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Sharing our love of M/M Romance

review

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.

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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.

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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

Football Royalty by Eden Finley (Franklin U Series, Book 8): Blog Tour, Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

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If you never fooled around with someone of the same gender, did you even go to high school?

PEYTON

My whole life I’ve had the pressure of being Marcus Talon and Shane Miller’s football prodigy. I’ve been destined to follow in my NFL-playing fathers’ footsteps since the day I was born. I usually thrive under pressure, but as senior year looms, it all gets too much, and I need an outlet. The last place I thought I’d find my release is at Levi Vanderbilt’s graduation party. In his bed. With him.

It’s a one-time thing. An experimentation. And while it was fun, we agree that being with guys isn’t for either of us. I’m happy to accept that until he turns up in California.

I haven’t had to think about him for four years, but now I can’t get him out of my head.

LEVI

Coming to Franklin University for grad school to follow a boy I hooked up with once is the stupidest thing I could have done.

We said that high school didn’t mean anything, but the truth is, that night made me realize who I truly am, and since then, I’ve been trying to find that sense of freedom again.

I’m hoping it can be with him, but everything I’ve heard around campus points to Peyton not having the same life-changing revelation I did.

And if that’s the case, did I just move across the country for a straight guy?

Kill me now.

Title: Football Royalty
Authors: Eden Finley
Length: 70K
Series: Franklin U Series, Book 8
Genre: Contemporary.
Tropes: Second chance, sports, football, first-time/bisexual awakening.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Goodreads

Franklin U (8 book series)

We move closer in the coffee cart line, my wet shirt from my spilled coffee sticking to my skin.

“So, what will you have to drink?” My tone is airy and light, but in a forced kind of way and not at all calm and collected like the night we hooked up.

It’s hard to believe the guy with so much game back then grew up to be a bumbling idiot.

Peyton looks hesitant, like he wants to fight having me buy him a coffee, and I can’t say that I blame him. If all of his socials have anything to say, it’s not like he bats for my team. He’s always posting photos of him and his teammates with girls, and I’ve tried to search for homoerotic subtext in the photos with any guy other than his brother, but even I know that’s grasping at straws.

And last night, when I caught sight of Peyton at Shenanigans, kissing the bartender, it all but confirmed my suspicion.

While I lied through my teeth about our hookup only being fun but not earth-shattering, it seems Peyton didn’t have the same revelation I did: I’m gay AF.

“I haven’t decided yet, but I need to make this quick. My place is just off campus, and I’d like to change before my next class starts in an hour.”

Disappointment that shouldn’t belong here punches me in the gut. “Sure.” I hope my tone can pass for nonchalant, but I doubt it.

“You’re welcome to come back with me.” He eyes me, and every inch his gaze touches burns like fire. “You could probably fit my clothes now you’re not so scrawny.”

Damn. As easy as that, the tension leaves my shoulders. “I wasn’t scrawny in high school either, you dick.”

“You were scrawny, but you’ve definitely … uh … filled out.” He eyes me again but is trying to be subtler this time.

The totally wrong thing to say here is he can fill me out anytime because that wouldn’t go down well. I’d go down well. On him. But no. Straight boy is straight.

If the universe loved me at all, he’d be bi, but that’s wishful thinking on my part.

We get to the front of the line, and I order another latte—or in this fucked-up Franklin U system, a “study juice”—and point to Peyton. “And whatever he wants.”

“I’ll get the same, but with two pumps of caramel.”

“Is that allowed on your team diet?” I ask while I tap my card to pay.

“Who are you, my brother?”

“Eww, fucking hope not.”

Peyton tenses.

Oh. Right. No mentioning the thing that was fun but not really but totally mind-blowing and the thing that changed the direction of my life. Not mentioning it. At all.

When I don’t elaborate, Peyton relaxes.

“Besides. I was at practice at 6:00 a.m. I need to survive the full day of classes somehow.”

“With a side of caffeine for your sugar?”

“Yep. It’s the only way I can make it drinkable.”

We’re given our order, and I let Peyton lead us.

We drink our coffees in silence because after all these years, there are no words.

“So, you’ve been on campus this long and I haven’t seen you?” he asks.

Oh, look at that, my throat is dry, and I need more coffee. I sip slowly and try to think of a reasonable excuse for that.

“It’s a big school.”

“I saw you last night at Shenanigans, didn’t I?”

I play dumb. “Oh, were you there?”

“I was. And you were right across from where I was standing.” Yeah, he’s not letting me get away with that.

“Okay, fine. I saw you there with your girlfriend, and I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Peyton laughs. “Not my girlfriend.”

Hope blooms in my gut … And then he keeps speaking.

“I don’t have time for relationships.”

“Ah. Player on and off the field, huh?”

He scoffs. “Hardly. I’m too focused on my career to mess with anyone’s emotions.”

Except mine. Which he’s unwittingly doing. Gah, I want to ask him straight up if he’s into dudes, but then I have to remind myself that Peyton Miller is not the reason I’m in California.

He’s not.

And I’ll prove it by being honest with him. “I knew we’d run into each other eventually, and I did see you last night, but …” I bite my lip. “I kind of chickened out of talking to you.”

“Oh, so you went with spilling hot coffee on me instead. I have to say, a simple hello would have worked.”

“I wanted to make it memorable,” I quip.

“First-degree burns are memorable, I guess.” Good closing book for the series.

We met Peyton in book 1 or 2. The football god brother of Brady, bff to Felix. Peyton and his brother are the sons of Superbowl winners and out former NFL players. So while Brady gave up on football as it wasn’t his passion, Peyton LOVED it.

And of course, Levi, the other main character, knows nothing about football. This trope is getting a little tired. Anyway.

Levi and Peyton were in the same social circles growing up. Peyton being new football money, Levi was very old money. The differences are huge. They have a one off at a high school graduation party, both declare it not their thing and move on. But neither did.

 

So four years later, Levi transfers to FU and does his best to avoid Peyton, but that doesn’t work well.

Soon enough things change with Peyton and Levi. Secrets are told, secrets are kept, football championships are waiting to be won.

When it comes down to the wire, it’s the age old “what will I pick? my future with football or my future with him?”

So yea, a lot of plot devices that we’ve seen 100 times. But I really liked Peyton and Levi. They were good together, they were good on their own. Levi doesn’t completely crumble under pressure and Peyton thrives on it.

Peyton and Brady’s dads are HILARIOUS. But I also got that one of them was kind of never serious and it was obvious that sometimes they needed a serious dad.

I was kind of surprised that the final book was Peyton and not his brother. His out and proud brother. Peyton had always said he was straight. BUT Brady does have something going on and I kind of hope we get more of that in another book.

Nothing new here except the names and the setting. There’s nothing really wrong with the book but I was hoping for a little more and to go out with a bang.

3.5 pieces of eye candy


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Eden Finley is an Amazon bestselling author who writes steamy contemporary romances that are full of snark and light-hearted fluff.

She doesn’t take anything too seriously and lives to create an escape from real life for her readers. The ideas always begin with a wackadoodle premise, and she does her best to turn them into romances with heart.

She’s also an Australian girl and apologizes for her Australianisms that sometimes don’t make sense to anyone else.

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