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Sweet Haven
Sweet Haven
JP Sayle | 2021 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
what a DELICIOUS book it was! I swear I put on ten pounds reading this!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

And what a DELICIOUS book it was! I swear I put on ten pounds reading this!

Garrett is a grump and Lee is a clutz. Together they make beautiful chocolate desserts. But the past has a way of catching up with them, and they have to overcome that to be really happy.

Sometimes, my dear book people, your mind reads a blurb and makes a story and then you read the book, and BOOM! this is so NOT where your mind went. And you don't care! Cos what you DO read, where the book DOES go, is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better than where your stoopid mind went!

And Ms Sayle has a particular knack of messing with MY brain! She does it all the bloody time, and I love it!

I mean, I have no idea where my mind went when I read the blurb, but all I know is, it was nowhere near as sweet and as sexy and as too-stinking-cute as this is!

I just wanna rant about how sweet and sexy this, but ranting does nota good review make. So lemme try, 'K?? And I apologise if all I do is rant :-)

Garrett is spilt from his ex husband, who by all accounts only used Garrett to get where he wanted to go. Lee is hiding from HIS ex, who by every account here, is a violent man and to be avoided at all costs. Garrett thinks no one will want him, and Lee wants Garrett. Garrett, bless his heart, tries HARD to deny himself the tasty morsel now prancing around his kitchen, but it's a matter of when, not if.

Supported by a huge cast of possible follow up stories: Ollie, Vic, Nese, and everyone else I can't remember, you fall in love with this little town, the people in it and the desserts that are made in these 150 odd pages, and your teeth rot and jeans don't fit anymore, and you really don't care!

Ok, I've written and deleted about 10 versions of this review, and this is the one you're gonna get.

READ
THE
DAMN
BOOK

5 sweet and sexy stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Nothing Serious
Nothing Serious
Jay Northcote | 2019 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
really kinda cute!
Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted the AUDIO file of this book.

Mark finally admits to himself and his partner of 9 years, that he is gay. While Rachel is devastated, she knows things have not been right between them for a long time. Mark moving out of their home seems the best thing to do, but they will remain friends. On moving day, Jamie shows up with his brother, and Mark feels an immediate attraction to the younger man. When Jamie drops a box contains some. . .personal items, Mark is mortified but Jamie finds the blush on Mark’s face adorable, and all kinds of sexy. But neither man is looking for anything serious right now, so they can just help each other out, right?

This book, right here, landed in my queue just when I needed it to, cos its far too stinking cute for its own good!

It’s a wonderfully well written tale of a newly out of the closet man, finding himself and all about his sexuality, with a willing young man who wants to help. Jamie finds Mark attractive, but he doesn’t want anything serious, last time he ran away when *serious* was talked about, so helping Mark explore all the joys of sex with a man, seems a good way to get close to Mark, while keeping his distance.

Mark has an immediate attraction to Jamie, and when Jamie suggests a friends with benefits type arrangement, Mark is keen to get to know Jamie.

What neither man expected, or wanted, was their emotions to get involved, and when they both realise this is what was happening, Mark and Jamie struggle with ways to talk to each other about it!

It’s not overly explicit, but it is all kinds of sexy! There is no real drama, save the guys finally admitting to themselves, at least, what they feel for each other.

It really is one of those books you just fall into and lose a few hours. It’s only short, some 154 pages, but it packs a hefty punch of cuteness! I listened to this, it’s just over 4 hours.

Michael Pauley narrates.

I have, in the past, found Pauley a bit hit and miss, for me, personally. Here, however, he really nails it!

Pauley’s voices for Mark and Jamie are different enough to be easily identifiable when they are talking, for all the characters, actually. His reading voice is clear and even, and I had no trouble keeping up. There were no dips in the sound to put me off, which has happened with Pauley before. It’s just where he lowers his voice, for thinking or musing, really but here, there is no dipping.

I loved how Pauley gets all the things running around in Mark and Jamie’s heads across, you genuinely sort of fall in love with them, as they fall in love with each other!

I’ve shelved it on my *kinda creeps up on ya* shelf, simply because, that’s what happens!

Love creeps up on Mark and Jamie and it was a pleasure listening to that happen.

4 stars for the book

5 stars for the narration

4.5 stars overall.

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
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Debbiereadsbook (1064 KP) rated The Veranda (Lavander Shores #3) in Books

Aug 18, 2018 (Updated Aug 18, 2018)  
The Veranda (Lavander Shores #3)
The Veranda (Lavander Shores #3)
Rosalind Abel | 2017 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
5 star book, 5 star narration
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian I was gifted my copy of this book.

When Donovan met Spencer ten years ago, it was on Spencer's engagement to Donovan's sister. All that time, they had feelings for each but they were never acted upon . But when Spencer's marriage fell apart and he finds himself at masquerade sex party, and Donovan is there too, he can't pass up this chance to have him, even if its just once, and Donovan won't know who he is. But Donovan DID know. And he wants more.

This is book three in the Lavender Shores series, but you don't need to have read the first two to follow this. It might help to read book two first though, because Donovan plays a large part I that book. Not necessary, just might help.

I'm loving this series, I really am. They are easy books to read, and that's a good thing, especially for me currently.

They are told from both men's point of view, in the first person and it flips from chapter to chapter with each change clearly headed. Ya'll know its not my favourite way for a book to be written, but I knew that after book one they would be this way, and I think that helps massively.

You get each man's reaction to that encounter at the party, each man's attempt to stay away and you get it all in glorious detail when they finally, fully and totally give in to each other.

I love how these books have no major break up in them. They are full of story, and plots and people's reactions, but seriously? Lavender Shores is the best place in the damn world to live! I loved how, while obviously hurt by what Donovan and Spencer do, Erica can see they are happy together and she doesn't keep Spencer's kids from him.

While I am loving the easy reads that these books really are, I find myself waiting.....waiting.....waiting.....for that one in the series that has a bit more bite, is a bit more heart wrenching, gut churning, emotionally devastating. One book to tip it over the edge and give it those full five stars. It will be either one alike that, or one that is far too stinking cute and warm and fuzzies all at the same time, that tips it over! But I have no doubt, there will be a five star book in this series, I just gotta bide my time.

An extremely well written, well delivered, well needed...

4 stars

AUDIO Review.

Kirt Graves continues to narrate this series, and he really is growing on me!

His voices for Donovan and Spencer were similar, but just different enough for me, with my crappy hearing, to make out the difference if I had left it off, mid chapter.

He continues to portray much more than I got through reading, and that is only a reflection on his skill, rather than the book. I love the emotion that Graves gets across, that, while reading, you might not pick up. The WORDS are all there, but HEARING them makes it much more real.

His voices for the other guys who have appeared in the series remain consistent throughout, and I love reconnecting with them, each and every time they pop up.

I hope to get the opportunity to listen to the other books, too. Some cracking books in this series, and I CANNOT wait to see how Graves gets them across.

Upgrading the book form 4 to 5 stars, simply because of Graves narration.

5 star book,
5 star narration
5 stars overall

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Alex (Twilights Falls #1)
Alex (Twilights Falls #1)
A.M. Salinger | 2019 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
wonderful start to a new series!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

    Alex’s business partner scammed him for the tune of half a million dollars. His friend, Izzy, has the perfect solution. Marry her client, live with said client for 6 months, and get his half million back. Finn’s great aunt is a manipulative woman, but she loves him, she really does. Getting Finn out the house to meet someone new was not going to work while the artist hides himself away following the death of his wife several years ago. Marrying him off seems the perfect idea. When Finn and Alex come face to face at the courthouse, neither is expecting a man, but they go ahead. They can live with each other for 6 months and be done. But what happens when feelings get involved? When things begin to be REAL?

    I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed this start of a new series by Salinger! I LOVED the Nights series and I can see this new series growing on me too.

    There is immediate attraction to Finn from Alex but while Finn acknowledges, to himself at least, that Alex is gorgeous, it takes time for the attraction to Alex to grow. Loved that it wasn’t immediate obvious to Finn, just what he might be feeling for Alex.

    It’s not overly explicit, at least to start, but once these guys admit they want each other, and that Finn doesn’t seem to have a problem with that, they are all in! It does get a bit emotional, especially for Finn, when talking about his wife, and then to his great aunt about . . .things . . .and you feel sad for him, that he was never fully honest with himself. That his wife and his aunt saw, though, knocks him.

    Glad the business partner gets his comeuppence!

    I LOVED the wider group of friends that Alex comes home to! They are funny and I wonder if the series will evolve around them? I know Carter is next, who pops up here.

    It didn’t take me long to read the 170 pages its billed as, just over 90 minutes, but it left me feeling that warm and fuzzie feeling I haven’t had from a book in a good long while.

    So, thank you, Ms Salinger, for setting me up for a busy day at work, feeling that warm and fuzziness all day! I look forward to catching up with these guys should they pop up again in the series. * I hope they do!*

    OH!!! There is a bit at the back of this book that gives the first chapter to One Night, which is the first in the Nights series. If you haven’t read those books, I STRONGLY recommend you do! I made a new shelf for them, and everything! And of course I read that little bit and then had to go back and read Cam and Gabe’s first book again. And NOW I wanna go back and read the whole damn series again! Be warned though, those books are HOT off the charts!

    Ah sod it! I wrote 4 stars, then changed it to 5 then back to 4, but here you go!

    5 warm and fuzzy, too stinking cute stars!

    **same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
I've Got You
I've Got You
Becca Seymour | 2019 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
a stunning follow up!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is sort of the second book in the set, Let Me Show You is the first, and you really should read that one, I think, to give you the full picture of what Scott did to Carter in that book, and why he feels so bad about himself in this one. Not totally NECESSARY, but I think it would help a great deal.

Scott was awful to Carter, and then came out to him, which made what Scott did all the worse. When Scott kisses Davis, Tanner’s best friend, at Carter and Tanner’s party, Scott runs. It takes a great deal of Carter to bring Scott out of himself. Davis is profoundly affected by that kiss, and he knows what Scott did to Carter was bad, but when Davis sees Scott, really SEES deep into his eyes, Davis knows Scott is desperately unhappy with his lot. But can the newly outed vet be happy with the single dad? Can he be happy, at ALL?

Like I said, I think it would help a great deal to read Carter and Tanner’s book before this one. If only to give you the full picture of what Scott did to Carter, and why Tanner is reluctant to forgive Scott, even if Carter does, and just why Scott hates himself so much. You need that bigger picture, I think. Just my personal opinion, is all.

Scott is hurting. He knows what he did was wrong, and the fact that Carter has taken it upon himself to become Scott’s best friend shocks him but gives him hope. He doesn’t know if he will ever be truly happy with himself for that, but he has to try. Meeting Davis at Carter and Tanner’s party was a bit of a revelation. He doesn’t know why he kissed Davis, but he liked it, a lot. Getting to know Davis seems like a good idea, but a deeply scary one for Scott, especially since Davis has a baby daughter.

Davis is lovely! I loved his patience with Scott, he knows Scott is hurting, and he knows Scott is newly out, so he understands explaining stuff is hard work, but very quickly, very early on, Davis knows Scott is the man for him. He just has to bide his time while Scott gets himself sorted. When Scott comes to work in Davis’ coffee shop, it gives Davis the ideal opportunity to get close to Scott. And when Scott meets Libby?? Davis is smitten, deeply!

There is, for Scott, a great deal of soul-searching in this book. Davis is an open book here and Scott is not. It takes time for Scott to come out of himself, and for the relationship between Davis and Scott to develop and I loved that. In Carter and Tanner’s review, I said I loved being made to wait for the main event but here? I wasn’t even sure we would GET the main event! It’s a close thing, I tell ya. But it’s right and proper that these two take their time, and get to know each other properly, I think.

It has some sexy time, some deeply emotional time, some funny moments and some shocking ones. Both Davis and Scott have their say, in the first person. Both voices are very different, and each change is clearly headed at the beginning of a chapter.

It also has some very homophobic comments from a shocking source, where you don’t expect them, but once you know, you understand why Scott was in a bad place before.

We leave this little town, with Scott and Davis, and Carter and Tanner happily settling down to their new lives together. We also get to meet Scott’s sister. I’d like her to be happy too. She had it tough for a long time, and reconnecting with Scott gives her the courage to do something about her life. She deserves the kind of happiness her brother has found, too, please Ms Seymour!

Not quite as warm and fuzzies and too stinking cute as Let Me Some You, but it’s a very close thing! Still. . .

5 full and shiny stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
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Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) Jul 4, 2019

Interesting. I think I'll put this on my to read list

One Day (Nights, #9)
One Day (Nights, #9)
A.M. Salinger | 2018 | Contemporary, Erotica, Romance
10
7.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
a beautiful and fitting end
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is the final book, book NINE in the Nights Series, and to get the full enjoyment of this one, you really MUST at least read book one: One Night, and book three: Tokyo Heat. I would STRONGLY recommend you read them all, though! Not least because I said so, but they are rather awesome and I am really sad to see the end of this group of people!

Gabe and Cam are planning their wedding and Ethan is in charge of their joint stag/bachelor party. He pulls that off beautifully! There are a few surprises, a trip across the globe to see family, and so much love, between each couple, not just Gabe and Cam, my sister would say "please pass the bucket" and make retching noises!

Each coupe have a *scene* in this book, but the emphasis is on Gabe and Cam and the run up to the wedding. After Cam ran when Gabe said those three little words, I wasn't sure they would get this far, but as the first couple in this series, it's only right and proper that they be the first to tie the knot.

Each scene is hawt and sexy and well written. Each person in the pairing has a say so we get each and every thought these people have, as they begin the wedding celebrations the week before. Ethan's planning is brilliant and how he manages to keep it a secret from everyone, especially Joe, is beyond me!

I loved what Gabe and Ethan did for Cam and Joe and I hated Gabe's family for what they did to him, but they DO redeem themselves, so were somewhat forgiven, but not totally!

But the bit that got me?? The vows between Gabe and Cam. Bear in mind, I started this book at 215am, cos I couldn't sleep, I did not stop til 430 when I finished. And I bawled my bloody eyes out! So much so, I woke the teenager up in the other room! I mean, the love between these two guys, between EACH couple really, jumps off the page and slaps you about the face so much!

Hence the "warm and fuzzies", AND "too stinking cute", along with the "fan yourself, its a hot one" tag! I don't think I have any other warm and fuzzies on the fan yourself shelf, but then again, Gabe and Cam were the founder members of the fan yourself shelf!

The epilogue is rather awesome, and I pray to every deity and god known to man, and then some, that Ms Salinger will write a followup to this series, and call it One More Day! You'll see what I mean when you read that epilogue!

While it's always sad to see a series end, it's made a little bit less sad when it has such a beautiful and fitting end.

Thank you, Ms Salinger, for introducing me to your people, thank you, indeed, for stepping away from your usual fare and writing about them! I loved them all, but Gabe and Cam will always be my favourites.

5 full and shiny stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**