Review: A World Away (Learning to Breathe #1) by Carole Cummings and Andy Gallo

Rating: 4.5🌈

I was immediately intrigued to hear about a new series being launched by two authors I respected. That’s the marvelous Carole Cummings and Andy Gallo and their Learning to Breathe series.

The series revolves around two young men, who’ve grown up together, in a world at war. I wish the authors would establish more of the current universe structure the characters inhabit but a huge part of the story and future books is parallel worlds, so I’m imagine comparisons will be added continuously, filling in more of this world’s foundational knowledge.

What we do know it’s a total East/West global war and it’s got the potential to annihilate everyone. The West is searching for a new way to get the upper hand in the fight, magical users are the key to the success and there’s a national conscript that tests all the children for their magical potential, read war usage.

Into all this , Cummings and Gallo have created two families and two sons who share several shattering events and one horrific experience.

Nathan Duffy and Cam Almenara have been together since the arcane magic camp Nathan attended , run by Cam’s father, a military man teaching and testing children for their arcane skills. It was a drunk driving accident that cemented their relationship and lives in a certain dynamic until another momentous magical event shatters status quo to change their lives and those around them.

It’s hard to discuss all the details and complex story threads here that Cummings and Gallo weave into their book and relationship. Military secrets, war machine intelligence, science fiction elements, parallel worlds, personal choices, guilt and love. It’s looked at on multiple levels, through varying perspectives. That of father to son, friends to friends, potential lovers to those that are already loved.

It’s done through some great writing, suspense filled scenes, scary scenarios, and some heart wrenching moments. Both Cam and Nathan are especially well defined, and show depth and emotional growth as the story develops. There’s so much past emotion and heartache, along with guilt and unacknowledged love between the two of them that they need to deal with.

While I felt the story had a slow start, it steadily gets stronger, more intense and action oriented as the narrative evolves. By the time we reach the climactic stage point, it’s full blown chaos, and craziness!

I love it.

Now that one element is settled, the authors set the couple and stage for the next adventure in the book to be released. I’m eager to read it.

I’m highly recommending this story. It’s beautifully written, great characters, and a complicated plot will keep you invested from start to finish.

Learning to Breathe:

✓ A World Away #1

◦ A World Apart #2 – Oct 10,2023

Buy Link:

A World Away: An MM Urban Fantasy Romance (Learning to Breathe Book 1)

Description:

Nathan Duffy knows how to keep things locked down so tight even he doesn’t know they’re there. Like his childhood trauma over the near-catastrophe he almost caused when his power manifested. His adolescent resentment over the near fatal injury he still hasn’t really accepted. His futile not-so-platonic love for his best friend Cam. And that one pivotal moment when the love and the power had merged to save Cam from the accident that left Nathan unable to walk. Nathan figures losing the use of his legs was a fair exchange for Cam’s life. He just can’t ever let Cam know why.

For Cam Almenara, life has been an ongoing cycle of questioning reality. What if his mother hadn’t died when he was ten? What if that drunk driver hadn’t almost killed him and Nathan? What if Nathan’s powers hadn’t protected Cam at the cost of Nathan’s ability to walk? What if Nathan had never convinced himself that Cam’s feelings for him are nothing more than attachment and survivor’s guilt? And what if Cam can never convince Nathan otherwise?

When Nathan is suddenly stricken by seizure like nightmares, his power slips its leash—again. Fearful his rogue abilities will hurt—or worse, kill—Cam, Nathan comes to the conclusion that it’s him or Cam. Nathan knows who he’ll choose.

Trouble is, so does Cam. And he’s just as willing as Nathan is to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the best friend he loves… and prove they belong together.

Review: Haven (Operation Justice Force Book 6) by Reese Knightley

Rating: 3🌈

If you’re reading these books, it’s not only because you’re a fan of Reese Knightley but because you’re also a fan of this series as well as the other overlapping series that connect characters and even plot lines.

A reader can’t just narratively waltz into a book and expect to understand the characters, their dynamics, even the organizational structure that’s inherent to the series and the team’s success. You need the whole whopping amount of knowledge about the leadership, the multiple agencies, and the various aspects of each along with its agents to get a grasp on the individual storyline presented by each book as it’s released.

That’s a ton of stuff, I know.

I’m a fan of this series, love the action sequences and the quirky characters but this has several elements that just worked against it for me.

The main characters , Eagle and Link, have a shared history based on chemistry and no communication. It’s even stated in the book, they agreed to not talk about their pasts and their relationship with their fathers/families . That’s fine if you are colleagues, superficial friends, and, or able to successfully emotionally segregate your life.

Knightley’s characters can’t and that inability to communicate detonates their relationship . That the stage the reader is dropped off at when the book starts.

I’m not a fan of characters that don’t communicate.

Here that lack of communication is elevated to the height it has either man going off , doing his own thing during a mission with a criminals murdering people, bombing establishments, with a highly visible threat to two states. Why? Because one has an anger management issue, they won’t talk to each other, and unbelievably, their supervisor still sent them out together without explanation when it had been requested, reasonably , not to.

I get this isn’t an alphabet agency or military organization, but the way both Eagle and Link acted outside of their respective team’s communication channels continually here frustrated me as a reader. Where’s all this so called professionalism? Where’s the major skill sets that got them onto this agency to begin with? Missing.

Lastly, there is the use of a young man as a victim of sexual assault, continued sexual trafficking by a family member. Instead of it being an integral component of the story the entire time, it becomes a last minute element. Why? This character, Tyler, who could be part of the series now, could have been a victim of domestic violence, parental abandonment, any sort of other types of violence. But instead we get the absolute worst. Adolescent rape as that feels less like a necessary thread and more like an add on for dramatic effects.

Taken together with the fact of two characters who don’t communicate with each other or their team, and I found a story that lost much of the charm this series has held for me in the previous books.

Read it for the series and author. Or because those types of main characters don’t bother you.

It does me, unfortunately. Not a recommendation.

Buy Link:

Haven (Operation Justice Force Book 6)

Description:

For years Link and Eagle have danced around their attraction for each other, and neither one is willing to cross the line from friendship to lovers.

Link doesn’t want to lose what they have.

Eagle lets things go, following Link’s lead.

But ignoring their attraction isn’t working anymore, and one more spark ignites their mounting passion. Can they truly make the leap from best friends to lovers? They were brothers-in-arms through the military and are now co-workers—can becoming involved beyond that even work? Not to mention they are complete opposites… One man is laid back and easygoing and the other—not so much.

When one explosive encounter leaves Link pissed off and Eagle contrite, they’ll have to do some hard work to repair their rocky bond.

Mix in a bomb, drug dealers, gangs, and illegal drugs with kids involved and Link and Eagle will have a lot to focus on as they try to fix things between them and tackle their building desire.

Come along for the action-packed ride in typical Reese Knightley style as Link and Eagle kick ass on bad guys, save the day, and attempt to navigate love.

Review: Taken Under Fire (Paranormal Investigative Service Book 3) by Cassidy K. O’Connor and Sheri Lyn

Rating: 4🌈

It’s been 6 months since I read Stitched Under Fire, the 2nd book in this series, so it took me awhile to remember what had happened to the characters and were we were in the various investigations.

Turns out Taken Under Fire it’s a very politically and racially charged atmosphere where xenophobia is ramping up, fueled by the revelations that the paranormal body parts could heal humans. Black market for paranormal body parts is off the charts.

Agents Maddox and Tristan have settled into a happy relationship, both personally and professionally. Tristan is still exploring his new, rare shifter identity as a Phoenix paranormal because no one is exactly sure what that means, and the P.I.S. (Paranormal Investigations Service) and the Police Department are coming together to try and figure out why their missing persons cases are overlapping.

The authors have so many storylines threading through their series and the above details don’t even include the personal aspects of Maddox’s and Tristan’s lives. Those are woven into the story too and will, obviously, have enormous impact on the main plot and main characters as the investigations and revelations continue.

And yes, there’s some whoppers as far as both shocking revelations and heart wrenching drama collide here at the end.

I love the universe that O’Connor and Lyn have created here that feels so very current and still so unearthly at the same time. Racism, or any ism appears , historically to have no ending time frame. That Xenophobia might be universal is an idea the authors are working with effectively, but also building in a horrific mystery/conspiracy that will continue forward into the next book.

It’s laid alongside the romance relationship of Tristan and Maddox, which takes a traumatic hit.

My issues with the story are that it’s so packed with drama and plot lines that the ending just stops. It doesn’t try to tie up anything but sets a path for the characters to move to the next stage in the investigations. Investigations that are getting murkier, higher up, and with greater danger for everyone involved.

So if that’s the sort of finish that leaves a reader a little frustrated, especially with no new book in sight, then perhaps you might want to consider waiting until the series is complete and binge reading it at that time.

This is a jam packed terrific paranormal thriller but it’s hard to consider it totally satisfying because of the ending. Love the characters, the shocking twists and emotional scenes. But it wasn’t enough. Close but no.

So I’ll wait for the next one to be released. And ponder my own reading decisions.

I love the series and will recommend it. You decide how to read it.

Paranormal Investigative Service:

✓ Faeted Under Fire #1

✓ Stitched Under Fire #2

✓ Taken Under Fire #3

Buy Link:

Taken Under Fire (Paranormal Investigative Service Book 3)

In a city divided, Agents Maddox and Tristan must protect the paranormal, unearth the truth, and prevent darkness from claiming all.

In the aftermath of the devastating destruction that befell the city six months ago, an ominous shroud now looms over them. Paranormals are vanishing at an alarming rate. As fear and suspicion cloud the minds of the city’s inhabitants, calls for drastic measures grow louder, igniting tensions between supernatural beings and humanity.

Maddox and Tristan receive a mysterious visitor who unveils a hidden truth: the supernatural realm they were told had been obliterated is not only intact but still has people living there. As the agents delve deeper into the enigma, they find themselves being threatened by an unknown opponent.

With the city teetering on the brink of an all-out war, the agents must act swiftly. They form an unprecedented alliance, uniting humans and paranormals in a new task force, breaking barriers that were once thought insurmountable.

Can they untangle the web of deception and find the missing paranormals before it’s too late? Only time will tell if their

courage and resilience will be enough to save the city and prevent a catastrophe that could alter the fate of both realms forever.

Books in the series:

Faeted Under Fire

Stitched Under Fire

Taken Under Fire

Review: Samuel, Earl of Crofton (Regency Earls of Crofton Book 4) by Rebecca Cohen

Rating: 4🌈

Samuel, fourth of the Regency Crofton Earl series, can be seen as a terrific companion story to his father’s book, Charles, as it’s events run simultaneously with those of that story.

Or if you prefer, as a standalone, since Cohen has done a marvelous job filling out the backstory of Charles and Timothy (Captain Thorne), both of whom are major characters here, as well as Aunt Amelia, and the rest of the foundation knowledge started in Charles.

There’s a topic that should be addressed in all the stories that often bothers some readers but it’s a common practice during this time period. That’s of taking sexual partners outside of the marriage, mostly because the marriages here are arranged by the families for reasons of politics and in their own royal interests . As long as they provide a heir or two, and their actions are discreet, other liaisons are likely and even expected. Some readers don’t want to read a book that has a “cheating “ element but historical fiction has parameters that make this quite difficult to follow. This story doesn’t try and it shouldn’t.

I enjoyed Samuel, not as much as I adore his father , Charles, but Samuel is definitely a man apart from the typical Redbourn in some respects. He’s less flamboyant, less aggressively dramatic, but against Charles, who could be?

Cohen instead builds layers of regret, pain, disappointment, and anger into Samuel. A man who’s had to deal with losses from his life, over and over. And without a support from the people who he needs most.

While I didn’t know Samuel well in his father’s book, we flip the perspective, and get a new sense of who this damaged man truly is. The drug fog he accepts rather than deal with the reality of the betrayal he’s just discovered, that’s believable.

It’s also an element that needs a trigger warning. A section of this story deals with drug addiction and withdrawal. If this is a trigger for you, please be aware.

The entire escapade with Charles working to create a wicked Earl scenario around Samuel? Priceless and very sexy. Loved this whole thread.

The only aspect of Samuel’s story I found lacking is Hugo Cavalier, the object of Samuel’s obsession and then love. Hugo is sort of there in the narrative for a couple of chapters. Then , he’s mentioned throughout as the one man Samuel can’t forget about. Then he reappears about 70 percent of the novel later, and , to my mind, Hugo never becomes a fully realized character.

Everyone else here is an animated, lively, breathing person, fully of personality. Yet Hugo remains sort of a one-note, beige person, one I cannot help but wonder why Samuel is so enthralled with.

That lack of chemistry, or two dimensional characterization keeps their relationship from truly mattering to me and this story from going from good to great.

It doesn’t help that there’s a fantastic couple there as comparison. Charles and Timothy are right there as couples goals, chemistry igniting, showing exactly why Samuel and Hugo come off as lacking.

But those parties! Oh my! Who wouldn’t want to be invited! So decadent, so delicious, so Redbourn!

I adored this!

Yes, I’m recommending Samuel, it’s great to see that family again and see how it all plays out. While not a huge fan of Hugo, I am of the rest! There’s a new modern Crofton on it’s way so enjoy the Regency era now!

The Crofton Universe :

🔷The Crofton Chronicles–Historical (Elizabethan/ Early Stuart):

✓ The Actor and the Earl

✓ Duty to the Crown

✓ Forever Hold His Peace

✓ The Love and the Anger Historical (Elizabethan/ Early Stuart)–Sebastian/ Anthony 10 years together

🔷The Earls of Crofton–Historical: (Different eras–can be read as individual standalone novels):

✓ Anthony, Earl of Crofton (Early Stuart)

✓ James, Earl of Crofton (Restoration)

✓ Charles, Earl of Crofton (Regency)

✓ Samuel, Earl of Crofton (Regency)

🔷The Modern Crofton–Contemporary:

✓ Saving Crofton Hall

✓ Making History at Crofton Hall

✓ Below Stairs at Crofton Hall

✓ Getting Married at Crofton Hall

✓ Starting Again at Crofton Hall

◦ Coming Out at Crofton Hall- TBD

🔷Standalones in the Crofton Universe

◦ Much Ado About Lady Macbeth Note: Sebastian Hewel is a minor character

Something extra for Crofton! Modern Crofton Short Story:

◦ Ben and the Mistletoe (set the Christmas after Saving Crofton Hall)

Buy Link:

https://www.amazon.com › Samuel-…Samuel, Earl of Crofton eBook : Cohen, Rebecca: Kindle Store – Amazon.com

Description:

Only the selected few get to attend the special evenings hosted by Samuel Redbourn, 9th Earl of Crofton, the Hellcat of the Ton.

Despite his reputation, Samuel is not the man everyone thinks he is. He has lost a lot in his young life, and after recovering from his addiction to laudanum, it’s time to make the Ton take notice. There’s one thing he wants above all, Hugo, the only man he’s ever loved. But Hugo Cavalier was sent away by his father after he was caught in bed with Samuel, and when he returns to England several years later, there is no guarantee they can rekindle what they once had.

Historical gay Regency romance. A standalone novel in the Crofton Universe.

Please note: contains scene of period drug use, addiction, and recovery.

Review: Dominion : The Triad Series: Book Three by Cari Z

Rating: 4.5🌈

With Endurance, Cari Z’s Trilogy, The Triad, comes to an end. Maybe.

I say that, because it sounds as though from the author’s notes towards the end as though she’s not yet ready to say goodbye to these characters and this universe. That must have been weighing on her mind as she wrote this because it doesn’t exactly feel like a series finale to me.

A series finale is held to another higher standard than any other book in a series. It has a certain set of expectations to meet before the author can call a series wrapped up. The majority of plot lines should be tied up, no humongous storylines left dangling, no major or significant cast members left behind or their own stories left unfinished.

While the main characters should be happy with their own romance, the main issues should have narratively been laid out and carried forward in such a manner that the reader feels that everything, the other events in the other stories, were worth waiting for.

Did that happen here? I don’t think so. Dominion is a really good third story in a series, but it’s not a great series finale.

Cari Z does some wonderful stuff here starting with keeping the three person separate format she began in Endurance. It really let the reader into the mindset of each individual of this polyamorous relationship. We got to know and connect with each of them in depth. That becomes especially important here as the author sends each man off in a different direction and with huge implications for their relationship and stresses that they must deal with.

That’s aspect of this book is both a weakness and an interesting way of moving the arc forward. Before, the three way break in the book let us into the way each man starts to accept each other’s place in their lives. We watched , each figuring out their strengths and weaknesses, especially when there’s magic, shifters, political plotting, and a long term relationship that’s having to shift to accommodate a new partner and commitment.

Now just as Symon, Petur, and Deyvid have found a deep connection and relationship, they are pulled into different directions by family responsibilities and dire kingdom needs. Part of the joy was watching each become a part of the new family , revealing their true selves and growth.

Especially Symon whose magical abilities are apparently surpassed by almost none. That’s a storyline that gets lost here. Sy can do some amazing things, and the reader “hears” third hand about the magic he’s creating in a few sentences in events mentioned towards the end. That’s an issue seen here regularly.

Cari Z has set herself such a huge goal narratively for themes and plots to tie up that even with this file/page size, there’s no room for everything to be finalized.

So there’s a fair amount of battles that happen offscreen, important elements that should have been handled (the entire aspect of Deyvid’s journey afterwards , no mention of what happens to Deyvid’s father), Symon’s ex’s disappearance , etc. That’s pushed aside or just ignored in favor of getting the men back together.

Did I feel shortchanged in that area? Yes. I won’t go into details but for me it didn’t hold the emotional payoff it should have because of one element that was absent. I understand why the author chose to go in this direction but it negates some of the points made previously with this polyamorous family.

I did love Symon, the entire section with his father and dealing with the events at that castle. So beautifully written and it captures the essence of their father/son dynamic and love for each other perfectly. The same for Alie and Deyvid. Only Petur and his dysfunctional royal family is left behind here in terms of the emotional heft.

So Dominion has :

✓ A great 3-character format

✓ A three-character different location format that works in depth for two of them

✓ Multiple storylines that are only loosely finalized

✓ Missed opportunities to push and further character development (Symon’s magical abilities) and relationship dynamics between the three men.

✓ Some secondary plot points endings ignored, which bothers me even now.

✓ Disappearing character (Symon’s ex and best friend)

✓ A author who admits she’s not ready to let this universe go.

So enjoyed Dominion as a story. Not so much as a finale. I would definitely love seeing it continue as it feels unfinished with warring clans and plotting within Petur’s family clearly an issue.

Endurance was the outstanding novel of the trilogy. But the three books are remarkable and I highly recommend all three. Read them in order they are written to understand the events and relationships.

Triad Series:

✓ Alliance #1

✓ Endurance #2❤️

✓ Dominion #3

Buy link:

Dominion: The Triad Series: Book Three

Description:

Three parted lover who can only reunite once the war is won…or lose all hope of a future together.

Symon, Petur, and Deyvid have been torn apart, running in different directions as they work to prevent all-out war. Symon returns home to Bekkon only to find himself thrust into the role of king—whether he wants it or not.

With Petur hundreds of miles away raising an army of shifters and Deyvid pursuing his runaway daughter to make sure she’s not assassinated the moment she crosses the border, Symon must put his magic and his life on the line to keep the Harriers from overrunning his kingdom.

Petur and Deyvid are racing against time to come to his aid…but new enemies lurk around every corner. Before they can save Symon, they’re going to need to save themselves.

Dominion is a polyamorous M/M/M fantasy with enemies to lovers, graphic violence, snarky humor, and explicit sexual content.

Review: The Husband Game : An M/M Hockey Romance (Relationship Goals Book 1) by Brigham Vaughn

Rating: 5 🌈

If you’re familiar with Brigham Vaughn’s hockey series , Road Rules, then you’ll know where the reader’s seen the characters before:

“…Charlie appeared on page in Unwritten Rules, I knew I needed to tell his story. I had already planned to revisit the Toronto Fisher Cats team who were featured in Bending the Rules and knew Dustin would have a story.”

— Author’s notes, The Husband Game : An M/M Hockey Romance (Relationship Goals Book 1) by Brigham Vaughn

I have to admit I wasn’t. But after reading this outstanding story of recovery, resilience, and love, I’m absolutely backtracking to pickup those two books and the rest of that connected series.

However, I don’t believe I was missing anything by not reading those books prior to coming at this new series and novel. Vaughn’s ability to thread certain elements and subjects into her storylines and character traits beautifully prepares her readers for the real issues that arise here that Dustin and Charlie need to address.

Ah, those wonderful men ! Vaughn has created two incredibly compelling and different characters in Toronto Fisher Cats ice hockey captain Dustin Fowler and former Olympic figure ice skating champion Charlie Monaghan. They quickly became two of my all time favorites.

Dustin is a new captain trying to make his team come together after some trying times and an emotional retirement of a beloved teammate. Charlie has deeply hidden illnesses, rooted in his childhood, his abusive relationship with his mother, and the sport he loved but grew to see as so toxic.

I think this is one of the best examples of the “woke up married “ tropes I’ve read in that the author working back from that ridiculous scenario, starts to build a beautiful and believable relationship story between these two people.

Especially when one is still fragile and hiding a secret that’s so important to his health and well being. This condition is one that’s slowly revealed in the storyline but it’s no surprise , given the sport, that we’re talking about an eating disorder.

Brigham Vaughn’s realistic and sensitive written treatment of anorexia, including scenes and discussions about eating disorders, come with a trigger warning from the author. So please read.

Charlie is a layered, endearing character in a multitude of ways. His mother has damaged him , emotionally and physically with her parenting skills or lack of, and her husband enables her. The way it’s implied until the end is so skillful.

Charlie is amazing, from his outlook and continued resilience that’s making his recovery so successful to the bravery that will let him go forward with the relationship.

Dustin too, shouldering the weight of the team , needing help and learning how to deal effectively with his own struggles with being a better leader.

I loved the way the author lead us and the characters through a new chapter in each other’s lives, slowly becoming friends and then as they grow closer, more confident together, falling in love.

This was a great surprise and a total favorite. I’m highly recommending it as well as going back to read those other books.

There’s another story on the way. Check it out below.

Relationship Goals:

✓ The Husband Game #1

◦ The Head Game #2 – Sept 22,2023

Description:

Hockey Captain Wed in Secret Vegas Ceremony – Partner’s Identity Remains a Mystery

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Or does it?

Toronto Fisher Cats ice hockey captain Dustin Fowler attended the NHL awards and came home with more than the Ted Lindsay Award.

A cryptic social media post from the hockey forward himself revealed that he was wed in a secret ceremony in Las Vegas this past weekend.

His caption stating, “Sorry, ladies, Toronto’s most eligible bachelor just went off the market. I married my kitten tonight and I’ve never been happier,” sent tongues wagging across the league.

But who is “Kitten”?

Without verification from either the team’s head office or the new groom, rumors swirl about exactly who Fowler’s partner is.

A credible source from within the organization suggests that “Kitten” is none other than retired men’s figure skating champion Charlie Monaghan.

We here at JockGossip would like to offer our warmest congratulations to the newlyweds.

TRIGGER WARNING: Contains scenes and frank discussions of eating disorders (anorexia) and past parental abuse/neglect.

Buy link:

The Husband Game : An M/M Hockey Romance (Relationship Goals Book 1)

Review: Fool Me Twice (Court of Pain Book 2) by Ariana Nash

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Well, that was brutal. And ultimately satisfying.

It’s been a while, from the beginning of the year, since the first book of this two story series was released . So it took me a while to mentally catch up on the events that Fool Me Twice opens up on.

That the cliffhanger that Fool Me Once ends on and this novel opens up with. Our three characters , Lark, Arin, and Draven, fighting for their lives in a sandstorm.

But first a note about the triggers and the fact this is dark, dark, fiction. The author states that the reader should go to her website for all warnings pertaining to the subject and books but there’s only one for the first book and imo, the second warrants far more serious warnings.

From Ariana Nash’s website:

Potentially triggering content for Fool Me Once includes but is not limited to: attempted suicide (main character), incest (non-consensual, off-page, not between main characters), dubious consent (main characters).

Assume triggers are on-page, unless off-page is specified above.

However, in Fool Me Twice , there’s on page rape, rape of a corpse, torture, dismembering, murder . Make no mistake, this is extremely disturbing reading at times.

The person who’s the main villain here is Razak, the head of the Court of Pain. It’s a role he’s embraced, and embedded deeply within himself.

There’s so many storylines to keep track of within this universe. Each court in the Shatterlands have their own internal politics and affairs that are affecting the overall outcome of the game Razak is playing for total domination and the power of a god.

There’s the Court of Love, Justice, War, and Pain. Trying to remember who and what has happened to all the various groups and characters can be narratively burdensome.

But when Nash narrows her story line down to the traumatic events and harrowing relationships between the prince of Pain, physically and emotionally damaged Lark, brother to Razak, Prince Arin of the Court of Love, and Draven, warlord of the Court of War, as they navigate the treacherous landscape of their lives.

This is a story full of people who can’t or won’t communicate, people believing in the power of lies over truth, manipulation over trust, and fear over hope. It’s a compelling, tough and brutal journey Nash takes the reader on, twisting these men’s perceptions of life around. To do this, the author puts them and the reader through some truly dark, horrific situations and terrifying moments, which make such changes believable and raw.

Finally, after a hellish epic climatic battle , are the characters able to say they survived and won out when even they thought everything was over.

Bloody, done in, exhausted, and almost dead.

Oddly satisfying and the reader feels just as exhausted.

Not sure I would want to read it again. But it’s so well written I’m glad I read it once.

Who should I recommend this to? Those that love really dark LGBTQIA fantasy romance. Take those trigger warnings seriously and realize that Fool Me Twice is twice as dark.

If you’re seeking a light fantasy fiction, this isn’t for you.

They must be read in the order that they were written to understand the storylines and character development.

Court of Pain – 2 book series

✓ Fool Me Once #1

✓ Fool Me Twice #2

Buy Link:

Fool Me Twice (Court of Pain Book 2)

Description:

The epic, heart-wrenching conclusion to the Court of Pain duology. Spanning four courts, devious and doomed royals, and the most unlikely of loves between a prince and his fool.

They say in the darkest of times, the brightest star has no choice but to shine.

I’m no star, nor am I a hero. But I could be the villain. To protect Arin from Razak’s scheming, I’ll have to be.

He’s my shaft of sunlight through the storm, my hope in the darkest of times, but Prince Arin is also my weakness. And Razak knows it.

The shatterlands are under threat, the crowns are missing, and as the pieces of Razak’s puzzle begin to fall into place, its picture becomes clear.

It was never about the crowns, or the courts.

It was never about vengeance, or spite.

It was always about love.

And Razak will not stop until he’s destroyed mine, and all the shatterlands with it.

Court of Pain is a dual point of view, dark MM fantasy duology brimming with courtly spice, morally ambiguous characters, and the fool who plays them all.

This is a dark world with potentially distressing content. For more information on content warnings, please visit the author’s website.

Review: The Meaning of Life (BA’s Cozy Cowboys) by BA Tortuga

Rating: 3🌈

The Meaning of Life by B.A.Tortuga , another of this author’s cozy cowboy romances, is a sweet contemporary low angst story.

If that’s what you’re looking for, then this is the book for you.

It has cowboys, babies, a ranch and a HEA, in a quick read.

However, if you’re looking for anything that reminds you why you should be reading a B.A. Tortuga book and not just any other random nice cowboy romance, don’t frustrate yourself and read this story.

The Meaning of Life by B.A.Tortuga reads like a formulaic story, imo, so similar in plot lines to many of the cozy cowboy books this author has previously written.

Someone’s unexpectedly a dad, orphaned babies, throw in a ranch and some dogs, horses, odd animals. A ex boyfriend or man who was a crush or old friend shows up. Has to be a rodeo or rodeo cowboy in there somewhere. A minor drama. HEA.

In a few of those books, we do get a sense of a realistic dynamic and a growing relationship. A great feeling of place and B.A.Tortuga’s unique perspective on local culture and sense of cowboy history. Those are terrific stories.

But here that’s missing.No real sense of a real relationship of any depth. Instead it’s almost a calendar of steps towards a commitment and family.

All a little too pat. They move in, boom. Instant love, boom instant happiness, boom instant family. Halloween, Thanksgiving. Christmas. Check all the boxes.

There’s a drama. It’s over so everyone can get on with their lives as they want to see them happen. HEA.

It’s sweet, and non demanding. And utterly forgettable. It nice.

Sometimes that’s exactly what’s some people need. I listed the cozy cowboy romances below. If this is your jam, you might want to check it out!

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BA’s Cozy Cowboys

✓ Ranch Manny – No review

✓ Security Detail: an AusTex novel

✓ Trial by Fire: an AusTex novel

✓ Two Cowboys and a Baby

✓ Two of a Kind

✓ Back in the Saddle

✓ Cowboy in the Crosshairs

✓ Cowboy Haven

✓ Cowboy’s Law

✓ Cowboy Logic

✓ In the Morning Light

✓ The Meaning of Life

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The Meaning of Life (BA’s Cozy Cowboys)

Description:

When tragedy strikes in the parking lot of a rodeo event, bullfighter Jasper Dean loses his best friend Kayla, inherits her barrel racing horse, her pack of dogs, and her two babies, who also happen to be his biological kids. He has no idea what to do about any of it, and JD struggles to juggle all of his new responsibilities. So when an old friend makes an unexpected offer of help, he grabs it with both hands.

Nash Remington was right there when the crime happened, and he’s mourning just like the rest of his rodeo family. When he seeks out JD to deliver Kayla’s horse, which he’s been caring for, he makes the offer for JD to come to his ranch to let him and his family help JD figure out what to do next.

The two men have to deal with loss, their old attraction to each other, new love, and a whole new family dynamic, all while balancing work and life and trying to make sense of a terrible loss. Can they find the meaning of life together?

Review: Wild Fire (Drake Security #3) by Mika Nix

Rating: 4.75🌈

This series just got immeasurably better. Wild Fire, the third in this series about a clutch of dragonshifter brothers finding their fated mates, is my favorite to date.

It’s not that I find the authors, K.M. Neuhold and Mia Monroe, have just written two really fascinating characters, it’s that I don’t remember reading anything that resembles them in another book before. And that’s even more compelling here.

A dragon who’s uncaring about assembling his own hoard , and thrives in the cities and masses away from the smothering isolation of his brothers. And a wolfshifter who has a compulsion to amass a hoard , who needs his space away from his pack, who’s more interested in his own world than his pack’s. A yin looking for their yang.

This switch in characteristics is unexpected and so narratively rewarding.

It makes for a sensational journey or hunt when both Arson Drake and Draydon start on their remarkable continental quest for art treasures and find themselves falling into a surprising relationship with each other. One that carries definite overtones of Romeo and Juliet, as dragons and wolves are enemies up to this stage.

The two person perspective works so well as Arson and Draydon fight the attraction that pulls them together from country to country, their inner beasts empowering their decisions as well. The authors writing as Nix have given the reader two powerfully defined beings that are unique and unable to stay apart. And are trying to explain to themselves why, and if it even matters anymore.

Anything outside of that narratively has to come across as being less interesting because of how rich and powerful these two are.

The elements with the vampires are necessary for being the tool to bring the Montagues and Capulets together, I mean , dragons and wolves , but it comes across as just that. A narrative tool.

Could have been anything, unless it’s going to be included in another story.

Which is set up here by bringing in a new character and younger brother from another “clutch” who’s in trouble.

Interesting but there’s still a couple of unmatched brothers from the original group needing mates. Guess Lord and Tino will have to wait.

Anyway, Wild Fire (Drake Security #3) by Mika Nix is a sure fire winner. Fabulous characters, marvelously plotted romance, and twisted personality traits I really appreciated.

It helps to read the series in order to understand the characters, the events, and the relationships. Lake especially. He’s so over the top divine!

Highly recommended!❤️

Drake Security:

✓ Hot Head #1

✓ Smoulder #2

✓ Wild Fire #3

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Wild Fire (Drake Security Book 3)

Description:

He’s my nemesis, my rival, and the man I can’t get out of my head. We may be star-crossed but there’s enough heat between us to start a wildfire.

I’ve never been one to follow the rules, but sleeping with a wolf shifter might be over the line, even for me. So, why can’t I get him out of my head? Or his scent out of my nose. Even on the other side of the world, I swear I can still smell him.

Everyone has a hobby, mine just happens to be stealing from the rich and powerful to give back to the rightful owners. A native art exhibit in Sydney is the last place I expected to see Draydon again. I can’t shake the feeling that he’s here for the same reason I am… and here I thought larceny couldn’t get any more fun.

I’m a dragon without a proper hoard and he’s too jaded to even trust his own pack. But we’ve already lit a fire that’s getting out of hand.

Stealing Draydon’s heart might be my most impossible heist yet.

Review: Brick and Brass (Hammer and Fist: Lextalion Book 2) by Jennifer Cody

Rating: 4.75🌈

If this wasn’t such an exciting and exceedingly well written story, I’d be taking a smidge of rating points away for sheer frustration with Cody over that ending and the fact it’s probably going to be a while before we get around to finding out what happens next.

Yes, no surprise, it’s cliffhanger time again!

This whole universe is so weird and crazy that I have to look back at my notes to remember how things and Cody’s other books fit in with these stories. It’s like a madhatter’s 10, 000 pieces puzzle but cut out into insane shapes.

Thankfully, Cody gives us a recap why Lex is in a coma but mentally aware as the book opens. I had to dig through my memories about the last book for all the events as they happened, complicated as they were by a immense cast of characters, worlds accessible by portals, gods, dragons, aliens, slavers, you name it. Tied together by murders, mysteries, hellacious plots galore and the agents like Lex that work for The Inter-dimensional Immigration Agency—IDIA, the government agency that enforces the laws that govern non-humans on Earth.

So we pick up after that nasty explosion and the search is still on for Dominus, the being/person behind all the slave trafficking/inter dimensional world kidnappings and plain old horrifically bizarre goings on. His identity is unknown, as is why he’s able to make himself disappear into obscurity without a trace.

Cody has to address the blood hexes that tie a Geminatus to him so they’re unable to return to their homeland, as well as Lex being in thrall to Tor, an agent of the IDIA. A huge element itself.

But the author addresses each subject, separating them so they can have the impact and narrative development they deserve, while simultaneously being a fluid piece of the total story fabric. That’s quite the gift.

Tor and Lex especially, as it’s not just Lex that’s feeling the emotional attachment and passions of the bond between them. It’s the monsters he carries within him. And they have different opinions about Tor and the way he should fit into their lives. What a sexually dynamic and hot area of this book and one that adds to my frustration because the cliffhanger cuts short so much of the relationship follow up here , big stuff that’s waiting to happen.

Same for the Geminatus aspect. The “twin” Geminatus born on Earth get a chance to meet a Geminatus born on the planet, and it’s oddly very different and disturbing for both. This is such a huge element that it’s going to be explored in the second of the Geminatus books in the Hammer and Fist:Geminatus series.

That leaves this story with Lex’s character’s greater expansion into his background, current status, and interpersonal mingling of the beings within himself. It’s also the growth of his and Tor’s own dynamic as they search out what the curse means emotionally.

And finally, it’s the biggest threat and storyline. Who’s Dominus? Where are they? What are their plans and how does Lex stop them?

It’s mind boggling how much is dumped into this book and how well it all fits together.

The ending is shocking. There’s a character death, and then a several consecutive dramatic events that lead to one unbelievable cliffhanger.

Then an author’s note that the next book up is the second in the Geminatus series! Noooooo.

So how one goes about reading a series and they feel about multiple cliffhangers, should let a reader decide what they want to do about reading the series. Read them as then release acknowledging that there will be cliffhangers and a good amount of time between stories or wait and binge.

But one thing is for certain. This is a must read. However it’s resolved, whatever tragedy consequences or happy turns of events, however unlikely, it’s a great convoluted epic tale of worlds, gods, monsters and love.

A fabulous story.

One I’m highly recommending no matter how frustrating that ending still makes me.

Read each series in order. It won’t make any sense if you don’t.

Hammer and Fist Series

✓ Sledge and Claw (Hammer and Fist: Lextalion Book 1)

✓ Brick and Brass (Hammer and Fist: Lextalion Book 2)

✓ Inferno (Hammer and Fist: Geminatus Book 1)

◦ Gale (Hammer and Fist: Geminatus Book 2) July 2023

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Brick and Brass (Hammer and Fist: Lextalion Book 2)

Description:

Lex:

Of course waking up from a coma wouldn’t come easy for me; thankfully I have friends willing to fuck me back to life. Once I’m on my feet again, playing catch up on the trafficking case makes me want to eviscerate someone. I hate that I’ve lost precious time hunting down Dominus, but I’m awake now and ready for action.

With weird things happening to the portals, an Ethensian hopping realms when he shouldn’t be able to, and trying to figure out how to end the blood hex I’m under, I feel like I’m drowning in tasks and making no progress. I want to end Dominus and put Knoxville behind me; instead, I get a one-off accidental prophecy taking me straight to a battlefield I didn’t even know existed.

Brick and Brass is a 65k MM Urban Fantasy. This is the second in the series and not a stand alone. Content includes: horror descriptions and gore, public sex and sex magic outside of the romantic subplot.

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