Platonic Rulebook (Divorced Men’s Club #2) by Saxon James (audiobook) – Narrated by Nick J. Russo

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

Griff:

Walking away from my marriage was my idea of a fresh start.

My kid is in college, my ex-wife and I are on good terms…but being single in my 40s is a world different to being single in my teens.

I’m thankful for my best friend, Heath. He’s got my back like he always does and is ready to take me out and show me how the bachelor life is done.

He was never supposed to show me literally.

After we wake up in bed together, I can’t stop looking at him differently, and one thing becomes abundantly clear.

I talk a big talk about wanting to be single, but my platonic rule book has gone out the window.

Heath:

When my best friend comes to me for help post-divorce, I’m only too happy to impart my wisdom to him.

After all, Griffin isn’t my type, but even I can tell he’s a complete lumbersnack. Good with his hands, kind eyes, and a killer smile. All the guys and gals are gonna eat him alive.

But the more time we spend together, the less “not my type” he becomes. I’m the one who can’t get enough of him.

Neither of us is interested in a relationship, so what’s a little fun between friends?

We both know the score.

Rating: Narration – B+; Content – C-

Platonic Rulebook is the second book in Saxon James’ Divorced Men’s Club series, but I don’t think it’s necessary to read or listen to any of the others as each book features a different couple. It’s a best-friends-to-lovers story and I liked that it features two guys in their early forties as leads, but overall, it’s bland, the protagonists have little chemistry and their relationship stays pretty much the same as it’s always been except for the addition of sex to the mix. I was pleased to find that it isn’t one of those ‘I’ve been pining for you forever’ stories; it’s clear that Griff and his soon-to-be-ex-wife had a good marriage, and there’s no sense that Griff was lusting after Heath during it, but the obstacles in their way are so obviously going to be easily surmounted, and I never felt there was much at stake for either character.

But there were, however, a few things about the story that really grated on me.

First. When Griff tells his close friendship group – the DMC (Divorced Mens Club) he and his wife have split up, they’re all about him getting out there and getting it on with someone, going out clubbing and having lots of casual sex, because it’s something he’s never done. He’s spent twenty years married to a woman, but they all think he should be hooking up with men – Griff is bisexual – because he’s never done that, either. It’s very clear that Griff isn’t comfortable with the idea of hooking up in general, and yet they still try to push him into it. I’m so over interfering friends in romances – it’s not funny, it’s not cute, it’s not kind and most of all, it’s not being a friend. When they all turn up at the shopping trip Heath has organised so Griff can get himself some trendy clothes, even though Griff had specifically told them to stay away, I wanted to push them all off a cliff.

Second. Griff and Poppy decide not to tell their son, Felix, that they’re splitting up because he’s a bit highly strung and they don’t want to put him off his stride in his final year of high-school. So they put their lives on hold for a year and outright lie to him, and still haven’t told him the truth by the time he heads off to college. Not wanting him to find out from gossip, they haven’t told anyone else they’re divorcing, either, so when Griff and Heath do get together, they have to keep things very much on the downlow so a) Felix doesn’t find out and b) everyone else doesn’t think Griff is cheating on Poppy. It’s ridiculous – they think lying to their adult kid is better than telling him the truth.

And third – Felix. What a brat.

Nick J. Russo is one of my go-to narrators, but he seems to be a bit off his game here, because there were times I couldn’t tell if I was in Griff or Heath’s PoV because they sound too similar. He does, however convey the depth of the warmth and affection that exists between the two leads, he differentiates clearly between the secondary cast, and his portrayals of Poppy and Felix are excellent (his female voices are always good). He’s great in the sex scenes, but sadly, even he can’t save them from being just ‘meh’.

This is my first book by Saxon James, and it will probably be my last. Contemporary romance, in general, has become so bland and same-y that I tend to stick to the few tried and trusted authors I know can deliver stories with nuanced, interesting plots and characters. Clearly, I should have remembered that before I picked up Platonic Rulebook.

The Mechanics of Lust (Mackenzie Country #2) by Jay Hogan (audiobook) – Narrated by Gary Furlong

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

I broke the rules and fell in love with my best friend. Newsflash. He didn’t feel the same. I had to stand by and watch him fall for someone else. Moving on hasn’t been easy since we all live and work on the same high country sheep station, but I’m finally getting there.

I’m building a new life, a new set of dreams, planning a different future, just me and my dogs. The last thing I need is Luke Nichols, the sexy, enigmatic, ex-husband of my nemesis, filling my head with a laundry list of cravings. Talk about complicated.

Luke is only in Mackenzie Country for a few months and I’m not about to put my heart on the line again just for a little fun. But the more I’m around Luke, the harder it is to remember exactly why Luke and I are a bad idea, the worst idea.

Things between us are about to go nuclear. Maybe I’m wrong.

Maybe we can keep it simple.

Maybe I can satisfy my cravings and hold on to my heart.

And maybe pigs can fly.

Rating: Narration – A; Content – A

Jay Hogan’s series of romances set in the remote sheep country of the (fictional) Mackenzie Basin continues with The Mechanics of Lust, a poignant, emotional story of two men who have been grieving, in different ways, the loss of family and struggling to make sense of changes in their lives. As with all this author’s books, the leads are likeable and well-characterised, and the situations they face and their reactions to them feel very real; there’s a great supporting cast of familiar faces and the author’s descriptions of the starkly beautiful scenery are enough to have you looking at the price of plane tickets.

Note: This review contains spoilers for the previous book in the series.

It’s been a year since shepherd and dog trainer Zach Lane came out and left behind his home, his family and the future he’d envisaged for himself because he wasn’t prepared to live a lie any longer. And it’s been a tough year; after Zach left Lane Station, his bestie and former friend-with-benefits Holden Miller offered him a home, but that proved to be its own kind of torture when Zach had to stand by and watch as Holden fell for Gil Everton, a grieving father and psychologist from Wellington who had taken a temporary job on the station. It was hard, but as time passed, Zach began to like Gil; he can see how happy Gil makes Holden and how right they are for each other, and lately, he’s found himself envying what they have rather than envying Gil for being Holden’s choice.

You can read the rest of this review at AudioGals.

What Cannot Be Said (Sebastian St. Cyr #19) by C.S. Harris

This title may be purchased from Amazon

July 1815: The Prince Regent’s grandiose plans to celebrate Napoléon’s recent defeat at Waterloo are thrown into turmoil when Lady McInnis and her daughter Emma are found brutally murdered in Richmond Park, their bodies posed in a chilling imitation of the stone effigies once found atop medieval tombs. Bow Street magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy immediately turns to his friend Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, for help with the investigation. For as Devlin discovers, Lovejoy’s own wife and daughter were also murdered in Richmond Park, their bodies posed in the same bizarre postures. A traumatized ex-soldier was hanged for their killings. So is London now confronting a malicious copyist? Or did Lovejoy help send an innocent man to the gallows?

Aided by his wife, Hero, who knew Lady McInnis from her work with poor orphans, Devlin finds himself exploring a host of unsavory characters from a vicious chimney sweep to a smiling but decidedly lethal baby farmer. Also coming under increasing scrutiny is Sir Ivo McInnis himself, along with a wounded Waterloo veteran—who may or may not have been Laura McInnis’s lover—and a charismatic young violinist who moonlights as a fencing master and may have formed a dangerous relationship with Emma. But when Sebastian’s investigation turns toward man about townBasil Rhodes, he quickly draws the fury of the Palace, for Rhodes is well known as the Regent’s favorite illegitimate son.

Then Lady McInnis’s young niece and nephew are targeted by the killer, and two more women are discovered murdered and arranged in similar postures. With his own life increasingly in danger, Sebastian finds himself drawn inexorably toward a conclusion far darker and more horrific than anything he could have imagined.

Rating: B+

C.S. Harris’ long-running series of historical mysteries feauturing aristocratic amateur sleuth Sebastian St. Cyr reaches its nineteenth instalment with What Cannot Be Said, in which our hero is asked to investigate the murder of a noblewoman and her daughter. With the mysteries around Sebastian’s own heritage and family circumstances now resolved, the last few novels in the series (as well as this one) have more of a standalone feel about them – although I do think it’s an advantage to have some knowledge of what has gone before.

It’s a sunny afternoon in July, 1815, and two brothers are in Richmond Park enjoying an afternoon away from the hubbub at home caused by their sister’s upcoming wedding. When the air is rent by two pistol shots, they immediately wonder if there’s a duel happening and race to find out, but they’re completely unprepared for what they find – a woman and a girl lying in the grass next to the remains of a picnic, their arms crossed over their bloodied chests, their bodies feet-to-feet and the air filled with the stench of fresh blood and burnt gunpowder.

The two victims are Lady Laura McInnis and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Emma, but more disturbing even than the murders themselves is the way the bodies have been posed in exactly the same way as the victims of another double murder fourteen years earlier, that of Julia and Madeline Lovejoy – the wife and seventeen-year-old daughter of Sir Henry Lovejoy, Bow Street Magistrate. But their killer, a traumatised ex-soldier, was apprehended and hanged for the crime – so could these latest murders be the work of a cruel copycat? Or, as Lovejoy is beginning to fear, could they have executed the wrong man?

You can read the rest of this review at All About Romance.

TBR Challenge – Imperfect Harmony by Jay Northcote

This title may be purchased from Amazon

Imperfect harmony can still be beautiful…

John Fletcher, a former musician, is stuck in limbo after losing his long-term partner two years ago. He’s shut himself off from everything that reminds him of what he’s lost. When his neighbour persuades him to join the local community choir, John rediscovers his love of music and finds a reason to start living again.

Rhys Callington, the talented and charismatic choir leader, captures John’s attention from the first moment they meet. He appears to be the polar opposite of John: young, vibrant, and full of life. But Rhys has darkness in his own past that is holding him back from following his dreams.

Despite the nineteen-year age gap, the two men grow close and a fragile relationship blossoms. Ghosts of the past and insecurities about the future threaten their newfound happiness. If they’re going to harmonise in life and love as they do in their music, they’ll need to start following the same score.

Rating: B

Jay Northcote’s Imperfect Harmony turned out to fit this month’s “No Place Like Home” prompt in several different ways. Not only has one of the lead characters recently returned to his former home town, but also, it’s set in the UK (my home), the two leads are musicians (so am I) and one of them is a music teacher (ditto), so the setting felt very familiar to me on many levels.

John Fletcher lost his partner of over two decades a couple of years before the story begins, and he’s still struggling to come to terms with it. He’s just going through the motions day to day, existing rather than living, and has deliberately shied away from something he dearly loves – making music – because it reminds him too much of David and happier times. Around a year later, his mother became ill and John moved back to the family home in the small Cotswold town of Lambury to care for her, which he did until her death months earlier, so to say the last couple of years have been difficult for him is an understatement.

His neighbour, Maggie, is recovering from a having a hip replacement, so John offers to drive her to her weekly choir practice. Along the way, she asks him if singing in a choir is something he’s ever done – she’s known him for years and knows he’s musical – but John makes clear it’s not something he’s keen on. They arrive at the venue and John sees Maggie safely inside – and is immediately captivated by the sound of a beautiful tenor voice singing a familiar song. Maggie tells him it’s the choirmaster, Rhys, whom John is surprised to discover is much younger than he’d imagined – maybe early twenties – and much more unconventional, with his electric blue hair, tattoos and an eyebrow piercing. Rhys welcomes them both with a charming smile and John is surprised to find himself experiencing the first flicker of interest he’s felt for another man in years. Rhys hopefully asks if John is staying to sing – there are never enough men in amateur choirs! – and John finds his initial resistance to the idea waning in the face of the other man’s obvious enthusiasm.

As the rehearsal progresses, John realises he’s glad to be there; he’s enjoying the music and the activity of singing for the first time in years. Rhys is clearly a very talented musician and the members of the choir obviously adore him; he’s confident, vibrant, graceful and full of life (all the things John is not) – and John is smitten. At the end of the evening, he comes away feeling lighter than he has in a very long time.

Rhys Callington moved back to Lambury about eighteen months earlier following the tragic death of his boyfriend, and works as a freelance musician – he runs the choir, a few music clubs in local schools and does some specialist instrumental and vocal coaching. He’s pleased when, at the end of the evening, John says he enjoyed the session, and he really hopes John will come back. There’s something about the quiet, older man that makes Rhys want to get to know him better.

Imperfect Harmony is a gentle, romantic story about two men who have suffered terrible losses helping each other to emerge from the limbo they’ve both been existing in and start to really live again. As they share long walks and meaningful conversations, John and Rhys come to realise that they have more in common than their shared love of music; Rhys is also griveing the loss of someone close to him and can’t help lingering feelings of guilt, even though he knows that what happened wasn’t his fault. Their strong emotional connection and mutual attraction are really well written and there’s no doubt these two are meant for each other. I also really liked the way the author shows John slowly overcoming his reluctance to playing his violin or the piano. Meeting Rhys is undoubtedly the catalyst for his decision to try, but I liked the parallel between John’s move towards playing again and his realisation that maybe he’s finally ready to move past David’s death and start living the rest of his life. It doesn’t happen all in one go of course – it’s a gradual process, but it’s nicely done.

The conflict in the story arises principally from John’s inability to see past their nineteen year age gap (John is forty-two, Rhys twenty-three) and his fears that he’s too old and staid for someone as young and vibrant as Rhys. It’s clear that most of John’s concerns are the result of a sudden onset of panic at the way his life is changing, and he’s going to have to find it within himself to take a chance on life – and on love.

Given the heaviness of the subject matter, this isn’t a melodramatic or overly angsty story, and unlike many of the books I’ve read about music and musicians, where it’s clear author doesn’t actually know how to write about music, that’s not the case here. Jay Northcote’s descriptions of Rhys teaching the choir their parts, of the excitement at hearing them fit together, of the rush of pleasure as John rediscovers the joy of making music, speak to someone who knows their stuff. Imperfect Harmony is very much a ‘vibes over plot’ story about healing, finding new love and moving on, and I really enjoyed it.

Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

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The newspapers called us the Seven Wonders. We were a group of friends, that’s all, and then Toby died. Was killed. Murdered.

1905. A decade after the grisly murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham, the case remains hauntingly unsolved. For Jeremy Kite, the crime not only stole his best friend, it destroyed his whole life. When an anonymous letter lands on his desk, accusing him of having killed Toby, Jem becomes obsessed with finally uncovering the truth.

Jem begins to track down the people who were there the night Toby died – a close circle of friends once known as the ‘Seven Wonders’ for their charm and talent – only to find them as tormented and broken as himself. All of them knew and loved Toby at Oxford. Could one of them really be his killer?

As Jem grows closer to uncovering what happened that night, his pursuer grows bolder, making increasingly terrifying attempts to silence him for good. Will exposing Toby’s killer put to rest the shadows that have darkened Jem’s life for so long? Or will the gruesome truth only put him in more danger?

Some secrets are better left buried…

Rating: A

Quite a few of KJ Charles’ historical romances have a mystery subplot, but Death in the Spires is her first historical mystery ‘proper’. She’s taken pains to make sure readers know what to expect – that this novel is, first and foremost, a mystery and not a romance – so I’m echoing that here for anyone who hasn’t seen the disclaimers. There is a romantic sub-plot running through the story, but there’s no HEA (although there’s the tentative suggestion that there could be one somewhere down the line) and while it’s an important plot point, it’s not the main focus.

Our protagonist is Jeremy – Jem – Kite, a young working-class man from the Midlands who, in 1892, gains a scholarship to study mathematics at Oxford. On his very first day, he’s sought out by Toby Feynsham, the handsome, charming and generous – though spoiled – heir-apparent to a marquess, and the centre of a group of friends that becomes known as the Seven Wonders.

At that first meeting, Toby is clear about wanting to “collect the interesting people” rather than just “mingle with all the men one went to school with” and at first, Jem can’t quite believe his good fortune in being welcomed into such a bright, witty and popular group of people. There’s Toby’s brilliant, fierce twin sister, Ella, and her quiet yet determined roommate, Prue, who are both studying at the women’s college; Toby’s childhood friend, the louche and waspish Nicholas Rook, whose unrequited love for him is common knowledge (although is never spoken of); Aaron Oyede – the only Black student at the college, whose upper-class background does nothing to protect him from discrimination; and the supremely likeable Hugo Morely-Adams, whose principal defining characterisic is his ambition. Becoming friends with all of them and being known as one of the Seven Wonders is like a dream come true, and Jem’s three years at Oxford pass in a glorious whirl of academic success, sporting glory and wonderful friendship – until the fateful night just before Finals when everything falls apart and Toby is killed. The murder and events leading up to it have a profound effect on Jem, and he never really recovers from the shock, his once bright future crumbling into dust when he fails his exams.

The novel opens in 1905 when Jem, tired, downtrodden and just about making ends meet, arrives at his dreary office job one morning to discover that his boss has received a letter containing three lines:

Jeremy Kite is a murderer.

He killed Toby Feynsham.

Ask him why.

You can read the rest of this review at All About Romance.

Salt (Island Love #1) by Fearne Hill

This title may be purchased from Amazon

When was the right time to tell someone that silver flames were shooting from their hair? And that your own tranquil green desired nothing more than to tangle with them, if only it could escape a malevolent orange flare hounding your every move?

Over-stressed businessman Charles Heyer is not like most people. With a rare medical condition that scrambles the senses, he experiences emotions as flashes of colour, giving them the power to disrupt, dismay, or delight. Alone in his over-vivid world, a devastating bereavement leaves him mentally scarred and recuperating on the picturesque French island of Ré where, through a chance encounter and a good deed, he is introduced to Florian, a flirty local salt farmer.

What with trying to protect the island salt cooperative from a corporate takeover and keeping a watchful eye on his errant grandfather, handsome Florian is not as carefree as he appears. Falling in love with this odd Englishman is as unexpected as it is welcome. Both exploring new feelings, the lazy days of summer stretch out for miles until a visitor from Charles’s London life throws their peaceful idyll into a kaleidoscope of chaos. And, all of a sudden, the island’s glorious palette of colour turns several shades darker.

Rating: A

Fearne Hill’s Salt is book one in her new Island Love series of romances set on the beautiful Île de Ré off the western coast of France. It’s a gorgeous, slow-burn, May/December love story between a young French salt farmer and an Englishman who has come to the island to recuperate after an illness. The story deals with some sensitive topics, but as always with this author, the health and mental health issues are portrayed knowledgeably and sympathetically, the characters are likeable, the romance is heartfelt and very satisfying, and the whole thing is peppered with warmth, humour and insight.

Thirty-nine-year-old venture capitalist Charles Heyer has rented a house in the small village of Loix and retreated there in order to recuperate after having a breakdown. Thrown off balance by the sudden death (by suicide) of his beloved mother, Charles buried himself in his work as a kind of coping mechanism, but not pausing to properly process and grieve her loss meant he didn’t realise just how unwell he was becoming. Stress and overwork tipped his already fragile mental state over the edge into full-blown mania, and after spending several months in a psychiatric hospital, Charles has been advised to take at least three months to rest. He’s aware of the part his workaholic tendencies played in his illness and knows he can’t afford to go back to the way things were, but his business partner, Marcus, is subtly (or not so subtly – Charles can read between the lines of his frequent texts) pressuring him to return to work. Deep down, Charles wonders if he’ll ever be ready to go back to his old life, but Marcus has been single-handedly running their business for months, and the longer Charles stays away, the guiltier he feels.

Charles is walking back to the house late one afternoon when he notices an elderly man wandering around the village square looking lost, and goes over to ask if he needs any help. The man says he’s looking for Florian, who is drinking coffee at L’Escale; when the man doesn’t seem inclined to make use of Charles’ offered directions, he escorts him to the café himself. It’s not until the next day that he realises that Florian is the young man he’s seen working in the salt marshes on the edge of the village, and when Florian stops him to offer his thanks for helping his grandfather, Charles, momentarily dumbstruck by the man’s beauty, doesn’t immediately register Florian’s words of thanks. It’s been a very long time since anyone has turned his head quite like this – but then a teasing exchange follows about Charles’ good French but terrible accent, and when Florian invites him out for a drink – to say thank you properly – Charles is surprised to find himself not only agreeing to go, but for the first time in a long time, actually feeling like himself again.

You can read the rest of this review at All About Romance.

Just a Taste by Briar Prescott

This title may be purchased from Amazon

Lake:
So… I’m getting married.
Just three minor details: my husband-to-be is technically also my step-brother, he’s straight, and we’re absolutely nowhere in the vicinity of being in love.
Ryker:
Only then comes the you-may-kiss-your-husband part. Turns out kissing your husband is a terrible idea because it makes you have strange thoughts you’ve never had before.
Turns out that kissing my husband makes me question everything I know about myself.
Lake:
It’s fine. It doesn’t have to mean anything. Just a blip on the radar. I’ll leave it be.
But then I find out I’m not the only one who’s having ideas because of that kiss.
And we do something incredibly stupid and give in to temptation.
Ryker:
Again.
And again.
And again.
Lake:
Until something casual and temporary turns into something very different.
Something unexpected.
Something serious.
Something terrifyingly real.
Ryker:
Now I’m determined to show Lake how good the two of us could be together.
Because with him? Just a taste will never be enough.

Rating: B+

Briar Prescott takes a short break from her Until series to bring us Just a Taste – a sexy, heartfelt and well-written love story laced with tenderness and plenty of the author’s trademark humour and banter. I’ve seen it described as a ‘wet cat/golden retriever’ romance, and that kind of sums it up perfectly; we’ve got Lake, who would rather scratch and hiss than accept help or kindness, and handsome, talented Ryker, who would be easy to dislike were it not for the fact that he’s just so bloody nice!

Lake Bates and Ryker James have known each other since they were kids, and although they’re technically step-brothers, they didn’t grow up together. After Lake’s parents split up (for reasons we discover later on), Lake’s mother would occasionally drop him on John Bates’ doorstep in a misguided effort to restore the father-son bond. Bates had, by this time, married Ryker’s mother, and made no secret of the fact that he didn’t want Lake around – and it was Ryker who would sit with Lake and talk to him and take him outside to play while Lake did his best to be as sullen as possible and not to be grateful for any of it.

More than a decade later, Lake and Ryker are in their final year of college and Lake was planning to go to medical school the following year. But since his mother remarried, he no longer qualifies for financial aid, (even though she’s not helping him out financially), and although his part time job at a crappy diner means he can just about support himself to the end of the academic year, he won’t be able to afford to put himself through medical school. Then, out of the blue, Ryker proposes the craziest thing Lake has ever heard. He can provide the money for Lake’s tuition and for medical school, but it’s tied up in a trust fund he can’t access for a few more years – unless he gets married. Ryker figures they can help each other out; he could do with some extra cash, and he’ll give Lake the money he needs (Lake’s hackles immediately rise and he insists on a loan) – and as the fewer people know about their deal the better, he figures he and Lake should just marry each other. Completely stunned, Lake looks for the flaw in the plan – but he does need the money, and given Ryker is proposing (!) they continue as before and go their own ways after they’re married, he can’t really find one.

It’s a good plan, Ryker thinks, but he hasn’t really given much thought to the ceremony itself, certainly not to the ‘you may kiss your husband’ bit and definitely hadn’t expected Lake to kiss him quite so thoroughly. He also hadn’t expected to find himself kissing Lake back. Or for that kiss to have him looking at people differently, and questioning everything he thought he knew about his sexuality for weeks afterward.

To be honest, this is one of those times I had to hand-wave the somewhat convoluted set-up and just accept it as the instigator for these two getting together, because neither the step-brothers thing nor the marriage-of-convenience thing have a lot of bearing on the rest of the story. That said, the characters, their personal growth, and the way their relationship develops are so well done that it’s not difficult to overlook the flimsy set up and just go with the flow.

You can read the rest of this review at All About Romance.

Death Enraptured (Necromancer Rising #2) by Richard Amos (audiobook) – Narrated by Cooper North

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

Follow my heart and make a mess . . . That’s putting it mildly.

My life has really taken a complicated turn here in Oakthorne. I keep hoping some fairy godmother will show up and offer to turn back time for me. Not too much, just enough to ease this pain. Yeah. Right.

As much as there’s hurt, there’s also Death. He is a complication, and a beautiful one I can’t resist when I really, really should. He consumes my every waking moment, submerges me in raging desire I never want to break free from.

Damn.

On top of that messiness, there’s a mystery to solve, a bad guy to defeat, and other new developments within myself to deal with.

So much to do. So much danger to face.

Where the hell is that fairy godmother?

Rating: Narration – A; Content – C+

I was on the fence about the story in Death Eternal, book one in Richard Amos’ Necromancer Rising series, but in my review, I said that I would probably listen to the next book because the final reveal and cliff-hanger had me intrigued and wanting to find out what happened next. The four audiobooks in the series are on a monthly release schedule, so I didn’t have long to wait before I could get started on Death Enraptured, which picks up where Death Eternal left off.

Note: This is the second book in a same-couple series with overarching plotlines – there are spoilers for the previous book in this review.

At the end of Death Eternal, Marcel discovered that he and Death have been lovers across the millennia, doomed to find each other, to love each other… and under a curse that brings terrible disaster and many deaths – including Marcel’s – every time. For the last twenty years, Death has been searching for a solution that will allow them to be together without causing any cataclysmic events, and thought he had found it in the form of a magical ruby he had specially made to keep the curse at bay. The downside was that it also kept Marcel from remembering the truth – but when, during a moment of passionate abandon (!) the ruby was ripped from around Death’s neck, all Marcel’s memories of him came flooding back, which means that the curse will find them, too. But while Death is determined to find a way for them to be together without kicking off any natural disasters, Marcel is starting to think that maybe they should do the right thing this go-around and just end things. Death needs to go back to work and Marcel will find a way to deal with the heartbreak and move on. Reluctantly, Death agrees to respect Marcel’s wishes and leave him alone – although he’s not going back to work. “If we can’t be together without all this pain, I won’t perform my duties.”

Marcel very quickly learns that heartbreak is the least of his problems when he discovers that his cheating former fiancé, George, is now engaged again, this time to Robert – who is Marcel’s new work-partner. Worse, Robert and George have been assigned an apartment in the same building as Marcel’s, just two doors down. When he finds out that his boss, Emma, is the one who organised the apartment and didn’t bother telling him, Marcel is angry and upset; she knew he would likely be unhappy about the arrangement but simply doesn’t care about his feelings. All she’s interested in is tracking down Nicholas West, the former High Necromancer of Oakthorne, who was revealed to be a lich – a supposedly long-extinct, undead creature that sustains itself by absorbing the spirits of the dead – who is building an army of rogue necromancers ready to do his bidding for some as yet unknown and nefarious purpose.

You can read the rest of this review at AudioGals.

The Boyfriend Subscription by Steven Salvatore

This title may be purchased from Amazon

A simple deal and complicated feelings…

Teddy Hughes has lost his marriage, his business, and now he can’t afford another beer in his favourite dive bar. So he has no choice but to leave New York for good. But then a gorgeous stranger walks in with cheekbones that could cut glass.

Like the leather harness he wears under his suit, Cole Vivien is a mass of contradictions. He’s a successful entrepreneur whose app, VERSTL, allows consumers and sex workers to form real – if temporary – connections. But Cole needs a fake boyfriend so he can project a more traditional image for a potential investor. And Teddy – shy, smart, and so much hotter than he knows – is perfect for the part.

Cole has two conditions: no kissing or falling in love. And in exchange for one week together, Teddy will get enough money to get back on his feet.

But breaking the rules is much more fun…

Rating: D+

Steven Salvatore is new-to-me, and I understand that they’ve previously published three successful queer YA novels. The Boyfriend Subscription is their first adult romance, and it’s a queered version of Pretty Woman in which the sex worker (Cole Vivian) is wealthy and the Edward character – in this case, Teddy Hughes – has just lost his home and business as part of a nasty divorce.

It’s one of the early entries in Harlequin’s new Afterglow line, which the publisher describes as:

– a new Harlequin series aimed at the under-35 romance reader, featuring spicy romances grounded in relatable character journeys. From showing up to glowing up, these characters are on the path to leading their best lives and finding romance along the way…

Entrepreneur Cole Vivian is the man behind VERSTL, an app that, according to the book blurb “allows sex workers and consumers to make real – if temporary – connections.” (It seems to be a kind of mash up of OnlyFans, hookup app and escort agency.) The app has been a huge success and Cole continues to be one of its most successful content creators and performers – and now he is preparing to publicly launch the business and bring in outside investors. With the launch party in full swing and his schmoozing commitments fulfilled, Cole decides he needs a break and heads outside, looking for somewhere to escape.

On the day botanist and author Teddy Hughes files for bankruptcy and closes up his horticultural business for the very last time, his best friend and roommate Kit drags him out for a drink at a seedy bar near their apartment. Jobless and hopeless, deeply in debt and still angry and grieving for his failed marriage, Teddy is unable to continue to live in NYC so is preparing to return home to New Orleans in a week’s time. He and Kit are on a mission to drown Teddy’s sorrows and maybe get him laid – something that becomes infinitely more appealing when the most gorgeous guy he’s ever seen walks up to the bar.

Teddy and Cole enjoy a night of fantastic sex, and in the morning, Cole makes him a business proposition. He needs a date for his sister’s wedding at the weekend, plus he’d like Teddy to accompany him to dinner with a potential business partner that evening; he offers to pay Teddy to spend the week with him, pretending to be his boyfriend. He likes Teddy, enjoys his calm steadiness and enjoys his company – it’s not like he’s asking for forever.

You can read the rest of this review at All About Romance.

Up All Night (Mount Hope #1) by Annabeth Albert

This title may be purchased from Amazon

What happened to my predictable life?

I had a stable life as a fire captain in Seattle, married to one of my best friends and raising two awesome kids. Now, my kids are grown, and my marriage is toast. I’m solidly past forty and back in my tiny hometown of Mount Hope, Oregon, filling in as a firefighter. My future is one big question mark keeping me up at night.

Also keeping me up? The short-order cook at Honey’s Hotcake Hut.

Denver might be close to my age, but we’re total opposites. The former rock roadie runs from stability, never puts down roots, and lives for the moment. Point in case, we barely speak before he invites me into his shower.

I’ve never been with a man, but my fresh start has me trying all sorts of new things—including Denver’s shower.

Our future? Hopeless.

Denver doesn’t do repeats, but I convince him to have a fling since we’re both in Mount Hope short-term. The more time we spend together, the deeper our friendship and bond grows. Our time together outside of the bedroom, reveals a caring side to the grumpy cook. Even better, my sunshine-y optimism softens him like butter.

Should a fling give me these deep feelings? Nope.

Worse, the feelings are mutual. Big decisions loom for both our futures, and our time together grows short. I might have Denver’s heart, but his trust is far harder to win. He’s the answer to all my question marks, and I need him to believe in us. Can I convince him to give our love a chance?

Rating: B-

Up All Night is the first book in Annabeth Albert’s new series featuring first responders, which is set in the small (fictional) Oregon town of Mount Hope. The author is a long-time favourite whose books, even when they’re not stellar, are good, solid reads featuring protagonists who are easy to like and relate to, with well-established emotional connections, strongly realised settings and an engaging secondary cast, often with an enjoyable found family vibe.

While Up All Night does fall into the ‘not stellar’ category, it’s nonetheless an easy, low-angst read, and I applaud the author for once again writing a central couple who are a bit older than the norm for romance novels (and especially in m/m, where nine out of ten books seem to feature college-age leads). Firefighter Sean Murphy is a forty-three-year-old divorced father of two who has come back to Mount Hope to attend the funeral of an old friend. The sale of his former family home in Seattle has coincided with his stepping down as captain at his fire house, leaving Sean temporarily homeless and jobless, and his father – who is soon to retire as fire chief of Mount Hope – suggests that Sean take a short-term position with the local fire service. He can even have his old room in the family home back for as long as he wants it. Sean can’t deny being tempted at the thought of being back out in the field fighting fires rather than sitting at a desk doing admin, but if he comes back to Mount Hope, there’s no way he’s moving back into his childhood bedroom! Fortunately, a solution emerges from an unexpected source. Eric – it’s his husband’s funeral – is one of Sean’s oldest friends, and offers Sean room and board in exchange for his help with some renovations to his property.

Denver Rucker is the overnight cook at Honey’s Hotcake Hut, one of the few eateries in the area that’s open 24/7 and thus a regular haunt of the area’s first responders. The arrival of a new firefighter – who has been in a few times now – hasn’t escaped his notice and neither has the fact that the hot ginger is very easy on the eye. When, at the end of his shift, Denver walks out into the car park to find said hot ginger has managed to lock himself out of his truck, he offers him a lift home – it’s not out of his way as they live on the same street – and then finds himself inviting the man into his shower.

You can read the rest of this review at All About Romance.