Lust by Kiki Burrelli (Wolves of Resurrection Road #2)

Title: ⟫ Lust : Wolves of Resurrection Road 

Author: ⟫ Kiki Burrelli 

Blurb: ⟫ As alpha of a nomadic pack of wolf shifters, Abel’s home is on the road, stopping in one place long enough to help and then move on. His pack lives on the fringes—and like it that way. 

So when an ally pack tells him he and his men are ancient warriors reincarnated, they must join forces to save the world, and that they have soulmates—he calls bullsh*t. 

Abel has no need for a soulmate but he can’t ignore the demon kings threatening to destroy the world and every human on it. His men will fight, but on their terms. He doesn’t need the responsibility of a new pack, and Abel’s life is too brutal for something so fragile as love. 

Micah has spent his life living in fear since witnessing his parents’ murder as a child. People are dangerous, so was the dark, and just about everything else located outside of his tiny room. 

His world is small on purpose. He’s content living that way, until his best friend needs his help and to give it, Micah must stop hiding under the covers and face the unknown. 

 Abel spots Micah right away, terrified and in a place he has no reason being. He’s so human it hurts and Abel can’t allow someone so soft and breakable to roam unprotected. Choosing to guard him has nothing to do with the way Micah makes Abel feel—like his body is a pile of dry kindling and Micah is the match. 

Abel doesn’t deserve the gentle young man, but when a demon king sets his sights on Micah, Abel has no choice but to turn to his allies while bringing Micah into his world. 

Micah has no idea why he’s suddenly the target of a demon king. He'd been oblivious to the existence of demons, angels, and shifters, but he’ll have to trust one if he wants to live. Abel is dangerous. The alpha also awakens a part of Micah he never knew existed, and more importantly, he’s Micah’s only hope of surviving. 

Lust is the second book in the Wolves of Resurrection Road series. It is an action-packed, swelteringly hot, mpreg romance that continues in a world of mystery, mayhem, and magic. 

Wolves of Resurrection Road 

* Pride 

* Lust 

* Wrath 

*Envy 

Review: ⟫ Well, it’s definitely my fault that I didn’t read the previous books – it would have been incredibly helpful in identifying everyone! 

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book. It’s got demons, werewolves, cherubs and that’s just for starters! 

I was a little concerned that I would find Micah a little bit wimpy, but this guy had a spine of steel and was there for his new family with bells on. I loved the Alpha Abel and the fact that he respected Micah despite wanting to wrap him up in cotton wool. It’s not often you find that it’s not the alphas saving the day. 

There weren’t many sex scenes and the mpreg kinda passed in a flash (I shall say no more because spoilers). This story kept me interested and turning the pages, enjoying each new revelation. I’m going to try to read the rest of the books in the series – I believe there are at least eight of them? 

Anyway, start at the beginning so you can enjoy the characters that pop up and follow the storyline. You won’t regret it! 4/5 but only because even though it said it was book two, there appears to be a lot of crossover which would have been handy to know before reading! 

I received an ARC from GayRomanceReviews in exchange for an honest review.

Domestic Service by Ella Fenn

Title: ⟫ Domestic Service 

Author: ⟫ Ella Fenn 

Blurb: ⟫ An inexperienced executive. A penniless grad student. An unconventional offer. 

Colin Caldwell clawed his way out of a rough childhood to put himself through college, and now grad school. Broke, stressed-out, and struggling to stay afloat after he loses his regular ridesharing gig, he’s willing to do anything that pays the bills. 

Simon Vessey is the total package—a handsome, wealthy, and successful executive who, at thirty-seven, seems to have it all. But behind closed doors, Simon is shy, lonely, and so inexperienced as a dominant that he might as well be a virgin. Limited by his fears, but craving companionship beyond an occasional escort, what he really wants is someone he can come home to, even if he’s paying for the privilege. 

When a mutual acquaintance suggests that Colin could be the perfect fit for Simon’s live-in submissive dreams, it seems like the perfect solution for them both. But when their connection begins to run deeper than their business contract, and old demons rear their heads, will they find a way to persevere? 

The first book in the Living Situations series, Domestic Service is a gay romance featuring an age gap, light BDSM, and two broken people fixing each other in service of their happy ending. If you like steamy situations, compelling characters, and forced proximity, then you’ll love Ella Fenn’s debut novel.

Review: ⟫ You know when you go into a book with preconceptions as to what it’s going to be like and then it knocks you on your butt? This book did that to me. 

I really liked the blurb and thought it would be a fun read, and it was initially. And then it started going into things deeper, and there were feelings – so many feelings. I admit it – I cried. Real life is a trip at the moment and for some reason, the scene with the bear cub (by the way, we all need a Bertram) just took me completely by surprise and I was bawling my eyes out. 

I admired both Simon and Collin – not because they were perfect, but because they weren’t. It would have been so easy to keep this as a surface romance – man falls in love with his live-in sub, etc but this was so much more than that. The supporting cast were brilliant – can I just say three cheers for well-rounded female characters – and I stayed up far too late reading this. 

The sex/kink was almost by the by – instead, I really wanted to see how Simon and Colin were going to make it, how they were going to get their broken pieces to fit. And I really applaud the way it was done – it took time, effort, self reflection and some really painful changes. 

I can hardly believe that this is a debut novel – I was really impressed, and will most definitely be looking for more by this author. 

An easy 5/5 – I’m off to blow my nose and cuddle my cats! I received an ARC from GayRomanceReviews in exchange for an honest review.

These Deviant Ties (Dark Romance Anthology) by Various Authors

Title: ⟫ These Deviant Ties (Dark MM Romance Anthology) 

Author: ⟫ Various 

Blurb: ⟫ Deviants and delinquents... 

These men exist outside the law. They walk in the shadows and thrive in the dark. Bad to the bone, they take what they want. What happens when what they want is you? What happens when the anger that burns through their veins is now directed at you? Can enemies really become lovers or is it just a losing game? These Deviant Ties follows eleven authors who bring you steamy, dark MM stories that will make your toes curl and your heart pound. 

 Review: ⟫ My general review would be that the stories I have read so far were nowhere near as dark as I was expecting. I don’t know if that means I’ve got a really dark/dirty mind or that my expectations were too high, but none of them struck as me as particularly out there when it came to the relationships. That isn’t to say that the anthology doesn’t contain anything good – some were really well interesting and I will definitely be looking for other stories from some of the authors. Individual reviews are below. 

Below the Belt by Andi Rhodes 

The first rule of fight club is – well, this isn’t that kind of fight club for a start. And the fighters aren’t all there voluntarily. This was fast, brutal and sexy in a very dark way. The relationship between Grizzly and Phantom was also fast, brutal and sexy but it made sense in the world in which they lived – they could hardly go out for tea and cupcakes! Not a lot of romance, but a LOT of chemistry! 4/5  

Diavolo by Andrea Joy 

This one felt a little misleading for a dark read. It started with torture and then took a turn that I didn’t expect. The writing was good – some of the descriptions of what Skyler and Ashton got up to were pleasantly toe-curling, but I’m not sure it fully belonged in this anthology. 3.5/5 

In the Eyes of my Enemy by C P Harris 

This went somewhere I wasn’t expecting with the reason behind the relationship not working out, so that was a good surprise. I liked it but this actual story didn’t stick with me particularly which is a shame because it was well written. 3.5/5 

Caged in Shadows by Amy Thorn 

I could imagine this on the small screen very much like Sons of Anarchy. Really well written, my heart went out to Shakespeare and you could definitely understand his motivations. I wish there had been more time spent with Liam – Shakespeare’s backstory was important but in a novella of this size, I felt too much time was spent on what had happened in the past rather than on his relationship with Liam. 3.75/5 

Evil Beautiful by Rene Van Dalen 

This story wasn’t my definition of dark but I did really enjoy it. Kellen sounded delicious and I loved that he wasn’t a walk-over, and I was intrigued by what I read of Gideon. I would definitely be interested in more mm romance by Rene Van Dalen, but this wasn’t anywhere near as dark as I was expecting/hoping. 4/5 

Loan Shark by Nero Seal 

This is a hard one to review because what happened between the two of them was straight up non-con, with nothing that I would call romance. I think as part of a bigger, longer story, things could have got much more interesting but as it stands, I can’t say I liked it. 2.5/5 

The Alpha Dragon's Instant Family by Sean Michael

Title: ⟫ The Alpha Dragon’s Instant Family 

Author: ⟫ Sean Michael 

Blurb: ⟫ Alpha dragon shifter Warrington Vol has the perfect life. Everyone has a little dragon in them, but he’s the full dragon king of his high-rise castle, along with his best friends Seamus and Harrison. He might had left his overbearing, aristocratic family behind, but now he has the Skye Dun clan and their successful empire. Too bad his well-ordered life gets a jolt when he meets the man he thinks is his mate at a club, then has to leave him without even getting his name due to an attack on his high rise that leaves Harrison gravely injured.

Sebastian Addams is doing the best that he can. He’s just a guy with wings and a single scale on his cheek, as well as his two younger siblings to care for, so he’s pretty low in dragon society. Needing to provide for his family, he looks to a personal assistant job to a business tycoon, but when he walks into the interview, he discovers the man who loved and left him the previous night without even a real introduction. Sebastian wants to slink away, but he needs this job. Badly.

Warrington, though, is overjoyed that Sebastian has walked into his office – now he doesn’t have to go searching for his mate with nothing to go on. The trick will be convincing Sebastian that they’re fated to be together, which gets more complicated when Sebastian winds up pregnant. But Warrington thinks his instant family is amazing and sets about making Sebastian see it too. Now if they can just stay safe from the bomber who seems determined to put an end to Skye Dun clan, they just might get their happy ending. 

Review ⟫ Sean Michael’s Hammer Boys series were some of the first BDSM books I read years ago, so when I saw this ARC being offered it was an easy choice to go for it.

If you’ve read any Sean Michael, then you’ll be familiar with the style: possessive, loving, lots of ‘mine’ and ‘yours’ and a kinda insta-love. This just happens to be that but with dragon shifters. I was hoping for things to be more dragon-related, and for there to be more about them as shifters but it was all a bit surface. It seemed to be more of a reason for mpreg than anything, and a different kind of alpha shifter than a werewolf for example. I think this was a missed opportunity and the main thing that I felt was missing. 

The basic story is fine, and it’s obvious that is planned to be at least three stories as the MC Warrington has two extremely close friends. I actually didn’t like Sebastian, and I can’t even say why. He just seemed like such a non-character to me, despite the fact that he had quite the interesting progression throughout the story with the fact that he had taken on his siblings after the death of his parents and his dragon attributes. There are intimations that there is more to Sebastian’s backstory that will probably/hopefully be explored more fully in the following books. 

This was a nice, sweet and easy read, and very similar to the Hammer Boys but without the BDSM aspect, and I’m not saying that in a bad way. I probably will read the following stories when they are released now that I know what to expect. 

3.5/5 for me.

I received an ARC from Gay Romance Reviews in exchange for an honest review. <hr>