4.5 stars

Rocky Start: MM SEAL Bodyguard Romance (A-List Security Book 4) by Annabeth Albert: New Release Review

January 19, 2023 by Denise

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I think I’m falling for my bodyguard co-worker. Now I need protection… from myself.

As a former SEAL intelligence officer, I’m supposed to be smart. Unfortunately, those smarts don’t apply to love. I did a nice thing and took my heartbroken fellow bodyguard out for a Valentine’s dinner. Just us bros. But my plan worked a little too well, and a night that ended with a scorching kiss has turned into the most awkward morning at the office ever. Now we’re working together as bodyguards on a remote mountain movie shoot. And we’re roommates.

I’ve never been attracted to a guy before, but something about Avery calls to every protective instinct I have. We’re not dating, but every night alone together, I fall a little deeper. It’s also Avery’s first time with a guy too, and while we’re both enjoying all sorts of new things together, I worry my heart will be broken when we return to civilization.

No matter how badly this may end, I can’t seem to stop wanting Avery. All of him. I want to see who he’ll become if he ever manages to get out of his own way. I want to be his biggest cheerleader, best friend, and the guy he comes home to. But going from secret hookup to forever after is a big ask. Are we both brave enough to take the leap?

ROCKY START is book four in the A-List Security series. It features TWO highly protective SEAL bodyguards, a double awakening, an exploration of the sexy, lacy kind, and all sorts of brand-new emotions. Get ready for all the high heat, big feels, and found family feels readers expect from this fan-favorite military romance author. Join A-List Security for this lower-angst series featuring former SEALs and celebrity clients. Happy endings and no cliffhangers guaranteed!

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Tough Luck: MM SEAL Bodyguard Romance (A-List Security Book 1)

Hard Job: MM SEAL Bodyguard Romance (A-List Security Book 2)

Bad Deal: MM SEAL Bodyguard Romance (A-List Security Book 3)

This book was not quite what I was expecting. One of several things you can count on with an Annabeth Albert book is fantastic characters. Quite often she writes military, and this book is, as the rest in the series is former military. But the characters? Not at all what I was expecting, and I found I enjoyed that more!

Avery was quite the interesting character. A bit clueless in a way that made you laugh. Having lost his arm during his time in the military, it would be easy to think that he has little self esteem due to that, but really it was due to a lot of internalized homophobia, and watching him work his way out of it, with the help of Malik was fascinating. It wasn’t instant, it was one compliment at a time, one cuddle at a time, one reaction from Malik at a time, even every time he looked in the mirror and saw himself looking sexy. Avery learned to love himself at the same time he was learning to love Malik.

Malik, so perfectly represented by the cover model, was not only a sweet man, but one who clearly cherished his partners in all things. He didn’t just buy Avery sweet and sexy things, he worked to make Avery believe in himself, as much as in them as a couple. Even with his PTSD, he was so giving to others, Avery, his mother, other vets suffering following their service.

Both men had only been with women, so this is a bit of a bi/gay awakening for them both, but honestly it was hard to see how they would have worked with anyone else. Malik stood beside Avery as he took the nearly crippling step of standing up to his family, and telling his mother flat out that he was gay.

This is a VERY steamy book, but not overdone. The sex scenes in the book were well placed, and really helped to forge the path that Avery was going down of learning he was loved, sexy and wanted. Also, I laughed when he admitted at one point that he was a bit of drama.

Not just a happy ending for the couple, but a happy ending for each of the men in their own right, learning what brought each of them joy and passion, outside of their budding relationship. Their relationship flowed seamlessly from co-workers to friends to friends with benefits to lovers, and never felt forced.

The author mentions that she wrote this during a time of extraordinary grief in her life, and it is so obvious how much passion she poured into this couple as she dealt with such a major event. This was a saving grace for her, clearly, and it shows as you read it.

I enjoyed these two so much. Worth every minute, and a re-read.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Rocky Start: MM SEAL Bodyguard Romance (A-List Security Book 4) by Annabeth Albert: Release Day Review

January 12, 2023 by Denise

. .

I think I’m falling for my bodyguard co-worker. Now I need protection… from myself.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Tough Luck: MM SEAL Bodyguard Romance (A-List Security Book 1)

Hard Job: MM SEAL Bodyguard Romance (A-List Security Book 2)

Bad Deal: MM SEAL Bodyguard Romance (A-List Security Book 3)

Well. Damn. **Fans self**

I’ve been a fan of Annabeth Albert for a long time and I am fairly certain I have read all of her books. This one is by far the sexiest. There were several- huh, wasn’t expecting that but yes!- moments. Which just kept me turning the pages.

Oh and the cover model? If that isn’t Malik, I don’t know who is.

This is a double awakening for this couple. Both had only ever been with women. Avery is that poor shlub that tries too hard, it seems, with women, only to be dumped again and again. Malik isn’t a serial dater and doesn’t do casual. Having come out of a long term relationship, he is fine on his own.

Avery has A LOT of internalized homophobia. Enough to beat himself up and make Malik mad. Before Malik is able to smooth his feathers. Good thing since they are on an assignment together in Colorado. And rooming together.

Like the previous books, both guys are vets. Avery lost an arm and Malik has some crippling PTSD. And while Avery sometimes feels sorry for himself, I think it’s really so that Malik will boost him up.

Watching Avery come into his own was kind of beautiful. And once he is fully accepting of himself- wow.

Like I said at the beginning, there were places this book went that I wasn’t expecting. BUT they were absolutely perfect. So well written. Not over the top at all. Very real and organic.

I savored this book, not wanting to rush through it. Avery and Malik deserved that attention.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Vow Maker (Mixed Messages Book 4) by Lily Morton: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

December 8, 2022 by Denise

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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.

Title: Vow Maker

By: Lily Morton

Series: Mixed Messages, Book 4

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Goodreads

Book 1: Rule Breaker

Book 2: Deal Maker

Book 3: Risk Taker

“Okay. I can certainly see what I can do, but at this short notice, many big venues are booked. They’re probably booked until you both draw your pensions.”

“Really?” Dylan asks.

I stir. “Even if we throw obscene amounts of money at the venue?”

Joe blinks. “You’re going to gazump a bride?”

“If necessary,” I say silkily.

“Well, I like a brave man. Brave or foolhardy? I’ll leave that to posterity and whoever does the speech at your funeral.”

“We are not doing that, Gabe,” Dylan says firmly. “For shame.”

I sit back in my chair. “I sense my bloodthirsty nature isn’t suited to a marital discussion.”

“You’d be amazed,” Joe says cheerily. “You’ve obviously never been near the Harrods bridal department during a sale. Russell Crowe could have done all his research for Gladiator in one fell swoop.”

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

Lily is a bestselling gay romance author. She writes love stories filled with heat and humour.

She lives in sunny England with her husband and two children, all of whom claim that they haven’t had a proper conversation with her since she got her Kindle.

Lily has spent her life with her head full of daydreams, and decided one day to just sit down and start writing about them. In the process she discovered that she actually loved writing, because how else would she get to spend her time with hot and funny men?

She loves chocolate and Baileys and the best of all creations – Chocolate Baileys.

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Kind Hearts At Christmas: An M/M Romance Charity Anthology: New Release Review

December 7, 2022 by Denise

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Kind Hearts At Christmas is an mm romance anthology in support of HIV / AIDS charities.

It’s Christmas…it’s snowing, there are gifts to give and receive, trees to decorate and all the great food to enjoy. It’s a time to spread kindness where men are falling in love, lust and everything in between.

From a school reunion, a morning after a one-night stand, university friends, a secret agent, an ex-husband in a coma, an unemployed truck driver, a naked man in a snowstorm, a village policeman, a motherless boy, Kind Hearts At Christmas has something for everyone. Each story features romance between men during the Christmas holidays, as they express their desires, from sweet kisses, up to spicy so-much-more.

Kind Hearts At Christmas has all the tropes including: snowed in, cowboys, holiday, forced proximity, fairy-tale folklore, established couple, adult film star, only one bed, return to hometown, hurt/comfort, school crushes, opposites attract, good boy/bad boy, found family & enemies to lovers.

Grab some hot chocolate sprinkled with marshmallows, indulge in a mince pie or a slice of Christmas cake, curl up and escape into the Christmassy romance. With thirteen stories by some of your favourite mm romance authors, you’re sure to find something to help you rediscover the joy and kindness of Christmas!

Stories are between 7,000 words (22 pages) to 27,000 words (86 pages) the anthology features stories by:

Sue Brown
Joanna Chambers
Barbara Elsborg
Suki Fleet
Amber Kell
Liam Livings
Clare London
Susan Mac Nicol
Louisa Mae
Jackie North
Jack L. Pyke
Ali Ryecart
K C Wells

AIDS United’s mission is to end the HIV epidemic in the United States. Half the profits from the sale of this anthology will support AIDS United’s work to ensure access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the United States.

This charity anthology is in support of Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), with 50% of profits from its sale going to THT. THT is the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity. We support people living with HIV and amplify their voices, and help the people using our services to achieve good sexual health. Our mission is to end new HIV transmissions in the UK by 2030, and to bring an end to stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV. By purchasing this anthology, you are supporting us, alongside AIDS United, as we work towards our vision of a world where people living with HIV lead healthy lives free from prejudice, and good sexual health is a right and reality for all.

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My intention in reading and reviewing this was to do 2 of the novellas, maybe 3. I mean, there are so many great holiday novellas out there this year, it’s hard to read them all. Instead I ended up reading 8 of them…so far. I absolutely loved this anthology. So, I will give an overall review, versus for one or two different novellas.

First of all, I loved the theme behind this. All the novellas involved helping someone in need, in some way. From KC Wells story about a man learning to deal with a loss he never expected to Ali Ryecart’s choice of helping those who society (and one of our MC’s) have forgotten, or never acknowledged to begin with. To Susan Mac Nicol’s story of helping a group of homeless musicians with some comfort at the holidays, or even finding their way home. The humor that was displayed in Clare London’s novella…I laughed hard at the MC’s inner monologue. Or the one that absolutely captured my heart…with some tears thrown in there…Amber Kell’s, Kissing the Winter Wizard. These all had to do with helping people who just needed a hand, or an ear, or a little bit of healing of their heart. These stories really captured the reader’s emotions with the Kind Hearts that were displayed on every level.

The other theme that I loved was taking the idea of the Kind Hearts, and then using it to help REAL people living with AIDS and HIV. Giving back to those charities to help people who just need that hand, ear, or heart. I received an arc to review this anthology, but I still purchased the entire anthology. I hope you will too. Such a worthwhile cause.

Overall, these stories just touched my heart, and kept me reading long after I told myself I would stop, and definitely after my bedtime. 🙂 I really hope to see a second version of this anthology come around again. I would definitely review it, but more importantly, I would purchase it to support such a worthy cause. Thank you to the authors for the fun, emotions, and generosity.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

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

November 24, 2022 by Denise

Dylan Mitchell wants to get married.

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.

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

Underdog (In Vino Veritas) by L.A. Witt: Audiobook Review, Narration by Nick J. Russo

October 14, 2022 by Denise

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Life in foster care wasn’t easy. Life after prison? Unforgiving. But I’m determined to stay out of trouble, and I’m gaining a foothold on the closest I’ve ever known to normal.

Then, thanks to a pair of escape artist dogs from the sanctuary where I’ve found work, I cross paths with my boss’s neighbor, Ty Adams. He’s a horse trainer, and winter is his quiet season. It’s also the season when he gets restless and lonely—two things I know all about. He’s not interested in love or romance. I’m just happy someone’s interested in me at all, even if emotions are strictly forbidden.

When we’re not together, I’m thinking about him. When we are together… Well, I’m definitely thinking about what he does to me and what I want to do with him.

As we keep each other warm through the Vermont winter, this feels a lot more than physical. Somehow he soothes my pain, and I wonder if I’m touching something deep inside him too. But Ty won’t let himself love anyone. I never had a chance. And now, with my past closing in, I could lose the one man I hoped I could count on. The one I thought might be different.

When his present and my history collide, is it too much to hope he’ll choose me?

CW: Sick horse and a minor accident involving a horse—no animal deaths or serious injuries/illnesses.

Audible – Narrated by Nick J. Russo

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

First, this is not a short book/audiobook. I mean let’s face it, L.A. Witt doesn’t really write short books, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. It tops out around 400 pages in the ebook, and 12 hours on the audiobook, and not one ounce of filler in there. Zero. So, plan to be engaged the entire way! I know I was.

What can I say? Landon got ALL the love from me. A really good guy (c’mon he loved animals so much!) who thanks to a really cr@ppy childhood grew up and got himself into a lot of trouble, multiple times, until he was locked up for nearly 10 years. It’s hard to imagine how someone can not come out of something like that completely changed. And to see how many people questioned him, shunned him, assumed that he was always up to his “old ways”. He took each of those blows to heart, but tried to be so forgiving, and understanding of them, that this is what he felt he deserved and always would. Yet he treated each one of those animals like they were precocious children and gave them all the love he had in him. It was hard not to love Landon from the first page.

Ty was also a really good guy, very dedicated to his career, so much so that he never saw it coming that he and Landon were just going to continue on the path toward each other. It was honestly a little funny how he kept denying it, and explaining it away as two friends just having great sex, denying it to himself as much as he did to Landon. This guy could not get out of his own head. But he quickly began to see Landon not as a friends with benefits situation, but as someone who he could depend on, and learn to incorporate into his life.

There was one thing that Ty did that, while I understood why he did it, and honestly would have likely done it myself in that situation, I was bothered that he didn’t end up telling Landon about it. I would have liked to have seen that level of honesty from Ty. But it didn’t change the course of the book, and likely wouldn’t have changed their relationship in the long run.

I will admit I cried more than once at the treatment of Landon, who just wanted to get his life on track, to put his head down and work. Meanwhile so many people would not give him a chance. It was heartbreaking. And yet, I would imagine so realistic to those who are coming to the outside after incarceration.

The knowledge given to the reader/listener about the horse world was not overwhelming, but definitely enough to make sure you knew what was going on. And with all the different personalities in the different animals, it just made it that much more fun to read.

I don’t often re-read/re-listen to books, but this one will definitely hit that list. Now that my heart isn’t in my throat wondering about the HEA (which this author always gives…but it was hard sometimes to see it coming!)

Narrator Nick J. Russo, does another fantastic job with character voices. I always appreciate a narrator who can give multiple voices to his characters, and being able to tell who was who based on voice is a talent. He did a great job of this. I enjoy his narration every time I get the chance to listen, and I will be listening to this one again!

Story: 4.5 pieces of eye candyNarration: 4 pieces of eye candy