#NotJason by Jennifer Cody (Banshee House #1)

TITLE: ⟫ #NotJason
AUTHOR: ⟫ Jennifer Cody

SERIES: ⟫The Banshee House #1
RATING:
⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ Sean:

When I meet Luke at an Ultimate Frisbee tournament, he’s instantly just the kind of guy I want to get to know better. That he’s the one who asks me out? Well, I’m not going to say no. Our first date goes off without a hitch. He is literally everything I could ever want in a man. Nerd and jock, shy and excitable, competitive in the bedroom yet submissive just the way I like it. It’s not until our second date that I realize why.

I don’t know why these twins are trying to play me, but I’ve got a competitive streak a mile wide, and I will win this game, no matter who started it.

#NotJason is a 35k MMM paranormal romance with twins vying for the love of a single man, a flirty, naked landlord, and freckles in dark places. The Banshee House boys all have interesting kinks, and Sean’s includes the fantasy of millions of men worldwide come true: a twin BJ. There is a Daddy/boy (not age play) relationship in this book, along with consensual and light humiliation kink, and a non-traditional fated mate trope filtered through the skepticism of a take-charge boyfriend.

REVIEW: ⟫ I picked this up to read because of the #NotJason story that I vaguely remembered. As long as you don’t take this too seriously, it’s actually quite entertaining. Obviously the idea that twins are dating one man without telling him could be very problematic, hence needing to suspend a little bit of believe.

I absolutely adored just how Sean was able to tell the difference between Liam and Luke – that was not something the twins could have planned for and made me giggle for quite some time. The members of the Banshee House were entertaining and the story galloped along at an enjoyable pace.

I enjoyed reading this and have move on to the author’s Diviner series based on how much I enjoyed reading this.

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

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!

Possessive Puckboy by Eden Finley & Saxon James (Puckboys Book #8)

TITLE: ⟫ Possessive Puckboy
AUTHOR: ⟫ Eden Finley & Saxon James
SERIES: ⟫ Puckboys Book #8
RATING: ⟫ 4.5/5

BLURB:⟫ Connor

Finding out those closest to me don’t see me as the great guy I think I am not only kicks me in the gut, it makes me question everything.

Until that happened, I didn’t think I had many regrets in my life. Now, I have nothing but regrets. And when my NHL team is bought out, and the new owner makes his presence known, my existential crisis kicks up a notch. Because he might be my biggest regret of all.

Parker Duchene.

I made his life a living hell in high school, and now he’s inserting himself into my career to repay the favor.

With everything in my personal life already on the line, I can’t risk hockey too. I need to figure out a way to play nice with the new owner.

Parker

I bought Colorado’s NHL team to honor my late father. I did. Only reason.

Emotionally playing with one of my many high school tormentors is a nice bonus though.

Connor Kikishkin may be the one who made me the target for years of name-calling, but I’ve always wondered if my hatred for him bordered too much on the obsessive side to truly be classified as hate.

Infatuation is probably the right word for it.

Now his whole life is in my hands, and I can’t wait to see him beg for my mercy. Seeing Mr. Popular find his humility will definitely ease the grief from losing my dad … right? Because right now, that’s all I have, and I need to hold on to it so I don’t crumble.

REVIEW: ⟫ First of all I would like to say my mental image of Nish is that he is the cutest Kiskishkin with his daddy in second place. Then I would admit that I binge read this in one go – I had forgotten just how easy it is to fall into the world created by these authors.

When I read East’s book, I was very much on his side with the Connor situation – from his perspective, his brother was completely out of control with his behaviour and utterly unreasonable. Reading this story gave me a completely different viewpoint of Connor and I felt so strongly for him. It was drummed into his head from a very early age what was expected of him, with little in the way of understanding just what that was doing to him.

The subject of bullying was handled very well, with a clear-cut understanding that it’s not acceptable to stand back and allow it to happen and think that you’re a good guy because you didn’t take part. Parker’s pain from his past and his bereavement bled through the page and it seemed like he just needed a really good cuddle.

Which is where Connor did his stellar best. These two together were cheek-squeezing levels of cute, from the pet search, to becoming friends, to how hot they were for each other but the intimacy and closeness of cuddling was also a big thing for them both.

I loved this book – so very much – and it has joined the ranks of the Puckboys quite high. I also fell more than a little in love with Novi but that’s obviously for a future date! A Stanley Cup winner of a book – pleased to have read it!

I received an ARC from Foreword PR.

Ronan by G. Eilsel

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.