Friday Reads | Thirteen: Part One

OMG! I read Thirteen: Part One (The Others Project #2) by Adrienne Wilder and I had promised myself not to, not until Part Two was out. Why did I?! *wail* Well, I know why. I really liked Seven and have been waiting for the next part of the series for ages (feels like ages at least), and every time I’ve gone through my TBR list I’ve seen that green number there.

I’m not overly big on Sci-Fi, or rather this is my kind of Sci-Fi. I tend to avoid the first contact alien invasion kind of stories but books like this grab hold of me and never let go until there is nothing left to read.

So why wait to read this book? Because it ends right in the middle, and when I say right in the middle, I mean right in the middle. I don’t think there was a single chapter ending with such a cliffhanger as the book did. There was a silent NO! bouncing around in my head when I came to the last line of the page and it said ‘End Book One.’ So now I almost wish I hadn’t read it *sigh*

It was awesome, though. I love the grittiness of the world presented and I really hope there will be more Others books…soon.

books2read.com/Thirteen *


Book Cover Thirteen The Others Project by Adrienne WilderBook Two (part one) of the Other’s Project.

Quinn Farlin’s life just went from the frying pan into the fire.

All because he made one stupid mistake: he fell in love. Then he was left behind by the love of his life as payment for her freedom. Now Quinn lives as a slave to the Kent Family Empire; counterfeiting, money, paintings, rare coins, and anything else to keep his knees intact and his heart beating.

There seems to be no way out until one night a fireball falls from the sky and a mysterious voice on the phone saves his life. All the stranger asks in return is help for friend.

A friend with scars down his spine. A tattoo of the number 13 on the back of his neck. A friend who upon meeting Quinn can read his mind and watches him with adoration.

And while Quinn is convinced he’s still in love with the woman who left him, his heart has other plans.

Now it’s just a matter of staying alive; a task easier said than done, since nothing is what it seems to be, and the world he’s always known just fell down the rabbit hole.


* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Friday Reads | The Christmas Mansion

The last read of the year! I was going back, thinking maybe this would be post #52 in the Friday Reads category and turning it into an anniversary post of sorts – it’s #54. Apparently, I didn’t start 2016 by deciding to do Friday Reads posts, I started in December 2015. Time flies. So, for this 54th post, I’ve read The Christmas Mansion by Hollis Shiloh.

I’m absolutely certain I’ve read Hollis Shiloh before but according to my read shelf on Goodreads I haven’t. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t, though, I fear I’ve read a lot of books that never made it to my GR shelves.

The Christmas Mansion is a short, sweet story about a man fixing up a mansion for a Christmas party and the magician he hires to help him.

It’s a gentle story in a historical setting, but apart from the mentioning of Christmas a few times I didn’t get a holiday feeling. This is not a steamy read, it’s not packed with action, and even though the love interest is a magician there isn’t much of the paranormal either…but it’s sweet.

If you want one last Christmas read for the year, check it out.

books2read.com/ChristmasMansion *


Book Cover The Christmas Mansion by Hollis ShilohIn a world of gas lighting and horse-drawn carriages, Rex is fixing up an old mansion to host a Christmas party for his wealthy family’s business. He meets a gentle, insecure magician named Gene, who’s come to work on the crumbling mansion’s moldings. He doesn’t expect to fall in love.

Note: This story first appeared in “Christmas Delights,” a collection of Male/Male gay romance stories set in and around the
Christmas season.

Length: 9,615 words

Heat level: sweet

Themes: Christmas, magic, gay romance, sweet romance, historical fantasy


* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Friday Reads | Joys R Us

I’ve just finished reading Joys R Us by Kim Fielding. If you’re looking for a sweet Christmas read with a focus on the joy of the holiday instead of steamy scenes then this is a story for you!

I really enjoyed it. I loved the beginning of the story when Reece’s sister orders him to help her get a special, queuing-all-night kind of toy and he is arguing for a deposit to the nephew’s college fund instead. It could’ve been me. Not that my kids don’t get toys but I do like practical things.

Reece is standing in line all night, but then things get out of hand. He trampled to the ground and misses out on the toy. Angel, the toy store manager, is there to patch him up and then sparks fly. When I say sparks fly I don’t mean that they rip each other’s clothes off and get it on in the toy store. No, this really is a sweet story with smiles, the occasional touch, and a promise of something more in the future.

I’ve read quite a few of Kim Fielding’s stories and I always like them. If you haven’t read anything by her you should check her out.

books2read.com/JoysRUs *


Book Cover Joys R Us by Kim FieldingReece is a practical, orderly man, a financial analyst who considers most holiday events wasteful. But his sister coerces him into standing in line overnight for this year’s must-have toy. Supplies prove smaller than expected, and Reece gets trampled in the resulting stampede. Toy store manager Angel tends to Reece’s wounds. When Angel discovers Reece’s cynical attitude, he invites Reece to spend Christmas Eve with him. Over the course of the day, Angel shows Reece what Christmas means to him. With Angel’s guidance, maybe Reece can finally understand the joy of the holiday—and maybe even find love as well.


* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.