| Title | : | Hot Mess |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 313 |
| Publication | : | First published November 23, 2020 |
It’s not like I haven’t been trying. I did college, I found a job, now I bought a house. I’ve been crossing things off that adulting to-do list like a pro. Surely one of them has to make me feel like a grown up. Eventually.
My new hotter-than-anyone-deserves-to-be neighbor is definitely a grown up. A grown up with a square jaw and massive forearms, who takes homeownership very seriously.
And okay, maybe I’m a little obsessed with him. Maybe I spend a little too much time imagining what it would be like if we just happened to have relevant interests. If he used those forearms for something besides yard work— like maybe teaching a lesson to someone whose living room is still filled with moving boxes and whose life is clearly out of control.
Too bad if anyone on the planet is vanilla, it’s reliable, responsible Erik Jenko who washes his car every Sunday and offers to mow my lawn. A gorgeous distraction in work boots and faded t-shirts, but definitely not kinked in my direction.
At least that’s what I thought until I got his mail…
Hot Mess is a 90,000 word kinky romance about an Army brat in need of some discipline and a handyman with a soft spot for disasters. Get ready for spanking, role play, first time kink exploration, lacy lingerie, and stern but sweet domestic discipline. Steamy, kinky, and swoony, with a sprinkle of angst and a healthy dose of feels.
PLEASE NOTE: Hot Mess began life as a novella titled Pretty Boy available exclusively to newsletter subscribers. That story has been extended by 50,000+ words.
Hot Mess Reviews
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M/M, hea, insta-attraction, single pov, spanking, panties
I'm really conflicted on how to write this review. Objectively, this book is straight forward. London moves into his first home ever and falls for his neighbor. However, it's more than it seems. The story is told from the POV of London and a lot of it is about how he can't force himself to do what he needs to do as an adult and how he finds help. "but Natalie, that doesn't sound like that big of a deal"
That's where you're wrong because this character was obviously based on me and my emotions because suddenly I'm not reading a book I'm getting called out for things I didn't even realize I was doing. Except there is no friendly neighbor to spank my ass until I can't sit down. There's only my therapist and she won't do that (I asked).
This book might not be for everyone but wow was it for me. Not because of the spice level or anything else other than the fucking epiphanies that this book dragged me through like a piece of roadkill along for the ride.
I need a nap and to schedule a therapy appointment. -
3.5 stars
Very sweet and soft.
Probably a bit too meandering, it does feel like a shorter story that was expanded/padded so there's a lot of internal reflection and not an awful lot of plot.
But I liked the characters individually and together and I do love a good brat, especially a brat who isn't a teeny-tiny person, and who probably should have ordered the size XL in the panties after all. -
DNF @ 55%
I had to admit defeat with this one after it took what felt like days to just get this far with it. Then I've just not wanted to finish it for a week, which isn't a ringing endorsement.
While I did love the MCs journey of self discovery (can't even remember the characters names at this point), I think I would have preferred this in its original short story format. This extended version felt TOO extended, and rather than finding myself becoming more connected to the characters as the story progressed, I found myself clock watching and wishing the book to be done already.
I think it's a good example that short stories don't always translate well into a full length novel. -
This is so sweet 🥲 Its like 4 pages of just "hey, your kink is normal and you shouldn't feel bad about it". I feel like I went to therapy in the best way.
Misha is such a good writer. -
I really liked the story that existed amongst all the endless stream of consciousness info dumping from London.
I was so close to DNFing. The first 15% of the book was nothing but London’s internal running monologue.
No. Joke. Finally, Erik came on the scene and actual dialogue started to happen, but even when it got interesting, it was broken up by London’s thinking again. It was so frustrating, pulling me out of the story when I was enjoying it. -
Such a delight. I adored "Hot Mess" to absolute BITS.
Nobody writes kink like Misha Horne, especially of the spanking, domestic discipline variety. The way they write it, is freaking wonderful; it's hot, obviously, so hot I think I blushed the whole way through; but it's also heavy and wonderfully complex too.
I think this one was included the most mature and most emotional discourse about kink I've ever read: the conversations between London and Erik about how both of them struggled to find themselves and accept themselves in a vanilla world had me nearly in tears. It was absolutely masterful, and I will never not be grateful to Misha for writing kink in such a deep, well-thought, realistic way.
I loved both protagonists so so much. London is a mess, but a lovable one, and he was so deeply relatable too. Seeing him blossom thanks to Erik and his new found confidence was amazing to witness, and I adored being in his head. I loved Erik to bits too: I loved his stern daddy vibe, but also his gentleness, and the way he was with London was absolutely swoon worthy; a a panty-melting, somebody-sedate-me dream of a man.
The build-up to their first, explosive time was PERFECT: I was literally on the edge of my seat, kicking my feet, twirling my hair, swooning and blushing and silently screaming at my kindle. A delight.
I admit, some bits of this novel probably could have been cut short, but on the other hand, long, winded conversations and monologues about kink and boundaries and experiences are absolutely Misha's MO, and I'd never want that to change because their words are always so damn precious and important.
Anyway, apart from that, if I had to talk about one small niggle I had, it was the fact that there weren't enough panties and London feeling pretty in lace. Thank god there's a bonus short story to dive into to make up for that.
I still have a few more of this author's books to devour, and I seriously cannot wait. "Hot Mess" was freaking fabulous, and it left me with the biggest smile on my face. I can't recommend this author enough.
TWs/CWs: parent neglect and abandonment. -
4.5
I loved this!
Horne really excels at showing over telling. In just a few detailed meetings between MCs over a short time we can see how they will work together in the future (although imo ). These two men were made for each other and are full of love and great at learning each others love languages <3
Quotes: I highlighted too much and forgot my kindle at work
NSFW infos:
- a chonky 25-ish year old IT call center out and gay man who has always wanted to feel dainty and wear frilly lacy underwear and be called pretty but never really believed he could because he doesn’t look like the twinks in magazines and porn
- a caretaker lumberjack of a man who just wants someone to coddle and love
- strict top/bottom
- praise kink
- lacy underwear
- mail mix-up
- spanking (of course, it’s a Misha Horne book!) -
pwp = porn with pipe-fixing-as-foreplay
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There is something about this author that I just can’t get enough of. The way they write kink and so thoroughly examine the intricacies of both the characters and what their needs are is so fascinating to me. This all took place over a weekend, but I felt like I knew London and Erik intimately. I absolutely loved getting to know these characters and see them blossom around and for each other. This was a bit more heavy in the kink talk and low on the actual sex, but I’m not bothered by that at all.
I always seem to want more of whatever couple I’ve read. This was no different and I would happily read a novella to see where they are now. -
4.5 stars
This was a really sweet story. I love it when characters fit together like puzzle pieces, not in that they instantly fall in love and get together without any hurdles or issues, but that they fulfill each others wants and needs in a way that makes me believe that they're meant to be together. This book delivered that for me.
It's heavy on the introspection and character focused in a way that made me empathize a lot with London, but while I loved being in London's head it would have been nice to see things from Erik's point of view too. Overall I loved this book, it might have been a bit heavy on the internal monologue at times but I really enjoyed the writing, the characters and their relationship. -
🎁 FREE on Amazon today (12/31/2021)! 🎁
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This book was far more boring than I was expecting from the blurb. What I was expecting was a sweet, kinky romance, but what I got was a very navel-gazy exploration of the mildest of kinks. London, our narrator and 'hot mess' in question is cosplaying as an adult in a way that was actually super irritating and not endearing (which is how I think it was meant to come across), he ends up living next to the most perfect and put together human that ever (Erik) who just so happens to compliment his domestic discipline/spanking kink perfectly. Erik did not feel like a real person at all, he was a bit of a paper doll for me - too perfect in all ways. This book was 95% London feeling bad and abnormal for having a kink at all, and by the time things got sexy, I was so over them already. Took me forever to finish, so counting it as loss.
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3.5
I thought this was just going to be hot spanking with emotions, but there was actually some really interesting dialogue about the reasons why people are attracted to kink. If you've ever been curious about why someone would fantasize about getting spanked, and not just like a pat here or there as foreplay, but whole roleplay scenes, then this gives you a pretty good idea. For me, there was just a bit too much introspection to the point where the novel felt like it was moving way too slow. The actual kinky scenes were amazing though, so I really wish we'd just sped through the initial getting-to-know-you phase right into the dating and having kinky sex phase... Not my favourite, but I still enjoyed it! -
WAY better than I expected!
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sorry every time they said 'brat' i was like oh my god it's charli xcx
(this slapped though!! misha horne is a god !!) -
DNF at 39% after skimming and skimming through inner monologues.
This was incredibly boring to me. I could not stand being in the MC's head. He was complaining about adulting and doing basic daily stuff for a couple chapters and I just couldn't get into the story. -
London buys his very first house and immediately starts secretly crushing on his new neighbor, Erik. Erik is totally put together and seems to have this home ownership thing down pat, while London can't seem to even unpack all his boxes on his own. But when Erik's mail is accidentally delivered to London's house, it awakens something in London he's been trying to hide for so long...👀
As usual, Misha Horne is an expert at unpacking trauma. Poor London has some abandonment and attachment issues, and all he's ever wanted is to feel pretty and spoiled and cared for by someone.🥺 Erik delivers in spades, and these two have some of the most honest open conversations ever put to paper. At times the conversations got so in depth that I forgot I was even reading romance, and the way the needs of these two fit together was just perfect.❤️🩹 It does feel a bit rushed at times and yet somehow also manages to drag just a bit, so I wouldn't say this is my favorite Misha book...but man I enjoyed it. If you're a fan of spanking🍑 and you haven't read anything by Misha yet...you're definitely missing out.
If you're looking for a sweet love story with some satin and lace and some daddy kink without the "daddy," this book is for you.🩷
Read if you like:
• Neighbors to Lovers
• Instalove
• Kink Exploration
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In KU:✅️ -
I was ready to give up on the book by 18% because it was mostly the internal monolog of a very incapable person being a total baby.
But this author completely turned it around. Made it a beautiful piece consisting of consent, complex conversations surrounding sexual wants and needs... and it was absolutely wonderful.
It's really special when you finally see you. And someone else finally sees you.
Stay strong if you decide to start this book. I promise, it's worth it in the end.
This book is absolutely something special. -
I enjoyed this little vignette on kink exploration! I think Misha Horne writes internal monologues very well, in that I probably would have found London's single POV monologueing overwhelming in another author's style but it works in Hot Mess. I did find some of London's views of being vanilla really over simplified to the point of feeling weird to read, but I know the goal to emphasize the stigma he experiences.
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I feel this would have been more enjoyable if it had been a novella.
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this was trash and not the good type
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I can’t get over how much I adored this book! London is an adult, but he doesn’t feel like one. He buys a house because that’s what he’s supposed to do, but after unpacking his life fifteen times before even graduating high school, he’s finally just over it. In walks his next door neighbor, the perfectly predictable (and totally hot) Eric. Turns out safe and organized Eric is also the perfect kinky match to out-of-control London.
This book is HOT. Even more than that, it is sweet and insightful. I had a smile on my face for most of the book, because London is such a perfect mess and Eric is such a perfect match for him. It was also amazing to see London finally admit to someone else what he likes. It felt so realistic that I felt like a weight was lifted off MY shoulders as he finally told someone he liked pretty things and yearned for discipline. And Eric - could he be any better? I mean, he saves baby birds, fixes sinks, and is just so darn adorable!
These are characters who will stay with me for a long time. I didn’t want to finish the book because I just wanted to stay in their world forever. I also think I have not read a better book that shows so realistically someone coming to grips with their real desires. This is a must-read, and it will end up in my reread pile for sure. -
I really thought I was going to like this one, but yeah no, I didn't like this. Let me explain...
This book is only told from London's POV. That's part of my problem. He's worse than a hot mess. He's a 30-year-old man that doesn't know that pillow cases come with sheets. He's a 30 year old man that doesn't know how to do anything and when I say anything, I mean ANYTHING.
The first 18% of this book was all his horrible internal dialogue. He's such a debbie downer. He doesn't even try to do anything with his life. And the military brat sob story was irritating. It was overused and so not an excuse for how unfunctional this man was.
When Erik comes over their first interaction lasted for almost the next 40% of the book. Talk about a drag. These two are discussing way to many things that would never be discussed that quickly. And then the last half is London doing something stupid. London unpacking boxes in the epilogue is not exciting.
This book is just over the top on everything it seemed. Very insta-love and well I'm not a fan of insta-love. I just didn't buy into their relationship at all. So really that's the problem. The characters. London was a hot mess that never grew out of it until the epilogue. That's a problem for me. Erik was more tolerable and likable but London ruined the book for me. -
After reading this, I can't help but wish that I had read the original short story
Pretty Boy instead (although I don't think it's available anymore.) Why? Because this one had so much filler. There was too much internal monologue from London. And the middle of the book was so slow. But I loved the beginning and the end. Erik is the perfect neighbor, in so many ways. London and Erik had great communication, really talking through their kinks and what they were hoping to find in a relationship. -
As much as I was drawn to chaos as an antidote to rigidity, what I really loved was calm. And he was swimming in it, pulling me into his orbit more every minute.
Gosh. A very pleasant and very welcome surprise. I kind of expected this to be a little on the no-thoughts-head-empty side, just a bit of steamy fun. I wouldn't have minded that. I've read from this author before, and I really like their writing. I like how they integrate kink into their plots, and talk about their characters' lives and desires with a fullness that feels very real and sketches very three dimensional portraits of the characters. The plot of this one is very simple; it's a neighbours to lovers romance with a lot of kink on the side, and I really was not expecting it to hit so hard emotionally. Or maybe that's not the correct word, because this was pretty light overall. But it still FELT hard-hitting, in the ways that London is forced to face problems that feel a little insurmountable to him, and how Erik ends up being the perfect person to guide him through it.
London buys a new house, pretty much only because he can afford to, and it seems to be the next most logical step as an adult in his late 20s. The fact that there's a hot guy next door makes his decision a little easier when he goes to the viewing. But after moving in, he can't seem to bring himself to actually move in. All of his boxes remain stacked up around the house and in the garage; he eats take-out all of the time; he lives out of the very few boxes that he's managed to unpack. All while harbouring a huge crush on the guy next door, and thinking about how unfulfilling his sex life has been thus far, because he hasn't been able to share certain desires with his past boyfriends. One day, Erik's mail gets accidentally delivered to him, and things start taking a turn.
LOL I always feel a little bit silly when I start waxing poetic about a book that's 50 percent of sex and kink, but look, this was genuinely lovely. A snapshot of the start of a relationship that I just know is going to bring both people a lot of warmth and happiness. It honestly makes me want to read even more of the author's backlist, even though I know they have some books that I probably won't enjoy (mostly because they take place in high school and I'm truly not interested in adult romances that take place in high school). But who knows, maybe I might find myself giving them a try. I had a great time with this, and I'm still smiling just thinking about it.“The world needs a little more saving and a little less noise.”
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One thing the specs left out though was the fit as fuck guy in a tight tshirt and gym shorts bent over in the driveway next door, washing his shiny, black SUV. Five minutes from work was great, but that ass was a fucking selling feature.
The fateful purchase of a home that has a few particular things going for it.... London didn't stand a chance!
Now, a hot mess London might be, but I immediately liked his inner voice - which is a good thing, because we get a lot of his inner voice in this read! This read did feel a little wordy but a lot of what London goes through is really important to the overall theme of the story.It wasn’t like I thought I was doing anything wrong. It wasn’t like I thought people should hide their kinks or be ashamed of the things that turned them on. But things I thought were fine for other people didn’t usually extend to fine for me.
This book is an ode to being yourself, being into what your into, and not feeling a second of shame over it. London had a hard road; you could just feel his shame and tension, but Erik could read him like a book and he(we) were able to evolve and grow because of it. London said it best - <3“I’m into brats. Mouthy ones. And guys in panties are hot as fuck. Especially… You don’t see that many guys who look like you. Bigger. Built.”
Argh. Something about a Misha Horne hero has be sa-wooning <3 Erik was perfect to and perfect for London. I also really loved his interest in his home-restoring career. It gave a nice side dynamic and some good plot fodder, and was just genuinely fun to read. Like when they went
Overall, I plan to continue my quest to read Misha Horne's backlist and hopefully keep devouring these delicious stories! -
Yeah, this was hot and just what I needed. Not going to lie, there are an abundance of overused words in this. Definitely wanted to see some different descriptors when expressing characters feelings. BUT, oh man, did Misha nail this with everything else & a lot of how I’ve been feeling when I see comments by readers in groups or elsewhere on the “necessary” or “right” way to do sex and/or kink. Fuck that. Especially when some people commenting admit they have no experience in those particular situations. OK?? Then please don’t make these black/white claims then. It can be harmful, but it’s also just really insulting.
So, this felt like a rush of fresh air. London is so wonderful in his sexual and kink exploration, waffling from embarrassment, feeling unsure of himself, feeling sexy, comforted, nurtured, and ultimately understood by Erik. Erik is just...he gets it, and he’s real. Expressing the guilt he felt, that many might feel, but that discussing what you need is a hell of a lot healthier than not. The discussions of what do you do if your not vanilla, but don’t feel kinky enough to be “kinky.” Where do you fit; do you fit? Erik just indicates so easily...why wouldn’t you? There’s no right way to get what you need & have healthy sex. And Erik & London just work so well together. My God, they work.
The spanking. Ughhhh, the spanking. And domestic discipline normally isn’t my thing, but yeah, this shit was my jam.
So, yeah, it’s sweet, it’s naughty, it’s real, and it’s a little imperfect, but that’s OK. -
The good
+ Erik's honesty in his affection for London
+ London's yearning for domesticity
+ Erik indulging London's obsessions and fascinations
+ London feeling safe with Erik
+ London growing comfortable with his kinks
+ Praise kink
+ Fixing the sink together
The neutral
o Erik and London were the only two characters in this book. Some family members and friends were mentioned, but never met
The bad
- The vanilla shaming. The book was littered with sentences like "Vanillas really didn't understand how good they had it." London kept talking about how easy vanilla people had it when it comes to relationships and sex, like there is only one way to be vanilla and every vanilla person is automatically compatible with every other vanilla person. Everyone is different and has different preferences for sex and relationships. These preferences have to align (sufficiently), whether they're kinky or not
Quotes
x I seemed grown up on paper, at least grown up enough to fool other grownups into thinking I was one of them, which I guess was the point?
I enjoyed this book. London monologued a lot, but it fit his character. If he had kept the monologues on vanilla people to himself, this would have been great. Now, it was just very good. Would recommend this as a low angst kinky read. -
Excellent m/m Romance
The hero of this book really is a hot mess but this book isn’t one. While it is about how adulting is hard and kinks are fun there is an under lying thread about emotions and how we sometimes end up doing or not doing things because of what happened to us in the past. I love the directions Misha Horne took this story in that although one man is helping the other one they both have problems and things to work out. If you like emotional kinky guys finding how they fit together then you will really enjoy this book. -
Even better than the original novella!
I really enjoyed the original novella but this was so much better! Erik and London are like two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together. Erik is calm, cool, and collected and London is, as the title suggests, a hot mess. While their role playing and initial steps toward a domestic discipline relationship were fun to read, the discussions regarding the struggles they faced accepting their kinky natures in a vanilla world were my favorite parts of the book.
