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Out Of The Penalty Box
Out Of The Penalty Box
Genevive Chamblee | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
good, but not one for me.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

I struggled with this one. And here's why.

Aidan is, or has been, straight. Here, he is attracted to Christophe, who is gay. You'd expect a whole lotta more soul searching and questioning going on, but there isn't. Aidan just jumps almost straight away into bed with Christophe, after he first expresses his feeling for Aidan.

I know its only a short book, some 100 odd pages and you can only do so much in those pages, but I did not feel any sort of emotional attachment to Aidan, at all.

We also only get Aidan. Yes yes YES, I KNOW I say it often enough, but think I might have enjoyed it a little more had Christophe had a say too.

And, aside from that very first chapter, there isn't any hockey!

So, a nice book, but not one that grabbed me. An easy read, maybe a little too easy. Someone will LOVE this book, I have no doubt. And I might have at any other time, but it just landed in the queue at the wrong time.

Not my best review, but I'll plead illness and hope that someone will forgive me.

3 solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
    Midway Arcade

    Midway Arcade

    Games and Entertainment

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    Get ready to mash some buttons! INCLUDES 10 GAMES!!!! Spy Hunter, Rampage, Joust, RootBeer Tapper,...

Scott (Owatonna U Hockey #2)
Scott (Owatonna U Hockey #2)
RJ Scott, V.L. Locey | 2019 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
much better than book one!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book two in the Owatonna U Hockey trilogy, but you don't need to have read book one first. I have though, and found THAT book not really to my liking.

THIS one, however, I enjoyed far more.

Scott is suffering, since his brother died, and decides to self medicate with illegal steroids. After punching his best friend in the face, Scott is suspended for a whole 12 months, and is quite literally, chucked out his home. With nowhere to go, he happens to meet Hayne at a mandatory counselling session. Hayne, for reasons he cannot fathom, takes pity on Scott and the pair become inseparable. They each have their own demons, but together, they just might be able to overcome them.

Like I said, a MUCH better read, for me anyway, that Ryker. And much of that is because I didn't much care for Ryker in his book and I'll come back to that in a minute, though.

Hayne is a free spirited artist, in his final year at college. He is terrorised by his tenants, and spends all his time in his room, trying to paint his final piece. Meeting Scott, who turns out to be the muse he was missing, wasn't planned, but Hayne runs with it. Helping Scott get back to hockey seems the right and best thing to do. That Scott helps Hayne is a much added bonus.

Hayne is LOVELY!! So sweet, I wanted to punch his housemates! And the fact that he really sees Scott helps. Scott is trying to be the son his father wants, but he isn't his brother Luke. He will NEVER be Luke. His father pushes Scott away, and it takes his mother, who has been self medicating in the bottom of a bottle, to pull HER big girl panties up, and make her husband and son see that they are BOTH suffering and TOGETHER they can make some semblance of a relationship again.

Loved Hayne's mum and Mimi! Loved that they took Scott in when he needed someone the most, Hayne aside.

Back to Ryker. I did not like him in his book, but he does redeem himself somewhat here! While Scott is hiding, his friends, the ones he thought hated him, were planning an intervention, and Ryker is foremost at getting Scott to see that his friends don't hate him, they just didn't see how much he was suffering.

It does carry some darker story lines, grief, bereavement, alcohol and drug abuse, but they are all part and parcel of Scott's story, and they are very well written.

Oh, and you'll need tissues. I cried a LOT with this book!

Can't QUITE get past the first person to stretch to 5 stars, but a much better than book one:

4 stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Slow Dances Under An Orange Moon (Colors of Love #4)
Slow Dances Under An Orange Moon (Colors of Love #4)
V.L. Locey | 2020 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
my fav of the series!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

And just like that, back up to 5 full stars AND it's single point of view!

I LOVED this instalment of these hockey players, I really did.

Kye returns home after retiring from professional hockey with two things on his agenda.

Look after his grandad, Dunny.

And get his man back, David.

First one is fairly easily sorted but the second one? Not so much. David is, even after 20 years, angry with Kye. So angry for leaving him, but more so for not even coming home in all that time, not ONCE. David would have had a long distance relationship, but Kye was still in the closet and did not want to ruin his career. Leaving Davey all that time ago killed Kye, but now he is on a mission to get his man back. Will David as he likes to be called, want him, though?

Kye is very vocal about many things, but the biggest thing he has a say about is his regret for leaving David and not coming home. He needs David to understand, even after all this time, he LOVES David, deep within his soul and he just needs a chance to prove that.

There follows a delightful tale of a man on a mission, a woo-ing mission, to get his man back and Kye does it so beautifully! He can see David giving in, with the little twitches of a smile, the sparkle in his eye, the way he wants to go slow about kills Kye, but he knows he has to play David's game if he really has any sort of chance.

Only Kye has a say, yes, I know, but his voice is strong, and fills in all the gaps that David NOT having a voice leaves. David manages to get his point across, though.

I didn't find it as explicit as a couple of the others, but it's not missed. This is more about the LOVE between these two men, rather than that sex.

Some difficult reading about the poachers and what David, as a wildlife conservation officer finds, but I think that probably is needed, to explain a lot of how David feels about his job and what he has to deal with on a day to day basis.

Also, Dunny, Kye's grandfather, is ailing in body and mind, and that is also difficult reading, but extremely well written and absolutely needed.

Arn pops up, and I loved the little digs to Kye about the other couples in this series, I really did! Made me chuckle, what Arn comes out with! Kye had no clue what he was talking about, though, and it shows that there really is no link between the series bar Arn and the colour theme.

Who's next? No idea, but please, keep these guys coming!

5 full and shiny stars

**same worded review will appear elsehwere**
  
TH
The Heart (Ice Dragons Hockey, #2)
RJ Scott | 2017
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Heart is the second book in the Ice Dragons Hockey series, and we reunite with Alex, aka Simba. Some time has passed since the end of The Code and the Dragons are on a losing streak. Alex calls for a meeting which goes on until early hours of the morning. On his way home, he and Ryan spot a car accident, and Alex is able to save both the baby and her father, although he is injured in the process. Jo is a firefighter on probation and the one who saves Alex.

This is a great story, with a humorous start in the kitchen between Jo and Alex. Jo has her own reasons for not wanting a relationship, the same as Alex does, but that doesn't stop them from being attracted to each other, and wanting more. There is an air of suspense with this book too as Jo has to deal with different situations all connected by a bomb. With additional stories involving Gooley, and the twins, there is definitely something here for everyone.

Very well written, with no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt the reading flow, this is a wonderful addition to the series. Definitely recommended by me, and I'm looking forward to Gooley's story which is coming next.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
Booty Camp
Booty Camp
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Mila and Grady practically grew up together. Grady's sister along with Mila and other friends just opened a new roller rink in town. Mila is beautiful, but quiet and shy. Every time Grady sees her, he wants to devour her. What he doesn't know is that Mila is a virgin and she's crushing on the douchebag who runs the roller hockey league. But before Mila gets with him, she would like a few lessons and who better to teach her than Grady. They are up for a weekend of Booty Camp to teach Mila everything she needs to know to be with another man. Will Grady be able to let her go to another man after this weekend?

Thank you to Frankie Love, C.M. Seabrook and Booksprout for a copy of this book to review.

Booty Camp is the final book in the Booty Call series.

Even though Grady, as a pilot, has a different woman in every city, there is only one woman he wants. And teaching her to be good at sex for another man, might just kill him. Mila is surprised at how well things are going between her and Grady during their Booty Camp. Will she go to the other man or will she pine over Grady, a man she knows she can't have, or can she?

What will happen between these two friends? Will they become lovers or have to just deal with being teacher and instructor?