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

Posted on March 16, 2025 by Book_Endz

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)

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Book_Endz

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.

Goodbye Note by J.R. Gray

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Book_Endz

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)

Posted on February 1, 2025 by Book_Endz

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

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Book_Endz

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)

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Book_Endz

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!

Poetry on Ice by Jesse H Reign (Totally Pucked #1)

Posted on January 10, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Poetry on Ice

AUTHOR: ⟫ Jesse H Reign

SERIES: ⟫ Totally Pucked #1

RATING: ⟫ 5/5

BLURB: ⟫ I can’t tell if we’re fighting…or flirting?

Being traded to the Seattle Vipers has left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, they’re my team, the team I’ve loved and supported since I was a kid, but on the other hand, he’s here. Him. Ant Decker. Infamous NHL bad boy. Right wing to my left. A man who’s made it his sole purpose in life to be better than me.

Well, the joke’s on him because I’m faster and my stats are better than his.

Not that I’m competing with him. Of course not. I wouldn’t stoop to his level.

He’s the most infuriating person I’ve ever met. A dark, chaotic presence that distracts me.

When we’re not coming to blows on the ice, he tries to provoke me by calling me Princess. And Pretty Boy…and Babygirl.

I hate it. Obviously, I do. It makes me so angry I can hardly see straight.

So why does my body react as if I like it?

REVIEW: ⟫ Oh my goodness, this book!!! I only meant to read one chapter and here I am at 7 am in the morning, not having gone to sleep, just having finished reading. This book was EVERYTHING! Robbie and Ant are antagonistic, argumentative, cute, sexy – the way that Ant talks to Robbie about gave me a heart attack! And the chemistry between them is so off the charts – like, wow!! I think it’s obvious by now that I absolutely adored this book – it was just so brilliant. I enjoyed the hockey, the team-mates, Robbie’s family, Bodie – it was all just chef’s kiss!

Absolutely perfect and I will be re-reading it because I just want to make sure I caught everything! P.S. That tattoo was absolutely perfect and left me grinning like an idiot!

Fey Dominion by S.Rodman (Fey Lords Book #2)

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Fey Dominion

AUTHOR: ⟫ S.Rodman

SERIES: ⟫ Fey Lords #2

RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ He is a fey prince. A ruler of the race that conquered Earth.I’m a leader of the Resistance.

There can never be anything between us.

I’m lucky he didn’t kill me when he caught me snooping around the palace, but then again, Prince Mabon Y Mabinogi is unlike anyone I’ve ever met.

His decisions don’t make sense.

He is beautiful.

Demanding.

Loud and dramatic.

He loves sparkly things and pretty things.

And keeping me as his pet.

I’ll play along for now. For the sake of the Resistance and the intelligence I can gather.

But as soon as I can escape his bed, I’m gone.

There is no reason to stay.

Is there?

REVIEW: ⟫ This was so different to what I was expecting after having read books #1 and #3, but then Mabon is very different from his brothers. We saw deeper into the politics that surround the fey, and how what may seem to be all-powerful is anything but. I really enjoyed seeing things through Blake’s eye, especially when the resistance got involved. Mabon revealed himself to have hidden depths and I very much enjoyed this instalment to the series. It’s a shame that I’ve already read book #3 because now I have to wait for book #4 to come out!

Fey Conquest by S.Rodman (Fey Lords #1)

Posted on January 4, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Fey Conquest

AUTHOR: ⟫ S.Rodman

SERIES: ⟫ Fey Lords #1

RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ He is morally grey, with all the red flags. He isn’t human. He conquered Earth and claimed me as his pet. So why don’t I hate him?

Prince Rhydian Y Mabinogi. As beautiful as he is cruel. The man of my dreams, and of my nightmares.

I was just a normal human man. Now I am his pet. He will never see me as his equal, as his partner. I don’t even know why I want him to.

I should hate him. I should try to escape. I should loathe the things he does to me every night.

But as I come to know the twisted politics of this cruel and violent fey court he dragged me into. I can’t help suspect there is far more to Rhydian than meets the eye.

I think under his icy armour, one thing is true.

He needs me.

Fey Conquest contains captor/captive, enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort, first times and touch him & X.

Happily ever after is guaranteed.

Please note this story includes content that will be upsetting for some readers. If further information is needed, please use the “Look Inside” or sample feature to view the copyright page, where a full list can be found. Alternatively, this information can be viewed on the author’s website.

REVIEW: ⟫ Well, I started this series on book #3 so I knew a little bit about the relationship between Rhydian and Jamie. However, I am pleased that I went back and read this because their coming together was really powerful. I loved how Rhydian tried his best to understand and respect Jamie; I absolutely adored how protective over Rhydian was and when he stood up for his man and challenged someone – well, I cheered. Suffice it to say, I really enjoyed this beginning to the series and moved on to book two feeling very happy.

Shared by the Gladiators by Taylor Wolfe (Straights Get Shared #2)

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Book_Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Shared by the Gladiators

AUTHOR: ⟫ Taylor Wolfe

SERIES: ⟫ Straights Get Shared #2

RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ Zane is finally checking off the number one item at the top of his bucket list: to visit the Colosseum. And when a ridiculously handsome tour guide dressed like a gladiator offers him a private tour, he certainly can’t refuse. Especially not after the gladiator stirs unfamiliar, but very welcome, feelings.

And when the gladiator offers to introduce Zane to his friends, Zane realizes that all his new fantasies might just become a reality.

REVIEW: ⟫ I love books like this – when you’re in the mood for something simple, a bit of smut, some insta-love, they completely hit the spot. I liked the historical aspect of this and the sex was hot – what more can you ask for?! I received an ARC from BookSirens.