His Accidental Christmas Omega: Ava Beringer

3stars

I couldn't really get into this book. It read like I should know things that I just didn't already know. The title lead me to believe it was a part of a world but not a next in series if that makes sense. Basically, a stand-alone set in the same town or place as previous books. But I spent a good bit of time wondering if one character had died in a fire and the importance of the agents going to this house full of so many characters who only pop up again at the end of the story whos names I don't remember. I read that entire scene like what is the importance of this?

Operation Gay freedom, Noah Harris

3stars

So initially I was hyped for this story. A nice action pact story with a splash of paranormal and sprinkled with a side plot of romance. Honestly what's not to love. On a technical level at the beginning of the novel transitions were awkward. We'd be at one scene and then some sentence like 'now they were..." and I'd be like when did they start moving, weren't they just... how did... and so on. As the novel went on the transitions got much smoother so this turned into a fleeting issue but it stood out because it was at the beginning of the book.

How To Vex A Vampire

This was an okay book. It started off well but as I kept on reading it became more about just finding out what was going on then actually digging deep into the characters. 

Finn starts out alright. I'm here for the snark. I only picked this book up because I liked 'happy endings' so much. The problem here was that it wasn't always funny. Sometimes it just seemed unnecessary. And the secret that Finn was keeping about why he wanted to join the vampire unit never set well with me. I couldn't help agreeing with everyone that he could get killed. 

Safe In His Arms

This was a safe read. Very low angst, easy to get into. No real problems. It losses a star though for one big technical issue from me. Rome vs Roman. The book starts off in the first paragraph saying "Roman was". The very next paragraph says "Rome looked". I thought there were two different people. It didn't end there. It goes on to introduce the pack members, cousins brothers and even his twin with whom he is only ten minutes older. With all these names and the consistent changing from Rome to Roman, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't lost, confused, and a bit annoyed.

In all fairness, I've seen this done before. Hell, I've done it. So it isn't the fact that both names are interchanged in the narrative it's the placement. Something about it jarred me. Maybe it was that I wasn't set up for this. It happened so fast. First word first paragraph, which was really short, had one name. The second had another name as the first word but I wasn't told his name was Roman but his friends call him Rome. There wasn't a dialogue section where they called him Rome after setting the reader up with the name Roman. Can't really place it but I was confused by it in this novel for some reason.

Corruption: A Bureau Story Book 1

This was a short sweet story. But for something that I was expecting to be a romance, even possibly with a little BDSM. It didn't deliver. Unfortunately, the book wasn't tight enough to read like a short story. It actually gave me the feeling of the beginning of a full-length novel. I knew this wasn't going to be happening having read the blurb for the next two novels before buying this one.

Jumping between marks and audience really threw me off in the first chapter. Especially when marks is more commonly used for say a hit in assassination stories or the person one is following in an espionage type novel. In this case, they were audience members at a carnival. What they most accurately were was customers. Marks was odd and the inability to stick to audience or marks added to the oddity of it.

Loving Luke

As a whole, this book seemed like I'd love it. A nice hokey romance that starts in the midst of a problem instead of dragging you through the problem. It didn't quite lift off the page for me though.

Firstly I'd like to point out I had zero problems with the book starting after a major event. Luke made a bet. Harley found out about it and now he needs to fix the mess he made. My problem with it was how long it took to mention the parameters of the bet. Like the full details didn't drop until his apology which is way down past 70percent. Secondly, most importantly, how the hell did Harley find out? Not detailing the scene fine, but not expressing the specifics of the bet and how Harley found out was what made it hard to get into. 

Going Down

I enjoyed reading this. Glad to finally say that considering my last couple of reviews. This book did have a few errors but I didn't pause while reading it which is good. There was the use of the word bowels that took me out of the story a bit. But beyond that, I enjoyed reading this.

The technical thing that stood out the most was after a night of being too drunk to immediately remember a party it takes a few days to remember the party and another few to remember the guy who saved him from the morning hangover that same night with a hangover remedy. I assumed just over a week might have gone by so a week is doable but the author says they were talking more. They hadn't talked in a week so the saying when they next met they were talking more seems like they had been talking already. 

Driven To Love

This was a light sweet read. This could've been a five-star book. It had the makings of a nice steamy low angst fast love story. But there were some things plot-wise and character-wise that just didn't do it for me. There's a strong chance this is all personal preference so if you read this review and think 'he hated on that' and roll your eyes you will probably love this book.

Right from the first chapter, there's this scene where Ben has a text exchange with his best friend. It was a good chance to develop Ben's relationship with his friend and his own character but instead of receiving this text exchange in dialogue we are just told this happens.  It happens again when he finally calls him to tell him about his budding relationship. We are told what transpires in a paragraph or two but not shown. Incidents like this happen a few times, where characters meet or are in a situation where stuff happens but the stuff doesn't happen beyond being told it happens. Makes it hard to connect with the characters.

The Kinsey Scale

This story was too slow for me. I couldn't finish it. I pushed to about halfway but then gave up. My problem was the whole slow burn and used tropes. It started to lose me when Eric decided he needed a fake boyfriend to seem unavailable or not a loser to a straight guy. I dunno I guess I'm over the whole fake boyfriend/girlfriend thing when it's used this way. It's been done so many times before and this one was not only with an ex but an ex who was seeing someone if I recall. Next it was the girlfriend back home. The girl these 'not so straight guys' always have so the gay love interest can validate why he could never have him because you know, girlfriend back home. In this instance it seemed like Eric was the only one talking about said girlfriend and not Will. This made it even harder to get into this plotline.

Wild Hearts

I couldn't finish this. It seemed like it would be the perfect book for me. Introvert meets wild biker but it didn't live up to the hype. Especially with the promise of an exploding house. Ultimately the book didn't deliver.

One of my first main problems was the narrator constantly referring to the leads as the biker and the writer even though we knew their names. Usually this device is used when you either don't know their name yet or, for plot reasons, are withholding the name until you do reveal it and then use the name. The interchanging of actual names to biker/writer was frustrating.

Pit Fighter 1: The Opportunity

The entire premise/idea of this book is good. Very good even. I went into this thinking I would really love it. A world filled with animals, fighting and maybe some steam on the side. But it didn't live up to any of that. The story doesn't actually go anywhere. It reads like the opening to a part one or a full novel instead of a fully completed part one. There's no end goal reached so it's a cliffhanger ending instead of an ending that leads into the next part. It doesn't succeed at fulfilling the needs of the first, of coming to a conclusion but not reaching the end goal, Which I'm assuming is finally getting to meet his crush.

Nights With Roarsen

Couldn't really get into this story. It's part of a series or a short in connection with the Chosen Series, but it works as a stand-alone. It has the HEA, has a bit of fluff but mostly it doesn't take itself seriously and that was the problem for me. The subject matter of this book needed more serious. The trauma of Enid's past was pretty much what defined him and were his reasons for not wanting to get close to anyone yet it felt more glossed over than dealt with. There was a lot of I told Roasen things, but none of me as a reader witnessing these conversations. This is a short story and it felt like the opportunity to milk these nights with the Tiger thus making all the fluffy relationship stuff that much more rewarding was missed. It's called Night's with Roarsen but these nights never happen.

Catching Orion

I didn't really enjoy this. I found it a bit tedious. It started of well but it went from somewhat passable beginnings into absurdity way to fast.

Firstly I can almost suspend belief to jump into the fantasy of deception, but only almost. Knox's uncle enter's him in a dating site raffle unknown to him and he wins. after winning his uncle confesses.  This isn't too bad. The problem is in order for Ryan, (his name is Orion and I spelt it wrong before editing because he's called Ryan in the book so Oryan was the most logical leap. Maybe I'm just weird but... yeah lol).

Love

I wanted to connect with this story but couldn't. It's short sweet but the romance never seemed to develope. Even by insta love standards it didn't have enough oomph to be a fast romance.  

Rory is a struggling artist who can't seem to connect with his parents. After a visit that leaves him feeling down he goes for a walk and passes a book store where he meets Brett and so begins the love story. It's your stnadard fare for a short story but instead of being jammed with the most pertinant of information since it's not a long read, it still reads like a standard sized novel. Like there's going to be more time for the story to develope but there isn't. 

Ship Work

I enjoyed reading this story. It was quick light fun with an occasional laugh. After being forced on a singles cruise by his parents Holt believes he can turn this into a work vacation but his assisstant, Dane, is not having any of that on his first ever cruise and decides fun is much more important, almost more important then his hot boss.

The story follows the same formular as most of these romances but still manages to be enjoyable even though you know where it is going. There were a few things that bothered me though. The shortlived jealousy bit. It's like in these m/m romances the only way for the guy to notice he likes the other guy is if he gets jealous of him spending time with other guys. There has to be another way to do this. We can't always be getting jealous and if we must how we come navigate that can be switched up.

Hopping to Happiness

This was a short easy read. Boy wants a pet, pet turns out to be a shapeshifter and love ensues. What's not to love really. Unfortunately the book felt a little too simple at some points. I read it twice before writing my review and had the same response to it. The first two chapters seemed a little slow and very repetitive. Especially the one were Bryce continuously found multiple ways of saying being gay was not his fault in his introductory section. It was written like a hard sell when it didn't need to be said that much. I don't know why, cause I'd definitely go to a shelter first myself for a pet, but the idea of shelter versus pet store also came through like a hard sell mostly for it's repetitiveness as well.

I did start to enjoy it come the third chapter though.  The book flowed faily well. had a few laughs, mostly due to Bryce in rabbit form. That's when he and the writing seemed to be at it's best. His reaction to things as a rabbit knowing he was indeed human were by far my favourite parts to read.

Sergeant Delicious

This was an enjoyable read. Short, sweet and flowed rather nicely. I liked how the story progressed over emails to the physical meeting then beyond. The bond between the two main characters felt real and I could get into it as I followed Xavier and Damien along their journey together. Also, food makes everything better so this being a partial foodie romance made it that much more entertaining.

My only real sticking point was Damien's doubts. Not that he had them, but how he behaved about having them. With all the signs clearly pointing to a love connection the better and definitely more dramatic option would be to go with it and still have all the self-doubt and worry and hope that it's just paranoia and things work out. It came off more like he didn't want a relationship instead of him being afraid that Damien didn't want one. It didn't sell well. Thankfully this didn't pop up often enough to matter.

By His Bootstraps At my neighbours mercy

This was a short, steamy read. I wanted to enjoy it but didn't. The blurb lead me to believe this was going to be a short story about someone straight giving in to not-so-straight desires. It didn't live up to that. It read more like an already gay boy continuously telling himself he's not gay only because I'm supposed to believe he's straight. There is nothing about Tyler that screams straight boy confused about lusting after his neighbour. It's mostly gay boy embarrassed that he feels a certain way about his neighbour.

The book starts with him moving into an apartment with only a pull-out couch to his name. His only link to straightness is his ex-girlfriend. That's her only purpose to hang his supposed straightness out there. His neighbour helps him with the couch as Tyler is too scrawny and weak to do it on his own. His description of his neighbour alone screams I'm gay. Instead of 'I notice you workout'. When he spies on him later that night there's zero resistance. Just lusting at the older man from his bedroom window. Skip to the next day and he's on a leash in public? Just 24hrs to leash.

Happy Endings: Demonic Magic Book 1

This book had me laughing way too much. Right from the first chapter it was clear the humour in this book was meant for me. I'm definitely a fan of witty banter. Miles was hilarious, Havoc was what every demon should be. Evil, spunky and classy all in one. And the side characters added just enough depth to keep the story vibrant and entertaining.

What I really liked about this book is that it was a romance not stylised as a romance. A lot of times you go into these LGBT themed books and it's all about the relationship. It could be a mystery, a drama, fantasy, or even espionage but the budding relationship takes centre stage and the actual plot just flits away into the background. This story, however, was about people dying, about finding out who the murderer was, and finding them before they could do too much damage. The relationship was something that happened on the side of the main focus of the story which is as it should be.

Happy Endings

There is so much I could say about this book. Started it on the way to work. Tried my hardest not to laugh but eventually, I just couldn't hold it in. Miles is hilarious. Havoc also hilarious. The side characters are colourful and well thought out. Backstories are dropped in non drag me down ways. I have a thing about italics so for that reason any flashbacks were hard for me to read but good all the same. Basically I loved this book.

What made this book sing beyond the humor was the main plot. As the blurb states 15 people drop dead at one time and Miles, whose real name I refuse to type because I won't do him like that even though he's fictional, is literally the only one who can help. It goes through the type of set up and hints/plot devices that I expect from a good suspense novel. Keeps you guessing. Trying to figure out which character is the villain or if the villain will even be exposed in this book. Is there a traitor amongst them or something much more deadly. 

Breaking Barriers

This is the first in the Hart Medical Center series. I went into this expecting one thing because of the blurb. It started off like that promise was going to be upheld. I was genuinely drawn in for a while until the accident finally happened. I was even able to look past a good bit of editing errors. But after that the book kind of sunk.

Firstly the editing, which I usually try to ignore, was too numerous in its problems. Missing words, wrong words, repeated phrases. Things like the author reworded a sentence and forgot to delete the part that wasn't needed anymore. If you're the type of person that cares about these things this book isn't for you. I've written reviews on books with editing issues and not even mentioned it but even for me, this was way, way too much.

Lost Wolves Series

I definitely have mixed feelings about this series. I started off liking it but then I found myself losing interest then getting it back then losing it. Just all over the place. That being said let's start with book one.

Omega in the Shadows:

The idea of an assassin and the man sent to kill the assassin falling in love was a good premise. The opening scene where the two main characters meet, Elijah and Rowan, was great. Even with the death of a partner that you could see a mile away. The tension was great. The pacing wasn't too off. I enjoyed it but I didn't more than enjoy it. Something about it was one note. Like I understood Elijah and his backstory but he was an established assassin so I didn't feel his continuous need to prove he was better than any alpha. He'd done it a million times over already and they all knew what he was capable of. 

Born Again Sinner

Since the first book in this series was okay I figured I'd go along and read the second. It started off okayish. But it quickly sank into something that didn't quite live up. Basically, it was more of the same as the first except this one had even more chances to be gritty deep and interesting while still being hilarious and erotic at the same time.

Cody starts off just being mean. I actually like him the most and he isn't that likeable. Mean isn't a bad thing per se but when coupled with his ignorance about his injuries. It was too hard to buy. No man that hard up on not being what he used to be wouldn't do all he could to get that life back. It was hard to fall in line with his anger when he routinely did things to make him permanently damaged just to prove a point. 

Football Sundae

This was a fun read. I started off really enjoying it. It was one of those you can tell where it's going after the first meet but weren't put off by it. Genuinely wanted to see how the author would get there. There was a particular scene where the main character Tannor gets blamed for a plumbing accident that got my biggest laugh. Comedy gold. My problems arose as the book continued.

It was an okay book but it didn't leap in any real original way. Once I got to the good bits the dynamics between Billy and Tanner didn't cross new ground. Without the side characters and the comedy, it didn't move or more accurately grow much. Instead of being excited about Tanner's big reveal, I felt annoyed. Like of all the times, this is the time you do it? It made so little sense beyond one obvious bit, to drum up some drama to make the story more interesting. Instead it just seemed like another unrealistic plot moment designed for people who like drama and can suspend heap loads of reality for the sake of it.

One Good Man

This was tedious. I bought this book with the promise of an angsty military drama. What I got was not much really. There is a lot of talk about weapons and tactics. An occasional bit about DADT. And all sorts of things I was already prepared for before reading the first page. There wasn't much else really. Nothing too in-depth about the main character. No real interaction with the other characters beyond gym workouts. Which were probably, by far the most entertaining thing about this book. And that was it.

I kept turning pages thinking that some interaction would happen. Even when the main characters did meet it didn't get involved and in the 60 percent or so of this novel that I slugged through, I can count on one hand how many times the two mains met. The other stuff was all military jargon and noise vaguely relating to the main characters gayness and distant relationship with his dad but not digging into it in a way I can recall. Nothing tangible. 

Dirty First Dates: The Arcade

I legit smiled before writing this first sentence. This book had me all sorts of grinning while I read it. Violet was perfect. Just the right amount of submission with a hint of defiance to make it all that much more fun when the fun happens.  Aiden... okay my opinion is biased here. Tall, deep voice tattoos and plugs. Yeah he had me based on description alone. Just... *hyperventilates*.

Using the arcade as a setting for gameplay both literally and erotically was a nice touch. It could've dropped into cliche very easily but the author avoids that by the way Violet's internal monologue attacks every situation. It's hard not to love Violet. How she switches between demure and bratty rather smoothly and even sometimes gets surprised not just by what she says but how she says it.

Off the Ice

I thought I would love this book. Mostly because sports jock M/M romance is my favourite trope. It had all the makings of a good novel. Teacher lusting after a student, student lusting after a teacher. Tension and angst. Basically all the components of the formula for this type of novel. Yet it didn't jump of the page for me.

Warning this contains one plot point that happens early in the story..

I pretty much skimmed through the first parts. I didn't really get into it. Once I did start paying attention there were too many things that didn't make sense. For instance, when Sebastian assumed the non-jock looking kid would be the one to write a paper about, well, hockey. With such effortless detail thus going against type but then on the flip side assume the jock, Tristan, was the one who stole ta later paper thus going with type. It didn't fit his character on so many levels to choose the exact road of the type of thing he was trying to teach his students not to do.

Stay

When I read the blurb to this I thought I was getting something entirely different. To be fair I can't really remember what that was but I enjoyed what I did get. This book was a nice dark gritty story. It was relatable on a few levels. Mostly it was just nice in the big sea of M/M romance to read something with more than surface value and steamy sex. Which I love, but sometimes It's nice to have something more solid and this story provided that.

The struggle of being afraid to let anyone in because that has brought you nothing but pain was believable. The questioning of anything good because of said fear was relatable. And the certain level of irrationality to it fit the main character, Joe, quite well. It made sense. The story between him and the other main Madden progressed at a good pace and I didn't feel bogged down or rushed at any point in the story.

DEMIGODS

BR:7

PER:7

Blog

Twitter

This was an interesting read and a difficult review to write. This story had the action, had the good versus bad and the naivety of the reluctant hero. A perfectly laid out villainous plan that magically fails in the end and even a sick child to empathise with. It honestly should've been amazing. However, with all that going for it I still wanted more.

This book hits that old adage of show don't tell in a way that created good well-written scenes but not much connection for me. The whole back story of how Steve the human became a supernatural took up a few chapters. I don't even remember the scientist's name. I was so focused on what happened in the chapter before these scenes and where they would lead I skimmed them.

The Gate

The premise of the gate is a good one. I started off following along with the lead character Kiva fully invested in the story. A woman stuck on a planet ruined by humans failed attempt to fix climate change. The only viable option to live in a world where simple pleasures like the sun can be is to go through the mysterious gate to another planet. The survival rate is low at best.

It tackles tough ideas like climate change, politics, the difference between being alive and living in an effortless and intriguing way. When I started I was loving the book. Somewhere in the middle, even though the story itself was still good it stalled. Like it was set up to go somewhere but then floated at the point just before it went.

The Auctorati

This story was a great read. Great enough to read more than once. It starts right of in the action pulling introducing the characters all at once leaving come things shrouded in mystery and others clearly defined. The type of chapter that makes you want to keep on reading. The characters are well developed and all have different motivations for doing what they do but all these motives bring them towards the same end goal. Destroying the Villian Talon.

What I like about Talon is as a villain he makes sense. He's just a man trying to come out from the hand life dealt him by whatever means necessary. Evil though he may be it's not hard at all to sympathise with his reasoning. That and he gets some of the best one-liners. Comedy gold.