Heat Haze by Alder Snow

Posted on November 2, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Heat Haze
AUTHOR: ⟫ Alder Snow
RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ After their car breaks down on the side of a hot Texan road, L.A. born Nico Marín and his friends are offered help by an all too friendly stranger. But after the Tavera family farm is turned into a slaughterhouse, Nico finds himself hiding in an old closet just praying he isn’t next. When the closet doors open and he’s face to face with Toro Tavera, the alarmingly big but mute black sheep of the family, he’s greeted not with words but with one sound.

Sh.

Then he’s left there. With a heart beating so fast he can barely breathe, he sits for what feels like hours. But when Toro returns he isn’t there to finish the job. Instead he drops down, unspeaking but not unfeeling, lifting Nico’s hand up to his head in an attempt to be pet. He doesn’t want to hurt him, but he does want to be loved.

Heat Haze is a single-POV standalone novel between a loveless L.A. city boy and a mute cannibal killer who craves genuine love. Two men with more in common than they realize learn to love and grow together in this HEA romance that turns a grim start into lots of fluff. This novel is lighter dark romance, with lots of affection between the leads and not as much ‘dark’ content. A full CW list is included inside!

REVIEW: ⟫ I really wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I saw this offered as an arc – a fluffy dark romance including cannibals was something I had never seen before, and I was fascinated to see how it was going to work.

There is A LOT of suspending disbelief reading this – like, seriously, don’t even think about trying to make sense of some of the decisions Nico made. I personally haven’t seen ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ but even I caught the references to it in the beginning. The relationship between Toro and Nico was very simplistically presented, and the thoughts about Stockholm Syndrome were definitely there. I’m not sure the author managed to convince me about this romance, but I feel it was a good attempt and I applaud the ‘different’ thinking behind the idea.

I received an ARC from Gay Romance Reviews.

Headmates by October Arden (Inside Book #1)

Posted on August 8, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Headmates
AUTHOR: ⟫ October Arden

SERIES: ⟫ Inside #1
RATING: ⟫ 4.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ At six-and-a-half feet tall, Luke should be impossible to miss. Instead, he’s spent his life being overlooked, dismissed, forgotten. So when brilliant, magnetic Jaime starts pursuing him with unusual intensity, Luke doesn’t question it. He’s just grateful someone finally sees him.

What Luke doesn’t know is that Jaime shares his body and consciousness with Alex—his headmate, protector, and the man he’s loved for eleven years. What Luke can’t see is that when Jaime looks at him, he’s seeing someone else entirely.

Because Luke looks exactly like Alex would if he had his own body.

As Jaime becomes obsessed with touching Alex through Luke’s skin, their perfect bond begins to fracture. Alex watches helplessly as the man he loves betrays what they’ve built together. And Luke falls deeper for someone who’s using his body to love a ghost.

When the truth comes out, it will destroy everything they thought they knew about love, identity, and what it means to be real.

An intense, emotional queer romance about the dangerous space between want and need.

For fans of TJ Klune’s hurt/comfort and Eli Easton’s emotional complexity.

REVIEW: ⟫ This is the first book by this author that I have read but as soon as I finished, I went to see what else I could find. The second book incorporating DID that I read this weekend, this book was a trip. I couldn’t get a grip on Jamie – I kept trying to figure out what his deal was. Luke – I felt so bad for Luke, ready to accept the scraps from the table as long as it meant he could continue to be with Jamie – heartbreaking. Alex – who we don’t spend a huge amount of time with – made so much more sense to me. Obviously he was jealous and scared – the thought that he might be replaced was terrifying. I completely understood why the cliffhanger happened when it did but boy, I was cursing because I wanted to know what happened next immediately.

This was fascinating, innovative and satisfying and I look forward to the next instalment. I received an ARC from Gay Romance Reviews.

April 2025 ⟫ Book Reviews Round Up

Posted on April 30, 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 April 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. <hr>

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

Pucked Up by Frankie Abraham (A Dark MM Hockey Romance)

Posted on April 22, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Pucked Up
AUTHOR: ⟫ Frankie Abraham
RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ A romance about men who don’t play fair and the game that changes everything.

I shattered his collarbone in front of twenty thousand screaming fans. One reckless hit. One sickening crunch. One choice I’ll never take back. I thought I’d buried my hockey career—and myself—in the woods. But now he’s standing on my porch. Noah Langley, the rookie I destroyed. He says he wants the truth, but I see it in his eyes. The way he watches my hands. The way he leans closer when he thinks I won’t notice. He doesn’t want closure. And he doesn’t want revenge. He wants pain. He wants me. And God help us both, I want him too—wrecked and ruined. 

REVIEW: ⟫ This was a very interesting style of writing that I think could be a little like marmite – you’re either going to love it or hate it. I found it difficult to get into at first – there was a lot of chopping wood and internal dialogue, as well as what felt like a lot of symbolic conversations. My biggest issue was not feeling anything for the two main character – I think the desire to make this dark meant that too much was left unsaid and I couldn’t see how they were attracted to each other, let alone how they fell in love.

I don’t think it helps that the original blurb that I read for this was different/incorrect – it meant that I went into the story expecting one set-up and got another. The writing is coherent, can be evocative and the story is well constructed but it didn’t have the coherence I needed and the darkness I expected barely materialised. I will look out for more from Frankie Abraham and am glad that I gave this a try.

I received an ARC from Gay Romance Reviews.

The Price of Ice by N.J. Lysk

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ The Price of Ice
AUTHOR: ⟫ N.J.Lysk
RATING: ⟫ 4.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Hockey is all Kallen has ever wanted, but as an omega, his role is to keep his hockey team together. His body is his team’s both on and off the ice. It’s a price he is willing to pay to play, but when he is finally accepted into a professional team, all his expectations of team as family are shattered.

He still wants the ice badly enough to stay, even knowing one day he will be asked to breed with his team to produce a new generation of players. But no matter how hard he tries; he cannot help but wish for something more… Something an omega in his position can’t ever have.

An alpha of his own.

He knows that if he opens his heart, he won’t be able to do what needs doing, but when offered kindness amidst the chaos and the cruelty, he might not be able to deny himself anymore.

This novel has dark themes and a happy ending.

REVIEW: ⟫ The warnings about the dark themes were no joke – from page one, a sense of unease and disquiet is very obvious and it grows as each chapter passes. What was fascinating was how Kallen justified and accepted things simply because he was expected to – he blamed himself for so many things that were most definitely not his fault, it was heartbreaking.

Quite a bit of the story was relatively slow-moving and in that time, the author explored themes of discrimination and prejudice, omegas discovering their power and found family with a deft hand and an interesting slant. It was a very interesting read and to some extent, the romance aspect of things took a backseat to the politics and aftermath of what Kallen suffered through. It’s given me quite a lot to think about and I very much enjoyed the way that things ‘ended’, with Levy and Kallen having what could be considered a relationship that was out of the ordinary but which worked for them.

A very thoughtful, affecting read with some good characterisations, some lovely relationships and a new slant on the whole alpha/omega/beta dynamics but I would say take heed of the trigger warnings.

I received an ARC from GRR.

Royal Crush by E.M.Lindsey

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Royal Crush
AUTHOR: ⟫ E.M.Lindsey
RATING: ⟫ 4.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ As an actor, there’s nothing more humbling than crawling my way back into the spotlight after a vicious spiral that nearly ended my career. But I’m determined to do it. Especially since the role of a lifetime was just dropped into my lap: the chance to play Camillo Soriano, the stone-faced, unflappable, second-born Prince.

This is my chance to make it, to prove to the world that I’m not the mess the media wants everyone to believe I am.

But things get complicated when the studio decides to hire a wheelchair consultant to ensure I’m doing the job right. And not just any consultant, but the Prince himself…

…and Camillo is not thrilled about the casting.

Now have a babysitter on set, and with Camillo’s standards, the infuriatingly gorgeous Prince isn’t making it easy on me.

The man is an absolute royal pain, but the more I get to know him, the more I realize how much we’re alike. It’s becoming increasingly obvious he’s the only person who truly understands me, and the longer we’re together, the more I start to believe in fate.

Royal Crush is an enemies to lovers, actor/prince standalone with a snarky wheelchair using prince, a bitter former child actor, secret dates, tons of snark and banter, the inglorious realities of doing spicy scenes for a camera, a secret romance and a swoony, steamy happily ever after.

REVIEW: ⟫ This was an absolute surprise to me and I commend E.M.Lindsey for what they have written. Camillo’s disability played a part in everything and was so realistic including the non-glamourous aspects of being a Prince in such a situation. Camillo and Aleric were brilliant together – from the time they met, there was an honesty to their interactions that was palpable. The chemistry between them was obvious but I really liked the fact that this story was about intimacy – the intimacy of seeing someone in a fragile, vulnerable position and loving them; the intimacy of recognising inner pain and helping that person feel seen; the intimacy of trusting that someone isn’t going to use your personal trauma against you. I read it in one sitting and felt refreshed by the ending – they chose each other and it was just incredibly special.

I received an ARC from GRR.