REVIEW: 'Conning Colin' by Brad Vance and Elsa Winters
Title: Conning Colin
Author: Brad Vance and Elsa Winters
Published: June 1, 2017
Publisher: Self-Published/Zirconia Publishing, Inc.
Genre: Contemporary Romance; Erotic Romance
Length: 454 Pages
Tags: Gay; M/M; Escort/Rent Boy; HEA
About Conning Colin
"Whatever else is or isn’t true, I just lost my cherry to the hottest man in the world."
Colin O'Neill has been in a rut for some time now. Whether it's his acting career or his newly-discovered identity as a gay man, he can't seem to get any traction in his job or his love life. What he needs is a change. What he needs is a shock to his system. What he needs is Hamilton.
"Your first time... You ready for it?"
Hamilton. Dillinger. Harrison. He goes by different names to fulfill a world of different fantasies, but he's most popular as Hamilton, the escort who acts and dresses like he's worth a million bucks. Few people know the man behind the character, Henry Davis. He's yet another New Yorker living on the financial edge, cobbling together jobs in the sex industry to make a living. Henry wants nothing more than to drop the facade, to live in cargo shorts and an old Mets t-shirt, working as a screenwriter, to be free from playing the part of the high class lover. But first, he's got to write the perfect screenplay...
"I had a breakthrough recently. Being with you has been… life-changing. I realized one day that I didn’t have to be me, you know?"
As "Hamilton" guides Colin into becoming a confident gay man, Henry is inspired by Colin's journey to write his screenplay. Meanwhile, Colin's transformation makes him more confident as an actor, landing him bigger and bigger parts. Then a Hollywood studio wants Colin for a lead role, and magically, the part seems like it was written just for him...
Now Colin and Henry are on a collision course. What will Colin think when he finds out that Hamilton is really ordinary Henry, the struggling artist? Will Colin feel conned when he finds that the perfect Hollywood part contains all the secrets that Colin confided in "Hamilton"?
For a limited time, this book contains the bonus novel, "The Road Home"!
4 HEART READ
REVIEW:
In the very clever Conning Colin, Brad Vance and Elsa Winters study identity - when we own it, and when it owns us.
Colin O’Neill has just emerged from a fairly asexual marriage, one that offered financial support as he started his acting career and his wife climbed the corporate ladder. But stage fright jettisoned acting in favor of voice overs, and then he realized he was gay. Now older and without experience, fumbling at dating, he hires an escort to get over sexual “stage fright.”
Henry Davis, a struggling screenwriter, and a shorts and t-shirt kinda guy, pays the bills as Hamilton Dillon, debonair escort. With secret financial constraints and little success at writing, he’s concerned he’ll “age out” of the Hamilton role before he ever completes a script.
With their roles established, neither man wants to admit he actually likes the other. After all, a breach could cause the other to run.
Still, Hamilton’s veneer lends Colin true courage, and Colin’s humor inspires Henry to write a script. But, as each man grows he wonders, are they conning each other, or themselves?
Vance and Winters write profound observations again and again:
“The conscious mind chases its tail sometimes, just kicking up dust as it runs around in circles, never solving anything.”
“People were more interested in being right than correct, and would rather be conned and left in the dark, than find out they’d been conned because they weren’t as smart as they thought.”
“It was something horrible, to hear a noise in your mind, turn instinctively, and see all the feelings you’d kept out of your line of sight all your life, like beasts clamoring in their pen, sensing a weakness in the fence, demanding release, now, now, now.”
Vance fans are aware he uses each book to teach a specific topic. His Facebook posts have indicated that he’s turned one of his prior books (A Little Too Broken) into a screenplay. In Conning Colin he generously shares the tips he’s gained in writing, editing, and promoting a script.
Oh my yes, this is a hot and fascinating romance. Yes, the complex characters grabbed me. Yes, the plot twisted my tummy at times. And yes, the book has many amusing moments.
But mostly, I read Conning Colin twice, highlighting Vance and Winters’ casual observations of the human race, And I was WOWED! This should get 4.5 hearts.
A copy of Conning Colin was provided to Kimmers’ Erotic Book Banter, by IndiGo Marketing & Design, at no cost and with no expectations in return. We offer our fair and honest opinion on behalf of our readers.
Amazon/KU
Meet the Author
I’m Brad Vance, and I write romance, erotica and science fiction (as Adam Vance). I’m also available for editorial work. You can read more about my services here!
I’m also the narrator of my own audiobooks, A Little Too Broken, Given the Circumstances, and Apollo’s Curse, with more of my back list to come!
You can find them here at Audible and iTunes, as well as other fine retailers including Audiobooks.com, Hoopla, Findaway and more!
For more from Brad be sure and visit his website.
Meet the Author
(Also Writes as Lola Carson)
Hi! I'm Elsa Winters! I just graduated college and am ready for whatever the world has to throw at me! I'm currently working as a bartender in Seattle but I hope I'm able to make something of this writing thing.
For more from Elsa/Lola be sure and visit their website.
