Bend Him Break Him by MN Bennet

Posted on June 5, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Bend Him, Break Him
AUTHOR: ⟫ MN Bennet
RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ Grumpy Goths and Himbo Jocks Hate to Love Each Other

Colton has always walked the line of golden boy meets bad boy. It helped catapult his popularity as the starting pitcher in his first year of college and during the scandalous exposé when he came out as bi. But Colton struggles with the accolades he receives, balancing who he is versus who he was versus who he’s expected to be. Because before Colton was a queer icon for star athletes, he was a closeted bully who made one guy’s life completely miserable.

Isaac hates Colton. But to be fair, Isaac hates everyone—maintaining an icy distance from even his closest friends. Mostly, Isaac wants to shove Colton off the pedestal he’s been placed upon. Just because he came out publicly doesn’t mean he’s some sort of hero. It doesn’t help that Isaac once fawned over the closeted jock in high school. He cared deeply for Colton and did everything he could to please the star athlete, even keeping their private rendezvous a secret. Which meant Isaac paid the price of utter humiliation, taunting, and bullying as the weirdo loner gay guy with a creepy crush.

When Isaac catches Colton cheating on an exam, he plans to ruin his enemy by destroying his academic standing and costing Colton his baseball scholarship. Isaac wants nothing more than to see Colton kicked out of campus. But when the jock offers to do anything to keep this a secret, Isaac decides to test the lengths Colton is willing to go to make things right between them. Isaac’s over secrets, but this is an opportunity unlike any other. He presents an ultimatum that’ll push Colton to the edge of his limits. In this sordid hate-fueled lust, all Isaac wants is revenge and all Colton wants is redemption.

REVIEW: ⟫ I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one as I have never read this author before.

Colton was fascinating – a strange mix of confident and strong, along with a desperate desire to be loved, he was a people pleaser to the core. Which was a strange thing to think considering how he treated Isaac when they were young teenagers together. It was fascinating watching as his inner sub came out, along with bratty tendencies, and ultimately the ability to become his true self.

I loved Isaac – I loved the fact that even though he hated Colton initially, he still had reservations about what he was doing, as well as a strong ‘moral’ core whereby he went scorched earth on anyone who upset Colton. Their relationship was interesting from the perspective that Isaac didn’t take it easy on Colton – sexually and academically – yet insisted that he didn’t care whilst sorting out Colton’s schedule, making sure he ate well and ultimately giving him a found family through the GSA.

The sex scenes were frequent and hot; I’m going to give a trigger warning for planned assault and some homophobia displayed by Colton’s team mates. I’m pleased that I took a chance on an author I’d never read before and have already downloaded another book!

I received an ARC from BookSirens.

May 2025 ⟫ Book Reviews Round Up

Posted on May 31, 2025 by Book_Endz

Every month, I try to post a round up of the books I have read and reviewed. They will mostly be M/M books, but occasionally something a little different slips in. These are the books I have read in May 2025.

Books are sourced through Gay Romance Reviews, Foreword PR, Indie Author Creative, Booksprout, BookSirens, Author ARCs and Kindle Unlimited but although some books are gifted, all views are my own honest opinion.

Fey Sovereignty by S Rodman ⟫ Fey Lords #4 ⟫ 4/5 ⟫ Kindle Unlimited

Fitch by N.R. Walker ⟫ Wylde Street Boys #2 ⟫ 3.5/5 ⟫ Kindle Unlimited

The Legend Next Door by Jesse H Reign ⟫ Totally Pucked #2 ⟫ 4.5/5 ⟫ Kindle Unlimited

No Pucks by J.R. Gray ⟫ Gods Versus Monsters Hockey ⟫ 4/5 ⟫ Kindle Unlimited

One Honeymoon, Two Hockey Bros, Three Little Words by Oslo Fox ⟫ 3.5/5 ⟫ Netgalley

Three Times As Dirty by Sara Hurst ⟫ A Holt Family Novel ⟫ 3.5/5 ⟫ Indie Author Creative

Sweat by Jonah Yorke

Posted on May 31, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Sweat
AUTHOR: ⟫ Jonah Yorke
RATING: ⟫ 4.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Tommy

I should hate Rowan Hughes. He was a bully when we were kids, and now I find out he’s messed around with my girlfriend. But how can I hate the campus soccer star when he’s everything I’ve always wanted to be?

With my reputation on the line, I can’t let Rowan get away with humiliating me in front of people I know—people we both go to school with.

When he swears he didn’t know Annalese was my girlfriend, I actually believe him. When he says I’m good enough to play beside him, I want to believe that too. But when he insists he’s not gay, all I want is to prove him wrong.

Rowan

I made one dumb decision at a party, and now Tommy Mathison thinks I’m into his girl. He couldn’t be more wrong, but it’s not because I’m gay. It’s because I’m weak. Now I’ve got a beefed-up babyface’s knuckle prints bruising the side of my face, and I can’t get him out of my head.

Tommy isn’t weak, and he may just be the missing piece my team needs to win a championship before I go pro. I don’t know why he quit soccer after high school, but getting him back on the field is easy. Keeping him close without losing control? That’s the real challenge.

SWEAT is a high-spice hurt/comfort sports romance that deals with heavy themes related to identity, mental health, grief, and coping with past trauma. This book is intended for readers age 18 and up.

REVIEW: ⟫ There is very little about this story that makes it seem like a debut novel – I am extremely impressed with this.

Tommy doesn’t have the best life – his sister is struggling from cancer, his Mother is stoic and blunt, and college isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And don’t even get him started on his long-term girlfriend who has cheated on him – again! But this time she’s cheated with someone Tommy knows – and hates.

Rowan honestly broke my heart. I thought all of my sympathies would be with Tommy, but the more into the book I got, the more I just wanted to give Rowan a huge hug and tell him that he wasn’t alone. He felt his only worth was in how he played soccer – finding love wasn’t on the cards for him.

Until Tommy barrels back into his life with a punch, somehow pushing all of Rowan’s buttons and making him face things about himself that he had managed to keep relatively pushed down. Perhaps the story could have been edited to be a bit shorter – we get a lot of training and football, and for a little while I wondered where the story was going. The relationship between Tommy and Rowan was actually really beautiful – the way that their broken edges fit together so well, how they grew to understand each other – was masterfully handled. There was a scene after a soccer match where I literally gasped out loud and clutched my pearls, terrified for what it meant for our boys.

The angst was handled so well – Erica deserves a special mention for making the decision to handle things on her own terms – and the characters were all ‘real’ people. There were no caricatures, obvious ‘bad’ guys or anything like that. The team mates were funny, entertaining and ultimately supportive and I enjoyed the banter and felt it was realistic. I will definitely keep an eye out for the next book in the series and am so pleased that I picked this up.

I received an ARC from BookSirens.

April 2025 ⟫ Book Reviews Round Up

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Book_Endz

Lustful Nights by Ashley Rayne ⟫ Peaches Book #1 ⟫ 3.5/5 ⟫ Indie Author Creative

Forever Rebel by Garrett Leigh ⟫ Rebel Kings #11 ⟫ 5/5 ⟫ Foreword PR

Off Limits by Willow Dixon ⟫ Legacy Mechanics #4 ⟫ 4.5/5 ⟫ Foreword PR

The Other Half of Me by Aiden Wilde ⟫ Straight Friends Fall in Love #1 ⟫ 3.5/5 ⟫ BookSirens

The Price of Ice by N.J.Lysk ⟫ 4.5/5 ⟫ Gay Romance Reviews

Pucked Up by Frankie Abraham ⟫ 3.5/5 ⟫ Gay Romance Reviews

Royal Crush by E.M.Lindsey ⟫ 4.5/5 ⟫ Gay Romance Reviews

The Sin Eater by Onley James ⟫ The Watch #2 ⟫ 4.5/5 ⟫ Author’s Patreon

Worthy by Michele Lenard ⟫ Adrenalin Series #1 ⟫ 4/5 ⟫ Gay Romance Reviews

The Other Half of Me by Aiden Wilde (Straight Friends Fall in Love #1)

Posted on April 27, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ The Other Half of Me
AUTHOR: ⟫ Aiden Wilde

SERIES: ⟫Straight Friends Fall in Love #1
RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ MATTY

We hadn’t spoken for years. Then, out of the blue, Chad messages me. He’s getting divorced. He needs to get away.

Did I want to go camping with him again, like we did when we were young? Is he forgetting what happened between us before, why we stopped speaking in the first place?

CHAD

People think I am the straightest of straight guys, the bro-est of the bros.

Kara wanting to divorce me wrecked my heart. I just need to get away, two old friends, the sun on our skin, hiking, fishing, swimming in the river.

But when he reminded me of what happened between us before, I felt new things.

He was always the half other of me, but can he make me whole?

Sometimes, a love comes along that will make you change how the world sees you, and how you see yourself.

THE OTHER HALF OF ME is a steamy, high-quality MM gay romance with a theme of straight guys secretly falling in love, and old friends becoming lovers, with a straight-to-gay / gay-for-you trope.

If you love sexy but emotionally satisfying journeys of romantic self-discovery (some angst), as well as beautiful writing and all the classic romance beats with a happy-ever-after ending (HEA), then this novel is for you.

REVIEW: ⟫ This was a quick, easy read – I haven’t read anything else by the author that I can remember so I went into it with no preconceptions. I must admit, I didn’t like Chad – I didn’t like the fact that he only reached out to Matty because he was getting divorced; I didn’t like the whole frat-boy jock thing that he had going on, and he came across as really conceited, even when he was being self-deprecating. Matty, on the other hand, came across as more than a little beaten down by life – being scared of his sexual orientation during his formative years meant that he wasn’t sure who he was apart from being Dylan’s father. I felt that he was possibly too easy going – Chad basically just asked for anything and Matty gave it over.

Matty’s mother was the ‘bad’ guy with her attitude towards homosexuality and, although she redeemed herself slightly with her love for Dylan, she wasn’t a character I enjoyed reading. I think that I could quite enjoy reading more of this series – I like the gay-for-you trope when it’s handled well so I will look out for more by this author.

I received an ARC from BookSirens.

Ronan by G. Eilsel

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Ronan
AUTHOR: ⟫ G. Eilsel

SERIES: ⟫ Mate’s Mark #1
RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5

BLURB:⟫ It’s been almost a century since the veil fell and monsters invaded the world. We didn’t give the humans an opportunity to retaliate as we charged in and took over, and I was at the head of the front lines with my sword in hand. A perfect soldier, fighting the battles that ultimately put my people in charge of this planet. Half of humanity was slaughtered, and in the decades since the invasion, things have only gotten worse. Tensions between the rebel humans and monsters grew as the climate changed, and temperatures rose as resources dwindled. The sun scorched away plants and trees, leaving behind a husk of a planet where everyone fights for survival.

The Fates were furious at our violence, and now we’re trapped inside the hell we created.

We’ve all heard tale of the Mate’s Mark, and how we’re destined to find our fated mate. One human, one monster – foretold to be the cure to this cursed world and repair the damage that has been done. What was once the cause of curiosity and intrigue has turned into nothing more than a mockery. Decades have passed, and not a single pair of fated mates had been found.

Until now.

Until me.

Until the night I pull off my armor and find the mark staring back.

Author’s note: Ronan is a First Person Dual POV MM Monster Romance series with explicit content intended for readers 18+. It is the first in a series that will have an overarching storyline carrying between books. While this series ends with a guaranteed HEA, individual books end on more of a HFN basis. The feature couple’s story will be resolved, though there will be some unanswered questions and mild cliffhangers that lead into the next in the series.

REVIEW: ⟫ This is the first book by this author that I have read and in some respects, I was pleasantly surprised. The writing was engaging, with a clear tone for each of the protagonists and an interesting premise. To a certain extent, I found the storyline very similar to the Monstrous series by Lily Mayne, with monsters and humans finding love with each other, and the mate mark as an added bonus.

I did feel like the story could have been shorter – some of it felt a little repetitious and labouring of the point – but the length did allow the relationship between Cameron and Ronan to grow at a steady rather than speedy pace. The intimacy between the two of them built gradually but was very nicely handled, especially in terms of the physical differences between the species.

The over-arching plot of mated pairs was nicely introduced and it was definitely interesting finding out that Ronan and Cameron were not the first and only. The supporting characters were entertaining and I can well imagine at least one new pairing that could sprout from this book. Overall, I enjoyed reading it and will probably keep an eye out for the next in the series. As I say, perhaps a little tightening up of the storyline could have helped but that’s a relatively small point in an overall good experience.

I received an ARC from BookSirens.

Sexy Possessed Roommate by X Everett (Planchette Playboys)

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Sexy Possessed Roommate

AUTHOR: ⟫ X Everett

SERIES: ⟫ A Planchette Playboys Novella

RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ This demon knows your heart’s desire.

There’s only two rules for the party I’m hosting at my fraternity this weekend: don’t mess around with straight boys OR Ouija boards. When my hot, hunky college roommate gets possessed by a demon, I quickly find out why… but I keep asking myself, “Why not?”

SEXY POSSESSED ROOMMATE (Planchette Playboys Book #1) is a steamy M/M dark romance novella with elements of horror and the paranormal, death, possession, and humor. Tropes include friends-to-lovers, bi awakening, forbidden love, and size difference. This first-person, past-tense tale has a happy ever after, but trigger warnings include a dirty-talking demon, light bondage and degradation, homophobia, non-graphic death, and acts of the occult. Though this book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone novella.

With contributions from indie horror author Xtopher

REVIEW: ⟫ This was well written with an interesting premise. Crispin was an interesting character, although sometimes he came across as really indecisive: one moment he was completely against using the board, the next he was like ‘yeah sure’. Stacio sounded absolutely lush and I loved the imagery the author created of the two of them together. I can think of at least two characters that I imagine are going to be featured and that sounded fun. It was a nice, easy read that I enjoyed. I received an ARC from BookSirens.