Goodbye, March!

And I thought February was stressful. Goodness, March was...one endless stress after another. Really needed this week to decompress and revive. 

2026 Resolutions:

     (1) Don't stop reading
            (b) Complete Monthly Reading Challenge(s)
     (2) Make memories
     (3) Share love of books/reading
     (4) Be kinder to myself

(1) Book's Read This Month: 38 (though, I might squeeze one more in before midnight).

    (b) Monthly Reading Challenge(s): Shape = Pisces. Got some A-Z stuff recorded. Some ARCs. Got a lot of Beat The Backlog done.

(2) March Memories: Unfortunately, a lot of work; I was clocking in 40+ hours for weeks (another reason I feel no guilt taking some time off this week). But I did get to sleep in often, which was really nice. My bestie had her birthday, and we had a fabulous birthday dinner + speakeasy together. 

(3) Posts this month (including this one): 36.

(4) This month started with lingering work stress from last month. Which really meshed well into my predictable up-tic (down-tic?) of my depression that happens every March. Fun. But it also showed me who I had behind me, who my real support systems were. I managed to keep myself (mostly) calm and mantra-ed my way through. I took this week mostly off, to get back into a good mindset and reconnect to myself, my family, my books. 

Anyone still holding onto their resolutions?

Any exciting April reads? Any existing 2026 reads?
Anything I should check out?

#newyearsresolutions #goodbyemarch #helloapril #hello2026 #dontstopreading #makememories #shareloveofbooks #shareloveofreading #bekindertomyself #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Killer Crush (Kiss. Kill. Repeat. #1)

Here's Onley James's latest: a novella titled "Killer Crush." It's the first installment of her newest series Kiss. Kill. Repeat.

["Cade Carpenter doesn’t believe in fate—he believes in timing, precision, and clean exits. Killing people is easy. Keeping feelings out of it is even easier. When a dating app ping interrupts his latest job, he doesn’t think twice before answering. One bad date is the perfect cover for a hit.

Tris is a walking diagnosis wrapped in a pretty face and borrowed confidence. He talks too much, laughs too loud, and blurts out every intrusive thought that crosses his mind. He’s used to being “too much” for people—too awkward, too intense, too everything. So, when a gorgeous stranger actually says yes to his ridiculous question about the world’s worst date, Tris can’t help but hope, for once, that he won’t be the punchline.

But what’s supposed to be an ironic night out turns into something out of a true crime documentary when Tris stumbles upon Cade mid-kill. Now, there’s a body, a locked ship in open water, and two men with dangerously bad timing.

It was supposed to be easy. Get in, get out. But now, they’re trapped on a Titanic replica with a dead body and no place to run. Can Cade convince Tris that just because he’s a killer doesn’t mean he’s not the one?"]

My gooood, these two were utterly adorable. And perfect for each other. Their online meet-cute and instant chemistry had me giggling and feet-kicking. Their first in-person meet-cute was equally sweet as it was spicy. Their first date...complicated. Then again, Tris did has for the best worst date..

I love the instant and Knowing feeling of m.o.r.e that Onley's books contain. It's powerful and fateful, much like a magical realism/fantasy/paranormal read, but more fictionally based (and more murder based).

I could have (and would have) read an entire, full-length novel version of these two. Also could (would (want to)) read a mini cross-over with literally any of the Mulvaneys. Though...how sure we we that MajorTom isn't Thomas??? 

Trigger Warnings: violence, murder, brief mention of suicide/suicidal ideation, and more.

#killercrush #onleyjames #kisskillrepeat #kisskillrepeatseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Stick Around (Punk as Puck #4) (Legends and Fury #1)

Here's EM Lindsey's "Stick Around." It's the fourth novel in her Punk as Puck series (and also the first novel in the Legends and Fury series?).

[""Would you slap a teammate for twenty-five grand?"
"Uh, yeah. There are a few I'd slap for free. Just point me in the right direction."

Problem number one: My personal life is falling apart.
Problem number two: My public life is also on thin freaking ice.
Problem number three: The ridiculously hot NHL D-man with the inability to remove his head from his ass has decided I’m his number one target.

And that last one is a bit of an issue since his idea of targeting me is to have absurdly hot hate-hookups with me in the locker room. Which I don’t necessarily mind…

Except there’s one tiny snag in his plan: I don’t like guys.

Or, well, I didn’t think I liked guys.

But when Alexio Zeki drops to his knees and, uh, gets to business, I realize my very narrow view of my own sexuality needs some adjustment.

And that’s ironic coming from a blind man.

Admitting I’m bisexual is the easy part.

Admitting I’m kind of, sort of, ridiculously into the man I claimed to hate is something else entirely. But the more he insists that I’m worth keeping, the more I start wanting to believe him."]

Fuuuuk me. These two almost ruined me. It was a level of hurt/comfort that only comes from enemies who aren't really enemies just two hotheads who don't really know each other. Who collide again and again until the chemistry and the think-y-thoughts become doing-thoughts. Again and again. Until the doing-thoughts became Feelings. Until it's just far too late to go back.

And then I cried. So like, thanks for that. Could have been worse I guess. Then again, no one's more stubborn than a hothead. 

I did NOT think that we would get even more characters that I could obsess over. And yet, here we are. I canNOT (nooooot) wait for the next book. Fucking obsessed with Vanya

Trigger Warnings: past and current narcissistic parenting, ableism, on-page descriptions of having a parent with Alzheimer's, on-page hockey injury, C-PTSD, trauma recovery, and more.

#zeropucks #puckedup #absolutelypucked #stickaround #hattrick #emlindsey #punkaspuck #punkaspuckseries #legendsandfury #legendsandfuryseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Mr. Trick Play (The Playmakers #1)

Here's "Mr. Trick Play" by Becca Jackson. It's the first novel in the The Playmakers series.

["Luka

I've dreamed of being in the NHL since I was a kid, and even though I wasn't drafted to the same team as my best friend, Cosmo, I'm determined to prove I belong here.

But when I meet my new no-nonsense captain, veteran defenseman Reid Raines, there is just one problem. Reid isn't impressed by my flashy moves. In fact, he's determined to rein in risk-takers like me and teach me to play it safe.

What he doesn't know is that I have a plan of my own, one that has less to do with holding back my killer instincts and more to do with knocking him off balance with my wit and charm.

Basically, it's time to Luka-love-bomb the captain.

But the more time we spend together, on and off the ice, the harder it is to ignore a shift between us.

My infectious energy has chipped away at Reid's cool exterior, and every heated exchange feels charged with something new. Now I'm even more excited to see what will happen when the captain finally lets himself lose control."]

These two both wanted similar things: success, praise for their success, happiness, not disappointing others, love. Though, that last one wasn't the highest on the list. It kinda just came in and slap them over the head. 

They didn't get along for the longest of times. There was a small vein of hurt/comfort. The second they let their true feelings and their chemistry take over, the other things kinda just slipped away.

I'm SO happy to be in the same universe as Becca's other books. Plus all of the cameos (and future cameos). I canNOT wait for the rest of the series!

Trigger Warnings: off screen past loss of parents, and more. 

#arcs #arcteammember #grr #gayromancereviews
#mrtrickplay #mrbreakaway #mrslapshot #mrpowerplay #beccajackson #theplaymakers #theplaymakersseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Full Moon Faceoff (Wolves of Burlington #1)

Here's "Full Moon Faceoff" by Max Walker. It's the first novel in the Wolves of Burlington series.

["Elijah Sager joins the Burlington Bobcats to escape a brutal breakup and prove he's more than the mistakes his ex made him believe he was. The last thing he needs is the team's star player—publicly straight, impossibly hot Gabriel Sanderson—watching him like he wants to devour him whole.

Gabe has spent years keeping his secrets locked down he's gay, he's a wolf shifter, and his pack's territory is under threat. But when Eli steps onto the ice, Gabe's wolf recognizes something a fated mate. The pull is magnetic and impossible to ignore.

As a rival pack closes in with threats that escalate from intimidation to kidnapping, and a deadly enemy emerges from the shadows, Gabe and Eli are forced together by something neither can control. Between championship games and full moon transformations, they'll have to fight for their lives, their pack, and a love that could destroy them both... or make them unstoppable."]

Their first meeting was very Twilight...I'm obsessed. 

These two were adorable. They tried so hard to stay away, but fate had other plans. They kept coming together again and again, little hockey magnets. 

Plus all of the found family and utter love and support. 

I can't wait for more!!

Trigger Warnings: toxic/manipulative ex, violence, mild gore, threats/blackmail,  and more.

#fullmoonfaceoff #wolvesofburlington #wolvesofburlingtonseries #maxwalker #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Tribute to the Warlord

Here's "Tribute to the Warlord" by Atlas Jones.

["When Evran's actions bring scandal upon his noble house, his father casts him out in the cruelest way imaginable—sending him to the dreaded Drakkari clan as tribute. To his people, the Drakkari are little more than bloodthirsty savages who rule the northern wastes, and Evran arrives at their stronghold expecting chains, brutality, or worse.

Instead, he finds himself face-to-face with Warlord Vaike, whose cold fury burns at the insult of being sent a human offering. The Drakkari, Evran discovers, are not the monsters of his people's stories—and Vaike refuses to be complicit in what he sees as a father's enslavement of his son disguised as a peace offering.

When the warlord announces his intention to return Evran immediately, panic seizes the young exile. He knows the reception waiting for his father's wrath, a living death worse than anything these so-called barbarians could devise.

With nowhere left to run and nothing left to lose, Evran does the only thing he can—he pleads with the stern warlord and offers a bargain that will bind their fates his absolute service in exchange for Vaike's protection."]

I wasn't too sure about this book. It sounded a lot like Amy Padilla's "Not-So-Savage Barbarian" series. And there was a lot of exposition and scene description (a lot).

But it was beautiful. It was slightly Viking (but not) vibes, all of the found family and strong community and support and love. But more mountains and less fjords.

And these two? Equally as idiotic walking disasters. They both had their reasons to isolate and protect themselves. But everyone (literally everyone) saw the chemistry and the mutual pining between them. It was, quite frankly, as adorable as it was frustrating. It was a slow burn (not usually a fan), but the eventual burn was so worth the wait. 

I could do with more of these people and their HEAs...just saying.

Trigger Warnings: manipulation/blackmail, asshole parents, attempted assault, mild violence, and more.

#tributetothewarlord #atlasjones #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Bite Me Not

Here's "Bite Me Not" by Ray Celar.

["A vampire walks into a bar....

Eric
Unintentionally giving the guy I totally haven’t been stalking for the past three years a spiked drink was an accident, I swear.
I mean, how was I supposed to know that ‘The Special’ was a drink vampires ordered to help with… feeding?
I’ve dreamed of having Finn in my arms for years, but ever since I was turned into a vampire, I knew it couldn’t happen. Tasting his blood, even just a tiny drop to make sure he was okay, wasn’t supposed to happen either, and especially not like this.
But that little taste left me with a bigger problem than just having my unconscious crush in my he’s sick, and I don’t know what to do about it. I can’t just walk up to him and tell him I know he’s sick because I might’ve taken a teeny, tiny sip of his blood, can I?
So, leaving a note on his apartment door is the reasonable thing to do, right?

Finn
My life is stressful enough; I really don’t need medical advice from a creepy stalker, too. I mean, he’s implying he somehow got a blood sample. Like, WTF?! The fact that he’s spot on with the diagnosis—which was taped to my door—is even more disturbing.
Hopefully, he’ll back off once I’m better.
I need a distraction from everything that’s going on—and Eric is exactly what the doctor ordered. He’s attentive and serious, but his stoic face goes all soft when he looks at me.
So maybe I’m ignoring a few red flags on my quest to keep my mind off my stalker. And, okay, while a lot of things with Eric don’t add up and nearly everything points to him being a vampire… that would be ludicrous, right?"]

YES. All of the yes. Except for all of the moments when Eric chose "heart-eyed-idiot" instead of...ya know...not leaving more creepy notes.

But...frankly...Finn was more accepting than anything. He was skeptical as hell and scared as fuck, but when all of that passed, he was too in love with Erin to really put up much of a fight. 

They were adorable as hell. Just wanting the best for each other, wanting each other to be happy and safe. 

This book was giving serious first-in-series vibes, and I'm here for it. 

Trigger Warnings: light stalking, drugging of an MC (once), biting (dubcon), violence, kidnapping, blood and gore, and more

#arcs #arcteammember #grr #gayromancereviews
#bitemenot #raycelar #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks