Rented Heart by Garrett Leigh

Hey everyone,

Garret Leigh is an author who has always been on the periphery of my reading. I’ve been aware of their work for a while but have never taken the dip and read one for myself. Yet after reading the blurb for Rented Heart on Netgalley I knew I had to read this book! Luckily for me, Riptide Publishing, via NetGalley, were kind enough to send me a copy in return an honest review.

The book:

 Ex-surfer-turned-businessman Liam Mallaney moved back to Holkham, Norfolk, to mourn the loss of his husband. Grief and loneliness keep him a solitary figure, and he likes it that way. There’s no room in his broken heart for anything else.

Rentboy Zac Payne left London and most of his demons behind, but he still only knows one way to make a living. When he spots Liam in a club one night, it seems he’s found his mark. But Liam proves nicer—and their connection far deeper—than he’d bargained for. 

Their arrangement quickly becomes too complicated for Zac, who has other things on his mind: namely his BFF and wayward flatmate, Jamie. Zac owes Jamie the world, and even as Jamie’s drug addiction destroys all they have, Zac won’t leave him behind.

Besides, Liam knows nothing of Zac’s home life, too caught up in his own head to think much beyond the crazy heat he and Zac share. But when trouble comes to Zac’s door, putting his life in danger, Liam must set his grief and anger aside to pick up the pieces of Zac’s shattered heart and his own.

My thoughts:

Liam is a serious cutie-pie who needs to be protected at all costs. He is kind, respectful, generous and unpretentious despite being seriously rich. He never treats Zac with anything less than respect, and at times even stops Zac from disrespecting himself. As the relationship between Zac and Liam evolves, the issue of payment crops up, because Liam is happy to keep paying it because he knows Zac needs it more. Of course, Zac would prefer not to take the money as he doesn’t want to feel like a ‘hooker’. I loved that Liam didn’t hold the money over Zac, and never made Zac feel less for his job.

Because I don’t want to feel like a john any more than you want to feel like a hooker.

Lone Star on a Cowboy Heart by Marie A Crosswell

Hey everyone,

Firstly I need to thank Netgalley and Less Than Three Press Publishing for sending me an ARC copy of this book for review. Secondly, I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long! Life got ahead of me and then a massive reading slump meant that blogging just went out the window. But I’m back now and will be returning to my regular schedule. When I saw Lone Star on a Cowboy Heart I was immediately drawn in by the beautiful cover, and when the blurb mentioned that one of the heroes was an asexual aromantic I had to read this book!

The book:

Sam, a sheriff's deputy in a small Arizona town, is off-duty when he finds himself in the middle of a hold-up at a local diner. He makes it out alive only because of Montgomery, who shoots the robber attempting to kill Sam—but in the fallout, the second robber gets away. 

In the aftermath of that ugly night, Sam is determined to know Montgomery better, while Montgomery is determined to find the man who escaped. He's also dead set on avoiding the deputy, having secrets of his own he doesn't want out. 

But loneliness is hard, and Montgomery can't resist the companionship Sam is offering—the companionship he's always wanted, but could never find. If they're going to explore it, however, first they'll have to stop the growing threat of the robber who got away...

My thoughts:

How do you review a romance book that doesn’t have a romance? Neither Sam nor Montgomery identify as gay or consider themselves to be sexually attracted to their own gender. From the beginning, it is clear that the relationship building between them isn’t a romantic one. In fact, the whole tone of Lone Star on a Cowboy Heart could put some readers off, as it isn’t one brimming with emotion. Montgomery, in particular, is a difficult character to read, even when you are in his head, and I struggled to connect with the writing style of this book. I kept being thrown out of the story due to a turn of phrase Marie Crosswell had used. Yet I kept reading because I was invested in these characters.

“They fall silent again for a long few minute, drinking their coffee, never looking at each other at the same time. The house is quiet, not even the sound of the wind against the wood or the windowpanes.”

Damned If You Do by Marie Sexton

Hey everyone,

Today I’m reviewing Damned If You Do by Marie Sexton. I couldn’t resist requesting a book from Netgalley about a Demon and the person's soul he was trying to steal. With Damned If You Do being less than 130 pages long I was intrigued to see how Marie Sexton would introduce the concept and make me believe in the romance in such a short length of time.

The book:

The path to temptation is paved with a hellish amount of paperwork.

Soul acquisition is a drag, but if Abaddon doesn’t catch up on his quota, he could be demoted to scooping poop for the Hounds of Hell. With a deadline hanging over him, he heads for the Bible Belt, looking for the perfect combination of sweetness and challenge.

Seth is a blind musician, part of a traveling tent revival. He’s cute, mystically talented, and quotes the Bible at every turn. His soul is pure enough to fill Abaddon’s quota for months to come, and Abaddon is determined to claim it.

The problem? There’s the revival foreman who watches Abaddon’s every move. Then there’s the mystery of Seth’s many unusual talents. Lastly, there’s Abaddon himself. He’s beginning to like Seth a bit too much. Maybe Seth deserves something better than damnation.

But Hell’s agenda isn’t negotiable, and time is running out. If Abaddon doesn’t play his cards right, he could condemn both of them to the worst fate of all—an eternity apart.

My thoughts:

Damned If You Do is a book that had so much potential but just fell a little short in my opinion. I loved the concept of the demon trying to steal the purest soul and instead falling in love with the person that soul belongs to. I even found the interpretation of hell being the first office-job imaginable quite enjoyable. My problem came with the delivery. The world-building in Damned If You Do felt a little rushed, almost as if Marie Sexton only wanted to give the reader the bare minimum. As the reader follows Abaddon we are exposed to both hell and the human world but neither for enough time.

I was actually abandoned at the revival as an infant. One of the women heard a baby crying in the night. She went looking and found me under the piano bench.

Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Hey everyone,

I’ve been in a major book slump for the past few months, but I’m finally clawing my way back into the light. One of the ways I did that was by returning to old favourites. Books I can rely on to make me laugh, cry and most importantly keep me reading. One such book for me is Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

The book:

How did pretty socialite Daisy Devereaux find herself in this fix? She can either go to jail or marry the mystery man her father has chosen for her.

Alex Markov, however, has no intention of playing the loving bridegroom to a spoiled little heiress. As humourless as he is deadly handsome, he drags the irrepressible Daisy away from her uptown life and sets out to bring her down a peg or two.

Except it won't be as easy as he thinks. This man without a soul has met a woman who's nothing but heart. Will vows spoken in haste shatter or offer the promise of love everlasting?

My thoughts:

There are so many reasons I adore Kiss an Angel but the circus setting is what makes it such a unique and memorable romance. The circus felt like a character. It was confusing, complex, and controversial. Yet it was also warm, interesting and home. Having only been to one circus in my life, and that happened after I read Kiss an Angel for the first time, the circus is not a world I know much about. I can’t tell you if Susan Elizabeth Phillips representation of the circus is accurate but I can you it made me want to keep reading. I loved the unique setting it gave Daisy and Alex’s romance and honestly I’m not sure their relationship could have flourished the way it did in any other environment.

What are you gonna do, angel face? Stab me with your eyebrow pencil?

Leveling the Field by Megan Erickson

Hey everyone,

Today I’m reviewing Leveling the Field by Megan Erickson, the fourth book in her Gamers series. Levelling the Field finally gives us Ethan’s story, a figure who has intrigued fans since he was first introduced. Now I will admit I’ve only read Tied to Trouble from the Gamers series, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, so when I saw Leveling the Field on Netgalley I couldn’t resist requesting it!

The book:

Reclusive magazine exec Ethan Talley is furious when his business partner hires a photographer—a gorgeous photographer who insists on speaking her mind, damn it—to take pictures for an upcoming article. No matter how badly he wants the woman…under him, over him, against the nearest wall…he has reasons for not wanting to be on camera anymore, and his scars are only one of them.

It takes approximately two seconds for Lissa Kingsman to recognize Ethan as the popular YouTube gamer who fell off the planet years ago. But this Ethan is different than the charming man she used to watch, and the crush she had on him then is nothing compared to the way she’s lusting after the brooding man he is today. If sex is all he can give her, fine. Why not use that bearskin rug in her studio for something other than a prop? But she’s determined to put a chink in his armor, no matter how much he resists.

My thoughts:

I was mainly drawn to Leveling the Field for two reasons. One Megan Erickson. Two Ethan Talley. I love damaged or scarred heroes, be it emotional or physical scarring. I’m not sure my love of them is particularly healthy, but I can’t stop reading about them. Heroes who are scarred always seem to have more emotionally driven romances and that is what I can’t get enough of! Ethan Talley is no different. His past has left him emotionally, mentally and physically scared. He has alienated himself from friends, family, work and life, becoming a shell of his former self. I thought Megan Erickson did a great job of developing Ethan’s character and showing the affect it had on those around him. I understood why Ethan was acting the way he was; why he acted so defensive and irrationally angry at times. Yet I could also see the pain it was causing to those around him.

Something about his pained expression, his all black suit made her want to see what he’d be like warmed up. Hell, even with a smile.