Tag Archive | 5 Stars

Songs of the Earth (Sumeria’s Sons #2) by Lexi Ander (5 Stars)

Jan2

The action-packed saga of Tristan and Ushna continues in this captivating romance.

I really enjoy reading this series. It’s such a wonderful mix of sweet romance and interesting world-building. With Lycan shifters, gods, goddesses, and unknown creatures, there’s never a dull moment.

Tristan and Ushna love each other, and it shows in everything they say and do. It was nice to see them spend time talking and handling challenges together. I felt like I finally got to know Ushna better, and I enjoyed their conversations. Their unquestionable support for each other allowed them to work hard at creating a new place for their extended family, friends, and supporters to live.

Tristan learns more about his parents and heritage which leads to some significant life changes including the ability for him or Ushna to carry a child. Tristan volunteers and it made for some fun moments watching him deal with pregnancy with his wry sense of humor.

Tristan’s former Twin Flame, Theo, continues to cause trouble even after his death. The serial killer from the first story also returns to wreak havoc. Many of these scenes had me on the edge of my seat. The ending doesn’t bring closure to everything going on which is expected in this type of series. However, one thing that is never questioned, to my heart’s delight, is the love between Tristan and Ushna.

The author does a beautiful job telling an exciting story through the addictive voice of Tristan.

Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Affiliations, Aliens & Other Profitable Pursuits (Claimings #3) by Lyn Gala (5 Stars)

Dec18

Another adventure in the interesting lives of Liam and Ondry.

I always enjoy the discussions between Liam and Ondry and the Grandmothers. The delicate choice of words and the thought that must go into each conversation is fascinating. It would be exhausting to live like this with every single conversation, but there are definitely advantages to being more careful with our choice of words.

Liam and Ondry are traveling on a ship as part of Ondry’s personal mission to find a cure for Liam’s short life as a human. Ondry is convinced that there is a genetic answer to this problem. It was nice seeing how well these two continue to work and live together. They are a perfect match and it shows in all of their interactions. I think my favorite new part of their relationship was Ondry discovering the delight of kissing.

The Grandmothers on the ship haven’t recognized Ondry with the rank of tuk even though the Grandmothers on his planet have already given him that designation. As Ondry works to prove himself, Liam is dealing with his own issues. Liam meets up with some of his former comrades and learns what has happened to them since he left. One of them is concerned that Liam is not in a healthy relationship. It was sweet watching Ondry try to help Liam deal with his emotions.

This is part of an amazing series and should definitely be read in order.

I adore this unique series with its sweet romance and a love for the nuances of communication.

Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Not Safe for Work by L.A. Witt (5 Stars)

Dec17

As a huge fan of kissing, this story was made for me! Two middle-aged men, who knew what they wanted in life, fall in love, and it couldn’t have been more perfect.

Jon McNeil builds models to scale for an architectural firm, but it’s a job that is quickly getting replaced by technology. Rick Pierce is a wealthy property developer who is trying to improve the city. Although they’ve been working with each other, they don’t really get a chance to talk to each other. Jon’s bosses don’t allow him to talk to their biggest client. That all changes when they discover they’re both on the same website searching for the right partner.

I enjoyed learning about Jon’s job. There was just enough detail to keep it interesting and add to the story without overwhelming it. There was a nice edge to the relationship since they had to keep it under wraps. Jon was afraid he would lose his job or cause problems for Rick. It was realistic and gave the story a bit of drama.

Jon oozed sex appeal in and out of the bedroom. Their scenes together were both hot and romantic. The feelings they had for each other seemed sincere. They were always thinking of each other and struggled to stay focused on their jobs. Even though it wasn’t their first love affair, they both knew they finally found the “one”. There’s plenty of kink to go with it, including bondage, pinwheel use, and hot wax, but the multiple romantic kissing scenes were the highlight.

The epilogue was perfect and had me in tears. Jon’s ex-wife and college students play a role in the story and give a back-drop for some of his actions. It was all positive, which was nice. Outside of the evil owners of Jon’s firm, which were a bit over the top, the story was pretty realistic.

It doesn’t matter how old you are, when you find the right person, you do everything you can to keep them.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Candy Man by Amy Lane (5 Stars)

Nov20

A lovely holiday treat that’s light on angst and heavy on hope.

I loved this magical holiday story! Darrin runs Candy Heaven, and he has some strange ability to see bits of the future. His pixie stick is telling him that he needs to hire Adam Macias in order to give him the help he so desperately needs. I thought it was interesting to get two points of view in this story with only one from a main character. It worked very well in this story. Adam has a lot of issues to deal with, and I loved getting to know him better. Since Darrin runs the store, and also has to step in a few times to save the day, it was great hearing his thoughts, too.

I adored Adam. He has not had a great life, and things continue to go wrong for him. However, that doesn’t stop him from trying so hard to move forward. Every time a new obstacle is thrown in his way, he just moves it and carries on. The only thing he’s really bad at is accepting help of any kind from anybody, and after hearing about his upbringing, I could certainly understand why. I loved the different ways the author used Adam’s drawing skills to further the story along. Meeting Finn was the best thing to ever happen to Adam, and he isn’t quite sure what to do about it. Thank goodness Finn wasn’t easily put off by Adam’s behavior. These two were made for each other, and I enjoyed every minute that they were together.

I loved how the author managed to touch me with this story without a horrendous amount of angst or anything over the top, but with a very beautiful story about how love and friendship heals.

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Originally reviewed for Swept Away By Romance. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb