M/M Weekly Roundup - What Did You Read?

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

5/5. This one lived up to the hype for me. I laughed so much! The humor was not slapstick or silly, but rather quippy and intelligent. The side characters were well developed and very likable. The MC’s got their HEA, but so did my country. It left me hopeful. I could have used a little more spice, but that’s just me. It has a little something for everyone - royalty, celebrity, enemies to lovers, and politics.

The Bad Husband's Handbook by Reanna Pryce - There were a lot of emotional parts that were well done in this book, but it generally fell short of my expectations. I had a really hard time finding Dante redeemable after his years of child neglect and being so uncaring (and even spiteful) towards his husband. I didn't love Reuben either, so at some points I wasn't even sure I wanted them to be together. It also gave me vibes of a trite M/F cliche repackaged as M/M, which is not what I'm looking for in a gay romance. It was an alright read, but didn't fully work for me.

Tommy Cabot Was Here by Cat Sebastian - Very sweet second-chance story with a nice, cozy atmosphere. Not that much plot but a lot of good relationship development, which worked well considering that it was a shorter story.

Sword Dance by A.J Demas - This was really a unique book with a vivid setting and strong characters. Things moved a bit slowly in the beginning, especially the romance, but that also gave the story a chance to establish the world building and the characters without it being rushed. A very nice read, and I'm looking forward to continuing the series!

Will & Patrick Wake Up Married 1-6 by Leta Blake and Alice Griffiths - I absolutely loved this serial. I was expecting a light rom-com, and while it delivered on that front it also had a lot of depth and dealt with serious issues and emotional moments with a great balance of drama and humor. Will and Patrick were flawed but likeable characters and I really enjoyed seeing their growth throughout the book. Their chemistry was great too.

Bitten by Mistake by Annabelle Jacobs - This was one of those books that might not be perfect, but that I just really vibed with. It had (somewhat contrived) forced proximity and some genre-typical tropes like bonding and jealousy, but it managed to execute it all well and had a balanced relationship. I really enjoyed this one.

The Booker by Grace Hudson - DNF @20%. Didn't like the writing. This was more of a ghost book than a romance book, and the romance was so absent that I had to check the blurb to figure out who the love interest was. Unfortunately the horror parts didn't work for me either.

And Then by Taylor Fitzpatrick - 5/5 - This trilogy (Coming in First Place, And Then, and Between the Teeth) is one of the most personally meaningful stories I've read, because of how closely it captures my experience of coming into adulthood as an undiagnosed autistic. Like Fitzpatrick's other work, this story contains deeply nuanced characters, an unreliable narrator, and extremely well-researched hockey. A word of warning, though: although this story is, technically, a romance, I don’t think that’s the best definition for it. David and Jake’s relationship is at the core of the story, and is fundamental to it, but this is really the story of David finding his place in the world and finding some measure of self-acceptance. My full review can be found here.

Sparrow by Kelly Fox - 4/5 - An enemies-to-lovers romance between a rodeo rider and a ranch foreman that delivered more fully on the "enemies" part of the trope than most I've read lately, though it's more "one person can't stand the other." The only thing I didn't like is that there are a ton of side characters from the author's other books and she clearly expects you to have read those books, which I did not. There's also some time dedicated to setting up the pairing for the next book in the series, though it's not egregious and fit into the overall story pretty well.

Beautiful Rhythm by Zarah Detand - 3.5/5 - A slow burn, bisexual (gay?) awakening from the POV of the character having the awakening. The author's prose is lovely and the pining was top notch. The book was maybe a little too short, though; the pining could have been developed more.

Revolver by Vera Leigh - 2/5 - One of those books where the premise is great but the execution does not deliver. The romance is between a bootlegger during Prohibition and the boxer he hires as a bodyguard, which I was excited about because I haven't read many romances set during this time period. The problem is, I don't think the author has read much that's set during this time period, either. There's basically no attempt at historical accuracy, and while I'm generally pretty tolerant of Realism Level: Romance Novel, it doesn't work well for a historical novel where the setting is critical to the plot, as it was here. For example, the story takes place in the fictional "Empire City," but there are plenty of references to real places and events (e.g., Prohibition, President Coolidge), making it seem like the author made up the city in order to avoid having to do any research. Characters have modern attitudes, use modern slang, and in general feel like characters in a contemporary romance novel except for cursory references to necessary historical elements. The writing is acceptable but not entirely competent, as there are a number of scenes where people's gestures and positioning are described in confusing and contradictory ways. Overall, while I applaud the author for trying to do something different, more effort was needed to make this a success.

Brute by Kim Fielding 4/5 - I finally came around to reading it and it was so much fun! Definitely a book that I see myself re-reading over and over again, I just loved the character of Brute, he was so sweet and gentle.

The High King’s Golden Tongue by Megan Derr 5/5 - Godddd this was so good! I absolutely loved the setting, the royals and the palace and the way they interact with each other. There’s so much banter and it’s exquisite. Also the focus wasn’t really on the romance and more on the political side, which was quite interesting, Derr’s world building is very impressive.

Crazy Kinky Dirty Pirates by K. A. Merikan. No rating, because this was basically just porn lol. There wasn’t much plot or character development, but the setting was a lot of fun (pirate role play on a cruise ship) and the way the characters interacted with each other was hot but also not unrealistic. I enjoyed it!

Currently reading: The Pirate of Fathoms Deep by Megan Derr. This is the “sequel” to The High King’s Golden Tongue and focuses on Lesto, the High Commander and one of my fave characters of the first book! He’s smart and sharp and witty, just like his love interest Shemal. This book is a lot heavier on the romance and I’m not complaining, they are so sweet together!

Hmm, I'm early for once!

So this is week 2 of my TA re-read (you guys are going to get so sick of me by the end).

Quid Pro Quo by Manna Francis (The Administration #2). 2/5. This is the first of the not-free stories and I'd heard that you weren't missing much by skipping them. After reading this I'd have to agree. This book is very heavy on the kidnapping mystery, which I found difficult not to skim, and very light on all the things I like about this series. Still, I don't regret reading it because it did reveal tiny bits more about the world and characters, so maybe a two star rating is a bit harsh.

I thought it'd be easier to review the short stories together, so here we go:

Friday (The Administration #2.2). 3/5. Re-read.

Pancakes (The Administration #2.3). 5/5. Re-read.

Surprises (The Administration #2.4). 4/5. Re-read.

Family (The Administration #2.5). 3/5. Re-read.

Mirror Mirror (The Administration #2.6). 3/5. Re-read.

I don't know how Manna does it, but she makes these everyday situations - meeting friends, family, ex's, stuff that easily bores me to death - so compelling to read about. These short stories are basically snapshots of the beginning of their relationship, so there's hardly any plot in there, yet it doesn't feel stale at all. You get these tiny glimpses of intimacy and vulnerability in Toreth, and you can also see him getting increasingly jealous and possessive of Warwick as his feelings for him develop (which you just know is going to blow up at some point). It's also nice to see Warwick learning how to handle Toreth and essentially taking control of their relationship. I love them both so much. I have to give special mention to Pancakes which is the standout story here. It's amazingly fun and sweet - drunk shenanigans, deepening intimacy, confused feelings, relationship scheming, possessive cats… every page is just jam packed with awesomeness.

Woo!! I actually read this week.

Best Belly Buddies by Ki Brightly and M.D. Gregory. ARC. 4/5. Daddy kink, pregnancy kink, bisexual awakening, best friends to lovers. This was cute but — I don’t know. I think sometimes these authors write to the kink versus writing to the couple. I felt the same with their book “Staking His Claim” anyway. The love story was cute and the angst was none, but there was a lot more effort put into the sex. Or at least, I’m here to read it for the sex. I guess I just don’t get as emotionally engaged. They’re consistent 4 star reads at least.

Princess by Daniel May. ARC. 5/5. Hooooly shit. This isn’t romance, it’s dark erotica, and please mind the CWs at the beginning of the book. But man I usually see mindbreak in hentai and the like, so seeing it in an MM erotica is 🥵. Very well written, the author just writes great smut in anything as he does. I especially loved the feminization aspect to this. I would probably read a whole other novel about these two. Seriously, read it if you would enjoy the content.

Taking the Knot by Sean Michael. eBook. 4/5. I’ve never read a book that describes and focused so much on sounding. Seriously. Good writing but I’m not really into the hunk x bigger hunk thing which a lot of his books have, so I might not be reading a ton of his stuff. Talented smut writer though!

Was in the mood for some lighter reads this week.

Charles by Con Riley - 3.5/5 - This was a sweet story with a lot of unrealized potential. I was fond of the characters but it was a bit of a slog to get through each chapter. So much prose when so little was happening. I also wanted Hugo's perspective so badly. The opposites attract, playboy vs. religious man angle didn't stand out much, and I think dual POV would've helped. The blurb says it's low-angst with a lot of British snark and humor, but to me it mostly had a melancholic mood. This was my first time reading this author and I didn't realize until I was halfway through that this is actually a spin-off. It worked fine as a stand-alone though.

Nailed by K.M. Neuhold - 4/5 - I was concerned about this one because of a few reviews I read regarding the MC's treatment of the other MC's dog, and they were correct, it was quite outrageous. That detail aside though, I loved everything else about this story. "Enemies" to lovers at its most entertaining. I enjoyed it more than the first book. I now want to know all of the bears' happy endings.

Hardwood by K.M. Neuhold - 2.5/5 - Naturally I jumped right into the next book, but this installment fell flat for me. I'm usually a sucker for middle aged coming-out stories, but I wasn't vibing with this one. It was a strange mix of self-torture, sex, and comedy. I wasn't feeling the chemistry, and most of the drama was annoying rather than compelling. Hopefully the fourth book is another winner.

The Alpha's Warlock by Eliot Grayson - 3.5/5 - A shifter story that's all drama and action and never really calms down. I wanted more from this, especially more world building and pack dynamics. More quieter moments with just the MCs. But it's only the first book in a series, and I had trouble putting it down, so as an introduction it did a fine job. As an aside, I'll never get the appeal of "knotting", but eh, whatever floats your boat.

Captive Mate by Eliot Grayson - 4/5 - This second book was actually very similar to the first in terms of characters and structure, but I think it was an improvement in almost every way. More compelling plot, more interesting world building, more complex MCs. I loved Arik's internal struggle with his long buried moral compass. And the romance worked surprisingly well for me, even as I was side-eying it.

I haven't done this recap in a few weeks, so there are gaps, but I'm gonna start from last Friday and not talk about everything I've read in the meantime.

I'd just finished Tal Bauer's Hush after seeing it recced constantly. This was a 9/10 book for me. The story was beautifully slow burn, the thriller plot wasn't too much like some Bauer books have been for me. And it totally made me go for what's now one of my top5 mm reads.

Tal Bauer's Whisper. It took me 24h to read this what with work, sleep and family. But one I started, I couldn't put down unless I absolutely had to. It consumed every unclaimed second of my time. I don't even know what to say about it. An epic love story? And exploration on religion and war? A retelling of the post 9/11 world? Bauer set himself a huge task with this one, and imo he succeeds on every level. I read later that he explored Islam as part of his research, and the book shows it. I'm not religious, but I was fascinated. However, above everything, it's a love story. And it's a beautiful love story. It's non-explict, emotional, heartbreaking and deeply hopeful. This book changed for me how I see Bauer as a writer, and set up a lot of expectations. 10/10.

I was in a major hangover after this, and felt like this could only be cured by continuing with self proclaimed epic romances.

I went for Riley Hart and Christina Lee's Of Sunlight and Stardust which I remember liking when I read it, and a week later can't remember at all. So there's that. Originally I would have said a 7/10? But maybe not if it wasn't memorable at all. Hart usually works for me though.

I did continue with her and read through a series of Giving Chase, Murphy's Law, Hard Knox and Griffs's Place. All solid reads, with the second book being my favourite. But I've always had a soft spot for closeted characters who have a difficult time admitting their sexuality. 6-7/10

Then it was Kay Simone's One Giant Leap and yes. 9/10. I love slow burn. Just love it. And the writing was beautiful.

Lilah Pace His Royal Secret and His Royal Favourite duology. An imaginary Prince of Wales who has hid his sexuality for a decade. A secret live affair and a HEA. Despite the set up, the duology read real. 9/10 and highly recommended.

Took a break from romances that got me emotionally involved to quickly read the last CU Hockey book.

Puck Drills and Quick Thrills. This was cute. It's not my favourite hockey series to begin with, but this was a nice palate cleanser. 6/10.

And then I went and read Melanie Hansen's Point of Contact and I might never forgive u/madigan459 for recommending it. Talk about having your heart ripped out. It does have a HEA so it's not that. But the entire book is almost a eulogy to a life lost in a pointless war. It hit me hard. I think maybe even more so because I'd read Whisper that recently. But also because I'm a parent with a son and well. Worst fears. But to write about grief like this? It's an amazing book I'll never read again. 9/10.

I tried Roan Parrish's Riven triology after that but I won't give it a rating. I DNF the series. Though I did skim to the end of the books. It just didn't work for me. I couldn't get any emotional connection to the characters, sex from the frist chapter usually also is off putting for me in terms or relationship development. I felt like they wanted to be emotional books but fell flat.

And then, based on a random comment I read Ella James' Wrath. What can I say? The woman cannot write blurbs. I expected something kinky, twisted, and somewhat trashy from the description. And that was not it at all. It's about as long as Whisper but there's less plot. So I feel like it should have been condensed a bit. But that did not take away from my enjoyment. This thing had layers. And twists. And slow burn that turned into this heartbreaking epic love story. It got me emotionally involved and I read through the night. 9/10 for the story, but in Ezra Masters it featured one of my favourite characters in mm romances.

I've started with Ella James' Worship now.

RECOMMENDED

[Coming In First Place by Taylor Fitzpatrick] (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48716224-coming-in-first-place): David Chapman broke my fucking heart. Also, funny thing, but I related so hard to Chapman that I wondered if I was lowkey on the spectrum like he is, but a cursory Google search assures me that I'm just socially awkward. A diagnosis wouldn't have made a difference either way, but it would've felt comical somehow to get the diagnosis as an adult after decades of feeling like I was breaking unspoken social rules that everyone else already knew.

And Then by Taylor Fitzpatrick: Sequel to Coming In First Place (above), Chapman slowly becomes more well-adjusted and makes new friends. The Russians were a delight, especially Kiro! There's pretty much no romance in this one though, and the ending is more like an intermission than a real ending, but I'm looking forward to Book 3. Also, I was gonna start Thrown Off the Ice next but then I heard it doesn't have an HEA 0_0.

Fakers by Lucy Lennox and May Archer: 2 fake relationships, a cow-themed small town and plenty of dick puns. The last minute break-up felt kinda contrived, but thankfully it was resolved quickly. Funniest m/m romance I've read yet!

JUST OKAY

Kill Game by Cordelia Kingsbridge: A plot-focused, competent serial killer murder mystery that ends anticlimactically because it's the first book in a 5 book series. I liked the MCs, but I don't think I'll be able to read an additional 4 books just to see the serial killer revealed.

False Start by Alison Hendricks: Rivals-to-lovers, college football, inter-racial, rich/poor MCs. This book could've used an additional 30k words because the following aspects felt undercooked: the rivalry, the relationship, the break-up motivation, the poor MC's realization about what he really wanted after college, and race relations commentary. For a book about a locker room romance, there also wasn't much angst. The straight MC realizes that he might not be straight, without much internal resistance. The rest of the team accepts the MCs' relationship with a similar lack of resistance. Overall, a quick read but I'm going to forget about this in a day.

Machine Metal Magic by Hanna Dare - Even though I adore SciFi I almost gave up on this chapter 1. So so glad I stuck with it! The story, worldbuilding concepts, and characters only got better with each page. I will definitely be picking up the sequel.

Snow of the White Hills by Wendy Rathbone - Retelling of Snow White and it's adorable! This was a good book - sweet, well-written, good take on the classic fairy tale.

Centauri Doll by Wendy Rathbone - More SciFi and honestly loved this one. Which is crazy because I never would have read it from the summary alone - I mostly picked it up because m/m SciFi. But it was so good! Doll is an imperfect android pleasure slaved created to serve, when he's purchased by a surely Slave King. This book had a good storyline, an excellent villain, a good plot and was just overall well done.

Inside (Death Row Chronicles Book 1) and Outside (Death Row Chronicles Book 2) by Nicky James - I had to remind myself a few times with this book that it was not based on a true story. It feels very real. I do not want to spoil anything, but if you like true crime podcasts this series might be for you. (Book 1 contains no sex.)

Alaskan Pebble Gifters (series books 1-6) by Amy Bellows - A very sweet series. The stories are a unique take on A/B/O and all involved mpreg - which isn't always my favorite, but other aspects of this series made it easy to like this series. The characters are good and the world building is well done.

"yet I don't want to read any of it" ha! in the same boat, per usual. Decent week here, it was fall break so I read a few books that have been lingering in the TBR while my kids swam around. Some from last week too.

Read:

- Puck Drills and Quick Thrills (CU Hockey, #5) by Eden Finley - KU. 3.5/5. Took me a minute to remember the previous storylines that intersect with this book but overall it was solid. I love opposites attract and this delivered. West is a CU hockey coach and sudden dad figure to five plus kids and Jasper is a math prof at CU. Low angst, healthy communication, steamy and believable sex. I liked how West and Jasper got stronger together and no miscommunication, thank god. I got a little tired reading about West's perfect body but it was also hot, so, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- Wrong Way Home - Criminal Delights: Taken by K.A. Meriken - KU. 2/5. I don't even know why I finished this but I felt committed. It was supposed to be really dark but I didn't feel like it was, after the initial setup. Maybe something's wrong with me? Stockholm syndrome vibe when a college student who decides to live on the wild side (by taking the long way home ???) runs into a prepper with a lot of cats (no joke) who kidnaps him. Really weird dynamic ensues. Lots of sex. The homesteading stuff was cool though.

- Filthy Sweet by R. Cayden - KU. 3/5. Fun, smutty, brother's best friend trope. Owen is freshly out of the closet and Fox is a music exec with a checkered past. Filthy and sweet just like it says.

- Wyn (Monstrous #3.5) by Lily Mayne - KU. 3.5/5. Cute little novella with a POV from Wyn, the Soul Eater we met in book one of Mayne's Monstrous series. This is her first series and you can tell she's having a lot of fun with it. It was cool seeing Wyn's world, lots of fluff and possessive monster antics keeping his human safe. Excited to see where else the series goes.

- The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian - Libby. 3/5. I loved a lot of it but other parts didn't work as well as I'd hoped. Percy and Kit were generally delightful and I really loved their dynamic. It was a very slow buildup to them getting together though which made it drag a bit and then left the latter half feeling rushed. However, the writing had some very good wit and banter. Just felt underwhelming overall and the heist plot wasn't really a draw like it could have been.

- Tommy Cabot Was Here (The Cabots, #1) by Cat Sebastian - Libby. 4/5. So cozy. So cute. Best friends to lovers to frenemies to lovers again. I can't think of many historicals set in the 1950s so this was a lovely change of pace and setting. I only wish it had been a bit longer. Refreshingly free of externalized homophobia too, considering the time period.

DNF:

Fixing Little Red (Different Hearts, #2) by Izaia Winter - KU. DNF around 60%. The (lack of) editing, typos, and grammar issues really took me out of the story. Red was very one dimensional and their Daddy/little dynamic didn't feel fleshed out. Second attempt at this series and I've DNF #1 and #2. Not for me I guess!

Up next: Feeling sporty, apparently. Playing Offside by Jax Calder, Steamroller by Mary Calmes. Peter Cabot too, when my library lets me have it!

My brother got married last Friday, so I was out of town for the festivities and missed the weekly post. Apologies for the barrage!

October 2-8

On Board by Jay Hogan - ku - 4.5 stars - I didn’t expect to like this one as much as the first one, but it was freaking GREAT. Like, the grumpiest bisexual awakening ever, and such a ‘I’m gonna treat you like an enemy bc if I treat you the way I want to UH OH’ - And having the not quite tied up former relationship was a refreshing complication. Once these two started talking to each other, they were very open and honest, but there were just a lot of things up in the air that made their HEA a little unsure for a while. I just really super liked this.

Cinnamon Eyes by Nell Iris - hoopla - 2.5 stars - I’ve decided I’m just gonna read all this author’s stuff that’s on hoopla. This novella was actually sappy as hell, and felt like kind of a throwback story, with very bad parents forcing MC1 to conform. These stories might not all be winners, but they are all short!

Summer Makeover by Kelly Fox - freebie (also on ku) - 3 stars - I fear that if my NASA-employed husband ever read this novella, he would roll his eyes until he strained an eye socket. I have no confidence that any of the science-y parts of this are in any way accurate. However, I did like that MC1’s makeover was planned before they met, and that MC2 just helped unearth the hotness. Short and sweet.

The Larks Still Bravely Singing by Aster Glenn Gray - ku - 4.25 stars - Really interesting and faithful to the writing of the time, as far as I can tell. The conflict was not quite something I’d ever seen before, and the relationship went all the way back to boarding school, so there were some emotional twists and turns, though I’d describe the emotional landscape of the book as somewhat muted. There were big feelings under the surface, but both MCs were trying to keep themselves in check, Robert most particularly. I liked the idea of only getting David’s perspective through the letters, but I would have welcomed a few more of them. I thought the epilogue was quite effective. The author's note at the back listed a bunch of literary inspirations, which I think is great and would love to see more authors of historical fiction include similar.

Sparrow by Kelly Fox - ku - 4.25 stars - This is one of those lopsided enemies to lovers that I tend to enjoy. Sparrow truly dislikes Luke for a good chunk of the first half of this book. Luke is one of those ‘aw, shucks, t'weren’t nothin’ types who only wants the spotlight on his rodeo career and not all the other things he does. This is basically Sparrow slowly figuring out he was wrong about Luke and being a little furious about that at first. I liked this book a bit more than the first one in the series because I’m now more familiar with the players, and this is a fun set of characters all round. (Very excited for book 3, also!)

The Ghost of Hillcomb House by Joshua Ian - 3 stars - A little spooky, a little convoluted, but fun. Light on romance, and I think this also could have been a longer story, like the first book I read from this author. I believe the third book in this series of stand alones is longer, so I’m hopeful that one will be the one I give 4 stars, bc I do like the author’s style.

Sailor Proof by Annabeth Albert - hoopla audiobook - book: 3 stars, narration: 4.5 stars - I don’t know if this is the very first pairing of my two favorite narrators (Greg Boudreaux and Joel Leslie), but it’s the only one I know about. I really hope they work together again, tho! I mean, I’d totally listen to almost anything these two narrate, so if they get the contract for book 2, I’ll absolutely be on that. (But, that aside, this book seems like m/m fast food. Albert is a good writer, but returns to the same wells a lot, and doesn't seem to branch out much.)

Always You by Nell Iris - 3.25 stars - Working my way through the backlist. This one has very demisexual vibes, but it’s never quantified. Super sweet.

All I’ll Ever See by Nell Iris - 2.75 stars - Drunken declaration with a smidge of angst. A lot of disapproving parents in these, oftentimes.

Hallowed Moon by Kelly Fox - 3.5 stars - Another shifter book with a LOT of stuff going on, but it has a fun, just try and keep up vibe. Wolf shifter and vampire pairing, appropriate for spooky season.

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Saenz. One of the most expected books of the year (of many years actually), it was finally here ! The book picks up in the exact scene the 1st book ends.

My expectations were huge, and the first part of the book made every bit of the wait worth it. Saenz is magnificent when he writes about Ari and Dante in their little bubble. You get gooesebumps, you get butterflies, it is beautiful. The first part of the book (around 40% of it) was like this. The rest was also good, pleasant, just not that special for me because the perspective broadened and Saenz went on to tackle some societal issue through Ari's eyes and split the focus to his friends, his family and him finding out the real world. The ending is >!happy but the means used to get there were a bit rushed for me.!< Overall I loved the parts that make Ari and Dante such a special story and I was fine with the rest. It was a sequel living up to the 1st book. And I can't wait for the movie now (I love the enthusiasm of the 2 actors cast as Ari and Dante!)

The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper. This book gets a lot of hate in Goodreads because some people don't like the main character. Cal is a teen social media journalist, whose life gets uprooted when his father is selected for the astronaut program that will lead to the first men setting foot on the surface of Mars. But he adapts and finds comfort and love in Leo, a fellow teenager whose mother is an astronaut. What I loved about this book is that it is not "will they won't they" for 80% and cute couple scene in the last 10 pages. We get a lot of Cal and Leo, a lot of Leo's sweetness, a lot of Cal being insecure and controlling, a lot of them talking and hugging and kissing and being cute. The non-romance plot is also very good, it exposes the media hypocricy, it plays with the idea that "everything is a narrative" and "the truth is the truth I can sell you vs the truth someone else can sell you". Some people think Cal is selfish. If he is, he is my type of selfish. I loved the book !!!

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall. My disappointment of the month. A book very hyped and very popular, I could never connect with it. I think I simply disagree with the author in most of the topics the book deals with. Oliver was a character I couldn't empathize with. Too serious, too pompous, too closed, no fun at all. But this would be okayish if Hall wasn't dealing with some issues in ways I can't agree with. It was portrayed through Oliver that there are "two sides" when you have controlling parents and mentally harassing you because they want to impose their expectations to you. It was portrayed through Luc that it is not bad to play along to the "good honorable gay" expectation because society/high class expects you so. It is portrayed that pretending you're fine and you play along with the rules of the posh London closed club is somehow alright. The silver lining is that the book has a sequel coming in 2022, but I was more frustrated than smiling when reading it, and that's a big red flag for me.

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. I avoid Silvera's books because I know he has the bad habit to write sad endings. But I couldn't resist to a Becky book. Becky wrote Arthur's POV and Adam wrote Ben's POV. The book is good. Really really good. It is sweet and funny and angsty and the characters are insecure and afraid but also cute and determined to make it work and mess up and make up. I loved the numerous pop culture references and the nerdy elements. There is one thing though that I didn't like : the ending. >!I am really tired of reading about "we can't stay together because we live in different places". It is a very used trope which I find disappointing because when you write a book about 2 boys trying their best to get together and make it work, it is cheap to just let it go. Also US authors seem to have an inability to understand that when you write 17-year old teen drama, you can have them aim to get to college in the same city thus reunite after 1 year long distance? I don't understand why I never see this in such books, it is a very obvious thought to me ! So yeah, the ending of "let's be friends because we won't be in the same place" just doesn't do it for me.!< There is also a sequel here coming in Decemeber 2021, and Becky please, make it work !!

Reading:

• Sol (Learning to Love #2) by Con Riley

Read:

• Wolfsong (Green Creek #1) by TJ Klune 4/5 stars. This was going to be my last shot at TJ Klune. I don't enjoy his sense of humour, but this definitely was low on the humour. I did feel it was a tad long, and found that having the romantic interest introduced when he was 10 years old a little odd... I think if it had been told from Joe's POV, I wouldn't have found it as odd.
• Ravensong (Green Creek #2) by TJ Klune 1/5 stars. I was super glad when I finally finished this. It felt needlessly long. I didn't enjoy the romance, especially since it was just this super drawn out thing that had been building since the first book. I didn't enjoy the plot, if you want to call it that. I didn't like the OTT melodrama. And I absolutely hated that there was zero explanation of how Gordo's magic (or any of the witches' magic) worked. What's his affinity? Where does he draw his power from? What are the limitations of his magic? What purpose to the tattoos actually serve? Does he need spells? Put in at least an iota of effort. With this, TJ Klune has officially been added to my DNR list.
• The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun 3/5 stars. Cute... but really, too cute for my taste. I liked this, but I didn't love it. I feel like between the show, crises of sexuality and nearly everyone's struggles with mental health, there was just too much going on to give any part a decent amount of depth. The cover also bothers me, especially as it was illustrated and not just relying on stock model photos. Dev is skinny, 6'4 and wears glasses. He is taller than Charlie, but Charlie is buff and described as being twice the size of Dev. I don't feel like Dev comes off as a lanky bean pole, and he is missing his trademark glasses. Charlie looks like a boy band reject, not some super buff techie.
• Finding Home (Blood Brute #0.1) by Dixon Reuel 2/5 stars. It was okay. Not much to say, one way or another. I don't think the premise or the writing appeal to me enough to read the series.

DNF:

N/A

I’ve read a lot this week and have definitely benefitted from everyone else’s recs in the discord.

Books I enjoyed

Hot Mess by Misha Horne - essentially a beginners treatise on what it means to be kinky interspersed with some sex and plot.

Holiday Fling by Crystal Lacy - lovely smutty story about getting together on vacation.

Sailor Proof by Annabeth Albert - I’ve read a few of this authors books lately and I love how immediately you are drawn into them. I’m less in love with the drawn out conclusions.

Winterbourne Series by Joanna Chambers - the first of these novellas is nice enough but I loved the second.

The Accidental Everything by Amy Bellows - A/b/o with an omega poet trying to make it big on YouTube. Well written but hilarious. I’m still laughing at the absurdity of the plot. Note that it reads very like a m/f with omegas standing on for women.

Books I disliked

Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert - such a well intentioned book that really didn’t work for me. Gets ok reviews on good reads so maybe I am missing something.

Wolf Moon Rising series by Sam Burns - I really enjoyed these and am looking forward to the next book. Shifter romance meets more modern world, resulting in good fantasy/paranormal romance without the toxic masculinity you often find in shifter romance writing. Interested to read more from these authors.

Caught Running by Abigail Roux after I saw it come up in a thread here and was interested in the premise. I finished, but did not really like it - cartoonish bimbo female villain, multiple plot points introduced and then unresolved, very abrupt ending.

I haven't posted in a little while, so here are a couple I've read recently:

Seducing the Sorcerer by Lee Welch - 5/5. I loved this so much. It's everything I'm looking for when I read a romance: two amazing characters with very strong voices, a romance that follows logically from who they are as people, and a good plot. New favorite for me.

Kidnapped by the Pirate by Keira Andrews - 3/5. I liked this but didn't love it. The younger character's feelings of shame (about being gay and about being dyslexic) were really intense. The pirate character used >!that shame to hurt him in order to drive him away, for his own protection!<. This all worked in the plot, but I just had trouble losing myself in the romance. Still, it kept my attention very easily. It also felt accurate to the time & place.

Up next: Strong Wine by AJ Demas. I read the first two books in the trilogy recently and I enjoyed them both so much.

Charlie Sunshine by Lily Morten

Here the Whole Time by Viktor Martins

I’m a Gay Wizard by V.S. Santoni

Hearts of Darkness by Andrea Speed 2.5/5 the score partially reflects that I’m not a fan of assassin/violence type stories and partially that the writing felt a little too (steroetype) fanfictiony to me. The book is trying to capture a comic vibe (supervillains and superheroes) and does pretty well. But things like Ash, raised to be an elite killing machine has never seen cartoons, refers to them as “moving pictures” but, in the same scene, talks about his total comfort using google. The extreme protected nativity doesn’t fit tech savvy elite.

Pros and Cons of Vengence by AE Wasp 3.5/5 a pretty fun take on Charlie’s Angels, but this time the Angels are men who are on the shadier side of morality. Five brought together, each assigned a specific wrong to right (one per book, natch). It was fun, the lower score was because the buildup intro to the whole series was kind of meh for me, and because the love is pretty darn insta. That said, I liked it enough that I’ll pick up book two.

Pros and Cons of Deception by AE Wasp 4/5 definitely liked this one better than the first… being able to jump right in to the story always helps. And it’s less instalove and more… fastylove lol Weird editing mistake I noticed: Wes orders a coke at a bar and the bartender gives him a beer later in the scene. I will wander on to book three!

The Knight and the Necromancer by A.H. Lee - three-book fantasy romance series. 5/5, 5/5 and 4/5. I saw it mentioned last week and loved it - thank you u/SummoningPortalOpen! Interesting couple with a very naturally-growing relationship between them, great world-building without any heavy-handed exposition, a plot of sufficient complexity, interesting and colourful secondary characters. Lively dialogue, plenty of gentle humour and laugh-out-loud sex jokes. What's not to like! I loved the pairing of one very (deservedly!) cautious guy with a confident, kind and sex-positive one. And I was really pleased when the author threatened the couple with bad turns in their relationship - for a while it looked like they might end up with some twisted secrets and a bad power imbalance between them - but the story never actually went down that road. The last book gets a lower rating only because the balance tilts a little bit too far towards plot and away from romance.

Firefly Lane by Riley Hart 3/5. Lives up to its blurb: "Small town, strangers-to-friends-to-lovers summer romance with no cheating, mature characters who talk out their problems, like to work with their hands, and have amazing chemistry." The premise is all good, I love mature characters who talk to each other! It was all very nice in the best sense of the word, but also rather bland and boring after a while. Towards the end of the book I'd really had enough of hearing just how much everyone loved and appreciated everyone else.

(Edited to add links since the GR bot didn't pick up the 1st one on my 1st try)