Platonic Rulebook by Saxon James (Divorced Mens Cliub #2)

Title: ⟫ Platonic Rulebook (Divorced Mens Club #2)

Author: ⟫ Saxon James

Blurb: ⟫ Griff:

Walking away from my marriage was my idea of a fresh start.

My kid is in college, my ex-wife and I are on good terms … but being single in my forties is a world different to being single in my teens.

I’m thankful for my best friend, Heath. He’s got my back like he always does and is ready to take me out and show me how the bachelor life is done.

He was never supposed to show me literally.

After we wake up in bed together, I can’t stop looking at him differently, and one thing becomes abundantly clear.

I talk a big talk about wanting to be single, but my platonic rule book has gone out the window.

Heath:

When my best friend comes to me for help post-divorce, I’m only too happy to impart my wisdom to him.

After all, Griffin isn’t my type, but even I can tell he’s a complete lumbersnack. Good with his hands, kind eyes, and a killer smile. All the guys and gals are gonna eat him alive.

But the more time we spend together, the less “not my type” he becomes. I’m the one who can’t get enough of him.

Neither of us is interested in a relationship, so what’s a little fun between friends?

We both know the score.

Review: ⟫ Saxon James has rapidly become an auto-buy for me. I love the style of writing, whether it’s hockey players or friends to lovers – I know I’m in for a lovely ride, with maybe a little angst but ultimately a satisfying HEA. And book two in the Divorced Mens Club doesn’t disappoint.

Griff and Heath are so obviously each other’s person that it’s a wonder it took them so long to get together. Although, obviously with Griff being married there was that in the way. There is no cheating in this book – Griff’s marriage is well and truly over before he and Heath begin their no-strings relationship.

My only gripes were with Poppy and Felix. Poppy because she threw Griff in at the deep end with the hotel they managed together and seemed to want him to fail – that seemed more than a bit mean, and Heath was justifiably ticked by it. Felix annoyed the heck out of me, but I guess we’re all a bit dramatic at 18, so I’ll cut him some slack.

Payne was back from the first book, and there were some delicious hints about the other members of the DMC which has whetted my appetite for future books. Fun, hot, sexy and satisfying, I happily recommend this one to add to your TBR.

The Forbidden Equation by J.R. Gray (Love Equations #3)

 

Title: ⟫ The Forbidden Equation: Love Equations #3

Author: ⟫ J.R. Gray
Blurb: ⟫ My father's the president and my brother's the golden boy which leaves me the black sheep. The son who never wanted to be here at all. The white house my gilded cage, and the secret service my prison guards.

I'm nearly twenty-one and nothing about my life is normal.

The only thing giving me life and any motivation to get out of bed is the way he looks at me. The stolen glances across the West Wing. Heated gaze in the private dining room.

He's my father's best friend, which isn't even the worst part, he's also the vice president. Utterly off limits and I can't bring myself to care. Can't bring myself to stop encouraging his flirting, dreaming, and hoping he won't be able to resist me forever.

Review: ⟫ I am so ambivalent about this one. The writing style seemed different – each chapter was a little bit of a time-jump, which I actually quite enjoyed. It made the writing more spare, removed extraneous details. The political stuff was interesting to read as well as the history of the White House and all that surrounds it.

The relationship between Matt and Liam was – hard to describe. Just from the basics, with the age difference and Matt being in Liam’s life from the time he was born, it would be really easy to think that Matt was grooming him. But Liam was such a definite character – he knew what he wanted, what he needed, and to some extent he was most definitely the more dominant partner. I understood and sympathised with Matt’s dilemma and could well understand his reluctance, but I kinda hated the fact that he didn’t pull away. He had given up so much for Liam’s Dad that him finally being selfish and grabbing something for himself made sense, but there was a feeling (for me) that he perhaps should have left Liam alone.

And then there was Lucas. I sometimes felt like there was more chemistry between him and Liam, and there is a part of me that wished that they had got involved. Liam made some points that I hadn’t ever considered – about how he had never had a normal life because he had always been part of his father’s political life. It made me feel so sad for him, never to experience some things from a normal perspective with no choice in it because of what his father had chosen as his career path.

It might not seem like it, but I really enjoyed this book. I was fascinated, involved and hurt by the events and I read it in one sitting because I really wanted to know how this doomed relationship could possibly work out. This one gave me a lot to think about and for that reason alone, I would recommend it. It turned a few of my ideas about age-gap relationships on their head and opening myself up to a different viewpoint can only be a good thing.

I received an ARC from GRR.

The Christmas Leap by Keira Andrews (Festive Fakes)

Title: ⟫ The Christmas Leap (Festive Fakes)
Author: ⟫ Keira Andrews
Rating: ⟫ 3.5/5
Blurb: ⟫ Fake romance shouldn’t feel this real…
Will: I’ve never been with a man.

Sure, I’ve thought about it. Wondered. Daydreamed. Imagined. But I wasn’t ready to take the leap.

I have a reputation as a “ladies’ man.” No one has any idea how curious I am about men—not even my openly bi best friend. Make that former best friend. Michael ghosted me, and I have no idea why.

Michael: The man I love is straight.

It hurt like hell when I had to distance myself from Will. I’ve tried desperately to grow up and get over him, but my carefully constructed life just fell apart—and Will rushes to my rescue.

Now we’re pretending to be a couple to impress his boss at a holiday retreat. We’re holding hands and hugging.

We’re sharing a bed.

And Will just kissed me.

Is my best friend falling in love with me after all?

The Christmas Leap by Keira Andrews is a Christmas romance featuring friends to lovers, bi awakening, first times, and of course a happy ending. This stand-alone novel takes place in the same universe as The Christmas Deal.

Review: ⟫ Okay, just how does anyone in this verse manage to keep anything a secret? They are constantly talking about their capers, and not in private either – how have they not been overheard by now?

Angela is meant to be this fabulous boss who’s a bit of a genius yet she is constantly being ‘fooled’ by these people into thinking that they’re queer? Sorry, but of all things, this was the thing that annoyed me the most – that and the whole ‘pretending to be bisexual in order to get ahead’ – it just left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

Anyway, the story is nicely written and you immediately feel a little sad for Michael – not because of the whole Will thing but because it’s incredibly crappy timing for what happens to him at the beginning. The whole Will thing – him ghosting him to enable himself to get over his feelings was a big struggle for me. What an awful thing to do to one of your best friends, no matter your reasoning.

I enjoyed reading this story but upon finishing it, I couldn't really tell you much about it. There were some relatively hot sex scenes between Will and Michael, and I enjoyed some of the family members and friends that we got to meet. There were at least two couples who I am pretty sure the author has written other stories about (I haven’t read them).

But the meat of the story – the idea that Michael has been in love with Will for years and Will has become a bi-curious? It was resolved what felt like so quickly and so easily, it was a bit of a non-event.

I loved Will’s accent and listening to him talk to his parents – I feel that that was well done. There didn’t feel like enough differentiation between the two main leads because sometimes I didn’t realise who was narrating.

I’ve read other stories by this author and enjoyed them more – I guess this one just didn’t resonate with me. It was a sweet, enjoyable story with some heat between the leads with only a little angst – it will probably be just the thing to relax with with the run-up to Christmas.

I received an ARC from GRR.

To Not Marry My Enemy by Gianni Holmes (The Simple Rules #3)

Title: ⟫ To Not Marry My Enemy (The Simple Rules #3)
Author: ⟫ Gianni Holmes
Rating: ⟫ 4/5
Blurb: ⟫ He’ll rue the day we say “I do”.

Ford

Being jilted once was bad enough, and it won’t happen again. This time I’m marrying for business. When my current fiancee dupes me a few days before the wedding, luckily she leaves behind someone who can take her place. It’s the right thing for him to do, since he convinced her our wedding was a sham. If he doesn’t agree, I know just how to get him down the aisle.

River

The first time I met Ford, I knew instantly we were bound to be enemies. I loathe every gorgeous, pretentious inch of the man, even after the I dos. If it’s a marriage he wants, then a marriage he’ll get…starting with our honeymoon. I’ll make our marriage such an unbearable hell that he’ll ask for an annulment. When my plan backfires and I accidentally sleep with my new husband on our honeymoon, things take a turn I least expected. Now I need a divorce…or maybe not?

To Not Marry My Enemy is an enemies-to-lovers short novel with marriage-of-convenience and bi-awakening.

Reviews: ⟫ Enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, bi-awakening – this book had a lot to live up to! And it did!

River and Ford were so blinded by their hatred of each other that they struggled to see past it to the people behind the masks. Their pride did them both favours, making it so that neither of them would back down and giving them a chance to make their marriage of convenience much more real than either had planned.

I really loved the banter between the two of them, the hate-sex was off the charts hot, and the fact that this wasn’t one of those miscommunication plot devices that could be fixed in one conversation really worked for me. I enjoyed watching them learn about each other, figure out what made the other person tick and slowly reveal the true feelings that were bubbling beneath the surface, and the banter and chemistry showed through clearly. I didn’t love the character of the brother and his motivations/actions felt like they were forgiven far too easily; I also wasn’t a fan of Cammie as it felt like she just abandoned River without considering that there might be consequences for him caused by her actions.

A nice addition to the Simple Rules series and I enjoyed it very much.

I received an ARC from GRR.