Spirited Situation is the first book in the new Ghostly Guardians series by Louisa Masters and it’s a wonderfully entertaining paranormal read!
We meet our two main characters in a bar, both looking for a hookup after long sexual dry spells. It’s instant chemistry, a night of insanely hot sex, then they leave the motel the morning after, not even exchanging names or particulars.
Of course , it doesn’t stay that way.
One of the men, Josh, is a man who’s been able to see, and talk to ghosts his entire life. It’s cost him jobs, apartments, and friends. Now he’s interviewing for a job that he’s hopeful will be the answer to all his immediate needs. It’s in a renovated estate that offers tours, including ghosts. Has living quarters attached and a small enough town that its own ghostly population should be fairly small.
What he doesn’t count on is the guy he hooked up with being the blacksmith/historian also employed by the estate and living there too.
That’s Ewan. Huge, happy to see his hookup , until a misconception gets in the way.
Louisa Masters sets the foundation for her new series by building her found family of living employees and very lively ghosts , all residing together at the estate.
While we’re getting to know everyone from Josh, who can see and talk to all our ghostly characters, Ewan our lover and blacksmith, the Manager Kieran, Skye at the front desk , Daniel who runs the historical farm to some of the wonderful ghosts like Hattie, Maisie, Joe , and Johnny.
It’s quite the cast but it’s never overwhelming because each is such a great personality. And each ghost is invested in Josh and Ewan’s romance as much as we are!
That’s so much fun. Especially ghosts like Carter who are late to gay sex and want all the inside scoop!
Overlaying all of this is the series storylines. One that gets neatly resolved but a larger one is left to be part of further storylines in the future books. I can’t wait for those!
Masters has a way of making her books feel like I just picked them up and then it’s over. They are so smoothly written, so well plotted, and the characters so engaging that the time just flies by.
Now to wait until the next which is Kieran’s story. I wonder who he will be paired up with? Hmmmmm
I’m highly recommending this new novel! It’s a great story and a entertaining start to a new series!
Reviewer note: Not a 5 because lack of last names bugs me. Always has. Pls pls give your characters last names. Ty. This note for any and all authors out there.
When you can talk to ghosts, things are bound to get spirited.
The ghosts have been there since before I can remember. When I was a kid, they doted on me, but as I got older, they got more demanding. I’ve spent my whole life seeing and talking to dead people and trying to pretend I’m not, because the living just don’t understand. Nobody wants to be around the freak who claims to see ghosts. Until I go to Mannix Estate.
Once a private country home, then a posh hotel, it was closed after a suspicious incident but is now an immersive historic experience. It’s also haunted AF, and everyone knows it. Finally, I’ve found a place to work and live where I can be useful. Where I’m actually wanted.
There are only two problems: I spent a hot, sweaty, satisfying night with Ewan the blacksmith before I knew we’d have to work together. Everyone knows sex with colleagues is a bad idea, right? Even if he’s the world’s most ripped cinnamon roll.
Plus, the ghosts are keeping secrets. There’s something going on that’s not normal, even for a haunted estate. And I suspect that when the truth comes out, I’m the one who’ll have to deal with it… and it won’t be good.
I love Casey Cox so I picked up her new release immediately. Oceans that Swim is the first book in the Kings of Airlie trilogy, a sports romance series.
First off I had to go YouTube the sport of Kitesurfing. Didn’t have a clue what it was. For those of you like me, I put a link at the bottom of my review to a wonderful “King of Airlie “ run. Check it out. Pretty wild stuff.
Secondly, the author includes a warning at the beginning of the story. It states that the trilogy deals with issues of violence, murder, self-harm, physical and sexual abuse, most but not all of which happens off page.
I appreciate the author’s letting the reader be able to make an informed decision prior to starting the series by letting them know the trilogy deals with those elements.
Oceans that Swim ‘s character Ritchie has c-PTSD. It comes from the trauma from seeing his parents murder/suicide. I suspect this storyline will carry throughout the next books. It’s very much a murder mystery.
Terry, the youngest of the King brothers, is the other main character. He’s the upcoming latest sensation on the kitesurfing season and scoreboard. But his father, THE King of Airlie, is the one who’s abusive and cold, when not out in the public eye. Most the the abuse is past memories, but not all. And I except it to get worse in the next story.
Travis and Tory , the older brothers all play big parts here and we get to know them intimately.
This is one mess of a family.
Cox expertly weaves the current World Kitesurfing Championships and all that means to our main characters and family as well as builds a fascinating stage for a ongoing journey of three brothers and the men who love them.
I expect it’s going to be hugely tragic at some point. And explosive. It’s building that way.
On the romance level, the one between Terry and Ritchie was sweet, the right sort of hesitant given the amount of baggage each man is carrying, and drawn out slowly so it takes communication to get together finally.
The author says each novel is focused on an individual couple but as their lives and drama are so tangled together I can’t help but see this as a HFN , especially given that ending.
This is well done, the characters engaging and beautifully written. The multiple storylines definitely have me hooked. I can’t wait for the next one to be released.
I’m highly recommending Oceans that Swim (Kings of Airlie #1) by Casey Cox. And check out that link below if you want to see what kitesurfing is all about.
Terry King may have been born into kitesurfing royalty, but he’s been overlooked and overshadowed his entire life. Unlike his fame-starved father, Trenton ‘King of the Air’ King, or his two attention-grabbing older brothers, Terry doesn’t compete for fame, money, or power. He’s got much more ambitious goals than that.
Terry has his sights set on reuniting his dysfunctional family and finally landing his forever crush: Richie Brown. A six-foot-four, anxiety-riddled, ginger teddy bear who writes heart-melting poetry. Also, the one and only person who’s ever truly seen Terry.
Richie grew up next door to the King brothers in the sleepy coastal town of Airlie Beach, Australia. His childhood was marred by a tragedy that continues to invade every corner of his life twenty years later. Richie gave up on love a long time ago…until something unexpected happened the night of Terry’s victory last season.
Richie knows better than anyone why Terry King is strictly off-limits. They grew up together. They’re practically family. Richie’s seven years older. Terry is his best mate’s younger brother… But then there’s the biggest reason of all. A closely guarded secret Richie’s never revealed to a single soul.
Terry is determined to defend his world title and turn his dreams into reality. But when life throws a spanner into his season, and with the King family remaining as stubbornly dysfunctional as ever––will Terry be able to get Richie to see him as more than just the kid he grew up with?
Kings of Airlie is an exhilarating, action-packed MM sports romance trilogy about love, brotherhood, and resilience––with a powerful message that dreams don’t die, they just sometimes change.
Each book in the series features a new couple and a happily ever after. With continuing family and competition plots, the books do need to be read in order.
The Magnolia Murders is the start of a second series that revolves around the romantic and professional lives of Sawyer Key and Royce Locke. At the beginning the couple is still partners at the MCU at Savannah’s PD but their unit has recently gotten a new chief. Up to now , every minute has been spent together. They live together, they work together, they love together. But fraternization rules work against them as partners.
So they knew their time together as partners on the job is about to end, as they knew it would.
Chief Mendoza decides to split the couple apart by having each head new divisions he’s creating within the Department. Sawyer to head the new Cold Case unit, and Royce to work with a new Unit for to engage with teenagers who want to work in law enforcement.
But first there’s a cold case murder that’s hitting close to home for both men. The murder of several beauty pageant queens from years past is echoed in a murder that happens now. Is it the same killer or a copycat?
Walker pulls out all the emotional baggage here for both men. It’s all family elements, the damage from Royce’s awful childhood and the pain it’s inflicted on his relationships with his sister and her children that’s in the spotlight here. Contrasted, of course, with the way Royce has been folded into Sawyer’s family and the feelings he still has of inadequacy because of Vic.
Sawyer, too, is waiting. He’s feeling insecure because of the scars left by the fire and the fact that he made a discovery that Royce hasn’t acted on.
In between complicated relationship dynamics and the fact they are experiencing being apart from each other at work, the long hours and devious criminals are confounding them.
This is an excellent murder investigation. I loved how the research and investigation slowly unraveled the truth behind the murders. So satisfying.
I have to say I was as frustrated as Sawyer over Royce’s inability to propose but I absolutely got why he was having such a bad time of it.
Walker gets us so totally inside these men that we understand them , feel their emotions, get their actions, and love it when they win! Both professionally and romantically.
So I really need that next book! It should be a wild roller coaster ride! I can’t wait!
I highly recommend this book and the series that precedes it. The Zero Hour Trilogy! That’s the series that tells how they met and fell in love over many murders. Don’t miss out on that either!
Work together, live together, and play together is the name of the game for Royce Locke and Sawyer Key. But one of those things changes when Chief Mendoza taps Sawyer to lead the newly formed cold case unit. His first task: solve the Magnolia Murders that spanned three decades and suddenly stopped in 2000.
Chaos ensues when a fourth Magnolia Queen contender is murdered during a preliminary round. With the pageant’s one hundredth anniversary looming, the pressure is on to produce results. Royce and Sawyer, along with their new partners, have to team up to solve the Magnolia Murders—old and new.
As the investigation continues, a surprise visitor and an unexpected phone call force the men to face painful things from their pasts. The future Royce and Sawyer dream of is within their grasp, but first, they’ll need to uproot the seeds of discontent they’ve buried deep.
The Magnolia Murders is the first book in the Matrimony and Mayhem trilogy, the second story arc for Royce Locke and Sawyer Key. ** New readers should start with the Zero Hour trilogy before reading Matrimony and Mayhem. ** The Magnolia Murders is a continuation of Royce and Sawyer’s happily ever after as they move into the next phase of their lives—professionally and personally. Though some storylines span the trilogy, this book does not end in a cliffhanger. Heat, humor, heart, and homicide abound. You have been warned.
This series just gets better. Nazri Noor takes the plot of two young magical people find love while doing amazing things to save the world. Sounds simple, right?
But in Arcane Hearts nothing is simple, even falling in love.
The first story saw Noor establish the sad histories of Jackson Pryde, and his next door neighbor Xander Wright. Jackson, a artificer who lost his parents in an explosion that saw the loss as well all his Guild, was first at odds with his old childhood friend. Xander is a mage who’s parents and college have a awful future planned out for him. But a joint quest and several murders soon saw their friendship renewed and then turned into something more. Now they’re in love and working together to uncover the basis of the purple threat that’s killing people.
Noor laid out his wildly fascinating universe, with its amazing Black Market who’s ability to move itself effortlessly onto new locations just by placing new doorways is endlessly entertaining. It opens up the characters and storylines to endless possibilities about new countries and mythologies to encounter. I love this!
Here the door goes to Japan and we meet some endearing tree spirits and one goddess from Mt Fuji. Culturally, Noor has thrown his narrative door wide open with his moving Black Market and it’s terrific.
The author has paid close attention to his characters as well. Their characters are developing more depth as their relationship is deepening. As they learn more about each other, they bring out more growth personally. It’s great to see.
There’s also a circle of friends that’s continuing to expand. Another master of a Guild, more friends pulled in by events or acts of kindness. A foundation of another sort of family comes together. Just as a bigger enemy is found that threatens the world.
The book ends as a small battle is eon knowing a bigger one is coming. Absolutely satisfying and I’m ready for the next book!
I’m so happy to have found this author and series. I’m recommending both! Read them in the order they are written in order to understand the series of events and the character development.
The fragrance of chaos. The flavor of terror. The color of madness.
Jackson Pryde and Xander Wright are loving a life of hunting and harvesting rare reagents wherever the Black Market travels. But a routine trip to visit Japanese tree spirits turns up something sinister: two crystal shards, embedded in the bodies of wild animals. They’re familiar, glimmering, violet… like splinters of amethyst.
But that’s not all. Two rival guilds are in strife, Jack and Xander caught in a crossfire of spells and slander. SEER and its hundred eyes are still watching their every move. And then there’s the matter of meeting Xander’s parents, perhaps Jackson’s deadliest challenge to date.
The Chrysanthemyst’s return is the least of their problems.
A Stroke of Brilliance is a 70,000-word M/M urban fantasy romance with a HFN ending. Join a fast-talking artificer and a snarky sorcerer, childhood friends who become bitter enemies, then lovers, as they explore a world filled with strange flora, mythical fauna, and magical murders. If you like your urban fantasy with humor, horror, and a whole lot of heart, you’ve come to the right place. Experience A Stroke of Brilliance today.
This is my first time reading a trilogy compilation on Kindle and I’m absolutely sold on the format. It especially suits me as someone who loves to binge read a series.
The trilogy , which consists of Ground Zero, Devil’s Hour, and Zero Divergence , is well suited for this format in that the stories flow almost seamlessly, one into another. Had it not been for the title and brief description inserted between the books, it would read like one huge novel. A fantastic one at that.
I’m not going to rate individual stories. One doesn’t excel or deserve a lesser rating than another. They are all exceptional.
The trilogy tracks the relationship, both professionally and personally, of Detectives Sawyer Key and Royce Locke, starting from the moment Sawyer Key joins the MCU of the Savannah PD and becomes the unwanted partner of Royce Locke.
Locke, is still grieving the loss of
a partner who was his best friend , and who committed suicide. A tragedy that’s still having major ramifications for Locke and his partner’s family.
They meet on the crime scene of a sensational murder with little time to adjust to the new situation or each other.
Walker immediately gives us an intense situation and two incredibly complicated men. And let’s the sparks fly. For three books.
Each man has a realness to him. Sawyer is a widower who is still coming to terms with the loss of a beloved husband to cancer. His grief is visceral. And yet very private. It works so well to pair him with Royce who has not come to terms with his grief and confusion over the death of his friend and partner. That issue will take him three books to work through.
Neither man stands alone. They are surrounded by incredible family members, dynamic characters from their precinct, and people we will come to know and love even more dearly in the series Sinister in Savannah.
Here we see Royce and Sawyer meet and introduce Rocky, Jonah, and Felix to each other. We meet Kendall Blakemore for the first time as well as Avery and see how he was pulled into Jonah’s orbit. Even the Marshals make their appearances here. This trilogy is our roadmap to all the series and single stories that come afterwards.
But the best and heart of the books is the growing relationship between Sawyer and Royce. The developing feelings, the situation about their relationship on the job, Royce’s closeted status, so much that evolves over the course of three complex cases and engrossing storylines.
Walker’s got the police procedural down, the hard work, the questions and paperwork. The long hours and the excitement when it looks like it might pay off. The author had me on the edge so many times here , the suspense was overwhelming!
However the joy of reading all the books right through is that you get your payoffs . You see the characters evolve, the relationship grow and deepen. And then become utterly gratified when at the end, you’re as happy as they are when the author writes The End.
Plus you have the added satisfaction of knowing there’s a second trilogy called Matrimony to come.
Be still my heart.
Are you a binge reader like me? Or just like to have all your books ready to go? This is a must have, must read! I’m definitely recommending this trilogy! And the author if you haven’t found her already!
Ground zero, noun: the center or origin of rapid, intense, or violent activity or change.Heat, humidity, and homicide are things veteran detective Sawyer Key expects to encounter on his first day with the Savannah Police Department, but the hostile reception from his new partner catches him by surprise. Sawyer isn’t a stranger to heartache and recognizes that Royce Locke is a wounded man who’s reeling from a devastating loss. Relentless and patient in all things, Sawyer is determined to make the new partnership work. Savannah, Georgia is known for her quirky people, oak trees draped in Spanish moss, and antebellum architecture. Beneath the Southern charm and hospitality, festering hatred and violence is soaring with the summer temperatures. Locke and Key find themselves at the epicenter when their first case involves the death of a former shock jock who appears to be the victim of vigilante justice. Opposites in nearly every way, the two detectives set aside their differences to take back their city and restore law and order. From this reluctant truce, an intense attraction grows that will either tighten or shatter their tenuous bond. Falling for his partner spells inevitable disaster, but Sawyer’s always been a sucker for wounded things. Sawyer could be the key to the life Royce has always wanted, if he’s brave enough to trust him. The fuse is lit, the clock is running, and the zero hour is upon them. Tick tock. Ground Zero is the first book in the Zero Hour series, which follows Locke and Key’s investigations and evolving relationship.
Ground Zero has a happy-for-now ending with no cliffhanger. It contains mature language and sexual content intended for adults 18 and older.
Devil’s hour, noun: the hour when the demon or devil who leads hell is at its strongest. Born on the wrong side of the tracks, Royce Locke is no stranger to scrapping and fighting for the things he wants. What he desires most is Sawyer Key—his partner on the force and the man he’s falling in love with. After asking Sawyer to take a chance on him, Royce will need to back up his pretty words with fearless action instead of being his own worst enemy. Someone is harassing the mayor of Savannah, and Locke and Key are tasked with finding out who. The investigation quickly takes a twisted turn, leading them to an enemy who thinks purification by fire is the only way to save the city. Scarier than The Purists’ elusiveness is their ability to turn public opinion in their favor, creating unrest and threatening anarchy by fanning flames and fear. When you play with fire, someone is bound to get burned. When menace becomes murder, the two detectives will race the clock against the devil to save their beloved city from becoming a raging inferno. Royce will need to draw on his grit now more than ever if he hopes to realize the dreams that are finally within reach. The rag is lit, the Molotov cocktail is tossed, and the zero hour is upon them. Challenge received and accepted.
Devil’s Hour is the second book in the Zero Hour series, which follows Locke and Key’s investigations and evolving relationship. This is a series that must be read in order.
Devil’s Hour has a happy-for-now ending with no cliffhanger. It contains mature language and sexual content intended for adults 18 and older. Trigger warning: Part of the storyline involves coming to terms with a friend’s suicide, which may be difficult for some people to read.
Zero Divergence, noun: no deviation from a course or standard.After a key piece of evidence goes missing, a suspected serial rapist and killer evades prosecution. More than Royce Locke’s reputation is on the line when his investigation into the failed chain of custody suggests Franco Humphries might’ve had inside help. There’s no one Royce trusts more than Sawyer Key to help him right a wrong and uncover the traitor in their midst, but can they do it before the Savannah Strangler strikes again?Relentless plus fearless equals flawless. Sawyer and Royce have come full circle-from hostile strangers to best friends and lovers. Neither a sniper’s bullet nor an arsonist’s fire could keep them apart, but what about a psychopath hell-bent on revenge? The stakes are high, and there’s no turning back now because the zero hour is upon them. Tick tock.
Zero Divergence is the conclusion to the best-selling Zero Hour series, which follows Locke and Key’s investigations and evolving relationship. This is a series you MUST read in order. It contains mature language and sexual content intended for adults 18 and older.
Trigger warning: Part of the storyline involves coming to terms with a friend’s suicide, which may be difficult for some people to read.
Truth or Dare finishes the Dare To Try trilogy and it’s a wonderful book. Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine have our couple, Kieran and Bash, take a realistic look at their jobs, evaluate what’s truly important to each of them, take into consideration the opportunities for each of them to make the move to each other’s state, and then make a decision that’s right for them both.
How I love an adult story with adult perspectives! No huge drama, just real life issues (even though one here is fabulously wealthy), and typical ways (pro and cons list) to help solve them.
It’s beautifully written, great characters, has a road trip I wish we’d gotten more of and a sexy red hot costume party … fans self.
I love these men and this trilogy will have me seeking out the series from each author that some of the other characters came from. I’m now a big fan of both.
Yes to recommending this trilogy, and yes to the authors!
Truth or Dare is the final book in the Dare to Try trilogy and should only be read after Dare You and Dare Me.
Lieutenant Kieran Bailey never saw his life anywhere but the bustling streets of Chicago—but then again, he never saw his life with a boyfriend, either. That all changed when he fell in love with bombshell CEO Sebastian “Bash” Vogel.
But it’s one thing to fall in love. It’s another to try to build a life together when you live hundreds of miles apart.
How do you choose between everything you’ve ever known and everything you’ve ever dreamed of?
This series must be read in the following order: Dare You (book one) Dare Me (book two) Truth or Dare (book three)
Dare Me , the second book in the Dare To Try trilogy by
Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine picks up a few weeks after the tumultuous events in the first story, Dare To.
That ended with a miscommunication or perhaps a misunderstanding between Kieran and Bash that sent Bash flying back to his home on South Haven Island, a bridge away from Savannah, Georgia.
Dare Me picks up with Kieran alone in Chicago, devastated by Bash’s departure and unsure of his next step. And with Bash miserable in Georgia, doubting his decisions to leave and missing Kieran like crazy.
Kieran takes the necessary time here to unpack his complicated emotions over everything that’s happened recently. His awakening sexuality in his feelings in all ways for Bash, the misconceptions over a scene in the firehouse, and the fears each is facing over the future.
Then he’s off to confront his man in a wonderful scene in South Haven.
This story is high on love, communication, searing hot sexy scenes, and reconciliation!
There’s not much angst or drama. Instead you get a couple working through very relatable issues in a new relationship, trying to see how how they can mesh their work and romance when they live in two different places.
It all feels real and while they come to a conclusion at the end of the book, the how of it all will spill over to the last novel in the trilogy for a great HEA.
Kieran and Bash are a fantastic engaging couple, sexy and romantic. And the people around them are just as strong as their support.
It’s been a while since I read the last book in this series, so it took a bit to get back into this extremely complicated universe with its ever expanding cast of supernatural and mythological characters. This of course includes those characters challenging, complex relationships with each other which is made even more convoluted and clouded because none of The Fallen remember their past lives due to a curse.
Salinger has written not just characters but characters that have characters layered over top of them, with each character layer having a distinct history complete with memories separate from one another. One preFallen and the person they’ve become sans memories after The Fall. Does this make them completely different beings now?
I suspect that’s going to be a question the author will be addressing in her storylines.
Edge Lines sees a return of some of those memories to our characters with haunting ramifications.
The memories have been returning in bits and pieces as Cassius Black and Morgan King find themselves with new powers and titles. In the last book, it became apparent that Morgan had Fae blood and powers that now manifested in a Wind Sword and a Crown of greens. Cassius too remembered names and took on a powerful heavenly shine when he used his powers to blast demons out of the city.
Their new Demi status is only the beginning.
The author is ramping up her series plot and it seems to be a wow of a series arc!
It happens over the course of the book. As Morgan and Cassius seek answers to who they were before The Fall , their enemy is making huge maneuvers to end the world order.
Salinger starts enlarging the cast of characters by bringing on more “ players “ who will have to help bring down the “big bad”. So we see the enlarging corp of fighters being assembled.
It’s more Gods and it’s fascinating as well as imaginative.
All I’ll say is I adore the Reapers!
And the author must have a huge wall of pinned cards to keep everyone and everything straight in the narrative because this is one labyrinthine series arc!
It’s just keeps getting better with each revelation.
I will say I’m not as heavily invested in Morgan and Cassius’s relationship as I am in the entire plot. Perhaps it’s a lack of chemistry for me that I find in other couples the author has created in this book.
Either way, the fantastic storylines keep me hugely entertained and engaged in the events going forward!
I need to know more! What happens next!
That’s Oathbreaker! I’ll be waiting for that to be released. It’s the series finale!
Until then, get ready. Read all the books in the order they were written and meet me at Oathbreaker!
Cassius Black and Morgan King’s trip to Ivory Peaks to uncover clues about their past takes an unexpected turn when a rift materializes and war demons attack the capital. Having saved one world by the skin of their teeth, they return to Earth, only to find it has been rocked by ominous quakes bearing a close resemblance to the phenomenon that nearly destroyed the Dryad kingdom.
After defeating demons that emerge from a crevasse in San Francisco, Cassius and Morgan rescue the Wild God Pan from the bottom of a rift with the help of Victor Sloan and the city’s otherwordly. But instead of thanking them, Pan makes a startling demand: rescue his lover and prevent the Spirit Realm from being destroyed, and he will reveal the truth about who Cassius and Morgan are.
Help comes from an unexpected source when a pair of Reapers visit the city and Cassius, Morgan, and Victor soon go hunting for a missing deity who may hold the key to saving all the realms. Can they free the immortals from their prisons and find the powerful artefact that can bend the mind and will of even a God? Or will the enemy who has long manipulated them from the shadows win this war and destroy everything they have come to care for?
Edge Lines is the third novel in the gay urban fantasy romance series Fallen Messengers. If you like your paranormal adventures full of action, magic, snark, and a host of steamy angels and demons, then you’re not going to want to miss this enthralling, fun-filled ride!
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.
A Touch of Fever is the first story in the Arcane Hearts series by Nazri Noor. He’s a new author for me and I’m definitely going to look forward to more from him in the future.
I enjoyed my time with these characters and this universe. Noor does an excellent job creating a world we want to know more about, especially the Black Market. It’s a place that moves itself, it’s new destination known only to itself. What a exciting concept.
Our main characters, which I think will grow over the next couple of books to include a sort of found family, is especially fascinating. We have a mage with a haunting future, Xander Wright. Our main hero, the artificer Jackson Pryde, who just might be something more. We have a witch Beatrice and a Guardian who I’ll let you read about. That’s part of the story.
There’s a small quest, a bigger mystery, some murders, and finally a larger adventure looming on the horizon.
If there wasn’t some on the page sex, very hot btw, I’d say this was the perfect YA series.
Noor has written terrific relatable characters, one’s dealing with issues of self worth, family responsibilities, the burden of duty, the pain of loss, and inadequacy. It’s tough being young sometimes. And Noor captures that.
Which is why I think that it’s a YA novel is everything but that it has sex scenes . It’s a terrific story either way.
I’m definitely on my way to the next in the series. And recommending this book now.
What do you do when you can’t cast spells? You make your own magic.
Jackson Pryde was never great at wielding magic. Instead, he works as an artificer, crafting enchanted devices in the Black Market, a shadowy bazaar of wonders. But Xander Wright, the mouthy, pretentious mage next door, hates all the hammering in Jackson’s workshop.
When a chance assignment forces them to team up, they discover a terrifying predicament. Something is driving members of the magical community into murderous rages. Jackson and Xander must combine might and magic to find the source of the Fever and stop it. Can they put aside their differences long enough to end the Fever, or will they succumb to its bloodthirsty curse?
A Touch of Fever is a 70,000-word M/M urban fantasy romance with a HFN ending. Join a fast-talking artificer and a snarky sorcerer, best friends turned bitter enemies, as they navigate an adventure filled with strange flora, mythical fauna, and magical murders. If you like your urban fantasy with humor, horror, and a whole lot of heart, you’ve come to the right place. Experience A Touch of Fever today.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 