Candy (Wrecked #3.5)

Well, here's to reading another universe (series of series) in whatever order I want to. Here's "Candy" by Kelly Fox. A novella in the Wrecked series. 

["I'm an atheist gym rat falling for a faithful man with a sweet tooth, and I can't help myself.

When my gym buddies said I'd be stringing up Christmas lights with Caleb, they failed to mention how adorable he is. After spending the day taking him to my favorite candy shop, making the gym shine with Christmas cheer, and showing him exactly how fun a locker room can be, it's my inexperienced new friend who's turning my world upside down.

I might not be a believer, but I'm starting to believe in the magic of Christmas."]

This was literally one of the sweetest things ever. There was still some of that patented Kelly Fox angst and armed forces drama, but it was lower than her full-lengthed titles. 

All of the found family and new friendships and new discoveries and old wounds healed. All of the fluff and sweetness.

Trigger Warnings: religious homophobia, and more. 

#sanctuary #surrender #crash #covert #shameless #candy #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Shameless (Wrecked #3)

Well, here's to reading another universe (series of series) in whatever order I want to. Here's "Shameless" by Kelly Fox. It's first novel in the Wrecked series. 

["Two things I know for sure:
1. Cheerleading absolutely prepared me to become a US Navy SEAL
2. Heath Treadway hates my guts

Let’s just say that this beautiful bear’s hatred for me involves a high school nickname and possibly a limerick. #badtwink

Now, he's back in my life. And all I wanna do is show him that I’ve changed.

My attempts so far have ended in hospitalization, second-degree burns, and a destroyed towel rack. To be fair, I blame that last one on the hate sex.

Worse than all of that? I’ve started to catch feelings, and if he finds out about the military op that forever changed me, it might be game over.

I mean… can he forgive me if I can’t even forgive myself?"]

Whelp, this one made me cry. A lot. Again, very therapeutic. Also very rude. 

The topics were hard, the past was rough, and the falling in love bit wasn’t much better. It happened slowly and everyone saw it coming, but it happened so painfully and Roly cried (and I sobbed). But the gym/pizza family got stronger, Heath and his family got bigger. It was adorable as it was healing. 

Now back to the Guardians series. After the Wrecked novella. 

Trigger Warnings: combat injuries, PTSD, flashbacks of wartime violence and torture, mentions of past bullying, and more. 

#sanctuary #surrender #crash #covert #shameless #candy #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Surrender (Wrecked #2)

Well, here's to reading another universe (series of series) in whatever order I want to. Here's "Surrender" by Kelly Fox. It's first novel in the Wrecked series. 

["Dark cloud, meet seven-foot wall of sunshine.

We’ve been friends for almost a year, we both volunteer at my brother-in-law’s gym for combat vets, and the chemistry between us is undeniable. So, getting together should be a no brainer, right?

Yeah, not so much.

Pairing up the joyful refugee NBA hero with me - the grumpy wanna-be artist who cracks jokes about being waterboarded - has got to be the mother of all bad ideas.

An even worse idea? Let’s add a splash of kink to the mix."]

This one was harder emotionally then the last one. On a whole different level. It was more raw and less relatable but it hurt more? I don't know how to describe it.

We watched these two fall for each other already, watching them accept that and welcome it was a whole new wonder. 

Trigger Warnings: combat injuries, PTSD, flashbacks of wartime violence and torture, recovering alcoholic, and more. 

#sanctuary #surrender #crash #covert #shameless #candy #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Shameless (Wrecked #1)

Well, here's to reading another universe (series of series) in whatever order I want to. Here's "Wrecked" by Kelly Fox. It's first novel in the Wrecked series. 

["What's the first rule of running a gym for combat vets?

Enjoy the scorching hot scenery, but get your kicks somewhere else.

Never mind that my cousin-slash-business partner ignores that rule every chance he gets. I don't ignore it. Ever. And frankly, between Grindr and living in one of the gayest cities in America, it's not exactly a hardship.

Hell, it's so easy, I can do it on one leg.

That is, until a pair of blue eyes swimming with vulnerability shows up at my door, looking for a job. He's too skinny, too mouthy, and way too young for the likes of me, but he pings that protector instinct in me, hard.

I want to fix whatever put that lost look in his eyes, but to manage that, I'd have to do the one thing I said I'd never do.

Break my own rules."]

Well fuck me. The hurt/comfort in this one (as well as half of Elijah's life) made me constantly tear up. Constantly. So thanks for that. Not to mention the several (several) times I full-on cried—though that felt really therapeutic so..

These two we’re all kinds of crazy for each other right from the very beginning, even if they wanted to deny it, even if they were emotionally ready for it yet. Weren’t ready for it after it happened already and secrets came screaming out and I was crying again. But they figured it out m (with some help from Roly).

Trigger Warnings: combat injuries, limb loss, PTSD, homophobia, transphobia, toxic parents, serious financial distress, homelessness, loss of a loved one and associated grief, and more. 

#sanctuary #surrender #crash #covert #shameless #candy #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Secrets and Lies (Silvercrest U #5)

Here's the latest from Willow Dixon: "Secrets and Lies." It's the fifth novel in her new series, Silvercrest U.

["Anthony

Three years ago, I hooked up with one of my frat brothers during a house challenge, and between the darkness and the masks we were wearing, I had no idea it was West until after it was over. And what was supposed to be nothing more than a chance to have a little fun and indulge in some of my darker desires ends up being so much more.

I don’t understand the pull between us, but West feels like mine, and even though he does his best to hide it, I know he wants me too.

After accidentally catching his fiancée cheating on him, I send West an anonymous text asking if he wants to know the truth. That text sparks a conversation, then another, and before I know it, West is telling me his deepest, darkest secrets, even though he has no idea who I am.

Then he issues me a challenge I can’t resist, and my prize is I get to do whatever I want to him. I already know West is into the same things I am, but I had no idea just how compatible we really are. Or how much we both like it when I wear a mask.

At the same time all of this is going on, West and I are paired up to work on a project together, and it’s then I realize that what I feel for him goes beyond anything I ever thought possible. I don’t just want him, I need him. And now that I’ve claimed him, I’m never letting him go.

West is mine until I decide he isn’t, and I dare anyone to try and come between us because I promise it won’t end well for them."]

YES. All of the yes. Always all of the yes. I love this series, and I'm obsessed that we've not fully gone to another house to get more unhinged HEAs. All the while trying to still solve one of those original problems.  

West and Ant were perfect for each other. Utterly perfect in so many ways. 

We didn't get nearly as much crazy from Ant's brothers/friends as I would have liked, but we have HEAs for them coming quickly.

Trigger Warnings: mind games, cheating (not by or between MCs), dubcon, blackmail, threats, mentions of potential mild homophobia, toxic parents, and more.

#arc #arcteammember #forewordpr
#wickedgames #hideandseek #fightorflight #secretsandlies #xmarksthespot #silvercrestu #silvercrestuseries #willowdixon #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Hard Target (Wrecked: Guardians #1)

Well, here's to reading another universe (series of series) in whatever order I want to. Here's "Hard Target" by Kelly Fox. It's the first novel in the Wrecked: Guardians series, which is within the Wrecked universe. 

["Everett: There are a ton of reasons why falling for my tiny, adorkable best friend is a terrible idea—starting with the body in my trunk.
I have other reasons—he still mourns his late husband, I’m way older, he’s a foot shorter, my tattoo shop is a front, he’s an assistant professor at UT.
Still, I can’t help but think we’d be perfect for each other if I didn’t kill people (very, very bad people) for a living.

Rafi: How the f*ck did I not realize how hot my best friend is? Yeah, grief, or whatever, but were my eyes not working?
Silver fox, check. Tattooed hotness, check. Cuddles with me on Monday nights while we watch Australian melodramas, check. Says he’s not a good person but totally is, check.
New goal: Get Everett to stop looking at me like a grieving widower and start seeing me as someone he’d like to pin against the wall.
Now if I only knew what was behind the door marked Portal to Nowhere…"]

These two were adorable as hell! Both down sooo bad for each other. The mutual pining. The angst. The feelings of inadequacy. Everett's desire to hold back. Rafi's desire to...update his wardrobe. An entire team of friends turned found-family to support them in everything (literally, everything).

I canNOT wait for the rest of the team to get their HEAs. I'll eventually go back to read the OG series in this universe, gotta see some of those SCs get their HEAs.

Trigger Warnings: grief, loss of a loved one, stalking, violence, murder, injuries resulting in a hospital stay, all sorts of bad guys, and more. 

#hardtarget #fullcontact #mostwanted #deepimpact #wreckedguardians #wreckedguardiansseries #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Betrothed in Fury

Here's Devon McCormack's "Betrothed in Fury." 

["LOGAN

Charming. Sexy as sin. Out of his damn mind.

That sums up Killian Lorde, one of the most powerful crime bosses in Fury’s underworld.

Since his father passed, he’s stepped into his role as head of the family business.

A role which I, the golden boy of the Wilde clan, more than understand. Forced by birth into a life of corruption and moral bankruptcy, I exist for one to protect my family at all costs.

Only this time, the price is my freedom.

Unbeknownst to me, to maintain my family’s alliance with the Lordes, I’ve been betrothed to Killian.

I’ve always known him to be a bastard, but this arrangement brings out the worst in him.

He’s a monster. Pure, unfettered evil.

He doesn’t just want to marry me. He wants to control and possess me, and when his curiosity becomes obsession, we struggle for power as he demands the one thing I can’t give him.

My complete and total surrender."]

And the official tags (because they're the best): ["Dark MM Romance, grumpy/psycho-sunshine, mob-bosses-to-lovers, morally gray men, frighteningly possessive MC, “Oh, what did that contract say?” arranged marriage, bi-awakening, touch-him-and-die (like, tied up in a sack, thrown into a lake, and left for dead), anything-for-the-family vibes, torture-as-foreplay (just mob bosses doing what they love), “Did I say you could have mashed potatoes?” (iykyk)"

TO BE UPDATED SOON

Trigger Warnings:

#booksprout #arcs #arcteammember
#betrothedinjury #devonmccormack #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks