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New Release Review

The Secret Plan (The Game book 10) by Cara Dee: New Release Review

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The Game Series Book 10 Their Boy sequel BDSM Humor DD/lb Christmas Party
Forget about Mommy kissing Santa Claus. It’s Daddy you’ve got to watch out for in this scorching holiday romance where we check in with Colt, Kit, and Lucas—and all their kinky friends.

Forty-five years on this planet. A prestigious career as a fighter pilot. A wonderful relationship with Lucas—nine years and counting. Decades of experience as a sadistic Daddy Dom in a community he’d helped start. And those corn-fed Texas genes too. Damn right, Colt Carter reckoned he was entitled to be assertive. Not a whole lot could rattle his cage.

Except Kit Damien, the young brat who’d turned Colt’s and Lucas’s lives upside down in the best ways the past six or so months. The two Daddy Doms had finally found their Little forever. But when Kit confessed to having certain fantasies, Colt had to admit, in some ways, he was still a beginner.

Good thing Santa was on his way. Santa knew exactly what to say. He was also a stellar partner in crime when the brats of Mclean House were up to no good and making secret plans for their holiday party.

Ho, ho, ho. Are there any naughty boys in the house?

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The Game Series is a BDSM series where romance meets the reality of kink. Sometimes we fall for someone we don’t match with, sometimes vanilla business gets in the way of kinky pleasure, and sometimes we have to compromise and push ourselves to overcome trauma and insecurities. No matter what, one thing is certain. This is not a perfect world—and maybe that’s why the happily ever after feels so good.

It’s almost Christmas and the Doms and subs are ready to party and to play.

This book mostly focuses on the triad of Colt, Lucas and Kit. Colt and Lucas have been a couple for a while, but Kit completed their lives fairly recently (at least in McLean House time) and while there hasn’t been strife, it’s Kit who wants Colt and Lucas to focus on themselves as a couple. Because they are the foundation of the life they are building.

Against the backdrop of preparing for Christmas and a party at their house, we get the three men bringing up new boundaries and safe play partners. They way they do it is so respectful of each other AND of their relationship. No one gets feelings hurt or is afraid to say anything. And ultimately, what makes Lucas and Colt happy will make Kit happy.

A few of our favorite club members make an appearance, while the absence of others is explained. And then…**fans self**. Remember the orgy in Senseless? They turned that up to an 11. Seriously one of the hottest things I have ever read.

This is a short book, a bridge to the next. Which is hopefully coming out soon.

4 pieces of eye candy

Vow Maker (Mixed Messages book 4) by Lily Morton: New Release Review

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Dylan Mitchell wants to get married.

However, after seven years of being engaged, that’s looking slightly doubtful. After going through ten wedding planners, they’re gaining a reputation somewhat akin to Henry the Eighth on the wedding circuit.

Gabe has vetoed symbolic dove releases, forests of flowers, fire-eating performers, and puce as a wedding colour. He’s confounded an army of wedding professionals, and now Dylan, the man who knows and loves him better than anyone, has joined the ranks of the confused. Can anything please his fiancé and get them to the altar?

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes the sequel to Rule Breaker. A romantic comedy novella full of family chaos, meddling friends, sexy bathroom encounters, and love. Always love.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Engaged for SEVEN YEARS? That’s bonkers. But I digress.

Dylan and Gabe were my first story by Lily Morton. And probably many people. We just fell in love with the cranky, perfectionist boss and sassy, sarcastic assistant. It was hard not to. Two more books with other couples followed and we’ve circled back around to the originals.

Now I am going to admit that sometimes I feel like follow up books like this are thin. No real substance, just wanting to be a people pleaser that sells. But this one didn’t feel that way for me at all. I was thrilled to pick up seven years later and watch them try to plan their wedding. As soon as they could find a wedding planner.

The wedding planner they do ultimately hire had a very easy chance of taking over the story with pratfalls, etc. But nope. He mostly stayed in the background, gently guiding both men toward their goal.

Of course we get a little Ivo, Henry, Jude and Asa. And Dylan’s boisterous family.

In the end, they get their perfect wedding and we get the perfect end to a great story line.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Up To Snow Good: An MM Christmas Romance by Charlie Novak: New Release Review

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This Christmas, Trouble Tastes Like Chocolate

Maximillian Arthur Felstead is up to no good.

Having taken it upon himself to plan an anniversary surprise for his brother and his fiancé during their annual December ski trip, Max realises nothing happens quickly this close to Christmas. Deciding chocolate is the answer, Max accidentally incurs the wrath of chocolatier, Luca, who’s having a pre-Christmas nightmare of his own.

Luca is short staffed and short on patience, and he isn’t enamoured with Max’s clueless demands, even if he is utterly gorgeous. So when Max reaches out to apologise, Luca can’t help but be drawn in by his charm and Max’s offer of help, especially when their chemistry is hot enough to melt the ice on Mont Blanc.

With their time together running out, can a little Christmas magic help Max and Luca find what they’ve been searching for?

Up to Snow Good is a 49,000-word, low-angst MM contemporary Christmas romance featuring snow-topped mountains, Christmas market cuteness, delicious chocolate, and plenty of sweet, steamy moments.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Soooooooo many people love Hallmark Christmas movies. And hey- you do you. Whatever brings you joy. But I’ve come to realize that I love Hallmark Christmas movies in the form of books, with two male leads. Schmoopy? Yes, please. Kind of unrealistic? I don’t care. Fall in love and completely uproot your life after a few days? BRING IT ON

The setting is the French Alps. That is swoony enough. Plus Christmas time, a Christmas market, snow, and a chocolatier. What more could you want?

After a rocky meeting, Max and Luca find each other again that same night at the Christmas market. Of course they did. Which leads then to almost a week of them being together. A lot. Partly because Max jumps in to help at the chocolatier, partly because they can’t keep their hands off of each other.

I love that Max grew up and still lives in privilege but does his best to check himself. Including asking family and friends if he was being a jerk or not. It’s that sincerity that makes you love him even more.

Oh, something else I love. When one of the main characters has some kind of connection to a character from a previous book. Not enough that they will show up, but the mention always makes me smile and remember their story.

Grab a hot chocolate, curl up with some truffles and enjoy some Christmas magic.

4 pieces of eye candy

Forgive Me Father: Rebel Kings MC: Embry & Mateo by Garrett Leigh: New Release Review and Giveaway

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Embry

“…you don’t understand.”

Mateo lowered himself to sit, still vibrating with the need to fix me, the way he always did. “Then tell me. Explain it like I’m the simplest idiot you’ve ever met.”

I can’t. I’d never told anyone. Not the judge, the jury, or the legal aid barrister who’d written me off before she’d ever met me. But as I drowned in Mateo’s affection, in a love I’d done nothing to deserve, the words came tumbling out.

Bad words.

Dark words.

Darker than sin.

Darker, even, than Mateo’s battered soul and the secrets I didn’t know about yet.

I thought those words would shatter me.

Shatter us.

But when the devil came for us, it wasn’t mine.

It was Mateo’s, and the man I’d trusted with my fragile heart was a stranger more broken than his scars could ever show.

Forgive Me Father is a continuation of the best-selling Rebel Kings MC series. Content warning for violence and sexual trauma.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Rebel Kings MC Series – 4 Book Series

Book #1 – Devil’s Dance

Book #2 – Saint’s Song

I was intrigued with Embry and Mateo and their dance around each other from the moment we met them in Devil’s Dance. (Must read the first two books. Not only because of the continuing story, but they are really good) Finally we get the story of the club “chaplain” and one of the club’s main enforcers. Worth the wait!

Everyone in the MC is still kind of reeling from what happened in book 2. Reeling and recovering. A lot happened and the healing will take quite a long time. But I think that also brings them together more, knowing what they could have lost so easily.

Embry and Mateo. Man, I love these two. Even with them dancing around each other for so long, it is still a slow burn once they admit their feelings. Or at least admit that they want each other. They are so different in their roles in the MC, but similar in the way they keep secrets.

They gather strength from each other without even realizing it I think. Not as MC “brothers” but as men. Even something as simple as Embry wearing one of Mateo’s shirts seems to boost both of them. They have an intimacy that is hard to miss. It just makes what they have so much more real.

I pretty much guessed both of their secrets, but not to the extent of what really happened. The outing of Mateo’s was a bit shocking. Things that were said kind of reminded me of some scenes in Sons of Anarchy (US tv show about an MC).

There’s a lot going on in the story as well. Most of it is revealed once Mateo’s secret is revealed. But it keeps a lot of the main MC guys in the story without taking the focus off of Embry and Mateo.

They get that hard fought happily ever after, but not without the support of their MC.

You should definitely check trigger warnings before reading. This book (like the others) is violent.

4 pieces of eye candy

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer.

Garrett’s debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.

Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with renowned LGBTQA+ photographer Dan Burgess.

Website: http://www.garrettleigh.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh

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The Heart of St. Nick by A.D. Ellis: New Release Review

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Hayden Green is the epitome of a cheery, generous, small-town guy. He keeps himself busy in a tiny railroad town tucked in the hills of the Midwest by helping others. If he also finds himself wishing for a tall, dark, and handsome man to waltz into town and sweep him off his feet, who can blame him?

Gannon Snow closed himself off to emotions and connections a long time ago. He’ll head back to his late grandfather’s beloved holiday town, but only to sell the old man’s house and store. He has his own business to run and no time for feelings. Much to his chagrin, Gannon gets caught up in nostalgia and finds himself mesmerized by a happy little holiday helper.

Hayden and Gannon share an instant connection, but Gannon isn’t staying and Hayden isn’t keen on a broken heart. However, the universe—and maybe some holiday magic, which Gannon most definitely doesn’t believe in—has a different plan, and the men find themselves smack dab in the middle of a small-town Christmas romance.

**The Heart of St. Nick is a steamy, forced proximity, small-town M/M holiday romance with a slight age gap between a bowtie and suspender-wearing good guy and an emotionally-stunted man with a cold heart just waiting to be melted.**

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

This was a cute holiday romance, with some serious steam. It had an eternally happy optimist trying to convince the grumpy, guilt ridden visitor that there was really magic in the happy town of St. Nick.

Hayden lived in the town his entire life, with a small stint away for college where he learned he needed to go back to his small town in order to be happy. I really liked that Hayden was very sure of what he needed and wanted. He wasn’t afraid to speak up when Gannon was being an idiot, just as much as when he was trying to show Gannon all the joy that would come from his permanent return to St. Nick.

Gannon had so much guilt from ignoring his grandfather for so many years. It was completely understandable that at such an impressionable age he learned that the world was not a safe place for him to have feelings in. He second guessed his feelings the entire way. (His inner monologue was quite funny at times.) He couldn’t seem to get himself to believe that he could take his feelings, and make a positive relationship from it.

In the end, Joseph (and Ellen!) found a way to bring them together, unintentionally, but his actions brought Gannon home where Joseph knew he belonged. Never giving up hope that it would happen.

A feel good holiday romance, with a little forced proximity, some steamy scenes, and a letter to make you cry.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Fran Cuthbert Ruins Christmas by Lisa Henry & J.A. Rock: Release Blitz, Exclusive Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

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Welcome (back) to Christmas Valley. Where it’s Christmas every. F@$#ing. Day.

It’s your typical Hallmark movie plot: my big city boyfriend dumped me, so my adorable five-year-old daughters and I moved back to my hometown just in time for Christmas. I guess the magic of the holiday is going to show me what I really wanted all along, or something.

But on Hallmark, people aren’t usually mainlining their mother’s Xanax. Or stealing the last available Peachblossom Pony Pal from their hot doctor because they have to give their kids the best Christmas ever. And when they run into their high school sweetheart, they don’t usually face the gulf of lies that exists between Cass Sullivan and me.

Oh yeah, and their hometown isn’t located directly up Christmas’s butthole.

I left Christmas Valley because I couldn’t listen to one more carol or look at one more tinsel-wrapped streetlamp. But moving to Boston meant leaving Cass, and that has always been my one regret. I mean, I also regret the box of Franzia in my closet, being publicly dumped, agreeing to take tap dancing lessons with my mom, and the fact that I can’t seem to open my mouth without a little white lie popping out. But mostly Cass.

When I need someone to play Santa for my girls’ favorite Christmas tradition, Cass steps in. Suddenly, I’m falling for him like we’re seventeen again. Can we put aside two decades’ worth of baggage and give each other a second chance? Can he help me build a life in Christmas Valley? And has he really been banging our former geometry teacher?

Only Christmastime will tell. If the holidays don’t kill me first.

Fran Cuthbert Ruins Christmas is a sweet, low-heat holiday novella featuring a second chance romance, a hot mess MC who could use a steadying hand, adorable kids and dogs, and a guaranteed HEA.

Title: Fran Cuthbert Ruins Christmas
Authors: Lisa Henry & J.A. Rock
Length: 45K
Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary, Holiday Romance.
Tropes: second chance romance

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Goodreads

I ducked through the archway that led to Santa’s Grotto, and followed a tiny, curving path through a forest-themed corridor lit with splashes of colored Christmas lights until I reached the entrance to the grotto where, for some unaccountable reason, the forest theme ended and the toyshop one began. A train whistled jauntily as it rattled past on its tracks.

“Holly jolly Christmas,” an elf said, and then hesitated before showing me an iPad. The screen displayed an order form for exorbitantly priced photo packages. “Are you here for Santa photos?”

“No,” I said. There was a woman with three children lined up in front of me. She looked at me suspiciously. The kids took the opportunity to beat each other with inflatable candy canes. “I’m here to see C—Santa,” I corrected myself before I ruined Christmas for the brats in front of me. “It’s a personal matter.”

The woman looked even more suspicious. So did the elf.

I lowered my voice. “I’m a friend of Cass’s.”

“Oh!” the elf exclaimed. His voice lost at least half an octave of elfishness. “Yeah, dude, no problem. He’ll be about fifteen.”

Up at the front of the grotto, Cass sat on a glittery gold throne, a wobbly-lipped toddler on his knee. He bounced his leg a little to distract the kid, and yeah…no way should my gaze have been drawn to Santa’s thigh like that. But whatever his suit pants were made of, the fabric looked silky and thin, and I couldn’t help it if it clung to his thigh muscles when he flexed them. Hell, even the padding in his tunic wasn’t putting me off. I had enough of a dad bod these days that I was in no position to judge Santa for overindulging in gingerbread. I wasn’t a fan of the fake white beard, but it did make me wonder how he’d look if he let his stubble grow into a real one. I was not opposed.

“Adam! Adam! Adam!” the mom of the toddler trilled, trying to prevent the kid from diving over the edge of toddler uncertainty into the full-blown screaming fit we all knew was right around the corner. Life is fraught when you’re a toddler. It’s fraught when you’re thirty-six too.

Cass bounced his knee again, and the toddler reached up and caught his beard and tugged it. Crisis averted.

The elf moved in to take photos while Cass asked the kid, who was really way too small to answer a weird stranger, what he wanted for Christmas. The kid stared up at him warily, his fist still wrapped in the Santa beard, and didn’t answer. But he didn’t start screaming either, so that was a win.

Cass smiled at Adam from behind his now lopsided beard, and my heart did a dangerous loop-the-loop. Then the toddler and his mom left and were replaced by the three kids with the inflatable candy canes. The boys yelled their lists over each other to get heard, while the little girl waited her turn. When Cass finally got the boys to simmer down and asked the girl what she wanted, she took her thumb out of her mouth and said in a whisper-sweet Shirley Temple voice that I didn’t believe for a second—I’d seen her wielding her candy cane with unrestrained fury—“I want a Pony Pals sleeping bag and a Sugarpie parasol, please.”

“I will try my very hardest,” Cass promised, and the little girl beamed.

The kids and Cass posed for their photos, and then, as Cass was helping the girl off his lap, he looked over at the line and saw me waiting.

The girl made an ‘eep’ sound as he swung her a little too wide, and Cass made an ‘oops’ one as he brought her back down for a safe landing. The kids and their mom left.

“Sparkles, I’m going to take five,” Cass said.

“There’s no kids here, you don’t have to call me that,” the elf said.

“There could be kids just around the corner.”

“Whatever, Santa.”

Cass rolled his eyes at the elf and nodded toward a red door behind his throne. “Fran?”

I love how these two authors write together. They have a seamlessness to their writing that works so well. It really is quite difficult, in my opinion, to know when one is writing or the other. Their humor is spot on, and nothing is quite as it seems to the naked eye in every book. Fran Cuthbert Ruins Christmas is much the same. This one is full of humor and when you throw in a few cute children, a lot of idiotic moves and second chances, you end up with a holiday romance from these authors.

Fran moves back home with his twin daughters from Boston after his relationship falls apart. Initially, he wants his ex to come to Christmas Valley to continue a holiday tradition for the girls, despite his ex having met someone else. Soon after, you begin to see what a hot mess Fran is, in so many hilarious (and not so hilarious) ways. He drinks wine by the boxes, eats very badly, and has a very bad habit of lying when he doesn’t know how to handle something. That is the spot where it fell a little flat for me.

Fran’s lying broke his relationship with Cass up back when they were getting ready to go to college. And it seemed as if he never learned to turn that off. He lied about just about everything, which became awkward for him, and messed up a second chance with Cass-again. And Cass forgave him rather quickly, in my estimation.

Cass was a sweetheart, and despite having his heart broken by Fran more than once, he kept going back. (I loved his idea for a business! Perfect for Christmas Valley!) In the end, Fran came up with a grand gesture to show Cass how much he meant to him, and as befitting the hot mess that Fran was…it failed spectacularly.

It did seem that Fran might have learned his lesson, but dang…the man knows how to sabotage himself.

It was funny, joyful, cute children and a whole lot of mess with Fran and Liar Bob. A holiday romance with a third chance to get to their happy ending, and they did.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

About Lisa Henry:

Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.

Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.

She shares her house with too many cats, a dog, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.

Lisa has been published since 2012, and was a LAMBDA finalist for her quirky, awkward coming-of-age romance Adulting 101, and a Rainbow Awards finalist for 2019’s Anhaga.

To connect with Lisa on social media, you can find her here:

Website
Facebook
Instagram
Goodreads
Bookbub
Twitter

She also has a Facebook group where you’ll be kept in the loop with updates on releases, have a chance to win prizes, and probably see lots of lots of pictures of her dog and cats. You can find it here: Lisa Henry’s Hangout.

About J.A. Rock:

J.A. Rock is the author of over twenty LGBTQ romance, suspense, and horror novels, as well as an occasional contributor to HuffPo Queer Voices. J.A.’s books have received Lambda Literary, INDIEFAB, and EPIC Award nominations, and The Subs Club received the 2016 National Leather Association-International Novel Award. 24/7 was named one of the best books of 2016 by Kirkus Reviews. J.A. lives in Chicago with an extremely judgmental dog, Professor Anne Studebaker.

https://jarockauthor.com
facebook.com/ja.rock.39
twitter.com/jarockauthor

The Book Nook, our shared FB Group with Sarah Honey:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/rockhenryhoney

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