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COVER REVEAL: Class Act by Gianni Holmes (Giveaway)
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REVIEW: Lunatic by Onley James
Necessary Evils: Lunatic – Onley James
Every psychopath in the Mulvaney family has a role to play. Archer Mulvaney is the gambler, a drunken reprobate making his living as a high-stakes poker player. Very few people know the real Archer, not even his brothers. But there is one man who knows far too much.
Mackenzie Shepherd spends his days photographing endangered wildlife. He’s also the brother of a psychopath and son to the woman who literally wrote the book on raising one. When his mother asks him to head a secret government project, it seems like the perfect excuse to run away from his life.
But running from his past has Mac colliding straight into Archer. And that’s a problem. For this project to be successful, Mac and Archer have to agree on every decision, and the two see eye-to-eye on nothing. Except, maybe the sex. The sex is off the charts.
When Mac’s old life comes back to haunt him, Archer insists on putting their differences aside to help keep him safe. But Mac, like Archer, is used to solving things on his own. Can they finally stop fighting each other to find the truth, or is their relationship the next thing on the endangered species list?
Lunatic is a filthy hot, enemies to lovers, psychopath romance with an HEA and no cliffhangers. It features a sexy, roguish degenerate and a hunky bleeding heart ginger who love how much they hate each other. As always, there’s gratuitous violence, very dark humor, more blood than a slaughterhouse, and enough heat to melt your metaphorical undies. This is book six in the Necessary Evils series. Each book follows a different couple.
The Mulvaney family continues to grow as another brother falls. At this point, it is a circus, with four brothers married, one engaged, two baby girls, a baby mama, a genius hacker, an ex-brother, and the formidable patriarch with BIG secrets. It is a testament to Onley James‘s talent that with all these larger than life personalities, she made Archer, who barely say more than two sentences and in a drunken stupor most of the series, a very intriguing character I’m most eager to read about.
Lunatic sheds light on the enigma that is Archer Mulvaney. He is a man who lives triple identities. Archer is publicly known as a professional poker player and raging alcoholic. Unknown to his brothers, Thomas entrusted him with a super secret government project. Privately, he was something else entirely, a delightfully complicated and hella endearing creature, Mackenzie Shephard, was lucky to discover.
He and Archer co-head the project, and it didn’t take long for their clandestine hook-ups to turn into baring of souls and word-vomiting of feels. Mostly on Archer’s part because Mac was already 101% all in for this Mulvaney brother from their very first hook-up and is patiently waiting for the skittish Archer to stop running away.
The first parts of Archer and Mac’s romance were the best and most delicious chaotic disaster of Mulvaney proportions and totally perfect for the infamous drunken reprobate gambler. I was wishing for a very particular event to happen given their current location and squee-ed so hard when it did! Mac has perma-heart eyes for Archer because heart eyes are how one should look at this oddly vulnerable psychopath.
“Unguarded Archer was lethal, his words landing with maximum force on Mac’s heart.“
Mac’s a fantastic addition to the family, a calm, grounding presence for Archer’s wilder energy. The guy’s no stranger to crazies since his brother is a sociopath who stars in another series. Publicly, he’s ex-military and an award-winning wildlife photographer who one day stumbled upon three armed men at the Texas border. Later, the couple learned there was a hit on him, and Archer, desperate to save his person, asked his family for help.
The plot follows the usual Necessary Evils pattern, meeting in the war room, hazing the newcomer, digging up evidence, Calliope doing her magic, vetting the kill, extracting the bad guy, and then the fun part. The author did a great job keeping things exciting. There’s Noah’s reaction to Archer’s big reveal which added extra family drama. Also, major teasers on the spin-off, The Watch, that had me super hyped for the series.
However, I wished the latter parts gave more focus on the main couple. At this point, the romance lacked the intensity of the other books. And I’m not a fan of “Katniss” as Mac’s nickname for Archer. Also, the story juggles a huge cast, plus cameos and new characters, so it’s tricky giving everyone page time. Sadly, it took some away from Archer and Mac.
I deliberately kept details to a minimum because Lunatic is best enjoyed knowing as little as possible about Archer beforehand. It’s a story of secrets and revelations, and I was completely riveted watching things unfold. The most enigmatic Mulvaney brother has a quite a tale to tell. Not exactly a bullseye, but you can bet it hits right in the kokoro.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Arrows
Artist: Trevor Hall
Album: The Fruitful DarknessP.S.
Necessary Evils is best read in order because there’s a joyful kind of madness in how each psychopathic brother finds the person who matches their crazy. Don’t we wish we can find one too? And aren’t we are all dying for that last book?!!!
Check out my reviews of the previous books:
Mad Man
Headcase
Moonstruck
Psycho
Unhinged
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Necessary Evils. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or PayPal. Your donations will help keep this website going. Thank you so much!
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RELEASE BLITZ: Crossing the Line by A.G. Meiers (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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REVIEW: The Doctor’s Date by Heidi Cullinan
Copper Point Medical: The Doctor’s Date – Heidi Cullinan
Sequel to The Doctor’s Secret
Copper Point Medical: Book TwoThe hospital’s least eligible bachelor and its aloof administrator hate each other… so why are they pretending to date?
Dr. Owen Gagnon and HR director Erin Andreas are infamous for their hospital hallway shouting matches. So imagine the town’s surprise when Erin bids an obscene amount of money to win Owen in the hospital bachelor auction—and Owen ups the ante by insisting Erin move in with him.
Copper Point may not know what’s going on, but neither do Erin and Owen. Erin intends his gesture to let Owen know he’s interested. Owen, on the other hand, suspects ulterior motives—that Erin wants a fake relationship as a refuge from his overbearing father.
With Erin suddenly heading a messy internal investigation, Owen wants to step up and be the hero Erin’s never had. Too bad Erin would rather spend his energy trying to rescue Owen from the shadows of a past he doesn’t talk about.
This relationship may be fake, but the feelings aren’t. Still, what Erin and Owen have won’t last unless they put their respective demons to rest. To do that, they’ll have to do more than work together—they’ll have to trust they can heal each other’s hearts.
The Doctor’s Date has the kind of intriguing premise that immediately grabs attention. It was almost lost in TBR limbo after my bad experience with Antisocial, my first Heidi Cullinan book. Reading it now, The Doctor’s Date is a mix-bag of feels but definitely, much better than the other book.
The part that got me hooked is Erin Andreas, HR head and wallflower, spending $25,000 on Dr. Owen Gagnon, anesthesiologist, the world’s grouchiest grump, and his infamous nemesis, in the hospital bachelor auction fundraiser. Then Owen asked Erin to move in with him that very night.
This has the makings of a very squee-tastic rom-com. But unlike a rom-com where the prose and events are laced with humor, the writing leans towards misery. Many events go from bad to worse for Erin and Owen, then whiplashes to uber romantic comfort scenes designed to soothe the hurts. I don’t mind some angst and drama, but there were too many miserable moments to wade through just to get to the happier parts.
It’s why I struggled in the opening chapters. Erin’s father, head of the hospital board, was really horrible. He’s a bully who neglects him in private and belittles him in public. The guy is the kind of villain I hate the most, the lawful evil type. He made me drop the book. Owen’s dad was just as horrid, causing serious trauma to his son,. Once a musical prodigy, now Owen couldn’t bear looking at his violin.
But I kept thinking about the premise and was compelled to pick up where I left off, hoping it would get better.
It did!
The bachelor auction has some of the swooniest scenes!!! I hated Owen at first. He was drunk and high and a complete asshole. But the way he swooped in to rescue Erin from his dad! And the way he spectacularly misunderstood Erin’s motive for bidding on him, causing the dork to hatch ridiculous but hella sweet plans to protect the gob-smacked but secretly swooning Erin, it was rom-com gold!
The running metaphor here is the fairy tale about the poor prince(ss) in the tower, the ogre and the evil king. It’s fitting but a little too on the nose and repeated too often. I love the childhood connection angle in the prologue. I sensed some BL manga influences, and unlike Antisocial, it was deployed better here.
Owen and Erin as boyfriends is everything!!! It’s their magic that kept me reading because by the third arc, the story slumped. There were the not-so-exciting slice-of-life scenes that took too long reaching key events dealing with the suspected embezzlement of hospital funds, and Owen’s and Erin’s family issues. I got impatient and tuned out.
By the time it got to the climax, I barely cared about the goings-on. I wished the embezzlement issue was played up more, giving the plot a stronger mystery angle. But it was fun to see Owen, Erin and their friends forming their own Scooby Gang and taking down the bad guys. And the epilogue was too cute!!!
The Doctor’s Date holds true to its promise to sweep me off my feet with a charming fairy tale. I rooted hard for the poor little prince and squee-ed with delight to discover the ogre’s golden heart. There were monsters to slay and an evil king to vanquish. Sometimes the villains were too much, but the prince and the ogre stayed strong and true. With the help of their friends, they saved the world and lived happily ever after.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: Prince
Artist: Versailles
Album: PRINCE & PRINCESSP.S.
The Doctor’s Date is the second book of Copper Point Medical. It can be read as standalone. I haven’t read Book 1 yet.
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of The Doctor’s Date. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
You can also use my Bookshop affiliate links to buy paperbacks and MP3 CD audiobooks and help support independent bookstores.
THE DOCTOR’S DATE
If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or PayPal. Your donations will help keep this website going. Thank you so much!
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RELEASE BLITZ: Real Hazard by Elle Keaton (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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COVER REVEAL: It’s Not Unusual To Be Loved By An Alien by Chloe Archer (Giveaway)
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RELEASE BLITZ: Oath Breaker by Ava Marie Salinger (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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BLOG TOUR: The Trial Show by Konstantina P.
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SERIES REVIEW: Haven Hart Books 1-7 by Davidson King
***Long post. you can skip to the end for the tl,dr version if preferred
Never judge a series by its spin-off is a lesson I learned from Haven Hart.
I read Joker’s Sin series first, and I’m sad to say, I wasn’t too impressed. I didn’t bother with Haven Hart after that. Then on a whim, I decided to pick up Snow Falling, since heck, Joel Leslie and Philip Alces were narrating, and these two are always fantastic. Plus, I was also in the mood for some mafia romance.
I ended up binging the entire series! That GOOD!
These are not-so-mini reviews of the seven books in the main Haven Hart universe. The books should be read in order.
Snow Falling: A man with a dangerous past and a man with a dangerous future find love amidst murder and mayhem. But with Snow’s life being threatened at every turn, will Christopher’s best be enough to prevent Snow Falling?
I didn’t have much expectations going in. I thought it would be the usual mafia romance. Little did I know, I would be completely charmed by the delightful titular character, Snow. This ray of sunshine also charmed a houseful of mobsters, especially the boss, Christopher Manos.
Snow saved Simon, Christopher’s 8-year-old nephew, from a dire fate, putting himself in grave danger in return. Christopher offered the homeless Snow protection and a place to stay, hiring him as Simon’s companion.
It was a joy to watch the much-feared mob boss, Christopher Manos, become simply Chris. I loved how he was drawn to Snow without seeming to realize it. He instinctively let him take the lead, and it was so endearing that Snow didn’t even realize how much power he had having the Christopher Manos in his corner. Our boy asked for so little, and here was Chris, ready to give him the world!
It’s a fabulous book to open the series. It showed a glimpsed of Haven Hart from its underbelly. It touches upon some dark themes, but still relatively lighter than the other books. The plot had many surprising twists and dark secrets to uncover. I was completely riveted!
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Naked
Artist: Jaymes Young
Album: Feel Something
Hug It Out: When a mole is discovered within Riordan’s organization, relationships are compromised, and people’s lives are in danger. Time isn’t on their side, and they discover answers can’t always be found by hugging it out when someone is hell-bent on eliminating each and every one of them.
So I tried reading this a couple years back, but I wasn’t feeling it. I was a bit skeptical (and admittedly judgey) about Teddy’s job. Like seriously, a professional hugger? I don’t even like hugging my relatives.
Second time’s the charm because past the first couple of chapters, I got the hang of it. It’s a cute story of an assassin who was gifted with a professional hugger. He didn’t know what to do with him, so he ended up falling in love.
I wasn’t as interested in the romance as I was with Riordan’s organization and his co-workers. He works for Black, an enigmatic and intimidating Thor of a man, who suddenly discovered somebody plans to launch a hostile takeover of his assassin company. Riordan and a few other trusted assassins work to uncover who was behind it.
This installment introduced many of the characters who star in the succeeding books. The plot is as suspenseful and more action-packed. It also hinted at the presence of the nameless, faceless, hella mysterious heir to the Haven Hart founding family via the presence of Poe. He is an artist Snow befriended, and also the Hart heir’s representative. I was dying with curiosity!
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Bullet Holes
Artist: Gregory Alan Isakov
Album: Evening Machines
A Dangerous Dance: Bill and Mace’s traitorous hearts draw them closer together no matter how hard they fight the inevitable. With the lives of their loved ones hanging in the balance, they find themselves in the middle of a dangerous dance.
This is an enemies-to-lovers story of Bill, Christopher Manos’s underling who became Snow’s best friend, and Mace, an assassin from Black’s organization. They were forced to work together.
I didn’t expect Bill to get his own book. He was a goon from the Russian mob who threatened Snow. He had been given a second chance by Christopher after Snow asked to spare his life. He was mostly in the background, so I was surprised that he was suddenly Snow’s best friend.
Mace was more memorable because he’s a flashier character. That’s all I’ll say about him because he and Bill weren’t that interesting. However, both are great as secondary characters.
Their story felt very much like a mid-series book. It picked up the threads from the previous book and ended in an HFN. Not so satisfying but understandable given how things went.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Born Killers
Artist: Selebrities
Album: Lovely Things
From the Ashes: Unknowingly sharing the same goal—burying their own pasts deeper than the fires of hell can reach—Black and Quill are unaware that jumping into that fire will do more than ignite their feelings, it could lead to their own demise.
I was excited about this because Quill piqued my interest when he first appeared in Book 2. I was thrilled he’s paired with Black because they’re total opposites.
Quill is the colorfully tattooed smallish barista who latched on to Black and flirted every chance he got. Black is this grumpy giant who couldn’t understand why Quill, 20 years his junior, was interested in him. After the events in Book 3, he hired the young man to do deliveries.
At first, the story was cute and amusing with Black trying to fend off the relentless Quill. Then things took a darker turn when it was revealed Quill was a victim of domestic abuse. Black was in full protective mode because he took such crime personally.
Why he takes it personally was a story so tragic and horrific it triggered my anxieties. And I’m normally the type of reader who’s barely ruffled by blood and gore scenes. The author didn’t make it too graphic, it was just that terrible. You can feel how heartbreaking it was for Black to talk about it. Also, the scene where Quill was being hunted had me holding my breath. I was so terrified for him!
My heart went out to Black and Quill! I am so glad this is romance, and the happy ending is guaranteed, or else I would be completely devastated.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Born In Flames
Artist: In This Moment
Album: Mother
Snow Storm: The city of Haven Hart rests under the heel of Christopher Manos. Snow has found a home, a family, and the love of one of Haven Hart’s most powerful men. When Christopher and Simon are kidnapped, Snow risks everything to find his family. Snow calls in every favor he is owed, risking his life promising favors in return, all to save his family and the man he loves.
This installment returns to Christopher, Snow, and now teen, Simon. The happy couple wants to celebrate Simon’s birthday. Chris promised his nephew the two of them would go camping so that they could spend some quality time together. En route, they were ambushed and kidnapped.
Manos family skeletons were unearthed when Christopher came face to face with their kidnappers. The lengths Snow would go through to save his family knew no bounds. He even went so far as break his friendship with Poe by asking him to do the unthinkable, betray the Hart heir.
This part was particularly juicy because I was hungry for crumbs about the Hart heir. Poe guarded his secrets like a dragon guarding his hoard. I’m so tempted to skip to the 7th book!!!
Anyway, Snow was wonderfully brave and smart, even if he had to hurt Poe in process. Thankfully, they reconciled later on. With Black’s help, Snow hatched a clever rescue mission. This book also has a mid-series feel to it, bridging the past events to the present and laying down the seeds of things revealed in the next book. It’s not as dark as the previous book but still very gripping!
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Find You
Artist: Ruelle
Album: Rival
Triple Threat: Lee, Jones, and Ginger deal with dangerous situations and mounting stress daily working for the most powerful assassin organization in the world. All of those things seem like a walk in the park compared to the friction that sparks between them. When all three are assigned to the same job, ignoring the heat from the inferno of desire becomes impossible.
Lee, Jones, and Ginger are Black’s people. Jones is the muscle and Lee’s best friend, while Ginger is the recruit. Lee is a hacker who went to the dark web to track down human traffickers who were running an auction. Then they discovered Ginger’s brother being sold and rushed to save him.
This is a road trip poly romance running alongside a vigilante mission to take down the human trafficking ring. It had Jones and Lee pretending to be buyers while Ginger worked in the shadows since his close resemblance to his brother would give them away. They had to follow instructions and codes to various locations before they could retrieve their “merchandise.”
Given the stomach-turning crime tackled here, the author did a good job keeping things from becoming too disturbing. The plot brings various arcs together and edges closer to the finale. I love how things are starting to fall into place. At the same time, it had me asking burning questions!
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Bloom
Artist: Murder By Death
Album: The Other Shore
Raven’s Hart: Haven Hart stands on the edge of good and evil. Having balance between the two is the only thing keeping the town from crumbling to the ground. For years, one man has been charged with maintaining that balance. Poe. The air of mystery surrounding Poe is one of necessity. Poe will need the help of his friends to fight the ultimate battle; not just save Haven Hart but everything and everyone he holds dear to him.
Finally, Poe’s book!!!!
I will not say much about the plot. All you need to know is that it’s so worth it to read the first six to get to this! My jaw dropped to the floor at the revelations. And that’s just in the opening chapters!
I was also floored to know the true measure of the weight and heartache Poe carries. This guy is holding Haven Hart together single-handedly. And doing it while barely holding himself together. It’s a wonder he’s still standing, the poor man! Poe is amazing!!!
Davidson King definitely saved the best for last! Haven Hart was never the same after this!
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: You
Artist: Tally Hall
Album: Good & EvilThe Haven Hart series is about family. The good ones, the ones people found, and the ones they’d rather forget. I loved how the main characters were so alive and real, I felt like I knew them personally. Their stories moved me, scared me, amused me, made me feel like I’m part of their lives. Their stories are a delicate balance of good and evil, much like the city that gave the series its name.
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Haven Hart. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
Haven Hart Boxset 1-4: US | UK
Haven Hart Boxset 5-7: US | UKYou can also use my Bookshop affiliate links to buy paperbacks and MP3 CD audiobooks and help support independent bookstores.
HAVEN HART BOXSET 1-4
HAVEN HART BOXSET 5-7If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or PayPal. Your donations will help keep this website going. Thank you so much!
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RELEASE BLITZ: Redeeming Jayden by Brina Brady (Excerpt & Giveaway)
