On Davis Row by N.R. Walker

 by N.R. Walker

4.5 stars 

Nearing the end of a suspended jail sentence should unlock a brighter future for CJ Davis, only the chip on his shoulder is as hard to shift as his bad reputation. Born into a family of career criminals who live down Davis Road, an address the cops have dubbed Davis Row, his name alone is like a rap sheet that makes optimism impossible.

Brand-new parole officer Noah Huxley is determined to see the good in men like CJ. After all, he knows firsthand that bad things can happen to good people. His colleagues mock his doe-eyed optimism, but Noah soon sees CJ’s bad attitude and bravado are weapons he uses to keep people at a distance.

Both men know one simple mistake can change a life forever. At first glance, they might seem to be polar opposites. Yet underneath, they're not that different at all.

Another knock-it-out-of-the-park novel from N.R. Walker.  It is a different sort of book, slower-paced than N.R. Walker other books and deals with a heart-breaking story of trying find value in yourself when no-one else see it.  Yes, this is a love story, but it is heart-breaking, we laughed, we cried, we stopped reading because our heart was breaking. It is a story of love of second chances and so much more.

What did we love?

- Dual POV: So many dual POV stories struggle with the different voices, but On Davis row is a perfect example of never confused voices.  We loved Noah’s optimism, his belief that everyone sometimes just needs a hand up.  And even through his own personal tragedies he still has so much hope and drive.  CJ’s voice is broken; he doesn’t believe much in himself and thinks that everyone is there to take from him.  The balance between Noah’s bright eyed optimism and CJ’s negativity is brilliant.  Don’t know if we would be able to survive a whole book from either of their POV, but moving back and forth gives balance.

- Slow burn:  We love slow burn romance, and On Davis Row is wonderfully unhurried.  Not to be misconstrued with the chemistry between CJ and Noah, because that is palpable.  But, the story takes it’s time, there is no rush to get them into bed, there is no rush to the happy ending.  There is significant issues that need to be worked through to get to all those things, and they make Noah and CJ’s journey to love so much sweeter.

- The Characters:  We love these men.  We love that CJ as hard and tough as he wants to appear is taking care of an elderly sick relative.  We love the Noah is determined to help, to support and to be anything CJ needs, how he could see through all the walls and labels and see the real CJ. We loved falling in love with them through each other’s eyes. 

- Epilogue:  A beautiful beautiful epilogue – thank you.

N.R. Walker is one of our favourite authors and On Davis Row is a wonderfully book full of so many emotions.  On Davis Row is a character driven story that sucked us in and kept us hoping for that happy ending.  A great read!

Review of How to be a Normal Person by T.J. Klune

 by T.J. Klune

5 stars

Gustavo Tiberius is not normal. He knows this. Everyone in his small town of Abby, Oregon, knows this. He reads encyclopedias every night before bed. He has a pet ferret called Harry S. Truman. He owns a video rental store that no one goes to. His closest friends are a lady named Lottie with drag queen hair and a trio of elderly Vespa riders known as the We Three Queens.

Gus is not normal. And he's fine with that. All he wants is to be left alone.

Until Casey, an asexual stoner hipster and the newest employee at Lottie’s Lattes, enters his life. For some reason, Casey thinks Gus is the greatest thing ever. And maybe Gus is starting to think the same thing about Casey, even if Casey is obsessive about Instagramming his food.

But Gus isn’t normal and Casey deserves someone who can be. Suddenly wanting to be that someone, Gus steps out of his comfort zone and plans to become the most normal person ever.

After all, what could possibly go wrong?

We have a special place in our heart for anything TJ Klune – stories that are magical, whimsical and quirky and unusual.  How to Be a Normal person is a playful story of peculiar people and how easy it is to fall in love, and fall in love we did!

The good:

-          - The characters:  Amazing.  TJ Klune creates exceptional characters, rare characters that don’t seem to be real, but jump off the page and make us fall in love.  From Gustavo and Casey, to the friends in town, they are all one-of a-kind characters!

-          - Slow Burn:  Gosh, we love a slow burn romance, and How to be a Normal person has it is spades.  The romance is lovely, there is an ease from friendship, affection, excitement and love that is so sweet.  This is not a rip each other clothes off romance and slow-burn seems so authentic for Gus and Casey.

-          - Sexual Spectrum:  Not many books have asexual main characters and although we were a bit hesitant about how this would work for a romance, it added so much.  And honestly, it opened our mind up to a different kind of non-traditional romance and how one view of love isn’t always everyone’s view of love. 

-          The feels:  So so so many feels.  So many heart aching moments.

The meh?

-          - The quirky:  I think you have to be in the right mood to love this book.  It isn’t for everyone.  It is sweet, shy, eccentric, and unconventional; all things that make it great could leave you scratching your head.

-          The internet advice: Gus, being left of normal, googles” how to be a normal person”, and although fun we kind of got tired of the internet advice.  By the 6^th internet advice section we skimmed a bit *hides head in shame*.  We missed Gus and Casey and just really wanted to get back to their interaction.

If you are looking for an unusual love story, filled with peculiar people How to be a Normal Person is a must read.  We couldn’t get enough Gus and Casey, so we bought the audiobook!  Off to fall in love all over again.

Review of Gray for You (8 Million Hearts #2) by Spencer Spears.

 by Spencer Spears

3.5 stars

I might be your fantasy. But I’m nobody’s forever…

Gray: I’m not the kind of guy you take home to meet your mother. I’m an ex-adult film star with a GED and a giant co...llection of movie credits I can’t talk about in polite company. I might be good at helping other guys get their happy endings, but I’ve more or less given up on finding one of my own.

Until Tyler Lang walks into my life.

That’s right, my co-star for my final film is Tyler Lang--America's heartthrob, until he disappeared from the radar last year. Tyler's got a reputation for being a bad boy, a partier, and apparently straight, but the sweet, vulnerable-looking kid who shows up at auditions is completely different. And now that I'm getting to know him, I can’t help wondering what it is that’s made his eyes so sad--and wishing there were some way I could make it better.

I’m not supposed to get a happy ending. So why the hell won’t my heart listen?

“I’m yours. In whatever way, for however long you want me. Just say the words and you’ll have me forever.”

Tyler: I know what you’ve heard about me. Another spoiled child-actor, all grown up and out of control. I wish I could tell you you’re wrong, but the truth is, I’m a little bit of a mess. Okay, so maybe I'm a giant mess. And now, after getting arrested with an ez-bake oven’s worth of drugs I don’t even remember buying, I'm washed-up at the grand old age of 21.

After a year of rehab and community service, all I want is to work again. So when my agent sends me a new script, maybe I don’t read the fine print as carefully as I should. Which is how I end up auditioning for an adult film. A high-brow, literary adult film. But still. There’s no way I can go through with this. After all, I'm so deep in the closet I'm not sure I'll ever find my way out. And I wouldn’t do this movie--except for one thing: Gray Evans.

Strong, kind, and honest, Gray makes me feel seen in a way I’ve never been before--and makes me want to be better. And somehow, around Gray, everything seems possible. Like maybe there’s a world where I’m not a total screw-up. Maybe there’s a world where I can come out, and not tank my career. And maybe, just maybe, there’s a world where Gray, who’s smart and brave and so together, could want someone like me.

Gray for You is 2^nd in the 8 Million Heart series, and confession time, we didn’t read the first installment and didn’t feel like we missed much.  Picking up this book we thought Gray, maybe it was a May-December, and it is a bit, but it is a slow-burn, lovely romance of 2 people trying to find themselves, and finding each other.

The good?

-     -     Slow-burn:  This is a fantastic example of a slow-burn romance, with not a lot of serious angst.  It is friends feeling something more and slowly realizing the person beside them are the person they want to be beside them forever.  There is a warm feeling between Gray and Tyler and it just cocooned us and made us fall in love right along with them.  But it is slow-burn, there is lots of stolen glances, long looks and sighs, all things that make this a great romance.

-     -     Banter:  We love a book with some serious banter and these boys have it.  There is a funny scene about Tyler bottoming for the first time and it is laugh out loud fun.

-      -    The similarities:  We really enjoyed how both Tyler and Gray were finding their way back.  Tyler spectacularly crashed and burned publically, and has paid for his mistakes for the last year.  And Gray is getting out of a 8 year relationship and has retired as a porn star.  They both are looking for new experiences, and to move past what everyone thinks about them and truly find themselves.

-     -     Sex:  Well, what could we say about a ex-porn star and a virgin – MAGIC!  The chemistry between these men does not disappoint between the sheets. 

The not so good?

-      -    The premise:  Okay, so it could be believable that a fallen actor would take on a role in an erotic-porn-indie film?  And not really realize it?  I think there might have been a different situation that forced Gray and Tyler together.  Sorry, we didn’t really buy it.

-     -     Internal dialogue:  here is a lot of internal dialogue and it does get a bit much after a while, just talk to each other for goodness sake!

-    -      Lots going on:  There is a lot going in the Gray for you.  A lot.  They are filming a movie, falling in love, Gray owns a bar, just got out of a relationship and the guy wants him back, Tyler is dealing with an abusive father and re0-connecting with his brother…..and on and on and on.

We really like Gray for You, it is a solid read, and a fantastic example of a slow-burn romance.  We haven’t read the first book in the 8 Million Hearts series, but honestly we didn’t miss any of the backstory. 

Review of Yanni’s Story (Spencer Cohen #4) by NR Walker

by NR Walker

5 stars

When Yanni Tomaras is kicked out of his family home, his parents’ final words are religious insults and an order to never return. Homeless and desperate, he’s lured in by Lance—charming on the outside, an evil predator underneath—who abuses Yanni until he finds the courage to leave.

Yanni should feel free. But by the time Spencer Cohen finds him, he’s resigned to being handed back to Lance and once again being caged by fear.

Starting school and a part-time job, Yanni begins to reclaim his life. But a love for silent films leads him to Peter Hannikov, a man with a kind heart but who’s twice his age. An unlikely friendship between them blooms into so much more. Neither man knows what he wants, at first. Finding out exactly what he needs is Yanni’s story.

“I’d spent years as a bird, caged with my wings clipped, tormented and beaten.

I thought I’d escaped when I’d left my abuser, but in hindsight, I could see that I was still caged, this time by fear and self-doubt.

Spencer and Andrew, and Andrew’s parents, opened the door to the cage that confined me.

But it was Peter who taught me how to fly.”

Gosh, we LOVED this book!  It is heartbreaking, achingly tender, sweet and so redeeming.  When we first met Yanni in Spencer Cohen #2, we despaired how he would ever find his way to be whole again, and we hoped and hoped.

This is book #4 in the Spencer Cohen series, and you really have to read the other books to really appreciate Yanni and Peter.  This is not a sweep you off your feet story, or a love will heal all story, it is redemption, it is taking back your life, it is finding value in yourself and believing in love again.  Amazing. 

NR Walker creates real life characters; these are not caricatures, but real people who struggle with their demons and live real lives.  Yanni’s story does not shy away from hard topics – Yanni was horribly abused by someone who said they loved him, Yanni was abandoned by his family for his sexual choices, and Yanni is broken.  But, Peter sees who Yanni really is, Peters sees that friendship is a lifeline for them both and doesn’t give up.  He is constant, caring and accepts Yanni’s past, and hopes to be part of his future.

Yanni’s Story is slow slow slow burn, but it works so well.  It is a story about Yanni taking back his life and that includes choosing to love and to feel intimate with someone.  And aside from the other critics we felt it worked really well.   Honestly if Yanni had jumped into bed with Peter, don’t think it would have felt authentic.   They have chemistry and that is undeniable that they both feel it, but they can enjoy it and not rip each other’s clothes off.  They also have this daddy kink between them that is sexy sexy sexy.  It isn’t in your face, but there is an undercurrent of Peter wanted to take care of Yanni, to provide for him and to nurture him. We aren’t huge daddy kink reader, but Peter and Yanni fit together that it doesn’t seem like a huge stretch.