Tag: mm

Book Review: Connection Error (#gaymers, #3) by Annabeth Albert

March 12th, 2018

Connection Error by Annabeth Albert

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Though this isn’t the best of Albert’s books, I still stayed up way past my bedtime consuming it last night and then proceeded to get no work done today as I instead read this on my Kindle while curled up in a semi-comfortable armchair at the library.

My favorite thing about Albert’s writing is her way with characterization. The MCs are often complex, flawed people who are nonetheless trying their best in less than ideal circumstances (kind of like real life). From these less than ideal circumstances and the characters’ fears and flaws come the conflicts, so the conflicts often feel believable. Connection Error is no exception. I loved the two MCs. I loved how they came together and how they struggled to figure out how to make things work. Their life situations (one dealing with ADHD and the other injured in the line of duty) were sensitively and gracefully handled.

I will happily read whatever comes next from this author.

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His Royal Secret (His Royal Secret, #1) by Lilah Pace

March 11th, 2018

His Royal Secret by Lilah Pace

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well this was fun. And hot. And well-written.

A prince (the Prince of Wales, to be precise) gets his own prince charming in the form of a rugged Israeli journalist with abandonment issues and a penchant for denial.

Their chemistry is off the charts. The external conflict that keeps them apart is believable. James, the prince, is not out and doesn’t think he can ever come out, for various reasons. Ben, said rugged journalist, is fine with this because he doesn’t want anything serious. He values his freedom above all else, and, due to a previous messed up relationship, he thinks that romantic relationships and independence are mutually exclusive.

Overall, I really liked this, and I found reading about the life of a royal fascinating, but I also found myself wondering at the end how it was they actually fell so deeply in love. The resolution to this first book in the duology is emotional but not totally satisfying.
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Broken Protocol (Smoke & Bullets #2) by A.R. Barley

March 6th, 2018

Broken Protocol by A.R. Barley

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I wish I could say I liked this more than I did, but I DNF’d it at about 70%.

It wasn’t really the book; it was me. I wasn’t much of a fan of Dante, one of the MCs, who came across as unlikable at the best of times. I thought further reading would change my mind about Dante; however, the opposite happened, unfortunately. Also, in my opinion, the story got off to a somewhat rocky start in the very first scene in terms of how it was described. The scene ended up being a bit jumbled in my head.

Ultimately, I couldn’t seem to care enough about what happened to the characters to finish, especially when there are so many other books waiting to be read.

I received an eARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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The Wolf at the Door (Big Bad Wolf, #1) by Charlie Adhara

February 1st, 2018

The Wolf at the Door by Charlie Adhara

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Consider me blown away. I find the fact that Adhara is a debut author incredible because everything about this book is solid.

I loved the mix of mystery/police procedural, romance, and paranormal. The paranormal element comes in the form of werewolves, but Adhara’s take on the way they shift and how they’ve been able to survive for so long before “coming out” to the world’s governments is different from what I’ve seen before. Since coming out, the werewolves have had to contend with bigotry from some of those in the know, which reminded me of things happening right now, ahem. The mystery was much better than I expected, especially the police procedural scenes which seemed entirely accurate in my admittedly limited knowledge.

How was the romance? Wonderfully done and completely satisfying. I’m so impressed with this author’s debut. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series, or whatever their next book is.

ARC received from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Tribute Act (Porthkennack, #8) by Joanna Chambers

January 23rd, 2018

Tribute Act by Joanna Chambers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this. Two opposite main characters fall in love over the course of one’s recovery from donating part of his liver to their extremely ill sister. Yes, they are stepbrothers, but they don’t meet until right before said donation due to a crappy father situation. Normally I’d be a little wary of stepbrother romance, but Chambers could publish her to do lists and I’d probably read them. That’s how crisp and lovely her writing is.

Last year, her other entry in Riptide’s Porthkennack series, A Gathering Storm, was one of my favorite reads. The series is definitely made pretty excellent by Chambers’s contributions. I look forward to reading more in this series and more by this author.

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Review: Dragon Fire, Angel Light by Shara Godwinson

December 12th, 2017

Dragon Fire, Angel Light by Shara Godwinson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

*I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

I really wanted to like this. It has an intriguing premise–a dragon shifter thousands of years old falling in love with a human–but it did not work on paper. The main characters were not believable as three dimensional characters, and the narrative was off. Characters’ reactions felt stilted, and there was too much telling going on and not enough showing. Don’t even get me started on the villains (the first one introduced was described as a black man; I mean, really?).

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Kidnapped by the Pirate by Keira Andrews

November 30th, 2017

Kidnapped by the Pirate by Keira Andrews
4 of 5 stars

Holy swashbuckling, Batman! This was even more enjoyable than I thought it would be. One would think there would be great amounts of adventure in a book with the word pirate in the title, but that didn’t exactly cross my mind when I began reading this, nor did the possibility of the sheer amount of sexy times one can fit into such a book.

In addition to adventure and sexy times, there’s probably a trope for every romance reader in this book. May-December? Check. Virgin main character? Check. Naive captive falling in love with a pirate with a heart of gold? Check. Although that last one might not be a trope now so much as a throwback to some of the crazysauce from old school romance, with the subversiveness of making it about queer characters.

What a fun, romantic, and sexy ride. I’ll be reading more by Andrews in the future.

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Kill Game (Seven of Spades, #1) by Cordelia Kingsbridge

November 29th, 2017

Kill Game by Cordelia Kingsbridge
5 of 5 stars

A detective and a bounty hunter are thrown together on a serial killer case that gets personal. The mystery, the characterization, the chemistry, the writing are all basically perfect. I love these characters and have no idea who the killer is, which is rare for me.

This is the first in an ongoing mystery/suspense series, and I don’t even care because it means I get more time with these dudes and their budding romance in the future. A+

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In the Middle of Somewhere (Middle of Somewhere, #1) by Roan Parrish

November 28th, 2017

In the Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish
4 of 5 stars

I was thinking the other day about this book, and it was really just me making noises about it in my head. It could probably be about 50 pages shorter, with some sexy times cut, but I often read books like an editor. Parrish’s writing is some kind of sorcery because despite the flaws I was riveted. The characters’ backstories made me feel some type of way, and the relationship development was super satisfying. TW for some violence.

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Baked Fresh (Portland Heat, #2) by Annabeth Albert

November 27th, 2017

Baked Fresh by Annabeth Albert
4 of 5 stars

What I loved about this was how real the two main dudes are. One is a newly dumped recovering addict, and the other lost three family members to heart attacks before undergoing gastric bypass surgery. The way they worked through their issues together was believable and respectful. There wasn’t much resorting to a-holeness which was refreshing. Lots of sexy times that are there for actual reasons.

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