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Sharing our love of M/M Romance

review

Embrace Me (Love in the Pacific Northwest Book 2) by Beck Grey: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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Tadhg: After a nasty breakup with my manipulative ex, I returned home to Seattle to lick my wounds. I’m done with relationships. From now on I’m focusing on my career.

There are just a few issues with that.

1. It’s not that easy for a Deaf man to succeed in a Hearing world, even with the right degree and experience.

2. Quinn MacDougall. He’s my co-worker. He’s also incredibly talented, driven, and distractingly handsome.

3. He’s hearing. And that’s the biggest problem of all. How can someone who isn’t Deaf ever truly understand and accept me?

Embrace Me is a 95,000-word contemporary MM romance about language barriers, loving but demanding families, crappy bosses, and sexy guys in speedos. It contains no cheating, and a guaranteed Happily Ever After.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

I glance back at Tadhg to find him watching me curiously. I drain my beer and jump up. ‘Need another. You want one?’

He finishes his bottle and stands. ‘I’ll come with you.’

Oh. Okay. That’s. Fine? Sure. It’s fine. We’re just two people who work together, getting a beer. Together. As co-workers. I spin on my heels and hurry into the kitchen, with Tadhg trailing behind me. I toss my empty bottle into the recycle bin and pull two fresh beers out of the fridge. When I spin around, Tadhg is so close I have to lean back so I don’t bump into him. “Oh!” His beautiful blue eyes look into mine and it sucks all the air out of the room. I stand there like an idiot holding a beer in each hand, panting as if I’ve just run a mile flat out.

He gently pulls one bottle from my hand and carefully opens it, his eyes never leaving mine. I hadn’t even noticed he’d picked up an opener. He hands the opened beer back and takes the second one, repeating the process just as easily, like he does this solely by touch all the time. It’s kinda hot.

We stand there, so close I can feel warmth rolling off his body, and he smells so damned good I want to press my face into his neck and inhale lungfuls of him. His gaze drops to my mouth and then snaps back up to meet my eyes. And oh god, he’s going to kiss me. He leans forward and I move closer, unable to fight his pull.

This was my first book by Beck Grey, but it won’t be my last. And although this is book 2, it is easily a stand alone.

First, big props to the author for not only deaf representation, but Deaf representation. That isn’t seen as often- at least not in books.

This book does a great job of combining Deaf culture with hearing people. How difficult it can be, how isolating. But Tadhg is lucky in that he meets Quinn in a coffee shop when he steps in to try to help. And then finding out that he works at the same architectural firm Tadgh is starting at that day.

Quinn works on his rusty ASL with his roommate and other friends who speak it. Good thing as they are put together on a project. Another employee, Tom, is also put on the project as the landscape architect. On his own, Tom starts learning ASL (a little too quickly to be true, but still).

The beginning of the book had a lot of descriptions of various ASL signs. To me, that is hard to visualize. Signs that use two hands with various motions, etc. Luckily that mostly stopped as I felt like it was taking me out of the story instead of pulling me in.

I also loved that Tadgh was just fine with being Deaf. He didn’t wish he could hear, wish he could speak, wish his life were easier. It was just part of who he was. Even when he was starting a new job he only had an interpreter the first day and then at the end for a big presentation.

The entirety, pretty much, of this book is Tadgh, Quinn and Tom working on one project. But they were picked by the one owner who generally doesn’t do that kind of work (green, eco friendly, low footprint) and the other owner who’s passion is green design was never heard from. It was odd since their difference was pointed out.

ANYWAY

Quinn’s family is big, loud and very loving. And while they welcome Tadgh with open arms, the communication issue is what finally drove the conflict with he and Tadgh. And that conflict kept them apart “on a break” for a bit. I hate when they get in a fight and then just make up the next day. After some stubbornness on Tadgh’s part, they actually hashed out their issues and problems.

Besides a couple of minor missteps, I really did enjoy this book. I really loved that Tadgh was never the victim, never acted like a victim.

4 pieces of eye candy

Beck Grey is an LGBTQ romance author who lives in the Northeastern United States with their partner and two adorable dogs. Weekdays are passed spending their employer’s money. Evenings and weekends are devoted to writing stories involving hot characters, favorite tropes, and happily ever afters.

Any additional time is spent laughing with friends, drinking red wine, printing and painting minis, and playing D&D. There might even be video games. If there’s cake involved at any point it’s a win!

Connect with Beck:
www.beckgrey.com
Twitter: @BeckGreyWrites
FB Group: Beck’s Blanket Fort https://www.facebook.com/groups/789307111722835/
Pinterest boards for Beck’s books: @Beck_Grey
IG: beckgreyauthor

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Forever After (Finding Forever, Book 3) by Marie Sinclair: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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After a fire destroys his apartment, Diego has no choice but to move in with the person least likely to welcome him with open arms: Alex, the recently divorced, presumably straight guy who didn’t take kindly to Diego hitting on him at a friend’s wedding.

Unfortunately, Alex isn’t exactly in a position to complain about the living arrangements. After his wife cheated, he moved across the country to San Francisco to start over. The place he’s living in belongs to a friend, so when Jake also offers Diego a room, Alex needs to figure out how to deal with the exceptionally hot, sex-positive, queer youth counselor whose gaydar has picked up that Alex isn’t as straight as everyone thinks he is.

Forced to live in the same house, Alex and Diego are about as combustible as fire and gasoline. But when Alex’s thirteen-year-old comes out as trans masc and moves into the house with them, Alex begins to see another side of Diego, and Diego realizes this sullen, complicated man has a heart of gold that’s been stomped on a few too many times.

Once the walls start to come down, Alex and Diego realize they have a lot in common. Not to mention an attraction that blazes hotter the more they get to know each other.

Forever After is an enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, bi-awakening story. It is Book Three in the Finding Forever series but can be read as a stand-alone novel.

Title: Forever After
Authors: Marie Sinclair
Length: 85k
Series: Finding Forever, Book 3
Genre: Contemporary.
Tropes: Enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, bi-awakening

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

Book 1: A Kind of Forever

Book 2: Nothing Like Forever

Alex waited for Jesse to wind down.

“So,” he said, “you probably know some of what I’m going to say.”

“Yeah, Dad.” Jesse grinned and sat at the kitchen table, primly folding their hands on the surface. “I just want you to know that whatever you have to tell me, it doesn’t matter who you love, you’re still my dad, and I love you.”

Alex stared at his kid until they couldn’t hold back the laughter, and then he joined Jesse at the table. “I guess we are doing this a little backwards, huh?”

Jesse shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t want you coming out to me to suck as much as me coming out to Mom.”

“Thank you. So this is the part where I tell you that I’m bi, right?”

“Pretty much. And I ask, does Mom know, and is this why you guys broke up?”

“Yes, Mom knows, and no, it’s not why we broke up. At least not directly.”

“Are you going to tell her about Mr. D?”

“I think I’m going to have to.”

“You two have been like a couple since I got here. I kind of thought, at first, but it was weird because I had no idea that you…I mean, it wasn’t impossible, but…” Jesse suddenly blushed. “You guys gave off a certain…vibe. And Mr. D is really hot, so who wouldn’t want him?”

“What about me?” Alex asked and laughed when Jesse wrinkled their nose and shook their head. “Are you telling me my boyfriend’s out of my league?”

The mix of emotions that crossed Jesse’s face had Alex laughing even harder: surprise, embarrassment, but most of all, a confused mix of horror and shock. They scrambled off Alex’s lap. “Ew. Don’t make me think about the two of you…ungh. Just no. No!” They started for the stairs. “I’ve got some homework to do. Try to remember there’s an innocent child in the house when you’re with your boyfriend, Dad.”

Enjoyable book, but I feel like they should have focused on one or two things outside the budding relationship between Diego and Alex rather than a little bit of a bunch of sub plots.

Alex is newly divorced and moved back to San Francisco where he has friends from when he went to college. One of them has a beach front bungalow that is empty and offers it to Alex; he will also work on some renovations in the house.

Diego is a youth counselor at an LGBT+ center in the city. But when his apartment building burns down, he also moves into the bungalow until something better comes up. SF living is not cheap.

The forced proximity was what it was, nothing really new there. But then Alex’s oldest comes out as trans and moves across the country and in with him- and Diego. Luckily Diego has experience in this. Alex’s ex wife is a bit transphobic to put it mildly.

There are also subplots with a kid staying at the LGBT center, a new volunteer looking for a boyfriend from 40+ years ago, a house renovation that uncovers the history of a lesbian couple, one of which may have been trans, etc. There’s just all of these little things sprinkled about and while they all got closure, I don’t think any of them got the depth that they deserved.

The romance between Diego and Alex was fairly generic for a bi-awakening guy with an out gay man. It was nice, but nothing overly special.

This is book 3, but I read it as a stand alone. I don’t know if I enjoyed this one enough to go back and read the previous 2.

3 pieces of eye candy

Marie Sinclair is a queer writer living in San Francisco. Though she’s been a writer all her life, it wasn’t until she stumbled upon MM romance that she knew she’d found a home for herself and all the characters in her head.

Her focus is on contemporary romance, usually on the steamy side. While HEAs are guaranteed, it will always take some work for the couples to get there, and it might not look the way they expected at the beginning. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Marie believes in rooting her stories in the real world of queer culture and showing how love can survive even in challenging times.

Connect with Marie:
Facebook group: Marie’s Sin Bin
Instagram: marie.sinbooks
Twitter: @marie_sinbooks
Website: www.sinbinbooks.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Damn.

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

And again, a great epilogue.

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

4 pieces of eye candy

Charlie lives in England with her husband and two cheeky dogs. She spends most of her days wrangling other people’s words in her day job and then trying to force her own onto the page in the evening.

She loves cute stories with a healthy dollop of fluff, plenty of delicious sex, and happily ever afters — because the world needs more of them. 

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

Website: https://charlienovak.com/

Newsletter https://charlienovak.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/charlienovakauthor/

Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/charlie-novak

Twitter https://twitter.com/charlienwrites

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/charlienwrites/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@charlienwrites 

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

Linktree (for all links) https://linktr.ee/charlienovak

Marriage is Murder (Sawyer and Royce: Matrimony and Mayhem Book 2) by Aimee Nicole Walker: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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Spring is in full bloom, love is in the air, and Cupid has taken deadly aim in Savannah.

Newly engaged, Royce Locke and Sawyer Key are ready to set the date and charge full-steam ahead into their happily ever after, but homicides and unresolved conflicts keep getting in their way. Neither detective has met a case they couldn’t solve, but their latest investigations will push their limits and challenge their faith when the line between friend and foe becomes blurred. And if that weren’t enough, a random encounter with a stranger will trigger a series of events that could either make or break the couple.

Love—often a thriller, sometimes a killer, but always worth the battle.

Marriage is Murder is book two in the Matrimony and Mayhem trilogy, the second story arc for Royce Locke and Sawyer Key.

** New readers should start with the Zero Hour trilogy before reading Matrimony and Mayhem. ** Marriage is Murder is a continuation of Royce and Sawyer’s happily ever after as they move into the next phase of their lives—professionally and personally. Though some storylines span the trilogy, this book does not end in a cliffhanger. Heat, humor, heart, and homicide abound. You have been warned. 18+

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Book 1: The Magnolia Murders (Sawyer and Royce: Matrimony and Mayhem Book 1)

Book 3: Killer Honeymoon (Sawyer and Royce: Matrimony and Mayhem Book 3) (out 7/1)

When Royce had pulled up to The Pirate’s House restaurant, he figured he’d seen it all and that nothing could shock him at that point in his career. He’d gone through the usual steps of putting on his PPE, signing in at the scene, and chatting with the responding officers, Jennifer Wang and Sierra Knight, who happened to be two of his favorites. Something in their expressions had tipped Royce off that this crime scene was like no other he’d ever seen. His brows edged toward his hairline as they described arriving on location.

“Shot through the heart with an arrow?” Royce had asked when they’d finished.

Wang nodded. “He landed on the wedding cake.”

“Smashed it to bits,” Knight added. “Vanilla cake with strawberry filling.”

Tara arrived before Royce could say anything further. She greeted the patrol officers and asked them to bring her up to speed. Royce noticed what looked like the top of a hickey peeking out from the collar of her shirt. He knew Tara and Candy had gone out a few times since he’d reintroduced them two months ago, but neither had mentioned the dates to him, and he didn’t push. He really, really wanted to, though. As if sensing Royce’s attention on her, Tara rolled her shoulders and adjusted her shirt before meeting his gaze with a quirked brow.

“Shot through the heart with an arrow?” she asked Royce.

“I had the same reaction. Does that make Cupid our prime suspect?”

“Or someone living out Bon Jovi lyrics,” Tara replied.

More adventures for Locke and Key.

Both are settling into their new normal. Sawyer investigating cold cases and Royce working on current homicides with his new partner until his new program for teens is ready. The last book solved a cold case (and a current murder) so they worked in tandem. This time they are working independent cases. Sawyer is mostly closing a couple of cold cases without a ton of fanfare. But Royce has a murder to solve that has some interesting twists and turns to it.

And throughout it all Sawyer’s mother is planning their wedding. Spoiler alert: we get a wedding date!

The book was a fun read, the story uncomplicated with a lot of different loose ends being tied up. And while solving the murder turned out to be pretty interesting, it wasn’t a huge page turner. Like I said, fun. But not really gripping.

I think the next book might be the last and even though I really want them to get their wedding, family and happily ever after, I would love to sink my teeth into a juicy mystery.

Must read for fans of the series.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Ever since she was a little girl, Aimee Nicole Walker entertained herself with stories that popped into her head. Now she gets paid to tell those stories to other people. She wears many titles—wife, mom, and animal lover are just a few of them. Her absolute favorite title is champion of the happily ever after. Love inspires everything she does, music keeps her sane, and coffee is the magic elixir that fuels her day.

I’d love to hear from you.

You can reach me at:
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/aimee-nicole-walker
Twitter – https://twitter.com/AimeeNWalker
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/aimeenicole.walker
Instagram – http://instagram.com/aimeenicolewalker
Blog – AimeeNicoleWalker.blogspot.com

Want to be the first to know about my book releases and have access to extra content? You can sign up for my newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/dlhPYj

My favorite place to hang out and chat with my readers is my Facebook group. Would you like to be a member of Aimee’s Dye Hards? We’d love to have you! Click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AimeesDyeHards/

Connect with Aimee:
https://linktr.ee/AimeeNicoleWalker

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The Long Game (Game Changers book 6) by Rachel Reid: New Release Review

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The sequel is finally here! Shane and Ilya’s story, first seen in Heated Rivalry, continues in this long-awaited hockey romance from Rachel Reid.

“Everything you could want from this magnetic couple! A passionate, sexy, emotional sequel that grips your heart! Shane and Ilya forever!” —#1 NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely, author of Hopelessly Bromantic

To the world they are rivals, but to each other they are everything.

Ten years.

That’s how long Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been seeing each other. How long they’ve been keeping their relationship a secret. From friends, from family…from the league. If Shane wants to stay at the top of his game, what he and Ilya share has to remain secret. He loves Ilya, but what if going public ruins everything?

Ilya is sick of secrets. Shane has gotten so good at hiding his feelings, sometimes Ilya questions if they even exist. The closeness, the intimacy, even the risk that would come with being open about their relationship…Ilya wants it all.

It’s time for them to decide what’s most important—hockey or love.

It’s time to make a call.

Amazon

Game Changers
Book 1: Game Changer
Book 2: Heated Rivalry
Book 3: Tough Guy
Book 4: Common Goal
Book 5: Role Model
Book 6: The Long Game

Who has been waiting since the end of book 2 to see Shane and Ilya’s happily ever after? We fell in love with these guys in Heated Rivalry and then got glimpses of them for the next 3 books, just whetting our appetites. And this is our payoff.

Something I really loved was the overlap between this book and the one just prior, Role Model. It was fun realizing that book 6 was happening while book 5 was happening. Well, book 5 would have ended about halfway through book 6. But still. Nicely done.

Ilya is still Ilya, but in this book he is vulnerable. Like with a capital V. He is hiding from everyone- especially Shane- that depression has creeped in. Even though he is terrified of ending up like his mother, he also doesn’t believe he would end up like his mother. And wow, the portrayal of his depression and how he goes about hiding it and faking it are so SO spot on. It broke my heart.

Their differing personalities are so evident in this installment. Ilya, the tough guy, the jokester who lets everything roll off his back because his ego is the size of Canada is just done. He wants his happily every after. He wants to tell the world how much he loves Shane. He has the confidence to say “if you don’t like it too bad”. But Shane isn’t there. He just wants to play hockey and win more Cups and not be the poster boy for being an out hockey player. Obviously there are others, but that only means he has seen the scrutiny on them since they came out. He is willing to tough out their original plan of waiting. Ilya isn’t happy with that, but he is also quiet about it.

Their journey includes fights and disagreements and dipping their toes in safe waters of hanging out as a couple when it is safe and of course hockey and a commissioner who gives Shane some veiled threats. And then Shane and Ilya some not so veiled threats.

But they do get their happily ever after and I kind of loved it. A lot. And while their story is, by romance book standards, complete, I would love more. Even as background characters supporting new main characters. I want to see them playing hockey as out players. I want to see them become dads.

I’m not ready to let them go.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Broken Things (Lost & Found book 4) by Barbara Elsborg: Release Day Review

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An ancient book of faerie magic. A renegade who will stop at nothing to possess it. And the two boys who stand in his way.

When fifteen-year-old Tar, part vampire, part something else, helps his father break into a remote house, he doesn’t care about the book his father is looking for. What he does care about is the little locked-up faerie kid. Merrick is alone, vulnerable and deaf.

The break in goes wrong, but Tar refuses to leave the eight-year-old even though it means facing his father’s fury. Events spiral from bad, to worse, to out of control: the book disappears, and Tar and Merrick are wrenched apart.

The boys grow into men, one living in the light and one in darkness, yet neither has forgotten the other. As powerful forces rise, the search for the missing book gains momentum, and Tar and Merrick’s paths collide once more.

Merrick is the key to the missing book and Tar is faced with a near impossible task: to keep the man he cares for safe, and do everything he can to stop the book and its secrets from falling into the wrong hands. And maybe, just maybe, save the world as we know it.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

If you have read the previous three and are fans of this series, you know you want to know about the mysterious Tar. The guy in charge of PR, the guy who won’t say what he is, although many have guessed vampire. But he isn’t just vampire. And he is more than the stoic, stand off-ish guy that not many like to be around.

The book starts when Tar is 15, so we get a lot of his backstory and what made him the man he is today. A mother who disappeared when he was young, a conman for a father, a deaf 8 year old boy and a magic book that too many people want to get their hands on.

Then book then jumps to present day. We already know from previous books that Tar is the head of Paranormal Relations, kind of a paranormal police. That is secret because most people have no idea that paranormals exist. We also catch up with that 8 year old boy, who now wears cochlear implants and is a traveling doctor.

Even when they were kids and only knew each other for a few days, you could tell that their souls were connected. The way Tar took care of Merrick, defending him, was quite literally willing to put his life on the line for this 8 year old he never met before. And Merrick just implicitly trusted Tar and looked up to him.

So when their paths cross again in London twenty some odd years later, it seems like kismet. But Tar isn’t who Merrick remembers. He is a broken man who doesn’t trust anyone and can’t stand to be touched. And even though Merrick didn’t have an ideal life, he is just the kind of positive person that can’t help but be positive. Even though he has been running and looking over his shoulder since that fateful day in the forest.

The story brings back old enemies looking for the magical book. Tar and Merrick are trying to get to the bottom of it, using what little magic Merrick has and the resources Tar has. We also see Tar and Merrick as adults falling in love with each other. Tar, the man who is never happy, always grumpy, often scary turns into a bit of a marshmallow with Merrick. There’s a learning curve, though, for the man who doesn’t let people get close, doesn’t touch unless he has to, doesn’t share his life. But Merrick integrates himself like a stray kitten that you don’t want but it keeps showing up on your doorstep so you feed it until you finally break and let him in.

This was by far my favorite of the series. I don’t know if it was because of the change in Tar, or that so many previous main characters are involved in the story or because the magic was just wonderful. And by magic, I mean really faerie magic. It was a beautiful little world hidden inside… well, you’ll see.

You can read this as a stand alone easily, but the others are very good reads as well.

4 pieces of eye candy

Barbara Elsborg lives in Kent in the South of England. She always wanted to be a spy, but having confessed to everyone without them even resorting to torture, she decided it was not for her. Volcanology scorched her feet. A morbid fear of sharks put paid to marine biology. So instead, she spent several years successfully selling cyanide.

After dragging up two rotten, ungrateful children and frustrating her sexy, devoted, wonderful husband (who can now stop twisting her arm) she finally has time to conduct an affair with an electrifying plugged-in male, her laptop.

Her books feature quirky heroines and bad boys, and she hopes they are as much fun to read as they were to write.