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.

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.

Echo by Willow Thomas (Fallen Gargoyles Book #2)

TITLE: ⟫ Echo

AUTHOR: ⟫ Willow Thomas

SERIES: ⟫ The Fallen Gargoyles Book #2

RATING: ⟫ 2.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Falling in love with a rival MC member wasn’t on my to-do list.

Echo

The Fallen Gargoyles are everything to me. Kenny took me in when I was at my lowest. It’s thanks to him I’m alive, making something of myself by going to community college. These people are my family.

When I’m not in class, losing myself in a book, or working construction, I’m doing my club duties as an enforcer.

I have zero time for a relationship. Even one with the gorgeous chatty guy who sits next to me in class.

I vow to not get close to him and drag him into my world.

But when I see him being kidnapped, it looks like the choice is taken out of my hands.

Joey

Growing up in a motorcycle club is all I’ve ever known and I hate it. My dad is the president of a one percent club which tells you everything about the kind of life he leads.

I don’t want it.

I want to get my degree and leave Oregon behind me. Until that happens I will look for bright spots wherever I can. Like the super hot guy in my Lit class.

Lessons are spent with me talking at him and with every grunt he graces me, I fall for him a little bit more.

When he saves me from a few of my dad’s enemies, I worry I’ve scared him off.

And then I find out who he really is.

Echo is book two in the contemporary motorcycle club series, Fallen Gargoyles. This is a low angst, steamy, humor filled book, with mentions of illegal activities and parental neglect.

REVIEW: ⟫ I loved the premise – the idea that these two guys are falling for each other, both with completely erroneous ideas about the other whilst actually inhabiting similar worlds really appealed to me.

I enjoyed the interactions between them with Joey chattering away and Echo simply basking in being in his presence – it was all a bit dreamy, especially with Echo escorting Joey to his car after class, very swoon-worthy! The background characters were interesting – the difference between Joey’s Dad and the Club’s leader was a sharp distinction but nicely made; and Molly made me smile a lot.

The Fallen Gargoyles were also very interesting – the name alone was enough to make me think they were kinda fascinating! I haven’t read the previous book in the series so perhaps I am missing out on something – I get the feeling Nicky and Booker had quite the story and I will be looking for it at some point.

However, there was a significant time jump in the story which meant that we missed out on a lot of the relationship building – the plot in the background was never resolved as I imagined it will be handled in a future book? – but it meant that after the discovery, things sort of jolted and suddenly we were in an established relationship without the little details and interactions based around who Joey and Echo honestly were. I think that was a big shame because I wanted those details – I wanted to know about their first time, how Echo came to be in the club, how the decisions were made about who moved from which club. Their chemistry was intense and Joey’s internal (and occasionally external monologue) were both entertaining and filthy and I would have loved to see Echo’s reaction to that!

I very much enjoyed what I read but would have liked to read the missing details. I received an ARC from the author.

Dateless by Willow Thomas (Squad Goals Book #3)

TITLE: ⟫ Dateless

AUTHOR: ⟫ Willow Thomas

SERIES: ⟫ Squad Goals Book #3

RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ The Cheerleader and The Frat Boy

Luke

On paper, I have everything going for me.

I am a flier on the FVU cheerleading team. I’m getting a degree so I can become a kindergarten teacher. I have amazing friends and the best brothers.

Yet, with men, I am totally inexperienced.

Kisses…yes. Anything else…nope.

A stupid incident lands me in hot water with the president of the Kappa Frat house. Corey Howe is rightly feared across campus. Students and staff members have been expelled for crossing him. He gives me an ultimatum; do whatever he says, or he goes to the Dean and I lose my scholarship.

It’s hardly surprising what I choose.

Spending so much time with a guy who shows his disdain for me should be a nightmare, but the glimpses I see of the person behind the facade draw me in.

I’m in serious trouble…and I think I like it.

Corey

I may have a trust fund, but I hate entitlement.

When I became the president of the Kappa, I swore I would turn it from being an old boy’s club, to a frat where anyone can thrive.

It’s given me a reputation for being an asshole, which I wear like a suit of armor. People don’t bother you if they think you’re going to ruin them.

Luke Green didn’t get the memo.

Instead of ratting him out, I choose an unorthodox approach. Yet despite every chore and task I throw at him, Luke never loses his smile. He does everything with so much enthusiasm I want to throw him over my shoulder and see if he gives the same amount of energy in my bed.

That’s never going to happen…

…until it does.

REVIEW: ⟫This was quite the delightful read! If you’ve read the other Squad Goals stories, you’ll recognise Luke – the virgin looking for love whilst watching all of his friends find theirs. And finally, Luke finds the man of his dreams! He just so happens to be a nightmare as far as other people are concerned – the rumours circulating around Corey make him sound very scary indeed.

As a duo, Luke and Corey are just lovely. Corey gets the wrong impression of Luke initially but it was refreshing to see him realise his mistake and move on. No major angst, no denial – just acceptance that he was wrong and that Luke truly is the sexy, straight forward, caring man that he appears to be. Corey tries not to fall in love but not that hard, and that is another sweet side to this – after talking to Ryder, Corey realises that he’s pulling away from Luke because of his own fears and makes efforts to rectify that. Again, minimal angst, just some thoughtfulness and a willingness to be better.

So freaking refreshing!

The sex was fun, sexy and everything Luke deserved after so long – basically, this whole book is just like a golden retriever. You can’t help but smile and it leaves you in a much better mood once you’ve read it!

I received an ARC from the author.

Clueless by Willow Thomas (Squad Goals Book #1)

TITLE: ⟫ Clueless

AUTHOR: ⟫ Willow Thomas

SERIES: ⟫ Squad Goals #1

RATING: ⟫ 3.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ The Cheerleader and His Twin’s Best Friend

Lexi

I’ve been in love with Ryder Jackson since my twin sister brought him home and declared him her best friend five years ago. He is funny, smart, gorgeous. The perfect man. Except he’s never shown any romantic interest in me. Ryder only does hookups, but my poor demi heart wants the whole package. I vow to get over him and focus on my upcoming cheer competition, but suddenly, he’s everywhere, making me fall harder.

When he accidentally walks in on my self-love time, everything changes. One night with Ryder isn’t enough.

I know it’ll hurt when it ends, but if friends with benefits is all Ryder can give, I’ll take it.

Ryder

No boyfriends, no repeats. That’s always been my motto. But when I nearly get my ass handed to me by the disgruntled ex of a former hookup, I realize I need to change things up.

No sex until I learn to avoid the walking red flags.

I can do this.

Except, suddenly, all I can see is Lexi, my best friend’s brother. I’m creating situations to get cuddles from him during nineties movie night and even going to a football game just to watch him cheer.

After one hot night, I want more.

But how do I get Lexi to see me as more than just a hookup?

Clueless is book one in Squad Goals, an MM cheerleader romance. Expect demi rep, witty banter, delicious pining, and cheertastic fun!

REVIEW: ⟫ To be fair to this book, having accidentally read the second one in the series first meant that I kinda felt like I already knew what was going to happen. I’m pretty sure that that affected how I felt about the story – it felt like I already knew it all and what was left was filling in the details. It’s a sweet story – Lexi pining for Ryder who is completely oblivious to how he feels as he views Lexi very much as his best friend’s brother. Both Ryder and Lexi were nice characters, and their chemistry was strong once they got together. There were a few instances of misunderstandings that definitely could have been avoided, and I wasn’t much of a fan of the use of those as both men seemed more than capable of discussing things rationally. I did get irritated at Ryder a couple of times – leaving without saying something, running away at finding something out – but overall, I enjoyed reading the story.

Restless by Willow Thomas (Squad Goals Book #2)

TITLE: ⟫ Restless

AUTHOR: ⟫ Willow Thomas

SERIES: ⟫ Squad Goals #2

RATING: ⟫ 4/5

BLURB: ⟫ The Cheerleader and the Football Star

Gio

Kissing Tucker Evans at a frat party was a stupid idea. He’s still getting over his cheating ex and there is no way I am anyone’s rebound guy.

Except when he gets injured, somehow I find myself volunteering to help look after him.

In every sense.

So maybe I will be his rebound. If I know what the score is going in, I can’t be hurt.

Solid plan.

Tucker

Kissing Giovanni Russo at a frat party was a brilliant idea. There was more chemistry in that one kiss than there ever was with my ex.

Now I just have to convince him to give me a chance.

Sharing a bed at his parents house leads to some epic fun times, but he has it in his head that I just want a rebound.

With Gio I want everything.

Restless is a cheerleader/football player MM romance. It has overly helpful friends, forced proximity, one bed, and an accidental grand gesture.

REVIEW: ⟫ I should preface this by saying that I haven’t read Squad Goals Book #1, so many of the characters in this story were unknown to me. That isn’t to say that it can’t be read as a standalone as I very quickly caught up with who was who, and how the ‘lines’ mingled.

Squad Goals was a fun, light, sexy read with both Gio and Tucker being very sweet, loving guys who were just figuring out what they wanted in life. Tucker was cheated on by his ex and, quite rightly, was hurt by it. However, the hurt wasn’t personal to the ex – it was more the general ego bruising that was the issue. Unfortunately, Gio has obviously had experience being the rebound person before and is determined that it isn’t going to happen again. Even for Tucker.

I really liked the way that Tucker didn’t push Gio’s boundaries – he was respectful, understanding and honest about how he felt, and it was good to see both leads be so clear and upfront. The ‘helpful’ friends made me laugh – I loved the idea of just how petty one character was known for being – and I also really liked how supportive they all were in their own, distinct ways.

Gio’s parents made me laugh out loud a few times – his Mom was just absolute gold in her attitude and behaviour, and again, I liked how supportive they were to their son and his friends. I wish there had been a bit more cheerleading involved but that’s a minor quibble. All in all, this was a light, fun read with a decent bit of steam and enjoyable characters.

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review and have downloaded the first book so that I can catch up on what I missed.