Review of A Fashionable Indulgence by K.J. Charles

by K.J. Charles

4.5 Stars

 In the first novel of an explosive new series from K. J. Charles, a young gentleman and his elegant mentor fight for love in a world of wealth, power, and manipulation.

When he learns that he could be the heir to an unexpected fortune, Harry Vane rejects his past as a Radical fighting for government reform and sets about wooing his lovely cousin. But his heart is captured instead by the most beautiful, chic man he’s ever met: the dandy tasked with instructing him in the manners and style of the ton. Harry’s new station demands conformity—and yet the one thing he desires is a taste of the wrong pair of lips.

After witnessing firsthand the horrors of Waterloo, Julius Norreys sought refuge behind the luxurious facade of the upper crust. Now he concerns himself exclusively with the cut of his coat and the quality of his boots. And yet his protégé is so unblemished by cynicism that he inspires the first flare of genuine desire Julius has felt in years. He cannot protect Harry from the worst excesses of society. But together they can withstand the high price of passion.

A Fashionable Indulgence is the first in a new series by K.J. Charles, a historical romance set with around a small group of men the Ricardians who have the same tastes in bed-partners.  But don’t be fooled  by this book has intrigue, political strife and romance romance romance.  We love a good historical romance and seriously, K.J. Charles is one of the best at delivering.  This book is a m/m version of My Fair Lady, but with a lot more naked fun!

Julian, a Regency Dandy is tasked with turning Harry, a son of a long passed radical that had been dis-inherited by his wealthy family into a true gentleman of that time.  Harry’s grandfather wants to put the family back together and marry Harry off to carry on the family line, but knows he lacks the quality for the London season.   Julian is a bit of an un-likeable character that hides behind a perfect façade, but Harry’s love-of-life reminds Julian that there is love  and he is deserving.

What stands out about A Fashionable Indulgence is the characters, not just the mains but the group of Ricardians.  They create a world that you can totally believe.  K.J. Charles creates a whole world that you can easily find yourself believing, with the clash between upper and lower classes laid out between the 2 main characters.   Harry coming from the streets feels the divide keenly and brings a little humanity to the Ricadians who have lived at the top all their lives.

K.J. Charles is a master at weaving a story, and A Fashionable Indulgence does NOT disappoint.  Even if you aren’t into the historical romance, this book is SO much more!  We can’t wait to dig into the next sequels!

Review of St. Nacho's by Z.A. Maxfield

by Z.A. Maxfield

 3.5 Stars   

Cooper has spent the last three years running from a painful past. He's currently moving from town to town, working in restaurant kitchens, and playing his violin for tips. As soon as he starts to feel comfortable anywhere—with anyone—he moves on. He's aware that music may be the only human language he still knows. Ironically, the one man he's wanted to communicate with in all that time is deaf.

Shawn is part of a deaf theater group at the nearby college. Shawn wants Cooper as soon as they meet and he begins a determined flirtation. Cooper is comfortable with down and dirty sex, just not people. As far as Shawn is concerned, dirty sex is win-win, but he wants Cooper to let him into the rest of his life as well.

Cooper needs time to heal and put his past away for good. Shawn needs to help Cooper forgive himself and accept that he can be loved. Both men find out that when it comes to the kind of healing love can bring, the sleepy beachside town of Santo Ignacio, “St. Nacho's” as the locals call it, may just be the very best place to start.

Z.A. Maxfield has woven a heart-sweet love story between 2 unlikely men.  Cooper is a man on the run from his life, content to drift through town after town just existing, but finds a home-away-from home at St. Nacho’s.  Shawn is a deaf college student that sees the true beauty of Cooper and although they are from two completely different worlds they fit together.

We really liked this booked to about 50%.  The first half was a building romance of 2 people finding each other and some sweet heat between the sheets, and then, bam, Cooper’s past comes back to claim him.  Jordan, Cooper’s ex, has some unresolved business and Cooper is drawn back to his hometown to help him find his way. 

We understand the 2^nd book of the series focuses on Jordan, but his story in St. Nacho’s didn’t endear him to us.  Jordan’s story takes up too much time from Cooper and Shawn.  It felt like Z.A. Maxfield forgot about the love-story of Cooper and Shawn and started on the sequel in the middle of the first book.  We wished we could have has more of Shawn’s backstory and understand where he is coming from. 

What did we love about St. Nacho’s.  We loved Cooper, he is a fantastic character with a sad story that he is trying to outrun.  He is loving, loyal and does not seem his own value.  But Shawn does and we adored the love between the 2 of these men. 

St. Nacho’s is a fantastic love story not to be missed, and even though Jordan ate up a lot of time we will totally be picking up the next story!

Review of Training Season by Leta Blake

by Leta Blake

2.5 Stars

 Unquestionably talented figure skater Matty Marcus is willing to sacrifice everything for his Olympic dream, but his lack of discipline cost him the gold once before. Now the pressure’s on. He needs a coach who can keep him in line, but top coaches don't come cheap, and Matty can't afford to stay in the game no matter how badly he wants to win.
When a lucrative house-sitting gig brings him to rural Montana, Matty does his best to maintain his training regimen. Local residents turn out to be surprisingly tolerant of his flamboyant style, especially handsome young rancher Rob Lovely, who proves to be much more than a cowboy stereotype. Just as Matty requires a firm hand to perform his best on the ice, Rob shows him how strong he can be when he relinquishes control in the bedroom. With new-found self-assurance, he drives himself harder to go straight to the top.
But competition has a timetable, and to achieve his Olympic dream, Matty will have to join his new coach in New York City, leaving Rob behind. Now he must face the ultimate test. Has he truly learned how to win—on and off the ice—during his training season?

Let’s start off with saying that this book had so much potential, and we really really really wanted to love it.  Because really a figure skater and a cowboy, how couldn’t it be all awesome and unicorns?  But really, at 343 pages it felt liked it dragged.

Matty (who’s name by 10%into the book annoyed us!) is an injured professional figure skater who moves to Montana to housesit and meets sexy rancher Rob Lovely.  Their relationship is temporary as Matty will only be in Montana for 6 months, but their feelings are anything but temporary. 

Let’s talk about our 2 MC.  Rob, is that strong sexy rancher who has taken on his families ranch to continue on his father’s wishes.  Matty is a bratty immature, feminine man with SO many mental health issues. He struggles with being good enough, an eating disorder and blaming others for his problems, and somehow falling in a BDSM relationship with Rob is the best way to handle his problems.  See, the thing is we really wanted to like Matty, but man, it is hard sometimes.  We found it hard to see through all his bluff and bluster and see a redeemable man underneath, but struggled. 

So the sex is hot and too much.  It gets a little overwhelming that we started to skim.  And the slide into BDSM was actually surprising for us, and not really super enjoyable.

Redeeming qualities of this book – the writing.  Matt and Rob do have lots of sweets and tender moments together, that you almost can see their allure to each other.  They have a fun banter that kept us entertained and wanted more of that fun flirty relationship and not the angst that Matty always seems to slide into.  And Ben, Rob’s kid is a welcome in this story. 

Review of Wolfsong by T.J. Klune

 by T.J. Klune

5 ++++++ Stars

Ox was twelve when his daddy taught him a very valuable lesson. He said that Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.

Ox was sixteen when he met the boy on the road, the boy who talked and talked and talked. Ox found out later the boy hadn’t spoken in almost two years before that day, and that the boy belonged to a family who had moved into the house at the end of the lane.

Ox was seventeen when he found out the boy’s secret, and it painted the world around him in colors of red and orange and violet, of Alpha and Beta and Omega.

Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town and tore a hole in his head and heart. The boy chased after the monster with revenge in his bloodred eyes, leaving Ox behind to pick up the pieces.

It’s been three years since that fateful day—and the boy is back. Except now he’s a man, and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.

Where to start, what to say.  This is not the first T.J. Klune book we have read, or the first shapeshifters story, but this book is unexpected to say the least.  As we read the last page, we wanted to start it all over again. 

From the very first chapter you fall in love with Oxnard, or Ox as everyone knows him.  He is a sweet natured boy that has been stepped on over and over again by his father. He is a little slow, and has found himself the object of teasing in his very small town.  But life changes for him when he is 16 and meets his new neighbor, 10-year old Joe. And his fate is sealed. 

Joe is a whirlwind in Ox’s life, he brings him a sense of belonging to something greater, something Ox has always craved after his father left at a young age.  But Joe is a broken little boy who hasn’t spoken in 18 months after he was taken from his family and horribly abused.  Ox brings him peace, grounds him and allows him to grow into the alpha he is meant to be. 

Wolfsong is hauntingly beautiful, and although a romance, it is so much more than that.  It is about family and love and belonging, and believing in yourself.  Wolfsong is a story over 10 years, and the life of the wolf pack and of the love between Ox and Joe.  There is so much heartbreak in the book, and we cried in the first chapter, but there is s much love and humor as well. 

T.J. Klune has created a story that focuses on Ox and Joe, but weaves a life of complex characters around their love.  The wolves in the pack create a family that believes in Ox and allows him to grow into the person he needs to be. 

We didn’t think T.J. Klune could write a better book, but we were so wrong.  Wolfsong pulls you in and keeps you enraptured.  It is easily our favourite book of the year, and know we will come back to read over and over again. 

Review of Off Base by Annabeth Albert

by Annabeth Albert

3.5 Stars

After trading the barracks for a fixer-upper rental, navy SEAL Zack Nelson wants peace, not a roommate—especially not Pike, who sees things about Zack he most wants to hide. Pike's flirting puts virgin Zack on edge. And the questions Pike's arrival would spark from Zack's teammates about his own sexuality? Nope. Not going there. But Zack can't refuse.

Pike Reynolds knows there won't be a warm welcome in his new home. What can he say? He's an acquired taste. But he needs this chance to get his life together. Also, teasing the uptight SEAL will be hella fun. Still, Pike has to tread carefully; he's had his fill of tourists in the past, and he can't risk his heart on another, not even one as hot, as built—and, okay, yeah, as adorable—as Zack.

Living with Pike crumbles Zack's restraint and fuels his curiosity. He discovers how well they fit together in bed…in the shower…in the hallway… He needs Pike more than he could have imagined, yet he doesn't know how to be the man Pike deserves.

We really enjoyed Off Base by Annabeth Albert.  She puts a military spin of the gay-for-you tried and true storyline and it really works.  

Zach is a good boy Navy SEAL who is struggling with who he really is, and the pressures from his family.  And man do you feel for him.  He is struggling with his everyday choices and his parents and their expectations make him feel that nothing he is feeling is right.  They keep trying to push the all-American-boy, marry-a-girl, have-lots-of-babies on him, and he is unsure what he wants.  But meeting and moving in with Pike, an out gay man, he is faced with temptation everyday. 

This story has so many good points, some seriously hot scenes, great secondary characters (and let’s hope the next one is the series is about Apollo!) and some really sweet boys in love.  And although the GFY storyline is a bit overdone, the pressure in  Zach’s life really give credibility that he is struggling with his sexuality. Being that this is a spin-off of the Gaymer Series, it is really nice to see some old faces. 

But there are a few things that get a little bit much.  The angst.  Don’t get us wrong we feel for Zach being closeted, but the push and pull of what he wants or needs gets a little tiring, and our heart breaks a little for Pike that he doesn’t trust what they have. And honestly, the homophobia is overwhelming, not only from his parents but Cobb, another soldier, it gets a bit grating after a while.   

So, if you like a good GFY romance with sweet characters and some steamy between the sheets action then pick up Off Base by Annabeth Albert.

Review of Misfits by Garrett Leigh

by Garrett Leigh

 4 stars

Sweet, sexy, ménage-a-trois love story that is more than just sex.

Jake Thompson is a down-on-his-luck waiter, self-imposed loner who finds himself in Tom Fearnes bed.  Tom is successful, gorgeous and the kind of man Jake wants.  But an explanation of Tom’s open relationship with his longtime lover and business partner, Cass Pearson, leave Jake feeling like he is the other man. 

Cass and Tom have been tighter for 10 years, and although full committed to each other, life has gotten in the way.  Tom wants to help Jake and Cass sees Jake a way to sooth Tom and his need to have him closer to home.  Simple on the outside, but once they are all falling in love, how does a threesome really work?

Let’s start by saying how much we didn’t except to love Misfits by Garrett Leigh, but fall in love we did.  Jake has Tourette’s, and honestly at the beginning we thought it was a little distracting to the story, but  his TS added so much to his character, and his strength.  Cass has led a hard knock life and struggles with the idea that he deserves everything good in his life.  And Tom tries to keep everything together, and everyone happy,   Each of the men are flawed but together they make a whole.   Misfits is a ménage-a-trois love-story, but it is SO much more than that, it is a story about connections, healing and learning to really depend on each other, through thick and thin.

And it is HOT.  From the first hook-up of Tom and Jake, Garrett Leigh creates some serious chemistry.  The sex story balance is good, and the sex isn’t there just to be sex between 2-men, rather adds another layer to the story, how physically they can be who each other need.  The angst level is thankfully low, and a bit of jealousy rears its head, but again makes this story so much more believable. 

So, although ménage-a-trois love-stories may not be your thing, this is one that will get you hooked from the first chapter!