The Royal Curse by Eliot Grayson (Twilight Mages Book #1)

TITLE: ⟫ The Royal Curse

AUTHOR: ⟫ Eliot Grayson

SERIES: ⟫ Twilight Mages

RATING: ⟫ 4.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Dawn mage. Twilight mage. Cursed, useless, damaged, dangerous…

His birth magic leaves Prince Nikola with nothing but bad live as another man’s possession, subject to his whims and his desires, or remain dependent on a potion that stunts his powers and prevents him from knowing love. Andreas vows to protect the prince with his life—whether Nikola wants him to or not. After all, the queen pays his soldier’s wage. Nikola’s nothing but a job to do. But when they find themselves stranded, with Nikola’s potion running out, Andreas has to…improvise. Because what Prince Nikola needs to survive is the opposite of a lowly guard’s respectful protection. It should’ve been only one night. Just until the potion’s refilled. But now that Nikola’s had Andreas’s touch, he craves Andreas again and again. He shouldn’t. But he—and his magic—can’t live without it…

The Royal Curse is a high-heat MM fantasy romance with a stubborn prince, an even more stubborn soldier, and cursed magic that can’t be denied. There is an attempted on-page assault that is not between the main characters. HEA guaranteed.

REVIEW: ⟫ I need to start by saying that I am extremely happy that this is going to be a series because there needs to be so much more about Twilight Mages! Their magic is fascinating and I really enjoyed the descriptions included in the story.

This book is described as high heat and is well deserving of the notification – once Andreas and Nikola get going, they really get going! And I loved reading the two of them together – they were hot, sexy, caring and oh, so much fun! I enjoyed the back story regarding Niko’s trip and the reasoning behind it, and the subplot was entertaining even if just for seeing Andreas getting all possessive and violent over Niko.

This was a lovely addition to my Eliot Grayson library and I will happily re-read it in preparation for the next story – which, please, be out soon!

I received and ARC from GRR.

Corin and the Courtier by Eliot Grayson (Beautiful Beasts Book #1)

TITLE: ⟫ Corin and the Courtier (Beautiful Beasts Book #1)

AUTHOR: ⟫ Eliot Grayson

RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ Most people run from beasts, not to them…

Aster didn’t put much thought into his escape. All he knew when he ran up that mountain—straight into the lair of a grumpy dragon knight with a huge grudge against his family—was that he couldn’t submit to an arranged marriage. It never occurred to him that a snowstorm would strand him there. Or that he’d give in to years of longing and beg for the monster’s forbidden touch. But it happened. All of it…

Corin wasn’t trying to be a hero—especially not Aster’s hero. He couldn’t very well let him die, though. So he protected him. Which might have been considered noble…if he hadn’t also fallen into bed with him. Over and over again. But the cost of keeping Aster is far more than Corin’s willing to pay. Corin will eventually be forced to let him go—even if it destroys him.

When Aster’s problems follow him up the mountain—literally—he realizes running is no longer an option. The only question now is whether Corin will fight for him, or burn their potential happily ever after to the ground…

This spicy, steamy, M/M paranormal fantasy romance features a pair of star-crossed opposites, a little forced proximity (with only one bed), some silliness involving a lack of pants at unexpected moments, and plenty of dirty talk.

This series does not contain mpreg. There’s a brief occurrence of self-destructive ideation in this book, but no action is taken. HEA guaranteed!

REVIEW: ⟫ This was a fun introduction to a new series. Corin has sent himself into exile and is, quite frankly, bored. His boredom is alleviated by the last person he should be pleased to see – the twin brother of his ex-fiancee. Somehow, Asher works his way beneath Corin’s cold exterior until the two of them are discovering they have much in common, including a predilection for a little dirty talk and destroying clothing. But when the very thing Asher is running away from catches up with him, do the two of them have what it takes to grab the happiness that is right in front of them?

This was full of witty banter, fun situations and a new look at the old trope of only one bed. I loved learning so much about the dragons and judging by the cover photo, it’s completely understandable why Asher has such a crush on Corin. At turns touching, annoying, exasperating but always entertaining, I really loved this introduction to a new series – and I can barely wait to see how a certain troubadour copes in the future.

I received an ARC from GRR.

Lost Touch by Eliot Grayson

Title: ⟫ Lost Touch 

Author: ⟫ Eliot Grayson 

Blurb: ⟫ Not being able to feel pain might sound like heaven… but it’s a living hell. 

After enduring more than a year of imprisonment and experimentation, Ash is finally free—but not unscathed. Unable to feel pleasure or pain, and without any memories of his life before his ordeal, he’s at the mercy of his rescuer: an alpha werewolf who promises he’ll protect Ash no matter what. 

Drew is handsome, caring, and kind, but he might not be all he seems, and he’s suffering his own ill effects of his briefer imprisonment. When he burst into Ash’s cell drenched in blood after ripping their torturers to pieces, Ash looked into his eyes and didn’t see anything but safety. 

But he’s dangerous. 

And if he can’t control himself, Ash could suffer a worse fate than the one he escaped… 

Lost Touch can be read as a standalone and has new main characters, but it closely follows the events of Lost and Bound and is better read in series. Contains knotting, amnesia, pack politics, and a human who’s willing to offer himself up in every way to help the alpha werewolf who saved him. This series does not contain mpreg. HEA guaranteed. 

Review: ⟫ The idea doesn’t sound so awful when you first think of it. Being pain-free (especially to someone with chronic illnesses) sounds pretty damned awesome to be honest. 

But when you get into this story and realise what has been done to Ash, the actual reality of it is completely horrendous. I was kinda awestruck at the idea to be honest – not being able to taste food, feel things – how would you keep going, knowing that’s going to be your existence? 

The relationship between Drew and Ash was fascinating. There was a lot of misunderstandings on both sides, with communication being an issue for them, but there was also a sweetness there. They were both committed to protecting the other, seeing the good rather than the bad and it was lovely to witness. 

This story was also hot as hades – not being able to feel meant that Ash was completely and utterly in the moment when he and Drew were together in bed, and it was so well articulated how he gained pleasure from them being together that way even though he couldn’t feel. 

Drew’s family were interesting, and I loved his sister – especially how she ended up helping him. That made me raise an eyebrow and applaud her ‘sacrifice’. It was really good to catch up with the others (Calder is still one of my absolute favourites) and the banter and snark between Arik and Nate never gets old. I enjoyed this instalment and was really glad to see the notification turn up in my inbox. 

A happy 4/5 from me and I wouldn’t mind knowing what happened to that Fairy!

The Alpha Contract by Eliot Grayson (Mismatched Mates)

Title: ⟫ The Alpha Contract (Mismatched Mates)
Author: ⟫ Eliot Grayson
Blurb: ⟫ Sometimes you get what you pay for. Sometimes you get more than you bargained for...

Brook's alpha-centric family doesn’t respect him. He'll only succeed his father as CEO if he takes an alpha mate. But an alpha is the last thing he wants. Brook likes to be on top, in life and in bed.

A paid mate seems like the ideal solution. The alpha can run interference with Brook's family, but Brook will be in charge. When he hires Dimitri, a rough-around-the-edges criminal who's deep in debt and desperate enough to take any job, Brook expects a transactional relationship. One night together to form the mate bond. Simple.

Dimitri's never been with another man, but how bad can it be? Even if Brook is a snobby rich dude, like his family. Only he isn’t. He's funny, honourable, open-minded, and surprisingly vulnerable…and an unexpectedly willing lover. Dimitri's protective instincts are as aroused as his body.

Brook can’t help responding to Dimitri's kindness, humour, and ability to take charge in bed and out—something that's never appealed to Brook until now. And that makes things anything but simple.

It's supposed to be a means to an end. A mutually beneficial arrangement. But for this to be anything more, they'll have to expose their family secrets and admit their real feelings…

The Alpha Contract can be read as a stand-alone and is only loosely related to the previous book in series, Lost Touch. Contains an alpha-for-hire, a wealthy executive with a plan, and plenty of knotting. This series does not contain mpreg. HEA guaranteed.

Review: ⟫ Firstly, I would definitely agree that this is only tangentially related to the Mismatched Mates series – in fact, I would go so far as to say that it does it a disservice to tack it onto the end as readers may be disappointed or confused expecting something more like the other books.

However, if you read this book as a complete stand-alone, I reckon the love will be for real. I have seen a few people express concerns about certain aspects of the book: Dimitri being completely straight initially, his comments about how he is able to perform sexually with Brook, and aspects of Brook appearing to have extremely female characteristics whilst being a man.

And I can understand and appreciate them.

However, I found this book engaging and entertaining. It made me giggle at some of their interactions, the sex was hot, and the almost cartoonish villains just added to the whole thing. I guess I would suggest you suspend belief and just enjoy the good writing, the snark and banter, and the guaranteed HEA. This book made me smile, sigh and generally feel happy and I think my appreciation for it is based on that more than anything.

I’ve enjoyed the Mismatched Mates series and would love to read more, but perhaps this book could be the beginning of another, different series in it’s own right? Definitely recommend if you are looking to escape for a few hours and deserving of a 4/5 from me.

I received an ARC from GRR.