Only You by Leta Blake ('90s Coming of Age #3)

Title: ⟫ Only You (‘90s Coming of Age #3)

Author: ⟫ Leta Blake

Rating: ⟫ 5/5

Blurb: ⟫ Join Peter Mandel on his final steps to love in Only You, the highly-anticipated final book of Leta Blake's ’90s Coming of Age series.

Despite the lingering wounds of his past relationship, Peter is ready to take a chance on finding a faithful love and embracing his true self.

Peter and Daniel explore their connection despite Daniel's complicated home life. But when Adam resurfaces, desperate to win Peter back, Peter must confront his complicated feelings and the painful ghosts of their shared past.

Only You is a powerful and emotional conclusion to the series and a must-read for fans of New Adult Romance and Coming-of-Age fiction.

Review: ⟫ Book hangover ahoy! I stayed up all night reading the final part of Peter’s story and I don’t regret it in the slightest.

It begins immediately after the end of ‘You Are Not Me’ and we find Peter facing a life where he has made (hopefully) his final decision regarding Adam and facing his future. He’s unsure if he has lost his opportunity with Daniel AND lost the new friends he made over the summer, yet he is determined that he wants to move forward as his honest, authentic self and I found myself feeling incredibly proud of him.

There were so many moments in this book where I feared for him, was proud of him, wanted to shake him and cried for him. This ending to his story – or where we leave him – was absolutely brilliant.

He’s in college and figuring out who is he as a photographer, a young gay man, a friend and potentially a lover of someone who can wholly belong to him, and he takes you along on this journey. Leta Blake manages to portray the fears, confusion, highs and lows incredibly well and I was swept away by the idea that they managed to do this throughout Peter’s story without losing his voice in all of it. I can only applaud them for it.

This was a rollercoaster of a read, with some moments making me fear for Peter’s safety, for secrets being exposed, and for chances being taken. The reality of AIDS/HIV was brought to the forefront in painful and realistic ways without fearmongering and I appreciated the sensitivity displayed towards the subject throughout the series. The consequences of actions finally came out into the open, and I appreciated how the two sides were shown – Peter faced his head-on, with as much dignity as possible whilst showing humility and understanding for the part he played; others did not act the same way. I would go so far as to say that we see one character completely unravel beneath the weight of his actions and I know many readers will be glad to see it happen. It’s only due to the writing that you feel any sympathy for this character at all – he’s not a cardboard villain, he’s just a young man who doesn’t know how to be who he is and that was heartbreaking.

It’s difficult to review this without inadvertently spoiling aspects of the story so I will simply say that I put the book down and picked up my laptop to write my review immediately because I wanted to at least try to get down how I was feeling. This was quite possibly the best book by Leta Blake that I have read and I can’t recommend it enough.

I received an ARC from GRR.

You Are Not Me by Leta Blake ('90s Coming of Age #2)

Title: ⟫ You Are Not Me (‘90s Coming of Age #2)

Author: ⟫ Leta Blake

Rating: ⟫ 4.5/5

Blurb: ⟫ Follow Peter into the summer following his senior year to face new beginnings, new friends, and old baggage. After a tumultuous final year of high school, Peter Mandel needs a break. It’s the summer of 1991, and his secret relationship with his ‘best friend’ Adam Algedi is put on hold as Adam goes away to Italy for the summer. On the cusp of adulthood, Peter has a couple of months to explore who he is without Adam at his side. Enter Daniel McPeak, a slightly older, out, responsible college guy with a posse of gay friends and an attraction for Peter. Drawn into the brave new world of the local gay club, Peter embarks on a whirlwind of experiences—good and bad—which culminate in a hotel room where he has to make the ultimate choice. But Adam will come back eventually, and there are promises that have to be kept. As autumn draws near and college awaits, can Peter break free of the binds of twisted first love? And what exactly is Daniel’s role in his life – a brief temptation, or something more?

Review: ⟫This part of the trilogy (I thought there were four books but there are actually three) follows Peter over the summer – Adam is away, Peter is avoiding all of the friends he has made in his final year at school and entering a whole new world. Things are changing at home as well – he learns more about his uncle, his mother becomes more than a distant shadow in the background, and Peter discovers that his feelings for Adam don’t mean that he can’t find someone else attractive. In fact, his attraction to Daniel and the person that he is, as well as finding what could well be ‘his’ people makes him look at his relationship with Adam through different eyes.

I wasn’t sure where this one was going – it was only part two so I knew that there wasn’t going to be a happy ever after. It was fascinating watching Peter begin to turn into the person he was meant to be, without all of the complications of his relationship with Adam coloring everything, even if it was still a huge influence.

I loved meeting new characters and once again, everything is through Peter’s eyes – new, precious, strange and terrifying in almost equal measure.

I felt quite a lot of frustration with the situation with Adam, especially with the idea that once he returned Peter would return to what I quickly began to see as the ‘cage’ of Adam’s love and insistence on how their relationship had to be. I wanted Peter to fight his way through but I also remember the strength of that first love and how hard you cling to it because who knows if you will ever feel anything that strongly again? If you will find someone else who makes you feel the way your first love does?

I found it extremely difficult to make myself stop and write this review before moving to the final novel – I wanted quite desperately to see what was going to happen next, if Peter had made the right choices, if things were going to work out the way I hoped that they would – but I forced myself because it only seemed fair to people who won’t have access to the third book straight away.

I would say that book two is most definitely not ‘filler’ before the main event – every chapter shows Peter's growth, or sometimes even his regressions, and the honest, awkward, painful changes he is going through. Once again, I can recommend reading this even knowing that you might have to wait for the third book – it is satisfying in and of itself, even if it’s not the end of Peter’s story.

I received an ARC from GRR.

Pictures of You by Leta Blake ('90s Coming of Age #1)

Title: ⟫ Pictures of You (‘90s Coming of Age #1)

Author: ⟫ Leta Blake

Rating: ⟫ 4.5/5

Blurb: ⟫ Growing up gay isn’t easy. Growing up gay in Knoxville, Tennessee is even harder.

Eighteen-year-old Peter Mandel, a private school senior—class of 1991—is passionate about photography. Peter doesn’t have many friends, preferring to shoot pictures from behind the scenes to keep his homosexuality secret.

Enter Adam Algedi, a charming, worldly new guy who doesn't do labels, but does want to do Peter. Hardly able to believe gorgeous Adam would want geeky, skinny him of all people, Peter's swept away on a journey of first love and sexual discovery. But as their mutual web of lies spins tighter and tighter, can Peter find the confidence he needs to make the right choices? And will his crush on Daniel, a college acquaintance, open a new path?

Join Peter in the first of this four-part coming of age series as he struggles to love and be loved, and grow into a gay man worthy of his own respect.

This new series by Leta Blake is gay fiction with romantic elements.

Book 1 of 4.

Warning! These books contain: New Adult fiction, ‘90s gay life, small city homosexual experiences, Southern biases, sexual exploration, romance, homophobia, bisexuality, and twisted-up young love. Oh, and a guaranteed happy ending for the main character by the end of Book 4.

Review: ⟫ I saw the first three books offered for review at GRR and I hesitated – could I cope with a cliffhanger like that? Was it worth it?

Having read book 1, then I can categorically say that to me, the wait will be worth it. I decided to review each book that I have (books #1 – 3) after I had read them as that seemed the most fair. So this review only covers book 1 and I have waited to read book 2 so that it doesn’t influence things.

Peter Mandel is gay. It’s the 90s, AIDS has struck down many in the gay community, and in the small Southern town in which he has grown up, being gay is something that gets you beaten up – or worse.

I really enjoyed this story. Told entirely from Peter’s perspective, it’s an extremely insightful slice of life. Peter isn’t the popular kid, the jock or anything like that – he’s a loner who takes photographs, tries to avoid being noticed, and has changed schools due to bullying. He meets Adam at orientation and there begins a transformative experience that forces Peter to learn a lot about himself, about rights and wrongs, how it feels to be on both sides of the equation and life in general. Amidst all of that, he’s trying to pass his senior year and hide a huge aspect of his personality from practically everyone.

There were elements of this book I hated, some that made me cry (growing up in the 80s/90s, I kinda know some of the experiences that Peter had but from the race perspective and the writing brought some of that back), but many elements that made me think and feel happy. And that is perhaps the best way of describing this book – it makes you live in Peter’s shoes and feel what he’s feeling. The confusion, the frustration, the hurt and the joy – it all comes through from the page.

Although it’s a ‘cliffhanger’ the ending felt appropriate as it represented the end of a period in Peter’s life and being on the cusp of something new and different. I closed the book and sat and ruminated on many aspects of it, allowing myself to soak in what I had learned about and from Peter before considering opening book 2. I think it’s going to be a difficult thing to wait for book 4, but in the meantime, I have books 2 and 3 to keep me going.

A solid 4.5 from me. I received an ARC from GRR.

Punching the V-Card by Leta Blake

Title: ⟫ Punching the V-Card 

Author: ⟫ Leta Blake 

Blurb: ⟫ Best friend’s hot older brother? Check. 

A weekend alone? Check. 

Finally punching that V-card? Oh yes. 

Carl has a pesky “innocence” problem that requires a solution. His best friend's brother Devon is the perfect answer. Devon’s experienced, gorgeous, and Carl’s been secretly crushing on him for ages. Carl doesn’t want to “lose it” to just anybody. Everyone says the first time should be special—and what’s more special than sharing it with the guy of his dreams? 

It’s not like Devon won’t enjoy it. 

Solving this so-called problem is an objectively fun experience for most people! The plan is totally win/win! Shockingly, Devon agrees. But even though it goes better than either of them ever expected, Carl’s moving across the country soon. It’s not possible to have more. 

No matter how much they both want it. 

Right? 

Punching the V-Card by Leta Blake is a is a high heat, low angst, new adult gay romance featuring a best friend’s hot older brother, scorching first times, and falling in love with the guy of your dreams. 

Review: ⟫ I have no idea how to review this story fairly! It sounds like a (fairly) realistic idea, but some of the elements are a bit fantastical. It was a very steamy, fun read and the entire book involves the two main characters with a small cameo from the sister. 

I think for me the things I found difficult were how innocent Carl was, and yet he turned out to be some kind of mega-dominant sexual maestro straight out of the gate. Probably a ‘me’ issue that I found that hard to get my head around? 

I did enjoy reading it, although I struggled a little with the emotions from Devon as he went from vaguely fancying Carl to being so in love with him by the end of the weekend that he literally changed his life plans. 

It was well written and perhaps if I had gone into it in a different frame of mind, I would have enjoyed it more and been less critical. I think I’m going to look for a few other books by this author to see if it was just this one that my sceptical mind struggled with! 

A solid 3.75 rounded up to 4 from me. I received an ARC from GRR.

North's Pole by Leta Blake (Camp Bay Christmas Story)

Title: ⟫ North’s Pole

Author: ⟫ Leta Blake

Rating: ⟫ 3.5/5

Blurb: ⟫ Located on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille in beautiful Northern Idaho, Camp Bay Chalet is a discrete and cosy B&B, popular with both locals and minor celebrities for its fabulous holiday weekends.

The pic seen around the world….

The son of Hollywood royalty, North Astor-Ford has lived his entire life in the public’s eye. He knows better than anyone that someone is always watching.

So when one not-so-innocent picture meant for a hook-up accidentally ends up cross-posted across all his social media, North is left humiliated and scared. With no one to turn to, he flees to Camp Bay Chalet to be close to the one person he used to count on to protect him from the world.

Liam’s life has been in a holding pattern since the moment North fired him three years ago, even if it was for the best. A romance between a bodyguard and his client would’ve caused exactly the sort of scandal Liam was hired to prevent.

Now that North is back in his orbit, Liam’s going to do what he does best, protect North from the world. And maybe, just maybe, the charm of a Camp Bay Chalet Christmas will be enough to both heal North and bring about the romance they’ve both always wanted.

North’s Pole takes place in the Camp Bay shared universe, but can be read as a stand-alone. Look for more of the Camp Bay universe in Stolen Christmas by Marie Sexton.

Review: ⟫ Despite the raunchiness of the initial subject matter, this was a very sweet, quite romantic story with some sexy times thrown in. North was a really sweet guy – slightly naive and perhaps even gullible considering his upbringing, and not the brightest bulb in the box. His humiliation and anguish at the accidental pic that went around the world was palpable and actually made me think about real-life celebrities and wonder how they cope when sex tapes, etc. get released.

Liam was the official white knight – riding to the rescue and taking care of North the way he always did in the past. I thought it was really interesting the circumstances behind him getting fired – both he and North actually handled that with maturity and quite a lot of dignity.

Camp Bay sounds absolutely lovely, especially around Christmas time and this was all-in-all, a lovely Christmas read. The ages of the MCs bothered me a bit – they both seemed so long to be riding into the sunset, but the epilogue definitely helped there – and I quite enjoyed the read. I haven’t read any other books set in the Camp Bay verse but I will keep a look out.

I received an ARC from GRR. 

Bully for Sale by Leta Blake (Heat for Sale)

Title: ⟫ Bully for Sale 

Author: ⟫ Leta Blake 

Rating: ⟫ 4/5 

Blurb: ⟫ Bullied and outcast, Ezer has seen firsthand the cruelties of the world. He knows what’s expected from his kind—timid compliance and submission to his “betters.” But Ezer isn’t one to roll over and conform to the role society has forced upon him. 

Despite his defiant nature, Ezer is coerced into partnering with a man of his father’s choosing. One his father promises will love and care for him for the rest of his life. 

A night of nameless and faceless passion later, Ezer is horrified to find himself bound to Ned, a bully who has done so much to make his life hell. Ezer’s determined to hate Ned but he can’t help the way his body craves his touch. 

Ned is young, privileged, and hopelessly in love with Ezer. Too bad his pack of so-called “friends” have targeted Ezer for torment. Ned has a lot of regrets, but none greater than his role in Ezer’s misery. When Ned’s offered the contract of a lifetime, he sees it as the only way forward with the man he loves. 

The dual biological drives of heat and its aftermath might be all that’s keeping them close now, but Ned is determined to prove he’s worthy of Ezer’s love. While Ezer is just as determined not to fall for his bully. 

Bully for Sale is a standalone m/m romance set in the Heat for Sale universe featuring forced proximity, first times, bully romance, opposites attract, and enemies to lovers. Content warnings will be available at start of book, visible via the Look Inside and sample. 

Review: ⟫ When it comes to being a flawed hero, Ned Clearwater is miles ahead of anyone I’ve read in the past! This guy – I mean, how he was surprised about how Ezer felt about him was completely and utterly beyond me, and he was more than deserving of Ezer’s hate. However, Ned actually impressed me because he kept trying. He listened to Ezer, listened to his uncle and Earl, his servant, and he really did try. Which is more than could be said for some of the alphas in this story. I could quite happily strangle both Ned and Ezer’s father for their attitudes and behaviours. And don’t get me started on how I felt about Amos, Ezer’s Da. In fact, pretty much his entire family should be thrown away and he start again because none of them were really worth a thing! 

I have read all of the other books in the Heat for Sale series, but this one hit very differently. Both Ezer and Ned were so young – far too young to be dealing with the complexities and dangers of their new relationship. I was immersed and invested far more than I had expected, and I really liked the fact that the bullying and old-fashioned attitudes were handled realistically – there was no complete and utter happy ever after, and everyone had to work for their happiness. 

There were appearances from characters within the series but you don’t need to have read their books to go with this story. If you enjoy mpreg as well as alpha/beta/omega dynamics, I think you would find this book would be enjoyable. 

I received an ARC from GRR.