Goodbye, June!

June seemed very, very, very long. My dad's birthday (beginning of the month) was ages and ages ago. Plus side: pride was longer. ;)

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: 33 (though, I might squeeze one more in before midnight).

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

(2) June Memories: Looots of fun progress on the work/book fair front. Some seriously relaxing days off.  Few family dinners. A well-needed dinner with my best friends. I just came back from a fabulous work conference were I learned soooo much and met so many wonderful people. 

(3) Posts this month (including this one): 33.

(4) All mostly wonderful days. A few evenings were the blues came through. Some days I didn't eat much, not sure if it was the heat or my depression. Tried some new things this month: people-ing and putting myself out there. It was hard and sometimes it was really frustrating and lonely, but it was ultimately really rewarding. 

Anyone still holding onto their resolutions?

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

#newyearsresolutions #goodbyejune #hellojuly #hello2026 #dontstopreading #makememories #shareloveofbooks #shareloveofreading #bekindertomyself #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Unlawful Desires (Wildlings #2)

Well, here's to reading another universe (series of series) in whatever order I want to. Here's "Unlawful Desires" by Kelly Fox. It's the second novel in the Wildlings series, which is within the Wrecked universe. 

["If the hot detective keeps arresting me for minor infractions, people are going to start asking questions.

Awkward, since I’ve been in love with Boone Hitchens since I was a teenager.

Now that we’re adults, we’ve been reconnecting over my talent for mildly unlawful activities—public drunkenness, loitering, and generally existing in his vicinity. That’s the story I tell myself every time he cuffs me.

It’s bad timing, then, to discover that my ultra-wealthy family has been lying to me my entire life. Publicly, we’re philanthropic darlings. Privately, they’re a vigilante organization with a body count.

And Boone? He’s hiding a secret that ties him straight into my family’s darkest truths.

I should walk away.
Instead, I’m falling harder—and dragging him with me."]

This book was utterly beautiful. It was a teasing, flirting back-and-forth for a while, slowly falling from desire to love. It was friendship and respect tumbling into a deeply connected kind of relationship. It was connection when the world and your closest friends family seem to no longer be on your side.  

It was the inside feeling of not being enough, of being too much, of not being trusted by the people who love you. It was secrets and hidden goals. 

It was coming together even stronger, with lots of tears (sooo many tears--seriously, Hop makes me emotional on a good day, but this book made me sob). It was found family re-establishing their power.

 Let's see where the Wildlings take us next...and I have a feeling it will be angsty. 

Trigger Warnings: mention of off-page pregnancy loss, human/sex trafficking, unapologetic murder of oligarchs and their lackeys, violence, and more. 

#casualfelonies #unlawfuldesires #beautifulchaos #wildlings #wildlingsseries #wreckedguardians #wreckedguardiansseries #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Casual Felonies (Wildlings #1)

Here's "Casual Felonies" by Kelly Fox. It's the first novel in the Wildlings series, which is within the Wrecked universe. I did skip two series to get here...in my defense, they weren't #murderswoon (and I needed more dark--not in a light/contemporary mood). 

["At what point does casually stalking your hot barber become a felony?

Look, I swear I’m harmless. Just a mildly obsessed, extremely hot influencer trying to figure out why my barber-slash-hookup-slash-possible-soulmate kicked me out after the best [redacted] of my life.

As he was shoving me out the door, he muttered something about my dads and a meat hook, and I have no clue what the heck he’s talking about. Sure, they’re overbearing and disgustingly in love, but it’s not like they’d actually kill a man for defiling their son.

Probably.

Anyway, I’m off to slap a super illegal tracker on the hot barber’s car and see what that gets me."]

Rami = Anders + Omar. All of the yes. And all of the drama, chaos, non-filters. Honestly, after reading the blurb and going back to check the title, who else would Rami belong to than Anders (and Omar). 

Speaking of Anders/Omar as parents...I shooouuuld be concerned over some (several) of their parenting tactics during this novel, but somehow, it's so adorable and well-meaning and..them.

Speaking of Rami and True...these two were utterly perfect for each other. Mutual pining. Mutual chemistry. Mutual stalking. Mutually navigating-a-sudden-bout-of-vigilante-ness and harsh-Bash-truths.

LOVE the Anders/Omar POV scenes, and loved seeing all of the cousins fight/love like their fathers (and seeing how different/similar they are to their fathers).  CanNOT wait for more!! 

Trigger Warnings: mentions of violence, trauma, power abuse, trafficking, substance use, and more.

#casualfelonies #unlawfuldesires #beautifulchaos #wildlings #wildlingsseries #wreckedguardians #wreckedguardiansseries #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Killer Love (Kiss. Kill. Repeat. #2)

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

["Walker Hayes likes his life exactly the way it is: quiet, predictable, and free of attachments. As a long-haul truck driver—and occasional contract killer—he prefers his company limited to history podcasts and his fat orange cat, Carrot Cake. People are messy. Complicated. Temporary.

Dakota King is all of those things.

After narrowly escaping a serial killer, Kota expects a hospital visit, maybe some therapy, and definitely a lifetime of trust issues. What he doesn’t expect is being rescued by an emotionally unavailable hitman, who promptly kidnaps Kota until he figures out what to do with him.

To be fair, Walker isn’t entirely sure it’s kidnapping since Kota keeps making himself at home.

Now, they’re crossing state lines with a judgemental cat, a frozen corpse, and an increasingly concerning amount of sexual tension. And with every minute that passes, it becomes harder for Walker to ignore the truth: he doesn’t want Kota to leave.

But happily-ever-afters get complicated when you’re hauling human remains, dodging police attention, and falling for a man who thinks being kidnapped is a perfectly acceptable meet-cute.

Walker has never wanted to keep anyone before.

Unfortunately for Kota, that might be exactly the problem."]

YES! All of the yes. Horrible and awkward meet-cute? Check. Instant chemistry? Check. Judgy cat also playing match-maker? Check. Imprinting on someone like a baby swan? Check. Wanting to be taken care of plus wanting go take care/worship? Hard check. 

I love how hard they fell, how certain they were. I love how messy but not perfect it was. I loooves seeing some Tris and Cade. 

I canNOT wait for more!!! Like that bonus epilogue?!?!?!?! D: That shit better be the next book. 

Again, would very much not say not to a Mulvaney cross over. 

Trigger Warnings: violence, murder, kidnapping, toxic parents, mentions of past SA as a child, and more.

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

Call Back (The Model Agency #3)

Here's Lily Morton's "Call Back." It's the third book in her series The Model Agency.

["Once upon a time, Reuben Langley broke Xavier Conway’s heart.

Five years later, Xavier has convinced himself that he’s over it. Now a famous supermodel, his life is filled with faraway locations, glamorous parties, even more glamorous men, and so much noise. And if his mind still drifts to the quiet and responsible war photographer he loved and lost, then no one else has to know.

Xavier’s living the dream until everything comes tumbling down around him, and when he hits absolute rock bottom, the person there to pick up the pieces is Reuben.

Reuben fell in love with Xavier the first moment he met him—a wild, sassy boy in a hotel bar. When he found out that he was his best friend’s son, it should have stopped him, but it didn’t. That passionate affair came to a disastrous and painful end, and since then, Reuben’s had to be content with the tiny glimpses he’s had of Xavier over the years. But now, Xavier needs him, and Reuben isn’t going to turn away this time.

Set in London and the Inner Hebrides, this is a story of second chances and a constant, hopeful love."]

TO BE UPDATED SOON!

Trigger Warnings: drug use (consensual and non-consensual), attempted rape, discussion of violent death (off-page), PTSD, claustrophobia, and more.

#thesunnyside #frenchfancy #callback #lilymorton #themodelagency #themodelagencyseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

The Christmas Summons (Wild Heart Ranch)

Here's "The Christmas Summons" by Kelly Fox. It's a novella within the Wild Heart Ranch series, which is within the Wrecked universe. 

["I’ve loved Gael Hernandez from the moment I laid eyes on him. We had a moment back in the summer, but he needed time to recover from the traumatic events that reshaped his family.

It’s now Christmas, and I think my talented shoemaker is finally ready to let me love him for the rest of his life.

The only problem? I’ve been summoned to join my family in England, and it’s an invitation I cannot refuse. Finding it impossible to leave Gael now that we’ve finally admitted feelings for each other, I bring him with me.I should have known better.

Unlike the Hernandez family’s warm Christmas traditions, this visit has nothing to do with the holidays and everything to do with my father’s designs on my life going forward. Designs that don’t include the beautiful man with stained fingertips and a heart as big as the sky."]

Allll of the yes. These two were adorable. All of the fluff and kindness and beauty. Practically zero angst (I mean there was sooome, but it was miscommunication). And the perfect among of spice. Plus even. more. found family.

Trigger Warnings: family-related homophobia and xenophobia, brief mention of human trafficking, and more.

#swornenemy #goodbehavior #saviorcomplex #antihero #thechristmassummons #wildheartranch #wildheartranchseries #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Anti-Hero (Wild Heart Ranch #4)

Here's "Anti-Hero" by Kelly Fox. It's the fourth novel in the Wild Heart Ranch series, which is within the Wrecked universe. 

["Spoiler alert: This isn't some sad exploration of my tragic past. I have a list of the people who bought and sold me. And they aren't getting a redemption arc.

I was luckier than most. I was rescued by a team of guys who search out people like me, and now I get to work with them. But I'm not the hero of this story. I don't forgive. I don't forget. And I'm about to cut a bloody swath across this part of the globe in retaliation for what they did to me.

My only problem? I'm in love with one of my rescuers, and he still thinks I'm a helpless kid, even though I've been killing evil men for months. When he offers to help with my little revenge spree, I know it's only because he worries about my safety.

If he's going to keep looking at me like that, though, he might be the one in danger."]

I wanted Ant and Erik's story several book ago. Though...I guess I understand that Ant had some healing to do, and Erik had some eye-opening to do...

This was another emotional rollercoaster. All kinds of self discovery and continued healing and past traumas. So much redemption and found family and HEAs.

A beautiful ending to a beautiful series! 

Trigger Warnings: violence, murder, human/sex trafficking of children, assault, homophobia, issues of self-worth, and more.

#swornenemy #goodbehavior #saviorcomplex #antihero #thechristmassummons #wildheartranch #wildheartranchseries #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks