REVIEW: The Summer Palace (Captive Prince #3.5) by C.S. Pacat

Genre: MM Fantasy

Buy The Book: AMAZON

Connect With The Author: Twitter /Blog/ Goodreads

Synopsis On GR:

"When all this is over, we could take horses and stay a week in the palace..."

Set after the events of the Captive Prince trilogy, The Summer Palace is a story about Damen and Laurent. It's an epilogue of sorts to the Captive Prince series.

REVIEW

"You were watching the road..." 

This novella is yet another proof how long I've been AWOL from the reader's world, because I've found about it totally by accident and it's the part of one of my most beloved mm fantasy series.

The one thing that prevented me from rating the 3d book of the series, Kings Rising, with 5 stars was the absence of a worthy epilogue and in this short story we get exactly that- a 30 pages long, worthy epilogue.

We finally get a glimpse of our favourite ex-archenemies in their honeymoon-phase, a couple of months after the plot of Kings Rising. Emotional, touching with a bit of steam. Almost perfect. Just like every short story- it gives you a small, sweet tast, but soon enough leaves you hungry for more. That's why 4/5 stars.

Purple's Reviews Of  The Rest Of The Series:

Review Of Captive Prince: Volume One (CP, #1)

Review Of Kings Rising (CP, #3) by C.S. Pacat

xoxo,

Purple

ARC REVIEW: Beta Test (#gaymers, #2) By Annabeth Albert

Expected publication: May 30th 2016 by Carina Press

Genre: MM Contemporary Romance

Buy The Book: KOBO B & N AMAZON

Connect With The Author: Twitter Website GR

Synopsis On GR:

Ravi Tandel is ahead of the game. He’s a top video game developer and he just got asked to present a top-secret project at a huge gaming conference in Seattle. All systems are a go…until he learns his office nemesis is coming along for the ride. Player vs. Player. Fight!

Newly minted MBA Tristan Jones doesn’t seem like the gaming type but he knows the business inside-out. Together, they’ll give an awesome presentation – they just have to survive the cross-country trip. Ravi’s opinion of Tristan is rebooted when he discovers a softer side to the conservative charmer and a new tension builds between them.

Despite their best efforts to keep it casual, things heat up quickly. Tristan is hiding his true self for fear of what his parents might think. Ravi knows that feeling all too well, but he didn’t disconnect from his family years ago only to hide who he is now. To be together, Tristan has to push past his fear and ultimately decide, does he want a future with Ravi? Or is it game over?

Book Two of the #gaymers series.

REVIEW

I haven't read the 1st book of the #gaymers series yet or anything by this author until this book, so this arc was one of those spur of the moment decisions, but once I started I could not stop. Fast-paced, fun, steamy and emotional hate-to-love story with endearing, down to earth characters.

At first glance Tristan & Ravi couldn't be more different from each other. Ravi, the top video game developer and artist, the charmer, flamboyant and center of every party. Everybody wants to be his friend or lover. Well, with the exception of his co-worker Tristan who is more of an introvert and workaholic with poor social skills and low self-esteem. At the beginning of the story all the guys want is to spend not more than necessary in each other's company, but soon enough they'll be forced by work to set on a cross-country journey when they'll discover that there's more than meets the eye in both cases.
 

Oh, what a lovely and heartfelt story this was! I loved the potrayal of the MCs who were the type of characters you can relate to, with both virtues and flaws and they completed each other wonderfully. I've been missing out. Must read more of this series ASAP! Highly recommended to every mm romance reader fan who wants a story and characters with depth.

RATING: 4/5 stars 

xoxo,

Purple

ARC Review: DARK ECONOMY by M. Keedwell

Summary:

Love can’t stay buried.

Medical student Cadell Meredith has been known to acquire “volunteers” from the occasional pauper’s grave in order to improve his surgical skills. While the legality of this practice is a bit murky, he wouldn’t go so far as to call it out and out robbery.

His latest acquisition, however, is different. The body on his table was obviously healthy, wealthy—and murdered. Cadell feels compelled to seek justice for the dead man, but while dissection comes naturally to him, crime investigation is unfamiliar territory.

Furthermore, he’s caught the attention of one of those new police officers, Blaine Breton. A handsome, sentimental fool who insists Cadell is a criminal. A criminal! Cadell is the first to admit he’s no saint, but he’s no killer.

A marvelous game of cat and mouse ensues as Cadell seeks to expose the truth while hiding his own secrets. A task that grows ever more difficult as his desire for Breton grows…and the danger deepens.

Buy Links:

Samhain Publishing | Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo | ARe 

Connect with the Author:

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Review:

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.


One of my favorite parts of Samhain Publishing books is that warning that comes at the end of book blurbs. They are always fun to read, and for me not even a warning, but actually a list of things to look forward to in a book. With Dark Economy it was: This story contains mystery, mayhem, and a male romance that starts off in the most delicious way possible—mutual hostility. Awesome warning, right? No surprise, right after I finished the book, the first sentence I wrote was:
A whole lot of mystery, quite a few suspects, and a bit of romance in Dark Economy...
 

Mystery is rightfully mentioned first as it was what the book was mostly about.


It starts off with the hero Cadell Meredith breaking the law. As a medical student keen on learning as much as he can, he finds his classes rather unsatisfactory in providing him with the knowledge he so desires. Therefore, he's forced to be creative in the ways of learning human anatomy, meaning occasionally acquiring bodies from pauper's graves, which was exactly what he was doing at the beginning of the story, and thus breaking the law. Right then and there we also meet the policeman who will throughout the book be his main adversary as he is an officer with a firm belief practicing on cadavers is an awful practice, which sparked many an argument between them. He will also be the man to wake a part of Cadell he spent years ignoring. But back to the mystery at hand. The body Cadell brought home to dissect did more than offer insight in the intricacies of anatomy, but also in the life and death of the person it used to be. For one, it was apparent the body didn't belong to a pauper, but to a rich young man. Second, the young fellow had clearly been  murdered. That knowledge woke in Cadell the need to investigate. Why he chose to go on the mission of finding out who the man was and what happened to him, he'll ask himself several times without having a definitive answer. He felt he owed it to him, he supposed, for helping him in his medical studies, but over time it became more:

“Kind of funny that you dragged me back to life by dying.”

 
His investigation required he get help from an old friend who had been at one time more than that, he made new friends, and his path kept crossing with the bloody policeman who occupied this mind until even they made peace with each other, and for all that Cadell was grateful. Which brings me to this: Dark Economy is a story I liked, but (there's always a but) it would've been a story I loved -- the book would've been an easy five-star read -- had a few parts been handled differently. The parts I'm referring to are the ones relating to Cadell's personal life. His love for medicine and his dedication to it was well described. His dedication to his chosen studies and eagerness to put his knowledge into practice was so palpable it made me happy for him for having found a profession he feels that way about. What I would've liked to read more about was his personal relationships, past and present, as that is something that interests me about characters. It was obvious he had issues with his family, and that something happened to drive them apart. Same thing with his friend. His past love life, I thought, deserved more page space. Not to mention his present love life. He and his main love interest had little time together for the majority of the book. They didn't even become lovers until the very end. I knew going in the main focus would be solving the mystery of Treswick's murder, but I had hopes the romance would have a slightly bigger part in the plot. Why this was as it was, I do not know, but since this book seems as one of those stories that could get a sequel or more of them, if it happens, I do hope the attention shifts more to Cadell's private life. All this, of course, is because of my preferences. I do watch crime/investigation TV-shows, and even then, the episodes I enjoy most are the ones that are about cases that are personal to the main characters.



Uncovering Treswick's life and death piece by piece was interesting. In fact, it was so interesting and complicated, I wished he were alive so we could get a book about him -- I think it would've been a good one. Alas, he's swimming with the fishes. However, as much as it was interesting, keeping track of everything and everyone proved to a hard task for me, and more than once I would find myself confused by all the information as there were quite a few suspects (this is something that happens to me while watching criminal investigations in TV-shows as well). Nevertheless, as a whole Dark Economy, Cadell Meredith and Blaine Breton have left a good impression. I look forward to seeing what the author will come up with next! 


In the end, I believe Dark Economy would appeal most to mystery lovers who don't mind a tiny bit of M/M romance thrown in the mix. I'll continue hoping M. Keedwell's next book will contain more than a tiny bit of romance. *fingers crossed*


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

Until next time, happy reading!

XOXO,

 

REVIEW: Lush In Lace By A. J. Ridges

Genre: MM Contemporary Romance

Pages: 123
Buy The Book:

http://www.mmromancegroup.com/?p=277949

(Free for MM Romance Group memebers! All you need is to sign up!) 

 

Connect With The Author:
Goodreads / Website / Twitter

Synopsis On Goodreads:
My brother, Jamie, finally got to marry his lifelong best friend, BJ, this weekend. I was Jamie’s best man, and Scott was BJ’s best man. Not an ideal situation for either of us, since Scott and I have been enemies since high school. Somehow we managed to get through the weeks before the wedding without killing each other (barely), but then the bachelor party incident occurred and added fuel to the fire.

Now we argue even more, and the sexual tension between us is unbearable, at least for me. Unfortunately, I have things I like— kinky things— that Scott would never be able to handle, probably because he’s not even gay. Or at least that’s what I always thought, but now I’m not so sure and apparently neither is he…

Lush in Lace is a complete contemporary story written as part of the Goodreads MM Romance Group's Don't Read in the Closet - Love is an Open Road event.

Tags: enemies to lovers, gay for you, out for you, funny/humorous, snarky, bickering best men, lingerie (maties/stockings), fetish/toys, nerd/jock, panty-scorcher, porngasmic fluff, family

 

RATING: 3.5 stars/ 5 stars

 

*** REVIEW ***

 

Having read 3-4 f/m reads in a row my inner mm fangirl was demanding that she had it enough and was in need of some mm love, so I decided that it was high time to give her her special treat in a form of this mm enemies-to-lovers novella.

 

Rylan & Scott, the gay nerd and the popular jock and ladiesman, have been arch enemies all their life despite their brothers being in a relationship and their families close friends. There was just something about Rylan and the other way around that provoke the other to mess with him on a regular basis. Their snarky "fights", emotional moments and steamy scenes were the best parts of the story.

 

I must admit that I was a bit skeptic at first after I had read that one of the guy is into lingeries (manties/stockings), but now, after I had read it, all I can say that the manties only added to the hotness department and I wouldn't mind reading more mm romances with heroes with this type of fetish.

 

Recommended to mm fans with preferance for fast-paced, sweet, fun and a little kinky mm enemies-lovers contemporary romances!

 

Make mm fangirl happy: Misson Completed!

 

xoxo,

 

Purple

Mini REVIEWs: Cold War & Holding the Edge (Cold War, #1 & #2) Keira Andrews

 

Genre:

MM Contemporary Romance/ Sports 

Buy The Books:

Book 1 (100 pages) ~ AMAZON / B & N / KOBO

Book 2 (95 pages) ~ AMAZON / B & N / KOBO

Connect With The Author:

Goodreads / Twitter / Website

Synopsis: 

Goodreads (Book #1) / Goodreads (Book #2)

RATINGs:

Book #1: 3.5/ 5 stars

Book #2: 3/ 5 stars

*** REVIEWs ***

Book #1:

“I'm not your friend.” Dev was simply stating a fact.

Mikhail--Misha--smiled softly. “No. You are my ...little rebellion.”

2 famous, top-leading skaters: a Russian & an Indian American. Two sworn rivals competing in one of the most important competitions of their careers. With eyes only on the prize. Until one heated argument in the locker room changes everything.

Fast-paced, fun, emotional and smoking hot enemies-to-lovers mm romance.

3.5 stars and only because some situations were rushed and that drama near the end which could have done a bit better in my opinion. Other than that I loved the palpable chemistry between the Mcs and their opposite personalities- Misha, the cold, calculated and always in control Russian who became a totally another person when behind closed bedroom, shower or locker room doors with the sweet and outgoing Dev.

Book #2:

My first thoughts before diving in Holding the Edge (Cold War, #2) were that the cover guys are totally not what I had in mind, especially not Dev, so I just stuck to my dirty imagination. When I started reading it I was positive that I'm gonna enjoy it more than Cold War (Cold War, #1), because- hey, Dev & Misha finally came clean about their feelings for each other and started a real, even though still closeted relationship and they even got a pet .

Another thing that I liked is that we finally got Misha's pov and the building friendship between their dance partners who couldn't stand each other not so long. The skater boys have done the easy part, but now comes the hard part when they have to face their families, friends and society. Will the pressure be too much for them? Buy the book and find out!

All in all, it was a sweet, emotional and quite satisfying conclusion to the short Cold War series. 3 stars because there was some cheesy content, especially in the 2nd half of the book which kind of lessened my first impression.

xoxo,

Purple

Pre-Release ARC REVIEW: Vice By Rosanna Leo

Expected publication: September 22nd 2015 by Samhain Publishing

Genre:

Contemporary Romance

Buy The Book:

AMAZON 

Connect With The Author:

Goodreads / Website /Twitter

Synopsis On Goodreads:

As a Vegas singer and volunteer counselor, Kate Callender has experienced life on both sides of Sin City’s bright lights. The thrill of performing, and gambling’s devastating effect on the addicts’ families.

Liam Doyle is just the kind of man she despises—a handsome, enigmatic businessman with a knack for seducing customers into his casino hotels. Determined to put a lid on his growing influence, she prepares to picket the opening of his newest casino, Vice.

When Liam spots the lone protestor hassling his customers, annoyance wars with instant attraction. And he quickly discovers the leggy redhead not only can’t be bought, she tempts him the way the sound of a roulette wheel lures a gambler. 

They are natural enemies, but when a vile attack sparks Liam’s protective instincts, they begin a sexual odyssey that dances on the edge of addiction. Dangerously close to losing control...and losing themselves.

RATING: 2.5/5 stars

*** REVIEW ***

As you all know- I'm always up for a good enemies-to-lovers romance whether from f/m or m/m genre and that was the main reason I picked this book up. Unfortunately, this ended up not being the right type of a read for me.

Why it didn't work out for me:

~ Insta-love romances and some cheesy content rarely work for me, especially the more books I read. The story must be either pnr romance or really good for me not to be annoyed by it, but this  wasn't the case. It took about a week or two for the main couple to develop such strong feelings for each other and do some *pretty unbelievable things* all "in the name of love." Some might find this highly romantic, but for me this is where the story lost its credibility.

~The enemies-to-lovers plot-line felt anticlimatic in my opinion. I wanted sparks, slow-building intensity, passion, a lot of sexy banter, but everything felt so rushed that those things ended up lost somewhere in the story, at least for me.

~ We are all humans and make mistakes every day, but I couldn't not think of Kate's behavior when it comes to her patients and rushed relationship with Liam a bit hypocritical considering her profession. 

~ The 2nd half of the book seemed to revolve only around "sex solves everything until it doesn't" plot followed by a fair share of unnecessary drama.

The best plot-line of the story for me were the parts focused on the side-effects of compulsive gambling. Those parts were really touching, emotional and thought-provoking. Kate's dad is a compulsive gambler whose addiction costed her a lot of bad things in her life and made her become volunteer counselor for the near  family of gambling addicts later on. My heart was breaking for her while reading about her father's addiction and all the things she went through because of him. Other than that the story and its characters failed to touch me on some deeper level. In the end I just couldn't connect to it and that's why 2.5 stars.

Read it & decide for yourself!

xoxo,

Purple