Tag Archives: Rating: 3

Changed: Mated to the Alien Alpha by Robin Moray (The Omega Colony Book #1)

Posted on by
Reply

TITLE: ⟫ Changed: Mated to the Alien Alpha
AUTHOR: ⟫ Robin Moray

SERIES: ⟫ The Omega Colony Book #1
RATING: ⟫ 3/5

BLURB: ⟫ The Company said Omega IV was uninhabited. They said Omega IV was safe.
They were wrong.

The giant humanoid inhabitants of Omega IV are conditioned to the Change—a biological event in their development that designates them altha or amekha—but for the new colony of humans, the Change comes as an unpleasant surprise.

Dr Cameron Grant, bitter after a turbulent break-up, finds himself in a first-contact situation that was never covered in training.The alien warrior Tal’jen, seven feet tall and distinctly male, has taken an interest in him, an interest with a clear and pressing conclusion. Dr Grant can’t deny his attraction, even as his body undergoes strange and frightening changes. Whatever is happening to him, it’s obvious that Tal’jen understands it instinctively. He will have to place himself in the hands of an alien and hope that Tal’jen’s interest is as benign as it seems.

Meanwhile, Tal’jen, chief-in-waiting of his people, seeks a mate. The handsome and strange Cam’ren of the newcomers calls to him powerfully, though he has not yet gone through his Change. To be chief Tal’jen must mate with a bearer, so while he longs to claim Cam’ren for his own, he must be patient and hope that Cam’ren’s Change will grant him the gift of bearing young.

As the Change spreads through the human colony, leaving chaos in its wake, Cameron and Tal’jen must fight to protect both the delicate bond growing between them, and each other.

REVIEW: ⟫ I love the whole idea of this but found it very difficult to suspend disbelief throughout the story. It was laughable the way that Cameron behaved with Tal’jen, especially since he hadn’t actually begun the change when things began between them. As things unfolded, I think the lack of panicking and/or proper investigation into what was happening dragged me out of the story – who the heck hears that they’re growing an organ but wants to continue eating alien food? And the fact that this was beginning to affect other people didn’t cause the rush to figure it all out that I was expecting. I enjoyed quite a few aspects of the story but found I couldn’t disengage my brain enough. That’s not to say I won’t read more of the series!

Red On His Lips by J. Tomala (Blood on His Lips Book #1)

Posted on by
1

TITLE: ⟫ Red On His Lips
AUTHOR: ⟫ J. Tomala

SERIES: ⟫ Blood on his Lips #1
RATING: ⟫ 3/5

BLURB: ⟫ “So, are you a witch?”

“It depends,” Lars said, leaning just that little bit closer.

Valerian had thought the boy was timid, afraid even, but that wasn’t the case at all. Or maybe Valerian had lost his edge over the last fifty years and didn’t look scary anymore.

“On what?”

“Do you need a witch?” Lars asked pointedly, stressing the you.


The last things Valerian expected to see on the random inspection of his brothel was a wild, pretty thing with blood on his lips. And for some reason, he can’t look away from the boy or leave him there.

The solution to this is to take him home, give him a job, and call him into his parlor every night, pretending he’s only there to elevate Valerian’s boredom. They say the boy is a witch, and when Valerian looks at him in the candlelight, he believes it. How else could he explain his impulsive behavior? His growing attachment to Lars, the feelings blooming in his chest?

Lars should hate Valerian Wilk, after all he’s ended up in the vampire’s brothel, because his stepfather owed him money. But as soon as Valerian Wilk walks into the room, something inside him awakes, tells him to get closer to the man. Mouthing off to the owner of the brothel pays off for him. He’s bundled up and taken to Wilk’s townhouse to be his gardener, but that’s not all he does. Every evening, he sits with Lord Wilk in the parlor and talks to him. Soon he starts looking forward to these hours when they can be alone, and his feelings for the handsome vampire grow and deepen.

But Lars is a mortal witch and Lord Wilk a powerful immortal vampire. Would he even want someone like Lars at his side and in his bed?

This is the first book in the ‘Blood on his lips’ series, but can be read as a standalone title.

REVIEW: ⟫ There was a lot to enjoy about this book – the vampire lore was very interesting and well done. However, as my first read from this author, it just didn’t grab me. There were time jumps – to allow for one of the male reads to age up appropriately – but apart from maybe a character making mention of months or years passing, there was little indication that any time had passed. The relationship between Valerian and Lars was very insta-love but not in a passionate way. It’s difficult to describe and maybe that’s my problem – there seemed to be no reason why they fell for each other. We never find out if part of Valerian’s attraction to Lars is because of his witch blood; the fight against bad vampires was short, didn’t feel particularly clear and was anticlimatic. I wanted to enjoy this more than I did which is a shame because I can’t see myself reaching for book two. Obviously YMMV but this one didn’t work for me at all.

The Silencer by Cora Rose (Unexpectedly Twisted Book #1)

Posted on by
Reply

TITLE: ⟫ The Silencer

AUTHOR: ⟫ Cora Rose

SERIES: ⟫ Unexpectedly Twisted Book #1

RATING: ⟫ 3/5

BLURB: ⟫ When a little harmless flirting at a biker bar suddenly takes a turn for the worse and I find myself at odds with the dangerous Fallen Aces gang, I call on the only man I know who can save me.

Anthony Costello may be a vicious mafia boss with a penchant for violence and torture, but he’s also my best friend’s father and the sexiest man I’ve ever laid eyes on. His buttoned-up demeanor and grumpy attitude only fuel my desire to take him apart. I live to push all his buttons. And though he says he’s straight, it seems Anthony may have a soft spot and possessive streak for this smart-mouthed twink. Because as war between rival gangs escalates, things between Anthony and I start to heat up. And I think I’d rather like to sit on the king’s lap to watch it all burn.

The Unexpectedly Twisted series is a rom-com mafia spin-off of the Unexpected series. It contains dark themes and triggers, please see content warnings at the beginning of each book.

REVIEW: ⟫ I think I am going to have to finally accept that my love for Cora Rose does have its’ limitations. This last year, I have struggled to finish some of her books at all, and often when I have finished them I am questioning myself as to why. I like her style of writing – when her ability to write banter, steamy sex and interesting characters are on point for me, I adore reading her work. But when any of that doesn’t quite hit me right, then generally I think I need to learn to DNF – that’s not a failing on their behalf, that’s just that it isn’t hitting my buttons. And that’s okay.

I might return to this series because I would like to know what’s going on with Angel and Mikhel, but this one didn’t hit the mark for me.

The Bear's Brave Omega by A.J. Cane (Grizzly Ridge Book #1)

Posted on by
Reply

TITLE: ⟫ The Bear’s Brave Omega

AUTHOR: ⟫ A.J. Cane

SERIES: ⟫ The Grizzly Ridge Series Book #1

RATING: ⟫ 3/5

BLURB: ⟫ Bear shifter Everett has found his fated mate, but he’ll have to defeat another alpha to keep him.

When Milo’s date sprouts fangs and tries to bite him, he flees into the nearby forest and ends up lost. The gorgeous man who rescues him seems too good to be true… until Milo discovers his secret.

Everett knows the human omega is his fated mate, but the last thing Milo needs is another alpha shifter trying to claim him so soon after his traumatic experience.

Unfortunately, Milo’s date from hell is determined to mate with him—willing or not—and Everett will have to fight tooth and claw to protect their love.

REVIEW: ⟫ This was a sweet, simple story. Milo, a human omega, is attacked on his first date with Tomas. He runs away and gets lost in the forest and is rescued by the town’s local search and rescue. The man who rescues him is a bear-shifter, Everett, who realises almost immediately that Milo is his mate, but then has to face the thought that Milo already be mated elsewhere but even if that’s not the case, has no idea about shifters. With an underlying plot regarding a rogue wolf pack, this is a sweet story, with Milo and Everett being honest, kind and trusting with each other. I actually read book 2 before this one so knew pretty much what the story was about. A nice read.

Reluctantly You by Cora Rose (Our Exception Book #3)

Posted on by
Reply

TITLE: ⟫ Reluctantly You

AUTHOR: ⟫ Cora Rose

SERIES: ⟫ Our Exception Book #3

RATING: ⟫ 3/5

BLURB: ⟫ They say blood makes you related but loyalty makes you a family…

Sounds like a tacky wall-art quote to me. But what do I know? I don’t have a family. Not anymore. And I definitely don’t know loyalty. Not since my brothers collectively decided to shut me out of their lives… Not since my mother lied to me and kept a devastating secret… Not since my father sold our company out from under me to a smug jerk with a chip on his shoulder.

Gideon Masters… he’s my new boss, and I hate him for everything that’s happened to me. For everything that’s been taken away. Even though I know, deep down, that being an angry bastard all my life hasn’t done me any favors, and that my hatred must have consequences. So maybe Gideon is my rightful punishment. Maybe I deserve his retribution for my sins. But the way he taunts me and torments me, the way he commands me, it all feels too good to be wrong. Maybe I don’t want him to stop. Maybe my punishment could also be my savior.

This story contains intense themes of depression and homophobia, as well as other potential triggers. Please see the full list of trigger warnings at the beginning of the book.

REVIEW: ⟫ I think sheer stubbornness made me finish reading this. I wanted to know what happened to the third brother and kinda close the door on Sem and Whit, etc. I have found my reaction to Cora Rose books to be variable – I either absolutely love them or just find them too quirky for me.

The thing is, this one wasn’t quirky but it also didn’t work for me. I mean, we got cameos from a whole feast of previous characters and occasionally the links to them are a little unbelievable. I didn’t like Mitch but to be fair, I didn’t like Gideon either. I just found them to be caricatures rather than fully fleshed people and their relationship just didn’t connect in my mind at all.

I think the issues of internalised homophobia and depression were handled quite well, and I did enjoy reconnecting with Basil and his menagerie. I’m glad I read it if only to consider the series ‘complete’ but it wasn’t my favourite by any stretch. Obviously YMMV.

Waves by Howl Avery (Inhuman Love Collection Book #1)

Posted on by
Reply

TITLE: ⟫ Waves

AUTHOR: ⟫ Howl Avery

SERIES: ⟫ Inhuman Love Collection Book #1

RATING: ⟫ 3/5

BLURB: ⟫ A year after ending his engagement a mere two days before the wedding, Ezra has settled into his new life: documenting the local seal population, walking the beaches with his black lab, or having lunch with his one remaining friend. Life is simple, quiet, and predictable until the day Ezra befriends a man who walks right out of the sea.

Kai has been alone for a long time—a very, very long time. So much so, he can’t remember living as anything but a seal or caring about anyone human. Until one day, he meets someone amid the ocean who drives his urge to return to land again.

Waves is a low-angst MM paranormal romance featuring a selkie and human pairing.

REVIEW: ⟫ This was a sweet, slightly strange love story between a marine biologist and a selkie. The connection between Ezra and Kai felt tenuous and there were times when I felt that the relationship between them just wasn’t for the best? I think Kai’s concerns about Ezra waiting for him constantly whilst he was in his seal form were valid – time passed differently, and although Kai truly cared for Ezra, when he was a seal that caring was very much in the back of his mind.

I think for me I found that I didn’t actually care very much about the relationship between the two leads. I found myself wondering so much more about Ezra’s relationship with Thom, how it ended and just why he wasn’t reporting Thom for his behaviour. I also struggled with what felt like Ezra’s self imposed loneliness – he had friends who made it so obvious that they cared about him, yet he constantly acted surprised that he had these friends.

I’m struggling with this review because I feel like it is a disconnect from my end rather than the actual story. Ezra was too easy-going about things but then he turned almost too much in the other direction, trying to force Kai to remain on land.

As I say, I think the disconnect is mine and that the story is well worth a look if you like the idea of a selkie falling in love with a human.

Ben by Cora Rose (Unexpected #8)

Posted on by
Reply

TITLE: ⟫ Ben

AUTHOR: ⟫ Cora Rose

RATING: ⟫ 3/5

SERIES: ⟫ Unexpected #8

BLURB: ⟫ It’s often said that everything is impossible until it’s done.

And while I’ve always known my infatuation with Cash and Ford was meant to remain an unfulfilled dream, I never really lost hope.

Hope that the two men, twice my age, would ever see me as more than just a kid. As more than just their best friend’s son.

But I’m not a kid any more, and at twenty-one, they’re about to see that little meek and quiet Ben is old enough for many things. Old enough to finally attract their attention. And frankly, old enough to know better. To know that these stolen touches and lustful trysts behind closed doors could never really amount to more.

Because everything will crumble as soon as Cash, Ford, and my father find out what I’ve been up to. That I’ve been keeping secrets from them all.

I can’t possibly keep them both.

I can’t keep them at all.

I know our love is impossible.

But, god help me, when has that ever stopped me?

REVIEW: ⟫ I find myself agreeing with another review that I saw that said this book could have just been a smutty novella without the unnecessary side-plots. Basically, this book was a sexfest from start to finish – not a bad thing by any means, but after a while I found myself wanting something more.

Ben was a confusing character for me. His insistence on secrecy made sense initially – having two best friends who happen to be your father’s age/friends and having sex with both of them secretly is a humdinger. I appreciated the fact that he told both Cash and Ford upfront that he wasn’t exclusive with either of them, thereby avoiding any hint of actual cheating. However, once the cat was out of the bag with those two, and it became increasingly obvious that Dean just wanted to connect with Ben and wouldn’t judge him, the concern about his father’s views seemed a little overblown and like padding that the story didn’t need.

I loved the dynamic between Ben, Ford and Cash – although I felt that their behaviour at the party was more than a little outrageous – and would probably have enjoyed this book more if it had been shorter. Full of Cora Rose’s standard banter, inner dialogue and interesting side-characters, this was well written but I do think it could have been much shorter and had a little more relationship development and a little less sex!

What We Earned by Hinsel Meyer

Posted on by
Reply

TITLE: ⟫ What We Earned

AUTHOR: ⟫ Hinsel Meyer

RATING: ⟫ 3/5

BLURB: ⟫ Glenn

With so many things to do before I graduate college, any distraction is an unwelcome one. I’m not in the greatest mindset when George arrives at my place to move in, and let’s just say I’m not a ray of f***ing sunshine our first day as roommates. When I finally make things right and start a tentative friendship with him, he throws me a curveball by kissing me. Can anyone blame me when my reaction to that kiss is to offer him a friends with benefits deal? The guy’s the definition of handsome—he looks like he could be a Hemsworth for f*ck’s sake—I couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by now that I know he’s not straight. I have way too many things to do in order to get the life I want, so having a live-in hookup seems to be the perfect solution to let off some steam.

George

I’ve known I’m not straight for almost a year now. The realization didn’t come because of Glenn, but my attraction to him cemented it. Now, I have a chance to explore this new side of my sexuality with the only person in campus who I hung out with last year, too. The fact that he’s a gorgeous walking contradiction—buff and tattooed, but also a big-glasses-wearing genius—doesn’t hurt a thing. How he’s able to be so willingly vulnerable draws me in, and before I know it, I’m catching feelings. And just when I think he’s catching some himself, he drops a bomb that makes me question if the “friends” part of our deal is real.

Will Glenn ever fully trust me?

Glenn’s moving to Boston next year; no matter how much of a nervous wreck he is about getting his acceptance letter to MIT, I know he will—he’s worked too hard not to. And I… I don’t know where I’ll be, all I know is I’ll be playing for an NFL team. Our deal to be friends with benefits for our last year at Cavendish and then go back to being just friends seems to be the most logical, and we both love logic. But when things start going off track we have some decisions to make.

Will we fight for each other?

What We Earned is a contemporary MM Friends with Benefits, Bi-awakening, College Romance and Book 2 in the Fan Service Series. While it is a standalone, it would be best enjoyed by reading the series in order. This book has no cliffhangers and ends in a HEA. There are a lot of very gay things happening inside, so if that’s not for you, then this book isn’t either. If it is, then welcome to the mostly low-angsty world of the Fan Service Series, I’m thrilled to have you and hope you enjoy this journey.

REVIEW: ⟫ I struggled with this book – for me, it dragged until around 50%, and then I kept going through sheer bloody-mindedness and sunk-cost fallacy. That’s not to say it’s a bad book – I just found it nearly impossible to get into it, like the characters or care what was happening.

I would say that it was difficult to read as a stand-alone. From the very beginning, it references things that seem to have happened in the first book in the series (which I haven’t read) involving the intermingled friend groups of the two main characters. Sometimes when this happens, I will try to read the first book in the series to ‘catch up’ but I couldn’t bring myself to do that this time. I also found myself kinda disliking some of the characters from the previous book – they felt like ‘set’ pieces rather than real people. It’s hard to describe what I mean, but for example, Sebas was over the top, annoying and apparently loved by absolutely everyone.

Glenn was an interesting character – having survived his childhood, he was very self-aware and knew that he had issues. He had even pencilled in therapy as part of his life plan. He was determined to stick to his plan and a friends with benefits thing with George seemed ideal until he started catching feelings and then things just got very confusing for him. Unfortunately, I just didn’t like Glenn. I admired his resilience and his determination to get where he wanted in life, but I didn’t like him as a person. I found him difficult to picture in my head – I know he was meant to be a buff, tattoo-covered geek wearing glasses, but apart from the stereotypical imagery that produced, I couldn’t ‘see’ him in my head. Which made it difficult to figure out what all of the fuss was about – yes, Glenn was a genius, but when it came to human relationships he seemed like a bit of a robotic a**hole.

Then we come to George and I feel really bad, but I can barely remember anything about him. He just didn’t seem to come alive for me in any respect, and as such I didn’t care about him or what happened to him. Between him and Glenn, I didn’t feel heat, chemistry or even true regard – it began as a relationship of convenience and carried on that way. Even the ‘break’ felt overly complicated although I was really annoyed with Glenn for breaking such a cardinal rule. That felt out of character to me – for it not to even occur to him what he was doing until George reacted felt wrong, somehow.

The writing is solid, with good grammar and no plot holes. Perhaps if I had read the first book, this one wouldn’t have been such a struggle for me? I think marketing it as a stand-alone might be doing it a disservice somewhat but without reading the first novel, I couldn’t confirm that. This is a YMMV I think – perhaps I simply wasn’t in the right frame of mind for it?

I received an ARC from GRR.

Only Skin Deep by Kelex

Posted on by
Reply

TITLE: ⟫ Only Skin Deep

AUTHOR: ⟫ Kelex

RATING: ⟫ 3/5

BLURB: ⟫ Welcome to the world of Enchanted Ink! For a price, master tattooists can place a beautiful spell directly onto your skin. Want to be wealthy? Beautiful? Loved? You’ve come to the right place. Just make sure the price you’ll pay is worth it as the cost isn’t always in gold.

****

Luca Galioto can tattoo just about any spell, but he specializes in healing tattoos. He’ll need to create his masterpiece after his mate, and Salem PD detective, Ash Montgomery brings in a human suffering a curse to end all curses. Luca uses every ounce of strength to save the man—because they both sense he’s their third.

Colby Kennedy doesn’t believe in witches, demons, fated mates, and the things that go bump in the night. Yet he struggles to ignore the deep-seated lust he feels every time he looks at Luca and Ash. No matter his need, he has his brother to care for and a business to run. He doesn’t have time for nonsense.

The demons don’t stop coming, putting everything he holds dear in jeopardy. Luca and Ash, and the coven at Enchanted Ink, are the only things keeping him and his brother from losing everything.

But can he accept their world and his place in it before it’s too late?

REVIEW: ⟫ Oh I wanted to love this one! Fated mates who just happen to be thirds, tattoos with magic imbued in them, demons and a coven in trouble – it just sounded like it would be a breakneck-paced romance with masses of passion and lust, with protectiveness thrown in and magic being thrown around to protect people. Phew!

Yeah, no – this wasn’t that. For a story that involves a third being nearly killed by a tattoo, with demons threatening to destroy much needed/desired third parties, this story lacked passion for me – which is a surprise as in order to recharge, Luca and Ash go at it quite a bit. I felt like the story got a bit lost in the people – not a lot actually happened apart from hints of another pairing, Daniel turning out to be more than just a little magical, and Colby falling under the spell of two good looking men who insisted he was sent to complete them.

We didn’t find out the underlying reason for what the demons were doing, there was no big battle, and even getting Colby to accept his new reality was nowhere near as difficult as I thought it might be. It all just felt a bit – flat? Or maybe too ‘normal’ for a story that was so heavily steeped in the paranormal.

The writing was solid, some of the characters were better written than others, and the world building/premise behind the mate-mark were really intriguing but this story just didn’t fill in enough of the blanks that I wanted to read. Perhaps further through the series, we will learn more about the background of the coven, why the demons might choose to attack the way they have and how everyone fits into this world, but at the moment I don’t think this was a satisfactory introduction to a new series and I’m not sure I’ll read any further.

I received an ARC from GRR.

Diablo by Cora Rose (Unexpected #7)

Posted on by
Reply

Title: ⟫ Diablo (Unexpected #7)

Author: ⟫ Cora Rose

Rating: ⟫ 3/5

Blurb: ⟫ After my honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, it only made sense to put my skills to good use as a personal bodyguard. The contracts keep me moving and traveling, and the money is good. All I’ve ever wanted was to make sure my mother and sister were taken care of after my father passed away. So when Anthony Costello, the notorious mob boss and my dad’s ex-employer, asked me to take on a special job for his family, I couldn’t say no.

But not even my six-year stint as an elite Marine could have prepared me for the hellscape that is being trapped in a secluded safe house with his son. Diablo Costello is a rude little chaos gremlin that lives to push all my buttons. I can’t keep him safe if he’s determined to fight me every step of the way. But I can see through the bratty facade. I know what Diablo needs. What he longs for. And God help me, I’m going to give it to him.

This book is a little different than my other books due to the characters involved. Please check the content warning in the beginning of the book!

Review: ⟫ From the first page, you’re thrown into the chaos that is Diablo’s life – when we begin reading, he is being threatened by an ex-boyfriend of his twin brother’s who he has ‘hacked’ and needs to be put somewhere safe.

Skylar is his bodyguard, a man pushed beyond his patience by the chaos that is Diablo and how he goes through life. The difference is that Skylar sees Diablo, as well as the needs he is hiding behind his chaotic, obnoxious exterior.

This would normally push so many of my buttons: size-difference, bodyguard, psycho falling in love, mafia – so much to choose from and devour. Unfortunately, this book simply did not work for me. I disliked Diablo intensely and thought he was immature and annoying. The refusing to admit he liked something was amusing to begin with – when it kept happening in situations where his denial was completely absurd, I began to get annoyed.

The feelings of annoyance got worse the more that I read and I finished the book because I felt obligated rather than because I wanted to know what happened in the end.

The physical relationship/sex scenes were intense and fun but I didn’t feel that there was enough between our two leads for there to be a HEA – Diablo felt too young and immature, and I didn’t know enough about Skylar to feel like I knew who he was and what he wanted. Some of their interactions were funny, but overall this book just didn’t work for me because I didn’t like the main protagonist. I admit I have been enjoying Cora Rose less and less with each book but that may well be my issue – YMMV. If you enjoyed Lex, then you will probably enjoy Diablo but this book wasn’t for me.