Bunyip, A J Llewellyn

A wonderful, fun filled, romantic, M/M short read, that's about a man and his. ...bunyip?

- Review Kazza K

Such a lovely book. The book's official blurb tells you a lot. As much as you need to know going into any book. What it doesn't tell you is how absolutely charming this story is. I'm an Aussie, so I'm more than aware of 'bunyips.' And the fact that this book was about a pet bunyip was fabulous for me. The book was humorous, touching, and just plain delightful. Did Norman the bunyip exist? Norman, lol. Everyone (meaning Aussies) knows it's Bunyip Bluegum, a la The Magic Pudding.



Cute cover.

Steve has been invited to a speed dating event hosted by a friend of his, Silvana. Steve is perplexed and somewhat intrigued, in a car-wreck kind of way, by his fellow speed daters. Including, but not limited to, hair care issues, a heavy metal snake enthususiast, a de-skunking 'surgeon,' the next incarnation of Ra, and so it goes -

As first dates went, it wasn't bad. The guy had his own hair and nothing seem to be nesting in it. Steve glanced at the guy three seats down who was savagely scratching his head. Unlike him....

Cole rambled about his heavy metal music career...Mistaking Steve's silence for interest, Cole warmed to his apparent favorite topic, his snake, whose name was Fork, for his adorable forked tongue. That's it. I officially want to kill myself. Somebody shut this guy up!

The reincarnated Egyptian god would have been a lot more entertaining had he not been confused about certain key points in his incarnation as Ra......Steve quickly lost interest when "Ra" claimed that the ancient Egyptians invented pizza delivery.

And then he meets Alexio -

Alexio smiled then, Lord, have mercy. This guy was hot! He shrugged, looking bashful. "I'm a lawyer. Please don't hold that against me."

"Steve, do you love pets?"
"Absolutely. I have a dog and a cat."
"I love both." Alexio glanced down the row of men to his left. "I was beginning to think this would be the worst evening of my life. Some of these guys don't even like animals."

"What about you," Steve asked. "What kind of pets do you have?"
"A cat and a bunyip."
"A bunyip?" Steve had no idea what the hell it was and only hoped it wasn't a snake that liked to bite.

The two genial MC's, Steve Maddox and Alexio Manolis, are just lovely together. I enjoyed their bonding over their mutual love of pets, family, and the desire to meet that someone special. I loved how Alexio embraced Steve's beloved pets, Chloe and Scarlet. Steve's pets embraced Alexio with as much fervour. I smiled when Alexio worried about Steve walking Chloe of a night time without him, because the lighting wasn't so good. I enjoyed seeing Steve fall for Alexio in spite of the fact that Alexio may have a few sheep missing in the top paddock regarding his 'pet bunyip' -

Steve grinned. he was so intoxicated by Alexio he suddenly didn't care if the man was a complete psychotic who had an imaginary pet.

He checked the readout. A text message from Alexio. I can't wait to see you when you get here. Need to kiss you. xoxo. Shit. How could he be disappointed when the man sent him texts like that?

So, the jury's out on whether Norman the bunyip exists, but the way Alexio behaves, the way he lovingly talks about Norman, makes you think he just might. It doesn't matter. What matters is the sweet love story. The way these men love animals, and (then) each other, makes it worth reading just for that alone.

Are there a few niggles? Yes. But I don't care. They are totally over ruled by the charmingly infectious nature of the writing and the characters. Plus the writing was tight and the ebook well edited.

I love animals, I love pets, and I love people who love them as well. That bumped Steve and Alexio right to the top of the pile in my reading pleasure. I want to talk about the end... but I won't. I smiled and sighed. I loved Bunyip. If you love animals, a touch of the mythical, sweet, sexy men, and romance, then it's all waiting for you in Bunyip.