Rachel Reid does it again! I love second chance romances and this is probably my favorite one ever! So raw and beautiful, sweet and sad, melancholic and joyful at the same time. I read it all in one sitting with an aching heart, immediately wanting to start over and re-read it all again! I know this is a book that will always have a special place in my heart.

Heated Rivalry is one of my favorite books ever, and Shane and Ilya will always live rent free in my heart. I never expected Rachel Reid to come up with a book that could match that, but Adam and Riley stole my heart and made me love them just as much as Shane and Ilya, which really shouldn’t be possible.
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Compared to Rachel Reid’s other hockey romances this one is quieter, more melancholic, with less hockey and more emotional depth. The characters are a bit older and somewhat disillusioned, having been through some really difficult things but are learning to accept and love themselves again.

Riley and Adam were teammates and star NHL players about twenty years ago, but haven’t been in touch for over a decade since Adam broke Riley’s heart and made him leave his best friend and the whole hockey world behind. Now, a recovering alcoholic who has made peace with himself and found a good life in his hometown, Riley’s world is once again turned upside down when his beloved father dies and his former lover shows up for the funeral.

This was such a beautiful and emotional love story, but also a gripping story about mental health and grief. Rachel Reid does a marvelous job in describing the struggles with mental health and grief, the way we humans can lie to ourselves and the hardship in realizing what those lies have cost. It’s a raw and emotional story, but also very sweet, so honest and so full of longing and a love so deep that it’s lasted for decades even though both men have done their absolute best to try to bury their emotions.

“I could have helped you,” Adam said desperately. “Whatever you were going through, I could have helped.”
“You were what I was going through.”

The book takes place, more or less, over the course of a week after Adam shows up at Riley’s father’s funeral and stays on to offer his support and maybe get a chance of making amends and find out if there is even the slightest possibility that his emotions could be reciprocated. But through their conversations and through the timeline jumps to the past we learn how deep their love for each other is, how it started, how it ended and the pain it caused. I was so angry at young Adam at times, for the bad choices he made and for how badly he treated Riley and played with his emotions. But seeing present day Adam’s struggles and the compassionate way he was there for Riley now, it was easy to forgive him. The way we got to learn about Adam’s journey to explore and accept his sexuality, and his growth from scared, closeted and in denial, to mature, humble and in tune with himself, was so well done.

The slow burn and the character growth is amazing. The way Rachel Reid weaves the fact that Adam and Riley have spent half of their lives apart and use their experiences to grow together is pure perfection. She made us love them both not despite their flaws but because of them.

So, what can I say other than that I absolutely love this book and that I can’t wait for it to be out in the world for everyone else to read it too? It’s such a gem, so honest and real, sweet and emotional, sad and hopeful. This story pulled me in from the very first page and I know for sure that I will keep coming back to it over and over again.

Thank you so much Carina Adores and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in advance! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

This was an adorable forbidden m/m romance with sizzling chemistry and great character and relationship growth!

Best Wrong Thing follows Jacob and Archer, who meet at a bar and end up having a one night stand, only to find out they are newly stepbrothers. The next meeting at their parents’ wedding reception is awkward, to say the least… They try their best to avoid each other, but the universe keeps pulling them together and makes it harder and harder to keep the relationship platonic.

“How can something that feels so right be wrong?”

This was a cute, fastpaced and highly enjoyable read. The stepbrother romance was done so well (they were not related and had not grown up together) and the chemistry between Jacob and Archer was gold! I loved the way it turned into a slow burn even though it started with a one night stand, with their relationship progressing as they were forced together for family reason.

I loved Archer right from the start! He was so sweet, kind and optimistic, such a delight! Jacob was more uptight and I didn’t like the way he was letting his father get to him. As a 35 year old adult it felt at bit off always seeking your father’s approval that much. But he grew on me as the story proceeded, especially in the way he adored and was so sweet and supportive of Archer. Overall, they were so cute together!

Usually, I’m not a big fan of age-gap romances, but here it almost felt like Archer was the oldest and more sure of himself, so it worked very well. The only thing that was a bit weird though was that Jacob and Archer’s mother were supposed to be of similar age, but they never really addressed that and she definitely took on a ‘stepmother role’ right from the start. I also absolutely hated Jacob’s father, and it felt quite unbelievable why Archer’s mother would fall for and marry him.

But all in all, it was a cute and highly enjoyable forbidden stepbrother romance with lovely main characters and a perfect mix of sweetness and steam!

Thank you to Gay Book Promotions for the free review copy and blog tour invitation! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Rating:
3.5 stars rounding up to 4

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Colette Davison

This was such a beautiful and emotional m/m romance with depth, great chemistry and character development. A raw and tender rockstar romance with flawed characters exploring the harsh realities of fame and the music industry.

Riven follows the reluctant rockstar Theo and the former musician and recovering addict Caleb. Theo loves music and being on stage, but hates the fame. Due to his upbringing, he feels he doesn’t deserve to be loved and struggles with loneliness and the feeling of not belonging. Caleb is one year out of rehab and still hiding from the spotlight, trying to figure out how to put his life back together. The last thing he needs is to fall in love. Especially not with someone from the music industry and definitely not with the added complications that Theo’s fame brings.

I rooted so for both characters and all their hardship. I especially loved how they made each other realize what music meant to them and how it has helped them fill the void in their lives. The character development was so great. Caleb’s journey overcoming addiction was portrayed in a very authentic and raw way, as was Theo’s insecurities and hatred for being famous. I loved the way Theo slowly realized that he was allowed to focus on himself and his own happiness for once. The love story was truly beautiful with the ups and downs, their internal struggles and how they both followed their own paths but still finding a way back to each other. It was wonderful watching them take time and grow together.

A minor thing however was that it felt like book number two in a series. I missed a lot of the backstory of the secondary characters and Theo’s time with the band from the beginning and Caleb’s time as a musician. After finishing this book, I noticed that the second book in the series is more of a parallel one, but I don’t’ know if it would have helped to read that one first.

Some of the spice was perhaps a little too explicit for my own personal taste. But the chemistry was amazing, so I’m not really complaining.

All in all, Riven was a beautiful and emotional read, with characters that stole my heart and a raw, heart-wrenching but hopeful story of finding your own path to happiness.

Rating:
4 stars

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Roan Parrish

I’m a bit conflicted about this one. It was fun, sexy, with some of my favorite tropes such as enemies to lovers, stepbrother (not growing up together) romance and a cute Cinderella kind of billionaire story, but it was too long and parts of it were just too silly. There was also a grooming plot that didn’t sit well with me.

This stepbrother billionaire romance is told in the dual POVs of Ciaran and Matthias. Ciaran lost his dad at a young age and has grown up with his widowed mother, working hard at the family diner to make ends meet. Matthias has lived the opposite life as a billionaire son and bad boy/play boy. When their parents suddenly get married, they have to find a way to coexist. Of course they take an instant dislike in each other, but there are sparks flying and attraction building beneath…
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The first part of this book was so good! Gloriously silly, but also gloriously fun and addictive! Billionaire romance is one of my guilty pleasures and this one started off amazingly with the opposite attracts/stepbrother frenemies/forced proximity plot. But there were some parts that were just a bit too silly to buy into, like Ciaran describing himself as a writer and talking about his cringy badger detective plot before ever really having written anything, and the way his mother decided to marry a stranger and uproot her and her son’s life after one (!) date. The book was also way too long and started to drag about halfways. The spice was good, but also a little too long (like one sex scene lasting several chapters). I wish the story could have kept the addictive pace and left some things unsaid and a little less overlapping between the two POVs. I wasn’t a big fan of the heist plot either and I had a really big problem with the grooming part and how that person had planned his actions for years, which was both completely ridiculous and horrible.

But overall it was an enjoyable read and I rooted for both MCs. The stepbrother romance was done so well (they were not related and had not grown up together) and the chemistry between Matthias and Ciaran was gold! Absolutely sizzling! I also loved the friendship with Joan and Filipe. So a solid three star read, but it could easily have been more with a little more editing.

Thank you to BookSirens for the ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

Rating:
3 stars

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Kelly Washington

Jamie Deacon is one of my absolute favorite authors, so I’m so happy and honored for the opportunity to read this new story in advance! Jamie Deacon always creates wholesome stories with fleshed out characters to root for, and The Music of Unexpected Things is no exception. It was a bit sweeter and perhaps with a little less of the intensity and angst that made the other books so addictive and gripping, but it was yet another lovely, sweet and heartwarming story about first love.

The story takes place at a music summer camp that the two MCs Georgie and Mina attend together with inter alia the three boys that become members of their band; Gareth, Art and Zephan. For various reasons, all five of them are desperate to land the scholarship offered at the end of the camp to be able to pursue their dream of a music career. For Georgie, the camp is also a way to push herself out of her comfort zone and try to make friends, after years of just being ‘the poor blind girl’. Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan, but the moment she and Mina met, they both felt an immediate connection. Mina, however, is still not open about being into girls and struggles with her feelings for Georgie. The boys are also hiding their sexual orientation from their conventional parents.

The story is told from Georgie’s and Mina’s dual POVs and I loved seeing both perspectives as their feelings for each other developed, as well as learning about both their somewhat problematic relationships with their parents. But the three boys were such a big part of the story that I could sometimes miss getting their POVs as well. I understand that five POVs would have been too much, but I would nevertheless have loved to get more of all characters’ backstories, especially Art’s. His behavior and the change from flamboyant to being terrified of his family finding out felt a bit too sudden when only seen through Mina’s eyes and mostly based on what Gareth (and Art himself) told her. If I could make a wish, it would be for a sequel telling the story of the five coming back to attend Dukes, but told from Art’s POV.

I always enjoy Jamie Deacon’s writing style, and this book was no exception. But it felt as if this story was aimed towards younger readers than the others, so it was a bit sweeter and had a little less intensity than usual.

All in all, this sweet YA sapphic romance was a truly heartwarming and adorable coming-of-age story with amazing character growth! The disability representation was so well done and the guide dog Star was such an adorable side character! This story gave me so much hope and warm fuzzy feelings for the wonderful friendship. The way they all, and especially Mina, eventually dared to be true to themselves and stand up for their beliefs was such a hopeful and wonderful message.

Thank you to the author Jamie Deacon for providing this free ARC, which I have voluntarily reviewed!

Rating:
4 stars

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Beaten Track Publishing

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Jamie Deacon

The cover was so cute and the blurb sounded amazing, but sadly the book wasn’t. I almost DNFed it so many times because of the bad writing, the info dumping, the totally unbelievable cartoonishly side characters, the homophobia and the awful abuse and violence, but kept on since I rooted for both main characters. But in the end, I kind of wished I hadn’t pushed through. I did enjoy parts of it, but all together it wasn’t worth the time spent.

Wrong Locker is a dual POV story told from two struggling teens. Kinsley (“Sparrow”) is a bullied artsy emo kid with rich but neglective parents who are disappointed that he’s not following in his father’s footsteps as a successful football player. Luke (“Green”) is more the son Kinsley’s father would have hoped for, a popular captain of the football team. But Luke has it even worse at home, with a violent and abusive father and a depressed mother. Constantly having to hide himself behind fake smiles and lies to disguise his miserable home life has made Luke even lonelier than Kinsley, who at least has a protective best friend in the badass Latina girl Izzie. When Kinsley by mistake puts a letter in Luke’s locker, instead of the locker belonging to the girl he tries to date to satisfy his parents, Luke finds a way to open up and be the real him for once. Soon the letters between Sparrow and Green become the highlight of both boys’ lives. The only problem is that they both think they are writing to a girl…
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This story had so many things that I normally love, like the slow burn and friends-to-lovers (hopefully) tropes, and the idea of finding a friend via letters was really cute. The way Sparrow and Green could form a friendship and find comfort in each other through the letters were really well done. I rooted for both main characters and truly wanted them to be happy and find a way to love each other. They were a bit too dramatic at times, but in light of their horrible circumstances and the constant abuse they were dealing with it was understandable enough. The demisexual representation was also well done.

My main issues with the book were the writing style, the cartoonishly characters and the unbelievable way they acted, plus all the absolute awful homophobia, abuse and violence that just felt speculative and shocking without any true authenticity.
The writing style was long and repetitive, with way too much info dumping and long monologues saying the same thing over and over. Just an odd example, but the way Luke constantly described Kinsley’s eyes as “cerulean” became almost laughable in the end. There were also parts where you could feel that the author wanted to enlighten the readers by making the teenagers have inner monologues in an adult, out of character way.

The parents were all absolutely horrible, but in a way that didn’t make any sense and just felt ridiculous and melodramatic for the sake of it. Like, what was the idea behind Kinsley’s parents being so neglective that they didn’t even care if he was being beaten up in school or hospitalized, but still being so invasive and controlling that they’d made him do weekly drug tests and force him to get a girlfriend? (And the way the hospital released a sixteen-year-old with a concussion without his parents’ consent was just too unbelievable.) And for Luke, how could the coach of the football team, or the team mates, never notice his bruises and broken ribs? Even though Luke blamed it on football, they should have reacted to all the severe injuries to make it feel at least slightly believable.

The worst parts were the homophobia from all parents and school peers, with constant homophobic slurs, the main characters’ self harm and even mention of suicide attempts, the bullying, abuse and violence that no one reacted to. Not one teacher, not one doctor, not one other adult in the boys’ lives ever came to their rescue. The exaggerated description of all these horrible events were so many and so shocking, that in the end it just felt unrealistic. So, instead of being a gripping story where the painful and traumatic events would pull my heartstrings, they turned the story into an unbelievable cartoonish and off-putting melodrama.

But I did keep on reading, hoping for a satisfying HEA for the boys. Only to find out that there is a second book in this series and that this first one ends so abruptly that I thought I’d missed a page (or a chapter). No matter how much I rooted for Kinsley and Luke, I can’t make myself read another installation in this series. So now I will never know if they found a way to be together or not…

Disclaimer: I received a free ebook copy of this book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting a F1 M/M romance story and couldn’t wait to get my hands on Pole Position! And it was a great, fluffy and cute story with a lot of tension and spiciness, but there were a few things that made it a 4 star rather than a 5 star read. But still, a very satisfying and adorable rivals-to-lovers story!

Pole Position is told from the dual POVs of the new F1 team mates Kian and Harper. Where Kian is the four time championship-winner getting questions about his retirement, Harper is the reckless rookie, who gets on his nerves. There was so much tension! A true love/hate situation and the chemistry… just wow!

I totally rooted for Harper who was the absolute disaster, but kind and charming, with his heart on his sleeve. Kian was a bit stiffer and harder to truly get to know at first, but he won my heart too eventually. This was such a slowburn story, with a lot of back and forth, and the usual romcom miscommunications. I truly enjoyed it, and read it in one sitting, but I had some issues that took away a star from what I had hoped would be a five star rating.

**Spoiler alert**
First of all, there were some major plot holes and parts of the story that just didn’t make sense. The idea that neither of Kian’s problematic relationship with his father nor Harper’s foster care childhood would be common knowledge didn’t feel believable. So all the miscommunication based on these facts felt a bit too hollow. Furthermore, the whole thing with Kian’s dad was never truly resolved, and it was so weird how he was at the airport for Kian’s mother’s funeral, but then just agreed with Harper not to show up, even though he’d already travelled. And also, as far as I could tell, at that point Kian hadn’t really shared the problematic relationship, so wouldn’t it have made much more sense if Harper had gone all fanboy on his old idol instead?

My second issue was the way Harper kept pushing and pulling Kian, and constantly giving mixed signals, running away and then coming back being needy and clingy. Even though I definitely understand Harper’s past drama getting the better of him, it just got too much at some points. 

Like Kian himself put it ”How many times am I going to find myself here? It’s almost as if I watch him every time realizing he’s a little too emotionally invested in what’s going on between us and then he shuts himself down completely. Cuts me off. At what point do I accept that he means it? How many times to I need to be shut out before I’m done?”

But luckily the ending made up for it…
**End of spoilers**
 
But all in all, this was a cute, fun, adorable romance set in the thrilling F1 world! I truly enjoyed reading it, and can’t wait for another book in what I hope will be a series? I definitely need to know who Johannes’ secret lover is!

Rating:
4 stars

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Rebecca J. Caffery

I loved Ashlyn Kane’s rock band romance American Love Songs, so I was so glad to learn that she’d written another one! And I’m glad to say that this was another sweet and charming story, but more of a cute childhood sweethearts second chances romance than a music-themed one.

The Rock Star’s Guide to Getting Your Man follows struggling rock star Jeff Pine, who’s exhausted from all touring and taking some time off to figure out what to do with his life, his band mates, the pressure of producing yet another album and go on yet another tour. Deciding to rent a cabin in the hometown he’d avoided for fifteen years, he–of course-immediately runs into the very person who’s the reason he hasn’t come back, his former best friend and lifelong crush, park naturalist Carter Rhodes.

I rooted for both Jeff and Carter, and I loved seeing Jeff reconnect with important persons from his childhood (like Jeff’s mother). And as always in Ashlyn Kane’s books, the banter was pure gold!

It didn’t quite meet my expectations from American Love Songs (or Ashlyn Kane’s wonderful hockey romances) but it was a sweet, fun and charming m/m romance with a great couple. I really appreciated that there was no angst or playing games between them, but how they immediately found their way back to being friends as well as lovers. The rock star thing was more focused on the management struggles and the band dynamics than the music part, which worked well for the story.
All in all, a lovely, heartwarming read!

Thank you Prolific Works for the free e-copy which I have voluntarily reviewed.

Rating:
4 stars

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Ashlyn Kane

We Could Be So Good is one of my all time favorite books, and I was therefore a bit nervous that You Should Be So Lucky wouldn’t live up to my high expectations. But luckily it did! This was another marvelous gem by Cat Sebastian! Such a sweet and tender queer historical romance that tugged at my heartstrings.

YSBSL is set in the same universe as WCBSG, but with the reporter Mark Bailey in focus (but there were also some adorable glimpses of Andy and Nick, with Andy being Mark’s boss) who is grieving the loss of his longtime partner. To help Mark get his bearings, Andy assigns him a weekly diary project about Eddie O’Leary, the newest and most hated baseball player in New York.

This is a story about grief and the loneliness when you can’t even talk about your loss, and how to find meaning in that new, hollow, life. It’s also a story about finding yourself and finding hope, of friendship, love and maybe, maybe, daring to find happiness again. I rooted so for Mark and his struggles to come to terms with his new life, his grumpiness and his unexpected tender feelings for Eddy.

“It’s foolish, but Marks is making peace with the fact that everything he feels about Eddy is a little foolish.”

Sweet Eddy stole my heart right away with the way he just kept messing things up, his big mouth and even bigger heart, his naivety and positivity, and how unapologetically he installed himself into Mark’s life. And the respect he showed for Mark’s grief and how he acknowledged Mark’s memories of and relationship with his deceased partner was so wholesome.

This story is a beautiful journey from grief and heartbreak to finding love again, from hiding to accepting who you are, and from fear to hope. It’s also a story with some amazing, heartwarming, supportive characters: Eddy’s mother, Mark’s found family of protective queer friends, the supportive coach, the reporter colleague who lost his wife and gently lets Mark know that the grief is the same.

Even though this book deals with some pretty heavy things, like homophobia, loss of a loved one and grief, mental health issues and so on, it’s nevertheless a fun, sweet and adorable story, full of snarky banter, flippant jokes and hilarious situations. Cat Sebastian has a marvelous way of writing sad stories in a joyful way, and always ending them on positive note, full of hope and with an homage to the brave queer community paving way for the acceptance today (even though there is still a long journey ahead).

All in all, I loved, loved, LOVED this book! 

Rating:
5 stars

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Cat Sebastian

This was such an adorable, heart wrenching M/M hockey romance that added extra depths to the friends to lovers and second chance tropes. It dealt with difficult topics like trauma, homophobia (internalized as well) and horrible parents, but it was nevertheless a truly beautiful and sweet story with main characters that stole my heart!

The Understatement of the Year is the third book in The Ivy Years series, but it’s no problem at all to read it as a standalone. It follows two college hockey players, who were once best friends and first loves, but who after a traumatic incident went their separate ways. Graham stayed firmly in the closet, letting himself be persuaded by the catholic school upbringing that being gay was a sickness and something to fear. Rikker was thrown out by his parents and sent to his Gran, who gave him a sanctuary where he could be himself and explore his sexuality without condemnation. Being a hockey player, he didn’t broadcast it though, not until he got outed to his coach and transferred to Graham’s team, making Graham’s secret harder and harder to keep…

“When he was around, nothing worked right. My eyes went where they weren’t supposed to go, and I felt the thrum of expectation just from breathing the same air that he did.”

I rooted so for both Graham and Rikker. At the beginning I got a bit frustrated with Graham for not being as brave as I wanted him to be, but as I learned more about how the trauma in his past had shaped him, I just wanted to hug him and tell him that everything would be okay. That he was okay. That he didn’t have to be terrified of everything that was could even remotely come across as gay (from cappuccinos to bright colors), especially not of himself.

“I was the most homophobic person alive. Because ‘homophobic’ means ‘afraid of homosexuals.’ And I was pants-shitting terrified of myself.”

With Rikker it was instant love for me. He’s such an amazing, lovable character! Even though being openly gay meant so much struggle and hardship for him – getting kicked out of his home at sixteen, getting kicked off his team, getting mean comments from team mates – he was always true to himself, kind and gentle, and honorable. He truly personified the notion of “when they go low, we go high”.

I rooted so much for them both and wanted them to get their well-deserved happily ever after. Graham and Rikker are now some of my favorite couples, next to Shane and Ilya in Heated Rivalry and Wesmie in HIM. This book had a lot of the same vibes as Cait Nary’s Season’s Change, with the angst and fear, the internal struggles and hidden emotions. Even though it was a YA/NA story with a lot of cuteness, it was very raw and real. It’s not so much a hockey romance as a story about finding yourself and accepting who you are, of letting yourself be loved even though you’ve been told you’re not worth it and that your love is shameful.

“Getting along together was never the problem with you and me,” he said. “We’re both easy. It’s just the rest of the world that’s hard.”

All in all, this was a heartfelt and beautiful slow burn romance with lots of depths and emotions, the perfect amount of steam and sweetness, and amazing characters to root for!

Rating:
5 stars

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Sarina Bowen