Review: Nixing the End of the World by Alice Winters

Rating: 3 🌈

I love Alice Winters. I love urban fantasy. I usually love Alice Winters urban fantasy romances. So why was Nixing the End of the World by Alice Winters, while entertaining, not wholly enjoyable?

That’s a question that has really been bothering me.

The story has Winters usual elements. A interesting plot, a likable main, albeit clueless character in Nix, some fascinating other beings the circle around him. But for me I believe the issue started immediately, and it’s built within the story. It’s that old problem of honor, trust, friendship, and betrayal.

Here it becomes my issue with the book. Why? Because fundamental to this story is breaking the trust of someone who is supposed to be so close to you, they’re almost a sibling. It’s is done here often, with all the processes at times of a person crumpling a bag of chips, and with the expectations that that person will immediately forgive you. Every single time.

Knows a person for most their lives, lies to them about the things that are essential to saving them, puts them in danger. Says basically oops. Over and over.

A number of characters. To Nix.

So what’s the message here a reader is to take away? While absorbing all the stuff about the new fantasy world, the characters, travel and Nix’s mission… we get that everyone close to Nix essentially lies to him all the time, betrays him, has since he can remember. And the reader is supposed to connect with any or all of them?

Um no.

I don’t find anyone of them, outside of the cat and so called horse with antlers halfway personable.

His best friend since early childhood is probably the worst of them all. She consistently betrays his trust, has actually been a fraud in all their lives, and then no matter what she’s done, expects their relationship to continue on the same and instant forgiveness.

Which she gets.

The author apparently discarding the impact all the revelations would actually make on a person. Instead treating these issues as trivial notions, or something to be given mention but emotionally impactful? Narratively not.

There’s exciting battles, mages and magic. A touch of romance. And the journey continues on with the note that Nix will still need to save the world.

All very well.

But first, there’s a foundation that needs to be fixed and more then a few characters in need of a make over in order for me to find this a place to be comfortable in.

I left this story, as I entered it. Unconnected and uninvolved in anyone’s lives and how the journey will out in the end.

If they don’t care that they can’t depend on those closest to them, why should I? Therein lies the crux.

If this seems like a story for you, continue forward. For me? I’m stopping here.

https://www.goodreads.com › showNixing the End of the World by Alice Winters – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Nix
“You are the savior of mankind” are the last words I ever expected to hear while nibbling on fries. The thing is, I’m not mankind saving material. I don’t even have magic (and just found out it exists). I’m the most boring, normal(ish) human ever.

Suddenly, I’m being tossed right into the middle of a fight that started years before I was even born, and then I get partnered up with Alastair, a quirky magical Guardian. He is rather attractive and sweet when he’s not into the whole “woe is me, I can’t let myself fall in love with you” nonsense. I mean, the moment he took my annoyingly judgmental grandma hostage, it was all over for me. I was hooked.

Now the only problem is… what exactly are we saving the world from?

Alastair
The moment I laid eyes on Nix, the naive yet easygoing human captivated my attention, and now I’m determined to protect him. But despite my amazing and majestic abilities, we might not make it out of this mess. Still, there must be a reason Nix was chosen. No, he doesn’t have pizazz and maybe he really doesn’t have magic, but he’s also one of the strongest and kindest men I’ve ever met.

Now if I can just get him to stop throwing blankets at enemies, we might have a shot at this.

Nixing the End of the World contains a flaming “horse” with antlers who inexplicably appears when needed (or not), an interfering BFF who didn’t really mean to light the trunk on fire, a six-toed cat that looks like he put a claw in a socket, and an incubus who just wants a smoothie without anyone losing their clothes.

Review: Charlie Sunshine (Close Proximity #2) by Lily Morton

Rating: 3.5🌈

Charlie Sunshine is the second in the Close Proximity trilogy and I probably didn’t do it any favors by skipping it and reading the infinitely better story After Felix next. It just plain suffers by comparison.

Several things worked against this I think. The author immediately linked books one and three together by the characters and couples themselves. Felix works in Zeb Evans’ employment agency and turns into a great friend of Jesse Reed, Zeb’s boyfriend. The quartet of men was a natural flow of wit, drama, and romance.

But Misha and Charlie? They are associated with the others but mentioned only briefly prior so where the reader felt a real connection to the couples in books one and three, Charlie Sunshine is already flat on the ground, or a bit behind.

Why that last? Unfortunately I think it has to do with the characters themselves. Charlie is almost too perfect. He’s an adorable , highly intelligent librarian who’s runway gorgeous. People walk into poles because they’re looking at him. That’s not exactly relatable. The author needed do something to make him fallible. The answer? Charlie has epilepsy.

This element is well done and well researched. Morton folded this aspect of the story into Charlie’s character realistically. How it effects Charlie and his life is believable. I think it did make me feel that I understood Charlie more. But I felt that I wish I had more of Charlie’s life pre accident so the fact that he had epilepsy now wasn’t just something to make him and the disease, idk , a way of inserting a vulnerability instead of letting readers see a character function beautifully within his diagnosis.

Let me know how you all feel about this. I’m curious.

Misha , the hedge fund banker, is the best friend who suddenly realizes the man he loves is right beside him. It’s a great trope and I’m not sure why again I didn’t get 100 percent into this romance and couple.

There’s the usual lack of understanding, lack of communication until there isn’t.

The characters around them are superb. Charlie’s family especially are tremendous, both dads and mother. So too are Misha’s family of a terrific mom and twin sisters. Plus his cousin Felix.

Morton’s ability to write characters that grab at your heart are scattered throughout this story, I’m just not sure the biggest is Charlie for me. Or Misha. They are good but I’m not sure they are great.

The end is very satisfying, you’ll be happy for the couple. It’s a great place to end for them.

I’m highly recommending the Close Proximity trilogy. Charlie Sunshine is a good way to fill in your knowledge of this group between the first and fantastic last novels.

Close Proximity series:

✓ Best Man #1

✓ Charlie Sunshine #2

✓ After Felix #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showCharlie Sunshine (Close Proximity, #2) by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Sometimes love is a lot closer to home than you think.

Charlie Burroughs can’t keep a man. All he wants is a good relationship like the ones he sees his friends having, but none of the men he picks ever work out. Despite him trying to be the perfect boyfriend, the men are either threatened by his looks or his epilepsy or a combination of the two. It’s lucky that he has his best friend Misha to turn to. The two of them are closer than peas in a pod and fiercely loyal to each other. He can’t imagine his life without Misha in it.

Misha Lebedinsky is the complete opposite of his best friend. Being the support system for his mum and twin sisters leaves Misha with neither the time nor the inclination for a relationship. Quick and frequent hook-ups are his favourite means of communication and any other pesky emotional needs he has are met by Charlie, who he’s devoted to. He lives a life of happy compartmentalization with no intention of ever changing.

All of this changes when the two best friends move in together. Being in close proximity means that they suddenly start to see each other in a very different light. But Charlie struggles when his drive to be the perfect partner clashes with the fact that he’s in love with a man who knows every little thing about him. And even if he can get past that, can a relationship ever work with a man who’d need a dictionary to tell him what love means?

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a love story about a sunny librarian who has relationship written all over him and a cynical banker who doesn’t even have it in his blurb.

Review: Security Detail By B. A. Tortuga

Rating: 3 🌈

Security Detail is one of Tortuga’s Cozy Romances and a side story to her last book, Trial By Fire.

That was a romance between a Texas rodeo cowboy and an Australian one, both from rich families with a stake in a child left a orphan when the parents, siblings of the main characters, died.

This book involves two men from the security team from the now married couple, who divide their time between the two countries and their two large holdings. Again one’s a Texan and one’s an Aussie.

The romance isn’t bad, in fact it’s sweet and hot. However, there’s other issues here that carry over from that first novel.

If you’re writing about characters from another country, especially one like Australian, then those characters need to behave and sound like they come from Australia. Even the certain part of Australia.

However, here there’s absolutely nothing to distinguish Ryan (Texan) from Dez (Aussie). Not Dez’s dialog, nothing in his casual chatter, or even the way a Aussie shortens certain words. There’s pages and pages, then a “Oi” gets thrown in the beginning of a sentence. And that’s it .

From a author who’s unbelievable talent lies in establishing the very heart and soul of a character as well as the culture of the land they walk on by just a regional throw away line, the lack of any color to the people here via the verbiage is disappointing.

Nothing especially says Texas either.

Could be anywhere West.

Then there’s the drama which is just , if I’m being kind, uncomplicated. It’s almost exactly the same as before. These are supposed to be extremely smart security professionals. Nothing here says that. So it’s very hard for a reader to engage in the storylines and main characters. Plus there’s no real resolution to the mystery behind the kidnapping. That’s left forgotten, and the reader unsatisfied with this aspect of the story. At least this reader.

Still, people like the intriguing Chrissie the tech guy make the book. You want more of him. And his background.

The conclusion is just odd. They basically decide to start a side office in Costa Rica because Ryan likes a beach and they needed a vacation. While that’s understandable, given past events, they hit their bosses and best friends with this out of the blue with no notice and with everything new , such as untried security just starting.

So again, no. A big SMH for this ending and really the entire story.

I like the cover .

To understand this book, you might want to read Trial By Fire beforehand.

https://www.goodreads.com › showSecurity Detail (AusTex, #2) by B.A. Tortuga – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Security experts Dez and Ryan teamed up to form a business after they worked together on the kidnapping of a friend’s daughter. Australian Dez and former Marine Ryan have amazing chemistry together, and for one amazing night they acted on it. But then Des got cold feet, and the two of them have never connected again in that way.

Ryan thinks Dez just isn’t that into him. Dez doesn’t want to mess up his friendship with Ryan over something that may or may not ever come to pass. In the midst of all this frustration, they also have to deal with a security crisis with their respective best friends, Holden and Lachlan. When they have to band together to get their friends back, Ryan and Dez are reminded why they work so well together. But can they solve their own problems, and find their way back to each other, as well as save the day?

Review : A Touch of Fever (Arcane Hearts #1) by Nazri Noor

Rating: 4🌈

A Touch of Fever is the first story in the Arcane Hearts series by Nazri Noor. He’s a new author for me and I’m definitely going to look forward to more from him in the future.

I enjoyed my time with these characters and this universe. Noor does an excellent job creating a world we want to know more about, especially the Black Market. It’s a place that moves itself, it’s new destination known only to itself. What a exciting concept.

Our main characters, which I think will grow over the next couple of books to include a sort of found family, is especially fascinating. We have a mage with a haunting future, Xander Wright. Our main hero, the artificer Jackson Pryde, who just might be something more. We have a witch Beatrice and a Guardian who I’ll let you read about. That’s part of the story.

There’s a small quest, a bigger mystery, some murders, and finally a larger adventure looming on the horizon.

If there wasn’t some on the page sex, very hot btw, I’d say this was the perfect YA series.

Noor has written terrific relatable characters, one’s dealing with issues of self worth, family responsibilities, the burden of duty, the pain of loss, and inadequacy. It’s tough being young sometimes. And Noor captures that.

Which is why I think that it’s a YA novel is everything but that it has sex scenes . It’s a terrific story either way.

I’m definitely on my way to the next in the series. And recommending this book now.

Arcane Hearts series:

✓ A Touch of Fever #1

◦ A Stroke of Brilliance #2

◦ An Iron Fist #3

◦ A Velvet Glove #4

https://www.goodreads.com › showA Touch of Fever (Arcane Hearts, #1) by Nazri Noor – Goodreads

Synopsis:

What do you do when you can’t cast spells? You make your own magic.

Jackson Pryde was never great at wielding magic. Instead, he works as an artificer, crafting enchanted devices in the Black Market, a shadowy bazaar of wonders. But Xander Wright, the mouthy, pretentious mage next door, hates all the hammering in Jackson’s workshop.

When a chance assignment forces them to team up, they discover a terrifying predicament. Something is driving members of the magical community into murderous rages. Jackson and Xander must combine might and magic to find the source of the Fever and stop it. Can they put aside their differences long enough to end the Fever, or will they succumb to its bloodthirsty curse?

A Touch of Fever is a 70,000-word M/M urban fantasy romance with a HFN ending. Join a fast-talking artificer and a snarky sorcerer, best friends turned bitter enemies, as they navigate an adventure filled with strange flora, mythical fauna, and magical murders. If you like your urban fantasy with humor, horror, and a whole lot of heart, you’ve come to the right place. Experience A Touch of Fever today.

Review: Best Man (Close Proximity #1) by Lily Morton

Rating: 4 🌈

Fake boyfriend trope is a favorite of mine so when I saw a story written by a must read author, Lily Morton, with that as a factor, I was in.

It also was a age gap, no surprise, with humor, again, a usual hallmark of this author, and a curmudgeon of a fellow in need a of a bit of a change in perspective about himself and his path in life. So yes, I settled in for a Morton romance.

Best Man didn’t let me down. Indeed our first meeting with the irrepressible Jesse Reed walks into the offices of Zeb Evans’ employment agency for an unforgettable interview. It’s funny, full of the sparkling dialogue and warm chemistry that draws me over and over into Morton’s stories.

We then snap forward several years as Jesse ‘s become a mainstay employee at Zeb’s agency, if a bit of a occasionally over exuberant when carrying out his clients wishes. We fall right into a guffaw moment with Jesse and it’s instant love!

We see the type of relationship Zeb and Jesse have grown into, as well as the potential one that waits if Zeb could allow himself a lessening of the restraints that so tightly bind him.

A wedding and a promise to be the best man necessitate the need for a fake boyfriend for Zeb. Who better then Jesse?

Especially when it’s something both men want truthfully anyway.

Their romance starts remarkably full of exploration and joy but Morton shows that the past history that’s been ignored has a way of interfering until it’s dealt with.

I would have thought Zeb a tad more intelligent about his ex given his past experiences with him in this story so it made events here seem less believable.

But Jessie’s father was a wonderful element and the entire last section of the book warm, inviting, and wholly satisfying.

They made a great couple and I look forward to Charlie and Felix’s books. Especially Felix. I adore that man.

I’m recommending Best Man to all lovers of contemporary romance and Lily Morton. Have a wonderful read!

Close Proximity series:

Best Man #1

Charlie Sunshine #2

After Felix #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showBest Man (Close Proximity, #1) by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Zeb Evans doesn’t do messy.

The product of a disorganised and chaotic childhood, Zeb likes order and control, and as the boss of his own employment agency he can give that to himself. Life runs along strict lines and he never mixes business with pleasure. Everything in his life lives in neat, alphabetized boxes. Until Jesse.

Jesse Reed is Zeb’s complete opposite. He’s chaos personified. A whirling cyclone of disorder. He’s also charming and funny and a very unwanted distraction.

Which is why it comes as a complete surprise to Zeb to find himself asking Jesse to pose as his boyfriend for a few days in the country at a wedding.

Zeb doesn’t do impulsive, but as the time away progresses, he finds himself increasingly drawn to the merry and irreverent Jesse. But can he bring himself to break the hard-won lessons he’s learnt in life? And even if he can, how could Jesse be attracted to him anyway? He’s so much older than Jesse, not to mention being his boss.

From the bestselling author of the Mixed Messages and Finding Home series comes a warm and funny romance about one man’s fight for control and another man’s determination to circumvent it.

This is the first book in the Close Proximity series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Review: Long Winter (Wild One’s #1) by Rachel Ember

Rating: 3.25🌈

I heard about this book and thought it sounded interesting so I picked it up. Plus I’m always looking for new authors and I love a western romance.

What I found was a novel that held a lot of promise. The story was interesting and the author’s writing was well done. Her descriptions, especially when it came to certain character.dynamics, was realistic and relatable.

But I feel the author undermines her story and her characters relationship development by the consistent yet uneven flashbacks inserted into the current storyline. Just as a reader starts getting invested in Robbie and Lance’s reunion and developing relationship, we are pulled immediately away from them into a flashback. Could be anytime frame, from when they were in grade school to teenagers, the flashbacks themselves are all over the place.

While it serves to fill in gaps in their background and tumultuous childhoods, basically all it does is disconnect us from the present and everything that’s starting to evolve there.

A simple “ remember when….” would have sufficed and not broken the narrative flow half as much as the herky jerky format the author proceeds with throughout this book.

There’s some very charming moments here. Those with the calf are adorable and realistic. Also the character of Robbie’s ex wife is lovely. Well defined and compassionate.

Had this book stayed in the present most of the time, I believe we would feel better and more importantly more deeply connected to everyone involved.

The other “half “ of this series or two parter for this couple is Signs of Spring. Hopefully the flashbacks are over and we can stay in the present. Then the other stories focus on the other Chase brothers.

I’m curious to see how much the format continues so I’m onto the next.

I do like the story but found the format took me out of the narrative too often to stay connected. The author has still done a lovely job with her characters and descriptions.

Check it out for yourself!

https://www.goodreads.com › showLong Winter (Wild Ones #1) by Rachel Ember – Goodreads

Wild Ones Duet:

✓ Long Winter #1

◦ Signs of Spring #2

◦ Burning Season #3

◦ As the Tallgrass Grows #4

Synopsis:

A complicated history divides them, but when they find themselves in close quarters while the snow falls, the heat between them builds slowly, and burns hot.

It’s been a long, cold winter at Riverside Ranch, where Robbie has lived alone since his brothers moved away. Alone, that is, except for his three devious cats, four saddle horses, and the forty-eight mustangs that roam the ranch.

Robbie is preparing for yet another snowfall when he gets the last call he expected—a plea to pick up Lance Taylor from the county jail.

Lance wasn’t just his little brother’s best friend, he was a part of the family. Then, one night, after Lance asked Robbie for something Robbie couldn’t give, he ran away and never came back.

Lance was sixteen and heartbroken when he left his middle-of-nowhere hometown. Six years later, he’s at rock bottom with nowhere else to go, and no one to turn to but Robbie, the man Lance has been inconveniently in love with for most of his life.

When Robbie offers Lance a place to stay, Lance expects a guest bedroom and awkward silences. Instead, he finds himself sharing Robbie’s one-room hayloft apartment and its single bed, while realizing that the old flame he carries for Robbie might not be so hopeless, after all.

Long Winter is the first book in the Wild Ones series and has a happy-for-now ending. Robbie and Lance’s story continues in Signs of Spring, to be released March 12, 2021.

Review: Dare You (Dare To Try #1) by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine

Rating: 4.75🌈

I’ll confess, I’ve never read either author’s series before or even either author before this book. That’s going to be quickly fixed once this trilogy is done because I’m sold on both this universe and characters the authors have created together and separately.

But first Dare You, the beginning of the Dare To Try trilogy by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine. It’s a fantastic story. From the moment we’re dropped into plot, which is a fire in progress and a Engine group racing to the call, it’s all in! The authors have our complete attention, making us totally invested in the events unfolding before us.

The fireman is Kieran Bailey, hardworking lieutenant at Station 73, who’s just rescued a gorgeous woman dressed in red from a penthouse suite in Chicago. Or so he thinks.

Until the ambulance arrives and the she is Sebastian “Bash” Vogel, the extremely wealthy, and magnetic, cross-dressing CEO of AnaVoge, a tech company.

Those aren’t spoilers but facts found in the descriptions. Oh but what follows is beyond words fabulous and downright wonderful.

Because the authors take these men on an emotional journey. For Kieran, he’s always thought of himself as straight. He’s from a family with two gay brothers in committed relationships but for himself? Not really. Until Bash comes into his life and makes him question everything.

Kieran’s emotional and sexual journey is realistic, complete with his doubts about his feelings, flashes of guilt and anger, everything he’s unable to communicate or understand when faced with his attraction for Bash.

It’s not just Kieran, however, who is feeling vulnerable. Bash is also having issues with being attracted to a man who’s always identified as being “straight “. Also the fact that they live in separate states . So many potential barriers.

Dare To sees the men beginning to acknowledge not only the attraction but the fact that there’s something else behind the physical attraction. Something that’s emotionally connecting them.

The writing here is so well done, the characters layered and relatable ( even the bazillionaire) because we see them at their most vulnerable.

The end of the novel finds our men at a crossroads of sorts. A crisis that continues into Dare Me, the second story in the trilogy.

All three books are complete so do what I did. Get them all. Set aside a night. Get yourself settled and enjoy a fabulous time.

I’m highly recommending all three, starting with Dare You (Dare To Try #1) by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine .

I adore these men.

Authors too!

Dare To Try Trilogy:

✓ Dare You #1

✓ Dare Me #2

✓ Truth or Dare #3

Dare You (Dare to Try, #1) by Ella Frank – Goodreads

Synopsis;

From Ella Frank’s Prime Time series and Brooke Blaine’s South Haven series comes an explosive spin-off of both worlds.

Sebastian “Bash” Vogel, the magnetic, cross-dressing CEO of AnaVoge, has long been a lone island when it comes to his personal life. Self-assured and playful, he’s never left wanting for suitors—but Bash isn’t looking for something permanent. He’s more than fulfilled with his company and his closest friends, and no one is going to shake up the status quo.

That is, until he’s thrown over the shoulder of one of Chicago’s finest and hauled out of a burning building.
Kieran Bailey, a sexy, hardworking lieutenant at Station 73, has been reaping the rewards of being crowned the city’s hottest fireman, which his crew never lets him forget. So many ladies, so little time. So when he rescues the latest damsel in distress, no one is more shocked than him to realize he’s played prince charming to another…prince.

But Bash isn’t like anyone Kieran has ever met, and soon his world is turned upside down as he becomes more intrigued by the enigmatic man that he can’t stay away from.

They’re from two different worlds. This could never work. But what if…they dared to try?

Dare You is book one of the Dare to Try trilogy, which must be read in order. Prior reading is not required, but is always a fantastic idea for maximum enjoyment.

Spin off from the Authors South Haven series.

Review: The Stopping Place by Lily Morton

Rating: 4.5🌈

The Stopping Place by Lily Morton is such a lovely short story. Originally written for Heart2Heart charity anthology, the author edited it and enlarged it to incorporate a epilogue here.

Many of my favorite Lily Morton elements are at play here. There’s age gap, past trauma to overcome, and men who will find themselves in the midst of a sea change, unknowingly so.

And it starts , as do all her chapters and books, with a memorable quote.

“I am no traveler; you are my world.”

Daphne du Maurier

My Cousin Rachel

Yes, I’m sunk immediately.

So opens the tale of Simeon Frith and Ziggy Tuesday.

We see that’s Simeon had an injury and his friend has placed an ad for a companion to help with things and walk his dog.

Yes dogs or a cat are another element with Morton.

We see that. Then Simeon and Ziggy having sex. From there , time folds in and around as we see what brought Ziggy into Simeon’s life, their life together…. And the decisions when it gets closer to the cast coming off and time for Ziggy’s departure.

These are layered, real people. The scenes emotional if quiet. And the air filled with the sounds of the sea .

Such a beautiful journey, such lovely men…. And dogs.

Even a brief story like The Stopping Place by Lily Morton will fill you with a quiet joy.

I’m highly recommending it.

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Stopping Place by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Simeon Frith is recovering from a car accident at his house in Cornwall. He’s a successful man and usually very self-sufficient, but after attempting to open a can of baked beans with a brick, he realises that he needs help. However, he never imagined that putting an advert in the paper for an assistant would result in the gorgeous Ziggy Tuesday sauntering into his life.

The much younger Ziggy is fun and free-spirited, and an attraction quickly grows between them. When they finally sleep together and Ziggy insists that it be completely strings-free, Simeon can’t believe his luck. However, to his horror, he develops unforeseen feelings for the laidback surfer, and he can’t stop them, despite knowing that Ziggy will always leave. It’s what he’s done all his life.

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a short story about a summer fling that is going to change two men’s lives forever.

This story originally appeared in the third Heart2Heart charity anthology. It has had a new scene and an epilogue added to it.

Review: Ride the Lightning (Sinister in Savannah #1) by Aimee Nicole Walker

Rating: 4.75 🌈

I’ve always found Aimee Nicole Walker to be an excellent author so I was happy to find a series of hers I hadn’t read yet. From just the first book I’m in for an outstanding , exciting journey!

Ride the Lightning is the first novel in Walker’s Sinister in Savannah series and it’s amazing. Located in the historic southern city of Savjannah, Georgia, the author makes full use of Savannah’s well known haunts and southern charm as a solid foundation for her characters and their lives which are as deeply seated within that community.

Sinister in Savannah is a crime podcast run by three friends, one of which is Jonas St Johns , a criminal analyst for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.

Jonas is truly a mesmerizing character. Tall, scarred , highly intelligent, and haunted by his past, Jonas is half the heart of this story. The other half? That belongs, not to the romantic interest, although he’s quite wonderful, but to Jonas’ neighbor, Marla.

Marla, the magnificent drag queen, who let Jonas into her life and now has some decidedly serious favors to ask of him.

Marla and her pug, Betty (named after the fabulous Betty White of course) are everything! She’s captivating, poignant, flamboyant, and magnificent. It’s her touching, intimate, close relationship with Jonas that immediately connects the reader to them and this story. Within that duo , and then within Jonas’ house, we see a odd but wonderful found family start establishing itself.

There’s Kendall, Jonas’s roommate, Avery, the love interest and Jonas’ intern, Felix and Rocky, the other two men who run the podcast with him. By the time the story has ended , the found family and community has swelled around him, due in part to the murder mystery he was asked to investigate.

The old murder mystery touches off all types of revelations and reverberations. Including ones that bring up old memories that have traumatized Jonas for years.

This story is about growth and healing as it is about leaving and letting go.

And found families and forgiveness.

I’m so happy to have found this novel, new characters and series. It’s such a joy to have been on this first journey with Marla . How I love her.

I can’t wait for you all to meet her and everyone else here. I’m highly recommending this story.

And I’m onto the next!

Sinister in Savannah series:

✓ Ride the Lightning #1

◦ Mr. Perfect #2

◦ Pretty Poison #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showRide the Lightning by Aimee Nicole Walker – Goodreads

Truth seeker. Promise keeper. Guarded heart.

By day, Jonah St. John is a criminal analyst for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. By night, he produces Sinister in Savannah, an investigative podcast, with his two best friends. Jonah’s life revolves around three principles: a man’s word is his oath, friendships are priceless gifts, and love is for other people.

When the Sinister in Savannah team delves into the thirty-eight-year-old murder of a drag queen, they quickly discover that the story doesn’t end with the alleged killer’s confession in 1995. Continuing the investigation could have fatal consequences for Jonah and everyone he holds dear, including his irresistible intern.

To love is to lose: a lesson Jonah has learned the hard way. For a decade, he has embraced solitude as his penance for a past mistake. Then came Avery Bradford, a man whose warmth and sunshine infuses Jonah’s battered soul and challenges his resistance. Over the past eight months, Jonah has soared closer and closer to Avery’s flame until the thing he’s feared the most becomes the one he can’t live without.

The chill of danger merges with the heat of desire, forming a deadly superstorm. Will Jonah seek shelter or ride the lightning?

Sinister in Savannah series is a fictional podcast exploring the city’s most nefarious crimes with Southern-fried snark. The books explore friendship, love, loss, and the irrepressible human spirit. Ride the Lightning is book one of three. While each book is written about a different couple, the series should be read in order. Sinister in Savannah is an LGBT romantic suspense series with mature language and sexual content intended for adults eighteen and older.

Review: Broken Warrior ( The Weavers Circle #1) by Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott

Rating: 3.25 🌈

The combination of a great cover and a fantasy author who’s stories I’d enjoyed brought me to Broken Warrior, the first in The Weavers Circle series by Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott.

I found the premise of the series arc really interesting and full of potential. The idea that long ago a tear was created between worlds to allow another species access to our world to steal energy and resources to give to their dying one. A battle to seal the tear and save our world began, including the use of immortal warriors.

Well not exactly. They die , then are resurrected, looking exactly the same, minus the memories and groovy clothes of the era they died in. Then, slowly, in a magical “I can’t help myself “ way start to travel to a southern mansion to start to gather together and battle again.

So far they haven’t been really good at this. They’ve died a lot of times. Only to return and do it again.

Interesting elements. A pull to a certain region. A internal “recognition “ factor that allows each warrior to know instinctively that another is his missing brother in arms. A neat idea that thrown away in the first book by a actual photo. SMH! No don’t need a to feel my new bro is around here, I know what he actually looks like to recognize him. Sigh.

There’s a handyman that’s clueless to all the strange hunky men gathering in the gorgeous mansion he’s been hired to renovate by the three older women…cough… goddesses….

While the characters are likable, the part of the story that’s basically a instant love romance between Clay Green, Earth Warrior, and Dane Briggs, handyman, feels rushed and incomplete. It’s more that Dane has a part to play, less than he feels like half of a HEA.

As I said, there’s sections I like, others that make little sense other than it’s what was needed to move the plot along. The men were told to do this, naturally they did that which made zero sense so the plot ended up at point zed.

Things done like that are narratively frustrating. Characters, their personalities, especially within a plot should make sense. You’d think they’d leave notes for themselves. Tried this, big fail. Note to self. Don’t do that again, and btw…no one liked my mullet.

You know… important stuff.

Nopes.

The characters that had the best chemistry were the two ‘brother warriors’ found in this story. They were easily the best friends and characters here. You got to thinking I’d ship them and not the handyman.

Baer Manning, the Animal Warrior, is adorable. You’re not wrong in thinking he’s destined for Clay Green, but alas and alack , no. And if you’ve noticed a pattern with the names you’re not wrong there either.

Clay Green: Earth Warrior plus Dane

Baer Manning: Animal Warrior..grrr you great big ol bear you.

Grey Ackles: Soul Warrior

The three women who are the goddesses are interesting and likable. Not a whole lot of information on them as yet .

Honestly, not sure if I’m going forward. Towards the end Clay and Baer found a photo of all of the warriors before the last and unsuccessful battle, showing that they do in fact always look identical in every new life, minus a Fu Manchu mustache or two.

Now , as the both remark, they know EXACTLY what their missing warriors look like.

Soooooooo

Baer’s book is next.

Wild Warrior. Where according to the long description, it’s where Baer meets an adorable guy because he’s MISTAKEN him for one of his missing brothers.

You know, the ones on the picture he’s seen so he knows exactly what they look like plus all Warriors know who the other is by a Internal “bro alarm”.

So I’m thinking… um no. I’ll think I’ll quietly move on.

But you may be totally fascinated by how this all shakes out. Let me know.

The Weavers Circle series:

Broken Warrior #1

Wild Warrior #2

Blind Warrior #3

Tangled Warrior #4

Storm Warrior #5

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Weavers Circle #1 – Broken Warrior – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Clay Green:

A brotherhood? Monsters? Goddesses? Magic?

The world has become a strange place.

After a life on the run, Clay Green is rescued by a crazy old lady with a shotgun and an even crazier story about monsters, goddesses, and a secret brotherhood.

Gifted with the power of the earth, Clay must locate his missing “brothers” before invading monsters can destroy everything.

As if that’s not enough to contend with, Clay can’t keep his hands off the man trying to rebuild the house he’s temporarily living in.

Dane Briggs

Something strange is going on…

Dane knew restoring the old house wasn’t going to be an easy job, but at least none of the clients were going to be underfoot. Since losing his wife and child, the only way Dane can keep going is to focus on the work.

But that focus crumbles the second Clay appears covered in blood and barely hanging on to life.

Mystery and danger cling to Clay and the other men who suddenly show up. A smart person would walk away.

Dane chucks smart out the window in favor of hungry kisses and the silken slide of skin against skin. He doesn’t understand what’s happening, but there’s no question that Clay needs him.

He’s just not sure his heart can survive being broken again if something happens to Clay.

Broken Warrior is the first book in The Weavers Circle series. It includes fast-paced action, explosions, hurt/comfort, sexy times, animal shenanigans, wounded hearts, three crazy old ladies, and magic!

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