2026 Book Shape Challenges... Last year, I went with an animal-theme. This year, I'm thinking zodiac constellations (which is less--and yet more--of a challenge (we'll see how it goes)).
Here's June's Book Shape Challenge! Gemini!!
#reading #readingchallenge #readingdare #bookdare #bookchallenge #alphabetchallenge #beatthebacklog #monthlythemes #monthlychallenge #bookshape #bookshapechallenges #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks
Here's MM Farmer's newest series, Rent-A-Boyfriend. This is "The Weekend Boyfriend."
["They agreed to play pretend. Nobody warned them how good they'd be at it.
When Javier shows up at billionaire Desmond White's office dressed as a glittery Cupid to sing an embarrassing telegram from Desmond's ex, he expects an awkward job and a quick exit. What he doesn't expect is to end up in Desmond's car, then at his side at a concert, then somehow in his bed on Valentine's Day, playing at being a couple who've been together for years. It's a very good game. A little too good.
Desmond has spent months extricating himself from a toxic ex who knows exactly where all the bodies are buried, both professionally and personally. The last thing he needs is to catch real feelings for a charming, gorgeous man whose business is falling apart around him, and who would walk away in an instant if he ever learned the truth about Desmond's past. So they make a deal: weekends only. Sundays they can pretend to be deeply, happily in love. Mondays, they're on their own.
But between a vindictive ex with a grudge, a crumbling talent agency, a high-stakes ethics scandal, and a stolen afternoon at Kew Gardens that neither of them can stop thinking about, the line between the performance and the real thing is getting dangerously blurry. Because Javier has never felt more like himself than when he's pretending. And Desmond is starting to suspect the only thing worth keeping in his life is the one thing he agreed to give back every Sunday night."]
TO BE UPDATED SOON
Trigger Warnings:
#arcs #arcteammember
#theweekendboyfriend #alikelystory #rentaboyfriend #merryfarmer #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks
Here's "Wanting My Husband" by Lexi Amber and Bec Benson. Its a novel in their Love Without Labels universe/series.
["John
I’ve never met anyone who bothers me more than Chad Sinclair.
He’s always smiling, always happy – excited about life in a way I truly cannot comprehend. A spoiled city guy who acts like he’s never heard the word no before.
I can’t believe I drunkenly married him in Vegas.
Or that he showed up at my farmhouse, ready to give up his whole life to play happy husbands with me in the middle of nowhere.
Chad might have convinced himself we’re meant to be, but I gave up on that kind of future a long time ago.
Chad
I’ve always believed things work out for me – and getting my husband to admit he wants me is no exception.
John Sullivan might be grumpy, closed-off, and determined to pretend this means nothing, but he still chose me. He married me. He said I do, and I’m not ready to let that go just because he’s pretending he is.
He can say there’s no way we can work, but I’m stubborn enough to stay and keep proving him wrong."]
TO BE UPDATED SOON
Trigger Warnings:
#forewordpr #arc #arcteammember
#therealityofwantinghim #therealityofwantingmybully #wantinghim #therealityofwantingthem #lovewithoutlines #lovewithoutlinesseries #becbenson #lexiamber #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks
["I wait for the signal at crosswalks. I pay my taxes on time. And, despite my association with a certain Mafia family, I run a clean business providing security for Manhattan's wealthy elite.
I don't break the law.
Dr. Madhuban Laghari—Mads—is my newest protectee and my biggest problem. He fights his security protocols at every turn and makes me question all of my carefully crafted rules. Especially the one about not falling for the world's most adorable billionaire.
Every time we go back and forth, I fall a little harder.
More dangerous than our sexy banter is the fact that the threats against him are starting to escalate.
He doesn't want to face the reality that he's got a stalker tracking his every move, not to mention the Russian government trying to steal his technology. The closer we get, the more I know I'll do anything to protect him.
If his enemies dare to put a hand on my billionaire, they'll discover how Mafia I can get."]
These two were equal parts adorable and painful. It was fluffy and sweet and protective (sooo protective) and slightly obsessive. But it was also mutual pining and angst and doing-the-right-thing. All of their friends and family were supportive as hell, pushing them together after they almost fell apart.
Not to mention everyone gathering (literally sooo many people) to protect Mads. Luca and his friends, Charlie and his friends, Anders and his friends--plus a few extra people thrown in there for good measure.
I don't know if Hopper being besties with Anders is good and hilarious on all fronts or a danger to everyone's sanity. Mostly the first one...until we got to the Arms-Knives-Guns part. *shudder* Though loooved seeing the Guardians guys!
Trigger Warnings: stalking, violence, murder, threats, toxic parents, kidnapping, and more.
#extradition #protection #attraction #distraction #mobsterandbillionaires #mobsterandbillionairesseries #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks
["Fun fact: You can take the man out of the Mafia and put him in a fancy Manhattan high-rise, but that man’s always gonna have a little bit of mobster in him. Which probably explains why I told off my arrogant billionaire CEO, Rand Wolfe, in front of the entire company.
After our little exchange goes viral, I’m left with the choice of letting my father’s men toss Wolfe’s disrespectful ass into the Hudson or helping him escape. Long story short, I’m hiding out in the billionaire’s penthouse with my father’s extradition order hanging over my head.
Only…Wolfe’s nothing like I thought he’d be. This wealthy, powerful man is actually interested in what I have to say, and his alpha-hole façade falls apart completely when we’re alone.
God, he comes alive under my hands.
With other families getting involved and my father’s threats looming in the background, am I mob enough to save the man I’m falling for?"]
Turns out, this one was on my list for a while. Not sure if I skipped it because of the whole interconnected-universe thing or the perceived angst. Mistake. Big.
This book had angst, but not nearly as much as I had though. It was beautiful and caring all while being loud. It was happiness and comfort and breaking our of your cage and finding your place. It was instant chemistry and perfectly aligned spice and kismet, even if that original meet-cute was...less cute and more ugly.
I canNOT wait for more from this series!
Trigger Warnings: violence, murder, threats, toxic parents, and more.
#extradition #protection #attraction #distraction #mobsterandbillionaires #mobsterandbillionairesseries #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks
["College isn't working out, and I'm still trying to figure out what comes next.
I suppose volunteering for the local Christmas Cleanup is better than staring at the four walls of my house all day long, even if I don't know what the heck I'm doing. Here's hoping the locals don't mind my gothy Christmas elf attire.
While I was hoping the volunteer work would help me to discover something about myself, I wasn't expecting to unwrap a whole new...dynamic. At least not until Junior, a tall-strapping cowboy, shows me what I've been missing."]
Tanner is the lovely guy who helped Jason and Patrick in the last book. Sooo glad he now gets his own HEA. With Junior, one of the three children who were “forced” to work at Rebel Sky in book two.
And they were utterly perfect for each other. So soft and understanding, but so sassy and spicy. It was a perfect mix, just like they were.
Trigger Warnings: homophobia, toxic parent, and more.
#goodnight #sparrow #navarro #warwick #thesherifstroublemaker #unwrappingchristmas #rebelskyranch #rebelskyranchseries #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks
["Jason Jennings is gonna be the death of me, I swear. I'm the acting sheriff of this small Texas town, and he's gotten himself arrested—on purpose—at least three times now. Worse, he knows I'm a Daddy and isn't exactly subtle about wanting to be my boy, despite our twenty-year age difference.
I'd love to put him over my knee, but it's an election year, and a dangerous last-minute challenger could set the entire county back if I lose. The vote is way too close for the town to suddenly find out that I'm gay and dating the young man I've been putting in handcuffs for the better part of a year.
Still... he's working so hard to put his life back together, I can only imagine how he'd bloom under my support and direction.
When Jason's world begins to fall apart, so does my resolve. How can I abandon my boy when he needs me the most?"]
First thoughts after reading the blurb (after reading the first book): I mean like...yay for the redemption arc? Secondary thoughts (after reading the third and forth books): Jason grew on me. He made mistakes, and he was a brat, but…sometimes we act out because we don’t know how to ask for help.
Minor complaint: there was a lot of rehashing plot points that happened in previous points in the series. Granted, that might have been for the sake of the anthology, but it didn't help me, someone who just read the other books in the series, keep my reading momentum going.
BUT these two were utterly adorable--even if they were both troublemakers. They helped each other becoming who they were meant to be. They held and healed each other in so many ways.
Trigger Warnings: off-page attempted suicide, homophobia, toxic parents, and more.
#goodnight #sparrow #navarro #warwick #thesherifstroublemaker #unwrappingchristmas #rebelskyranch #rebelskyranchseries #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks
2026 Book Shape Challenges... Last year, I went with an animal-theme. This year, I'm thinking zodiac constellations (which is less--and ...
