Annery
First thing first: [a:Chris Patton 1381825 Chris Patton https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1297104882p2/1381825.jpg] is a first rate artist. His narration of this series is nothing short of masterful.This book picks up two months after [b:Fatal Shadows 16154916 Fatal Shadows (The Adrien English Mysteries, #1) Josh Lanyon https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1353179023s/16154916.jpg 2815045] left off and our accidental sleuth Adrien English has fallen into a relationship of sorts with deeply closeted and self hating Detective Jake Riordan. The term complicated was made for this relationship. Jake visits Adrien a couple of times a week at his apartment above the book store, they talk and watch movies. Easy. Except it's all behind closed doors. Except of course Adrien wants more. Sure Jake is a head case and intellectually Adrien should run for the hills rather than being this guy's secret but ... the head and the heart rarely think with the same brain. When the story opens Adrien is having a meltdown or is rather at a crossroads where he must decide to do what is right and healthy for him and so takes a sabbatical of sorts at the ranch he inherited from his grandmother Anna, Pine Shadow Ranch. Once there of course there's a dead body and Adrien finds himself drawn into an investigation and also being a suspect. As luck would have it Jake comes looking for him. The mystery is a little twisty and you get the usual but highly entertaining cast of small town characters and suspects, I particularly loved Melissa, but the real genius is getting Jake and Adrien away and together from everything and everyone they know which is the push they need to figure out what the next step will be, particularly for Jake. Poor Jake.In many reviews Jake is maligned as “bad” or “no good” for perfect Adrien blah, blah, etc. But I ask you seriously: how many of us are brave enough to go against everything that our society and family approves of? to walk alone? to risk being ostracized? to be physically assaulted? to lose the love of family, home and hearth? I think it's easy to talk the talk but quite another to walk the walk. To me Jake is a tragic figure. A person who right or wrong felt he had to deny his inner self to exist in society and has/is suffering for it. Coming out is always a courageous act because the results/reactions are never a sure thing. So yes, Jake is at times an a**hole to Adrien but he's also the guy willing to put his life on the line for something he's not yet able to recognize. Also let's not shortchange Adrien as some sort of fainting damsel. Adrien in his own estimation is a bit of a lone wolf, a man who enjoys his own space and company, and is resourceful. He likes his independence so much that it is the source of his constant battle with Lisa, his mother! After many firsts during their sojourn at the ranch Jake and Adrien depart back to L.A. and we are left on an optimistic but fragile note of what their next step may be. No it doesn't end in a HEA and I love that. Because that would cheapen the journey these two are on. Because there are no true short cuts in life for things that are worthwhile. Because magic dick and magic kissing isn't a thing. Because sometimes love isn't enough particularly when you've yet to acknowledge it or more importantly when you don't even like yourself much less love yourself. And I'm kind of talking about both Adrien and Jake, in different degrees and in different aspects.Off in a hurry to Bk 3!!!
I've had this series in my sights seemingly forever and always kept postponing it because on a cellular level I knew that I was going to fall hard. How could I not?
Adrien English lives in modern day Los Angeles but could very well be a refugee from Raymond Chandler's time. There's murder, danger, the past which is never just the past and L.A.'s finest who are not always so fine and in this instance come in the form of Det. Chan and Det. Riordan the latter a mystery unto himself.
I should point out that this first installment is in fact not a romance, not in any traditional sense, and yet it is a foundational piece for what could be fingers crossed a great, life spanning romance.The mystery itself isn't too complex, especially if you've been an avid reader of the genre. The draw here is the world Adrien inhabits, populated by quirky and distinct individuals like Claude La Pierra, Adrien's mother Lisa and of course Adrien himself.
I love his dry sense of humor, the way he sees the world and his relationship to it. Adrien is a fully human character: curious, afraid, daring, flawed. Even when not a spoiler this is a murder mystery after all he comes face to face with the killer he remains a full fledged man. He fears for himself and yet he feels pity for the murderer, for what has brought him to this pass.
I had just cause to wait before jumping into this series because now I'm all in!!! On the plus side I think it may be complete and I won't have to be bitting my nails waiting. I'm eager to see how the relationship between Adrien and Riordan pans out. I'm hoping that it continues as untraditional as this first installment promises. there wasn't even a kiss in this one!
I added the audio via the Whispersync option and though the quality of the recording sometimes varied the performance by Chris Patton is fantastic. Every character's voice is precise and distinct and pitch perfect, even the voices for the women which can be harder for a male narrator.
Hmmm ... where to start? Well first things first you definitely need to read part 1 of The Dungeon Black Duology before reading this book because in reality this is really just one long (necessarily so) book split in two parts. Though Scott & Tad figure somewhat prominently here you could be a stranger to the Upending Tad series, but seriously why would you deny yourself such pleasure?
Okay that's enough of my stalling. I want to give a concise and helpful review for other readers but may just find myself doing Happy dance & fist bumps but I'll give it a go.
Revived starts exactly where Unearthed ended. Max is still trying to convince himself that his life will continue as it was, that Sean will just be his perfectly matched sub and nothing more. What Max hasn't counted on is who Sean is: strong, brave, resilient, curious, open minded and more importantly honest with himself, what his feelings are and willing to act on them. Man do these attributes come in handy when dealing with Max who can be, in his own words, a douche rocket. But is also worth fighting for and who and what Sean wants.
Due to his past Kevin's suicide Max has erected not just a wall but more like a whole fortress to shield himself from any future pain, because his problem isn't that he can't love but rather that when he loves he loves BIG as in ALL IN and loss is just something he can't deal with and so he lives but isn't alive.
Be prepared for Max being all sorts of a*hole in his efforts to keep Sean out and many times I wanted to grab a ball peen hammer and bash his brains in because Sean is just so perfect for him and wanting to be with him and even when he knows this is true he fights and resists with all he's got which sometime can be cruel as hell. He is the guy who will bring a gun to a knife fight.Like Sean you must have patience and persistence with Max because he is one stubborn S.O.B. and it takes every ounce of Sean's efforts with invaluable assists from Scott and even Tad and, the surprise player, Kai to get through to him.I won't lie, the book is long but not gratuitously so. Max's journey to finally letting himself be open and vulnerable i.e. to love and be loved in return is a long and hard one because he was so bound tight in his armor. There are some quite extended sex scenes mostly of the BDSM variety because duh! the story is about Max. He is a Dom. Period. In many books the sex scenes are just super sexy times or sometimes filler you can skim over if you want to. However Kora's guys and in this Duology particularly the sex is where the communication, be it verbal or otherwise, happens. Where true intimacy comes into play and not just because people are naked physically but because these are the moments when they are vulnerable and their souls are naked too. Open to be touched in their intimate core. Exposed. Good things come of this.Ultimately Sean is the hero of this story. The person who without any guarantees keeps putting his heart on a platter as an offering of love and if that isn't a hero I don't know what is. But I will say that Scott (my twin *wink) is the one to give Max the final push and that is so fitting because they are brothers in the purest sense, bound by love and shared experiences, even finding their happy roughly at the same time.
It was good to see Max finally forgive and set free his past because holding on to that misplaced anger had kept him isolated in a prison of his own making.
This book, and I mean Parts 1 & 2, will take you on a emotional but ultimately satisfying roller coaster of a ride. Because the hard won things are the ones we cherish the most and in their own way Max and Sean clawed their way to a HEA.
Thanks to Kora for delivering flawlessly on the promise of these two characters and keeping true to an original vision of this group of friends.
Extra points I did a happy dance every time I got a glimpse of Scott & Tad and how happy they are. The appearances of Jay, Marcie and Ned are icing on the cake and then we have the tasty bait of what will play out between Breck & Kai! Can't wait for that. Even Chad, his bat and his buddy we're a welcome sight and so I have one complaint: the guys that jumped Tad didn't get their ass beat. Maybe Kora can do us a solid and remedy that in the Breck & Kai story and also will Jonah & Ledger's story be a solo thing, a short or woven into the Breck & Kai story????
3.5 // Review may be spoilerish of the book and somewhat the series. The rating reflects what the author was going for vs. my enjoyment of it.This was/is super hard to rate. I think I see what Heidi is aiming at with this and in fact the whole series but this one in particular just didn't quite gel for me. Clearly this is an “issues” book and those are fine except when they feel like it. More problematic is the fact that it seems like at least three books in one and none of them wins. Within this series the author is really trying to embrace the spectrum of queer identified folks starting with the original Three Bears: Marcus, Arthur and Paul, masc, dom and sub and their respective future significant others. We have Frankie and Kyle, both femmie but quite different and then we have Gabriel the nerdy librarian on the outside but all kink on the inside. In fact the Arthur & Gabriel story was the one that worked best for me, the one that had me truly believing in their love story and being the most subversive couple they were also the strongest. So it makes sense that Heidi would hang or tag this story on them rather than create whole new characters, because really how many gay men can there be in tiny Logan? LOLThe story is summed up in the blurb and it picks up directly where [b:Winter Wonderland 25537817 Winter Wonderland (Minnesota Christmas, #3) Heidi Cullinan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1431619912s/25537817.jpg 45328363] left off and spans a whole year to the following Christmas ending in a quadruple wedding that will have you checking your teeth for new cavities but I won't knock that as it is ostensibly a Christmas story except that boy is this heavy at times for a Christmas story.The book means to cover A) abuse in all it's forms particularly when it happens to people we wouldn't think of as victims/survivors i.e. big burly masc men, even if they happen to be gay, B) polyamory in its diverse manifestations, C) kinks and the difference between them, consent & abuse. There is a lot of talk in this book and more talk which is laudable but perhaps a little exhausting in a Christmas Romance. I know. I'm mean. All of these issues don't quite add up to one good romance. Many people have had an issue with the Dale becoming part of a sort of triad with Arthur & Gabriel. They feel it's a betrayal of their HEA and that their subsequent delaying or canceling of foster parenting is somehow wrong. I had no issue with any of this as the unacknowledged truth at the end of romances is that people change, life goals change and that's not a bad thing. We know many of these post college couples won't stay together in the long run but we love the ideal.Gabriel & Arthur are way past their teenage years, they're grown men in their late 30's and approaching 40. It makes perfect sense for them to change their minds and pursue new dreams. Better to not be foster parents than bad ones. So my problem was not with the story but with the fact that I didn't quite believe the romance.The adding on of the Dale story line to Arthur & Gabriel felt more like a way of presenting a different form of sexuality (sometimes in bullet point form) than a true romance. The Ronny story, Dale's coming to terms with being a survivor, counseling, the whole town's acceptance of the LGBTQ community and on top of that a primer on development of rural areas thru art centers, the farm to table movement etc. was just tipping the scales too much. All of these issues are real but a romance book is something like a paper boat: beautiful & fragile and you can't overload it with too much story that doesn't flow organically. And here's another thing: it's really just a romance between Dale & Gabriel. Gabriel, who's milk shake by the way brings all the boys to the playground. That romance seems to burst out of nothing but a few looks between the two which kind of makes you question Gabriel's otherwise stated loyalty and love for Arthur. But who am I to say. It just seemed very insta-love to me. Oddly the one that is not a traditional romance or a romance at all, the relationship between Arthur & Dale is the most solid and believable of all the ones presented here. Partly this is because Arthur for me is a rock star and he even made me overcome my aversion of using BDSM as therapy, which he did do a bit of with Dale but also set him up for actual therapy. Arthur's relationship with Dale is one of a Dom for his sub and it is bursting with tangible affection and though not my kink by interstellar miles still the one I most believed and enjoyed.I would've preferred the series end with book 3 which was already a little shaky for me but this book is like vegetables for me: not my favorite but good nutrition. I just don't necessarily want it in my romance reads. Now I have to go find some dirty, possibly non-con fun. ;-)
3.75I guess this was the creme filling in this series. I generally liked it but mostly because I love the inhabitants of Logan and we get to visit with them and of course my favorite Corinna Anderson! Plus we get Kyle Parks and his whole wonderful family. Now as to the romance between Kyle & Paul ... meh? I liked it. I just never really bought it or the why of it. Sort of 70%??? In spite of protestations from both parties to the contrary it did feel a bit like convenience ... “love the one you're with” or close at hand which I'm not rejecting out of hand. Sometimes things work out like that and it's not a bad thing. Kyle's whole toppyness seems like more of a function of what Paul wants or needs and I guess maybe that is a sign of love: being what our beloved needs at any given moment. In truth I feel that a big part of Paul's sudden falling in love with Kyle had more to do with gaining the family love and acceptance that he always craved and finally being a “couple” within the greater family of gay men in Logan depicted in the series. As for Kyle he had been a goner for “beautiful Paul” since middle school and hey ... sometimes crushes come true and don't disappoint. ;-)So I'd say yes to this because it completes the story of The Three Bears except maybe not? See [b:Santa Baby 32930140 Santa Baby (Minnesota Christmas #4) Heidi Cullinan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1478657671s/32930140.jpg 53548065].
Maybe it's the season, maybe it's my mood or maybe it's that Heidi Cullinan is a sorceress in any case I loved this book and in spite of the harsh winters I'm considering moving to Logan.
Arthur Anderson isn't looking for a relationship and much less if it comes in the form of Gabriel Higgins the town librarian. Gabriel is tall, lanky, wears glasses, has numerous degrees, has curly longish hair, reserved to the point of seeming standoffish and definitely doesn't like anything about about Arthur. Arthur who is a bearded, red headed, stocky, bearish, shorter and seemingly oafish. And yet they are yin and yang, they key to the others lock and the only way they discover this is through the good offices of the most fabulous character I've come across in a long time, Corrina Anderson. (more on her later)
I loved being privy to Arthur's inner monologue which was alternately funny in the way he skewers inane things with common sense, poignant in how he thinks and cares about Thomas, and self reflective as he comes to care about Gabriel and wants to be the man he needs and wants.
Gabriel with his shame, self doubt and hurt after having experienced many different forms of rejection is, sadly, a more familiar character in M/M romances but no less endearing and lovable. He's also brave and heroic in unconventional ways.
However plain, everyday, small town Arthur is a true gem. I fell in love with him. Arthur shows love by taking care of those he loves with big gestures marriage proposal dressed as Santa on Main St. or by fixing your broken appliances. He can be bossy or dom-like if that's what Gabriel needs without fancy (sometimes fantastical) playrooms or a bunch of expensive toys. He is always who he is: a small town logger and mister-fix-it, hanging on to middle class with both hands. Those are the true unsung heroes of love.
Although the relationship develops pretty quickly it feels true and organic and I totally believed in the love between Arthur and Gabriel. They are adult men who are finally able to acknowledge and embrace dreams they'd kept at bay or never allowed themselves to have because they have found a home in each other and it's a beautiful thing.
And OMG Corrina Anderson!!! I want to move to Logan and become her best friend. When Corrina is on your side your life is bound to be better.
So hard to rate this book but I'm going to go by my level of enjoyment when I read it.3.75
You could go crazy reading this book and if you're doing so on an eReader risk destroying it by smashing it against the wall. To remedy this and by the way enjoy this book you need only do two things:
1. Listen to the audio by [a:Greg Tremblay|8108759|Greg Tremblay|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1484561919p2/8108759.jpg] recording under his [a:Greg Boudreaux|15087355|Greg Boudreaux|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] moniker.2. Suspend any and all associations to reality you'd expect in what is otherwise a contemporary M/M romance.
(I understand that somewhere down the road this series has shifters involved but there is no sign of it in this first book.)
Mateo is a trained assassin for some shadow government agency who of course only takes out “bad guys”. The only nod to shifterdom is Mateo's uncanny extra sense of danger. The person Mateo is assigned to take out on this occasion is Riley Flynn, owner of a company that make chips used in government intel. However after surveilling him for weeks Mateo can't find fault or deceit in the guy and ends up protecting him when a separate assassination is hatched and fails by unknown parties.
Spoilerish
During his surveillance, Mateo who is openly gay, goes to a club and in a dark room gets an anonymous BJ which of course is the best he's ever had and you can guess who the performer of said BJ is and how the rest of this goes. All this is fine as far as romances go where it goes bat shit crazy is how quickly Riley becomes a love sick clingy almost caricature creature out of an ‘80's bodice ripper. The insta-love was expected but the swapping of personalities threw me off. Add to the fact that apparently the whole outfit that Mateo works with is either gay or super gay accepting is to say the least unrealistic or wishful thinking.
In spite of all of this I found myself enjoying this nonsense. I do know that most of my enjoyment comes from Greg's performance but I'd be hypocritical denying that the author has sprinkled some kind of crack in here and I loved it.
So when you have a day that you want to just bask in pure nonsensical sexiness give this a go. If you go with the audio I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed.
This is a perfect warm blanket on a cold pre-Christmas day and a nice play on [b:A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings 5338 A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings Charles Dickens https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388952779l/5338.SY75.jpg 17348487], complete with a sort of Scrooge, a total Angel, and the true meaning of Christmas.Loved it :-)[a:Alex Freeman 4255004 Alex Freeman https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png]'s narration was quite nice but seems to have been recorded in a closet.
This was a quick fun read and even though after a few pages I realized it is the third in a series I had no problem getting into it.
It's one of those wishful thinking books but at this time of year I'm feeling more inclined to look at goodness or at least hope for it. Hope that there are Parker's out there for the Elis of the world.
There is a little nonsense from Eli, wondering if Parker is just being curious in spite of all his outward demonstrations to the contrary but it doesn't go on for long.
Like I said sweet and I may check out the previous books too so ... not bad.
Reread 12/11/16-12/12/6I read this last year and enjoyed it very much so when I saw the Audio I jumped to it and was not disappointed. [a:Michael Pauley 1302332 Michael Pauley https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] does an excellent job.I stand by my review. I would add the caveat that this does lean a little too strongly on the “I don't know if I'm gay I'm just attracted to you” trope. I give it a pass because these two, Indie & Daniel, are underage college boys embarking on their first grand love affair The romantic in me hopes they stay together growing and learning and becoming men able to confidently acknowledge themselves as gay men in love with each other. Originally read 11/19/15-11/19/5It all starts with a power outage and a freezing cold dorm room and the lives of Indie and Daniel are turned upside down. In a good way.Indie & Daniel are roommates and good friends but quite opposite. Indie comes from a loving middle class family in Florida. He's a little sheltered but not naive or weak. Daniel is a girl magnet jock from a more privileged background. He also has a stepmother from hell. This was a sweet first time love story with a virgin, some pretty intense family drama and GFY theme. But what prevailed was the sweetness and the inherent goodness of Indie in spite of his youth & inexperience that you believe in a HEA or since they are in college a HFN for the MC's and that Daniel couldn't have landed in a better place than with Indie and his family.
This was exactly what I needed to kick off my Christmas season!
Hank Holden and Sloane are seemingly opposites but perfectly so.
Outwardly Hank is the muscled straight jock and Sloane is, due to his upbringing, the sophisticated almost European. Opposites? Not so fast.
I loved everything about this: Sloane's lists about the mystery that is Hank, the back and forth between Hank & Sloane while planning the Christmas party, Micah's meddling, Karma & Lilith, Grinch. Hank & Sloane's mutual love of mysteries especially the PBS variety and that the eventual sexual relationship between our two boys is not what you might expect.
This is the perfect story of two young men getting to know each and themselves and the added sweet that it culminates during Christmas is just the icing on the cake.
I liked that the future is left wide open for these two and I'd love to see them down the road as grown men and fingers crossed together. In the meantime rereading this one may become a new Holiday tradition for me. ;-)
The audio by [a:Tristan Wright|8421246|Tristan Wright|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is very nice indeed.
3.5
If you enjoy 80's style Jackie Collins drama, and who doesn't?, you'll like this. [a:Devon McCormack|7327303|Devon McCormack|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1420651172p2/7327303.jpg] is a fun writer and he doesn't skimp on the fire works. Both of the MCs have issues to spare and thankfully they come together.
We have Tad an out and proud NFL player with a wild man rep who is quietly a caring individual but afraid to let his softer side show. Tad comes with a whole entourage of people with their own issues: his assistant Darren, his PR person Debra, his dad Kiernan who has pushed his son to an NFL career while wanting him to be less public about his love life, a nasty ex, a missing mother and a serial killer out to get him. Damn that is enough for three books!
Bryce is the FBI agent sent to be his undercover bodyguard and he too has a back story that makes him dismissive of his own self worth and thus willing to take a bullet. As I said DRAMA.
Yes the author uses three words when one will do but I enjoyed this. The Bodyguard is one of my favorite movies and also a favorite trope. Devon's penchant for more pays off handsomely during the scorching sex scenes. You get a real feel that these are two guys who at first are just f**king and enjoying it. The caring comes later and amen to that.
There is a lot of back and forth between these two but none of the misunderstandings last long and the make-ups are worth it.
Recommended***
If you want to fill an hour with some hot fun you can't go wrong with this book and the audio by [a:Sean Crisden 4531094 Sean Crisden https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] is quite a treat.This is the story of the porn star/rent-boy and the young shy virgin nerd but with a nice twist.Ty is the cocky, well endowed rent-boy who is more than confident of his attributes and his abilities.Andy is the shy, virgin, college student who hires Ty to teach him about sex so that if he ever gets a chance with his crush he'll know what to do. They fall for each and become more than client and trick which is no surprise but how the relationship develops is a nice twist. I enjoyed this very much and would be up for seeing these two in some future story.
Thank you to [a:Rhys Ford 4968409 Rhys Ford https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1308678470p2/4968409.jpg] and [a:Greg Tremblay 8108759 Greg Tremblay https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1484561919p2/8108759.jpg] for the Christmas gift for the fans of Cole & Jae-Min. These are small snippets of stories that happen within the stories, a couple of “interviews” and a couple of short stories that amplify and shine a different angle to what we know about Cole & Jae-Min, many times through the eyes of other characters in the books and it's a good thing. Definitely only for those who have read the entire McGinnis books and if you haven't done so I urge you to do yourself a favor and make this series your Christmas gift to yourself and then enjoy this freebie. Rhys & Greg are artists. Full stop.
Book #3 in the Sin City series in which Ethan continues to be our wide eyed babe in the woods and Max his Pygmalion/Svengali. I loved it!This installment is a little sweeter than the previous two and we get to see the natural progression of the relationship, much to Max's chagrin. The story with Harry, Lara and Jack just serves as a backdrop to the changes going on within Max & Ethan's lives. I think that the use of Harry as a prodder to get Max to talk or at least think about what relationships are, what love is, was an inspired choice by [a:Tricia Owens 953273 Tricia Owens https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1474564769p2/953273.jpg] as we don't have Ethan having to constantly confront Max. That would be averse to the D/s relationship that is mutually satisfying for both. The choice of Lovers In The Sky of Nice by Chagall as a leitmotif was truly inspired. I wish I were more technologically adept to add a pic of the painting as it is so very Ethan.Ethan is a sweet innocent who loves people deeply, feels sympathy and empathy, enjoys life without guile, comes in a hot package made to order for all of Max's kinks and yet is a man confident in his abilities who can and will protect and stand by those he loves and what he believes in. I almost felt bad for Max. One of my favorite songs is Something So Right by Paul Simon and in part the lyrics are:They got a wall in ChinaIt's a thousand miles longTo keep out the foreignersThey made it strongAnd I got a wall around meThat you can't even seeIt took a little timeTo get next to me...Some people never say the words“I love you”It's not their styleTo be so boldSome people never say those words“I love you”But like a child they're longing to be toldTo me this is Max to a T. Don't get me wrong. He's still a total Dom who gets off on submission and “torturing” his lover but Ethan wouldn't want him any other way.It would be a sin not to mention and praise to the rafters [a:Nick J. Russo 8141120 Nick J. Russo https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] for his excellent narration. The man is awesome. He's the reason why I'll wait for the audio to be available before I dive into the next book. But I will go on with this series. I'm happily hooked. ;-)
3.5So this happened.Heed the blurb. These are not love stories and the erotic part is stretching the boundaries of that word too. There is sex. Lots of it. None of it save a random kiss here or there having to do with love or tenderness. Not a criticism just a fact.The stories themselves [b:Cheating Bastard 28108424 Cheating Bastard (Bastards, #1) Devon McCormack https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449382699s/28108424.jpg 48116031] and [b:Lying Bastard 28665784 Lying Bastard (Bastards, #2) Devon McCormack https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1454163673s/28665784.jpg 48854612] are peopled by one evil guy and his satellites who are kind of dumb or naive i.e. “Cheating Bastard” or obsessed and blind to everything around them i.e. “Lying Bastard”.Over all if you're feeling “not nice” these two tales can fill out an hour or two and you'll be secure in the fact that there will be no Happy Ending much less HEA in spite of the dozens of orgasms on display. Pain will be meted out but not always the enjoyable kind and if you're a stickler for safety or even consent look elsewhere.One peeve though is that towards the end the villains do explain too much what they did when it was pretty obvious and needed little clarification.
4.75 because Graham & Rikker are still 5In spite of the Holiday interruptions I very much enjoyed this book. It's a very nice addition to the Ivy Years and we get to follow up on Bella whom we met in [b:The Understatement of the Year 22701480 The Understatement of the Year (The Ivy Years, #3) Sarina Bowen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1408448387s/22701480.jpg 42221194].Bella is that sex positive girl who owns her sexuality and in spite of some rough spots with her family and being the bearer of a broken heart not once but twice still walks comfortable in her skin as well she should until an encounter with some a**holes at the now infamous Beta Rho fraternity. Her semester of woe is made bearable by the support and company of Rafe, her hot soccer player (not her sport) neighbor whom she'd had a brief encounter with when he too was going through a rough break up.I love so many things about this but number one was a representation of a young Dominican man who's not a womanizer, baseball player or drug dealer. He is kind, smart and brave when and where it counts. He works hard for his grades and for what he wants. He's loyal, gentlemanly and old fashioned but no pushover. In brief he reminded me of my brothers. I feel that Sarina Bowen got most aspects of a latino family, specifically in this case a Dominican family right, particularly the food at the restaurant. She also does a good job explaining why Rafe is still a virgin, however here comes my “but” ... the Spanish interjections that pepper Rafe's inner monologues or out loud speech just don't ring true for a kid born and raised here. Nope. I'm that person and so are my siblings and cousins and no we don't think or talk like that. We just don't. I'm not mad though because I get why the author does it. She wants to make his heritage visible/palpable but it's really not necessary. We already know. Also though the Spanish is correct some things are just said differently than just a translation. For example: Rafe's mother is telling him to “be good” so the book says the very correct translation of “sé bueno” but a Dominican mom would say “pórtate bien” which is more akin to “behave” but it is what my mom, aunts or grandmothers would always say. But as I said these are minor things that detract very little to none from an otherwise lovely representation of a Latino male. And after that whole nonsense I must say I also loved Bella for being her smart sassy self even when the world tries to push her down and for not wanting or waiting to be rescued but rather grabbing the reins of her life. True she has friends and a kick-ass boyfriend to prop her up but the girl is fierce and I love her for it.Brava [a:Sarina Bowen 7737308 Sarina Bowen https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1402702789p2/7737308.jpg] for turning what could have been a PSA into a sweet and moving story. It was nice to check in with Graham & Rikker and quite frankly I was hoping Rafe's roommates, Mat & Bickley, would get it on too LOL. There aren't many blanket “bad person” characters so we get why Alison did what she did and once again like in [b:Blonde Date 22444651 Blonde Date (The Ivy Years, #2.5) Sarina Bowen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1402259691s/22444651.jpg 41871835] we get a glimpse of the intriguing mess that is Dash McGibb. Dare we hope his story is in the works???? I'd read it.***Like most of these books I enjoyed the audio too except that though [a:Nick Podehl 2803557 Nick Podehl https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1294338060p2/2803557.jpg] totally rocks as Rafe his spanish is accented which sucks and the real craw is the pronunciation of belleza like Italian. The double LL in Spanish is pronounced more lie a Y as in Yes. Minor stuff but just saying.***
What can I say? I love Vic and by extension Jacob. I had read and perhaps even reviewed many of these shorts but it's nice to have them all in one volume.I love how Jordan uses these shorts not as filler but as ways to illuminate parts of Vic's past, personality or his relationship with Jacob that wouldn't work well in the longer novels. My favorites are the ones that seem like little throw away moments such as [b:Memento 27393518 Memento (PsyCop, #6.2) Jordan Castillo Price https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446209033l/27393518.SY75.jpg 47438608] where we get the double pleasure of glimpsing a teenage Vic having a moment of happiness and seeing him thru Jacob's eyes which is always a treat. Because Vic is always so self-deprecating & so good at it we sometimes end up believing that he is a bumbling, gangly mess and not the efficient, enigmatic, tall cool drink of water that Jacob and the world at large sees and recognizes. I loved them all but special mention for [b:Everyone's Afraid of Clowns 48643418 Everyone's Afraid of Clowns (PsyCop, #9.5) Jordan Castillo Price https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572447194l/48643418.SY75.jpg 73985086] where we see Jacob lose his cool and Vic be the level headed one and Witness where Vic's undeniable empathy comes to the fore making him succeed at something he isn't even trying for. [b:Thaw 6971098 Thaw (PsyCop, #1.1) Jordan Castillo Price https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1255348766l/6971098.SX50.jpg 7210657] has always been one of my favorites because a happy Vic doing something he's unexpectedly good and Jacob falling in love with him is a palpable and beautiful thing. I could go on but I'll add one last mention: [b:The Stroke of Midnight 7421869 The Stroke of Midnight (PsyCop, #3.1) Jordan Castillo Price https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1273849168l/7421869.SY75.jpg 9376692] because it's a Jacob POV story in which his insecurities & doubts make an appearance and we get the Keith story too. That last scene when Vic comes home for quick New Year's kiss??? It slays me every single time I read it. happy sigh
I don't know if I'll be able to write a coherent review without gushing or spilling the proverbial beans so I'll just say right off that I freakin' loved this book. Hard. My read included the audio done by [a:Teddy Hamilton 15007880 Teddy Hamilton https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Chris Fox 477457 Chris Fox https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Those two are artists in their own right. Genius. I'm not a huge YA/NA reader but I started this series by [a:Sarina Bowen 7737308 Sarina Bowen https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1402702789p2/7737308.jpg] and I haven't been disappointed but rather more than pleasantly surprised. The first two installments and the novella that sits between these two and [b:The Understatement of the Year 22701480 The Understatement of the Year (The Ivy Years, #3) Sarina Bowen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1408448387s/22701480.jpg 42221194] are MFs and though you don't need to read them before this book I would still highly recommend them and they'd probably give you some depth and background to some of the characters and events in this book. This book!!! The story was told in just the right tone. Some awful things have happened and both Rikker and Graham go through their respective hard roads but there isn't one note of stridency or PSA about the whole thing much less mushy sweetness. These young men wouldn't stand for that. I loved these two guys. I loved how Rikker really just wants to play hockey and though that meant wadding through the ugliness the game against Saint B's, Big-D etc. he walks proud every day, lacing up and dealing with being ignored or getting attention for the wrong reason i.e. being gay.Poor Graham. I just wanted to hug him so tight. This kid had made a prison for himself, afraid of just existing for fear of being different, rejected or unloved and that is the true tragedy, horror and injustice of people being assessed or judged because of who they love. So sad.This is really Graham's story of self acceptance and what a lucky guy he is to have the parents he does, the friends he has (even if he doesn't know it at first) and to be so well and unconditionally loved by Rikker. When these two finally come together you'll swoon with joy for two fictional characters who have come alive on the pages of Sarina Bowen's novel.This book was note perfect. There are moments that will make you rage and others that made me tear up in joy the game against Vermont and characters you'll fall in love with i.e. Bella, Grandma Rikker, Mrs. G. But what really shines through loud and clear like a palpable sun is the love and rightness of that love between Rikker & Graham. On a side note a nice surprise was unlike what you'd have thought Rikker is the predominant top, in the bedroom at least, not shy about being bossy and Graham loves it.My only two ‘complaints' are I want more about these two and it seems to be a thing in sports books and perhaps it's true in real life that guys refer to each other by their surnames. Odd. The guys are Johnny and Mike to their families.
This was a short but sweet college-friends to adult-lovers story and though it was nice I just felt meh?
Nick and Kevin were friends in college where they bonded over being the “out” guys in the soccer team. Nick had a massive crush/true love on Kevin during college but refused to be another one night stand so on the last day of school he refuses Kevin's advances and walks out of his life. Fast forward ten years later and the two meet again at Nick's bar/restaurant in Asheville, N.C. when Kevin comes to town for work. Nick has alway regretted his decision but he still wants a deeper connection than lust to have sex .... and that's sort of were he lost me.
It just felt like Nick was a little judgy to the point of almost slut shaming and yet at one point he and Kevin go to a club and all bets are off, but of course he has the “tequila” excuse. I mean he made-out with Kevin at every opportunity and would then back off in a huff of “go about your one night stands slut” without ever really hearing what Kevin was saying. Nick came off as the virginal but sassy girl in historicals for whom the rogue earl must mend his philandering ways and come begging on bended knee.
The issues with Kevin's family are mentioned but then never explored while we get the whole Jenny story with her ex and kids when no one cared about that but ... oh yeah that whole bit of business just makes Nick all the more saintly good guy. Spare me.
Sorry this is a little ranty but though I appreciated and sort of liked the story I just found Nick annoying, a little like my vegan friends which is odd because he's a vegetarian. We never got to see or hear anything from Kevin's POV except for the final I have loved you since college, love you now, let's get married ending.
However the writing is very good and I do like Vanessa North so maybe this was a wrong story-wrong day kind of stuff.
