Brandon Mills versus the V-Card
I enjoyed this one more than the firstI like Brandon in the first story and was glad he got his own story. I was happy to see he had found his place in a Frat. Alex was a cutie. Both guys are shy and at times awkward, but that is why they worked together. I really liked that Brandon’s issues weren’t swept under the carpet and were worked on slowly. This made for a lot of only cuddles and kisses, but that fit with the characters and didn’t bother me. The resolution with Brandon’s dad was done well, with both characters not communicating well previously, it was finally brought out into the open and healing can start.
I had a lot of laugh out loud moments in this book, but must be honest that Mark annoyed me in this one. He was obnoxious most of the time and took over a lot of scenes between Brandon and Alex. I love Blake he is hilarious in his obliviousness. I really want to know the deal with Jackson as I just can’t get a handle on him.
Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Mark Cooper versus America
I liked this oneI enjoyed Mark, who even with his loud and at times obnoxious personality was underneath extremely lonely. Being Australian I found funny Mark’s attempts to convince his friends they were pronouncing words incorrectly or using the wrong words for certain things. I also liked his “this is me” attitude and the learning curve he took in the book to understand that some of the frat brothers in were worth it.
Deacon was great. His responsibility towards his mother and the grounding he gave Mark. I think he needed someone like Mark in his life to shake it up a bit.
I also enjoyed the little bit of kink and the learning along the way the guys did together. Their kink was not known to either of them, but they worked it out together.
The First Incision
The bad guys took the wrong guyNot for the faint hearted.
This book is hard to rate as it is so different from anything I have read in a long while. It is dark and at times truly horrifying. Saying I liked it is not the right word, but this one kept me reading waiting to see what would happen at the end.
Todd the main character is a psychopath. A serial killer that has no guilt. He is unfortunately a product of painful instances in his childhood. I wondered during the book of his family knew of what had happened to him as a child and if so, if he received any counselling.
When we meet Todd is is stalking his next victim, Matthew. A guy he likes and is attracted to, but that only makes him a definite victim. But Matthew has a past as well, and his past comes back to haunt him before Todd can complete his killing.
Matthew is abducted and Todd starts searching for him. Todd is not a serial killer with a heart of gold or with a soft spot for Matthew, he is not looking for him because he cares about Matthew, he is looking for him because he was cheated out of killing him. This leads to a trail of broken and bloody bodies as Todd shows that he is scarier than the mob.
You have to feel sorry for Matthew in all of this, as he is that one friend we all have, who constantly seems to pick the wrong guy, and the only person actively getting anywhere in finding him is the serial killer that wants to kill him.
The book is told predominantly through Todd's eyes and as his thoughts unravel it is hard to keep up at times. But the way his mind works is fascinating and quite scary. There are POV changes to the victims that are also tricky to pick up at first.
Solid 4 stars
Cross & Crown
O.kI like Nick and Kelly and I enjoyed seeing them together and interacting with others
Good addition to the series
Crash & Burn (Cut & Run Book 9)
GoodbyeIt's sad to say goodbye to one of my favourite couples but I think this series needed to end a couple of books ago. This one was good but no where near as good as the start of the series
I loved the Ty and Zane moments in this one. Their relationship is finally in a good place and strong.
I also loved seeing all of the previous characters, the Grady family are still a hoot and Zane's mother is finally thawing.
I've always liked Julian and Preston (he is prob the scariest character of the books) And I always felt sorry for Preston as he gave up a lot for Julian and Cameron, so I was glad to see them both appear. Liam is a weird character and I would like to see more to try and work him out.
The sidewinder boys are hilarious at times but you have to wonder how they ever survived war, Kelly was a badass in this book, he dropped his funny guy persona and fought for his man. I felt for him at times because he was expected to leave his partner and just continue on.
Ty is one of my all time favourite characters, but in the first books he was so capable and came across as a retired force recon marine but it seemed as he got happier in his relationship and the outside betrayals started to come to light, Ty seemed to loose his capabilities and didn't seem as deadly as he did in the first few books.
Zane really was a Phoenix. No matter what was thrown at him he kept fighting back and rising from the ashes better than before. He now handles betrayal better, taking note of it but not letting it drive him to the bottle like previously. I wish he would give up on the endearment "doll" I hate it.
All in all it wasn't as strong as the first few books but it was good to say goodbye
3.5 stars
Ball & Chain (Cut & Run)
Not the strongest of the seriesSeveral of my friends seriously hated this book, and as i trust and value their opinions I went into this one with low expectations.
Maybe because my expectations were so low, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. It is definitely the weakest of the series.
The inconsistencies of the characters was frustrating, both Ty and Zane ran around like they had never worked a murder case before. Three of the guys are meant to be scary recon marines but didn't act anything like it in this book.
I think more needed to be said about the happenings in the last book. Ty and Zane's relationship was being rebuilt after the bombshells of Ty's confession and yet it was swept under the carpet and forgotten, I think this was a missed plot line that could have been further developed
I did like parts of this book, including Ty's multiple marriage proposals, but ultimately it just wasn't as good as the rest of the series
Shock & Awe
I've stayed away from this series as I wasn't really interested in the sidewinder spinoff from one of my favourite series, but amazingly enough I enjoyed this one.I think it is because of Kelly. I like Kelly, he's funny and when he decided he wanted to try with Nick he decided 100% and pushed forward. It helps that the two guys have known each other forever so there is none of the awkward getting to know you stage.
Nick and Kelly seem well suited
Touch & Geaux
Re-Read Before starting the final book in this series, I decided to do a complete series re-read and I must say I liked this one a lot more on the re-read.
Ty’s character has always been a chameleon and during this series we have seen different aspects of his personality in each book. In this one we see him practically hit rock bottom. Most of his secrets (there is no way he hasn’t got more) are out in the open and no one is happy about it. But through the barrage he remains standing strong with his shields in place. Even though you could understand his reasons you could feel his pain at the crack in his relationship with Zane. The loyalty he has and inspires in others was also great to see.
The saying – “don’t ask a question you don’t want to know the answer to” works here. I felt Zane’s pain at the questions that arose from Ty’s revelations. His intense anger I understood (although I thought it took over too much of the book) and even the lingering anger bursts later had me nodding my head, as that resonates with my personality – I can hold a mean grudge.
I have never been an alcoholic or addict but the bit that sticks with me and rings true, even after the first read, is that recovery must be done for you and not based on anyone else because while Zane was sticking to AA for Ty he was always bound to fail. It was too much pressure on Ty not to set off Zane and back to drinking. I liked that Zane realised this and other factors in his life and has made moves to become his own person.
On Solid Ground
Good effort3.5 stars
Was a good effort. I liked the portrayal of Dax's PTSD, I thought it was handled well, I just didn't feel the connection between the two MCs. They came across like best friends not lovers. The miscommunications were numerous and at times frustrating. They both had so much going on in their lives that they just didn't talk or listen to each other.
In The Absence Of Light
OutstandingThis book is so far one of my best reads this year.
Morgan is a stunning character, he is so well written. He is just real, he comes alive on each page. His struggles with parts of his autism and his independence, and strong will were great to read. One of my favourite scenes was when he was learning to drive the car, his utter happiness when he actually did was fantastic.
I liked Grant as a character too. I liked that he wasn't perfect, he made mistakes in his dealings with Morgan and at times didn't know what to say or how to handle situations. Although some of his past actions have made him not the good guy, he is the good guy in how protects Morgan. I also liked that being with Morgan opened his eyes and made him a better person. He was still prepared to do whatever it took to protect Morgan. When everyone else was embarrassed or horrified at the autistic boy in the diner, he took the time to calm the boy down and make him and his sister comfortable so they could enjoy their meal, this showed real growth for Grant as at the start of the book. He would have been one of the ones staring.
I found Jeff an interesting character. I spent a lot of the book trying to work out his motives and if he was a good guy or bad guy. I kind of hope we get to hear more about him
Dragons, Diamonds, And Discord
3.5 starsI really enjoy this series, the Greek mythology mixed into the modern world appeals to me. This book felt like it was split into two, dealing with two couples. Hermes and Fafnir and the continuation of Zack and Michael's story.
Unfortunately I didn't feel the connection in this one between Hermes and Fafnir. I didn't really understand why they were together, as there wasn't that insatiable pull between the characters. Fafnir was a grumpy character due to the Chaos gods machinations and was hard to get to know.
The continuation of Zack and Michael's story saved this one for me. Michael suffered horribly in the last story, and this one shows his progress. There is no magical cure, it is a slow progress and Zacks guilt at being the cause is wonderfully portrayed.
I'll still continue with this series
Songs of the Earth
Great continuation This is a great continuation from the previous book. Some questions were answered well.
I love this authors take on the shifter world.
Everyone has one twin flame (mate) who is reincarnated throughout time. I love the fact that both Tristan and Ushna have met their twin flames and both are now without them, Ushna to the death of his flame in childhood and Tristan from having his bond broken. I love that they choose to be together, it's not destiny playing a hand it is choice and that is what sets these books apart from the other shifter books.
Their relationship in this book grows and is wonderful to read, I really like Tristan's moral compass, he knows Ushna is not his twin flame and refuses to bite him and bond fully knowing that Ushna's twin flame can be reborn at anytime.
Looking forward to the next in the series
Twin Flames (Sumeria's Sons, #1
A new fanI really enjoyed the world this author created. When we meet Tristan he is sick from his twin flames rejection, while he had been claimed his mate had not and his mates actions were killing Tristan. I loved Tristan's sense of self and choice to severe the bond, regardless of the cost to himself, especially considering everyone was advising him to basically suck it up and claim his mate. The cure hurt Tristan and he suffered without fully realising the extent for 7 years. I enjoyed his thought process when he realised his attraction to his best friend Ushna.
Lots of loose ends with a lot of questions left unanswered, hopefully they will be answered in the next book
Kept Tears
OkI liked this one but it felt like it took along time to get going.
I liked the portrayal of Aaron a wounded veteran and his PTSD as well as his low self esteem after his injuries.
Rhys was a more difficult character to to connect with but i think that was more due to my personal issues about his relationship status. (Don't care he is fae and lives by different rules)
All in all an ok read
Nyx's Pixie
even better than the first one. I definitely liked this one better than the first. I loved Pol he was so cute. And Nyx came across well. Again the literal dragons created seem entertaining dialogue. I loved seeing Cody and Kirik in this one. Cody was still very protective of the dragons but I also enjoyed his protection of Pol.
Can't wait for Chaos story and even Ravens (I have a soft spot he him)
The Bruise-Black Sky
I've missed these guysI've missed these guys. This series is one that keeps me entertained and is never boring.
I love the relationship between Nik and Ben, the little mind games they play with each other, that hurt no one, like Nik using what he believes is Ben's memory loss for his own advantage to keep smoking while Ben lets him waiting for the perfect opportunity to cut him off.
Ben is a great character that has grown over this series chipping away and gaining some control over his life. At the start Nikolas had all the power in the relationship but now they are more balanced. I like the way he stops and thinks, not acting out and ruining what they have to regret it later. He still makes some decisions in the heat of the moment but also admits, at least to himself that he may have made a mistake. The hurt and confusion about his relationship he felt from Nik's secret was well written, but Nik's total non understanding of the problem was also so in character. They love each other flaws and all. Ben is full of surprises. When you are thinking that he is not clueing into what is going on he surprises you with his knowledge of Nik and Nik's reactions.
Nikolas is one of the most complex characters I have ever read, every time you think you have a peg on him, he turns differently than expected. There were times during this book I was nodding along with his thoughts thinking well done, but other times I wanted to slap him in disappointment. His character has probably had the most growth over the series. In this book he showed a bit a softening, showing a conscience and admitting to mistakes, but when the chips were down and when he felt Ben was in danger the tough and brutal Alexi came out to play. He is such a planner, thinking so far ahead of the game, doing anything, even if it hurts himself to keep Ben safe, this is why he is one of my favourite characters.
I can't wait to see where the series heads to next