Imme [trying to crawl out of hiatus] van Gorp's Reviews > Deal Maker

|| 4.5 stars ||

➛First read: September 2023 | ★4.5 stars
➛Second read: February 2025 | ★4.5 stars

Oh my god, this was absolutely amazing! The first half of this book was so hilarious, I nearly pissed myself laughing more times than I can count. Eventually, though, this developed into something so much deeper: It turned into a beautiful love story between two men with a true connection, who created the sweetest family possible with the cutest five year-old boy I’ve ever seen.

Jude is the main narrator of the story, and oh what a joy it was to be inside this guy’s head! He was the kindest, funniest, wittiest, most loyal and most likable character imaginable. I adored him so much. It was impossibly not to fall in love with this man. I seriously doubt I’ve ever laughed more because of someone.

So, Jude is a model and the book starts with him needing to find a home to stay in after the roof of his flat collapses, which will take a few months to repair. He can stay with his best friend, Dylan, and his boyfriend, Gabe, but doesn’t particularly want to subject his delicate ears to the non-stop love-making these two get up to. Therefore, no matter how much he loves them, he’d rather find some other place to stay.
After a hilarious misunderstanding while trying to find a new place, he becomes the live-in assistant to the 15 years older moviestar, Asa, who seems to have some negative presumptions about models and their “lazy attitudes and airy brains.” Jude isn’t too bothered by his judgements, but he does find some glee in taking his revenge about the man’s stereotyping, which means he decides to pretend to be a dumb airhead whenever he’s around Asa. During this scheme, he manages to mess up all his given tasks in the most hilarious ways possible; even Asa finds it hard to really get mad rather than laugh, because Jude truly is the king of comedy.
It doesn’t take Asa very long, however, to realise his mistake about Jude’s intellect, but he doesn’t want to let the man know, and so they both end up playing their little game of pretending that Jude is brain-dead, even though Asa is becoming increasingly more intrigued by the smart, funny, gorgeous man living in his house and he would love to get to know him for real. Especially when he sees Jude interacting with his son, Billy, whom Jude shares an immediate bond with and treats in the most precious way possible.

Also, I’m sorry, but Billy’s relationship with both Asa and Jude was just absolutely heartwarming and the most perfect thing I’ve ever seen; they both cared about him so much, but also had a lot of fun with him. They joked around, but also treated him super softly and delicately. It was a beautiful display of perfect parenting and you could see how much that little boy was loved and loved them right back; it truly made me melt.

Seriously, though, I loved this book so much! Jude and Asa had the best banter, and the overall story was just so freaking funny. It has a very dry wit and displays the perfect example of well-executed British humour!
Moreover, it was beautiful to see these two men grow closer and closer. They learned such intimate details about the other, and they truly saw the other for who they were inside. I can’t really explain how gorgeous the slow-burn relationship between them was, because I just cannot sum it up in a few sentences. I loved how full of life these two were when they were together, and how much they both adored every little part about the other’s personality. They matched together perfectly in every way. They had true love between them. Honestly.


'Mixed Messages' series:
1. Rule Breaker - 2.0 stars
2. Deal Maker - 4.5 stars

Short Stories:
1.2. Goodbye Fletcher - 3.0 stars
1.3. Jude’s Intervention - 3.0 stars
1.5. Scrambled Eggs and Lemsip - 2.5 stars
1.7. The Valentine Do-Over - 3.5 stars
2.4. Babysitting Billy - 4.0 stars
2.5. Green Eyed Monsters - 4.0 stars
2.6. Jude’s Christmas - 3.5 stars
3.2. Marrying Jude - 3.5 stars

Other Lily Morton books:
Spring Strings - 3.5 stars
Merry Measure - 1.5 stars