LAST YEAR I WAS READING…(March 9, 2022)
Here are the rules:
Take your current read and compare it to what you reading this exact time last year. Which one do you like better? What is different about the books? Any special facts/things you want to make note of or bring attention to?
This meme was created by Reading Marie. It’s a great meme because it’s nice and easy to do.
This Year I Am Reading…
In need of work and a change of scenery, Aussie ex-pat Jayden Turner agrees to a short-term chef position at a Bed and Breakfast over the Christmas holidays. After all, how hard could it be in a small town in the mountains of Montana? What he finds is a grand old house in a beautiful town, and his new boss is gorgeous, gay, and single.
After his divorce, Carter “Cass” Campion bought his great-aunt’s rundown country manor in his home town, and he’s determined to get it ready for the busy holiday period. Recently out as gay, he’s been focused solely on his business and hasn’t had time for a man. Not that many gay men come through Hartbridge . . .
As his new clients arrive, and being away from his two kids, celebrating Christmas is the last thing on Cass’s mind. But his new chef has other ideas. And if there’s one thing on his Christmas Wish List this year, Jayden can make it come true.
Bookshop: US
Amazon Buy Links: Kindle| Audiobook
Amazon UK Buy Links: Kindle| Audiobook
A book that’s as bright and cheery as that smile on the guy’s face. I really read this for that and I’m glad it’s delivering the warm fuzzies. I’m halfway through. Just catching up on my Christmas reads in March.
Last Year I Was Reading…
Rich Cody joined the U.S. Marshals to hunt down bad guys, not babysit witnesses. Orders are orders, though, and now he’s protecting a hacker with ties to the Albanian and Sicilian mobs. It’s just another exciting day in WITSEC.
Leotrim Nicolosi was born into a world of crime and bloodshed. When that bloodshed hits too close to home, taking down Leo’s boyfriend—the son of a notorious mob boss—Leo is determined to destroy the Grimaldi family. He’s got evidence that will send every last Grimaldi to prison, he’s got the family’s wealth in an electronic chokehold, and he’s got a vendetta that can only be settled with the blood of the man who killed his lover.
When a routine transfer to a safehouse goes horribly wrong, Rich and Leo narrowly escape with their lives. With the Marshals compromised and Leo being framed for murder, he and Rich are on the run from criminals and law enforcement alike. They have no one to trust except each other, and nowhere to go that their enemies can’t reach.
And the only way out might mean making a deal with the Devil.
Bookshop: US
Amazon Buy Links: Kindle| Audiobook
Amazon UK Buy Links: Paperback | Audiobook
This is is Book 1 of the Double Trouble duology. Very gritty and suspenseful!
My 4-star review here.
Today we have two books on the opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. The current is a holiday contemporary romance full of fluff and good cheer. It has a newly divorced dad dealing with his coming out and a wandering Aussie ex-pat trying to establish roots. The romance is a forced proximity of the insta-love variety. It touches upon family, small-town life, and new beginnings.
Last year’s is an action-thriller about a US marshall who was on the run with an Albanian hacker after the Italian mob infiltrated the agency. This is a darker, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity romance. The story takes the duo on a fast-paced ride cross-country. It touches upon betrayal, family, crime, grief, and putting an end to things.
Christmas Wish List is the 2nd book of the Hartbridge Christmas series. It starts with a young chef, Jayden Turner heading to the small town of Hartbridge for a temp job. After nearly getting lost, he meets his boss, the BnB owner, Carter Campion. Jayden quickly discovered his new boss’ quirks: his love for lists. his ability to get spectacularly sidetracked, and his newly discovered favorite, holding hands with a man.
This has the perfect amount of cute and cozy without becoming too precious. The openly gay Jayden introduces the newly-out Cass to all the things he can experience now that he has embraced his truth. These parts were super adorbs! The young chef has been moving around the US since he was 15. He’s feeling the urge to find that place that feels like home. Will Hartbridge work its magic on him?
Double Or Nothing starts with a witness transfer that went to shit. US Marshall Rich Cody was assigned hacker, Leotrim Nicolosi. The man is said to hold information that would bring a major mafia family down. They found themselves on the run not only from the Albanian and Italian mob but also from just about every law enforcement agency there is.
This book hit the ground running on several levels. The writing is fast-paced, and so are Rich and Leo, who barely got any rest. The two were constantly on the move, with danger hanging like the Sword of Damocles over their heads and sexual tension simmering between them.
Apart from their romantic connection, there was Rich’s unwavering loyalty, his strong sense of duty, and his sheer determination to protect his witness and see things through to the end. Grieving the loss of his lover, Leo is equally determined to bring down his killers. The two men took on the world, and they didn’t hold anything back. My favorite was that scene at the ending. It was beyond poignant! This book would make a great action movie.
Between taking on Christmas and taking on the mob, wandering chefs nurture heart and soul, Marshalls on the run protect life and limb.
I’m ending the post with a book I’m looking forward to reading.
Lionel, a necromancer and consultant for the Brunswick Police Department, wants nothing to do with immortals. Specifically, he wants nothing to do with Lucifer, who shows up on his doorstep one day with a ridiculous proposal. Lucifer, also known as the Devil, wants Lionel to be his pretend boyfriend. Except the pretend part is something the Devil doesn’t really seem to care for.
Lucifer has read enough romance novels to know that a good dose of forced proximity might be just the thing to get the stubborn necromancer he desires into his bed. The Devil’s plans are soon complicated when Lionel proves more uncooperative and oblivious to love than Lucifer could ever anticipate.
While the Devil wants to claim Lionel, all Lionel wants is to get away from Lucifer. Meanwhile, magic users are being murdered in the city. Lionel cannot escape the implications of those murders for long, and the case soon takes a different turn. Will Lionel be able to escape the Devil’s thrall, or will the necromancer fall for the immortal seducer?
Publisher’s Note: The Devil’s Necromancer contains scenes involving dubious consent that some readers may find offensive.
I’m always excited about stories where the devil gets a boyfriend. I’m wary of the dub-con scenes but let’s hope Luce learns to behave.
What were you reading this time last year?
(I hope it’s as riveting as Morticia’s book)
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