A small-town photographer who’s given up on love meets a smoking hot firefighter with a smile to melt hearts. Try as they might, some flames are impossible to resist.
Alex
Maplewood is as wonderful and cliché as you’d imagine. Sure, the town gossips share everyone’s business, but neighbors look out for each other. Nowhere else would be as accepting of me as this queer-friendly small town I grew up in. The only problem? A lack of eligible bachelors. So when a gorgeous new guy moves to town, the Maplewood grapevine is in full swing, and this time, I’m paying attention. Though maybe not close enough, because Cody and I literally run into each other. I hit him with my body, he hits me with his boy-next-door smile, and poof, my heart’s gone. Too bad sexy, sweet guys like him aren’t really interested in guys like me. Once he gets to know me, he’ll change his mind.
Cody
You’d think that moving to a small town named Maplewood means I’m prepared for maple-flavored everything. You’d be wrong. And the stuff is everywhere, so how do I tell my new neighbors that the taste makes me gag? That problem is solved when a misunderstanding has them believing I’m allergic. Sure, it saves me from eating any more maple. It also feels like I’m lying. I try to explain, but there’s no stopping the Maplewood gossip mill. Especially when the adorable photographer I almost trample fans that flame. But I can’t even be mad about it. Alex has this sweetness to him that pulls me in like gravity. And little by little, he’s letting me get close. Eventually, I’ll convince him to trust me, to give us a real chance. When he does, will that mean I’ll owe ‘us’ to that annoying maple mistake?
The Great Maple Mistake is a low-angst, small-town contemporary LGBTQ romance about a local cutie looking for love, a sexy firefighter with a maple aversion, baking show obsessions, fluffy kittens, rumor mills, and a connection that’s more than skin deep.
With the highest percentage of LGBTQIA+ residents in Vermont, Maplewood is a town where everyone belongs. And with festivals year-round, there’s always something fun happening! This multi-author, low-angst queer series features ten standalone romances—each set against the backdrop of a different festival. Come for the celebrations, stay for the happily-ever-afters!
*****
Review:
I liked Cody and Alex, individually and together. I enjoyed being with Cody as he settled into a new town, meeting his neighbors, and falling for Alex. There’s all sorts of humor and hijinks around a misunderstanding over his aversion to maple syrup but it gives one more thing for him to bond with Alex over. And as a long time native of Maplewood, Alex knows all about his hometown’s idiosyncrasies.
Y’all, this one is just all sorts of sweet, without any angst. It’s just two people who meet, form a connection, and fall in love. It’s not going to be for everyone but it will delight those that are looking for an easy read.
All I did was agree to be there for my best friend during a routine surgery. How could I have known his first words when he woke up would change our friendship forever?
To everyone else on campus, Lorenzo Rossi is the star football player with the promising future. To me, he’s the other half of my heart. My source of strength since I was a kid. Oh yeah, and the only man I’ve ever loved.
But he doesn’t need to know that.
Because Lorenzo isn’t just tall, dark and covered in hot tattoos, he’s perfection. Totally unattainable for a girl whose biggest accomplishment is landing a job cleaning aquariums.
Until the day Lorenzo goes into surgery… and comes out saying the words I’ve spent a lifetime longing to hear.
Suddenly I have everything I’ve ever wanted and one long, steamy summer to enjoy it—warm days under the sun with Lorenzo, hot nights in his bed, and scorching games of truth or dare.
But as sultry kisses give way to heartfelt words, a secret slips out… and suddenly our more-than-friends experiment is a game of all-or-nothing. Either I fight for the one thing I’ve always wanted, or I lose my best friend—and with him, everything I love.
Ava Decker has hated me for just as many years as I’ve spent loving her.
I made a mistake pretending our night together never happened. For pretending I forgot. But we were young and I was getting ready to leave for college with big plans for the future.
I had no plans to return to our small town in Colorado anytime soon and Ava never wanted to leave. That alone was enough to keep me away from her while we both grew up.
And yet, I never forgot about her and what she means to me.
Now eight years later, imagine my surprise, when I come home and find Sleeping Beauty asleep on my couch, thinking I wouldn’t be back home from my off-season vacation for a few weeks.
As a professional football player, I know all about grabbing an opportunity and running with it. This is my chance to finally convince the girl of my dreams to stay and to tell her the truth about that fateful night years ago.
But getting Ava Decker to not only forgive me but to give me another chance comes with a whole new set of plays I’m not used to.
I’ve got all the time in the world to convince her. I’m committed to showing to her that she is my endgame. I let her go once before and I’ll stop at nothing to prove to her that my love for her is real and an unstoppable force.
**Warning: Readers should be mindful that Unstoppable Love contains multiple descriptive scenes of attempted assault that may be sensitive and triggering to some.**
I don’t listen to a lot of audio books – I was put off of them in the 90s when I listened to a romance set in Minnesota and the narrator tried an accent (Swedish, Norwegian, something northern european) and it was so hard to listen to. Decades later and I can’t describe to you how bad it seemed to me. But things are different now and I’m trying again.
I enjoyed the narrators for this one. I appreciate the his and hers, dual perspective and I feel like these two are good at their job. They have great voices, good cadence, and read at a pleasant listening speed. If this had been my experience before …. 🙂
The story, on the other hand, I’m a little torn on. Early on I felt like both of them were pretty immature. I can’t imagine the pain that Ava experienced thanks to Cam and the fact that he keeps poking at that wound would be beyond rage inducing. I also felt like maybe she let it all go a little too soon. The man really, really screwed up and I don’t know how willing I would have been to forgive him.
Things were better in the last third to half. For being such a jerk for so long, Cam does know how to step up and be a good partner. The ending tho is another place where I’m not sure how I feel. Parts seem a little rushed, others a little predictable, and some made sense for who they are as people. I just don’t know … I guess I’m going to have to sit with this story for a bit *shrug*
(Also, please read the content warning. I feel like it is very important and for some it could be even more impactful hearing it than just reading it.)
CW: There is some queer phobia, gender phobia, and fat phobia depicted in the book.
Blurb:
My two celebrity crushes might both be into me. What could be wrong with that? As it turns out: everything.
The world has thrown me a lot of challenges over the years, but I’ve always tried to stay positive. Life’s too short to dwell on the negative. Unfortunately, my situation just took a very complex turn: I’m raising my little brother alone right now, but I’ve got to keep that a secret. If anyone finds out, I risk losing Lou.
My secret gets tough to keep when two international celebrities show up in our small town and start paying me all kinds of attention. I’ve got zero dating experience and plenty of reasons to stay away from them both, but keeping my distance isn’t going to be easy. First there’s Colin, the quiet and brooding former race car driver who seems uninterested in everyone and everything…except me. And then there’s Tom, the charming movie star, who flirts with me like it’s his job. Oh, and did I mention the two of them are best friends? Or that I think Tom might have some very deeply hidden feelings for Colin?
I’m definitely in over my head here. If I want to keep Lou safe, I know it’s best that I keep both men at arm’s length. So what do I do? I start renovating a hotel with them.
Oops. But I’m sure if I just stay positive, everything will work out fine. Right?
Right?
Fanboy in the Falls is an MMM famous people/commoner romance. It comes with a brooding race car driver, a hopelessly romantic movie star, and the sweet cinnamon roll who is not supposed to fall in love with either of them. It has a guaranteed HEA and no cheating. This is a Devon Falls book, so of course it also comes with a leaf festival and plenty of small town quirk. This is the third book in the Devon Falls series, but it can be read as a standalone.
I liked these characters. Each one is struggling with something but they provide the support and care that others need without hesitation. And each has their own moments:
Tom has some experience that he can share with both Colin and Gabe as they start exploring their sexuality. But he also has some troubles that he’s holding close, ones that he really needs to work thru. Not to mention long carried feelings for his bestie.
Colin is growly but with such a big heart for those he cares about. He’s a little lost after the death of his brother and the end of his career. And facing an attraction that he never imagined.
Gabe is so positive but hiding so much fear around his situation with his brother. His innocence, exuberance, and sunshiny outlook helps to bring both Colin & Tom out of themselves, forcing them to look at what they really want and need.
While it’s easy for both Tom & Colin to begin something with Gabe, it’s a lot harder for them to come to terms with what that actually means with each other. There’s a lot of history between them and a lot of assumptions that need to be looked at again. Throw in Gabe needing to find a way to keep his little brother (who is adorable) in a safe situation and it means that, while there isn’t a lot of angst, there is a lot of emotions swirling around them all. A lot that they need to face and work through. Together.
I don’t usually read why choose romances. (Is it still called that in the MMM sphere?) I don’t know why because it is very popular and obviously can be VERY hot. As such, I can’t really compare this to anything else in the genre but I can say I think I’ll be opening up my TBR a little to see what else I can find like it 🙂
He’s a European prince with over a thousand-year-old lineage and he hates her as much as he craves her
Alyssa
When I’m introduced to Prince Carl-Theodor Frederick Maximillian Christoph Albert Maria Johann Anselm 17th Prince of Saxony-Bremer and Lautenburg-Bornheim an-der-Elbe, I’m as breathless as his endless name. Something savage twists inside me. Gorgeous and charming as he might be, I don’t trust men like him, men who believe they’re a superior species, who wield near-unlimited power with the license of ancient nobility.
Instinct warns me to keep away or I might get burnt to a cinder.
It’s easier and safer to pretend he doesn’t touch me. So I use my imagination to dream up insults, abusing and defaming him and his family. Meanwhile, I try to avoid him.
Until I can’t, because he turns out to be irresistible. Soon, he has me on my knees before him, which, alas, is exactly where I want to be. But what does he want? Prince Hot and Cold, arctic ice and lava, he brings me to the edge of insanity.
Prince Carl-Theodor of Saxony-Bremer
At first sight, Alyssa blinds me with her beauty.
Then she wrecks my being like a derailed express train.
Never has anyone so deeply insulted me or my family. Rage transfixes me, my pride so deeply injured that it seems my heart bleeds into my innards.
Since my father died, I am Head, Protector, and Defender of the House of Saxony-Bremer. I won’t endure hearing my family slandered, then do nothing about it. I vow to avenge my bloodline, to pay her back in kind for her vicious words. I’ll make her hurt, make her taste her own medicine.
But hurting her f*cking turns around to hurt me. I can bend her to my will, but once she’s tamed, once she hurts like hell, her pain reaches out to me. Have I committed myself to a vow I can’t keep?
NOTE: This book has content for mature readers 18 and over.
A glimpse of her in the opera house made me a walking calamity. A dismissive smirk instead of her name scorched me. I’d hunt her down till I find and claim her as mine.
My fearless woman goes after her tormentor behind my back. A dangerous criminal who eludes Europol and Interpol. I must eliminate the enemy before he harms her.
I’m going to hurt her, but I’d rather kill our love than have my empress bound with the chains of a dead man who’d been her nightmare for more than ten years…
A P von K’Ory writes romance, psychological thrillers, and nonfiction. She loves diversity – it’s in her aristocratic DNA. She has won more than half a dozen prizes and awards from four continents. Her family stretches from the Nilotes of the Eastern African Nile Delta to Germany, France, and the Walloons (Belgium). She lectures Economics and Sociology in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. She’s married and has a son. Being migratory – and weather willing – she lives in Germany, France, Cyprus, and Greece.
I’m a fun, chill guy, but around Ty, all I can think about is winning.
Last year, his frat beat ours in the annual TaskFrat challenges, and even though I’m known for becoming Alpha Theta Mu’s prez as a joke, I take my responsibility to my guys seriously.
I refuse to let those fratholes take us down again.
Unfortunately, the only thing bigger than Ty’s inflated ego is his competitive spirit.
I’m supposed to be focused on defeating him, but soon, I discover there’s a spark between us.
Not something a straight guy should be saying about his straight rival.
It’s weird, confusing…and surprisingly hot.
I’m curious, and apparently, he is too.
Living the Greek life with my buddies, we’re always joking about what happens when you frat around.
Now Ty and I are about to find out.
CW: Frat Around and Find Out is a low-angst, steamy romance, but the characters’ backstories include grief over losing loved ones to cancer and dementia.
This is the first book in the Peach State Fratbros Series. Frat Around and Find Out can be read and enjoyed as a standalone.
I can’t put my finger on the exact reason but the pacing was somewhat off. I’m not against a slow burn story, and there was nothing too slow about this one, but … it won’t be for everyone, I guess. Ty & Lance go from friends to bi-curious pretty early on, move on to exploring things together, and then figuring out that there might be feelings involved too – pretty straight forward for this kind of story. But it’s low angst and a lot of steam & feels so not everyone’s thing.
This is the first by McCormack for me and based on the other reviews I’m guessing the previous stories had more drama? This one is not angsty, which is ok by me. Instead it’s a good mix of lighthearted fun, a supportive friend group, heat, and exploration of new feelings. There are a few side characters that have great potential so I’m looking forward to what’s next.
(First in the series and can technically stand on its own, but as this is a spin-off some familiarity with the Peach State Stepbros series might provide some additional enjoyment because some of the characters make an appearance.)
*****
Author Info:
Devon McCormack grew up in the Georgia suburbs with his two younger brothers and an older sister. At a very young age, he spun tales the old fashioned way, lying to anyone and everyone he encountered. He claimed he was an orphan. He claimed to be a king from another planet. He claimed to have supernatural powers. He has since harnessed this penchant for tall tales by crafting worlds and characters that allow him to live out whatever fantasy he chooses. Devon is an out and proud queer man living in Atlanta, Georgia.
Devon’s body of work ranges from erotica to young adult, so readers should check the synopses of his books before purchasing so that they know what they’re getting into.
Sleeping with the best man at my cousin’s wedding felt right at the time—he was a hot, available firefighter, and I was the tipsy maid of honor. It’s a rite of passage.
No regrets… until two pink lines flipped my world upside down.
Now I’m wildly unprepared and trying to hide my pregnancy in my small Alaskan town where privacy is a myth and gossip spreads faster than frostbite.
But wait, it gets worse.
Baby Daddy just came back to town—with a fiancée in tow.
And guess who she wants to plan their wedding?
Me.
Keeping the secret was hard enough.
Keeping my distance from the father of my baby? Impossible.
Just when I think I have it all figured out, he reveals his own secret that changes everything.
Author’s Note: There is no cheating in this book. Gasp! We would never.
This is such a slow burn. There’s confusion early on about what’s going on with Finn and why he’s back in town. (No cheating, they promised.) And I have such respect for how well Harper carries herself during those meetings. I don’t know that I could have done it. And props to Finn for doing the right thing (for him) when he needed to. It was so enjoyable seeing them get to know each other and figure out how to be co-parents.
I liked Harper – her insecurities and fear of the future as a mom. And I loved how Finn does so much to show her support and help her see herself as more than capable. He’s so good at pulling her out of her self-doubt spirals. So sweet!
Piper Rayne is a must read for me. The characters are always so well done – they feel like friends, people that are real and are making realistic decisions. Sometimes difficult & sometimes wrong, but always relatable. As always, looking forward eagerly to what comes next!
(Part of a series but Piper Rayne does a good job of making sure that you have all the needed info for each story so you can read them in any order.)
*****
Author Info:
Piper Rayne is a USA Today Bestselling Author duo who write “heartwarming humor with a side of sizzle” about families, whether that be blood or found. They both have e-readers full of one-clickable books, they’re married to husbands who drive them to drink, and they’re both chauffeurs to their kids. Most of all, they love hot heroes and quirky heroines who make them laugh, and they hope you do, too!
Welcome back to Sunrise Cove for this heartwarming enemies-to-lovers tale where found family, forgiveness, and love may just be the key to finding yourself, from New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis.
Lexi Clark’s life is falling apart around her, so when she’s summoned home to Sunrise Cove, the last thing she wants to do is face all the complications she left behind. Her past, her stepsister Ashley, and especially her infuriatingly gorgeous childhood nemesis-turned-crush Heath Bowman.
Yep, Lexi’s pretty sure being home again just might kill her. She’s an overachieving art appraiser who doesn’t believe in trust, love, or Happily Ever Afters. Free spirit Ashley, on the other hand, is so full of life it hurts to look at her. But Lexi can’t refuse Ashley’s plea to honor their late mother’s final wish to make amends with the people she’d wronged. So, on behalf of her estranged mother’s estate—and with Heath in tow as the executor—Lexi embarks on a road trip to repay all the people her gambling addicted mother owed money to.
Complicating everything are the feelings that well up for for her mom, for Ashley, and most of all, for Heath. And for the record, she doesn’t like it, or the way he has of scaling the walls she’s built around her heart. The road trip shenanigans that ensue are both funny and heartbreaking, but Lexi finds something shocking along the way. Acceptance. Family. And unbelievably—if you ask Lexi anyway—love.
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Lexi isn’t necessarily the easiest character to like but she’s got a lot of stuff to work through. From feeling abandoned by her mom, a cold dad, and a step family (her dad’s marriage) that was abusive … her childhood wasn’t easy and it left plenty of scars. Causing her to find it difficult to let herself make connections with others.
She’s at a low point, after a bad relationship that ended up with her losing her job, when her stepsister (from her mom’s marriage) calls her home to fulfill a request from her mom’s will. Forcing her to come to terms not only with her relationship with her mom, but her relationship with Ashley. And her complicated attraction to Heath.
Heath had to work at it but he’s made a life for himself that he can feel good about. He’s got a grip on who he is, his place in the town, and his emotions. Then Lexi comes back and shakes everything up.
Shalvis does a good job of mixing humor and emotional growth. Both Heath and Lexi, and Ashley, have a lot to deal with and it takes a long time for them, especially Lexi, to get their shhhh-tuff together. Their journey reveals a lot – things about themselves, each other, and the assumptions they’ve made about the past. But together they can come to terms with it all and create a future.
(This is a series but because they are interconnected with a place, not people, these are truly stand alones.)
My pro hockey dreams are hanging by a thread. I need to have a great season, and that means no partying, no distractions, no fun. A grad student’s science experiment is the definition of no fun, so…okay.
Pros and cons of agreeing to this deal:
Pro: Positive use of free time. (At least, that’s what my agent says.)
Con: Malcolm is bossy, clumsy, and he doesn’t know the first thing about hockey.
But he’s also cute and he’s got a great sense of humor and—oh, no.
I cannot have a crush on the geek. No way. Not now.
Malcolm
Yes, I’m a serious student, but a hockey project is not serious. Who cares about big, hunky hockey players zipping around a sheet of ice at warp speed? Not I.
According to my professor, however, the only way to attain the required data is to study the specimen in his natural habitat, a.k.a., the ice rink.
Pro: My thesis should lead to a bevy of job offers.
Con: Jett. He’s impossibly big and gruff and handsome and disarmingly charming and—
Fine. Guilty. I like the jock…perhaps too much.
Lately, I find myself wondering if there’s such a thing as a one-time shot at forever.
One-Time Shot is a low-angst, geek-jock MM bisexual college hockey romance featuring a charismatic hockey star and an adorkable scientist.
My control was slipping, though. Every fucking thing about this guy turned me on and I couldn’t figure it out.
Malcolm was cute, not hot. He was quirky, not cool. He wasn’t athletic in the slightest, but he had more confidence than a lot of seasoned hockey players. He knew who he was and what he wanted. And he was willing to try something new to achieve his goals. I admired that kind of drive.
I just wished that I admired the curve of his ass in those khakis a little less as he moved to the small kitchen table and held up a pad of paper and a pen.
“I’m ready to begin. We didn’t discuss how much time to allot for these sessions, but I think forty-five minutes will suffice.”
“Uh…right. That works for me.” I licked my lips, tilting my chin toward the windows. Pull it together, Erickson. “Nice place, by the way. I like your plants.”
“Thank you.”
He blushed. An honest-to-God blush with pink cheeks and averted eyes. I found myself grinning again…for no particular reason.
“Do you have a green thumb?”
I half expected him to change the subject, get down to business, so he could throw my ass out the door in precisely forty-four minutes and twenty seconds, but Malcolm glanced at the plants, nodding as he sat at the table.
“I do. My parents have a large vegetable garden in their yard. I took charge of it from the time I was ten till I left for college. I switched out some of the less-yielding crops for lettuce, corn, and squash, and grew tons of tomatoes. They tend to it now. Sadly, not as well as I did.”
See what I mean about this guy?
“You’re bragging, Maloney. I like that confidence.”
Malcolm snorted. “I’m not bragging. I’m stating a fact. My parents are lovely people yet serial houseplant killers. The vegetables stand a better chance outdoors where Mother Nature can care for them till I arrive to save the day.”
“You’re funny.”
“Hilarious,” he confirmed, pointing at the chair across from him. “Shall we begin?”
“Sure.” I sat, shifting under the weight of his expectant gaze.
“I took the liberty of creating a short syllabus, including a diagram of a rink and an index of hockey terminology.” Malcolm pushed his laptop toward me. “I’ve memorized all of them. Quiz me if you’d like.”
I scrolled through his proposed outline covering etymology, history, tactics, rules, and a very fucking long glossary which included slang. “Whoa. Did you google this?”
“It’s a compilation of sources, each credited in the attached bibliography,” he replied.
“You made a bibliography.”
“Of course. One must give credit where credit is due.” Malcolm scooted his chair closer and reached over to scroll through a list of annotations. “See?”
Yeah, I saw. And I was a little pissed at myself for being so slow.
“You’re trying to scare me away,” I stated.
“No, I’m helping you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t see how this helps either of us. What do etymology and history have to do with measuring speed?”
“Well…nothing, but—”
“Here you have ‘biscuit’ and ‘biscuit in the basket.’ ” I gestured at the screen. “These are very unscientific terms, Maloney.”
“True, but I know those. The biscuit is the puck and putting the biscuit into the basket is to make a goal.” Malcolm beamed. “Correct, yes?”
My lips twisted in amusement. “Yes. Can you use this info in your thesis?”
He fiddled with his glasses. “Undetermined, but doubtful.”’
*****
Review:
Malcolm is aaalll the adorkableness that I could want. He’s awkward and sweet and caring and smart. He can be stuffy and old fashioned in his speech but he throws himself full bodied in things that interest him. Including Jett.
Jett may be an athlete and not as academic as Malcolm but he works hard for what he wants, for his future. He’s also got a good head on his shoulders, one that recognizes what a good thing he’s found in Malcolm.
These two shouldn’t work together but they do. They listen and open up to each other and they are willing to put everything on the line when they have to. I just … *sigh* love them together. It may have started out as research, morphed into something a little more intimate but soon it turned into something even more. Timing may not be on their side tho.
I adore Hayes’s books. I enjoy the sweetness mixed with heat, characters that just have me from the first page, and a HEA that never disappoints. I need more from her, and this series, as soon as I can get it.
*****
Author Info:
Lane Hayes lives in sunny Southern California with her amazing husband, who thankfully doesn’t mind cooking, and their fabulous fox red Labrador, George, who’s pure mischief. Both provide oodles of inspiration for the low-angst, humorous books Lane loves to write.
She’s been telling stories about sexy, funny, sometimes geeky and quirky men who find love for a dozen years now and loving every minute. In her previous life, she sat at a desk and dealt with numbers, so yes…romance is much more satisfying!
Lane loves tea, travel, and chocolate…in any order. Add a book and she’s set!My Readers’ Group, Lane’s Lovers: https://bit.ly/3aIbMYg
Maren Moore is an Amazon Top 20 Best-selling sports romance author. Her books are packed full of heat and all the feels that will always come with a happily ever after. She resides in southern Louisiana with her husband, two little boys and their fur babies. When she isn’t on a deadline, she’s probably reading yet another Dramione fan fic, rewatching cult classic horror movies, or daydreaming about the 90’s.
Romantic Reads and Such 