I reviewed Gilded Cage by KJ Charles over at Love in Panels:

Susan Lazarus trusts very few people, and that has served her well in life as first an abandoned street rat, then as a con artist and now as a private enquiry agent. Templeton was once in her trusted inner circle, her teenage misfit confidant and then first love, but when it mattered most he seemingly failed her. Susan rebuilt her defenses, found love again and when they finally crossed paths all she wanted was to thwart his criminal ways. But when he is framed for murder, she is the only one capable of unraveling the truth and clearing his name.

Charles crafts an intriguing mystery and an even more fascinating relationship dynamic between former best friends and lovers, whose reunion is under the greatest of pressure. Betrayals true and imagined, miscommunications, disinformation and misunderstanding all must be untangled before Sukie and James can contemplate starting again. Charles is artful in the ways they rediscover parts of themselves they had forgotten about and uncover the ways they have been changed by life and loss. The tension of missing, regretting and reexamining are perfectly balanced by the sharp mutual recognition, pining, and playful attraction Lazarus and Templeton share. Their shared thrill in outsmarting and out-conning adversaries and their piercing observational skills and insight make them a formidable team, especially as James finally learns to trust and do what Susan needs him to do. I particularly loved the light femdom implied in Susan and James’s sexual encounters, as he thrills in doing just what she asks of him and Susan finds comfort in controlling and demanding him intimately.

This novel has tons of Easter eggs for fans of KJ Charles’s Sins of the City and Society of Gentlemen series, as generations of queer found family have left their loving mark on Susan and James. However whether readers are brand new to Charles’ novels or longtime fans, they will find something to treasure in Gilded Cage.

Content Warnings: Murder, mention of past miscarriage, past trauma: abandonment, kidnapping, emotional and physical abuse

Ana received a digital copy of this book from the author for review.

I have two mini-reviews over at Love in Panels today.  Check out what I had to say about Kristen Ashley's Wild Like the Wind and The Protector by HelenKay Dimon.

Wild Like the Wind, by Kristen Ashley
Ana says: Pass for everyone but series completists 

WLtW was a deeply uneven book, with a terrible first half and a tolerable second half.  The Hound, Shepherd Ironside has had unrequited feelings for his best-friend Black’s widow. He has kept his feelings under wraps for decades, as it would be breaking their MC’s brotherhood code to make a move on another man’s woman, even if he is long-dead.  Keely only wakes up to the fact that she loves Shep, after an emotional confrontation causes him to stop coming around and she realizes she needs to make the moves.

The first half of the book is written in Hound’s POV and it was dreadful. In her better books Kristen Ashley’s the deep POV leads to an immersive ride however, Hound’s POV was riddled with info-dumpy passages that sounded nothing like the typically taciturn biker, including one where he catalogs the hotness of his biker brothers in addition to several where he rhapsodizes about the heroine’s home decor style.  The book improves once we switch over to the heroine, Keely’s POV because these passages are just not as jarring. What doesn’t improve however, are the passages extoticizing the heroine’s 1/4 Apache heritage.

If you are invested in the series’s overarching suspense plot, there are significant breakthroughs and setting up for the conclusion of the series plotline in the next book.  

Content Warnings: Crime, domestic violence (not MCs)

Ana purchased this book.

The Protector, by Helen Kay Dimon
Ana says: DNF

Cate Pendelton has been turning over every rock in her efforts to find out the why and hows of her sister’s death in a secretive commune. Damon Knox left Salvation, PA under tragic circumstances and vowed never to return, but knows that the only way Cate will be able to find the answers she needs is if he brings her back with him.

Although the tropes in this book should have appealed to me (bad first impressions, fake relationship), neither the plot nor the characters caught my attention. In previous books, the banter carried me even when the plot stalled, but in this one the bickering that too quickly turned into lust didn’t feel genuine. I wanted to sympathize with Damon, but he was too obnoxious and unwilling to level with Cate about his past.  And I felt little connection to Cate beyond her frustration with Damon because we knew so little about her beyond her determination to find closure about her sister’s death. Although I loved The Fixer and The Negotiator, I never clicked with The Protector and when I put it down at little over half-way into the book I didn’t have any interest in picking it up again.

 Content Warnings: Crime, guns

Ana received an ARC from the publisher, Avon, via Edelweiss.

In the past month I have spent a lot of time with audio-books, in fact I listened to books each day. Walking around the neighborhood, digging out weeds in the yard, and listening during long drives, books have been keeping me company.  I have been listening to a mix of new-to-me books and revisiting some comfort reads. My favorite genres to listen to are Mystery, PNR and Historical and this past month has been filled with wonderful examples of all three.

58. Twisted by Laura K Curtis (RS, audio) A true crime writer returns to home to investigate her mother’s murder. She finds an unlikely partner in the new Sheriff an outsider like herself & in an old HS friend, his deputy. Together they stir up a hornets nest of killers. #bkbrk

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) July 14, 2018

I have been meaning to read Curtis's books for a long time, as we've followed each other on twitter for years and have met in person several times over the last few years.  I was very excited for her when I saw she had arranged to produce an audio book with Angele Masters whose narration on Deanna Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell series I really enjoyed.   While it took me a couple of chapters to excise Veronica and Stoker from my head (as the MCs in this book are also arch and gruff), I really sunk into the story.   The mystery, a cold case that threatens power players in a small town and the romance, hesitant and wary, were both very nicely developed and I was very engaged in both storylines. I hope she continues to produce more audiobooks for the Harp Security Series, as I am eager to listen to more of their adventures.

CW: guns, gun violence, murder, references to past trauma (sexual assault, sexual abuse, rape).

I received a copy of this audiobook as a gift from the author.

60. Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews (PNR/UF/1 of 3 re-listen, Audio: Renee Raudaman) A PI is coerced by parent firm to take a dangerous case they can’t turn down. She makes an unexpected & powerful ally & together they chase down a homicidal pyrokinetic & uncover a conspiracy #bkbrk

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) July 18, 2018

61. White Hot by Ilona Andrews (PNR/2/3, re-listen, Audio:Renee Raudman) Nevada‘s hidden talents are exposed to a wider more dangerous circle bringing with it consequences she never expected and she comes to understand Rogan like never before as their relationship deepens.

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) July 20, 2018

63. Wildfire (relisten, PNR) There was so much in this book that I had completely forgotten about! speed reading!The Andrews really did something interesting with Rinda (who makes a play for Rogan), she is desperate, lost & conniving yet not unsympathetic. Nevada gets it #bkbrk

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) July 23, 2018

I re-listened to Gordon and Ilona Andrews fantastic PNR series, Hidden Legacy. Blazing through from Burn for Me, straight into White Hot and on to Wildfire.  While I adore the Kate Daniels series, I have to agree with Elisabeth Lane and many others that Hidden Legacy is probably their best series. The world, and the relationships, just gel together so much earlier.  It was fabulous to re-listen, and see what stuff I missed as I raced to read them the first time. I love noticing how early Rogan realizes she is a prime, and starts anticipating what she will need to do, all while she is just trying to stay alive and deny her growing feeling for him.  I can't wait for the follow up stories that are coming this fall. I love so many of the supporting characters and I wish I could have a dozen novellas.  

My only nitpick with Renee Raudman's narration of these books is how old she makes Nevada's mother, Penelope sound. She is 45 and sounds ancient.  As someone creeping toward my mid-forties, I would have liked a less creakiness to her voice. Although I am sure someone else feels the same way about Grandma Frida's voice.

CW: gun violence, torture, murder

65. Night Hawk by Beverly Jenkins (audio, US-set Hist-Rom). Deputy US Marshall Ian Vance is trying to get back home but is plans are derailed by the mayhem that follows Maggie, who killed a man in self-defense & has a mob chasing her. Road-trip Rom, Fab! https://t.co/1ulSn34TY5

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) July 26, 2018

I continue to love listening to Beverly Jenkins's novels on Audio.  I have struggled to read historical romance recently but I know that no matter what Beverly Jenkins book I have queued up next I will get swept up in the story.  While Kevin R. Free's Scottish accent in the prologue was very rough, I urge to persevere as the rest of the book is wonderfully narrated.  I came into this book a little wary because I had mostly heard about the hero, and I am heroine-centric reader, however Maggie is wonderful in her own right, even if Ian's tends to steal the show. And why shouldn't he, he is a knight-in-shinning-armor, hiding behind a black hat, leather duster and a checkered past.  This is a road-trip romance, and  I loved how Jenkins has Maggie learn about Ian's many identities as they travel from town to town looking for judge or sheriff he can safely deliver her to while encountering folks who remember him fondly or have grudges to settle with him. I loved how their relationship morphed, and how they became essential to each other, when at first what they most wanted most was to get rid of each other.  I expect that I will want to listen to this again in the future.

CW: guns, gun violence, attempted rape, sexual harassment, abusive language/slurs & racism directed at MCs. 

I love audio-books and this has been a fantastic month.  I hope you find something wonderful to listen to for the next time you have to tackle you next drive or chore 

44. Shadow of Doubt by Linda Poitvien. (ARC, 5/10) RomSuspense. Started out promising but too much of the emotional conflict was the MCs arguing if it was too risky for the RCMP heroine to keep helping the framed DEA agent hero on the run. #ttr #bkbrk https://t.co/0rfLpBBgLs

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) June 3, 2018

I really loved the start of this book. A RCMP officer find a bullet-ridden man on a rain-soaked back road on a stormy night and is forced to bring him home.  Kate Dexter is all business, practical, wary and very very suspicious. She doesn't have time to ogle the handsome and extremely well built victim.  She worries about how dangerous it makes him.

Poitevin captured the extreme tension within Kate as she tries to decide how to respond to situation. Her instincts are at war with the police procedures and every minute she hesitate the bigger the cost to her career.   Poitevin carries that tension over  to the intense action and suspense scenes.  

However while the action kept Jonas Burke, a framed ATF agent on the run, and Kate ricocheting around Ontario and the Northeast United States,  the romance stalled.  I was frustrated by the repetitive nature of Kate and Jonas arguments.  While Poitevin eventually gives us the backstory as to why Jonas is so fiercely and stubbornly independent, I was too bored with Jonas continued insentience that Kate stop helping him, and his doubts about her abilities even though she consistently proved herself extremely capable.  Jonas's realization of the errors of his ways came much too late for me and while the epilogue was sweet and perfect, I still think Kate should have smacked him and walked away, because she endured too much from Jonas as he tried to push her away. I thought Kate should have hooked up with her ex or her fabulously supportive partner instead.

Shadow of Doubt had a fantastic heroine, gripping action and a frustrating lug of a hero, who tried to pushed away the best partner he could have ever hope to have found.

I received a ARC from the author for review consideration.

30. Rock Chick Reborn by Kristen Ashley. The problematic rep in this was baked in long ago when Ashley created Shrileen, so I can't recommend it to anyone, especially when so much makes me shake my head, however I did enjoy having the Hot Bunch/Rock Chicks play matchmaker.

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) April 6, 2018

This surprise novella gives an HEA to a longstanding supporting character in the Rock Chick series, Shirleen, the former poker-game running, black office manager at Lee Investigations, whose over-the-top meddling has incited many a romantic conflicts in the series.  She is now a devoted single foster mother to two teenage boys on the brink of manhood. As a character Shirleen has always been problematic, and this book is no exception.

When a handsome man tries to pick her up at the grocery store, she first runs from his attention and then soaks it in, saving his number despite being determined not to ever call him because she is sure her sketchy past, precludes her from deserving of the HEAs she has helped engineer for her girlfriends have all received.  So the Rock Chicks and the Hot Bunch intervene.

What I really enjoyed about this romance was the care Moses took in building up his relationship with Shirleen. He knows she is skittish with good reason, so he puts in the work. They have long phone-calls, romantic dinners and is there for her breaking down the barriers to her believing she deserves to be happy and that someone can love her despite her complicated history.

31. Puerto Rico Strong Anthology. Tackles Boricuan anxieties about our history, identity and future, in vastly contrasting storytelling & art styles from political/socio-historical tracts, to autobiographical vignettes to futuristic superhero stories. https://t.co/CMrUCKaRfC

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) April 14, 2018

Like all anthologies there are some really great stories and some so-so ones and all of them are no longer than a handfuls of pages. My favorites were "Here" by Ronnie Garcia, "Stories from my father" by  Adam Lance Garcia and Heidi Black, "A Broken Promesa" by Rosa Colon and "Blame it on 'Rico" by  Alberto 'Tito' Serrano,  It will be a great document to use try to unpack all the cultural anxieties experienced by Puerto Ricans and the Boricuan Diaspora. I was also once again fascinated by the amount of projection we Puerto Ricans are able channel into Taino imagery as an expression of anti-colonial sentiment. I understand the impulse and desire to reclaim that lost heritage but I feel we run the danger of colonizing them once more with our narratives. Puerto Rico has a lot more wrestling to do in the present with its colonial reality and reading this anthology made me feel a lot less alone, as I recognize so much of the home I grew up in, the worries and hopes I have for it and the murkiness of its future in it.

32. Norseton Wolves Mate Call: Beast by Holley Trent Intreguing worldbuilding but the hero’s self-hating reaction to a recent disability & his desire to override the heroine’s choices didn’t work for me. Not my tropes but will try others Free via KU: https://t.co/I1BBFvk1Pb

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) April 14, 2018

An abused, low-ranking wolf female jumps at a chance to leave her wretched home back by answering a mating call.  Arriving to a new pack as modern-day mail-order bride of sorts, she has no idea what to expect, and only has the hope that these wolves will be better, less brutal and that her role as wife, rather than a single female will be more secure.  Only when she arrives her assigned mate doesn't want her.  Determined not to go back, she sets out to out-stubborn him.  I quite liked the heroine and her hope and determination. She is practical and clear-eyed about the society she has grown up in, and it was a treat to see her grown in confidence as she realizes her world need not be as small as it was before.  

However I didn't care for the hero or his self-hating about his new disability. His view of himself as lesser and unworthy as mate, and that didn't work for me.  I particularly didn't like how long it took him to realize that his determination to reject her was about overriding her choices. And I didn't like that in the end he was containing to insist in denying her the bite that would allow her to shift fully after reconciling himself to the blessing of having her as his wife. I did like the rest of the world, so I will eventually read the rest of these, but I think I will jump to the Viking Queen's Men book everyone else is raving about first.

33. Giving Chase by Lauren Dane: Small-town Cinderella story with evil vain mom & sister.Loved the opening were we didn't know who the hero was in the early chapters but heroine's insecurity & constant competition with other women turned me off. CW: stalker https://t.co/K3qZyPLUao

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) April 17, 2018

I really loved the beginning of this book. I loved how the heroine's dating life was messy and how realistically she responded the attention and interest after her mini-makeover. She basks in the new-found male attention but doesn't lose sight of her boundaries. When one of her dates starts getting possessive, and clingy, she reacts in reasonable ways, mildly rebuking, trying to distance herself while also being aware of the potential danger.  

However I didn't like how much the story relied on portraying women outside the heroine's friendship circle, and in the hero's past as vain and bitchy and how often the heroine had to stake her claim through uncomfortable confrontations. I really hate the trope that the hero has only date terrible women in the past and finally find the one.

35. A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn (Veronica Speedwell #3, in audio). Veronica & Stoker's relationship moved forward, some & old hurts were exorcised. I enjoyed spending time with them and seeing Veronica choosing her place in the world, the mystery was quite dull. #bkbrk

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) April 18, 2018

I continue to enjoy how matter-of-factly lecherous Veronica can be. She owns her sexual desire and has no shame in claiming her extensive sexual history. In this book I did love how she uses her flirtations with Stoker, to soothe or aggravate him depending on what he needs at the time and how she has come to realize that her feelings for him go well beyond wanting to shag him. The mystery however was quite dull and Veronica and Stoker spent too much spinning their wheels.

21. Hot & Badgered by Shelly Laurenston (Honey Badger Chronicles 1). Zany action/Family comedy about 3 part-Honey Badger sisters who find a community for the 1st time in their lives when Charlie meets Berg a helpful bear. lots of Pride refs. 3/27 https://t.co/6xfxy5Gy2z. #bkbrk

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) March 6, 2018

    
I read Shelly Laurenston's books for the loud and obnoxious heroines who get caught up in the most bonkers of plots. On that score Hot and Badgered delivered. In the first couple chapters, there is a naked dash away from assassins, a bloody escape from a sanatorium and a car chase that ends with a helicopter being downed by portable rocket launcher. The action never lets up, as the story careens from one over-the-top encounter to another.

    Charlie Taylor-MacKilligan and her half-sisters, Max and Stevie have been an unit, protecting each other from a world out to get them since Charlie's mother was killed. They put each other first and don't tolerate anyone who would seek to hurt or divide them. They tease and taunt each other to distraction but no one should confuse that for a lack of love. Charlie's least favorite person in the world is their father, incompetent scoundrel extraordinaire, Fred MacKilligan, who hasn't yet discovered a con he can't screw up. As usual Fred's machinations send trouble Charlie, Max and Stevie's way.

    Berg Dunn is a big helpful bear. Lumbering, patient and utterly smitten with Charlie from the moment she stumbled into his balcony and expertly commandeered his best gun. When he unexpectedly runs into her again a few days later, he insists on helping her and her sister find a place to hide out for a while and bring them back to the bear-inhabited NYC-suburban neighborhood he lives in. While Charlie busies herself with figuring out what kind of mess their father has embroiled himself in, Berg, quietly and persistently inserts himself in Charlie's life and does his best to get her connected to people who will protect her. He has two siblings of his own and gets what Charlie needs to do, all while making sure someone is there to take care of her at the end of the day. Charlie is a tough nut to crack, devoted to her sister and unable to believe that anyone would want to stick with her after seeing how messed up her family is, but Berg has latched on and is not planning on letting go. He gives her a community she didn't know she wanted and needed.

     I am not sure how intelligible this book will be for new readers, Laurenston drops dozens of characters and organizations from her Pride series unceremoniously into this book, but I routinely read books out of order and my first Laurenston book was 11th Pride book, Bite Me, featuring Charlie, Max and Stevie's distant Honey-Badger cousin Livy and while I was completely lost at times, the voice and humor spoke to me and before long I had gone back to read all of the rest of the Pride books. If you need to know how everyone connects and understand every jokey reference, don't start with this book. Go back and read the Mane Event or at the very least Bite Me and then circle back around to the Honey Badger Chronicles, you will get a great deal more enjoyment from the book if you are intimately familiar with Laurenston's mad cap style and her characters. I am however greatly looking forward to more zany action in future books!

I received a review copy of Hot & Badgered from the publisher, Kensington. Hot and Badgered will be available at all the usual vendors, starting next week, March 27, ,2018

 A huge fan of Scandinavian crime novels, Missy is indulging in a long-wished for vacation, exploring the cities her favorite series were set in, after finally severing ties with her long-time best-friend.  The dramatic break-up of their friendship (triggered by an ugly scene in the 2nd Capital Kisses novella, The Bridesmaid and the Hurricane) is having Missy reevaluate much of her life and the many poor relationship choices she has made over the years under her former friend's bad influence.  She is determined to avoid romantic or sexual entanglements on this trip as she has a lot of emotional work to do for herself.

Rik's is trying to breakup an international thieving and smuggling ring that is using his family's tour company as cover, while dodging his mother's determined matchmaking by going undercover on a tour led by the chief suspect. His attention is captured however by Missy and trying to figure her frequently mixed signals.

15. Kelly Maher’s A Scandal in Scandinavia. Missy is traveling & soul searching after ending toxic friendship & Rik, security for the family tour co. is undercover trying to crack a smuggling ring. Lots of nice travel details, sweet hero, promising HFN https://t.co/noFkFTRiYO

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) February 13, 2018

There was a lot to like in this little novella, the third in the Maher's Capital Kisses series. I particularly appreciated the authentic travel details, including the rhythm of multi-city motorcoach tours. I though Maher captured the tension and tentativeness on faces after friendship implodes and Missy hesitation, and mixed feelings felt believable. She is not yet done sorting through her feelings of regret and has a way to go before she can recapture confidence in her choices. I quite enjoyed the investigation subplot, including its dramatic conclusion the romance itself felt a little unfinished. Although the ending was a promising HFN, and Rik is sweet, A Scandal in Scandinavia, could have benefited from a epilogue as Rik and Missy have a lot of growing and exploring to do before a HEA is assured.

I received a review copy of A Scandal in Scandinavia from the author for review consideration.

LAST CALL TO Enter my giveaway of Beyond Temptation! Just comment on the cover reveal post to enter. I'll be selecting a winner tomorrow morning.

4th: Twice in a Lifetime by Jodie Griffin (eARC, out 1/22). F/F with BI MCs in their early 50s. Sexy, emotional, a little angsty. I typically back away from office romance but I loved Talia and Eve’s story. Great characterization/tension. #bookthread #rombklove (fire: gunfire) pic.twitter.com/8IXOtEYZLW

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) January 12, 2018

Twice in a Lifetime Cover

Talia lost her husband of 20 years suddenly more than 4 years ago.  She has grieved, coped and started to move on.  However on the first day at her new job as Community Liaison for the city police department, she didn't expect the sharp zing of awareness she feels when she meets her new boss, Eve.    There is recognition, wariness and undeniable interest for both Eve and Talia, and a lot of hesitation and worry about whether or not to acknowledge, let alone act on those feelings.

Griffin does a lovely job developing their romance with sweet quiet moments,full of teasing banter and humor while ratcheting up their sexual tension with brief passion-filled but interrupted interludes. Griffin really excels at building up the tension and angst around how Eve and Talia should handle acknowledging their relationship publicly and at work.  The climatic dark moment took me by surprise with its intensity. It was not out of left field as Griffin had established the threat in the background throughout the book but because other tensions had taken priority for Eve and Talia, it was shocking and surprising when it came to pass. I loved the resolution, which felt like a wonderful warm hug.

I really loved this story. It was such a breath of fresh air with which to start the year. I really connected with both Eve and Talia as older heroines.  They have history, families, baggage, fears and most of all passion. I loved the way it dealt with Talia's late in life acceptance of her bisexuality, and how she is only now exploring that part of her identity after the death of her husband. and I hope I have a chance to read much more like it in the future.

I received a eARC from the author, Jodie Griffin.  It will be available at all the usual retailers on Jan 22, 2018 and is already available at Riptide.

My Biker romance tastes are very specific and narrow. The biker has to be tough, dangerous and dirty but not truly a bad apple and the heroine has to have a lot autonomy to gives as good as she get and has to have a pretty darn good reason for getting involved with said Biker. There are not a lot Biker romances that work for me but Christopher wrote one that fit in that very narrow niche and was an emotionally satisfying ride.

Skylar’s left Sebastopol right after graduation, but she has never been able to leave behind the pain of her father’s betrayal and the fear that his criminal past has tainted her life for ever. His descent from beloved town doctor to calloused drug-pushing biker nearly took her down with him and it cost her high-school crush, Abner Travis, his brother. On her last night in Sebastopol, they find mutual comfort and escape each others arms, but when Travis pulls back at the last minute, it leaves her feeling embarrassed and rejected. She left her mark on his cheek and left town heartbroken. 

10 years have passed and Skylar is back working to resuscitate her career as Vintner on the lands that once were the Travis Family's vineyards. A prestigious Ivy league education and a decade building her reputation in Europe doesn't mean much to the suspicious townsfolk who remember her as the Diablos Santos MC's princess, who may or may not have known what her father was up to.  When she runs into Travis and find him as attractive as ever, despite the fact that he is unexpectedly wearing a MC's cut, Skylar is truly torn about whether she has made the best or worst decision in her life by returning to Sebastopol.

Christopher plays with a lot of tropes I liked in this story: Rekindled crushes, people who are terrible at feelings and carry a lot of insecurities despite appearing like they have it all together, and my fave,  folks looking for redemption and a home.  But there is a lot of plot and occasionally the story meandered more than it needed to. It is clear that Christopher was laying the groundwork for a whole series in this book, so she opens a lot of storylines for secondary characters that she clearly intends to resolve in later books but they came to feel one too many rabbit trails. While I would love to read more about Sara, her war vet and possibly bisexual brother Chevy, and the conflicted and apparently kinky Deacon with his secretive and obscure motivations for running with the Diablo Santos, I found the story line with Ian (Skyler's boorish and smug ex) and Michael (Skyler's closest friend, & emotional mess) mostly boring.  I will say however that Michael's story in the upcoming Rogue Acts Anthology which I just stared is so far highly entertaining.

I really like that this confrontation went this way #bkbrk #rombklove "“Do we have to do this?” Skyler drained the rest of her vodka soda. Ginger shook her head. “Do what?” “Be shitty to each other?” She didn’t want to relive high school at this bar tonight." ― from "Biker B*tch (Heaven's Sinners Book 1)" https://t.co/4YBTRQpYnE

— Ana Coqui (@anacoqui) January 13, 2018

Early on I was super excited when Ginger, Travis's most recent and regular former lover and Skylar run into each other at a bar the first night, Skylar is out with Travis. They end up short circuiting what could have been a jealousy and envy driven scene, by simply choosing not to be terrible to each other.  However a few chapters later, that envy and anger does lead to a confrontation, that makes them both look bad which was disappointing. Ginger and Travis do have a good encounter later in the book where he has to admit to having been a selfish asshole and how his indifference hurt her. Ginger is not evil or slut shamed but it didn't overcome my disappointment at having the promise of catfight-less story not pan out. 

If Christopher does come out with more Heaven's Sinners books, I will pick them up.  The romance between her prickly heroine and sweet dirty hero held my interest, the sex was very sexy and more importantly emotionally meaningful and erotically charged. I enjoyed the complexity of the feelings Travis and Skylar have for each other and how they struggle to name it love.  Biker B*tch was compelling if not perfect and a promising introduction to an author I will happily read again in the future.  

Earlier this month in a bid to become more aware of what I have piling up in my ARC and Impulse-buy TBR, I spent a evening sorting through 67 pages of books on my kindle.  It was a good exercise. I found a bunch of good books that I forgotten I had bought and I rediscovered more than a few books that I had started but didn't finish for one reason or another. The ones that I still think I will re-start and finish went into my In-progress folder to wait for a new day and a different mood.  However for a fair number of ARCs that just won't working for me or I was done with even if I didn't actually finish it.

The Cartographer by Tamsen Parker.  I believe this is the final book in the Compass series.  Rey is everyone's match-maker & kink coach and he falls for a guy that has way too many other things going on his life and really doesn't want Rey to manage him. I highly anticipated Rey's book and  I was enjoying it right up to the point where Rey screws up everything up. Or is about to. You know how you get a sense that everything is good, so the big dark moment is coming. Rey had worked so hard to build Allie's trust in him, that I knew whatever he did was just going to be infuriatiating. I got such a strong sense of anxiety, I had to jump to the end.  I ended up reading several of the final chapters, seeing if I could make it back to the center but I couldn't go back enough to see Rey hurt Allie.  I got too anxious even having just read the HEA. So I am just going to admit that I am done and content myself with knowing that he was able to fix it. ( I received an ARC for review consideration). 

Dirty Deeds by HelenKay Dimon: I have very much enjoyed the previous two books in in Dimon's Tough Love m/m romantic suspense series. However this one fell flat for me from the beginning. I even hated the cover.  What is happening there. Is he checking the tag to try to figure out why his pants are falling off?  The set-up required the extremely smart, tactical and pragmatic Alec to abandon all previous characterization and behave like lust-crazed driven doofus. Everyone his life in the first few chapters including him can't believe he is being so stupid. I put it down and I am not even midly curious about how it turned out.  This is a rare dud, in what has been a great-run of books by Dimon in the past year. ( I received an ARC for review consideration from the publisher). 

Spellbinder by Thea Harrison:  This is another story where I have read nearly 85 to 90 % of it but not in order.   In Spellbinder we follow the villain of the previous book, Moonshadow, Morgan, who is enslaved by the capriciously evil Isabeau. Morgan exploits a badly phrased order by Isabeau to carve out a brief time away from her court in Avalon. During that time he stumbles upon a incredibly gifted musician, Sidonie Martel, becoming fascinated with her from afar. But his interest does not go unnoticed and she soon becomes a pawn of those who want to destroy Morgan and through him Isabeau.  This story was absolutely brutal. Sidonie goes through a harrowing ordeal in Isabeau's court and she is in peril for the vast majority of the book.  Although I believed Morgan and Sidonie's romance, appreciated the way Harrison complicated our understanding of Morgan, how they built up intimacy and found faith in eachtother, in the midst of tense and dangerous setting, but it was just so dark that I couldn't keep coming back. Maybe one day I will see how they faced Isabeau and destroyed her, but I haven't been able to build up enough forward momentum.

( I received an ARC for review consideration).

Blood Guard by Megan Erickson I absolutely adore Erickson's contemporary romances so I was super excited to read her PNR romances. However I am not 0/2. I bailed on Daring Fate (Silver Tip Pack 1)  early on, I found the first few chapters simultaneously info-dumpy and bewildering.  However my issues with Blood Guard were wholly different. I was enjoying the book up to the point we met the hero. The heroine was fascinating and so was her world. But she is yanked right out of it by Athan, reveals to her that she contains powerful life-giving blood meant to be his brother's. Athan is bewildered by his confusing attraction to Tendra and by Tendra's insistence on not being treated as object.  This is bewildering to Athan because although he uses human women for blood and sex, he has not ever talked to one before.   It was just so jarring and stupid. I couldn't quite get past it. I have read plenty of heroes that share this character trait, but I guess I didn't expect it here and it annoyed me too much to want to continue.   I think the book did promise action, had a good sense of fun and ridiculous and was building great tension between the hero and heroine  but it just isn't for me. ( I received an ARC for review consideration from the publisher).

I didn't click with these books but maybe they will work for you!