Winding up the holiday romance binge (though a few more will find their way into the journal before year-end).
As a preamble, I’d like to reiterate that I’m logging all my reading, not just the books I particularly love, so not all comments will be 100% fangirl. That doesn’t mean YOU might not enjoy a book! So if any premise sounds interesting, check out the book for yourself. And buy direct if you can!
1. ‘Illuminations’ by K.L. Noone, a sweet bedtime story in her Magician world; plus ‘A Very Merry Movie in Pine Ridge’ by Jeff Adams, a short novel that I really liked. MC1 is a hockey player, MC2 is the director of a gay Xmas romance being filmed in MC1’s hometown in the Cascades. The villain is a developer, and his effort to take over the historic downtown to put up a modern resort is the main conflict. Jeff Adams author site HERE.
2. [re-read] ’10 Things That Never Happened’ by Alexis Hall. I’d forgotten how much I like this one. Funny, cringey, empathetic, and believable – plus I really appreciate that both MCs experience major character growth in service of the relationship. Author site HERE.
3. [re-read] My own holiday shorts ‘View From the Bridge’ and ‘Empty Shelves, Full Hearts.’ (Both on sale this month at Smashwords!)
4. ‘Colliding Hearts’ by Jax Calder, a new one set in New Zealand featuring a trainee veterinary nurse and a paramedic. Content alert for car crash and severe injury. A solid book about recovery and forgiveness, with some very good banter.
5. [re-read] ‘Homecoming for Beginners’ by Ashlyn Kane. MC1 is a Chicago paramedic who’s just inherited a pile of property and problems in Connecticut town where he has an undeserved bad rep; MC2 is an ex-military single dad who’s the town’s golden boy; they end up living together for Reasons and … well, you know. Author site HERE.
6. ‘Love It or List It’ by Ashlyn Kane & Morgan James. More proof that one cannot copyright a title. MC1 is a mechanic, MC2 is an arborist; they are jointly left a 100 yr old Ontario farmhouse by a mutual elderly friend and decide to renovate it together and … well, you know. Low conflict but many complications. Honestly, I like this writing team a lot (even their hockey books!), but I could have done with more renovating and maybe one less complication.
7. ‘FU: Fixer Uppers’ by Devon McCormack. Roommate’s big brother romance set in Georgia and containing A. Lot. of graphic sex, including the opening scene, which almost made me abandon the book. MC1 is an LA-based engineer, MC2 is the engineer’s grad-student brother’s graphic designer roommate (got all that?). There is an actual renovation storyline in this and it’s important to the actual relationship but doesn’t start till halfway through the book. MC1 is oblivious and MC2 is stifling feelings, so they don’t talk about what they’re doing and what it means until it’s almost too late. Then comes a hasty resolution, followed by HEA epilogue. If you like your men messy and sexy and trying hard, give this one a shot. Author site HERE.
Postscript: I am on the lookout for MM romance by authors who identify as male and queer. And I’ve been truly delighted to see more and more of these authors popping up in my recommendations. I don’t believe that a writer should only write about things they’ve personally experienced, obviously, but I do think an actual queer person may have insights that a straight person does not. An actual male person may have priorities and concerns that a female person does not. So I read these books as much to get into the queer male mind as I do for sheer entertainment, or to evaluate where my own writing falls on the scale of “getting it right.”
I’ve been told, by queer male readers, that I get a lot of things right. So, you know, whew.
Anyway, go read a book!!