Review: Safe and Sound by Lucy Lennox & Sloane Kennedy

Safe and Sound (Twist of Fate, #2) by Lucy Lennox & Sloane Kennedy
Self Published
Novel: 362pgs

3 Pants Off (could have been a 4 but that ending...)

Blurb: I've been drowning for a long time. I never thought I'd find someone who knows what that's like...
Self-proclaimed playboy, Aiden Vale, has it all - good looks, successful career, plenty of cash in the bank and an endless supply of men who know the score... that one night is just that. So the last thing he wants, or needs, is to forge a connection that might mean revealing more of himself than he's ready to. But when fate intervenes, putting Aiden in the path of someone who threatens to knock down his carefully constructed walls, he's quick to realize the young man he's become infatuated with is hiding a painful secret.

I finally have a shot at freedom. I'll never let anyone take that from me ever again...
Ash Valentine is just looking for a way out, and the last thing he wants or needs is another man controlling every aspect of his life. Desperate for the cash that will help him flee his abusive boyfriend, Ash accepts what is supposed to be a temporary job at a local coffee shop. But nothing prepares him for the gorgeous and enigmatic Aiden Vale, and the small acts of kindness the charming coffee shop regular bestows on him or the new friends he begins to make along the way. 

Terrified of once again becoming too reliant on someone else to take care of him, Ash refuses Aiden's repeated offers of help in any form. But when it becomes clear that there's something more behind Aiden's need to save him, Ash begins to wonder if he's found someone who needs saving just as badly.

I know he wants to save me, but what if he's the one who needs saving...
As their tentative friendship turns into something more, long buried secrets begin to surface. When Aiden's need to protect Ash clashes with the younger man's desire for independence, memories of the one he couldn't save begin to tear at the fragile cords of Aiden's soul, and he's forced to face a truth he's been hiding from for a long time. 

Threatened with losing what they've only just found, will Aiden and Ash find a way to accept their pasts or will they let the pain drag them below the surface for good?

No cliffhangers and can be read as a stand-alone.

*** TRIGGER WARNING - includes scenes of domestic violence. *** 

 

Review

SAFE & SUBJUGATE

I’m having a hard time rating this one but I’ll keep it in the 3 Pants off range because as much as I enjoyed the story I still had some issues with it. This review might even head in a rant mode because Ms Kennedy and Sloane really effed up what could have been a very good ending and not even their authors note made it any better. 

We first met Aiden Vale in the first book Lost and Found, and honestly I wasn’t really excited or interested in his story but I went ahead and read it anyway and I am both happy and disappointed at the same time. Aiden comes across a journal at his favourite coffee shop that touches him something deep. He knows the right thing to do would be to find it’s owner but the words on the pages have him longing to know the person behind such haunting words. When the coffee shop gets a new employee Aiden is drawn to the timid man something fierce and all his protective instincts kick in. He can tell the man was hurt, is still hurting and Aiden wants to be the one who rescues him. Plagued by guilt of his losing his little brother, Aiden just wants something or someone to believe in again and if Ash is that guy then he will fight for him. 

Ash Valentine is dealing with something that no one should ever have to deal with . Stuck in a violent domestic relationship he’s drowning and needs a way out. Tired of being a punching bag both physically and emotionally, Ash decides it time to leave and with his abusive boyfriend away he sets a plan into motion. He’ll work at the coffee shop where his boss Emily was kind enough to hire him, save money and leave his abusive home for good. Easier said than done, because the coffee shop has Aiden Vale and he is distracting as hell. Ash should be thinking of a way out and not lusting for a new man but Aiden makes it hard because he’s kind and someone is finally seeing him for the first time. 

Aiden and Ash then move forward into a tentative friendship but it is a friendship that I really enjoyed. Ash still lives in fear of his abusive boyfriend making an appearance and to be expected birch face Billy makes an appearance and shatter all of Ash’s hard work. What happens is quite unsettling to read and it made me so angry and I just wanted to punch a bitch out. Yet, Ash is very resilient and he knows how to play to make sure he survives and how to finally get away. 

What was a friendship soon blossoms into something more and our boys begin the journey in saving each other. Once two men were drowning and now they’re safely floating and get all the air. 

All right, I was enjoying this story to a point and by a point I meant close to the ending. It was going so great until the shocker of all shockers that epically surprised me (my face almost fell off) and then the bullshit ending came along and just freaked my freak. I enjoyed the boys friendship, it was sweet and through everything you could tell they really cared for each other. Aiden had first world problems, it didn’t take away from his character he was just a product of his environment. Ash, even through all the bullshit life dealt him he was still able to smile, still able to care. 

The fuck shit that happened I found very problematic!! I know what you’re thinking “Darien, this book is fiction” but domestic abuse is a real-life thing to many people. The way the authors went about handling a very serious situation really pissed me off and is my WTF for the month of March. 

  

First- Aiden knows how dangerous Ash’s ex is but just drop everything because of a restraining order and because Ash while under duress says some dumb shit. That hesitation in real circumstances could have resulted in death or permanent damage.  

Second- Ash was beaten, like hella beaten and the fact that a very violent person gets to walk even in a book is problematic. It was presented as a woman speaking up makes it viable where as Ash suffering is looked over and implies “he’s a dude he should suck it the fuck up”. His abuse is not addressed and I felt like it was just brushed under the rug. It really fucking pissed me off.  

The kick in the teeth is the little note at the end book discussing domestic abuse towards LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈 relationships and yet don’t even deliver it in a victorious way in their own book is just…and I know authors write how the story comes to them but I’m not on board for that ending it sends a bad message. 

Overall, this could have been a better read but the seriousness of the topic was diluted by dramatics and some flaky behaviours. Safe and Sound in some parts turned out to be soundly stupid and I am disappointed. Ash deserved better and bitch face Billy deserved to be roasted over a bonfire.  

Review: Book #1 Lost and Found

 

Review: Winter Cowboy by R.J. Scott

Winter Cowboy ( Whisper Ridge, Wyoming #1) by R.J. Scott
Amazon, Kobo
Novel

4 Pants Off

Blurb: Micah Lennox left Whisper Ridge after promising the man he loved that he would never return. But the only way he knows to keep his pregnant sister and nephew safe is to go home. Spending winter in Wyoming opens too many old wounds, but he's on the run from justice which can't be far behind, and this is his last chance at redemption.

After a hostage situation leaves Doctor Daniel Sheridan struggling with PTSD, he returns to Whisper Ridge. Joining his dad in family practice is a balm to soothe his exhausted soul, and somehow, he finds a peace he can live with. That is until he meets Micah in a frozen graveyard, and the years of anger and feelings of betrayal boiling inside him, erupt.

Two broken men fight and scratch for their lives and that of their families, and somehow, in the middle of it all, they find each other.

Is it possible that love can be rekindled and become a forever to believe in?

Review

The Winter Blues

The rating for this book (4 Pants Off) 

How this book made me rage (Fucking Priceless) 

I really enjoyed reading this but my enjoyment is minor in compare to my rage. Winter Cowboy had me feeling all depressed and what seems to be my M.O from this year, being pissed at small town people and their hating ass selves. I was just sooo…pissed and that ending did nothing to alleviate my ire. 

Micah Lennox has had his fair share of pain after leaving the only home he’s ever known. An accident that happened as a teen has shaped his entire life, its left him broken and consumed by guilt. When he gets a call from his sister he knows that she’s in trouble and he never got to be the big brother she deserved in the past. His rescue mission turns into something you’d only ever see in the movies, and he now has to protect his very traumatized very pregnant sister, his traumatized and abused nephew. The option available is to go home back to his ranch, back to the place where the people hate him, where his first love hates him, and where he caused the death of a boy.

Dr Daniel Sheridan has dealt with his fair share of pain and guilt. He’s also dealing with PTSD and anxiety after being held gunpoint and watching a friend get killed. He’s barely hanging on by a thread and he just wants everyone to leave him alone but family can really be pain in the ass. When he hears that Micah is back in town his already fragile temper is near bursting and when he sees Micah in his sights his dam finally breaks. Micah gets him going and brings him to life, but he can’t forgive or forget but what Micah meant to him is like a tattoo on his heart. 

Micah and Daniel, they have some stuff to work on and finally get rid of their anger and guilt. There are glimpses into their budding romance as young men and then how it all came crashing down. My initial reaction to all hate on Micah was that he was drunk perhaps, and did something awful but when the truth finally came to light all I was left with is a “are u freaking serious”. This whole goddamn town persecuted a boy over an accident. I was in so much rage mode, I don’t know if I enjoyed the story after finding out and I’m still on the fence about whether Daniel deserves Micah or if their relationship is a good thing because it's based on so much awful. 

Micah is a character I really enjoyed. He’s loyal, caring, sensitive, and strong. He’s been through some things and could have remained bitter, but he stepped up when his sister needed him and was willing to put his entire life on the line to make sure she was safe. Daniel, is a whole other ball game. I understand that he has been through something traumatic but the way he was so very dismissive of Micah and then went ahead and lied which made an already bad situation worse, I’m just not here for him. He was mister doom and gloom and a freaking liar that lies under oath (like perjury dude…you weren’t thinking about that). Together…I’m not sure about their relationship or if I buy them as a couple. There are feelings there but its surrounded by young love, heartache, and pain. They aren’t even properly a couple yet but they need couples therapy.  

Overall, a solid angst ridden story by R.J Scott. I’m a fan of the authors writing flow, and a way with writing stories I will remember. While I didn’t love everything, I enjoyed a majority of the story telling. Sprinkled with the right amount of angst and enough drama to keep you entertained, all fans R.J Scott will surely be delighted by this offering. The classic I’m hating you right now but will be loving you soon trope.  

SideNote- Seriously though, this year has been a time of hating ass small town folks who can hold a grudge like nobody’s business.

 

Similar Read: Locked in Silence by Sloane Kennedy

Review: To Touch You by Cardeno C.

to touch you (Mates #4) by Cardeno C.
The Romance Authors
Novel: 260pgs

3 Pants Off

Blurb:  “His name is Salvatore Rossi. He’s a vampire. And he’s my true mate.”

By not relying on anyone except himself, Salvatore Rossi escaped a dead-end existence and reached the height of corporate success. But just when he has everything he always wanted, fate throws Salvatore a challenge he can’t solve alone and a young wolf shifter comes to his rescue.

Since childhood, Yoram Smith’s family was certain he would grow to become Alpha and save their beloved pack from its slow demise. When the time comes for a new leader, Yoram is forced to juggle his duty to care for a splintering pack with his duty to care for an absent mate, and his own strength suffers.

Being turned into a vampire didn’t alter Salvatore’s life philosophy: if you don’t rely on anyone, nobody can let you down. But when the boy who saved his life becomes a man who needs his help, the icy vampire must find his humanity. 

Review

NO TOUCHING AT ALL

All the ways this book could have been great..it started great, progressed like it was going to get epic and then it left me so utterly disappointed. Like actual tears disappointed, and the soul crushing realization that greatness will never be achieved. 

I love shifter books about destined mates, and I have been really enjoying C.C’s books in the “Mates” series. So “To Touch You” had me at hello. Yoram Smith knows his mate as soon as his little eyes land on  him. He knows he needs to keep this man close and alive regardless of the adults around him being all grumpy about it. But getting Salvatore to understand what being a mate means will be the hardest thing Yoram will ever do, regardless of all the things he’s seen and become Yoram remains an after thought to the man who has his heart. 

First of all, I was feeling this. I thought I was getting something along the lines of “Until Forever Comes” that sexy vamp/shifter good good. I got nothing for 70% of the book, and don’t get me wrong the story was good but Salvatore pissed me off something fierce. I found him so ungrateful and overall a gigantic Ahole, he rubbed me the wrong way. Like someone does something amazing for you for years, and this dude doesn’t even drop a “thank you” in person, over email or text. It most definitely irked me.  

Then bada bing bada boom they’re in bed and love and I just wasn’t buying it. Like I get where Yoram is coming from, but that Salvatore needed to be raked over the coals for a bit. He got his nourishment just a bit too easy for my liking. Apart for my complete disdain for the accidental vampire this story was just a sweet read. Some off side pack conflict added a bit of extra dressing but this was a “missing mate” type drama,  “To Touch You” was a bad touch for me. 

Review: Book #1 Wake Me Up Inside
Review: Book #2 Until Forever Comes 

Rating: Book #3 3 Pants Off

Review: Locked in Silence by Sloane Kennedy

Locked in Silence (Pelican Bay #1) by Sloan Kennedy
Self-Published
Novel: 284pgs

3.5 Pants Off

Blurb: I've spent years hoping someone would finally hear me. It's easier not to try anymore...
Ten years after leaving his small Minnesota hometown in his rearview mirror for what Nolan Grainger was sure would be the last time, life has decided to throw the talented musician a curveball and send him back to the town he lived in but was never really home.

At twenty-eight, Nolan has traveled the world as a successful concert violinist with some of the best symphonies in the country. But success breeds envy, and when Nolan's benefactor and lover decides Nolan has flown high enough, he cruelly clips Nolan's wings. The betrayal and ensuing scandal leaves the violinist's career in shambles and with barely enough money to start fresh somewhere beyond his vindictive ex's powerful reach. But just as he's ready to get his life back on track, Nolan gets the call he's been dreading.

After a stroke leaves his father a partial invalid, duty-bound Nolan returns to Pelican Bay and a life he's spent years trying to forget. When he's forced to use the last of his own money to keep from losing the family home, desperation has him turning to the one man he'd hoped never to see again...

Even if I could speak, there wouldn't be anyone there to listen...
Pelican Bay's golden boy, Dallas Kent, had the quintessential perfect life. Smart, gorgeous, and popular, the baseball phenom was well on his way to a life filled with fame and fortune. But more importantly, he had a one-way ticket out of Pelican Bay and far away from the family who used love as currency and whose high expectations were the law of the land. But a stormy night, sharp highway curve and one bad decision changed everything, leaving Dallas with nothing.    

Because the accident that took his parents, his future and his crown as the boy who could do no wrong, also stole his voice.

Despised for the horrific wreck that ended the lives of two of Pelican Bay's most respected residents, Dallas has retreated to a secluded stretch of land where he's found refuge in a menagerie of unwanted animals that don't care that he once had the world at his feet or that he'll never speak again.

But when the quiet, bookish boy he wasn't allowed to notice in school suddenly reappears ten years later at Dallas's wildlife rehab center in desperate need of a job, Dallas is thrust back into a world he's worked hard to escape.

Dallas's silence was supposed to send Nolan scurrying, but what if Nolan ends up being the one person who finally hears him?

Will two men who've been fleeing from the past finally come home to Pelican Bay for good or will the silence drive them apart forever? 

Review

 LOCKED IN A TOWN WITH A BUNCH OF IDIOTS...

 I am both in love and hate with this book. My very first time reading this author, and I have to say it won’t be my last. The story really was entertaining and I found my self not being able to put it down. While I really liked it, I still got a few issues… 

Nolan left his backwards small town behind and became a talented sought after violinist. He’s lived an incredible life for the past 10yrs, being in the spotlight and being someone that matters. But trusting the wrong person has left him with nothing, and now he has to return home with his tail between his legs and eating humble pie. The last thing he ever wanted was to return to a place that was a torment through his childhood and to run into one of his tormentors  (a loose discription). 

Dallas was once the golden boy with a bright future ahead of him. He had the looks, charms, and money backing him. Until a tragic accident leaves most of his family dead and his voice lost. Now he’s the pariah of his town, so he moves alone while running an animal sanctuary. Isolation is his best friend and he liked it, or so he thought… 

Nolan and Dallas both with their own hurts to heal and town so dead set in their ways I’m surprised they didn’t mow them all down. Their coming together is tentative at first and then explosively sweet. They come to rely on each other and in the process saved each other as well. 

Alright, the book is all sweet/cozy and sh*t but let me tell you the anger I felt at everyone in the damn town and at Nolan/Dallas for being so damn passive. Nolan’s parents were a piece of work especially his mom and there was just no redeeming her for me. You know what, let’s just get rid of the whole damn town. So backwards, so malicious, and so stupid x2. 

I loved that Nolan and Dallas got their HEA but it was just too neat for my liking. The story was excellent until it was wrapped up in a nice little bow. I understand the need for happy endings but it works when it feels believable and this felt like tying up loose ends to make the reader happy. I would have been quite content if Nolan/Dallas decided to burn everyone to the ground. But you know they were happy without hate in their hearts and so on and so forth (should have made those spineless biaches suffer). 

Overall, I liked it, would have loved it if not for that neat ending. I will be checking out more of the authors work and I am looking forward to more in the series. 

SideNote- That blurb be telling the whole damn story and that cover has nothing to do with anything...