Review: Foolish Puckboy (Puckboys Book 4) by Saxon James and Eden Finley

Rating: 4.5 🌈

The Puckboys series have been such a great fun sport’s romantic romp from the beginning story! Now with Foolish Puckboy, it’s so wonderfully entertaining and appropriate that authors James and Finley bring the entire Queer Collective into the story at the very beginning, just as Alek Emerson has come out as pansexual, transferring to Seattle’s NHL team, and starting anew!

“The guys file in, Oskar, Ezra, Ezra’s boyfriend and teammate Anton, Tripp and his husband Dex from the Vegas team, and trailing behind them are Ayri Quinn and Asher Dalton from Buffalo—the two other newest recruits to the Collective alongside me. Ayri’s been playing for a few seasons already, but Asher’s a rookie this upcoming season. I nod at them. “Asher. Ayri.” Asher wears a stoic scowl,”.

And the party is on.

And wild enough to prompt a call to the local firefighters when the rooftop is set ablaze during the night.

The reaction of a drunken Alek to the gorgeous firefighter Gabe is hilarious and sets the tone for the rest of the book.

“As soon as I get him to the couch, he flops face forward onto it. I turn to go help Sanden with the others when Aleks grabs my thick work pants. His bicep pops beneath his tattooed skin, and I swallow and drag my eyes away from it and up to his. In the soft light inside, his eyes look … blue? Green? A nice color. He doesn’t look away. Just stares. And this shivery sort of awareness runs through me. “Zing,” he whispers before passing out.”

— Foolish Puckboy (Puckboys Book 4) by Eden Finley, Saxon James

That comes after a meetup to end all meetups!

Aleksander Emerson, newly divorced and newly out bisexual NHL hockey player has just met gorgeous gay firefighter Gabe Crosby, and the fireworks are exploding.

But both men have a multitude of reasons not to get involved with each other. For Alek, he’s been in a longstanding monogamous relationship that turned into a heterosexual marriage, and only now is he able to explore his bisexuality without having a commitment or need to settle down.

For Gabe, it’s the money, the lifestyle that professional players make and live that’s contrary to his values and need to have a family and stability.

Eden Finley and Saxon James give us great characters and a dynamic relationship that overcomes both of their personal goals each time they meet up and continue to get to know one another better.

The conversations go from hilarious to deeply sexy to personal to profoundly moving. Especially when each is at their most vulnerable.

My issues with the story and relationship kick in towards the end when that one element seems to always arise, a lack of communication. There’s a misunderstanding, and instead of asking questions, or communicating, that lack of talking to one another becomes an issue.

Yes, it makes for a dramatic moment but for me it lessens the adult factor and pulls me out of the storyline. It’s just didn’t work for me.

The authors, of course, turn it around, and there’s a terrific ending. But that narrative wobble had me asking more questions about the ending than being totally satisfied.

This is still a good couple in a highly entertaining series. One I’m definitely recommending.

Puckboys series:

✓ Egotistical Puckboy #1

✓ Irresponsible Puckboy #2

✓ Shameless Puckboy #3

✓ Foolish Puckboy #4

Buy Link :

Foolish Puckboy (Puckboys Book 4)

Description:

ALEKS

After my divorce, I’m ready to have fun, date around, and not get into anything serious. Then I meet Gabe Crosby, superhero firefighter and a disgrace to the Crosby name. He doesn’t even like hockey!

Yet, there’s a draw to him I can’t deny—something I haven’t felt since my teens. But that’s the problem. I have no idea what dating is like, let alone how to do it with another man. He makes me flakey and nervous, and I’ve never been that guy.

Gabe turns me inside out and upside down in the best possible ways. I only recently became single, but if I continue to chase after him, I might not stay that way for long.

GABE

When I meet Aleksander Emerson during an emergency call-out, there are three things that catch my attention: his sexy tattoos, his kind eyes, and his drunken offer to have my babies.

He’s new to Seattle and recently divorced, so I take him under my wing–and under my sheets. I’m showing him what the world of hookups is like, only those hookups turn into sleepovers and dates and public displays of jealousy.

Aleks is in his casual era, and I’m working my way toward settling down and starting a family. What the two of us have is fun, but not a good idea permanently.

Review: Light Up the Lamp by Kit Oliver

Rating: 3.75/🌈

“Light Up the Lamp: To score a goal in hockey, and thereby set off the goal lamp behind the net”

— Light Up the Lamp by Kit Oliver

I love hockey romances so to see this story by Kit Oliver was a welcome surprise. It’s a terrific contemporary sports romance and addition to this genre. Oliver clearly knows the sport of hockey and team dynamics, which are displayed throughout the game and novel by the locker room behavior and behind the scenes maneuvering of management and players.

I was uncertain at first by the choice of Gil Roussin, NHL center, of the hockey family of a famed NHL player, as the only narrator. Primarily because Gil is so focused on his career that his perspective and his personality comes through as both narrow and oblivious that it makes him hard to connect with at first.

The man we start to see reflected back at the readers from his family doesn’t match up with the one in Gil’s head. Not the image of the one brother who doesn’t follow the family occupation, or the mother who is reticent about the overbearing idolized hockey father’s role in his son’s life. There’s a disconnect between the way Gil is looking at the way he’s behaving and treating people and the reality of the situation.

And that matters because most readers won’t be down on the side of Gil Roussin. Even when his career seems to be tanking, and he’s sent to the worst team in the NHL.

I have to admit, the descriptions of the Sea Lion’s training facility is everything! From the rust to the puddles and dripping water, I mean , I’d run. It’s a fabulous bit of work by Oliver here, emotionally laying out a team so in financial shambles that its training facilities is an absolute believable nightmare.

And for the first time, maybe the reader starts to feel something for Gil, even with his awful attitude.

Sebastian Martin who we met earlier In Baltimore has his issues as well. Although both men were close friends and more, now there’s a huge gap between them that needs sorting out.

Sebastian isn’t exactly a stellar character, although Oliver tries hard enough to make it work. Communication isn’t great for either man. Not in the past , and apparently not in the present.

Sebastian makes several poor choices when it comes to dealing with Gil as a new player both as his new manager and as his former friend/lover. His refusal to communicate with Gil is as frustrating to read as Gil’s inability to widen his outlook on his team and life.

So Oliver had to work to make this story happen and it does, eventually. Primarily because it starts with Gil finding a new attitude and place with the Sea Lions. Then with Sebastian deciding to invite Gil into his private life and the history of his life after they separated.

Light Up the Lamp by Kit Oliver is a realistic HFN ending, a sweet story that would serve well as the first book in a new series about an upcoming NHL team, the Sea Lions.

As a standalone I feel that the ending is missing another chapter. But as a fan of this genre and hockey, I think Oliver did a good job with giving us a realistic team and characters we come to appreciate. Well worth the read!

Buy Link:

https://www.amazon.com › Light-U…Light Up the Lamp – Oliver, Kit: Books – Amazon.com

Description:

Gil missed his first chance with Sebastian. Now, he has one shot to try again.

Gil Roussin’s goals for his hockey career don’t involve playing for the worst team in the league, so when he’s sent to the San Francisco Sea Lions, Gil will do whatever it takes to get traded.

But the Sea Lion’s coaching staff has other ideas for him, and among them is the last person Gil expected to see again: Sebastian Martin. Once Gil’s childhood best friend, and his first flame, it’s been a decade since Sebastian drifted out of his life. Now, Gil needs to convince his ex-boyfriend and current coach to help him on—and off—the ice.

Can Gil and Sebastian work together to get Gil traded? Or will so much time together rekindle the very relationship Gil has spent years trying to forget?

Light up the Lamp is a steamy, m/m romance novel. If you like the hope of second chances and the joy returned passion, then you’ll love this exciting hockey romance as Gil and Sebastian banter, bicker, and flirt their way back to each other.

Review: Gateway Catastrophe (Ghostly Guardians, #4) by Louisa Masters

Rating: 3.5🌈

Gateway Catastrophe is the almost finale for Louisa Masters Ghostly Guardians series and it had a lot of ground to cover for a book about the end of the world.

At the end of Conduit Crisis, a higher demon, Marc has arrived from the Otherworld, as they are calling the realm trying to break through to Earth through the portals. He’s here to save his realm’s species and world from the mad leader, Cato, that’s coming for Earth.

Marc has a complicated and messy relationship with quite a few of the people at the estate as he’s been back and forth between his world and theirs often trying to figure out how to stop the planned invasion.

Masters has brought in all the couples, including the young brothers of Connor and Gabe, Ian and Matt, who’re studying at Franklin U (Mr Romance). We have the great ghosts, now including Tom’s Italian grandmother added into the mix, a few new disposable hunter characters, the odd townspeople, and the cast is about at overflow levels.

Sometimes that’s great here but occasionally it’s a bit too much for the storylines to handle for clarity sake. The main pov’s here are Gabe the demon hunter, and Tom, the part-time cab driver with the ghostly Italian grandmother who rides with him . Tom (a childhood friend of Skye) has been unaware until recently of the existence of the paranormal world that now threatens theirs. Tom had a terrific backstory that we don’t get enough of, a homophobic Italian family, a childhood deep friendship with Skye that includes Skye’s father’s basically “adopting” him into their family. A closeted adolescence for Tom that almost destroyed him. That’s a lot of emotional baggage to unpack.

That it’s a end of the world quickly dealt with conversation is understandable but, hmmmm, it’s an example of the types of narrative choices Masters had to make here when looking at the huge amounts of information, storylines she’d created (sabotage, mysteries, betrayal, paranormal universes, chemistry problems, wars, good vs bad vs grey, portals etc) , the need to complete college degrees if the world might be ending, and romance!

Sometimes it’s successful and other times it’s too many people, too many voices , and situations that are overpowering the very huge theme . The baddies are coming, the world is ending. What are we doing?

The suspense and anxiety should be over the top here towards the end, the reader on the edge of their proverbial seats. But, for me , at least, it starts to head the other direction.

By the time Cato, the high demon who’s the bigger bad, it’s almost anticlimactic. When the battle is engaged, we see what’s happening from Gabe’s perspective , which deals with the portals. The actual battle and fighting? The stuff that makes the adrenaline rush and the heart rate spike? Nope, that a “as told to” afterwards.

That’s my biggest issue with this story. It’s the popped balloon we were hoping to do ourselves only for someone else to get to it before us. The element of anticipation that is never going to happen.

When we get back to the scene it’s over. And the characters fill other characters (and the readers) in on what happened.

From an author’s standpoint, I can see where writing about this part of the story might have meant that the book went on for several more chapters. But wouldn’t that have been worth the payoff? Emotionally?

Or less portal, more the actual physical fighting?

I don’t know. The climatic scenario and the revelations felt unbalanced. And unsatisfactory. After all that hefty exposition, all that tons of information and huge cast of characters, that’s the way it ends? With a battle off the page? A narrative whimper?

There is a sweet payoff for everyone involved but it’s still not grounded enough in the narrative to be an emotional element. To have that kind of reaction you need to have the reader be involved in the actual situations that require a resolution. We weren’t.

A plus here is the romantic relationship between Gabe and Tom, with the “end of the world “ supplying the necessary energy for them to get themselves together and go for the chance of a life together. And Tom, he was a great surprise and success as a character. I wish we could have seen more of him. Supplying Tom with being a Tendo master and then not utilizing this fully in the climax seems like a waste.

That’s this story. Sometimes too much, and sometimes not enough. Often at the wrong times.

And there’s another book coming because Masters isn’t finished yet with these characters and universe. It’s with Ian and Marc.

So does that make this an almost finale? Or the new book a side story.

Not sure but it’s seems about right for the series and Gateway Catastrophe, a story that doesn’t really seem to have an core ending in itself.

So overall, it’s a jammed packed paranormal end of the world story, with a lovely romance. Tons of interesting elements, some great characters (as always adore the ghosts and the insufferable higher demon Marc), but I felt that some of the immense complexity of that theme (nothing bigger than ending the world) got lost in the shuffle.

Perhaps it was who got chosen as the final narrator (Gabe versus Tom) or which field of action the author chose to concentrate on, either way, it’s my personal opinion it was the less interesting path to go down.

I’m still recommending it for those fans of this series and the author. If you haven’t read the series, then this book will probably not make any sense to you. This series must be read in the order that they were written for the events, relationships, and situations to make sense.

Ghostly Guardians:

✓ Spirited Situation #1 (Josh and Ewan)

✓ Vortex Conundrum #2 (Kieran and Conner)

✓ Conduit Crisis #3 (Skye and Daniel)

✓ Gateway Catastrophe #4 (Gabe and Tom)

Buy Link:

Gateway Catastrophe (Ghostly Guardians Book 4)

Description:

It only took seconds for my world to change…

I live a simple, small-town life. Helping with the family restaurant, my side gig as a ride-share driver, hanging with my best friend, making the most of the extra time with my ghost grandma. The only exciting thing to happen to me in the past year was when Gabe moved to town—too bad Nonna scared him off. It’s hard to impress a guy when your dead grandmother calls him the devil.

The last thing I expect when I pick up a ride-share client and take him to Mannix Estate is that he’s a demon. An actual, breathing, can-kill-me-with-a-thought demon. That night blows my simple life apart and changes everything. Turns out, ghosts aren’t the weirdest things out there, my best friend and Gabe are both part of this alternate world, and there’s a big bad demon who wants to end us all. What’s a small-town boy to do but roll up his sleeves and join the fight to save the world?

Working side by side with Gabe reminds me just how much I liked him when we first met… and the feeling’s mutual. As the clock counts down and we both struggle with personal issues, it’s good to know there’s someone to lean on. But I don’t know if our tenuous connection can survive the hell that’s coming and see us through to the other side.

Review: Black Flagged (A Lights Out Novel) by Emma Jaye

Rating: 3.75🌈

Black Flagged (A Lights Out Novel) by Emma Jaye is a book that had me waffling over the rating because Black Flagged is actually two different novels, one that’s a tad more successful than the other.

Unfortunately, the better one doesn’t really have much of anything to do with racing but rather with past murders, current murder attempts, and the mercenary brotherhood, the orta, which are the featured elements and characters of Emma Jaye’s other series, Lies.

While that series is severely darker than this (and comes from a different perspective), much of this story is about Dren’s character, his code , and utter allegiance to the orta, and his brothers in the organization. Who we meet, and interact with, enough to make us understand a tiny bit about what that must entail. Dark, dark, dark.

I was intrigued by Dren Elezi the orta janissary, the orta (mercenary brotherhood ) and the whole fact that the Neumann family had this criminal history to them. That Walter Neumann, CEO of Neumann Industries , owner of Neumann F1 is also one of Europe’s top illegal arms dealers. Really, that needed expounding on.

And that Karl Neumann, the nephew, aka Karo, was a thief, homeless, and has a murky history . There’s so much here and yes, it all went into the plot, making for a lively and often chaotic storyline. I really enjoyed it.

As far as Karl Neumann, the one the readers have come to know. The arrogant, bully of a driver everyone has grown to hate in every book, race by race, through the same repeated “episodes “, this is where Jaye does a great job at incorporating her story back into the Lights Out universe.

We get , each scene , word by word, as they have played out , over each other book the same way but now flipped, and with a startling twist.

There’s a new backstory , a perspective we’re now seeing to Neumann’s action’s , often repugnant interactions with the other drivers. And it puts Neumann in a whole new light. Not only his actions, but how they are seen and appreciated by his owner/family. It’s all about the strategy, maneuvering for publicity, and positioning for success. For himself, primarily, and the team.

It’s especially true when revisiting the scenes that had Lennox in them. That dynamic was so incredibly tilted towards Lennox as the one being victimized. Having it flipped around and visualized through the lens of Kurt puts an astonishing spin on things. Where it realistically comes down outside of both is probably somewhere in the middle.

Jaye has some strong racing elements here. The racing is well researched. I was fascinated by the information about how the race bays were set up according to team finishes. That the worst place team had a “walk of shame “ past all the other teams to get to their section of the building on the track. That has to rub it in constantly that fact you and your team suck that year.

And there was that infamous race where one driver goes up in flames. Kurt gets the blame. But this time we see that race from inside the car. Big difference.

However, just as we’ve gotten settled in a racing mentality with Kurt, the team, and the strategy, Jaye whisks her storyline around and into the direction of murder and sabotage.

That’s a great tale in itself. But it becomes a whole different story. Their romance, the orta, the mystery, the sexual nature of their relationship, and even Kurt’s background is more tightly coupled together here than it is with the racing aspect.

Eventually, all the threads roll back, not to racing itself but we do get back to business, but not without a few more surprises with Lennox.

With all these many plot lines, well researched facts, and great elements, I’m not sure why it doesn’t work together more smoothly than it does. Black Flagged, as entertaining and as wild a ride as it was, still feels like two separate journeys. A race and then another for the emotional connections and romance factor.

That ending doesn’t quite work either. There’s a two – year contract to deal with, then a new contract. It’s feels very rushed and inconsistent with the way the rest of the book and series has been handled.

I liked Black Flagged. I would have loved it if the author could have decided what story that wanted to tell exactly, a race story or a new orta themed book. What’s occurred is a combo of the two, neither successful completely.

I’m still recommending it. It’s entertaining.

Lights Out:

✓ Team Orders by RJ Scott

✓ Full Throttle by Lisa Henry

✓ Pole Position by Charlie Novak

✓ Scoring Points by HL Day

✓ Black Flagged by Emma Jaye

◦ Rookie Mistakes by Beth Laycock 6/27/2023

Buy Link:

Black Flagged

Description:

Will a Black Flag end love before it leaves the starting line?

Dren is a mercenary, not a babysitter, yet protecting an F1 “bad boy” from his own recklessness is his next contract. The media darling everyone loves to hate is annoying as hell and a target both on and off the track.
Staying close is the only way to protect Karl from himself and others, but the forced proximity reveals the man behind the uncaring, flippant mask. In public and private, Karl craves attention, but it’s not Dren’s job to provide it. But Dren can’t help falling for Karl’s provocative passion, and he shouldn’t because when the contract ends, he’ll return to the organization that holds his soul.

Karl avoids people he can’t trick, charm, or buy, and his new bodyguard falls into that irritating category. But before he knows it, Dren’s imposing presence becomes his seatbelt in the rocky, perilous world of F1 because there’s genuine concern and interest behind the gruff exterior.

When a fiery crash gets Karl suspended for dangerous driving, can the pair find his mysterious enemy before Karl loses his career and Dren?

This M/M romance from Emma Jaye features an arrogant F1 driver with a hidden past and a bodyguard who is in way too deep. Set in the high-octane world of Formula 1, it features fast cars, spectacular crashes, heated rivalries, and of course, a HEA.

Each book in the Lights Out collection is a standalone story, and the books can be read in any order.

Review: Cypress Ashes (San Amaro Investigations Book 7) by Kai Butler

Rating: 5+🌈

Well that was as close to absolute perfection as I can remember reading in a series finale, especially one as intense, as incredibly complex as well as mentally challenging at times to read as this one.

I will miss this universe and characters so.

And it starts where Saffron Wilds ends, on that heartbreaker of a cliffhanger (spoiler alert for that novel) with the God Darkness having lodged itself firmly within the body of Nick King , San Amaro police detective/alchemist and now husband of Fae Parker Ferro, the Windrose of the Fae Courts.

But Kai Butler has created over the course of seven books a fascinating, magnificent labyrinthian plot that involves a World Tree with ties to worlds and thousands of realms outside of that of Earth, the Fae Courts and its duplicitous politics that extends beyond into eras long ago and the murderous schemes of the Gods, which can mean the end of everything.

And what Gods and power struggles Butler’s has thrown at us! Most are ones we have some knowledge of, even with the author’s twists and unique perspective on one’s such as the Mother, the Sun, Darkness, the Trickster (my personal favorite), and Santa Muerte, among the main gods.

Cypress Ashes offers up the most imaginatively beautiful to think about scenes and elements, one’s I’m still trying to wrap my mind around. Magical test battles between two great spirits, Reality and Distance, with one a titch drunk on the power being offered up. It’s witches, alchemists, Laurel (if you know you know), Nick, and Parker, trying to figure out a meaningful way to fight the Sun God and what that’s means to everyone’s moral compass and mental health. Huge questions the author is asking on multiple levels.

That’s only a tiny fraction of what this story has to offer up in terms of elaborate narrative design and exciting storytelling.

There’s Sugar, the incubus, Runt, the not cat, Prometheus, the demon not dog, all the great brownies characters from the garden, the blade Tremble that can bring lightning, the Five Dragons, every important element and character, and maybe quite a few that slipped under a reader’s notice from previous books. All have important roles to play here. Some villains even find a surprising redemption.

The power of family and love, whether it’s on a small or infinitely universal and complex scale is also a key here. Where Shannon, Parker’s foster mom is now a God, Mother , to be exact, the nurturing aspect of her being that saved Parker now becomes the element that helps save everything. And Parker’s love for Nick and San Amaro.

There’s so much that Butler pours into this finale , all the narrative threads that needed pulling together, the interwoven storylines of all sizes that we needed to know how they evolved and ended. We got it, as much as we could when gods are involved.

I expect Butler is ready to move on. But I’m not. So I’m diving back in, to experience this again and see what I missed out in the first reading.

What a wild ride, what a magnificent journey this has been! Don’t miss out!

But the books absolutely must be read in order for the characters growth, the revelations, and plot details to make sense. Enjoy the books and the ride! I’m highly recommending the series and this finale!

I’d rate it higher if I could.

San Amara Investigations Series:

◦ A Haunting at Midnight #0.5

◦ A Debt Unpaid #0.75

✓ Wormwood Summer #1

✓ A Belated Burial #1.5

✓ The Oak Wood Throne #2

✓ A Gilded Iron Blade #3

✓ A Shattered Silver Crown #4

✓ The Heart’s Blood Arrow #5

✓ Saffron Wilds #6

✓ Cypress Ashes #7 – series finale

Buy Link :

Cypress Ashes (San Amaro Investigations Book 7)

Description:

Parker Ferro is not okay.

In the heart-pounding conclusion to the San Amaro Investigations series, Parker faces down enemies on all sides, including one within his own family. With his city under lockdown, Parker is fighting for everyone and everything that he cares about.

The fate of the thousand realms rests on his shoulders. What’s a local PI to do?

Review: Baxter’s Right-Hand Man (The Baxter Chronicles #2) by Lane Hayes

Rating : 4.5🌈

Lane Hayes’ The Baxter Chronicles, the adventures of the fictional international adventurer/hero Baxter, (and current box office success) as the framework for the romance first for its creator/author, Sebastian in The Real Baxter, and now for the person who’s the one bringing the character to life on the big screen, movie star, Pierce Allen. He gets his HEA, eventually in Baxter’s Right – Hand Man.

For me this was a bit of a challenge because it wasn’t Pierce Allen I fell in love with here. In his words, he was a bit of “a dick”. Careless with his words, other people, and , now it seems, his career, because he’s convinced, as Lane has written him, he’s invaluable as a asset because of his longevity as this popular character.

As a character, Pierce Allen’s personality and actions kept me from being able to emotionally engage with him while mentally still looking logically at the reasons for his decisions and trust issues. Did I like him? No. Not until the book was almost over.

No who I immediately connected with was Lorenzo Ramos, stylist, and his deep friendship with Mr G, that’s Mr. Gowen, a critically ill older gay man who’s both a dear friend and client. The one who will bring Pierce Allen into their lives, or actually his nurse will.

This entire element of Baxter’s Right-Hand Man (The Baxter Chronicles #2) by Lane Hayes is responsible for the rating here . It’s in the warm intimacy of two flamboyant men, so apart in age but so close in their approaches to their lives. They exude an elegance, each comfortable with who they are, their own personal and painful journey to self acceptance underscores the difference between them and Pierce to a remarkable degree.

And we get to sit nearby as old histories of love and life are revealed in heartbreaking stories and moments. That’s what made this book for me.

Lane Hayes created layers of time and inserted her readers into them here. Pockets of love and loss, both of familial and that of deep love of romantic relationships. And at the end, Pierce has become more human, less a portrait of a self obsessed man or one so used to thinking only of himself that anyone else wasn’t actually noteworthy. When he finally started to care about MrGowen, then I thought I could connect with him as well.

It just took me too long for that to happen.

But for the fabulousness that’s Lo Ramos and Mr G? For their friends at the store? For all the memories, for David, the universe Hayes created here, that’s what the heartwarming story is about.

That’s a great read and why I’m recommending it!

The Baxter Chronicles:

✓ The Real Baxter #1

✓ Baxter’s Right-Hand Man #2

Buy Link:

Baxter’s Right-Hand Man: MM Romance/Secret Boyfriends (The Baxter Chronicles Book 2)

Description:

The movie star meets his match…

Pierce

Welcome to Hollywood, baby! Perhaps you’ve heard of me. I play Baxter, the adventure-seeking, crime-fighting hero, adored by fans around the world. Nice gig, right? My job has its perks for sure—private jets, a chauffeur, and the best tables at the fanciest restaurants in town. It’s nuts!

Downside—it’s hard to know who you can trust.

But I trust Lorenzo. He’s funny, sweet, and very real.

Look, I’m not in the market for anything serious. Between my greedy brother and the old man who claims we’re related, I’m a little wary, but I could use a friend.

And a sexy distraction.

Lorenzo

What is happening here? Major movie star, Pierce Allen wants me.

Me!

I don’t get it. I’m too fabulous and he’s too famous.

No, wait. He wants something from me, like my help and maybe my body. This should be a no-brainer. However, closing the last chapter on a long-term relationship has left me feeling a little fragile, and the last thing I need is to risk another broken heart.

But I’m too intrigued to walk away. I can play the part of Pierce’s “right-hand man” and keep things light and friendly. No problem.

I’m way too smart to fall for a movie star.

I hope.

Baxter’s Right-Hand Man is a MM, bisexual romance featuring a sexy, slightly egotistical movie star and the adorable diva who brings him back to reality.

Review: Prince and Bodyguard (Perilous Courts Book 4) by Tavia Lark

Rating: 5🌈

In one sweet, moving, and foreboding scene from the Prologue, Lark manages to set her characters and simultaneously break our hearts even before the present day story begins.

It’s a succinct , heartbreaking sentence and we’re pulled in and completely crushed emotionally.

I’ve been a huge fan of Lark’s Perilous Courts series since I read the amazing Prince and Assassin book with it’s haunting, damaged character of Whisper, one of the famed Kennel hound assassins who ends up with a Prince of the intriguing Silaise Kingdom, Julien. It was my favorite book, until now. Mostly because of the Kennel Hounds aspect and the character of Whisper who has managed to remain such a strong, complicated character throughout the series.

Stories one through three centered around the three Princes, their magical abilities, and the power structure of their matriarchal Kingdom of Silaise.

Now Lark switches focus to a new realm but one that’s had a huge impact on the other stories and kingdoms. That’s Draskora, an island Kingdom that’s incredibly powerful, incredibly wealthy and with a magical ability for weather. But more importantly, it’s has two things no one else has and everyone else wants. Scalestone, a purple stone that is mined and dragons that need Scalestone. The kingdom that has one, controls the other.

Its people are also known for their purple colored eyes (see Whisper), an effect that comes from the Scalestone. A harsh, cruel place that is mirrored by its rulers, King Imrik, his bloodmage wife, and his three sons, two of whom are adopted through coercion treaties with neighboring kingdoms forced to give up their sons. The other a natural son considered spoiled if a bit unstable.

Prince and Bodyguard starts the Draskoran three son arc.

This is the story of how Vana Kaiskara Tellik of the Kingdom of Kaiskara became Vana Dire, adopted son of Imrik, wielder of storm powers, along with his bloodguard Daromir Azri.

It’s got everything. Magic, dragons, political schisms within the ruling family, layers of pain and damage to the characters and unbelievable chemistry to the dynamics between Vana and Daromir.

The author continues to weave her world arc threads into the ongoing drama, here bringing back characters from prior novels as well as elements such as the Kennel Hounds, and Fellrin fellcats, which will help set up the next novel.

It’s a series that is playing out like a huge board game but we can’t yet see all the pieces. I’m sure Fellrin or Kaiskara is coming,knowledge of each of those places have been very interesting but limited.

And the prize or prizes at stake are Scalestone and dragons which will see that whoever has them has the power or potential to control what the other kingdoms are able to do logistically, monetarily and influentially.

But as rich as this is in details, as layered in cultural fabrication and depth of imagination, it beats at its center a heart that’s guaranteed to make you weep more than once , and then want to shout for joy.

It’s that fabulous a story and a journey for two men over time.

Yes, definitely my favorite. And one I’m highly recommending, along with this incredible series. But it has to be read in order to understand the complex character relationships, the situations and story development.

Perilous Courts:

🔷Prince and Assassin #1❤️

🔷Prince in Disguise #2

🔷Prince and Pawn #3

🔷Prince and Bodyguard #4 ❤️

🔷Prince and Betrothed #5 – Oct 31,2023

🔷Prince of Agony #6 – Feb 29,2024

Buy Link:

Prince and Bodyguard (Perilous Courts Book 4)

Description:

Vana Dire can’t show weakness if he wants to survive the Draskoran court. The only man he can be vulnerable with is Daromir—Vana’s magic-bound bodyguard. The binding lets them share each other’s pain, and Vana depends on Daromir’s comfort as much as his services as a guard. Vana could never risk their friendship.

Even if he craves far more than Daromir’s loyalty.

Daromir Azri sees a side of Vana nobody else sees. Behind closed doors, the cold, elegant prince is kindhearted. Vulnerable. He needs Daromir. If Daromir’s devotion sometimes feels like something else? Daromir must be mistaken. His duty comes first, and he’ll do anything to protect Vana—including one thing he’s never done before:

He’s keeping a secret.

Then their magic bond changes, and suddenly Vana and Daromir don’t just share pain anymore. Each shared sensation pushes their friendship to the breaking point, just when Vana and Daromir need each other most. They’re facing a mysterious ambassador, a chaos-stirring prince, the consequences of past schemes—

And an assassin seeking Vana’s life.

Prince and Bodyguard is a gay fantasy romance with pining, hurt/comfort, and codependent cuddling. The Perilous Courts series is best read in order, and Prince and Bodyguard begins a new three-book arc about the princes of Draskora.

Review: Beefcakes (a Culinary Creatures novella) by L. Eveland

Rating: 4.75 🌈

A sequel to Brimstone, Beefcakes expands on the original by making the focus the short notice celebrity wedding of the famous chefs of the first novel. But while we get those characters and the event, they are peripheral elements here.

Our new characters and romance are fantastically , in a twist, in the “supporting” roles to that event. Ones the wedding planner and the other the wedding baker.

L Eveland really goes all in here with Beefcake and gives us a romance of surprises, depth, and remarkable storytelling. It’s cupcakes, minotaurs, anxiety, porn, kink, and true love. Really, the elements contained within this storyline should overpower each other but instead Eveland uses them to enhance each character’s depth of personality.

The author also uses them to chart the relationship development of Ezra Higgins, highly anxious human wedding planner, and exuberant Minotaur Matteo Reyes, wedding baker.

I absolutely loved these two characters, so completely different, disregarding their species for the moment, but matching in their emotional needs for each other and in their chemistry.

Eveland has two areas of special significance here. One is the treatment of Ezra’s social anxiety disorder. We get to see its origins in his mother’s death, how it took over his life, and how with the help of his therapist, he has been able to get back to running his business. It’s a sensitive subject and the author does a terrific job in giving the reader a small glimpse of what it might be like living with the disorder.

The other element is Matteo’s kink that involves cooking and voyeurism. I really won’t go further with the explanation except to say I was wondering how the author would resolve this situation between Ezra and Matteo myself. What a fabulous solution! I loved it!

I throughly loved this entertaining tale of paranormal romance and a stressful wedding to end all weddings. The only reason it didn’t hit the 5 rating was that while all the other characters were passionate about their careers, Ezra wasn’t about his. He was only doing what was expected of him. And at the end , he was extending his time with Matteo without saying exactly what he was doing.

That left a great an impression of things being unsettled a bit . I wish Eveland had been a tad more finished here. But maybe that because there’s a third book in the works. Bluz, is coming. Werewolf BBQ anyone?

So I’m happily awaiting the third in this wonderfully wacky culinary series. Definitely recommending this and the one prior. Read them in order to understand the characters, relationships, and universe.

Culinary Creatures:

✓ Brimstone #1

✓ Beefcake #2

◦ Bluz #3 – December 31,2023

Note: don’t miss out on the recipe at the end!

Buy Link:

Beefcakes: A High Heat, Low Stakes MM Monster Romance Novella (Culinary Creatures Book 2)

Description:

Wedding planner Ezra Higgins is having a bad day. He’s lost his phone, he’s got six weeks to plan the biggest wedding of his career, and now the minotaur baker won’t stop flirting with him.

It’s enough to make anyone’s anxiety spike.

But the minotaur owner of Beefcakes bakery, Matteo Reyes, has an oddly calming effect on Ezra, and he can’t stop thinking about him, no matter how hard he tries.

Matteo is sweet as salted caramel and twice as hot, but he’s off limits, especially since they have to work together.

Pulling off a televised celebrity wedding in less than ninety days? Doable. Resisting Matteo’s candy-coated charm in the process? Ezra can’t have his cake and eat it too…or can he?

Review: Scoring Points (A Lights Out story ) by H.L Day

Rating: 2🌈

“You can’t change what happened. But you can still change what will happen.

⁃ Sebastian Vettel.”

After reading Scoring Points by H.L. Day, my first thoughts were you had one job in this series , that was to write a book about Formula 1 racing and you’ve tossed the memo.

How did one author go so wrong in a multi author series about specific teams with specific drivers racing on certain circuit’s during a specified season and not write about racing?

First by not writing about the drivers themselves or anyone within the pit who’s directly in contact with the drivers and the actual action on the racetrack. By now, we’ve gotten a good idea of the various teams and their drivers, even on a superficial level, from the other books who mention the same races and events, albeit from different perspectives.

That’s been a great aspect of the series and an anticipatory factor in every new release to come.

But H.L. Day, whose works are often in my must rec list, has made some seriously ill conceived choices when it came time to plan out and write their book for this series.

Day chose to write about the team’s principals. What is a team principal?

“In Formula One, the team principal is the person who is in charge of a constructor team [team who builds the cars] and its personnel. They are usually responsible for issuing team orders and making day-to-day decisions. “

And they are extremely well paid for the job. Millions a year in fact. It’s a job that’s incredibly hard to get and harder to keep.

So Day chose to work the story around two competitive principals. That’s fine , except instead of it being a normal or. it’s all on a personal level. It’s nothing to do with racing but hurt feelings stemming from episodes when they raced karts as teenagers.

Not racing but sexuality. This really could be any other kind of book. Day just had to throw in racing stuff. And it shows.

Keep that in mind. After slogging through approximately 45%, I kept wondering why Day had made the barest of efforts at incorporating any racing into the story. Only Kurt Whitford’s character , at least, gets some semblance of showing he’s got a team that’s interested in racing.

Giovanni Rossi, whose team is mentioned extensively in all the other books, can hardly remember he’s got a team because he’s so obsessed with his sex life, past as well as present, and his revenge on Kurt. Believable he’s not, petulant he is, as Yoda would say.

By 50 % , I’m denying myself the pleasure of DNF, and page flipping , hoping for some racing somewhere in this story or anything that would ground it in this series. But no.

It’s a hopeless mess of two grown men in constant emotional turmoil over each other. Men, primarily Gio who is not a likable character, playing petty head games as payback, who in this actual situation would never be risking their teams, their drivers, or the millions and their careers this way.

Maybe another author could make a believable case for this scenario but Day never does.

Day uses tweets with events from other stories to make sure the reader knows this story is still “all about racing” . Such a format can’t replace actual depths of plotting and real characters.

So in the end do I recommend this ? No. Skip it, and read the others. You won’t be missing anything here.

Lights Out:

✓ Team Orders by RJ Scott

✓ Full Throttle by Lisa Henry

✓ Pole Position by Charlie Novak

✓ Scoring Points by HL Day

◦ Black Flagged by Emma Jaye 6/20

◦ Rookie Mistakes by Beth Laycock 6/27/2023

Buy Link:

Scoring Points

Description:

Can two warring team principals in the cutthroat world of F1 ever admit that there’s more to life than scoring points?

On the surface, Kurt Whitford has everything. A successful business. Good looks. Money. A famous popstar girlfriend hanging off his arm. And as the icing on the cake, he’s just been announced as Nebula’s new team principal. The downside? The opposition. It’s seventeen years since Kurt has seen the infuriating and irresistible Gio Rossi, but the man hasn’t changed a bit.

Whatever Kurt Whitford has, Giovanni Rossi can surpass. Well, except for the girlfriend. Despite needing to keep his sexuality on the down low, he’s not that far in the closet. And if Kurt thinks that Gio’s ready to let bygones be bygones, he couldn’t be more wrong. Gio hasn’t forgiven. Or forgotten.

As a long-rooted rivalry kicks off once more and sparks fly both on and off the track, can Gio and Kurt go head-to-head without the media getting wind of their true feelings? Or is their undeniable sexual chemistry about to prove their downfall?

This MM romance from H.L Day features enemies to lovers, opposing teams, secrets that go way back, and suppressed feelings. Set in the high-octane world of Formula 1, it features fast cars, spectacular crashes, heated rivalries, and of course, a HEA.

Each book in the Lights Out collection is a standalone story, and the books can be read in any order.

Review: Brought To Light by Eliot Grayson

Rating: 4.5🌈

I don’t know how I missed this first time around but I’m overjoyed to have discovered it now when it was re-released this May.

A delightful beautifully crafted urban fantasy story, it has such a great storyline, one guaranteed to draw the reader in.

It all starts with a hitman scoping out his target in a small coastal village, just after Christmas. A two person narrative, it’s the assassin who’s first up in telling us his perspective on the events of that evening.

He’s really not prepared for anything he’s seeing, but he has no choice.

Callum, our hit man, has been hired against his will to kill an innocent young man, if his and his partner’s research is to be believed.

Grayson’s believable characterization of Callum, the tired killer desperately seeking another way out of this contract, is perfectly realized and raw. More so once he sees his actual victim and talks to him.

That would be Linden, a Fae walking or hiding in the mortal realm from the very person who wants him dead. Linden, a Fae cook’s bastard son, has the unfortunate position of being the person named as the being a prophecy said would end an evil Lord’s life. Needless to say, that Lord’s not happy about it. And is trying to kill Linden.

Grayson has written a fantastic fantasy adventure story, one which has evil lords, magical powers, wonderful found family friends of both Fae and human kind, terrifying creatures, battles, and romantic love!

How an assassin and a Fae slay an evil lord, save a Kingdom, and find true love! Honestly, it’s a fantastic story! With great characters! I’m so on board with assassins finding happiness these days.

And assassins ending up in another realm that’s made for them? Perfection. It’s not a new concept but Grayson has done an imaginative and wholly satisfying job here with it.

I certainly wouldn’t mind a return trip to see how everyone is doing. What a universe.

I’m highly recommending Brought To Light by Eliot Grayson for all lovers of urban fantasy and romance in general.

Buy Link:

https://www.amazon.com › Brought…Brought to Light: An M/M Urban Fantasy Romance – Amazon.com

Description:

A hitman and a fae walk into a café…

Callum always gets the job done—whether he likes it or not—but this job isn’t like any other. The target’s too young and pretty for comfort, and the clients are offering more threats than cash. And either the target poisoned his hot chocolate or he’s going crazy, because magic trees are suddenly a thing. It’s really not his day.

Linden’s on the run, and the human realm’s a good place to hide from evil sorcerers who think he’s the answer to a prophecy. But his enemy has found a way to send a very human and very dangerous assassin after him—a man who could kill Linden with one hand. He should be terrified, but his knees go weak for all the wrong reasons.

When Linden’s family is taken hostage, Callum ought to be the last thing on his mind, but Linden can’t resist the chance to fulfill his deepest fantasies before sacrificing his own life. Callum knows he should walk away—it’s not his fight. But the beautiful fae is under his skin and now protecting Linden and his family feels more important than his own survival.

A human learning to feel. A fae learning to trust. Can two worlds merge into one true love?

This re-release of Brought to Light has a new cover and has been partially rewritten, but the characters and the ending are the same. This book contains explicit scenes, a magic flashlight, a prophecy that doesn’t quite work out the way anyone expects, and a guaranteed HEA.

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