Holiday Book Review: Humbug by Joanna Chambers

itle: Humbug

Author: Joanna Chambers

Publisher/GR Link: GR

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: Holiday, Scrooge

Rating: 5 stars

Lock this book up: 3 keys.  The sex is hot, sweet and perfect!

Length: Novella

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: Adorable!!

Synopsis: Quin Flint is unimpressed when his gorgeous colleague, Rob Paget, asks for extra time off at Christmas. As far as Quin is concerned, Christmas is a giant waste of time. Quin's on the fast track to partnership and the season of goodwill is just getting in the way of his next big project. But when Quin's boss, Marley, confiscates his phone and makes him take an unscheduled day off, Quin finds himself being forced to confront his regrets, past and present, and think about the sort of future he really wants... and who he wants it with.

Impressions: Let me start by saying that I am a Christmas Carol aficionado.  I love the movies and musicals, and I’m a sucker for any Scrooge-like story.  I’ve also had some serious book-lust just from judging this one by the gorgeous cover!

This was a great holiday read, and it was all that I wanted in a take on this classic.  Quin is perfectly self absorbed and yet so verya lone.  Rob is sweet and adorable and I loved watching Quin realize what he had been missing out on this whole time.  This story will warm you up and the temperature drops! 

Highly Recommended- and as a bonus, this was released today!  Go get it!

Book Review: If Only in My Dreams, by Keira Andrews

Title: If Only In My Dreams

Author: Keira Andrews

Publisher/GR Link: KA Press, GR

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: Holiday, New Adult

Rating: 5 stars

Lock this book up: 4 keys---this one will melt the frost from your windows!

Length: 140 page novella

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: Full of the Holiday Feelz!

Best Line:  “You make me want to vomit and shit my pants too.” (trust me!)

Synopsis: Charlie Yates is desperate. It’s almost Christmas and his flight home from college has been delayed. For days. Charlie promised his little sister Ava he’d be home for her first holiday season since going into remission from leukemia. Now he’s stuck on the opposite coast and someone else grabbed the last rental car. Someone he hasn’t even spoken to in four years. Someone who broke his heart.

Gavin Bloomberg’s childhood friendship with Charlie ended overnight after a day of stolen kisses. With years of resentment between them, they don’t want to be in the same room together, let alone a car. But for Ava’s sake, Gavin agrees to share the rental and drive across the country together.

As they face unexpected bumps along the road, can Charlie and Gavin pave the way to a future together?

Impressions: I loved this feel good holiday treat!  Andrews is an author I can always count on to bring a smile to my face with her dynamic characters, and this book was exactly what I hoped it would be!

I loved the way Andres revealed the history between Gavin and Charlie, and I could so easily empathize with each of them.  Watching them fall (back) in love was so sweet, and incredibly sexy.

The sexual tension and emotional tension in this book is so touching that I couldn’t stop turning the page.  Charlie is an adorable brother and son, but Gavin really tugged at my heart strings.  Watching him gather the courage that he had lost so long ago was a joy to share with him. 

I am a holiday book junkie, but when a story transcends the holiday season then I know I have found a keeper.  This is one I will definitely revisit when I want a Christmas and Hanukkah pick-me up!

Book Review: Real World, book 5 by Amy Jo Cousins

Title: Real World, book 5

Author: Amy Jo Cousins

Publisher/GR Link: Samhain, GR

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: series, holiday read

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Lock this book up: 4 keys out of 5, the sex is hot!

Length: 175 page Novel

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: These covers are amazing!

Best Line:  "…Tom was done fucking up. Was done putting his relationship in jeopardy because he was ashamed and fearful and hiding under the shaky leaf of his own lies as if they were rocks."

Synopsis: Five years ago, Tom Worthington busted his ass to overcome the fear and paranoia that led him to withdraw from the world and nearly lose his boyfriend. He never thought he’d find himself right back there, shutting Reese out, keeping secrets again.

Reese Anders is ready to try anything to get Tom to talk: if he can’t seduce his boyfriend with food, he’ll get Tom to open up in bed. But even Tom’s confession that his dad is getting out of prison soon doesn’t clear the air between them. And as the holidays approach, intensive mentoring from a new British boss creates more distractions, until Reese is keeping secrets of his own.

At a company Christmas party, it only takes Tom one look at Reese’s new boss to figure out how much danger their relationship is in. But he’s not about to let the connection that started all those years ago at Carlisle come to an end. It’s time to deal with their problems like adults. Face to face. Or back to front. Starting in the bedroom.

Impressions:  I have loved the Off Campus series, and I jumped at the chance to review book 5 in the series.  The fact that it was a holiday read?  Buttercream icing on a cake I was already going to eat!

It was great to see Tom and Reese again, but my heart broke to watch Tom suffer so mush in silence.  I really liked that this book showed Tom having made some progress in his communication issues, but showing that this is not a quick fix.  I thought it was really respectful and realistic when looking at the way Tom had been raised.  I loved that Reese was there for him, and this was a true development of a relationship that I already loved.  This story didn’t need any crazy plot twists or “big misunderstandings” because what carries this read is characters that we love and a romance that keeps growing.

I loved seeing some other familiar characters in this story, and it was great seeing how their lives were all connected as they supported and loved each other.

This was a great read, and the holiday setting made it an amazing and fun pre-holiday gem!

Double Review: Howl at the Moon, books 1 and 2 by Eli Easton

 

Title: Howl at the Moon- How to Howl at the Moon, book 1 and How to Walk Like a Man, book 2

Author: Eli Easton

Publisher/GR Link: Pinkerton Press, GR Book 1, GR Bk 2

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: Shifters, Police, PTSD

Rating: bk 1- 4, book 2- 4.5- 4.25 Overall

Lock this book up: 3 keys out of 5, the sex is hot and romantic

Length: Two novels

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: I love them and they go so well together.

Best Line:  “I’m a selfish bastard.  I’ve always wanted the best.  Trust me to find the most extraordinary guy in the world.” (book 2)

Synopsis:

Book 1: Sheriff Lance Beaufort is not going to let trouble into his town, no sir. Tucked away in the California mountains, Mad Creek has secrets to keep, like the fact that half the town consists of ‘quickened’—dogs who have gained the ability to become human. Descended on both sides from Border Collies, Lance is as alert a guardian as they come.

Tim Weston is looking for a safe haven. After learning that his boss patented all of Tim’s work on vegetable hybrids in his own name, Tim quit his old job. A client offers him use of her cabin in Mad Creek, and Tim sees a chance for a new start. But the shy gardener has a way of fumbling and sounding like a liar around strangers, particularly gorgeous alpha men like Sheriff Beaufort.

Lance’s hackles are definitely raised by the lanky young stranger. He’s concerned about marijuana growers moving into Mad Creek, and he’s not satisfied with the boy’s story. Lance decides a bit of undercover work is called for. When Tim hits a beautiful black collie with his car and adopts the dog, its love at first sight for both Tim and Lance’s inner dog. Pretending to be a pet is about to get Sheriff Beaufort in very hot water.

Book 2: Deputy Roman Charsguard survived Afghanistan where he lost his best friend—his K-9 handler James. Roman was a military dog until two years ago when he developed the ability to shift into a human. It’s not easy to learn how to be a man. He found a place to live in Mad Creek, a haven for the secret world of dog shifters. Finding a reason to live has been harder. That is, until a certain human walks into the Mad Creek Sheriff’s office and starts making trouble.

Matt Barclay has the worst luck. First he was shot in a SWAT drug raid, then he was sent as DEA investigator to Mad Creek, a little town in the California mountains. Matt’s job is to keep a lookout for illegal drug farms, but nobody in the town wants him there. And then there’s Roman, Matt’s erstwhile baby-sitter. He’s the hottest guy Matt’s ever seen, even if he is a bit peculiar. If the town doesn’t kill him, sexual frustration just might.

The town is counting on Roman to prevent Matt from learning about dog shifters, Matt’s counting on Roman to be his work partner and tell him the truth, and Roman’s trying to navigate love, sex, and a whole lot of messy human emotions. Who knew it was so complicated to walk like a man?

Impressions:  I love Eli Easton, and I have gobbled up several of her novels and novellas with gusto.  I have to be in the mood for a shifter book, so I wasn’t sure about these, but the pull of a new Eli Easton book could not be stopped, so I grabbed these two and read them back to back.  I am so happy I did!

These are not your typical shifter stories.  I loved that the shifters in these books are dog shifters (not wolf) and I found it so adorable to see how dogs can be “quickened” into human form.

These books have Easton’s typical humor and warm fuzzies, and I couldn’t put them down.  I loved the world building that started and book one, and Tim was a great partner for uptight Lance.  I liked Tim’s nervous, yet stubborn, persona to bring Lance to his knees.

In book 2, I really loved both Matt and Roman.  Ro, so recently quickened, has so much to learn about human life and human sexuality.  Add in his developing feels for Matt, and Matt’s for him, this was an adorable love to watch!

The outline of these stories allows for such a unique and endearing GFY development.  I love these two stories and I hope there will be more to come!  Don’t let these pass you by, even if you aren’t always a shifter fan!  (If you ARE a shifter fan, you are probably reading them right now!)