Platonic Rulebook by Saxon James (Divorced Mens Cliub #2)

Title: ⟫ Platonic Rulebook (Divorced Mens Club #2)

Author: ⟫ Saxon James

Blurb: ⟫ Griff:

Walking away from my marriage was my idea of a fresh start.

My kid is in college, my ex-wife and I are on good terms … but being single in my forties is a world different to being single in my teens.

I’m thankful for my best friend, Heath. He’s got my back like he always does and is ready to take me out and show me how the bachelor life is done.

He was never supposed to show me literally.

After we wake up in bed together, I can’t stop looking at him differently, and one thing becomes abundantly clear.

I talk a big talk about wanting to be single, but my platonic rule book has gone out the window.

Heath:

When my best friend comes to me for help post-divorce, I’m only too happy to impart my wisdom to him.

After all, Griffin isn’t my type, but even I can tell he’s a complete lumbersnack. Good with his hands, kind eyes, and a killer smile. All the guys and gals are gonna eat him alive.

But the more time we spend together, the less “not my type” he becomes. I’m the one who can’t get enough of him.

Neither of us is interested in a relationship, so what’s a little fun between friends?

We both know the score.

Review: ⟫ Saxon James has rapidly become an auto-buy for me. I love the style of writing, whether it’s hockey players or friends to lovers – I know I’m in for a lovely ride, with maybe a little angst but ultimately a satisfying HEA. And book two in the Divorced Mens Club doesn’t disappoint.

Griff and Heath are so obviously each other’s person that it’s a wonder it took them so long to get together. Although, obviously with Griff being married there was that in the way. There is no cheating in this book – Griff’s marriage is well and truly over before he and Heath begin their no-strings relationship.

My only gripes were with Poppy and Felix. Poppy because she threw Griff in at the deep end with the hotel they managed together and seemed to want him to fail – that seemed more than a bit mean, and Heath was justifiably ticked by it. Felix annoyed the heck out of me, but I guess we’re all a bit dramatic at 18, so I’ll cut him some slack.

Payne was back from the first book, and there were some delicious hints about the other members of the DMC which has whetted my appetite for future books. Fun, hot, sexy and satisfying, I happily recommend this one to add to your TBR.

NoX by Adrienne Wilder (Wolves Incarnate I)

Title: ⟫ NoX (Wolves Incarnate I)
Author: ⟫ Adrienne Wilder
Blurb: ⟫ A nude man invades Luca Suarez's home and protects him from creatures who cannot exist. Creatures hunting him. The stranger can't tell Luca why. He can't even tell Luca his name. He remembers nothing until the moment he sees Luca. The only hint Luca has to the stranger's identity is a tattoo on his wrist: N o X.

NoX doesn't know who he is, but he's sure of three things, his memory loss is temporary, the monsters chasing Luca are called Anubis, and his Alpha, Koda, sent NoX to protect him. There's just one problem… Koda is Luca's brother who was murdered five years ago.

With each passing hour, NoX fills in the pieces painting an impossible truth. And with each passing hour, both men find themselves inexplicably attracted to each other. Something Luca is willing to embrace because he has nothing left to lose. And one NoX can't let happen because it could get Luca killed. NoX is a HEA/HFN m/m paranormal, science-fiction romance. But be warned, these are NOT the shifters you are used to reading about.

Review: ⟫ This book was a sprawling, engrossing and fascinating alternative view of shifters that I was surprised by. The only thing I can compare it to is a shock fan-fiction masterpiece that you discover out of nowhere, with incredible attention to detail, world-building and lore.

It was also confusing as heck.

I don’t get quantum physics – I barely understand basic physics. And there was a LOT of physics in this book. Like, some of the time I felt like I was reading a textbook. I can only imagine that this was/is a passion project for the author, because it is so completely obvious that a lot of time and effort went into this book. Unfortunately, the explanations and world building got in the way quite a few times – there were occasions where I just wanted to skip over the physics and get back to the relationship building between Luca and NoX.

The physical relationship between Luca and NoX was blistering hot, and the confusion for NoX as to whether or not it was him or the Anubis that was so attached to Luca was intriguing to read. If the Anubis wasn’t part of him, would he have such an instant and huge attraction? And for Luca, how much of it was because this was his first chance to experience life? He had been living under a death sentence and suddenly his life is invaded by this gorgeous man who needs to save and protect him, as well as show him things that he never imagined he would have the chance to experience for himself.

NoX’s relationship with Koda and his fellow betas was interesting to read, but I would imagine a few people might be a little squicked out by the fact that Luca was basically beginning a relationship with his twin brother’s ex. That’s boiling it down to it’s lowest denominator, but perhaps the scenes with the ichor and Koda as the Alpha could have been shortened and not quite so explicit.

I really enjoyed reading this book, although sometimes it did feel like a bit of a slog. The last say 20% sometimes felt a bit rushed, which feels weird to say about a book this long. Perhaps if there had been less physics lessons earlier in the book, this wouldn’t have been the case.

I feel like this book could benefit from a ruthless editor to cull a lot of the exposition, or dumb it all down just a bit to make it more accessible. There were also quite a few spelling and grammar errors that pulled me out of the story. I only mention these because again, this is a very long book and it would be easy to lose some of the audience because of these issues.

I was lucky in that I found this book after the sequel had been released, so I didn’t have the long wait that a lot of readers did waiting to see what happened next. It very much ended on a HFN/cliffhanger which could have been aggravating if I had had to wait for the next instalment. I haven’t read a lot of Adrienne Wilder – after reading NoX and Anubis, I downloaded Wild to see what the writing is like in a different arena. I will follow the Wolves Incarnate series to see where it goes, but I hope that in the meantime, Adrienne’s team help to cull things a little and make the stories a little easier to consume.

Anubis by Adrienne Wilder (Wolves Incarnate II)

Title: ⟫ Anubis (Wolves Incarnate II)
Author: ⟫ Adrienne Wilder
Blurb: ⟫ It was supposed to be over: The Utah Facility discovered, New World Genetics dismantled, and the people hunting Luca, dead.

Then strangers who call themselves Varu, come to Luca for help.

They claim he’s a Cana and tell him he’s the only one who can bring back their wolves.

NoX doesn’t want to trust them, then he learns how people called Mah are responsible for the atrocities committed in the Utah Facility. And that the Anubis residing inside NoX will consume him and destroy Luca.

But they promise they can protect Luca if NoX will let them cure him of the ichor.

Luca knows the perception of the Varu is contaminated by the tragedy that decimated their people and separated them from their wolves.

He also knows the Anubis isn’t the mindless entity they believe it to be, a danger to him, or the world.

In fact, the Anubis might be the only thing strong enough to unite a warring people and protect humanity against the real enemy who wants to enslave it.

If NoX won’t listen to reason, Luca will use the Anubis to save them both.

After all, Luca is NoX's Alpha.

And the Anubis is really Luca’s wolf to call.

Review: ⟫ I must admit, I thought that there would be less physics in this book, which was most definitely not the case. And the cast of characters got a LOT bigger, which was occasionally confusing.

The Varu sucked – there’s no other way to describe them. I particularly hated Isaiah as he came across as bigoted, close-minded and manipulative. I was more than a little unhappy with NoX allowing someone like that to get into his head. That being said, the thought of living thousands of years with an integral part of yourself missing would no doubt warp the best of people.

The relationship between Luca, NoX and the Anubis continued to grow and deepen, and I liked the fact that Luca had a relationship with the Anubis that was separate to NoX – his understanding of the creature, of what it wanted/needed, was fascinating to read.

Johnathan and Reese Dante are an interesting duo. I was repelled by Craige (which I imagine was the point) and the introduction of this new couple was intriguing and is hopefully explore further in future novels.

The machinations in the background were interesting and intriguing, although sometimes more than a little confusing. In fact, I think that is my main feeling about this book – there were so many confusing factions that it was becoming muddled in my head. I can’t imagine how Adrienne Wilder manages to keep it all clear in their head and my hat goes off to them.

This was another very long book which, again, I felt would benefit from a ruthless editor to get rid of the spelling mistakes, name and grammar errors – again, sometime things like that pulled me out of the plot. I absolutely adore Phillips and think she is incredibly kick-ass and someone I would most definitely want on my side.

Expanding on the world-building of the first story, and adding more lore as well as future plans make this an intriguing and engrossing addition to the Wolves Incarnate verse and I do look forward to reading the next instalment although I don’t know how long it’s going to be before this is published.

This was another HFN for me, with the addition of more couples and characters to care for. I would recommend reading it but be prepared to keep your brain engaged because you’ll need it! 

Burning for You by Joel Abernathy

Title: ⟫ Burning for You

Author: ⟫ Joel Abernathy

Blurb: ⟫ Most fallen angels fell for Lucifer.

I fell to save the boy I was created to protect, trading my freedom—and my soul—for his life.

Sterling, the twisted and immortal alchemist who now owns me, is hell-bent on using me as the power source to resurrect his murdered lover. My blood provides enough energy to fuel his dark arts, but as the years wane, he turns to more intimate means that are entirely foreign to me—and his touch ignites a fire within me I wasn't created to discover.

Now that he's nearly bled me down to the last drop and still hasn't succeeded in his blasphemous mission, I should despise him more than ever. And I do. But even though I know it means nothing to a straight man who still yearns for his wife's embrace, the carnal bond our bodies have forged has drawn something far more unforgivable to the surface.

I'm beginning to fall for him.

Author's Note: This is a complete stand-alone MM Romance between a snarky fallen angel and a morally deficient sorcerer that features omega-verse dynamics (no mpreg), bi awakening, smoking hot demons, and extreme enemies-to-lovers dynamics. See author's website for content notes.

Review: ⟫ This felt very much like a story of two different halves. Initially, Sterling was using Cael for his angel-powers, draining him in order to create the necessary spell to get his wife out of Purgatory. It was torture for Cael – not only had he fallen for a human who ultimately proved to be unworthy, but his feeling for Sterling were complicated.

Over the passage of time, Cael’s feelings for Sterling changed, as did he. He was weakening – dying – and his usefulness to Sterling was coming to an end. This was where I felt the book took a turn into a completely different territory, territory I wasn’t expecting but am very much here for. I think if I had read the blurb more fully, I wouldn’t have been as surprised by the shift but I’m actually glad that I didn’t because it enlivened things just as I was beginning to wonder how there could be so much of the story left.

We met Angels, Nephilim, relatives of Sterling’s – and Cael had given in to many human temptations, even as his feelings and need for Sterling remained a constant source of shame, shackles more solid than any contract. There was a change in Cael that could not have been expected, and a shift into a supernatural aspect that I wasn’t expecting and that felt a little incongruous. But it was handled so masterfully, with exposition given skilfully without going overboard.

The storytelling was engrossing – enough depth to immerse without overpowering – and I was happily along for the ride. So much so that I didn’t sleep all night and felt the need to write my review while it was all fresh in my mind.

Out of the cast of characters, I think my favourite was Jay, although Cael came a close second. There was something so vulnerable, so honest about him that even when he was feeling ashamed of himself, he was still a fighter. And his actions in the second half of the book were brilliant – I actually wanted to applaud him!

The writing was crisp, energetic and so different from anything I’ve read of Joel Abernathy’s before but I really enjoyed it. I know it says that it’s a stand-alone, but I would absolutely love to know Jay’s backstory! Very happy to give this 4.5/5 and round it up – an engrossing, entertaining read!

I received an ARC from GRR.

A Mage's Guide to Aussie Terrors by A.J Sherwood

Title: ⟫ A Mage’s Guide to Aussie Terrors
Author: ⟫ A. J Sherwood
Blurb: ⟫ One ghost from the past.

Two unknown Australian monsters eating people.

Three men who won’t let either problem win.

Tags:
Familiars of choice, healing old wounds, Australian mythology, yes Nico and Wicky are in Australia, that goes about as well as anyone expects, giant amphibians of unusual size, even the MAD research department is stumped, Wicky may have summoned Godzilla, in his defence he was left unsupervised, conversations via air guitar, the next time they have to travel to a different continent Bel is drugging Nico first.

Review: ⟫ I don’t remember thinking that the first book was this silly. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it – the banter was on point, the snark and jokes were brilliant but this time I almost felt like it took away from the story? Despite what they were facing eating people and the real possibility of death, there seemed to be a lot of jokes/banter and general silliness that felt a bit much.

Spencer came across like a complete and utter child, and in a way this dragged me out of the story. I get that he was the ‘villain’ (apart from the giant lizards), but would someone so completely and utterly incapable of acting in a mature fashion – at any point in time – have made it so far in his career? It just felt like in order to make him the bad guy, it was almost taken to parody levels.

Nico and Wicky together are always funny as heck – the names for their light sabers made me laugh for far too long. The monster fighting was also good, especially the way the team worked together – it almost made me wonder why they bothered having the marines along!

We see a bit more of the relationship between Garen, Nico and Bel which was lovely, and the sex scenes were satisfying. Whether it’s because I just wasn’t in a light enough mood or not, this didn’t quite hit the spot as well as other AJ books, but I will definitely be tuning in for Wicky’s book. And, yes, I may be on the Wicky/Grandpa bandwagon just a little!

Worth a read, but be prepared for shenanigans, silliness and a fair bit of sexiness! 3.5/5 rounded up to four from me. 

Christmas Cookies by April Kelley (Wingspan #4.5)

Title: ⟫ Christmas Cookies (Wingspan #4.5)

Author: ⟫ April Kelley

Blurb: ⟫ Morgan never thought being a vampire was a bad thing until he finds out the dragon shifters, who are the most prejudiced, are his fated mate’s family.

Morgan’s life changed the day he was kidnapped and held captive. Even weeks after the rescue, he’s still mentally processing all that has happened. Wingspan might seem like a safe place, but he’s nursed a few of the local bigots, so he knows looks can be deceiving. And then he meets his Fated mate. Seamus seems too good to be true. A sexy, protective dragon shifter who can bake and smiles all the time. What’s not to love. Despite the chemistry between them, Morgan finds it difficult to let others in, even his mate. Can he let Seamus be his safe haven?

Review: ⟫ To be fair to this novella, it started at a disadvantage as I haven’t read any of the previous stories. I was hoping that that wouldn’t be an issue, but it quickly became clear that not knowing a lot of the backstory meant that I felt like I dropped into the middle of a story – or perhaps a short tangent.

None of the characters felt particularly fleshed out. I found it difficult to connect with any of them, especially as a lot of names seemed to be thrown out that I didn’t recognise and didn’t realise the importance of.

Morgan himself was hard to get a grasp on. He had obviously been through a traumatic event, but there were no real details given so it was just – words. There was no real impact to them. And the fact that he was a vampire seemed incidental – we didn’t see him feeding (apart from on his mate), there seemed to be no perks to it, and I just felt very distant from the whole thing.

Even meeting Sean didn’t change things. The insta-attraction/love was just that – instant, with no background, no building up to, nothing. He literally walked into the place, smelled Sean and that was it. The battle with Sean’s family was a complete non-event – I expected there to be some kind of confrontation but it just fizzled out, with no contact with the prejudiced members of the dragon family apart from an initial meeting. And the title and allusion to Christmas cookies was such a minor detail that I wish they hadn’t used it as the title – it made little to no sense to me.

The background characters were obviously meant to be a call-back to previous books, which I imagine would be nice for people who have read the previous books. I also think it was meant to titillate interest in their stories so that perhaps you would dive into the rest of the series. Unfortunately, they didn’t grab me enough to make me do that.

The writing was solid but I didn’t feel engaged and after reading, I didn’t get any sense of satisfaction from the ending, their HEA or anything like that. I think that perhaps a lot of this is my fault for not reading the previous books and that maybe my experience would have been better for it.

3/5 from me – if you’ve read the previous books, you might find the book more engaging.

I received an ARC from GRR.

The Quarterback Keeper by Rheland Richmond & Emerson Beckett

Title: ⟫ The Quarterback Keeper
Author: ⟫ Rheland Richmond & Emerson Beckett
Blurb: ⟫ Alex

I'm the starting quarterback for the Portland Pirates, and I have a thing for my son's teacher. Except I didn't know the cute blond on the beach with the giant dog was, in fact, my kid's teacher until two months later at Open House.

Christian took my breath away during the second week of my two-week vacation at the beach and introduced me to things I never knew could feel so good and be so right. I think he just might be the one who inspires me to tell the world that this NFL quarterback is bisexual and in love with a man.

That is until I blew the best thing to happen to me since my kids were born. All I know is I have to get him back. I had to find a way to keep him.

Christian

I never imagined I would meet the love of my life while being bowled over on the beach by the overeager Newfoundland I was dog-sitting. But that's exactly how I ended up on my back in the sand, wrapped in his arms and pressed into the sand by the six-foot-five dark-haired Adonis on the beach. Did I mention he had two beautiful children?

Our week together was worthy of a sexy modern-day fairytale full of promises about the future until he sent me the text that broke my heart. And how was I supposed to get over him when his adorable six-year-old son was in my class?

Find out how Alex and Christian ache to overcome some daunting complications to reunite in The Quarterback Keeper, Book One of The Package Deal Series.

Tags: First Time Gay; Single Dad; Bisexual Experience; Sports Romance; Football Player and the Teacher

Review: ⟫ Not the most auspicious beginning to my reading in July.

I tried to read this – I kept trying to read this. I cannot even imagine just how many times I picked up my kindle and turned to this book. It either sent me to sleep or I got so bored that I was reading pages and realising that I was taking absolutely none of it in.

I wasn’t even going to leave a review because I felt guilty for the fact that I simply did not like this book. The characters were flat and uninteresting; the writing felt formulaic and uninspired, and no matter how much I loved the idea of the storyline, it just didn’t pull me in.

I couldn’t even explain what went wrong – it takes a lot for me not to finish a book – but this just left me completely cold. I am considering seeing if there are other books by these authors to see if it was just the collaboration between them that didn’t work for me because I want to give them both a fair shot.

Ultimately, I didn’t finish reading and for what I did read, I can only score this a 1/5.