After seeing several social media posts and videos extolling the virtues of author Callie Hart’s first book in The Fae & AlchemDo you believe in fate?
After seeing several social media posts and videos extolling the virtues of author Callie Hart’s first book in The Fae & Alchemy series I decided to take the day off from my normal ARC reading/reviewing schedule to give it a read. What can I say? I had bad FOMO. I’ve come to realize that while I’ve been spending most of my time doing trad pub ARC reading, I’ve been missing out on a lot of great releases from the indie publishing world. I decided not to miss out on this one.
I’m so happy I took the day off for Quicksilver. I haven’t felt like this about a romantasy in a long time. Have I loved other romantasies as much as this? Yes, but in a different way. Quicksilver is the type of romantasy I love best: quick-witted, fast-paced, action-packed, spicy, funny, rude, two grumpy and traumatized main characters/love interests, no love triangle, tortured hearts, sexual tension and chemistry for days, protective streaks for days, stubborn and self-sacrificing idiots, and a healthy amount of snark.
Have you ever gone into work and ran into someone you didn't expect to? Was it awkward?
Willow Dixon’s sixth book in the Crimson Club series follows JeHave you ever gone into work and ran into someone you didn't expect to? Was it awkward?
Willow Dixon’s sixth book in the Crimson Club series follows Jett, who works part-time at the Crimson Club as a bartender. His day job is construction and carpentry, which he learned from his former father in-law. Jett can only work so many hours, though, and he wants to try and get out and try to start living his life. So he goes out to a club, maybe looking to get a little action. He certainly finds it (in a series of scenes that are scorchingly hot). It just becomes a bit awkward when Monday rolls around and the same couple Jett unexpectedly and impulsively hooked up with over the weekend just happen to be his new coworkers (because this is romance and of course they are).
Willow Dixon’s cast of characters are just so endearing. They feel genuine without feeling cloying or cheesy. Their expectations of one another are realistic, their dialogue has a nice rhythm to it that doesn’t feel too practiced or overwrought, and there aren’t any speaking pieces that feel like a speech or soliloquy, which was a nice break from some books I’ve read recently. I loved the array of sexual preferences that could be found from other characters and how the main characters had tastes that were still developing and evolving.
The relationship between the core three characters in this book was sweet, and the growing pains all three went through were realistic when you consider all the angles. The spice was so, so hot. Some of my hottest hot buttons (exhibition, voyeurism, dirty talk) are included in almost every spice scene and I’m never going to complain about that. It was a fantastic book, and I highly recommend it for any MMM fan.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
I discovered the Dark Witch Academy series late in 2023, gobbled up all three existing books in less than three days and have been waiting with baitedI discovered the Dark Witch Academy series late in 2023, gobbled up all three existing books in less than three days and have been waiting with baited breath ever since for the fourth book. I got myself a spot early on for the ARC team because I knew I wanted to read Gemini Wicked as soon as it was ready. It didn’t disappoint!
This installment picks up as Zara and her court (as it exists) head to her birthday celebration on a superyacht moored in the harbor outside the academy. The opening chapters of this book are tense and full of action, because of course they are. Nothing ever goes according to plan when a crown is up for grabs in a fantasy novel! (Plus, that’s kind of the major plot arc for the entire series, so we’d be without a story without a precipitating event, right?)
This disaster of a birthday celebration is only the start of a raucous set of events that stand between Zara and the crown. The pace of this book is fast, interspersed with action, lots of spice, and intimate conversations.
One of the things I love most about Laura’s Navarre’s writing in this series is her inner narrative for Zara. Most of the time I can’t stand first-person POV that breaks the fourth wall and has an extreme amount of slang. Somehow it just really works for me in these books. It fits the character, somehow. I can’t imagine Zara Gemini without her charming, cheeky inner voice.
Oh, and if you love breeding kink? Trust me, you’re not going to want to miss out. All of the Dark Witch Academy books are spicy af, but Gemini Wicked takes spicy af and adds a hefty dose of breeding kink on top for maximum effort. It’s giving ghost pepper levels of spice and I'm here for it.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
There will never be a time in which I don’t look forward to a new Grace McGinty book. She’s one of my favorite writers–an auto-buy author, in fact. I There will never be a time in which I don’t look forward to a new Grace McGinty book. She’s one of my favorite writers–an auto-buy author, in fact. I knew I was done for the first time I read her Dead River Days series. She can even get me to read tropes I usually stay away from with a ten-foot pole, as evident with Make My Heart Race, in which the FMC is pregnant for a large part of the book and has an infant for the rest of it. Not only do I usually stay away from the pregnancy trope, but I don’t tend to enjoy infants in the main part of the story (in epilogues they’re great). Somehow, Grace McGinty will get me to shrug my shoulders and read it anyway.
Was I disappointed this why-choose didn’t have sword-crossing? Yeah, sure, but to tell you the truth, this book had a lot going on. Between the main plot involving Tally (our FMC), her pregnancy, and trying to climb her way back into the world of racing after being driven out by misogynistic buttheads, there’s a few B plots and even C plots running through the story that make this book very fast-paced. It also unfortunately tends to make it feel a little crowded in places and some characters and/or situations didn’t get the time and attention they deserved. I honestly could’ve dealt with this book being longer if it meant certain characters got more page time or relationships got to develop with a little less force or certain plot points weren’t as rushed to resolution.
Does that mean this book wasn’t extremely entertaining? No. As all of Grace’s books, it was entertaining as heck. I love romance novels set in the world of motorsports. I grew up in motorsports, in the pits on Saturday nights with my dad sitting inside of race cars pretending to drive while my dad and uncle talked shop with mechanics and other crew members. My dad would’ve let me drive midgets if we’d had the money. I’ve been on a superbike. I’ve been in the car during a street race. There’s just something about fast cars, and this book reminded me of that.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
After so, so, so so so long, we finally get Toby and Blaise’s story. Something has been brewing between these two since the end of the Reckless DamnedAfter so, so, so so so long, we finally get Toby and Blaise’s story. Something has been brewing between these two since the end of the Reckless Damned series and through the first two of the books in this Damned Connections series. By the time author Lark Taylor got to the end of the previous book, Justice, I was positively foaming at the mouth for this book and I can’t help but wonder if that’s where I went wrong, because I loved this book but it just wasn’t the story I thought Toby and Blaise deserved.
This has nothing to do with Taylor’s talents as a storyteller: As per usual, Lark wrote a great story that stands up to most criticism. The problem I see is that it’s standing up against her other works and the background story arc between Toby and Blaise and this book just falls a little short of doing either justice. We have waited a long time for this story and that deserved a big payoff, but there was just too much going on in this book to devote it all to Toby and Blaise’s love story.
It has a rough, if sexy, take-off, but an amazing landing. The pacing seems stuttered because this book covers a longer time period than most of Taylor’s books and there’s a lot of things that need to happen and a lot of stuff to work through, as well as many sublime spicy scenes written in (and they’re hot, trust). New characters are introduced and we see newer characters again in preparation for the next book in this series and the new series that’s coming up.
It’s just a lot of material for a book I felt should’ve been dedicated almost entirely to the romance between Toby and Blaise, because if anyone deserves that treatment it’s these two. They have had an epic story behind the scenes and I just wanted more of them. That doesn’t mean this book isn’t fantastic, because I’ve yet to read a Lark Taylor book I didn’t love, but it does mean I couldn’t have loved it more.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
It’s time for another visit to Big Boned Bertha! This time, it’s Rush’s turn.
I adore the Accidental Love series. I consider it to be the perfect middlIt’s time for another visit to Big Boned Bertha! This time, it’s Rush’s turn.
I adore the Accidental Love series. I consider it to be the perfect middle road of Saxon James’ repertoire: More mature than Frat Wars but less mature than the Divorced Men’s Club, but just as spicy (or maybe spicy in a different way?) as Frat Wars but more spicy than the Divorced Men’s Club. Maybe it’s like this: Accidental Love has dirtier spicy scenes than Frat Wars but more maturity to it. It’s a perfect mix of filthy and adult for me.
The Revenge Agenda is a great read because it’s full of forbidden naughtiness:
A butthead’s ex-fiance / said butthead’s ex-side piece Boss / employee ADHD chaos adult / calm but concerned adult Bertha’s Boys plot revenge Everyone loves Rush (except the butthead) Filthy talk Office sex A ton of puns about ants Punches get thrown (not between MCs) Hunter’s coat gets stolen by Xander because it smells good
The cuteness of this book is only outmatched by the sheer chemistry between Rush and Hunter and the sexiness of the spice scenes. These two are scorchingly hot. The steam left me feeling some kind of way. From the first pages of the book I loved Hunter as a character, and that feeling only grew throughout the book. By the end I was sad it was over. That’s one of the hallmarks of a truly good romance–when you wish you could keep reading about the couple’s HEA.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. No compensation was offered or accepted in exchange for this review. Thank you.
I knew within the first few chapters that The Stars Too Fondly was going to be a five star read. By the end of the book I knew it was going to be a boI knew within the first few chapters that The Stars Too Fondly was going to be a five star read. By the end of the book I knew it was going to be a book I needed on my shelf, a book I was going to scream about, and is 100% going to be on my top ten list at the end of the year. It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year, and as of the-book-before-this-one, I’ve read 315 books so far this year.
There’s a line in the blurb: “So, here’s the thing: Cleo and her friends really, truly didn’t mean to steal this spaceship.”
SAY LESS. PLEASE.
Sapphic space adventure rom-com with a strong found family component, a swoony star-crossed love story, and a diverse cast? Are you kidding me right now with some of my all-time favorites vibes all vibing in the same book?
Debut author Emily Hamilton seriously sat down and wrote a book that does what few books do to me more and more: Make me long for extra stars, because if I could rate this book six stars I totally would.
The book pulls you in from the start, with Hamilton’s ragtag group of queer twenty-somethings who just want to peek inside an abandoned spaceship and see what they can glean about the mystery of what happened to the entire crew, who disappeared with a flash of light on launch day. You know what they say: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. They messed around and now they get to find out why it may not be such a good idea to go poking around in strange, abandoned spaceships. Or maybe it’s the stars aligning just right and this was meant to happen.
The story is engaging, propulsive, emotional, romantic, poetic, and so well-crafted I wish I could shake Emily Hamilton’s hand and thank her in person. I cried more than once and I couldn’t tell you how much I love these characters. I just vibed with this book on every level. Can’t recommend it enough.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
If there was ever a non-spicy slogan for this series, it would be, “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb”. Because we all kIf there was ever a non-spicy slogan for this series, it would be, “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb”. Because we all know every other slogan pertaining to these books is essentially thematically tied to the word SL*T. (You know it, I know it).
The family you make for yourself and not what you’re born with has been what the Suarez clan has been fighting for since book one of this series, and it all comes to a head in Enter the Multi-Vers. This is the fourth and final book in this main series, with C. Rochelle promising novellas and spin-offs to come. Here we have the tale of the mysterious and powerful twins: Dre and Gabe, of The Rabble mind-speak notoriety from previous books. They’ve been sent on a mission by Wolfy: they’re to become the interns of the artist known as Theo Coatl and uncover his secrets. Because Theo Coatl isn’t all that he seems, and they need to know who and maybe even what he truly is.
This book is even more chaotic and wild than the other Villainous Things books and I am here for it. As the teasers and author’s notes inside warn, this trio of thirsty sl*ts are just extra: extra controlled, extra controlled chaos, and extra batty crazy. Neither Dre, nor Gabe, nor Theo shall be dissuaded from being as extra as possible in every single way. Gabe is a very sl*tty good boy, Theo is a bratty brat brat who uses Gabe like a toy, and everyone should be justifiably scared of Dre when it comes to his twin and Theo.
There are so many feelings in this book, and Theo doesn’t know what to do with them. Heck, Gabe’s the only one more capable of feelings than Dre and Theo, and that’s either because he’s subby or because being a twin gives him a solid connection to someone outside himself. These big emotions immediately tangle Gabe, Dre, and Theo in a quagmire, because they all have secrets from one another (yes, even the twins) and don’t quite know what they’re going to do about it. Who do they trust? What can they do? Who will it hurt?
The solutions/answers to the overarching plot of the series are found in this book, but I thought it was a little too neatly wrapped up. It felt a little rushed. I could have sustained the book being a little longer (even though it’s already a thicc baby) if it meant a more flushed out ending.
But I adored the love story. I loved the characters so much. I’m obsessed with their dynamic, their thirst, their adoration for one another, the brutality in their sensuality, and their intimacy. I love how they evolved and how they crushed their challenges. I couldn’t get enough of how extra they all were, in every way. Because why not go big?
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. No compensation was offered or accepted in exchange for this review. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Review/Age Gap Romance/Book Series/Found Family/Gay Romance/Kink Friendly/LGBTQ Romance/Spice Level 3/Supernatural Fantasy/Urban Fantasy ...more
Pretty Dogs is the second book in Riley Nash’s Dirty Strays series (the first book, Bad Dogs, is also worth a read, but I liked this one a bit more). Pretty Dogs is the second book in Riley Nash’s Dirty Strays series (the first book, Bad Dogs, is also worth a read, but I liked this one a bit more). This is a friends-to-lovers gay romance with a transgender MMC.
Beck and Dallas have been best friends since the night Beck heard a noise outside his trailer he thought was racoons and instead found a dirty, homeless, and obviously out of place boy named Dallas digging through his trash looking for food and brought him inside to feed him the last of his macaroni. Beck’s also been in love with him for about as long as they’ve been best friends. It has never mattered to him that Dallas is trans: Dallas is Dallas. That’s all Beck has ever needed.
Dallas was thrown out (by gunpoint) of the secure, suburban home owned by his loving and supportive mother by her bigoted boyfriend when said boyfriend found his T injections one day. He was lucky enough to get his top surgery done before he was thrown out, but the abrupt ejection from his happy life at such an early age left him with gender dysphoria he’s never been able to completely get under control. He’s loved Beck for a long time, but has never dreamed Beck would return it in any way but platonically, because surely a man as into men as Beck couldn’t want someone without the whole package, and Dallas wants Beck to have the world.
I swear. These two. I wanted to wrap them in bubble wrap and pack them away so they could never be hurt ever again, but I also wanted to buy them a private park full of trees and gardens and just let them live and play there for eternity, you know? But then I’d have to let Scout and Roman live there too. It would get crowded.
From Beck’s struggles with self-worth and identity to Dallas’ gender dysphoria and self-esteem, these two broke my heart a million ways. But watching their sexual and romantic relationship bloom was so satisfying. The spice was so nice, with well-written dialogue and eventual primal play (which is one of my favorite kinks). The build up felt organic and I really appreciated the conversations about Dallas’ wants, needs, and limits.
It’s a really terrific read and I’m glad I gave into the hype.
All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review was written without offer or reception of compensation. Thank you.
This year I’ve felt like there was a time BSD (Before Stats Daddy) and ASD (After Stats Daddy). The era of ASD began on July 21st, 2023, when the firsThis year I’ve felt like there was a time BSD (Before Stats Daddy) and ASD (After Stats Daddy). The era of ASD began on July 21st, 2023, when the first book in this series, Too Safe, was released. Ever since Abby Millsaps unleashed the wicked and cunning Kylian (AKA Stats Daddy) on the world with the publication of the first book in the Boys of Lake Chapel book series, I’ve decided no other book boyfriend compares.
With the release of Too Far, the last in this trilogy, my opinion has not changed. I don’t care how much more Josephine got of Kendrick, Nicky, or even the great Decker Crusade himself. No. It is Stats Daddy who forever holds my heart and is still, in my mind, the true male star of Boys of Lake Chapel.
This review is as much for the whole series as it is for Too Far; but make no mistake, Too Far is a truly excellent novel and is the epitome of what a series conclusion should look like. It picks up almost exactly where Too Fast left off and keeps hurtling forward, barreling towards disaster. It’s obvious that all it will take is a single slip-up for the house of cards to fall down.
The first half of the book is suspenseful, heartbreaking, emotional, and frustrating (so, so frustrating). The second half of the book is swollen with emotion, angst, love, and lust. The epilogues made me cry. And cry. And cry. Heck, this whole book made my eyes leak water several times. I did not sob. You did.
The last epilogue was so touching to me. I didn’t cry, but I was deeply, deeply touched. I can’t express how much it meant to me which character was chosen for the last epilogue and what they said in it. My heart grew fifty million sizes.
If you haven’t picked up this series, I can’t express how much I recommend it. This is my book series of the year. If you know me, you must know how rare it is for me to pick a non-LGBTQ Why Choose romance series as my series of the year. I just can’t escape how deeply this series touched me nor how hot Stats Daddy made me. The charisma of the group as a whole cannot be denied. Congratulations, Abby Millsaps–You’re a genius.
All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. No compensation was provided for this review. Thank you.
You know what they say: before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. One for your enemy and one for yourself.
Life in Puerto Rico is nevYou know what they say: before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. One for your enemy and one for yourself.
Life in Puerto Rico is never easy. It’s life in a liminal state. You’re technically American, but Americans never treat you like you’re one of them, and since you’re an American colony you’re not free to do as you please, either. Somewhat like living in a small town, you grow up either never wanting to leave or clamoring to.
Gabe and his friends are as tight as blood. You come for one of them, you come for all of them. Even though Puerto Rico is filled with grief, pain, and ghosts, these boys suddenly have their childhoods shattered when one of their mother’s is brutally gunned down while at work one night.
What if it were your mom? Of course they’ll all set out to take revenge on the people who dared to take a mother from her son too early. It just isn’t done.
The hurricane about to swoop down on Puerto Rico shares a name with the deceased mom: Maria. It’s as large, powerful, angry, and hungry as the fury of these young men.
It took me longer than usual to finish a book of this length because it was a heavy read, thematically. I could feel the weight of neo-colonialism’s effects on Puerto Rico’s people and environment. I felt my own guilt and complicitness in being an American safe and sound in California while Puerto Rico suffers year after year being treated like a developing country when they should be America’s 51st state or be allowed to be their own sovereign nation. I swallowed down how it felt to not understand sentences of the book because they were in Spanish and then sucked it up because I’m the non-native here. This book has sound and fury and I’m here for it, even if I had to split reading it into two chunks.
The theme that stands out the most here is pride: When you lose something, what will you risk or give away in order to get it back? There’s also grief: parental loss, loss of friendship, loss of a beloved, loss of innocence, and a longing for what once was. Anger is spread out over this book for so many reasons. I could probably write a whole essay about the part anger plays in this book. Let’s not forget the hurricane itself, which brings destruction and leave behind devastation.
In all of this you have these furious and damaged young men who have too little to look forward to and have had too much taken from them in their short lives. None of them think they have very much to live for except each other and none of them have too much hope or desire to leave the island they have a love/hate relationship with. It’s their home, heart, and prison. But it’s always better to go with the devil you know.
I highly recommend this book. It’s gonna knock you out.
I was provided a copy of this title by Netgalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Reads/Coming of Age/Found Family/Ghost Fiction/Murder Thriller/Paranormal Fiction/Paranormal Horror/Speculative Fiction ...more
Cascade Failure is just plain fun to read. It’s got that found-family-full-of-misfits feeling from Firefly mixed with a whole lot of adrenaline-spikedCascade Failure is just plain fun to read. It’s got that found-family-full-of-misfits feeling from Firefly mixed with a whole lot of adrenaline-spiked space adventure and a truly great sense of emotion and humor. It was science fiction sunshine in a book…except with way more dead bodies. So maybe a partly-cloudy day in science fiction land?
I’m an atheist, but there’s a saying that goes something along the lines of: You make plans and god laughs. Well, something like that is certainly what happened when a guy named Jal is wandering around the docks on a space station looking to board a ship for his own (very personal) reasons and accidentally lands himself exactly where he doesn’t think he wants to be but maybe exactly where he needs to be. The captain is an AI who is more human than most humans, the engineer is also the doctor and wouldn’t know tact if it smacked her in the face, and the XO and he have…issues. Let’s call them issues. It’s just easier that way.
But then they intercept a distress signal from a planet where everyone’s died all at once from something horrible, and the lone survivor has a story to tell, a theory about it, and a possible solution. They’re all absolutely nuts, but if they survive they might have just saved the universe.
I know Sagas is a debut author, but this really doesn’t feel like a debut effort; and when I say that, I mean that it feels almost effortless. I feel like the crew of The Ambit has been living in Sagas head for a long time, like they’re friends rather than characters. The world building in this book is amazing, like maybe Sagas has been writing backstories for these characters, these planets, these space stations, and everything involved for quite some time now–almost like simulations she would eventually use to finally build the language that would bring this book to life. It’s an amazing story that ends up being a compulsive, page-turning read. I’m dying for book two!
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Review/Book Series/Found Family/Science Fiction ...more
Finally! Finally we’re fully in Project Watchtower for The Watch series, the second Necessary Evils spin-off series by the genius Onley James (the firFinally! Finally we’re fully in Project Watchtower for The Watch series, the second Necessary Evils spin-off series by the genius Onley James (the first spin-off series being Jericho’s Boys). We’re starting off with The Bone Collector, which considering that’s the notorious name one of the project’s instructors, Park, went by when he was still active in the field (and the second book is going to be called The Sin Eater, which was the field operative name of the head of the project), it seems that all the books in The Watch series are going to be titled after field operative names. I’m down.
I’m not going to go over the whole synopsis with you. That’s just blase. Let’s go over the tropes you know, and then I’ll go over what I found of interest that doesn’t come across in the blurb, shall we?
*Age-Gap Romance (oh yeah, it’s a good gap, too!) *Teacher/Student (this one’s a little loosely interpreted, since Park, one of our MMCs, doesn’t teach much in this book because Gift, our other MMC, isn’t one of the students learning his speciality)
Tropes that the blurb doesn’t mention:
*Older brother/younger brother dynamic (they aren’t brothers, but Park insists on Gift using the honorifics for those roles) *Daddy k!nk (Ohhhhhh yes. Our Park is a Daddy Dom and our Gift is his sweet baby boy (no ageplay)) *Semi-public k!nk, virginity k!nk, slight degradation k!nk, edging, impact play, filthy talk *Touch him and you die *Gift is manipulative, secretive, touch-starved, and needy *Park is a possessive mofo *Park is essentially Gift’s legal guardian and full-time bodyguard
Besides the extremely high heat rating of this book (it is super dooper freaking hot, you guys) and how well-written that spice is (good lord, Onley is trying to kill us all, ffs), it needs to be known this book is FUN. It’s hilarious. It’s like “Necessary Evils: High School Edition”. Imagine if the Mulvaneys, Jericho’s Boys, The Feelings Faction (IYKYK), and Elite Protection Services ALL went to the same boarding school. Some are there on merit via scholarship and some are there because they have connections. Some are there because they have both money and merit. There’s all genders, all walks of life, neurotypicals, neuroatypicals, geniuses, people of average intelligence…you get the picture. The point of the place is for the neuroatypicals to be matched with an emotional support human to keep them tethered to their humanity. It’s brilliant. It’s volatile. It’s going to either be wildly successful or they’re going to burn the world down. Either way, I’m going to have a wild-ass and fun time reading to see what they do while they screw each other into every available surface and torture the bad guys along the way.
Please be mindful of your own mental health before attempting to read this book and read the list of CW/TWs before you start. I don’t ever need them but you might. Take care of you....more
Discovering Damon is the third book in Cora Rose and Nicole Dykes’ immensely enjoyable Behind the Camera series, which features beautiful camboys fallDiscovering Damon is the third book in Cora Rose and Nicole Dykes’ immensely enjoyable Behind the Camera series, which features beautiful camboys falling in love. I really, really enjoy this particular subgenre of romance, whether it’s camgirls or camboys. To be honest, I enjoy any and all romance novels that delve into sex worker subgenres, because I’m sex positive and sex worker positive and believe that visibility helps in the destigmatization of sex workers as a whole.
This time around we have the outgoing, unapologetically femme Damon (gorgeous and fabulous from head to toe every day, thank you very much) who is house/dog sitting for Carter’s moms (in case you need a memory check, Carter is one of the MMCs from the first book in this series, Reaching Reed) and is lusting after their neighbor, a hunky mechanic named Tomas. Alas, Tomas is straight (because of course he is) but he’s also very nice. Damon is a smitten kitten but knows that even if Tomas gets a little…curious…that he probably should keep his distance because curious men have a tendency to break hearts.
Yes, this is a bi-awakening book with a more gay-for-you vibe, but I am honestly a sucker for anything Cora Rose writes and for this writing duo when paired together. It helps that I love a good mechanic character who’s secure in his masculinity enough to do face masks and let someone do exfoliating treatments on him. Tomas may be blue collar with calloused hands and more used to drinking cheap beer than champagne, but he’ll try just about anything for Damon, because Damon absolutely fascinates him. Revelations can come at any point in our lives, and that’s part of the appeal of bi-awkening and gay-awakening novels.
Tomas and Damon are so sweet and sexy together, all desperation and hunger in bed and cuddles out of it. The spice is on point and the fluff is cute as heck. I loved it.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
As far as variations on Sleeping Beauty go, I enjoyed this secret twin, LGBTQ+ variation of the tale. You’d think I’d get sick of Sleeping Beauty reteAs far as variations on Sleeping Beauty go, I enjoyed this secret twin, LGBTQ+ variation of the tale. You’d think I’d get sick of Sleeping Beauty retellings, but nope! It continues to be one of my top fairy tale retelling/remixing/variation starting points for a plot even after all these years. In the case of A River of Golden Bones, it helps that the infamous Sleeping Beauty isn’t in the driver’s seat and the actual FMC is on a journey of self-discovery with a whole lot of burning questions in their metaphorical pocket.
As the first book in a new series, you do have to put up with some of the typical hang-ups that come with a new series: exposition, worldbuilding, magic systems, hierarchy, cultures, politics, and since this is a wolf shifter romance you also need to learn how the shifter world works in this universe and how it interacts with the humans. All of that, plus the plot, is a lot to cram into 400 pages. Mulford does an admirable job of it, but it’s not the smoothest ride it could be.
One of the best ways Mulford engages with exposition is via having our FMC and supporting characters join up with a band of traveling musicians. As they ride together across the lands in the musician’s wagon, the shifters learn more about the humans and the way the world works for those who aren’t wolves. It’s a great way of showing and not telling in a manner which is subtle and completely connected to the plot. If you didn’t think to look at it as exposition you might not even notice it.
I had a lot of trouble with the ending, because it seemed far too convenient for my tastes, but it’s still a really entertaining and engaging read. I will be waiting with anticipation for the next book!
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review was written without compensation. Thank you.
File Under: Book Series/Fairy Tale Retellings/Fantasy/Romantasy/Fantasy Series/Found Family/LGBTQ Fantasy/LGBTQ Romance/Shifter Romance/OwnVoices/Spice Level 1 ...more
Okay, so, hear me out. I’m not much of a romantic comedy girl, especially when it comes to rom com novels with little to no spice. This book and its pOkay, so, hear me out. I’m not much of a romantic comedy girl, especially when it comes to rom com novels with little to no spice. This book and its predecessor, however? I love these books. I adore them. They are cute as perfectly frosted cupcakes, sweet as sugar, and as funny as a food fight conducted with the assistance of magic. These books are like an explosion of colored sugar crystals, edible glitter, powdered sugar, flour, and clouds of candy floss/cotton candy have all exploded into a romantic, screwball mess. I like to think of these books as Bewitched, but make it screwball comedy. Or, My Girl Friday, but make it magical. Cary Grant would make a great straight man to our protagonist, Bailey, who just so happens to meet her biological mother and discover she’s descended from esteemed witch stock with less than a month to go before she’s supposed to be married to a very uptight and upper-crust family. At the same time she comes across her well-meaning but wacky biological mother she also manages to come into contact with Seton Atterbury, a man whom her extremely powerful witch mother impulsively brought into the future from 1930 when she saw him plummeting to the ground out of the window of a high-rise building in Manhattan.
Poor Bailey. All she thought she had on her plate were overbearing in-laws and stressing out about finding the right dress for the wedding. You make plans, the universe laughs, and it laughs hard.
I like to think the subtitle of this book should be: “A story about collateral damage”. There’s just so much collateral damage and schadenfreude coming from every direction, all angles, and to and fro so many people in this book. Heck, there’s even a house in this book that’s nicknamed the “Schadenfreude House” by one of the characters. It seems that no matter where you turn in this book, someone is getting hurt or affected in a negative way by someone else. Sometimes it has hilarious results, sometimes it has sweet results, sometimes it has dangerous results, sometimes it has downright hurtful results, and sometimes it’s a step away from death. I love it though, because it certainly keeps you on your toes.
The first book in this series, A Letter to Three Witches, was superior only be sheer fact that the mischief was a little more funny and we got to see and feel the physical presence of the series’ main antagonist, Tannith, but that doesn’t mean this book doesn’t have it’s own strengths. Esme’s continued soft spots for illegal witchcraft deeds done in the name of a soft spot in her heart continues to delight, and Bailey’s thespian parrot is hilarious. The fact that Tannith only grew in power after the events of book one certainly was interesting. And the sweet, soft romance inside this book is the kind of stuff that melts my cynical, black heart.
I can’t believe so many people are sleeping on this series. Give it a chance. Seriously. It’s cuteness personified.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Book Series/Contemporary Romance/Cozy Mystery/Found Family/Paranormal Fantasy/Paranormal Romance/Rom Com ...more
Anyone who is familiar with Saxon James’ Divorced Men’s Club series should be familiar with Molly, a supporting character in that series who acted outAnyone who is familiar with Saxon James’ Divorced Men’s Club series should be familiar with Molly, a supporting character in that series who acted out when his best friend started dating his dad and decided to set out for Seattle to try and get a fresh perspective on life and a fresh start. That’s not where this book begins, but that’s a good thing to know when one goes in to read this book. I would love to tell you that you could read this book without that knowledge, but I thought long and hard about how I would feel if I hadn’t read the DMC books, and I realized I’d feel very confused. I don’t know if that will be every reader’s experience, but it definitely contributed a touch to my rating of this book.
Normally, almost every Saxon James book gets five stars from me, but there was a second factor that lowered my rating to a 4 star: I just thought the beginning of the book was slow and a little messy (not in the good way). I just didn’t feel the chemistry between the characters for a bit and the dynamic felt a little forced. Everything smoothed out around the 20% point, but before that I felt like the characters were kind of floundering a bit. Then it clicked in and we were on our way.
Of course, when you’re on your way with a Saxon James book, you’re in for a good time and a good ride. Molly is cute as a button, with Xander being a neurotic sweetheart right behind him (and I swear, that better be chemistry between him and the guy at the pharmacy or I’m going to die). Rush made me snicker and snort every time he came on page, and the fact that nude yoga in the backyard is an everyday thing in their household for Madden is something I am totally on board for. Auntie Aggy is giving me life! Then there’s Seven. That boy kept breaking my heart and mending it. I call foul.
Did the plot feel a little loose? Yes. Did I enjoy the medium-burn? No. Did it feel a bit crowded? Yes. Did I wish it was spicier? Yes (but I’m me and I’m like that so don’t listen to me). Did I still enjoy the heck out of it? Yes I absolutely flippin’ did!
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
I feel like I was conned by a gorgeous book cover and a really well-written blurb. It’s not the first time, but I’m really bummed about it in this casI feel like I was conned by a gorgeous book cover and a really well-written blurb. It’s not the first time, but I’m really bummed about it in this case, because I was really looking forward to this book and then it took a lot for me to finish it.
Calling this book enemies-to-lovers is generous. It’s more of a socioeconomic difference mixed with distrust for a governing system and then paired with a tenuous employer/employee relationship. They’re not enemies, per se. They just have a lot of trust issues and don’t know anything about one another personally; only rumors.
I just wanted so much more from this book, but pacing issues took up a lot of space and time in this book, which made it longer than it needed to be and really ruined some of the more dramatic, fantastic, and exciting portions of the book. Our FMC, Temperance, needed her hide saved far too much for me to appreciate, and it was usually Arcadio (our MMC) that did the saving. That never sits well with me in romance.
While two out of the other three members of the ship Temperance commands are female (when you exclude Arcadio), this book barely even passes the Bechdel Test because all the other female crew members want to talk to Temperance about 99% of the time is Arcadio (and/or Temperance having intercourse with him). Thanks but no thanks. I’d rather hear about their work aboard the ship, their lives, or anything else.
I just can’t in good conscience say this book truly connected for me. It was an okay read, but not a good one for me.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. No compensation was offered or accepted for this review. Due to the three star or lower rating, this review will not appear anywhere on social media, as personal policy dictates. ...more
I thought I could go into Traitor of Redwinter and just start reading it without a refresher (after all, McDonald helpfully provides a refresher at thI thought I could go into Traitor of Redwinter and just start reading it without a refresher (after all, McDonald helpfully provides a refresher at the beginning of the book), but it turns out I really needed a re-read, so I ended up reading Daughter of Redwinter again so I could have it fresh in mind when I started Traitor of Redwinter. If you haven’t read the first book in this series lately, you may want to do the same, because it really helped me remember all the cogs and sprockets of Redwinter and the characters in this fantastic series.
This book picks up some months after the end of DoR, and Raine, along with other characters from the first book, are on a diplomatic trip to meet up with a Draoihn who has taken over a city. They’re to take the measure of him, because the King’s health is failing and the succession is coming soon. What happens in these opening chapters sets off a chain of events that will follow Raine and company throughout the rest of the book.
Meanwhile, Uvotis has been gone for months to the capitol, Ulovar has fallen gravely ill, rose thistle has become a little too good of a friend, and Raine can’t seem to decide whether to push or pull when it comes to Esher and Sanvaunt.
Sophomore novels in a series are a hit-or-miss phenomena. Luckily, this one is a hit. I enjoyed it a bit more than I did DoR: it had more heart, more depth, more emotion (I cried more than once), more nuance, and (I hate to say it) more actual plot.
There were downsides, though. First of all: Ed McDonald needs to get a female sensitivity reader. I don’t want to read the phrase “tingles tingles” in regards to how a woman feels about a man or woman again. It’s an immature expression of desire for a woman like Raine. It doesn’t fit. It was also predictable. I didn’t mind the predictability this time, but the point stands. The last point is the ending. It felt a bit deus ex machina.
It’s still a fantastic book and a fantastic series. I still love it. I’m still enjoying the magic and the characters and the world. I just think it needs some tweaking.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Book Series/Dark Fantasy/Epic Fantasy/Fantasy/Fantasy Series/Found Family/LGBTQ Romance ...more
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