Tatsuyuki Oyamato may be 4th generation heir to a yakuza family but all he cares about is partying and getting girls. Until he finds himself attracted to a man. After a drunken hookup, he wakes up with someone who proves to be more than just a random dude as he knows Oyamato and his infamous family.
Hooooo boy, this is a dark one. The guy Oyamato sleeps with – mild spoilers – turns out to be Nozomi Koga; the son of a man who once owed money to the yakuza. When Koga was a kid, the yakuza came to collect and found his father had been sexually abusing him. Oyamato was also a child and thought Koga was a girl because of his long hair and the creepy way his dad dressed him.
This book is rife with sexual assault; which is offputting (of course) when it attempts to combine it with the romance forming between Koga and Oyamato. I don’t want to spoil too much but yeah, major rape trigger warnings here. It feels almost wrong to say I like it. The art is well done and I adore the main pair. They make the hardest parts of this book worth it for me. 4 out of 5.
*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+
Lysander “Fitz” Fitzgibbon is a bus driver living a fairly uneventful life. In between work and television his sometimes bed partner, Jerry, pops by for a quickie; usually leaving Fitz feeling unsatisfied and used. So when Jerry falls in love with his neighbor, Henry, Fitz finds himself alone. One day on a walk in the park, Fitz comes across a body dumped in the bushes. While being questioned by the cops, he meets Detective Holland Simms; who seems intent on visiting Fitz as much as possible even when off the clock.
It would have been nice if Fitz and Simms had more time to build their chemistry other than Fitz getting annoyed with Simms’ brash attitude and punching him (which would have turned into a VERY different story if Fitz was African-American and not Simms). “Hey, I think you’re hot!” isn’t quite enough for me to get as invested as I thought I should have been. The back matter of the book says Walker likes to keep things short but I feel it was to this story’s detriment. It’s so short, the whole thing is over before you can get to know the characters. This could have been on the level of C. S. Poe’s gay mystery novels if given time to grow. As it stands its around a 2.7 or 3 out of 5. I’m torn between the two.
*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+
This collection contains two books; The Artist’s Touch and Tested in Fire. I’ll split the two so it’s not confusing.
The Artist’s Touch: Stephen Cobbe is a painter riddled with debts and homeless after the death of his lover. But when a new patron offers him room and board in exchange for his paintings, Stephen jumps at the change. The catch is he blacks out while he paints and awakens to completely dry canvases and no memory of creating them. As these paintings gain attention, Luke Morganstern is sent to investigate where they are coming from as the art is exactly like a painter who died many years ago. But when he sees the possible forger is his ex-boyfriend, Stephen, he can’t believe Stephen’s claims until they become too real to deny.
While this is a cute paranormal second chance romance, Stephen and Luke’s romance comes off as too rushed to really get invested in since they go from some pretty deep mistrust to “ok, we’re in love now” too quickly to form a real connection with them. However, their personalities are clearly written and real enough to empathize with them as they uncover some pretty serious ghost activity. The supernatural elements don’t feel tacked on as a frame to bring our main characters together and held it all together to make the story as a whole pretty cool. There are some sexy scenes but they don’t makeup very much of the book. 3.7 out of 5.
Tested in Fire: Having rekindled their relationship; Stephen and Luke are now rising stars in the art world. But Stephen’s debts still haunt him and he is determined to pay them off without Luke’s help. He wants to be independent and debt free so Luke will never see him as a burden. But after one argument, Luke seems to be acting very strange and the elderly stroke victim in the same building as Stephen is suddenly convinced he desperately needs Stephen’s help.
Here’s where the paranormal elements really start to take center stage. We have an awesome badass former cop turned psychic named Peg and villains who are body snatchers. The stakes from the first book are substantially higher and more detailed, even giving our characters some actual abilities. I would love to see the series continue and see how they handle various supernatural threats while also trying to live a somewhat normal life (particularly since Luke will absolutely have some major real-life consequences because of events in the book that I won’t spoil). 4 out of 5.
Overall, I’m glad I read these back to back as they compliment each other perfectly. The second, in my opinion, tops the first book in general so I’ll average the two as a 3.9 out of 5. If you like paranormal romance, these are pretty good!
*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.
*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.
*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.
*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.
*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.
*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.
*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.
