It’s Wrap-up Wednesday time and if I’ve appeared confused about what I’ve read the last couple of months, it’s nothing compared to this. I’ve reread old books, I’ve borrowed books at the library, and I’ve spent most of my money on MF Mars needs women books (Hey, I was in the mood LOL).
So allow me a moment to scroll through my various reading apps… 😆
Two Man Station by Lisa Henry
This was a new-to-me story, contemporary which I don’t read too often, but lovely. It’s set in rural Australia and is the kind of slow pace that makes you want to linger. Lovely.
Gio Valeri is a big-city police officer who’s been transferred to the small outback town of Richmond with his professional reputation in tatters. His transfer is a punishment, and Gio just wants to keep his head down and survive the next two years. No more mistakes. No more complications.
Except Gio isn’t counting on Jason Quinn.
Jason Quinn, officer in charge of Richmond Station, is a single dad struggling with balancing the demands of shift work with the challenges of raising his son. The last thing he needs is a new senior constable with a history of destroying other people’s careers. But, like it or not, Jason has to work with Gio.
In a remote two-man station hours away from the next town, Gio and Jason have to learn to trust and rely on each another. Close quarters and a growing attraction mean that the lines between professional and personal are blurring. And even in Richmond, being a copper can be dangerous enough without risking their hearts as well.
https://books2read.com/TwoManStation
Omega Series by Eileen Glass
I reread the first three of this series. I think the first is still available (and free) but the rest has been bundled up into Omega: Liam & Skye. I have the four first and started rereading to see if I wanted to buy the rest of them, but when I got to the end of the third I was distracted. If you’re in the mood for a shifter romance, check it out.
Thirds by Charlie Cochet
Then I reread the first two of the Thirds series by Charlie Cochet. I had the idea that I was in the mood for bigger plots with a big good vs bad theme, so I started rereading. I don’t know where I left off the first time I read this series, around book five or six, I think. But… after two books I got distracted again 😆
Action. Comedy. Romance. And that one weird guy.When homicide detective Dexter J. Daley’s testimony helps send his partner away for murder, the consequences – and the media frenzy – aren’t far behind. He soon finds himself sans boyfriend, sans friends, and, after an unpleasant encounter in a parking garage after the trial, he’s lucky he doesn’t find himself sans teeth. Dex fears he’ll get transferred from the Human Police Force’s Sixth Precinct, or worse, get dismissed. Instead, his adoptive father – a sergeant at the Therian-Human Intelligence Recon Defense Squadron otherwise known as the THIRDS – pulls a few strings, and Dex gets recruited as a Defense Agent.Dex is determined to get his life back on track and eager to get started in his new job. But his first meeting with Team Leader Sloane Brodie, who also happens to be his new jaguar Therian partner, turns disastrous. When the team is called to investigate the murders of three HumaniTherian activists, it soon becomes clear to Dex that getting his partner and the rest of the tightknit team to accept him will be a lot harder than catching the killer – and every bit as dangerous.
Action. Comedy. Romance. And that one weird guy.
When a series of bombs go off in a Therian youth center, injuring members of THIRDS Team Destructive Delta, and causing a rift between agents Dexter J. Daley and Sloane Brodie, peace seems unattainable. Especially when a new and frightening group, the Order of Adrasteia, appears to always be a step ahead. With panic and intolerance spreading and streets becoming littered with the Order’s propaganda, hostility between Humans and Therians grows daily. Dex and Sloane, along with the rest of the team, are determined to take down the Order and restore peace, not to mention settle a personal score. But the deeper the team investigates the bombings, the more they believe there’s a more sinister motive than a desire to shed blood and spread chaos.
Discovering the frightful truth behind the Order’s intent forces Sloane to confront secrets from a past he thought he’d left behind for good, a past that could not only destroy him and his career, but also the reputation of the organization that made him all he is today. Now more than ever, Dex and Sloane need each other, and, along with trust, the strength of their bond will mean the difference between justice and all-out war.
Whitetail Rock Series by Anne Tenino
Some time ago, I reread Too Stupid to Live by Anne Tenino, which is a favourite of mine. These two stories are about Nick, Sam’s best friend. They’re not as good as Too Stupid to Live (in my opinion) but entertaining. They were written for Goodreads MM Romance Group’s Don’t Read in the Closet event, but now I couldn’t find them. They’re on Anne Tenino’s website though.
Nikhil “Nik” Larson is a snarky, dark-skinned adoptee from India who grew up in the Whitest Town in America. Back to visit his parents Nik meets Trooper Jurgen Dammerung, a blond, butch motorcycle cop who’s so hot he leaves a con trail wherever he goes.
Jurgen is the epitome of everything Nik hated about growing up the lone Indian boy among a town of white people. But Jurgen surprises him rather (ahem) pleasantly, in spite of — or because of — Nik’s attempts to needle him. By the end of his visit, Nik realizes he likes Jurgen. But Jurgen’s so not the relationship type.
Right?
Confident almost to the point of arrogance, Jurgen never worried about his boyfriend leaving him until he overheard Nik telling his best friend he wants to move out of town. That’s when the macho cop realizes that maybe asking Nik to move back to tiny Whitetail Rock—where he was tormented when he was younger for being gay and looking different wasn’t Jurgen’s most brilliant idea. Now he’s on a mission to find a way to fix things so Nik will stay. Which should be no problem because he’s good at fixing stuff, right?
Nik isn’t sure what he was thinking, moving back to his hometown after graduating with his MFA. Jobs in his field are non-existent and reminders of some of the worst times in his life are abundant. But Jurgen lives in Whitetail Rock, and Nik is willing to put up with a hell of a lot to be with him. Except maybe Jurgen’s own efforts to “fix” something that’s not broken…
Change of Heart by Mary Calmes
The Reread Friday post of the month over at Holly’s was about the Change of Heart series by Mary Calmes. I believed I’d read the first three, but turns out I never got around to the third the first time I read them. I did now though.
As a young gay man—and a werepanther—all Jin Rayne yearns for is a normal life. Having fled his past, he wants nothing more than to start over, but Jin’s old life doesn’t want to let him go. When his travels bring him to a new city, he crosses paths with the leader of the local were-tribe. Logan Church is a shock and an enigma, and Jin fears that Logan is both the mate he fears and the love of his life. Jin doesn’t want to go back to the old ways, and mating would irrevocably tie him to them.
But Jin is the mate Logan needs at his side to help him lead his tribe, and he won’t give Jin up so easily. It will take time and trust for Jin to discover the joy in belonging to Logan and how to love without restraint.
Jin Rayne is having trouble adjusting to the new life he’s supposed to love. Instead of adapting to being the mate of tribe leader Logan Church, Jin can’t get past the fact that his lover was straight before they met. He’s discovered the joy in belonging to Logan but fears his new life could disappear at a moment’s notice, despite Logan’s insistence that they are forever, end of story.
Jin wants to trust Logan, but that desire will be put to the test both by a rival tribe leader and by a startling revelation about Jin’s existence. At stake is Jin’s life and his place in the tribe. If he’s going to survive to see Logan again, he’ll have to release his fear and freely accept the bond, for only then can he truly trust.
Jin Rayne is still growing into his frightening new powers as a nekhene cat and his place as reah of Logan Church’s tribe when he learns that a sepat, an honor challenge, has been called. Logan, who has never wanted to do anything but lead his small-town tribe, must travel around the world to Mongolia and fight to become the most powerful leader in the werepanther world.
Logan won’t be the only one making the journey. As his mate, Jin must fight with him to honor his commitment to Logan, his culture, and his tribe. But the trial is long, involving a prolonged separation between the two men, and Logan’s humanity is at stake. In order to make it through the nightmarish sepat, Jin and Logan must accept their fates, trust each other, and honor the vows between them no matter the cost.
I think that’s all the MM stories I’ve read this month… I might have missed some. As I said above. I’m a little confused right now LOL
Ofelia Grand 