4 stars

Find Me: An Omegaverse Story (Finding Free Book 4) by A.M. Arthur: New Release Review

February 3, 2020 by Denise

Layne Higgs grew up with a clear plan for his future: find his bondmate, mate during heat, and raise a family with the same love and devotion his parents showered on him. Until two years ago, he never anticipated that future would be with his best friend-now-boyfriend Peyton, and Layne has never been happier. Then an unexpected, impossible pregnancy obliterates everything Layne knows about himself as an omega.

Peyton Tovey has lived his entire life on borrowed time and that time is running out. With a baby on the way, Peyton agrees to participate in a risky gene therapy trial to save his life and give him the future he wants with Layne and their son. But the cost of the trial is more than anyone anticipates, and to have their happy future, Peyton and Layne will both have to find their way back to each other—or lose everything.

FIND ME is the fourth book in the “Finding Free” omegaverse series, which is a spin-off of the fan-favorite “Breaking Free” series. This is an original universe featuring mpreg, A/B/O dynamics, heats, knotting and an alpha-dominated society that is starting to see advances in omega rights. Content warnings for dark themes apply. Please see interior book blurb for an additional, spoilery warning.

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Oh man I have been waiting for this story. So yes, you really need to read the other books. Since book 6 of the previous series, Feel, I have been waiting for this story. In Feel, Peyton was a child newly diagnosed with a disease that would likely kill him by the time he was 25. And then Demir, a beta still a teenager himself, decided that he would become a doctor to go into research for the specific purpose of curing the disease so Peyton wouldn’t die.

For several books, Peyton and his disease have been in the background. Often mentioned, but never the main focus of the story. This spin off series dealing with the children of the men in the first book focuses more on not only Peyton and his disease, but his best friend Layne. And then we watch their relationship morph in the previous book. And now. NOW! FINALLY! Not only the love story of Peyton and Layne, but also that horrible third wheel, Donal Syndrome.

Think you’re going to get a tidy little wrap up of this story? HA! You don’t know this author very well.

There were so many gasps, tears and smiles. My heart broke over and over again. Things I never expected to happen. I mean, there were parts that my mouth was just hanging open.

We do, ultimately, get to witness the happily ever after, with a few adjustments.

My only real critique is that there are SO many characters, the author takes the time to explain who they are and how they fit and any important plot points regarding them we need to know. So yes, this makes it easier for people who haven’t read all of the books or don’t remember everything, but it gets a bit tedious. Those paragraphs are easy enough to skim over though.

This was, by far, my favorite of this spin off series. I feel like through it all Peyton and Layne were the central couple before they were even a couple. Everyone was rooting for them. And we got our pay off.

4 Pieces of Eye Candy

Loose Ends (Badlands Book 4) by Morgan Brice: Exclusive Guest Post, Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

January 31, 2020 by Denise

As a deadly trap closes around them, can Simon and Vic tie up the loose ends to stop the threat, or will they become the newest ghosts of the Grand Strand?

Cold cases, old enemies, ex-lovers, and vengeful spirits are making life dangerous for psychic medium Simon Kincaide and his boyfriend, homicide detective Vic D’Amato.

The ghosts of Myrtle Beach are restless, trapped by love, secrets, scandals, and spells, keeping Simon busy protecting the living from the unhappy dead. Someone from Vic’s past is out to destroy him and everyone he holds dear, and the high-profile trial of the first case Simon and Vic worked together puts them in the spotlight—and put a target on their backs. As a deadly trap closes around them, can Simon and Vic tie up the loose ends to stop the threat, or will they become the newest ghosts of the Grand Strand?

Loose Ends is an urban fantasy MM paranormal romance with spooky supernatural suspense, hot sex, hurt/comfort, feisty friends, found family, ghosts galore, and dark magic. It is part of a series but can be read as a standalone and features an evolving, established romantic relationship with all the feels. Intended for readers 18 years of age and older.

Book Title: Loose Ends (Badlands Book 4)

Author: Morgan Brice

Cover Artist: Natania Barron

Release Date: December 30, 2019

Genre/s: Urban Fantasy, MM paranormal romance

Trope/s: Spooky supernatural suspense, hurt/comfort, dark magic.

Themes: Trust, loyalty, commitment, partnership

Heat Rating: 4 flames

It is part of a series but can be read as a standalone and

features an evolving, established romantic relationship with all the feels.

Intended for readers 18 years of age and older.

Length: 62 000 words/ 220 pages

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The Pros/Cons Of Established Couples By Morgan Brice

Romance seems split between series that follow an established couple, and series in which each book highlights a new couple falling in love. I love both kinds of books as a reader, and as a writer, I see pros and cons to both.

So far, all three of my urban fantasy MM paranormal romance series focus on couples in established, evolving relationships. One big reason is because the series also focus on solving mysteries/crimes as well as on the dynamics of the couple involved, so there’s more to each book than how to get the main characters to fall in love (which happens in the first of each series).

I also have been salty for years about the so-called ‘Moonlighting Effect’. A 1980s TV show had two characters who finally ended the sexual tension to get together and then the show got cancelled, and ever since, scriptwriters believe they have to keep breaking couples apart to keep us ‘interested’. I think established couples can be very interesting, especially if they are growing personally and as a couple as the story progresses. As someone who’s been married for a long time, I can attest that there is plenty of story gold in the ups and downs of figuring out how to evolve as both an individual as a couple. And I like to read about characters who share that dynamic of my own life.

At the same time, I understand the appeal of reading about a new couple in each book, to get that rush and uncertainty of discovery and falling in love. It’s lots of fun to meet the relatives and friends of the characters as they find their perfect partner, and get cameo glimpses of prior couples as the series moves on. Having a different couple in each book suits certain types of stories better than others, and I have some new series in mind that will probably follow this pattern.

Of course, while the upside to having a different couple in each book is that readers repeat that emotional rollercoaster of falling in love, the downside is that once the couple gets their happily ever after, we don’t get to have more stories about them. That’s very frustrating for me as a reader when I really connect to a character or couple. I want to know more!

Ultimately, the love story has to work for the type of overall tale being told. My hope is that you’ll fall in love with my characters as they fall in love with each other, and want to continue the ride!

“I’ve been poking around on the Buccaneer story since the place shut down,” Josh said. “My team’s visited probably a dozen times. Plus, I knew people who worked on the construction and dismantling, and who ran the rides when it was open.” He leaned forward, dropping his voice. “They won’t talk on the record, or to the police, but I’ve heard all their stories. And the rumors that got out? They’re just a fraction of how fucked up that place was.”

Simon sat back in his chair, settling his lanky body and long legs as best he could. He warmed his hands on the hot paper cup and tucked a strand of long chestnut hair behind one ear. “Tell me.”

“One of my sources was a crane operator when they were installing the Riptide Roll steel coaster,” Josh confided. “He saw one of the workmen fall from the top of the first hill when they were assembling the ride. Says the guy died on impact. The company paid to hush it up. Same thing happened when another worker was crushed to death. A load of steel pipe shifted, and he ended up underneath it.”

“Jesus.”

“That’s not all of it. The place was only open for barely two seasons, but the ride operators had stories that would curl your hair. Riders got whiplash, one girl lost a couple of fingers, and a kid died from head injuries when his ride car came loose and crashed. Not to mention the operator who got electrocuted when he had to run his ride in the rain.”

“If the owners had to cover all that up, no wonder they went bankrupt,” Simon said, shaking his head. “I can’t believe they didn’t get shut down.”

“Their rides continued to pass inspections from the state office—or maybe someone got paid off. Still, they closed suddenly before the end of their last season,” Josh said. “Whistleblowers went to the media. The situation was going to be ugly. But then it turned out to be even worse.”

Simon remembered the end of the story. Investors clamored for their money back when the park abruptly shut down, only to find out that the accounts were empty, the books had been cooked, and the profits were never real. Before it could turn into a media circus and authorities asked for serious jail time, Ellington killed himself, and Stevens skipped town.

“Any clue about who’s haunting the place?”

Josh chewed on his lip and looked at Simon. “I was hoping you’d come over with us this afternoon and help me figure that out. I’m doing my best to learn, but my skills aren’t as powerful as yours, and I don’t know how to really use them. I can sense when spirits are nearby, and I see them better than the average person, but having a conversation is beyond what I can do.”

This series is definitely out of my normal wheelhouse. I’ve read all of them, and this might be my favorite since Book 1. Because like all romance novels, we saw a lot of connection between the established couple. You can’t have a romance if you don’t have two (or more) characters connecting and finding their HFN/HEA. And Simon and Vic have been doing that all along.

This book though, I thought, gave such a strong tug on the heartstrings from an emotional standpoint. It really spent a good portion of the book (or at least when there wasn’t some villain trying to step where they shouldn’t) on showing how the relationship between Simon and Vic has developed, how they feel about each other, and, because I love my HEA, where it was headed. 🙂

It’s so rare to be able to continue to see how a couple you fell in love with handle their everyday lives, as well as when trouble rears its ugly head. And now four books plus later, we are still seeing this.

I don’t know if Morgan Brice does a lot of research or just has a bit of crazy brain, but the things she comes up with for the supernatural elements are insane (in a very good way!), and bring such a special touch to the books. As an example, there is a part in the book when one of Simon’s friends is helping to deal with a paranormal issue, and Simon brings a long list of things, some of which I recognize the names of, some could be made up, or maybe researched and added in. Either way, it adds a sense of realistic need for the items, and their usage.

Vic, well, his sweetness showed itself again. He is devoted to Simon, and has been since practically day one. All he wants to do is make sure Simon has all the happiness he desires, and Vic will do what he can to make sure that happens. So sweet!

Anyway, another winner for me. 4 pieces of eye candy

Morgan Brice is the romance pen name of bestselling author Gail Z. Martin. Morgan writes urban fantasy male/male paranormal romance, with plenty of action, adventure and supernatural thrills to go with the happily ever after. Gail writes epic fantasy and urban fantasy, and together with co-author hubby Larry N. Martin, steampunk and comedic horror, all of which have less romance, more explosions. Characters from her Gail books make frequent appearances in secondary roles in her Morgan books, and vice versa.

On the rare occasions Morgan isn’t writing, she’s either reading, cooking, or spoiling two very pampered dogs.

Series include Witchbane, Badlands, and Treasure Trail. Watch for more in these series, plus new series coming soon!

Read a copy of my Badlands short story Restless Nights here for free

Social Media Links

Facebook Group | Pinterest (for Morgan and Gail) | Twitter: @MorganBriceBook

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Earnest Ink by Alex Hall: Book Blast, Excerpt and Review

January 28, 2020 by Denise

While twenty-year-old FTM Hemingway is making an excellent living as a tattoo artist in a near-future version of Hell’s Kitchen, the rest of the country is splintered and struggling in the wake of a war gone on for too long. Technology has collapsed, borders rise and fall overnight, and magic has awakened without rhyme, reason, or rule, turning average unwitting citizens into wielders of strange and specific strands of magic.

Hemingway’s particular brand of magic has made him a household name. Not only is he a talented artist, but his work comes to life. Literally.

When NYC’s most infamous serial killer—the East River Ripper—abducts Hemingway’s best friend, Grace, he has only days to save her. Hemingway teams up with his stoic cop roommate to hunt for the killer and rescue Grace before she becomes the Ripper’s latest victim. But as the duo chase clues to the serial killer’s identity, Hemingway begins to fear the magic he and the Ripper share might eventually corrupt him too.

Book Title: Earnest Ink

Author: Alex Hall

Publisher: Nine Star Press

Published: October 14, 2019

Cover Artist: Natasha Snow

Genre/s: Queer Spec Fic, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Thriller/Suspense

Trope/s: Found family

Themes: Mystery/adventure

Heat Rating: 1 flame

Orientation: Asexual, Pansexual

Identity: Cisgender, Trans

Warning: Depictions of Trauma, Blood, Violence, Murder, Eating disorders, Body hatred, Transphobia, PTSD, War

Length: 72 100 words/244 pages

It is a standalone book.

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I work without speaking because that’s the way I prefer it. The vibration of my machine, the softer buzz of the fluorescent lights overhead, the tap of my foot on the pedal—it’s the best music in the world.

When I hit a ticklish spot, the girl I’m working on gasps, jolting in my chair.

“Don’t move,” I say. And then, with a salesman’s false cheer: “Almost done!”

The girl is sweating down the crook of her neck. She’s got silver glitter paint on her eyelids and cheeks, a new fashion trend I just can’t quite get behind. Under my lights the mix of perspiration and makeup looks like a blurry constellation.

She wanted a bee inked onto her collarbone, one of those tiny honeybees you find on good tequila bottles. Easily done, and she met the cash requirement. She’s eager, nervous, and breathing in and out in little puffs.

I can’t remember her name, but that’s fine. Customer relations is Eric’s job.

There’s another kid leaning over my glass counter, watching eagerly as I work. “Does it hurt?” he asks. “When the magic happens?”

The bee’s fat yellow thorax wriggles from side to side as it begins to wake, fighting the pressure of my needle, hungry for life.

“It looks like it hurts,” the kid says. I ignore him.

One minute more and—thanks to my peculiar magic—this bee will fly free.

I’m perched on a swivel stool, a wet paper towel in my hand to wipe away ink. It’s too hot in my studio, even with the industrial fans whirling overhead and the door propped wide open. Evening light slants in through the door and the north-facing, floor-to-ceiling window panes that look out onto West Forty-Sixth. It’s muggy, too warm for New York in October, and all of Hell’s Kitchen is wilting, including my client.

“What does it feel like?” the kid demands. He’s leaving greasy fingerprints on the surface of the glass as he strains to get a better look at what I’m doing. I study him out the corner of my eye, wiping sweat off my nose with the back of my wrist before it drips on my customer. He looks like one of the street punks who have taken to running in packs near the cruise terminals, sleeping in old, abandoned cargo containers and panhandling up and down the marina.

He’s skinny and tall, hair dyed an unsettling violet and styled into spikes all over his head. He’s got a silver ring in his septum and more hoops in his ears; his eyelashes are coated with purple mascara to match his hair. Green glitter paint sparkles on his lids. His T-shirt and jeans are torn and dirty, and he’s got a pack of black-market cigarettes rolled into one sleeve against his upper arm.

I am trying to branch out more. Take on a book to review that maybe I normally wouldn’t automatically reach for.

Earnest Ink is not a book I would automatically grab. It is a dystopian serial killer mystery. And I am glad I took a chance. In fact, I want more.

The blurb says Hemingway is a FTM trans tattoo artist. Honestly, except for representation, him being trans has no bearing on the story at all. There are a few passages throughout the book about it, but it isn’t an overall theme at all.

Instead the themes are serial killers, magic, friendship and a really messed up world post- World War III.

The East River Ripper kills on a schedule. He is very methodical about kidnapping someone, holding them for a few days, using magic to literally suck the life out of them before slicing their throats and throwing them in the river.

Hemingway almost seems like a bystander in this story that is at it heart, his. He just wants to create art. His magic turns his tattoos three dimensional. But he is sucked into this murder mystery by his roommate who is obsessed with it since her brother became a victim. And because there aren’t a lot of people out there with magic and they are under the watchful eye of the government.

The first 25% at least of the book was world building, but much of it seemed self indulgent. Prose with fifty cent words to describe a scene on the street. It got to be a bit much. But after that we got more into the different characters and the meat of the story.

And it was a good story. Well thought out with interesting characters that didn’t just take up page space. I actually wanted more story behind what exactly happened to the United States that fateful day that changed everything. Instead of describing the entire trip to meet his therapist, more time on what actually happened to leave the country in a shambles.

But don’t take that to mean I didn’t like the book. Because I did, very much. It was so different from anything I’ve read. Once I really got into it (past that first 25ish%) I didn’t want to put it down.

If you are a fan of dystopian, you will really like this. Even if you aren’t, give it a chance.

4 Pieces of Eye Candy

Sarah Remy/Alex Hall is a nonbinary, animal-loving, proud gamer Geek.

Their work can be found in a variety of cool places, including HarperVoyager, EDGE and NineStar Press.

Author Links

Blog/Website | Twitter: @sarahremywrites

Pretty Perfect (Boys in Makeup Book 1) by Christina Lee and Riley Hart: New Release Review

January 28, 2020 by Denise

Jesse
After spending the first part of my life trapped in a small town where it wasn’t okay to be a makeup-wearing boy who liked boys, I swore I’d leave and never be anything but loud, proud, and unapologetically me. I’ve kept that promise. I’m following my dreams, have an apartment with my bestie, and get to dance my nights away at one of the hottest gay bars in Portland.

The only downfall is Dane, the sexy bartender with a perma-scowl always aimed my way. The tension between us is so strong that even the clubgoers notice, and they eat that stuff up. Our boss makes us dance on the bar together every Friday night. I might shake my booty a little more with Dane just because I love getting under his skin. It’s not my fault he doesn’t know how to have any fun…but I kind of want to teach him.

Dane
I got burned bad by my last boyfriend. Thankfully, my sister, Bree, and my niece, Hailey, make my days a whole lot brighter. I’m getting back on my feet, including a decent job as a bartender. But working in a gay club makes it harder to keep to myself. No way do I want to get reeled in by another charming, pretty face and get hurt again, and definitely not by someone like Jesse, whose audacity frustrates me to no end.

So why do I want to shove him against the wall and screw that boldness right out of him?

Only…sometimes he’s pretty sweet, especially with Hailey. As we go from enemies to angry hookups to friends, our feelings are changing and moving into uncharted territory. This can’t go anywhere. Jesse and I are like oil and water; we just don’t mix…right?

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Did you see that cover? And it is my my favorite author collaboration- Christina Lee and Riley Hart. I don’t know what it is but these two write as one. I cannot tell that two authors wrote this book. The voices are seamless.

So, yes, the cover sucked me right in. I am a sucker for men in make up. And I love the juxtaposition of him wearing his hair in a crew cut. Jesse is a complex character who comes off as a flighty go go dancer, but he has so many layers. Above all he is just a charismatic guy who draws people in. Not many can resist Jesse. He is just that guy you can’t help but like.

Dane, at first, only sees that top layer. But Jesse keeps pushing his buttons until he caves. And it still takes him a while to throw away all of his preconceived notions about Jesse.

Add in a cute kid, a shy roommate, parents who try to understand but just can’t and mix it with a healthy dose of guilt- you’ve got a good story.

Dane has a great relationship with his sister and niece. Although they lost their mother years ago, they aren’t defined by that at all.

Jesse’s parents, on the other hand, broke my heart. They still loved Jesse but him being queer really warred with their beliefs. They were pretty isolated, owning a working a farm, so they really had no experience with queer people. But they really wanted to try. That was just so heartwarming.

I can’t WAIT for book 2, which shows you not only how much I enjoyed this book, but how much they could make me care about a secondary character and wanting his happily ever after.

4 Pieces of Eye Candy

Adam Bomb by Kilby Blades: Exclusive Author Interview, Excerpt and Release Day Review

January 23, 2020 by Denise

We love it when authors stop by TCO to talk about their latest releases (or even old releases!), and I’m very excited to have Kilby Blades stop by and talk about her latest release, Adam Bomb. I kept putting off reading this book, not because I didn’t want to read it, but because I was a little too excited to read it, and wanted to allow myself to relax a little and take the time to enjoy it. 🙂 And the author interview that Kilby has below hits on a topic that was very prevalent in the book, the heritages of these two very different, but so compatible men. With two heritages that are just not seen often in romance novels, it was fantastic to see how they were able to integrate their worlds. Take a peek and let us know what you think!

Levi Cossio’s best friend Adam has always been larger than life: a smoking-hot billionaire hotelier whose charm can bend the world to his whim. When New York City stops being big enough for both of them—at least if Levi ever wants to fall out of love with Adam—he leaves it behind for a job in in San Francisco.

But when Adam pulls an Adam—upending the calm new life Levi has come to love with a plea to lend his talent to a worthy cause—Levi is helpless to resist. Adam will be the first Fortune 100 CEO to come out of the closet on a grand scale. He needs a trusted ally on his PR team. Levi is a lauded portrait photographer. And the job will only last three weeks.

Levi accepts on one hidden condition: he’ll keep his new friends away from Adam, certain that if they get a whiff, they, too, will fall under Adam’s spell. Bent on keeping his two lives separate, Levi barely makes it through the first two weeks unscathed—and then Adam drops another bomb….

Title: Adam Bomb
Author: Kilby Blades
Series: Moguls, Royals, and Rogues
Release Date: January 21, 2020
Category: Contemporary Romance, Dreamspun Desires, Bisexual, Gay
Pages: 240

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Q: So your heroes are named Levi and Adam. Can you describe them for us, physically? You know…not that we care whether they’re hot.

Kilby: (Laughs). Well they are hot and I’d date both of them, ideally at the same time. Levi’s the one on the cover of the book. He’s got hazel eyes and a cropped beard and this really silky hair that kind of falls in front of his eyes and that he’s always pushing back so he can look through the view finder of his camera (he’s a photographer). Adam is an inch or two taller, so about six-foot-two. He’s also got dark hair and he vacillates between being clean shaven and letting it go until he has a little sexy stubble, but he also has a dimple that Levi really loves. Adam’s other distinctive feature are his golden eyes.

Q: Can you say more about heritage? The two heroes in Adam Bomb have backgrounds that are seldom represented in romance. How did you come up with their characters?

Kilby: Levi’s parents are from Argentina, but Levi himself has never been to Argentina; that circumstance—as well as South American identity—aligns to my own family ties. Adam’s parents are from Iran and his ethnicity is Persian Jewish. His family is loosely based on the family of a friend of mine. Being raised by driven, ambitious immigrant parents explains the parallels in some of their world views. But a lot of the tension between them comes from the inevitable encroachment of their class differences. Their dynamic is one I’ve personally lived. They’re dealing with some layered issues related to that.

Q: Uh-oh. Adam Bomb sounds angsty. Is it?

Kilby: There’s no high angst on the page. Actually, there are a lot of funny parts because Adam and Levi are best friends of twenty years, so they’re half-old married couple, half-bro banter and they really enjoy one another. The chemistry is really fun. Still, Levi is desperately trying to fall out of love with Adam and when he makes the unilateral decision to move to San Francisco, it forces both of them to talk about what it means for their friendship.

Q: Let me get this straight: Levi is in love with Adam so he moves away from where Adam is? How does this remotely make sense?

Kilby: (Laughs). It’s an act of self-preservation. Not only is Levi in love with Adam—Levi has been in love with Adam for ten years. He’s never going to tell Adam because he’s not willing to risk losing their amazing friendship in case things get weird. And he’s also realized he can never get over Adam if they live in the same city. Adam has been away from the U.S. for nine months because he was running the Tehran hotel. When the story starts and Adam announces he’ll be there for an extended stay, it upsets the cocoon of psychological safety Levi has built. That’s where the title comes from: Adam Bomb.

Q: So Adam Bomb means that Adam’s return is running, or, “bombing” Levi’s plan?

Kilby: Adam has a big personality and he has a tendency to disrupt. Levi has a tendency to get steamrolled by Adam. But it’s more nuanced than that—Adam isn’t a heartless, oblivious dick and Levi isn’t a shrinking violet. Like a lot of relationships, it’s complicated 🙂

Three things happened to Levi every time he saw Adam: anticipation prickled his neck, he quelled the impulse to wet his lips, and his dick got a little hard. Then there was the tunnel vision thing—the way that, when Adam walked into a room, noises dulled and periphery faded for a pregnant moment and there was no one but the two of them.

They weren’t alone, of course. Adam was never alone. Today, a gaggle of smartly dressed flight attendants flocked around him.

“Fucking Adam,” Levi muttered. Even as he shook his head, Levi’s lips curved into a smile. Adam didn’t notice him at first. But that was the way it always was—Adam busy noticing whoever’s pheromone he liked best, and bystanders busy noticing Adam.

Levi had forgotten how comical it could be. Adam had that kind of charisma. When he walked into a room, records scratched to astonished silence, and people stopped what they were doing to look. Levi had seen babies stop crying to smile at him and fierce-looking dogs leave their masters’ sides to be petted by this man. It wasn’t just Levi. Everyone was attracted to Adam.

Recollection of what a nuisance Adam’s ridiculous magic could be didn’t stop Levi’s grin from widening. The man was a golden-eyed god. He had his Iranian-born parents to thank for regal bone structure, pouty lips, and luminous, polished-bronze skin. Levi appreciated Adam’s utter perfection as a specimen of the male ideal just as much as anyone else. But unlike everyone else, Levi saw Adam for more than sex on legs. Levi knew his heart. They’d known one another since they were boys.

“Come out with us tonight.” A flight attendant in a dark pencil skirt suit smiled with suggestive lips painted in the same shade of vermilion as the ascot around her neck.

“Sorry, babe… I got plans.” Adam said it with a billion-dollar smile. She leaned in and gazed at him dreamily, as if he’d just invited her to join him in a suite at the Kerr instead of turning her down flat. Adam was the only person Levi knew who could hand someone a steaming, stinking shit burger and have the person he served it to beg him for more.

And just like that, Adam’s gaze slid right to Levi—with precision—as if he’d known where Levi stood all along. Adam kept walking, never missing a beat, disentangling both women from beneath his arms.

“Sonofabitch,” Adam said, the corner of one lip quirking into a smile and his eyes glowing soft embers as he looked at Levi; it was a frat boy thing to say, but Adam was kind of a bro. Adam threw his arms around Levi and they shared a bear of a long hug.

“I missed you, brother,” Adam murmured a second before releasing his embrace and holding Levi by the shoulders, at arm’s length. He said it with earnest intensity that got Levi every time.

I waited a bit to read this book, for several reasons. I was a little too excited to read it, because I knew it had many elements that I love, and I wanted to give myself time to chill out and read it with that mindset. But also, sometimes when you are too excited, there’s a concern that a book is bound to let you down. I shouldn’t have been concerned. The author absolutely didn’t let me down.

As this is a category romance, it had one of the classic tropes of unrequited love. And poor Levi, he had it BAD! He loves his best friend, and he’s in love with his best friend. And he’s not willing to risk his best friend in order to love him by being physically close to him. He knew he needed to keep his distance, so that he had a chance to find a life that didn’t revolve around his love for Adam. I was very impressed with what he did. He was confident, moved himself across the country, took his career to new heights, and was able to make new friends, and a new life for himself that did not include Adam.

Until Adam decided to insert himself there. And so the story begins. 🙂

Adam was definitely a force to be reckoned with. That much personality is hard to come up against and come out the other side feeling like you are not second best. Levi did a great job of doing that, and trying to keep his two lives separate was his mental way of keeping that in place. However, Adam being Adam, he did not allow that for long. 🙂

I loved that their heritages were a huge part of who they were, and ones that are rarely represented in any romance genre, much less m/m romance. However, it wasn’t everything about them, even as some of their motives were driven by their heritages.

The author broke the book into four parts (more three in my eyes, but who am I? 🙂 ) and it was definitely relevant to how the book played out. This isn’t often done, but it provided the reader with the opportunity to see how things evolved during the course of the changing of these two best friends relationships.

This easily could have been way more angsty, but by it being a category romance, I’m glad it was fairly low angst. Levi loved his best friend, just as much as he was in love with him. He never wanted to change him, just to change how they loved each other. With Adam, the type of person he was, that easily could have been a huge issue. That is a lot of personality to go up against.

Overall, I recommend it, especially if you love the trope of unrequited best friend love. That is on the mark 100%.

4 pieces of eye candy

Kilby Blades is a 40-time-award-winning author of Romance and Women’s Fiction. Her debut novel, Snapdragon, was a HOLT Medallion finalist, a two-time Publisher’s Weekly BookLife Prize Semi-Finalist, and an IPPY Award medalist. Kilby was honored with an RSJ Emma Award for Best Debut Author in 2018, and has been lauded by critics for “easing feminism and equality into her novels” (IndieReader) and “writing characters who complement each other like a fine wine does a good meal” (Publisher’s Weekly).

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Jeremiah (High Rise) by Jayce Ellis: New Release Review * 2

January 21, 2020 by Denise

Jeremiah Stewart’s sexuality is no one’s business. Not that he’s hiding it. When—if—he finds the right one, he’ll absolutely introduce him to Mom. But a late-night brush with a sexy stranger in too much lip gloss has him rethinking nearly everything…

To Collin Galloway, direction is a four-letter word. Sure, he hates his job, he hates living with his parents and he really hates watching everyone move on without him. But he doesn’t know what he wants to do, long-term, and he won’t figure it out by thirsting over Jeremiah, the superhot, superintense paramedic who is suddenly everywhere Collin looks.

When Jeremiah’s faced with losing all he’s worked so hard to build, he reluctantly accepts Collin’s help. They’re both determined to stay professional…which works about as well as either would imagine. But Collin only does closets with clothes, and Jeremiah has to decide if he’s finally found the one worth bringing home to Mom.

This book is approximately 82,000 words

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

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A new to me author that sounded like it had lost of angst. One main character (and cover model) was a person of color, which we need more of please, and sort of an opposites attract vibe going on.

The angst was severely lacking for me.

At 82,000 words, it is a good sized book. So I am wondering how it missed out on so much. It was a good story, but it took too long for secrets to be revealed, I never really got that Collin didn’t feel worthy- I assumed it was shyness, and the tension between Jeremiah and his best friend’s girlfriend didn’t make sense until the end, Just a lot of missed opportunities,

The story that was there was decent. And even though half the book was gone before they got together, they were some of the best sex scenes I have read. Not too long, not repetitive, a bit inventive. Well done there.

The ending was both neat and tidy- as far as the main relationship goes- but also left things unresolved.

Being that this is the start of a series, I will definitely give the next book a chance. I just hope it is meatier.

3.5 Pieces of Candy

This was a new author to me, and looking at the short backlist for Jayce Ellis, she appears to be new as an author. However, I think she did a marvelous job with several different avenues in this book.

First the #ownvoices in this book was fantastic. I could definitely tell the difference between Jeremiah as an African American man and Collin, who was Caucasian. Sometimes in books with MC’s of color, there is not a feeling of a difference, in background, in speech, even in family dynamics, and this author did an amazing job of creating those differences. Yet, in the storyline of the book, that was of little consequence, which I loved as well.

Jeremiah‘s heart was so big, and his love for his family, especially his Mama, it was obvious in everything he did. And yet, knowing that being with Collin was going to cause tension, they could not stay away from each other. It was so sweet.

Collin definitely had some issues to deal with, in regards to his own family, and I never really felt that they were. Meanwhile, there were issues still with Jeremiah that were not resolved to this reader’s satisfaction either. I know that real life doesn’t always work that way, but some were issues that were going to affect Jeremiah’s every day life and feelings with a family he’s always been close with, so I would have liked resolution there.

Jeremiah and Collin did get their HEA, and I would definitely like to read another book from this author to see how she grows as an author.

4 pieces of eye candy