This is the perfect Christmas reading! Such a sweet, wholesome, small town mm romance full of Christmas sparkles! I truly warmed my heart and made me want to start wrapping Christmas gifts and bring out my Christmas decorations even though it’s only October...

A Gift-Wrapped Holiday is set in the New England small town Lighthouse Bay, where Luca has fled from LA and his ignorant family to start his own business, an eco-friendly gift-wrapping store. Little did he expect to be so warmly welcomed by the community, nor that a certain single dad should make his heart beat so hard. All Mal wants is to give his six-year-old son the best Christmas ever, to make up for moving him across the country after having lost his job. Falling in love was certainly not on the agenda. But the magic of the season had other plans…

This was such a wonderful feelgood story with all the right Christmassy ingredients; Christmas markets, charity tournaments, hot chocolate, gift-wrapping, family celebrations and of course, a truly sweet and heartwarming love story. Great fleshed-out and relatable characters, with a wonderful small town community. Very low on angst, but full of warmth, forgiveness, redemption and kindness. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to get into the Christmas spirit and read a book that will warm your heart and make you smile!

Thank you to Gay Book Promotions for the free ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

Rating:
5 stars

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Amy Aislin

If you love gay romances with a lot of steam set in the world of motorsport this is the perfect book for you! This book also has a little extra mystery subplot, and sweet family relations that will warm your heart.

Driven To Distraction is the first book in the new Gamble Racing series by Renée Dahlia. It’s a mm romance series set in the famous open-wheel single-seater car racing world (but due to copyright issues it goes under the name Series One aka S1), where each book will focus on different characters and their romances. This first book follows racing driver Ondrej D’Grieg, who was kicked out of his former team when it was revealed that he was gay, and who has decided to lay low in his new team and not let anything get in the way of his goal to be a champion just like his deceased mother. That is, until his father hires the historian Hudson Lockley to solve a mystery involving a missing rare car.

The attraction between Ondrej and Hudson is immediate and fierce, but they both have strong reasons to ignore it; Ondrej out of fear for losing sponsors and fans if he comes out, and for Hudson it’s a no-no to fall for his employer’s son. But some things are just inevitable and one night turns into several, and perhaps even more…

I really rooted for both Ondrej and Hudson right from the start, as well as for several of the other characters. There were a lot of amazing relationships in this book. The father-son relationship between Ondrej and his father was such a sweet and relatable one, with Ondrej’s dad both supporting his son’s career choice and dreading the same fate that killed his racing wife, as well as both wanting Ondrej to find love and happiness, and fearing the consequences of it. I also really loved the relationship between Hudson and his sister, who kept pushing, teasing and supporting him with a truly heartwarming big sister love.

But unfortunately, even though I rooted for both Ondrej and Hudson as characters, I never felt fully invested in their relationship. Mainly because of the dominant and submissive elements that were bordering to toxic, in my opinion. (And in Hudson’s sister’s opinion too, since she kept pointing out how Ondrej treated Hudson like a pet, only calling when he needed him and ignoring him the rest of the time.) Especially the sex scenes had too much of that dominant-submissive aspect for me. Generally, I had some issues with how much sex there was in this book, and how explicit it was. If you enjoy spicy romances, you’re in for a treat, but for me personally I felt that all the sex diminished the story itself. For a large part in the middle of the book, it felt like the story was only about Ondrej requesting Hudson to come over, and Hudson immediately obeying, the two of them saying a few words and then just hooking up and hooking up and… To be honest I skimmed some of the parts that were just a little too long and too detailed. I wish that we could have gotten some more dialogues, more of Ondrej showing his vulnerability and more of Hudson’s work with the mysteriously missing car instead. This subplot was so intriguing that it very well could have played a larger role in the story; now it was more used as a reason for Ondrej and Hudson to meet. I really enjoyed how it was solved, but there could have been so much more build-up for that, and Hudson’s investigations could also have been used as a way to balance the relationship between him and Ondrej. If Hudson’s investigations and his professional work had been given focus and value, I think it would have made Hudson feel more as an equal to Ondrej than his toy.

But with those objections set aside, I nevertheless enjoyed this book a lot! I cared a lot for Ondrej and Hudson as characters, and my heart ached for them having to endure so much hardships in their lives, but still having such big hearts.  Being a big F1 fan, I was also truly impressed with all the research Renée Dahlia must have done to get all details correct and make the setting so authentic. But on the other hand, even though the story took place in the racing world, you don’t need to be interested in racing or cars to appreciate this book. The racing world was more of a backdrop to the romance, the issues about being able to be who you are and the scary but wonderful thing called love.

I also enjoyed the subplot with the car mystery (even though I’d love more of it). This part of the story was actually based on true story about the Bugatti that was the win in the 1937 Le Mans race and that was later gifted to the winner’s friend, but that disappeared during WWII. A very fascinating story!
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All in all, if you love some steam, this is the perfect book for you, but even if you don’t it’s a great story with wonderful characters, fun sibling banter and an intriguing mystery subplot.

Thank you so much to the author Renée Dahlia for the free review copy. 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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Renée Dahlia

​Cuteness overload! This novella was a pure joy to read, it really warmed my heart and made my day! I’m so happy that Jamie got his moment of glory and for the wonderful wrap-up of this series. Epic was nothing less than an epic conclusion of one of my all time favorite mm romances. If you haven’t read this series yet, I truly urge you to do so!

Him is easily one of my absolute favorite m/m romances, which I first read in 2020. I’ve always planned to continue the series, but I was so scared to be disappointed that something always kept me from buying Us. Not until I saw the new gorgeous editions of the series and just had to get them. And let me tell you, I needn’t have worried at all! Us is a perfect sequel that made me fall in love with Wes and Jamie all over again! It made their epic love story even more relatable and amazing, by adding depth and struggle, while making their love for each other even stronger. I absolutely loved this book!

Please note that this review contains spoilers for Him, so please don’t read it unless you’ve read Him first.

Him ended on a blissful note with Wes and Jamie getting their happy ending by being bold enough to admit their love to each other after years of friendship (and a few years of estrangement). In this sequel, we get to see how secrets and hiding affects the relationship, no matter how strong the love is. This book was much darker, with Wes and Jamie struggling with miscommunication, distrust and jealousy when seeing the other one pretending to be into women, and the toll it takes to always have to hide your true self. In addition, Jamie struggles with his work with his team underperforming and his colleagues being homophobic idiots, as well as depression when getting sick.

But even though Us deals with a lot of heavy topics, it’s truly an absolutely amazing and heartwarming love story! Wes never waved from his support for Jamie, and really showed how deep his love was. At times I got a bit frustrated with Jamie, and how he changed so much from the easygoing, positive and adorable west-coast surfer guy to a grumpy and quite selfish person at times. But it made it all so real and relatable, and added a whole new layer of depth to the relationship between Wes and James, and made me love Wes even more for standing by his man no matter what.

Just like in Him, the love and support from Jamie’s family was one of my favorite things in the book. That family is just the sweetest, funniest and most supportive family ever! I love their banter and snarky comments, but also how they always have each other backs.

I also really loved Blake, the nosy neighbor who in the end turns out to be nothing but a big, wonderful, goofy, protective friend.

All in all, this was such an honest, tender and beautiful story showing the importance of communication and the danger in keeping things secret. But most of all, it showed Wes’s and Jamie’s unwavering love and the courage it takes to put that love first. The steamy parts were perhaps a bit too explicit for me, but other than that, Us was the perfect sequel which added new layers to one of my all time favorite mm romances!

Rating:
4.5 stars rounding up to 5

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Sarina Bowen
Elle Kennedy

This was a bit of a disappointment, sadly. I had such high expectations for a fun, sweet and quick read, and it started off very well, but then it just became so… slow? And so full of uninteresting frat things and a mystery plot that just went on and on. In the end, I didn’t even really care who was behind the scheming, I just wanted the mystery to be over with. I did care for the two main characters though, and there were some really sweet moments between them that made the story enjoyable enough to keep reading to the end.

Presidential Chaos is the third and final book in Saxon James’s Frat Wars series, which focuses on the two presidents of the rivaling frat houses Sigma and Kappa, Zeke and Charles. I was really looking forward to getting their story and the premise of them secretly dating while joining forces to solve a mystery seemed like a great one.

But even though they were great as characters, and there were some really sweet moments, I never fully rooted for them. Charles was really sweet and I loved the way he genuinely cared about Zeke, as well as the way he wanted to keep the family together by taking on his grandfather’s expectations. But as regards Zeke, there was a huge lack of background and information to make him more than the one dimensional jock with tattoos who desperately wanted to win the Olympics.

A problem was also the way the story was told from their different POVs without making their voices distinguished enough. They sounded so alike that I often had to go back to check which one of them that said or did what.

I also frankly thought that the secondary plot, the mystery with someone spreading rumors to try and shut the Sigma house down, was quite boring. I skimmed through a lot, just wanting that part of the story, as well as the parts with the juvenile frat pranks, to be over with.

Overall, it was a cute and fluffy story, and I liked both Charles and Zeke as characters as such (even though I’d wished for Zeke to be more fleshed out). But the mystery plot was unexciting, and there was a general lack of substance to the story and the characters to make me fully root for them. So even though I enjoyed the sweet parts and the adorable banter enough to keep reading it all the way through, sadly, I have to say that this book wasn’t for me.

Rating:
2.5 stars rounding up to 3

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Saxon James

This is my second time reading this book and I loved it even more this time around! I still think that the steamy parts are a bit too explicit for me personally, but Wes’s and Jamie’s love story completely stole my heart with their relationship development, their sizzling chemistry, the perfect execution of the friends-to-lovers and second-chance-romance tropes and all the feels! I’m definitely change my rating to 4.5 stars rounding up to 5 after this reread!

“I have the same damn weakness I’ve always had… My weakness is him.”

Original review from October 15th, 2020:

Him is easily one of my absolute favorite m/m romances! I read this book in one sitting, it was completely unputdownable. This friends-to-lovers, second chance romance is so sweet, funny and steamy, with an absolutely sizzling chemistry.

Jamie and Wes are both college hockey players, who’ve been best friends since they were young teens; meeting up every summer at the hockey camp at Lake Placid. Wes has loved Jamie since he was 13, but he knows he can’t do anything about it with Jamie being straight.

“Jamie Canning was my first crush and my first love. But he was never mine to have.”

Then last night at summer camp, a bet derailed and everything changed between them, making them lose contact. Now, four years later, fate brings them together when their college hockey teams play for the championship. And even though Wes fears facing Jamie again, he can’t miss this chance to make amends.
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Even though the book is set in a hockey environment, don’t worry if you are not into sports, this is not a sports jock kind of book! There were some parts that were a bit too sexually explicit for me (I’m more into YA…), and the cover is a bit on the cheesy side, isn’t it? But apart from that, this is such a sweet romance story about a guy falling for his best friends, about taking chances and putting yourself out there with the risk of getting hurt, but potentially to find love. 

Rating:
4 stars changed to 4.5 stars rounding up to 5  after reread on October 22nd, 2022

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Sarina Bowen
Elle Kennedy

Spin is a cute short story about what happens when a party game goes sideways and you discover that your secret crush on your best friend wasn’t so secret after all.

Jacob has been in love with his best friend Anthony (Tony) for years, but never dared to make a move knowing Tony was straight. But a spin the bottle kiss between them turns out to be nothing of an awkward kiss from a straight friend, but a breathtaking, rock-the-world kind of experience. Has Jacob missed the signs all these years, or did Tony just realise that he might be bisexual?

This was such a sweet, light and quick read with one of my favorite tropes – friends to lovers – and a really cute bisexual awakening romance. Even though it was only 30 pages, the characters were fleshed out enough to make you root for them.

Thank you so much to the author Joelle Lynne for the free review copy. All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Rating:
4 stars

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Joelle Lynne

​This book is the perfect light feelgood read to get you out of a reading slump. It wasn’t as good as Date Me, Bryson Keller, and it lacked a bit of depth, but it was nevertheless a sweet, fast paced and cute friends-to-lovers romance.

The MC and sole POV is seventeen-year-old Nate, who’s been secretly crushing on his best friend Jai for a long time. He’s afraid to let Jai know how he feels, since his first boyfriend left him heartbroken and confused. But when Jai’s band suddenly needs a new lead singer before a big competition, Nate steps up to take his place, even though he has a huge stage fright. In return, Jai offers to be Nate’s plus one at his cousin’s fancy wedding in South Africa.

I really enjoyed the characters, both Nate and Jai were such sweethearts, and their pining for each other was adorable. I loved their flirty banter and how much they genuinely cared for each other. I also really loved some of the other characters, especially Gemma and Meghan, and how supportive both Nate’s and Jai’s parents were. Another part that I enjoyed a lot was the South African trip and the insights into the dark history, culture and food (even though it was sometimes bordering to a tourist pamphlet) and to get to see how Nate connected with his deceased dad by visiting the country where he grew up.

I would have wished for the music to play a bigger part of the story though. The story plot with the big band competition felt very rushed and it all ended in a bit of an anticlimax. The initial focus on Nate’s stage fright also felt like it got lost along the way. I also would have wanted some more backstory to Jai, or to get his POV in the story as well, not just Nate’s. And I could have done without the drama at the end, it felt quite unnecessary, and only made me like Nate a little less. Overall, there was a little too much going on for such a short book.

But even though some parts felt a bit underdeveloped, I really enjoyed this book a lot! It was such a light, easy and quick read (I binged it all in just a few hours!) and the romance was absolutely adorable. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for something sweet and fluffy to brighten up the day, and especially if you need to get out of a reading slump! 

Rating:
4 stars

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Kevin Van Whye

This was a cute low fantasy reading with a great sapphic rivals-to-lovers romance, amazing friendship and wonderful parents, but also an unexpectedly dark and disturbing story with difficult topics, such as grooming by a teacher, manipulation, racism and homophobia.

The story follows the overachieving teen witch Shay, who in order to have a better chance at winning a desperately needed scholarship at her elite high school, joins the school musical upon her drama teacher, and scholarship donor, Mr B’s request. Just as her arch enemy and scholarship competitor, Ana, does. But as Lex, Shay’s best friend, keeps pointing out, isn’t Shay just a little too obsessed with Ana, beyond competing for the same scholarship?

I really loved the relatable characters, and the diversity and representation in this book, with a brown lesbian MC, a bisexual love interest, and several black, cuban and filipino characters. Shay is out to her closest friends and family, but not to her other schoolmates (or teachers, like Mr. B). Since her parents are struggling financially, Shay knows she has to get a scholarship to be able to fulfil her dreams and puts a lot of pressure on herself. I could really relate to the academic pressure that Shay feels, but I had some problems with the way she pushed that pressure onto her best friend Lex as well. Overall, I really loved their friendship though.

I also liked how involved and supportive Shay’s parents were, and the part with the academic rivals to lovers was so cute. I loved the banter between Shay and Ana!

I would have wished for the magic to play a bigger role though. The magic system wasn’t fully explained and the story felt much more like contemporary one and not like a fantasy, as the magic didn’t really impact it. But my main issue with this book was the grooming part. I went into this book expecting a fun, witchy, YA fantasy with a great sapphic rivals-to-lovers story. And while that was part of the story (and very well executed!), too much of the story was about the drama teacher being predatory and trying to manipulate Shay into an inappropriate relationship. The creepy grooming plot took over the story for most parts, which made me feel very uneasy as to the disgusting behavior by Mr. B and also by the way Shay couldn’t stand up for herself, but was so desperate to get the scholarship that she traded her integrity for it.

So, I feel a bit conflicted about how to rate this book. Leaving out the grooming part, it would have been a five star read for me – I absolutely loved the friendship, the rivalry banter and the sapphic romance parts! But since the predatory teacher plot was major part of it, I have to settle for 3.5 stars rounding up to 4.

I really enjoyed the book as a whole though, and truly recommend it. Just be aware of the trigger warning for grooming by a teacher, and homophobia, before reading it.

Rating:
3.5 stars rounding up to 4

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Aislinn Brophy

I really don’t like to write bad reviews, especially not when a book is written by an indie author, but this novella just lacked so many basic parts that I cannot give it more than two stars.

The story had such a great premise, and the cover was so gorgeous, but unfortunately the execution didn’t meet any of my expectations. There was no world building whatsoever and no explanation as to who the characters were, why they were hunting monsters (not even really what kind of monsters they were hunting) or what their end game was. The characters Keenyn and Bren, and their secret yearning for each other, had such potential, but it took more than half of the story until we even got an explanation how and when they became friends. With so much information lacking it just wasn’t possible to get invested in or understand the story at all.

The writing itself was really good though, so I hope Amanda Ferreira will keep on writing, but add more world building to the stories.

Rating:
2 stars

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Amanda Ferreira