Three by Helen Juliet

Title: ⟫ Three

Author: ⟫ Helen Juliet

Blurb: ⟫ All good things come in threes…

When three shy best friends sign up to a dating app to finally get some by the end of the year, they don’t expect to all fall for the same gorgeous, slightly scary-looking older man. The only solution? Let him choose who he wants to bed. Except he doesn’t…

Jacob didn’t become a billionaire before hitting thirty-five by making compromises. What he wants, he gets. So why should he choose between these adorable, delectable morsels when he can devour all three of them? Instead, he tells them to decide on an order, and then he’ll spoil each of them one after the other in a way they’ll never forget.

Will one night each be enough, though? And can that really be all they need to fall in love?

Three is a super steamy, stand-alone MMMM gay romance novel featuring a Daddy wolf ready to huff and puff his way into three hearts, no matter what, and a guaranteed HEA with absolutely no cliffhanger.

Review: ⟫ This was fun to read!

Each of the three young men has a distinctive character/kink that they want to explore and what I really liked was that it wasn’t limited to the Daddy thing – they really cared about each other too. They were encouraged to explore that – with Daddy and alone – and I liked how their previous relationship was allowed to flourish and grow so that they weren’t completely dependent upon Daddy.

Wolff was an alpha character, but he was also allowed to display his own vulnerabilities and his assistant was a fabulous character who cracked me up. The sex was steamy and variable, and the Daddy scenes were very nicely handled with something for everyone!

I have read at least one other ‘retold fairy tale’ by Helen Juliet so I sort of knew what to expect, but I found this a diverting, entertaining read that I don’t hesitate to recommend.

I received an ARC from GRR.

The Animosity Equation by J.R. Gray (Love Equations #2)

Title: ⟫ The Animosity Equation (Love Equations #2)
Author: ⟫ J.R Gray
Blurb: ⟫ Have you ever loathed a person so intensely the sight of them made you contemplate homicide?

First day of college, everyone is settling into their rooms, and in walks Jeff Woods—the blond bastard. He's arrogant and smart and an elite swimmer and worst of all everyone loves him. Only he's insufferable and flirty, and a sex god. He pushes every button I never knew I had, all with an air of indifference, like he doesn't know the affect it has on me.

Did I mention he's the hottest guy I've ever laid eyes on?

I'm just some closeted red-neck from the south who's more comfortable on a horse and in a pair of boots than trying to figure out this Ivy League stuff.

There's no way a guy like him would ever look at me twice.

Hate is the only equation.

The Animosity Equation is a stand-alone enemies to lovers, room-mates, forced proximity, wild ride of teasing, lust, and so much more.

Review: ⟫ I’m starting to realise that with this author, I either really love what they write, or it leaves me cold.

This one left me cold. I didn’t feel a connection between Jeff and Mason at all – not even a hate connection. I didn’t like their dynamic and apart from their first meeting, the chemistry (for me) just wasn’t there. I was looking forward to reading this, but I feel like the blurb is very misleading and I was disappointed.

The writing is solid (as it always is) so I think this was just a case of it not gelling for me. I would recommend the first Love Equations story, and I am still looking forward to further instalments.

I received an ARC from GRR. 

Dead Draw by Layla Reyne

Title: ⟫ Dead Draw

Author: ⟫ Layla Reyne

Blurb: ⟫ When a marriage of convenience is the only play left…

Special Agent Emmitt Marshall knows how to:
Wear a cowboy hat.
Hack anything.
Win at chess.
Fall in love with emotionally unavailable men.
He even knows the perfect play to catch the terrorists who killed his mentor.

Special Agent Levi Bishop doesn’t know how to:
Move on after his wife’s death.
Help his grieving son.
Pay off his mountain of debt.
Fix the mess some cowboy cyber agent made of his case.
The same cowboy who proposes a marriage of convenience to stop a common enemy.

Marsh is either the answer to Levi’s prayers—or a handsome nightmare in a Stetson.
Levi doesn’t know.
But both men do know their cases and lives are at a dead draw.
There’s only one play left…
I do.

Layla Reyne returns with an all-new m/m romantic suspense series featuring a cocky hacker with a heart of gold, a widowed father who needs so much help, and a plan only a cowboy could cook up. Grab your hat, hold tight to the reins, and enjoy the ride!

Review: ⟫ I can only say the reason I haven’t read any Layla Reyne before is because it’s never come up for me on Kindle Unlimited. And that’s a shame, because this book was a ride and a half!

Apparently, it’s part of a series – or at least an offshoot of one – as previous characters struck me as having a major backstory that I didn’t know anything about. It didn’t detract from the story – it was quite intriguing actually – and it’s good to know there is more out there. I quite enjoyed the fact that both men had lived full lives before they met each other – it meant that they knew what they wanted/needed and there was no confusion involved. It didn’t mean that everything was smooth sailing however – a marriage of convenience means no catching feelings and both of these two failed abysmally at that side of things. The storyline was engrossing and full of detail – sometimes too much as I felt a little lost – and the background characters were absolutely great. I especially loved the son, David, and would be really interested in a story based on him sometime in the future.

For me, the relationship took a bit of a backseat to the investigations they were undertaking – I don’t know if that’s a thing for this author/series – but I guess I was expecting more romance/relationship based things. A very solid read and if any of the author’s other works turn up on kindle unlimited, I would enjoy a chance to read them.

I received an ARC from GRR.

Beck by JJ Harper (Bar 28 Book #4)

Title: ⟫ Beck (Bar 28 Book 4)
Author: ⟫ JJ Harper
Blurb: ⟫ Finally, he’s found his perfect man. Will he be able to keep him?

Beck Thompson is out and proud. He has a job he loves and friends he considers his family. Okay, he doesn’t have a boyfriend, but chances are slim he’ll find the man who’ll accept all of him, his past and his tattoos. He’s happy. Sort of.

Until he sees the perfect man…with the same woman hanging on his arm every night. Damn.

Munro Sylvester has put every aspect of his life on hold to make his business a success. And he’s done it. But he’s never been true to himself.

One look at the gorgeous, colourful man changes everything. He knows he has to make the first move, but he may risk losing everything he’s worked so hard for.

Can Beck trust his heart that Munro is the one for him? Is Munro brave enough to come out and fight for their happily ever after?

Beck has a tattooed bartender who has never had any luck with love, a hard-working gym owner who’s never said “I’m gay” out loud, instant attraction, and well-meaning, meddling friends.

It is the fourth book in the BAR 28 series, a MM contemporary series. Each book can be read as a stand-alone, but you’ll enjoy them best by reading them in order. This series is based in the UK.

Blurb: ⟫ Obligatory admittance that I haven’t read any of the other Bar 28 books, and unfortunately I won’t be looking for them after reading Beck. The story had a lot of potential and I was looking forward to reading about this gorgeous sounding man finding his ‘person’. But I have to be honest and admit that I never really felt that Munro deserved Beck. The whole manner in which he handled the Lucie situation annoyed the heck out of me – especially later in the book when she ‘tricked’ him into taking her shopping. Like, after everything she did, why would he let that happen?

I found it easy to see which other characters in the book had previous stories and I would imagine for anyone who has read all of the Bar 28 books that it would be nice to catch up with them all.

Beck was an interesting character and I wish I could have seen all of the tattoos and especially the exhibition. That sounded really epic and the author did a very good job describing the whole thing and helping you visualise it. But my feelings about the book were soured by Munro to the extent that there were a couple of times where I really wish that Beck had thrown away his phone number for good and walked past Munro when he waited for him outside the bar!

The writing was solid, most of the characters were engaging and entertaining – I just wish Beck had found a love worthy of him!

I received an ARC from GRR.

The Sceptic by Lily Morton

Title: ⟫ The Sceptic

Author: ⟫ Lily Morton

Blurb: ⟫ As the best friend of a psychic, Will Buchanan can’t help but believe in the dead. It’s the living that he finds to be problematic. However, after a spate of betrayals, he finally has the chance of a new life within his grasp, and he’s not going to risk it for anyone or anything. Staying safe is the name of Will’s game.

Jem Dawson defines the word temporary. A talented cameraman, he’s here today and will undoubtedly be gone tomorrow chasing adventure and danger. But, while he’s in York, he’s made it clear he wants Will, and Will can’t help liking the charming daredevil.

This inconvenient attraction results in Will accompanying Jem to the site of a notorious poltergeist outbreak. A malevolent spirit has targeted a family, and now the ghost hunting team for whom Jem does camerawork are going to be locked down in the house for three days.

The house is strange and filled with sinister and violent undercurrents. One by one, the group experiences threatening incidents, and as events escalate, Will has to ask himself if he's risking not just his heart but also his life with this impulsive gesture.

This is the first book in the Arcana Books series featuring characters from the bestselling Black and Blue series.

Review: ⟫ It seems like it’s been my week for reading about extremely tall men with lots of tattoos, which lets be honest is a great way to spend the week.

I haven’t read the Blue Billings books although I might try to grab hold of them after reading this. The Sceptic was a really interesting combination of romance, suspense and quite a bit of terror – some of the nightmares in there actually freaked me out a little and my daughter accidentally jump-scared me as I was reading and didn’t see her come into my room! The spooky side of things was very well written – possibly a little bit too well – and I really wanted to know what was in the house as much as Jem and Ben. I also completely understood Will wanting to run away and never come back!

The relationship between Jem and Will was so much fun – they both seemed able to see the truth about each other, warts and all, yet appreciate the other person anyway. Will’s character didn’t have the typical background of a male lead and I appreciated that – he wasn’t a cardboard cut-out, but was full of fears, desires and aspirations – when was the last time a male lead aspired to be an accountant!

As always, very strong writing, believable side-characters, but with enough of a break from reality not to be depressing. I would like to know more about the characters in the bookshops and can see myself following the Arcana series in the future.

I received an ARC from GRR.

Berserk by Romilly King (The Teams Book #5)

Title: ⟫ Berserk: A Hurt Comfort Gay Romance (The Teams Book 5)

Author: ⟫ Romilly King

Blurb: ⟫ Come along with Berk and Snipe on a road trip to inner peace.

I’m a vegan rage machine who will try any alternative therapy to calm the beast inside me. He’s a gun crazy sniper who until now looked at the whole world through his scope.

We aren’t a match made in heaven. We argue constantly. We like to pretend we are barely friends but he’s the only person I can tolerate when the anger gets out of control.

There is a resonance between me and Snipe and I’m going to help him get over the life changing injuries he got while on a mission with me.

I’m calling it duty.

He’s calling it pointless.

I’m not stopping until we’re both in a better place. Whatever it takes - sweat lodges, crystals, howling at the moon. We’re going on a road trip together and we’re gonna get healed.

Berserk is the fifth book in The Teams Series. It’s a hurt comfort story of the complicated relationship between a man with anger management problems and an ice cold killer who needs to find a new way of being. Expect weird therapies, much banter, and a strangely sweet love story.

Review: ⟫ If I had paid to read this book, I would be steaming angry.

This was – it wasn’t even hurt/comfort so much as just – I cannot even express what this book is. Actually, I can. It’s an insult.

The Teams has always been about what happened to the handlers and witnesses after the programme closed down. And I was really looking forward to finding out how a man who defines himself by his ability to be an amazing sniper would deal with losing half of his sight and his manual dexterity. This book was full of alternative healing methods – sometimes feeling like it was taking the mickey out of them – and the relationship between the two male leads was just not explored at all. I was expecting hot alpha males and got limp lettuce. I kept reading expecting things to get hot, to get interesting, but by the time I got to the end I was just raging with disappointment. This book was a shambles and I hate that I spent the time looking forward to it and reading it.

I give it 1/5 and only because it means I can stop waiting for the series to end and know that this is the final nail in the coffin.

The Suit by Amy Lane (Long Con Adventures Book #4)

Title: ⟫ The Suit (Long Con Adventures Book 4)
Author: ⟫ Amy Lane
Blurb: ⟫ Two and a half years ago, Michael Carmody made the biggest mistake of his life. Thanks to the Salinger crew, he has a second chance. Now he’s working as their mechanic and nursing a starry-eyed crush on the crew’s stoic suit, insurance investigator and spin doctor Carl Cox.

Carl has always been an almost-ran, so Michael’s crush baffles him. When it comes to the Salingers, he’s the designated wet blanket. But watching Michael forge the life he wants instead of the one he fell into inspires him. In Michael’s eyes, he isn’t an almost-ran—he just hasn’t found the right person to run with. And while the mechanic and the suit shouldn’t have much to talk about, suddenly they’re seeking out each other’s company.

Then the Salingers take a case from their past, and it’s all hands on deck. For once, behind-the-scenes guys Michael and Carl find themselves front and center. Between monster trucks, missing women, and murder birds, the case is a jigsaw puzzle with a lot of missing pieces—but confronting the unknown is a hell of a lot easier when they’re side by side.

Review: ⟫ Firstly, I haven’t read the other books in the series which meant that I felt a little bit like I’d been thrown into the deep end from the beginning. I would say that although it can be read as a standalone, reading the other books will help you with all of the names and characters because for quite a while, I was absolutely lost.

Have you ever seen Ocean’s Eleven? The one with Brad Pitt and George Clooney? Think of it as settling down to watch Ocean’s Twelve or Thirteen – you know there’s history and backstory, that the previous versions were amusing and entertaining as heck, but you don’t have time to watch them first. That’s how I felt reading this book. There were so many characters involved, so much history that could obviously only be alluded to in this book. I felt like I was missing out but I didn’t really have time to read them before diving into this book.

Michael and Carl were absolutely lovely – they seemed like complete opposites who brought out the best in each other. Unfortunately, their relationship felt like it got more than a little bit lost in the whole heist/murder birds thing. The story was engaging and headed towards an entertaining set of circumstances that had both Michael and Carl being brave, courageous and romantic.

As always, Amy has written loveable characters who you care about; unusual circumstances and a whole entertaining roller-coaster ride that you couldn’t make up in your wildest dreams. This book was a lot of fun to read, and perhaps the previous ones will join my TBR pile. You know what you’re getting with an Amy Lane book and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with this one.

I received an ARC from the author.