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RELEASE BLITZ: There You Are by CJane Elliott (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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REVIEW: Two Rogues Make A Right by Cat Sebastian
Seducing the Sedgwicks: Two Rogues Make A Right – Cat Sebastian
Will Sedgwick can’t believe that after months of searching for his oldest friend, Martin Easterbrook is found hiding in an attic like a gothic nightmare. Intent on nursing Martin back to health, Will kindly kidnaps him and takes him to the countryside to recover, well away from the world.
Martin doesn’t much care where he is or even how he got there. He’s much more concerned that the man he’s loved his entire life is currently waiting on him hand and foot, feeding him soup and making him tea. Martin knows he’s a lost cause, one he doesn’t want Will to waste his life on.
As a lifetime of love transforms into a tender passion both men always desired but neither expected, can they envision a life free from the restrictions of the past, a life with each other?
Congratulations to the Seducing The Sedgwicks series for reaching peak fluff-tastic adorableness in the third book, Two Rogues Make A Right!
It’s for books like this that incoherent squeeing emojis are deployed.
I mean, that cover is pure ✧♡〜ヾ(◍’౪`◍)ﾉﾞ〜 ✧♡!!!!
A perfect cover that captures the ✧♡➴✧♡。❣╰(⋈◍＞◡＜◍)╯❣。✧♡ ➴✧♡!!!!-ness of the story.
Yeah, foreheads touches ♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)
I will try to write a saner review now that I had the squeeing out of the way.
Two Rogues Make A Right is as sweet and gentle as an idyllic summer. It is a quintessential story of falling for your best friend. As such, there is the fear of losing a life-long friendship if romantic feelings become known. Mutual pining ensues. It is a tale as old as time, but Cat Sebastian was able to spin Will and Martin’s story into something more.
It was also about Martin coming into his own. His constant attempts to be a better person than his father ever been. His struggle to gain independence and make choices for himself. His determination to be useful in a world where an entry in Debrett’s pretty much guarantees you a lifetime of decorative lounging.
Martin came across as an almost villainous minor character in the first book, It Takes Two To Tumble. He’s grumpy and seemed to hate everybody. The second book found him in the attic, sick and cold. My sympathies were stirred. In this third installment, Martin turned out to be an utterly endearing tsundere. I really loved the scene where he spontaneously gathered posies on his way home and upon arriving, thrusted them to Will like he’s getting rid of something nasty.
Will is the kind of guy who’s free with his affections. He’s also “unspeakably loyal” to Martin and Martin knows that. I respected the heck out of Martin for steadfastly refusing to take advantage of Will’s loyalty. Even without the romantic aspect, their friendship were goals. I really loved how they selflessly took care of each other.
Martin rescuing Will from opium dens at the cost of his health. Will patiently nursing Martin back to health, telling him ridiculous bedtime stories. Them reading to each other! When Will was in the Navy, he got a tattoo on his arm with Martin’s name on it even before there were amorous feelings involved. To Will, Martin is home. Simple as that.
I want to build Will and Martin a blanket fort and keep the big bad world away from them. These are two precious dorks! Protect at all cost!
P.S.
Seducing the Sedgwicks is best experienced by reading the books in order. The series might not be 5-stars across the board like The Turners series, but It Takes Two To Tumble was also a highly enjoyable take on the Sound of Music. Read my review here.
I DNFed A Gentleman Always Keeps Score. I wasn’t connecting to the story. I will not be posting a review for it.
Cat Sebastian books here.
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfectSoundtrack: Fallingforyou
Artist: The 1975
Album: IV -
SERIES REVIEW TOUR: The Midwest by Brigham Vaugh (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: The Scholar’s Heart by Antonia Aquilante (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Out On The Serve by Lane Hayes (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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AUDIO REVIEW: Just Like Heaven by T.L. Bradford
The Young Americans: Just Like Heaven – T.L. Bradford
Noah Sinclair
Noah Sinclair is best described as an egotistical, pompous, anal retentive, asshat. And those are his better qualities. Lately, Noah has lost touch with his playboy character “Jace” on the show Americana and can’t quite put his finger on why. The studio decides it is time to shake up his character by making him an offer he can’t refuse, literally. They will introduce a new love interest for his character “Jace.” Only this time, there’s a twist.Josh Hill
Josh Hill is up a creek and sinking fast. He’s got no job, no money, no credit and is about to be kicked out of his apartment. Opportunity comes in the form of a job offer from the show Americana. Everything should be perfect; only there is one hitch. He will be the new love interest for Noah Sinclair’s character on the beloved show.So, opposites are supposed to attract, right? Not so fast. No one said life was that easy. Both actors find themselves in untested waters. Will they be able to play a same-sex couple with no prior experience authentically? Well, they say practice makes perfect.
Carefree, fun-loving Josh and uptight, overbearing Noah, realize they need to make the best of their bad situation and are forced to find common ground. Over time, their roles in each other’s lives become blurred. Is their attraction fake, or is it real? To top it off, Noah has a dark skeleton in his closet that can prevent them from ever moving forward.
Can they get on the same page and save both of their careers and their relationship?
Or will they end up yesterday’s tabloid fodder?
(Just Like Heaven is a full-length, slow-burn love story. It can be read as a standalone. It contains a cast of fully-developed characters that encounter romance, heartache, laughter, and life lessons. The book has darker themes that may act as triggers to some readers. It contains adult language, mature themes, and is best enjoyed by those over the age of 18.)
Just Like Heaven is a case of life imitating soap. It’s just as long, just as melodramatic.
I think the author was trying to cram every popular trope possible. Noah and Josh started out as enemies, then friends then lovers. There was a slow-burn gay for you thrown in with both claiming to be straight. Then coming out issues with Noah refusing to even admit to himself he was gay because he was so traumatized by his abusive father.
Sometime later, we get Josh admitting he had a crush on his football teammate back in high school and revealing he was bisexual. There’s even the big breakup and a second chance romance of sorts.
All of these would have been one hell of an epic saga. However the book had an unfortunate tendency to tell rather than show. There were chunks and chunk of paragraphs of just telling.
The book could benefit from taking out some passages. For instance, there was Noah looking back to the time he was caught kissing a boy. The same scenario was later described in dialogue by the actor to Josh in almost the same way.
I wasn’t particularly drawn to the two MCs. Noah was as difficult as advertised. Josh was the more likable one, the type who’s friends with a person within 5 minutes of meeting them.
Their honeymoon phase was indeed sweet but on the whole they weren’t exactly the healthiest couple out there. There were petty jealousies and possessiveness. They don’t talk properly. They had better relationships with the other people they hooked up with. So their relationship wasn’t something I could root for.
On the upside, the other cast members were great supporting characters. I could see how their real life chemistry would translate well on screen. They were like the millennial version of the Brat Pack.
The Hill family Christmas was the most fun part of the book. Everyone had a blast at their Christmas Olympics. This was where Noah and Josh synced perfectly together. We get a glimpse of what they could be if they were simply regular guys named Noah Sinclair and Joshua Hill instead of Primetime Emmys’ Best Couple.
It wouldn’t be your favorite daytime soap without scandals and messy breakups. The big fight was ugly, the separation painful. But it wasn’t long before they started hooking up with other castmates. At this point, my interest petered out.
Narrator Corey H. Bennson was a major reason why I stuck around for as long as I could. He’s one of those narrators who acts rather than just reads. I really enjoyed his style.
I wish Noah and Josh well. I know they would eventually find their way back to each other. And stay there, hopefully.
P.S.
Sorry, this was supposed to be posted yesterday but my blog’s I.P. address had some technical issues.
Thank you to Gay Romance Reviews and Audible UK for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: The Magic Position
Artist: Patrick Wolf
Album: The Magic Position -
RELEASE BLITZ: Secret Admirer by D.J. Jamison (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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RELEASE BLITZ: Baking Battles by Sophia Soames (Excerpt)
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AUDIO REVIEW: A Way With You by Lane Hayes
A Way With You – Lane Hayes
Reeve Nelson is determined to make it in Manhattan. He’s hardworking, dedicated and willing to put in the extra hours required to be successful at his new job at a prestigious real estate firm in the city. There’s no way he’s going back to small-town living and an ex-girlfriend who won’t let go. But his boss isn’t making it easy.
Leo Rodriguez enjoys his reputation as a ruthless businessman. He’s a lone wolf who’s scraped his way from the gutter to rebuild his life and launch a distinguished career on his terms. When an opportunity to expand in the market comes up, Leo wants the eager new agent with a sense of wonder on the project. But nothing goes quite as planned. Reeve expected to be intimidated and overwhelmed by Leo, however, the explosive mutual attraction and fierce desire between them is a big surprise. Neither man is looking for love and yet, something special just might happen if they can find their way…together.
A Way With You is the sequel to A Way With Words, starring Remy’s big brother, Reeve. This book could be read as a standalone but I recommend reading Remy and Tony’s book first because why miss out on this adorable couple?
A Way With You started strong. We meet Reeve in his first day of work. He just learned he was to work with real estate celebrity, Leo Rodriguez, a man who has a reputation as a tough as nails boss.
He was assigned to a challenging assignment which led to butting heads with Leo where he quickly lost his temper. To end his last day at work with a bang, he kissed his boss.
Then he disappeared.
Between the Nelson brothers, Reeve had the more mercurial temper whereas Remy was the more easy-going one. The brothers are very supportive of each other, constantly checking in to see how the other is doing. Their relationship was one of the highlights of the book.
I didn’t warm up to Reeve much. I didn’t hate him but I didn’t like him either. We could all do without the tantrums. What’s admirable about him though was that he’s brave enough to quit a 6-figure job and carve his own path in life. He doesn’t even mind that he had to start from scratch all over again.
Leo was the stand out here. I wished we had his POV. When we first met him, he appeared cold and aloof. The kind of personality you would expect in a terror boss.
It was when we meet him again, this time outside the office, we could see he’s a genial, warm-hearted guy who offers sofa cuddles and lends his underwear to the under-dressed.
I loved the way he doggedly pursued Reeve’s company. Not taking no for an answer but never pushy. He consistently kept a cool head whenever Reeve threw his tantrums. Best of all, he followed his love declarations with actions. Truly a keeper!
While I liked both books in the A Way With series, I enjoyed this a notched less than the first book. It has the same feel-good charm as its predecessor and I was having a good time with most of it. After the big scene at the office, I was led to believe this was going to be conflict-free but alas childish behavior reared its ugly head.
Reeve’s infamous temper flared up at the latter part of the story where, although in keeping with character, resulted in a rather ridiculous fight scene. I wasn’t particularly impressed with this moment. I felt it was thrown in just so there would be conflict.
Nonetheless, Leo’s winning ways saved the day, cartwheel fails and all.
Narration-wise, Alexander Cendese continued to do a good job giving life to all these colorful characters. While the voices are not that different from each other, he was still able to imbue distinct personalities to each so it’s wasn’t difficult to recognize who’s speaking at the moment. His reading style was appropriately energetic in keeping with the vibe of the book.
All in all, A Way With You was an enjoyable office romance story that happened mostly outside the office. It’s also about following your dreams and doing it your way. Because trying to making it big in the Big Apple is a hell lot easier if you got friends, family and the right boss to kiss.
P.S.
Thank you to Indigo and Audible UK for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Book one, A Way With You, review here.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: Up & Up
Artist: Coldplay
Album: A Head Full Of Dreams -
AUDIO BLITZ: A Way With Series by Lane Hayes (Giveaway)
