It’s time for the monthly Wrap-Up Wednesday post, and I have to admit the list of read books is embarrassingly short. I’ve had a lot to do, and when I’ve had some time on my hands, I’ve spent them on the sofa watching Netflix with my darling husband.
So here is what I’ve read this month:
Okay, Then
Okay, Then by Addison Albright – a story about Henry and Sam from Til Death Do Us Part (which I haven’t read) got together. This is just a short little thing – hot flashes always are – where we get to know Sam and Henry who are working together. They’re going on a smoothy-accompanied date.
Prequel to ’Til Death Do Us Part
Okay, then…that’s what Sam said after Henry convinced him he was interested in dating, not merely a fling while together on a research trip to the Solomon Islands. And so they embark on their first date, but the conditions are not ideal.
Henry is desperate to convince his crush of his sincerity but second guesses his every move. He’s thrilled to discover Sam is just as anxious to impress him. Can these two work through their first-date jitters or are they destined to drift apart?
https://books2read.com/OkayThen
Iron & Velvet
Iron & Velvet (Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator 1) by Alexis Hall – This is F/F, and I normally don’t include the F/Fs I read in my wrap-up, just like I don’t include the M/F stories I read. Today I do since I’m so low on books LOL. I love the cover – LOVE! Did I love the story? It felt like I’ve read it before. I wasn’t a big fan of Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews, and it was as if I was reading it again. Maybe I should’ve read some reviews before starting it, but I was blinded by the cover LOL.
And I only now realised, there’s a new cover 🙄
I like my women like I like my whiskey: more than is good for me.
Name’s Kane, Kate Kane. I’m a paranormal private investigator, which is like a normal private investigator except—and stop me if you’re having trouble following this—more paranormal. This business comes with a few basic rules: don’t start drinking before noon, don’t get your partner killed, don’t sleep with the woman who killed him.
Last year I broke all of them.
The only rule I didn’t break was the one that said don’t work for vampires. But then a dead werewolf showed up outside the Soho shag palace of Julian Saint-Germain—a bloodsucking flibbertigibbet who’s spent the last eight centuries presiding over an ever-growing empire of booze, sex and hemoglobin.
I shouldn’t have taken the job. The last thing I needed was to get caught in a supernatural smackdown between a werewolf pack and a vampire prince. Even if the vampire prince was dangerously my type. But what can I say? I was broke, I’m a sucker for a pretty face and I gave up on making good decisions a long time ago.
This book is approximately 77,500 words
https://books2read.com/VelvetIron
A Brand New Patch of Sky
A Brand New Patch of Sky By Yolande Kleinn – a short story about a pilot and his captain looking for a ship. A good distraction if you have a cup of coffee and a slice of time on your hands.
Starship pilot Mitch Kato doesn’t make a habit of pining for the impossible. He’s always kept tight hold on the inconvenient feelings he harbors for his captain, Solomon Finn. But when a close scrape grounds Sol’s ship and threatens to scatter the crew, Mitch finds himself making an unexpected promise. As he and Sol consider a different trajectory, Mitch wonders if their longstanding friendship might be the beginning of something more.
https://books2read.com/ABrandNewPatchOfSky
Taking Flight
Taking Flight (Contemporary Celtic Myths) by A.L. Lester – A short contemporary story based on the tale of Brânwen in the Mabinogion, which I do not know, but you don’t need to know it to enjoy the story. Gwyn is trans, and it causes a bit of a problem for him when his bigoted co-worker finds out. I think the original tale is about a woman being trapped, and Gwyn is too since he doesn’t have any means to leave the Kings of Ireland Hotel where he is. Sweet story!
Gwyn’s an idiot. Mal made it clear from the start he’d like to get Gwyn in his bed at the Kings of Ireland Hotel and after a couple of weeks of pursuit, Gwyn gave in. Mal was hot and pushy and just the kind of dangerous to pique Gwyn’s interest. He honestly thought Mal knew he was trans.
Since that horrible night, Mal has had Gwyn ‘work-shadowing’ Chef in the deeply unhappy kitchen. He doesn’t want to go home and make a fuss that might cause the sale of the hotel to his family company to fall through; but when a huge row breaks out over a flour delivery and Mal backhands Gwyn across the face, he finally decides enough is enough. With the help of one of the line-cooks with whom he’s formed a tentative friendship, he leaves.
During the two-day journey home from the middle of Ireland to Wales, Gwyn and Darren have plenty of time to exchange confidences. Could the delicate pull of attraction between them grow into something stronger? Is it safe for Gwyn to out himself to Darren? Will Darren want to go out with a trans guy? And how will his brother Brân take Gwyn’s arrival home with a stranger?
A 14,000 word short story in the Contemporary Celtic Myths collection.
Ofelia Grand 