Nowhere To Ride by Andrew Grey

October 6, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Nowhere To Ride by Andrew Grey
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ, Erotic Romance
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Unjustly accused of a crime, Ky Archer is trying to keep his ranch together, with fierce tenacity and minimal help. With his nefarious accuser the lead wolf at the door, Ky is resolved to do whatever he has to in order to keep the final link with his family intact.

Brodie Tyler is down on his luck–way down. Down enough to camp with his baby sister in a tent to get away from relatives he’d hoped would help him. His parents are gone and he’s got nowhere to go, but he’s determined to keep his sister safe with him, no matter what.

Ky finds Brodie and Emily on his property and takes them in out of the storm… literally. Neither expects the heat that ignites between them to be as hot as the western sun. The men find they fit together well, both at work and in the bedroom. They also find they have a common enemy who tries to tear them apart. Working together, they might discover that each holds the key for the other’s desire.

Ky is struggling to keep his ranch afloat. With an enemy in town determined to smear his name and try to purchase his land and more work than Ky can handle things are looking dire. When he finds Brodie and toddler Emily on his land though, Ky can’t turn them away and offers the only help he can, a safe place to stay warm and dry. The sizzling attraction between the two men burns hotly between them, but when they find they share the wrath of a common enemy can these two men stick together and make things work?

I really enjoyed this well plotted and slow paced cowboy romance. I was pleased with the individuality of the main characters and enjoyed the strong supporting secondary characters as well. The author did an excellent job to my mind in making the two men relatable and believable, but still unique enough they stuck in my head and held my interest long after I’d finished this book. I also found this an emotional read and loved how Ky and Brodie formed a strong and believable connection before jumping into bed and becoming intimate.

The day to day problems and obstacles Ky – and Brodie – experienced also really resonated with me and felt both believable and relatable. Things like the hard manual work needed just to keep the ranch working in the searing Texas heat, the isolation of living outside the small township and how a precious resource like water could make or break the success of a farm. And while the villain could appear to be a little overdrawn I honestly feel that it wouldn’t be at all over the top for people to act so ruthlessly and mean-spiritedly – willing to destroy a man’s reputation and drive him out of town with hatred and lies – simply to steal land and resources. As despicable as those actions were, and hard to read, even this struck me as realistic and probably all too common out in real life.

I feel the author did an amazing job writing a realistic and emotional story with a decent and gripping plot. This was a lovely story and I’ve eagerly bought a number of his other works. This could easily become one of my new favourite authors. The fact the relationship and connection between Ky and Brodie was intense, believable and smoking hot was just icing on the cake.

A lovely read and a new to me author who I will enjoy reading more of.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Reluctant Virgin’s Daddy by Sean Michael

October 4, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Reluctant Virgin’s Daddy by Sean Michael
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Robert Venus made a lot of money in tech, and when he sold his business for millions, he was set for life, which suits him to the bone as he never leaves the house, ever, and never interacts with anyone except his personal assistant. With his former assistant leaving to have kids, he’s forced to hire someone new and turns to the Master Temp Agency.

Ignatius Callahan has no idea what to expect as he starts his new temp job as personal assistant to Mr. Venus. When he pulls up in front of solid, ugly gates, he has a hunch this isn’t going to be a job like any of his others.

From their first meeting, Iggy is drawn to Bobby. In fact, the urge to call Bobby his boy is almost overwhelming, but the reclusive young man seems to want to hide away and disappear from the world, including Iggy. As Iggy works to draw Bobby out, he feels more and more sure that Bobby needs him as much as he needs Bobby, and he slowly breaks down Bobby’s walls.

Will Iggy and Bobby be able to find their happy ending together?

The temp agency Ignatius works for has sometimes simply placed him without any pre-interview before, so when he’s assigned to be Robert Venus’ personal assistant Ignatius has no idea what he’s heading into. Right from the moment they met Iggy is drawn to Bobby and those initial feelings only grow. Ignatius is desperate to draw Bobby out, and as they begin to get to know each other better Iggy is more certain than ever they are perfectly suited and really do need each other. As the urge to call Bobby his boy feels overwhelming, can Iggy and Bobby find what they’re really looking for?

I enjoyed this steamy full length story. I was particularly pleased that Iggy didn’t immediately start trying to be intimate with Bobby. It was pretty clear Robert had some emotional baggage and was hiding away from the world for his own reasons and so I feel it would have been inappropriate for Iggy to just blaze in and assume he could make everything fine and fix it all with sensuality and intimacy. The time they took getting to know each other and bonding emotionally and forging that friendship was really critical to my mind and not only made the story more believable but helped me as a reader to see why they connected and how this could work between them in the longer term. I felt that was really well handled and it helped make the intimacy when the men got there feel a lot more special and important.

The intimacy was hot and very very mildly kinky. I was really pleased that there wasn’t an enormous drama or dwelling on the fact that Robert is a virgin and while this is acknowledged there wasn’t some major past hurt or heavy plot revolved around that aspect. The very mild kink comes from the fact Iggy enjoys being a “Daddy” and I was pleased this aspect wasn’t the main focus of the story either, more just one of the many plot points. While Robert doesn’t have any experience with this I was pleased Iggy introduced the style and thoughts behind it slowly and gradually and Robert definitely appeared curious and receptive. Readers looking for a heavily BDSM lifestyle story might find that aspect of this story a bit light for their tastes, but personally I felt it had a good balance and was portrayed in what I could believe is a realistic and sensitive matter.

My only real problem with the story was that at times the story felt a little too unrealistic and rose-tinted-glasses. The romance and blossoming intimacy between Iggy and Bobby pretty much overshadowed everything else at times and in a number of places I found myself pausing mid-sentence and wondering at the amount of time Iggy and Robert had spent together either eating, exploring each other sexually or otherwise not doing their work or answering emails etc., which was portrayed as the whole reason Robert hired Iggy to be his PA. I feel a little more balance – even just a few more casual references to “after Iggy had caught up on the work emails and handled a few call-backs etc.” just to highlight the fact that the “real life” aspect to Iggy’s job and Robert’s business were being handled in the downtime off-screen in between the two men learning about each other and establishing their romantic relationship. I couldn’t help but feel this side to the story was left lagging just a little, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the romance and relationship that grew between Iggy and Bobby.

With two interesting and relatable characters that I felt were well fleshed out and not just cookie-cutter, and a lovely slow moving sensual pace to the story this was a delicious and satisfying read. I enjoyed the slower-than-usual pace to the romance and feel overall this should appeal to a wide range of readers.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

A Firing Offense by George Pelecanos

September 30, 2021 By Leave a Comment


A Firing Offense by George Pelecanos
Publisher: Orion Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

As the advertising director of Nutty Nathan’s, Nick Stefanos knows all the tricks of the electronics business. Blow-out sales and shady deals were his life. When one of the stockboys disappears, it’s not news: just another metalhead who went off chasing some dream of big money and easy living. But the kid reminded Nick of himself twelve years ago: an angry punk hooked on speed metal and the fast life. So when the boy’s grandfather begs Nick to find the kid, Nick says he’ll try.

Nick Stefanos works in advertising but has climbed his way up to his comfortable office position the long way – through the sales floor ranks and up through every level. He is perfectly happy to coast along until the grandfather of one of the stockboys Nick is friendly with approaches him. Nick isn’t too worried to hear the young man has gone missing, but as Nick casually looks into it what he uncovers is far darker and way more violent than he could have ever expected.

I was surprised just how much I enjoyed this very noir style of mystery. On the surface it’s quite simple, Nick reluctantly agrees to ask a few questions from people he knows and doesn’t plan to step too far out of his own path or stretch much at all. But what he thought was just a kid out having a good time is very much not that and so much more complicated everything – including Nick’s comfortable life – spirals out of control. This in itself could have easily been a gritty, older-style of noir hard boiled story, but the author does an amazing job of balancing this with a very seedy sort of underlife to the city and edges that really darkens the story significantly to my mind.

With frequent and very casual use of drugs and alcohol – sometimes to a level where I had to pause and wonder how the characters could have got away with their antics, I realized that while certainly fiction, the scenarios for all their craziness were so very plausible and realistic. This, more than the plot of the missing young man, really lent a weight and heaviness to the whole story I felt. It was simultaneously the thing I enjoyed most about the book, but equally the thing that disquieted me the entire read through.

This will not be every readers cup of tea, for sure. Different and envelope pushing this is a gritty and realistic read that while filled with violence and drug/alcohol abuse is also a story firmly about Nick and how when it comes to the crunch he – like all of us – has decisions to make. Decisions about which path to follow, what choices he can live with and where he draws the line between right and wrong, acceptable and not. It’s not often a book makes me really stop reading mid-sentence, sit back, think and mull over these sorts of things. And as uncomfortable as that was, I found it refreshing and brilliant though it took a while for me to get through it as there were a number of things I personally needed to dwell on and unpack as I trailed along after Nick.

Readers who can handle a darker and gritter style of writing and background and particularly those who like to occasionally delve deeper into life and our choices really should check this out. There are two more books featuring Nick Stefanos and after my heart rate has calmed down a bit I fully expect I’ll be purchasing them both.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

September 29, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
Publisher: Quercus Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Forensic archeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway is in her late thirties. She lives happily alone with her two cats in a bleak, remote area near Norfolk, land that was sacred to its Iron Age inhabitants—not quite earth, not quite sea. But her routine days of digging up bones and other ancient objects are harshly upended when a child’s bones are found on a desolate beach. Detective Chief Inspector Nelson calls Galloway for help, believing they are the remains of Lucy Downey, a little girl who went missing a decade ago and whose abductor continues to taunt him with bizarre letters containing references to ritual sacrifice, Shakespeare, and the Bible. Then a second girl goes missing and Nelson receives a new letter—exactly like the ones about Lucy.

Is it the same killer? Or a copycat murderer, linked in some way to the site near Ruth’s remote home?

DCI Harry Nelson refuses to give up the hunt for a missing young girl, even though she was kidnapped just over ten years ago now. When bones are found in the Saltmarshes he calls in Dr Ruth Galloway, a local archaeologist with the University, to help uncover the site and help his investigations into the ancient henge.
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I really enjoyed this full length novel – the first in a series between DCI Nelson and Dr Galloway. While at times I found it off-putting that the book is written in the present tense this overall didn’t detract too much from my enjoyment. There is a strong cast of characters, about a half dozen well fleshed out main characters and a roughly equal number of smaller secondary characters. This, coupled with the interesting clashes and slow building connection between Nelson and Ruth really wove well with the various sub-plots. I thoroughly enjoyed how the two missing girls, the henge and holy sites around the salt marshland and the shifting friendships and complications of the various relationships between the characters all intermingled and wove around. I changed my mind about what was really going on underneath it all a few times as the characters and their relationships shifted and altered and this really kept me on my toes, along with the central plotline itself of the missing girls.

I feel readers looking for a more traditional style of mystery might struggle a bit with this book. There are definitely changing alliances and shifts in the various characters – from good to bad and back again – as the plot unfurls. Nothing is particularly linear here and while I found it not traditional, I was surprisingly fine with this. The excellent plotting, good writing and reality that life isn’t black or white, good or bad, really helped me connect a bit with the shifts in the plot and characters.

I also enjoyed how the site itself – both the desolate marshland of Norfolk as well as the henge site itself was practically a character in this story. The scenery and landscape, the danger of the changing tides and the easy comparisons with the loneliness and beauty of the harsh nature was a lovely addition I feel the author really added well into the story.

While I admit some of the characters actions won’t be every readers cup of tea, and the present tense writing style likely will rub some people the wrong way, I strongly feel this story (both the characters and the exceptional plot) is well worth the effort of sticking with the book. At numerous points I was pleased to have kept going and even though I’m still not sold on the book being written in the present tense, this was a minor blip as the action really amped up around the middle of the book and I found myself racing through the final half in almost one sitting.

An excellent first book in the series. I’ve already purchased the second and am eagerly awaiting it’s arrival so I can jump right in.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

To The Center Of The Earth by Grieg Beck

September 22, 2021 By Leave a Comment


To The Center Of The Earth by Grieg Beck
Publisher: Severed Press
Genre: Contemporary, Action/Adventure, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

An old woman locked away in a Russian asylum has a secret—knowledge of a 500-year-old manuscript written by a long-dead alchemist that will show a passage to the mythical center of the Earth.

She knows it’s real because 50 years ago, she and a team traveled there. And only she made it back.

Today, caving specialist Mike Monroe leads a crew into the world’s deepest cave in the former Soviet Union. He’s following the path of a mad woman, and the words of an ancient Russian alchemist, that were the basis of the fantastical tale by Jules Verne.

But what horrifying things he finds will tear at his sanity and change everything we know about evolution and the world, forever.

In the tradition of Primordia, Greig Beck delivers another epic retelling of a classic story in an electrifying and terrifying adventure that transcends the imagination.

“Down there, beyond the deepest caves, below the crust and the mantle, there is another world.”

When a million dollar prize – as well as some serious bragging rights – are put up for grabs for the caving team who can travel the deepest under the earth the race is on. Two separate teams decide independently to try their luck with a long closed down cave in Russia, one that’s rumored not only the be the deepest anywhere on earth, but also possibly far more than anyone realizes. What the two teams discover is a whole new world – equal parts paradise and hell.

I really enjoyed this new adventure story from Mr Beck. His stories are always really really well balanced with both thriller, monsters, discovery of the unknown and adventure and this one certainly delivers in spades. I was quickly drawn in both by the characters, but also the caving adventure itself. Readers who enjoy a good “let’s discover something new” story should certainly find this suits their tastes, and readers who also enjoy “monsters eat most of the party” will find this book ticks a lot of those sorts of boxes as well. I’d hesitate to label this story as horror though – while there are certainly “monsters come and eat the characters” moments and there’s absolutely a few chilling scenes with alien creatures found deep deep under the earth – I’m not sure it really fits the “horror” genre in the sense of gore or serial killers or a more typical sense of a horror novel. Readers who are squeamish or not interested in monsters going bump in the dark style of books probably should shy away or be prepared to skim a few scenes – but I feel aside from that it’s not really horror at all but more adventure/thriller in style.

I also really appreciated the variation in the characters and how none of them were cartoonish or overdrawn. Even the antagonist was – while still not hero material – practical and willing to work with the team when the chips were down and it was very much an “us verses the monsters” mentality. I really really enjoyed this, partly because it would have been very easy (and far less satisfying I feel) if the antagonist had been an overblown villain character, but I could well believe how tempting that might have been. Indeed I found Mr Beck taking the harder road and notching down the characters arrogance and bravado and having the two teams come together and work in tandem as one merged team really satisfying and I was so pleased about this it really stuck with me.

As a longtime fan of this author I was amused at a few Easter Egg like tidbits where I recognized the author cleverly sneaking in subtle pointers to some of his other books where fans will notice this cheeky nod but others shouldn’t feel anything too amiss by the seemingly casual comments. It gave me a chuckle and flush of pride for each one I caught and it made reading this book all the sweeter to know I’d not only caught the reference but read and own the book as well.

Overall this was an amazing book and one I am pleased to have in print as I definitely expect to enjoy it a number more times in the future. I am also impressed with my own foresight – I have the sequel already purchased and ready to go. I’m thrilled I can move right onto it and not have to wait!

Readers who enjoy adventure stories, caving stories and monsters eating everyone should be as deeply satisfied with this story as I was. Mr Beck is a masterful storyteller and I feel this tale is well balanced, engrossing and sure to have you up reading half the night. A brilliant read and one I shall enjoy again in the near future.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Closed Circles by Viveca Sten

September 20, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Closed Circles by Viveca Sten
(Sandhamn Murders Book 2)
Publisher: Amazon Crossing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

It’s a beautiful day for a regatta—until one of Sandhamn Island’s most prestigious residents is killed aboard his sailing yacht.

Oscar Juliander was a rich lawyer and deputy chairman of the prestigious Royal Swedish Yacht Club. While at first his death seems like a tragic accident, there is evidence of foul play. Police detective Thomas Andreasson teams up with local lawyer Nora Linde to investigate. As they work to uncover clues, they face resistance from an elite world where nothing but appearance matters.

When the rich and powerful inhabitants of Sweden’s idyllic island getaway come under scrutiny, Thomas and Nora must work closely and secretively to seek justice.

When the Vice Chairman of the Royal Swedish Yacht Club is shot on his boat in time with the starting gun of one of the biggest regattas in the height of summer, Police detective Thomas Andreasson and his colleagues have their work cut out for them. An important man and seriously well-connected the victim is also a lawyer and so the list of people who could have born a grudge is daunting. Added in the many rich and powerful inhabitants of Sandhamn Island and the RSYC and even though there are smiles and offers to help abounding it seems as if everyone has secrets to hide. Can Thomas and Nora once again work together and bring justice to bear?

I was eager to read this second book in Viveca Sten’s mystery series. I greatly enjoyed the first (Still Waters) and was pleased to find this story stood excellently alone but retained many of the strong aspects that had me enjoying the first. This is a slower-paced mystery but has a large and very well written set of characters which really had me able to enjoy and picture everything going on. While I admit this large cast of characters slows the pace of the plot and murder investigation – and therefore slows the pace of the book as well – I truly can’t fault the author for this, mainly because it’s the different perspectives and interweaving of the plot and characters that made this book in large part so enjoyable for me.

A lot of the book is split well, I feel, between Nora and Thomas. Nora is unhappily married with two children and Thomas is healing emotionally from his divorce and the devastation resulting from his infant daughter dying from SIDS some time ago. Nora and Thomas are friends, but work well together and have a strong, platonic relationship that I thoroughly enjoy. These two characters are both relatable and believable and I feel are both strong enough to steer the book very well.

What I enjoyed about this book is that while Nora and Thomas’ relationship is mostly straightforward, all the other secondary characters are a nest of interweaving messy emotions which was delightfully complicated. There’s illicit affairs, jostling for position and power – both political and no – within the Royal Yacht Club and assorted business dealings. Keeping all the various connections, friendships, affairs and relations in mind was complicated in an intriguing way and trying to sort out motive verses normal human emotions and reactions kept my attention riveted on the pages as I worked my way through the book.

In some respects this book is deceptively simple – a very believable and realistic mess of human interactions pushed to the limit and so resulting in murder. But as so often in real life, the simple emotions are layered and woven in with others and so it’s a mess trying to sort everything out which is why it’s so interesting to see Thomas and Nora, along with the rest of the police team, try to untangle everything.

Readers looking for a thriller type of story or a fast-paced, action driven mystery probably won’t enjoy this as much as I did, but readers who enjoy complicated and very realistic, emotional and tangled stories should find this delightful Swedish story a great read. I’m eagerly looking forward to more in this series.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Taken Hard by Sam Crescent

September 17, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Taken Hard by Sam Crescent
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

With women throwing themselves at him, Caleb Hard never intended to settle down. But he secretly wants to find a woman and have a marriage exactly like what his parents have. The moment Lilly enters his world, he can’t get the woman out of his mind.

Her mother’s reputation follows her everywhere, and Lilly is used to being whispered about. When Caleb offers her friendship, she’s more than happy to take it. What she doesn’t expect is for him to admit he wants a virgin like her. A perfect gentleman, Caleb doesn’t rush.

He’s fallen in love, and this isn’t about sex. He wants forever, but he doesn’t want to scare her off. Is there any chance of them ever truly working?

Lilly’s mother was the town whore and from a young age Lilly had been branded with the same reputation. As such she avoided men in general – and the Hard boys in particular. Caleb Hard was certainly a player, but after being introduced to Lilly something about her struck him as completely different. Intrigued, Caleb desperately wants to learn more. Will Lilly be willing to risk her heart and her reputation on a man like Caleb?

I found this to be a fun and seriously steamy story. While both Lilly and Caleb’s characters were somewhat predictable this didn’t detract too much from my enjoyment of the story. Caleb has a large and rambunctious family which always is a great addition to a story with plenty of antics and interesting secondary characters. I also likely that Lilly had her own set of close friends with Aunty Betty and Eliza. It gave me the strong feeling that even with her personal strength and determination Lilly had her own tribe to help uplift and protect her and Caleb couldn’t take advantage of her emotions and feelings for him.

I was both relieved and impressed that Caleb and Lilly took their time in getting to know each other. While it’s fairly standard for an erotic romance to have the main characters jump into bed and be intimate pretty early on I really enjoyed that Caleb took his time with Lilly and let things progress a little more naturally and slowly. This was wonderful to read and really heightened my enjoyment of the story – seeing Lilly and Caleb form a connection, interact together and it let me see how they could work in the longer term and not just be simply infatuated with each other and have that whither down the track. It was lovely to read and really bumped up the believability for me.

That said there was certainly plenty of steam and passion once Lilly and Caleb made it to the bedroom. Readers looking for an explicit and steamy story should definitely find this aspect of the book meets their expectations.

With a good sized cast of secondary characters, some fun and interesting conflict with other members of the town and a lovely emotional and slow paced romance this is a great book. I enjoyed the small tag towards the end giving the reader a small glimpse of what the next book in the series will be and feel that this is a steamy and lovely story.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

A Mafe For Madi by Cooper McKenzie

September 14, 2021 By Leave a Comment


A Mafe For Madi by Cooper McKenzie
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

After a traumatic past, best-selling author Madi Delaney retreated from the world and became a hermit, never leaving her home. When her publisher threatens to drop her unless she does a six-week, cross-country book tour, Priscilla, her best friend and agent, suggests she needs a man-wife/mafe to take care of her. And she knows just the man for the job.

Out-of-work, long haul trucker, daredevil Garrett Bailey is staying with his sister when she announces she has the perfect next job for him. He will drive their parents’ RV and act as bodyguard and mafe for Madi.

Can Madi get along with the man her first crush has grown into? Will Madi overcome her many phobias in order to keep her publisher happy? Will Garrett be able to handle the job of mafe when he doesn’t know what a mafe is?

Madi hadn’t left her house in eight years, not even for groceries, so she certainly didn’t think she was capable of doing a book tour, spending six weeks out on the road and meeting a whole bunch of strangers. Yet her publisher is no longer willing to indulge her and they have refused to work further with her unless she does the tour. Seriously struggling Madi turns to her friend for help and the suggestion is quite out of the box. Do the tour in a RV and with a mafe – a man-wife – to help her. Can Madi overcome her fears and make this work?

I found this an interesting – albeit slightly unrealistic – short story. I really enjoyed and empathized with Madi’s character and found Garrett to be a nice blend of heart-throb and charismatic hero. I have to admit the two of them were very well suited, but the string of coincidences that had kept them apart for so long took a bit of work for me to ignore. I was pleased that both Madi and Garrett took their relationship fairly slowly. While they knew each other from their youth plenty had changed for them both and each carried their own emotional baggage so I felt it was far stronger and more realistic for them to ease into intimacy and not just crash right in.

The tour itself was fun and I felt it was an excellent blend of conflict and romance with the build up of Madi and Garrett’s newly formed relationship. I also found it quite interesting to see conventions and a book tour from Madi and Garrett’s perspective. It was an excellent scenario for Garrett and Madi to get to know each other, and learn to rely on each other, without all the usual pressures and hassles of work and day-to-day life. It was like a working holiday and with the only constant being their needing to support and rely on each other I thought this was a fantastic way to begin and grow their relationship.

Readers looking for a highly emotional and sexy story should be satisfied with this short story and I’m intrigued enough by the whole Mafe concept I hope to see more stories about it. Fun and sexy this was a good story.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Cut by George Pelecanos

September 7, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Cut by George Pelecanos
Publisher: Orion
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Crime fiction writer George Pelecanos introduces Spero Lucas, an anti-hero making his place in the world one battle at a time. Includes a bonus work of short fiction focusing on Spero’s early life.

Spero Lucas has a new line of work. Since he returned home to Washington, D.C. after serving in Iraq, he has been doing special investigations for a defense attorney. He’s good at it, and he has carved out a niche: recovering stolen property, no questions asked. His cut is forty percent.

A high-profile crime boss who has heard of Lucas’s specialty hires him to find out who has been stealing from his operation. It’s the biggest job Spero has ever been offered, and he quickly gets a sense of what’s going on. But before he can close in on what’s been taken, he tangles with a world of men whose amorality and violence leave him reeling. Is any cut worth your family, your lover, your life?

Spero Lucas has served his country and after returning home discovered he wasn’t suited to more steady or a regular job. Instead he does small investigations and – his specialty – retrieving lost or stolen items. The deal though is he always takes a cut – usually forty percent of the value of the item he recovers. It’s been working just fine for him until what should have been another simple retrieval turns out to be a lot more complicated than Spero estimated.

I really enjoyed this gritty and gripping mystery story. This is the first book I’ve read by George Pelecanos and by about half way through I had ordered both the sequel to this book and two other books that begin different series of his. I loved the writing style – brief and gritty, almost a noir or hard-boiled sort of style. This won’t be to everyone’s tastes as there are some things Pelecanos will dwell and on and describe quite well – like clothing, music or books – but other more regular things (for example like landscapes or decorations, items readers often use to paint their own mental picture of what’s occurring) that aren’t as fully fleshed out. This didn’t bother me as much as I thought it might as the pace is kept moving at quite a decent clip and I was rushing along beside Spero trying to work out what was happening.

Readers who like a decent pace, plenty of action and a number of really strong secondary characters along with a good, solid plot should find this book really fits with what they’re wanting. I really enjoyed it – finding the plot tightly woven, the characters vivid and interesting enough to keep my attention and Spero an interesting and layered character. I was also pleased he wasn’t the classical loner style of gritty noir detective – he had a decent sized family and was particularly close with his brother. Spero also enjoyed and appreciated the ladies he came into contact with and he had an interesting enough personality that he could spend time with pretty much anyone. I really enjoyed this and found it added appreciably to the story.

With a lovely twisty plot (but nothing unrealistic or too outrageous), good characters and plenty of supporting people plus a lovely noir/gritty tone of voice this was a great book and one I know I will enjoy reading again in the future. Recommended.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Yes, You Are by Willa Okati

September 1, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Yes, You Are by Willa Okati
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, LGBTQ
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Darian’s as unique an Alpha as Coby is an Omega, but opposites attract twice in Second Chance.
Everyone always assumed small, pretty Darian would be an Omega. He ticked all the boxes — except for the temper and the tendency to cuss a blue streak. But whatever, right? And everyone always assumed big, athletic Coby would be an Alpha. Just stood to reason — as long as you paid no mind to his tender heart. When they met in passing as teenagers, both boys had no reason to doubt that was who they’d be. Everyone said it, after all. But everyone was wrong.

When Darian and Coby meet again in grad school, Darian’s still small and pretty but he’s one hell of a ferocious Alpha — and tall, muscular Coby still struggles with having turned out to be an Omega. The college is short on space due to storm damage, and they’ve got no choice but to share living quarters and come to terms with themselves and their past — and when Coby gets pregnant, their soon-to-be future.

Opposites attract like lightning and steel rods when they meet again in Second Chance, but do they have what it takes to overcome the unexpected for the long haul?

Darian appears to be the perfect Omega, and Coby is like the picture-perfect Alpha – everyone says so and so each man assumes that’s how it is. Only by the time they’re both in grad school neither are sure of anything anymore and when they end up sharing living quarters – and Coby ends up pregnant, they each find they will need all the help they can get in Second Chance.

I really enjoyed this story and found both Darian and Coby’s characters particularly entrancing. While a part of me felt a bit deflated about the Omega/Alpha stereotypes that people constantly expected and the assumptions and discriminations that followed along with that – overall I found this a really hopeful and positive story. Darian was delightfully determined to not let his physical characteristics dictate to his personality or strengths. And while Coby took a little longer to flourish like this, he too had an amazing strength and resilience that I adored.

While the conflict of the stereotypes was an excellent tension in the plot, and I admit the story needed that, it wasn’t always comfortable for me to read it. I was really pleased therefore when Darian and Coby – despite their real and quickly growing attraction to each other – took a little time before becoming physically intimate. I really felt this helped solidify their characters and help establish a far more realistic longer-term relationship between them. One based on friendship, trust and emotional bonds and not just their physical attraction and need for each other.

Readers looking for a sweet – or purely sex-driven romance might find some of the weightier aspects of the plot doesn’t really suit their needs. I found this story to be quite thought provoking and Darian in particular is not a gentle or easy type of character. Personally I really enjoyed this, but I realise it might not be every readers cup of tea. I also absolutely adored Darian’s best friend – Oscar – and am hopeful his story might be shown later in this series.

With two different, but very strong and well fleshed out characters this is a quick and enjoyable story that I really got into. I got easily hooked on Darian and Coby and cheered for them both as they grew together and forged a strong and long-lasting relationship together. With plenty of satisfying sex scenes this was a great read and one I will enjoy again in the future.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,
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