Candy Magic by M.C. Roth (All Hallows' Harem)

TITLE: ⟫ Candy Magic (All Hallows Harem)

AUTHOR: ⟫ M.C. Roth

RATING: ⟫ 2/5

BLURB: ⟫ An All Hallows’ Harem story

Sweeter than candy—hotter than magic.

Crean is trying to leave it all behind—the closet, his overbearing family and, of course, his magic. In a world where vampires and shifters are hidden among humans, Crean is the odd one out. Born as a human to a family of shifters, he’s been hiding his orientation and his magic for his entire life.

In search of a new start, he sets out on a journey to a different province. The only condition is he has to live with his brother and his three roommates.

Living with a vampire, a werewolf and a faerie is bound to be a disaster, and Crean does his best to avoid the strangers. But everything he’s been told about others is wrong, and his life is about to change forever.

REVIEW: ⟫ This book had such an interesting blurb that I went into it with high hopes. Unfortunately, for me, this book simply didn’t follow through.

There were so many titbits thrown at us – from Crean’s magic and what happened when he used it; Tristan and his wings; Nate and his general dislike of humans – and yet none of them went anywhere. They felt thrown into the air and just left there. Not such a big deal until you realise that the whole thing about Crean and his magic is part of why he left home, but we are never told just what happened.

The relationships between all of the characters were murky and shallow – these guys were meant to be Crean’s brother’s best friends and yet not one of them seriously considered how their friend might feel about their four-some relationship with Crean. Hardly loyalty.

We don’t really learn anything about how the supernatural came to be known – or why – and there seems to be no lingering issues with prejudice or fear. Crean being desperate to escape from his smothering family yet we don’t witness one single instance of them being that way or hindering him. The whole story was incredibly shallow and we were told so much was happening and yet didn’t witness any of it.

The sex scenes were perfunctory and felt passionless, and even though the idea of asexuality was sort of thrown out there with regard to Tristan, it wasn’t explored at all. I guess what I’m saying is that if this was meant to be a sex-fest harem read, it failed in that perspective; as an examination of prejudice between species, it failed; to be completely honest, the whole book just failed for me.

I can’t see me reaching for any other books by this author, which is a shame as a quick flick through it looks like they really have some interesting ideas.

French Fancy by Lily Morton (The Model Agency #2)

TITLE: ⟫ French Fancy (The Model Agency #2)

AUTHOR: ⟫ Lily Morton

RATING: ⟫ /5

BLURB: ⟫ Pip Simmonds is the twinkiest twink in London. He’s loud, proud, and packed to the brim with sass. But when he’s laid low by illness, even his hotpants lose their sparkle and his worried boss sends him to the South of France to recuperate in his holiday home.

Cap Ferrat is beautiful, and the periwinkle-blue villa is luxurious, but the real draw for Pip is the villa’s other resident—his boss’s younger brother, Olivier Durand.

Olivier owns a perfume empire and has spent his whole life running from any other form of commitment. He’s worldly, carefree, wild, and the perfect choice for a holiday fling.

Drawn together by proximity, the two men become lovers and friends and then something more. Something special. But will their special bond hold true after summer’s end, when they both must return to their real lives?

This is the second book in the bestselling Model Agency series, but it can be read as a standalone.

REVIEW: ⟫ Currently reading – review to follow.

Not Dating Material by Saxon James (Accidental Love #2)

TITLE: ⟫ Not Dating Material (Accidental Love #2)

AUTHOR: ⟫ Saxon James

RATING: ⟫ 4.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ MOLLY

Moving to Seattle is supposed to be all about getting a fresh start and leaving the bitter man I was becoming behind.

I have new room-mates–quirky, sometimes strange, room-mates–a nosy, next door neighbor and a grumpy kitty for company, but even surrounded by people, I still don’t feel like I belong. Plus, it turns out the men in Seattle are exactly the same as the ones I left behind, and my string of romantic disconnections continues.

It’s not until one of my room-mates, Seven, hits me with some hard truths that I realize where I was going wrong.

Maybe the men aren’t the problem.

I am.

And there’s only one way to fix that.

SEVEN

Being found tied up naked to my bed by my cute new room-mate isn’t an ideal way for us to start a friendship.

But apparently a quid-pro-quo is.

He keeps his pretty lips zipped about the compromising position, and I step in as his dating coach. We go out, I point out where he’s going wrong, and he magically becomes dating material.

The problem is, between my codependent brother Xander and a new best friend I can’t get rid of, Molly and I are the target of a matchmaking scheme. My life is way too busy to add another person to it, and Molly is the kinda guy who needs to be made a priority, which I just can’t do. Xander’s medical anxiety takes up too much of my time, and I’ve never found a partner who doesn’t resent it.

I’m determined to help Molly find his ever after.

But that guy will never be me.

REVIEWS: ⟫ I really wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about Molly after his appearance in Ford and Orson’s story, but Saxon made me feel so bad for him that I forgave his rash behaviour. He’s moved all the way to Seattle to get a fresh start, and what a start – meeting the boys from Big Bertha is an eye opener in so many ways.

I enjoyed how vulnerable Saxon allowed Seven to be – he presented as this big, tough guy, covered in tattoos and intimidating until you got to learn more about him. Refusing to swear, his badly hidden inner marshmallow and just the way he was always there for any of the boys (and Aggie) made me fall in love with him.

I liked the way in which the subject of Seven’s no dating rule was brought up – he thought he was being upfront, honest and direct whereas throughout the book, we see that HE might not have thought he was dating people, but others were not quite so sure.

There was background angst, especially with regard to Xander and Seven, but it didn’t really filter through to the main story – it more formed a background thread that you were aware of but didn’t have to suffer through. I loved the dates that Seven and Molly had; loved the way that Seven helped Molly build his confidence; the relationship between Molly, Seven and Xander; and the return to Big Bertha.

One of my favourite parts was when Madden asked Rush how come, if he wasn’t aware of the no-sleeping with room-mates rules, then how come he hadn’t made a move on Madden – that made me laugh so hard, although what a knock to Madden’s ego! I’m looking forward to more in the Accidental Love verse, especially after Seven met Molly’s dad and his initial reaction – that too made me giggle, and I loved the ease with which the two verses intermingled.

This book kept me entertained and gave me a HEA I could sigh happily about after reading and I can’t ask for more than that!