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release day review

Enemy Combatant (The Renegades Book 2) by Cara Dee: Release Day Review

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The Renegades #2 • Romantic Suspense • Stockholm Syndrome • Hurt Comfort • Action • MM
“The best intelligence is the knowledge that your enemy doesn’t know you have.”

Crew Finlay’s ego had taken a hit or two. He couldn’t lie. As a Marine, he’d been one of the best. As a private military contractor, he’d…messed up a bit. Or failed spectacularly. Whatever. And now? A year into his new gig, working in private security for Elliott Jones, Crew had a lot to prove. He refused to screw this up too. They had people to bring home. So when he found himself holding a cartel freelancer hostage, he steeled himself and vowed not to fall for the bastard’s lies. As if Crew would believe this man was an undercover Fed. Come on.

Nah, this tall, older drink of water was full of it. Adrien Mercier, or whatever his real name might be, was going down. Until one day, when Adrien turned the tables, and then Crew was the one sitting with his hands cuffed behind his back.

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Poor Crew. He’s actually a good soldier but so far not a great PMC and he is still making stupid mistakes in book 2 of The Renegades. He is paired up with Ryan (Darius’ brother) in Europe trying to track down one of the bad guys.

One of the biggest stupid mistakes wasn’t solely his. Since Ryan was in on the mission to kidnap this cartel guy, he can take responsibility for him actually being an undercover Fed. HA!

After securing a place to stay in Italy, Ryan goes off to help out with another part of the mission leaving Crew along with their prisoner. He starts off pretty well with the mild torture techniques. Cooking himself delicious food but none for his captive. Sleeping on a cot with a mattress. Swimming in the cool lake when it’s a million degrees out.

After the truth comes to light, the chains and hand cuffs come off. And the pants. And there’s Crew’s next mistake. Because now HE is the prisoner.

The rest of the book is spent on a yacht with no land in sight while Adrien waits for word about the cartel guy he’s been working undercover for. He wants to wrap this up and go home. He has worked undercover on and off for years. But Crew wants this guy alive because he believes he knows where the hostages are. (yes, you absolutely need to read book 1)

There’s a lot of different names, countries, cartels, who is working with whom, who is trying to kill who, etc, etc. It twisted my brain, but that’s just how I am. Obviously this is a very well thought out plot.

And then there’s more naked times. And then Crew makes another bad decision. Bad according to his friends. I guess we’ll find out in book 3 if his decision was good or bad.

But I will say, I need more Crew and Adrien please.

4 pieces of eye candy

Rogue Launch (The Renegades Book 1) by Cara Dee: Release Blitz, Excerpt and Release Day Review

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The Renegades #1 Romantic Suspense Enemies to Lovers Action MM
“We will find you, darling. Stay strong. We will find you.”

This was exactly what Elliott Jones needed. A nice barbecue with family and friends. The moving trucks were parked outside his new ranch, and he was ready to start fresh. Again. Despite the regrets he lived with, he tried to focus on the good things in life. His niece Blake, for instance. She was his world. But after twenty years of working as a private military contractor in some of the most hostile territories on the planet, Elliott had made more than one enemy.

He heard the unmistakable sound of a rocket launcher, catapulting him and his closest friends into a nightmare of agony, rage, and determination. Lives had been lost, and three people had been kidnapped. Among them, little Blake.

Elliott would stop at nothing to bring her home again, even if he had to team up with his absolute biggest regret, Joel Hayward—Coast Guard sniper, the ex-husband of Elliott’s sister, and Blake’s stepdad.

Series: The Renegades
Genre: MM Romantic Suspense

Release Day: Friday, July 21st, 2023

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“Toby! This is for you.” Gray stuck a piece of bread and changed songs.

 Oh fuck yeah, it took me about half a second to recognize Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” and dive right back into my childhood. One of the reasons I’d loved growing up in the San Diego area, watching the Navy ships on the weekends with my old man.

 Toby was a good boy. He was former Navy too. He and Crew were high on life and didn’t hesitate to put on a poolside show for us, dancing and singing along.

 Blake laughed and cheered.

 “Nobody tell anyone I’m getting down to Navy music,” Crew threatened. “Damn squids.”

 “Whoa!” I stood up with my mouth full of olives, pepper salami, and bread.

 “I got this, boss. You go back to eating,” Toby reassured me. Hey, not everyone wanted eight-packs. Some wanted food. He turned to Crew and clasped his shoulder. “Looks like I gotta teach you a Top Gun lesson, my jarhead friend.”

 This oughta be good—

 I felt my body seize up a fraction of a second before my brain screamed desert. The smell of tea, herbs, and diesel invaded my senses. Take cover, take cover! I was back in Fallujah. Dogs barked, mopeds beeped, men screamed, the morning call to prayer had been interrupted by the sounds of rocket launchers.

 I sucked in a breath and met Crew’s wild stare from almost fifty feet away, and I could tell he’d reacted too. Then we snapped our gazes to the sky, and I didn’t even think. The sound was so fucking distinct that I switched over to muscle memory. I wasn’t sure I saw anything, but I knew.

 “Everyone away from the house!” I yelled. “Take cover! Away from the house!”

 “Fucking run!” Crew shouted.

We all know and love Cara Dee for her kinky, sexy stories. But a lot of the guys are military or ex military or PMC. This book- the first of 4- brings a lot of those guys together for a covert op after one of them was targeted while many were there and 2 spouses and one kid were kidnapped. The kid is the niece of Elliott, the guy who was targeted and the daughter of Joel, Elliott’s former lover AND former brother in law. Sticky wicket there. Shay Tenley, partner to River and Reese was also taken and seriously those guys are scary.

The guys call in a few reinforcements and do what they do best. Organize, strategize and work to get their family members back.

The often confusing world of drug cartels is their main objective. But we have cartels in Mexico, in Europe, in California, the leader of one supposedly in prison in Texas. This one rats on that one, there are a million layers of men to get through, and leads that take them across the globe.

The character focus of this book is Elliott and Joel. They love/hate each other and we get their back story in snippets as they travel through Mexico together hunting down leads and the head of a cocaine cartel.

FYI- the only sex in this book is in flashbacks. This book really focuses on the op and trying to figure out who tried to kill Elliott.

There’s no cliff hanger, but being that this is book 1 of 4 there are also no answers. Luckily for all of us the books all come out just a few weeks apart from each other. So I am eagerly awaiting book 2.

4 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

Like I Pretended (Heather Bay book 4) by Charlie Novak: Release Day Review

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Pretending to be in love never felt so real.

Henry Lu hates being a superstar. Action movies have left a sour taste in his mouth and filming a queer period drama on the Yorkshire coast sounds like the perfect antidote. Meeting grumpy coffee shop owner, Alex, is the cherry on top.

Alex isn’t impressed with the appearance of Hollywood royalty in his life, especially because Henry refuses to accept that Alex doesn’t like him. But when rumours about the production draw the attention of stuffy streaming service bigwigs and the ire of Henry’s superhero franchise, Henry and Alex must put on a show and fake a relationship to smooth things over.

Alex doesn’t want a relationship, and Henry isn’t good at them, but their arrangement is only supposed to be for a few months, then they’ll both be free to go back to their lives. The only problem is that pretending to be in love never felt so real.

Like I Pretended is a slow burn contemporary MM romance featuring a sunshine Hollywood superstar whose never been told no, a grumpy coffee shop owner who wants to be left alone, bad attempts at flirting, terrible catering, and finding home.

It is book four in the Heather Bay series and while it can be read as a standalone, it’s best enjoyed as part of the series.

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If you’re a fan of Charlie Novak, you know Henry Lu. Action superstar, brother to Jason Lu, he’s been on the fringes for a while. And he finally gets his story.

If you’ve read the other Heather Bay books you know that they were anticipating a show being filmed there. Turns out they are, it’s a gay regency romance and Henry is one of the stars. And you know Alex, best friend to Noah who just moved out to live with his boyfriend- Alex’s brother. And even with all of that you can read these as stand alones. But why would you?

Alex is one of the only people to ever call Henry out on his BS. And Henry likes it. But no amount of charm can sway Alex. Until the studio asks him to be Henry’s fake boyfriend.

Because of the fake boyfriend status, and Alex’s past, this story is a slow smoldering burn. Henry quickly befriends Alex’s core group of friends as he also tries to both be respectful of Alex and to woo him.

Alex’s friends are the same snarky, loving group of guys who really just want to see him happy. And even if Alex doesn’t want to admit it, Henry is the guy.

You can’t help but love Henry. He’s like a puppy. And Alex is the housecat who doesn’t like anyone. How can anyone not love a puppy eventually?

Very satisfying story where no big concessions were made, the angst was low and a happily ever after was had. And the epilogue shows that Alex is still a bit prickly, but in the best way.

4 pieces of eye candy

Loving Lennox (Out in Austin) by KD Ellis: Release Day Review

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FROM EXCITING AUTHOR OF LGBTQIA ROMANCE KD ELLIS

Book four in the Out in Austin series

Riley didn’ t know home wasn’ t a place… It’ s a person.

Riley would rather sell himself on the streets again than go back home. Only a chance encounter with a stranger saved him from becoming another statistic as a teenager, but now he’ s aging out of the youth shelter and has nowhere left to go— until a kind act from the shelter’ s director sends him straight to Lennox.

When Lennox’ s older sister begs him to rent out his spare room to a kid about to become homeless, he gets way more than he bargained for. He expects an acne-spotted, Red-Bull-bingeing teenager. What he does not expect is Riley.

Riley, who has a dominant streak a mile wide but somehow submits so beautifully.

Riley, who has a tough exterior but hides a sensitive soul.

Riley, who might just be what Lennox never knew he was looking for.

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Pride Publishing

Overall, I liked this book. The story flowed really well even though there was a lot of content. But there were also things that didn’t get enough time- or any time, that left me a bit wanting.

We start with Ryland, soon to be Riley, as a homeless teen because he ran away. We’re kind of left wondering exactly from whom and what he ran for a long time. And then when we find out, it made me wonder how he didn’t get caught for so long. It’s close to 10 years. But ok.

The first friend he makes while being homeless disappears. And we basically never hear about him again. That was kind of sad.

We see Riley get to a shelter for gay youth, where he makes a good friend and seems to do well. He also gets to kind of be a kid.

Flash forward to Riley aging out and meeting Lennox who takes him in as a roommate. Lennox also has issues at home. He is in the closet, his parents want him to be a doctor, he wants to be an artist, etc. He ends up getting his law degree, but makes his money as an artist.

There’s immediate chemistry with them. They dabble in D/s, Riley starts camming for money, there’s a bunch of shelter cats that Riley steals/rescues, Lennox and Riley start doing porn together, there’s a lot going on.

Oh and we find out who and what Riley ran from almost 10 years ago. There’s a situation, several weeks go by, things are glossed over…and it’s resolved. And then apparently Riley is fine. Uh, sorry but that guy has some trauma to deal with.

OH! And Riley was an alcoholic when he was in the shelter but we don’t see it. How did he buy it? With what money? How did he not get caught? And even though it’s mentioned that he has been sober since before he left the shelter, Lennox finds empty bottles. GAH! I hate inconsistencies like that.

BUT, even with all of that, I loved Riley and Lennox together. They were perfect for each other. They get a little more into D/s and BDSM, which is fun, and hot, but also Lennox belongs to a BDSM club but we never saw him there.

If all of these little things were fleshed out, this easily could have been a 2 or 3 book series. Alas, it’s all crammed into this book.

Was it worth my time? Yes
Good story? Yes
Good characters? Yes
Do I recommend? Yes

I do wish more things were fleshed out to just get deeper into the characters.

4 pieces of eye candy

Rookie Mistakes by Beth Laycock: Release Day Review

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Can a rookie mistake lead to love?

Mitch Griffiths is an ordinary man just trying to make ends meet. He lost everything thanks to his ex: his restaurant, his partner, his home. So, when his dad gifts him a ticket to the British Grand Prix and a Silverstone Driving Experience, well, a change of scene for the weekend couldn’t hurt, could it? Even if Formula 1 is kind of boring.

Robert Andilet is a veteran F1 driver on his returning season after a six-year absence. He has a lot to learn, not least of which is how to deal with the media attention, a “rivalry” between him and his rookie teammate, as well as his attraction to a man who readily admits he thinks F1 is tedious. It was a rookie mistake to let Mitch walk away after their first meeting, will Robert make the same mistake again?

This M/M romance from Beth Laycock features a famous/ordinary man, older MCs, and is set in the high-octane world of Formula 1 featuring fast cars, spectacular crashes, heated rivalries, and of course, an HEA

Each book in the Lights Out collection is a standalone story, and the books can be read in any order.

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The final book in the Lights Out shared world gives us a veteran driver who gets a second chance with a new team and a guy who is licking his personal wounds and knows nothing about F1.

This one sounded interesting. But alas, I found it a little boring.

Mitch is such a wet noodle. Apparently he had a catering business with his ex who drove the business into financial ruin and Mitch had no idea until it was too late. So he is back home with his parents temporarily, while they go on vacation.

His dad leaves him tickets for F1 that is racing locally as well as a driving experience. It’s just odd because Mitch has no interest in F1 and his father knows that. But, whatever.

Robert lost his position with a team a few years ago, but was invited back by a brand new team. And a brand new team means doing all of the non-racing things he hates. Until Mitch ends up in the passenger seat during the driving experience.

In books 1-5, the characters really worked to keep the fact that they were gay or bi private. Besides the fact that they depend on sponsors who might not like one of their drivers being gay, but they also raced in countries where being gay is a literal crime. And while Robert and Mitch certainly didn’t flaunt their relationship, they didn’t stress out or go out of their way to hide it either.

And while other drivers on the circuit are fighting for podium wins, Robert just wants a top 10 finish to get some points and get his contract renewed. Besides mentioning his diet here and there, there was no other mention of the conditioning that goes into driving. If this was my first F1 book, I wouldn’t have even noticed. But it seems like such a huge part of their training that was just ignored.

And Mitch, I think late 30’s? is just so blah about his career. He’s a chef. But when Robert asks him something like “Oh you like to cook” he says it is his dream. Just really weird.

Overall the book was fine I guess. Just kind of boring and the characters didn’t seem real.

3 pieces of eye candy

Black Flagged (Lights Out) by Emma Jaye: Release Day Review

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Will a Black Flag end love before it leaves the starting line?

Dren is a mercenary, not a babysitter, yet protecting an F1 “bad boy” from his own recklessness is his next contract. The media darling everyone loves to hate is annoying as hell and a target both on and off the track.
Staying close is the only way to protect Karl from himself and others, but the forced proximity reveals the man behind the uncaring, flippant mask. In public and private, Karl craves attention, but it’s not Dren’s job to provide it. But Dren can’t help falling for Karl’s provocative passion, and he shouldn’t because when the contract ends, he’ll return to the organization that holds his soul.

Karl avoids people he can’t trick, charm, or buy, and his new bodyguard falls into that irritating category. But before he knows it, Dren’s imposing presence becomes his seatbelt in the rocky, perilous world of F1 because there’s genuine concern and interest behind the gruff exterior.
When a fiery crash gets Karl suspended for dangerous driving, can the pair find his mysterious enemy before Karl loses his career and Dren?

This M/M romance from Emma Jaye features an arrogant F1 driver with a hidden past and a bodyguard who is in way too deep. Set in the high-octane world of Formula 1, it features fast cars, spectacular crashes, heated rivalries, and of course, a HEA.
Each book in the Lights Out collection is a standalone story, and the books can be read in any order.

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If you’ve been reading along with this shared world series, you know that Kurt is the driver who people like to punch. I mean, it’s not without merit, but still.

He’s a jerk. Cocky, attention seeking, unrepentant jerk. We first met him in Team Orders when he was the driver responsible for (directly or indirectly) a serious crash that almost killed another driver. He walked away.

Besides his punchability, it seems that someone wants him dead. Or at least seriously maimed. So his team owners hire him a body guard. One of those lethal, blood oath to the brotherhood type deals. (FTR- the author has several books with this group, the orta, but I’ve not read them). Kurt does not want a bodyguard.

We get to know Kurt better throughout the book. And don’t get me wrong, he is still pretty much a jerk, but his background explains a lot. Dude needs some serious therapy.

Dren is a dutiful bodyguard. He also wants to figure out who is trying to kill Kurt. And resist Kurt’s not so subtle sexual invitations. Of course that last one didn’t last long.

This was a good read. While reality certainly had to be suspended for some things, it was entertaining and kept me reading. It was fun to have a main character that you already didn’t like from previous books. And he didn’t even get a big redemption arc. Which I appreciated. Some guys are just the way they are. Sometimes making them see the error of their ways just shouldn’t happen.

4 pieces of candy