Infected: Prey by Andrea Speed (Infected Book #1)

Posted on August 9, 2024 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Infected: Prey

AUTHOR: ⟫ Andrea Speed

SERIES: ⟫ Infected Book #1

RATING: ⟫ 5/5

BLURB: ⟫ In a world where a werecat virus has changed society, Roan McKichan, a born infected and ex-cop, works as a private detective trying to solve crimes involving other infecteds. The murder of a former cop draws Roan into an odd case where an unidentifiable species of cat appears to be showing an unusual level of intelligence. He juggles that with trying to find a missing teenage boy, who, unbeknownst to his parents, was “cat” obsessed. And when someone is brutally murdering infecteds, Eli Winters, leader of the Church of the Divine Transformation, hires Roan to find the killer before he closes in on Eli. Working the crimes will lead Roan through a maze of hate, personal grudges, and mortal danger. With help from his tiger-strain infected partner, Paris Lehane, he does his best to survive in a world that hates and fears their kind… and occasionally worships them.

REVIEW: ⟫ I don’t even know why I decided to re-read this book – I think I saw the author’s name on Goodreads and I found myself wondering what happened to the protagonists so re-downloaded it from my kindle library.

Firstly, there is no explicit mm sex in this couple of novellas, which isn’t an issue but definitely isn’t the ‘norm’ when it comes to mm nowadays. I absolutely loved the whole concept of the infected and virus children, and remember being utterly delighted back when I read it initially. I loved it even more now – it felt fresh and new compared to the werewolf/shifter stories I’ve been reading over the years and I can’t think of anyone who’s used the same idea.

Roan and Paris are a fabulous couple – both complete AHs in their way and very much suited to each other. Their back stories are slowly revealed as you follow them in their investigations and they are just fascinating – the world they live in is fascinating and I was entranced from the time I began re-reading. I feel that the story has definitely aged well – the lack of internet, smart cell phones, etc. didn’t hurt the story at all.

I really enjoyed this revisit and will be continuing to re-read the series. I’m not sure how far I actually got in my reading so this could be a lot of fun rediscovering an old favoured author and ‘new to me’ work!

Forgotten Romance by Saxon James (Divorced Men's Club Book #6)

Posted on August 8, 2024 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Forgotten Romance

AUTHOR: ⟫ Saxon James

SERIES: ⟫ Divorced Men’s Club Book #6

RATING: ⟫ 4.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Davey

In a list of what’s most important to me, three things are right up there at the top. My kids, my husband Mack, and my career I’ve spent my life building. Unfortunately that career has me away from home more than I’d like, and when I refuse to walk away from it, my husband walks away from me instead.

Living together post-divorce makes sense for us, but it blurs the lines between what we were and what we have. Now that I’ve scored a big promotion and negotiated twelve long weeks at home, memories of our life together haunt me. They make me long for what we had. And now that Mack is moving on with someone else, I’m being faced with the cold truth. I should never have let Mack go, and now it might be too late to get him back.

Mack

Twelve weeks. It’s the longest Davey has been home since we had the kids, and all it does is remind me of everything I wish I still had. So I decide this is it. I have twelve weeks to remind Davey of everything he lost and hope like hell when I give him the choice between work and me again, that this time he chooses me.

None of my friends are on board with my plan, and the new guy in town is trying his hardest to win me over. But I can ignore cute notes slipped into my favourite books if it means getting back the man I’ll love forever.

All I need to do is remind him our life together was perfect.

Now if only our kids, our friends, and his work would get the memo …

REVIEW: ⟫ I can’t believe this series has come to an end! But what an ending – Davey and Mack broke my heart more than once reading this. I loved, loved, loved that this was a journey of self-discovery for both of them; that they both separately and together realised that what happened in the past was both of their responsibility; I loved all of their friends doing their best to support them – whether it was together or apart.

Saxon James has a way of writing characters that feel very real – their banter, their feelings, emotions – how they handle what life throws at them. It’s not always a simple journey, and in this case Mack and his need for Davey to love him above all else comes up against the brick wall of Davey’s need to provide for his family. Neither of them are actively wrong, but neither of them are right either. And this story is all about them figuring out how to mesh their lives together for good this time, without losing what makes each of them special.

I have loved this series as it is has merely affirmed my love of Saxon’s writing. I’m sad to leave this series behind but extremely happy with how it ended.

The Laughing Game by AE Lister (Parlor Games Book #3)

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ The Laughing Game

AUTHOR: ⟫ AE Lister

SERIES: ⟫ Parlor Games Book #3

RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ When people are placing bets, maybe you’re not so straight after all.

Angel Barnett always assumed he was straight. Sure, he’d had an occasional fantasy about sex with a man. But he’d never contemplated having sex with two men, until he met Gideon Foster and Vihaal Petrovsky.

Now he can’t get them out of his head, and the casual friendship that’s developed between them is heading into unknown territory. It seems like everyone he knows, including his aging mother, has known for years he’s ‘not so straight’. And it turns out that Gideon and Vihaal have been deliberately trying to seduce him.

But they’re married, and Angel isn’t sure about sex with men to begin with. It only takes a few instances of physical intimacy with Vihaal and Gideon, who seem to live a very kinky life with few boundaries, for Angel to finally accept and start to explore his bisexuality.

But can Angel be a third to Vihaal and Gideon’s twosome? They seem to want him. But the two of them are kinky as hell so not only is Angel embarking on a same-sex relationship for the first time, he’s also being initiated into the kinky world of dominance and submission. And since Vihaal is a die-hard Dom, it looks like Angel had better get used to submission—a mindset that comes surprisingly easily.

REVIEW: ⟫ This is the first book that I can recall reading by AE Lister and as this one is book number 3 in the series, I think I have done it a slight disservice. I haven’t read the previous books in the series and I don’t think that this works as well as it might do without all of that background.

That said, I found the dynamic between Angel, Vihaal and Gideon to be entertaining, sexy and on occasion, very sweet. Vihaal and Gideon are a married couple who occasionally indulge in adding a temporary third to their relationship. However, it becomes obvious that they have had their eye on Angel for a while and it quickly becomes apparent that this is not a temporary thing for any of them. Not least, because for Angel this is his first relationship with men.

I enjoyed the relationships and characters in this story, especially Angel’s mother who made me laugh a lot. The friendships were nicely written and the encouragement and acceptance was good to see/read. The sex scenes were hot and intense, and although I felt that occasionally there wasn’t enough attention paid to the fact that this was all new to Angel, the triad worked very well with Vihaal most definitely in charge with Angel and Gideon as his pets. I may see if I can read the previous books in the series.

I received an ARC from GRR.

Angel by Linden Bell (The Camboy Network Book #)

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Angel

AUTHOR: ⟫ Linden Bell

SERIES: ⟫ The Camboy Network Book #3

RATING: ⟫ 4.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ He was only supposed to be gay for pay.

Angel

I’ve never had sex before. And I’ve definitely never looked at a guy that way before. But with his brightly-colored hair and beautiful outfits, Rhys is hard to ignore–especially after I learn what he does for a living.

Signing up with The Camboy Network is way outside my comfort zone, but with Rhys guiding me the whole way, it doesn’t feel all that scary. In fact, it feels like fate.

Rhys

I left home the minute I turned eighteen, so falling for a guy from the old neighbourhood is the last thing I should do – especially since he’s straight. But he’s utterly adorable, so innocently kinky, and exactly my type.

We shouldn’t fit together so well, but we do. No matter how hard I try to stay away, I can’t. Our lives couldn’t be more different on the outside, but maybe we’re a lot more alike than we think.

Angel is a bi-awakening, opposites attract, size difference MM romance between a burly cinnamon roll construction worker and a flamboyant pole-dancing twink. Expect accidentally dirty text messages, completely unexpected kinks, and chivalrous courage that truly runs deep. Angel is the third book in The Camboy Network series, but can be read as a stand-alone.

REVIEWS: ⟫ I have not previously read any Linden Bell, a mistake I fully intend to rectify! This book was so much fun, whilst also being sexy, touching, kinky and full of surprises.

I loved Rhys from the first moment we met him – I loved his flamboyancy, his attitude towards people and life, and his general happiness with life. He was where he wanted to be, doing what he wanted to do, and no-one was going to look down their noses at him for him – especially the people from his old neighbourhood.

Angel took me completely by surprise – he was so quiet, so sweet, and yet just beneath the surface you could tell that he wanted to break free and become himself. He just didn’t know how. Angel’s meeting with Rhys at a family birthday was the beginning of the road to discovery – a road where Angel was happy to follow Rhys, learning so much about himself and finding love and new friends in the process.

I loved that this wasn’t a simple story, where everyone was accepting and they faced no backlash – Angel’s mother in particular comes to mind – but I especially loved how these two had each other’s backs from the very beginning, even if they both refused to see it for what it really was.

The sex scenes were extremely hot and discovering Angel’s kinks alongside him was surprising and fun in equal measure. I loves reading about the other members of the Camboy Network and will be looking out for their books. Reading this made me smile and feel good – especially with the way in which Rhys discovered that his family – both made and born – had his back in satisfying ways. I wish I could have seen the outfit Rhys wore to the wedding because it sounded divine and I can heartily recommend this book!

I received an ARC from GRR.

Omega Captive of the Alpha Dragon Prince by Wendy Rathbone

Posted on August 2, 2024 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Omega Captive of the Alpha Dragon

AUTHOR: ⟫ Wendy Rathbone

RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ I’ve been sold to an unfriendly foreign land of dragon shifters to become a brood slave.

Tavi is a set-omega, which means he has no inner beast and cannot shift.
Considered worthless by his wolf pack, and with no individual rights, he is sold into slavery along with other set-omegas as they come of age.

Alluresh is a dragon shifter, all business and very little play. His inner dragon is feral and often controls him, shifting inappropriately at times, creating chaos and damage. Others fear him, causing Alluresh to become bitter and reclusive.

All of that changes when a shady friend from his past invites him to an omega auction. Alluresh attends, only to discover his dragon has eyes for one of the omegas for sale, demanding he bid on him or else.

What is Alluresh to do but obey his beast and call out a ridiculously large sum?

Two outcast men learn they might have more in common than they think, and a feral dragon finds his inner heart.

Contemporary omegaverse, alpha/omega, dragon shifter, mpreg/eggpreg, omega heat, knotting, opposites attract, age gap, size difference. This is a sold-into-brood-slavery tale turned romance where everything is consensual with a terribly sweet HEA.

REVIEW: ⟫ This was absolutely delightful – I read it in a matter of hours and loved every moment! I really liked all three lead characters – Allure, Alluresh and Tavi – they each had reasons for acting the way that they did, but went above and beyond to be better than their circumstances. I loved the combative relationship between Allure and Alluresh, and could well understand them butting heads from the time Alluresh was a teenager – teenage hormones along with an unruly, nearly feral dragon must have been a nightmare.

I admired Tavi for facing the situation he was in and making the most of it, as well as allowing himself to fall in love with both Allure and Alluresh. Alluresh and Tavi were incredibly sweet together, both a little gun-shy with regard to emotions and their situation, but both prepared to communicate and work together to make the most of things. This was a well-deserved happy ever after and I really loved it.

I received an ARC from GRR.

Echo by Willow Thomas (Fallen Gargoyles Book #2)

Posted on July 30, 2024 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Echo

AUTHOR: ⟫ Willow Thomas

SERIES: ⟫ The Fallen Gargoyles Book #2

RATING: ⟫ 2.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Falling in love with a rival MC member wasn’t on my to-do list.

Echo

The Fallen Gargoyles are everything to me. Kenny took me in when I was at my lowest. It’s thanks to him I’m alive, making something of myself by going to community college. These people are my family.

When I’m not in class, losing myself in a book, or working construction, I’m doing my club duties as an enforcer.

I have zero time for a relationship. Even one with the gorgeous chatty guy who sits next to me in class.

I vow to not get close to him and drag him into my world.

But when I see him being kidnapped, it looks like the choice is taken out of my hands.

Joey

Growing up in a motorcycle club is all I’ve ever known and I hate it. My dad is the president of a one percent club which tells you everything about the kind of life he leads.

I don’t want it.

I want to get my degree and leave Oregon behind me. Until that happens I will look for bright spots wherever I can. Like the super hot guy in my Lit class.

Lessons are spent with me talking at him and with every grunt he graces me, I fall for him a little bit more.

When he saves me from a few of my dad’s enemies, I worry I’ve scared him off.

And then I find out who he really is.

Echo is book two in the contemporary motorcycle club series, Fallen Gargoyles. This is a low angst, steamy, humor filled book, with mentions of illegal activities and parental neglect.

REVIEW: ⟫ I loved the premise – the idea that these two guys are falling for each other, both with completely erroneous ideas about the other whilst actually inhabiting similar worlds really appealed to me.

I enjoyed the interactions between them with Joey chattering away and Echo simply basking in being in his presence – it was all a bit dreamy, especially with Echo escorting Joey to his car after class, very swoon-worthy! The background characters were interesting – the difference between Joey’s Dad and the Club’s leader was a sharp distinction but nicely made; and Molly made me smile a lot.

The Fallen Gargoyles were also very interesting – the name alone was enough to make me think they were kinda fascinating! I haven’t read the previous book in the series so perhaps I am missing out on something – I get the feeling Nicky and Booker had quite the story and I will be looking for it at some point.

However, there was a significant time jump in the story which meant that we missed out on a lot of the relationship building – the plot in the background was never resolved as I imagined it will be handled in a future book? – but it meant that after the discovery, things sort of jolted and suddenly we were in an established relationship without the little details and interactions based around who Joey and Echo honestly were. I think that was a big shame because I wanted those details – I wanted to know about their first time, how Echo came to be in the club, how the decisions were made about who moved from which club. Their chemistry was intense and Joey’s internal (and occasionally external monologue) were both entertaining and filthy and I would have loved to see Echo’s reaction to that!

I very much enjoyed what I read but would have liked to read the missing details. I received an ARC from the author.

Method Acting by N.R. Walker (Franklin U Book #7)

Posted on July 28, 2024 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Method Acting

AUTHOR: ⟫ N.R. Walker

SERIES: ⟫ Franklin U 2 Book #7

RATING: ⟫ 5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Chase Soria

Every budding actor knows acting is a difficult gig. There will be grueling auditions and punishing rejections. If you’re lucky, there’ll be roles that pay the bills and even roles that won’t.

Roles we don’t believe in.

But that’s what acting is—acting as if we do believe in them.

So when the semester’s production project is announced and I’m cast as one of the leads, I’m ecstatic. A lot of responsibility, a lot of work, but I’m up for it. Even when I find out what my role is and who my partner is. Amos, the brooding James Dean wannabe, is my on-screen boyfriend. Which is great, except for the fact he hates me.

I can do this. It’s just acting.

Nothing more.

Amos Beddington

The 90s are back, apparently. 90210 and Friends, but with a reality TV spin, which means cameras following us around as if they’re capturing the everyday lives of Franklin U students.

Me, but not me.

Me, with no more than a character description, no script or screenplay. Method acting, being the character 24/7, not just when the cameras are rolling. With a campus boyfriend.

Method acting is immersive and intense, and it can be confusing if the lines begin to blur. I mean, I’ve dreamed of being with the irritatingly gorgeous and annoyingly popular Chase Soria, and now I have to be his on-screen boyfriend?

I’m a good actor, sure. But how can I be convincing when I’m not sure I can even convince myself?

REVIEW: ⟫ This may well turn out to be my favourite of all of the Franklin U 2 books and that is saying something! There was just something about Amos and Chase that dragged me almost immediately and I found myself so invested! The dilemma of what’s the line between method acting and truly feeling something was handled so well, and I really loved the way that all of the people involved stressed the importance of consent on several occasions – it wasn’t just a throwaway line and then completely ignored and I really appreciated that.

The relationship between Amos and Chase was fascinating to watch, especially with Amos being determined to remain aloof whilst Chase was literally a golden retriever that had discovered it liked this particular human – it was awesome and made me giggle more than once. Jimmy deserves a shout-out all of his own – this boy was absolute gold! I felt like I was watching a reality show and could well imagine the bloopers that we were allowed to see. The whole idea was built on so well and interesting to read – the issues with people who weren’t part of the experiment but who were affected by it; the intimacy exercises; the cliff-hangers (I’m talking about them slamming the door in the face of the camera in case you’re wondering!) – it was all masterfully handled and I loved it.

N.R.Walker is a favourite author of mine and they definitely hit the ball out of the park with this one. Engrossing, entertaining and sexy as all heck, I really fell in love with this method acting.

Deader Than Dead by H.L. Day (Paranormal Problems: Necromancers Book #1)

Posted on July 28, 2024 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Deader Than Dead

AUTHOR: ⟫ H.L.Day

SERIES: ⟫ Paranormal Problems: Necromancers Book #1

RATING: ⟫ 3.75/5

BLURB: ⟫ Even death can’t stop fate.

Professional thief, Bellamy, might have bitten off more than he can chew this time. Jobs have gone wrong before, but never this wrong. His moral code might be grayer than most, but it exists, and he finds himself facing an impossible choice that could cost him everything.

Necromancer, John Averill’s day just got ten times worse. One more job, his boss says. Well, that job sucks, because not only does he find himself with a gun pointed at his head, but the man he’s been hired to raise temporarily from the dead is none other than his fated mate… the man he’s been searching for all his life.

Their love story is over before it ever began. Or is it? Fate still has a few tricks up its sleeve, and the impossible might just become possible.

Deader than Dead is a 57k Fated Mates MM paranormal novel featuring villains who will stop at nothing to get what they want, a stolen artifact, kidnapping, betrayal, lies, and two men determined to overcome death itself to be together.

Content warning for death and mention of suicide.

REVIEW: ⟫ A very entertaining premise, I came to this story after reading the second in the trilogy so I kinda knew what happened. However, that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story. Both John and Bellamy were fun to read about – they lived such different lives and yet when they met, they were both more than ready to accept that what they had found was something special. The fact that Bellamy was dead when they met was neither here nor there!

The plot of the mask was really interesting, as was the view into a little more of Cade and the PPB. I’m sort of glad that I read the second book first – I’m not sure if I would have read more after this one because although I enjoyed it, it didn’t grab me as much as the second in the series.

A good set up for what sounds like an interesting show-down, as well as (hopefully) finding out more about Asher and the other members of the team, I’m glad I read this but I found book two more entertaining.

Ours – Young, Dumb and Full of Bad Decisions by Dominic N. Ashen

Posted on July 23, 2024 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Ours

AUTHOR: ⟫ Dominic N. Ashen

SERIES: ⟫ Young, Dumb and Full of Bad Decisions

RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ If growing up is hard, becoming an actual adult is even harder, and the transition between the two can, at times, seem like a minefield.

Cory is just an average 18-year-old nerd who plays video games and reads comic books. Well, mostly average. He’s also gay, in the closet, and into some pretty kinky stuff. Sure, his only outlet is the internet and his left hand, but with college right around the corner, he figures his secret is safe… Right?

Except Cory’s two best friends, Derek and Nic, recently found out about that secret. And just like a lot of teenage boys, they decide to think with their groins and take advantage of the situation. With the internet as their guide, they formulate a plan to train Cory into being their personal submissive plaything.

As they learn more about themselves, each other, and the kinky world of BDSM, Cory, Derek, and Nic may also discover that romance can bloom in the most unexpected of places.

REVIEW: ⟫ This was a surprise for me – it was a fun read, but also covered some really interesting topics deeper than I expected. I was a little concerned with how things started because getting Cory drunk and then persuading him into sexual acts was more than a little problematic. Along with the initial stages of their relationship – and Nic’s insistence on sticking his head in the sand – made it more than a little unsettling.

It would have been very easy to leave this as a slightly dub-con friends to lovers story, but Dominic went further along the path, making the three of them see the errors that they had made, face up to things about themselves and realise that what had begun under such dodgy circumstances could mean so much more.

Derek struck me the most out of the trio – he has an obvious need to control things which explains his Dom side, but I appreciated his willingness to learn from the mistakes he made. I was also impressed with how open he was to Carl’s teachings and his obvious desire to do better. I liked how Nic struggled with his perception of himself and how he figured out his relationship with his family as well as how he felt about Cory and Derek. Surprisingly, Cory seemed to be the one who was most well-adjusted about the whole thing, which was an aspect I didn’t expect but definitely appreciated.

The sex scenes were numerous and entertaining, and I would definitely recommend this if you are in the mood for some BDSM light role playing, copious amounts of sex with varying people and three kids figuring out what they mean to each other. I received an ARC through Booksprout.

Dropping Like Flies by H.L. Day (Paranormal Problems: Necromancers Book #2)

Posted on July 23, 2024 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Dropping Like Flies

AUTHOR: ⟫ H.L.Day

SERIES: ⟫ Paranormal Problems: Necromancers Book #2

RATING: ⟫4.5 /5

BLURB: ⟫ Quickest way to catch a killer? Bring the victim back and ask who did it. Only, nothing’s that easy.

When the bodies of young gay men start piling up in London, DCI Ben Weaver would do anything to bring the massacre to an end. Well, almost anything. He didn’t have the powers-that-be recruiting a necromancer on his bingo card. Or who that necromancer would turn out to be.

Griffin doesn’t want to work for CID, but then he has little interest in most things these days unless it involves getting drunk. Especially if it brings Ben back into his life. Ben might be his fated mate, but Griffin refuses to dance to fate’s tune. Not when guilt still gnaws away at him.

Stopping Satanic Romeo from claiming any more victims requires teamwork. But as they try to navigate their feelings and work out the killer’s endgame, he might already have them in his sights.

Who’s hunting who?

Dropping Like Flies is book 2 in the Paranormal Problems trilogy but can be read as a standalone. It features a necromancer bond stronger than most, a killer with a liking for fingers and not in a good way, and two men far better together than they are apart.

Content warning for murder, violence and suicide.

REVIEW: ⟫ This was a cracking story! Griffin is a necromancer who for reasons not explained initially broke things off with his fated mate, Ben. Ben works for CID and has a serial killer he desperately needs to catch. Ben’s boss has the brilliant idea of getting a necromancer ask one of the victims about his murderer and just his luck, Griffin is the man called in.

It sounds really simple but it’s actually pure genius. Trying to solve the case whilst dealing with the tension between Ben and Griffin was engrossing, and the more I heard about the PP, the more I wanted to know. I knew this was book two (although it can be read as a standalone quite successfully) but I downloaded book one as soon as I finished reading the ARC because I really want to read more about what happens in this verse.

I’m not used to reading a police/paranormal procedural from H.L. Day although I have enjoyed other stories from them, but I am really chuffed that they branched off into this area. The story was fast paced, the romance and sex was grounded in reality with the perfect twist of fated mates and mysticism, with a storyline that seems to follow on from book one but the over-arcing plot-line doesn’t get in the way. Perfect way to spend a Saturday evening reading this and looking forward to spending Sunday reading book one!

I received an ARC from GRR.