Tag: enemies to lovers

Review: Playing for Keeps (Miami Piranhas #1) by Beth Bolden

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Beth Bolden’s new book, Playing for Keeps, is the first in her new Miami Piranhas series about a fake Miami, Florida NFL football team that’s scrambling to come together. New coach and coach teams. And a slew of incoming new players to mesh with the ones already there.

One of those new players is one of the NFL’s legendary players, Sebastian Howard. Howard’s reign as one of the NFL’s outstanding corners is coming to an end as age has caught up with him.

But his agent and the coaches at the Piranhas have gotten him to Miami to talk about playing there.

But there’s a catch. He needs to play safety.

Beau Dawson, assistant coach and son to legendary head Coach Asa Dawson, sees a bright future ahead with the struggling Piranhas. But it includes convincing Howard, a brilliant player, to switch positions.

Playing for Keeps has multiple storylines. All important and all balanced beautifully to maintain our connections to each character, their evolving relationship, and to the team that’s trying to find an identity.

It’s also about family dynamics, juggling how they determine one’s journey in life, and the manner in which each still goes forward.

It’s a lot to pack in but Bolden does so without making this feel dense or heavy.

It was only at the very beginning where Sebastian Howard’s complaining veered towards non-stop whining that it almost lost me. Yes, I got that he was the GOAT at corner. But after a while I wanted his agent to give him a reality smack.

Luckily, it and Sebastian turned a corner and things smoothed out , sort of. Bolden’s run at a struggling NFL team feels believable. Down two, they aren’t functioning as a team. Having several of the people looking at answers feels about right.

The dynamics and talks among players on the queer spectrum? Also real. Putting out the pros and cons, the issues they’ve faced and those to come seems about right. As is the question about coming out while continuing to play. That’s a pertinent question that’s on the mind of many a closeted queer athlete because of toxic environments they play in.

While this is a low angst romance, it’s not without its drama and obstacles that each person raises to the possibility of a relationship. I liked how each man handled it in turn.

The romance between Sebastian and Beau is sexy, believable, and makes for great reading.

Bolden gets the football elements right, from exciting action on the field to tense drama inside the team. Great stuff.

I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment. Until then, I’m highly recommending Playing for Keeps (Piranhas #1) by Beth Bolden.

Happy Reading!

Miami Piranhas series:

Playing for Keeps #1

https://www.goodreads.com › showPlaying for Keeps (Miami Piranhas #1) by Beth Bolden – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Sebastian Howard is the best damn cornerback in the NFL.

Or at least he was.

Age and injuries have taken a toll, and while most people have written him off, Sebastian isn’t ready to acknowledge that at only thirty-two, he’s already in the twilight of his career.

He signs with the Miami Piranhas intending to prove everyone wrong.

Only to realize that the head coach’s son, out-and-proud Beau Dawson, doesn’t believe he can.

Beau is infuriating but brilliant, and when he offers to help him on the field, Sebastian wants to say yes, but there’s one thing stopping him: the unexpected, inconvenient, and all-consuming crush he doesn’t want to have on Beau.

But Beau isn’t interested in playing it safe, with football or with anything else, and soon they’re embroiled in a hot—and secret—affair that would finish Sebastian’s career if Coach Dawson found out.

As Sebastian falls harder for Beau, he begins to realize that actually the worst thing in the world isn’t getting benched, but losing the man he loves.

Review: Play Dirty (Wages of Sin #2) by Onley James and Neve Wilder

Rating: 4.5🌈

Play Dirty, the second book in the Wages of Sin series by Onley James and Neve Wilder, is the story I thought I was going to get when I initially dived into this series about a group of contract killers.

In my first review I noted that two strong characters that stood out were Madigan and Sadie. It’s Madigan that’s featured here along with another assassin we previously met, the chemist Azrael, known as the angel of Death.

Unrepentant killers, each with a specialty that makes each a top assassin, Azrael and Mads start a bizarre race to see who can beat the other out of a commission. In the most erotic way.

Told from both man’s perspective it’s fascinating watching each killer’s thoughts on the bizarrely entertaining murderous race their having, the toll it’s beginning to have on themselves and their careers, and then the overall series arc that folds in.

These men are borderline psychopaths, but their past history suggests the potential for something deeper between them. It’s interesting, sexy, and funny. In a very dark manner.

And because it’s got crimes and murders strewn all through the story, it’s also highly suspenseful and full of action.

There’s blood play kink, some cutting, and just wild sex. These are still your assassins working out their relationship issues their own way!

Terrific ending and it’s leading up to the third book Head Case which features one of the main characters in their group and a new interesting character introduced here.

Can’t wait.

I throughly enjoyed Play Dirty. It’s dark contemporary romance with a murderous kink or two thrown in.

If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, I’m highly recommending it.

Wages of Sin:

🔹Bad Habits #1

🔹Play Dirty #2

🔹Head Games #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showPlay Dirty (Wages of Sin, #2) by Onley James | Goodreads

Synopsis:

“When you talk, chaos follows and I forget who I am.”

Madigan has spent his life indulging in the world’s most hedonistic pursuits, his skills as a sharpshooting killer-for-hire paying his way.

Azrael, an assassin referred to as the angel of death, is a chemist and a loner, his poisons as lethal as they are undetectable.

A chance encounter leads to a passionate night and a heated rivalry that spans years, but after they’re both offered a chance at big money by taking out elite targets on a mysterious hitlist, they find themselves once again in each other’s way. And then in each other’s arms.

Trust doesn’t come easily for either of them, but no matter how far they stray, fate always seems to pull them back together. In a profession where your partner is just as likely to kill you as kiss you, maybe trust is as close to love as they get?

Play Dirty is a steamy, action-packed thrill ride of a romance with a HEA and no cliffhangers. It features two stubborn rival assassins who can’t seem to stop tempting each other, a bit of knife play, a Die Hard-style Christmas, plenty of dark humor, and true love. Because even assassins deserve their soulmates. This is book 2 in the Wages of Sin series. Each book will follow a new couple.

Review: Temporary Partner (Valor and Doyle #1) by Nicky James

Rating: 4.75 🌈

Temporary Partner by Nicky James is an excellent law enforcement mystery that’s has elements of a romance to it. It’s the first of a two part series, Valor and Doyle, featuring Ontario detectives from different departments, often units that see each other as departmental rivals.

Quaid Valor is a Detective with the MPU, that’s missing persons. He’s following the career path of his recently retired father, a decorated detective from the same unit. The tight-knit Valor family of two is a knot of familial love, ingrained police laws and regulations, and a sadness that’s explained as the storylines enlarge.

Quaid himself is full of complications, lonely, burdened, consumed by job and family. He’s undeniably an incredible character.

Aslan Doyle is his counterpart. A excellent detective but in Homicides. Both men queer and out at work but Aslan’s ,bi , very casual outlook on sexuality as opposed to Quaid’s , who’s gay, ongoing issues with his ex make them diametrically opposed. Especially when Aslan’s attitude carries over into work.

They’ve worked together before, successfully professionally. Privately? That harder.

But a shortage of personal , a heartbreaking case with a tight time frame to close it, and a order from their superiors brings them together.

James creates a truly puzzling, heartbreaking case. That of a stolen infant, then proceeds to build a huge investigation around it, with a ticking clock. There’s superb and tedious leg work, lines of questioning that appears to have no results, more data to analyze, small victories that fade, and a fantastic, mesmerizing relationship that’s trying to establish itself between two prickly, damaged men who have trust issues.

The POV alternate’s between Quaid and Aslan, often as the men despair, feel they have it, only to realize, they need another direction. It all feels raw, anxious, heartbreaking, and painful.

Even the ending, when it arrives, is not without, some realistic elements, that have you really looking at everything that’s happened here. There’s no HFN even. But there’s a solution to this case. It’s solved.

It’s up to the reader as to how you think about it.

As to Aslan and Quaid? Book 2 , Elusive Relations, is due out July 25, 2022.

I’m eagerly awaiting their return and the new case that will surely bring them back together again.

This is a wonderful story. If you love mysteries, law enforcement tales, with the promise of a romance, grab this right up.

Outstanding characters, fantastic storylines, and a realistic ending.

Love it.

Valor and Doyle:

🔹Department Rivals: A Valor and Doyle Prequel #0.5

🔹Temporary Partner #1

🔹Elusive Relations #2

https://www.goodreads.com › showTemporary Partner (Valor and Doyle Mysteries, #1) by Nicky James – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Can two rivals work together to solve a case?

When an infant is taken from his carriage in broad daylight, missing persons detective, Quaid Valor, must race against the clock to find the child and bring him safely home to his family. Unfortunately, Quaid’s partner isn’t available, and his team is spread thin. Begrudgingly, Quaid must accept the help from his rival, homicide detective Aslan Doyle, if he wants to get the job done.


Aslan is Quaid’s opposite in every way. He’s bold, outspoken, arrogant, and the office playboy. And much to Quaid’s chagrin, Aslan seems to have set his sights on Quaid as his next conquest.


Quaid doesn’t have time to deal with Aslan’s flirty behavior when he’s trying to solve a case and juggle his cheating ex’s incessant interruptions.
It doesn’t matter how attractive Aslan is or the undeniable chemistry they seem to have. Getting involved with Aslan would be a huge mistake.
But as tension with the case builds, Quaid keeps forgetting he’s supposed to hate this new partner. Maybe Aslan is exactly the kind of distraction he needs.
Temporarily at least.
Right?

**Temporary Partner is the first in the Valor and Doyle Mysteries. Please view any trigger warnings by using the Look Inside feature**

Review: Egotistical Puckboy (Puckboy #1) by Eden Finley and Saxon James

Rating: 4.75🌈

As the hockey teams are making their run for the Stanley Cup in real life, I had just finished one hockey series and was in need of another when this got my attention.

Egotistical Puckboy, the first in Eden Finley and Saxon James’ Puckboy series about hockey players getting their HEA. Needless to say, I’m in.

I so enjoyed this enemies to lovers romance about two egotistical fantastic NHL hockey players. The long time feud, fueled by misconceptions about each other, including one’s sexuality, is so well written.

The bigger than life personalities of both D-man Ezra Palaszczuk and winger Anton Hayes, huge egos to match their vast athletic talents on the ice, it’s all there on the page for the reader to love, cackle at, and ,yes, swoon over, as they warily stumble their way into a relationship and romance.

Authors Finley and James are careful that, when crafting this novel , all the important elements are brought in so it feels believable and a world we should want to invest ourselves into.

The games! The way the men fly across the ice, bodies moving, puck flashing, it’s pure awesomeness. It’s hockey! You can see these games and ,when or lose (they do both), you feel the emotional impact with them.

The men themselves are layered, their pasts, their passions, their pain.

Ezra Palaszczuk is someone who appears one dimensional, on purpose, but only as a barrier to hide the damage done by negligent , borderline abusive parents and the toll it continues to take on him.

Anton Hayes has his own personal issues to work through and it’s his relationship with Ez that allows him the different perspective to start on a new path and journey.

This story has so many great aspects to it. It’s a dynamic hockey book. It’s a sexy romance. It’s a thoughtful conversation about gay athletes in a major sport (see fabulous The Queer Collective element), what it means for queer youth to have representation. It’s also about knowing yourself well enough that you’re finally comfortable and feel safe to come out .

Like I said. There’s so much to Egotistical Puckboy (Puckboy #1) by Eden Finley and Saxon James. I love this. And I’m highly recommending it.

There’s a second story out. I’m onto that next.

It’s hockey season. Enjoy!

Puckboy series:

Egotistical Puckboy #1

Irresponsible Puckboy #2

https://www.goodreads.com › showEgotistical Puckboy – Goodreads

Synopsis:

EZRA

Partying, dudes, and hockey. What more could a gay NHL player want?

If it weren’t for Anton Hayes, my life would be perfect.

Not that he affects my life in any way. At all. That would imply I care what the winger from Philly thinks of me.

Which I don’t.

Not even a one-night stand with him can thaw his misplaced animosity toward me.

He says I’m the one with the ego, but he can talk. He rivals me for most egotistical puck boy in the league.

I hate him as much as he hates me. Even if I crave a repeat.

ANTON

When it comes to hockey, I’m all about the game.

I’ve worked for years to be one of the best in the league, and l’ve done it without splashing my orientation all over the tabloids.

My hockey image is one I’ve carefully cultivated, and after one night with Ezra Palaszczuk, I risk it all.

He’s cocky, obnoxious, and has an ego bigger than Massachusetts. And okay, maybe he’s the sexiest man I’ve ever known.

We’ll never get along. Not when we sleep together. Not even when my possessive streak awakens.

That doesn’t stop us from falling into bed together over and over again.

Review: The Long Game (Game Changers #6) by Rachel Reid

Rating: 4🌈

It almost hurt to write this review because it wasn’t the one I was really expecting to write. I have loved this series since Rachel Reid began it. And a diehard fan of Shane and Ilya since they premiered in Heated Rivalry, a favorite novel among many here.

So like so many readers and fans of both author and Game Changer , I’ve been eagerly anticipating the series finale and the novel which would bring some closure to the 11 years long closeted romance of Shane and Ilya.

What I didn’t expect was that I felt the first 25 percent of the book, perhaps more , was such a slog, that I came close to putting it down completely.

The characters I had connected with were missing. Chemistry gone. Shane was the one I had the most issues with. Self involved, complaining, non communicative. Other than sex, I couldn’t see what Ilya saw in him. The relationship and dynamics from Heated Rivalry had dimmed and the sparks doused.

I couldn’t believe this was it.

It wasn’t until the halfway mark, when dramatically the narrative picked up, and their relationship became energized once more that I was invested in their lives, romance, and the story.

There had been serious elements introduced. Depression, family history, suicide. But it was one-sided narratively speaking. And it served to only connect us to Ilya and his shaky emotional status. Leaving Shane in a removed story bubble, away from the relationship and the feelings connecting us to Ilya.

The emotional ties only reached back out after the story was halfway through.

Then we got safely back on established familiar relationship ground. One we recognized from Heated Rivalry, but with personal growth accounted for.

Shame it took that long because the remainder of the story was excellent. It wove plot threads from Role Model into the storyline here, making terrific use of those characters and elements.

Reid also found the missing humor, to intersperse with the serious issues of LGBTQIA+ athletes acceptance in sports, outing, and, the stress of being a pro athlete on relationships.

The last section of The Long Game was everything I’d hoped for and wanted for this couple. It turned into the perfect way to send them off.

I just wish it had happened sooner. That the book was a complete Gordie Howe Hat Trick instead of a one goal win.

But I’ll take it. I’m sorry to see the series end. Just as I am to see the end of every hockey season.

I’ll look forward to the next Rachel Reid with the same enthusiasm as the start of the new season and run for the Stanley Cup as well.

If you’re a lover of hockey romance, contemporary romance, and the works of Rachel Reid, this series is for you. I’m highly recommending it.

Game Changers
Book 1: Game Changer
Book 2: Heated Rivalry
Book 3: Tough Guy
Book 4: Common Goal
Book 5: Role Model
Book 6: The Long Game

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Long Game (Game Changers, #6) by Rachel Reid – Goodreads

Synopsis:

The sequel is finally here! Shane and Ilya’s story, first seen in Heated Rivalry, continues in this long-awaited hockey romance from Rachel Reid.

“Everything you could want from this magnetic couple! A passionate, sexy, emotional sequel that grips your heart! Shane and Ilya forever!” —#1 NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely, author of Hopelessly Bromantic

To the world they are rivals, but to each other they are everything.

Ten years.

That’s how long Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been seeing each other. How long they’ve been keeping their relationship a secret. From friends, from family…from the league. If Shane wants to stay at the top of his game, what he and Ilya share has to remain secret. He loves Ilya, but what if going public ruins everything?

Ilya is sick of secrets. Shane has gotten so good at hiding his feelings, sometimes Ilya questions if they even exist. The closeness, the intimacy, even the risk that would come with being open about their relationship…Ilya wants it all.

It’s time for them to decide what’s most important—hockey or love.

It’s time to make a call.

Review: Yours, Everlasting: A Gay Fairytale (Enchanted Folklore) by Beth Bolden

Rating: 4.5

I was overjoyed to return to Beth Bolden’s Enchanted Folklore universe once again with her new release, Yours, Everlasting: A Gay Fairytale.

A main character, Evander, is very familiar to those of us who read and love Yours, Forever After. That fantasy fairytale, the romance adventure of Prince Graham , aka Gray, of Ardglass and Prince Emory of Fontaine, bossy unicorn, on a mission to reclaim their kingdoms.

A fabulous book and romance.

There we met a mysterious father figure, Ekvard, who sees Prince Graham to safety. And a unicorn. And other fellows.

Everyone and everything comes full circle here in Yours, Everlasting. We learn about a squabbling pantheon of Guardians, a essential mission, and meet once again our princes, now married Kings of a united people.

Evander is a prickly sort of personality. Not the one I remember but then the story starts hundreds of years prior to my initial introduction. He’s every bit a demi-god. Arrogant, stubborn, impulsive, and hot tempered at first. Luckily, he will , due to circumstances, slowly exhibit personal growth and understanding about himself and others. And be the person who cares deeply about those around him.

Otherwise, I’m not sure we could take an entire story of him.

Marcos is fabulous to start with. I adore him. Sexy, swings a mad sword. Has the patience of the ages. Really. How he just hadn’t just up and given Evander a clue during their thousands of years together is a wonder.

The story has magical events, battles, excitement, angst, more than a few surprises, some sexy scenes, and a very happy ending. For all.

Just as the fairytales I prefer should.

Bolden’s Enchanted Folklore series are seriously awesome. Magical, romantic, well written, and beautifully crafted.

I’m highly recommending them both. Read them together, one after the other.

Enchanted Folklore:

Yours, Forever After #1

Yours, Everlasting #2

PREORDER on amazon

ADD TO GOODREADS

Evrard . . .Rhys . . .Evander . . .

Evander has gone by many names in the last thousand years. He’s lived almost as many lives, using his immortality and his unique shapeshifting abilities to become anyone and anything.

He’s sacrificed lifetimes in his effort to eradicate the malevolent magic threatening all humankind. He’s ready for a well-deserved rest. But the past never stays buried, and he discovers that it’s been watching him . . .

Marcos, the Guardian of War, has waited, he’s observed, he’s admired, and he’s yearned. But now it’s time for him to step into the light and let Evander see him for who he truly is. An ally, not a foe. Maybe even a lover.

But fate is fickle, destinies aren’t set in stone, and as much as Marcos hopes Evander might be his, it will be the fight of his life to not only win Evander’s heart, but to defeat the evil that once again raises its sinister head.

Yours, Everlasting is a fast-paced, action adventure-packed story about two immortals, and includes shapeshifting, magical swords, flying fire balls, far too much pining, a healthy dose of sarcasm, and an emotional HEA.

Review: Nothing Ordinary (A Hit and Run story) by E.M. Lindsey

Rating: 3.5🌈

I’m not sure exactly where the author intends Nothing Ordinary to fall in their series, except as a prequel perhaps.

It was originally written as a series, then re-edited, new material added, and now re-released just as the first book in the series was arriving. So it acts as a informative lead-in for Pietro’s story. Much of Pietro’s history and his relationship with his brother is relayed here. So if you loved that book like I did, it’s worth it for that alone.

But this is Gabe and Ezra’s story. So the events run almost concurrently to those in Switch – Hitter (Hit and Run #1) . Many scenes will seem familiar if you’ve read the other book.

Gabe, the older brother who, due to a car accident, lost his career in the Major Leagues, his marriage, his self esteem. He’s now a private school high school volleyball coach, angry, and alone. Not a happy man.

Ezra Mandel , the new culinary teacher is many things:

A culinary genius.
A first-time teacher.
An anxious mess.

He looks the same age as his students and has a deep case of social anxiety, made worse by an

abusive ex. None of those elements make him think his experience as a teacher in high school is going to go well.

It doesn’t. He runs into Gabe in the teachers lounge on his first day who yells at him to get out, thinking Ezra’s a student. It goes downhill quickly from there.

This story of opposites attract, enemies to lovers has a lot of promise. Each man has problematic areas to their character. Gabe is dealing with issues of self esteem, anger, loss of career, and even sibling jealousy/envy. He feels he’s never good enough. Anger is his fall back emotion.

Ezra is full of anxiety, a people pleaser who can’t tolerate loud voices, especially those raised in rage. His low self esteem pounded into him by an abusive ex who enjoyed hurting him. A culinary genius who can’t stand the pressure of the kitchen.

These are all complicated elements and needs it’s equal in storytelling. While Lindsey did a good job dealing with Ezra’s anxiety (therapy, communication, meds) and Gabe’s issues of career loss, low esteem, and envy, I not sure Gabe’s elements got addressed enough. Of all three characters who had emotional issues, (Ezra, Pietro, Gabriel) , Gabe is the only person not seeing a therapist. I kept thinking anger management classes were the least he needed. If you have to continually excuse a teacher’s behavior because he’s “complicated’?

Flags , people, flags.

Which brings me to a couple of major concerns or issues I have here. And spoilers territory ! I like these characters. I do. I find them sympathetic, mostly.

Continuity.

Lindsey has both Pietro and Gabe use their celebrity influence as MLB players, past and present, to make important local changes. Include a trans player on a team against the Administration’s wishes, push rulings, whatever. They use what they’re are , rich and well known, to make changes. Over and over. They are local boys made great. Point made.

Even if Gabe feels like a has been, he’s not.

If Lindsey had just explored all the ramifications of these two polar opposites getting together, it would have made for a fascinating story.

But there’s another ugly element thrown in. One of an attempted sexual assault. It happens, it’s over. And other then a very minimal amount of mentions to the aftermath. Done. Yes, Therapy. Yes. Fired. Yada. Yada. But basically , that’s it for such a serious topic.

To my mind, if you’re going to introduce such a sensitive and horrific situation, (it happens on the page, but is swiftly dealt with), then I think there’s an obligation to make this section as relevant and responsible as possible. Gabe and Pietro have the influence to have this person arrested, he’s a sexual predator, who’s been in a high school.

But there’s no follow through here. On any aspect really of this situation.

It’s pretty much glosses over considering the gravity and scope of the scene.

I just didn’t get it. The story flies quickly to the end, and Gabe and Ezra’s HEA.

I didn’t read the serial so I have no idea which sections were added and what’s original. But if the assault scenes were added afterwards, it makes sense, because they don’t feel as thoughtfully written as Ezra’s anxiety or Gabe’s relationship with Pietro.

So it’s worth reading if you want to read the entire Hit and Run series and want all the background. This is great for that.

Read it for Ezra, and yes Gabe. I’m sure we will be seeing them again later on in the series, not just in Pietro’s story, which I highly recommend.

Hit and Run series:

✓ Nothing Ordinary #0

✓ Switch-Hitter #1

◦ Line Drive #2 – out July 2022

https://www.goodreads.com › showNothing Ordinary (Hit and Run #0) by E.M. Lindsey | Goodreads

Synopsis:

Ezra Mandel is many things:

A culinary genius.
A first-time teacher.
An anxious mess.

And helplessly attracted to the rudest, most grumpy man he has ever had the misfortune of meeting.

Ezra knows his first semester ever teaching at a private school is going to be a disaster. What he doesn’t expect is to get into a rivalry with the volleyball coach who can’t stand him. But the more he gets to know Gabriel Bassani, the more he starts to realize his pain is a lot deeper than the surface of his skin.

And Gabriel is a complicated man. He’s lived in the shadow of his MLB star brother for most of his life, his past marriage was a disaster, and he’s long-since stopped believing in love. But Ezra—persistent, beautiful, irritating Ezra—is the kind of man who refuses to give up, and Gabriel isn’t sure if he wants to beg him to stop, or beg him to keep going.

Whatever they have isn’t ordinary, but then again, ordinary isn’t something either of them has ever wanted.

This book features a low-angst, slow burn, enemies to lovers romance with a nervous sunshine culinary professor in his first year of teaching, a grumpy ex MLB player with a chip on his shoulder the size of Wrigley Field, a gaggle of students who enjoy making bets on the teacher’s lives, and a happily ever after that just might feel like a world record breaking home run.

Nothing Ordinary is a previously released serial novel in the Hit and Run series, now with 15,000 words of revised and additional content.

Review: Deal Maker (Mixed Messages #2) by Lily Morton

Rating: 5 🌈

I know I’m in for a grand time when I haven’t even gotten through the first page and I’m laughing at the verbal antics and eagerly anticipating the author’s next steps.

Morton starts off each book with pertinent and moving quotes. Here it then goes a bit further.

Each chapter begins with a hilarious letter to a fan, “reportedly “, from movie star Asa Jacobs, 44, single father to the adorable Billy, age 5.

How they come about is part of this marvelous romance between two men who have sworn off relationships because of the pain, disappointment, and history behind them.

That’s such a simplified version of Deal Maker. This is a story where you’re be laughing at the oh so real…yes I recognize that…antics of Billy the 5 year old or giggling in anticipation at the stuff Jude is no doubt planning because of, nope. Read the story.

Jude Bailey is a masterpiece of a character along with Asa Jacobs. Morton writes complicated people so beautifully.

Jude’s model gorgeous exterior hides a razor sharp wit, a kind heart, and a fierce loyalty towards those he loves. His history is revealed slowly, in texts, phone conversations, and eventually an emotional exhale of history that brought him to his career and situation.

Asa Jacobs is a older huge man. Big physically, capable of an enormous range of emotions, chillingly cold to rage, to a man who deeply loves his son. Also someone carrying immense pain from a past relationship .

His household consists of equally unique characters whose personalities will become as memorable as those of the main characters.

There’s so many downright hilarious scenes here , also characters like Dean that honestly deserve their own gloriously Dim award. He’s magnificent in his own way. And I’ll just say it. Hamster! Love it!

Also deeply moving scenes that dig deep to show our mens fear, doubt, growing love, and resolve to protect those they care about the most.

The Jude’s parents and the entire Devon section was intimate and inviting. It felt like family.

This is one of those stories where at the end you’ll find that your face hurts from smiling so hard and your heart feels so warm. You feel that great!

It’s on my comfort read list now.

I’m highly recommending Deal Maker (Mixed Messages #2) by Lily Morton. It’s plain romance magic!

Mixed Messages:

✓ Rule Breaker #1

◦ Goodbye, Fletcher #1.2

◦ Jude’s Intervention #1.3

◦ Scrambled Eggs and Lemsip #1.5

◦ The Valentine Do-Over #1.7

✓ Deal Maker #2

◦ Risk Taker #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showDeal Maker (Mixed Messages, #2) by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Available in Kindle and paperback formats

AMAZON US

AMAZON UK

Also available in Audiobook format

AMAZON

AUDIBLE US

AUDIBLE UK

AUDIBLE DE

AUDIBLE FR

Synopsis:

Sometimes your mouth makes deals that your heart can’t honour.

Jude is a highly successful model, but a very reluctant one. His life is full of casual hook-ups with pretty men in glamorous locations, but it’s still empty. However, circumstances decreed a long time ago that this was his path, so he’s resolutely stayed on it and accepted his fate with good grace. He made a deal with himself and his hook-ups. Get in, get out and no ties with anyone.

However, an accident at home one night leads to him making a new deal and accepting the offer of help from an unlikely source. It leads to an unexpected summer of falling in love with a larger than life man and his child.

But by the end of the summer his reasons for not staying are still valid. Will he turn away? Can he?

Asa is a talented actor who has spent time away from the scene to look after his son. But now he’s back, and the last thing he needs are complications from the gorgeous man who is staying with him. Scarred from too many betrayals, he has no intention of forming a lasting tie with anyone. However, he can’t resist the beautiful man with secrets, and to his horror he develops feelings.

But a deal’s a deal and they said it was just for the summer. What can Asa do with a man who has forever in his eyes and goodbye on his lips?

This is the second book in the Mixed Messages series but it can be read as a standalone.

Review: Switch – Hitter (Hit and Run #1) by E.M. Lindsey

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Switch-Hitter is the first book in a new sports series by E.M. Lindsey. It exists , per the author’s forward, within a universe where in MLB out athletes are accepted as are those with various disabilities .

Wouldn’t that be a lovely place? And indeed it is, for the characters in Switch-Hitter and readers who will enjoy as I did.

Lindsey incorporates a number of elements that definitely make their characters more multidimensional.

Pietro Bassani, baseball player for the Denver Vikings, is also a man with his own personal issues. He’s ADHD, late in life diagnosed, and he’s hiding it from his team and teammates. He feels guilty that his beloved barely older brother , Gabe, who was just as talented a ball player as Pietro, was injured by a car crash and lost the one thing they thought they’d be doing together. At times he’s just a mess. That doesn’t begin to cover his ex, Herve’ and that damage.

Pietro is one mess of a kind man. Someone the reader relates and roots for , no matter what else is happening. He’s one well crafted character.

Thierry Bourget is his equal. He’s also someone who started off as his enemy. Which makes this enemies to lovers romance even more fascinating. The author takes the path of both men , once they start communicating which is immediately, as people who recognize the toxicity of the person who connected them. It gives the author and the men moments to reflect on what elements made those relationships toxic, and the positive ways they’ve both changed. Just terrific.

The story and the romance, the men, all come across as adult. Each also has to deal with the ongoing issues that stem from Thierry’s physical semi paralysis.

That’s a lot to unpack in one story but it’s done so beautifully here . From exactly how Thierry’s recovery is going, through rehabilitation, and every bit of painful injury both men undergo, it’s believable, well written, and emotional.

Herve’ was the only aspect that felt a tad unresolved. He was too much a tenacious creature to just disappear. I wonder if he’s going to make a reappearance somewhere in another book.

I absolutely enjoyed Switch-Hitter and look forward to more in this series.

If you love contemporary romances and sport’s love stories, put this on your must have list!

I’m highly recommending it.

Hit and Run series:

Switch-Hitter #1

Line Drive #2 – out July 2022

https://www.goodreads.com › showSwitch-Hitter (Hit and Run, #1) by E.M. Lindsey | Goodreads

Synopsis:

Get a personal chef, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.

And then Thierry shows up and Pietro realizes his mistake. Because he knows Thierry. A little too well.

Thierry is the man who told his ex to leave him.
Thierry is the man who punched Pietro and ran.
Thierry… is his ex-boyfriend’s best friend.

But Pietro also knows the man needs a job. An injury destroyed his former career and Pietro is nothing if not a bleeding heart. Besides, he doesn’t have time to search for a new chef, not with the World Series looming and his team ready to go all the way.

Life gets more complicated, though, when he and Thierry cross a line one night after a lot of wine and several bad jokes. And while hooking up is one thing, Pietro knows the last thing in the world he needs is for his heart to get involved.

Too bad it tends to make decisions without him.

Switch-Hitter is the first book in a fictional MLB series featuring a lonely baseball player with a chip on his shoulder and hope in his heart, a team ready to win no matter what it takes, a grumpy French chef who will defend escargot to the death, and a few bottles of dry red wine leading to the sweetest happily ever after. Each book in the Hit and Run Series stands alone, contains no cheating, and has a happily ever after.

Review: The Paladin’s Shadow (Radience #2) by Tavia Lark

Rating: 4🌈

Both main characters in The Paladin’s Shadow are people we’ve read about before. One, Ronan the thief, although a very minor character as far as part of the book’s plot, was actually someone who was pivotal in launching the events that started Arthur off on his journey in The Necromancer’s Light.

We find out more about Ronan and Arthur’s past relationship here, from Ronan perspective and that clears everything up.

For our thief is anything but what we’ve been lead to believe he is. Here we learn he’s actually a part of a small group of individuals, all from different countries all worship a different one of the 6 gods. The Locksmiths as the group calls themselves have one goal and Ronan has been leading them towards it one theft at a time.

Karis too had a few mentions in that first book but here get his time to shine, literally. As a member of the Radient order and secretly, the one person who actually hears the voice of his God Vara, he’s not happy with the mixed messages he’s been getting lately. His church says one thing but his God says another…

Tavia Lark second book in the Radience series has a quick to love romance, a very likable couple and interesting group of characters in the Locksmiths. Lark’s plot is creative and I’d loved more time unraveling it’s effects upon the trapped Gods and them once released.

Maybe that’s coming in book three.

I enjoyed Karis and Ronan’s journey and it appears to be joined with our first couple in some way now if I read that ending correctly. Sounds like fun.

Anyway I’m onto the next and recommending this to lovers of fantasy.

Radiance series:

✓ The Necromancer’s Light #1

✓ The Paladin’s Shadow #2

◦ The Sword-Witch’s Heart #3 – to be released Feb 23

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Paladin’s Shadow (Radiance #2) by Tavia Lark – Goodreads

Synopsis:

His secret could kill him.

Karis is the arrogant young prodigy of the Radiant Order, and his talent gets him plenty of attention but very few friends. Under the order’s prying eyes, there’s one secret Karis has to hide at all costs: the meddling, un-paladin-like voice in his head. Sometimes the voice is helpful. Sometimes it gets him into trouble.

This time, trouble’s name is Ronan.

Ronan does the dirty work. Anything for the trickster god he serves, no matter how tired he’s getting. He’s so used to deception, he wouldn’t recognize real love if it bit him. When he’s captured by the Radiant Order, he doesn’t think twice before kidnapping a cute little squire to cover his escape.

His new hostage is a lot more complicated than he expected.

Between escape attempts and counterspells, Karis keeps getting under Ronan’s skin, and Ronan keeps getting inside Karis’s head. And the longer they stay together, Karis starts thinking less about escaping, and more about how Ronan might taste.

But the conspiracy they’re tangled in is far deadlier than they know.

The Paladin’s Shadow is a gay fantasy romance, with enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort, and Very Inconvenient divine intervention. Book Two in the Radiance series; events from The Necromancer’s Light are referenced, but the romance arc can stand alone. 65,000 words, HEA guaranteed.