Review: Bully for Sale (Heat for Sale #2) by Leta Blake

Bullied and outcast, Ezer has seen firsthand the cruelties of the world. He knows what’s expected from his kind—timid compliance and submission to his “betters.” But Ezer isn’t one to roll over and conform to the role society has forced upon him.

Despite his defiant nature, Ezer is coerced into partnering with a man of his father’s choosing. One his father promises will love and care for him for the rest of his life.

A night of nameless and faceless passion later, Ezer is horrified to find himself bound to Ned, a bully who has done so much to make his life hell. Ezer’s determined to hate Ned but he can’t help the way his body craves his touch.

Ned is young, privileged, and hopelessly in love with Ezer. Too bad his pack of so-called “friends” have targeted Ezer for torment. Ned has a lot of regrets, but none greater than his role in Ezer’s misery. When Ned’s offered the contract of a lifetime, he sees it as the only way forward with the man he loves.

The dual biological drives of heat and its aftermath might be all that’s keeping them close now, but Ned is determined to prove he’s worthy of Ezer’s love.

While Ezer is just as determined not to fall for his bully.

 

Bully for Sale is the second addition to the Heat for Sale series. If you haven't read book #1- Heat for Sale (I suggest you do- the audiobook is fantastic!) The books can be read as standalone.

Leta Blake is definitely one of the few published authors' A/B/O that I can read and tolerate. If you're not familiar with the omegaverse the author set up, women do not exist, men can be carriers (omegas), while betas are relatively human and alphas are the top of the chain, with their knots and life saving semen. Omegas have less rights and are treated as breeding machines mostly. Let's get the triggers out the way: attempted rape, dubious consent, eating disorder.

In this newest addition, the main characters are still in high school. (Don't worry, they're all legal.) Omega Ezer Fersee is nineteen, dyslexic and the bane of his wealthy alpha parent. His omega parent has been kicked out of their home, his older omega brothers seem to care only for themselves and he has know one. And to top it off, he's bullied mercilessly and labeled as the 'weird kid'. After an attempted rape by three rich alpha bullies, Ezer's life couldn't get any worse right? Wrong. Wealthy omegas usually have their heats and bodies sold to the higher bidder or Ezer's family's case, an arranged 'heat cycle'. But the person who is chosen for him... one his alpha bullies, Ned Clearwater. 

Ned is a coward and a follower, two bad combinations to have in life in my opinion. He's idealistic and romantic. And fell for Ezer the moment he saw him. Ned is trying to redeem himself and that's the crux of his arc for the majority of the book. He was loathsome and he's trying to better himself. He's a gentle giant that isn't too set in his ways that he can't be changed as he enters adulthood. I'm not a fan of cowards and Ned most certainly is one. But, he's likeable too. 

Ezer is prickly and remains true to his self for the book too. He's had a crap hand dealt to him and he learns more about himself, you can't help but feel sorry for him too. 

Essentially, this is new adult, but the adults in their lives are their puppet masters and they get thrown into too many adult things that they're not ready for. There is smut but since most of it due to their biology, I wouldn't say it was gratuitous. They need it at a molecular level. ;)

Why not rate it higher? While the story is paced pretty quick despite being 404 pages, the romance is mainly one sided for the majority of the book. (Which for me, works for the characters especially with the way Ezer is portrayed.) Thankfully, there's an epilogue! But we don't get to read the changes Ned needs to go through on page.I don't mind bully romances but something about Ned's cowardly ways got under my skin a bit.

Overall, it's a solid new adult story. I was happy Heat for Sale's main characters (Heath and Adrien) showed up a for a few. I did like the pair.

P.S. I do hope there's a story for each of the adult Fersee brothers, especially Shan. I'm so anxious at all the possibilities that could happen with Ezer's family. 

A copy provided for an honest review.

Review: Dark Money Love by Ace Fawn

Akira Kazama is a man that gets what he wants. A loan shark king affiliated with the yakuza, he practically runs the money game in Tokyo.

Sora Nakano wants to save his mother’s life. When he has no choice left but to take out a hefty loan for her medical bills, he becomes indebted to Akira.

For Akira, business is always strictly business. And when someone owes him money, he always collects. Except this time, he wants more than just money from Sora.

He wants his body.

They agree on an arrangement for Sora to pay off the debt, and it’s supposed to be a win-win situation for them both. But Sora never wanted to be involved with the dark, hidden side of Akira’s life, and when Sora is threatened, he must turn to Akira for help.

Will Sora save his mother and get out of this alive? Or will he spiral down the path of dark money love?

Dark Money Love is a dark m/m romance intended for mature readers only. This book contains explicit adult content, weapon use and graphic depictions of death. Reader discretion is advised.

A criminal falls in lust...and then love?

Dark Money Love is a novella about 35 year old loner loam shark Akira. He's affiliated with the yakuza and collects debt payments for them.The book literally starts off with a bang with Akira collecting from an older, desperate person. Someone is trying to get over on him and Akira seems to be apathetic. He looks through his victims and finds young, innocent Sora. He knows Sora has no way of repayment especially with the high interest fees so he plans on coercing Sora to pay with his body.

Major dubious consent going on in here, consider yourself warned. And there are BDSM elements as well. I hesitate to call it BDSM as there is no SSC or RACK agreements. :( 

 Poor Sora doesn't know what's going on a majority of the time, Akira just blurts out to pick a "safeword" and poor Sora was confuzzled. Sora is an innocent in every sense of the word. He has no home, no friends and no one to help him with his ill mother. 

We get glimpses of akira's world which seems interesting enough. Akira is kinda tsundere, he's cold but cares for just Sora, even from the beginning of their arrangement.  

The writing is competent, but it needed another edit. It's the little things that can irk my reading soul such as one character puts on a condom and then in the next paragraph he's cumming raw in his partner. Did the condom break? Vanish? Was there a switcheroo on his didgeridoo?

I think another 10-15 pages to flesh out the main characters would have gone a long way with helping Sora and Akira's burgeoning 'romance'. I hesitate to call their softer feelings for one another a romance because they didn't talk to each other as much. If they would have opened up more, I think I'd believe it more. I wanted to like this more. I'm on the fence because I like dark plots but I also like the writing to match the style it was going for.

Would I read more from the author? Maybe, if the plot is good enough. I dunno if this is previous fanfic or if the author is also a fanfic writer, but it read like it.

Review: Broken Boy (Atlanta Daddies #1) by Skyler Snow

Layne has the Daddy of his dreams. Hot, strong, loving, and possessive. At least some of the time. But when the doors are closed and they’re alone, everything changes. Layne can’t figure out how to fix his Daddy's problems and insecurities. He’s resigned himself to a life of fear when he meets the younger Branson. Smart, sweet, and endlessly patient, he’s drawn to him. But what does that mean for his current relationship?

Branson doesn’t have dating or dynamics on the brain. After a messy breakup with his boy, all he wants to do is work and meet some like-minded friends. Kintan and Layne could be that for him. However, after he finds out the dark, twisted secrets festering beneath the surface, he begins to realize that things aren’t what they seem.

Can Branson pull Layne out of the fire?

And what happens when an arrangement as just friends turns into so much more?

Broken Boy contains triggers including domestic violence. Please do not read if you are sensitive to the subject.

 Another solid freebie find for me!

Broken Boy (Atlanta Daddies #1) by new-to-me author Skyler Snow was a pleasant surprise. It's been on my radar for a while and had a lot of tropes that caught my attention: daddy kink, hurt/comfort, older boy/younger daddy, age play.

Let's get the trigger warnings out first: there is an abusive dom/partner on page. Layne is abused in the beginning but it's not extremely graphic.  His ex is a nasty, manipulative piece of work and if reading about this topic ain't your jam, you've been warned. 

Layne is a sweet boy whose world world is his dom. They've been together for his entire adult life (yes, he's been with his partner since 18) and now he's in his early thirties. And he is an abusive relationship with no way out, no family, limited contact with friends. You know the type. He meets someone who cares int he form of younger dom, 27 year old Branson. Branson recognizes the signs of abuse, as a survivor himself. He becomes a listening ear for Layne, encouragement when he needs to learn to love himself and a refuge in his time of need.

I really liked Branson for Layne. Their age difference didn't play a major plot device for the story. (I'm not so keen of authors harping on larger age gaps and saturating the plot with it) Branson was sweet, patient and took care of Layne. They didn't immediately jump in bed and took their time healing, especially Layne.

Don't get me wrong, the sexy times are there and inventive. Plus, the age play and kink were intertwined without reading like an intro manual to kink.

What stopped me from rating this a solid four? The villain/cray-ex arc resolved way too quick and neat to me.  Layne's ex has been a piece of shit through out the book. The harassment and petty acts needed just as equal response to get revenge. People like him always retaliate. *squints* The author explains the reasoning enough but I'm just tolerating it for the decent HEA. 

Would I read the rest of the series? Yeah, I'm curious enough about the rest of friends the author created. 

The story overall was solid and engaging read.

Review: Splinters of the Heart by Alyssa Rabil

Love finds a way.

Aaron Beaumont is a mess. Life has never been easy, so why did he think bondage would help? While he solved the problem of making some quick money, it came at a price he wasn’t willing to pay. To his great relief, he’s rescued by Silas Anderson. Silas, a doctor, takes him home and treats his physical injuries, but his gentle touch and reassurance can’t touch Aaron’s internal turmoil.

When Aaron tries to return home the next morning, the worst has come to pass. He suddenly finds himself with nowhere to go. Once again, his world collides with Silas’.

With the future uncertain, a friendship blossoms into something neither Aaron nor Silas has experienced before, and they know it’s something they may never experience again.

However, happiness is just out of reach, and before they have a happily ever after, they must face a demon from the past.

Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of verbal and physical abuse, consensual pain, parental abuse, drug use, homophobic language, mentions of anxiety, suicide and drug dealing.

DNF 

Oh how I wanted to love this one. 

Splinters of the Heart is a debut novel from new to me author Alyssa Rabil. The premise was promising: two damaged men who find each other in an unexpected place but somehow strike up a romance. It screamed hurt/comfort goodness.

And to me, this debut novel read like a... first time novel. In the first chapter, the reader gets mentions of abuse, first time gay experiences, internalized homophobia, alludes to familial abuse, bondage, a  sketchy porn 'company', gun violence, attempted assault, BDSM practices and a white -knight-of-a-doctor/ veteran-that-just-so-happens-to-work-as-a-porn-actor that comes to the rescue.

An entire kitchen sink with dishes in the first chapter. It read so unbelievable and too much that I couldn't buy either character. The shoot out was like the second to last nail in the coffin. But the stitled dialogue was it for me.

I usually try to five a book that doesn't work for me a breather and will retry. But it was more ridiculous one the second go round. So rather than suffering, I tapped out.

If you're a reader who likes any or all of the topics I mentioned, maybe try it out. It could be a me thing but I found the beginning too saturated to carry the plot along. *shrugs*

Review: Jam Packed (Destination Daddies) by R.J. Moray

A chubby shy boy and a jaded older Daddy strike sparks in a cosy small-town B&B. Will this hot vacation hook-up burn out or blaze into a happily-ever-after?

Shy jam maker Sammy Martin has never got what he really wants, too self-conscious about his body to ask for it. After a humiliating rejection, he signs up for Cuffd's Destination dating event and books a ticket to a Dream Daddy Weekend in Sweet Hill, California, that promises to find him his perfect match.

But the sight of all the slender hotties in attendance kicks his self-doubt into overdrive. He knows he's not perfect, but would it be too much to ask for someone to actually want him, just for a weekend?

And if he's secretly hoping for forever? No-one has to know.

Retired Daddy Dom Axel Eriksson isn't looking for the One. Been there, lost that, learned his lesson—he's pretty sure there's no such thing as true love. Now he's a strictly one-night-stand man, and that's not going to change. But one look at the chubby boy with the shy eyes has him doubting his resolve.

He knows Sammy is the same as the rest. He knows Sammy won't be his happily-ever-after. But he can't help thinking that if someone could be his forever guy? Sammy would be a perfect fit.

JAM PACKED is a spicy serving of age gap Daddy romance, with a HEA and a side of size kink. This book is part of the Destination Daddies multi-author series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but there are so many destinations and Daddies to discover, why not grab them all?

 

This was a sweet little read that picked me up from my book slump!

This was my first time reading anything from this author or series. 

I got the daddy kink novella as a freebie and enjoyed it so much I just had to review. 

Jam Packed stars 28 year old chubby ADHD jam maker Sammy, who is shy, insecure and looking for someone to appreciate him. He shares a business with an ex who walks all over him; has tried putting his hat into the dating scene but gets more losers than winners. Sammy treats himself to a weekend getaway for daddies and boys looking for a good time. He doesn't hold much hope but, one thing Sammy is: a trier. 

Enter 47 year old retiree and former Daddy Dom, Axel. Axel is tired of the skinny twigs and likes his mean with some meat on their bones. He goes to the weekend getaway as a favor and think he's hit the jackpot when he sees Sammy. 

Sammy and Axel's chemistry is pretty hot. I liked how Axel reacted to Sammy's needs and wants with care Sammy isn't that kinky. In fact, Jam Packed isn't really kinky at all. I'd recommended this for readers anxious of kink and like to keep it light and fun. I like a good caretaker Daddy Dom and I think Axel fit the bill. He never controlled Sammy and was there to give a helping hand when asked (especially with Sammy's disability).

What I enjoy from an author that writes about a plus sized lead is when they explore the character's layers. I want to read about their emotions, insecurities and experiences while dealing with others. Moray did so in Sammy, who IMO was the stronger character. The sex scenes? Were hot and not fetishistic. The logistics and body mechanics were also a factor with sexy times and I appreciated the author's effort.

I think the story could've been longer, just to flesh out the business aspect of the jam business for Sammy. Also, Carson, Sammy's ex/business partner had ulterior motives but the lead up to where I though it was going to match to the quick ending. 

Overall, easy sweet reading that gave solid main characters and a quick romance with a helping of daddy kink.

I am so happy with this freebie because now I'm going to check out the author's back list!

 

If mild daddy kink with no age play, hurt/comfort and a chubby, sweet shy MC are your jam (pun intended), give Jam Packed a try!

Audiobook Review: Heat for Sale (Heat for Sale #1) by Blake Moreno

Heat can be sold but love is earned.

In a world where omegas sell their heats for profit, Adrien is a university student in need of funding. With no family to fall back on, he reluctantly allows the university's matcher to offer his virgin heat for auction online. Anxious, but aware this is the reality of life for all omegas, Adrien hopes whoever wins his heat will be kind.

Heath—a wealthy, older alpha—is rocked by the young man's resemblance to his dead lover, Nathan. When Heath discovers Adrien is Nathan’s lost son from his first heat years before they met, he becomes obsessed with the idea of reclaiming a piece of Nathan.

Heath buys Adrien’s heat with only one motivation: to impregnate Adrien, claim the child, and move on. But their undeniable passion shocks him. Adrien doesn't know what to make of the handsome, mysterious stranger he's pledged his body to, but he’s soon swept away in the heat of the moment and surrenders to Heath entirely.

Once Adrien is pregnant, Heath secrets him away to his immense and secluded home. As the birth draws near, Heath grows to love Adrien for the man he is, not just for his connection to Nathan. Unaware of Heath's past with his omega parent and coming to depend on him heart and soul, Adrien begins to fall as well.

But as their love blossoms, Nathan's shadow looms. Can Heath keep his new love and the child they've made together once Adrien discovers his secrets?

This was a solid omegaverse read.

In Heat for Sale, young omega Adrien is in a society where breeding/heats for profit is not frowned on. Omegas selling their heats to the highest bidder or having babies to secure future generations is key in this society. Women don't exist here. Omegas are revered for breeding. Virgin Adrien is a quiet omega college student in need of cash for school. He sells his heat and the highest bidder, older wealthy alpha Heath has an unknown obsession with Adrien. Plus, tie in Adrien's link to Heath's dead lover, it makes for an interesting plot.

There is something about the way Blake (Moreno) writes A/B/O that works for me. I've read the Heat of Love series, while both have similar bones in their omegaverses, Heat for Sale is more erotic, slightly darker. The D/s structure was a nice addition to story. The first time Heath gave Adrien an order, it was nice to read Adrien's submissive response. Heath was commanding in the bedroom, but wasn't authoritative 24/7. Adrien was submissive in nature but I didn't find him to be a doormat.

I bought the audiobook to read along with the story, so it was my first time listening to narrator Michael Dean. I'm pretty picky with narrators, and I'm unsure if I'd listen to more Dean narrations. We'll see. But I enjoyed him reading Heat for Sale. What grabbed me the most when listening is when the narrator would get on a roll and not take a breath when booming through a sex scene...it was like he was preaching porn. It made me giggle a bit, I can't lie. Dean was there narrating and getting into the characters and boom! Something erotic started and it was like there was a porn pulpit and he was there to preach. He seemed to have a blast. The voices were pretty great for the main characters.

If you like ABO and D/s (without the excessive fluff as some omegaverses tend to lean), I'd say check out Heat for Sale audio or book, either version works.

I see this is considered first of a series. If this actually comes to fruition, consider me there for future reads. I wouldn't mind revisiting this world.

Review: Cinderellis (Once Upon a Vegas Night #2) by Evie Drae

As the son of music industry royalty and a famous rock star in his own right, Henry “Cinder” Cinderford has spent his life on the road. Craving stability, he signs on to do a special limited engagement in Las Vegas and plans to spend the next six months discovering the meaning of home.

After losing his mom at a young age, Ellis Tremaine survived a childhood with an abusive stepfather who took out his anger on the son he never wanted. Nearly two decades later, Ellis continues to struggle against the emotional manipulations of his family, even in his career. But when he meets none other than the Prince of Pop himself, things start to change.

From attraction to friendship to something so much more, Ellis and Cinder become the celebrity ‘ship known as “Cinderellis.” But when reality threatens their storybook romance, all they can do is hope there really is a happily ever after for every once upon a time.

Fairy tale retellings?! I'm such a fan! I think it's fun to read authors put on their creative caps and try to rehash classic tales.

Evie Drae's Cinderellis (Once Upon a Vegas Night #2) is a standalone tale  of love between a pop star 'prince' Cinder (or Henry) and a jack of all trade, blue collar worker, sweet, gentle giant Ellis! The story is a pretty quick read with QUILTBAG friendly characters (well expect for the villain, of course). Ellis is socially awkward, shy and submissive who works so hard he isn't caught up to current social media trends,etc. Cinder, is a world weary son of musical legends who is looking to finally laying roots. They find each other one magical night in Las Vegas. And magic happens!

Our 'Cinderella' in Drae's retelling is Ellis, a late twenty-something who is stuck working under his abusive stepfather's thumb. (Let me add this: some might look down on older characters still being abused...it's a hard cycle to break for some. And I thought the author did a very good job explaining why Ellis, 6 foot plus giant of a man could still react the way he did to the evil stepdad.)

The story alternates POV's which helped understand both main characters. Cinder was pretty smooth and adaptable when it came to Ellis. Ellis definitely was inexperienced in just about all the ways when it came to the world, so I liked Cinder's handling of him. The pacing is pretty quick when we get to the romance. The pacing was mostly smooth with minor hiccups.

My biggest concern with this wonderful story is the try-hard-ness in the dialogue. In the beginning Ellis came off as shy and socially awkward, he had panic attacks for some social interactions, then it seems to disappear as we zipped through the romance. And his personality melded in Cinder's personality at times; meaning chatterbox Cinder and Ellis shared the same reactions and word vomit/cheesy one liners at time. I'm not the biggest fan of cheese, so to each their own.

I felt the romance, or the buildup to the romance was rushed at points to fit in more sex scenes. Ellis had a shitty past with his previous sexual experiences. He seemed to get over his hangups fairly quickly. Though I must say, sexually he read like a fairy tale prince: gentle giant and submissive. He and Cinder definitely had good chemistry in and out of the bedroom.

The conflict is the stepparent (no surprise, as this is a Cinderella retelling) but it felt a little anti-climatic toward the end as it read rushed and not as satisfying. And the step sister was under utilized. She could have easily been not added and more step dad scenes could have been used instead. Maybe I would've gotten more of an impact from him? *shrug*

Other than that, I thought the story was a cute story. I'm happy Ellis grew as a person. I'm a big fan of fairy tale retellings and I enjoyed the ideas the author came up with. I'd check out more from this series.

Recommended for readers who like easy reading, cute characters and fairy tales.

Audiobook Review: Bitter Heat (Heat of Love #3) by Leta Blake

A pregnant omega trapped in a desperate situation, an unattached alpha with a lot to prove, and an unexpected fall into love that could save them both.

Kerry Monkburn is contracted to a violent alpha in prison for brutal crimes. Now pregnant with the alpha’s child, he lives high in the mountains, far above the city that once lured him in with promises of a better life. Enduring bitterness and fear, Kerry flirts with putting an end to his life of darkness, but fate intervenes.

Janus Heelies has made mistakes in the past. In an effort to redeem himself, integrity has become the watchword for his future. Training as a nurse under the only doctor willing to take him on, Janus is resolute in his intentions: he will live cleanly in the mountains and avoid all inappropriate affairs. But he doesn’t anticipate the pull that Kerry exercises on his heart and mind.

As the question of Kerry’s future health and safety comes to an explosive head, only the intervention of fate will see these desperate men through to a happy ending.

SRAL ABO binge continues! Full force!

I've literally devoured this series and bought the audio books to listen along while reading them from my personal stash. Why? Michael Ferriauolo is a narration genius. He's just so good *cough*try the audio Caged series by Bey Deckard*cough* But I digress.

I'm a fan of Leta Blake's Heat of Love series (yes, you must read in order). The lengths are on the long size with each main book at 100+K a piece, but I tell you I breezed through with minimal skipping. Don't let the size intimidate you. I have loved each main romantic couple (or throuple) in their own way. Book #3- Bitter Heat was no different.

First off, the pairing? Didn't see that a mile a way. Two damaged souls finding love? Who doesn't enjoy that trope?! Triggers: suicidal ideation, attempted abortion, rape/non-con, domestic violence

We have Kerry Monkburn, the omega with a disability and a violent, abusive contracted alpha, our resident villain from books #1-2 (Wilbet Monhundy) and Janus Heelies, the asshole spoiled alpha from book #2, Alpha Heat, who is recovering from his illness and trying to reform from his philandering ways.

Bitter Heat literally starts with a violent bang as we're thrust into the aftermath of Kerry having to spend his heat in prison with Wilbet. (ugh, just typing Wilbet's name make me mad). And we get to see his bleak view of the world. His has no rights since he signed them away once he contracted (married) his alpha, Wilbet. And since Wilbet in in jail, Wilbet's evil parents control Kerry since he's consider basically property. Imagine how horrible it is to have your in-laws control you and your body?

Kerry ends up being knocked up and he returns to his poor mountain hometown to try to spend his pregnancy is sort of peace. Janus Heelies ends up in the mountain boarding house (ran by Kerry's family) to train to become a nurse. He's on his road to redemption and what he didn't expect is to be snagged by the taciturn Kerry.

Kerry is ornery and stubborn and is damaged on the outside and much as the inside. Janus sees something in him and though Kerry fights him, he's still fascinated with him. There's intrigue, more mentions of violence as the most of it happens off page, hurt/comfort, recovery and love. There's a bit of humor too with Kerry's mountain folk (think hillbilly).

What I enjoy about Blake's world as though it's in the future and women have died out, technology advances are slow. I'd like to think it's the result of missing women and creativity was slower. Because I questioned throughout the series, how humans were able to create alpha, beta and omegas but we're just getting to the creation of photographs and only using landline phones.

The narrator is a delight to listen too. His voices are great. He emotes like a dream and I was never bored. He really adds to the reading experience. I loved his mountain people voices and Monte Monhundy, the most. Sometimes Janus and Kerry's voices got hard to differentiate but since I read along, it wasn't bad.

And Caleb and Yosef make an appearance. It was like a mini reunion.

There is angst but there is definitely a happy ending that I guessed, but not with the unexpected twist.

I highly recommend this series as it's creative and delight to read each main character. And I see there's #3.5 (Winter's Heart) offered for free, featuring Heat of Love offspring. I dunno if I'm ready to jump into the future with them.

But I definitely will have a hard time letting the characters go.

Recommended for ABO enthusiasts who like good plots, don't mind angst and enjoy characters that leave an impression.

Review: Dark Flame (Flame Born #1) by Kat Silver

"I know who you are because you belong to me. You were born to be mine." ~ Prince Alexei Vasiliev

Haunted by the death of his parents, Michael Blakeley wants answers. The twenty-six-year-old martial artist seeks their killer, but he also wants to know why electronics short out at his touch, and why his libido is a raging fire.

So when a group of soldiers calling themselves Guardians rescue him from a back alley ambush and claim to have the answers he needs, he agrees to go with them. Especially when they tell him the attackers were vampires. But nothing in this supernatural underworld is as it seems, and when the silver-eyed commander cages him instead, Michael's answers slip further away.

Can Michael find safety from the vampire prince who claims him? Can he escape the dark destiny he discovers is written into his blood? And will he break the chains of the commander who keeps him captive? The one man he has no desire to leave?

Dark Flame is the first pulse-pounding book in the Flame Born LGBT urban fantasy series. If you like enemies to lovers, shifters, sexy vampire princes, and scorching heat, you'll love this smoldering tale of bloodlust and magic. There is content some readers may find distressing. Meant for mature audiences.

Can I let you in on a little secret? The first line in the blurb is what sold me on reading Dark Flame.

"I know who you are because you belong to me. You were born to be mine." ~ Prince Alexei Vasiliev

That one sentence can be really magical if the character can back it up. And after reading, I am a fan of Prince Alexei....though he doesn't have much page time in the overall book, his presence was definitely there. I do enjoy a good villain. 

 

Debut novel Dark Flame is told in first person POV. Our protagonist is 26 y.o. orphan martial artist, Michael. He has no idea of his background other than being found as an infant with his slaughtered parents. He wants answers but doesn't know where to start. And strange things keep happening to him. He shorts out electronics and it's difficult to  hold a job. Plus, he sees a shadow that no one else can see. A late night hook up with a lady (there's only a brief M/F encounter) changes his entire world.

The reader and Michael are thrust into this new urban fantasy world with vampires, shifters, witches, fae and magic, oh my! And the most important of all, Flame (think of it as supernatural life source). There are battles and cool mystery as to what the hell Michael is and why his sexuality is not as defined as he thought it was. 

Gabriel Flanagan is the head of supernatural soldiers and takes charge of introducing Michael to his new world (in more ways than one). Michael also has a dark fae/vampire prince Alexei that wants him all to his self. Alexei introduces himself around the 20% and wields a lot of intensity that Michael can't resist, though he tries.  Alexei's words are very seductive and one ever knows what tricks he has up his sleeve because Alexei is not only seductive, he's cunning. Whenever he's on page, he uses his influence to his best ability. I want more of him in the rest of the series. *fingers crossed*

Michael has a lot of his plate. He's learning his new abilities, the magical world where creatures he thought were make believe actually exist and exactly what makes him special. He's trying to find out the truth about his heritage. And he's trying to figure out his attraction to two specific men. 

Is this a romance? Nope. It's urban fantasy with romantic elements. There is some eroticism, but it's more about the seduction and intense moments. No penetrative scenes, but what is written fits the characters and is hot. More sensual and sexy than balls deep, if you will.  I do enjoy a good slow burn and love triangle. And though I'm Team Alexei, and I want him to devour Michael and show him a thing or three. Trigger warning: attempted rape

This is Michael's story through and through. And at first, I was indifferent to him. As the story progressed, I grew to like him. The secondary characters for me stole the show, though he's a close second. The world building is solid. There is modern day UK where the story seems to be set and different realms. There is long histories just waiting to be delved into. There wasn't a lull moment, I found the novel to be evenly paced. 

I ended the story with questions that I'm sure will be answered in the overall arc of the story: 

• What is Michael's background? 
• What happened to his family? Was this foretold? 
• What is the set up between Alexei, Gabriel and Michael? (I hope it ends with menage because I don't think I can choose)
  

The story ends at a hopeful for now spot and no defined relationship...yet. I see the author offered an erotic freebie, Two Nights and a Day, featuring Gabriel and Michael which I will be jumping right into. (You must read book #1 first)

This seems perfectly set up for a second (and third) book. I'm curious to see what else author Kat Silver has up their sleeve. Consider me a fan of the Flame Born series.

Recommended for fans of urban fantasy with secrets, action, dark characters and solid world building.

A copy provided for an honest review.

Review: His Surrogate Omega (Omega Quadrant #1) by Kelex

Omega Gray Tomlinson is positive he’ll remain unmated for the rest of his life. By his mid-thirties, he remains unclaimed and without prospects, and lives confined to the Omega Quadrant, where he’s sure he’ll end up dying alone.

When his older brother, Silver, and Silver’s alpha die in a tragic accident, Gray’s nephews come to live in his little sequestered world. Without an alpha, he knows he has little means to help support the boys. The only choice he can stomach is to offer his services as a surrogate.

The minute Gray meets Jamie, the infertile omega who so desperately wants a child, he senses a bond like none he’s ever felt before. It’s brotherly love at first sight, and Gray decides Jamie is the one, agreeing to carry his and his alpha, Rohan’s, child.

But when circumstances change, Gray is faced with new challenges, a new love interest, and a battle for the very life that grew inside him. And maybe there’s an alpha out there for him after all…

The tight grip I've had on fan fiction over the past year has been deadly. I have read some of the best written works in years during my fan fiction tight hold, creative, plot driven, excellent world-building. And one genre that I prefer fan fic style is ABO. A lot of the published ABO I've found to be more lighter, fluffier and while it's not bad, I don't mind more substance and a good plot.

I've been on a ABO binge lately (if you're on GR you can check my latest read books to see). I've found a lot of well plotted published ABO and haven't been disappointed yet. And this one that I'm reviewing is from a personal read that I am highly recommending. Because it had plot, great characters, angst, and it made me tear up...in fucking public as I read: His Surrogate Omega (Omega Quadrant #1) by Kelex.

Never read this author before but blurb read delicious to my angst loving heart. And I definitely don't mind trying new authors out.

Loved this. Loved it so much that I'll ignore the perfectness at certain parts just because on a whole, this story just works!

Triggers: cancer, death, infertility - lets get those out the way shall we. 

In the Omega Quadrant world, omegas are sectioned off in part of land where their rights are restricted. Unless they mate with an alpha, they can't leave. Alphas have their own quadrant (where it's better-go figure) and there's a Family Quadrant where mixed genders reside. Beta are basically neutral parties but aren't revered as they can't procreate. 

We start with nearly 35 year old artist omega Gray who hasn't been a prospect for a mate in many years. He's on the shelf and was happy until his omega brother and mate died. Now uncle Gray is guardian of his 3 omega nephews:19, 13 and 10 years old. (Yikes) Omegas can't work in any decent paying respectful jobs, so Gray comes up with one of the few jobs he could do: being a surrogate. 

His oldest omega nephew is actually more responsible than Gray, but Gray's getting a crash course raising his nephews and trying to earn money. Gray meets the fabulous Jaime, who is infertile due to illness. The two share a bond in a instant like brothers. And they lean on each other on their journey to surrogacy. 

Jaime's alpha, Rohan, however feels immediate attraction to Gray. But what does it mean for his bond? Between Gray and Rohan trying to deny their feelings, Gray's family issues, hell...Jaime's family issues- it kept me so engaged. This story isn't about knotting and omega slick. There's sexy and hormones but that secondary to the overall story. I was invested in their lives and found myself tearing up reading the grief and illness battle. 

Is this a love triangle? Eh...no. Is there cheating? I didn't consider it to be. 

The characters made an impression that stuck. Yes, there is pain. But the journey and battle made the happily ever after worth it. And I'll probably will reread this very soon. I want more of this world because there seems to be an omega revolution brewing. 

I am chomping at the bit for the next in the series. (no pressure to the author) Just know I'll be on book #2 (AVERY and WILDER!) and any more from this series like white on rice. 

 

P.S. Is Vaughn going to have a future book? He comes off as an ass and a half, but maybe he's redeemable? *shrug* He definitely has MUCH growing up to do.

Review: The Empires of Luxor City by Sasha Hope

In the aftermath of his father’s funeral, Dom Wesa, the new Alpha of Luxor City’s Central Empire, stumbles upon an Omega in desperate need of help. The Omega, Lin Vasiliev, wakes to find he’s been taken into Dom’s home to be rehabilitated. Dom thinks the young addict may have information about the illicit drug trade going on in his Empire. He gets Lin sober to question him only to discover that Lin is new in town and ignorant of Luxor’s laws.

Dom and Lin are both suspicious of each other at first for their own reasons, but as that wariness wears away a deep attraction develops between them. Dom dotes on Lin, leaving the once stone-broke Omega bathed in finery he never could have imagined. They start planning for Lin’s upcoming heat, when they will be driven together by their kindling bond and strong compatibility as an Alpha and Omega pair. However, in the midst of their swelling romance, Luxor’s most notorious Alpha reappears sparking a gang war that threatens to turn the entire city into a battleground.

Reading books and me haven't been seeing eye to eye lately. I've been devouring fan fiction in my free time. I've tried a good number of books in the interim but nothing stuck.

The Empires of Luxor by debut (published) author Sasha Hope however was one to finally catch and hold my attention. the blurb definitely is a SRAL magnet = ABO + mafia! Plus, the author is a fan fic writer so, it was a win-win-win on all fronts for me.

Overall, Empires is a solid story. We are thrown into a futuristic world where Alpha/ Beta/ Omega (ABO) society is supreme. The world is reformed after the great wars and Luxor City is the capital of New America. It's an island where gangster like empires run it in three different sectors, north, central and south. And we're thrust into the new leader of the central empire, Dom Wesa's reign. his asshole father just died and he tries to hold the empire together without resorting to drug use. And the illegal drug use leads him to a heroin addicted omega, Lin.

Dom and Lin were a cute pair. There was a little snark, some sass, a heavy dose of fluff with a little bit of action/illegal activity sprinkled in.

This read like fan fiction and I'm not hating on that all! I read lots of fan fic now, so it was super easy to jump into. But I can't rate this higher because I expected something more gritty with the world building and main characters and their positions. 

I had a couple of issues:

Lin - he's given the least amount of background. It's disappointing. We don't know nothing of why he left his home. Was he an orphan? Was he running from his troubles? What job did he have? We get the gist of why he turned to drugs for a brief time (kinda quick on shaking the heroin addiction btw) And once he's clean, he goes from shy to vixen? And the pole dancing? It read more gratuitous that helpful to the plot. 

The sex scenes between Lin and Dom - Lin has never had a heat partner. And yet he chose Dom, yet the knotting is glossed over and his first time was a bit lackluster. Again, it might be due to the author not fully laying out the ABO rules in this universe - knotting/mating seemed to be a big deal. The secondary couple's sex scene was way better than the main pair and they didn't even have half of the book to fully explore their plot.

The mafia - mmm...other than telling the reader about being gangsters and cool shooting scenes here and there, Dom wasn't all that bad. He was a teddy bear at the end of the day especially since he just took care of a random "junkie" without doing background checks, etc. My fave 'bad guy' was Jimena actually. 

Dom/Lin relationship - This is an issue I've read in a number of books. If a bad guy finally lets someone in romantically into their lives, there should be a good enough reason as to why the other person is THE ONE. Dom didn't seem so affected when he clapped eyes on Lin. And vice versa. Dom was kind of standoffish/cold and Lin sort of seemed reserved...why mate so quick if the passion wasn't at an all time high? I can ignore insta-love/mating if the passion each character consumes them (I've read a good number of stories where it's believable) But these two go from 0 to 60 then boom 100. Like the indulgent car or strip club scene? It read more for the reader and less for the characters, which sucks because I wanted to love the main characters. I ended the story being more invested in the secondary characters *cough* Jimena (who I couldn't stop picturing as Jidenna after reading the author's blog post)

Overall, the story is good. It reads lighter than it looks. Good world building, wouldn't mind more backstory about this version of omegas. I'd try this author's future works. They have great ideas.