November 2024 Reads

A bit below my monthly average, but I thoroughly enjoyed the books I read during November. For some reason it completely escaped my attention that I read both the first and the latest book in the Lady Eleanor Swift series by Verity Bright. It's hard to believe we're getting close to Christmas and the end of the year. Before I do a reading round-up for the year, I've got a few more books to read first. If I posted longer or related reviews, the links can be found below.

A VERY ENGLISH MURDER (Lady Eleanor Swift #1) by Verity Bright (4*)

A fun, somewhat over the top but overall, very amusing and easy to read vanishing-corpse mystery. I’m looking forward to spending more time in early 20^th century England solving mysteries with Lady Eleanor, her butler Clifford, and her English bulldog Gladstone.

 

AGATHA CHRISTIE: A MYSTERIOUS LIFE by Laura Thompson NF (4.5*)

This was more than ‘just’ a description of Christie’s life. This biography also deep dives into her books, her writing, her storytelling powers, as well as the puzzles she created and solved. The author takes links and hints about Agatha’s life from her (mostly Mary Westmacott’s) fiction. All of it sounds plausible but none of it can be taken as fact since they are conclusions drawn by Laura Thompson and not biographical details provided by Christie herself. It is noteworthy that the author uses the word ‘elusive’ with regard to Agatha Christie given that Lucy Worsley titled her biography Agatha Christie: an Elusive Woman. This has been a most enjoyable bedtime read. Sure, at about eight pages per evening it took a looooong time read, but I wasn’t in a hurry. I’m going to miss my nighttime encounters with Agatha Christie.

 

LIAR’S ISLAND (CSI Ally Dymond #3) by T. Orr Munro (3.5*)

Two CSI investigators find themselves stranded on a small island with a tiny group of inhabitants, one of whom may well be a murderer. I enjoyed Liar’s Island and I’d call it a well-plotted and easy-to-read mystery that for me personally could have done with a little more tension and a little less personal backstory. My full review can be found here:  https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2024/11/liars-island-by-t-orr-munro.html

 

A MIDWINTER MURDER (Lady Eleanor Swift #20) by Verity Bright (4+*)

A delightful new instalment in the Lady Eleanor Swift series. The setting combined with the reclusive Earl who lives there create a wonderful contrast with the charming Christmas atmosphere Eleanor’s staff create in the gamekeeper’s cottage. Just as the mystery is wonderfully balances with the developing romance between Ellie and her Chief Inspector fiancé. My full review can be found here: https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2024/11/a-midwinter-murder-by-verity-bright.html

 

OUT OF SIGHT (Second Sight #3) by K.C. Wells 4*

Detective Gary Mitchell and psychic Dan Porter tackle their third baffling case while their relationship continues to flourish. What should have been a cold-case investigation almost immediately turns active and takes them far out of their comfort zones in more ways than one. In the background runs the continuing unsolved mystery of Gary’s brother’s murder. Because this story arc stretches over all the books in this series, they should be read in order.

 

EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE (Ernest Cunningham #1) by Benjamin Stevenson 4.5*

Gripping, well-plotted, and at times funny mystery in which the first-person narrator strictly follows the Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction as established during the Golden Age of Crime Writing. More than once I feared the story was trying to be too clever only for the ending of the story to prove that the plot was indeed that clever. I’m sorry now that I already read Everyone on This Train is a Suspect and Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret earlier this year. Not because they spoiled this book for me but because I’d love to be able to look forward to reading them.

Seb’s Summer by K.C. Wells

 

Main Men #3

282 pages

Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Also available with Kindle Unlimited

 

Blurb

Steamy summer nights with a hot older man aren’t the smooth sailing Seb expects.

A mysterious older guy

Seb Williams has one plan for the hot, sultry nights of his summer vacation—to get laid. What isn’t on the agenda? Running his uncle’s fishing business. Seb has no choice but to help his family. So it’s goodbye, Ogunquit’s gay bars and hook-ups.
And it’s hello, Cape Porpoise, a quaint, quiet fishing harbor. A small town that promises to be boring AF until he meets Marcus Gilbert. His summer prospects start to look promising. Silver fox—hell yeah. Hot bod? Check. Slow sultry gaze? Oh yes!

Only one problem. Marcus Gilbert plays hard to get.

A hot distraction

Cape Porpoise is exactly how Marcus remembers it from long-past childhood, and just what he needs. A sabbatical to get his life back on track, and work on his book. Peaceful surroundings. The calm of the ocean.

Perfect—until Marcus’s boat is well and truly rocked by a hot, younger guy.

Marcus can’t ignore the lure of Seb’s lean frame and gorgeous eyes. One night can’t hurt, right?

Except one night leads to another, and another.

It’s just a summer fling—until it isn’t, and the pair are suddenly in uncharted waters.

Because now, Marcus’s past threatens to tear apart their future.

 

Review

The Main Men series has so far given me three delightful stories. While they’re all interconnected and have some similarities, each story comes with a new and fully fleshed-out dilemma. In Finn’s Fantasy, the issue was coming out at a later age, and in Ben’s Boss K.C. Wells dealt with bullying. Seb’s Summer has another, equally hefty, topic at its core. I won’t tell you what it is though. Spoilers should always be avoided and in this case even more so.

This third book in K.C. Well’s Maine Men series is as captivating and sexy as the two prequels. If I take my queue from the official blurb, my summary of the story looks something like this:

Hot men ✅

Age-Gap Romance ✅

Hot and Sexy ✅

Memorable characters ✅

Realistic ✅

But I won’t leave my review there. It won’t surprise anybody when I say I’m a huge fan of K.C. Well’s books. While there hasn’t been a single story I didn’t like, I do have my favourites, of course. Seb’s Summer has found its place among those favourites.

There’s a lot to love in this book. Seb is a wonderful MC. At first glance, he may seem a little selfish and somewhat obsessed with hook-ups, but it soon becomes very clear that he has a heart of gold and tends to put others ahead of himself. All of which doesn’t mean that he’s happy about having to spend the summer he had huge plans for in a small fishing village working on his uncle’s boat. There go all his dreams of gay clubs and steamy nights…or so he thinks.

Enter Marcus. While Seb resents having to spend his summer in Cape Porpoise, for Marcus the tiny town is a refuge, allowing him to put distance between himself and issues he has been dealing with. Seb may be looking for fun and sex, Marcus very much isn’t. He just wants to be left alone so he can sort himself out. Except that Marcus can’t deny that Seb is both attractive and next to impossible to resist, no matter how hard he tries to keep his distance.

What starts out as a summer fling for both men, soon turns into something more…something neither of them expected…something that may not have a future considering where they both normally live…and something that turns out to be all too fragile once Marcus’s secret is revealed.

I’m not going to tell you what that secret is, or how it gets resolved. What I will say is that it is a tricky and sensitive issue, and that K.C. Wells deals with it in a responsible and empathetic manner without allowing it to take over the story, turn it into a heavy read, or get in the way of the romance.

Yep. Seb’s Summer is yet another winner for anybody who loves a well-plotted romance with a powerful back story, imaginative and hot scenes, and a lot of heart. How long until we can get our hands on book four?

 

 

Princely Submission by K.C. Wells

 

321 Pages

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

Who says love has to be gentle?

A spoiled prince on his first overseas tour is torn between resenting his hot bodyguard—and yearning for him.

Prince Jordan is twenty years old, rich, and finally seeing the world. The last thing he needs is a babysitter. Especially one as rigid as Stuart Whitmore, an older, muscular man who makes it clear from their first meeting that there will be consequences if Jordan misbehaves.

No one has ever laid a hand on Jordan his whole life, but for the first time he’s  contemplating the possibility—and trying to figure out which buttons to push to achieve his goal. Because there’s something behind Stuart’s eyes that tells him he feels the same magnetic pull that Jordan does.

Stuart doesn’t give a damn that Jordan is a prince—he’s still the most entitled brat he’s ever laid eyes on. He’s also a temptation, igniting desires Stuart had thought long since extinguished. The prince needs a firm hand and Stuart is just the man to provide it, but there’s a vulnerability to Jordan that calls to him.

A call that proves too difficult to ignore.

What happens when discipline crosses the line into intense heat?

And what are the ramifications when the connection becomes so much more than just physical…

For both of them?

 

Review

You take one spoilt and bratty prince, desperate to lose his V-card, pair him with an experienced no-nonsense bodyguard and what do you get? A delightful, captivating, and sexy story that keeps you hooked from start to finish.

There is so much to love in this story. Jordan is a delightful brat when the story starts and slowly transforms into an adorable submissive as the tale progresses. Stuart, on the other hand, is nowhere near as gruff as he at first appears to be. And together they move from chalk and cheese to the perfect couple via a sequence of scenes varying from highly entertaining to hot and sexy.

If you enjoy an imaginative story with relatively little angst, quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, glorious spanking scenes, and a satisfying heat-level, you really should Princely Submission as soon as possible.

I don’t usually say anything about the covers of the books I read. I’m all about the words and more or less indifferent about cover images. But there’s an exception to every rule, as this gorgeous image proves. I was a little bit in love with this story before I read the first chapter. 😊

The Inverts by Crystal Jeans

 

374 pages

Publisher: The Borough Press

 

Blurb

 1921: A BOY, A GIRL, A MOONLINT MIDNIGHT KISS

A TERRIBLE, REPULSIVE KISS.

Bettina and Bart have grown up as best friends, so surely they will end up together? After all, Bettina is young, rich, headstrong … and gay. Bart is young, rich, charismatic … and also, definitely, gay. Any doubts are dispelled by, in short order: that ghastly kiss; a torrid encounter for Bettina in school boiler rooms; and an eye-opening Parisian visit for Bart.

Society will never stand for it. What else can they do but enter into a ‘lavender marriage’ and carry on indulging their true natures in secret? As the ‘20s and ‘30s whizz past in a haze of cigarettes, champagne and casual sex, Bart and Bettina have no idea that they are hurtling, via Hollywood and Egypt, Paris and London, towards tragedy and bloodshed …

Hilarious and heartbreaking, fast-paced and filthy, THE INVERTS is like nothing you have read before. A glorious hymn to friendship, a scintillating murder mystery and a frankly outrageous portrait of the decades that invented wild parties, it confirms Crystal Jeans as one of the freshest and most original writers we have.

 

Review

Wow.

I finished this book a few hours ago and I’m still not sure if I would call it a delightful reading experience or a depressing one. Most of the plot can be found in the blurb, so I won’t go into that too much. What I do want to mention is that the story took me from thinking that the arrangement Bart and Bettina came up with was both inspired and perfect for them to the realisation that ‘forced’ proximity and the need to lie about yourself and your life is a sure-fire way to destroy the best of friendships.

In case you’re wondering, I used the word ‘forced’ for their proximity here because they only got married because it was the only way both of them could indulge in their same-sex attractions without the world at large being aware of it or, if people were aware, without society having to acknowledge it and deal with it.

And that brings me to my happy vs. sad dilemma. For a large part of the book, Bart and Bettina were a delightful couple. They knew each other well, maybe even better than a lot of (married) partners get to know each other. As a result they sparkled together. Their conversations were quick, sharp, sometimes hurtful, but always interesting. The relationships they both developed with other, same-sex, partners on the side gave them what they needed while their friendship and two children allowed them to sustain the illusion of married bliss. Until the friendship failed. Because no friendship (or marriage) can survive years of being forced to lie. And, as both Bart and Bettina learned, not being in love with each other doesn’t mean you won’t get jealous or resentful when your partner’s attention is mostly focussed on others.

This book is more than ‘just’ the story of Bart and Bettina trying to live their best lives, though. It is also a story about society and its rules forcing people into positions and situations not of their choosing. It shows the hypocrisy of people who are willing to ignore what they know to be true but only as long as deniability is an easy option.

Overall, however, The Inverts is a book about friendship and being there for each other when it really matters, regardless of what may have come before. The ending was a little ambiguous, tinged with sadness, but ultimately rewarding for reasons I won’t get into because I don’t want to spoil it for others.

The Inverts is a fast-paced and fascinating queer book and I highly recommend it.

Hold Tight (Biker Daddy Bodyguards #4) by Sue Brown

 

Price: $3.99

Universal link: https://readerlinks.com/l/1799593

Series link: https://readerlinks.com/l/1564675

Blurb

The fourth book in Sue Brown's high stakes Biker Daddy Bodyguards series

Griff spends his evenings unofficially protecting the successful club owner, Jem Peacock, for the Biker Daddy Bodyguards. But Jem is a boy in need of a Daddy and Griff is desperate to take that job. He will wait patiently for Jem to trust him with the secret of his heart.

This young Daddy, all wiry muscle and compact strength, is not Jem’s type. But when Jem’s world implodes, Griff is the one by his side, guarding him, and offering Jem the chance to explore his little side. Jem has longed for a special kind of Daddy, one who loves a femme little. Is he too old to have his dream? Can he trust Griff with that secret?

To his fellow bodyguards, Jem is a client. To their community, Jem is a boy in need of a special Daddy. To Griff, Jem is a little to be treasured. Will Jem give him that chance?

Excerpt

“Your bodyguard is here again,” Max murmured, his amusement sparkling in his green eyes.

Jem Peacock didn’t follow his brother’s gaze. He refused to look over to the other booth in the VIP section of Peacock. He knew what he’d see. The bodyguard in question had been in their club every night for weeks.

“And this time he brought company. Mmmm, pretty.” Max was practically salivating.

Jem held back a growl. “They’re all loved-up, Maxy. Don’t even think about it.”

“Don’t call me Maxy, Jezza. There’s only one boy there. The rest are all big and burly. Yummy.” Max licked his lips.

Jem rolled his eyes. “As I said, all loved up.”

“Except your bodyguard, poor lamb. Sitting there all by himself. He looks so lonely.”

“He’s not my bodyguard.” Jem scowled at Max’s gleeful expression, but he kept his tone cool, knowing his brother would pounce on any sign of weakness. “And he’s certainly not a lamb.” There was nothing soft about Griff Carlton. He was all hard muscle. “He’s not my type.”

Max scoffed at him. “Oh, little brother, you can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me. Griff is so your bodyguard. How many nights has he been in here since you met him?”

“I don’t know.” Jem glared at his brother, but it didn’t take the wicked grin off Max’s face, and Jem knew what he was going to say.

“Every night. Your boy has been here every single night for the past two months.”

“He’s not my boy.” Jem held back a shiver. Griff may be years younger than Jem, but he was definitely not a boy.

“No,” Max drawled. “He’s certainly not your boy. Your Daddy, perhaps?” 

Author Bio

Cranky middle-aged author with an addiction for coffee, and a passion for romancing two guys. She loves her dog, she loves her kids, and she loves coffee; in which order very much depends on the time of day.

Come over and talk to Sue at: Newsletter | Bookbub | Patreon | Her website

Author group – Facebook | Facebook

Email: sue@suebrownstories.com 

Review

“You’re a boy whisperer.”

This fourth book in the Biker Daddy Bodyguards series is another gem. These books are a delicious mix of high adrenaline adventure and sweet love and it's a mixture I love losing myself in.

To a casual observer, aka the reader, it is clear from the start that Griff and Jem are made for each other. But Jem has a hard time admitting his needs and desires, even to himself, and Griff isn’t the sort of Daddy to force a boy to acknowledge his longings, no matter how badly he wants to meet them.

It’s not as if Griff and Jem are given a lot of time to explore each other and what they could be together. Events unfold fast and furious right from the start. With Jem’s brother and business partner in hospital, fighting for his life after being shot in Jem’s apartment, Griff and the other Biker Daddy Bodyguards move into full protective mode, sweeping a scared and confused Jem up in their protection. With nobody knowing whether Max or Jem was the intended target, Griff is put in charge of keeping Jem safe.

As the mystery surrounding the shooting deepens, Jem is torn between concern about his brother and their club and the attraction he feels for Griff. He yearns to give into the needs of his inner boy but, having been hurt in the past and feeling shame about some of his preferences, he is reluctant to open up to Griff. All Griff can do is pay attention and give Jem what he says he needs. He knows there’s more to explore but is reluctant to push Jem since trust takes time to build and they’re only together a few days by the time things come to a head.

My heart broke when everything appeared to fall apart at the same time for Jem and soared when the seemingly impossible was achieved, bringing happiness to all involved and, most importantly, Jem and Griff.

Unlike the two previous titles I read, this story was more about indulging the boy in Jem than about sexy-time between him and Griff. But, given the short time scale and Jem’s history, this was perfect and didn’t take anything away from the beauty of their growing connection; quite the opposite in fact.

Overall, I have to say that Sue created another winner, both with this book and with the series as a whole. If you like your Daddies caring and dominant and your boys needy yet strong, I urge you to read the Biker Daddy Bodyguards Series now!

Previous Reviews: Hold Firm | Hold Safe

Previous books in the series:

Book 1: Hold Firm: https://readerlinks.com/l/1800454

Book 2: Hold Close: https://readerlinks.com/l/1554518

Book 3: Hold Safe: https://readerlinks.com/l/1564674

Giveaway

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Finn’s Fantasy (Maine Men #1) by K.C. Wells

 

Pages: 311

Available as E-book, Paperback, and Audio book

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

Blurb

 

A secret desire

 

By day, Finn builds houses on the coastline of Maine. Afterhours, Finn dreams of the hot older guy who walks his chocolate lab on Goose Rocks Beach. The man of his dreams ticks all his boxes. Salt and pepper hair. Strong jawline. Blue eyes.
His dream man is perfect fantasy material. As for actually speaking to him?
As if. Their paths won’t ever cross, and the guy is probably straight.

 

A new chapter

 

Recently divorced Joel is finally living as a gay man, but he’s not sure he’s ready to jump into a relationship. That doesn’t stop him from noticing his new contractor’s muscular build, hewn from hard, physical work, or his storm-colored eyes. Or the way he wears his tool belt slung low on his hips. The icing on the cake? There’s more to Finn than good looks. Maybe he’s the perfect guy to share long walks on the beach and warm nights in front of a fire.

 

But it’s been twenty years since Joel was with a man. While he’s not forgotten how to flirt, he’s nervous about making a move.

 

Especially with Finn.

Review

 

Sighs. Finn’s Fantasy might as well have been written to meet my personal reading preferences.

 

Low Angst?                                         √

Age Gap?                                            √

Strong Secondary Characters?          √            

Adorable Dog?                                    √

 

There really isn’t anything in this story that doesn’t work for me. Quite the opposite in fact. I loved it from start to finish. While Finn and Joel both start off assuming that the other man isn’t for him (Finn thinks Joel is straight and Joel is convinced he’s too old for Finn), it doesn’t keep them apart. Because both men, prior to really getting to know each other, are happy to cultivate a friendship in lieu of anything more intimate, their relationship progresses naturally. It’s already clear they’re a good fit before they’ve shared their first kiss.

 

It wouldn’t be a romance without at least a little tension. In this case, the stress isn’t caused by any issue between Finn and Joel but rather by Joel’s past (I’m not sharing details here, I wouldn’t want to spoil this wonderful story). The issue is valid and understandable and, what’s more, it’s not dragged out but dealt with in an open and relatable manner.

 

Finn and Joel together are as adorable as they are hot. You could say they warm both the readers’ hearts and other body parts. 😊

 

This book starts with Finn spending time with his friends and ends with him and Joel meeting the same group again. Other men from this group will find the loves of their lives in subsequent titles. Since we see enough of the friends to get some idea of who they are, I’m already curious about who’s story will be next and what might happen to him. What’s more, these group scenes guarantee that I will see more of Finn and Joel in later Maine Men stories, and to me, that’s fabulous news.

                                                                                                

So:       YAY! To Maine Men #1

            BRING ON, Maine Men #2 and the rest. (Taps foot impatiently.)

 

 

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.