Books

Book 1,036: Chef’s Kiss – Jarrett Melendez

I didn’t realize it at the time, but this has many similarities to Bloom, but with enough of a twist/reversal that it makes sense that I read it right after. It was purely coincidence though, this was one of the half dozen graphic novels/manga that were immediately downloadable from my local library. I won’t compare too much as it’s not really fair to either, but I just got a kick out of that realizing it now as I sit down to write my response (months later—whoops).

Continue reading “Book 1,036: Chef’s Kiss – Jarrett Melendez”

ARC, Books

Book 972: His Last Christmas in London (Christmas Collection #1) – Con Riley

Con Riley is one of those authors who has a really great sense of place. When I read their “His” series, I legit wanted to buy a bed and breakfast or a pub and hotel and move to the southern coast of England. So, when I saw this MM Holiday Romance pop up from Gay Romance Reviews I jumped at it.*

This is the story of Ian, a struggling photographer whose gotten out of an abusive professional/personal relationship and has realized he can’t make it in London no matter how much he’s tried and his roommates have helped out. He agrees to one last job at 3x his rate with his old boss/lover and meets Guy, a restaurant critic with a huge overshadowing persona. And even though it’s not love at first sight, it’s definitely confusion and lust.

Continue reading “Book 972: His Last Christmas in London (Christmas Collection #1) – Con Riley”

ARC, Books

Book 953: Stronger Than Passion (Chesapeake Days #2) – Katherine McIntyre

Coming off Stronger Than Hope, I wasn’t 100% sure I was going to read the next one in the series. There were just enough little annoyances in it that I wasn’t convinced. However, when this landed in my inbox I thought why not give McIntyre another chance, see if the same issues showed up again.*

I called Nico being one of the protagonists of this book but had no clue who the second would be. We find ourselves with a classic enemies-to-lovers trope. Nico Shah, the owner and proprietor of the local town bar who is a one-night-stand only kind of guy, is forced to work with Hudson West, the pretty boy with a presumed-trust fund who runs the high-end classy restaurant of the town. They don’t get on because of numerous misunderstandings, but they slowly fall for each other as they work together.

Continue reading “Book 953: Stronger Than Passion (Chesapeake Days #2) – Katherine McIntyre”

ARC, Books

Book 926: Khabaar – Madhushree Ghosh

When the publicist reached out to me about this one, I wasn’t sure I had the capacity, but it was five months before it was published so I figured I’d make time!*

That sort of happened. Khabaar was on my TBR pile nonstop from February onward but between all the knitting I was doing and getting distracted by EVERY MM romance novel possible, I kept putting it off to my detriment.

Continue reading “Book 926: Khabaar – Madhushree Ghosh”