Book Review
Roleplay at Randy’s
By Rikki Leighton
“Maybe we could dance together sometime.”
Matty’s a dancer with a broken heart. Elias is a single dad trying to keep his life together. When they meet at Randy’s Diner, something flares between them, passionate enough to scare their shaky hearts. But once Matty meets and bonds with Elias’s adorable son, they begin to wonder if it might be worth it to try again.
This entry in the Randy’s series is sexy and emotional. Past heartbreak has given Matty and Elias painful lessons in setting boundaries and communication, and it’s very sweet to watch them realize how good they are for each other, and how much they want to fight for this new chance at happiness. I loved that author Rikki Leighton was able to weave their experiences as a transmasc and hard-of-hearing writer into Matty’s character. Check out Roleplay at Randy’s for a fun twist on fake dating, an incredibly sensual dance on stage, and some very hot smut.
Find author Rikki Leighton on Instagram, and their Facebook group.
Be sure to check out the rest of the Diner Days series (12 books by different authors)
Roleplay at Randy’s
How many times am I going to give my heart to someone who will inevitably break it?
MATTY
Three years ago, the only man I ever loved broke my heart. I’ve been careful to keep it mended since. Which isn’t hard given I’m working myself to the bone just to afford rent and hormones. Love isn’t part of the program.
But of course, here comes Elias Lee: all sweet dimples, lonely smile, and oh, he’s a dancer like me—or like I used to be.
I couldn’t cut it at the big production company I moved here for, but when Elias drags me to the house he shares with his son and accidentally volunteers me to be his date to his sister’s wedding, the passion and love I thought I’d lost for dance begins to creep back in.
Why oh why do I keep falling for emotionally unavailable rays of sunshine?
ELIAS
My dating life is abysmal. I can name the amount of hookups I’ve had in the last five years on one hand. It’s hard to find time between taking care of my son and working late into the night to afford all of his medical needs.
When I run into Matty Nichols—literally—at Randy’s Diner, I’m slapped in the face with so much attraction that I can’t help but seek him out again and again. I don’t have time for a relationship, but when Calum takes a liking to him and I find out his studio apartment is covered in black mold, of course I have to offer up my couch.
I don’t mean for my sister to get the bright idea that he’s my boyfriend and insist I bring him to her wedding.
Even if Matty was interested and I wasn’t a hot mess, being with me comes with more baggage than I’d ever ask him to put on his shoulders.
Roleplay at Randy’s is a low angst, fake relationship, MM romance between a hard-of-hearing trans man who falls hard and fast, and the single dad stripper who never stood a chance.
Love beyond the binary, serving up low angst trans romances at Randy’s Diner.
Sign up for Dannye’s free monthly newsletter and never miss a book review!