Forbidden Titan (North Short Titans #4)

Here's E.V. Olsen's latest series North Short Titans. The fourth novel in this series is "Forbidden Titan."

[""The devil wears many faces. Today, he wore the one I've been running from for five years."

Five years spent running, reinventing myself at every turn, until my stepbrother finally caught up to me.

Zach Knight is cold, dangerous, and determined to make me pay for almost destroying his hockey career. But beneath that icy exterior burns something far more intense than revenge.

Now I'm back home, trying to build a future while dealing with the fierce attraction between us. Every touch, every heated glance draws me deeper into dangerous territory.

My stepbrother may be broken in ways I'm only beginning to understand, but so am I. His darkness calls to mine, and when he claims me as his, I can't resist falling.

They say the opposite of hate is love, but with Zach Knight, the line between the two threatens to consume us both.

Falling for the forbidden titan was never part of the plan.

But neither was becoming his salvation."]

I've been WAITING for this one for soooooooo long. And the teasers we've been getting haven't helped the need. And when I tell you the wait was worth it? Holy. Shit.

This was was crazy with emotions and secrets and traumas and guilt and angry and lust and possessiveness and protectiveness and love and WOW. 

In typical EV fashion, it was over the top and alpha-y and slightly unhinged, but it was somehow equally as soft and sweet.

Plus all of the callbacks and cameos and found family. Fuck, this found family is so crazy (medically diagnosed or not) but sooooo fucking supportive. 

Trigger Warnings: homophobia by tertiary characters, one MC being drugged and kidnapped by other MC, one MC being physically assaulted (not SA--not by MC), one character having brain damage, discussion of child abuse (not SA), violence, trauma responses, claustrophobia, self-harming, and more. 

#booksprout #arcs #arcteammember
#savagetitan #brutaltitan #unhingedtitan #forbiddentitan #ruthlesstitan #northshoretitans #northshoretitansseries #evolsen #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

My Big Gay Secret Wedding (Sweet Southern #3)

Here's "My Big Gay Secret Wedding" by D.K. Sutton. Its the third book in her Wedding Disaster's series.

["That feeling when you wake up married to your best man…

When my almost-wedding to a popular media influencer implodes and goes viral, we head to Vegas to drown our sorrows and hide from the paparazzi. Everything is under control. Right?

But then I wake up naked, hungover, and married to my straight best friend.

A quick annulment is the perfect solution. Until it’s not.

I need to break free from my controlling father and stay in med school to gain access to my trust fund and the truth about my mother’s disappearance. The only way to do that is to prove my independence.

Mac and I agree to pretend our accidental marriage was intentional. Pretend Mac isn’t exactly straight. Pretend I'm madly in love with my best friend.

The hard part? All this pretending feels way too real.

Every kiss and touch from Mac feels more authentic than the last, making it difficult to hide how much I want our marriage to be forever.

Mac has been the only constant in my life. My best friend. My whole world.

But with our divorce only a signature away, I risk losing everything. Mac included.

Can what happened in Vegas be forever?"]

I soooooo forgot about the Zye thing, the estranged brothers thing, the almost-wedding thing, the emus (okay, I remembered Zye's (Miles's) emu). It was a looooot coming back. And all of the additional traumas and horrible parents. And even more fuel to the parent's hate-filled-fire. This book was a rollercoaster from the very beginning. 

These two falling in love was beautiful and devastating. Rainn was already crushing on (and half-in-love-with) Mac before Vegas, let alone after. Mac would never let anything or anyone harm Rainn, but he himself can't possibly have feelings for his best friend because he's Straight (and got some internalized homophobia going on). They were both soooo protective and possessive with each other, but a simple (but hot af) kiss sent them both reeling. In such a rush to end their drunken marriage, but never taking the rings off the chain around their necks. 

Of course they (eventually) figured out what everyone around them already knew: they were meant to be. They were it for each other. It took them a little too long (and far too many "sorry"s), but they eventually made it to a HEA.

Trigger Warnings: alcoholism (not on-page), PTSD, internalized homophobia, homophobia from a parent, transphobia from a parent, parental abandonment, and more. 

#gayromancereviews #grr #arcs #arcteammember
#mybestfriendsweddingplanner #runawayprince #mybiggaysecretwedding #weddingdiasters #weddingdiastersseries #dksutton #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

French Fancy (The Model Agency #2)

I meant to read this as soon as it came out...in 2023, but I guess now is better than never. ;) Here's Lily Morton's "French Fancy." It's the second book in her series The Model Agency.

["Pip Simmonds is the twinkiest twink in London. He’s loud, proud, and packed to the brim with sass. But when he’s laid low by illness, even his hotpants lose their sparkle and his worried boss sends him to the South of France to recuperate in his holiday home.

Cap Ferrat is beautiful, and the periwinkle-blue villa is luxurious, but the real draw for Pip is the villa’s other resident—his boss’s younger brother, Olivier Durand.

Olivier owns a perfume empire and has spent his whole life running from any other form of commitment. He’s worldly, carefree, wild, and the perfect choice for a holiday fling.

Drawn together by proximity, the two men become lovers and friends and then something more. Something special. But will their special bond hold true after summer’s end, when they both must return to their real lives?"]

PIP!! If anyone is worthy of your sass and banter and love and dedication, it's Olivier. Ditto goes for Olivier. They are chaotic and crazy together. They get into trouble, but in the best of ways. They are partners in crime and adventure buddies. They get each other on sooooo many levels. Their love is monumental and their relationship is...things of Jonas's nightmares (and dreams--his favorite people are happy and in love, even if its with each other).

I FUCKING love Pip and Olivier in this. The banter was never ending, never hesitating, and never failling to make my giggle. Everyone should be jealous (the amount of people who tell Pip that he's perfection is just amazing).

#thesunnyside #frenchfancy #lilymorton #themodelagency #themodelagencyseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Paper Roses (Confetti Hitched #3)

Here's Lily Morton's latest: "Paper Roses." It's the third novel in her Confetti Hitched series.

["Jed Walker thinks he’s having a midlife crisis. The only trouble is that it feels too good to stop.

Widowed at a young age, he’s spent his life since then avoiding any relationships that might end up hurting him again. He has his successful wedding planning business, Confetti Hitched, and a series of uncomplicated hookups, and that’s all he needs in life

The one person disrupting this controlled stoicism is his younger assistant, Artie. He’s sweet and kind and has a funny way of calming Jed’s mind. So, when Artie comes to him with a problem, Jed moves heaven and earth to help, which is how he finds himself entering a fake marriage with the younger man and catching feelings. Too bad it’s all pretend. Or is it?"]

My GOD! The pining and angst from Artie was real. I was sooo close to sobbing soooooo many times. Thank you for the extra layer of anxiety. And the red eyes. I wasn’t kidding about the sobbing; almost every Artie chapter ended in me crying.

But Jed eventually wavered and softened. He was falling for Artie before he knew which way was up.

Trigger Warnings: death of a spouse (past and off-page), death of a parent (past and off-page), parental abandonment, toxic step parent, manipulation, and more. 

#confettihearts #somethingborrowed #paperhearts #confettihitched #confettihitchedseries #lilymorton #mixedmessages #mixedmessagesseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Blown (The Art of Love #5)

Here's Merry Farmer's "Blown." It's the fifth novel in her new series, The Art of Love.

["The Art of Love is risking your career for a fake engagement that could unravel your web of lies…

Rafe Hawthorne is a master glassblower with a commitment problem. He loves his life of artistic and romantic freedom, but the older he gets, the more he realizes he needs help to reach the heights of the glass world. As much as he hates to admit it, his old rival, Jake Mathers, might be the only person who can help him level up his career.

And Rafe has something Jake desperately needs, too.

Jake has always been the charming sweet-talker with more talent than anyone else in the room. He has the connections, the know-how, and the ambition to take the glass world by storm. At least, everyone thinks he does. In reality, Jake has built his career on a mountain of lies. The only true things about him are his desire to move to the UK and his feelings for Rafe.

When all those lies suddenly unfurl, will the fallout take Rafe down, too, or will the two men come together to save each other and make the lies true?"]

This series is really good at the dual-first-person-POV, where both characters are hyper-anxious about something, where both characters under the allusion that the other person can/will fix it, and where both characters are sucky at communicating their feelings and their troubles. It's a great way to push the plot along and adding suspense, but its angsty and rude.

However! It does make the reward of falling in love and a HEA all the more worth it. 

These two didn’t have it easy. It was constant work and doubts and reassurances and second/third/fourth chances. But they had each other..and the entire Hawthorne clan. 

Trigger Warnings: homophobic parents, anxiety, and more. 

#thrown #painted #decorated #forged #blown #theartoflove #theartofloveseries #merryfarmer #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Forged (The Art of Love #4)

Here's Merry Farmer's "Forged." It's the fourth novel in her new series, The Art of Love.

["The Art of Love is awakening to things you never knew about yourself with someone you thought was just a friend….

Nick Turner has always been the big, shy, silent type. He’s always let his metalwork and blacksmithing skills speak for him. But now, as a widower with two small children to raise in the midst of the eccentric Hawthorne family and a sculpture that needs completing to make the deadline for a national competition, he knows he’s in over his head.

Thank God for Baxter Hawthorne dropping into his life…

Bax Hawthorne is the black sheep of his family. He’s an accountant in a sea of artists. But that doesn’t mean he’s not just as free-spirited and ambitious as his kin. The one thing he never thought he’d be, however, was a father. But when he’s thrown into proximity with Nick and ends up helping to take care of his kids in a pinch, all that might change.

Nick could have sworn he was straight, but the closer he gets to Bax, the more he questions that. Could one night of sparks between them end up forging a bond that brings the whole family together?"]

These two were adorable as hell. They both experienced a sort of loss, and they just wanted to be there for each other in any way possible. Their friendship grew and grew. The kiddy cuddles definitely helped. And the well-intended but too-nosy-for-their-own-good meddling Hawthorne family.

Though (yes, I’m saying this knowing it’s coming from an outsider’s POV), they made things super complicated for not a lot of reason. And these kids were little, toddlers, but a little overly babyfied for dramatic effect. 

I love this series. I love this family. I love how supportive and open they are. I love how we get to learn so much about so many different arts. Not to mention all of the HEAs.

Trigger Warnings: toxic (but I guess well-meaning?) grandparents, classism, homophobia, the-world-for-religious-hate, and more.

#thrown #painted #decorated #forged #blown #theartoflove #theartofloveseries #merryfarmer #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Decorated (The Art of Love #3)

Here's Merry Farmer's "Decorated." It's the third novel in her new series, The Art of Love.

["Can a campy train wreck make a straitlaced grinch love Christmas?

RAF officer Alfie Spears isn’t crazy about Christmas, even though he’s spearheading his unit’s Christmas charity drive, which is taking place at the Hawthorne Community Arts Center. Christmas is definitely not his favorite time of year, but since his father was once a student at the school that occupied Hawthorne House before the arts center, he’s willing to give it a go. Stepping away from his usual duties might be just what he needs to decide whether to continue on in the military or join civilian life.

It was all supposed to be calm and low-key, but then Blaine Hawthorne happened….

Blaine Hawthorne has really stuffed it all up. One outstandingly horrific mistake in the interior design business he ran with a friend caused the entire company to tank. Now he’s hiding out at Hawthorne House for the holidays because he’s convinced his ex-business-partner is out for revenge.

The last thing he expected was to jump enthusiastically into the new project of assisting Alfie and jingling his bells….

Blaine is as determined to get Alfie to like Christmas as Alfie is to get Blaine to face his problems. But will their holiday fling be over once the presents are unwrapped or will they ring in a new year and a new life together?"]

Alfie got it exactly correct when he called Blaine "an adorable train wreck." He's a blur of rainbow colors and anxiety, a beautiful hot mess. It's a good think that Alfie is professionally trained in handling tense situations. ;)

These two were adorable as hell. It was fast as hell, but call it fate (and the Christmas spirit). They just clicked.

#thrown #painted #decorated #forged #blown #theartoflove #theartofloveseries #merryfarmer #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks