Review of Going Sasquatch by Jess Whitecroft

  by Jess Whitecroft 

5 stars

Lovestruck lapdogs, lazy Instagrammers and calcium deposits in the pool – Hollywood personal trainer Sean ‘Finn’ Finnegan is having one hell of a week, not helped when the much-feared agent Angie Lorde calls to demand if he knows why her hottest property – winsome superhero star Chase Morrow – has suddenly ‘gone sasquatch’ and apparently disappeared off the face of the earth.

Out of concern (and maybe a little unrequited love, let’s be honest) Finn goes searching for Chase, but this leads to a day so bad that when he does catch up with his crush, they both agree that the best solution to their very Hollywood problems would be to take off, head up into the Bigfoot country of Northern California and – like America’s favorite cryptid – pretend not to exist for a while.

When Finn and Chase discover that their long-attraction is entirely mutual, they also discover that going off the grid is not that easy in the 21st century. Especially if you’re an A-lister.

Going Sasquatch is our first Jess Whitecroft book and we are wondering where she has been our whole life!  Going Sasquatch is fun, flirty, sarcastic, charming read that will keep you entertained from the first page.  So good!

The SO good:

-           - The story:  Going Sasquatch s a really unique story.  A movie-star running away from his life, and falling into bed with his personal trainer.  It is fast paced, action packed and quirky.  It kept us charmed thorough the whole story, laughing through Finn and Chase’s antics and falling in love with these boys.  It is a bit ridiculous in parts but that is part of the magic of Going Sasquatch.

-           - Chemistry:  We talk a lot about chemistry in our reviews, but Going Sasquatch is a true example of characters that have sizzling chemistry.  It is palpable between Finn and Chase and adds a level of reality to the story.  Although there are jigs and jogs in the story their chemistry doesn’t falter, and gives this book a level of truth.

-           - Pop-culture:  We love the references to pop-culture.  The references to Trump tweets made us laugh out loud. 

-          Humor:  Jess Whitecoft has really captured flirty, sarcastic banter between characters.  It is so enjoyable.  We found our self chuckling and laughing through the whole story.

The bad:

-          - That it is only 280 pages?

We are in LOVE.  This is an undiscovered treasure of a book.  It is humorous, sexy, flirty, enjoyable, exciting, entertaining and a fun fun fun read.  What could make it better?  A second book!

Review of Lightening-Struck Heart by TJ Klune

 by TJ Klune

4.5 Stars

Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident.

Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam's pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the King's Wizard, Morgan of Shadows.

When Sam is fourteen, he enters the Dark Woods and returns with Gary, the hornless gay unicorn, and a half-giant named Tiggy, earning the moniker Sam of Wilds.

At fifteen, Sam learns what love truly is when a new knight arrives at the castle. Sir Ryan Foxheart, the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed.

Naturally, it all goes to hell through the years when Ryan dates the reprehensible Prince Justin, Sam can't control his magic, a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the King sends them on an epic quest to save Ryan's boyfriend, all while Sam falls more in love with someone he can never have.

Or so he thinks

We haven’t laughed as hard in a book since the last TJ Klune we read.  If you haven’t read Lightening-Struck Heart – go now and pick it up.

There ae some anything things happening in this fantasy m/m romance, but the story is set around wizard Sam of winds, sorry, apprentice wizard!  He is a 20 year old man who is apprenticing under the King’s Wizard Morgan, after him and his family are plucked from the slums to live their new life in the Castle.  Sam is an odd fellow and seems to collect odd friends; Gary the Gay-Unicorn and half-giant Tiggy. But Sam is in love with the great Knight, Sir Ryan Foxheart who is trothed to another, sand poor Sam is left to pick up the pices of his heart.

Honestly, this is one of the funniest books we have read, we laughed so hard we sorted.  There is so much wit, humor, sarcasm and teasing we couldn’t get enough.  We were never bored during the 400 page book.  Sam is a clueless kind of fellow, and he goes through life falling into ridiculous crazy situations. 

This book reads a bit like a fairy tale, but in an alternate reality.  There is a Grand Quest, villains, and an epic love story.  Sam and Ryan are so sweet together, their bashfulness is endearing, their situation is heartbreaking and their chemistry (when the allow themselves to acknowledge each other) is enthralling. 

This is another winner by TJ Klune, and we love these characters.  Lightening-Struck Heart is a winner of a book, and we can’t wait to read the next installment. 

Review of Hard Tail by J.L. Merrow

by J.L. Merrow

3 Stars

His job: downsized out of existence. His marriage: on the rocks. It doesn t take a lot of arm twisting for Tim Knight to agree to get out of London and take over his injured brother s mountain bike shop for a while. A few weeks in Southampton is a welcome break from the wreck his life has become, even though he feels like a fish out of water in this brave new world of outdoor sports and unfamiliar technical jargon.

The young man who falls literally through the door of the shop brings everything into sharp, unexpected focus. Tim barely accepts he s even "in" the closet until his attraction to Matt Berridge pulls him close enough to touch the doorknob.

There s only one problem with the loveable klutz: his bullying boyfriend. Tim is convinced Steve is the cause of the bruises that Matt blows off as part of his risky sport. But rising to the defense of the man he s beginning to love means coming to terms with who he is in public in a battle not even his black belt prepared him to fight. Until now.

Hard Tail is a slow-burn, coming-to-terms-with-your-sexuality, m/m romance, that is an easy sweet read.  This is our first J.L. Merrow book and we really enjoyed it.  The story is set from Tim’s point of view – a newly separated late 20’s out-of-work accountant that temporary moves back to his hometown to look after his brother’s bike shop when he breaks his leg.  And one of the employees at the shop in Matt.  Sweet Matt.  We don’t really get to know a lot about Matt, but being from Tim’s POV that isn’t surprising.   Matt is a out-gay man, a klutz that has a live-in boyfriend named Steve.

What did we like about Hard Tail?  Tim’s voice is perfect; he is sarcastic, humorous and self-effacing.  We also really like the British writing, the slang, the places, so fun, and paints the picture of the idyllic countryside in which the book is set.  But the real gem of the story is the other character, Tim’s brother Jay and a friend named Adam.  Seriously J.L. Merrow should write a book about Adam!  And we can’t forget about the scene-stealer Wolverine! We do have to mention that there is some between-the-sheets action, although enjoyable, it doesn’t have the steam we hoped Matt and Tim could generate. 

There were a few things that did make Hard Tail a bumpy ride for us.  The homophobia in the book, even from Tim himself, gets a bit much.  And how Tim comes to accept his sexuality, there doesn’t seem to be much thought about jumping into his first gay experience.  Speaking about jumping, we go from some fooling around between Tim and Matt to love-you-forever’s and moving in together, wished J.L Merrow had flushed this out a bit. 

All in all this is a sweet romance, with a funny POV, and generally an easy read. We will be picking up more J.L. Merrow books soon.