Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Fools

SERIES:  Licking Thicket #3

AUTHORS:  Lucy Lennox and May Archer

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  276 pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 28, 2021

BLURB:

Tucker Wright’s Clues for Life:

What’s a 4-letter word for an utterly oblivious, totally commitment-phobic, heartbreakingly gorgeous man with a pet pig named Bernadette?

That’d be D-U-N-N, as in Dunn Johnson, my very best pal and fishing buddy since I moved to Licking Thicket.

What’s a 6-letter word for a nerdy, crossword-loving town doctor who’s doomed to be hopelessly, thoroughly, irrevocably, in love with that straight best friend for the rest of his born days?

That’s T-U-C-K-E-R, as in me.

But when I agree to let Dunn be my 24/7 dating coach, and he decides to get our whole nosy town in on the act, there’s only one 5-letter word to describe the pair of us.

F-O-O-L-S.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Dirty Forty

AUTHOR: Mia Monroe

PUBLISHER: self-published

RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2021

LENGTH: 250 pages

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If I’m as straight as I always thought, why does kissing my best friend feel so right?

Zach has been my ride or die since we were nine. Business partners, roommates, best friends…we do everything together. But the last thing either of us expected was to be staring forty in the face just as single as we both were when we made a silly, drunken marriage pact twenty years ago. The problem? Zach is gay…and, well, I’m not.

Under pressure from family, that pact comes rushing back, and I lock us into a fake engagement. But is it possible some part of me wants it to be real?

Convincing Zach I’m legit is another story. With each passing day, I wonder if my feelings of affection for my best friend can morph into the love I desperately want in my life. Something in Zach’s eyes tells me we can have it all if we just try.

It may have taken me a lifetime to see Zach with new eyes, but with every touch and discovery, it’s been worth the wait. On the edge of Dirty Forty, it’s time to go for it.

All I have to do is convince Zach it’s real.

Dirty Forty is a best friends to lovers, marriage pact, demi/bisexual awakening featuring thirty years of pining, a fake engagement, curious kisses, and two guys finally embracing what’s always been in front of them.

Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  Stud

SERIES:  Four Bears Construction

AUTHOR:  K.M. Neuhold

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  301 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 11, 2021

BLURB:

Stud: A boss, knob, or nail head…or, you know, the hot guy who’s way too young to keep asking me out with that adorably earnest smile…

It’s been three years since West walked into my bar and asked me out for the first time. I was relieved he stopped asking after the first few “no”s and a way-too-good-to-be-real kiss. He’s fifteen years younger than I am; it can only lead to trouble.

Of course, now he’s running through people off dating apps like it’s his job and wearing these lace panties that look really unfair on someone as furry and muscular as he is, and, um…what was I talking about?

I probably shouldn’t sabotage his dates, but I’m only human. I might not be ready to admit that I want him, but I’m definitely not ready to let anyone else have him either.

He’s too perfect, too hot, and I am in way too much trouble…

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Emerett Has Never Been in Love

SERIES:  Love, Austen #1

AUTHOR:  Anyta Sunday

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  262 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 15, 2021

BLURB:

Emerett “Lake” Lakewood has a healthy ego and a flair for the dramatic. After losing his best friend to marriage—completely crushing his heart—he deems it prudent to distract himself, and what better way than playing cupid?

He’s already got his eye on two young men desperately seeking romance, and he has a plan to hook them up.
Barbecues.
Photoshoots.
Reciting Shakespearean love declarations.

Lake is killing it. Love is positively pulsing in the air. Anyone could see it.
Well, anyone other than Knight, his best friend’s dad, who cautions Lake to stop meddling. To leave love to its natural course.

Lake has always valued Knight’s frankness, but this time he’s wrong. Without him, two hearts might be doomed never to find love. Besides, what does Knight know about romance? He’s barely dated in all the seven years Lake’s known him. He’s clueless.

Though, there’s a thought. Knight has everything going for him. Sensibility. Kindness. Generosity. And for a forty-four-year-old, he’s—objectively—freaking hot.
Why is he single?

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Show Me

SERIES: Extracurricular Activities Book #3

AUTHOR: Neve Wilder

PUBLISHER: Self-published

RELEASE DATE: March 23, 2021

LENGTH: 284 pages

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Two Roommates. One Camera. A whole lot of action.

I get crushes the way some people get seasonal allergies.
And sharing a house with four hot roommates is like being stuck in permanent spring.
Too bad I keep getting friend-zoned.

But it’s senior year now, and I’m done pining for the impossible.
Time to live it up and go out with a bang.
Or a lot of bangs.

That’s why, when Sam asks me for help with a very special, very NSFW project so he can make a little cash, of course I agree. In the name of friendship.

And if it turns out that Sam’s more than just muscles—that he’s sweet, and smart, and a little bit filthy, and a whole lot less straight than I thought—well, that’s neither here nor there, because this time I’m gonna be smart. This time, I’m friend-zoning myself.

We’ve got a list of deliciously hot scenarios, a camera, and Sam’s huge… smile. What could possibly go wrong?

From the author of Want Me comes the third new adult college romance in the Extracurricular Activities series. Expect low angst, high heat, plenty of laughs, a flustered redhead, a gentle giant of a football player, and enough BDE to power a mid-size city.

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Not So Sincerely, Yours

SERIES:  For Him #2

AUTHOR:  A.M. Johnson

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 309 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 25, 2021

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Ethan,
About last night… I could blame the bourbon. I could say I let things get out of hand, that I should have never called you, but I’m done lying to myself—to you. I know what you’re going to say. You’re not very good at keeping your opinions to yourself, but this can’t happen. It’s inappropriate, at best. I’m your boss. Not to mention, you’re clearly still hung up on him. I’m not a consolation prize.

Anders~

**

Anders,
You didn’t think it was inappropriate when you had your tongue down my throat, but I digress. As for your accusation, I’m not the only one stuck in the past, but at least I’m not running from it. I can’t believe I’m about to say this… Maybe you’re right. You shouldn’t have called me. Especially if you never intended to own it. Own that you wanted it to happen. Admit that you wanted me.

Not so sincerely,
Yours

TITLE:  Pinot and Pineapple Lumps

SERIES:  Southern Lights

AUTHOR:  Jay Hogan

PUBLISHER:  Southern Lights Publishing

LENGTH:  359 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 18, 2021

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Penn from Adelaide. That’s all I knew.

We shared a single kiss over a year ago, and I can still remember every toe-curling second of it. He thought I was too young for him. I thought he was running scared. But that kiss was the first time I’d felt alive in a long time, and I’ve been chasing the feeling ever since—doing my research, a lot of research, a lot of men. Something my protective older brother isn’t too happy about.

I’ve been through more than most guys my age, and I still bear the scars. My head’s not always my best friend, but I’m building a life, PTSD be damned. I can’t turn back the clock, and I’m not sure I want to.

Except maybe to that moment when Penn kissed me. I mean, the odds of us ever meeting again were slim to none, right?

Yeah, about that.

But this time I’m ready. I’m a year older, an ocean of therapy wiser, and I know exactly what I want.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Quiet House

SERIES: Black and Blue #2

AUTHOR:  Lily Morton

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 271 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2021

BLURB:

Levi Black has mostly recovered from the events of a year ago. The only lingering effects are that he’s much more well known in York than he’d like to be, and he’s a lot more cautious about walking around his house naked. However, those events brought him the capricious and fascinating Blue, so he’s not complaining. On the contrary, he’s happy, in love, and looking forward to Blue finally moving in with him. And if sometimes he wonders what Blue sees in a boring cartoonist, he keeps that to himself.

Blue Billings is finally ready to throw off the memories of his past and move in with the person who means the most in the world to him. His psychic abilities have grown in the last year to his mentor Tom’s consternation, but Blue is determined to look on the bright side. He’s also focused on ignoring all the warning signs that he’s received lately.

However, even deeply buried secrets have a way of rising to the surface. And when a surprise from Blue’s past turns up and draws them away to a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors, Levi and Blue must fight for their survival once again.

From bestselling author, Lily Morton, comes the second book in the Black & Blue series. The books are intended to be read in order.

Reviewed by Cheryl K

TITLE: Taste of Fear

SERIES: Joker’s Sin

AUTHOR: Davidson King

PUBLISHER: Davidson King

LENGTH: 196 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 8, 2021

BLURB:

Ciro Navarro has never had it easy, but he learned to survive. Nightmares of a past he cannot erase plague him but thankfully, much of his horrible life is in the rearview mirror. He lives in the present, focusing on his found family, lifelong friends, and the job that fulfills him. Ciro’s circle is small but tight; if you’re in it, you are his world. And somehow he’s become a rescuer—at the slightest hint someone he cares about is in trouble, he comes running.

After years of hard work and patience, Xander has fulfilled his goal and made a name for himself as a world-renowned chef. He lives his dream every day: cooking up and serving recipes that bring people joy. Though he has restaurants in several locations, it’s Haven Hart Xander calls home, and he can’t imagine settling anywhere else. Life is good. In fact, everything in Xander’s life is perfect…until people from his past start turning up dead.

When word of a serial killer hell-bent on ending Xander comes to light, Ciro’s instincts kick in and he vows to keep Xander, the sweet and humble man he finds himself gravitating toward, alive. The seriousness of what is happening rattles Xander, and he allows Ciro into his home to protect him. Close proximity heats things up and shows Ciro and Xander how much they’ve come to mean to each other, but the precautions they’ve taken may not be enough to keep them safe.

When the unthinkable happens, they are put to the test. Can Xander and Ciro survive the crazed serial killer who stands in the way of their forever?