Lane Courtnall is a total hockey robot, so weird and so damn amusing. Jared Stone is a older player on an opposing team and he has the moves both o4.5
Lane Courtnall is a total hockey robot, so weird and so damn amusing. Jared Stone is a older player on an opposing team and he has the moves both on and off the ice. Wonderful little gloves off meet cute as well. ;)
This was a win for me. Snappy dialogue, hot scenes and some fun hockey action. I'm definitely up for more books about these teams. ...more
A fun, sexy little role play story that unfortunately left me with more questions than answers:
(view spoiler)[Why are the guys still in LA? I thought A fun, sexy little role play story that unfortunately left me with more questions than answers:
(view spoiler)[Why are the guys still in LA? I thought the FBI were going to relocate them to another city? Is Sam now working for Foster and his security company? The red herring that I mentioned in the previous story? I confess to be a tad confused now. (hide spoiler)]...more
At times the sadness that Deacon felt was overwhelming but I loved the romance between the MC's, it was slow moving but super hot. I really liked 3.75
At times the sadness that Deacon felt was overwhelming but I loved the romance between the MC's, it was slow moving but super hot. I really liked that there wasn't a big fix at the end and that Deacon and Steve were working hard to make their relationship succeed.
A novella set in an AU steampunk England. Dalton is a craftsman who makes prosthetics both standard and bespoke. The bespoke ones are specialized 3.75
A novella set in an AU steampunk England. Dalton is a craftsman who makes prosthetics both standard and bespoke. The bespoke ones are specialized in a way that they begin to react with the person's biology and act as a true limb. Finn is a soldier who had his hand surgically removed after an accident and comes to see Dalton to get a bespoke piece. The men begin an affair during the time Finn needs to learn how to reuse his new hand before returning to the front lines.
This was a surprising story for me. Very richly detailed in world-building and in characterization. There's a kink here that I wasn't expecting either that completely fit Dalton. Perfect. Once the connection between the MCs was made this story was tremendously romantic with a nice added twist of angst when Finn returns to the fighting.
If I had a quibble it would be (view spoiler)[in regards to the beginning of the affair. I totally understood Dalton's attraction to Finn but it only wasn't until later that Finn's attraction to Dalton made sense to me. Although with Finn being a virgin the awkwardness of how their affair initiated was understandable but it didn't quite work as much as I wished. (hide spoiler)]
If you're looking for an AU MM story pick this one up. The steampunk angle is great spin and one I've seldom read. Wonderfully written and the amount of detail in both the characters and the world is pretty impressive given the length. ...more
August, thanks to an inheritance from his grandfather, is a fairly new detective owning his own business and working his first big case. Sam is his diAugust, thanks to an inheritance from his grandfather, is a fairly new detective owning his own business and working his first big case. Sam is his divorced older, grumpier landlord. These two are attracted to each other but neither one of them wants to make the first move. August is self-conscious about his weight and Sam is feeling tired and a bit bitter about looking for love again after his marriage tanked.
Throw in the fact that August is the most adorable chinchilla shifter in the world and this story was quite the ride. Great dialogue and a simple but sweet story about these two men falling hard for each other when they finally decide to it's okay to fall.
I loved the relationship that develops and I really enjoyed the chinchilla herd information that was revealed. I love different and unique shifter types so I was favouring this one from the get go and delighted that it lived up to my expectations. This was a buddy read with Mandy and we both really enjoyed the book so if you're looking for a bit of mystery with a cute shifter and protective, sexy older man look no further, this is a winner!...more
I was not expecting to like this as much as I did but boy did it ever work for me. When Walker hits it right, it is out of the park and I cannot ge4.5
I was not expecting to like this as much as I did but boy did it ever work for me. When Walker hits it right, it is out of the park and I cannot get enough.
There's a 22 year age difference between Tom and Cooper and I went into this with a semi-cringe because it's not really a kink that I like to read about often. Colour me surprised that it didn't bother me at all. While the men are distinctly different in their outlooks, I found those differences really worked for me and I could see how they worked for the relationship. I really loved Cooper's forthrightness. He was a bold and brave young man and I admired that tremendously.
I found this pretty smoking hot as well with some nice humour to balance things out. Sign me up for book 2! ...more
I didn't pay too much attention to the blurb going into this one so the storyline ended up surprising me the further I read in, and what I thought wasI didn't pay too much attention to the blurb going into this one so the storyline ended up surprising me the further I read in, and what I thought was going be an okay read ended up being a book I had trouble putting down.
Jay is hitchhiking rides from truckers and ends up in Montana at a diner and gets hired by the owner, Sam, an older gruff guy. The two men start sleeping together and I wasn't expecting the turn that happened after that. I loved it.
I loved the reveal, the road trip, the new life in LA, and most especially I loved these men together. Snarky Jay and stoic Sam, kinks and all. These two were perfect for each other even when Sam persisted in trying to protect Jay.
I did find one open ended string that had me frustrated: (view spoiler)[ Why the whole Foster red herring? He gave Sam his card about a job and then nothing. It seemed pointless interlude to me. (hide spoiler)]
There was fabulous chemistry here and smart, tough characters who made no apologies for their choices in life or their pleasures. Refreshing. ...more
It's funny I remember reading Bianca's Plan and thinking how much I'd love to read Gabe's story. It didn't dawn on me until part way through this 3.75
It's funny I remember reading Bianca's Plan and thinking how much I'd love to read Gabe's story. It didn't dawn on me until part way through this read that this was about him and that I was finally getting my wish.
Todd left his small town to find his dream job in Kansas City. He wants to apprentice under a chef he wildly admires but she's not interesting in teaching him. That starts a chain reaction of bad luck that culminates in Todd without either a job or a place to live with a blizzard on the way.
He meets Gabe, who takes him in to his home in a pay it forward scenario that was sweetly Cinderfella-esque. Todd's struggling to come to terms with his sexuality and Gabe is struggling to resist the attraction he feels for the younger man. This was a romantic little story with a lot of call backs to Thomas' previous characters which was a lot of fun, I really enjoy the world he's built here. ...more
We have Joey, a small town mechanic, who is going to move to Hollywood to be with his up-and-coming movie star boyfriend. UnfortPygmalion type story.
We have Joey, a small town mechanic, who is going to move to Hollywood to be with his up-and-coming movie star boyfriend. Unfortunately, Joey has the rug pulled out from under him when the actor dumps him on national television. He's also outed to his family and everyone else watching the program. This puts Joey in the spotlight and under pretty intense and uncomfortable scrutiny as reporters flock to get his side of the story and his hometown reacts to the big reveal.
In walks Professor Higgins or Troy Steele, writer extraordinaire. Troy, the former Oren Keller, had his own makeover years ago. He's writing a story that's similar enough to Joey's that he makes the offer for Joey to be sort of a living research project.
There's a great cast of characters here. Troy's assistant Erica was a particular highlight for me.
While there is a makeover angle here it's amusing that Troy is pressured by his assistant to join Joey in the gym.
There's a really great build up to the Joey/Troy relationship. The sex is minimal and that really works with this story. Fun build up of the story as Joey and Troy each grow up and move past things that have been holding them back.
If you're looking for a sweet story that has a strong friends to lovers element with strong secondary characters give this one a try. There's a definite Cinderfella angle here as Joey and Troy both confront their past. ...more
This was okay. Very readable but nothing really stood out for me in terms of either the characters or the storyline. I liked Collin and Eric but t2.75
This was okay. Very readable but nothing really stood out for me in terms of either the characters or the storyline. I liked Collin and Eric but there were a few things that didn't work for me here:
(view spoiler)[ The pet names. Sweet thing, sweetness, sweet baby, my boy, sweet boy, etc. That really started to get to me after a bit. I can take one or two but anything "boy" really grates for me.
The age difference. Usually this isn't a problem for me but this was verging on not working for me. I'm not quite sure why this time it didn't really jell. Maybe because of the constant emphasize on how Eric is old enough to be Collin's father. He's 15 years older, so technically I guess so but realistically no...he's not.
I also didn't enjoy the Sebastian/Collin confrontation. I thought the Brad blowjob issue had been put to bed two books ago. I was surprised to see it revisited. (hide spoiler)]
I liked seeing Brad/Sebastian and Paul/Trevor. I really enjoy those guys so it was nice to have brief cameos. The frat boys? Love them in all their "sensitive" glory. There are more stories to tell from the frat house and I'll look forward to those but this installment wasn't a favourite.
Unexpected (view spoiler)[daddy kink here but it was smoking hot and it really, really worked for these guys. (hEli, I knew you wouldn't let me down.
Unexpected (view spoiler)[daddy kink here but it was smoking hot and it really, really worked for these guys. (hide spoiler)]
This book has some incredibly hot sex between the awesome Elijah and ex-sailor now history teacher Quinn. Lots of family drama and Quinn's ex is such an asshole. I cannot believe how horrible he is to both Quinn and his family.
We see both Nathan and Kellan again. (view spoiler)[Protective of Eli which is good but still Kellan is all "you gay guys" which induced much eye-rolling with me. (hide spoiler)]
I love the relationship build between Eli and Quinn. They're perfect for each other and this was a fun read despite the high drama. Eli's reasoning for dating older men over guys his own age was perfect and I'm glad he and Quinn found each other.
Great read. If you like stories that have older men with younger men with a fun twist of kink I think you'd really like this one. It is a part of a series but starting with this one and skipping the first wouldn't put you in the dark. ...more
I'll just right out and say that rentboys and porn based stories are my least favourite tropes 4.5
So damn good. Will come back later with a review.
**
I'll just right out and say that rentboys and porn based stories are my least favourite tropes to read about. That being said, Cate Ashwood did a stellar job of making me appreciate this storyline.
We have Evan, a lonely sweet young man looking to earn some extra money for college and Bran, a lonely jaded porn star who, at 27, is getting old for the business. Bran and his business partner hire Evan as part of a summer house porn shoot but Bran is leery of getting the younger man entrenched into the business.
Reading this gave me a real sense of actual porn shoots. Which was something I've never really felt with other books with similar themes and I found that quite interesting.
I really enjoyed the chemistry that Evan and Bran had, they were so good together. I'd really enjoy to see another book in the series centered around Colt, because he needs a HEA.
While I found the story fascinating and the characters well fleshed out with natural dialogue there was one part that I have to say bothered me.
(view spoiler)[I loved the drama near the end when Evan and Bran both fell apart after their break-up but they almost were too into each other for their happiness, if that makes any sense. I wanted them to be hurt but not to be broken past the point of no return if they never saw each other again. (hide spoiler)]
Great book though and I'm really looking for more from this author. ...more
This was good but I found it incredibly melancholy. Lane was beaten down for much of the story so I found that hard to read for an extended time.
I weThis was good but I found it incredibly melancholy. Lane was beaten down for much of the story so I found that hard to read for an extended time.
I welcomed the humour from Brin's character, who really stole the show for me and deserves a star just for him. I loved him.
I went into this read not really knowing what to expect with the puppy play but I have to say I was impressed with it. It was very gentle and healing.
One thing that didn't really ring true for me: (view spoiler)[I don't believe that Stephen would have come to Lane's rescue at all. He was such a horrible selfish character. I just don't see him caring to come back to the US to help his son. (hide spoiler)]
**spoiler alert** Cinderfella story. Brandon is a struggling student working two jobs and trying to keep his grades up at university. One night he del**spoiler alert** Cinderfella story. Brandon is a struggling student working two jobs and trying to keep his grades up at university. One night he delivers food to Tony, who owns a publishing house, and Tony runs into him the next day at his other job in a coffee shop.
Tony then offers Brandon a modelling job for some of the book covers, gives him a gym membership to buff up a bit and they start to fall for each other.
Maybe this would have worked for me more if this was a longer story but it isn't and things move very fast. I know Tony is all about paying it forward and trying to help Brandon but on an acquaintance of ten minutes? That seems a bit hinky to me. I think if Brandon had been his established delivery guy and they had some kind of history this wouldn't have felt so odd.
There's only nine years difference between the men but Tony calls Brandon his "beautiful boy". Not a fan of that. The chemistry is okay but I did't feel drawn to either character or the storyline. Love the cover though.
This cover is very, very wrong to how the characters look, so that is distracting. I hate it when that happens.
The story though? Fantastic.
Travis anThis cover is very, very wrong to how the characters look, so that is distracting. I hate it when that happens.
The story though? Fantastic.
Travis and John hire 1NightStand, a mysterious matchmaking company, to find them each a fantasy. When they're matched and they meet for the first time Travis is ecstatic and John is pissed off. Travis wanted a bear and got one but John wasn't expecting the younger, gorgeous Travis. They manage to work through the misunderstanding and for such a short story there's a real depth of character here. Lots of chemistry and wonderful natural dialogue that's HFN but edging to a HEA. These men are perfect for each other and I would love to read another book to see where they're at in the future but I'm satisfied with where they ended up if that never happens....more