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REVIEW: Dark Rivers by Morgan Brice
Witchbane: Dark Rivers – Morgan Brice
One hundred years ago, a sheriff’s posse killed dark warlock Rhyfel Gremory, but his witch-disciples escaped, and their magic made them nearly immortal. To keep their power, each year one of the witch-disciples kills a descendant of one of the men in the posse, a twelve-year cycle that has cost dozens of lives, including that of Seth Tanner’s brother, Jesse.
Seth Tanner uncovers the cycle of ritual killings that feeds the power of the witch-disciples, and he’s hell bent on getting vengeance for Jesse and stopping the murders. His fledgling romantic relationship with Evan Malone complicates his mission, but Seth can’t walk away. Seth and Evan are learning to navigate their partnership—as lovers and monster hunters—while they chase down the next witch-disciple and avoid attracting the wrong kind of attention.
When the hunt takes Seth and Evan to Pittsburgh on the trail of the next killer, they’ll have to save the intended victim and take down the powerful witch. If the skills they possess and the bond between them isn’t enough, the evil will remain unchallenged, and more people will die…
Note: Includes mention of past domestic violence and stalking.
While Witchbane, book one, left me unimpressed, Dark Rivers, the second book went a long way into convincing me about this series. Enough to earn an extra star.
One of the best things about it was that Evan definitely improved a lot. He is now far from the TSTL character I tagged him in the first book. Now he can do magic spells using sigils and martial arts. He and Seth still has to deal with PTSD but he was able to keep his cool during his abduction. And saved himself. Attaboy!
I also complained previously about the first book trying too hard to be steamy. Here, the horny thoughts and sex scenes were less distracting and mesh more naturally into the story. The developments between Seth and Evan was more believable and I’m now sold on their romance.
The POV switched between Evan and Seth which generally worked throughout the story, although I would have wanted Evan’s POV when he was fighting with Mike, the psycho ex, instead of having it relayed through Seth’s eyes.
The writing is still straightforward and no frills but the suspense is tighter and the story is more action packed. A big plus is the introduction of the other monster hunter team, ex-priest Travis and former special ops Brent, characters from the author’s other series, Night Vigil. I know Seth and Evan could hold their own in a fight but it’s comforting to know there are other people who can watch their backs.
Overall, this is a good sequel to Witchbane and though still far from perfect, is definitely much better written. The author was able to address some issues from the first book and also gave our heroes time to grow and catch a break. And most importantly, Dark Rivers succeeded in changing my mind about this series. I’m definitely into this now so good job, Morgan Brice!
P.S.
review of Witchbane here
other Morgan Brice books hereI received a copy of Dark Rivers from Darkwind Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: Where The River Flows
Artist: Collective Soul
Album: Collective Soul -
REVIEW: Blood & Bitcoin by L.A. Witt
Criminal Delights: Organized Crime: Blood & Bitcoin – L.A. Witt
Chris Emmett has a talent for screwing up and landing on his feet. As a SEAL, he managed to evade bullets and court-martials alike. As an FBI agent, he dodged danger and disciplinary action—right up until he didn’t.
With his career and freedom hanging in the balance, he’ll do whatever it takes to clean the slate… including an off-the-books deep cover solo mission.
The objective: infiltrate the Hive, a complex crime syndicate operating on the dark web, and find out who’s trying to kill Piker, the organization’s enigmatic and strangely alluring Mob boss.
The moment he’s pulled into the Hive, Chris enters a world where no one is what they seem, including the man he’s there to protect. Lines blur between moral and wrong, legal and criminal, ally and foe, and—as Piker’s seductive magnetism draws Chris in—straight and queer.
Chris is running out of time to stop a killer. He has dangerous feelings for a dangerous man, and the deeper he moves into the realms of modern day organized crime, the less he knows and the fewer people he can trust.
And that’s before he learns the truth about Piker’s assassin.
————
This 104,000 word book is part of CRIMINAL DELIGHTS. Each novel can be read as a standalone and contains a dark M/M romance. For other books in the collection, please see: Criminal Delights ListopiaWarning: These books are for adult readers who enjoy stories where lines between right and wrong get blurry. High heat, twisted and tantalizing, these are not for the fainthearted.
L.A. Witt and Michael Ferraiuolo is my favorite author/narrator combination. With them at the helm, you’re almost always guaranteed a thrilling experience.
Blood & Bitcoin was one hell of a ride but one that didn’t go full throttle the way I wanted it to. This is by far, the lightest among the dark offerings of the Criminal Delights series. The characters make many morally grey decisions and ‘the end justify the means’ actions but as emphasized by Chris, it is for the right reasons. Which is all good because, yeah these are people we can root for but sadly not what was advertised in the blurb aka it needed more blood.
Also, there were moments where I just about had enough of Chris getting caught one too many times. And Piker forgiving him yet again and again and again. Oh, just shoot him already!
I absolutely love Piker! The man is lethal and mesmerizing as fuck. His effect on both men and women is palpable. I could definitely understand why Chris was so drawn to him. Michael Ferraiuolo’s Piker voice is really spot on and the slight exotic accent added to the crime lord’s enigmatic appeal. His past remained a mystery throughout the entire book. He’s so mysterious we don’t even get his real name.
Chris I liked less. He was too reckless. He was bumbling his way through the missions. I don’t know if he is just extremely lucky but his unorthodox methods worked somewhat. It helps that he got more chances than most people would dare ask from a Mafia boss. He and Piker play a dangerously exciting game of Golden Retriever & snake. Who bites who first? And for that matter, are we even sure who is the dog and who is the snake?
Although the chemistry and USTs between Piker and Chris were always a tantalizing hair trigger away from snapping, the romance needed a little more boost. Majority of the book, it was just mostly sex for them which is meh. But the last quarter of the book made up for the missing feels and convinced me their HFN would eventually be HEA.
The part about the bitcoin was info dumpy but did not majorly hinder the story. The Hive also got me intrigued about the dark web which I only learned from some hoaky Youtube videos. I’m hoping for a sequel where we get to learn more about Piker, his hacker friends who form The Hive and see if Chris learned to be circumspect.
Notwithstanding my complaint earlier about the book not being dark, in itself, Blood & Bitcoin is a very enjoyable suspense/thriller. It does not let up on the action and the twists and turns will keep your adrenaline running on high. There were many ever changing threads to unravel and identities to uncover. I had some inkling about Piker’s father but The Big Twist completely caught me off guard. That was, DAMN!
I recommend Blood & Bitcoin for those into stories about people with the right intentions doing it the wrong way.
P.S.
Other Criminal Delights books:
Only The Devil Knows (review here)
Devil Next Door (review here)
Wrong Way Home (review here)Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: In For The Kill
Artist: La Roux
Album: La Roux -
REVIEW: Pretty Pretty Boys by Gregory Ashe
Hazard and Somerset: Pretty Pretty Boys – Gregory Ashe
After Emery Hazard loses his job as a detective in Saint Louis, he heads back to his hometown–and to the local police force there. Home, though, brings no happy memories, and the ghosts of old pain are very much alive in Wahredua. Hazard’s new partner, John-Henry Somerset, had been one of the worst tormentors, and Hazard still wonders what Somerset’s role was in the death of Jeff Langham, Hazard’s first boyfriend.
When a severely burned body is discovered, Hazard finds himself drawn deeper into the case than he expects. Determining the identity of the dead man proves impossible, and solving the murder grows more and more unlikely. But as the city’s only gay police officer, Hazard is placed at the center of a growing battle between powerful political forces. To his surprise, Hazard finds an unlikely ally in his partner, the former bully. And as they spend more time together, something starts to happen between them, something that Hazard can’t–and doesn’t want–to explain.
The discovery of a second mutilated corpse, though, reveals clues that the two murders are linked, and as Hazard gets closer to answers, he uncovers a conspiracy of murder and betrayal that goes deeper–and closer to home–than he could ever expect.
I think this really couldn’t have worked.
You got a married man with a kid who cheated on his wife. CHEATED!! which is a total deal breaker for me. I don’t care if he was set up, he could always walk away no matter what honeyed trap was dangled in front of him. Also he’s a drunkard. A coward. And too good looking.
Then you have a surly, stubborn detective with zero people skills who rubbed everybody the wrong way. Who was bullied by said married man when they were in high school.
This is not your standard recipe for an MM romance. This sounds more like that dish best served cold but, with Gregory Ashe’s magic, makes for a truly engrossing enemies to lovers(?) story. Question mark because they were barely even friends at the end of the first book. This is as slow burn as it can get, as per other reviews, they didn’t become a couple until a few more books. Which is totally fine by me because I tend to complain about things going too fast anyway.
But how can you make a set-up that screams lose-lose work?
John-Henry Somerset pushed Emery Hazard down the stairs when they were in high school. He is now married to his HS sweetheart, albeit estranged because, as MM writers love to say, he was betrayed by his traitorous dick. Emery went back to his hometown to solve an old mystery of why his HS boyfriend committed suicide. Facing old bullies is painful and awkward and I feel for Hazard right there. To be fair to Somers, he knew he fucked up and he really did try to make it up to Hazard. Somers is the type of person who wants to be liked by everybody so of course he practically begged Hazard to like him.
Hazard and Somers’ interactions go from
“You touch me again,… you shake my hand, you grab my sleeve, you so much as bump me in the mother-fucking hallway, and I will kill you. Do you understand me?“
to Somers’s smiled his normal frat-boy smile. “So,” he said, drawing out the word. “You like me?” “God, you’re a fucking moron.”
to “Just like fucking high school“
Always with a smattering of USTs bubbling just below the surface. The chemistry is fantastic! I don’t even actively like these two men but yeah, go for that second chance!
USTs are all good but they can only take you so far. What really made this stood out is how well the author fleshed out the complicated and not necessarily romance-related relationships between these flawed, complex characters in a way that just draws you into them. Many times I want to smack them in the head. Sometimes I feel sorry for them. Once in a while I could say they’re OK. There were no neatly tied conclusions. Things will continue to remain awkward and unresolved for a while.
Nico deserves a mention. He was the grad school student who pursued Hazard and they were kind of cute together so I imagined a parallel universe called Nico & Hazard.
This book is really a murder mystery story. The detectives were working on a vandalism case and a homicide where one unidentified body was burned inside a trailer. Hazard, being Hazard, made himself a few enemies while Somers played the good cop, charming everybody with his megawatt smiles. The investigation introduced us to important personalities of Wahredua, among them, extremists at the polar opposites of the spectrum. Both were responsible for so much vitriol and trigger warnings. Their hate speeches could put off some readers but you can always skip these parts if it’s too disturbing. As for the mystery, it was obvious who the bad guy was but it was such a well-written book and well-narrated too (courtesy of Tristan James), I didn’t mind it. Then Hazard had to go be a distrustful fool and things went from pudding to poop real quick for him and Somers.
Apart from the obvious appeal of the MM romance angle, Pretty Pretty Boys has all the good stuff-of a great police procedural novel where there is a nice interplay between the police work and the personal issues, compelling main characters, tightly written prose and engaging storytelling that kept me glued to the book. It’s a solid start to an addicting series and I’m definitely excited to see how things will play out.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Elephant
Artist: Tame Impala
Album: Lonerism -
REVIEW: Only The Devil Knows by Katze Snow & Tiegan Clyne
Criminal Delights: Serial Killers: Only The Devil Know – Katze Snow & Tiegan Clyne
My name is Max, but people call me The London Whipper. I’ve been silent for many years. Now I’m ready to make my final move.
Only The Devil Knows follows the people trapped within my web of lies:
Nathaniel Harris, a psychologist who works with the criminally insane.
Genevieve Knight, the Chief Inspector determined to find me once and for all.
Wyatt Pearson, the beautiful boy who believes I’m a hero instead of a cold-blooded murderer.
Each of these people has one thing in common—they all want me. But what happens when my whip tangles around them and distorts everything they believe to be true?
I’ve kept my identity under wraps… until now. It’s time to show the public what I’ve been working on. After all, what’s a serial killer if he doesn’t have some artistic flair and his favourite boy at his side?
This book is part of CRIMINAL DELIGHTS. Each novel can be read as a standalone and contains a dark M/M romance.
Warning: These books are for adult readers who enjoy stories where lines between right and wrong get blurry. High heat, twisted and tantalizing, these are not for the fainthearted.As far as the Criminal Delights series goes, the first two books, Wrong Way Home and Devil Next Door, still lean towards the ‘light’ part of the spectrum. The third book, Only The Devil Knows is DARK AS FUCK, it’s happy end reserved only for the our beloved sickos who used it to bring their game to the next level. The rest of humanity will have to settle for cringing like mangy dogs waiting for that crack of the whip.
There are four POVs and I totally love diving into the heads of Max, Wyatt, Gen and Nathaniel. The alternating POVs were very effective in creating that suspenseful build-up to the big twist. There were major hints dropped here and there and the moment when it came was (pun intended) insanely delicious.
Max, the Master and Wyatt’s beloved Sir. He is an artist at heart, creating beautiful paintings from the blood of his victims. He is brutal, sadistic and completely in control. With that mysterious charisma all serial killers seem to have, you will find yourself drawn to him against your better judgement.
Wyatt, Max’s Boy, is a pure masochist, reveling in the Master’s dominance of him. He is super loyal and willing to play any game The Whipper comes up with. And as he proudly announced, his crazy matches the Master’s crazy.
Gen is the chief inspector who has been frustratingly investigating The London Whipper case for 20 year with hardly any leads. In any other book, she would have come out the hero and I wanted her to be so but then this is not that book. I felt really sorry for her. Bring back up next time, Gen.
Nathaniel is the very prim and proper psychiatrist working in a mental health institution. He has a troubled childhood and a domineering father who constantly tells him he is no good. As a result, he keeps his attraction to his fellow colleague under wraps because he was too cowardly to ask him out. He was completely shaken when he found himself responding to Wyatt, who propositioned him. He tried really hard to stay in control but it was a losing battle really.
Monstrous and bloodthirsty as they are, I found myself rooting for Max and Wyatt. The Nathaniel+Wyatt angle was equally compelling too but I think that would leave Wyatt unsatisfied. Nathaniel is too nice. I like him though so Wyatt could go either way or both.
Those who love the more extreme side of sex will find BDSM elements in full play alongside real torture, death and art. It is as graphic and disturbing as it can get, nobody was spared. I spared myself the full impact of these depravities by skimming the scenes. Chicken shit, I know.
Some niggles:
First, the book was set in London so I wished it had a more British feel to it. I hardly felt the place, it could have been anywhere in the US. Also,the writing had a more American/international English feel to it, I would have preferred more slangs and colloquialism. Maybe somewhere along the lines of the Constable Peter Grant novels. But that’s just me.
Felter’s part was unecessary. It gave an extra dose of horror to the proceedings but then his part could have been done by either Wyatt or Max.
Max is really not as careful as the book made him out to be. How is he not caught already? But do we want him caught?
Obviously, these niggles hardly matter because Only The Devil Knows was as good as advertised. This is a fun book that I recommend for those into fucked-up stories about fucked up people.
P.S.
Check out other books in the Criminal Delights series:
Wrong Way Home by K.A. Merikan (review here)
Devil Next Door by Alex Jane (review here)Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Discipline
Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Album: The Slip -
REVIEW: Shadow’s Edge by S.C. Wynne
Psychic Detective Mysteries: Shadow’s Edge by S.C. Wynne
Liam Baker can see things. Dead people like to visit him and tell them how they were wronged. Some might call it a gift, other’s a curse. But either way this ability makes him useful to Los Angeles homicide detective Kimball Thompson.
Some madman is slitting the throats of young male prostitutes and then dumping their bodies in the desert with vague clues of pink feathers and the number five. Usually Liam can talk to the spirits of the dead. But someone is blocking him. Someone is taunting him.
The case is rapidly deteriorating into a violent, psychic pissing contest and Liam can’t see far enough ahead to figure out who wins or who dies.
I seem to be building a collection of psychic detectives as I yet again start on a series featuring another consulting medium+ police detective combo. Someday, I going to create a ranking list featuring these ghost talkers. Unfortunately, Liam Baker might not make it to the top 5 as this book is pretty average.
First, the romance between Liam and Thompson was a big plus. It worked quite well with the mystery as the backdrop. Liam is prickly and grief-stricken over William, who was also Thompson’s partner. Thompson is a tough-looking, workaholic homicide detective who have always cared about Liam and had taken him under his wing when William died. He has deeply hidden feeling’s for his late partner’s boyfriend. This and the work-related pressures added extra tension to what was an already fragile relationship. Then Thompson started dating somebody else and Liam slowly realized that he was attracted to Thompson. And that he needed to get over William’s passing. All of which brought out Liam’s thorny side and he was being quite an ass. At this point, Thompson had given up on having his feelings requited, Liam being clueless and such and that should have been the end of it. But there were feels ready to be felt and USTs that irresistibly needed to be resolved and hash it out they did. While not exactly sqee-tastic, the chemistry sparked, the dynamics was enjoyable and their transition from work partners to romantic partners was convincingly executed.
However, for me, the mystery should stand out as well and while it was one of the main threads, it wasn’t as strongly delivered as I hope it would. It was as generic as they come. I didn’t feel the suspense or the chill and some of the clues’ significance were not so clear during the big confrontation with the killer. Even the killer’s motive seemed weak. I was looking forward to this ‘psychic pissing contest‘ but I’m disappointed that the antagonist was too one-dimensional.
The world-building also needed to be fleshed out. Are psychics common in their world? Everybody seemed okay with the police working with a consulting medium so maybe we can assume it is so. Since Samhain was mentioned, do other paranormal entities exist in their world too? Given the length of the book, it might not be surprising that we only get the bare-bones details but it would have been more effective to give the reader a little more meat to chew on as this would make mystery more compelling. Maybe in the second book then.
Because I liked Liam and Thompson enough to read the second book. Also, I like Kale Williams’ narration a lot. Hopefully, book two’s much better than this.
So, if you, like me, prefer your police procedural romance to be heavy on the mystery and police work, this might not be the book for you. But if you like your romance served with a side of mystery and paranormal, Shadow’s Edge by S.C. Wynne might do it for you.
P.S.
If you are interested on other books featuring psychics, check out:
Psycop by Jordan Castillo Price (review here)
Tyack & Frayne by Harper Fox (review here)
Badlands by Morgan Brice (review here)
The Community by Santino Hassel (review here)
The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal (review here)Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked itSoundtrack: Wake Up
Artist: Arcade Fire
Album: Funeral -
REVIEW: Devil Next Door by Alex Jane
Criminal Delights: Obsession: Devil Next Door – Alex Jane
All Remy Harker wants is a fresh start.
Well, maybe that’s what he tells himself as he rolls up to his nice new house, in the nice little neighborhood, in a town where nobody knows his name.
He’s surrounded by friendly neighbors and a white picket fence. The ugly pink carpet might drive him to insanity, and he can’t stop wondering where the old lady who lived there before him died—but it’s nice.
And if he puts his mind to it, he can be anything—or anyone—he wants to be. He can be nice too.
At least, he thinks he can until he lays eyes on his next-door neighbor.Luke Boucher is nice.
And quiet.
And perfect.It doesn’t take long for Remy to insinuate himself into Luke’s life. A camera here, a break-in there.
– It’s not really stalking if you love someone, is it? –But when Remy’s plan to make a good impression goes to hell, he ends up over his head in more ways than one. Then things aren’t quite so nice anymore.
– It’s not really murder if you love someone, is it? –Loving your neighbor isn’t so easy when you’re the devil next door.
*****
This book is part of CRIMINAL DELIGHTS. Each novel can be read as a standalone and contains a dark M/M romance.
Warning: These books are for adult readers who enjoy stories where lines between right and wrong get blurry. High heat, twisted and tantalizing, these are not for the fainthearted.
This has the makings of a truly dark romance. Twisted, bloody and psychopathic.
But it lacked a certain oomph.
The oomph being Remy and Luke making it to my favorites list.
Remy and Luke, being what they are, could have easily made it but they didn’t quite have the intensity of fan favorites, Lecter and Graham. They were good though, I give them that.
The book started normal enough, mundane even as Remy goes about his business setting up his house, installing surveillance equipment, taking notes, and following Luke around. Remy was meticulous and careful but was completely caught off guard when Luke broke his pattern. The mystery of why Remy thought Luke was ‘the one’ had me on the edge of my seat. At the same time, since the story was all about pushing boundaries, I already have an inkling of what Luke really was (because what else would he be short of a homo Humbert Humbert) but, still, it didn’t detract from the pleasure of the big reveal.
From then on, the story plunged even deeper into macabre territories. It wisely veered away from the gratuitous, providing only enough blood and gore to get that taboo aspect going but not too much to be considered full-on horror. But maybe, YMMV. Remy’s talent for research and surveillance worked in perfect tandem with Luke’s proclivities and their partnership and romance are major goals if it weren’t for the fact they get off at things that disturb most of us. Despite the gruesomeness of the events, you cannot help but root for these two men who were simply made for each other.
All in all, Devil Next Door is a total yandere. Creepily kind, unnaturally patient and unfailingly polite until they flip the switch and suddenly you’re staring into the eyes of a ‘ferocious angel draped in bloody violence‘. It is completely unhinged and I loved it.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Neighbor Boy
Artist: Andrea Marie
Album: Here Begin -
REVIEW: Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity–what it means and how to think about it–for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.
I learned the term asexual sometime in 2015 and more recently, gender queer. It wasn’t earth shattering or life-changing. It was more like something clicking into place with the knowledge that that disinterested state you have known all this time has a name. If this graphic novel was released much earlier, that light bulb moment would have come sooner too.
In my country, the term gender queer is relatively unknown. If you are not hetero, it’s either you are a gay or lesbian. People confuse gay with trans, even the gay guys themselves almost always have the idea that being gay means becoming or acting like a woman. Those who prefer to act masculine are referred to with derision as ‘pretending to be a man’ or ‘not a real man’. Lesbians were also expected to be butch and lipstick lesbians are not common. Much of my experience with gender queers are those born biologically male and would be automatically tagged as gay. Maia Kobabe would be tagged as lesbian and it would take a very lengthy explanation to make people understand. There are no guarantees they will.
This memoir will help open minds. It explores gender identity and self. It also talks about love and family and how having a sibling who just gets you could make all the difference in the world. It chronicles the difficulties and horrors a gender queer person goes through. It is raw and very honest, sometimes painfully so but always with a touch of humor and optimism. In itself, it is a highly enjoyable graphic novel with interesting illustrations and has an ending that leaves an opening for a sequel just in case.
I highly recommend this to everybody.
P.S.
I received a copy of Gender Queer: A Memoir from Lion Forge via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
Artist: David Bowie
Album: Pin Ups -
REVIEW: Wrong Way Home by K.A. Merikan
Crimnal Delights: Taken: Wrong Way Home – K.A. Merikan
— One wrong turn. One right man. —
Colin. Rule-follower. Future doctor. Witness to murder. Captive.
Taron. Survivalist. Mute. Murderer. Captor.Like every other weekend, Colin is on his way home from university, but he’s taunted by the notion that he never takes risks in life and always follows the beaten path. On impulse, he decides to take a different route. Just this one time. What he doesn’t realize is that it’s the last time he has a choice.
He ends up taking a detour into the darkest pit of horror, abducted by a silent, imposing man with a blood-stained axe. But what seems like his worst nightmare might just prove to be a path to the kind of freedom Colin never knew existed.
Taron has lived alone for years. His land, his rules. He’d given up on company long ago. After all, attachment is a liability. He deals with his problems on his own, but the night he needs to dispose of an enemy, he ends up with a witness to his crime.
The last thing Taron needs is a nuisance of a captive. Colin doesn’t deserve death for setting foot on Taron’s land, but keeping him isn’t optimal either. It’s only when he finds out the city boy is gay that an altogether different option arises. One that isn’t right, yet tempts him every time Colin’s pretty eyes glare at him from the cage.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
Themes: prepping, alternative lifestyles, disability, crime, loneliness, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fish out of water, opposites attract, abduction, Stockholm syndrome, family issues
Genre: Dark, thriller M/M romance
Erotic content: Scorching hot, emotional, explicit scenes
Length: ~ 70,000 words (Standalone)This book is part of CRIMINAL DELIGHTS. Each novel can be read as a standalone and will contain a dark M/M romance.
Warning: These books are for adult readers who enjoy stories where lines between right and wrong get blurry. High heat, twisted and tantalizing, these are not for the fainthearted.
This story contains scenes of explicit violence, offensive language, morally ambiguous characters.So the book comes with all these dire warning and promised to be dark but what we really get are bunnies, kittens and animal lovers who stand by their pets come hell or high water. Sure, somebody got an axe to the face and a few more were murdered, but they all deserved it. Like that guy who planned to burn an entire house full of cats. As Lucifer Morningstar would say, there’s a special place in hell for you, buddy.
The real star of the show were Missi and her kittens, who turned things around, kicked the story up a notch and made me warm up to the humans.
As for the humans, well, Colin was a bit none too bright for my liking. Like those horror movie characters, he made a wrong turn and was caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time. He was held inside a cage and his plan was to fuck his way out of captivity. Good luck with that. To his credit, Colin never gives up without a fight. He could be a brat but he really did care about the cats.
Lucky for Colin, his captor, Taron, was an attractive hulk of man who lives in the middle of the woods so putting his plan into action was no hardship. Taron is a prepper who had some enemies out to get his property. He is very territorial, self-sufficient and makes a mean rabbit bacon. He has a soft spot for strays and doesn’t want to go to jail, so quite understandably he couldn’t let go of Colin, who, aside from being a witness to murder, has appealing chestnut eyes, is conveniently gay and most precious of all, knows ASL. The book felt entirely like him. Gruff, intimidating, hard-edged, intense, wild and rough but also with a surprisingly caring side that could give you a case of warm fuzzies.
I wasn’t entirely convinced with Colin’s reasoning during his captivity but maybe that was the point. They weren’t supposed to be 100% rational for the rest of humanity (and who cares really). But Stockholm Syndrome or not, the attraction between Colin and Taron was real and the part where their relationship gradually transformed from captor to partner was believable and executed really well.
Overall, Wrong Way Home falls between like and love. It is written in the usual K.A. Merikan style where huge chunks of the story were devoted to sex scenes and skipping those parts makes things go faster without losing the thread. It took a while for me to feel entirely invested in the story but in the end, it won me over and now, I am entirely convinced Colin and Taron would make it work. Also, the cats were safe which is what really mattered.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: The Woods
Artist: Hollow Cove
Album: Wanderlust -
REVIEW: Witchbane by Morgan Brice
Witchbane – Morgan Brice
Seth Tanner and his brother Jesse’s fun evening debunking local urban legends ends with Jesse’s gruesome murder. Seth vows revenge on Jesse’s killer – too bad the murderer has been dead for a hundred years. Seth uncovers a cycle of ritual killings that feed the power of a dark warlock’s immortal witch-disciples, and he’s hell bent on stopping Jackson Malone from becoming the next victim. He’s used to risking his neck. He never intended to risk his heart.
I had high hopes for this. Sadly, it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be.
Witchbane would have been more effective if it spent more time establishing the occult elements instead of trying too hard to be steamy. It was annoying how Seth and Evan’s almost every other thought drifted to boning each other instead of putting more effort at finding that witch which kills the momentum of whatever chilling suspense Morgan Brice was setting up. I also found the writing repetitive at some points.
I wasn’t convinced Seth and Evan should be using the L-word already given that they hardly trust each other and have known each other barely a week. Also, Evan was TSTL which is ironic for somebody who ran away from home and should have honed his stranger danger radar already. I was amazed at how easily he trusted a stranger simply because that person was a cop. ‘Round these parts, we never trust cops. I know it’s a cultural difference thing but still, after what he had seen, why is he still doubting Seth?
I liked Seth and I could see he was really trying hard to do his job. He has no compunction about lying or hacking or breaking the law which at first glance makes him suspect but monsters don’t follow human laws and the necessities of monster hunting calls for creativity and an open mind. I want to see Seth becoming a sort of MacGyver because heck, I haven’t seen a MacGyver type of character in MM so far.
This is another series where the world is more interesting than the execution of the plot. The Witchbane world is interconnected with the Badlands worlds and I really liked Badlands. I’m hoping for cameos in both series although, TBH, I would probably stick with Badlands at this point.
P.S.
review of Badlands here
I received a copy of Witchbane from Dark Wind Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Small Town Witch
Artist: Sneaker Pimps
Album: Bloodsport -
REVIEW: Key Of Solomon: Amber Moon by Hurri Cosmo
The Key Of Solomon: Amber Moon – Hurri Cosmo
Lucas has a low-paying, dead-end job, lives in a tiny apartment, and can count his close friends on one hand. Well, one finger actually, and for all the sympathy she has, it may as well be the middle one. No, Lucas’s life is not one any would truly strive for. However, it keeps him from thinking too much about his distant past and the one man who had gently held his heart… but then ripped it right out of his chest and crushed it under his expensive leather Gucci’s. As a teenager not even out of the closet yet, surviving the fallout became unbearable so Lucas did the only thing he could. He disappeared.
Fourteen painful years later and Lucas is ready to move on. He’s going to finally kill his unrequited love for Ryder once and for all.
That’s when the magic of Solomon and his galactic bar sweep in. Seems Lucas had the audacity to query the gods in the form of a fist to the sky. The cosmic bartender couldn’t resist taking up the challenge. Mainly because Solomon holds many keys and one of them just happens to be to Lucas’s happiness. He only needs to convince Lucas of that.
Shouldn’t be too difficult… right?
There must have been trigger warnings on bullying and homophobia somewhere or may I didn’t read the blurb carefully. The story was about putting the past behind and second chances. I know Lucas had a tough time in high school, I just wasn’t prepared for all the hate and negativity which significantly dampened my enjoyment of the story.
Lucas was miserable and I couldn’t blame him. He was putting himself down too much and I think he really deserved a clean break from the past. I’m not too sure whether it was Ryder he should be facing or Amber. Amber was the one who hurt him the most and who later became a sort of boogeyman, keeping him from doing what he loved. But a second chance was what he needed and that’s what he needed to let himself have.
With Solomon’s magic, mysterious objects appeared and their significance gradually unfolded. The ones with the artwork was particularly poignant especially when their meaning was later revealed. This was the part that finally convinced me 100% that Ryder does deserved Lucas.
I like the idea of Solomon and his magical bar which reminded me vaguely of the anime, Death Parade. Although, I expected there should be a prologue or a book 0 giving us an introduction to what the whole set up is all about because Solomon literally came out of nowhere. I suppose the mystery is part of his appeal but some backstory would be nice.
Overall, not the strongest first book but still a very interesting concept for a series. This is the kind of world where you can do all sorts of creative twists and I would love to see where the author would take us next.
P.S.
Thank you to IndiGo for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked itSoundtrack: Empire Builder
Artist: Laura Gibson
Album: Empire Builder
