Riley Hart

Jesse
After spending the first part of my life trapped in a small town where it wasn’t okay to be a makeup-wearing boy who liked boys, I swore I’d leave and never be anything but loud, proud, and unapologetically me. I’ve kept that promise. I’m following my dreams, have an apartment with my bestie, and get to dance my nights away at one of the hottest gay bars in Portland.

The only downfall is Dane, the sexy bartender with a perma-scowl always aimed my way. The tension between us is so strong that even the clubgoers notice, and they eat that stuff up. Our boss makes us dance on the bar together every Friday night. I might shake my booty a little more with Dane just because I love getting under his skin. It’s not my fault he doesn’t know how to have any fun…but I kind of want to teach him.

Dane
I got burned bad by my last boyfriend. Thankfully, my sister, Bree, and my niece, Hailey, make my days a whole lot brighter. I’m getting back on my feet, including a decent job as a bartender. But working in a gay club makes it harder to keep to myself. No way do I want to get reeled in by another charming, pretty face and get hurt again, and definitely not by someone like Jesse, whose audacity frustrates me to no end.

So why do I want to shove him against the wall and screw that boldness right out of him?

Only…sometimes he’s pretty sweet, especially with Hailey. As we go from enemies to angry hookups to friends, our feelings are changing and moving into uncharted territory. This can’t go anywhere. Jesse and I are like oil and water; we just don’t mix…right?

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Did you see that cover? And it is my my favorite author collaboration- Christina Lee and Riley Hart. I don’t know what it is but these two write as one. I cannot tell that two authors wrote this book. The voices are seamless.

So, yes, the cover sucked me right in. I am a sucker for men in make up. And I love the juxtaposition of him wearing his hair in a crew cut. Jesse is a complex character who comes off as a flighty go go dancer, but he has so many layers. Above all he is just a charismatic guy who draws people in. Not many can resist Jesse. He is just that guy you can’t help but like.

Dane, at first, only sees that top layer. But Jesse keeps pushing his buttons until he caves. And it still takes him a while to throw away all of his preconceived notions about Jesse.

Add in a cute kid, a shy roommate, parents who try to understand but just can’t and mix it with a healthy dose of guilt- you’ve got a good story.

Dane has a great relationship with his sister and niece. Although they lost their mother years ago, they aren’t defined by that at all.

Jesse’s parents, on the other hand, broke my heart. They still loved Jesse but him being queer really warred with their beliefs. They were pretty isolated, owning a working a farm, so they really had no experience with queer people. But they really wanted to try. That was just so heartwarming.

I can’t WAIT for book 2, which shows you not only how much I enjoyed this book, but how much they could make me care about a secondary character and wanting his happily ever after.

4 Pieces of Eye Candy

With his raven hair and snow-white skin, Lord Ansil Eirwin draws unwanted attention wherever he goes. After his father’s untimely death, Ansil is set to become Duke of Ravenswood on his next birthday. The gallant and timid lord would never dream of shirking responsibility, so he subverts his desires in order to please his mother and new stepfather, Reginald.

Orien Moore, known as the Huntsman, lives on the fringes and has forsaken close bonds with anyone, even the misfits he has taken in. When Orien is called upon by his brother, Reginald, to kill the pampered future duke, it is the perfect opportunity to seek revenge against his power-hungry brother. Orien formulates a plan to use Reginald’s vicious request to his advantage by kidnapping Ansil and holding him hostage until he can fulfill his birthright.

Soon Orien realizes that Ansil is nothing like he’d expected. Kind and joyful, Ansil enchants Orien and his ragtag group. And Ansil, in turn, cannot help but be curious about the gruff huntsman as Orien’s vulnerabilities are exposed. Their mutual interest transforms into affection, followed by overwhelming desire. But they are living on borrowed time.

With Reginald seeking power in Ravenswood, they have no way of knowing what will transpire once Orien returns Ansil to his proper place in society. The only certainty is that the odds are stacked against them. Will the young lord and his huntsman ever have the chance to experience the happily ever after they’ve found in each other’s arms?

***PLEASE NOTE: FOREVER MOORE is a romantic fairy tale—minus the magic—that features one reluctant lord, one brooding huntsman, and plenty of angsty, forbidden love. It’s loosely based on a treasured fairy tale in a make-believe setting that isn’t part of any specific time period and doesn’t play by any traditional rules.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

These two authors are generally automatic one click buys for me. But to be honest, when the first “gay fairy tale” by them came out, I wasn’t so sure. I mean, it just looked so…cute. Too cute. So I put it on the back burner of ‘if I have nothing to read’. Then I won an audio copy of it and listened to it in my car. And loved it so much I went and one clicked the book and read it. And loved it. So ya, I was all in for this book.

This installment is a play on Snow White and the Huntsman. Although there are also seven other characters. A couple of them were obvious- Grumpy, Sneezy, Doc…but the others not so much. But it was still fun. I’ve never seen or read Snow White and the Huntsman, but I assume that the general story line is similar. But maybe not. Doesn’t matter.

Orien, the Huntsman, is an innate caregiver. But it doesn’t outwardly seem that way. But if you are his enemy, watch out. So when the chance comes to knock his brother off of his pedestal AND save a young Duke to be, he jumps at the chance.

Ansil is scared out of his mind to have been kidnapped, but when he finds out that he isn’t to be killed and no ransom to be paid, he relaxes a bit. He befriends Doc, and then when Doc passes out, he yells for help instead of running away. That earns Orien’s trust some.

This is a slow, slow burn book. But it was totally worth it and meant to be that way. Neither man had been with another man- although Ansil fantasized about it. So once they finally kiss, they take their time learning about each other and how to please another man. Orien is so sweet with Ansil you can’t help but smile. This big, scary, gruff man turns into a pile of mush when Ansil is around.

I just love how this story unfolded- not only Ansil and Orien coming together, but also Ansil bringing the whole household of people together as a family.

And because of that, the authors made me cry. GAH! I am totally down for the super angsty cry. I was not expecting the sweet, emotional cry.

No spoilers, but the ending was very satisfying. One more nod to the original Snow White and a happily ever after. Because what is a fairy tale without a happily ever after?

4 Pieces of Eye Candy