Category Archives: kindle unlimited

George’s Big Day by Mary Calmes (With George #3)

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TITLE: ⟫ George’s Big Day
AUTHOR: ⟫ Mary Calmes

SERIES: ⟫ With George #3
RATING: ⟫ 4.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ George Hunt wants to get married. The fact that he does is utterly amazing and a huge leap of faith for a man who’s always been certain that happily ever afters only happen in fairy tales. The thing is, though, ever since Christmas, when Dr. Kurt Butler, the man he loves, gave him a ring, he’s changed his mind about what’s possible. But between deployments and venues that have to be booked years in advance, matrimonial bliss seems persistently out of reach. Fortunately, George’s friends come through, offering the perfect setting.

Of course, when your life is full of heroes, there are always villains looking to even the score. When the day of the nuptials conflicts with murderous agendas, the only thing that really matters is being married at the end of the day. If George can keep his eye on the prize and everyone does what they do best, it might just all work out.

REVIEW: ⟫ If you are part of Mary Calmes’ monthly newsletter, then George will be very familiar to you – he’s Hannah Kage’s bodyguard and an important part of Jory and Sam Kage’s network from the Matter of Time series. That being said, George is a fabulous man in his own right – he’s a natural born protector who has somehow found his other half in Kurt.

This third novella is George finally getting married, despite what life is determined to throw at him in terms of cartel assassins, his friends bringing trouble down on his head, and the normal shenanigans that Hannah always gets herself involved in.

I love reading these stories by Mary Calmes because they are familiar, favourite characters by now and it allows me to see how some of my old favourites are doing whilst building on the entire universe that these characters inhabit. George is such a lovely man, so sexy, so caring and just utterly right for Kurt – it was a delight to attend their wedding, even if it brought with it the Vault, various assassins and the Marshals service along with it!

A typical Mary Calmes book, it leaves you with a warm, happy feeling when you’ve finished reading it and wishing for so much more in terms of words – this is a world I could happily inhabit forever!

Traitor’s Curse by Eliot Grayson (Twilight Mages #3)

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TITLE: ⟫ Traitor’s Curse
AUTHOR: ⟫ Eliot Grayson

SERIES: ⟫ Twilight Mages #3
RATING: ⟫ /5

BLURB: ⟫ Betrayed, beset on all sides, and possibly bewitched…

Since the sudden, suspicious, and unlamented death of his father, only one man stands between Lucian and the grudging acceptance of his subjects: Benedict, a powerful dusk mage, a military hero, the favorite of the ducal council…and Lucian’s stepbrother.

Not that Benedict wants a shackle disguised as a crown. He’d rather start a new, anonymous life a thousand miles away and leave that beautiful, icy, sneering little cretin Lucian to whatever grim fate awaits him.

But when Lucian comes to him in the middle of the night, terrified and desperate but still as infuriatingly arrogant as ever, Benedict agrees to keep Lucian alive and on the throne. On one condition: Lucian must give in to Benedict’s long-hidden desires and allow Benedict to use him, in every possible way, to sate his cursed magic’s demands.

Lucian detests Benedict. He despises what he becomes when Benedict touches him. And it might be the death of him, if his father’s murderer doesn’t kill him first…

The Traitor’s Curse is the third book in the Twilight Mages series, but it can be read as a standalone. Contains family secrets, unbecoming behavior in a throne room, and a duke who protests far, far too much. HEA guaranteed!

REVIEW: ⟫ Currently reading – review to follow.

Always Watching by Lee McCormick and RS McKenzie (Always Book #1)

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TITLE: ⟫ Always Watching

AUTHORS: ⟫ Lee McCormick & RS McKenzie

SERIES: ⟫ Always Book #1
RATING: ⟫ DNF

BLURB: ⟫ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴꜱ ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴀ ꜱᴇʀɪᴀʟ ᴋɪʟʟᴇʀ ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇꜱ ᴀ ᴄᴀᴍʙᴏʏ ɪꜱ ʜɪꜱ?

ℝ𝕒𝕟𝕖𝕟

My life has become a nightmare. A stalker intent on having me permeates my waking moments. Gifts and threatening messages greet me at every turn. Every cam session is filled with the fear of them watching me in my most intimate moments. One day, my stalker takes it a step further than words and attacks me in my home. Just when I think I won’t make it, a stranger with a blue-green stare saves me from my fate.

ℕ𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕙

I wanted him before I knew his name, and he’s belonged to me since the first time I touched him. When a crazed fan attacks him, there’s only one solution. I move in with Ranen to keep him safe. Now I need to navigate finding his stalker while keeping my murderous habits in check. All I want is Ranen. I just have to figure out how to make him mine.

~~~
𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 is a dark MM romance featuring a psychopath who will stop at nothing to keep his camboy safe from any danger that comes his way… By any means necessary.

REVIEW: ⟫ I don’t know why, but this did not connect for me at all. I love reading Lee McCormick but have read RS McKensie slightly less, so maybe that’s the disconnect? Either way, I’ve tried several times to get into this one and failed each time. So time to add it to the did-not-finish pile.

Pumped by Linden Bell (Mars Fitness #3)

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TITLE: ⟫ Pumped

AUTHOR: ⟫ Linden Bell

SERIES: ⟫ Mars Fitness #3

RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ Love is co-parenting with my worst enemy.

Owen

Everest is an irresponsible, delinquent, attention-hungry man-child.

Ever since my brother married his sister, we’ve hated each other with an unrelenting passion. It was bad enough when I had to see him at occasional family gatherings, but now I’m living in a nightmare and he’s right here with me.

Everest

Owen is arrogant, uptight, snobby, and cold-hearted.

I don’t want to have anything to do with him, but I don’t have a choice. After a tragic accident, we’re forced to raise our niece together, but our grief and mutual animosity is turning the house into a pressure cooker. We have to make peace and learn to work together, if not for our sake, then for the little girl who’s already lost everything.

PUMPED is an enemies to lovers, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract MM romance between a free-spirited personal trainer and his overbearing veterinarian brother-in-law. Expect reluctant cuddling, teasing as a love language, annoyingly hot backwards caps, pillow chastity barriers, pool wrestling, begrudging I love yous, and a little girl who has them both wrapped around her little finger. PUMPED is the third and last book in the Mars Fitness series, but can be read as a standalone.

REVIEW: ⟫ This was a satisfying end to the Mars Fitness series. Everest and Owen were the epitome of enemies to lovers, although the circumstances were painful in the extreme. I really appreciated the way in which their grief was handled – it wasn’t a one and done, there were times when things were bittersweet, times when there was panic – it was really nicely handled. I enjoyed the writing of Ivy as I know it can be difficult writing age appropriate children but this was handled deftly. The sex scenes were extremely hot – Everest and Owen seriously burned up the sheets – and catching up with the other guys at Mars was lovely.

I enjoyed this series and will be looking into the ones linking to it to join my TBR. I received an ARC from GRR.

Love's Ace by Lee McCormick

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TITLE: ⟫ Love’s Ace

AUTHOR: ⟫ Lee McCormick

RATING: ⟫ 4.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ There’s no good. No evil. No angels and demons. There’s love and there’s hate… and somewhere between the two, lust finds a way to thrive. It tips the scale. It burns everything to ash.

Wren — Cupid

We’re created from birth to unite soulmates and stop the monsters that would tear them apart. We’re trained to fight, to kill… and born without the ability to feel the thing we give. A cupid can’t feel love. A cupid can’t have a soulmate. And a cupid can’t fall in love with their sworn enemy, with the monster they’re destined to destroy. Until… Theo.

Theo — Enmity

When the world breaks a human, the Enmity can find a place in their heart and turn them into creatures of pure rage. The world has broken me over and over again until I’m not sure there’s anything left but anger. Hatred. Fear. I don’t believe in love, or soulmates… I don’t believe there’s anything out there that could stitch together the wounds that left me vulnerable to the monster I’m becoming. Until… Wren.

~~~

Love’s Ace is a dual POV enemies to soulmates MM Romance with a jaded cupid, a broken man turning into a monster, and the red string that connects them both. Expect high heat, high emotions, and an HEA that defies all odds.

REVIEW: ⟫ Dang, Lee McCormick did the thing! Not gonna lie, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Cupids and Anti-cupids fighting it out on earth but, my goodness, this book dragged me in from the very beginning and I didn’t stop reading until I’d finished.

Wren has been a cupid for over a century but feels next to nothing. Cupids are not allowed emotions and Wren has become more than accustomed to feeling nothing. Until he meets Theo – a man on the verge of turning into Wren’s sworn enemy, the Enmity.

Theo has lost everything and cannot think of the last time he felt something good. Which is why when his body begins burning with hate and only the touch of a Cupid can stem the pain, he has no idea how to handle things.

The way that these two hated each other initially was intense – you could feel Wren’s desire to kill Theo and just get things over with, and Theo almost wanted to give in to the hatred and lust for violence inside him. But then circumstances meant that they needed each other, until it wasn’t about the circumstances, it was about how they made each other feel.

The tension was palpable, the sexual tension was there in spades, but this entire story was just about emotion and how the right person can make you feel like you’d do anything for them. I loved the lore behind everything (although I can’t help but feel the way they created Cupids was unbearably cruel), and I absolutely loved the characters we were introduced to. This is a fast paced, romantic, sexy, touching and painful story to read and I almost wish I hadn’t finished it because now I’m left with all of these feelings!

A fantastic read and it solidified Lee McCormick as an auto-buy for me. I don’t know how much it fits with Valentine’s Day just being around the corner, but this dark romance definitely worked for me!

I received an ARC from GRR.

Goodbye Note by J.R. Gray

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TITLE: ⟫ Goodbye Note

AUTHOR: ⟫ J.R. Gray

RATING: ⟫ /5

BLURB: ⟫ I’m living the dream, playing summer festivals to massive crowds.

My band is on fire, my best friend by my side and we’re on top of the world.

I fell for him in the heat of the summer. I fell for the stars in his eyes.

The way he said my name. I’ll never love anyone the same.

But our story ended when it was just beginning.

Fame gave me more than I could ever imagine, but I’ll forever suffer the cost.

The summer of love and loss would forever be a stain on my heart.

I used to think life didn’t come with second chances, until we’re reunited for a world tour as dual headliners.

Only he thinks I’m happily married, when in reality, my life is crumbling.

My team won’t let me announce my divorce, leaving him to believe I’m off limits.

We gave up on forever and I’d give anything for another shot at love.

REVIEW: ⟫ Currently reading – review to follow.

Not Catching Love by Saxon James (Accidental Love #5)

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TITLE: ⟫ Not Catching Love

AUTHOR: ⟫ Saxon James

SERIES: ⟫ Accidental Love #5

RATING: ⟫ 5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Xander

There’s something seriously wrong with me.

For once, I’m not talking about the health anxiety that randomly pops up and wreaks havoc on my life. I’m talking about, well, everything else.

All my roommates have found someone to love them, and it hurts to see the guys who used to have me at the center of their worlds pair off and grow up, especially when it’s a reminder of everything wrong with me. I’ve always had an issue with relationships. With forming a connection with people outside of Seven, but this is more.

Because I want to find my someone.

Except the one person my brain has latched onto is the one person I can never have. The one person who’s there to help me when my panic attacks get too much.

Nurse Derek.

Derek

I should never have offered to treat Xander Moore.

And now here I am years later, my life on hold, while I wait day in and day out for the call that Xander needs me. It always comes, and I always answer, but I’m starting to dread those visits.

Lately, I’m looking at Xander in a way a medical professional should never look at their patient.

When Xander starts volunteering at the same nursing home that I do, I get to see a new side of him. The artistic, charismatic side that draws the residents in. I get glimpses of a man who’s so much more than his anxiety, and it does nothing to help my feelings for him.

When lines begin to blur, I have no choice but to stop treating him. That at least allows us to be friends. The only problem is, being friends isn’t enough for either of us.

It’s wrong, unethical, and unprofessional, but my heart won’t listen. It’s decided on Xander, and it doesn’t want to wait. Neither does Xander.

But if I want to keep my job, I have to resist.

I just wish he didn’t make that so difficult.

REVIEW: ⟫ Serious bit first – I am blown away by how well Saxon James handled Xander’s mental health issues. There was no magic cure, no easy way out or through – this took solid work, determination and a whole lot of love from the people who cared about him.

Now, onward into the last adventure with the Bertha Boys, and Saxon saved the best until last. Derek may well be one of my top ten favourites of her characters – it was how open he was, how caring, how understanding – he was absolutely everything that our Xander needed. And then some.

I literally steamed through this read with only a couple of bathroom breaks and I don’t regret a thing. Well, other than this was the last Bertha story because oh my goodness, I am going to miss these guys. I spent pretty much the entirety of the last few chapters reading through tears because it was all just so absolutely right. Like – Derek completely understood how Xander felt about Seven and Molly and wasn’t needlessly jealous; how much all of the boys love each other; Aggie – oh my goodness, Aggie – we all need an Aggie in our lives.

The volunteering at the retirement home touched me so deeply, especially since Xander didn’t water himself down even the slightest and yet still showed so much care for these people. I just – I could ramble for a very long time about all of the different things I loved about this story, but suffice it to say I began February with an excellent book, a snuffly nose from the quiet sobbing and a deep desire to see these books made into a series!!

Antidote by Shae Ruby

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TITLE: ⟫ Antidote

AUTHOR: ⟫ Shae Bryan

RATING: ⟫ 2.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ It was never meant to be more.

But somehow it was, and suddenly we were two halves of a whole.

Even if it was forbidden.

Oliver Scott swept me off my feet and flipped my world upside down, only to break my heart. When my mother died, I told him I wanted nothing to do with him, that he was dead to me.

I lost her because of him.

Somewhere along the way, Oliver needed the drugs more than he needed me. And I paid for the consequences of his actions.

The problem is, even through the pain of his mistake and my hate for him, something deeper still lingers between us.

A second chance was never in the cards for us, until it was. But my feelings of betrayal still simmer in the background, making it hard to forgive him.

I’m gambling with my sanity, knowing he could ruin me.

The worst part?

I want him to.

Because I want nothing more than to make him mine.

It’s always been him.

This is a stepbrothers MM romance.

REVIEW: ⟫ I found this book following a recommendation in a Facebook group. The author is new to me and I was interested in the premise. The fact that they were stepbrothers and grew up together from the age of ten was the least of my issues with this book. I guess I was expecting there to be more explanation of their relationship and how it developed – instead, there was pretty much an insta-love between them when they met, with one MC identifying as gay whilst the other one stubbornly refused to accept that he was at least bi.

Hunter was, to me, an awful character. I kinda understood his desire not to lose his father’s love but the way he used people, especially women, was just abhorrent. He had numerous girlfriends because he wanted to be seen as a ‘man’, treating them as disposable and less than human. He knew what he was doing – with one long-term girlfriend, he couldn’t climax, knew that this was making her insecure and yet continued to date and sleep with her. At one stage, he has sex with her specifically so that Ollie can hear them together through the wall – that is just so freaking awful to do to someone. She was less than human, just a means to taunt his stepbrother. The way he broke up with her and treated her afterwards was somehow even worse.

Ollie was at least relatively honest in what he was doing. He accepted the loss of his father’s love, knew that what was going on between he and Hunter couldn’t carry on, and turned to drugs. It was self-destructive but I would say much less toxic than Hunter’s behaviour. I’m trying to see past the fact that Ollie painted Hunter naked and sold the painting without Hunter’s permission because he at least obscured Hunter’s face in the painting.

The 2.5 rating is because the descriptions of the hold drugs had on Ollie seemed to be accurate and made made me feel some sympathy for him. I also liked Ollie’s sponsor who was insistent that he needed to concentrate on his sobriety. The background cast of Hunter’s team-mates were almost as bad as him, but at least they weren’t homophobic. I finished this because I wanted them out of my head, not because I wanted them to have a happily ever after.

Benji by N.R.Walker (The Wylde Street Boys #1)

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TITLE: ⟫ Benji

AUTHOR: ⟫ N.R.Walker

SERIES: ⟫ The Wylde Street Boys #1

RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ Nolan O’Brien is a public prosecutor, and if he ever sees the name Bruno Barbieri again, it will be too soon. After a long week preparing for the trial of the decade, it takes no convincing to hit the men’s club for a few drinks.

Except the club wasn’t the only thing he hit that night.

Benji Smith works on Wylde Street as a rent boy. When he’s chased by two men, he runs into the path of a moving car. With a no-cops, no-hospital policy and needing to escape the men following him, he agrees to go back to the driver’s place.

The last thing Nolan expects is to offer Benji a place to stay, to recuperate, and to lie low. And the last thing Benji expects is to be attracted to the man who saved him.

But their worlds are about to collide in a way neither of them was prepared for, and both men need to decide what’s at stake, what they’re prepared to lose, and what they’ll fight for.

REVIEW: ⟫ Well this was absolutely delicious! Nolan was such a sweetie-pie, but my goodness when he let go in bed, he was seriously hot! I loved the relationship between Benji, Fitch and Kylan – they were so good to each other and it was obvious how much they meant to each other. Dominic gave off some serious Daddy vibes and his chemistry with Fitch was steamy hot – I can barely wait for their book.

I liked the subplot surrounding the people who were chasing Benji and how it was resolved and just really enjoyed reading this book. Definitely recommended!

Barbarian by Onley James (Jericho's Boys Book #3)

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TITLE: ⟫ Barbarian

AUTHOR: ⟫ Onley James

SERIES: ⟫ Jericho’s Boys #3

RATING: ⟫ 5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Nico Michaels pretends to be carefree, avoiding anything serious, especially relationships; his chaotic past has taught him that love only complicates things. He’s content with one-night stands and his close-knit group of friends, including his roommate, Malachi Mizrahi.

Neurodivergent and gender-fluid, Malachi wakes up each morning with a whole new personality, but one thing remains his love for Nico. They clicked perfectly from day one, sharing a love of everything from anime to nature documentaries. They even share a bed. Platonically, of course.

One night, the lines blur when they share a kiss, but before things can go further, a desperate call from one of Mal’s dance students throws them into a missing person’s case that leaves them with more questions than answers. To complicate matters, Mal reveals he’s been quietly orchestrating Nico’s whole life without him even noticing. Nico is shaken to his core, his perception of their relationship shattered.

As they navigate the perilous world of a vicious Chinese triad, their bond deepens, and Nico begins to see that Malachi is not only the perfect friend, but the perfect man to fulfill all his needs. Together, they must face their past and survive their present if they want any chance of a happy ending in their future.

Barbarian is a friends-to-lovers, dark romance with an HEA and no cliffhangers. It features a masochistic vigilante with ADHD and a video game addiction and his sadistic and controlling best friend who worships the ground he walks on. As with any Onley book, you’ll find dark humor, steamy sexy times, and gratuitous violence, but only against people who totally deserve it. This is book 3 in the Jericho’s Boys series. Each book follows a different couple.

REVIEW: ⟫ In a feat of self control that I didn’t know I possessed, I stopped myself from reading this as it was posted to Onley’s patreon – I wanted to have the whole thing to binge in one go and I downloaded it last night. I haven’t been to sleep yet (I guess the patience and self control only lasted so long) because I had to read this in one go! And it is SO worth the lack of sleep!

Nico and Malachi are absolutely fascinating – the way that their jagged edges match so well. Malachi described it well when he talked about them being two souls waiting to be reunited – which, height of romance right there – and I cannot imagine either of them with anyone else. The sex was off the charts hot – as to be expected from Onley – and I loved the background plot involving the triads, counterfeit handbags and a psychopath (one of the bad ones) masquerading as a good brother.

I loved all of the other boys popping in and out; I adore Felix; but I almost stroked out when Freckles threatened Coe with ‘if you die, I’ll marry Kendra and have the kids call her Mom!’ That was absolute gold and I chuckled so hard I scared my cats.

I love Onley’s characterisations, how she builds the tension in both the plot and the relationship so that you’re on the edge of your seat waiting for the resolution. Thomas Mulvaney remains the absolute GOAT, and I had a complete and utter blast living in this universe for the last six hours. I might console myself with re-reading the Necessary Evils books before I go and have a mooch about on Onley’s Patreon – I don’t have to avoid it now so can catch up on all of the mini fics, etc!