For a moment, he saw it all through the eyes of a lonely boy who had lost his family. A boy who had never dared dream of a day like
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For a moment, he saw it all through the eyes of a lonely boy who had lost his family. A boy who had never dared dream of a day like this, that a group of strangers could become so many precious things to him—family, friends, and even a lover. (...)
I'm absolutely LOVING this series....
-the writing is so compelling,
-the characters are truly engaging,
-there's angst,happy tears,sad tears,
-this one spans over years( one of my favourite things ),
-I honestly had no idea who Jason would end up with....the Author had me guessing right up until the end,
-and more of Ben and Tim...I can't get enough of these two,
This is fast turning into one of my favourite series.
Paulie was this cute, swishy guy who had claimed me as a class buddy(...)
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For a debut book I've got to say this one4.5 Stars.
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Paulie was this cute, swishy guy who had claimed me as a class buddy(...)
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For a debut book I've got to say this one is pretty impressive and I think it's down to the writing....it has a kind of gritty feel to it.More and more I'm finding that sweet,fluffy,predictable MM books don't do it for me anymore.I find myself craving angst and drama and uncertainty....
Joel and Paulie's story.....
But it was definitely Paulie who made this one such a success for me....I could read about that boy all day long.
-Joel is grieving and can't seem to let go of the past and the love he lost.He copes with mindless sex and definitely isn't prepared to let anyone get close.
-Paulie is like a breath of fresh air,a tornado that rocks into Joel's life and won't let go.Just a little bit femme in the most delicious way.
-Friends first,then lovers that definitely worked.
This one both delighted me and frustrated me....
Delighted me,because I absolutely loved the connection between the two men and the angst and drama is just my thing.
Frustrated me, because I really couldn't understand why Joel didn't open up to Paulie sooner.
Recommended read and this is definitely an Author I'll be following closely.
I received an Arc of Controlled Burn from the Author in exchange for an honest review....more
This is going to be a short and extremely vague review.I would say if you've read book one and are considering reading this.....be care4 Stars.
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This is going to be a short and extremely vague review.I would say if you've read book one and are considering reading this.....be careful which reviews you read prior to reading this.....some have spoilers and,trust me,you won't want to know in advance the beginning of this one......
I loved the first half so much but I found the abuse in this one a lot more harrowing and difficult to read.I've got my reasons but I'm not even putting them in a spoiler.
This Author certainly knows how to have you on the edge of your seat.....I was convinced the story was going in a certain direction once I hit half way,only to find out I was wrong and right up to the last page I had no idea of how things would play out.
Conclusion: These two books have had me captivated over the last few days.They are probably some of the darkest I've read but I'm glad I did.........more
Loved it. This book worked in so many ways for me.I loved the Before and After first from Archer's pov and then from Mallory.And a sto4.5 Stars.
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Loved it. This book worked in so many ways for me.I loved the Before and After first from Archer's pov and then from Mallory.And a story that spans over years is totally my thing.
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It's not an easy read at times,it deals with a lot of emotive subjects and it's definitely not a fluffy MM with an abundance of sex scenes.
I made the mistake of reading some reviews just after I started reading it and a few mentioned something that I would have preferred not to know in advance so I'm going to be deliberately vague here.
Archer is grieving over the loss of his parents three years ago.He's exsisting...... As a reader you can feel his sadness and emptiness.Then he meets Danny who is pushy,endearing,and turns out to be a great friend to Archer in so many ways.An invitation from Danny for Archer to spend Thanksgiving with him and his father is about to change his life....
Mallory is dealing with his own grief.He's living a solitary life really only focusing on his work.
There is no insta lust here,no immediate attraction,no falling into bed.It's a slow burn but the story wouldn't have had such a strong impact on me if that was the case here.
Despite the age difference (17 years ), Archer and Mallory have a lot of similarities.They are both quiet,reserved and are comfortable in each others silences.They develop a friendship and feelings long before anything physical happens.
I found this really difficult to review without spoilers. I don't want to give anything away...
-not why the story spans over a number of years,
-not how their relationship plays out,
-not how family plays a part.
Read the blurb,go into it relatively blind and I'm sure you'll love it.Yes,it's sad but it's actually quite beautiful.
Highly Recommended.
An Arc of Arrows Through Archer was kindly provided to me by the Author in exchange for an honest review....more
“I think I’m in love with you. And I don’t know what to do.”
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I've got to admit to being just a little bit obsessed with In4.5 Stars.
“I think I’m in love with you. And I don’t know what to do.”
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I've got to admit to being just a little bit obsessed with Instagram,myself,so this was the perfect read for me.This series is firmly up there as one of my favourite MM series.Santino Hassell is a Master at taking two completely different characters and making them fit together.
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I was more than a bit fascinated by Ashton when he was introduced in book three and the fact that he's a bit femme was just my thing. To the outside world Ashton appears to live a gifted,glamorous life which he's happy to play out through social media.But,behind closed doors he's lost.Ignored by his wealthy family for being different,forced into modelling, all he wants is to be loved and he still craves respect from his family.
Val,grew up in the Townsend family,the son of Ashton's Nanny.Despite their differences they become friends at a young age.But Val hates everything about the Townsend family....their wealth,their treatment of Ashton,their ability to manipulate people.He's determined to make it on his own and wants no part of their money,but what happens when a secret from the past is threatened to be revealed?
They skirt around each other,there's angst,drama,a constant push and pull between them as they both figure out what they want from life and each other.
Out of all the books in this series,this one could definitely be read as a standalone but if you're a fan of gritty,real to life,flawed characters I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this series.
This is book one in what is set to be a very intriguing series.There are three main characters whose stories will be told,Church,Ghos3.5 Stars.
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This is book one in what is set to be a very intriguing series.There are three main characters whose stories will be told,Church,Ghost and Tobias.This is Church's story.
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Edgar-Allen Church is 18 when he is transferred to Woodbury Residential Treatment Center after committing an assault a year earlier.This is where he meets Ghost and Tobias,hence The Woodbury Boys.
Four years later and he's set to be released,one of the stipulations being that he must stay with someone who will have a 'grounding influence' on him.Fresh out of options he has no choice but to contact the one person he didn't want to and has had no contact with for five years.
Miller(now 30), never expected to hear from Church again but finds himself unable to refuse his request and agrees to let Church stay with him for the required time.Without going into detail,these men have history but gradually they start a tentative friendship again.
Church didn't have much of an upbringing and turned to crime at a young age but now he's released he's determined to be a better man.
Miller had a very strict upbringing and it was drummed into him from a young age that being Gay was wrong.I wouldn't say he was in the closet because he's in complete denial about his sexuality.He's been with women(there is a MF sex scene which was necessary in understanding him) but it's definitely not something he really enjoyed.All that changes when Church re enters his life.To say he's terrified and confused by his increasing attraction to Church is an understatement.
Interwoven with the relationship there is a plot which I'm still not sure I fully understood-probably because it's not fully explained/resolved (I'm guessing this will continue in the next book).
I enjoyed the story,overall,but I didn't really warm to Miller until quite late in the story and the inner monologues got a bit boring at times.
A huge plus for two very well developed,likeable,if a bit mysterious characters in Ghost and Tobias.I'm more than a bit fascinated by them,especially Ghost.He wears tiny boy shorts,eye liner,has long blonde hair and looks like an innocent angel.....but looks can be deceiving....
A good start to the series that I would recommend.
I seriously couldn't wait to read this after reading book one Pieces of Me and it didn't disappoint.I knew that Scott and Rylan still4.5 Stars.
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I seriously couldn't wait to read this after reading book one Pieces of Me and it didn't disappoint.I knew that Scott and Rylan still had a long way to go.Their story is extremely emotional and was quite hard to read at times but ultimately it's a love story, a second chance for two men that were,in the end,perfect together
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This continues straight after events at the end of book one.Scott,having always relied on his looks and charisma,finds himself in a difficult place.Just as his life seemed to be on track,career wise,he's delt a massive set back.
I found this difficult to read at times.Scott is so emotionally scarred...all he's been shown in his young life was negatively and the insecurities continued into adulthood.When Rylan comes back into his life,he still can't let go of the past and tries over and over to push him away believing he's not good enough for Rylan.
I absolutely loved Rylan.As a reader I always believed in his love and commitment to Scott and he was what made this book so special for me.Yes,at times,I wanted him to walk away but I always believed in him to do the right thing for both of them.
This is about two men finding their way in life,dealing with the past,facing up to the future and while they both had their struggles it was Scott that went on one hell of a journey......and,in the end,he figured it out on his own.
This is emotional,angsty but I always had faith that these two men would make it.
Have to mention one of the best secondary characters I've read about in Minh......I know we kind of got his story/conclusion but I would absolutely love more of his and Chris's story....maybe just a novella??
Highly Recommended series.
An Arc of See My Words was kindly provided to me by Melanie Hansen for a honest review
This was so different to previous books I've read by this Author,but I absolutely loved it.There definitely aren't enough,good,paranormal M/4.5 Stars.
This was so different to previous books I've read by this Author,but I absolutely loved it.There definitely aren't enough,good,paranormal M/M books out there and this soooo worked for me.
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Well,this was definitely a first for me.A Barbara Elsborg book with humour,add into the mix a sexy Paranormal M/M and this was a hit for me.
A sexy Vampire...Inigo.
A sexy faerie...Micah.
They shouldn't connect but they do in the most delicious way.They are both tops *sighs*.How will they ever get around this? Oh,yes....bring on the sexy times.They adapt very quickly!
This is the second book in the series.I haven't read book one because it's M/F but that definitely didn't spoil my enjoyment of this and this can be read as a stand alone.
Paranormal books aren't necessarily my preferred Genre but I love it when I find one's that really work. This wasn't too complicated,which they sometimes can be and the scene setting and characters were so engaging.The humour works perfectly here,a little bit dry but given the characters it was spot on. The inner thoughts of Inigo were just brilliant and I know it's wrong but I found,the villain,Oberon so damn funny... I was kind of routing for him!
If you're a fan of M/M Paranormal I would highly recommend this....more
I wanted to love this one,I really did but it didn't work for me for numerous reasons.I couldn't wait for Rowe's story.Bi curi3.5 Stars.
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I wanted to love this one,I really did but it didn't work for me for numerous reasons.I couldn't wait for Rowe's story.Bi curious is one of my favourite things and I had high hopes here but,for me,it didn't deliver. I'm in the unpopular corner again here..... I'm putting most of my review in a spoiler because although I didn't particularly like it,I know the majority of people did and it's probably more of a rant than a review.
(view spoiler)[I absolutely adored Rowe in book two but didn't really like him here.It's been nine months since his wife died and he's barely holding it together when an old friend re appears in his life.Him and Noah have history that goes way back.After one hot encounter Rowe bolted.They never discussed it and had sporadic contact over the years but Noah is back and Rowe's finding it hard( no pun intended ) to resist him. If there's one thing that really annoys me it's the constant back and forth between characters and this was no exception.Rowe's inner thoughts just bored me.Even when he was getting down and dirty with Noah he was analysing things constantly.The sex scenes were ok to start with,then just bored me.
The last 20% really annoyed me.So they've got Hanna held captive for interrogation and what are Rowe and Noah doing....declaring undying love for each other....yeah right??!!
The final nail in the coffin,for me,was the thing with Lucas and Andrei. These two men passionately love each other and yet after ONE week of Lucas being distant Andrei is ready to move out. (hide spoiler)]
Rant over.
On a positive note and that's really why I've rated it 3.5 Stars.....IAN AND HOLLIS.....yes please.Ian is one of my favourite characters ever!! ...more
Whenever I read a book by this Author I simply cannot put it down,I read this in just over 24 hours. So it's just o4 Stars.
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Whenever I read a book by this Author I simply cannot put it down,I read this in just over 24 hours. So it's just over a year into David and Raymond's relationship and while they obviously love each other things definitely aren't going smoothly.
Raymond is desperately trying to better himself.He's working two jobs and attending college in the evening.As a result he's too exhausted to give David the attention he craves.
David is becoming more and more insecure and paranoid.He can't help comparing his relationship with Raymond to that of his previous boyfriend,Caleb.Is Raymond treating him the same way he treat Caleb? Add into the mix a hot guy Raymond works with who David is convinced is after Raymond and the fact Raymond isn't fully out about their relationship and his insecurities go into overdrive.
God,these two infuriated me at times.They fight,make up,fight,make up....it just drove me crazy.Even when they tried to talk to each other things didn't really get resolved.( the make up sex kind of made up for that though,this Author writes some of the hottest sex scenes! )
This series is in my top two favourite M/M series.The characters are so real and true to life.Even when two people love each other so much Real Life is always there to fuck things up. Great catching up with previous characters,especially Michael and the Sex God that is Nunzio,and the Epilogue was just perfect.
Great BR with some of my gorgeous girls, really enjoyed it....more