Learned Behaviors (2020) Jayce Ellis (Higher Education) JaQuan Reynolds has dedicated the last 18 years of his life to his daughter. For four years, Tanisha had begged Santa to give her a new mommy, and had stopped believing in him not long after that. Now that she is off to college, he is faced with […]
Sweetest in the Gale (2020) Olivia Dade (There’s Something About Marysburg) This is actually three novellas, all set in the town of Marysburg: “Sweetest in the Gale”, “Unraveled”, “Cover Me” “Sweetest in the Gale” Griff Conover has worked with Candy Albright since moving to Marysville, and he’s always had his eye on her. But his […]
Galaxies and Oceans (2018) N.R. Walker Apparently my brain things I need to be having feelings. Grief was like the great Southern Ocean; it moved in ebbs and flows, often turbulent and rough, or peaceful and settled, and even over time when I could navigate the waters, the tide never stopped. “(S)ometimes you have to […]
Rend (2018) Roan Parrish (Riven) Matt Argento was abandoned as a child, and from that moment on has never felt himself to be enough. To be deserving. He has a job he loves, but in the back of his mind he still expects everything to be taken away. “You were so used to things being […]
Riven (2018) Roan Parrish (Riven) This book is full of so many strong feelings and so much angst, yet bits and pieces of it kept tugging on my mind, so I decided to reread. “Don’t ever apologize for doing what you need to be okay,” he said. But still the shame trickled through me like […]
Open Hearts (2020) K. Evan Coles (Stealing Hearts) Jae-seong Bak love his job as a Nurse Anesthetist, but the swing shifts are starting to get to him as he gets older. For now, he’s back in Boston, where he grew up, and getting ready for his brother’s upcoming wedding. What he didn’t expect was to […]
Let Me Show You (2019) Becca Seymour (True-Blue) Carter Falon inherited his grandfather’s house and decided to uproot himself to the Kirkby. Unfortunately, the house needs a lot of work. towel. In my haste to get myself together and then answer the door, the dodgy floorboard didn’t even register until my foot slammed through it, […]
Paladin’s Hope (2021) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel) The third book in the Saint of Steel series. Piper is the lich-doctor (think coroner) for the White Rat. He’d worked with several of the paladins of the Saint of Steel in solving the a series of murders. Now it looks like there is another murderer […]
The Lion Tamer (2018) Dahlia Donovan (The Sin Bin) As noted throughout the series, Scottie us a wreck, who is incapable of being a functioning adult. Scottie sat up slowly and glanced around to find the scenery had changed quite significantly. “Why the fuck am I in a hospital bed?” Taine placed a hand on […]
The Royal Marine (2017) Dahlia Donovan (The Sin Bin) Akash Robinson moved to Cardiff to open his own bakery after working at his parents for years. Unfortunately, running his own bakery means he has no time for the social life he had hoped to develop with the move. (H)e’d never brought a date home once. […]
The Caretaker (2017) Dahlia Donovan (The Sin Bin) Freddie Whittle is a cancer nurse. It’s an incredibly hard job, and he puts too much of himself into it, but he doesn’t want to do anything else. Taine stood silent while the nurse gathered himself. He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly […]
The Wanderer (2017) Dahlia Donovan (The Sin Bin) This is a romance. With cancer. Graham languished in his bungalow on the water for two days. He never got sick, which made him the worst patient in the world. One of the things that makes this story so good is that it is unflinching in looking […]
After the Scrum (2016) Dahlia Donovan Francis Keen is perfectly happy living in Looe with his grandmother. He doesn’t want to leave her alone, and if it helps his anxiety, that’s not a bad thing either. And since he is a somewhat successful interior designer, it’s pretty good. He hated leaving his small workspace in […]
A Gathering Storm (2017) Joanna Chambers (Porthkennack) Set in England (Cornwall) in 1853. Edward Fitzwilliam has spent the past year destroying his reputation as a scientists, in an attempt to reach and speak to his dead twin brother. He believes that Porthkennack is the perfect spot to recreate the conditions where he saw and heard […]
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 […]