Antidote by Shae Ruby

TITLE: ⟫ Antidote

AUTHOR: ⟫ Shae Bryan

RATING: ⟫ 2.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ It was never meant to be more.

But somehow it was, and suddenly we were two halves of a whole.

Even if it was forbidden.

Oliver Scott swept me off my feet and flipped my world upside down, only to break my heart. When my mother died, I told him I wanted nothing to do with him, that he was dead to me.

I lost her because of him.

Somewhere along the way, Oliver needed the drugs more than he needed me. And I paid for the consequences of his actions.

The problem is, even through the pain of his mistake and my hate for him, something deeper still lingers between us.

A second chance was never in the cards for us, until it was. But my feelings of betrayal still simmer in the background, making it hard to forgive him.

I’m gambling with my sanity, knowing he could ruin me.

The worst part?

I want him to.

Because I want nothing more than to make him mine.

It’s always been him.

This is a stepbrothers MM romance.

REVIEW: ⟫ I found this book following a recommendation in a Facebook group. The author is new to me and I was interested in the premise. The fact that they were stepbrothers and grew up together from the age of ten was the least of my issues with this book. I guess I was expecting there to be more explanation of their relationship and how it developed – instead, there was pretty much an insta-love between them when they met, with one MC identifying as gay whilst the other one stubbornly refused to accept that he was at least bi.

Hunter was, to me, an awful character. I kinda understood his desire not to lose his father’s love but the way he used people, especially women, was just abhorrent. He had numerous girlfriends because he wanted to be seen as a ‘man’, treating them as disposable and less than human. He knew what he was doing – with one long-term girlfriend, he couldn’t climax, knew that this was making her insecure and yet continued to date and sleep with her. At one stage, he has sex with her specifically so that Ollie can hear them together through the wall – that is just so freaking awful to do to someone. She was less than human, just a means to taunt his stepbrother. The way he broke up with her and treated her afterwards was somehow even worse.

Ollie was at least relatively honest in what he was doing. He accepted the loss of his father’s love, knew that what was going on between he and Hunter couldn’t carry on, and turned to drugs. It was self-destructive but I would say much less toxic than Hunter’s behaviour. I’m trying to see past the fact that Ollie painted Hunter naked and sold the painting without Hunter’s permission because he at least obscured Hunter’s face in the painting.

The 2.5 rating is because the descriptions of the hold drugs had on Ollie seemed to be accurate and made made me feel some sympathy for him. I also liked Ollie’s sponsor who was insistent that he needed to concentrate on his sobriety. The background cast of Hunter’s team-mates were almost as bad as him, but at least they weren’t homophobic. I finished this because I wanted them out of my head, not because I wanted them to have a happily ever after.

Thrown by Merry Farmer (The Art of Love Book #1)

TITLE: ⟫ Thrown

AUTHOR: ⟫ Merry Farmer

SERIES: ⟫ The Art of Love Book #1

RATING: ⟫ 2.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ The art of love is falling for your enemy without ruining everything…

Ceramic artist Robbie Hawthorne is dedicated not only to his art, but to keeping the arts center and school housed at his family’s ancestral estate vibrant and flourishing. But when the family runs into financial trouble and a heartless corporation offers to buy the estate to turn it into an amusement park, Robbie has to get creative to try to stop them.

That includes working together with a man he has nothing in common with and who instantly irritates him…

Toby Tillman has fought to overcome his working-class roots and to make a name for himself in the financial world. Now he finds himself pitted against his old mentor in the quest to save the Hawthorne House Arts Center, which is run by exactly the kind of entitled nobs he’s always hated. Worse still, he finds himself constantly hot for Robbie, a man he should utterly despise.

And then comes the road trip and a stay at a hotel with only one bed…

Can two men from opposite sides of the tracks find enough common ground to rescue a family’s heritage? And can enemies end up becoming each other’s salvation?

Thrown is an enemies-to-lovers gay romance that includes one tight-knit family and one family disaster, a Renaissance faire, a reality competition, a road trip, only one bed, constantly being mistaken for boyfriends, an unlikely rescue in a moment of humiliation, a familiar scene involving a pottery wheel, and a few things that would get this blurb flagged for naughtiness if I included them in the description. Oh! And a cameo by The Brotherhood!

REVIEW: ⟫ I wanted to love this book so much. I’ve enjoyed reading Merry Farmer before and thought I’d like what this offered – enemies to lovers, one bed, family – what could be better? But this just didn’t gel for me. There were too many characters to get a full grasp on – I kept mistaking the names of the kids. I found myself not liking the family at all – especially for the hotel thing – and for how they’ve let Robbie feel and treat himself for so long.

Toby was just too much – talk about chip on his shoulder. And as for Duckie and all of those shenanigans, it just left me cold. I don’t remember reading about the Brotherhood before which might explain why my reaction to them was verging on utter disbelief to just finding them too cartoonish.

I can’t say I liked the relationship between Robbie and Toby too much either. Everyone seemed convinced that they were hot for each other from the beginning, but to me they just seemed to find each other unendingly frustrating, and the declaration of love had me slack-jawed with disbelief because I simply couldn’t see where it came from.

I was considering getting the next one in the series but decided to wait and let this one fade from my mind first. This may well be where my mind is at and nothing to do with the book at all, but I didn’t enjoy it.

The Night I Lost Him by Calliope Rhys

TITLE: ⟫ The Night I Lost Him

AUTHOR: ⟫ Calliope Rhys

RATING: ⟫ 2.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Caden Conner had never planned on coming out of the box he’d placed himself in long ago, the one he’d carefully crafted to look like everyone around him wanted it to. He had determined to be what they all expected. He’d decorated it with hockey and parties and girlfriends. No one was ever supposed to find him there, but then Jamie came along and ripped him right out of it.

Jamie Bryant was an enigma. He did what he wanted, wore what he wanted, and never apologized for who he was. He had plenty of whispers swirling around him, side-eyes and some outright hatred, but he seemed to simply ignore most of it. Caden had been watching, though, and he’d always hated it when people picked on Jamie. One moment would change everything between them, but Caden still had one foot in that box, torn between being who he truly was and holding onto the reputation he’d worked for.

Caden wasn’t the only person who could see that Jamie was beautiful. Jamie had plenty of his own admirers, and one of them was more dangerous than anyone realized until it was too late. No one thought that he would take it as far as he did, but by the time they understood, Jamie was already missing.

Caden realized he’d lost everything that truly mattered in his life when he’d lost Jamie. The regret and guilt swirled with fear and pain. And he would do whatever it took to get him back.

REVIEW: ⟫ I wanted to love this book so very much – the premise was fascinating and it started out incredibly well. The pain Caden was going through was palpable and the initial flashbacks were introduced in such a way as to fill in the backstory well. But then things went on. And on. Constant pages of Caden going over and over the same thing.

By the time we got to court, even the flashbacks that told their love story couldn’t save it. I was so aggravated by so many things that it got to the stage where I was almost hate reading it. I just wanted to get to the end so that it was over.

The characters were interesting, the premise was well thought out – this was let down by the lack of someone to tell the author to move the heck on with the story. Sometimes I actually felt like I was literally taking the same footsteps as Caden and it was just taking too darn long.

I hesitated on what to rate this as, but for the sake of Caden and Jamie, the excellent meaning the author was working towards, and the friends who proved to be worth their weight in gold, I decided on 2.5, rounded up.

I understand that this is a debut novel (I think) and I will look out for more by this 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.

Romancing Mr Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (The Bridgertons Book #4)

TITLE: ⟫ Romancing Mr Bridgerton

AUTHOR: ⟫ Julia Quinn

SERIES: ⟫ The Bridgertons Book #4

RATING: ⟫ 2.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Everyone knows that Colin Bridgerton is the most charming man in London. Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend's brother for...well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret...and fears she doesn't know him at all.

Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought nothing but an empty-headed charmer, tired of everyone's preoccupation with the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can't seem to publish an edition without mentioning him in the first paragraph. But when Colin returns to London from a trip abroad he discovers nothing in his life is quite the same - especially Penelope Featherington! The girl haunting his dreams. But when he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decide...is she his biggest threat - or his promise of a happy ending?

REVIEW: ⟫ Like many, I arrived at this book following the series on Netflix. However, Colin and Penelope’s story was the first that made me want to read the accompanying book – I adored the first two seasons and don’t get me started on Queen Charlotte – but I wanted more of Colin and Pen and decided to visit the source material.

I can well see why some of the book fans feel that Netflix has taken the essence of the characters and bounced off from there – it wasn’t impossible to imagine the characters as the actors but their actions and behaviours were so different from the series that I finally decided to divorce the two in my mind. I don’t read many heterosexual romances – MM is more to my taste – but I had hoped that the chemistry between Colin and Penelope would take over. However, in the book I was disappointed by so much. Colin’s internal dialogue about Penelope, his reasoning, his attitude – it was all a tad fratboy (or rather rakish) than I was expecting. He seemed quite shallow and superficial and I found myself wondering just what it was about him that Penelope fell in love with. I saw very little of his much vaunted kindness and indeed, more often than not I felt he was quite a petulant little boy in his behaviours and actions.

Admittedly, his declaration of love for his wife was brilliant – touching, romantic, proud – but it took what felt like far too long to get there. I think I will happily watch the series on Netflix and not read the rest of the books – I cannot imagine they will engender more affection for the characters than I already have and might instead taint my expectations/hopes.

I understand that the books have a very passionate fanbase, which I am glad for because without them I doubt the series would have been made, but it feels like the novels are not for me although obviously YMMV.

Lights, Camera, Passion by Isabel Lucero

TITLE: ⟫ Lights, Camera, Passion

AUTHOR: ⟫ Isabel Lucero

RATING: ⟫ 2.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Playing a lead role in a book-to-movie adaptation with a wild fan base? Sign me up! The only downside is that I’m cast alongside Jacoby “Heartthrob” Hart—Hollywood’s golden boy. If only they knew he was an uppity, pompous snob.

We don’t get along, and if you’re reading the tabloids, you’d assume it was because I “stole” his girlfriend, but they have it all wrong. Jacoby and his cold shoulder started this, and now we’re set to play lovers. The only thing I’d love to do is strangle him, but I’m a professional.

Behind the scenes, we’re either bickering or avoiding each other, but when the cameras start rolling, I can’t believe how much chemistry we have.

One night, during a passionate argument, something happens that I never anticipated. The chemistry that started out as an act turns into much more behind closed doors, but we both have secrets, and Hollywood is a hard place to keep those.

Lights, Camera, Passion is an enemies-to-lovers story between two supposedly straight actors who don't get along but are cast to play lovers in a book-to-movie adaptation. Expect bickering, banter, tension, chemistry, and a couple of revelations straining to burst free from the closet.

REVIEW: ⟫ I wanted to like this so very, very much. The idea of a closeted gay actor and a bisexual actor acting together in a book adaptation and falling in love – just the idea made me squeal with delight. Unfortunately for me, this just didn’t do it.

The actual filming was over so quickly and barely covered – for some reason, I expected there for be more of the actual ‘film’ involved in the story. The relationship that built between Roman and Jacoby also felt really perfunctory. Yes, they were both attracted to the other before they met to film. And I could see how the tabloids would have played up the whole ‘romantic rivals’ thing from them both dating the same actress. But there were far too many misunderstandings that felt contrived and unnecessary.

I felt like we spent a lot of time with Jacoby going back and forth about his desire to hide his sexuality, whereas Roman’s feelings about his parents were handled in less than one chapter – I was disappointed because the point was made that his feelings about his parents played a huge role in his public persona. I wanted that to be explored more and definitely felt a little less time on Jacoby and more on what made Roman tick would have helped the story.

Their relationship was portrayed as very steamy and passionate, but I didn’t feel it. Reading their love-making scenes I felt quite removed – I guess the best description would be it felt very much like telling me what they were feeling rather than making me feel it with them. I just found myself very removed from the whole thing and that was disappointing.

It’s a shame because I think the story idea was brilliant and I would have loved to have felt more immersed in the whole thing. Obviously, YMMV, but for me this wasn’t a success.

Honey Bee Murder by Dahlia Donovan

TITLE: ⟫ Honey Bee Murder

AUTHOR: ⟫ Dahlia Donovan

RATING: ⟫ 2.5/5

SERIES: ⟫ Honey Bee Cosy Mysteries

BLURB: ⟫ George Bernard Sheth plans to spend July in the garden with his beloved pug, Bumble. He’s tending to his bees when a neighbour harasses him quite vocally. When the man winds up dead, all eyes are immediately on George and the many hives in his garden.

Murphy Baird knows without a doubt George wouldn’t harm a fly or a bee or an obnoxious rich businessman. He balances keeping his brewery going with trying to help solve the murder and preparing for the upcoming Highland Games. It’s not made any easier by the impending visit from his father.

As the mystery deepens, they find themselves not knowing quite who to trust. Can they find the killer before George winds up arrested for murder?

REVIEW: ⟫ I should preface this by saying that I didn’t realise that there was a book one. Once I realised that, I had to accept that I might be a little on the back foot with regards to the characters and dived in.

Not having read the first book was not much of a hindrance with regard to the characters – it’s made very clear who everyone is, how they’re related to everyone. The main character of George is neurodivergent, and this plays quite the role in his interactions with other people. It was quite heartening the way that the people around George understood the limitations he was under, supporting him in whatever way was necessary – there was quite the vein of love and affection that played out throughout the story.

The murder mystery was a little weak – simply the fact that George has bees should not really have made him a suspect. As George opines slightly dramatically, how is he meant to ‘control his bees’? I understood that the police had to investigate all claims but it just seemed a bit too exaggerated – at least in my opinion. Also, it wasn’t so much that I couldn’t tell who had committed the murder in that I didn’t care, which isn’t a great sign in a murder mystery romance.

I also felt that there was very little romance in the story. George and Murphy are a newly established couple and I expected more demonstrations of affection. I didn’t feel very much chemistry between the two male leads and there was no sex scenes to speak of. Murphy made little to no impression at all – he was the vague representation of a big, solid, protective male who was very involved in his brewery and loved his parents/family and George. Apart from that, I feel like I learned more about the pug, Bumble, than I did Murphy. It made his character more than a little one-dimensional and that was a shame.

My overall impression of this book is that it reminded me very much of an episode of a slow, easy, country life-style mystery along the lines of Murder She Wrote – easy viewing for everyone but nothing about it was particularly memorable. The writing itself was stilted and didn’t flow as easily as it might but I’m not sure if that was meant to be a representation of George or was simply the writer’s style.

If you’re looking for an easy, comfort read without little to no spice and a side-plot murder mystery, I can see people enjoying this book. I received an ARC from GRR.

Romance Language by A.J. Truman

Title: ⟫ Romance Languages

Author: ⟫ A.J. Truman

Rating: ⟫ 2.5/5

Blurb: ⟫ Can my straight friend help me cash in my v-card by my birthday?

In one month, I turn thirty-five with my virginity still intact. Is there anything more embarrassing than knowing most of my French students have gotten more action than me? Je suis triste

When I accidentally reveal this secret to my close friend and co-worker Seamus, South Rock’s baseball coach, he offers to help me round the bases.

It has to be a joke, because Seamus is one million percent straight.

There’s no way he’d want to fool around with a chubby language nerd like me, even though I’ve harbored a secret crush on him since the day he first walked into the teachers' lounge.

But then I realize he’s not joking.

I’m either entering thirty-five with a bang…or a friendship going up in flames.

Romance Languages is a virgin, nerd/jock, friends-to-lovers romance filled with humor and heart. It's the third book in the South Rock High but can be read as a standalone.

Review: ⟫ Based on the other reviews I’ve seen for this book, I have to assume that this is most definitely a case of it just not being the right book at the right time.

I applaud how the idea of being plus-size in a judgemental world was handled – realistic yet sensitive, and not going for the ‘easy’ answer of having the protagonist lose weight. So where did this book lose me?

Seamus. This completely and utterly straight man not only volunteers to ‘help’ his gay best friend work his way around the bases but leads the way and knows pretty much exactly what he’s doing with nary a qualm about where he sits on the Kinsey scale.

Add to that the surface level Seamus’s addiction was handled (we never saw him attend a single meeting despite this being one of the main facets of his character and who he is) and the fact that, despite his lack of funds, there was only one occasion where money was an issue for him – for example, he buys a new suit for a wedding when only recently he’s been unable to buy a bottle of wine. It sometimes felt like an almost incestuous set of friendships and ‘couples’ from previous stories which were a little offputting, especially as the book states that it can be read as a standalone (which it can if you don’t mind feeling like you’re missing out on a lot of in-jokes) and this book simply didn’t work for me.

However, I would very much say YMMV – the writing style is engaging, the dialogue witty and fun, and the storyline good. As I said, just not the right book for me.

Asking for a Friend by JJ Harper

Title: ⟫ Asking for a Friend

Author: ⟫ JJ Harper

Rating: ⟫ 2.5/5

Blurb: ⟫ Lando writes about romance for a living yet shuns it in his life.

After too many failed relationships, Lando Hardwick has enough. No more dates for him. His taste in men is abysmal. He always falls for the ones who are only looking for fun.

Hesketh Trent has stopped searching for a boyfriend. They only see him as a walking cash machine, only care what he can buy them. What has happened to romance, love?

Getting soaked by scolding coffee is the worst way to start the day, but hell’s bells, the man is divine. Even though the man ticks all his boxes, no way is Lando giving him his phone number. He’ll be like all the rest: one hot night and he kicks him out the door.

But Hesketh doesn’t give up so easily. The cute redhead with no brain-to-mouth filter intrigues him as no man has ever done.

A cat and mouse chase is on, with Lando as the mouse. Once Lando is caught, they can’t stay away from one another.

Until Hesketh makes a mistake.

Thank god for mutual friends who won’t give up on them and push them together when they’re both too stubborn to take the next step.

Asking For a Friend is a stand-alone MM novel with a group of sassy men, a larger-than-life ginger cat called Flanaghan, a stubborn writer, and a man who can plan events but not his own life.

Review: ⟫ You know a book hasn’t worked for you when you find yourself wishing that there had been more written about the cat.

Hesketh and Lando had pretty much zero chemistry as far as I was concerned and even when they got together, I couldn’t figure out what they saw in each other. Then came the ‘big misunderstanding/mistake’ and I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt.

Hesketh made a big mistake – huge – and to be completely honest, I didn’t understand how he did it. Like, I get being distracted but what Hesketh did was so downright disrespectful and pretty much unbelievable that I found myself hoping that Lando would end up with someone else – like someone who would remember his existence maybe?

This book was an easy but not memorable read and I simply didn’t enjoy it and didn’t care about the HEA.

I definitely would have liked to see/hear more about the cat though.

These Deviant Ties (Dark Romance Anthology) by Various Authors

Title: ⟫ These Deviant Ties (Dark MM Romance Anthology) 

Author: ⟫ Various 

Blurb: ⟫ Deviants and delinquents... 

These men exist outside the law. They walk in the shadows and thrive in the dark. Bad to the bone, they take what they want. What happens when what they want is you? What happens when the anger that burns through their veins is now directed at you? Can enemies really become lovers or is it just a losing game? These Deviant Ties follows eleven authors who bring you steamy, dark MM stories that will make your toes curl and your heart pound. 

 Review: ⟫ My general review would be that the stories I have read so far were nowhere near as dark as I was expecting. I don’t know if that means I’ve got a really dark/dirty mind or that my expectations were too high, but none of them struck as me as particularly out there when it came to the relationships. That isn’t to say that the anthology doesn’t contain anything good – some were really well interesting and I will definitely be looking for other stories from some of the authors. Individual reviews are below. 

Below the Belt by Andi Rhodes 

The first rule of fight club is – well, this isn’t that kind of fight club for a start. And the fighters aren’t all there voluntarily. This was fast, brutal and sexy in a very dark way. The relationship between Grizzly and Phantom was also fast, brutal and sexy but it made sense in the world in which they lived – they could hardly go out for tea and cupcakes! Not a lot of romance, but a LOT of chemistry! 4/5  

Diavolo by Andrea Joy 

This one felt a little misleading for a dark read. It started with torture and then took a turn that I didn’t expect. The writing was good – some of the descriptions of what Skyler and Ashton got up to were pleasantly toe-curling, but I’m not sure it fully belonged in this anthology. 3.5/5 

In the Eyes of my Enemy by C P Harris 

This went somewhere I wasn’t expecting with the reason behind the relationship not working out, so that was a good surprise. I liked it but this actual story didn’t stick with me particularly which is a shame because it was well written. 3.5/5 

Caged in Shadows by Amy Thorn 

I could imagine this on the small screen very much like Sons of Anarchy. Really well written, my heart went out to Shakespeare and you could definitely understand his motivations. I wish there had been more time spent with Liam – Shakespeare’s backstory was important but in a novella of this size, I felt too much time was spent on what had happened in the past rather than on his relationship with Liam. 3.75/5 

Evil Beautiful by Rene Van Dalen 

This story wasn’t my definition of dark but I did really enjoy it. Kellen sounded delicious and I loved that he wasn’t a walk-over, and I was intrigued by what I read of Gideon. I would definitely be interested in more mm romance by Rene Van Dalen, but this wasn’t anywhere near as dark as I was expecting/hoping. 4/5 

Loan Shark by Nero Seal 

This is a hard one to review because what happened between the two of them was straight up non-con, with nothing that I would call romance. I think as part of a bigger, longer story, things could have got much more interesting but as it stands, I can’t say I liked it. 2.5/5