Book review: The Australian (Men of the World series) by J.O Mantel

Title: The Australian

Series: Men of the World

Author: J.O Mantel

Genre: M/M Romance Standalone

Release Date: January 31, 2020

Twelve countries. Twelve men. Twelve million dollars!

When Deacon Brady scored his dream job as the lead actor in an award-winning daytime soap opera, he had the entire world at his feet. Racking up an impressive list of awards and voted People Magazine’s sexiest man alive, the world was his oyster, and he was living it to the fullest at the top of the A-list.

But then everything changed ...

The latest Global Financial Crisis, and the crash of Wall Street, not only leaves Deacon bankrupt, but single, depressed and millions in debt.

But when a TV producer approaches him on the street, he arranges a private meeting and makes Deacon a proposition too good to refuse.

With Deacon struggling to make ends meet, the producer offers him an opportunity that will not only pay off his debts, but provide a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that his daredevil heart can't ignore.

The deal - Appear in the new reality TV show, Tainted Love. Travel to twelve countries, meet twelve sexy, single guys, and be paid twelve million dollars. 

But the deal of a lifetime doesn’t come without a price.

He can't allow himself to fall in love, or he risks losing not only the twelve million dollars, but his heart, in the process. 

First stop - Sydney, Australia.

$1 from every ebook sold will be donated to the Australian Red Cross bushfire appeal.

Join J.O Mantel on release day, Friday January 31st @ 9pm AEDST for this HUGE release day auction.

I will be doing a LIVE auction, which will run for 3 days, with proceeds being donated to bushfire relief here in Australia. Some items up for auction are as follows.

* BOOKS EVER AFTER BOOK BOXES

* Signed paperbacks from local Australian and international authors, Lisa Edward, Lilliana Anderson, Lesley Jones, KM Golland and MANY, MANY more.

* Tickets to Perfectly Published Perth in July

And MUCH, MUCH more.

Join us on January 31st for this great cause, and help our Australian wildlife and bushfire relief efforts!

HOSTED BY:

Try as I might, I just can't find the right adjective to describe how I feel about this book. Amazing... fantastic... phenomenal... brilliant... outstanding... awesome... none of these come close.

I planned on reading a couple of chapters before heading for bed. Planned being the operative word here. I could not put it down. I read it in one sitting and will most likely be reading it again.

Deacon's story is one I'm not totally unfamiliar with. I too had a boyfriend who was only with me for whatever he could take me for. Granted it's not anywhere near the same scale as Deacon's, but I do understand.

I can't even begin to understand what Deacon was going through. Losing his job and his home, and to find out someone he loved was only using him had to hurt and hurt badly. I found myself reacting to his situation as if he was a real person. That's how connected I became with his character.

Enter Steve. Steve had to have been completely stunned to find out he was going to be shooting a TV show with, from the way his character was written, his idol. He's such a great character.

Deacon + Steve = chemistry off the charts!!!

It's very easy to see the two of them falling in love with each other. I can even see Deacon giving up the money just to be with Steve, moving to Melbourne so the two of them can be together.

It will be interesting to see if their obvious love for each other will last throughout the remaining episodes of the show (no spoilers!).

I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the series which will find Deacon in the next city. And where exactly is the next city? Read The Australian and find out.

I'm not from Australia, but my heart is deeply saddened by what the country is experiencing right now with the wildfires and I'm grateful to J.O for bringing this tragedy to everyone's attention and I wish him well.

I'd give The Australian 100 stars if I could, but I'm restricted to 5, so 5 stars it is.

I see The Australian hitting number one on Amazon's lists and I wouldn't be surprised if it made it to the top of the New York Times bestseller's list. It's just that good.

Buy it. Read it. You'll love it.

PLEASE consider donating to one of the charities listed below. It's so very important.

Australian Red Cross
UNICEF
WWF Bush Fire Emergency
New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSWRFS)/Wildlife Rescue (WIRE)/Australian Red Cross
List of US charities helping with the Australian Bush Fire Relief efforts
Australia Wildfire Relief