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

The Broposal

               

Title: The Broposal

Author: Sonora Reyes

Publisher: Forever, January 21, 2025

Pages: 371

Genre: LGBT Romance

It’s about time roommates Alejandro and Kenny get married. Or at least, that’s what all their close friends and family think when they announce their engagement. The kicker? The two are faking their whole relationship so Alejandro can get a green card. But if Han was going to marry anyone, it would be his ride or die since second grade.

Han has never been able to put down roots, and the only one who truly breaks through his walls is Kenny. Sweet, sensitive Kenny is newly single, and what better distraction from his soul-sucking relationship than proposing marriage to Han? Kenny can’t think of anything more fun than spending his life with his best friend, even if it’s just for a piece of paper. But as Kenny keeps up the charade, he’s soon struggling to resist their sizzling chemistry.

The line between fact and fiction begins to blur the closer they get to their wedding date. With all eyes on Han and Kenny—including a meddling ex and immigration officers—will these two bros make it down the altar for real?

Han and Kenny are delightful. Both are bundles of anxiety, and that was actually kind of hard to read. But only kind of. 

I don't believe in defrauding the government. However, these two are absolutely soulmates and I'm so glad that they finally figured it out. They didn't undertake their mission lightly. And both of them had their doubts and stumbles. But hot dog, was it all worth reading. Sonora Reyes is brilliant at getting me to feel wholly what their characters are experiencing. The emotional accuracy is 10/10.

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Spice: 2/5

The Fake Mate

       

Title: The Fake Mate

Author: Lana Ferguson

Publisher: Berkley, December 5, 2023

Pages: 400

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Mackenzie Carter has had some very bad dates lately. Model train experts, mansplainers, guys weirdly obsessed with her tail—she hasn’t had a successful date in months. Only a year out of residency, her grandmother’s obsession with Mackenzie finding the perfect mate to settle down with threatens to drive Mackenzie barking mad. Out of options, it feels like a small thing to tell her grandmother that she’s met someone. That is, until she blurts out the name of the first man she sees and the last man she would ever date: Noah Taylor, the big bad wolf of Denver General.
 
Noah Taylor, interventional cardiologist and all around grump, has spent his entire life hiding what he is. With outdated stigmas surrounding unmated alphas that have people wondering if they still howl at the moon, Noah has been careful to keep his designation under wraps. It’s worked for years, until an anonymous tip has everything coming to light. Noah is left with two options: come clean to the board and risk his career—or find himself a mate. The chatty, overly friendly ER doctor asking him to be her fake boyfriend on the same day he’s called to meet the board has to be kismet, right?
 
Mackenzie will keep her grandmother off her back, and Noah will get a chance to prove he can continue to work without a real mate—a mutually beneficial business transaction, they both rationalize. But when the fake-mate act turns into a very real friends-with-benefits arrangement, lines start to blur, and they quickly realize love is a whole different kind of animal.

Hell yes, marriage of convenience. Mating of convenience? Fake mating! It's amazing. Why not tell everyone at work that you're in a relationship so your grandmother will stop setting you up on horrible blind dates and the doctor that everyone hates can keep his job. That's a perfect idea.

And it was so fun to read about! Especially when they realized that everyone thought they were hooking up, so like...why not hook up? That was very very fun! 

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

Spice: 3/5

The Game Changer

       

Title: The Game Changer

Author: Lana Ferguson

Publisher: Berkley, July 9, 2024

Pages: 395

Genre: Contemporary Romance

When a very public breakup becomes a PR nightmare for Ian Chase's team, he hopes to focus on his game, but that suddenly seem less likely than a hat trick. With his career and the team’s image in jeopardy, Ian is surprised to find a solution through none other than Delilah Baker, his best friend and teammate's little sister…who isn’t so little anymore.

Delilah Baker is known as “the darling of baking” on her local cable show, and being in the public eye is her bread and butter. But with her numbers dwindling and her producers turning up the heat, Delilah offers up the half-baked idea to collaborate with her brother’s team to entice the hockey fans of Boston to tune in to her show. Delilah thinks it will be a piece of cake—until the team sends Ian Chase, her brother’s best friend and the object of a decade-long crush that she’s never quite gotten over. 

Delilah's and Ian’s teams think it’s a true win-win situation—gaining higher numbers for Delilah’s show and casting Ian in a more positive light. And viewers are eating them up like a cupcake, sparking the idea to play up their relationship for the goal of good press. With more than just their careers on thin ice, the line between what’s real and what’s for show begins to blur, but one thing’s for certain: This PR stunt will either be a total game changer—or leave them both totally pucked.

I am thrilled that hockey romance is trending right now. I love it so much and I am ravenous for almost all of them. Obviously some MF sports ball romances can lean toxic for me, but this one was very good. It was hockey mixed together with second chance and brother's best friend. A potent combo if there ever was one. Their chemistry certainly didn't hurt. 

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

Spice: 2/5