Carnage (Crestvale Killers #3)

Here's "Carnage" by Mia Monroe. It's the third novel in the Crestvale Killers series.

["Take out an entire gang just to get close to the man I’m obsessed with? I’m in.

Rue
Leave it to me to get caught up with the wrong crowd as soon as I move to the big city. Now I’m trapped with nowhere to run, stuck counting down the days until the worst man alive decides he’s done with me. I’m too afraid to ask what happens after that.
Then I see him. A viable escape route. He’s just as scary as my current captor, but there’s a kindness in his eyes that draws me closer. Out of one fire into another, but maybe this one won’t burn as much. I’m obsessed with finding him again, and when I do, I’ll do anything to get him to save me.

Carnage
The last thing I need is to get caught up in business that isn’t mine, but the minute I see the stunning blond with way too innocent eyes pleading with me from across the bar, I’m hooked. This isn’t a mild interest, it’s taking over my world, and I can’t rest until I find him.
I know he’s supposed to be with me and I’ll burn this entire city down to make it happen. Getting him away from the men he’s tied up with won’t be an easy task, but easy things bore me anyway. Turns out, my obsession has a wild streak in him that rivals my own. This is gonna be fun.
Revenge will be sweet, but maybe, love is even sweeter."]

These two were sooo perfect for each other. They were both afraid of the other, in a I-might-catch-feelings kind of way (and in the this-has-the-potential-to-break-me kind of way).

But they figured it out. They talked with each other, with their found family. They were honest with what they were feeling and with what they wanted. It was refreshing (even if the group of them are all contract killers).

I canNOT wait for the rest of these men to fall utterly smitten and get their HEAs.

Trigger Warnings: kidnapping, emotional abuse, unwanted sexual advances, previous parental murder/suicide, discussion of child SA material and trafficking, violence, murder, and more.

#specter #wraith #carnage #whisper #crestvalekillers #crestvalekillersseries #miamonroe #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Finding Home (Bridgeport Jetties: The Call-Up Years #0.5)

Here's "Finding Home" by Lizzie C Koz. It's the prequel novel in her Bridgeport Jetties: The Call-Up Years series.

["The world keeps the ugly truth about love to itself: Not everyone falls in love with someone who will love them back.

EASTON
My dream is finally coming true. Why? Because your boy just got drafted to play pro baseball. Yee-haw! (Ohmygod, did I just say yee-haw?)
There’s one glaring thing missing though. Maddox. My ride-or-die. It was always supposed to be us—major league ballplayers, side by side.
But now I’m the one who made it, and I have to leave him behind.
I don’t know how I’ll handle the distance when I haven’t spent a day apart from Maddy since we were six.
I keep reminding myself it’ll be okay. We’ll talk every day. Text, call, video chat. It’ll be like he’s right there with me.
Yeah, this is fine. Totally fine.
But then why do I feel like I’m leaving an essential part of myself back in Connecticut?

MADDOX
I did the one thing literally everyone tells you not to do.
I fell in love with my straight best friend.
Yep. That’s me—the cliché gay boy who lost his heart to a boy who can’t love him back. I know it’s stupid. I know I should move on. But me and East? We’re inseparable. From T-ball at six to D1 college ball, we’ve done everything together…and that’s exactly the problem.
I can’t get over him like this. I need space. And I think this is my chance. He’s leaving for his minor league assignment for a couple months.
I’ll use the time to cleanse myself of Easton Winters, and when he comes back, we’ll be best friends again. For real this time.
No more pathetic pining."]

This book was sooo emotional. So much pining, so much confusion, sooo much heartbreak. I cried harder in this novella than I did in several of the last books I've read.

But after they finally talked? There wasn't much angst at all. It was all fluff and sweetness (and some silly awkwardness). It was all friendship finally finding it's home.

Trigger Warnings: brief references to suicide/self-harm concerns, references to homophobia, internalized homophobia, sexism, toxic masculinity, struggles arising form heteronormativity, emotional struggle, self-doubt, and more.

#findinghome #stealingforever #hidingintheoutfield #lizzieckoz #bridgeportjetties #bridgeportjetiesthecallupyears #bridgeportjettiesseries #bridgeportjetiesthecallupyearsseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Shadow King (Shadowmen #2)

Here's S Rodman's "Shadow King." It's the second novel in the Shadowmen series.

["I’ve summoned a shadow king from another realm.

In my defence, he burned my flat down, destroyed my 90s emo record collection, and tried to use me as bait to get my best friend killed. He had it coming.

What I did not expect was for him to be so insufferably, unreasonably, categorically attractive. Or for the binding to work quite so well. He's trapped in the human world until I decide to let him go.

I'm not in a hurry.

His name is Dis. As in discord, disillusion, dismay, disaster.

I call him Disney. He hates it.

He calls me Little Witch. I don’t entirely hate it.

He is the most dangerous thing I have ever summoned. He was the weapon that carried out a coup in the Shadow Realm. He has powers that make grown shadow beings step carefully around him. He is ancient and controlled and furious about his current situation in ways he is too dignified to fully express.

He's also stuck in my flat above a coffee shop in Bristol until further notice.

This is either the worst idea I have ever had or the best.

Probably both."]

Bonding with your "worst enemy" and the fiercest shadow king in all the realms by watching British Baking Off. While said shadow king critiques the contestants choices like it's actual war and accidentally reveals more than he originally intended, including his utter gentlemen-y-ness. While Felix slowly lowers his walls (to the shadow king and the most cheerful person in all of existence) and slowly becomes *shudder* wholesome. 

These two had soooo much more in common than either of them were prepared for. So much dark baggage’s and heavy trauma. So much nemeses validation and safety. They found it together, all of the fluffy cuteness and home-ness. Falling in love so fast and seemingly so sudden that it knocked them off their feet (figuratively).

I canNOT wait for the next book. If anyone deserves at HEA, it's the cute little cult-survivor bunny. And it’s obsessed and utterly hopelessly in love at first sight shadow lord. 

Trigger Warnings: parental estrangement, reference to child abandonment, reference to being thrown out of family home, exile and banishment, home invasion, violence, poverty and financial difficulties, captivity, illness, and more.

#shadowprince #shadowking #shadowlord #shadowmen #shadowmenseries #srodman #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

The Alien's Who Abducted Me Aren't That Bad

Here's Amy Padilla's latest: "The Alien's Who Abducted Me Aren't That Bad."

["When I first saw the headline about alien ships hovering over major cities, I did what any traumatized millennial would do. I rolled my eyes and kept scrolling.

Then the call came. Report to base. No explanation.

Before I could even process what was happening, I was yanked off Earth and dumped onto an alien ship alongside millions of military personnel from around the world.

Except these aliens—the Krezikians—aren’t here to conquer us. They’re here to stop humanity from destroying the only livable planet we have. Which is… noble, terrifying, and wildly inconvenient when you’re being “saved” against your will.

Things get complicated when I sneak out to check on a friend and get caught by gorgeous, sweet, and equipped with a set of curious tentacles that do not understand the concept of personal space. Suddenly, I’m being shoved into the role of Earth’s unwilling spokesperson, spending far too much time with my abductor-turned-ally… and discovering his interest in me might not be entirely diplomatic.

Turns out that the monsters in this situation might not be the ones from space.
And maybe the aliens who abducted me… aren’t that bad."]

A sweet, himbo alien, willing to go anything to protect his new..'coworker'..and the human race as a whole. Versus a human who didn't ask for any of this, quite actually said 'no' to most of this.

This was utterly fabulous! There were such perfect moments of "fuuuck" and "fuck it" that perfectly balanced each other, so many "I won't do it" versus the "well I guess I'm doing it." Just as the Aster perfectly balanced Enzo. They made it work, all amongst the humans making it sooo freaking hard to save (which, let's be honest...not entirely wrong). 

I'm a little obsessed. I don't necessarily see a sequel in the future, but you never know. ;)

I love everything Amy's been doing lately. Working on one new series, and new spin-off series after another all the while writing several standalones. Beautiful!

#thealienswhoabductedmearentthatbad #amypadilla #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Red (House of Misfits #5)

Here's Cambria Hebert's "Red." It's the fifth novel in the House of Misfits series. Annd, who doesn't love a little fairy tale romance/retelling--even if I'm skipping around the series for the MM books. 

["I’m a cop. He’s a criminal.

We’re the human equivalent of oil and water.

Staying away from him would be the obvious answer. Too bad we share a one-bedroom apartment. It’s an unfortunate situation I didn’t choose but can’t do anything about. When my best friend, Earth, moved out, he offered his room to his big brother who had rolled into town from Korea to kill him… but then ended up saving him.

And now we’re all supposed to be one big happy family.

Except Daeshim is not my brother and never will be. And no one has any idea who I really am. For years, I’ve been Beau the hacker. Beau the agreeable, quiet one in the corner.

I am those things. But I’m also a cyber crimes specialist with the FBI.

Surprise!

My real identity is a secret no one can know. Because the second they find out who I really am, my cover will be blown, everything I’ve been doing will come to light, and the found family I desperately want will toss me on the street.

Or worse.

But Daeshim won’t stop staring, dissecting me with his perceptive dark eyes. I can’t stand him, yet the heavier his attention gets, the more I crave. The more I begin to wonder if I’m just nervous he will find out my secrets or somehow get into my heart.

I’m starting to crumble, the weight on my shoulders too much to hold alone. His stubborn, unruly presence challenges me, scares me, yet also somehow calms me.

When danger gets uncomfortably close, I realize the only one strong enough to save me is the very criminal I’m not supposed to trust."]

This was a whole other beast than Fletcher's book. There was much more at stake. There was a lot higher anxieties (well a different kind of anxieties).  I cried even more, too.

These two were explosive. And entirely codependent. But they were each other's safety, each other's home, each other's reason to fight the demons and get back up again. 

I wish there were more MM books in this series. It was the perfect balance of fairy tale, insta-love, angst, spice (ohhh that spice).

Trigger Warnings: mentions of off-page child abuse, violence, anxiety representation, and more.

#ivorywhite #prince #huntsman #beast #merrymisfits #red #houseofmisfits #houseofmisfitsseries #cambriahebert #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Prince (House of Misfits #2)

Here's Cambria Hebert's "Prince." It's the second novel in the House of Misfits series. Reading this because these two were mentioned in "The Ghost and The Geek" (and I still need a mental health break from the other series I was binging). Annd, who doesn't love a little fairy tale romance/retelling--even if I'm skipping around the series for the MM books. 

["Life has always been about one thing for me: Survival.

I wear scuffed-up, hand-me-down shoes and too-big jeans and share a one-bedroom apartment with my three brothers. I’m not great at holding down a job, so I busk in the subway and pick other people’s pockets to fill mine.

Oh, and my mother wishes I’d never been born, a fact she makes sure to hurl in my face every time I see her. It’s just one more thing to prove the odds of life have never been in my favor.

But still, I’m lucky. I have the misfits and my violin. Most days, I’m really good at ignoring the echo of loneliness deep in my bones. Until Ethan finds me in the park and the melody that’s always playing in my heart finally makes sense.

He’s everything I’m not. Tall, commanding, and so handsome it hurts my eyes. He lives in the most elite part of the city and has probably never once had to steal to eat. He’s not like you’d expect, though—stuck-up, snobby, or mean. He’s protective and warm… He makes me feel safe. He doesn’t care that I don’t have a coat or a penny to my name. He just wants me.

I’ve never had a relationship. I’ve never even been kissed. No one has ever chosen me before.

But how can we be together?

He’s Upper East Side royalty, and I’m a misfit…

Or so I thought."]

That was SO good! Sure, it was a little dramatic and over the top at moments, and yet, I cried quite a lot anyway.

Fletcher's brothers were...a hoard of fucking neanderthals...who just wanted their baby bro to be safe and happy. Even if they were gruff about it--and total men (showed their love with actions to a boy who needed words).

Ethan was fabulous--scratch that a hot mess who could have talked more up front about his past and his present, but then we wouldn't have a story. Then again, Fletch was good at running (until he learned he could run to E). But Ethan was always there, time and time again. 

Fletcher lived his best life, doing what he could to everyone else in his life (even strangers). He loved hard. He didn't trust well, but he let Ethan try (and try again to get passed those walls). 

Gwennie <3

I wish I had more patience (and time) to read the rest of this series. I looove a good fairy tale romance/retelling. Here's to Red though, coming up next.

Trigger Warnings: child abuse and neglect, kidnapping, homophobia, and more.

#ivorywhite #prince #huntsman #beast #merrymisfits #red #houseofmisfits #houseofmisfitsseries #cambriahebert #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

The Geek and The Ghost (Protectors #2)

Here's Cambria Hebert's "The Geek and The Ghost." It's the second novel in the Protectors series. 

["I’m about thirty seconds from a toe tag and my own freezer at the mortuary when he materializes from the shadows and fights like hell to keep me breathing.

I had no idea homeless disasters like me got guardian angels—or that guardian angels punch people and smoke—but suddenly, there he is: a hero dressed all in black who ghosts me so hard I consider calling a medium.

But that would be a waste of money I don’t have.

I thought I’d never see him again, but just as I’m about to eat a bullet, he appears, using his body to protect mine. I might have swooned—okay, fine, I do but only on the inside—if it weren’t for the fact he thinks bleeding is an adequate apology for implying I’m a prostitute and running off with my heart.

Spoiler alert: It’s not.

Now the man with a PhD in vanishing, a tattoo that totally offends me, and eyes with their own force of gravity is suddenly stuck to me like glue and being wildly inconvenient about it.

And he won’t stop calling me a pipgeek. What even is that?
He insists I trust him, but I can’t trust anyone, not even my own body. Unfortunately, when the resident drug lord calls in that favor I foolishly owe, things go from bad to catastrophic with alarming enthusiasm.

On the upside, having a hero with a villain complex for a stalker means staying alive will be easy.

But not getting hurt again is a whole other story."]

I love how soft this dark romance series is. Sure, there's hitmen and mafia threats and some light stalking. There's tragic backstories and trigger warnings. There's a total lack of tact, a total sense of over protectiveness and what's-happening-to-me obsession. There's falling in love in hours.

But the MCs, particularly the hitmen, are sooo soft and gooey for their soul mates, particularly the klutzy, slightly crazy, totally surviving in a world that somehow has it out for them. It's instant gifts and sweet names. It's ooey, gooey, cotton candy hearts just leaking everywhere with all of the feels. Not to mention the spice.

I looooved these two. They were perfect. Ghost's commentary was fucking hilarious. As was Ghost and Rhett's views of Kerian (still fucking love him--and Haz).

I cannot wait to see more of Wyatt. At least, I hope we get to see more of him.

Trigger Warnings: auto-immune disorder rep, homelessness, violence, murder, mentions of past abuse, and more.

#thehazardandthehitman #thegeekandtheghost #theprotectors #theprotectorsseries #cambriahebert #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks