Review: Mingle All The Way (Christmas Falls, Season 2 finale story) by Hayden Hall

Rating: 4.5🌈

Hayden Hall’s Mingle All The Way see out the second season of the heartwarming, wonderful Christmas Falls series. So of course, I mistakenly read it out of order and stumbled across the answer to this season’s biggest mystery, who is Christmas Falls Secret Santa?

The answer was absolutely perfect and in keeping with the heart and magic of this small Christmas town and community.

It’s the romantic journey of two childhood friends who were separated by a parent’s need to locate for a job and the revelations and romance that is sparked when they’re reunited years later when both are back in Christmas Falls.

Milo, the boy who left crushed and crying returned home first , years later to open his dream shop, Jingle Bites, selling his handmade chocolates. Now arrives Christian, returning home after his ventures outside in NYC, both romantically and professionally, failed.

Memories and their old friendship revives their relationship but something else turns it into a deep bond.

Milo has been a favorite throughout the series, with his quiet engaging hometown voice and handmade chocolates that appear in every story. Hall take a terrific secondary role and turns Milo into a great character, one who can make a reader feel connected to his life and struggles, whether it’s the charming shop he’s poured everything into or his long time feelings for Christian.

Christian is a very strong character but I have to admit there’s moments I was very frustrated with his character and or maybe the lack of momentum in his outlook and his poor treatment of Milo. Continued expectations of forgiveness for the same behavior grows old in fiction as well as real life. It becomes an issue when a writer’s character inability to move forward becomes a loop instead of a forward path once too often. That narrative stumble temporarily took me out of the story and from my connection to this character.

The ending is fantastic and more than made up for that section prior. It’s that Hallmark climax that’s heartwarming and full of seasonal surprises.

Milo, this town and yes, Christian, all have that wonderful Christmas Falls energy and finale that is the reason we read and love this series.

Christian and Milo and his Jingle Bites was a delight and a lovely way to close the season for this year. Highly recommended.

Cover art by Morningstar Ashley Designs

And check out all the books in the Christmas Falls series, both 1 and 2.

Christmas Falls, Season 2:

The Snuggle is Real by DJ Jamison Flake It til You Make It by Beth Bolden ❤️

12 Dates of Christmas by Brigham Vaughn

Here Comes Santa Paws by Lee Blair

Under the Mistle-Foe by Rye Cox

❤️Christmas Beau by Amy Aislin

❤️No Business Like Snow Business by J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry

Frost Impressions by Kelly Fox

Promise Yule Be Mine by Rhys Everly ❤️Mingle All The Way by Hayden Hall

Christmas Falls, Season 1:

Grinch Kisses by DJ Jamison Snowbody Loves You by Jacki James Get Frosted by Amy Aislin

Silent Knight by Beth Bolden

Under the Mistle-Tome by Sammi Cee

Clausing a Scene by Casey Cox

No Elf-ing Way by Hayden Hall

Ready, Set, Glow! by Rye Cox

Scrooge You! By Brigham Vaughn

Buy link

Mingle All The Way

Blurb

When I go home for the holidays, Santa has a secret waiting for me…

I wandered far and wide in search of happiness, never finding what I sought. When I return to Christmas Falls to lick my wounds, the last thing I expect is for Santa to send me a golden-haired, blue-eyed man I once called my best friend—the friend who was taken away from me when we were kids.

Milo Montgomery is back in town, and he doesn’t wait for miracles to come to him. There’s a special sort of magic in the way he spreads joy throughout our town.

His chocolate shop might be struggling, but that can’t break his festive spirit. His optimism is contagious, and his cheerful mood makes me feel like I’m thirteen again, catching snowflakes on my tongue. As we walk down memory lane, recreating every Christmas Eve we spent together, our friendship becomes everything I’ve been missing.

Milo confesses I was his first and only love. But as a straight man, I can never love him the same way. Or can I? I’m beginning to question everything I thought I knew about myself. About the world.

Maybe happiness has nothing to do with a place. Maybe all it takes is the right person.

Christmas Falls: Season 2 revisits a small town that thrives on enough holiday charm to rival any Hallmark movie. It’s a multi-author M/M romance series.

Publication date: December 13, 2024
Language: English
Print length: 250 pages

Review: Once Upon a Holiday Vacation (Once Upon a Holiday story) by Annabella Michaels

Rating: 3.25🌈

Once Upon a Holiday Vacation by Annabella Michaels is a sweet best friends to lovers holiday romance that’s got a strong start but predictable ending that’s not as satisfying.

The boyhood friends, complete opposites , dark bookish Easton Beckett, a librarian, to his outgoing , firefighter blond best friend, Weston Holt, have been so attached to each other that their nicknames are East and West.

A nice narrative touch.

The main characters, Easton’s fellow librarian, and his family, who are all introduced into the storyline as important to Easton and also to West, as he’s been a integral member of their family as well. It’s all lovely, sweet and real.

The middle section of the story where Easton and West re-evaluate their relationship from friends to lovers while on a cruise is also a very sweet, sexy element. Michaels uses established couples around them to show our main characters exactly what their bond and relationship is like or could be. Really the cruise is just a relatable experience until the end. Then it falls completely flat for me.

The last fourth of the story just doesn’t work for me on multiple levels , and while the author delivers the anticipated happy holiday finish in terms of the romance relationship, how that was achieved felt contrived and juvenile. It went against what the author had created in terms of a long term history between the two characters and the type of unspoken communication that existed between them.

So a sweet story that was relatable most of the book only to be undone by the dramatic thread towards the end.

Nice holiday story if this doesn’t bother you.

Cover design by Kelly York

Once Upon a Holiday series – 8 books:

Once Upon a Second Chance by Davidson King

Once Upon A Mistletoe Kiss by Sammi Cee

Once Upon a Holiday Vacation by Annabella Michaels

Once Upon a Lullaby Lane by K York

Once Upon a Christmas Con by Skylar M Cates

Once Upon A Christmas Song by Mary Calmes

Once Upon a Yuletide Romance by RJ Peterson

Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice by R L Merrill

Buy link

Once Upon a Holiday Vacation

Blurb

One Bed, Two Best Friends.

Easton Beckett has always cherished the Christmas season, but this year, his parents are off to help his aunt in Wyoming, leaving him to celebrate alone. But his best friend, Weston Holt—his outgoing and popular opposite—has a surprise: tickets to an all-expense-paid Holiday Cruise he won through a local radio station.

Excitement builds as they leave for a week in the Caribbean, celebrating Christmas at sea and stopping in the Bahamas. Their adventure takes a turn, however, when they discover they’ve been assigned to the honeymoon suite. Easton is about to correct the misunderstanding when Weston convinces him to pretend they’re a couple.

As they navigate their week together, the tension between them grows palpable—each stolen glance and playful touch igniting a longing that neither dares to acknowledge. With only one bed and mounting emotions, both grapple with their feelings. As New Year’s Eve approaches, will they find the courage to admit their true feelings, or will fear keep them apart?

Once Upon A Holiday Vacation is part of a multi-author series, Once Upon A Holiday Story. Each book can be read as a standalone and in any order. What links these books together is The Hook’s Book Nook Traveling Library, a library on wheels owned by two old ladies in love.

Publication date: November 22, 2024
Language: English
Print length: 151 pages

Review: The Barony Bet: An Imperial Space Regency Novel by Kai Butler

Rating: 4.5🌈

The Barony Bet, the second book in Kai Butler’s Imperial Space Regency series, actually takes its characters from their respective homes and current lives out into space and onto another planet where they face adversity, such as it is, in a number of aspects. Obstacles to overcome that challenge them include facing their own feelings about each other and their future together, to the mission they’ve been assigned to accomplish in a short time period.

Butler has really created a winning tale in The Barony Bet. The characters are childhood friends but so different in personality and status that their dynamic is instantly intriguing. And each man is so subtly crafted that you don’t recognize how deeply rounded each is until they reveal more of themselves through their actions and conversations as the story develops.

Butlers’ remarkable ability to create believable characters and complex situations outside of a contemporary world, pulling the reader into their relationship and universe is extraordinary.

Deva is so compelling a character. I really wanted more of this book to see how the dynamics between his father and the new couple played out afterwards. It’s so quietly laid out for the reader exactly how important and responsible Deva is even if he and his family (father) aren’t acknowledging it. Deva grows in depth and maturity as a person throughout the book and it’s an amazing journey.

Step by step, shoulder to shoulder, is Asta, the childhood friend who has always loved him. And supported him. The change in their relationship and romantic understanding is another beautiful element and feels exactly right.

This is wrapped around a plot that involves a mission from Deva’s father that Deva must complete in a short time period. Butler’s narrative shows Deva,with Asta’s help, using ingenuity, his respect for others , and determination to solve the difficult mission and finally succeed.

We get a terrific cast of characters in every storyline, many of which we’d love to follow along on their adventures, and a couple we’re absolutely invested in.

The ending gets a little unfocused as a new character wanders into the story, preparing us for his book. I’d prefer he’d have been folded in another way and left the entire ending to Deva and Asta who certainly earned it.

I’m loving the series and this is by far my favorite. Check them out if you’re a fan of the author and the trope. A definite winner.

It’s a definite yes as a recommendation!

Imperial Space Regency series:

✓ The Earl and the Executive #1

✓ The Barony Bet #2

◦ The Inconvenient Count #3

Buy link

The Barony Bet: An Imperial Space Regency Novel

Blurb

A wager he can’t lose…

Lord Deva lives a charmed life. As the son and heir of one of the Empire’s wealthiest lords, Deva’s biggest problem is protecting his younger siblings from their father’s wrath. But when Deva’s actions place him on the verge of disinheritance, his only hope is an insurmountable task.

Dragging his best friend, Asta, into the fray, Deva agrees to revitalize his father’s newest acquisition – a barony on the verge of ruin. Little does he know that undertaking this task will put more than his inheritance on the line, but his heart as well.

A gamble he can’t win…

Asta is about to depart on a two year deep space trading expedition with one purpose: to fall out of love with his closest friend. Deva has no knowledge of the depths of Asta’s feelings and Asta hopes the distance will allow him to move on from the desire for more than friendship.

Agreeing to one last adventure to help Deva win his impossible task, Asta finds himself thrown into the role of protector and fake fiancé of his best friend. With an estate in ruin at the hands of a corrupt mistress, Asta and Deva must become even closer to win their bet and place their friendship at risk in the process.

The Barony Bet is a 90,000 word mm regency romance set in space. It is a fake relationship, friends to lovers romance with a HEA.

• Publication date: October 5, 2020

• Language: English

• Print length: 326 pages

Review: The Barony Bet: An Imperial Space Regency Novel by Kai Butler

Rating: 4.5🌈

Butlers’ remarkable ability to create believable characters and complex situations outside of a contemporary world, pulling the reader into their relationship and universe is extraordinary.

We get a terrific cast of characters in every storyline, many of which we’d love to follow along on their adventures, and a couple we’re absolutely invested in.

I’m loving the series and this is by far my favorite. Check them out if you’re a fan of the author and the trope. A definite winner.

It’s a definite yes as a recommendation!

Imperial Space Regency series:

✓ The Earl and the Executive #1

✓ The Barony Bet #2

◦ The Inconvenient Count #3

Buy link

The Barony Bet: An Imperial Space Regency Novel

Blurb

A wager he can’t lose…

A gamble he can’t win…

The Barony Bet is a 90,000 word mm regency romance set in space. It is a fake relationship, friends to lovers romance with a HEA.

• Publication date: October 5, 2020

• Language: English

• Print length: 326 pages

Review: The Waiting Game: An M/M Hockey Romance (Relationship Goals Book 3) by Brigham Vaughn

Rating: 4🌈

“Fisher Cats’ Hale and Brewer Engaged: College Sweethearts or Fake Relationship?”

Faked engagement, best friends to lovers , bi-sexual awakening, hurt/comfort m/m hockey contemporary romance time! That’s a lot of tropes for a novel, and it’s not even close to covering the best elements that Vaughn includes in The Waiting Game.

This is the third in Brigham Vaughn’s Relationship Goals series, and I really enjoyed the two previous stories.

The Waiting Game has some great elements woven into its characters and narrative as well as some things I found a bit problematic.

Let’s dive into the positive aspects of this story first.

Korean Canadian history and culture that’s been used for the background and creation of Jonah Brewer , a Canadian Korean hockey player with a strong sense of community and a heartwarming grandmother who’s a great central figure in the novel. From the Korean food his grandmother, Jonah and Felix fix, to the house and gardens that mean home, the Korean culture is well established within the storyline.

Next is the story thread of Felix’s drunk driving, his temporary suspension from the team, and his ongoing treatment for alcoholism. Vaughn’s created in Felix a man still very much in the beginning stages of his recovery. This is Felix dealing with his sobriety and his alcoholism by going to his AA meetings, making those calls to his sponsor, Ismael, when he needs help, and generally within Felix’s storyline, making his journey as realistic as possible. His stress, fears, and doubts are all understandable.

Jonah too has some huge emotional baggage. His parents died in a plane crash when he was young and his life was uprooted from one culture to another. Loss upon loss. That deep seated fear of losing loved ones comes through, especially with his relationship with his remarkable Grandma Ji-min. The author’s making use of the three of them as the heart of this book is a great decision because as a family unit they are the best aspect of the story.

Now to the next part, the issues. It’s the romance that I feel wasn’t working as well. At least for about 20% of the book. From the 45 percent to about 65 percentage or over, where there’s almost no communication between them about what is happening between them, the book would have lost me except for Grandma Ji-min.

It was a great framework and friendship up to that point. Then fake engagement which was strange the way it was handled. Then more avoidance about talking. Then finally exploring new bisexuality and going forward at around 70 or so percent. When the romance felt grounded and believable.

There was, naturally, a several dramatic elements towards the end, and then moments to pull everything back together. That was terrific , and some of it was very moving.

But for me, that large passage of non communication almost derailed it. Which was a shame because, as I said, there’s so much that’s absolutely wonderful here.

The Waiting Game is a good book in the series, although not my favorite. I’m recommending it and it’s great to see diverse representations in hockey .

Great cover.

Relationship Goals:

✓ The Husband Game #1

✓ The Head Game #2

✓ The Waiting Game #3

◦ The Home Game #4 – June 2024

Buy link

The Waiting Game: An M/M Hockey Romance (Relationship Goals Book 3)

Blurb:

Fisher Cats’ Hale and Brewer Engaged: College Sweethearts or Fake Relationship?

On the eve of their first playoff game this post-season, the Toronto Fisher Cats organization sent out a press release announcing the engagement of their top D-pair.

The release insinuates the childhood friends may have been involved as far back as college and makes it clear the front office supports the relationship. “We are confident that such a longstanding relationship will be nothing but beneficial to Felix in his recovery.”

Reactions are mixed.

An anonymous inside source stated, “Legit? No way. This whole thing’s a PR stunt to soften the public’s perception of Hale.”

One fan commented, “Hale & Brewer have always been so adorable together! It’s great they finally feel comfortable being out about their relationship!”

While many fans are similarly supportive, others speculate that the announcement is tied to the Cats’ shaky play of late. “We all know they’re not gonna make it past the first round,” one fan stated. “It’s just an attempt to distract from how weak the team is.”

Adding fuel to the controversy, Hale shared an image of the players naked in bed together and captioned, “Pre-game nap with Jonah before we take on the Montreal Lynx. Go, Cats!”

PR stunt or happily engaged couple? Only time will tell.

TRIGGER WARNING: Frank discussion of alcoholism, past death of parents, and emotionally neglectful parents.

Review: Miracle (Single Dads Book 7) by R.J. Scott

Rating: 3.5🌈

Miracle marks the end of R.J. Scott’s Single Dad’s series, a group of loosely related stories about single fathers and their journey to a romantic relationship and family life.

This finale novel is definitely more of a standalone story than some of the books earlier on in this series. Then those books were adhering to the series theme, see below:

“Introducing the single dads of La Jolla, and the first responders they fall in love with.

From surrogacy to adoption and everything in between, this series of books follows the highs and lows of being a single father.

For these men finding love might seem impossible but sometimes it’s as easy as meeting the doctor next door, finding the firefighter who makes you feel beautiful, or learning that a cop can be trusted to keep you safe.”

But that’s been left behind by Listen Book 5 as the main characters have other professions as careers and different types of issues to work through.

There’s several main themes or narrative components to Miracle, only two of which are well developed. The main characters, Jax and Arlo work together in Jax’s construction business. Both are secretly in love with each other but are unable to approach each other about their feelings, even though they’ve known each other for a long period of time.

Jax has a complicated past. He’s adopted (great adopted family) but he’s a twin and has hunted for that twin since he found out about his existence. Arlo has raised his siblings since the unexpected death of his parents, giving up his own dreams to help them grow up and achieve their own.

Those are two great storylines by themselves. And Scott’s narrative dives deep to explore the emotional layers that exist within a person who is still dealing with issues of grief, loss, frustration over the past, and acknowledging that the change of dreams for oneself that happens when you devote your own life to your family. This is where the book and characters feel grounded and believable. Each man and their respective families feel real.

The pathway to a romantic relationship is a tad frustrating for me as I value communication highly, especially between adults and adults who have a long history with each other, in the books I’m reading. When there’s excessive dithering of the “tell him you care, he doesn’t care, yes , he does “ variety, then it’s hard to go forward.

Luckily, Scott throws in a third element here to push the reader through. That’s the appearance of Zach’s baby , Jax’s missing twin brother little boy. The little baby is adorable and he’s the glue that pulls the main characters together and, honestly, the story as a whole. But he’s also part of the story’s issues. Or his father is.

Because the entire “Zach is the father” aspect of the story is just a mere mention here and there. A throwaway line or two, along with the mysterious Kai, his partner. What we do know is that they leave the baby’s status legally in a shaky state. It never stated who is the actual guardian, who has rights to this child. Zach pops in, and out. The baby calls Arlo and Jax papa and Daddy both as they are his stable home figures but also as Zach wants his enemies to think they are his parents. It’s never said that they are now legally so because Jax couldn’t go on record about how he got him.

This entire thread is just needs more context, or thought, or something. And it leaves me feeling as though it was intentionally vaguely written because the author has a new series out and Zack and Kai’s story is book 3. So this narrative was left with holes to lead towards that one. A formula I can do without.

To wrap up, Miracle (Single Dads Book 7) by R.J. Scott has some good heartwarming elements to it as the finale book. The main characters get a lovely romance that includes a baby and meshing of two families. However, there’s an odd other aspect to this with a mysterious twin brother and his partner that really doesn’t work. It feels exactly what it is, a preview for a new series and story to come instead of a well developed part of this book.

Single Dads:

Single #1

Today #2

Promise #3

Always #4

Listen #5

Pride #6

Miracle #7 – finale

Buy link

Miracle (Single Dads Book 7)

Blurb:

An abandoned baby, a poignant note from his long-lost twin, and unexpectedly, Jax’s world is turned upside down.

Despite being adopted by a loving family when he was a child, Jax feels part of his life is missing, and driven by dreams of his brother being in danger, Jax is consumed by his search for his biological twin. Shocked to find a surprise delivery on his doorstep, Jax discovers that not only is he an uncle, but apparently, he’s a legal guardian to baby Charlie. He calls on the unwavering support of his friends and family to solve the mystery surrounding the new arrival, but also finds help from an unexpected source — Arlo, the enigmatic bear of a man who works for him.

Arlo is no stranger to caring. When his parents passed, he dropped out of college to care for his siblings, working construction to pay the bills. With his brothers grown and having left home, it’s Arlo’s turn to live, but when the next stage of his life means owning up to his love for Jax, he can’t find the words to be honest about how he feels. The problem for Arlo is that he’s been in unrequited love with his boss for three years and can’t bear to not be part of his life. Is it too much to wish for a miracle to make Jax fall for him too?

• Publisher: Love Lane Books Ltd; 1st edition (December 22, 2023)

• Publication date: December 22, 2023

• Print length: 302 pages

Zack and Kai’s book (#3) is found in the new series,

Review: A Sucker for Christmas: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance by J P Sayle

Rating: 3.5🌈

J P Sayle’s A Sucker for Christmas is a fun, sweet addition to the Winter Holiday Tentacle collection.

A best friends to lovers story with an added twist of one of them being an octopus shifter, there’s not a lot a universe building or exploration of the octopus shifter culture here. It’s a soulmate relationship, where the shifter recognizes his mate early on in life, in this case, at the age 4, but again no real background is known other than Fitch’s parents revealing their own human/octopus courtship.

However, even without a shifter framework, this does cutely work on the misunderstandings/doubts that occur between two established best friends who are afraid to take the next step into a romance.

There’s the sister Mandy to assist with this, and the madcap events that follow.

There are many questions about the relationship, the culture, that never really get answered. But the characters are adorable and the Australian location perfect for the romance.

Christmas down under style with octopus tentacles . Very cute.

Tinsel and Tentacles (11 books)

◦ Jingle Bells and Elder Gods by Kiernan Kelly

✓ All I Want for Christmas is Tentacles by Chloe Archer ❤️🫶

◦ Tentacles and Other Stocking Stuffers by Delaney Rain

◦ Tentacles Rock by K.C. Carmine

✓ A Sucker for Christmas by J.P. Sayle

✓ Kraken Klaus by Charlotte Brice

◦ Twelve Days of Squidmas by H.L. Hiers

◦ It’s a Tenta-ful Life by Amanda Muewissen

✓ Rebel without a Claus by L Eveland

✓ Cthulhu for Christmas by Meghan Maslow ❤️🫶

◦ Tentacle Wonderland by Reese Morrison – Jan 1,2024

Buy Link:

A Sucker for Christmas: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance

Blurb:

An annual Christmas vacation to Australia gives two long-term friends more than they bargained for—love. But one of them has a secret that could suck in more ways than one.

Fitch found his soulmate, Shaun, when they were both four years old, but they were separated by two things, a couple of oceans and their age. Not to mention the secret Fitch has been keeping. The fact you can turn into an octopus at will isn’t the kind of thing to be sprung on anyone, especially a soul mate.

Every winter, Shaun heads down under to spend Christmas with his family. For the last twenty years, he’s spent his favorite holiday surfing and lazing around on golden beaches with his best friend, Fitch. Shaun wants more than friendship, however, but has no clue how to get the man of his dreams to see him as more than a friend. Enter Mandy, Shaun’s sister, and Christmas is all set to become an adventure with hilarious consequences.

Fitch and Shaun are about to find out how to deal with the discovery that true love comes with suckers.

A Sucker for Christmas: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance is part of the Tinsel and Tentacles multi-author collaboration and a complete standalone. Expect to find steam worthy of an Olympian swimmer and laugh out loud moments that will make your ribs ache. Want more tantalizingly tentacular winter holiday romances? Grab the whole series!

• Publisher: (December 4, 2023)

• Publication date: December 4, 2023

• Print length: 222 pages

Review: Cthulhu for Christmas: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance by Megan Maslow

Rating: 4.75🌈

I’m such a sucker immediately for anything that Maslow writes, especially when she’s putting the story smack dab near me. Maryland, specifically, around the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore close by. Places I know and love.

Plus the added factor of a Christmas collection! I’ve been reading a lot of those lately, many set up in Vermont (I get it, gorgeous and Hallmark) or the pacific northwest coast. Seattle, or quirky Portland. That too is perfect for a story location.

But when it came to tentacles and tinsel? Meghan Maslow went Chesapeake Bay! And I love it. Maslow creates an imaginary island in the Bay, called (perfection) Old Bay Island. Old Bay, which, for those who might not know, is a traditional spice here that’s used on practically everything.

There’s even a map of the island included with the story.

Zen King, a police officer with the OBI police department, is ready to leave for a future the island keeps denying him. One of the foster children that finds themselves a home there, nevertheless, he never gets a promotion, and his crush on his best friend , one of the island’s first families, seems unlikely to change. His best friend, Grey Criswel, has secrets, and is a superb personality too.

I love the characters here. From the town grump to mysterious librarian, each is an intriguing, layered portrait of a person or animal. Can’t forget the beaver or reindeer. And the town itself, from one building to the next, is as memorable as can be. Maslow builds a small universe within the island , populating it with people and adding to the history and mythology as the story grows.

There’s murder, mystery, romance, and , tentacles, very sexy tentacles!

Oh my!

Honestly, I could dwell a bit more here and think Maslow (who’s probably overwhelmed with more books and requests as it is) needs to add this universe to her list of ones that need a sequel. I can think of several characters who also need their own stories and HEA, or HFN.

Anyway Cthulhu for Christmas: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance by Megan Maslow was a fantastic way to start the collection. She crushed it. I need more!

I’m onto more stories, more tentacles, giddy with anticipation!

And happy to recommend this book to everyone who loves the author and the elements described.

Great cover.

Tinsel and Tentacles (11 books)

◦ Jingle Bells and Elder Gods by Kiernan Kelly

◦ All I Want for Christmas is Tentacles by Chloe Archer

◦ Tentacles and Other Stocking Stuffers by Delaney Rain

◦ Tentacles Rock by K.C. Carmine

◦ A Sucker for Christmas by J.P. Sayle

◦ Kraken Klaus by Charlotte Brice

◦ Twelve Days of Squidmas by H.L. Hiers

◦ It’s a Tenta-ful Life by Amanda Muewissen

◦ Rebel without a Claus by L Eveland

✓ Cthulhu for Christmas by Meghan Maslow ❤️🫶

◦ Tentacle Wonderland by Reese Morrison – Jan 1,2024

Buy Link:

Cthulhu for Christmas: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance

Blurb:

Six accidental tentacles, five naked neighbors, four evil mages, three ugly sweaters, two dead bodies, and one crush on my straight best friend . . .

Some things are simple fact: Santa Claus isn’t real and magic doesn’t exist. As a former foster kid turned cop, I know this for a fact. My life is anything but magical and Santa sure as hell never visited me as a kid.

Another fact in my life: I’ve been in love with Grey Criswel, my gorgeous—and straight—best friend, since we met. Unfortunately, he’s not going to make my secret Christmas wish come true this year—or ever.

But before I know it, fact and fantasy are starting to get all mixed up. I thought I knew Old Bay Isle and its residents like the back of my hand. Now I’m dealing with a bunch of naked carolers refusing to put on their damn clothes and mysterious happenings at the lighthouse. Oh, and murder. Because what says happy holidays like a corpse at a Christmas tree farm?

Worse yet, I’m suddenly afflicted with an aquatic ailment of sorts. Namely—tentacles. Six of them to be exact. Attached. To. My. Back. They even have their own opinions. And they all agree they want Grey. Could he maybe want them—and me—back? Things are so topsy-turvy I’m starting to believe the impossible just might be possible because it turns out magic is real after all . . .

Cthulhu for Christmas is a standalone novel in the Tinsel and Tentacles multi-author winter holiday MM tentacle romance series. It features Zen King—a cop with a tentacular dilemma, a best friend with a closet full (heh) of secrets, a sharp-tongued former foster mom, a beaver for a roommate, found family, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

• Publisher: Pun City Pantser (December 29, 2023)

• Publication date: December 29, 2023

• Print length: 239 pages

Review: Loving Jake (Dark Forest Pack Book 4) by Annabelle Jacobs

Rating: 3🌈

I’ve been following Annabelle Jacobs wolf shifter packs from the beginning and got really invested in the world the author created and cross series she created.

But now at the end of the Dark Forest Pack, I feel that the stories and multiple characters, as evidenced by the index at the book’s beginning, has gotten so stretched out that the depth of plots and personalities that once grabbed my attention is now less apparent. Or missing altogether.

For me, Loving Jake falls into the latter category. Which is too bad.

The entire concept can be summed up as “my Alpha says so , so even though it’s evil and I hate it , I’m gonna do it”. What’s worse is that the author sets up the drama with the main couple and secondary characters knowing the Alpha is “doing WRONG “ but hey let’s ignore it. Then everything plays out based on the fact they Can’t Do anything because the BAD Alpha says so.

Now the author warns the reader the book, a total lesson in readability/frustration imo, this is the way she’s plotting it, so there’s that. It’s pack rule, do whatever the Alpha says. Even though it doesn’t happen in her other novels.

But there no point, no dimension to this plot. Just a sledgehammer of dramatic narrative up to almost the end. No real details of a love affair between the main characters or verbal declarations of their own either. Just deep feelings to counteract the plotting against them.

Everyone knows who the villain is. The last battle is a mess, and the resolution doesn’t fully answer all the questions the mystery and murder raised.

I want to give this a two star but went ahead with a 3 out of fondness for its origins which are squandered here.

So for me, at the end of the series which had so much potential, Loving Jake gave us one dimensional characters, a forced sledgehammer of a frustrating plot, and a messy ending that doesn’t really resolve anything. Really, it’s like the series lost its energies here.

If that’s a story you want to read, or if you’re a reader who needs to complete a series, Loving Jake awaits you.

Dark Forest Pack:

✓ Claiming Rhys #1

✓ Redeeming Nick #2

✓ Guarding Axel #3

✓ Loving Jake #4 – series finale

Buy Link :

Loving Jake (Dark Forest Pack Book 4)

Blurb:

Pack is family, family is everything…until it isn’t.

Max

I worried we’d ruin it all by crossing the line from friends to lovers, but kissing Jake feels as natural as breathing.

I thought we’d have forever.

I thought we could take our time.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

In this last instalment of the Dark Forest Pack series, Max and Jake need all the help they can get to break free from their alpha’s command. But there’s just one problem with that—they’re forbidden to talk about it. When breaking that rule could mean tearing their pack apart, is it a risk worth taking?

Loving Jake is an MM paranormal romance featuring best friends turned lovers with the odds stacked against them. Full of pining, suspense, and sizzling UST, with a guaranteed HEA.

For maximum enjoyment, books should be read in order.

Review: Just Friends (Never Just Friends Book 1) by Saxon James

Rating: 3.75🌈

This book has so many interesting elements to offer plus an author I’m a fan of. Just Friends (Never Just Friends Book 1) by Saxon James has a best friends to lovers trope, a bi-sexual awakening low angst romance with characters that have several different aspects to their lives that makes this a tad different from the usual contemporary fiction.

One of the main characters, Roo, is an epileptic who has families in both the US and Australia, where he’s from originally, hence the nickname. His disability progresses to the point, that , he decides to have surgery to reduce the amount and extent of the episodes he’s having. And that necessitates a return to Australia after high school graduation in the US.

His best friend all through school and adolescence is Tanner. A great friend, both as a boy and man, and someone who’s dealing with his lifelong learning disability, dyslexia. It’s keeping him from a permanent position as a firefighter as he can’t pass the written exams. Tanner was Roo’s support through school when the bullying got to him, when the epileptic seizures had Roo crashing to the ground in hallways and classrooms, with the expected ramifications from classmates who didn’t care or understand.

James has written two well defined men, a realistic small town near Portland with all the flaws , challenges, and pluses that come with living in that environment. Then James gives the reader a window into the minds and hearts of Tanner and Roo as they explore the adults they’ve become in the time they were apart. And what they might have now they are together again.

Based on the reviews I read, I expected to connect with them and their story more than I did. I appreciate the work James put in here creating the location, their backgrounds, and the attention to detail where Roo’s epilepsy is concerned.

The rating is for the overall quality and storytelling.

Personally, I found myself just too detached from the men themselves to be engaged in their relationship, let alone their life choices. James never pulled me into either of these men’s situations emotionally. It could have been the way they handled their issues, a drawn out , now we do , now we don’t, ok we do meandering mess. Or side elements within the narrative that bothered me. Those get to me a lot, picking away at any connectivity I might have.

With Tanner it’s his trait of just being so dense or oblivious, even after the entire town it seems has pointed out how his actions and emotions have been pointed towards a deep bond between him and Roo. I just can’t do dense as a brick anymore. Pls stop.

Then there’s the way his sexual awakening is explained and is drawn out here. It feels repetitive, not in a way that makes the reader think Tanner’s always getting the context, see dense above.

Then there’s the fact that he’s refusing help for his dyslexia, a reading disorder, that’s keeping him from his dream job and stability. None of the objections as stated make sense, but appear to be that author’s tool needed for a scenario where something else happens down the storylines.

Roo’s epilepsy is part of him, defining his school years by his seizures and bullying. I feel he’s the more layered character here. However, there’s hints of a bitter family divide between the parents, and a mother whose behavior seems very controlling and actually mean spirited here. Was it James’ intention to write a mother whose words indicate how very opposed she is to Tanner in every way, clearly thinking that Tanner isn’t good enough for her son. Then, years ago when she “whisks” Roo back home to Australia and now as she tries to get Roo to leave again. And basically, the author and Roo give the woman a pass, writing it as just part of her “character “.

Well, I’d call it toxic but I’m not writing the script, obviously.

No, I couldn’t get emotionally invested here. Enjoyed the location, the side characters and small town citizenry, and aspects of the storytelling. Read it because I liked Saxon James.

If you like contemporary romance, this author, and any of the elements I mentioned above, then give this a try. It’s the first of a four novels series to date.

Never Just Friends series:

✓ Just Friends #1

◦ Fake Friends #2

◦ Getting Friendly #3

◦ Friendly Fire #4

Buy Link:

Just Friends (Never Just Friends Book 1)

Blurb:

Roo

Five years ago, I walked away from Sunbury, Oregon, and left my best friend behind.

The move was supposed to get my life on track. I even had a list.

Life changing epilepsy surgery. Check.

See the world. Check.

Get over my straight best friend … Not exactly.

No matter where I go or who I meet, I can’t let Tanner go.

I’m back to tell him how I feel. To get the closure I need once and for all.

Only now I’m here and falling for him all over again, it’s getting harder to say the words.

Because once I have my closure, I’ll be gone.

And this time it will be for good.

Tanner

When my best friend, Roo, left for Australia, it was the worst day of my life.

I thought we’d have each other always.

But Roo needed the surgery so I let him go, thinking he’d come straight back.

Five years is a long time.

Now he’s here, all I want is to hold on tight.

I need to show him what he means to me.

The problem is, I’m not exactly sure what that is.

My draw to him has always been confusing and different—everyone in town says so. But I struggle to understand it.

All I know is I won’t survive him leaving again.

And I’ll do anything to make him stay.

Just Friends is a best friends-to-lovers romance with an oblivious MC, only one bed, and terrible kangaroo jokes.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: