Book Reviews

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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Out of Character: A Rivals LGBTQIA New Adult (True Colors Book 2) by Annabeth Albert: Audiobook Review – narrated by Joel Froomkin and Kirt Graves

August 12, 2021 by Denise

Jasper Quigley is tired of being everyone’s favorite sidekick. He wants to become the hero of his own life, but that’s not going to happen if he agrees to help out his former best friend turned king of the jocks, Milo Lionetti. High school was miserable enough, thanks, and Jasper has no interest in dredging up painful memories of his old secret crush.

But Milo’s got nowhere else to go. His life is spiraling out of control and he’s looking to turn things back around. Step one? Replace the rare Odyssey cards he lost in an idiotic bet. Step two? Tell his ex-best-friend exactly how he feels—how he’s always felt.

Jasper may be reluctant to reopen old wounds, but he never could resist Milo. There’s a catch, though: if Milo wants his help, he’s going to have to pitch in to make the upcoming children’s hospital charity ball the best ever. But as the two don cosplay for the kids and hunt for rare cards, nostalgia for their lost friendship may turn into something even more lasting…

Amazon

Audible

Okay, not gonna lie. I generally pass up audiobooks with two narrators…I’m stereotyping I know…but usually one is not as good as the other (in my own mind)…blah blah, whatever random reason I’ve come up with that basically comes down to, if it’s not done by one of my favorite narrators, I don’t want to listen to it. BUT…here…I’ve got one of my favorite authors, writing a great book, with two of my absolute favorite narrators, who are so very different in their approach it made the book without question a 5 pieces of eye candy audiobook review.

First, the book itself. I will say, I didn’t read book 1 (My mistake! I meant to, and realized as we were introduced to the characters from book 1 that I didn’t…back to that later). So, I had no basis for these characters, or even what Odyssey was. Having never played a card game similar to Odyssey, I had no idea of the intricacies in them. The author managed to convey to those of us who have not played these types of games, the complexity of it, without it being so complex that I dropped out of the story. I was very impressed, because that’s a very fine line to walk, and the author managed it perfectly. Either she is a game player herself, or she did a ton of research to fake it. Either way, well done.

The MC’s, had a history, best friends as children until Milo turned away from Jasper. However, I loved how Jasper grew from that, and later realized that they may have never become the people they were without having separated and worked on finding themselves…even if they were still a work in progress. Milo was still navigating how to become the man he wanted to be, for himself, as well as his brother and Jasper. Owning up to the consequences of his actions, accepting those consequences, and moving forward all worked to shape Milo further. And along the way, they fell in love, slowly, carefully, but without question.

Now the narration. I love Joel Froomkin. He brings such character and life to every character he narrates, each in a very different way. I’ve said before that if I re-read a book that Joel has narrated, I usually hear his voice in my head as I read. Without question, if Joel narrates it, it is an auto-buy for me.

Kirt Graves is also an amazing narrator, with such a gritty voice that reflects the characters he is narrating from a real world, often blue-collar type perspective. If Kirt narrates a book, I know I will be drawn in immediately.

These two narrators together, absolutely made this book even better. I’m not sure the audiobook would have been nearly as good, for me, if only one had narrated. They worked well together. When Joel read Jasper, it was a crisp, genial tone, happy at times, pensive at others, but always what I would have expected from Jasper’s POV. Meanwhile, Milo, having grown up a jock, rebuilt a car with his father, and was going through such a challenging time, needed a deeper, more resonant tone. He needed a tone that showed he was slightly depressed, unsure what his life had in front of him other than a dead-end job, no prospects, no college degree, and no future boyfriend. It was more gritty and spoke to the Milo that needed to learn to love himself as much as he loved the people around him. These two together were perfection for this book.

Side note: I’m also generally a fairly slow audiobook listener. I start and stop all the time, so that I can concentrate. I prefer doing that over missing pieces because I had to focus on the email I was just sent, or the spreadsheet that didn’t balance. I gobbled this one up very quickly. Now, I’m behind at work. lol Totally worth it! 🙂

Final determination was a huge 5 pieces of eye candy…a number I rarely give out, but absolutely worth all of it! Now back to book 1, Conventionally Yours, which, coincidentally, is narrated by Joel and Kirt. And it’s already in my Audible library (because auto-buy)??? Lucky me!!!! 😀

Jaywalking (In Step, Book 1) by Rachel Ember: Release Day Review

August 11, 2021 by Denise

Second edition. This novel was previously published as a novella of approximately 30,000 words. The second edition is roughly twice as long.

Emile leads a quiet but contented life as a university professor, with a perfect dog, comfortable home, and loyal friends. Maybe there’s something—or someone, missing. But dating is hard enough for vanilla people. Emile doesn’t just have to find someone he wants to date—he has to find someone he wants to kneel for.

Jay likes playing soccer, reading poetry, and handsome men in tweed vests. Men like Emile, who Jay can’t forget after they connected on a rainy July night. Their encounter awoke a powerful urge in Jay to take, command, and control that has haunted him ever since. Jay had hoped that starting college would distract him, but that hope died when he showed up for the first day of his literature class and discovered Emile was his professor.

When Emile tells Jay they can’t be together, Jay is still determined to figure out a way for the two of them to explore what they share. And Emile craves Jay’s gentle dominance too much to resist him.

Jaywalking includes an age gap, a professor-student relationship, BDSM, a very polite dog, explicit sex, and a happy ending

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Preorder on Amazon

Before I start talking about the book, take a look at the cover…it’s super adorable, isn’t it? And notice book 2, just as cute! I’ve said it a million times, a cover can absolutely produce a sale. It doesn’t have to have a naked torso on it (although those are nice too)…but when you find the cover the tells you several things about the book, and it draws you in. That’s the cover you need. I had never heard of this book, and the second I saw the cover, I knew I wanted to read it.

And now I am likely going to gush even more. 🙂

This book was so well done. It was sweet, lovely, had some heat, and a good pet to round it off. It really did tick many boxes for me. It had age gap, which with the age of Jay, did make it a bit weird for Emile, but Jay didn’t question it at all. I really felt that Jay found confidence in himself, by just acting confident. It was a case of “fake it till you make it with him”. He did seem to do that also with the BDSM side, but it was fairly light BDSM, so I wasn’t concerned. If it had delved much deeper, I would have questioned it much more with a lack of training.

However, I think Emile appealed the most to me. He was confident in his job, enjoyed his life, had good friends, and a sweet dog. His ex…well that was not as good, but definitely paid off in the end. Life, for Emile, was going fairly well, and then he has this attraction dropped out of nowhere that was inappropriate and against all his ethical standards. (As it should be.) In this case, love conquered. Emile struggled to keep the two sides of his life separate, but as we all know, that can only be held for so long.

I absolutely loved this book. And I can’t even say how much I am looking forward to book 2, Oliver, Blake and Cujo’s story. That one is going to be a wild ride, I think. 🙂

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Soon to be college freshman Jay, and definitely not a college freshman Emile, meet at a poetry reading. Sparks fly, but Emile bails. Life goes on. Until Jay walks into Emile’s Literature 100 class.

This book is a mix for me. Emile is a sub, Jay thinks maybe he is a Dom? Maybe? But this book is SO not BDSM at all. Just because Emile likes to kneel at Jay’s feet does not a sub make. And Jay’s childhood neighbor, who is a Dom (but they never discussed going to the same college or comparing schedules) brings him to an invite only demonstration. Which was completely fade to black so we have no idea how Jay felt in the situation.

Both men are adorable, in a stereotypical way. Emile in vests, cords and bow ties and Jay in track pants and tshirts. And they seem to have a lot of time for each other even though Jay is in school full time, plays soccer for school AND took on a part time dog walking gig.

Overall it is readable, but it absolutely has a crisis of character not knowing what to be. Is it YA? Is it BDSM? Is it age gap? All of those? Jay is awfully confident for someone who has little experience. Just didn’t seem to fit. And the thing with Jay’s college roommate? So odd.

3 pieces of eye candy

Rachel lives in the Midwest United States with her family, which includes an ever-growing menagerie of pets. If she isn’t writing (or reading) she enjoys riding and traveling to competitions with her horses.

High Alert: A Sweet with Heat Gay Romance by Becca Seymour: RB, Exclusive Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

August 11, 2021 by Denise

It’s a tale as old as time.

I’ve crushed on my brother’s best friend since I sprouted hairs on the unmentionables. Once upon a time, he was straight, until he wasn’t… and talk about bad timing.

And when we’re finally at a place for me to make my move, sexy rural firefighter Dan clams up and acts weird and I’m left with pants that are too tight and my heart feeling bruised… but he’s a good friend and I’m grateful he’s in my life.

Because of course Dan is a good guy.

Though him being “good” and ridiculously easy on the eyes and possibly the best man I know only makes me want him more.

When we’re thrust into a situation that brings both of us close to danger, it’s hardly the time to be chasing first kisses or finally acting on my crush. But Dan doesn’t seem to mind.

I just know that when the stakes are high and emotions are running wild, sometimes you have to show your hand and go all in.

And that’s exactly what I plan to do.

High Alert was originally a 7,000-word short story in the March 2020 charity anthology “When the Smoke Clears.” It is now a 64,000-word full-length novel, complete with smouldering low-angst loveliness and a group of Aussie men who will capture your hearts.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Easing off my knees, I stood, groaned, and angled back. A satisfying pop of my joints followed. Before I could respond to Dan’s question, his “Fuck, I hate that sound,” had me chuckling.

“But it feels so good.”

His scrunched-up face looked somehow cute, despite his unshaven jaw and the streaks of dust on his cheeks. “But it sounds bloody awful.”

I grinned and went back to his question. “As for the next job, I’m not sure yet. There’s a few things I want to get done. Maybe start the firepit.”

“Just in time for summer, huh.” He quirked his brow.

With a roll of my eyes, I said, “If you don’t want there to be a fire for toasting marshmallows, then keep up the snark.”

“I wouldn’t dare, not if marshmallows are on offer.”

“Wise decision.”

Oh this book was so sweet. And it was a love story not only between 2 men, but also a love story to Australia and the fires and floods they endured last year.

Classic story of crushing on your brother’s best friend. This time the age difference is only 2 years (why does it always seem like more in books?) AND he wasn’t the annoying little brother, he was often included in whatever they were doing.

Now everyone is a grown adult, the little brother Ross is the high school librarian, and the brother’s best friend, Dan, just moved back to their small town. Dan also has a crush on Ross, but neither know the other’s feelings. Poor Craig, older brother/best friend does know how they feel. Poor Craig.

Dan doesn’t want to lose the friendships he has with Ross and Craig so he decides to take it slow. Feel Ross out. Just be there until the time is right. Ugh, it was so cute without being saccharine sweet. It was almost like they were becoming best friends as well. So if you like slow burn…this is slooooooooooooow burn.

Speaking of burn. Paying homage to the devastating fires Australia had, Craig and Dan are both volunteer firefighters called in to help with the huge brush fires. Ross finds and helps a koala and her baby with burned paws, making note of the devastation to wildlife. And then the floods. It’s all so apocalyptic, but it happened. The country was ravaged by one extreme and then the other.

There is a great little side story about a guy who used to be in a group of bullies in high school who tried to torment Ross coming back to town. It was well done.

And without getting preachy one way or the other, respect is paid to the indigenous people of Australia, their stories and customs.

Overall this could have been a very in your face book about Australia with just the romance as a side note. But all of the facts were woven into the story so well you never felt like you were being lectured- but you did learn things.

And above all Dan and Ross were just perfect together. None of the silly stuff about treating him as the little brother even though they are all adults. No one was proving who they were. There was no relationship drama or angst. Just two normal guys from two normal families who fell in love.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Becca Seymour lives and breathes all things book related. Usually with at least three books being read and two WiPs being written at the same time, life is merrily hectic. She tends to do nothing by halves so happily seeks the craziness and busyness life offers.

Living on her small property in Queensland with her human family as well as her animal family of cows, chooks, and dogs, Becca appreciates the beauty of the world around her and is a believer that love truly is love.

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