The Lights on Knockbridge Lane (2021) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run) Adam had always wanted to be a father. What he didn’t expect was to end up a single parent, back in the hometown he ran away from as soon as he graduated, relying on his sibling to help him with child care. And Adam is […]
Gilded Cage (2019) KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys) Set in London in 1895 Templeton Lane fell far from his noble birth to become a notorious jewel thief. A matched set of black opals, Jerry had said scathingly. Really. Was there also an advertisement placed in the paper for the attention of Templeton Lane? Susan Lazarus has […]
Mr. Winterbourne’s Christmas (2018) Joanna Chambers (Winterbourne) Set in England in 1823 Lysander and Adam have been content, living as a steward and landholder by day and lovers at night. Except neither has used that word: Love. When both are invited to Lysander’s family home for Christmas (Adam’s brother is married to Lysander’s sister) multiple […]
The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks (2008) Josh Lanyon This is an interesting story in a lot of ways. First, I think this is one of her earlier books, and the writing isn’t quite as smooth as I’ve come to expect from her. Secondly, it’s set in that weird time where before DADT ended and before […]
Love, Marriage, and a Baby Carriage (2016) CS Poe I love this story. I mean, it’s like someone dared her to put every single trope she could think of into less than 40 pages, and she made it perfect. I was attending a singles’ convention for special people like me to find their forever penguin […]
The Remaking of Corbin Wale (2017) Roan Parrish After his life blew up around him, Alex headed back to his home town to take over (and reinvent) his parent’s coffee shop. Down a boyfriend and a job in forty-eight hours, Alex hadn’t been sure which had been the bigger blow. Everything about this story is […]
Any Old Diamonds (2019) KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys) Set in England in 1895. Alex wants revenge upon his father and step-mother, and he is going to get it however he can. So he decides to seek out the Lilywhite Boys–some of the best jewel thieves in London. Consider me the antithesis of a Romish priest. […]
Not Even a Mouse (2015) Dahlia Donovan Kat is a shifter. (T)he feathertail glider shifter— not a mouse, thank you very much. She has also been in love with her older brother’s best friend for years. Not that she’d ever tell him. Declan has spent his adult life studying genetics, trying to determine the genetics […]
The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2 (2015) Nicole Kimberling One Man’s Treasure Birds of a Feather Pentimento Blues This book starts in 2011. Which is important since events changed quickly in the world (specifically the legality of gay marriage). “But,” Kjell continued, his brow still crumpled in confusion, “am I supposed to have card?” It […]
The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 (2015) Nicole Kimberling Primal Red Evergreen Black Cat Ink Like Grilled Cheese and Goblins, the story is fun and enjoyable. In addition to writing articles, Peter was in charge of circulation, which meant that every Thursday morning he drove bundles of the free weekly to various locations in the […]
Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling This is such a fun book. I mean, supernatural food inspector! Keith could have epitomized the word “average.” Not good-looking or bad looking. Brown hair and eyes. Nothing beyond that to report. He was the kind of man nobody noticed for very […]
Best Laid Plans (2021) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run) This is another story where both characters have dealt with a lot, but we see they learned healthy ways to deal with their shit. He looked at the situation and chose to acknowledge all the dimensions of it. Dimensions (as he thought of them) weren’t positive or […]
Better Than People (2020) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run) One of the things that resonated so strongly with me was the misery of being laid up after a bad break that requires you to stay off your feet. Every day had dilated to a month, every night to a year, and Jack found himself wishing for […]
The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows (2020) Olivia Waite (Feminine Pursuits) Set in England in 1820 Let’s start with what I loved about this story: The history. The politics. George had at the same time enjoyed a cheery reunion with his mistress, Lady Coyningham, whose husband had recently been elevated to the Privy Council […]
The Ruin of a Rake (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turner Series) Set in London in 1817 All Courtenay really wants is to see his nephew. But his past (and other circumstances) have made it so Radnor is refusing to allow him any contact. Courtenay was effectively stranded in London, a city populated by people who […]
The Lawrence Browne Affair (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turner Series) Set in England in 1816 Lawrence Browne is waiting to go mad. In the meantime, he’s trying to be useful, putting his efforts into various inventions, but refusing to let anyone get close to him, for fear of taking them down with him. Penkellis was […]
American Dreamer (2019) Adriana Herrera (Dreamers) This is a reread, and as with the first time through, I really liked everything except the boinking. Luckily, I could skim that–especially since this was a reread. Otherwise, there is much to love about this story, especially the friendships. “Oh my god, Jude Eugenio Maria Fuller! What did […]
Paladin’s Strength (2021) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel) Istvhan is a Paladin of a dead god. When the Saint of Steel died, every paladin went mad, sub-coming to battle rage, and only a few survived the madness. Those who were left went on to work for the Temple of the White Rat, assisting as […]
Kneading You, Joy, The Color of You (2019, 2017) C.S. Poe The Haven Investigation series was excellent, but emotionally rough. So I decided to reread the Lancaster series, for some comfort. No one deserved to lose access to books simply because of where they lived. Kneading You All I did was give a guy tacos. […]
Model Exposure (2017) Lissa Kasey (Haven Investigations) This picks up immediately after the end of the previous book. Ollie is healing, but so is Kade. But Kade doesn’t like having to admit that he needs help, and fears that if he needs help, he’ll lose Ollie. “Ollie needs me.” He was healing from a (thing). […]
Model Investigator (2017) Lissa Kasey (Haven Investigations) Back to Ollie, this book takes off after the events of the previous book–which ended on a cliffhanger. First and foremost, this is one of the few mysteries I’ve ever read that actually has characters deal with some of the real-life consequences of repeated concussion. The sparkles around […]
Model Bodyguard (2016) Lissa Kasey (Haven Investigations) The second book in the Haven Investigations series switches from Oliver’s POV to Kade’s POV. Which is fantastic, because Oliver sees Kade as strong and almost perfect, whereas Kade actually? A huge mess. This was the stuff of nightmares— a mental hospital. It wasn’t my first trip. No, […]
One Bed for Christmas (2018) Jackie Lau (Baldwin Village) Wes Chang has been in love with Caitlin Ng since she almost knocked him unconscious with a door their freshman year in college. But Caitlin is a successful CEO and Wes… Wes is now living a life that makes him happy, but he is a disappointment […]
The Ultimate Pi Day Party (2019) Jackie Lau (Baldwin Village) Josh Yu is a successful CEO and on the list of the “35 Most Eligible Bachelors Under 35 in Toronto. But he doesn’t have love. Of a partner or his father. Despite the fact that everything he has done is to try and live up […]
Model Citizen (2015) Lissa Kasey (Haven Investigations) Oliver Petroskovic hoped that once he bought the house his life would start to be more settled. Sure, he’d do more modeling gigs, but with the house he was finally able to repay his brother for the years spent raising him. He’d paid for private school and attended […]