Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

romance

Thin Ice: MM Small Town/Hockey Romance (The Elmwood Stories Book 4) by Lane Hayes: Release Day Review and IG Giveaway

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The hunky dad, the hockey coach, and a new start…

Bryson

Elmwood isn’t good for my love life. Hey, I’m a positive person and I have nothing but wonderful things to say about small-town living, but I haven’t had a date in years. That’s fine—my son is and always has been my number one focus.

Except now he’s grown and gone. And it’s lonely.

Okay, yes, the new hockey coach is hot and single, but he’s off-limits. Smitty’s trouble with a capital T, and his baggage might outweigh mine. Besides, we said nothing would happen after “that” night. It was a one-time, never to be repeated deal.

At least…that’s what I thought.

Smitty

Am I sad about retiring from pro hockey? Honestly, no. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t in pain. I need a rest and I could use a distraction from unwelcome memories at home. Stat.

So…Elmwood.

Look, we all know I won’t last a whole season of coaching high school kids, but stepping in till they find a better candidate is a good temporary plan. And Bryson’s here.

There’s something about the hot dad with the sunny smile and bad dad jokes that makes me feel alive again. I’m not in the market for forever—been there, done that. Look, I’ve taken risks for my sport, but I’m not giving my heart away again. I know thin ice when I see it.

Or do I?

Thin Ice is an MM bisexual, age-gap, small-town romance featuring a silver fox dad, the new hockey coach, and a fresh start on solid ground.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

I’ve really loved this series so far. The small town is so quaint without being Mayberry-like. The small town quirks are so accurate without going over the top. And of course- hot hockey guys hooking up with regular folk. Is it a bit of a stretch to have so many out gay former players? Sure. Ask me if I care. HA!

We’ve seen Bryson in previous books. Local realtor and father to an up and coming AHL player shooting for NHL. He’s also out and proud but has really focused on his business and his son. Always putting his son first.

Except when he hooks up with his son’s hockey nemesis. But it’s just a one off, so no big whoop, right?

Right….but Smitty is retiring. And Elmwood’s brand spanking new high school needs a hockey coach. And even though Smitty has a job lined up in a few months, he agrees to be an interim coach. Which means he needs someplace to live. So he needs Bryson- the realtor.

The antics come to fruition when they become neighbors. Smitty wants more of the hooking up. Bryson is trying to hold back. But between Smitty’s really ridiculous attempts to get Bryson’s attention (borrowing ONE teaspoon of sugar) and Bryson’s so lame you have to laugh dad jokes, being neighbors is suddenly very convenient.

Watching Smitty really find a purpose in coaching kids with no skill (save one), come to a bit of a truce with Bryson’s son, and integrating himself into the community is a joy.

Watching Bryson try to pretend nothing is going on is comical.

And again, it seems that this book has a bit of a time jump (a year or 2?) from the previous book so we really get to see previous main characters settled into their lives. Living in Elmwood and being happy.

The only thing that kind of bothered me was that Bryson had a bit of a past. But besides when he tells Smitty about it, it’s not mentioned at all. Ok, once or twice more with a sentence. But you’d think that would be a big part of his personality and it would be more at the forefront.

But anyway, it certainly didn’t take away from the story which I thoroughly enjoyed.

More gay hockey players move to Elmwood please!

4 pieces of eye candy

Immersion Play (Leather and Lattes Book 1) by Katherine McIntyre: Release Day Review * 2

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One bratty boy searching for somewhere to call home, one damaged Daddy Dom looking to escape his grief, and one kinky found family ready to help them both heal.

Micah’s starting over. He left his old life in the middle of the night and showed up in San Francisco on a job tip from a friend. However, when Meg hires him at Whipped, he not only enters a new city but also a whole new world with this cozy crew of kinksters. And one man continues to catch his attention again and again.

Parker doesn’t do relationships. After his mom died and his father became a shell of himself, he swore never to let anyone wreck him like that. Except Micah’s gotten under his skin. The hot new barista at Whipped isn’t as vanilla as they all thought, and he’s the brattiest boy that Parker could’ve ever dreamed of playing with. The connection between them? Incendiary.

However, the deeper their relationship grows, the more Micah’s realizing he can’t just be casual with Parker—not anymore. The man’s made a mark on his soul, inspired dreams Micah had never even thought to reach for. But if Parker isn’t willing to bend his rules to risk his heart, the two of them are definitely going to break.

Enter Whipped, a unique cafe that caters to coffee and kink addicts alike…

Amazon – All Regions

This was a fun into to a new book series. I’m definitely calling this one kink light though. But there is definitely potential for coming books to up the kink level.

The series is centered around a cafe that caters to a kink community and their attached club in San Francisco.

Micah went to college there but went home to his pretty conservative family and hometown after graduating. The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of his family coupled with a crappy job send him back to SF. His best friend from college hooks him up with a job at the cafe, but he goes in knowing that it’s all about kink. He swears he is vanilla but doesn’t judge anyone for what they like.

Parker is a Dom Daddy who has seen a broken heart and doesn’t want it to happen to him. So he tries to stick to just teaching and some regular sub clients. But the new kid at the cafe….

It was fun watching Micah discover that he isn’t really that vanilla. He is so open to experiences and even watching scenes. And Micah and Parker are so flirtatious with each other. You don’t often read overt flirting for any extended amount of time. Of course Micah’s version of flirting can also come across as bratting. Which Parker LOVES.

I found this to be a great story and I really liked how Micah and Parker approached kink together. Slow and steady, always checking in, setting boundaries for themselves. I hate when a character is all “I’m new to kink so strap me to the St Andrews cross and get your worst paddle out”. Like, no. This was much more realistic without being slow or boring.

Both characters were good guys who really came alive when they were together.

Lots of fun side characters I hope we get to explore in upcoming books.

4 pieces of eye candy

This new series is already so promising. I do enjoy this author’s found family themes throughout her books, and this series looks to be along the same lines, weaving characters into the scene seamlessly.

Micah has a cr@p family, except for his sister (who is herself welcomed into the kink community they are building, later in the book). But he has a friend who he trusted enough to help him get away from the situation he was in, and helped him to find himself. Although he’d never ventured down that road, rather than expressing any disgust or unwillingness to even see what was happening, he was curious and open to other people’s wants. Meanwhile, he slowly figured out his own.

Parker was honestly tough to read about for me. Having a father that was basically disintegrating before your eyes is hard, and it brought up a bit of my own grief (that’s when you know you’ve got something good on your hands, if the author can immerse you that much). I felt for how hard he had it, but he couldn’t resist a sassy boy, Micah was his downfall.

This was a really good start to the series, and you can see a bit of what is ahead. A rich tapestry of found family, and a group brought together by kink, but kept together by their friendships. Looking forward to more books in ths Leather and Lattes series.

4 pieces of eye candy

Beautifully Fractured: A Grumpy/Sunshine Gay Awakening (Front Range University Book 1) by Michele Lenard: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt and New Release Review

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Ever have someone get you so well it’s like looking in a mirror?

Cruz
Starting over is not what I had planned.

Those stories about magically becoming best friends with the person assigned to live with you… Yeah, that won’t be me. I already have a best friend. Even if I wanted a new one, Liam wouldn’t be it. He’s permanently grouchy, carrying a negative energy I don’t need since I’m finally in a good place. But I’ve never been good at ignoring when people need help, so I paste on a smile and play nice.

Predictably, Liam isn’t much of a talker, but after an unexpected accident he needs my help in other ways. Ways that offer me answers about myself. Ways that raise new questions about the football dreams I’ve been chasing since I was a kid. Ways that make me relive the past I want to ignore.

To say I’m confused is an understatement, but there’s one thing I know for certain…Liam is either the key to one door or the bolt that could prevent another from ever opening. And I have to choose which I want him to be.

Liam
Starting over is exactly what I need.

I can’t get any more invisible than I’ve been for the past few years, and I figure rooming with another person means at least one human on the planet can’t ignore me. Unfortunately, that human is Adonis personified, and not gay, so it’s looking like my invisibility streak might continue.

Then I suffer a minor accident, and Cruz’s hero complex comes out in full force.

I should be grateful to have someone to open my door and carry my books, but when you pair his selfless personality with that body… My mind starts to blur the roommate line, which makes his blur the line of not being gay.

My heart is already battered, and I doubt it can take rejection from the one person who broke down all the walls I’d built around it. That doesn’t mean I won’t try to give it to him anyway.

**Beautifully Fractured is a high-heat MM romance with medium angst that features a grumpy/sunshine relationship, forced proximity, hurt/comfort situations and a sexual-awakening. This is book one in a series of interconnected standalones. Though the main characters are athletes, this is not a sports romance. Rather, it’s a romance that happens to feature people who play sports.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

“So, why medicine?”

“Hmm?” Liam arches one brow independently of the other, a gesture I find fascinating since I can’t do it myself.

“Why do you want to work in medicine?” I repeat. “Family business?”

Though it’s subtle, I can see Liam’s posture get a little more rigid, almost like he’s putting up a force field. I don’t follow why that is–I can’t imagine why a question about careers would be crossing a line–yet I get the distinct feeling I’ll have to tread carefully going through the door I just opened.

“Why do you assume it’s a family business?”

 

I take a minute to think of the nicest way to answer. “You don’t really strike me as a people person, and I think you have to be to deal with patients. No offense.”

“I people with you just fine.”

“You do.” I agree. “But you sort of have to since we share a room. With others you seem a little guarded.”

“And you know this because we hang out with other people so often.” He snorts and takes another bite of his dinner.

“Sort of, yeah.”

“You know that makes no sense, right?”

“It makes total sense,” I disagree. “You don’t go to dinner with anyone else, you never mention anyone else, so I don’t think you’re peopling with anyone else.”

“I’m selective,” he says, and something about his deadpan delivery has me cracking up.

“Glad I made the cut.” I grin broadly.

“Like you said, I’m sort of stuck with you.”There was a lot in this book. Trauma from broken friendships, absentee parents, off page death, bullying and one character trying to figure out how to identify sexually. But even with the trauma, the story didn’t get bogged down with angst. In fact, I feel like one of the characters hasn’t had an appropriate response to his trauma seeing as it was fairly new.

Cruz is a jock football player, but he also wants to take college seriously which is why he is in the student dorms rather than the jock dorms. His roommate, Liam, is premed, and gay, and used to being bullied by jocks.

But they find their groove as roommates so to speak. Cruz is a total golden retriever type. Happy, helpful, doesn’t really understand why people can be mean. Like, what do

you mean you don’t want slobbery dog kisses all over your face? SO Cruz. But Cruz is struggling with his sexuality. Or lack thereof. He has just no interest. He seems to have just ignored it in high school, but in college, girls fawn over the football players. Especially the freshman who made the starting line up.

Liam refuses to hide that he is gay. And while he doesn’t think Cruz is gay, he does wonder if he is ACE or ARO or both. Which is kind of funny that he was bullied by jocks in high school for being gay and now he is helping a jock figure out what, if anything, gets his engine going.

Once Liam throws in the towel and accepts that Cruz is his new bff, they start opening up to each other. And then Liam gets hurt and Cruz wants to save the day. But that leaves them both confused.

Once we find out the real trauma that both of these guys went through and how it made them similar, we also see how different the response was for each. Sorry, no spoilers.

These boys will take you on an emotional ride at times. But it never gets too dark, too angsty, too much. Add in a pretty realistic (I think) view of someone coming to terms with their sexuality and what it might mean, led to a good story with an excellent ending.

4 pieces of eye candy

The Linebacker : The Portland Protectors – EHM Security Series Book 2: An MM Best Friends-to-Lovers Romance (Package Deal World) by Emerson Beckett and Rheland Richmond: New Release Review

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Is it wrong for me to want the world to know I’m in love with Patrick Griffin and have been since we were eight-years-old?

Patrick Griffin

I hurt him. I didn’t mean to.

Now he’s gone, and I deserve it.

As a linebacker in the NFL, I’ve never found the right time to come out of the closet. Not even when I promised Cole I would.

But now, with Cole’s band, Fallen Angel, in the spotlight along with my team, the pressure is mounting. Everyone thinks we’re just best friends, but the weight of my secret is tearing us apart.

And it just might be too late to save us when I can.

Cole Bradley

Is it wrong for me to want the world to know I’m in love with Patrick Griffin and have been since we were eight-years-old?

He is the love of my life, but it’s been years of waiting and excuses.

All our friends, even his teammates, have a public life. So why can’t we?

He promised it would be different in Portland.

But then he tells yet another reporter he’s single. I need a break. It’s perfect timing since our band is heading out on tour.

I don’t know if I can live without him. But I don’t think I can do forever in the closet.

It’s always been Patrick for me, but is it too much to ask for the world to know he’s mine too?

The Linebacker is a secret romance and childhood best friends-to-lovers MM Romance. It is book two in the Portland Protectors-EHM Security Series and the eleventh book in the Package Deal World.

To maximize reader enjoyment, it is highly recommended to read the other books in the Package Deal Series, as well as book one, The Rockstar. Series reading order can be found at the beginning of each book.

Content Warning: Referenced off the page homophobic violence toward an off the page character, and an automobile accident.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

New to me authors, which means I didn’t heed the recommendation to read all of the previous books in the Package Deal Series. But besides a big party scene with a lot of people who were obviously featured in other books, I didn’t feel like I missed anything there.

What I did miss was the love story. As far as I can tell, Patrick and Cole haven’t had a book until now. And their whole love story being missing kind of took me out of the emotion of the story. The book starts with them as an established couple- albeit in the closet from all but their closest friends. Not only that, but almost immediately, they break up. Or take a break. Or some space. Or however you want to put it.

Maybe in previous books there was enough of their love story in the background. Maybe I did miss that. Can’t say I’ll know for sure because I wasn’t nearly invested enough to go back and find out.

From my perspective the book was fine. Nothing too exciting, the sex scenes were fine, I liked the friendships they had and the ending was kind of…meh. Like it more faded out than came to a definitive conclusion.

3 pieces of eye candy

Fen by Barbara Elsborg: Release Day Review

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.                                   .

An indecent proposal leads to a future neither guy expected.

Fen is broken but does his best to hide the cracks. His life-changing condition might have stolen his first love—ballet, but he’s kind to old ladies, good at his job, and his mum loves him, even if his famous father refuses to acknowledge he exists.

Ripley’s a top flight barrister who’s used to winning. Mostly by fair means, occasionally not. He’s horrified when he learns his manipulative mother has sent family possessions to an auction house. On his way to retrieve them, he encounters Fen.

Cold, rain-soaked and hungry, struggling with his crutch and auction acquisitions, Fen just wants to get home. What he doesn’t want is to be drenched by a car and minutes later, confronted by the bad-tempered driver demanding he hand over his purchases. Hell no!
Ripley gets back his belongings but finds he wants more. Blue-eyed Fen has sparked something to life. Even as his barrister’s brain screams at him to be careful, he makes Fen an outrageous offer. Sleep with me for money. Fen should say no. Yet as he weighs his options, he realises turning Ripley down could be the biggest regret of his life.

In a tale where the pieces don’t always fit, can two imperfect men mend what’s broken in each other?

Warning
Main character with a life-limiting illness. Suicide of a character before story starts. Brief mention of rape and suicide of a man not in the story.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

This story started with a short. Although it isn’t necessary to read the short, it’s still worth the short time it takes.

This book starts a few years after the short. And really, I liked that there was a lot of time between. The whole “omg my new boss was my hookup last night” thing gets old. (FTR, Ripley is not Fen’s boss)

Fen hasn’t had the easiest time. And while he could very easily throw a pity party for himself for several reasons, he doesn’t. He isn’t overly sunshiney though either. No compensating for him. Mostly he just wants to do his job and live his life for as long as he can. He does seem to have a black cloud that follows him though.

Ripley is a grouch. Cranky, short tempered, he finds no joy in life really. He’s been dealt a few bad cards in life as well. Ripley and Fen almost can’t be more different, not even including the age difference. But they are drawn to each other, as much as they both fight it.

But then, an offer Fen can’t refuse. Especially after being accused of something he didn’t do.

With an agreement between them, they both play their roles well. Both still keeping secrets. Both protecting themselves for different reasons.

Fen has a bit of the humor you can expect from Barbara Elsborg (Jonty anyone?) but it doesn’t go overboard. The more humor he brings, the more comfortable he is with Ripley.

There are a couple of stories running through the romance. None of them were rushed or forced, although one of them was pretty obvious, They all came to satisfying conclusions as well. No forgotten plot points here. It made for quite a long book, but it didn’t drag at all and was easy to read.

It sounds like I am skirting the edges but I just don’t want to give away anything. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering each piece of this story as it came up and my hope is that you do the same.

4 pieces of eye candy

Friends Like Them (Redemption Ridge Book Four) by Aimee Nicole Walker: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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Owen Doyle’s rough beginnings taught him not to form attachments, yet he’s drawn to Tyler Booth like a magnet. Their relationship has blossomed from strangers to the best friends, with each twist in the journey weaving their connection tighter. But Owen has a six-year secret that’s become unbearably painful to keep. As the seams of his resistance fray, Owen will lean into a new mentoring opportunity to keep from ruining the best thing in his life.

Tyler will never regret going to jail and getting sober because meeting Owen saved his life and taught him how to trust again. Their inseparable bond has earned much teasing over the years, but Tyler doesn’t recognize himself without Owen. When he senses a yawning chasm between them, he’ll turn to mutual friends for help. Their well-meaning advice opens Tyler’s eyes to unexplored possibilities and will snap missing puzzle pieces into place.

Some hopes are too big to stifle, and some truths are too big to ignore. A photo booth, smoking-hot kisses, and honest revelations will take Owen and Tyler’s intimacy to a whole new level. But before they can achieve their happily ever after, they must unload the baggage from their pasts. Will the road to discovery guide them to the necessary healing, or are the guys destined for the highway to heartache?

Friends Like Them is book four in the Redemption Ridge series. Though each story features a different couple, reading the series in order is essential. Friends Like Them contains mature themes and is intended for adults.

“I have a hard-on,” Tyler whispered. He lifted his head, met Owen’s gaze, and swiped his tongue over his bottom lip. “For you.” Tyler stepped closer and swallowed hard. “And you’re hard for me too.”

The wondrous expression on Tyler’s face made Owen want to smile and laugh, but he didn’t want Tyler to think he was making fun of him. That was the absolute last impression he wanted Tyler to have about their first kisses. But how honest should he be? He didn’t want to scare Tyler off after yearning for this opportunity for so damn long. Owen wanted to believe Tyler’s erection signified something deep and meaningful, but it could have resulted from friction and loneliness. Please let it be door number one. Owen tempered his naturally assertive personality and aimed for chill. He took a step forward, too, so that they were toe to toe in the cramped space.

“I am very hard for you.”

Tyler closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Owen longed to lean forward and kiss his neck, but he didn’t dare move. Tyler twisted his fingers in Owen’s shirt again and opened his eyes. “I don’t know what to do with this.” He didn’t mean literally. They’d shared a small jail cell for two years, and Owen had heard the unmistakable sounds of Tyler jerking off when he thought Owen was sleeping. Tyler had meant he didn’t know what to do with an erection for his best friend, who also happened to be a guy. Tyler wasn’t raised in a world where men chose other men. Yes, he’d been around gay and bisexual men for the past four years on the ranch, but he never pictured that future for himself.

The turmoil in Tyler’s voice made Owen’s heart fall. In a perfect world, one kiss would prove they were meant to be together. Hell, that sounded more like a fantasy than any version of the world they lived in. “We don’t have to do anything about it, Ty. We could pretend it never happened.” Well, Ty could. Owen would hold on to the moment until his dying breath.

Tyler darted a glance toward the photo tray. Owen removed the strips, folded them in half without looking at the images, and tucked the pictures in his pocket. He’d take them out later when he was alone and let his mind run as free as a wild mustang.

“We don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to, Ty. Nothing has to change. You’re still my best friend.” Owen’s voice came out a little shaky, and Tyler’s eyes widened. One of them sounded terrified, and the other looked it. Their friendship was the single most important thing in both their lives. Owen would do anything to keep Tyler in his life, even if it meant an end to his impossible dream.

Tyler swallowed hard. “You want to pretend it didn’t happen?”

“I didn’t say that,” Owen replied carefully. “I said we could.” He again debated just how honest to be with Tyler because he couldn’t get a good read on his reaction. Tyler seemed upset by the idea Owen could forget about their encounter, but he didn’t sound encouraged by the notion Owen wanted to remember it. He felt damned no matter how he responded. Someone thumped into the booth again, giving him a valid excuse to postpone a further response. “Can we talk about this in private?”

Tyler searched his eyes for several seconds before nodding.

“We should probably get back out there,” Owen suggested. He received another nod, but neither made a move toward the door. “You should probably turn loose of my shirt first.”

Tyler looked down at his hands but didn’t release Owen’s shirt. “I can’t.”

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series. Somehow I missed the third (I’ll be remedying that) and here we are at book four. There is nothing wrong with this book at all. It just lacked a big emotional punch for me.

Tyler and Owen have been around since the beginning of the series. Best friends practically connected at the hip. We didn’t get to know a ton about them except that they met in prison, became best friends and both came to Redemption Ranch upon release. And normally I really love friends to lovers stories. It’s one of my favorite tropes. But besides Tyler getting jealous at the beginning because Owen was helping a new employee, there was just no bang. No sizzle.

Owen was out and proud. Tyler was very closeted. But they went from best friends to kissing to a relationship in a blink. Not a blink, but literally one night.

Then I was expecting angst later on in the story. Nope. Previously Tyler had been very intimidated by Hope, local shop owner, hippie free spirit. But after he got with Owen, totally fine there too.

The book was fine. The story was fine. These two guys belonged together. But this story just felt like filler.

3 pieces of eye candy

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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.

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