April

This is a mystery about a detective and his assistant and romantic partner, set in Victorian times. I didn't really enjoy it.

The negative reviews I saw mentioned historical inaccuracies, and I noticed a few of those too. But that kind of thing doesn't bother me much. However, there are also a lot of awkward word choices. For example, someone throws a crystal ashtray against a mirror, and the ashtray “implodes.” Unless this book is secretly set in another world where the laws of physics don't apply, “implodes” is not the right word. I noticed a lot of mistakes of this kind, where the author seemed to be choosing attention-grabbing and/or old-fashioned words, instead of choosing the correct words.

This is very much a reimagining of Sherlock Holmes, and I like Sherlock Holmes and have enjoyed a lot of similar works. But I never got too into BBC Sherlock fanfic, because the John/Sherlock pairing doesn't seem romantic to me. Sherlock lacks empathy, which makes it hard for me to get involved in a romance between him and John, unless the story handles Sherlock's emotional unavailability in an especially sensitive way.

The romance is very lowkey in this book, but the bond between Ethan, the Watson character here, and Colin, the detective, doesn't work for me, for the same reasons that I usually dislike Johnlock fic. I also don't feel that Ethan has much empathy himself. I think the author intends him to be empathetic, but he isn't. The ending, with Ethan musing about the meaning of family, makes me feel very slightly okay about the pairing. But for 99% of the book, their relationship is a fact that the author wants the reader to accept, while barely showing that they even care about each other.

The main mystery itself kept me guessing until the end, because all of the people who had motive and opportunity to commit the crimes are completely horrible people. Colin is also a pretty awful person, and Ethan, like most versions of Watson, does not have all that much personality beyond orbiting Colin's star. Most of the crime victims are also impossible to sympathize with. The side plot involves a missing child and is disturbing for a number of reasons, but most of all, I feel everyone involved should've gotten a clearer punishment.

Anyway, I doubt I will continue reading this series.

This is a review of the whole trilogy. I give it between three and four stars. I enjoy this author's work but I've mostly only read her shorter books, so I was interested to read something different from her.

I listened to the audiobooks, and the first one is not very well done. The reader rushed and didn't convey the right emotions. Fortunately, the second two books were narrated by Joel Leslie, who did a great job. I recommend reading the first book rather than listening to the audio.

Ennek and Miner are appealing characters and I enjoyed accompanying them on their journey. It's an epic fantasy story, and a lot of the plot elements are what you'd expect in this kind of tale: a magically gifted young man travels widely, faces danger, and eventually returns to make things right in his home city. So the plot was often predictable, although I found a few things surprising. My favorite moments were those Ennek and Miner spent with the family who healed them; domestic fluff is really my thing.

There's no explicit sex in this series. Some of my favorite romance novels don't have sex scenes at all, or only have closed-door sex, but somehow, I think this series would've been better with sex scenes. At different points, I had trouble believing in the connection between Ennek and Miner. There aren't even a lot of explicit kissing or cuddling scenes. Maybe it's meant to be for YA readers, but the main characters are in their mid or late twenties.

Actually, things do get very slightly explicit exactly once, and I really disliked that plotline in book 3. Ennek is possessed for a little while and has rough sex with Miner while possessed. He is also emotionally abusive to Miner (and punches him). The level of cruelty Ennek shows towards Miner kind of ruined my enjoyment of the book, but YMMV.

Overall, this series is pretty good. The magic system and worldbuilding are both interesting, and the characters are memorable. I wanted Hils to find a happy ending too, but I will just imagine that for myself.

This is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for in a romance novel. The characters were interesting and flawed, the romance was slow and sweet, the conflict was believable, and the resolution was solid. It's a similar plot to [b:The Downs 25698091 The Downs Kim Fielding https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1433921144s/25698091.jpg 45529426], although the characters, setting, and genre are very different. But I found the central conflict in The Downs a little difficult to relate to, while Jimmy's problem was easy to understand. The writing really pulled me right into his emotions. I definitely felt for him, all through the story. This book has no supernatural elements, unlike a lot of Kim Fielding's books, but the setting is a little bit unreal to me. Maybe it's just because I've never been to any former Old West towns, although I would like to visit one someday. I always kind of raise my eyebrows slightly at non-homophobic small towns in fiction, but this novel actually addressed that issue in a realistic way, several times. Overall, this book is great, and I recommend it highly.

This book is very good, but I don't think I'm in the target audience. So please keep in mind that my criticisms have to do with my own taste and aren't about the quality of the book. I'll be recommending it enthusiastically to anyone looking for humorous sci-fi or hopeful post-apocalyptic books, and I see requests of both kinds often on Reddit. I strongly preferred it to the second Bobiverse book. My criticisms: First, it's a pretty Christian book, despite some rough language. I checked multiple times to see if this was explicitly a Christian novel, but it isn't. I've enjoyed books by Christian authors and with Christian themes before (I'm a big fan of [a:Charlie Cochrane 2727135 Charlie Cochrane https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1274344657p2/2727135.jpg], for example), but somehow, the fact that Heyoo kept thinking about religion really didn't work for me. He's a robot who becomes more human-like over the course of the novel. I am guessing that the author meant to show that spirituality is part of being human, but when Heyoo and Wah discuss their actual religious beliefs, what they believe isn't specifically Christian. I just don't know that a character in Heyoo's circumstances would have latched onto Christianity in dark moments. So the religious content does serve a purpose in the story, but it was too much for me.It's also very heteronormative. Again, I understand why this is, sort of; Heyoo has Core's idea of humanity, at first, which includes assigning mates to humans. But since that level of control was the problem with Core, there was an opportunity to include non-hetero characters, in addition to the plot with Sarah and Arch. Some of the new characters could have had same-sex partners, for example. This change could've worked with the same small amount of focus on Brick's love life that exists in the book. Seeing where the world was headed could've been a motivation for lgbt+ people living in Brick's day to get involved in organizing against Core.Okay, those are my complaints. But I do like the book! The central relationship between Heyoo and Wah is wonderful, and it reminds me of the close bond I had with my mother. They are very loving with each other, but also always teasing and joking, and sometimes they both get frustrated with one another. Their journey was amazing but totally believable, and the book's action scenes were all very exciting. I didn't enjoy Arch's chapters as much, because he was not as easy for me to like as Heyoo, but that's just my own preference. I like the female characters very much. Brick has a lot of complexity and comes across as a complete person, who is strong in some ways and vulnerable in others.The way that the actual defeat of Core happens is perfect, since Heyoo and Wah's relationship is the focus of the book. It's a great ending, and it's very heartwarming. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author, and he was excellent. I've only had the chance to listen to a few books this way over the years, and it's always a treat. I'm glad I listened to this book and I know I'll always remember it. It's definitely a reminder not to take our lives for granted.

This is one of the few Kim Fielding stories I've read without severe torture or something along those lines happening right in the story, but somehow, it's also the only one that actually made me cry. I found the acceptance that Aiden discovered at the book club really moving, along with all of the simple things that made him happy. I also liked that Aiden simultaneously started to find his place in life and fell in love with Luka, rather than Luka directly changing things for him. Overall, this is a nice romance and a good book.

A strange and interesting book. I read a few reviews before reading this and inadvertently learned some major plot points, so I'm going to be generous with spoiler tags, but not spoil anything too major.

But I think most of the people who see my reviews are interested in reading queer romance, and this book does have an m/m romance and some other romantic plot elements, including m/f. There's more going on in the book, but in the end, it did feel primarily like a romance novel to me.

I can imagine a lot of different opinions on Grace. I really hated her. I have heard people say that readers are much more forgiving of male characters than of female characters, so that was on my mind. But honestly, I saw her as a sociopath. I don't know if readers are supposed to sympathize with her, but I didn't. It's established early on that she has a major "I'm not like other girls" chip on her shoulder, which I thought was annoying, but not enough to make me hate her. But over the course of the novel, she had no real empathy for anyone. For a mild example, here are her thoughts about her love interest, Matsumoto:Yuki had scowled at first, but he was talking now, and Matsumoto showed no sign of stopping him. He was enjoying having tamed somebody. She is a cold manipulator and she sees everyone around her as being the same.The novel moves along at a good pace and her chapters didn't drag. I was rolling my eyes at her a lot, though. I think she's the villain of the story, the kind of villain who believes she's doing the right thing for everyone, when really she's only serving herself.

I loved all the other characters, though. The writing style is lyrical, which I don't much enjoy, but the author's word choices were often unusual in an interesting way. I found the ending satisfying as a romance reader, and the author wrapped up the other plot threads well enough, too. I see this is book one of a series; although I can't imagine where it will go, I'm interested to find out.

This book is so good! I don't understand how I never heard of it. I just sort of stumbled on it today and decided to listen to it on a whim. It's a new favorite for me, a very sweet, slow, and quiet romance.

It takes place in the real world, but it has the feel of a fairy tale, with some details left unexplored. But it isn't lacking anything. The almost dreamlike tone of the book works very well.

The cover is nice, but it doesn't really fit the story. Although the characters work at a government agency, this isn't a political thriller at all. Arthur and Martin get to know each other very slowly, and then Arthur has to deal with a death in his family, with Martin at his side. mild spoiler They get separated near the end of the book, and then there is a reunion and some serious hurt/comfort.

Martin is asexual, and Arthur, the point-of-view character, decides that he is demisexual over the course of the story. I really believe in their happy ending, although this is a book that would've benefited from a short epilogue.

I loved this, and I'm excited to have discovered an author who is new to me.

There's an episode of The Golden Girls in which Dorothy tells everyone that she hates dogs. It turns out that she was lying, and she actually loves dogs. The truth is, she once lost a dog, and she doesn't want to open herself up to that pain again. This is similar to the central conflict of this book. Donald has lost everyone in his life, so he holds everyone at arm's length (the “ice” from the title is his unwanted nickname).

But it's also the way I feel about contemporary romances. I don't read them very often, because I really do enjoy them, but so many of them make me angry. It's usually some kind of misogyny in m/m. It was mild in this book: according to Carter, all of the women in his family talk way too much, and he jokes about how it makes sense for the men in the family to avoid them. Why does anyone think that's funny? Oh, those chatty women, talking and caring about others and existing. I'm disappointed, because I was enjoying this author's books, and he had refrained from that kind of humor in the other books of his I read.

There are other major things I disliked about this book, too. I didn't like the way that Carter handled Donald's unwillingness to talk about his past, specifically that Carter eventually brought the conflict up in bed. It seemed disrespectful to me. I also didn't like Carter's reaction to Donald's big revelation. Donald had not talked to anyone about it, ever. Carter's first reaction should have been acceptance and love, and instead, he was somewhat judgmental. I didn't think it was romantic.

Most damningly, I found it very annoying how much Carter lectured Donald. Every time they had any kind of meaningful conversation, Carter started sharing his wisdom. He knew everything about life and felt compelled to tell Donald how best to live. I can't remember the last time I found a main character in a romance novel that off-putting. Usually I'm half in love with all the MCs in romance novels; yes, I am very sappy and bi. But I definitely would've kicked Carter out of bed.

Oh well. The kid was very cute and I liked all the domestic fluff. But this book was not for me.

I've wanted to read this series for a while because I've been to Carlisle, PA a few times. The setting is not too important, but this book does have the feel of a small (or medium-sized) town, where people know and care about each other, and the local police aren't really divided into detectives, traffic cops, etc., like they are in larger cities.

I liked the romance a lot, and the (many) sex scenes are both hot and emotional. I guess you could call their connection insta-love, but it didn't seem unreasonable to me. When Red and Terry meet, Red is very lonely, and Terry is in a dark place in his life, having trouble breaking away from his abusive ex. So it makes sense to me that they would bond with each other quickly.

I didn't expect Red to be sexually experienced, and I was a little disappointed about that. But I like to read about inexperienced characters in romance, and I know that many readers prefer the opposite.

Aunt Margie is a great character, and she really surprised me (and Red). I wanted to reach into the book and cuddle her. The other side characters did not get as much development, and the plot was just okay, not really gripping. Also, the dialogue seems unnatural and stilted at times. This problem was perhaps more noticeable to me because I listened to the audiobook. It didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book, though.

I've really liked everything I've read by Andrew Grey, and I look forward to continuing this series.

I really enjoyed this. It's much more serious than the other books I've read by this author, but it's very good.

The plot is definitely gripping. It's based on a fairy tale, but I didn't find it predictable at all. All of the characters are drawn very well, and they came alive for me. Even the villains aren't one-dimensional; Boris is monstrous, but it seems like he has some real affection for Vassily. Pol is my favorite side character, and I could easily read a book just about his adventures.

The romance is absolutely wonderful. I love everything about this pairing, and Sumerki and Vassily love each other very deeply. Sumerki reads like he is on the autism spectrum, although that isn't stated explicitly, and it seems like a sensitive portrayal to me.

I have a criticism, though, about Sumerki's aversion to touch. As Sumerki and Vassily fall in love, Sumerki becomes comfortable with Vassily touching him as he wants to. I'm a little touch-averse myself, and it has never worked that way for me. There are specific kinds of touching I don't like and never will, no matter how I feel about the person touching me, such as someone rubbing their thumb on my hand, which specifically happens in this book. I think it's a bad message: that with enough love, someone can get over their sensory issues. But really it is a minor complaint about a good book.

I have strong mixed feelings about this story. It really kept me turning pages until very late into the night, which isn't something I experience often. I also had a lot of affection for both characters, even though Berhanu is a huge jerk at many points. But (major CW) I don't think the rape scenes needed to be that explicit. They are over-the-top.. Usually I am okay with the high amount of suffering Kim Fielding inflicts on her characters, because it's always very matter-of-fact. In this story, though, in addition to all of the pain from external sources, there's a lot of relationship drama. Volos feels uncomfortable talking about it all, and I felt uncomfortable reading it. It was too much.But the main flaw, to me, was something that was left out which I think needed to be dramatized instead of mentioned. Berhanu doesn't want to bottom because he's still recovering from his rape, psychologically. Then, the last sex scene takes place months after that, and it's very tender and loving, in contrast to the brutal sex Berhanu and Volos have had up to that point. But we don't see their first time together after they have admitted they have feelings for each other, or the actual first time Berhanu bottoms. There's also the (minor) issue that they only ever have anal sex, and in that sweet last sex scene, everything else is referred to as foreplay. I wanted to see them doing other things in bed, once they got closer.The worldbuilding is great, and I really liked the fantasy setting, as well as all the side characters. I actually was reading [b:The Sacrifice and Other Stories 27836637 The Sacrifice and Other Stories Kim Fielding https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447626411s/27836637.jpg 47818937], and I skipped this one because I knew it was available on audio. But I started Mato's Story and saw that I needed to read this one first. I'm glad that Mato was not forgotten! It's a fantasy world in which same-sex relationships are normalized, which I always enjoy reading. I also really felt Volos's longing for a home and family, which made his happy ending very satisfying. Overall, I'd call this an imperfect story from a great writer. But enemies-to-lovers is not my favorite trope and I see that a lot of the reviews are enthusiastically positive, so I am probably not the best judge. Anyway, now, I need to see how everything works out for Mato!

I love this series. This book is about Nicholas and his family and friends traveling to spend Christmas with his family in the countryside. Of course Nicholas gets himself involved in other people's problems again, this time as a result of his friendship with Peter Winchingham, the merchant he met in book four. Peter's daughter has hired troubadours who are secretly spies.

I'm not a student of history, just a reader of historical fiction, but I do like games. These troubadours have a lot in common with bards from RPGs, which is pretty great.

Nicholas's relationship with Emma moves forward a bit, and they kiss for the first time, but he still isn't sure if he should be with her. She definitely seems to be part of Nicholas's family here.

There is a surprise at the climax of the story, which I didn't see coming at all. I don't even want to hint at it, but it made me laugh out loud.

Overall this is quite a cozy installment of the series, with a lot of nice domestic details. I look forward to the next book.

I loved reading this short romance, and I recommend it highly!

The romance is slow-burn, sort of enemies to friends to lovers, and both characters really charmed me. Zali'thurg's social awkwardness is easy to relate to, even though he is quite an alien character, and Mike is patient and caring, without ever surrendering his own needs to serve Zali'thurg.

The gaming details are important but not esoteric at all, and I think anyone could enjoy the book. But as a gamer, I especially enjoyed the Infocom-style text adventure; it was adorable and brought back good memories for me.

The pacing is good and I like the author's sense of humor. I was totally cheering for this pair throughout, and I really believe in their HEA. A new favorite for me!

So, this is not a romance novel. I don't read a lot of non-romance novels these days, so it was kind of nice to read about a gay character and not know what to expect. I figured the main character would survive, but otherwise, I had no idea what would happen at any point.

The plot is very exciting. But the blurb and other reviews do a good job of summarizing it, and this isn't a recent book. So I won't retread that too much.

Ira Adler is a young man in a relationship with a crime lord. Based only on that fact, I was expecting Ira to be sort of naive and sweet, but that isn't true at all. He is tough, smart, and prickly. At certain points, he is as grumpy and selfish as George Costanza. He's ended up in his situation because he really loves the luxury of living with someone so wealthy. He decides he is in love with Cain, eventually, but I don't think he ever was. And the story does not end with them together.

So, Ira isn't a cinnamon-roll type of character at all. Sometimes, I found him hard to like, but I never found him hard to sympathize with. He is a victim of circumstance for much of the story, but the overall plot is really about him taking control of his own destiny, and deciding what matters to him. I found it satisfying to see him come into his own in this way.

I'm very interested to discover what will happen in the rest of the series. All of the side characters, even the somewhat minor ones like Pearl and Mrs. Lazarus, really came alive for me, and I hope their stories continue in the other two books. I also liked (what I interpreted as) a positive portrayal of a bisexual man, Tim Lazarus. I feel he loved Ira in the past, and maybe still does, but he also loves his wife. It's far more common for queer historicals to portray bisexual men as unable to commit to anyone, and I was very glad to see another type of character here.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Philip Battley, who also narrates one of my favorite current series, Oxford Medieval Mysteries. He's very talented, and he really performs his narrations, with subtly distinct voices for each character.

I think there's an overlooked market for these kinds of books. I see a lot of requests on Reddit and Twitter from people who are looking for stories about queer characters that aren't romances. I'm very happy to add this one to my recommendations list.

I listened to the free audio version of this story on Serial Box, narrated by Xe Sands. I really liked it. It's creepy throughout, with some truly disturbing moments. It's such a short story, yet the main character is so easy to relate to, without seeming like she belongs in our world or any other specific time & place. My guess is that it's meant to be set in the far future, following an ecological apocalypse, and after our current society has completely collapsed, to the point where no one remembers us at all. It comes across as a story about humans, rather than aliens or fantasy creatures. But I don't know that for sure; there's a lot of ambiguity, and the Gods are definitely supernatural.

A lot of the reviewers here seem to think this story will continue, and maybe it will. But whether this is meant to stand alone or not, I feel that it does, although there is a lot left to the imagination. I'm so glad I listened to it.

I've really been enjoying this series. It isn't perfect, but it's exactly what I wanted to read right now. I think I used this comparison about another of this author's books, but it reminds me a lot of Futurama, in style. It has more emotional depth, but about the same amount of over-the-top silliness.

This book focuses a lot on Heckle, the imp who was introduced in book three. He's a lovable character and I enjoyed reading his point of view. I also like that Julian is back, but I am not a fan of the love-triangle and jealousy plot. I hope the next book includes a new love interest for him, somehow.

Just like most of my favorite sci-fi comedies, though, this series crosses the lines of good taste sometimes, in my opinion. In this book, I think Ness's "worst fear" scenes are way too violent and horrible. I understand the conflict Ness is fighting within himself, but that was pretty awful.

Now that I'm all caught up, I'm going to read all of the many free shorts on the author's website. I'm so glad I discovered this series.

This is a very cute and funny romance, with a light paranormal mystery and charming main characters. Michael Pauley's narration of the audiobook added a lot to my enjoyment. I really like how he performs the various accents, and overall, his cheerful style really fits the lighthearted tone of the book.

Taro is lovable and easy to sympathize with. I think a lot of people would act similarly if they won the lottery. His first priority is to make sure everyone in his family has a secure future; then, he wants to use the money to do something meaningful with his own life, and he decides to travel. But the supernatural cleaning entities ruin his plans. As a solitary type myself, I would've been just as scared as Taro at the evidence of unknown beings invading my life! His anxiety felt very real to me.

Taro has a loving, large family; sometimes they're a little overbearing, but they always have his best interests at heart, which was nice to read about. I really like the side characters in general, who all have unique personalities and relevance to the story.

Taro is asexual, which causes some angst in his getting together with his love interest, Jack, who is not asexual and doesn't know much about the topic. I will leave it to asexual reviewers to share their feelings on this book's ace rep. They eventually figure out how a relationship (including sex) will work between them. But while this story is not primarily about being asexual, Taro does believe his asexuality is the reason he's had problems with relationships in the past, and the conflict in the romance is also about his asexuality. Jack is a bit negative about it when he first finds out, but it's only from lack of understanding (and he doesn't behave horribly or anything). Still, if you avoid reading anything at all negative about ace characters, I don't recommend this book.

I really like Jack, because he's so full of life. It's easy to understand why Taro develops feelings for him. I think the audiobook narrator does an especially great job with Jack's dialogue. Jack doesn't enter the story until the plot is firmly underway, though. I thought at first the romance might be between Taro and whatever was haunting him. But Jack is a ghost hunter whom Taro hires to help him with the problem.

The ending is very happy for everyone, including the supernatural beings. I had a great time with this book and look forward to reading more by this author.

Just when I think I have a good handle on what I definitely like and dislike in romance novels, I read something that changes my mind again. I'm actually very grateful that I'm still open to new possibilities, but I have to laugh at myself for being inconsistent. This is gay-for-you, which is probably my least favorite trope in m/m romance, and the point-of-view character, Dave, does a lot of introspection about his sexuality. I think, though, as I suspect is also true of [b:The Apothecary's Garden 36182648 The Apothecary's Garden Julie Bozza https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1504564153s/36182648.jpg 24756018], that he is a slightly unreliable narrator. Nicholas, his love interest, says several times that Dave speaks his own thoughts aloud without realizing it. So I wonder if Nicholas overheard some of his introspection. I think it would also be accurate to say Dave is demisexual. But that word is never used, or “bisexual” (Dave's only previous relationship was with a woman). Overall, this book feels very dreamlike. I don't know how realistic some of it is, but it all flows together so beautifully. I really felt their connection, as well as how much Nicholas loves butterflies. I predicted they would get together because one of them would be injured, or they would be in danger, but nothing like that happens. Instead, they come together because of how happy Nicholas is when he finally finds the butterflies. I thought that was so unusual in a romance novel and I loved it. Most of the story takes place in the Australian Outback, and I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a book that brings that setting to life.Anyway, it's a great book, and while a few things made me raise my eyebrows a bit, the story itself carried me away. I can't imagine what will happen in the rest of the trilogy, but I'm excited to find out.

I really like these stories. This collection has some of the same stories as My Man Jeeves. I listened to the audiobook read by Frederick Davidson, and he was great.

It's still amazing to me that these were first published in 1916. I don't know enough about that era to know if some of the situations that seem bizarre to me as a modern reader were real or not, but everything is always very funny. Wikipedia says that the Palace of Beauty in “The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy” was a real thing, though! I especially enjoyed the last story, “Bertie Changes His Mind,” which is in Jeeves' point of view, so we got to see a little of Jeeves' careful planning.

Oh wow, this was delightful! It's a sci-fi romance, set on a ship with a multi-species crew. It's part of the culture of this diverse future that everyone respects and tries to understand everyone else's origins, in the vein of Star Trek DS9 and Mass Effect. But it also reminded me of Farscape and Futurama, in that the aliens and their ideas about humans are truly strange, sometimes in humorous ways.

I picked it up because I like holiday shorts, and because I liked the cover, title, and premise. Because of the cover, I was expecting it to be in the human's point of view. Instead, the PoV character is an alien, Raskli, whose captain assigns her to find out what is bothering Jen, the sole human member of the crew. Raskli is a security officer from a mammal-like race, something like Wookiees; when she learns that Jen is sad because she's missing human holiday celebrations, she has to find out exactly what that means. Raskli's initial annoyance with this task changes quickly to concern for Jen, which slowly grows into affection.

I laughed a lot reading this, mainly because all of the aliens are afraid of humans! They see us as an inherently violent and dangerous species, to the extent that we are stereotyped as villains in TV shows. There is not always reliable info available on humans, because apparently, we couldn't rein in our competitive natures long enough to settle on an official set of data. I don't remember ever encountering a similar concept in a sci-fi story, but it's hilarious, and totally believable!

Raskli enlists the whole ship in finding out more about human holidays, while she and Jen become closer. The romance is friends-to-lovers, and it's very sweet and gentle. Raskli has some anxiety over whether she can help Jen out of her funk, but there's no conflict between them. When they don't understand something ordinary about the other person because of cultural differences, they immediately talk about it, which I really liked. The sex scene is also very nice. The ending feels like happy-for-now, but I believed in their relationship and I can definitely imagine them together forever.

This was my first time reading Angel Martinez, and I'll definitely keep reading her work. I had a huge smile on my face the whole time!

I don't read a lot of contemporary romance, partly because I don't like the style of humor that I usually encounter in these books, and mostly because I don't like the way the characters talk about gender, especially in m/m novels. This book was very disappointing for me on both counts. I don't like to write negative reviews. Most reviews of this story are positive, though, and this isn't my favorite subgenre, so feel free to discount my criticisms.

You can see the basic plot in the blurb, and there are no real surprises in the story. Eli is quite a grumpy guy and I am not sure why Peter fell in love with him. He is pretty miserable in his daily life as an office drone. His best friend is an extroverted and cheerful woman, and he complains about that. She introduces him to a band in need of a fiddler, and he performs with them, which he is nervous about but really enjoys.

But he is still grumpy, and in fact, most of his complaints about the people around him are about women. The leader of the band is “intense” and comes across as a bit overcritical; his co-worker is old and nosy and wears too much makeup; his boss is a “bitch” (in fairness, it's the co-worker who uses that word, not Eli); even his mother is “squat” and “flabby”. Also, Peter performs in a fairy costume, with wings and makeup, but Eli lets us know that the costume does not make Peter look feminine, as though that would've obviously been a bad thing.

Again, I am sorry for my negativity here, but I really have encountered a lot of this kind of language about women in the m/m genre. This book is not even one of the worst. But I don't understand who people think reads these books. The only people I have known in real life who were regularly super negative about women have been cishet men, and I don't think they are reading these books in large numbers.

I almost set the book aside early on due to this stuff, but I thought maybe this was a story in which a man with a chained-down mind learns that he can live life on his own terms. That is the general plot that the story is aiming for, but it does not quite pull it off, in my opinion. The narrative doesn't challenge Eli's everyday assumptions about the people around him, and definitely not his negative feelings about women/femininity. It only challenges the big thing, his desire to stay in a boring job for financial stability. I don't buy that Eli has learned how to live a happy life, by the end of the story, because he has not changed. He only meets someone exciting, who convinces him to run away.

The story is written well, and the proofreading is very good. Also, the depiction of Eli's anxiety was easy for me to relate to. Peter is an appealing love interest, and I liked the Renaissance Faire setting. Overall, though, I didn't enjoy this story very much.

It's very difficult for me to review a book that I have mixed feelings about. A few CWs: sexual assault, violence related to sexual assault, severe homophobia from otherwise sympathetic characters, and a truly evil gay villain.

This book is a gay-for-you romance, which is not my preference to read about. It's double gay-for-you, sort of. Jem is assaulted and harassed by a serial sexual predator. After that (but not as a result) he develops feelings for his friend Will. At one point, another friend wonders if the predator "saw something" (desire for men) in Jem that caused him to assault Jem. This is a really, really dangerous idea to put out there in any form. The victim of assault is never the cause of assault, nor is the victim's orientation, yet many survivors of sexual violence struggle with feelings of guilt.

The book is written in 3rd-person omniscient; we always know what almost everyone thinks at all times, sometimes multiple characters in the same paragraph. I thought this was an odd choice, and the story would not have been much different if we had only seen Jem's point of view.

Overall I didn't enjoy this book, but the story at the heart of it is a sweet friends-to-lovers romance. I also liked the setting of pre-Revolutionary War Connecticut.

This is a very good erotic novella. I really like Elliot Cooper's books, and the cover is great. So although BDSM and watersports aren't kinks I'm especially drawn towards, I decided to read this. I'm so glad I did!

The setting is a motorcycle and BDSM club. There is some jargon from both areas in the story, which added flavor for me as an outsider, but was never confusing. Jay is a prospective member, a sub looking for a Dom. The club's leader tells him he needs to participate or stop coming, but Jay isn't interested in the group sex that goes on at the club. Because of the ultimatum, though, Jay goes home with Stag, the Dom he has had his eye on from the beginning.

Inexperience and/or virginity are often unspoken kinks in erotica and romance, and I like to read those stories too. But it was very refreshing to read about experienced characters for a change. Both Stag and Jay have been involved in BDSM for a while, and they're both still looking for their ideal match.

They both also come across as vulnerable. Stag wants to give Jay the best possible experience and to help him discover new parts of his sexuality. He struggles with his self-control a bit, so that he doesn't just act on his own desires without pleasing Jay. He pays very close attention at every moment to how Jay is feeling. Jay wants to be the best sub he can, and he doubts himself a few times, since he and Stag don't know each other very well yet. But their first encounter is satisfying for both of them, and I really believe they'll be happy together.

There is hardly any background detail about either of these characters' lives, but I didn't miss it. It's short, sexy, and a fun read.

I didn't enjoy this very much at all. Everything I disliked about the first book was amplified, while the aspects of the story I did like were toned down.

I kept thinking about the fact that we need more people with backgrounds in social sciences and the humanities in the tech sector, in the real world. A lot of Bob's misadventures, such as his problems with the Deltans and his sad romance, come about because he doesn't understand how people and communities work. I understand that original Bob was a tech guy, and he acknowledges that he isn't the person best suited for a lot of the tasks he needs to do. But when he has the technology to create new replicants, he offers it to a biologist and to a military strategist. He needs an anthropologist or sociologist or something, and he definitely needs to learn about diplomacy.

There is finally a prominent female character, Bob's love interest, but the romance is really from “nice-guy” land. At no point does Bob consider her feelings; he assumes that she was not interested in him romantically because he isn't human, and not because she just doesn't feel the same way about him. I rolled my eyes a lot at that whole plot.

The plot with the Pav was pretty good, and I was disappointed that it was introduced and basically resolved so close to the end of the book. The Pav essentially exist in the book to show us that the Others are a real threat, without the narrative exploring all that much about the Pav's culture, planet, or anything. The plot on Earth was also pretty good, with the terrorists and so on, although I didn't really find it as gripping as I think it could've been. For some reason, the emotional stuff with Homer didn't have much impact on me.

The humor started to grate on me after other aspects of the book began to annoy me, so I'm not sure if it's cornier here than in book one, or if my mood just changed. But this writer really relies a lot on cliches. It made me want to read something set in a totally alien fantasy or sci-fi world.

I can see why this series is so popular, but it isn't really to my taste. But I will probably read the last book eventually because I do want to know what happens.

What a beautiful book, definitely a new favorite for me. Michael moves to the town where he once vacationed with his family to start a new chapter of his life, and he meets Josh, who runs the local bagel shop with his dad. There are a few dramatic moments, but the book is mostly made up of quiet, domestic scenes, with lots of immersive details about these characters' daily lives.

I wanted to read this book because of the service dog, and she plays a big role. She's very important to Michael, who has PTSD as well as some problems related to brain injury. She comes across as an ordinary but exceptionally well-trained dog, who is Michael's best friend. There is no unrealistic situation where she saves the day; instead, we see her helping Michael live an ordinary life, which is a quiet and steady kind of heroism.

Michael and Josh are both hesitant at first to show each other they're interested and aren't sure they are actually dating at first. So the romance moves slowly, but it's very sweet. After the first time Josh witnesses one of Michael's bad episodes, they talk things over, and Josh learns how best to help. He doesn't try to take over when Michael is distressed, just supports him. They become totally devoted to each other, and I completely believe in their happy ending. They're so relaxed and natural together. There's only one detailed sex scene, but it's written well and very romantic.

I really like the close bond between Josh and his dad, as well as the mentions of their extended family. It's clear that they all love each other very much, and it's so heartwarming in the end to know that Michael will always be part of this family also, since he starts out the book nearly all alone in the world, with only his dog and his absent sister on his side.

Michael is gay, and he faces some serious homophobia at one point, although it isn't really a major theme in the book. But if you avoid reading about homophobia at all, this isn't the book for you. Josh is bisexual, and his family completely accepts him.

I'm from a small town originally and I don't romanticize small-town life in general, but it was impossible for me not to enjoy spending time in this lovely little community, which seems like a real place. I loved the minor characters, like the Millers. I would be happy to read more stories set here, and anything else from this author!