Okay. So this is the second book in the Criminal Delights series that I read and I can tell you this one is twisted.

Mark is vain. Let's get that out of the way. When we meet him, all he seems to worry about is his looks and how turning forty is a kind of deathnail for gay guys. So when he is offered the chance to undergo the 'Youthology' blood-infusion experiment and write about it for the magazine he works for, he jumps at it because of the age-defying promises of the program.

Weeks after he starts the process, the changes to his body are dramatic. He acquires the youthful results he wants. However there are shocking side effects. He also acquires the physical and mental traits of his donor.

Mark acquires a few more deadly vices to add to his vanity and I mean deadly. Things take a twisted turn or two and I'm not going to give you spoilers.

This story is more of a dark psychological suspense and less of a romance, in my opinion but I loved it regardless.




BLURB

Death eventually comes for us all. But what if there’s a way for older people to regain their youth? To stay a step ahead of the grim reaper?

Turning 40 was the last straw for me. It’s practically 60 in gay years and I wasn’t ready for dentures yet, so I came to Youthology — a program that injects clients with blood transfusions from young, fit and healthy donors.

I chose Nick.

Handsome. Masculine. And more importantly, young.

I thought I hit the lottery, until my life started to change for the worst. Not even the top medical experts can explain what happened to me. From the moment Nick’s blood flooded into my veins, I stopped being me, and I became something new; something dangerous and deadly.

I became my donor.

His obsessions are mine now. His darkest desires, his dreams, his needs, and nightmares are all a part of me, and I don’t want to let them go.

I embrace them and the beautiful boy who haunts both of our dreams.

My blood pact was sealed the moment I entered Youthology.

I never thought I’d become a killer.

This book is part of CRIMINAL DELIGHTS. Each novel can be read as a standalone and contains a dark M/M romance.

Warning: These books are for adult readers who enjoy stories where lines between right and wrong get blurry. High heat, twisted and tantalizing, these are not for the fainthearted.

I read this book a while back but I just haven't stopped long enough to write a coherent book review.

First of all. Wow. I love the concept of this series--Criminal Delights. I've read two books in the series so far and both of them are so good.

In Wrong Way Home, Colin, a student doctor, is a man who never takes risk and always follows the rules. The story opens with him driving home from university and thinking about how he never takes chances. He decides to take a detour from his normal route just to do some thing different and ends up witnessing a murder scene in the middle of nowhere. 

I'll admit that opening chapter read like a horror scene from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre movie or something similar. But once Colin is taken captive by Taron, who is a prepper/survivalist who lives in a cabin in the wood, and held in his dungeon things kind of level off and we get to find out about the characters, what makes them tick and see the romance blossom between them as the days turn into weeks.

As with KAM books, you can expect the steam to rise with their interactions and some sticky sweetness. The black moment was brilliant, although the wrap up of the story was a little too easy for both characters. I expected more consequences, for Taron especially.

As dark romance novels go, this is probably not as dark as some people will want. Yes, it's a captive/captor romance and yes, Taron commits murder but that's about as dark as it got. And it worked for me.




Blurb

— ONE WRONG TURN. ONE RIGHT MAN. —
Colin. Rule-follower. Future doctor. Witness to murder. Captive.
Taron. Survivalist. Mute. Murderer. Captor.

Like every other weekend, Colin is on his way home from university, but he’s taunted by the notion that he never takes risks in life and always follows the beaten path. On impulse, he decides to take a different route. Just this one time. What he doesn’t realize is that it’s the last time he has a choice.

He ends up taking a detour into the darkest pit of horror, abducted by a silent, imposing man with a blood-stained axe. But what seems like his worst nightmare might just prove to be a path to the kind of freedom Colin never knew existed.

Taron has lived alone for years. His land, his rules. He’d given up on company long ago. After all, attachment is a liability. He deals with his problems on his own, but the night he needs to dispose of an enemy, he ends up with a witness to his crime.

The last thing Taron needs is a nuisance of a captive. Colin doesn’t deserve death for setting foot on Taron’s land, but keeping him isn’t optimal either. It’s only when he finds out the city boy is gay that an altogether different option arises. One that isn’t right, yet tempts him every time Colin’s pretty eyes glare at him from the cage.

*

“When Taron looped the heavy metal collar around the slender neck and closed the padlock, his body throbbed with the excitement of knowing he owned this boy.
Was it wrong? Yes, yes it was.
Was it so, so good? Definitely.”

Themes: prepping, alternative lifestyles, disability, crime, loneliness, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fish out of water, opposites attract, abduction, Stockholm syndrome, family issues

Genre: Dark, thriller M/M romance

Heat level: Scorching hot, emotional, explicit scenes

This book is part of CRIMINAL DELIGHTS. Each novel can be read as a standalone and contains a dark M/M romance.

Warning: These books are for adult readers who enjoy stories where lines between right and wrong get blurry. High heat, twisted and tantalizing, these are not for the fainthearted.

Length: 60,332 words
Cover Design: Reese Dante
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Blurb
Truman Reid is Summitville High’s most out-and-proud senior. He can't wait to take his fierce, uncompromising self away from his small Ohio River hometown, where he’s suffered more than his share of bullying. He’s looking forward to bright lights and a big city. Maybe he’ll be the first gender-fluid star to ever win an Academy Award. But all that changes on the first day of school when he locks eyes with the most gorgeous hunk he’s ever seen.

Mike Stewart, big, dark-haired, and with the most amazing blue eyes, is new to town. He's quiet, manly, and has the sexy air of a lost soul. It’s almost love at first sight for Truman. He thinks that love could deepen when Mike becomes part of the stage crew for Harvey, the senior class play Truman's directing. But is Mike even gay? And how will it work when Truman's mother is falling for Mike’s dad?

Plus Truman, never the norm, makes a daring and controversial choice for the production that has the whole town up in arms.

See how it all plays out on a stage of love, laughter, tears, and sticking up for one’s essential self….



A desperate young alpha. An older alpha with a hero complex. A forbidden love that can’t be denied.

Young Xan Heelies knows he can never have what he truly wants: a passionate romance and happy ever after with another alpha. It’s not only forbidden by the prevailing faith of the land, but such acts are illegal.

Urho Chase is a middle-aged alpha with a heartbreaking past. Careful, controlled, and steadfast, his friends dub him old-fashioned and staid. When Urho discovers a dangerous side to Xan’s life that he never imagined, his world is rocked, and he’s consumed by desire. The carefully sewn seams that held him together after the loss of his omega and son come apart - and so does he.

But to love each other and make a life together, Xan and Urho risk utter ruin. With the acceptance and support of Caleb, Xan’s asexual and aromantic omega and dear friend, they must find the strength to embrace danger and build the family they deserve.

This gay-romance novel by Leta Blake is the second in the Slow Heat universe. It has a strong, happy ending and a well-crafted non-shifter omegaverse. It features alphas, betas, omegas, male pregnancy, heat, and knotting. No cheating. Content warning for brief sexual violence.


Alpha Heat Sample 1 from Leta Blake on Vimeo.
Author Bio

Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.
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This book reminded me so much of my teenage years when writing love letters to your crushes was still a thing. Each chapter is a letter addressed to the persons the author had relationships with, some very brief and some others even from a distance.

While some of these letters weren't exactly love letters, they were written from a place of love, highlighting how those encounters no matter how brief impacted the author positively.

From Dear 'Birthday Guy' to 'Daddy', 'Blondie' to 'Athlete', each letter is meaningful and poignant, sometimes humorous, sometimes poetic and always comes across as genuine.
The reflections are so relate-able, they made me think of my past relationships and how I would address them if I wrote letters to them.

This is quite an easy read and I didn't want to put it down once i started reading. Definitely worth reading for anyone who enjoys memoirs and LGBT literature.

About the Author

Part of the fun of picking up a new book and reading it even when it is from an 'old' author is that you don't know what you're going to get. Not really. Yes, it's a kind of 'Life's like a box of chocolate' (quoting Forrest Gump) moment.

So imagine my pleasure, when I picked up this book, read it from start to finish in one sitting without putting it down. Yes, it was that brilliant.

Let me start with the plot. 
Kyler was hoping to get away from an abusive parent but ended up running away because he thought killed a hooker during a blowjob gone wrong and ended working at the gay strip joint, Cox Club. Seamus is on his first undercover gig at Cox Club as an FBI agent chasing a terrorist lead which the FBI thing Kyler is involved in.

I don't want to give away spoilers. But suffice to say that the plot is outlandish in places. But fiction is fantasy and sometimes you just have to suspend disbelief and hold on for the ride.
And this was a freaking hilarious ride. I mean laugh-out-loud, holding-your-sides funny.
And there was also nail-biting drama, and angsty moments that got you all tied up because you wanted the characters to find happiness.

Kyler and Seamus were perfection, every moment, every word, every kiss, every touch. The whole story was perfection.

This has just become my favourite book from this author and I know I will be reading it again and again. Thank you, Mr Cox.

Disclaimer: The reviewer owns a copy of this book, purchased from Evernight Publishing.


The day a hooker dropped dead on Kyler’s dick changed his life forever…

When Kyler graduated high school, he wanted to give himself the gift of his first blowjob from a sexy male hooker. Then said hooker drops dead in his lap. Yeah, he has that kind of luck. Now, the police are after him, he can’t go home because of an abusive father, and he ends up working at The Cox Club, a small town gay gentlemen’s club.

Seamus is on his first undercover mission for the FBI. The problem is that he doesn’t think their terrorist suspect, Kyler, is guilty. Oh, and there’s also the matter of giving Kyler a hand job … on the FBI’s hidden camera. His first field mission may be his last.

When bullets start flying, it’s up to Seamus to find out the truth and he has to do it before Kyler becomes a victim.

Buy Links: Audible US | Audible UK | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Length: 7hrs 34 mins

Narrated by: Matthew Shaw

Cover Design: Dar Albert @ Wicked Smart Design
Being a fugitive in the Old West shouldn’t be this much fun. The year is 1860. Robby Riverton is a rising star on the New York stage. But he witnesses a murder by a famous crime boss and is forced to go on the run - all the way to Santa Fe.

When he still can't seem to ditch his pursuers, he disguises himself as a mail-order bride he meets on the wagon train. Caught between gangsters who want to kill him and the crazy, uncouth family of his "intended", Robby's only ally is a lazy sheriff who sees exactly who Robby is - and can't resist him.

Trace Crabtree took the job as sheriff of Flat Bottom because there was never a thing going on. And then Robby Riverton showed up disguised as a woman and betrothed to Trace’s brother. If that wasn’t complicated enough, Trace finds the man as appealing as blueberry pie. He urges Robby to stay undercover until the danger has passed.

But a few weeks of having Robby-Rowena at the ranch and the Crabtree family will never be the same again.




Having been, at various times and under different names, a minister’s daughter, a computer programmer, a game designer, the author of paranormal mysteries, a fan fiction writer, and organic farmer, Eli has been a m/m romance author since 2013. She has over 30 books published. 

Eli has loved romance since her teens and she particular admires writers who can combine literary merit, genuine humor, melting hotness, and eye-dabbing sweetness into one story. She promises to strive to achieve most of that most of the time. She currently lives on a farm in Pennsylvania with her husband, bulldogs, cows, a cat, and lots of groundhogs. 

In romance, Eli is best known for her Christmas stories because she’s a total Christmas sap. These include “Blame it on the Mistletoe”, “Unwrapping Hank” and “Merry Christmas, Mr. Miggles”. Her “Howl at the Moon” series of paranormal romances featuring the town of Mad Creek and its dog shifters has been popular with readers. And her series of Amish-themed romances, Men of Lancaster County, has won genre awards. 

In 2018 Eli hopes to do more of the same, assuming they reschedule the apocalypse.

Her website is www.elieaston.com 
You can email her at eli@elieaston.com a Rafflecopter giveaway

BOOK REVIEW

This story was filled with all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures. We had a werewolf, a vampire, a witch, a demon and even a voodoo priestess. The setting positively throbbed with a supernatural vibe and I felt as if I was transported to an alternative reality.

Lily is running from a future she sees in dreams. She is a witch who cannot control her powers and needs help. She seeks help y with Trevor and Lawrence who run bookshop which is actually a cover for supernatural sanctuary. Can she find a home with these two?

Trevor and Lawrence are lovers and their attraction to Lily is immediate. They know she is hiding something. But is she the third they for their relationship and will she be a good fit.

Trevor, Lawrence and Lily sizzled together. I've always had a thing for werewolves/vampire couples and adding a witch to the pot totally upped the tempo. I loved the lengths they went to to keep each other when the going got tough.

I had one tiny niggle. The action at the end where they fought the demon ended too easily. Considering this demon has already kicked their butts once, I expected more causalities or at least some injuries.  So it seems that we haven't heard the last of the demon.

I love this story and I certainly want to read more stories set in this world. Another happy reader.







BLURB

Haunted by paranormal abilities she can't control and plagued by nightmares about a demon that seeks her soul, Lily Anima travels to New Orleans in search of salvation. She enlists the help of an unlikely couple: a vampire, Lawrence Justice, and a werewolf, Trevor Pack. The attraction is immediate and fierce.

There's only one problem.

Lily's a virgin. And whatever paranormal problem she's having is what has kept her that way. Every time she's tried to do the deed, something stops her.

Together, the trio encounters magic and unspeakable evil, and Trevor and Lawrence attempt to help Lily turn her powers into a gift rather than a curse. Ultimately, to get the demon off her back, Lily's men will have to show her all the wicked ways the three of them can come together.

Warning: Read at your own risk. This book is filled to the brim with steamy m/m sex, a virgin who wants in on the action, and a c*ckblocking demon.

Available at 

In Secrets and Spies, Nikolas meets Sky who is a thief who stole some documents Nikolas is trying find. A one-night stand with Sky soon turns into a sexy spy adventure when Nikolas is roped into doing jobs for mafia boss known as 'The Queen.'

I totally loved Nikolas and Sky. The story is hilarious in places and steamy in others and the underlying suspense means you just have to keep turning the pages.

*

In 'In Bed With The Enemy' Nikolas has recruited Sky to work with his handler. But the big boss soon finds out about Nikolas's relationship with the ex-thief. Nikolas is given an ultimatum to end his relationship with Sky and also assigned another job with a rival gang to The Queen's.

In this story the troubles deepen for Nikolas as he tries to get to grip with his feelings for Sky as well as sort out who is the enemy and who is on his side. One misstep and he could take a bullet to the back.

As with the first story, Sky and Nikolas rocked. It was great to see Nikolas be a little vulnerable too. The smexiness is as fantastic too. Loved every freaking word.

*
In 'For Queen And Country' Nikolas is bent on having his revenge on the crime boss who disrespected Sky. He is having to get in bed with the big bosses as well as dish out a few favours to pull off this difficult feat.

As with the other stories there is humour and smexiness along with the suspense. I already mentioned previously how I love the dynamic between Nikolas and Sky and they upped their game in this story.

One of the reason I love this series of stories is that they are not run-of-the-mill and the characters are quirky. I can seriously picture this as a fab erotic-comedy-thriller Netflix production.









Blurb:
Ellie Barker’s Undercover Lovers trilogy: the complete set.


Secrets and Spies