The Monuments Men Murders (2019) Josh Lanyon (The Art of Murder) Jason West is supposed to be in the same state as his lover (and BSU agent) Sam Kennedy. Jason is working on a case of art looted by American soldiers during WWII. “The van Eyck was originally stolen from a cathedral in Belgium. Most […]
Thrown to the Wolves (2019) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper has spent the past several months recuperating, and being taken care of by Oliver, who has been on suspension (both the result of Cooper’s visit home to see his father and brother). Every official communication was carefully uninterested about the private lives of their […]
The Wolf at Bay (2018) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper Dayton and Oliver Park and working things out as partners for the BSI, but Cooper isn’t quite sure how things are working out on the personal front. Neither seems capable of talking about how the feel, and both have a lot they need to […]
The Wolf at the Door (2018) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Agent Cooper Dayton discovered the existence of the supernatural in the worst possible way–by almost being killed by it. Werewolves were not just in books and movies, cartoons and games. They were real and they had “come out” five years ago to governments around […]
Candy Hearts (2020) Erin McLellan (So Over the Holidays) Benji Holiday is over Valentine’s day, and so has accepted his sister’s invitation to join her friends for a Valentine’s weekend, but when he shows up, he discovers that the party was delayed due to a power outage. William O’Dare is hosting the annual Valentine’s day […]
The Alpha and His Ace (2015) Ana J. Phoenix This is a cute little potato chip of a story. What it does a very good job of is explaining Ace and that different Aces have different wants and needs, and a general “don’t assume”. There was also some general silliness. ”What are the ups?” ”I […]
The Magician Murders (2019) Josh Lanyon Jason West is in DC for a training session (and to spend time with his boyfriend Sam Kenendy) when a hit and run puts him in the hospital. Sam takes Jason out to Wyoming where his mother lives so Jason can recuperate and they two can have some time […]
Uncommonly Tidy Poltergeists (2017) Angel Martinez Between writing up posts on some of my favorite books and just needing something light and happy to read, I decided I needed to re-read Uncommonly Tidy Poltergeists. This is such an adorable story AND it’s an Ace romance, which is even more lovely. Taro has something to tell […]
Arctic Heat (2019) Annabeth Albert Owen Han is checking one more item off his bucket list–spending the winter in Alaska, and he’s doing it as a volunteer for the Alaska park service. Quill’s tone didn’t exactly encourage more talking, but Owen was nothing if not friendly. And persistent. His sister the therapist called it aggressively […]
Noble Hops (2019) Layla Reyne (Trouble Brewing) Nic and Cam are ready to settle down in their relationship but nothing can remain calm for the two of them. In this case, Nic’s estranged father has been found dead, and it’s good odds he was murdered by DUncan Vaughn, the gangster who has been threatening Nic […]
Craft Brew (2018) Layla Reyne (Trouble Brewing) Dominic Price and Cameron Byrne have been serious about each other for months, but Nic is so afraid that the gangster who holds his (estranged) father’s debts will go after anyone Nic cares for, so he and Cam have kept their relationship quiet. “Did Vaughn take out insurance […]
Imperial Stout (2018) Layla Reyne (Trouble Brewing) Dominic “Nic” Price has been a lot of things: SEAL, JAG, and now assistant US attorney. But he didn’t think he’d particularly been in love, until he meets Cameron Byrne, the FBI’s kidnap and rescue expert. Cameron Byrne has played the field for as long as he’s been […]
The Monet Murders (2017) Josh Lanyon Jason West and Sam Kennedy have been calling each other semi-regularly, but haven’t met up since the end of their last case, where Sam said he wanted to try things with Jason. When Jason is (unexpectedly) called out to a murder scene, Sam is there and pretty much tells […]
Status Update (2015) Annabeth Albert (#gaymers) Noah Walters is trying to finish his book, so he can complete his sabbatical as expected and then get tenure. Teaching jobs in geoarchaeologist are few and far between, so even if he isn’t especially comfortable at the conservative college where he teaches, it’s a good job and he […]
The Art of Theft (2019) Sherry Thomas Charlotte Holmes has been taking a break from consulting after her last case. But when Mrs. Watson’s old friend asks for help, Charlotte, Livia, and everyone else is drawn into a heist. I’ve had a request for this from the library since it came out, so when it […]
Get a Life, Chloe Brown (2019) Talia Hibbert Chloe Brown has been all but a recluse because of her chronic illness. But a near-death experience convinces her she needs to change things up: so she makes a list. “Excuse me, universe,” she whispered to the kitchen floor. “When you almost murdered me today— which was […]
Dim Sum Asylum (2017) Rhys Ford Roku MacCormick is part of the Chinatown Arcane Crimes Division, and things are not going well for him. He lost his love and his daughters, and there is nothing in his life anymore but following in his mother’s footsteps and trying to be order to a deeply disordered place. […]
All the World’s an Undead Stage (2018) Angel Martinez The final book in the Offbeat Crimes series. This completes Carrington Loveless and Erasmus Graham’s story arc, as well as the overall story arc o just WHY is everything so weird in Philadelphia. We also get resolution for other characters, including Vance. “He has seemed more, […]
Jackalopes and Woofen-Poofs (2017) Angel Martinez This story splits between Jason and Alex’s point-of-view. Most of the 77th has to go to State Paranormal to face an inquiry as to the events of the previous book, where an arcane working was destroyed in the hopes it would stop the attacks by the feral dust bunnies […]
Feral Dust Bunnies (2017) Angel Martinez This is one of my favorite stories in the collection. Alex Wolf is a member of the 77th. His partner is a giant lizard of unknown origin, but his own origin might be odder. “Are you all right, sweetheart?” Mom stopped on her way past his room with a […]
Skim Blood and Savage Verse (2017) Angel Martinez Carrington Loveless is my least favorite character in this series, but on a second read-through, I have a little more compassion for him, since his parents are pretty awful. How could he have even thought about not celebrating his thirty-fifth birthday? Especially if it meant it gave […]
The Pill Bugs of Time (2016) Angel Martinez What do I love about this story? “Should get an Odo bucket,” Vikash murmured. “A what?” Kyle chuckled into his coffee. “Seriously, Carr? You never watched Deep Space Nine? My problem with this story is that I really hate time-travel stories. Time travel, dystopia, hard SF. REALLY […]
Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters (2016) Angel Martinez I started several books and immediately dropped them, so since this series has been in the back of my mind, I decided to re-read, even though it’s been less than a year since I first read it. Kyle Monroe was a normal cop until a run in […]
Arctic Wild (2019) Annabeth Albert (Frozen Hearts) Tobias Kooly loves his job–even if he did have to drop out of university to help support his family to take it. He loves flying, and leading tours allows him to socialize and flirt AND fly. Reuben Graham was supposed to be taking this Alaska trip with his […]
Merry Inkmas (2017) Talia Hibbert Bailey Cooper is working her way through school as a barrista, and the highlight of recent weeks has been the hot guy who comes in to order coffee and flirt with her. Cash Evans has been watching Bailey for months–wanting what he can’t have and doesn’t deserve. And now she […]
Arctic Sun (2019) Annabeth Albert (Frozen Hearts) River Vale, supermodel turned traveler and writer, is not what Griffin Barrett wants on this tour. He’d rather not be running the tour at all, but with his uncle hurt, there’s no one else to do it. …the customers. Oh, his mom called them guests, but really, it […]
Ramen Assassin (2019) Rhys Ford Trey Bishop’s life went up in flames, sprawled across all the tabloids. But he’s been sober for several years now–slowly putting himself back together. So stumbling across two men moving a dead body–men who then try to kill Trey–is not what he wanted or needed out of life. So long […]
Southernmost Murder (2018) C.S. Poe I’m beginning to think I should just go ahead and read everything CS Poe has written, because I’ve really liked everything I’ve read so far. Aubrey Grant runs an historical property in Key West–a job he does well, despite the regular inconveniences of his narcolepsy. He’s also looking forward to […]
RAFE: A Buff Male Nanny (2018) Rebekah Weatherspoon This… is not my jam. That doesn’t mean it’s not good, it’s just not for me. Dr. Sloan Copeland has been struggling to keep life together as she continues her work as a successful surgeon and as a single mother of two six-year-old twins. When her nanny […]
American Love Story (2019) Adriana Herrera This story is about three things: Patrice and Easton, boinking, and this sentence. A black man had to always think about the space he was in. Two of the three things about this book I really really liked. The third, as is well known, is not my thing. There […]
A Matter of Disagreement (2018) EE Ottoman I’m not quite sure how I feel about this book. It’s historical fantasy, set in a France like land, with some of the trappings of historical France and England, but there is also magic. “The use of magic to animate. You see, it is commonly believed that only […]
Hither, Page (2019) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers) Set in England in 1946. I’ll be honest, although the premises of most of her books are my thing, I just haven’t loved most of Cat Sebastian’s books. They generally have a lot of sex, and the plot aren’t always enough of my thing to get past […]
The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2 (2015) Nicole Kimberling One Man’s Treasure Birds of a Feather Pentimento Blues When I read The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 I noted that the first story was the weakest, and each successive story got better and better. This volume takes off where the first ended, both story-wise and […]
The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 (2015) Nicole Kimberling This is a collection of three novellas: Primal Red, Evergreen, and Black Cat Red. Primal Red Peter Fontaine is an investigative journalist for The Bellinghamster, or just The Hamster, the free local paper in Belligham, WA. In addition to writing articles, Peter was in charge of […]
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (2005) Lauren Willig Set in England and France in 1803. I knew I’d read this before, but after checking, it was 2010, so I can be forgiving for remembering next to nothing about the story. Amy’s father was killed during the Revolution, and her English mother died of […]
Gilded Cage (2019) K.J. Charles (Lilywhite Boys) Set in London in 1865. This is the second Lilywhite Boys book, and finds Templeton Lane in a great deal of trouble, as he ends up suspected of murder while trying to steal an opal necklace. Unfortunately, the only person it seems he can turn to is his […]
Grilled Cheese and Goblins (2018) Nicole Kimberling Keith Curry is a food inspector for NATO’s Irregulars Affairs Division (NIAD). He may carry a mage gun, but most of the time his tools are thermometers and glasses that allow him to see the supernatural. This book is six interlinked stories. “Cherries Worth Getting” “Cookie Jamboree” “The […]
American Fairytale (2019) Adriana Herrera The second book in the American Dreamers series. Camilo Santiago Briggs learned to rely only upon his family–which includes his three best friends. So when he stumbles into a Fairy Tale romance, he doesn’t know how to act or what to do. Thomas Hughes is Dominician and American, but he […]
Delivered Fast (2015) Annabeth Albert This is probably my least favorite book in this series so far, mostly because it starts with a hook-up, and a LOT of the story is centered around their boinking. That doesn’t make it a bad story, but it just isn’t my thing. Chris O’Neal is co-owner of The People’s […]
Murder Takes the High Road (2018) Josh Lanyon I believe this is the first story I read by Josh Lanyon. IIRC I chose it because it was a mystery, and had a M/M romance. Carter Matheson is on a Tours to Die For trip through Scotland that was supposed to be a birthday present for […]
Baked Fresh (2015) Annabeth Albert Vic Degrassi is a baker with plans for the future–and he’s a man who does what he sets out to. After losing his job, he went to culinary school. After losing his cousin and best friend, he got surgery and lost 111 pounds and became fit. His next goal: a […]
Brazen and the Beast (2019) Sarah MacLean Set in London in 1837 Lady Henrietta Sedley is turning 29 and is done with waiting for things to come to her. She is going to go out and seize what she wants–including the business she should be the one to inherit, instead of her wastrel younger brother. […]
In Other Words… Murder (2018) Josh Lanyon Chirstopher and J.X are settling into domesticity. Christopher is still worried about all the things (his writing (lack-thereof), J.X. being younger and handsomer) but J.X. does keep bringing up marriage. Christopher is also trying to come to terms with J.X.’s close family–including his nephew who often has sleep-over […]
The Boy with the Painful Tattoo (2014/2018) Josh Lanyon Christopher and J.X. are moving in together. Christopher has shipped everything he owns and driven up the coast to where JX picked out a house for the two of them. Between the two of us there was a hell of a lot of junk here. And […]
The Mermaid Murders (2015) Josh Lanyon Sam Kennedy is the FBI’s most famous manhunter–someone who finds and helps capture serial killers. But his last case was bad press for everyone involved, and now Jason West is being pulled from vacation to temporarily partner with Kennedy on a murder that might be tied to a case […]
So This is Christmas (2016) Josh Lanyon Adrien and Jake are finally living together, in the house he grew up in. (T)he first rule of cohabitation is Thou Shalt Not Diss the Other Dude’s Kinfolk. But before they can spend the first night of their new life together, they have arrived back from London with […]
Marriage, Love and a Baby Carriage (2016) C.S. Poe Theodore Reinhart’s convention in San Diego is not what he was expecting. I was attending a singles’ convention for special people like me to find their forever penguin partner. But after I paid the attendance fee, got a hotel room, and booked my flight, I found […]
Kneading You (2019) C.S. Poe Christopher Hughes always wanted to live in a small town. With a degree in literature, he’s delighted to take a job taking over the local library and help it recover from years of neglect. Unfortunately, a local Selectman wants the property for a building project, so Christopher has a tiny […]
Served Hot (2015) Annabeth Albert (Portland Heat) Robert Edwards (Robbie to his friends) runs a coffee cart in the atrium of the Old EMerson building in Portland, and every day, his favorite customer, David, comes by at 11:50 for a vanilla latte. Robbie has a huge crush on David, but isn’t sure if David is […]
The Dark Tide (2011) Josh Lanyon At the end of the last book, Adrien was shot and died briefly, but now with a valve replacement, he is supposedly on the mend. But he still isn’t sure where he stands with Jake, who outed himself to put the the man who shot Adrien behind bars. Although […]