Category: M/M Contemporary Fiction

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Wicked Games (Queen City Rogues #2) by Aimee Nicole Walker

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Ryder Jameson and Lucien Clarke have a long and complicated love-hate past. Ryder works to conserve art and Lucien apparently steals art. When I saw these characters make a brief appearance in book one, Broken Halos, I read it first, but perhaps I shouldn’t have. Unfortunately, that story set the stage for my dislike of Ryder Jameson, the museum conservationist who is wrongly accused of the theft of artifacts at the last few museums where he’s worked. The fact is that those thefts are chiefly attributed to the man who Ryder fell for—and who happens to feel that way about him too—but Ryder always gets blamed.

Ryder wasn’t an endearing character in the first half of this book. Angry and miserable about another theft from another museum where he works, he totally blames the man he first knew as Sebastian, and has now come to find out is Lucien Clarke. A bout of angry sex with Lucien did nothing to raise Ryder in my esteem, but the author took the men much further into their current and past relationships, the childhoods that made them who they are, the men who loved and left them, and finally, finally, I saw a Ryder I could like.

Lucien was ostensibly a suave, debonair, man-of-the-word art thief—at least, that was his role. But in reality, he was a sweet man forced into the world of art theft and trying his best to find a good outcome for everyone. He apparently really cares for Ryder and we see how his story plays out in the second half. But what put me off him early in the story was his love ’em and leave ’em attitude toward Ryder. And his reactions to situations felt incongruous with his outward persona. He was a bit too “damsel in distress” at some points in the story, and I found it difficult to embrace him as a good character.

The story is outlandish and most certainly barely believable, but it’s fast-paced and interesting and by the end I felt compelled to keep turning pages so that I could see who lives and who loves by the time we reach an epilogue. Readers who enjoy lots of sex scenes, including angry sex, and those who enjoy an underlying plot of danger with their handsome, sexy men will likely really enjoy this story. 

As I said, it took me a while to warm up to the characters but when I did I really enjoyed the rest of the book. Granted I wouldn’t believe the story could actually happen, but it is definitely entertaining and kept me on my toes so I do recommend it to readers who like a sexy action adventure MM romance.

The cover by Jay Aheer is what attracted me to this book as it features two muscular, apparently naked, tattooed men curled around each other in a loving embrace. However, as I got into the story I realized that neither MC is remotely like the men on the cover so I was disappointed.

Sales Links:  Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 243 pages
Published March 11th 2019 by Chasing Rainbows Press LLC
Series Queen City Rogues #2

BOOK BLAST – The Selkie Prince’s Secret Baby (The Royal Alphas ) by JJ Masters (excerpt)

BOOK BLAST

Book Title: The Selkie Prince’s Secret Baby

Series: The Royal Alphas, Book 5

Author: J.J. Masters

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Megan Parker of EmCat Designs

Genre/s: MM Contemporary Romance, paranormal, mpreg, menage

Length: 66 226 words / 264 pages

It is a standalone story within the series

Release Date: April 6, 2019

Add on Goodreads  

 

 

Blurb

An alpha prince, required to find his fated mate, has already pledged his love to another. But there’s a problem…

Prince Caol of the North has enjoyed a very active, carefree life. Being the youngest of five alpha-born princes, he hasn’t had a lot of responsibilities. As he watched his brothers find their fated mates and produce sons, he knew the time would come when he’d be forced to do the same. However, he’s in no rush since he’s quite happy with his current lover. While Caol wants to take his beta servant as his mate, the king demands the law be upheld and he find an omega who can give him sons to continue the Selkie race.

Beck can’t bear the thought of losing his alpha—the prince he not only served for years but loved just as many—to an omega. A male fated to bear his alpha sons. However, Beck’s gender makes it impossible for the prince to take him as his mate since betas cannot produce heirs.

Galen has lost so much. Trying to mend his broken heart, the omega’s thrown into the path of his alpha when he becomes a wet-nurse to the prince’s son. A son Caol has no idea even existed. The only problem is his alpha already has a lover. One Caol’s been with for years, one he loves. Just when Galen thought he’d never find a mate due to his past circumstances, the omega unexpectedly finds two. Was this what the fates intended?

Note: A 66k-plus word m/m/m ménage shifter mpreg story, this is the fifth book in the Royal Alpha series. Due to the “knotty” times in this book, it is recommended for mature readers only. While it can be read as a standalone, it’s recommended to read the series in order. And, like all of my books, it has an HEA.

 

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US   

Amazon UK

 

 

Excerpt

Caol’s eyes popped open, but all he could see was a thick head of hair. His face was buried in the dark blond mane as he spooned the male against his naked chest. He inhaled the familiar scent of his lover deeply as he nuzzled his nose farther into the wavy locks.

His lover who was also his beta servant.

His beta servant who was also, as it turns out, the unwanted son of a king.

His arm tightened across Beck’s chest and he shifted until his morning erection nestled between the crease of his beta’s muscular buttocks. A place he knew very well. A part of his beta that Caol had worshipped time and time again.

Was it wrong that the beta servant assigned to him so many years ago, when he came of age, had been his lover for almost as long?

Maybe, according to some. Like his late father, King Solomon. Or the current king, his eldest brother Kai.

But no matter how many times Caol, the fifth and youngest alpha-born son of the late King Solomon, promised he’d stop rutting with Beck, he couldn’t.

Truth was, Beck didn’t want him to, either. Even when Caol, with good intentions, sent Beck back to his own quarters in the beta servants’ section of the compound, Beck would sneak back into his bed in the middle of the night. There was rarely a morning that Caol didn’t wake up with the beta in his arms.

No matter what anyone said, the connection between the two, an alpha Selkie prince and his beta servant, just felt right.

They had a special relationship. A deep love and affection for each other.

While his brothers all had their own betas, who they loved and treated as part of their family, Beck had always been more to Caol.

No matter how many lovers Caol had, be it human, betas, and even forbidden omegas, he always came home to Beck.

His beta never said a word about it. He didn’t have to. After years—almost a decade and a half of being together—Caol could easily read Beck’s expressions and his moods.

Even when Caol would return reeking of another male, Beck would only give him a pointed look and then help him clean up.

He knew Beck wanted to be the only male in his life, but that wasn’t possible. Caol was obligated to find his fated mate, an appropriate omega to produce heirs. By law he was expected to produce pups. He couldn’t do that with Beck.

Quite simply because betas were infertile.

But also, because Caol wasn’t certain he could only be with one male for the rest of his days on this Earth and in the Great Sea. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be satisfied with just one. Even if it was the omega who was his fated mate.

Honestly, that scared him.

Not just due to the fact he should be loyal to his future omega, the future pater of his pups, but the fact he’d have to give up Beck. Not necessarily as his servant, but as his lover.

No, Beck looked forward to helping raise Caol’s sons, even if he didn’t whelp them himself. Caol knew Beck would treat any sons born to his prince as his very own. He would be fiercely protective and loyal to his alpha’s offspring.

That was another reason why Caol loved Beck so much.

 

About the Author 

J.J. Masters is the alter-ego of a USA Today bestselling author who writes hot, gay romance filled with heart, humor and heat. J.J. became fascinated with mpreg romance as soon as she figured out what mpreg stood for. She loves to write about “knotty” men!

You can join JJ’s FB Group HERE or her newsletter HERE to keep up with exclusive content and news.

 

Author Links

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A MelanieM Review: Arctic Sun (Frozen Hearts #1) by Annabeth Albert

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

 

Everything’s bigger in Alaska, especially the HEAs. Annabeth Albert kicks off the brand-new Frozen Hearts series with Arctic Sun, an opposites-attract romance between a rugged outdoorsman and a smoking hot former male model.

He’s built a quiet life for himself in Alaska. But it doesn’t stand a chance against the unrelenting pull of a man who’s everything he shouldn’t want.

Ex-military mountain man Griffin Barrett likes his solitude. It keeps him from falling back into old habits. Bad habits. He’s fought too hard for his sobriety to lose control now. However, his gig as a wildlife guide presents a new kind of temptation in superhot supermodel River Vale. Nothing the Alaskan wilderness has to offer has ever called to Griffin so badly. And that can only lead to trouble…

River has his own methods for coping. Chasing adventure means always moving forward. Nobody’s ever made him want to stand still—until Griffin. The rugged bush pilot is the very best kind of distraction, but the emotions he stirs up in River feel anything but casual, and he’s in no position to stay put.

With temptation lurking in close quarters, keeping even a shred of distance is a challenge neither’s willing to meet. And the closer Griffin gets to River, the easier it is to ignore every last reason he should run.

Arctic Sun is another successful contemporary romance from Annabeth Albert, one of my go to authors. This wonderful story manages to combine the breathtaking scenery and isolated landscape of Alaska with the romance between two  complicated, wounded men, highly different on the surface and yet so alike deep underneath.

With the state of Alaska as a third main character as well as a location, Albert also deals with some serious subject matter, also through her two main men.  While it’s obvious from the start that each man is struggling with some demon or demons, what they are exactly is a slower reveal.  The exact nature of what each man is battling is hinted at and given away in the synopsis so I don’t mind spelling it out here.  For Griffin Barrett, it’s sobriety and gambling.  For River, a eating disorder and a toxic way of life.  And neither one has exactly finished dealing with their addictions in a way that’s helping them move forward.  One is hiding and one is running.

Both away from themselves until they find each other in Alaska.  And Annabeth Albert brings us intimately into their journey and the larger than life wonder that is Alaska.

I loved the use of the photography group as a format for bringing Griffin out of his typical hermit like state and the other participants were great characters.  It let the model River slowly ease away to the real person underneath and I enjoyed that journey as much as Griffin.  And all the sights they took in. The locations and the beauty of Alaska is described in depth as is the joys of travels by aircraft of all sizes and type.  What I did think was underplayed was the long arctic nights and extreme cold as well as the distance between people and small towns. But that’s perhaps for another story as this is but the first in a series.

The complications, angst, and rediscovery here is saved for River and Griffin.  It’s one tough journey and a very rewarding one.  I loved the men and the HFN they received at the end.  It was realistic and heartwarming.  And I’m ready for more.

An Annabeth Albert story is a cause for joy.  The people are so real, the books so well written, that you just fall into them fully, connecting with the romance and their lives.    I highly recommend all her series and this story.  Pick them and this up and get started today.

Cover art is gorgeous with the seaplane and the mountains in the backdrop.

Buy now:
Harlequin: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781488051258_arctic-sun.html
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Frozen-Hearts-Annabeth-Albert/dp/1335006885/
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/arctic-sun-annabeth-albert/1129705419
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/arctic-sun/id1438313132
kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/arctic-sun-1
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Annabeth_Albert_Arctic_Sun?id=G55zDwAAQBAJ
Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Arctic-Sun-Audiobook/1488206201

 

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 384 pages
Published April 1st 2019 by Carina Press
ASINB07J3C79NH
Edition Language English
Series Frozen Hearts #1

Publisher’s Note: Arctic Sun deals with topics some readers may find difficult, including sobriety and eating disorders

Frozen Hearts Series

Arctic Sun

Arctic Wild  cpming June 3rd

A Stella Review: Copper Creek (Sawyer’s Ferry #3) by Cate Ashwood

RATING 5 out of 5 stars

Frankie:
My life sucks.
After spending a year jobless and on the edge of becoming homeless, I’d officially reached a level of desperation that, even if I wasn’t completely broke, retail therapy couldn’t fix.
While Sawyer’s Ferry, Alaska, is the last place on earth I’d ever want to visit, when my best friend, Holden, begs me to fly out and plan his wedding, I can’t say no. What I didn’t expect was to stumble into the administrative chaos at Copper Creek Brewing—or its too-hot-to-be-legal owner.
Clearly the man needs my help, and I’m willing to go above and beyond.
Way beyond.

Barrett:
I am screwed.
Six months after my assistant up and quit, I’m not any closer to finding a replacement, and things at the brewery are starting to fall apart.
And then in walks Frankie. He’s not the typical guy you’d find in these parts, and he brings with him a world of confusion. Because as much as I need his help, I can’t seem to keep my eyes—or hands—off him.
He’s supposed to be getting my life in order, but instead there’s a chance he could turn everything upside down.

Cate Ashwood delivered another great book, I have to say I couldn’t wait for Frankie story, I knew it would have been awesome as he is. I was a big fan of him, he is a fabolous friend, a character always positive, open and ready to help, even when he is deep in problems and he can’t see some light shining in his future. Sometimes we really just need to wait and be brave and all the good can happen, in love and work, as it happens to Frankie.

I fell so easily into Barrett and Frankie lives. It was so clear from the beginning how much they were into each other. Although Barrett has never been attracted to a man in the past, although Frankie is in Sawyer’s Ferry only for planning his best friend’s wedding, still something important is beginning and it will change them. One thing I appreciate a lot about Barrett was how easily he accepted his love with another man, sure there were some initial doubts, but at end he easily saw how deep were this feeling for Frankie and tried to fix their relationship.

As everything Cate writes, Copper Creek was a lovely story, I liked everything about it, I was able to meet Holden and Gage again and see how happy they were, still the ending was the better part, so sweet and romantic, it was simple to fall in love with these men all over again.

I feel to recommend the whole Sawyer’s Ferry series, it’s very well done and you won’t be disappointed.

The cover art by Cate Ashwood is clean and simple, it follows the style of the other covers in the series, I like it.

Sales Link:  Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 213 pages

Published March 25th 2019

ASIN B07PZF68J4

Edition Language English

Sawyer’s Ferry Series

Alaska

Laguna

Bishop Ridge

Whisky Christmas 2.5

Copper Creek

An Ali Review: Loose Lips & Relationships (Flaming, MO #1) by AJ Rose and Kate Aaron

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Flaming, Missouri is the perfect place for police officer Marc Warren to heal his battered heart after a broken marriage. The tourist town is an easy beat and he finds sanctuary in his beautiful cabin on the Lake of the Ozarks. So when Grant “Good Time” Taylor shows interest, Marc is in no hurry to let Flaming’s resident bad boy rock his boat.

Grant has no interest in dating locals. Tourists are plentiful and don’t want more than he’s willing to give. But a bar bet turns personal when Marc hands him a humiliating public rejection. If Grant wants to get under the mysterious officer’s skin, he’ll have to offer more than a temporary port.

The small town rumor mill gets a jumpstart as Marc and Grant realize what they’ve been missing all along—each other. But not everyone is happy for them. Someone will stop at nothing to sink the budding relationship. Can Marc and Grant overcome their fears to fight for each other, or is their happiness destined to drown?

I had read one of the authors before but not the other so I was not sure what I was getting into with this book.  It was well written and entertaining in many ways.  It also included a very sweet romance.
The biggest issue I had with the story was the use of lack of communication as the core relationship issue.  It’s a personal pet peeve of mine and I always struggle with books that include this plot device.  These two were ridiculous in their lack of discussing things.  I was also hoping for more mystery.  There was a small one here but it wasn’t detailed or well developed.  The story was way more romance than mystery which is fine, just not what I was expecting.
Overall I enjoyed this and I think my qualms with it were personal and not stuff that would bother everyone.  If you’re looking for a sweet story this may be a good series for you to check out.
Cover:  I think the cover is fine but it does not really stand out from other books.
Sales Links:  Amazon
Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 298 pages
Published February 25th 2019
ASINB07P7RJM1B
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesFlaming, MO #1

An Alisa Review: Kiss Me, Daddy (Club 83 #1) by Quinn War

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

Andy’s a recent college graduate with a mountain of debt and a load of regret over earning a degree he’ll never use. When he takes a job at a local gay bar, he doesn’t expect the first person to catch his eye to be the man he’s been dreaming about since a chance encounter.

Joshua’s comfortable in his life. He has an amazing son who’s wise beyond his years, an ex-wife who’s one of his best friends, and a great job. Now, if only those closest to him would quit hounding him to start dating again after the divorce.

Joshua finds what’s been missing with the other people he’s tried dating the first time Andy slips up and calls him Daddy. What starts as a slip of the tongue could lead to what both men really need and want.

Hmmm, this story was nice but didn’t connect with me or draw me in like the Kinky in the City series did.  I really like kink but I don’t like when the characters fly by the seat of their pants instead of having discussions and determining what the other wants and that is what it felt like these characters did.  They talked a little at one point about what they want but it was less than a page and I didn’t feel as though it did the story any benefit.

This is loosely connected to the Kinky in the City series which bring Calvin and Frankie into the story a little but what rubbed me wrong about that is it made their relationship out to be the Daddy/Boy dynamic that Joshua and Andy have and that’s not what I remember from their story.  I even went back an checked and it wasn’t like that.

Seeing the story from both of these characters’ points of view helps to understand them both.  Gosh, Andy is adorable and I just wanted to hold him and tell him everything would be okay.  He just continues to build things up in his head until he is thinking the worst which is one of the reasons he longs for a Daddy but I think the support Joshua gives goes even farther.  Joshua has a strange family set up and Andy is the first person who doesn’t turn away when it comes up though I think at times it causes Andy undue stress.  We get a quick look at who may be the next couple and I hope to continue reading the series and see if it picks up for me.

The cover art gives a cute visual of Andy.

Sales Link: Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 229 pages

Published: March 28, 2019

Edition Language: English

Series: Club 83 #1