Tag: m/m romance

Review: Cherry on Top: a MM Fake Boyfriend Standalone (Indigo Bay) by Beth Bolden

Rating: 4.5🌈

Beth Bolden’s intense, passionate Italian American Moretti family stretches over two series, sorry, three, as cousin Rocco is heading off to Christmas Falls towards the end.

The Moretti family, brothers or cousins, can be found as chefs or restauranteurs in the wonderful Food Truck Warriors and now in her Indigo Bay novels. And as I mentioned even more.

While these books are listed as standalone, they really aren’t as they need the foundation of the preceding novel to give the reader depth of understanding of the characters, their history, and the setting of Indigo Bay from the perspective of both stories.

Here, it’s Enzo Moretti, a character who was introduced to readers in Sweet as Pie #1, but returning home (temporarily) older and as an established mural artist . He’s separated himself from the Moretti family culinary path, and has tried to do the same with his own life by his absence.

I thought Bolden, who always does an exemplary job of layering her characters, has made Enzo a person to relate to with his complicated family dynamics and own troubled journey to maturity . The author is also able to let us see into his artistic passion and processes as he creates the mural so important to the story and town.

Oliver Billings fled Florida and his family food business to move to Indigo Bay, opening up a fantastic ice cream shop, Cherry’s. Oliver is just as much a beautifully written character as the man he’s being paired with. The recipes are mouthwatering, the shop and employees are believable, and this stressed out, hard working man is a delight to watch get his HEA.

Of course, this starts as a fake boyfriend trope but Bolden’s chemistry between the two is palpable and real. Also great are all the other people who live and are necessary for the story and their relationship. Mothers, families, friends. Just perfect.

I hope Bolden will give us Rocco’s story too. And further adventures of the Moretti family. I’m so invested.

Connected Series:

Food Truck Warriors

Christmas Falls

Indigo Bay:

Sweet as Pie #1

Cherry on Top #2

Buy Link:

Cherry on Top: a MM Fake Boyfriend Standalone (Indigo Bay)

Blurb

When Enzo Moretti’s mom lures him home to paint one of his famous murals in Indigo Bay, he expects an awkward family reunion.

Not an awkward matchmaking attempt.

And not Will Johnson, the new owner of Cherry’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor and it turns out, also who she’s been boasting to about all Enzo’s perfect qualities.

He’s perfectly embarrassed, all right.

When Will suggests pretending to date might be easier than fighting his determined mama, Enzo knows he should say no. That Will is as tasty as his frozen desserts doesn’t matter. Enzo isn’t staying.

Instead, he plans a series of very public romantic dates. Dates that only end up proving that, yes, Will is as sweet as his ice cream, and no, Enzo isn’t as immune to romantic entanglements as he thought. The longer they continue the charade, the less it feels like a game of pretend and more like a truth he can’t avoid.

But can Enzo really admit his mom got it right—and stay in the town he’s always wanted to leave? It’ll be tough to live down that “I told you so.”

Even tougher to leave Will behind.

Because what he never expected is for Will to be the cherry on top of this matchmaking sundae. He’s one tasty treat Enzo never wants to finish.

• Publication date: July 12, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 313 pages

INDIGO BAY series:

🔹Sweet as Pie #1 – Luca Moretti is very grumpy. Not just about his six younger siblings, or the four Italian restaurants he runs for his family, but about Oliver, who not only seduces him with all his delectable baked goods, but just so happens to be sweet as pie.”

🔹Cherry on Top #2 – When Enzo Moretti’s mother lures him home to paint a mural in his hometown, he doesn’t expect her awkward matchmaking attempts. Or that the source of them is Will Johnson: the very cute new owner of Cherry’s Ice Cream Parlor. But the last thing he expects is for Will to suggest they fake a few dates to get his mother off their backs. Or that he’ll enjoy them quite so much.

Review: Marrying Mr Majestic by Lucy Lennox

Rating: 4.75🌈

I really told myself no more billionaire character romances. But, I’m a sucker for the Wake Up Married in Las Vegas trope so, of course, I immediately grabbed up the newest release, Marrying Mr Majestic by Lucy Lennox . I’m so happy I did.

I hadn’t read the first story which introduced the group of friends who became billionaires after creating a software program. That’s Prince of Lies, which I might have to go back to read now that I’ve met the group.

But this story concerns Silas Concannon, in Las Vegas to stop a wedding (unsuccessfully) and Waylon Fletcher, mayor of the small town of Majestic, Wyoming. He’s in Las Vegas where he thought he’d get married to help a friend out. Also unsuccessful.

A night out of commiseration in a bar ends with them married. And a fabulous novel ensues.

Never have I fallen so quickly and so hard for a location and group of people as I have for Way, his family and friends there on the streets , stores, and warmth of Majestic. And that goes for Silas, as he finds that he has found his home in every possible way when he pursues Way back west and finds a cowboy and town who needs him as much as he needs to be needed.

Lennox does such an amazing job in bringing the small town community of Majestic perfectly to life, believable in its rural close knit dynamics, the beauty of the landscape, and the realism of living there. The town is breathtakingly heartfelt and a great part of why this story works so well.

The author then crafts character after character that is as well suited and believable as the town itself, sets them down with jobs and lives we can relate to, and without any hesitation, the reader is absolutely living and walking with Way, JuJu, and Silas and everyone else who comes up to chat about the events happening. We are there.

We are part of that sexy, funny, and painful growing relationship between two men who are afraid it’s going to fall apart on them. Yet who are so compatible and deeply in love. I found myself forgetting Silas was as rich as he was and appreciated the man Lennox had crafted, evolving there in Majestic. Waylon too, as he learned to lean on Silas.

I’m so in love with them both. Those epilogues (yes more than one) weren’t nearly enough to satisfy me because I love them all so.

Dev, a part of the billionaire brotherhood who ends up in Majestic, has his own story next. I can’t wait. I’m ready to pull up a chair on a porch and stay on in Majestic because there’s quite a few people there who need their own romances.

I’m highly recommending this place, these characters and this book. It’s a fabulous read.

Billionaire Brotherhood /group of friends:

◦ Prince of Lies

✓ Marrying Mr. Majestic ❤️ (Silas and Waylon)

◦ Inheriting Miss Fortune (Dev’s story) – Oct 2024

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Marry…Marrying Mr. Majestic – Kindle edition by Lennox, Lucy. Romance …

Blurb

I’ve made myself into many things over the years. A Yale graduate. A brilliant corporate strategist. A city boy. And, though no one outside my inner circle knows it, a billionaire.

One thing I never expected to be? Accidentally married to a straight, small-town cowboy named Waylon, the pride and joy of… *checks notes*… Majestic, Wyoming.

Sadly, what happens in Vegas does not, in fact, stay in Vegas, and before I know it, I’m trying to track my erstwhile husband down, divorce papers in hand and thrift store clothes on my back, desperately hoping the stranger I married won’t realize he’s suddenly entitled to a lot more than that shiny gold ring on his finger.

Unfortunately, Way has other plans.

His town is counting on him as mayor to bring the lucrative AdventureSmash wilderness race to Majestic, and he refuses to sign my papers until the deal is done… which means me and my second-hand blue jeans will be hanging around a lot longer than I’d imagined, pretending our one-night whatever-it-was was a love match for the ages.

As it turns out, Majestic is more charming than I’d expected, and Way… is not entirely without charms himself. It also turns out he’s, ahem, not as straight as he thought he was.

Before I know it, dusty boots feel more comfortable than my shiny wingtips, coffee at the Love Muffin tastes better than Starbucks, and being the First Husband of Majestic starts to seem as important as any corporate merger I’ve ever negotiated.

But for a man with secrets to keep and a whole life waiting for him back in Manhattan, the only thing worse than Marrying Mr. Majestic… would be falling in love with him for real.

Marrying Mr. Majestic is set in the same world as Prince of Lies, but both novels can be enjoyed on their own.

• Publisher: (July 9, 2024)

• Publication date: July 9, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 318 pages

Small town romance, bi-awakening,

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Review: Forever Finn (Belong To Me Book 3) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 4.75🌈

I’ve been binging this series so I’m sad to come to the last of the available books because I’ve definitely fallen in love with this series and group of characters.

The original focus of the series has expanded from the Ainsley’s and partners to their friends who are a devoted active extension of this warmhearted family. As the foundation and lovely group of people living in the bay has developed, this small town has never felt more welcoming and dynamic as it does now.

Wyatt Trainor is a Canadian immigrant, a veterinarian who works with Jesse Ainsley in his clinic and is finding that everything about the bay feels like home. Except for his love life. Wyatt is a wonderful character we started to get to know in previous books but really gets established here.

It’s Finn Gallagher who’s such a compelling character, that wounded man who has fled back to the bay, filled with secrets, pain, and an inability to see how he can move forward. On the surface, a successful straight movie star but Cassidy is able to give the reader the real man whose emotions are in turmoil due to his long held grief and repressed sexuality.

Cassidy is incredibly moving in crafting a strong storyline that pulls together several characters, three books, and a heartbreaking event and turns it into a realistic, compelling final chapter for everyone who was so deeply impacted by this event and loss.

Finn’s story has so many great layers to it. He’s trying to determine his future, announce his sexuality, figure out his home, fight for a new relationship he’s building with Wyatt and protect a old love/friendship from ramifications of all of the above.

It’s that last part, his best friend, and fellow actor, Sky, that I wish we had known about in greater depth. I understand it wasn’t her story but in so many ways, it was. And the glimpses we got of the character that Cassidy created, it was interesting enough that I wanted more. Of Sky and the unique family they seemingly formed at the end.

Cassidy’s characters are so beautifully drawn, so real, that’s it’s easy to become invested in each of their stories and their lives. I always want more of what happened next.

Plus there’s all these fantastic people that call the bay home that the reader looks forward to seeing in each story, like Molly and Bernard.

So now I wait, having happily binged my way through this fantastic series and this great story. I’m so excited to recommend them all but read them in the order they are written to get the relationships and event development as it happens.

Belong To Me:

✓ Suddenly Beck #1

✓ Definitely Deacon #2

✓ Dear Las Vegas, Thanks for the memories #2.5 -author mailing list or paperback book

✓ Forever Finn #3

◦ Irrevocably Ryan #4

Buy Link

Forever Finn (Belong to Me)

Blurb

Finn Gallagher has it all, a beautiful girlfriend, a successful Hollywood career, a condo in Malibu and more money than he knows what to do with. He should be happy, but there’s just one problem, he’s gay and he’s been lying to the entire world. When he walks out on his career a couple of days into shooting his latest movie, he’s finds himself inadvertently heading straight back to the small Cornish bay he grew up in.

Wyatt Trainor has only recently left his native Canada and relocated across the world, taking a job as a local veterinarian in a quiet little bay in Cornwall. Just out of a bad relationship, he’s happy with hook ups and one night stands until a chance meeting in a dark nightclub brings him face to face with his celebrity crush.

But when a drunken encounter unexpectedly turns into something more, they find themselves admitting there might just be something there worth exploring.

• Publisher: (September 14, 2022)

• Publication date: September 14, 2022

• Language: English

• Print length: 168 pages

Review: Definitely Deacon (Belong To Me Book 2) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 4.75🌈

I will admit I’m loving this series so much that I’ve grabbed up all the available novels and read them right through. So I know that the heartwarming feeling of found family and all inclusive community that the Bay represents just increases as each couple finds happiness and works through the trauma that comes with each homecoming and wonderful relationships.

Yes, I’m definitely a fan.

Definitely Deacon begins the migration home of for many of the important characters that are a part of the Ainsley family story. Deacon’s impact here is enormous, both in his main character role and as a avenue to bring the series a influx of fascinating people/friends. Friends who themselves will then a become just as important in expanding the series foundation in terms of found family and types of topics covered.

Grief and loss is always central to this series. Whether it’s the loss of patriarch Sully to cancer (one thread of the first book) or here the loss of Cody, Deacon’s brother and close friend of the Ainsley’s, in a car crash, it’s the impact of that loss, on all the those left behind that’s a factor here. And on the one that ran away.

Cassidy does a great job in developing the characters of Jesse Ainsley, twin to Beck, vet, with a long standing love for Deacon James, boat racer, party boy, the one who left the Bay after Cody’s death. And what little friendship they had seems done. Jesse is a person who is easy to relate to, with some issues he’s working hard to address.

Deacon is a character the author introduces under extreme circumstances. Then lets us get to know him as he recovers back in the bay, where the past and his present combine to finally get him , along with Jesse, and all the rest of the group there, to move him forward.

This is painful, funny, emotional stuff. Also sexy and romantic. That ending was satisfying and hilarious. There’s a follow up short story called Dear Las Vegas, Thanks for the memories. It’s available either for free when you sign up for the author’s newsletter or if you buy the paperback. Either way, a must giggle fest.

Now to await, along with the author’s many other books/series, the book four. And more, hopefully.

These are all a definite recommendation.

Belong To Me:

✓ Suddenly Beck #1

✓ Definitely Deacon #2

✓ Dear Las Vegas, Thanks for the memories #2.5 -author mailing list or paperback book

✓ Forever Finn #3

◦ Irrevocably Ryan #4

Buy Link

Definitely Deacon (Belong to Me)

Blurb

An emotional and humour filled roller-coaster ride through a sleepy little Cornish Bay.

Jesse Ainsley’s life running his busy veterinary practice in the sleepy Cornwall bay he grew up in leaves no time for a serious relationship… at least, that’s what he tells himself, but the simple truth is much more cliché. He’s been in love with his best friend forever, but when he starts pulling away and goes radio silent on him for six months, Jesse begins to wonder if their friendship is finally over.

Deacon James lives his life at two speeds, a hundred miles an hour and stop. He’s spent the last decade travelling the world, winning races, partying with the most beautiful men and women, and living life on his terms, a life which was pretty close to perfect… with just one caveat… he’s never quite been able to get over the boy he left behind. His best friend Jesse has always made him yearn for something he’s too afraid to face and cutting him out of his life seemed like the only answer.

But things are never that simple. When Deacon wakes from an accident in Italy with Jesse asleep in the hospital chair beside him, he discovers Jesse’s been keeping secrets of his own.

At a crossroads in their life, they’re faced with a choice, build something deeper and stronger from the ashes, or let words unsaid and secrets tear them apart forever.

From author Wendy Saunders writing as Vawn Cassidy comes this second chance, friends to lovers, hurt/comfort with a HEA.

The paperback copy also includes the bonus short Dear Las Vegas, Thanks for the memories.

This short story can be accessed by joining the author’s mailing list. The story is adorable!

Review: Skeleton Crew (Psycop 14) by Jordan Castillo Price

Rating: 4.5🌈

It’s been a while since I’d read any novels in this series but this author is one I automatically read so it seems like a good time to get back into the universe.

It’s recommended that you be familiar with the characters, their unique histories and backgrounds as well as the series as a foundation for the knowledge required here.

This is a complicated story that involves a layered plot, hidden secrets, beautifully developed mysteries, and an agonizing twist that puts all the cast in all types of imminent danger.

This along with the storyline of a escalating anxiety from main characters, Vic and Jacob, about Jacob’s nephew home alone during a violent storm while the couple who were his caregivers for the weekend find themselves in a increasingly dangerous situation. Without access to WiFi and phones.

Price does a realistic portrayal of the fears and distress both men are experiencing, for the boy and themselves because of the newness of the situation. Then there’s the horrific reality they currently face, of the dark basement and its own extreme dangers.

The scenes in the basement are some of the best in the book. Descriptively, the author is able to bring us down into that scary environment, continuing to elevate the horror and obstacles every one faces and then finally turning it into one poignant but terrifying scenario.

So well written.

And if that ending leaves you with a few chills, it should. That’s the playground for Psycop. Check out the full series to date below.

Psycop:

#1 Among the Living

#2 Criss Cross

#3 Body & Soul

#4 Secrets

#5 Camp Hell

#6 GhosTV

#7 Spook Squad

#8 Skin After Skin

#9 Agent Bayne

#10 Murder House

#11 Bitter Pill

#12 Other Half

#13 Subtle Bodies

#14 Skeleton Crew

Buy Link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Skelet…Skeleton Crew: PsyCop 14: Price, Jordan Castillo

Blurb

Although Victor Bayne is a valued asset of the FPMP, he still vividly recalls his PsyCop days: the eye rolls, the nasty looks, and the occasional utterance of the words “Spook Squad” whenever he showed up on a scene. So he really should empathize with Howard Jibben, the weekend lab manager known as Heebie Jeebie.

But does the guy really need to be so darn annoying?

Thanks to the researcher’s OCD tendencies, when a mysterious shipment arrives, what should be a routine ghost-check turns into an excruciating ordeal…made even worse by a freak incident that leaves them stranded in the FPMP’s basement.

Jacob may be the ranking agent on site, but even he can’t control the weather. Yet given the pressure he puts on himself to master his newfound ability, it’s as if he thinks the burden to free everyone is his alone.

Vic has never put much stock in luck, but the sheer number of disasters raining down on them can’t possibly be pure chance—and things are only getting worse. Is it a curse? Telekinesis? Sabotage?

Or is there something more sinister lurking in the shadows?

PsyCop is an ongoing series filled with supernatural action and delightfully awkward humor–with a steady undercurrent of gay romance. It’s best read in order, so if you’re new to the series, start with PsyCop #1, Among the Living…and prepare for a hauntingly good read.

• Publisher: JCP Books (May 20, 2024)

• Publication date: May 20, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 302 pages

PSYCOP SERIES
#1: Among the Living
What good is being a psychic detective if your murder victims aren’t talking?

#2: Criss Cross
Mysterious messages from Lisa lead Vic on a wild ride.

#3: Body & Soul
Three missing people. No bodies. No ghosts. At least the case gets Vic out of an awkward family dinner.

#4: Secrets
Is someone watching Vic’s every move, or is he imagining things? Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.

#5: Camp Hell
Vic delves into his repressed memories of Camp Hell and dredges up more than he bargained for.

#6: GhosTV
Lisa’s gone missing, and Vic and Jacob head to PsyTrain for some answers.

#7: Spook Squad
Victor has been avoiding the exorcism he owes the FPMP. Now it’s time to pay up.

#8: Skin After Skin
A sweeping look at the PsyCop series from Crash’s empathic point of view

#9: Agent Bayne
Victor might be through with the Chicago PD, but is he ready for the FPMP?

#10 Murder House
An undercover gig turns up more than Vic ever imagined.

#11 Bitter Pill
There’s a deadly new drug in town called Kick…and psychs find it irresistible

#12 Other Half
A wedding is stressful enough without a psychic investigation to power through

#13 Subtle Bodies (PsyCop Book 13)

#14 Skeleton Crew

Review: Suddenly Beck (Belong To Me Book 1) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 4.5🌈

I’ve read this author’s other paranormal/fantasy books and just love them, so I thought I’d grab up the contemporary romance series written as Wendy Saunders/Vawn Cassidy.

So far I’ve read just the first book but I can see that this is just the beginning of a wonderful new literary journey for me. A accidental one where one runaway Nathan Elliot flips a coin and, after a series of mistakes ends up in the Bay, a small coastal town near Newquay, Cornwall. Literally.

This is a heartwarming, sweet, and captivating story that has a gorgeous location, a memorable large family mourning the loss of its beloved father, a restaurant in need of rescuing, and two wounded men who seem destined for each other.

Suddenly Beck is a book I just immediately sank into, loving the characters, the Bay and all the various relationships that the author has written into this story. There is the growing relationship between Nat and Beck as they maneuver through the present tasks around them, learning slowly about their respective personalities. Then there’s Melanie, Beck’s mother who owns the restaurant and still mourns the loss of Sully her husband and the father of her large family. And all the many other fantastic moments and characters that Cassidy brings so beautifully alive as Nat becomes an integral member of the Bay and Beck’s family.

There’s more, so much more. Nat has a sister with a secret. And that large Ainsley family of Beck’s has many more relationships to share with us.

I can hardly wait.

This coastal town is a place I would love to visit often. I’m not sure the family is large enough! Highly recommended!

Belong To Me:

✓ Suddenly Beck #1

◦ Definitely Deacon #2

◦ Forever Finn #3

◦ Irrevocably Ryan #4

Buy Link

Suddenly Beck: (A Hot & Sweet MM Romance) (Belong to Me)

Blurb:

A surprisingly sweet, sinfully sexy, and deliciously funny romp along the Cornish coast.

Nathan Elliott has run away from home at the age of twenty-six. His teenage rebellion may have come ten years late, but better late than never. Leaving behind a world of wealth and privilege, and a strict patriarchal family that would never except a gay son, he’s ready to embrace life and make up for lost time, but nothing’s ever that simple. A coin toss, a delayed train, and a wrong bus later, and Nat finds himself in a small bay in Cornwall being hauled out of the ocean by a gorgeous stranger and wondering how the hell his life got so off track.

Beck Ainsley lives life by a very simple ethos, don’t get attached, don’t get involved and don’t fall in love. He’s been there, done that and got the t-shirt that reads I’m a gullible idiot. Now, he keeps his life simple; all he needs is his dog, his art, his rambling sea cottage overlooking the bay and a few choice waves to surf. He’s not looking for love or commitment, but when he ends up plucking a posh boy from London with incredible blue eyes from the ocean, Cupid doesn’t just shoot him with an arrow, he decides to club him senseless with the bow too.

One simple agreement. A summer fling, a chance to act on the insane attraction between them with no strings attached, and at the end of the summer they walk away.

There’s just one problem, fate is a fickle and capricious creature, and she has no intention of letting them walk away unscathed. They’re about to discover that sometimes the heart wants, what the heart wants…

From author Wendy Saunders writing as Vawn Cassidy, comes this hot and sweet, first time, MM romance that will leave you laughing out loud and fanning yourself from the heat…

The paperback version of Suddenly Beck contains a bonus short, The Italian Job featuring Nat & Beck

• Publisher: Tangled Heart Press (July 23, 2021)

• Publication date: July 23, 2021

• Language: English

• Print length: 326 pages

Join us for the tour and giveaway for Down the Line by AG Meiers (Other World Ink)

Down the Line - AG Meiers - Jake's Bar

AG Meiers has a new MM romantic suspense book out: Down the Line. And there’s a giveaway.

Revenge is a Dangerous Obsession.

Dean Hunt needs the story of a lifetime—Since his uncompromising attitude got him fired, the investigative journalist is hell-bent to expose the powerful and corrupt Conway family. It’s a career move, and absolutely not a vendetta against the oldest son Noel, who ghosted Dean after a mind-blowing weekend together.

Noel Conway needs a new start—After years away, Noel has come home to rebuild the bridges he’s burned. Too bad his past caused a ripple effect he can’t outrun. Now, he’s asked to save his family from the one man he never expected to see again but can’t forget.

Dean is chasing front-page news, and Noel is trying to protect the ones he loves. But the line between enemies and lovers gets blurred when a dangerous criminal from Noel’s past resurfaces. Will the truth shatter their tentative trust? Or do they have a shot at happily ever after?

But none of that matters when suddenly Noel disappears…

Down the Line, the final book in the award-winning Jake’s Bar series, is a spicy, M/M romantic suspense featuring a rainbow-colored bar full of quirky characters, and all the romance you can handle. So, download today, and get ready to fall in love with Jake’s Bar.

Warnings: smoking cigarettes and weed in the hot tub, kidnapping (on page scenes restrained), verbally abusive father

About the Series:

The award-winning Jake’s Bar series is a set of steamy, M/M romantic suspense novels, featuring a rainbow- colored bar full of quirky characters, and all the romance you can handle.

Universal Buy Link | Amazon

Giveaway

AG is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card with this tour:

a Rafflecopter giveawayhttps://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47310/?

Excerpt

Jake's Bar banner

As Dean reached the top of the staircase, a man stepped out of the shadows in front of his door. Dean straightened his shoulders. “Detective Conway.”

“Hunt.”

In a parallel universe, they might have been friends. They were fighting the same fight. Had the same enemies. In this world, they weren’t brothers in arms. In this world, Dean had been cast as the villain.

“How can I help you this fine morning?”

“Open the door. We gotta talk.”

“Look, it’s been a long night—”

“Just open the damn door.” Conway snarled, pushing into Dean’s personal space.

Dean stood his ground. “Are you here in an official capacity? Because then, the answer is no, I won’t let you in. You have no warrant, no permission to search my property. I don’t consent—”

“Just shut the fuck up. None of us wants this shitshow to be on the record,” Con growled.

Dean, curious, took a step back and raised his empty hand, palm up. “Okay.”

He fished for his key, pushed open the door, and quickly disarmed his alarm system. Conway didn’t wait to be invited in, just crossed the living room, dropped his shearling coat onto the sofa, then walked over to the large window overlooking the river.

The view was the only redeeming feature of Dean’s otherwise-generic apartment. The mess didn’t help. There were dirty dishes piled up in the sink, a pizza box on the breakfast counter separating the cramped kitchen from the living room, and an unmade bed in the other corner of the room.

“For a guy who anxiously waited at my doorstep, you’re awfully quiet.” Dean smirked. “Coffee?”

“No.” Conway turned his back, now studying the row of framed newspaper front pages Dean had hung on the apartment’s interior wall. His personal collection of historic headlines—headlines that changed the world.

The oldest was from July 6, 1776. The Pennsylvania Evening Post, printing the Declaration of Independence on its front page. Next to it, the Daily Telegram, declaring the end of the Second World War. The two most recent, the New York Times’ “OBAMA: Racial barrier falls in heavy turnout” and, of course, the front page the day after 9/11.

Dean had added a few more personal favorites, like Moneta J. Sleet’s photography of Coretta Scott King at MLK’s funeral. The first Black man to win the Pulitzer for journalism.

Conway took his time examining each framed newspaper. Dean already regretted allowing the intrusion into his space. He felt exposed—vulnerable—under silent scrutiny.

Irritated, he started banging around the kitchen. He was in no mood to explain that looking at those headlines every day fueled his ambitions and inspired his dreams. Dean believed with every fiber of his being in the power of a free and independent press.

He turned on the coffee machine and leaned against the counter. As if Conway felt Dean’s angry glare across the room, he finally turned and stared right back. For a moment, they engaged in a silent standoff.

Unease flittered through Dean. Camille had been right. Her brother was seething with anger. And Dean had no fucking idea what he’d done to piss him off. He sighed and shook his head, then took two mugs out of the cabinet and put them onto the island. “Miguel, have a damn coffee. You look like you need it.”

“Says the man who clearly slept in his party clothes and crept home at sunup.”

“Guilty as charged.” Dean shrugged.

Conway curled his lip. “I do not know what my sister sees in you.”

It wasn’t a question, so Dean didn’t bother with an answer. “You wanted to talk? So, talk.”

Instead of talking, though, Conway pulled out a stack of papers. Pushing aside the coffee cups to make room, he spread them out over the counter.

Dean froze. The first blurry photograph featured Dean in another man’s arms. In the next, the same man was pressing Dean against a white porch railing, his own hands tangled in the man’s messy curls. Conway fanned the stack, revealing nearly a dozen more.

Dean and Noel Conway, kissing.

Suddenly, he was there again, the ocean breeze tugging on his clothes. Noel’s warm skin, tasting like sunshine and a hint of salt, his eyes blown with desire. Goddamn, so fucking beautiful, with that shy smile, whispered promises—

Dean’s throat was desert dry. His ragged breath and the hissing of the coffee machine came together like a fucking symphony. “I—”

“Save it. My sister thinks you’re this hotshot journalist. Full of passion. Braving adversity. Motivated by a noble cause. Yeah, fuck that. You’re after my family because Noel pounded your ass, then dropped you like he does everybody else. Your pride—your precious ego—is hurt because you’re just another notch in my brother’s carved-up bedpost.”

Conway grabbed his jacket and walked to the door. He turned and added, “Watch it, Hunt. You got no job. No friends. No prospects. But if you think you’ve reached rock bottom, think again.”

Dean contained himself until he heard his door close with a soft click. Only then did he allow himself to swipe papers, cups, and the fucking photos off his counter. The cups shattered

on the tile floor.

Author Bio

Eighteen years ago, AG Meiers came to the US for adventure and stayed for love. Currently, she lives in New England with her husband and two awesome kids—balancing work, friends and family, and writing.

When she has some free time, her favorite thing to do is travel and visit new places. Her past trips have already brought her to a variety of countries on four continents. She never passes up an opportunity to experience different cultures, diverse people and amazing locations.

Even though she has been dreaming up stories all her life, she has only recently started to write them down and share them with the world. As a writer she loves to put her characters through a lot of challenges, conflict and heartbreak, before she allows them to find their happy-ever-after.

Author Website: https://www.agmeiers.com

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/ag.meiers.1/

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agmeiers/

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/AG-Meiers/author/B07MCHQH5B

Other Worlds Ink logo

Review: Just George by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4🌈

It’s hard to put a rating to this book and mini-series about a beloved character that’s an important part of two popular series from Calmes.

If you’re a reader unfamiliar with this author and her series, this story won’t have the same appeal as it does for most of the readers who are bringing a wealth of background information , series history, and built in affection with George Hunt, military sniper, blk ops, and now security bodyguard.

For us, we’ve been there as he’s been assigned to Hannah, daughter of US Marshal Sam Kage and Jory Harcourt, niece of billionaire Aaron Sutter , George’s boss, and witnessed all their personal travails and relationship growth in true friendship. George is a strong personality and, even narratively, when his physical absence is noted, it’s made use of by the author in the various plot lines.

Scary competence is attractive. So it’s not surprising that everyone was clamoring for George’s story.

Parts of the beginning of the story have been mentioned or a part of other stories, but from other main characters perspectives. Now it’s flipped over to George’s point of view.

We get to see the moment George, through Hannah, really connects with

Kurt, Hannah’s therapist from a recent attempt on her life. It’s a little rocky at the beginning but as Calmes’ story reveals more of George’s past experiences and adolescence, how he relates to people becomes realistic.

Kurt, feeling one dimensional, adds depth and detail to his character as the events and story progresses. I go from not immediately connecting with Kurt, to liking him more and more by the end.

As always, Just George comes to a finish way too soon. All it’s proven is that George and now his relationship with Kurt need much more than one book to satisfy our need to know what happens next.

Love this.

With George:

✓ Just George #1

✓ Wintering with George #2

Connected Series:

A Matter of Time – 6 books

Marshals – 6 books

Buy Link

Amazon

Blurb;

George Hunt can think of nothing he’d like more than to skip the high-society fundraiser where he has to guard a precocious seventeen-year-old girl and her judgmental therapist, but there’s no way out of it. If anything bad were to happen and he wasn’t there to stop it, he’d never forgive himself. So even though she’s grilling him about his dating life and the good doctor is psychoanalyzing him, he’s going to soldier on, because protecting his charges is what a knight does.

What he doesn’t count on is having to use both his training and his gun to make it through the night, or finding the last thing he ever expected… someone who actually sees him, not for the man he is, but for the man he could be with just a little bit of love.

Review: Just George by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4🌈

It’s hard to put a rating to this book and mini-series about a beloved character that’s an important part of two popular series from Calmes.

If you’re a reader unfamiliar with this author and her series, this story won’t have the same appeal as it does for most of the readers who are bringing a wealth of background information , series history, and built in affection with George Hunt, military sniper, blk ops, and now security bodyguard.

For us, we’ve been there as he’s been assigned to Hannah, daughter of US Marshal Sam Kage and Jory Harcourt, niece of billionaire Aaron Sutter , George’s boss, and witnessed all their personal travails and relationship growth in true friendship. George is a strong personality and, even narratively, when his physical absence is noted, it’s made use of by the author in the various plot lines.

Scary competence is attractive. So it’s not surprising that everyone was clamoring for George’s story.

Parts of the beginning of the story have been mentioned or a part of other stories, but from other main characters perspectives. Now it’s flipped over to George’s point of view.

We get to see the moment George, through Hannah, really connects with

Kurt, Hannah’s therapist from a recent attempt on her life. It’s a little rocky at the beginning but as Calmes’ story reveals more of George’s past experiences and adolescence, how he relates to people becomes realistic.

Kurt, feeling one dimensional, adds depth and detail to his character as the events and story progresses. I go from not immediately connecting with Kurt, to liking him more and more by the end.

As always, Just George comes to a finish way too soon. All it’s proven is that George and now his relationship with Kurt need much more than one book to satisfy our need to know what happens next.

Love this.

With George:

✓ Just George #1

✓ Wintering with George #2

Connected Series:

A Matter of Time – 6 books

Marshals – 6 books

Buy Link

Amazon

Blurb;

George Hunt can think of nothing he’d like more than to skip the high-society fundraiser where he has to guard a precocious seventeen-year-old girl and her judgmental therapist, but there’s no way out of it. If anything bad were to happen and he wasn’t there to stop it, he’d never forgive himself. So even though she’s grilling him about his dating life and the good doctor is psychoanalyzing him, he’s going to soldier on, because protecting his charges is what a knight does.

What he doesn’t count on is having to use both his training and his gun to make it through the night, or finding the last thing he ever expected… someone who actually sees him, not for the man he is, but for the man he could be with just a little bit of love.

Review: Fake Dates and Fanged Mistakes (Fanged Mistakes Book 1) by Alice Winters

Rating: 5🌈

I’m an Alice Winters fan and this latest book is a prime example why. Fake Dates and Fanged Mistakes is the first in Winters new Fanged Mistakes series and contains all the best of a Winters novel experience.

Her characters are intelligent with at least one having a history that’s incredibly tragic or traumatic. The dialogue is witty, fast paced, sarcastic , and filled with humor. Same often applies to the scenes of tension, where the interaction between the characters is interspersed with moments of humor and quiet understanding is used as a basis for the solidification of the relationship, as it so often does here with werewolf Julian and vampire Casimir.

It helps that Winters has created a strong group of characters, including a poodle Gustov, that supports the couple in a number of ways, comedic, action wise, and emotionally compelling.

I spent so much of this book cackling over the dialogue, finding total enjoyment in the dynamic between Julian and Casimir that Winters is developing that the story just flew by.

There’s a faint mystery that’s surrounds Julian’s character but that’s left for future stories to unravel. Plus we have a fabulous grumbling romance in progress between a human detective and Casimir’s second in command sorta , these two alone had me howling! All kinds of shenanigans galore and a nasty villain to boot!

Really, this is golden Alice Winters. A fabulously scripted and gloriously entertaining narrative that had me laughing out loud and ready to read it once again when I was done.

I’m highly recommending this and ready for the next in the series.

Fanged Mistakes:

✓ Faked Dates and Fanged Mistakes #1

◦ Dire Straits and Entwined Fates # 2 – March 12, 2024

Buy Link:

Fake Dates and Fanged Mistakes

Blurb:

Julian:

This week hasn’t gone the best for me unless you count Casimir, the sexy ancient vampire, bringing me back from the brink of death (and tying my fate to his in the process). Not that it matters if the werewolves and vampires don’t stop their ridiculous feud, because someone is targeting them and widening the divide between our communities with each body they leave in their wake.

But as the alpha’s son, I have a plan to fix everything. I’m going to convince Casimir to fake date me to show the others that we can work together.

I mean… what could go wrong?

Casimir
Everything.

Literally everything could go wrong. Who is actually going to believe that I want this joke-cracking, cute werewolf tagging alongside me?

Honestly, do I even care if people get along? I really think I have much more important things to do than going on hardware store dates, learning the torturous art of holding hands, and attending awkward family dinners, like… staring at my dog… and… I’m sure there’s something else.

Okay, fine, maybe this whole fake dating scheme isn’t the worst idea that I’ve come across in the past five hundred years, but it’s definitely in the running. The two of us are just going to have a bit of fun while I stop whoever’s hunting down the vampires and werewolves… right?

Fake Dates and Fanged Mistakes has a sunshiny yet stubborn werewolf who just wants everyone to get along, dang it; a bored vampire who isn’t nearly as aloof as he wants to appear; paper napkins trying (and failing) to stand in for clothes; some awesome swordsmanship; and the last thing you’d expect to find in a secret cupboard.