Pretty Man by Ryan Field was extremely disappointing. The writing was sloppy and didn't flow well. The perspective of the narrator would change suddenly without any kind of transition. The characters were underdeveloped. There was barely a plot. And all this book contained was one sex scene after another. If it gets to the point where the reader says "ugh, another one?" perhaps the author has packed too many sex scenes into one book.

I made it to about 10% in and realized that what we were promised and what we got were two very different things. Most of what made Pretty Woman so successful was its unabashed charm; that is completely missing in here in what feels like a Marty Stu's dream of the perfect gay porno. But even the crudity would be manageable if the writing wasn't so incredibly unsophisticated. I'd love to see the author's "gay version of Pretty Woman' too as he promised in the introduction - but we didn't get it here at all.

Roland needs a date to make his ex jealous. He sees a hot young hunk named Josh and immediately propositions him. Sex, sex, and more sex ensues with plenty of eyeing of bulges and grabbing of butts between.

I knew I was going to have a hard time with this book as soon as I saw this sentence on the first page: "From a distance, he could still pass for 30; but up close in broad daylight, you could tell he was closer to his true age." There are a LOT of sentences like that which should make sense but just don't. The writing is stilted, lacking segues, and focused purely on getting from one sex scene to the next.

Story wise, there was no emotional attachment whatsoever. I didn't believe in either character or their situations as a result. Nor was I ever enticed to actually care about any character in this book. Just about every cliche of the genre was here (gay porn) and so oversimplified to the point of being about as egregious a Marty Stu as you can get. I received this as an advance review copy from the publisher but I honestly would have been very disappointed had I actually spent money for this title. Reviewed as an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

This one wasn't for me. DNF @ 25%. I wasn't able to connect with either character. It's a parody of Pretty Woman, but I didn't form an emotional connection with the MCs.

Ryan Field has another winner with Pretty Man, a gay take on the Julia Roberts movie. Rich guy hires a male prostitute to impersonate his boyfriend, and they have lots of very hot, well-written sex, and emotions begin to develop between them.

Both characters are well-drawn and believable, and the book moves quickly between the many bedroom scenes and the protagonists' interactions with outsiders. If you like a good sexy read with an actual plot and three-dimensional characters, you can't go wrong with Pretty Man.

Rating:  2 stars out of  5

Roland Marcus, still not over the fact that his twenty year relationship has ended, accidentally bumps into a hot young guy in a used book store…a strapping male hustler whom he decides to hire for one week to accompany him to charity events while he’s in New York. He offers him five thousand dollars, with no strings attached, to just stand by his side and look pretty.

Josh Holden, a young guy who is helping to support his son and saving money to buy a business with his best friend and ex-wife, is only too happy to escort Roland anywhere he wants to go that week. And he’s not doing it just for the money…

Unlike most stories, where the rich and powerful husband dumps the hard working, devoted life partner for someone younger, this one takes a turn in the opposite direction when the rich husband is the one to get dumped. But with young Josh’s help, Roland learns in less than a week’s time that his future can still hold both earth-shattering sex and a love of real substance.

I admit it. I love the movie Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.  I can visualize scenes based on a laugh and a clap of a jewelry box.  The sight of a outside escape ladder on a building will immediately call up memories of that ending where he heads up the ladder and she tells him that the fair maiden rescue's the Knight right back.  Swoon!  Because of course, that's the point.  She rescued him just as much as he did her.  There was an odd vulnerability on both parts and a toughness.  A relationship we could give our hearts too.

All of which is what's missing here.

Ryan Field says in his introduction that he wants to write happy gay romances because there was none in the 20th century for him to read.  And while I may quibble about his timeline, I get his point.  Field goes on to say that's why he writes today, to insure that there's happy romances for others like him to read and enjoy.  Again, terrific.  But he seems to be making a career of rewriting  classic romantic movies with  M/M roles (An Officer and His Gentleman, When Harry Met Sal, Sleepless In San Francisco).  It seems like a cute idea but if Pretty Man is any indication he's missing the point of (at least) why these movies are so popular.

In Pretty Man, he left out most of the elements that made the movie so wonderful and the characters so likable. If in fact you are going  to emulate a dearly loved movie, than at least know why that movie worked. Understand the chemistry between the characters, the difference in stations and why that romance sticks with people no matter the decade.  I'll give you a clue.  It wasn't because the power was one sided.  As it is here all the way to the end.  Roland rescues, and rescues, and rescues.  Josh continually needs saving.  Plus there was an actual relationship there.

In fact, most of the book has so many sex scenes that any relationship development is all but forgotten.  Why does  Roland go after Josh?  Well, Field makes it sound like it's because Josh is a pretty good looking man and the sex is great, torn jeans and all.  There's no "rescuing back" here.  No give and take.  That's completely lost.   In fact all the characters have little depth, even the storyline seems so light as to have been constructed of cotton candy.

So, no Pretty Man didn't do it for me.  I think I be honest I'll have to see what other things this author has written that aren't associated with movies but perhaps are based more on original concepts and see how that goes.  In my opinion this was a cute idea but just didn't work out in an actual story.

Cover art is cute but doesn't accurately portray both characters as Roland is much older than Josh

After reading the author's blurb in the beginning about why he was writing this, I expected a nice mm romance but with a few tropes off the based Pretty Woman film in male style.

However what I ended up reading, then skimming through was a lot of mm erotica with no heart, then tied up with a HEA. I'm no expert on mm relationships but all I saw was a definite bad erotic parody, where the author then realised what he was meant to be writing and chucjed a few PW correlations at odd moments. Also the way Josh spoke from the very beginning was so weird.

Not sure the intended audience, but those who like mm erotica will probably like this because the sex scenes were good even as a few verged on dub con.

Review of a Netgalley copy.

I enjoyed this book to a certain level, but I felt that every time there was a conflict the resolution was rushed, they could have taken more time with that and a little less with the sex, don’t get me wrong I enjoy the smut, but I felt it was too much and took from the plot.

This book followed the story of Pretty Woman loosely...Roland and Josh meet accidentally and Roland ends up paying Josh $5000 to be his escort for the week. Roland had been in a long term relationship but his partner left him for a younger man and he has been alone ever since. He is independently wealthy but not happy. Josh obviously makes him happy but he can't say that since he is paying him and also Roland doesn't know how Josh feels. There is A LOT of sex in this book, way more than the original Pretty Woman and way more kinky too. Not the best writing or plot but Josh and Roland were super cute together. Super fast read and a perfect summer beach book! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

A gay retelling of Pretty Woman. I picked it up, because I am a fan of the marriage-of-convenience trope. Fake relationship, close enough. It turned out to be mostly porn with little plot.

Could have done with the use of a good editor or beta reader to iron out all the inconsistencies and continuity errors.

The porn was ok, I guess. Not terribly erotic. Halfway through this was pretty much PWP. Some BDSM. Forget informed consent though (aka the group sex scene, the sex shop, etc.).

I was looking for a romance novel, when I picked this up. Which this is most definitely not. There was no emotional connection between Roland and Josh or any real intimacy.

Josh sounded like an imbecile. Do people really talk like that? Generally there was plenty of bad dialogue. Corny, repetitive. I did a lot of eye rolling.

And the book was full of stereotypes, which is funny considering that the author writes in the opening words about lacking positive role models growing up and wanting to change that.

If you are looking for m/m erotica without much of a plot and some kink, this might be for you. For me it was a DNF at 65%. I was ready to quit sooner, but I wanted to give it a chance.

I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you! P.S.: You would probably have a better target audience, if you categorized this as erotica.

I loved this book . Aside for the similarities/parody aspects of it in relation to the movie, Pretty Woman-- I found it to be a very pleasant and VERY sexy M/M Romance. This is a reprint and I'm glad it is being re-released or I might have missed it.

Roland and Josh are both interesting and lovable characters. It's funny though because as I read, I did not picture them at all like the men in the cover art.

If you appreciate the erotic content in a gay romance, this book is overflowing with it. Each encounter being uniquely different from the previous one. I'm saying-- there is sex on nearly every page. What worked best about this for me was the fact that though their relationship is 'contract based', it always felt real and casual like sex between friends. As you can imagine, things get a little complicated in the process but it never goes outside of realistic behavior.

Two different worlds collide-- between the sheets and then in the hearts of two special men-- in spite of the sometimes amusing/annoying interference of Roland's flamboyant Ex.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Reasons I requested this book:

- age gap (approximately 20 years)
- single parent
- fake dating

First things first, this book should honestly be marketed as erotica rather than a romance because it’s sex, sex, sex, and little to show any kind of romantic feelings are developing.

I wanted to DNF this book within 4% when the narrator, Roland, describes Josh’s pectorals as looking like “halved grapefruits.” But hey! Maybe that meant this would be a cheese-fest, right? NOPE! I have so many highlights and comments wondering what I’m even reading, if these are actual things people think and/or find sexy, and flabbergasted. The only reason I chugged through is because my approval for this book asked that if I DNF not to review, so I “spite read,” skimming most of the sex scenes by the end and flipping through the last several pages.

Okay, so, we’ve got Josh, an escort who is also a father wanting to buy a bookstore with his ex, and using his sex work to supplement their income. We don’t even realize he has a kid until over 50% into the book and only see his son like once. This didn’t really read like a fake dating story, all that happens is lots of sex scenes in the rich dude’s house and drama with Roland’s ex as the Big Climax.

And those sex scenes!! Oh god they’re terrible; this honestly reads like someone writing their first PWP story and a teensy bit of plot snuck in. We’ve got so many exaggerated descriptions and weird consent issues. Like, from the get-go Josh was touching Roland’s butt in public, not to mention the way he almost immediately has Roland strip down so he can fuck him. And, oh god, there’s so many “I’m a total top and you’re a total bottom and the reason your relationship failed is you’re both bottoms” and why they’re exclusively top/bottom and saying people aren’t actually versatile for the most part. Uhm, what??? And there’s one part where Roland is all “bottoms have an obligation to be smooth (shaved) and toned and prepare themselves so the top can just get to it.” What is this?? Is this a reality I’m not privy to? It was just so absolutely agonizing to read these scenes~! And, oh yeah, Josh invites two friends to Roland’s for a foursome as a SURPRISE! and they go to a sex shop where STRANGERS join in on their sexual encounter. How is that okay or sexy?? And the BEST (aka ABSOLUTE MOST HORRIFYING WORST) was using CUPCAKE ICING as lube for anal sex. CUPCAKE ICING!!!!!!

Like I said, there’s really not much in the way of a plot; it’s just sex scene after sex scene. The way we end up getting drama and tension, is in the shape of Kenneth, Roland’s ex boyfriend. Kenneth is always touching Roland, calls everyone “Doll,” and treats Josh like a second-class citizen. The worst part is Roland discloses Josh’s sex worker status to Kenneth and when Kenneth is reassuring him that he won’t tell anyone, Roland legit says “I really don’t care who knows.” Uhm, you do NOT have the right to disclose that to anyone else and it can be dangerous for someone to know he’s a sex worker. And it does end up being dangerous!! Kenneth attempts to rape Josh being all “wanna make a little extra this weekend?” And Roland can’t comprehend why Josh would be upset/hurt that he told Kenneth he’s an escort.

This book was just TERRIBLE. It has tropes I enjoy so I was looking forward to reading this (I’ve never watched Pretty Woman, which this is supposed to be based(?) off) but I came away from this book upset and uncomfortable. I don’t think there is a single person I’d recommend this to.

I found Pretty Man on Netgalley, and I requested it because my interest was piqued by the possibility of a m/m take on Pretty Woman. I read quite a bit of m/m, and although my preferred genre is historical romance, I’m not opposed to contemporary.

From what I understand, this novel was originally published in 2009, and author Ryan Field is re-releasing it now that rights have reverted back to him. The first thing I noticed is that Field did not give his book a once over before republishing it because there are numerous errors throughout the book. I don’t bring this up to be petty or pedantic, but there’s a continuity error in the second paragraph of the first page.

The premise is familiar when considering the source material: a good-looking guy in his 40s (Roland) ends up hiring a young escort (Josh) to spend the week with him, no strings attached. Roland buys Josh some fancy new clothes, they go to some fancy parties, and when the end of the week rolls around, they realize that they’re in love.

Not so fast.

Let’s start with the sex. There’s a lot of it, and the prolific amount seemed more akin to erotica than the conventional romance market that it’s being marketed as. At the beginning of the book, Josh says (to paraphrase) that he’s not into weird stuff. However, over the course of the book, Josh “surprises” Roland with group sex with two of his friends, Josh and Roland engage in public sex at a sex store, Josh and Roland experiment briefly with power dynamics, and they use cupcakes as part of their sexcapades. I certainly don’t want to kink shame, but I interpreted Josh’s statement to mean that he preferred conventional sex, so it was somewhat surprising to see such an eclectic mix of activities.

It’s clear that Josh and Roland have a physical connection, but I’m not buying the love connection. During their many many sessions together, there is only about one where Josh touches Roland intimately. I get that Josh is a “top”, but what happened to helping a buddy out? Just because there’s a mutual orgasm doesn’t mean that there’s any intimacy.

I am also dubious of Josh’s prior relationship. I’m going to be vague here for spoilers (although that horse is already out of the barn), but even though Josh was no longer in a relationship with his ex per se, he is not completely disentangled from said ex, and I’m not sure he’s in a position to be able to just go gallivanting off with Roland due to prior obligations.

Stylistically, this book has a lot of head hopping, and it was difficult to tell whose perspective it was supposed to be in any given scene.

Ultimately, Pretty Man does not work as the romance novel it is being marketed as. However, as erotica, this book is decent. If you’re looking for a book with a lot of sex- a parody, perhaps, of a beloved 1980s movie- then this is okay. No complaints. I would even read more from Ryan Field in the future.


I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

I read quite a bit of MM, MMF, MFM, and MF romance. For a MM romance, I felt this effort fell FLAT. It was all I could do to finish it. The main reason I was able to finish it was due to the replicated story from the film. I wanted to like Roland and Josh. There was so much potential with each character. Unfortunately, the author felt countless gratuitous, graphic, impersonal sex scenes superseded character development.

Josh and Roland never developed any type of a connection beyond base sexual needs. The scene in the sex club was forced and totally unnecessary for the story.

There were glimpses where a real story could have unfolded -- Josh's role as a Dad, his relationship with Hillary, Rolland falling in love with Josh, even Russell's change of heart for Josh. None of that ever moved beyond the 1-2 sentence blip.

Such a disappointment.

Pretty Man, sexy older rich man, meets hot young escort. One weeks work for $5,000. It has a similar theme as pretty women when it comes to that and the shopping. This book is on fire with crazy hot sex scenes that will make you want to drop your panties and have your own fun with your partner. I will never look at a cupcake in the same way.

I didn't feel like the two guys really got to know each other by the end of the week and the whole thing with Kenneth at the end was just to much for me to believe. I felt like most people would not be helping there ex out like that. I could see buying the house but that would be all. I don't fell like Hillary would have flipped like that I felt like she suddenly like Richard and I didn't feel that was true at all. .