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BLOG TOUR: Dual Threat Love by Lola Noire (Excerpt & Giveaway + Q&A with Author)
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COVER REVEAL: No Take Backs by Becca Seymour
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RELEASE BLITZ: Hit The Brakes by Beth Bolden (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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BLOG TOUR: All The Way Out by Ingrid Sterling (Excerpt & Giveaway + Q&A with Author)
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Rocking the Boat by C. Koehler (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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AUDIO REVIEW: Out On The Serve by Lane Hayes
Out in College: Out On The Serve – Lane Hayes
Roommates to friends to lovers…
Elliot-
I need a roommate fast. Even a temporary one. Beggars can’t be choosers. Going pro after graduation has been intense, and time is precious. Thankfully, Braden seems cool. He’s a little quirky…and very sexy. Of course, I would never get involved with a roommate. That’s a bad idea. Isn’t it?
Braden-
Moving to Long Beach seems like a no brainer. It’ll be a perfect chance to wind down before grad school and a nice respite from my folks. Plus, my new roommate is a great guy. A little messy, but sweet. Gotta admit, I like him more than I should. And we’re off to a strange start when a mutual friend hooks me up with his ex. Elliot’s the one I want, but going from friends to lovers is a risk. We could end up out on the serve…or we could win it all.
Out on the Serve is a low-angst MM, bisexual romance starring two roommates, one neat, one messy, beach volleyball, a lot of sand, and a little summer fun. This story is part of the Out in College series but can be read as a stand-alone.
Lane Hayes spun the well-loved roommates-to-lovers trope into a fun and sweet story with two MCs that were opposites but synced so well with each other.
New roommates Elliot and Braden get to know each other’s quirks as they deal with their mutual attraction, difficult teammates, theater dreams, meddling friends and last hurrahs before September comes and put an end to everything.
Elliot is the goofy, messy one who leaves sand all over their floor while Braden is a neat freak who alphabetizes their pasta. Both men were out as bi and while Elliot’s hippie mom was more than okay with that, Braden’s conservative Catholic mom was in denial.
The evolution from roommates to friends to lovers was fantastic! I really liked how the two men worked around their differences and just came together naturally even if at first, they had to fight their insane attraction to each other. For the sake of being roommates and friends. But even they couldn’t deny their sizzling chemistry!
Conflict came in the form of a misguided attempt to boost popularity, a fiasco brought about by Elliot’s volleyball partner, Gus and their annoying friend Sophie. Braden also had things to say to his mom.
Thankfully, the book avoided the usual pitfalls. There were no unnecessary dramas and the pacing was smooth and fast. It also it resolved things in a sensible manner, something many of us highly appreciated. It might not have the grandest grand gesture moment but it definitely hits you right in the kokoro!
From start to finish, the story had me rooting for Elliot and Braden. And though it began as a summer hook-up, there were no doubts that theirs was a forever thing.
This is my first book from the Out in College series. Many characters from the other books make appearances and my interest was piqued. I loved meeting Elliot’s friend, Colby and his boyfriend Sky, and Braden’s ex, Phoenix. Max, Phoenix’s boyfriend gets a mention. Many of the characters were likable except Sophie and Gus.
The audiobook was narrated by Michael Dean. I’ve always liked his narration. Although here, I felt his voices for younger 20-somethings were a bit too mature for their age. Dean makes great voices for the age range of 30s and older. Other than this niggle, I think he made the book even more enjoyable with his energetic reading style and well-acted dialogues.
Overall, Lane Hayes served up another win in this delightful story of sports, sand and summer romance. If the beach is your happy place, this book will definitely take you there.
P.S.
Thank you to IndiGo and Audible for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review of Lane Hayes books here.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Wait For Me
Artist: Kings of Leon
Album: Mechanical Bull
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Kindle Audiobook -
AUDIO BLITZ: Out On The Serve by Lane Hayes (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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[spotify id=”spotify%3Atrack%3A0HJcradz78FgjRWDNUYVdS&view=coverart” width=”540″ height=”620″ /]Soundtrack to The Shamwell Tales: Caught! by J.L. Merrow
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Fence #5 – C.S. Pacat & Johanna the Mad
Seiji’s calm is badly rattled over a lost match and his mysterious past begins to come out.
In this fight, I’m team Seiji but I must admit Aidan made the
devioussmart moves. Damn him and his mind games!P.S.
Seiji’s mysterious past?!! OH, YES!Rating
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits
Soundtrack: Under Easy
Artist: The Posies
Album: Failure(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38312083-fence-5)
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REVIEW: Cask Strength by Layla Reyne
Agents Irish and Whiskey: Cask Strength – Layla Reyne
Professionally, the FBI team of Aidan “Irish” Talley and Jameson “Whiskey” Walker is as good as it gets, closing cases faster than any team at the Bureau. Personally, it’s a different story. Aidan’s feelings for Jamie scare the hell out of him: he won’t risk losing another love no matter how heart-tripping the intimacy between them. And loss is a grim reality with the terrorist Renaud still on their trail, leaving a pile of bodies in his wake.
Going undercover on a new case gets them out of town and off the killer’s radar. They’re assigned to investigate an identity theft ring involving a college basketball team in Jamie’s home state, where Jamie’s past makes him perfect for the role of coach. But returning to the court brings more than old memories.
As secrets and shocking betrayals abound, none may be more dangerous than the one Jamie’s been keeping: a secret about the death of Aidan’s husband that could blow his partner’s world apart and destroy forever the fragile bonds of trust and love building between them.
This was marginally better than the first. For one, this airport scene is the best:
Mouth dry, heart racing, cheeks burning, Jamie’s fingers twitched with the urge to weave through the long red strands. Reaching down instead, he grabbed his phone, held it between his palms, and wedged his clasped hands between his knees, forestalling his impulse. He tried to force out a “hello,” but his brain refused to cooperate, all the blood in his body having raced south where his jeans became painfully tight.
Fuck.
He was gone. So far gone. Past casual, past a crush, past simple attraction.Poor Jamie!
I am now also mildly interested in the mystery of Aidan’s late husband’s connection with the terrorist and what Mel’s doing. I think this Renaud mystery could have been solved in book one already but book two had to end with a cliffhanger so we have to read the third book just to see things through. What a hassle! The basketball story was nothing spectacular and there were elements of predictability. It was pretty easy to guess the mastermind behind the identity theft ring once the character was introduced.
As I listened to the audio book, I love Aidan laying his Irish accent on thick as part of his disguise as sports agent. Jamie as Whiskey Walker, assistant coach was a good hiding-in-plain-sight twist with the added complication of his ex showing up on campus. I am still not a fan of the partners-to-lovers trope as shown here because there were too many emotional entanglements and unnecessary drama. It made the two agents who were otherwise competent, seem unprofessional and too emotionally compromised to do their jobs properly. Thank god for Cam, the voice of reason and sense, who didn’t even bat an eyelash at the scandalous photos nor made any snide comments at how the two agents are carrying on.
So, I’m still not getting why it has such high ratings in GR. Granted, there has been some improvements but I wouldn’t really go out of my way to recommend this series.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Why Oh Why
Artist: Spearhear & Michael Franti
Album: Chocolate Supa Highway(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34033755-cask-strength)
