Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

2.5 stars

Level Up: Franklin U 2 – Book Four by Max Walker: RB, New Release Review and Giveaway

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Joey ‘Jay’ Cruz

Moving to San Luco wasn’t my choice. I was kicked out of my old school because of a protest I organized that went south. Now, I was attending Franklin University with only a semester left until graduation and not knowing a single soul.

Until I meet Ryan Redpine at a frat party. He’s handsome, muscular, has a great smile, and I quickly find out he’s the son of a CEO hell-bent on destroying the environment.

I push Ryan out of my mind, deciding to keep my sanity and morals intact.

But fate had other plans. When Ryan ended up as my surprise dorm mate, avoiding him became impossible. And so was avoiding the feelings that started to develop… Maybe getting expelled wasn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. Maybe it was actually the best?

Ryan Redpine

Jay entered my life like a lightning bolt.

I’d never met someone I was so attracted to, and someone who clearly didn’t want me. The moment he learned about my dad, he shut me out. Then I get reassigned to his dorm. Cue complications, especially when his bed breaks and we’re forced to share.

Things quickly heat up, but Jay’s adamant about keeping us under wraps. He’s planning this big protest at the beach for an oil drilling project and doesn’t want my family name tied to it.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Goodreads

Well, I hate to say it, but this was a disappointment. I’ve generally enjoyed other books by Max Walker, this one left a lot to be desired.

The premise of the son of a gazillionaire who’s company has no problem destroying the environment for the all mighty dollar falling for the guy who leads protests against companies destroying the environment sounds good, right? But I feel like so little of that was part of the story.

The whole “why do you hate me?” thing. Uhm, duh. He hates your dad and by extension you? It’s not a mystery. But Jay never really acted like he hated Ryan at all. And Jay was worried about being seen with Ryan because of the ties to his dad, but nothing came of that either.

There were other plot points that kind of seemed like they were just thrown in there. Jay also is part of the theater program at the college. The reason that he was at FU for his final semester is brought up like twice even though it was pretty major and traumatic.

The big protest was kind of a bust for me too. (spoiler-ish!! you’ve been warned!) Ryan’s dad refused to listen to him and kicked him out of his office. BUT listens to Jay? And is all of a sudden ready to go green? Ehhh. Didn’t ring true at all.

There was a lot- A LOT- of sex scenes. And it just felt like filler after a while. There was a completely unnecessary sex scene in the epilogue! Come on.

The plot wasn’t cohesive, too many sex scenes versus plot and the characters just didn’t ring true for me.

2.5 pieces of eye candy

Max Walker lives in Atlanta with his partner of over 14 years. He’s the best-selling author of the fantasy series, Magic & Marvels, along with his contemporary series, Stonewall Investigations & The Book Club Boys. He’s incredibly excited to be enrolling at FU with a group of exceptionally talented authors.

Connect with Max:
https://maxwalkerauthor.com/

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A Light at the End: Sold to the Billionaire by KD Ellis: New Release Review

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FROM EXCITING AUTHOR OF LGBTQIA ROMANCE KD ELLIS

A Sold to the Billionaire story

Elliot just got out of a stormy relationship. Can Master Ede be his lighthouse and bring him safely home?

Master Ede hates Christmas.

After his last boy broke up with him—by sleeping with a man in his bed on Christmas Eve, no less—Ede’s given up on the holiday. It’s hard to have Christmas spirit when that’s all he can see when he thinks of mistletoe. The only celebration he allows himself is the annual Christmas auction hosted by his kink club, the Lighthouse. He plans on showing his face, doing a bit of voyeurism and heading home on his own. He doesn’t expect to meet Elliot.

Elliot hates his life.

He has a boyfriend who controls every aspect of it, from what he eats and what he wears to what position they use in the bedroom. Elliot knows better than to talk back, and he’s long ago given up on hoping that things will get better. After all, like his boyfriend says, he’s too stupid to take care of himself, and who else would want him?

When Elliot’s boyfriend takes him to an auction and sells him off without his permission, he knows things need to change. Then he meets Ede, and for the first time in his life, he thinks maybe things can get better. Maybe, there really is a light at the end.

Amazon – All Regions

Pride Publishing

Just no story here. I didn’t care about either main character. We didn’t have any background story on them. Elliott is a slave who’s owner is abusive and sells him at a Christmas auction without telling him. Ede is an uber rich partner in the club with the patience of a saint. But like, that’s it. We get more of their individual histories throughout the story, but not enough to make me care.

It’s like we were dropped into the middle of the story without being told the beginning and the ending being meh. Besides the fact that Elliott goes from an abusive Dom owner immediately to another Dom. Yes, Ede (how the heck are we to pronounce that? Ed? Eddie? Eed?) is the complete opposite of his former Dom but come on.

Best thing about this book was that it was short. And the sex scenes were good if you ignored everything else.

2.5 pieces of eye candy

10 Things That Never Happened (Material World Book 1) by Alexis Hall: New Release Review

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FAKE AMNESIA. REAL FEELINGS? REAL PROBLEMS.

Sam Becker loves—or, okay, likes—his job. Sure, managing a bed and bath retailer isn’t exactly glamorous, but it’s good work and he gets on well with the band of misfits who keep the store running. He could see himself being content here for the long haul. Too bad, then, that the owner is an infuriating git.

Jonathan Forest should never have hired Sam. It was a sentimental decision, and Jonathan didn’t get where he is by following his heart. Determined to set things right, Jonathan orders Sam down to London for a difficult talk…only for a panicking Sam to trip, bump his head, and maybe accidentally imply he doesn’t remember anything?

Faking amnesia seemed like a good idea when Sam was afraid he was getting sacked, but now he has to deal with the reality of Jonathan’s guilt—as well as the unsettling fact that his surly boss might have a softer side to him. There’s an unexpected freedom in getting a second shot at a first impression…but as Sam and Jonathan grow closer, can Sam really bring himself to tell the truth, or will their future be built entirely on one impulsive lie?

Amazon – All Regions

Sometimes I think a book will be good because it’s by a bestselling author AND it’s through a traditional publisher. Sometimes I am wrong.

Sometimes I really don’t like the previous book by an author by really like the next book. Sometimes I am wrong.

Sometimes I learn my lessons. Sometimes I don’t.

What I did like about this book- that one of the main characters is a manager at a bed and bath store. Not a boutique, but not a big box store. He is a regular guy doing a regular job. A regular completely non-glamourous job. And I did like the second half quite a bit more than the first. But that first half was tough.

Some of the things the author used to, I assume, be quirky, were eye rolling. Calling products they sell by their full name. He didn’t trip and fall through a shower enclosure. He tripped and fell through the Nexa by MER-LYN 8mm Sliding Door Enclosure. And that entire title is used in every instance of the retelling of him falling through said enclosure. The same is done with a toilet seat and a mattress.

Several employees are written to be quirky as well. Mostly they were annoying.

So fake amnesia. Because that works all of the time. And man who started his own business and is successful would never, ever see right through it. But apparently it does work and the boss doesn’t see right through it.

Honestly it was so silly.

It did get a bit more palatable after they got past the “you’re my employee, this is wrong” thing. Jonathan became a bit more human. But Sam was still kind of an idiot. Jonathan’s family were a bit too “A Big Fat Greek Wedding” for me, but I warmed up a bit to them.

I was only determined to finish the book to find out how the ruse comes to an end. And still, meh.

Maybe you will like it. Lots of people seem to based on the reviews. But this was so not for me.

2.5 pieces of eye candy

Asking For A Friend by JJ Harper: Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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.                                        .

Lando writes about romance for a living yet shuns it in his life.

After too many failed relationships, Lando Hardwick has enough. No more dates for him. His taste in men is abysmal. He always falls for the ones who are only looking for fun.

Hesketh Trent has stopped searching for a boyfriend. They only see him as a walking cash machine, only care what he can buy them. What has happened to romance, love?

Getting soaked by scolding coffee is the worst way to start the day, but hell’s bells, the man is divine. Even though the man ticks all his boxes, no way is Lando giving him his phone number. He’ll be like all the rest: one hot night and he kicks him out the door.

But Hesketh doesn’t give up so easily. The cute redhead with no brain-to-mouth filter intrigues him as no man has ever done.

A cat and mouse chase is on, with Lando as the mouse. Once Lando is caught, they can’t stay away from one another.

Until Hesketh makes a mistake.

Thank god for mutual friends who won’t give up on them and push them together when they’re both too stubborn to take the next step.

Asking For a Friend is a stand-alone MM novel with a group of sassy men, a larger-than-life ginger cat called Flanaghan, a stubborn writer, and a man who can plan events but not his own life.

Title: Asking For A Friend
Authors: JJ Harper
Length: 56k
Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary.
Tropes: slow burn, sweet vs stubborn.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Goodreads

Lando licks the wine from his lip and sets his glass down on the counter. His eyes dart to my groin and darken. Then his mouth hits mine, and our bodies line up. He’s as turned on as I am.

But what to do about it? It’s not how I wanted the evening to start, but it’s how I want it to end. It looks like Lando is on the same page as me. Reluctantly I break the kiss and pull back a little.

“You make me feel things I don’t know what to do with,” he says breathlessly. He rests his hands on my chest, pressing his fingertips into my shirt.

“What does that mean?” I keep my hands on his waist, wanting him to feel me. To connect with me.

“I’ve stayed away from relationships. You know that. But you, you make me want it, a relationship with you.”

I grin, making sure my dimples pop. He groans and lays his head on my chest. “Dammit, Hesketh.”

“Would it make you feel better if I tell you I want to be with you? As your boyfriend, in a relationship. Exclusively.”

As he lifts his head, his eyes are sparkling, glittering with unspoken emotion. “I think I’d like that very much.”

“Good.” I kiss his forehead. “Now sit there and pretend you’re not watching my arse as I get dinner ready.”

“I can do that.” He’s so quiet I look over my shoulder at him. He’s chewing at the edge of his thumb. A nervous habit I’ve seen him do before. I wink, and he smiles, so I turn back to the food. “Your hand twitches when you want to hold mine but don’t know if you should. You talk about Ellis and his family more than you do your own. You always peel the edges of your coffee cup when you’ve finished. You’re honest and kind. And I trust you.”

My knife clatters on the chopping board. I swivel around and take the few steps to Lando. When I cup his face in my hands, he parts his lips and sighs. Our mouths collide, and I slip my tongue inside, tasting the wine as well as him. I can’t get enough of him. He tastes divine. We dip in and out of each other’s mouths. Lando’s hands have found their way under my shirt and creep up my back. Mine are tangled in his hair.

When we break apart, Lando slicks his puffy bottom lip. “Maybe we should go and fuck. I don’t think we’re going to get dinner anytime soon.”

I’ve read a couple of books from this author, and this one sounded like a fun one. I was hoping for a light hearted read, but that wasn’t exactly what I got.

Lando and Hesketh really need a class in communication. They took miscommunication to a whole new level in this book. They “dated” for a couple of months before they went on their first date, but all those lunches seemed to just allow them to learn surface things about each other. So, when the big things happened neither knew what was going on with the other and a huge wall leapt up between them that neither stubborn person was willing to breach.

Probably my biggest issue with this book was the “breakup”. It just seemed improbable to me (small spoiler here) that Hesketh would go an entire weekend with his long lost brother and fiance, and never once think about Lando and the fact that he just didn’t show up for something they had been planning for quite a while. Yes, he put his phone on silent, but how, if you love someone do you just completely forget their existence for an entire weekend? The idea of forgiving him for that was just unbelievable to me. I did understand one of them chasing the other for a while, then when they were getting back together, the other one chasing him down. But I just didn’t understand completely forgetting about your lover for three full days.

The other issue I had was Hesketh’s temper. He seemed to blow up at the smallest things. Every person is different, as are their tempers, but it was really hard to like someone who threw a tantrum over a holiday they didn’t know about (this seemed to be an unnecessary scene to me), or because someone was working and so involved in work that they missed the start of lunch.

The side characters were all fantastic, for sure. And Lando wore his heart on his sleeve, even as he told his parents to F off, he was kinder than most would have been.

This one just didn’t work well for me.

2.5 pieces of eye candy

You will normally find her in the living room—typing away—with her wayward puppy, Siddiqi. As a hopeless romantic, JJ dives into her stories, always falling in love with her men, making sure they get the happy-ever-after they deserve, even if they do have to work hard for it.
JJ lives in a small, very quiet, village in Lincolnshire, UK, with her husband and dog, and spends all day dreaming up stories full of really hot men

Connect with JJ:
Find out more: http://jjharperauthor.ctcin.bio
Author page: https://www.facebook.com/authorJJHarper
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jessjhoney
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessjharper
Goodreads: https://tinyurl.com/ha7whyj6
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jj-harper
Check out my website: https://www.jjharper-author.com
Sign up to my newsletter here: https://bit.ly/3u7qLYc

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Merlot Rebellion: An Enemies to Lovers Romance by Leigh Jarret: New Release Review

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Devastated when things don’t work out, Patrick refuses to even consider risking his heart again. As soon as he proclaims his love, everything always falls apart.

One afternoon while heading a wine tour, Patrick recoils when he encounters a man he’s been told is a monster by his latest ex-boyfriend.

Heartbroken, Charles is convinced his last breakup was his fault. His seductive looks are the only reason anyone ever picks him up. He has no other worth. His latest partner of seven years told him as much. He was cheated on, abandoned for another—replaced by a blond boy toy.

Then the vapid adulterer walks into his winery.

Amazon – All Regions

Another first time author for me. And another near miss.

Two men with the same ex boyfriend. They hate each other because of said ex boyfriend. Until they actually talk to each other.

Patrick is the free spirit type of guy. Just working to make money to live. Charles is the manager of a very nice winery.

They end up together but there was no heat there. No connection. All very surface for me. And Patrick, the guy who barely has enough money for rent we come to find out (toward the end) that he is a hoarder? Finding that out earlier would have given the story a little more interest.

Otherwise it’s Patrick thinking he isn’t good enough for Charles and Charles thinking how could anyone love him and just eye roll.

And other one with the characters who talk too formally. I’m sorry, but a guy in his 20’s, even with an ex boyfriend who knew wine, wouldn’t talk about buttery notes and oak aged versus not. I mean, maybe they would but, I don’t know.

Sorry, total miss for me.

2.5 pieces of eye candy

Ruler of the Waves : Love At Lake Clyde, Book 3 by Aidan Ainslie: RB, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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.                                    .

Tyler: All I ever wanted was to be a good doctor and serve the community I had grown up in. And I wanted a loving husband to share my dream of a house with a picket fence, two children and a dog. Was that so much to ask of life? Why was it so difficult to find that man?

Rickie: All I ever wanted was the freedom to sail the oceans, taste salt on my lips and feel sea spray on my face. So when Tyler Matthews offers me the chance of a week’s sailing at Nantucket, I agree to go with him. The only snag – we have to convince his snooty friends that we are boyfriends. How difficult can that be? Tyler is a good friend, I know him. Surely we can pull this off.
The only danger I did not foresee was that all my dreams could be derailed if my heart became entangled with the cute doctor Tyler Matthews who is rooted to the soil like a giant sequoia.

Can love find a way to bridge the ocean-sized chasm between two men who do not appear to be destined for each other?

Read the latest book in the Love at Lake Clyde series. A delicious fake boyfriend romance with many unexpected twists and turns.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Rickie

We boarded the plane and luxuriated in the space and comfort of first class. Free champagne even before take-off. Man, I could get used to this. We settled in. That is, I put in my earbuds and chose music on my phone while Tyler sterilized the area around his seat with a sanitary wipe. Then he took out the emergency safety card from the seat pocket and studied it. I think it was the first time in my life I’d seen someone actually read one of those cards. He leaned toward me and pointed at the exit signs three rows in front of us. It was on the tip of my tongue to say, Yes Tyler, I can read. I’m pretty good with four-letter words. But I didn’t say anything. He was so earnest and so damn cute and innocent. I guess that’s what happened if you grew up without two older brothers who mocked you mercilessly if ever you did something remotely dumb.

Just before take-off, I was about to put my jacket in the overhead bin when the stewardess – a gorgeous brunette with a ready smile – reached for it and said, “You wouldn’t want that to get creased, sir. Let me hang it up for you.” Her colleague, a handsome dark-haired guy with a neatly clipped beard, was busy serving champagne. He turned and said to me, “I love your shirt. I’ll come by later so you can tell me where I can get one of those.”

I was wearing one of the T-shirts that Mandy, our local tattoo artist, had designed for the Master of the Wild challenge. It featured two stallions on their hind legs with their necks entwined. I’d never been able to figure out whether they were fighting or embracing each other. Mandy was coy about it, saying everyone was free to interpret the intricate, tattoo-like design as they pleased. The slogan under the stallions read, Go Wild in Clydesdale.

 Tyler was bemused and whispered, “How do you do it? You must have special pheromones that intoxicate everyone who comes near you.”

“Is it working on you?” I quipped.

He punched me on the shoulder and rolled his eyes again, “You’re obnoxious when you’re grouchy and you’re even more insufferable when you’re in a good mood.”

I was beginning to enjoy his eyerolls almost as much as his smiles.

First time author for me. And probably the last.

I didn’t read the previous books, but you don’t need to. It works as a stand alone.

After reading for a bit I had to go and look up the author. Who says they live in Northern California. But so much of the language used was British. And formal. And not even close to how Californians would talk. And I don’t mean surfer slang at all. I mean, a lot more casual. You aren’t going to hear “Fancy something to eat?” from a local.

Honestly, the characters were just either unlikable or wet rags. Rickie has a chip on his shoulder because he is on probation for a crime he didn’t commit. (BTW, no way was someone getting probation for that), his brother and boss was nasty to him, Tyler is a limp noodle who everyone walks all over and his friends are awful.

The plot mostly worked, but still. A bit much and a bit coincidental. I know it’s fiction. I still want it to be a little believable. There was just no connection between characters for me. The realest connection was between Tyler and his dad.

This is one of those cases where it could have been so much better with a good beta read or 4. A good editor, etc.

2.5 pieces of eye candy

Aiden Ainslie lives in the Diablo foothills, east of San Francisco. He grew up in various small towns and loves to draw on that small-town feel for his romances: the sense of community but also the petty grievances, intrigue and rivalries. “An author has to draw on personal experience to create authentic stories.”

According to Aiden, setting and mood are critical parts of a romantic story, hence he is always taking pictures of romantic settings to be used in future novels. Check them out on his website www.aidenainslie.com

When Aiden is not writing or listening to audiobooks, he likes to cycle and hike. During those solitary pursuits, he dreams up the characters and plots for his MM Romance novels. He also enjoys zipping around town on his motor scooter, drinking coffee at the local coffee shops, and watching people to get inspiration for his writing.

Connect with Aiden:
https://aidenainslie.com/
https://www.facebook.com/aiden.ainslie
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