Review of Married to the Manny by Daisy May

by Daisy May

2 stars

"I don't want to leave this country. I don't want to leave my boss."

When the American government finds out Gordon's here illegally, he fears he'll have to leave the precocious nine-year-old girl he nannies - as well as her single, gay DILF of a father. Gordon's always kept his relationship with his employer professional, and now he'll have no chance to change that. Except...

"If you married a citizen, you could get a green card."

Cole makes the proposal out of concern for his daughter. She adores her manny, and Cole doesn't want to shake up her life again. The offer has nothing to do with the attraction Cole's always felt for the sweet Canadian caregiver.

"The entire world has to believe we're in love."

As Gordon and Cole strive to portray a realistic relationship, both of them fight their growing feelings. Will their fake marriage become real enough to convince the immigration office?

With such a great premise – marry for a green card – we had such high hopes for Married to the Manny, but they all fell short.

Gordon is a nanny, a Canadian that is working in the USA illegally.  Immigration finally catches up with him with a deportation notice for 90 days.  He doesn’t want to leave his life and his job, and really loves the little girl he is looking after, not to mention his sexy boss, Cole.  But, Cole has an idea to get Gordon a green card – they get married.

Seriously, how could this book not be great? Friends to lovers, slow burn, all good.  But, it really had some major issues, not little things, but story ideas that almost made this a did-not-finish.  Married to the Manny is a 2 person point of view, but the voices are confusing, we had to go back a few times to figure out who was speaking.  And really with a younger man and an accomplished business man there should be some differences in their voices – right?

There is also the romance of Married to the Manny.  This is not a new story idea, getting married for a green card, but we really miss the slow burn of a romance building.  They both seem to be already in love with each other, and not seeing the signs that the other feels the same way.  They seem to get stuck in their heads.  They are insecure – and instead of one of them taking control they seem to go around and around in a circle.  Even after they finally admit their feeling and fall into bed, the next page that are back to the same angsty thoughts that the other doesn’t reciprocate.  And around around we go. The same goes for their chemistry – or rather lack thereof.  We don’t actually see the attraction building between Gordon and Cole. We didn’t feel the pull of their relationship; rather it felt forced and fake.

There is also some very uncomfortable issues with Cole’s daughter – and we won’t talk more about it as it is a spoiler, but there is uncalled for pressure put upon a 9 year old that as a parent is irresponsible and selfish.  The whole thing left a very bad taste in our mouth.

Unfortunately Married to the Manny just didn’t work for us. With the lack of chemistry, POV confusion and our issues with the role of a child, we struggled to finish this story.

Review of If the Seas Catch Fire by LA Witt

by LA Witt

4.5 Stars

 Sergei Andronikov was a child when the Mafia wiped out his family, leaving him with nothing but a hunger for revenge. Years later, through ruthless strategy and tireless patience, he’s a contract killer working for the three families ruling Cape Swan… and he’s nearly in position to bring them all down from the inside.

Domenico “Dom” Maisano is Mafia royalty, a made man… and a hitman. He’s caught up in a violent life he can’t escape, struggling to maintain an image he doesn’t want, and suppressing desires he can’t have.

A chance encounter throws the killers into each other’s paths. Though Dom knows he’s playing a dangerous game, he’s intrigued and keeps coming back. Sergei can’t resist him either—Dom is everything he set out to destroy, but he’s also everything he’s ever ached for in a man.

Then Sergei gets the contract he’s been waiting for—the hit that promises to bring the town’s Mafia to its knees.

But when a capo makes an unexpected move, Sergei must choose between dropping the hammer on the families he vowed to annihilate, and protecting the man he swore he wouldn’t love.

And the wrong choice—or even the right one—will destroy them both.

We loved this book!  Sexy mafia men, forbidden love, fated lives, hot chemistry all makes this a winner of a great read!

Sergei is an exotic dancer, a good one at that, but hiding his true identity as the Georgian hit man.  He started on this dreadful career for revenge, revenge of the family that was gunned down in the street by the Mafia.  He has pledged his life to create chaos and murder those who are responsible.  He is cold, calculated and finally seeing the fruition of the path he has spent many year cultivating.  But, fate has other plans for him.  Domenico, Dom, is Mafia royalty, and although it seems like everything has been handed to him, he is still paying for his father’s mistakes with a life he wants nothing to do with. He is being forced to marry for appearances he finally give mane to the fact he isn’t attracted to women, but in his world that’’ll end with a bullet in his head.  At the wrong place at the wrong time, Sergei rescues Dom and finds himself falling in love with the last man he should want.

We really like mafia books, and this one is fantastic.  Dom is a typical Mafia man, but hates the life, he wants to make his own choices and live his own life.  We really feel the push and pull of his heart and his head.  He know he can’t walk way, no one does, but he feels so obligated to the life he was given.  So when he meets Sergei, the time they spend together feels like a bubble, a place for them both the escape.

This is a fast paced story.  We really enjoyed that there was a story here, and not just typical erotic romance.  Theirs is a fast-paced romance, and you fall in love right along.  They both have so much to hide and it is heart-breaking to see them struggle with what they want for their futures, and the reality of their lives.  Let’s talk about the s-e-x.  This is an erotic romance, there is lot of sex, but it adds so much to the story.  Both Dom and Sergei are alone in life and sex is their connection to another person.  Dom has never allowed himself to be with another man, and with his potential upcoming marriage, he is finally being authentic to himself.

There are so many great things about LA Witt’s If the Seas Catch Fire; romance, sexy men, heartbreak, and love love love! 

Review of Middleman by Jayne Rylon

 by Jayne Rylon

3.5 stars

I don’t kneel for any man. Not anymore.
I had the perfect dominant boyfriend. Then Cortez left me to save the world.
After two and a half years lost drowning my misery in bad decisions, one man changed everything.
Rogan is the perfect submissive, who puts me back in control of both him and my life.
Until Cortez comes home.
Who am I? Cortez’s bottom or Rogan’s top?
Maybe I’m both.
Maybe I was made to be their middleman.

Hmm, a ménage romance, 3 hot men and a BDSM kink, sound like a steamy book.  And Middleman delivers on the steam, but a few little issues kept us from totally falling in love.

Kaden is an artist and a dedicated bottom for dominant Cortez.  Cortez is a soldier, and when the military calls him away for a special op for an extended period, he thinks he does what is right and breaks it off with Kaden.  Kaden is broken and spends the next years finding relief in other men, drugs and alcohol. However, while doing a portrait for a new sexy client, Rogan, he finds himself pulled into his drama and is happy to find relief for his broken heart.  But things aren’t simple, Cortez comes back form the dead and wants Kaden back.

This is a story about 3 very different men; Kaden, Cortez and Rogan. It is a hot hot steamy erotic story, but it missed a bit for us in the BDSM side, it is a bit more of a kink with light bondage and not really BDSM.  But, it is sizzling, the sex is off the page hot, and really if you are looking for serious chemistry and scalding sex than read on. 

A few things that made us scratch our head.  There is a lot of drama, Cortez leaving, Kaden’s broken soul, Rogan’s cheating ex, and it got a bit much, a bit like drama for drama sake.  Plus we didn’t really like how the fell into the ménage.  Seriously, if your boyfriend’s ex (the one he still says he loves and is heart-broken over) returns would you invite him to be your bodyguard? Yeah, no, it wasn’t really believable.  This is our first Jayne Rylon book, so maybe we aren’t used to her style, but we felt the story missed a flow, like it was a bit forced.  We like the 3 characters individually, and the Kaden/Rogan and Kaden/Cortez relationship but we weren’t really sold on the ménage.

But we are just being picky.  We wanted to like this ménage, we really liked the steam, and the sex scenes are phenomenal, but the story didn’t really work for us.

Review of Coach’s Challenge (Scoring Chances #5) by Avon Gale

 by Avon Gale

4.5 stars

It’s been decades since blackmail forced Troy Callahan to retire from playing professional hockey, and he’s built a successful career behind the bench. When he’s offered the opportunity to coach the Asheville Ravens—the most hated team in the ECHL—he’s convinced that his no-nonsense attitude is just what the team needs to put their focus back on hockey. But Troy is disheartened when he finds out the Ravens have signed Shane North, a player known for his aggression—especially when Shane’s rough good looks have Troy thinking inappropriate thoughts about a player, even if he’s set to retire at the end of the season.

Shane’s career in the majors never quite took off. Wanting to quit on his own terms, Shane agrees to a one-year contract with the Ravens and finds himself playing for a coach who thinks he’s an aging goon, and with a team that doesn’t trust him, Troy, or each other. Despite his determination not to get involved, Shane unwillingly becomes part of the team… and is just as unwillingly drawn to the gruff, out-and-proud coach. As the Ravens struggle to build a new identity, Shane and Troy succumb to the passion that might cost them everything.

We love us some sports romances, and this much anticipated #5 in the Scoring Chances series does NOT disappoint, sexy hockey players make for sexy times.

Coach Troy Callahan is taking a chance and accepted a coaching position with the much maligned Asheville Ravens.  The team is reeling from the abuse of their last coach, and he needs a new start as well.  But when the GM offers a 1-year contract to an aging hockey player the attraction between the two of them is a distraction that Troy doesn’t need. But Shane is still in the closet, and is looking for a quiet place to retire from hockey.

This is book #5 in the Scoring Chances series, and although we get to see some our favorite hockey players and coaches, this is not a continuation of a story.  But what it does share with the other books in the series is the sexy, hot delicious hockey players.  The chemistry that Avon Gale creates between her characters is hot, and Troy and Shane are molten fire.  You can feel the chemistry between these two men, and when they finally come together, it is molten! And as they are a bit older men, the angst is low low low, thank goodness.  They both know what they want and don’t make excuses for the pull between them.

There is lots happening in Coach’s Challenge, the sport-romance aside, it is a bit of a May-December, with a forbidden coach-player love affair, yet it all works so well.  Avon Gale is a master story-teller, her words flow and spectacular writing adds so much to this story.  We didn’t roll our eyes, skim or guffaw even once.  It is an easy story to read, and that is not always an easy feat to accomplish.

So let’s talk about Shane and Troy.  They are fun, flirty, and sexy.  There is an easy banter between the men that adds a layer of humor to their relationship; it isn’t just about the forbidden sex, but you see their relationship developing.  But woohoo, the between-the-sheets action is red-hot, and the sexual tension is scorching, they can’t keep their hands off each other.  One thing we did miss was a bit more intimacy, they are playful and sexy, but we wished we had a few more tender words between these men.

Yes, Coach’s Challenge is #5 in the series that keep s getting better and better.  This is a sport-romance that works on so many levels and is a MUST read!

Review of Audiobook: The Innocent Auction by Victoria Sue and Narrated by Joel Leslie

 by Victoria Sue and Narrated by Joel Leslie

Book: 4 stars Narration: 5 stars

London 1810.

Their love was a death sentence.

Deacon, Viscount Carlisle, was aware of the slums and gin-lanes of London. Just as he was aware of the underground traffic that furnished the brothels and bath houses with human innocents. He was also aware that the so-called justice system would hang the accused without much of an attempt at a defense, unless the unfortunate had deep pockets to pay for it.

He just hadn't expected to be directly involved in any of it.

It started with a plea for help and ended with forbidden love, the love between a Viscount and a stable-boy. An impossible love and a guarantee of the hangman's noose.

Will Deacon fight for Tom? Will he risk the death sentence and take that fight from the stately halls of his English mansion to the horrors of Newgate Prison and the slums of London?

Or will he realize that if he doesn't, death will be a welcome end to the loneliness of the sentence he is already living?

This is actually the first audiobook we have enjoyed without reading the book first, and it was a great listen!  Victoria Sue weaved a heart-aching love story and Joel Leslie adds so much to the story through his poignant narration.

Deacon, viscount Carlisle, lives his life in the upper echelon of society, but knows of the hardships of those less fortune than hm.  What he is surprised to find is the underground auction houses, places where humans are bought and sold, and one night when going to pull his cousin our of one such place his find himself drawn to a young man on the auction block.  Against his better judgement he purchases the young man, and sets him on a life on his country estate.  5 years later when the death of his father bring Deacon back to the country estate, he find himself meeting a very different person than the young youth he saved; Tom has grown up to be a man. 

This book is great – we always like a historical romance, but the idea of the story is what makes it special.  How Deacon and Tom have a relationship spanning over a years, but are re-introduced as adults is wonderful.  The attraction they feel jumps off the page, and even with the trauma in Tom’s past life he sees Deacon only wants the best for him, even if it isn’t a life together.  Life during this period is hard as well, sodomy is against the law, and life is treated as a commodity and The Innocent Auction heart-breaking shows what happens to those accused of the crime. 

Victoria Sue creates characters that we fell in love with, that we rooted for and we cried with, but the real gem is the narration by Joel Leslie.  Joel brings Deacon and Tom alive, gives voice to their heart-break and lets you fall in love along with them.  Sometimes in m/m romance the characters all start to sound the same, but somehow Joel finds a way to keep everyone spate, and consistent through the whole narration.