I really liked this one - started off a bit slow but the chemistry really picked up between the two heroes. One hero is SUPER grumpy. 46/28 ages - worI really liked this one - started off a bit slow but the chemistry really picked up between the two heroes. One hero is SUPER grumpy. 46/28 ages - worked well for me.
Also very holiday spirited!! You don't always get the xmasy feel in "holiday" romance books.
I liked both the guys and all the suspense stuff - but the romance really takes a back seat. There is no courtship or anything. That bummed me out. I I liked both the guys and all the suspense stuff - but the romance really takes a back seat. There is no courtship or anything. That bummed me out. I also was confused at first with all of the characters and who was who. I didn't read the previous series (this is a spin-off) so maybe that was part of it.
Although there are some darker subject matters in this book, I still found it to be a very sweet, and feel good book. And with that being said, I alsoAlthough there are some darker subject matters in this book, I still found it to be a very sweet, and feel good book. And with that being said, I also found it a little hard to get totally engaged - as everything was just too predictable...and well...a little too sweet. (Am I a jaded and bitter reader????)
Miles is a sous chef with an obsessive, stalker ex-boyfriend. This ex, Dallas, not only roughly manhandled Miles, but Miles is certain he was drugged one night and raped. He broke things off, but Dallas continues to lurk around his work and apartment. When Miles's friend urges him to take a new chef position at Clean Slate Ranch, Miles thinks this might be the perfect opportunity to further his career, and hide safely away from Dallas
Reyes becomes Miles's roommate at the ranch. They have mutual friends and know one another - and both have a great attraction to the other that they try to keep in check. Reyes is a former firefighter who had a tragic experience on the job, and those dark memories still linger with him. He is older than Miles, and has a "knight in shining armor" complex. He will do anything to keep Miles safe, and basically wants to murder Dallas with his bare hands for causing Miles pain. Miles doesn't want Reyes to always feel this burden, as he tries to play it off that everything is okay.
As they get to know one another more, and work together, a natural progression to romance develops - but it's slow. Miles isn't ready for physical romance, still recovering from the trauma that Dallas put him through. Reyes is more than willing to wait and take things as slow as Miles needs.
It's a very sweet romance. Both are very supportive of the other and Reyes getting growly over Dallas and keeping a keen eye on Miles' welfare made me smile. But, as I mentioned earlier, it was just a little slow and predictable. We see a lot of the ranch and get some interactions from characters I assume appeared in previous books. It read well as a standalone.
This book hooked me right from the beginning, and while it may have slowed down a bit in the middle, I still enjoyed it.
Set not too far into the futurThis book hooked me right from the beginning, and while it may have slowed down a bit in the middle, I still enjoyed it.
Set not too far into the future, there are people in the world called runners, who can walk into this dark, vast, unknown space they call The Nowhere (maybe think of it a little like the Upside Down from Stranger Things). Runners can be anywhere, and in a snap of their fingers, they are in darkness and can travel anywhere they want in a matter of seconds. They describe it as swimming through the air - and as long as they know the coordinates or if they've been to the place before, they can get there.
Kit, one of our heroes, is a runner. They are far and few between, and no one knows why they have this ability. Kit makes a living by running errands for people. For example, he starts the book by taking a dog from one state to another, through the Nowhere. Traveling through the Nowhere makes runners tired and extremely hungry, so Kit is always eating to boost his energy. This is how the other hero, describes Kit when he first meets him:
The person in question—short and slender, purple-haired, tan-skinned—was young and androgynous. Unconscious, but alive and seemingly unharmed, as long as Emil didn’t count that eye-searing combination of color in the outfit as a form of violence. Logic told Emil this was the runner Quint Services had hired to take him back to QSF17.
The runner certainly didn’t look like anyone else who worked at Quint Services Headquarters, given the hair, the tight black jeans, and the t-shirt with orange slashes across the chest. Come to think of it, the runner didn’t look like anyone else Emil had ever seen. Emil studied the angle of the cheekbones and the small, rounded point of the nose as if they might offer clues. The runner had a nice face, but one that resisted categorization.
He gets asked to take a person from Earth to a faraway station in outer space - and it's for a really large sum of money so he goes for it. When he arrives to get the person, who happens to be our other hero, Emil has been sedated and is unconscious. Kit feels weird about transporting a person who doesn't give consent, but he can't pass up the huge amount of money.
Emil has been working on a team at a place called Quint Services Facility 17, a base hidden in an asteroid. His team is researching the Nowhere and trying to breach it, without being a runner. Recently, there was a large explosion at the facility, which injured Emil and he has been down to Earth to be questioned about why the explosion occurred. The explosion not only partially destroyed the main scientist's lab, but the scientist is missing and strange things are happening in his lab now.
Kit goes to take Emil back to his asteroid, but in the Nowhere, a strange lighted object attacks Kit and sends both Kit and Emil to a strange land. Together, they have to figure out how to get back to a place they recognize and figure out what is inside the Nowhere that is after Kit. Oh, and along the way they fall in love.
There are many things I liked about this book. First of all, it's diverse. There are people of color, gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and people of all sizes. The world felt very well represented.
Kit and Emil are really sweet guys with flaws, that they overcome to love each other. There is a pretty intense attraction between them, and their chemistry and sexual tension are done well. Emil is more the strong protector type, who looks at Kit, who always seems to be fighting for his life in the Nowhere, and gets spit out tired and starving, and he takes care of him. Kit is more scrappy - orphaned at a young age, he has had to fight to survive. His fight continues at Emil's facility, where Kit hides out to try to figure out what is happening in the Nowhere. He meets Emil's entire team, and while it took me a bit to figure out everyone and settle down on who is who, the team plays a big part in this book.
It does slow down a bit in the middle - but overall there is a lot of action and a nice romance journey. There will be a book two with the same cast, but there is a solid HEA in this one. A nice sci-fi read - I like this author's voice a lot.
Guys - I've never read Annabeth Albert. What the heck, self??? I think a publicist reached out about this book asking for a guest post, and when I reaGuys - I've never read Annabeth Albert. What the heck, self??? I think a publicist reached out about this book asking for a guest post, and when I read the blurb I thought - ooooh, I'll give this one a try. And I ended up really enjoying this author's voice. She gives us Isaiah, biracial, and younger than Mark. And Mark, a Navy SEAL who working out his identity.
Mark, who has been deployed for many months gets the news that his sister, Danielle and brother-in-law, Cal have died in a car accident, he rushes home to care for his two nieces and nephew - but someone has already taken over. Isaiah, Cal's cousin, has stepped in as temporary guardian of a five-year old, three-year-ish, and a baby under the age of one.
Isaiah and Mark know each other, and at Mark's sister wedding, ten years ago, Isaiah, a fresh-faced eighteen year old, even tried to make out with Mark, who was already a SEAL at that point. Isaiah had the hots for Mark - big time. When he put the moves on Mark that night, Mark somewhat reluctantly pushed him away - and then got deployed and they lost touch.
Isaiah has had a little less direction in his life than Mark. Changing his majors, not sure the path he wanted to take, he recently got a landscaping certificate and has decided that is what he wants to do with his life. But then Danielle and Cal dies, and he steps in (as there is no local family) as a guardian, and while it's exhausting, it has never felt more right. When Mark arrives home, he assumes Isaiah will flake out and want to go back to his partying, younger life. But Isaiah wants to be there for the kids, and as him and Mark work out custody (along with the courts) they cohabited, and start a romance.
First let me say, there are three kids in this book, as they are the catalyst for bringing Mark and Isaiah together. These kids are well written, thank the book gods (or maybe thank you Annabeth Albert). They are written age appropriate. The five-year old is not handing out relationship advice! And while the kids are in the book a lot, they didn't annoy me one bit. (Although I do think the grief could have been examined a little more closely with the five-year old but I'm not here to judge! Maybe just a little!)
What also stands out in this story is that Mark admits to Isaiah, once he feels safe enough, about his sexuality:
“Like naked pictures don’t usually do it for me. I’m the only guy in the world for whom porn doesn’t work.”
“Hardly. I’ve known others. What does do it for you, though?”
“Words. Like someone’s voice. Or a glancing contact.” Mark thought about that morning, Isaiah’s long fingers on his waist. Or how Isaiah’s laugh just always worked for him on some deeper level. “Like I’ll know someone a long time, and then they’ll say something nice or do something for me, and all of a sudden I’ll realize I’m turned on. But I have to… I don’t know… feel a connection or something. It’s rare and never happens with strangers.”
“Words and voices can be fucking sexy.” Isaiah’s voice was reassuring. “All genders?”
“Gender doesn’t seem to really matter. It’s more how much I like someone, if that makes sense. More often it’s with guys, but I’ve felt it a few times with women too. My body’s just wired strange—”
“Quit saying that about yourself.” Isaiah punched him lightly on the arm. “It sounds like you’re ace, but maybe you’re more gray ace or demisexual, where you only get turned on after an emotional bond with people.”
Mark initially thinks this will be a point against him when it comes to Isaiah, who is known for his playboy and sleeping around habits. But Isaiah, who still holds that crush on Mark from all those years ago, is very open and patient and accepting of who Mark is. It's so sweet and mature, and they have open and honest conversations about it - ongoing too! They just don't talk about it once and it's done. They talk bring it up as their relationship progresses and it made their relationship feel full and romantic. Mark still struggles with publicly admitting he is falling in love with a man, and that is addressed well too.
Conflict is brought in when the courts have to clear Mark and Isaiah for guardianship. There were two wills, and they conflicted a bit, and Mark, with his SEAL organization and precision, tries to take the reins and be in charge, inadvertently hurting Isaiah in the process. The communication surrounding this could have been handled better and it was a little predictable.
The grief over losing a sister and best friend are there, there is a slow-burning, sexy romance. Two really good guys, an interracial couple and lots of chest muscles.
And guys - most of all - the way Mark, Mr. Navy SEAL, mops a floor or cleans a bathroom - until they are absolutely spotless - had both Isaiah and myself swooning off our chairs.
This spin-off series of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, is still BDB....just with a new crew of warriors. But the veterans are still roaming the halls, This spin-off series of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, is still BDB....just with a new crew of warriors. But the veterans are still roaming the halls, and making appearances.
Blood Fury gives us two romances - Peyton and Novo, two trainees in the brotherhood fighting program, who start off the book more as enemies, and it takes a bit for them to move past hate sex to --oh wait, I love you. Peyton had very intense, romantic feelings towards another trainee, Paradise, but if you have read this series, you know she got a HEA with another male. Peyton is still in love with her and has a hard time working with her on a daily basis. Novo is trying to prove herself as a fighter in this male dominated field, and when she gets injured, she feels like she has to prove herself even more. Peyton is always lurking in the background, and they start this hate/sex/lustful thing until their feelings turn much more romantic.
The other couple, and the reason I really anticipated this book, is Saxton and Ruhn. Saxton is Wrath's solicitor, once lover of Blay, and has had a hard time moving past that break-up. Ruhn is Bitty's uncle. Readers of this series will remember Bitty, who is Rhage and Mary's adopted daughter. Ruhn moved into the brotherhood compound with Bitty, and has stayed around. He feels like he isn't doing enough to earn his keep (although the brotherhood expects nothing from him, and considers him family).
When there is a land dispute, Saxton has to make a lot of trips out to a house to try to get some paperwork in order, and Wrath sends Ruhn as Saxton's bodyguard in case danger breaks out. As these two spend time together, they realize they have feelings for each other, something that really surprises Ruhn, as he has only had feelings for women in the past. Ruhn has a dark, tortuous past, and that angsty torture still looms around him. He is super quiet and always down on himself. I really enjoyed his pairing with Saxton.
In lieu of a reply, Ruhn walked forward...and it was about when he was halfway across the distance that separated them that Saxton realized...
The male was aroused.
Ruhn had not come here for a never-again, but rather for some more.
Saxton's body responded instantly, his blood rushing, his cock hardening, his annoyance, frustration, and exhaustion instantly evaporating.
As the other male came to a halt with mere inches between their faces, Saxton had to smile a little."I guess I read this wrong, huh."
"Yes," came the growl. "You did."
Holy from-out-of-nowhere.
Ruhn took hold of Saxton by either side of the throat and yanked him forward, the male's kiss nothing tentative or shy, nothing experimental.
Ward splits page time pretty evenly for these two couples, and best of all, there are no other storylines to take away from these romances. While Sax and Ruhn are fighting a land dispute, and Peyton and Novo are dealing with an injury, most of the page time is devoted to building up their romance and relationship. V, Rhage and Wrath all make brief appearances (yay!) but no other distractions take away from the two HEAs.
This is just a really fun addition to the series. Super sexy, a few laughs and two couples that I really enjoyed. We even heard the distant screams of Assail down the corridor a few times. A sure sign that he is still suffering until his book comes out this spring.
Not a fan of this one. The antics of the olympic athletes on this team were ridiculous. And then there was a hacking scheme?? And over-the-top parentsNot a fan of this one. The antics of the olympic athletes on this team were ridiculous. And then there was a hacking scheme?? And over-the-top parents...meanwhile the romance gets lost.