Barbarian by Onley James (Jericho's Boys Book #3)

TITLE: ⟫ Barbarian

AUTHOR: ⟫ Onley James

SERIES: ⟫ Jericho’s Boys #3

RATING: ⟫ 5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Nico Michaels pretends to be carefree, avoiding anything serious, especially relationships; his chaotic past has taught him that love only complicates things. He’s content with one-night stands and his close-knit group of friends, including his roommate, Malachi Mizrahi.

Neurodivergent and gender-fluid, Malachi wakes up each morning with a whole new personality, but one thing remains his love for Nico. They clicked perfectly from day one, sharing a love of everything from anime to nature documentaries. They even share a bed. Platonically, of course.

One night, the lines blur when they share a kiss, but before things can go further, a desperate call from one of Mal’s dance students throws them into a missing person’s case that leaves them with more questions than answers. To complicate matters, Mal reveals he’s been quietly orchestrating Nico’s whole life without him even noticing. Nico is shaken to his core, his perception of their relationship shattered.

As they navigate the perilous world of a vicious Chinese triad, their bond deepens, and Nico begins to see that Malachi is not only the perfect friend, but the perfect man to fulfill all his needs. Together, they must face their past and survive their present if they want any chance of a happy ending in their future.

Barbarian is a friends-to-lovers, dark romance with an HEA and no cliffhangers. It features a masochistic vigilante with ADHD and a video game addiction and his sadistic and controlling best friend who worships the ground he walks on. As with any Onley book, you’ll find dark humor, steamy sexy times, and gratuitous violence, but only against people who totally deserve it. This is book 3 in the Jericho’s Boys series. Each book follows a different couple.

REVIEW: ⟫ In a feat of self control that I didn’t know I possessed, I stopped myself from reading this as it was posted to Onley’s patreon – I wanted to have the whole thing to binge in one go and I downloaded it last night. I haven’t been to sleep yet (I guess the patience and self control only lasted so long) because I had to read this in one go! And it is SO worth the lack of sleep!

Nico and Malachi are absolutely fascinating – the way that their jagged edges match so well. Malachi described it well when he talked about them being two souls waiting to be reunited – which, height of romance right there – and I cannot imagine either of them with anyone else. The sex was off the charts hot – as to be expected from Onley – and I loved the background plot involving the triads, counterfeit handbags and a psychopath (one of the bad ones) masquerading as a good brother.

I loved all of the other boys popping in and out; I adore Felix; but I almost stroked out when Freckles threatened Coe with ‘if you die, I’ll marry Kendra and have the kids call her Mom!’ That was absolute gold and I chuckled so hard I scared my cats.

I love Onley’s characterisations, how she builds the tension in both the plot and the relationship so that you’re on the edge of your seat waiting for the resolution. Thomas Mulvaney remains the absolute GOAT, and I had a complete and utter blast living in this universe for the last six hours. I might console myself with re-reading the Necessary Evils books before I go and have a mooch about on Onley’s Patreon – I don’t have to avoid it now so can catch up on all of the mini fics, etc!

Rex by Willow Thomas (Fallen Gargoyles MC #3)

TITLE: ⟫ Rex

AUTHOR: ⟫ Willow Thomas

SERIES: ⟫ Fallen Gargoyle’s MC #3

RATING: ⟫ 3.75/5

BLURB: ⟫ Falling in love was not something I had planned

Rex

Watching my club brothers find their forever men has got me wanting something more than the odd hook up.

Love isn’t on the cards for me though. How could it be when the example I had growing up was an abusive asshole.

I’ve always thought that I could never love someone the way that they deserve.

But then I meet him.

Sweet, funny, lonely Ian.

I don’t care if I can’t love, I’ll learn.

Because he deserves the world.

And I am going to be the only one who gives it to him.

Ian is mine.

Ian

I am so freaking lonely.

All my family are gone, I don’t have any friends, and working from home means I don’t even have work colleagues.

Being painfully shy does not invite friendships easily.

I miss hugs.

Having not been touched by another human being in so long I do something a little bit impulsive.

Getting a tattoo just so someone will touch me isn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but it quickly proves to be the best thing when I meet Rex.

Rex gives me more than just a tattoo. Pretty soon I am drawn into his world of bikers, parties, and a family I would give anything to be a part of.

I want to stay here. With Rex.

Now I just need to hope the beautiful man might see me as something other than a friend.

REVIEW: ⟫ This was a very sweet, sexy, quick read. Ian has been alone for what feels like forever and longs for touch. Rex is surrounded by his friends finding love and feeling like it’s not on the cards for him. When they meet, it’s instant fireworks, with Ian choosing a tattoo with very special meaning to Rex.

The two of them were very sweet (even when their thoughts were decidedly adult) and I loved how quickly Rex’s found family accepted Ian and made sure he felt wanted for himself. The two of them together were a match made in heaven, especially with how much Ian enjoys being tattooed – I can only imagine how much fun they will have covering him in Rex’s work!

I received an ARC from the Author.

Monstrous Travels as Wicked as Sin by W.H.Lockwood (The Sinful Crimes Duology Book #2)

TITLE: ⟫ Monstrous Tales as Wicked as Sin

AUTHOR: ⟫ W.H. Lockwood

SERIES: ⟫ The Sinful Crimes Duology Book #2

RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ “If it hasn’t been too awful, I’d really like it if you’d keep doing crimes with me.”

Deeply in love, traversing the world on the holiday of a lifetime, that hard-earned happy ending is almost in sight for Percy Ashdown and Joe Bruno.

There’s just the small matter of Percy’s ex princess-with-benefits, who seems determined to get her hands on his magical sheath. And apparently she’s recently developed the ability to raise the dead.

Never fear. As always, Percy has a plan. A dangerous plan. And with hot priest Joe Bruno as his new partner in crime, Percy’s never felt more confident. For the first time, the two will work together, secret-free, to face ghosts, sequined hot shorts, and a villain far more powerful and malignant than anything they’ve met before.

But as Percy’s innate darkness clashes time and again with Joe’s unrelenting light, plans go spectacularly awry in a series of ridiculous, hilarious, and horrifying misadventures, leading them to wonder, are they really a match made in heaven? Or are they just too different to ever make things work?

Monstrous Travels as Wicked as Sin is the romantic, heart-stopping, adrenaline-fuelled orgy of steamy, bloody, outrageous excess that will leave you gasping for air, renewing that Valium prescription, and wondering how you’ll ever return to normal life again.

REVIEW: ⟫ I’ll admit, I struggled to read this one. The writing was so evocative that I found myself having nightmares with some of the things the author described and I wasn’t sure if I could carry on reading it.

However, I really wanted to know how Joe and Percy were going to get out of the absolutely horrific situation that they found themselves in, so I persevered. I did have to take several breaks – my goodness, some of the things in this book were far too terrifying – but I am glad that I pushed through and finished it.

The love between Joe and Percy is a one-of-a-kind and that was the ultimate message that came through. The way they feel about each other is the closest thing to real soul-mates that I have read, so if you can handle the horror, the gore and the scary stuff, you will love this book more than the first one.

I’m going to read something light and fluffy and hope that I can get to sleep without the lights on! I received an ARC from the author.

Breathless by Willow Thomas (Squad Goals Book )#

TITLE: ⟫ Breathless

AUTHOR: ⟫ Willow Thomas

SERIES: ⟫ Squad Goals Book #4

RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ The Cheerleader and The Guy Next Door

Perry

My life is a mess.

My mom and sister treat me like I’m the worst person in the world because I enforce my lone boundary. I’m really close to failing a class that is crucial to my degree. The very important regional cheerleading competition is coming up.

It’s a lot.

Then I meet my new neighbor and realize it’s the hot guy who witnessed something I do not want my cheer squad to find out. My life gets even more messy as I come up with a proposition to convince him to keep my secret.

He tells me he’ll keep my secret anyway, so why do I push him to take the deal?

Beau

Inheriting my grandfather’s old house after he passes away is bittersweet. It’s not been lived in for twenty years and is next to a house full of college cheerleaders, but it is perfect for me and my bee hives.

When I introduce myself to the squad, I come face to face with Perry, the guy whose family life imploded in front of me weeks ago.

He offers to help me kick start my business in exchange for never mentioning what I witnessed. No way would I say anything, but I still take him up on his offer.

Perry is the kind of man you use any excuse to spend time with.

So I do.

Breathless is book four in Squad Goals, an MM cheerleader romance. Expect a not-so-meet cute, Petty Perry, bee puns, spice, and a lot of cheer.

REVIEW: ⟫ It’s time for the king of petty, Perry, to find his HEA and as expected, this one was a lot of fun. Perry has an absolutely awful family consisting of his mother and sister, and the first time he meets Beau is during one of the most awful interactions.

However, when Beau moves in next door and has a business proposition that is exactly what Perry needs for his course, things go a lot more smoothly. Beau is not quite as petty as Perry but does a good enough job to keep up with our lovely cheerleader. The rest of the gang is present and correct, complete with their normally inappropriate and/or funny behaviour so this was like revisiting old friends.

I liked Beau and Perry together, especially the way that Beau views Perry as something special – it’s exactly what our boy deserves! A solid addition to the Squad Goals series! I received an ARC from the author.

Sinful Crimes for the Artistically Inclined by W.H. Lockwood (Sinful Crimes Duology Book #1)

TITLE: ⟫ Sinful Crimes for the Artistically Inclined

AUTHOR: ⟫ W.H. Lockwood

SERIES: ⟫ The Sinful Crimes Duology Book #1

RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ "It’s you and it’s you and it’s always been you…"

Catholic priest and exorcist Joe Bruno has been nursing a secret crush for months. All he can think about is too-sexy-for-words, demon-killing art historian Percy Ashdown.

One cataclysmic night, when Joe realises Percy’s about to slip from his grasp forever, he’s forced to lay his cards on Percy’s table. What Joe doesn’t know is that Percy’s dreamed of this moment since the day they met, and quicker than he can say Hail Mary, Percy whisks Joe away to Europe on the holiday of a lifetime.

The only problem is, Percy’s living a double life. And while he’s determined to keep his dark side hidden from his sweet priest, secrets soon start catching up with them. Before he knows it, the two are mired in crime, blood, and zombies.

As each disaster falls at their feet, Percy’s hapless and hilarious attempts to pretend to be good pull them both deeper into a web of lies, leaving Joe wondering, has he made the worst mistake of his life? Or could Percy really be the happy ending Joe’s always dreamed of?

REVIEW: ⟫ An absolute rollicking ride of a story, I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into! Percy and Joe are stupidly in love with each other – I say stupidly because they are both hiding things about themselves in an attempt to fit the ‘image’ of themselves they have presented.

On a number of heists, they get themselves into trouble with zombies, art theft, corrupt priests and human trafficking, and that’s not even getting into all of the dodgy stuff that Percy is involved in! The sex scenes were hot and steamy, with the chemistry between Percy and Joe burning up the page. This reads like a serialisation that has been compiled and I actually really enjoyed the format. It made me feel like I could dip in and out of the book and quickly find my place. There is some major violence, blood and gore (as to be expected with zombies and the like) but the humour permeates the entire story, and even whilst you’re shaking your head at this pair getting into scrapes, you can’t help but cheer them on in their adventures.

I’m looking forward to the second part of this duology which is due out in 2025. I received an ARC from the author.