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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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
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.
Hot is right. I’ve been anxiously waiting for this story since the author’s announced it was Donny’s story with a newly transferred gay fire pilot.
Donato “Donny” Cannoli is a mess of a man, something of a norm actually for the men of the enormous Italian family where the ideals of manhood run adjacent to those of toxic masculinity. Where they , actually everyone, are expected to go into careers of service, dangerous service. Firefighters, law enforcement…nothing less. Marry, produce another generation to do the exact same, and carry on the Cannoli name and reputation.
No matter the personal cost.
Hot Seat, Mike’s story was a dramatic representation of exactly how high that cost could be when the stress and denial became too great.
And it caused an emotional, heartbreaking,sea change in attitude in Donny. Prior to the shattering event towards the end of that story, Donny , like his older brother, Gabe, was a homophobic machismo sneering bully. But afterwards?
A changed man who had his brother’s back and started standing up for Mike and against those uttering homophobic slurs.
That’s where we find him now. A man who’s foundation has been shaken, the cracks appearing… when out and proud Dell Murphy arrives , to further the job of disassembling the man Donny always thought himself to be.
Lain and Easton do an absolutely superlative job here with Donny’s emotionally profound and painful journey, with himself and Dell, to his truth. He’s bisexual, he’s never going to fit within his father’s ideals, and he’s got a new better future if he’s brave enough to accept it and himself.
It’s a path you’re on with Donny that’s at times raw, sexually hot, and heartwarming, and also so deeply complicated that you just hurt for him as he unravels all those familial issues that have him trussed up so tightly in old ideals that have never fit him.
Dell Murphy has his complications. All just as well executed and emotional. And like Donny’s, they stem from family. His issues with his father has driven home certain areas of behavior and trust that Donny’s triggering. He’s also the one who’s the security for his Mam and sister , Gala. Those characters too are just amazing.
There’s so many great elements here. Dell is a realistic pilot and the research into the plane, flying, fire intensity…. It’s all here. And it makes for some incredibly high suspense action. Awesome co- pilot too.
The truth is this book is so fantastic I could babble on about all the great things the authors have put into this story that enrich the storylines and support the characters growing relationship, but why not just pick it up and read it? It’s fabulous!
I will say you should read Hot Seat first to get an indication of the events that happened previously and how far Donny’s characters has changed.
I’m highly recommending this and the series to date.
Now an interesting note on the next two stories. Due to unexpected complications (author Tara Alain’s surgery and recovery), Lain and Easton aren’t co-writing the next books. Instead each will write a single novel.
I’m wondering how that will effect the sort of edgy balance they’ve achieved here in the series to date between raw , deeply emotional issues each character has had to process and overcome and the romantic relationship element. It’s been a delicate maneuver. In Mike’s novel, it was really more about his journey towards self acceptance, and then it was his romance.
Here in Hot Wings, I thought it was equally important. Beautifully crafted.
Now to see how and who is next.
The Hot Cannolis series:
◦ Fireman’s Carry (The Hot Cannolis #0.5) by Eli Easton
Most macho of all the super-alpha Canali brothers and proud of it, Donny’s famous for his gorgeous face, his firefighter prowess, and for going through girls his family doesn’t approve of as fast as he changes jeans.
Donny’s biggest hero is his fire captain dad, until his life gets saved from the skies by fire pilot Dell Murphy.
Dell’s certain about most things. He’s been proud to be gay since he was ten, handled a helicopter in Afghanistan like it was part of his body, and can fly a fire bomber in the worst conflagration. And he’s absolutely certain that Donny Canali belongs to him. Dell also knows how to show a lover he’s in charge.
Donny’s shocked to discover how much he’s turned on by dominant Dell, but Donny’s not gay. He’s not. He can’t be. It would break his father’s heart.
Leaving Dell will break Donny’s.
HOT WINGS is a battle of the alphas, hot firefighters, two crazy families, dominant lover, HEA romance with a helping of laughter and even more feels.
The Real Baxter starts off so awesomely. We dive into the universe and get an immediate understanding of both men, their personalities, and backgrounds.
Sebastian Rourke, wealthy, gorgeous. A true silver fox who’s a producer and much sought after executive . Also a single gay father, and damaged adult who’s mourning the loss of his ex who is about to be remarried.
Trent Mackay. Actor, fake bodyguard, and now fake boyfriend maybe. With more then a few walls of his own he’s erected for his own protection.
Lane created some fascinating characters, gave them both realistic and painful back histories. Surrounded both by layered personalities and utterly charming people I loved, from Seb’s mini me older son Charlie to his adorable younger one, Oliver. Let’s not forget Macy as well.
Each man has had some emotional mountains of trauma to surmount. One is still trying. All rings so true and painful. All while navigating LA celebrity scene and slowly connecting.
So I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t enjoying what was clearly a great story. Then around the 2/3 mark it hit me! There’s never been any point where the men have really been at ease , where there’s no anxiety , no tension, or possible emotional explosions waiting to happen in the next 60 seconds. It’s that way for them. It’s that way for the reader. We never relax or take a breath.
And that makes for an equally anxious, hard, stressful read.
A story, imo, needs to behave a bit like a stream or rivers. With eddies , flows, and different ranges in its movement. At times peaceful, so you can have time to appreciate the scenery and at other places, high swells, fast currents, to make your heart race and laugh or screaming, and hang on for dear life.
But if all you’re doing is clutching with white knuckles, and trying to win out over a undertow, that stress and anxiety wears you down.
The characters are amazingly well crafted. Believable with real depth. Seb, especially with his pain over the loss of his ex to his marriage and the memories of his past faults. Extremely well done. It’s so haunting that it tears at you.
His relationship with his children? Also realistically portrayed. Charlie and Oliver are both charming and perfectly realistic.
Trent too , from the moment we meet him is someone we get. From his background and family to the existence he’s scrabbling away at in LA.
But my issue is when they’re supposed to be having a semblance of normalcy, happy times. It’s a as “related by” situation. Trent tells us about them. The reader never gets that part of their relationship that developing., until we’re almost finished. We only get the fake news bits, the stress, the anxiety.
The reader needs to be “in” on what makes them work for everything else to make emotional sense.
Plus there’s this.
“He made me feel…important. Necessary. Not just for sex, although sex was amazing and got better every day.”
Made. Not makes. Past tense.
That was Trent speaking. See what I mean about tension? As a reader I’m not thinking happy thoughts about their future here…
Took me a while to realize everything was past tense. I loved, I had, he made… and the story is about 3/4 over. Shouldn’t I be feeling a bit more hopeful about them by now?
There’s so many different interesting interconnected relationships here. Grey, Seb’s ex, and his love, rocker Justin. * Charlie, Seb’s oldest son, (who also was devastated when his father’s broke up) and his husband , Ky Baldwin, bassist in the same band as Justin.*. Oliver, the youngest son, his mother and with her newest boyfriend. Everyone is interwoven into a extensive family unit of multiple households and at times, strained relations. It seems very realistic.
Lane’s story comes across, for me, at its best when Trent and Seb are dealing with Olivier. Navigating a child’s feelings about a new person entering their very complicated and crowded life, with all the ramifications, is a delicate matter. Something that’s not done with Charles, who I thought maybe needed it more, even as grown up as he was.
The pain Charlie felt was telegraphed perfectly along with his divided emotions. But as beautifully as Lane deals with Olivier, I thought that Charlie was overlooked in all the drama and it’s resolution towards the end. Except at the Epilogue.
The Real Baxter (The Baxter Chronicles #1) by Lane Hayes is a exceedingly well written story but the anxious flow of the romance, getting to have some happiness not until later, and ,for me ,leaving much of the fundamental work on relationship foundation to Trent , Oliver, and ,only lastly Seb, made this a wonderful but less fun read.
I think a lot of people will bring many different emotions to this story. It will be interesting to read all the reviews.
Gorgeous cover!
I’m recommending it. And wonder how the series is going to continue going forward. With another person or the same couple. Stay tuned.
*Both Grey and Charlie’s romances can be found in Hayes’ Starting From series. Starting From Zero is Grey and Justin’s. Starting from Scratch is Charlie’s.
Who’s the true hero behind the Hollywood heartthrob, crime-fighting, adventure-seeking international man of mystery? Me. I’m the real Baxter.
Well, I wear the suit and let the action play out onscreen. You want to know the secret of my success? Sell the story you want to tell. Even if you have to bend the truth a little.
Okay…a lot.
Trust me, no one will notice. Except Trent, who seems to notice everything. And for some reason, I like that. I like him. I’m just not sure what to do about it.
Trent
Look, I’m not exactly killing it. I’m a typical struggling actor-slash-waiter, hoping for a break. And boom…in walks Sebastian Rourke. He’s a cutthroat, wickedly charming silver fox, a Hollywood legend in the making. No joke. You’ve got to sell a piece of your soul to get in this man’s orbit. Or fake a British accent, then take a job playing bodyguard to fool the press. As one does.
I know I should take advantage of the very strange situation I find myself in, but I’m not sure I’m cut out for it. However, I’m willing to take a chance, ’cause I want the real Seb.
Even though it might cost me everything.
The Real Baxter is a MM age-gap, bisexual romance featuring the man who has everything and the actor who’s willing to show him what’s real.
Tough Luck, the latest from author Annabeth Albert, is the first in her new A-List Security series. The series has at its center a newly established company formed from a group of men who served together on a SEAL team. As they’ve retired, the men are brought together by their Lieutenant, the owner of the firm.
It’s a terrific concept as it allows us to meet a range of complicated men, with different personalities and backgrounds who regard each other as brothers.
First up is Cash “Money “ Erwin, recently retired. Not by choice, exactly, more because of a “reduction in numbers “ move he got caught up in. Now he’s out, crashing on his Lt’s couch and trying to figure out where to go next.
That’s when Duncan Love, his former Lieutenant and close friend, asks for a favor. Duncan has been trying to get Cash to join his new company, A-List Security without success, now he needs help with security for his younger brother, a former Hollywood Star with a stalker.
Albert’s two person perspective works smoothly to help the reader get into the mindset and immediate emotional issues of each man.
We are aware of Cash’s inability to move forward. He’s stuck because he just doesn’t know what to do next, so ingrained has been his military service and lifestyle. That includes always being part of a team, and having your directions and goals already planned out. A future alone and goalless is confusing and unclear.
We get this man immediately. And the more he reveals of his adolescence and background, the greater the clarity of the character. Cash is a amazing gift of a man.
When Albert introduces us to the former actor Danny Love, it’s in a remarkable scene. For both men. It sets the tone for establishing a relationship of trust , respect, and eventually friendship. That’s a lot for a man who’s a addict, and has come to expect the worst reactions from those he meets because of his past behavior and status. Including people his older brother might have sent to “take care” of his issues. Danny has successfully completed rehab and has now been clean for a while. However, he understands that his former friends and lifestyle definitely contributed to that addiction. And avoids both.
Danny is a well thought out character, not just defined by his addictions but by a upbringing with toxic parents who contributed to his damaging adolescence and negatively impacted his outlook in adulthood.
Their romance is one of sexual exploration, communication, and personal growth. It’s sweet, tender, and very sexy.
The stalker element is a big mystery that I thought got resolved a tad too quickly , which is why the story didn’t get a full 5 🌈. For all the buildup, there was no history or explanation into the perpetrator or their actions. Or what happens to that person. It just finished. It felt incomplete to me.
The relationship and romance? Stellar. Love both men and how the author leaves them. Excellent ending.
Tough Luck is a fantastic contemporary romance and a great start to a new series. Can’t wait for the next one, Hard Job, to be released. I’m highly recommending this!
My best friend’s little brother needs a bodyguard. Now I’m the one in danger…
I’m a SEAL. Or rather, I was. Retired at the grand old age of thirty-eight, I’m at loose ends. My best friend wants me to join his security team. I’m not sure I’m bodyguard material, but he needs someone to protect his kid brother. How hard can spoiled brat duty be?
Somehow, I missed the part where former child star Danny Love went from dorky TV darling to all grown up and disturbingly attractive. All the gossip about his wild ways fails to mention that he’s trying hard to clean up his act. But now he’s got a stalker.
Hiding out together in a remote mountain cabin, alone, the temptation keeps building. I’m feeling things I never have before. Secrets I’ve kept even from myself bubble to the surface every time Danny looks my way with those puppy dog eyes.
I’m a SEAL. We leap into danger. So why is it so terrifying when that danger comes with the softest pair of lips I’ve ever known? At some point we’re going to have to return to Hollywood and our vastly different lives. Will Danny still want me around when he doesn’t need me for protection? Can I be brave enough to give him a reason to?
TOUGH LUCK is book one in a brand-new SEAL bodyguard series. It features an age gap, steamy first times, and all the high heat, big emotions, and found family feels readers expect from this fan-favorite military romance author. Join A-List security for this lower-angst series featuring former SEALs and the celebrity clients who win their hearts. Happy endings and no cliffhangers guaranteed!
Switch-Hitter is the first book in a new sports series by E.M. Lindsey. It exists , per the author’s forward, within a universe where in MLB out athletes are accepted as are those with various disabilities .
Wouldn’t that be a lovely place? And indeed it is, for the characters in Switch-Hitter and readers who will enjoy as I did.
Lindsey incorporates a number of elements that definitely make their characters more multidimensional.
Pietro Bassani, baseball player for the Denver Vikings, is also a man with his own personal issues. He’s ADHD, late in life diagnosed, and he’s hiding it from his team and teammates. He feels guilty that his beloved barely older brother , Gabe, who was just as talented a ball player as Pietro, was injured by a car crash and lost the one thing they thought they’d be doing together. At times he’s just a mess. That doesn’t begin to cover his ex, Herve’ and that damage.
Pietro is one mess of a kind man. Someone the reader relates and roots for , no matter what else is happening. He’s one well crafted character.
Thierry Bourget is his equal. He’s also someone who started off as his enemy. Which makes this enemies to lovers romance even more fascinating. The author takes the path of both men , once they start communicating which is immediately, as people who recognize the toxicity of the person who connected them. It gives the author and the men moments to reflect on what elements made those relationships toxic, and the positive ways they’ve both changed. Just terrific.
The story and the romance, the men, all come across as adult. Each also has to deal with the ongoing issues that stem from Thierry’s physical semi paralysis.
That’s a lot to unpack in one story but it’s done so beautifully here . From exactly how Thierry’s recovery is going, through rehabilitation, and every bit of painful injury both men undergo, it’s believable, well written, and emotional.
Herve’ was the only aspect that felt a tad unresolved. He was too much a tenacious creature to just disappear. I wonder if he’s going to make a reappearance somewhere in another book.
I absolutely enjoyed Switch-Hitter and look forward to more in this series.
If you love contemporary romances and sport’s love stories, put this on your must have list!
Get a personal chef, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.
And then Thierry shows up and Pietro realizes his mistake. Because he knows Thierry. A little too well.
Thierry is the man who told his ex to leave him. Thierry is the man who punched Pietro and ran. Thierry… is his ex-boyfriend’s best friend.
But Pietro also knows the man needs a job. An injury destroyed his former career and Pietro is nothing if not a bleeding heart. Besides, he doesn’t have time to search for a new chef, not with the World Series looming and his team ready to go all the way.
Life gets more complicated, though, when he and Thierry cross a line one night after a lot of wine and several bad jokes. And while hooking up is one thing, Pietro knows the last thing in the world he needs is for his heart to get involved.
Too bad it tends to make decisions without him.
Switch-Hitter is the first book in a fictional MLB series featuring a lonely baseball player with a chip on his shoulder and hope in his heart, a team ready to win no matter what it takes, a grumpy French chef who will defend escargot to the death, and a few bottles of dry red wine leading to the sweetest happily ever after. Each book in the Hit and Run Series stands alone, contains no cheating, and has a happily ever after.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 