Book Review Alert: Suddenly Beck by Vawn Cassidy

Reviewed: February 11th, 2022
Released: July 23rd, 2021
Genre: Contemporary Gay Romance

A surprisingly sweet, sinfully sexy, and deliciously hilarious romp along the Cornish coast.

Nathan Elliott has run away from home at the age of twenty-six. His teenage rebellion may have come ten years late, but better late than never. Leaving behind a world of wealth and privilege, and a strict patriarchal family that would never except a gay son, he’s ready to embrace life and make up for lost time, but nothing’s ever that simple. A coin toss, a delayed train, and a wrong bus later, and Nat finds himself in a small bay in Cornwall being hauled out of the ocean by a gorgeous stranger and wondering how the hell his life got so off track.

Beck Ainsley lives life by a very simple ethos, don’t get attached, don’t get involved and don’t fall in love. He’s been there, done that and got the t-shirt that reads I’m a gullibleidiot. Now, he keeps his life simple; all he needs is his dog, his art, his rambling sea cottage overlooking the bay and a few choice waves to surf. He’s not looking for love or commitment, but when he ends up plucking a posh boy from London with incredible blue eyes from the ocean, Cupid doesn’t just shoot him with an arrow, he decides to club him senseless with the bow too.

One simple agreement. A summer fling, a chance to act on the insane attraction between them with no strings attached, and at the end of the summer they walk away.
There’s just one problem, fate is a fickle and capricious creature, and she has no intention of letting them walk away unscathed. They’re about to discover that sometimes the heart wants, what the heart wants… Re ad My thoughts…

Book Review Alert: Aloha, Seattle by Morgan Gauthier

Reviewed: February 4th, 2022
Released: November 1st, 2021
Genre: Romantic Comedy

There are three things you should know about Cate Ortega. One, she’s a jet-setting flight attendant who never takes vacations. Two, she’s competitive enough to lose friends over a game of Monopoly. And three, she’s recently been dumped by her pilot ex-boyfriend for the blonde, new hire.

So, when a man calls out her name in the coffee shop and she absent-mindedly responds, Cate quickly realizes her private and routine life is about to be turned upside down. Theo asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend before his brother walks in and against all logic and reason, she agrees.

But when meeting Theo’s brother turns into her attending his brother’s wedding weekend in Hawaii, Cate and Theo make a deal. She’ll pretend to be his girlfriend for the wedding and meet his entire family, if he goes to her company’s New Year’s Eve party as her date, showing her ex-boyfriend that she’s moved on.

Once the year ends, so will their relationship. But when they’re forced to spend more time together than originally agreed upon, Cate starts to wonder if she’ll be able to walk away, or if what started off as fake could be turning into something real? Re ad My thoughts…

Book Review Alert: Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross

Reviewed: January 26th, 2022
Released: November 2nd, 2021
Genre: YA Fantasy

The realm of Azenor has spent years plagued by a curse. Every new moon, magic flows from the nearby mountain and brings nightmares to life. Only magicians—who serve as territory wardens—stand between people and their worst dreams.

Clementine Madigan is ready to take over as the warden of her small town, but when two magicians arrive to challenge her, she is unknowingly drawn into a century-old conflict. She seeks revenge, but as she gets closer to Phelan, one of the handsome young magicians, secrets—as well as romance—begins to rise.

To fight the realm’s curse, which seems to be haunting her every turn, Clementine must unite with her rival. But will their efforts be enough to save Azenor from the nightmares that lurk around every corner? Read My thoughts…

Book Review Alert: A Dead Ship in the Deep Black by Rene Astle

Reviewed: January 24th, 2022
Released: August 16th, 2020
Genre: Science Fiction

Rule number 1: Whatever you do, don’t open the box.

Well, that’s rule number two actually. Rule number one is don’t take salvage jobs from people who’ve tried to sell you to an Antillian bug salesman.

Neara “Tink” Bell is used to a life of odd jobs and even odder crewmates, working as the engineer and all-around fixer on the cargo ship Lyra. But when the ship picks up two new crew members and a salvage job on a third-rate space station, things go sideways in a cosmic way.

Alek Wa is on the run. And he’s pretty sure he can hide amongst the motley crew of Lyra. But that’s not the only reason he’s on-board. He has a mission. If only his minders had told him what it was.

Captain Rebeka Mino just wants to retire with a whiskey and a steamy novel. She’d even let the ship’s cat sit on her lap, provided he keeps his claws to himself. Too bad the ship keeps getting shot at. And when they arrive at the coordinates for the salvage job, they’re confronted by a dead ship in the deep black.

Can Tink keep the Lyra running despite unexplained accidents? Can Alek outrun the people hunting him? Can Rebeka prevent their pursuers from blowing them up? Most importantly, can they keep their curiosity in check and not look in the box? Read My thoughts…

Book Review Alert: Hunter by Nicole Conway

Reviewed: January 16th, 2022
Released: November 24th, 2020
Genre: YA Fantasy

One boy must earn the trust of a blind dragon and hunt down an elusive sorceress before she can rekindle the war that nearly destroyed their world.

As the Kingdom of Maldobar emerges victorious from the brutal invasion of the Tibran Empire, much of the land is left in utter ruin. With his home destroyed and family gone, 16-year-old Thatcher Renley has no one left to turn to. And when he’s mistaken for a Tibran soldier and banished to a wartime prison camp, Thatcher knows his only hope for freedom lies in appealing to Queen Jenna directly.
But getting out of the prison camp might be the least of his worries— especially after he stumbles across a feral dragon locked in an iron cell.

As far as dragons go, Fornax is a lost cause. The battle that killed his rider also left him blind and too aggressive for any knight to control. But Thatcher can’t deny feeling drawn to the beast. Does he have what it takes to calm Fornax and join the proud ranks of Maldobar’s dragonriders? Only time will tell. And with a bloodthirsty Tibran witch threatening to rekindle the chaos of war, everyone’s time may be running out. Read My thoughts…

Book Review Alert: Dead Serious by Vawn Cassidy

Reviewed: January 8th, 2022
Released: October 31st, 2021
Genre: Contemporary Gay Fantasy

Tristan Everett had always preferred the company of the dead because they were quiet and didn’t talk back. As a slightly awkward introvert working as a pathologist at the Hackney Public Mortuary suited him just fine. That is, until a freak accident with a rogue ice cube and suddenly he can see ghosts. No longer content to just lie on the table and let him figure out how they died, they’re now peering over his shoulder critiquing his work and confessing their most lascivious sins before skipping off merrily into the afterlife.

Just when he thought his life couldn’t get any weirder, London’s most infamous drag queen, Miz Dusty Le Frey, is wheeled in with a toe tag and she’s not prepared to go quietly into the light. Not only is she furious at the prospect of spending eternity in last season’s gold lamé, she’s determined that he help her solve her murder.

Suddenly Tristan finds himself thrown into a world of sequins and fake eyelashes, and worse still, he may have developed a bit of a crush on Scotland Yard’s brand new drool-worthy detective, Inspector Danny Hayes, who’s been assigned to Dusty’s murder. Oh, and as the icing on top of a really crappy cake, the killer now wants him dead too…

All he ever wanted was a simple life but suddenly he’s juggling work, a deliciously sexy detective, a stubborn ghost and a relentless murderer … and things have just gotten dead serious … Read My thoughts…

Book Review Alert: In Daylight and Darkness by Dana Ardis

Reviewed: January 4th, 2022
Released: June 29th, 2021
Genre: New Adult Fantasy

When Kate’s dearest childhood friend returns to warn her of danger, she’s not happy to see him. After all, Cor isn’t really a monster-slaying master swordsman from another world.

He’s a hallucination. Kate spent years in a mental ward for believing otherwise.

Cor did his best to honor Kate’s wishes when she sent him away five years ago. Her own family abandoned her because they couldn’t see him the way she could and that just made her tempting, easy prey for Hunters from his world. Cor couldn’t leave her to die, not if he had the power to protect her, but he can’t protect her forever.

If Kate returns to his world and learns how to defend herself, he’ll walk out of her life forever, just like she wants. Cor’s world is wilder than Kate remembers and Cor is keeping secrets, but the more time they spend together, the more she sees in him the boy she used to love. It’s getting harder to imagine saying goodbye.

If Cor is real, so are the monsters. Kate lost everything the last time she believed him. Can she risk both of their lives to follow her heart?

Read My thoughts…

Book Review Alert: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Reviewed: January 3rd, 2022
Released: December 21st, 2020
Genre: Contemporary MM Fantasy

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place―and realizing that family is yours. Read My thoughts…

Book Review Alert: The Fallen Prince by M.H Woodcourt

Reviewed: January 1st, 2022
Released: October 21st, 2021
Genre: Epic/Science Fantasy

Raised by ghosts. Trained by gods. How far will he go to save those who betrayed him?

Abandoned in the wilderness, Lekore lives with ghosts and fallen gods, until his efforts to rescue a traveling princess and her entourage bring him into a civilization unlike anything he’s ever known.

Caught in a net of silk and secrets, Lekore finds himself ensnared by court intrigue, midnight assassins, and a deviant faction of the Church of the Sun Gods—all thirsting for his blood.

He just wants to find the man who deserted him, until a storm rises out of the north, furious enough to destroy the city and outlying lands. Now Lekore must find the source of its wrath, deep in the wilds of the deadly Lands Beyond, if he can flee a city that won’t let him escape. Read My thoughts…

Book Review Alert: To Thaw a Heart by Sky Sommers

Reviewed: December 18th, 2021
Released: November 18th, 2021
Genre: Fairytale Retelling

Sixteen-year old Kaj has to make a trade. A mysterious woman he has never seen before and will never see again offers to make it so that the Red Guard would ignore his friend Gerda while they drag her whole family away to exile. All Kaj has to do is surrender the warmth of his heart.

Will Gerda stick with Kaj after he changes overnight for the worse?

Can the Snow Queen’s curse ever be broken?

What would you give to keep someone you care about alive?

This Snow Queen retelling is a 90-minute prequel to Cinders and the Magic Mirrors Saga and can be read as a standalone. Read my thoughts …