Tag Archives: Book Reviews

Lenni Reviews: “Bones and Bourbon” by Dorian Graves

16 Saturday Mar 2019

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.

Retz is tasked with bringing some escaped exhibits for Lady Delight, a lamia who runs a menagerie of captured supernatural creatures. Lady Delight is a former acquaintance of Nalem, an entity who shares Retz’s body and mind so he agrees to the mission not knowing his Retz’s brother, Jarrod, has been hired by the escaped funaribi to protect them from Lady Delight. Retz and Jarrod have been estranged for 10 years and their reunion occurs under the pall of their conflicting missions as well as a horde of homicidal unicorns.

With all the stuff going on, this book is difficult to pin down. I get some Supernatural vibes (I haven’t watched more than a couple episodes of that but even I could see the similarities) but it is a superficial connection that didn’t take away from the story as a whole.

The characters are lively, well written, and have some great chemistry; particularly Retz and Nalem. The dynamics of having to share a body with some ageless entity of dubious morals is conveyed very well. Jarrod and his boyfriend Ferris have a great relationship and Jarrod is a great character who happens to be transgender instead of being transgender being the entire focus of this existence; as it should be. And with a relentless army of killer unicorns in the mix, this is a cool dark urban fantasy. I really enjoyed it. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Beast” by Jamie Sullivan

09 Saturday Feb 2019

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

Beau thinks he’s got a hot story when he gets a tip that rock star Gabriel Fletcher, who has been out of the limelight for a year, is hold up in a remote mansion. What he finds there seems inhuman.

As a parody of Beauty and the Beast, this book hits all the beats of the original fairy tale ok. But where this book misses the mark is the relationship between the two main characters. They jump from learning to tolerate one another right into boning and proclamations of love. I couldn’t get to know them well enough to buy them as a couple so it falls flat when they get together. Maybe if it had more time to develop, it would have been more enjoyable. 2.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Murder at the Second Chance Ranch” by L.J. Hamlin

08 Friday Feb 2019

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

Looking for a fresh start after being released from prison, Tommy secures a job at the Second Chance Ranch. Hoping only to keep his head down and lead a quiet life, he tries to resist his attraction to Cash and Red; two ranch hands who have obvious feelings for one another as well as Tommy. As the three of them grow closer, a much darker threat emerges as a dead body is found at the ranch.

This story was ok. Our three main leads have distinct and well written personalities but given the short length, nothing feels tight and contained; just underdeveloped. Everyone is just all in love right away and the mystery is very basic, more of a frame to hang the three way relationship on to. One good point I feel the need to mention is how the cops don’t immediately demonize Tommy because he’s an ex-con. It would have been so easy to use that trope and thankfully it wasn’t. A bit of a hollow experience overall. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Smoke Signals” by Meredith Katz

11 Friday Jan 2019

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

Working what should have been a typical shift at a customer service phone line for a gaming company, Mike is suddenly asked by a dragon to install the company’s entire catalog of games, necessitating the need to stay at the dragon’s home for several days. Zali’thurg like any dragon has a horde and games are his collection of choice. Now that Mike has proven himself competent, Zali’thurg insists he maintain and protect his collection not realizing Zali’thurg may want to keep him as well.

I LOVE how our main characters are so damn practical. Mike and Zee sit and talk about how they feel and their boundaries. They take some time to come together and work things out when they have a conflict. They are so damn forthright and honest, it’s adorable. And seeing how this is a paranormal romance set in modern day with a dragon that hoards video games, this could have fone VERY wrong and ended up a veritable cringe-fest of references. Thankfully, this book avoids that.

However, this book is hampered by its short length. Clocking in at only 100 pages, Katz has to get these two into the sack at least once before the end and once they do, it’s mostly exposition towards the end. But it was still cute! 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Bound for the Forest” by Kay Berrisford

09 Wednesday Jan 2019

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

When Brien returns to his childhood home to scrounge up something he can sell to settle his debts, he doesn’t expect to find a thief named Scarlet attempting to burn the place down. Scarlet considers Brien to be a traitor to the forest as he as abandoned his birthright. But all the legends Brien has shunned or dismissed as heathen tales are suddenly very real and very dangerous, much like his attraction to Scarlet.

This book takes the heavy kink of something like Take it All and ads a hefty dose of faerie lore. Brien and Scarlet’s will they/won’t they does go on a tad too long but they develop good chemistry so they may have been thrown together but they work. It’s when the book gets DEEP into its lore that could turn some people off. I personally loved the detailed world building around our main character’s sexual relationship.

And that relationship is intense, graphic, BDSM and some dubious consent. Not for the faint of heart.

This isn’t insta-love but it is insta-lust that becomes love later. If that’s your jam and you enjoy historical fantasy, this is a great outing! 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Kelpie Blue” by Mell Eight

08 Tuesday Jan 2019

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

As a kelpie, Blue is used to drowning humans in his lake and devouring them. But when a human named Rin and his mother move on to the property, Blue becomes fascinated by the strange boy. Eventually, the pair becomes inseparable but Rin’s mother is on the verge of losing the farm and her horse raising business. Blue offers to help by using his horse form to win races but outside forces from the fairie realm put them all in more danger than just losing their home.

As a gay romance, it’s fairly light but as a fantasy, this book is fun and interesting. I have to say I didn’t expect how the story went as the blurb accompanying it was WAY more vague, but it was satisfying and entertaining. Blue is a great character and Rin’s mother is a badass. Rin himself is more of a blank slate in comparison but we’re following his story and he’s a decent enough guy. I also love how the story is framed by Rin and Blue writing to each other in what is supposed to be a private diary. Very cute. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Evergreen” by Geneva Vand

07 Monday Jan 2019

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

When his sister is stricken with a strange illness, Gabriel is tasked by the local healer to seek out the help of a dragon named Kym. Kym insists Gabriel bring his sister to him to treat her directly and while living together, Kym and Gabriel grow closer knowing they will have to part once Gabriel’s sister is cured.

If you’re looking for a sweet, low smut, low angst gay paranormal romance, this will absolutely fit the bill. Even though Vand could have skipped it, every character – including our leads – has a distinct, believable personality; especially Gabriel’s sister, Ashley; a strong stubborn woman. Everyone was quite practical, kind, and level-headed; a rarity in a lot of emotionally charged romances. A great story! 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Take it All” by Quinn and Perin

05 Saturday Jan 2019

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

Featuring three short stories, Quinn & Perin offer a selection of hot, but ultimately not long lasting gay erotica stories. While not leaving much of an impact once they were over, while reading them you are dropped into the scene all of which are steamy as all get out. This is absolute smut with no pretense and in that, it succeeds. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Souls for Sale” by Asta Idonea & Nicki J. Markus

04 Friday Jan 2019

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

In exchange for one night of pleasure, Tom agrees to sell his soul to a demon named Saul. But when the night ends, Saul finds Tom too tempting to let go so they go on the run from the demons of Hell, who are not thrilled with Saul breaking his contract.

I found their flight from the assassin from Hell to be pretty darn interesting. Genuinely invested in this predicament, I wondered how Saul was gonna get out of it without Tom getting killed or worse. In that regard, I was not disappointed.

As for their relationship, the smutty scenes are well written and I empathized a great deal with Tom as the lost nerd and Saul’s sudden acquisition of feelings when he’s not supposed to have any. But in the end, this is pretty standard. Fun but standard. 3.5 out of 5.

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