Category: M/M Book Reviews

Review: Dead Serious Case #2 : Mrs Delores Abernathy (Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed just got better with Case 2: Mrs. Delores Abernathy. I’m impressed with the manner in which Cassidy is crafting the ghosts “stuck” between worlds. It’s got a very different, humane feeling to it than other takes.

As it was with Dusty, it becomes just as poignant and as much a emotional journey here with Delores Abernathy. Delores is a sweet elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer’s , who’s poisoned in the same full care home as Tristan’s father. The ghosts who die before their allotted time are caught in a loop, forced to stay as they died until Tristan can help them move through whatever is keeping them here.

In this case, Delores the ghost still has Alzheimer’s, which makes it difficult to figure out how to help her, let alone who murdered her. Delores, a periphery gentle character becomes a strong narrative presence by emotional means of her illness and by association with Tristan’s father, who’s state in the same facility is ever worsening.

Both people make a huge impact on the readers as themselves and by the loving nature of the relationships a they have made with their families.

Both heartbreaking and heartfelt.

Of course Dusty is back, a lively, fabulous ghostly guide, when she chosen to be. But part of this storyline belongs to her and her great bestie and fellow drag Queen Chan. Cassidy intertwines their own pain/loss with the current case in a way that’s beautiful, sad, and wryly funny.

Tristan’s and Inspector Danny Hayes’ relationship, a wonderful aspect of this series, keeps moving forward. Typical of this couple, nothing about it is smooth. Gawky, awkward, painful, sexy, and in this actual case , full of ghosts and a secret that Tristan needs to divulge.

The story is almost a 5. There’s a cliffhanger. Not really one I mind actually. It’s more a hint of the next mystery to come. But it’s still a tiny one that introduces new major characters.

I can’t wait!

If you love a great mystery, paranormal characters and romance, here a fabulous story and series for you. Read them in the order they are written for characters and storylines development.

Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed series:

✓ Case 1: Miz Dusty Le Frey

✓ Case #2 : Mrs Delores Abernathy

◦ (Cold) Case #3: Mr. Brian Reyes -TBD

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showDead Serious Case #2 Mrs Delores Abernathy by Vawn Cassidy

Description:

In the business of unfinished business…

It’s been over six months since a freak accident left pathologist Tristan Everett able to see ghosts, something he has yet to confess to his boyfriend. Instead, he now has a new calling, one he’s not entirely happy about… help the dead resolve their unfinished business so they can pass into the light, sounds simple right?

Wrong…

When the spirit of a sweet old lady suffering from Alzheimers follows him home he has no idea how to help her. When he finds out she’s been murdered by arsenic poisoning, a curiously outdated murder weapon, he once again finds himself tangled up in a murder investigation.

For Inspector Danny Hayes of New Scotland Yard, life couldn’t be better. After moving to London and meeting Tristan he’s ready to move their relationship to the next level, but something weird is going on with Tristan, he’s acting very strangely and with a killer on the loose he’s not taking any chances. He’s determined to discover whatever it is Tristan’s hiding from him.

Surrounded by a bunch of potentially murderous old ladies and aided by his sidekick, deceased drag queen and spirit guide in training, Dusty, Tristan must unravel the mystery of Mrs Delores Abernathy’s unfinished business and find the courage to share his deepest secret with the man he loves.

From author Wendy Saunders writing as Vawn Cassidy, comes the second book in this funny and touching paranormal MM romance/dark comedy suspense series.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Dead Serious Case #1 Miz Dusty Le Frey(Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed) by Vawn Cassidy

by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Dead Serious is straight up marvelous. It gave me a “new to me author” to look for more novels and the start of a clearly fabulous series checks so many of my must have narrative elements.

Dead Serious has a layered storyline that includes a complicated mystery, ghosts, romance, and characters with emotional depth and histories that enrich themselves and the story.

I was hooked from the beginning when I met Tristan Everett, pathologist at the Hackney Public Mortuary. He’s socially awkward, great at his job at conducting autopsies, remembering the people he’s working on with respect. Something that proves important later. Tristan is engaging, real, and someone we connect with.

The story that quickly draws the reader in starts a tad before the case of the murdered drag Queen Dusty Le Frey, a charismatic character herself. It’s the surprising event that happens at a retirement party for a colleague of Tristan’s that will have reverberations for this book and series, actually all of Tristan’s life.

Cassidy weaves the impact from that event on Tristan’s life continuously throughout the story. And probably stories to come. The implications are that huge.

While that’s happening, there’s a mystery to solve, a poignant father/son relationship to reveal, a sexy romance with a hot detective, and a new expanding group of friends for the introverted Tristan to draw on for support and affection.

Honestly, what a fabulous story and group of people.

I adore them and am moving onto the next in the series.

Highly recommending it for the romance, mystery, fabulous characters and found family!

Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed series:

◦ Case 1: Miz Dusty Le Frey

◦ Case #2 : Mrs Delores Abernathy

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showDead Serious Case #1: Miz Dusty Le Frey by Vawn Cassidy

Description:

In the business of unfinished business…

Tristan Everett has always preferred the company of the dead because they usually don’t talk back. Being a somewhat awkward introvert working as a pathologist at the Hackney Public Mortuary suits him just fine. That is, until a freak accident with a rogue ice cube and suddenly he can see ghosts. No longer content to just lie on the table and let him figure out how they died, they’re now peering over his shoulder critiquing his work and confessing their most lascivious sins before skipping off merrily into the afterlife.

Just when he thought his life couldn’t get any weirder, sassy drag queen, Dusty Le Frey, is wheeled in with a toe tag and she’s not prepared to go quietly into the light. Not only is she furious at the prospect of spending eternity in last season’s gold lame, she’s determined that he help her solve her murder.

Suddenly Tristan finds himself thrown into a world of sequins and fake eyelashes, and worse still, he may have developed a bit of a crush on Scotland Yard’s brand new drool-worthy detective, Inspector Danny Hayes, who’s been assigned to Dusty’s murder. Oh, and as the icing on top of a really crappy cake, the killer now wants him dead too…

All he ever wanted was a simple life but suddenly he’s juggling work, a deliciously sexy detective, a stubborn ghost and a relentless murderer… and things have just gotten dead serious….

From author Wendy Saunders writing as Vawn Cassidy comes this hot and funny, slow burn, opposites attract paranormal caper across the East End of London.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Shameless Puckboy (Puckboy Book 3) by Eden Finley and Saxon James

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Shameless Puckboy brings us to Oskar Voyjik’s story, one I’ve greatly anticipated. Throughout the Puckboy series, when the Collective , a group of LGBTGIA pro hockey players, has gathered together to celebrate each other’s milestone events or to welcome another into their ranks, Oskar’s antics and outrageous personality has stood out.

Now his bad judgement with his flagrant sexual activities, caught on camera and swiftly passed to all media outlets are threatening his career. He and his actions have just gotten so out of hand that the San Jose’s PR manager decides to personally tackle reigning in the bad boy of his team if not the NHL.

I love this story. It’s a two person narrative that works remarkably well to get the reader into the mindset and hearts of PR manager Lane Pierce and gorgeous bad boy hockey player Oskar Voyjik.

It’s wonderful writing because with both men , it’s a matter of emotional defenses, of assumptions made that now have to be dropped and deep sea changes in life patterns to rearrange to move forward with each other. Finley’s and James’s carefully crafted personalities are rich with stubbornness, humor, bitterness, sexuality, and the need for acceptance.

Watching these two move towards each other while adjusting their preconceived notion’s about each other and finally realizing that they are in a real relationship is believable and moving.

There’s the inevitable drama but not an unexpected element. It feels true to the story and situation.

While I have thoroughly enjoyed each book and couples in this series, Shameless is probably my favorite.

There’s another coming out Foolish Puckboy but not until next year.

Argh!

Until then, I’ll have to fantasize. And recommend to all who haven’t read or caught up on this series, that you do so. As soon as possible.

I’ve listed them below. Happy reading!

Puckboy series:

✓ Egotistical Puckboy #1

✓ Irresponsible Puckboy #2

✓ Shameless Puckboy #3

◦ Foolish Puckboy #4 – April 13, 2023

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showShameless Puckboy (Puckboys #3) by Eden Finley

Description:

OSKAR

After a little mishap in an alleyway with CCTV, my public image needs fixing. Oops?
It might have been a stunt to get the attention of Lane Pierce, San Jose’s new PR manager, but I didn’t realize what the consequences would be when I did it. I’ve got Lane’s sole focus now in all the wrong ways.
He has designated himself as my babysitter, and while it’s fun messing with him, being bound by curfews and rules has never worked for me.
The more I push back, the more I realize what’s really on the line. My career, my future, and maybe even my heart.


LANE

Being appointed head of San Jose’s PR department was a dream come true … until I met Oskar Voyjik.
He may be San Jose royalty, but with the stunts Oskar’s been pulling, the team owner is down to his last thread of patience. Which puts me in the firing line. If I can’t turn Oskar’s entitled party boy image around, we’ll both be shown the door.
I have free rein to do whatever it takes, and it turns out whatever it takes is Oskar.
Only, the more entangled our lives become, the more I see the Oskar he’s buried deep down. The one who hurts, the one who’s sensitive and kind, the one … the one I think I’m falling for.
I can’t have him and my career, and if rumors of the professional lines I’ve crossed get out, it’s not only my dream job I can kiss goodbye; I’ll be disgraced from professional sports completely.

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: How I Stole The Princess’s White Knight and Turned Him To Villainy: Miracle 4 By A.J. Sherwood

Rating: 4.75🌈

We are now into Miracle 4 of How I Stole The Princess’s White Knight and Turned Him To Villainy, a fabulous fantasy serial by A.J. Sherwood and things are heating up in the slow romance between Knight Devan and sorcerer Tan.

It all happens during a mission to investigate the disappearance and sinkings of multiple vessels as they sail through a Strait near Devan’s family.

Sherwood starts to use this journey to deepen the relationship between Tan and Devan. A longer history is revealed and the turmoil of Devan’s thoughts regarding his long service to the kingdom come to the surface.

All serious elements while not forgetting the humor and new sexuality that’s entering into their relationship.

It’s a great story and also sets up some perilous times ahead for all.

I can’t wait for the next installment. There are 6 in all. I’m highly recommending the series, including this one. But read them in the order they are written for story and relationship development.

https://www.amazon.com › stole-Pri…How I stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned Him to Villainy : Miracle 4 eBook …

…

Description:

What’s Devan to do when his cousin’s ships and the crew go missing? Set sail with Tan to figure it out.

What’s Tan to do when Devan finally makes a move? N.S.F.W. Many times. On many surfaces.

Damn creatures are trying to interrupt them. Murder ensues.

Tags:

The crack ship armada sails again, literally, Tan fell first, Devan fell harder, communication, because miscommunication is the devil’s trope, Devan puts himself first for once, Tan approves, LET THE PLANNING BEGIN!, unless Devan beckons you to bed, then planning can wait, relationship progress, flirty Devan has been released, Tan is thrilled, Wells feels betrayed, just lots of fluff in between murder, tipsy Tan does things to Devan, first kiss, The VOID explained.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: The Dog in the Alley (Beyond the Veil Book 4) by K. M. Avery

Rating: 4.5🌈

The Dog in the Alley switches over from focusing on the relationship between medium/warlock Edward Campion and his partner Dr Mason Manning, orc, witch and respected historian and Edward’s magical growth. That’s was the primary theme of books one to three.

Now the focus turns to Detective Valentine Hart a great character and personal favorite. Hart, an important element in all the prior stories, was changed by the Arcanavirus into a 6’5” violet eyed gorgeous elf who presents himself as a coldly effective, wry, snarky personality who barely tolerates the bureaucracy of the political system and police department he works within. He’s gruff, unbearably rough while being one of the few types of Nids the human population can tolerate simply because he’s beautiful, a elf Fairy Prince of the folklore made a breathing being. Unlike the ghouls, vampires, death witches, shifters and other beings once formerly human who are hated, protested against, and even killed.

Here K. M. Avery explores Hart’s surprising history, reveals the true nature underneath the “sarcastic , cold“ persona Hart uses as a shield,

and brings in a shatteringly horrific case that both ties into the previous stories and yet adds another layer of the growing abuse that the Nid population is suffering under.

Avery also introduces several characters that are just fascinating. One is the dog of the title. I have a slight issue in that we only get partial foundation for what is a major character. Most of that is in his dog form which, admittedly, is utterly adorable. But the man? Remains a bit of a mystery.

The other is a Tiger shifter. He too is a main character who appears to have a journey in the series but is this the last book? I don’t know.

The ending is somewhat abrupt. Both in terms of what has happened in terms of our detective in his life, professionally. We get a here’s where he is now . And the same hint of a surprise in another direction.

After everything that’s gone on, it’s a light ending for a very serious, heavier narrative.

The Dog in the Alley (Beyond the Veil Book 4) by K. M. Avery is about one of my favorite characters, Detective Hart. It does a excellent job in making a fascinating character even more richly layered. My only issue is that the author just didn’t completely stick the ending. It didn’t quite live up to the complex, well plotted , parts that went before.

I certainly hope the author intends to go on. It’s a great series and is full of characters and elements that haven’t been fully explored yet.

I’m definitely recommending. This and the series.

Beyond The Veil series:

✓ The Ghost in the Hall #1

✓ The Boy in the Locked Room #2

✓ The Skeleton Under the Stairs #3

◦ The Dog in the Alley (Beyond the Veil Book 4) m

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showThe Dog in the Alley (Beyond the Veil, #4) by K.M. Avery

Description:

Some days, an elf can’t get a break.

I’m overworked, underpaid and underappreciated, and up to my lavender eyeballs in missing and murdered shifters. To make matters worse, I’ve acquired a dog.

Sort of.

He’s not actually a dog. I don’t know his name or anything about him other than the fact that he’s mostly hairless and is blind in one eye—and he’s a witness to one of the unsolved shifter murders that’s keeping me up at night. We found him at a crime scene, injured and scared, and I just can’t make myself lock him up for obstruction of justice, even though I probably should.

He won’t shift back, so here I am with a dog that isn’t a dog following me everywhere and eating off my plate every time I turn around.

The weirdest part is that I’m not sure I want to go back to living without him constantly underfoot.

A slow-burn M/M Paranormal Shifter Romance
Book 4 in the Beyond the Veil Series

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: The Tank (The Spell Saga Book 3) by Cari Z

Rating: 4.5 🌈

The Tank, third novel in Cari Z’s terrific steampunk romance adventure series is perhaps the best conceptualized, best written of the three stories so far.

It brings her characters great emotional growth, allowing for betrayals, thought provoking moments of ambivalence of the nature of the work that a Master of Thaumaturge finds himself and his associates engaged in for the services of war. And the cost to relationships of all kinds.

The histories of the war, the Enemies, and even main characters are filled in and given fuller dimension.

The series and the growing relationship between Anton Seiber and Imperial Investigator Camille Lumière becomes deeply layered within the restrictions of their service and the growing demands of an enlarging war.

I was absolutely engaged by the drama and poignant moments of the storylines here. The war that overtakes the needs and loyalties of many.

There’s another book to come. I can’t wait to read it .

I highly recommend this story and series but start with The Train and read through as they were written.

The Spell Saga series:

✓ The Train #1

✓ The Tower #2

✓ The Tank #3

◦ The Trials #4 – Nov 8, 2022

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Tank-S…The Tank: The Spell Saga: Book Three – Kindle edition by Z, Cari. Romance …

Description:

All Anton Seiber, newly-minted Master Thaumaturge, wants is to use his training to support himself out in the world. Well, that and to see the man he loves, Imperial Investigator Camille Lumière, more than once every six months.

What he gets instead is an invitation to visit L’Institut D’Ingénierie Technologique in Paris, the foremost research institution for thaumaturgy and the arts of war in the world. It’s an offer he can’t turn down…quite literally.

Getting to the Institute is a mess that Anton barely survives, and that’s just the beginning of his troubles. Drawn into a web of lies and betrayals, Anton will have to use every trick he can conjure to survive—and perhaps hand over the most diabolical spell in the world in exchange for saving the life of someone he loves.

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: The Creek (Briar County #3) by Riley Hart

Rating: 5🌈

There’s nothing better then to be able to return to Riley Hart’s fictional North Carolina setting of Briar County, where we’ve gotten to know the various townships and citizens that makeup this warm-hearted series.

The Creek sets down a familiar theme with a hometown son returning after a decade or so absence.

Hart’s storyline of second chance love combined with this richly layered foundation of found family and warm-hearted tapestry of a diverse community is a wonderful novel to sink into.

There’s so much to appreciate and love here. The characters are well crafted, defined by their past histories and experiences as well as their personalities.

A major standout in terms of storylines? One that’s rarely seen among contemporary romance novels is that Hart doesn’t take sides when narratively exploring the broken relationships between divorced fathers August, his ex Lewis (not a MC), and their teenage son, Reese, who’s having enormous emotional issues dealing with all the upheaval in his life. No one dimensional ex hatred or simplistic dumping.

No. Here, Reese’s pain and adjustment problems are naturally made a big theme of August’s return to Harmony. Reese’s slow integration into the community with the help of the “found family “ members we’ve come to love and care about is remarkable in its believability and realistic elements. His fears of abandonment, the discussions that he finally understands how to bring up about himself, his fears, heartbreaking and grounded in RL.

Cliff Jones, the welder/artist, who’s never forgotten his first kiss and the boy who gave it to him, is a sheer joy to encounter. No drama, just a warmth of discovery, and understanding about where his future lies in the man and his teenage son who’s returned.

August and Reese, their deeply heartfelt relationship is real and emotional. Reese, who is seeing a therapist to try and help him understand his feelings, is so well written that you will believe you know him. Well.

The drama, such as it is, occurs much as it would in real life. The arguments are the same. The outcome lovely.

There’s so much here to connect with and take into your heart. It all begins with the road into Briar County.

If you’re not familiar with this incredible lovely series, I’ve listed them below. And I highly recommend them all, including this one.

Briar County series to date:

✓ Firefly Lane #1

✓ Sundae’s Best #2

✓ The Creek #3

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Creek-B…The Creek (Briar County Book 3) – Kindle edition by Hart, Riley, Aguiar, Wander. …

Description:

Divorced for two years, August Reynolds needs a change. He and his teenage son, Reese, pack up and move to Briar County, the home August left at fourteen. He’s hoping it’ll help him and Reese connect again, that Reese will come into his own there the way August did. For him, it was all because of Clint Jones, his childhood best friend and first crush.

At forty-two, Clint figures he’s probably never going to find the one. He’s dated on and off, but he’s never fallen in love. He has his business, his dogs, his friends and family. Most of the time, that’s enough, but then August moves home—Clint’s first kiss and bisexual awakening—making him realize he might be lonelier than he thought.

Clint and August fall back into an easy friendship. Some of their best childhood memories are the days they spent at the creek: talking, laughing, and learning about who they were. But now they’re adults, the attraction palpable between them. It’s not long before they’re tumbling into bed, stealing moments for secret kisses and spending days exploring each other.

They can’t move too fast, though. Reese misses his other father, and sometimes August worries Reese would rather be with him. They’re just getting their life on track, and the last thing August wants is to shake it up by telling Reese he’s with Clint. But as it turns out, that’s not the only obstacle in their way…

The Creek is a small-town, second-chances, friends-to-lovers romance, with mature men who talk about their feelings, stolen kisses, and nights spent beneath the stars.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: The Case of The Undiscovered Corpse (Cambridge Fellows/Alasdair and Toby Mystery ) by Charlie Cochrane

Rating: 4.5🌈

It’s wonderful to return to those fabulous Cambridge Dons Orlando Coppersmith and Jonty Stewart, now in their 70’s, still living happily together in Hyacinth Cottage, and teaching at their beloved St. Brides College.

It’s 1952 when a movie producer with an idea for a potentially new film script featuring comes calling for the pair in Cambridge. The script would feature a real life mystery that the couple was involved in decades ago at the Old Manor, the famed Stewart estate. The film would have Orlando and Jonty played by the enormously popular actors, Alasdair Hamilton and Toby Bowe, who just happen to be amateur sleuths themselves.

What follows is a fascinating, complicated story of multiple relationships, decades past family histories, and a murder that was never solved as the WW1 was the focus of everyone’s attention and energies.

It’s outstanding to see the lovely, intelligent and now deeply settled relationship that’s the combination of Orlando and Jonty in their 70’s. Still handsome, sparks flying, the joy of investigating and discovery making everything just sing.

Alasdair Hamilton and Toby Bowe are a bit of a splendid discovery for me. I hadn’t read their stories and will now backtrack and gather those up. They are a remarkable team and combining them together with the Cambridge Fellows makes this a double couples delight , that never flags but builds gently onto each other.

Plus we get to see the brilliant Dr Panasur and others too.

If you’re not familiar with either series, then yes, you’ll be at a loss here. For the settings, scenes , and many a dialogue are awash with memories from other stories and characters now long passed away.

But for those of us who love this couple, the series, and probably the other too, it’s a great story and mystery as well.

Charlie Cochrane being fabulous as always.

I’ve listed the 2 series and their novels below.

I’m highly recommending all.

Description:

Alasdair Hamilton and Toby Bowe are the darlings of post-war British cinema, playing Holmes and Watson onscreen and off. When they’re called on to portray their fellow amateur detectives-Orlando Coppersmith and Jonty Stewart-not only do they find distinct challenges in depicting real people, they also become embroiled in solving a century-old murder.

How did a body lie undiscovered so long in the Stewart family vaults, who’s been covering up the murder ever since and why was the victim killed in the first place?

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

The Case of the Undiscovered Corpse (An Alasdair and Toby and Cambridge Fellows Mystery)

Relates series:

Alasdair Hamilton and Toby Bowe novels:

◦ An Act of Detection

◦ The Case of the Grey Assassin

The Cambridge Fellows Mysteries -Orlando Coppersmith and Jonty Stewart series

✓ Lessons in Love (set November 1905)

✓ Lesson in Desire (set August 1906)

✓ Lessons in Discovery (set November 1906)

✓ Lessons in Power (set Spring 1907)

✓ Lessons in Temptation (set July 1907)

✓ Lessons in Seduction (set September 1907)

✓ Lessons in Trust Summer 1908

✓ Lessons for Suspicious Minds (set Summer 1909)

✓ Lessons for Idle Tongues (set Summer 1910)

✓ Lessons in Cracking the Deadly Code (set February 1911)

✓ Lessons in Playing a Murderous Tune (set summer 1911)

✓ Lessons in Following a Poisonous Trail  (set October 1911)

✓ Lessons in Solving the Wrong Problem (set spring 1912)

✓ Game of Chance (set 1916) – in the anthology Capital Crimes

✓ All Lessons Learned (set Spring 1919)

✓ Lessons for Sleeping Dogs  (set 1921)

✓ Lessons in Loving thy Murderous Neighbour. (set in 1922)

◦ Lessons in Chasing the Wild Goose (set in 1922)

Review: Filthy and the Beast (Love Unexpectedly Book 4) by R. Cayden

Rating: 4🌈

Filthy and the Beast was read out of sequence in R. Cayden’s Love Unexpectedly series and I honestly don’t think it matters. Some of the other couples make appearances but who they are is explained or further depth of detail isn’t necessary.

For a quick, sweet contemporary romance, Filthy and the Beast is lovely. It’s got a age gap, nerd/jock, and what is described as sunny/grumpy dynamics happening. Oh and a bi-awakening too.

There’s some terrific elements here that I thought were underdeveloped which is likely due to the shorter length of the novel. Shame because greater attention to such character growth and aspects of their relationship/lives would have enhanced the storylines.

Damien here is a young man who does many things well but hasn’t found what he’s passionate about. Cayden is able to make Damien engaging and very connectable.

Enzo the former boxer is lovely and there’s parts to him I wish had been enlarged. His past is a bit lacking, when we get the major dramatic points filled in , it’s fleeting and not with the dimension it requires. But one of the biggest elements is his rescue and love of pit bulls. It becomes a major story thread. Yet it’s seriously shallow for such a popular and emotional theme.

Their relationship is quick and pretty seamless but with a few minor stumbling blocks.

So it’s a good romance but the promise for a even better one will hang over it all the way to the end.

Love Unexpectedly series:

◦ Filthy Sweet #1

◦ Filthy Bromance #2

◦ Filthy Rock Stars #3

✓ Filthy and the Beast #4

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showFilthy and the Beast (Love Unexpected, #4) by R. Cayden

Description:

There’s no way in hell I’m falling for a man called the Sledgehammer.

Enzo is a lot of things.
A big grump of a jock.
Twenty years my senior.
My employer.
Straight.
I’m living with the retired boxer while he recovers from an injury, just here to earn a good paycheck after my life fell apart.
Getting emotionally involved with the man isn’t my job, but my gaze keeps lingering on his thick muscles and the storm clouds in his eyes.
For a million reasons, my geeky heart shouldn’t flutter when Enzo walks in the room.
But then he grunts my name, our eyes lock, and the world turns upside down.

Filthy and the Beast is a steamy standalone M/M romance featuring an older, grumpy jock and the bubbly geek who lands in his mansion and upends his life. It’s got a secret sweetheart, surprise temptation, and a touch of angst. The fourth book in Love Unexpected, Filthy and the Beast can be enjoyed alone or as part of the series.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Unstable Connections (Valor and Doyle (Book 3) by Nicky James

Rating: 5🌈

Nicky James has written an extraordinary story with Unstable Connections, the third novel in the amazing Valor and Doyle series.

Usually there’s one element that’s lacking when you have a couple and series with such serious storylines and a myriad of emotional issues. Most of which, like past domestic abuse , alcoholism, and deep loss, thread through the couple’s new shaky relationship and the main mystery that involves both missing children and a presumed kidnapped sister from decades past.

But Unstable Connections has no flaws.

The relationship that slowly being established between MPU Detective Detective Quaid Valor and that of Homicide Detective Aslan Doyle is so beautifully written, full of emotional nuances and realistic complications that it brings the men even more vividly to life as they struggle with every aspect of their lives.

It’s Quaid fighting constantly with the demons and fears and damage the domestic abuse of his last relationship has inflicted on him that continues into his current romance with Aslan.

It’s the now sober Aslan’s past as a out of control drunk that threatens his present day relationships, both work and romantic. It’s the tough lifting he’s with Quaid to counteract the deepest wounds done by Quaid’s ex. And now the stress and pain of the latest information that’s been recovered from the missing girls case that’s got both Quaid and his father riding an emotional edge.

The plotting and narrative is perfection. We are carried along with the characters on a horrifying set of mysteries that twists and turns with a subtle swiftness on its way to a poignant , deeply layered closure to a story element that had its beginnings at the first novel and with issues embedded in our characters at a cellular level.

While the mystery is solved, the relationship between Aslan and Quaid is still moving slowly forward with all the issues the latest events have brought up.

The supporting cast is as outstanding and fully realized as any I’ve read. I’m so in love with them as well.

I can’t wait for the next story to be released.

If you’re not familiar with this series and couple, you’re missing out. Start at the beginning and work your way through as they must be read in the order they are written.

I’m highly recommending one and all.

Valor and Doyle Mysteries:

✓ Department Rivals #0.5

✓ Temporary Partner #1

✓ Elusive Relations #2

✓ Unstable Connections #3

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showUnstable Connections (Valor and Doyle #3) by Nicky James

Description:

Missing children are reappearing, and ties to a thirty-year-old cold case can’t be ignored.

Between his shaky, brand-new relationship with reformed office playboy Detective Aslan Doyle, his sister’s case going from cold to hot overnight, his father insisting on being involved, and his boss breathing down his neck, Detective Quaid Valor is on edge.

The stress of the case is impacting Quaid’s whole life. He isn’t eating or sleeping, and every time he and Aslan are together, he is overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, which threaten to ruin the one good thing he has. Aslan’s patience seems unending until something happens to turn his life upside down too.

Can their relationship survive the personal and professional pressures they’re facing, or will it crash and burn?

Between media rumors and unstable connections, Quaid and his team need to work quickly to piece together a complicated case before more children fall victim to their unknown serial kidnapper. Maybe once everything is solved, Aslan and Quaid will have time to work on their rocky relationship and find stable ground once again.

** Unstable Connections is the third book in the Valor and Doyle Mystery Series. It is a same-couple series that should be read in order. Although each book has a self-contained mystery with no cliff-hangers, the romance is overarching and progressive throughout the series. **

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.