A Stella Review: Thirty Things by Cate Ashwood

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

All their lives, Finn and Nate have been inseparable, sharing everything, and when a childhood accident left Finn broken, Nate stood by his side as all his other friends left. After all their years together, there’s one secret Finn still hasn’t revealed: he has been in love with Nate since they were eight years old. Hiding his feelings for twenty-one years—terrified of what might happen if Nate ever found out—has been difficult, but losing his best friend would be worse than living with a bad case of unrequited love.

Unfortunately for Finn, Nate doesn’t make it easy.  Nate believes there are some things that just have to be done before your thirtieth birthday. As a gift to Finn, he plans an adventure to check off a list of thirty things to experience before hitting that milestone. Starting in Crawfordsville, Indiana, they tour the country, trying new things and meeting interesting new people. Nate’s having the time of his life, but he can tell Finn is holding something back. As the days count down, navigating the back roads suddenly seems easier than figuring out where their relationship is heading.  One thing’s for certain. There will be no turning back.

Thirty Things by Cate Ashwood was a perfect reading, it caught me from the start. I simply loved it! I don’t have a lot to say about it. Do you ever have that feeling of satisfaction and completeness when you have just finished a book? When you have nothing to complain about, just good feelings? Thirty Things was like that to me. I’m a huge fan of Cate Ashwood works. I love how she writes and in particular Keeping Sweets is one of the first mm books I ever read. It stayed in my heart and I was so happy to found a little (very little) more about Evan and Bran in this book too.

There’s nothing special in this book, and when I say nothing special I mean there’s no drama, no angst, no mystery to solve, but this book is special. It was a joy to read. So peaceful, light, easy, hopeful, entertaining from page one till the end. I can’t find one little reason to give Thirty Things less than five stars.

Nate and Finn are best friends since kindergarten, they live together, Nate is a writer and Finn is an editor. Finn has been in love with Nate for twenty-one years, but Nate is straight. Just when he starts thinking it’s time to put a little space between them and maybe start looking for someone else, Nate treats him with a road trip for his thirtieth birthday, with a list of thirty things to do before he turns thirty. We’ll see them going through scary bungee jumping, spending an amazing night in a tree-houses, watching delusional rodeo shows, but most of all they will discover that the fear of losing a true friendship like the one they have has no real basis. Sometimes being with someone who knows you better than you know yourself is the most beautiful things that can happened in your life.

These two guys have a beautiful friendship. Nate in particular was the only one to stay by Finn side when Finn, only seven years old, had a bad accident that left him with a reduced mobility in the legs.

“I am so proud of you, every day, for doing what you do. I know you’re in pain, and you never show it. You are the strongest person I know, but sometimes strength means accepting help from other people. I have always been, and will always be here to support you. It’s not a sign of weakness to fall on me if you need me. I will always catch you. So let me catch you, Finn.”

I think it’s the first time I read a “friends to lovers” story in which the author decides to approach the switch from friends to lovers in a so easy way. It was a pleasure to read it. We get some glimpse of their life together, some important moments to remember, but the story isn’t made of them, it’s made of present events. Moreover I usually prefer to have an alternate POV between MCs so I can be able to know both of them better. In this book we get just Finn prospective and I didn’t need Nate’s one. It felt complete to me.

Highly recommended!

Cover art by Alexandria Corza. I loved the book and I loved the cover. It gave me the same peaceful feeling and it represents the story perfectly.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

Published April 3rd 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ebook, 210 pages, also available in paperback
ISBN13 9781632169006
Edition language English

A Stella Review: A Beginner’s Guide to Wooing Your Mate (Being(s) in Love #3) by R. Cooper

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Zeki Janowitz has returned to his hometown of Wolf’s Paw to start his wizarding career. Unfortunately, Wolf’s Paw, a werewolf refuge, follows centuries of tradition and shuns human magic and a very human Zeki. He knows he’s in for a struggle, but a part of him has always belonged in the mountain town, or rather belonged to Theo Greenleaf. Years away at school haven’t lessened Zeki’s crush on the quiet werewolf. When town gossip informs him Theo still suffers from his mate’s rejection and does not date, it does little to ease Zeki’s embarrassing feelings. He decides now’s the time to get the man he’s always wanted.

Werewolves usually don’t recover from losing their mates, and Theo barely pulled through by focusing on his love of baking. It’s a daily struggle, and Zeki’s return to Wolf’s Paw shatters his peace. Theo doesn’t know what to think when Zeki attempts to woo him, talking about his wizarding business and settling in town for good. It’s like Zeki doesn’t have a clue how his words years before left Theo a shell of a werewolf.  Beginners in love, Theo and Zeki must seduce each other with a bit of heavenly baking and magic.

A Beginner’s Guide To Wooing Your Mate by R Cooper is almost a second chance at love story, almost cause they weren’t exactly together the first time. After five years apart it’s finally time for our MCs to have their happy ending.

In a world where humans, werewolves and other beings live together, Zeki is a shy, young human wizard. He just got back to Wolf’s Paw after being away to study. He returns to live with his dad while trying to get a job. Theo is a fireman werewolf and Zeki’s high school crush. After having been rejected from his mate, he is surviving as best as he can. Finding out his mate he’s back in town, will shake Theo badly. It seems both Zeki and Theo are determined to have some happiness, but who is going to woo whom?

The book left me thinking a lot. I was afraid to have missed something, at the end I understood it was just disappointment. I read a couple of other books by R. Cooper and really enjoyed them. This one wasn’t a winner to me. It left me confused and hungry for more of Zeki and Theo together.

I don’t know how to explain it well, but I found the author’s writing style different. It was still endearing, but a little harder to read, sometimes with too long sentences. I had a hard time getting used to it. Moreover she chose to focus the writing more on the werewolves world and its rules, than show us Theo and Zeki together. She explained really well the world we were going to read about, I knew every little detail but I missed the chemistry between the MCs, because during the book they met and spoke directly a very few times. In fact if you like a slow burn story this is your book, cause really, nothing happens between them until two-thirds in.

At the same time what I loved in this book is the fact that I was able to feel the characters, feel their emotions. The author made an amazing work at showing to us what they are thinking, what’s bothering them, everything that came from within their minds and hearts.

Also there were some funny scenes, Zeki’s attack of verbal diarrhea were hilarious and I often found myself take a breath for him. While Theo didn’t speak through all the book, only at the end. Perfect for each other.

I loved the title, as soon as I saw it I wanted it. The point is, in my opinion, it’s misleading, it doesn’t fit the story. I was so curious about how to wooing your mate, but they actually courting didn’t happen or better, it happened but it wasn’t showed to us. Even the dates are showed to us as Theo remember them briefly.

So to me A Beginner’s Guide To Wooing Your Mate wasn’t what I was expecting from R. Cooper, nonetheless a good story, I just would have preferred it was delivered in a better way.

Cover art by Paul Richmond. A fabulous cover, like all the other works by Paul!

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

Published March 13th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press LLC
ebook, 200 pages
ISBN13 9781632168207
Edition language English
Being(s) in Love series
Some Kind Of Magic #1
A Boy And His Dragon #2
A Beginner’s Guide To Wooing Your Mate #3

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A Stella Review: Yes by Brad Boney ( a Double Dipping Review)

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

What if youth wasn’t wasted on the young?  

On the eve of his fortieth birthday, Ian Parker is looking for a reboot. He may be the proud owner of a trendy coffee shop in Austin called La Tazza Magica, but his love life has been MIA for years. During a trip to Denver with his best friend, Mark, Ian buys an enchanted chocolate from a mysterious candy store—then wakes up from a nap two decades younger. After the initial shock, Ian realizes a quirk of the universe has given him a second chance and, with Mark’s help, he devises a plan to start over.  With a new lease on life, Ian sets his sights on handsome architect Bartley James, a regular customer at La Tazza. He pursues Bartley as Ian’s twenty-one-year-old alter ego, Ryan, with decidedly unexpected results. Joining Ryan on his adventures are Matthew, the dreamy new barista, Jeremy, the geeky high-school math teacher, and Sam, the pizza delivery boy. Even as misunderstandings and expectations collide, Ian remains determined to right his past mistakes and find his off-ramp to happiness.

Be careful what you wish for cause you just might get it!

The glow from the flame threw shadows around the kitchen as he sang “Happy Birthday” to himself. Then he closed his eyes and blew out the candle. Since no one could hear him, Ian didn’t see any harm in saying it out loud.

“I wish I could go back and do it all over again.”

Ian is the forty years old owner of “La Tazza Magica”, an European style cafè, a place for writes, students and players to come. Ian is a lonely man, apart from his coffee shop, he has very few people in his life, Mark is one of them. Ian is going to Denver with his friend to celebrate his fortieth birthday. During his time in Denver, he buys a chocolate kiss called Manick Butter (with pot in it) and eats it on the plane coming back to Austin. He takes a nap and when he wakes up he looks twenty years younger. After the initial shock, he and Mark will work on planning a new identity to Ian. So Ian becomes Ryan and he will use this second chance to remedy all the mistakes he made in his previous life and maybe to have a real chance at dating Bartley, one of his customers and biggest crush.

Yes by Brad Boney is one of that books that leave me thinking about them for long time, especially cause I’m still not sure if I liked it or not. Brad Boney is an author I really appreciate. He’s really good with words and his stories are always so interesting. The writing is enchanting. I couldn’t put the book down till the end. And it happens to me every time I read a book by Brad Boney, I’m glad to have read it.

Of course this book is a standalone, but I’m wondering why all Boney’s books (and I’m thinking about The Return, The Eskimo Slugger and The Nothingness Of Ben) aren’t part of a series, since the MCs of each story can be found in all these books, maybe it could be simple for the readers. Of course having read the other books first helped, but I honestly don’t think you’ll miss something in this book if you haven’t.

There are some recurrent elements in Boney’s books. First of all there are a lot of movies, songs, television characters mentions, sometimes I didn’t get them being Italian but I enjoyed them. In The Return we got a lot of discussions about songs and singers, while in Yes we had a really great discussion on the story of the porn and its actors. And I’m mentioning just one dialogue.

Then, what I loved in all of his books is the great second characters cast, we always get a lot of people, a lot of background, a lot of details. In Yes we meet Quentin, the smarter brother of Ben (The Nothingness Of Ben) and all the Walsh clan too. We meet Topher and the wonderful people of The Return. Most of all, we know Mark, who supports and accepts the change in Ian with not so much fussing. A friend that helps you no matter what, even in crazy and magical times. In fact, in Boney’s books there’s always a paranormal (or magical) aspect that brings the MCs together.

Yea has a mysterious aurea as in The Return, even if not in the same way but it missed the emotional parts of The Return and the chemistry of The Nothingness Of Ben. Yes is a light reading, an easy and pleasurable one. There are some funny moments too, like this scene:

“This is the test I was talking about. Read a couple of sentences.”
“Why?”
“I saw it on Teen Wolf. Stiles said you can’t read when you’re dreaming. We need to eliminate the possibility that this is a hallucination.”
“So that’s your first move? You’re taking a cue from an MTV show about werewolves? What happened to a logical explanation?”

My problem, if it can be called problem, was that I couldn’t like Ian as Ryan, he did some really nasty and insane things in my opinion, he definitely didn’t learn from his past mistakes. Ian wakes up in a younger body but he is still Ian inside, so why does he behave as a teen? I couldn’t go past a couple of things: SPOILER

Let’s talk a little about the ending. Briefly it was an unexpected disappointment. The story resolved in the simplest way you can think of. Okay it’s a book, okay believing in a couple of things not everybody believes in, but it felt short to me, just too simplistic. Boney took me to other levels in the past. In Yes at the end it was almost as nothing had ever happened and it’s not a good feeling when you’re done with a book and you don’t know what to do about it. I’m still thinking I missed something.

So if you read the previous books by Brad Boney, you’ll know what to expect. Yes is a well written, funny and smart book. You will meet and know more about the characters you loved in them. I am really sorry to say that this one wasn’t so great as the others.

Cover art by Alex Saskalidis. This cover is something different and very welcomed. Well done.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It Here

BOOK DETAILS

Published March 16th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ebook, 220 pages
ISBN13 9781632168429
Edition language English

DSP

A Stella Review: He’s Just Knot That Into You by Nico Jaye

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

When Tanner moves to Chicago for a new job, he experiences his First Shift, a revelation that signifies he’s met his mate since the last full moon. The only problem? He doesn’t know who it is. To find his mate, he enlists his new assistant Jon to arrange a series of dates, but each one turns out more disastrous than the last.  With the next full moon quickly approaching, Tanner finally determines the identity of his true mate. Unfortunately, Jon has since disappeared, and Tanner must now begin a new search. Is it really Jon’s family crisis pulling him away, or is Jon just not that into him?

Are you ready for a hot encounter between a lycan and mashed potato? LOL

Tanner is a thirty years old werewolf, he just moved to Chicago to work at The Dilarium, a small publishing company. He’s almost resigned to be alone, when he had the First Shift, meaning he has found his mate. He only needs to understand who he is.

Jon is his adorable assistant, the one with cute bowtie and tortoiseshell glasses. He is Tanner’s mate but the Lycan is not aware of him yet. Tanner has only twenty-nine days to find his mate. With Jon help, he set up some meetings with potential mates. While looking for a mate in a married man, a playboy one and a vegetarian one, Tanner will realize Jon is the only one to date.

He’s Just Knot That Into You is a very particular book, I never read about a shifter searching for his mate like that. It has a unique premise, with interesting new aspects on the shifters’ world. But what happened with the title? I love it and the “knot” part is assured with some steamy sex, but the “not that into you” part confuses me, the MCs are obviously into each other as soon as they knew they were mates.

I admit that the title and the cover caught my attention at first sight. I was so ready for a sweet and cute story and I wasn’t disappointed. Only one thing, I didn’t enjoy the ending. First, in my opinion there was no need for the final ending scenes, it is a light book, but most of all it left me with a lot of unanswered questions. It felt almost forced but it didn’t get enough pages. I think that space could have been easily used to develop and show us more of Tanner and Jon together. I wasn’t able to feel a connection between them yet. I’m hoping for a sequel and I’m wondering if there is a chance for a second story with some male pregnancy elements.

Cover art by Anna Sikorska. A really cute cover with an unusual use of the yellow color. Well done.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

Published March 18th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ebook, 127 pages
ISBN13 9781632168238
Edition language English

A Stella Review: The Fifth Son by Blaine D. Arden

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

A prince without power…

  In a land where magic is commonplace, Prince Llyskel has none. He can’t command spells, he has never been taught to fight, and as the fifth son of the King, he will never rule. Everyone believes he’s a weakling, most of all himself.  Powerlessness is Llyskel’s problem—and his pleasure. In his secret fantasies, the prince dreams of nothing more than finding himself helpless at another man’s hands… particularly the hands of Captain Ariv of the Guards.

Then Ariv makes Llyskel’s dream a reality, and as the powerless prince surrenders to the soldier’s desire, he finds his own true strength at last. But a web of royal politics is closing around Llyskel, threatening to tear him from his lover, and it will take all his newfound courage to escape…  Contains five shaded black-and-white illustrations by Yana Goya

I can officially say I’m becoming a fantasy girl! I’m reading a lot of fantasy books lately and I’m really loving them. This one too. A really well done short story and the beautiful black and white illustrations helped me to visualize better the MCs. The Fifth Son was only the first book I read by Blaine D. Arden but it surely will not be the last. I loved the writing, the plot, the setting, almost everything, except I’d really like to read a little more about this two young men.

I don’t want to linger on the story, the blurb tells you already enough and being a short one, I don’t want to spoil your reading. What I’d like to talk about is the writing. I was really impressed, it’s not only well written book but what I loved the most was the feeling I got while I was reading about the prince and the captain. I was able to feel myself in the story, to see the places they were, the author was very good at bring me with her in a beautiful, colorful world full of magic.

Moreover I wasn’t expecting the little kink aspect in the story. The sweet Llyskel and the protective Ariv were explosive in bed. Having no magic powers at all, Llyskel is almost consider an outcast, but never from his lover and his family. The captain was so supportive of the prince in and out of the bed. And the courting ritual was romantic and cute.

The Fifth Son by Blaine D. Arden is sweet fairytale with some mystery and action thrown in it, nothing too heavy, but a little something that made the story not just a sweet romance but a really interesting and engaging one. I was conquered! Now I’m just hoping the author will give me a chance to read one more installment in this great world building. Highly recommended!

Cover art by Simoné. In this case it was the cover that caught my attention. I love it, the colors, the details, everything fit the story perfectly.

Sales Links: All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

Published November 28th 2014 by Cayendi Press
2nd Edition, ebook, 76 pages

A Stella Review: Two Howls (ALPHAS #4) by Sean Michael

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Max is on the run, but is he running from his past, or toward his future? Only Ulf knows…  Werewolf Max knows desiring males is wrong, but he can’t help himself. When his pack nearly kills him in an attempt to cleanse him, Max runs. Jumping on his motorcycle, he heads north.  Ulf has lived on his own in the wilds of Northern Ontario for a long time. When he catches the scent of a stranger in his territory, he’s angry at first, until he realizes that Max is more than just another werewolf. They’re mates.  Ulf must make Max believe that two males can be mates, but just as he’s about to succeed, Max’s past catches up with him. Will the home they’ve been hoping to build together be lost for good?

I’d like to do a little premise. Two Howls by Sean Michael is the second book I read in this new ALPHA series from All Romance eBooks. I read and reviewed Jumping In by Cardeno C too. Sean Michael and Cardeno C are two of my fave authors, but in my opinion in this series something didn’t work it well. As I already said in the previous review, in this case too, Two Howls didn’t do justice to Sean’s works. Of course the choice to publish stories so short didn’t help with the plot but it can’t be used as a excuse. Nevertheless I was left with a lot of blanks to fill.

The little plot we got is really interesting. Max is on the run, he escaped from his homophobic pack that almost killed him, just cause he’s a gay wolf. He finds a lonely little cabin in the woods and decides to stop there to rest for a while. What he doesn’t know is that the cabin isn’t abandoned but it’s where another werewolf lives, not just anyone but his mate.

The rest of the story shows us a lot of sex between Ulf and Max, used as a way to persuade Max that they are truly mates and that he needs to learn to trust Max and his protection. There is some action at the end that definitely improved my enjoyment.

It was an ok-read to me, maybe in some way a typical shifters story, but if you like alpha men, hot shifters and abused characters, you can give a chance to Two Howls.

Cover art by unknown. Nothing great about it but I like it, especially the choice of the colors.

Sales Links: Available only at All Romance (ARe) Buy It Here

Book Details:

Published February 4th 2015 by OmniLit / All Romance eBooks, LLC
ebook, 56 pages
ASIN B00U37BOU0
Edition language English
SERIES Alphas #4

A Stella Review: The Belgian Chocolate Remedy by Julie Lynn Hayes

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Milan, a Belgian chocolatier, lost his beloved brother. Yet life goes on, and he must ready his booth for Outfest—Ludolf would have wanted him to carry on. Jesse is a rudderless soul, unable to cope with the rejection of his lover. He comes to Lafayette, Indiana at the request of his best friend, Reggie. She inveigles him into helping her friend Milan…A way to pass the time, or something more?

The Belgian Chocolate Remedy by Julie Lynn Hayes is a really short and sweet story, romantic and sad.Milan is a chocolatier who has just lost his brother Ludolf in a car accident. They moved to Lafayette from Belgium to open a candy store but now without Ludolf he still have to open it and most of all he needs help to get ready for the Lafayette Outfest, the annual display of gay pride. Luckly his best friend Reggie has found the perfect assistant.

Jesse is having a hard time too both in his personal life than in the working one. But now he is interested in another guy, Milan, for the first time after so long and he has no idea how to act on it.

What I loved is the feeling of hope that fills all the story, even thought Milan and Jesse seemed to be lost and insecure of everything. This is what made the book special.

Of course the relationship rushes through the end but this is a really short story, just 29 pages, it couldn’t have been otherwise. Nonetheless I’m sure these two characters deserve a little more development, maybe in a sequel.

So if you are in a mood for something sweet and quick, The Belgian Chocolate Remedy is the right book.
Cover Art by Latrisha Waters. Love it. It makes me hungry!

Sales Links: eXtasy Books Amazon Buy It Here

BOOK DETAILS
Published February 1st 2015 by eXtasy Books
ebook, 29 pages
ISBN13 9781487402211
Edition language English

A Stella Review: Jumping In (ALPHAS #6) by Cardeno C.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

When love’s on the line, the brave jump in with both feet…

  Small town cop Clint Rivera can’t catch a break. His ex of two weeks is suddenly getting married, his dogs tore up his furniture, he’s getting evicted, and he’s out of beer. When he decides to solve his alcohol shortage by going to his ex’s engagement party, Clint winds up too drunk to drive himself home.  Enter gorgeous deputy mayor Hawk Black, the man who constantly shows up unexpectedly and sends Clint’s body and mind into a tailspin with nothing but his whiskey voice and blue eyes. After months of patience, Hawk can finally seduce the man he’s been craving.  Clint’s day might not have started out well, but Hawk’s going to make sure it ends with a bang, preferably in bed. He’ll show Clint some rewards are worth the risk. With love on the line, Clint will need to decide if he can open his heart, tear down his shields, and jump in with both feet.

Jumping In by Cardeno C is the story of Clint, a small town cop, and Hawk, the new deputy mayor. Clint moved halfway across the country to start a new life, but being in the closet isn’t what he was looking for. So after breaking up with his boyfriend and camping for two weeks with his two delicious puppies, he comes home to discover his ex boyfriend (of just two weeks) is going to be married. This news will be just the first of a few things that will make his day really bad . Luckly at the end of it, he will find a hot deputy who knows everything about his life and is just waiting for Clint to open his eyes and his heart, only if Clint can stop fantasizing and thinking out loud about Hawk’s (lack of) underwear while talking to him!

This is the first book I read in the ALPHAS series from All Romance eBooks. I was really hoping in something better but I can understand the story, being so short, couldn’t be more developed and everything moved very quickly. Cardeno C is an auto buy author to me, I can see her style in it but Jumping In definitely doesn’t do justice to her works.

This too short story was a funny and light read, romantic but not so realistic to me as the previous books I read by the same author. Nevertheless I liked it. We have two sexy alpha men simply explosive together and the sex really hot. I loved the chemistry between them and the dialogues too, made the story very engaging.

Cover artist- unknown. Nothing special about not just this one but the covers of all the series. Not a bad one but surely not eye catching.

Sales Links: Available only at All Romance (ARe)

Published February 6th 2015 by OmniLit / All Romance eBooks, LLC
ebook, 58 pages
ISBN13 9781936387830
Edition language English
Series: ARe Alphas, #6

A Stella Review: Guns ‘N Boys: Homicidal Instinct by K.A. Merikan

Rating 5 stars out of 5

— You can take a killer’s memory, but not his instinct —

  All Seth wants is to live free with the man he loves. But escaping death at the hands of the mafia is just the beginning of an uphill struggle. When Domenico wakes up from his impromptu surgery and doesn’t even remember Seth’s name, Seth’s world falls apart. Suddenly it’s him who has to plan an escape from New York City and navigate their way to Mexico. All that without even knowing if the man of his life will ever love him again.

Domenico doesn’t know who to trust and what to believe. The man who introduces himself as his brother seems to hide dark secrets behind a cheerful smile. With the mafia breathing down their necks, there is no time to piece together the puzzle of Domenico’s life, and each time he thinks he’s solved it, a new part appears to be missing. Dom needs to find out who he really is, what he’s capable of… and what is the real story hidden behind Seth’s intense eyes.

Review Note: (contain spoilers on the previous books)

I love the Guns ‘n Boys series, I think it’s one of my all time favourite series. I find it so addictive, every time I have my hands on the another book I get so excited I lose my mind. This one overwhelmed me in some parts, definitely in a good way.

This book starts where Guns n’ Boys: Book 1, Part 2 (Guns n’ Boys, #1.2) ended, with Dom almost dead after being shot by the Mafia and Seth taking care of him, thanks to the help of his ex boyfriend Peter. It’s absolutely necessary that Dom recovers very fast because they have the Mafia one little step behind them and they need to escape to Mexico. Since Dom can’t remember anything, even his brother/lover’s name, Seth needs to be the one in control, to be the man Dom needs him to be. Now, if you have read the previous books you know who is Seth and what he is (incredibly) capable of, so you know what to expect. I knew Seth, the sweetest mafioso ever, but I can admit I wasn’t ready for him to be so stupid! The things he did in Homicidal Instinct, really, sometimes I so wanted to jump in the book and shoot to him myself. He not only thought but actually did some things so improbable I’m still not sure how the authors were able to make them realistic and believable to me.

Dom too is our lovely Dom, even without his memory he is still arrogant, bossy, and badass. He’s lost his memory but not his modesty: “I could have been a model” (looking at his photo). I love them together, especially when they are bitching at each other, about a stupid leather jacket or about their not so sane jealousy.

I don’t want to spoiler but I’d like to say that I’m really happy I got a couple of explanations or revelations, a little part of me was disappointed but even if I tend to forget the things that bothered me in this series, I was glad to see them resolved.

What I loved more about this book 2 was Dom and the fact that I could see new traits of his character, the tenderness and a light insecurity, sweeter in some scene but still hard and violent in others. The book is a rollercoaster of emotions and new adventures and in my opinion it’s more focused on Seth and Dom as a couple. In some ways I found it a relaxing reading. That’s why I wasn’t ready for the ending part, it caught me unawares and left me shaky.

Every time I read a new book written by these two girls, I always think it’s their best one. They write so well together, every scene is unique and precious, every detail so perfect. I can’t praise them enough. Apart from the story, I do love their style, beautiful and fluent. Some dialogues, like the one between Seth and Neil, are so hilarious and over the top, like only K.A. can do. Plus, they are planning so many books in the series, I’m so curious where my heroes will be in the future and how Dom could resist the temptation to shoot Seth and his stupidity.

Highly recommended!

Cover art by Natasha Snow. It’s a well done cover but I’m in love with the cover of the previous book and I’m sorry to say this one can’t compete with it.

Sales Links: Smashwords All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

Published February 5th 2015 by Acerbi & Villani ltd.
ebook, 208 pages
ISBN13 9781310927164
Edition language English
Guns n’ Boys Series in the order they were written and should be read;
Guns n’ Boys: Book 1, Part 1 (Guns n’ Boys, #1.1)
Guns n’ Boys: Book 1, Part 2 (Guns n’ Boys, #1.2)
Guns n’ Boys: Paris (Guns n’ Boys, #1.3)
Guns n’ Boys: Homicidal Instinct (Guns n’ Boys, #2)

A Stella Review: Bratty Angel by Chris T. Kat

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

A bratty angel…

First Patrick is accosted by a hellhound with a yen for fries and ketchup. Then he encounters a beautiful, but bratty, angel who doesn’t seem to understand the concept of ‘no’… or personal space. Not to mention he demands Patrick pleasure him, which Patrick refuses to do. So why does Patrick feel a connection to this unruly seraphim? And why can’t he forget him?  Two weeks later, the brat is back, making more demands. But Patrick makes it clear he doesn’t do demands. That should be the end of it, right? Or not… Maybe there’s more to this bratty angel than meets the eye. If Patrick has the patience to get past his bratty ways.

A bratty angel with a hellhound as pet!

Forget everything you know about angels and hellhounds. Chris T Kat rewrote all the rules, showing us an hellhound scared of a little cat and an angel specialized in pouting.

In a world where the humans and the supernaturals aren’t separated anymore, Patrick is been trapped in his human form for twenty-three years. Now he is escaping from a creature, a hellhound hungry for his fries with ketchup. King Kong is the “pet” of a beautiful naked angel with no name, an arrogant and spoiled brat, who demands a reward since he rescued Patrick from his (not scary at all) hellhound. Does a blowjob work? Patrick can’t believe Angel’s request and leave him, but the sparkle is already on. They meet again after two weeks when Angel goes to Patrick’s home with the same request. Used to get what he wants, even with spells, Angel doesn’t know otherwise, he can only demand and order.

“I swear if you’re going to use the phrase I demand of you or even just the word demand one more time, I’ll put you over my knee.”

Angel gazed at him in confusion. “Why would you do that? Is that a good position for me to be in to receive my reward?”

After spending the last twenty-three years mourning the loss of his lover, Patrick is intrigued by this angel, naive about the human world. But the bratty-angel is not so bratty at the end.

I’ve read other books by this author and I’m a huge fan of her works, especially her writing style. I simply love how she writes. This little story was no exception, funny and easy to read but well done.

The author created an intricate world of angel, demons and hellhounds. Of course this incredible world could be better explained in more pages, this story is really short, just 47 pages. But I loved how everything developed and was explained at the end, I wasn’t left with questions or doubts. Still we got a lot of details that I’m sure didn’t get enough space.

Be ready for a little surprise at the end, totally unexpected but very welcome. Now I’m just hoping for more.

Cover art by Latrisha Waters. This cover didn’t win me. I’m not sure I like the choice of the colors and the wings don’t seem real.

Sales Links: eXtasy Books Amazon Buy It Here

BOOK DETAILS

Published February 15th 2015 by eXtasy books
ebook, 47 pages
ISBN13 9781487402327
Edition language English

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