Deeds & Confetti: A Mary's Boys Story

By: Brandon Witt

Narrated by: Gerrod Larkyn

Steven Conley loves owning his own Hamburger Mary’s restaurant in Denver, Colorado, and his chosen family of coworkers makes life even better. Steven never regretted leaving the corporate grind behind until his father’s harsh deathbed words leaves him doubting himself.

Ryan Fuller abandoned a lucrative career to start his own party-planning business, but he keeps afloat by coordinating funerals. When Ryan bumps into Steven - his best friend’s uncle and the man Ryan has secretly crushed on forever - the attraction explodes into a night of passionate abandon for both men.

Steven is blown away by the care and deep connection he feels for the hot young funeral director - until Ryan admits who he really is. Reeling from the recent upheaval in his life, Steven must decide whether to give Ryan a chance. To find love, they must risk it all...

©2020 Brandon Witt and Wings of Ink Publications (P)2020 Brandon Witt and Wings of Ink Publications

A great age gap story

I love this series. It is fun and has lots of feels. each book has a special couple but you get to spend more time with previous ones as well.
This is Stephen's book. He is the owner. He gave up all his wealth and job to open Mary's and now is questioning his decision. He is so far in debt he doesn't think there is any way out and he is unhappy. His friends are finding love but he isn't even happy hooking up anymore. Then at his dad's funeral, he meets a young man... has hot sex and wishes he could see him again which he does at the funeral. They hook up again and decide to go on a date... Until he finds out that Ryan is his nephew's best friend and a year younger than Topher making him 26 while Stephen is in his forties.
This is a really good age gap stories ( I may be partial as that's a favorite trope of mine). I love both Stephen and Ryan, I loved their stories and they meld perfectly.
I think this is my next favorite of the four (Mascara and Bandages still has my #1 spot here but it is close)
Gerard Larkins's narration just gets better and better. I love his drag queen voices, his distinct voices for each character and his dying dad's voice were great. He gave me the creeps. He brings out the excitement and the drag shows are like you are there watching. It's so fun I highly suggest the audios!

Save the best for last<3 Great listen!!

I loved this May/December romance! I think this might be my favorite story in this series! For once the older MC is not the self-assured one going after the younger guy and trying to take care of him in some way or other. The opposite is true rather, because Steven sincerely worries about the age difference between them, in part because he doesn’t see himself for the wonderful person he is. Ryan is definitely the one doing the pursuing and the one to convince Steven that what they have is real, or can be real rather. In spite of the doubts and a less than stellar start to their relationship, the chemistry and emotional bond between Ryan and Steven is mind-blowing and gave me all the exhilarated, bubbly joy I look for in a romance. In previous books, Steven seemed very confident and happy with himself and where he is in life, he’s a rock for the others, and that made this story a little bit of a surprise as it shows us a whole different side to him. Ryan and Steven have made similar life choices, if at different moments, and even though they come from very different backgrounds, and that helps them understand each other in a way few others can. We also got to see quite a lot of Pat in this story, as she’s Steven’s sister, and that is always a good thing.

Narration: I very much enjoyed Gerrod Larkyn’s take on Steven and Ryan. I loved how lively his narration was, especially when the MC’s started to ramble, and he also did a wonderful job narrating the more emotionally charged scenes. He took great care with the voices he did for recurring characters (main & secondary), most especially Pat’s and Mandonna’s, who are an integral part of this captivating series, and a key part of its magic.

Who knew...the bosses story would be my fav!

In the immortal words of Miro Jones & Ian Doyle (and probably thousands of others) "Winner, winner chicken dinner." This one was it for me. I wouldn't have thought that Steve's story would turn out to be the one I enjoyed the most but it was.

It's got an age gap...I mean serious age gap...not a hard line for me, but still a bit of a grey area at times and it turns out that I was ok with it this time around.

Steve as anyone who's read even one of these stories will know is the owner of Hamburger Mary's and we've seen him a bit of him in every story so far but now in 'Deeds & Confetti' the final novella in this series it's all about Steve...and Ryan.

Before Hamburger Mary's, Steve belonged to the corporate world but it was consuming his soul so he took a risk and sank everything he had...mind, body, soul and finances into Hamburger Mary's and he's never looked back or at least he hadn't until his father's dying words shredded his confidence and left him doubting every choice he'd ever made (it's in the blurb).

Ryan was on the fast track to becoming the golden boy of the art world and with each painting he sold, he could feel his muse abandoning him and what should have been a joy filled passion was becoming a life sentence as each painting became harder and harder to create. His solution was to walk away and start a catering business. Something that let him use his creative spirit to help others celebrate the joyful times in their life and as soon as he has his business off the ground he won't need to coordinate funerals for the local mortuary...but in the meantime...

When Steve spots the sexy young man at his father's viewing and fails to recognize him, he doesn't hesitate to initiate what quickly becomes a very hot hook-up. But when Ryan tells Steve who he is...things become complicated from Steve's perspective.

I loved Ryan. While he was considerably younger at 27, than Steve's 45ish years. Ryan knew what he wanted...what he'd wanted for nearly as long as he could remember and that was Steve. Ryan's willing to wade through all of Steve's barriers to get through to him and starts with a challenge for Steve to go on a date with him and at the end of the night he dares him to deny the connection that he knows they both feel.

In spite of Steve's bravado we're clearly shown his vulnerability as well. Sadly words are some of the strongest weapons that anyone can wield...especially a parent and even sadder we tend to remember the bad more vividly and longer than we do the good. Steve's struggles to move past his father's cruel and hurtful words is a very real thing that many people have faced.

While Ryan's parents are loving and supportive. They aren't without their flaws...they want their son to be happy but they don't seem to grasp that adult children need to decide what form that happiness takes.

I think for me the overall premise of this story was what held the most appeal...two men, both with successful careers that essentially has left them miserable until each man takes control of his life and makes the changes that he needs and while they've both had to deal with similar circumstances the motivation has been a very different source.

I enjoyed having Gerrod Larkyn provide the narration for this final installment of Mary's Boys and look forward to following him in future to see how his talent progresses as he gains experience in his craft.

Overall I found Mary's Boys to be an enjoyable and entertaining listening experience. Would I have liked more from one or all of the stories...very probably but given that these were novellas and not full length novels I feel like the author utilized every word to it's maximum creating a story that I as the listener was readily able to envision and enjoy.

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An audio book of 'Deeds & Confetti' was graciously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

The age-gap is the least of their problems

This is my fourth visit to the world of Hamburger Mary’s. The bar in Denver is full of drag queens, gay men, and LGBTQ-friendly Allies. It is a warm and welcoming place created by Steven Conley. His sister Pat helps run the place, but it’s Steven who sank his entire life savings into the bar. And most of the time he has no regrets. A visit to the deathbed of his father, though, sends him into a tailspin of doubt and regret.

After the visitation, Steven does something truly out of character for him that just piles on the guilt. Except he can’t completely come to regret his actions because they bring him into Ryan Fuller’s life. Ryan has crushed on Steven for years from afar so this coming together is a dream come true for him. But life offers some harsh realities when it comes to acceptance because of the significant age gap and the fact Ryan is Steven’s nephew’s friend. Talk about awkward.

Ryan has his own existential crisis to deal with. He gave up a lucrative career to open a party planning business. His goal is to bring joy to people’s lives. But paying the bills is tough so he works part time at the funeral home. He fights the urge to go back to his old life. Just as Steven battles with the idea of going back to his successful life in high finance. Hamburger Mary’s is a dream come true, but it barely pays the bills. What can he offer Ryan? If he derails this dream, he might be in a better place financially, but there’ll be an empty chasm in his soul.

Both men have tough decisions to make – follow their dreams or give up those lives for the lure of financial security. It’s a battle people make every day. Of course I hoped the men would continue on the paths they’ve chosen – only I hoped they would do it together.

Throw in Mandonna and Ariel Merman the drag queens, a tenacious sister with great advice, and a close friend bartender who will call BS every time, Steven finds himself surrounded by love. Now he just has to get over himself and find a way to make Ryan part of his life forever.

I have loved Mary’s Boys and I’m sad to see the series end. These men will hold a special place in my heart and I’ll probably return again in the future. Gerrod Larkyn narrated this series and he did a great job. I’m so glad I got to visit this world and the amazing men who inhabit it.

Absolutely amazing listen!

This is my favorite of this series. I love Steven and Ryan's story! I am so happy that Steven gets his happy ending and of course it has some drama. I love this age gap story and Gerrod Larkyn does another amazing job with this narration. I love his voices and he pulls me more into this story. Love it!

Family Drama

Steven is part of the glue that keeps Mary's together. Although he's not been satisfied with the hook ups lately he's generally happy with his life. That is until he sees his dad on his death bed who begs Steven to give up this "midlife crisis" of queerness and debt and to go back to corporate finance, get married to a woman, and have kids. Even though he knows deep down he's happy with his life Steven starts to look around and notice that he literally gave up everything and now has none of the financial safety he had before Mary's.

Ryan, the best friend of Steven's nephew, comes from a well to do family who sent him to all the right schools so he could be a well respected painter. But he wasn't happy and found the life in the painter circle to be something he didn't want. What did he want? To be a party planner. But until business picks up he works at a funeral home to make ends meet.

Not realizing who Ryan is when they bump into each other at the funeral home when Ryan is putting everything up after the funeral of Steven's father, things get steamy and end up with a hook up Ryan has always fantasized about. When Steven realizes who Ryan is he freaks and steps back even though there's a strong connection. But with the support of his family both blood and adopted he lets Ryan back in for a chance.

Steven has to over come the head games his father left him with. Ryan has to over come the expectations of his parents. Weather they realize it or not they have way more in common than they think. With a little help from the Mary's crew they need to overcome personal issues to have everything they've always wanted.

HEA ending and I absolutely love me a story with a bear. This one is my second favorite of the series.