Book Review

Book Review: A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore

Reviewed by Ami

Title: A Rogue of One’s Own
Author: Evie Dunmore
Series: A League of Extraordinary Women #2
Hero/Heroine: Lucie & Tristan
Genre: M/F Historical
Length: 444 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 1, 2020
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: A lady must have money and an army of her own if she is to win a revolution—but first, she must pit her wits against the wiles of an irresistible rogue bent on wrecking her plans…and her heart.

Lady Lucie is fuming. She and her band of Oxford suffragists have finally scraped together enough capital to control one of London’s major publishing houses, with one purpose: to use it in a coup against Parliament. But who could have predicted that the one person standing between her and success is her old nemesis and London’s undisputed lord of sin, Lord Ballentine? Or that he would be willing to hand over the reins for an outrageous price—a night in her bed.

Lucie tempts Tristan like no other woman, burning him up with her fierceness and determination every time they clash. But as their battle of wills and words fans the flames of long-smoldering devotion, the silver-tongued seducer runs the risk of becoming caught in his own snare.

As Lucie tries to out-maneuver Tristan in the boardroom and the bedchamber, she soon discovers there’s truth in what the poets say: all is fair in love and war…
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: A Novel Murder by K.C. Wells

Reviewed by Ami

Title: A Novel Murder
Author: K.C. Wells
Series: Merrychurch Mysteries #3
Heroes: Jonathon and Mike
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 197 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: August 11, 2020
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Hosting the Merrychurch Literary Festival is just the distraction Jonathon de Mountford needs. Placating his father and keeping his boyfriend, Mike Tattersall, happy is proving an increasing struggle. But the small event takes on new proportions with the appearance of Teresa Malvain—former Merrychurch resident turned famous murder mystery novelist. But is something about the quaint village setting of her books a little too familiar?

Teresa’s sudden death is certainly something right out of one of her stories, and Jonathan and Mike soon discover there are villagers who might not want the inspiration behind her books revealed.

When it emerges Teresa’s severe allergic reaction was no accident, Jonathon and Mike are compelled to investigate, aided by a few people keen to help them discover the truth. But they’re trying to work out what is fact and what is fiction, and the line between the two blurs constantly. And as for their relationship, Jonathon finally comes to a decision…. Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Spring Frost Romance by Johnny Miles

Reviewed by Astros

Title: Spring Frost Romance
Author: Johnny Miles
Heroes: Jackson & Griffin
Genre: M/M Fantasy Romance
Length: 143 pages
Publisher: Deep Desires Press
Release Date: June 26, 2020
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Spring is coming, and under the melting frost, desire stirs…

Jackson Frost is youthful and charming, even if he can come off as a bit cold at times. Griffin Kloss is a gruff, 30-year-old failed businessman in need of nurture as he licks his wounds. When the two meet, it’s love at first sight. And there’s something about Jackson that’s magical.

And mysterious.

Jackson has secrets, and with the spring thaw coming, it’s harder for him to keep them from his lover. As Griffin deals with an ailing mother and a life that seems to slip away, he longs to hold onto Jackson, even if it means denying the worst of his fears.

Some things are not meant to last, but Griffin is determined to find the one exception, even if he must learn to believe in a new kind of magic.

The magic of the heart…
Continue reading

Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite

Reviewed by Ami

Title: The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows
Author: Olivia Waite
Series: Feminine Pursuits #2
Heroines: Agatha and Penelope
Genre: F/F Historical Romance
Length: 292 pages
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Release Date: July 28, 2020
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When Agatha Griffin finds a colony of bees in her warehouse, it’s the not-so-perfect ending to a not-so-perfect week. Busy trying to keep her printing business afloat amidst rising taxes and the suppression of radical printers like her son, the last thing the widow wants is to be the victim of a thousand bees. But when a beautiful beekeeper arrives to take care of the pests, Agatha may be in danger of being stung by something far more dangerous…

Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Devil of Downtown by Joanna Shupe

Reviewed by Ami

Title: The Devil of Downtown
Author: Joanna Shupe
Series: Uptown Girls #3
Hero/Heroine: Justine & Jack
Genre: M/F Historical Romance
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: June 30, 2020
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: The final novel in Joanna Shupe’s critically acclaimed Uptown Girl series about a beautiful do-gooder who must decide if she can team up with one of New York’s brashest criminals without losing something irreplaceable: her heart.

Manhattan kingpin.
Brilliant mastermind.
Gentleman gangster.

He’s built a wall around his heart…

Orphaned and abandoned on the Bowery’s mean streets, Jack Mulligan survived on strength, cunning, and ambition. Now he rules his territory better than any politician or copper ever could. He didn’t get here by being soft. But in uptown do-gooder Justine Greene―the very definition of an iron fist in a velvet glove―Jack may have met his match.

She wears hers on her sleeve…

Justine is devoted to tracking down deadbeat husbands and fighting for fair working conditions. When her mission brings her face-to-face with Jack, she’s shocked to find the man behind the criminal empire is considerably more charming and honorable than many “gentlemen” she knows.

Forming an unlikely alliance, they discover an unexpected desire. And when Justine’s past catches up with them, Jack may be her only hope of survival. Is she ready to make a deal with the devil…?
Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: A Good Duke is Hard to Find by Christina Britton

Reviewed by Ami

Title: A Good Duke is Hard to Find
Author: Christina Britton
Series: Isle of Synne #1
Hero/Heroine: Peter & Lenora
Genre: M/F Historical Romance
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: June 30, 2020
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: After her third fiancé leaves her at the altar, Lenora Hartley is beginning to think she’s cursed. One thing’s for certain: she needs to escape London and her father’s tyrannical attempts to find her yet another suitor. The Isle of Synne, an isolated and idyllic retreat off Britain’s northern coast, is blessedly far from society’s gossip, but it also carries haunting reminders of her first fiancé. Letting go of the past to find happiness seems impossible — until Lenora is thrown in the path of a gruff, mysterious blue-eyed man who makes her pulse race.

Next in line for a dukedom he doesn’t want to inherit, Peter Ashford is only on the isle to exact revenge on the man who is responsible for his mother’s death. Once he’s completed the task, he’ll return to America where his life can finally be his own. Yet when he meets the beautiful and kind Miss Hartley, he can’t help but be drawn to her. Can Peter put aside his plans for vengeance for the woman who has come to mean everything to him?
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Alpha Night by Nalini Singh

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Alpha Night
Author: Nalini Singh
Series: Psy-Changeling Trinity #4
Hero/Heroine: Selenka & Ethan
Genre: M/F Urban Fantasy
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: June 9, 2020
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Alpha wolf Selenka Durev’s devotion to her pack is equaled only by her anger at anyone who would harm those under her care. That currently includes the empaths who’ve flowed into her city for a symposium that is a security nightmare, a powder keg just waiting for a match.

Ethan Night is an Arrow who isn’t an Arrow. Numb and disengaged from the world, he’s loyal only to himself. Assigned as part of the security force at a world-first symposium, he carries a dark agenda tied to the power-hungry and murderous Consortium. Then violence erupts and Ethan finds himself crashing into the heart and soul of an alpha wolf.

Mating at first sight is a myth, a fairytale. Yet Selenka’s wolf is resolute: Ethan Night, broken Arrow and a man capable of obsessive devotion, is the mate it has chosen. Even if the mating bond is full of static and not quite as it should be. Because Selenka’s new mate has a terrible secret, his mind surging with a power that is a creature of madness and death…
Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey

Reviewed by Heather C

Title: Love Her or Lose Her
Author: Tessa Bailey
Series: Hot & Hammered #2
Hero/Heroine: Dominic/Rosie
Genre: M/F Contemporary Romance
Length: 347 pages
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: January 14, 2020
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Rosie and Dominic Vega are the perfect couple: high school sweethearts, best friends, madly in love. Well, they used to be anyway. Now Rosie’s lucky to get a caveman grunt from the ex-soldier every time she walks in the door. Dom is faithful and a great provider, but the man she fell in love with ten years ago is nowhere to be found. When her girlfriends encourage Rosie to demand more out of life and pursue her dream of opening a restaurant, she decides to demand more out of love, too. Three words: marriage boot camp.

Never in a million years did Rosie believe her stoic, too-manly-to-emote husband would actually agree to relationship rehab with a weed-smoking hippie. Dom talking about feelings? Sitting on pillows? Communing with nature? Learning love languages? Nope. But to her surprise, he’s all in, and it forces her to admit her own role in their cracked foundation. As they complete one ridiculous—yet surprisingly helpful—assignment after another, their remodeled relationship gets stronger than ever. Except just as they’re getting back on track, Rosie discovers Dom has a secret… and it could demolish everything. Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, M/F, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: I’ll See You Again by Chris Bedell

Reviewed by Astros

Title: I’ll See You Again
Author: Chris Bedell
Heroes: Cyrus & Nico
Genre: YA M/M Contemporary Romance
Length: 227 pages
Publisher: Deep Hearts YA
Release Date: March 6, 2020
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: It’s the start of his senior year, and Cyrus should be worried about college applications, procrastinating on homework, and staying up past his bedtime. And he does, until his mother’s cancer returns.

To make matters worse, Nico Valentine—the person Cyrus hates most—insists on being his friend. Carefree, flirtatious, and spontaneous, Nico is everything Cyrus’s childhood never allowed him to be. When their English teacher offers Cyrus extra credit to tutor Nico, Cyrus knows he shouldn’t accept. He could use the distraction, though.

A fling soon ensues, and Cyrus realizes they have more in common than he thought. What is more, Nico is the first person who seems to get him and who is there no matter what. But, if Cyrus wants his romance with Nico to turn into something real, he’ll have to do something he’s never done before—be vulnerable with another person.

Adam Silvera’s HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME meets Rachel Lynn Solomon’s YOU’LL MISS ME WHEN I’M GONE in this tale of heartbreak and second chances.

Content Advisory:
This novel contains discussions and scenes of self-harm and suicide ideation.
Continue reading

Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Night Wolf by Parker Williams

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: The Night Wolf
Author: Parker Williams
Series: The Wolves of Lydon #1
Heroes: Gareth & Sean
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 197 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: May 26, 2020
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: The night wolf is a legend told to scare children into obeying their parents. It is said that to control a night wolf is to harness limitless power….

Gareth Blackthorn has been Alpha of the prosperous Lydon pack for nearly two decades. Breaking with tradition, Gareth doesn’t take over other packs by challenge. Instead, he lets wolves come to him and petition for admittance. He’s had his pick of the best, the brightest, and the most talented.

Until now.

A power-hungry Alpha desires Omega Sean Adler’s talent… and his submission, whether given freely or not. He’s been on the run since he was fifteen, surviving any way he could, until one night, he knows he’ll finally succumb to the injuries from his latest attack—and he’s ready to go. That’s when Gareth finds him, and Gareth’s wolf insists on claiming Sean as his mate. But there’s something mysterious about Sean, something tied to the mark on his shoulder….

Now Gareth must decide. Will he keep Sean despite the dangers that will arise, or will he throw the young man back to the wolves? Continue reading

Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment