My Best Friend’s Brother by K.C. Wells

 

Pages: 166

Release Date: March 26, 2021

Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

Blurb

My best friend’s younger brother is all grown up. And gorgeous.

Casey’s off limits. Forbidden. But that just makes me want him more.

Rylan
I’ve watched Casey grow up. I never imagined how the sweet, scrawny kid would turn into a hot muscular man. A hot guy who just came out.
Casey torments my thoughts. And my dreams. I need to stay far, far away from my best friend’s kid brother. Should be easy, right? I can find plenty of guys to distract me.
Problem is, all I want is the one man I can’t have.

Casey
There’s never been a time when I wasn’t in love with Rylan. My brother’s best friend was my first crush. My only crush. He’s the one man I shouldn’t go near. And here I am spending the summer in the apartment he shares with my older brother.
That seemed like a good idea in the beginning. I thought I could handle it but now that I’m so close to the man I’ve always wanted, I’m not so sure. About anything.

I can have any man – except the one I want.
It’s going to be a long, hot summer.

Review

Delightful. I absolutely adored this story and these characters.

The set-up is of course glorious in its own right. What’s not to love about a blurb that indicates the main characters will have to suffer their way through a fair amount of pining before getting what they ache for—each other.

Casey has had a thing for Rylan, his brother’s best friend, ever since he first figured out he was gay. Which means that inviting himself to spend the summer with his brother Trask and Rylan is not as straightforward as it might appear. Poor Casey. He thought he had a handle on his crush only to discover that the attraction he feels is as strong (if not stronger) as ever. It seems that he’s in for a long and frustrating summer.

On the upside, Casey was sorta prepared for his reaction to being in Rylan’s proximity. Rylan on the other hand is completely blind-sided by his own reaction to seeing Casey again. The boy he remembered has been replaced a handsome, well-built, fully grown, and irresistible young man. Which wouldn’t be an issue were it not for Trask, Rylan’s best friend and Casey’s older brother, who has warned Rylan to stay away from Casey in the strongest of terms.

And thus, begin weeks of two men circling each other. They flirt when it’s just the two of them, although neither is sure if they’re interpreting the other correctly. It takes them some time and a bit of soul-searching to get together. But when they do…

Yes, Rylan and Casey are hot together. But it’s much more than that. They are so adorable. With these two caring for each other came before lusting after and enjoying each other, and it shows in how interact.

I smiled a lot while reading this book and laughed out loud a few times. The dialogue and banter between Casey, Rylan, and Trask is sharp and sparkles. Casey’s heart-to-heart with his supervisor warmed my heart and when Rylan and Casey at last opened up to each other my heart sang.

I always find it ridiculously easy to lose myself in a K.C. Wells story and My Best Friend’s Brother was no exception. For a few hours, I lost myself in the company of two intriguing men and when I left them again, I was happy and thoroughly satisfied. You can’t ask for more from a romance.

Naked Weekend (Naked, Book 1) by Roe Horvat

Novella / 20k words

Release Date: March 24, 2021

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

Blurb

It was supposed to be a casual threesome. Yeah, right. Those kisses are anything but casual, and the third guy is nowhere to be found. Neill should have known their friend set them up. But even as he ends up naked in the tall stranger’s arms, he can’t find any reason to regret anything.

From the first moment, Danny knows he could easily fall for Neill. All these little contradictions fascinate him: Neill’s passionate and playful one moment, and the next second he withdraws into himself, cautious. What made him that way? And how can Danny convince the beautiful boy to stay?

Review

Wow.

Roe Horvat did it again. I have no idea how he does it, but he weaves some kind of special magic with his words. On the surface, this story is pure erotica with steamy, vivid, and imaginative sex on most if not every page. And while all of that is nothing short of delicious, Naked Weekend is so much more than just two hot men making the most of being naked.

I’m amazed how much the author manages to tell us about Danny and Neill through their sexual encounters over the course of one weekend. Not only did I get to know them, I also fell for them, hard and fast. But then, maybe that’s the result of being naked. You can’t hide when you fully expose yourself. I have no idea if the idea behind the ‘Naked’ series went beyond the writing of hot stories, although I’m inclined to think it probably was. But whatever the author’s intention was, for me the set-up of this novella meant that I could see Danny and Neill fully, without barriers or pretense, both inside and out.

Yes, Danny and Neill fall for each other hard and fast; all it takes is that one naked weekend and a few hours of contemplation. But you won’t find me complaining about insta-love. It is clear from the very start that these two are made for each other. Their journey from strangers to lovers stepping into a relationship was as heart-warming as it was hot. They took my breath away while I was reading and now, days later, I still smile when I think about them. And that is exactly what a good story should do.

 

 

Three Shots (A Poly in Pendleton Story) by Brigham Vaughn

 

Pages: 310

Release Date: March 10, 2021

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

A musician, a computer designer, and a tavern owner walk into a bar: it’ll take three shots to get this right …

When Reeve Jenkins picks up his guitar to sing at a local dive bar, the last thing he expects is to bring a guy home that night. Grant McGuire is a man drowning his sorrows in beer after a painful breakup. Having some fun in bed is easy for the two of them but while hookups are simple, pursing a relationship never feels quite right.

Rachael Bradford has seen plenty of attractive men walk into the Hawk Point Tavern but she’s too busy running the place to worry about taking any of them home.

The chemistry between them is off the characters but when Reeve and Grant offer her more than a quick fantasy, they’ll have to figure out how to navigate an openly poly relationship in the small town of Pendleton Bay.

Originally released in 2017, Three Shots has been re-written with an additional 40k words of content, set in the Pendleton Bay Universe, and re-edited.

Review

This was a re-read for me. I first read Three Shots in 2017. Then again, I’m not sure re-read is the right word here. While there certainly are strong similarities between the original Three Shots and this new version, so much has been added and changed that it was almost like reading a brand-new story for the first time. And while there was nothing wrong with this book when it first came out (after all, I give it five stars then too) there is no denying that the extended version is even better.

My original review mentions that the story managed to be deliciously enticing and incredible adorable at the same time, and that is something that hasn’t changed. The sexual encounters, initially between Reeve and Grant and later with Rachael too are hot, exciting, and imaginative. But, while I sure appreciated those scenes, they weren’t what I loved most in this story. What really stood out for me was the communication between these three protagonists. From the moment they meet they are open and frank with each other. There are no ‘misunderstandings’ based on withheld information in this story. Reeve, Grant, and Rachael know at all times what they can expect from the others and what is expected from them. Given that ‘conflict that could have been avoided if only the characters talked to each other’ is one of my pet hates in romance, you can imagine how delighted this set-up made me.

Not that Brigham Vaughn avoids complications, far from it. But the obstacles Rachael, Reeve, and Grant encounter are talked about and dealt with. The only real issues they face are caused by outside forces, more specifically by those who don’t understand and therefore don’t approve of a poly-relationship.

This story could have been written for me. Low on angst but high on feels, with characters who communicate well, hot sex scenes, and memorable secondary characters, I couldn’t have asked for more. What I am asking for, however, is more stories set in Pendleton. This little town is fast turning into a favourite (reading) destination for me.

Forever (#Hunt&Cam4Ever #8) by Adira August

397 pages

Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

Blurb

....turn around...

“Lieutenant?” Woodward was there as if he’d materialized out of the lush greenery beyond the strip of grass. “Did you injure your left arm?”

Hunter looked down at his hand on his arm.

“Have you been feeling light-headed at all?” Wood asked.

“Yes,” Cam answered for him.

“Oh, God.” Avia started to rise.

“Please stay where you are,” Wood said, pulling his open collar aside, revealing a mic he spoke into. “I have a code xray ten at bungalow seventeen. Direct evac to Oceanside, cardiac teams in place asap.”

Cam was on his feet looking to Woodward for instructions.

“Get his I.D. and any medications he’s on.”

Cam shoved the chair back and ran for the door.

“I’m sorry. Don’t leave me,” Hunter’s voice was thick. A tear slid down from the outside corner of one eye.

Sirens sounded in the near distance.

Avia was next to his chair with her arms around his shoulders. “He’ll never leave you, Hunter, he just went to get something.”

Panicked, Hunt tried to rise. “No! I don’t need it. Don’t let him go to the store!” He knocked the table over trying to get up, to follow Cam.

Woodward caught him as he slumped to the floor.

.................from Shadow Men, Hunt&Cam4Ever Book 7

This is what happened next.

"...forever's gonna start tonight..."

 

Review

““This isn’t a future”, she told him. It’s a crossroads.”

O.M.G.

Hunt&Cam4Ever has been a favourite of mine ever since I read On His Knees. From that very first (short) installment, Hunter Kane and Camden Snow were unforgettable and edged into my mind. In fact, I started that very first review the exact same way I’m starting this one and, in all fairness, OMG is a perfect fit for the whole series.

This book is the culmination of everything that’s gone before. It answers remaining questions and reveals truths I wasn’t even aware I’d missed so far. It rounds things off in the most perfect fashion and yet, it was the toughest, most heart-wrenching story in the series.

Before I say anything else, let me repeat the words I ended my review of Shadow Men with: whatever you do DO NOT READ FOREVER UNTIL YOU’VE FINISHED SHADOW MEN. In fact, now that I’ve read Forever, I’ll go one step further and urge you to make sure you read all previous books before you even think about starting Forever. Without knowing everything there is to know about Hunter, Camden, Hunter’s team, and all the other characters who featured in the earlier stories, you won’t get the significance and beauty of everything that unfolds here.

Mind you, you’ll want to prepare yourself before you open this book. Guard your heart and be prepared for pain. The first third (approximately) of this story all but broke me. I never thought I’d see Hunt and Cam as shattered and insecure as they were in this tale. On the other hand, now that I have seen it, I have to admit it was inevitable. They had to break before they could become everything they always were, individually and together.

 Grief. It’s such a small word.

That encompasses sadness, fear, anger, guilt, deep loss, reality that shifts beneath your feet.”

There’s a lot of pain in Forever. Old pain, almost forgotten pain, pain denied, and fresh pain. And while this pain is important and something our heroes must go through, it’s not what this story is ultimately about. The real purpose of this story is what’s on the other side of that pain, on what remains when the sharp edges of grief have smoothened, on what emerges after it seems like everything is lost.

In one way this is the story of Cam and Hunter doing what they should have done from the start and certainly before they got married. They’re communicating, discovering each other in different, not sex- or work-related ways. It’s beautiful, emotional, at times warming my heart at others all but breaking it.

In another way Forever is about Cam and Hunt being honest with themselves before they’re (able to be) honest with each other. They have to open themselves up and dive into the depths of everything they’ve more or less successfully pushed into the far recesses of their consciousness before they can emerge together, better, stronger, and closer than they’ve ever been—even if I thought they couldn’t possibly get any closer than they already were.

Just because Hunt is out of the running, doesn’t mean that his team doesn’t have a nasty and tricky murder to solve. Just like his team members, I initially had a hard time coming to terms with that. Hunt was such a central and vital part of their earlier investigations that it was hard to imagine how they would manage without him, whether they even could function without him. But I guess they, and I, had to learn a lesson too. Hunt and Cam have grown over the course of the eight book series, but so have those who work with Hunt. His influence may not be direct in this book, but enough of it rubbed off on his co-workers for his intuitive and at times unorthodox style to bring them to the (rather horrifying) solution this time too.

The sex scenes in this book are as hot, powerful and breath-taking as always. They are (how shall I put it) less prominent in Forever, though. The sex, their scenes, were never the problem. You could say they were the only thing about Hunt & Cam not in need of re-examination. The scenes in this story were perfectly placed though since they happened just when Hunt, Cam, and I needed them most.

Honestly, I could go on Forever (pun totally intended) about this book, Hunt and Cam, and the series as a whole. If you want to read more of my fan-girling about these stories, you could check out my previous reviews. The following link will take you to my post about Shadow Men. Near the end of that review, you’ll find links to all other gush-fests, some of which include excerpts as well as character interviews. Enjoy!

Before I finished Forever, I feared that this might be my last encounter with Hunt and Cam. I’m very happy to report that I worried about nothing. There’s more to come and while it may be a little while before we meet again, I rest assured in the knowledge that Hunt and Cam will be back.

“That’s everything I want: to get through to the end of every day and still find ourselves together.”