Category Archives: arc

Just This Once by Garrett Leigh (Men of Porth Luck #1)

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TITLE: ⟫ Just This Once
AUTHOR: ⟫ Garrett Leigh

SERIES: ⟫ Men of Porth Luck
RATING: ⟫ 5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Love hurts. Love heals. Love stays. The Men of Porth Luck series is a steamy, gritty, and emotional MM small-town romance collection chock full of angst, deep connections, and healing soulmate love.

A broken soldier. A guarded nurse. A love that shouldn’t happen—and yet…

“Of course it f**king does.”
Mal’s just passing through. Skylar’s the small-town nurse who fixes everyone but himself. Mal swears he won’t fall, but Sky’s smile hides shadows he can’t ignore.

Those pewter-grey eyes.
That sun-kissed hair.
That ink.

We’re a mistake waiting to happen.
Inevitable. Excruciating.
So what’s the harm in Just This Once?

🔥 Steamy MM romance
💔 Hurt/comfort & gritty angst
🏡 Small town, big hearts, found family

REVIEW: ⟫ Oh damn, my heart hurts! I knew Skylar’s story would wreck me and yet I still thought that I was in some way prepared. I really, really wasn’t. Mal is an action man through and through, which is what makes his reason for leaving the special forces so difficult to bear. Add to that returning to Porth Luck where, despite his family and friends being there, he doesn’t feel he belongs and life, choosing to keep living, is hard. He meets Skylar and discovers that they are entangled way before they ever even kiss.

THEN things get dramatic! If you’ve read any of the Rebel Kings, you know the tangled webs that these people are constantly battling their way through. Finding out just why Skylar wants nothing to do with the motorcycle club that is in his blood is more like a war than a simple battle. These men – I’m including Jack and Sol in this – are so hard-headed and yet so soft-hearted that whenever I read one of their tales, my heart bleeds for them. I read a huge chunk of this book through tears and that was before Skylar finally broke down and explained some things to Mal. I have such a book hangover, it’s taken me half of the day to be able to pull my thoughts together to even attempt to write a review.The I love yous, the ending – absolute bliss and as always, Garrett Leigh makes the pain worthwhile!

I received an ARC from Foreword PR.

The Weight of Duty by N.Y. Lysk

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TITLE: ⟫ The Weight of Duty
AUTHOR: ⟫ N.Y. Lysk
RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Now that the twins are of age, their uncle takes them in hand to teach them their marital duties. Twincest, Uncle/Nephew, dubcon, body modification. Dark.

REVIEW: ⟫ Oooh this was a dark one! I thought I knew what I was setting myself up for but I was still surprised!! There was a hopelessness in what was happening, a kind of slow acceptance of how unfair everything was, how life changed simply because he was born second that really got to me. I don’t want to give too much information in case it acts like a spoiler, but man this was dark and kinda heavy. Saying all of that, I did enjoy reading it and it kept my attention even as I gasped in horror more than once!

Outsiders by October Arden (Inside Book #2)

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TITLE: ⟫ Outsiders
AUTHOR: ⟫ October Arden

SERIES: ⟫ Inside Book #2
RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ “To love them both, he has to stop being afraid of himself.”

After losing them both, Luke isn’t giving up. He refuses to be just another outsider—he wants to be part of the system, not just orbiting around it. Jaime and Alex need him. Even if Alex hates him. Especially if he does.
As Luke pushes deeper into their world, Alex fights him every step of the way. But even rivals can learn to trust. Even enemies can fall in love.

And in the middle is Jaime, still struggling to hold on while the two people who love him most finally see each other clearly.

A queer psychological slow-burn MM romance with enemies-to-lovers heat, mental illness recovery, and found family bonds that can’t be broken—even by trauma.

REVIEW: ⟫ I really wasn’t sure where things were going to go in part 2. I felt so bad for Luke – out of all three of them, he was the one who was used the most and it broke my heart because not only did he accept it, he expected it. There was a part of me that wanted him to pull away from Jaime and Alex, to find himself without them, but as the story progressed, I understood him so much better.

This book concentrates more on the relationship between Luke and Alex and it was utterly fascinating. Both of them have Jaime as their focus and yet they find ways to bond and learn about each other. Alex becomes far more open to the idea that Luke loves Jaime almost as much as he does and that opens his heart in unexpected ways. I read this in one sitting (so much for a good night’s sleep!) and it was well worth the bags under my eyes today. I am truly looking forward to the final instalment and finding out where the author takes us as well as this delightfully flawed but beautiful threesome. I received an ARC from the author.

Not Gentlemen by N.Y.Lysk

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TITLE: ⟫ Not Gentlemen
AUTHOR: ⟫ N.Y.Lysk
RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ Two alphas (jocks, bullies, stuck in post-season training) into improvised bondage, hand-over-mouth while fucking, really turned on by noncon scenes, love ganging up together

Warnings: non-con, consent is negotiated & then ignored, bondage, gag, lingerie.

REVIEW: ⟫ Well this was a lovely bit of nasty/naughty deliciousness! I really loved the fact that from the very beginning, you could sense that Chalent was trying to deny what it was he wanted. We didn’t get as much insight into Yan – the story was told completely from Chalent’s POV.

This hit me at just the right time – dirty, sexy, nasty – this was a short that I may find myself re-reading. Sometimes I’m here for the plot and other times, I really just want something down and dirty and this was most definitely it!

I received an ARC from the author.

Fey Empire by S. Rodman (Fey Lords #5

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TITLE: ⟫ Fey Empire
AUTHOR: ⟫ S. Rodman

SERIES: ⟫ Fey Lords #5
RATING: ⟫ 4.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ My mother raised me to worship monsters. Now she’s given me to one.

I was born into her cult, raised on stories of the fey, of the magic slumbering in my blood, of the glory that would come when they returned to conquer Earth.

I was taught to kneel, to serve, to prepare myself for the day I would give up my magic. My body was never mine. It was a gift waiting to be claimed.

She always said it would be a fey prince.

I didn’t think that was possible. I thought it was a myth she clung to. A story to make obedience feel holy.

But now the portals have been opened. The fey have returned.

And I’ve been offered to Prince Selwyn Y Mabinogi, a creature with antlers, cat-slitted eyes and a smile that seems false.

My magic is the offering. My body is the vessel. My submission is the key.

He says he is proud I’m to be his. That he’ll gladly take my magic… and everything else I have to offer.

He touches me like I already belong to him. Speaks to me like I’m precious. Breakable. His.

I was never taught how to want. Never meant to enjoy any of this.

But my body answers to him like it was made for this.

And I’m starting to wonder if maybe it was.

REVIEW: ⟫ This might end up being my favourite of this series so far. Lawrence (Laurie) was such a sweet character, despite the utter torment his life up until his marriage was. The entire story is told from Laurie’s point of view, and there were incidents from previous books where we get to see another perspective. All of the intrigue and politics were fascinating and one of the things I love about these books is when one of the ‘baddies’ gets their comeuppance. And this time it was excellent – I felt so proud of Laurie in those moments, I was grinning like a fool. It was excellent to catch up with the other pets and Princes and I am fascinated by where things are going to go next.

I received an ARC from BookSirens.

August 2025 Book Reviews Round Up

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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 August 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.

The Beast by J.R. Ward ⟫ Black Dagger Brotherhood #14 ⟫ 5/5

Beyond Hate by Lee McCormick ⟫ Beyond #3 ⟫ 4/5 ⟫ Kindle Unlimited

Headmates by October Arden ⟫ Inside #1 ⟫ 4.5/5 ⟫ Gay Romance Reviews

The Cop by Tom North ⟫ 4/5 ⟫ Booksprout

Omega Captive of the Golden Dragon by Wendy Rathbone ⟫ Alpha Dragons #3 ⟫ 3.5/5 ⟫ Gay Romance Reviews

Pretty Mess by Lily Morton ⟫ 4.5/5 ⟫ Kindle Unlimited

Saving Sparrow by C P Harris ⟫ Slow Burns and Tragic Beginnings #2 ⟫ 5/5 ⟫ Kindle Unlimited

The Shadows by J.R. Ward ⟫ Black Dagger Brotherhood #13 ⟫ 4.5/5

Starting With Cake by October Arden ⟫ 4/5 ⟫ Author ARC

Unsubmissive Omega by R. Gaen ⟫ Leongatha Pack Tales #4 ⟫ 3.5/5 ⟫ Booksprout

Taste of Blood by A.J. Church (Cord & Asher Book #1)

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TITLE: ⟫ Taste of Blood
AUTHOR: ⟫ A.J. Church

SERIES: ⟫ Cord & Asher Book #1
RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ Forever is a long time for a vampire.

I always thought Asher Winston was my forever.
That’s why cutting him out of my life was like cutting off a limb.
But it had to be done.
If I’d stayed, we would have killed each other.
For ten years I avoided him.
Going through the motions.
Empty and alone.
And then that chance meeting on the street.
Now I’m caught in his web again.
I know where this will lead, but I don’t have the strength to end it.
Because as much as I hate it, the only time I can breathe is when he’s near me.

REVIEW: ⟫ This is the first book by A.J. Church that I have read and the premise sounded fascinating. I would say that because Cord and Asher were lovers in the past, the author threw us straight into the meat of the story, with the romance/relationship playing out against the background of a new threat to the vampires of the Crimson Guild. It’s difficult to tell which people we are meant to be rooting for – Dante is an arrogant user, Cord is confusing in the way he pushes and pulls with Asher, and Asher – I can’t put my finger on it. I understand that he loves Cord and wants to be with him, but I don’t understand why he didn’t try to fix things over the ten years that they have been estranged.

There were some pretty heavy descriptions of torture and bloodshed above the whole vampire thing meant that I was taken by surprise a few times – normally, such things aren’t quite as graphic. I’m very glad I knew that this ended on a cliffhanger otherwise I would be seriously ticked off. I am looking forward to part two and hope that it fulfils the promise in this.

Possibly too much ‘filler’ in this book – sometimes it felt like things were very stalled in the investigations, but I would also say that it made it easy to appreciate Cord’s frustration with how things were going. The cliffhanger itself did it’s job – I definitely want to know what happens next! I received an ARC from BookSirens.

Wilde’s End by Saxon James (The Wilde Men #1)

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TITLE: ⟫ Wilde’s End
AUTHOR: ⟫ Saxon James

SERIES: ⟫ The Wilde Men #1
RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ Hudson

Give me the smallest reason to make a bad decision, and I’ll jump in with both feet. Case in point: thinking that drunkenly buying an abandoned town with my brothers is a good idea.
As builders, we plan to renovate and flip the town, maybe turn it into something worth seeing, but the longer we’re here, the more things feel … off.
It’s not until a bearded mountain man breaks into my room in the middle of the night and threatens for us to get out of his town that I realize Wilde’s End isn’t as abandoned as we were told.
But there’s nothing waiting for me in the life I left behind, and in making his demands, Wilde has accidentally tapped into my competitive side.
Terrible decisions? Me?
Wilde can bring it on.

Wilde

I escaped to Wilde’s End twenty years ago, and since then I’ve dedicated my life to the town and the people who live there. Because if I focus on others, I don’t have the time or energy to face everything I’ve been running from.
The Bellamy brothers coming to town is like three horsemen of the goddamn apocalypse. They leave destruction in their wake, and when the eldest, Hudson, ignores my very kind request to leave, it’s time to take things into my own hands. Protecting this town is all I know how to do.
But I’ve never faced someone like Hudson.
His stubbornness matches mine, and his attitude has an irritating way of worming under my skin. The more I push him, the harder he pushes back, until we’re locked in a game neither of us will walk away from.
With his smart mouth, bullheaded recklessness and those damn eyelashes I’m starting to question whether I can win this one.
But if I lose, this town isn’t the only thing on the line.

REVIEW: ⟫ I’m struggling a little with this review. At the beginning, I was devouring this book – Wilde was fascinating, as was Wilde’s End and the Bellamy brothers were entertaining. However, the relationship between Hudson and Wilde was occasionally more than verging on toxic and I struggled with it. There was a long period of time when I wasn’t sure if they even liked each other and I couldn’t see a good way for things to end and for them to reach something resembling a happily ever after.

However, I should have trusted Saxon James to pull out the win in the end. I really enjoyed Kennedy as a caring sibling, and the fact that he could lay some truth on Hudson whilst living his own truth was refreshing and just excellent in it’s execution. I am really interested in Kennedy and Ziggy which is apparently going to be the next book, and I would really like to know why Hartwell is the way he is! Ultimately, I enjoyed reading this one and feel that this could be a very worthwhile series. I received an ARC from Foreword PR.

Unsubmissive Omega by R. Gaen (Leongatha Pack Tales #4)

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TITLE: ⟫ Unsubmissive Omega
AUTHOR: ⟫ R. Gaen

SERIES: ⟫ Leongatha Pack Tales #4
RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Xander is a despised omega living in a house of alphas. And as if that weren’t bad enough, his uncle has plans to get rid of him by giving him to a Pack Alpha in a business transaction.

As an uneducated omega in a world dominated by alphas, Xander’s only defence is his terrible attitude, but that attitude could destroy his new pack, and lose him his one chance at happiness.

When he does finally realize who he can trust, will it be too late?

Content dubcon, explicit sex scenes between men, death of a side-character (& grief), public sex/exhibitionism, kidnapping

REVIEW: I liked the idea of this – an omega that wasn’t submissive, joining a pack unwillingly – sounded like it could be so much fun. I sympathised with Xander – his situation was absolutely awful. However, I struggled with how easily he accepted the things that were told to him – his paranoia around Darius should have extended to other people, or that was what I thought. I found Darius frustrating because he acted so naively about so many things – instead of looking deeper into things, or simply talking to Xander, he just seemed a bit ineffectual. The things he had done for his pack were impressive, but I just wanted more from him. I wanted to see his pack members accepting him as he was, not falling for lies that could be so easily disproved.

I was interested in Xeres, the Mage, and wonder if he’s going to be in another story. Perhaps I didn’t get the nuances involved in this because I haven’t read any of the previous books in the series. The sex was hot and there was a definite connection between Darius and Xander, but ultimately I was disappointed by this read. I received an ARC from Booksprout.

Omega Captive of the Golden Dragon by Wendy Rathbone (Alpha Dragons #3)

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TITLE: ⟫ Omega Captive of the Golden Dragon
AUTHOR: ⟫ Wendy Rathbone

SERIES: ⟫ Alpha Dragons #3
RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ I’m a set-omega and I’ve been sold by my wolf pack to the dragons as a breeder.

My name is Caylen. I’m a wolf shifter whose inner beast is missing. This means I cannot shift. As a set-omega, my pack can’t scent me and I’m officially a non-member. Worse, I have lost all rights and can be sold to the highest bidder.

Dragons are wealthy but omega-poor. To keep their population stable, they have become the biggest set-omega importers and pay the most for breeders.

My fate is in the hands of strangers. I’m afraid but refuse to show it.

On the auction block, someone bids for me with pure gold amid gasps and wonder. What does that even mean? What will happen to me?

MM romance, shifter, dragons, omegaverse, mpreg, first time, size difference, past trauma, rescue, HEA.

Note: This is book three of the Alpha Dragon series but is a standalone read.

REVIEW: ⟫ This was an interesting read based on the premise – a ‘set’ omega is one that cannot or does not have an inner beast. When Caylen presents as such, he knows that he will be sold from his pack and pre-empts the action of his parents.

He is bought at auction and transported to a place of utter isolation to live with an Alpha Dragon who is not only damaged, but wants nothing to do with him. The way in which both Varik and Caylen have suffered was pretty heart-wrenching. Varik in particular has been treated abominably by the people he should have been able to trust with his life and obviously is struggling with paranoia and fear. I did enjoy the relationship that built between the two of them – sleeping in front of the fire sounded so relaxing and seemed to be completely what they needed to let their guards down and see how alike they were. I really enjoyed the relationship between Variksan and Caylen – the respect between them, their desire for an honest connection was a pleasure to read.

I did feel like the second half of the story was rushed – from the time they committed to each other, it felt a bit like a summary of their life rather than reading their story. It’s hard to describe any of this without spoilers and the situation they were in was pretty unique, so I was really wondering just how they were going to reach some kind of happily ever after and ‘normal’ life. The writing style was very easy to get into and the story was well told in general – just a little light at the end.

I received an ARC from GRR.