Category: Contemporary fiction

Review: Forever Finn (Belong To Me Book 3) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 4.75🌈

I’ve been binging this series so I’m sad to come to the last of the available books because I’ve definitely fallen in love with this series and group of characters.

The original focus of the series has expanded from the Ainsley’s and partners to their friends who are a devoted active extension of this warmhearted family. As the foundation and lovely group of people living in the bay has developed, this small town has never felt more welcoming and dynamic as it does now.

Wyatt Trainor is a Canadian immigrant, a veterinarian who works with Jesse Ainsley in his clinic and is finding that everything about the bay feels like home. Except for his love life. Wyatt is a wonderful character we started to get to know in previous books but really gets established here.

It’s Finn Gallagher who’s such a compelling character, that wounded man who has fled back to the bay, filled with secrets, pain, and an inability to see how he can move forward. On the surface, a successful straight movie star but Cassidy is able to give the reader the real man whose emotions are in turmoil due to his long held grief and repressed sexuality.

Cassidy is incredibly moving in crafting a strong storyline that pulls together several characters, three books, and a heartbreaking event and turns it into a realistic, compelling final chapter for everyone who was so deeply impacted by this event and loss.

Finn’s story has so many great layers to it. He’s trying to determine his future, announce his sexuality, figure out his home, fight for a new relationship he’s building with Wyatt and protect a old love/friendship from ramifications of all of the above.

It’s that last part, his best friend, and fellow actor, Sky, that I wish we had known about in greater depth. I understand it wasn’t her story but in so many ways, it was. And the glimpses we got of the character that Cassidy created, it was interesting enough that I wanted more. Of Sky and the unique family they seemingly formed at the end.

Cassidy’s characters are so beautifully drawn, so real, that’s it’s easy to become invested in each of their stories and their lives. I always want more of what happened next.

Plus there’s all these fantastic people that call the bay home that the reader looks forward to seeing in each story, like Molly and Bernard.

So now I wait, having happily binged my way through this fantastic series and this great story. I’m so excited to recommend them all but read them in the order they are written to get the relationships and event development as it happens.

Belong To Me:

✓ Suddenly Beck #1

✓ Definitely Deacon #2

✓ Dear Las Vegas, Thanks for the memories #2.5 -author mailing list or paperback book

✓ Forever Finn #3

◦ Irrevocably Ryan #4

Buy Link

Forever Finn (Belong to Me)

Blurb

Finn Gallagher has it all, a beautiful girlfriend, a successful Hollywood career, a condo in Malibu and more money than he knows what to do with. He should be happy, but there’s just one problem, he’s gay and he’s been lying to the entire world. When he walks out on his career a couple of days into shooting his latest movie, he’s finds himself inadvertently heading straight back to the small Cornish bay he grew up in.

Wyatt Trainor has only recently left his native Canada and relocated across the world, taking a job as a local veterinarian in a quiet little bay in Cornwall. Just out of a bad relationship, he’s happy with hook ups and one night stands until a chance meeting in a dark nightclub brings him face to face with his celebrity crush.

But when a drunken encounter unexpectedly turns into something more, they find themselves admitting there might just be something there worth exploring.

• Publisher: (September 14, 2022)

• Publication date: September 14, 2022

• Language: English

• Print length: 168 pages

Review: Definitely Deacon (Belong To Me Book 2) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 4.75🌈

I will admit I’m loving this series so much that I’ve grabbed up all the available novels and read them right through. So I know that the heartwarming feeling of found family and all inclusive community that the Bay represents just increases as each couple finds happiness and works through the trauma that comes with each homecoming and wonderful relationships.

Yes, I’m definitely a fan.

Definitely Deacon begins the migration home of for many of the important characters that are a part of the Ainsley family story. Deacon’s impact here is enormous, both in his main character role and as a avenue to bring the series a influx of fascinating people/friends. Friends who themselves will then a become just as important in expanding the series foundation in terms of found family and types of topics covered.

Grief and loss is always central to this series. Whether it’s the loss of patriarch Sully to cancer (one thread of the first book) or here the loss of Cody, Deacon’s brother and close friend of the Ainsley’s, in a car crash, it’s the impact of that loss, on all the those left behind that’s a factor here. And on the one that ran away.

Cassidy does a great job in developing the characters of Jesse Ainsley, twin to Beck, vet, with a long standing love for Deacon James, boat racer, party boy, the one who left the Bay after Cody’s death. And what little friendship they had seems done. Jesse is a person who is easy to relate to, with some issues he’s working hard to address.

Deacon is a character the author introduces under extreme circumstances. Then lets us get to know him as he recovers back in the bay, where the past and his present combine to finally get him , along with Jesse, and all the rest of the group there, to move him forward.

This is painful, funny, emotional stuff. Also sexy and romantic. That ending was satisfying and hilarious. There’s a follow up short story called Dear Las Vegas, Thanks for the memories. It’s available either for free when you sign up for the author’s newsletter or if you buy the paperback. Either way, a must giggle fest.

Now to await, along with the author’s many other books/series, the book four. And more, hopefully.

These are all a definite recommendation.

Belong To Me:

✓ Suddenly Beck #1

✓ Definitely Deacon #2

✓ Dear Las Vegas, Thanks for the memories #2.5 -author mailing list or paperback book

✓ Forever Finn #3

◦ Irrevocably Ryan #4

Buy Link

Definitely Deacon (Belong to Me)

Blurb

An emotional and humour filled roller-coaster ride through a sleepy little Cornish Bay.

Jesse Ainsley’s life running his busy veterinary practice in the sleepy Cornwall bay he grew up in leaves no time for a serious relationship… at least, that’s what he tells himself, but the simple truth is much more cliché. He’s been in love with his best friend forever, but when he starts pulling away and goes radio silent on him for six months, Jesse begins to wonder if their friendship is finally over.

Deacon James lives his life at two speeds, a hundred miles an hour and stop. He’s spent the last decade travelling the world, winning races, partying with the most beautiful men and women, and living life on his terms, a life which was pretty close to perfect… with just one caveat… he’s never quite been able to get over the boy he left behind. His best friend Jesse has always made him yearn for something he’s too afraid to face and cutting him out of his life seemed like the only answer.

But things are never that simple. When Deacon wakes from an accident in Italy with Jesse asleep in the hospital chair beside him, he discovers Jesse’s been keeping secrets of his own.

At a crossroads in their life, they’re faced with a choice, build something deeper and stronger from the ashes, or let words unsaid and secrets tear them apart forever.

From author Wendy Saunders writing as Vawn Cassidy comes this second chance, friends to lovers, hurt/comfort with a HEA.

The paperback copy also includes the bonus short Dear Las Vegas, Thanks for the memories.

This short story can be accessed by joining the author’s mailing list. The story is adorable!

Review: Suddenly Beck (Belong To Me Book 1) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 4.5🌈

I’ve read this author’s other paranormal/fantasy books and just love them, so I thought I’d grab up the contemporary romance series written as Wendy Saunders/Vawn Cassidy.

So far I’ve read just the first book but I can see that this is just the beginning of a wonderful new literary journey for me. A accidental one where one runaway Nathan Elliot flips a coin and, after a series of mistakes ends up in the Bay, a small coastal town near Newquay, Cornwall. Literally.

This is a heartwarming, sweet, and captivating story that has a gorgeous location, a memorable large family mourning the loss of its beloved father, a restaurant in need of rescuing, and two wounded men who seem destined for each other.

Suddenly Beck is a book I just immediately sank into, loving the characters, the Bay and all the various relationships that the author has written into this story. There is the growing relationship between Nat and Beck as they maneuver through the present tasks around them, learning slowly about their respective personalities. Then there’s Melanie, Beck’s mother who owns the restaurant and still mourns the loss of Sully her husband and the father of her large family. And all the many other fantastic moments and characters that Cassidy brings so beautifully alive as Nat becomes an integral member of the Bay and Beck’s family.

There’s more, so much more. Nat has a sister with a secret. And that large Ainsley family of Beck’s has many more relationships to share with us.

I can hardly wait.

This coastal town is a place I would love to visit often. I’m not sure the family is large enough! Highly recommended!

Belong To Me:

✓ Suddenly Beck #1

◦ Definitely Deacon #2

◦ Forever Finn #3

◦ Irrevocably Ryan #4

Buy Link

Suddenly Beck: (A Hot & Sweet MM Romance) (Belong to Me)

Blurb:

A surprisingly sweet, sinfully sexy, and deliciously funny romp along the Cornish coast.

Nathan Elliott has run away from home at the age of twenty-six. His teenage rebellion may have come ten years late, but better late than never. Leaving behind a world of wealth and privilege, and a strict patriarchal family that would never except a gay son, he’s ready to embrace life and make up for lost time, but nothing’s ever that simple. A coin toss, a delayed train, and a wrong bus later, and Nat finds himself in a small bay in Cornwall being hauled out of the ocean by a gorgeous stranger and wondering how the hell his life got so off track.

Beck Ainsley lives life by a very simple ethos, don’t get attached, don’t get involved and don’t fall in love. He’s been there, done that and got the t-shirt that reads I’m a gullible idiot. Now, he keeps his life simple; all he needs is his dog, his art, his rambling sea cottage overlooking the bay and a few choice waves to surf. He’s not looking for love or commitment, but when he ends up plucking a posh boy from London with incredible blue eyes from the ocean, Cupid doesn’t just shoot him with an arrow, he decides to club him senseless with the bow too.

One simple agreement. A summer fling, a chance to act on the insane attraction between them with no strings attached, and at the end of the summer they walk away.

There’s just one problem, fate is a fickle and capricious creature, and she has no intention of letting them walk away unscathed. They’re about to discover that sometimes the heart wants, what the heart wants…

From author Wendy Saunders writing as Vawn Cassidy, comes this hot and sweet, first time, MM romance that will leave you laughing out loud and fanning yourself from the heat…

The paperback version of Suddenly Beck contains a bonus short, The Italian Job featuring Nat & Beck

• Publisher: Tangled Heart Press (July 23, 2021)

• Publication date: July 23, 2021

• Language: English

• Print length: 326 pages

Review: The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson

Rating: 5🌈

“I’ve been standing by this kettle, making tea for Arthur and me, for sixty-two years. Two different houses, god knows how many different kettles, but always me, always him, always a morning cup of tea. He’s at the kitchen table, pen in hand, tackling the crossword. He’s opened a window and I can hear birds chirruping in the garden. A blackbird, I think, and a robin. A whole conversation going on that means nothing to me.”

How can a book break your heart when you’ve barely begun reading it?

As we drop gently into the opening of The Last List of Mabel Beaumont and the lives of long married couple Mabel (our narrator) and Arthur Beaumont, we will feel as though we are there, with them. It’s intimate, awkward moments that get under the skin, dry yet so very heartfelt.

I saw this on a Pride Month bookstore recommendation page and something about that title and cover had me wondering what the author had created to pull on me so. I hadn’t read anything by Laura Pearson and so I was totally unprepared for the spare, concise eloquence of the language, of the fullness of her characters as this quiet powerful narrative starts.

Nor was I ready for Mabel, 86. A woman who had slowly emotionally removed herself from all around her, unless she was on a bench visiting the graves of her mother and brother. Pearson, in one of the most incredible ,moving novels, ends Mabel’s emotional isolation with one event. It starts with one unfinished note from her Arthur after his death. This eventually sets Mabel on a remarkable journey of lists, community, discovery, reconnection, and life as it begins again. At 86.

“We are silent for a moment, memories spooling between us. There are so many, and perhaps we can live off them.”

— The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson

Even as I traveled through scenes of Arthur Beaumont ,89 ,and his wife, Mabel, 86, lives at the beginning of this book, knowing it was a LGBTQIA novel and that Mabel is to make a search for a person from their past, I made certain assumptions.

Throw out all such things when reading this astonishing story. Simply put, read it, admire the beauty of Pearson’s ability to bring this incredible woman , as well as her companions, indelibly to life, no matter their age or status or lifestyle. They are vividly depicted, raw in their pain or joy, whether deeply loved or grey in their stressful relationships, no matter 17 or 86.

There are very real men here. Equally important. Arthur, briefly alive, always present, even in death. And Bill, William Mansfield, beloved brother and friend. And others who thread through their lives and live on the edges of this community of women.

Mabel goes from a state of grief and self imposed isolation into one of that of a woman stumbling out of an emotional drought, now ready for all the opportunities that come with loving and being alive.

I’m still sitting here thinking about so many different scenes, about the women, their lives and how much of an impact they made on each other, the words they spoke, the imagery that Pearson painted.

I believe a hardback copy of this book is soon coming my way. It’s memorable and one that I’ll be rereading. And recommending.

Don’t pass this incredibly beautiful book by.

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Last-L…The Last List of Mabel Beaumont: THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER eBook

Blurb

The list he left had just one item on it. Or, at least, it did at first…

Mabel Beaumont’s husband Arthur loved lists. He’d leave them for her everywhere. ‘Remember: eggs, butter, sugar’. ‘I love you: today, tomorrow, always’.

But now Arthur is gone. He died: softly, gently, not making a fuss. But he’s still left her a list. This one has just one item on it though: ‘Find D’.

Mabel feels sure she knows what it means. She must track down her best friend Dot, who she hasn’t seen since the fateful day she left more than sixty years ago.

It seems impossible. She doesn’t even know if Dot’s still alive. Also, every person Mabel talks to seems to need help first, with missing husbands, daughters, parents. Mabel finds her list is just getting longer, and she’s still no closer to finding Dot.

What she doesn’t know is that her list isn’t just about finding her old friend. And that if she can admit the secrets of the past, maybe she could even find happiness again…

A completely heartbreaking, beautiful, uplifting story, guaranteed to make you smile but also make you cry. Perfect for fans of A Man Called Ove, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and The Keeper of Stories.

Review: Deadly Little Sparrow (Mafia Bound Book 1) by K. M. Neuhold

Rating: 4.5🌈

Deadly Little Sparrow is K. M. Neuhold first book in the new Mafia Bound series and it’s one wild, sexy dark ride. It’s a great combination of revenge, romance, and a combustible red hot D/s relationship set in a crime family environment and potential territory fights.

All that and some well crafted, delicious characters made for a strong story that I didn’t put down until it was over.

The basis is the Italian crime family headed by Lorenzo Moretti. I suspect each member will have their own story but we start with their enforcer/assassin, the Angel of Death, Xaviaro Saviano. Deadly, calm, bespoke suits and Italian loafers. He’s extremely efficient and considered a member of the family. Everything in his life is just rote until he runs into trouble in the form of a revenge seeking Sparrow.

I enjoy the dichotomy between them. It’s the vibrating, smaller rage-filled Sparrow who fills the void and energy here, up against the almost rock like calm of the huge assassin. Until they actually clash, and the upheaval begins.

Their relationship is one of extraordinary chemistry, D/s, and it absolutely works. Neuhold weaves together their growing desire for each other, along with Sparrow’s hunt for revenge as well as how it’s impacting Xav’s job and professional dynamics. It’s multilayered and well executed.

The author introduces the readers to the rest of the family, exploring the Moretti universe and encroaching crime families, while also revealing more about Sparrow and Xaviaro’s own histories.

For readers who might be anticipating scenes of extreme violence, read the trigger warnings. However, I will say I believe that this is on the less extreme side of the dark spectrum when it comes to these kinds of fiction. That’s my opinion at any rate.

If I had a small quibble, it was that the end was tied up too tightly and quickly. After all that build up, it felt like the revenge aspect was rushed and reduced to a few moments. Did parts of it ring true? Yes, those responsible probably didn’t know what Sparrow was referring to. Too many crimes had passed. So maybe it did make sense to have it happen that way. You decide what you think.

I’m definitely recommending Deadly Little Sparrow and can’t wait for the next book in the series to be released. A absolute winner.

Great cover too. Definitely drew my attention!

Mafia Bound:

✓ Deadly Little Sparrow #1

◦ Beautifully Savage Butterfly #2 – Sept 6,2024

Buy link

Deadly Little Sparrow (Mafia Bound Book 1)

Blurb

Is there such thing as love at first bar fight?

I may be small and pretty, but what I lack in intimidation factor, I make up for in violence.

I made a vow five years ago that the motorcycle club responsible for my brother’s death would pay the price, and I’m finally ready to collect. May God have mercy on the men who hurt my brother, because I don’t plan to.

Accidentally breaking the nose of the deadliest man in the city wasn’t my best move. Xaviaro Saviano, trigger man for the Moretti Crime Family… and now my own personal stalker. But if I have to go through him to deliver well-deserved justice, so be it.

As strange as it sounds, Xaviaro seems to want to help me more than he wants to hurt me. I can’t shake the man no matter what I do. Threatening him feels like foreplay, tying him up only turns him on… I could play nice, but that’s never been my strong suit.

I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t starting to grow on me, especially when he calls me his Deadly Little Sparrow from his knees. I’ve never met a man who could handle me, let alone one who can’t stop begging me for more.

Can love and revenge live in the same heart? I guess there’s only one way to find out…

• Publication date: June 7, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 293 pages

Review: First Dates and Birthday Cakes: MM Romantic Comedy by Isabel Murray

Rating: 4.5🌈

I have been an absolute fan of Isabel Murray since I read Gary of a Hundred Days. Everything since has just cemented this author as a superb writer, one of great hearted, strong characters as well as wild, imaginative plots. I hadn’t read much if any of her contemporary works.

First Dates and Birthday Cakes is a gentle, wonderful contemporary romantic comedy. It’s also one that takes all the elements that I associate with this author’s writing in her fantasy novels like layered characters, and wonderful settings, and showcases it here in a contemporary story.

Ben Porter is turning 40 when the story begins. It’s the morning of his birthday, one he’s been dreading. And, honestly, Ben is every one of us who has been in denial about any kind of birthday that is a milestone in life. Instant connection!

What’s worse is he told family and friends not to make a big deal and then they had the nerve to actually listen to him. I was already laughing at the reality of that moment and the real emotional reactions Murray was vividly conveying.

Memories of a birthday past , way way past, has Ben scurrying off to an ice rink and his future.

This is so humorous. Warmly real, awkward, and so very true to each man’s spirit. Plus there’s a fantastic best friend, a mother who I love even though we see her briefly. We know her. Murray has brought every character exquisitely to life no matter how long or short they appear in this story.

I ended up smiling at the imagery and ending. And vowing to go through the rest of Murray’s contemporary catalog.

I’ve left my favorites below. I’m including this as well. Enjoy!

Favorites by Isabel Murray:

Merman Romance :

Catch and Release

Must Reads!

Fantasy Romance :

Gary of a Hundred Days

Gary the Once and Former King

The Naiad’s Gift

— First Dates and Birthday Cakes: MM Romantic Comedy by Isabel Murray

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › First-…First Dates and Birthday Cakes: MM Romantic Comedy eBook : Murray, Isabel

Blurb

Ben Porter is turning forty, and he’s not being cool about it.

He told his friends and family that he wanted to let this particular milestone pass by without any fuss, and for once, they actually listened.

Which is great. Because now here he is, sitting in his kitchen on a rainy Saturday morning, all alone, and he can feel himself aging.

So he decides to do something about it.

And maybe throwing himself a last-minute ice-skating party for one in an attempt to recreate the carefree birthdays of his expired youth wasn’t the best idea. Or the most normal. He’d even go so far as to say it was a terrible idea, as there’s a non-zero chance that his impromptu birthday activity will turn into an impromptu birthday trip to the hospital. Because despite the fact that he remembers being pretty hot stuff at skating?

He’s not. He’s really, really not.

He’s so incredibly bad at it that a tall, gorgeous member of staff—who actually is pretty hot stuff—has to come over and scrape him off the ice, just so he stops ruining everyone else’s Saturday.

Except Jake isn’t a member of staff, he has an ulterior (romantic!) motive for helping Ben, and Ben’s worst birthday ever is about to take a surprising turn for the better…

First Dates and Birthday Cakes is a 33k-word romantic comedy novella with a midlife crisis, a big surprise that Ben really should have seen coming, and something that looks a whole lot like happily ever after.

• Publisher: (June 4, 2024)

• Publication date: June 4, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 132 pages

Review: Stoned to Death: A Jamie Brodie Mystery (Jamie Brodie Mysteries Book 8) by Meg Perry

Rating: 3🌈

Stoned to Death is book 8 and I’ve already bought two more, but based on this, and the reviews I just read yesterday for book 22 , released oddly enough in 2022, I think I can say I’m done with this series and probably Meg Perry.

And that’s a shame because I’ve really enjoyed the mystery aspects of the series, the dynamics between the Brodie family, and getting to see the interesting inactions of the various librarians and libraries that they work for. That had been where Meg Perry, herself a librarian, has excelled.

Perry’s research on different subjects and depth of knowledge has been a huge key part in making each plot so compelling and wanting me to go forward with the rest of the series.

However, for me, the larger issues are ones that have always come from the relationship between librarian Jamie Brodie and ex cop, now professor of psychology, Pete Ferguson. Jamie himself is a fine character, with some interesting emotional baggage and ex’s in his background. His brother is a detective, he’s close to his father, it’s a wonderful, close knit family with strong bonds.

It’s Pete who’s the issue and his relationship with Jamie. And honestly the strange way in which this author has approached their romance (or strong lack of), the flags it waves for a toxic relationship despite that these books are simply full of therapy and a shared therapist who is determined for Jamie to stick by Pete. Plus there’s just zero sense of connection, or chemistry, or love between them. For books and books and books.

We are told that Jamie has feelings. And in what would be very similar to what is being categorized as “love bombing” now Pete repeatedly tells Jamie he loves him, pressuring him on various aspects of their lives when Pete feels threatened including, pressing him to get married. All while not wanting to have sexual relations with him.

There’s a very good reason for this. It’s due to his traumatic experiences with a priest in his childhood. And he’s been in therapy since then. Pete is a character you could empathize with, if he wasn’t in a relationship with Jamie. Because here he’s a toxic person. It’s everything his way , he uses fear to keep Jamie in the relationship. Pressure, money, he moved a homeless Jamie immediately into his house after Jamie and his brother has lost theirs to arson. It’s flag and more. But the author is writing about him as though he’s not a problem.

I had thought maybe it was due to the fact that this was published in 2015 and perspectives about relationships dynamics had changed since then. But reviews in 2022 show that no, the dynamics between them are still very much the same. So the writer has kept them there in their roles for 23 books. Unfortunately.

Stoned to Death has the potential to change so much here. And it comes up lacking. This sees Jamie and Pete at a critical moment again because of their lack of a sexual relationship. Or an uneven one. Jamie has given up trying for one that satisfies him and it’s showing in his face and physical condition. And Peter hasn’t noticed. They’ve brought it up to their therapist who has, again, told Jamie to proceed with their plan.

This here has a ton of flaws. From every angle. The plot and author’s intent.

The storyline is one of an archaeological mystery involving one of Pete’s Scottish relatives. It’s got bog bodies, upper crust ladies with shovels, homophobic relatives, intrigue amongst old archaeological sites, and a lot of personal struggles between Pete and Jamie. That only goes nowhere when it could have served to launch a change into the status quo.

While I’m listing issues, here’s another example:

“No. There are even popular reality shows about archaeology on British TV because there’s so much history to dig up. We don’t have that.”

That’s a quote that just serves how dated the story is, that two white American highly educated men, one a librarian and the other a professor, would utter these Anglo-Saxon phrases or perspectives, especially Jamie , a librarian who has been such a great proponent for different cultures and races in the stories. That’s indigenous culture erasure and it would be very hard to imagine that statement being made today. But I still find it hard to believe that Perry, as a librarian, had it as a viable thought from her main character even in 2015. That’s very disappointing.

And that’s primarily how I view the whole story. Disappointing. From every angle. There’s a good couple of elements, such as the old memoirs interspersed with the current events that lets us see into the past vividly. But , again the potential is lost as the mystery is not really explored thoroughly.

No recommendations. I have two books I bought to complete and then my journey here is complete. Shame.

Buy link:

Stoned to Death: A Jamie Brodie Mystery (Jamie Brodie Mysteries Book 8)

Blurb:

In 1915, farmer and amateur archaeologist Robert Thomson disappeared from Scotland’s Orkney Islands with a priceless Stone Age artifact. A century later, his great-great-grandson, Pete Ferguson, is coming to Scotland with boyfriend Jamie Brodie to meet his distant cousins and investigate Robert’s disappearance. But the homophobia of the Thomson patriarch threatens to derail their quest – and a chance meeting in a pub in Oxford brings Pete and Jamie’s relationship to a turning point.

• Publisher: (February 4, 2015)

• Publication date: February 4, 2015

• Language: English

• Print length: 159 pages

The Jamie Brodie Mysteries – 23 books

✓ Cited to Death

✓ Hoarded to Death

✓ Burdened to Death

✓ Researched to Death

✓ Encountered to Death

✓ Psyched to Death

✓ Stacked to Death

✓ Stoned to Death

◦ Talked to Death

◦ Avenged to Death

◦ Played to Death

◦ Filmed to Death

◦ Trapped to Death

◦ Promoted to Death

◦ Published to Death

◦ Cloistered to Death

◦ Haunted to Death

◦ Obsessed to Death

◦ Deserted to Death

◦ Drugged to Death

◦ Resigned to Death

◦ Snowed to Death

◦ Enchanted to Death

Dirty Laundry: The Jamie Brodie Short Stories (Jamie Brodie Mysteries)

Sequel series:

An Angeles Investigations Mystery

◦ Cheated to Death: Book 1

◦ Hunted to Death Book 2

Review: A Stealthy Situation (Franklin U 2) by Saxon James

Rating: 3🌈

Please note I’ve got spoilers for the story below.

Franklin U is getting a second set of couples and the twins from a famous hockey family , seen previously in James and Eden Finley’s hockey series (Puckboys and CU Hockey). Think the brothers Westley Dalton / Asher Dalton combination from CU Hockey which along with their partners, bled over into the other series.

Now the twins Emmett and Benny are grown and in college. This is primarily Benny’s book with a good deal of Emmett thrown in. Emmett’s story is the romance that ends this year’s crop of couples.

Honestly, while I liked the character of Harrison/Bowser and his story which carried plenty of interesting elements. For me, the rest of the narrative was filled with storylines that had issues.

It begins with the twins. The idea of interchangeable identical twins who swap out parts of their lives , think Parent Trap, is really cute and fun. When the characters are kids or preteens. And the reason they do so is one the reader or viewer finds relatable.

But then age those kids into adults, college students. And they are still pulling the same trick. Only this time , it’s college classes. One takes an English course for one, the other takes math. Because it’s easier and they’ve always done it for each other.

Cool right? Except it’s cheating. They are doing it for a degree. No one knows about it. That it’s wrong is something that isn’t brought up until it the book is almost done and they’ve been caught by Benny’s boyfriend.

Now this the peculiar thing about the story. Almost at the end , it’s discovered that Benny has a serious learning disability. The author gives it a name and has the brother see a therapist to get tested. But it’s at the end of the story and so much goodwill and exploration into his troubles with math are completely ignored over the need for cute texts, twin stories, and Greek life. Had the reader known about this issue earlier, it would have changed everything. But no. The author wanted a shocking revelation late in the narrative.

This story and the twin’s life is full of explanations that need further detail and exploration as to why they were left to their own development, one that has served them so poorly. But any references to their parent’s death and its impact are quickly glossed over and forgotten.

Over and over again, when any element or aspect of their lives comes up that could have been used to give depth to the story, it’s discarded or used as a brief sentence or two in discussion.

Perhaps it’s the added pressure to get both of the brothers involved in the story, along with Harrison. Harrison, imo, has the best developed thread and well defined character of the three of them. Then that weird Epilogue that jumps ten years into the future.

It’s just one strange choice by this author after another.

Emmett ,who disappears from the scene , has his own story from Eden Finley, that is released last. I read the description and it’s very much along the lines of the one set out here.

I think this is one story readers will either like or not really be invested in. Count me among the latter.

MEET ALL THE COUPLES OF FRANKLIN U2!

🔷The Hookup Mix-up by Riley Hart (Perry and Theo)

🔷A Stealthy Situation by Saxon James (Harrison and Benny)

🔷Batting Style by Louisa Masters (Blaise and Jordan)

🔷Level Up by Max Walker (Jay and Ryan)

🔷Full Service by Cora Rose (Silas and Everly)

🔷Tongue-Tied by Christina Lee (Dex and Austin)

🔷Method Acting by N R Walker (Chase and Amos)

🔷Twincerely Yours by Eden Finely (Emmett and Jonah)

Buy link

A Stealthy Situation (Franklin U 2)

Blurb:

Harrison

My life’s goal? Make plants fun!

I’m gonna be fighting for flora when I’m older and it all starts with auditing stats so I can level up for my masters, and lucky for me, the intriguing guy in my class is a math whizz.

He’s standoffish at first, but after a class where I bet my sitcoms can make him laugh, one bet leads to another and we’re hanging out all the time. Even though I know he’s interested in me, we’re easy friends, until I start to think I might be a little interested in him, too.

The only problem? He seems like a totally different guy in class to when we hang out. I brush it off as him trying to concentrate, but then I spot something I can’t explain away.

A scar. On his palm.

One I’m positive Benny has never had before.

Benny

Since we were little, my twin brother and I have always switched things up–literally. It started as funsies, and now we’re college juniors and still taking each other’s classes. I suck at Math, he sucks at English, and we both have a rule not to make friends in class as the other person. Our system is perfect.

Only Emmett has the audacity to get sick right before stats and I have to actually show up for my own class–where I meet my future husband.

Harrison is smart, weirdly into plants, and we instantly hit it off like old friends.

Only of course the gorgeous mountain of a nerd is straight.

Just when I’m telling myself to let my dreams of matching rings go, our text messages become constant, flirtier, deeper than I’ve had with any other guy before. My butterflies have butterflies every time we catch up.

And then I get a text from Emmett: I’m so sorry. I think I messed up.

• Publisher: May Books (June 14, 2024)

• Publication date: June 14, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 294 pages

Review: Stacked to Death: A Jamie Brodie Mystery (Jamie Brodie Mysteries Book 7) by Meg Perry

Rating: 3.25🌈

I’m slowly working my way through Meg Perry’s Jamie Brodie’s Mysteries which tops in at a whopping 23 novels. So it’s not uncommon that every single one is a great read.

Stacked to Death, the 7th story, is one I found dragged on in a number of places. The author, a librarian herself, gives an overly detailed account of Jamie’s his department’s meeting notes at the beginning of each chapter. Honestly, after I realized they had little to do with the murder or theme of the book, it was something I quickly skipped over.

Then there’s the many troubled aspects to Jamie and Pete’s relationship. That and their talks with various therapists take up a large portion of the storylines. Pete’s perception of their relationship, their differences in sexual drive, and how his traumatic past is affecting them. It’s also Jamie, the financial imbalance to go with the sexual tension between them.

That’s primarily the majority of the novel, with the murders almost taking a minor role here. It shows in how the murders and the investigations are laid out. It’s not smoothly executed. There is another team of detectives thrown into the case for no apparent reason, and many aspects of the case are never explained or satisfactorily addressed by Perry in the way it has in preceding books.

It’s as though the author got hung up on the couple journeys through therapy and anything else became an afterthought.

Such a curious relationship as there’s never been any real chemistry between Jamie and Pete. So oddly enough, it’s a case of an author writing about a couple that is together because other people want them to be. Both brothers, father etc. And Pete with his fears of Jamie leaving him.

Yet there is much, other than the relationship, to recommend about the characters.

Anyway, I’m onto the next in the series.

I think this is one that could be read because you want to complete the series or skipped because the next will fill in the blanks for you.

The choice is yours.

The Jamie Brodie Mysteries – 23 books

✓ Cited to Death

✓ Hoarded to Death

✓ Burdened to Death

✓ Researched to Death

✓ Encountered to Death

✓ Psyched to Death

✓ Stacked to Death

◦ Stoned to Death

◦ Talked to Death

◦ Avenged to Death

◦ Played to Death

◦ Filmed to Death

◦ Trapped to Death

◦ Promoted to Death

◦ Published to Death

◦ Cloistered to Death

◦ Haunted to Death

◦ Obsessed to Death

◦ Deserted to Death

◦ Drugged to Death

◦ Resigned to Death

◦ Snowed to Death

◦ Enchanted to Death

Dirty Laundry: The Jamie Brodie Short Stories (Jamie Brodie Mysteries)

Sequel series:

An Angeles Investigations Mystery

◦ Cheated to Death: Book 1

◦ Hunted to Death Book 2

Buy links:

Stacked to Death: A Jamie Brodie Mystery (Jamie Brodie Mysteries Book 7)

Blurb

Library work-study student Austin Sharp upset a lot of people. When Jamie Brodie finds Austin dead, strangled to death in the library stacks, the police have plenty of suspects. When another library work-study student is found strangled, the focus of the investigation shifts – both students were from the same hometown. Then a third student is found dead. A serial killer is on the loose, and the police send in detectives from the elite Homicide Special unit.

And their favorite suspect is Jamie.

• Publisher: (October 15, 2014)

• Publication date: October 15, 2014

• Language: English

• Print length: 246 pages