Tag: first in a series

Review: A World Away (Learning to Breathe #1) by Carole Cummings and Andy Gallo

Rating: 4.5🌈

I was immediately intrigued to hear about a new series being launched by two authors I respected. That’s the marvelous Carole Cummings and Andy Gallo and their Learning to Breathe series.

The series revolves around two young men, who’ve grown up together, in a world at war. I wish the authors would establish more of the current universe structure the characters inhabit but a huge part of the story and future books is parallel worlds, so I’m imagine comparisons will be added continuously, filling in more of this world’s foundational knowledge.

What we do know it’s a total East/West global war and it’s got the potential to annihilate everyone. The West is searching for a new way to get the upper hand in the fight, magical users are the key to the success and there’s a national conscript that tests all the children for their magical potential, read war usage.

Into all this , Cummings and Gallo have created two families and two sons who share several shattering events and one horrific experience.

Nathan Duffy and Cam Almenara have been together since the arcane magic camp Nathan attended , run by Cam’s father, a military man teaching and testing children for their arcane skills. It was a drunk driving accident that cemented their relationship and lives in a certain dynamic until another momentous magical event shatters status quo to change their lives and those around them.

It’s hard to discuss all the details and complex story threads here that Cummings and Gallo weave into their book and relationship. Military secrets, war machine intelligence, science fiction elements, parallel worlds, personal choices, guilt and love. It’s looked at on multiple levels, through varying perspectives. That of father to son, friends to friends, potential lovers to those that are already loved.

It’s done through some great writing, suspense filled scenes, scary scenarios, and some heart wrenching moments. Both Cam and Nathan are especially well defined, and show depth and emotional growth as the story develops. There’s so much past emotion and heartache, along with guilt and unacknowledged love between the two of them that they need to deal with.

While I felt the story had a slow start, it steadily gets stronger, more intense and action oriented as the narrative evolves. By the time we reach the climactic stage point, it’s full blown chaos, and craziness!

I love it.

Now that one element is settled, the authors set the couple and stage for the next adventure in the book to be released. I’m eager to read it.

I’m highly recommending this story. It’s beautifully written, great characters, and a complicated plot will keep you invested from start to finish.

Learning to Breathe:

✓ A World Away #1

◦ A World Apart #2 – Oct 10,2023

Buy Link:

A World Away: An MM Urban Fantasy Romance (Learning to Breathe Book 1)

Description:

Nathan Duffy knows how to keep things locked down so tight even he doesn’t know they’re there. Like his childhood trauma over the near-catastrophe he almost caused when his power manifested. His adolescent resentment over the near fatal injury he still hasn’t really accepted. His futile not-so-platonic love for his best friend Cam. And that one pivotal moment when the love and the power had merged to save Cam from the accident that left Nathan unable to walk. Nathan figures losing the use of his legs was a fair exchange for Cam’s life. He just can’t ever let Cam know why.

For Cam Almenara, life has been an ongoing cycle of questioning reality. What if his mother hadn’t died when he was ten? What if that drunk driver hadn’t almost killed him and Nathan? What if Nathan’s powers hadn’t protected Cam at the cost of Nathan’s ability to walk? What if Nathan had never convinced himself that Cam’s feelings for him are nothing more than attachment and survivor’s guilt? And what if Cam can never convince Nathan otherwise?

When Nathan is suddenly stricken by seizure like nightmares, his power slips its leash—again. Fearful his rogue abilities will hurt—or worse, kill—Cam, Nathan comes to the conclusion that it’s him or Cam. Nathan knows who he’ll choose.

Trouble is, so does Cam. And he’s just as willing as Nathan is to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the best friend he loves… and prove they belong together.

Review: Off The Ice (Chesterfield Coyotes Book 1) by R.J. Scott and V. L. Locey

Rating: 4.75🌈

I rarely read YA books anymore these days as the age time isn’t that great an interest for me now. But this book has multiple factors going for it that make it a must read.

The authors (a must) R.J. Scott and V. L. Locey, have collaborated again on a hockey series, a subject they are both knowledgeable and passionate about. Additionally, the Chesterfield Coyotes have familiar characters, starting with Soren Madden-Rowe, adopted son of Jared and Ten Madden-Rowe of the Harrisburg Railers NHL team and series ( if you know , you know ). So already the readers have a firm understanding of one half of the main characters involved, their backgrounds, and the supporting cast.

We have a private school, a school hockey team, with the adoptive son of favorite married hockey player and coach from another popular series, and woven into a great storyline, several serious issues, along with a complicated relationship that turns into a romance.

Felix is a character who is not easy to understand at first, there’s so many barriers written into him. Which, I think, makes him more realistic as the facts of his life are revealed. His anger and resentment , a main personality trait, become heartbreaking.

I often find it so hard for authors to write a potentially alienating character yet be able to let the reader see what’s the underlying issue behind the behavior. Yet it happens here with Felix.

A big aspect of this story includes a character, Tyler, who’s bullied by Felix, as well as others in the school. The next story is his. Tyler is on the Coyotes as well. The fact that Tyler is out, wears makeup and hair dye, makes him a target and up for discussion on bullying.

Elements threaded through the story here include bullying , parental abandonment (through divorce), extreme emotional stress over dysfunctional family parenting/relationships, and coming out. Most of that centered in and reflecting out of the character of Felix.

Soren, his brother Milo, sister Lottie, Ten and Jared, even Ryker briefly, everyone on the Madden-Rowe side that we’ve come to love through several series, are present here. Soren, growing up, trying to decide his path, content within his new, loving family, is a joy to read. I loved reconnecting with him and Milo again.

Off The Ice (Chesterfield Coyotes Book 1) by R.J. Scott and V. L. Locey is such a layered, believable coming of age YA story. While it doesn’t hurt to not have read the connecting series, knowing the characters that surround Soren gives this an extra layer and happy emotional boost when reading it.

If I had a tiny bit of grumbling, it was that the coming out scenes was a minor aspect here not a big deal. But maybe that’s a really good idea. That coming out shouldn’t be a problem anymore, that it should be more acceptable and less a fear laden situation.

Either way, that’s my view of the thread and wishful thinking as well.

I’m looking forward to Tyler’s novel and highly recommending this one to all readers, if they love YA novels or whether they , like me, have relegated YA books to the bottom of the list to read next. Shoot this back to the top!

Chesterfield Coyotes:

✓ Off The Ice #1

◦ On Thin Ice #2 – TBD

Buy Link:

Off The Ice: Young Adult Gay Romance (Chesterford Coyotes Book 1)

Description:

A coming-of-age love story with high school, hockey rivalry, friendship, family, and coming out.

Soren’s life changes in an instant when he and his younger brother are adopted by hockey royalty. Making sense of his new life is hard enough, but when he’s enrolled in a private school it means facing a whole new set of problems. Navigating friendship, family, and hockey is one thing, but being attracted to the boy who vexes him is a whole new thing..

Felix has a reputation to protect. He’s the kid who seems to have everything but looks can be deceiving. Spinning lies about his perfect life, he’s created a fantasy world that even he has started to believe. Only, it’s not long before everything crumbles, all of his pretty lies are revealed, and only his closest rival sees through his pain and stands by him.

Fighting is easy, friendship is hard, but love is everything.

Review: The Star (Charleston Condors Book 1) by Beth Bolden

Rating: 4.5🌈

Bolden extends her connected football series with the addition of the Charleston Condors, that reviled team that targeted the Miami Piranhas the last season to such an extent the NFL demanded their sale to a new owner who’s done a complete overhaul. That’s the point where we dive into this new team and series.

I love Bolden’s sport’s romances for any number of reasons. She has a in-depth, passionate knowledge of the sport she’s writing about that makes her players, the team, and the team dynamics she makes a huge part of her stories so realistic and compelling.

In The Star, we see a number of familiar characters or faces that are associated with characters in other series. Tight end Landry Banks comes from the legendary football Banks family that includes his brother, Logan (center for the Miami Piranhas). We have seen him before when the entire family came together for Logan in Miami. A huge, impressive figure, a Thor-like physicality combined with a strong, centered personality. He’s immediately likable and a person who the reader can relate to, odd as that sounds.

Bolden’s ability to get such a distinct looking person and make him relatable through his actions and innermost emotions is one of the greatest qualities of her stories. The other being able to get the reader into the locker room, or onto the field, in the middle of the action and plays, letting us feel the pressure, the excitement and adrenaline! During those scenes, it’s as though it’s actually happening and we’re caught up in it all!

Which brings us to the other main character and his complex relationship with his older brother who also happens to be Landry’s best friend. Rookie quarterback Riley Flynn also has major football connections, in this case it’s his bigger, older, more famous and still playing NFL quarterback brother, Aiden Riley. The golden boy who’s raised him and is now trying to control his life.

This entire situation and element is unexpected and well done. It’s tricky because, as stated Landry and Aiden went to college together, remaining best friends still. Now through a series of surprising events, Riley ends up as the quarterback of the Charleston Condors, something his brother is unhappy about.

In addition to the torturous brotherly relationship he lands in the middle of, Landry is undergoing an epiphany about his sexuality. The only “straight” brother of the Banks family isn’t actually so straight after all when faced with a grownup Riley .

Bolden’s storylines are beautifully woven together as personal attraction grows into something more along with a team that’s learning that it’s possible to overcome the past and for the Condors as a team and organization to come together and move forward as a new unified family.

The Star was a wonderful story and romance as well as a great start to a new series. I can’t wait for The Game to be released! I’m highly recommending this !

The Charleston Condors:

✓ The Star #1

◦ The Game #2 – Aug 31, 2023

Buy Link:

THE STAR

Description:

Tight end Landry Banks knows the score when he signs with the Charleston Condors in a rebuilding year.

New owner. New coach. New players. New rules.

But one rule hasn’t changed: Don’t hook up with your best friend’s little brother.

Rookie quarterback Riley Flynn knows what it takes to make it in the NFL. He’s in Charleston to prove himself—to the world and to his teammates, but mostly to his older brother, who’s never believed he could be a star.

The last thing he expects is for his brother’s best friend Landry to welcome him with open arms and an offer to become roommates.

Riley’s always believed Landry was straight—but the way Landry keeps checking him out leaves him suddenly unsure. And Landry’s hot looks certainly don’t help squash the crush he’s always had on his brother’s best friend.

Revisiting his teenage crush isn’t part of the plan. But as he and Landry fall into a rhythm of thrilling plays on the field and sizzling tension off it, there’s no denying their connection.

Riley isn’t willing to trade becoming the next big NFL superstar for love. But with a man like Landry Banks waiting to catch anything he throws at him, maybe he can have both.

Bolden’s connected Football series in order they are written:

✓ The Riptide

✓ Miami Piranhas

◦ Charleston Condors

Review: Outrun the Rain (The Storm Boys Series Book 1) by N.R. Walker

Rating: 5🌈

How I love Outrun the Rain by N.R. Walker, the first in her new series, The Storm Boys. It’s about two men we met in the prequel (Second Chance at First Love), one a storm chaser, and the other a scientist who studies lightning and storms, who’ve arrived at Kakadu National Park to do just that.

This book reminds me so much of the experience I had the first time reading Walker’s amazing Red Dirt Heart series! It’s in discovering the true layers to the characters, and exploring a richly detailed and diverse terrain that’s unique to Australia and foreign to me. The more I read, the deeper I was emotionally invested in the men, and this journey they were on together.

Walker is able to bring us inside the hearts and minds of each of these startling different individuals with such clarity and love.

To Jeremiah Overton, a fulminologist, lightning is not just a scientific subject matter but a powerful natural phenomenon that’s effectively changed the course of his life. This character is so complicated, so tightly packed up that his layers and history are only revealed through hard won bits of conversation that rewards both Tully Larsen and the reader.

Tully Larsen, the storm chaser , so at home here at Kakadu where he spent long days with his father, and now by himself, chasing storms, watching the wildness happen, is also a bit of an enigma. Until he lets himself open up equally to Jeremiah, each man fully being themselves with another person for the first time.

And the reader feels their emotions, the joy, hesitation, wildness, and love of the experiences they share on this amazing journey to capture data of major storms up close.

Of those storms and the natural dangers inherent within the territory they are located, like swift flooding and crocodiles , Walker has us believing in those too with realistic descriptions and a wealth of knowledge that translates so well into an emotional narrative.

Was I ready for them to head home? No more than they were.

Luckily, there’s two more books in this series. If they are like this one, then I can see The Storm Boys sliding next to Walker’s Red Dirt Heart series as must reads for me. It’s that great.

Where one is dry red desert, this has sheets of endless green, rain and lightning strikes that never seem to end. What amazing bookends!

Ones I’m highly recommending.

The Storm Boys:

✓ Outrun The Rain

◦ Into The Tempest – June 27, 2023

◦ Touch The Lightning-July 18, 2023

Second Chance at First Love: Prequel to The Storm Boys

Buy Link:

Outrun the Rain (The Storm Boys Series Book 1)

Description:

Tully Larson has loved tropical storms since he was a kid and spent his summers with his dad in the wilds of Kakadu National Park. He’s happiest outdoors, a rough and ready kind of guy who loves the power of Mother Nature and chasing the thrill of electrical storms every chance he gets.

Jeremiah Overton, a fulminologist from Melbourne, chases storms for a whole different reason. Lightning has shaped his entire life and he’s driven to study it, to understand it, so heading to Kakadu in the middle of the storm season is a logical thing to do. After all, the Top End is the lightning capital of Australia.

Tully wasn’t sure how a week at his remote bunker with an academic type would pan out. And Jeremiah didn’t expect much from the storm-chasing cowboy who volunteered to take him.

But both men know all too well that when opposites attract, lightning strikes.

Review: Alliance: The Triad Series: Book One by Cari Z

Rating: 4. 25🌈

Alliance is a new polyamorous M/M/M fantasy from author Cari Z, the first in a series.

I enjoyed the book and my introduction to all three main characters, Symon Parador (mage and reluctant groom), queen’s brother, Prince Petur (shifter with multiple shapes, also reluctant groom ), and Deyvid, a warrior/bodyguard who’s been made null to all magic (and who happens to be Petur’s not so hidden love for years).

Cari Z weaves the three person POV between these characters, starting with my favorite, Symon. It’s he who gets the shocking news he’s immediately to be married to Petur, then the equally unpleasant element that Petur’s got a long time love . Nothing says Symon will be happy or welcome in his new life.

Symon becomes, through his deep, passionate and empathetic spirit that the author has created for him, a person we connect to. His journey to his new life with the Prince’s guards lets the reader and guards form a foundation of knowledge of him that makes Symon a great favorite here.

I only wish that I had more of a glimpse of how Symon looks as a whole, beyond his eyes, jewelry, piercings and great magical abilities. We get individual snapshots but never a whole picture. That’s frustrating. Clothes? Hair? Everything that would help flesh out the man and culture he came from.

Oddly, it’s Deyvid, the warrior who’s also the long time love of Petur that’s next in powerful character embodiment. Deyvid’s a character who is second in coming across as being the most fully formed. We see him. From his figure to his face which always carries a faint aroma of a stain , we can see him. His background and personality feels the most layered next to Symon’s, his personality the more complex, and his personal back story is certainly full of angst, deception, betrayal, and damage.

I have the weirdest feeling that the author just loves writing him because the chemistry Cari Z creates for him , starts with Symon, and then Petur. But it’s Deyvid who’s the glue here of the triad.

Finally there’s Prince Petur. He’s not a character who has a great appeal to begin with. There’s little interaction with others, what we see is quick, sexy moments with Deyvid, and solo moments of intense concentration on his own inner plans and suspicions. When we do see him meet up with Symon, someone we’ve come to love, it reflects poorly on Petur.

Of the three, he’s the weakest link. The one with the least amount of information offered to the reader, the lack of background on the shifter species he belongs to is frustrating, as is the world building here as a whole.

I hope that the next story, Endurance, will build out on the universe so lightly framed out here.

Also on the monarchy and kingdoms that have their political roots at the heart of the arc espionage’s threats. That too was not fully established.

Alliance: The Triad Series: Book One by Cari Z is an entertaining fantasy novel. I felt the triad romance was unbalanced towards two of the men who had most of the narrative time , most of the chemistry, and frankly, were my favorites. Prince Petur wasn’t given the same page time as the others so when he espoused that he now loved Symon, it wasn’t believable. It didn’t have the necessary time to become real.

If you want a fantasy with enemies to lovers romance with a triad of three interesting characters, and ongoing mysteries, this is a good place to start.

A recommended read!

The Triad Series:

Alliance #1

Endurance #2

Buy Link:

Alliance: The Triad Series: Book One

Description:

One wedding. Two grooms. Three lovers, preparing to fight for themselves, and their kingdoms.

Symon Parador is a prince in name only until the day he’s bartered away to the neighboring kingdom, to marry their queen’s brother, Petur. A mage in a nation full of shifters who distrust his magic is bad enough, but even worse is the fact that Petur is already as good as married—to an assassin from the north named Deyvid, who’s immune to all magic.

He doesn’t expect to love either of them, but Deyvid’s surprising kindness is too addictive to run from, and even Petur’s ferocity is lightened by his sly sense of humor. Sy could see himself falling for them…if any of them survive the sudden onslaught of attacks against the royal family.

Entwined in a dangerous game of survival, love, and loyalty, the cost of saving his lovers may be Sy’s own life.

Alliance is a polyamorous M/M/M fantasy with enemies to lovers, graphic violence, snarky humor, and explicit sexual content.

Review: Guys Like Him (Redemption Ridge #1) by Aimee Nicole Walker

Rating: 4.5 🌈

I have to admit I was not ready for Walker to leave behind her characters and series set in Savannah, Georgia. The minute I started into one of those stories, I felt like I was coming home. Just narrative perfection.

But authors must move on. And so too the readers.

Now we end up In Colorado, near Colorado Springs. Land of the Rockies and Pike’s Peak. Places I’m pretty familiar with. And a ranch called Redemption Ridge, a working ranch that offers second chances for humans and animals alike.

Honestly, it didn’t take me long to fall in love with this new series. It had me at the element of horse and dog rescues. The horses and care here is detailed and beautifully done, right down to the need for a clean stall.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate seeing accurate information woven into a storyline, and without feeling like a lecture.

The other aspect of the series and book is the personal recovery/redemption of the men who are the main characters.

Employees have seen their lives changed by incarceration, they are ex convicts, or people who have been convicted of crimes and been sentenced to time in jail. Whether they did the crime or not. There’s a distinction.

Kieran Sullivan arrives at Redemption Ridge fresh out of jail, having served time for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s looking for answers, revenge, and hopes to clear his name.

Finley Ashe runs the equestrian program, training other people’s horses to the horses he rescues and helps to recover. He’s also got the worst choice of boyfriends, each one recently being more horrible than the last.

Walker has created a community of completely different personalities that live on or near the ranch. From Cash, the ex-convict owner of the ranch, to all the ranch hands, to Finley’s mom and dad, sister Harry, and extends to the animals like Nellie, the severely abused horse afraid to trust. This is a great new place to be able to explore and experience through their lives and relationships.

Finley and Kieran have a wonderful, sexy , stumbling journey together that includes an investigation, a mutual understanding and love of their animals, and a new found family.

Walker’s dialogues are funny, lively, engaging, and perfect for each character she’s created. Even the snippet for the next story in the series had me laughing because she’d laid out her characters and relationships in just a paragraph because her characterizations are so great.

This is a book and series to grab up and dive into immediately. They won’t be standalones. So read each one starting from the beginning.

If you’re a fan of Walker’s, of contemporary romance, of broken hearts and broken men getting their HEA, then you’ll will find that this story is a book for you.

It’s one I’m highly recommending.

Redemption Ridge:

✓ Guys Like Him #1

◦ The Fortunate Son #2 – Aug 3, 2023

◦ Saints Like Him #3 – Oct 19, 2023

Buy Link:

Guys Like Him (Redemption Ridge Book One)

Description:

Kieran Sullivan is broken when he arrives at Redemption Ridge. A wrongful conviction and twenty months in lockup will do that to a man. The ranch is a place for second chances and fresh starts, but for him, it’s an opportunity to discover who set him up. Get in, get answers, and get out. The plan sounds easy enough until Kieran meets an equine specialist whose sunny smile could warm the coldest heart.

Finley Ashe is a sucker for bruised spirits and sad eyes. The horse whisperer and broken-boy magnet is six months into a hiatus from love when Kieran, the king of emotionally unavailable men, gets assigned to work under his supervision. Mutual attraction is gasoline on proximity’s flame, testing Finley’s resistance in new ways.

Priorities shift, shields come down, and truths get exposed. Will the inevitable combustion redeem Kieran and Finley or consume them?

Guys Like Him is book one in the Redemption Ridge series. Though each story features a different couple, reading the series in order is essential. Guys Like Him contains mature themes and is intended for adults.

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

Rating: 4.25🌈

L. Eveland was a new author for me when I stumbled across the covers for this series. Another example of never underestimating the power of great graphic cover design .

Then come the blurb. Food, high grade restaurant , cooking, and demon chef. Like that doesn’t confirm something I’ve suspected for years! I was definitely checking it out.

Human Chef Adam has worked and strived and cooked his entire life in order to achieve his dream of becoming a professional chef and working with the universally renowned restauranteur and chef, Chef Inzo Amoretti, owner of the famous 3 star Michelin restaurant, Brimstone.

Chef Inzo, an immortal incubus, hired the immensely talented human chef, Adam, when the passion Adam has for his profession and the meals he creates, ignited Chef Inzo Amoretti ‘s flagging energies and own passions .

But the the presence of Adam in Inzo’s restaurant reveals something far greater, and dangerous to them both.

Eveland has delivered a delicious, kinky paranormal romance. It’s awash with sensuality, threaded with the riches of the senses through foods, sauces, aroma, differing sexual desires and kinks. The author doesn’t fail the romance, powering up an equally fierce love for each other as well as all the high quality ingredients and sensational flavors .

Be prepared to drool over the preparation and recipes of the new dishes that have unexpected touches inspired by Adam and his demon Chef.

All the above combines into a mate bond tale of lusty romance and satisfying relationship, at least in that we have only a few questions left unanswered about their life spans together.

This story will happily continue into the next book, Beefcake. That will feature another couple and a wedding cake.

Can’t wait.

This is a definite recommendation!

Culinary Creatures:

Brimstone #1

Beefcake #2 – Dec 31, 2023

Buy Link:

Brimstone: A High Heat, Low Stakes MM Monster Romance Novella (Culinary Creatures Book 1)

Description:

One taste is never enough.

Becoming Brimstone’s head chef is a dream come true, even though I’m the only human on the staff.

Working for Chef Inzo Amoretti? Not so much. Sure, he’s a talented genius and distractingly gorgeous, but he’s also a demanding incubus with impossibly high standards, especially when it comes to me. It seems nothing I do in the kitchen is good enough for Chef Inzo.

Yet he’s so sinfully attractive, I can’t stop thinking about him, even when he’s shouting at me.

Falling for my boss is bad enough, but for an incubus? Is it worth putting my soul on the line for a little taste of heaven?

Brimstone is the first book in the Culinary Creatures series. Each novella in this series is a standalone MM monster romance that features high heat, low stakes, and a delicious recipe you can try at home!

Review: Kissed by the Krampus:(Monsters in my Bed Book 1) by L Eveland

Rating: 4.5🌈

Eveland is a new author for me so I did what I always do with new authors I enjoy. Read everything they’ve written. And I’m so happy that I did because I discovered Eveland’s Monsters in my Bed series.

A paranormal fantasy Monster series, it starts at its heart, a group of young soldiers, on duty on Christmas Eve in Afghanistan, heading from from base camp to another when their convoy hits IED’s buried in the road. Only 4 of them survive. The emotional and physical wounds are deep,brutal and for some, permanent. Survivor’s guilt, PTSD, depression and grief runs deep throughout the men. One loses both legs , another, the chaplain, his faith.

One of the themes explores the discussion of whose should be labeled a monster in this universe? Those generals and the military in this world exploiting both humans and nonhumans for power and control or is it the paranormal beings labeled Monster because of their appearance, languages, and abilities?

Each story take one veteran, all still carrying the pain and burden from that day’s trauma in different ways, and pairs them up with a Monster or nonhuman being .

In Kissed By The Krampus, the vet is one Chris Kringle. Angry, depressed, his PTSD overwhelming him to the point he can’t keep a job, and is alienating those closest to him, the three friends who survived with him. It’s Christmas Eve and they are checking up on Hotdog, the double amputee who’s become a hermit, never leaving his house.

That night Chris meets his monster. The Krampus his grandmother warns him will be about that night. But nothing turns out as you expect. The Krampus isn’t the mythical beast of scary stories but a lonely, sad being with a painful past history.

Together, after much mental and emotional sharing , they help each other understand the heart of their pain and how to cope with the burdens of their past.

It’s such a moving journey for both of them. Ollie, the Krampus, and Chris , the vet. Each a warrior in their right and each with a burden they must be able to lay down at the end.

Eveland has many more elements to this story that will carry over to the other books. Themes as well as actual storylines concerning big plot points.

There’s action, suspense, military subterfuge, and more. It’s a fast paced tale.

It’s also very sexy. The author’s very inventive when it come to the sexuality and organs of nonhumans.

And Eveland never forgets the warfare and brutality that starts the book and series, the explosions that forever changes these men’s lives . Its impact is realistically felt through all their actions, emotions, their dialogue, and in what they aren’t able to handle. It’s raw and real.

There are trigger warnings at the beginning of each book. Heed them because this novel is one you will get emotionally caught up in.

And it’s one I’m highly recommending.

One mistake the author made . Not sure why it wasn’t caught. This is , of course, the first in the series, so the author named Hotdog as Robert Jones in real life.

“ So everybody just kind of gets a nickname. Hotdog’s real name was Robert Jones, about as common a name as you can get, so we got to naming him real quick.”

Unfortunately, by the time his book arrives, he’s become Robert Smith. No explanation. Someone should have caught that.

Otherwise, outstanding storytelling. Great concepts, and I love these four men.

Run, don’t walk or slide or whatever, and grab the series up. More reviews will follow.

Monsters in my Bed series:

✓ Kissed by the Krampus #1

◦ Scales and Song #2

◦ Hearts and Halos #3

✓ Lassos and Lace #4

Buy Link:

Kissed by the Krampus: M/M Paranormal Fantasy Monster Romance (Monsters in my Bed Book 1)

Description:

Some wounds, only a monster can heal.

I’ve always hated Christmas. With a name like Chris Kringle, it’s hard not to.


It’s only gotten worse since I’ve been back from the war. Christmas is supposed to be jolly, but for me, it’s a grim reminder of past failures.

I need to get away from it. To be somewhere quiet. To heal.

When I wake up in the South Pole after an accident to a Krampus tending my wounds, it feels like the perfect opportunity to get some much-needed R&R.

Yet this gentle giant is so achingly sweet, I can’t help but fall for him, even though he’s a monster.

But another, more sinister monster may be lurking much closer to home, and if we don’t hunt it down in time, this could be the last Christmas ever.

Kissed by the Krampus is a holiday MM monster romance for adults featuring a cinnamon roll monster and a veteran grappling with his PTSD.

Review: Bring Me Home (Safe Harbor Book 1) by Annabeth Albert

Rating: 4.75🌈

I probably wouldn’t have picked up this story except that the author is Annabeth Albert, an auto read.

While age gap is a trope I read, something about dating the sons of best friends hasn’t set right with me, especially when paired with a substantial age gap. Add in other factors of familiarity of knowing the person as a child and those stories ride a fine line.

But Albert’s story, the first of a new series, successfully addresses every aspect of those issues and has written a very moving romance. It’s also a fascinating one, in that one element, a ongoing cold mystery case investigation, is left to run into the next novel and appears to be a connecting bridge to all the books in Safe Harbor.

Give me a mystery and I’m a happy reader!

Albert has always been able to get intimately into the mindset of military men. Whether they are still in service, or in the case of Monroe, a recently retired Lieutenant in the NCIS unit of the Navy. He’s returned to Safe Harbor, near Portland, Oregon, to handle the sale of the old Victorian he inherited from his great aunt and then move to San Francisco, where he plans to live an anonymously contented gay life.

Albert paints Monroe’s return to Safe Harbor as a choice both joyous as he connects with his friends and tumultuous as aspects of his plans start to become less manageable. And things he thought he knew about his aunt and life make him rethink his perspectives.

Monroe is a multifaceted person. Far from the expected textbook of a naval officer, Albert gives us a man of emotional riches and dimensions. Those sensitive layers are revealed from the beginning. And to a person we absolutely know to be Knox. Whose own personality and character traits are the yin to Monroe’s yang.

Love Knox as deeply as I do Monroe. He’s another well crafted character who keeps revealing more depths and details to his personality and background as the story progresses.

Albert is able to build a believable relationship between two men, equal in intensity and intelligence, whose passion for each other overrides any consideration for age differences.

The reader gets invested in the relationship because of the chemistry and excellence of the dynamics being shared between them. The history of needing to feeling safe as a child that’s never left behind as an adult. That deep desire to have a true home. That all rings true.

As does the power of the fear of rejection that comes from losing the love of a friend or parent who doesn’t approve.

All this great storytelling that encompasses a romantic relationship, a town and its people, and an ongoing mystery. I’m 100 percent in and invested.

I can’t wait for the next book to be released. The listed books can be found below.

Until then, I’m highly recommending Bring Me Home (Safe Harbor Book 1) by Annabeth Albert.

Note. Two person POV until it switches at the end to include a third person to set up the next story in the series. I understand why but it’s still strange to switch format that late in the book.

Safe Harbor:

✓ Bring Me Home #1

◦ Make Me Stay #2 – June 15, 2023

◦ Find Me Worthy #3 – Sept 7, 2023

Buy Link:

Bring Me Home: A Dad’s Best Friend Small Town MM Romance (Safe Harbor Book 1)

Description:

Help!

I’ve inherited my aunt’s historic house in small-town Oregon, and I need to fix it up and sell it fast before I move on to my big-city dreams. I’m one of the navy’s best investigators, but twenty years of living in base housing means DIY isn’t part of my extensive skill set.

Luckily, my best friend has the solution: his twenty-three-year-old son. Knox recently graduated from college, needs a room for the summer, and comes with a giant cat and years of remodeling experience.

Not only is Knox all grown up and hot as sin, but I recognize him. He’s the bossy, bearded guy I shared the hottest kiss of my life with. No way can my buddy find out I’ve got it bad for his son. But with all the stripping, hammering, and drilling, my defenses crumble one dance break at a time.

As our sexy secret summer fling continues, Knox also proves himself handy at fixing my grumpy mood and wounded heart. Now I can’t imagine a future without him. I can solve any problem the navy throws at me, but I have no clue what to do about loving Knox or the damage this could do to my decades-long friendship.

Can we build a forever together, or are we destined to go our separate ways?

BRING ME HOME is a small-town Dad’s-best-friend MM romance. It features a forty-something grumpy former naval investigator, a much younger ray of sunshine, a matchmaking cat, sexy times in unusual locations, enough heat to burn the neighborhood, and a warm fuzzy hug’s worth of found-family feels. Dual point-of-view and big fluffy HEA guaranteed!

BRING ME HOME launches the brand-new Safe Harbor series from acclaimed author Annabeth Albert. Knox, Monroe, and the rest of Safe Harbor, Oregon, welcome readers to a historic town with a tight friend group, memorable secondary characters, quirky businesses, and long-held secrets. Each book stands alone with a fresh couple, but the background mystery of the town’s secrets ties the series together.

Review: Renovating the Model (Forestville Silver Foxes Book 1) by Nora Phoenix

Rating: 4.75 🌈

Nora Phoenix has released the first book in her new series about older men finding their HEA and it’s a sweet , smartly crafted romantic read.

I found myself liking every aspect of the world building she’s putting in place for her series and the small engaging group of long term friends I’m sure she will pull from to get her stories.

The location is Forestville, Washington. A small town with a river dissecting its Main Street from its outlying edge with some houses, park edge , and auto shop. The author has supplied a charming hand drawn map that helps place all the houses, and really shows how small Forestville is. I love that detail.

Then comes the foundation group of school friends. Boys that have been essentially family to each other since childhood. The story begins in the past, at their senior prom. We see the group dynamics, who they are hooking up with, and plans for their future. Tiago and Tomas , the gorgeous Banner twins are already headed for model fame and fortune. Two other friends,Essex and Auden, are headed into different branches of the military. Marnin’s future was unsettled.

Flash forward 30 years to a class reunion that brings those left together again and we see what the years have changed those teenagers into.

Tiago, along with his twin, are still internationally recognized and sought after super models. But for Tiago, the lifestyle has become increasingly difficult and one he’s tired of.

Renovating the Model Is a smart contemporary romance that contains elements of personal struggles with a learning disability and power inequality within a brotherly dynamic. It’s done with a realistic portrayal of a loving but insecure person who’s been made to feel inferior his entire life because of his severe dyslexia.

There’s other strong aspects to consider here in the narrative, each with varying levels of complexity. Cas’ scars, an inner circle character’s bullying, and even a minor character’s domestic abuse. Each one woven into the story with a gentleness and attention to detail that makes it seem as though they have the emotional impact that they should.

This story is sweet, sexy, convincing, and engaging. I loved the characters, the age gap , here Tiago is 47 or 48 with Cas , the contractor being 18 years younger. But as written, the deep connection and great chemistry between them makes any age gap seem insignificant.

Two final notes. Authors often say books like these are or can be read as standalone stories within the series. But I disagree. There’s a personal connection, emotional history that’s being built into the narrative here. Lines of dialogue and friendship that dates years of change between people who will have important relationships with each person even if it’s not the romantic ones. So read them in order, it just makes sense.

A word choice that bothered me. The author used unpractical. That word by any dictionary’s definition should be impractical.

“Trust me, most of the stuff I model is unpractical, and I’d never wear it in private.”

That’s it. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book and absolutely recommend it for all lovers of contemporary romance. I can’t wait for the next story to be released.

Forestville Silver Foxes:

✓ Renovating the Model #1

◦ Awakening the Sheriff #2 – July 29, 2023

Buy Link:

Renovating the Model (Forestville Silver Foxes Book 1)

Description:

Everyone knows my face. No one knows the real me.

All people see when they look at me is a beautiful man, a supermodel, half of the world’s most famous twins. No one sees the man underneath.

When I return to Forestville, the small town I grew up in, for my high school reunion, I impulsively decide to stay.

I’m now the proud owner of a house, an absolute fixer-upper. Never mind that I have two left hands.

Thank god for Cas, the local contractor, who agrees to help me out. We come from completely different worlds and are almost twenty years apart, yet we somehow connect.

Cas sees me, the real me.

We hook up…

Then become friends…

With benefits (courtesy of a snowstorm)…

And a fake relationship (long story)…

But when fake becomes real and pretending turns into feelings I can’t deny, I’m left wondering if what we have stands a chance.

Renovating the Model is the first book in the new Forestville Silver Foxes series, a contemporary small-town MM romance series featuring hot silver foxes and the men who fall in love with them. Each book can be read as a standalone.