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Pretty Mess

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Pretty Mess

By: Lily Morton
Narrated by: Joel Leslie
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Kiss him, sleep with him, but don’t ever fall in love with him.

The first time Wes Archer steps into Jack of Clubs, an exclusive London pleasure club, he’s completely confident he can heed the tried-and-true advice about becoming an escort. Wes gives himself away for free with casual hookups all the time. Why not make some cash doing what he already loves? And cash is something he desperately needs. His brother’s gambling addiction has taken their family’s home, saddled Wes with insurmountable debts, and compromised his chances for finishing his degree.

Accepting an offer to spend a few hours of fun with a rich bloke will be a simple business transaction, right?

Wrong.

Wes’s first client is Cormac Reilly. The handsome billionaire is grumpy, funny, and commanding in a way that unlocks desires Wes never knew he had. Cormac is icily determined to keep their arrangement strictly business, but that doesn’t stop Wes from finding him fascinating.

As their one-night contract becomes something much more, Wes can’t deny he’s falling for his client. He knows he’s flouting all the rules, but breaking down Cormac’s barriers is an irresistible challenge, and his reward might be the best prize of all — love.

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a passionate love story set in London and Paris about two astonishingly different men and one very pretty mess.

Please see the disclaimer at the beginning of the book for content some listeners may find triggering.

©2025 Lily Morton (P)2025 Lily Morton Literature & Fiction Romance Funny Heartfelt Witty Feel-Good England Money
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I know that with a Lily Morton book, I am guaranteed an MC with snark, comedy, some exceedingly heated scenes, and a hard fought HEA. And when listening with Joel Leslie narrating, it's the best way to spend the hours of your day!
Wes and Mac do not come together organically. Wes feels forced into a situation of his brother's making where he needs to make money quickly and his fellow student/possible friend, Julien, brings him to Jack of Clubs, a club where men can purchase the time of another but for quite the hefty fee.
Mac is the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. Along with brooding/grumpy. Wes's attention is caught immediately and his luck is in as Mac chooses him.
What follows are some of the hottest scenes for both the characters and the reader/listener. However, Max is determined to keep his distance while Wes struggles with the feelings that are developing for him.
Wes's family drama with his brother ebbs and flows through the story, keeping him on his toes as to what is happening with him, and how else the man might have impacted Wes's, and others, lives. With the rules that Wes and Mac have, it's not like they share information like this so it's his to deal with alone. But, of course, Wes clearly starts to have some sort of impact on Mac. With how he isn't quiet, compliant, and distant like others from the club, his openness and snark draw the older man in with slow increments being made into the distance he demands.
It's a fantastic story to read/listen to, with wonderful characters and drama for both men, but especially Wes. Joel absolutely brings all of the characters to life. I always enjoy the accents he provides and how their personalities shine through from the start.

**Content warning - gambling addict with side character. Death of parents in the past. Child neglect experienced by MC**

Fantastic story and narration!

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I adore the blend of snark, humor, and heart in Lily Morton's stories, and Pretty Mess was a delightful listen that captivated my whole being. Wes started this book in a rough place thanks to his brother's gambling addiction, and his journey chronicled how he picked himself up and figured out how to keep himself and his loved ones going. That led him to Julian and Jack of Clubs, an exclusive location for rich men and beautiful escorts to pair up and meet each other's needs. I found it easy to connect with Wes's perspective of the dazzling club and the even more dazzling men inside it, and Cormac was the one who stood out above all. I definitely feel like Cormac had some idea of what he expected an escort to be, and Wes was absolutely nothing like he planned. Even as I was reading through Wes's eyes I could sense how drawn to his sunshine Cormac was, and between their fantastic chemistry and their witty banter it was easy to forget their time together was transactional.

Cormac certainly tried to keep his distance -- he never stayed the night, shied away from answering personal questions, and kept their time focused on physical needs. It was all the little spaces in between that started to convince me of their deeper feelings for each other, and the more Cormac started lowering his walls and loosening his rigid composure, the more sure I felt that they had something real. Their inherent power imbalance made it difficult for either man to express what they were feeling, and that led to a hefty amount of pining that left my heart aching. Outside of the romance, Wes's brother was sliding deeper and deeper into a bad place, and it was worrying to see how that affected his relationships with friends and family. I knew that something had to give if Wes and Cormac were going to transition from a transactional relationship to a romantic partnership, but I was not expecting the events surrounding it to cut so deeply. Cormac and Wes had to seriously evaluate what they were looking for going forward, and though I'm happy to say they did eventually choose each other, it wasn't smooth sailing to get there. For me, the journey was what made this book so special, and I genuinely adored all the side characters that breathed life into the spaces surrounding Wes and Cormac's relationship. I'm crossing my fingers that Lily decides to return to this universe and write Julian a book of his own, but even if she doesn't I'll definitely be re-reading and re-listening to Cormac and Wes's journey.

Cormac and Wes

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Story: A great book with typical for Lily Morton elements: scorching hot chemistry, witty banter and brilliant dry humor. It took me a moment to connect with the characters, but they are multi-layered and lot of fun!
Narration: There is no Lily Morton characters I can ever hear in voices other than Joel Leslie. It's a duo that goes together amazingly well.

Lily Morton does it again

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Audiobook - excellent narration, which fits this story exactly.
Story - nothing unexpected, but still a very enjoyable story. The brother's addiction issues and the effect this had on everyone around him were sensitively written. Be sure to check the trigger warning (SA). Two sweet MCs who really deserved each other.

enjoyable

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MC Wes has his life planned out. Finish UNI, get his degree, and the rest will follow. Then he comes home one day to find a bunch of guys throwing all his (and his family's) belongings out of the house and onto the street. He and his SIL will be thrown out with them (none to gently) if they don't leave the premises as well. Wes soon discovers that his brother has a gambling addiction that included gambling away their house AND Wes's savings AND racking up $40,000 in debt IN WES'S NAME. He is at his lowest when frenemy Julian invites him to stay in his flat and introduces him to an unconventional way to salvage his finances and future...as an escort. Although he is not an MC I really liked Julian, the way his cavalier attitude conceals a heart of gold, and the way he was always there to guide Wes and give him an ear or a hand up when he needed it. He also gives Wes a list of rules to follow as a potential escort, which Wes promptly breaks, almost every one. The most perilous of which is not to fall for a client, which he promptly does with Cormac (Mac) Riley.

Cormac (whom Wes calls Mac just to rile him) is the epitome of a billionaire - cold, impersonal, selfish, ruthless - but he's also hot and great in bed, and Wes can't help falling for him. I absolutely loved the snark, insults, and back-and-forth banter between these two, and it really livened up the darker aspects of the story. Eventually Wes whittles away t Macs walls and begins to see a softer, generous side to the man. If course, it isn't smooth sailing, even once Mac starts to open up, There are surprises, old lovers, and a vicious assault (not by Mac) that send Wes reeling. And they are still a billionaire and a whore (Wes's word). How can they possibly have a future? Julian comes to the rescue again, along with Wes's SIL, Cormac's chauffer, and Mac's behind-the-scenes actions. Still, it will take opening of hearts, secrets and old hurts revealed, and honest conversations to give these two an HEA,

I liked the story, the MCs, and the ups and downs they went through, but I had a hard time connecting with Cormac/Mac. His turnaround from stoic, self-contained billionaire to sweet (almost sappy), caring lover was too sudden and unexpected to be fully believable. Also the ramifications of his (former) contract with Brandon didn't set well with me. There is a nice epilogue to the HEA and I still recommend the book/audiobook, but the suddenness of Mac's change just seemed too abrupt for me to be fully satisfied. YMMV.

The narration by Joel Leslie is fantastic. He really gives voice to Wes's emotions, and all the snark and slap-back by the characters is faultlessly delivered.

Making lemonade from lemons...and then some!

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