This novella is something of a prequel to The Amazing Alpha Tau Boyfriend Project and takes place in the same Alpha Tau frat universe, letting us know how Trey and Scout became boyfriends.

Scout needs his space and time alone from all social activities, but his roommate is the exact opposite. Trey also takes his duties as house manager a little too seriously. But both of them are single and currently on a romantic try spell, so somehow they end up helping each other out. Which doesn’t really mean anything, right? Scout isn’t even into guys, or is he…?

This short novella was an easy and fun read, but maybe a little too simplistic. There really wasn’t any drama, not about the helping out part nor the part where Scout finds out he’s not as straight as he thought he was. But still, enjoyable and nice! I especially appreciated how supportive and openminded the frat bros were. No toxic masculinity at all, which was a pleasant fresh new take, and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more stories about this wholesome group of frat bros!

Thank you to the authors for the free copy, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

Rating:
3 stars

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Lisa Henry
Sarah Honey

This was a cute historical queer romance, with adorable main characters and the right amount of spice. But the plot was kind of all over the place and there was a lot that didn’t make sense.

Set in Industrial Manchester in the 1890s, this book tells the swooning and unlikely romance between mill clerk Mr. Warren and the young baronet Sir Lindsey. Aubrey Warren was born in a workhouse and has struggled to make a life for himself ever since. Not stopping at earning his money as a ‘telegraph boy’, i.e. a prostitute. When the mill he works at gets a new owner, his life will change dramatically. Lindsey Althorp has never worked a day in his life and has no real clue of what it takes to earn a living. Nor the danger of showing his not-so-professional affection for his new employees…

The book started off really strong, and I immediately loved the purehearted, cinnamon roll, Golden Retriever naïve Lindsey. He was the absolute sweetest! So clueless, but always so kind and endearing. I also enjoyed the rich/poor, employer/employee situation and the historical settings with the gentlemen’s club, the boarding school friends and the strong willed women who found ways of pursuing their dreams despite the society’s restrictions, as well as the very sarcastic and British kind of humor (I actually don’t know if Sebastian Northwell is British or not, but the humor and writing style really had that vibe).

But after the strong start, the book started to drag sadly, and the plot started to take all kinds of turns with random things happening and characters acting in ways that didn’t really make any sense, or contradicted the way they had behaved before. I think some more editing could have solved this issue, as well as the problem with the transitions between the different POVs that made this book lose some of the flow. Too bad for a story that had such great potential!

But all in all, it was nevertheless a sweet and swoony read, with characters to root for and great humor!

Rating:
3 stars

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Sebastian Nothwell

Overall this was a sweet and emotional read, but it took me more than half of the book before I could even stand the main character and even longer to start rooting for her. So I was very close to DNF it, but luckily I struggled through the first part to be awarded with a swooning love story, great Alaskan wilderness atmosphere and a gripping father-daughter relationship development.

The Simple Wild follows 26 year old Calla, whose mother fled the Alaskan wild and Calla’s rugged pilot father when Calla was a toddler for a life with a new husband in Toronto. Calla has therefore grown up as a city girl, with almost no contact with her biological father. But when she learns that her father is suffering from aggressive lung cancer and that his days are numbered, she decides to visit him. And just let’s say that city girl Calla doesn’t appreciate the Alaskan wild more than her mother did… Especially not the angry pilot, Jonah, with his wild beard that makes him look like a yeti and his annoying ways that gets under Calla’s skin.

I honestly almost hated Calla at first. The thing with high maintenance selfish and vain heroines is not for me, it just makes me annoyed and frustrated. It feels like such a dated story line, and why Jonah would be interested in the spoiled and childish Calla is beyond me.

Until halfway, when she started to grow and act less selfish. And sparks started to fly… The sexual tension between them was amazing and it all turned into a swooning, spicy and engaging love story!

I just really wish the first part of the book could have been shorter and the second part longer, then this would have been at least a four-star read, if not more, for me. The last part was so great and intense and heartbreaking. I loved how Calla and her father opened up to each other and started to bond. And the end broke my heart a bit, then mended it mostly all again.

Rating:
3 stars

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K.A. Tucker

Aaah, I so wanted to love this book that it’s super frustrating that I didn’t! I read it because of a wonderful review of one of my fellow bookstagrammers and because the blurb sounded right up my alley. But sadly, I didn’t really like any of the main characters and there were some other issues as well that made Glitterland quite a letdown for me.

I loved Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material and was so glad when I saw the high praise for Glitterland as well, even though the topic for this one was a bit more difficult. Glitterland follows the clinically depressed and bipolar author Ash, who hides from the world due to his anxiety disorder and has given up completely on happiness and love, just trying to survive another day. So I know it wouldn’t be an easy, light beach read… but I did expect to root for the characters and be completely invested in their wellbeing and romance, but sadly I wasn’t.

The premise of this book reminded me quite a lot of There Is A Light by Ban Gilmartin with the raw descriptions of mental illness, the way depression affects the daily life and the people around you, and the chance romantic meeting. But whereas There Is A Light had wonderful characters that completely stole my heart, Glitterland had the opposite – characters that I genuinely disliked.

The main character Ash had type 1 bipolar disorder and suffered from depression, panic attacks and had been hospitalized during his manic episodes, as well as for trying to commit suicide. But he was also kind or a jerk, to be honest. Some of his bad actions could definitely be blamed on the illness, but some were just because of his unlikable and selfish personality. The description of his mental health issues was done very well, and as readers we could completely understand hos his mental issues truly made it hard or impossible for him to do certain things, or interact with other people. But it was also quite clear that he sometimes used his mental health to manipulate his friends or for selfish gains. And speaking of his friends, Ash mostly avoided them or treated them badly, which made it difficult to understand why the put up with him, even though I have to admit that at times he was quite funny with his witty sarcasm.

At one of the rare occasions when Ash did leave his house, he met the ‘orange glitter pirate’ Darian from Essex and a one night stands turned into something else. Darian was a true sweetheart, but the way he was described also made him very shallow and more of a cliché with the sexy but stupid model. On top of that, all his dialogue were written phonetically in a thick lower class Essex accent. I know from many of the reviews that a lot of readers had an issue with this writing style. But the use of accent as a writing style was actually quite alright for me as such. My main problem was hos the use of a lower class accent was used as a way to make Darian seem stupid and naïve, and to make Ash superior to him.

Then there was Ash’s best friend and former lover Niall, who outed his mental health and was being a mean jerk in other ways all through the book, but who Ash in return guilt tripped for selfish gains (like being picked up from a one night stand in the middle of the night). I just couldn’t like or understand Niall or his and Ash’s toxic relationship at all. But there was definitely an interesting story behind Niall’s characters and how he’d fallen in love with two guys who never felt the same way about him. I wished we would have gotten to see more of the backstory there; I feel like I probably would have rooted for his character more if we had.

The plotline was a bit aimless, with no clear start or ending, and a lot of things that were mentioned but never fully explored. Not only Niall’s backstory, but for example the process of the new book that Ash was writing (where its ‘research’ played a major role for the story) or Darian’s ex who now seemed to be his coworker (?) and how and when their relationship had ended. All this made it a bit hard to stay invested. And when things seemed to be going a bit better for Ash, of course his self-destructiveness had to ruin it all again…

I did however truly love the side characters Chloe and Amy, and their loyalty and support for their friends and their sharpness and humor! Overall, I also loved the humor and banter throughout this book. It was so British and so witty, elegant and full of sarcasm, which is my favorite kind of humor!

I also appreciated how Alexis Hall didn’t make mental health into something that could be cured by love. Even though the romance with Darian made Ash happier, it didn’t make his mental issues magically disappear, which made the story so much more real and relatable. I also appreciated Ash’s character growth in the end, but wished for it to have come sooner.

So all in all, this book was a bit of a letdown, but it definitely had a lot of great parts and Alexis Hall definitely is a talented writer. And extra kudos for the raw and real descriptions of mental health problems and the British humor. I just wished that the characters would have been a little more likable…

(In the latest edition of Glitterland, the short story Aftermath has been added, which I enjoyed so much more! That one was so much sweeter and really showed Ash’s character growth and gave us a true cinnamon roll moment.)

Rating:
2.5 stars for Glitterland (4 stars for Aftermath)

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Alexis Hall

I had really high hopes for this book to be a light and fun friends-to-lovers summery read, and it started off really great with a wonderful friendship, fun banter and a lot of hilarious moments. But sadly, about halfway it turned into a story that wasn’t my cup of tea at all, with too much vulgar smut and a borderline toxic relationship.

Reasons Why Not to Date the Best Friend is the third book in the Shell Grove series following a group of friends in a Southeastern small town. I haven’t read the previous books in the series, but had no problem getting into the story or the characters. The books in the series focuses on different persons, and even though the characters and past events from the previous books played a major part in this story too, it was really well done and everything was explained to keep you clued in to what had happened in the past. 

In this third book, focus is on the two remaining singles, Maggie and Finn, who have been best friends since they first met eleven years ago, even though they are each other’s opposites. Where Maggie is spontaneous and always looking for a new adventure, Finn is as stable and secure as it gets, happy to run his local bar after his potential football career ended by an accident. With everyone in Maggie’s friend group getting married and having children, she’s feeling a bit left out and like it’s time to find a new adventure. Like accepting the job offer of her dreams in Key West. But for Finn, the news of Maggie leaving, makes him realize that he might have missed the chance to tell the girl of his dreams that he wants them to be way more than just best friends.

I really liked how Maggie was such a joyful, adventurous and badass character, and how her backstory made her so willing to live her life to the fullest rather than being bitter for what she’d missed out on. I also really liked her and Finn’s relationship as friends (even though it was a bit too unrealistic that there was no sexual attraction for so many years) and how supportive they were of each other and their constant banter and pranks.

But once they got together that all changed from fun and sweet into vulgar sex talks and smut, and toxic possessiveness. I don’t mind spice in a romance story, but all the vulgar talking and bad words, and the way Finn changed into a possessive alpha male wanting to stop Maggie from chasing her dreams was a big no no for me. All this talk about Maggie being his, belonging to him and him being her man, and Finns saying things like “Remove all your other male names from your vocabulary, Mags. Mine is the only one you need to know now.” just made me dislike Finn and the whole idea of his and Maggie’s relationship.

The ending made up for a bit - I have to admit that it was really sweet what Finn did - but then it was a bit too late sadly. Too bad when the story and the characters had such great potential!

But even though the story wasn’t for me, it still had a lot of good parts. I really appreciated how Maggie was such a strong headed woman who definitely took no sh*t from anyone and the sex positivity, as well as the wonderful group of friends and all the fun banter. So if you enjoy really steamy stories with dirty talks and obsessive alpha males, please don’t let my review discourage you from reading this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Tours for the ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

Rating:
2.5 stars rounding up to 3

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Melanie Munton

This second book in the Entertaining Love series is a shorter add-on focusing on Eve’s and Jenna’s wedding. A sweet and heartwarming story dealing with family drama that can damper even the happiest ever after.

Love Beneath the Stars continues where the first book in this series, Love Among the Stars, ended. Hollywood matchmaker no. 1, Eve, has found her own perfect match in Hollywood riding star Jemma, and is about to put a ring on it. But Jenna’s conservative brother is bot happy for her choice of partner and refuses to walk her down the aisle as promised, giving Jemma cold feet.
 
Who doesn’t love a cute wedding novella with lot of family drama? If you do, you’re get all of that here!
 
Just like the first book, I would have loved for the story to be a bit more fleshed out and not feeling as rushed. But all in all, this was a fun, cute and enjoyable read!

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

Rating:
3 stars

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​Claerie Kavanaugh

This was a cute and adorable feelgood romance between a Hollywood matchmaker and her client. Great premise and lovely characters, but I’d love for the story to be a little more fleshed out.

Eve is a matchmaker who has a 100% success rate, until she gets the new Hollywood it-girl, the bisexual Jemma, as her client. No matter how hard she tries to find Jemma the perfect match, each date is a complete disaster. But perhaps Eve doesn’t genuinely want to succeed in this case, but to keep getting excuses to spend time with Jemma herself…
 
I really enjoyed the premise and rooted for Eve in her attempts to succeed professionally when her heart has other plans. Jemma was harder to really understand and root for as she was mostly described via her failed dates or through Eve’s swooning eyes. But they were both lovely characters nevertheless and I enjoyed how Jemma was described as strong willed and not the least impressed by her Hollywood peers.
 
The romance was a bit too instalovey though, and the writing felt a bit rushed overall. The romance went from zero to eternal love in just a couple of weeks, especially from Jenna’s point, and I would have loved for the story to be more fleshed out.
 
But all in all, this was a very enjoyable, heartwarming and sweet story with lovely characters.

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

Rating:
3.5 stars

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​Claerie Kavanaugh

I absolutely loved the first part of the This Will Hurt Duet and couldn’t wait to read the second part with Roe’s POV on this emotional rollercoaster friends-to-lovers, bisexual awakening, slow burn MM romance. And the second part did not disappoint in the beautiful friendship and all pining and suppressed attraction between Jake and Roe, but there were some parts that I felt conflicted about morally.

The This Will Hurt Duet follows the two friends and business partners Jake and Roe from their first meeting as young and broke film students and onwards over the years as they become best friends, roommates and partners in a very successful travel show and production company. Over the years they get married and have children, but there is always a burning attraction between them. In the first part of the duet, the story was told from Jake’s POV, where we got to see his struggle with internal homophobia and the ‘forbidden’ feelings for his friend. Here in the second part, the story continues from Roe’s POV after him getting married and becoming a father, while still loving Jake.

I love Jake and Roe as a couple, and how they first of all are friends, always there for each other and happy for each other even though it means getting hurt yourself. I also love the way the interacted with each other’s children and how they created a new kind of family with Jake’s ex and sister and the company crew.

But there was a major set-back for me in this part of the duet compared to the first one. Please be aware that there will be spoiler alerts from now on, so stop reading if you haven’t read this book yet.

Cheating is a big no no for me, and even though I can understand and sympathize with the reason behind it, and even though I wanted nothing more than for Jake and Roe to be together, it really made it hard for me to accept the way Cara Dee made it happen. I wish she could have made them achieve that in a different way and without crossing that moral line and making the beautiful love story between Jake and Roe felt petty and dirty.

I also reacted to the way Roe treated Sandra and especially how the post-partum depression was used as a way out from his marriage without making him the bad guy.

“I’m already a secondary character in your life.” Sandra said to Roe.

I completely agree with Sandra here. It felt like Roe was cheating on her long before he did it physically. I think he should have been honest with her way before, and found a way to co-parent instead of holding on and even getting more children together. And the way she completely avoided the twins and refused to get any help without Roe or Sandra’s mother intervening more forcefully just seemed like the author was making up excuses as to why it was ok for Roe to cheat.

There was also something lacking in the passion and angst in regard to the relationship between Jake and Roe. Maybe because Roe didn’t have the same struggle with internal homophobia, commitment issues and denial that Jake had. I can’t help feeling that it might have been better for the story to be told in alternating POVs rather than in two separate installments. But that’s just my personal opinion of course.

But those objections aside, overall, there were so many things I loved about this series and the wonderful relationship between Jake and Roe that only grew stronger over the years. The story was so realistic and authentic, and I truly rooted for Jake and Roe. The love story itself is definitely a five star one, but because of the moral lines that were crossed, I have to settle for a three star rating.

​But please don’t let that discourage you from reading this beautiful and emotional story about friendship, love and family. Despite my moral objections it’s still a wonderful story about overcoming internal struggles and past trauma for a chance of true love.

I received a free ARC of this book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

Rating:
3 stars

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Cara Dee

I love the fact that Courtney Kae wants to imagine a world that is kinder to queer people and to create escapes where we’re sate to examine the messy, painful, hard things and learn to believe how very worthy of love we all are. And the blurb sounded right up my alley! I therefore had such high hopes and really really really wanted to love this book. But unfortunately, even though it was a truly sweet story, I had hoped for more in regard to the plot, the characters and the romance.

In the Case of Heartbreak is the second book in the Fern Falls series, and the main characters here have been part of the first book in the series as well. Ben Parrish is the local pastry chef, who’s been baking his grandma’s cinnamon rolls at the family café for years, while secretly pining for his neighbor, Adam Reed, the musician and local car mechanic guy. When Ben is a finalist on a reality show, his absent father decides to show up and make a claim to the famous cinnamon recipe, at the same as Adam rejects him on national TV. Broken-hearted Ben takes the opportunity to hide at his grandma’s 80th birthday party, only to find out that the hired musician for it is… Adam.

Unfortunately, I haven’t read the first book in this series, which might explain why I felt that the characters and their romance were a bit underdeveloped. I never really felt their pining nor any real tension or the promised “steamy nights” from the blurb. And I usually like the miscommunication trope, but here it was just too obvious to keep me engaged. All in all, the story felt quite directionless and eventful no matter how cute it was and how much I rooted for the badass G-ma and wanted Ben to get revenge on his evil father. But there were some truly great representations though, with characters with mental health issues as well as different gender identities and sexual orientations.

So even though In the Case of Heartbreak didn’t live up to my expectations (which might have to do with the fact that I jumped right into the second book) it was nevertheless an entertaining, adorable and sweet read with great representation that I recommend for anyone looking for a quick, queer small town romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

Rating:
3 stars

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Courtney Kae

Up until halfway this book had the perfect love-hate relationship with steam and amazing chemistry, that pulled me in completely! I was so sure it would be a five star read, but sadly, after that, there was way too much smut for me, and the cheesiness… I can’t even, it just ruined most of what could have been such an amazing story.

For The Fans is a love-hate, forbidden step brother romance between the (on the surface) perfect golden boy and superstar football player Kyran and the weed-smoking loner and dreamer Avi. When their parents get involved and eventually marry, they are forced to live together even though they immediately dislike each other. Later on though, a family catastrophe forces them to cooperate to get money to pay for college and they end up doing Fans Only porn videos. But the attraction is definitely not only for show…

I love enemies-to-lovers stories and I truly rooted for the characters in this one. Kyran was so broken inside, but putting up a show, and Avi was so adorkable. And their push and pull, the cold and warm, the hate, love and jealousy was so on point. I loved to see how their toxic relationship developed into intimacy, but still with the tension, the back and forth, to keep the story completely addictive and intriguing. I’m usually not a big fan of too explicit smut, but here it had a purpose and was really well done. At first.

Sadly though, in the second half of the book it all just turned cringy. And slow and long. It was a good storyline, but to write 575 pages based on it was to stretch it way too far. I feel like the book could have benefited so much from a thorough editing. It was at least a 100 or more pages too long, and there were so many unnecessary and random plot twists and storylines, and page after page after page with graphic sex scenes. There were also a lot of unnecessary pop culture references that felt out of place and slowed the story down even more.

So very mixed feelings and I’m really struggling with how to rate this book. Overall, I loved the characters and the premise, and the first half of the book was so good!!! So it kind of breaks my heart that the second half ruined it all.

I also want to point out that this book has a lot of content that could potentially be harmful, so if you have certain triggers please head over to Nyla K’s website to check them out before reading as they are not listed at the beginning of the book or mentioned in the blurb.

Rating:
3 stars

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Nyla K.