Reviews

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.

The Athlete and the Aristocrat by Louisa Masters

The athlete of the title is Simon Wood, a world-renowned, but now retired, footballer. And by footballer I mean soccer player.

He’s putting all his time and effort into a new sports charity for underprivileged kids. He gets the backing he needs from the Morel Corporation, with the proviso that Lucien Morel (the aristocrat of the title) serve as business consultant.

Lucien suggests Simon fly with him with him to Monaco for the weekend. They can work on the plane and discuss business plans for the charity for a few days. The chemistry and connection between them is almost immediate, and it’s not long before they tumble into bed together.

They enjoy a wonderful few months of being “co-workers-with-benefits”, keeping everything on the down-low, fearing that any appearance of impropriety would reflect poorly on the charity. That still doesn’t stop them from falling hard for one another and dreaming of a future together.

The charity launch is a resounding success and, just as they’re about to go public with their relationship, a grotesque tabloid story comes out, threatening everything they’ve worked so hard to achieve.

Things, of course, are eventually resolved. What Louisa Masters did with this particular ending left me deeply satisfied as a reader. The kind of ending that makes you simile and sigh because it’s so utterly, completely perfect.

The thing I loved the most about The Athlete and the Aristocrat is the small, cute, intimate moments that Simon and Lucien shared throughout the book on their way to their HEA. It made them more real. Both of our heroes are insanely handsome, wildly successful, and inordinately wealthy – but it’s how they treat each other during their everyday “regular” lives that humanizes them, and makes you root for their love story.

While this book isn’t officially part of a series, it does share a story world with the author’s previous book, The Bunny and the Billionaire. In that book, Leo (Lucien’s best friend) falls for Australian tourist Ben. Leo and Ben both make an appearance in The Athlete and the Aristocrat and are an important part of the story.

The standard series caveat applies, both books can be read as a stand-alone, but you might get more out of it if you’ve read both. Which is what I recommend, simply because both stories are terrific.

Kudos to the audiobook narrator Seb Yarrick. The book is chock full of international accents (Lucien is French, Simon is British, Ben is Australian). He does a wonderful job. If audio is your thing, I recommend you check it out.

This review originally appeared as part of episode 190 of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.

American Fairytale by Adriana Herrera

When Camilo, a NYC social worker, goes to an absurdly swanky charity event that his boss can’t attend, he’s intent on enjoying the special evening, which includes chatting up the hottie he meets at the bar. After a few drinks and some suggestively flirty banter, he and Mr. hot stuff find a dark corner and make the night truly memorable.

The next morning, Camilo’s boss introduces him to Tom, the millionaire who’ll be financing their agency’s major renovation project. Tom also happens to be Camilo’s hot charity gala hook-up from the night before.

Aware how awkward the situation is, Tom agrees to keep things strictly professional from now on, but also asks that Milo be the point man on the project, keeping him up-to-date on the renovations.

Their weekly meetings begin to look more and more like dates – a meal at a fancy restaurant, a walk through the botanical gardens. Camilo is no fool, but as he gets to know Tom better – he’s certainly not your average philanthropic millionaire, there is more than meets the eye – the pretense of “keeping things professional” begins to hold less and less appeal.

When they can no longer deny the attraction, Tom takes Milo back to his place. The sex is amazing (of course), but the afterglow is short-lived when Tom’s ex drops buy with their daughter.

Tom shares custody of Libertad, his daughter, with his former husband. Learning of all of this (which Tom failed to mention up until that point) briefly throws Milo for a loop, but it’s hard to resist the precocious the little girl, and Milo falls even harder for the millionaire and his ready-made family.

A situation with Milo’s mom has him taking on more work and financial responsibility and, in addition to that, he’s working overtime as the massive renovation project is wrapping up.

He’s stretched almost to the breaking point. When Tom offers to help, the fiercely independent Milo insists he has it all under control.
Tom quietly takes care of things. It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission, right? In this case, no.

Camilo is furious.

As a reader, it’s hard not to feel frustrated by Milo’s stubborn streak. Your boyfriend is a millionaire for god’s sake! Get over yourself!

But it eventually becomes clear that Milo is, of course, right. Tom’s intervention robbed Milo of his own autonomy. It’s Milo’s choice whether or not to ask for help – no one else’s.

This is a deal-breaker for Milo and it causes a major rift in their relationship. Tom has to find a way to fix things, by doing the hard work and not using his money to solve their problems.

This is a romance, so Tom figures things out, and pulls off a grand gesture that is less grand, and more heartfelt and considerately thoughtful – which is exactly what Milo needed.

It all wraps up with swoon-worthy family vacation to the Dominican Republic.

American Fairytale is terrific read from a noteworthy new author.

This review originally appeared as part of episode 188 of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.

An Easter Promise by AE Ryecart

This is the continuing story of Rory and Jack, who we first met in the holiday story, A Kiss Before Christmas.

In that story, Jack finds the homeless Rory huddled on his doorstep and offers him a place to stay. As they learn more about one another, Jack asks Rory to pose as his fake boyfriend when he goes home for the holidays. An unexpectedly severe winter storm prevents them from that trip, but in the few days they’ve been together they’ve fallen in love.

I read A Kiss Before Christmas last year, and I still highly recommend it.

In An Easter Promise, it’s now Spring and our two heroes are finally making the trip to visit Jack’s family in his ancestral manor house in the countryside.

This is a particularly nerve-wracking experience for Rory, whose childhood couldn’t have been more different than Jack’s well-heeled upbringing.

Things go relatively well as Jack shows Rory around the expansive estate, but they then get frosty when Jack’s mom makes it clear that she believes that Rory is after her son’s money.

Gold-digging accusations aside, as a favor to her, Rory steps in as a last-minute contestant in the Best Bake competition at the village festival. Though his brownies were obviously the best, he doesn’t win.

Afterwards, Jack announces that he and his culinarily gifted boyfriend are going into business together and are opening a bakery.

This once again raises the suspicion that Rory is only after Jack for his money, causing a major rift in family relations.

Jack tells his mom where she can stick her suspicions, and is ready to return to London, but when Rory takes the family dog for a walk, he gets lost on the moors in a sudden storm. If reading fiction set in the U.K. has taught me anything, it’s that going for a walk on the moors is always a bad idea.

The family organizes a search party and journeys into the dark night to find Rory. He is eventually found, and Jack makes amends with his parents.

Flash forward a few months to the opening of the bakery and the beginning of a new chapter for our romantic heroes.

I really like both of the stories featuring Rory and Jack and sincerely hope that this isn’t the last that we’ll see of them. The opening of the bakery certainly presents several new story possibilities.

A.E. Ryecart, if you’re reading this, I’m a fan and a continuing series set in this world would be greatly appreciated.

This review originally appeared in episode 186 of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.

Under His Protection by LaQuette

This book literally starts with a bang when one of our main characters, assistant DA Camden, is nearly blown up by a car bomb. In order to keep him safe, he’s put in protective police custody.

Unfortunately, the man watching over Cam is the memorable one night stand he walked away from five years ago, a guy named Elisha. Sequestered away in Elisha’s Westchester house, our two heroes must come to grips with the attraction that still, after all this time, is still there.

As things start to become more romantic, the situation becomes even more complicated when Elisha’s family shows up for a weekend visit. They assume that the two of them are a couple and Cam and Elijah play along since it’s too dangerous to explain why Cam is hiding out at Elijah’s house.

Over the course of the weekend Cam can’t help but fall for Elisha and his wonderfully crazy family.

You might think things get a little too close for comfort with our two heroes and the family all in one house. Elisha has a very small apartment in his attached garage. They escape there every once in a while for some truly superduper scorching sex. The chemistry between these characters is very real and very palatable.

As the weekend winds down, there’s an unfortunate kidnapping attempt by a crazy religious group and Cam sacrifices himself in order to save Elisha’s mom.

Camden ends up in hospital and, unfortunately, his father arrives on the scene. Camden’s life has essentially been controlled by his father, who’s had his sons life planned out from my birth to death. It’s essentially how Cam has lived his entire life.

The expectations of his father are part of the reason why he walked away from Elisha five years ago. Having a sexy one night fling, and living a life with an average guy like Elisha just wasn’t in the plan.

After experiencing the possibility of loving a man like Elisha and realizing the wonderful possibilities of a fun and fulfilling family life, he tries to stand up to his father.

Cam’s father puts a stop to everything, setting up some genuinely insurmountable roadblocks to our heroes and their happiness.

With the help of Elisha’s police chief friend, Cam concocts a way to outwit his father and get out from under his thumb, so that he Elisha can live happily ever after.

I don’t know if I can adequately find the correct words, or enough adjectives to tell you how much I loved Cam and Elisha’s story. It’s  just really damn good. One of my favorites of 2019 so far!  

I hope it’s obvious that I really enjoyed Under His Protection by LaQuette and I highly recommend that everyone give it a read.

This review originally appeared as part of episode 184 of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.

Arctic Sun by Annabeth Albert

While his uncle is recuperating from minor surgery, Alaskan bush pilot Griffin is tasked with taking a tour group into the wilds of Alaska. One of the group is River, former male model-turned inspirational travel writer, who’s gathering material for his next book.

There’s an immediate attraction and chemistry between them and over the course of the week, as they spend more time together, they fall for one another.

One of the many things that drew me into Artic Sun, is that Griff and River two interesting, compelling, genuinely dimensional characters, with actual lives. And by that, I mean that they’re not just cardboard cut-outs going through the motions, playing out a standard romantic plotline.

They’ve both faced challenges in the past, overcome them, and – through emotionally intelligent conversations — work to figure out how they can move forward together.

After the tour is over, they make plans to meet in Vancouver. River is going to be hanging out with some old friends from his modeling days, and Griff’s visit is a kind of “real world” road test to see if their relationship can work. It’s of course a total disaster.

The old friends bring out triggering scenarios for both Griff and River. Their true “Real World” was the connection they shared in the wilds of Alaska, not fancy date night restaurants or going to exclusive clubs. The problem is that they’re using relationship criteria from their screwed-up pasts to judge their current situation.

They realize this far too late and break things off.

They each take some time apart and do some soul searching, River about his family history and public persona and how it relates to his work, and Griff about how he interacts with the outside world and family’s tour business.

Griff makes his way to L.A. for the premiere of the film based on River’s book. The things they each want and need out of life are actually more aligned than they first realized.

They can live, love and work surrounded by the nature that gives each of them so much joy.

Griff and River are two relatable, likable, strong, but flawed characters that I totally fell in love with. I can’t recommend Arctic Sun highly enough.

This review originally appeared in episode 183 of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.