Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Lacuna

AUTHOR: N.R. Walker

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 1111Kb

RELEASE DATE: October 23, 2020

BLURB:

A boychild swathed in green, a distinct tree-shaped birthmark on his wrist. A girlchild enveloped in red, marked with the three lines of the desert winds. A boy bundled in white, the koi mark on his wrist as defined as his shock of red hair. And a boychild wrapped in black, a raven his mark to serve his fate.

Twenty-five years ago, the hand of fate marked four newborns and sent them to the four corners of the Great Kingdoms. They were schooled and trained as rulers of their lands in preparation for the Golden Eclipse ceremony: a festival to celebrate a thousand years of peace and prosperity since the Great War.

Crow, ruler of Northlands, a skilled swordsman and expert tactician, is as reclusive and stoic as the mountains that surround him.

Tancho has spent his life in strict discipline, governing the Westlands with a fair mind and gentle hand. Quiet and unassuming, yet lethal in combat, he is the embodiment of the waters he lives by.

Yet the same hand of fate unknowingly linked Tancho to Crow in ways they cannot comprehend. Ruled by the stars, the brother sun and the two sister moons above them, and marked by an alchemical sorcery as old as time, their destinies were never their own.

As the eclipse draws near and the festival begins, word comes of another threat. Invaders from unknown lands bring a war no one was prepared for, and Crow and Tancho must decide on which side of the battle line they stand.

In life or death, their destinies will see them joined either way.

Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  Healing Aiden

SERIES:  Lords of Discord #5

AUTHOR:  Jocelynn Drake

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

RELEASE DATE:  October 9, 2020

LENGTH: 261 pages

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Aiden Varik has had two great loves in his very long life.

And he lost them both too soon.

His only wish is to protect his four vampire sons and their mates.

But someone from Aiden’s distant past has returned to break down the walls erected around his wounded heart.

Temptation never tasted so sweet.

Can Aiden find the strength to risk his heart yet again? Especially when this man is accompanied by Aiden’s enemies.

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Switching Octaves

SERIES: The Rock Gods: East Coast Label #2

AUTHOR: Ann Lister

PUBLISHER: Rock Gods, Inc.

LENGTH: 309 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 24, 2020

BLURB:

Branson: I’m a guy who knows what he wants—whether it’s a career goal or a man intriguing enough for me to give chase—once I have the prize in sight, I’m relentless in my pursuit.

This has worked well for me over the years, more specifically, as the bass player of my band, Hard Core. I hear a bass line in anything the guys throw at me, then take those jumbled run of notes and turn it into something our fans will want to buy.

I’m also a man who doesn’t do messy or complicated, and I keep my emotions out of the game—until now. FDNY Lieutenant Sean Conley, one of New York’s bravest, has ruined me for all others because I allowed myself to feel.

Conley: I’m dedicated to putting my own safety aside and saving lives on a daily basis. Just don’t ask me to be part of a concert crowd or I’ll inevitably have a massive panic attack.

Personal trauma pushed me into the closet and I was fine with this life—until rock star Branson Mink happened to cross my path at a fire scene. Worse yet, I think he knows what I’m hiding.

Branson’s hardly the type to be anyone’s secret. Every aspect of his life plays out under the spotlight, while I prefer to keep mine hidden behind that closet door.

I have always left parts of myself private, and now Branson has something to hide too. When our worst fears collide, I’m forced to put mine aside to save the man I love. Turns out, that was easy. The real challenge? Figuring out how to make this relationship work.

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: By the Light of Dawn

AUTHOR: Adrienne Wilder

SERIES: In the Absence of Light #2

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 208 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 15, 2020

BLURB:

A handmade sailboat helped bring Morgan back to Grant but he never imagined they would put it in the water.

Then Morgan sees something in the light that sets Grant on a mission to get them to the middle of the ocean. An unknown destination they have to be at when the sun rises.

It’s important enough that Morgan is willing to leave Durstrand. Important enough that he’ll face the challenges of his autism.

So important, it could even be a matter of life and death.

REVIEWED by Jay V.

TITLE: Wild Card

AUTHOR: Nic Starr

SERIES: The Road To Rocktoberfest #3

PUBLISHER: Self Published

RELEASE DATE: October 23, 2020

BLURB:

Hitting the big time in Australia isn’t enough. Making it overseas, now that’s on a whole other level.

Rafe Moreno, lead singer of HyperOctane, is on the brink of achieving everything he’s set out to do before his thirtieth birthday. Ten years of hard work and focus is finally paying off. Not that he doesn’t enjoy the rock and roll lifestyle–adoration, parties, men. What’s not to like? Including a hot hook-up with his bandmate’s younger brother. But the most important thing is keeping his eye on the prize at any cost.

Parker Shaw is nothing like his outgoing, super-talented rock star brother, so finding himself on a plane heading to the other side of the world to play guitar with HyperOctane is insane. Who in their right mind would want an ordinary, skinny, red-haired analyst to perform with one of the top bands from Australia?

Rafe’s dream is the big time, not a relationship. The furthest thing from Parker’s mind is trusting his broken heart to anyone again. But what happens on the road, stays on the road, right? Rafe and Parker embark on the rock tour of a lifetime, a tour that will bring a lot more than they expected, because love is a wild card, not something you can plan for.

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Griff’s Place

AUTHOR: Riley Hart

SERIES: Havenwood #4

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 215 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2020

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GRIFFIN

I always felt I wasn’t wired like my peers, but when my brother, Kellan, gave me three terms—ace, aromantic, and demi—I had possible names for it. Those three words have been on my mind ever since, as has my brother’s best friend, Josh Westbrook. It’s been cool getting to know him and spending time together, just us. He makes me feel something I never thought I’d be able to feel. When we end up alone in a cabin with only one bed, all my crossed wires finally connect and point toward being demi and wanting him.

JOSH

Griff and I were never supposed to be more than friends, but I like him more and more. I like being the reason he smiles, and…yeah, I enjoy making him writhe with pleasure too. But Griff doesn’t hook up casually, and I swore off love a long time ago. Still, we keep finding ourselves drawn together, a shared loneliness and a deep want guiding us. Kellan’s afraid I’ll hurt Griff. Frankly, I am too. My past is still an open wound that keeps me from getting too close.

One thing is becoming clear, though—my Grumpy Griff is making me break my own rules. He says he’s never known his place in the world, but I do. It’s with me. The only way for us to move forward is for me to stop looking back…before I lose sight of him for good.

REVIEWED by Jen B.

TITLE: Bad Habits

SERIES: The Wages of Sin #1

AUTHORS: Onley James and Neve Wilder

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 281 Pages

RELEASE DATE: October 13, 2020

BLURB:

Jonah taught Cas a million ways to protect his body but not one to protect his heart.

Smart-mouthed hacker Caspian escaped an abusive home at 16. Now he’s one of the most sought-after black hat hackers in the world.

Jonah is a ruthless contract killer with only one weakness, the vibrant runaway he took in years ago: Caspian.

But Cas bailed when he turned 18 and Jonah has maintained a steady diet of eat, kill, sleep since then.

Jonah had always been the fatal flaw in Cas’s code, the bug that froze the part of his brain separating logic from emotion.

A threat to Cas’s life brings him back years later—not as the boy Jonah remembers, but as a hardened computer hacker with a price on his head and a list of names everybody wants.

The chemistry between them is as undeniable as it is dangerous.

In a world of secrets and murder, trust is a liability and feelings can get you killed. But Jonah let Cas go once, and he’s not willing to do it again. Even if it means confronting his past, solving a twisted puzzle, and taking out half of New York city’s seedy underbelly to keep Cas safe.

Bad Habits is a steamy, action-packed thrill ride of a romance with a HEA and no cliffhangers. It features morally ambiguous men, dirty, dirty lovin’, pancakes drizzled with snark, chosen family, drive-in movies, and the kind of love that drives a guy to murder in order to protect. In short: all the emo, heat, and sarcasm you’d probably expect from an Onley/Neve collab. This is book 1 in the Wages of Sin series. Each book will follow a new couple.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  In Strange Woods

AUTHOR:  Claire Cray

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  204 pages

RELEASE DATE:  August 28, 2020

BLURB:

Steamy, tender, mysterious m/m romance in the stormy coastal woods of the Pacific Northwest.

Reeling with grief after the mysterious massacre of his wealthy family, moody New York photographer James Worthington Crane decides to take his downward spiral somewhere far away: to the rural Oregon Coast, where he’s just inherited a random piece of property hidden somewhere in the woods upriver.

But when James pulls into the decaying seaside town of Brooks, everyone thinks he’s someone else—an elusive local outlaw named Beau. Now James must fight through his grief to unravel a tangled web of family secrets and forgotten history…with help from a soft-spoken local hunk named Hunter Quaid.

Hunter’s been on his own since he left his fundamentalist family at the age of fifteen. It’s taken years of hard work to build the steady life he has now, fixing up seaside houses while living alone in a trailer by the river. Then James blows in like a winter storm, disturbing the peace and stirring up a hunger like nothing he’s ever felt.

As Hunter helps James search for the truth, their lives intertwine in unexpected ways—and they begin to discover what it means to find out where you really belong.

From the author of Merrick and Hidden Talents comes a sensual romance mystery inspired by the rugged beauty and offbeat history of Pacific Northwest timber country. In Strange Woods moves through ancient old-growth forests, abandoned logging roads, ramshackle seaside towns, decaying homesteads, coastal highways, and the stories hidden in the trees.

Content Warnings
Grief, mental illness, alcohol abuse, suicidal ideation; references to suicide, and murder. For a detailed list of content warnings, visit the book page on clairecraybooks.com.