Man of the Year (Vice & Virtue #3) by Bianca Giovanni

In this continuation of the Vice & Virtue series friends-turned-lovers James and Lola are in Las Vegas for the Adult Video Awards. He is up for the biggest prize of the night, Man of the Year, and with his recent retirement, he's bound to win. Will an event celebrating his previous sexual exploits challenge his relationship with his inexperienced girlfriend? How will Lola cope with being thrust into James' spotlight? By the end of this whirlwind weekend, the two will learn that what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas

Four Stars

“I love you, my beautiful girl,” I whisper to her. “I love you so much. I’ve always loved you. I’ll love you forever, Lola. Forever and ever.” 

I was ECSTATIC when I found out Bianca was going to continue James & Lola's story. I thoroughly enjoyed the mini stories and I really enjoyed the full-length novel that is Vice, Virtue & Video. I am a huge sucker for friends-to-romance stories. There’s just something about falling in love with your best friend. It’s like fast-forwarding the getting-to-know-you-phase, and just head onto the bedroom. LOL. Yea, you know there’s nothing wrong with that. 

“What can I say? I fell in love,” I shrug. “I know it sounds totally corny but my heart belongs to her and I seriously can’t even consider having sex with anybody else.” 

So this story takes place about three months after James and Lola finally declared their love for each other. Now that he’s with Lola, James has decided he can no longer remain in the porn business. He’s quite a big actor in the Adult Entertainment world and has had his share of a lot of women. Now that he’s retiring from this career, he’s getting more exposure. They’re in Las Vegas to attend the Adult Video Awards, where James is nominated for a ton Adult Video Awards, including Man of the Year. Lola is there to support him, but feels completely out of place. 

I don’t belong here. I can’t hang with these people, go to events like this, watch spontaneous gangbangs pop up in corners, hear a vengeful slut tell me that I’ll never be enough for James… 

Poor Lola. She is indeed out of her element here. First off, James is the only man she’s ever been sexual with and considers herself very inexperienced, especially considering James has probably slept with the majority of people at this award show. She is beyond intimidated by everything around her. Shit, I would be too. I mean, put yourself in her shoes: I felt awful for her when they started showing clips of all the nominees and the variouspositions there were all in. I would be mortified if I had to endure watching my boyfriend’s sex scenes, let alone watching it with a room full of people he probably fucked. Damn! I felt for her, but she held her own…at least for a little while. There were a lot of vengeful women hating her: It is because of her that their beloved James is leaving the business. Her anxiety is very understandable. Will she be enough for James? 

“Seriously, let’s break this down,” I continue. “I’m getting beauty, brains, humor, crazy-ridiculous-insane hotness and that smart mouth that I love. You’re getting a guy who dropped out of college, who has no valuable skills, whose only claim to fame is having a big dick and who’s going to be shunned by real society the second I leave the Valley. 

I love James. He loves Lola so much, it was so sweet to read. I love that he’s leaving the business for her. They really do belong together. The sex between James and Lola is still scorching and James just practically worships her, in and out of the bedroom. I just love him. However, I did have some gripes with the story. One: Lola’s constant giggling was grating on my nerves. I’ve never met a heroine who giggled as much as she did, even during some hot sex. WTF?! I wanted to slap her a few times and tell her to quit it. LOL. Two: I wanted to see more of possessive and jealous James. I love when men get all-primal and claim what’s theirs. Three: I wished it were a little longer. The drama towards the end could’ve been elaborated a little more, rather than Lola forgiving James immediately. Not that James did anything wrong, but I wished she had explained her concerns a little more. Aside from that, I really enjoyed this story and made a great addition to the series. I can’t wait for more :)