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m/m romance

Stronger Than Longing (Chesapeake Days Book 3) by Katherine McIntyre: Release Day Review

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Return to small-town Chesapeake and fall in love with the single-dad bad boy who keeps breaking hearts, and the adorable geek who can’t help but fall head over heels for his brother’s best friend.

For one night with the man of his dreams, Taran’s willing to break all his rules…..

Taran’s always been the reliable one. Safe. Which is why he keeps getting dumped by the assholes he dates. And after the latest round of “too boring,” he’s ready to drink his blues away. That’s until Silas King shows up – the gorgeous guy he’d swooned over through high school.

Silas wants one more night of distraction before his new reality sets in, and he sets his sights on Taran, his friend’s little brother who’s looking sexier than ever. It’s not like he can get in any more trouble than he’s already found himself in.

After Taran and Silas spend one unforgettable night together, feelings emerge, ones quickly stamped out when Silas confesses why he’s back in town. He’s returned to meet his three-month-old daughter.

With that chaos in his life, Silas can’t pursue anything further with Taran, and having longed for Silas his whole damn life, Taran isn’t sure he’ll survive the aftermath. Yet the more they try to avoid their connection, the more they keep colliding…until the passion between them detonates.

Amazon – All Regions

This was a new to me author. What drew me to wanting to read it was the whole small town thing. I grew up in a small town and the dynamics are interesting usually and make for an interesting backdrop.

There were parts I liked and parts I didn’t like. I really appreciated that one of the main characters, Taran, wasn’t white! He was, I think, Indian. Talk about an underrepresented demographic. He is a super sweet guy who wants to be in a relationship. So much so that he kind of settles for less than he deserves and then they invariably break up with him.

Silas is the typical bad boy. Running out of town as soon as he graduated high school. Coming back to visit once a year or so. He only does hookups, male or female, and has never had a relationship.

Which is why, when we find out he is back because his hook up last year got pregnant, I wanted to yell CONDOMS??? There was no talk about how or if birth control failed. Not cool.

So some suspended reality here. His best friend, Taran’s brother, hires him to be a sous chef at his restaurant. Is excited to have someone who worked in Philadelphia to jazz up the menu. Except we never see that. And he just jumps in and no one loses shifts?

I know these are little things, but they take me out of the story.

After hooking up, they decide to do the friends thing. We all know that never works. But instead of fighting a relationship, Silas seems to be the one ready to go all in.

The big conflict happens, the make up happens and then pretty much the end. I wanted more. It just wasn’t enough story for me.

It was fine but a bit forgettable. And there’s one plot device that bugs me that seems to be used often. I won’t say what it is, but it’s to the point that I am eye rolling.

Readable but forgettable.

3 pieces of eye candy

Katherine McIntyre is a feisty chick with a big attitude despite her short stature. She writes stories featuring snarky women, ragtag crews, and men with bad attitudes—high chance for a passionate speech thrown into the mix. As an eternal geek and tomboy who’s always stepped to her own beat, she’s made it her mission to write stories that represent the broad spectrum of people out there, from different cultures and races to all varieties of men and women. Easily distracted by cats and sugar.

Spiritual Whispers by V.L. Locey: New Release Review

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In a tiny Vermont town, two men are about to discover the joys of falling in love all over again.

Taliesin Wadleigh has lived in Couton-on-the-River for his entire life. Six of those twenty-six years he spent with the first man who had ever captured his heart. Those times were the happiest of his life and then, without warning, his fiancé was taken from him. Physically, at least. Spiritually, Carmichael is still in that whimsical shop with his beloved. Having a charming spirit close at hand to share late night tea with has helped heal Taliesin’s aching heart, and he’s happy spending his days selling antiques to tourists and avoiding the outside world and all those who inhabit it. Or so he tells himself…

Then a tall, handsome stranger walks into his shop and Taliesin, as well as Carmichael, senses that their life—and perhaps their afterlife—is going to change dramatically.

When Eason Dunne retired from professional baseball two years ago, he had plans. Amazing plans. Happy plans. Two years after he hung up his cleats, all those glorious ambitions have fizzled. He’s now divorced and flitting from one project to another, hoping to find…something special. Inheriting an old inn in some one horse—pardon him, one moose—town in Vermont was not at all something special. Lacking anything else of meaning in his life, he makes the trip from Las Vegas to Couton-on-the-River to try his hand at innkeeping. It’s in this little tourist trap that he wanders into the local antiquity shop and meets the eclectic, bespeckled, adorable owner. A man with somewhat offbeat taste in furnishings, a cross-eyed cat, a seemingly haunted radio, and one rather protective ghost.

Eason isn’t sure what to make of the situation or his attraction to the skinny man in the bow tie, but when danger threatens Taliesin, both men who love him are going to have to work together to save him.

Spiritual Whispers is a standalone small-town gay paranormal romance with a lovely age gap, a quirky antique shop owner, a disillusioned retired baseball player, a ghostly protector, a lazy shop cat, lots of tea, the occasional moose, and a happy-ever-after.

Amazon – All Regions

Full disclosure: I don’t think I’ve read anything by this author before, because…don’t hate me!…I’m not a hockey person. Any other sport yes, but hockey is not my jam. So, I went into this book blind as to the author’s style of writing, or level of levity or heat. I was more than happily surprised. I just adored this book!

Taliesin had it VERY rough growing up, yet ended up finding a man who, though he was some 30 years his senior, he just adored. Then he died, and Taliesin was broke and  alone with just a musty antique shop, Carmichael’s sassy cat, and an old radio that somehow communicated with the dead. He was definitely a different breed of person. He loved his bowties, and got so excited at finding buttons. He was just adorable, and how you could read this and not want to wrap him up in a cocoon and keep him safe forever is beyond me. Also, Taliesin made me laugh so hard. From now on my new phrase is “Go Baseball!” (This is coming from a huge baseball fan.)

Eason, who was also older than Taliesin by quite a few years, retired from baseball and decided that after receiving an old inn, he would fix it up and run it. When he finds Taliesin, he just can’t get enough of him. Eason was sweet, caring and really saw Taliesin for the person beyond the bowties and strange speaking patterns. Eason’s inner monologue cracked me the F up!!! (I very rarely highlight books. This one I highlighted many times.)

“Three grand and a signed baseball!” I shouted. The crowd stared at me in complete loss. “I’m a retired MLB player.” Nothing. Not even a sniffle. “I know Derek Jeter.”

That made them all ooh and aah. Whatever F*ckers.

Taliesin still had a lot of issues to deal with beyond the antique store. He had Carmichael’s children, the lack of money, and a powerful grief that he was working through, but it still was important to him to keep Carmichael in his heart, even as he fell for Eason. In the end, it took both men he loved to save him. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Yes, I cried, several times…cause why are people mean? I also laughed a lot (The “Precious Moments thingies” made me snort laugh.). I enjoyed this book from beginning to end, and I definitely would read it again. Honestly, I’d love to see more from this author as well, because I don’t think this was a one-off. I wonder if she’s written any more? 😉

4 pieces of eye candy

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USA Today Bestselling Author V.L. Locey – Penning LGBT hockey romance that skates into sinful pleasures.

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Dr. Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.

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Dearly & Deviant Daniel: M/M Urban Fantasy Romance (Dearly and The Departed Book 1) by L.A. Kaye: New Release Review

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When the family business is death, what does it take to feel alive?

Maybe a gorgeous motorcycle mechanic with a dark past has a few ideas?

Mortician Keir Dearly has a secret he plans to take to his grave. If he tells anyone he speaks with the dead who come through his funeral home, who will believe him? Keeping the secret prevents Keir from pursuing a love life because how would a lover react to such news?

Mechanic Dashiell Clegg owns Clegg Cycles, the family business his father left to him and his estranged brother Daniel. Dash has only seen Daniel twice since Dash was released from prison, and that’s perfectly fine with both of them. The brothers stay out of each other’s lives until one day, Dash gets a call that changes everything.

When Dash’s brother, deviant Daniel Clegg, shows up on Keir’s table with a final request: Keep my brother from being blamed for my murder, the temptation to jump into the mix is too much for Keir to resist. Can Keir save Dashiell Clegg without telling anyone about his conversations with the dead?

After being warned about communing with the Departed, will Dearly have to pay a price for assisting them in finding their final peace?

L.A. Kaye’s debut novel, Dearly & Deviant Daniel, is the first tale in the Dearly & the Departed M/M paranormal romance series.It’s a little mysterious, a little creepy, and a lotta sexy, so be sure to check it out! It’s approximately 90,000 words in length and ends happily for now.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

I was a little torn on this book. On the one hand, Keir is so sweet, and does everything he can for the people who come into his care, body and soul, even the ones who truly don’t deserve it. On the other, Dash, although I know he had been through a lot, just rubbed me the wrong way at times.

The story itself is good, with a little bit of paranormal, along with someone who really took his job and his place in the world of death seriously. It has some good characters, and some clearly deviant ones – see Daniel, who was a complete a$$wipe in life, and not much better in death.

His brother Dash, while messed up in his own life, then had to deal with the mess Daniel left for him. It just bothered me how he left, just slowly disappearing from Keir’s life until he left town. It felt like he couldn’t handle Keir, much less the life he had been leading.

The story was not meant for an HEA, or even really an HFN, but it still felt that it needed a bit more resolution for these two. However, they found who actually killed Daniel, and discovered all the horrible things he did in life, so that was a huge positive. The mystery was good, and the right people got what they deserved, which is always good.

4 pieces of eye candy

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Something Undeniable: Split Rock Ranch Book 1 by Rory Maxwell: New Release Review with Giveaway

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Micah Avery has called Split Rock Ranch home for most of his life—it’s one of the few places he can be totally himself without worry or judgment. The ranch, the horses, and the people are Micah’s future, and he couldn’t be happier. The fact that it’s also home to the ranch manager he’s determined to marry one day is icing on the cake . . . all he needs is for Ryan to notice him.

Ryan Astor came to Split Rock Ranch at a time when he was desperate to start over. It was just supposed to be a stop on the road, but instead he found a home and a family—that family includes Micah, the sweet kid who’s been the ranch mascot since before he was tall enough to see over the stall doors. Ryan’s finally found his place, and he can’t imagine wanting anything to change.

Then little Micah Avery grows up. And Ryan’s suddenly confronted with a whole mess of feelings and desires he never expected. Now he needs to decide if he can give in to what they both want without jeopardizing everything they have.

Something Undeniable is a slow-burn, 37k-word novella with an age gap, mutual pining, and plenty of heat. It’s the first book in the Split Rock Ranch series, but can be read as a stand-alone story.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

This looks to be a new author, and she did a very good job on this slow burn cowboy romance. There were still a few unanswered questions for me at the end, but overall well done.

When we first meet Micah and Ryan, Micah is a senior in high school but has been in love with Ryan for several years. He told his friend right away when Ryan came to the ranch that he would marry him someday. Ryan, of course, had no idea, and didn’t even consider Micah, since he was so much older. Until right at Micah’s graduation, when Micah has no idea if he wants to stay or go away to college. They have a moment, and then Micah leaves for 3 years.

I have to give kudos to the author on this. She didn’t shy away from the distance that these two needed in order for Micah to mature, and decide what he really wanted. Micah even had relationships before he came back, but always wanted Ryan. This was really well done. The two men circled each other when Micah returned, but it wasn’t long.

The side characters were really well done, as well. One is on the autism spectrum and is very well portrayed. Since everyone on the spectrum is different in their needs and concerns, it was great to see not only the representation, but also the respect that all the characters gave her for her skills and joy in what she did.

Very enjoyable, and I’m interested to see how the author takes their relationship in book 2 and challenges it, because Micah and Ryan definitely got their HEA in the first book.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

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Rory Maxwell discovered romance novels on her mom’s bookshelf when she was probably too young to be reading them—the reward for being a nosy kid with great reading comprehension. The magic of a dial-up internet connection led her to the wonderful world of MM fanfiction a few years later and she fell love with the genre. In 2019 she woke up with a plot bunny, opened a word doc, and started trying to figure out how this writing stuff worked.

Rory grew up outside of Washington, DC, moved away, and then came back for reasons she doesn’t fully understand. An artist and writer, she always has too many exciting ideas and not nearly enough free time. One day, she hopes to escape to the mountains and open an LGBTQIA+ friendly bed and breakfast where she can work from home and write as much as she wants. In the meantime, she splits her time between her day job and writing MM romance with endearing characters, lots of feels, plenty of heat, and a dash of kink.

Connect with Roxy:
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Bully For Sale (Heat For Sale Universe, Book 2) by Leta Blake: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, and Giveaway

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Heat can be sold, but love is earned.

Bullied and outcast, Ezer has seen firsthand the cruelties of the world. He knows what’s expected from his kind—timid compliance and submission to his “betters.” But Ezer isn’t one to roll over and conform to the role society has forced upon him.

Despite his defiant nature, Ezer is coerced into partnering with a man of his father’s choosing. One his father promises will love and care for him for the rest of his life.

A night of nameless and faceless passion later, Ezer is horrified to find himself bound to Ned, a bully who has done so much to make his life hell. Ezer’s determined to hate Ned but he can’t help the way his body craves his touch.

Ned is young, privileged, and hopelessly in love with Ezer. Too bad his pack of so-called “friends” have targeted Ezer for torment. Ned has a lot of regrets, but none greater than his role in Ezer’s misery. When Ned’s offered the contract of a lifetime, he sees it as the only way forward with the man he loves.

The dual biological drives of heat and its aftermath might be all that’s keeping them close now, but Ned is determined to prove he’s worthy of Ezer’s love.

While Ezer is just as determined not to fall for his bully.

Bully for Sale is a standalone m/m romance set in the Heat for Sale universe. CW: bullying, sexual assault (not between the heroes), heat, knotting, pregnancy, intense birth, familial coercion.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Goodreads

Ezer gave a bitter little smile. “You must like that I can’t help but feel tender toward you after everything, and despite everything. Fucking alpha pheromones. Fucking seminal compounds. Making me soft for you.” He snorted. “You must love that, huh?” Ezer groaned and squirmed a little in the chair. “Fuck. The heat’s coming again.”

Ned’s cock surged with renewed lust.

“Lick my nipples,” Ezer gritted out, gripping Ned’s hair tightly and pulling him to his chest. “Bite them.”

Ned obeyed Ezer’s commands as if he was the omega and Ezer the alpha. He bit and licked, sucked and soothed.

Ezer squirmed and sighed, spreading his legs. “Finger me,” he demanded. “Make me come with your hand.”

Ned didn’t hesitate. He slid his hand up Ezer’s leg and pressed three fingers into his sopping hole, massaging Ezer’s heat-swollen glands and prostate until Ezer’s legs were shaking. Ned dropped his head in Ezer’s lap, sucking his dick, lapping at the fluid it released, and loving the way Ezer pumped his hips to get it deeper into Ned’s mouth while his hole clenched around Ned’s fingers.

“Fuck,” Ezer said, and then arched his back, whining as an orgasm pumped through his body, causing him to thrash and clench, shooting a load of sweet omega cum into Ned’s mouth. It was delicious. Ned gobbled it down, licking his lips to get the last of it.

“Need more,” Ezer gasped.

Ned lifted Ezer into his arms, took him back to the bed, and planted his cock in Ezer’s hot hole, working him over until Ezer was a sobbing, wet mess of pleasure.

When Ned pushed deep and came too, his knot growing and pulsing inside Ezer, he whispered, “I love this. I wish you loved it, too.”

Ezer moaned. “I do love it. I can’t help how good it feels.”

Ned buried his head in Ezer’s neck, scenting his sweetness. “Do you wish it didn’t feel good?”

Ezer thumped Ned’s back in a wordless, annoyed reply.

“Do you hope it takes?” Ned gasped.

“A baby?”

“Yeah.”

“No.” Ezer said vehemently, and then more softly, “I don’t know. Maybe.”

Ned wrapped his arms around Ezer even more tightly. “I hope it takes. I want to see you big with my child, stuffed full of my future. Our future.”

Ezer let out a groan and rolled his eyes. “This heat must be receding because I’m aware enough already to know that’s some serious schmaltz you’re spewing. You really are a romantic, aren’t you? You don’t even know if we can like each other.”

“I know we can, and you do too.”

“I sure as hell don’t know that.”

Ned rubbed his face against Ezer’s sweaty neck, loving how he could feel Ezer’s voice through his body, vibrating on his knot with every word. “Then why do you ‘maybe’ want it to stick?”

“Because I have nothing else now. I sold my whole life for this with you.” Ezer squirmed and came again, his skin flushing and fresh sweat breaking over him. “Oh. It’s just so good.” He said it desperately, as if he might cry.

“You smell delicious when you come,” Ned said. “I want to cover myself in your scent.”

“You’re supposed to. It’s natural,” Ezer murmured, but he sounded drowsy. He must be right about the heat receding. Normally, they’d have another wave or two before there was a break. Ned felt an odd sense of loss over it.

“Ezer?”

“Mmm?”

“I think I’m in love with you.”

Ezer’s eyes scrunched tight, not bothering to open. “That’s fucking absurd. Don’t say it again.”

“Ever?”

“Ever.”

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Leta Blake

Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

If you’d like to be among the first to know about new releases, you can sign up for Leta’s newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bdn32H

Bonus material for the Heat of Love series, Will & Patrick Wake Up Married series, Training Season series, Smoky Mountain Dreams, Mr. Frosty Pants, The River Leith, and more is available on Leta Blake’s Patreon account. Sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/letablake

Or you can find out more about her by following her online:

On the web: https://letablake.com

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letablake

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/LetaBlake

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Underdog (In Vino Veritas) by L.A. Witt: Audiobook Review, Narration by Nick J. Russo

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Life in foster care wasn’t easy. Life after prison? Unforgiving. But I’m determined to stay out of trouble, and I’m gaining a foothold on the closest I’ve ever known to normal.

Then, thanks to a pair of escape artist dogs from the sanctuary where I’ve found work, I cross paths with my boss’s neighbor, Ty Adams. He’s a horse trainer, and winter is his quiet season. It’s also the season when he gets restless and lonely—two things I know all about. He’s not interested in love or romance. I’m just happy someone’s interested in me at all, even if emotions are strictly forbidden.

When we’re not together, I’m thinking about him. When we are together… Well, I’m definitely thinking about what he does to me and what I want to do with him.

As we keep each other warm through the Vermont winter, this feels a lot more than physical. Somehow he soothes my pain, and I wonder if I’m touching something deep inside him too. But Ty won’t let himself love anyone. I never had a chance. And now, with my past closing in, I could lose the one man I hoped I could count on. The one I thought might be different.

When his present and my history collide, is it too much to hope he’ll choose me?

CW: Sick horse and a minor accident involving a horse—no animal deaths or serious injuries/illnesses.

Audible – Narrated by Nick J. Russo

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

First, this is not a short book/audiobook. I mean let’s face it, L.A. Witt doesn’t really write short books, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. It tops out around 400 pages in the ebook, and 12 hours on the audiobook, and not one ounce of filler in there. Zero. So, plan to be engaged the entire way! I know I was.

What can I say? Landon got ALL the love from me. A really good guy (c’mon he loved animals so much!) who thanks to a really cr@ppy childhood grew up and got himself into a lot of trouble, multiple times, until he was locked up for nearly 10 years. It’s hard to imagine how someone can not come out of something like that completely changed. And to see how many people questioned him, shunned him, assumed that he was always up to his “old ways”. He took each of those blows to heart, but tried to be so forgiving, and understanding of them, that this is what he felt he deserved and always would. Yet he treated each one of those animals like they were precocious children and gave them all the love he had in him. It was hard not to love Landon from the first page.

Ty was also a really good guy, very dedicated to his career, so much so that he never saw it coming that he and Landon were just going to continue on the path toward each other. It was honestly a little funny how he kept denying it, and explaining it away as two friends just having great sex, denying it to himself as much as he did to Landon. This guy could not get out of his own head. But he quickly began to see Landon not as a friends with benefits situation, but as someone who he could depend on, and learn to incorporate into his life.

There was one thing that Ty did that, while I understood why he did it, and honestly would have likely done it myself in that situation, I was bothered that he didn’t end up telling Landon about it. I would have liked to have seen that level of honesty from Ty. But it didn’t change the course of the book, and likely wouldn’t have changed their relationship in the long run.

I will admit I cried more than once at the treatment of Landon, who just wanted to get his life on track, to put his head down and work. Meanwhile so many people would not give him a chance. It was heartbreaking. And yet, I would imagine so realistic to those who are coming to the outside after incarceration.

The knowledge given to the reader/listener about the horse world was not overwhelming, but definitely enough to make sure you knew what was going on. And with all the different personalities in the different animals, it just made it that much more fun to read.

I don’t often re-read/re-listen to books, but this one will definitely hit that list. Now that my heart isn’t in my throat wondering about the HEA (which this author always gives…but it was hard sometimes to see it coming!)

Narrator Nick J. Russo, does another fantastic job with character voices. I always appreciate a narrator who can give multiple voices to his characters, and being able to tell who was who based on voice is a talent. He did a great job of this. I enjoy his narration every time I get the chance to listen, and I will be listening to this one again!

Story: 4.5 pieces of eye candyNarration: 4 pieces of eye candy