Review: The Little Shop of Curiosities The Music Box Part 2 (Crawshanks Guide to the Occult) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 3🌈

I’m going to talk about some of the plot points so if you don’t want any spoilers, stop reading.

I will start with saying I love the origin series with Dusty and Tristan and that entire cast and journey. Thought it is fantastic, right down to the fabulous side stories with The Grim Adventures of Death and Chan. My favorites too.

So I was really excited for some of the other characters to get their stories as well. But while the story is pretty good, I just can’t with the character of Harrison. He’s everything that makes a DNF book for me.

Sam, the paranormal PI is well done. He’s a layered personality and a good reason for being connected to the storyline. However, he’s also plays a powerful role here along with the other members of the original group, to keep me from engaging with Harrison.

A major reason for me not to buy or read a book is for an author to have written a main character who has major communication issues. Someone who, like Harrison here, has a secret or knowledge about the main mystery/storyline that’s threatening him and everyone else and is knowingly lying about it or/or refusing to tell anyone about it.

His dads and grandfather know and tell Harrison to reveal it to those who need to know, his friends and boyfriend, Sam. At one point, he lies to his parents and says he has. But no, he doesn’t, endangering his “boyfriend” Sam and his friends by withholding his all “central to the case” knowledge. As well as himself.

And once you think he’s learned something, and it’s over. It’s not because, wait for it. There’s one more potentially dangerous secret and another awful event that Harrison is responsible for.

This happened for the entire book. FFS and SMH

If you think that got old fast, you’d be correct. And it ended up with a cliffhanger where at this point I really didn’t care what happened to him. That’s a what a TSTL character reads like. Too bad about Sam.

And for my final spoiler, the author brought in characters from an unrelated series to save the day. So if you’re not familiar with them, it’s a huh, who are these people moment.

So, no not continuing further with this side series. I just don’t care about the main character and Tristan is made out to be whiny and weak , a characterization different from the other series.

Disappointing.

Cover design by Natasha Snow

Crawshanks Guide to the Occult (2 book series):

The Little Shop of Curiosities Cursed Object 1 The Music Box

The Little Shop of Curiosities The Music Box Part 2

Connected series:

The Dead Serious Universe,

Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed (6 book series)

Crawshanks Guide to Mischievous Spectres & Spirits(2 book series)

The Grim Adventures of Death & Chan Vol 1-3 (on the author’s website)

Buy link

The Little Shop of Curiosities The Music Box Part 2 (Crawshanks Guide to the Occult)

Blurb

The Music Box – Part 2.

Strange things are happening in London, with a murder investigation underway into his biological mother’s murder Harrison is trying to find answers about the mysterious and powerful bloodline he’s descended from. Plagued by terrifying dreams of one of his ancestors and trying to keep his friends from discovering his true identity is exhausting. But his growing feelings for Sam cannot be ignored and sooner or later Harrison knows he must tell him the truth.

Having returned to London after fulfilling his own family obligations Sam begins to realise the cases that he’s investigating as a PI are all paranormal in nature. As he delves deeper he begins to suspect they are connected to the Crawshanks family and somehow to Harrison, himself, the man he’s falling in love with.

But as the murder investigation comes to a frightening conclusion and the killer is revealed, Sam and Harrison begin to realise that this is only the beginning.

Now they find themselves facing their most terrifying challenge yet.

Underside Press

Publication date

August 19, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

314 pages

Book 2 of 2

Crawshanks Guide to the Occult

Review: A Match Made in Slumber (Marriage Market Misadventures) by Kasia Bacon

Rating: 4🌈

Part of a mult-author fantasy series centered around a Marriage Market and “forced marriage” trope, I picked up A Match Made in Slumber because of the author and the description, which seems to have found a good way around the forced proximity aspect in the series that’s just not my thing.

Bacon doesn’t disappoint here with a charming tale of two totally different men who have been haunting each other’s dreams each night. Each man from a different world or realm, although they’re both Elves. And each one differs in their lifestyle and personality. Except for the fact they appear to be fated for each other.

Commander Keălhem Reñyés is about to storm the castle with his men, a bloody battle sure to ensue. He’s been in a war for a long time and only his nightly dreams have kept him sane.

Elian Fountenblym, is an imaginative genius who creates wondrous things with his magical matchsticks. But his nightly fantasies and the dream man who haunts them are keeping him up and from being productive. And when his magic goes wrong, it’s Keălhem who suddenly appears before him.

Bacon does a terrific job of characterizing the various backgrounds of each man while making the chemistry between them feel absolutely believable.

And being able to see Keălhem find his own way into Elian’s life and the marketplace, using his own strengths and skills is such a great pleasure and part of the relationship and storyline.

Even the “forced proximity/marriage” aspect loses the “ick” factor for me when the author builds such a strong case for them being fated partners being pulled together.

There is a happily ever after for the couple and the ending is very satisfying.

For those readers like me who are a fan of the author, this Shared world universe stands outside of Bacon’s Order Universe. FYI.

Highly recommended.

Cover Art: Cormar Covers

Logo Design: Marek Frankowski

Map Design: JS Harker & Katey Hawthorne

Marriage Market Misadventures – 8 books

Romancing the Throne by Lisa Henry and Sara Honey

Berries and Blades by Katherine McIntyre

Quills and Starlight by Kota Quinn

The Rake and the Cake by Katey Hawthorne

Love and Clockwork by Essie Sloane

The Love Schematic by JS Harker

Tossing the Caber by jem zero

A Match Made in Slumber by Kasia Bacon

“Each book explores queer pairings across the gender spectrum (M/M, F/F, F/X) through light-hearted mishaps and shenanigans. Romance tropes include fake engagements, forced proximity, opposites attract, marriage of convenience, and grumpy/sunshine dynamics.”

Buy link

A Match Made in Slumber

Blurb

Kidnapping an interdimensional warlord is a crime. Marrying him is a get–out–of–dungeon–free card

Commander Keălhem Reñyés is mid-swing—about to storm a fortress—when the battlefield dissolves into the scent of candyfloss. Instead of headbutting an enemy, he crash-lands face-first into a heap of silk ribbon talismans, yanked across dimensions to Everend by an alchemist desperate for some shut-eye.

Elian Fountenblym, a genius matchstick maker with a cataclysmic track record of magical mishaps, is plagued by sensual dreams of a mysterious soldier. Every night, they leave him randy, pining and knackered—all in the run-up to the Great Midsummer Market—the busiest event of the year. To kill the longing once and for all, he invents the Match of Tranquillity, only to unwittingly trigger a forbidden summoning enchantment that delivers his dream man straight into his waking world. That’s one more whoopsie he could’ve done without.

With High Arbiter Cholerius—Elian’s former Academy rival—sniffing around for unauthorised magic, the stakes are high. Bound by the volatile constraints of the spell and forced to share a bed to keep Keălhem from flickering out of existence, the pair must turn to an ancient legal loophole to save Elian from a one-way trip to the dungeons on interdimensional kidnapping charges.

Navigating a fake marriage that begins to feel dangerously real, they have until the Midsummer Moon wanes to decide: part ways or let the flame of their accidental match burn forever?

A Match Made in Slumber is a low-angst, marriage-of-necessity, forced-proximity story featuring fated mates, accidental kidnapping and a stoic/chaotic dynamic. It is part of the Marriage Market Misadventures.

Marriage Market Misadventures is a light-hearted series of standalone queer romances where elves from all over the realm gather at the Everend Midsummer Markets to meet, match, and marry—with plenty of shenanigans along the way.

August 14, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

224 pages

Part of series

Marriage Market Misadventures

Shared world universes

Review: Dreams and Reptiles (Foggy Basin Season 3) by R L Merrill

Rating: 3.75🌈

Dreams and Reptiles (Foggy Basin Season 3) by R L Merrill is a sweet contemporary small town romance. It’s one of a multi-author series now in its third called Foggy Basin, set in a California small town.

Dreams and Reptiles is an age gap, hurt/comfort, multicultural romance that includes characters who have been through many traumatizing experiences, including work place assault.

There’s a lot to like about this story. The characters are engaging. Francis, who has been through a traumatic experience with his work and his father, has bought a new home that will allow him to live his dream of a having artists retreat.

Next door is an older firefighter, Kendall, who runs a reptile sanctuary. Kendall’s a divorced father, who is trying to deal with his own family issues of a daughter in college, a demanding job and a sanctuary full of animals needing him.

I really enjoyed the secondary characters of Francis’s mother and aunt, and his cousin, Derek, the real estate agent who is soon to be involved in a throuple storyline in the next book.

Things that I would have liked to have seen more exploration here was the traumatic event that sent Francis to Foggy Basin and the aftermath with his father. That resolution was over in a couple of sentences. Plus the fact that the father continued to call Francis’ mother “his wife “ despite being divorced, that was a big flag here. Nothing about that aspect of the story felt particularly satisfying.

And to be honest, the entire relationship felt rushed between Francis, who was trying to set boundaries because of his trauma, and Kendall, who didn’t really deal well with his daughter’s return from college.

So, while the animals were adorable. The relationship between them sweet, I was left with a HFN and a timeline that sped forward without answering questions.

It’s was good reading. But not anything I’d revisit.

Foggy Basin Season Three (11 book series)

Keystrokes and Kittens by Gabbi Grey

Boss and Brat by Brina Brady

Silk and Honey by Kota Quinn

Fruit and Flash by R.A Frick

Dreams and Reptiles by R L Merrill

Flights and Sights by Riley Long

Bales and Brawn by Jem Wendal

Fibre and Ink by Jamie Sands

Herds and Hooves by B L Maxwell

Hammer and Hops by Lynn Michaels

Nicks and Cuts by TJ Nichols

Buy link

Part of: Foggy Basin Season Three (11 books)

Dreams and Reptiles: A Small Town MM Romance

Blurb

From the award-winning author of Under His Sheets and Once Upon a Goth Dog Solstice comes an age-gap, hurt/comfort romance between two men with bruised and battered hearts ready for a second chance at happiness in small-town California.

Francis

I refer to the events of the past year as My Demise, and now that I’ve received a significant settlement, I’m ready to move on with my life. While visiting the town of Foggy Basin for their Pride Festival, I fell in love with the vibe. Lots of folks move there to start over, so why shouldn’t I? My cousin Derek shows me a quirky property for sale just outside of town, and once I see it, inspiration hits. Why not create a retreat where folks can make their dreams a reality? I ignored mine for way too long, but not anymore, and if I happen to run into the hot firefighter I shared a kiss with at Pride, well, I’ll take it as a sign.

Kendall

My entire adult life, I’ve taken care of others, and now I’m ready to start the next phase of my journey in California. I’ve spent years learning about various species of reptiles, and it just so happens that Grandma left me the perfect place to build a sanctuary. Only, I soon discover that my passion project is a bit trickier than I thought it would be. My spirits lift, however, when the saucy young guy I met at Pride moves in next door to me. At first, I worry perhaps he’s one of those wealthy people who come to town and throw their money around, but when I learn the truth about his past, I’m determined to make him see just how deserving of love he is.

For Mature Readers due to sexual content, frisky aunties, reptilian escape artists, and meddling polyamorous firefighters.

Welcome to Foggy Basin. Nestled at the base of the foothills in Northern California, this small town is full of characters just waiting to tell you their story. Whether you’re just passing through or you decide to stay a while longer, you’ll always find a warm welcome from the townsfolk. From farmers and animal rescues to artists and small business owners. Foggy Basin has it all.

Celie Bay Publications LLC

Publication date

August 13, 2026

Accessibility

Learn more

Language

‎English

File size

4.8 MB

Screen Reader

Supported

Enhanced typesetting

Enabled

X-Ray

Not Enabled

Word Wise

Enabled

Print length

290 pages

Page Flip

Enabled

Part of series

Foggy Basin Season Three

Review: Found Objects by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4.5🌈

Found Objects is the latest urban fantasy romance by Mary Calmes and it’s exactly what we expect from this author. The old,settled rich location of a small town high in the mountains of West Virginia, an intriguing group of found family of town, and a great setup for a slow paced romantic journey.

Calmes’ plot lines includes a newly arrived werewolf pack that has brought with them to the town, pack dysfunction, mystery and loads of action packed moments.

I love Merritt Baker and the mystery that Calmes builds around his character. Merritt is the owner of the town’s restaurant, and a central figure in the community. A friend and someone who acts as a shield or protector when needed.

When a new shifter pack arrives in Coille, West Virginia to establish themselves in a new territory , they bring with them old problems along with a dysfunctional pack and history. And Cole Swann and his younger brother, Evan, nephews of the Alpha of the Swann pack.

The way this author blends the well known Appalachian mythology with other lore is intriguing and well done. It works well for the many other characters here and for adding some really great layers to this story.

It ends with a HFN, given the specific species of each character. And known life spans.

I will admit to hoping that Calme revisits this town and special community as I really enjoyed them and didn’t get enough of several of their storylines.

A definite winner and one I’m happy to recommend.

Cover art: Reese Dante

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comFound Objects – Kindle edition by Calmes, Mary. Romance Kindle eBooks …

Blurb

Merritt Baker is older than he looks. Quite a bit older, in fact. He knows all about the woods and where one should never wander at night, but the fact of the matter is, sometimes men are the scariest creatures of all, and Merritt makes it his business to protect the innocents caught in their wake. In the small town of Coille, West Virginia, where he makes his home, he takes care of quite a few people, and that’s always been enough. Or has been. Lately though, he’s felt a bit lost, as though he’s forgotten what it means to really live rather than simply exist.

Change arrives when a pack of shifters buys the land that borders his. He doesn’t think twice about them until his simple rules are ignored, and suddenly there’s conflict. One of the wolves, Cole Swann, is very interested in him, and surprisingly, Merritt can’t seem to get the man out of his head. But things aren’t what they seem, and between other packs, ghosts, and worst of all, love, Merritt might be in over his head. That’s the thing about being lost—it can be wonderful when you’re finally found, but is it worth the risk of losing yourself?

Mary Calmes Books, LLC.

Publication date

July 30, 2026

Edition

1st

Language

‎English

Print length

268 pages

Check out the Cover Reveal Info for “In Love and War” by Beryll & Osiris Brackhaus (post and tour)

Beryll & Osiris Brackhaus have a new queer sci-fantasy romance out (gay, bi, poly): In Love and War – The First Lotus Knights.

It is the year 1985 ET. House Virasana has fallen, the Lotus Throne stands empty, and a bitter succession war has every noble House at arms. To make things worse, House Tô-Genji and House Medina are locked in a vicious feud over a flood of cheap illicit drugs tearing their worlds apart.

Prince Li Lan Tô-Genji is as far from the fighting as one can be. Third son of the Duke of Qufu, Li Lan is the family scholar – kept behind palace walls to preserve tradition, etiquette, and history. Brilliant, restless, and quietly furious at a life chosen for him, he steals what little freedom he can.

Sir Wilhelm Grebenstein arrives with a delegation seeking the Duke’s support for the Grebenstein claimant to the Lotus Throne. An expert swordfighter and genuine hero, he is not much taken with the dirty business of politics, but rather with the brilliant and resourceful third son of the Duke…

Then, Sir Saïd, a dashing Medina knight, is taken prisoner and exhibited in the castle of Li Lan’s father, awaiting an uncertain fate. Yet Li Lan finds him to be an honourable, passionate warrior and both of them are deeply intrigued by each other.

Saving Saïd would be treason. Leaving him would be complicity. Forced into an impossible choice, Li Lan and Wilhelm help Saïd escape – the three flee together, lighting a fuse that will reshape the Virasana Empire. Hunted across a realm in upheaval, they’ll have to fight for their lives, for their love and the reckless hope of an Empire actually worth fighting for.

A swashbuckling queer throuple romance set in the beloved Virasana Empire universe, this standalone space-opera adventure by award-winning authors Beryll and Osiris Brackhaus blends passion, peril, hope, and humour with just the right amount of heat.

Universal Buy Link

Author Bio

Beryll and Osiris Brackhaus are a couple currently living their happily ever after in the very heart of Germany, under the stern but loving surveillance of their three black cats. Both of them are voracious but picky readers, love telling stories and drinking tea, good food and the occasional violent movie. Together, they write novels of adventure and romance, hoping to share a little of their happiness with their readers.

An artist at heart, Beryll was writing stories even before she knew what letters were. As easily inspired as she is frustrated, her own work is never good enough (in her eyes). A perfectionist both in the best and worst sense of the word and the driving creative force of their duo.

An entertainer and craftsman in his approach to writing, Osiris is the down-to-earth, practical part of the duo. Broadly interested in almost every subject and skill, with a sunny mood and caring personality, he strives to bring the human nature into focus of each of their stories.

Author Website: https://www.brackhaus.com

Review: The Rut in the Road (Beyond the Veil #11) by K. M. Avery

Rating: 4.5🌈

Rayn’s journey has been one of the most haunting, and tormented of all of the characters to date in this immersive paranormal world where an Arcana virus swept across the world altering the human landscape forever. A large portion of the world’s population perished, others were left altered by the virus, becoming orcs, witches, weres of various species, zombies, vampires and other otherworldly beings. Quickly consigned to hospitals, or institutions or worse when society and families couldn’t accept them or the virus transitions were physically agonizing and long to take hold.

By book 11, Humans only rights groups, not just the extremists, are fighting to remove the rights the Nids have gained. It sounds very familiar. And the fear and ugly hate groups, the crimes against the Nids going unpunished, is so well written that it feels lifted from events today.

Rayn,older and working as a touch psychic in alongside Ward and Mason in BTV is still very much the under socialized, on the spectrum person he’s been even as he’s developed physically. His childhood, and its accompanying deep trauma and abuse along with his lack of knowledge of his own powers, still makes Rayn an introverted, emotionally awkward person. He’s trying to get people to accept him as adult and not as a fragile little traumatized boy most who know his history see him as.

Avery’s crafting of Rayn is immaculate, he is real in his skin, his efforts to navigate through the communication blocks and issues between Raj and himself are emotionally tough and difficult and feel absolutely credibly raw. Hart plays a great supporting role here, once again revealing himself to be a fine, intelligent caring man.

Raj has been a strong presence in the series and his involvement with Rayn starts in the previous book. But the issues between him and Rayn have been building and his extraordinary overprotective nature is a huge problem.

It’s addressed and seems to be an aspect that he needs to work through. Do I believe that it’s resolved? Not sure. I never know with Avery, maybe it is or maybe it isn’t. There’s one more book in Rayn’s trilogy and the human only faction element has just gotten more complicated and suspenseful by the end of this very amazing story.

I highly recommend reading it but it’s not something that you can read by itself. Each one should be read in the order that it was written for characters and overall plot development.

Amazing series and fantastic characters. One of the best paranormal group of storylines I’ve read. Certainly one that has the most impact on current events.

Series couples to date (not standalone and have to be read in the order they are written):

Highly recommended.

Beyond the Veil Series :

💀Ward’s story (1-3):

The Ghost in the Hall

The Boy in the Locked Room

The Skeleton Under the Stairs.

💀Hart’s story (4-6):

The Dog in the Alley

The Bones in the Yard

The Elf Beside Himself

💀Seth’s story (7-9):

The Turning of the Tables

The Badger in his Burrow

The Past in the Present

💀Rayn’s Story (10-12)

The Diamond in the Rough

The Rut in the Road

The Rock and the Hard Case (coming 2026)

💀Dan’s Story (13-15) Coming 2026-2027

Buy link

Book 11 of 11: Beyond the Veil

Blurb

I was finally getting my life together—I had a job, a boyfriend, was working on my college degree, and was learning to control both my magic and my psychic abilities. I’d reconnected with my sister and I was starting to think that I might actually be able to have something approaching a healthy adult life, even if it wasn’t going to be an even remotely normal one.

And then I hit a rut in the road.

Or, rather, people started hitting other people. What started as a single hit-and-run had become several of them, all targeting Arcanids, and I was being asked to get into the mind of the killer… although I’m starting to think that maybe there’s more than one. Tracking one killer is hard enough, but when you think there might be several, things get a lot messier.

Especially when your boyfriend is a federal agent who just got called in to take over the case. It’s the first time we’ve worked together since we started dating, and it’s definitely taking a toll. I don’t want to have to choose between keeping him and solving the murders.

July 30, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

430 pages

Book 11 of 11

Beyond the Veil

Review: Sweet Something (Wood Hollow Stories Book 2) by Lane Hayes

Rating: 3.5🌈

Sweet Something is the second book in Lane Hayes’ Wood Hollow Stories, a contemporary romance novel set in a Vermont landscape of 4 small towns that are very close together and connected socially with each other.

Four Forest area of Vermont are : Wood Hollow, Elmwood, Pinecrest, and Fallbrook.

I loved This Guy and getting to know more about the community of Wood Hollow. But Sweet Something just doesn’t feel the same. It’s not as well executed or all the elements don’t add up to a warm hearted feel good story. Somehow it’s not realistic enough in the components that Hayes has written in to be a completely happy story.

Dexter the donut shop guy is very engaging. He’s outgoing, helps run and organizes the community flag football teams, and loves his adopted town. There is a side story about his dysfunctional family and controlling mother , a brain injury, ex wife, but it’s not well developed . So the scenes and resolution with his mother feel forced. Especially after so many years of pain and hard feelings between them.

Viggo the lumberjack is initially a character that is hard to connect with, especially after his aggressive angry introduction and interactions with Dexter. To be honest, that entire conversation and element would have had me with serious concerns about the entire situation with the surrogacy. She violated Dexter’s privacy rights. And sent an unknown man to scream and yell and threaten the person who will be the father of the baby. That’s never ok.

No matter how Hayes used this , it makes it seem as though surrogacy and the tight laws and regulations surrounding it are incredibly fluid. I would think if you were going to include such an important topic as surrogacy, you’d make sure every aspect of it was thoughtfully addressed. It never really felt like it was here. At least to me.

Anyway, I end up thinking about consequences, then other things like character dynamics, as well as other aspects of the story that don’t have a good flow. The entire Mother factor is another. She appears, often threatens, leaves. Epilogue. Everything is fine.

Plus his brain injury that’s mentioned, gives him headaches and forgotten again. Was there any lingering issues?

Anyway they all lived together HEA. It’s sweet and left me feeling less than satisfied.

Looking forward to the next one.

Cover Design by Sleepy Fox Studio

Four Forest towns of Vermont Universe – see note below

The Elmwood Stories (6 book series)- I love this series ❤️ it mentions the lumber mill and introduces the Four Forest towns. It’s hockey meets Vermont small town ❤️.

Wood Hollow Series:

This Guy #1

Sweet Something #2

Mountain Man #3 – Oct 12,2026

Four Forest area of Vermont are : Wood Hollow, Elmwood, Pinecrest, and Fallbrook. The Elmwood Stories ❤️ series is complete

Buy link

Book 2 of 3: Wood Hollow Stories

Blurb

The baker, the grumpy lumberjack, and a new dad journey…

Dexter

The donut business is booming in Wood Hollow, along with my flag football program. Now I’m ready to take on a new challenge—parenthood. See, I’ve always wanted to be a dad and it’s finally happening. Wood Hollow is the perfect place to raise a child. It’s quiet, safe, and the folks here are friendly.

One glaring exception is the grumpy lumberjack…who ends up being besties with my surrogate. What are the odds?

Yeah…this will be interesting.

Viggo

I’m a logger. I like wood. That’s it. Maybe that makes me a solitary person, but so what?

Unfortunately, I can’t ignore the handsome donut man’s new dad-to-be situation. Not when it concerns an old family friend.

Look, I don’t want to be involved, but I have no choice. And if that means I’ll have to step outside of my comfort zone and do people-y things to make sure Dexter is a going to be a good dad, so be it.

It doesn’t mean I like Dexter. He’s accidentally funny, kind of sweet, very hot, and—

Okay, fine.

Maybe I like him too much.

Sweet Something is an MM bisexual, grumpy/sunshine, small-town romance featuring Wood Hollow’s hottest baker and the grumpy lumberjack with a big heart.

July 21, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

286 pages

Book 2 of 3

Wood Hollow Stories

Review : Sex At A Funeral by K Sterling

Rating: 3.75🌈

K Sterling writes such an amazing spectrum of stories, from urban Gaelic mythology based fantasy series grounded in the mid-Atlantic states to contemporary paranormal ghost mysteries set In Bisbee, Arizona and everything in between.

That includes contemporary romances.

Sex At A Funeral is K Sterling’s latest contemporary story, a book about three young friends, two of whom are siblings, torn apart by events and secrets started at a funeral. One of a succession of funerals that impacted their lives in surprising ways.

Skylar and Sarina Sutton and their best friend, Mason Cartwright. Together for most of their lives growing up. Until a disastrous happening at their Uncle’s funeral drives Skylar apart from his friends and family.

It’s a very good idea to read K Sterling’s forward where the author talks her writing, explaining how close she is to the topic of autism and the character of Skylar. It’s explains why this character is so well written and has such depth throughout the book.

Skylar is easily the best personality here. Sarina, his sister who chose a lavender marriage and motherhood over her brother and Mason, a closeted gay best friend who went with his parent’s career path and “saving” Sarina, are less well developed.

Sarina more so than Mason. He just comes off as selfish and immature. Especially when he asks Skylar to become his “side piece” so he can remain Mayor and stay Sarina ‘s husband. Still keeping secrets.

I don’t think Sterling made the case that Mason was a healthy choice for Skylar at any point here. That Skylar was seeing a therapist about him, and was trying to make the correct choices by staying away? That feels positive. Not the way the book ends in order for everyone to have a forced HEA .

There’s many positive aspects of Sex At A Funeral by K Sterling , Skylar and his lesbian bestie in NYC? That’s the sequel we should be looking forward to.

If you are a fan of the author, pick it up.

Buy link

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com/Sex-At-Funeral-K-Sterling-ebook/dp/

Blurb

Hooking up with his brother-in-law at a funeral isn’t the worst thing a Sutton has ever done.

Not by a long shot.

Skylar Sutton, a black sheep raised by WASP wolves, has avoided his hometown of Roseview, New York for most of his adult life. Autistic, caustic, and gay—the trifecta—Sky was shunned after a scandal.

Now, he’s been welcomed back after his debut novel became an international bestseller.

But Sky wants no part of the Roseview lifestyle and his nightmare family. Especially his sister, Sarina, and her husband, Mason Cartwright. Once upon a time, the three of them were inseparable. But a terrible secret shattered their friendship. Sky knows the picture-perfect life that Sarina and Mason have built is all a lie. Between the small-town gossip, his sister’s twisted marriage, and his adversarial relationship with his mother, Sky prefers to keep a distance.

A family tragedy is just about the only thing that will bring Sky back to Roseview. And, for reasons Sky would rather not unpack, he can’t resist his golden-retriever brother-in-law at family funerals.

Every encounter leaves Sky more confused and torn.

A lavender marriage, an unexpected pregnancy, scheming relatives, and heaps of family secrets. For Sky, home is where the heart breaks. But finally learning the truth—that he was never the problem and Mason isn’t a villain—might be worth the journey back.

Might.

Bawdy Books

Publication date

July 14, 2026

Accessibility

Learn more

Language

‎English

File size

1.8 MB

Screen Reader

Supported

Enhanced typesetting

Enabled

X-Ray

Not Enabled

Word Wise

Enabled

Print length

314 pages

Review: The Bull Rider and the Bookworm (Part of the Snow Creek Ranch Shared World) by V.L. Locey

Rating: 3.75🌈

The Bull Rider and the Bookworm by V.L. Locey is a lovely, very sweet contemporary cowboy romance. While it’s part of the Snow Creek Ranch series, it’s not necessary to have read any of these novels in order to understand and enjoy this book and characters.

I enjoyed reading about the characters of bookstore owner, Aubrey Lancombe and broken bull rider Hoyt Knox. Each one was delightfully engaging and interesting in their own right. Aubrey, especially, was a character I wish I could have gotten to know more about. His background, which is so fascinating, and the two animal companions, a cat and rooster, who I loved. This author did both of them so well, making Roberto, the Rooster, and the cat, Ruggerio, feel authentic.

Aubrey’s tiny cottage he’d just purchased , a grumpy handyman which we’d barely seen glimpses of and were getting to know, so many elements that we were intrigued by, and then the marvelous animals , they were all unfortunately forgotten somewhere later in the story. Disappeared. There was no room and that was both noteworthy and a shame.

Because it switched to Hoyt’s issues, his abusive dad and younger brother. And in a book of 199 pages, there was hardly any mention of the resolution of the issues that drove him away, whatever happened between his brother in the past, or anything else notable. It’s unfortunately glossed over. And these are important issues like parental responsibility, abuse, violence against children, alcohol abuse and other serious crimes or mistreatments/mental health issues.

Instead we’re superficially dealing with a sweet relationship and romantic partnership. Which is fine, but why load up on the other serious elements if they’re not going to be given the narrative exploration that they deserve. Just my opinion. Save that for a longer novel.

There’s a nice bit about a horse and ends with a HEA sort of finish.

Of course, in my head, I was thinking, who’s minding Aubrey’s store he just bought and opened. But again, that’s just me.

So I like the story but it left me wondering about far too many things, questions about the characters and storylines to feel satisfying.

Snow Creek Ranch (7 book series) by R.J. Scott and 6 other authors

Cover by L.C. Chase

Buy link

Part of: Snow Creek Ranch (7 books)

Blurb

Sometimes the wildest ride isn’t in the arena – it’s falling in love.

Bull rider Hoyt Knox has spent his life chasing applause, adrenaline, and the next eight-second ride. With his body starting to break down and sponsors pulling out, he finds himself facing a possible life change. Confused and hurting, he heads to Snow Creek Ranch to try his hand at something a little easier as he heals while trying to figure out what’s left for him besides a sore back and a fading spotlight.

Enter Aubrey Lancombe, a quiet, bookish man who’s just moved to Chance to escape the city life – and the loss of his beloved grandmother followed by a bad breakup – and finally open the bookstore of his dreams. Aubrey has always preferred words to people, quiet to chaos, and certainly has no time for cocky cowboys with something to prove.

When their worlds collide over a shared love of poetry they strike up a friendship that teeters on the edge of something else entirely. But Hoyt’s not out and Aubrey is scared to fall again. As his time at Snow Creek Ranch passes Hoyt must decide if he’s ready to hang up his spurs for good – or risk his heart on the bookworm who’s rewritten everything he thought he knew about love.

The Bull Rider and the Bookworm is a 58K opposites attract, age gap, gay MM contemporary western romance with a weary rodeo rider, a shy bookhound, a ranch that heals all manner of hurts, a gentleman rooster, a plethora of romantic poetry, and a shiny as a gold buckle happy ending.

Content Warning: This story has references to past sexual abuse, death of a parent, and suicidal thoughts.

date

July 8, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

199 pages

Part of series

Snow Creek Ranch

Review: Fractured Doors and Forgotten Gods (Hidden Realms #1) by Alice Winters

Rating: 3.75🌈

Even with a nice twist at the end, Fractured Doors and Forgotten Gods (Hidden Realms #1) by Alice Winters was a story that just didn’t connect with me.

There’s many stories from this author I’ve found absolutely entertaining and some are in my reread piles, but the main characters, their dynamics between themselves and even those who they are forced into working with are such that I don’t enjoy reading their scenes or didn’t think their relationships felt believable.

Issues like a lack of communication of major issues, especially when Riley’s “secret” he’s not telling anyone/has told anyone smacks of martyrdom. The other issue is that Torin, the god swings emotionally from irritating arrogance to impulsive toddler to sexual being to instant love partner, all without a credible relationship built between the couple.

The story has some interesting mythical creatures, fantasy familiars and the twist plays into another mythology that will play out into the second book.

But I’m not sure Winters has made me care enough about the characters to go further with the series.

Still deciding.

Cover design by Natasha Snow Designs

Hidden Realms

Fractured Doors and Forgotten Gods #1

Timeless Doors and Captured Gods #2 – July 9,2026

Buy link

Book 1 of 2: Hidden Realms

Blurb

Riley

Trying to keep my familiar out of the meat display while shopping is the hardest part of my day… until someone drops a god right into my humdrum existence.

Torin, a massive man claiming to be a god, is unlike anyone I’ve ever met. He insists on learning English through adult graphic novels, believes the pizza delivery guy is an assassin, and thinks he can kick a subway into submission (talk about adding a bit of spice to my life, which has been sadly lacking since I left the Magical Interference Unit).

The handsome and strangely charismatic god drags me (literally) right into his problems, starting with a creature who wants to tear my head off, yet I find myself following along with his whims.

He knows something is wrong when Doors to another realm begin to open up, allowing an ominous power to get a foothold in our world… but I’m afraid this quirky god and I might be the only ones keeping this world from ending.

Oh joy.

Torin

I never expected that simply stepping through a Door into Riley’s world would introduce me to so many amazing curiosities, like pizza and burritos! Oh, and a pesky human who really should recognize that I’m a god of war and love—emphasis on the love.

But there’s more to Riley than meets the eye; why else would their special forces place me with a man who can borrow magic from others? My attempts to woo this mystifying human are thwarted at every turn (I doubt that has anything to do with me tossing him on a horse or taking over his bed).

As Riley and I grow closer, I realize that he might be the very person needed to save this realm… because what is coming for them is beyond anything they can comprehend… one even worse than the atrocity called an “escalator.”

Fractured Doors and Forgotten Gods is the first book in a series that has a continuing storyline.

June 2, 2026

Accessibility

Learn more

Language

‎English

File size

5.3 MB

Screen Reader

Supported

Enhanced typesetting

Enabled

X-Ray

Not Enabled

Word Wise

Enabled

Print length

364 pages

Page Flip

Enabled

Book 1 of 2

Hidden Realms

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: