Review: Hardwood (Four Bears Construction #3) by K.M. Neuhold

Rating: 4.75🌈

Once again this series goes into a different direction with Everett Aldridge and his road to HEA.

We have had Cole who wasn’t looking for love when he found Ren, his forever Honeybee. Then there was is hilarious bighearted Stoney who managed to find his true love just next door in his neighbor, Dare.

I did rush ahead to get Ollie’s story in Screwed #4 but I won’t spoil how wonderful that turned out here. But there are definitely inklings about.

Nope. Hardwood, double entrendre’ intended, is all Everett. And what a story it is. Because it’s not just a romance but also Ev’s path towards coming out of the closet he’s sealed himself into for decades. It’s about letting go of his fears, finding himself as a gay man later in life.

That’s a lot to unpack.

Especially if you’re also a father to a young daughter, Livi, and still have a ex wife ,Valerie, you maintain a good relationship with who needs to be told.

There’s a LGBTGiA crew and work family that are comfortable with themselves and their sexuality you’ve known for years thats clueless you’re gay. Now Everett needs to tell them who he really is. Because no one really knows who he is. Maybe even himself.

That’s so much pressure and guilt on top of the enormous feelings of insecurity and fear pressing down on Ev that you can almost hear him gasping for air.

The two person POV that’s a format of this series works beautifully to give us real insight into Everett’s emotional state and situations as he decides to reveal his sexuality and come out as a gay man.

It’s poignant, frustrating as he vacillates at points on deciding when is exactly the right timing, his fears and excitement on his “gay firsts”. Nuehold does such an outstanding job bringing us along with him on this journey. We are there standing on the edge with Ev time after time as he works up the courage to finally see what and who his truth self is. Bravery isn’t always huge steps but small ones.

And sometimes who need someone to support you and show you the way. That would be Watson.

Watson Bolt, the music teacher, is amazing . From his school interactions with other teachers to his song choices (young tunes and Broadway worthy showstoppers), Wats is a gem of a character. He’s such a lovely layered person, especially flirty, generous, outgoing, engaging, and vulnerable too. Love his hedgehog too.

I have to mention how much I appreciate the treatment Ev’s ex wife , Valerie, gets here. She’s a well rounded personality, seen through loving eyes as a great person and good friend. Her part in their marriage and consequent divorce is handled with great sensitivity and love. So well done.

Everett’s journey from closeted divorced perceived “straight dad” to happy out gay divorced dad in a new relationship is a path strewn with small pitfalls, a few barriers , some awful dancing and one memorable finale.

I just loved it. It set me to singing.

Not baby shark, but maybe a Broadway musical tune or two.

Snap this story up along with all the others. Yes 🙌 I’m highly recommending it and the series.

Synopsis:

I’ve spent forty-four years of my life telling the world I’m a carpet man. Is it too late to admit to myself and everyone else that deep down I’m really all about the Hardwood?

It took me over thirty-five years to admit to myself that I’m gay, another seven to find the courage to say it out loud to anyone else, and exactly thirty seconds to develop a massive crush on my daughter’s music teacher. It’s really not my fault, have you even seen those cute bowties he wears?

After everything it’s taken to get here, am I going to work up the nerve to come out to my ex-wife and my best friends? Am I ready to shake up my comfortable, simple life and take a chance on Watson? Or am I going to throw a wrench in my own chance for happily ever after?

***Hardwood is a steamy, seriously so much delicious tension, single-dad, gay awakening, low angst story, which happens to be the third in the Four Bears Construction Series. It CAN be read as a stand alone. There are NO shifters in this series, only the OTHER kind of bears.

Sales link:

Hardwood

Four Bears Construction series:

🔵Caulky #1

🔵Nailed #2

🔵Hardwood #3

🔵Screwed #4

🔵Stud #5

🔵Stripped #6

🔵Drilled #7

🔵Goats Like Cake Too: Four Bears Construction Series Epilogue

(Four Bears Construction #7.5)

by K.M. Neuhold

Review: : Nailed (Four Bears Construction #2) by K.M. Neuhold

Rating: 5🌈

This series….it has really captured my heart.

I mean I have all these other books lined up…mysteries, romance adventures, SyFi … but I keep coming back to these guys and their clumsy, adorable journeys to HEA and true love.

Take Nailed, please. No , really, grab this one right up. Especially if you’re in need of laughter as well as romance.

And dogs. Such adorable dogs. I ❤️ Rudy. And Nerd Dog.

I laughed so much here.

One because Stone is one irresistible teddy bear of, well, a gorgeous bear of a man. Sweet, doesn’t understand why everyone wouldn’t like him, huge heart.

You’re going to adore him. I’m still cracking up over his understanding of traditional “sayings “. I won’t spoil them for you but they leave me in giggles even now, I just love him. I do. Soooo sexy too.

Then there’s the neighbor,Dare Maslow . A bit grumpy, solitary but all with good reason as we eventually find out. Layers with this one. He’s also the owner of the adorable Rudy.

This is such a great enemies to lovers story. I laughed so hard in places. I totally enjoyed their antics as they “fought” and pranked their way to love. To say that I was thoroughly entertained by every step of their tumultuous relationship is to put it mildly. From highly sexy romps to downright hilarity, this couple kept the story flowing fast and so smoothly I was at the end before I knew it and wanted to be.

Of course, all the other “bears” and partners are there. I’ve gotten so fond of them as well.

I’m actually jumping over to Screwed because I just need that story NOW.

I’ll come back to Ev’s immediately after. Honestly, these men.

Anyway, I’m staying the course. I’m reading all the stories here until I’m finished with the series. I need the happiness and laughter these men are bringing into my life at the moment.

It’s such fun and light hearted joy. I’m highly recommending them. Especially this one.

Synopsis:

My new neighbor is a total tool.

He hated me from the second he laid eyes on me, and I don’t have the first clue why… But, if he wants to hate me, I’m happy to give him a few reasons: mowing the lawn at dawn on the weekend, leaving garbage cans in front of his driveway, renting a petting zoo for my backyard…making a list of ways to drive him crazy is half the fun.

He deserves it with the way he’s driving me crazy right back without even trying— walking around without a shirt on, sweaty rippling muscles on full display, well-worn denim jeans perfectly molded to his…well, you get the idea.

My point is, if he wants a war, I’ll give him one.

***Nailed is an enemies to lovers, neighbors who can’t stand each other, omg the anger banging, drool worthy, low angst story, which happens to be the second in my Four Bears Construction series. It CAN be read as a stand alone. There are NO shifters in this series, only the OTHER kind of bears

Nailed

Stone

Rudy the dog

Four Bears Construction series:

🔵Caulky #1

🔵Nailed #2

🔵Hardwood #3

🔵Screwed #4

🔵Stud #5

🔵Stripped #6

🔵Drilled #7

🔵Goats Like Cake Too: Four Bears Construction Series Epilogue

(Four Bears Construction #7.5)

by K.M. Neuhold

Review: Caulky (Four Bears Construction #1)by K.M. Neuhold

Rating: 4.5🌈

Caulky is a totally sweet and sexy contemporary romance, the first in a new series about a group of single men working in a construction company.

Best way to describe it comes from a conversation between Cole and Ren where they saw their meeting as a sexy, porn worthy “You’ve Got Mail’. Although neither could agree on who was Meg Ryan… 🤣

Full of humor and sweet insights into the scary nature of dating ,we watch them take as they finally agree to take towards something substantial and potentially wondrous.

Love both Cole and Ren as well as all the characters the surround them. We are likely to see each get their own story in this series and that includes Daniel, Ren’s outrageous best friend.

The beekeeping element is well done and folded in beautifully along side Ren’s character that it adds a depth not only to his personality but to the story as well. Love that.

My only slight quibble was the oddness of having a mother (Cole’s) threatening to “wash your mouth out with soap “ because of a expletive. He’s over forty. While he should respect her desire for a certain type of language in her house, she should also show some in return. But back to that phrase.

Not only is that ridiculous but I’ve always found that expression as offensive as it is old fashioned. It implies a measure of abuse that’s no longer tolerated by society. That phrase shouldn’t be either.

Just my opinion.

That aside, this is a marvelous romance. I adored both men and their relationship. I look forward to to seeing more of them , hopefully, in the novels that follow.

Now I’m onto book two. Can’t wait.

Need a new series and contemporary romance? Try this one, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Synopsis;Ren is in desperate need of a rebound fling. Lucky for him, the smoking hot contractor he hired has just the tool for the job.

The last thing I want is another relationship or another broken heart.

All I need are my bees and the occasional hookup to scratch the itch.

Okay, maybe meeting up with my hot contractor weekly is a little more than occasional. And maybe the way I’m starting to feel about the guy I’ve been anonymously chatting with online should concern me.

But CaulkyAF doesn’t want to meet, and Cole doesn’t want anything serious, so what’s the worst that could happen?

****Caulky is book 1 in the Four Bears Construction series and can be read as a stand-alone. This is a funny, steamy MM story guaranteed to make you laugh and swoon. Absolutely NO cheating and NO love triangle. This series does NOT contain shifters, it’s the OTHER kind of bears.

K.M.

K.M. Neuhold

Four Bears Construction series:

🔵Caulky #1

🔵Nailed #2

🔵Hardwood #3

🔵Screwed #4

🔵Stud #5

🔵Stripped #6

🔵Drilled #7

🔵Goats Like Cake Too: Four Bears Construction Series Epilogue

(Four Bears Construction #7.5)

by K.M. Neuhold

Review: Gravemound by Kim Fielding

Rating: 5🌈

The blurb doesn’t begin to tell a reader exactly how unusual and amazing a story Gravemound is.

Much like Grimm’s tales but containing far more hope and light at the end then Grimm ever included, this novella takes on such large themes as grief, abandonment, deep loss, alienation, and fear.

And through a gentle, broken man in recovery, we watch as ,one by one , step by hesitant step, Phineas moves through the stages of bereavement and grief, accepting the loss of his beloved husband, and the home world they left behind but meant to return to.

Fielding creates an alien village and culture that slowly welcomes the unassuming Star Demon, we watch as bonds form between villagers and Phineas. And our hearts ache and rejoice as Phineas recovers and finds peace and something more.

Yes, there’s a soul reaper element here , just as unusual and extremely well written as the rest of this incredible tale. The twist when it arises is both unexpected and perfect.

So is the epilogue.

Gravemound is a great example why Kim Fielding is a must read author. Her characters are unusual, feel real, have enormous depth of personality, and frankly always intrigue me.

And her tales? Such plots! I grab them up as soon as she finishes them.

Gravemound ticks all the boxes. I highly recommend it and Fielding.

Grab it up immediately.

An d what a gorgeous cover. Love it.

Synopsis:

Grimm in spaaaaace!

In this retelling of a classic fairy tale, Phineas Coleman is stranded on a planet far from home and must find a way to support himself in this new land. A selfish local man offers to help him with a livelihood if Phin will promise to protect him from a soul-reaper. Three nights alone while watching over a gravemound sounds like a terrifying chore—until Phin receives some unexpected assistance

https://www.goodreads.com › showWeb resultsGravemound by Kim Fielding – Goodreads

Review: Limelight (Vino & Veritas #15) by E. Davies

Rating: 3.5🌈

Here I am diving back into the Vino and Veritas series and Burlington,Vermont. It’s like coming home.

A bit of a change here in that the main characters are only peripherally connected to V & V instead of working at either establishment.

Caleb Holt, poet and accountant, adorable nerd , goes to live mic night and reads his poetry. Or does on the night he meets Tag.

That would be Titus “Tag “ Taylor, former famous rocker now bee keeper and meadery owner. The rocker part of his life is behind him and something he’s kept secret since he came to Burlington, giving up. Titus for Tag. An identity he far prefers.

From the moment they spot each other, it’s a story of love at first sight or at least first meeting. These two are almost deeply committed to each other within a week.

And while they do a lot of talking, it’s not completely honest. While Caleb, virgin that he is, is communicating his need for clarity and openness in a relationship Tag is inwardly justifying why he is hiding a huge part of who he was from Caleb. A huge something that has the potential to disrupt his life once again via the internet and paparazzi.

Once they get together, Tag’s inability to tell Caleb is frustrating especially as he is given endless opportunities.

As a reader I far prefer my characters and couples to act like adults. And that means communication. Something missing here.

I love the whole beekeepering and meadery elements. Those just added such richness to this story and depth to the character of Tag. I really could see his love for his craft, the bees, and all the different meads he crafted. In fact, I was ready for a taste testing myself.

I really need to find a meadery.

Caleb’s family, overbearing and loving. Also a genuine plus. As was his poetry.

Don’t get me started on Queenie. Loved her.

But that relationship was quick, and a bit too instant love for me to commit to it immediately. I just was too wary. For Caleb , and then Tag.

I liked the epilogue. That was sweet and heartwarming.

Overall a sweet romance I put in the win column .

Synopsis:Save the bees, ride a rock star.

Formerly famous . . . and planning to keep it that way.

After my band kicked me out, I ran away to Vermont, changed my name, and kept my head down. So far, it’s working and nobody knows who I am. Or who I was. Until I see geeky poet Caleb stumbling through his first open mic night and I can’t help rescuing him. He’s as sweet as the honey my bees make and sexy enough to make me rethink so many things. But I can’t tell him my secret, or I’ll lose the anonymous life I worked so hard to build.

Everyone warns me he’s too good to be true.

I can’t believe a gorgeous, successful winemaker like Tag is into shy, geeky little accountant me. But he helps me blossom and believe in my talent, and works his way into my heart and my bed… not necessarily in that order. I’m falling for a man for the first time, and now I know what the missing number in my equation has always been.

When lies are revealed, though, someone’s going to get stung

https://www.goodreads.com › showWeb resultsLimelight (Vino and Veritas, #15) by E. Davies

Vino and Veritas series to date:

🔵Featherbed (Vino and Veritas 1) by Annabeth Albert

🔵Heartscape #2 by Garrett Leigh

🔵Headstrong #3 by Eden Finley

🔵Undercover #4 by Eliot Grayson

🔵Aftermath #5 by LA Witt

🔵Booklover #6 by JE Birk

🔵Flipcup #7 by Kim Hartfield f/f

🔵Hideaway #8 by Rachel Lacey f/f

🔵Turnabout #9 by Laurel Greer

🔵Unguarded #10 by Jay Hogan

🔵Insatiable #11 by Rhys Everly

🔵Daybreak #12 by Kate Hawthorne

🔵Heartsong #13 by AE Wasp

🔵Stronghold #14 by Ana Ashley

🔵Limelight #15 by E Davis

🔵Unforgettable #16 by Marley Valentine

🔵Showstopper #17 by Regina Kyle

🔵Undone #18 by Leslie McAdams

https://www.goodreads.com › seriesWeb resultsVino & Veritas Series by Annabeth Albert – Goodreads

Review : Fathers of the Bride by Marshall Thornton

Rating: 5 🌈

I’ve so often associated Marshall Thornton with his outstanding but often gritty , and dark stories and series (Boystown series and Pinx Video Mysteries series, both must reads) that I forget this author also writes extremely funny, effervescent novels.

Such as Fathers of the Bride, just released.

Incredibly witty, often with on point dialogue so sharp you could cut a razor thin slice of wagyu to serve up to whom ever is being dissected over an immaculately prepared menu. Talk about spew worthy sentences and comments made! Oh my!

A lovely wine or cocktail at hand and sitting around the table, characters so memorable and utterly charming as to win their way swiftly into your heart.

This book was just what I needed.

It starts off with a sharp little prologue from their daughter, Kelly Kettering-Lane. She begins remarking how much her name sounds more like a street address then an actual person. I immediately love her. It only gets better as she tells us her fathers ruined her wedding. Oh the glee!

Then we jump to Chapter 1 and already the anticipation is high!

We meet one father first, Miles Kettering-Lane . Very flamboyant, very ummm the House and Garden network host you would have in your mind…. If it was an updated version of Charles Nelson Reilly.

Not familiar? YouTube or Google him. He’s magnificent. And his commentary on his returned daughter is one for the ages, for framing and one a lot of fathers would agree with.

In other words, he’s perfection.

When he says agoraphobia has gotten a bad rap? Spew moment number 1.

Anyway moving on because I could quote this man all day.

This daughter/ father relationship was intimate and so wonderfully built that I pictured them easily.

I had a great surprise coming. Been debating how much I should say.

But when father of the bride 2 shows, Andy Kettering-Lane, it’s completely marvelous because Thornton shows us a father/daughter dynamic that works just as deeply and lovingly but in a completely different way.

I was dumbfounded as I how much I adored how the shifts in dynamics felt real and moving. Each man displaying a different knowledge of their daughter and the same for the daughter.

And into this falls a complicated son in law parents uh foursome dynamics. You have to read it, trust me. Then there’s Andy’s young influencer boyfriend Raj and his ever present streaming. Yeah we know him.

The wedding zillas start growing, things get immediately and hysterically out of control, including feelings.

Those pesky things.

Miles and Andy are ground in their long personal history, the love that never seemed to have left them, and a house that holds nothing but love and memories.

Ok I really need to start rereading this again. Just writing this review reminds me of all the things I love about the story and want to relive.

Take it from me. You need love and laughter, lively snark, outstanding spew worthy dialogue, and a second chance at love story in your life. Fathers of the Bride is it. Grab it up, start reading now! I highly recommend it!

Synopsis: After more than two decades together, Andrew Lane and Miles Kettering-Lane are going through a nasty divorce. Not only are they unraveling their relationship but also their business—Miles once had a popular home show on cable with Andrew serving as his producer/manager—the failure of which they blame on each other. Now, they’d be happy to never, ever see each other again. But the daughter they both adore, Kelly, announces she’s getting married, and that means one very important thing: a wedding.

Thrown together, at event after event—meeting the in-laws, planning the wedding, throwing an elaborate engagement party—the two clash over everything until, their future in-laws, Bradley and Pudge Lincoln and Terry and Lissa Collins, try to take over the entire wedding. The Lincoln-Collins’ are very wealthy, to quote Pudge, “People think we’re in the one percent but that’s so embarrassing. We’re barely in the two percent!”

Andrew and Miles realize they have to work together in order to compete with the overbearing Lincoln-Collins’ and give their daughter the wedding she deserves. Along the way, they realize things just might not be over between them

Goodreads Sales link:

Fathers of the Bride

Review: Farview (Greynox to the Sea) by Kim Fielding

Rating : 5 🌈

Farview (Greynox to the Sea) by Kim Fielding

When I see a new release from Kim Fielding, i always know to expect several things. I’m about to embark on a remarkable journey. It will be one of both deep despair and incredible highs. I’ll meet many unique and memorable beings along the way, who through great trials, states of tremendous grief or the beginnings of love, achieve greatness. Sometimes in glory, sometimes in a sort of quietude.

Characters often those like Oliver Webb and Felix Corbyn, to name just two, who have a huge adventure in front of them.

As do we.

Oliver and Felix are remarkable in that at first they appear quite mundane. Ahhh….such magic in the telling and unfolding.

There will be some humor, light as rare pink sprights in flight or warm-hearted as a tiny imp with a treasure of tangled threads.But , true to form, there’s also immense pain and darkness and despair. For no one knows better then Fielding that to truly appreciate the white. brightest of that golden light that glows at the final peak for the brave that successfully overcome all odds to achieve their quest that they first must endure the darkness, the brutality , the loss of hope and love in order to gain it back again.

Sometimes in one of her stories you’re not even sure the heroes will prevail. That is the journey they must endure and learn from itself that’s the quest and not whatever the item to be found at the end they’ve been asked to find.

It’s in her characters, their relationships, the universe and the peoples and beings around them that’s the treasure each reader finds and gleans something personal from. I can find something new each time I reread her stories. They have that much depth.

Farview contains everything I expect from a Kim Fielding story. Outstanding universe building, characters that slowly reveal their layers, of character and history, as they grow together and into your heart. A magical mystery, a heartbreaking illness, imps, dragons, and a village by the sea that will exert a emotional pull on you just as it does on Oliver.

At times I found myself bawling my eyes out. My heart hurt that badly for all involved. And I wasn’t sure exactly how it all would work out.

Strangely and perfectly enough, not in anyway I foresaw.

Love it when that happens.

The ending left me smiling, eyes closed, listening as I imagined the sounds of the sea calling, the salt in the wind and the sounds of laughter ringing up from over the cliffs…..

Perfection.

I highly recommend Farview and Kim Fielding if you haven’t found this author yet.

Now to wait impatiently for her next release!

https://www.goodreads.com › showWeb resultsFarview (Greynox to the Sea) by Kim Fielding – Goodreads

Synopsis: Ravaged by a horrific experience, Oliver Webb flees the smog-bound city of Greynox for a quiet seaside village and the inheritance he’s never seen: a cottage called Farview. He discovers clear skies, friendly imps, and a charming storyteller named Felix Corbyn.

With help from Felix’s tales, Oliver learns surprising secrets about his family history and discovers what home really means. But with Felix cursed, Oliver growing deathly ill, and an obligation in Greynox hanging heavy around his neck, it seems that not even wizards can save the day.

Still, as Felix knows, stories are the best truths and the most powerful magic. Perhaps the right words might yet conjure a chance for happiness

Review: Out for the Holidays, Out for Gold by Lane Hayes

Rating: 4 🌈

Lane Hayes continues her Out of series for couple Gabe and Derek post college with two lovely, sweet short stories.

We meet again Hayes’ great characters, in tightly plotted storylines filled with romance and hope for their dreams, individually and as a couple.

We follow them through each man’s future plans, one for a restaurant and one for an Olympic spot, then to a wonderful romantic conclusion.

Both compliment each other and leave the reader happy and satisfied for the couple and with the stories.

What a lovely way to spend a couple of hours.

Lighthearted, humorous, romantic and sweet. I loved it and recommend both. And Hayes Out of series. Check them all out.

Synopsis:Out for the Holidays

A Dream Come True…

Derek-

This is it! I’m finally opening my own bistro. I’ve spent the last two years getting ready for this moment. I can’t decide if the holidays are the perfect time to begin a new venture, but I’m excited. It would be nice if my family were on board too.

Gabe-

I play water polo. I don’t know anything about the restaurant business, but I want to make sure Derek’s grand opening goes according to plan. I’ll rally our friends, send out invites, and yeah…I’ll even deal with his mother. He’s my number one person and I’ll do whatever it takes to be sure we’re out for the holidays.

Out for the Holidays is a low-angst MM romance featuring Derek and Gabe from Out in the Deep…and a host of friends from the Out in College books!

Out for Gold

Chance of a Lifetime…

Gabe-

Winning a spot on the Olympic water polo team is my lifelong goal and guess what?…I made it! Of course, nothing goes smoothly. This is a bad time for a shoulder injury and an even worse time for my dad to show up out of the blue. I might be doomed.

Derek-

Family isn’t easy. Trust me, I know. But in my experience, ignoring obvious issues only makes them more challenging in the long run. I can’t solve Gabe’s problems with his dad, but I’ll help if I can. Win or lose, my man is going out for gold.

Out of Gold is a low-angst MM romance featuring Derek and Gabe from Out in the Deep in a full-circle quest for the ultimate prize…love.

*OUT FOR THE HOLIDAYS was originally featured in the holiday collection, Gifts for the Season. Since the anthology is no longer available, I wanted to publish it on my own and add new content. OUT FOR GOLD is a brand-new novella that really brings the whole story full-circle. Both shorts feature Derek and Gabe from Out in the Deep.

https://www.goodreads.com › showWeb resultsOut for the Holidays and Out for Gold by Lane Hayes – Goodreads

Review: Never Underestimate An Omega by Eden Winters

Rating: 3🌈

Eden Winters’ Diversion series is one of my favorites. It’s so well written, highly complex, and the characters beyond amazing, with lives so layered , so thick with nuance , humor and peril that each book was a showstopper.

Never Underestimate an Omega sees Winters venturing into supernatural territory and for me the results are just a pleasant ok story.

Shifters romances, especially wolf shifters are plentiful. To stand out you need to add a new twist to the wolf shifter lexicon or give us a superb story that builds on the wolf shifter canon we already know.

This doesn’t do either , if anything it works against known canon in the worst way. It’s just a nice romance about a pack that needs rescuing, an omega included, and a alpha returning to exact revenge and take over the pack. We’ve seen this scenario before, multiple times. Including the fact that the omega turns out to be a stronger, more intricate part of pack dynamics then the old pack structure will acknowledge.

Again, nothing new. Although I enjoyed the omega Logan.

Alpha Grey, also sexy . And their relationship? What we see if it, which isn’t much until the very end of the story, is superficial. That doesn’t work or help to connect us to them as a couple.

What was confusing here was the whole mate recognition element. For one pair the mate factor/bond was immediate, although “off stage” so we don’t see it happening. Weird.

For our all important main couple? The alpha seemed clueless which was incredibly odd when Logan knew Grey was it for him. However, that recognition was not the all powerful element you’d expect it to be. That could be any instant love story tbh.

Wolves mate for life, something not even mentioned here.

Within this universe, the mate bond almost seems to be a “take it or leave it” thing which diminishes the impact of any mating/bonding. At least for me. It feels all sorts of muddy here as a part of the shifter biology and that actually dilutes the importance of their relationship and impact within the pack structure.

In my opinion . At one part Logan debated even “returning”… which assumed that the entire mate aspect holds little physical or emotional sway. But for another pair it’s the direct opposite. But again for them it comes across as more of a “we’re in love” than a deep spiritual/physical imperative.

So is this in fact something the author intended or a continuity problem? I don’t know. Either way it was extremely confusing and deflating.

It’s not until the very end that they act or have any type of relationship that veers towards romance. Then it’s really too late. Much of the story is spent on other issues and them apart, physically and emotionally.

While there are certainly some interesting characters here they aren’t necessarily the main ones.

Overall, as I said, it’s a nice story. But not what I was expecting from this author who’s other stories are so extraordinary and complex.

If you ask me what I recommend? I recommend you read the entire Diversions series. Those are just great reads.

Synopsis:An alpha leader must have an alpha mate, but Gray wants only one man.

And that man is an omega.

Wolf shifter Gray Collins returns to his home pack to avenge his father’s murder, never expecting to take on the role of leader. Gray is a loner with no desire to tackle the politics of being Pack Alpha. Worse yet, he falls for the man he’s come to depend on—omega Logan Richardson.

According to pack lore, omegas are inferior, nothing more than lowly servants. Or are they? Logan is far too cunning, fierce, and bold to be a low-ranking wolf. While he keeps his head down in public, when they’re alone, Logan stands toe-to-toe with Gray like no one else dares. Mutual respect grows into friendship, friendship into a white-hot desire neither can fight.

Despite the law and the odds, the two wolves form a tentative bond. Together they lead the pack through strife and threats, all while keeping a secret—a secret that could get them both killed, and plunge the pack back into the savage dark ages.

The entire Lycan world is on the brink of a hard-won lesson: Never underestimate the relentless force of an omega.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58329516-never-underestimate-an-omega

Review: Stronghold (Vino and Veritas #14) by Ana Ashley

Rating:4🌈🌈🌈🌈

Stronghold is a sweet, heartwarming romance. A second chance at love tale, we watch a reunion between chef Judson and maple sugarer Skyler after being best friends growing up then driven apart for a decade. One , Skyler who remained in Burlington to help with his family’s dairy farm. The other , Judson, fleeing Vermont for Paris and culinary school.

Alternating POV (standard for the series) guide us into complete understanding of each man and their complicated relationships, painful pasts, and tenuous plans for the future. I quickly grew to love them both.

Ashley characters are engaging, layered, and easy to connect to. The families that also are closely connected are equally charming and realistic. And the interplay between each man and their mothers seem so spot on that you feel as though you could be sitting on stool in the kitchen along side them as they chat. Plus all that maple syrup and recipes to drool over.

As with all the stories, characters and couples you’ve gotten to know and adore make appearances here, from slight mentions to full secondary character status. It takes a village to build this series and you really feel like you know these people and Burlington itself. Go Moo U!

Yes there’s some angst on the low end of the meter, and a lovely ending. What a terrific new installment!

I love a great series. There’s nothing better then to read one story, fall in love with the setting, people, atmosphere….everything and then see you don’t have to stop at book one.

If the literary gods and goddesses are watching over you, the series will be lengthy and one that keeps building on the foundation and layers of the stories before.

Vino and Veritas is that series. Written by multiple authors, starting with Annabeth Albert, each sweet, heartwarming romance has added more texture and richness as well as characters to an already amazing central element.

That would be Vino (the all inclusive bar) and Veritas (the connecting/neighbor bookstore).

From that great center has sprung book after book with diverse characters (dairy farmers, bloggers, former hockey players, chefs, you name it) with their personal issues, often challenging family dynamics, and fascinating albeit stumbling journeys to love and HEA.

I mean look at that list of authors! I have put the full list of books to date (18 of them and growing) at the end of this review. Feel free to use it as a personal check list.

And because the books are written by a variety of authors this series always feels fresh and exciting. Plus if you’re unfamiliar with some of these authors, what a great way to discover someone new.

I have been reading them all in the order listed below because once I found the first book, Featherbed, then I just couldn’t stop. Like eating chocolates, one naturally leads to the next snd then the next…..

Haven’t found one yet that isn’t a true delight and great read.

Check this and all the ones out for yourself. I absolutely recommend eqch and every one.

Synopsis:

Stronghold

by Ana Ashley

A second chance at love? Or a second chance to ruin everything?

When Skyler spots the new bartender at Vino and Veritas, his body responds before the guy even turns around. But when he does, it takes only a heartbeat for recognition to set in and for sparks to fly. Judson’s been gone for ten years, but he’s the man Skyler never forgot. Or forgave.

The last place Judson wants to be is back home in Burlington, living with family. Not so long ago he was a world-class chef with the lifestyle to prove it. Now he’s serving drinks and flying under the radar until he can get the hell out again. But when his childhood best friend reenters his life, looking finer than any entree at a five-star restaurant, he wonders if it’s time to update his menu of life choices.

Working through past wounds with Skyler won’t be easy, though, especially with family obligations–and the occasional dairy cow–interfering. When their loyalty is tested, will their newly built stronghold be sturdy enough to withstand the storm?

Stronghold is a sweet and sexy Vino & Veritas romance with some creative use of maple syrup.

Vino and Veritas series:

🔵Featherbed (Vino and Veritas 1) by Annabeth Albert

🔵Heartscape #2 by Garrett Leigh

🔵Headstrong #3 by Eden Finley

🔵Undercover #4 by Eliot Grayson

🔵Aftermath #5 by LA Witt

🔵Booklover #6 by JE Birk

🔵Flipcup #7 by Kim Hartfield f/f

🔵Hideaway #8 by Rachel Lacey f/f

🔵Turnabout #9 by Laurel Greer

🔵Unguarded #10 by Jay Hogan

🔵Insatiable #11 by Rhys Everly

🔵Daybreak #12 by Kate Hawthorne

🔵Heartsong #13 by AE Wasp

🔵Stronghold #14 by Ana Ashley https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58375849-stronghold

🔵Limelight #15 by E Davis

🔵Unforgettable #16 by Marley Valentine

🔵Showstopper #17 by Regina Kyle

🔵Undone #18 by Leslie McAdams

https://www.goodreads.com › seriesWeb resultsVino & Veritas Series by Annabeth Albert – Goodreads

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