Review of Red Hot Daddy by Austin Bates

 by Austin Bates

2.5 stars

An Mpreg Romance

You never forget your first love… 

Damien King has made a decent life for himself as an Alpha firefighter in his hometown. Drinking with the crew of Engine #15 and picking bar fights with men who insult omegas keeps him from thinking about his past. 

Back in town for a funeral, the last person Tommy Laurence expects to save him from a burning hotel room is his long-lost heartache, Damien. Seeing his old best friend awakens feelings he had sought to forget, or at least they were best friends… until Damien had confessed his love a decade ago. 

Damien can scarcely bear to see Tommy, but the attraction is too intense, and he can’t seem to stay away. A single steamy night between the two becomes a standing appointment. Damien finds himself torn between the pain of the past and the hope for a future, and when Tommy ends up pregnant, the two can no longer pretend to ignore the deep resentments that exist between them. 

Red Hot Daddy, a paranormal firefighter mpreg novel with a side of second chance romance. Not our usual read, but if omega/alpha relationships are your thing, it should be on your TBR list.

What did we enjoy?

- Alpha / Omega:  there is something really great about Damien and Tommy as an alpha/ omega relationship.  Now, this is a non-shifter book, and the first one featuring mpreg that isn’t animal/shifter based, but honestly we didn’t miss the shifter aspect.

- Push and Pull:  We really enjoyed the push and pull of the relationship between Damien and Tommy, it was fun.

What took away from the book?

- Miscommunication and Angst:  Ugh - 10 years of miscommunication.  Really?  And add the angst, so much angst, it was so much and we really wanted these boys to pull their heads out and TALK.  Ugh

- Disjointed story: There was a lot going on in this little book, and we felt it jumped around a bi in plot and them left quite a few cliff-hangers.  Like the hate-crime that the book was centred around just kind of went away???? We ended up skimming just to make it through the inconsistencies.

So, Red Hot Daddy was a miss for us, it is fast-paced easy read, with not a lot of meat to the story.  But, if you are looking for a Red Hot fireman, a sexy omega and a mpreg story without shifting, pick up this second chance romance! 

Review of Rescue Me (Heathens Ink #1) by K.M. Neuhold

 by K.M. Neuhold

4 stars

“Your life can change in an instant”~ Madden
I never thought a night out could change everything. All I wanted was to dance, drink, maybe take a cute guy home for a night of fun. I met the guy, but the night ended as a nightmare. Screams, and blood, and tragedy haunt my dreams. I'm alive and I owe it all to the gorgeous marine who refused to leave me for dead. But how can I start a new relationship when I'm not even sure who I am anymore?

“I'll always save you” ~Thane
After a long work week all I wanted was to let my hair down and to meet a nice guy. When I laid eyes on the gorgeous, tattooed man at the bar, I had to have him. I never would have thought the night could end in such horror. I saved his life, and I swear I'll save him as many times as I have to. Even if it means saving him from himself.

So so so so so so SO good!  This is our first KM Neuhold book and we can’t quite figure out why! Rescue Me takes the horror of being at the wrong place and the wrong time and shows the reader what it takes to move past a traumatic evet and hopefully fall in love.

Thane is a hot firefighter, gay, but deep in the closet.  He likes his life simple, work and play and keep them that way.  He is an ex-military man that struggles with his sexuality and how the people in his life will react to who he really is.  But, he wants to forget all that and hook-up, just some fun.  Out at a gay club he meets Madden, a smart sexy tattooed man and the sparks are instant.  But when a traumatic event that night at the club, Madden is unsure of how to put himself back together, let alone start a relationship with his rescuer.

Rescue Me  is a book with some heavy themes; anti-LGBTQ shooting, suicide, teen runaways, coming out of the closet, and at some points it feels too heavy, but KM Neuhold pushed through and you are aching for a happy ending for these men.  We are always fascinated by how people meet and fall in love, and this book is exactly that.  Madden and Thane meet, and although there are all these barriers in their way they struggle to make it work for each other. 

But this book isn’t just about struggle; it is hot as all get-out!  Come on a Fireman and a Tattoo artist, hot all on their own, but together the chemistry is electric. There is a need, pull, want between Thane and Madden that is undeniable, and the push pull of their relationship flames the fires that kept us turning the pages. 

Rescue Me is the first in the Heathens Ink Series (spoiler: we already devoured the 2^nd installment of the series), and is set amongst a rag-tag group of friends who are all tattoo artists.  KM Neuhold defines each character with individual personalities and has set up their first book as a great teaser for the rest of the series. 

Rescue me was a surprise hit for us.  Really there are so many hurt/conform books out there, but this one really made us believe and hope for these men to heal to be together.  Pick up this series and we are sure you won’t be disappointed!