Like You've Nothing Left to Prove

            

Title: Like You've Nothing Left to Prove

Series: Breakaway #2

Author: E.L. Massey

Publisher: NineStar Press, March 14, 2023

Pages: 317

Genre: LGBT NA Romance

As the headline-stealing captain of the Houston Hell Hounds, nineteen-year-old Alexander Price has one goal: the Stanley Cup. He’s got the talent. He’s got the drive. But he’s also got an anxiety disorder and his therapist on speed dial. And, oh yeah, he’s gay. And he’s not willing to hide it anymore.

At eighteen, figure skater Elijah Rodriguez has already had his Olympic dreams crushed by an accident that left him with a seizure disorder and an existential crisis. Now a popular vlogger and freshman in college, Eli is trying to figure out what his new future will look like. Which is a little difficult because, oh yeah, he’s dating Alexander Price.

Eli and Alex are happy. It’s sort of a new state of being for both of them. But Eli is out, Alex isn’t, and their very visible “friendship” is already raising eyebrows. They have a plan: Alex will make their relationship public at the end of the season, hopefully with a Stanley Cup in tow. But what happens when that plan is derailed by an overzealous fan who outs them—right before the Hell Hounds’ playoff run?

The second hand anxiety is so real in this book. Coming out books always have some aspect of that, and this one is rampant. 

But looking at it, I can't imagine doing all of the work of figuring out your sexuality and coming to terms with it and accepting it. Being happy with it and ready to tell everyone how happy you are, and then still feeling the need to remain in the closet. I know that that's a very privileged place to see things from. Arguably, Alex is in a very privileged place to be ready to come out, just wanting to remain in the closet until he wins the Stanley freaking Cup. But it still sounds just as claustrophobic as any closet can be. 

And then the nightmare of being outed before you're good and ready? Just revisiting it for this review is giving me some third hand anxiety? I was lucky enough to come out on my own terms, but this is still nightmare fuel. And yet, I love this team so much. They're just the cutest group of puppies who love each other in a very wholesome way.

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

Spice: 1/5

Teach Me to Sin

            

Title: Teach Me to Sin

Series: Water, Air, Earth, Fire #4

Author: Riley Nash

Publisher: Riley Nash Books, August 14, 2023

Pages: 368

Genre: LGBT Contemporary Romance

Three wrongs can't make a right.

I’ve spent six years building a life that isn’t defined by my father’s sins—a beautiful girlfriend, a thriving nonprofit, safe dreams that won’t get me into trouble. Someone with my family’s reputation can’t step out of line without drawing attention, and they definitely can’t coach professional swimmers.

My carefully controlled world starts to unravel on my summer vacation, when a mysterious boy catches my eye. He’s intoxicating, beautiful, and an incredible swimmer. His body makes me question everything about my sexuality, and his talent makes me desperate to become his coach. Too bad the only lawyer who will help me navigate the PR nightmare of opening a coaching program happens to be a rude, self-absorbed, sexy-as-sin older man who doesn’t even like me. I shouldn’t want either of them, but my mixed up heart wants both.

When one explosive moment in an empty locker room ties all three of us together, we start down a path we can’t turn back from, even as my past threatens to destroy my future. We weren’t supposed to be more than a single night’s mistake. I can’t do anything to threaten my life’s work. But I’m not sure I can live without them, either.

Breaking free from the past has a cost for all three of us, but I don’t know if we can afford to pay it.

This series is so compelling. I couldn't stop reading it once I got started, but boy are these men toxic as heck. For each other, for themselves. What a mess. But the kind you can't look away from!

I must say. These three brought us right back to the toxic roots of this series. Books 2 and 3 led us into approaching healthy territories, but never fear. The smut is dirty and just this side of almost too much. 

I do love these guys. They are a whole mess and they are perfect for each other. And it really was the perfect ending for this series. 

Ratings

Stars: 3/5

Spice: 2/5

The Husbands

            

Title: The Husbands

Author: Holly Gramazio

Publisher: Vintage, April 2, 2024

Pages: 344

Genre: Humorous Fiction

When Lauren returns home to her flat in London late one night, she is greeted at the door by her husband, Michael. There’s only one problem—she’s not married. She’s never seen this man before in her life. But according to her friends, her much-improved decor, and the photos on her phone, they’ve been together for years.

As Lauren tries to puzzle out how she could be married to someone she can’t remember meeting, Michael goes to the attic to change a lightbulb and abruptly disappears. In his place, a new man emerges, and a new, slightly altered life re-forms around her. Realizing that her attic is creating an infinite supply of husbands, Lauren confronts the question: If swapping lives is as easy as changing a lightbulb, how do you know you’ve taken the right path? When do you stop trying to do better and start actually living?

What a ride. Lauren learned a lot. She learned a lot about herself and a lot about relationships and other people. I learned a lot about it too. And not all of it is very flattering or glamorous. Even if I really enjoyed this book. 

It starts out a bit like a nightmare. You get home from a night out with friends, and are greeted by your husband. Who you have never met before. Then he goes into the attic for something, and is gone. Only to be replaced by a new husband, and new paint on the walls, and the altered memories of all of your friends and family. Rinse. Repeat. 

We get a few scares and a few bores and a few rom-com montages of relationships. Lauren learns all about the things she doesn't like, and the things she can't abide in a relationship. She sees what happens when someone you aren't ready to leave you goes into the attic, and then she meets a man who climbs out of a different attic every time he climbs into one. 

This is such a funny look at dating app culture. How some women change their whole lives to fit around men they've just met, and how some men just disappear with barely any prompting. I won't give it all away, but the ending was very interesting. It's certainly not one I saw coming. 

Ratings

Stars: 4.5/5

Spice: 1/5

Impromptu Match - Audio

            

Title: Impromptu Match

Series: Goliaths of Wrestling #1

Author: Lily Mayne

Publisher: February 9, 2024

Pages: 422

Genre: MM Monster Romance

I, Taylor Hough, am a painfully average guy.

I have the soul-destroying corporate job, I iron my underpants, and I was unceremoniously dumped for an influencer hippie a few years ago. Every day feels the same, and I don’t know how much longer I can cope before I do something unhinged like rip off my shirt in the middle of my co-worker’s office birthday party and smear lemon cake all over my chest.

But then a case of mistaken identity suddenly lands me in the middle of a covert professional wrestling league, which is apparently being run in the basement of my office building. Weird. Even weirder are the wrestlers. They seem… otherworldly. So does the rest of the staff. And the audience. Pretty much everyone except boring old me.

And then there's the owner, Holt Hector, with whom I have an extremely embarrassing first encounter. He’s ridiculously attractive, even in the inhuman cosplay get-up he's wearing that only makes him hotter, if I'm being totally honest.

Then I discover it’s not a costume. And that the show put on by Goliaths of Wrestling every night is more monstrous reality than mindblowing special effects.

My previously boring life is suddenly no longer quite so average, and hot-as-hell Holt is inexplicably as interested in me, and my ironed underpants, as I am in him and his strange new world.

This was already one of my favorite series. I love love these hilarious monsters. But the audio?? It's perfection. The narration only added to the hilarity!

I really enjoyed getting reacquainted with Taylor and Holt. I especially enjoyed seeing some of the easter eggs that I was able to recognize now that there are a few more books in the series. It was very fun to see all of the wrestlers at the start of it again. To see the groundwork for some of their stories. I would absolutely recommend a first read, or a reread or this series!

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Spice: 5/5

Show Me Wonders

           

Title: Show Me Wonders

Series: Water, Air, Earth, Fire #3

Author: Riley Nash

Publisher: Riley Nash Books, December 1, 2022

Pages: 331

Genre: LGBT Contemporary Romance

Wait for me. Never let me go.

I fell in love with Jackson Moreno in hell, the only two survivors trapped in a catastrophic tunnel collapse. But when rescue comes, I discover he has secrets darker than I could have guessed. He disappears from my life as quickly as he came, and I can’t afford to chase after him when I have to raise my daughter alone.

I fell in love with Jackson Moreno six years later, on a bright summer afternoon, cleaning the lobby of a small-town bank. But he’s still running, and I’m struggling to keep my little family afloat.

I fell in love with Jackson Moreno in three feet of snow, surrounded by garbage and filth, after we lost everything. Because sometimes a tatted bad boy and a shy dad who loves knitting are destined to be together, no matter how many years and miles and memories pull us apart. No matter how many times we have to start over.

If we refuse to be broken, I believe someday we’ll find each other for the last time.

This dang book. Spoilers....there's a cave in. It's not a real spoiler, it's in the blurb. But that cave in is terrifying. It's really well done!

But then there is SO LONG between the cave in and the second chance!! Also not a spoiler, it's a romance! So there is a second chance, and a third, and a fourth. These poor babies are practically hopeless and I love them so much. The reason for the....extra chances is so well done though. And I will leave that a secret.

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

Spice: 2/5

Make Me Fall

          

Title: Make Me Fall

Series: Water, Air, Earth, Fire #2

Author: Riley Nash

Publisher: Riley Nash Books, July 27, 2022

Pages: 308

Genre: LGBT Contemporary Romance

People ask me if I’m human. If I have feelings. If I’ve ever loved anyone. I’m the lawyer who has never lost a case because I have nothing else to live for.
Until Jonah.
He’s my complete opposite: a reckless boy twelve years younger than me, made of sunshine and wicked smiles, pure and breathtaking.
It all starts with a secret. He wants to find out if he’s bi, and he begs me to teach him because we’ll never see each other again.
Until he shows up on my doorstep with nowhere else to go. I can’t draw lines faster than we blur them. He’s the unstoppable force; I’m the immovable object. When we collide, things get filthy. Complicated. More beautiful than I ever could have imagined.
He’s the only person ever to learn the truth: I’ve always been human. I’ve always had feelings. I’ve been so, so afraid to lose.
Because the moment we find enough trust to jump is the moment we realize our wings might be too broken to fly.

I listened to my cohost describe this book on our podcast. It was still an absolute delight to read through, even if I knew what was coming. I mean, it's romance, so like...you always kind of know what's coming. And I'm so thankful for that every time. 

Jonah is a delight. He's such a little brat and I loved it. This poor baby has the worst self-esteem though. It is quite lovely to see his confidence build with Gray's love. I mean not only that, but it certainly didn't hurt!

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

Spice: 3/5

Like Real People Do

                

Title: Like Real People Do

Series: Breakaway #1

Author: E.L. Massey

Publisher: NineStar Press, August 23, 2022

Pages: 425

Genre: LGBT NA Romance

Nineteen-year-old hockey phenom Alexander Price is the youngest-ever captain in the NHL. With a polarizing social media presence and a predilection for dirty play, he typifies the stereotype of young, out-of-control athlete. But away from the cameras, Alex is a kid with an anxiety disorder and the expectations of an expansion franchise on his shoulders. And maybe he tries too hard to fit the part of asshole playboy, but it’s better than the alternative; in his line of work, gay is the punchline of an insult, not something he can be.

Eighteen-year-old vlogger Elijah Rodriguez is a freshman in college recovering from an injury that derailed his Olympic figure-skating dreams. Mixed-race, disabled, and out of the closet since he was fourteen, Eli is unapologetically himself. He has no qualms about voicing his disapproval of celebrity jocks who make homophobic jokes on Twitter and park their flashy cars in the handicapped spaces outside of ice rinks.

After an antagonistic introduction, Alex and Eli’s inexplicable friendship both baffles and charms the internet. But navigating relationships is hard enough for normal teenagers. It’s a lot harder when the world—much of it disapproving—is watching you fall in love with your best friend.

These children are entirely too emotionally mature. Unrealistic AF.

Don't take that to mean I didn't enjoy it. Because I definitely did. Could not put it down for the most part. But these kids have clearly done the work and they actually put it into action and like....not any 19-year-olds I know! I wish I knew 19-year-olds like that. I wish I had been a 19-year-old like that, though I'm glad I did things the way I did. These emotionally mature kids were an absolute delight to read about.

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Spice: 2/5