Review: The Blame Game (Relationship Goals Book 5) by Brigham Vaughn

Rating: 4🌈

The Blame Game is the finale story in

Brigham Vaughn’s wonderful Relationship Goals series.

Vaughn ends the series with line center Dominic Olson, who came out to two of his teammates in the last story. The Blame Game picks up with those events, giving the reader insight into exactly how secretive Dom is about his private life, his sexuality and how shut off he’s become from his those around him.

Determined to keep his interactions with others at a superficial level, dramatic moments at the beginning of The Blame Game start to implode this mentality of his. It begins with his relationship with Sawyer Barnett aka Shea, the man he’s been paying to be his stylist as well as his escort.

Only Shea has his own secrets, plus a new sports physiotherapist day job. He’s got his own decisions to make.

I admit I found this relationship and story a bit frustrating and long. As a finale book I’m sure the author wanted to bring in all the other couples (and did), tie up loose arc plot threads, and give this team a rousing send off. Yes to that ending, absolutely. That takes a certain amount of length to execute the plot and characters.

But that long slog to an acknowledged relationship, outside of the fake boyfriend scenario, just wasn’t as satisfying as the other couples that came before. It’s a 2 person POV so we get that it’s a lopsided affair from the start. Shea has always loved him, even when it’s been a transactional relationship.

Maybe it’s that Dom is just written as spectacularly closed off and damaged but the reasons behind it are so to be revealed and his own actions in the narrative make it hard to connect with him.

Bright spots will always be Dustin and Charlie from The Husband Game, my favorite of the series. I love seeing them together and the important roles they play here. Actually it fantastic seeing all of the couples come together to share their experiences to support Dom and Shea through this process of finding a HEA.

For me, all of them were the best and that last game was everything!

This maybe leaving this team but another is set to arrive! I’m definitely looking forward for this series and that relationship which is set up here. Should be drama on the ice!

Great series, good story. A definite winner.

Buy link

The Blame Game: An M/M Hockey Romance (Relationship Goals Book 5)

Blurb

Fiery Rescue: Fisher Cats Player Heating Up the Sheets with Handsome Stranger?

Fourth line center, Dominic Olson, was spotted with an unidentified man following a fire at the High Park Towers building in Liberty Village late last night.

The fire was contained to the fifth floor where—according to firefighters from Toronto Fire Station 346—it began in one of the condo’s kitchens. Thankfully, only minor injuries were reported.

After being treated by paramedics, Olson escorted the mystery man to a black SUV and helped him inside. Although they left together, their destination is also unknown.

Traded to Toronto from the Los Angeles Suns, Olson was a major player in the team’s 2013 Stanley Cup win.

However, it’s become obvious in recent years that the aging forward is no longer the superstar he once was.

But what exactly was Olson doing at High Park Towers in the wee hours of the morning with a strange man? “Just friends,” or something more?

Though Olson has been notoriously tight-lipped about his personal life, rarely choosing to attend events with a plus one, we all know the old adage: where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS:

The Blame Game contains scenes with an apartment fire, parental neglect/estrangement, mild internalized homophobia, accidental mixing of medication leading to a health scare, and two short scenes with sexual harassment from a side character.

This romance also includes found family, fake relationship, out for you, and he falls first/he falls harder tropes, along with a positive attitude toward escort work as a career (MCs are only with each other in the book).

Publisher: Two Peninsulas Press (August 30, 2024)
Publication date: August 30, 2024
Language: English
Print length: 649 pages

Review: Best Laid Plans by E M Leya

Rating: 3🌈

I know this author by her wonderful paranormal Ghostly series so when I saw this story I picked it up.

Unfortunately it had lost the many elements that make the series so special and its characters so engaging. Best Laid Plans is a contemporary romance that’s sweet and predictable.

Uncle gets custody of his niece by tragic circumstances. Finds out his sister never told the father of his niece about her. Contacts that man, who immediately loves the kid, huge family loves her, they fall into an instant rushed relationship, events happen, they move in together. The end. All so quickly that you blink and the timeline has them getting engaged.

While this isn’t unusual in contemporary romance, these characters have little depth and less chemistry. We don’t get much history that adds to the plot or understanding of the sister. So it doesn’t really encourage the reader to connect with the story or characters in an emotional way.

Except that as a dog lover, I found myself disagreeing with many aspects of the narrative that concerns the puppy and the dynamics of the family/character interactions. Honestly, having a father threatening to put a puppy outside unless a two year old eats her vegetables? Just no.

If you’re a fan of this author or contemporary stories, there’s other books out there that I find I would recommend reading instead of this one.

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Best-L…Best Laid Plans – Kindle edition by Leya, E.M. . Romance Kindle eBooks …

Blurb

Conner never thought much about being a father, at least not until a stranger showed up in his office and tells him he is one. It had been years since he dated the guy’s sister, but he won’t deny the possibility that Kayla is his child.

Dave just wants to right the wrong his sister made and give Conner a chance to be the father he never knew he was. While mourning the loss of his sister, he’s also angry she never told Conner about the baby.

As the two try to figure out how to handle the mess his sister left them, the men form a friendship and a bond as they try to make the transition as easy on Kayla as they can. What they didn’t expect was the feelings that spending so much time together might cause. Working through the maze of emotions, they struggle to not only keep Kayla’s heart safe, but also their own.

Publication date: July 14, 2023
Language: English
Print length: 205 pages

Review: Get A Fix (Torus Intercession Book 6) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4.5🌈

Every reader has comfort reads and comfort authors. Mary Calmes is one of mine. She’s happily ever after. I know her heroes without even looking at her name on the cover. They’re highly competent in their abilities, gorgeous (whether they acknowledge it or not), full of warmth and kindness, especially for a certain inner circle of people. They shine.

And fall in love, usually deeply , quickly and forever. And Calmes makes a great story for their romantic journey to the point we believe in them.

They are fixers in a highly specialized agency, Torus Intercession, which has a unique and often powerful clientele. But the fixers themselves often have need of fixing as much as the people they are hired to work with. And the romance between them is quick, combustible, and as memorable as the men themselves.

I definitely have my favorites in the series. And while Get A Fix might not be quite at that level, I definitely enjoyed this story and the couple. It’s very close.

That’s due to Cooper Davis, the Torus fixer. I fell in love with him as he helped Ainsley Cushing, mom to big brood and having airport meltdown along with Gemma, 2, at the Bangor International Airport. Its there we got to know him, watch him interact with Gemma,2, fill a overwhelmed Ainsley about himself as he helps her get her stroller and get back together before meeting up with her husband coming in on the next flight.

There’s sequence after sequence of heartwarming moments, real and genuine in their ability to ground us in this character and the family we will get to know better.

Ashford Lennox appears at the wedding location, an Inn that’s not exactly what the bride or anyone else expects. Under construction, ghostly fog instead of photographic backdrop worthy snow covers the Bay and surrounding landscape, and the wedding party is a stressful affair. As you’d imagine. All beautifully written and executed.

I enjoyed Ash. This relationship, as new as it is, is understandable. They both realize it is a hard like and lust with amazing potential. They want to see where it goes. I think that’s a great foundation here. The chemistry is sizzling and they are a terrific team.

There’s other smaller elements I appreciated. I’m not sure if everyone will agree with me on this. The ex and how he was handled is one of those. I think he was very well done. Yes, he’s an appalling man. But even those people have a right not to be outed. For me, Calmes made calm thoughtful choices about him. I’m sure others wanted a more dramatic comeuppance.

The ending was a bit abrupt but I’m hopeful that we see more of them in the upcoming wedding.

For me, this was another winner in a series I really enjoy.

Torus Intercession:

No Quick Fix #1❤️

In A Fix #2 ❤️

Fix It Up #3 ❤️

The Fix Is In #4

The Big Fix #5

Get A Fix #6❤️

Buy link

Amazon

Blurb

Simply because your world collides with a shooting star doesn’t mean that’s a sign, does it?

Cooper Davis has a nice life he’s quite fond of. He has a wonderful family, good friends, and a job he excels at. As a fixer with Torus Intercession, he’s entrusted with the well-being of the people relying on his guidance. He is protector, guardian, but most of all, as his boss always says, everyone needs to be better off once he leaves. The issue is, when he’s asked to watch over the actor Ashford Lennox, he’s not sure that leaving is what he wants to do.

Ashford Lennox is a movie star on the rise. He has everything he’s ever wanted, except someone to love and call his own. He’s learned over the years that home is not a place but sharing a life with one special person you can count on. When he meets the man tasked with keeping him safe during a wedding, it’s like a lightning bolt. Suddenly he can see his whole future unfolding.

Being on the same page is an epiphany for both, now if they could just make it to the happily ever after without getting shot…

Book Details

Release Date: August, 20 2024
Word Count: 278
Cover Artist: Reese Dante

Review: Jonathon, After All: Princes Take New York Book 1 by K. Sterling

Rating: 4.25🌈

From K Sterling’s forward:

“All the books in this series are meant to be modern adaptations of classic fairy tales with the primary focus on the king of all tropes: Prince Charming. He’s the king for me, at least. And if there is one thing that is consistent with Charming, it’s insta love. He believes in love at first sight and he is often blindly noble. Occasionally, to his and his true love’s detriment.”

Other classical elements of the Prince Charming fairy tale story are included. A in-distress character who’s been wronged, knights,wicked stepmothers, etc, but all given a contemporary twist with the characters and storyline elements to make Jonathon, After All: Princes Take New York Book 1 a entertaining start to a new series.

The aspects of this story I absolutely loved were seeing the real relationship between Jonathon and his formidable aunt Muriel. In the preceding series and stories, both Jonathon and his intimidating Aunt Muriel, and her apricot poodle, had by their own accounts here, given a very different, oftentimes off putting impression. But here we see and understand the truth of the matter. That they love each other and Aunt Muriel has always been Jonathon’s most loyal supporter, even when she hasn’t understood his actions.

Sterling presents an older, mischievous, highly intelligent woman, one determined to make sure that her beloved nephew is taken care of and safe. If you can’t tell, I’d be throughly thrilled with a novel about Muriel , Tilly (her devoted staff), and that poodle as the go invest things!

And add in Jonathon, who has a great, wounded backstory, but a loving history with Muriel and that building that they live in Manhattan, well, I’m totally invested in this family. It gets better when Jonathon meets and is “acquired” as part of the Nanny found family by Riley and Giles. Again, another superb pairing and part of the story. Beautiful work with in this narrative, and so great to see this family again.

Only the romance was a little less developed for me. I think this has to do with how the flashbacks were worked into the present day storyline. For me, the transitions weren’t particularly smooth between the decade they met and the time now when Leo is trying to figure out what happened and get Jonathon back.

It’s too jumbled and it takes away from the story as it’s happening now between them. The best part is all about Jonathon. Then separately about Leo. It’s not until later that any real new relationship can begin again. And reasonably, a decade and a lot of misdeeds have happened.

More development would have been nice for them both afterwards and a better cohesive format for the flashbacks to really make this relationship stronger than it comes across. Especially with the kink and their background.

I’m looking forward to reading the new books in the series and hopefully Aunt Muriel pops up again to save the day in some way. What an amazing character and turnaround! I adore her so much!

A definite recommendation.

Nannies of New York (6 book series) and must read.

Princes Take New York (connected and sequel series):

Jonathon, After All #1

Buy link

PREORDER NOW

Blurb

What do you say to the man who took your virginity, broke your heart, and ruined your life?

For ten years, Jonathon hid his pain, acting out in ridiculous ways in hopes that one day, his prince would rescue him. But when the day finally came, it was too little, too late after being pushed at and rejected by every eligible bachelor in Manhattan.

Leopold, the new Margrave of Hessen, was the gala’s guest of honor but he didn’t give a damn until he spotted the love of his life at the bar. After nearly a decade apart, Leo’s delight quickly turns into confusion when he’s doused by a cocktail and Jonathon flees the gala.

What happened, all those years ago in Austria? And what went wrong? Both men must confront the truth about their secret, month-long affair and break the spell that’s kept them apart. Is it too late for them to turn back the clock, or will Jonathon get his happily ever after, after all?

A spin-off of K. Sterling’s Nannies of New York series, Jonathan, After All is a contemporary fairytale romance about a young artist hiding a broken heart behind an influencer persona, and a valiant, misguided prince trying to save the world from climate change. There’s meddling family and staff, a metaphorical tower, a wicked aunt, and two lovers separated by an evil spell.

Publisher: Bawdy Books (August 20, 2024)
Publication date: August 20, 2024
Language: English
Print length: 303 pages

Review: Hot Shot (The Elmwood Stories Book 5) by Lane Hayes

Rating: 4.5🌈

Hot Shot is the penultimate book in a series I’m extremely fond of. In The Elmwood Stories, Hayes has let her readers enjoy watching a group of men connected by hockey and friendship find their HEA in a town that feels so remarkably real and vibrant that’s is as much a draw as the storylines.

Hot Shot is Denny Mellon, a man we met as a troubled teenager under his Gran’s care in the earlier books. There, along with MK and the kids/(now best friends) he ended up playing high school hockey with, they grew up, the readers watching their emotional journey.

Now, they’re adults and Denny has fulfilled that promise as a hockey golden boy seen all those years ago. He’s insanely talented and headed for the NHL. But his increased stress over the intensity of the off ice public and insecurities are an issue.

The other MC is a man who is torn between his ill father’s plans for him and the one he has made for himself. Outside of the family business.

Hank Cunningham, has come to Elmwood as the son of the new owner of the Wood Hollow Mill. This is a heavily divisive issue as his father bought it from the family that’s established it and been part of Wood Hollow for its history. The town feels betrayed, the mill isn’t working well for anyone, and Wood Hollow itself is dying. Hank’s mission to turn it around seems impossible because he needs to be accepted himself.

Hayes beautifully captures a man who is both determined to make the mission successful but divided over his own life purposes. When he meets Denny, and both the hockey player and Elmwood work together to charm him into the town and the potential for more, it’s everything.

All the many people who have had their own stories have strong roles to play with getting Denny and Hank their HEA. That always includes that wonderful Gran.

Denny’s journey through his fears to commitment and love is equally realistic and rewarding. I love them both.

Hot Shot (The Elmwood Stories Book 5) by Lane Hayes is a sexy heartwarming read. I’m looking forward to one more book in the Elmwood Stories before another town in this area gets its due. I can’t wait for both.

Highly recommended!

The Elmwood Stories-Small Town/ Hockey Series :

You, Again #1
Next Season #2
Holiday Crush #3
Thin Ice #4
Hot Shot #5

Buy link

Hotshot: MM Small Town/Hockey Romance (The Elmwood Stories Book 5)

Blurb

The rookie superstar, the desperate cowboy, and a naughty proposition…

Denny

The press calls me this year’s hot shot, the rookie who scores at will and conjures plays out of thin air. Truth is…I’m a PR nightmare. Seriously. Ask my agent.

My anxiety is off the charts. I can’t talk to the media without breaking into a cold sweat, but once I get through the season, I can regroup at home. Life is simpler in Vermont.

Well, not anymore. There’s a new cowboy in town. Literally, a cowboy. At least, Hank looks like one—he owns a horse, wears a hat, and did I mention he’s hot?

And get this…he has a proposition for me.

Hank

Proposition is a strong word. I prefer to call this a mutually beneficial arrangement. See, I could use Denny’s help with a family business venture, and though I was planning to offer cash, the jock has a sexier idea.

Not gonna lie, I’m interested.

This could be a fun distraction while I’m stuck in Elmwood. Nice enough place, however, the locals are wary of an outsider taking over the neighboring mill. Long story short…they don’t trust me. But they love their hometown hockey hero.

I get it.

I’ve never met anyone like Denny—skittish in street clothes and a feral beast with cunning instincts on the ice. He’s fascinating, sexy, smart, and—

Whoa! I’m not falling for the hotshot rookie. No way, no how, no chance…

Too late.

Hotshot is an MM bisexual, age-gap, small town romance featuring a hotshot rookie, a sexy cowboy, and a proposition that changes everything.

Publication date: August 12, 2024
Language: English
Print length: 276 pages

Review: Flash (Ink Slingers Book 1) by KM Neuhold

Rating: 3.25🌈

Ink Slingers is a new series that follows and contains the characters from both the Four Bear Construction Series and Big Bull Mechanics.

As Flash, the first book to focus on the group of tattoo artists we have met, it will introduce new people as well, brought in to provide additional romantic partners and cast to this enlarged universe.

The newest couple is Arrow, the older motorcycle riding owner of the tattoo shop, and Lewis, the young “twink” who recently arrived in town to open his new flower shop. The location of this new floral shop just happens to be next door to the Ink Slingers. This element in the story leads to a series of increasingly juvenile pranks between the shops as well as a plot thread that makes little sense where neither man knows what the other does for a job.

Flash, meaning a standard

piece of ink artwork available to anyone, is a sexy contemporary romance that is light, a quick read and has some interesting characters.

However, unlike the other novels from preceding series, I just couldn’t connect with it. It starts with the pranks plot threads. I don’t find pranks funny. Instead they are often actions that border more along the lines of harassment and bullying.

Here? Neuhold clearly meant it to be funny and cute, and each business used it to create a positive effect. But honestly, these are grown businessmen, one trying to establish a new business and identity in the community, and this is what they do? The author doesn’t have Arrow the owner at least investigate what his shop and employees are doing against a new business next door?

The one that he is having a relationship with but isn’t aware that Lewis owns that very store? SMH

And Lewis isn’t even aware that the motorcycle riding hottie he’s in bed with often is the tattoo shop owner next door? No one Googles anyone anymore? Especially Lewis with his trust issues?

And Jag’s character is just turning mean. I’m not sure why Neuhold thinks Jag’s behavior and words are funny or even things to overlook, but his fellow artists seemingly give his character a free pass. Another no here.

A cute dog , who I do like, just doesn’t help to connect me to a story and characters that just pop with issues.

Others will find they like Flash more than I did. I’ll be interested in seeing if the next story has a similar or different slant to it.

Ink Slingers:

Flash #1

Virgin Skin #2 – November 1,2024

Buy link

Flash (Ink Slingers Book 1)

Blurb

A tattooed silver fox, a dramatic florist, and the epic prank war standing in the way of their happily ever after. Let the fun begin…

A chance encounter during a flash rainstorm isn’t supposed to be anything serious, just a little fun to pass the time. So why can’t I stop thinking about Lewis weeks later?

Running into him a second time feels like fate, but it’s obvious he isn’t interested in anything more than casual.

I’ve never managed to leave a fling where it belongs before, but there’s a first time for everything, right?

Besides, who has time for anything but a quick fling when we’re in the middle of a prank war With the twink who owns the flower shop next door. I haven’t met the poor guy yet, but if I ever do, I’ll have to tell him that a store full of rubber duckies is just the price you pay for messing with the Ink Slingers.

There are goats in my tattoo shop and drag queens delivering crude singing telegrams. Will I ever get untangled from this mess? And, more importantly, will Lewis ever be interested in more than a good time or is this thing between us nothing more than a Flash tattoo that will fade with time?

Flash is a “they don’t know they’re enemies”, lust at first sight, “we can totally keep this thing casual” mm romance featuring a silver fox tattoo artist and a snarky florist twink. First in the Ink Slingers series set in the world of Four Bears Construction.

Publication date: August 2, 2024
Language: English
Print length: 206 pages

Review: Covington Acres (Briar County Book 5) by Riley Hart

Rating: 4🌈

Covington Acre is another low-angst, sweet contemporary romance in Riley Hart’s Briar County series. Located in Hart’s beautifully realized town of Harmony in Briar County , North Carolina. In this series, the author has written about the Covington family, their children and partners, their own children, as well as the extended family and towns members of Harmony to the point everyone within these stories had become familiar and real.

Covington Acres charts the romantic journey of two different men, each of whom the readers have met through previous books.

One is Vincent O’Brien, mid 40’s, former boyfriend of Holden, now best friend, who has moved to Harmony. Vince works on the Covington farms and lives with Colby Covington, a man who secretly believes himself broken.

Colby thinks that because all his romantic relationships have been unsuccessful he’s unable to find and fall in love. He’s frustrated with his life and can’t figure out why.

For both men, it’s their deep friendship and feelings about each other that’s one of the most powerful and satisfying things about their lives.

Covington Acres is a warm-hearted, sweet, friends to lovers romance. These two make perfect sense, have great chemistry, and it’s a slow realization that brings together past histories, a new awareness of demisexuality, and acceptance that allows them to grow together.

It culminates in the wedding of the original couple, Monroe “Roe” Covington and Holden Barnett. We see all the other couples, the teenagers, and family members who have been part of this series and multiple stories. This has all the feel of a series finale. If so, it’s a genuinely terrific one. In the same lovely, gentle tone as the town and its people .

If you love contemporary romance, check out this series and book. It’s a sweet, satisfying read.

Briar County :

Firefly Lane #1

Sundae’s Best #2

The Creek #3

Covington Acres #4

Buy link

Covington Acres (Briar County Book 4)

Blurb:

Colby Covington has no clue if there’s anything in the world for him beyond Briar County. His family assumes he’ll do as they do: work Covington Acres, get married, have kids. Colby doesn’t want children, and seeing as he’s never felt even an inkling of romantic love for another person, he sure as hell isn’t interested in marriage.

In his mid-forties, Vincent O’Brien is starting over in the small town of Harmony. After being cheated on, again, he’s sworn off ever falling in love. As fate would have it, Vince needs a place to stay, and Colby has a spare room.

With an immediate connection that shakes up Colby’s sheltered world, neither man expects their friendship to blossom so fast…or for a semi-public hookup to make Colby realize he’s bi. Friends with benefits is perfect. It’s easy, it’s fun, they trust each other, and neither Vince nor Colby wants anything serious.

But the more their lives intertwine, the more Colby starts to feel something he’d thought himself incapable of. Something like love, with Vince…the man who will never feel—or want—the same.

Covington Acres is a small-town, bisexual/demiromantic awakening, friends-with-benefits romance with mature characters, home-brewed beer, and secret kisses.

Publisher: Riley Hart (August 1, 2024)
Publication date: August 1, 2024
Language: English
Print length: 238 pages

Review: Off the Clock (Mount Hope Book 2) by Annabeth Albert

Rating: 4🌈

“What happens when a group of forty-something first responders come together to support their recently widowed best friend? The result is the MOUNT HOPE series”

That’s the overall theme for the stories grouped under this Mount Hope series and it’s an emotional, heartwarming concept. It hits home on so many levels, especially when Albert adds in her own familiar, well written elements. Readers of her many series aren’t surprised by returning military or veterans characters that carry their own issues, foster care children with special histories, or just threads that are layered with mental health, commitment issues and recognition of bi-sexuality. In other words, a lot of subjects areas are part of character’s development and histories.

Albert writes all that with amazing sensitivity and awareness. Especially veterans who have served overseas and returned home with internalized trauma, PTSD, or other mental health issues.

In Off the Clock, the veteran is freshly retired Army Ranger Tony Capo, 42, recovering from his injuries, returning home to Mount Hope to figure out his next step forward. In his case, he’s opted to hire on as a firefighter for the Mount Hope Fire Department. It’s a job he has wanted since he was a child and where he has old friends. But he’s also starting over as a much older man with younger colleagues, with all that encompasses mentally and emotionally.

One of those is Caleb, a young firefighter who appeared in the first book. Congenial, somewhat clumsy, he’s recently been named guardian of his troubled teenage brother. That brother has brought him an entire set of new issues to face as well as the new hire, Tony, he’s training.

Albert’s book is an age gap, mental health, multiple issues storyline. There’s much I admire about this book. It’s begins with the characters. Each are well written, beautifully defined, by their respective histories, their life experiences, and their personalities. They are believable and flawed.

The relationship dynamics between Tony and Caleb are among my favorite and least favorite things about the story. Their ability to communicate about each other’s feelings, their experiences with emotionally charged situations that have left each traumatized, whether it’s fires, missions, or childhood damage brought about by parental loss. Loss by death in Caleb’s family or in Tony’s case by his parents drug addiction and abandonment. As Albert powerfully describes it, “matching wounded kid emotions “ bonds them but is also keeping them from being together.

Tony and Caleb’s friendship and the surrounding support from friends and community is the best part about the narrative for me. My issues are with the romance. That part where Albert has two grown men hiding a sexual/romantic connection (one the town easily guesses at and is gossiping about) but that causes Caleb great emotional distress. Tony’s fears about being openly bisexual which directly pushes any relationship between them back into the closet does harm in multiple ways. Yes, the author repairs this to a degree when Tony works through his own personal issues, but it’s striking that even when they are in a committed relationship, it’s Caleb who has insecurities about where he stands with Tony. That shows an inequality that should have been understood by Tony given their backgrounds.

It’s a miss by the author and an unsatisfactory note for the romance and storyline.

The next novel in this series is yet another age gap, mental health issues storyline and I wish that Albert had used the promise found in the series arc to at least give us some more depth and variety among this interesting group of older men. A romantic story between men of the same age would be a great addition.

Off the Clock (Mount Hope Book 2) by Annabeth Albert is a good book, a nice addition to the series with some heartfelt moments and lovely characters.

Mount Hope series:

✓ Up All Night #1

✓ Off The Clock #2

◦ On The Edge #3 – Oct 31, 2024

Buy link

Off the Clock (Mount Hope Book 2)

Blurb:

Starting over after retiring as an Army Ranger shouldn’t be this hard…

For twenty years, I traveled the world as a special operations warrior. Newly retired at forty-two, I’m back in my hometown of Mount Hope, pursuing a second career as a small-town firefighter. My meddling sisters and best friends all have opinions about my life, but the only person who seems to truly understand me is Caleb, the younger firefighter tasked with my training.

After a lifetime of denying my attraction to other men, Caleb reminds me of everything I’ve missed out on. I’ve never even kissed a guy.

Until now.

Until Caleb.

Until I push our growing friendship to the next level. While sneaking around like a pair of teens, trying not to get caught by our coworkers, friends, and family, our sexy connection leads us to some…interesting places.

And it turns out that I like taking risks. I’ve never wanted a relationship, and neither of us should be fooling around with a coworker, but we keep courting danger.

The more time I spend with Caleb off and on the clock, the more I like him and the less certain I am about everything else in my life. The one thing I know for sure is that I can’t afford to lose this intense bond we share. Can we find our way from super secret to super real before the clock runs down on this fling?

OFF THE CLOCK features two coworkers with an age gap finding out that opposites really do attract and that first impressions aren’t always accurate. All the big emotions, small-town feels, and hot romance readers expect from this acclaimed author. While certain subplot threads continue throughout the series, each guaranteed happily ever after stands alone!

• Publisher: (July 25, 2024)

• Publication date: July 25, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 266 pages

Review: A Carriage of Misjustice (Lindenshaw Mysteries Book 5) by Charlie Cochrane

Rating: 3.5🌈

It’s been a while since I’d read this series, the last book I read being Old Sins. And I think coming back into a series after a long break and diving in at book 5 just highlights the importance of perhaps going back to the beginning and rereading the series again. Particularly with A Carriage of Misjustice because of some of the things I found within the novel ‘s narrative , and the issues that it raised in the choices made in the storytelling.

One of the aspects of the Lindenshaw Mysteries series, a cozy mystery in every sense of the trope, is that Cochrane has developed, over 5 books now, a real sense of the small village it’s set in , all the locations and its citizens. She’s crafted with great detail each person and history that the reader feels we know each main character. We’re there as they meet, and fall in love, as their relationship deepens amidst murders and throughout the investigations.

Its been an amazing journey, watching schoolteacher (now assistant headmaster) Adam Matthews and Inspector Robin Bright navigate through the obstacles of romance and their relationship while dealing with their own work dynamics, and then the murder Investigations that overlaps between them. That’s where that wonderful depth of communication and rapport starts to be built, book by book, connecting the reader to us while deepening the connection to each other. Adam, Robin, and, of course, their equally important Newfoundland, Campbell. That’s a huge dog.

What has remained consistent is the evolution of Adam and Robin’s relationship, their warmth and willingness to share their own opinions on matters and perspectives on the cases involved. Whatever issues arise, they face them together. And if, the investigations are lengthy and often the villain pegged a little too easily, the relationships are often the things that make the story.

That’s why I was surprised when, in A Carriage of Misjustice ,Cochrane chose to separate Adam and Robin for the entire story, with the exception of the beginning and end. That immediately removes, as they both remark, the things they (and the reader) miss. The discussions and relationship dynamics between them. All those moments and conversations we’ve come to expect. Replaced by Robin away on a murder investigation, fixing someone else’s problems. And Adam singing in a choir.

Another odd element? The readers are told Adam and Robin got married. A simple ceremony (although it sounds rather fun) but after everything the reader has been through with them, doesn’t feel very satisfying.

The mysteries here weren’t really complicated. Most of the time, it was Robin and Pru guiding a younger squad through an investigation that hadn’t been done properly and now needs another more serious investigation. So it’s police procedural time, with a call here and there home to Adam. For me, without the charm of their own village and their dynamics, my attention wasn’t there.

And that made other aspects stand out in ways they normally don’t. That’s the fact that Charlie Cochrane’s series is most definitely written in what I’ve heard termed “British speak “. And for non-British readers that presents certain linguistic challenges. Ones I noticed because I wasn’t as invested in the storyline.

It’s not just British in tone but in cultural context. If you’re American like me, then things like having an airing cupboard* or “a nick” or rozzer, a British slang word for police, just aren’t in our culture or vocabulary. So I admit to floundering a bit in terms of not knowing exactly what Cochrane was talking about or referencing occasionally. Thankfully, research is but a phone away. And it also made me think if American mysteries and novels equally present such a challenge to non-Americans in those terms. All that, still not quite into the novel.

So I do love this series, this isn’t one of the stronger books in the Lindenshaw Mysteries. I’m onto the next and recommend reading them in order. Read this to complete the series. And because they tell us that they got married.

Note:

*I did look into what exactly an airing cupboard was in British houses and was equally astonished to find in that same description that it was compared to American linen closets. Americans would not put warm, semi dry linens or clothes in a linen closet, not unless mold was our goal. Differences indeed.

Lindenshaw Mysteries:

✓ The Best Corpse for the Job #1

✓ Jury of One #2

✓ Two Feet Under #3

✓ Old Sins #4

✓ A Carriage of Misjustice #5

◦ Lock, Stock and Peril #6

◦ And Nothing But The Truth #7

Buy link

A Carriage of Misjustice (Lindenshaw Mysteries Book 5)

Blurb

Murder doesn’t care if you’re a newlywed.

Detective Chief Inspector Robin Bright and Deputy Headteacher Adam Matthews have just tied the knot, and all they want to do is sink into blissful domesticity. Unfortunately, there’s no chance of that when a chilling murder at a rugby ground takes Robin miles away to help his old boss solve it.

The mystery seems impossible to crack. Everyone with a motive has an alibi, and those without alibis don’t have a motive. Robin’s determined that this won’t be the case he’s unable to unravel. Not when he’s got his old boss to impress and a new team to lick into shape.

Back at home, Adam joins a fundraising choir to keep himself occupied. Surely a case that’s so far away won’t draw him in this time? Fate has other ideas, though, and danger turns up—quite literally—on his doorstep. He’ll need Campbell the Newfoundland for both company and protection this time around.

• Publisher: Riptide Publishing (May 11, 2020)

• Publication date: May 11, 2020

• Language: English

• Print length: 252 pages

Review: Something Borrowed (Confetti Hitched Book 2) by Lily Morton

Rating: 4.5🌈

I love it when I can giggle or laugh out loud when reading a book. It happens often when I’m thoroughly invested in one of Lily Morton’s contemporary romances. And it occurs again, right from the beginning, in Something Borrowed, the second in this author’s marvelous Confetti Hitched series.

That delicious, bubbly feeling engages when we meet the irrepressible wedding planner, Rafferty. That initial heart stopping, hilarious run to a wedding had me in tears, scenes so memorable, in and out of the story, I’m still in awe of Morton’s ability to write such visually comedic moments that also deliver great storytelling and multi-dimensional characters.

That’s pretty much how the author continues through this journey of a forever romance between two childhood friends. It’s hilarious, yet poignantly realistic with its emotional elements of Rafferty Kendrick’s dysfunctional childhood parenting, and Stan’s rapidly deteriorating vision. Morton’s especially close relationship to this topic is known to her followers but she also talks about it in a note at the end of the book. It’s just one more reason why this element and part of Stan’s character rings with such authenticity.

The focal point of this friends to lovers romance is Rafferty’s inability to commit to his romantic for Stan over his fear that he is just like his parents in their inability to make a relationship work . Alongside that runs Stan’s own personal fear of ruining their friendship by not asking Rafferty for more than the one they have.

I’ll admit an inability to communicate with each other isn’t an ideal element in a story but the surrounding threads and characters make it understandable, if not exactly what I wanted. But the scintillating dialogue, warmhearted humor, and believable relationships here overwhelmingly reinforce that the men here love each other and belong together.

Even Bennett the cad, as I often referred to him in my mind, couldn’t derail that. That bit with the promise didn’t come out as entirely plausible but needed as a dramatic push for Rafferty to move things forward.

And then it was lovely. And full of laughter and I was reminded how much I adore these characters and the writing of Lily Morton.

It’s a delightful story for lovers of contemporary romance and fans of this author. A definite win!

Confetti Hitched:

✓ Confetti Hearts #1

✓ Something Borrowed #2

Buy link

Something Borrowed

Blurb

Stan has never let his blindness hold him back, but he’s beginning to realise his love life is keeping him from moving forward.

He can’t remember a time when he wasn’t in love with his best friend. Rafferty is everything to him—his partner in crime, his confidante, and the person who understands him best. But Rafferty is incapable of reciprocating Stan’s feelings.

As a successful wedding planner, Rafferty is passionately committed to helping newlyweds begin their happily-ever-afters, but after a rootless childhood he’s equally determined not to seek his own. How can he trust in love and marriage when so many of his brides and grooms are repeat customers?

Stan is the glue that keeps the pieces of Rafferty’s life together, and as such Rafferty has always kept Stan safely in the friend box where he can’t lose him. However, lately that conviction has wavered and now Rafferty is bursting with complicated feelings for his best friend. The timing couldn’t be worse because Rafferty has realised he’s in love with Stan just as Stan is moving on.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: