Tag: A MelanieM Review

Review: The Sunny Side (The Model Agency #1) by Lily Morton

Rating: 4.75 🌈

I’m such a fan of this author and The Sunny Side is a fantastic example of why her contemporary romances continue to resonate with so many readers, book after book, series after series.

Supermodel Dean Jacobs has appeared in the author’s newsletter serial and pops up in other stories (Deal Maker for one). That cover is a perfect match for the character it’s portraying, a rare occurrence!

However, it’s the internal Dean, the one that’s kind, fighting a life long insecurity issue bourn of bad parenting, later in life diagnosed with dyslexia, now newly sober,coming off years of being stoned, he’s stressed and struggling.

Jonas Durand is a highly successful, focused owner of the modeling agency that handles some of the most famous models in the world. After wresting control of the company from his mother and restructuring it into the respected firm it is today, he’s had just one known passion, the business.

But a lesser known one is Dean Jacobs. Just as Jonas has been Dean’s.

Morton weaves a tale of love and romance so skillfully as Dean’s struggles catches Jonas’ attention, and it’s to Jonas that Dean instinctively turns to for safety and sanctuary.

Their personalities matching and adjusting each to the other, through warm hearted dialogue, scenes filled full of laughter and raw emotion, whether it’s just them or with Jonas’ daughter, Ruby Tuesday, and Henry, the dog.

Morton shows us the slow building of a couple, then a family, every skittish step each man takes forward.

There’s a moment of crisis of course. And as bad as it feels, it’s also very believable and real. Painful, hurtful, and real.

Morton makes us believe in these men, stumbling with them towards love and happiness. And when it comes to a close, we aren’t ready to end.

Which brings me to a note. I originally gave this a 5. Then, Morton herself said there was a addendum short showing what happens to Dean and Jonas afterwards.

So I read it.

I laughed so hard I cried. Then I cried because it was perfect!

That short was THE perfect ending!

It needs to be in the book.

Lily Morton, if you’re listening, books get edited all the time. Just sayin.

I’m definitely recommending The Sunny Side by Lily Morton. It’s fantastic, and probably a reread for many!

The Model Agency:

◦ The Sunny Side #1

Available in Kindle Format

AMAZON US

AMAZON UK

AMAZON FR

Synopsis:

Jonas Durand is successful, rich, and controlled. He owns a prestigious modelling agency and has the world at his fingertips, but a turbulent childhood has taught him to be focused and never deviate from a plan. 

Dean Jacobs threatens that stance. He’s one of the world’s most sought-after supermodels, but he’s also laidback and lighthearted and free in a way that Jonas has never quite managed. 

Dean has always been interested in Jonas and has never made any secret of his admiration, but from the beginning, Jonas put him in a neat little box labelled, “Don’t touch,” turned the key, and never looked back. 

However, the universe seems determined to thwart Jonas’s plans. Over the course of one hot summer, the two men come together, and Jonas’s well-ordered life becomes something a whole lot wilder. 

Moving from the glamorous worlds of London and Paris Fashion Weeks to the sleepy South of France, Jonas finds himself liberating partridges, chasing his supermodel, and falling in love. 

From bestselling author Lily Morton, comes a romantic comedy set in the fast-paced and snarky world of modelling. This is the first book in the Model Agency series.

Review: The Hunter and His Mates (The Kincaid Pack #4) by Kiki Clark

Rating: 4.25🌈

The Hunter and His Mates is the fourth book in The Kincaid Pack series. Clark has been hinting at the triad she has at the center of this story for a while, ever since Gabriel the Hunter arrived on the scene.

Gabriel, someone not trusted by pack as part of the family, more foe then friend. Drake, the permanently injured shifter, a amputee since a enemy witch attack blew up his house, car and himself. It’s a change Drake is having trouble adjusting to emotionally and physically. That’s a great part of the story and relationship dynamics. Add to that Jamie, a hawk shifter, who’s crazy about both men and you have a complicated road to romance.

Along side the turbulent attraction they feel for each other, there’s the arc storylines of a mystery villain who is bent on tearing apart the Kincaid pack, and all the attacks happening on allied packs around them.

It’s a fast moving story, lots of action. Very entertaining. I just wish there was a bit more buildup between the three men, before bonding. I felt the Gabriel and Drake bond was very hot, but Jamie a bit less connected. I don’t know why Jamie doesn’t come across as strong a character as the others but he doesn’t. Which doesn’t really work when talking about someone who’s a red tailed hawk shifter. Something is off there.

Overall, another strong story and terrific installment moving the arc forward.

I’m recommending it and the series!

Kincaid Pack series to date:

✓ The Alpha and his King #1

✓ The Second and His Bonded #2

✓ The Deputy and His Enforcer #3

✓ The Hunter and His Mates #4

◦ The Enforcer and His Heart #5

◦ The Witch and His Doctor #6

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Hunter and His Mates (Kincaid Pack #4) by Kiki Clark – Goodreads

Synopsis:

As personal assistant to a powerful alpha of a large pack, there are certain rules Jamie has for himself to make sure he’s successful at his job.

First, nothing and no one gets to the alpha without his say so.

Second, schedules will be enforced for everyone. At all costs.

Third, a certain Enforcer with an enticing scent and scarred face is not to be stared at, drooled over, and/or daydreamed about.

And fourth, human hunters are never, ever mate material—no matter what their smiles or Southern drawls do to him.

But what if his own rules are preventing Jamie from finding something unique and magical and hotter than he could ever imagine? Because being caught between a grumpy cougar and a dangerous hunter was the last place Jamie thought he should be… but it might just be exactly where he needs to be to find both of his fated mates.

The Hunter and His Mates is the fourth book in the bestselling Kincaid Pack series, which is most enjoyable when read in order. This installment is an MMM romance featuring a scentless human trying to make a home in a pack of shifters, an Enforcer with mild PTSD and a possessive streak a mile wide, and the sweet little hawk who adores them both.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Lunatic (Necessary Evils #6) by Onley James

Rating: 4.5🌈

Lunatic is the latest in James’ Necessary Evils series about a group of psychopaths that were rescued/secured by a man when they were children. He raised them , with love within a family structure, to be killers. Using their natures but redirected towards a better “good”. Assassination of those determined to be criminals that slipped through the law or that were allowed to.

While every previous novel has outlined both the exact nature of the men at the center of the stories and the very complicated relationship they end up in with their lovers. Slowly in the series arc, as another agenda is revealed behind finding and nurturing young psychopaths, the books are slightly changing.

There’s questions that perhaps not all the men are psychopathic as labeled, but sociopaths. There’s discussions of nature versus nurture. And main characters that aren’t part of this system but are part of the outlier dynamics because of other associations. It brings another interesting outside element into what was a previously “closed’ family system.

Half of Lunatic’s pov is Archer Mulvaney. Archer is one of Thomas Mulvaney’s psychopaths he gathered from a institution that “saved” such traumatized children and didn’t know what to do with them. He did. We always get each man’s history at the beginning of each book. Ugly, raw, brutal. They are chilling. Because these are small children when Thomas is called to see them.

And yes, trigger warnings apply. As they will throughout the book. This is dark fiction.

Mackenzie Shepherd, wildlife photographer, brother to a brother psychopath and with a mother, Dr.Shepard, who’s specializes in Psychopathic behavior, is the second pov.

Together they are combustible. They have been hooking up since a Las Vegas meeting, and it’s only one of Archer’s many secrets he’s keeping from his family.

While the other , it’s hard to know what to call them, certainly not romances or love affairs since most of the psychopaths here have a limited or literally unknowable ability to feel love, it might be termed obsession or bond with their significant others. Or as one of the emotional halves puts it, their crazies match.

You got that with the others. Here it’s a bit of a longer road, especially when midway you narratively end up in what is usually in a rom-com storyline thread.

Of course, that goes sideways in the manner of this series, but the tilt in couple and format is just enough to make this a off kilter installment from the others while still playing within the overall arc theme.

Mac and Archer’s relationship , it’s impact upon the family, and possible repercussions, is expanding the series storylines and bringing in new mysteries. It’s doing this while keeping it’s core of Mulvaney siblings and mates intact.

I loved seeing some of my favorites here, the twins Asa and Avi, and their spectacular mates , Zane and Felix respectively. Watching the foursome arrive in the desert was hilarious. I hadn’t realized how perfectly realized this quartet of bonded killers were. How in sync their characters were now perfected. Honestly, I think I need another book with just these four.

But it’s still Archer and Mac’s story. Combined with a heartbreaking tale of sexual trafficking and child abuse. No matter what twist and turns you get, this is still very dark fiction about killers and the worst of criminals.

We have a settled Archer and Mac but are set up with a bit of a cliffhanger for the next story. That’s Maniac, and it’s the story for Thomas Mulvaney, father and head psychopath , and Aiden, the adopted son he disowned.

Can’t wait!

Until then, if dark, disturbing fiction is your thing, I’m recommending Unnecessary Evils. Read them in order to understand family history and dynamics.

Read the trigger warnings.

Necessary Evils series:

🔹Unhinged #1

🔹Psycho #2

🔹Moonstruck #3

🔹Headcase #4

🔹Mad Man #5

🔹Lunatic #6

🔹Maniac #7 – January 17, 2023

https://www.goodreads.com › showLunatic (Necessary Evils, #6) by Onley James – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Every psychopath in the Mulvaney family has a role to play. Archer Mulvaney is the gambler, a drunken reprobate making his living as a high-stakes poker player. Very few people know the real Archer, not even his brothers. But there is one man who knows far too much.

Mackenzie Shepherd spends his days photographing endangered wildlife. He’s also the brother of a sociopath and son to the woman who literally wrote the book on raising one. When his mother asks him to head a secret government project, it seems like the perfect excuse to run away from his life.

But running from his past has Mac colliding straight into Archer. And that’s a problem. For this project to be successful, Mac and Archer have to agree on every decision, and the two see eye-to-eye on nothing. Except, maybe the sex. The sex is off the charts.

When Mac’s old life comes back to haunt him, Archer insists on putting their differences aside to help keep him safe. But Mac, like Archer, is used to solving things on his own. Can they finally stop fighting each other to find the truth, or is their relationship the next thing on the endangered species list?

Lunatic is a filthy hot, enemies to lovers, psychopath romance with an HEA and no cliffhangers. It features a sexy, roguish degenerate and a hunky bleeding heart ginger who love how much they hate each other. As always, there’s gratuitous violence, very dark humor, more blood than a slaughterhouse, and enough heat to melt your metaphorical undies. This is book six in the Necessary Evils series. Each book follows a different couple.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Fluke and the Fantastic Finale (The Fantastic Fluke Book 5) by Sam Burns

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Arcane mage Sage McKinley and his familiar, Fluke’s journey comes to a rousing end in Fluke and the Fantastic Finale.

What a mind blowing, wildly imaginative, wholly entertaining journey it’s been since the first time we meet Sage, suffering until Fluke finds him.

We’ve watched him come into his arcane powers, find love with Gideon, a family with his Grandmother, Anson, cousin Freddy, Mal, Beez, their familiars and all the rest that became a sort of foundation to Sage’s path to power, self-knowledge, and ultimately happiness.

It starts on the same astonishing note Fluke and the Frontier Farce ended. With Sage “accidentally” time traveling all of the group into the waiting room of the California Aureum. One of the most magically secure places in California!

And the start of the revelations as Sage is questioned by the Aureum’s quaesitors. From the existence of arcane magic to the mad cultists, The Believers’ insane plotting that’s extended through the decades, it all comes out and also works as a refresher course for the series.

Of course there’s one last major dramatic event where Sage, Fluke, Gideon and company are needed to save Junction, California and magic from the cultists who have kidnapped, tortured, and in general, been the villains the entire series.

I won’t spoil who the final “villain “ of the series turned out to be. It was a revolving role after all. I’m not sure this one stood up to any of the others but perhaps that’s as it should be. True evil is often so mundane on the surface.

The Convergence plays a fascinating role, and leaves the reader wanting to know more about it as well.

As finales go, it wasn’t superlative but it was very satisfying. Other books in this series were more explosive, more complicated, even more villainous. But this one ties up all the loose ends and gives everyone a heartwarming ending. And a wedding.

That’s pretty wonderful. I’ll take it.

I’m highly recommending Fluke and the Fantastic Finale (The Fantastic Fluke Book 5) by Sam Burns. It was a fabulous series and this sends it off in style.

The Fantastic Fluke Series -5 of 5:

✓ The Fantastic Fluke #1

✓ Fluke and the Failthless Father #2

✓ Fluke and the Faultline Fiasco #3

✓ Fluke and the Frontier Farce #4

✓ Fluke and the Fantastic Finale #5

https://www.goodreads.com › showFluke and the Fantastic Finale by Sam Burns – Goodreads

https://www.amazon.com › Fantastic…The Fantastic Fluke – Kindle edition by Burns, Sam. Literature & Fiction … – Amazon.com

Synopsis:

For centuries, the Believer cult has preyed on arcane mages from their place in the shadows. Now, for better or worse, Sage has taken arcane magic public, and all eyes are on him. While he’s not comfortable in the spotlight, neither is the cult that wants him dead.

But the Believers aren’t quite ready to give up yet.

In this fifth and final book in The Fantastic Fluke series, they’ll take their shot at burning down Sage’s whole network of friends and associates, by whatever means necessary.

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Stroker (Big Bull Mechanics #2) by K.M. Neuhold

Rating: 5🌈

Stroker, second novel in the Big Bull Mechanics series, is such a strong, emotional story. Not just a romance but the journey of two men back together, their individual struggles with their past history (together and their own), and their current shaky status to discover if they can learn to grow and trust enough to have a relationship.

Honestly, the bar has been set high by this story for any that follows it.

Gates, Steele’s 40 ish younger brother, who’s always been a family disaster and vagabond, is someone we met in Crankshaft. Gates was undergoing a personal physical crisis that made him return to his hometown after a significant amount of time traveling around the country.

The mystery and pain hinted at there between Gates and Tallahassee is delved into fully here, along with Gates dealing with the ramifications of his surgery for testicular cancer.

Somehow , the Big Bull Garage works so well as a grounding point for the men of the series and the story. Like a family’s kitchen table, the garage acts like a center where everyone comes together to work, chat, reflect, act as a Greek chorus on each other’s lives. It feels believable and , ‘wipe the grease from your hands’ sort of real.

Tallahassee has been working with Steele, his best friend, hiding the pain that still feels so raw whenever he sees Gates, the man he used to call a friend, the one everyone calls a screwup, the man he married and who left him eight years ago.

Tallahassee is a great character. With a pet parrot with a smutty mouth, Tallahassee’s anguish over Gate’s return, then his illness, then his close proximity is so raw , and torn. Neuhold makes Tal’s indecisiveness and anger absolutely understandable.

But so does the author make us and Tal eventually understand that Gates has been growing up, especially since his operation. He’s making internal changes. Ones the readers are there with him, as the revelations hit. Sad, painful revelations about himself and his decisions. And how they have effected others and his family.

It’s so moving, and emotionally realistic the way Tallahassee and Gates slowly find their way back into each other’s trust and hearts. They communicate, share their fears, and hopes. It’s fragile. Especially when Gates is confronting his fears about his scars and the ramifications from his surgery.

This is what makes this so wonderful to read.

I felt like I was sharing a special moment with them. And Nigel, the parrot, of course.

Stroker is sexy, sensitive, beautifully written with fantastic, well defined characters. One of my favorites!

I’m highly recommending it.

Big Bull Mechanics:

✓ Crankshaft #1

✓ Stroker #2

Book 2 of 2: Big Bull Mechanics

Synopsis:

Is there an easy way to tell your lifelong best friend that you secretly married his brother eight years ago? Asking for a friend…

When Gates shows up needing a place to crash , I offer him my spare room. Whatever happened between us nearly a decade ago is water under the bridge. I don’t lie awake at night wondering what could have been. Nope, definitely not.

But Gates seems determined to get a rise out of me. He’s tie-dyed all my clothes, removed my bedroom door, and replaced my hand soap with lube. I’m not sure if he’s hoping I’ll kick him out or kill him, but he won’t break me that easily.

When he tells me his Stroker Rod is broken… What kind of mechanic am I if I don’t get hands-on with his problem?

We put our feelings behind us a long time ago, and there’s no way I’ll let Gates break my heart again. No amount of fiddling under the hood will fix everything broken between us. From here on out, it’s purely physical. Right?


Yup, just a couple of guys and their stroker rods.

***Stroker is a best friend’s brother, secretly married, super steamy MM romance.

🔹Connected to The Four Bears Construction Company series.

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Balanced and Tied (Marshals #5) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4.75 🌈

Balanced and Tied, fifth in the Marshals series, is a terrific story. It combines the wonderful qualities I love about Mary Calmes characters with a slow to realization love story and a mystery for added suspense.

Uniting the unique worlds of law enforcement and ballet, we have two men whose love for each other has been balanced between deepest friendship and that of something more since the day they met.

Celso Harrington, principal dancer with the Chicago Ballet Company, has long since admitted to himself that what he feels for Eli is definitely more than friendship. But Eli is his everything, including family, and he’s hesitant to go for more.

For Deputy US Marshal Eli Kohn , Cel is his constant. Without even noticing it, Cel is the one he wants to talk to, listen to, and just have near when things have gone wrong. What Eli hasn’t done, is taken a hard look at what that means in terms of a relationship. He’s never thought of himself as bisexual but he hasn’t ruled it out.

Calmes brings us intimately into this established relationship, giving us small memories of their past moments, so we see how they reached their current stage of a unacknowledged partnership that’s deep and fully realized. It’s so believable. And it includes Eli’s Jewish mother, who immediately adopts Cel as part of the family, taking him to synagogue, enveloping him with maternal love and grounding him in the religion that’s so much a part of the Kohn family lives. She’s a wonderful heartwarming element here.

Calmes swings easily between narrators, threading through storylines of law enforcement and ballet events as well as characters from both men’s professions. We get to know many secondary characters when a mystery and dramatic events start to happen when a new ballet is to be staged to great misery.

I wish the one villain had been a little better fleshed out but the rest of the characters, story, and romance was so terrific and entertaining that I can move past that.

Cel and Eli are a great example of friends to lovers trope. They make sense in that they had the relationship already but one just hadn’t made the connection mentally when the emotional elements were already in place. Calmes makes us believe in them and their love.

I’m highly recommending Balanced and Tied (Marshals #5) by Mary Calmes. It works as a standalone so it’s not necessary to have read others in this series.

Marshals series:

◦ All Kinds Of Tied Down #1

◦ Fit To Be Tied #2

◦ Tied Up In Knots #3

◦ Twisted and Tied #4

✓ Balanced and Tied #5

https://www.amazon.com › Balance…Balanced and Tied (Marshals Book 5) – Kindle edition – Amazon.com

Synopsis:

Deputy US Marshal Eli Kohn is doing fine. As the Director of Public Affairs for the Northern District, he represents the USMS in Chicago and that suits him. Yes, it’s wearing to always be on, to smile and wave even in the face of adversity, but he’s good at his job, and no one ever sees him sweat. His personal life, though, has been stagnant, and that doesn’t seem likely to change. But that’s fine too. Eli would much rather spend his free time with his best friend Cel. And lately, when they’re not together, he’s been missing him more and more…

Celso Harrington, principal dancer with the Chicago Ballet Company, has been feeling adrift, yearning for someone to be there for him, to ground him. Strange to find that anchor in a man who caught bad guys for a living. Celso is all about art and beauty; Eli is all about safety and public service. They could not be more different, yet from the moment they met, it felt like they’d known each other forever.

They are exactly what the other needs, and Celso would love them to be more than friends, but he can’t jeopardize what they have, and Eli’s too stuck inside his own head. When events threaten to unravel their carefully built haven, they each must take a chance on the other or risk losing everything.

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: The Second and His Bonded (Kincaid Pack #2) by Kiki Clark

Rating: 4🌈

Kiki Clark continues the saga of a blended shifter pack struggling to survive against a unknown powerful enemy continues with The Second and His Bonded.

With each new installment, the author adds a new layer to the ongoing arc mystery, deepening the suspense and danger to the growing Kincaid pack, especially as more seem to be heading towards the pack as sanctuary.

The McAlllistairs were proven to be enemies. How much is revealed here. But Kieran, a son, also pulls back the abusive nature of his father’s rule as Alpha.

The story is as much about Kieran’s dealing with his own personal history as a McAllistair, his feelings of being an outsider in a new pack, and a survivor of abuse.

That along with a Tiger shifter who’s certain Kieran’s his mate but uncertain that tigers are even capable of a mate bond that wolves have.

Lots of complications here to go with the arc storylines and dramatic events to move everything forward.

It’s fast paced, exciting, and the characters easy to connect with. I read right through and was ready for the next book in the series.

The mystery has me hooked!

Definitely a recommendation from me.

Kincaid Pack series to date:

✓ The Alpha and his King #1

✓ The Second and His Bonded #2

◦ The Deputy and His Enforcer #3

◦ The Hunter and His Mates #4

◦ The Enforcer and His Heart #5

◦ The Witch and His Doctor #6

The Second and His Bonded (Kincaid Pack Book 2)

Synopsis:

As the son of an enemy, Kieran never expected to find a family with the Kincaid Pack… or a true mate’s bond.

After barely escaping his abusive family, wolf shifter Kieran McAllister struggles to find his place in the Kincaid Pack. Especially with the pushy but gorgeous second-in-command showing up every time Kieran turns around… and making him want things he shouldn’t.

The traumatized wolf who continuously refuses Bennett Young’s help has begun to haunt his dreams. But if there’s one thing he knows, it’s that tiger shifters don’t have mates. So why can’t Bennett get Kieran’s sad eyes out of his head?

Despite their differences, Kieran and Bennet find something they never expected in each other. Just as their bond begins to grow though, Kieran’s past threatens to destroy the very pack they both have been fighting to protect.

The Second and His Bonded is the second book in the Kincaid Pack series and features an overprotective tiger, a touch-starved wolf, lots of purring, an excessive amount of sunbathing, and a happily ever after.

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Blade (Boston Rebels Book 5) by RJ Scott and V.L. Locey

Rating: 5🌈

Blade, the 5th novel in the Boston Rebels series, is absolutely my favorite story to date. Even with the issues I’ve mentioned when reviewing some of the preceding books still present, the storylines, the outstanding characters, and their quietly remarkable romance shine so strongly that everything else is forgotten.

We are given two main characters, with different traumatic events in their background. Both stem from catastrophic events.

For former Boston Rebels hockey player, Moral “Dunny” Dunkirk, it’s a plane accident that has left him a depressed amputee without his team and unable to go forward.

Cooper Harvey, inventor and billionaire, was orphaned at a early age in an volcanic explosion, that came close to taking his and his uncle’s. A brilliant inventor as well as owner of a enormous company which uses his inventions in multiple ways, Cooper is autistic which makes relying on a special circle of people necessary in order to navigate life .

In every way, through dialogue, detailed scenes, the authors knowledge of people who have or are struggling with PTSD, adjusting to life as a amputee, the loss of a lifetime passion and love of hockey, depression, the challenges someone who is autistic faces throughout their lifetime, from bullying in school to prejudice in the board of directors.

It’s such a deeply honest and emotional display of men at their most raw and flayed. Watching Dunny rebuild his life with the help and love of Cooper is so heartwarming, so heartfelt that you want to reread passages as soon as you finish them.

I laughed at Cooper’s jokes, and cried with Dunny at each step forward he made. And together, they were quietly unstoppable.

I wasn’t ready for their story to finish. As I’ve remarked before, this really isn’t about a team as it is the men leaving it. I have zero feelings about the Rebels. But about Dunny and Cooper? They are everything!

I could see a series about a sled team. Now THAT would be something to read about.

I’m highly recommending Blade (Boston Rebels Book 5) by RJ Scott and V.L. Locey. It is easily the finest book in the series or contemporary romance I’ve read lately.

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

Boston Rebels:

🔹Top Shelf #1

🔹Back Check #2

🔹Snowed #3

🔹Royal Lines #4

🔹Blade #5

Synopsis:

Love doesn’t have a formula. It’s messy, unpredictable, and impossible to control for the autistic billionaire inventor and the hockey player who believes he’s lost everything.

Moral “Dunny” Dunkirk has a passion for life. A robust outdoorsman, lover of life, and one of the Boston Rebels fan favorites, Dunny has always embraced excitement and the drive to try new things. During his inaugural flight behind the controls of a small plane, the fates decide to test his mettle in a way that he had never envisioned. When everything crashes down around him, he’s lost in depression and alone in his cabin, facing an existence that is nothing like the one he previously led. Desperate to find some hope, Dunny reaches out to The Harvey Foundation who might be able to help, and he soon finds himself being lifted out of the pit of darkness he’d fallen into one shy uplifting smile at a time.

Accidental billionaire and inventor Cooper Harvey is only happy in the seclusion of his lab, creating new and wonderful things he is sure will make the world a better place. Being on the spectrum, he knows being autistic means he’s different to others, but it’s in a good way, and it only makes him better at what he does. Other than being blackmailed into spending every fourth Sunday at his PA’s house for dinner, he avoids the chaos of the world, and if that means no social life, then he’s okay with that. In the most splendid isolation money can buy, he escapes the complicated and difficult emotions surrounding attraction, and his single-minded focus means that sex and love have never appeared on his list. When his latest invention reaches the testing stage, he would normally hand it over to his development team, but a chance meeting with the test subject makes him rethink. Something about the hockey player who’d lost it all makes him think life isn’t all about measured chemical reactions, and sometimes it’s just about the craziness of love.

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: How Not To Marry a Prince by Megan Derr

Rating: 3.5🌈

How Not To Marry a Prince by Megan Derr is a very sweet fantasy romance, very typical of Derr in terms of location and types of characters.

I found myself delighted by the main character, Prince Amador, his love of numbers, and, romance. Amador is such a kind, sweet endearing person. That makes the idea of people drawn to his personality and warmth understandable. And the romance that follows believable.

The thing that throws the book and entire story off is that the beginning chapter has been placed at the end of the novel.

Now whether this is by choice or accident I have no idea. But it’s highly annoying. You miss Prince Amador’s arrival into the kingdom and all sorts of important information.

So if you’re going to read this story, go to the back of the book, read the first chapter there, then proceed with the rest of the story.

It’s really why it didn’t get a higher rating.

If a book is for sale, and this is a accidental format issue, fix it. If this is on purpose, well, I found it irritating.

Still a sweet story.

https://www.amazon.com › How-Ma…How Not to Marry a Prince – Kindle edition – Amazon.com

Synopsis:

At the ancient, doddering age of thirty, it’s long past time Prince Amador married, at least according to his domineering family. Determined to see the matter attended at last, they have issued an ultimatum: find a betrothed before the year is out, or he’ll be sent off to marry Prince Ottokar, Crown Prince of their oldest enemy, a man Amador has hated and feared for nearly all his life.

Desperate to avoid that fate, he has one last chance: to win the affections of Prince Nazaire, who has notoriously turned away every single suitor barely before they make their introduction. When he arrives, though, Amador finds not a snooty prince impossible to please, but a castle so brimming with secrets and romantic pining that the whole mess would be worthy of a bard’s tale.

If there’s one thing Amador loves more than mischief, it’s romance. He won’t ever be happy in his own marriage, but here’s a chance to see that others will be happy in theirs—and if he’s lucky, they’ll all be so pleased with the results that the quiet, handsome King Sohan will insist that he remain to help with other matters.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Notorious (Shifter Scoundrels #1) by Macy Blake and Charlie Cochet

Rating: 4.5🌈

Cochet and Blake start a new paranormal series with Notorious, a story that combines shifters, Regency romance, political intrigue, murder, and a series arc mysteries.

That’s a lot to handle but it works somehow. Even with a universe ,who’s foundation that needs more weight in terms of solid information and history , the current Shifter Monarchy is intriguing, with its modern perspective and Regency structure. I really appreciated how the authors adapted certain aspects of this era of this to their story and look forward to seeing more.

The emotional components, especially that which sets off the heartbreaking events to follow the rest of the book and series, is so well written. You don’t even know the characters, yet they and the situation pulls at your heart.

I really enjoyed getting to know both characters and their respective “families “ from each person’s pov. So different, Caspian Drake, Fox shifter, and , Saphir Vepkhia, tiger shifter. Each with their various roles to play in the Royal family’s life before the tragedy, and then afterwards.

Watching them apart and then together is entertaining, romantic, and, highly addictive as they both investigate the events of the past.

Notorious ends with this pair in a very satisfying situation (no spoilers), but the mystery, which is part of the series arc, continues.

I can’t wait for the next story and couple. Until then, I’m definitely recommending Notorious!

Shifter Scoundrels:

✓ Notorious #1

◦ Dangerous #2 – TBD

https://www.amazon.com › Notorio…Notorious (Shifter Scoundrels Book 1) – Kindle edition – Amazon.com

Synopsis:

IF YOU CAN’T BE GOOD, BE NOTORIOUS

Caspian Drake knows what it takes to get ahead in modern-day shifter society. He is an Earl, after all, and known for his wit, style, and ability to charm the pants off of anyone he chooses. Getting his best friend Brandr, the Prince of the Dragons, in and out of trouble is only one of his many talents. When a horrible attack shakes Cas’s world, he’s forced to pair up with Saphir Vepkhia, the esteemed tiger shifter and former Captain of the Royal Guard.

Upon retirement, Saphir is granted the title of Baron Archer and, much to his dismay, becomes part of royal society. Years later, when he’s summoned to the palace, the last thing Saphir expects is for the king to request a favor that ties him to the scoundrel, Caspian Drake. Despite his misgivings, Saphir accepts the assignment, knowing it will give him the access he needs to infiltrate the wealthy and powerful while trying not to get outfoxed by the exasperating Earl.

Forced into a fake relationship by an outdated matchmaking ritual, Cas and Saphir each face the upcoming season with their own agenda. The secrets pile up as the two mates navigate the complexities of a modern world that plays by historic rules. But the closer they get to the truth, the greater the danger–and their attraction to each other–grows.

With their lives on the line and the very foundations of their society at risk, Cas and Saphir must unravel the mystery, even if it means creating a scandal more notorious than their newfound love.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.