never have too many sexy Korean characters.

Kudos to Piper Vaughn and Xara Xanakas for writing such an awesome book. I now dub you guys a Dynamic Duo, and your geeky ways knows no bounds. I now really want to go to a steampunk costume party, so I can drool all over the sexiness. I recommend this, and hope you fall in love with Ash and Fee as much as I did.

5+ Pants Off

Guest Post & Giveaway with Piper Vaughn & Xara Xanakas

~I am excited to have Xara and Piper on the blog today and they brought an awesome giveaway. I loved the crap out of The Party Boy's Guide To Dating Geek so please do comment for your chance to win. I guarantee you will love it too. Check out my review to find out how much I love the book.~

Boxers or briefs? Commando? What do you like to see when someone drops their pants?

Piper and I like to see the unexpected. Tighty-whities are a dime a dozen, and there's nothing wrong with that. But give us the Bat-Signal. Flash’s lightning bolt. Tony Stark's arc reactor. The "Wam!" and "Pow!" of a comic book.

While they may seem childish, we love seeing brightly colored underoos stretched across a hot guy's ass. Okay, that may be a bit TMI. But come on, sex is supposed to be fun. And thinking of someone's reaction when they see your inner superhero under your fly makes you feel sexy. Lingerie stores thrive on the inner goddesses and barely hidden fantasies of people. But why limit that to satin and lace?

Admit it—when browsing through the pantheon of panty pictures, when Superman’s “S” peeks out from behind a zipper, you stop. Even in the sea of vibrant briefs and plaid boxers, it’s the covert identities and comic strips that call your attention. The guys wearing them seem to project an attitude that draws you in. The smoldering smolderers and the sulking sulkers sulking sexily at the camera don’t have anything on the happy, confident nerds sporting their secret superhero selves. They know life’s a joke, but they’re in on it, laughing along with you.

Maybe that’s what calls to me. It isn’t the clothes that make the man, it’s the man that makes the clothes. Sexy starts there, and everything else is (brightly colored) icing on the mancake. Honestly, the sexiest thing a man can wear is a smile. Engage my intellect (what there is of it), tug on my heartstrings (icy as they sometimes are), but above all, make me laugh, and you’ll own me for life.

To celebrate our upcoming release, which features a pair of hot guys with a mutual love for underoos, we’re giving away not only a copy of the ebook to one lucky commenter, but also a key bracelet (pictured below), which we’re willing to ship internationally. For now, we’re keeping mum on the significance of the bracelet, but once you read the book, you’ll find out. :)

 Be sure to leave a comment if you want a chance at both the ebook and the bracelet! And thanks again to DarienMoya for having us on the blog today! :D

Pretty Bracelet!

Blurb:

Ashley Byrne only wants one thing in life: to finish his tattoo apprenticeship and fulfill his dream of owning his own shop. In the meantime, he spends his nights partying, flirting, and having sex. After all, what else is there for him to worry about? Aside from his hair and his clothes, not much. He’s hot, and rest assured no one knows it better than him. He’s also used to getting what he wants—until he meets Felipe Navarro.

Fee Navarro has everything he needs: a great IT job, a nice apartment, and all the high-tech toys his geeky heart could ever want. He doesn’t do casual, and he knows guys like Ash are nothing but. Ash may burn hot for Fee, but Fee isn’t willing to take a chance on a vain, little party boy with too many tats and an oversized ego. He wants someone to share his life with, and he won’t settle for anything less. Too bad Ash has never been the type to give up easily. He has a plan, and he’s not stopping until he proves he’s more than just a pretty face—he’s someone worthy of winning Fee’s heart.


Find Xara at: http://xaraxanakas.com 

Find Piper at: http://pipervaughn.com 


*Can’t wait to see if you win? Pre-order “Party Boy” for 15% off at the Less Than Three book market!

• Must be 18yrs or older
• Leave email with comment
• Contest Runs until October 11th 11:59pm EST