Anticipating Disaster by Silvia Violet

Nice-guy Oliver enjoys his quiet bookish life – so he’s less than thrilled to be attending a family reunion at a ski resort. He braves the frigid temperatures and disapproving attitudes of his extended family to please his grandmother, who he adores.

Irresistibly sexy bisexual outdoorsman David is in town to help his friend mend a broken heart. While his bestie distracts himself with a pair of slope bunnies, David sets his sights on klutzy Oliver, offering to give him private ski lessons.

Flirtation leads to friendship and to David accompanying Oliver to some of the planned reunion activities. When certain family members mock Oliver’s nerdish tendencies, David fiercely defends him. Can’t they see how smart and sweet and kind he is?

To give Oliver a vacation from his relatives, David takes Oliver to Anticipation, the picture-perfect mountain town that he calls home.

The more time that our heroes spend together, the more they think this might just be the real deal. The problem is that neither one of them does casual relationships. David has his life in Anticipation and Oliver has his life back in Florida with his grandmother.

A long-distance arrangement doesn’t seem particularly practical and they sadly part ways.

Oliver returns to his real life and, after some time apart from David, he realizes (with some help from grandma) that his quiet existence might be more about hiding from life than truly living it.

He decides that David is well-worth the risk and heads back to Anticipation to start a new adventurous chapter in his life story.

I really enjoyed Anticipating Disaster. The author takes some familiar character types and story tropes and crafts a really compelling story, while at the same time giving the romance her own twist.

The set-up might be pure category romance, but let’s be real, this is a Silvia Violet book, so you know that the heat level is going to be cranked up to 11.

Oliver has a penchant for lacy undergarments and, over the course of the story, David discovers he likes cute guys with a penchant for lacy undergarments – like, A LOT.

Also, in the bedroom, David has a talent for turning some particularly filthy turns-of phrase. So the time our that heroes spend together do not disappoint – these aren’t the kinds of sex scenes you’ll skim over!

This book is the first in a series with the quaint town of Anticipation serving as the backdrop for future installments. A few side characters are introduced in Anticipating Disaster and I look forward to the new romances that will unfold in upcoming books.

This review originally appeared as part of episode 193 of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.

Seriously H*rny and Dangerously H*rny (Redneck Unicorns Books 1&2) by Piper Scott and Susi Hawke

In Seriously Horny, unicorn shifter Isaiah is pure white trash. How do we know? We’re introduced to him as he’s settling in for the evening, in his trailer with a bottle of his pappy’s moonshine – but he’s also an expert tracker. He’s tasked with finding a missing teenage dragon shifter.

He runs into the kid’s college age brother, Eric, an irresistible dragon omega. They go to search together for Eric’s brother. One night, in a motel room they give in to their desire, and trust me, the scene lives up to the book’s title.

Eric has the power of second sight, kind of like Faye Dunaway in Eyes of Laura Mars, and he ‘sees’ where his brother lays injured. Isaiah and Eric find him and bring him back to the dragon compound where he can heal from his injuries.

Eric is with child after his night with Isaiah, and months later we find our heroes happily in love with the beginnings of a new family.

In Dangerously Horny, unicorn shifter Bo Luke finally gets up the nerve to tell Mitch just how he feels. But a broken-down dragon is a less than ideal match for someone so young.

The rejection hits Bo Luke hard and he runs off, straight into the clutches of a crazed woman who has uncovered the secret of the unicorn clan, and desperately wants to touch Bo Luke’s horn – and yes, that euphemism means exactly what you think it means.

Mitch and some of his dragon buddies are sent to find Bo Luke. They rescue him and subdue his kidnapper.

Because this is a paranormal shifter Mpreg romance, omega Bo Luke finds himself in an uncomfortable situation, and alpha Mitch is the only one who can scratch his particular itch.

They fuck and it’s hot and amazing and (of course) totally magical. Mitch’s misgivings were unfounded, they are now fated mates.

While waiting for their child to be born, Bo Luke’s stalker escapes custody and attempts to kidnap her unicorn obsession once more. In an action sequence that I thought was particularly bad-ass, Mitch and the entire dragon clan literally reign down fire upon her, rescuing Bo Luke once again.

The story wraps up with a hilarious scene in which our heroes experience a very memorable wedding/birthday.

The covers of these books tell you everything you need to know. The hot cover models clue you in to the sexy times ahead, while the titles, which are decidedly camp, tell you that these romances are also about the humor – humor with heart.

I loved both of these stories and think they’re a fantastic way to kick of the new series.

While ‘Redneck Unicorns’ is a continuation of the author’s previous dragon series, they stand alone just fine.

This review originally appeared as part of episode 192 of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.