Review: Never Stay Gone (Big Bend Texas Rangers #1) by Tal Bauer

Rating: 4.5 🌈

I’ve been so busy with fantasy and contemporary romances that I’ve neglected one really great action suspense author. Tal Bauer.

Tal Bauer writes just amazing stories. Ones that might include such elements as government agencies and military spies, secret missions, and any number of inside sub terrorist organizations to deal with. Along with folding in a wonderful romance to boot.

Never Stay Gone is the author’s first story in his new Big Bend Texas Rangers series and it’s great. Jam-packed with so many of my favorite tropes, it’s a fast paced murder mystery and a second chance at a revived passionate relationship as two men race to find a killer. All throughout the unforgettable location of Big Bend Texas.

It’s starts with a terrifying find of a body dump by Deputy Shane Carson out in the desert wilds of Big Bend country Texas. It’s our initial introduction to the murder victims and one of the main characters.

Shane Carson is a small town’s native son who’s never lived up to its and his family’s huge expectations for him. He carries the years of his “failures” heavily. But Bauer’s created a more damaged man then evidenced on the outside.

Only by flashes of his past and glimpses into bits of his relationships with those outside of work does the reader realize Shane’s floundering there too.

It’s a realistic, painful portrait of a man deeply in trouble.

The reason why appears in the form of Texas Ranger Dakota Jennings, who’s been pulled by the Governor herself to handle the investigation into the multiple murders.

One reason? His history with the region and people. Second? One of the bodies worked for the Governor.

Dakota Jennings is as complex a man, albeit in a completely different way then Shane. Each man was damaged by their past with each other. Neither has ever moved forward.

How Shane and Dakota handle their reunion amidst murder, multiple investigations, heartbreak, forgiveness and redemption is a remarkable story.

It’s so compelling from just the personal elements alone as each man grapples with the past and the trauma it’s done to them. Add to that the police work as they track the killer and trace the identities of each victim. So gritty and tough.

This has first/only love, coming out, lovers reunited, second chance at love, hurt/comfort…all set in the dry open spaces of Big Bend country in Texas as a murderer tries to escape justice. It’s thrilling, heartbreaking, and an amazing suspenseful read!

I can’t wait to see where the series takes us!

If you’re not familiar with Tal Bauer, this is a wonderful place to start. I’m highly recommending this!

Big Bend Texas Rangers series:

Never Stay Gone #1

https://www.goodreads.com › showNever Stay Gone (Big Bend Texas Rangers #1) by Tal Bauer – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Six bodies in a single grave… in the same West Texas country where Dakota left everything behind.

Every beat of my heart belongs to you.

Thirteen years ago, Dakota Jennings thought he’d found his forever when he fell in love with Shane Carson. But one afternoon shattered their love story, and both Dakota and Shane left Rustler, Texas, with broken hearts. Even now, Dakota is still feeling the agony of losing Shane. Sure, he’s a Texas Ranger, but that’s not how he wanted to live his life. All he ever wanted was to love Shane.

Loving you is the only time I feel alive.

Shane’s life was supposed to be different than this. There’d been a plan, ever since he was knee-high to his father. But falling for Dakota spun Shane’s world upside down, and for years, Shane has had nothing but the memories of all that he lost: Dakota’s gentle touch, and the sweetness of his lips, and the star-strewn nights they spent wrapped in each other’s arms.

West of the Pecos, there is no law.

When the Rangers get the call about six bodies being pulled out of a mass grave in West Texas, the governor sends Dakota to run the investigation. Dakota heads back to his hometown and comes face-to-face with the last man he ever expected to see again: only now, he’s Deputy Shane Carson… Dakota’s local partner assigned to the case.

There’s nothing Dakota wants more than a second chance with Shane, but so much is stacked against them: six corpses, a murderer on the loose, and history that refuses to stay buried. And the bodies keep piling up as Dakota and Shane try to run the killer down across the West Texas plains.

In a moment, everything changes: the hunters become the hunted, the past fractures, and all Dakota thought he knew comes tumbling down. Secrets break wide open as Dakota remembers–

This is West Texas, and out here, nothing is as it seems.

Big Bend County is a place of beauty and desolation, of secrets and small towns. Where the past and the present collide, and where nothing stays hidden forever.

This MM romantic suspense is the first in the new Big Bend Texas Rangers series. Come along for the West Texas sunsets, the heart-pounding thrills, and the hard-won Happy Ever Afters.

Review: Fluke and the Faithless Father (Fantastic Fluke #2) by Sam Burns

Rating: 5 🌈💫

After reading The Fantastic Fluke I had to immediately go to the next in the series to see what happens next. Imagine how surprised I was to find this (and probably all the other books) flow seamlessly from one to another.

The beginning here is exactly the last paragraphs of the ending of the first book so the narrative continues perfectly, picking up where the events left everyone evaluating how to go forward.

All the characters I have gotten to love, and a few I despise, are back. The interpersonal relationships are deepening. And the character growth and magical revelations just connect me even more closely with mage Sage McKinley, and his incredible found family that includes his cowboy mage (former ghost) boyfriend Gideon, his fabulous mage grandmother Iris McKinley and her staff/family as well as Rufus her familiar, Sage’s BFF and store partner Beez, Freddy, and last but never ever least … the amazing familiar Fluke the fox! Unfortunately there’s still Sage’s dads who are both a huge part of this story.

Both of them had enormous roles in damaging and traumatizing Sage, a element that has continued into the present. His biological father has remained in the bookstore Sage inherited, albeit in ghostly form, to taunt him daily, not content to have been just a miserable, horrible father to Sage while living.

The man Sage had loved and thought of as his real father and family, until he watched him murder his mother, is behind bars, convicted of the same murder that almost took Sage’s life too. And left him traumatized.

Both men and Sage’s past return here with real emotional impact.

I love found family stories and Burns is building a remarkable one while crafting a urban fantasy arc full of magic and mystery and quite a few murders.

Throw in how much damage a parent can inflict on a child’s personality by abuse, neglect, or, stunningly, unforeseen betrayal and murder, as Burns gives us a heartbreaking portrait of damaged adolescence and survival. And not just Sage’s.

Fluke and The Faithless Father is such a great story because of perseverance and strength and even grace shown by those under such awful conditions here. And the way in which they all triumph as they head to the next challenges.

It made me want to go back to the beginning and meet them all again, to see what I may have missed, recapture their wonderful spirits, before we head onto the next step.

I can already tell this is a journey I’ll want to take again with this remarkable family.

I’m highly recommending this book and series.

Again, a glorious cover.

The Fantastic Fluke Series:

✓ The Fantastic Fluke #1

✓ Fluke and the Faithless Father #2

◦ Fluke and the Faultline Fiasco #3

◦ Fluke and the Frontier Farce #4 – coming in 2022

https://www.goodreads.com › showFluke and the Faithless Father by Sam Burns – Goodreads

Synopsis:

After escaping a murderer and resurrecting his boyfriend, Sage figures he deserves a little time to recover.

Unfortunately, life is rarely fair.

So instead of a break, he gets to deal with a magical law enforcement rookie asking uncomfortable questions about his brush with death. The quaesitor is acting downright suspicious. Or is it suspiciously?

Things go from awkward to dangerous when the man who murdered Sage’s mother is released from prison, and soon after there’s a break-in at the bookstore. The situation escalates so fast that Sage is afraid he’s going to end up with whiplash. Or worse, end up dead. He wanted a break, but not a permanent one.

Fluke and the Faithless Father is a direct sequel to The Fantastic Fluke, and should not be read first. It is an ~85k word novel that follows the continuing adventures of Sage, Fluke, Gideon, and their whole family, found and otherwise.

Review: Breath (Scales ‘n’ Spells (#2) by A.J. Sherwood and Jocelynn Drake

Rating: 4 🌈

Breath is the second book in Sherwood and Drake’s fantasy series and it takes the series off to Finland, Poland..a tiny travelogue of countries really, in search of new mages and Dragon mates for the Burkhard Fire Clan. The path taken through Riga, then Wrocław is so descriptive and charming that you scramble to Google it. Locations are always a plus here.

However with both Origin and now Breath, there was an underlying element that tugged at me when I finished both stories and it took this book to figure out what it was.

I like the fantasy arc the authors have established and the mystery of the enemy mages to overcome. Nor have I mislaid the aspect of the Lost Clans the authors only mentioned in the beginning. All good.

I do like that the story concentrates on the mage for most of the novel. Here it’s Tori Taavi. He’s lived a miserable life in a hidden village that’s pretty much a matriarchal homophobic society where only the females who test out magically are valued, males who do are valued solely as mates to procreate and anyone else is considered worthless. Tori fell in the later as gay and someone who did work magic under their rigid guidelines.

Both Sherwood and Drake do a fantastic job in creating a sympathetic and relatable personality in Tori. He’s so easy to connect with, that making him our window into the story and his personal journey into a new world of hope is amazing. I’m with him and his tale of love and growth all the way.

In fact Tori’s emotional tale overpowers everything here. Baldewin, the sweet giant of a red fire dragon, definitely comes in second as a narrator instead of on equal standing. Same for Baldewin’s story. It’s Tori’s book really, not that I mind. He’s a great character. Much like the first book belonged to Cameron, Cassie, and Ha Na instead of King Alric.

But shouldn’t it be at least more uh… dragon sided too?

Right now it’s all about the mages but we learn very little about dragons here.

That’s part of the issue that’s been troubling me. Dragons, for all the castles and verbiage given to them here, have, little natural history or foundation. So there’s a magical incubator. Great! How does it work?why, other than the war basics, don’t we really know much about dragons here?

The mate ceremony is over before you know it . Which considering that it’s what all the drama and wars were/are fought over, wouldn’t you expect something more uh noteworthy? Here that’s the section that feels the most incomplete. When it should be the most uplifting and important.

And it was that way for both stories. So I see a pattern emerging here.

Great mage characters and their storyline. Lesser dragons characters with a rushed ending.

Thankfully Tori was so great that I really enjoyed his journey and thought Baldewin made a lovely mate for him.

Now onto the novella, Wish.

I’m recommending this because the characters are terrific and fantasy is always my jam.

Read them in the order they are written.

Scales ‘n’ Spells series:

✓ Origins

✓ Breath

◦ Wish: a Novella

◦ Blood

◦ Embers

https://www.goodreads.com › showBreath (Scales ‘N’ Spells #2) by A.J. Sherwood – Goodreads

A Mage’s List for Freedom:

1. Escape his evil, controlling clan.

2. Get a job.

3. Work magic on HIS terms.

4. Avoid all dragons.

Tori was doing great until sexy dragon Baldewin interfered.

Between the little gifts, constant protection, and the steadfast confidence from the overgrown lizard, Tori wonders if maybe that last step needs revising. He has no chance to consider it.

Not before trouble called Jaeggi REALLY hits. Now he’s on the road trip from hell to the one place he’d never thought would be a safe haven. A clan of dragons.

Assuming they make it, that is.

Tags:

Dragon shifters, mages, fated mates, hurt/comfort, enemies to lovers, not mpreg, interracial couple, road trip, No Flying, nope not even with a dragon, dwarf hunting in Poland, Tori needs allll the hugs, Baldewin is happy to supply them, dragons are ninjas, attempted kidnapping, mages being BAMF, insecurity, trust issues, Tori is an arse, Baldewin is adorable, Cassie is over it, virgin character, but not for long fufufufu, dysfunctional family, family of choice, magical realism, cuuuuudles, the authors regret nothing.

Review: A Sanctuary for Soulden (The Lords of Bucknall Club #4) by J.A. Rock and Lisa Henry

Rating: 4.5 🌈

In Rock and Henry’s marvelous Regency series, The Lords of Bucknall Club, the authors start with a premise that history zigged instead of zagged in 1783 when the Marriage Act Amendment was introduced in England to allow same sex marriages. Why? Because it wanted to encourage childless marriages between the many lesser young men and women of the Realm. Those who wouldn’t inherit and therefore strengthen the right of the first born to inherit the title and property, not the younger siblings.

It’s a great twist on history and their take on Regency romance is just plain out splendid. It’s full of rakes, spies, romantic twits, Lords of high intelligence and those of questionable morals. It’s got it’s Bow Street Runners and it’s French Haberdashery! It’s just grand fun.

Sanctuary for Soulden , the fourth novel in the series, has at its center the enigmatic Philip Winthrop, Viscount Soulden. Viscount Soulden has been a major character over the series , always in the middle of things. Especially with his friend Lord Christmas Gale (A Case for Christmas #1).

Finally, after the major role Soulden played in what I affectionately call The Tale of Two Twits aka A Rival for Rivingdon #3, the man gets his own fabulous story.

By turns exciting, sexy, unexpectedly poignant, and yes, a tad funny, A Sanctuary for Soulden is such a great romantic romp that I forgot to take notes and just blew right through it.

The dialogue is sheer delight! Especially when it’s Soulden and the rest of the group gathered at The Bucknall Club. Whether it’s Soulden calling Worry “Wally”, a mare being mistaken for a stallion, or a waistcoat of hand painted buttons….of one’s husband. There’s always something memorable to comment one and chuckle at.

The medical profession, the subject of the need for corpses, the war, and it’s traumatic impact is strongly dealt with. But is ways that often sneak up on you, as they do the characters. Here the moments that recollect overwhelming loss, grief, anger, and guilt play out…a cacophony of emotions. All through the great characters of Surgeon Edmund Fernside and Fitz.

Not only can a reader clearly picture each setting and situations, but each character is so well defined that it’s a feeling of being connected each time we drop into the relationships and maneuverings as the story continues.

Like all the couples, who appear here, the relationship is one that is relatable and nicely realistic in its expectations. It’s definitely a HFN. I think that was a great choice here. Especially as all the others are going through changes and growth as well.

I’m excited over the next book, An Affair for Aument. It’s one that feeds beautifully out from this one with a new , yet amazing character.

This series just continues to expand and amaze. I highly recommend it to all. It’s just just a splendid thing you shouldn’t pass this or any of the books up. Read them in the order they are written.

Series – ThLords of Bucknall Club

A Husband for Hartwell #1

A Case for Christmas #2

A Rival for Rivingdon #3

A Sanctuary for Soulden #4.

A Affair for Aument #5 – coming later

https://www.goodreads.com › showA Sanctuary for Soulden by J.A. Rock – Goodreads

Synopsis:

He wasn’t meant for a quiet life.

Philip Winthrop, Viscount Soulden, is a fop. An idle popinjay with nothing more on his mind than how to best knot his cravat. He definitely doesn’t spy against the French. Or arrange hasty weddings. Or occasionally commandeer the navy. And he certainly doesn’t seek out mortal danger in order to combat his pervasive ennui. It’s all just a big misunderstanding when he’s shot by a French intelligence officer during a merry riverside chase. And what a wonderful bit of quick thinking to pretend to be a corpse in order to get himself taken to the local surgeon’s autopsy cellar. The French will never find him there. If the French are even looking for him. Which they’re not. Now he just needs to locate a way out before this surgeon fellow attempts to dissect him.

He’d rather deal with the dead than the living.

Surgeon Edmund Fernside does his best to heal the living, but in truth, he’d much rather look into the gaping chest cavity of a corpse than into the startling blue eyes of a…corpse that just climbed off his autopsy table. Well then. Lord Soulden is clearly a man with some complicated secrets. But with the French in hot pursuit and a rather brutal gunshot wound, Soulden’s not going anywhere anytime soon, and Fernside discovers that he enjoys the pleasure of his company. In more ways than one.

Now, trusting each other could mean the difference between life and death.

As Soulden learns to be still for the first time in his life, Fernside wonders if perhaps it’s time to spread his wings a little. They can only hide from the outside world—and from their pasts—for so long before the secrets they’ve uncovered about each other strain the growing attraction between them. Each man must decide whether a life of comfortable lies is preferable to one full of difficult truths. And whether the sanctuary they’ve created together is something worth fighting for.

A Sanctuary for Soulden is the fourth book in the Lords of Bucknall Club series, where the Regency meets m/m romance. The Lords of Bucknall Club can be read in any order.

Review: Wake The Dead (Godstones Saga #3) by Jocelynn Drake

Rating: 5🌈

Well that was wonderfully unexpected!

So many twists and wild turns in this installment to keep my brain in a whirl until the fourth book is released in January. So many I honestly did not see coming, and I’m a very suspicious person.

Love when that happens.

Wake the Dead is such a huge book in a variety of ways, not just because of the wild revelations at the end. As much as I found those thrilling and wildly entertaining…

No, it’s the layers peeled back off from familiar characters, revealing hidden depths to their personalities and letting us see them both as people capable of acts of great ruthlessness and cruelty. Or as people too easily swayed by surface actions when I expected them to be more discerning. Hidden depths, differences in agendas, and potential for even more revelations to come the more we get to know these men.

These are the quiet turns in the narrative that balances the larger, more explosive surprises the author lays out for all (characters and readers alike) throughout the amazing journey here.

I have come to look forward to all the characters I meet along the paths our quartet must take to achieve their god quests. This book is full of fully realized, memorable beings that come across as absolutely believable, sometimes poignant, often larger than life itself. Ones I hope to see somehow at the end of the series if at all possible.

Drake is creating such a fantastic fantasy series, a gift really. One that pulls at your heart, mind, and imagination.

Now to wait until January 22,2022 for the fourth in the series. She has six planned overall.

We are halfway there on our journey. It’s a magnificent one.

If you’re a lover of fantasy romance and fiction, grab up and read the books along with me. Read them in the order they are written to understand the sequence of events and characters growth and changes in relationships.

I’m highly recommending them all.

https://www.goodreads.com › showWake the Dead (Godstone Saga, #3) by Jocelynn Drake – Goodreads

Godstone Saga Series:

✓ Steal The Wind #1

✓ Breathe of Life #2

✓ Wake the Dead #3

◦ Wings of Fire #4 – coming January 22, 2022

Synopsis:

The dead wait for Caelan.

The Goddess of Life has sent Caelan to wake her brother, the Dead God.

But crossing the reclusive country of Zastrad is even more treacherous when Caelan and his friends aren’t sure they can trust their guide.

The four friends will be tested by violence, death, political intrigue, and secrets better left in the dark.

When Caelan finally reaches the fractured godstone, he may have to give up everything to save the family he’s cobbled together.

Wake the Dead is the third book in the six-book Godstone Saga fantasy series and is not a standalone. The story contains danger, secrets, bossy gods, stolen kisses, a new king finding his way, a possessive boyfriend, magic, and lots of delicious angst..

Review: Ever After (Chester Falls #7) by Ana Ashley

Review: 3.75 🌈

How To Catch A Happily Ever After by Ana Ashley is the author’s Chester Falls series finale and ties up loose ends for all the series couples.

While there’s one overall story, it really feels more like a series of connected anecdotes or narratives about every couple in the series. It brings the reader up to date with their current situations as each small couple capsule weaves in and out of Tom and Wren’s wedding. There’s also a homecoming and new yet returning relationship to pickup on.

This is a book for those fans of this series only. If you have no idea who these people are, their histories, connecting relationships, then you’re going to be absolutely lost. Ashley is making sure her couples get the send off she wants for each one and that leaves no room for anything but the wedding, filling in the reader on any new major happenings for each couple and the new HEA dynamic.

If you have been following Chester Falls and loving this series, then this is a grand way to say goodbye.

If you’re new to the series, skip this and head to the first story written. Take it from there.

I really enjoyed my time in Chester Falls. Lovely contemporary romances, ending here. Check them out. Recommended!

https://www.goodreads.com › showHow to Catch a Happy Ever After (Chester Falls, #7) by Ana Ashley – Goodreads

Chester Falls series:

♦️How To Catch a Bookworm #0.5

♦️How To Catch a Prince #1

♦️How To Catch a Rival #2

♦️How To Catch a Bodyguard #3

♦️How To Catch a Batchelor #4

♦️How To Catch the Boss #5

♦️How To Catch a Biker #6

♦️How To Catch A Happily Ever After #7. (Series finale)

Synopsis:

You are hereby invited to the wedding of the century.
Yes, you got it, Tom and Wren are getting married this Christmas.

Drama.
Sparkles.
Well intentioned, but meddling friends.
Surprise pregnancies.
This wedding is set to have it all, including a brand new couple who is well overdue for their Happy Ever After.

How to Catch a Happy Ever After is the final book in the Chester Falls series. Told from multiple points of view, this book is not a standalone, but better enjoyed after previous books in the series.

Review: On A Midnight Clear by Lily Morton

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Gleaming, incredibly lifelike and often haunting sculptures seen in museums worldwide, from The Dying Gaul (my favorite) to Apollo to Rodin’ The Kiss, have the ability to mesmerize upon sight. Their creator’s ability to turn stone into something that goes past magnificent art into something haunting, beautiful, and timeless. And unforgettable

These sculptures also inspire other forms of art, from paintings to songs to movies to books. Especially the idea of one of those statues coming to life .

A local favorite is Edgar Degas’ Little Dancer of Fourteen Years . It’s one of those that resonates with so many.

But when I think of statues and stories, the one that immediately jumps to mind is that of Pygmalion and Galatea, his stature brought to life. It’s a story that’s been told over and over.

Anyway, Lily Morton returns to this magical idea of wish fulfillment and a creator’s sculpture that has so resonated with one young man throughout his life that it’s the one he’s confided in, run to, and hidden behind all his years.

Barnaby Greenwood is a man in desperate need. At Christmas. He’s about to lose everything that’s ever mattered, to himself, his family, his ancestors, and the village.

He needs a miracle.

In true Morton form, we are given a heart wrenching situation, great characters we can connect with, especially Barnaby. A estate full of sculptures and a dark forest green.

Cosmo is a total delight, complete with canine companion. I love the villagers. The fleeting aspect of the very nature of week and the passing of days… makes for a harrowing tale. We are filled with anxiety as the time passes even as we relish the relationship that builds.

It’s a magical romance, with all sorts of grand and small elements. Plenty to delight over, laugh and sniffle as well.

Pygmalion and Galatea would be pleased.

Merry Christmas! Happy Yule!

Highly recommended! So is this author.

For those interested, I’ve a few pictures of both Degas’ dancer and the iconic Dying Gaul below.

https://www.goodreads.com › showOn a Midnight Clear by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

It can safely be said that Lord Barnaby Greenwood is not having the best of Christmases.

He’s penniless, up to his eyeballs in debt, and about to lose his estate. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that when a local property developer offers a lot of money to buy King’s Wood from him, Barnaby is very tempted. But his father had always impressed on him that the green wood was sacred and must be protected at all costs, so he finds himself saying no.

He knows this will result in the loss of his home, but duty comes before everything. However, that fateful decision leads instead to a magical Christmas for Barnaby, complete with an old god who grants him a favour, and a beautiful statue that comes to life.

Cosmo is perfect for him. He’s funny and kind and completely enraptured with Barnaby, and for the first time in his life, Barnaby falls in love. But how can this lead to anything but heartache, when on the last stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, Cosmo will go back to being a statue and take Barnaby’s heart with him?

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a truly magical romantic comedy.

Review: No-Strings Noel by Annabelle Jacobs

Rating: 3🌈⛄️

No-Strings Noel by Annabelle Jacobs is a nice Christmas romance. The characters and storylines are sweet and there is little to no angst to the plot or obstacles to the relationship.

For me, I’d hoped for something a little more substantial, like not having to refer to my notes to remember characters names because after reading this story it was simply gone from memory.

The premise of a man (turns out two) recently out of a unworkable relationship going on a holiday and finding love is a great trope. I always look forward to see how each author puts their own spin on it. While there were some unusual elements here, none of them really gelled for me in this story, including the couple.

It starts off with the location being a family oriented park with housing , read tons of kids and kid focused activities/rides. Huge playgrounds, pools, indoor courts for badminton etc. Everything an active family could want. But a couple of young gay singles? Hmmmm ok… possibilities.

However, it sort of turns dudly ( yes I mean dudly… made that up from so dull and deadly) because of the personalities involved and the sheer lack of energy i felt coming from the dynamics between them. No chemistry, at least that’s my pov.

Henry , admittedly unhappy about his breakup, is a bit of a pill. Even after trying for a better attitude, his character never quite recovers. He stays an apologetic (on the inside) insecure man. Henry delayed college because he wanted to work for the money to pay for it so he wasn’t bogged down by students debt. Now he’s getting a later start. Instead of the author making us or me connect to him by infusing him with pride for his achievements at his age and determination, she left him a bit of a needy mess. So I stayed firmly outside any emotional attachment to him.

The other didn’t fare that much better. Dom is also coming off a broken relationship. One he says he’s from be with. Hint, he’s not. But this is a guy who, who unlike Henry, comes to this place on purpose. He’s ready to settle down, wants the ring and kids, dog and white fence or it’s British equivalent. He’s got his house already. He’s next level with an eye on relationship goals and stability. Day one and Dom’s holding hands and had a schedule. And thinking he really likes Henry.

Ok… my thoughts were.. Henry why aren’t you running…away…yikes!

Nope they are a couple for the entire holiday.

And I felt nothing for either of them.

Only when they reconnect afterwards did I become more involved. But, it was not ever a relationship I was invested in nor were these men.

For me, the author never made me believe in their relationship, romance, or even potential HEA, especially that epilogue.

If you are the type to read every Holiday story that’s released this season, here’s another for you! Or if you’re a fan of this author, you might want to pick this up. If you’re new to Annabelle Jacobs, check out her shelf, she has plenty of books I’d recommend.

Happy Holidays!

Synopsis:

A week of no-strings fun in a winter wonderland setting. No consequences, no expectations, no hurt feelings. Right?

Henry:

Finding his boyfriend in a compromising position leaves him with a week off work and no holiday to go on.
A night of vodka, ice cream, and his sister’s sympathetic ear is the only way to deal with it.
It’s also how he finds himself on holiday alone a few weeks later, at an English holiday village in the countryside, surrounded by Christmas cheer and happy families.

He’s expecting a week of relaxing days and early nights, doing his own thing, and taking some time for himself. And hopefully finding some festive spirit along the way, because it’s sorely lacking at the moment.

What he’s not expecting is Dom.

Dom:

Coming to somewhere so familiar soothes his broken heart after yet another failed attempt at finding someone to settle down with. He’s ready. They never are.

Seeing a lost-looking stranger on the first day of his holiday triggers his protective instincts, so he steps in to give him some helpful advice.
Who knew that advice would mean they end up spending the day and then the whole week together? But he figures a holiday fling is exactly what he needs to get through this slump: no expectations, no misunderstandings, no heartbreak.
Or that was the plan.
He knows Henry wants more, but he doesn’t trust himself where his heart’s concerned.
He doesn’t trust Henry not to break it.

A Christmas MM romance featuring a meet-cute, a sexy holiday fling, a meddling but awesome sister, a teeny bit of angst, and a festive HEA.

https://www.goodreads.com › showA No-Strings Noel by Annabelle Jacobs – Goodreads

Review: Snowed (Boston Rebels #3) by R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Kyle Lourenco, goalie for the Boston Rebels, has been a quietly interesting character in this series . Mentioned in quite a few books, he’s been a somewhat enigmatic peripheral character. Someone we didn’t know as well as we had the others but a person still likable and within our “hockey family “ fold.

This story abruptly changes that. And it sees Kyle returning home to family and a man he left physically behind but never emotionally.

The location is northbound Manitoba, and members of Kyle’s family as well as others in the small town of Eagles Ridge are Indigenous peoples. It allows the authors to include elements of that culture into this story for an additional richness of location and character. I really appreciated this aspect of the story.

The location also adds to the authenticity of the brutality of winter and freezing conditions the story is founded upon. Snowed indeed.

The character of Kyle is a haunted one, his personality tormented by a childhood amnesia and constant nightmares that no one has been able to determine the cause of. Add to that the fact that he’s left or abandoned (depending upon perspective) his family, friends, and love for the NHL. And you have a deeply complicated tormented man in need of help.

Christian Gauthier is the man and love Kyle left behind. A love he still carries while working in his store or running search and rescue missions.

When the men reconnect during a blizzard, it sets off all sorts of unexpected events. To go further would spoil the fun and indeed, some of the shockers too,

This is a emotional ride of all sorts. There’s a scary mystery, lovers reunited, second chance at love, family homecoming….all sorts of goodness here.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. And the ending seemed just right for this couple.

I wonder what book 4 will bring.

I’m definitely recommending this story. It’s a winner!

Boston Rebels series:

Lost in Boston #0.5

Top Shelf #1

Back Check #2

Snowed #3

Synopsis:

A second chance at love is all Kyle wants for Christmas, but a dark menace from his past wants him dead, and love is second to staying alive.

Kyle Lourenco has carved out a comfortable life and career for himself in Boston. With the holidays quickly approaching, he’s heading home for the first time in several years. Home to his loving parents and the small Canadian town where he was raised. And home to Christian, his best friend and the first man to steal his heart.

Just as a winter storm begins to blow in, it forces Kyle off the road only miles from home and a dark and sinister force from his past creeps ever closer. His only hope is getting to Christian’s cabin before the evil that has haunted him for years finally catches up to him.

Best friends since they were three, Christian Gauthier grew up next door to Kyle, in a remote mountain town with one stoplight and a forty-mile round trip to the nearest school. When Kyle left town for a shot at a professional hockey career, he took Christian’s heart with him. Even though he knew Kyle was always destined for bigger things, it hadn’t stopped Christian from falling for him as soon as he knew what love was.

With Christmas coming soon and a major snowstorm heading their way, Christian shuts the doors to the family store and heads to his cabin, where he will be on standby as an official volunteer for Search and Rescue. He has never regretted staying in Eagle Ridge, but a near miss on a simple rescue leads him to reevaluate everything, and when Kyle ends up at his door, he knows that guarding his heart might not be the best solution after all.

https://www.goodreads.com › showSnowed by R.J. Scott – Goodreads

Review: Brandon’s Very Merry Haunted Christmas (Mack’s Marvelous Manifestations #1) by A.J.Sherwood

Rating: 4🌈

Here’s another one I just fell into. Didn’t even realize it was a Sherwood story until later. But honestly I should have as the style, dialogue and format scream 😂 A.J. Sherwood.

So does the topic(s) and the manner in which they are handled. Ghosts, ghost hunting, psychics, the paranormal! Treated with respect, a bent towards the humorous situations it can lend itself, and the commonality of spookiness that automatically comes to mind.

Throw in a romance, a new partnership, and sone intriguing back story that I’m sure will emerge over the next book and this is a keeper.

I liked Mack and it’s his background we only get hints of that I want to know more of. Doesn’t sound very pleasant.

Brandon Havili, and his family, is amazing. I love the Tongan element as well as the Glossary in the back. That adds a richness to his character and his family and a culture I’m not familiar with. I’m looking forward to learning more through my journey with him.

This is a fun, quick romance at the holidays and I can’t wait for more.

I’ll also be picking up the books in Jon’s series that preceded this one. Two new series at the same time!

Mack’s Marvelous Manifestations Series:

◦ Brandon’s Very Merry Haunted Christmas

◦ Mack’s Perfectly Ghastly Homecoming

Connected Prior Series:

Synopsis:

When Brandon Havili gets recruited by the FBI, he’s immediately assigned to shadow his brother and the psychic Donovan’s anchored to. Brandon doesn’t mind this in the slightest. He loves his brother, Jon seems cool, and it’s a great way to learn how to be an anchor, which is what the FBI wants him for. It’s supposedly three weeks of just following people around and observing.

But there’s a hitch in the plans. Brandon accidentally picks up a hitchhiker of the ghostly variety. Donovan is NOT pleased. Jon is amused to no end.

Dealing with the ghost means going back to the place Brandon accidentally got it from, Eureka Springs, Arkansas. They expect to meet up with an FBI medium, exorcise said ghost, and go home again.

FBI Medium Mackenzie Lafayette is not at all what Brandon expects. And for once, he’s quite happy to ditch the plan. Returning to Nashville can wait. He’s got a sexy medium to figure out first

https://www.goodreads.com › showBrandon’s Very Merry Haunted Christmas

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