This fourth book in the Big Bad Wolf series was a bit slower to begin with and I wasn’t completely sold on the undercover couple counseling plot. But about halfway the action picked up again and Park and Cooper were so adorable together. I love the alpha twist and the development of their relationship, especially how vulnerable they dare to be with one another.
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This second book in the Big Bad Wolf series was so much more fast-paced and addictive than the first one! Park had my heart already from the first book, but Cooper really started to grown on me now as well. And the mystery to solve was a perfect kind of nice puzzle plot pulling Cooper’s family into the story as well. Cooper and Park are now in a relationship… sort of… as well as partners at the BSI (the (Bureau of Special Investigations for werewolf crimes), but Cooper is struggling with trust issues, anxiety and just with relationships in general. When he’s guilted into a visit to his father and brother on the way home from an assignment with Park, he hopes the trip might help clarify their status as a couple. But then a dead body is discovered in his family’s garden, and suddenly Cooper and Park are drawn into a case that might risk put Cooper’s dad behind bars.
I really enjoyed the relationship parts, the vulnerability and doubts, the miscommunication and the tenderness, as Cooper and Park try to navigate the new feelings. I also loved getting to know more about Cooper and his family and childhood, and all the family drama. The mystery plot with the dead body was a really great, action-filled and unexpected one. With Cooper growing on me, and Park already having my heart, I can’t wait to continue this series! I’m so curious about getting to know more about Park and his family in the next installment! Rating: 4stars Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Charlie Adhara This was such a different take of shifter romances! Even though this is a book with werewolves, I wouldn’t call it a fantasy or paranormal story, it’s more of a contemporary mystery that also happens to have some werewolves in it. And a very slow burn romance with amazing potential! Agent Cooper Dayton is a grumpy ex-FBI agent now working for the secret division BSI (Bureau of Special Investigations) investigating werewolf crimes. Yes, werewolves apparently do exist and live amongst us humans. They even have their own secret organization known as The Trust. When werewolves keep being the target for murders, both organizations decide to team up together, assigning Cooper a new werewolf partner, the handsome, masculine and mysterious Oliver Park.
This book was very different from what I expected and from my usual genre, so it took me a while to get into it. The beginning was quite slow and the writing style a lot of explaining all things everyone did (a bit too much tell instead of show), so about halfway in I almost didn’t finish it. But I’m so glad I kept on reading, because the last part of the book was amazing! The action really picked up, as did the romance. Swooning! I love enemies-to-lovers and slow burns, and the second half of this book definitely delivered in that! And the two main characters grew so much too. I rooted for Park from the start, but Cooper took me almost to the end to fully take to my heart. But now I’m completely invested in them both and their romance, and can’t wait to continue this series! Rating: 3.5 stars rounding up to 4 Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Charlie Adhara This was such an adorable enemies-to-lovers magical teen story with amazing representation! A beautiful and sweet story about figuring out your bisexuality set at a magical boarding school, highly recommended for anyone who loves the combination of a cute queer story with some fantasy on the side! The story is set at a magical boarding school somewhere below a glacier in New Zealand, where eighteen-year-old Tim Te Maro has just been dumped by his girlfriend and assigned to a life skill project to parent a magical egg together with his nemesis Elliot. But partnering up with his former enemy turns out not to be as bad as it first seems, when it comes with some extra benefits…
I really enjoyed this cute story about figuring out your bisexuality and the enemies-to-lovers trope is one of my absolute favorites! I loved both main characters and the way they opened up to each other and how they explored their sexuality together in such a kind, positive and healthy way, always ensuring the other’s consent. I also really loved all their diverse friends, the representation was simply amazing! I would have wished for the enemies-part to have lasted a little longer though, and for the world building to have been a bit more developed, especially in regard to the magical system. I also had some issues with the pacing in the second half and how some of the major events remained open in the end. But other than that, this was such a cute little gem! It gave me a lot of Carry On (SnowBaz) vibes and truly warmed my heart! Thank you to NetGalley and Independent Publishers for the ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Author links Author info: H.S. Valley 11/25/2022 0 Comments Heartsong by T.J. KluneThis third book continues the epic urban fantasy Green Greek series. I love this series and its characters to pieces, but the storyline was a bit harder to get into in this book. With Robbie’s memory loss and the way the story was told, it was confusing at first and it took me almost half of the book to fully understand if it was a backstory or if the storyline continued right after the events in the second book. But the second half of Heartsong was pure magic and heartwrenching and back to the epicness of the other two books. Robbie has lost his memory and has been taken care of a good witch (or is he really?), but he keeps having these dreams of running with wolves in an unknown forest. And sometimes he misses days without knowing what he did. And the children at the compound tells him he’s always blue, but he used to be happy. Before. (Before when?)
This time the story is told from Robbie’s POV, but since he’s not himself and doesn’t remember his pack or his love Kelly, it gets a bit confusing at time. I think I would have liked to enjoy the falling in love part of Robbie’s and Kelly’s romance first hand, not told in a backstory. But about halfway in the book, the action really starts to pick up and the beloved pack is back in swing. Now with two new wolf members from the previous Team Human. And with all of them more hurt, more scared, older and cynical, being fractured even though there still is this enormous love between the pack members, and now also including the villagers. I loved how the human villagers were part of the story and how they were allowed to be heroes too, not just passive victims that needed protection from the wolves. The pace was a bit slower this time, with Robbie’s struggling it was a lot one step forward and two steps back. But it only made me root more for the characters, especially Kelly. I appreciated the fact that Kelly is asexual and how T J Klune showed the beautiful love story between him and Robbie and how it was built on deeper emotions and affection. Even though this book was full of pain and struggle, there was still a lot of fun and banter and that typical T J Klune humor. I loved that Jessie got a bigger part of the story this time and how she really showed all of her bad-ass self. And the timber wolf finally revealing who he was… I’m even more excited for Carter’s story now! I’m both dreading and feverishly longing to read the epic finally of this magical, beautiful and absolutely heartwrenching series! Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Author links Author info: T.J. Klune 10/28/2022 0 Comments Driven To Distraction by Renée DahliaIf 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! 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. Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Renée Dahlia 10/21/2022 0 Comments Spin by Joelle LynneSpin 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 Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Joelle Lynne 10/16/2022 0 Comments Nate Plus One by Kevin van WhyeThis 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 Get your own copy: Author links Author info: 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 Get your own copy: Amazon Add on Goodreads Author info: Aislinn Brophy This was quite a unique story - not a romance as such, and not very romantic at all - but rather a story about what happens to a relationship when everyday life takes its toll on the big epic romance. It was beautiful, honest, heartwarming and so very realistic. Life is Good and Other Lies is the story of one messy holiday, two crumbling marriages, five bored kids and a farm full of secrets. It follows the Swedish/Norwegian couple Thomas and Frank, who have inherited a remote Swedish farmhouse and who decide to rent out the guest house to the German/Italian couple Bruno and Gabriel, to spend a month together at the farm with all their children (three of them teenagers). Both couples struggle with their relationship and with life in general. But as the summer proceeds, friendships and bonds are formed both between the adults and their children, which provides support and new insights. So between the fighting and miscommunication, they might all maybe, just maybe, have a shot at finding the way back to the love that has been there all the time.
I really rooted for all characters. They were so well-developed, full of flaws and relatable. I appreciated how the story didn’t shy away from any of the characters’ mental health issues, body morphia and the fact that all relationships have their ups and downs, but how their love for each other always was strong enough. And, being Swedish myself, I really enjoyed the description of the Swedish countryside and the people in the small town. It was truly spot on! For me personally, I found the pacing to be a bit slow though. The story took place over the course of a few summer weeks, who were supposed to show a slow, simple, life in the Swedish countryside, but I still think the story itself could have been told in a bit faster pace. I also didn’t quite see how the subplot with the aunt and her love story fit into the maim story. It added a bit of a mystery element to the story that was fun, but maybe it could have been made either as a separate add-on novella, or have been more interwoven with the main story? But all in all, this was a heartwarming, unique and realistic story about love, mental health, family bonds and the ups and downs of life. A beautiful story that makes you reflect about what’s really important in life and which, despite all the hardship the characters go through, gives you hope for the possibility of forever love. No matter what, some people are just meant to be! Thank you to Gay Book Promotions for the free ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed. Rating: 4 stars Get your own copy: Amazon Add to Goodreads Author info: Magdalena di Sotru Sophia Soames |
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September 2023
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