Charlie Novak

Couture Crush (Model Love) by Charlie Novak: Release Day Review

September 25, 2022 by Denise Leave a Comment

Beau Barrett is about to become Alt. Bride’s first male cover model, but what about his own fairy-tale ending?

When Beau Barrett arrives to shoot for alternative bridal magazine, Alt. Bride, the last person he expects to see is Cash, his long-lost childhood best friend. The spark between them is instant, but with Beau’s calendar splitting at the seams, he’s not convinced a relationship is possible.

Cash never thought he’d see Beau again, but now the make-up artist is determined to hold on to him. Cash’s life might be overflowing with events, but his crush on Beau can’t be ignored, especially when things between them feel so right.

All they have to do is navigate their jam-packed schedules, their spread-out living arrangements, and the modelling offer of a lifetime. It won’t be easy, but if they can do it, Beau and Cash might just get the chance to find the love they’ve always dreamed about.

Couture Crush is part of the Model Love multi-author series and is a 47,500-word, low-angst contemporary MM novel featuring childhood best friends, couture wedding gowns, arcade date nights, and plenty of fluff and steam. Each book can be read as a standalone, but there are so many models falling in love, why not read them all?

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Adorable. Seriously. First thought about this book is that they are adorable.

A model, a makeup artist, childhood friends who lost touch. Brought back together when the model lands a huge cover shoot and the other is his makeup artist.

Beau and Cash just fall back together so immediately. That kind of relationship they had as kids really never went away. Now they are grown. And gay. And single. They are almost immediately inseparable.

There’s no awkward, no angst, no one was mad at anyone. They were just two young guys trying to make it in the world who fell in love with each other.

Cash, as a makeup artist, has interesting stories of what happens in bridal rooms with women. Beau, luckily, seems to have a pretty easy go of being a model. He is hardly a super model, but he doesn’t do too badly. They grow together in their careers as they grow as a couple.

Just cute, cute, cute.

4 pieces of eye candy

Oh So Oscar (Forever Love Book 3) by Charlie Novak: Release Blitz, Excerpt and Release Day Review

May 6, 2022 by Denise

What happens when a prickly travel journalist falls for his fake boyfriend?

Oscar Moore has two problems. One: He’s accidentally managed to convince his boss, the legendary editor of The Traveller, that he has a boyfriend. And two: he now has to persuade photographer and casual acquaintance, Ilias Verrati, to play along for a week-long couple’s retreat in Hawaii.

Ilias is full of sass and sunshine, but his constant flirting grates on Oscar. Unfortunately, unless Oscar wants to confess and risk his job, he has to keep up the ruse. He can manage a week, and if he can pull this off then editorial glory awaits.

Oscar and Ilias both have their own reasons for avoiding relationships—even if they desperately want one—and their work makes finding love even more difficult, but maybe a fake relationship is just what they need to give them a nudge in the right direction.

Under the Hawaiian sun, Oscar discovers there’s more to Ilias than meets the eye. But before Ilias will risk his heart, Oscar will have to find a way to open it.

Oh So Oscar is a 78,000-word contemporary MM romance featuring fake dating, luxurious hotel rooms, star gazing, and delicious food. It also contains discussions of grief, including the past loss of a parent, and the past loss of a partner.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Across the horizon, the sun turned the sky into an unearthly spectacle of colour and fire. I’d watched sunsets before, hundreds of them, but this one took my breath away in a whole new way.

I slotted my camera together at speed, lifting its bulk to my eye as I attempted to capture the majesty before me. I knew that any photo I took was never going to do the sight justice, but I had to try.

Beside me, Oscar let out a slow breath. I lowered the camera for a moment, turning my head to see his dark eyes fixed on the flaming clouds that danced across the sky.

“Wow,” he said softly. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah,” I said, never taking my eyes off him. “It is.”

He turned his head and I felt my face heat as I suddenly pretended to be very interested in my camera, praying that he hadn’t noticed me staring at him. This was just supposed to be fake. I wasn’t supposed to be developing any kind of feelings for Oscar.

Oscar. The oft talked about but rarely seen brother. Because he is a travel writer and lives in London, he isn’t around the family as much as all of the other siblings. This time the focus is on him as the series moves out of Lincoln and the surrounding area.

Another thing that sets Oscar apart from his siblings is that he is demisexual. Yes, gay, but also demi. Hard to deal with when you are a travel writer and can be away for days and weeks at a time. So it didn’t even cross his mind when pitching LGBT+ inclusive destinations that to review them, he should be going as half of a couple. So when put on the spot he throws out the name of a gay travel photographer he has met a few times. Ya, a few times. Not even someone he would call a friend.

But Ilias is up for the adventure, if for nothing than to get a vacation in Hawaii and some exposure in a famous publication. Going with Oscar is a definite plus, even if he is grumpy.

But when they are together in Hawaii Oscar opens up more. And Ilias is a perfect gentlemen. With a little light teasing. Once Ilias knows that Oscar is demisexual, he takes that seriously. And they also agree to date each other.

In the cold light of day- in London- things are awkward again. The vacation rose colored glasses are off. But Oscar’s editor has another assignment. Fifteen boutique hotels all across England, and one in Scotland. For him and his boyfriend.

And it is during that several week 15 stay assignment that they REALLY get to know each other. They aren’t scheduled every minute of the day with resort amenities. Besides staying overnight and having one meal at each place, they are free to do whatever they’d like. And Ilias opens up as well.

This is a slow slow burn due to they whole demisexual thing, but let me tell you. WORTH IT! I thought Finn was hot. Oscar, once he feels desire for someone, let’s himself be free. Even when he realized he was ready for more, what he whispered to Ilias over a table nearly lit my kindle on fire.

Damn.

We not only get to revisit all of our other favorite characters, we also get a cute Easter Egg. I love when authors do that.

And again, a great epilogue.

Definitely a must read. The subject of demisexuality is treated with care without making it feel odd. Or that the person who was demi was odd. Nice representation.

4 pieces of eye candy

Charlie lives in England with her husband and two cheeky dogs. 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 has very little spare time, but what she does have she fills with baking, Dungeons and Dragons, reading and many other nerdy pursuits. She also thinks that everyone should have at least one favourite dinosaur…

Website: https://charlienovak.com/

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Facebook Group Charlie’s Angels (https://www.facebook.com/groups/charlienovaksangels/)

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Finding Finn by Charlie Novak, Narrated by Dan Calley: Audiobook Review

April 19, 2022 by Denise

What happens when a quiet boy with a secret falls for his best friend?

Finn has always kept people at arm’s length. Being quiet and shy doesn’t get you many friends outside your family, and it’s even harder when you’re running a spicy, secret side project.

But Gem might be the exception to the rule. The game designer is clever, self-deprecating, and appreciates Finn’s affection for all things nerdy. He’s the one man who can find the real Finn…if Finn lets him in.

When Gem asks for Finn’s help opening a new board game store, it brings the two of them closer than ever before. Soon things become complicated as lines of friendship blur between them, and Finn begins to worry Gem will find out his secret.

But maybe that wouldn’t be as bad as it seems. Maybe Gem already knows the secret Finn’s keeping. All he has to do is convince Finn to share….

Finding Finn is a 78,000-word contemporary MM romance featuring late-night shop shenanigans, far too many nosy siblings with no boundaries, two best friends, and some steamy audio fantasies. It contains no love triangle, no cheating, and no angst.

Amazon – Ebook – Kindle Unlimited

Audible – Audiobook

Link to my book review here.

Ok. Whew. Imma need a minute! I knew this audio would be off the charts hot after reading the book. And I couldn’t wait!

Dan Calley has a nice cadence to his narration. And while a previous audio of his I didn’t notice too much of a difference between characters, in this one I did.

Jem has just enough of a Scottish brogue to hint at his upbringing without being a THICK brogue that can be hard to understand. I had no problems understanding anything.

Finn has a quiet dominating strength about him and that totally comes through. I could picture him saying the words. Especially when he goes from regular Finn to sexy Finn. It’s always the quiet ones.

As much as I enjoyed the book, the audio really brought it all to life. This is a must listen.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Finding Finn (Forever Love Book 2) by Charlie Novak: New Release Review

February 26, 2022 by Denise

What happens when a quiet boy with a secret falls for his best friend?

Finn has always kept people at arm’s length. Being quiet and shy doesn’t get you many friends outside your family, and it’s even harder when you’re running a spicy, secret side project.

But maybe that wouldn’t be as bad as it seems. Maybe Gem already knows the secret Finn’s keeping. All he has to do is convince Finn to share…

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

From the first time we met Lewis and his mixed family of crazy love, I couldn’t wait for more. And it helps that they all identify somewhere on the rainbow except for Richard. But he provides plenty of comic relief when he tussles with his brothers.

Book 1 of this series was another brother, Eli and aforementioned Richard’s best friend. That was fun.

This is book 2. Finn, by far the quietest and most unassuming of them all. I also think he is the youngest, so all of the other siblings dote on him. And even though he is quiet in real life, he works as a book narrator. Apparently a good one as he is always in demand. In previous books he tends to be the brother just watching the goings on, never really getting involved. I think a lot of big families have a member like him.

Finn is crushing on his best friend, but his best friend always seems to be seeing someone. Until he isn’t. I will say that whole break up was pretty lame in the context of the book. We never saw Gem and Jesse as a couple here, so their break up didn’t hold much weight. But it is what it is.

Gem works at Jacob’s book store (previous book and series, definitely recommend) and has dreams of being a board game designer. That is refreshing as it is old school board games and RPGs, not video games. But at 38 he feels like a failure because he hasn’t been successful in selling any of his games.

And then a storefront just down from the bookstore becomes vacant and his friends convince him to open a games store. A lot of the book is Gem, and by default Finn, going through the red tape, etc to start a small business. But he and Finn are spending a lot of time together and Finn’s crush might just be reciprocated.

The play the “oh it isn’t serious, just having some fun” thing that happens way too often because neither one wants to admit to their true feelings. But…each man is exactly what the other needs. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, no spoilers, sorry.

It was sweet, cute, very VERY hot at times and I loved that it kind of full circled back to the Roll For Love series.

And the epilogue was PERFECT!!!! I adore a good epilogue and this one was *chef’s kiss*.

Here’s my obligatory, yes it can be read as a stand alone but seriously go back and read the 3 books of the Roll For Love series and then Always Eli, book one of this series.

I am giving it 4 pieces of eye candy because I really liked what Finn had going on. If it wasn’t for that I would knock it down half a piece simply because of the friends without strings blah blah that is kind of tired. It is still a well written book and I enjoyed it.

4 pieces of eye candy

Proficiency Bonus by Charlie Novak, Read by Joel Leslie: Audiobook Review

February 3, 2022 by Denise

Organising yourself is harder than it looks—Lewis may be a highly proficient PA for two very successful cosplayers, but that means nothing when you’re living at your parent’s house after yet another failed relationship and trying to find some stable ground.

Jason Lu, star of Celestials, is stuck between a rock and a hard place. When the show is cancelled and his character pigeonholed into a homophobic ending, Jason must choose whether to fall in line or break ranks. But one misstep will mean bumping heads with some powerful people.

Teaming up with the very cute guy he met at Comic Con seems like a natural first step and now Lewis and Jason must choose between heartbreak and justice. As they forge ahead, they realise there are no bonuses for navigating life’s challenges, instead they’ll just have to fight for what they believe in.

But sometimes overcoming the biggest hurdles yields the best results.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Audible

Original story review by Erin here.

I tend to only listen to audio versions of books I’ve already read. I’ve been disappointed before, but not this time. Joel Leslie once again brought the characters to life for me.

The voice variations makes it pretty easy to know who is speaking at any given time. From Jason’s deeper, slower voice to Louis’ higher, faster voice. And although it is higher, it certainly isn’t high like a stereotypical gay man’s voice.

There are quite a few characters that all get a unique to them voice. I can practically SEE Edward’s nose up in the air as he speaks. I have no idea how the narrator keeps them all straight.

Joel Leslie is one of my go to narrators so I love when he narrates a book I already love by an author I already love.

4 pieces of eye candy

Finding Finn (Forever Love Book 2) by Charlie Novak: Cover Reveal and Excerpt

January 27, 2022 by Denise

What happens when a quiet boy with a secret falls for his best friend?

Finn has always kept people at arm’s length. Being quiet and shy doesn’t get you many friends outside your family, and it’s even harder when you’re running a spicy, secret side project.

But maybe that wouldn’t be as bad as it seems. Maybe Gem already knows the secret Finn’s keeping. All he has to do is convince Finn to share…

Finding Finn is a 78,000-word contemporary MM romance featuring late-night shop shenanigans, far too many nosy siblings with no boundaries, two best friends, and some steamy audio fantasies. It contains no love-triangle, no cheating, and no angst.

Title: Finding Finn

Series: Forever Love (Book Two)

Release Date: 24th February 2022

Author: Charlie Novak

Cover Design: Natasha Snow

Amazon US – Preorder

Amazon UK – Preorder

Finn looked down at me, heat burning in his eyes. “I’m going to kiss you now.” I opened my mouth to make a stupid joke, but the words vanished when Finn tilted his head and brushed his lips against mine. Sparks jumped across my skin like I’d been shocked as a wave of sensations flooded me. Finn’s lips were soft but firm, controlling every aspect of the kiss. His tongue caressed the seam of my mouth, and I opened for him.

It was like I’d never been kissed before.

The intensity of the feelings should have terrified me, but all I wanted was more. Finn’s hand was still on my jaw, holding me in place, while his other reached out to wrap around my waist and pull me incrementally closer until I was pressed against him. My fingers fisted in the front of the old hoodie he was wearing like I was trying to keep him there, in front of me, forever.

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 love 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…