Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  Pretty Poison

SERIES:  Sinister in Savannah #3

AUTHOR:  Aimee Nicole Walker

PUBLISHER:  Chasing Rainbows Press LLC

LENGTH:  283 pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 20, 2021

BLURB:

Redemption seeker. Chameleon. Damaged heart.

By day, Rocky Jacobs is a private investigator. By night, he produces Sinister in Savannah, a true-crime podcast, with his two best friends. Rocky’s life revolves around three principles: possessing skill is better than having luck, a man’s reputation is everything, and there’s no sacrifice too great for those you love.

Is Tess Hamilton pretty poison or just unlucky in love?

That’s the question the trio of trouble will try to uncover. This investigation strikes a little too close to home for one of them. Tess, a woman accused of killing her three husbands, has been tried and convicted in the media, something Rocky knows all too well. When their investigation turns up nothing but dead ends, Rocky will keep digging. Is it because he believes in her innocence? Or does Rocky hope to find redemption for himself by achieving it for Tess?

A stagnant case turns out to be the least of his problems.

What happens in Vegas never truly stays stay there. For fifteen months, Rocky has been running from a tragedy that shattered his life and countless others. The most painful casualty was the destruction of his marriage to Asher Dunleavy. When the sexy federal marshal turns up in Savannah, Rocky is reminded of his greatest love and deepest regret. Every minute spent in Asher’s presence makes him yearn for the life they lost. Will Rocky drown in the sorrows of what might’ve been or fight for what could be?

Sinister in Savannah series is a fictional podcast exploring the city’s most nefarious crimes with Southern-fried snark. The books explore friendship, love, loss, and the irrepressible human spirit. Pretty Poison is book three of three. While each novel is written about a different couple, the series should be read in order due to continuing storylines. Sinister in Savannah is an LGBT romantic suspense series with mature language and sexual content intended for adults eighteen and older.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Perfect Matcha

SERIES: Bold Brew Book #3

AUTHOR: Erin McLellan

PUBLISHER: self-published

RELEASE DATE: March 11, 2021

LENGTH: 147 pages

BLURB:

After years of focusing on his career, Theodore Punch is tired of being alone. But landing a good man isn’t easy. When Theo needs a date for an ex-boyfriend’s wedding, he knows just the solution—a matchmaker. And there’s no better matchmaker than his social butterfly best friend, Camden Ray.

There’s only one problem: Camden has been in love with Theo for half their lives but doesn’t have the guts to come clean. Camden will do anything to make Theo happy, even if it hurts, and he already has a match for Theo in mind—his boss, the handsome owner of the local adult novelty shop.

Now there’s another problem: Theo has zero experience with toys. Luckily, Camden is only a phone call away and more than happy to walk Theo through naughty gadget lessons. Spicy phone calls, a dash of role play, and a load of pesky emotions brew between them. It’s not the match either of them intended but could be the perfect solution to all their problems, if their friendship can survive the infusion of feelings.

Perfect Matcha (Bold Brew Book 3) is 35k words of friends-to-lovers, matchmaking fun with plenty of steam. It’s part of the multi-author Bold Brew universe centered on an inclusive coffee shop in a fictional city. Each Bold Brew story can be enjoyed as a stand-alone.

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Perfection

SERIES: Spoiled Perfection Duet #2

AUTHOR: Gianni Holmes

PUBLISHER: Coco Nutz Publishing

LENGTH: 304 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2020

BLURB:

An Age Gap Romance

Perfection n. The state of being complete and correct in every way. 

Callum
I learned the hard way that love doesn’t change anyone. Yet, here I am for the long haul with Ashton on his road to recovery. I have to make tough decisions for his own good, but I have to believe in the end we’ll be better for it.

Ashton
Local AA or an anonymous rehab center in another state? It’s no hairbrainer why I chose the former. I don’t think I can make it through recovery without my Daddy’s support. But will he continue supporting me when he finds out what drove me to the bottle in the first place? How can anyone forgive me for what I’ve done when I can’t even forgive myself?

Perfection is the second book in the Spoiled Perfection duet. This book cannot be read as a standalone. 

Reviewed by Cheryl K

TITLE: The Night Of

AUTHOR: Tal Bauer

PUBLISHER: Tal Bauer

LENGTH: 292 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 24, 2021

BLURB:

You’ve heard this story before: a guy supposedly kills himself, but his best friend can’t accept it. He calls in an investigator he knows to take a second look, certain there’s more going on.

I’m the investigator. Secret Service Agent Sean Avery. The guy who called me? My ex, Vice President Jonathan Sharp. And the guy he doesn’t believe put a bullet in his brain?

That was President Steven Baker.

The deeper I dig, the more things fall apart. I’ve got a dead president inside a locked room. A hidden note. A secret gun. A missing CIA officer.

And no one I can trust.

Now Jonathan’s in the crosshairs, and if I don’t figure out what really happened that night at Camp David, the love of my life might be the next president to die.

***This M/M romantic suspense features smoldering forbidden love and a May/December second chance romance that ignites your pages.

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Spoiled

SERIES: Spoiled Perfection Duet #1

AUTHOR: Gianni Holmes

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 276 pages

RELEASE DATE:  May 29, 2020

BLURB:

An Age Gap Romance

Spoiled. Adj. destroyed, damaged, or no longer able to be used. 

Callum 
When I move to a small town from the big city, my plans are simple. Get my co-owned coffee shop off the ground and work on my baggage. Alone. My plans are shot to hell when wealthy frat brat Ashton Keyes stumbles into Cafe Crave. Drunk. That’s all the warning sign I need to stay away from the self-destructive boy. But he’s everything the Daddy in me craves and I can’t walk away.

Ashton
Everything hurts. The lies. The perfect image. The fake smile. Only when I’m drunk do I find relief. Until the night I meet Daddy Callum and decide he’s mine. But, he has strict rules for us to be together, and his punishment is unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Is it enough to keep the darkness at bay, or is it too late to be saved?

Spoiled is the first book in the Spoiled Perfection duet and is not meant to be read as a standalone. While book 1 ends with a hopeful HFN note, book 2 must be read for a full resolution and the much anticipated HEA.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: How to Live

SERIES: LOVESTRONG #7

AUTHOR: Susan Hawke

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 189 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 27, 2021

BLURB:

Take one clueless, spoiled guy with notoriously bad luck…

When Derek Leigh is diagnosed with breast cancer at twenty-four, it’s the final straw in a lifetime of bad luck. If he’s going to die, it’ll be on his terms… with one helluva party that packs a lifetime’s worth of fun into whatever time he has left. To make this happen, Derek blows up his life: dumps the long-term boyfriend in the worst way possible, borrows money he can’t repay from a loan shark, and heads to Atlantic City… where his luck unexpectedly changes, giving him fresh hope.

Add one easygoing tattoo artist with a big, open heart…

Asher Matthews has dealt with a lot in his thirty-five years: he and his twin were born addicted to heroin and abandoned at birth… until Mama Maisie added them to her brood of lost boys. ADHD and dyslexia didn’t keep him from following his dream of opening his own tattoo shop, especially with his family’s support. With all that he’s been given in life, Asher makes a point of giving back where he can.

To equal two men who instantly connect in all the best ways.

Derek is shocked to not only survive his cancer treatment, but to come to the end of it in great health. Too bad he’s blown through all his money, lost his car, and has nowhere to turn. On a whim, he goes for a free tattoo. Asher takes one look at the sexy twink who’s down on his luck and offers him a room, a job, and even better, a friend. If they have a little no-strings fun along the way, it’s fine. It’s not like anyone is looking to fall in love, right?

This 55k novel is the seventh book in the LOVESTRONG series about finding love and being yourself in a small town. Watch out for ridiculous amounts of money won and lost, a butler who takes everything in stride, and a scruffy dog you’ll want to cuddle. This is an mm romance full of all the fun, laughter, and sweet feels you’d want from a Susan Hawke book.

Possible trigger for anyone currently fighting cancer or closely related to a breast cancer patient. The book is low angst and the experience is gently handled, but the subject matter is present.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: How to Catch a Biker

SERIES:  Chester Falls Book 5

AUTHOR: Ana Ashley

PUBLISHER: self-published

RELEASE DATE: March 12, 2021

LENGTH: 288 pages

BLURB:

What do you do when you meet the tall, gruff silver fox of your dreams?

You flirt, pretend it didn’t happen, and secretly admire his assets.
For research purposes, of course.

I came to Chester Falls to find my voice and save my publishing career.
Instead, I find him.
Slade’s story is kept under a lock so strong I don’t know if there is a man out there that can break it.
But I’ll be damned if I won’t give it a try.

A biker with a past
A down-in-the-dumps author
A kitten with a tiger attitude
Two guys that discover there isn’t that much mileage between reality and fiction.

How to Catch a Biker is the fifth book in the Chester Falls series and features a May/December story between two guys who have more in common than they think, a group of friends who think everyone needs to be in love, and a small town like no other.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: We Have Till Monday

AUTHOR: Cara Dee

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 272 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 11, 2021

BLURB:

When it seemed like everyone around Anthony Fender was reaching a goal or falling in love, he blamed an early midlife crisis for throwing him far outside of his comfort zone. Nashville was a long way from New York and his everyday life that’d lost all color lately.

Hopefully, this vacation would reenergize him, and maybe a cooking class with celebrity chef August King could end Anthony’s reign as the only Italian in Brooklyn who couldn’t boil water. But when he met August and his much younger husband Camden, every plan and all rational thought flew out the window. Their dynamic grabbed hold of Anthony and reeled him in before he even heard the magic word.

“Daddy.”

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Redemption

SERIES: Omega Assassin’s Club #5

AUTHOR: Kiki Burrelli

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 224 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 21, 2021

BLURB:

Teammates kiss, right?

Yanked from duty, Zed is furious to have been benched and exiled to the sticks. The newly-promoted director of the Omega Assassins Club, Remington, is only trying to make it easier for him to push aside the way he feels for Zed. Remington operates as if he believes ignoring his feelings will make them go away. The more Remington ignores him, the more Zed acts out, willing to do anything to get his director’s attention.

Sent to work at the Lazy Bend Ranch for Powerful Omegas, Zed lands squarely in the lap of Peppa, a young single father and ranch mentor reeling from a deception that had turned his life upside down. The two omegas form a fast bond that leaps from friendly to confusing at record speed. Zed is used to supporting his team. The things he wants to do with Peppa don’t have to be so confusing. Teammates hugged! But Zed doesn’t want to stop at hugging.

When Taft—the now ex-OAC director—attacks with a new threat, Remington rushes to the ranch and everything changes. For years, Zed feared he’d never see Remington look at him with passion but when the director returns, he watches Zed and Peppa with eyes that burn. With Peppa, Zed is happier than he’s ever been. The two omegas are different in almost every way possible but share one important quality. Both of their bodies light up when Remington is in the room. Can three men, all with baggage of their own, find their happily ever after?

Redemption is the fifth and final book in the Omega Assassins Club series. Redemption is an omegaverse romance that contains mentions of violence as well as topics that may arise in an a/b/o world where power is not distributed evenly. A swoon-worthy HEA is guaranteed!

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Puppuccino

SERIES: Bold Brew #2

AUTHOR: Allison Temple

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 163 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 4, 2021

BLURB:

Charlie’s life is a dumpster fire. He’s got a broken heart, a job he can’t talk about in polite company, and a puppy slowly destroying his apartment. Desperate to save what’s left of his belongings–and self respect–he calls in reinforcements, but all it takes is one look at the silver-fox dog trainer and Charlie is panting for a little attention.

Mason understands dogs more than people. Give them strong leadership combined with gentle guidance, and they’ll eagerly obey. It doesn’t take long for Mason to realize Charlie is desperate for that same firm hand. Normally he would never get involved with a client, but gazing into Charlie’s puppy dog eyes, he longs to give them both a treat they won’t soon forget.

Under Mason’s careful charge, Charlie is empowered with control he never knew he had. Yet, as hungry as Mason is for more, he senses Charlie’s heart isn’t ready to open up. Will allowing Charlie to run free ensure his return? Or will his past keep him leashed and out of Mason’s reach?

Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: The Boy Who Loved Wicked

AUTHOR: C P Harris

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 245 Pages

RELEASE DATE: March 4, 2021

BLURB:

“The madness of love is the greatest of heaven’s blessings.” ~Plato 

Day 1 of senior year at Denwin High was not supposed to end with my thoughts consumed by the new AP Philosophy teacher. I’d impatiently waited three years to take the course, but from the moment he strode in with his sad eyes that mirrored my own, I was intrigued by only him.

Dr. Sebastian Wicked.

Intrigue turned into obsession, and common interests set the stage for a tentative friendship with the enigmatic man. In time, every line put in place became blurred as what we shared sparked the flames of a forbidden affair. An affair that should’ve never been, a wrong that the universe sought to right.

There was only one possible outcome—we were both going to burn. Would our love rise up from the ashes? Or would it smolder in the ruins?

My name is Phoenix Michaelson, and I am the boy who loved Wicked.