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 Backfire by David-Mathew Barnes

by David-Matthew Barnes

3 stars

Tired of keeping their love a secret in their small Southern hometown, Evan and Cameron plan to runaway together, unaware that someone is determined to stop them - no matter what it takes.

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.

29 pages.  That is all this little novella takes to tell the story of Even and Cameron, and living in a bigoted small town.  This is an interesting story, and although we enjoyed the concept, had a few issues, even in 29 pages. 

The POV changes back and forth, over and over, and we were confused who was who.  With such a short story it might have been better to keep to one narrator.  The other is the flashbacks, so many flashbacks. How they met, the first time they kisses, studying together.  I get what David-Mathew Barnes is trying to accomplish with the flashbacks, but it didn’t really work and added to our confusion. 

But it is 29 pages, the best 29 pages we have read?  Maybe not but still has enough story to keep you reading from the first words.

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!

Review of Working out the Kinks by Misha Horne

 by Misha Horne

4 stars

Mistakes aren't supposed to feel this good...

I learned early on that pretty much everything in life is a scam, and love's at the top of the list. Easy to fake, maximum payout, and people just never stop falling for it. Watching my mom break hearts and empty bank accounts as we bounced from house to house taught me just how dangerous feelings could be. That's a whole lot of hassle I don't need.

These days, I stick to three basic rules. I don’t take something just because I want it. I don’t ask for help, even if I need it. And I never look twice at a guy who has a bigger bank account than I do. I know where those things can get you, and it's not anywhere I need to go. I’m perfectly happy being a dive bar rock star who can barely pay his rent, chasing the dream until my time or my sanity runs out. At least, I thought I was.

Until Brett showed up.

Another thing I don’t do is think about the past. All the people I can never look in the eye again. Who know just how ugly I really am deep down. The last person I need to get mixed up with is someone on that list. The last person I need to go breaking all my rules for is the cocky, spoiled brat who used to sleep in the room across the hall.

No matter how gorgeous he is now.
No matter how filthy he is in bed.
No matter how good it feels when he says all he wants in the world is me.

Just like the title, so many kinks, but so so so so good!

Failing rock-Star Landon has so many rules for himself, to keep himself from following gin his con-artist mother’s footsteps.  He keeps himself on the bare minimum, of living, loving, and becoming successful, and he is fine with his little life the way it is.  But, when a person from his past wants his future, his rules don’t seem to matter much.  Brett is a spoiled rich-boy taking a break from his life and wanted to re-connect with the man of his youth and current day dreams.

We really really enjoyed “Working out the Kinks”, it is so layered and so very well written.  The first person narrative from Landon creates a flow to the story, and really lets the reader understand his hang-ups about his mother and money.   Landon is an odd fellow, but we quickly fell in love with his quirks.  Brett helps him see that all that he is punishing himself for isn’t really his to accept responsibility for.  They both are floating along, struggling with living, but give each other roots to be who they need to be. 

This book is hot, steamy and kinky.  We haven’t been much fans of spanking, but it works so well between these men, and it is SO hot.  They have such chemistry that Landon tried to deny, but they have such a fun banter and they shares so much vulnerability.  They are such different men, but work so well together.  Landon needs someone who fights for him, to convince him that he is worth something and Brett gives him that.  Now, SPOILER, Brett and Landon were actually step-bothers for 2 years in their teens.  It adds so much to the story, to the layers of their relationship.  We were honestly worried it would be creepy, but just the opposite.

Working out the Kinks is a fast paced, hot, sweaty twisted, kinky read, and we are so glad we meet Landon and Brett.  

Review of Chasing Mr. Wright by Aimee Nicole Walke

 

 by Aimee Nicole Walker

2 stars

Grayson Wright is a man who knows how to do many things. He knows how to follow his dream and create a company, Wright Creations, alongside his brother. He knows how to be a good son, brother, friend, and employer. Grayson doesn’t know how to fix his toxic relationship with his long-time boyfriend.

Grayson decides to throw his boyfriend a surprise birthday party as a last ditch effort to rekindle the old spark, but it’s Gray who gets the surprise of his life when he turns on the lights and learns the ugly truth about his life. Now at age 32, he re-evaluates who he is, what he wants out of life, and the kind of man he wants to give his heart to.

Chase Rivers has an MBA from Georgetown with a minor in marketing. His life starts looking up when he accepts an entry level position at an ad agency. It isn’t his dream job, but it’s a great start and it just feels right to him. He hopes this new beginning in his professional life will spill over into his personal life.

Chase is unlucky in love and draws every loser, liar and cheater like a magnet. He’s an expert at finding the perfect mate for his friends, but strikes out every time for himself. He gives up on finding Mr. Right and agrees to a date with Mr. Right Now out of loneliness and desperation. Chase didn’t expect Mr. Right Now to lead him to the doorstep of his very own Mr. Wright.

If their first meeting was a fluke, then what was the second and third? Twisted fate? Bad luck? Fated hearts? Buckle up for a bumpy ride as these two men travel down a broken road of heartache and discovery.

The first few chapters had so much potential for this m/m insta-love story, but fell apart quickly.

We first meet Grayson Wright, throwing what should be a happy surprise party for his live-in boyfriend of 10 years.  Thinking that this would be a great re-boot for their waning relationship, what he didn’t bank on is being the one surprised.  Chase Rivers is a pretty boy that is unlucky in love, starting a new career at an ad agency hoping that this time things will start coming together. 

Oh there is SO much happening in this book we don’t know where to start; insta-love, bisexual shaming, chick-flick emotions, so many leaking eyes, fate fate and more fate, ridiculous misunderstandings meddling ex-boyfriends, inappropriate grandmas and so many references to ‘God’s plan’. It was a bit much.  Grayson spends 50% of the book being a jerk to Chase, he is hot and cold, going from rejecting him to wanting him.  And chase keeps coming back for the bait; seriously, has he been so broken by other men he will take whatever he is being handed.  I want him, I can’t have him, I want him, I can’t have him…..and repeat. 

This book is also way too long, a couple times it could have wrapped up nicely, but it just kept on going, probably 100 pages too long.  Chasing Mr. Wright also switched POVs, but it was confusing and muddled and more than once we wondered which one of these men was talking, but honestly didn’t care enough to go back and look. 

As we can see we can go on about all our issues with this book, but will just end here by saying, do yourself a favor and skip Chasing Mr. Wright.