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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

Marley Valentine

Unloved (The Unlucky Ones) by Marley Valentine: Quick Review

February 22, 2024 by Denise

From USA Today bestselling author Marley Valentine comes an all new emotional, hurt/comfort, polyamorous romance.

We longed. We lost. We loved. Desperately.

I thought I had my life all figured out. But after a college football accident leaves me deaf, I was learning how to live all over again.

I expected the anger, the frustration, and the struggle to readjust, but what I didn’t expect to happen amongst the chaos, was to fall in love.

Especially not with two men.

Rough-edged puzzle pieces, Rhys, Samuel, and I were nothing but aching memories, painful realities, and hidden scars.

We were products of our pasts, abandoned and unloved, messy and complicated. Individually we had baggage; together we had mountains to climb.

But when the three of us were tangled up in one another, spilling secrets in the dark, hearts beating in sync, nothing else mattered but them.

We needed to break the cycle, because they deserved love… And who knows, maybe I finally did too.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

I am such a complete sucker for angst. Add in friends to lovers, bi awakening, a throuple AND a deaf main character? It’s like catnip. And the story didn’t disappoint.

I didn’t read book 1 so everything was new to me. There seems to be quite a bit of overlap of stories with book 1 and 2, but really it’s fine if you haven’t read book 1. But you know I am going back for it!

Lennox becomes deaf without warning. He grew up in the foster system and had no idea that this was a genetic possibility. Until he took a hard hit in football and never heard again.

You could feel his fear. Fear, being overwhelmed, feeling excluded, anxiety, depression. All completely new feelings to a college football player. His best friend Samuel is there for him every step of the way. Especially since his brother took off after a bad break up. He does have a close friend group who went through foster care with him and they all rally around Lennox during this huge change.

On the outskirts is Rhys. Fresh out of rehab for the millionth time. He wants to stay sober. His sponsor is one of Lennox’s foster siblings. And Rhys has a deaf sister so he knows ASL. Sounds like the starts aligned, right?

Wrong. Samuel is still exploring being bi. Being bi with his best friend. Who is now deaf. And Rhys who is struggling to stay sober, helping Lennox learn sign language and falling for both men. And Lennox, learning how to navigate life while deaf, trying to repair his relationship with his brother, exploring a romantic and sexual relationship with his best friend AND his feelings for Rhys. It’s a lot.

And yet all of these things unfold with sensitivity and realness. No shortcuts were taken on their road to heeling and self discovery.

I adored these men together. They were absolutely made for each other.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Filed Under: Book Review, New Release Review, Quick Reviews, TCO Reviewer: Erin Tagged With: 4.5 stars, book, Book Reviews, gay, lgbtq, m/m romance, Marley Valentine, mmmromance, mmromance, new release, review, romance

Ache by Marley Valentine: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, and Release Day Review * 2

June 22, 2021 by Denise

I couldn’t tell you when I fell in love with Gael Herrera, but I wish I knew how to make it stop.

Falling in love with a straight man is a rookie mistake. But falling in love with my soon-to-be-married-to-a-woman best friend is nothing but heartache.

Through all the years, and all the men I’ve fooled around with, he’s always been at the back of my mind. An unrequited crush I wish I could shake. A dream that was never going to come true.

When I whisk him off to a surprise bachelor party weekend in Vegas, I surrender to the idea that this is an opportunity for me to finally let go of my feelings for him and say goodbye.

But after a heated exchange and an even hotter kiss, everything I thought I knew about our friendship changed.

Maybe I had it wrong. Maybe, after all this time, we were more than best friends. Maybe, just maybe, he felt it too.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

Confidently, she places her hand on her hip, not caring that every inch of her is on display. “I don’t need you to touch me because you feel bad, Gael.”

“That’s not what I’m doing,” I protest.

She leisurely reaches for a nearby towel and wraps it around her body. “Is this about Frankie?”

God, I hated hearing that man’s name. “Why are we talking about Frankie?”

“Because every time he comes up, you turn into”—she gestures her hand up and down my body—“this.”

“I just don’t like him for Jordan,” I exclaim.

“They have sex Gael, it’s hardly a marriage proposal.”

“He said he would bring him over in the new year. That’s more than just sex.”

She shakes her head at me. “He said that because you seem to turn into an over protective, ornery father every time he mentions people he’s with.”

His father? God, that was so far from the truth. Nothing I felt about him was familial. Not in a long time and even less so lately.

Lately, I was fucking jealous, and Elena knew it. Every part of me knew she did, but she wasn’t going to call me out. Because she was hiding from the truth just as much as I was.

“Sorry,” I say, because honesty isn’t really an option right now. “I can’t help but feel protective over him. Ever since—”

“I know,” Elena says, nothing but understanding in her voice. “Ever since he got kicked out of his home, you’ve felt the need to protect him. I get it. You’re the same with me,” she adds with a soft smile. “You’re like that with everyone you love. And we love you for it, but you need to let this disdain for Frankie go and let Jordan live his life. If it turns to shit, you’ll be there for him, because that’s what good friends do.”

Every word she said pricked at my heart in pain, leaving little holes as reminders that this was so much more than being worried and protective of your friend. It was a lifetime of hurt, longing, lust, and confusion. And it was wrong.

The only other book I have read by Marley Valentine is Without You, which if you know me I rarely read anything that says “angsty”, but I absolutely loved that book. (Go grab it if you haven’t read it!) It broke my heart about six different ways, and then put it all back together again. So, I definitely went into this book expecting something quite similar. Anyway, since I hadn’t been burned with the angst on Without You, I figured I had to try this. I was not disappointed.

There is a piece in this book that the author calls “an unconventional triangle”, which **small spoiler** may cause some people to be overly cautious about reading it. Don’t, please! It is usually a piece that I don’t want to read either, but the author did it very well. Honestly, the author made it very real life. Life is about choices, day to day, week to week, year over year. And in this case, the heart had made its choice years before.

It was obvious from the first chapter how in love these two MC’s were with each other. They just were not bright enough to figure out that they other one was also in love with them, despite everyone around them realizing it.

They go to Vegas, and realize that they’ve hid it from each other all these years, etc. The first half of the book is almost entirely based in Vegas, and sets up the second half of the book very well.

The MC’s were best friends before they were lovers. However, they were also family. Jordan found family in Gael, as well as with the entire Herrera family, and it was just wonderful to see how much they loved him back, no matter what. Each person in that family was there for everyone else, at all times. What a joy to read.

I cried…multiple times…reading this book, something I genuinely try to avoid. However, with this author I have done it more than once, and it’s likely I will do it again. And I’m here for it. 🙂

A big recommend, without question. Take on the Ache, but, I promise, you’ll get to your HEA.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Apparently this was a short that was included in a previous anthology. It has since been re-edited with 50,000 words added.

We’ve seen this- best friends, gay falls for straight, long drawn out angst, straight goes gay for you, happily ever after. It’s a bit that-but definitely more.

The more involves Gael’s family taking him in as their own when his parents throw him out at 17 for being gay. More is watching your best friend get engaged to a woman. More is finding out your straight best friend wants you just as badly.

I really loved that most of this book took place over a weekend in Vegas. The back story between Jordan and Gael is explained at appropriate times to move the story alone without bogging us down with their entire relationship since they were teenagers. It moved fast without sacrificing story and it had SO. MANY. FEELS. Family feels, romantic feels, friends feels, love feels. Sigh.

No one was a jerk, no one was the bad guy, no one needed to be redeemed. Just an awesome friends to lovers story that was really well done.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Living in Sydney, Australia with her family, Marley Valentine is a USA Today bestselling author and a former social worker who uses her past experiences to write real life, emotional and heartfelt contemporary romance.

She enjoys mixing it up with both M/F and M/M Romance incorporating all forms of life, lust and love as her characters embark on their journey to their happily ever after.

When she’s not busy writing her own stories, she spends most of her time immersed in the words of her favourite authors.

Marley enjoys interacting with her readers so please feel free to reach out to her via Facebook, Instagram, email and/or subscribe to her newsletter.

Connect with Marley:
Website: https://www.marleyvbooks.com
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/MarleyVNL
Audio Newsletter: https://bit.ly/MarleyVAudio
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2VuYfg8
Instagram: http://bit.ly/MVBooksIG
Twitter: http://bit.ly/MarleyTwitter
BookBub: http://bit.ly/MVBookBub
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Un7EdJ
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/MVGoodreads

Filed Under: Blog Tour, Book Excerpt, Book Review, New Release Book Blast, New Release Review, Quick Reviews, Release Day Review, TCO Exclusives Tagged With: author, blog tour, Blog Tours, book, Book Excerpts, Book Reviews, excerpt, exclusive, gay, lgbtq, m/m romance, Marley Valentine, mmromance, new release, review, romance

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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy

15 hours ago

Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy
✨TEASER: THE HOUSE OF FINCH AND CROW by @authorhaydenhall releasing December 8th! #PreOrderNowWhy you need to #ONECLICK this book…🔥Enemies to Lovers🔥Academic Rivalry🔥Paranormal Romance🔥Wizarding Academy🔥Class Divide🔥Spicy MM Romance🔥Fated LoversHe rivals me in class, and wrecks me in the dark.I don’t belong here.I’m an outcast, an outsider, a freak with powers I can’t control.They found me at twenty, some fifteen years too late. Now I’m wiped from the memory of all who ever loved me, invisible to strangers, and running out of time. My only chance to survive is at Veilcrest Academy, where everyone is years ahead of me.Especially him.Cassian Crow is a perfect student, a ruthless bully, and a charmer who sleeps with anyone he chooses.He’s solid muscle and storm-quiet eyes that undress me every time he looks my way.I don’t know if I hate him or want him looking until he breaks me.His pranks ruin me. But I study hard to outsmart him in class. It’s a rivalry that follows us all the way to the Scottish Highlands, where a simple mission strands us alone, in one room, with one bed, and something in the dark that wants us dead.And when he touches me, I fall apart.Nothing about this is simple. He’s still the spoiled second son of the most powerful house in the world. His father will never let this happen. And the Wraiths are coming for us both.But the pull of attraction is only glowing brighter.And I’m about to fall in love with him anyway, even if it kills me.The House of Finch and Crow is the first novel in Hayden Hall's debut MM paranormal romance series, The Keepers of the Light. If Heated Rivalry happened at a wizarding academy, this is what it would look like.Expect enemies to lovers, academic rivalry, fated love, found family, and a steamy road to a happily ever after.#haydenhall #paranormalromance The Author Agency ...

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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy

15 hours ago

Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy
✨TEASER: PUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT by @hipsterwriter releasing November 18th! Meet the next character!PreOrder NOW!You will love Puck Around and Find Out if you love…🏒hockey🩷bi-awakening🏒forced proximity (Roommates)🩷enemies to lovers🏒teammates🩷college🏒MM romanceI took his twin brother’s place on the team and he’s had it out for me ever since.I’m the newest player on the Gods hockey team, but I don’t belong here. I’m from an entirely different world than the rest of them. But my mother’s death left me with nothing. No ties to family, no place to live. It’s this or the street. So I have no choice.To make this work, I have to play with the guy whose brother I replaced. Coach wants us on the same line, but Ridgeway wants me off the team, and if all of that wasn’t bad enough, he’s my roommate.Ridgeway is dark and angry, holding pain under the surface that I recognize. He hates me and gets under my skin in a way no one else has before, which only makes me want to push his buttons more.We’re at each other’s throats by the end of the first week.But I’m determined to figure out a way to work with him.Maybe I’ll have to seduce him, because I don’t think he’s as straight as he claims.#jrgray #hockeyromance #mmromance The Author Agency ...

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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy

15 hours ago

Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy
✨TEASER: CALAN by @larktaylorauthor releasing December 4th!Pre-Order Now!You will love Calan if you love…🐺Enemies to Lovers🐺Fated Mates 🐺Demon x Wolf Shifter🐺Bi-Awakening🐺Touch Him & Die🐺Found Family 🐺Yearning🐺Primal Kink🐺Hurt/ComfortFate had chosen my mate for me.And they’d chosen wrong.Wolf shifters get to choose their mates. It’s how it’s always been.Unless you’re the fated mate of an angel or demon.When Darius escapes Hell, he comes right to me. To tell me that we’re destined to be together. That I’m the other half of his soul.I tell him to go right back to Hell.Fate might think we’re mates, but they’ve conveniently forgotten two important facts: I’m straight and I can’t stand demons.My prejudice isn’t Darius’s fault. It was created decades ago by another demon, one who still haunts my nightmares to this day.Despite my behaviour towards Darius, he keeps showing up over and over again. He takes everything I throw at him and throws it right back. Fighting with him makes me feel…alive.By the time I realise that maybe fate was right all along, it’s too late. I’ve spent years repeatedly hurting Darius in ways I’m ashamed of.Will Darius ever give us a chance after what I’ve put him through? Or are we destined to be in this limbo forever?One thing’s for certain – I’m not going to waste any more time in finding out.Calan is a heart-wrenching enemies to lovers, MM shifter x demon romance. The third in The Wild Edges series, these books are best enjoyed in order. Each story follows a new couple, and always ends in a HEA.#larktaylor #mmromance #fatedmates The Author Agency ...

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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy

15 hours ago

Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy
✨It’s cover reveal day for THE BOYFRIEND EXPERIENCE by @authoremlindsey releasing December 11th!You will love The Boyfriend Experience if you love…🧡Fake Boyfriends❄️Boyfriend for Hire🧡Client to Lovers❄️Holiday Romance🧡Only One Bed❄️Praise KinkThe one thing I have always been proud of is walking away from my family the moment I realized I would never live up to their expectations. Going from golden child to pariah was hard, but I have no regrets.So why, when I get an invite to my dad’s Christmas wedding reception, am I considering making an appearance?It would be different if I had even one thing going for me, but there’s no humble brag in being a private school art teacher, living in a tiny apartment, and so single it almost hurts.Unfortunately, my best friend has an idea, and it’s a wild one. And there’s absolutely no way I’m going to do it. I mean, hiring a fake boyfriend to make it look like someone actually cares about me?Absurd.Ridiculous.And absolutely not happening.And god help me because when I cave and call Oakley, it takes everything in me not to swoon the moment I meet him. Or to get ideas about what this could be, because he’s here for one reason only: to convince my family he loves me, and I’m not tragically alone. Not because any of this is real.So why, when we kiss for show, does it feel he means it?And why, when it’s time to walk away, does it feel like he doesn’t want to let me go?The Boyfriend Experience is a stand-alone holiday romance ft an overly-anxious, recovering people pleaser who wants one last FU hurrah before he never speaks to his family again, a virgin boyfriend-for-hire, grey-romantic hottie who has no idea why this high-strung teacher makes him want things he’s never considered before, kissing in the snow, holiday lights, found family, and a steamy happily ever after.Cover Credit:Natasha Snow#coverreveal #emlindsey #mmromance #holidayromance The Author Agency ...

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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy

2 days ago

Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy
✨TEASER: THE CRIMSON HOWLERS by @coraroseauthor releasing November 20th! PreOrder your copy now!You will love The Crimson Howlers if you love…🔥MMM🔥Free Use🔥Pack Bonding🔥Found Family🔥Bonding Contract🔥Magic Slick🔥Exhibitionism and VoyeurismI want something an alpha isn’t supposed to want. To be taken. To surrender control and give myself over completely.The Crimson Howlers give me what I crave, until I offend the pack leader.Now I must pay penance for it.Bound by magic to their pack for a year, I spend my nights with their leader and a rotation of alphas.They’ve been alone too long, and they need someone to soothe their instincts and satisfy their needs.But I can’t get attached.I won’t risk losing someone I care about again.And if anyone gets too close…I run.As the pack’s need grows, so does my pull toward two of them:Zed, the pack leader, and Jex, his second.Maybe this is all a cruel fantasy, and I’m destined to end up alone when my year is up.But I want it all, and to have it, I’ll have to risk everything to bond with them and the rest of the pack.The Crimson Howlers does end in an HEA, but the relationship dynamics are not traditional. While there is a specific throuple bonded, their relationship remains open to the pack. #mmmromance #corarose The Author Agency ...

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