Category: Uncategorized

Check Out This Fabulous Romance by VL Locey!

 

Cover Design: Meredith Russell

Length: 63,000 word approx.

Campo Royale Series

Book #1 – The Viking and the Drag Queen – All Buy Links

Is he brave enough to stop hiding behind his persona and give love one final try?

Jordan Stevens has crammed a lot of living into his fifty years. Some of those years have been good, some bad, and some he would just as soon forget. The world isn’t always kind to an aging queen. Lovers begin to scamper into forbidden fields, your padding tends to slip, and you spend more time with egg whites than most pastry chefs. Heartache is nothing new to the man who embodies the acid-tongued Sitka Patel on stage every night, which led Jordan to vow to never trust another man under eighty again. He has his club, his drag family, and his Bombay cat, Heckle. Who needs the hassle? That philosophy had served him well until a stunning young thing with dark chocolate eyes shows up at the back door of Campo Royale with a suitcase, a sad story, and a dream.

From the time he was old enough to spell the word sequin, Yampier Perez knew that someday he’d be wearing them. One of three children born to Cuban immigrants, Yampier was always a little glitzier than the other neighborhood boys. His love of fashion design and performance arts was barely tolerated at home and even less so in the hallways of his rural Georgia high school. Yet, Yampier never let his light to be doused, not even the day his older brother caught him modeling his sister’s prom dress. Beaten, disowned, and on his own before graduation, he found himself having to work seedy jobs, doing even seedier things, until he saved enough cash to head to the Big Apple. That money has now run out, leaving him stuck in Wilmington with no food, no place to stay, and no family. Little does he know that stumbling into the Campo Royale Club, half frozen and weak from hunger, is about to bring him everything he has yearned for.

The Bachelor and the Cherry is a slow burn gay age gap romance that features an aging drag queen, a virginal newcomer, lots of sass, wigs galore, hurt/comfort, family found, and a richly sequined happy ending.

USA Today Bestselling Author V.L. Locey – Penning LGBT hockey romance that skates into sinful pleasures.

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Dr. Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.

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Review: Guarding Garrett (Hockey Allies Batchelor Bid Romance #1) by R.J. Scott

Rating: 3.5🌈

I’ve sort of been skipping around this wonderful contemporary collection of LGBTGIA+ hockey romances by various authors, reading one, and then forgetting to come back to it until I see a title that jars my sieve-like memory.

Guarding Garrett (Hockey Allies Batchelor Bid Romance #1) by R.J. Scott is actually the first in this collection by five authors.

The series hits so many of the elements I love, hockey romances, various tropes from mystery (here) to second chances at love, and much more. An absolutely terrific smorgasbord of hot men on ice and true love.

Guarding Garrett , is as the title indicates, about a top level, highly skilled and popular hockey player on the fictional NHL Burlington Dragons hockey team. Garrett “Hooley” Howell has been getting threatening texts, packages and more, until the team decides to get a bodyguard to protect him until they can investigate who’s behind the threats to their highly valuable player.

That’s a believable plot given the extent of the media most players engage in with the public and their fans. Stalkers are reported on daily.

Garrett and Jason develop great chemistry over the course of their time together. I enjoyed watching their relationship move from an antagonistic stage to one of attraction and friendship. The instant love was perhaps less realistic for me as I felt the story didn’t give us or them enough layers or time from stage one tension/rejection through to the “I Iove you” statements.

These aren’t long books so the author has crammed a lot into a shorter length. In addition to a full romance, there’s the mystery of the stalker and a full blown suspense-filled event at the end to contend with.

Plus the auction that all the novels have as a center feature.

My other quibble? I lost patience with Garrett’s behavior after Jason Dearing, co-owner of Seamax Security, had been hired. I can understand a certain amount of exasperation at the loss of personal freedom. But, It’s was explained to Garrett his life was in danger. This was a corporate decision. He had said repeatedly, he himself didn’t want to put his job with the team in jeopardy. Yet here he was making his bodyguard’s job incredibly difficult. Acting like a immature juvenile over a decision made by your team, your team owner, that impacts your career.

Which Garrett acknowledged. While not stopping.

It made me less invested in this character because I couldn’t relate to this element. Garrett Howell is a top NHL hockey player, one who’s owners have built a team around him. He’s respected. He’s supposed to be a highly talented, disciplined athlete. Someone used to a highly restricted diet, a long training schedule, with the ability to adhere to that tight regimen for years to achieve a goal. Yet here he’s whining like a toddler over supervision for several days to save his life.

A case needed to be made for that mentality by the author and I don’t think it was. A few mentions of a broken family until he was sent to Kyle Pressgroves’ family to live as a young hockey player. But that’s not enough history to excuse pages of frankly poor behavior.

Luckily, the behavior stopped and I could start appreciating Garrett from another perspective.

Despite some aspects of the story I found issues with, it’s fast moving, the main characters have excellent chemistry, and it’s has a satisfactory HEA.

No hockey however really. I do missed my “on the ice” scenes.

Kyle is part of this story as he’s Garrett’s best friend. His story is Keeping Kyle #3 by Jeff Adams. I’ve listed them all below.

They make for wonderful hockey romance reading. I’m recommending this and them.

Hockey Allies Batchelor Bid Romances series:

🔹Guarding Garrett #1 by RJ Scott

🔹Loving Layne #2 by VL Locey

🔹Keeping Kyle #3 by Jeff Adams

🔹Scoring Slater #4 by Susan Scott Shelley

🔹Absolving Ash #5 by Chantal Mer

https://www.goodreads.com › showGuarding Garrett by R.J. Scott – Goodreads

Synopsis:

A hardworking, competitive, and skilled hockey player, Garrett is the cornerstone of the Burlington Dragons hockey team and one of the league’s most popular playmakers. Blessed with a face that delivers millions in endorsements, he has a legion of fans, and a future so bright that he is the envy of many.

When his internet fame puts him in danger, and a stalker threatens his life, the team hires Jason, a quiet but deadly former marine, to protect him. Danger is always close, but forced proximity means sparks fly, attraction burns, and somehow, resentment turns to love.

When Garrett’s stalker ups their game at a charity bachelor auction, there is a real chance it could mean the end for Garrett, but Jason refuses to leave his side whatever the risk.

These two stubborn men will have to fight to walk away from this alive, but their newfound love is worth every sacrifice.

Review: Elven Game (Roman and Jude:Monster Hunters#2) by Rhys Lawless

Rating: 4.75🌈

The strange, tormented romance of Jude Cohen and Roman Meyers, whose families are the Elven equivalent of the the Montagues and the Capulets , continues on in Elven Game.

Jude, a game coder, had figured out in the last story, that all the monsters everyone were encountering , except for Royal, were ones he had help create for a online game.

Together, Jude , Roman, and a encapsulated Royal in a charm, head to NYC to fight the monsters.

That’s where author Lawless basically explodes a already complicated plot into shards of high action, deeply painful scenes involving family, shocking revelations about trust and the truth behind everything they thought they knew.

Grab your popcorn, because you won’t be able to put this down!

Jude and Roman are still so new in their relationship. Plus Jude is still figuring out who he is within his status as a Elf and a being who can handle the Aether. That enormous stuff.

Lawless does an excellent job with both characters, their personalities and mindsets in this incredibly stressful situation. One that with each new stage adds more pressure to them personally and to their new relationship. So well written that their emotions just pull at you!

While all that is occurring, Lawless is throwing new wild monsters to fight at our heroes, that also includes Royal in some heartbreaking scenes. As well as Addy, Jude’s grandmother and Roman’s former partner.

As noted in the description, this book ends on a cliffhanger. Sigh.

I really dislike cliffhangers. But I will say the reader will see this coming.

So after this fantastically woven tale of heartache, bruising revelations and fast paced ,white- knuckle action of fantasy warfare, I’m more than ready to wait to see how Lawless handles the finale in Elven Heir. It’s due out in August of 2022. I’ll be here waiting.

In the meantime, if you’re a lover of fantasy romance and fiction, start reading this series from the beginning in order to understand all the intricate character relationships, plot storylines, and family histories.

I’m highly recommending them both.

Roman and Jude:Monster Hunters:

✓ Elven Duty #1

✓ Elven Game #2

◦ Elven Heir #3 – Aug. 19, 2022

https://www.goodreads.com › showElven Game – Monster Hunters #2) by Rhys Lawless – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Monsters are swarming the world…

And it’s all my fault!

The game I’ve been coding for over two years is finally released. And so are the creatures within and wreaking havoc in New York City.

Roman and I have to stop them.

But before we can, we have to figure out how it happened and who is responsible.

Everything I’ve come to know about my legacy comes to a head when we venture from the small town of Hamlet Cove into the world of monster-hunting in the Big Apple.

The rules have changed and the world is burning.

Is it too late to save it? Or will we burn with it?

Elven Game is a gay urban fantasy romance with two magical elves, a powerful baby troll, and a cataclysmic event that threatens the dimension.


Caution: This book has a cliffhanger ending!

Review: The Scars That Bind Us ( The Magi Accounts #1) by Michele Notaro

Rating: 4.5 🌈

The Scars That Bind Us, the first book in Michele Notaro’s urban fantasy series, The Magi Accounts, takes in a scary, horrific universe, especially if you’re not human.

Here , the revelation that mages and shifters existed along side humanity did not go over well. WWIII happened, countries, governments, peoples and environments were devastated and divided. So too were species. With shifters and the magi at the bottom of the species pile.

I won’t recount it here. You can read it. People so fearful of those that make them feel less powerful ,the prejudice. So they relegated to a status as “others “ ,as less than equal. Easy to control, confinement to compounds. Tagged. Registered.

Notaro ‘s has the ability to bring the ability to transfer these devastating elements to this universe and the lives and conditions the shifters and magi now live under.

It’s very emotional reading when the narrator is magi Madeo Driscoll, compound born, paired to another mage Jude Driscoll, almost since birth. A dyad. Paired magi which increases their magical strength . Which for the government meant sending them out to fight in wars when they could barely walk. More tools than people, or children in this case.

The anger, trauma, and damage Mads (for Madman) carries within him and in the enormous amount of scars on his body is there in his words and actions throughout the story and events.

Jude, his soulmate and brother, whose presence has seen everything Mads has and been there to help heal him, is as quiet and powerful a man as Mads is verbally and emotionally angry. Yin and Yang. So great a couple and yet there’s no romantic attachment. It’s a brotherly love and bonding.

The other love is coming in the form of Cosmo Ono-Nai , alpha of a pride of Lion shifters and the new team Mads and Jude are supposed to work with.

The story has a wonderful found family element with another young magi, Logan Torres, that was rescued from a brutal attack by Mads and Jude. As well as the overall arc and storylines that stem from the tears in the universe that a mysterious group on Earth keep opening up and the monsters that pour through.

Notaro manages to build a continuous atmosphere of anxiety and suspense due to the unstable nature of the status of our characters. They basically have no rights, no say over their future so when we or Mads start to get invested in a relationship, any of their relationships, it comes with a equal amount of trepidation and fear.

It ends with a uneasy HFN.

Which makes me want to grab for the next one immediately.

There’s a trigger warning at the beginning of the story. It’s about assaults that happened in the past, off page. But even without them happening in current time, there’s enough emotional content that it’s intense , and might make some people feel very uncomfortable. Please read the warnings so you can make the best decision for yourself.

Tremendous storylines, great characters and amazing world building, as awful and believable as it feels.

I’m highly recommending it.

The Magi Accounts:

🔹Our Hearts That Tie Us #0.5

🔹The Scars That Bind Us #1

🔹A Kiss To Revive Me #1.5-4/19/2022

🔹The Shackles That Hold Us #2 – release date TBD

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Scars That Bind Us (The Magi Accounts #1) by Michele Notaro – Goodreads

What kind of mage would be crazy enough to crush on a shifter? Me. Apparently me.

The world is a messed-up place. Especially for those of us who have magic, and I know just how terrible it can be firsthand. Which is one of the reasons I try to stay away from people… humans and shifters especially.

Unfortunately, the NHSO forces magi to work alongside shifters to help protect the humans from taragorians—scary beasts from another realm. Which means I’m thrown onto a new team and forced to work with Cosmo Ono-Nai, a lion shifter.

And for some reason, I can’t keep my eyes off him.

The Scars That Bind Us is a 115K word novel and the first book in the MM urban fantasy series, The Magi Accounts.

*Intended for adults only. Please read the trigger warnings at the beginning of this novel.

Review: Dragon It Out (Blackhaven Manor #3) by Arden Steele

Rating: 4.5🌈

Dragon It Out, the third installment in Arden Steele’s Blackhaven Manor series, is my favorite yet. Fated mates is central to this series but instead of the quick mating of the previous novels, this is a slow mating romance, in a novella.

Surrounded by a mystery and full of suspense, with just a fantastic couple at its heart.

Uriah Maddox, dragon shifter , brother to siblings, Skye and Thade, is half of our fated couple. He’s thousands of years old, yet still mired in guilt over a past loss. One that’s keeping him from moving forward with his life, even when he meets his mate.

That’s Kit Meyers, human, and someone clearly in trouble. He arrives at Blackhaven Manor in at most inauspicious way. His car breaks down in the parking lot and he doesn’t have the funds to repair it.

Odd how things meant to be happen at Blackhaven just when they need to.

Scared Kit and huffy Uriah, in full out surly mode, are a great couple. One , a human, in survival mode, the other, a dragon, attempting to flee at every second, avoiding the being he knows to be his mate. Plus two exasperated siblings watching it all.

Combined with a very serious danger to Kit in a past that he’s on the run from? And Dragon It Out is just a great exciting fantasy romance, with a touching romance, and a suspenseful side element.

Steele’s ability to add small scenes with secondary characters in a diner, just make this story that much richer.

I enjoyed everything about this. As I said my favorite so far. And loving this series.

Smooth flowing, well crafted, and really quick romantic reads.

I’m highly recommending this and them.

Onto #4! Grin and Bear it.

Blackhaven Manor Series:

✓ Purrfect Harmony #1

✓ Night and Fae #2

✓ Dragon It Out #3

◦ Grin and Bear it #4

◦ Pixie Little Liar #5

◦ Dead Over Heals #6

◦ Silent Knight #7

https://www.goodreads.com › showDragon It Out (Blackhaven Manor #3) by Arden Steele – Goodreads

Synopsis:

As some of the last remaining dragon shifters in the world, Uriah Maddock and his siblings are regarded as something akin to royalty in the paranormal community. It’s one of the main reasons their hotel has become such a coveted destination for Otherlings. All he wants, though, is to be left alone. He’s not looking for love or romance. In fact, he actively avoids relationships and all their damning consequences. Too bad his meddling sister didn’t get the memo.

Kit Meyers is pretty sure he’s hit rock bottom when his car breaks down in the small, mountain town of Echo Falls. He has no money, no place to live, and no prospects. When a not-so-chance encounter leads him to the infamous Blackhaven Manor, he figures he’ll stay for a few weeks, earn some cash, then head back to the safety of the road. But all that changes when he meets a surly dragon shifter with wounded eyes and even more baggage than himself.

Uriah can’t commit to a houseplant, let alone to being someone’s mate. Convinced that Kit is better off without him, he’s prepared to leave everything behind if that means the skittish human will be safe and happy. Yet, as the days pass, he keeps finding new excuses to stay, until he’s finally forced to admit that he’s not going anywhere.Especially when he realizes he’s not the only dangerous person in Kit’s life.

Review: Hand of Glory (Arcane Hearts #5) by Nazri Noor

Rating: 4.75🌈

Hand of Glory is the penultimate book in Nazri Noor’s fantastic Arcane Hearts fantasy series. I’ve been sitting here thinking about the story, all the incredibly imaginative elements, and wide range of engaging characters that Hand of Glory alone showcases.

It’s made me realize, not for the first time, how limiting our rating system is. Especially for novel’s outside the contemporary spectrum. I wish I could have a list for rating some truly outstanding aspects of fantasy/Other storytelling. And now for Best IA Characters, Best Use of Loki, Best Special Effects, Best Universe…you get my drift. Just too limited.

Like other marvelous authors of fantasy or genres of fiction that allows a writer create unique universes, build cultures and characters of their own, Noor has built something spectacular with his Arcane Hearts series. And with each new installment, he expands and exponentially gives his readers even more character growth , new imaginative elements and key new characters to think about as the series arc moves forward.

Bees. Candles. Wax. All in a way I’ve never thought about before. I loved that! A major element here . It also brings more depth to a character who’s part of the found family that Jackson Pryde and Xander Wright have been bringing together, friends from the the various Guilds, helping to rebuild the artificers guild hall. Each person within their circle is getting more layers to their personalities and more powerful.

Which is to be expected, as after the disastrous battle in the Black Market, and at the Ball, the new dangers they face from the purple crystal and the Fae becomes even more perilous.

What I look forward to in these stories, is, in between all the battles, the investigations, the sexy scenes, the fantastical mythology lie the heartwarming ones. The small bits , the tiny moments when Jackson, often when Xander is present, is reunited with his deceased parents, through the remarkable capabilities of Lore and his parents foresight to put a series of memories inside Lore for Jackson, to access just when he needs them. It’s unbelievably poignant and emotional.

It’s just one more amazing aspect of this story that makes me happy just when I know everything will be falling apart fast in the next novel. A moment to treasure.

Just like this series. And the bees.

I’m highly recommending this novel and series. Read them in the order they are written for story and characters relationships development.

I’ve listed them below. Now to wait until July for A Clap of Thunder to be released!

Arcane Hearts series, 6 of 6 books:

✓ A Touch of Fever #1

✓ A Stroke of Brilliance #2

✓ An Iron Fist #3

✓ A Velvet Glove #4

✓ Hand of Glory #5

◦ A Clap of Thunder #6 – July 29, 2022 (finale)

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

Synopsis:

Glamor, glitter, and gold.

Jackson Pryde and the great guilds of the Black Market are recovering in the aftermath of the fae attacks. With Xander Wright at his side, Jackson finds the strength and spellpower to rebuild.

Yet the fae keep coming, infiltrating under cover of illusions and glamor. And then there’s the upcoming Grayhaven gala, a gathering that’s sure to attract their destructive appetites.

Whispers speak of a strange and powerful candle, one that will help Jackson find the source of the fae and stop their attacks forever. Where are the fae coming from? Who is sending them to spread chaos?

And most important of all: where will Jackson find the time and courage to propose?

Hand of Glory is a 77,000-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 Hand of Glory today.

Review: Chosen One Universe: Volume One by Macy Blake

Rating: 4.75🌈

Books:

Sweet Nothings

All or Nothing

Nothing Ventured

I am all in on these series collections. It allows me to read straight through a series of books without stopping, something every binge reader dreams of.

As I said in my review of Hell On Earth (Hellhound Champions #1) , I’m in the process of reading all the Chosen One novels. What better way than Chosen One bundles?

This bundle takes me back to the origin of all the series and relationships.

It begins with Sweet Nothings, the prequel novel, that’s the foundation . Here we meet human Sam Baker, alpha Vaughn Jerrick, and some of the most engaging supernatural children ever. The plot, which is heartwarming, romantic, funny, and and totally captivating. It’s also extremely moving. And not without its moments of heartbreak.

Many of the young beings are people that play important roles throughout the overall Chosen Ones series. So this is indeed where it all starts.

The next two stories are completely different. The first couple of Sam and Vaughn are completely monogamous, as you would expect a werepack Alpha mated couple to be.

But All or Nothing and Nothing Ventured are focused on the group of Guardians as they slowly find each other, adjusting to what they are to their roles and new relationships. And what that might mean to the Chosen One when it’s located,the one they are committed to, via a prophecy.

Hint, the Chosen is found but not all the Guardians are counted for as yet.

These are incredibly sexy stories. Also high action and adventure. We are talking Vampire, Dragon, Griffon, …ummm nope. The rest will need to be read.

But the relationship between all of them? It’s only of polyamory. And it’s not only extremely sexy but it works beautifully in as far as the need for their tightly crafted relationships with each other.

Blake has a huge overall series plot thread being crafted that started with Sweet Nothing and continues to build with deadly suspense with each book.

The black magic and villain is hidden to great effect, truly chilling.

I loved both books. It was outstanding seeing Henry, a grownup 21, and well into his powers. Although wasn’t quite ready for his Daddy kink.

That was a issue reading those stories together. For me, he was just the haunted, traumatized orphan I left behind in Sweet Nothings. Oops!

Now he’s 21. I felt like his parent.

Hmmm , yeah, that took a while. Sawyer yes, Henry, too soon. Not anything more than reading the books right after each other.

By Nothing Ventured, I was fine. And loving the polyamory relationship of the Guardians.

Anyway I’m onto the second volume of Chosen novels.

And if you’re a fan of supernatural beings, mythological creatures, magic, Macy Blake, and the Chosen One Universe, here’s a collection for you.

I’m highly recommending it.

https://www.amazon.com › Chosen-…The Chosen One Universe Volume One: An MM Paranormal Fantasy Shifters Series …

❤️Chosen Universe Multi-series Reading Order:

1. Sweet Nothings- Prequel
– The Chosen One

2. The Trouble With Love
– Nothing But Trouble, Book 1

3. Santa Trouble
– Nothing But Trouble, Book 2

4. All or Nothing
– The Chosen One, Book 1

5. Nothing Ventured
– The Chosen One, Book 2

6. Hell on Earth
– Hellhound Champions, Book 1

7. Double or Nothing

8. Next to Nothing
– The Chosen One, Book 3

9. Hell To Pay
– Hellhound Champions, Book 2

10. Give Him Hell
– Hellhound Champions, Book 3

11. Nothing Gained
– The Chosen One, Book 4

12. Stop at Nothing
– The Chosen One, Book 5

13. Sweet Spot

14. All Kidding Aside
– Magical Mates, Book 1

15. Stop Kidding Around
– Magical Mates, Book 2

16. Hell Breaks Loose
– Hellhound Champions, Book 4

17. Logan
– Chosen Champions, Book 1

18. Gideon
– Chosen Champions, Book 2

19. Jamal
– Chosen Champions

20. Cosmo and the King

21. Aleron
– Chosen Champions, Book 3

Review: Mist and Marrow (Breaking Tradition #2) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4.75🌈

It’s been a while since I read the first installment in this series about Omegas and their search for HEA.

Finding a HEA is a extremely difficult situation, given the fact that in both books 1 and 2, Omegas are basically property, with little to no rights as a being , within their own species laws and human legal system as well.

First they belong to their fathers, then to whoever their fathers sell them to, regardless of gender and age. It’s a contract between father and whatever Alpha he sells them to. To do whatever they like with.

Linden Van Doren, a omega we met in the first story, had been sexually abused by his father and those his father had sold him to for years before being rescued by the Cyan Alpha of the previous book and his mate.

Much of that abuse is recounted here, in conversations held with his therapist and others. It’s those conversations that account for the trigger warning at the beginning of the novel. It’s warranted. While it happens off page, some of it occurs while he’s just a child and it’s brutal and raw hearing it. So if this is a trigger for you, please think about if you can read these scenes or if this is a story for you.

This is not one of the established Calmes “golden boy type“ character we could expect here. While Linny certainly has golden hair , he’s a wolf who’s lead such a traumatic life that he’s more a wounded soul than anything else. The omega charismatic personality is clear as is the need to establish a home but Linden is also a fighter in ways subtle and witty. I adored him.

Wade Massey, homicide detective and partner to the omega of the first book, is a very neat character. He’s got all the characteristics of a wolf alpha while being a human detective. It’s a mystery that has its answers at the end, although hints are sprinkled throughout the story.

Calmes has included a horrific mystery, with a investigation that will have Lindsey and Wade on a dangerous journey to find the villain behind it.

Calmes has a smoothly flowing, well written supernatural mystery romance that has some very raw and brutal elements to it. I think it is far darker and better than it’s predecessor, Muscle and Bone.

I wonder what the final book will bring to this trilogy. Can’t wait to find out.

I’m highly recommending Mist and Marrow.

Breaking Tradition trilogy:

🔹Muscle and Bone #1

🔹Mist and Marrow #2

🔹TBA#3

https://www.goodreads.com › showMist and Marrow (Breaking Tradition #2) by Mary Calmes – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Trigger Warning: Discussions of repeated sexual abuse of a main character, including when he was a minor. No abuse occurs on page

Linden Van Doren is in a strange position. He’s an emancipated omega holding down two jobs, so he should be out from under anyone’s thumb but in reality, there are still weird lupine rules to follow. For instance, if an alpha wants to court him, he’s not allowed to say no. If that same alpha asks for his hand in bonding, however, as there’s no contract that anyone holds but him, he can certainly say no to that. And would. He trusts no alpha to keep their word even though they’re the only ones who could make his dreams come true. It’s all very confusing and a bit ridiculous but until all omegas are free to do whatever they want with their lives, his odd circumstances are the norm. He’s also doing his very small part to help others—and that just became a problem.

Wade Massey is a homicide detective with the Chicago PD. He’s partners with Avery Davenport, which puts him in close, continual contact with Avery’s friend, Linden Van Doren. Wade isn’t sure what it is about Linden that drives him nuts. And annoying the hell out of the stunning omega should make Wade want to stay away from him. The problem is, he can’t seem to do that. Besides, Linden needs a keeper. Wade has never actually met anyone who needs someone looking out for them more and really, no one but Wade can be trusted to do it and keep their hands off the tantalizing man.

When the FBI comes knocking because omegas have gone missing, Wade finds out that Linden has been far more active in the fight to help other omegas than he imagined. When both men are drafted to help, they are suddenly thrown together in a situation where, for once, neither of them can walk away. Wade’s been great at making excuses and Linny’s been fantastic about hiding his feelings. None of that works anymore.

Linden knows he wants Wade—he knew the night the possessive human carried him out of hell—but loving someone who can never return his feelings is stupid and Linden’s finished with that. Wade’s never been attracted to a man before and perhaps it’s not desire or lust, but simply his protective instincts gone wild. If neither of them can be brave, there’s no hope for the future. But perhaps just winnowing through the mist of confusion down to the marrow where the truth lies will set them both free.

Review: Short Stack (a short story collection) by Lily Morton

Rating: 5🌈

If you’re a fan of Lily Morton, especially her Mixed Messages and Finding Home series, this is must reading.

These short stories follow those couples at various stages of their lives and relationships, from the stage after the wedding is over to a marriage proposal we always hoped to read about.

None of these scenes appeared in those stories, cut for various reasons or written for her fans later on. They are now gathered together by couple, and it makes for some very amazing and very rewarding stories.

For myself, it changed my thoughts on a couple and story. That would be Rule Breaker, Dylan and Gabe’s story. Told primarily from Dylan’s pov, It was the romance and relationship I least connected with. The reason was the character of Gabe. For me, without his perspective, he came across as selfish, cold, and his actions often cruel, especially towards Dylan. Who repeatedly took him back.

That missing pov is here. Gabe, his emotional state, and his background, everything that would have made him an emotionally accessible character is here in scenes that never made it into that story. To its detriment, in my opinion. Because after reading this, I look at that novel totally differently.

For the rest of the couples and books? Short Stack just enriches our involvement with them and their relationships. Where we always wanted to know what happened next? This is our answer to that question, and it gives us a often realistic, and emotional satisfying one.

Not read one of the stories? This might make you hold off, stop at a couple. Go get their book. Read it. Then come back for their shorts.

Win on every level.

I got this for my Kindle but I just might need it in a copy for my bookshelf.

I’m recommending it that hard for lovers of these series, this author, and those readers to come.

Short Stack by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

What happens after the happy ending?

Drawn together for the first time, this is a collection of Lily’s short stories about the much-loved men from her Mixed Messages and Finding Home series. Follow them through awkward marriage proposals, birthdays, a fraught babysitting job, and a very drunken Eurovision Song Contest party.

It includes stories previously written for her website and readers’ group, along with deleted scenes and four brand new and exclusive short stories – Bad Valentine, Marrying Jude, Babysitting Billy, and House Hunting.

Mixed Messages:

Rule Breaker #1

Deal Maker #2

Risk Taker#3

Finding Home:

Oz #1

Milo #2

Gideon #3

Review: Night and Fae (Blackhaven Manor #2) by Arden Steele

Rating: 3.75🌈

Night and Fae, the second in Arden Steele’s Blackhaven series about fated mates is another sexy, short supernatural romance. This time it’s a fabulously wealthy corporate vampire and an adorable hairdresser Fae getting their fated mate matchup at Blackhaven Manor!

Courtesy of the meddling owner Dragon siblings ,of course .

I enjoyed Night and Fae (terrific name), and the pair. But what I was missing what a sense of history, layerings for either of them.

With the previous story, each character was grounded in a way. Kol in the small town and Manor. Remington had his brother and a backstory.

But in Night and Fae, with the exception of bodyguards (neat ones, I admit), both Fae Leeland Rivers and Master Vampire Sebastian Delgado exist alone without substantial knowledge of their background. I miss that.

Luckily, Leeland’s personality is vibrant, funny, and endearing. He is a wonderful character. Sebastian is everything you would hope a handsome, commanding, wealthy vampire would be. Their mate connection or mis-connection is interesting and makes sense given their species.

There’s a dramatic element, which is swiftly resolved. And then a epilogue.

These are quick, smoothly plotted stories and they’re over before you can blink . I found the characters, the storyline and the ending satisfying.

I’m moving onto the next. I’m also recommending this for anyone who enjoys a HEA supernatural love story.

Blackhaven Manor Series:

✓ Purrfect Harmony #1

✓ Night and Fae #2

◦ Dragon It Out #3

◦ Grin and Bear it #4

◦ Pixie Little Liar #5

◦ Dead Over Heals #6

◦ Silent Knight #7

https://www.goodreads.com › showNight and Fae (Blackhaven Manor #2) by Arden Steele – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Colorful and eccentric, Leelan Rivers knows he’s a little too “extra” for some people. Since those people are exceedingly boring, he couldn’t care less about their opinion. Yet, when a night out leads him right into the arms of fate, he never expected the broody vampire to deny the connection between them.

Wealthy and powerful, Sebastian Delgado is used to people wanting things from him. He’s not even surprised at the lies they’ll tell to get them. So, when Leelan claims to be his mate, he’s skeptical to say the least. Leelan might be beautiful and enchanting, but Sebastian has been disappointed too many times in the past not to be suspicious.

All it takes is one bite to reveal the truth but claiming Leelan as his own comes with its own set of problems. Especially when he realizes he’s not the only vampire at Blackhaven Manor interested in the faerie.