Tag Archives: rating: 4

STR8 B8 by K.C. Wells

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Title: ⟫ STR8 B8

Author: ⟫ K.C. Wells

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ Work has been a little hard to come by recently for builder Tom Ryder. When a friend tells him about the wad of cash he got for starring in an adult video, Tom seizes the opportunity. Besides, his friend said his co-star was really hot, so Tom is definitely not seeing a downside.

Until he arrives for the shoot and finds out his friend glossed over one important detail—Tom’s co-star is a guy.

Denny Bailey is only a few months away from finishing the dissertation for his master’s, but that doesn’t mean he can’t find time for his ‘other’ career, especially when it helps him pay off his student loans and keep body and soul together. Life as an adult performer is fun, there are no strings… What could be more perfect? And this latest arrival is definitely ticking most of Denny’s boxes, even if he is a skittish straight guy. That’s fine. Denny can handle that.

Until the next day when Tom Ryder walks into Denny’s favourite coffee shop—and he isn’t smiling.

All it takes is one afternoon to change both their lives, in ways neither of them could ever have imagined…

Review: ⟫ I grabbed this book because I read two chapters of a new KC Wells book that is due out at the end of April and I wanted to get an idea of how they wrote.

The story is set in the UK – Tom is a builder and suffering from big businesses coming in and taking all of the work. He wants to help support his ex-wife and her new wife in their attempts to do IVF but money is proving to be a sticking point until his friend, Andy, makes a suggestion. Porn.

Denny is a student finishing his Masters degree, who does Porn and OF for the money and because he likes/enjoys it. He turns out to be Tom’s partner in his first attempts to do porn – he and the owner of the business have a habit of ‘tricking’ straight guys by saying that it’s going to be a threesome before telling them that the woman has dropped out and offering them money to do a gay scene. Obviously, the straight guy can say no and there’s no pressure, but still it seems like a pretty icky practice.

Tom accidentally runs into Denny at a later point in time and they talk things through, whereby Tom admits that he could have said no, and somehow from this a kind of friendship builds.

The relationship between Tom and Denny moved at an interesting pace – Tom is coming to terms with the fact that not only did he enjoy his scene with Denny, but that he might just be interested in something more. Denny is determined not to fall into the trap of falling for a straight friend – he’s been there before and got hurt, and he’s not going to do it again. But in the meantime, the attraction/chemistry between the two of them is hard to resist.

This was a nice, easy read with the miscommunication between the two men being completely understandable. The sex scenes were good, the writing style was relaxing, and I did enjoy reading the story. I found the ending a bit rushed: we went from declarations of love to graduation to babies very quickly. However, I couldn’t seem to get past the whole trick that Ari and Denny played on Tom at the beginning. It just felt – wrong, and stuck with me as I read the rest of the book. I can imagine that someone who is desperate for money might end up doing something that they wouldn’t normally do and it causing them some stress/anxiety afterwards and that seemed cruel. It was slightly addressed in the book – Denny told Tom that there had been at least one occasion where someone realised that they had been tricked and retaliated, but other than that it wasn’t really talked about.

For that reason, I gave the book a 3.5/5. I will be looking for more books by the author but I think there should, perhaps, have been a bit more warning about this before people go into reading the book.

Confetti Hearts by Lily Morton (Confetti Hitched #1)

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Title: ⟫ Confetti Hearts (Confetti Hitched #1)

Author: ⟫ Lily Morton

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ Joe Bagshaw doesn’t believe in love or marriage anymore, which is rather a hindrance for a wedding planner.

His own marriage was a whirlwind affair that ended before the ink could dry on the wedding certificate. Nevertheless, even with his divorce pending, he’s getting by. Or at least he was until he finds himself snowed in at a remote Scottish hotel with the wedding party from hell, a terrible ABBA tribute band, and his soon-to-be ex-husband.

Lachlan has missed Joe from the second his husband walked away. He wants Joe back and is prepared to do anything to get him. Being snowed in together seems to offer the chance Lachlan needs, but does he have what it takes to get Joe to trust in love and their marriage again?

From bestselling author Lily Morton, comes a romantic comedy about love, matrimony, and the best of second chances.

This is the first book in the Confetti Hitched series.

Review: ⟫ I clicked request for this one as soon as I saw Lily Morton’s name, which meant that I didn’t read the blurb and got a little bit confused initially – Joe seemed to be in love with his husband, how was he going to fall in love with someone else?!

This was typical Lily Morton, full of banter, snark and sarcasm and oodles of chemistry between our two leads. Joe and Lachlan meet and hook up at a wedding – something Joe sees as an extremely hot and pleasant one-night kind of thing until he meets Lachlan at yet another wedding. And somehow those two nights have changed into something more, although neither him nor Lachlan are prepared to put a label on things.

When they end up drunkenly getting married, Joe realises just how little he knows about his husband, and this distance between them as well as some well hidden insecurities mean that he and Lachlan don’t go the distance, especially with Lachlan’s housekeeper and assistant making it perfectly clear that Joe just isn’t good enough.

Lachlan is feeling out of control and terrified of it, and when he should be making himself vulnerable and sharing himself with Joe, he’s pulling away, even whilst dragging Joe to the altar. It’s only when he loses Joe – to the point of divorce paperwork – that he finally realises what he has done and decides to do everything he can possibly do to get his husband back. (Can I just say the signing of the divorce papers had me giggling for ages?)

This is a very typical Lily Morton story so if you have enjoyed previous books of hers, you know what to expect. It’s hot, sweet and sexy, being a lot of fun to read as well as satisfying when you reach the end.

I received an ARC from GRR.

Never Have I Ever Had a Bromance with a Teammate by Willow Dixon (Never Have I Ever Book #3)

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Title: ⟫ Never Have I Ever Had a Bromance with a Teammate

Author: ⟫ Willow Dixon

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ How could one kiss change everything between me and my best friend?

Jax has been my best friend since the day we met. We not only share our passion for baseball, but we train together, play on the same team, hang out together, even sleep in the same bed half the time.

I feel safe with him, and he gets me like no one else. Yeah, he’s gay and I’m straight, but that doesn’t matter.

Until it does.

Until one stupid dare to kiss each other leads to the most amazing, epic kiss of my life.

Until I suddenly can’t stop thinking about him, about what he awakens in me.

Until all I want is him.

Our bromance evolves into something much deeper, something neither of us can define. I explore new territory with him and discover sides of myself I never knew I had.

But with not only our future in baseball on the line but also our friendship, how can this thing between us ever be more than temporary? A bromance between besties doesn’t have to change anything, right?

Matt and Jax’s story is a best friends-to-lovers romance between teammates who discover that a bromance with their bestie is exactly what they’ve always wanted but never thought they could have. Expect lots of BFF banter, some serious steam, and tons of sweetness as these two oblivious jocks navigate the line between boyfriends and bros. It is the third novel in the exciting Never Have I Ever series but can be read as a standalone.

Review: ⟫ This is the third novel in the Never Have I Ever series and I really enjoyed reading it. Matt and Jax are joined at the hip – they are bros who do everything together, or nearly everything. Jax is gay and Matt is straight, otherwise they could be each other’s everything.

A kiss at a party gets Matt thinking and because Jax is his best friend, who else would he turn to in order to figure out if he really is as straight as he thought? This bi-awakening was lovely to read – the ease of communication between the two of them, the way in which they rely on and take care of each other – it was all really lovely to read.

There are some moments of angst – what happens if things go wrong? Will they lose their friendship? And there’s the typical a-hole team-member who is homophobic, but that was such a small amount of the story that it wasn’t too irritating.

The sex scenes were very nice – hot, steamy and yet caring at the same time – and the progression of things wasn’t hurried. It was also lovely to learn a bit more about Eli and check in with the guys from the previous stories. All in all, this was a nice, relaxed romance with lovely main characters and a good story. I look forward to reading more in the series.

I received an ARC from GRR.

Divine River by Marina Vivancos

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Title: ⟫ Divine River

Author: ⟫ Marina Vivancos

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ Mike is just fine being the grumpy wood-worker in town. Sure, maybe he’s not the epitome of happiness, but he doesn’t need some lively city boy coming onto his turf and turning his world upside down.

Mike has learnt to conform to the small-town expectations placed on him. He keeps who he loves—who he is—to himself. Turns out, it’s a lot tougher to stay in the shadows when city-slicker Jason’s sunshine personality beams straight at him.

Jason makes Mike feel seen. Makes him feel like it might just be okay to be himself.

The questions remain—is Mike brave enough to show the rest of the world?

Is he brave enough to let go…and fall in love?

Review: ⟫ This could have been a simple grumpy guy/little mr sunshine story but it was so much more than that. At the beginning of the story, Mike is essentially hiding away from life – he has limited relationships where he never relaxes, and he spends most of his time with his dog. His only outlet/opportunity to be himself is when he speaks to his sister on the phone.

All of this changes when Jason moves in next door, and a gentle friendship grows between the two of them. But Mike is still hiding aspects of himself – scared of rejection or misunderstanding – and it takes some real bravery to show Jason who Mike really is inside.

I liked the way that Jason didn’t push Mike beyond his comfort-zone too much, and when it came to the sides of Mike’s character that he had hidden from everyone, Jason was gentle and kind. Even when he didn’t completely understand, he didn’t push or try to make Mike explain something that simply was, and that was a major part of why I enjoyed his character.

This was a nice, simple read but at the same time, it made me think a lot about the masks we wear in front of people and the importance of having someone in your life that you can let everything out in front of. A beautiful read.

Requited by Jesse H. Reign

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Title: ⟫ Requited

Author: ⟫ Jesse H. Reign

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ If you’ve read Unrequited, and have been left longing for more of Andy and West’s story – you are in luck.

Requited tells the story of roommates and best friends Andy Montgomery and West Baxter from West’s perspective. It is a sweeping story of friendship that turns into longing that can’t be ignored.

Be warned, this isn’t a retelling of the same story, rather, it’s an exploration of what would have been if West or Andy had had the courage to do one teeny, tiny thing differently.

Review: ⟫ I did read Unrequited and reviewed it here and finally got over my anger at the wasted TEN YEARS in that book to read the alternate version.

I think I’m glad I read it, although I’m still not sure. Wes is pretty much obsessed with Andy but hides it because he doesn’t want to lose the friendship that they have. Some of his actions are extremely dubious whilst dealing with this obsession and it was fascinating seeing this different side to him – in Unrequited, he seemed more together, confident and sure of himself. In Requited, we see his thought processes and feelings and it quickly becomes obvious that he hasn’t dealt with being bisexual and his attraction to other men during different periods of his life.

I did enjoy the opportunity to see Andy through outside eyes – strangely enough, in Unrequited he was the one who seemed to be lacking in confidence and self-assurance, whereas through Wes’s eyes, Andy truly has got it all together.

Overall, this book had a lot of sex scenes in it, but it also had a lot of talking – the talking that should have taken place in Unrequited to be honest – and I enjoyed that aspect of it. I also enjoyed the two of them realising all of the ways in which they have revealed that they cared but were too blind to see.

The relationship with Ashleigh was also explored through new eyes, and it became obvious a lot sooner that she and Wes were not suited to each other. I think, generally speaking, I enjoyed this chance to see the other side of things and it was worth the money I paid for it.

There was a lot more sex in this section of the books, which isn’t always a bad thing. Overall, I enjoyed this alternative look at what could have been if Wes and Andy had shown some gumption and spoken up and it was different enough to make it worth reading.

Iced Out by CE Ricci (Leighton U Book #1)

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Title: ⟫ Iced Out (Leighton U Book #1)

Author: ⟫ CE Ricci

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ All’s fair in hate and hockey.

My path to success never included an enemy as a teammate, especially one as infuriating as Quinton de Haas.

Clawing under my skin is his favorite pastime, only feeding the animosity between us as the years pass.

We’re as completely opposite as two people can be: the golden boy and the black sheep.

Constantly at odds or at each other’s throats.

The only thing we can agree on is hockey is our true love, and we’ll do whatever it takes to come out on top.

I never imagined that drive would lead me to do the unthinkable: falling into bed with my not-so-straight rival.

But athletes are a superstitious bunch, and when our hook-ups lead to victories, we tell ourselves we can’t stop.

Besides, it’s all for the sake of the team, right?

*Iced Out is the first in a five book stand-alone college sports romance series featuring two misunderstood rival teammates, pages of snarky banter, and more secret spicy times than any book should be filled with. Not suitable for anyone under 18 years of age.*

Review: ⟫ The trash talk between these two was epic! I love a good hockey story (even though I’ve never seen a hockey game in my life) and this one reminded me of the series by Saxon James and Eden Finley.

Are hockey players really as superstitious as this? I hope so – some of the things that they apparently do are hilarious, and the manner in which the author managed to bring that superstition into the story and make it work was brilliant. The socks – the socks, I need them!

Sorry, a teeny bit incoherent with this review because most of this book put me into such a good mood. The relationship that grew between Oak and Quinn was really sweet beneath all of the chirping and digging at each other, and I loved the way they slowly grew to accept each other – all of the bits that they kept hidden from other people slowly being revealed.

I didn’t like the little subplot with Braxton – for me, I think the way that Oak was written, he would have admitted it as soon as it became clear that the two of them had caught feelings for each other and not waited to be called out. I did like the fact that Quinn didn’t automatically forgive Oak, and that Oak had to actually accept responsibility for what he did and didn’t do, rather than it just being wiped clean.

This had a bit more hockey in than I am used to but I wasn’t opposed to it, and I think it definitely added to the story in terms of how it showed how in sync the boys were.

A fun, entertaining read with some very nice sexy times included!

The Isle of … Where? by Sue Brown (An Isle Story – Book #1)

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Title: ⟫ The Isle of … Where? (An Isle Story – Book #1)

Author: ⟫ Sue Brown

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ When Liam Marshall’s best friend, Alex, loses his fight with colon cancer, he leaves Liam one final request: buy a ticket to Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, and scatter Alex’s ashes off the pier. Liam is tired, worn out, and in desperate need of a vacation, but instead of sun, sea, sand, and hot cabana boys, he gets a rickety old train, revolting kids, and no Ewan MacGregor.

Liam would have done anything for his friend, but fulfilling Alex’s final wish means letting go of the only family Liam had left. Lost, he freezes on the pier… until Sam Owens comes to his rescue.

Sam’s family has vacationed on the Isle of Wight every year for as long as he can remember, but he’s never met anyone like Liam. Determined to make Liam’s vacation one to remember, Sam looks after him-in and out of the bedroom. He even introduces Liam to his entire family. But as Sam helps Liam let go, he’s forced to admit that he wants Liam to hang on-not to his old life, but to Sam and what they have together.

Review: ⟫ I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from this story, but I definitely got more than I thought I would. Liam cuts a sorry figure – he’s lost his best friend, and pretty much his only link to the outside world. He has no family, very few friends, and has basically put his life on hold to see his best friend through the last months of his life.

The pain Liam is in is palpable and I felt for him so much. Sam was exactly what Liam needed – someone who, although he came across like a giant Labrador to begin with, actually had some depth to him. Sam saw someone he liked the look of and moved forward with no fear – or none that he let Liam see. The relationship between the two of them happened very quickly – understandable since it was viewed by both of them as a holiday romance with a definite end in sight.

It quickly becomes clear that they have both caught feelings, and I enjoyed the fact that apart from initial hesitancy, they were both upfront and honest about how they were feeling.

Through the course of the story, Liam finds a whole new family and raft of friends, proves himself to be Sam’s hero, and manages to say goodbye to his best friend with dignity and love.

This is a low-angst story, with a great cast of characters – villains included – and I really enjoyed reading it and have gone looking for the next in the series. The Owens family were entertaining, and I loved seeing Liam blossom beneath their clear-cut affection, as well as Sam’s honest care and love.

Unrequited by Jesse H. Reign

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Title: ⟫ Unrequited

Author: ⟫ Jesse H. Reign

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ Andy Montgomery is an artist and a dreamer. It isn’t long before the person he’s dreaming about is his college roommate, West Baxter.

West is cheerful and popular, a jock and a genius. Despite Andy’s best intentions, he develops a maddening crush on West. As their friendship deepens, so does his crush. It changes from an innocent flutter to the type of longing that defines a lifetime.

The problem? West is straight, so this epic love is unrequited…or is it? 

Review: ⟫ There were huge chunks of this book that seriously worked for me. The relationship between Wes and Andy during college was absolutely awesome, from the initial assumptions, to the way they became each other’s person.

The pining at college was handled masterfully but sometimes Andy came across as a complete masochist (I’m talking about him listening to Wes with girls here). There were hints that feelings were reciprocated, but I felt that Andy’s inability to see them for what they were read quite true – at that age, you don’t always trust your instincts and he had friends telling him that Wes was completely straight so it was understandable.

Where things went a little astray for me was the TEN YEARS that passed. Ten years where Andy pined, didn’t allow himself to find love, and just seemed to be in permanent self-destruct mode. And Wes did nothing about it – I don’t care how unsure you are, if you are free you sure as heck don’t watch your best friend self-destruct without doing something other than that one conversation.

When they did get together, things went fast and were hotter than heck, and that definitely made up for a lot. Overall, I really did enjoy reading the book, hence the 4/5. I half want to read the second book called ‘Requited’ for Wes’s perspective, but I need to get over the anger of those ten years first!

Jon and Mack's Terrifying Tree Problems by A.J. Sherwood

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Title: ⟫ Jon and Mack’s Terrifying Tree Problems

Author: ⟫ A.J. Sherwood

Rating: ⟫ 4.5/5

Blurb: ⟫ It’s like a bad game of Telephone.

Grant locates a murdered teen in McMinnville. He calls Jon.

Jon locates the girl’s ghost. He calls Mack.

Mack talks to the ghost who leads them to more ghosts. Who lead them to even more ghosts.

And why are all the murder victims buried under trees?

The boys are ready for this game to end, please. (Donovan especially.)

Tags:

Jon’s World crossover, hail hail the gang’s all here, oh look we meet Grant, trees are not to be trusted, according to Donovan, ya’ll pray for Donovan, there’s so many ghosts, the ghosts have some WORDS to share, car sex, bondage sex, Mack has plans, so of course they get ruined, BAMF female cops, Jon and Mack are ready for this case to be over, please and thank you, serial killer(s)? running amok, people get tombed, literally, Eli’s mad she missed the fun, Mack would like to say: Don’t use Jon as a battery, seriously don’t do it

Review: ⟫ There is not a chance that you’ll be able to follow this story unless you’ve read the other ones in the series so don’t even try!

As a fan of Jon, Mack and all of the others, it was really fun to dive back into this world. I did get lost a few times and had to remind myself of who was who and who did what, but once I’d got my memories back, it was full steam ahead. I loved how this story showed new sides to the powers these guys had (who even knew it was possible to use Jon as a battery even if it was a supremely bad idea), whilst solidifying what you already knew about them.

I wouldn’t say there a was a lot of romance in this book, although there were a few steamy sex scenes. It was more about the mystery they find themselves in the middle of, and how they all came together to figure it out and solve the crime.

I thought Jon and Mack were complete idiots a few times, especially towards the end, but they did so good in the end that I forgave them. The reason for the rating of 4 instead of 5 is because the book did get confusing a few times, and as I haven’t read the previous books in a while, I felt a little lost and I wouldn’t be surprised if other people felt the same.

It was brilliant to be back in this universe, and I look forward to reading more about the adventures of our guys – maybe a little recap/glossary in the beginning of the next book?

Wish by Cambria Hebert (Westbrook Elite #3)

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Title: ⟫ Wish (Westbrook Elite #3)

Author: ⟫ Cambria Hebert

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ For me, choice might as well be a wish.

My parents died in a fiery car crash when I was barely sixteen.

I’m gay.

I’m also totally in love with my brother.

I didn’t choose any of that. In fact, I’ve tried like hell to deny it. But here I am in all my gay, brother-loving, no-parentals glory.

Technically, Max isn’t my brother. Not by blood anyway. That should make it less ick, right?

Considering he calls my parents mom and dad, probably not.

Also, did I mention he’s straight?

So that’s me: the freestyle swimmer doing my best to keep my sexuality on the down-low while simultaneously wishing my feelings for Max will evaporate into thin air.

Too bad he acts like he’s my keeper and my heart shakes every time his eyebrow ring glints in the sun or he levels his opaque stare on me with an intensity matched by nothing else.

My desire to keep my personal life personal drowns at the bottom of the pool when a fellow Elite lets everyone in on my business, which throws Max into macho protective mode all over again.

Enough is enough, though. I’m forcing myself to move on.

Maybe the best way to forget about my forbidden crush is to find a new one.

I have options. More than I realized.

Unfortunately, none of them are leather-wearing, tattoo-sporting, motorcycle-riding grumpholes.

So here I am wishing for Max while someone else wishes for me.

Someone who decides if they can’t have me…

No one will.

Please note that WISH contains homophobia. There is also mention of off-page child abuse and parental death. This book also contains a male/male sibling-esque relationship and mentions of male assault. Some readers may find these things uncomfortable.

Review: ⟫ I haven’t read the first two books in this series because I wasn’t in the mood to read M/F, but it didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of this book as it was all set up very well and I could infer pretty much everything I needed to know.

The story is mainly told from the perspective of Wes, who is completely and utterly in love with Max. Like, imprinted from a very early age. But because of the way they were brought up and the circumstances behind it all, he felt very much alone and as if the whole idea of being with Max was an impossibility – which is understandable – they were brought up as brothers, despite Max’s parents being very much alive.

I thought that the story did a good job of showing Wes’s feeling of loneliness and isolation, fear of being outed due to a previous incident, as well as his inner turmoil for his feelings. I felt for him – deeply – because it very much seemed as if he was surrounded by people who cared but that he was wrapped in a bubble and couldn’t quite bring himself to reach out and accept the hands of love and acceptance that were there for him. I very much enjoyed his interactions with Rinkin – he didn’t back down, didn’t allow himself to be cowed, and showed himself to be a strong person beneath his quiet exterior.

Max annoyed the hell out of me, but at the same time I could understand the bind that he was in. He was struggling with his upbringing, the promises he had made, and general feelings of not being enough. More than sufficient to mess with anyone. However, the lengths he went to in order to keep track of Wes were unfair if he wasn’t going to step up, and I really liked how he was called on it by the people around him.

The story is engaging and entertaining, although a few times it did veer off into soap-opera land (yes, I’m looking at you Veronica), and it kept me entertained throughout. The sex scenes were hot – in fact, they were very hot – and I really enjoyed reading it. One of the better brothers-in-love stories that I’ve read and I will be checking out further works by the author.