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Dearest Milton James by N.R. Walker: New Release Review

August 30, 2021 by Denise

Malachi Keogh finds himself in a job he neither wanted nor asked for when his father, boss of Sydney’s postal service, sends him to the end of the business line, aka The Dead Letter Office. Malachi expects tedious and boring but instead discovers a warehouse with a quirky bunch of misfit co-workers, including a stoic and nerdy boss, Julian Pollard.

Malachi’s intrigued by Julian at first, and he soon learns there’s more to the man than his boring clothes of beige, tan, and brown; a far cry from Malachi’s hot pink, lilac, and electric blue. Where Julian is calm and ordered, Malachi is chaos personified, but despite their outward differences, there’s an immediate chemistry between them that sends Malachi’s head—and heart—into a spin.

To keep his father happy, Malachi needs to keep this job. He also needs to solve the mystery of the pile of old letters that sits in Julian’s office and maybe get to the bottom of what makes Julian tick. Like everything that goes through the mail centre, only time will tell if Malachi has found his intended destination or if he’ll find himself returned to sender.

#gayromance #forbiddenlove #oppositesattract #comedy

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Something to know about me. I am pretty much a stickler about putting my book down at 11pm to go to sleep. Especially on a work night. But I SERIOUSLY contemplated staying up an other 90 minutes to finish it. I didn’t, which ultimately I got to enjoy this newest NR Walker for 2 nights rather than one, but it was close.

I adore quirky characters who just own who they are. Malachi is that guy. He is kind of aimless, never being able to stick with a job. Usually out of boredom, although his most recent firing was for a pretty spectacular reason. Anyway. This time his father gets him a job in what everyone calls the Dead Letter Department, but that isn’t the official name. Malachi doesn’t hold out hope that he will like it there, but he will try. For at least a day.

It cracked me up because Malachi knows that he doesn’t want to sit at a desk and doesn’t want to deal with customers. I totally get that!!! He just wasn’t made for it.

Surprisingly, he actually LIKES his job. And most of the employees and especially his boss Julian. There is some heavy flirting on Malachi’s side- which is mostly not knowing when to shut up or use a filter of any kind. It is both adorable and hilarious. There is also a mystery pile of letters that has never been delivered- probably because there is no address- for 40 years.

This is definitely a slow burn. What what a fun slow burn it is. Julian just likes and appreciates Malachi for who he is. And even though Julian is not his type at all, Malachi is completely drawn to him. And the mystery letters.

All of the other employees are just as fun and quirky and one of them probably isn’t a serial killer and they all genuinely like each other. It’s kind of amazing. An entire story with no fights, no misunderstandings, no giant break ups over something stupid. They were NORMAL people who were just unique but found their place in this world and the perfect job for them.

The mystery letters are just swoony and heartbreaking all at once. I was so nervous about the outcome of the mystery, but as always, NR Walker brought it to a completely perfect conclusion.

I loved it so much, I am giving it the very rare 5 pieces of eye candy.

The Ranch Hand and the Single Dad: A Gay M/M Cowboy Romance (Farthingdale Ranch Book 3) by Jackie North: New Release Review

August 27, 2021 by Denise

“If Austin has forgotten what love is, maybe Clay can show him the way.”
Happy-go-lucky Clay keeps busy with hookups at the local bar after working hard at the ranch. Those hookups used to be fun, but now they leave him empty.

Austin is reeling after a difficult divorce. His wife took everything, including full custody of his daughter, Bea, who is only nine.

Austin doesn’t know where his life is headed, but at least he’s got a roof over his head, and a new job as accountant at Farthingdale Ranch.

The job is exactly the kind of work he loves. The only problem is he’s distracted by Clay, who is gay. Austin is straight. There’s no way this can work.

A gay m/m cowboy romance with age gap, hurt/comfort, opposites attract, single dad, out for you, midnight rendezvous, friendship between men. A little sweet, a little steamy, with a guaranteed HEA.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

I see single dad and I jumped right in, I didn’t even notice that it was the continuation of a series, but that’s okay.. it didn’t take me out of the story and I didn’t feel as though I missed anything because of it, though maybe a smidge because now I wanna go back and reread everyone else’s stories!

In this one though, we meet Austin, who is going through a thing with his ex, whom he shares a daughter with and though I didn’t like her much at all, she’s manipulative and bossy, I have to say I also just didn’t like them together. I thought she was overbearing and too much and I wished he would’ve figured things out for himself without blaming her so much. I understand the coming out process though and there is no right or wrong way to do it, and everyone is different, so I enjoyed watching him come into his own, especially with the help of his friend Clay. I could’ve done without the ex though….

Clay… is something else… my heart broke a little bit for him because although he claims to be a hit it and quit it kinda guy, he wants the happily ever after so bad, he can taste it. I like his character a lot, he’s described as happy-go-lucky and he pretty much is. He doesn’t let much get to him and this ranch that he works at …. I want to wish it real so I can visit or ya know, move in….

I liked watching these two dance around each other and their attraction, especially once Austin realizes his feelings are more than he thought they could be, starting as friends and letting things develop as they did. It was real and though sometimes exhausting, it felt genuine and not forced or fabricated. Despite the ex, it’s pretty low angst, I also loved the daughter, Bea, who seemed to be a pawn to the mother and I didn’t like that that never gets resolved. She just….gets to stay with her? After all the ways we see Mona (of course, her name is Mona) shows how crap of a mother she can be? Be prepared for that because I hate when people get away with being bad people and I didn’t feel that part got resolved in the way that left me satisfied, but again, life isn’t always happily ever after and I’m hoping that she eventually gets better?…. fingers crossed….

Overall though, this is a slow burning, low angst, super cute story that was easy to get lost in and once I picked it up, I didn’t put it down until I was finished. I’m interested to see how everyone got to here, so I’m going to go back and read the first two but am looking forward to seeing what comes next!

4 pieces of eye candy from me!

Whiskey Dreams by Sam E. Kraemer: New Release Review

August 20, 2021 by Denise

He’s got rhythm while his new man’s got a record. Will history destroy their ballad, or can two beautiful souls sing in tune?

Country music star Kelso Ray Anderson found the passion he craved in his songs. Rejected by his religious family because of his sexual orientation, he regrets his painful visit home just before a massive European tour. But when he encounters his brother’s handsome friend who was his adolescent crush, he’s captivated by the melody stirring in his heart.

Tanner Bledsoe’s hopes were broken in prison. Determined to make the most of an opportunity offered by an old high school buddy, he never expected to blush like a teenager when he’s re-introduced to his pal’s magnetic brother. Falling hard and fast for the striking musician, Tanner’s terrified his wrongful incarceration will be a devastating deal-breaker.

Hellbent on giving their budding relationship a chance despite his looming international concerts, Kelso pours his musical soul into his troubled new man. But Tanner is torn apart by the agonizing choice between a once-in-a-lifetime love and doing what’s right to protect his partner’s dreams.

Will their undeniable spark find its place in loving harmony?

Whiskey Dreams, On the Rocks is the touching first tale in the On the Rocks M/M contemporary romance series. If you like captivating characters, sweet attractions, and tortured choices, then you’ll adore Sam E. Kraemer’s delicious escape.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

I’ve never read a book by this author, but I liked the blurb so I figured I’d give it a try. Sorry to say, I was pretty disappointed. Judging by the ratings of his other books, I am in the minority. But, I have reasons.

When we first meet Kelso, he is pulling up to his family’s ranch for the first time in years after being rejected for being gay. So, totally show up as a surprise! His twin sister is a bitch and his parents are nasty to him. Cut right to the next morning when he is leaving. So that’s all we get of that.

Off he goes to see his older brother who was never great to him, but not nasty. And at least this time he was invited. His brother had a reason for inviting him, which I get, but also how about just trying to be a good brother?

At the beginning of the book, his brother Leo treats his best friend with kid gloves, but then treats him like an equal.

I just felt no connection to any of the characters at all. Inserting most of the back story into why the characters are who they are just didn’t work for me. And until the end, I didn’t feel any connection between Tanner and Kelso.

The writing and dialogue were very stiff and formal and it was just kind of boring.

2 pieces of eye candy

Finished (Auctioned #5) by Cara Dee @caradeewrites: RDB, Excerpt and Release Day Review

August 19, 2021 by Denise

The Auctioned Series is a journey packed with action, nail-biting suspense, family, and love. In Gray and Darius’s fight for freedom and a future where they aren’t haunted by the ghosts of their pasts, they’ll make you laugh, cry, possibly yell at your e-reader, and swoon just a little bit.

In a race against time, Gray didn’t allow himself to consider defeat. He refused. They couldn’t lose now. Darius had to be okay. Oh God, he had to be okay.

One minute and twelve seconds had passed since the guys in the compound had started collapsing, and Gray could hear Darius in his mind, calling him knucklehead in that sharp tone that demanded attention. Pull it together, focus, get the job done. So with his heart threatening to pound its way out of his rib cage, Gray let this final task become his one and only mission. They were gonna finish the operation once and for all, and they were gonna walk away with a bright future ahead of them. A future that promised family, new adventures, and freaking farm animals.

This was it.

This story takes place in Cara Dee’s Camassia Cove Universe, a fictional town where all books stand on their own, unless otherwise stated, and the reader can jump in wherever they want. The Auctioned Series should be read in the following order: Auctioned, Stranded, Deserted, Played, and Finished.

#caradeewrites #elizaraeservices #mmromancebooks #biblio #TBR #mmromancenovel #amazonbook #whatareyoureading #foundfamily #SeriesIsComplete #GrayAndDarius #SuspenseRomance #RomanticSuspense #AgeDifference #ReluctantHero #RomanticAction #FamilyRomance #Crossovers #RiverAndReeseTenley

Book 5 of 5 | Romantic Suspense | Hurt/Comfort | Trauma | Age Difference

Finished by Cara Dee

Series: Auctioned #5
Genre: MM Romance/Romantic Suspense
Tropes: Military Romance, Reluctant Hero, Alpha Male, Age Difference, Family, Action, Suspense, HEA

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

There was no point in telling Reese to go faster. He was going as fast as the truck allowed, his hard stare pinned on the dark road ahead, his knuckles white from his tight grip on the wheel.

Gray couldn’t take his eyes off the speedometer. Except for when he glanced down at his watch.

One minute and twelve seconds had passed since Willow screamed out that the guys were collapsing in the compound.

One minute and twelve seconds since Gray’s heart had become firmly lodged in his throat.

A million thoughts constantly tried to stab at Gray’s concentration, and he couldn’t afford to let a single one in. The whispers, the questions, the fears—all of them swirled around in his head. I didn’t know there were gonna be so many victims. Darius better fucking live. Did Alicia release the carbon monoxide anyway? How do we get the guys to the hospital? Gray swallowed hard, his knees bouncing restlessly. He was squeezed into the middle seat between Reese and Niko, and it was suffocating. The second they made it back to the old brothel, he was gonna dive out of the truck. He already felt like Niko was in the way and would delay him.

Precisely everything had gone sideways.

Because Alicia had fucked them over. She’d been working against them from the start.

Gray wanted to murder her.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds and tried to take a deep breath. Focus. Get to the compound. Find Darius. He had to be okay. He had to. Willow hadn’t been able to see him on any of the cameras she’d hacked into, and apparently there were only three. One in the showroom where they’d hosted auctions, one in the back where victims had been held, and one concealed in the lobby.

River was passed out in the back, in the same room where he’d been interrogating Alfred Lange. Dante and Elliott had dropped in the showroom, and—

“G-guys,” Willow stammered. Gray adjusted his earpiece to hear better, past Willow’s panic and heavy breathing. “We have m-movement. Tariq—mask—he’s dragging—” She cut off with a pained whimper that felt like a knife to Gray’s chest. “I-I have to c-call someone.”

“Don’t talk,” Gray commanded, barely recognizing his own voice. It came out sharp and dark, reminding him too much of someone with more authority. “We’re almost there. Focus on your breathing, Willow.”

She’d already saved them more than once.

“Twenty seconds,” Reese said quietly, just as tense as the rest of them. “Gear up.”

Gray reached for his gas mask on the dash and strapped it properly around his head. Niko did the same. The rescue unit wasn’t supposed to face any threats whatsoever, so they didn’t have full combat gear, just utility pants, long-sleeved tees, boots, handguns, and a knife or two.

“Gray, I understand you’ll run for Darius right away,” Reese said. “Just like I will get my brother out of there first—but there’s no playing favorites after that. We help whoever we find.”

That went without saying.

Nausea crawled up Gray’s throat as the brothel came into view, but he pushed it down. He pushed everything down, leaving only his training. Darius’s voice in his head was as clear as ever, and Gray clung to it. He needed to hear Dare’s rough yet smooth whiskey voice calling him knucklehead.

In that voice, he imagined Darius reminding him that panic did no one any good. Keep your emotions in check. Focus.

To Niko’s credit, he opened the door and flew out before Reese had stopped fully behind their other truck, and it catapulted Gray into action. With his heart threatening to pound its way out of his body, he rounded the big truck, ran up to the remains of the brothel, and tore through it. Then down the concrete steps in one of the back rooms and into the compound’s lobby.

I’m coming for you, baby.

He’d just veered left when he came to a screeching halt in the narrow corridor. Tariq was there, wearing a mask, and dragging a lifeless…someone. Gray peered closer, just a quick glance, and recognized Ryan’s face.

“You’re here. Go,” Tariq urged, breathing heavily. “Hurry! Darius is in the kitchen.”

Gray didn’t need to be told twice. He left Tariq behind and ran down the hall, grabbing his gun on the way just in case. Through the showroom, where Gray did everything in his power to shut out the images that wanted to assault him. He’d been through too much, and tonight he’d seen too much, too.

The bodies strewn all over the floor didn’t bother him in the slightest. Justice had been served. It was the knowledge that young, innocent people had stood before the vile monsters that sickened him. Monsters that put a price tag on someone’s life.

“River!” Reese yelled somewhere.

“Niko, Dante and Elliott are here!” Gray barked out. He was sure he just saw Dante move, too; maybe he wasn’t out completely.

Gray darted through the doorway on the other side of the large room. It was darker back here, and he felt his senses sharpen, his heart beat faster, his pulse going through the roof. Too many doors, too many fucking doors. But one was open, two doors down, and he poked his head in. At the same time as his hand found a light switch, his vision adjusted enough to notice the big form on the floor.

“Darius.” He didn’t register flicking on the light or tucking away his gun, only that it was suddenly bright, and he rushed forward to roll Darius onto his back. “Baby, wake up.” He smacked Darius’s cheeks lightly and quickly searched the floor for a gas mask. When he didn’t find one, he removed his own and placed it over Darius’s face. “I’ll get you out of here.” Then he stood up and hitched his arms under Darius’s armpits.

You’ll be fine, you’ll be fine, you’ll be fine.

Gray gnashed his teeth and dragged Darius out of the room. Or kitchen. Christ, all impressions registered too late. Same with the cuts and scrapes on Darius’s face. Or… Shit. The blood. Darius was losing blood.

After reading book 4, which left us hanging off a cliff, I couldn’t wait for book 5, the last book in the series. I was…underwhelmed. I loved the whole story from book 1 through and including book 5. But I kind of wish book 4 ended earlier to give us more in book 5. To me, there wasn’t a lot of closure, but there was a lot of fluffy fill.

Of course you need to read it if you’ve read the series to this point. It’s a must, just to KNOW that these guys get their happily ever after. But don’t expect anything even close to the first 4 story wise.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

I’m often awkwardly silent or, if the topic interests me, a chronic rambler. In other words, I can discuss writing forever and ever. Fiction, in particular. The love story—while a huge draw and constantly present—is secondary for me, because there’s so much more to writing romance fiction than just making two (or more) people fall in love and have hot sex.

There’s a world to build, characters to develop, interests to create, and a topic or two to research thoroughly.

Every book is a challenge for me, an opportunity to learn something new, and a puzzle to piece together. I want my characters to come to life, and the only way I know to do that is to give them substance—passions, history, goals, quirks, and strong opinions—and to let them evolve.

I want my men and women to be relatable. That means allowing room for everyday problems and, for lack of a better word, flaws. My characters will never be perfect.

Wait…this was supposed to be about me, not my writing.

I’m a writey person who loves to write. Always wanderlusting, twitterpating, kinking, cooking, baking, and geeking. There’s time for hockey and family, too. But mostly, I just love to write.

Find Cara on social media here: https://www.caradeewrites.com/cdwlandingpage

The Vicar and the Rake (Society of Beasts Book 1) by Annabelle Greene: Quick Review

August 17, 2021 by Denise

As a young man, Sir Gabriel Winters left behind his status as a gentleman, turning his back on his secret desires and taking a self-imposed vow of celibacy. Now a chaste hard-working vicar, his reputation is beyond reproach. But, try as he might, he’s never forgotten the man he once desired or the pain of being abandoned by his first love.

Edward Stanhope, the Duke of Caddonfell, is a notorious rake, delighting in scandal no matter the consequence. With a price on his head, he flees to the countryside, forced to keep his presence a secret or risk assassination. When Edward finds Gabriel on his estate, burning with fever, he cannot leave him to die, but taking him in puts them both in jeopardy.

With the help of a notorious blackmailer, a society of rich and famous gentlemen who prefer gentlemen, and a kitten named Buttons, they might just manage to save Edward’s life—but the greatest threat may be to their hearts.

Amazon

Book 2: The Soldier and the Spy

I love historicals, and yes, I say that every time, but it truly makes me happy to read an m/m historical. Because I know there are people out there that believe that being anywhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum is only a thing that has been around for 20-40 years. It’s not, there is evidence, lots of evidence dating back as far as historical records, and even further back before paper could record anything.

This book was so well written, and yes, it’s a debut book by this author, but it was just so well done. The characters were so rich and had depth, but also kept true to themselves, even as their worlds were crumbling around them in one way or another.

The fact that Gabriel and Edward knew each other as children really helped this story to feel true to the time period of the book. They likely would not have crossed paths much at a later point in their life, despite the mess that Edward found himself in. Maurice was a conundrum to me. He supported his brother no matter what, but seemed to have a bit of an icy heart…until he looked into someone else’s eyes. 🙂

The background mystery, I will say, did get a bit confusing for me, and I was surprised at the end. However, following along with the suspense seemed to really take some of the focus away from the romance for me. Some of the questions weren’t answered, some were cleaned up quite neatly.

Also, there was a cute cat, and that should be worth an additional 1/2 star there. 🙂

All in all, I thought this book was well done, and fully fleshed characters. Just needed a little more smoothing of the suspense for me.

4 pieces of eye candy

The Quiet House (Audiobook) by Lily Morton, Narration by Joel Leslie: Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Audiobook Review and Giveaway

August 16, 2021 by Denise

Levi Black has mostly recovered from the events of a year ago. The only lingering effects are that he’s much more well-known in York than he’d like to be, and he’s a lot more cautious about walking around his house naked.

However, those events brought him the capricious and fascinating Blue, so he’s not complaining. On the contrary, he’s happy, in love, and looking forward to Blue finally moving in with him. And if sometimes he wonders what Blue sees in a boring cartoonist, he keeps that to himself.

Blue Billings is finally ready to throw off the memories of his past and move in with the person who means the most in the world to him. His psychic abilities have grown in the last year to his mentor Tom’s consternation, but Blue is determined to look on the bright side. He’s also focused on ignoring all the warning signs that he’s received lately.

However, even deeply buried secrets have a way of rising to the surface. And when a surprise from Blue’s past turns up and draws them away to a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors, Levi and Blue must fight for their survival once again.

From best-selling author Lily Morton comes the second book in the Black & Blue series. The books are intended to be listened to in order.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Audible

Heaving a sigh, Levi flicks the indicator and swings the car into a layby. Switching the engine off, he turns to me.

“So help me. You’d better tell me everything, Blue,” he says grimly. “I think it’s indicative of our strange life that I’m actually hoping you’ve picked up an animal familiar along the way.”

I bite my lip. “Not exactly an animal.” His fingers tighten on the steering wheel like he’s imagining it’s my neck, so I break into an explanation. “But would a grumpy-looking old git who can’t speak be any good to you?”

“What?” he says through gritted teeth.

I nod, smiling like a maniac. “Yes, and we could be seeing a lot of him too, because Tom says a Crow pops in for a visit when there’s trouble ahead.”

There’s a long pregnant silence. “So, that old bloke you saw in the back lane was actually a harbinger of doom and appeared on the night before your dad came into our lives, and you forgot to mention it?” I wince, and his eyes sharpen. “Or decided not to tell me because you thought I’d put my foot down about traipsing over the desolate moors to stay with some rich old bloke in a haunted house.” I try on a winning smile, and he huffs out another heavy sigh. “You can’t do this, Blue. You can’t keep secrets like this.”

My smiles drops away. “I know,” I say earnestly, grabbing his arm and squeezing it. “I do know,” I say. “And I’m so sorry, but I just wanted … I just wanted to know things,” I finish lamely. “And I didn’t want another row. Our last one made my stomach feel bruised for ages.”

He sighs heavily. “Wait here,” he commands.

I hold my breath as he gets out of the car and shuts the door behind him, leaving Tom and I sitting in silence. He crosses in front of the vehicle, the mist swirling around him like he’s a creature from a horror novel. I exhale in surprise as he throws his head back and screams very loudly.

“Well, that went well,” Tom says, his tone cheerful. I throw him a speaking glance. “Don’t look like that,” he advises me. “This is where keeping secrets gets you. Your boyfriend screaming himself silly in a layby.”

My original book review found here.

And now the audio version. Oh man I was excited for this. Loved the book and Joel Leslie is one of my favorite narrators. Bring it on!

It’s really well done. I had previously read and listened to the first book in the series, and although I loved it, the Irish accent lilted up at the end of every sentence to make it sound like a question and that drove me a little bonkers. This time, it’s there a little, but not nearly as prevalent and fairly easy to look past. Especially since this book has a fairly large cast of characters that we hear from often. I think there are about 10 different regular characters and that doesn’t include the scary ghost voices- and there are several of them as well. And yet every voice is different. In tone, accent, volume- all different. I honestly don’t know how the narrator kept track. But they are all so distinct you can pretty easily remember who is talking just by the voice.

And I will say that the audio is a bit scarier than the book. Ok, a lot scarier. Those ghost voices…shudder.

Joel Leslie brings these characters to life in a way that will make this a regular re-listen in your library.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Lily writes contemporary romance novels, and specialises in hot love stories with a good dose of humour.

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

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

She loves chocolate and Baileys and the best of all creations – chocolate Baileys! Her lifetime’s ambition is to have a bath in peace without being shouted by one of her family.

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