Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Dearest Milton James

AUTHOR:  N.R. Walker

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  193 pages

RELEASE DATE:  August 24, 2021

BLURB:

Malachi Keogh finds himself in a job he neither wanted nor asked for when his father, boss of Sydney’s postal service, sends him to the end of the business line, aka The Dead Letter Office. Malachi expects tedious and boring but instead discovers a warehouse with a quirky bunch of misfit co-workers, including a stoic and nerdy boss, Julian Pollard.

Malachi’s intrigued by Julian at first, and he soon learns there’s more to the man than his boring clothes of beige, tan, and brown; a far cry from Malachi’s hot pink, lilac, and electric blue. Where Julian is calm and ordered, Malachi is chaos personified, but despite their outward differences, there’s an immediate chemistry between them that sends Malachi’s head—and heart—into a spin.

To keep his father happy, Malachi needs to keep this job. He also needs to solve the mystery of the pile of old letters that sits in Julian’s office and maybe get to the bottom of what makes Julian tick. Like everything that goes through the mail centre, only time will tell if Malachi has found his intended destination or if he’ll find himself returned to sender.

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Grumpy Bear

SERIES: A Bear Camp Novel

AUTHOR: Slade James

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 294 pages

RELEASE DATE:  January 28, 2021

BLURB:

Hooking up with an employee is not on my to-do list.

Making sure other men have a good time is my business, even if it means suppressing my own desires. It’s opening weekend at my clothing-optional campground, guests are starting to arrive, and I’ve got a pool party and a few hundred peoples’ vacations to save while battling Mother Nature’s tantrums.

The last thing I need is a temporary employee who can’t even put up a tent.

Luke Cody’s not my type. He’s too young, too pretty, and too much like my late partner. Another flaky musician? No thanks. But when a storm blows down his campsite, I can’t just leave him outside and soaked to the bone. Now he’s staying in my cabin, sleeping in my bed, and worst of all, he’s completely ignoring the proverbial sign over my head that says Grumpy Bear: Do Not Approach.

I’m not quite as immune to his charms as I want him to believe, but he’ll only be here for a few days.

Nothing’s going to happen…

Grumpy Bear is a boss/employee, grumpy/sunshine romance set at a gay campground full of bears. (Not shifters; the other kind of bears.) It’s the first full-length book in the Bear Camp series and can be read as a standalone.

Reviewed by Valerie and Larissa

TITLE:  Beautifully Unexpected

AUTHOR:  Lily Morton

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  200 pages

RELEASE DATE:  June 27, 2021

BLURB:

Sometimes love comes when you least expect or want it.

Magnus Carlsen is determined to grow old disgracefully. At fifty-two, he doesn’t believe in keeping anything. Men, sofas, books—everything gets jettisoned, eventually. He’s divided his life into happy compartments. A successful trial lawyer, he spends his days lecturing jurors, exasperating judges, and striding arrogantly around courtrooms. He fills his nights with a parade of handsome young men who want to make him happy. Why date someone his own age to discuss back pain, retirement-planning, and corns, when he can date men who don’t care to discuss anything at all?

However, when one of these sunny young men shows an inclination for dramatic scenes, Magnus meets his new neighbour. And his whole world implodes.

Laurie Gentry is nearly the same age as Magnus, but that’s where the similarity ends. He’s messy and creative and nosy and mysterious. He’s everything that Magnus has spent a lifetime avoiding. So, why can’t he get Laurie out of his head?

Luckily, Laurie is only in London for the summer. Magnus can uncover Laurie’s mysteries and indulge their annoyingly hot attraction, and Laurie will be gone before complications arise. A few months isn’t long enough to lose his heart. Is it?

From bestselling author, Lily Morton comes a romantic comedy about two footloose older men and how one summer in London brings something quite beautifully unexpected into their lives.