Summer’s Second by Jeff Billington

February 27, 2023 By 1 Comment


Summer’s Second by Jeff Billington
Publisher: NineStar Press
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), LGBTQ, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Voted BoM by LASR Readers 2013 copy

Asher Brock’s last summer of youth is far from ideal. His hopes for the future, including an escape from his constricting Ozark Mountains hometown, seem increasingly fragile as he faces hurdles of poverty and abuse, all while coming to terms with being gay. Raised by an alcoholic single mother, he clings to his noted intelligence as an escape to a better life. But it will take more than brains—namely, strength of character and aspiration—for him to navigate the months leading to his senior year of high school.

The pregnancy of his recent girlfriend, the heightened aggression of his long-time bully, and the increasing presence of his long-absent father create a season of turmoil, spurring unease and self-doubt. But with support from family and friends, an opportunity for love, and the shedding of generations of secrets, Asher sees beyond preordained fate and starts to realize the opportunities in his grasp.

Creating a better life is possible, but getting there won’t be easy.

Asher was a well-developed and memorable protagonist who knew the odds were stacked against him. I empathized with the many struggles he was dealing with and cheered him on as he did everything he could to break out of his dysfunctional childhood and create a better life for himself. He’d been forced to take on adult responsibilities at a young age, so I yearned for him to finally have a chance to enjoy being a teenager and relax a little.

This book did an excellent job of showcasing the positive and negative aspects of living in a small town. Asher was lucky to have several people who knew about his rough home life and quietly made sure he had enough food to eat and new, clean clothes to wear when his mother didn’t provide them. There is definitely something to be said for people who solve problems like these without making a fuss about it. On the other hand, Asher was also the target of gossip and bullying in part because it’s difficult to keep secrets in such a tiny and tight-knit community. Anything that happens to anyone in small towns like this one is bound to be revealed to everyone sooner or later, and that isn’t always necessarily a good or safe thing.

I adored the hopeful but realistic ending. Without giving away spoilers, it was nice to see the main character resolve the conflicts that could be fixed before the final scene while also acknowledging that some problems are too big to wrap up in the year or so when this took place. There was lots of room left for a sequel if the author ever decides to grace us with one, but I was also satisfied with how it all ended. Asher’s personal development gave me a lot of hope for his future.

Summer’s Second was delightful.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Viscount and The Orphan by Rosemary Morris

February 23, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Viscount and The Orphan by Rosemary Morris
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
Genre: Historical, Romance
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

This classic historical romance erupts in 1703 England.

Gabriel, Viscount Cavanagh is bankrupt, his fortune wasted on mistresses, extravagance, and gambling. Orphaned, emotionally neglected, deprived of his inheritance and his own person by his grandfather, Adam Maynard, his only option to avoid disaster is acceptance of an arranged marriage proposed by Adam, a ruthless merchant prince.

Adam summons his sixteen-year-old ward, wealthy Dorinda Davenport, from boarding school to be Gabriel’s bride. An orphan, she yearns for love. Well-educated, but naïve, she clings to her fantasy of a happy-ever-after marriage to a gentleman as handsome, and charming as her favourite fictional hero. Gabriel is the romantic hero of her dreams, but bitter disillusionment follows the wedding.

A connoisseur of beautiful women, Gabriel conceals his distaste when he meets dumpy, sallow-skinned, socially inept Dorinda. Nevertheless, he soon appreciates her innocence, intelligence, and kind heart.

This is a novel about a hasty marriage in which everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, and the path back to happiness.

The hero, Gabriel, is a man controlled by his domineering grandfather who is a control freak on steroids. He’s the one who tells Gabriel who he is going to marry. He’s the one who controlled who the hero could socialize with and who he should have no contact with – it’s pretty much an entire family branch. I did not like the merchant prince. He was mean to the hero, and the old guy’s sister wasn’t a peach either. It’s not a wonder the hero took some wrong turns and messed up his life.

When I met Dorinda, the heroine, she was a 16-year-old orphan stuck in a home for girls to teach them proper deportment. Dorinda was way too young to marry, and without a loving home life, was sorely unprepared to be thrust into a life dictated by the machinations of her guardian who just happens to be Gabriel’s grandfather, the meanie. Talk about a recipe for disaster.

One thing is for sure, the old guy’s plans didn’t go the way he wanted. Here’s the one thing that both Gabriel and Dorinda did during the course of the novel – they grew up.

The story goes through their growing pains using the people they meet along the way, their friends and other family members previously thought lost to them both. Each secondary character helps in one fashion or another to get both the hero and heroine where they need to be in order to become the people they were always meant to be. It’s not easy and it took some time. It’s a long book. If readers like these kinds of epic journeys of personal discovery and positive success against characters’ original negative paths, coming into their own and becoming stronger and more certain of who they are in life, then this novel should strongly appeal.

It does eventually happen. The hero and heroine come together as full-fledged adults and are on a more even playing field. After all that growth and change, will the people they’ve become be as appealing in a marriage as when they first met? That’s the big question that gets resolved in the end.

I did experience a few hiccups as I read. Gabriel has a good friend, Avery. Avery’s method of speech hurt my brain. I couldn’t get the hang of how the dialogue might have sounded based on the spelling. After a while, I gave up. There were a few times where the wrong person’s name was used in a scene, but it didn’t throw me out of the story, not like Avery’s dialogue. I also found that the ending was too abrupt. After investing so much time in watching both Gabriel and Dorinda each become better people than when the book first started, I expected at least an epilogue to give a more well-rounded experience of closure. Especially with the bombshell Dorinda revealed to Gabriel at the end. But no, there was nothing to firm up that last sentence of Gabriel’s internal dialogue. I needed there to be an epilogue just to balance out what had come before. I’m let down by the lack.

On the whole though, The Viscount and The Orphan was a convincing historical romance with quite a bit to recommend it. I understood the references to Cromwell and his legacy and effect on England and religion during that period. I experienced echoes of that time through Dorinda’s actions even though Cromwell was long gone at the time this story takes place. Dorinda is a pious little thing in the beginning, full of dreams, romance and fanciful notions. Her faith gives her strength and that’s the one thing I did admire about the heroine – when everyone else around her gave it up because it was ‘inconvenient’, she didn’t. It was a part of her she refused to give up on even when someone complained about it. There were hints early on that the heroine had some spine in her. The story proved it to be a correct assessment.

I was happy that Dorinda and Gabriel got their happily ever after, after all, and I’m glad Avery’s character turned out to be a solid asset for the hero. He really was a nice guy and I’m glad for his role in it. Everyone should have a friend who sticks by them in the worst of times, and in the best of times.

This was a solid historical romance and I enjoyed reading it.

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In Darkness: The Vampire by L. Diane Wolfe

February 22, 2023 By 1 Comment


In Darkness: The Vampire by L. Diane Wolfe
In Darkness series
Publisher: Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Paranormal
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

Souls shrouded in darkness…

Stuck working as a barmaid for her demanding father, Anna dreams of adventure. When mysterious strangers enter the bar, she overhears they seek Zancrela, an ancient fortress filled with treasure and a magical library. Taking her chance, she offers to guide them. The conditions: deliver Zancrela or die.

As they journey through the wilderness, she discovers their secret: they are vampires. And most view her as food. One takes interest in her and her heart dares to hope, but it might not be enough to change her fate. Will Anna find Zancrela or become a vampire morsel?

I’ve been looking for a different kind of vampire romance story and I’ve found it in The Vampire.

It starts off with an angle that reminds me of Cinderella and her wicked stepmother, except in this story, Anna’s own father is the heavy, and she’s the hardest worker in his pub. The story alludes to her being mistreated and perhaps even being beaten if she displeases her parent. It makes it quite believable that the heroine would grasp at any opportunity to escape even when it’s made very clear that if she didn’t succeed in her promise to deliver, the result is her death. Desperate times call for desperate measures and Anna has incentive.

The author focuses on Anna’s struggles to keep up with the group of very tall, dark and broody people who set a furious pace on their quest. Anna has a hard time keeping up because she’s only human. Everyone else is not. She finds out that fact in a very dramatic fashion. I liked the heroine’s spunk, determination and pragmatism in the face of the fact that most of her companions not only don’t like her but would like nothing more than to eat her. She’s food after all. That fact gives the story an edginess that keeps the tension high and the book’s pages flipping. The pacing of the story is brisk, informative, fascinating and well told. The part with the bear was a bit gory, but everyone has to eat, right?

Victor was the surprise. He’s the hero but I initially didn’t see him that way. He was the vampires’ leader – gruff, forbidding, commanding and no nonsense. He saw in Anna a truth he was willing to take a chance on. He believed her when she said she knew the way to their quest’s goal. He championed her quite a few times and I figured it’s because she proved she had the knowledge, and she was an asset to protect. It was the little things as the journey continued that showed me Victor was seeing Anna as more than just a human with knowledge they needed. He started seeing her as a woman. And he was torn and in a quandary because of it. Would the others still respect him if he chose a human female? That was a tough call and caused some emotional drama between Anna and himself.

Of course, they reach their goal but what happens in the palace was shocking, action-packed and pivotal. I definitely didn’t expect that to happen. That was a nice piece of drama.

What I appreciated greatly is that this slow-to-build romance was sweet to sensual. I feel ‘sensual’ can be applied because there was a heat-building moment that fanned the flames of Victor’s desire, but it’s sweet because in the end, it’s banked and implied in favor of action, storytelling and the resolving of the plot. It is also a happy ever after because the ending leaves no doubt that Victor and Anna are going to succeed in being together as man and wife. That made me very happy. But wow, what an arduous journey to get there!

The Vampire is an awesome, well-told story, and was a treat to read. I really liked it and if paranormal romance readers are tired of the in-your-face bedroom scenes that seem to be inherent in most paranormal novels these days, this book is refreshing, fascinating and entertaining because it delivers a solid plot with classic elements and ends with a satisfying conclusion. I’m so glad I read this novella that reads like a novel, and I hope other readers will enjoy it as much as I did.

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Finding Happiness by Susan Warner

February 21, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Finding Happiness by Susan Warner
Hidden Treasures Book 4
Publisher: EG Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

A treasure worth having is a treasure worth facing your past for.

When Olivia came to Markarava she found a place that gave her a voice and she didn’t’ have to hide herself or her ideas behind another person. Her insecurities shrunk but her loneliness grew. Growing up in a traditional family she was always told family or work. When she went to work her family didn’t understand why an attractive woman would turn away from the men who wanted to take care of her. As the town gets ready to celebrate the resilience of towns and families she tries to leave only to find she’s been volunteered because she’s so good at organizer the whole event.

Jeremy Collins can’t believe he’s working on the families are strong event. If it wasn’t for the fact that he needs the money to pay for a father in a home he wouldn’t’ even consider it. Jeremy knows he’s not good at relationships or families. Then when he’s teamed up with Livia from a nearby project he’s sure he’ll be stuck with Ms. Bubbles. Instead he finds a kindred soul.

As they organize the event, hear the stories that started the event they find the past doesn’t look bleak and maybe they can do the family and relationship thing, if they have the right person. Will they have the courage to trust and open their hearts to one another?

If a reader likes stories set in small towns, where the communities watch out for their own and like to play matchmakers, then this book might appeal. Both Olivia and Jeremy have friends in town who are trying to watch their backs for them, but at the same time believe they’re good for one another and try to guide Olivia and Jeremy towards their own happy-ever-after. Easier said than done.

Both the hero and heroine have noble traits in their personalities – they both believe in keeping promises, fulfilling obligations and won’t quit until there’s no option. That means stubbornness is a strong component in the story. Jeremy wants to take care of his aging father, and Olivia is searching for her missing baby sister. For some reason, one main character thinks they can work it out and be together, and the other believes those kinds of commitments preclude having a healthy long-term relationship. Those are some serious hurdles they both have to overcome and are one of the major plot points.

The dialogue was good, the sense of community was strong, the sub-romance between Caroline and Mark was appealing but it wrapped up in a quick disjointed manner. But I’m coming from not having read any of the previous books in the series. Perhaps it’ll be clearer for fans since they know the backstory. Parts of Finding Happiness were confusing at times but not enough to pull me out of the story. It was nice to have a solid HEA though because Finding Happiness has more of a ‘happy for now’ tone to it for the main characters. Perhaps I need to read book 5 in the series for the full effect. I’m pretty sure that’s the case because there’s a dangling plot thread that belongs to Olivia that has to be tied up. It’s mentioned in this story and progress is made, but for Olivia to be 100% happy, she needs closure. It makes sense that the last book in the series will dot all the I’s and cross all the T’s.

This was a good read, fine for passing the time in at a doctor’s appointment, or getting your oil changed. It’s a story about personal conflicts that need to be overcome before Olivia and Jeremy can move on towards their future together. It was engrossing and entertaining, and I enjoyed reading the book. It’s obvious to me that I’m going to have to read the final book in the series. Nothing like a little closure to make my day.

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Five Fortunes by Barbara Venkataraman

February 16, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Five Fortunes by Barbara Venkataraman
Publisher: Next Chapter
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Romance, LGBTQ, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When five fourteen-year-old girls get their fortunes from an arcade machine just for kicks, it turns their world upside-down and their close-knit group of friends starts to fall apart.

Misunderstandings abound as allegiances shift and outsiders start to come between them. The fortunes seem to be self-fulfilling prophecies – whether the girls believe in them or not.

Do our beliefs color our perception of the world? Do we ever see ourselves the way others see us, and why is change so hard?

Budding romance, angry bees, teenage fashion influencers, and parents who just don’t get it make Barbara Venkataraman’s ‘Five Fortunes’ a fun story you won’t soon forget.

Fourteen is such a confusing age.

This was exactly the emotional rollercoaster I was hoping it would be! Not only are young teenagers dealing with the many changes that puberty brings, they’re also learning how to have friendships that are closer to the mature and complex relationships adults have than the ones little kids tend to have. It takes a lot of trial and error to make this transition, and the author captured that perfectly. I nodded along as the characters worked on their emotional regulation and figured out how to have more nuanced reactions to friends who disappointed or angered them.

I loved this story and all five of the main characters. My only criticism of them is how little time each character had to shine. This would have been a five-star read for me if it had either focused on only one character or been expanded into a full-length novel that could devote more time to developing all five protagonists and diving more deeply into their personalities, interests, and character development. There were delightful references to all of these things in this novella, but they didn’t have the space to show the audience enough of themselves for me to feel comfortable giving a higher rating even though I yearned to.

One of the other things I thought Ms. Venkataraman captured beautifully is how contradictory the expectations of teachers and parents can be of girls this age. Some of the characters were expected to look after their siblings or take on other adult responsibilities without also being given the freedom that generally comes with all of that extra work for the average adult. I remember feeling frustrated by that sometimes when I was their age, so it was nice to see it acknowledged and explored here. The author had some sensible things to say about the balance between responsibility and autonomy that I think some parents and teachers should take note of just as much and maybe even a little more than young teens should.

Five Fortunes was heartwarming.

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In for a Penny: a Partially Paranormal Romance by Shelley White

February 13, 2023 By 4 Comments


In for a Penny: a Partially Paranormal Romance by Shelley White
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Tripp promised Penny one more book. He didn’t know it came with an unintended plot twist. In order to realign the plot toward their ultimate goal they invite their friends to come along for the ride. Tripp’s sister and Penny’s friends play supernatural roles in paranormal romance, Chase the Night.

But gypsy magic is a stubborn foe and a plot, once published, is not easily turned. Will the right hero win the girl in the end? When Penny discovers Tripp’s secrets, will she still want him? She’s in for a penny, but is she in for a pound?

Vampires, hunters, and werewolves, oh my! What’s a girl to do?

Love is full of surprises.

Some of the most memorable scenes were the ones that showed how Penny and her friends have hit their stride now that they know what to expect when reading new books. It was rewarding to see not only how she has matured as a result of her experiences but how the people closest to her have reacted to their adventures as well. Some of the signs were subtle which made them even more meaningful once I figured them out. I am enjoying this series and can’t wait to see where it goes next.

This is my first time giving one of Penny’s tales a full five-star rating, and a big part of that has to do with how much fun it was to see the characters visit a paranormal romance. I love what Ms. White did with her lighthearted plot. It struck the perfect balance between gently making fun of some common tropes in romances between vampires and humans while also giving the characters plenty of opportunities to stretch their abilities and see what they were capable of as various magical beings. It was pure escapism, and I adored it.

I continued to be impressed by the plot twists Ms. White comes up with for Penny and her friends. For example, this time Penny was so unsatisfied with certain portions of the book she was magically transported into that she decided to try to change them. It’s rare for me to read about characters who have enough self-awareness to do that, and it made me curious to see what she’d come up with next. This is one of those things that other readers should explore for themselves in depth as I don’t want to give away the best moments in my review.

It’s a good idea to read this series in order to enjoy the character development that has happened in all three instalments so far.

In for a Penny: a Partially Paranormal Romance was everything I could have asked for and then some.

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Any Fin For Love by Petie McCarty

February 8, 2023 By 4 Comments


Any Fin For Love by Petie McCarty
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

She could almost hear the fish laughing at her . . .

Cody Ryan’s father never missed fishing the annual Loon Lake tournament until his unexpected passing. This year, Cody packs up her how-to fishing videos and her dad’s old johnboat and gives him one final entry.

Gage Connor needs some R&R away from his coast guard deployment catching drug smugglers along the Louisiana coast, so he borrows a bass boat from his buddy and heads to Loon, Alabama to do some fishing.

When Gage and Cody meet at Loon Lake, their attraction is immediate and intense—until the two discover there is only one boat slip left on the lake and they both need it, and there’s only one vacant hotel room left in Loon and they both want it. And so, their competition begins. Both vow to keep their distance from the other for their own peace of mind, but fate has other plans. The tournament pairing party picks the two-man teams and chooses Gage as Cody’s partner.

For two days.
Alone on a boat.
Working as a team.

Good things come to those who bait . . .

Don’t let the synopsis fool you. This novel has a lot more going for it than a simple romance with humor and a fishing competition. I was expecting a light-hearted fluffy tale and instead found a story that closer resembles the television series, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, back in the early 80s. It was fun, adventurous, had bad guys with the good guys winning in the end, and a burgeoning romance between two unlikely people. That is what Any Fin for Love reminds me of and perhaps that’s why I had so much fun reading this novel.

Cody Ryan, the heroine, is doing something she never did before – fish in a tournament. Fish by herself. Fish in her dad’s favorite spots, doing his favorite thing, in his memory. That right there made me adore Cody. She is sentimental, committed, stubborn, brave, fun and, did I say stubborn? The competition has never, ever had a female contestant. The good ol’ boys have no idea who is headed their way. Cody is bound and determined to do her best and no handsome guy is going to turn her head enough to distract her…much. But first, the heroine has to get her boat in the water. Yeah, that was an interesting sequence of events. Grin-worthy.

Gage, the hero, is a well-rounded character with a depth to him I don’t get to figure out until later. In the beginning, he’s just a guy on vacation, getting some fishing in and looking forward to some much-needed downtime and release from stress. His best friend, Dougah, is quite the character and is a wonderful influence on Gage. However, he is also very protective of the hero and that comes into play in a very dramatic fashion later on. On and off, when Gage calls him, his friend gives him sage advice – some are adorably teasing, and some are spot on serious. There’s some intrigue brewing in the beginning but none had the slightest inkling what was coming their way. And, it ends up not being what I and everyone else in the story expected it to be. The author has a nice way of slipping in clever twists and red herrings.

Another strong element in the book is the people in the community that Gage and Cody find themselves engaging with during the course of the novel. Velma and Delma are good-hearted matchmakers and romantics at heart. One of the good parts is the little trick they play with an innocent coin. I giggled at that scene. Red-haired Sadie was a treat to meet and Doc Taylor, too. Now there’s a bit of a story within a story. Doc Taylor enjoys some pivotal scenes that really blew me out of the water. What gets revealed and how everything comes together is a masterpiece of clever writing. Talk about tying up loose ends where I had no idea there was anything loose in the first place! It’s almost like playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but without actors. I will say that there are clues from the past, but I didn’t put two and two together.

Not everyone in town is nice to Cody though. When I met Zeke and Alvin, I was convinced they were the exact type of guys the author made them out to be for most of the early to mid-parts of the book. I guess, even in the end, they still kind of were like that type. But they aren’t as shallow as I thought them to be, so I guess I could say they were a work in progress. In any event, that was a nice bit of writing as well. Some readers might get put off by Lila. She’s not a likeable character at all and I’m going to presume that is exactly how the author wanted me to feel about her. If that’s true, she nailed it. However, like Zeke and Alvin, there’s a twist I never expected.

The antagonists of the main serious conflict are plum loco-crazy and nasty to boot. The action scenes with the hero and heroine on the water were intense, full of action, quick-thinking and included spontaneous teamwork to make it out alive. Okay, there was a trope-slip blip with Zeke, but otherwise, it was a stellar performance.

Like I said, this is not a fluffy read. There were a lot of goings on that kept me turning the pages. My emotions for good or ill were definitely engaged, enough that I talked to the book like it could hear me. There might have been a bit of cheering, a couple of growls, some ‘awww’s’ and a few Wow!s thrown in.

Any Fin For Love is more of a romantic suspense with humor to keep the mood optimistic and upbeat. It has a wonderful story, great secondary characters, and Cody and Gage were a fun couple to watch as they fell in love despite all the stinky and wet situations they got into. I had fun reading this novel.

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

Ghostly Howls by Stephanie Hansen

February 7, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Ghostly Howls by Stephanie Hansen
Publisher: Hypothesis Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, LGBTQ, Paranormal, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A heartbroken half banshee, a cockle selling soul possessor, and a town haunted by mysteries…if they don’t find the killer, Orla and Molly might die before finding their soulmates.

Orla and Dave’s love has been unrequited for as long as they can remember. Cormac and Molly are used to drawing outside the lines. None of them are prepared for the new ghostly neighbors.

In a town that’s always ostracized them, can Molly and Orla finally use their powers openly in order to save the citizens?

Don’t mess with spiritual matters unless you understand how they work.

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that explored the practical benefits and drawbacks of Orla and Molly’s powers. For example, Orla couldn’t even accept a simple handshake or hug from someone without activating her powers. The social isolation that came from not even being able to platonically touch other people affected her from a very early age, and this was only one of several examples of how careful these two characters needed to be when deciding where to live and how to interact with other folks. There were perks to their powers, too, and I appreciated the level of detail the author included in these passages. They gave me a lot of sympathy for Molly and Orla!

I would have liked to see more attention paid to the mystery elements of the storyline. They were not developed as well as the other themes even though the blurb made it sound like the mystery was going to be the main focus of the plot. I enjoyed the scenes that explored the romance and fantasy subplots, but I went into this tale expecting something quite different than what I ended up reading. If the mystery had been given more space to grow, I would have felt comfortable choosing a full five-star rating.

This novella included two different romantic relationships. I have to tip my cap to Ms. Hansen for pulling that off, especially given how many other things she had going on with the characters and storyline while she simultaneously developed these relationships. Both of the couples were well suited for each other and made me hope they’d end up living happily ever after. She couldn’t have done a better job showing the audience why these characters were good matches and why we should root for them. I’d say more, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers about who I’m talking about or why they were so perfect for each other.

Ghostly Howls kept me guessing until the end.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Mind Games by AJ Graham

February 3, 2023 By 1 Comment


Mind Games by AJ Graham
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Rafael has been called many things throughout time — demon, fairy, monster — but even he has no idea what he truly is. The only thing he knows for sure is that he’s not human… and that he can influence the minds of those around him without even trying.

He hides in plain sight, making a living as a magician and stage hypnotist, allowing his audiences to assume that his feats of mind-reading are mere illusion. Most humans succumb easily to his powers of persuasion, but when his very presence robs people of free will, it’s hard to truly get close to anyone.

When he meets Carrie, a strong-willed and wounded woman uniquely resistant to his abilities, Rafael is intrigued. But Carrie fears his powers. She won’t easily open up to him, but he’s determined to get into her head.

A hardheaded woman and a mystery man…

I’ve read other books by AJ Graham and liked them, so when I saw this one, I had to pick it up. I’m glad I did. Carrie and Rafael are great together. I liked that she didn’t just give in to him. He had to work for her. It was relatable and fun.

This is a short story, so it got wrapped up a bit fast, but it was perfect for an afternoon read. I liked the heat, too. Rafael and Carrie really scorch the page. I liked that he had to work for her affection and that she wasn’t really interested in him right away.

If you’re looking for something hot and short, then this might be the book for you. I recommend it.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Stolen Bride by Samantha Cayto

February 3, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Stolen Bride by Samantha Cayto
Treaty Brides, Book 3
Publisher: Pride Publishing, Totally Entwined
Genre: Historical, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, LGBTQ, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Being a bride is a state of mind, not of body.

Prince Ronan of Moorcondia knows he is one of the luckiest boys alive. As the king’s second son, he has status and wealth without the heavy weight of the crown. Every man admires his hedonistic ways, but his behavior masks a shame that he feels. What he really desires is a quiet life with a man whom he can love.

Jarl Tarben is on a mission to save his people from starvation. Efforts to forge a treaty with Moorcondia have come to naught. In a desperate bid, Tarben has been tasked with abducting Ronan and forcing him into marriage. As distasteful and dishonorable as the scheme is, duty demands that he obey. He refuses to bed the prince by force, however, leaving it Ronan’s choice.

Ronan vows not to succumb to the temptation that Tarben presents. Pride alone dictates that he remain chaste, even as he grows closer to the barbarian. Tarben is everything Ronan ever dreamed of, and the lure of him grows stronger with each day that politics keeps them together.

When unseen forces threaten to consume them both, they must put aside pride and join forces to protect both their peoples.

Two men, one problem and a sexy solution.

I haven’t read a book like this in a while and I’m glad. This one was a breath of fresh air. The fantasy was well done and kept my interest throughout. I liked the setting and felt like I was there. This isn’t the first book by Samantha Cayto that I’ve read, and it won’t be the last.

Ronan and Jarl are great together. The beginning and the circumstances where they’re supposed to get together are a bit sketchy, in a good way. I liked how the author wrote them and the way they handled the various situations. Jarl and Ronan are great together and I wanted more of them. I liked the push-pull and couldn’t get enough of them.

If you’re looking for a book that’s hot and fun while being fantastical, then this is the one for you. Check it out!

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