Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Deliverance

SERIES: Darkest Skies #2

AUTHOR: Garrett Leigh

PUBLISHER: Fox Love Press

LENGTH: 321 pages

RELEASE DATE: May 20, 2021

BLURB:

Banished gangster Benito Martell is living on the edge. An explosive hook-up in a club gifts him the relief he craves, but nothing about his life is ever so simple. Complications abound, and before long, he’s falling for the only man who can save his family from eviction.

Recovering addict Mickey Larwood has worked hard to leave his past behind. He can’t look back, not even for the beautiful Benito, the last soul on earth he expected to steal his heart—a soul who’s knee-deep in the underworld Mickey has run hundreds of miles to escape.

Benito can deny it all he wants, but Mickey can smell trouble a mile off.

And Benito is trouble with a capital T. As his desperate lies unravel, so does the fledgling love that’s grown between them. If Benito wants deliverance from his old life and a future with Mickey, old ghosts need to die.

If they don’t kill him first.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Cash Out

SERIES: A Pinx Video Mystery #5

AUTHOR: Marshall Thornton

PUBLISHER: Kenmore Books

LENGTH: 218 pages

RELEASE DATE: December 25, 2020

BLURB:

It’s Easter 1993, and the gang is going to Las Vegas for Angie’s surprise wedding. Noah is attempting to recover from a bad bout of the flu–and his disastrous Valentine’s Day, and is not all that excited to meet his new relatives: Cotton Preston and his three grown daughters. They’re staying at Lucky Days casino, a hotel with notorious mob connections… and family connections. It’s only then that Noah and his friends realize his future step-father might just be a mob lawyer. Things get worse from there with a mysterious appearing (and disappearing) suitcase full of cash, an aunt who’s not an aunt, a crazed redhead and… Wilma Wanderly.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Kraken My Heart

SERIES: Sucker for Love Mysteries #2

AUTHOR: K.L. Hiers

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 191 pages

RELEASE DATE: May 18, 2021

BLURB:

A Sucker For Love Mystery

It’s just Ted’s luck that he meets the love of his life while covered in the blood of a murder victim.

Funeral worker Ted Sturm has a foul mouth, a big heart, and a knack for communicating with the dead. Unfortunately the dead don’t make very good friends, and Ted’s only living pal, his roommate, just rescued a strange cat who’s determined to make his life even more miserable. This cat is more than he seems, and soon Ted finds himself in an alternate dimension… and on top of a dead body.

When Ted is accused of murder, his only ally in a strange world full of powerful magical beings calling for his head is King Grell, a sarcastic, randy, catlike immortal with impressive abilities… and anatomy. The two soon find themselves at the center of a cosmic conspiracy and surrounded by dangerous enemies. But with Ted’s special skills and Grell’s magic, they have a chance to get to the bottom of the mystery and save Ted. There’s just one problem: Ted’s got to resist Grell’s aggressive advances… and he isn’t sure he wants to.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Mergers & Acquisitions

AUTHOR: Jodi Payne

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 212 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 13, 2021

BLURB:

New York attorney Teague Whitaker is so close to making equity partnership he can taste it. He’s spent two years cultivating a relationship with the Avenstone Group and he’s finally landed them, bringing in a big-money deal in a big-money industry.

Jason Kovacs is…from Jersey. He’s been a barista, a bike messenger, a third-shift stocker at D’Agostino. He tries out new jobs and quits them all the time, not because he hates them, but because he doesn’t love them. But that changes when he lands a job dancing at The Wiggle Room.

When Teague bellies up to the bar, Jason can tell he’s had a bad, bad day. Jason also knows money when he sees it, so he swoops in on the polished hottie, hoping to make bank. Stunned by the unexpected loss of his career-making deal, Teague is there to drink. He’s looking for a distraction, and chatting up the buff and pretty boy that just swiped the cherry from his whiskey sour is a damn good start.

Neither expects sparks to fly with one unplanned kiss, but that’s just the beginning of the unexpected for Teague and Jason. They’re from the same city, but they’re living in two different worlds. Their relationship may be unconventional, but if they can meet in the middle—halfway between Wall Street and Jersey—they just might make it work.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Keeping Promises

AUTHOR: Jodi Payne and BA Tortuga

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 238 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 23, 2021

BLURB:

Jeremy M. Dunn III has the single dad thing down, so the last thing he wants to do is call his ex-husband to ask for help with their two kids. They didn’t part on good terms, and they’ve barely spoken since the divorce. But with a cast on his arm that goes up past his elbow, Jeremy has no choice. He needs a few days to figure out how to bathe their daughter, make school lunches and parent their son one-armed, and there isn’t anyone else he can ask for help.

Former rodeo cowboy West Belen was already on his way back to his kids, and to Trey (“the third”, his nickname for Jeremy). He made a promise to try again, and he means to keep it, so when he sees his chance to move back into his family’s life, he grabs it like the brass ring he knows it is. He’s determined to be more than an “every other weekend” dad to his children, and he doesn’t want to keep on living with regret about how he and Trey ended.

Jeremy still desires West, but he isn’t sure he can trust West to be responsible and available. West still thinks Trey is the hottest thing he’s ever seen, but he has no idea how to convince the man he’s ready to settle down. The two of them have never had trouble butting heads, but now they need to learn to work together to make a home for themselves and their kids where they both belong.

Reviewed by Cheryl

TITLE: Invincible Me

SERIES: Stories of the Seasons

AUTHOR: Addison Lloyd

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 95 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2021

BLURB:

A reaction to almost dying or gay awakening?

I don’t fit in anymore. Not at home. Not at school. And this jittery feeling—like I’m living someone else’s life—needs to stop. Nothing makes sense until I confront Caleb Patterson at his locker. Arguing with him makes me feel alive again.

I have a girlfriend, but Caleb lights me up like he’s flipped a switch. He’s patient and sweet. And I want to kiss him until I break his world apart and reach the person underneath.

I’m tired of labels and playing by the rules. But living my life on my terms is more difficult than I imagined.

All I want is to be his everything.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Nothing but Good

AUTHOR:  Kess McKinley

PUBLISHER:  Blind Eye Books

LENGTH:  193 pages

RELEASE DATE:  May 18, 2021

BLURB:

Special Agent Jefferson Haines puts the ‘order’ in law and order. Meal kits. Gray suits. Consistent reps at the gym. But all his routines are thrown into chaos when he’s called in to catch a serial killer whose M.O. is the stuff of urban legend: the Smiley Face Killer.

Dripping paint. Wicked slashes for eyes. The taunting curl of a smiling mouth. After years evading capture, the serial killer is back again. As Jefferson races to stop the next attack, the investigation leads to the one man he thought he’d never see again, Fred ‘Finny’ Ashley.

Finny has his own theories about the killer. And they’re pretty good. Maybe too good. Now, with his career on the line, Jefferson has to figure out if his one-time best friend is the culprit or the next victim.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Blood Pact

SERIES:  Youkai Bloodlines #2

AUTHOR:  Courtney Maguire

PUBLISHER:  City Owl Press

LENGTH:  302 pages

RELEASE DATE:  May 4, 2020

BLURB:

In Hiro’s world, youkai are a supernatural story used to scare children into obedience, and to keep men out of back alleys and brothels. Until Sakurai Hideyoshi walks through his door with a fantastical tale of a samurai who had killed a thousand men and drank the blood of his enemies, a man that lived in darkness but sought beauty to keep it at bay.

A story both terrifying and romantic…and completely ridiculous.

Unless it is true.

Convinced something softer lurks behind Hideyoshi’s hard mask, Hiro follows him home. And discovers the story is real.
Only instead of the blood of his enemies, it is innocent blood taken.

Hideyoshi tells him never to return. Yet after Hiro’s mother is mortally wounded, Hiro runs back to the one being he knows with the power to save her. When Hideyoshi can’t, Hiro begs him for the next best thing: the power to avenge her.

As Hiro becomes youkai, he faces a new threat, something darker, older, and far more dangerous. With Hideyoshi at his side, Hiro must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice–and what he’s willing to do–to protect this new life before he loses everything for a second time.

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: The Three Hearts Equation

SERIES: A College Boys of New Haven Novel #2

AUTHOR: Hayden Hall

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 248 pages

RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2021

BLURB:

If love makes sense to you, you’re doing it wrong.

Mason

I loved Leo from the moment I met him. But life gets busy when you grow up. Leo took good care of me, and now he needs someone to take care of him. I must step up and be that person. Except I can’t do it alone.

Leo

I could carry everyone’s worries on my shoulders but mine. In just a few days, my dad ruined our family and the only person I can lean on is Mason. He worries and cares and I love him endlessly, but our lives are messy with no signs of improvement. Can we endure this on our own or is the solution to all our problems right my nose?

Quinn

I never meant to fall in love. That’s just not what I do. But Mason and Leo could use some help and who better to help them but their best friend? The more I’m with them, the more I realize I’m going down a dangerous road. Of millions of possible outcomes, all are bad but one. Do we even stand a chance?

The Three Hearts Equation is the second book in the College Boys of New Haven series. It can be read as a standalone, but it’s more fun if you’ve read The Nerd Jock Conundrum and the free prequel novella. This is a sweet and steamy MMM romance featuring two nerds and a jock with a guaranteed HEA.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Ex-Bandmates

SERIES:   Local Beats #1

AUTHOR:  Zoe Lee

PUBLISHER:  Foolish Endeavors, LLC

LENGTH:  244 pages

RELEASE DATE:  August 6. 2020

BLURB:

Despite all of the reasons to stay away, every song pulls us closer to each other. What will we do when we’re not bandmates anymore?

Asher
From the second Lucas Carlson shows up in my garage for band practice, I’m drawn in by his eyes, his awkward rambling, and his incredible musical talents. But we share a best friend, and he’s only our temporary drummer while he’s in Chicago for a summer internship. It should be easy to ignore the way he brings something out in me that no one has before.

Lucas
Asher Bernthal is a grumpy stockbroker whose band, Signal Fire, is vital to my best friend’s happiness. I don’t want to mess it up for her, so all I have to do is drum and keep my head down while I’m the temporary drummer. It should be easy not to crush on a man so out of my grasp, who writes lyrics that pierce straight through me.

This is an angsty, age gap, second chance MM romance featuring musicians with day jobs. It is the first book in the Local Beats series, which can all be read as standalones, and has a guaranteed HEA.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Swiped by My Dad’s Best Friend

SERIES:  Thrust into Love Book 1

AUTHOR: DJ Jamison

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 308 pages

RELEASE DATE: May 20, 2021

BLURB:

Cooper Rutledge: frat boy, general screwup, and…Daddy’s boy?

On the surface, I don’t take things too seriously.
Not my poor grades, or my hookups, or my inability to find my purpose.
But that was before.

Before the daddy of my wet dreams swiped right on my pic.
Before he turned out to be my father’s best friend.
Before I convinced him to indulge in one night of pleasure with no strings.

I didn’t count on how magical it would be.
I didn’t know that when he spanked me and offered words of praise, my soul would drink it up.
I didn’t realize how right Daddy kink would feel.

One night could ever be enough.
Because I do care. Too much.
And when life sends me into an emotional tailspin, Trace steps up to support me—proving he cares too.
Everything has gotten very real, very fast.
But are we ready for the fallout?
I can’t let anyone, not even my father, come between me and Trace.

I’ve finally found my Daddy, and I’ll fight to keep him.

Swiped By My Dad’s Best Friend is a contemporary age-gap M/M romance that includes light daddy kink and no age play.

Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: The Seal Of Daemons

SERIES: The Watchers #2

AUTHOR: RR Pearl

PUBLISHER: Randy Fabricant

LENGTH: 215 Pages

RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2021

BLURB:

After holding off the New Watchers at the tomb of a fallen angel, Rafe and Alec are back with a new adventure. The Praesidium has gotten a tip that the New Watchers are on the hunt for the legendary ring of King Solomon. Traveling the globe on a continent-spanning adventure, Alec, Clemy, and Enoch the misanthropic computer have to unravel the mysteries of conflicting information. But as Alec and Rafe grapple with the gun-toting New Watcher armies, they find themselves tested in other ways. Rafe still hasn’t told Alec everything – and Alec is about to learn just how far secrets can go.

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Breathe

SERIES: London Love #1

AUTHOR: Sophia Soames

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 368 pages

RELEASE DATE: May 15, 2021

BLURB:

Meet Ryan, aka, Joey Hole, disgraced former adult entertainer with more issues than he can keep track of. His boyfriend left him for an Instagram twink with 150K followers, his Mum wants him out of her spare room and then there’s that idiot at college who just won’t take no for an answer.

Meet Luke. He was once the rich kid who’d just been gifted his first car, and now he doesn’t even own a bike. He’s also slumming it in a house full of ungrateful siblings and his first trip to the Food-bank gave him some goddamn emotional scars. Life is getting better though, and he’s acing it at college, as well as making some brilliant new friends. Well except for that stuck up twatwaffle Ryan who won’t talk to him and refuses to like his brilliant social media posts….

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Cameron Wants to be a Hero

SERIES:  Love, Austen #2

AUTHOR:  Anyta Sunday

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH: 302 pages

RELEASE DATE:  May 17, 2021

BLURB:

Lake: Did you get his number this time?
Cameron: Yes. But I’m not sure I should use it so soon.
Lake: What’s soon? Didn’t you last see him yesterday?
Cameron: I thought you’re meant to wait three days? Otherwise it looks desperate.
Lake: You are desperate.
Cameron: Thanks.
Lake: From everything you’ve told me, sounds like this could be something.
Cameron: You think?
Lake: Message him. Keep it sexy.
~ ~ ~
When it comes to romance books, Cameron Morland can always read between the lines. When it comes to real romance, he may need a dictionary.

Or Jane.
~ ~ ~
It’s Northanger Abbey, complete with a neo-gothic mansion and charming misunderstandings. But contemporary. And gay.