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RELEASE BLITZ: Changeling by Lee Colgin (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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COVER REVEAL: Switch-Hitter by E.M. Lindsey (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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BLOG TOUR: Revolving Door by Vinni George (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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AUDIO BLITZ: The Holiday List by Lane Hayes (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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REVIEW: Beautiful Mistakes by Felice Stevens
Second Chances: Beautiful Mistakes – Felice Stevens
The other side of loathing might be lust …
Or love …
Wolf
Desire: What Wolf struggles with from the moment he sees Spencer Hawkins the first day of college.
Fear: Not a word in Wolf’s vocabulary except when it comes to facing his feelings for Spencer.
Lust: What he gives in to that changes everything between them. And his life forever.
Denial: Something Wolf is all too familiar with—denying who he is and who he wants. It’s better this way, even if it’s tearing him and his friendship with Spencer apart.Spencer
Hide: What Spencer does best. He hides from everyone, especially himself and the crazy attraction to Wolf he can’t shake.
Walls: Spencer throws them up to protect himself from all the hurts life heaps on him—his mother’s death, his father’s indifference, and the men who share his bed and walk away.
Betrayal: Not by just anyone. By Wolf. The one man he can’t forget. Or forgive.
Want: Spencer wants to live in the moment, but he can’t stop thinking about that night. And it doesn’t help that he and Wolf keep knocking heads…and locking lips.Love: What these two idiots need to realize is happening between them. What started out as their ugliest regret could end up being the most beautiful mistake they ever made.
Sometimes, you meet one character in a story and you just know right off the bat, their own book is going to blow you away.
This is what happened with Wolf. I met him in Second Chances, Book 1. He barely said two sentences when I immediately latched on to him. Then seeing his antagonistic interactions with Spencer, I was super eager to find out what was going on between them. So much so that I didn’t wait to finish the first book and completely skipped the second. I jumped right to their story.
Beautiful Mistakes is an angsty, slow-burn, frenemies to lovers romance of mega-lawyer Garrett Wolf and fashion stylist Spencer Hawkins. The tumultuous history of the two started way back in college. They were rooming with two other students, Elliot and Chess.
For some reason, Wolf found himself attracted to Spencer. He couldn’t understand why because he has never been attracted to anyone. He never acted on it, not wanting to be just another one-night stand to the very active Spencer.
Fifteen years later, the four are still friends. Elliot is now a freelance journalist and Chess, a college professor. Wolf still wants Spencer.
Second Chances is a character-driven series. One of the things that makes Beautiful Mistakes the best installment is that both Wolf and Spencer are very compelling characters. They stood out individually and as a couple. The biggest hurdle of the first book was I didn’t care much about Elliot’s and Win’s issues. Here, I was heavily invested in Wolf’s welfare. I really, really wanted him to be happy because our boy is too hard on himself.
Wolfie is the workaholic of the group. An enigmatic, dominating presence, he tends to be serious, scowly, blunt, and aloof. He has a deep, dark secret he spent his entire life running away from. And trying to make up for. He also thinks there’s something wrong with him because no one seems to interest him at all. Excerpt for one very infuriating man.
He kept his desires strictly under lock and key for years, thinking he’s not good enough for Spence. Until one moment of weakness in Milan. Then, he ghosted the next morning. They kept that magical night a secret from their friends. Spencer was hurt by Wolf calling it a mistake. Things were progressively going downhill for them. It got so bad that Chess and Elliot had to stage an intervention.
Gad! Spencer is annoying! The two tried, boy, they really tried, to talk things out. Several times too. My heart went out to Wolfie. It’s already difficult enough to explain his painful family history, much more about his complicated feelings for a friend. The idiot Spencer would interrupt with a ridiculous comment that would totally derail the conversation. It’s frustrating as hell!
Spencer also has some family drama he prefers to leave in the past. He might be silly and outrageous, but he’s talented, ambitious, and driven. I loved the way his personality jives with Wolf’s sardonic humor.
They clash because Spencer is a flamboyant, life of the party. His motto is the more, the merrier. Meanwhile, the demisexual Wolf doesn’t approve of Spencer’s cavalier way with sex. He insists his friend deserves so much more than randos. Me! Me! Poor Wolfie cries silently. Unknown to him, Spencer was also attracted to him since way back when. I wanted to crack their heads together.
The push and pull between the two men was intense! They had that crazy good annoy-you-because-I-want-you-so-bad chemistry that makes the enemies or in this case, frenemies to lovers trope a joy to read. When they finally realized why they liked pushing each other’s buttons so much, BAM! Fireworks!
I struggled with Elliot and Win’s story, The List. It didn’t have enough hook to keep me engaged. I also wasn’t so keen on Chess and Andre’s book, Footsteps of the Past. I would have loved to read about an established couple but Chess is kind of meh. However, these two couples make great supporting characters in the third book. I love how the four college friends plus the men in their lives built this lifelong bond with each other.
If there’s one book that badly needs an epilogue, this is it. I can’t believe it left Wolfie and Spence standing in front of a window. I need more!
Still, Beautiful Mistakes is a well-written finale. It flowed just right and hit a perfect balance of emotional notes. The book is deep and moving. Many times, heartbreaking. But it’s also funny, snarky, sweet, and heartwarming.
The way Wolf and Spencer zing throughout the book! The way they became each other’s rock when the past caught up to them. How right it felt when they finally came to terms with their feelings and let each other in. It’s beautiful and damn near perfect!
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Beautiful Mistake
Artist: Mango
Album: Beautiful MistakeP.S.
I might have jumped the line but Second Chances is best read in order. Witness hopeless romantic Elliot find his ideal match in hotshot detective Win in The List. Watch long-time boyfriends Chess and Andre rediscover why they’re stronger together in Footsteps Of The Past. All the while, you can enjoy the delicious USTs building up between the bickering dorks. The first two books have rave reviews so I think you can’t go wrong with this series.
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Beautiful Mistakes. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
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REVIEW: Exposed by H.L. Day
Exposed – H.L. Day
A survival gay romance
Sometimes salvation comes from the most unlikely hero.
When Tate Gillespie is marked for death for a crime he didn’t commit, his life crumbles. In a world where ‘justice’ is meted out by a relentless military force, he’s going to need more than a mythical guardian angel. His life down to seconds, he’s saved by the mysterious X, a knife-wielding man he’s never even met before. But who is X? Is he the man who threatens and kills without a second thought? Or the strangely gentle man who only seems to act that way around Tate?
X is a shadow. A wraith. A man who flits through the city virtually unseen. He’s got no time for people when knives are far more reliable. X does have one weakness though—the man he’s been keeping safe for years who doesn’t even know it. He’d burn the whole world to keep him alive. But what he won’t do is stake his claim. Tate’s not his and he needs to remember that, no matter how close they might become.
With the military in hot pursuit, they’re going to need to rely on X’s skills to keep them both alive. Tate’s feelings are growing with every hour they spend together, but X is a tough nut to crack. Can two people from very different backgrounds really find common ground? Or will one of the many perils they face throughout their long journey drive them apart?
It’s all about survival. Not love. Isn’t it?
Exposed is a 132k action/adventure story featuring two men who couldn’t be more opposite.
Exposed is a book where everything came together fabulously. Starting with the model on the cover who is spot-on as X. I was also thrilled to hear that not only was the narrator fantastic at bringing the characters to life, he delivered the story with an Australian accent. It’s such a rare treat!
When I first read the blurb, I was super intrigued by the shadowy figure lurking in the dark. My guts told me this is going to be so good. It turned out to be one heck of an adventure and a touching chronicle of one man’s unconditional love and devotion.
The book immediately pulled me into a dystopian world in what was supposedly the former Australian continent. The world-building is straightforward but detailed enough to set the vibe properly. The more affluent citizens lived in cities ruled by martial law. The rest lived in slums.
There are talks of other cities, some underground, others, probably nothing more than myths. There is one somewhere in the north, past the desert, said to be a utopia for all. Nobody could verify its existence because none came back to do so. Either they did find the place or more likely, they died trying.
Tate blissfully carries on with his life as a pharmaceutical employee in the city, unaware of the guardian shadow watching over him. One day, he was set up for a crime punishable by death. Just as he was about to be executed by the military police, he was saved by a mysterious knife-wielding man. The two quickly set off to find a haven and freedom, with the military hot on their heels.
X is an assassin from the slums. This is a man who loves his knives so much he doesn’t let anyone touch them and live. He’s very anti-social, very taciturn, very broody. He is a hard man living a hard life. His sole purpose was to protect Tate, whether or not the man knew of his existence. Ask him how long he has been stalking him. That is how long he has been hopelessly in love with Tate.
X!!! The name is perfect! I love him!!! X’s strength as a character was what carried me through the story. I’m happy the story is told in dual 1st person POVs because being inside X’s head was everything!
The man is soft for Tate and only for Tate. He was a badass through and through. He’s tough even to himself. He doesn’t believe he is worthy of being loved. Not even when Tate already said he liked him.
“It’s possible to want something but to not let yourself have it.”
My heart went out to X during these moments. The man has a habit of talking himself into believing nobody’s going to love a killer like him. Mind you, he’s still very butch about it. The part that hit me the hardest was how X never, ever expects anything in return from Tate. He would have been okay with just escorting Tate to the underground city. Then, he would go off to the desert and die happy knowing the love of his life was safe.
Tate took some time winning me over. He’s chatty, naïve, and occasionally bratty. He was slightly annoying at some points. But to give Tate his due, he was smart enough to figure X out. Also, he accepted X for who he is, dark past and all. The part where I appreciated Tate the most was where he truly understood how much the knives meant to X.
The romance was both intense and gentle. The connection between X and Tate was a palpable, slow-burning energy, building heat until it went nuclear. It was a beautiful rendering of unrequited love getting requited.
The characters and the romance developed over the course of their adventure. I don’t really go for stories where a long journey is involved because the traveling part bores me. Here, I did feel a very slight drag.
However, the author skillfully kept the momentum going. I loved how she balanced the action scenes with the more emotional ones. I enjoyed how one moment we get crazy ninja moves and throat-slitting, then we get some downtime of X cleaning Tate’s wound with excruciating tenderness. And then it’s back to adrenaline-pumping chases and explosions. And a LOT of walking!
Exposed is my first H.L. Day and definitely won’t be the last. It’s a brilliantly executed dystopian action/adventure love story driven by compelling characters that leave their mark. Gritty, suspenseful, thrilling, and deeply moving, it is two men’s mad dash to freedom and a hard-fought journey towards a lifetime together.
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: I’ll Fall With Your Knife
Artist: Peter Murphy
Album: Cascade
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EXPOSED
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REVIEW: Role Model by Rachel Reid
Game Changers: Role Model – Rachel Reid
The highly anticipated fifth novel in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series sees a grumpy professional hockey player meet his match in an out-and-proud social media manager
The hits just keep coming for Troy Barrett. Traded to the worst team in the league would be bad enough, but coming on the heels of a messy breakup and a recent scandal… Troy just wants to play hockey and be left alone. He doesn’t want to be in the news anymore, and he definitely doesn’t want to “work on his online presence” with the team’s peppy social media manager.
Harris Drover can tell standoffish Troy isn’t happy about the trade—anyone could tell, frankly, as he doesn’t exactly hide it well—but Harris doesn’t give up on people easily. Even when he’s developing a crush he’s sure is one-sided. And when he sees Troy’s smile finally crack through his grumpy exterior, well… That’s a man Harris couldn’t turn his back on if he wanted to.
Suddenly, Troy’s move to the new team feels like an opportunity—for Troy to embrace his true self, and for both men to surrender to their growing attraction. But indulging in each other behind closed doors is one thing, and for Troy, being in a public relationship with Harris will mean facing off with his fears, once and for all.
As much as I love Rachel Reid’s hockey romance series, Game Changers, I struggled with Book 3. As a result, I didn’t bother with Book 4. However, there was something about Book 5 that piqued my interest again. Because who doesn’t love a bad boy redemption story?
Role Model is top pro hockey player and asshole by association Troy Barrett, fresh from a scandal and having just been traded to bottom ranked team, Ottawa Centaurs. Feeling lonely and miserable, also secretly nursing a broken heart, he grumps his way through the day with the intent of moving to a better team when the season is over.
Troy is considered a pariah in the league after calling out his former teammate/best friend for sexually assaulting several women. Anticipating a frosty reception, he did not expect his new team welcoming him with open arms. Nor did he expect the Centaurs’ out-and-proud social media manager, Harris Drover, befriending him. And slowly but surely, drawing out that super secret side he had hidden for years. Also, is he imagining it or does the man smell like apples?
One thing that made me keen to read this is the promise of Ilya sightings. He is in very fine form here. Witness him cooing over a puppy. The author really made good use of his character in the plot, as well as setting up his and Shane’s second book.
However, what made Role Model stood out for me was that even with Ilya’s magnificent self making a very strong presence, Troy and Harris managed to shine and they did it quite brilliantly. There were no doubts that this is their story.
Raised by a happy family of apple farmers, Harris is the ray of sunshine Troy needed in his life. With his booming laugh and his beaming smiles and him being completely comfortable in his own skin. Everyone in the team loves the guy. I loved his openness and how he looked, really looked, and saw that behind the cold expressions was an anxious young man who could use a friend.
The romance was a beautifully rendered slow burn, friends to lovers, out for you story between two opposite people. It was super sweet and oh so gentle, showing a surprisingly thoughtful and caring side of Troy very few people are privileged to know.
The book did a fabulous job portraying how Troy’s character evolved from an angry, heart-broken and very sullen newcomer to Harris’ tentative friend to a motivated team player to a young man on the cusp of new love to the inspirational hero he is.
My heart went out to Troy when he felt like the whole world was against him. I was rooting so hard for him. The book’s Disney fairy tale ending couldn’t be more perfect. Of all people who deserved that many rainbows and his very own apple-scented prince, it was him.
Role Model is not only a story of bad boy gone good, it also a story about giving voice to those who were silenced and the courage it takes to be truly yourself. Funny, heartwarming and uplifting, this here is Rachel Reid upping her game and scoring a definite win
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Apple Pie
Artist: The Scary Jokes
Album: April FoolsP.S.
While Role Model can be read as a standalone, hockey is a group effort. So it’s best to meet the rest of the team starting with the meet-cute that led to the Stanley cup in Game Changer and that infamously incendiary trysts between that cocky Russian and the polite Canadian boy in Heated Rivalry.
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Role Model. 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.
ROLE MODEL
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REVIEW: How To Lure A Hunter by Alice Winters
VRC: Vampire Related Crimes: How To Lure A Hunter – Alice Winters
Alexei
When Marcus Church brings his brother Claude in to help solve an unusual murder, I’m positive he did it just to disrupt my monotonous life. None of my coworkers in the Vampire Related Crimes unit seem to understand that I want to keep a wall between me and everyone else—especially Claude, who does everything he can to break through it with an annoying smile. After more vampires begin to die, Claude pinpoints the actions of the killers to a group of vampire hunters, leaving us in a race to stop them. When I discover that I have a target on my back, I’m surprised that Claude insists on staying by my side, even when things go from bad to worse. I’m determined to keep him out—I’ve lost enough people in my life—but I can’t stop feeling something every time he breaks through.Claude
When I reunited with my brother, I never imagined it’d throw me right into Alexei Karsynov’s path. He’s short-tempered, stubborn, and dangerously adorable whenever he smiles—he just doesn’t realize it yet. When Marcus asks me to help with a case, it gives me the excuse I need to get closer to Alexei, but what I discover threatens to change everything. Suddenly, I find myself wanting to do anything to protect Alexei and to see him smile, despite his efforts to keep his distance from others. I’m determined to show him that he can’t live in the past when his future is so much brighter.How to Lure a Hunter is a 106k word book that contains: Clothes so bright they could cause retina damage, a ridiculous amount of gifts showered on a reluctant recipient, a cranky Russian with a soft spot he tries to hide, a library full of books that need to be treated with the proper respect, some possibly unhealthy sibling teasing, and a sunshiny 300-year-old vampire with an unexpected protective streak.
Alice Winters is an author who likes playing with the grumpy+sunshiny trope. This is the core dynamics of many of her works. And she made one of her best pairings yet with a super cranky Russian detective and a colorful peacock of a vampire.
How To Lure A Hunter is the third book of VRC: Vampire Related Crimes. This stars Alexei Karsynov a.k.a. Karsyn, a 150 year old Russian vampire working as a detective. He was the anti-social grump Finn befriended in the first book, How To Vex A Vampire. You know what they say about introverts making friends by being adopted by an extrovert? Well, that’s basically Alexei.
The other extrovert who is very determined to adopt Alexei by all means necessary is Claude Church, Marcus’s creatively dressed twin brother. You couldn’t tell by his neon jackets and zebra prints but Claude is actually very smart. He is, in fact, a scholar who amassed a library of ancient books and is an expert in vampire history.
This is the very reason why he was called upon as a consultant in their murder investigations. Occult symbols and ancient artifacts were found at the scenes of the crime. He and Alexei had to work together to figure out the clues that were somehow tied to Alexei’s secret past. Something the detective was desperate to keep hidden.
The author’s trademark humor hit the sweet spot in this installment, a lot of silly scenarios and snarky banter but nothing too over the top or exhausting. The mystery was a bit predictable but I enjoyed it nonetheless, especially with how it was tied to Alexei’s history and character development.
Alexei!!! I just adored him! I was fully invested in getting to know why he is the way he is. He is the most lovable tsundere to ever grump his way into everyone’s hearts. He had so much hurts and so convinced he is unlovable because of his past, he decided he should be alone for the rest of his life rather than have his heart be broken again. Being burned alive by a loved one could do that to a person.
He was valiantly keeping everyone at arm’s length but Claude was relentless. Having latched on to the Russian in the previous books, he pursued the man with the good-natured persistence of a Labrador. I loved Claude just as much because he was never annoying in his pursuit. He was also very generous, thoughtful and caring. Not just with Alexei but also with his brother, even though Marcus had tried to kill him several times. He even risked his life to save Finn in book two, How To Elude A Vampire.
It was a joy to see Alexei grow as a character and how Claude convinced him he was always going to be there for him no matter what. The part where Alexei finally accepted that, and brilliantly performed with such overflow of emotions by narrator Michael Ferraiuolo, that scene went straight to my kokoro. It was, hands down, my favorite in the entire series.
How To Lure A Hunter is the best book in VRC. I don’t know how the next one would top that. It’s a great balance of humor, mystery and romance. I was already rooting for Alexei and Claude even before I read their book and they came together wonderfully here. They proved that cheerful scholars in flashy neon suits are doggedly steadfast and that it’s the grumpy ones who have the softest hearts.
Also, solnyshko ♡ (ˆ⌣ˆԅ)
P.S.
VRC: Vampire Related Crimes is best read in order. Read the first two books and find out how a tiny human with mechanical limbs tamed the big bad 300-year-old vampire who hates humans.
Check out my reviews below:
How To Vex A Vampire
How To Elude A VampireRating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Brighter Than Sunshine
Artist: Aqualung
Album: Still Life
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KINDLE AUDIOBOOK -
SOUNDTRACK: Aimless Upward by Court Yard Hounds, Run2me by Smashing Pumkins & Two Weeks by Grizzly Bear
Soundtrack to The Rowan Harbor Cycle: Wolf and the Holly by Sam Burns
Soundtrack to The Rowan Harbor Cycle: Fox and Birch by Sam Burns
Soundtrack to The Rowan Harbor Cycle: Hawk in the Rowan by Sam Burns
