Book 925: Hot Wings (The Hot Cannolis #2) – Eli Easton & Tara Lain

After thoroughly enjoying Hot Seat I knew I would say yes to this one the second it landed in my inbox, and I did.*

And coming out of Hot Seat I knew one of the protagonists would be the hotshot pilot, Dell, mentioned toward the end of that book, but I didn’t know who the Canali would be. My money was on Tito, but that was way off the mark (he’s totally getting his book I still think that and after reading this so is Uncle Ricky – totally see a May/December romance coming our way).

The main love interest in this book was Donny, Mike’s older brother who realized the danger of Mike’s hiding in the closet and supported him without question and changed a lot of his attitude when he saw what was happening to Mike.

I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this one as much as I did the first one, I really liked in Hot Seat how macho Mike and more effeminate Shane felt more like equals and exploring their bodies and relationship together and this one came off more of an alpha wanting to dominate an alpha and that just was red flags for me. Thankfully, by the end of the novel, Dell and Donny have a less kinky, less power dynamic-based relationship than I assumed it was going to be from the start. Don’t get me wrong I’m definitely a “you do you, boo” kind of person, I just wasn’t really looking forward to a kinky D/s type book when I picked this up.

Easton and Lain did a great job of writing the tension/fear/confusion/desire of Donny as he and Dell get to know each other. Somehow I could feel the horror and shock of Donny and the desire and horniness of Dell when he first kissed Donny. There was so much build-up to that and when it happened it was like OMG. And the second kiss was even more powerful with Donny instigating it out of rage/fear and trying to get Dell out of his system. Swoon/clutch my pearls moment most definitely.

My biggest surprise was the first penetrative sex scene, I won’t say what happened, but suffice to say it wasn’t what I thought would happen and Easton and Lain have all my respect for choosing to do it the way they did! Verse characters are my favorite and they all walked the walk and talked the talk and within the power dynamic, both Dell and Donny sought out and fell into.

The crises and conclusion of the novel were a little predictable but well written. I loved Dell’s sister and mom and the fact his mom caused the drama was perfectly led up to by the authors. The big OMG we love each other scene was also predictable because firemen, but again Easton and Lain did a wonderful job getting to it and carrying us through it in Dell’s and Donny’s voices and personalities.

The last note I’ll put is I freakin adored the names and references Easton and Lain used throughout this one, from Dell and his sister Gala’s full names being Rivendell and Galadriel to her self chosen name being Titania (queen of the faeries—oh hey Shakespeare) and the numerous Jane Austen references dropped in, I thoroughly enjoyed the Easter eggs. There were a few times when the Middle Earth references felt a little overdone/overwrought, but those were few and far between and honestly, only added to Titania’s uniqueness as a character.

Recommendation: READ IT! I cannot wait for the continuation of this series. I really liked that there was a new family dynamic outside of the Canalis, but that we still got brief glimpses of those we came to know and love in Hot Seat. Dell and Donny were wonderful characters and I cannot wait to see them in the background of future novels like we got to see Mike and Shane in this one. Don’t let the alpha-macho dominance thing scare you off like it almost did me, there’s just as much chilling on the couch and snuggling as there is hot sex in this novel.

*I received a copy of Hot Wings via Gay Romance Reviews in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

Opening Line: “Team 6, get back! Pull out now!”

Closing Line: “I laughed and it sounded young and carefree. ‘Make that forever and you’ve got a deal.'” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)