Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

4 stars

Thin Ice: MM Small Town/Hockey Romance (The Elmwood Stories Book 4) by Lane Hayes: Release Day Review and IG Giveaway

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The hunky dad, the hockey coach, and a new start…

Bryson

Elmwood isn’t good for my love life. Hey, I’m a positive person and I have nothing but wonderful things to say about small-town living, but I haven’t had a date in years. That’s fine—my son is and always has been my number one focus.

Except now he’s grown and gone. And it’s lonely.

Okay, yes, the new hockey coach is hot and single, but he’s off-limits. Smitty’s trouble with a capital T, and his baggage might outweigh mine. Besides, we said nothing would happen after “that” night. It was a one-time, never to be repeated deal.

At least…that’s what I thought.

Smitty

Am I sad about retiring from pro hockey? Honestly, no. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t in pain. I need a rest and I could use a distraction from unwelcome memories at home. Stat.

So…Elmwood.

Look, we all know I won’t last a whole season of coaching high school kids, but stepping in till they find a better candidate is a good temporary plan. And Bryson’s here.

There’s something about the hot dad with the sunny smile and bad dad jokes that makes me feel alive again. I’m not in the market for forever—been there, done that. Look, I’ve taken risks for my sport, but I’m not giving my heart away again. I know thin ice when I see it.

Or do I?

Thin Ice is an MM bisexual, age-gap, small-town romance featuring a silver fox dad, the new hockey coach, and a fresh start on solid ground.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

I’ve really loved this series so far. The small town is so quaint without being Mayberry-like. The small town quirks are so accurate without going over the top. And of course- hot hockey guys hooking up with regular folk. Is it a bit of a stretch to have so many out gay former players? Sure. Ask me if I care. HA!

We’ve seen Bryson in previous books. Local realtor and father to an up and coming AHL player shooting for NHL. He’s also out and proud but has really focused on his business and his son. Always putting his son first.

Except when he hooks up with his son’s hockey nemesis. But it’s just a one off, so no big whoop, right?

Right….but Smitty is retiring. And Elmwood’s brand spanking new high school needs a hockey coach. And even though Smitty has a job lined up in a few months, he agrees to be an interim coach. Which means he needs someplace to live. So he needs Bryson- the realtor.

The antics come to fruition when they become neighbors. Smitty wants more of the hooking up. Bryson is trying to hold back. But between Smitty’s really ridiculous attempts to get Bryson’s attention (borrowing ONE teaspoon of sugar) and Bryson’s so lame you have to laugh dad jokes, being neighbors is suddenly very convenient.

Watching Smitty really find a purpose in coaching kids with no skill (save one), come to a bit of a truce with Bryson’s son, and integrating himself into the community is a joy.

Watching Bryson try to pretend nothing is going on is comical.

And again, it seems that this book has a bit of a time jump (a year or 2?) from the previous book so we really get to see previous main characters settled into their lives. Living in Elmwood and being happy.

The only thing that kind of bothered me was that Bryson had a bit of a past. But besides when he tells Smitty about it, it’s not mentioned at all. Ok, once or twice more with a sentence. But you’d think that would be a big part of his personality and it would be more at the forefront.

But anyway, it certainly didn’t take away from the story which I thoroughly enjoyed.

More gay hockey players move to Elmwood please!

4 pieces of eye candy

Immersion Play (Leather and Lattes Book 1) by Katherine McIntyre: Release Day Review * 2

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One bratty boy searching for somewhere to call home, one damaged Daddy Dom looking to escape his grief, and one kinky found family ready to help them both heal.

Micah’s starting over. He left his old life in the middle of the night and showed up in San Francisco on a job tip from a friend. However, when Meg hires him at Whipped, he not only enters a new city but also a whole new world with this cozy crew of kinksters. And one man continues to catch his attention again and again.

Parker doesn’t do relationships. After his mom died and his father became a shell of himself, he swore never to let anyone wreck him like that. Except Micah’s gotten under his skin. The hot new barista at Whipped isn’t as vanilla as they all thought, and he’s the brattiest boy that Parker could’ve ever dreamed of playing with. The connection between them? Incendiary.

However, the deeper their relationship grows, the more Micah’s realizing he can’t just be casual with Parker—not anymore. The man’s made a mark on his soul, inspired dreams Micah had never even thought to reach for. But if Parker isn’t willing to bend his rules to risk his heart, the two of them are definitely going to break.

Enter Whipped, a unique cafe that caters to coffee and kink addicts alike…

Amazon – All Regions

This was a fun into to a new book series. I’m definitely calling this one kink light though. But there is definitely potential for coming books to up the kink level.

The series is centered around a cafe that caters to a kink community and their attached club in San Francisco.

Micah went to college there but went home to his pretty conservative family and hometown after graduating. The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of his family coupled with a crappy job send him back to SF. His best friend from college hooks him up with a job at the cafe, but he goes in knowing that it’s all about kink. He swears he is vanilla but doesn’t judge anyone for what they like.

Parker is a Dom Daddy who has seen a broken heart and doesn’t want it to happen to him. So he tries to stick to just teaching and some regular sub clients. But the new kid at the cafe….

It was fun watching Micah discover that he isn’t really that vanilla. He is so open to experiences and even watching scenes. And Micah and Parker are so flirtatious with each other. You don’t often read overt flirting for any extended amount of time. Of course Micah’s version of flirting can also come across as bratting. Which Parker LOVES.

I found this to be a great story and I really liked how Micah and Parker approached kink together. Slow and steady, always checking in, setting boundaries for themselves. I hate when a character is all “I’m new to kink so strap me to the St Andrews cross and get your worst paddle out”. Like, no. This was much more realistic without being slow or boring.

Both characters were good guys who really came alive when they were together.

Lots of fun side characters I hope we get to explore in upcoming books.

4 pieces of eye candy

This new series is already so promising. I do enjoy this author’s found family themes throughout her books, and this series looks to be along the same lines, weaving characters into the scene seamlessly.

Micah has a cr@p family, except for his sister (who is herself welcomed into the kink community they are building, later in the book). But he has a friend who he trusted enough to help him get away from the situation he was in, and helped him to find himself. Although he’d never ventured down that road, rather than expressing any disgust or unwillingness to even see what was happening, he was curious and open to other people’s wants. Meanwhile, he slowly figured out his own.

Parker was honestly tough to read about for me. Having a father that was basically disintegrating before your eyes is hard, and it brought up a bit of my own grief (that’s when you know you’ve got something good on your hands, if the author can immerse you that much). I felt for how hard he had it, but he couldn’t resist a sassy boy, Micah was his downfall.

This was a really good start to the series, and you can see a bit of what is ahead. A rich tapestry of found family, and a group brought together by kink, but kept together by their friendships. Looking forward to more books in ths Leather and Lattes series.

4 pieces of eye candy

Beautifully Fractured: A Grumpy/Sunshine Gay Awakening (Front Range University Book 1) by Michele Lenard: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt and New Release Review

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Ever have someone get you so well it’s like looking in a mirror?

Cruz
Starting over is not what I had planned.

Those stories about magically becoming best friends with the person assigned to live with you… Yeah, that won’t be me. I already have a best friend. Even if I wanted a new one, Liam wouldn’t be it. He’s permanently grouchy, carrying a negative energy I don’t need since I’m finally in a good place. But I’ve never been good at ignoring when people need help, so I paste on a smile and play nice.

Predictably, Liam isn’t much of a talker, but after an unexpected accident he needs my help in other ways. Ways that offer me answers about myself. Ways that raise new questions about the football dreams I’ve been chasing since I was a kid. Ways that make me relive the past I want to ignore.

To say I’m confused is an understatement, but there’s one thing I know for certain…Liam is either the key to one door or the bolt that could prevent another from ever opening. And I have to choose which I want him to be.

Liam
Starting over is exactly what I need.

I can’t get any more invisible than I’ve been for the past few years, and I figure rooming with another person means at least one human on the planet can’t ignore me. Unfortunately, that human is Adonis personified, and not gay, so it’s looking like my invisibility streak might continue.

Then I suffer a minor accident, and Cruz’s hero complex comes out in full force.

I should be grateful to have someone to open my door and carry my books, but when you pair his selfless personality with that body… My mind starts to blur the roommate line, which makes his blur the line of not being gay.

My heart is already battered, and I doubt it can take rejection from the one person who broke down all the walls I’d built around it. That doesn’t mean I won’t try to give it to him anyway.

**Beautifully Fractured is a high-heat MM romance with medium angst that features a grumpy/sunshine relationship, forced proximity, hurt/comfort situations and a sexual-awakening. This is book one in a series of interconnected standalones. Though the main characters are athletes, this is not a sports romance. Rather, it’s a romance that happens to feature people who play sports.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

“So, why medicine?”

“Hmm?” Liam arches one brow independently of the other, a gesture I find fascinating since I can’t do it myself.

“Why do you want to work in medicine?” I repeat. “Family business?”

Though it’s subtle, I can see Liam’s posture get a little more rigid, almost like he’s putting up a force field. I don’t follow why that is–I can’t imagine why a question about careers would be crossing a line–yet I get the distinct feeling I’ll have to tread carefully going through the door I just opened.

“Why do you assume it’s a family business?”

 

I take a minute to think of the nicest way to answer. “You don’t really strike me as a people person, and I think you have to be to deal with patients. No offense.”

“I people with you just fine.”

“You do.” I agree. “But you sort of have to since we share a room. With others you seem a little guarded.”

“And you know this because we hang out with other people so often.” He snorts and takes another bite of his dinner.

“Sort of, yeah.”

“You know that makes no sense, right?”

“It makes total sense,” I disagree. “You don’t go to dinner with anyone else, you never mention anyone else, so I don’t think you’re peopling with anyone else.”

“I’m selective,” he says, and something about his deadpan delivery has me cracking up.

“Glad I made the cut.” I grin broadly.

“Like you said, I’m sort of stuck with you.”There was a lot in this book. Trauma from broken friendships, absentee parents, off page death, bullying and one character trying to figure out how to identify sexually. But even with the trauma, the story didn’t get bogged down with angst. In fact, I feel like one of the characters hasn’t had an appropriate response to his trauma seeing as it was fairly new.

Cruz is a jock football player, but he also wants to take college seriously which is why he is in the student dorms rather than the jock dorms. His roommate, Liam, is premed, and gay, and used to being bullied by jocks.

But they find their groove as roommates so to speak. Cruz is a total golden retriever type. Happy, helpful, doesn’t really understand why people can be mean. Like, what do

you mean you don’t want slobbery dog kisses all over your face? SO Cruz. But Cruz is struggling with his sexuality. Or lack thereof. He has just no interest. He seems to have just ignored it in high school, but in college, girls fawn over the football players. Especially the freshman who made the starting line up.

Liam refuses to hide that he is gay. And while he doesn’t think Cruz is gay, he does wonder if he is ACE or ARO or both. Which is kind of funny that he was bullied by jocks in high school for being gay and now he is helping a jock figure out what, if anything, gets his engine going.

Once Liam throws in the towel and accepts that Cruz is his new bff, they start opening up to each other. And then Liam gets hurt and Cruz wants to save the day. But that leaves them both confused.

Once we find out the real trauma that both of these guys went through and how it made them similar, we also see how different the response was for each. Sorry, no spoilers.

These boys will take you on an emotional ride at times. But it never gets too dark, too angsty, too much. Add in a pretty realistic (I think) view of someone coming to terms with their sexuality and what it might mean, led to a good story with an excellent ending.

4 pieces of eye candy

Fen by Barbara Elsborg: Release Day Review

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.                                   .

An indecent proposal leads to a future neither guy expected.

Fen is broken but does his best to hide the cracks. His life-changing condition might have stolen his first love—ballet, but he’s kind to old ladies, good at his job, and his mum loves him, even if his famous father refuses to acknowledge he exists.

Ripley’s a top flight barrister who’s used to winning. Mostly by fair means, occasionally not. He’s horrified when he learns his manipulative mother has sent family possessions to an auction house. On his way to retrieve them, he encounters Fen.

Cold, rain-soaked and hungry, struggling with his crutch and auction acquisitions, Fen just wants to get home. What he doesn’t want is to be drenched by a car and minutes later, confronted by the bad-tempered driver demanding he hand over his purchases. Hell no!
Ripley gets back his belongings but finds he wants more. Blue-eyed Fen has sparked something to life. Even as his barrister’s brain screams at him to be careful, he makes Fen an outrageous offer. Sleep with me for money. Fen should say no. Yet as he weighs his options, he realises turning Ripley down could be the biggest regret of his life.

In a tale where the pieces don’t always fit, can two imperfect men mend what’s broken in each other?

Warning
Main character with a life-limiting illness. Suicide of a character before story starts. Brief mention of rape and suicide of a man not in the story.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

This story started with a short. Although it isn’t necessary to read the short, it’s still worth the short time it takes.

This book starts a few years after the short. And really, I liked that there was a lot of time between. The whole “omg my new boss was my hookup last night” thing gets old. (FTR, Ripley is not Fen’s boss)

Fen hasn’t had the easiest time. And while he could very easily throw a pity party for himself for several reasons, he doesn’t. He isn’t overly sunshiney though either. No compensating for him. Mostly he just wants to do his job and live his life for as long as he can. He does seem to have a black cloud that follows him though.

Ripley is a grouch. Cranky, short tempered, he finds no joy in life really. He’s been dealt a few bad cards in life as well. Ripley and Fen almost can’t be more different, not even including the age difference. But they are drawn to each other, as much as they both fight it.

But then, an offer Fen can’t refuse. Especially after being accused of something he didn’t do.

With an agreement between them, they both play their roles well. Both still keeping secrets. Both protecting themselves for different reasons.

Fen has a bit of the humor you can expect from Barbara Elsborg (Jonty anyone?) but it doesn’t go overboard. The more humor he brings, the more comfortable he is with Ripley.

There are a couple of stories running through the romance. None of them were rushed or forced, although one of them was pretty obvious, They all came to satisfying conclusions as well. No forgotten plot points here. It made for quite a long book, but it didn’t drag at all and was easy to read.

It sounds like I am skirting the edges but I just don’t want to give away anything. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering each piece of this story as it came up and my hope is that you do the same.

4 pieces of eye candy

Parts of Us (The Game Series Book 14) by Cara Dee: New Release Review

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The Game Series, #14 • Doll Parts Sequel • MMMM • M/s • DD/lb • Hurt/Comfort • Found Family • Angst • HEA
Grab your favorite stuffie and join Cam, Lucian, KC, and Noa as they jump over life’s hurdles together with their kinky friends as support. Brat shenanigans are to be expected, starting with an Easter Egg Hunt—that has a twist—and continue until they’re off on their Caribbean cruise.

I could admit, when my boyfriend and I finally got together with our Master and Daddy Dom, I’d thought that this was it. I was going to cruise through the rest of my life high on love.

Six months later, I knew that the reality of a happily ever after was much more complex, messy, and beautiful. I learned to see it in the little things. Like in the smiles between Master and Daddy that whispered of their thirty-year-long friendship, in how my boyfriend lit up when he got a new stuffie, and in how we painted the walls of our home with all the raw emotions life brought. I saw it in the way our dynamics evolved, how we truly were four parts of a whole, and how we overcame obstacles.

We did have one obstacle we couldn’t postpone any longer. My boyfriend still hadn’t told his mother that he wasn’t dating only me. He was dating her ex-husband, the man who’d been his stepfather. We also had to convince our Master to cut down on work because he was stressing himself out, and his blood pressure was already high.

Then one night, I lost my footing when he collapsed and an ambulance drove off with him.

We couldn’t be us without him. If one was missing, we were just…parts.

____

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.

The characters in the Game Series cross over in multiple books, as we follow not only new love interests but the background friendships and dynamics of a thriving kink community. This is the second story that follows KC, Noa, Cam, and Lucian. Parts of Us is best enjoyed if you’ve read Doll Parts first.

Amazon – All Regions

Settle in everyone. This book is thick.

Obligatory you really should read at least Doll Parts first, but if you don’t, you’ll figure it out. Plus there are A LOT of characters from across this whole series and most of them make appearances. Just fyi.

Last we saw Lucian he was grabbing his chest and people were calling 911. Seriously, Cara Dee left us hanging like that. Mean. And then made us wait through other books! Super mean. But this book brings us Lucian’s recovery and with that, he kind of falls in love with his men, and they him, all over again. Swoon.

The fallout from Lucian’s health scare lead to some trust issues, Owner/slave issues, what role do I play issues and “who am I now” issues. There is a good focus on how something like that affects other people- especially those closest to you.

Noa has also run out of excuses to talk to his mother about his relationship with KC. So that’s a thing and more fallout to deal with.

We also get some flashback scenes with Lucian and KC and I LOVED them. I love the dynamic these two have so seeing where it came from was super fun.

Now here’s where I complain. A little. I think this book should be been broken into at least two. Once Lucian is on the slow road to recovery and the foursome has mostly gotten their feet back under them, everyone goes back to McLean House for fun and games. And while that did allow some more introspection by Lucian and some wise words from founders, it just didn’t feel like they should be there yet. I think they needed more alone time first. I wanted to see them make the changes in their house to make it more HOME. I wanted to see them give up the condo. I wanted to see what would drawn Lucian in as a hobby now that he wasn’t working.

That is not to say I didn’t enjoy that story line and that part of the book. I did. And trust me, I don’t think there is another author who can write such a creative “multiple partner” (yanno, the O word. The other O word) scene that makes sense and it’s not just a crazy free for all pile of bodies. It’s almost poetic in it’s fluidity.

And that brings us to the epilogue. And I am sure there is a method to her madness (I say that with love) but it wasn’t an epilogue so much as a very long beginning to the next book.

It was worth the wait, even though I hate waiting.

4 pieces of eye candy

Until We Meet Again (Roosevelt College book 2) by Christina Lee: New Release Review

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Bruce “Bones” Lanning and Emil Ettinger had a decent roommate arrangement at Roosevelt College—other than Bones leaving his dirty socks lying around—so they agree to share the same space again. Their relationship has always been ridiculous banter and competitive streaks, and they assume this year will be the same.

So why are they suddenly enjoying nights holed up in their room together?

Bones can’t figure out what’s changed, why he likes being around Emil so much and why he’s suddenly falling asleep in Emil’s bed. And as far as Emil knows, Bones is straight, so why does he seem jealous when Emil arranges a random hookup, then asks all sorts of questions about what it’s like to kiss another guy?

To put an end to his roommate’s endless queries, Emil kisses Bones, convinced he’s just goofing around. But one encounter leads to another, until Emil begins seeing Bones in a different light. Underneath the clueless, carefree facade lies a deeper emotional underpinning that allows Emil to become more vulnerable too—and maybe even admit that spending time with his roommate is the best part of his day.

Still, Emil isn’t about to become another jock’s experiment, so he makes it clear that their hookups are totally casual. Until they’re not.

*TW: References to the death of a sibling

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

If ever there was a character with golden retriever energy, it’s Bones. College football player, unknown direction for a major, no long term relationships AND living up to the pedestal his parents put his dead brother on.

Emil is pretty much the opposite. Knows what he wants to do, plays in the marching band, also a dancer, would love a boyfriend and an only child who’s parents adore him but don’t push.

Which is why after freshman year rooming together they decide to room together again. Because even though they shouldn’t get along, they do.

You know where this is going, right? But it’s cute. So cute. Especially since they already lived together for freshman year so they aren’t strangers. And Bones is one of those guys who is trying to do better after knowing better. Like when his teammate came out last year (book 1, XOXO, you know you wanna). So he checks himself. He recognizes that just because people are different from him doesn’t mean, literally, anything to him. But it’s cool to see someone actually making an effort.

Experimenting turns into fwb turns into more. All while navigating school and football and marching band and families. Emil is so great as a quiet support system for Bones when he needs it.

These guys were super adorable both together and when they were with their friends. Their budding relationship seemed very natural and didn’t offer those “omg we will be together forever and ever” thing that often makes me roll my eyes.

So although Bones has a sticky family situation, most of the book is pretty light hearted and easy reading. Perfect story for sitting on the couch with hot chocolate when it’s cold out.

4 pieces of eye candy