Young Royals is one of my favorite shows and Red, White & Royal Blue one of my all time favorite books, so a story combining those into a new book by Julian Winters was of course something I needed to read! Prince of the Palisades might not be exactly of the same caliber as RWARB, but it was certainly a wonderful, sweet, adorable and emotional mm romance story between a struggling prince and a badass pink-haired commoner! Prince Jadon is the spare of the fictional kingdom Reverie as the younger, messy brother of crown princess Annika. After a leaked video of him trash talking the prime minister (who is also the father of his ex) makes his parents lose their patience with him, Jadon gets exiled to Los Angeles and a preppy private school together with his sister and two royal guards. In order to be allowed back home, Jadon must change the public perception of him and prove that he is worthy to represent the royal family. Including making friends with his fellow students, joining the school play and making public non-political speeches. But definitely not getting involved with someone or getting caught kissing in public. Which turns out to be harder than expected when sparks start to fly with a certain pink-haired film student…
Running With Lions is my favorite Julian Winters book, with all the amazing characters. This story had the same kind of vibes and fleshed-out characters, witty banter and focus on love and friendship. I truly adored Princess Annika, the quirky royal guards and Reiss’ family. Jadon and Reiss had a wonderful chemistry and I loved their fun banter and how Reiss kept Jadon grounded and showed him what a “normal” life and family looked like. It was perhaps a bit too insta-lovey the way Jadon immediately was intrigued by Reiss, and it took me a while to warm up to Jadon who came across as a little too immature and selfish at first. But the character development was amazing and at the end I fully rooted for him and his relatable struggles to find his path in life. I also loved the fanfiction references to RWARB and The Princess Diaries in the tweets and comments. All in all, this was a sweet and charming YA read about finding your true self and taking a chance on love! Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the free ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Amazon Add on Goodreads Author info: Julian Winters
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This is the third book in the Mackenzie Country series and it was yet another sweet and heartwarming MM romance taking place in the remote New Zealand sheep country with fleshed out and mature characters to root for! I’ve never been to New Zealand, but the way Jay Hogan describes the rugged, southern alps scenery is so beautiful it makes want to book a flight right away to come visit… It’s almost like the nature plays a role in the story.
In this third book, we once again get to visit Lane Sheep Station, but this time focus is on Zach’s older brother Jules. The books can be read as standalones, but I strongly advice to read them all and in order, for the wonderful revisits of the previous characters and to fully understand the background to the events, but also because they are all highly recommended reads! As we know from the previous books, Zach’s and Jules’ father is a mean homophobe, who drove Zach away when he came out as gay. Naturally, Jules has had good reasons to keep his bisexuality hidden. Especially since he’s never met a man worth pursuing that side for. Not until his dad gets a stroke and physical therapist Liam comes to stay at the station and turns Jules’ world upside down… This was such an adorable bi-awakening story, full of first time sweetness, supportive family members and friends, and the struggle to stand up for yourself and take a chance on true love. It was also lovely seeing both Gil and Holden, and Zach and Luke still being so happily in love and totally sappy! Compared to the previous books, it was lower on angst and a little bit slower, but still full of humor, perfect chemistry, surprising twists and the perfect amount of spiciness! I received a free ARC of this book, which I have voluntarily reviewed. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Amazon Bookbub Add to Goodreads Author info: Jay Hogan 1/26/2024 0 Comments The Wild Within by Gwen MartinI love Gwen Martin’s authentic love stories! They are always heartbreaking and beautiful, full of pain and hope, grief and joy, loss and love, and amazing characters, often struggling with their mental health. This new The Collective series is no different! The Wild Within follows Chance, who is trying to get his life back on track after a suicide attempt and getting a bipolar diagnosis, and Duncan, who is Chance’s brother’s friend and who volunteers to drive Chance to his appointments and the community center The Collective where he volunteers. Helping others is what Duncan does, and it doesn’t hurt that Chance is charming, funny and attractive. But helping others comes at a cost, and while Chance is slowly his bearing, Duncan is pushing himself to the brink of exhaustion.
This was such a beautifully written, emotional and raw story dealing with depression, addiction and mental health. But also a warm and hopeful story full of friendship and support. And love. A very slooooow but wonderful slow burn. And some amazing character growth, especially from Chance! I can’t wait to continue this series with Tristan’s story next! Thank you to the author Gwen Martin for the free review copy, which I have voluntarily reviewed. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Gwen Martin 1/20/2024 0 Comments The Hot Mess Prince by Emily SpadyThis was such a cute m/m romance story, full of snarky banter and grumpy/sunshine-ness. Fun, fast-paced and highly enjoyable! The Hot Mess Prince is, to no surprise, about a prince who is a charming party boy, but always ends up in a scandal or two, and who can’t help doing his best to annoy his assistant. Said assistant, who might come across as stiff and boring, but who struggles with not admitting his not-so-professional feelings for his boss. Especially after an attempt to redeem the prince’s reputation forces them to spend more time together and Neel comes to realize that the reason for Prince Thibault’s behavior might have more to do with him being lonely and feeling lost, than just being a spoilt prick.
The book started a bit slowly and I was afraid that it would be too much of just a shallow prince-subject romance trope, but as soon as I got to know the characters more, I completely rooted for them and their romance. I also appreciated that the story had more depths with Thibault’s lost boy and loneliness problems, the abandonment issues with his parents, the fear of ending up like his uncle and the depression aspects. All in all, this was a very charming, witty and fun read! Thank you to Gay Book Promotions for the free copy, which I have voluntarily reviewed. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Amazon Author info: Emily Spady 1/10/2024 0 Comments Game On by Amy AislinSuch a cute and heartwarming third (and last?) book in the Vancouver Orcas series! This series is definitely one of my favorite MM hockey romance series with its strong, but sweet and kind, hockey players, supportive teammates and steamy romances! The books in this series can be read as standalones, as each book focuses on one of the Shore cousins at a time, but I enjoy seeing the characters from the previous book as an extra bonus.
This time, the main character is hockey player Jamie Jamieson (yes that’s his real name), who’s had a really bad time at his previous team after breaking up with the captain’s brother, and who can’t wait to start over, never ever getting involved with anyone associated with a teammate again. But one glance at his new housemate, Coach Shore’s cousin Dorian, and he knows he’s in big trouble. This was such a sweet story! Jamie was such a cinnamon roll, so crushed after the mean treatment by his last team but so full of love for his friends and family and the dogs he’s fostering. Dorian was a bit harder to fully take to my heart. He’s been part of the previous two books as well, but I never truly got him then either. He’s supposed to be super intelligent and caring, but comes across as quite aimless and a little too self-centered. It’s like he was always overthinking things and making everything so much more complicated than it needed to be. And he was so focused on how he never got any support or love from his parents that he kind of forgot to be supportive to and interested in others. That said, I still loved Jamie and Dorian together. They really made sense as a couple! I loved the snarky banter, the forced proximity and suppressed attraction, the slow burn and how they lifted each other up, helped each other in their struggles and made each other feel secure and worthy of love. I also loved all the lovely side characters with Jamie’s big family, the other Shore cousins and the teammates in the Orcas. And Poppy of course! Since there are no more Shore cousins (that I know of?), I’m afraid this might be the last book in the series. I hope not, but if so, it was a truly heartwarming finale and another wonderful and uplifting story in the intriguing Orcas universe! Thank you to Gay Book Promotions for the free review copy and blog tour invitation! All opinions are my own and I’m leaving my honest review voluntarily. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Amy Aislin This was such a cute grumpy/sunshine, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers YA retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night! Complex characters with great character development and so much fun and witty banter! The story is told in dual POVs from Viola Reyes (“Vi”), the smart and geeky girl who is tired of not being taken seriously and comes across as a little… bitchy, and Jack Orsino (“Duke Orsino”), the star football player who has it all figured out and who has never had any problems with people not liking him. Except Vi, that is. But when an injury makes his football career uncertain and his girlfriend doesn’t seem to be interested in being his girlfriend anymore, he might not have a clue about life or himself after all.
It took a while for me to root for either of the MCs. Initially, Jack was just too selfish, cocky and immature, and Violet too bitter and mean. But once they started to play the Twelfth Knight game together (what a clever way to make the title part of the story btw!) and unknowingly share their thoughts and doubts with each other, they both found their way to my heart. Seeing Jack’s struggle and how he’s gradually getting feelings for Vi was so sweet and heartwarming. I also really appreciated how he did the right thing with Olivia and didn’t act on his feelings for Vi until that mess was sorted out. The way Vi interacted with others was truly frustrating at times, especially the way she treated her twin brother Bash, but when seeing things from her POV I nevertheless always understood her thoughts and how she wasn’t mean, just frank and afraid of getting hurt. The miscommunication was a bit annoying at times, but it’s hard to complain about that aspect as it comes with the original Shakespearean story that the retelling is based on. Overall, the Shakespearean references to the original plot were really well carried out and the story was updated to modern times and gaming culture without losing its uniqueness. All in all, this was a charming and heartwarming retelling, with a strong female lead, great side characters and a cute enemies-to-lovers romance! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Pre-order Add on Goodreads Author info: Alexene Farol Follmuth This was such a cute add-on to the Hockey Ever After series, full of festive season vibes, telling the story how Gabe decided to retire and how he and Dante became parents. I had some problems with how grumpy Gabe was for most of the story, but that sorted itself out in the best possible way in the end.
Overall, I loved getting this sneak-peak into Dante and Gabe’s life as a married couple. They are, and will forever be, my favorite couple in this heartwarming and addictive mm romance series! Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Author links Add on Goodreads Author info: Ashlyn Kane Morgan James 11/20/2023 0 Comments Get Frosted by Amy AislinThis was such an adorable small town best friend’s brother romance full of Christmas sparkles! Low on angst and truly bitter rivalry, but full of family, sweetness, Christmas decorations and fun banter. I love Amy Aislin’s hockey series about the Vancouver Orcas, so when I found out that Amy had written a holiday story with former hockey players, I immediately had to sign up for an ARC! And I’m so happy I did! This story truly gave me all the warm and fuzzy Christmas feels.
Mik and Rudy have been rival hockey players since Mik’s rookie season, when a reporter pitted him against his older brother’s best friend. Now, they’re both retired and have continued their rivalry to the respective local pubs they’re managing in small town Christmas Falls. But when agreeing to help Mik’s brother Josh and his pregnant wife out by hosting a surprise party, they start to realize that maybe the rivalry was more of a habit than a real thing and that there might be other kinds of feelings hidden beneath it… This story is pitched as a rivals to lovers one, but it really isn’t. It’s more about one of the MCs pining for the other for years and the other being oblivious to it. It was a great story, but it didn’t have that intensity and animosity that you expect from the rivals/enemies to lovers trope. It was also very low on angst and the MCs often, especially Mik, felt more like colleges guys than retired 30 plus hockey players. But that said, it was a super cute Christmas story! When I got into the right mindset about the MCs dynamics, I loved their teasing banter, their loyalty to and support for Mik’s brother/Rudy’s best friend, the way Rudy had been pining for years but still didn’t think he was allowed to truly have Mik, and all the holiday feels. Get Frosted is an absolutely lovely, sweet and fastpaced holiday story that is guaranteed to get you into the Christmas mood. Thank you to Gay Book Promotions for the ARC! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Amy Aislin This second book in the magical Blood Debts series had just as much (if not more!) mystery, deadly drama and amazing queer characters as the first one. The story was even darker and the characters even more morally grey, and there were even more subplots and ethical dilemmas that made it a whirlwind of revenge, mayhem and pain. The Blood Debts series is a rich contemporary YA fantasy with powerful magical families, a unique world building full of Southern mystic and deadly drama in New Orleans. In this second installment, we get to follow the twins Cristina (Cris) and Clem as they deal with the consequences from the family blood justice collecting in the first book. Clem is struggling with guilt and how to bring all of his boyfriend’s soul back from the dead, while Cris is just angry and wants revenge. Overall, there is a lot of rage and anger in this book; at the systems and the injustice, racial oppression and dehumanization of black people, at old betrayals and evil pacts, as well as pain and hurt from being abandoned or abused.
There is so much going on in this book, so many layers and so many heavy subjects that it was a literal whirlwind reading it. While I’m utterly impressed by Terry J. Benton-Walker for the creativity and the amazing story, it also made it a little slow to read with all the different subplots and all characters, compared to the first book. I still loved the diverse characters and how they were all so fleshed out, morally grey and relatable, but I struggled a little bit with rooting for them this time. Especially Cris who did a lot of bad and seriously questionable things in this book. At times I wasn’t sure I wanted her to succeed in getting the throne. But all in all, this was a very well executed second installment in a series I can’t wait to continue. This series has such a unique mix of urban fantasy, mystery, heavy topics of oppression of black and queer people, mental illness and trauma, love, friendship, healing and forgiveness that I look forward to exploring even more in the next installment. The jaw dropping cliffhanger certainly indicates that the story will not get less addictive or complicated in the next book… Disclaimer: I received a review copy for free via NetGalley, but I am leaving my honest review. Many thanks to Tor/Forge and Terry J. Benton-Walker for the opportunity! Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Preorder links Add on Goodreads Author info: Terry J. Benton-Walker 10/31/2023 0 Comments Ocean’s Echo by Everina MaxwellI absolutely loved Everina Maxwell’s first book, Winter’s Orbit, so I was a bit scared that my expectations would be too high for Ocean’s Echo. But I’m glad to say that even though the plot was a bit slower and more complicated, I really enjoyed Ocean’s Echo as well, and that I once again rooted for the amazing, fleshed out and somewhat morally grey characters! The author originally pitched this book as “like fake dating but with fake soulbonding, also both characters are in the space military”, which is such a spot on summary!
It’s not really a romance book, even though there is romance, but more of a sci-fi action book with romantic parts (including pining, friends to lovers and miscommunication but very little physical attraction) and a lot of space battles, mind control, military fraternization, betrayals, power imbalance and a very intriguing unique world building. In short, this book follows the selfish, immature, flirty, and walking disaster Tennalhin Halkana (Tennal), who is a neuromodified “reader” and part of the elite as a nephew of the Legislator. After one too many screw-ups, the Legislator forcibly conscripts him into the military, where he is placed into the care of Lieutenant Surit Yeni (Surit), a duty-bound soldier, “architect”, and the son of a notorious traitor general. Whereas Tennal can read minds, Surit can impose his will onto others, and he’s under orders to control Tennal by merging their minds. However, for various reasons, neither of them wants this sync, so they fake it and begin to plan for Tennal’s escape. But pretending to be synced means that they have to get to know each other deeply and despite their wish a bond and unwanted feelings start to grow… I enjoyed this book a lot, but I didn’t love it the way I did Winter’s Orbit. The romance didn’t have the same chemistry, and mostly took place inside the heads of Tennal and Surit. It was also complicated by the power dynamics of the mental sync plot. The overall plot was also quite complicated and dragged somewhat, compared to Winter’s Orbit. I would have loved to get more of the romance and maybe a little less of the political betrayals, strategic plot twists and complicated chaotic space navigations. But overall it was a great story with amazing characters to root for and I absolutely loved the crew and their group dynamics, snarky banter and neverfailing loyalty! Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Macmillan Author info: Everina Maxwell |
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September 2023
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