ARC Review: LOOKING FOR GROUP by Alexis Hall

People you meet online aren't real. Except that they totally are.

So, yeah, I play Heroes of Legend, y’know, the MMO. I’m not like obsessed or addicted or anything. It’s just a game. Anyway, there was this girl in my guild who I really liked because she was funny and nerdy and a great healer. Of course, my mates thought it was hilarious I was into someone I’d met online. And they thought it was even more hilarious when she turned out to be a boy IRL. But the joke’s on them because I still really like him.

And now that we’re together, it’s going pretty well. Except sometimes I think Kit—that’s his name, sorry I didn’t mention that—spends way too much time in HoL. I know he has friends in the guild, but he has me now, and my friends, and everyone knows people you meet online aren’t real. I mean. Not Kit. Kit's real. Obviously.

Oh, I’m Drew, by the way. This is sort of my story. About how I messed up some stuff and figured out some stuff. And fell in love and stuff.

 

 

Buy links
Riptide Publishing  |  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | All Romance eBooks | iBooks 

Connect with the author
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

Review

Rating: 4 stars!

So many books, so little time -- that's what 2016 has been like for me. On the bright side, I got to read some authors that have been on my must-read list for too long, and I've been lucky in picking my reading material because the books I did read introduced me to a lot of amazing and lovable characters. Alexis Hall is one those authors, and Drew and Kit, the stars of Looking for Group, are among those characters.

As Drew says in the blurb, this book is sort of his story. About how he messed up some stuff, and figured out some stuff. And fell in love and stuff. And it's a sweet story. A really sweet story that had me a bit worried at the beginning. Drew plays Heroes of Legend, an online game, and the story starts when he joins a new guild. There are entire transcripts of the members' conversations in the book, and descriptions of their raids, and I, well, I had almost no clue what was happening during those raids or what even they were talking about. So, yeah, I got a little worried, but as soon as Orcarella (Drew) and Solace (Kit) started chatting in the game, all my worries vanished. Their chats were so cute they always made me smile.

What came next was the messing up, figuring out, and falling in love. Drew liked Solace from the start, but there was that thing that he believed Solace was a girl. When she turned out to be a he, Drew went through a phase where he was disappointed first because until then he was only into girls, but then he realized that even though Solace was Kit, a boy, he still liked him. Luckily for him, Kit liked him too, and they decided to not only hang out together in HoL, but in real life as well, where they continued to be adorable in building their romantic relationship. Drew had a few moments when I wanted to smack him a little because he was messing up, and I felt bad for Kit. In the end, Drew figured things out, and made his apologies, and everything was adorable once again.

So, yeah, I finally read a book by Alexis Hall and I liked it.


***ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

Until next time, happy reading!

XOXO,

 

Mini REVIEW: Loser Takes It All (Up-Ending Tad: A Journey of Erotic Discovery, #1) By Kora Knight

Genre: Contemporary Romance/ Erotic/ MM Romance
Buy The Book: KOBO (free) B&N 
 AMAZON (free)

Connect With The Author: 
GR / Website / Twitter

Synopsis On GR:

Tad’s weekend started out like any other: hitting a college frat party with a handful of buddies. But just as the evening hits its peak, things get up-ended fast. Ditched by his drunken, trolling friends, Tad winds up getting hustled by three jocks playing poker. Now he’s forced to pay his dues in the most outlandish of ways: accepting a couple broken bones or spending an hour with his victors’ favorite flogger, Scott. But the tantalizing torture quickly proves to be the least of Tad’s worries… and the kickoff to a night of raw, shocking lust.

Experience the graphic, minute-by-minute account of that hour spent at the hands of Tad’s insatiable tormentor. Addicting chemistry lights the stage as Scott ignites Tad’s reluctant desires into a frenzy of forbidden need.

REVIEW

  

After more than 400 pages of pure urban fantasy my inner mm romance fangirl was in need of some dirty mm loving so I fed her this short story- Loser Takes It All by K. Knight and the story turned out to be just like that and more- short, fast-paced, kinky & fun (add to that- freebie) involving two super-hot college boys and one terribly wrong or better say deliciously good gone lost poker game.

There was some light bdsm involved (spanking, whipping etc.), the characters were fun, especially Scott The Dom and I'm intrigued enough to read the rest of the installments of the series to see if there'll grow something more out of their passionate one night stand. Plus, it's a gay-for-you mm romance, so the resistance is futile. 3 stars, because I rarely rate more this type of "bookporns", but if you're in need of something short, dirty & fun- I definitely recommend it!

 

RATING: 3/5 stars

xoxo,

Purple

Review: OFF CAMPUS (Bend or Break, #1) by Amy Jo Cousins

Summary:

Everyone’s got secrets. Some are just harder to hide.

With his father’s ponzi scheme assets frozen, Tom Worthington believes finishing college is impossible unless he can pay his own way. After months sleeping in his car and gypsy-cabbing for cash, he’s ready to do just that.

But his new, older-student housing comes with an unapologetically gay roommate. Tom doesn’t ask why Reese Anders has been separated from the rest of the student population. He’s just happy to be sleeping in a bed.

Reese isn’t about to share his brutal story with his gruff new roommate. You’ve seen one homophobic jock, you’ve seen ’em all. He plans to drag every twink on campus into his bed until Tom moves out. But soon it becomes clear Tom isn’t budging.

Tom isn’t going to let some late-night sex noise scare him off, especially when it’s turning him on. But he doesn’t want any drama either. He’ll keep his hands, if not his eyes, to himself. Boundaries have a way of blurring when you start sharing truths, though. And if Tom and Reese cross too many lines, they may need to find out just how far they can bend…before they break.

Warning: This book contains cranky roommates who vacillate between lashing out and licking, some male/male voyeurism, emotional baggage that neither guy wants to unpack, and the definitive proof that sound carries in college housing.

Buy Links:

Samhain Publishing | Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo | All Romance eBooks  | iBooks 

Connect with the Author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Review:

Rating: 3 stars.

A little while ago Real World caught my attention on NetGalley. I wanted to read it, so I requested it, and got approved. But before I could read it and see how Tom and Reese were doing five years into their relationship, I had to read Off Campus and see how it all started. Bend or Break series was one of those I wasn't sure if I really wanted to read or not, so getting that ARC made my decision. However, reading Off Campus had me questioning if it was the right one.


It started well enough. Both Tom and Reese seemed like the characters I'd have liked to know more about, and I was looking forward to seeing how the romance developed between them. Tom obviously had a lot of baggage, and Reese appeared to have some secrets of his own. Plus, Reese couldn't have been less enthusiastic about having a roommate. Based on such beginning, I expected theirs would be roommates who can't stand each other to lovers type of romance, or maybe that was wishful thinking on my part. Either way, it didn't go as I imagined it would, which I would've been perfectly okay with had I found the story more interesting.


There isn't much going on in Off Campus plot-wise, or, at least, not in my opinion. It didn't take long for it to start dragging, and for me to start wishing the book had fewer pages. I still liked Tom and Reese, and I wanted to get to their happy ending, but, unfortunately, the story didn't hold my attention. I believe this was a case of bad timing. I've had a lot of my mind lately, and this would've worked much better if I had a more peaceful state of mind. Alas, there's no going back.


However, even with all my frustration over my lack of focus, I did enjoy getting to know these characters, even if one of them made me want to smack some sense into him. I'm, of course, referring to Tom, although I can't really blame him for having so little trust in people after so many betrayed him, nor can I blame him for wanting to stay away from everyone. His wanting to conceal his relationship with Reese, and the worrying someone might see them together wasn't easy for Reese, therefore I didn't like it, but still I understood. I'm not an expert on the behavior of people who went through what Tom, and Reese had, but it seemed plausible. I will say for Tom, his dedication to make it in life despite all the derailments his father's actions caused was commendable, though for his own good I wished he let someone give him a hand from time to time. Luckily, he had a boyfriend and two friends to teach him to have some faith in the people in his life.


What I missed in this book was Reese's POV. I kept waiting for it, but it never happened. It would've been very nice to have gotten to know him not only through what Tom thought and learned about him, and it also would've been nice to see Tom from another perspective.


Tom & Reese, given their pasts, had a lot of issues to work through, and having the fun Steph and Cash in their lives did them good. I know I liked whenever they were a part of a scene. I must make a note to read their novel when I get a chance. Their book I think I will have much more fun reading.


Overall, to me Off Campus was an okay book, one I wish I read at a different time, because I bet it could've been way better than okay. Ah, well, it is what it is. Time to see how how they're all doing five years later.

Until next time, happy reading!

XOXO,

 

REVIEW: Him By Sarina Bowen, Elle Kennedy

Genre:

MM Contemporary Romance/ Sports

Buy The Book:

AMAZON / KOBO / B & N

Connect With The Authors:

Sarina Bowen on GR / Website / Twitter

Elle Kennedy on GR / Website / Twitter

Synopsis On Goodreads:

They don’t play for the same team. Or do they?

Jamie Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.

Ryan Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, with their college teams set to face off at the national championship, he’ll finally get a chance to apologize. But all it takes is one look at his longtime crush, and the ache is stronger than ever.

Jamie has waited a long time for answers, but walks away with only more questions—can one night of sex ruin a friendship? If not, how about six more weeks of it? When Wesley turns up to coach alongside Jamie for one more hot summer at camp, Jamie has a few things to discover about his old friend...and a big one to learn about himself.

Warning: contains sexual situations, skinnydipping, shenanigans in an SUV and proof that coming out to your family on social media is a dicey proposition.

RATING: 
Purple: 4/5 stars
Glass: 5/5 stars

*** REVIEW***

After my previous disappointing adult contemporary romances I was dead serious about taking some "rehab time" from this genre. Seriously, I did, but then S. Bowen and and E. Kennedy go and publish my incurable weakness- a friends-to-lovers/ GFY mm romance between two smoking hot hockey players. *Q* Tell me, how could an addict like me resist? The temptation was just too high.

I tried to stay strong, I promise, but the book and all these raving reviews kept appearing on my GR feed every once awhile and driving me crazy with curiosity. Next thing you know- rehab attempt: FAILED in 2 days.  I must emphasize also that before this book I had read the 3d installment in The Others by Anne Bishop (urban fantasy/pnr series around 400 pages long), what must count for something, right? Right? Right. *awkwardly nodding to myself*

Either way- I have NO REGRETS, because this book was like a compilation of my almost all wet friends-to-lovers/GFY fantasies in one place, LOL. The minute I met the goofy and adorable trouble-maker Ryan Wesly "Wes"- I was a goner. A popular jock and out of the closet hockey player irrevocably in love with his team-mate and straight best friend Jamie Canning. We meet them in their early twenties, before an important hockey game. The boys are estranged and haven't been in contact for 4 years. What had happened? Is there any chance for their friendship or even something more? Buy the book and find out! And just for your information there are tattoos, a pierced tongue, uber-sexy kiss in rain, skinny-dipping involved and more. ;)

Fun, very emotional and way too hot plot with even more amazing characters. Un-put-downable. I read it in one sitting. I admit, there were a few a bit cheesy situations towards the end I could have gone without and plot-wise it's not the most original book I've ever read, but nonetheless- it made the crazy mm fangirl inside me extremely happy. 

Highly recommended to every mm romance fan- the hype is real, people! 

xoxo,

Purple, The Friends-to-Lovers/GFY romance Addict

Mini REVIEW: Helping Hand By Jay Northcote

Genre:

MM Contemporary Romance

Buy The Book:

AMAZON / AllRomance / SMASHWORDS

Connect With The Author:

Goodreads / Website / Twitter

Synopsis On Goodreads:

Wanking with a mate isn’t gay—as long as you keep your hands to yourself.

Jez Fielding and James MacKenzie—Big Mac to his mates—are in their second year at uni. After partying too hard last year, they make a pact to rein themselves in. While their housemates are out drinking every weekend, Jez and Mac stay in to save cash and focus on their studies.

When Jez suggests watching some porn together, he isn’t expecting Mac to agree to it. One thing leads to another, and soon their arrangement becomes hands-on rather than hands-off. But falling for your straight friend can only end badly, unless there’s a chance he might feel the same.

length: 33,000 words approx

PURPLE'S RATING: 4/5 stars

GLASS' RATING: 5/5 stars

*** REVIEW ***

Collage boys, roommates, friends-to-lovers romance, GFY romance, first timers...The Resistance. Was. Futile. And I'm really glad I couldn't resist this short novella (around 90 pages), because, let's be honest- it made my dirty mind really happy, lol. As my friend Danija said- I won't call it a guilty pleasure because I don't feel guilty at all.

Jez & James are roommates and best friends in their 2nd year at uni. They partied so hard last year that one of them is now stuck with financial problems and the other will fail his studies if he doesn't get back on track. What to do??? Well, why not make a pact to avoid parties and stay at home this time for a change and hey, during breaks we can watch porn together and whatever else happens behind closed bedroom doors stays there? *Purple approves*

Fun, fast-paced, emotional and steamy. The only "flaw", as usual when it comes to short novellas, was its shortness.  Other than that I liked it a lot. The mm reading world can never have enough of these "straight" collage boys stories. Don't you agree? ;)

xoxo,

Purple

Just a Bit Obsessed (Straight Guys, #2) By Alessandra Hazard

Buy The Book:

AMAZON 

Author's Page:

Goodreads / Blog

Genre:

MM Contemporary Romance

Summary On Goodreads:

Alexander Sheldon likes order and control in his life. He isn’t happy when his girlfriend invites another guy for a threesome. Alexander believes in monogamy, and he’s never been good at sharing his things. It doesn’t help that Christian rubs him the wrong way from the beginning. 

But what starts as animosity turns into something else. Something unexpected and very wrong.

He was never supposed to touch Christian. He was never supposed to feel possessive of the guy. And he most definitely wasn’t supposed to want Christian more than he wants his girlfriend.

It’s a recipe for disaster.

Warning: some M/F/M sex.

RATING:

Purple's rating: 4 smoking hot stars
Glass' rating: 4 smoking hot stars

*** REVIEW ***

"Crushing on straight guys is never a good idea."

For the love of...I don't know which one was hotter- this one or the first one! My dirty mind simply can't force himself to choose and calls it a a tie, lol.

I knew from the first time I met Christian, Shawn's bff, in Just a Bit Twisted (Straight Guys, #1) that his story is bound to be good. Christian is a mix of everything I prefer my main characters to be: strong, witty, sweet and a bit cocky, but in a totally cute and harmless way. It's no wonder that he's one of the most popular students on the university and that everyone wants to be his friend or lover. He is a bisexual, but in the long term relationship he can only see himself with a guy and here comes Alexander Sheldon, the guy who's been on his mind for a long time.

Alexander Sheldon comes across as mysterious, calm, kind of closed off and cold person, especially to the people he doesn't know. Rich, drop dead gorgeous with a beautiful girlfriend Mila he treats like a queen. Everything about him and what he does seems perfect. Almost too perfect. Nothing and no one seems to have it in them to break that cool composure, that constant poker face. No one until he meets Christian.

Mila- I'm usually all for girl power and all that represents, but this time, I don't know if it's the mm fangirl in me to blame, but I didn't like this girl from the page one. I thought she was manipulative, selfish and full of herself and I wanted her out of the picture as soon as possible. Everything that happened- she had it coming.

4 fun, emotional & smoking hot stars.

I devoured this book in one sitting just like the previous one. The chemistry between the characters was breathtaking, but, sexy time aside, there's more to the story than just that. It's above all a story about love, friendship and family issues with fun, realistic and endearing characters.

And the ending? All I'm going to say is that it was all I wanted and more. Loved it! It's like the author read my mind and I think that every mm romance fan will be more than pleased.

"I hate leaving loose ends," Christian said.

"What loose ends?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Look at me."

Alexander knew he shouldn't. He knew it. But he did anyway.

They stared at each other in silence; the only sound in the stairwell was their ragged breathing. Christian licked his lips.

"Just once," he whispered.

Recommended to all mm romance fans who share my weaknesses for:

- emotional & steamy gfy (gay for you) mm romance with endearing characters

- collage boys romance

The next book is called Just a Bit Unhealthy (Straight Guys, #3) with Jared, Aleksander's cousin, in the main role who is still kind of an enigma. Can't wait to see what else Alessandra Hazard has in store for us!

xoxo