GRR | Book-Endz

Title: ⟫ The Guilty Canvas (The Taste of Ink Part 2)

Author: ⟫ Daniel May

Blurb: ⟫ “If he gives you everything you need, then why are you here?”

Trinket has everything he wants, and it’s not enough.

Perfect boyfriend, architect Siebold AKA ‘Zee,’ adores him. Originally best friends, it took them a long time to confess their feelings, and Trinket should be elated to finally have what he always wanted.

But the night of their confession went horribly wrong. Two years later, their relationship has yet to recover. Zee has the love, the money, the unending patience, but it isn’t enough. Trinket is still insecure in bed — even afraid. Despite his best efforts, Zee can do no right.

Tattoo artist Mini can do no wrong. From the minute he and Trinket met — when Trinket tries in vain to mend his relationship with a two-year anniversary tattoo — no taboo has been off the table.

Trinket didn’t mean to cheat.

But he also doesn’t mean to stop, or to leave his boyfriend. For the first time in his life, he plans to get everything he needs… or lose it all trying.

The Guilty Canvas is the second book in the revised Taste of Ink trilogy. It was originally published as the fourth through sixth books (A Stanza on Skin, A Darker Palette, and The Color of Need). The books contain one continuous plot-line, share the same characters, and cannot be read as standalone.

The trilogy is an extremely high heat, slow burn MMM with a happy ending.

Review: ⟫ I’ll admit, I half thought that as this was part two of the trilogy that it might be a kind of ‘holding’ book but I was completely and utterly wrong. With Zee away, Trinket goes to stay with Mini to fully experience what they can be together, even though he has absolutely no intentions of leaving Zee.

And oh boy, does Mini deliver on the new experiences. I absolutely loved how well Mini seemed to understand Trinket – how he reins him in whilst allowing him to learn more about himself and what he desires. I also really enjoyed the way in which Trinket began to come into his power – he was beginning to really get the effect he had on Mini as well as Zee – and appreciate that he wasn’t just a cipher, there for other people’s desires. Trinket is really coming into his own.

The situation with Zee – how Trinket is taking what he learns from Mini and incorporating it into his relationship with Zee – was fascinating, and we get more of an insight into their whole thing. There is more detail on how they got together, that infamous night, and just how much Zee is under Trinket’s spell.

Zee became more of a real person in this instalment, which was fascinating since the premise of the book was ostensibly to show Trinket and Mini having uninterrupted time together.

Again, this was an extremely hot read, with Mini teaching Trinket some of the intricacies of BDSM – heavy on the sane, safe and consensual. This felt much less like a car-crash waiting to happen and more like a window into people’s lives, and an absolutely fascinating view it was too. I don’t know just how this is going to turn into a HEA but I cannot wait to find out!

Another 5/5 from me – insightful, sexy, fascinating, well-written and absolutely intriguing story.

I received an ARC from GRR.

Title: ⟫ Pitcher Perfect (Tap That Brewery Book One)

Author: ⟫ Lee Blair

Blurb: ⟫ When a workaholic brewer and a lonely chef team up to win a prestigious food and beer competition, they might find the perfect pairing in each other.

Austin

Me and my friends knew that when we joined forces to open Tap That Brewery, we needed to do more than just make great brews to break into the crowded Oregon beer scene. When we get an opportunity to enter a beer and food pairing competition, I know our best bet is to join forces with Caleb, a.k.a. the cute as hell new food truck chef in town. The brewery keeps me too busy to date, but I can’t ignore his sexy sincerity or disarming smile.

Spoiler alert: My feelings are growing faster than the head of foam on a badly poured beer.

Caleb

It’s hard to be a newcomer in a charming small town like Dahlia Springs. I’m determined to live my dream of upgrading my food truck to a restaurant, and I even found the perfect space. But the cantankerous owner is reluctant to trust an outsider. Maybe teaming up with the local queer brewery is just what I need to prove I’m here for the long haul.

The problem is, Austin, the adorable brewer who likes chefs about as much as food poisoning, also happens to be the key ingredient to the family I’ve been craving.

Pitcher Perfect is a low angst, steamy, and sweet MM contemporary romance about two men who discover they’re the perfect pairing. It’s the first in the Tap That Brewery series, which features four best friends who co-own a queer brewery together. It’s full of teasing as a love language, found family, more f-bombs than necessary, and a small town you’ll wish you could visit. Each book can be read as a stand-alone, though you may find it most enjoyable to read the series in order. Happily ever afters are guaranteed, and no cliffhangers!

Review: ⟫ Pitcher Perfect is pretty much exactly as described – a low angst, falling in love story about a brewer and a food truck owner. The background characters were sweet and funny, and the storyline was fine. I learned a lot about brewing and what goes into it which was interesting, and the relationship that built between Caleb and Austin was sweet. The towns-people were fun, as were the guys who lived together – some of the pranks, chats and things they did made me smile widely.

This is book one in a new series which I imagine will feature the other brewers mentioned in the story.

If you’re in the mood for something gentle and easy to read, I would imagine this would be a great read. I give this a rating of 3/5.

I received an ARC from GRR.