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    REVIEW: Real Hazard by Elle Keaton

    West Coast Forensics: Real Hazard by Elle Keaton

    They’re not looking for love, but it catches them anyway. Can two very different men find common ground and claim a future… together?

    Foster

    Things I love

    ✓ my kid sister

    ✓ the no-hope dogs I rehabilitate

    ✓ my job as an EMT

    ✓ and maybe my new friend Dutch.

    But Dutch isn’t gay and physical attraction isn’t something I feel often. Are these feelings real, or am I just tired of being alone?

    Dutch

    This is all Hazel’s fault. Hazel the Hazard.

    ✓ Hazel made me come to first grade safety day.

    ✓ Hazel blurted out—loudly—about the beautiful fireman.

    ✓ Hazel invited the beautiful fireman over for a party.

    I swear I’m not gay, but Foster Jennings is the most beautiful man I’ve ever met, outside and in.

    Dutch Schumach is the single dad of a precocious daughter. He moved to Piedras wanting a better life for Hazel and himself. Things are shaping up, he’s landed a permanent job at Brooch Resort and Hazel has quit having nightmares that someone is going to steal her away.

    Then everything goes sideways, Dutch’s past threatens his future and he doesn’t know where to turn.

    Something is wrong, Dutch is pushing him away and won’t tell Foster why.

    When Hazel goes missing Dutch can’t hide anymore, he needs his… Foster to help him get Hazel back.

    #Demisexual #BiAwakening #SingleDad #FindingFamily

    Book four in the West Coast Forensics series, can be read as a standalone but may be more fully enjoyed if you start with Real Trouble.


    Real Hazard is Piedras Island at its most charming and my favorite West Coast Forensics installment so far.

    I’ve been a fan of WCF and its related series, so at this point, everyone feels like old friends. Foster Jennings was introduced in earlier books. The EMT/firefighter/dog trainer is fondly referred to as an angel, a beautiful man inside and out. He not only saves humans but helps dogs too. Foster’s world revolves around his younger sister whom he raised, the uber-confident Becca, determined to spread her wings, protective brothers and wheelchairs notwithstanding.

    Dutch Schumach is the cook assisting his friend, the chef, Danylo Peters, at the island’s landmark hotel. He’s a single dad to a precocious 8-year-old, Hazel, who has her dad wrapped around her little pinkie. Dutch has a dark past he’s running away from to keep his daughter safe.

    Hazel the Hazard keeps her lonely dad’s life exciting through clever antics. The latest of which is befriending the beautiful fireman and feeding him pie. Afterall, her teacher said, the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

    The story celebrates the joys and the challenges of solo parents. Fatherhood is the theme, and this extends to Dutch’s parentage at the latter part. Hazel both amused me and reminded me why I want nothing to do with kids.

    The plot differs from the previous books, which were mystery-centric and heavily involved the WCF people. This time, it was more of a contemporary romance with the requisite meet-cute, lots of fluffy moments, minor external conflict to shake things up a little, and then the sweet HEA. There weren’t any big surprises, but I don’t think it was meant to be a roller-coaster. And hardly any private detectives showed up.

    This was a more laidback slice-of-life chronicles of two friends who became lovers, a single dad’s refreshingly angst-free bisexual awakening, a parent coming to terms with their child leaving the nest, and hardworking men trying to catch a break. The vibe was cozy, comfortable, and domestic, with lots of heartwarming found family goodness. Add to that the adorable antics from canine friends, and it was cuteness overload!

    Piedras Island might be an old haunt, it still has plenty of surprises. I loved where Elle Keaton took us this time. I missed the mystery, but Real Hazard certainly more than made up for it with its lovable characters, cozy domesticity, and lots and lots of feel-good magic!

    Rating:
    4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step away

    Soundtrack: Bound 2 Be Together
    Artist: Gamblers
    Album: When We Exit

    P.S.

    Check out the rest of West Coast Forensics and its related series , and fall in love with Piedras Island!

    Real Trouble
    Real Risk

    Veiled Intentions:
    Conspiracy Theory
    Long Shadow
    Black Moon


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    Real Hazard: US | UK

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    SERIES REVIEW: Dearest Milton James & Dearest Malachi Keogh by N.R. Walker

    Dearest Milton James – N.R. Walker

    Malachi Keogh finds himself in a job he neither wanted nor asked for when his father, boss of Sydney’s postal service, sends him to the end of the business line, aka The Dead Letter Office. Malachi expects tedious and boring but instead discovers a warehouse with a quirky bunch of misfit co-workers, including a stoic and nerdy boss, Julian Pollard.

    Malachi’s intrigued by Julian at first, and he soon learns there’s more to the man than his boring clothes of beige, tan, and brown; a far cry from Malachi’s hot pink, lilac, and electric blue. Where Julian is calm and ordered, Malachi is chaos personified, but despite their outward differences, there’s an immediate chemistry between them that sends Malachi’s head—and heart—into a spin.

    To keep his father happy, Malachi needs to keep this job. He also needs to solve the mystery of the pile of old letters that sits in Julian’s office and maybe get to the bottom of what makes Julian tick. Like everything that goes through the mail centre, only time will tell if Malachi has found his intended destination or if he’ll find himself returned to sender.

    Dearest Malachi Keogh – N.R. Walker

    Julian Pollard never believed in love at first sight. That was until he met Malachi Keogh. Well, maybe it wasn’t love at first sight, but it sure was something.

    Julian had forgotten how to live, how to be happy, and Malachi changed all that. Now together for four years, Julian wants to give Malachi a Christmas he’ll never forget.


    N.R. Walker writes some of the most heartwarming, unforgettable stories. She outdid herself with Dearest Milton James. Hands down, this is one of the most adorable stories I’ve read!

    Dearest Milton James is set in Australia’s Dead Letter Office, perhaps the least likely place to find excitement or the man of your dreams. The story not only made this dull department a place of surprises and mysteries, it also housed two very inspiring, heart-meltingly sweet romances.

    Colorfully dressed, walking ray of sunshine Malachi Keogh was dumped by his father, the head of the postal service, in the Dead Letter Office as a last-ditch effort to give his son work. Boldly declaring he would not stay long, Malachi soon found himself a new family in the merry band of misfits headed by the nerdy but hottie, Julian Pollard, rocking head-to-toe brown.

    He also discovered that the Dead Letter Office was far from dead. I was just as surprised with how much activity there was. Their main responsibility is to find the sender or/and receiver. It’s work that combines detective skills and research. And opening packages!

    It’s the most fun and sometimes terrifying part because you never know what you’ll find. From heartwarming little tokens, live animals, sex toys, and even body parts. The plastic kind but still hella creepy.

    The plot is an epistolary romantic mystery of two anonymous men in a forbidden relationship in the 1970s. It sparked a present-day romance between Malachi and Julian. The department has a bundle of mysterious 40-year-old letters addressed to a Milton James. Malachi, Julian, and the rest of the gang pooled their talents to solve the mystery and find the sender.

    This part of the story completely absorbed me. I was so intrigued and heavily invested in uncovering the identity of the two men who were separated by war and societal taboos. I was prepared to be heartbroken about the outcome but the plot threw in some twists that totally caught me by surprise!

    I love Malachi! I loved how he matched his hair to his clothes. I used to dress as colorfully as him, so I was totally digging his vibe right off the bat. Our boy is prone to verbal diarrhea, and his outbursts are funny! He’s endearingly emotional and soft-hearted with just the right amount of sass. His POV was super fun to read.

    If you’re looking for a book boyfriend, Julian’s your guy. I’m a sucker for blushy seme, and he’s adorably blushy. He’s perfect without being annoying. Seeing him trying to conceal his attraction to Malachi from Malachi’s perspective worked so well in highlighting his swoony nerdy appeal

    The story hit me hard in the kokoro! From the deeply moving, beautifully poetic writing of the mysterious letter sender pouring his heart out to Milton James to the floofy gooey, super sweet connection that blossomed between Malachi and Julian, I was a mushy ball of goo!

    Dearest Malachi Keogh is the equally wonderful and floofy short story of Julian hatching a plan to gift Malachi the most unforgettable Christmas surprise of all. Everyone got involved to make it happen.

    It’s a charming little epilogue that echoes the main story. I was delighted to read Julian’s POV. This guy is everything!

    Dearest Milton James and Dearest Malachi Keogh are the perfect balance of humor, romance, and mystery. They’re light and angst-free. A magical, poignant, feel-good tale of love and friendship definitely worth writing home about.

    Rating:
    5 Stars – absolutely perfect

    Soundtrack: Dearest
    Artist: The Black Keys
    Album: Rave On Buddy Holly

    Rating:
    5 Stars – absolutely perfect

    Soundtrack: My Dear
    Artist: The Tallest Man On Earth
    Album: I Love You, It’s A Fever Dream


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    Dearest Milton James: US | UK
    Dearest Malachi Keogh: US | UK

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    DEAREST MILTON JAMES

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    SERIES REVIEW: Bad Behavior Books 5 & 5.5 by L.A. Witt & Cari Z

    Note: another long post so you can skip to the end for the tl:dr version if you want. looks like this is turning out to be a series review month

    Bad Behavior was one of the best series I’ve read back in 2018. This gritty, partners to lovers, police procedural cemented L.A. Witt and Cari Z‘s status as one of the best writing duos for me. Just when I thought Andreas and Darren’s story was over, we get another awesome installment and a floofy floof short story.

    This is a review of Books 5 and 5.5.


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    Bad Behavior: Protective Behavior – L.A. Witt & Cari Z

    Detective Mark Thibedeau is perfectly happy doing his job in Internal Affairs and going home to his cat. Still, when his assistant wants to set him up on a blind date, he can’t help but be intrigued.

    Dr. Ryan Campbell loves the frenetic pace of working in an emergency department. He likes his life and doesn’t need anyone. But that guy his colleague wants him to meet does sound pretty interesting.

    It’s instant chemistry when they meet—and instant chaos.

    That chaos isn’t just phone calls interrupting dates. When a patient comes into the ED rapidly bleeding out from a gunshot wound, Ryan suddenly finds himself in possession of evidence that could very well put two white cops in jail for killing an innocent black man in cold blood.

    Not sure what else to do, Ryan takes the evidence to the only cop he can trust—Mark.

    Now Mark is investigating a delicate case, and Ryan is a material witness, and putting their fledgling relationship on hold is the least of their problems. Dirty cops stalk Ryan and his colleagues. Higher-ups question Mark’s investigative integrity at every turn. Worse, he’s tugging at threads of a citywide systemic problem of cops getting away with racially motivated murder.

    And there are cops with blood on their hands who will gladly kill to keep that system running.

    CW: Racially motivated violence, white-cop-on-black civilian violence

    This book is #5 in the Bad Behavior series, but can be read as a standalone.


    I read in L.A. Witt‘s post somewhere that Protective Behavior began as series narrator Michael Ferraiuolo‘s suggestion. This book was a pleasant surprise. It’s a story I didn’t realize I wanted because I didn’t really pay that much attention to IA Detective Mark Thibedeau. After learning of its existence, I was like, oh yeah, about time we have a book about Internal Affairs cops.

    We first met Mark in Book 1, Risky Behavior, as the IA detective who thought Andreas was a dirty cop. He and Andreas were both grumpy assholes who butt heads all the time. Andreas’ daughter Erin later worked as Mark’s assistant. She wrangled him into a blind date with a doctor friend, Ryan.

    Mark and Ryan are two very busy men who had no lives outside work. They immediately hit it off but barely got around to their second date, let alone some smexy times, due to ongoing investigations and medical emergencies. They tried. Boy, they really tried but the call of duty always had impeccable bad timing.

    I felt their initial meeting was, deliberately, a conventional blind date, perhaps as a reminder that they were really just ordinary people cockblocked by extraordinary circumstances.

    Some time after they began dating, Mark found himself investigating a suspected murder of a black man by white cops. The more Mark uncovers, the more he realized this could very well be a systemic problem.

    The case was brought to his attention by Ryan. The doctor was the one who attended the victim. The man handed him a recording of the incident as he lay dying . This makes Ryan a witness and thus off limits for any romantic endeavors. It also made him a target of the psycho cops who were looking to get rid of evidence.

    I might have initially overlooked him before but the authors did a good job making Mark a likable character here. He’s not a flash and bang guy. He’s more of a solid, dependable, dogged determination gets the job done kind of guy. He goes home to a spoiled cat. A dead giveaway that this hardened detective is really a softie.

    Ryan’s more of the same, albeit more playful and flirty. Right away, they understood the kind of high stress, demanding job the other man had. They made their relationship work despite those hurdles. I liked that they were kind of low-key compared to the flashier Andreas and Darren because it feels right to their story. I also appreciated that they were both in their 40s and this is not an age-gap romance.

    The story is first and foremost, a police procedural. I really enjoyed this because it’s my first time to read a book that focuses on Internal Affairs. IA investigations are trickier than normal cases. Cops don’t snitch on other cops. Especially their partners.

    The plot was well-written. It was easy to follow but still giving plenty of twists and turns that kept me at the edge of my seat. Any police procedural aficionado would love all the nitty gritty investigative stuff.

    This is a very timely book that reflects real life events, specifically racism and Black Lives Matter. These issues were handled well. I read one review that says the story tries too hard to make a point. I did find some parts repetitive but not preachy.. All in all, gripping and relevant .

    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bit

    Soundtrack: Matter
    Artist: For King & Country
    Album: Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong.


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    Bad Behavior: Cuddly Behavior – L.A. Witt & Cari Z

    Detective Andreas Ruffner is less than thrilled when his husband and partner, Detective Darren Corliss, announces they’ll be cat-sitting for a couple of weeks. He’s even less pleased when he realizes the cat in question is a large grumpy thing with razor-sharp claws and no regard for personal space.

    When Darren deploys the puppy dog eyes, though, Andreas is powerless to say no, so they’re on kitty detail… and despite his best efforts, Andreas is a sucker for the critter shedding all over his apartment and stealing his husband’s affection.

    It’s only for two weeks. Plenty of time for the cat to get on his nerves, but not nearly enough for her to trick him into falling in love with her. Right?

    This 15,000 word short story is Bad Behavior book 6, and is best read after Protective Behavior. 


    So I mentioned above that Mark goes home to his cat. The cat is Harley, a giant hairy ball of fluff with no regard for personal space. She jumped on an injured Mark and opened his stitches. So she was sent to live with Andreas and Darren for a couple of weeks while Mark recovers.

    This short story is full of adorable cat antics and besotted humans. It is a demonstration of how cats can win over even the most anti-cat person. Witness grizzled detective Andreas being trained by the cunning Harley to become her personal seat cushion, much to the delight of his husband, Darren. Photographic evidence was promptly obtained for posterity.

    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bit

    Soundtrack: Cuddles
    Artist: The Tired Flames
    Album: Cuddles


    Michael Ferraiuolo was right on the money when he suggested Mark’s book. Protective Behavior certainly added another dimension to the series by giving us a peek at the inner workings of the Internal Affairs Department. It is a solid police procedural tackling real life issues with a gentle, low-steam romance that goes perfectly well with the story’s vibe. Cuddly Behavior is the squishy cherry on top, a veritable catnip to all cat lovers.

    Protective Behavior can be read as a standalone but why stop at one? Experience all the different ways to misbehave in the first four Bad Behavior books: Risky Behavior, Suspicious Behavior, Reckless Behavior and Romatic Behavior.


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    Protective Behavior: US | UK
    Cuddly Behavior: US | UK

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    Protective Behavior


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    REVIEW: Sweet As Honey by Lucy Lennox

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    Aster Valley: Sweet As Honey – Lucy Lennox

    When I rode my bike into Aster Valley, it was supposed to be temporary. A quick, relaxing visit with friends. No entanglements. Zero drama.

    But then I saw the bumblebee being harassed on the side of the highway.

    More specifically, I saw Truman Sweet, Aster Valley’s resident botanist, spice merchant, and bee-costume enthusiast, being harassed. And the second I got involved, all my plans for a quick departure scattered like pollen on the breeze.

    It turns out that Truman—adorkably shy, relentlessly sunshiny, hot as all heck, reluctantly-still-a-virgin Truman—has secrets. Secrets someone in this charming small town doesn’t want brought to light. Secrets that rouse every one of my protective instincts just as surely as his kisses rouse… other parts of me.

    And before I know it, I’m thinking being entangled might not be so bad… if it’s Truman I’m tangled up with.

    I’ll do whatever it takes to protect Truman from the dangers in his past, but after a lifetime of loneliness and disappointment, how can I possibly convince him to trust me with his future?


    Time for another much anticipated visit to Aster Valley, a small town in the Colorado Mountains that’s big on charm and personality.

    The second full-length novel, Sweet As Honey, delivers a delightful love story between an adorkable plant geek and his adoring bad boy biker.

    It all started with a bumblebee.

    So Sam Rigby was cruising down the highway, minding his own business, when he spotted a bumblebee being harassed. He comes to its rescue and discovers it’s the friend of his bestfriend Mikey, the spice shop owner Truman Sweet. Then a truck comes barreling down the road and crushes his bike. They go to the town to report the incident, only for cops to surround them. Truman faints and Sam ends up looking like the bad guy.

    As Sam and Truman got to know each other better and become progressively closer, Sam learns that that incident was one of the many, many harassments Truman had endured under the hands of a pair of brothers. Their uncle is the town sheriff so good luck reporting that. All because of a shared past that Truman kept secret throughout most his life.

    This series has some of the worst villains out there. Give me blood and gore chaotic evils and I could take them on any time. It’s the lawful evil that really, really gets under my skin. In Book 1, it was Mikey’s dad, the coach. A guy who pretends he’s okay with queers but works underhandedly to undermine his gay son. Here, it’s Truman’s friend, Barney, and Sam’s mother and his sisters.

    Without giving too much away, these people pretend to look out for one’s own good then proceeds to gaslight, manipulate, spout biblical references even fake a medical emergency just to get their way. I hated them. They almost made me quit. I felt they belong to darker books. They are effective emotion-wise and plot-wise but they don’t encourage re-reads simply because I don’t want to meet them again.

    Happily, the good guys were awesome and they are most definitely worth the stay. I really enjoyed going through each MC’s thoughts. Truman is strong and brave, brilliant and funny. He had me chuckling in a couple of scenes. At times, very awkward but when you hit upon something relevant to his interests, off he goes talking non-stop about one trivia after another. I loved it when he’s on a roll. And Sam adored it too.

    We first knew Sam as Mikey’s bestfriend from Right As Raine. He owns a construction business. He doesn’t consider himself a relationship kind of guy. But the thing about Sam is that he’s very protective about the people he cares about. And his family is also shit. That’s why he and Mikey always looked out for each other. Then he found Truman, realized this was his person and grabbed on tightly.

    This book is one of the most wonderful and fluffily sweet romances out there. I lived for those heart-melting scenes! Sam and Truman were just perfect together. I loved the way they instinctively knew what the other needs without trampling all over the other person’s self-worth and autonomy. This was especially relevant because of the way Truman was treated by other people. I also loved how they used their brains, trusted one another and held on even as bad guys attempted to tear them apart again and again.

    I know I said the antagonists almost pulled me out of the story but this book is really more fluff than drama. It’s made up of a cast that I loved seeing again and again (except the bullies, of course). Tiller and Mikey played prominent roles throughout the story and Gentry and Winter also made appearances. So I recommend reading all the books in order, including the prequel.

    Sweet As Honey is a story about small towns secrets, family drama, building friendships, knowing who to trust and finding that person who feels like home. Overall, I had a great time with Sam and Truman. Aster Valley proved, yet again, it’s the place to be.

    P.S.

    Yes, the first two books are not to be missed. Witness a magical rockstar moment between folk rock superstar Gentry Kane and the titular Winter Waites in the prequel novella. Squee every time multi-million-dollar football receiver Tiller Raine calls his chef/coach’s son, Michael Vinning, my Mikey in Right As Raine.

    Reviews of Winter Waites and Right As Raine here.

    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: Honey
    Artist: Boy Pablo
    Album: Wachito Rico!


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    RIGHT AS RAINE | SWEET AS HONEY

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    AUDIO REVIEW: Secret Santa by Jay Northcote

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    Secret Santa – Jay Northcote

    Keeping secrets is never a good way to start a relationship…

    Theo hardly has time to date. Between work and caring for his four-year-old son there aren’t many hours left over. He’s lonely though, so he joins a hook-up app and starts chatting to a guy called Luke. Luke seems friendly and they arrange to meet. Theo doesn’t mention that he has a child. It’s early days and he’s worried about putting Luke off before they get to know each other.

    Luke is currently working as Santa at the local shopping mall. He figures Theo never has to know. Christmas will be over soon and Luke will move on to a new, less embarrassing job. He’s surprised when Theo and a little boy visit Santa one afternoon. Theo doesn’t recognise Luke, and Luke realises he’s not the only one with a secret.

    Despite misgivings on both sides, they start dating, and the chemistry is amazing. But as Christmas approaches their secrets pile up like colourful packages under the tree. If they’re not careful, they’ll lose the best gift of all—each other.


    Secret Santa reminded me of the things I hate about dating. Namely, the awkward getting to know you questions, the contrived atmosphere and most of all, the false advertisements. My approach is to exchange a list of worst attributes right off the bat, see if the other person can or can’t live with those and take it from there. That way, nobody wastes time on false hopes. Obviously, this is not how normal human interactions happen. Which is why my dealings with other people are usually stilted and awkward.

    Anyway, Luke and Theo went with the more conventional approach, that is, good ole Grindr.

    Luke is currently temping as the Santa for M&S since he is in between jobs. He’s kind of grumpy but has a nice sense of humor. He’s fed up with hookups. He only started chatting with Theo because he’s cute and doesn’t seem the like typical horny douche he usually sees on Grindr. They hit it off remarkably well on that first chat. And they continue to hit it off through out the whole story.

    Theo is geeky and sweet. He works at the Apple store as a technician. He’s a wonderful dad. He co-parents with his friend (sorry forget her name), who is the mother of his son, Archie. He’s completely devoted to Archie but having a kid in the equation puts off a lot of guys he tried to date. So when he found Luke, who he really liked, he kept that teeny tiny fact a secret.

    Normally I don’t pay attention to children characters but Archie is great. He felt like a real kid. He’s only 4 years old and quite well-spoken but not in an overly mature, smarter than the adults way that is so often the case in fiction. He loves dinosaurs and Luke’s Santa presents.

    I didn’t enjoy Luke’s and Theo’s avoidances, omissions and blatant lies. Hell, Luke even gave Theo major openings to fess up multiple times but nooo, the man stuck to his story. I’m also dinging Luke for not telling Theo he knew about Archie. Seriously, they could have just talked!

    However, the blurb was definitely not lying about their chemistry. It was indeed amazing! This really shone through everything and I enjoyed it so much that I kept reading. It was like, the way I felt about the book mirrored the way these two characters felt about each other and their situation. Yes, there were niggles but I knew deep down, Luke and Theo were worth sticking around for.

    Patience paid off big time because when everything came out in the open, the story became more rewarding. Luke and Theo’s relationship felt fresher and stronger now that they were 100% honest with each other. I loved how Archie effortlessly included Luke in their little family. And Luke won major points for coming up with a brilliant idea to have Santa visit their house.

    This novella is narrated by Hamish Long. I haven’t listened to a lot of his audiobooks but now that has to change because I really liked his Theo voice. My favorite part was his portrayal of Archie because he really sounded like an articulate small child. Luke sounded good too. Overall, his narration was another factor that made the book more fun. His style is a great match to Jay Northcote‘s writing. If I remember correctly, he was also the one who performed Harper Fox‘s Brothers of the Wild North Sea and he did exceptionally well there too.

    Even with the major lack of communication, Secret Santa is a warm, cozy, low-angst and very sweet story. It’s full of holiday cheers and feel-good vibes. It’s short but felt complete. All in all, it’s 3 hours 44 minutes well spent and a good book to keep you company while waiting for Santa.

    P.S.

    Thank you to Signal Boost Promotions and Audible for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

    Rating:
    3.5 Stars – that place between like and love

    Soundtrack: Secret Santa
    Artist: Gwen Stefani
    Album: You Make It Feel Like Christmas


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    KINDLE
    AUDIOBOOK

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    SECRET SANTA (Italian edition)

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    REVIEW: Two Rogues Make A Right by Cat Sebastian

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    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 perfect

    Soundtrack: Fallingforyou
    Artist: The 1975
    Album: IV