Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

Audio Book

Upside Down by N.R. Walker: Audiobook Review

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Jordan O’Neill isn’t a fan of labels, considering he has a few. Gay, geek, librarian, socially awkward, a nervous rambler, an introvert, an outsider. The last thing he needs is one more. But when he realises adding the label asexual might explain a lot, it turns his world upside down.

Hennessy Lang moved to Surry Hills after splitting with his boyfriend. His being asexual had seen the end of a lot of his romances, but he’s determined to stay true to himself. Leaving his North Shore support group behind, he starts his own in Surry Hills, where he meets first-time-attendee Jordan.

A little bewildered and scared, but completely adorable, Hennessy is struck by this guy who’s trying to find where he belongs. Maybe Hennessy can convince Jordan that his world hasn’t been turned upside down at all, but maybe it’s now—for the first time in his life—the right way up.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Read Erin’s review of the ebook here.
As for the audio…

I am very picky with my narrators. Shocking, right? I know. Glen Lloyd was new to me. I was a bit wary because I am used to Joel Leslie narrating the “not serious” stories NR Walker writes. But let me tell you something. Glen Lloyd NAILED IT.

He absolutely brought the characters to life. He used slightly different voices for Jordan and Hennessy, but nothing over the top or obviously fake. If that makes sense. Jordan was a bit more nasal and Hennessy spoke slower. Jordan also says “motherfucker” a lot in the book. It is a thing. Like a reflex, he can’t NOT say it. And I was waiting for the first one. And the tone was absolutely perfect. He says it almost conversationally, but to himself. So funny.

I really loved this book so when I got my mitts on the audio, it was make or break time. But this absolutely made it. I will definitely listen to this again.

4.5 Pieces of Eye Candy

The Engineer (Magic & Steam, Book 1) by C.S. Poe: Audiobook Review

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1881—Special Agent Gillian Hamilton is a magic caster with the Federal Bureau of Magic and Steam. He’s sent to Shallow Grave, Arizona, to arrest a madman engineer known as Tinkerer, who’s responsible for blowing up half of Baltimore. Gillian has handled some of the worst criminals in the Bureau’s history, so this assignment shouldn’t be a problem. But even he’s taken aback by a run-in with the country’s most infamous outlaw, Gunner the Deadly.

Gunner is also stalking Shallow Grave in search of Tinkerer, who will stop at nothing to take control of the town’s silver mines. Neither Gillian nor Gunner are willing to let Tinkerer hurt more innocent people, so they agree to a very temporary partnership.

If facing illegal magic, Gatling gun contraptions, and a wild engineer in America’s frontier wasn’t enough trouble for a city boy, Gillian must also come to terms with the reality that he’s rather fond of his partner. But even if they live through this adventure, Gillian fears there’s no chance for love between a special agent and outlaw.

Based on the short story, “Gunner the Deadly.” Entirely revised, newly expanded, and Book One in the exciting new steampunk series, Magic & Steam.

Audible

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

I’m slow at audiobooks, even ones that are only 2.5 hours long. But I enjoy them so much. (I wish I could focus on them, while doing other things like working, but sadly, often I can’t). This one took me a little while to listen to simply because I was finishing another, but I loved the book when I read it so much that I knew I had to listen when given the opportunity.

This is a prelude to how these two guys get together, and begin their adventures, and honestly, it’s super cool. Steampunk can be anything you want it to be. So, the author has so many historical references and language, it’s obvious how much research goes into her books (and if you follow her online you know that is the truth). However, then there are all kinds of magical things that very obviously are not from that time, but just make it that much more enjoyable. The descriptions of the train, and all it could do…just fun, loads of fun.

However, the MC’s, they had to feel their way around each other (hahaha literally and figuratively) due to the historical time period, but finally finding what they needed in each other. Yes, there is a small cliffhanger, but this isn’t surprising simply because we know there is a book 2 coming, The Gangster (Magic & Steam Book 2)  (preorder it!) where we get to see exactly what is in store for their impending romance.

This narrator was new to me, Declan Winters. His narration was succinct and appropriate for the time period of the book. I liked his narration, and enunciation, but felt like I needed more energy. That being said, it could very well have been his interpretation of the character of Gillian, who himself was a very serious character.

I’m looking forward to more of Special Agent Gillian Hamilton and Gunner the Deadly, in both visual and audio formats.

Story: 4 pieces of eye candy

Narration: 3.5 pieces of eye candy

Redemption: Second Chance Gay Romance by Garrett Leigh: Audio Book Review

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Reformed gangster Luis falls hard for his boss. When friendship turns to love, it’s up to Paolo to convince him second chances are worth the pain.

Luis Pope is back on the street after a six-year stretch in prison, but life on the outside seems just out of reach, especially when the whole neighborhood knows his face for all the wrong reasons.

Paolo’s temper makes it hard to keep staff, and he knows Luis’ rep all too well. But his nonno believes in redemption, and Luis isn’t the tough guy Paolo remembers. Prison has left its mark, inside and out, and all the kindness in the world can’t fix the three inch scar on Luis’s skull.

And it can’t keep ghosts locked up. Luis is the best worker Paolo’s ever had, and Luis is happier than he’s ever been. But his old life doesn’t want to stay in the past. Trouble comes to call, and when it makes him an offer he can’t refuse, keeping Paolo safe hurts the most.

Redemption is an angsty, stand-alone M/M romance novel, with second chances, found family, friends-to-lovers, and buckets of hurt/comfort themed loveliness.

Audible

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

I read this book and really enjoyed it. As I really enjoy all of Garrett Leigh‘s work. This is my first audiobook by this author. As as much as I really enjoyed the story, the audio was a little above okay for me.

Now, I am picky. If you’ve read my reviews before you know this. I stopped another audiobook less than 5 minutes in because I HATED the voice they gave the main character. This was almost the opposite. There was almost no difference between the characters and how they were read.

I am not expecting an Oscar worthy performance. But there was almost no difference at all between the inflection and accent of Luis and Paolo. In fact, even the narrative was basically the same.

Several secondary characters, like Paolo’s grandfather, had distinctive accents. But he was Italian so he spoke with an Italian accent. Luis’ brother had a bit of a different accent that almost sounded Jamaican to me.

The cadence of the narrator’s speech was very even toned. But Paolo is a hot headed Italian. And the narrator never raises his voice or gives it any inflection. Same with Luis when he was fighting with his brother. Even hot sex scenes were all spoken with the same tone.

Overall, as a story-it is great. The narration is fine. But it definitely did not immerse me in their world and stories like I had hoped.

Story (read original review here): 4 pieces of eye candy

Narration: 3.5 Pieces of Eye Candy

Warrior’s Way: Coulter and Woodard, Book 1 by M.J. Calabrese: Audiobook Review

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Friends since childhood, Albuquerque detective Eagle Woodard and criminal profiler Adam Coulter are dragged into a serial killer case. Gay couples are being murdered and tortured and the FBI needs their help to capture the sadistic murderer.

Deciding to implement a plan to trap the killer, Adam and Eagle go undercover as an involved gay couple. Or is it really pretend?

Faced with their toughest challenge yet, they must find the active serial killer before he strikes again. With the powers that be not cooperating and the killer proving to be elusive, will Eagle and Adam be able to stop the murderer while navigating their changing relationship?

PLEASE NOTE: This is the first book in an ongoing story arc. Although the case is solved, the relationship ends on a cliffhanger. Contains graphic violence and scenes of torture.

Audible

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

There is a lot to unwrap with this first book in the series. I will say, I am very much looking forward to books 2 and 3 to complete (I believe) the series.

Adam and Eagle had been best friends since they were children. Adam is, frankly speaking, a hot mess. I won’t go into it all, as that is an integral part of the book. However, his best friend Eagle doesn’t know that Adam is bisexual, even though they have been living together (as roommates) for several years, since Adam’s last marriage imploded. Eagle, meanwhile, has his head on his shoulders, due to a son he had very young, who helped to get him on the right path.

These two men had at least one “experiment” in their past, that Adam just basically ignored, then never spoke to Eagle about. All the while, Eagle has been in love with is best friend since they were kids. See? Hot mess = Adam. And it only gets worse as the book concludes on a cliffhanger.

The main plot, with the serial murders is intriguing, and very well done. I will warn, there are some graphic descriptions that some readers may not find palatable as they read. It isn’t for the weak of stomach. Very well researched and written, though, so just know you will be drawn in, if you don’t mind reading these descriptions.

Also, be aware this does end on a cliffhanger, sending you right into Book 2.

Nick J. Russo does a great job with his narration, as always, keeping his dialects, and voices distinct, so that the listener can delve even deeper into the story. I always feel that great audio narration creates an even better love for the story, than just reading it. (Of course, the opposite can be true with not as good narration.) Nick does a great job of creating that environment to sink your teeth into that story.

Story: 4.5 pieces of eye candy

Narration: 4 pieces of eye candy

Bitten By Mistake (Regent’s Park Pack Book 1) by Annabelle Jacobs: Audiobook Review

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From animosity to searing passion in a lunar cycle…but can their bond survive?

Wolf shifter Nathan Kohl’s pack is his whole life. Arrogant and handsome, he avoids commitment to anything or anyone outside of his pack. He works hard, plays hard, and pursues humans as lovers because there’s little to no chance of him forming a permanent bond. However, when Jared Taylor comes into Nathan’s life, every rule is broken.

After a bad experience, Jared vowed to never get involved with another shifter, no matter how much they got under his skin. Despite being physically attracted to Nathan, who’s all kinds of hot, Jared only sees an arrogant, domineering bastard.

A disastrous case of mistaken identity throws Nathan and Jared together until the next full moon. Forced to spend the next twenty-eight days in close proximity, they can no longer ignore the powerful attraction between them. Passion ignites, and their relationship takes a turn neither of them wanted.

But when the full moon comes, everything might change again.

Audible

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

The story – The premise of the shifter world started really well. I love any story that has a new twist on a favorite genre of mine. Basically biting humans to change them is illegal and can be a sentence of death, and this happening is the whole focus of the plot. The forced proximity plot on the whole was well handled with a few gross moments I would have been happier to gloss over, and some inconsistencies that weren’t resolved.

I loved that the author didn’t try and force all the backstory on us in one go, but at the same time some of the info was a little too convenient and sometimes lacking.

Having said that this is the start of a series so I’m expecting those questions will be explained in later books.

I liked the action sequences and the hot sex scenes, but I found myself waiting for the emotional attachment that never quite seemed to happen.

The narration – Antony Ferguson is a new to me narrator with a very smooth voice. I would have liked to see some more regional accents in the story. Taking place in London which is a hotbed for different nationalities, I expected a little more than I got. I also sometimes wanted to speed things up a little to get around his careful and sometimes very precise narration.

Story: 3.5 pieces of eye candy

Narration: 3.5 pieces of eye candy

Nothing Special VII: Ex Meridian by A.E. Via: Audiobook Review and Excerpt

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Police Lieutenants, God and Day are under intense pressure from the chief to take back control of Atlanta’s streets. The last thing their task force needs is a pair of trained killers in town with a personal score to settle. 

Take a man and strip him of his ability to feel compassion, empathy, remorse, or any of the emotions that make him human, but leave the ones that ignite rage and aggression and you have the perfect killing machine—now imagine two of them. 

Code names Ex and Meridian are synonymous for ‘guaranteed death’ to international terrorists. Two broken men from the same crooked streets, recruited into an unsanctioned government program that few know about. Trained to operate most efficiently—lethally—together. 

When Ex returns from an op in Bolivia to learn his little brother has been accidentally killed in a feud between drug gangs, he’s stateside before he can consider the rules he’ll be breaking, and of course Meridian is right beside him. There’s mayhem on the streets of Atlanta and the police are losing control. If Godfrey and his elite team of detectives can’t get the job done then they’d be happy to lighten their caseloads for them. And Ex nor Meridian care about doing it quietly. 

“I know who you are.” The man grunted when Ex turned to leave. “You’re the fucking devil.”

Meridian walked past, glaring one final time. “Say that loud enough… maybe God will save you.”

But after their first run-in with the big lieutenant and his protective husband, Day, Ex and Meridian start to reevaluate their own relationship. Wondering if they could be even deadlier if they let loose the feelings for each other that they’ve been forced to suppress for years. 

Meridian’s dark eyes stayed locked on his, “A man who can fight beside the one he loves doesn’t make him weaker, Ex—it makes him more dangerous.”

No multiple pairings. No cliffhangers. Ends with a HEA.
Note: This is a partners-to-lovers, out-for-you, action romance.

Title:  Nothing Special VII: Ex Meridian

Series: Nothing Special

Author: A.E. Via

Genre: M/M Action Romance

Publisher: Tantor

Narrator: Aiden Snow

Length: 9 Hours

Audio Release Date: 07.07.20

Audible

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Neither of them spoke while they ate. Ex never felt the need to fill their long moments of silence with idle words, and his partner wasn’t a big talker. Besides, Ex could enjoy Meridian by him simply being there. His presence was just that powerful. 

“So, what’s next?” Meridian asked after he’d pushed his empty plate to the side. 

Ex drank some of his water, the coolness feeling good to his parched throat, but he wished he had something stronger. He reclined in his seat, mimicking Meridian’s posture and trying to appear casual. 

“First and foremost, we go to Virginia and get our supplies. My contact there is ready for us, we should be in and out,”Ex explained. “Oay night. Of course, flying would be faster but we can better stay under the radar if we avoid TSA. Amtrak will be easiest to transport our cargo as well.”

“Works for me. He knows what we need?”

“Yes. As soon as we get back we can start to have some conversations around town. We’ll backtrack over the task force’s recent arrests and see what we can find. I also wanna keep an eye on that deputy district attorney. Something seems off there to me,” Ex said. 

“Agreed.”Meridian put his cigarette into his mouth and finally lit it. He blew the aromatic smoke away from Ex but he still caught the robust scent of cloves. 

Ex thought the smoking habit was atrocious, but he found he liked it when Meridian did it. The addiction made him seem less programmed. It was something his partner did when he was battling on the inside, and it was also something he only showed Ex. 

Meridian’s eyes were half covered by his long black eye lashes, appearing as if he was enjoying what he was doing. He had one arm braced on the back of the seat and Ex could see the shiny Italian silk lining of Meridian’s jacket and the butt of his chrome Wesson Valor resting against his rib cage.

This story was overwhelming and intense while I was reading it… but hearing it? Experiencing it through this deep voiced narration had me ON EDGE. In the best way of course, but I”ll tell ya, these two make God, Day and their crew of crazies, look like kittens compared to America’s most savage defenders. Ex and his partner Meridian are the types of guys they make movies about. Jason Bourne type of guys, chemically and physically modified to be killing machines for our country. They’re the baddest of the bad, because they’re basically robots… or they should be… but when Ex’s baby brother is killed in God’s neck of the woods, the guys go rogue in order to exact vengeance on his killers. Sounds cray, right?

And oooh, what a ride it is. These two have been through everything together, they’re like two halves of the same person, so naturally, when one wants revenge, the other is at his side. Being off on their own without their handler in their ear, Ex goes through the loss of one of the only few people in the world who ever meant something to him and it was messing with his head. He felt it. Which meant Meridian felt it as well.

It opened up all kinds of feelings he didn’t know he possessed, and the biggest of that, aside from anger, guilt and pure rage at the persons responsible for his brother’s death, is his love and need for his other half. Now, I’m a reader. I read and I narrate in my own mind and it’s good. I think I’ve got a good imagination on a good day… but hearing the emotion and the longing and the torture of doing what you feel you should and doing what you need, and it was a need… I had zero words. It honestly left me speechless and when in the world has that ever happened to me? I’ll tell ya, not often. 

it wasn’t one sided either, which I loved. Mere would do anything for Ex, including this off the radar mission to get justice for Ex’s baby brother. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as getting in, getting messy and getting out… Nay, we were up against dirty DA’s, dirty cops and God and Day’s crew to get around, because as we know, if anything goes on in God’s city, he knows about it and he and his guys go above and beyond to stop it. It was fun to see God’s crew stumped for a change… it made things more exciting, though, it was a lot to handle. They weren’t prepared for how dangerous these guys are at first… And it all plays out like the most gloriously action packed audio.

I wish I could tell you this whole story…but honestly, it needs to be experienced first-hand. We get to see all the guys and their guys, we get the guns and explosions and heart-stopping emotions that I’m just not used to when I’m simply reading myself. It’s about a thousand times more intense because these guys don’t have rules, they don’t have red tape, they don’t have anyone to answer to… not even God and Day and Aiden Snow is a master at conveying every feeling you’re supposed to have and ones you weren’t even ready for. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t even like audio books! I wasn’t converted until I heard this narrator and I swear to you, every time, he’s different. 

And I’m borderline obsessed with these guys…They get in, they get messy and they get out, before anyone even knows they’ve been there. It was impressive and scary and it makes you think about how real these kinds of guys are and how terrifying it would be to come face to face with one, but how badly I want to do it anyway.

What a frickin ride this one. I’m still flummoxed lol I’m impressed and I cannot wait for Fox and Bull. Every book is my new favorite, though I still have such a soft spot for Ruxs and Green, and if you haven’t, you should listen to all of them too.  I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing more of these guys in the future, too, and I am READY for it!

Overall, I wouldn’t suggest skipping any book in this series, but if you do… make sure it isn’t this one. This one deserves all the stars. 

5 pieces of eye candy

A.E. Via has been a best-selling author in the beautiful gay romance genre for six years now, but she’s no stranger to MM. She’s been an avid reader of gay literature for over twenty years before she picked up her laptop to place her own kiss on this genre. She’s also the founder and owner of Via Star Wings Books, having published a couple great, new up and coming MM authors.  

A.E. has a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Virginia Wesleyan College that she used to start her own paralegal firm after she graduated in 2008. She spent five years preparing and filing bankruptcy petitions for struggling blue collar workers who couldn’t afford to file with a lawyer. It was a rewarding and satisfying career… but another path called to her. 

Writing. 

A.E.’s novels embodies everything from hopelessly romantic to adventure, to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths. 

She’s recently celebrated her 20th book anniversary, and is well-known for her hardcore, love hard, bad boy, alphas. However, she does like to push herself to step out of her comfort zone, exploring different tropes. She’s head over heels for gay romance and she has tons of more hot stories to tell.  

Be sure to visit Adrienne on her social media pages and subscribe to her newsletter to never miss another release date! Go to A.E. Via’s official website http://authoraevia.com  for more detailed information on how to contact her, follow her, or a sneak peek at upcoming work, free reads, VSWB submissions, and where she’ll appear next. 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48195130-bishop

Author Official Website: http://authoraevia.com

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