Category: M/M Romance

Review:  Finlay (The Wild Edges Book 1) by Lark Taylor 

Rating: 4.5🌈

I really enjoyed Finlay, it brought me back to much of the original elements and characters of this paranormal universe that I am invested in that started with the four sons of Lucifer in the Reckless Damned series. 

In fact, we get to see several of the characters and couples from some of my favorite stories return here in important roles. A absolutely fantastic aspect of this story.

Finlay is a character who was introduced before in Danny’s story and we get a brief recap here.  

Chester, the florist fleeing a damaging relationship, is a wonderful character as is the assistant who is equally tragic in his background and importance here, Reid. Reid is a heartbreaking character and he, along with pack member Evan get the next story. 

However, this is Finlay and Chester’s journey to recovery and their HEA and it’s a wonderful story.  I was with them every step forward in trust and recovery from the hurt and pain of loss and damage that their past relationships has brought each of them. 

Taylor wraps up this couple’s story and gives them a happy ending as well as sets up Evan (and Reid) for their book to come. 

I can’t wait to read it. This is another winner in a universe of connected series that continues to grow and keep me invested in their lives and relationships.  Highly recommended!

Book cover design: BreathlessLit Cover model photograph: Wander Aguiar Photography LLC

Reckless Damned Series :

Devil’s Mark #1

Devil May Care #2

Deal With the Devil #3

Luck of the Devil #4

Damned Collections: Volume One 

Damned Connections Series 

Patience #1

Justice #2

Temperance #3

Humility #4

Hopeless Blessed : 

Conflicted #1

Devoted #2

Guarded #3

The Wild Edges :

Finlay #1

Evan #2 – May 24,2025

Buy link:

        Finlay: MM Shifter x human romance (The Wild Edges Book 1)

    

Blurb 

Over a century ago, my alpha lost the one he loved.

And so did I.

My love for Danny’s wife is my deepest, darkest secret. All these years later, Danny has moved on and found a new love.

I wish I could do the same.

I’m stuck in a rut, going through the same routine day after day. Leading the clan is my motivation, but it’s not enough to fill the emptiness inside. 

That’s until I meet Chester.

The quiet human florist has been hurt in the past. Someone has forced him to bury the person he once was.

But I see flashes of him during our interactions. Every glimpse has me desperate to know more. To learn what makes him smile. To discover what makes him happy. 

All I have to do is persuade him to give me a chance. To trust me enough to let me close.

The clan has been my motivation, but I think loving Chester is meant to be my purpose.

‘Finlay’ is the first book in a thrilling MM wolf shifter series. Spice, found family, action, and protective MCs are guaranteed. Each book will follow a new couple and end with a HEA.

  • Publisher: Lark Taylor
  • Publication date: June 19, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 396 pages
  • Book 1 of 2: The Wild Edges

Review:  The Haunted Hotel 2: The Legend of Lovers Hollow (Crawshanks Guide to Mischievous Spectres & Spirits) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 4🌈

The Legend of Lovers Hollow is a funny, ghostly tale, a veritable mansion full of characters that are entertaining, intriguing, hilarious, occasionally heartbreaking, especially if they are a young sad ghost, and offer a number of interesting relationship dynamics.

Ellis Sparks is trying his best to expand the haunted hotel’s entertainment for its guests and that now includes a play about the tragic triad of lovers from the mansion’s history, The Legend of Lovers Hollow . Only it’s bringing with it unexpected peril along with challenges in the performances. 

The new guests themselves are an intriguing rowdy bunch, from a group of well-known ghost hunters to a anime artist and several married couples and a throuple. The Haunted House has never seemed busier or under more stress. 

Morgan especially is struggling with his own issues and the hotel’s finances. This , alongside the problems of a lonely little ghost, feel the most grounded and relatable emotionally. In a very strange and otherwise paranormal world setting, amongst ghosts having their own issues, Morgan and sad little Artie make their own circle of connection and bond that made this story for me. 

But the grandfather and his sarongs? Hilarious. And we get several great surprises in the visitors here. 

My only wish was for a more definitive ending. It seems to just stop without any real resolution to the issues here. 

The Haunted Hotel 2: The Legend of Lovers Hollow is a highly recommended and enjoyable paranormal romp! Poignant, hilarious and fully entertaining. 

Great series. 

Cover design by Natasha Snow @NatashaSnowDesigns

Crawshanks Guide to Mischievous Spectres & Spirits:

The Haunted Hotel (Crawshanks Guide to Mischievous Spectres & Spirits Book 1)

The Haunted Hotel 2: The Legend of Lovers Hollow 

Buy link

        The Haunted Hotel 2: The Legend of Lovers Hollow (Crawshanks Guide to Mischievous Spectres & Spirits)

    

Blurb 

Welcome back to the Ashton-Drake Manor House Hotel!

Ellis Sparks is beyond thrilled. Not only has he discovered that ghosts are real, but the hotel he’s lived in since he was a teenager is filled with them. Okay, so the first annual murder mystery event may have gone slightly awry, and the hotel is still under threat of foreclosure.

Oh, and the whole place is being investigated by the Bureau of Domestic Hauntings. Turns out there’s a lot of bureaucracy in the afterlife!

But life is good. Ellis is in love and now that he’s newly promoted to hotel manager, he’s even more determined to save his beloved home, starting with a brand-new event! A historical re-enactment of a local urban legend and a ghost-hunting Valentines weekend are sure to bring in more business and help save the hotel.

There’s just one problem.

The Legend of Lovers Hollow is real, and three potentially murderous ghosts are on a rampage through a hotel filled with amateur ghost hunters. Now, accompanied by their motley crew of quirky staff and ghostly sidekicks, Ellis and his superhot silver fox of a boyfriend must figure out how to put the furious spiritual triad back to sleep before all hell lets loose and the hotel guests get more than a frightfully good stay..

  • Publisher: Underside Press
  • Accessibility: Learn more
  • Publication date: May 21, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 265 pages

Review:  The Past in the Present (Beyond the Veil Book 9) by KM Avery

Rating: 5🌈

The Past in the Present (Beyond the Veil Book 9) by KM Avery is an outstanding piece of work by Avery in a series full of great novels.  

The Past in the Present, Beyond the Veil book 9, finishes Seth and Elliot’s journey and inter-series trilogy. 

Seth Mays and Elliot Crane have slowly made themselves into a couple, with Seth just now moving into Elliot’s home on the reservation and Seth working on his firefighter credentials in Shawano, Wisconsin.

Then a shattering phone call from a Sheriff’s Office in Staunton, Virginia , involving his estranged parents, saying his mother has been murdered , and his father is missing, presumably dead.  Noah, Seth’s young brother has been held for questioning in connection with the deaths. The nightmare of Seth’s past is back and he’s got to go back to a place where he promised himself and Noah  he would never have to return. Home. 

The Past in the Present is a haunting, complex, and deeply moving story. It’s dark, layered with the characters past, horrific damaged history, fully immersed in their current tumultuous lives and relationships, and folded into the twisted ways the Arcanavirus settled into certain parts of the country and communities. 

It brings Seth and Elliott’s relationship into a more intimate and complete sense of balance between them, letting Elliott see firsthand what Seth (as well Noah) traumatic adolescent upbringing was like and what they endured before they escaped their father and family. It’s a horror story at times and the author’s note of trigger warnings at the beginning should be read. 

This is also an excellent labyrinthine mystery about the current murder investigation, Seth’s family, wills, and an extreme religious sect. This aspect of The Past in the Present brings in our favorite elf agent, Val Hart (Elliot’s best friend) and his new FBI boss, Tiger shifter, Raj, who will figure in the next series group. 

It’s both a psychological mystery and action horror thriller. A well thought out story of two individuals who have overcome their differences and fears to become a true couple and have a stronger relationship. And it’s one man’s story to work through his personal demons and struggles with self worth and find peace in himself and his own new life. 

I can’t imagine a better story or journey for Seth than the one Avery had written here. It’s just that exceptional. 

Each story often sends me back to reread a certain moment in the series that made me realize how amazing the characters and each element is. 

And now to wait on Rayn’s voice. Highly recommended. 

Series couples to date (not standalone):

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 +) (coming 2025-2026) 

Buy Link

        The Past in the Present (Beyond the Veil Book 9)

    

Blurb 

Everything was finally going well. I had a job I liked, a man I loved, and a future we were building together.

And then the past came back to haunt me—and now I have to go back to the house in Appalachia where my parents had made my childhood a living hell. Where Noah and I had been broken, over and over, as the people who were supposed to love and protect us tried to turn us into something we weren’t and would never be.

It was a place I’d never wanted to go again.

But I now I have to. Because the parents I never meant to speak to again are dead, and Noah’s fingerprints were found all over the kitchen.

I didn’t know why Noah went back, what had happened to my parents, or whether my psyche was going to make it through a trip back to middle-of-nowhere rural Virginia. Or my relationship. I’d finally managed to convince Elliot to give me a chance, and he was about to find out about a lot of skeletons in a very deep, very dark closet.

I could only hope that he’d be willing to help me bury the bones.

Book 3 in Seth’s Story

  • Publication date: June 27, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 370 pages
  • Book 9 of 9: Beyond the Veil

Review:  How to Entice a Fiend (VRC: Vampire Related Crimes Book 6) by Alice Winters

Rating: 4.25🌈

It’s been a while since I’ve read this series, but quickly became reacquainted with the universe and characters and where we left off with their stories and the drama that was going on.

Mads, the UK council member with a mysterious backstory, and Ender ,the damaged vampire who has a deadly mission yet a responsibility for a younger vampire, Rylee, he clearly adores, is a very interesting couple.  

This story and their roles has so many layers to it that their relationship develops really quickly, far too easily, given each man’s trauma and pasts to fully reach the levels of trust it goes into here. I wish their timelines and story length had more longer so they could have better chemistry and development.

All the other couples are present. Claude is hilarious as always. Rylee the young vampire ward of Ender’s is amazing, as is her dynamic with him and those around her. Like Orin and Finn. 

Things go explosive. Fight scenes and fast paced moments of suspense. And , in a wonderful ending, Winters goes for a more believable HFN ending rather than HEA. There’s still too many loose ends still to be pulled together for this to happen. 

How to Entice a Fiend (VRC: Vampire Related Crimes Book 6) by Alice Winters is another exciting book in an excellent paranormal series from an auto buy author. 

A definite winner. 

Cover design by Natasha Snow Designs

VRC: Vampire Related Crimes :

How to Vex a Vampire #1

How to Elude a Vampire #2

How to Lure a Hunter #3

How to Save a Human #4

How to Defy a Vampire #5

How to Entice a Fiend #6

Buy link:

        How to Entice a Fiend (VRC: Vampire Related Crimes Book 6)

    

Blurb 

Mads

As a member of the vampire council, being tasked with keeping an eye on a few people shouldn’t be too hard, right?

Wrong.

The moment I meet the VRC, I realize how very wrong I am. It’s fascinating how in a group filled with ancient beings, the only reasonable one is the human. Definitely not the grumpy vampire… or the other grumpy vampire… and don’t get me started on the eye-searing clothes the bubbly one wears.

And that’s when I run into Ender.

Well… run is probably the wrong word. It’s more like he accidentally saves my life, joins me for a fun torture fest from some guy who woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and then ends up fleeing through unknown territory with my naked body slung over his shoulder.

Is there a better meet-cute than all of that?

Probably not, as long as we ignore the real reason I’m here.

Ender

Keeping Rylee safe is the only thing I should care about. So then how is it that I find myself being pulled along by Mads, a member of the council that I’ve sworn to get rid of? He’s charismatic, charming, and really far too suspicious, but our paths merge as I fight to end an injustice that started hundreds of years ago.

Mads is making me realize that maybe there is more to my life than becoming a martyr for people who seem to think I’m the bad guy. While others see me as a monster, he sees who I really am.

And I will do anything to keep him from the danger he’s been drawn into.

Review:  Born to Be Legends: A Soulbound Universe Novella by Hailey Turner

Rating: 4.5 🌈

As author Hailey Turner says, this is an absolute treasure of a gift to her fans, those who love and have followed the long journey Patrick Collins and Jonothon de Vere from their original book and meeting to this their final chapter where they get married, their happy epilogue. 

Many of the favorites are also in attendance and we get a quick drama before the ending. 

It’s been incredible and for me it’s a series I’ll be rereading.

Highly recommended.

Cover design by James T. Egan

Soulbound (7 book series)

A Ferry of Bones & Gold #1

All Souls Near & Night #2

A Crown of Iron & Silver #3

A Vigil in the Mourning #4

On the Wings of War #5

An Echo in the Sorrow #6

A Veiled & Hallowed Eve #7

Born to Be Legends: A Soulbound Universe Novella

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comBorn to Be Legends: A Soulbound Universe Novella eBook : Turner, Hailey: Kindle Store

Blurb 

Some endings are just new beginnings.

Patrick Collins earned the peace he’s found in New York City with his pack through sacrifice. Six years out from the end of the world, he’s satisfied with the life he’s built and doesn’t think about what else the future might hold until he stumbles his way into a hostage situation he didn’t ask to be part of.

Jonothon de Vere would like nothing more than to wake up each morning with the love of his life and never deal with trouble again. Except Patrick has always been a magnet for such crises, and Jono isn’t one to stand idly by when his lover could use some help.

It feels just like old times when that’s the last thing they want, but maybe it’s also the reminder they need that the future isn’t set in stone. Maybe, just maybe, Patrick and Jono are finally ready to take the next step and walk down the aisle together.

Born to be Legends is what fans of Hailey Turner’s best-selling Soulbound series have been waiting for.

  • Publication date: June 11, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 88 pages

Review:  The Paternity Puzzle (Sawyer and Royce: Felonies and Fatherhood, #1) by Aimee Nicole Walker

Rating: 4.5🌈

The Paternity Puzzle, the third series and another important evolutionary step in Sawyer Keys and Royce Locke’s relationship and marriage. 

This well written book is about families, from many emotional aspects and from different perspectives.  It’s Sawyer and Royce embarking on their own journey through prospective fatherhood, a murder case  involving a fertility doctor that hits home for them, and Royce’s strained dynamic with his father gets a thoughtful storyline that’s moving and realistic. 

While this investigation is complete, the story sets up a larger narrative with a different darker story going forward. 

Excellent character development, and it’s wonderful to see all my favorites here, including those podcasters from Sinister in Savannah. 

Really looking forward to seeing the next in the series. 

Cover photo © Wander Aguiar

Cover design © Natasha Snow

Sawyer and Royce: Felonies and Fatherhood series: 

The Paternity Puzzle #1

The Sinner’s Son #2 – Sept 9, 2025

Brokered Betrayals #3 – Dec 16, 2025

Preceding Necessary Locke and Key Series :

Zero Hour (3 books)

Sawyer and Royce: Matrimony and Mayhem (3 book series)

Related series:

Sinister in Savannah (3 book series)

Buy link 

        The Paternity Puzzle (Sawyer and Royce: Felonies and Fatherhood Book 1)

    

Blurb 

Royce Locke and Sawyer Key are back and better than ever with new mysteries and hilarious shenanigans as they tackle their greatest challenge yet: fatherhood. 

A perfect holiday weekend takes a twisted turn when Royce investigates a suspicious death involving Dr. Jean Claude Matisse, a retired pioneer in fertility medicine. What first looks like an accidental overdose quickly turns into something more sinister when explosive allegations reveal hundreds of reasons why someone would want the doctor dead.

This investigation hits close to home, exposing the vulnerabilities of relying on science and a doctor’s ethics to have a family, especially when the hopeful husbands are only a positive pregnancy test away from parenthood.

The Paternity Puzzle is book one in the Felonies and Fatherhood trilogy, the third story arc for Royce Locke and Sawyer Key. ** New readers should start with the Zero Hour and Matrimony and Mayhem trilogies before reading Felonies and Fatherhood. ** The Paternity Puzzle continues Royce and Sawyer’s happily ever after as they move into the most anticipated phase of their lives. Though some storylines span the trilogy, this book does not end in a cliffhanger. Heat, humor, heart, and homicide abound. You have been warned. 18+

Review:  Desperately Delicate Viper (Mafia Bound Book 4) by K.M. Neuhold

Rating: 4🌈

Mafia Bound is a series from K.M. Neuhold that focuses on the Moretti crime family and the romantic relationships and partners each Moretti man finds himself in. It’s usually been with a murderous sociopathic twink of a traumatic background. My favorite couple being Sal and dancer Dante (3) , followed by unhinged Sparrow and the family enforcer, Xaviaro (1). 

The energy, chemistry and sheer insanity that powers these relationships made the storylines and those couples. Each had layers and a certain depth of character that allowed for a realistic development of the relationship between them. 

And that’s really the issue here. While we’ve met Luca, the youngest of the Moretti family prior, we’ve not gotten to know him well.  He’s a puppy, as Dante calls him. Against all the others? He’s definitely not the same factor of darkness or seriousness of damage. He’s too young in his current form. 

And the other main character is also not supported by any foundation or framework of storytelling. Anders is a good character but everything we learn about him comes from a “as told to” approach. We don’t see any interactions between the father he’s terrified of or honestly, of the brother he’s been protecting.  It’s a diminishing aspect of the character’s storyline. 

The positives, seeing Dante and Sal (#couplegoals ) and Sparrow as well as Xav, was fantastic. The energy and intensity they bring to this narrative made it feel so much better.  And the dialogue and dynamics between them as Luca was hilarious. 

Anders and Luca’s instant love romance could have been better if they had more time to establish themselves as a couple. Instead they come off a new, younger version, without the intense energy or interest.

This is the 4th book but I believe there’s more coming.  I’m definitely going to be reading those. 

A terrific series with D/s elements, crime family romances, and lots of sexy men. 

Cover Design Natasha Snow”

Great covers.

Mafia Bound:

  • Deadly Little Sparrow #1
  • Beautifully Savage Butterfly #2
  • Unhinged Little Angel #3
  • Desperately Delicate Viper

Buy link

        Desperately Delicate Viper (Mafia Bound Book 4)

    

Blurb 

That Feeling when the man you just robbed and left tied up and blindfolded turns out to be in the mafia…

I’m not proud of the things I’ve had to do for money to pay off my dad’s debts and put my younger brother through college. But I’ll never regret it.

What I do regret is accidentally robbing a Moretti.

Having to look over my shoulder and ducking every time a car backfires is bad enough, but when the man in question starts costing me business? Yeah, I think we’re going to have a problem.

I never knew I could feel the way I do when Luca Moretti gets on his knees for me, but I don’t have time to be romanced by this obsessed, submissive, mafioso.

No one has ever made me feel as strong and capable as he does. Can I really be the viper he sees me as? If I learn how to bite, can I finally make my life my own with Luca Moretti at my side?

  • Publication date: June 6, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 203 pages
  • Book 4 of 4: Mafia Bound

Review:  Speed (Railers Legacy Book 1) by RJ Scott and V.L. Locey

Rating: 3.5 🌈

Speed (Railers Legacy Book 1) by RJ Scott and V.L. Locey continues the Harrisburg Railers Hockey Team multi-series universe with a new addition, Railers Legacy.   Once again, we see a character who the readers have become familiar with and love now grown up and preparing to play for the team his family played for. 

It’s Noah Gunnarsson, son of the fabulous characters and NHL players, Eric Lyamin-Gunnarsson and husband, Stan Lyamin-Gunnarsson , still gloriously happy, retired with grown children and a house full of animals. 

Noah, we see him selected at draft time, and then later when it’s time for the rookies to show up and prepare to play.  

I’ll say I wish there was more ice time and locker room dynamic. That makes a hockey team and a realistic romantic story. And these authors write great hockey. But it’s downplayed so Noah’s diabetes can become a stronger element, which it is.  From Noah regulating the insulin and diet to his health regimen as an athlete and the factors that affect his performance as a diabetic.  It makes Noah an extremely effective character and folds his diabetes in as a important factor.

Noah, and family are a great aspect of the story and come with an established fan base, because honestly, Stan? Still my favorite. 

Brody and his multitude of issues don’t get that same energy or feel of being as well explored or resolved here. He’s got a controlling, abusive grandfather, severe medical problems, bi-awakening, fear of loss of control and direction. And his passion for driving and as a ex F1 driver? Not really established except for the beginning part of the book. The rest is verbiage.

For him to be a completely realized person, there should be more foundation to that race car driver essence of him. Instead the focus switches to his sexuality. Brody becomes instantly obsessed with a man he kisses on the “downlow”, Noah. Someone he tracks down, “stalks” until he’s part of an instant love story.A romance that has elements of “bisexual awakening “, “coming out” and immediate almost overnight partnership, tossed into his and their relationship that reads so quickly done that you’ll be blinking and wondering where the foundation is. 

And the controlling, threatening grandfather just disappears completely here. 

The story ends with a number of things unresolved in the story and relationship, and a clear picture of the next couple coming forward. 

I was really happy to see Eric, Stan and some of the other people who I’ve known in my series show up. Noah is just lovely. 

Read it for the connection to Stan and Eric, and the Railers. And this family as they were in the old novels. 

Cover design by Meredith Russell, Edited by Sue Laybourn”

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comSpeed (Railers Legacy Book 1) – Kindle edition by Scott, RJ, Locey, V.L.. Romance …

Blurb 

Hard ice. Fast cars. Fierce love. 

Hockey is as natural as breathing for Noah Gunnarsson. Growing up with two famous hockey stars as his dads, Noah has always aspired to join the Railers to continue the Lyamin-Gunnarsson legacy. With his degree done, it’s time to live that dream; the first step is getting a spot on the team his dads played for. The second step is to pull on that dusky blue-gray sweater and make his fathers proud. His rookie year is bound to be a season of incredible highs and lows, but one of the biggest highlights is meeting Brody Vance at a fundraiser. Brody is the living epitome of a bad boy hiding his pain behind a devil-may-care attitude. As Noah struggles to keep one eye on the puck and not on Brody, it’s only a matter of time before love collides with sport in a chaotic splash of media attention. 

Racing driver Brody Vance has spent his life chasing speed and glory and is only points away from his first world championship when a devastating crash ends his season. Determined to make a triumphant comeback, Brody is blindsided by a diagnosis that forces him off the track for good. With his world flipped upside down, and family and fans questioning why he left, Brody hides his pain by pushing the limits and refusing to let anyone see the cracks. But after a chance meeting with a sweet, sexy hockey player turns into an unforgettable one-night stand, fate keeps putting Noah in his path. With his heart on the line and his body racing against time, 

Brody must decide if he’s willing to risk it all for love—or if he’ll let fear and pride leave him in the dust. Speed is a steamy M/ M romance with a hockey rookie living his family legacy, a bad-boy racing driver with secrets, media attention that would break even the strongest of men, an unforgettable one-night stand, a love that means risking it all, and a hard-won happy ever after.”

Review: Monochrome: An MM Shifter Romantic Suspense Novel (ORCA Book 4) by Vinni George

Rating: 4.5🌈

Monochrome is the finale story of Vinni George’s ORCA series about a group of orca whale shifters , the agency they form (ORCA ) to find and return stolen artifacts and artwork and the fated mates the find at each case and investigation. 

I really enjoyed this as it tied up the overall series mystery of the missing artwork, brought out the revelations behind several deaths, the last brother, Julius found a mate and a family, and the grandmother finally comes home. 

Julius Hunter is the last brother to find his fated mate. When he does, it’s his client, a panda shifter, Ethan Lin , who has guardianship of his young niece and nephew. 

It’s a great romance, the children who become part of the growing Hunter family, are absolutely adorable, and Ethan as an overwhelmed, stressed and anxious man is a relatable character. 

All the brothers and mates, as well as cousins and mates are here working together on the investigations and mysteries. It’s a fantastic story, pulling together every aspect of all the books and characters to create an absolutely amazing and satisfying finale.

Loved this and it’s one I’m definitely recommending. 

I wish the covers were story or character oriented in some form. They honestly could be applied to any other genre or book.

Cover Design: Alison Millsaps, Ozark Witch Cover Design

ORCA series:

Black & White #1

Grayscale #2

Full Color #3

Monochrome #4: finale 

Buy link

        Monochrome: An MM Shifter Romantic Suspense Novel (ORCA Book 4)

    

Blurb:

After a career on Wall Street, Julius Hunter is content to live his life as a modern Robin Hood. Getting corrupt corporations to invest with him while he siphons their money into charitable organizations makes his blood pump, so when he’s sent in to find out what the new CEO of a global company knows about money being used to fund the search for a priceless piece of artwork connected to his family, he’s all in.

Ethan Lin never wanted to be CEO of the company his great-great-grandfather founded. He also never wanted to be a parent, but when his sister died in a car accident, he inherited her title and her two adorable children. Balancing life as the head of a corporation and as a new dad is a challenge, and with diminishing returns at home and in the boardroom something has to give.

When Julius shows up, offering help in both areas of Ethan’s life, they learn they have more in common than they think. Including a shared enemy. Whoever is targeting the Hunter family also has their sights set on Ethan, and Julius will stop at nothing to make sure the man he’s falling for and his children stay safe as the final pieces fall into place.

Monochrome is the final book in the Organization for the Return of Criminals and Assets (ORCA) series, featuring an orca shifter financier who had no idea he liked kids, a panda shifter hellbent on making sure his family’s legacy doesn’t end with him, and a final showdown that changes everything.

  • Publication date: June 5, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 239 pages
  • Book 4 of 4: ORCA

Review:  How to Tame a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls #3) by Shannon Mae

Rating: 4🌈

How to Tame a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls #3) by Shannon Mae continues this fated mates series with the next couple, two damaged people, Atlas the Hellhound who’s mostly feral, and Aiden, the human being who is still recovering from his ordeal from his time as a prisoner and kidnap victim. 

Shannon Mae, an author who’s written many of the series I have reviewed and highly recommended, writes here about some very disturbing and very sensitive topics with genuine compassion and respect.  She does it well and I think within a therapeutic framework.  FYI for those readers who should look at TW going forward. 

Fluffy and Aiden’s growing relationship started in the previous books, with Aiden going on walks in the woods and dog-like Atlas as his companion, Fluffy.  Aiden not yet understanding who or what Fluffy really is, a mostly feral Atlas who’s found his mate in the wounded Aiden.

Mae has always done a good job in presenting the Hellhounds, or a section of them, as truly otherworldly beings lacking the necessary social knowledge or understanding that allows humans to interact with others and interpret their behavior. 

So the scenes and dialogue between the Hellhounds and their mates or SO’s are humorous but serve a better purpose to underscore their own Otherworldly ignorance. It works here really well. 

Aiden and Atlas’s personal experiences with trauma and pain help them to find their own way through to a deeper relationship. It makes sense to us as readers. 

The author has multiple storylines included here, ones that are still playing out for the next book.

It’s a highly emotional, suspense filled and satisfying story. 

I was so happy for Atlas and Aiden to get their HEA.  

Paradise Falls is Shannon Mae’s favorite location to play in. Can’t wait to see what happens next here. 

A definite recommendation!

Hellhounds of Paradise Falls:

How To Flirt With A Hellhound #1

How To Hack A Hellhound #2

How To Tame A Hellhound #3

How To Trust A Hellhound #4 – Oct 4,2025

What else takes place in Paradise Falls? 

Demonic Disasters and Afterlife Adventures (8 book series)

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        How to Tame a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls Book 3)

    

Blurb 

Aiden

Apparently, the trauma from being kidnapped doesn’t end when you’re rescued, although I’m doing better. I have a roommate who has become family, and we’ve been adopted by a pack of otherworldly creatures who protect us. I’m still a little jumpy, and most people make me uncomfortable, but baking, therapy, and my daily walks are all helping. The sweet guard dog who follows me around in the woods helps, too. I can tell him anything I want—even how scared I am of my own family. I’m afraid to bring trouble to my new family’s doorstep, but I can’t end up caged again.

Atlas (aka Fluffy)

I have never belonged. I never knew my parents, and I grew up with a pack of wolves. (Yes, I was literally raised by wolves. Believe me, I see the humor in that too.) Wilder found me and adopted me, and I have a pack and a good life. People still make me uncomfortable, though, unless I’m torturing and killing them (only hellbound people—I’m not just some random serial killer). I just like solitude. But there’s something about Aiden that calls to my hellhound, and I can’t help wanting to protect the sweet human. I’ll even put up with being nicknamed Fluffy so long as I get to stay close to him. When I find out he’s in danger, I know I can’t sit back any longer. The only problem? How will my traumatized human react to finding out I’m not just a guard dog?

Tags: Both characters have tragic backstories and need lots of comfort; Aiden loves cuddles and Fluffy is totally cuddle material; Atlas kind of likes being called Fluffy by his human, but he’ll maim anyone else who tries it; there’s torture and death (but only of really bad people); hellhounds have tails, and they know how to use them.

  • Publication date: May 1, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 234 pages