WL's Mainstream Gay Book Reviews - 27. Will and Patrick Meet the Mob, Book 5 Wake Up Married Series by Leta Blake

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/28459278-will-patrick-meet-the-mob

Will and Patrick’s relationship has heated up and the action has ratcheted up. Yes, some people will say the premise of the story was outlandish, but the plot appear to have balanced off in this installment. It was a fun short reading.

This book is 147 pages and approximately 4 hours long on Audible. Like the other books in the original series, it is a nice short read.

Plot: Patrick is on his knees as Will’s father, mobster Tony Molinaro, pulls the trigger on his gun that was pointed at Patrick’s head at the end of the last book. The gun and scene appeared to have been a joke according to Tony Molinaro, but it leaves both Will and Patrick shaken to their core. Due to the incident Will goes through a diabetic attack, forcing him to be sent to the hospital. Patrick and Will have another BDSM breath play session, allowing Will to release his tension from the encounter and alleviating his desire for alcohol. The next day, Will confronts his mother Kimberly, having figured out that she had asked Tony to come to Healing, South Dakota. Will and Kimberly have a deep conversation, Will confessing some of the awful truths about his relationship with Ryan and Kimberly accepting that she had made mistakes. Patrick has a conversation at the Hotel bar with Tony Molinaro, who also has a room there. Tony reveals that he was the person behind the lawsuit over Shane Hammond care that has frozen Patrick from practicing medicine. Several things come a head between Will and Patrick, the emotional turmoil and sexual frustration, both of them push their mutual limits as lovers. Patrick sneaks out of the hotel into the hospital to visit a young female patient named Addison, who he introduces to a snooping Will. This event further strengthens Will and Patrick’s connections with one another, which scares Patrick to the point, where he rushes off one day to confess the entire marriage plot to his best friend Jenny. Jenny tells Patrick to confront Will with his feelings, believing Will loves him too. After a dinner with Tony and Elenora, Will and Patrick are able to reach a new comfort level between one another. Tony Molinaro releases Patrick from the lawsuit, allowing him to practice medicine freely again. At the end of the book, Elenora announces through a phone call to Will that the Molinaro family has officially allowed divorces again, meaning Will and Patrick no longer needed to remain married.

Review: Well, it was quite an eventful book. Like Book 4, there was tons of comedy, action, and dynamic character moments between everyone. Will and Patrick have shown off that they were great sexual partners and caregivers in book 4, but I think book 5 cements them as soulmates. Starting with the frightening events of a Tony Molinaro’s grand entrance into the series, including a not-so-funny fake gun joke, which turns out to be not just a bad joke, but also a quality test of character as well. As a reader, I was quite impressed by the new character of Tony Molinaro, who has been hinted at throughout the earlier books as this bigger than life character. His appearance reminded me of an Italian Opera character, full of bluster and action with deep subtle tones of danger. Despite his appearance as an affable and fun-loving character, he is quite amoral and dangerous. Kimberly being the person who called him in, both by revealing the truth about Will and Patrick’s marriage to him, along with the fact that she is dating a new man named Jason, made me hate Will’s mother more as a character.

On the comedy front, there were tons of funny lines in this book, my favorite is the one delivered by Patrick describing Tony’s gun joke, “It must go well with the ladies, put a gun to her head, she will laugh into bed”. It’s a dark comedic joke about a character like Tony, who is quite selfish, but also, he displays a high amount of love for his ex-wife and son. Tony is the caricature of Italian mobsters, so comedy comes off naturally.

Will and Patrick each have extreme high points in this book, they show independently without revealing to each other that they love each other. However, each have their own worries about revealing the truth to the other person that their fake marriage is turning into a real partnership. Patrick revealing the full secret to Jenny made him far closer to the point of acceptance than Will, but his revelation fell on deaf ears as he chose to reveal his love for Will during one of their BDSM roleplaying sessions. It’s quite sad that Will couldn’t see the truth of what Patrick said.

Will’s reflection on Kimberly’s relationship with Tony is very important. Will is unwilling to forgive his father, but he comes to understand his mother’s addictive habit to his father, causing so much pain in her relationships. The root of Will’s relationship insecurities can probably be looked at psychologically through this interaction, along with the alcohol addiction that he gained from it. I think Will is a very complex character, his sexual submissive desires and BDSM needs could be dangerous for him, but luckily, Patrick is the perfect man to both be his experienced partner and supporter.

One of the things I disliked, which I think dragged this nice book down was how the family dynamic seems to have fallen off the wagon between Will, his siblings, and his gay uncle Kevin. I thought those little moments, even though some were a bit off in my estimations, helped moved and progressed side characters along in the story beyond just Will and Patrick as titular main characters. Sadly, while Will and Patrick grew; other characters seemed to remain stagnant. I hope if Leta Blake continues the series past book 7, she will explore Conner, Olivia, and uncle Kevin more, they don't need to take up the entire book, but I just want a little more family dynamic. Side characters make stories breath and explores facets outside the plot.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5, it was a strong book with a lot of action and build up. There’s no shortage of jokes or action in this book.

For Friday, I shall finish off the original series with book 6, then go to a new limited schedule.