Review: As Spring Rain by Valentina Heart

Gabriel is hell-bent on self-destruction. Every man he chooses is a man who will hurt him, and when he can't find others to do it he turns to hurting himself. Whatever it takes to bury the wrenching, forbidden, but inescapable feelings tearing him apart.

But everyone has a breaking point, and when his twin brother Michael comes to pick up the pieces something will have to give before there aren't any pieces left…

Warning: this story contains incest

Michael and Gabriel live together and have been lusting after each other for years. But neither one does anything about it because of the whole twin thing. Ya know, it can be frowned upon. Not here though!

Gabriel's character is so self-destructive and angsty. Everything becomes an issue, an issue that he can't fix without Michael's help. He's completely co-dependent on his brother. All of this I would be okay with but... Is it because of his parents? Or because of his want for his brother? Or all of his exes? Is he depressed? I'm not sure. It was unclear why he's such a mess. There was a lot of telling about Gabriel's bad choices and determination to hurt himself. All of the background was focused on his road to self-destruction, but I still never got a real grasp on who he is and why he's this way.

Regardless..........

hot twins are HOT.

Their first scene together was intense. It was raw and gritty and sexy. It was dirty and real and messy. It's what I was waiting for. All the build up led to one passionate scene. 

But then, what? Michael is all better? I don't believe it. I think I saw that there's going to be a sequel and, goodness, I hope so. This needs a better conclusion than BOOM! they have sex and everything is grand. Michael has way too much to work through for it to end here. 

Did I like it? Well, I couldn't put it down, but I wouldn't say I enjoyed my experience. There was too much hurt for me to find this enjoyable. I was intrigued and I want to know more, so yeah, I recommend it. Make sure to read the blurb and the triggers first.

 A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Rabbit Season (Lost Shifters #2) by Megan Derr

Sidney has quietly loved twin brothers Brook and Colby for years, watching and pining as they came to his house for the summer every year. Painfully aware that they have each other, have no reason to notice the unremarkable duck they grew up babysitting.

Then the twins and their mother are attacked days before an important meeting that will change the shifter world forever. When the twins come to stay with Sidney's family until the attackers are caught, Sidney learns that all things have their season, and even violent protests will not keep two rabbits from the man for whom they've been patiently waiting…

Warning: Story contains incest.

Let’s talk about bunny brocest and menages shall we?

Turns out, I’m a fan.

Now those things can be deal breakers for some, but I have to say, in this story, neither thing was that big of a deal, so don’t let either tag turn your away. Besides, you know how it is in shifter-ville stories. RL rules do not apply and bros can boink like bunnies and also find a duck to fuck.

When I picked up this one up to review and realized it was second in the series I quick bought and read Backwoods Asylum. I really liked that one too. I wouldn’t say you have to read it first, but it certainly helped. There is a lot going on in the second book about pack politics and you’ll want the background that you get in book 1. One thing about Backwoods is that the politics was more focused while in the second it was more overall pack business. I found it to be a little much for a shorter story. It felt like the pack dynamic drama overshadowed the relationship a bit as the story was trying to tell me a lot of things in a little space. I would have liked it to be a little longer with more relationship centered scenes.

Brook and Colby, the twin brothers, were great, likable characters. They had distinct personalities that really complemented each other. Colby was mouthy with an attitude and a heart of gold while Brook had a quiet strength and dominance to him that was pretty swoony. The fact that they were brothers was totally fine by me. They didn’t make a huge production out of it, it just was and they owned it which is why I think I liked it so much. Plus, they’re rabbits and it’s not completely out of the realm of rabbit shifter relationships apparently. So, all good.

During a particular badass Colby moment he says:

If you ever come near any of us again, for any reason at all, I’ll slit your fucking throat. I’m a nasty incestuous rabbit. You should better appreciate that means most rules mean jack shit to me.

I liked that.

Sidney the duck was also really likable. He didn’t have the natural confidence that Brook and Colby had, but he had snark and attitude which I’m always a fan of. He was protected pretty fiercely by his dads and that made him seem more immature than the other two to me. I didn’t quite feel his deeper love for Brook and Colby at least not as much as I wanted to. I think that’s why I needed a few extra scenes with just the three of them developing a relationship so that I could completely buy into Sidney loving these two for life.

The Lost Shifters series is really the kind of shifter stories I like. They are unique (not everyone is a wolf!), snarky and sweet. I’ll definitely be reading the next in the series.


For more info on Rabbit Season (Lost Shifters #2) check it out over at Goodreads.

**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**

Guest Review: Klaxon at the Core (Signal to Noise, #2) by Tayla Andor

After surviving alone on Noise for years, Bastian and Theo are exhilarated and terrified by the thriving chaos of Central. Even in the middle of civilization, they stand apart, bound together by their years of isolation. Central is their chance to change that and find the ordinary lives they never knew on Noise. Long, lonely days struggling to survive are firmly in their past.

But the present holds conflicts of its own, and if Bastian and Theo hope to survive to enjoy their new lives, they may have to return to the hard ways of their difficult past …

Reviewed by Vivian

Theo and Bastian finally have left Noise behind and all the horrors of the last three years of solitude as they fought to survive against the Armor incursion. But all those dreams of luxury and peace are smashed when the politics of power come to play.

And Theo and Bastian are power--as it's never been seen before.

With their emergence other powers jockey for position and peace falls beneath the onslaught of allegiances and greed. The twins closer than ever find they must make a decision about how they want to live... and die.

I loved how Theo and Bastian's relationship strengthened further as they experienced more. Through psionic testing, meeting new people and challenges. They were both still beautiful, dedicated and strong. No wasted time with petty personal conflicts as the story is driven by external conflicts.

So, I have one gripe about this story. There are these nods to other science fiction stories that while intended to be cute or a nod are extraordinarily distracting from this story I don't need characters' names to automatically trigger me into thinking about some other plot and rip me out of reading this one. Admiral Olmos (Battlestar Galactica) and Jane Stewart (Star Trek mash) really just aggravated me by interrupting my reading experience. You will also note that the Armors really begin to resemble another foe from sci-fi. While in book one it read very much like an Aliens homage, the sequel has a definite Borg quality to it.

But, the end... Great job. Nicely done, exciting, and sacrifice. The strong conclusion leaves the reader with a better impression and pulled my rating from somewhere around 3-3.5 stars to 4.

Favorite quote:

He could feel Bastian's deep delight now that it was their choice that bound them together rather than uncertain fate.

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