Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Shadow’s Light

SERIES: Maiden Voyage (Book 4)

AUTHOR: TL Travis

PUBLISHER: Sapphire Publishing

LENGTH: 258 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 28, 2022

BLURB:

You never know what hides behind sad eyes.

For Javier Jimenez, aka Shadow, drummer for the award-winning metal band, Maiden Voyage, life off stage isn’t all glitters and rainbows. He plays the part of the Devil May Care drummer when he’s in the spotlight, but outside of it, the only person who knows the real Javier besides his family is his bodyguard, Tony.

Lucas Shane never expected to run into his ex, Joey Hayes, lead singer for Social Sinners. In fact, he did his best to ensure their paths never crossed yet here he stood, face to face with Joey and his husband, Stoli. Yes, Lucas made a huge mistake when it came to Joey, a regret he must live with. But no one really knew how or why it happened.

Shadow doesn’t question love, as he loves so few, but he does question loyalty. The two should go hand in hand but he learned the hard way early in life that they don’t always align. Finding out that those two key elements Lucas had failed at led him to walk away, though his heart felt otherwise.

Maiden Voyage series must be read in order as each book starts where the last one ended but from another band members point of view.

Reviewed by True

TITLE: Daddy’s Boy

SERIES: Arizona #2

AUTHOR: Romeo Preminger

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 278 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 26, 2022

BLURB:

Arizona started a new life when his birth daddy, Gaston Bondurant, found him living with a foster family and facing criminal charges for assaulting his abusive stepfather. Plucked from the squalor of rural Acadiana, Arizona was thrust into New Orleans high society and an elite New England boarding school.

Home for the summer, Arizona sets out to find his younger brothers and sister, who were scattered to different places when their family was torn apart. Along the way, he reunites with his tenth grade sweetheart, Preston Montclair, who still holds a torch for him.

But Arizona is struggling to figure out the man he’s supposed to be. He’s got an obligation to his daddy, who wants to mold him as his heir, but he’s also got a responsibility to his wayward siblings. It feels like he’s swimming against the rapids, trying to do both while figuring out if he belongs with his boyhood love or an educated man who can help him with his dream of being a famous writer.

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Ima-GIN-ation

SERIES: On The Rocks (Book 2)

AUTHOR: Sam E. Kraemer

PUBLISHER: Kaye Klub Publishing

LENGTH: 240 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 20, 2022

BLURB:

Can an architect and a bar owner build a strong relationship? Not without a strong foundation and ImaGINation!

Leo Anderson is about as confused as a guy of twenty-eight can be. All his life he’s been denying a part of himself, and now, with the appearance of a dashing architect in Leo’s simple life as a bar and restaurant owner, that side of him—the side that is attracted to men—comes exploding from the closet like a battering ram.

Cameron March, a forty-something architect, discovers his attraction to men and women—after he’s married with a family. Being a responsible father, he buries those feelings deep inside himself for the sake of his two sons until one-day, his wife decides she’s done with the marriage… nearly fifteen years later.

When Leo contacts Cam about expanding On the Rocks, the beach bar Leo owns with his singer-brother and best friend, Cameron’s immediately attracted to the barman—and the timing couldn’t be worse. Cam’s divorce is final, but he’s still fighting his ex-wife to keep her from taking his younger son to live in the Pacific Northwest where she wants to begin her new life.

How can Cam and Leo explore the possibility of a relationship without Cam losing his son? 

It’ll take a lot of ImaGINation…

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Backslide

AUTHOR: Nicole Dykes

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 226 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 20, 2022

BLURB:

When you’re young, everything seems brighter, more hopeful, and like anything is possible.

Which is great. But it can also lead to so many mistakes.

Mistakes you promise yourself you’ll never make again.
You promise yourself you’ll be smarter, guard your heart, and make better decisions. And you won’t ever let anyone crush you again.

But what happens when you’re confronted with the past?

Nash Davis is settled and happy, helping his brother and his wife pursue their dreams.

But when his biggest regret comes crashing back into his life, will he have the strength he promised himself he’d have?

Can he keep his walls up? Or will Adrian Walker’s presence be too much?

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Bona Fide Fake

SERIES:  Experimental Love, Book 2

AUTHOR: Rebecca Raine

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 269 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 24, 2022

BLURB: 

My new fake boyfriend may not like me, but he needs me. There are worse foundations for a relationship.

Ned

Toni Fairweather is a liar and a fake. I suspected it the day we met, but when he lies to his friends about being my boyfriend, I know for sure. I’ll play along with his deception, but Toni will owe me – big time.

I have my own reasons for needing a boyfriend. Someone who can handle me. Someone who can keep me in line. Toni is demanding enough to fulfil every requirement.

I don’t need to like the man… to obey him.

Toni

I never meant to fake a relationship with the lead singer of a local rock band. But the fib popped out over lunch with my best friend, and now I’m expected to present my new boyfriend at his engagement party next month.

The good news? I’m not the only one in need of a date.

Being boyfriends for a month shouldn’t be hard, but I do have one condition: this won’t be some fake boyfriends deal. I want a real relationship, and Ned’s going to give it to me.

Bona Fide Fake is Book Two in the Experimental Love series by bestselling Australian author, Rebecca Raine. This 80,000 word fake boyfriends romance can easily be enjoyed as a standalone. It’s a fun, low angst read with plenty of steam. Perfect for lovers of the first book in the series, The Experiment. HEA guaranteed!

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Falcon and the Foe

SERIES:  Single Dads Club #1

AUTHOR:  A.J. Truman

PUBLISHER:  Truman Books

LENGTH: 283 pages

RELEASE DATE:   January 24, 2022

BLURB:

Two single dads. One huge grudge. And one tiny tent.

It’s hard enough balancing two jobs with raising my son solo. Forget dating. I barely have time for laundry.

But when my son’s scouting troop The Falcons needed a co-scout leader, I couldn’t say no. There’s just one ginormous problem: the other scout leader Russ.

To all other parents, he’s #DadGoals, Mr. Sexy Widower who lords over the drop off line.

To me? He’s the bane of my picket-fenced existence – stuck up, anal (not in the fun way), and definitely the person who got me booted from the Parent Teacher Association. I can’t let him wrest control of The Falcons and have history repeat itself – no matter how hot he looks in his khaki uniform.

Thing is, the more we work together, the more I glimpse the caring man lurking under the cold exterior. Maybe he isn’t the completely wretched human being I thought.

We’d both sworn off romance to focus on fatherhood, and nothing’s going to change that, not even sharing a too-small tent in the wilderness.

Right?

The Falcon and the Foe is an MM enemies-to-lovers romance containing hot single dads, sizzling snarky banter, pitched tent puns, skinny dipping, and an HEA. It’s the first in the Single Dads Club series, but can be read as a standalone.

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Spectral

SERIES:  Daydream, Colorado #4

AUTHOR:  A.M. Rose

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  305 pages

RELEASE DATE:  January 25, 2022

BLURB:

Emmerson helped save the entire town of Daydream from a deranged mage, and he saved someone’s life in the process. Granted, he didn’t do it intentionally, but he was sure it still earned him a reward or something. A cake. A balloon. A cute, dimpled, sometimes-ghost guy he was magically tied to, covered in cake and tied up with balloons.
He wasn’t that picky.
But things are rarely that simple in Daydream, and Emmerson will soon find out that fighting off a magically overpowered mage was nothing compared to the difficulties of the heart.

West was pretty sure he was used to being invisible. Spending a year as a ghost should not have been a huge change for him. West had nothing but time in his solitude to nurse his regrets, the biggest one being the beautiful witch apprentice he’d never had the courage in life to approach.
When West finds himself not quite as dead as he thought he was, the struggle of a second chance suddenly becomes real. But being magically tied to the person you’ve been crushing on for ages wasn’t part of the plan. And neither were the aftereffects of his little ghost excursion.
Apparently, coming back from the dead won’t be the hardest thing West will have to do.

Reviewed by True

TITLE: Got Me Looking

SERIES: Vet Shop Boys #3

AUTHOR: Casey Cox

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 281 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 24, 2022

BLURB:

A jilted groom and a guy who doesn’t believe in monogamy fall in love? Yeah. Right.

After getting cheated on at my own goddamn wedding, I’m through with men. I’m approaching fifty, and all I’ve ever wanted is to settle down, get married, and live happily ever after. But yeah, that hasn’t exactly worked out great for me.

The last person I expect to understand me is Tate. Sure, he’s cute, curious, and clever. A firecracker with no filter who somehow manages to stay friendly and genuine at the same time. But he isn’t exactly a settle-down kinda guy. Oh, and did I mention he’s also twenty years younger than me?

There’s no way something could ever happen between the two of us, so how is it possible that Tate has got me looking at love––and him––in a whole new light?