You're A Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky

An "effervescent" (Rachel Lynn Solomon) stand-alone Christmas LGBTQIA+ New Adult RomCom, perfect for fans of Schitt's Creek and Red White & Royal Blue.

BRING A LITTLE JOY TO THE WORLD? NOT TODAY, SANTA.

Matthew Prince is young, rich, and thoroughly spoiled. So what if his parents barely remember he exists and the press is totally obsessed with him? He's on top of the world. But one major PR misstep later, and Matthew is cut off and shipped away to spend the holidays in his grandparents' charming small town hellscape. Population: who cares?

It's bad enough he's stuck in some festive winter wonderland—it's even worse that he has to share space with Hector Martinez, an obnoxiously attractive local who's unimpressed with anything and everything Matthew does.

Just when it looks like the holiday season is bringing nothing but heated squabbles, the charity gala loses its coordinator and Matthew steps in as a saintly act to get home early on good behavior...with Hector as his maddening plus-one. But even a Grinch can't resist the unexpected joy of found family, and in the end, the forced proximity and infectious holiday cheer might be enough to make a lonely Prince's heart grow three sizes this year.

While part of a series, this book stands alone.

Note: The following original review for this book is old and does not meet current review standards. A fully rewritten review is planned.

A Holiday TV-movie taken straight off ABC family given a queer spin with harder hits and surprisingly solid pacing, in Boy Meets Boy #2 Janovsky takes everything that was good in #1 and refines it. While I enjoyed the first book in the series, I sometimes felt like I was over-scoring it because of how cute and breezy it felt vs directly looking at its objective qualities. This one beefs up all of the weaker elements with better execution.

The pacing is better, characters (especially the side characters) are more developed and complex, the overarching plot being more compelling and involved, I was pleasantly surprised given how predictable most holiday fairs can be. There are still the usual tropes of a Grinch warming to the holiday cheer but the plot twists and it’s conclusion help elevate the material beyond simply being cute. It also helps that the comedy is cranked up to an 11 thanks to the protag’s overdramatic spoiled rich boy persona. The first 50 pages of diva material can be off-putting but we love a good character development journey (I’m no expert on the matter but it takes a genuine stab at generalized anxiety disorder). Thought book #1 might’ve been a lucky fluke, now I’m invested and moving on to #3 in the anthology series soon.