[ARC] Two For Holding

Title: Two for Holding

Author: S.B. Barnes

Pages:  170

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC

This book is a great example of worlds collide- we have Jax traded to a new team in a whirlwind of allegations and sex scandals, and Tom the captain of his new team- a very quiet, stoic man.

It’s a unique premise of when worlds collide- with one character being happy go lucky almost to the point of manic, with the other being stoic almost to the point of being a shut in .

A great read

[ARC] Handle with Care

Title: Handle with Care

Series: The London Arts Club, Book 1

Author: Hayden Stone

Pages:  334

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating:  4.5 stars out of 5

Acknowledgment: Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC

Dylan is a fresh arrival to London- so fresh that he’s barely settled into his rented apartment before he starts his first day at an intern in a museum; but his first day starts off rather dismally due to the fact that a car decides to run through a puddle of water which drenches him from head to to. Soon enough he discovers that said driver is Will aka Mr McClaren- a young, rich toff who has somehow also found himself in the same internship as Dylan- the end prize being a permanent position for one of them.

Like all good enemies to friends to lovers stories, this one is a nice by the book numbers with the friendship and later relationship between Wil and Dylan growing slowly but oh so real and earnest.

A great read

[ARC] The App Trap

Title: The App Trap

Author: Dan Calley

Pages: 210

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating:  3.5 out of 5

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC

The premise of this book is intriguing no doubt- Danny decides to hit the dating apps as he has never seen the need to before, while at the same time his mother is dealing with the start of a massive health crisis.

Dan Calley does a great job with his characterisations; each character is richly developed and while the novel itself is a bit on the slow side to start, it has some interesting things to see about the modern dating world.

While the ending might be cliched, it still packs an emotiona punch

[ARC] Free Wind

Title: Free Wind

Series: Lifeguards of Barking Beach, Book 2

Author: Keira Andrews

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Pages: 326

Rating:  4.5 stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC.

It’s been a while since we visited Barking Beach and this second novel continues the same level of brilliant writing and characterisation as we saw in Flash Rip, the first in the series.

In Free Wind, we are introduced again to Damo who we first saw in Flash Rip, a full time lifeguard who could be described as the quintessential surfer boy/golden retriever, who at first glance has no problems, but we soon discover his home life isn’t that sweet and laidback after all.

We are also introduced to Blake (“The Bloke”), a volunteer lifeguard who harbours a crush on Damo and is soon persuaded by his friend Kat to make a move; after all what could go wrong apart from a no?

There is no no in fact- soon enough Blake and Damo form a relationship with all that entails including the highs and lows; there’s a few reveals that you won’t see coming but they feel natural and not too crazy.

As an author, Keira Andrews had done research which shows because I had to confirm that she wasn’t Australian- she nails the dialect an local lingo fantastically- and frankly better then some Australian authors!

[ARC] Striking the Match

Title: Striking the Match

Series: Redwood Bay Fire Book 3

Author: Helen Juliet writing as HJ Welch

Pages: 293

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC

Wow!

The third book in the Redwood Bay Fire series, turns our attention to Teddy, the stations probie.
This book and the entire series is just all kinds of amazing- the writing is solid, the characters you all come to love and you just want more.

Striking the Match opens with Teddy trying to rescue a cat from a fast flowing river- while not totally successful, the cat does survive as does Teddy- in fact the rescue of Teddy and his attempt to rescue the cat goes viral and soon comes across the attention of Cassius.

Cassius, a recently out and retired NFL player, has moved to Redwood Bay with his extremely efficient PA and soon adopts the rescue cat- but he also wants to meet the hero who rescued his new little girl.

Sparks soon fly between the two and soon we see a budding relationship build with all that it entails- we see Teddy’s self doubt as to his own worth show, while we see Cassius uses his money to attempt to show that he cares.

This is an excellent read and I look forward to the next one!

[ARC] The Worst Day

Title: The Worst Day: A Plane Cras, A Train Wreck and Remarkable Acts of Heroism in Washington, DC

Author: Bruce Goldfarb

Pages:  240

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to NetGalley and Muswell Press for providing an ARC.

This was an intriguing book, because as the author says, they were waiting for a book on this topic and since none was written, he decided to write it himself

On a crazy winter day in January 1982, a perfect storm (if you pardon the pun) of event converged to cause one eventful day in history- this book primarily focuses on the crash of Air Florida Flight 90, while contextualising it with the later event of a fatal Metro train crash, along with non stop major fire events; all of which cause a massive strain on emergency services and their responses.

While sadly not surprisingly, it is still an “oh my” moment to read the disorganisation of emergency services responses as a whole- frankly it appears to be nothing more the sheer dumb luck that there were weren’t more deaths across all the mass casualty events- the responses were nothing more then shocking!

The author has researched their subject well- it was informative and he attempted to interview those that survived Flight 90 to give an interesting perspective.

Worth a read.

(ARC) Drawn to You

Title: Drawn to You

Series: The Call-Ups Book 1

Author: Hannah Henry

Publisher: Henry Publishing LLC

Pages: 274

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 5 stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC

There is a lot of hockey books in the romance genre that covers all ranges of situations, approaches as the author sees fit; Hannah Henry has given us a book that is brilliantly written and has something to say!

On the surface, this book is about a “sugar daddy and sugar boy” vibe, with Gabe the struggling artist reaching out- initially in jest- to various athletes to see if he can get money off them, in return he would be their perfect boyfriend. Not expecting too much of a response from the players, future NHL player Brandon responds and soon we see what is initially a transactionally relationship form, before something magically develops.

While the trope itself isn’t new, Hannah Henry has an amazing writing ability that we soon see heavy topics dealt with aplomb while also challenging the reader to question their own thoughts- some topics covered are masculinity, one’s self worth etc.

The great thing is that you can go as deep or as shallow as you wish- it’s a great, easy and well paced read, but you can stop if you want as I did but it will make you go “huh!” and then you question what’s just happened in such a nice way.

Fiction can be a powerful tool to explore various topics, and frankly Hannah Henry pulls it off convincingly and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

[ARC] Worth the Fight

Title: Worth the Fight

Series: Worth It, Book 2

Author: C.F White

Pages: 333

Formats: e-book

Rating:  4.75 stars out of 5

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC

Another great read from C.F. White and a fantastic addition to the Worth It series.

Set in a small British coastal town, the Worth It series of books features a new couple each novel (usually introduced as minor characters not together in the previous novel), while also featuring an underlying plot that something is not quite right in the town- there is sinister things afoul!

Worth the Fight introduces us to Trent the ambulance guy, with so many hidden secrets to him and Reece the firefighter- a flirt who flitters from person to person, never to form deep connections with any lover.

Soon enough, we discover that they have a thing going on with each other, ostentatiously a “surface” level connection, but to others and soon enough to one of them, there is something deeper there.

All the while, there’s sinister forces going on in Worthbridge, fires being started and a whole bunch of WTF going on.

This overarching plot point is coming along quite nicely and I’m looking forward to reading the conclusion at some point in the series.

A great read as per usual!

Your Pace or Mine

Title: Your Pace or Mine

Series: Running for the Romance, Book 1

Author: Kim Stephenson

Pages: 323

Formats: e-book

Rating:  4.5 stars out of 5

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC

What caught my eye was the blurb and the cover, but man this turned out to be quite an interesting read!

Jamie is a down on his luck West End performer- for reasons later shown in the book, he has decided to enter the London Marathon both to get some good publicity for himself and to show to the West End world that he can still commit to something, after walking out on his latest West End show.

As part of his preparation for the London Marathon, he avails himself of a running clinic, where one of the coaches just happens to be Darius Hewitt; the next big thing in the British athletic scene and in need of his own public image rehabilitation.

The great thing about this book is that you can never quite see the reasoning until it is spelt itself- initially we are shown the Jamie is a bit of a flake but is he? And Darius, is he really a homophobe or is there more to it under the skin of the rich boy?

It is a bit of a slow burn to read, but it is brilliantly plotted out and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series

[ARC] Happy Holigays

Title: Happy Holigays

Author: Matthew Cooper

Pages:  105

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to NetGalley and Riverdale Avenue Books for providing an ARC.

This was a fast, short Hallmark movie type of a read.

Happy Holigays features Mitch and his BFF David- both young-ish gays living their best life in New York, working, drinking and having plenty of sex as possible.

Come Chirstmas time this year, Mitch decides to ditch his usual time with the family in order to have some "me" time in New York- David has gone home to his family so Mitch will have to decide what to spend his days doing.

Shortly enough, Mitch has a epiphany both in regards to his family life and his personal relationships and he soon tries to find ways to change both stuations.

This is a sweet little read- while the plot itself is nothing new, it was enjoyable way to spend an hour or so reading, with interesting supporting characters and nothing ever felt truly forced.

[ARC] After The Siren

Title: After The Siren

Author: Darcy Green

Pages:  384

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Australia for providing an ARC.

I was eager to read this book and what can I say but wow, wow,wow!

After the Siren is one of those rare MM romance books that deal with gay players in the AFL- while there are books out there, it's not as common as say hockey so when one comes along I tend to heavily scrutinise it.

The plot itself is amazing- it features Theo being traded from a Sydney club to a Melbourne cub (to those who don't know, Melbourne is AFL central!), and not only being traded but to a team he played against that resulted in him having a serious case of the "yips" and being ridiculed in the social media world and the footy world.

The great thing about Darcy Greens' tome is that they capture the world so beautifully and magnificently- if you're a fan of AFL the use of colloquialisms that belong in the AFL world is spot on and that's not an easy thing to do- if you don't know the terms 100% there's a high chance it'll make no sense but not in this case; the on field action is accurate and is just as important as the off field action.

Off the field- Green hits the characterisations of the main characters spot on with Theo being a somewhat surprisingly (for a footy player that is!) introvert who slowly comes out of his shell inch by inch- we are shown things about him that while aren't fully spelled out there's enough to draw the correct inference .

Opposite Theo we have Jake- your classic golden retriever type of character, who when he gets his head of his arse, is a very switched on person and there's scenes in the novel that is sadly true to life and show that we all need a Jake in our life.

While this would normally be given a five star review, I sadly had to take a star off a poor editing decision- as this is an Australian set novel, with an Australian writer, I tend to judge based on the useage of Australian/English English versus American English where appropriate. In particular there is one word that is initially spelt in the Australian English terminology before reverting to American useage- a shame as the inconsistency is noticeably and its a shame that the editing decision was made to use the American term despite this being an Australian book set in Australia with an Australian author.

[ARC] From The Ashes

Title: Igniting His Flame

Series: Redwood Bay Fire Book 2

Author: Helen Juliet writing as HJ Welch

Pages: 265

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC

After a solid first entry in the series, HJ Welch is back with the second book in the Redwood Bay Fire series, this time Zahir’s story.

More affectionally known as Del, book two finds the paramedic in a tough situation- in the middle of a resus he soon discovers that the hero on the beach is known other Colton Ross, his once high school love.

Son enough, piece by piece, we find Del and Colton reconnecting while all the time exploring what exactly happened to doom their love affair during high school days.

The great thing about this book series- and the author- is that the character development is amazing- things are shown to us and not just told, and they feel organic- nothing out of left field which is nice.

It’s worth a borrow from KU.

[ARC] Crocodile Tears

Title: Crocodile Tears

Series: Dark Water, Book 1

Author: Xanthe Walter

Pages: 511

Formats: Ebook

Rating:  4.5 Stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC

This book was amazing!

This is the first book in the Dark World series, and thankfully there’s release dates for the next 3 as I can’t wait!
The fantastic thing about this novel is that it never drags- yes, it’s a long book at a tad shy of 500 pages, but it never feels that way- instead there’s soo much twists and turns, that you can’t help devour it and then when you know the end is approaching, instead of rushing it we have a natural ending!

In short, Crocodile Tears is set in the future; one where the world has been decimated by climate change and we find ourselves in New London- one where the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament have been submerged for sometime now, a world where there’s refugees galore and “IS”’s- I won’t spoil it because the less you know the better you will enjoy this piece of work.

Walter develops a world that is richly developed as well as dealing with matters that aren’t for the faint heighted- indeed I found myself checking my privilege numerous times, as well as questioning my believes in some hot button issues.

While this isn’t a “normal” romance in the traditional sense. what this book delivers is a fantastic piece of literature, a world where you crave to read more and frankly deals with topics without being preachy- it will last with you.

I highly recommend a purchase of this book and bring on books 2 3 and 4!

[ARC] Zero Pucks by E.M. Lindsey

Title: Zero Pucks

Author: E.M Lindsey

Pages:  324

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to GRR for providing an ARC.

I’m a massive hockey romance reader and this read blew my mind away!

The best advice I can give to you is to go in with as little details as possible so you can savour this read- this book has fantastic representation which you don’t often see- the writing is fantastic and you will love these characters.

buy this book!

[ARC] Breaking Through the Doubt

Title: Breaking Through the Doubt

Series: Espen Jetties #4

Author: Haven Hadley

Pages: 233

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC

Another book in the Jetties series, and yet another knockout piece of work from this author.

We now get to be told about Knox’s story- the loveable goalie who is ever so lonely and just wants to find love and someone to come home to.

He happens to meet Corey- who runs his own tattoo shop and who has his own demons.

This is a great read and I am hoping for more in the series

[ARC] Igniting His Flame

Title: Igniting His Flame

Series: Redwood Bay Fire Book 1

Author: Helen Juliet writing as HJ Welch

Pages: 271

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC

When one reads the word “himbo” in a blurb, one is liable to think that the book will be sweet, fluffy and a light read- and while all these words do apply at some point to this particular work, the words “intense” “amazing” “i didn’t see that coming” also do apply!

The previously mentioned himbo is Lochlan, a firefighter who is best described as a golden retriever in human form for he has boundless energy and is just a ray of sunshine and happiness- it’s this nature that we see him find and adopt a dog from a house that’s on fire that he attends to.

In order to keep him at the fire house, Lochlan must take his new fur baby to a dog obedience school where he meets Dario- who despite being shy they become firm friends fast, which eventually leads to much more then friendship.

The content warning of domestic abuse must be noted- normally I don’t mention them in reviews, but in this case I do because while it is not on page, there is a few scenes that the reader will go “oh my!”

This is a great read and everything is handled beautifully and delicately and i’m looking forward to the next book in the series

[ARC] Power Forward

Title: Power Forward

Series: Chicago Thunder Book 4

Author: Jodi Oliver

Pages:  322

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC.

Just when you think that the Chicago Thunder series of books can’t get any better, Jodi Oliver delivers us another novel that is so amazing it bursts though the stratosphere!
Like most readers of the series, I am awaiting Elliot’s story (which should be the next in the series); having said that this novel I eagerly devoured even if I ended up ugly crying a lot!

Power Forward is the story of Jackson- a newly single dad on the team trying to juggle it all, while also trying to come to terms with his ex from the past Hayden; who’s now a sports agent managing several people including fellow Thunder hockey players and thus their paths soon come across once more.

The best thing I can say about any book is how “real” it feels; as in do the characters feel like people we could know in our lives and do their actions feel like its something we could do and as per all of Jodi Oliver’s novels thus far it continues to be so- in this case perhaps even more so.

Without spoiling much, your heart breaks and feels for both Jackson and Hayden and their past- the feelings are incredibly visceral that it almost becomes too much (in a great way). Jackson and his children are just so loveable and when we dive into Hayden and his past, we just want to hug him soooo much and protect him (and of course Jackson).

This is worth spending your money on!

[ARC]Switch Pitching

Title: Switch Pitching

Series: Off the Bench, Book 1

Author: S.J. Crawford

Pages:  289

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Review and Evernorth Books for providing an ARC.

This was an amazing read!

Recently, my measure of if a book is good has changed and I am a firm believer of “how real does this real?”

And to answer that question, in this case is it’s VERY real.

We are introduced to both Ethan and James- Ethan working his way up from the minor leagues who has just received a call up to the MLB and James is the new young hot shot.

Soon we see sparks fly between the two and not long until they form a relationship- and with this all that relationships entails.

Both Ethan and James are fully developed characters and you can’t help falling in love with them.

A highly recommended read!

[ARC] Breaking Through the Past

Title: Breaking Through the Past

Series: Espen Jetties Book 3

Author: Haven Hadley

Pages:  235

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC.

I have to acknowledge I have skipped the second book in the series, and read the first one a little over a year ago.

Breaking Through the Past finds one of the D-Men for the Jetties- in this case Jansen- recently dumped by his girlfriend and longing for more- more connections, more anything- like what some of his teammates.

In enters Stephen- the father of the above mentioned ex- and also recently dumped by his ex-partner (in this case a man)

In what slowly starts as a friendship due to mutual loneliness, we soon find Jansen falling for Stephen despite the fact there’s a age difference and Stephen is also father of his ex.

Breaking Through is a nice slow burn which doesn’t really have too much unexpected nastiness to it- yes there’s the traditional third act “break up”, but there is a logic too it. Additionally, the secondary characters are also nicely well developed.

This is a fun, dependable read if you’re not looking for any sudden nastiness

[ARC] Hot Spring Remedy

Title: Hot Spring Remedy

Author: Mae Rossi

Pages:  256

Formats:  Reviewed on eBook

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC.

This was an enjoyable read!

Originally published as The Winter Quarters, this is my first read of this author who has republished it with revisions and an additional epilogue.

The novel follows Kai, a Japanese- American 30something who has escaped from America back to Japan- in fact to his best friend Hiro’s inn- trying to escape all the “fame and fortune” that his mums reality show has brought him; including an abusive and abrasive fake boyfriend, a publicist that ups and leaves him and genuinely living a life that he truly hates.

Where this story shines is how well written and developed all the characters are- you truly get into the mindset of both Kai and Hiro, and you grow to love both of them while also yelling out “argh!!!!!” at the same time- hahahah!

While there is some spice in this book, as mentioned above this book shins brightly because of the plot and character development- at no point do you think anything feels forced nor do you wish for ths story to end!

This book is worth an investment both in terms of your time and your money!