Benji (Florida Panhandle #2)

Here's Wren Wilds's "Benji." It's the second novel in the Florida Panhandle series.

["MICKEY
Car show weekend in Panama City always ends badly.
By noon, half the crowd is drunk. By sunset, the jail's full. By seven, dispatch won't stop calling.
By seven forty-five, I'm counting down the minutes until my shift ends and I can get to Tex's bar for ribs and a beer.
I think the worst of the night is behind me.
Then a 911 call comes in from Big Tex's Roadhouse.
By midnight, it’s already too late.

BENJI
My eyeliner's too sharp. My shirt's unbuttoned too low. My white jeans are tighter than common sense allows in the Florida Panhandle.
I stroll into Big Tex's Roadhouse looking for a drink and a sunset.
The bartender begs me to turn around and leave.
I laugh like she's joking.
That's my first mistake."]

To be very honest, this blurb didn't grab me like the last one (or the next one). It's intriguing, but the stakes could be higher. Or more romantic. Or something. 

Whelp, you read less than three chapters and you get the stakes. Fuuuck do you get the stakes. I was sobbing for...a majority of the first 40% of the book. The blurb might not have grabbed me, but the very beginning of the book did. And it held my attention. The stakes were there, the romance was there, the "something" was there. It was painful and filled with so many layers of grief. It was also filled with sooo much friendship and caring and support. 

And while this book got brighter and happier and more positive, it had tossed in moments of heartbreak and isolation. I cried again at the 80%ish mark. Then Stormy made it worse (being his authentic, no-bullshit, quiet but mighty, self). 

But they were forgiving and trusting and beautiful. Could have communicated honestly a little more, but given everything, what wasn't communicated was (nearly) understandable. Except to Tex. Fuck still love that man. And Shelia (she already knows about the coleslaw, let's be real).

I'm no longer sure I'm actually ready for Dante and Levi's book.

Trigger Warnings: homophobia, violence, threats of violence, psychological trauma, trauma responses, fear reactions, anxiety, hyper vigilance, emotional distress, grief, parent with dementia, gun violence, hospital stays, and more.

#stormy #benji #levi #floridapanhandle #floridapanhandleseries #wrenwilds #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Stormy (Florida Panhandle #1)

Here's Wren Wilds's "Stormy." It's the first novel in the Florida Panhandle series.

["Tex
A hurricane’s rolling in fast when I see a stranded biker.
Small. Soaked. Terrified. Like the road finally ran out on him and he’s got nowhere left to go.
The first thing I notice about him is his eyes, the color of the Gulf before a storm.
He won’t speak. He won’t look at me. Just watches my hands like they might hurt him.
When I move too fast, he flinches. That tells me everything I need to know.
So I load up his bike and take him back to my bar.
He’s clearly running from something. Or someone.
Whoever he’s running from… they just ran into the wrong man.

Stormy
He’s the biggest man I’ve ever been this close to. Six-five. Maybe taller. Built like he could break me in half without trying.
Men that big usually hurt you. My hand drifts toward the knife in my pocket just in case.
I don’t give him my name. I don’t give him anything. I keep my eyes down. That’s the safest way to survive.
But he doesn’t get angry. He doesn’t push.
Instead he gives me a name like it’s a gift he wrapped himself.
Stormy.
For the first time in years, I want to stay. But the past doesn’t let people like me go that easily."]

I put this one off for a while. Not because it didn't sound good, not because the targeted ads on social werne't on point. I wasn't the biggest of fans of the AI-looking video teasers (and I can't tell if the covers are AI or just crisply edited). But I'm weeeaaak for a broken-boy x bear-hero trope. 

This book was sooo good. It was dark and emotional. It tested your limits. It was a slower burn, but that was worth it, too. It was so soft and sweet and patient and forgiving. It built trust over a Category 5 Hurricane. It was found family and always showing up. It was showing love over and over again until you can say it, until you can believe it. It was a horrible past but a rainbow of a future.

Trigger Warnings: sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, physical abuse, psychological trauma and trauma responses, abandonment and neglect, homelessness, power imbalance and coercion, stalking and tracking behavior, violence, threats of violence, and more. 

#stormy #benji #levi #floridapanhandle #floridapanhandleseries #wrenwilds #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Grind (Gymbos #3)

KM Neuhold's latest: "Grind." It's the third novel in her new Gymbos series.

["Hockey star Diego Ferguson says he knows about the grind, but he’s about to learn that his new personal trainer, Callan, gives the word a whole new meaning.

Everyone in Chicago has been following the news about Diego's injury and the last season spent on the bench. It doesn’t hurt that he's got a major sexy brood going on in every picture I see of him these days.

The last place I expected him to show up was Sweat. But he's looking for a personal trainer to help him get fully back in shape before the season, and I'm just the guy for the job.

It figures that he's straight, but that doesn’t mean I can't enjoy the view while I help get his fine backside ready to get back out on the ice.

He's definitely as surly as his pictures, and twice as arrogant. Turns out he's also desperate for some bro time in between workouts, and I'm more than qualified to be the guy for that job too.

Maybe he's not as straight as he claims. Maybe he just needs a little fun to get his confidence back up after last season. Maybe I'll let myself indulge in a harmless fling with a cocky, bi-curious hockey player as a little treat. I work hard after all, and I deserve a little fun too.

We both know it can't last, but puck it, a summer fling is always a good time."]

UGH! All of the bro-ing, all of the challenges, all of the 80s movies, all of the grilling. All of the falling from friendship to more. This was fluffy and filled with all kinds of fun. It was flirty and adorable. It was honest and careful. So much found family, and re-finding your found family. It was beautiful. 

I loved how easy this book was. There was just enough angst to get you to continue reading (and for some serious character arcs), but there wasn't anything crazy stressful. Their friendship was easy, their relationship was easy. They communicated like a dream (they read each other like a dream). 

And here's to Slaps. You go, boo!

Trigger Warnings: sports related homophobia, minor internalized homophobia, and more. 

#jacked #pumped #grind #gymbos #gymbosseries #kmneuhold #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

September's Book Shape Challenge 2026

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 September's Book Shape Challenge! Virgo!!

#reading #readingchallenge #readingdare #bookdare #bookchallenge #alphabetchallenge #beatthebacklog #monthlythemes #monthlychallenge #bookshape #bookshapechallenges #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Tracking Wolfe (Made Marian #4)

Here's Lucy Lennox's "Tracking Wolfe." It's the fourth book in her Made Marian Legacy series, which is a spin-off series from her Made Marian series and her Billionaire Brother series, and this book is set in the same area as her Aster Valley series (the first and the last are also connected to her Forever Wilde series).

["I’ve been in love with Trace Bishop half my life… 
And I’ve been hiding it just as long.

He’s my father’s best friend. 
The man who tracked me down and kept me safe my entire childhood…

The man who looked me in the eyes six years ago and said we were impossible.

So I poured my longing into love songs.
Songs no one knows are about Trace. 
I shared them with the world under a secret identity and won a Grammy.
Just another thing to hide. 

Then one stupid kiss changes everything.

Trace can’t want me back. 
It would cost him his friends, his family, and the life he’s built. 
And I’m tired of wanting the impossible.  
So I run… 

Straight into the crosshairs of someone who knows all my secrets and doesn’t care who gets hurt.

Trace does what he always does–he finds me. 
But this time, he’s not tracking his best friend’s son.
He’s tracking the man whose kiss he can’t forget. 
The man he’ll burn his life down to keep. 

Because if Trace and I want a chance at forever, hiding is no longer an option."]

Lucy is always SOO good at making the mutual pining so incredibly sweet but also so incredibly painful. The angst is somehow romantic and we're okay with that. It blows my mind each and every time. 

The utterly dedication after the MCs get through their angst? The utter devotion? The no-holds-bared out-loud obsession? The pure fluff? The perfect amount of spice? Allllll of the yyyeeesss.

I could live without the live-or-death situations in each book on this series, while in the middle of nature, with nature doing what nature does best. *sigh* I only mean that a little bit. It adds so much danger and suspense to the novel, but it also highlights how fucking competent the MCs are. It also further highlights that dedication and the protection (without smothering the other). 

Am I thrilled that we get a bonus story for Val and Brennan? Hell yes. Am I thrilled that we have to wait months and months for Gabe's HEA? Not so much (tis the life of a reader though).

Trigger Warnings: blackmail, drugging, manipulation, kidnapping, and more. 

#recusingdrmarian #burningforalexander #owningjett #trackingwolfe #holdinggabriel #mademarianlegacy #mademarianlegacyseries #mademarian #mademarianseries #thebillionairebrotherhood #thebillionairebrotherhoodseries # #astervalley #astervalleyseries #foreverwilde #foreverwildeseries #lucylennox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Claiming His Fate Mate (Wolves of Crescent Springs #1)

"Claiming His Fate Mate" is the first book in Jay Castle's Wolves of Crescent Springs series, which is a Blood Bonded Mates spin-off.

["A reluctant alpha. A fearless human detective. And a mate bond neither man can escape.

Reed
Protecting Crescent Springs from the horrors that lurk in the shadows is a duty I never asked for and didn’t want. It leaves no room for error. And zero room for a mate. Especially not a human.
Harris is fragile. Breakable. He’s a risk I can’t afford. But the moment our eyes meet, the bond snaps into place. And the mate dreams begin. My wolf already knows the truth. Harris is mine.
But if I let him into my world, the monsters circling this town will tear him apart. I’m the Alpha. But I’m not sure I’m strong enough to keep him alive.

Harris
For months, I’ve been haunted. Every night, I’m pulled into dreams of a small mountain town where Reed waits for me in the dark. I wake up exhausted, obsessed, and terrified that I’m losing my mind.
Then I discover that these dreams mean Reed is my destiny. And he’s known it all along.
Reed says his world is too dangerous. But if the wolf thinks I’m going to run, he’s dead wrong. He might be the Alpha, but what he doesn’t know is that I won't stop until he's mine."]

When this first came out, I was heavy in a very confusing mood-reading mood (still sorta am), but I’m trying to get sooommme of my TBR backlog cleared. 

These two were a hot mess. They were a cute hot mess though. They struggled with a lot individually, but together, they were stronger. They helped heal each other's past traumas, they helped build each other's confidence, they helped dream each other's future. Even if there were...several things holding back their HEA. 

I canNOT wait for the next one! And silly me missed the ARC sign-up opportunity, so here's to waiting until the official debut date. 

Trigger Warnings: supernatural violence, on-page temporary death of a MC, depictions of SC depression and suicidal ideation, active-shooter flashback, temporary loss of bodily autonomy due to supernatural threat, grief and survivor's guilt, and more. 

#claiminghisfatedmate  #wolvesofcrescentsprings #wolvesofcrescentspringsseries #jaycastle #bloodbondedmates #bloodbondedmatesseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Apricity (Mafia Babes #3)

Here's "Apricity" by Paulina Ian-Kane. This is the third novel her Mafia Babes series.

["My vendetta comes first.

My only goal in life is to decimate the Enzino Family.
Kidnapping the spoiled mafia prince before his wedding wasn’t what I had in mind. But needs must when the devil drives—I just didn’t know I’d be babysitting his minion.

Art Enzino.
Tiny, feisty, snarky, and completely insane. He walks around wearing skimpy skirts and delicate body chains while shaking his lace-clad butt. I might kill him sooner than planned; to hell with my boss’s schemes. After all, a punishment from him would be less agonizing than spending another moment dodging Art’s flirtatious advances.

I don’t know what his game is, but I won’t bite. I may be Bi, but I don’t share my bed with trash—even if he’s disguised himself as a sexy, elvish-looking twink who smells like sunshine and apples.

Art is still the enemy—son of the man who destroyed my family and brother of the monster who scarred my face and took everything from me.

I’ve waited years to savor my revenge, and now the time has finally come.
I’ll do whatever it takes to return peace to my parents, and no one will stop me. Especially not an overly promiscuous, brainless mafia prince who only cares about indulging and partying."]

I waited for ages and ages for this one, counting down the days until it came out. Then I couldn't read it. I'm not sure if it was the length (worth it) or the angst (worth it) or the triggers (worth it), but I put it off.

This book was sooo good (I still think I like Fly's the best). The hate-hate-hate that somehow, someway, when no one was looking (except Marco and Seb), it turned into hate-love. How many couples do their big grand feelings declarations by saying "I hate-love you"? These two. (While surrounded by blood and dead bodies? Everyone in this series (seriously)). Mafia romances, man.

I canNOT wait for Seb's story. The guy who's going to be Seb's HEA is going to be Fly + Art on crack, but somehow sweet. 

Trigger Warnings: on-page disfigured young man dead body, graphic violence, murder, torture with very gory details, torture of a MC, knife cutting/use, gun use, reference to past torture, obsessed brother/twisted relationship, descriptions of past and present abuse, description of injuries past and present, on-page assault of MC, attempted kidnapping, and more.

#petrichor #pragma #apricity #mafiababes #mafiababesseries #paulinaiankane #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks