Winter by Josh Lanyon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Let me start out by saying that this one barely scratches the surface of what could possibly be considered an M/M romance. The main focus with this one is the paranormal mystery. Also **TRIGGER WARNING** One of our heroes is depressed and dealing with attempted suicide and thoughts of trying again.

This one does not have an HEA for our heroes, as one has suffered a recent heartbreaking loss, and is clearly suffering, but a friendship is forming, and we can see how this bond might morph into more in future book(s)--if and when we get to see them.

The mystery is really where the story was fun for me. It's something so bizarre, and yet so straight-forward, but entirely entertaining. I found it delightful.

View all my reviews

The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks by Josh Lanyon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This one is definitely not a favourite, and the bar is usually set pretty low for Josh Lanyon books. With JL, I know that the romance will be basically non-existent and the sex will be disappointing, but this one had one hero that was a homophobic jerk for the first 2/3, not enough character development, and a convoluted mystery.

I have to admit, I loved Perry; his character felt well-rounded and well thought-out. Nick, on the other hand, was uptight, rude--and not just in his behaviours, but in his thoughts, as well--and as the reader, we never really get to know much about him, despite being in his head for a good portion of the book. As a result, his character was flat and not really likeable.

Additionally, I couldn't see what Perry liked in Nick, aside from the fact that he used to be a SEAL and was apparently good-looking. Their relationship was totally unbelievable.

The mystery, while convoluted, was what kept me reading. I got confused with all of the names and different characters, especially when they all felt so similar to one another, but I enjoyed it, regardless.

Overall, this book was simultaneously disappointing and entertaining. 1* for romance, 3* for the mystery.

View all my reviews

On Point by Annabeth Albert
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book really disappointed me. The plot was so promising, and the bit in the jungle was so exciting. I just...didn't like much of the rest. There were some redeeming qualities to each character, and the sex scenes were decent (except for the flashback scenes, which I despised), but other than that, I couldn't wrap my head around the motivation behind what went on here--for Ben, in particular.

In addition to the characterization and motivation being way off for me, there was something about this writing that I just didn't like. There wasn't enough description, especially outside of the jungle, there were a lot of scenes that felt rushed or totally unnecessary, there wasn't enough of a sizzling moment when their relationship began, everything was just a bit bland, and when our heroes reconcile after the inevitable fallout, there wasn't enough raw emotion. Honestly, this book just left me feeling very blah, when it had such potential.

At this point, I'll probably give this author another try, and read a different one of her books, because there were some very specific things about this book that I didn't like that might be unique to this title. Here's to hoping. As it is, this is not a book that I would recommend.

View all my reviews

Spencer Cohen, Book Three by N.R. Walker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'll start off by saying that I love Spencer and Andrew. The conclusion to their story was satisfying and happy, the amount of tears I shed notwithstanding.

That all being said, I still have a proverbial bee in my bonnet about the fact that this trilogy is one story divided into three books. And I really would have liked there to be more scene-setting overall in this "series". I felt that while the story was nice and I was often swept up in the goings-on, I struggled to have a clear picture in my mind of anything around them.

View all my reviews

Spencer Cohen, Book Two by N.R. Walker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(This is a review for both Book 1 and Book 2) Let me start off by saying that I thought the characters were endearing, their romance was sweet (and in the second book, a little steamy), and the overall plot idea great--which is why I picked up the book(s) to begin with. I liked the author's way of writing dialogue, and their use of description. That said, there was something *big* that I didn't like about this series. I've never read anything by N.R. Walker before, so I'm unsure if this style of series is common with the author, but even after finishing the book over a week ago, I had difficulty putting into words what it was, precisely, that bothered me so fiercely. Finally, I pinned it down.

This trilogy is ONE book.

The story flows from the first word in the first book to the last word in the third book, has an overall arc, and a satisfying conclusion for our two heroes. The problem is, that it's in three parts and sold separately. I wouldn't be so upset if each novel had a good rounded story, and some kind of satisfying conclusion that would let me sigh with contentment when I put the book down, but there just wasn't.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against ending novels in suspense or series' featuring the same couple (I've read and loved many of them), but this series is not three separate stories in which you get to see a couple grow closer together (etc), it's *one* story. I'm afraid to say, that if you want to read the couple's full story (which IS rather adorable and heartwarming), you'll have to buy all three books and read them one-after-the-other as though they're one long book.

View all my reviews

Forever Outnumbered: Tales of Our Family Life from Instagram's Father of Daughters by Simon Hooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Charming, funny, and relatable. I follow FoD on Instagram, so I'm familiar with his sense of humour and I already knew some of what was in the book, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable read nonetheless.

View all my reviews

Getting Schooled by Emma Chase
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Honestly, this one was disappointing. I mean, it was steamy and all, but it was so sweet as to be boring. I wanted some kind of conflict at the beginning, something keeping them apart. Even if the author wanted to have them on good terms, some external source of conflict would have been good. But this book was just so sweet, Garrett and Callie jumped right back into their relationship from 17 years prior (which we never got to see). We don't get to see the relationship develop, we don't get to see their characters develop with each other, and we have no real push to move forward because we don't ever question that they'll end up together. Nothing really happens to them, and the one little blip, the one moment when I thought that there would be a juicy fight, it fizzled out immediately. I was hugely disappointed.

Additionally, I'm not accustomed to reading first person POV narratives, and I had difficulty getting used to the lack of scene-setting/world-building. I don't think I'll read another of Emma Chase's books, as while I imagine that there are superior stories to this one, I just can't get used to the style of writing.

I also can't quite see why this book was titled this way. There was no lesson for our hero or heroine to learn, so the "Schooled" part doesn't seem to fit, aside from the fact that they are teachers. But here, it implies that they're being taught a lesson. I don't know, I thought that the title sounds far more exciting than the book actually is, but that's probably just me.

That all being said, I like the little everyday bits that the author added into her writing, such as the interactions between the other teachers, Ollie, and their families. I also liked the parts with Snoopy, and W, and I liked that we got to see some of their lives in the epilogues (even though I was surprised that there was more than one).

If you're looking for something super sweet and sexy with basically zero conflict, this is the book for you.

View all my reviews

The Magician Murders by Josh Lanyon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This one was so close to being four stars, but there were a couple of issues that held me back.

As with every Lanyon book that I've read, there wasn't any romance. One sex scene, yes, but definitely not your average M/M romance. Especially the ending (which I have issues with in general); Sam and Jason's emotional aspect of the story ended very suddenly, much like everything else. We didn't see them part ways, but it was mentioned in retrospection. I found this frustrating.

On the topic of the ending, it was completely dissatisfying. I get that sometimes cliffhangers are necessary, but this whole book seemed like a means to put off the next book. It began and ended with the lead-in to the next in the series, with the little magician mystery thrown in the middle of it, sort of like a side mystery. In that sense, it just felt like the book was incomplete, rather than it being a cliffhanger.

Additionally, the way that the "mystery" was wrapped-up was very perfunctory. What happened with the art theft? Were they going to do anything with what they learned? And what of the killer? What was the motivation? I feel like it everything was brushed over so quickly that I didn't get a sense of a solid conclusion to any part of the mystery.

One more thing, why was Jason left alone at the end when it's well known that his life is in danger? Is this just for the purpose of the cliffhanger? I found this very aggravating.

What I *did* enjoy were the little interactions throughout the novel. There were some moments that were nice, and others that were exciting. Overall, it was decent, and I'll read the next in the series.

View all my reviews

The Gentleman and the Rogue by Bonnie Dee
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 77%. I'll be quick, because I genuinely don't want to dwell on this novel any more than I have to. I had to force myself to read this far because I bought the thing and didn't want to waste my money, but I just can't go any further.

The sex scenes, while plentiful, are almost mechanical and a bit blasé. I wanted to see some heat, some passion between these two, but just like Alan's character, his sex was dull as dirt. What it really needed was some emotion. It felt devoid of feeling, entirely, and even though this was bordering on a historical erotica novel, I did still want to be romanced. Jem might have been hired as a whore, but with Alan he shouldn't have been acting like one, at least not after that first night.

Alan was a two-dimensional character that did absolutely nothing for the book. Jem was honestly the only thing I liked about this story. He was bright and vibrant, and I genuinely couldn't see what he saw in Alan. So much more to say here, but I just don't want to bother getting into it. Put simply, there was zero chemistry, zero emotion, and that left me with zero interest.

The plot, like the sex, was mechanical and predictable. It was so dashed boring, I fell asleep reading it several times, and the only time that's happened before was over a decade ago when I was in university studying for tests late into the night. It felt like the plot about the girl and the doctor was brought in because the authors couldn't think of any other way to get the heroes to do something that's not sex together. The villain was two-dimensional, and the little sprite was the only female in the whole book that gets a line.

This was a big disappointment, because the blurb was promising.

View all my reviews

Nightingale by Aleksandr Voinov
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I struggle to know where to begin with this review. I've never read anything by Aleksandr Voinov before, but based on my experience with this novel, I'm absolutely certain that I'll read another.

I feel like this story was important, that it needed to be told. So much of it rang true that I imagine a lot of research went into writing it. I have a lot of respect for Voinov for that.

What I'm struggling with, is how to put into words how I feel about the story. There was so much that I liked and that I found necessary, and yet there were some aspects that felt slightly incomplete. I understand that the passage of time was required, but I found that time was fluid in this novel, and I couldn't quite keep track of how much time was elapsing. How long was Yves with Heinrich and Falk? We see their first romantic encounters, and then all of the sudden, months seem to have passed with very little explanation. I found this a bit frustrating, most particularly when Yves and Heinrich's relationship began to cool (because we didn't see much in the way of their intimate relationship to begin with, and I couldn't tell the difference when they'd begun to lose interest), and it suddenly felt like months or years had passed, but I had no way of knowing.

Following along the last note, I also wished that we would have seen more of Falk and Yves. I adored how they interacted, and am ultimately disappointed that I didn't get to see more of it. I realize that the romance wasn't the purpose of this novel, and that's fine, but a bit more than those few blinks of romance would have been nice.

My frustration aside, this was a brilliant novel. It was heart-wrenching and painful, but also so artfully written and romantic. It might have been fiction, but with so much fact and history put in, it really felt like it could have been real, which made it all the more painful.

View all my reviews