Our Favorite Reads of the Week ~ Boy Meets Boy Reviews

Hey y’all! We’re Boy Meets Boy Reviews, nice to meet ya! Each Saturday, we’ll be sharing our favorite reads from the week. So, without further ado…

Loose Cannon (The Woodbury Boys, #1) by Sidney Bell

Released after five years in the system for assault, streetwise Edgar-Allen Church is ready to leave the past behind and finally look to his future. In need of a place to crash, he’s leaning on Miller Quinn. A patient, solidly masculine pillar of strength and support, Miller has always been there for him—except in the one way Church has wanted the most. With his staunchly conservative upbringing, Miller has been playing it straight his whole life. Now with Church so close again, it’s getting harder to keep his denial intact. As they fumble their way back to friendship after so many years apart, Miller struggles to find the courage to accept who he really is. What he has with Church could be more than desire—it could be love. But it could also mean trouble. Church’s criminal connections are closing in on the both of them, and more than their hearts are at risk. This time, their very lives are on the line.

Gripping

Sidney Bell is a new to me author and-spoiler alert-I’m impressed with her writerly skills. Within the first few pages I began to feel the first tingles of that romancelandia magic spell being woven that I love so much.

Loose Cannon is the first in The Woodbury Boys series and Church’s story. I’m not sure how many books are planned but his two friends from Woodbury Residential Center are Tobias and Ghost who I’m hoping each get their own books. I’ll come back to Ghost in a minute.

Church ends up at Woodbury for assault. Long story short-shitterific childhood with crappy parents combined with a bad night when he let his anger get the best of him. Church is by no means perfect and that’s precisely what I loved about him. Bell did a phenomenal job crafting a gritty character. I loved being inside his head and experiencing his struggle to control his emotions. To say that I admire him sounds condescending but makes it no less true. He’s one of the most perceptive, honest and fundamentally generous characters and it was a pleasure watching him evolve. He did a shitty thing as a kid that shouldn’t define him for rest of his life and the more time I spent inside his head the more amazing he became.

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Tag Team Review: Tall, Dark, and Deported by Bru Baker

Crossing the border into love. Snap decisions and misguided ideas bring Portuguese national Mateus Fontes and businessman Crawford Hargrave together at the Canadian border crossing. Mateus is caught in a catch-22. With his almost-expired tourist visa, entrance to Canada is denied, but the US won’t let him back in either. Crawford thinks he’s solved things when he tells the border agent they’re engaged, and it works—except now they have to actually get married before either of them can get back into the United States. But Crawford has been burned by marriage once, and he’s determined not to make that mistake again. Neither of them expects real feelings to bloom out of their fake marriage, but they do. And the two of them have to learn how to be honest with each other to make things work, which is especially hard when their entire marriage is based on lies.

Sara – 5 Hearts

This book right here is what I love about romance and why I am hooked on the Dreamspun series. I adored this story, my first from the author and I am writing this with a perma grin on my face because I can’t stop smiling. Goodness. This was delicious!

SheReadsALot – 4.5 Hearts

And now I have another book to add to my top favorites Dreamspun Desires list!

I’ve been fluffed. Pour it all over my face, baby. Just watch me melt.

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Release Day Review & GIVEAWAY!: My Dragon, My Knight by John Inman

Danny Sims is in over his head, torn between his abusive lover, Joshua, and Jay Holtsclaw, the bartender up the street, who offers Danny the one thing he never gets at home: understanding. When Joshua threatens to get rid of Danny’s terrier, Danny knows he has to act fast. Afraid of what Joshua will do to the dog, and afraid of what Joshua will do to him if he tries to leave, Danny does the only thing he can do. He runs. But Danny isn’t a complete fool. He has enough sense to run into the arms of the man who actually cares for him—the man he’s beginning to trust. Just as their lives together are starting to fall into place, Danny and Jay learn how vengeful Joshua can be. And how dangerous.

You know what would be super cool and make me super happy? If there was a channel that actually made movies I wanted to watch. It would have to be cable because there would definitely be tingly bits on screen and I’m hoping the language would be of a questionable nature. Every once in a while I’m reminded why I really want this to be a thing and it usually happens after reading a book like My Dragon, My Knight. This book would make a perfect addition to the scheduling on my fantasy network. I’d curl up on my couch in my onesie with an adult beverage in one hand and a bowl of something I shouldn’t be shoveling in my face in the other and I’d binge watch the hell out of this flick.

My Dragon, My Knight has all manner of elements that I love in a story. There were really likable characters, one that I could loathe unconditionally, second chance love and pets. I love when an author can work pets into the family organically and John Inman is a master of it. Danny is in an abusive relationship with the loathsome Josh and all the scenes with Danny and Josh together were pretty stressful. I could feel how torn Danny was, it wasn’t like Josh changed from the loving, care taking boyfriend at the beginning of their relationship to the tyrannical control freak he became overnight. I felt Danny’s hopelessness and fear grow as the story progressed. Danny’s one safe space is the bar down the street from the condo he and Josh live in. The bar in owned and tended by Jay Holtsclaw, he’s a bit older than Danny but something about Danny brings out the protective side of Jay.

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Review: Spell Fall (The Warlock Brothers of Havenbridge #4) by Jacob Z. Flores

Love and trust made them soul mates, but destiny might have other plans. Ever since Drake Carpenter fell in love with warlock Mason Blackmoor, his life has been one supernatural battle after another, but Drake doesn’t mind… much. To be with Mason and experience the magical connection they share, Drake would face entire hordes of vampyren, shifters, or fae—and he has. Luckily Drake is immune to magic, though no one can explain his natural ability to negate almost any enchantment. With Drake’s own family gone, Mason is all he has. So why is Drake experiencing disturbing dreams about Mason that terrify him? A new threat looms on the horizon, and a revelation about Drake’s identity and the true origin of his bond with Mason shatters everything Drake believes. If Drake, Mason, and all of magic are to survive the coming Spell Fall, the most destructive curse in sorcery, Drake must deal with the truth and fight his way back to Mason—because their enemies are gaining strength, and they intend to reach the boy Drake loves first.

From the moment we met Drake Carpenter as the new boy in school in Spell Bound, he has been an enigma. When he becomes the object of Mason Blackmoor’s affection and spellbound to his warlock, he became exceptional. When we discover is immunity to magic and how it aids the protector covens of The Gate, he became essential. Now, we learn the true identity of Drake Carpenter and it’s… well, sort of… erroneous.

If you’ve read this series you know that no one, not even the almighty Conclave can figure Drake out and it bugs the crap out of them. The Blackmoors take him in after the death of his only relative Aunt Millie was killed by Vampyre and though the witches and Wizards don’t like him because he is human, they don’t exactly shun him either.

I was so damn ready for this book. Not only do we get Drake’s POV (thank you for that) but we get to find out just what makes him special.

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Tag Team Review: Strays (Urban Soul #2) by Garrett Leigh

Work, sleep, work, repeat. Nero’s lonely life suits him just fine until his best friend, Cass, asks him to take on a new apprentice—a beautiful young man who’s never set foot in a professional kitchen. Despite his irritation and his lifelong ability to shut the world out, Nero is mesmerised by the vibrant stray, especially when he learns what drove him to seek sanctuary on Nero’s battered old couch. Lenny Mitchell is living under a cloud of fear. Pursued by a stalker, he has nowhere left to run until Nero offers him a port in a storm—a job at the hottest restaurant in Shepherd’s Bush. Kitchen life proves heady and addictive, and it’s not long before he finds himself falling hard and fast for the man who has taken him in. Fast-forward a month and a neither man can imagine life without the other, but one thing stands in their way: a lifetime of horrors Nero can’t bring himself to share with Lenny. Or can he? For the first time ever, happiness is there for the taking, and Nero must learn to embrace it before fate steps in and rips it away.

Adam – 4.5 Hearts

Misfits was one my favourite reads in 2015. It was a the perfect blend of angsty and romantic. So I was stoked when I learned that we’d be getting a sequel about Nero, Cass’ grumpy best friend.

At the beginning of the book, we’re introduced to Lenny, a server at Misfits. Lenny is sunshine and colours. He likes flashy clothing, nail polish, and changing his hair dye every few weeks. He lives life in the moment.

Cupcake – 4.75 Hearts

This series is a keeper!

I thoroughly enjoyed Strays in a completely different way than Misfits. The characterizations of both Nero and Lenny are just as three-dimensional as those of its predecessor, but these two vibrant characters are bolder than Jake or Tom. Strays can be read as a standalone, but you don’t want to miss Misfits if for no other reason than to experience Leigh’s range for yourself.

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Audiobook Review: Everything Changes (Resilient Love #1) by Melanie Hansen

What happens when friendship catches fire? Former Marine and lower-leg amputee Carey Everett keeps a grueling schedule of counseling fellow war veterans and their families. The injury he received in Afghanistan forces him to rely on a reserve of strength he didn’t even know he had. A much deserved vacation will let him reconnect with his best friend, who saved his life and has been there for him through devastating injury and painful recovery. Part-time EMT and aspiring singer Jase DeSantis has been in love with Carey for years, but he’s come to accept that his straight friend will never be able to offer more. Jase fills his days with band rehearsals, ambulance shifts, and willing groupies, all while trying to cope with debilitating PTSD. A week of sun, fun, and music in San Diego changes Jase and Carey’s lives forever when their relationship takes an unexpected turn. Jase has been longing for that change, but it leaves Carey reeling with confusion. As Jase fights to hold things together, Carey deals with doubts, fears, and his own preconceived notions about labels and the true nature of love. Listening Length: 7 hours and 12 minutes Narrator: Robert Nieman

If you are a hurt/comfort junky (as I am) than this is the book you need to listen to. It’s hurt/comfort x 2 because both MC’s are hurting in their own way and the way the author built their backstory and connection was perfection. Carey and Jase have also been close for years so you also get a healthy dose of friends to lovers. It’s a tropapalooza of awesome.

So, Carey and Jase met in the military and have literally been through hell on earth and back. Carey almost didn’t make it home at all and both have PTSD to deal with. It’s been awhile since they’ve seen one another and the story begins with Carey heading to San Diego to spend some time with Jase. The author did a great job of telling the story in the present and flashbacks to their time in Afghanistan and after. The timing and pace were perfect for the way the story progressed and I got a real sense for both characters as they are and as they’d been.

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Review: The Mutt by Kasia Bacon

I, Ervyn Morryés of the Black Mountain clan, know all about control. As the only fair-haired Dark Elf in the Highlands, I had to learn to control my fists and my temper in the face of derision. To become the best archer amongst my peers, I had to learn to control my breathing and my movements. But the day the half-breed called Lochan Féyes arrived at the training camp, my discipline faltered. Because—sweet gods—when I am around that aloof, blue-eyed assassin, my need is uncontrollable.

I wanted his attention, but he refused to give it to me.
So I had to find a way to claim it.

This story… listen, this story? It’s phenomenal. And for just 41 pages, it packs a wallop into a fantasy world I want to be a part of.

The Mutt by new author Kasia Bacon is a prequel of sorts set in the Order universe, a fantasy based world with a contemporary feel. The author begins with a note stating the characters would not let up until she told their beginning. I personally want to thank Lochan and Ervyn. And I also want to let them know, I hope they nag the author (I mean it in the sweetest way possible) because this a winning concept and the novel needs to be out like yesterday.

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