Review: Taking the Body (Watkins Glen Gladiators #4) by V.L. Locey

Rating: 4.75🌈

Taking The Body just became my favorite of this series . I laughed so hard so much of the time when reading it, mostly due to the outrageous family tales related to various people by the main character, hockey player, Phil Greco. He’s such an entertaining and highly engaging person. Irish/Italian from Queens, New York, once he appears on the page, he’s got the reader’s total attention.

Locey must have had such an incredible time writing this man and his unique voice. He had me in stitches but he was also such a believable person, grounded in family and a recognizable location such as Flushing.

Frenchman Henri Gaudion, of Gaudion Winery, and his wonderful found family of staff, that includes his butler, Barnaby, is a well defined character and great match for gregarious Phil. His character is also a very poignant person. Locey has created in Henri such a relatable person and backstory. Henri’s background is one of loss, constant inter-family fighting over the winery and his sexuality, and finally, the ways in which Henri has isolated himself due to the fears caused by his illness and approaching blindness. His emotional walls are those of fear and experience.

Watching Phil moving through that previously ordered and quiet existence as seen and heard through both men’s perspectives is such a joy and utter blissful experience.

And that Locey wove The Nanny and Fran Drescher into this? Priceless!

The only thing that keeps the story from a total 5 rating is that the ending came about rather quickly. It feels too abrupt. Had that been extended to go into a little longer explanation of the situation, and not leaving that other renter hanging, then this would have been a 5+ story.

As it is, Taking the Body (Watkins Glen Gladiators #4) by V.L. Locey is my favorite of a lovely series. I hope to see more of this couple in the stories to come.

Watkins Glen Gladiators:

✓ Between The Pipes #1

✓ Defending The House #2

✓ Dump and Chase #3

✓ Taking The Body #4

Buy Link:

One’s from Flushing, New York, the other from Ambroise, France. Worlds, wit, and passions are about to collide!

Phil Greco is that player that every opponent and their fanbase hates but secretly wishes played for their team. Greck is a mouthy guy, high-spirited, and able to tweak nerves with relative ease. Having grown up with a large family he’d learned early that you had to fight for what you wanted. This is how a short, undrafted guy from Flushing made it as far as he had. It had taken no small amount of bull&*#*, grit, and plenty of wit. Generally that wit and grit was enough to get him on the top of the pileup but that’s not the case with Henri Gaudion, owner of Gaudion Winery. Ever since they’d met sparks have flown, and for the life of him, Phil cannot understand what it is about the suave, well-dressed, handsome French vintner that makes him so edgy. They have nothing in common aside from a love of Watkins Glen, so why does he keep finding himself so drawn to the lean man with the rapier wit? Sure, he was pretty, and did keep him on his toes, but Phil’s not the kind of fella to be drawn to such a fancy pants rich boy. How stupid would it be to think that a hoodlum like him could ever catch a man like Henri? Not that he wanted to catch the stuck-up winemaker…

Henri Gaudion has no time for shenanigans or those who engage in them, especially boorish braggarts on skates. Yes, he enjoys the game of hockey and having the Gladiators hockey team and the local gentry at his chalet overlooking Seneca Lake every Sunday for brunch, but that’s solely for keeping up appearances. Since the death of his father, he has devoted his life to ensuring the lands bequeathed to him produce the finest wines and champagne in the Finger Lakes district. Henri is a lonely, heartbroken man when the blinds are drawn and the erudite mask is dropped. He also has no room in his life for rowdy little men with bright smiles, cheeky winks, and heavily accented, fanciful tales about his large Italian family back in, of all places, Flushing. The pull that he’s feeling for Phil Greco must be some sort of glitch, or perhaps he’s been spending too much time in the tasting rooms. Whatever the reason, he is not about to let his attraction to Phil grow. It would be impossible for two such incompatible men to fall in love. Wouldn’t it?

Taking the Body is a low-angst, opposites attract queer hockey romance with a mouthy hockey player, a refined vintner, a whole lot of forced proximity, on-ice action, evenings spent sipping wine, a nosy butler, even nosier teammates, a large loving family, and a perfectly aged happy ending.

• Publication date: January 5, 2024

• Print length: 193 pages

Check Out the latest Tour for The Wasteland Kings by Jaimie N. Schock

Jaimie N. Schock has a new queer sci-fi book (MM romance subplots) book out: The Wasteland Kings. And there’s a giveaway.

Hacker Bast has it all: a cushy condo, a sexy boyfriend, and a place among the wealthy elite. When his past catches up with him, he flees into the dreary and dangerous wastelands between domed cities. There, he meets Delphi, who saves him, and Galeron, who runs a small town. He is anything but safe, however, as robotic “dogs” roam the countryside, looking for people to kill, and humans can be just as deadly.

As Bast settles in to life in the town, he develops a controversial relationship with Galeron. They fall in love, but all is not well in their world. Can the two of them survive and reach the happy ending they long for, or will the wastelands take everything they hold dear?

Warnings: Guns, death, child death, violence, animal death, suicide, drug use, nazis.

Universal Buy Link

Giveaway

Jaimie is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour:

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

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47305/

Excerpt

Breakfast was water. Lunch was water. Dinner was water. By the end of the next day, he had very little left.

He looked for anything that might help him survive. He found paper to start a fire; large decorative stones that he could throw at an animal; an ancient first aid kit featuring gauze, medical glue, tape, and rubbing alcohol; and a shaker filled with salt.

Bast couldn’t believe he’d found so much. He still needed food, however, and his hunger pangs were getting more severe as time went on.

He took an unopened bag of potato chips—not to eat, but to hopefully bring out animals that might be interested in consuming its contents. That night, he dumped the degraded snack into three piles and waited with a rock in hand.

The only thing that showed any interest was a large rat. It looked less than appetizing.

Bast didn’t hesitate. He threw a stone and then jumped on the dazed animal. He smashed its head with a larger rock. Breathing quickly, he sat back and stared at the dead creature.

He wondered if it was safe to eat, even cooked. After all, this animal lived in a polluted world.

First things first, he had to gut it. He’d seen people do it in old survival videos. Taking his small knife, he made an incision along the abdomen and began carefully digging out the digestive system, so as not to break it open. He imagined the bacteria in the stomach and intestines would ruin the meat if it got out. He gagged more than once and tasted bile.

Bast cut off the crushed head and placed the animal in a cigar box. It would last a day or so, he thought. The air was cold, to the point of making him shiver, so it should help preserve the rat.

Now, he really needed to find a way to make fire.

After sleeping for a few hours, he started out as soon as the sun poked through the trees. He wasn’t an expert on survival—not even close. But he knew from movies that there were ways to produce a spark without the use of a lighter or matches.

Near mid-day, he found what he needed:

An old pair of glasses, tucked into the pocket of a person’s naturally mummified corpse.

It was one of several bodies he encountered so far. Bast didn’t want to touch it. The thought of being around a long-dead body made him queasy. The only other times he’d seen a dead body were at funerals and when he killed that police officer. This was different. The body thankfully didn’t smell anymore, but it looked horrific. Drawn lips over skeletal teeth. Missing eyes. Gnarled hands clutching at nothing. If he didn’t need the glasses to survive, he would have stayed far away from the corpse.

He planned to utilize the sun by focusing light onto the paper and hopefully burning it. Bast took the glasses and the rat and found a clearing. He placed the paper and some small sticks on a pile and tried to aim sunlight at it.

At first, it didn’t work. Then, the paper began to smolder. Small amounts of smoke rose up, and he could smell ashes. Bast joyfully added bigger sticks and blew on the fire to encourage it. When the fire grew, he stuck his dead rat on a metal rod and held it over the flames. He couldn’t be happier to eat a day-old polluted rat.

He cooked the animal until it was nearly too tough to eat. Bast pulled off the greasy meat with his fingers and ate it all in little more than a minute. He was still very hungry when he discarded the bones and fur.

Regardless, he felt energized by the small amount of food. And now he knew he could cook something if and when he caught another critter. For the first time, he felt hopeful—and then he ran out of water.

For the next twenty-four hours or so, Bast spent nearly every waking moment looking for more liquids. He would have tried old beverages of almost any kind if it meant he could have his thirst satisfied.

He found nothing. With the empty water jug in hand, he stooped over a stream, wondering if it was worth tempting fate. He could certainly find a pot and boil the water, which would take care of germs, but if it was filled with chemicals, plastics, and man-made contaminants, no amount of boiling would fix that. He knew he was still pretty close to the cities. He knew it could kill him. Sighing, he filled the jug and put it in his bag.

Bast went another full day without drinking anything. It was agony. He found an empty metal bottle and put that in a fire with some of the creek water. By the time it cooled enough to drink, a black slime covered the top of the liquid. He threw it out, preferring to die over drinking something that disgusting.

His limbs stopped working properly. He tripped while walking along uneven asphalt. When he looked down at his bleeding knee, his vision tunneled, and he passed out.

Author Bio

Jaimie N. Schock is an author, editor, and journalist with nearly two decades of professional experience. She has been published in newspapers and magazines and has released nine fiction novels.

She is married and living in Northern Virginia. Though she have an extensive career, she is disabled with PTSD and chronic illness. Schock tries to incorporate her life experiences into the fictional pieces she writes while delivering complex and diverse characters. Her pronouns are she/her, and she is proudly a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.

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

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/jai.schock

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/JaimieNSchock/

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

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18982110.Jaimie_N_Schock

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jaimie-N.-Schock/author/B07THB22QK

Review: Dead Serious Case #4 Professor Prometheus Plume: MM Paranormal Romance & Dark Comedy (Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 5🌈

Vawn Cassidy’s Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed is one of my favorite series. Dark humor, beautifully realized characters, and extremely well executed plots that convey the heartbreak and the joy of love and romance, the horror and hope of experiencing life and losing it, as well as the light and darkness that exists beyond. It’s all there in every story.

Each book revolves around a case of a dead person. Sometimes it’s horrifying, sometimes hilariously funny or tragic and traumatic. Sometimes it’s both sad and frightening. And all these things.

In Dead Serious Case #3 Mr Bruce Reyes #3, the small group, Inspector Danny Hayes, forensic pathologist Tristan Everett, ghost Dusty Le Frey, and her boyfriend, ghost Bruce Abernathy, among others, helped save the world. A scary, horrific tale, even if being immensely satisfying.

Now, Cassidy has written a fabulous story, one that’s naturally got a crime, a murder, a manor house full of the most wildly entertaining and exasperating people and ghosts. A natural bookend to the one prior.

The story opens up, realistically and wryly in the morgue, with an extremely exhausted Tristan trying to complete an examination, with ghostly onlookers inference. The outcome of this wonderful scenario will see two very tired men on a much needed holiday. One of which keeps trying to find the perfect place to propose.

What ensues is absolute narrative perfection. Amidst high comedy, murder most theatrical, and ghostly antics at The Ashton-Drake Manor House Hotel, Cassidy’s also includes the raw issues these men face and the daily pain of their experiences. There’s an emotional reunion between Danny and his long estranged family, as well the wrenching emotional scenes of Tris trying to come to terms with the reality of his father’s approaching death from dementia.

The hijinks , murder included, to be found at the Manor, is a romp over the reality that Danny and Tris have left behind. When I say that Cassidy has created new characters and moments so quietly hilarious that I’d say they were “spew worthy” is to be understated.

Ah, Dilys! This the ancient, tiny bartender will forever be held responsible for the wine stains on the carpet as I giggled away at her approach!

I fell so deeply in love with everyone at The Ashton-Drake Manor House Hotel, alive and ghostly, that I want the author to revisit this location and entertaining little group of inhabitants, whether it’s by a individual book or story in this series in the future. They are simply so perfect to consign to one book.

Throughout the events that occur and the characters that make up the zaniness’s of this investigation, this is one fabulous piece of murder that ranks among my favorite books of the year.

Of course, it’s a gift from the author, because the ending proves that this has always been a part of the larger universe and the scary enlarging arc the author’s been creating.

So amazing. Breathtaking really. For now we are halfway prepared for the darkness to come.

The is a series that’s an absolute must read, but do it in the order that the books are written. Highly recommended, at the top of my rec list.

Fabulous cover as usual.

Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed:

✓ Dead Serious Case #1 Miz Dusty Le Frey #1

✓ Dead Serious Case #2 Mrs Delores Abernathy #2

✓ Dead Serious Case #3 Mr Bruce Reyes #3

✓ Dead Serious Case #4 Professor Prometheus Plume #4

◦ Dead Serious Case #5 Madame Vivienne: Schedule 2024

Buy Link:

Dead Serious Case #4 Professor Prometheus Plume: MM Paranormal Romance & Dark Comedy (Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed)

Blurb:

Inspector Danny Hayes has something very important to ask his boyfriend Tristan Everett. Over the past six months they’ve survived reapers, chaos monsters, and biblical storms, not to mention averting an apocalypse. So, what’s left to do but pop the big question?

Tristan is ready for a break from world-saving, spectral crises, and most definitely from ghosts. He wants some one-on-one time with his boyfriend, preferably horizontally. So when their Boxing Day celebrations result in a drunken booking of a romantic New Year’s getaway at a quiet little hotel near the wilds of the north Yorkshire moors, Tristan can’t wait.

But as usual nothing ever goes according to plan. Snowed in during an unexpected murder mystery weekend at what turns out to be one of the most haunted hotels in Northern England is not what they had in mind, but when one of the actors turns up really dead not just fake dead, they once again find themselves caught up in another investigation.

With only one night to figure out who the killer is while wrangling a multitude of overly helpful ghosts, Tristan begins to wonder if romance really is dead…

• Publisher: (December 31, 2023)

• Publication date: December 31, 2023

• Print length: 285 pages

Review: Cthulhu for Christmas: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance by Megan Maslow

Rating: 4.75🌈

I’m such a sucker immediately for anything that Maslow writes, especially when she’s putting the story smack dab near me. Maryland, specifically, around the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore close by. Places I know and love.

Plus the added factor of a Christmas collection! I’ve been reading a lot of those lately, many set up in Vermont (I get it, gorgeous and Hallmark) or the pacific northwest coast. Seattle, or quirky Portland. That too is perfect for a story location.

But when it came to tentacles and tinsel? Meghan Maslow went Chesapeake Bay! And I love it. Maslow creates an imaginary island in the Bay, called (perfection) Old Bay Island. Old Bay, which, for those who might not know, is a traditional spice here that’s used on practically everything.

There’s even a map of the island included with the story.

Zen King, a police officer with the OBI police department, is ready to leave for a future the island keeps denying him. One of the foster children that finds themselves a home there, nevertheless, he never gets a promotion, and his crush on his best friend , one of the island’s first families, seems unlikely to change. His best friend, Grey Criswel, has secrets, and is a superb personality too.

I love the characters here. From the town grump to mysterious librarian, each is an intriguing, layered portrait of a person or animal. Can’t forget the beaver or reindeer. And the town itself, from one building to the next, is as memorable as can be. Maslow builds a small universe within the island , populating it with people and adding to the history and mythology as the story grows.

There’s murder, mystery, romance, and , tentacles, very sexy tentacles!

Oh my!

Honestly, I could dwell a bit more here and think Maslow (who’s probably overwhelmed with more books and requests as it is) needs to add this universe to her list of ones that need a sequel. I can think of several characters who also need their own stories and HEA, or HFN.

Anyway Cthulhu for Christmas: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance by Megan Maslow was a fantastic way to start the collection. She crushed it. I need more!

I’m onto more stories, more tentacles, giddy with anticipation!

And happy to recommend this book to everyone who loves the author and the elements described.

Great cover.

Tinsel and Tentacles (11 books)

◦ Jingle Bells and Elder Gods by Kiernan Kelly

◦ All I Want for Christmas is Tentacles by Chloe Archer

◦ Tentacles and Other Stocking Stuffers by Delaney Rain

◦ Tentacles Rock by K.C. Carmine

◦ A Sucker for Christmas by J.P. Sayle

◦ Kraken Klaus by Charlotte Brice

◦ Twelve Days of Squidmas by H.L. Hiers

◦ It’s a Tenta-ful Life by Amanda Muewissen

◦ Rebel without a Claus by L Eveland

✓ Cthulhu for Christmas by Meghan Maslow ❤️🫶

◦ Tentacle Wonderland by Reese Morrison – Jan 1,2024

Buy Link:

Cthulhu for Christmas: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance

Blurb:

Six accidental tentacles, five naked neighbors, four evil mages, three ugly sweaters, two dead bodies, and one crush on my straight best friend . . .

Some things are simple fact: Santa Claus isn’t real and magic doesn’t exist. As a former foster kid turned cop, I know this for a fact. My life is anything but magical and Santa sure as hell never visited me as a kid.

Another fact in my life: I’ve been in love with Grey Criswel, my gorgeous—and straight—best friend, since we met. Unfortunately, he’s not going to make my secret Christmas wish come true this year—or ever.

But before I know it, fact and fantasy are starting to get all mixed up. I thought I knew Old Bay Isle and its residents like the back of my hand. Now I’m dealing with a bunch of naked carolers refusing to put on their damn clothes and mysterious happenings at the lighthouse. Oh, and murder. Because what says happy holidays like a corpse at a Christmas tree farm?

Worse yet, I’m suddenly afflicted with an aquatic ailment of sorts. Namely—tentacles. Six of them to be exact. Attached. To. My. Back. They even have their own opinions. And they all agree they want Grey. Could he maybe want them—and me—back? Things are so topsy-turvy I’m starting to believe the impossible just might be possible because it turns out magic is real after all . . .

Cthulhu for Christmas is a standalone novel in the Tinsel and Tentacles multi-author winter holiday MM tentacle romance series. It features Zen King—a cop with a tentacular dilemma, a best friend with a closet full (heh) of secrets, a sharp-tongued former foster mom, a beaver for a roommate, found family, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

• Publisher: Pun City Pantser (December 29, 2023)

• Publication date: December 29, 2023

• Print length: 239 pages

Review: A Heart To Revitalize Me: The Magic Accounts 4.5 (The Magi Accounts Companion Stories) by Michele Notaro

Rating: 4.75🌈

A Heart To Revitalize Me is the penultimate book in Michele Notaro’s fantastic dark fantasy series, The Magi Accounts. In between the main novels, Notaro has been writing companion stories, narrative side journeys through different characters lives or scenarios from the series . Each companion piece has been so distinct. One looks back on previous happenings, but seen from another important character’s perspective, giving the reader insights into those horrifying moments from his POV. Others take ongoing events of the current timeline and revolve around developing certain characters relationships further.

That happens here in A Heart To Revitalize Me, where mage Logan and tiger shifter, Haiden, finally get their story and the romance the readers have been waiting for.

In this dark, torturous dystopian world that Notaro has been creating, not even a long awaited journey to first love is going to happen without the harsh realities of that world crashing into the sweetness and light of love discovered.

And that’s both the horror and the beauty of this series (and story). The author has crafted characters we have grown to love, watched them develop and change, moving through the trauma and grief of their lives as they age and became family, some bonded mates.

Logan and Haiden have been two of the younger members of the Ono-Nai tribe, each has been through unbelievably torturous, traumatic and tragic experiences. Especially Logan, as a compound-raised mage.

Notaro frames out their path to a new romantic relationship , giving it all the gestures and scenes that make it utterly sweet, realistically halting and funny, perfect for their age and yet taking into account, their horrifying backgrounds.

However, we can never forget that there’s something larger looming ahead. All around the , Ono-Nai tribe home, and everywhere in the country, the violence against non-humans is escalating. New attacks from the Rift are rising as well. Everyone is under siege, from humans and aliens alike.

Horrors lie just outside the gate or even doorway.

A Heart To Revitalize Me: The Magic Accounts 4.5 (The Magi Accounts Companion Stories) by Michele Notaro reminds the reader that there is darkness next to the light. For every high, there is a deep lower point awaiting. This is a roller coaster of emotions and a great read.

But the hints the author has left behind are very clear that perhaps the darkest elements are yet to come in the finale.

See you all there.

All the stories, see the lists below, are highly recommended. But they must be read in the order they were written.

The Magi Accounts:

✓ The Scars That Bind Us #1

✓ The Shackles That Hold Us #2

✓ A Purpose That Restores Us #3

✓ A Ruse To Unchain Us #4

◦ Only Unity Will Spare Us #5 – Series Finale on Sept. 20, 2024

The Magi Accounts Companion stories:

✓ Our Hearts That Tie Us: The Magi Accounts Prequel

✓ A Kiss To Revive Me: The Magi Accounts 1.5

✓ A Date to Impress Him: The Magi Accounts 2.5

✓ A Holiday to Sustain Us: A Magi Accounts Holiday

✓ An Embrace To Hearten Me: The Magi Accounts 3.5

✓ A Heart To Revitalize Me: The Magi Accounts 4.5

Buy Link:

A Heart To Revitalize Me: The Magic Accounts 4.5 (The Magi Accounts Companion Stories)

Blurb:

Lately my straight best friend has been very… handsy, which is killing me because I’ve been in love with the idiot for years.

I love my best friend, I always have, but I never wanted him to realize just how much. He’s never seemed to notice before, but since he broke up with his girlfriend, he’s been really clingy. Like way more than I’ve ever seen.

I love it. And it’s killing me.

What I really want is all those cuddles and sweet touches to mean more than they do. I have to keep reminding my heart that everything Haiden is doing is platonic, even if it feels like it isn’t. Unfortunately for me, my stupid heart doesn’t stop hoping for more.

A Heart To Revitalize Me is a MM urban fantasy romance companion novel meant to be read AFTER A Ruse To Unchain Us (The Magi Accounts 4). This is Logan and Haiden’s story and takes place between books 4 and 5 of the main series. It’s the last Magi Accounts Companion Stories novel and is meant to be read as part of the series, not by itself, although the love story is resolved in this book.

The Magi Accounts Companion stories:

✓ Our Hearts That Tie Us: The Magi Accounts Prequel

✓ A Kiss To Revive Me: The Magi Accounts 1.5

✓ A Date to Impress Him: The Magi Accounts 2.5

✓ A Holiday to Sustain Us: A Magi Accounts Holiday

✓ An Embrace To Hearten Me: The Magi Accounts 3.5

✓ A Heart To Revitalize Me: The Magi Accounts 4.5

The Magi Accounts:

✓ The Scars That Bind Us #1

✓ The Shackles That Hold Us #2

✓ A Purpose That Restores Us #3

✓ A Ruse To Unchain Us #4

◦ Only Unity Will Spare Us #5 – Series Finale on Sept. 20, 2024

• Publisher: (December 27, 2023)

• Publication date: December 27, 2023

• Print length: 308 pages

Trigger Warning:

Violence, gore, mentions of past abuse, mentions of past sexual assault (nothing on-page).

— A Heart To Revitalize Me: The Magi Accounts 4.5 (The Magi Accounts Companion Stories) by Michele Notaro

Review: Accidental Bonds (Elemental Bonds Book 1) by Marie Reynard

Rating: 4.75🌈

In the author’s notes, Reynard states that Accidental Bonds is her debut novel. Well, it’s a remarkable story, whether it’s her first book or one of many.

Accidental Bonds, the first in the Elemental Bonds series, follows the meeting of independent mage Elijah Lauring with Alpha Victor Mills of the nearby Mills pack. Victor has come to Elijah to contract for a mage’s help with failing pack wards.

That’s the basis for an exciting, extremely well written, and highly suspenseful paranormal tale. This contains so many great elements. It has a frenemies to bonded mates romance, a dark magical series mystery that’s, frankly, extremely frightening and well scripted, and multidimensional characters that continue to develop throughout the storyline.

Yes, please, I’m well and truly hooked.

There’s not just the standard wolf shifter mating, but another type to consider. The mage aspect is equally interesting and important for the story as is the pack/wolf shifter elements. There’s a lovely balance not just between Elijah and Victor, but also between their foundations, their history, and friends.

Every part of this narrative, Reynard creates a strong sense of definition to her characters and the storytelling, crafting layers that include foundation building for the series and backstories of the characters.

That mage shop, with its dust motes, odd vials, and weirdly intuitive cat becomes a place that’s believable and visually lush. The same goes for the Mills territory, the woods and the surrounding landscape and down to the small pack of endearing individuals we get to meet. Real, grounded in their stories, and the pack they are a part of.

The blackness and mystery that’s a great part of this story and series is truly frightening. Keeping it both real and unknown is a marvelous element.

My biggest frustration? I couldn’t go immediately to the next story! I loved this so much I wanted to see what happened next asap.

Reynard does give this couple a good HFN, meaning they are settled but the series mystery continues. The next book will follow different but connected characters, one from each group of friends. Like I said, I can’t wait.

I’m highly recommending Accidental Bonds (Elemental Bonds Book 1) by Marie Reynard. It’s an amazing book, especially as it’s her debut novel. Grab it up and enjoy!

Elemental Bonds:

✓ Accidental Bonds #1

◦ Impulsive Connections #2 – Oct 2024

Buy link:

Accidental Bonds (Elemental Bonds Book 1)

Blurb:

It was meant to be temporary. Fate had other ideas.

Victor Mills would do anything to protect his pack, even work with magic he detests. When the wards safeguarding his territory start to deteriorate, he’s forced to hire a local mage to fix them. He could tolerate the abrasive stench of sorcery, if only the mage didn’t also smell like everything his wolf has ever wanted.

Elijah Lauring has no intention of tying himself to a shifter pack; his neutrality pays the bills. Repairing the Mills pack wards should be a one-off job, but the spell he casts to tap into Victor’s energy stubbornly refuses to fade. The intoxicating connection that lingers between them plunges his magic into chaos right when he needs it the most.

As they grapple with their conflicting desires, they soon discover the wards aren’t the only thing decaying. An evil is infecting the pack land, and they must learn to trust each other and their growing bond to defeat it. If they fail, Victor’s pack will pay the ultimate price.

Accidental Bonds is a steamy 115k M/M paranormal romance featuring a broody wolf shifter, a headstrong mage, meddling friends, a perpetually unimpressed cat, and knotting. It’s perfect for readers who love thrilling action, snarky banter, and characters who rub each other in all the wrong ways before they realize the right ones are much more enjoyable. While it guarantees a happy ending for its main couple, the overarching plot does contain cliffhangers. Please look inside for content warnings. (This series does not contain mpreg.)

Trigger warning:

This book contains scenes with elements of dubious consent and mentions of rape in a historical context.

— Accidental Bonds (Elemental Bonds Book 1) by Marie Reynard

• Publisher: Peace Garden Publishing, LLC (July 15, 2023)

• Publication date: July 15, 2023

• Print length: 446 pages

Review: Perfectly Perplexing Zombie (Perfect Pixie, #4) by M. J. May

Rating: 5🌈

Honestly, I finish each story thinking this is the best yet of the series. Then the next surpasses it, building on the complex storylines and characters relationships the author is creating and linking together in an epic as yet unfinished fantasy tapestry.

Each new couple incorporates a deeply unique perspective on love and relationships. While May has bright humor , magical wonder, and so much lively personality floating through the narrative, the darker side is never far away.

There’s so many serious elements included with each being, most to do with their history but not always. With Phil, it’s his outsize physique as a pixie, or Parsnip, whose horrific past of capture and permanent damage adds a dark series thread, as well as a dramatic well developed emotional plot for his book. Each character’s aspect of their life that has caused them pain and or sorrow has to be revealed, investigated, emotionally developed , and, fully explored in every possible aspect before the ending.

So many serious themes and topics. Slavery, addiction, low self esteem, bullying, self harm, the list goes on as to what May has narratively tackled in this series. And done a spectacular job of it.

Now comes Wendell. A lovely, kind, warmhearted human being who was cold heartedly murdered and turned into a zombie. Only Muriel, a powerful witch intervened, and Wendell became conscious, still a zombie but himself still. Unique in many ways.

A incredibly special way. Which brings Hellfire Rayburn, Fairy Queen Silvidia’s most trusted and feared warrior, into the role of main character after being a wildly popular secondary character in the preceding books.

The zombie and the fiery fairy warrior walk into the bar. It would be a joke if it wasn’t a tragedy in itself. May makes the reader feel every bit of the emotional pain and suffering every character is undergoing here.

The author has managed to make Wendell such a bright, engaging, and vulnerable young man, however dead he may be. As he’s falling apart, the reader is provided a window into his thoughts and feelings, which not only serves to connect us further but breaks our hearts. Wendell feels alive inside but is very much aware he isn’t. He wants to cry but can’t, he wants to blush, but a dead, rotting body betrays him. May quietly makes the reader cry when Wendell can’t.

Then comes Hellfire Rayburn, or Ray, who himself undergoes a huge mental and emotional transformation . Exposure to Wendell does that. Listening to Ray’s ancient inner voice, his arguments about Wendell with himself, then his growing sense of affection for the zombie, then mounting fear and anguish, it mirrors our own thoughts and feelings.

This author’s has such a superb gift for writing highly emotional scenes that escalates the anguish that the reader and the characters are feeling, as bit by bit, necrotic patch of skin by skin, Wendall’s time to a final death approaches.

She encapsulates all the details of the deteriorating flesh, Wendell’s emotional state, and his friends hope and horror as they scramble for some means to stop it.

What May also does so extraordinarily well is subtly continue to run darker plot threads through the current storylines. So that as you’re reading and totally aware of the scenes before you, lurking on the edges are the barest of mentions of what the author has to come.

The pixie dust addiction and slavery thread is there as a small topic. A hint of something that needs to be addressed in the near future. The most evil villain I’ve encountered is suddenly invigorated by events here. Please someone help get his comeuppance.

There’s no listed title for the next story but I have a guess which I’ll keep to myself.

It says in the descriptions these books can be read as standalones No they cannot. They are absolutely narrative building bricks for each other, which eventually leads to the next one, and finally a magical whole.

This series and each book is at the top of my TB recommended list. A must read/must have if you will.

Wendell and Ray gave me so many heartbreaking moments but so many more beautiful ones. What a special gift.

Again, another gorgeous cover in a series of them.

Buy Link:

Perfectly Perplexing Zombie: Wendall’s Story (Perfect Pixie Series Book 4)

Blurb:

Blessed with eternal fire, Hellfire Rayburn is Fairy Queen Silvidia’s most trusted and feared warrior. In a world living under fairy rule, Ray’s accustomed to serving his queen by upholding the law. Now, Queen Silvidia wants more.

Wendall Galen never expected to wake up reanimated as a zombie. Then again, he never expected to be murdered either. Wendall’s second life is far better than his past human life. Unfortunately, the diluted bit of fairy DNA he didn’t know existed interferes with his reanimation. With his body deteriorating, Wendall’s second life is destined to be a short one.

Queen Silvidia might have discovered Wendall’s living life too late, but she won’t let the last remaining descendant of her beloved, deceased brother perish. A fairy bond is needed to preserve Wendall, and Hellfire Rayburn still has his to give away. Wendall just needs to accept the eternal bond. Too bad he’s a zombie with a conscience.

Wendall won’t condemn Ray to an eternity bonded to someone Ray doesn’t care for, let alone love. He would rather perish than do that. Despite Wendall’s refusal, or perhaps because of it, Ray’s smitten with the human-turned-zombie and can’t imagine a life without him.

But Wendall’s deteriorating body isn’t the only threat. His murderer is still out there and fearful Wendall will reveal his secret. Power breeds paranoia, and Wendall’s murderer is oozing with one and being taken over by the other. Having awakened one of the most dangerous and feared creatures alive, Wendall’s murderer is willing to wield that power no matter the cost.

Wendall’s good nature calls to Ray, but that same sacrificial nature threatens to steal him away. Hellfire Rayburn never dreamed a day could come when his eternal fire failed him, his queen, and his love.

Perfectly Perplexing Zombie is the forth book in the Perfect Pixie Series. Each book relates to previous installments but can be read as a stand alone. They are more enjoyable if read in order. This book follows Hellfire Rayburn and Wendall Galen’s paths to their HEA

Perfectly Perplexing Zombie contains a zombie that didn’t follow the rulebook for creation, a millennia old fairy warrior, a human with delusions of grandeur, a powerful djinn that just wants to be left alone, a power hungry alpha werewolf, witches, priestesses, warlocks, vampires, a faun, and good old fashioned interspecies teamwork. It is a slow burn novel that focuses on finding and acknowledging love in unexpected places.

• Publisher: (December 22, 2023)

• Publication date: December 22, 2023

• Print length: 334 pages

Review: Claw’d (Evergreen Council Book 2) by Vin George

Rating: 4.5🌈

Claw’d (Evergreen Council Book 2) by Vin George is the only book I’ve read in the series. I rarely agree when it’s stated in a description that a book in a series can be read as a standalone because it always turns out that so much information and universe building is missing. But here, I felt that I was on fairly solid ground with the world I entered into, and the characters the author had created.

Am I going back and picking up the first book? Yes. Do I feel it’s necessary for this one? No.

George has a large cast of characters already in place as the story starts. It’s a universe of paranormal beings that live along side human beings who are unaware of them.

Evergreen Council, a new governing group of shifters, vampires, Fae, etc, working together to police their own, is something I believe might have happened in book one.

But we meet a disheveled, broken vampire, Sorley, who’s been arrested for breaking into a house of a wolf shifter. Gethin, the wolf who happens to work for the Evergreen Council, and upon his questioning of Sorley in the Council’s jail, realizes that something is seriously wrong.

This initial encounter sets in motion an investigation that continues throughout the story, bringing together multiple paranormal races and characters as more incidents and horrifying events happen.

I particularly enjoyed how George developed the relationship between Sorley and Gethin, two complicated characters who have a prejudice towards each other’s race. The author builds barriers between them only to then explore their own experiences, reveal their long histories, and make their own decisions to form a new bond with each other.

It’s well defined, somewhat torturous path, very emotional, and well thought out.

Both Sorley and Gethin have their own friends and families that push/pull them through the difficult decision making process of these events. Whether it’s the newly forming relationship, or the investigation, there is multiple voices and pressures impinging upon them.

It’s been a while since I’d read Vin George and now, based on the excellent work here in Claw’d, I’ll be going back to pick up Fang’d. There’s so many great elements here that carry through beautifully. Fine details, and still there is some interesting questions left over for the author to make the reader think about going forward.

I can’t wait to see what happens next. A definite recommendation for lovers of paranormal fiction and romance.

Evergreen Council:

◦ Fang’d #1

✓ Claw’d #2

Buy Link:

Claw’d (Evergreen Council Book 2)

Blurb:

Conditioned to hate him but I can’t stop craving him.”

On the verge of bloodlust, vampire Sorley breaks into wolf shifter Gethin’s home. Gethin, who’s been indoctrinated to avoid and even despise bloodsuckers, wants to turn him over to higher ups in the Evergreen Council and forget about him. If only it were that simple! Sorley seems to be a victim of a mysterious attack, pinging Gethin’s protective instincts. He’s also devastatingly gorgeous, and Gethin is thrown by the attraction. As a wolf he has no business getting entangled with an immortal malevampire. Even if they give in to their desire, it can only ever be a fling.

Sorley just wants to go home and bury his pretty head in the proverbial sand, but however much he hates it, he needs Gethin’s help. He might even get some benefits out of the deal. The infuriating, furry hunk of a shifter has kind eyes, and his scent is unexpectedly delicious. He also, curiously, makes Sorley feel safe. But Sorley is definitely not developing any feelings for the man. That would be absurd.

When it becomes apparent Sorley is not the only victim of an unknown assailant, the entire Council must pull together to stop the attacks. Egos clash as tension rises, and you could even say there’s a lot at stake.

Claw’d is the second book in the Evergreen Council series, featuring a chaotic mess of a gay vampire and the closeted, long-suffering, wolf-shifter charged with keeping him safe. HEA. Can be read as standalone

Review: Lube Job (Big Bull Mechanics #5) by K.M. Nuehold

Rating: 4.5🌈

Ever since Riggs, the small, prickly, large engine mechanic arrived in at Big Bull Mechanics, it’s been fun to imagine how and who Nuehold will pair him up with.

Turns out it’s Shep, the gorgeous extroverted, sexy mechanic, with the sexual appendage that’s either haunted or so addictive that Shep doesn’t do anything but one night stands . Because the people he sleeps with become a little crazed when he doesn’t want them around afterwards. Like stalking him and vandalize his precious automobile.

It’s a magnificent golden retriever slut and tiny assassin chihuahua sort of hookup with many complications and motorcycles and a garage full of found family mechanics.

What adds depth to this is Rigg’s assumption that he’s “broken “ inside because of his failed past relationships. The reason for this assumption is a revelation that comes from an unexpected source. Shep. Their slowly growing friendship changes each man gradually but profoundly.

Nuehold also creates a fabulous crow character that adds a wonderful sense of who Riggs is outside of the shop, a softer layer that isn’t always seen.

A strong thread here turns out that one of the characters is aromantic. This is a rarely seen character trait in romance novels and Nuehold does a great job in introducing the character to a sexual identity he wasn’t aware of, then letting him understand how finally, by applying it to himself, he could see himself and his actions in a different perspective. A life changing one.

The relationship between Shep and Rigg’s feels believable and halting in its growth, including Rigg’s and Shep’s personal issues to deal with.

The secondary threads and all the couples that made appearances were well done and never felt superfluous to the storylines.

There are some single characters who had important roles here but I’m not sure if they are going to get any stories going onward. I hope so.

Lube Job (Big Bull Mechanics #5) by K.M. Nuehold is another excellent book in this series, a definite recommendation.

Big Bull Mechanics:

✓ Crankshaft #1

✓ Stroker #2

✓ Gear Shift #3

✓ Rear Ended #4

✓ Lube Job #5

Buy Link:

Lube Job (Big Bull Mechanics Book 5)

Blurb:

The only thing bigger than Riggs’ attitude is his tool… And only one of those problems can be solved with more lube…

There’s no tragic backstory or closet stuffed full of skeletons from relationships’ past. I’ve just never been very good at the “very special episode” sh*t. If you’re looking for a shoulder to cry on, may I suggest a therapist?

Casual fun with my emotionally stunted, overgrown frat boy roommate slash co-worker should be perfect, right? Shep seems to be just as allergic to commitment as I am to emotions, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need our stroker rods serviced, if you catch my drift.

Now if he’ll just stop looking at me with those dopey puppy dog eyes while I’m elbow deep in a diesel engine, and making my stomach flip with that smile of his, that would be great…

• Publisher: (November 3, 2023)

• Publication date: November 3, 2023

• Print length: 278 pages

Review : The Adventure of Sterling Jones: A Murder Sprees and Mute Decrees Sidequest by Jennifer Cody

Rating: 4.75🌈

What a lot of fun Jennifer Cody must have had writing this story. Specifically, the character of Sterling Jones and his seemingly endless highly playful, exaggerating teenage ish propensity purple prose for names for the his sexual organs and his partners, plus the physical reactions that their bodies make during their sexual encounters. Sterling is also a murderous, incredibly kinky, one-armed, adventurous adorable menace with a propensity for kidnapping people to add to his growing found family.

With the exception of a middle chapter or two, this story is narrated by the wildly “out there “ Sterling. Honestly, this is an addictive voice. it just invites the reader calmly into the madness, where we happily stay for the roller coaster ride.

Especially when we start adding Sterling’s best friend and then new addition (aka Hennessey and Re) as the journey rolls along, like some murderous Toad’s Wild Ride but on a perverted sentient motorcycle and a fated mate ghost hunter werewolf, Jethro, at the helm.

Jethro is amazing. So is that perverted sentient bike. They need their own review. Heart eyes.

It’s all a “pow” and “Kazaam” but with kinky sex , occasionally tentacles, kidnapping, and always paranormal wildly weird stuff happening.

I’m definitely down for that.

And at the very end, like a very long joke you’ve been waiting for a punch line for but didn’t was coming, we get a series tie in to another previous book. Which will send me running back to read that all over again.

Honestly, I’m not sure this is everybody’s jam. But it’s definitely mine. Hilarious, over the top madness.

Yes please. More.

Related Series:

Murder Sprees and Mute Decrees (3 book series)

✓ The Trouble with Trying to Date a Murderer #1

✓ The Trouble With Trying to Save an Assassin #2

✓ The Trouble with Trying to Love a Hellion #3

Buy link:

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Advent…The Adventure of Sterling Jones: A Murder Sprees and Mute Decrees Sidequest

Blurb:

Sterling:

My life has been full of danger and fun since the day I realized what widening my big, blue eyes a bit could do for a boy like me. Guys the world over have fallen into that look-at-me-I’m-so-innocent trap, and I’ve never regretted it, even when I was staring down the muzzle of some poor straight boy’s weapon after confusing him with the best bj of his life (they don’t usually try to murder me, and he didn’t succeed, so obviously I’ve never learned my lesson). I love a good adventure, and now I’m looking at the greatest one I’ve ever seen.

Jethro Jones knows exactly what hits him the moment I sidle into his personal space, and it’s not because I only have one arm and an off-putting manic grin (I’m very cute, even with the psycho smile). It’s definitely the boner I’m rocking. The ride I offer him after his motorcycle’s been stolen? Well, that’s just the beginning, isn’t it? Besides, I’m adorable, fun, and only inclined to kidnap people I like.

The Adventure of Sterling Jones is a 32k word, insta-love/insta-lust MM paranormal romance, Murder Sprees and Mute Decrees sidequest featuring a thrill-seeking trouble magnet and his dangerous werewolf mate with more heat than is probably advisable for how combustible these two are and a stolen engagement ring.

• Publication date: December 20, 2023

• Print length: 128 pages

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