I couldn’t for the life of me come up with something to write for this month’s #WhatToReadWednesday post, so I scrolled through previous posts. I have blue covers, I have white covers, and I have green covers, so why not do some red covers??
Here are a few books I think you should read if you haven’t already that have red or reddish covers… maybe some will be a little orangeish 😊
The Duality Paradigm by Lia Cooper
Magic users and shifters! I remember liking this a lot. Maybe I should reread it. It was a long time ago I first read it. If I remember correctly, it’s free.
Everyone knows magic users and werewolves are intrinsically diametrically opposed…
Seattle Police Detective Ethan Ellison, born into a long line of Quebecois magicians, leads a fairly unassuming life working Theft and consulting on magical misdemeanors. He’s spent eight years building a life for himself in Seattle, far from his father’s shadow. He works hard, lives under the radar, and fucks whoever catches his eye.
Detective Patrick Clanahan, beta-heir to Pack McClanahan, is a tightly wired bundle of rage and guilt, still trying to come to terms with the murder of his last partner.
When a human woman is murdered in werewolf territory under suspicious circumstances, Ethan is reassigned to worked the case with Clanahan in the hopes that he’ll be able to balance out the wolf’s rougher edges.
Too bad they mostly just rub each other the wrong way.
This is the first of three books in the Blood & Bone Trilogy.
DISCLAIMER This work contains language and sexual content that may not be suitable for readers under 18. This work contains sexual MALE/MALE content. Not your cup of tea? Don’t read it. Otherwise, please enjoy.
https://books2read.com/Duality
Bloodraven by P.L. Nunn
I will claim it’s red… a little red at least. This is as dark as I’m willing to go. If you like cute, light, fluffy, and happy, this isn’t the book for you. Here is graphic rape, a lot of graphic violence and cruelty. I love it, but it also makes me question my sanity.
A son of a forest dwelling people, Yhalen knows little of the world outside the ancestral forest, until he is captured by a band of ogres on a slave-taking mission. Only grim tales of the barbaric giants had reached the forest, but Yhalen soon learns that even the darkest fireside story only hinted at the brutality of these Northern warriors. He discovers the meaning of true fear at their hands, and only the awakening of ancient magic saves him from destruction.
Surviving ogre viciousness, he finds himself given to Bloodraven, the half ogre, half human war leader as a slave. Yhalen, refusing to bend, soon pays the price for offending prickly ogre pride.
But Bloodraven is no mindless, violent ogrish beast. Bloodraven has an agenda and Yhalen finds himself drawn in the wake into human and ogre politics, into bloodshed and cruelty and into the forbidden magic that is damnation in the eyes of his own people, but which might mean the difference between death and salvation.
https://books2read.com/Bloodraven
Bone Rider by J. Fally
Awesome! Just awesome. Mobsters and aliens and cowboys. What else could you want?!
Riley Cooper is on the run. Misha Tokarev, the love of his life, turned out to be an assassin for the Russian mob, and when it comes to character flaws, Riley draws the line at premeditated murder. Alien armor system McClane is also on the run, for reasons that include accidentally crashing a space ship into Earth and evading U.S. military custody. A failed prototype, McClane was scheduled for destruction. Sabotaging the ship put an end to that, but McClane is dubbed a bone rider for good reason—he can’t live without a host body. That’s why he first stows away in Riley’s truck and then in Riley himself. Their reluctant partnership soon evolves into something much more powerful—and personal—than either of them could have imagined.
Together, they embark on a road trip from hell, made all the more exciting by the government troops and mob enforcers hot on their trail. Misha is determined to win Riley back and willing to do whatever it takes to keep him safe. When hitman and alien join forces, they discover their impressive combined potential for death and destruction. It will take everything Riley has to steer them through the mess they create.
https://books2read.com/BoneRider
Yakuza Pride by H.J. Brues
While on the topic of Mobsters… I reread this not too long ago. It’s a bit violent, but the yakuza often are, are they not?
When yakuza underboss Shigure Matsunaga meets Kenneth Harris at a boring social event, he’s surprised to find himself attracted to the blond gaijin with the mismatched eyes. Shigure is even more pleased when he discovers Ken not only speaks Japanese fluently, but is fluent in Japan’s ways, even the more violent of the martial arts. Ken’s expertise at kendo is not his most striking quality—it’s the passion beneath his quiet, almost fragile exterior that ignites Shigure’s lust, and the two come together as explosively as they spar.
Shigure is a dangerous man in a dangerous position. He’s been trying to keep the peace with the Daito-kai—his hated rivals—but the danger on the streets is escalating, threatening those Shigure most wants to protect. He may claim to love his gaijin, but before he can keep Ken safe, Shigure will have to overcome hostility from his people, a hidden enemy, and, the most insidious opponent of all, his own hard-won pride.
https://books2read.com/YakuzaPride
Blind Space Marie Sexton
Space ships and underwear kink. Why not?
Captain Tristan Kelley enjoys the luxuries of Regency service, as well as the pleasure of his Prince’s bed. It’s an easy life, if not a happy one. When the Prince decides to take a trip through the perilous Blind Space, Tristan must go with him, but somebody in the Prince’s guard is a traitor.
Blind and held prisoner, Tristan finds himself at the mercy of Valero, a pirate who bears no love for the Regency. Valero is determined to seduce Tristan, and Tristan fears his resolve won’t last. His duty is clear, but so is his desire.
As the days tick by with no word or ransom from the Regency, Tristan begins to question what loyalty means to his Prince, the Regency he’s sworn to, and to the man who holds him captive. He begins to realize that being a prisoner may actually set him free.
https://books2read.com/BlindSpace
Measure of Devotion by C. Faron
It’s many, many years since I read this, and it’s not my typical read, historical BDSM, social differences, and I wanted to hate the MC, I really did. But… I went ahead and read the second book in the series directly after, and if you know how I normally handle series, that’s high praise.
Jason Wadsworth is finally headed to university. Leaving behind his father’s cattle ranch in favor of the posh, gaslit streets of Perdana, Jason is determined to climb the social ladder and forget his country roots. If only his father had gifted him with a more upscale slave.
Kale’s been a country slave his whole life. All he wants is to keep his head down and live as comfortable an existence as possible. Unfortunately, his dramatic master despises him and makes life difficult at every turn.
Humbled by his first breakup, Jason grows to appreciate his ever-faithful slave and soon discovers that Kale is everything he’s ever wanted. Now he needs to prove to Kale that his love is genuine.
Kale, meanwhile, tries to convince himself that he simply feels the devotion of a slave to his master, but his actions prove what his mind is unwilling to accept: he’s falling in love. When Jason’s future happiness is in jeopardy, Kale sets himself on a course to make Jason’s dreams come true, even if it means facing up to the fact that, for the first time in his life, he loves someone else more than he loves himself.
Measure of Devotion is a bittersweet love story set in an alternate world and contains sexual content and adult language.
https://books2read.com/Measure-of-Devotion
One Bite With a Vampire by Louisa Masters
This is the second story in the series, and you should read the first one before you grab this to better understand it, but I wanted it on the list. I raved about this series last month, so I’m not gonna now, but… awesome 😁
Getting kidnapped was never part of my life plan. But being rescued opened up a whole world of crazy.
It’s not easy being the only human at the Community of Species Government—and especially not when you’re the rescue case. Two years ago, I was planning to go to college, have a wild time, then settle into a normal life. Instead, I was kidnapped, spent months being a test subject, was in hiding for nearly a year, and then found out that my whole existence is a science experiment conducted by the bad guys. It’s definitely time to reassess.
My rescuers at CSG have been awesome… mostly. They gave me a job, a home, and a support network. But the whole demons, vampires, shifters thing is not easy to get used to. Especially when one particular vampire makes me want to take up stake sharpening for a hobby. How can someone be over eight centuries old and have the maturity of a drunk frat boy?
The thing is, teenage mentality or not, Andrew is a fierce protector. With the bad guys still on the loose, I need someone like that on my side. Plus, did I mention that he’s not hard to look at? I could stare at him all day if only he never opened his mouth.
As we race to find my former captor before he can find me, life takes another twist and upends my world all over again. This time, though, I’m ready—after all, I’ve got an eight-hundred-year-old vampire at my back. What could possibly go wrong?
https://books2read.com/OneBiteWithAVampire
Camp Hell by Jordan Castillo Price
I’ll throw in a little PsyCops too since it was a few months since I last mentioned this series. Awesome! Though, to be honest, I haven’t read all books. I stopped when it was time for Crash’s story. I wasn’t in the mood, and I’m still not. I love Vic and Jacob though.
Victor Bayne honed his dubious psychic skills at one of the first psych training facilities in the country, Heliotrope Station, otherwise known as Camp Hell to the psychics who’ve been guests behind its razorwire fence.
Vic discovered that none of the people he remembers from Camp Hell can be found online, and there’s no mention of Heliotrope Station itself, either. Someone’s gone through a lot of trouble to bury the past. But who?
https://books2read.com/CampHell
Ego wall
Red covers? I don’t have many red covers. Around Seven is red, and I’ll throw in The Ruby Tooth too.
Oswald Sattle has been sleeping in his Toyota Camry for the last two hundred and seventy-three days, the exact number of days since he discovered his fiancé cheating on him. Now, out of money and out of options, he’s on his way to Nortown. Aiden, an acquaintance from his past, has offered him a job opportunity he can’t turn down, no matter how much he’d like to.
Joshua Roth moved to Nortown four years ago, and he has everything he needs—a job, friends, peace and quiet. He’s not looking for a boyfriend; no one even knows he’s gay, and he’d like it to stay that way. Everything changes when he offers Oswald a place to stay, though.
Oswald looks like he wants to run away, and Josh finds himself suggesting things that will make him stay. All he wants is for Oswald to smile. Oswald has learned his lesson. He doesn’t want to overstay his welcome, but nothing soothes his nerves like being with Joshua in his cabin.
How long can Oswald stay before it’s time to move on again? Can Joshua have Oswald staying with him without the whole town talking about them? Probably not, but does he care?
Ilya Lewis is gonna kill his best friend Vera. She not only persuaded him off his couch and into the creepiest nightclub in the city, she also didn’t show. When Ilya learns the bar is split into two halves, and he’s been let into the wrong side, it doesn’t make things any better. Once the doorman determines which half to let you into, he won’t let you into the other.
Ulric Moon hates the Ruby Tooth. But as a bounty hunter, he must go where the trails lead him, and tonight it’s landed him in the worst nightclub in the universe. All he wants is to catch the vampire he’s hunting, but despite trying to convince the veritas doorman examining his soul that he needs to be let into the good side of the club, he’s shown to the bad. As if that wasn’t enough, his destined mate somehow manages to sneak into the bad side where he doesn’t belong. Ilya finds a way to the other side of the bar, but one look at the patrons there has him regretting ever leaving his apartment. When he tries to leave, a scary-looking man who does nothing but growl follows him.
Ulric knows he’s freaking Ilya out, but Ilya has inadvertently caught the interest of the vampire Ulric is hunting, and he has to protect him. How will Ulric keep Ilya safe when he doesn’t believe Ulric is a bounty hunter? And how do you tell someone they’re your mate when they don’t believe you’re a werewolf?
Lionel and Lucifer are drawn deeper into a murder case, but they are set on solving it together.
Ofelia Grand 