First Position

First Position by Melissa Brayden

Age: Adult
Category: LGBTQIA+ / Romance / Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars

Rosie Thinks: If you’re at all familiar with our site, you know there’s one thing we ADoR gals love: cliches. Everyone has their favourite cliches and this story contains a weakness of mine. Rivals to lovers. Is there anything better?

This is set in the world of the New York City Ballet, a beautiful backdrop to a beautiful story. Ana Mikhelson has been working her whole life to get out of the shadow of her famous father, and this is her year. She’s finally made principal dancer, the highest position in the company. She’s known as the Ice Queen, but she doesn’t let petty things like jealousy or lonliness bother her. Until Natalie enters the scene. Hailed as a dance protege since she was young, Natalie has never liked the strict world of ballet. When she’s offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the NYC Ballet, she can’t say no. And so starts a fierce rivalry between the two, that soon gives way to a wary friendship.

I have a confession to make - I rarely read f/f books. The few I’ve read haven’t been very well-written, so I while I was hesitant to start this, the summary and glowing reviews urged me on. It doesn’t disappoint. It switches between both Ana and Natalie, but I never got confused between the two. It served to craft both their characters well and not make them into stereotypes. Ana’s a workaholic and reserved, while Natalie is the complete opposite - outgoing, loves to party, is continually late. But they were both more than this and that’s what truly brought this story to life for me.

The plot was riveting throughout. While it does go the way of a cliche, it’s more than that. There’s a solid storyline the whole way through, making it not boring for a moment. I’ve always had a fascination for ballet, so it was near-magical to read about it. Brayden writes in a way that flows like a picture in my mind. My only concern was it did feel a bit disjointed at the climax, but that’s only nitpicking.

A Family Chosen (Volumes 1-4)

A Family Chosen by Sloane Kennedy

Age: Adult
Category: LGBTQIA+ / Erotica
Rating: 3.5 stars

Helen Thinks: This is a Sloane Kennedy’s entire story arc. It consists of twenty novels from four of her individual series but all the characters intermingle so Kennedy has bundled them into these volumes. I was going to individually review every novel but I really didn’t think you would want me writing twenty long reviews about how amazing these novels are - because seriously that’s all the reviews would be! For two weeks straight (would have been a lot shorter time if life didn’t get in the way!), I read these novels one after the other and I couldn’t put them down.

Three out of twenty novels are M/F pairings but the remaining seventeen are M/M or M/M/M. Kennedy does explain for those that prefer only to read M/M then you can skip the M/F ones if you really want to but as much as I love my M/M novels, I couldn’t skip the M/F ones and I wouldn’t advise that any of my M/M fans do either. Those of you that aren’t massively into the M/M I beg of you not to skip these books over. Lauren; my sister; has always stated that she wouldn’t read the M/M books on my kindle but then started reading the first novel - Gabriel’s Rules - which is M/F and I explained to her that the third one of the trilogy was M/M and she decided to give it a go anyway because she couldn’t not read the third book in a trilogy. Safe to say, she’s now halfway through the books and is just as addicted as I am. So praises to Kennedy for getting my sister to try something new and for it to be that well written she can’t put them down.

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Willful Machines

Willful Machines by Tim Floreen

Age: Adult / Young Adult
Category: LGBTQIA+ / Science Fiction
Rating: 4 stars

Rosie Thinks: This book is truly a standout for me from all the other YA m/m books out there. It's crafted so well and is perfect for anyone cautious about books featuring gay romance, especially since the plot line is so good!

The main character is Lee, who is the closeted son of a very traditional US president. This is set a hundred or so years into the future, were science has progressed onto robots. The one try at artificial intelligence, however, ended up in chaos - a team of scientists created Charlotte, who escaped by transferring her consciousness to the internet and began launching terrorist attacks on the country. Lee, despite his love of robotics, is more interested in the more immediate - eccentric, beautiful Nico, who spouts off Shakespeare at random and seems to be truly interested in Lee himself. But when Charlotte starts attacking the school and targeting Lee, he starts to believe that Nico isn't really who he says he is.

Nico is an absolutely adorable character, perfectly written to make me want to jump into the story and pinch his cheeks. His charm and infectious laugh translates through the page, and Floreen made not only Nico, but the rest of his characters quite life-like. And I wanted to give Lee a hug, because he's a sad, depressed character with a fairly miserable past, yet he's always trying to stay positive. The love story between the two was so sweet and cute, and despite being a little instalove-y, I still enjoyed it.

Floreen's writing steers towards almost gothic at times, which serves to set up an unsettling atmosphere and suspense. I also loved the way he unapologetically threw philosophical questions into the readers face about free will and what makes us human. And this was all in there without sounding preach-y and ranting. It truly did make me think! This is a super easy read, with Floreen's writing flowing like magic. I definitely recommend!

The God Eaters

The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek

Age: Adult
Category: LGBTQIA+ / Fantasy / Romance
Rating: 5 stars

Rosie Thinks: I absolutely love when Fictionpress authors get their work published or self-publish on Amazon. Even if I’ve read it before, I’m there buying it and cheering them on in my reviews. ‘The God Eaters’ is a story that I tried to read on Fictionpress ages ago (his penname was Jumping Jack Flash and Chartreuse), but never continued it. I have no idea why, but I also don’t trust past-me’s decisions. I liked some very questionable things back then. Hajicek now has paperbacks of this, but you can read it for free on his website.

I’m not really sure where to begin with this summary. It starts off so small, then ends up so big and complicated that it’s hard to do it justice! The genre is like a fantasy Western, with magic thrown in. It begins with two men beginning their time in a max-security prison. It isn’t a normal prison though - it’s made for people with Talents, to be experimented on. Their crimes reflect their contrasting personalities. Shy, passive Ashleigh was imprisoned for his inflammatory writings, and is an Empath. Merciless, cold Kieran has a slew of crimes to his name, including murder, and has a dark ability that allows him to kill with a thought. They’re cellmates, and begin a strange friendship under the harshest of circumstances.

Both these characters could so easily have unlikeable. Ashleigh had moments where he was weak and spineless, and Kieran could be very brutal, but their written in such an in-depth way that I felt a strong connection to each of them. That shows the strength of the characterisation. A lot of the time, it’s either the plot that’s better or the characterisation, but that isn’t the case here. They’re both fantastic. The plot had some twists I guessed at, but many I didn’t. I would never have guessed where it ended from the beginning. The plot takes off from the beginning and there isn’t a boring moment. If you’re after a fast-paced action fantasy with the cutest romance in the world from the most unlikely of people, this is it! I wish this story went on forever.

Code Silver (Sierra View #1)

Code Silver by Max Walker

Age: Adult
Category: LGBTQIA+
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: Noah Silver has been having a difficult time lately what with his Mother having passed away and his father being dreadful to live with so he decides it’s time to move out. However, for that you need the funds. To get cash fast Noah becomes a cam boy. Unbeknown to Noah, one of his viewers is Dr Dean Harper - a handsome doctor whose ex-boyfriend ripped his heart out when he walked in on him having an affair with three other men. After an accident, Noah arrives at Sierra View where he meets Dean and they have a connection. But what would a successful doctor want in a cam boy like Noah? And how can Dean explain to Noah that he’s been having lustful thoughts about him long before he stepped into the hospital? Alongside their blossoming romance, a serial killer is targeting cam boys. What will happen to them once they realise that Noah is the killer’s next target?

I’ve been on an M/M binge lately and I am incredibly over the moon that I stumbled upon Max Walker’s Code Silver. I had this little gem stored away on my kindle for when I went on holiday with my sister and niece so I could have something to read at the poolside. It delivered. For someone who hates sitting in the sun, I couldn’t get up to move because I just couldn’t put this novel down at all. I needed to know what happened to the characters.

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Chaos Station (Chaos Station #1)

Chaos Station by Jenn Burke and Kelly Jensen

Age: Adult / Young Adult
Category: Science Fiction / LGBTQIA+
Rating: 4 stars

Rosie Thinks: I may have mentioned this before, but I never, EVER read sci-fi. Unless it's m/m, but I read everything that's m/m. I think of sci-fi as too technical for a communications major like me to grasp, and generally have no interest in reading chunks of scientific explanations. So, obviously, this book stayed on my to-reads list for a very long time until I cracked it open. And it had to prove me wrong about sci-fi!

This book is based around two men who were best friends, and then lovers for only a few days before being torn apart. Each thinks the other is dead, until a series of coincidences brings Zander aboard the ship that Felix is a mechanic on. The scenes between the two MCs were beautiful and well-paced, but this book is equally about the other, more action-based storyline. Zander was part of a team of super soldiers before the government cut him loose, and when he sees one of his old teammates in trouble, he races to find her.

The world-building in this is pretty awesome, in the way that Burke only gives you bits and pieces, so it never felt like technical stuff was being crammed down my throat. She did the same with the characters, only revealing their personalities and histories slowly, so it came across as more showing than telling. The secondary characters were awesome, and not one of them felt like a plot device. It isn't an enormous cast, but Burke keeps the action flowing at a fast pace.

This is the first book in the series, and I flew through the next two. The fourth just came out and I'm super excited to read it, and also super excited that I haven't gotten sick of this series yet! So be warned, that these two characters and the awesome plot-making skills of Burke are addictive.

Liesmith (The Wyrd #1)

Liesmith by Alis Franklin

Age: Adult / Young Adult
Category: Fantasy / LGBTQIA+
Rating: 4 stars

Rosie Thinks: This story is such a mish-mash of genres that I think Franklin wrote exactly what she was passionate about, and it worked perfectly for her! There's a bit of horror, mixed with huge amounts of urban fantasy, Norse mythology, action, and a m/m romance that was adorable and stayed interesting. I've found it harder and harder recently to stay interested in romance books all the way to the end (mainly, after the couple gets together), but I didn't lose interest once in this!

Sigmund Sussman works in a dead-end IT job, pretty much just telling people to restart their computers all day. His world is shook up when newcomer Lain [unpronounceable last name] is placed at the desk next to him. Lain is everything Sigmund isn't - charismatic, good-looking, and a liar. With Sigmund’s peculiar ability to see lies, he quickly realises there's something very strange about Lain, not the least being his near-constant flirting with Sigmund.

This starts off as just a sweet romance, albeit one you don't see often in books - while Lain has the usual supermodel good looks, Sigmund is described with a pot-belly, big nose, and rather plain. I LOVED that. But it didn't take long for Franklin's creativity to take off, and the rest of the story moved at breakneck speed. As I mentioned earlier, this story contains a lot of Norse mythology, particularly surrounding Loki. I found Franklin's writing beautiful, as well as the way she seemed to mix-and-match tones at times. It all made for a unique and enthralling read!

In the Absence of Light

In the Absence of Light by Adrienne Wilder

Age: Adult
Category: Romance, LGBTQIA+
Rating: 4 stars

Rosie Thinks: When I started this book, I didn't expect it to be the insane, emotionally-charged ride it turned out to be. I've read a lot of m/m romance, and can fairly confidently identify the generic storyline from miles away. After reading the summary, I thought this would be yet another instalove story with stereotypical, 2D characters that I'd seen a hundred times before. The only reason I was quite intrigued was one of the main character's being autistic. And, surprise surprise, the first chapter I knew it was going to be fantastic!

The book is in the perspective of Grant Kessler (which is an immediate bonus to me, as I've grown frustrated with many of the dual POV books in the romance genre). Grant's smuggling business began to take a darker turn that he wasn't willing to go down, so he got out of the business and plans to lay low in a middle-of-nowhere country town for a few years until the heat from the FBI goes down. What he doesn't count on, is meeting Morgan. Morgan is severely autistic, a man with an uncontrollable tic, can't tell right from left, struggles to make eye contact and sometimes gets lost in his own head. Beneath all this, however, lies the mind of a strong and brilliant young man who has overcame every obstacle thrown his way. Their attraction is mutual, but Grant can't seem to see past Morgan's autism.

You can probably tell from that brief summary that this story had the potential to go very, very wrong, and that's what made it so intriguing to me at first. To me, Morgan's autism was explored with beautifully by Wilder. She made Grant confront his own prejudices and stereotypes, and questioned what 'normal' really is. There was one line that really stuck with me, and the gist of it was Morgan is a man with a mental condition, not a mental condition who is a man.

This is truly a well-rounded story. The romance between Morgan and Grant has centre-stage, but there were problems from both characters' pasts that were very interesting and kept the plot moving along at a really nice pace. I honestly didn't really pick where the plot would go, and I love that in a story. Both characters felt like real people and even though most of the minor characters didn't play huge roles, they were all great to read about.

Wilder's writing is utterly beautiful. I've read quite a few of her other books, so I can say with full confidence that she is a master of emotive writing! Some of her descriptions were just downright beautiful, and I particularly liked the way she described Morgan's tic. And light. As the title suggests, light plays a big role in the story and the way Wilder has written about it was stunning! There were a lot of powerful themes in this novel, about ostracism and ignorance, and Wilder wrote them in a way that was heart-rending. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to any lover of the m/m genre!

Evenfall (In the Company of Shadows #1)

Evenfall by Sonny & Ais

Age: Young Adult; Adult
Category: Romance, LGBTQIA+
Rating: 5 stars

Rosie Thinks: If you’re a fan of m/m books and you haven’t heard of this series.... where have you been?! This is, without a doubt, one of the best m/m series of the genre. As in, it’s in my top two! I’ve been on a roll with re-reading old favourites lately, and this series was my latest re-read. I feel like I could read it another five times and still not be sick of it!

This is set in a post-apocalyptic world, two decades or so after World War III where most of the major cities were blown apart by bombs. In this world, terrorist organisations pop up all over the place and it is the Agency’s duty, as a secret branch of the US government, to protect the nation’s interest. Which sounds great and patriotic on paper, but the reality is much different. Sin is the Agency’s greatest weapon - aggressive, merciless, highly skilled. His only drawback is the killing sprees he goes on and that his partners never seem to last longer than a few missions. This is where Boyd comes in: after a horrific tragedy years ago, he shut himself off from the world and his emotions, leaving him apathetic to whether he lives or dies. Which, coincidentally, makes him the perfect partner to try and keep the Agency’s most ruthless assassin in line.

Words can barely explain how much I love this series! Both Boyd and Sin are so broken at the start, and watching them grow was stunning. Sin is seen by others as a psychotic monster, and Boyd is written off as worthless. It’s written in multiple POVs, but mostly Boyd and Sin’s. Each author would write one character’s perspective, which I found interesting since there is no noticeable change in writing style. But because of this, you’re taken truly inside the character’s head, making the characterisation fantastic. Both Sin and Boyd go through some serious character growth in this series, and the authors pull no punches. Complicated psychological disorders are explored and a variety of other situations. Neither character is a Gary Stu - honestly, at one point or another, most of the characters disliked Boyd and had no problem pointing out his faults. However, Boyd and Sin are both just so loveable and amazing and gah, I love these books so much.

The action in this was also a big draw for me. I love my books when they have a fantastic romantic plot-line, but also a separate plot that isn’t overshadowed by the romance. This had it. It’s jam-packed with action, from fight scenes to all the different missions to the struggles the individual characters face. The plot was just amazing, with many twists to keep you guessing and never quite sure. Fight scenes can be quite hard to write, but Sonny and Ais nail it. They’re fast-moving but also understable, so I could easily picture what was happening in my head. And it wasn’t just the fight scenes that were on point - the emotional scenes were without cliches and so heart-wrenching, I suggest having a box of tissues on hand at all times.

A fair warning - this is a mammoth book. They recently released the Director’s Cut of Evenfall, and cut out a massive 100k words. And I don’t even want to think about the actual page number of the whole series! But not once did it feel like I was reading a book the size of a small country. The near-constant action, romantic and otherwise, kept me hooked on until 3am in the morning on many nights. So don’t be put off by the length! But I would clear your calendar when you start this series - because once you start, I guarantee you won’t want to stop!

Love for the Cold-Blooded, or The Part-Time Evil Minion's Guide to Accidentally Dating a Superhero

Love for the Cold-Blooded, or The Part-Time Evil Minion's Guide to Accidentally Dating a Superhero by Alex Gabriel

Age: Young Adult, Adult
Category: Romance, LGBTQIA+, Supernatural
Rating: 4 stars

Rosie Thinks: When Melissa suggested this book to me to read, she only needed to say two words to get me interested: gay batman. Now that is not literally right, but it was close enough to get me interested! Pat, reluctant son of a supervillain, is happy with his night manager job until a series of misunderstandings ends with him in the bed of his boss. Not only is his boss a reclusive billionaire and the famous superhero Silver Paladin, but he thinks Pat's a prostitute. Soon, the two are falling head over heels for each other, but the return of Pat's mother with a new plan to take over the world doesn't help matters.

Superhero stories always seem to fall into one of two characters: dark and serious (like the recent Batman movies) or lighthearted and non-serious. This fell into the latter category. I've read several superhero stories in this style, and most of the time I find them ridiculous, overdone, corny, stereotypical . . . overall, I don't enjoy the forced humour. But somehow it really worked in this book. Pat could so easily have become an annoying MC - he's weird, over-the-top, a chatterbox - but I actually did find him hilarious and he was so well-written that it worked. There's an almost satirical edge to this, one that pokes fun at the superhero/villain stereotypes in the funnest way possible. It was silly at times, but in a way that was fun and not absurdly ridiculous.

It is set in a completely different world, but not much information is given on it other than that showdowns between villains and heroes is the norm. The villains aren't truly bad - for example, Sir Toby created a mind control ray to take over the city and make people more happy and understanding of each other. It's situations like this where the satirical side shines through. Plus, the constant reference to the heroes/villains arranging themselves to get the best looking photo for the newspaper possible. It reminded me a bit of The Incredibles - the way it shows the heroics of a supervillain/hero meeting normal, mundane family life.

Pat is the black-sheep of the family. His older sisters are all following in his mum's supervillain footsteps, but he just wants to study Urban Design. He's just a normal university student, except the times when he has to pull 'minion duty' for one of the other villains. Nick, billionaire and Silver Paladin, is utterly adorable because he's characterised as this almost awkward, shy genius with next to no social skills.

This is longer than I would've expected for a story of this type, and I was so glad for it. I enjoyed every second of it and loved how the author wrote every scene to be so interesting. The only down point is the cover - how does a cover that boring match a book as hilarious as this? I don't really know what they were thinking, as it conveys a seriousness and over-romantic-ness that isn't present in the story. Either way, I definitely recommend this to any lover of superhero stories, or just plain slash.

Guardian

Guardian by Sierra Riley

Age: Adult
Category: LGBTQIA+
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: Due to working in family law, Alexander Wilson has always kept his sexuality a secret solely due to being afraid that families wouldn’t approve of their children being helped by a homosexual and because he was afraid he’d be fired from the firm. Alex believes he’s happy this way - just him and his beloved corgi, Valentina. However, when his car starts to make funny noises, he pulls into the nearest garage and meets the gorgeous tattooed ex-soldier come mechanic, Titus. Straight men like Titus don’t go for guys like Alex but he can’t help but develop a crush on the man and when Titus comes to Alex for help to save his niece, Phoebe, Alex is more than willing to help - that’s what friends do, right?

I feel like I’m going to have to try and control myself while reviewing “Guardian” by Sierra Riley seeing as I loved it that much I think I’m just going to ramble on and on about how amazing it is without actually making a point... Bear with me! First of all, I’ve just got to say the cliched contrasting leads were fabulously written. I absolutely adored Alex’s portrayal. Yes, he was a little nerdy and loved his space facts but Riley didn’t overcompensate this. Whenever it was brought up, it didn’t look like Riley was just mentioning it to prove all the research she had done (or maybe it’s a secret love of hers!) and didn’t want the facts to go to waste. He was never patronising with his intelligence and I fell in little in love with him, lucky Titus. And speaking of the handsome, muscular love interest with his military background and his beautiful ink to remind him of that time. Charming, beautiful and who doesn’t love a big man that’s good with children seeing as he’s his niece’s guardian after the death of her Mother? They might be contrasts but they sure as hell complimented each other beautifully and I applaud Riley for her amazing writing skills.

I always give a writer extra brownie points when there’s an actual plotline to go with the love story because in some novels the characters can just float along from one meeting to the next but that is not the case in “Guardian”. Due to Phoebe’s biological father showing up one day at her karate training - after being absent since finding out her Mother was pregnant - Titus needs to hire Alex to help him keep his guardianship of the girl and ensure her Father doesn’t. Riley wrote this flawlessly. It planned out like you’d imagine a real investigation into the biological Father would go as well as all the steps Alex and Titus had to go through to ensure they were doing the right thing for Phoebe. Plus the sexual tension that mounted due to them not being able to act on their feelings due to ‘conflict of interest’ with Titus being Alex’s client made this story absolutely addictive - and probably the reason why I read it all in one sitting!

Guardian was my first novel by Sierra Riley and I can definitely guarantee that it will not be my last novel. I can’t wait to delve into the rest of her novels if they deliver as much as “Guardian” did.

Carry On

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Age: Young Adult
Category: Historical
Rating: 5 stars

Brittany Thinks: Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite authors writing today. From her first adult novel Attachments to her smash hit YA novel Eleanor & Park, I have devoured every one of her novels in one sitting every time. Carry On just might be my favorite. I’ve already read it twice since picking up a copy in February and I’m sure I’ll read it a few more times before the year is through.

Now this might get a little bit meta and confusing so hang in there, but Carry On is kind of a novel from within a novel and you may want to read Fangirl before digging into it. Fangirl is a novel about a girl who adores a set of fictional characters to the point where it distracts her from really living. She writes a web-hit fan fiction about these characters and fans fell in love with them. So did Rainbow. Carry On is Rowell’s version of what happens to those characters. Still with me? Good. I read Fangirl first, but it definitely isn’t necessary. I’d suggest it only because it’ll make you love these characters before even cracking the spine of Carry On.

Rowell herself has said that Carry On is her take on some of the best series of the last 20 years - namely Harry Potter and Lev Grossman’s The Magicians. It follows Simon Snow through the course of his last year at Watford School of Magicks as he tries to make sense of why every one thinks he’s “The Chosen One” and why his roommate Baz hates him so much. This is a fun, exciting read and, like all of Rowell’s books, it’s absolutely hilarious. She has such a wit and clever tone to her novels that I always find myself snickering or all out laughing. Simon and Baz have a great love/ hate chemistry going on and I lived for the scenes that featured both of them.

As a real fan girl of Harry Potter and anything a bit magical, I loved this. As a lover of character development and coming of age novels, I was even more satisfied. Seriously, writing this review makes me want to read it again. And then reread everything by Rainbow Rowell, because I just love her so much. Definitely pick this one up. It was perfect.

Line and Orbit (Root Code #1)

Line and Orbit by Sunny Moraine & Lisa Soem

Age: Young Adult, Adult
Category: Science-fiction, romance, LGBTQIA+
Rating: 4 stars

Rosie Thinks: What I expected was a quick, light sci-fi/slash story. What I got was an intricate story that was focused on the struggle, rather than solely the sci-fi world or the romance. Which is a great thing, seeing as how I don't ever read sci-fi. The only reason I picked this up was because I was running out of m/m books to read, and this had such tremendous reviews!

Adam Yuga is everything his people strive to be: perfect, intelligent, on the rise. He has the world at his feet until a routine physical reveals him to be seriously ill. His people cast him out and he wanders, lost, until one of the reviled Bideshi saves him from deaths door. Through Lochlan, Adam discovers that the Bideshi are much more than the propaganda he's heard, yet neither the strange sickness nor his people are done with him yet.

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Mark of Cain

Mark of Cain by Kate Sherwood

Age: Adult
Category: Romance, contemporary, LGBTQIA+
Rating: 5 stars

Rosie Thinks: Hate to love stories are hard to get right. Very hard. As in, about one in a hundred actually feel legitimate and don't feature insta-lust and cliches to help the storyline along. This is one of the best examples I've ever read of 'hate to love' done right. Our main characters here are Lucas Cain and Mark Webber. Mark is a gay Anglican priest, committed to helping everyone around him and committed to his job. Lucas Cain just got out of prison after serving three years. The charge? Killing Mark's brother in a drunken bar fight. So can you imagine the kind of hate between these characters? When Mark sees Lucas out celebrating his first night free, he's consumed with hatred and is determined to do his best to make him pay. But Lucas has come out of prison a changed man, and all he wants to do is lead a steady, sober life, and take full responsibility of what he's done.

I've been putting off reading this book for a long time, since I wasn't a fan of one of the man characters being a priest. As a personal issue, I'm not a fan of overly religious stories, especially ones that shove it down your throat. I'm not a religious person at all, and could see the religious aspect in this story totally putting me off. Luckily, I couldn't resist the allure of such a highly rated hate/love story! So if you have the same worries I did, don't be - I found Mark's perspective and personal storyline, wherein he faces problems with the Church, to be interesting and not off-putting at all. One thing I had no idea about was that Anglican priests are allowed to marry, and that they're also accepting of openly gay priests (although I did go to an Anglican school for five years of my life, so oopsy).

Lucas was a fantastic character. He is so filled with self-loathing and guilt that my heart went out to him, despite him committing a horrible crime to land him in jail in the first place. He doesn't make any excuses, and tends to take the weight of the world on his own shoulders, so it was amazing watching him open up to love and healing as he made his own personal journey towards recovery. Which brings me to another thing I really like about this book: both main characters had their own storylines throughout the novel. They had their own battles to fight, and it kept me consistently interested in their story. Not once did I lose interest! The situation at the beginning seems so helpless and traumatic that I couldn't imagine it ever ending happily. But Kate Sherwood did a brilliant job at slowly, realistically bringing the two together, so even the reader could feel the love and forgiveness between the them.

The Two Gentlemen of Altona (Playing the Fool #1)

The Two Gentlemen of Altona by Lisa Henry & J.A. Rock

Age: Adult
Category: Romance, LGBTQIA+
Rating: 4 stars

Rosie Thinks: If you're not allowed to eat donuts, probably don't read this book. It will have you craving them like nothing else - even the scene breaks are tiny little pictures of donuts! But don't worry, I'm not recommending to you guys a book about a donut bakery. This is a fantastic thriller/crime/suspense novel, where one of the main characters is on a diet - thus the donuts everywhere.

FBI Agent Mac is having a bad day: not only is he now on a coffee-less/donut-less diet, but the key witness just conned him into letting him walk free out the front door of a murder scene. Henry Page may be the key to putting a mob boss away for life, but he'd rather keep his head down and go back to doing what he does best: conning old ladies out of their money. And so begins a cat and mouse game between them as Mac tries to tie down his major witness, and Henry does his best to escape, while trying not to get killed by the mob along the way.

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How to Repair a Mechanical Heart

How to Repair a Mechanical Heart by J.C. Lillis

Age: Young Adult
Category: Contemporary, romance, LGTQIA+
Rating: 4 stars

Melissa Thinks: I think that I described How to Repair a Mechanical Heart to a friend as being about “fandoms and Jesus”. Brandon and Abel make vlogs together about Castaway Planet, a Star Trek-like television show they both adore. It’s actually how they met—through a fan forum dedicated to the show. Now they’re getting ready to go on a road trip to visit various cons throughout the country to make good on a bet they made with a rival group of fans (shippers of the two main characters, Cadmus and Sim).

The interesting thing about this book is how it really tackles the good, the bad, and the cringe-worthy side of being a fan—the sense of community, the shipping wars, the fic. It even brushes on things like fanservice and queer baiting (which, for those who don’t know, is when the writers of a TV show will create sexual tension and subtext between two same sex characters without any intention of having them be gay, bisexual, pansexual, etc. They do it to essentially grab the attention of queer viewers).

Additionally, Brandon also provides an interesting narrative regarding his sexuality. There’s a few super common character tropes in m/m fiction: the “gay for you” trope (where a character is essentially “straight” until they meet their love interest and realize how super gay they are), and the “I’m gay, but I don’t want to come out in fear of making everyone I love hate me” trope. Brandon was neither. Instead, the author explores his complex relationship with his parents, religion, and God. His church has taught him to hate gay people, and so now he struggles with self-hatred; he doesn’t know how to love and accept himself while also staying faithful to his religion. His parents, who seem to live and breathe their church, are similarly conflicted with how to accept this part of their son. It’s often shown in the book that they prefer to just pretend he never came out, or they try to change him to fit their own ideas of what he should be.

There was a lot to like in this book in terms of writing, characters, and plot. There was something special about the humor and the voice, which made the book unique in my opinion. The author’s coverage of the dynamics between fans, creators, and (in the case of shows/movies) actors was refreshing and real, albeit exaggerated.

Recommended for lovers of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell!

Foxhole Court (All for the Game #1)

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic

Age: Young Adult / Adult
Category: Contemporary, LGTQIA+
Rating: 5 stars

Rosie Thinks: To put this review in a little bit of context, I'm writing this after waiting two years for the final book in this series to come out, and that book has sky-rocketed this series into becoming one of my favourites of all time. Within the first few chapters of reading the third book, I knew I could reread it straight away after finishing it and still love it just as much (and let me tell you, I NEVER feel like that). But let's rewind to the first book!

These books revolve around the made-up sport of Exy - a mix of ice hockey and lacrosse - and focuses on Neil Josten. Neil has just been scouted for the Palmetto State University Foxes, an Exy team famous for signing players from broken homes. As the runaway son of a violent criminal, he knows he can't afford his face to be in the spotlight, but his obsession with Exy doesn't allow him to turn the opportunity down. Not only does he have to battle his own inner demons, but the other Foxes are straightaway suspicious and wary of him. A lot of the conflict comes from this, but one of the other strong plot lines is that of the Foxes being the underdogs of the Exy world, and their fierce and brutal rivalry with the top-ranked Ravens.

I went into these books thinking they'd be your everyday sports m/m romance that I've read a million times before, with the addition of traumatised characters (nothing gets me better than a bit of angst). But it was so much more! Despite me labelling this slash, there's no romance in the first book at all, and the character I thought would be the love interest wasn't (which, in hindsight, THANK GOD). Don't let that put you off! What you get instead is an incredible story with an insane cast of characters. I would be hard-pressed to think of another book with characterisation as individual and perfect as in this. Each of them had their own past and set of problems, no more so than the psychotic, insane Andrew. He is one of the most complex characters I've ever read about and even at the end of three books, I still shocked as to how Sakavic even created and wrote someone like him. I think it was a risk to write a character like him, that could so easily come off as unrealistic or too violent, but the risk paid off.

And Neil. Our darling MC with all the secrets and lies he tells not only to the other characters, but to reader themselves. He's smart and strong, but also so lost and terrified. These novels show his growth as he incrementally opens himself up to the Foxes and learns that there are other ways to live than being on the run. And it's not just him that develops and progresses as a character - a lot of the others do as well.

Even though this technically revolves around sport, I would recommend to everyone even if they didn't like sports stories. It doesn't get too technical and complex and bogged down in the theory of the sport. Instead, the sport scenes are used to further the plot and the character development. First and foremost, I found this to be a character-based story, with all their dark and twisted histories and personalities as they learnt to interact with each other. It was quite hard to write this review, as these books contain so much and my love for them is out of this world, but I hope I've done them justice!

Errant Prince

The Errant Prince by Sasha L. Miller

Age: Young Adult / Adult
Category: Romance, fantasy, LGBTQIA+
Rating: 3 stars

Rosie Thinks: Ever since Prince Tamsen ran away from the palace seven years ago, he's been living the secluded life of a hermit, surrounded by his herbs and his books. Guardsman Myron has been charged to find him and bring him home. No others have managed to force him back to the palace, so Myron tries a different tact: patience.

Myron is an easily loveable character, easy-going and mischievous, and stubborn enough to outlast Tamsen. Tamsen, on the other hand, isn't what Myron was expecting at all. Despite acting like a brat at times, Tamsen relishes his simplistic lifestyle and isn't keen on being dragged away from it. The book spent the first half in Myron's POV, then the second half in Tamsen's. I'm never usually a fan of alternating POVs, but the rigidity and consistency of this actually served to improve the storytelling, for once!

This isn't a long book - only 40 000 words - but Sasha L. Miller still manages to weave a unique and realistic story within that. It deals with a whole range of issues, including personal identity and acceptance, court politics, a transexual character, and the romance weaved into all of it. Despite it being a romance, there's nothing explicit, making it a story that can reach a wider age range.

If you're looking for an in-depth character study, you won't find it here. Instead, this story is a sweet romance that doesn't focus on the unnecessary drama that so many other romances seem to - in particular, I'm referring to the grand 'misunderstanding' that always seems to appear in love stories these days. Myron and Tamsen actually communicated, like the grown adults they are! That's not to say that they didn't have their troubles along the way - rather, the author was more creative in creating drama that was realistic and interesting.

This story was like a breath of fresh air, staying away from the usual stereotypes of a romance story that I'm sick of seeing. It's not overly complicated, but consistently remains a cute romance throughout, and one that I would recommend to anyone!

Losing Ground

Losing Ground by Sasha L. Miller

Age: Young Adult / Adult
Category: Romance, fantasy, LGBTQIA+
Rating: 3 stars

Rosie Thinks: This is only the second book I've read from Sasha L. Miller, but I'm really beginning to like her. Both books have been unique, including the storylines and the surroundings, and she's stayed away from the cliches of the m/m romance genre. HOORAY! Not much upsets me more than a story that I feel like I've read a thousand times before.

Losing Ground is set in a world like ours, yet different - it's modern, but it's broken up into territories which are owned by wizards or witches. There wasn't too much world-building past that, but since it wasn't an overly long or complicated story, it didn't need it. The magic is elemental, and the story is told from the POV of earth wizard Carter Bellwood. He is set to inherit the territory once his ailing mother passes, but his powers are comparatively quite weak and they are both struggling to rid their territory of the disease that is killing all plant life. When super-strong earth wizard Tai enters their territory, Carter thinks he's found the solution. But Tai is running from something and might not stick around, despite the friendship developing between the two men.

I guess you could class this as a 'slow romance', but I'd prefer to call it realistic. They become friends first, and it takes a while for Tai to lower his guard enough to let Carter in. It develops from there into a romance that was sweet and understated. The main action comes from the two men fighting the disease and Tai's past catching up to him, so it stayed interesting, suspenseful and intriguing throughout.

I felt like Miller did a great job at creating an urban fantasy world, but I would've liked to have seen a bit more romantic development between the two. It took a backseat to the action for most of it, and I think the story as a whole could've benefited from one or two extra scenes of just Tai and Carter, without the plot intruding. Other than that, it made for a lovely, easy read that didn't disappoint.

The Archer's Heart

The Archer's Heart by Astrid Amara

Age: Adult
Category: Fantasy; LGBTQIA+
Rating: 5 stars

Rosie Thinks: Take it from me, who's read a ridiculous amount of m/m novels - it's super hard to find a good quality fantasy m/m book. Like, I can probably count the number on one hand. And Archer's Heart is exactly what I search for! It has a solid world, characters I adored, and a storyline that took my breath away.

The story starts off, and is based around, the battle between Darvad Uru and Yudar Paran to be chosen to inherit the throne of Marhavad. Marhavad is a country with a strict and oppressive caste system, and Yudar is a strict traditionalist as opposed to Darvad, who is more open. Our two main characters are on either sides of this feud. Keshan Adaru, who is definitely my favourite character, is a charismatic visionary who is fervent in his belief of abolishing the caste system, and sees Darvad as the man to bring this about. Jandu Paran, Yudar's brother, is a brilliant archer but is shallow and arrogant, yet he cannot ignore the powerful attraction between he and Keshan. Their dangerous love affair is set against the backdrop of courtly intrigue, magic and betrayal.

I'm going to be completely honest and say that Jandu starts off as a complete brat. He doesn't care about anything past his own archery and is both confused and ashamed of his attraction to Keshan. But this is what makes his progress into an incredible character so brilliant! His growth is slow and subtle, provoked by events and not just influenced by Keshan's own ideals. After finishing this, it is absolutely mind-blowing to go back and think about how all the main characters started out, especially Jandu (particularly since I started out not really liking any of them!).

The world-building in this novel is also phenomenal. I could see the influences from India, and that's made it stand out for me amongst fantasy books. I can't think of another fantasy novel that I've read which borrows from India, rather than that dreaded Middle Ages cliche, or even from the Middle East. The whole world is incredibly solid, rich with customs and traditions. The magic in this novel comes in the form of 'shartas', which are weapons that can only be used by the uppermost caste.

This book is divided into three novels, and I am writing this review after re-reading the first one. While the first book starts off fairly predictably, the ending of it completely blindsided me. All of my preconceived notions and cliches of how I thought this book would go down were thrown out the window. From the second book on, Amara's imagination absolutely exploded. This is definitely up there with the best m/m books I've ever read!