Category: M/M Romance

Review: Grave Misfortune (Fortune Favors the Fae Book 8) by Nazri Noor

Rating: 4.5🌈

Grave Misfortune is Nazri Noor’s novel in the fantastic fantasy series, Fortune Favors the Fae. This is a multi-author series about a mysterious ancient Fae coin that travels from world to world, interfering with the lives and destinies of those it encounters. It’s a fascinating theme and Noor puts it and the coin to rigorous use in his highly entertaining novel.

In Noor’s storyline, there’s a small town called Barrowdeep that is besieged by ghouls. Its the perfect setting for this enemies to lovers romance. And the author has created a number of memorable characters that inhabit it to make this place real, its horrors to the remaining citizens haunting and scary, and the heartfelt rawness of those who have survived believable.

Already there is Leoric, a battle hardened, war weary soldier whose laid down his weapons for a new job as the town’s grave keeper in return for a new home. Leoric is an impressive man, a powerful character on the town’s side, whose history is as slowly revealed as is his match here.

That would be the traveling lone elf, Orphium of the Dawning Court. With his magical wagon that needs no animal to pull it, he careens from town to village, where aided by his charm and magical tricks, he wagers its people out of trinkets that also carry their precious memories, unknowingly won by him without their consent.

That’s the Orphium we meet as his wagon wheels itself into Barrowdeep. Self centered, self serving is perhaps a better term, and not prepared for the reception he receives.

Noor does an excellent job of transitioning the character of Orphium from a dislikable being to someone the reader understands and invests in emotionally. Orphium’s an isolated desperate elf constantly trying to deny the consequences of his actions, stealing precious memories from those who unknowingly surrendered them to him over a game of chance. Through the events, the escalating violence of the ghoulish invasion, and yes, that Fae coin, the relationship between Leoric and Orphium, and Orphium and the townsfolk starts to evolve.

I love all the many elements that Noor creates in this world and story and felt some didn’t get the development they deserved. But the author notes that this is the first book in a new series, so I imagine that those things will get better explanations further down the road.

I’m absolutely looking forward to seeing where this goes. Grave Misfortune (Fortune Favors the Fae Book 8) by Nazri Noor is another must read book in this fantastic collection. It’s a definite recommendation!

Cover art by Natasha Snow. I love the covers. Fabulous.

Fortune Favors the Fae – 15 books:

✓ A Fae Coin Transported Me Into Another World and Now I’m the Gay Holy Maiden by AJ Sherwood #1❤️

✓ The Wolf’s (Un)Lucky Fae by Michele Notaro #2 ❤️

✓ Bound to the Wild Fae by Tavia Lark #3 June 13❤️

✓ The Sorcerer’s Thief by Lee Colgin #4 ❤️🔷

✓ The Fae Menagerie by Edie Montreaux #5

✓ Never Darling by Sam Burns #6

✓ Prince of Poison by Alice Winters #7 ❤️

✓ Grave Misfortune by Nazri Noor #8 ❤️

◦ Fae for Pay by Meaghan Maslow #9 – July 23,2024

◦ Kisses at the Crossroad by Morgan Lysand #10 – August 1,2024

◦ Smoke and Mirrors by Kai Butler #11 – August 8, 2024

◦ Siren in the Rain by Chloe Archer #12 – Aug 15,2024

◦ I Destroyed the Elf Prince’s Harem by Jocelynn Drake #13 – Aug 22,2024

◦ A Fae Called Wylder by Michelle Frost #14 – Aug 29,2024

◦ Lucky or Knot by Eliot Grayson #15 – September 5,2024

Buy link

Grave Misfortune

Blurb

Darkness sleeps beneath Barrowdeep.

War-weary mercenary Leoric has traded his sword for a shovel, burying the undead blight that plagues the little town of Barrowdeep. Now he fights for the living instead of against them.

Fae trickster Orphium travels from town to town, stealing human trinkets and memories through games of chance. He’s desperate to fill the hollow in his heart, but the hunger never goes away.

Barrowdeep is ripe for the picking, except the nosy local gravedigger keeps interfering. But when Leoric unearths an ancient fae artifact, Orphium knows he’ll stop at nothing to possess the powerful coin.

And the undead will stop at nothing to possess him.

Orphium and Leoric must fight the undead together before tensions and their shadowy pasts rise to the surface — and before an even darker evil awakens beneath Barrowdeep.

Grave Misfortune is a part of the multi-author series, Fortune Favors the Fae. From spicy to sweet, zany romps to epic adventures, there’s something for everyone in this mystical series. Discover destiny and true love and follow the coin on its fickle journey to the next world and a new magical adventure.

• Publication date: July 18, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 218 pages

Review: The Grim Adventures of Death and Chan: Vol. 2 (a Dead Serious Companion novella) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 5🌈

Stories include:

Death goes to the Circus

Death does Pride

Death goes Camping

Death Falls in Love

The evolution of the fascinating relationship between Death and Chan continues in The Grim Adventures of Death and Chan: Vol. 2 (a Dead Serious Companion novella) by Vawn Cassidy.

A consecutive series of five short stories that has Death and Chan reflecting on their lives or state of being, their relationship, and if they have a future together. Chan is having trouble with being the “normal human” when all he sees is the extraordinary and otherworldly nature of Death. Death, on the other hand, in a raw and painful reality, is now having a profound first hand experience with emotions. Including anxiety and fear of being unable to control them.

Each story carries the couple through event after event, and a series of highly stressful and significant scenes (each one greatly crafted by Cassidy). In every one, in some manner, Death and Chan have moments where each undergoes a moment of intense emotional introspection about themselves and their relationship.

Cassidy’s detailed plotting, gorgeously executed characterizations, and emotionally compelling scenes make each tale a gem and necessary read in this remarkable journey this couple is taking.

There is going to be a Vol 3 as well as seeing them in the next adventures of the group in their new series.

I’m so excited and can’t wait. I’m highly recommending everything listed below. Read them in order.

Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed:

✓ Dead Serious Case #1 Miz Dusty Le Frey #1

✓ Dead Serious Case #2 Mrs Delores Abernathy #2

✓ Dead Serious Case #3 Mr Bruce Reyes #3

✓ Dead Serious Case #4 Professor Prometheus Plume #4

✓ The Grim Adventures of Death and Chan: Vol. 1 (a Dead Serious Companion novella) – Side story

✓ Dead Serious Case #5 Madame Vivienne

✓ The Grim Adventures of Death and Chan: Vol. 2 (a Dead Serious Companion novella) – Side story

Crawshanks Guide to Mischievous Spectres & Spirits

◦ The Haunted Hotel (Crawshanks Guide to Mischievous Spectres & Spirits Book 1) – Aug 24,2024

Buy Link:

vawncassidystore.comhttps://vawncassidystore.com › the…The Grim Adventures of Death & Chan Vol 2. (EBOOK) – Vawn Cassidy Official Store

Blurb:

Set in the Dead Serious Universe, The Grim Adventures of Death & Chan Vol 2. is a compendium of bonus shorts told in chronological order of the hilarious but sweet evolution of the relationship between an ex-drag queen and the supernatural entity known as Death.

Review: Skies That Burn (Kings of Airlie Book 3) by Casey Cox

Rating: 3🌈

Skies That Burn is the finale to Casey Cox’s trilogy about the Kings of Airlie, a powerful family of kitesurfing champions, father and sons, their troubled dynamics and the dysfunctional damaging family history that’s impacted them all.

Oceans that Swim, the first book, was incredible, both in the introduction of this wounded group of brothers and in their love of and extreme talent for the little known sport of kitesurfing. Cox has brought this sport vividly to life here as well as the crazy athleticism needed to excel as champions.

By the second story, Mountains that Move, has finished, the reader and all the major characters have experienced and revealed so much of the trilogy storylines and mysteries.

Cox has had the King brothers (Terry, Troy, and Travis) have had so many dark family secrets exposed, including horrible abuses, as well as unthinkable events occur here. All during their various runs for the kitesurfing championships during the cable tv show reality series they are filming. It was a lot of storytelling but Cox did a great job with heavy emotional scenes and content. Be aware that it involved child SA, family abuse, and more. Read the warnings.

So what is left for Skies That Burn? Travis, the oldest of them, getting his romance, and plot threads , if any, are finalized.

Unfortunately for this book, it feels as though most of the passion and enthusiasm went into the other novels and brothers. Terry and Troy had the dramatic stories and histories. They had the biggest, wildly descriptive kitesurfing scenes, and were our introduction to the sport.

With Travis and Luca Silva, the Brazilian kitesurfer, so much about their journey is written by Cox, laid out in detailed descriptions. But instead of being involved or emotionally invested, their relationship felt removed and lacking chemistry. It checks all the right boxes. The potential should be there for a good romance.

But I never felt it. Even with all Luca’s substance abuse issues (that comes across as “told to” instead of his written reality as a long term drug addict), the enablers, and even the fact I kept wondering about any sports drug testing, this entire narrative didn’t make sense to me.

The many unresolved trilogy plot lines, especially the one involving their mother, that was so swiftly fixed by a fast moving investigation that the onsite paparazzi didn’t seem interested. Highly unlikely given the seriousness of the event. The father, a major figure, is basically brushed off here as an afterthought. He, along with too many other aspects of this trilogy, are given underwhelming treatment in the last story. Cox’s story is feeling more rushed and less well developed than any of the previous stories the more it progresses.

Then Cox does an odd thing and doesn’t write one epilogue, but a series of jumbled mini-scenes. Each one an epilogue.

Yes, we do finally get a measure of kitesurfing scenes but only a few. So that they come across as one more element to tie up.

This trilogy starts off strong and powerful , continuing with the haunted Mountains that Move.

Skies That Burn (Kings of Airlie Book 3) by Casey Cox ? It’s the smallest of waves, the last ride of the day. Everyone is ready to go home. It’s definitely done. Enjoyed the characters, happy that they found their own HEA, and finished the journey. Ironically, away from kitesurfing, a sport I enjoy watching now.

Kings of Airlie trilogy:

✓ Oceans that Swim #1

✓ Mountains that Move #2

✓ Skies that Burn #3

Buy link:

skies that burn: MM Rivals to Lovers Sports Romance (Kings of Airlie Book 3)

Blurb:

TRAVIS
All I’ve ever wanted is a simple life—kitesurfing, my brothers, and someone to love.

Too bad Luca Silva, the Brazilian golden boy of kitesurfing, didn’t get the memo.

We’re the epitome of on-again, off-again, our relationship a looping roller coaster neither one of us can stay off for long.

We may not choose who we love, but we can decide if we fight for them. And I’ll do whatever it takes to hold on to Luca…even as we face off against each other in the grand final.

LUCA
I’m not the perfect athlete everyone thinks I am. My whole life is a sham. The only real thing? My love for Travis.

But everything about his world is complicated. His family. His bad boy reputation. His track record in the sport.

I love Travis with everything I’ve got, but we’ve been yo-yoing back and forth for years now. And that’s withouthim knowing what I’ve been hiding.

Once he discovers my secret, it could very well destroy us—for good this time.

skies that burn is perfect if you love:

• MM sports romance

• rivals to lovers

• hate to want you

• hurt/comfort

• thrilling series conclusion (everything is revealed!)

This is the final book in a trilogy and is NOT a stand alone.

• Publication date: July 15, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 195 pages

Review: Prince of Poison (Fortune Favors the Fae Book 7) by Alice Winters

Rating: 4.5🌈

Alice Winters is a favorite author of mine. Her ability to write stories and characters that inspire outrageous emotions, high and low humor along with subtle layering of poignancy and pain never fails to entertain and engage me.

So my expectations for her novel, Prince of Poison, in the Fortune Favors the Fae series was high. What a wonderful story! I still find myself cackling at scenes involving Dandelion and Madden or Callisto’s few attempts at romantic gestures. Absolutely gems of hilarity.

There’s just so much to this tale of fantasy romance and epic adventures. Winters has created some great characters, given all of them intriguing histories or origin stories, layered in various plots from those of mystery to romance to high suspense that fascinate and engage right to the ultimate battles and magical fights towards the end.

I love this. And really can’t go into the details about the characters and their relationships without divulging any spoilers. To give away major revelations would be a shame. But I’ll say that Dandelion is an absolute masterpiece and I need more.

I love the growth in the relationships between the characters and that it occurs naturally as trust and respect become real between them. And not only them.

Winters manages to use humor as a tool to slide in moments and subtle references to the true darknesses the characters have or have had to endure. It’s done beautifully and with great emotion. And it always makes us connect with the characters and their stories with genuine heart and feelings.

If I had a few issues here, it was with a disappearing character, a wisp called Titus, who I felt wasn’t well developed or terribly needed. He feels more like a distraction than anything else. At the end of the novel, Titus isn’t mentioned at all.

However, if you are like me and look into bonus content by authors, this story has an additional thirteen bonus pages that include Titus, and expand on what happened next between Madden and Dandelion. This is from Madden’s perspective, which makes sense that it wasn’t intended for the novel. But it does give Titus a bit more personality and lets us know where Titus was at the end of the book. See the author’s note for this content.

Prince of Poison (Fortune Favors the Fae Book 7) by Alice Winters is an absolute must read. I love it and the series. Highly recommend!

Love these covers , just fantastic , some of my favorites in years.

Fortune Favors the Fae – 15 books:

✓ A Fae Coin Transported Me Into Another World and Now I’m the Gay Holy Maiden by AJ Sherwood #1❤️

✓ The Wolf’s (Un)Lucky Fae by Michele Notaro #2 ❤️

✓ Bound to the Wild Fae by Tavia Lark #3 June 13❤️

✓ The Sorcerer’s Thief by Lee Colgin #4 ❤️🔷

✓ The Fae Menagerie by Edie Montreaux #5

✓ Never Darling by Sam Burns #6

✓ Prince of Poison by Alice Winters #7 ❤️

◦ Grave Misfortune by Nazri Noor #8 – July 18,2024

◦ Fae for Pay by Meaghan Maslow #9 – July 23,2024

◦ Kisses at the Crossroad by Morgan Lysand #10 – August 1,2024

◦ Smoke and Mirrors by Kai Butler #11 – August 8, 2024

◦ Siren in the Rain by Chloe Archer #12 – Aug 15,2024

◦ I Destroyed the Elf Prince’s Harem by Jocelynn Drake #13 – Aug 22,2024

◦ A Fae Called Wylder by Michelle Frost #14 – Aug 29,2024

◦ Lucky or Knot by Eliot Grayson #15 – September 5,2024

Buy link

Prince of Poison

Blurb:

Silas

The fae prince caught my eye the moment I saw him, and no, it didn’t have anything to do with the fact that he was being abducted. It’s not even that Callisto adores the large mount who wants to maim him. Or that every time he smiles, flowers bloom around him. No, there’s something else that draws me to him, though when the kingdom begins to fall apart around us, I realize I’m not the only one who wants him.

But the others want him dead.

With memories of my past hanging over me, I’m trapped between who I want to be and who I need to be to protect Callisto.

Callisto

While being officially crowned prince should be my main concern, something isn’t quite right with the king—unless it’s normal to have an evil mist hanging around you. Then again, who am I to judge when I can poison someone with just a kiss?

When an attack on the royal court leaves me wounded, I have no one to turn to but Silas, but he wants to keep me at a distance… like he’s afraid of me finding out the secrets he holds.

Thankfully, with Dandelion (my sweet mount—don’t listen to Silas), a strange and suspicious coin, and Silas’s friend who can speak to animals (who don’t seem interested in speaking to him) at our side, we’re going to tip this fight in our favor and prove that heroes (and love) come in all forms.

Prince of Poison is a part of the multi-author series, Fortune Favors the Fae. From spicy to sweet, zany romps to epic adventures, there’s something for everyone in this mystical series. Discover destiny and true love and follow the coin on its fickle journey to the next world and a new magical adventure.

• Publication date: July 11, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 342 pages

Review: Ascendant King (The Empty Throne Trilogy Book 3) by Kai Butler

Rating: 5🌈

Kai Butler’s finale story, Ascendant King is everything I had hoped for. And it makes me so sad this series is over while leaving me completely satisfied with the ending and the way the author has tied up the storylines.

Butler’s trilogy and fabulous romantic arc ties up with thrilling storytelling, incredible character growth, and imaginative narrative visuals that continue to make me think.

What a journey this has been for Miles and Cade as one becomes Emperor of Werewolves and the other the King of his House, and so much more. This tale has so many complex elements and intricate magical detailing to the components that Butler’s creating and then slowly revealing. It’s breathtaking in conception and execution but as the reader is so focused on the action and character-driven dramatic scenes, it’s elements that are apparent afterwards when you think about the story and events.

To say that I think the universe Butler created here can easily be extended beyond to further stories is one driven by love of the characters and need for more tales to see what happens next.

That unique pack, those bonded mates, that future that still holds so many questions. Yes, more please. Even the page length wasn’t nearly enough.

Now to wait for whatever comes next from this amazing author.

Highly recommended!

The Empty Throne Trilogy:

✓ Exiled Heir #1

✓ Contested Crown #2

✓ Ascendant King #3

Buy Link

Ascendant King (The Empty Throne Trilogy Book 3)

Blurb:

His life is in my hands, but my heart is in his.

Miles Castillo has the one thing his mother never did: time. As he gathers new members to his pack and help in his war against House Bartlett, he can’t help but wish that Cade was more than a reluctant ally. But the ice prince has made his position clear and nothing Miles can do will change the history that divides them.

Still, as they both confront the echoes of their past, they must learn to work together and find something like a middle ground. With nothing to lose, Cade and Miles must make a choice that will save both of them.

• Publication date: June 17, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 466 pages

Review: Cherry on Top: a MM Fake Boyfriend Standalone (Indigo Bay) by Beth Bolden

Rating: 4.5🌈

Beth Bolden’s intense, passionate Italian American Moretti family stretches over two series, sorry, three, as cousin Rocco is heading off to Christmas Falls towards the end.

The Moretti family, brothers or cousins, can be found as chefs or restauranteurs in the wonderful Food Truck Warriors and now in her Indigo Bay novels. And as I mentioned even more.

While these books are listed as standalone, they really aren’t as they need the foundation of the preceding novel to give the reader depth of understanding of the characters, their history, and the setting of Indigo Bay from the perspective of both stories.

Here, it’s Enzo Moretti, a character who was introduced to readers in Sweet as Pie #1, but returning home (temporarily) older and as an established mural artist . He’s separated himself from the Moretti family culinary path, and has tried to do the same with his own life by his absence.

I thought Bolden, who always does an exemplary job of layering her characters, has made Enzo a person to relate to with his complicated family dynamics and own troubled journey to maturity . The author is also able to let us see into his artistic passion and processes as he creates the mural so important to the story and town.

Oliver Billings fled Florida and his family food business to move to Indigo Bay, opening up a fantastic ice cream shop, Cherry’s. Oliver is just as much a beautifully written character as the man he’s being paired with. The recipes are mouthwatering, the shop and employees are believable, and this stressed out, hard working man is a delight to watch get his HEA.

Of course, this starts as a fake boyfriend trope but Bolden’s chemistry between the two is palpable and real. Also great are all the other people who live and are necessary for the story and their relationship. Mothers, families, friends. Just perfect.

I hope Bolden will give us Rocco’s story too. And further adventures of the Moretti family. I’m so invested.

Connected Series:

Food Truck Warriors

Christmas Falls

Indigo Bay:

Sweet as Pie #1

Cherry on Top #2

Buy Link:

Cherry on Top: a MM Fake Boyfriend Standalone (Indigo Bay)

Blurb

When Enzo Moretti’s mom lures him home to paint one of his famous murals in Indigo Bay, he expects an awkward family reunion.

Not an awkward matchmaking attempt.

And not Will Johnson, the new owner of Cherry’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor and it turns out, also who she’s been boasting to about all Enzo’s perfect qualities.

He’s perfectly embarrassed, all right.

When Will suggests pretending to date might be easier than fighting his determined mama, Enzo knows he should say no. That Will is as tasty as his frozen desserts doesn’t matter. Enzo isn’t staying.

Instead, he plans a series of very public romantic dates. Dates that only end up proving that, yes, Will is as sweet as his ice cream, and no, Enzo isn’t as immune to romantic entanglements as he thought. The longer they continue the charade, the less it feels like a game of pretend and more like a truth he can’t avoid.

But can Enzo really admit his mom got it right—and stay in the town he’s always wanted to leave? It’ll be tough to live down that “I told you so.”

Even tougher to leave Will behind.

Because what he never expected is for Will to be the cherry on top of this matchmaking sundae. He’s one tasty treat Enzo never wants to finish.

• Publication date: July 12, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 313 pages

INDIGO BAY series:

🔹Sweet as Pie #1 – Luca Moretti is very grumpy. Not just about his six younger siblings, or the four Italian restaurants he runs for his family, but about Oliver, who not only seduces him with all his delectable baked goods, but just so happens to be sweet as pie.”

🔹Cherry on Top #2 – When Enzo Moretti’s mother lures him home to paint a mural in his hometown, he doesn’t expect her awkward matchmaking attempts. Or that the source of them is Will Johnson: the very cute new owner of Cherry’s Ice Cream Parlor. But the last thing he expects is for Will to suggest they fake a few dates to get his mother off their backs. Or that he’ll enjoy them quite so much.

Review: Marrying Mr Majestic by Lucy Lennox

Rating: 4.75🌈

I really told myself no more billionaire character romances. But, I’m a sucker for the Wake Up Married in Las Vegas trope so, of course, I immediately grabbed up the newest release, Marrying Mr Majestic by Lucy Lennox . I’m so happy I did.

I hadn’t read the first story which introduced the group of friends who became billionaires after creating a software program. That’s Prince of Lies, which I might have to go back to read now that I’ve met the group.

But this story concerns Silas Concannon, in Las Vegas to stop a wedding (unsuccessfully) and Waylon Fletcher, mayor of the small town of Majestic, Wyoming. He’s in Las Vegas where he thought he’d get married to help a friend out. Also unsuccessful.

A night out of commiseration in a bar ends with them married. And a fabulous novel ensues.

Never have I fallen so quickly and so hard for a location and group of people as I have for Way, his family and friends there on the streets , stores, and warmth of Majestic. And that goes for Silas, as he finds that he has found his home in every possible way when he pursues Way back west and finds a cowboy and town who needs him as much as he needs to be needed.

Lennox does such an amazing job in bringing the small town community of Majestic perfectly to life, believable in its rural close knit dynamics, the beauty of the landscape, and the realism of living there. The town is breathtakingly heartfelt and a great part of why this story works so well.

The author then crafts character after character that is as well suited and believable as the town itself, sets them down with jobs and lives we can relate to, and without any hesitation, the reader is absolutely living and walking with Way, JuJu, and Silas and everyone else who comes up to chat about the events happening. We are there.

We are part of that sexy, funny, and painful growing relationship between two men who are afraid it’s going to fall apart on them. Yet who are so compatible and deeply in love. I found myself forgetting Silas was as rich as he was and appreciated the man Lennox had crafted, evolving there in Majestic. Waylon too, as he learned to lean on Silas.

I’m so in love with them both. Those epilogues (yes more than one) weren’t nearly enough to satisfy me because I love them all so.

Dev, a part of the billionaire brotherhood who ends up in Majestic, has his own story next. I can’t wait. I’m ready to pull up a chair on a porch and stay on in Majestic because there’s quite a few people there who need their own romances.

I’m highly recommending this place, these characters and this book. It’s a fabulous read.

Billionaire Brotherhood /group of friends:

◦ Prince of Lies

✓ Marrying Mr. Majestic ❤️ (Silas and Waylon)

◦ Inheriting Miss Fortune (Dev’s story) – Oct 2024

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Marry…Marrying Mr. Majestic – Kindle edition by Lennox, Lucy. Romance …

Blurb

I’ve made myself into many things over the years. A Yale graduate. A brilliant corporate strategist. A city boy. And, though no one outside my inner circle knows it, a billionaire.

One thing I never expected to be? Accidentally married to a straight, small-town cowboy named Waylon, the pride and joy of… *checks notes*… Majestic, Wyoming.

Sadly, what happens in Vegas does not, in fact, stay in Vegas, and before I know it, I’m trying to track my erstwhile husband down, divorce papers in hand and thrift store clothes on my back, desperately hoping the stranger I married won’t realize he’s suddenly entitled to a lot more than that shiny gold ring on his finger.

Unfortunately, Way has other plans.

His town is counting on him as mayor to bring the lucrative AdventureSmash wilderness race to Majestic, and he refuses to sign my papers until the deal is done… which means me and my second-hand blue jeans will be hanging around a lot longer than I’d imagined, pretending our one-night whatever-it-was was a love match for the ages.

As it turns out, Majestic is more charming than I’d expected, and Way… is not entirely without charms himself. It also turns out he’s, ahem, not as straight as he thought he was.

Before I know it, dusty boots feel more comfortable than my shiny wingtips, coffee at the Love Muffin tastes better than Starbucks, and being the First Husband of Majestic starts to seem as important as any corporate merger I’ve ever negotiated.

But for a man with secrets to keep and a whole life waiting for him back in Manhattan, the only thing worse than Marrying Mr. Majestic… would be falling in love with him for real.

Marrying Mr. Majestic is set in the same world as Prince of Lies, but both novels can be enjoyed on their own.

• Publisher: (July 9, 2024)

• Publication date: July 9, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 318 pages

Small town romance, bi-awakening,

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Review: Forever Finn (Belong To Me Book 3) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 4.75🌈

I’ve been binging this series so I’m sad to come to the last of the available books because I’ve definitely fallen in love with this series and group of characters.

The original focus of the series has expanded from the Ainsley’s and partners to their friends who are a devoted active extension of this warmhearted family. As the foundation and lovely group of people living in the bay has developed, this small town has never felt more welcoming and dynamic as it does now.

Wyatt Trainor is a Canadian immigrant, a veterinarian who works with Jesse Ainsley in his clinic and is finding that everything about the bay feels like home. Except for his love life. Wyatt is a wonderful character we started to get to know in previous books but really gets established here.

It’s Finn Gallagher who’s such a compelling character, that wounded man who has fled back to the bay, filled with secrets, pain, and an inability to see how he can move forward. On the surface, a successful straight movie star but Cassidy is able to give the reader the real man whose emotions are in turmoil due to his long held grief and repressed sexuality.

Cassidy is incredibly moving in crafting a strong storyline that pulls together several characters, three books, and a heartbreaking event and turns it into a realistic, compelling final chapter for everyone who was so deeply impacted by this event and loss.

Finn’s story has so many great layers to it. He’s trying to determine his future, announce his sexuality, figure out his home, fight for a new relationship he’s building with Wyatt and protect a old love/friendship from ramifications of all of the above.

It’s that last part, his best friend, and fellow actor, Sky, that I wish we had known about in greater depth. I understand it wasn’t her story but in so many ways, it was. And the glimpses we got of the character that Cassidy created, it was interesting enough that I wanted more. Of Sky and the unique family they seemingly formed at the end.

Cassidy’s characters are so beautifully drawn, so real, that’s it’s easy to become invested in each of their stories and their lives. I always want more of what happened next.

Plus there’s all these fantastic people that call the bay home that the reader looks forward to seeing in each story, like Molly and Bernard.

So now I wait, having happily binged my way through this fantastic series and this great story. I’m so excited to recommend them all but read them in the order they are written to get the relationships and event development as it happens.

Belong To Me:

✓ Suddenly Beck #1

✓ Definitely Deacon #2

✓ Dear Las Vegas, Thanks for the memories #2.5 -author mailing list or paperback book

✓ Forever Finn #3

◦ Irrevocably Ryan #4

Buy Link

Forever Finn (Belong to Me)

Blurb

Finn Gallagher has it all, a beautiful girlfriend, a successful Hollywood career, a condo in Malibu and more money than he knows what to do with. He should be happy, but there’s just one problem, he’s gay and he’s been lying to the entire world. When he walks out on his career a couple of days into shooting his latest movie, he’s finds himself inadvertently heading straight back to the small Cornish bay he grew up in.

Wyatt Trainor has only recently left his native Canada and relocated across the world, taking a job as a local veterinarian in a quiet little bay in Cornwall. Just out of a bad relationship, he’s happy with hook ups and one night stands until a chance meeting in a dark nightclub brings him face to face with his celebrity crush.

But when a drunken encounter unexpectedly turns into something more, they find themselves admitting there might just be something there worth exploring.

• Publisher: (September 14, 2022)

• Publication date: September 14, 2022

• Language: English

• Print length: 168 pages

Review: Definitely Deacon (Belong To Me Book 2) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 4.75🌈

I will admit I’m loving this series so much that I’ve grabbed up all the available novels and read them right through. So I know that the heartwarming feeling of found family and all inclusive community that the Bay represents just increases as each couple finds happiness and works through the trauma that comes with each homecoming and wonderful relationships.

Yes, I’m definitely a fan.

Definitely Deacon begins the migration home of for many of the important characters that are a part of the Ainsley family story. Deacon’s impact here is enormous, both in his main character role and as a avenue to bring the series a influx of fascinating people/friends. Friends who themselves will then a become just as important in expanding the series foundation in terms of found family and types of topics covered.

Grief and loss is always central to this series. Whether it’s the loss of patriarch Sully to cancer (one thread of the first book) or here the loss of Cody, Deacon’s brother and close friend of the Ainsley’s, in a car crash, it’s the impact of that loss, on all the those left behind that’s a factor here. And on the one that ran away.

Cassidy does a great job in developing the characters of Jesse Ainsley, twin to Beck, vet, with a long standing love for Deacon James, boat racer, party boy, the one who left the Bay after Cody’s death. And what little friendship they had seems done. Jesse is a person who is easy to relate to, with some issues he’s working hard to address.

Deacon is a character the author introduces under extreme circumstances. Then lets us get to know him as he recovers back in the bay, where the past and his present combine to finally get him , along with Jesse, and all the rest of the group there, to move him forward.

This is painful, funny, emotional stuff. Also sexy and romantic. That ending was satisfying and hilarious. There’s a follow up short story called Dear Las Vegas, Thanks for the memories. It’s available either for free when you sign up for the author’s newsletter or if you buy the paperback. Either way, a must giggle fest.

Now to await, along with the author’s many other books/series, the book four. And more, hopefully.

These are all a definite recommendation.

Belong To Me:

✓ Suddenly Beck #1

✓ Definitely Deacon #2

✓ Dear Las Vegas, Thanks for the memories #2.5 -author mailing list or paperback book

✓ Forever Finn #3

◦ Irrevocably Ryan #4

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Definitely Deacon (Belong to Me)

Blurb

An emotional and humour filled roller-coaster ride through a sleepy little Cornish Bay.

Jesse Ainsley’s life running his busy veterinary practice in the sleepy Cornwall bay he grew up in leaves no time for a serious relationship… at least, that’s what he tells himself, but the simple truth is much more cliché. He’s been in love with his best friend forever, but when he starts pulling away and goes radio silent on him for six months, Jesse begins to wonder if their friendship is finally over.

Deacon James lives his life at two speeds, a hundred miles an hour and stop. He’s spent the last decade travelling the world, winning races, partying with the most beautiful men and women, and living life on his terms, a life which was pretty close to perfect… with just one caveat… he’s never quite been able to get over the boy he left behind. His best friend Jesse has always made him yearn for something he’s too afraid to face and cutting him out of his life seemed like the only answer.

But things are never that simple. When Deacon wakes from an accident in Italy with Jesse asleep in the hospital chair beside him, he discovers Jesse’s been keeping secrets of his own.

At a crossroads in their life, they’re faced with a choice, build something deeper and stronger from the ashes, or let words unsaid and secrets tear them apart forever.

From author Wendy Saunders writing as Vawn Cassidy comes this second chance, friends to lovers, hurt/comfort with a HEA.

The paperback copy also includes the bonus short Dear Las Vegas, Thanks for the memories.

This short story can be accessed by joining the author’s mailing list. The story is adorable!

Review: Skeleton Crew (Psycop 14) by Jordan Castillo Price

Rating: 4.5🌈

It’s been a while since I’d read any novels in this series but this author is one I automatically read so it seems like a good time to get back into the universe.

It’s recommended that you be familiar with the characters, their unique histories and backgrounds as well as the series as a foundation for the knowledge required here.

This is a complicated story that involves a layered plot, hidden secrets, beautifully developed mysteries, and an agonizing twist that puts all the cast in all types of imminent danger.

This along with the storyline of a escalating anxiety from main characters, Vic and Jacob, about Jacob’s nephew home alone during a violent storm while the couple who were his caregivers for the weekend find themselves in a increasingly dangerous situation. Without access to WiFi and phones.

Price does a realistic portrayal of the fears and distress both men are experiencing, for the boy and themselves because of the newness of the situation. Then there’s the horrific reality they currently face, of the dark basement and its own extreme dangers.

The scenes in the basement are some of the best in the book. Descriptively, the author is able to bring us down into that scary environment, continuing to elevate the horror and obstacles every one faces and then finally turning it into one poignant but terrifying scenario.

So well written.

And if that ending leaves you with a few chills, it should. That’s the playground for Psycop. Check out the full series to date below.

Psycop:

#1 Among the Living

#2 Criss Cross

#3 Body & Soul

#4 Secrets

#5 Camp Hell

#6 GhosTV

#7 Spook Squad

#8 Skin After Skin

#9 Agent Bayne

#10 Murder House

#11 Bitter Pill

#12 Other Half

#13 Subtle Bodies

#14 Skeleton Crew

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Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Skelet…Skeleton Crew: PsyCop 14: Price, Jordan Castillo

Blurb

Although Victor Bayne is a valued asset of the FPMP, he still vividly recalls his PsyCop days: the eye rolls, the nasty looks, and the occasional utterance of the words “Spook Squad” whenever he showed up on a scene. So he really should empathize with Howard Jibben, the weekend lab manager known as Heebie Jeebie.

But does the guy really need to be so darn annoying?

Thanks to the researcher’s OCD tendencies, when a mysterious shipment arrives, what should be a routine ghost-check turns into an excruciating ordeal…made even worse by a freak incident that leaves them stranded in the FPMP’s basement.

Jacob may be the ranking agent on site, but even he can’t control the weather. Yet given the pressure he puts on himself to master his newfound ability, it’s as if he thinks the burden to free everyone is his alone.

Vic has never put much stock in luck, but the sheer number of disasters raining down on them can’t possibly be pure chance—and things are only getting worse. Is it a curse? Telekinesis? Sabotage?

Or is there something more sinister lurking in the shadows?

PsyCop is an ongoing series filled with supernatural action and delightfully awkward humor–with a steady undercurrent of gay romance. It’s best read in order, so if you’re new to the series, start with PsyCop #1, Among the Living…and prepare for a hauntingly good read.

• Publisher: JCP Books (May 20, 2024)

• Publication date: May 20, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 302 pages

PSYCOP SERIES
#1: Among the Living
What good is being a psychic detective if your murder victims aren’t talking?

#2: Criss Cross
Mysterious messages from Lisa lead Vic on a wild ride.

#3: Body & Soul
Three missing people. No bodies. No ghosts. At least the case gets Vic out of an awkward family dinner.

#4: Secrets
Is someone watching Vic’s every move, or is he imagining things? Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.

#5: Camp Hell
Vic delves into his repressed memories of Camp Hell and dredges up more than he bargained for.

#6: GhosTV
Lisa’s gone missing, and Vic and Jacob head to PsyTrain for some answers.

#7: Spook Squad
Victor has been avoiding the exorcism he owes the FPMP. Now it’s time to pay up.

#8: Skin After Skin
A sweeping look at the PsyCop series from Crash’s empathic point of view

#9: Agent Bayne
Victor might be through with the Chicago PD, but is he ready for the FPMP?

#10 Murder House
An undercover gig turns up more than Vic ever imagined.

#11 Bitter Pill
There’s a deadly new drug in town called Kick…and psychs find it irresistible

#12 Other Half
A wedding is stressful enough without a psychic investigation to power through

#13 Subtle Bodies (PsyCop Book 13)

#14 Skeleton Crew