Title: The Flower Shop Arrangement
Author: R Cayden
Pages: 283
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC.
This was surpassingly a sweet little read.
While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, the author does have a way with words- this is essentially a sweet little “meet cute” that works well and if you want something light to read, then this is your read
Title: The Unlikely Pair
Series: Unlikely Dilemmas Book 2
Author: Jax Calder
Pages: 435
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC.
What an interesting book!
I loved the previous book in this series, so this book was going to be an instant buy regardless- after all the plot sounding intriguing.
Harry is the Leader of the Opposition Party in the British House of Commons, who is on his way to a climate accord in Oslo when the plane him and Toby (a member of Government), “crashes” in the Finish wilderness.
The vast majority of this noel takes places after the plane crash- Toby and Harry spend around 50ish days fighting for their survival- and for the most part the setting works. There was times when I felt it did drag (more so initially), but then it got to this point where it found its mark and went super super fast!
The novel itself I would say handles the survival aspect of a crash quite well frankly, yes a little slow as mentioned above, but the character exploration was very well handled.
I’m loathed to give a spoiler of the ending here so I will not, however I will say I’m looking forward to the next in the series.
Title: Taylor-Made for Me
Author: K.C. Wells
Pages: 336
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
What's that old saying- never judge a book by its cover? Well Taylor-Made For Me fits this cliché- for while yes it is a rom-com and no reinventing of the wheels, it is a super yarn of a story.
The story opens with Will being fake engaged to Becca- who is fearful of her mother constantly setting her up with yet more guys at yet another social event; both Will and Becca are gay, with Becca fearful of her family finding out, especially her parents.
On their arrival, Will is “accidently” hit by a hotel luggage cart that was pushed by Becca’s brother Aiden; who again like Becca is deeply deeply in the closet.
As you can imagine, the novel plays around with all the hilarious hijinx that you can imagine are involved in such a situation; though while not original it is written refreshingly and honestly that you feel for each of the characters despite also thinking “your parents are sweethearts, what have you to loose?” (Side note Will also thinks and states this repeatedly).
When the truth does come out, it is refreshing to see it handled in a mature way and not devolve into a total farce, rather KC Wells keeps the humour that is throughout this novel and treats the subject with respect.
This book is like a hug- I would recommend reading it.
Title: Breaking Through the Pain
Series: Espen Jetties Book 1
Author: Haven Hadley
Pages: 246
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
In my defence, I am reading this backwards- the Espen Jetties is a spin off from the Espen Emperors novels, though I still managed to follow (it appears little to no overlap with the Emperors series).
Devon, one of the main characters, is just a massive sweetheart that you can’t help falling in love with- after all he just wants to find someone to fall in love with and isn’t that what we all want at the end of the day?
The great thing about this novel is that the characters aren’t perfect, but they are so very very real- Lincoln, the other main character- has his own struggles and not once are his or Devon’s are other minimised; they are treated as equal and valid as each others rightly or wrongly (no spoilers here sweetie!)
The novel is such a great read I’m looking forward to the next book in the series- hell I’m even going to buy this book on release, that’s how much I loved this novel!
Title: Rest Ashored
Series: Rehomo Beach Book 1
Author: Will Freshwater, B.J Irons
Pages: 277
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
What can I say about this novel?
I came across this soon after I read B.J Irons novel Up Your HOA Hole and this novel contains much of what I liked about that book- interesting characters, funny moments and also some tender moments.
Dev himself is a a very likeable character in fact- so much so that when in the novel something happens and blame is tried to be put on Dev; while technically correct it just felt off considering the whole premise of this book.
At the end of the day, the story was quite sweet and the ending while not bad, felt natural to the plot and didn’t feel forced.
Title: Meet You in The Waves
Series: South Coast Book 1
Author: Aria Brennan
Publisher:
Pages: 290
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
This is a hard book to read because even a week after finishing it, I don’t know what to think.
While I do my best not to be disrespectful to authors- after all it’s a process to write and it would be very hard to poor your heart, sweat and tears into your art- I am unsure as to the authors background and this for me plays into my enjoyment of the novel.
Meet You in the Waves is a story that is allegedly written by an Australian author and allegedly set in Australia; the reason I use so many allegedlies is because while I can grasp the concept of using fake towns etc, what I can’t understand is using the real name of a town (in this case real world Esperance which is in Western Australia and is known for whales and surfing, is transplanted to New South Wales in an area that is known for farming!), while also making the book full of Americanisms.
The writing itself is ok as is the story, but when an Australian author decides to use American spellings instead of British spellings (which is their prerogative), it seems an odd choice because it heavily impacts the ability to try to capture the unique way that us Australians speak- in fact for me it was very jarring.
The novel itself is of little angst and Ajay was a delightful character as was Nick, I loved both these fools.
If I was to recommend this book, it is worthy more of a borrow then it is of a purchase
Title: Chasing Howe
Author: JF Miev
Publisher:
Pages: 369
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
What can I say other then wow, wow, wow!
The concept of this novel had me intrigued and I didn’t want to put this novel down- while it was a bit slow paced the plot itself is amazing!
We are introduced to Aiden, who has recently lost his (female) fiancé and in order to find out more about her death, creates a fake identity in order to go under cover as a warden at the prison where her killer; Darren Howe, is incarcerated.
This is a hard book to review because it doesn’t want to be pigeonholed into any one genre; while it does contain sci fi elements, it’s also a murder mystery with slight tinges of romance- if you’re here for the romance you will be sorry because it’s VERY light when it does appear and that’s at around the 75% mark of the book.
That’s not to say this novel is bad- on the contrary it is amazing and I am looking forward to the next book in the series. Not once did it drag (well maybe towards the end but that could just be my own impatience!), though towards the ending you do start wondering how it’s going to get wrapped up.
JF Miev is a new author to me and I will be reading more of their works; if you're happy with a semi cliff hanger then read this book!
Title: Not Strictly Ballroom
Series: Dance Lovers 1
Author: Jim Wendel
Publisher: Lark About Press
Pages: 328
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
While the author in their introduction to this novel tries to encapsulates this novel by saying it’s like a gay Strictly Ballroom- while this is true, it also does a great disservice to how bloody awesome this novel is.
The novel features Darcy, the son of a former professional dancer who never quite got to reach her dreams. And as you can imagine, she has subsequently foistered her dreams upon him; while you can tell Darcy does enjoy the dancing (and the winning), you can tell that he also longs for me, to be his own person with his own dreams.
Thankfully he has his best friend Nick, who in a nice little subversion is a gay tradesman who helps in his dad’s business to earn enough money to buy his own house for a place to escape to.
Wendel is a very talented writer- both Nick and Darcy are written sooo well and their dreams, desires and fears are often shown in the book in such a way, you can’t disagree with them.
He also sets this book in the north of England- traditionally a working class area that you think are going to feature homophobic attacks, but again Wendel nice subverts this by only featuring just love and acceptance; while not glossing over any nastyness, it just feels all kinds of real and true.
I highly recommend this book to everyone to purchase
Title: Icebreaker: A MM Hockey Romance (Portland Lumberjacks Book 1)
Author: Blair Brady
Pages: 226
Formats: ebook
Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
As I’ve previously mentioned in a recent review, I love me some hockey romance. Thus my standards are quite high as I’ve read some good stories (the benchmark being The Harrisburg Railers series and spin offs) and some I so wish to desperately forget.
Icebreaker is one that I am going to hold dear to me heart and Blair Brady has now become an instant buy author.
While the storyline is familiar in this genre, what ISN’T familiar is the way the angst is introduced to the plot- for me it wasn’t over the top, but it felt oh so real- while I haven’t been in the position, the thoughts that Axel provide us is all too human and possibly in a “bad” way- but that won’t let Quinn stop his damnest from falling for Axel, nor will it stop him from showing Axel what a true relationship of equals is like- never mind the age gape, true love is being there for the highs and the lows and all that’s in between.
Most hockey romances are all about the insta love and while this applies to Icebreakers, Icebreakers shines with the fact that the drama and angst is slowly revealed over time and as mentioned above, feels all to real- too often in any romance novel the drama/third act breakup/conflict often feels trite and can be seen a mile away- not so here.
This book is actually worth spending your money on- it’s like a hug in book form.
Title: My Darcy
Author: Lily Morton
Pages: 66
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
A short quick read, My Darcy was originally published in recent charity anthology, though I am new to this story story.
Based on a tour bus setting, this story is all about a friends to lovers, workplace situation that is very well paced and packs a lot of punch.
Both Freddie and Darcy have the feel of life long friends and when they get together, you are already cheering for them, no mean feat in such a short amount of pages.
Title: Rookie Recovery
Series: Bobcat Boys Book 1
Author: Jemma Croft and Lex Veia
Pages: 374
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
One of my weaknesses is a hockey romance as for some reason it just tickles me in all the right places and with Rookie Recovery, this is one that certainly gave me all the feels.
Rookie Recovery features Jamie, a PT for the Bobcats who is also an ex NHL player; it’s this background that is always back of mind for both Jamie and the reader; the authors really captures the readers attention so you feel equal parts sympathy as well as wanting to give him a slap on the backside of the head; for Jamie still hasn’t gotten over his past when the bright new star that is Archie Bowman skates into town.
Archie is the new British phenome who despite growing up in a rugby mad world, is all about the hockey- just give him his skates, some ice and off he goes. Like a puppy, Archie is all sunshine and smiles and as to be expected in this trope, it only serves to hide things.
Soon enough we are in a cat and mouse game between Jamie and Archie, the lines often crossing between the professional and the personal, as well as the chaser and chasee; adding a different dynamic to this trope and is mostly executed quite well.
A solid well that you will invest in, it’s worth the investment in buying and reading; I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
Title: Timeless
Author: Declan Rhodes
Pages: 222
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 4.5 stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
I’m a big fan of both hockey romances and time travel, so when I came across this novel it had me very intrigued!
We are introduced to Dylan Mercer, a closeted NHL player who has given his entire life to hockey and achieving it all, while at the sacrifice of his personal life.
As you can imagine, Dylan is lonely and ponders the entirety of coming out and what that entails.
After a particular brutal check into the boards, Dylan wonders around the barn and comes across a pair of bright ice skates- a bit WTF but the key to the time travel.
Dylan is intrigued and before you say bob’s your uncle he is transported back to 1980- in fact just months before the “miracle on ice” of the USA’s men’s hockey team victory over Russia (no surprise there).
Before long we are introduced to Nico, a man of the times and a member of a local hockey team.
Nico takes Dylan under his wing and it’s not long until a romance develops between the two and Dylan is introduced to what being happy really means- playing the sport he loves and having a man he’s falling in love with.
The writing and pace of this story is amazing and enjoyable- this was my first read from Declan Rhodes and I shall be reading more.
This is certainly worth a purchase.
Title: Making Waves
Author: Harper Robinson
Publisher: self published
Pages: 200
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 3.5 stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
This is a sweet read.
This story is based on a friends going on a cruise together and then catching all the feels for each other but having difficulty to communicate it with each other.
Penn is the 20 something wild child who comes across as a spoiled rich brat, but like everyone, he is the opposite of what he projects; indeed it’s a shield for him to hid behind all the while while working on a project that only a truly unselfish person would work on.
Hunter is the cliched tech work a holic who had to be begged to go on the cruise; while he and Penn revolve in the same friendship circle, they only know each other on a surface level, having never really gotten to know each other.
You can imagine how this story goes and you wouldn’t be wrong- there is something comforting in that that makes it a breeze to read.
While I personally wouldn’t buy it myself, it is worth a read if you wish to borrow it on KU or if you happen to get yourself a copy.
Title: The Player
Author: Felice Stevens
Pages: 329
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 3.5 stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
A lot of the time in books featuring a return to small town, the main characters involved are usually written as someone “big” return and and the other character having lived in their small town, and their friendship had drifted apart from their time in high school.
In The Player, Felice Stevens throws this trope on its head when Keller Williams, an injured now former NFL player, returns home to teach his high schools’ NFL team- the same side he played for as a student and as you can imagine, has a soft spot for. Keller has hidden his sexuality since before he made it big, but time has come for him to slowly embrace it.
Niall Harper has lived in Overlook since he was born. He has settled into a routine with his son as his primary focus- while also working as the school librarian and a sometimes substitute teacher. He still harbours trauma from his time in high school, and associates that with Keller.
Stevens crafts a a well plotted storyline and it goes along at a ripper pace; you are shown the nuances and trauma of both Keller and Niall, over time this slowly unwraps and you just want to give them giant hugs.
There’s a sub plot in there that is absolutely heart breaking so I am putting a content warning in here for abuse- it isn’t too graphic, but the warning was missing from the book.
A good read nonetheless
Title: Off Season
Series: Chicago Thunder Hockey Book 2
Author: Jodi Oliver
Pages: 322
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 5 stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
What can I say other then wowser, wowser, wowser!
Off Season, is the second series in the Chicago Thunder Hockey series by Jodi Oliver and while there are references to characters first introduced in the first novel, this can be read as a stand alone. Having said that, if you do read it as a standalone, you may be severely tempted to go back to book 1!
This is Ethan’s and Jacobs story- first introduced in Trade Deadline as the captain of Chicago Thunder (Ethan) and the brother of the main character (Jacob). Though initially side characters in it, you just knew there was a story awaiting them and boy howdy, is it a doozy!
It would be a gross simplification to describe this book as a “simple friends to lovers” story; for there is nothing simple in it and while the trope is nothing new in this genre, the writing to such a high standard is.
I’m sure I mentioned it in my review of Trade Deadline, but Jodi Oliver is a superb author, her writing is up there with some of my favourites and her character developments are on point- there is nothing that makes you go “What the beep just happened??!?!?!”
Speaking of which, I should address the cliched “third act break-up” that you normally see in most every book or movie in some shape way or form. Both in Tread Deadline and Off Season you don’t really get this and this is a great thing- the angst is little to no, and what little angst you do is, you can see from a mile off (which is a great thing), so the premise of the angst doesn’t need to be questioned; you have had the angst simmering away nice and slowly, so when you do get it you go “ah i see” and then want to promptly shake Ethan for his demons getting the better of him- again this is a plus as you want to feel for the characters and Oliver makes you fall in love with them over and OVER and OVER again!
Jodi Oliver is simply amazing and I can’t wait to read her next novel!
Title: Love Furever
Author: Gabbi Grey
Pages: 312
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 3 starts
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
This was my first step into the Gaynor Beach world and I find it an intriguing world that I may have to end up exploring more.
While the plot isn’t ground breaking- a semi meet cute between James and Collins- what is unique is the situation that they meet each other in.
Collin has just relocated to Gaynor Beach after both a massive health crisis and being kicked out of a bigoted family; thankfully Collin realises they’re bigoted and there’s no love lost there.
The enjoyable part of this novel is that Gabbi Grey captures the voice and nuances of both main characters really well; yes there’s times you want to shake one or both of them, but isn’t that the point of the author is to make you feel engaged with the story?
Overall, this book is quite enjoyable and worth a read- it’s a bit slow to start but overrall the time you invest pays off.
Title: UnConventional Kiss
Author: K.C Carmine, Katherine McIntyre
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 4.5 stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
What can I say other then wow?
This is the first book I’ve read by the authors and I have to admit I’m going to have to stalk their backlists because I loved this novel sooo much!
Where this novel shines above others is the way it is written and the juxtaposition it provides throughout the entire novel; instead of it running out of steam half way through the juxtaposition is there from the start to the end and it never fails in its execution.
The novel opens at a Chicago based comic con event; we have Beck cos playing as (an introverted) Superman, recently dumped by his girlfriend and wearing a forced smile on his face; while this is his safe space as an introvert there is such a thing as too many people. While on his way to get five minutes to himself he comes across Batman a.k.a Cay who is as much of an extrovert as Beck is an introvert.
While a one off meet eventually turns into an unexpected second meeting many months later, we see their relationship change , grow and evolve as they learn more about themselves and each other- while both initially identifying as straight, we see them come to accept that they may be more bi on the Kinsey scale then their thought.
While this sounds like a “woe is me” approach it actually isn’t; the authors have strong clear voice for not only Cay and Beck, but also the supporting characters, with nothing feeling forced or suddenly out of character.
One of the best things about this novel is the fact that there is no third act cliff hanger; instead we see the natural progression and acceptance of Cay and Beck’s relationships from both within each other and others when they chose to share their relationship with others.
I’m hoping this is the first in a series because I would read more- please please please!
Title: Royal Defender, Twin City U Book 3
Author: Cecelia Storm
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 3 stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
I came into this novel not having any of the previous books in the series and I still managed to have a ripper of a time reading this!
The “Royal” in the “Royal Dender” is referring to Percy, a British 20-something who has only recently discovered that his birth parents want to come back into his life- due to the fact that a) he’s their heir and b), the minor factor that he’s essentially a Royal (200th or so in the line of succession!). Percy comes across as having a case of what I like to call RBA- resting bitch attitude- with a supporting case of RBF.
The novel is told in dual point of view, with the novel opening from the point of view of Issac, a hard working goalie who is our surrogate into their world and gives us the view that Percy is a handsome, British, know it all (add in a few expletives and you know what I mean).
This gives us the classic trope of enemies to friends to lovers to husbands in the name of a fake marriage- for Percy the fake marriage is to get people off his back, while for Isaac it’s a means to obtain much needed money both for his parents back home and to support a soccer camp that helped him shape who he is today.
There’s nothing inherently bad with this book- yes it has the tropes of enemies to lovers as well as the whole fake marriage thing- but there’s also nothing that stands out about this book.
Storm has a enjoyable writing style- personally i loved it- but I didn’t’ feel strongly one way or the other for most of the characters. The novel holds up well as a stand alone or in the series it is set in.
Title: Love Language
Author: Jax Calder
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 4 Stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
There’s times when you just want a quick easy novella to read and as always Jax Calder gives all one wants in such a short amount of pages- in this case 63.
Love Language is essentially a work place meet cute, except Ashton and Dominic have shared an office for four years or so, with Ashton pining for Dominic for most of that time period.
The novella opens with Dominic doing being spotted by Ashton doing New Zealand Sign Language, which somehow is the catalyst for Ashton to do a bit of anaylising of his feelings for Dominic.
The “problem” for any novella is to grab your attention, be believable and give a satisfactory ending in such a short amount of pages. Thankfully this is Jax Calder we’re talking about and she is adapt in no matter which length of writing she tackles- I usually find myself thinking what the hell in novellas, but in this particular novella it was more the opposite- I kept wanting more, more more!
If you’re looking for a quick short read- whether it for a palate cleanser or an easy read- you can’t go past Jax Calder and I highly recommend this novella!
Title: Where There’s a Wil, There’s a Way
Author: P.T. Ambler
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 3.5 stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
Usually, when someone says they’re unsure about a book, that normally would indicate alarm bells to me. Having said that, that’s the complete opposite for this book!
While the plot itself is nothing new- a upstairs/downstairs relationship set in the modern world- the writing is like a breath of fresh air- Ambler is a unique writer but in a way that actually actively engages the reader- for example look out for the word “butling”.
Ambler is superb at understanding her characters and fully developing them; in lesser writers the feelings of the characters could be seen as superficial, whereas Ambler writers in a way that you simultaneously want to smack heads together while also totally understanding the characters!
A good way to describe this novel is “quirky”- while normal a domain of badly written prose, in this novel it’s the opposite- it’s quirky and enjoyable and you tend to develop feelings for the characters.
