Another month has gone by, can you believe it?! I can’t 🤯 I’ve been dreading writing this post. In the last two weeks, I haven’t gone near a book that hasn’t been my own. I’ve been panic-writing, editing, dealt with The Dragon Next Door (Holly’s) release.
It’s been hectic, but I’m really close to pulling this off, guys! Deadline is tomorrow, and I’m just gonna read through How to Soothe a Dragon one more time before sending it in. Then Holly will have 12 releases this year. I think I deserve a bottle of wine and some chocolate.
But, this post is about other people’s books, not mine, so let’s focus! I thought I’d have to panic read a couple of short stories simply to be able to write a post, and it probably would have benefitted from me doing that, but checking my notes, I realised I actually have read a book or two this month – yay me! 😄
Forsaken Fae: Book Two (Forsaken Fae 2) by R.A. Steffan
Remember how I read the first in this series last month and was surprised I liked it? I continued the series, I hardly ever continue a series! I read the first book, then I get tired. I may love the book, but a series is too much of a commitment LOL
Anyway, I enjoy the second book too, maybe not as much as the first, but it was good. When it ended, I was annoyed because it ended on a cliffhanger, and I fully intended to grab the last book in the series, but… Maybe I will once my stress levels down a bit, now it felt like… too much of a commitment 😆
Len needs to track down a handbasket ASAP, because things are going straight to hell.
In the aftermath of the disastrous battle to close the rip between realms, he’s stuck with a Fae who seems convinced that the only way to fix things is to leap directly into the maw of the Wild Hunt.
Len recognizes martyrdom when he sees it, and he’s not about to let Albigard of the Unseelie sacrifice himself on the altar of his own guilty conscience.
After the events of the past few weeks, it’s looking more and more like Len’s ghosts may hold the key that can lock the Hunt back inside its box of horrors. But when circumstances trap him alone with Albigard in a dead pocket realm, it becomes increasingly clear that the Fae is every bit as damaged inside as Len is.
Before they can stop the Hunt and save the lost souls of their closest friends, they’ll have to glue their broken edges together somehow. Only then will Len have a shot at undoing the damage that’s already been done.
He just has to keep himself—and Albigard—alive long enough to get the chance.
https://books2read.com/ForsakenFae2
Crushing on Him (Men of Summer 0.5) by Lauren Blakely
I thought I’d give a sportsbook a try since they seem to be everywhere these days… I grabbed a short one. I knew it was a prequel to a longer story, but it felt a bit like a sample. Not saying it was bad, but not much was resolved, and… well sports.
Forbidden. Off limits. Dangerous.
This desire for my teammate was all of those things. For the last few years I crushed on him safely, from a distance.
Then on the first day of spring training, I come face-to-face with him for the first time and when our eyes meet and linger, it’s a whole new ball game. A much bigger risk too, one that can threaten my brand new career. But, he’s always been irresistible…
CRUSHING ON HIM is a prequel in the Men of Summer series and it leads into the full-length novel SCORING WITH HIM. You don’t have to read CRUSHING ON HIM to enjoy SCORING WITH HIM, but you’ll likely enjoy this story before the story!
https://books2read.com/CrushingOnHim
Unnatural (The Wrong Alpha 1) by Alessandra Hazard
Alpha-Omega, aliens, arranged marriage and lots of possessiveness. See, I’m usually fine with growly alphas, heck I write a lot of growly alphas, and I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with this – it has a good rating on Goodreads, and many rave over it – but it didn’t grab me. Don’t let that put you off from giving it a go if you think this is a book for you, though.
A planet at war. Two alphas forced into a political marriage. Attraction that defies all reason and logic… Or does it?
The Kingdom of Pelugia and the Republic of Kadar have been at war for decades. Peace isn’t popular, but the planet can’t survive without it.
Forced to marry an enemy prince for the sake of peace, Senator Royce Cleghorn doesn’t like his husband, his alpha scent, or his damned pretty blue eyes. More than anything, Royce hates what Haydn makes him become: a primitive alpha cliché who’ll do anything to mark his territory, even if that territory is his alpha husband. Royce likes omegas; he isn’t into alphas, no matter how pretty their eyes are. It’s just a weird territorial instinct. It has to be.
Prince Haydn has always tried to be the perfect alpha his father wants him to be. He’s the heir to the throne. He’s a war general. He isn’t supposed to bare his throat to an enemy alpha–and it isn’t supposed to feel so good. Everyone knows a marriage between two alphas is a recipe for disaster. He isn’t supposed to crave his alpha husband–their marriage is just a political arrangement, nothing more.
But when disaster strikes and loyalties are tested, which bond will be the strongest: their marriage, or their allegiances?
https://books2read.com/UnnaturalAlpha
One of Those Days by Zathyn Priest
This is a re-read. I was checking if it was still available in the shops because I was talking about it in another blog post – it is, and it’s free. I ended up reading it in the ‘read online’ over at Smashwords. It’s a short get-together-with-your-childhood-bully story. Funny and easy to read, but glossing over years of trauma a bit too easily. Still, it’s a short story, and the aim isn’t to dig into the hurt but to describe one of those days.
From the moment Alex woke up that morning, he knew it would be one of those days. Things go from bad to worse when his old high school bully, Ric, shows up at the chiropractic clinic where Alex works. Torn between having to fix Ric’s neck and wanting to break it, Alex sees the appointment through with the hope he’ll never cross paths with Ric again. But, Ric has other ideas.
Adrian Green’s new next-door neighbor isn’t really a dragon, but he does snarl an awful lot.
Doug Heavy Runner left the life of an openly gay Miami police officer and returned to his home on the Salish-Kootenai Indian Reservation when his mother got sick. In the two years since she passed, he’s carved out an empty life as a small-town deputy, relying on out-of-town one-night stands to keep him sane. Then he meets Detective Christopher Hayes, and they share a wild night so incredible Doug breaks his own rule and allows a one-night stand to grow into a weekend of amazing sex.
When alcohol and fierce tempers land two cowboys from the rodeo circuit under house arrest, it may be time to Let It Go. Can hidden secrets and a common enemy hold the key to happiness or… will they destroy them both?
What happens when an exorcist falls in love with a demon he’s sworn to destroy?
When his best friend needs him, Rod will be there for the man he loves.
Faewolves, like werewolves, can walk among men. What happens when Kiya White Cloud, a young gay college student in Santa Cruz, wants one of these men enough to risk his heart–and his life? A paranormal m/m erotic romance from Circlet Press, Inc.
We shouldn’t be friends. We definitely shouldn’t be lovers. He’s the one man I should hate more than anyone else in the whole world. But I don’t hate him. I want him. Desperately. Passionately. More than I’ve ever wanted anyone. He’s also the last person I should love. But I do love him. And I’m not letting him walk away. No matter what his reasons. No matter what anyone else will think of the two of us being together. Since the moment I met him, he’s the only person who truly understands me and what I’ve been through. He’s the most compassionate man I’ve ever met, and I won’t stand by and watch these threats against him continue. I will not let anyone hurt him. Especially my own family.
Ofelia Grand 