What a fabulous story! With a heartwarming plot, full of hilarious quotable lines, memorable moments, and fantastic characters I can never get enough of, this is one of the best books I’ve read lately.
This also applies to Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed, up to three outstanding books and counting.
Cassidy begins this latest book with the strange happenings in the city, the dark rainstorms and nightmares plaguing the characters. It’s all about Bruce Reyes, Dusty Le Frey’s maybe if she could commit ghost boyfriend . There’s been plenty of dream warnings/forecasts about Bruce, his grave being found, bone’s which definitely shouldn’t, because he’s a gatekeeper.
I won’t go into the splendid greatness that’s the plot here. Read it for yourself. Dive into the fabulosity of humor and thriller combined! It’s having Tris and Danny still working on their relationship, Danny’s newfound knowledge of the otherworld, plus getting to wallow around those drag queens, Chan the Queen being the main one.
Side wonders? A lava lamp death. And Death.
Charismatic characters, marvelous layered plot, thrilling suspense filled narrative run to the finish line that leaves a reader wondering what should I have ? A desert or glass of wine? I’m so happy.
Yes. I’ll probably reread immediately because I’ll have to wait until the end of the year for the next book to be released.
Until then, I’m happy to share my recommendation that you read this series if you’re a fan of paranormal romance. It’s a must! But read them from the beginning, none are standalones. Must be read in order to understand the relationships and character development.
Love the covers.
Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed:
✓ Dead Serious Case #1 Miz Dusty Le Frey #1
✓ Dead Serious Case #2 Mrs Delores Abernathy #2
✓ Dead Serious Case #3 Mr Bruce Reyes #3
◦ Dead Serious Case #4 Professor Prometheus Plume #4 – Dec 31,2023
Tristan Everett was finally getting used to the strangeness that was his life. Being able to see the dead and helping them solve their unfinished business and cross into the light wasn’t so bad after all, especially when he was accompanied by his best friend, dead drag queen Dusty Le Frey. His boyfriend, sexy Scotland Yard detective Danny Hayes, now knew the truth about Tristan’s “gift,” and they were about to move in together officially.
Life was good.
That is until Death—honest to god, Death (aka The Grim Reaper)—pitches up in Tristan’s kitchen with an unusual request: stop Dusty’s ghostly hookup Bruce from crossing into the light, which may result in dire consequences. i.e. an accidental apocalypse.
Determined to do the exact opposite, and avoid potentially the end of the world, Tristan and Danny assemble their own ragtag gang of one prickly witch, one snarky psychic private investigator, one living drag queen with an affinity for feathers, and one dead one with an affinity for a deceased rugby player in tiny shorts. Together they must solve a forty-year old cold case, while juggling a dose of the flu, a broken leg, a supernatural storm, and an immortal death deity with the looks and temperament of a sexy but grouchy CEO.
Seriously… what could possibly go wrong?
From Author Vawn Cassidy comes the next instalment of this hilarious and sweet paranormal romance mystery series
When a book leaves me laughing at the end, has me doing spittakes and in stitches in the middle, and absolutely captivated by the strangeness and unique nature of the characters at the beginning of the story, well 5 stars it is.
And Shelby Rhodes didn’t even include one cliffhanger this time! Murderous, pain-loving characters (yes, pls do read the trigger warnings), a vampire who is quite unlike any other I’ve read, and a snarling human hunter who gets him as a partner. Both seem to have mysteries swirling around them. Even better.
The writing is really great, moving the story forward quickly without sacrificing character growth or relationship development. There’s so much more going on here that’s it’s easy to miss the small details. Bombs going off,bodies everywhere, mythologies being laid down, an agency foundation and country laws pieced together for the readers and multiple species at the same time.
It’s fabulous and woven in a bit at a time. Along with a great cast of characters that support diminutive vampire Foxx Honeywell and hulking hunter Harlow Blackmore.
Those terms in no way even begin to describe how complex and dynamic this partnership will become.
I’m dying to have the next release in my hands! My mind is filling with possibilities about what is going on with both of them. I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Highly imaginative, beautifully written, yes! A five-star read! One I’m absolutely recommending.
The Unwilling Adventures of Harlow & Foxx:
✓ At First Irritation #1
◦ Taste of Fear #2 – Dec 15, 2023
Trigger Warnings:
“This is a slow burn M/ M paranormal romance series with heat. There will be blood, violence, gore, torture and death. Please do not read if you find any of the previous triggering.”
— At First Irritation (The Unwilling Adventures of Harlow & Foxx Book 1) by Shelby Rhodes
“Welcome, welcome. I can only guess you are here to read about my wonderful adventures? Oh, you don’t know who I am? Well, I’m Foxx Honeywell. An adorable, fierce vampire with a kink for violence. Anywho, this marks the beginning of my story. A story of violence, blood, possibly pain, and love. Though, the love part is not so apparent at first.”
So how does this story start, you may ask? Well, it starts with a simple—okay, maybe not so simple—law change, and a new job. I, Foxx, join the notorious Hunters Guild. An organization that used to murder my kind indiscriminately. But that was in the past. We’ve moved on and forward to better things, as paranormals are legal now! Yay, legal…
However, joining this government agency of questionable morals was just the catalyst of it all. Sure, the job is fun; lots of killing, maiming, blood, and even some explosions. But what is an adventure if you are all on your own? Boring, that’s what. No, the true satisfaction and fun comes not just from the job but from my partner on the job, Harlow Blackmore. The man is a sexy, silver fox of a human, who may or may not be a psychopath. He also possibly finds me irritating as hell. As any rational adult would, I choose to ignore those last parts and focus on the sexy! It will surely all work out in the end!”
I always have such mixed emotions about the last book in a series I absolutely love. I don’t want to say goodbye so I dread reading it but I also want to see where the author is going to go with the compelling, complex characters they have created. And how the author will do so within the context of the framework of the series themes they’ve set down.
Walker sends off The Storm Boys in a manner we might not have expected but one that is so much more than I anticipated. It gives Tully and Jeremiah the happiest of moments going forward, the satisfaction for us and themselves in their lives, and all the characters we’ve come to know and adore.
If I were to be greedy, yes, I’d want holiday special stories. And yes, I hope I get them. But am I in love with the way they ended here? Yes.
Storms and lightning. Jeremiah ‘s traumatic past, and how it’s still been a lightning rod in many respects for Jeremiah, holding him back , from being able to see himself in certain roles, to being able to say I love you to Tully. Walker brings all this into the story, weaving it into their evolving relationship. Tully’s family is a terrific source of narrative joy here, with great characters and supportive, meaningful conversations.
Tully’s character is one who has always been an impulsive person away from the family but now a traumatic event causes major emotional changes in Tully’s perspectives. It’s realistic, painful, and makes Tully even more vulnerable .
It’s hard to describe how the layers of loss, tragedy, and trauma are combined, pulled apart, rendered into something more meaningful, and the new reality becomes more complex and , through Walker’s writing, something beautiful.
I love these men. I truly hope that the author will visit them again. But if not , I know this series just became a comfort read.
I highly recommend it and this book. Read them in the order they are written! And enjoy!
The Storm Boys:
✓ Outrun The Rain
✓ Into The Tempest
✓ Touch The Lightning-finale
Second Chance at First Love: Prequel to The Storm Boys
Without a working office, Jeremiah is tasked with repairing the automated weather station on Oxley Island. It’s remote, only accessible by boat, and with there being a good chance of crocodiles, he’s dreading it.
Tully, on the other hand, can’t wait.
With a boat licence, his dad’s boat, and two days alone with Jeremiah—and with thunderstorms likely—to Tully, it’s another perfect adventure.
But their plans go awry when Jeremiah’s research gets far too close for comfort. Thirty years ago, the day his life was touched by lightning, he was changed forever.
It’s about to change again, only this time he’s determined to set things right.
If you’re familiar with Brigham Vaughn’s hockey series , Road Rules, then you’ll know where the reader’s seen the characters before:
“…Charlie appeared on page in Unwritten Rules, I knew I needed to tell his story. I had already planned to revisit the Toronto Fisher Cats team who were featured in Bending the Rules and knew Dustin would have a story.”
— Author’s notes, The Husband Game : An M/M Hockey Romance (Relationship Goals Book 1) by Brigham Vaughn
I have to admit I wasn’t. But after reading this outstanding story of recovery, resilience, and love, I’m absolutely backtracking to pickup those two books and the rest of that connected series.
However, I don’t believe I was missing anything by not reading those books prior to coming at this new series and novel. Vaughn’s ability to thread certain elements and subjects into her storylines and character traits beautifully prepares her readers for the real issues that arise here that Dustin and Charlie need to address.
Ah, those wonderful men ! Vaughn has created two incredibly compelling and different characters in Toronto Fisher Cats ice hockey captain Dustin Fowler and former Olympic figure ice skating champion Charlie Monaghan. They quickly became two of my all time favorites.
Dustin is a new captain trying to make his team come together after some trying times and an emotional retirement of a beloved teammate. Charlie has deeply hidden illnesses, rooted in his childhood, his abusive relationship with his mother, and the sport he loved but grew to see as so toxic.
I think this is one of the best examples of the “woke up married “ tropes I’ve read in that the author working back from that ridiculous scenario, starts to build a beautiful and believable relationship story between these two people.
Especially when one is still fragile and hiding a secret that’s so important to his health and well being. This condition is one that’s slowly revealed in the storyline but it’s no surprise , given the sport, that we’re talking about an eating disorder.
Brigham Vaughn’s realistic and sensitive written treatment of anorexia, including scenes and discussions about eating disorders, come with a trigger warning from the author. So please read.
Charlie is a layered, endearing character in a multitude of ways. His mother has damaged him , emotionally and physically with her parenting skills or lack of, and her husband enables her. The way it’s implied until the end is so skillful.
Charlie is amazing, from his outlook and continued resilience that’s making his recovery so successful to the bravery that will let him go forward with the relationship.
Dustin too, shouldering the weight of the team , needing help and learning how to deal effectively with his own struggles with being a better leader.
I loved the way the author lead us and the characters through a new chapter in each other’s lives, slowly becoming friends and then as they grow closer, more confident together, falling in love.
This was a great surprise and a total favorite. I’m highly recommending it as well as going back to read those other books.
There’s another story on the way. Check it out below.
Relationship Goals:
✓ The Husband Game #1
◦ The Head Game #2 – Sept 22,2023
Description:
Hockey Captain Wed in Secret Vegas Ceremony – Partner’s Identity Remains a Mystery
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Or does it?
Toronto Fisher Cats ice hockey captain Dustin Fowler attended the NHL awards and came home with more than the Ted Lindsay Award.
A cryptic social media post from the hockey forward himself revealed that he was wed in a secret ceremony in Las Vegas this past weekend.
His caption stating, “Sorry, ladies, Toronto’s most eligible bachelor just went off the market. I married my kitten tonight and I’ve never been happier,” sent tongues wagging across the league.
But who is “Kitten”?
Without verification from either the team’s head office or the new groom, rumors swirl about exactly who Fowler’s partner is.
A credible source from within the organization suggests that “Kitten” is none other than retired men’s figure skating champion Charlie Monaghan.
We here at JockGossip would like to offer our warmest congratulations to the newlyweds.
TRIGGER WARNING: Contains scenes and frank discussions of eating disorders (anorexia) and past parental abuse/neglect.
Into The Tempest moves the story and our characters from the rain drenched lowlands wilderness of Kakadu National Park to the sunny port of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. The switch in locations brings us to Tully Larson’s home, where his family and his family’s shipping business is situated, giving the reader and Jeremiah another perspective on this seemingly simple, yet complex man.
It’s also allowing Jeremiah a new opportunity, however unsought at first, for being in charge of Darwin’s Bureau of Meteorology, an antiquated tiny satellite branch of that agency that time seems to have forgotten.
Walker’s stunning continuation of her Storm Boys series is no less remarkable, suspense filled or adrenaline driven by having removed itself from a naturalistic landscape to that of the port city of Darwin.
The romance between Tully and Jeremiah is firmly intertwined with the meteorological phenomenons central to each book’s narrative. Here it’s Tropical Cyclone Hazer bearing down on Darwin, with Jeremiah’s small, decrepit station, full of outdated instruments, at ground zero. It’s the station for all the area’s emergency data and meteorological information going out to the public and other agencies. And it’s all done manually , by one person.
I’m not sure if Walker has weathered through a cyclone or how she’s able to get to the heart of this storm in the manner that she has, because , through her amazing writing, Cyclone Hazer becomes a major narrative catastrophic event that creeps into the literal air , moment by moment, energizing the characters, and then the community.
The sheer power of vivid imagery, the violent nature and intensity that builds throughout the story of the impending disaster is felt, not just by Tully, worried about his family and community, but by Jeremiah, feeling the weight of responsibility for things outside of his control, and for characters like the constantly retiring meteorologist Doreen and her wife, Suri, whose PTSD is being triggered.
There’s more fascinating and compelling elements here. That of family, lighting, romantic relationships, and commitments. And a community that will need to be rebuilt at the end. Plus a baby Magpie.
But this story belongs to Tropical Cyclone Hazer, Tully, Jeremiah, Doreen, and Bruce, Doreen’s small ever present dog. That small group that heard the frantic beeping that starts it all, that turns this book into a narrative powerhouse.
I can’t imagine it ending at a third story. Tully and Jeremiah are so strong, so complex and moving a couple, that surely it will take more than just one more book to finish their arc. I could spend 10 novels with them and not be done.
Yes I’m highly recommending this book , but pls read them in the order they are written to understand the characters and relationship growth.
The Storm Boys:
✓ Outrun The Rain
✓ Into The Tempest
◦ Touch The Lightning-July 18, 2023
Second Chance at First Love: Prequel to The Storm Boys
Jeremiah Overton is now in charge of Darwin’s Bureau of Meteorology, and his storm chaser boyfriend, Tully Larson, couldn’t be happier. For Tully, it means watching summer storms with the love of his life but for Jeremiah, it means relearning everything on equipment that’s older than he is.
But summer storms also mean it’s cyclone season. While Tully’s no stranger to tropical storms and the occasional cyclone, for Jeremiah, it’s a first.
As Tropical Cyclone Hazer bears down on the city, Jeremiah and Tully prepare to stay behind. Jeremiah knows what to expect, theoretically, but living through it is a different story.
“That is totally spacy! Oh my God, Duri, that is super spacy! Like beam me up, Socrates!” Eli huffed and glared at me. “What now?!”
Excerpt From
The Chanteuse and the Bodyguard
Yes, as Gigi/Eli says “what now?” What am I going to do without this absolutely magnificent, beautiful, and heartfelt series about drag queens getting their happily ever afters In Mother Sitka’s Campo Royale’s drag club in Wilmington, Delaware.
I love so many of Locey’s other hockey players and series but this? It’s special. And that narrative magic has grown book by book, couple by couple. It started out strong and it’s ending just as endearing and more deeply satisfying than when we first all met backstage at the club, amidst drag queen chaos.
Locey gives us a mystery, a new perspective on a drag queen who’s been a part of the series from the beginning, that’s Jo Jo Jewels! Aka Duri Yoo, a Queen whose makeup and drag appearance is inspired by the Asian BL characters and anime series he’s so crazy about . Jo Jo and Gigi are also the only queens who actually sing their own songs instead of lip-syncing.
Duri is such a beautiful character, whose personality and demeanor are due as much to his family and cultural background and support as it is to his own sweet nature. Concerned about his body , due to harmful bullying, and past relationships, Duri is a darling we can immediately relate to.
As his bodyguard does. Keaton Black Bird, owner of his own security firm, has had his firm hired to guard Gigi when fan letters and gifts turn violent. As Duri is Gigi’s best friend, the duty extends to both.
Locey weaves a wonderful story , one that draws the reader in on many levels. There’s the funny, snarky friendship between Gigi and Jojo, two queens sharing wigs and tea backstage, the family Duri has at home, and then the marvelous developing romance between Duri and Keaton .
It’s almost impossible to choose which aspects of this book I enjoyed most. Gigi is a favorite of mine, able to deal out the bast shade while being all up in everyone’s business. What a Queen! And to pair her up with Duri, who’s drag is so different and who’s personality is just as mesmerizing but in a totally unique way, it’s just works to highlight each of them to the best extent.
The romantic relationship side between Keaton and Duri let’s us into each person’s world, their backstories, their fears, their “realness “, and the foundation where they connect and relate on a emotional level. Outwardly different, inwardly touching and connecting. Locey makes it so easy for the reader to see into this dynamic and get it!
We love these two characters together immediately and jump right on their journey together.
It’s a wild one, complete with stalking fan, nasty gifts, and some very scary moments. If the stalking is a trigger for you, please take note.
It all ends on a positive and lovely note back at Campo Royale with all the Queens and their significant others.
Is this the end? Likely. But perhaps, if we’re good, Locey might deliver up a Christmas reunion story or two to help us through our withdrawal.
I’m so sorry for the series to end, but thrilled I got to know them all. I’m absolutely recommending all the books, this included.
Read them in order for a fabulous journey through the love lives of the Queens of the Campo Royale!
It’s going to take all his skills to keep an innocent songbird safe.
Duri Yoo is struggling with life. Maybe the funk that’s hanging on his shoulders like a soggy sweater has to do with his thirtieth birthday, which is just around the corner. Maybe that blah feeling is due to everyone at the Campo having found their true heart’s desire except for him. Over the past few months, Duri has started questioning everything right down to if he needs to change his stage name from Jo-Jo Jewels to…well, he hasn’t a clue. All he knows is that he’s feeling down in the dumps. Heck, even his fellow queen has picked up a new secret admirer/super fan. He’d stamp a high heel in vexation, but the way things are going the darn heel would snap right off. When he’s sure life couldn’t get any worse, he’s proven wrong. And yet horribly right…
Keaton Black Bird’s job is straightforward. He’s hired to protect people. Generally, ridiculously rich business tycoons or heads of state. Being hired to keep a drag queen out of harm’s way is a new one for the former Secret Service agent. However, he’s being paid incredibly well to ensure that one of the Campo Royale’s performers isn’t harassed off-stage while the tiny queen’s hockey playing boyfriend is on the road. It’s while he’s protecting one drag queen he meets another, and the connection to Jo-Jo Jewels is undeniable. Keaton’s never been in such a unique situation before. All the men in his past were more or less like him: austere, professional, athletic. Jo-Jo is none of those things, but the owner of Black Bird Executive Protection is falling hard and fast for the delightful and quirky songbird. Unfortunately, emotions tend to cloud the mind, and Keaton and Duri soon find themselves in a situation that’s far more dangerous than either of them could have imagined.
The Chanteuse and the Bodyguard is a bodyguard romance with an anime-loving songstress, a rugged guardian, lots of BL adoration, a huge loving family, rainbow-toned wigs, unexpected danger, and a techno-colored happily-ever-after. (This book contains scenes of stalking/violence that some may find upsetting.)
Well that was as close to absolute perfection as I can remember reading in a series finale, especially one as intense, as incredibly complex as well as mentally challenging at times to read as this one.
I will miss this universe and characters so.
And it starts where Saffron Wilds ends, on that heartbreaker of a cliffhanger (spoiler alert for that novel) with the God Darkness having lodged itself firmly within the body of Nick King , San Amaro police detective/alchemist and now husband of Fae Parker Ferro, the Windrose of the Fae Courts.
But Kai Butler has created over the course of seven books a fascinating, magnificent labyrinthian plot that involves a World Tree with ties to worlds and thousands of realms outside of that of Earth, the Fae Courts and its duplicitous politics that extends beyond into eras long ago and the murderous schemes of the Gods, which can mean the end of everything.
And what Gods and power struggles Butler’s has thrown at us! Most are ones we have some knowledge of, even with the author’s twists and unique perspective on one’s such as the Mother, the Sun, Darkness, the Trickster (my personal favorite), and Santa Muerte, among the main gods.
Cypress Ashes offers up the most imaginatively beautiful to think about scenes and elements, one’s I’m still trying to wrap my mind around. Magical test battles between two great spirits, Reality and Distance, with one a titch drunk on the power being offered up. It’s witches, alchemists, Laurel (if you know you know), Nick, and Parker, trying to figure out a meaningful way to fight the Sun God and what that’s means to everyone’s moral compass and mental health. Huge questions the author is asking on multiple levels.
That’s only a tiny fraction of what this story has to offer up in terms of elaborate narrative design and exciting storytelling.
There’s Sugar, the incubus, Runt, the not cat, Prometheus, the demon not dog, all the great brownies characters from the garden, the blade Tremble that can bring lightning, the Five Dragons, every important element and character, and maybe quite a few that slipped under a reader’s notice from previous books. All have important roles to play here. Some villains even find a surprising redemption.
The power of family and love, whether it’s on a small or infinitely universal and complex scale is also a key here. Where Shannon, Parker’s foster mom is now a God, Mother , to be exact, the nurturing aspect of her being that saved Parker now becomes the element that helps save everything. And Parker’s love for Nick and San Amaro.
There’s so much that Butler pours into this finale , all the narrative threads that needed pulling together, the interwoven storylines of all sizes that we needed to know how they evolved and ended. We got it, as much as we could when gods are involved.
I expect Butler is ready to move on. But I’m not. So I’m diving back in, to experience this again and see what I missed out in the first reading.
What a wild ride, what a magnificent journey this has been! Don’t miss out!
But the books absolutely must be read in order for the characters growth, the revelations, and plot details to make sense. Enjoy the books and the ride! I’m highly recommending the series and this finale!
In the heart-pounding conclusion to the San Amaro Investigations series, Parker faces down enemies on all sides, including one within his own family. With his city under lockdown, Parker is fighting for everyone and everything that he cares about.
The fate of the thousand realms rests on his shoulders. What’s a local PI to do?
In one sweet, moving, and foreboding scene from the Prologue, Lark manages to set her characters and simultaneously break our hearts even before the present day story begins.
It’s a succinct , heartbreaking sentence and we’re pulled in and completely crushed emotionally.
I’ve been a huge fan of Lark’s Perilous Courts series since I read the amazing Prince and Assassin book with it’s haunting, damaged character of Whisper, one of the famed Kennel hound assassins who ends up with a Prince of the intriguing Silaise Kingdom, Julien. It was my favorite book, until now. Mostly because of the Kennel Hounds aspect and the character of Whisper who has managed to remain such a strong, complicated character throughout the series.
Stories one through three centered around the three Princes, their magical abilities, and the power structure of their matriarchal Kingdom of Silaise.
Now Lark switches focus to a new realm but one that’s had a huge impact on the other stories and kingdoms. That’s Draskora, an island Kingdom that’s incredibly powerful, incredibly wealthy and with a magical ability for weather. But more importantly, it’s has two things no one else has and everyone else wants. Scalestone, a purple stone that is mined and dragons that need Scalestone. The kingdom that has one, controls the other.
Its people are also known for their purple colored eyes (see Whisper), an effect that comes from the Scalestone. A harsh, cruel place that is mirrored by its rulers, King Imrik, his bloodmage wife, and his three sons, two of whom are adopted through coercion treaties with neighboring kingdoms forced to give up their sons. The other a natural son considered spoiled if a bit unstable.
Prince and Bodyguard starts the Draskoran three son arc.
This is the story of how Vana Kaiskara Tellik of the Kingdom of Kaiskara became Vana Dire, adopted son of Imrik, wielder of storm powers, along with his bloodguard Daromir Azri.
It’s got everything. Magic, dragons, political schisms within the ruling family, layers of pain and damage to the characters and unbelievable chemistry to the dynamics between Vana and Daromir.
The author continues to weave her world arc threads into the ongoing drama, here bringing back characters from prior novels as well as elements such as the Kennel Hounds, and Fellrin fellcats, which will help set up the next novel.
It’s a series that is playing out like a huge board game but we can’t yet see all the pieces. I’m sure Fellrin or Kaiskara is coming,knowledge of each of those places have been very interesting but limited.
And the prize or prizes at stake are Scalestone and dragons which will see that whoever has them has the power or potential to control what the other kingdoms are able to do logistically, monetarily and influentially.
But as rich as this is in details, as layered in cultural fabrication and depth of imagination, it beats at its center a heart that’s guaranteed to make you weep more than once , and then want to shout for joy.
It’s that fabulous a story and a journey for two men over time.
Yes, definitely my favorite. And one I’m highly recommending, along with this incredible series. But it has to be read in order to understand the complex character relationships, the situations and story development.
Vana Dire can’t show weakness if he wants to survive the Draskoran court. The only man he can be vulnerable with is Daromir—Vana’s magic-bound bodyguard. The binding lets them share each other’s pain, and Vana depends on Daromir’s comfort as much as his services as a guard. Vana could never risk their friendship.
Even if he craves far more than Daromir’s loyalty.
Daromir Azri sees a side of Vana nobody else sees. Behind closed doors, the cold, elegant prince is kindhearted. Vulnerable. He needs Daromir. If Daromir’s devotion sometimes feels like something else? Daromir must be mistaken. His duty comes first, and he’ll do anything to protect Vana—including one thing he’s never done before:
He’s keeping a secret.
Then their magic bond changes, and suddenly Vana and Daromir don’t just share pain anymore. Each shared sensation pushes their friendship to the breaking point, just when Vana and Daromir need each other most. They’re facing a mysterious ambassador, a chaos-stirring prince, the consequences of past schemes—
And an assassin seeking Vana’s life.
Prince and Bodyguard is a gay fantasy romance with pining, hurt/comfort, and codependent cuddling. The Perilous Courts series is best read in order, and Prince and Bodyguard begins a new three-book arc about the princes of Draskora.
How I love Outrun the Rain by N.R. Walker, the first in her new series, The Storm Boys. It’s about two men we met in the prequel (Second Chance at First Love), one a storm chaser, and the other a scientist who studies lightning and storms, who’ve arrived at Kakadu National Park to do just that.
This book reminds me so much of the experience I had the first time reading Walker’s amazing Red Dirt Heart series! It’s in discovering the true layers to the characters, and exploring a richly detailed and diverse terrain that’s unique to Australia and foreign to me. The more I read, the deeper I was emotionally invested in the men, and this journey they were on together.
Walker is able to bring us inside the hearts and minds of each of these startling different individuals with such clarity and love.
To Jeremiah Overton, a fulminologist, lightning is not just a scientific subject matter but a powerful natural phenomenon that’s effectively changed the course of his life. This character is so complicated, so tightly packed up that his layers and history are only revealed through hard won bits of conversation that rewards both Tully Larsen and the reader.
Tully Larsen, the storm chaser , so at home here at Kakadu where he spent long days with his father, and now by himself, chasing storms, watching the wildness happen, is also a bit of an enigma. Until he lets himself open up equally to Jeremiah, each man fully being themselves with another person for the first time.
And the reader feels their emotions, the joy, hesitation, wildness, and love of the experiences they share on this amazing journey to capture data of major storms up close.
Of those storms and the natural dangers inherent within the territory they are located, like swift flooding and crocodiles , Walker has us believing in those too with realistic descriptions and a wealth of knowledge that translates so well into an emotional narrative.
Was I ready for them to head home? No more than they were.
Luckily, there’s two more books in this series. If they are like this one, then I can see The Storm Boys sliding next to Walker’s Red Dirt Heart series as must reads for me. It’s that great.
Where one is dry red desert, this has sheets of endless green, rain and lightning strikes that never seem to end. What amazing bookends!
Ones I’m highly recommending.
The Storm Boys:
✓ Outrun The Rain
◦ Into The Tempest – June 27, 2023
◦ Touch The Lightning-July 18, 2023
Second Chance at First Love: Prequel to The Storm Boys
Tully Larson has loved tropical storms since he was a kid and spent his summers with his dad in the wilds of Kakadu National Park. He’s happiest outdoors, a rough and ready kind of guy who loves the power of Mother Nature and chasing the thrill of electrical storms every chance he gets.
Jeremiah Overton, a fulminologist from Melbourne, chases storms for a whole different reason. Lightning has shaped his entire life and he’s driven to study it, to understand it, so heading to Kakadu in the middle of the storm season is a logical thing to do. After all, the Top End is the lightning capital of Australia.
Tully wasn’t sure how a week at his remote bunker with an academic type would pan out. And Jeremiah didn’t expect much from the storm-chasing cowboy who volunteered to take him.
But both men know all too well that when opposites attract, lightning strikes.
London 1885. Someone is killing molly boys. Horribly.
And in a terrifying window into this horror mystery story, we get to know just enough of each victim to empathize with them, then be with them as they walk to their deaths.
I had no idea.
Victorian England is such a harsh country to reside for certain individuals. It’s most livable if you’re lucky enough to be born into the aristocracy, especially the first born sons with expectations of inheritance. Less lucky, the spares of the landed gentry. Not necessary for the inheritance, you are pushed into the strict religious world, or married off, generally dealt with. Unless you are blessed with money of your own.
For those who have (well hidden) feelings for the same sex or what’s considered perversions, it’s a time for social charades , for subtlety and masks of every kind to hide your sexual persuasions behind. Because to reveal your truths is to risk not only scandal, but prison , potentially death. It’s to lose everything.
Vaun Cassidy captures this era and marginalized society in every raw , detailed aspect of its aristocratic lifestyle. As well as the poorer people who are hanging on about its edges. There’s the sex parties, the hazy drugs, and flowing alcohol. The entitlement, the fear of discovery, and constant knowledge of being trapped in a lifetime of denial.
The aristocracy has its ways. All of which are done in secrecy. Hidden apartments and rented houses in certain neighborhoods, where passwords and marked passages are in use.
It’s glittery, sordid, over flowing with young boys and older men, richly decorated, dimly lit, and eerie with an atmosphere that makes you feel unsettled. Especially , eventually knowing a murderer is hunting.
Lord Everett Stanley is a spare. He’s bound for the clergy by his father’s instructions and agreements. And he’s dying inside. A beautiful man, he’s been extending the inevitable by endless partying with his closest friend, a wealthy sybarite who’s lucky enough to have control of his estate, the drugs and alcohol are plentiful as is the forbidden sex.
Until the deaths start. Of young men they know and recently partying with.
Inspector Archibald Franklin is in charge of the investigation, and it’s hitting him close with his own hidden secrets.
Vaun Cassidy’s does exemplary work here , from the rich, sordid atmosphere of the secretive “perverse” world of Victorian England to the emotionally powerful characters Cassidy whose lives we get involved in. The narrative builds in evoking both the horror of the victims in their innocence , moments before they die , the thoughts of the murderer as he stalks his victims, the complexities of the investigation , as the lives of Inspector Franklin and that of the desperate Stanley collide , along with that of the terrifying killer.
Truly, the storylines are mesmerizing in how the layers of voices combine to build a narrative that so enthralls the reader, even as it becomes horrifying, that you can’t pull away.
The slow relationship that becomes so meaningful and so fragile between Stanley and Franklin, given each man’s status and the circumstances of their lives. Fraught with uncertainty and hopelessness, and yet still so desperate to go forward.
It didn’t end as I hoped but probably as it had to. Which is a realistic embodiment of the era and a logical, thoughtful response to the author’s characterizations and storylines.
Our hopes fall in the anticipation for the next installment in the London Underground series and the hard scrabble endurance and creativity these characters have shown themselves capable of. I don’t know what the author has planned but it will certainly be something compelling and complex, possibly traumatic, and maybe with a glimmer of hope. Maybe not.
I’ll be there to see what happens next.
Highly recommend but not for those of a queasy stomach or too kind a heart. Beautifully written historical horror romance.
For Lord Everett Stanley, escaping his fate seemed impossible. As the second son, he’s destined for ordination and the life of a Reverend, but he’s hiding a dangerous secret. The laws punishing homosexuality by hanging may have been repealed but he and others of his kind are far from safe. Given no other choice, they take solace in the underground molly houses of London. Now that fragile world is threatened when the East End is rocked by a series of gruesome murders.
Inspector Archibald Franklin worked hard to overcome his working-class roots, making a name for himself as a respected inspector of Whitechapel’s H Division, but when he begins to investigate the deaths of several beautiful young men, fate throws him into the path of the handsome and enigmatic Lord Stanley. His gut instinct tells him the young lord knows more about the murders than he lets on, but the closer he gets, the more Everett calls to him in a way he’s tried to deny his whole life.
As a reign of terror grips London, they are drawn together in order to stop a monster, but for Archie, the growing feelings he has for Everett are a betrayal of the very laws he has sworn to uphold. And as the killer closes in, the two men find themselves bound together by a passion that may be their ultimate salvation or their utter destruction…
For Lord Everett Stanley, escaping his fate seemed impossible. As the second son, he’s destined for ordination and the life of a Reverend, but he’s hiding a dangerous secret. The laws punishing homosexuality by hanging may have been repealed but he and others of his kind are far from safe. Given no other choice, they take solace in the underground molly houses of London. Now that fragile world is threatened when the East End is rocked by a series of gruesome murders.
Inspector Archibald Franklin worked hard to overcome his working-class roots, making a name for himself as a respected inspector of Whitechapel’s H Division, but when he begins to investigate the deaths of several beautiful young men, fate throws him into the path of the handsome and enigmatic Lord Stanley. His gut instinct tells him the young lord knows more about the murders than he lets on, but the closer he gets, the more Everett calls to him in a way he’s tried to deny his whole life.
As a reign of terror grips London, they are drawn together in order to stop a monster, but for Archie, the growing feelings he has for Everett are a betrayal of the very laws he has sworn to uphold. And as the killer closes in, the two men find themselves bound together by a passion that may be their ultimate salvation or their utter destruction…
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 