Shadow and Ghost: City of Shadows (Shadow and Ghost Book 1) by Lex Veia

Rating:

1/5 tear 💧

1/5 spice 🌶

5/5 heart 💙💙💙💙💙

Book 1 in the Shadow and Ghost series. (New series, new author, but I'm guessing this is best read in order.)

Quick 20 summary: Shadow is a masterful thief that doesn't get caught, except he got caught by a sexual act with handcuffs. He is given a second chance and asked to join an elite force fighting dark magic. Ghost is a legend on his own in this elite force, the Renegade, he wears a hood and mask, not really revealing his face to others. The two work together to solve mysterious killings.

This was a really good book, I really enjoyed the images the author conjured up with their words. My go to read is not fantasy or even urban fantasy, but I felt like this was a pretty solid storyline with their appropriate twists and turns that even someone like me who prefer romance can enjoy. It reads like an action movie, and there were many parts in the book that I did not see coming. The slow slow slow burn nearly killed me, but I still stayed up really late two nights in a row to finish the book because it's just that good and I couldn't put it down. 

Also the cover looks amazing!! I definitely want it displayed proudly on my shelf.

This is a single POV, which is refreshing as it keeps the audience guessing, we can only understand what Kit understands and with his neurodivergent mind it's rather funny at times.

"How can you not tell that I'm into you?" "I've been blatantly flirting with you for months."

"I thought you were just fucking with me."

I really enjoyed this book, and I'm very impressed that it's by a first time author, Lex did a great job concocting this world, and I'm looking forward to book 2 already!

Buy from Amazon here  

Add to your Goodreads TBR here 

Arranged Salvation by Jacey Davis

 

Rating:

1/5 spice 🌶

3/5 heart ❤️❤️❤️

Arranging Love, book 3

*There's enough information for this to be a standalone, but the overall story is unfinished. 

Release date: Feb 23, 2024

Genre: Omegaverse, alternative universe

Tropes: Hurt/Comfort, Mpreg, Daddy/boy, fake fated mates

My 20 second summary: Pregnant Omega Bastion is removed from his abuser Alpha husband. Alpha Arden, head security for Orion Strongfire agree to be fake fated mates with Bastion to protect him. Arden helps heal Bastion from past trauma and they find their own comfortable dynamic within their universe. They escape to avoid being hunted down by the government. HFN ending with overall plot line continuing.

Read this book if you like:

Omegavera

Hurt/Comfort

Fated Mates

Scent marking

The abuse and the violence from the book was difficult to read. Having Omega Bastion be such a submissive after years of being treated that way really broke my heart. Thankfully he has Arden who cares for him and helped him find his own voice. 

"Yes, little mouse. And when we're both ready. When it feels right, and you had a chance to learn more about it, then I'd be honored if you decided you still wanted me to be your daddy as well as your alpha."

The pockets of sunshine in the book were Lyric the sunshine, and the way Arden's protective instincts came in for Bastion. I'm such a sucker for pet names, and the one Arden gave Bastion right away seemed so appropriate. There's not much spice given Bastion's history with abuse, and Arden totally respected that. 

"I may be a broken omega, but both of us were a little broke. Together, though, we could maybe find a way to start mending."

I jumped into this book without having prior knowledge of the other books, but things were explained well enough to help the story along. However this story line is probably best read as part of the series. In all honesty this book wasn't for me, but the writing was good.

Read on KU or buy the book here --->https://geni.us/ArrangingLove3

Add to your Goodreads here ---> https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204674348-arranged-salvation

#mmromance #myshiodareads #mmreads #omegaverse #mpreg

Leap Year by A.M. Arthur

Leap Year by A.M. Arthur
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reconstruction Book 1

*Loosely connected to the Neighborhood Shindig Series, but OK to be read as standalone. 

Release date: Feb 28, 2024

Rating:

0/5 tear (This story did not trigger my tears, but doesn't mean it won't be emotional for others)

2/5 spice (what's an MM story without spice, this book seemed middle low end for spice, maybe it's due to having a child in the story, less time to do spicy things.)

4/5 heart (went into this book nearly blind to author writing, and plot, came out loving the storyline, the characters and wanting more.)

My 20 second summary: An artist's hermit lifestyle comes to a halt when he suddenly becomes neighbors with a single dad. They plan to stay away from each other, except that they are attracted to one another right off the bat. They navigate the delicate balance of their past traumas to find a HEA.

I love this book more than I thought I would. Based on blurb, I went into this book sorta neutral about it, I was trying to branch out on new to me authors but the more I read the more I love it. It's not only an interesting storyline from all aspects, but it checks all the boxes. Grump x Sunshine, check. Adorable child, check, found family, check, mentioning obscure movies that I love, check!

I love the way the story was weaved, and the honesty in the relationship, the communication, it was all very refreshing. They also both worked through their past trauma to find room for one another.

I'm definitely looking forward to the other books in the series, and I may start reading through backlog stories to see if I can spot other characters from the book.

Oh! There's a trigger warning of past sexual abuse which doesn't get address until further towards the end of the book, but I felt like it was dealt with in a good way between the MCs.

Buy the book here --->https://a.co/d/3t4Tyeg

Add to your Goodreads here ---> https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/207654236-leap-year

#mmromance #myshiodareads #mmreads #amarthur #teacher #contemporary #recluseartist #musician 

View all my reviews

Book Review: The Revenge Agenda by Saxon James

Release date: Feb 28, 2024

💛💛💛💛💛

Purchase link here —-> https://a.co/d/1KQXn8t

Caveat~~ While I think Saxon’s books works perfectly OK as a standalone, if you were interested in the other characters in the book, know that they can be found in other books as well. There’s a whole universe, you have a lot of stories to get through if this is your first introduction to the universe, but don’t be afraid of jumping in. You will love all the characters and ask for more. 

Ok on to the review.

Can I just say right off the bat I hate Ian, the ex-fiancé, he’s seriously giving Eman a run for his money. If I could roll my eyes any further I would, ugh. He’s up there in characters I hate, like Eric from Fake Out by Eden Finley, Eman from Up in Flames by Saxon James and Eden Finley, Aaron from Ice Breaker by Hannah Grace and now adding Ian.

Now let’s get to the good parts. I love love love Rush, in previous mentions of him, he wasn’t involved as much, so I was really interested in seeing how his character would develop, and I wasn’t disappointed. I loved getting a glimpse into his brain and what he’s thinking about. Like the part where Rush wants to ask what scent Hunter is wearing, but he assumes Hunter’s going to say some brand and not list the ingredients and scents so he lets it go.  

Then other times my heart breaks for Rush as throughout the the book he continues to reveal how many people treat him like he doesn’t matter in the past. I’m so glad to see he gets his happily ever after with such a caring, right for him hottie like Hunter.

I love how the Big Bertha Boys come together to help one another and have accepted Hunter as their own. Xander stealing The Hunter’s coat was hilarious. And they make a pretty big cameo in this book, so that was nice.

On the spice scale, it’s still oh so very spicy , but kinda tame in a way too. Given how sparkly Rush’s brain is, it surprises me how dirty mouthed he can be, lol, except when he does dirty talk, it doesn’t make me cringe at all. It’s like delightful, sexy and just the right amount of turn-ons.

Ok, also the trigger warning of sexual and physical assault is totally valid. I don’t know what it says about me that the physical assault was more traumatic than the sexual one mentioned. I had to re-read that part once I realized Rush was not ok, I was like what happened. But the physical assault was really hard to read for me, so that was something new I found out about myself and just cemented Ian’s name on the list of exs I hate. I also think there should be another trigger warning for cheating, some people are sensitive to that.

I think it’s an overall feel good book, except the parts where Ian comes in. Saxon’s writing style and banter hits just right, she brings such a sense of comedic timing with seriousness. I love learning new things from her books, this time it’s the butt succulent plants, and learning how Rush’s mind of ADHD works, like his system at work that helps him stay productive. It’s one of those things that I enjoy about Saxon’s books is that it’s not only entertainment, but also educational. 

I can’t wait to read the next story from the Big Bertha Boys.

Love Language by Jax Calder

Novella review~ Love Language by Jax Calder

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Release date: Feb 16, 2024

Get your book here —-> https://getbook.at/LoveLanguage

Just finished the short novella by Jax Calder called Love Language. I didn’t know what this book was about, but when I saw Jax Calder’s name on it, I knew I had to read it, I really enjoyed their book The Unlikely Heir last year, and I’m needing a fix until the next book in the series to come out.

This is a He falls first. (Lol, they are both He), Grump x Sunshine MM romance. There is a little deaf representation, which I found very heartwarming. And I thought it was interesting that the story takes place in New Zealand, I almost wished the storyline took more to describe NZ, but I think it was definitely enough to spark my interest in the country.

Ashton has been workmates with Dominic the grump for the past three years, and they’ve always had this snarky banter, but lately Ashton has been awakened to that perhaps their snarky banter isn’t just banter, but perhaps something more. 

This might be a short novella, but there is nothing rushed about it, I would go so far as to say, if more was to be added to this story, it might seem to just be filler. This is a perfect length for an afternoon read, or in my case, since I started late night and was nearly falling asleep, it was a good wake up to finish this happy ending story to start the day.

Highly recommend, and I definitely look forward to adding more of Jax’s books to my READ pile.

And now I leave you with a favorite quote from the novella

“And suddenly, he’s smiling too. In all my cataloguing of Dominic’s expressions, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this version of his smile. And it seems like a really, really good idea to join our smiles together in a kiss.”

******possible spoiler below for what i loved about this book******

I love how in retrospect Ashton found out that Dom has been crushing on him for awhile, pretty much from really the first moment he’s laid eyes on him. It’s in those details that makes us swoon, this is so much more than just how he takes his coffee, but more like granting wishes genie style, and ordering Indian food when the other prefers Japanese.

White Noise by Lark Taylor

Book Review 

🩷🩷🩷🩷

Out now on KU or get the signed copy here ——>(https://www.larktaylorauthor.com/product-page/white-noise)

If you love Lark writing Para-normal Romance, definitely give her contemporary one a try. I’m not a big fan of rockstar romance, but this one is a little different, or maybe not, but I like Lark’s writing style enough to give it a try, even though it took me awhile. I joined her Patreon when Green Light was released, but that particular book did not draw me, so I didn’t even think to read White Noise. It wasn’t until she started providing advanced chapters for Red Haze and I’m learning more about Arlo and Jack that I really got into the band, and now I want to read the backstories before Red Haze comes out. So here I am for my redemption arc.

Book summary:

Ollie is suffering from a massive heartbreak from cheating girlfriend with best friend when he meets Luca in an out of order elevator.  They share a moment together, Luca having a panic attack and Ollie helps him off the ledge. In that confined space they open up to each other and is no one else, but Luca and Ollie the people, not Luca the rockstar, and Ollie the journalist. When the lift door opens, and reality hits them and breaks the bond they had during that fleeting time. But they reconnect as tour journalist and headline rockstar and find their HEA.

“He was everything I remembered…but yet so much more. I wanted to get closer to breathe him in. To sniff him to see if he wore the same cologne. To stroke my hand over his jaw just to see if he’d shiver like he had that day in the lift. I did none of those things. Obviously. That sort of behaviour led to a restraining order.”

 Parts that really moved me were the vulnerabilities both Ollie and Luca showed each other and how quick they were to come to the conclusion that they were wrong about one another, but that damn Kevin had to come in and ruin it every time. 

BTW, I’m adding Kevin, the band manager, on my list of hated characters. I mean from this book alone, he doesn’t seem that bad, but I got a glimpse of him in Red Haze and I hated him, so… reading about him here really makes me hate him.

There were so many times where I was like, just get it together and communicate man, your insecurities are unfounded. But I guess that is not what these people are about, lol. I love them nonetheless.

I also love the appearance of other characters from Lark’s PNR books, it’s a nice cameo and makes me feel like I’m actually living in their world and that the PNR boyfriends are just within reach if I visit The Closet. 

I’m now ready to read Silas and Kai’s story, so I’ll leave you with the swoony* things Ollie says to Luca.

“You’re not an experiment, Luca. I’m right here in this with you, and I want to try everything. Are you in this with me?” 

*Sidenote these swoony things are only swoony to me in books, IRL if my husband said these things to me, it would definitely get an eye roll and a laugh. LOL

Justice (Damned Connections Book 2 ) by Lark Taylor

Could not finish this book fast enough. 

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Justice (Damned Connections Book 2) by Lark Taylor

Damed Connections Book 2, but works OK as standalone.

Release date: Feb. 1, 2024

Justice is a MM PNR romance about a grumpy big hearted, caring vampire assassin and the sunshine human he can’t stay away from. 

I love this book. Matty and Sebastian, their love was hard won, but when they got their HEA, it was so worth it. Lots of pining, (I want you, but you're too good for me~~) but still peppered with spice (can't help that attraction and chemistry). Make sure you have tissues on hand for the tears because I had to put the book away when I saw the third-act breakup coming. It was bad how much heartbreak there was, but the reunion just made the their relationship stronger than ever because no one was one foot out the door anymore. 

“Of course, sunshine. You’re everything I never knew I needed, let alone wanted. From the second I saw your smile, I was hooked.”

(That's how we feel about you and Matty, Seb!! ) Although this is the second book in the series, it works good as a standalone, of course I also highly recommend the first book where we meet Ferry and Leo. (The book in which I fell in love with PNM romance) Or go back to where it began with Devil's Mark (Cal and Oscar's story was my FAV book of 2023).

Highly recommend!!! 5 stars for content, 3 peppers for spice and 4 boxes of tissue for third act breakup.

Add to your currently reading shelf on Goodreads-----> here

Buy on 'Zon or read on KU ----> here

Received this ARC as part of Lark Taylor's Patreon, but honestly she is fast becoming a must buy author for me. Lastly opinions and words above are my own, while quotes and picture are from Lark and her team.