Category: Contemporary fiction

Review: Dark Water : A Gay Mystery (Daniel Owen Welsh Mysteries Book 2) by Ripley Hayes

Rating: 3🌈

Dark Water is a mystery novel that , upon reading it, engenders as many conflicting feelings as it has elements to its story.

I like the author, Hayes’ ability to bury ,within the narrative, a deep understanding of the Welsh language, culture, and the issues that have arisen throughout the towns and villages.

Tragically, with a dark presence that’s almost poetic, Hayes incorporates the damage that industry and climate change has wrought upon the landscape and the lives. It’s in the near constant rains, flooding that pours over everything, seeping wetly in every section of their lives. You can feel the dampness, and mold, and decay coming off the pages and imagine the despair that some of the people might feel.

The descriptions, the verbiage, the backgrounds, the locations, the mysteries, and the perfection that is the town’s policeman Daniel Owen’s, for which English is his second language, that’s the strengths of the series and this story.

Unfortunately it’s paired with some other aspects that , imo, work against the most connectable and well written parts of this story.

First would be the multiple points of view here that the author has chosen to use . Sometimes this works well for a novel, especially when the voices are incredibly distinct. But here? They tend to muddle the forward momentum of the storytelling, when the reader has to struggle to understand or remember who exactly a narrator is.

There’s too many people talking. They aren’t either defined clearly enough to care about them that they’re memorable, if they’re a sort of main character like Raven, then they’re so chatty in a bad way that instead of making them interesting, they come across as self indulgent drug dealing narcissists. Teenager or not, that’s not a voice I want to spend time with. Raven is a not.

And then we have Veronica. Who’s Veronica? Oh right , after some back reading. That’s not a good thing.

Then there’s Maldwyn Kent . He was the DCI in the last story where he and Daniel started a relationship I didn’t believe in. Then they left to return to their respective careers.

Now in a act that defied every Mal had told Daniel in the past, he arrives In Daniel’s home town, where Daniel’s been acting DCI, takes Daniel’s long awaited promotion for himself, without prior notice to Daniel who he ghosted after the events of the last book. Kent’s been vocal about his dislike of the Welsh language which is the default language of the village he’s now the DCI of. Mal Kent is also been outspoken about his desire to return to London, getting away from Wales as quickly as possible.

Now in this story, he is quick to initiate a push/pull attitude or relationship with Daniel that raises huge flags.

Kent’s dismisses Daniel’s ideas, tells him to speak English (what a clear message to the village and Daniel that amounts to bigotry), then insists Damien not call him “Sir” as though they were still intimate. Flag, flag, flag.

This clear disrespect of Daniel’s police acumen, even though he’s been a police officer a long time and knows this village intimately, is remarkable. Especially in the the author seems to think we should disregard this attitude when it comes to their romance.

We get little in the way of a romantic journey here. Anything that might bring us over is done “off page “. They had lunches or dinners together, that had happy conversations. Oh joy.

Does that help the reader understand what Daniel sees in a non communicative, dismissive, high handed guy whose suits is papered over with flags? No, it does not. Other than how good looking Mal is.

How small is the dating pool over there ? Plus there’s the moment Daniel sleeps with a good friend. That felt more real than anything with Mal, to be honest.

Then there’s his sister who’s all you’re so adorable together. Really? When. Because it’s not here on the page. It makes zero sense.

Most won’t like the mystery either. It wasn’t fully formed, and resolved. Too many holes, too many gaps in the plot threads surrounding this element.

And the ending is a mess.

Dark Water is totally different from Undermined. Different style, different number of personalities and perspectives, muddy plotting. And the relationship between Daniel and Mal just went from mediocre to why is a great guy having a relationship with the man buried under a mountain of red flags.

I’ll continue on if only for Daniel and the locals in his village. Mal Kent? No.

Daniel Owen Welsh Mysteries:

✓ Undermined #1

✓ Dark Water #2

◦ Leavings #3

◦ A Man #4

◦ Too Many Fires #5

◦ An Allotment of Time #6

◦ A Teachable Moment #7

Buy Link:

Dark Water: A Gay Mystery (Daniel Owen Welsh Mysteries Book 2)

Description:

It’s not a good Monday for DI Daniel Owen.

A body in a wheelie bin. Missing teenagers. His ex turning up as his new boss.

A secretive teenager, a nosy secretary, an idealistic social worker, and a dodgy fruit and veg salesman all have pieces of the jigsaw. If Daniel and Maldwyn can trust each other again, they can put the pieces together.

But time is running out, and at least one child’s life is in danger. It’s been raining for weeks, and the flood waters are rising, threatening to engulf them all.

Review: Liar’s Gambit ( The Elite Universe) by Kelly Fox

Rating: 5🌈

10/10 Fabulously Recommend!

Liar’s Gambit by Kelly Fox is one of the top highlights of The Elite series, nine novels written by different authors. At the heart is The Anonymous, a mysterious club housed in a historic art deco hotel that caters to the needs and whims of the wealthy, who are often of the blackest or at least grey natures. That extends to their businesses, professions, and perhaps proclivities.

Within the boundaries of The Anonymous, all are protected.

Liar’s Gambit begins where a Hitman’s job ends. Nigel , a hitman with a sorta conscience, heads towards a potential new assignment and company that his handler has passed on to him. It’s shortly after his latest job ends, and he’s in need of a hotel room, something to eat , to go along with his meeting.

It’s all about to take place at The Anonymous. His client , Wilhelm, a gorgeous billionaire, with a mission that’s a bit quirky, retrieve a rare coin, maybe hit a couple of people. All sounds very nebulous, and yet he’s still on board with the idea. Must be Wilhelm.

I have to say Kelly Fox must be inundated by now with requests to write further novels about these characters. They definitely deserve it. They are simply sublime.

From their dangerously wry and sometimes disturbing inner commentary, about the events and each other, to the kinky , hot sex, and fast paced games of thrilling suspense and violence, this is an incredible story!

The men, their swift building relationship, and , that stunning “I never saw THAT coming “ twist at the end which made you go immediately back to the beginning and start all over.

Do NOT read anything with spoilers because that ending shouldn’t be given away. It’s that great!

What can I say? Outstanding characters, tightly packed and plotted storylines, an out of this world twist, and fabulous ending.

Liar’s Gambit ( The Elite Universe) by Kelly Fox is top notch entertainment! I wish I could rate it higher!

The Elite Multi-Author series (9 Books):

✓ Reckless Roulette by Alice Winters

✓ Leave No Trace by Michelle Frost and Sammi Cee❤️

✓ Ace of Maids by K.L. Hiers

✓ Poison Hearts by Jennifer Cody❤️

◦ Liar’s Gambit by Kelly Fox❤️

◦ Dealer of Secrets by Davidson King

◦ Bullets & Butterflies by Maz Maddox

◦ Love for the Reaper by Charlie Cochet

◦ Chance Encounter by Luna David

Buy Link:

Liar’s Gambit (The Elite Book 1)

Description:

He’s a liar. I’m a hitman. And there’s a game afoot.

After seeking sanctuary at The Anonymous, an elite club for lawless types, the elegant, beastly Wilhelm invites me to help him with a simple mission: retrieve the priceless artifact that was stolen from one of his billionaire friends.

I’m bored, there’s potential for violence, and his terms are generous, so why not?

I quickly discover, however, that Wilhelm has been slightly mischievous with the details, and there’s nothing simple about this mission. He’s betting I’ll go along with his insane plan; I’m still deciding whether or not to slit his throat.

Could be fun either way.

Liar’s Gambit is a 22k-word novella that is part of the multi-author series The Elite. Each book can be read as a standalone and in any order. What links these books together is The Anonymous, a club beneath the gritty city where only the elite are welcome.

Review: Guys Like Him (Redemption Ridge #1) by Aimee Nicole Walker

Rating: 4.5 🌈

I have to admit I was not ready for Walker to leave behind her characters and series set in Savannah, Georgia. The minute I started into one of those stories, I felt like I was coming home. Just narrative perfection.

But authors must move on. And so too the readers.

Now we end up In Colorado, near Colorado Springs. Land of the Rockies and Pike’s Peak. Places I’m pretty familiar with. And a ranch called Redemption Ridge, a working ranch that offers second chances for humans and animals alike.

Honestly, it didn’t take me long to fall in love with this new series. It had me at the element of horse and dog rescues. The horses and care here is detailed and beautifully done, right down to the need for a clean stall.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate seeing accurate information woven into a storyline, and without feeling like a lecture.

The other aspect of the series and book is the personal recovery/redemption of the men who are the main characters.

Employees have seen their lives changed by incarceration, they are ex convicts, or people who have been convicted of crimes and been sentenced to time in jail. Whether they did the crime or not. There’s a distinction.

Kieran Sullivan arrives at Redemption Ridge fresh out of jail, having served time for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s looking for answers, revenge, and hopes to clear his name.

Finley Ashe runs the equestrian program, training other people’s horses to the horses he rescues and helps to recover. He’s also got the worst choice of boyfriends, each one recently being more horrible than the last.

Walker has created a community of completely different personalities that live on or near the ranch. From Cash, the ex-convict owner of the ranch, to all the ranch hands, to Finley’s mom and dad, sister Harry, and extends to the animals like Nellie, the severely abused horse afraid to trust. This is a great new place to be able to explore and experience through their lives and relationships.

Finley and Kieran have a wonderful, sexy , stumbling journey together that includes an investigation, a mutual understanding and love of their animals, and a new found family.

Walker’s dialogues are funny, lively, engaging, and perfect for each character she’s created. Even the snippet for the next story in the series had me laughing because she’d laid out her characters and relationships in just a paragraph because her characterizations are so great.

This is a book and series to grab up and dive into immediately. They won’t be standalones. So read each one starting from the beginning.

If you’re a fan of Walker’s, of contemporary romance, of broken hearts and broken men getting their HEA, then you’ll will find that this story is a book for you.

It’s one I’m highly recommending.

Redemption Ridge:

✓ Guys Like Him #1

◦ The Fortunate Son #2 – Aug 3, 2023

◦ Saints Like Him #3 – Oct 19, 2023

Buy Link:

Guys Like Him (Redemption Ridge Book One)

Description:

Kieran Sullivan is broken when he arrives at Redemption Ridge. A wrongful conviction and twenty months in lockup will do that to a man. The ranch is a place for second chances and fresh starts, but for him, it’s an opportunity to discover who set him up. Get in, get answers, and get out. The plan sounds easy enough until Kieran meets an equine specialist whose sunny smile could warm the coldest heart.

Finley Ashe is a sucker for bruised spirits and sad eyes. The horse whisperer and broken-boy magnet is six months into a hiatus from love when Kieran, the king of emotionally unavailable men, gets assigned to work under his supervision. Mutual attraction is gasoline on proximity’s flame, testing Finley’s resistance in new ways.

Priorities shift, shields come down, and truths get exposed. Will the inevitable combustion redeem Kieran and Finley or consume them?

Guys Like Him is book one in the Redemption Ridge series. Though each story features a different couple, reading the series in order is essential. Guys Like Him contains mature themes and is intended for adults.

Review: Defending the House (Watkins Glen Gladiators Book 2) by V.L. Locey

Rating: 4🌈

V.L. Locey’s low angst, contemporary hockey romance series, Watkins Glen Gladiators, continues with Defending the House. It’s a very sweet story, comprised of 30 something Carson Dries, Captain of the Gladiators, a caretaker for his grandfather and owner of a peke a poo , and a younger Criswell Dobbs, waiter and guardian of his high school genderqueer brother .

I’m trying to find a way to describe exactly how low key this story is. Because if you are going to expect a romance with some real obstacles or barriers that appear, or major problems or issues that arise that the main characters have to overcome, this isn’t that story.

Some tales are like small rivers or streams. They have eddies, pools of varying depths, currents that rush over small areas, falling rapidly, only to find a pool and calm itself before moving smartly on .

But Defending the House is more like a canal. One without locks. It’s a smooth, gentle, relaxed ride from start to finish. No obstacles, nothing to get concerned about. A fun, quick, enjoyable experience.

Carson Dries “meets cute” Criswell Dobbs over a spilled bowl of onion soup. A romantic relationship quickly ensues. Criswell has a teenage genderqueer sibling, who’s getting bullied in school. Carson has a grumpy grandfather and a quirky adorable dog.

Locey, who writes both hockey and families so well, has crafted two here in need of each other. And gently, without any drama, lets them be together.

My only quibble is that the story just sort of ends. Spoiler alert. They agreed to move in together and meld families.

And that’s it. No epilogue. No scenes afterwards.

So for me it feels a bit unfinished. A shame because I like the characters. I just needed something more. Maybe a chapter to see how the families were doing together.

But this is sweet, and romantic.

If you’re a fan of the author and the series, grab it up .

Watkins Glen Gladiators:

✓ Between the Pipes #1

✓ Defending the House #2

Buy Link:

Defending the House (Watkins Glen Gladiators #2)44Kindle Edition$4.99

Description:

It’s far from smooth sailing into love for this pair of polar opposites.

Carson Dries is the ultimate team captain. Seasoned, amiable, humble, understanding, outgoing, and good-looking. He’s also really darn lonely, but his searches for Mr. Right have all turned into producing Mr. Wrongs. Having just turned thirty, Carson isn’t sure if dating is even worth the hassle anymore. Maybe he should just devote his time to his team, his grandfather, and his Peke-a-Poo, Penelope. Feeling a little blue, he heads to a Gladiators’ fundraiser to while away another night alone when one of the cutest guys he has ever seen runs into him—literally. Pity the adorable ginger is carrying a bowl of piping hot soup. While the mortified server is trying to dry off Carson’s ruined tux, Carson is getting rather lost in a magical combination of freckles, bright eyes, and kissable pink lips.

Criswell Dobbs is so getting fired. Or beaten up. Or maybe both. One does not dump French onion soup down the front of a behemoth of a man—a hockey player at that—and not get punched in the nose. Losing his job would be terrible. He loves being a member of the waitstaff on the Seneca Starlight paddleboat. The tips are amazing, his coworkers are fabulous, and the free dinners are keeping him fed. Knowing he and his little brother relied on this job, he’s got to do whatever it takes to stay employed, so apologizing profusely while offering to pay for dry cleaning seems the right course. When the hulking hunk of a man in the soaking wet tux unexpectedly asks him out, Criswell is flabbergasted, to say the least. Shocked yes, but not too stunned to write the Gladiator captain’s seemingly sincere request off completely. There is something about a tall, dark, handsome man in a tux. Even if that tuxedo smelled of onions…

Defending the House is a low angst, opposites attract, gay hockey twink/jock romance starring a sexy team captain, a bubbly but clumsy waiter, lots of nautical nonsense, on-ice action, off-boat shenanigans, yo-ho-ho a few bottles of rum, and one fair weather happy ending.

Review: Brackish Water (Angus Green, #4) by Neil S. Plakcy

Rating: 3🌈

Brackish Water is the fourth of the Angus Green novels I’ve read by Neil S. Plakcy, and it’s the one where the series flaws are becoming more apparent.

The strongest aspect of every book has been the mystery and FBI agent Angus Green’s ability to connect with the people involved in the crimes, usually on the hazy end of the spectrum of right and wrong, probably the criminal side, those that may be gay, and need someone to speak for them. That and the crimes are the best part, along with the location of southern Florida in all its messy ways.

That continues here. The art world, the Cuban connection, the plight of the people fleeing Cuba only to find out that they are turning back. It’s dishearteningly sad and believable in this well written storyline.

But what removes the reader from the terrific mystery and its layered narrative is Angus himself and his increasingly wooden relationship with his lover Lester. It started out in the previous stories as just a few lines, then filler paragraphs so a reader could ignore the lack of written chemistry or anything other than a one-dimensional storyline that existed for Lester and Angus.

Only now Plakcy seems resolved to make this a new solid element and it’s feels like an interminable boring couple has entered the building.

Nothing is believable about them. There’s absolutely zero emotion involved. That includes the reader.

Least of all from Angus who is out to save many people and do right by others. Yet when it come to Lester? It’s a flattened version of Angus we hear from.

Oddly mechanical, dispassionate in his approach towards his boyfriend, Lester, viewing him in emotionally distant terms often more suitable for a catalog swimsuit model or hookup rather than someone you’re supposed to love. This element of the Angus Green series has become increasingly problematic as the relationship between Angus and Lester has become more serious, at least on the page.

We hear about Lester’s body, his bedroom skills, his body parts, on and on. Then here, turns out he knows about art. Then Angus doesn’t agree with how Lester handle’s money. But he sure likes his body. I’m very tired of them whenever they get together, honestly. It’s a one-sided perspective and it’s always the same. A one-dimensional relationship with zero dynamics.

And it removes the reader from the mystery.

You start to wish someone would kill off Lester and reinvigorate the series and poor old Angus.

Something needs to. It’s looking pretty dreary.

Plakcy is capable of writing excellent dialogue, seating his characters and storylines deep within his chosen locales. When it all connects, it’s magical. See his Mahu series.

It hasn’t happened here. Not sure it will. But I do see flashes of it in Angus Green and Southern Florida. Just not enough.

Angus Green series:

✓ The Next One Will Kill You #1

✓ Nobody Rides For Free #2

✓ Survival Is A Dying Art #3

✓ Brackish Water #4

Buy Link

Brackish Water: An Angus Green Novel

Description:

FBI Special Agent Angus Green returns to the world of stolen art when a Cuban refugee uses the location of an old master painting to negotiate for his freedom. The perilous waters along Florida’s coastline get easily breached by those smuggling drugs, stolen goods, and human refugees. Angus wades in eagerly, as always, only to discover hidden currents and dangerous obstacles.

At the same time, Angus’s romantic life is heating up as it presents new challenges, and his stepfather’s death gives his mother the opportunity to tell Angus the truth about his parentage in a way that completely rocks his boat.

From gnarled mangrove roots to deadly villains, people and places stand in Angus’s way to keeping his head above water.

Can Angus navigate the brackish waters of the Florida Keys– and political privilege– while staying within the law?

Angus Green [is] the affable hero of this brisk series launch set in South Florida … readers will look forward to seeing a lot more of Angus. Publishers Weekly on The Next One Will Kill You

Review: The Handy Nanny (Nannies of New York Book 3) by K. Sterling

Rating: 4.5🌈

I love K. Sterling’s contemporary romance series, Nannies of New York. Each story is a moving tale of love found and new families formed among Manhattan’s single parents/guardians of young children.

Sterling’s romances are gently choreographed tales of love and found families, with its characters often being people of different backgrounds with hidden emotional struggles and fears as well as strengths.

No where is all of this showcased so well as in the latest book The Handy Manny. The themes of this book are hard emotionally. Sterling goes right into the heart of some of people’s worst fears and those moments of despair and loss. The death of those we love the most. Whether it’s a twin sister, or beloved father or mother. Whether they have died in the past, recently died, or because of their illnesses, know that they won’t live much longer.

The characters here are in various stages of loss, and grief. For a recent death of a sister who was half of him, and who can’t find his way out of his grief. The one called on to help him and his daughter? Penn has dealt with this in the past but has known it’s coming as his father’s fighting cancer.

Yet for all the darkness of the themes and subject matter, the characters and their journey towards a relationship is one of food, laughter, tears, and compassion. It’s not perfect. Each man has a history and their own personal experiences that makes them struggle with this relationship.

But because of the group we’ve gotten to know from the previous novels, another found family of nannies, and families of the men who share a special connection, the doubts, the challenges each face and deal with, feel believable and satisfying at the end.

For people dealing with loss, especially that of a loved family member, this book might be too raw to read at the moment. Morris Mosby’s deep grief and black hole of loss is so well done that as a reader it’s as though you feel his pain and his rage and his inability to comprehend life without her. And his resentment of Pennsylvania Tucker when he arrives to take over until Morris can finally begin to recover. He doesn’t want to recover.

As I said. A tough book .

Pennsylvania Tucker is a complicated man for someone who seems like a happy hippie who care for everyone, a fixer. He’s also someone haunted by his own losses and a loss yet to come.

How they start to heal each other while forming a family over one adorable baby is a gentle, complicated story about recovery, grief, loss, and love.

Just wonderful. And that the next in the series The Enchanting Nanny features Penn’s sister? I can’t wait. Because it’s also got the corporate older scary sister from the second book as a main character as well. One wild ride.

I highly recommend the entire series and this book too.

Nannies of New York :

✓ The Last Nanny In Manhattan #1

✓ Giles Ashby Needs A Nanny #2

✓ The Handy Nanny #3

◦ The Enchanting Nanny #4 – Aug 17, 2023 (f/f)

Buy Link:

The Handy Nanny: Nannies of New York Book 3

Description:

They call Pennsylvania Tucker the human Band-Aid because he can fix just about anything and make anyone feel better, but can Penn mend a broken heart? Reid Marshall thinks so and sends his master nanny on a very important and sensitive mission. A close friend is grieving and caring for his newborn niece after losing his twin sister.

Shy and quiet outside of the studio, Morris Mosby has been a myth in the music industry since he was sixteen. But his sister was the brains behind the “Mosby Machine” and Morris is tempted to walk away from his career and focus on his family. He’s got to put his life back together and raise a baby without his best friend and half of his heart.

Not if Morris’s parents and Penn have anything to say about it. The three of them team up to help Morris heal and rediscover his passion for music. Things heat up between Penn and Morris, but our handy nanny has some old wounds that need mending as well. Can two broken hearts heal each other or has Penn finally found a problem he can’t fix?


*Paperback includes additional illustrations, playlist, bonus epilogue, recipes, and more!

Review: Poison Hearts (The Elite universe story) by Jennifer Cody

Rating: 5🌈

Poison Hearts by Jennifer Cody was a real winner for me. It’s so entertaining, it’s characters so outrageously out there and engaging that it cries out for more adventures.

Pls pls I desperately need more stories of the merry insanity that is Orlando, Shannon, Minion , and hopefully, Linus.

Do not deprive us of this!

And it all starts so not so innocently with the blow dart murders of some bad guys in the Old Defiance neighborhood being protected by Orlando Ludovici, your neighborhood vigilante ninja assassin .

Cody has created a fabulous character in Orlando, complete with a fascinating family background and creative methodology for dealing with the baddies. There’s several authors that jump immediately to mind with their similarly charismatic assassins and Orlando easily ranks right in there with that crazy murderous fictional group.

Then there’s the fabulously insane scientist Shannon Mayburn, the tool peddler, brilliant inventor of tools of murder and mass destruction . He loves to dance and soon, he loves Orlando.

Plus his Minion. Whose name isn’t really minion and may kill Shannon at any moment because his boss annoys him so. I adore Minion. Who’s full of revelations and a delightful character in his own right.

Did I mention Linus the coroner who gets texts from Orlando about the bodies he’s about to receive? Theirs is a funny complicated anonymous relationship.

Ah, The Anonymous ! The elegant extremely private club where a crème colored invitation ushers you into a world of an utter criminality. The urbane of the world’s rift raft or this section’s of it, all secretly having cocktails and making connections in a lavish atmosphere in an art deco hotel.

It’s the meet cutely dangerous for Orlando and Shannon (as well as being the theme for the series). The characters Cody creates for the reason for Orlando’s entrance are mysterious and so beautifully written they scream for a story of their own. Especially since they come with such a scrumptious companion/bodyguard to boot.

Honestly, there’s no aspect, no element that Cody used in the many storylines that wasn’t a money maker in terms of its narrative use here. Thrills, excitement, more dead bodies, smooches and love talk ala crazy people. Yes! All there along with some explosions. And frogs.

I love this story and all the characters. Well, not the dead ones. The very much alive and deadly ones. And need more of them.

Hopefully Jennifer Cody is listening.

Yes this is a highly recommended read.

The Elite Multi-Author series (9 Books):

✓ Reckless Roulette by Alice Winters

✓ Leave No Trace by Michelle Frost and Sammi Cee❤️

✓ Ace of Maids by K.L. Hiers

✓ Poison Hearts by Jennifer Cody❤️

◦ Liar’s Gambit by Kelly Fox

◦ Dealer of Secrets by Davidson King

◦ Bullets & Butterflies by Maz Maddox

◦ Love for the Reaper by Charlie Cochet

◦ Chance Encounter by Luna David

Review: Bring Me Home (Safe Harbor Book 1) by Annabeth Albert

Rating: 4.75🌈

I probably wouldn’t have picked up this story except that the author is Annabeth Albert, an auto read.

While age gap is a trope I read, something about dating the sons of best friends hasn’t set right with me, especially when paired with a substantial age gap. Add in other factors of familiarity of knowing the person as a child and those stories ride a fine line.

But Albert’s story, the first of a new series, successfully addresses every aspect of those issues and has written a very moving romance. It’s also a fascinating one, in that one element, a ongoing cold mystery case investigation, is left to run into the next novel and appears to be a connecting bridge to all the books in Safe Harbor.

Give me a mystery and I’m a happy reader!

Albert has always been able to get intimately into the mindset of military men. Whether they are still in service, or in the case of Monroe, a recently retired Lieutenant in the NCIS unit of the Navy. He’s returned to Safe Harbor, near Portland, Oregon, to handle the sale of the old Victorian he inherited from his great aunt and then move to San Francisco, where he plans to live an anonymously contented gay life.

Albert paints Monroe’s return to Safe Harbor as a choice both joyous as he connects with his friends and tumultuous as aspects of his plans start to become less manageable. And things he thought he knew about his aunt and life make him rethink his perspectives.

Monroe is a multifaceted person. Far from the expected textbook of a naval officer, Albert gives us a man of emotional riches and dimensions. Those sensitive layers are revealed from the beginning. And to a person we absolutely know to be Knox. Whose own personality and character traits are the yin to Monroe’s yang.

Love Knox as deeply as I do Monroe. He’s another well crafted character who keeps revealing more depths and details to his personality and background as the story progresses.

Albert is able to build a believable relationship between two men, equal in intensity and intelligence, whose passion for each other overrides any consideration for age differences.

The reader gets invested in the relationship because of the chemistry and excellence of the dynamics being shared between them. The history of needing to feeling safe as a child that’s never left behind as an adult. That deep desire to have a true home. That all rings true.

As does the power of the fear of rejection that comes from losing the love of a friend or parent who doesn’t approve.

All this great storytelling that encompasses a romantic relationship, a town and its people, and an ongoing mystery. I’m 100 percent in and invested.

I can’t wait for the next book to be released. The listed books can be found below.

Until then, I’m highly recommending Bring Me Home (Safe Harbor Book 1) by Annabeth Albert.

Note. Two person POV until it switches at the end to include a third person to set up the next story in the series. I understand why but it’s still strange to switch format that late in the book.

Safe Harbor:

✓ Bring Me Home #1

◦ Make Me Stay #2 – June 15, 2023

◦ Find Me Worthy #3 – Sept 7, 2023

Buy Link:

Bring Me Home: A Dad’s Best Friend Small Town MM Romance (Safe Harbor Book 1)

Description:

Help!

I’ve inherited my aunt’s historic house in small-town Oregon, and I need to fix it up and sell it fast before I move on to my big-city dreams. I’m one of the navy’s best investigators, but twenty years of living in base housing means DIY isn’t part of my extensive skill set.

Luckily, my best friend has the solution: his twenty-three-year-old son. Knox recently graduated from college, needs a room for the summer, and comes with a giant cat and years of remodeling experience.

Not only is Knox all grown up and hot as sin, but I recognize him. He’s the bossy, bearded guy I shared the hottest kiss of my life with. No way can my buddy find out I’ve got it bad for his son. But with all the stripping, hammering, and drilling, my defenses crumble one dance break at a time.

As our sexy secret summer fling continues, Knox also proves himself handy at fixing my grumpy mood and wounded heart. Now I can’t imagine a future without him. I can solve any problem the navy throws at me, but I have no clue what to do about loving Knox or the damage this could do to my decades-long friendship.

Can we build a forever together, or are we destined to go our separate ways?

BRING ME HOME is a small-town Dad’s-best-friend MM romance. It features a forty-something grumpy former naval investigator, a much younger ray of sunshine, a matchmaking cat, sexy times in unusual locations, enough heat to burn the neighborhood, and a warm fuzzy hug’s worth of found-family feels. Dual point-of-view and big fluffy HEA guaranteed!

BRING ME HOME launches the brand-new Safe Harbor series from acclaimed author Annabeth Albert. Knox, Monroe, and the rest of Safe Harbor, Oregon, welcome readers to a historic town with a tight friend group, memorable secondary characters, quirky businesses, and long-held secrets. Each book stands alone with a fresh couple, but the background mystery of the town’s secrets ties the series together.

Review: Renovating the Model (Forestville Silver Foxes Book 1) by Nora Phoenix

Rating: 4.75 🌈

Nora Phoenix has released the first book in her new series about older men finding their HEA and it’s a sweet , smartly crafted romantic read.

I found myself liking every aspect of the world building she’s putting in place for her series and the small engaging group of long term friends I’m sure she will pull from to get her stories.

The location is Forestville, Washington. A small town with a river dissecting its Main Street from its outlying edge with some houses, park edge , and auto shop. The author has supplied a charming hand drawn map that helps place all the houses, and really shows how small Forestville is. I love that detail.

Then comes the foundation group of school friends. Boys that have been essentially family to each other since childhood. The story begins in the past, at their senior prom. We see the group dynamics, who they are hooking up with, and plans for their future. Tiago and Tomas , the gorgeous Banner twins are already headed for model fame and fortune. Two other friends,Essex and Auden, are headed into different branches of the military. Marnin’s future was unsettled.

Flash forward 30 years to a class reunion that brings those left together again and we see what the years have changed those teenagers into.

Tiago, along with his twin, are still internationally recognized and sought after super models. But for Tiago, the lifestyle has become increasingly difficult and one he’s tired of.

Renovating the Model Is a smart contemporary romance that contains elements of personal struggles with a learning disability and power inequality within a brotherly dynamic. It’s done with a realistic portrayal of a loving but insecure person who’s been made to feel inferior his entire life because of his severe dyslexia.

There’s other strong aspects to consider here in the narrative, each with varying levels of complexity. Cas’ scars, an inner circle character’s bullying, and even a minor character’s domestic abuse. Each one woven into the story with a gentleness and attention to detail that makes it seem as though they have the emotional impact that they should.

This story is sweet, sexy, convincing, and engaging. I loved the characters, the age gap , here Tiago is 47 or 48 with Cas , the contractor being 18 years younger. But as written, the deep connection and great chemistry between them makes any age gap seem insignificant.

Two final notes. Authors often say books like these are or can be read as standalone stories within the series. But I disagree. There’s a personal connection, emotional history that’s being built into the narrative here. Lines of dialogue and friendship that dates years of change between people who will have important relationships with each person even if it’s not the romantic ones. So read them in order, it just makes sense.

A word choice that bothered me. The author used unpractical. That word by any dictionary’s definition should be impractical.

“Trust me, most of the stuff I model is unpractical, and I’d never wear it in private.”

That’s it. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book and absolutely recommend it for all lovers of contemporary romance. I can’t wait for the next story to be released.

Forestville Silver Foxes:

✓ Renovating the Model #1

◦ Awakening the Sheriff #2 – July 29, 2023

Buy Link:

Renovating the Model (Forestville Silver Foxes Book 1)

Description:

Everyone knows my face. No one knows the real me.

All people see when they look at me is a beautiful man, a supermodel, half of the world’s most famous twins. No one sees the man underneath.

When I return to Forestville, the small town I grew up in, for my high school reunion, I impulsively decide to stay.

I’m now the proud owner of a house, an absolute fixer-upper. Never mind that I have two left hands.

Thank god for Cas, the local contractor, who agrees to help me out. We come from completely different worlds and are almost twenty years apart, yet we somehow connect.

Cas sees me, the real me.

We hook up…

Then become friends…

With benefits (courtesy of a snowstorm)…

And a fake relationship (long story)…

But when fake becomes real and pretending turns into feelings I can’t deny, I’m left wondering if what we have stands a chance.

Renovating the Model is the first book in the new Forestville Silver Foxes series, a contemporary small-town MM romance series featuring hot silver foxes and the men who fall in love with them. Each book can be read as a standalone.

Review: Murder on Milverton Square (The Milverton Mysteries #1) by G. B. Ralph

Rating: 4.5🌈

I love a good cosy mystery! Especially when it brings me a new author and a new series to explore.

Murder on Milverton Square is the first book in The Milverton Mysteries, written by G. B. Ralph. This is Ralph’s first published novel and it’s absolutely marvelous.

Set in New Zealand, it’s primarily focused on a Wellington marketing consultant named Addison Harper. His life is in the doldrums. He’s been dumped. He needs a shake up and he gets it when an unknown uncle dies and leaves him everything.

In a small town called Milverton two hours away from Wellington.

Ralph has written a charming, well plotted mystery with an independent surprisingly optimistic Addison Harper journeying to Milverton to hear about his late uncle’s will and his shocking inheritance.

It wouldn’t be a cosy without the quirky towns’ personalities and remarkable relationships. Ralph has imbued this town with plenty of dramatic moments, gossipy ladies who embrace Addison immediately and enough chaotic town dynamics to fill a tv drama.

Plus a good looking Sergeant Jake Murphy, who seems to like Addison even when he’s the primary suspect.

Yes there’s a murder, several other elements of high suspense. A town and its people to explore and get to know.

And plenty of decisions to make. Or at least ponder. Like if Addison is staying.

The dialogue is quite well done, the characters are beautifully executed, and the place so visually rich in its descriptions that it’s easily seen in the mind.

I loved the cast of characters. They’re what make a cosy so warm-hearted as well as funny. I can’t wait to get to know them all further.

This is a slow burn romance. Honestly, they are taking their time. I expect everyone around will have to get involved at some point.

I’m definitely recommending Murder on Milverton Square (The Milverton Mysteries #1) by G. B. Ralph . Be on the lookout in October for the next in the series.

The Milverton Mysteries:

✓ Murder on Milverton Square #1

◦ Poison at Penshaw Hall #2 – TBR Oct 25,2023

Buy Link:

Murder on Milverton Square (The Milverton Mysteries Book 1)

Description:

Addison Harper is abruptly summoned to Milverton at the behest of an abrasive lawyer. He plans to be in and out, back to the city lickety-split. Instead, he finds himself charmed by the small town with its delightful and eccentric residents, not to mention the rather easy-on-the-eye Sergeant Jake Murphy.

Despite the rocky start, Addison admits he’s had a pleasant day out. That is, until returning to find the prickly old lawyer on the floor, and very much dead. Worse, it looks like murder, and Addison’s fingerprints are all over the crime scene.

Murder on Milverton Square is the first in a wonderful new cosy mystery series set in an enchanting small town nestled amongst stunning New Zealand scenery. The Milverton Mysteries features a chaotic cast of local busybodies, delicious baked treats, a demanding and disdainful ginger cat, a very slow-burn romance with a rather appealing policeman, and of course, murder…