Annery

This is when you know you're in the hands of a real artist, a writer with a vision, and a unflagging grasp of the world they've created. We're 9 (nine) books into the PsyCop world and [a:Jordan Castillo Price 268722 Jordan Castillo Price https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1325364144p2/268722.jpg]'s stories are as fresh as day one. Victor Bayne is now a full time agent for the FPMP, and life is different. In a good way. Seeing Vic navigating his new status as someone wanted and appreciated for his talent is revelatory. As in recent entries to the series the past comes back, perhaps not to bear directly on the case at hand, but to stir memories all but lost to Vic, and have him see cast new light on relationships he had cast in stone. I love that. How JCP knows that the past isn't a static thing, how it breathes into the present, but we can also learn to let it go, without forgetting. The mystery isn't too complex but it isn't meant to be. The genius of it is that threads that have been teased some entries back come together seamlessly and we get to see an adult relationship flourish and develop. Bearing witness to how utterly Jacob loves Vic, how they navigate their day to day life, how sometimes (mostly) Vic is the strong one, and then cats? Sheer joy.This is a world that I'm happy to revisit again and again. It hasn't gone stale. The relationships have gotten stronger, they run deeper, and true. I'll eagerly continue this journey. As usual [a:Gomez Pugh 8435087 Gomez Pugh https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] provides the perfect audio companion to this series. He is Vic's voice.

3.5I've been on an Ashe binge (likely to continue) and I thought this collab with [a:C.S. Poe 13832392 C.S. Poe https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1537378902p2/13832392.jpg] would be a good step to the side. It was a happy marriage of their two styles. Murder brings together two screwed up guys: Sam is out of the army but dragging a plethora of issues; Rufus is existing in a sort of arrested development after an unhappy childhood. Good times. Given their personal issues and the span of the narrative the ending isn't even a HFN, understandably so. Luckily book 2 is already out and I'm diving right in. It was also an excuse to try out a new narrator, [a:Garrett Kiesel 21076557 Garrett Kiesel https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. I liked him, his voice(s), and it's always good to have a new voice, however, and maybe it's more of a production issue, the pacing can use some improvement.

Well there's no two ways about it, these guys don't do easy. Their love lives are messy, messy, messy. It's a good thing? Dunno. It feels real. This is Charlie's story, the last bachelor in the group, but it also provided a kind of coda or wrap up to the other couples and the group. Moving on. Maturing. Some six years ago some bad decisions were made. Charlie and the other party have lived with guilt over their actions and the people they betrayed. The past comes back knocking on Charlie's front door and won't be ignored. Since the blurb is vague I won't say more about the who, what, and why. I will say that this is my favorite relationship of all the Doms in the group. It's based on two people actually liking each of other for who they are without the transactional element. They enjoy a level of kink but it isn't the thing that makes them a couple. It made them real, relatable, and bodes well for their future longevity. There's some sweet Daddy action, an organic one, some sounding, which is intense, and an orgy which wasn't. Overall I liked it and the AB by [a:John Solo 7935034 John Solo https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is a big part of my enjoyment.The rest of the book, including two alternate P.O.V.s from River and Avery, about events in this and the prior book only served to confirm thoughts I've had about these guys from the beginning. *Taylor's relationship to the group, with Warren serving as his full time minder, is at best a bandaid on the gaping wound that is his psyche and at worst an exhausting and dangerous dance for all involved.*It's not for me to say, to each their own, and all that but I'm still flabbergasted by River's devotion to not only kneeling for Phil, but his acquiescence to not even look him in the eye. Phil is a nice guy and good to River in his own way but IMO his Domdom (yes, I'm coining the word) is a way of masking a host of emotional issues. I'm not sure that as a sub I'd be super confident entrusting my wellbeing to someone who isn't at home in his own skin. I can only surmise that River REALLY loves Phil. Enough to humor him but ready to take care of himself at any moment. I guess we all do extreme things for the ones we love. *Gray is a self centered a**hole who, after prodding, comes through for his friends. He's that guy in the group we love though we know all his failings. He's been crushing on Taylor since he came into Warren's life and claimed to be in love with Phil for years until the reality of their humanity reveals itself. Avery turns out to be his happy place but, and again this is just my opinion, it seems to be more about what Avery does or doesn't give him and not necessarily for who Avery is. Avery is fairly self sufficient, drama free, and a willing repository for Gray's sadism, though for my liking, and in a show of what imagine to be unsanctioned BDSM practices, Gray uses Avery as a figurative, though physical, punching bag for his rage. I'm not sure Avery's gratification from these encounters is foremost on Gray's mind. He's not evil but, judging by his previous relationships, Gray is always #1 in his own book. I'm glad that he was knocked down a peg or two and stroke of luck has come to save him. His hotness looks better humbled. *In each book there's a poker game in which the newest addition is initiated via group sex. To my mind these were some of the unsexiest sex scenes ever. Joyless. Maybe they were meant to be that way. They mostly seemed centered on letting the newest sub know their place in the hierarchy of the group, like a dog pack or a sorority, not about pleasure, at least not for the newest sub. It gave me icks. As a side effect it let me to think of things like how much these guys lust after their friends's partners, what are the odds of these over 35 men always being ready, as it were? I mean they're ready to go the moment they walk in the door. The poker games always take place after, like they want to get the sex out of the way, as if it were a necessary chore. Have they partaken of some chemical help on the way? They claim to enjoy it. I didn't believe it. Lastly there's a short story about Robert, Avery's piano partner from the Tap House, which I absolutely adored and would pay good money to read in an expanded version. In spite of all my blathering I enjoyed this series. It made me think, it's people are messy, and the kink colors outside the lines, like Real Life. Imagine that.

Well ... there was nothing wrong with this. I think [a:Sage Whistler 1386480 Sage Whistler https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1378588304p2/1386480.jpg] pretty lives in the twincest market, but the fact that it took me five (5) days to read this is a sign that I was, if not bored, at least not interested. And being bored by twincest is not something I thought I'd ever utter.The problem is that there really is no issue between Gabriel & Tristan. Yes, they were separated for seven years when Gabriel left home at 17, because Tris was a)17 , b)not yet attuned to his sexuality, c)under his parent's thumb. Once he's reunited with Gabriel, after some harsh life experiences, which frankly seemed like a bit much for a 24 y.o., there's a brief internal struggle by each of the twins, thinking the other won't want him. That is overcome fairly quickly, and later the people who do find out are entirely accepting. All of the drama llama has to do with hateful parents and disgruntled exes, stuff I wasn't interested at all, and while the parent drama is, sadly, very real, the ex drama seemed plucked out of a daytime soap. In any case, with some liquid courage and a better mood YMMV.

... and this is why though I always intend to read the next book in the series immediately I end up exercising self preservation and pace these out. My emotions need a rest. [a:Gregory Ashe 1179529 Gregory Ashe https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1561907752p2/1179529.jpg] and [a:Charlie David 2895612 Charlie David https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1461856493p2/2895612.jpg] put me through my paces. Thanks.What can I say that hasn't been said without devolving into gibberish? I'll just say I loved everything about it. The way the relationship between Shaw & North continues to evolve without cutting corners, how their world is populated by recognizable people of every type, how magic sex doesn't cure wounds that run deep, the humor laced banter between the MC which serves as a bridge and form of communication. I had a ball imagining Shaw's outfits and his continuous tries at guessing North's middle name. The mystery was good. I wasn't necessarily surprised but I liked how the investigation played out. I loved the cameo by my faves! Though I kind of hoped that Shep would've been a different person, I'm also glad to see “marginalized” characters portrayed in all iterations. And of course I'm heartbroken about Jadon. I'll take a couple of days and continue with this journey.

This is a story about complicated people living through complicated situations. I'm fine with that. I welcome these kinds of stories but inexplicably this just missed the mark for me.

The story takes place in 2003/2004 and the twenty years that have passed make it quasi historical. I like historical fiction and am old enough to remember these times so I wasn't shocked. The politics that imbue a lot of the story are tragically still relevant. Very much so. These aspects were related by the author in a credible voice, she knows whereof she speaks of both on the subject of the LGB community and Israel & its politics.

I think that what prevented me from loving this was twofold. While I understand that the politics very much affected and informed life choices made by the characters, at times it seemed to subsume everything else, as if they were mouthpieces to present certain viewpoints. I can live with that. The real stumbling block was the couple.

Why are Matt & Daniel together? Are they actually in love or did Matt just get tired and scared of the NYC scene and Daniel saw this handsome ex-party boy as his deserved reward for ... ? I dunno. I do know that the person getting the short end of the stick is Matt. Daniel is everything but nice or loving towards him. The excuse is that Daniel is grieving but that didn't wash for me. Maybe a second reading at a different time might cast this in another light but for now the structure that's supposed to hold this story up, two adults in love buffeted by the slings & arrows of life, doesn't hold water. If this were real life I'd venture to say that Matt & Daniel are no longer together.

The rating is for the writing and the unflinching portrayal of characters & situations that aren't necessarily comfortable or lovable.

P R O C E S I N GIf you wanted to start the year having your heart crushed in a vise grip, huddling in a corner to metaphorically protect your tender bits (and really, who didn't?) you've come to the right place. Of course I can just say you're in [a:Gregory Ashe 1179529 Gregory Ashe https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1561907752p2/1179529.jpg] territory and you'll get the picture. This is the first in the Borealis Investigations Series dealing with the tangled and complicated relationship between Shaw Aldrich and North McKinney, the cases they handle (mostly dealing with the LGBTQ community) and in true GA style an overarching case/mystery. The series isn't an off shoot of the original Hazard & Somerset but exists in the same universe, starts sometime after Hazard left his St. Louis stomping grounds for the hell/haven of his hometown of Wahredua. We even get to see Billy, the snake! There are other parallels with H & S but North & Shaw are their own beast and have their own dynamic. North and Shaw are both twenty six (26) and have been friends since college (maybe before?). Though they're distinctly different, come from dissimilar backgrounds, and have gone in almost opposite directions when it comes to their post college personal lives, they share a history, a business, and a sensibility that makes them closer than close. There's also the inconvenient fact that each separately and secretly has been pining for the other. Men

Re-Read 4/3/18 with the added bonus of [a:Michael Pauley 1302332 Michael Pauley https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png]'s narrationI stand by my original review. If anything, with time and additional, unaccounted for re-reads, I love this series more. I should clarify that the whole “weakest entry” was me perhaps being pretentious. If anything this is the installment where everything becomes clear both for Scott and for Tad. Tad is no longer willing or able to deny his feelings for Scott or what his sexual preferences are. And Scott finally opens up to Tad telling him point blank what he wants from him and where he, Scott, is coming from. I loved everything about this. [a:Kora Knight 8529860 Kora Knight https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1514682199p2/8529860.jpg] is a genius, because bro/dudes are not really my thing and yet I love these two, perhaps because they prove to be more than the sum of their parts. I love the pacing of the story, how each encounter between Scott and Tad serves as an occasion for Tad to x-ray his life & choices. How Tad is ultimately honest with himself and there isn't an ounce of malice in him. I love his inner rants about traffic, slow walkers, and the fluttery things that invariably kick-up in his stomach whenever Scott comes into play.The “reason” for this re-read was the release of the ABs by Michael Pauley. By this installment his narration has really kicked into high gear. He owns these characters and the story so much that, if you're like me and like to read along, you'll notice that there are quite a few additions & omissions to the written novel. I think they're all for the better. Speech sounds natural and unforced. I wholly agree with the AB choices and I'm sure they were approved or set up by Kora herself. Overall: HEAVEN.I'm pretty confident this won't be my last dance with this series. ************I've let this digest for a day and I'll confess that this was perhaps the weakest entry in the series but since I've saved my review to include all five I'm rating as if this were one full length novel split into long chapters because that's how it reads. And OMFG what a great ride it is!!! You could read the first volume, [b:Loser Takes All 23166708 Loser Takes All (Up-Ending Tad A Journey of Erotic Discovery, #1) Kora Knight https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1410140125s/23166708.jpg 42712151] as a stand alone erotic novella of sexual discovery. A one-night experience that may change our MC Tad's life and just watch him go on his merry way and wish him luck, but WHY would you? The whole series is told from Tad's POV and aren't we lucky for that. He is sweet, introspective, open, generous, funny as hell. He cracked-up and had me in happy tears with his self-deprecating inner monologue. Some may think he is too introspective but I can relate: analyze everything from every angle & fall into the pitfall of self doubt. However he never wallows for too long and shows great courage in taking the leap to be with Scott, his enigmatic object of lust and ultimately love. Scott has been burned before & isn't willing to be a dirty secret in Tad's closet. Good for him. I think it's brilliant how each installment is split between Tad thinking about his life and choices and then his encounters with Scott, each of which will burn your eyes with goodness and serve to illustrate how their relationship is progressing and how Tad is slowly coming to realize who he is and where he wants to be in his life. Because that's the thing: this is not a gay-for-you story but rather a voyage of discovery for Tad and once he figures it out he jumps right in! And I couldn't end this without a thumbs-up for Jay, one of the best BFFs ever: hangover remedy, confessor and wise no nonsense advice. Now when is that epilogue coming? and I desperately need to now all about Kai & Breck. Like now!!!

What an odd little read, and I found it in the strangest place, my Kindle!

This is not a romance. Rather it's the story, a sad one, of a very sick man. Interesting writing and nice play with the audience's P.O.V.

4.5

This is a Hazard-centric outing. As the tittle suggests we continue to unravel the knotty skien that is parenthood, dealing pretty exclusively with fathers. Almost every character from murder victims to possible murderers, from Colt to Hazard, are coping (mostly not well) with that oft fraught relationship.

About the mystery itself there isn't much to say and the dead are of no great loss to anyone. One of the twists was clear to me from the get go but I wasn't mad about it. The case is a canvass for the author to continue his exploration of Wahredua politics (which IMO is a stand-in for current America) and the ever maturing relationship between John-Henry & Emery. I like that he isn't heavy handed, he allows even the most villainous of villains moments of grace and humanity and there are some interesting, but not farfetched developments among some of the recurring cast of characters.

Becoming Colt's father makes Hazard to revisit/reevaluate his thoughts & feelings about his own father. It's progress even if it's at tortoise speed. Life has its own pace. Meanwhile we have Colt who's the walking, talking stereotype of a teenager, emotions like a pinball machine. My first thoughts were:
*1Super glad to not be regularly around teenagers
*2I wouldn't never have gotten away with that behavior
*3how does Hazard love this virtual stranger so much in such a short time?
*4has Colten forgotten what/who Danny Lee is?

and then I remembered what it was like to be in that limbo age where you're not one thing or another, that those initial formative years mark us indelibly whether we admit it or not, like it or not, logic has no sway. Fifty year-olds are still talking about their parents when they go to therapy. As for Hazard's love, who knows? Maybe Colt, who looks so much like him (and not just physically) is a chance to save the boy he once was and all the boys like himself who've been ill used by a cruel world.

Overall I liked how we get to see the MC growing and learning from their mistakes and how they're becoming a true family. Beautiful

2.5If you've read/listened the the previous books this is more of the same. I really shouldn't complain as I've listened to these voluntarily. [a:Alexander Collins 14240711 Alexander Collins https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] has grown on me even when the stories kind of all blend in to the same thing: poor Omegas are helpless in their need/lust for their true Alpha's touch, particularly when they're in heat, some miscommunication ensues, and then all the other shifters join in to bring about a HEA. This all led to me being distracted while listening and realizing how, at least in this series (I'm not super well versed in ABO dynamics) the Alpha/Omega relationships mirror the H/h relationships in traditional MF, with the female/Omega subservient to the male/Alpha, who of course has their best interest at heart. In MF we'd be critical of this type of relationship as antiquated or sexist but in an Omegaverse it's perfectly okay. Sure. Why not. Anyway ... ignore my ramblings. I you're reading this series you'll like the visit with all the characters from previous books. Here we get Drey's story, the attorney who helped Kenny out in his time of distress. He takes on Thane, one of the rescued Omegas, as a paralegal. After months of getting to know each other in a working relationship, and Thane secretly pining for an Alpha he feels is beyond his reach. Things come to a crisis point when Thane's former, no-goodnik, a**hole Alpha tries to reclaim him. Shenanigans ensue.

**Re-read/listen 7/2/22 - 7/4/22 **I'll add no more to my original review but to say that [a:J.F. Harding 8279965 J.F. Harding https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] will bring the strongest souls to their knees.(it would seem like July is my prescribed month for this boo

A bit of candy to entertain my ears while I do other stuff. I don't read or know enough about ABO so I can't really comment but I didn't hate it. [a:Alexander Collins 14240711 Alexander Collins https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] does a serviceable, if a bit eccentric, narrating job. It grew on me. This is on the Escape program so ... free?

My love for this author's Hazard & Somerset series runs deep so naturally North & Shaw have been on my radar. My reading year needs to start on a better note than the actual year so here we go.

This is a short intro to North & Shaw and their particular/peculiar partnership. I suspect it can be or probably should be read once you're into the series proper, a little look back at an earlier time in their lives, however I'm not wired that way and must read in order.

I'm a happy camper.

Oh, Greg sigh You kill me with these little interludes. After the events in [b:Orientation 44777122 Orientation (Borealis Investigations, #1) Gregory Ashe https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554300762l/44777122.SX50.jpg 69416979] Shaw's processing isn't allowing him to rest or even sleep. He's twitchier than usual and North figures a getaway to do stuff Shaw likes and North emphatically does not is just the ticket. One of those things is doing yoga with baby goats, b a b y g o a t s

see [b:Letting Go|52923270|Letting Go (Daddy Bear #5)|B.J. Smyth|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562309782l/52923270._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71787604] review or not

House cleaning first: * I'd definitely recommend reading this series in order as much of the back story between the two MC is hashed out in first book particularly and all these folks are work colleagues, friends, band mates etc. Always in each other's business. In a good way.* Crank up your favorite Zeppelin and enjoy. Though this is tagged as an enemies to lovers/fake boyfriend thing to me it read more as a slow burn, getting-to-know-you again & really liking you of former childhood friends, separated by time, distance, misunderstandings, stubbornness, and that big favorite NOT TALKING. I liked it. In her usual smooth but warm style [a:Lane Hayes 7125719 Lane Hayes https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1601401159p2/7125719.jpg] delivers two decent and charming guys who're clearly perfect for each other. I liked that once they decide to start talking again and do the smex too (though not necessarily in that order) they didn't lie to themselves about how/what they felt and that the Xena drama was external and more related to band PR issues but not something that affected them as a couple. Tegan is that adorable big guy who looks stern but has a heart of gold. He even decals all his stuff! Declan is the most charming and easy going frontman ever. He puts Justin to shame. They're clearly each other's Yin and Yang which had me scratching my head as to how they let a seeming non-issues, and to my reading, Justin's unresolved drama keep them in this fake enemies territory. I also wasn't too clear as to what happened in their early twenties? Mostly I'm thinking of sending Gray a letter suggesting he have a long talk with his boyfriend about not transferring personal drama onto others and more importantly to resolve it between the pertinent parties (Justin and Xena) and not drag in two bystanders like Tegan and Declan, casting them as friend to shield and enemy to hate. His animosity, especially after so much time has passed, makes no sense, smacks of poor character, and then it went poof in like a day. SMH. Plus friends are not around to approve of our relationships, they're there to hold our hair back when we barf after a long night of debauchery or crying over a bad boyfriend. I know these guys are artists and fittingly temperamental [ insert any rock & roll guy ever ] but I still wanted to give Justin a good shake. Anyway ... enjoy T & Dec for their wonderful selves and shut down the other noise.

Delicious ❤️

Prince Caleb manages to burrow beneath Walter's defenses but in a good way. I'll definitely be reading his story.

3.5

Somehow I got caught in an Audible Romance Package vortex, and here I am. It's fine. I've gotten tons of work done and my ears have been entertained. #notsorry

Every installment in the series serves a bit of catch-up with couples from the previous books. This one, effectively starts at Shayne & Lincoln's wedding, where Grady & Ryker are among the guests, and so is Henley Theriot. He's a childhood friend of Shayne and Grady, and fellow hockey player, like Shayne. Except he's not currently playing anything, as his life hit rock bottom after the events in Blow. Luckily for Henley, at the wedding, he is introduced to Kieran Steele, agent extraordinaire and dominant lover. It's a toss up which Henley needs most.

Much like in Blow there's some talk of BDSM or the punishment aspect of it, but it's all left to the reader's imagination as it happens off page. Frankly I believed very little of it. There's some size difference, which I did like, with the ‘slighter' partner being the dominant one, while utterly craving his larger lover, which goes a long way to equaling the power equation. Overall it's just the story of one guy replacing a destructive addiction with one that will keep him sane, alive, and loved and, another guy, having his fantasy crush become his RL man. Sweet.

This whole series is like a visit to a candy shop: colorful, sweet, and utterly forgettable. Not a criticism. This exactly what I wanted at the moment and Charity Parkerson delivers.

An interesting mix of the Bourne Identity, assorted novels set in non-time specific dystopic futures, and undying love type romance.

I liked it but, given it's length, there are more questions than answers. The reader has to fill in a lot: the how, when, where etc. I can see it as a teaser for a longer book about this world, a world with sophisticated technology to implant chips in humans but still using cameras for photographs. I'd be interested.

If you've gotten this far along in this series it's safe to assume that you know this isn't romance. Not solely. Not in the genre sense and yet ...

Continuing with the theme of this final arc in the H&S series we get the mind numbing banalities of family life, the sand in your shoe, the sheet that's just a bit short, the balancing of the grocery budget, the thousand little cuts of day to day life. Parallel to that is the warm blanket, the hot cup of cocoa, the feathered nest to land on.

This outing is Somers centric. He's dealing with Emery (which as much as I love him is a full time job), becoming a dad to a teenage boy (don't get me started), his mom & dad (the less said the better), and being the boss to friends & former colleagues. He's not coping well, who would?

I won't lie. The first two thirds had me thinking that maybe the spell was broken. That perhaps Greg had gone too far with the ‘kitchen sink' drama. Hazard and Somers go at each other in ways that only people who know each other intimately can, those who know each other's soft white underbellies. It's brutal. Somers is having difficulty recalibrating his role at work and as an added wrinkle Colt has inexplicably decided that he hates Somers, who thrives on being the guy everyone likes. It's a lot. The salt on the wounds is a case that hits Hazard & Somers in their back yard, literally and figuratively. But I'm relieved to say that it was all worth it. My faith in Greg as an author continues unabated. The cumulative narratives led to Somers going through a dark night of the soul but he also gets loving arms to pull him through. True love ❤️

I really don't know how, when, why I came about these. Likely it was the age gap and not the Daddy kink, which I'm happy to report isn't really a thing in this story. I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it.

Reread Christmas 2016 because it made me/makes me Happy

Thanks to freak snow storms and a poor sense of direction hair stylist Frankie gets stuck with three Bears in the middle of nowheresville and fate dishes out love. sigh

Marcus & Frankie are perfect for each other in that they each have what the other is lacking and though they have to overcome bad first impressions it soooo worth it and they get a sweetly deserved HEA. Frankie brings the beauty, magic and caring and Marcus is the care taker who makes life's wheels and cogs turn.

Fellow Bears Arthur & Paul are interesting enough that I want to read their stories but I'll save them for Christmas 2016

3.5This seems to be the last of this series and I can't say I've had a bad time with them. If nothing else they're a good way of sampling some pretty good to excellent narrators and to fill in a couple of hours, in my case perfect for commuting. [b:Choosing Us 26122657 Choosing Us (More Than Friends, #10) Aria Grace https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439926660s/26122657.jpg 46071001] brings us back to Steve, whom we first met in [b:Drunk in Love 20647672 Drunk in Love (More Than Friends, #2) Aria Grace https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1471915763s/20647672.jpg 39941157] being a bit of a douche. He later got redeemed and earned his own HEA with his Little Duck, Joey, in [b:Choosing Happy 20895061 Choosing Happy (More Than Friends, #3) Aria Grace https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1471995838s/20895061.jpg 40238196]and has remained a presence throughout the rest of the series. Essentially this is a story about an established couple become a threesome and I'd say that that part is accomplished in an organic way without histrionics or melodrama. I liked it. Adam is a young man that Joey knew from his stint at Paddles, and I guess he was mentioned in [b:Choosing Happy 20895061 Choosing Happy (More Than Friends, #3) Aria Grace https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1471995838s/20895061.jpg 40238196], I can't say I remember him. It doesn't matter. We get a fair picture of who Adam is and he seems like a perfect and sweet addition to Steve & Joey. He's been hurt and damaged but he's come to the right place to soothe his wounds.Once again [a:Michael Ferraiuolo 13467952 Michael Ferraiuolo https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1498214961p2/13467952.jpg]did a fantastic job with the character voices, from Joey's sweetness, Adam's tentativeness and insecurities, to Steve who's a caretaker to them both but can still be vulnerable himself. MINI RANTMy rating isn't higher for, and that's probably true of the whole series, because the author likes to take up some heavy and important subjects, in this case cutting, attempted suicide, ODing, drug use, homelessness among LGBTQ youth etc. and then just rush or elide the resolutions in a few pages at the end. I think if you make one of your MC have an “issue” it would be a good thing to explore it in more than a paragraph. I understand this is a romance but ... Forget it. I'm being cantankerous but I'll say this (A TOTAL SPOILER/NOT KIDDING) Adam is a cutter from early adolescence. I don't think Steve's magic dick will "cure" him or the reasons for his cutting without additional self-work and even then it's a lifetime project. See A Little Life END OF RANT

Okay ... I evidently have issues. How did I not know this was a BDSM novel? I probably just chose it because of the gorgeous cover. Clearly I need to rethink my life choices i.e. in reference to reading blurbs or maybe not? This turned out to be a Happy Surprise.

This is the story of how Dilly becomes Dylan. He's 19, working as a waiter, he's probably not cut out for higher education, and his family is imploding through the bad deeds of his psycho brother. He's also wondering if his kinky desires are valid and obtainable which leads him to Stonewall, an old school BDSM club. It turns out he's about to find so much more than he knew about or expected in a totally awesome way: Vin!!!

For fans of SSC this might not work. The bulk of the story takes place within a week and safe words, negotiations, or contracts don't come into play. And I like it. It's not that I want people putting themselves in danger, but it seems that all of these almost clinical conversations in “correct” BDSM make the relationship almost clinical and devoid of reckless passion which is the heart of romance. IMO.

Dylan knows, has known for a while, that he's attracted to BDSM but hasn't had the opportunity to explore because he still lives at home. Plus he and his sister Carmine are trying to protect their parents who are dealing with the fallout from their oldest son's, criminal actions. While I commiserated with the parents, I did feel that they, and Dylan's mother in particular, are doing the ostrich thing and hiding from what they don't want to know. Avoidance of everything uncomfortable which has lead to nothing good and caused hurt along the way.

At Stonewall, through the auspices of the owner/resident Queen Miss Dolphinia, Dylan meets Vin, who is the oldest 25 year-old in history. Vin is an absolute and uncompromising Dom, even if he chooses to bottom. He considers it using his sub. He's not interested in pushy bottoms, topping from the bottom, or any kind of negotiation because he's confident that he can gauge what will give his sub pleasure and in Dylan's case he's not wrong. Dylan is a bit of a damsel in distress and he wants nothing more than to be tied down and ordered around. He doesn't want to have to make decisions or think too much beyond obeying. In other words he's perfect for Vin, whose dominant streak verges on the stalkerish. What ever makes you happy. However after a relationship gone wrong Vin claims to not want to get involved once again. It takes some not-so-subtle elbow twisting from Miss Dolphinia to get him to take on Dylan, but he's not sorry afterwards. Dylan and Vin fit each other's kinks and civilian life perfectly.

“But I don't want you going in and playing nice. I like that you do your own thing and don't change for anyone. I like that you're so unbending that maybe there's room for me to fit myself in the cracks of your life because I like your cracks a lot more than the cracks I have been living in.”
What I really found endearing and touched me in the feels was how the story dealt with this passing generation of the LGBTQ, subset BDSM, community who are aging-out and being swept away by age and the new kids on the block. It's sad, but real, and maybe that's how it always is but I do think that folks tend to forget or belittle the shoulders they're standing on. Vin & Dylan's story is certainly centered around their BDSM relationship and not what people would traditionally term romantic, but it works for them and I liked them exactly as they were. I don't think there's even an “I love you” moment, more like “that's what he loved about ... “ yada yada, and I didn't mind one bit. I also liked that though Vin was super confident in his Dom persona he was wobbly and aware of his lacking interpersonal skills and that Dylan could perfectly shore that up. I liked that there were no millionaire Doms. Just working class people living their lives and doing the best they could.

I really feel like these two, given their age, deserve and could do with a short dealing with them somewhere down the road. If wishes were horses ...sigh