Tag: fiction

  • Book Review: Mountain Topped by K.M. Neuhold & Mia Monroe

    Sometimes there’s a limit to how many genre tropes you can cram into one book. However, there’s a difference between “too many” and “just enough combined in the right way.” Neuhold and Monroe strike the perfect balance in this book with three unique and compelling characters who also balance each other in the best way.…

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  • Book Review: Les’s Bar Series by Jodi Payne & B.A. Tortuga

    This post includes reviews of the books in the Les’s Bar series: Just Dex (#1) Hide Bound (#2) Just Dex (Les’s Bar #1) Original review posted to Goodreads only, July 2021: There’s a certain amount of “insta-love” between the characters in this book. However, not all is smooth sailing once they get together in New…

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  • Book Review: Winter of the Owl (Seasons of the Lukoi #1) by Iris Foxglove

    I came to this series because I’d previously read the Starian Cycle books by the same author, though I did not review them for my blog. Foxglove has created a truly expansive world in that it is not necessary to read the previous books to appreciate anything about this story. The forced-proximity element of this…

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  • Book Review: Shades of Winter (For Everything a Season #1) by E.M. Lindsey

    Lindsey is officially the only author I know who can write a “low-angst” book that still leaves me absolutely aching for the characters. Liam and Dante shouldn’t work together, which of course means that they absolutely do. I adored the way this story switches up the traditional bodyguard trope formula by having the characters hook…

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  • Book Review: Texas Detour by Kelly Fox

    This novella is available as a free download via Prolific Works as part of the Your Book Boyfriend’s Boyfriend M/M Romance Group Giveaway 2022. I think it’s become part of the official regulations that it’s not a Kelly Fox book unless you’re laughing out loud one moment and then crying two pages later. This situation was definitely…

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  • Book Review: Shades of Lust (Carnal Tower #1) by E.M. Lindsey

    Disclaimer: I received an electronic ARC of this novel from the author. Once again, Lindsey has written a low angst book that doesn’t stint on being packed with feels. Low angst doesn’t mean low emotion, after all, and this author is adept at teasing out the connections between characters that are not evident at first…

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  • Book Review: Headcase (Necessary Evils #4) by Onley James

    Read my reviews of the previous books in the Necessary Evils series: Unhinged (Necessary Evils #1) Psycho (Necessary Evils #2) Moonstruck (Necessary Evils #3) Damaged (Necessary Evils #3.5) Disclaimer: I received an electronic ARC of this novel from the author. How excited was I to read this book? I informed the spouse he was in charge of dinner and stayed…

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  • Book Review: Damaged (Necessary Evils #3.5) by Onley James

    This novella is available as a free download via Prolific Works as part of the Your Book Boyfriend’s Boyfriend M/M Romance Group Giveaway 2022. Read my reviews of the previous books in the Necessary Evils series: Unhinged (Necessary Evils #1) Psycho (Necessary Evils #2) Moonstruck (Necessary Evils #3) With this novella, set in the middle of an established…

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  • book review header image featuring book cover of Stable Hill by Jodi Payne

    Book Review: Stable Hill by Jodi Payne

    I have a soft spot for poly romances. I may joke that it’s because you get multiple relationships in one book for the same low price. However, it’s mostly because what I love about romance stories is the different ways people interact and connect. This book, in particular, intertwines three men from different walks of…

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  • jlgribble.com | header image featuring book cover of Leviathan Falls (The Expanse #9) by James S.A. Corey

    Book Review: Leviathan Falls (The Expanse #9) by James S. A. Corey

    Read my reviews of the previous books in The Expanse series: “The Butcher of Anderson Station” (Expanse #0.5) Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1) Caliban’s War (The Expanse #2) Gods of Risk (The Expanse #2.1) Abaddon’s Gate (The Expanse #3) The Churn (The Expanse #3.5) Cibola Burn (The Expanse #4) Nemesis Games (The Expanse #5) The Vital Abyss (The Expanse #5.5) Babylon’s Ashes (The Expanse #6)…

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  • jlgribble.com | Featured image with book covers of Caged, Sacrificed, Fated, and Careened (Baal's Hart series) by Bey Deckard

    Book Review: Baal’s Heart Series by Bey Deckard

    This post includes reviews of the books in the Baal’s Heart Series: Caged (#1) Sacrificed (#2) Fated (#3) Careened (#3.5) Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas (Baal’s Heart #1) I’ve never read a pirate romance before, and Deckard sets a high bar for any I read in the future. Outside of the engrossing…

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  • jlgribble.com | book review featured image with cover of Angels in the City by Garrett Leigh

    Book Review: Angels in the City by Garrett Leigh

    Garrett Leigh writes excellent angst, so I was curious to see how that would balance out the inherent lightness of a holiday romance. I was not disappointed by any means, as Jonah and Sacha stumble into a relationship together throughout a single December. Neither man really does relationships for various reasons, but their first hookup…

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  • jlgribble.com | Featured image showing books covers of Tidal Wave, Backfire, Broken Wings, and Wicked (Broken Chains MC series) by E.M. Lindsey

    Book Review: Broken Chains MC Series by E.M. Lindsey

    This post includes reviews of the books in the Broken Chains MC series: Tidal Wave (#1) Backfire (#2) Broken Wings (#3) Wicked (#4) Tidal Wave (Broken Chains MC #1) I’ve never read an MC (motorcycle club) romance and never really thought it’d be my jam. But since E.M. Lindsey is one of my favorite authors,…

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  • jlgribble.com | featured image for book review of A Thousand Lifetimes by Kate Hawthorne

    Book Review: A Thousand Lifetimes by Kate Hawthorne

    Vampires are my jam, and Hawthorne is one of my favorite authors. The only reason I hadn’t read this book before now is that I’m rationing her titles since I’m almost out of “new” things to read by her. Once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t get enough sleep last…

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  • jlgribble.com | featured image with book cover of Navarro (Rebel Sky Ranch #3) by Kelly Fox

    Book Review: Navarro (Rebel Sky Ranch #3) by Kelly Fox

    Read my reviews of the previous books in the Rebel Sky Ranch series: Goodnight (#1) Sparrow (#2) Disclaimer: I received an electronic ARC of this novel from the author. “The worst-kept secret at Rebel Sky Ranch is that Desi Navarro loves Wyatt Goodnight.” Fox has been planting the seeds of this romance from the very…

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  • jlgribble.com | Book review: Priest Series (Priest, Sinner, and Saint) by Sierra Simone

    Book Review: Priest Series by Sierra Simone

    This post includes reviews of the books in the Priest series: Priest (#1) Sinner (#2) Saint (#3) Priest (Priest #1) I enjoyed this book a lot more when I stopped thinking about it as a romance. I have very little patience for the religious angst of white guys, especially when it involves a religion with…

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  • jlgribble.com | Book Review: A Mage's Guide to Human Familiars (R'iyah Family Archives #1) by A.J. Sherwood

    Book Review: A Mage’s Guide to Human Familiars (R’iyah Family Archives #1) by A.J. Sherwood

    American readers of a certain age probably got a strange hit of nostalgia while reading this delightful queer paranormal romance novel. The ways Sherwood presents the mage/familiar bond and how Bel interacts with both Nico and Garen gave me lovely echoes of the television show Sentinel; however, this book is not fanfic with the serial…

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  • Book Review: Heart by Garrett Leigh

    Leigh usually rips my heart out with her writing, and this book more than lived up to that expectation. I first met these heroes as side characters in another series by Leigh and immediately knew I needed to learn more about them. This story is half about the unexpected connection and subsequent romance shared by…

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  • Book Review: Heal (White House Men #7) by Nora Phoenix

    Read my reviews of the previous books in the White House Men series. Like many others, I anxiously awaited the final book in this amazing political romance series. This book tied together not only the remaining characters who more than deserved their happily ever after but also acted as a sort of epilogue for the…

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  • Book Review: Always Eli (Forever Love #1) by Charlie Novak

    As the titular character, everything about Eli would have made it easy for him to overshadow everything about this romance. However, Novak is adept at character, which always brings her storytelling to the next level. Not only does Tristan’s solid sweetness function as more than a match for Eli’s sharper edges, but these men exist…

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