Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

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Hitting Black Ice (Heart and Haven Book 1) by Heloise West: Quick Review

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Shawn is on the run from the law and love, to protect himself and anyone else involved. Until he meets Hunter, and he no longer wants to run.

ER physician’s assistant Hunter guards his heart carefully, but that doesn’t stop him from falling for the temp front desk clerk. He keeps his distance from relationships for a good reason but just can’t help himself when it comes to Shawn.

Forced into a hostage situation, buried passions explode in the aftermath, and sex in the supply closet brings both their hearts back to life. But as they explore their relationship, the past catches up with Shawn.

FBI agent Nick Truman has finally found his man, and when Shawn escapes, he focuses his attention on Hunter. Will Shawn sacrifice himself to save Hunter from the man who framed him for murder?

Amazon

I grabbed this one, because I was intrigued by book 2 which comes out Sunday, Send Lawyers, Guns and Roses, and it appeared that there was going to be some necessary information, that it would not be stand alone. And I was correct. I’m glad that I had the background of book 1 to get me into book 2.

The first 40% or so of this book is told from Hunter’s POV. He has a crush on Shawn, meanwhile Shawn won’t date him, then he will, then he won’t. It’s a bit of a push and pull, that of course ends with them falling in love. After that 40% we learn how Shawn (soon to be known as Alex) ended up in the situation he was in, on the run, fake identity, with an FBI agent trying to kill him.

The story is convoluted, to say the least, and you don’t always know who the good guys are, or who will come out of the woodwork to try to do some damage. I do like a suspense story that weaves in and out. The trip “north” is kind of hilarious how to goes down, I will say that.

I think my biggest issue with the book was these two men were a hot mess, and trying to fall in love while dealing with all that was going on seemed a little too surreal. They really hadn’t known each other long before they started dating/not dating, then Shawn was on the run for a while, and then Nick came to find Hunter. In addition, I will say I was very confused at Shawn heading to Florida, then suddenly delivering a letter directly to Hunter in Mass. That seemed like a huge timeline issue to me.

Overall though, suspense well done, and I could see the upcoming issues for book 2, and looking forward to how they settle themselves into a relationship.

3 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

Wild Sky by Zaya Feli: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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Tauran Darrica has been retired from the Valreus Sky Guard for four years following the Battle of the Broken Wings that resulted in the death of his dragon. Now, all Tauran wants to do is spend his days forgetting the past and gambling his way to an unsteady income.

So when his old general from the Sky Guard hunts Tauran down to request his help with staving off the increasingly aggressive wild dragon population, Tauran refuses. But a fire ruins his rented room and leaves him without a place to stay, and Tauran finds himself on the road to Valreus, after all.

Tauran is determined to stay as far away from dragons as he can get, but a starry-eyed young man from Sharoani, land of the wild dragons, might just ruin his plans.

Kalai Ro-Ani has spent his life watching the stars, knowing he could never reach them.

With his wild dragon Arrow, he sets out for the city of Valreus in the hope of building himself a better future than he could have stuck at the foot of the Kel Visal dragon temples.

But nobody told Kalai that only the Sky Guard is allowed to own dragons, so when Arrow kills a guard in Kalai’s defense, it looks like his adventure might be over before it can begin. But a chance encounter at the old Valreus archive offers Kalai the future he’d been hoping for. In the span of a single day, he has a home, a job, and a purpose.

In Valreus, something much bigger falls into his lap – along with a tall and striking Valrean man with a rather strange disposition.

A new, LGBT+ fantasy story from Zaya Feli, featuring dragons, aerial battles and epic journeys through dangerous wilderness.

WILD SKY by Zaya Feli

Publisher: Self-published

Release Date: Ebook: August 24th | Print: TBD

Length: Ebook: 189,000 words

Subgenre: Fantasy/Romance

Warnings: mentions of symptoms of depression and PTSD. Medicine addiction and withdrawal.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

From the author, Zaya Feli:

The overarching theme is about how healing is possible despite severe damage. That some things may not be fixable, and that simply learning to persevere and find support and happiness where it exists can be enough.

It took Tauran two days to work up the courage to enter the guard grounds.

He knew he was being a coward. That this new place, these new recruits, and the Ground Guard had nothing to do with what had happened at the Solar Tower.

But Tauran’s nerves weren’t so easily convinced.

When he approached the steel gates, he was happy he’d skipped breakfast. He grabbed the string and rang the bell a little too hard.

The hatch in the door opened, and a thankfully unfamiliar face appeared.

“Tauran Darrica,” Tauran said, “here at General Falka’s request.”

The doors swung open with a groan.

And then he was inside.

The atmosphere was such a stark contrast to the gloom brewing in Tauran that he had to pause and take a moment to adjust. It was as if Tauran’s memory of the guard had frozen in the time after the Battle of the Broken Wings, that stunned period full of fear and sorrow and rage.

But in the four years since Tauran had last been surrounded by the guard, it had recovered.

Young recruits ran past him shoulder to shoulder on their way to the first lesson of the day. A pair of older men, captains, judging by their uniforms, sat bent over a table, spending their break playing a game of Isutagi. At a table behind them, a woman with her sleeves rolled up past her elbows focused all her attention on the pistol she was cleaning. Black and copper uniforms dominated the outdoor space. The Ground Guard had always outnumbered the Sky Guard, but the difference seemed even more stark, now.

A brief glimpse of silver caught Tauran’s eye here and there. Messengers, or perhaps weather specialists, on their way to delivering flight reports and air pressure charts.

Tauran took a deep breath of the air inside the grounds and found it didn’t sting as much as he’d feared.

This book (all 764 amazing pages) kept me reading until a ridiculous time in the early hours of the morning to finish. It’s been a while since I  was so engrossed in a story. It kept me glued.

Fantasy at its best, and a new to me author I’m thrilled to discover has a backlist.

Two men. One a washed up permanently damaged ex Dragon rider who’s own Dragon died in a terrible war, and one a young innocent-ish geek who happens to have his own wild dragon currently hidden because in their world, dragons are so rare only properly trained riders are allowed to keep them.

The world building is amazing, the relationship between them and their dragons are wonderful, but this isn’t just a sweet romance.

There is evil, betrayal, enemies where you least expect, a wild dragon egg about to hatch, and problems that seem insurmountable. And not everything is black and white. Expect surprises and plot twists.

This will appeal to fans of Mercedes Lackey, Megann Derr, and C.S. Pacat

Five “Dragon’s teeth” (Sounds better than stars)

Zaya Feli grew up in various small towns in eastern Denmark where she spent most of her childhood and youth daydreaming about strange and incredible fantasy worlds. In 2018, she moved to northern Denmark with her pet snake, Helix, to work as a web developer, and is now dedicating all her free time turning the fantasy worlds inside her head into words and illustrations on the page.

An avid sci fi and fantasy fan since childhood, she also has a deep love for history, archery, nature, language and art.

Zaya Feli released her debut novel, Stag’s Run, in November 2016, and has since released four more full length novels and a short story. Her favourite genres are fantasy and sci-fi with a sprinkle of romance.

Connect with Zaya: Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Website

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Golden Valley (Pack Collection Book 3) by Cardeno C.: Quick Review

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A generous Alpha with a tragic past and a young Omega with hopes for the future overcome mistakes to heal a pack and find happiness together.

Life has thrown more than his fair share of challenges and losses at Alpha Morgan Peters. Despite his pain and disappointment, the shifter picks himself up and does right by his pack. As the years pass, Morgan establishes himself as a leader who is as kind as he is strong and Golden Valley prospers. But it isn’t until an Omega shifter enters his life that Morgan sees hope for a future where he can be more than an Alpha.

When Psi Omega Ricky Marx goes to Golden Valley as a representative of his home pack, he is thrilled to find his mate—the beautiful, powerful Golden Valley Alpha. Unfortunately, their first meeting doesn’t go well, and overwhelmed by his mistakes, Ricky sees no choice but to flee.

Morgan’s past makes him struggle to absorb more loss. Ricky’s youth makes him struggle to find his voice. But if these two shifters can overcome their challenges and come back together, they’ll heal the Golden Valley pack and fulfill their destiny.
Word Count: 41,524

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Somehow Cardeno C makes me read things that I would not normally read, and love them. I don’t normally read shifters, any kind, and yet, when I received this review request, I knew I had to get this one in, and I’m so glad I did.

This story takes place over a longer period of time than might be the case in a “normal” book. Lots of misunderstandings, miscommunications, and loads of longing. I really liked, as the story moved along Ricky becomes even more confident, and determined not to be a pawn in a pack struggle.

Both MC’s are sweet, caring people, who only want the best for everyone, they just didn’t communicate well enough to get to that point for themselves. Ricky choose not to really talk to anyone, which I did find somewhat frustrating, as he had a very supportive group of people behind him.

Overall, really enjoyed this new addition to the series, and loved catching up a bit with previous characters in the series. FYI. This does have mpreg, if that is not quite your thing.

4 pieces of eye candy

Natural Twenty by Charlie Novak: Exclusive Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

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Plants are easier than people—that’s Leo’s rule of thumb. After all, nobody really wants a man who looks like he belongs in a biker gang but would rather spend his time buried in books and flowers. It’s just easier to be single. Until he meets the owner of the new book shop.

Jacob Morris knows two things: he’s really attracted to the man who runs the local flower shop, and he doesn’t date. Not when he’s still healing from a bad breakup, has a new business to run, game nights to organise, workshops to host, and a website to build.

When friendship blooms into something more, Leo and Jay must decide whether to roll the dice and take a chance on love or keep forging ahead on their quests alone. Will their roll yield a one or a perfect, natural twenty?

Natural Twenty is an 80,000-word contemporary MM romance featuring Dungeons & Dragons, secret flower language bouquets, a spoilt Staffy (or two), and a best friend who is basically a gothic prince. It is book one in the Roll for Love series and can be read as a standalone.

Title: Natural Twenty
Author: Charlie Novak
Length: 80k
Series: Roll for Love, Book 1
Genre: Contemporary
Tropes: Nerds, secret flower language bouquets, small-town vibe, shop owners, tattoos

Goodreads

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Jay

I was still half looking at Leo though, and the table slipped from my fingers and dropped onto my foot. “Mother fishcakes!”

I cringed, squeezing my eyes tightly as my toes throbbed. The table wasn’t the heaviest thing in the world, but it had landed awkwardly on my foot, and I was only wearing Vans. I’d always been clumsy as fuck, and my knees were covered in scars from falling over on the playground or out of trees as a kid. It hadn’t gotten any better as I’d gotten older, except these days it was more dropping heavy things onto myself or tripping downstairs. And there’d been one memorable trip to Accident and Emergency when I’d gotten glass in my foot.

“Are you okay?” Leo asked.

“’M fine.” I shoved the table off my toes. “Totally fine.”

“Sit down for a minute.” Leo’s voice was gentle but firm. I opened my eyes to see him standing right in front of me, looking down with eyes full of worry. It was moments like this, when we stood close, that I realised how much taller he was than me. I barely made five foot six on a good day because I was a complete short arse, and Leo must have been well over six feet. My face was eye level with his chest, and I was trying not to focus on the way his body sat under the thick, knitted jumper he was wearing, or how beautifully broad his shoulders were, or how I just wanted him to wrap his arms around me.

Leo put his hand on my arm, gently steering me into a chair before kneeling in front of me. “Is it okay if I take your shoe off?”

“You don’t have to. It’s really not that bad. It just stings a little.” I looked away, trying not to squirm in my seat while my face and neck grew impossibly hot. “I just banged it.”

“True, but I’d rather check they’re not bleeding or obviously broken.”

“Okay.”

Leo gave me a little smile and eased off my shoe. I probably should have been embarrassed I was wearing pink socks with little avocados all over them, but I thought they were cute. Apparently, so did Leo.

“Are those avocados dancing?” He sounded amused as he gently tugged at my sock, and I felt the warm, rough touch of his fingers against my skin. This should not be making me feel the way it did—embarrassed, awkward, and almost turned on. Apparently, my body had decided that any touch from Leo was a good one, even if it came from him trying to check for broken toes.

“Y-yeah. I’ve got another pair with doughnuts on.”

“They’re cute. Like you.” Leo stilled, and my heart stopped. I wanted to say something, but I had no idea what it should be. My brain seemed to have frozen, and all I was getting were fucking error messages.

So cute!

So, okay, I have a thing for big beefy tattooed guys who you think can squish you into little bits if you were to find them in a dark alley somewhere, but are actually romantic softies that wouldn’t hurt a fly. Well, we get that in Leo.
He’s big and intimidating and can be awkward when it comes to socializing and being around people, but he has a big ol soft heart and it’s impossible not to completely fall in love with him from the beginning. Owning a flower shop, he tends to stay behind the scenes when he can, but when a new bookshop opens up down the block, his employee Emily encourages him to take some flowers to the new owners to welcome them to the hood and congratulate them on their grand opening. That’s where he meets Edward and Jay.

Now, Edward, I will say, I was smitten with. I hope he gets his own story next, but Jay completely took Leos breath away and they bonded instantly over books and cosplay and dungeons and dragons. I will admit that I had to skim over all those bits, I haven’t a clue what any of that is, but it was cute to see how excited they all were over it.

The two of them, as well as Edward and Emily and her husband, they all become friends, having bi-weekly I think it was, game nights and stuff… I adored these secondary characters as well, so the fit so well in the stories, I could see where each guy needed them around. With their budding friendship though, it was impossible to not feel the connection between the two, though neither of them were ready for a relationship or to jump into anything. I was glad to see them take it slow, but I definitely wanted to shake them both a couple of times, Jay especially when he tried to push Leo away. He more than sweetly made up for it, but I was rooting for them from the very start.

Because Leo felt awkard and Jay was still healing from a toxic relationship where his ex cheated with his best friend and never even apologized for it, I could understand his hesitation. Being betrayed like that sometimes never heals, but Leo was patient and understanding and sighhh, he was just perfect.

I don’t want to give too much of the story away, I’ve been told recently that I do that and people straight come for me, so I’ll just say…. if you like a slow burn, with friends to lovers, good friends and cute puppy… you will adore this story. I know I did!
I really wanted that ex to get a peek at Jay and Leo and know what he lost and how happy he is without him, but I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next!

4 pieces of candy for me!

Charlie lives in England with her husband and a dachshund named Biscuit. She spends most of her days wrangling other people’s words in her day job and then trying to force her own onto the page in the evening.

She loves cute stories with a healthy dollop of fluff, plenty of delicious sex, and happily ever afters — because the world needs more of them. Charlie also believes that loves comes in all shapes and sizes.

Charlie has very little spare time, but what she does have she fills with cooking, pole-dancing, reading and ice-hockey. She also thinks that everyone should have at least one favourite dinosaur…

Connect with Charlie:

Website: https://charlienovak.com/
Newsletter https://charlienovak.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/charlienovakauthor/
Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/charlie-novak
Twitter https://twitter.com/charlienwrites
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/charlienwrites/
Facebook Group, Charlie’s Angels https://www.facebook.com/groups/charlienovaksangels/

To celebrate Charlie’s new series release, we are giving 2 lucky winners the chance to win an e-copy of Natural Twenty or a $20/£20 Amazon Gift Card & a e-copy of Natural Twenty!

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Truth in the Wind by Diana Waters: New Release Review

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Sometimes the truth can be the hardest thing to find—especially when it comes from within.

Despite the recent loss of his parents, Ash Woodhart is content living with his siblings, deep in the southern countryside of his family’s domain. Ren, an aloof boy with no home and no family, is an intrusion forced on Ash by his eldest brother. Ash dislikes Ren on sight, but as the years pass and the two come to understand each other, his feelings for Ren gradually morph into something more. However, Ren shows no sign of reciprocating those feelings—and as Ash’s recklessness leads him into danger, the truth may come too late.

Book Title: Truth in the Wind

Author: Diana Waters

Publisher: eXtasy Books

Cover Artist: Martine Jardin

Book Release Date: August 7, 2020

Pairing: MM

Genre/s: Fantasy

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 32 000 words / 101 pages

The book is part of a series, but is designed to be read as a standalone piece as well – while a few previous book details are alluded to, no prior knowledge of the series is necessary to enjoy the story as a whole.

The story does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Amazon US

Amazon UK

I need to kick off my review by saying the review request stated that this book could be read as a standalone with no prior knowledge of the series.

They are wrong. I didn’t read the rest of the series and I’m hoping the questions could be explained by doing so, but as the other book blurbs refer to different characters I don’t suppose so. I’m going to have to base my review on this book alone.

This is fantasy. A wealthy family that live away from the city. There was a war that happened ten years prior but no indication of any sort of immediate danger.

Which is why I never understood why one of our characters at ten years old when the story starts, is given a bodyguard. (A twelve year old) The older brother explains he is really a “companion” but Ash is never allowed to go anywhere without Ren, and Ren seems to have some sort of sixth sense meaning Ash can never shake him (Also never explained.)

We are never told why Ash’s twin brother and younger sister don’t merit their own bodyguards, or who or why the older brother thinks Ash needs one but no one else does.

The family seem to have an ability to control weather – namely the wind. Ash only ever manages an occasional gust and is even given special tutors to help him master this, but no one ever says why. The ability is never used in the book except to half destroy a room by accident, and as a reader I was left wondering why it was ever mentioned in the first place.

Ash eventually falls in love with Ren at which point I pretty much gave up. Ren gets blamed for an injury to Ash, and Ash despite never being given any reason to think he can’t tell the truth, let’s Ren take the blame then wallows in pity for a few weeks until Ren comes back.

This could have been so good. A little external conflict, a lot more word building, and some good beta readers to ask these sort of questions would make a promising storyline.

2 pieces of eye candy

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