Review: Deal Maker (Mixed Messages #2) by Lily Morton

Rating: 5 🌈

I know I’m in for a grand time when I haven’t even gotten through the first page and I’m laughing at the verbal antics and eagerly anticipating the author’s next steps.

Morton starts off each book with pertinent and moving quotes. Here it then goes a bit further.

Each chapter begins with a hilarious letter to a fan, “reportedly “, from movie star Asa Jacobs, 44, single father to the adorable Billy, age 5.

How they come about is part of this marvelous romance between two men who have sworn off relationships because of the pain, disappointment, and history behind them.

That’s such a simplified version of Deal Maker. This is a story where you’re be laughing at the oh so real…yes I recognize that…antics of Billy the 5 year old or giggling in anticipation at the stuff Jude is no doubt planning because of, nope. Read the story.

Jude Bailey is a masterpiece of a character along with Asa Jacobs. Morton writes complicated people so beautifully.

Jude’s model gorgeous exterior hides a razor sharp wit, a kind heart, and a fierce loyalty towards those he loves. His history is revealed slowly, in texts, phone conversations, and eventually an emotional exhale of history that brought him to his career and situation.

Asa Jacobs is a older huge man. Big physically, capable of an enormous range of emotions, chillingly cold to rage, to a man who deeply loves his son. Also someone carrying immense pain from a past relationship .

His household consists of equally unique characters whose personalities will become as memorable as those of the main characters.

There’s so many downright hilarious scenes here , also characters like Dean that honestly deserve their own gloriously Dim award. He’s magnificent in his own way. And I’ll just say it. Hamster! Love it!

Also deeply moving scenes that dig deep to show our mens fear, doubt, growing love, and resolve to protect those they care about the most.

The Jude’s parents and the entire Devon section was intimate and inviting. It felt like family.

This is one of those stories where at the end you’ll find that your face hurts from smiling so hard and your heart feels so warm. You feel that great!

It’s on my comfort read list now.

I’m highly recommending Deal Maker (Mixed Messages #2) by Lily Morton. It’s plain romance magic!

Mixed Messages:

✓ Rule Breaker #1

◦ Goodbye, Fletcher #1.2

◦ Jude’s Intervention #1.3

◦ Scrambled Eggs and Lemsip #1.5

◦ The Valentine Do-Over #1.7

✓ Deal Maker #2

◦ Risk Taker #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showDeal Maker (Mixed Messages, #2) by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Available in Kindle and paperback formats

AMAZON US

AMAZON UK

Also available in Audiobook format

Synopsis:

Sometimes your mouth makes deals that your heart can’t honour.

Jude is a highly successful model, but a very reluctant one. His life is full of casual hook-ups with pretty men in glamorous locations, but it’s still empty. However, circumstances decreed a long time ago that this was his path, so he’s resolutely stayed on it and accepted his fate with good grace. He made a deal with himself and his hook-ups. Get in, get out and no ties with anyone.

However, an accident at home one night leads to him making a new deal and accepting the offer of help from an unlikely source. It leads to an unexpected summer of falling in love with a larger than life man and his child.

But by the end of the summer his reasons for not staying are still valid. Will he turn away? Can he?

Asa is a talented actor who has spent time away from the scene to look after his son. But now he’s back, and the last thing he needs are complications from the gorgeous man who is staying with him. Scarred from too many betrayals, he has no intention of forming a lasting tie with anyone. However, he can’t resist the beautiful man with secrets, and to his horror he develops feelings.

But a deal’s a deal and they said it was just for the summer. What can Asa do with a man who has forever in his eyes and goodbye on his lips?

This is the second book in the Mixed Messages series but it can be read as a standalone.

Review: A Velvet Glove (Arcane Hearts #4) by Nazri Noor

Rating: 4.75🌈

Such an outstanding series. Each story sees a increase in danger to the world our heroes live in from the Fae, the originators of the purple poison crystals that started off the series arc with some strange deaths.

But it’s not from the Fae alone that our characters and their deep relationship seem to face new obstacles and trials. Everywhere they turn, there’s daunting challenges to the path forward they are trying to tread.

For Jackson Pryde , it’s the gods and goddesses who have invited/told him to come to a meeting about his identity as a prism. It’s a element that’s still in development as to what it will eventually mean to Jackson’s life and relationship.

It’s a overlaying thread while Jackson deals with trying to rebuild the artificers’ guild, get approval for the plans (a fantastic section that includes Lore and a new character), and get ready to attend a gathering with Xander at Greyhaven, the magical school he was told he was never good enough for.

Nazri Noor has packed a couple of books worth of themes into one here and , while jammed full, it still flows smoothly. It’s incredibly suspenseful, full of so many emotionally laden issues for our main characters that we and them might be unpacking for the next book or three.

Idol/hero worship, adolescent expectations and the pain when reality mades life feel less important, doubts and insecurities. All while fighting a growing enemy bent on complete destruction.

New fascinating characters. Old enemies , the Fae, of Irish lore. Definitely not any friendly to humans, but capable of extraordinary cruelty.

Lore is exhibiting new growth and personality. I love him.

Noor gives us hints of enormous peril, loss, and just the hope of happiness. Have no idea where this is going but I’m on for the whole ride.

Just amazing stories but read them in the order they are written so you can understand the relationships and arc development.

I’m highly recommending them all.

Arcane Hearts series:

✓ A Touch of Fever #1

✓ A Stroke of Brilliance #2

✓ An Iron Fist #3

✓ A Velvet Glove #4

◦ Hand of Glory #5

https://www.goodreads.com › seriesArcane Hearts Series by Nazri Noor – Goodreads

Jackson Pryde is too cool for school.

In the middle of shearing talking sheep, Jackson Pryde and Xander Wright are visited by Hecate and Freyja, queens of magical might within their pantheons. The goddesses have summoned Jackson for a meeting among immortals, a convocation of entities who wish to study the strange nature of his prismatic powers.

Jackson’s busy enough already. Work is underway for the rebuilding of the artificers’ guild. Rumors abound that his childhood hero is searching for a suitable assistant. And a chance assignment sees the boys visiting the heart of where their bitter rivalry truly began: the elite academy of Grayhaven.

Good thing a visit to Xander’s alma mater won’t unearth old grudges and ancient insecurities.

Right?

A Velvet Glove is an 85,000-word M/M urban fantasy romance with a HFN ending. Join a fast-talking artificer and a snarky sorcerer, childhood friends who become bitter enemies, then lovers, as they explore a world filled with strange flora, mythical fauna, and magical murders. If you like your urban fantasy with humor, horror, and a whole lot of heart, you’ve come to the right place. Experience A Velvet Glove today.

Review: Hot Wings (The Hot Cannolis #2) by Eli Easton and Tara Lain

Rating: 5 🌈

Hot is right. I’ve been anxiously waiting for this story since the author’s announced it was Donny’s story with a newly transferred gay fire pilot.

Donato “Donny” Cannoli is a mess of a man, something of a norm actually for the men of the enormous Italian family where the ideals of manhood run adjacent to those of toxic masculinity. Where they , actually everyone, are expected to go into careers of service, dangerous service. Firefighters, law enforcement…nothing less. Marry, produce another generation to do the exact same, and carry on the Cannoli name and reputation.

No matter the personal cost.

Hot Seat, Mike’s story was a dramatic representation of exactly how high that cost could be when the stress and denial became too great.

And it caused an emotional, heartbreaking,sea change in attitude in Donny. Prior to the shattering event towards the end of that story, Donny , like his older brother, Gabe, was a homophobic machismo sneering bully. But afterwards?

A changed man who had his brother’s back and started standing up for Mike and against those uttering homophobic slurs.

That’s where we find him now. A man who’s foundation has been shaken, the cracks appearing… when out and proud Dell Murphy arrives , to further the job of disassembling the man Donny always thought himself to be.

Lain and Easton do an absolutely superlative job here with Donny’s emotionally profound and painful journey, with himself and Dell, to his truth. He’s bisexual, he’s never going to fit within his father’s ideals, and he’s got a new better future if he’s brave enough to accept it and himself.

It’s a path you’re on with Donny that’s at times raw, sexually hot, and heartwarming, and also so deeply complicated that you just hurt for him as he unravels all those familial issues that have him trussed up so tightly in old ideals that have never fit him.

Dell Murphy has his complications. All just as well executed and emotional. And like Donny’s, they stem from family. His issues with his father has driven home certain areas of behavior and trust that Donny’s triggering. He’s also the one who’s the security for his Mam and sister , Gala. Those characters too are just amazing.

There’s so many great elements here. Dell is a realistic pilot and the research into the plane, flying, fire intensity…. It’s all here. And it makes for some incredibly high suspense action. Awesome co- pilot too.

The truth is this book is so fantastic I could babble on about all the great things the authors have put into this story that enrich the storylines and support the characters growing relationship, but why not just pick it up and read it? It’s fabulous!

I will say you should read Hot Seat first to get an indication of the events that happened previously and how far Donny’s characters has changed.

I’m highly recommending this and the series to date.

Now an interesting note on the next two stories. Due to unexpected complications (author Tara Alain’s surgery and recovery), Lain and Easton aren’t co-writing the next books. Instead each will write a single novel.

I’m wondering how that will effect the sort of edgy balance they’ve achieved here in the series to date between raw , deeply emotional issues each character has had to process and overcome and the romantic relationship element. It’s been a delicate maneuver. In Mike’s novel, it was really more about his journey towards self acceptance, and then it was his romance.

Here in Hot Wings, I thought it was equally important. Beautifully crafted.

Now to see how and who is next.

The Hot Cannolis series:

◦ Fireman’s Carry (The Hot Cannolis #0.5) by Eli Easton

✓ Hot Seat #1

✓ Hot Wings #2

◦ Hot Pursuit #3 by Eli Easton date TBD

◦ Hot Lips #4 by Tara Lain, date TBD

https://www.goodreads.com › showHot Wings (The Hot Cannolis #2) by Eli Easton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

The alpha meets his match.

Most macho of all the super-alpha Canali brothers and proud of it, Donny’s famous for his gorgeous face, his firefighter prowess, and for going through girls his family doesn’t approve of as fast as he changes jeans.

Donny’s biggest hero is his fire captain dad, until his life gets saved from the skies by fire pilot Dell Murphy.

Dell’s certain about most things. He’s been proud to be gay since he was ten, handled a helicopter in Afghanistan like it was part of his body, and can fly a fire bomber in the worst conflagration. And he’s absolutely certain that Donny Canali belongs to him.
Dell also knows how to show a lover he’s in charge.

Donny’s shocked to discover how much he’s turned on by dominant Dell, but Donny’s not gay. He’s not. He can’t be. It would break his father’s heart.

Leaving Dell will break Donny’s.

HOT WINGS is a battle of the alphas, hot firefighters, two crazy families, dominant lover, HEA romance with a helping of laughter and even more feels.

Review: The Real Baxter (The Baxter Chronicles #1) by Lane Hayes

Rating: 4 🌈

The Real Baxter starts off so awesomely. We dive into the universe and get an immediate understanding of both men, their personalities, and backgrounds.

Sebastian Rourke, wealthy, gorgeous. A true silver fox who’s a producer and much sought after executive . Also a single gay father, and damaged adult who’s mourning the loss of his ex who is about to be remarried.

Trent Mackay. Actor, fake bodyguard, and now fake boyfriend maybe. With more then a few walls of his own he’s erected for his own protection.

Lane created some fascinating characters, gave them both realistic and painful back histories. Surrounded both by layered personalities and utterly charming people I loved, from Seb’s mini me older son Charlie to his adorable younger one, Oliver. Let’s not forget Macy as well.

Each man has had some emotional mountains of trauma to surmount. One is still trying. All rings so true and painful. All while navigating LA celebrity scene and slowly connecting.

So I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t enjoying what was clearly a great story. Then around the 2/3 mark it hit me! There’s never been any point where the men have really been at ease , where there’s no anxiety , no tension, or possible emotional explosions waiting to happen in the next 60 seconds. It’s that way for them. It’s that way for the reader. We never relax or take a breath.

And that makes for an equally anxious, hard, stressful read.

A story, imo, needs to behave a bit like a stream or rivers. With eddies , flows, and different ranges in its movement. At times peaceful, so you can have time to appreciate the scenery and at other places, high swells, fast currents, to make your heart race and laugh or screaming, and hang on for dear life.

But if all you’re doing is clutching with white knuckles, and trying to win out over a undertow, that stress and anxiety wears you down.

The characters are amazingly well crafted. Believable with real depth. Seb, especially with his pain over the loss of his ex to his marriage and the memories of his past faults. Extremely well done. It’s so haunting that it tears at you.

His relationship with his children? Also realistically portrayed. Charlie and Oliver are both charming and perfectly realistic.

Trent too , from the moment we meet him is someone we get. From his background and family to the existence he’s scrabbling away at in LA.

But my issue is when they’re supposed to be having a semblance of normalcy, happy times. It’s a as “related by” situation. Trent tells us about them. The reader never gets that part of their relationship that developing., until we’re almost finished. We only get the fake news bits, the stress, the anxiety.

The reader needs to be “in” on what makes them work for everything else to make emotional sense.

Plus there’s this.

“He made me feel…important. Necessary. Not just for sex, although sex was amazing and got better every day.”

Made. Not makes. Past tense.

That was Trent speaking. See what I mean about tension? As a reader I’m not thinking happy thoughts about their future here…

Took me a while to realize everything was past tense. I loved, I had, he made… and the story is about 3/4 over. Shouldn’t I be feeling a bit more hopeful about them by now?

There’s so many different interesting interconnected relationships here. Grey, Seb’s ex, and his love, rocker Justin. * Charlie, Seb’s oldest son, (who also was devastated when his father’s broke up) and his husband , Ky Baldwin, bassist in the same band as Justin.*. Oliver, the youngest son, his mother and with her newest boyfriend. Everyone is interwoven into a extensive family unit of multiple households and at times, strained relations. It seems very realistic.

Lane’s story comes across, for me, at its best when Trent and Seb are dealing with Olivier. Navigating a child’s feelings about a new person entering their very complicated and crowded life, with all the ramifications, is a delicate matter. Something that’s not done with Charles, who I thought maybe needed it more, even as grown up as he was.

The pain Charlie felt was telegraphed perfectly along with his divided emotions. But as beautifully as Lane deals with Olivier, I thought that Charlie was overlooked in all the drama and it’s resolution towards the end. Except at the Epilogue.

The Real Baxter (The Baxter Chronicles #1) by Lane Hayes is a exceedingly well written story but the anxious flow of the romance, getting to have some happiness not until later, and ,for me ,leaving much of the fundamental work on relationship foundation to Trent , Oliver, and ,only lastly Seb, made this a wonderful but less fun read.

I think a lot of people will bring many different emotions to this story. It will be interesting to read all the reviews.

Gorgeous cover!

I’m recommending it. And wonder how the series is going to continue going forward. With another person or the same couple. Stay tuned.

*Both Grey and Charlie’s romances can be found in Hayes’ Starting From series. Starting From Zero is Grey and Justin’s. Starting from Scratch is Charlie’s.

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Real Baxter (The Baxter Chronicles, #1) by Lane Hayes – Goodreads

Synopsis:

The silver-fox and the faux bodyguard…

Sebastian Rourke

Who’s the true hero behind the Hollywood heartthrob, crime-fighting, adventure-seeking international man of mystery? Me. I’m the real Baxter.

Well, I wear the suit and let the action play out onscreen. You want to know the secret of my success? Sell the story you want to tell. Even if you have to bend the truth a little.

Okay…a lot.

Trust me, no one will notice. Except Trent, who seems to notice everything. And for some reason, I like that. I like him. I’m just not sure what to do about it.

Trent

Look, I’m not exactly killing it. I’m a typical struggling actor-slash-waiter, hoping for a break. And boom…in walks Sebastian Rourke. He’s a cutthroat, wickedly charming silver fox, a Hollywood legend in the making. No joke. You’ve got to sell a piece of your soul to get in this man’s orbit. Or fake a British accent, then take a job playing bodyguard to fool the press. As one does.

I know I should take advantage of the very strange situation I find myself in, but I’m not sure I’m cut out for it. However, I’m willing to take a chance, ’cause I want the real Seb.

Even though it might cost me everything.

The Real Baxter is a MM age-gap, bisexual romance featuring the man who has everything and the actor who’s willing to show him what’s real.

Review: Tough Luck (A-List Security #1) by Annabeth Albert

Rating: 4.5🌈

Tough Luck, the latest from author Annabeth Albert, is the first in her new A-List Security series. The series has at its center a newly established company formed from a group of men who served together on a SEAL team. As they’ve retired, the men are brought together by their Lieutenant, the owner of the firm.

It’s a terrific concept as it allows us to meet a range of complicated men, with different personalities and backgrounds who regard each other as brothers.

First up is Cash “Money “ Erwin, recently retired. Not by choice, exactly, more because of a “reduction in numbers “ move he got caught up in. Now he’s out, crashing on his Lt’s couch and trying to figure out where to go next.

That’s when Duncan Love, his former Lieutenant and close friend, asks for a favor. Duncan has been trying to get Cash to join his new company, A-List Security without success, now he needs help with security for his younger brother, a former Hollywood Star with a stalker.

Albert’s two person perspective works smoothly to help the reader get into the mindset and immediate emotional issues of each man.

We are aware of Cash’s inability to move forward. He’s stuck because he just doesn’t know what to do next, so ingrained has been his military service and lifestyle. That includes always being part of a team, and having your directions and goals already planned out. A future alone and goalless is confusing and unclear.

We get this man immediately. And the more he reveals of his adolescence and background, the greater the clarity of the character. Cash is a amazing gift of a man.

When Albert introduces us to the former actor Danny Love, it’s in a remarkable scene. For both men. It sets the tone for establishing a relationship of trust , respect, and eventually friendship. That’s a lot for a man who’s a addict, and has come to expect the worst reactions from those he meets because of his past behavior and status. Including people his older brother might have sent to “take care” of his issues. Danny has successfully completed rehab and has now been clean for a while. However, he understands that his former friends and lifestyle definitely contributed to that addiction. And avoids both.

Danny is a well thought out character, not just defined by his addictions but by a upbringing with toxic parents who contributed to his damaging adolescence and negatively impacted his outlook in adulthood.

Their romance is one of sexual exploration, communication, and personal growth. It’s sweet, tender, and very sexy.

The stalker element is a big mystery that I thought got resolved a tad too quickly , which is why the story didn’t get a full 5 🌈. For all the buildup, there was no history or explanation into the perpetrator or their actions. Or what happens to that person. It just finished. It felt incomplete to me.

The relationship and romance? Stellar. Love both men and how the author leaves them. Excellent ending.

Tough Luck is a fantastic contemporary romance and a great start to a new series. Can’t wait for the next one, Hard Job, to be released. I’m highly recommending this!

Happy reading!

A-List Security series:

✓ Tough Luck #1

◦ Hard Job #2 – July 7, 2022

Amazon.com: Annabeth Albert: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks …amazon.com

https://www.goodreads.com › showTough Luck (A-List Security, #1) by Annabeth Albert – Goodreads

Synopsis:

My best friend’s little brother needs a bodyguard. Now I’m the one in danger…

I’m a SEAL. Or rather, I was. Retired at the grand old age of thirty-eight, I’m at loose ends. My best friend wants me to join his security team. I’m not sure I’m bodyguard material, but he needs someone to protect his kid brother. How hard can spoiled brat duty be?

Somehow, I missed the part where former child star Danny Love went from dorky TV darling to all grown up and disturbingly attractive. All the gossip about his wild ways fails to mention that he’s trying hard to clean up his act. But now he’s got a stalker.

Hiding out together in a remote mountain cabin, alone, the temptation keeps building. I’m feeling things I never have before. Secrets I’ve kept even from myself bubble to the surface every time Danny looks my way with those puppy dog eyes.

I’m a SEAL. We leap into danger. So why is it so terrifying when that danger comes with the softest pair of lips I’ve ever known? At some point we’re going to have to return to Hollywood and our vastly different lives. Will Danny still want me around when he doesn’t need me for protection? Can I be brave enough to give him a reason to?

TOUGH LUCK is book one in a brand-new SEAL bodyguard series. It features an age gap, steamy first times, and all the high heat, big emotions, and found family feels readers expect from this fan-favorite military romance author. Join A-List security for this lower-angst series featuring former SEALs and the celebrity clients who win their hearts. Happy endings and no cliffhangers guaranteed!

Review: An Affair for Aumont (The Lords of Bucknall Club, #5) by J.A. Rock and Lisa Henry

Rating: 5 🌈

An Affair for Aumont is my absolute favorite of this fantastic series, The Lords of Bucknall Club, by J.A. Rock and Lisa Henry. If I didn’t already know there was another book in the series with an expected release date, I would have thought this was an incredible series finale. That’s because all the characters from the previous books appear in their now harmonious couple form to indulge in some hilarious hijinks, be included in the huge investigation (yes, everyone), and end up still wandering or strolling in at the ending.

Even my fabulous, now happily married twits, Rivington and Notley, the incomparables of the Season, bring their sheep, Euphemia, who eats the scenery. Pun intended. Hilarious. I adore those two lovers.

Rock and Henry leave nothing out of this book. Besotted pig farmers (I adored Mr. Foster), button art, a sexy swim in the old pond, but they never once take their attention away from the heart of the story.

That’s the broken Aument, former French spy , and George Darling, the Runner, who’s reluctantly fallen in love with him. Aument is a tremendous character, and one we’ve slowly had knowledge of through other stories.

It was Soulden’s brother, Luke, who Aument loved and refused to marry, preferring to return to France to fight, a act that has disastrous consequences for Luke and his family. Aument has never forgiven himself and neither has Soulden who once regarded him as a brother.

This story is about Aument’s redemption and forgiveness as much as it is about the mystery of who’s stalking the very beautiful and kind Teddy Honeyfield. That’s a task that Lord Christmas Gale has asked them to take on at the beginning of the book. Insure Teddy’s safety and find out who’s threatening him.

A not so easy investigation! It takes everyone we’ve come to know to get the culprits and Teddy safe. As well as tie up one more pesky loose end.

While there’s humor and charm a plenty to be had amongst the scintillating dialogue and extremely well written storylines, Rock and Henry include gritty elements such as Aument’s withdrawal from alcoholism as well as his own self inflicted guilt over Luke’s choices.

The authors manage to weave a rawness into a Regency romance and relationship that’s also full of humor, intellectual philosophy, and love . It’s absolutely magnificent.

There’s another to be released in July , about a character that always floated about the very edges of this group. That’s Stratford, he of the horses that’s always about to be bought or talked about.

Honestly, the bar set by An Affair for Aumont is so very high I can’t see how that’s going to top it. But I’m certainly going to see how Stratford plays into this amazing group and uniquely talented characters.

I’m highly recommending An Affair for Aumont and this series but read them in order for the sheer joy of the couples relationships and series development.

Series – ThLords of Bucknall Club

✓ A Husband for Hartwell #1

✓ A Case for Christmas #2

✓ A Rival for Rivingdon #3

✓ A Sanctuary for Soulden #4.

✓ A Affair for Aument #5

◦ A Scandal for Stratford #6 – July 5, 2022

https://www.goodreads.com › showAn Affair for Aumont by J.A. Rock – Goodreads

Synopsis:

All he wants is the love he lost.

Four years ago, Louis-Charles Aumont, the Marquis de Montespan, chose duty over the man he loved. And then the man he loved chose death in service to England. Now, after finally cutting ties with his king, Aumont is living in a slum in Seven Dials–and intending to die there too. But when Bow Street Runner George Darling shows up at his door with a strange proposition, Aumont is intrigued by the prospect of something–anything–that might make him feel alive again. Or at least provide the funds he needs to drink himself to death.

All he wants is the love he couldn’t have.

George Darling joined the Bow Street officers out of a belief in order. He accepts no bribes, indulges in no vices, and tries very hard not to dream above his station. If only Lord Christmas Gale hadn’t put that last one to such a test. Now that turning his thoughts from Lord Christmas only lands them instead on the handsome Frenchman with whom he recently crossed paths, Darling is more determined than ever to keep his head down and focus on his duty–until a knock on his door sends his life into disarray.

Teddy Honeyfield, a former companion of Lord Christmas’s, is in need of a temporary bodyguard. Darling would never pass as the sort of gentleman Teddy requires…but he knows someone who might.

Neither wants to take a chance on a love that can never be.

When Aumont and Darling join forces to help Teddy, they’re not expecting to risk their hearts as well as their lives. Darling’s striking looks remind Aumont quite painfully of the man he’s lost, and Aumont’s title reminds Darling he has no right to desire a nobleman. But the rising threat soon drives them to flee with Teddy to the country–a journey that puts them face-to-face with their pasts while showing them a chance for happiness is within reach, if only they’re courageous enough to grab it.

An Affair for Aumont is the fifth book in The Lords of Bucknall Club series, where the Regency meets m/m romance. The Lords of Bucknall Club books can be read as standalones but are best enjoyed in order.

Review: Sailor Proof (Shore Leave #1) by Annabeth Albert

Rating: 4 🌈

Sailor Proof , the first book in Annabeth Albert’s series about a submariners group of men, is a wonderful contemporary romance. Low on the angst, it’s sweet, fake boyfriend trope that quickly turns real over the course of a massive group family annual camp outing.

It all starts with dumped Naval Chief Derrick Fox who’s ex is now paired up with another mate on board his submarine. That person has been making a point of rubbing that new relationship in Derrick’s face as well as the fact they got the all important “first kiss” off the ship.

To stop the hazing and remarks, and make the ex a little jealous, Derrick’s best friend hatches a plan for Derrick’s own kiss. With his little brother, now grown into a hot 25 year old musician.

Arthur Euler remembers the man he crushed so hard on growing up . And decides to take on his brother’s mission of the fake boyfriend meeting at the dock and whipping up their own great kiss!

What follows is a memorable, lively scene full of chemistry, unpredictable moments, and a romantic situation that both men sort of fall into, after one of the best kisses of their lives.

Albert’s characters are believable and layered. Both Derrick’s past lonely history and Arthur’s perhaps too full one mesh beautifully. And where it doesn’t? Communication, from different sources, and reflection helps move the men through the obstacles they’ve raised to the point they can see a life and HEA together.

There’s many wonderful elements in Sailor Proof. The camp and the show the two men put on with the kids. That’s amazing.

The only aspect that’s a bit missing is the lack of connection with the brother that initially started the process. It’s a bit broken, and it never feels fixed here. Perhaps that happens in the next story.

Sailor Proof (Shore Leave #1) by Annabeth Albert is a terrific contemporary romance and one I’m highly recommending.

Enjoy!

Shore Leave
Book 1: Sailor Proof
Book 2: Sink or Swim

https://www.goodreads.com › showSailor Proof (Shore Leave #1) by Annabeth Albert – Goodreads

Synopsis:

The sexy Navy chief and his best friend’s adorkable little brother…

It’s petty, but Naval Chief Derrick Fox wishes he could exact a little revenge on his ex by showing off a rebound fling. His submarine is due to return to its Bremerton, Washington, home base soon and Derrick knows all too well there won’t be anyone waiting with a big, showy welcome.

Enter one ill-advised plan…

Arthur Euler is the guy you go to in a pinch—he’s excellent at out-of-the-box solutions. It’s what the genius music-slash-computer nerd is known for. So when he finds out Derrick needs a favor, he’s happy to help. He can muster the sort of welcome a Naval Chief deserves, no problem at all.

Except it is a problem. A very big problem.

When Arthur’s homecoming welcome is a little too convincing, when a video of their gangplank smooch goes enormously viral, they’re caught between a dock and a hard place. Neither of them ever expected a temporary fake relationship to look—or feel—so real. And Arthur certainly never considered he’d be fighting for a very much not-fake forever with a military man.

Carina Adores is home to romantic love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters.

Review: Switch – Hitter (Hit and Run #1) by E.M. Lindsey

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Switch-Hitter is the first book in a new sports series by E.M. Lindsey. It exists , per the author’s forward, within a universe where in MLB out athletes are accepted as are those with various disabilities .

Wouldn’t that be a lovely place? And indeed it is, for the characters in Switch-Hitter and readers who will enjoy as I did.

Lindsey incorporates a number of elements that definitely make their characters more multidimensional.

Pietro Bassani, baseball player for the Denver Vikings, is also a man with his own personal issues. He’s ADHD, late in life diagnosed, and he’s hiding it from his team and teammates. He feels guilty that his beloved barely older brother , Gabe, who was just as talented a ball player as Pietro, was injured by a car crash and lost the one thing they thought they’d be doing together. At times he’s just a mess. That doesn’t begin to cover his ex, Herve’ and that damage.

Pietro is one mess of a kind man. Someone the reader relates and roots for , no matter what else is happening. He’s one well crafted character.

Thierry Bourget is his equal. He’s also someone who started off as his enemy. Which makes this enemies to lovers romance even more fascinating. The author takes the path of both men , once they start communicating which is immediately, as people who recognize the toxicity of the person who connected them. It gives the author and the men moments to reflect on what elements made those relationships toxic, and the positive ways they’ve both changed. Just terrific.

The story and the romance, the men, all come across as adult. Each also has to deal with the ongoing issues that stem from Thierry’s physical semi paralysis.

That’s a lot to unpack in one story but it’s done so beautifully here . From exactly how Thierry’s recovery is going, through rehabilitation, and every bit of painful injury both men undergo, it’s believable, well written, and emotional.

Herve’ was the only aspect that felt a tad unresolved. He was too much a tenacious creature to just disappear. I wonder if he’s going to make a reappearance somewhere in another book.

I absolutely enjoyed Switch-Hitter and look forward to more in this series.

If you love contemporary romances and sport’s love stories, put this on your must have list!

I’m highly recommending it.

Hit and Run series:

Switch-Hitter #1

Line Drive #2 – out July 2022

https://www.goodreads.com › showSwitch-Hitter (Hit and Run, #1) by E.M. Lindsey | Goodreads

Synopsis:

Get a personal chef, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.

And then Thierry shows up and Pietro realizes his mistake. Because he knows Thierry. A little too well.

Thierry is the man who told his ex to leave him.
Thierry is the man who punched Pietro and ran.
Thierry… is his ex-boyfriend’s best friend.

But Pietro also knows the man needs a job. An injury destroyed his former career and Pietro is nothing if not a bleeding heart. Besides, he doesn’t have time to search for a new chef, not with the World Series looming and his team ready to go all the way.

Life gets more complicated, though, when he and Thierry cross a line one night after a lot of wine and several bad jokes. And while hooking up is one thing, Pietro knows the last thing in the world he needs is for his heart to get involved.

Too bad it tends to make decisions without him.

Switch-Hitter is the first book in a fictional MLB series featuring a lonely baseball player with a chip on his shoulder and hope in his heart, a team ready to win no matter what it takes, a grumpy French chef who will defend escargot to the death, and a few bottles of dry red wine leading to the sweetest happily ever after. Each book in the Hit and Run Series stands alone, contains no cheating, and has a happily ever after.

Review: Camouflaged (A Bureau Story) by Kim Fielding

Rating: 5 🌈

It’s been a while since I’ve delved into Kim Fielding’s Bureau universe but this book stands on its own feet and what superlative feet they are.

Considering it’s a Bureau tale, it’s remarkably straightforward. Agent Ralph Crespo, ailing dragon, has been given the assignment to deliver a sealed letter to Anton Steinmann.

That meeting has unexpected ramifications for both Ralph and Anton, including an immediate emotional connection and physical attraction.

In the fantastic, Kim Fielding manner, Camouflaged many storylines and romance slowly comes together, as aspects of Ralph’s and Anton’s species mutual histories are revealed as well as a murder plot against Anton’s clan.

This story is one of those that’s feels effortless because it’s that well crafted. You can easily miss some special small elements tucked here and there because it flows so smoothly. I had to reread it again to pick up a few of the tiniest clues and pieces I’d passed over because I was reading it so quickly. I was just that involved in both the romance and that conspiracy!

Kim Fielding’s a must author. I think I’d read a new urban dictionary if she wrote it. Camouflaged is simply just one more example why Fielding’s an auto buy, auto read for me.

I’m highly recommending Camouflaged, and the Bureau series if you’re not familiar with it.

Enjoy! And happy reading!

The Bureau:

Corruption #1

White Clay #2

Creature #3

Chained#4

Convicted #5

Conned #6

Caroled #7

Camouflaged #8

https://www.goodreads.com › showCamouflaged (Bureau #8) by Kim Fielding – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Life isn’t always easy for a Bureau agent who’s also a dragon.

Ever since Ralph Crespo was trapped in human form, he’s been going through the motions at a job he once loved. Maybe that’s why the Bureau chief seems to have demoted him to messenger. But this time a letter delivery allows Ralph to meet Anton Steinmann, and Ralph’s life takes a turn toward the unexpected.

Anton loves his remote home with its extensive caves. He’s less fond of his leadership position, however, and definitely doesn’t want the offer Agent Crespo hands him. Then Anton is kidnapped and tortured. Someone wants him dead and he doesn’t know why.

How can anyone be true to himself in a world where he doesn’t really belong? Perhaps Ralph and Anton can find the answer together—if they survive long enough.

Review: Trials By Fire (Shadows of London #3) by Ariana Nash

Rating: 5 🌈

It’s been almost a year since I finished Tide of Tricks (Shadows of London #2), which left Nash’s incredible characters and tightly woven storylines in a bit of a cliffhanger. Ok a major one.

So the minute I saw this was released, I grabbed it up and started reading, diving back into Nash’s wildly addictive urban fantasy world of people with latent talents, governments who both fear them and want them, as well as those who strive to possess power and knowledge for goals unknown. The layers for the storylines and the characters the author’s has crafted feel both familiar and absolutely imaginative, the magical and ghastly soaring to creative levels that engage both our hearts, and our minds.

In Trials By Fire we get to see characters we’ve grown to love expand personally in their ability to love, become more vulnerable and make commitments yet also place themselves at greater risk. It’s Alexander Kempthorne’s time to reveal more of himself, his past history, as well as his ability to love. If I didn’t already feel deeply connected to Alex, this book will let Alex ‘s powerful personality open up , become even more layered and fascinating then before.

John “Dom” Domenici is in enormous danger when the story opens. He’s been the heart and key to Alex and the series, or so I thought. This book really has me rethinking several of the theories I had drafted in my own mind about where Nash was taking this and the couple. Dom is such a extraordinary character. He’s complex, immensely “talented latent”. His past history with his criminal king father and military training just further the complexity to his personality. And with all that, he still manages to have a huge forgiving heart.

The other characters are extremely well written and actions that occur are complicated, fast paced, and highly suspenseful. You’ll be tightly gripping whatever device you’re reading on much of the time, trust me!

We end , yet again, on a smaller cliffhanger. But the overall storyline has been satisfactorily resolved. But not without some truly pain filled, traumatic moments, and times of heartbreaking loss.

Shadows of London is a outstanding urban fantasy series and Trials By Fire is a magnificent installment!

I’m ready for Truth or Dare, the forth book on the series. It’s coming soon!

Until then, if you’re not familiar with this series, start at the beginning. They should be read in the order they are written so you can understand the relationships and the situational development.

I’m highly recommending them all.

Shadows of London Series reading order:

Twisted Pretty Things #1
Tide of Tricks #2
Trial by Fire #3
Truth or Dare #4 – coming April 22,2022
Without a Trace #5

https://www.goodreads.com › showTrial by Fire (Shadows of London, #3) by Ariana Nash – Goodreads

Synopsis:

It’s not just Alexander Kempthorne’s secrets bubbling to the surface of London’s streets…

Time is running out for John “Dom” Domenici.

Outmanoeuvred at every turn by the figure known as “M”, only Kempthorne can free Dom, but juggling the horrors of his own past, containing a rising preternatural threat and the twisted machinations of “M” might just be too much, even for Kempthorne. Can Kage Mitchell be trusted to help?

Alexander Kempthorne lost an agent before. He’ll not lose another. He’ll do anything to save Dom, and if that means revealing who and what he truly is, then his time has come.

***

Trial by Fire is the mid-series finale, in this action-packed all-new Shadows of London urban fantasy series. Action, mystery, and gay romance combine in this fast-paced adventure from the author who brought you the award-winning Prince’s Assassin series.

Content warning: mention of past mental and physical abuse.

Please note the Shadows of London series is set in London and the characters are all British (so is the author). Although the series has been edited in US English for the US market, to include US spelling and grammar, many English slang words and spelling remain as part of the character of the work.

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