Stories from the small town of Fall Crosse and Four Bears Construction include:
Happy Birthday Honey (Cole and Ren)
Baby Goats (Stone and Dare)
Stone and Dare’s Wedding – ditto
Christmas Butt Plug. (Everett and Watson)
Tequila Wedding (Ollie and Daniel)
GOATS LIKE CAKE TOO – Four Bears Epilogue
Each one is exactly what the author says, a short scene from the couple’s life. Cute or sexy or both. The stories are a terrific way to close out the series and say goodbye to these characters and their HEA’s.
If you love them and want to see more of their lives, this is just the thing for you.
To The Moon and Back is N.R. Walker ‘s latest contemporary romance and it’s a must read for everyone who’s a fan of this author and wonderful low angst relationship stories.
Located in Sydney, Australia, it brings together two men at loose tethers. One, Toby Barlow, a professional nanny, has recently returned home after a stint in the UK. His last job he cut short due to the clients/family he had contracted with. Now he’s home and looking for a new job and finds it in a single father who has been left with a baby, overwhelmed, unable to work or sleep or cope.
That’s Gideon Ellery. Who had his ex leave when Gideon adopted his son, Benson. Now Gideon is overwhelmed by his work, his life and trying to be the best father possible without knowing what he is doing. Enter Toby Barlow!
This is a slow burn, day by day, melding of a family unit. By burnt toast, by sickness, walking in the park, baby steps and food, tv shows, and everything familiar and ordinary. The things that really matters. Walker creates a warm, happy and believable atmosphere of two men and a baby falling into love and a family.
And we fall right along with them.
There’s a big Italian family on one side I wish we’d seen more of. Great friends on another and surprise visitors from a fabulous novel of Walker’s at the end every fan will adore.
The drama, such as it is, is real and low key. And the ending lovely and leaves us wanting to see a sequel or holiday story for this family in the future.
If you’re a fan of contemporary romance and N. R. Walker, grab this up. It’s just a lovely read that will make you happy and leave you wanting more!
Gideon Ellery had the perfect life. Nice house, great job, and a long-time boyfriend. Weeks after adopting his nephew, his boyfriend splits, leaving Gideon a single father to a newborn. Overwhelmed, sleep deprived, and unsure how to navigate fatherhood, he’s asked to return to the office. He’s overwhelmed and at his breaking point.
Toby Barlow is back in Sydney after three years of studying, travelling, and nannying in the UK. He needs work and a place to live, and the perfect solution drops in his lap. After all, caring for a sweet baby in a beautiful home owned by a gorgeous single man isn’t exactly terrible.
Gideon isn’t too keen to share his life with a stranger, but his need for help is too great. Sunshiny Toby isn’t prepared for a grumpy Gideon or his utterly adorable son, Benson. Or how easily he slots into their lives. And Gideon’s not prepared for how much he needs Toby.
Or how much he wants him.
Neither is prepared for the complications of falling in love.
A Christmas Outing is a wonderful heartwarming holiday story whose narrative gifts are tarnished by the errors and mistakes that are found inside.
Continuity issues, once again, thy name is A Veterans Affairs. The most striking example is Troy’s best friend growing up, Leo. A closeted gay himself, it was his death that pushed Troy out of the closet and onto a new path. Hugely important.
So it would have to be a factor that’s a major aspect of Troy’s life and storylines. You would expect zero variation. Incoming, the first novel, has its version being that Leo was shot to death by a hookup in a gas station because he’s afraid to be seen in a gay bar.
Written as an epilogue to that story but released separately (same time frame), A Christmas Outing: A Veterans Affairs Story has Leo dying as a result of being beaten to death by homophobes.
To use the vernacular, I can’t even.
Troy’s West Virginia large family of Methodists becomes ethnically distinctly Italian Catholic, with some surprising side trips.
There’s so many elements that are mentioned and discussed superficially. A gay conversion camp and therapy, a gay cousin, a rescue, a PSTD episode that’s quickly dealt with, a hidden relationship, a coming out, a service dog and her duties, a gay partner who’s not religious. I’m sure I’m leaving out some. Bigotry.
All at Christmas. So heartwarming.
The fact that the Christmas card decorations and big Italian Catholic families are supposed to make up for the lost depth and glossing over of some of the very tough topics raised is in a manner a surface treatment used by families to make them feel better about themselves and issues they would rather not face.
It ends typically with a happy ending for the couple, one not shared with those around them. Big surprise.
There’s a couple more books in this series that are focused around another couple that lives in the same small town of Red Deer, Colorado.
Not entirely sure I’m continuing. It’s interesting but I have more books in 2023 on my list to finish first.
Incoming – Troy & Dmitri novel A Christmas Outing – Troy & Dmitri novella
Paper Hearts – Mikey & Benny novel Paper Roses – Mikey & Benny novella
Bronze Star – Jay-Cee & Chris novel
Description:
Troy and Dmitri have worked everything out – well, almost everything. Except for the part where Troy’s family doesn’t know Dmitri exists. Coming out to his family sounds scarier than going to war. And Troy would know.
Troy’s been out of the Army for almost a year, and except for a few short weeks, hasn’t been back to West Virginia at all. Now it’s Christmas and if he doesn’t go, he’ll break his momma’s heart. Trouble is, Troy’s afraid that going home with a boyfriend and service dog in tow will break his Momma’s heart just as much.
I should leave it at that but once more Con Riley has written a deeply emotional multi layered story that’s only supposed to be about a couple’s journey to get married.
With this author and couple, it’s never that superficial. Honestly, Charles and Hugo might not even have gotten married and the readers would have been surprisingly ok with that.
The reason why is because it’s always going to be about the relationship , the men, and the meandering nature of the path they take together towards any goal they’ve set for themselves.
Marriage? It’s been postponed several times already because of other issues, things we find out about here in this story as it gets discussed between Charles and Hugo. Yes, open communication is a great element here. It’s an aspect of the story that becomes key to understanding people and their motivations, important aspects of their lives.
We go through some surprisingly complex issues and topics. Death, grief, and coping. Or the lack of.
Riley threads the use of history, wildlife, wars, and the current victimization of refugees in a raw and brutal manner into a story of about love and compassion.
It ends on such a wonderful note of hope, laughter, and love that makes me want to bind all the Charles stories into one single piece so I’ll have them forever in place for continuing rereading.
I’m highly recommending this and all the Charles books and shorts. There are several out there, including free holiday ones that are among my favorites.
Because every epic romance deserves an epic happy ending…
All Charles Heppel wants is a wedding. It’s not much to ask now that he’s set his playboy days aside for his almost-ordained fiancé. He can’t wait for a lovely, lazy beach honeymoon with His Holy Hotness to continue Hugo’s education in the bedroom.
Surely this third wedding date will be the charm and won’t get cancelled, will it? After all, Hugo’s followed his calling almost to the end of his path to ordination. Nothing should keep him from gaining his own parish with Charles as his husband.
Hugo’s calling thinks differently, demanding he leaves for the remote island of Kara-Enys without Charles.
That news should be shattering, but if Charles Heppel has one thing going for him, it’s that he’s relentlessly optimistic. And romantic. Most islands have beaches, don’t they? He’ll join Hugo to have the honeymoon first on their own version of Love Island. They can get married later!
All he needs to do is find him…
♥ This conclusion to the Learning to Love series features a host of heartfelt cameos, an embarrassment of romance, and in no way should be used as a guide to the ordination process, which likely involves much less kissing. ♥
(A content advisory can be viewed on the copyright page.)
Breakfast Included by L. A. Chase is another of the Snowed Inn holiday collection that shares a special weekend at a mountain resort called The Retreat and a avalanche as the dramatic event to launch 7 romances.
I enjoy seeing characters from the other stories gliding through each other’s romances, even if it’s just a mention.
Chase’s book has an unexpected reunion between friends who haven’t seen each other for 12 years. That’s when a passionate kiss , then a ghosting caused immense hurt when they were teenagers.
Now at a gay speed dating event held at The Retreat, composer Reno Pierce sees ex crush/friend Tate Boylan sitting across the table.
Like all the stories, it’s the avalanche that starts a conversation, reconciliation, and renews a shared passion for each other.
I enjoyed both characters. Oddly, I didn’t get as much depth from Tate Boylan as I did from the younger Reno Pierce as the one who was kissed and left. Reno’s still hurt by that years later, unable to move past it. Tate’s personality feels a bit less complicated but that could be contributed to the fact we have more “Reno” page time and history.
The dramatic element introduced near the end and Reno’s reaction felt less believable. As did Ricky, older brother to Reno’s, somewhat over the top response and immediate turnaround to the couple and events. Came off as contrived.
I enjoyed the story. It was sweet and romantic without leaving a long impression.
What’s worse than being stranded at a mountain resort by an avalanche three days before Christmas? Being trapped with your teenage crush—who kissed you and ran away.
Reno Pierce spends all his time creating music in his studio, quite happily alone, but at the insistence of his rom-com-loving dad, he finds himself at a Colorado mountain resort speed dating event. His dad wants Reno to bring his ‘Mr. Right’ home for Christmas, but what he finds instead is his teenage crush. Twelve years ago, he’d been head-over-heels in love with his older brother’s best friend, Tate. His straight best friend. But everything changed one magical night, when Tate kissed him like his life depended on it—and then ran away.
Six months after a bad breakup, Tate Boylan is still feeling the damage done to his confidence. Thanks to his hopeless romantic sister, who booked him a quaint cabin at a mountain resort and insisted he ‘boost his morale’ with a night of speed dating at The Retreat, he’s feeling much better. Until he sits at a table across from his best friend’s younger brother. The one he’d fallen for as a teen, kissed at a party, and never saw again.
Now that an avalanche has cut the hotel off from the rest of the world, Tate might have a chance to prove to Reno that this time he won’t kiss and run.
All the books in the Snowed Inn collection are standalone stories and can be read in any order.
Snowed Inn story Collection:
All the books can be read as standalones and in any order and all are available to buy or pre-order
There’s something so soothing and wonderful about reading a contemporary romance that’s about an emotionally healthy, adult relationship.
About Last Night by Aimee Nicole Walker is a perfect example of that. The novel, one who’s characters are part of the author’s Savannah, Georgia universe (Sinister in Savannah, Sawyer and Royce series), are people we’ve met and become extremely fond of through prior stories.
Detective Christopher “Topher” Carnegie, who’s previous relationships haven’t been a success, has slowly become aware he’s attracted on many levels to a man his family has all but adopted. One he considers a close friend.
That’s Julian Fine, clothing designer (he of the corsets Sawyer loves), and best friend to Harper, one of Topher’s sisters.
This joyous journey begins at their first meeting and moves through the passage of time as Julian and the Carnegie family becomes a wonderful, heartwarming unit that stabilizes Julian’s life and anchors both men to each other.
It’s low angst and includes a bisexual awakening that’s mature, and realistically portrayed. There’s support from friends and family for them, adult communication, as well as a sexy, fun, loving exploration as they realize they are willing to take the next step towards everything they both want.
I laughed, sighed, and throughly love this couple and their path to romance.
I believe you will too.
You don’t have to have read the other series and books to read this one but it certainly gives the reader a richness in terms of foundation and universe if you have.
Plus I adore those stories.
And highly recommend this and all of those! Excellently written, outstanding characters, and a beautifully crafted storyline. Sink into it and this couple’s journey to HEA and enjoy!
Detective Christopher “Topher” Carnegie is unlucky in love. He either tries too hard, doesn’t try hard enough, or hasn’t found the right person yet. But recently, he’s started seeing Julian Fine, his sister’s best friend, in a new light. If there’s one thing a fabulous tailor knows, it’s how to take a person’s measure. Julian recognizes a straight man when he sees one, but that doesn’t stop him from falling head over heels for the unattainable man.
Just a few short days and one shared bed…
When a white lie backs Julian into a corner, Topher steps in to save the day. He’s worked plenty of undercover assignments before, but pretending to be Julian’s boyfriend during a family wedding might be his most dangerous mission yet. Julian challenges everything Christopher knows about himself, and soon, reaching for each other feels as natural as breathing. But can their newfound feelings survive the real-world challenges they face? There’s only one way to find out.
About Last Night is a low-angst standalone romance within the author’s Savannah universe. This book contains mature content and is intended for adults.
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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.
I knew I was in for a wonderful time when I found myself laughing out at a awkward moment just pages in. Hilarious, believable, and totally entertaining. For the readers and other characters watching.
Tyler Morris has a few issues. He loves being a veterinarian, but he can’t cope with losing patients, the heartbreak and grief. He’s also determined to lose his V card. Past trauma has made him feel like no one wants someone like him.
Daly Evans, new owner of the cafe and bakery, is also hiding major issues. Health issues that have effected his body image.
Taking the cafe over from his grandmother , Daly is struggling.
Tyler is a character we’ve met before, but here in Got Me Going, with his background exposed, and his inability to deal with the worst consequences of being a vet, Tyler comes vividly to life. Just as Daly does, as he fights to keep the shop open and his fears for his future in check.
I love this series and each couple has grabbed at my heart, but Daly and Tyler had me laughing, sniffling, and throughly enjoying their journey to HEA.
Cox has written a remarkable romance, full of heart and joy. I’m highly recommending it and the series.
Can a veterinarian lose his V-card before turning twenty-five? Oh, one hun p he can!
On the surface, I’m super sassy and just a little bit extra. But underneath, I’m hiding a painful secret from my past and one hugely embarrassing problem in my present—I’m still a…I’m still a…Dammit, I can’t even get it out.
Let’s just say it starts with V and ends in irgin.
Daly’s the new barista, and he takes Thirsty Thursdays to a whole new level. He’s drop-dead gorgeous with a sexy shaved head, ocean-blue eyes, and an insane smile that lights me up whenever he aims it my way. He’s also kind, friendly, and interesting. In other words, the perfect guy to be my first time.
A night of too much coconut tequila leads to us making a drunken pact. Daly will help me with my V-status issue, but he adds a caveat. We have to get to know each other first. Then, and only then, can the physical stuff happen.
It sounds simple enough. But the more I get to know him, the more I realize what we have is more than just a physical attraction. We share a connection. We like the same things. And stupidly, I’ve gone ahead and caught feelings for the guy.
This was never meant to be anything more than just a physical thing, so why has Daly got me going out of my mind the way he does?
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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.
I am reading Onley James’ Necessary Evils series and thought I’d see what else the author had written.
Bad Habits, co-written with Neve Wilder, seemed like it was in a similar vein with assassins, suspense, computer hackers, and characters with a connection between them.
I enjoyed it but found that while the storyline and action was fast paced, letting me finish it pretty quickly, some of the main characters needed something more to make them adhere to the descriptions or personalities the authors intended.
Jonah is supposedly a cold blooded contract killer. He kills a person easily at the beginning of the novel, in keeping with his profile.
But shortly after, his actions are anything but . He’s appearing to be a man forced to kill because circumstances made him a killer, not because he’s a psychopath. Years of professionalism are tossed away.
Same goes for Caspian. He’s , according to the storyline and his description, a genius hacker. The only evidence we have of that being believable is the opening scenes in the book. Those dirty, exhausted, raw scenes felt real.
But everything that occurred afterwards from a hacker standpoint needed more attention to detail.
As someone returning home , yes. As a criminal hacker on the run? No. Too many chances taken , over and over.
The characters that felt absolutely perfect? Sadie, Madigan. Ruthless, brutal, perfectly flawed to the point they might be psychotic. Those characters I got behind. They had everything our main characters were lacking.
The plot towards the end was extremely suspenseful and incredibly entertaining. Great ending and wrap up.
Sending those two off made sense because to me they just didn’t seem very believable in their stated job choices to begin with.
Jonah taught Cas a million ways to protect his body but not one to protect his heart.
Smart-mouthed hacker Caspian escaped an abusive home at sixteen. Now he’s one of the most sought-after black hatters in the world.
Jonah is a ruthless contract killer with only one weakness, the vibrant runaway he took in years ago: Caspian.
But Cas bailed when he turned eighteen, and Jonah has maintained a steady diet of eat, kill, sleep since then.
Jonah had always been the fatal flaw in Cas’s code, the bug that froze the part of his brain separating logic from emotion.
A threat to Cas’s life brings him back years later—not as the boy Jonah remembers, but as a hardened computer hacker with a price on his head and a list of names everybody wants.
The chemistry between them is as undeniable as it is dangerous.
In a world of secrets and murder, trust is a liability and feelings can get you killed. But Jonah let Cas go once, and he’s not willing to do it again. Even if it means confronting his past, solving a twisted puzzle, and taking out half of New York City’s seedy underbelly to keep Cas safe.
Bad Habits is a steamy, action-packed thrill ride of a romance with a HEA and no cliffhangers. It features morally ambiguous men, pancakes drizzled with snark, chosen family, drive-in movies, and the kind of love that drives a guy to murder in order to protect. In short: all the emo, heat, and sarcasm you’d probably expect from an Onley/Neve collaboration. This is book 1 in the Wages of Sin series. Each book will follow a new couple.
R.J. Scott has written an beautiful, emotionally moving story, one that happens to include a romance, with her latest installment in the Single Dads series .
Listen revolves around the potential adoption of a 3 yr deaf child by investigative journalist Nick Horner. Nick, a widower and single parent to three children, is someone we meet earlier when he’s still deeply grieving the loss of his husband to cancer, and depression has his spiraling.
At that time he meets Elliot Curtis, teacher at St. Joseph’s. Nick’s actions at the time and their interactions have repercussions later on. Nick’s background , his thoughts give us a thorough perspective of the man himself. Especially when we see him together with his children. We grieve with him and connect with him.
Elliot is an amazing character. Scott has poured a huge amount of research of Deaf culture into Elliot and his family. It shows as Elliot comes across so realistically as a CODA or child of deaf adults. Many aspects of the ramifications of this are reflected in Elliott’s memories as a child, as ASL as his first language, to his feelings as being the only hearing person in his family.
This is such a remarkable element. It’s not just Elliott. It’s also Elliott’s family but most importantly it’s Teegan, the 3 year old. It’s concerning her needs , how and what a deaf child needs, develops, and what decisions she might make for herself in the future. In addition, she’s been in foster care and a victim of FASD. Teegan is a child as winning and real on the page as they come.
And none of it feels like a info dump . Indeed , it’s all folded into a fantastic book of deep love, concern for a child , and the family who wants to adopt her. It’s a joyous romance that will slowly become about two men forming a new family.
I heart this book and it’s wonderful characters so much.
Scott has a outstanding, warm-hearted story of second chances, family and love in Listen. It’s one I’ll be rereading and one I’m highly recommending!
He only wanted to make the best home for his new daughter; he never meant to fall in love with the man who might steal her away.
Nick and his husband had always wanted a big family, but when cancer took Danny six years ago, Nick was left a single dad of three. He never considered his broken heart would heal enough to add to his family, but as soon as he meets Teegan he knows he wants to adopt the little girl. Born profoundly deaf, Teegan has been rejected twice already in the adoption process and hasn’t found her forever home. Nick wants to be her hero—her dad—and create a world that is safe and happy for her. He knows he wants to make her life perfect—he doesn’t know how to go about it or understand the best thing to do for his family, and he needs help. Enter Elliot, and Nick finds himself falling for the frustrating, sexy, inspiring, and caring teacher who can make things right.
Elliot is wary of helping the man who appears more interested in public opinion than the needs of his own family. But, learning that Nick, wealthy and entitled, is now adopting a deaf child, Elliot knows this is a step too far and strides into battle. As the child of deaf adults, Elliot knows he is the best person to advocate for little Teegan and, if needed, he is determined to intervene and halt the adoption. Nothing and no one will get in Elliot’s way when it falls on him to protect Teegan. Not even love.
This single dad story features a widower struggling to make things right, a teacher battling for a child’s wellbeing, an adorable toddler, three loving siblings, and a home with a view of the ocean.
After Felix is the third book in Lily Morton’s Close Proximity series. I skipped over Charlie’s story because the characters of Felix and Max so spoke to me in Best Man that I needed their own story and to see how their romance played out.
I’m so happy I did because this is an amazing story. I have just continued to think over all its many storylines and elements, including the trips the characters make to various locations, and it all comes together in such an amazing romance.
We are with Felix Jackson Max Travers from the beginning of their journey when they meet at the bookstore, through their tumultuous romantic history and finally through the process of working their way back towards each other. Every scene , whether it’s funny or heartbreaking, shows such dimension to their personalities. We fall in love with them and their relationship. We’re invested in their happiness.
Then we get more. As the years pass, through excellent descriptions, we watch the characters undergoing change and growth as they figure out who matters to them, or especially if they can trust again.
Morton builds a heartwarming, believable, at times so painful story of two men who find each other, lose, then need to find a path back to each other again.
It’s truly a remarkable romance with incredible characters and a journey that’s staying with me.
I feel like I’ve found a story I’ll reread when I want a romance to curl up with. It’s in that pile of stories.
Sometimes the best love stories come in two parts.
When Felix met handsome journalist Max Travers, it was lust at first sight. It was just his luck that he then had to develop a terrible case of feelings and got his heart broken.
However, two and a half years later, he’s over all of that. His job is going well, he has good friends, and he doesn’t lack for male company. Which, of course, is when Max has to come bursting back into his life.
Felix Jackson will always be the one who got away to Max. He’s spent their time apart regretting his actions and hoping for a second chance. When an accident lands him in Felix’s less than tender care, Max is determined to grab this opportunity. The only problem is that Felix is equally determined that he doesn’t.
From bestselling author, Lily Morton comes a story of missed opportunities, second chances, and two very stubborn men.
This is the third book in the Close Proximity series, but it can be read as a standalone.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 