Tag: Scattered Thoughts Highly Recommended

Review: Sundae’s Best (Briar County #2) by Riley Hart

Rating: 5🌈

In Riley Hart’s Introduction, the author talks about the desire to create something different with this series. Instead of serial stories linked together, Hart wanted a narrative playground. One where standalone stories could have roots and flourish amidst a familiar foundation, a wide universe.

So Hart started creating Briar County, North Carolina. With its small towns like Harmony and Everett, and it’s wonderful town stores, restaurants, and community gathering places and events like the Covington Farm Goatalapoloozas Briar County quickly becomes a group of places that feels like home.

Populated by people we invest in and connect to. They flow in and out and around these stories just as you would see people in your own community.

What a rich tapestry Hart has created for this series and us.

Sundae’s Best is such a remarkable story. It starts from a place of grief, pain, loss, and an emptiness, and growing need for two men connected by death of two beloved people. One is looking for connection and a home. The other? He’s not sure. But he’s feeling empty even though he’s surrounded by community and family who love him.

Sundae’s Best, the name of Deacon’s ice cream store, is a gentle, heartwarming, incredibly well written and moving love story. Its so sweet and low key, realistic, fumbling even, as Grady and Deke find their way to friendship through their mutual love, grief over their loss of Nathan and Birdy. Then it’s so sweet as it gradually turns into something more, deeper, turning into love.

We watch as Deke has to wrestle with his new feelings ( never confused that he does love Grady but over all those terms) and everyone trying to define him when he hasn’t figured out things other that he needs Grady. That’s so understandable and believable too.

All the small town dynamics at place, the positive and negative, are on display.

There’s also an amazing aspect of this book that deals with Grady’s past and his family’s reaction to his sexuality. Again, Hart’s characters are so well defined and layered that so you feel their emotions and understand their actions.

There isn’t one part of this book that doesn’t hold up to intense scrutiny. It’s just that good.

My complaint? I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay there…. Eating Sticky Bourbon ice cream,playing with the goats… and wanting to know what happens next in their lives.

In short. Briar County has me hooked. It has made a friend. Made me want to stay.

I think you’ll feel the same. Start here. Go for the first. Doesn’t matter. Just head on over and make your acquaintance. I’m highly recommending you do!

Briar County series:

Firefly Lane #1

Sundae’s Best #2

Synopsis:

Grady Dalton is in a rut. He’s thirty-eight, without a boyfriend, and has yet to find the place that feels like home. The closest he ever got was his best friend, Nathan. But it’s been seven years since he passed, and life isn’t getting easier. That’s how he ends up in Briar County, hoping to grow roots in the place Nathan had loved.

Deacon Sharpe spends his days serving homemade ice cream at Sundae’s Best and his nights alone, pretending he’s getting by after his wife’s death better than he is. His world is rocked when a man shows up who claims to have been his brother-in-law’s best friend and seems to miss Nathan as much as Deacon misses Patty.

Their losses connect them, but soon, the weight of their loneliness eases with laughter, making ice cream, and Grady reminding Deacon of what it feels like to be held again. Deacon tells himself it’s platonic. How can it be more when he’s forty and has never been with a man, never even been attracted to one? But then, he’d never felt those things about anyone other than Patty either. And when Grady touches him…kisses him…nothing else matters, and the rest of the world melts away.

Together they can deal with family drama, small-town gossip, and Deacon’s newly discovered feelings. But as it often does, life has one more curveball to throw their way…

Sundae’s Best is a small-town, bi/demisexual awakening romance, with characters who like to be held, swoony moments, a dog named Moose, and lots of ice cream. Sundae’s Best can be read as a standalone.

https://www.goodreads.com › showSundae’s Best (Briar County, #2) by Riley Hart – Goodreads

Review: Snowed (Boston Rebels #3) by R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Kyle Lourenco, goalie for the Boston Rebels, has been a quietly interesting character in this series . Mentioned in quite a few books, he’s been a somewhat enigmatic peripheral character. Someone we didn’t know as well as we had the others but a person still likable and within our “hockey family “ fold.

This story abruptly changes that. And it sees Kyle returning home to family and a man he left physically behind but never emotionally.

The location is northbound Manitoba, and members of Kyle’s family as well as others in the small town of Eagles Ridge are Indigenous peoples. It allows the authors to include elements of that culture into this story for an additional richness of location and character. I really appreciated this aspect of the story.

The location also adds to the authenticity of the brutality of winter and freezing conditions the story is founded upon. Snowed indeed.

The character of Kyle is a haunted one, his personality tormented by a childhood amnesia and constant nightmares that no one has been able to determine the cause of. Add to that the fact that he’s left or abandoned (depending upon perspective) his family, friends, and love for the NHL. And you have a deeply complicated tormented man in need of help.

Christian Gauthier is the man and love Kyle left behind. A love he still carries while working in his store or running search and rescue missions.

When the men reconnect during a blizzard, it sets off all sorts of unexpected events. To go further would spoil the fun and indeed, some of the shockers too,

This is a emotional ride of all sorts. There’s a scary mystery, lovers reunited, second chance at love, family homecoming….all sorts of goodness here.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. And the ending seemed just right for this couple.

I wonder what book 4 will bring.

I’m definitely recommending this story. It’s a winner!

Boston Rebels series:

Lost in Boston #0.5

Top Shelf #1

Back Check #2

Snowed #3

Synopsis:

A second chance at love is all Kyle wants for Christmas, but a dark menace from his past wants him dead, and love is second to staying alive.

Kyle Lourenco has carved out a comfortable life and career for himself in Boston. With the holidays quickly approaching, he’s heading home for the first time in several years. Home to his loving parents and the small Canadian town where he was raised. And home to Christian, his best friend and the first man to steal his heart.

Just as a winter storm begins to blow in, it forces Kyle off the road only miles from home and a dark and sinister force from his past creeps ever closer. His only hope is getting to Christian’s cabin before the evil that has haunted him for years finally catches up to him.

Best friends since they were three, Christian Gauthier grew up next door to Kyle, in a remote mountain town with one stoplight and a forty-mile round trip to the nearest school. When Kyle left town for a shot at a professional hockey career, he took Christian’s heart with him. Even though he knew Kyle was always destined for bigger things, it hadn’t stopped Christian from falling for him as soon as he knew what love was.

With Christmas coming soon and a major snowstorm heading their way, Christian shuts the doors to the family store and heads to his cabin, where he will be on standby as an official volunteer for Search and Rescue. He has never regretted staying in Eagle Ridge, but a near miss on a simple rescue leads him to reevaluate everything, and when Kyle ends up at his door, he knows that guarding his heart might not be the best solution after all.

https://www.goodreads.com › showSnowed by R.J. Scott – Goodreads

Review: A Very Genre Christmas by Kim Fielding

Rating: 5⛄️🌈

What a wild and crazy and totally merry Christmas tale Kim Fielding has gifted us with this holiday season.

Unlike any story I’ve read and EXACTLY like sooo many I’ve read and adored, A Very Genre Christmas is a bibliophile noir “find that reference “ Christmas romance mystery…and more.

I heart this sooo much.

Told from PI Nick Bozic’s pov he sounds exactly like Sam Spade, his sentences liberally sprinkled with words like “doll” or “sister “. Fielding has 1950s Portland, Oregon down perfect, from the sights to the corrupt politics, and the era is point on from clothing to cars to cinema. We and the characters are authentically submerged in the 50’s. Albeit with just a smidge difference.

There’s a odd Rift that move and allows certain characters and beings to fall through into Portland. It’s one of Nick’s jobs to see they get home, if possible.

Now see, here’s where Fielding must have had a true literary romp because I can see her laughing as she writes these sort of vague ish descriptions for those that have come through the Rift. You might want to whip out and make notes to see how many you get down, how many you can identify…. correctly that is, and what novels/world they came from. Utter bliss! I’m telling you.

I think I missed a few. But it starts with his secretary! How delicious! And I love her… in all her many versions.

As I do the main couple….

Evindal the Christmas Elf is a marvelous character. Never a joke or caricature, his infectious joy over his new experiences and his love of helping others carries such incredible warmth that you can almost feel it. He’s Christmas spirit personified.

Nick Bozic’s slow change of heart , the changes visible first in alterations to his appearance (new brighter shirts) and decorations showing up at his office, are a realistic element. Because the reason Nick’s so resistant to Christmas is only revealed at the end, but the tiny hints are everywhere.

This is a absolutely joyous and celebratory Christmas romance! One where the true spirit of Christmas is found once more and love of two very different people triumphs.

I love Kim Fielding so much because as a author she continues to surprise and enchant me as a reader with her choices and imaginative twists when it comes to characters and plots. There’s always just that something unexpected….

Here there’s a bookstores full. In fact, an entire story. So much to love.

I highly recommend A Very Genre Christmas by Kim Fielding. Grab it up now!

Synopsis:

Very little is merry in a private dick’s world.

Private detective Nick Bozic works the mean streets of 1950s Portland, Oregon, shadowing unfaithful spouses and nabbing thieving employees. He may be lonely, but at least he’s not crooked. Despite the festive season, Christmas simply means less dough in his pocket.

With the holiday only a few days away, a regular client drops a new case on him: yet another being has come through the Rift and needs help finding his way home. Maybe Evindal the elf will help Nick find something too—a bit of cheer and magic amid the usual brew of corruption and betrayal

https://www.goodreads.com › showA Very Genre Christmas by Kim Fielding – Goodreads

Review: A Crown of Iron & Silver ((Soulbound #3) by Hailey Turner

Rating: 5🌈

With A Crown of Iron & Silver, author Hailey Turner continues our journey into the old gods and nigh forgotten pantheons around the world.

It’s an extremely fascinating and often terrifying ride, as these gods are, depending on who they are, turn out to be rage filled, scheming, desperate to hold onto their power and followers. And it’s a weird meshing of countries and Gods that I find I’m absolutely increasingly focused on. Aztec god brothers to ancient Celtic Gods to the more familiar ones of the Greek and Egyptian pantheons to those of Norse and Mexican origin. It’s just incredible the way each is brought vividly to life. And I’m only halfway through.

There’s also werecreatures, vampires, succubus, mages, witches, and of course the Fae.

The last figures largely here as the case that pulls Patrick and therefore Jono away from a quiet Christmas at home is that of a stolen human child and a changeling. The human child that was stolen belongs to a high ranking witch family and that means Patrick is involved.

There is no way to even begin to explain the complicated and many storylines that follow. One plot after another, layering over and through each other until it starts to resemble a painting where the artist has used so much paint that you’re not sure whether to stand back or move closer because you can’t see a subject anymore.

The relationship between Jono and Patrick is moving forward, gaining strength from the very traumatizing events of the last story. Jono’s status a alpha and godhead of his pack is spreading. As is Patrick’s role as co Leader.

As the gods raise their demands on Patrick’s soul and the Dominion Sect as well as Ethan, Patrick’s father continues their drive for godlike power, loyalty, love, and truth seems to be tested at every turn.

Turner does give us humor, usually via Wade, our teenage dragon fledgling. Ever eating, still recovering from the trauma of his abduction and brutal abuse at the hands of a now dead vampire, the safer he feels the younger he feels safer to be. He’s funny, adorable, and for a huge flaming being, very poignant at times. You just want to hug him then turn him loose in a grocery store….on someone else’s credit card of course.

What else surprised me? The great take on the Fae from the Court of the Queen of Air and Darkness. So very imaginative and yes, scary. Love it. I adore it when an author can see the Fae, brings that have been described so many ways in so many media, in a new aspect. Great job.

This story is full of great, relatable characters that you will care about! They have wonderful relationships and storylines within the main book and arc that it’s impossible not to be invested in them and their future.

At the end, we are set up for the next book and job the gods, different ones this time, want Patrick to set out on. That it runs along side one that he’s already pursuing? An occurrence that doesn’t surprise him or Jono.

Everything and everyone is moving closer to a collision.

This series just gets better and more addicting. I recommend them highly. Start at the beginning and work your way through.

Synopsis:

New York City is decked out for the holidays, and Special Agent Patrick Collins is looking forward to a reunion with his old team when he gets assigned a new case. A human child is missing, and the changeling left in her place causes a prominent witch family to demand justice from the fae.

Meanwhile, continued harassment from the New York City god pack forces Jonothon de Vere to formally establish his own with Patrick. Doing so will mean a civil war within the werecreature community—a war they risk losing from the start without alliances. Making bargains with the fae is never wise, but Patrick and Jono have nothing to lose when a fae lord comes asking for their help.

The Summer Lady has been kidnapped from the Seelie Court, and if they can find her, Patrick and Jono will cement an alliance with the fae. But the clues to her disappearance are found in Tír na nÓg, and the Otherworld has never been kind to mortals.

Venturing past the veil, Patrick and Jono risk losing territory, time, and their very lives while searching for answers. Because the Queen of Air and Darkness knows they are coming—and the ruler of the Unseelie Court has an offer for them they can’t possibly refuse.

https://www.goodreads.com › showA Crown of Iron & Silver (Soulbound, #3) by Hailey Turner – Goodreads

Soulbound series:

✓ A Ferry of Bones & Gold #1

✓ All Souls Near & Nigh #2

✓ A Crown of Iron & Silver #3

◦ A Vigil in the Mourning #4

◦ On the Wings of War #5

◦ An Echo in the Sorrow #6

◦ A Veiled & Hallowed Eve #7

Review: Operation Meet the Parents (Operation HEA #2) by K.M. Neuhold

Rating: 5🌈

It’s been a while since the first novel where I encountered Harlow (he of the movie Meet Cute) and Teddy but it only took a sentence or two before the effervescent Low and the steadfast Teddy came happily alive once more.

This time the now together pair is leaving sunny LA for the snowy temps of Minnesota and a Christmas with Teddy’s family. It’s Low’s first time meeting them and at a major holiday at that.

What could go wrong?

Neuhold brings us a delightful heartwarming story, filled with family, Holiday gathering and festivities, as well as a bit of angst when Teddy’s mother slow to warm up to Low. Neuhold gently explores a realistic,loving mother/son relationship and the changing dynamic when one brings home their “forever love”. I so enjoyed watching the family, Ted’s mother and the men navigate what could have been a awkward holiday but instead turns out to be a very happily memorable Christmas.

Operation Meet the Parents is a well written holiday romance centered around an established wonderful couple, two highly delightful men, each with a secret mission and special gifts for each other. There’s so much laughter, tremendous characters,some sexy fun, and a ton of love of all types, romantic and that of family.

In short, just a terrific story and a great Christmas sequel for Low and his Teddy Bear. I’m really hoping that Neuhold will give us their wedding and a welcome reunion with both families and friends.

Both books are just a delight and I’m absolutely recommending both. Read one, then this heartfelt lovely Christmas tale.

Operation HEA series:

Operation Meet Cute #1

Operation Meet the Parents #2

Synopsis:

Teddy is ready to pop the question, but can he find the perfect movie-moment proposal for Harlow? And more importantly, will Low survive meeting the parents? Oh, the joy of Christmas.

A missed connecting flight, inappropriate winter attire, and a kitchen fire…it wouldn’t be Christmas without some complications, right?

I know Harlow is desperately trying to impress my family, but I’m a lot more concerned about coming up with a proposal worthy of his Hollywood dreams. That is if he doesn’t burn the house down first.

There’s nothing like the holidays with family. Fa la la la la….

***Operation Meet the Parents is a 25K word novella companion to the full-length novel, Operation Meet Cute. Don’t miss this warm and fuzzy, all-the-Christmas-feels, steamy story.

https://www.goodreads.com › showOperation Meet the Parents (Operation HEA #2) by K.M. Neuhold – Goodreads

Review: All Souls Near & Nigh (Soulbound #2) by Hailey Turner

Rating: 5 🌈

All Souls Near & Nigh, the second in Hailey Turner’s outstanding urban fantasy series, is everything a second book in a series should be. It moves the overall series arc forward while capturing our attention and, at times taking our breath away, with the plot for this novel.

It includes all the major characters we expect and want to see while introducing new and what I anticipate to be important players/beings going forward.

And it wraps up this story’s plot while setting the characters and readers firmly on the path to the journey into the next book and arc storylines.

Hailey Turner accomplishes all that in a novel that’s highly packed with tough emotional scenes, amazing magical action, some very complex mythological god relationships, as well as much painful, personal dynamics between Jono and Patrick.

At times this will not be an easy book to read. There is an on page sexual assault for a major character. As this has the definite possibility of being a trigger for some people, I commend the author for putting a warning about this scene at the beginning of the book where it can’t be missed. I won’t lie. It’s hard to read.

And it’s ramifications for the character emotionally and those around that character are done with respect and sensitivity, as well as in keeping with that person’s personality.

Here , the ordeals, the trauma, the past, it weighs upon each person or being. It’s not sloughed off but given it’s very real impact. That translates into a realism for these characters and the events they encounter.

In fact, the people and beings are now fully embedded in my heart that after I finish a story, I’m full of “what if’s…” so engaged is my imagination.

I also find myself looking up various gods I’m unfamiliar with and their religion/history. That’s another huge plus.

Patrick and Jono have a difficult developing relationship and dynamic that’s gripping because it’s as fraught with peril as it is with hope. Always a sharp dagger edge away from absolute disaster it’s also the first real relationship Patrick has ever had. Something that makes the reader fear for them both even more.

Increased hope, great fear, unbearable pain and loss in the past, present and coming future. All laid out in an incredibly , increasingly complex plot. All surrounding characters we care more and more for.

What a book and series.

I have other novels to read but all I want to do is curl up and read right through to the end.

I’ll let you know if temptation wins out.

In the meantime, definitely read this but only after book 1. They need to be read in the order they were written.

Great writing, outstanding characters. Highly recommended!

Don’t forget about the warning.

Soulbound series:

✓ A Ferry of Bones & Gold #1

✓ All Souls Near & Nigh #2

◦ A Crown of Iron & Silver #3

◦ A Vigil in the Mourning #4

◦ On the Wings of War #5

◦ An Echo in the Sorrow #6

◦ A Veiled & Hallowed Eve #7

Synopsis:

You can’t bargain with death if you’ve already sold your soul.

Special Agent Patrick Collins has been reassigned by the Supernatural Operations Agency to New York City. Navigating his new relationship with Jonothon de Vere, the werewolf he’s now soulbound to, is nothing compared to dealing with territorial disputes between the vampires and werecreatures who call the five boroughs home. But the delicate treaties that have kept the preternatural world in check are fraying at the edges, and the fallout is spilling into the mundane world.

Manhattan’s club scene is overrun with the vampire drug known as shine and the subways have become a dumping ground for bodies. When the dead are revealed as missing werecreatures, Patrick and Jono find themselves entangled in pack politics twisted by vampire machinations.

Learning to trust each other comes with problems for both of them, and the gods with a stake in Patrick’s soul debt aren’t finished with him yet. Bound by promises they can’t break, Patrick and Jono must find a way to survive a threat that takes no prisoners and is stalking them relentlessly through the city streets.

Old and new betrayals are coming home to roost but the truth—buried in blood—is more poisonous than the lies being spun. Trying to outrun death is a nightmare—one Patrick may never wake up from.

All Souls Near & Nigh is a 104k word m/m urban fantasy with a gay romantic subplot and a HFN ending. It is a direct sequel to A Ferry of Bones & Gold, and reading the first book in the series would be helpful in enjoying this one. Please see the disclaimer at the beginning of the book for content some readers may find triggering.

https://www.goodreads.com › showAll Souls Near & Nigh (Soulbound, #2) by Hailey Turner – Goodreads

Review: A Ferry of Bones & Gold (Soulbound #1) by Hailey Turner

Rating: 5🌈

I absolutely love it when I stumble across a book by a new author and become a fan of the writer as well as a reader highly invested in a series and characters after only finishing book one.

That’s what occurred after Hailey Turner’s A Ferry of Bones & Gold got it’s narrative hooks into me. Once I found myself absolutely engaged with the lives of Patrick Collins, Jono, and all the rest of the beings fighting against the Dominion Sect , I was full on part of that universe and fight as well.

Turner has a terrific way with dialogue and descriptions that makes these people. beings, crackle with life, energy, vibrancy or in the case of the vampire s, chilling magnetic power, that flies off the pages.

And the sense of urgency, and suspense is incredible when it comes to the battles and chases. Whether it’s mundane or magical. From great fight scenes to the devastation left behind, the author brings a sense of authenticity to her writing that makes us believe!

The plots here are many and varied. Also as convoluted as the famous Labyrinth of Crete, which is perfect because on top of werecreatures, vampires, elves, dragons and such, the story’s man elements include the gods of various mythologies. Albeit vary much alive.

The first book deals primarily with Greek although the Egyptian Ra and Norse gods are mentioned.

Here they are quite the meddling group, and the layers (as well as god pantheon politics) flow through the story.

That’s a lot to pack into a story and this book holds that weight easily. Along side a beginning relationship with Patrick with a were, and a small group of beings as he starts to find himself a unofficial “team” and circle of friends.

However, the author also allows a continual thread of loss, death, isolation, to run faintly through. It’s in Patrick’s history, and the reader is aware is most likely in the fighting still to come.

A sobering awareness that never leaves, giving this story a severity and somber note you hear over the laughter.

I appreciate that and wonder how this extremely complicated relationship and many layered arc storylines will play out.

I can’t wait to read on and find out.

What an amazing start.

Highly recommend this story and author.

Soulbound series:

✓ A Ferry of Bones & Gold #1

◦ All Souls Near & Nigh #2

◦ A Crown of Iron & Silver #3

◦ A Vigil in the Mourning #4

◦ On the Wings of War #5

◦ An Echo in the Sorrow #6

◦ A Veiled & Hallowed Eve #7

Synopsis:

When the gods come calling, you don’t get to say no.

Patrick Collins is three years into a career as a special agent for the Supernatural Operations Agency when the gods come calling to collect a soul debt he owes them. An immortal has gone missing in New York City and bodies are showing up in the wake of demon-led ritual killings that Patrick recognizes all too easily from his nightmares.

Unable to walk away, Patrick finds himself once again facing off against mercenary magic users belonging to the Dominion Sect. Standing his ground alone has never been a winning option in Patrick’s experience, but it’s been years since he’s had a partner he could trust.

Looking for allies in all the wrong places, Patrick discovers the Dominion Sect’s next target is the same werewolf the Fates themselves have thrown into his path. Patrick has been inexplicably attracted to the man from their first meeting, but desire has no place in war. That doesn’t stop Patrick from wanting what he shouldn’t have. Jonothon de Vere is gorgeous, dangerous, and nothing but trouble—to the case, to the fight against every hell, and ultimately, to Patrick’s heart and soul.

In the end, all debts must be paid, and Patrick can only do what he does best—cheat death.

A Ferry of Bones & Gold is a 115k word m/m urban fantasy with a gay romantic subplot and a HFN ending

https://www.goodreads.com › showA Ferry of Bones & Gold (Soulbound, #1) by Hailey Turner – Goodreads

Review: The Cuckoo’s Call by Lily Morton

Rating: 5 🌈

I’m not sure why this sat a few days on my shelf before I got to it because it has to be one of my favorite romances yet this year.

Lily Morton really ticked every box for me here on contemporary romances and then further with not one but two love letters to Majorca and Venice. These settings are clearly places the author is familiar with and loves. And it shows in each warmly described location and all the finely etched details. The lagoons of Venice, history, the twisty roads and beaches along with local foods… all folded in with a memorable, heartwarming romance.

That Prologue! Honestly. Starting a story with a prologue almost guaranteed to make you sniffle ! Blink and you are already invested 100 percent in Wren Robert’s story, why he’s fog bound at that airport. And bereft.

Then comes the story.

And what a fantastic, romantic, grand story it is.

I laughed, cried, laughed some more… sighed a lot. And was ultimately thrilled at the ending.

Lily Morton gives us a spectacular cast of characters here.

Wren Morton, the Cuckoo of the title. The foster child forever being deposited in someone else’s “nest”, but who grew up without self pity, self-sufficient, kind, and with a love for learning. How I fell deeply in love with this character.

Mateo Rossi, extremely wealthy hotelier, bored, multidimensional. Of an ancient Venice family as well as one in Majorca. A man of divided hearts. Watching Mateo interact with Wren, changing as he reveals more of his real self? Amazing.

While the story is told mostly from Wren’s perspective, every now and then we get Mateo’s pov, just when it’s needed. To see Wren outside of how he sees himself. I grew to anticipate those!

The other characters like Mateo’s mother and grandfather are people that are so well developed that I felt I just didn’t get enough of them. Same about Alfie and a certain glass artist.

I really hope to see a sequel to this story.

The Cuckoo’s Call by Lily Morton is such a remarkable romance that I felt 5 stars wasn’t nearly enough.

I’m highly recommending it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Synopsis:

Can a summer romance last forever?

Wren Roberts thought he’d found his fairy tale when he met Mateo Rossi on holiday in Majorca. The wealthy and successful older man swept him off his feet, and before he knew it, he’d thrown caution to the wind and was living in Mateo’s waterside apartment in Venice. It’s a far cry from his harsh upbringing and crummy flat in London.

But as the summer turns to autumn, cracks begin to show. Mateo’s family aren’t welcoming, and there doesn’t seem to be a place for Wren in Mateo’s world. He could have coped with all of that, but Mateo himself seems like a different person away from the sunshine island.

Should Wren have been more cautious in riding off into the sunset when he wasn’t sure what lay over the horizon?

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a romance about two men who find that sometimes happily ever after doesn’t end there.

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Cuckoo’s Call by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Review: Cosy & Chill by Jackie Keswick

Rating: 5🌈⛄️

Cosy & Chill by Jackie Keswick really conveys so much of what I really think is authentic when it comes to the holidays. It’s never just that glitteringly happy, fun filled holiday. full of congenial family gatherings and mountains of gifts. No, there’s also the elements of melancholy, feelings of bitterness, loneliness, exclusion, family dysfunction, and outright pain and loss.

Yes, what the holidays can and does mean to people runs the emotional spectrum depending upon the person and their history. Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself A Merry Christmas” anyone?

Keswick brings us into Cosy & Chill as one being, a Fae, experiences the pain of betrayal, and extreme loss. She’s now trapped in the human realm by a theft of her amulet, her key home. Her anguish, loss, her rage is bone deep and as her search becomes ever fruitless… we connect deeply with her grief and loss of hope.

That’s just the beginning of this outstanding tale of renewed heart, new paths, personal growth, and learning how to reach for your dreams. While finding love and friends along the way.

Done through knitting and making ice cream! Oh, and a hunt for a silver amulet!

All the characters here are so remarkable. Whether it’s the Fae Roisen determinedly searching for her amulet through a mysterious clue, drawn to a house by magic, Finn Wooten, with his Cosy Etsy knitting store or Leo Wetherall of Chill organic ice creams, these beings and people come alive through their struggles and all the obstacles, small to large, past and present, they must overcome.

Really Keswick’s storytelling will captivate you!

Both Finn and Leo each had a wonderful supportive grandmother in their past as well as dysfunctional families. How badly dysfunctional varied. Each man’s past is rolled out and dealt with slowly as their relationship progresses and it gets closer to many important dates for all involved.

I found myself forgetting my own lists, things I really need to get to, as I sank into this tale of discovery, self determination, courage, hope, love, and, of course, Holiday spirit….in a Fae sort of way.

As the author put The End to this story I couldn’t help but hope that next Christmas Keswick sees us making a return to a certain shop on High Street, Number 13 to be exact. And all who live overtop and within.

I’d love to catch up with them. You will be enchanted and wish for that too!

Cosy & Chill by Jackie Keswick goes to my top five holiday reads this year. I’m highly recommending you out it in your own stocking and your TBR pile!

What a joy!

Synopsis:

Knitting. Ice Cream. And a Matchmaking Fae.

Quiet, industrious Finn dreams of his own knitting store. He needs Leo’s enthusiasm to make him reach for what he wants.

Cheerful, adventurous Leo sells artisan ice cream but shies away from fulfilling his grandmother’s last wish. He needs Finn’s love and support to put his past to rest for good.

Add a Saxon treasure, a fae stranded in the human world, and an empty store with very unusual rental terms – and falling in love is not the only challenge Finn and Leo have to face.

Making a dream come true takes work. But there’s magic in dreams if Finn and Leo can hold on tight.

***

Tags: I’m only here for socks and ice cream. Sometimes you just click with another guy even if you’re opposites. I look at you and know what I’ll be knitting. How to share a house with someone you’ve just met. Utensils don’t sparkle, right? Grandmas rock. Making a deal with a burglar. Roisin is a decorating wiz and Finn worries about antique furniture. If you don’t talk to me, I can’t help you. Finding treasure at inopportune moments. And yes, there’s a happy ending

https://www.goodreads.com › showCosy & Chill by Jackie Keswick – Goodreads

Review: Yours, Forever After by Beth Bolden

Rating: 4.5 🌈

I love a good fantasy fairytale romance and Yours, Forever After by Beth Bolden definitely fits that category.

It has young royalty fleeing great evil that wants their blood. It has a Prince who will lose his kingdom if he doesn’t get help. And it has magic.

Those are the basics that Bolden uses to build a grand emotional journey for two men towards a HEA for themselves and two kingdoms. And perhaps one magical being.

It contains anger, loss, betrayal, issues with communication, and all the usual barriers that occur with new relationships under stress. Also sword fighting , cause fairy tale!

It’s main characters under go personal growth and change into men determined to make their commitment to each other and their people work.

I was connected to Gray from his perilous flight away from his castle as a young boy and then to Rory as his true nature slowly reveals itself to Gray as they tackle obstacles together. They figure out how to communicate.. eventually. As the story and their pursuit of justice., for themselves, and to rid their lands of the evil battling against them, everything about their roles and their relationship feels real.

I love them so much . And was delighted with the promise of a continuation of their story with a sequel to come.

It’s a novel I’ll eagerly await.

Until then, if you like fantasy romance and fairytales, this is a story you’re to enjoy. Well written, terrific plots and characters I love. I’m definitely recommending it.

Synopsis:

Fifteen years ago, Prince Graham of Ardglass barely escaped from the ancestral castle with his young life. Rescued by a magical creature and spirited off to a faraway valley, he grew into a strong, capable man—never shirking his duties on the farm, but forever bitter over his father’s betrayal. But just when he has finally come to terms with being lost and staying lost, a visitor arrives in his valley and changes everything.

After a lifetime spent lost in his beloved books, Prince Emory awakens to find his villainous aunt working to usurp the throne of Fontaine. When she sends him on a dangerous quest, he’s certain the journey is a trap, but he’s not willing to accept defeat without a fight.

But a fight is something Rory is unprepared and untrained for, until he’s saved by a handsome, unassuming farmhand and his snooty, smug, and surprisingly talkative unicorn.

Yours, Forever After now includes an epilogue novella, completing Gray and Rory’s magical quest for true love.

https://www.goodreads.com › showYours, Forever After by Beth Bolden – Goodreads