Totally Opposed (Love in Play #3)

I had caught up with all of my ARCs, requested a toooon more, and proceeded to avoid them. Oops. Here's Becca Jackson's "Totally Opposed." Its the third novel in her Love in Play series. 

["ALAN
When you’re crushing on a guy, the last thing you want is to get caught singing their name while naked in the locker room showers. Thankfully, Ryan pretended not to notice. I can play the denial game with the best of them, but I can’t ignore the growing feelings I have for him. We’ve been rivals on the field for two years, but lately, my eyes keep finding him off the field as well, drawn to his piercing blue stare and brilliant smile.
As fate would have it, we’re paired together for a sequence of Star-Crossed Lovers skits, and while I’m excited at the prospect of spending more time with him, with rumors of team cuts at the end of the season, it makes me wonder if there is any point in starting anything at all. Maybe we’re just destined to stay on opposing sides.

RYAN
Being on the other side of the world from your entire family is hard, especially when you see everyone else going home to theirs every night. So, when I moved in with Duckie and Ian, I was excited to at least have people to come home to.
But they aren’t the only ones I see every day. Across the alley lives an old man and his cat who greet me with a demonic howl and a gruff reminder that my favorite game isn’t “real” baseball.
Good thing I’m not easily offended, and while I might be still on the fence about the cat, imagine my surprise when I discover the old man is Alan Beaker’s grandfather. Suddenly, my days aren’t just filled with on-field practice and rehearsals with the guy I’ve been crushing on hard, they’re also filled with time spent with him off the field too.
It isn’t long until I notice just how devoted to his family Alan is, and the more time I spend with them, the more they make me feel like I belong. Now if only I can get Alan to take a chance on us, then I can make this feeling last forever."]

The mutual pining in this one was sooooo strong. I wanted to hit one (or both--why not both) of these adorable idiots with a baseball bat. LUCKILY, they figured their shit out rather quickly. 

There was more angst when it came to outing themselves to their teammates (more so the Romeo and Juliet factor--and timing) and missing family (and Alan's grandfather (and Precious)). Which, I'm not mad about. I needed some relatively angst-free romance.

And I need the next book now. I'm ALL for fans getting their HEA in pure fanfic fashion. 

#grr #gayromancereviews #arcs #arcteammember
#totallyblitzed #totallyducked #totallygeeked #totallyopposed #totallyfanatic #loveinplay #loveinplaysseries #beccajackson #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Spooky Level Up (Love Takes No Holidays #1)

Who needs to read the ARC that's due in a few days when you can read the one not due for over a week? Here's Aria Clark and J.F. Miev's "Spooky Level Up." It's the first novel in their Love Takes No Holidays series. 

["CHARLIE
My ex taught me that love is a scam. Which is fine—it’s not like I need that rose-tinted fairytale. I’m perfectly content enjoying a different man every night while focusing on my video game career.
Until I run into Ben on Halloween. He’s big, charming, crazy good in bed and a bit of a nerd. He doesn’t make fun of my passion, nor does he treat me like a trophy boytoy the way my ex did. The more time we spend together, the more I realize how painfully perfect he is.
There are just two problems: I still don’t believe in love, and he’s my brother’s best friend.

BEN
I returned to the UK to help my sister expand the family business. Meeting the cutest guy ever at a theme park is the last thing I expected to happen. No one has caught my eye for years.
And the crazy part? Charlie is my best friend’s brother, and the crush I had on him as a teen is back in full force. But we are both old enough now, so I’m not wasting my chance with him. His no-dating rule gets in the way, but throw in a little revenge plot when his ex decides to be an ass, and I have everything I need to prove to Charlie that I am his person."]

Oh the meet-ugly of this one!! It was utterly perfect! Granted, WE knew that they knew each other, but (spoiler alert) they didn't remember each other. And all of the "this feels so familiar" and "this feelings like coming home" and "how does he feel so safe" and basically all of the fated fluff TOTALLY flew right over their heads (but we knew). Such beautiful dramatic irony. 

And Charlie falling in love even as he fights himself against it, against Ben. I looooove that they both previously had feelings for each other, and now, they get to explore those feelings (sorry Charlie, but there's a HEA in here for you). 

This entire book was adorable as hell, minus Charlie's ex. He can rot in hell.

Trigger Warnings: blackmailing (not by a MC), toxic eating habits (not by a MC), nonconsensual porn making (not by a MC), and more.

#arcs #arcteammember #booksirens
#spookylevelup #lovetakesnoholidays #jfmiev #ariaclark #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Flipping the Script (Legacy Mechanics #1)

I had caught up with all of my ARCs, requested a toooon more, and proceeded to avoid them. Oops. Here's Willow Dixon's "Flipping the Script." Its the first novel in her new Legacy Mechanics series (which is tied into her Crimson Club series) 

["Jesse
After years of working my butt off, I’m finally living the life I always wanted. I have a job I love, friends who’ve become family, and I’m enjoying the freedom of being single.
Then Sebastian, my childhood rival, moves back to town and my perfect life is thrown into chaos. We’ve always hated each other, but now there’s something else between us. Something wild and primal, something that wants to make Sebastian submit as much as it wants to claim him.
Hooking up with the guy I hate is probably the stupidest thing I’ve done, and that’s saying a lot. But it’s hard to remember why it’s a bad idea when he’s the only person who’s ever made me lose control, and the only man I can’t stay away from.

Sebastian
Retiring from the music industry at twenty-five wasn’t in my long-term plans. Neither was moving home after being away for seven years. But here I am with a serious case of burnout and no idea what I want to do with the rest of my life.
I hoped that moving back would give me a chance to shed my public persona and just be Sebastian again, but that doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon.
The only thing in my life that makes sense is my old rivalry with Jesse, the guy I’ve hated since we were eight. Arguing with him is as exhilarating as it is familiar, and no one is more surprised than me when a fight leads to our first kiss, then more.
Jesse may be the most annoying person I’ve ever known, but the tension between us is too strong to ignore. I hate that I want him but love that he can’t stay away from me either."]

Oh wow, talk about miscommunication trope. Or I should say: talk about hate sex. Soooooo much hate sex. So much that it turns into just sex...and then making love...and neither of them are fully aware of the transition (or their feelings for each other) until they're already too far gone.

These two "hated" each other for so long. But it was more a mix of jealousy and misunderstanding (and teenage hormones spilling into adulthood). Once they had no choice but to get to know each other better, they realized there had been so much misunderstanding (and they were so much more alike than they realized). 

It took a smidge longer for them to realize their feelings than I had wanted, to be honest. I wanted a little more of that moony-looks and heart-eyes, but at the same time, the progress of their relationship worked for them perfectly. 

#forewordpr #arc #arcteammember
#flippingthescript #itscomplicated #legacymechanics #legacymechanicsseries #crimsonclub #crimsonclubseries #willowdixon #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Saving a Demon (Dallying with Demons #5)

I was recently introduced to Amy Padilla and her Dallying with Demons series, and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC for the fifth (and final) book. "Saving a Demon" debuts October 1, 2024.

["Aziel’s family wants him dead. That’s been true since he was a kid. To stay alive, he keeps his head down and follows orders, including becoming a guardian for his youngest cousin. He knew the job would be a pain in the ass. So when he gets a call from the school about a fight, it didn’t really surprise him. He was determined not to let his cousin become like the rest of his family. Even if it meant making him apologize to a human.

Declan had pretty much one goal. To make sure his little brother got a better hand than he did. So when his brother’s bully comes to apologize, he figures it was a step in the right direction. But the bully’s cousin keeps hanging around. And he’s acting really possessive. He had to wonder, was there something dangerous coming? Or was this guy hoping for more?

Aziel thought it couldn’t get any worse, but when an oracle told him he had to submit to the human to earn his freedom, Aziel considered that fate really didn’t like him. There was no way he was bringing a human into his mess. Even if it meant going against the vision meant to save his life."]

And the bonus tags (because they're arguable better than the blurb itself): ["violence, Aziel becomes a guardian, he never agreed to this, little cousins are annoying, school fights, divination, Dante learns a lesson, tattoo artist, Declan has trust issues, piercings, yes, those kinds of piercings, Aziel is possessive, but in the good way, family drama, secrets, friends are annoying too, Athena is kinda scary, make up sex, torture, sorry, the author doesn’t control the bad guys"]

It through me for a loop that there wasn't instant-love (or even instant-lust) when these two met. There was ZERO looks of appreciation or overly detailed descriptions of muscles or jaw lines. There was just pure contempt (borderline hatred, actually). Their love wasn't instant. It wasn't easy. It was filled with trepidation and tentative trust and giving up control (inside and outside the bedroom). 

It was a harder read (all those trigger warnings). Neither Az nor Declan were 100% great people; they both had their pasts, their worries, and their prejudices. But growing closer, whether wanted or not, they grew as people, learned more about their world, about their wants, about themselves. 

And then, just as things were really getting great, as with any romance (with angst) worth its salt, shit hit the fan and everything was nearly ruined forever. At least it wasn't their fault.

I think if I would have been breathing through the last 30% of the novel, I would have cried (sobbed), but I guess that's a plus of anxiety-spiral-speed-reading, no tears. 

Trigger Warnings: homophobia, emotional/physical/mental abuse, threats of abuse, bullying, torture, and more.

#welcomingademon #datingademon #tamingademon #claimingademon #lovingademon #savingademon #dallyingwithdemons #dallyingwithdemonsseries #amypadilla #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks