Tag: LGBTGIA holiday romance

Review:  Flake It Til You Make It (Christmas Falls 2 ) by Beth Bolden

Rating: 5🌈

How I live for the Morettis! Doesn’t matter what series or circumstances Bolden is putting them in on their way to a HEA, it’s a culinary Italian fabulous journey. 

Christmas Falls that imaginary small town that’s all things Christmas is now getting the Bolden touch again in it’s second season as a Moretti has moved to town!

This story was everything. I’m a huge fan of Bolden’s, her ability to create real life stories and relatable characters, pulling the reader into their relationships and circumstances.   But here? It’s a holiday story, where we get familiar characters, heartwarming themes, a wonderful romance,mouthwatering food (wanted that lasagna so bad), and the fabulous Moretti clan.  Be still my heart!

Rocco Moretti has moved to Christmas Falls to carve out his own niche in the Moretti family of chefs and restaurateurs.  He’s bought out a longtime favorite coffee shop, Jolly Java, to make his own and settle down. But things go wrong almost immediately.

Bolden sets up a faked boyfriend story during the holidays but with a twist when the Deputy Mayor Taylor Hall, needs a boyfriend for his interview and Rocco needs helps winning the town back after a goat cheese fiasco.  Let a lovely heartwarming romance and relationship between these wonderful men begin. With the town fully invested.

This romance and the development of the men’s relationship made my night. It’s a holiday hug and a cosy evening reading with the drink of choice. 

Highly recommended any time of the year but especially at Christmas.Don’t miss out on the recipe at the end. 

Christmas Falls, Season 2:

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

12 Dates of Christmas by Brigham Vaughn Here Comes Santa Paws by Lee Blair Under the Mistle-Foe by Rye Cox Christmas Beau by Amy Aislin No Business Like Snow Business by J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry Frost Impressions by Kelly Fox

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

Christmas Falls, Season 1:

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

Silent Knight by Beth Bolden 

Under the Mistle-Tome by Sammi Cee 

Clausing a Scene by Casey Cox 

No Elf-ing Way by Hayden Hall 

Ready, Set, Glow! by Rye Cox 

Scrooge You! By Brigham Vaughn

Buy link

        Flake It Til You Make It

    

Blurb 

It’s beginning to taste a lot like Christmas . . .

When Rocco Moretti gets the chance to buy a coffee shop in a small Illinois town, it feels like a miracle. And in true Christmas Falls tradition, Jolly Java is a holiday-flavored one.

He sets up shop and starts experimenting with recipes. The only problem? His changes go over like a piece of coal on Christmas morning. Instead of serving up cups of holiday cheer, he’s getting a solid “bah humbug” vibe from the town.

He needs another miracle, stat.

Enter Deputy Mayor Taylor Hall.

With the town’s city manager retiring, Taylor is looking to make a leadership move, but his dream is melting because the city council still sees him as an outsider. He needs to prove he’s in Christmas Falls to stay, and what better way than by getting a boyfriend?

Even a fake one.

Rocco needs the town’s acceptance, so why not date the deputy mayor? Faking it till they make it will be a means to an end. That’s all.

But sharing the holiday season wins over more than the town’s hearts. With each date, each mistletoe kiss, and every steamy night in front of the fire, it wins over theirs as well.

Come Christmas morning, there’s really only one miracle Rocco wants under his tree.

For the love they’ve been faking to become real.

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

  • Publication date: November 15, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 307 pages

Review:  A Dash of Halloween by Andy Gallo

Rating: 3.25🌈

A Dash of Halloween by Andy Gallo is a short cute instant love romance for the spooky holidays.  A sort of paranormal cozy mystery with a romantic theme, it’s got a small town that’s devoted to the holiday of Halloween in every aspect.  A newly arrived resident, fleeing a bad situation, and huge haunted mansion and its gorgeous owner. Who is in need of help. 

The characters of new resident, Dash  Reeves and ghostly manor owner, Slate Blackwood, are charming.  There’s a woman bestie and ghosts behind the scenes.

The romance between the two men happens too fast for me without the necessary emotional development I want but Gallo supplies an argument for the relationship and connection that happens so quickly.   At 28k things move pretty rapidly along to a dramatic ending and epilogue.

This was short and entertaining. 

Buy link

Andy Gallo

Blurb

When software engineer Dash Reeves accepts a too-good-to-refuse job offer in Oriskany Falls, he expects small-town quirks. What he doesn’t expect is a town obsessed with Halloween, or the mysterious and charming Slate Blackwood, whose family’s haunted house attraction draws visitors from miles around.

Slate has spent years hiding his family’s dangerous secret behind staged scares and special effects at Blackwood Manor. But when Dash appears at his gate one autumn evening, Slate recognizes something special in the handsome newcomer – if only he can convince the relationship-shy engineer to take a chance on love.

As Dash and Slate grow closer, the veil between worlds begins to tear. Spirits long trapped in darkness seek escape, threatening to overwhelm the living. Dash discovers he shares Slate’s gift for communicating with the dead, but will their combined powers be enough to prevent catastrophe? With Halloween’s Blue Moon approaching and malevolent forces gathering strength, they must find a way to seal the breach between worlds – or one of them might have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

A Dash of Halloween is a charming 28K word paranormal MM romance novella featuring:

– A Halloween-obsessed small town with real magic

– A cynical engineer who doesn’t believe in love (or ghosts)

– The charming medium who changes his mind about both

– Family secrets

– A guaranteed happy ending

– Sweet romance that leaves the bedroom door closed

Perfect for fans of cozy paranormal romance who love their ghost stories with a side of slow-burn love and small-town charm.

  • Publication date: October 28, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 118 pages

Review:  Ice Around the Edges by Mary Calmes

Rating: 3🌈

Ice Around the Edges by Mary Calmes is a perfect example of how a story written years ago (December 2010) and re-released just doesn’t hold up in present times.  At least not without making some major changes and narrative length. 

I’m a fan of Calmes and her characters but this storyline is full of elements that demonstrate how certain aspects of a relationship has changed over time.  Things now that raise flags and are considered warning signs for a person weren’t really well known fourteen years ago. Or elements that would have factored into contemporary romances.

The basic story is that this couple broke up because one of them, the one who had the most money and wealthiest family heard his father and grandfather arguing over his “friend” saying he wasn’t good enough.  So without further information or arguments on their behalf, the rich son , Dixon Bain, immediately broke up with the other man Evan Kano, and never saw him again. Years pass. 

Evan goes on to live a full and eventful life. Gets shot, ends up hospitalized. He’s handling it well and responsibly. But out of nowhere comes Dixon, steamrolling Evan with plans for Evan to immediately leave Chicago, his apartment, go to NYC, etc. After no contact with Dixon in years. What follows is a prime example of what’s now termed “love bombing “.

Doesn’t leave when asked. Hides in a room. Brings his mother with him to make excuses while the person is fragile in a hospital bed.  Honestly, more flags. 

There’s some honesty here but very little. The story itself is only 62 pages.

Had Calmes rewritten it, extended the narrative to include time for these men to explore who they had become  after all this time? Give the men and readers a chance to see and relate with the story and men as they reconnect as adults with new experiences and maturity.  That would have given this the missing depth and relevance that it’s lacking. 

Instead the story we or they got here is the one from 2010.  There was a lot of potential to update this but it didn’t happen. 

Read it because it’s by Calmes and you just read everything of hers. 

Buy Link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › …Ice Around the Edges – Kindle edition by Calmes, Mary. Romance …

Blurb 

Evan Kano’s life is on an even keel until the night he’s shot at the homeless shelter where he works. The resulting turmoil is not caused by a bullet but by a blast from the past: Evan’s first lover has returned to visit him in the hospital and deliver some big news.

Ten years ago, Dixon Bain walked out of Evan’s life because he thought his family didn’t approve of him having a male lover. But Dixon has discovered that what he thought he knew could not be further from the truth, and now he’s returned to claim the only man he’s ever loved… if he can melt the ice around the edges of Evan’s still-wounded heart.

2nd edition, previously published December 2010.

  • Publication date: October 25, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 62 pages

Review: Present Tense (The ABC’s of Spellcraft Book 8) by Jordan Castillo Price

Rating:5🌈

Yuri and Dixon and the rest of their family are back in this absolutely adorable, perfect short story by Jordan Castillo Price.

The ABC’s of Spellcraft is a series that just gets better with each new chapter in Yuri and Dixon’s lives. Here they are scrambling to get each other’s gifts at Christmas, with all the glorious events you might imagine, including drama and the magic!

It ends appropriately with another move forward in their relationship and a HFN. And the realization for me that this is a series for every season for the excellent writing and fabulous characters.

I’m recommending this and the series. It’s magical ride! Binge read for your pleasure!

The ABC’s of Spellcraft series:

✓ Quill Me Now #1

✓ Trouble in Taco Town #2

✓ Something Stinks at the Spa #3

✓ Dead Man’s Quill #4

✓ Last But Not Lease #5

✓ Don’t Rock The Boardwalk #6

✓ What The Frack? #7

✓ Present Tense: A Spellcraft Christmas short #8

◦ Brownie Points #9

◦ Forging Ahead #10

◦ Mayor May Not #11

◦ Bucket List #12

◦ Comic Sans #13

◦ It’s All Relative #14

Buy Link:

Present Tense: A Spellcraft Christmas Short (The ABCs of Spellcraft Book 8)

Blurb

Christmas is a festive time of year, one filled with food, family and tradition—Dixon Penn’s ideal holiday. Too bad Spellcrafters don’t celebrate Christmas.

Dixon’s parents have always been strict about their no-present rule, reluctant to entrap anyone in an “endless cycle of reciprocal obligation.”

Yuri Volnikov was not raised in the Craft, but Dixon has made sure he understands that for Spellcrafters, Christmas presents are verboten.

No gifts. None. Nada. And everyone is on the same page in regards to presents….

Or are they?

The ABCs of Spellcraft is a series filled with bad jokes and good magic, where MM Romance meets Paranormal Cozy. A perky hero, a brooding love interest, and delightfully twisty-turny stories that never end up quite where you’d expect. The books are best read in order, so be sure to start at the beginning with Quill Me Now.

This holiday short is set after What the Frack? and contains series spoilers.

Review: Heart2Heart: A Paranormal Charity Anthology by Macy Blake, Grae Bryan, et al : Vol 7 (2 books)

Rating: 4.5🌈

It’s Valentine’s Day and Heart2Heart is at it helping lonely hearts get their perfect match. Here, Cupid has agreed to partner with them to ensure a magical experience for the Heart2Heart database is had by all on their journey to a HEA, whatever that means.

A Devilish cover for the paranormal volume of stories, with a fabulous group of authors for Volume 7-part 2 (volume 1 is all contemporary romance and different authors).

The stories are listed in the order found within the Anthology.My favorites and must reads of this anthology are Alice Winters story which begins the anthology. It’s pure Winters in style and characters. Love it. Love Me Love My Dogs by Macy Blake is my next, such a heartwarming tale. And my other absolute best is The Hidden God of Open Doors by Tavia Lark, which, imo, should have been the story to end this collaboration as its theme and storytelling is amazing. And it’s my thought that all anthologies should begin and end with strong storytelling.

Stories:

💘Thank You , You Can’t Spell Necromancer Without Romance by Alice Winters

💘Hot Date by Eliot Grayson

💘Sweet Treats by Grae Bryan

💘Looking 4 Furever by Kiki Clark

💘Locked in Love by Lark Taylor 💘💘Love Me Love My Dogs by Macy Blake

💘Not So Cupid by Mika Nix

💘Starry Night by Pandora Pine

💘The Hidden God of Open Doors by Tavia Lark

💘Love Under the Sea by Taylor Rylan

A Letter From the H2H Team

1. Thank You , You Can’t Spell Necromancer Without Romance by Alice Winters 💘💘💘💘💘

Axton , witch with miniature horse, Hades as a familiar , Sylvan, the cute white-haired necromancer with an undead found family find love and happiness on a murderous mystery.

2. Hot Date by Eliot Grayson

David’s migraines are cured by demonic sex and lotsa love by summoning Ren. Cute, sexy story.

3. Sweet Treats by Grae Bryan such a lovely story about a half pixie Perri and an introverted wonderful gentleman, Tobias, who’s been secretly watching each other but finally connects thru H2H. Adorable 💕

4. Looking 4 Furever by Kiki Clark

Rance, coffee shop Magic Bean,

Dean, Lynx shifter, English prof. Age gap, 23/40, mate bonding, cute, but not a lot of character or relationship depth.

5. Locked in Love by Lark Taylor

Ash, vampire, looking for love after a bad ex, Lochlan, a Scottish water mage, an escape room afternoon adventure , and a tale with a surprising twist. Really enjoyed it.

6. Love Me Love My Dogs by Macy Blake 💘💘💘💘💘

Wolf shifter George Duko, with his French Bulldog, Gaston, runs Duko’s Den animal sanctuary. Braxton, nonbinary, dragon, and George’s match on H2H . A gentle, warm-hearted, laugh filled love story that I absolutely adore.💘💘💘💘💘

7. Not So Cupid by Mika Nix

Ruairi, Cupid’s little brother and

Weston, human, on a Cupid arranged Valentine’s Day date find out they’re perfect for each other. The authors do a terrific job of developing the romance.

8. Starry Night by Pandora Pine

Immortal demigod Orion Starborn, 5031 yrs old , cursed, and looking for love, is matched with Kaden Devereaux, head librarian in the folklore division of the Boston public library, also a werewolf. With an allergy problem. Not as easy as Cupid might think. I wish it had been longer because it’s got so many fascinating elements. Terrific story.

9. The Hidden God of Open Doors by Tavia Lark💘💘💘💘💘

Rune, an imprisoned demon

Raider, ritual contractor, owner of Artifacts, Alchemy etc

I’ll say nothing except it’s perfectly amazing, quietly heartbreaking if you think about the layers, and beautifully crafted.

10. Love Under the Sea by Taylor Rylan

Silver, gorilla shifter and Charlie, koala shifter , find their mates at a zoo Valentine lunch. Cute story.

Overall, a great anthology with wonderful stories by some of my favorite authors. There’s three 5-star tales that could easily be extended into larger books, but stand as fabulous paranormal short stories here. The rest have so much to recommend that this is a must read.

Buy Link:

Heart2Heart: A Paranormal Charity Anthology (Collection), Volume 7 (Heart2Heart Volume 7)

Blurb:

Once upon a time, a bunch of authors wondered… what would happen if Heart2Heart, the mystical matchmaking app adored across the supernatural world, brought in an absolute legend to help them find true love?

This Valentine’s Day, the sunshiny necromancer, the lonely vampire, and the nonbinary dragon will put their trust in H2H and a certain cheeky cherub of romance. Will Cupid’s arrows strike true?

As always, all proceeds from this anthology will benefit LGBTQ+ charities to ensure that love in all its incarnations will be celebrated and protected every single day of the year!

Stories included in this collection are:

You Can’t Spell Necromancer Without Romance, by Alice Winters
Hot Date, by Eliot Grayson
Sweet Treats, by Grae Bryan
Looking 4 Furever, by Kiki Clark
Locked in Love, by Lark Taylor
Love Me Love My Dogs, by Macy Blake
Not So Cupid, by Mika Nix
Starry Night, by Pandora Pine
The Hidden God of Open Doors, by Tavia Lark
Love Under the Sea, by Taylor Rylan

• Publisher: (February 2, 2024)

• Publication date: February 2, 2024

• Print length: 500 pages

Review: It’s a Tenta-ful Life : A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance by Amanda Muewissen

Rating: 4🌈

My holiday reading has slowed somewhat but I’m still enjoying the Tentacle holiday series novels from last year.

Amanda Muewissen’s stories have always been so interesting to read. It’s the author’s approach to various popular themes , a Christmas story that carries a strong fondness for a darker fictional component rather than the sleigh bells and holly one normally is used to. In this case, it’s a bloody body found in the snow by a bartender on Christmas Eve. The second one he’s found on this date.

But the person isn’t dead, just wounded. And maybe not even a person. But an Eldritch Horror in mourning. But Brady, a bartender on his way home, knows the person he found and calls Goldy, needs his help. Together they start a relationship that’s oddly sweet, honest, and otherworldly.

It’s elements like these that take It’s a Tenta-ful Life : A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance by Amanda Muewissen and elevate it into something darkly special, a Christmas tale about love, no matter what form or circumstances it may take .

It also has murder, loss, a creature from a void that pines for a different kind of love and life, and an ending that comes about far too quickly.

There were some aspects of the story that weren’t as well developed as they deserved, given how interesting the characters and backgrounds provided.

But as written, there’s still so many sweet, otherworldly moments and, yes, tentacles, that Muewissen delivers a story to satisfy those wanting Christmas cheer with a touch of horror.

This is a definite recommend!

Tinsel and Tentacles (11 books)

◦ Jingle Bells and Elder Gods by Kiernan Kelly

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

◦ Tentacles and Other Stocking Stuffers by Delaney Rain

◦ Tentacles Rock by K.C. Carmine

✓ A Sucker for Christmas by J.P. Sayle

✓ Kraken Klaus by Charlotte Brice

✓ Twelve Days of Squidmas by H.L. Hiers

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

✓ Rebel without a Claus by L Eveland

✓ Cthulhu for Christmas by Meghan Maslow ❤️🫶

◦ Tentacle Wonderland by Reese Morrison

Buy Link

It’s a Tenta-ful Life: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance

Blurb

If angels get wings, what do monsters get?

Brody Hawkins was living the good life. Unattached, young, attractive, with a great job at the Shangri-La La Land gay bar and bringing men and women back to his bed most nights without ever being tied down.

Until the night he stumbles upon an injured man in the snow.

Wary of the circumstances that might have left someone for dead so near to Christmas, instead of taking the man to a hospital, Brody brings him home. He dubs the man Goldie, having no other name offered to him when Goldie wakes, but his golden hair and eyes are like tinsel on a tree.

Goldie couldn’t have anything to do with the murders or missing person from a few blocks down. He couldn’t. He’s too sweet and soft-spoken and even a little sad. He’s no monster.

But he also might not be human.

It’s a Tenta-ful Life is part of the Tinsel and Tentacles multi-author collaboration and a complete standalone. Expect to find a lifelong bachelor who never planned to fall in love, an eldritch horror in disguise who longs for love, mutual pining, strangers to friends to lovers, dark and deadly secrets, tentacles with hidden talents, and more in this slightly darker take on a holiday MM romance. Want more tantalizingly tentacular winter holiday romances? Grab the whole series!

• Publisher: Amanda Meuwissen Books (December 22, 2023)

• Publication date: December 22, 2023

• Print length: 122 pages

Review: Rebel Without a Claus (The Kings: A Treemendous Christmas Book 4) by Charlie Cochet

Rating: 3.25🌈

Rebel Without a Claus is the finale to Charlie Cochet’s The Kings: A Treemendous Christmas series. It’s a sweet short read that quickly recaps the preceding stories, telling the reader what happened to the other couples from the perspective of Leo, who has got secret plans of his own for his love and beloved fiancé, Ward Kingston.

What those plans are were revealed at the end of book three, so it’s no big secret here that it’s a wedding. But much of the story is Leo running around, getting Christopher, aka Winterhaven’s town’s Mayor and Santa, to help him organize this and make it happen. All while keeping King in the dark about the wedding.

I wish Cochet’s story had more details about Christopher and his wife, as they are both very “Mr and Mrs. Claus” but that’s not carried out fully.

It’s sweet, romantic and very much in the holiday spirit. I enjoyed it .

THE KINGS: A TREEMENDOUS CHRISTMAS

✓ Not So Silent Night #1

✓ Sleigh It Ain’t So #2

✓ Home for the Howlidays #3

✓ Rebel Without a Claus #4

Buy Link:

Rebel without a Claus (The Kings: A Treemendous Christmas Book 4)

Blurb:

Life for Leopold de Loughrey is anything but ordinary. His meticulous and logical mind is both a gift and a curse, especially when it comes to finding a heartfelt present for his beloved fiancé, Ward Kingston. As Christmas and their first milestone anniversary draw near, Leo is eager to find the ideal gift that will perfectly capture their deep love and devotion.

When Colton surprises their family with an unforgettable Christmas vacation to Winterhaven, the possibilities that await in this enchanting holiday town stir Leo’s imagination, and with a few keystrokes, he discovers the town’s mayor—a man who remarkably resembles Santa Claus himself.

Join Leo, King, and their Four Kings Security family as they embark on a shenanigan-fueled adventure filled with unyielding determination and boundless love to rescue the holiday season for Winterhaven, where Santa Claus may just hold the key to delivering the perfect Christmas.

• Publication date: December 20, 2023

• Print length: 91 pages

Welcome to the Four Kings Security Universe! The current reading order for the universe is as follows:

FOUR KINGS SECURITY UNIVERSE

“STANDALONES

◦ Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts-Standalone (Spencer and Quinn. Quinn is Ace and Lucky’s cousin.) Can be read any time before In the Cards.

FOUR KINGS SECURITY

✓ Love in Spades-Book 1 (Ace and Colton)

✓ Ante Up-Book 1.5 (Seth and Kit) Free short story

◦ Be Still My Heart-Book 2 (Red and Laz)

✓ Join the Club-Book 3 (Lucky and Mason)

✓ Diamond in the Rough-Book 4 (King and Leo)

◦ In the Cards-Book 4.5 (Spencer and Quinn’s wedding.)

◦ FOUR KINGS SECURITY Boxed Set includes all 4 main Four Kings Security novels: Love in Spades, Be Still My Heart, Join the Club, and Diamond in the Rough.

BLACK OPS: OPERATION ORION’S BELT

◦ Kept in the Dark-Book 1 (Standalone series can be read anytime)

THE KINGS: WILD CARDS

◦ Stacking the Deck-Book 1 (Jack and Fitz).

◦ Raising the Ante-Book 2 (Frank and Joshua)

◦ Sleight of Hand-Book 3 (Joker and Gio)

◦ THE KINGS: WILD CARDS BOXED SET Boxed Set includes all 3: The Kings: Wild Cards books: Stacking the Deck, Raising the Ante, Sleight of Hand, and bonus story In the Cards.

RUNAWAY GROOMS SERIES

◦ Aisle Be There

◦ To Have and Witthold

THE KINGS: ROYAL FLUSH

◦ Dealing Him In

◦ Calling His Bluff

THE KINGS: A TREEMENDOUS CHRISTMAS

✓ Not So Silent Night

✓ Sleigh It Ain’t So

✓ Home for the Howlidays

✓ Rebel Without a Claus

Review: Family First: A Railers Christmas Novella (Harrisburg Railers Series Book 13) by R. J. Scott and V. L. Locey

Rating: 4.5🌈

Family First feels like the final chapter in the Harrisburg Railers series, at least for the original characters and teammates. The teammates have found their own journeys to HEA, with partners and families, some no longer playing.

One of the series favorites has been Russian goalie Stanislav “Stan” Lyamin. Stan of the Elvis obsession, his cat, speaking to his pipes, and eventual love of and marriage to teammate, Erik Gunnarsson (Poke Check). We watch them grow, stumble, laugh, form a family that includes Erik’s son, kids from Russia, Stan’s Mama, his sister and more. It’s been a fabulous and heartwarming experience and a joyful journey.

Now, both men are older, their children growing up. Their bodies are now more prone to the effects of age and the stress that their profession brings on them. Stan suffers a debilitating hit on the ice, the ramifications of which go beyond the physical impact of major injuries and a year off the ice.

Scott and Locey have always been able to get the mindset of a hockey player, no matter where they are in their career, newly acquired, a journeyman, or a star player with unbelievable skills or the ability to pull a team together. To be the head or the heart of the team.

Stan is one of those.

So when he’s sidelined by injuries, surgery, and age, the author’s skillfully show the readers just how much a sea change in his mental and emotional state this is.

For the reader who has followed the series, this isn’t the character we come to love and care for, and that’s makes it even more realistic.

As Erik and Stan are having their issues, their son, Noah, is suddenly diagnosed with a lifelong illness. This changes everything.

Scott and Locey take this serious element of a child and parents, who overnight, have their lives forever altered, and they handle this in a very responsible and sensitive manner. It feels medically well researched yet any details and medical care flows smoothly through the narrative.

Erik too has his own personal decisions to make and follow through with, and those are important for the family and his relationship with Stan. It’s just different and harder for the authors to give Erik’s story as much time as the other threads. There’s not enough page time, and Stan and Noah have the more dramatic moments.

If I have a small quibble, it’s with the Epilogue. I understand why the authors chose to do the timeline they did. However, for me, by moving it ahead so many years, you have effectively eliminated that challenges, growth and change that Stan and Erik (and Noah) had to deal with. It’s a narrative Cliffs Notes. And I don’t find those completely satisfying as they shortchange the characters and readers on so many levels. What does it do? Sets Noah up for his book which is up next.

So I found the ending expedient and sort of satisfying.

I think I could have used more of how the household, all the family members, not just Stan, Erik, and Noah, moved forward with all the changes in their lives after that last scene when Stan retires. And before the epilogue.

Oh well. Family First: A Railers Christmas Novella (Harrisburg Railers Series Book 13) by R. J. Scott and V. L. Locey is one I’m recommending to all fans of the series and their authors. It’s a lovely book and way to bid goodbye to two of the original team of the Railers.

Harrisburg Railers:

✓ Changing Lines #1

✓ First Season #2

✓ Deep Edge #3

✓ Poke Check #4

✓ Last Defense #5

✓ Goal Line #6

✓ Neutral Zone #7

✓ Hat Trick #8

✓ Save The Date #9

✓ Baby Makes Three #10

✓ Rivals #11

✓ Perfect Gifts #12

✓ Family First #13

Buy Link:

Family First: A Railers Christmas Novella (Harrisburg Railers Series Book 13)

Blurb:

An injury threatens to end Stan’s career. Will he choose to fight for his beloved hockey, or put his family first?

Few goalies are as dedicated as Stan Lyamin, known for his resilience on the ice, talking to his pipes, and his love of Elvis. Add in his adoration of his family and his life has been filled with all the things that bring him joy. However, after a heart-wrenching game ends with a disastrous hip injury, Stan faces the most challenging obstacle of his career: surgery, an extensive recovery, and the looming threat of retirement. It’s now that he has to decide which path to take: the one that will lead him back to the game he adores or the one that will see his jersey lifted to the rafters.

Erik and Stan, once invincible with the Railers, have always skated through life’s challenges hand in hand. Their love story, cemented by a shared passion for hockey and the joy of raising their children, has been their shield against the world. But when their son Noah’s life is changed forever by a medical diagnosis, this forever love is put to the test. Erik turns to his husband for support, but Stan is consumed with guilt, overwhelmed by decisions, and retreats into himself when his family needs him the most.

• Publisher: Love Lane Books Ltd; 1st edition (December 8, 2023)

• Publication date: December 8, 2023

• Print length: 116 pages

Review: Home for the Howlidays (The Kings: A Treemendous Christmas Book 3) by Charlie Cochet

Rating: 3.5 🌈

Home for the Howlidays, third in Cochet’s A Treemendous Christmas series, centers around the couple of Giovanni Galanos and Sacha “Joker” Wilder. Gio, his service dog, Cookie, a Golden Retriever, and Sacha, his boyfriend , and his military trained dog, Chip, a Belgium Malinois.

The month-long Christmas vacation stay at Winterhaven, has turned into a working vacation where the found family of The Four King Security agency and their significant others, The Boyfriend Collective, have been scrambling to get the town back together for its traditional Christmas celebration.

While the title may have a reader thinking that the book is dog centric, it’s more about the relationship between the Four Kings Sacha “Joker” Wilder and his extremely wealthy boyfriend, Giovanni Galanos. Each man has a different canine companion. For Gio, it’s his service dog, Cookie, a necessity after the ordeal he suffered from recent events. For Joker, it’s his working ex military partner, a Belgian Malinois named Chip. But the focus here is on their relationship and the issues that are threatening to pull them apart.

It’s Joker’s insecurity about Gio’s wealth and former globetrotting lifestyle. And Gio’s inability to see that he’s too wrapped up in his own job to notice that Joker is having trouble.

I liked the story but somehow it didn’t come together as smoothly as the other two installments. The development of the issues and the resolution was a little too disjointed, broken up by dramatic scenes that involved other characters, and the resolution was too quickly over for such complex emotional issues. All of the topics, the equality, the jealousy, the time management, the illness management, even their past history damage, and their own barriers to matrimony, to have those as storylines and attempt to give them depth and the detailed resolution they deserve , is a lot to expect of 94 pages. Especially with other characters and their story threads involved too.

So I found this an enjoyable read and a lovely addition to the series but not my favorite so far. Now onto a very exciting story next! The finale!

THE KINGS: A TREEMENDOUS CHRISTMAS

✓ Not So Silent Night #1

✓ Sleigh It Ain’t So #2

✓ Home for the Howlidays #3

◦ Rebel Without a Claus #4

Buy Link:

Home for the Howlidays (The Kings: A Treemendous Christmas Book 3)

Blurb:

Giovanni Galanos’s life took a dramatic turn after a terrifying ordeal and a newfound health condition led him home. Leaving behind his globetrotting adventures in favor of a more grounded existence, Gio finds solace in the arms of his love, Sacha “Joker” Wilder, a complex and captivating man who held Gio’s heart from the moment they first spoke. Together, along with their furry companions—Cookie, Gio’s service dog, and Chip, Sacha’s mischievous Belgian Malinois—his unconventional family forges a bond stronger than any hardship life can throw their way.

As the air teems with holiday cheer, Winterhaven unveils itself in all its enchanting glory. But a mishap has Sacha grumpier than usual. Amidst the joyous chaos that surrounds them, can the town’s holiday magic reignite Sacha’s Christmas spirit?

Join Gio and Sacha, along with their merry band of former Green Berets and their partners, as they navigate misadventures and heartwarming moments in Winterhaven, where true love and the transformative power of Christmas await.

• Publisher: (December 10, 2023)

• Publication date: December 10, 2023

• Print length: 94 pages

Welcome to the Four Kings Security Universe! The current reading order for the universe is as follows:

FOUR KINGS SECURITY UNIVERSE

“STANDALONES

◦ Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts-Standalone (Spencer and Quinn. Quinn is Ace and Lucky’s cousin.) Can be read any time before In the Cards.

FOUR KINGS SECURITY

✓ Love in Spades-Book 1 (Ace and Colton)

✓ Ante Up-Book 1.5 (Seth and Kit) Free short story

◦ Be Still My Heart-Book 2 (Red and Laz)

✓ Join the Club-Book 3 (Lucky and Mason)

✓ Diamond in the Rough-Book 4 (King and Leo)

◦ In the Cards-Book 4.5 (Spencer and Quinn’s wedding.)

◦ FOUR KINGS SECURITY Boxed Set includes all 4 main Four Kings Security novels: Love in Spades, Be Still My Heart, Join the Club, and Diamond in the Rough.

BLACK OPS: OPERATION ORION’S BELT

◦ Kept in the Dark-Book 1 (Standalone series can be read anytime)

THE KINGS: WILD CARDS

◦ Stacking the Deck-Book 1 (Jack and Fitz).

◦ Raising the Ante-Book 2 (Frank and Joshua)

◦ Sleight of Hand-Book 3 (Joker and Gio)

◦ THE KINGS: WILD CARDS BOXED SET Boxed Set includes all 3: The Kings: Wild Cards books: Stacking the Deck, Raising the Ante, Sleight of Hand, and bonus story In the Cards.

RUNAWAY GROOMS SERIES

◦ Aisle Be There

◦ To Have and Witthold

THE KINGS: ROYAL FLUSH

◦ Dealing Him In

◦ Calling His Bluff

THE KINGS: A TREEMENDOUS CHRISTMAS

✓ Not So Silent Night

✓ Sleigh It Ain’t So

✓ Home for the Howlidays

◦ Rebel Without a Claus

Review: The Christmas Collection: Three Heartwarming MM Holiday Romance Novels by Garrett Leigh

Rating: 4🌈

Garrett Leigh offers up three Christmas stories in this collection, all of which have ties to her other series which are linked or shared within the novellas. They are, in the order they are used within this collection:

Angels In The City

Hometown Christmas

Christmas Mountain

Some I liked more than the others but all were warmhearted, holiday romances that I enjoyed.

Angels In The City: This was a great way to start the collection. Sacha Antonov, a “fixer” brought in to help a company on the same floor as the one run by Jonah, they have a meet cute moment in a stuck elevator just before Jonah’s expected appearance at his parents biggest holiday party/event they throw for everyone of note.

A impulsive invitation, and equally surprising acceptance later , and there’s a jump start to a relationship between two people of widely different backgrounds but shares interests and growing attraction.

I really liked the characters and storylines, even without the ties to the cousin Alexei from Rebel Kings MC series which I don’t think I have read.

Hometown Christmas. Rami and Fen. One a chef struggling with his Greek food cart in the market and the other a ex military soldier with PTSD running a shelter and trying to find his way out of his own trauma. Well done , but it’s hard to go into the depths of such heavy issues in such a small length of page space. The shelter isn’t a real place on paper, we don’t have a feel for the work there or the people that need it . That element, as important as it is, just isn’t well defined. The couple is lovely though.

Christmas Mountain. This is the longest of the three stories and the one I wavered over the most.

While I eventually ended up liking Yani , I did a lot of head smacking over how , he was written initially. I get the overwhelming stress but the shear idiocy of the beginning of the story was something that made it hard to get any connection to him. His constant need to flee a situation before having any discussion, or conversation with others, again, this aspect of his personality was a huge factor in almost disliking him. I couldn’t understand the author’s need towards his character and path.

But eventually, halfway or more, things got better. But that first half was hard going for this reader.

It might not be for others. They might find themselves relating to him. I did like the ending. Thought the drama and explanation for how Gavin Ritchie was his own hero a little underwhelming. I got little sense of what really happened.

Overall, a lovely warmhearted holiday collection. A definite recommendation.

Lovely cover.

Buy Link:

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Christm…Three Heartwarming MM Holiday Romance Novels by Garrett Leigh

Blurb:

!! Dive in to the heartwarming world of MM holiday romances with Garrett Leigh’s THREE bestselling novels, complete with EXCLUSIVE bonus content for all THREE books !!

Angels In The City

Jonah & Sacha. A fake relationship with a stranger, an office romance filled with doughnuts and white knights, and an addictive arrangement that fast evolves into a deeper connection neither man can give up. Don’t miss the exclusive bonus epilogue featuring Alexei from the Rebel Kings MC series!

Christmas Mountain

Rami & Fen. The single dad probation officer caring for his dead brother’s baby. The wounded gentle giant with the biggest softest heart. Get ready for a heartwarming holiday story you’ll cherish forever, along with an exclusive bonus epilogue featuring Embry from the Rebel Kings MC series!

Hometown Christmas

Yani and Gavin’s friendship takes a festive turn as they venture from friends to lovers this Christmas. Fleeing a painful breakup in London, Yani finds himself drawn to brooding Army VET Gavin Ritchie. They’re not looking for love. This is a no strings arrangement. But love finds them all the same. Dig into this sweet and steamy holiday romance, plus enjoy an exclusive bonus epilogue featuring Nat, Marc, & Jamie from the Between Ghosts universe.

“Must read books for any MM romance fan. Don’t miss out on the love, laughter, and holiday magic Garrett Leigh has gifted us with these wonderful boys.”