Review: Finding Home: The Complete Series by Lily Morton

Rating: 5 🌈

The Finding Home, The Complete Series, is a splendid collection. I love being able to read one story right after the other of the men of Chi an Mor, House by the Sea.

The first novel is my favorite of the collection. That’s

🔹Oz.

It hit all my buttons, as far as a contemporary romance, and it’s everything I’ve come to expect from a Lily Morton story. It’s alternatively hilarious, so believably authentic that you feel you’re actually seeing the places and people moving through the events as they unfold, smelling the lavender, feeling the salty winds drifting through the warm fields and gardens of the golden stoned manor.

So sure everything exists because they feel so real and grounded for you.

Oz Gallagher and Silas Ashworth , the Earl of Ashworth, are absolute perfection. Oz, small, fierce Irish born Londoner, with his firsts in Art History but a common background that will always insure no reputable firm will hire him, is that quick witted, smart mouthed soul . He’s instantly someone you love. An affair that deepens, page by page.

It’s helped along by Oz’s instantaneous connection with Chewwy, a mournful Italian Spinione , who becomes his shadow, to our delight.

Silas, the Earl and local vet, is just as warm and charming as Oz, but in a totally different way. He’s, posh but without the snobbery. He’s Cornish, where the land and house have as deep a hold onto him as for it to be cellular. He loves his land, his people, and , everything about Silas telegraphs that immense connection through Morton’s wonderful descriptions and thoughtful dialogue.

Theirs is a slow paced romance, working through each other’s issues to arrive at a wonderful HEA and heartwarming epilogue.

There’s so many outstanding secondary characters, many of whom we will see again in other stories, including those in this collection.

5🌈

🔹Milo is next. This is a more somber story as it deals with issues such as domestic abuse and it’s lasting effects upon the person who suffered.

Milo Ramsey had a stutter , caused by a childhood accident, that also made him a target for bullying. This story addresses that as well. The Milo we met in Oz’s novel is one that’s had some time to recover.

This story gives us the Milo we hadn’t met yet, the trauma he endured, and the journey he took to recover and recognize the characteristics of the man he loves aren’t like the one who abused him.

It’s one of self-discovery, forgiveness, and bravery.

There’s a age difference between Milo and Niall. Milo’s romance with Niall Fawcett, estate manager to the Earl of Ashworth, that is.

But it’s a wonderful romance, and thoughtful story, working through all the serious issues that’s being discussed here, and what that means for Milo, first and their future.

Very satisfying. 4.75.

🔹Gideon is last.

Gideon Ramsey is Milo’s older brother, close friend to Niall and Silas. They grew up together at a nearby house, close to Chi an Mor. But where Milo was kept close to home, Gideon, like Silas and Niall , was shipped off to boarding school.

Gideon became a famous actor. Hiding the fact that he was “gay “ on the advice of his toxic agent. The fast lifestyle caught up with him in his late 30’s, drugs, sex, alcohol. Until it almost kills him with a bout of bronchitis.

Enter Milo and Niall, with an intervention of sorts. A cruise and a nurse to transport him to Chi an Mor where he’ll recuperate.

Eli Jones is believable as the nurse and engaging. Gideon is acerbic , dryly funny, and charming. The cruise is a great way to have them get to know each other before they land and Eli is off to another job.

I felt there could have been more in the section with Gideon’s agent. That happened abruptly. The cottage visit was lovely.

I liked this story but the other two were clear favorites. The epilogue, however, was splendid! I could picture that so easily. What a grand way to send them off.

4.5🌈

All in all just an amazing collection of stories. I wish Chi an Mor was real and I could pay to visit. I’d be on the next plane out.

One small note just because it bothers me. Of the 3 covers. The one for Oz? Has absolutely no connection to any main character . Oz? Tiny sharp faced black haired blues eyes Irish man. Silas? Tall, black haired, blade like nose Cornishman.

https://www.goodreads.com › seriesFinding Home Series by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Finding Home

Description:

The bestselling Finding Home series is now available in one collection. Set in Cornwall, the series follows a group of friends as they each find love with a lot of heat and humour along the way.

Oz Gallagher does not do relationships well. Bored and jobless after another disastrous hook up, he decides to leave London for a temporary job in the wilds of Cornwall. Surely managing a stately home on a country estate will be easier than navigating the detritus of his relationships at home.

However, when he gets there, he finds a house in danger of crumbling to the ground and a man who is completely unlike anyone he’s ever met. An earl belonging to a family whose roots go back hundreds of years. Silas is the living embodiment of duty and sacrifice. Two things that Oz has never wanted. He’s also warm and funny and he draws Oz to him like a magnet.

Will falling in love be enough to make Oz stop moving at last and realise that he’s finally home?

Milo

Milo has been burying himself at Chi an Mor, hiding from the wreckage of his once promising career and running from a bad relationship that destroyed what little confidence he had. Niall, his big brother’s best friend, has been there for him that entire time. An arrogant and funny man, Niall couldn’t be any more different from the shy and occasionally stuttering Milo, which has never stopped Milo from crushing wildly on the man who saved him.

However, just as Milo makes the decision to move on from his hopeless crush, he and Niall are thrown into close contact, and for the first time ever Niall seems to be returning his interest. But it can never work. How can it when Milo always needs rescuing?

Content warning: There are descriptions of domestic abuse in this book.

Gideon

Gideon has everything he should want in life. Fame, money, acting awards – he has it all. Everything but honesty. At the advice of his agent, Gideon has concealed his sexuality for years. But it’s starting to get harder to hide, and his increasingly wild behaviour is threatening to destroy his career.

Then he’s laid low by a serious illness and into his life comes Eli Jones. Eli is everything that Gideon can’t understand. He’s sunny tempered, friendly, and optimistic. Even worse, he’s unaffected by grumpiness and sarcasm, which forms ninety percent of Gideon’s body weight. As Gideon gets to know the other man, he finds himself wildly attracted to his lazy smiles and warm, scruffy charm that seem to fill a hole inside Gideon that’s been empty for a long time.

Will he give in to this incomprehensible attraction when it could mean the end of everything that he’s worked for?

Lily Morton Books

April 5, 2022

Pages: 885

Review: The Long Game (Game Changers #6) by Rachel Reid

Rating: 4🌈

It almost hurt to write this review because it wasn’t the one I was really expecting to write. I have loved this series since Rachel Reid began it. And a diehard fan of Shane and Ilya since they premiered in Heated Rivalry, a favorite novel among many here.

So like so many readers and fans of both author and Game Changer , I’ve been eagerly anticipating the series finale and the novel which would bring some closure to the 11 years long closeted romance of Shane and Ilya.

What I didn’t expect was that I felt the first 25 percent of the book, perhaps more , was such a slog, that I came close to putting it down completely.

The characters I had connected with were missing. Chemistry gone. Shane was the one I had the most issues with. Self involved, complaining, non communicative. Other than sex, I couldn’t see what Ilya saw in him. The relationship and dynamics from Heated Rivalry had dimmed and the sparks doused.

I couldn’t believe this was it.

It wasn’t until the halfway mark, when dramatically the narrative picked up, and their relationship became energized once more that I was invested in their lives, romance, and the story.

There had been serious elements introduced. Depression, family history, suicide. But it was one-sided narratively speaking. And it served to only connect us to Ilya and his shaky emotional status. Leaving Shane in a removed story bubble, away from the relationship and the feelings connecting us to Ilya.

The emotional ties only reached back out after the story was halfway through.

Then we got safely back on established familiar relationship ground. One we recognized from Heated Rivalry, but with personal growth accounted for.

Shame it took that long because the remainder of the story was excellent. It wove plot threads from Role Model into the storyline here, making terrific use of those characters and elements.

Reid also found the missing humor, to intersperse with the serious issues of LGBTQIA+ athletes acceptance in sports, outing, and, the stress of being a pro athlete on relationships.

The last section of The Long Game was everything I’d hoped for and wanted for this couple. It turned into the perfect way to send them off.

I just wish it had happened sooner. That the book was a complete Gordie Howe Hat Trick instead of a one goal win.

But I’ll take it. I’m sorry to see the series end. Just as I am to see the end of every hockey season.

I’ll look forward to the next Rachel Reid with the same enthusiasm as the start of the new season and run for the Stanley Cup as well.

If you’re a lover of hockey romance, contemporary romance, and the works of Rachel Reid, this series is for you. I’m highly recommending it.

Game Changers
Book 1: Game Changer
Book 2: Heated Rivalry
Book 3: Tough Guy
Book 4: Common Goal
Book 5: Role Model
Book 6: The Long Game

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Long Game (Game Changers, #6) by Rachel Reid – Goodreads

Synopsis:

The sequel is finally here! Shane and Ilya’s story, first seen in Heated Rivalry, continues in this long-awaited hockey romance from Rachel Reid.

“Everything you could want from this magnetic couple! A passionate, sexy, emotional sequel that grips your heart! Shane and Ilya forever!” —#1 NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely, author of Hopelessly Bromantic

To the world they are rivals, but to each other they are everything.

Ten years.

That’s how long Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been seeing each other. How long they’ve been keeping their relationship a secret. From friends, from family…from the league. If Shane wants to stay at the top of his game, what he and Ilya share has to remain secret. He loves Ilya, but what if going public ruins everything?

Ilya is sick of secrets. Shane has gotten so good at hiding his feelings, sometimes Ilya questions if they even exist. The closeness, the intimacy, even the risk that would come with being open about their relationship…Ilya wants it all.

It’s time for them to decide what’s most important—hockey or love.

It’s time to make a call.

Review: Cowboy Haven by B. A. Tortuga

Rating 4.5 🌈

Cowboy Haven by B. A. Tortuga is another one of this author’s kids n’ cowboys stories that she has been writing lately, some with author Jodi Payne. And Cowboy Haven is one of my favorites of the trope she’s calling cozy cowboys.

It’s located in New Mexico, on a ranch. One of the main characters is a former rodeo champion, with an enormous family of mixed heritage. All of whom live in and around him. So we gets lots of local foods, easy family interactions that feel free and believable, and ranch life, up early, coffee on… ranch hands in for food between duties. Tortuga has this down perfectly.

The other? A Texan, damaged past history, painful divorce, and now single father with 2 month old triplets.

How he got to his present situation is also made to feel extremely realistic and desperate. Heath Barron has our attention and empathy from the get go, as they say. Plus the babies, each as individual as Tortuga could make 2 month olds, are adorable.

Kolt Cordova, former rodeo champ and rancher, with his extended family, is believable as both rancher and rodeo cowboy who, with all the wear and tear , knew when it was time to quit. He was ready for something steady and a home. He’s a very well defined person and when he’s rescued Heath and the babies, the fall into a relationship and love actually feels like the next step.

Ever know someone who decides they are ready to settle down? Then next thing you know you hear their engaged , then married? Happily so?

It happens that way sometimes.

Here Tortuga makes that into a excellent romance. With a drama inserted for that extra oomph.

Heath is a terrific character that you just enjoy reading about as is his love for his children. They, all three, are an absolute delight. The romance, including all the Cordova family and one terrifying mule, make this story.

I would love for a sequel sometime down the road!

If you love cowboys and children, absolutely lovely romances, then Cowboy Haven by B. A. Tortuga is one for you.

https://www.amazon.com › Cowboy…Cowboy Haven (BA’s Cozy Cowboys) – Kindle edition – Amazon.com

Note: There are some typos that should have been caught by the editor. But not as many as I’m seeing in lots of books these days.

Synopsis:

When Heath Barron leaves Texas for Northern New Mexico, he thinks he’s getting a luxury house rental for a steal, getting away from his ex, and finding a home for his newborn triplets. What he finds is a broken down trailer, a freezing winter, and the feeling that he’s at rock bottom in his life. Again.

Former rodeo champ Kolt Cordova has a good life. He has a ton of family, good land for cattle, and if his joints hurt when it’s cold, then so be it. But when he finds Heath living in an abandoned place on the place next to his, he knows his life is about to change. He just has no idea how much.

Heath feels like Kolt is offering him everything he’s ever wanted when he invites Kolt to come and stay, and Heath gives Kolt a sense of belonging, but as they get to know each, and maybe love, each other, danger from Heath’s past rears its head to try to harm them all. Can they find a way to face their fears, and this threat, together?

This book is a gay cowboy romance and has an ex-rodeo cowboy, baby triplets. a nosy family, and a loving freelance writer with a past.

Review: The Bachelor and the Cherry (Campo Royale #2) by V.L. Locey

Rating: 5🌈

The Bachelor and the Cherry is one of my favorite V.L. Locey stories. It also takes place in a series and universe that’s shaping up to be up among the very top of those as well. Which is pretty amazing, considering how much I adore her hockey series and romances.

But the Campo Royale , with its strong air of being everything from a great performance hall to a sanctuary for those stumbling in from the harsh reality of a world of family rejection, disownment, religious intolerance, and abuse, becomes that place you don’t want to leave.

Presiding over it all, is the fabulous, beautiful, and sharp tongued Mother Sitka Patel. Drag Queen Superior, owner of Campo Royale, and at the moment, still in withdrawal from the last devastating relationship.

Outside of drag, he’s Jordan Stevens, 50 years of trying to escape the effects of aging and the results of some very bad relationships. Jordan/Mother Sitka is such a magnificent character. I could see her clear as crystal, from her sarcastic wit to the warmth with which she embraces her girls and club. The wealth of the years of experience that Locey layers into her makes Sitka/Jordan such a powerfully emotionally complicated individual that your belief in them never falters.

Yampier Perez is equally strong as the naive, hopeful southern boy, determined he’s got talent to make it, no matter how many times someone beats him down. Or up.

Even if it’s his Cuban family who’s fists are flying.

So many Yampier Perez out there. Runaways, throw aways… so few lucky enough to end up outside of a Campo Royale. Heartbreaking.

The extended Campo Royale cast of found family , the Queens, their friends and boyfriends, the other employees, everyone contributing such warmth, genuine layers of humor and snark, that adds such richness here.

The relationship, friendship, and then romance is such a satisfying journey to read and watch develop. I just curled up and was so invested in this story that I couldn’t put it down.

A Drag Queen is that very embodiment of fierceness, bravery, courage, and strength. Someone, at whatever level, whatever gender, is expressing their truth for all to see! It’s beautiful, and fabulous!

The Bachelor and the Cherry (Campo Royale #2) by V.L. Locey allows us a glimpse into a slice of that world.

I’m highly recommending it. And the author if you’re not familiar with her!

Campo Royale series:

🔹The Viking and the Drag Queen #1

🔹The Bachelor and the Cherry #2

https://bit.ly/3jR9RHU

Synopsis:

Is he brave enough to stop hiding behind his persona and give love one final try?

Jordan Stevens has crammed a lot of living into his fifty years. Some of those years have been good, some bad, and some he would just as soon forget. The world isn’t always kind to an aging queen. Lovers begin to scamper into forbidden fields, your padding tends to slip, and you spend more time with egg whites than most pastry chefs. Heartache is nothing new to the man who embodies the acid-tongued Sitka Patel on stage every night, which led Jordan to vow to never trust another man under eighty again. He has his club, his drag family, and his Bombay cat Heckle. Who needs the hassle? That philosophy had served him well, until a stunning young thing with dark chocolate eyes shows up at the back door of Campo Royale with a suitcase, a sad story, and a dream.

From the time he was old enough to spell the word sequin, Yampier Perez knew that someday he’d be wearing them. One of three children born to Cuban immigrants, Yampier was always a little glitzier than the other neighborhood boys. His love of fashion design and performance arts was barely tolerated at home and even less so in the hallways of his rural Georgia high school. Yet, Yampier never let his light be doused, not even the day his older brother caught him modeling his sister’s prom dress. Beaten, disowned, and on his own before graduation, he found himself having to work seedy jobs doing even seedier things, until he saved enough cash to head to the Big Apple. That money has now run out, leaving him stuck in Wilmington with no food, no place to stay, and no family. Little does he know that stumbling into the Campo Royale Club, half frozen and weak from hunger, is about to bring him everything he has yearned for.

The Bachelor and the Cherry is a gay age gap romance that features an aging drag queen, a virginal newcomer, lots of sass, wigs galore, hurt/comfort, family found, and a richly sequined happy ending.

Check Out This Fabulous Romance by VL Locey!

ALL BUY LINKS

Cover Design: Meredith Russell

Length: 63,000 word approx.

Campo Royale Series

Book #1 – The Viking and the Drag Queen – All Buy Links

Is he brave enough to stop hiding behind his persona and give love one final try?

Jordan Stevens has crammed a lot of living into his fifty years. Some of those years have been good, some bad, and some he would just as soon forget. The world isn’t always kind to an aging queen. Lovers begin to scamper into forbidden fields, your padding tends to slip, and you spend more time with egg whites than most pastry chefs. Heartache is nothing new to the man who embodies the acid-tongued Sitka Patel on stage every night, which led Jordan to vow to never trust another man under eighty again. He has his club, his drag family, and his Bombay cat, Heckle. Who needs the hassle? That philosophy had served him well until a stunning young thing with dark chocolate eyes shows up at the back door of Campo Royale with a suitcase, a sad story, and a dream.

From the time he was old enough to spell the word sequin, Yampier Perez knew that someday he’d be wearing them. One of three children born to Cuban immigrants, Yampier was always a little glitzier than the other neighborhood boys. His love of fashion design and performance arts was barely tolerated at home and even less so in the hallways of his rural Georgia high school. Yet, Yampier never let his light to be doused, not even the day his older brother caught him modeling his sister’s prom dress. Beaten, disowned, and on his own before graduation, he found himself having to work seedy jobs, doing even seedier things, until he saved enough cash to head to the Big Apple. That money has now run out, leaving him stuck in Wilmington with no food, no place to stay, and no family. Little does he know that stumbling into the Campo Royale Club, half frozen and weak from hunger, is about to bring him everything he has yearned for.

The Bachelor and the Cherry is a slow burn gay age gap romance that features an aging drag queen, a virginal newcomer, lots of sass, wigs galore, hurt/comfort, family found, and a richly sequined happy ending.

USA Today Bestselling Author V.L. Locey – Penning LGBT hockey romance that skates into sinful pleasures.

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Dr. Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.

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Review: Guarding Garrett (Hockey Allies Batchelor Bid Romance #1) by R.J. Scott

Rating: 3.5🌈

I’ve sort of been skipping around this wonderful contemporary collection of LGBTGIA+ hockey romances by various authors, reading one, and then forgetting to come back to it until I see a title that jars my sieve-like memory.

Guarding Garrett (Hockey Allies Batchelor Bid Romance #1) by R.J. Scott is actually the first in this collection by five authors.

The series hits so many of the elements I love, hockey romances, various tropes from mystery (here) to second chances at love, and much more. An absolutely terrific smorgasbord of hot men on ice and true love.

Guarding Garrett , is as the title indicates, about a top level, highly skilled and popular hockey player on the fictional NHL Burlington Dragons hockey team. Garrett “Hooley” Howell has been getting threatening texts, packages and more, until the team decides to get a bodyguard to protect him until they can investigate who’s behind the threats to their highly valuable player.

That’s a believable plot given the extent of the media most players engage in with the public and their fans. Stalkers are reported on daily.

Garrett and Jason develop great chemistry over the course of their time together. I enjoyed watching their relationship move from an antagonistic stage to one of attraction and friendship. The instant love was perhaps less realistic for me as I felt the story didn’t give us or them enough layers or time from stage one tension/rejection through to the “I Iove you” statements.

These aren’t long books so the author has crammed a lot into a shorter length. In addition to a full romance, there’s the mystery of the stalker and a full blown suspense-filled event at the end to contend with.

Plus the auction that all the novels have as a center feature.

My other quibble? I lost patience with Garrett’s behavior after Jason Dearing, co-owner of Seamax Security, had been hired. I can understand a certain amount of exasperation at the loss of personal freedom. But, It’s was explained to Garrett his life was in danger. This was a corporate decision. He had said repeatedly, he himself didn’t want to put his job with the team in jeopardy. Yet here he was making his bodyguard’s job incredibly difficult. Acting like a immature juvenile over a decision made by your team, your team owner, that impacts your career.

Which Garrett acknowledged. While not stopping.

It made me less invested in this character because I couldn’t relate to this element. Garrett Howell is a top NHL hockey player, one who’s owners have built a team around him. He’s respected. He’s supposed to be a highly talented, disciplined athlete. Someone used to a highly restricted diet, a long training schedule, with the ability to adhere to that tight regimen for years to achieve a goal. Yet here he’s whining like a toddler over supervision for several days to save his life.

A case needed to be made for that mentality by the author and I don’t think it was. A few mentions of a broken family until he was sent to Kyle Pressgroves’ family to live as a young hockey player. But that’s not enough history to excuse pages of frankly poor behavior.

Luckily, the behavior stopped and I could start appreciating Garrett from another perspective.

Despite some aspects of the story I found issues with, it’s fast moving, the main characters have excellent chemistry, and it’s has a satisfactory HEA.

No hockey however really. I do missed my “on the ice” scenes.

Kyle is part of this story as he’s Garrett’s best friend. His story is Keeping Kyle #3 by Jeff Adams. I’ve listed them all below.

They make for wonderful hockey romance reading. I’m recommending this and them.

Hockey Allies Batchelor Bid Romances series:

🔹Guarding Garrett #1 by RJ Scott

🔹Loving Layne #2 by VL Locey

🔹Keeping Kyle #3 by Jeff Adams

🔹Scoring Slater #4 by Susan Scott Shelley

🔹Absolving Ash #5 by Chantal Mer

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

Synopsis:

A hardworking, competitive, and skilled hockey player, Garrett is the cornerstone of the Burlington Dragons hockey team and one of the league’s most popular playmakers. Blessed with a face that delivers millions in endorsements, he has a legion of fans, and a future so bright that he is the envy of many.

When his internet fame puts him in danger, and a stalker threatens his life, the team hires Jason, a quiet but deadly former marine, to protect him. Danger is always close, but forced proximity means sparks fly, attraction burns, and somehow, resentment turns to love.

When Garrett’s stalker ups their game at a charity bachelor auction, there is a real chance it could mean the end for Garrett, but Jason refuses to leave his side whatever the risk.

These two stubborn men will have to fight to walk away from this alive, but their newfound love is worth every sacrifice.

Review: Short Stack (a short story collection) by Lily Morton

Rating: 5🌈

If you’re a fan of Lily Morton, especially her Mixed Messages and Finding Home series, this is must reading.

These short stories follow those couples at various stages of their lives and relationships, from the stage after the wedding is over to a marriage proposal we always hoped to read about.

None of these scenes appeared in those stories, cut for various reasons or written for her fans later on. They are now gathered together by couple, and it makes for some very amazing and very rewarding stories.

For myself, it changed my thoughts on a couple and story. That would be Rule Breaker, Dylan and Gabe’s story. Told primarily from Dylan’s pov, It was the romance and relationship I least connected with. The reason was the character of Gabe. For me, without his perspective, he came across as selfish, cold, and his actions often cruel, especially towards Dylan. Who repeatedly took him back.

That missing pov is here. Gabe, his emotional state, and his background, everything that would have made him an emotionally accessible character is here in scenes that never made it into that story. To its detriment, in my opinion. Because after reading this, I look at that novel totally differently.

For the rest of the couples and books? Short Stack just enriches our involvement with them and their relationships. Where we always wanted to know what happened next? This is our answer to that question, and it gives us a often realistic, and emotional satisfying one.

Not read one of the stories? This might make you hold off, stop at a couple. Go get their book. Read it. Then come back for their shorts.

Win on every level.

I got this for my Kindle but I just might need it in a copy for my bookshelf.

I’m recommending it that hard for lovers of these series, this author, and those readers to come.

Short Stack by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

What happens after the happy ending?

Drawn together for the first time, this is a collection of Lily’s short stories about the much-loved men from her Mixed Messages and Finding Home series. Follow them through awkward marriage proposals, birthdays, a fraught babysitting job, and a very drunken Eurovision Song Contest party.

It includes stories previously written for her website and readers’ group, along with deleted scenes and four brand new and exclusive short stories – Bad Valentine, Marrying Jude, Babysitting Billy, and House Hunting.

Mixed Messages:

Rule Breaker #1

Deal Maker #2

Risk Taker#3

Finding Home:

Oz #1

Milo #2

Gideon #3

Review: The Fairy Shop by Tara Lain

Rating: 3 🌈

I debated over the rating on this one. A lot. Liked the storyline. The main and one secondary character were charming. Overall holiday message was lovely.

But.

This is a short story that also deals as major elements childhood trauma stemming from domestic violence, where a small child is witness to her drunken mother being beaten (off page) by a large abusive boyfriend. More than once. To the point the father removed her ,got custody, and now the child has nightmares and serious issues with large men in her vicinity.

This child needs therapy. But beyond that. The story develops nicely. Father meets huge stranger. Immediately attracted for both. No intro to daughter for obvious reason. But daughter and father find just the most incredible tiny shop selling handcrafted wands, unicorns etc. This part of the story is excellent. Even the person running the shop , amazing.

The story runs it’s course, including a traumatic event. That’s where I have a issue. Big issue.

Because, spoiler alert. The abusive boyfriend is involved in what is clearly a crime. He’s been involved in domestic violence in the past. So the solution here is :

A. Let him walk free out the door with a drunk/drugged out mother , call him a Uber too , don’t worry about that poor driver.

B. Call the cops, charge him with assault, let him get a criminal record so when it happens again the victim has a support.

What should a responsible author do? Yes, it’s fiction but shouldn’t we start showing that actions have consequences in the stories?

What do you think happened?

One guess, it wasn’t B. Because, hey, it’s Christmas, and even drunks and domestic abusers need to just be sent off. Uh no. Wrong message sent.

One last thing. You leave your child with a caregiver to go out for the evening. The door is busted in by an drunken perhaps drugged out ex of the person you are sitting for, and their abusive boyfriend. You know she doesn’t have custody and are aware of the violence in the past. What do you do? Child is screaming.

A. Call the police.

B. Call the father.

Yup. B. That story just made every wrong choice, not for the child safety but father’s consideration. SMH.

Spoiled this story.

Maybe this hit me wrong. Maybe I’m tired of violence and it not being reported or responsibly handled. But this? Could have been better. Given that the child’s trauma was a major element here.

Read it and decide for yourself. Or not if any of this is a trigger for you.

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Fairy Shop by Tara Lain – Goodreads

A single dad who needs love. A child who needs courage.
Sounds like a job for a fairy.

When Nate Hawthorne meets Asher Dane, the huge, tattooed hunk embodies Nate’s dreams – and his daughter’s nightmares. Delly’s terrified of big men.

Then Nate and Delly find The Fairy Shop, a mysterious store where a unique proprietress sends Delly in search of the wand that will make her brave.

On a snowy Christmas Eve, love and courage meet under the influence of a most unusual fairy and Nate and Delly’s lives change forever.

THE FAIRY SHOP is a single dad, opposites attract, small town, MM holiday romance—wrapped in the magic of love.

Review: Got Me Thinking (Vet Shop Boys #4) by Casey Cox

Rating: 4.5🌈

Got Me Thinking, fourth book in Casey Cox’s terrific Vet Shop Boys series, is a very sweet,low angst, contemporary romance.

Chase Higgins is the vet who’s life has just had a complete life upheaval, after a long period of stress, and a inability to conceive children in a dying marriage. It was finally coming to the realization that he needs to live his truth, even if it hurts people close to him. That means telling his wife he’s gay, divorcing, and starting to live as a gay man. In his 30’s.

Fisher West is a single dad of twin girls. Recently relocated back to his hometown of Brookhaven, Virginia, to raise his girls, get his life settled after a heartbreaking dissolution of a relationship.

Each man has undergone enormous changes in their lives, made mental decisions as to any new romances, and new goals at home. Whether it’s small pigs as pets, houses to redo, or just getting reestablished in a community.

Cox gives us two wonderful, relatable men, puts each into situations the reader will connect to, then starts to push them together in the most delightful way.

As Chase figures out what being a “ out” gay man means , and Fisher helps just by being his friend, the warmth and joy of their growing relationship rises off the page. Whether it’s through interactions with all the kids, animals, Saturday dinners, or many conversations, all very realistic and funny and , thankfully, adult, it’s all so smoothly done, that I’m all in without realizing it.

I’m full all in love with the men, the idea of a combined family, the way they actually talk through the issues bothering them. That alone was masterful because it was so thoughtful and yes, grownup. It lacks drama, and I appreciate that. Sometimes, being a grownup, if there’s respect and intelligence, as well as the idea you communicate your thoughts and issues, that’s a great element in a romance and relationship.

The epilogue shows that they had obstacles to overcome but it’s such a marvelous chapter and we see how the family and men went on. Happy and very much in love.

Got Me Thinking (Vet Shop Boys #4) by Casey Cox is a wonderful contemporary romance, with a man who starts to live his truth and finds love, family, and a happy future. It’s a warm-hearted, loving book that will leave you smiling. What’s better then that?

I’m highly recommending this and this gentle series.

Vet Shop Boys series so far:

✓ Got Me Hoping #1

✓ Got Me Wishing #2

✓ Got Me Looking #3

✓ Got Me Thinking #4

◦ Got Me Going #5 TBR

◦ Got Me Merry #6 TBR date TBD

https://www.goodreads.com › showGot Me Hoping (Vet Shop Boys, #1) by Casey Cox – Goodreads

Synopsis:

He’s a single dad ready to start dating again. I’m newly divorced and new to…well, everything. This is going to be a disaster… Isn’t it?

When my marriage ends, I decide to buy a run-down house and get a drove of piglets. My friends think I’m having a breakdown, when really, all I’m doing is the one thing I’ve avoided my whole life––figuring out who I am.

One thing I’m quickly learning is that life loves nothing more than to throw you a curveball when you least expect it.

Take Fischer West. From the moment we serendipitously collide on a midnight stroll, he ignites something within me. We have a connection. I want to explore it, even though the timing is all wrong.

There’s no way either one of us is ready for a relationship, so why has Fischer got me thinking it might just work?

Review: Sink or Swim (Shore Leave #2) by Annabeth Albert

Rating: 4.5🌈

We meet Calder Euler in Sailor Proof, the first book in this series, and he wasn’t exactly a sympathetic character. Nor did he come across as anything but one dimensional. He wasn’t exactly someone who’s story I looked forward to.

However, Sink or Swim totally changed my perspective on Calder. Albert takes a bare outline of a man and fleshes him out into a individual who we get to know deeply and connect with once we understand the history and events that drove him into person he appears in Sailor Proof.

That man is now at a point where he’s starting to question his goals in life, his career and his path forward. It happens to coincide with his meeting Dr. Felix Sigurd. Newly, bitterly divorced, with two children he’s a guardian for, and still trying to figure his way through his life when a mixup finds himself, the kids , and Calder , all together snowed in at a cabin.

Albert starts a very complicated relationship process from this beginning. The foundation that each man is standing on is firm of character but each man’s past has built a crumbly mound upon it that needs to be reconciled and resolved between them before they can move forward together and as a family.

The two pov format works so smoothly and well to help define both characters and assist the reader in understanding the difficulties each man faces in their lives, as well as the realistic obstacles they face in their relationship.

For Calder, it’s not just perceiving where that uber competitive attitude came from, but how emotionally he’s able to finally acknowledge it, and let it go. Importantly , its also the research and military career knowledge that’s Albert’s done that’s goes into Calder’s decisions that makes this so believable. The Euler family just comes off as military unit, at every level.

I can’t forget the fantastic children here too. Both girls, so very different, each with opposite emotional reactions to a new man in their and their Uncle’s lives. They are so believable and a little heartbreaking. It’s the outgoing, exuberant Charlotte, ready to climb mountains and brave new realities, with a outlook that remembers love as well as loss. It’s the retiring Madeleine, who needs to be shown a path is safe before she takes a step, her reticence bourn of grief and instability. She’s not yet ready for change. For change hasn’t meant anything good. Both girls are children we can believe in, connect to, and love totally. And in turn, they bring us closer to both men and their relationship.

I don’t know if Annabeth Albert is done with the Eulers. I hope not. They are quite the family. I’d love to see this series continue, along with the Eulers, so we can see more of these couples in future stories. And at the annual Euler camp!

I’m recommending both stories. Read them in the order they are written. It’s very interesting, especially for characters development and relationships.

Happy Reading!

Shore Leave
Book 1: Sailor Proof
Book 2: Sink or Swim

https://www.goodreads.com › showSink or Swim (Shore Leave #2) by Annabeth Albert – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Winning and losing are subject to sexy interpretation…

Navy chief Calder Euler loves to win big. His latest score? A remote mountain cabin. Checking it out is supposed to be a quick trip, but Calder’s luck abruptly turns when a freak injury and a freakier snowstorm leave him stranded.

Oh, and the cabin isn’t empty. A silver fox caring for two young girls claims that the property is his, but Calder’s paperwork says otherwise.

Felix Sigurd is on a losing streak, and his ex-husband risking the cabin in a reckless bet is only the latest in a series of misfortunes. He’ll tolerate the handsome stranger for a couple nights–even care for his injuries—but that’s it.

Calder doesn’t know a damn thing about kids, but making pancakes for Felix’s girls is a surprising delight. Trapped in the cabin, the four of them slip easily into the rhythms of a family. But when the ice melts, they’ll have to decide if a future together is in the cards.

Carina Adores is home to romantic love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters.

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