Pretty (King's Heart #2)

Continuing on a TBR/Beat-The-Backlog kick (and ignoring my ARCs kick). Here's "Pretty" by L Waltree, which is a part of the King's Heart series.

["Declan
He was supposed to be the one that understood.
The one that was different. But he’s just like everyone else.
It doesn’t really matter, though. At school, I’m the weird outcast, and he’s the big popular jock.
We were doomed from the start.
And yet, I keep finding myself drawn to him, no matter how much I don’t want to be.
I need to stay away, but I don’t think I can.

Javier
He was all I had in the world.
Mi muñequito.
Then he threw it all away.
So I wiped my hands of him.
Or I tried.
But he crept his way back into my brain. Back into my life.
I need to leave him in the past, but I don’t think I can."]

YES, all of the yes. This book was fucking amazing. Granted, I still loved the first one a litttle more, but this was far from a disappointment.

It was everything. It was pining and angst, it was fluff and spice, it was yearning and hesitation. It was history and future. It was fate, pushing and pulling them apart (okay, that wasn't fate. that was judgement and butt-hurt-ness preventing communication, looking at you Javi). 

Their friends knew they were meant to be, knew that they were falling in love, even if they didn't (okay, Declan knew what was happening, even if he was pissed off about it (and scared af)). I loooved these two, loved them (even if they made me cry).

Trigger Warnings: mention of suicide, emotional abuse, alcohol abuse, domestic abuse, mention of date rape and sexual assault, assault, drugging, arrest of a loved one, victim blaming, victim in denial, sexual assault of a minor (off page, alluded to), and more.

#arc #arcteammember
#safe #pretty #kingsheart #kingsheartseries #lwaltree #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks 

Orc CEO's Fake Fiancé (Billionaire Monster Deals #3)

Here's Viva Wilder's "Orc CEO's Fake Fiancé." It's the third novel in the Billionaire Monster Deals series.

["The coffee was an accident. Getting on his knees to mop it off the Orc CEO's crotch was a choice. A bad one.

Now Leo Caletti — broke, desperate, held together with duct tape and audition rejections — is fake-engaged to Gorrat "Gore" Vane, a seven-foot-two wall of grey muscle in a $20,000 suit who doesn't smile, doesn't blink, and smells like rain and bad decisions.

The deal is three months, fifty grand, no touching.

The deal falls apart in six days. Because Leo's scent triggers something ancient in Gore's biology — something possessive, feral, and very, very permanent. And now the Orc who filed his tusks for boardrooms is growling at waiters, scent-marking Leo's clothes, and building a nest he won't admit exists.

But Gore's father wants the bond destroyed, the company seized, and Leo gone. To survive, they'll have to the empire or each other.

They choose violence."]

This book was a mix of fluff and pining and fate and hormones and real feelings. But it was also so angst and self-sacrifice-y and light guilt and pain (soooo much pain). 

I loved these two. Even if there should have been a conversation or two before the bonding..about the bonding, but fate doesn't always leave room for talking about bonding consequences. Or toxic family members out for money and revenge. 

I loooved these two (I just said that, and I've said it again). They were adorable and a little manic and a lot possessive, but they were beautiful and supportive as hell. Granted, it was devastating and I cried, but I loooved them.

#orcceosfakeboyfriend #orcceossecretboyfriend #orcceosfakefiance #vivawilder #billionairemonsterdeals #billionairemonsterdealsseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Orc CEO's Fake Boyfriend (Billionaire Monster Deals #1)

Here's Viva Wilder's "Orc CEO's Fake Boyfriend." It's the first novel in the Billionaire Monster Deals series.

["Marlowe Quinn has three rules for surviving as a show up early, stay invisible, and never end up in a viral photo with your billionaire boss.

So much for rules.

One spilled coffee and suddenly the internet thinks he's dating Soren Vexley—seven feet of green-skinned, tusk-bearing orc CEO who built a Fortune 500 company and refuses to smile in photographs.

Soren's solution? A contract. Sixty days of fake dating to spin the story. He pays off Marlowe's student loans, they walk away clean.

Simple. Professional. No feelings.

Except Soren isn't the cold monster the tabloids make him out to be. He's careful. Protective. He remembers how Marlowe takes his coffee. And when a board member with a vendetta threatens everything Soren's built, Marlowe realizes he'll do anything to protect him.

The contract says sixty days. Their hearts didn't get the memo."]

These two were beautiful...and kinda disasters. Then again, the disasters mainly found them.

These two found each other and fell in love all the while dodging one disaster after another, one horrible person after another. They trusted each other and leaned on each other and found themselves falling hopelessly in love. Along with some inside jokes and found family and mended fences. 

#orcceosfakeboyfriend #orcceossecretboyfriend #orcceosfakefiance #vivawilder #billionairemonsterdeals #billionairemonsterdealsseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Extra Credit (The Boys of Elmwood U #1)

Here's Hayden Hall's "Extra Credit." It's the first novel in his new series, The Boys of Elmwood U.

["Look, I’m not stupid. I’m just really, really bad at Statistics.

Bad enough that Coach is threatening to bench me if I don’t pull my grades up. Bad enough that Professor Colby assigned me a tutor from the Thinkers’ House: a nerd who actually enjoys calculating standard deviations.

Enter Bennet Marlowe: certified genius, overpowered paladin in shiny armor, and the most annoyingly attractive guy I’ve ever failed to impress. He’s all sharp edges and sharper wit, hiding behind oversized sweaters and reading glasses that have no business making me lose focus during study sessions. He’s also completely off-limits. It’s hard to learn anything when all I can think about is whether he’d let me kiss him if I got the answer right.

And yet, I keep finding excuses to see him. Crashing his D&D night. Convincing him to see a movie with me when my date bails. Walking him home and standing too close on his doorstep. Kissing him clumsily near said doorstep.

And somewhere between pivot tables and probability, I’m starting to think maybe I’m not just bad at Statistics. I’m catastrophically bad at keeping my hands to myself.

I’ve got one semester to pass this class and keep my scholarship. Falling for my tutor is definitely not the kind of extra credit I signed up for."]

These two were adorable as hell. Head over heals from the very beginning, even if they wanted to deny, deny, deny. And a lot of that angst was deny, deny, deny..deny your own feelings, deny that your good enough, deny that the other could possibly feel the same way. 

Luckily they had friends (and dogs and a utter lack of a filter) to get them to the HEA.

#gayromancereviews #grr #arcs #arcteammember
#extracredit #theboysofelmwoodu #theboysofelmwooduseries #haydenhall #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Gone Wild (Wild Hearts #1)

Here's "Gone Wild" by Jesse H Reign. It's the first novel in the new Wild Hearts series.

["He’s my ex-boyfriend’s brother, an alpha with an old-fashioned face and a rugged demeanor. I’m the omega who’s managed to get myself stranded in the middle of nowhere with him during a snowstorm.

It’s fine though. It’s not like anything’s going to happen between us. We’re both adults and we have this thing called self-control. There’s nothing to worry about.

Except, there’s a trickle of heat flowing through my veins, and things are happening in my body that I can’t explain.

Wait. I’m not going into heat, am I?"]

God was this book good! Jesse took a (small) risk diving into the omega-verse, but it was so worth it. This omega-verse was slightly different than the other's I read, which I loved. The lore and the history was unique and fun.

These two were utterly adorable. Even if they (okay just Lucy) didn't see it for the longest of times. They matched each other in so many ways, made each other better in so many ways. 

I can't wait for more!

#gonewild #wildhearts #wildheartsseries #jessehreign #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Barbarian's Heart (Savagely Sweet #1)

TBR, who? ARCS, what? Here's Amy Padilla's latest: "Barbarian's Heart." It's the first novel in her Savagely Sweet series, which is a Not-So-Savage Barbarian's spin-off.

["After losing my bondmate to illness, I’d accepted that my time to love was in the past. I promised her on her death bed that I’d never take another bondmate, and I meant it.

Instead I’ve lived my life to serve my clan, lending my assistance when they needed me and continuing to act as clan leader while Uttin traveled from town to town, freeing those who were forced to hide who they loved. I told myself devotion was enough.

I never expected one of those townsfolk to sway my heart.

He looked at me not as a leader or a legend, but as a man. An equal. Someone worthy of soft smiles and unguarded hope.

Loving him would mean breaking the last promise I made to the woman I lost. This choice could be the one that finally breaks me, or it could put my heart back together again."]

My GOD! D: These two were adorable as hell. From Cedric's love of paperwork to Urthorr's love of family, they were perfect for each other. Okay, that doesn't make it seem like they are, but they are. They're both soft but fierce, family-oriented, wanting safety and peace for their friends, serious but easy to laugh/tease, hopeful for a brighter future.

Their chemistry was instant. And with all of the previous tribute's help, there wasn't a language barrier or a miscommunication in the very beginning. They clicked and felt safe following that connection. And then it grew and grew and exploded in a fiery storm of steam and fluff to end all steam/fluff.

This new series has SO much potential!! I can't wait for all of the new couples (and a possible poly???)!!

#barbariansheart #savagelysweet #savagelysweetseries #notsosavagebarbarians #notsosavagedbarbariansseries #amypadilla #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Reaper's Violet (Steel Phoenixes MC #1)

Here's "Reaper's Violet" by Ethan Brand. It's the first novel in his Steel Phoenixes MC series.

["You don't save a man like Reaper and walk away clean.

Axel. Vice President of the Steel Phoenixes MC. 6'7" of raw muscle, faded ink, and a decade of silence where his heart used to be. The last man who got close to him ended up in the ground, and Axel's been making damn sure no one gets close again.

Kai. ER nurse. Smart mouth. Violet highlights in his hair that he wears like a dare. He's spent years building a quiet small apartment, night shifts, no attachments. Safe. Boring. His.

Then he finds a dying giant bleeding out on the concrete at 3 AM, and his hands move before his brain catches up.

One act of mercy. That's all it takes.

Now Axel owes his life to a civilian with soft eyes and steady hands—the worst kind of weakness for a man with enemies. And Kai? Kai just stepped into a war he didn't know existed. A trafficking ring with cops on its payroll. An FBI agent who wants the Phoenixes burned to the ground. And a clubhouse full of outlaws who've already decided he's one of theirs.

Axel knows what happens to people he cares about. He should push Kai away. He should disappear. He should do anything other than pin this man against a wall and…

Too late."]

The romance wasn't as slow burn or as angsty or as spicy (though it did get spicer) as I had imagined. But it was still so fabulous.

This book was about about second chances and found family and proving yourself (to yourself) and living life bravely and taking chances. 

This book really set up a great foundation for an entire series, so many clues already to so many future couples. 

Trigger Warnings: violence, stalking, threats, trafficking, foster system, toxic parents, mentions of past child abuse, homophobia, corruption, and more.

#reapersviolet #tanksagent #steelphoenixesmc #steelphoenixesmcseries #ethanbrande #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks