Review: Felix And The Prince by Lucy Lennox

Felix and the Prince (Forever Wilde, #2) by Lucy Lennox
Amazon
Novel: 320pgs

4 Pants Off

Blurb: FELIX -
Things I expect to find at Gadleigh Castle:
- Rare stained glass, the subject of my dissertation.
- Peace and quiet, to finish said dissertation.
- An escape from the paparazzi swarming around my starlet mother’s latest blockbuster release.

Things I don’t expect to find:
- A hidden door leading to a secret room.
- The most gorgeous man I’ve ever set eyes on.
- Love.

LIO -
Things I know are expected of me in life:
- That I will one day soon become the King of Liorland.
- I will marry a nice woman who will become queen.
- I will provide heirs to my family’s monarchy.

Reasons that might be difficult
- I’m gay.
- I’m falling in love with Felix Wilde.
- He has no idea I’m royal.

Review

FELIX AND HIS FOOL

The second book in the “Forever Wilde” series and what a cute one this was. While not overly amazing, I still found it freaking cute and it made my heart feel super happy. I enjoyed Felix and the Prince so much more than the first book.  

Felix Wilde wants to go study the beautiful stained glass at Gadleigh castle and he’s finally getting his wish. He’ll finally get to immerse himself in all the greatness and learn about glass making. Another upside is getting away from his mom and the hell she brings each time she has a new movie release. Gadleigh Castle is everything he’s ever dreamed of more, and it’s just so wonderful to be there. Things get better when he runs into a handsome stranger, and it seems he doesn’t only get to look upon beautiful glass but also a beautiful man. 

Prince Lio has to get away. He’ll be coming into to the throne sooner than anticipated because his dad couldn't keep his dong in his pants. Becoming King means Lio can’t live his life authentically, a King is to marry a woman and produce heirs. Lio likes men and he knows he’ll have to put away his feelings and live for his country. One last getaway to his favourite place will help clear his mind but life has a way of messing with you. And soon Lio is looking into the eyes of pretty stranger and he knows he’s well and truly fucked. 

This begins a relationship that nothing good will come from. Lio hides his title because he’s never met anyone who didn’t know who he was and being with Felix is so brand new and genuine, but Lio knows he’s only in it to get laid because feelings can’t play any part in their relationship. But the heart wants what the heart wants and Felix and Lio come to realize that walking away has never been an option. 

As I said a really cute story with cute characters. Lio and his kingdom dilemma makes up the entirety of the plot. In the beginning I was sympathetic to Lio’s plight and by the end there, I was thinking he a darn fool. His dad out there getting young tings pregnant and he’s mooding all over the place and taking the weight of the world on his shoulders. Uptight, mans was being a little too uptight. Felix was your typical nerd, likeable and sweet. He lacked self esteem with a dash of Usian Bolt (always running) and was more doe eyed than sexy man.  

Enjoyed the book very much until the close to the end where it took on a case of, over dramatic. The end was drawn out and too much unnecessary stuff was happening, which took away from my enjoyment. This series already passes that which is realism and I find it goes out of the way to be just a tad bit outlandish and I am trying to understand the need for it. So 90% in I was already over it, and just wanted it to end. 

Overall, a sweet addition to the series, and even with all my complaints I found it entertaining and very feel good. A solid 4 Pants off and well earned!!!

Review: Book #1 Facing West

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: Lost and Found by Lucy Lennox & Sloane Kennedy

Lost and Found by Lucy Lennox & Sloane Kennedy
Amazon
Novel: 330pgs

3.5 Pants Off

Blurb: He promised to never leave me. But when I needed him the most, that was exactly what he did…

From Bestselling Authors Sloane Kennedy & Lucy Lennox comes an exciting new series about how a twist of fate can change everything...

He promised to never leave me. But when I needed him the most, that was exactly what he did…
Wilderness guide Xander Reed has spent fifteen years trying to forget the night he turned to his best friend in his darkest hour, only to find the young man who’d sworn to always have his back was turning his on Xander instead. Two thousand miles and fifteen years of building a new life in the quiet backcountry of the Rocky Mountains should have been enough to put the memory of Bennett Crawford out of his mind forever, but old wounds run deep and when Bennett suddenly reappears in his life as part of a wilderness expedition Xander is guiding, the scars he thought long healed break wide open.


I’d only ever wanted to protect Xander from getting hurt again. I never considered the one he needed protection from was me…
Bennett Crawford was faced with an impossible choice the night his best friend needed him.

He chose wrong.

As the only son of one of the wealthiest families in New England, he should have had the world at his feet, but losing his best friend at the tender age of fourteen changed everything. And even though Bennett’s managed to hide behind a mask of contentment as he takes his place at his father’s side in the family business, inside he’s searching for the piece of himself that’s been missing ever since Xander Reed walked out of his life. Bennett’s only saving grace is his work with a group of inner city kids, and when he’s given the chance to show the troubled teens that there’s a bigger world out there waiting for them if they just have the courage to reach for it, he takes it.

But when he steps off that bus for what was supposed to be a week of fun and adventure, he’s instantly returned to the past when he discovers their expedition guide is none other than the boy he let go so long ago. Only, the soft-hearted, insecure little boy Bennett once knew is gone, and in his place is a brooding, bitter man who isn’t interested in second chances.


People leave. I know that now and nothing Bennett has to say to me will change anything…
All Bennett wants is another chance to show Xander that friendship was only the beginning. But when a stubborn Xander refuses to even hear him out, Bennett realizes he’s going to need to fight dirty.

Because now that he’s found Xander again, he’s not letting him go a second time…

Review

First time reading Lucy Lennox and Sloane Kennedy as a duo, but having read Sloane Kennedy before I can see where her/ writing style comes through. I admit I am intrigued by what else this duo has to offer and I am looking forward to diving into more of their work. 

First things first, the blurb once again does too good of a job with telling what the story is about. So I won’t spend too much time giving an overview of the story. Because it’s boy meets boy, boys become the very best of friends besides their social status, in the time of need when one boy needed the other most he was pushed away and left with a broken heart that remained with him into adulthood. 

Now as adults. Xander and Bennet haven’t seen each other in 15yrs and a chance meeting has them spending more than seven days in each other’s company. Old hurts rear its head and new feelings appear. Xander is faced with the challenge of facing Bennet as a man, its hard when he hurts like the little boy that was left behind.  

Things I liked: I liked the story itself, was very entertaining and I like the writing style. 

I’m such a fan of angst and pent up anger and this book offered it up in drones. Xander and Bennet are engaging as characters and really just want them to get their happy ending and move forward. You want them to have their friendship back. The setting of the story is also another win. I really wanted to get out there and hike and look at some beautiful bodies of water and get some fresh mountain air in my lungs.  

Things I didn’t like: The unnecessary conflict to carry the storyline. There is nothing I dislike more than conflict that feels very contrived. Like the only way feelings can move forward is with something awful happening (near death experience) to bring honesty and realizations out. I don’t know about you guys but that stuff irks me. It feels fake and dishonest. 

The terrible communication between the MCs -insert eye roll- it was annoying and frustrating. It happened way too often between these two grown ass men. 

The fact that all this love shit was going down while these adults were responsible for kids. There was just way too many moments that I hated and as parent myself wouldn’t leave my kids in these dudes care. Most of the time they were running around just thinking with their dicks. 

Overall, I liked reading this. Its no masterpiece but it’s a solid read with likeable characters and surprisingly a very strong message of family. I like this writing duo. I feel like Lucy Lennox balances Sloane’s way of doing the happy happy thing. I am very much looking forward to reading book 2.  

SideNote- The dog Bear in this book will capture your heart. He is the softest thing ever.

Review: Facing West by Lucy Lennox

Facing West (Forever Wilde #1) by Lucy Lennox
Amazon
Novel: 312pgs

4 Pants Off

Blurb: Nico: 
I left my family and tiny Texas hometown fifteen years ago to escape small-town gossips and to give my mom and sister the chance at a better life. But when a phone call from an attorney back home informs me that my sister passed away, leaving me custody of her newborn baby, I’m shocked out of the steady life I’ve built for myself running a tattoo shop in San Francisco.

The thing is: I don’t do babies. And I don’t do small towns. Or commitment. And I especially don’t do family. My plan is to go back to Hobie just long enough to sign adoption papers, giving my niece the kind of stable, loving family I could never provide.

But the moment I meet my niece in the arms of Weston Wilde, my sister’s best friend and the town’s handsome doctor, my plans begin to change. Because suddenly, I see a different future. One with the very thing I thought I never deserved: a family. If only I can convince West that I’m not the same good-for-nothing kid ready to bolt when things get tough. 

Weston: 

There’s one thing I know for sure about Nico Salerno: he was a good-for-nothing as a kid and judging by the purple-haired, tattoo’d punk who shows up at his sister’s funeral, he hasn’t changed. There’s no way I’m letting him take custody of my best friend’s baby. 

But the more time I spend around him, the more I realize that his rough exterior is just a shell and that beneath all the tattoos is a scared, insecure man searching for a place to belong. And pretty soon I know exactly where he belongs: in my bed and by my side. 

The problem is, he abandoned his family once before, how do I know that if we become a family he won’t do it again? 

Facing West is the first in the new Forever Wilde series about the huge Wilde family from Hobie, Texas, whose patriarchs aren’t above a little meddling if that’s what it takes to help their grandkids find true love. 

Review

Another unexpected surprise by a new to me author. I have read Lucy Lennox combined with Sloane Kennedy but this is my first time reading one of her own works and it was surprisingly good. Like colour me surprised, the lady can really carry a story. 

Nico left his backwoods small town to escape their narrow minds and also in hopes of providing a better life for his sister and mom. Who needs a queer screw up around messing up their lives. He left without ever looking back and never planned to return. When a tragedy pulls him back and hands him one hell of a responsibility  Nico knows he’s gotta handle shit fast because “home” has Weston Wilde, golden boy doctor with it seems a dislike for all things Nico. Life just got a hell of a lot complicated and Nico doesn’t do complicated. 

Weston can’t believe the no good tattooed boy is back in town. How can his best friend leave such a huge responsibility to a flake that is her brother. He had no qualms about leaving everything behind, and now he’s back with all his tats and multicoloured hair. If only his ass wasn’t so damn beautiful it would make hating him a lot easier. His mind is saying that Nico is no good, but if only his dick would listen. 

Things I liked: I really enjoyed the story and the overall plot. I was hooked man, the whole town of Hobie drew me in and didn’t let go. I love the whole “I hate you but let’s f*ck” story line. I’m also for the going back home and showing them where to suck it because I made it bitch.  

Weston and Nico together are sexy as hell, there was some spicy chilli scenes in here that just felt all kinds of right.

Things I disliked: Sometimes I disliked West, he said some things that contradicted his feelings. He’d point out that Nico wasn’t the type of guy you settle down with but type you mess around with and then leave. Not even a few pages later he’d get in his feelings and sprout about how to never judge a book by its cover (rolls eyes for his contradictory ass). For more than halfway through he saw Nico as an object and not an actual person. It irked me!! 

The towns people. There's nothing I hate more than hating ass small towns people.

I didn’t like what the author did with the baby there. The book solely revolves around said baby, but she came off as furniture. It was like “oh yeh the baby”. I don’t think that part of the story was executed quite well, baby Pippa felt like an accessory instead of a vital part of the story.

Overall, another great story with a great sense of family and two beautiful men coming together. I am really excited to dive on into the second book, and I just as excited to check out the rest of L.Ls solo work. Facing West is a great combination of dislike turning into love, with great family bonds, and hot man love. Its a formula that works. Give it a look see!!

SideNote- These long as hell blurbs man...