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Goblins, Book One
Melanie Tushmore
Catching Fire
Suzanne Collins
From the Inside Out
Talya Andor
SPOILER ALERT!

Blood & Ink

Blood & Ink - Holly Evans 2.5-ish stars

Pretty much the same as book one in that I feel like I'm still missing some important information. There is a new cast of characters to get to know (not at all likable). The only one's being the same is Dacian, his tattoo partner, and Vyx. I enjoyed this reading fairly less. The plot was good but Dacian is completely wrecked and doesn't have his act together as he did in book 1. There's no romance, just Dacian sleeping around after Isa makes the decision to break off their relationship.

Readers get interesting tidbits about Dacian and his relationship with the ink network.

I'm sorry to say this book made me not want to read the next installment.

Stolen Ink (Ink Born Book 1)

Stolen Ink (Ink Born Book 1) - Holly Evans It was intriguing. I liked getting to know the characters. This isn't really a romance story though the main focus is on the plot and Dacian.

Dacian's romantic relationship seemed very fickle. I did feel one or twice like I had missed something in the story when a new character was mentioned. As a reader the book made me feel like the new kid in class, the class has been ongoing for several weeks and now I'm trying to play catch up but never quite making it. I wish it had been more descriptive and took it's time to showcase the world Dacian lived in.

I was intrigued by the working of tattoos and them being inked and wanted to know more about the tiering system.

Safe in His Arms

Safe in His Arms - Renae Kaye A good read but I did feel like it was dragging a bit. I wasn't really enraptured with the story or the characters. I was curious about Lon and Casey's situation and I did want them to be in a lasting relationship but their interaction just didn't grab me. I think the author did okay with tackling such difficult subject matter. Ronnie situation was intriguing to me and I would have loved it if he had been released and readers could see him living a fulfilling life with Olivia.

I'm not sure if I want to read the next installment or not.

Dark Water

Dark Water - K.L. White The premise was interesting and I haven't read many stories featuring kelpies. I found it was lacking though. I didn't feel there was enough romance or a period for Benjamin to adjust to the changes he was experiencing. I didn't feel as if I learned a lot about the kelpies or the band or even Rez and Benjamin. There was just no time to get attached to the characters or grow to love them. The development suffered because of the shortness.

The ending was nice. I liked that Rez was willing to make an effort to give as much as himself as Benji was and that their relationship wasn't one of just take and no give.

A free copy was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

The Prince and the Omega

The Prince and the Omega - Penelope Peters There was a very Harlequinn-ish feel to this story. On one occasion it felt very repetitive (the part where Rowan knows he’s pregnant and the part where he admits he’s pregnant). I felt the characters (Rowan, Gus, Amelia and Celia) were all oblivious and dense. I can’t believe none of them ever confronted/teased/addressed the each other on their apparent crushes/unrequited feelings. It was a bit of a love square of a mess. That being said, it was a fun read to pass the time. It played out a bit like a Disney fairy tale. The MC’s meet, circumstances and duty get in their way, they can’t be together but are thrown together, the villain shows them self and finally the MC’s succumb to fate.

An ARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Wed to the Omega

Wed to the Omega - Ashe Moon Great read. The story flowed very nicely. It was a tad rushed in the romance department giving the read a insta-love feel. I would have liked if they had more time to get to know each other and their feelings felt more natural instead of them suddenly realizing they’re in love with each other. Other than that I have no complaints and it’s one mpreg I enjoyed reading. I’m looking forward to the next installment and hope to see more Tresten and Loch.
SPOILER ALERT!

Forgotten Omega: An MPreg Romance

Forgotten Omega: An MPreg Romance - Pernilla Oswick 2.5 stars

I liked this well enough but it was hard to buy that Rowan and Max could fall in love so quickly. The insta-love wasn't working for me. I also couldn't really believe Max didn't think to tell anyone or write himself or set something up as a surprise for Rowan before his accident. Otherwise I didn't mind it and thought it was a good read to pass the time. I wish things had turned out better for Max and that he had regained his forgotten memory.

Chasing His Cottontail

Chasing His Cottontail - A.R. Barley A cute read. I wish there had been more on shifter dynamics (the bunnies, the wolves, and other creatures). The author made a nice intro to her world of shifters. They were unique and I really was curious about what made each shifter special (i.e. the bunnies reproducing, making them wanted commondities among the wolf shifters). I'm looking forward to reading the next installment and seeing what direction the author takes.

Aftercare

Aftercare - Tanya Chris 4.5 out of 5 stars

A great novel about a strong masochistic submissive lawyer and an emerging Dominant businessman. This novel was touching, impactful, full of character growth and development, and happy despite all the circumstances touched upon in the story.

It was instant attraction when Aayan confronts Garrett to recruit him to be the lawyer for his brother, Syed, whom has been accused of killing his partner due to the marks remaining on his dead body from their lifestyle – which had nothing to do with Jamie’s death. This instant attraction is the first yearning for a relationship that Garrett has felt since the death of his partner, Russell. Garrett makes the decision to pursue his attraction to Aayan. Aayan decides to pursue his interest in Garrett whom Aayan was already attracted to prior to physically meeting Garrett due to Russell’s legacy in the art world.

The author endears the reader to these characters by displaying the strength, softness and depth of emotions and faith of these characters.

An ARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
SPOILER ALERT!

Unexpected Powers (Gay M-Preg)

Unexpected Powers (Gay M-Preg) - Chris McHart This story about Ash and D was a nice mpreg paranormal/magic novel about a rescued, subjugated and now windowed mate of a vampire Master and the enforcer whom saved him. Other than mention of vampires, the monarchy and rarity of wizards, I wasn’t sure what other supernatural there were nor what powers the monarchy or D had. Were members of the monarchy vampires too? How did D and his team survive protecting their assignments from harm?

The novels takes us through Ash’s freedom and growth as a freed man whom has spent his life up to this point as a virtual prisoner to his parents prior to their voluntary sale of their son to his mistreating vampire mate. This was an accepted custom in our novel’s world and D and his friends work to change the laws around treatment of such mates. We are taken through Ash’s overcoming his conditioned training to become a strong man of his own rights and how D stays a true gentleman. The evolution of their relationship is well-conveyed and keeps a reader’s attention. Their actual sexual relationship – whether Ash or D is the pregnant one – is an interesting play on the strong dominant protector versus the previously submissive mate who proves to become a wizard at the point when D verbally declares his love to Ash. I think it would have been interesting if Ash started experiencing wizardry powers the moment D realizes his attraction and unwavering dedication to Ash and his well-being. It seems a bit cliché that Ash comes into his powers at the same time D verbally states his love. Does this mean that upon verbally declaring love, wizards come into their power? Or was it that wizards come into their power when they realize they are loved romantically?

Despite new questions that I am now curious about, this novel was well-paced and definitely worth reading. It makes you wonder if there was a book prior to this or if there will be a continuation which will provide additional answers.

To end, there were some editing/grammatical issues which threw me off whilst reading and decreased my understanding which I emailed to the author.

An ARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Ready For Love

Ready For Love - Stella Starling This is the first book in the Semper Fi, The Forever Faithful series. Before you give this a read I recommend you go back and read this authors entire backlist. The characters are kind of all linked together. For sure, I would suggest you read at least this author’s At Last, The Beloved series ([b:Be True|33874558|Be True (At Last, The Beloved Series Book 1)|Stella Starling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1484625297s/33874558.jpg|54713396], [b:Be Mine|33985337|Be Mine (At Last, The Beloved Series, #2)|Stella Starling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485363120s/33985337.jpg|54978534], [b:Be Loved|34457919|Be Loved (At Last, The Beloved Series Book 3)|Stella Starling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1488588418s/34457919.jpg|55554158]) books since readers meet the characters in this series in that series first. The At Last series are happening in concurrent to each other (the story unfold within the same time frame) so if you read one you should read them all and chronologically. If you read Be True (Book 1 in At Last) you should probably read All I Want (her standalone story) first. I didn’t and I felt like I ruined the story because it was alluded to in Be True how the couple, Elliot and Ash, ended up together. Of course they all can be read as standalone but work better together in my opinion.

Anyway, readers who read Be Loved (Book 3 in the At Last series) will remember Gabe Byrne, Brandon’s brother and Jake Hansen, the flight attendant that the Byrne brother’s mother had tried to set Brandon up on a blind date with (see Be Loved to read the blind date and get an intro to the Byrne family).

After the Gabe and Jake reconnect, they start hanging out with each other, just as friends. Jake has always had a crush on Gabe but Gabe is as straight as an arrow. Gabe is a hard addiction for Jake to kick and frankly he doesn’t really want to. Needless to say he does try and fails epically. Jake is talked into a night out on town with Gabe. Their time at a gay club changes things in their relationship. Before Gabe knows it he can’t stop thinking of Jake in a new light but fights it. When they start drifting Gabe knows he has to take action their relationship will be doomed.

I really enjoyed the story. I loved the chemistry and both Gabe and Jake were fun and nice characters. They were very likable. I loved seeing them go from friends to discovering what it all could be if they became more than that. I loved that they were so supportive each other and made their log distance relationship work.

An ARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Queer Magick

Queer Magick - L.C. Davis Love the cover and a little more than half was great but after that it kind of dragged and went down for me. I think the premise is interesting and the cover is lovely but it just didn't snag my attention. I'm not sure I'm going to read the next one even though I'm a tad curious. I'm also not a reader of polygamous relationships, characters getting maimed and decisions with no real options being forced on them.

Clinch (Low Blow Book 1)

Clinch (Low Blow Book 1) - Charity Parkerson Second Chances <3<br/>
4.5 out of 5 stars

A well-paced, well-written love story reuniting two lovers, Gunnar and Liam. Liam is a strong and out young man who came out in high school and works as a stripper because he wanted to save up money fast and spend time with his nieces and one day adopt. He knows what he wants and goes after it. Gunnar is a fragile professional boxer who is still recouping from his prior relationship with another professional boxer, Boston. This reader suspects that Boston will be starring in book 2 which is not appealing after reading about his relationship with Gunnar and his behavior in Clinch. Kaz, Liam’s best friend, is Liam’s recent ex-boyfriend who wasn’t ready to commit which had always been what Liam was looking for.

Clinch starts us with Gunnar and Liam being neighbors who rarely interacted but Liam accidentally locking his keys in his car provides tinder to their reunion. We get to see how their past relationship didn’t work out. We get to find out what happened between Kaz and Liam and why Liam is single, allowing for this chance for him and Gunnar to try to make things work. We get a disconcerting, somewhat distasteful view of Boston, Gunnar’s ex, who nearly destroys the relationship between Gunnar and Liam. Finally we get to see how great Kaz can be as he realized what he lost when he and Liam broke up and how he still remains a great friend.

This story displays mostly admirable characters in a very well-written manner. It keeps the reader interested and invested in the development of the characters’ relationships. It will be interesting to see what dark situations and revelations the author will churn out to make Boston a likeable fellow.


A free copy of the book was provided to me by the ReadingAlley in exchange for an honest review.

A Day Makes

A Day Makes - Mary Calmes I liked the first chapter and half, then hated it until the very last chapter. The characters potential love interest were a bit too needy. It irritated me, sadly it just didn't work for me.

To Touch You: A Vampire Shifter Gay Romance (Mates Collection Book 4)

To Touch You: A Vampire Shifter Gay Romance (Mates Collection Book 4) - Cardeno C. I'm a sucker for stories involving relationships where the characters have some connection when one or both are children and over the years they hold out on mating. The author really knows how to pack emotional punches and pull on the heart strings.

A Worthy Man

A Worthy Man - Jaime Reese Enjoyed this immensely. I loved that Drayton never gave up and was willing to wait, help and support Vann even though he was incarcerated and things were really bad. I loved reading the reunion and them rebuilding their relationship. Also getting to know them both.