Friday, October 29, 2021

Hostile Takeover by Lucy Lennox Blog Tour

Available Now. Hostile Takeover. Bestselling Author Lucy Lennox. Blog Tour. October 27th – 29th. Let the negotiations begin.

It was supposed to be a prank. A silly frat boy dare.

One hot moment in a hidden storage closet. One kiss. No consequences.

But if you get that close to a man with fire in his eyes, you’re gonna get burned, and I was no exception. One taste of Grey Blackwood ruined me for life.

The way Grey sees it, I was the one who did the ruining. I humiliated him. Wrecked his life. Destroyed his future.

Doesn’t matter that he’s clawed his way back and then some. Doesn’t matter that he’s already top of the Wall Street food chain. The man’s ruthless. Heartless. And he likes his revenge served cold.

Now he’s taking down the companies owned by every frat boy who did him wrong. And when he comes for my family’s company, the quiet life I’ve built for myself far away from Manhattan comes crumbling down, too.

But when Grey’s standing in our boardroom, threatening a hostile takeover and demanding I negotiate on behalf of my family, I don’t see an enemy. I see the chance I’ve been waiting for.

The chance for another night in his arms, and hopefully a whole lot more.

Let the negotiations begin.

Hostile Takeover is a full-length, standalone novel.

 

Add to Goodreads.

 

Hostile Takeover by Lucy Lennox

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Kobo
Audiobook (US)  ~  Paperback (US)

 

 

Excerpt



Within seconds, he’d pulled me down the hallway to a closed door. Once he opened it, I saw the storage room everyone talked about. Shelving reached all the way to the ceiling, and most of it was covered in pristine club hand towels folded into neat stacks. A large ice machine hummed in the corner, and right next to it was an old-fashioned water cooler.

Grey grabbed a paper water cup shaped like a cone from the stack on top of the water cooler and filled it before handing it to me. I sucked it down greedily, if only to get that godforsaken butterscotch flavor out of my mouth.

“Thanks,” I mumbled before moving forward to refill the cone. I brushed my shoulder against his chest as I stepped past him. Suddenly, the room seemed much smaller than it had before. The scent of coffee and laundry detergent surrounded me, but it was overlaid with the barest hint of apple shampoo.

I turned my head to see if that smell was coming from him, but at the same moment, he turned his head toward me to ask me something. The words died on his tongue as we found ourselves nose-to-nose. From this close, I could see his hair was hundreds of different shades of blond. A hank of it had fallen down over one eyebrow. It made him look vulnerable, unlike the proud man who seemed to have his shit together on the golf course and in class.

“Hi,” I breathed.

“What are you doing?” he asked in a weary voice. The air between us was thick and heavy. If I’d been any more sober, I would have chickened the fuck out and run out with my tail between my legs.

But I wasn’t sober.

“I just… I…”

“Ellison.” He spoke my name like a warning.

“You’re smart as shit,” I said stupidly.

“I know,” he replied, meeting my eyes in challenge.

“Why do you work here with all these rich assholes around you? It’s unbearable.”

His face widened in a reluctant grin. “Spoken by one of the selfsame rich assholes.”

I frowned, and Grey’s eyes followed the movement of my lips. My cock liked that. A lot.

“Why?” I repeated breathlessly.

“Good money, better connections. I want to be an investment banker, and the only way to do it well is to work for one of those rich assholes one day. The men in that room control eighty percent of the country’s investment capital. I want a piece of it.”

“But—”

He cut me off with the barest brush of his lips against mine. It was so light, so nothing, he could have written it off as an accident, but it was enough of a spark to light the whole damned stack of fireworks between us.

I lunged for him with both hands, grabbing his face and smashing my mouth against his. He grunted at the impact, but then Grey’s arms came around to hold me tight while he kissed me back.

He kissed me back.

I could barely breathe. It wasn’t enough. My heart hammered in my chest with something like panic. What if he stopped? What if this all stopped and I couldn’t have it anymore? This awkward, grappling kiss was everything. Everything. And I knew right away it was only the beginning.

I wanted more. I wanted him. I wanted to be naked and ready for whatever came next. My dick was out of fucking control right now, and I couldn’t even figure out how to go about getting off. I just knew I wanted to get off with him. With Grey.

 

 

I didn’t trust myself in the same room with Grey Blackwood.

 

Reviews


Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team


Angie☆☆☆☆
Wow... if you like enemies-to-lovers, this is the book for you. There's a lot of steam and the chemistry is off the charts. It's kind of a slow burn. These guys have crap to sort out. A prank went wrong, and lives were changed. There is laughter, lots of banter, sexy times, and, of course, a lot of crap to figure out. Grey and Ellis are just spectacular together and I loved every second of this book.

 

 

Author Bio



LUCY LENNOX is finally putting good use to that English Lit degree earned way back in the 1900s.

She stays up way too late each night reading M/M romance because she is a sucker for a good story.

Connect with Lucy

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: Lucy’s Lair

 

 

Nothing good ever starts with a drunken dare.

 

Hosted by

Social Butterfly PR.


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Hostile Takeover (Hostile Takeover #1) by Lucy Lennox to read and review for this tour.

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Desert Dreams by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey

When danger stalks their new home, it’s only their strength as a couple that keeps them safe. Desert Dreams by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey. An Owatonna Novella.

When danger stalks their new home, it’s only their strength as a couple that keeps them safe.

Ryker misses Jacob every day he’s away. At the start of a new Raptors season with everything to play for, Jacob, the desert ranch, and their small menagerie of animals have become an oasis of peace in a turbulent world. He’s never ridden a horse, he’s never considered how much this place would mean to him, but suddenly he’s forming a connection with a mare called Tops and loving every moment of this new life. Balancing hockey with his love for Jacob, he feels that nothing can ever go wrong.

With his life finally on track, Jacob is pouring all of himself into the dream he shares with Ryker. Putting the final touches on Mountain Vista Ranch, a halfway home for troubled LGBTQ youth and their families, fills his heart with pride. When their first clients arrive, he finds himself drawn to the small family and their plight. Little does he or Ryker know that the darkness the newcomers have fled from is following them.

Don’t miss our reviews of other books in the Owatonna U Hockey series!
For book one, Ryker, click HERE.
For book two, Scott, click HERE.
For book three, Benoit, click HERE.
For book five, Valentine's Hearts, click HERE.

 

Add to Goodreads.

 

Desert Dreams by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey

Book 6
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

 

 

Excerpt



“This is Max.” Jacob held the phone out to me. “He looks like a happy kid,” Jacob murmured.

I glanced at my husband to see the light in his eyes. One day he might want kids—surrogacy, adoption, somehow, we’d be extending our family—and how could we do that if I was traded up to Montreal or Vancouver and he was here in Arizona?

“He’s the best.” Jack beamed. “All four of the kids ride, and because of Max we have a horse therapy program for children at the D.”

Of course, they did, because Jack clearly had a grip on his life and could work magic, and managed to have his whole world on an even keel.

“We’re uncles,” Jacob said proudly. “Show Jack a photo.” He looked at me pointedly.

I could see the tension bracketing his eyes. I was fucking up, and he’d been planning for this visit for weeks. After all, it had been Jack’s Legacy Ranch that had inspired Jacob.

“Sorry, yeah.” I scrolled to a picture of little Charlotte on my cell, my heart swelling with love at seeing her cheeky smile, and showing Jack who made all the right noises, and called her hella cute. She was hella cute, and in that particular photo, she was in a tiny Raptors shirt that I’d sent to Dad and Ten.

“I’m actually kind of her big brother, Jacob’s like an uncle, but biologically—it’s complicated.”

“Life always is.” Jack laughed. “And that’s your team?” he asked, smiling at me, waiting for me to give the best answer I could think of.

“Yeah, the Arizona Raptors, in Arizona.” Duh. The fuck, Ryker?

“I never get that.” Jack wrinkled his nose. “I get ice in Canada, that’s perfectly okay, I mean, it’s cold. But we have a team in Dallas, you know them, yeah?”

“There are only thirty-two teams, so we play them.” Jeez, way to sound condescending.

Jack shook his head. “Ice. In Dallas. Makes as much sense as ice in Arizona.”

 

 

Reviews


Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team


Sarah☆☆☆☆☆
I love the little Jacob and Ryker interludes to the Rebels/Railers/Owatonna series. This is a short, sweet moment where we get to see Jacob and Ryker welcome the first guests to their ranch.

Jacob and Ryker feel like proper grownups in this book but they’re just as wonderful together as they always have been. There is a little bit of comedy from Stan and a surprise appearance by Jack Campbell-Hayes. Add a tiny bit of hockey drama and this very short novella is complete.

The ranch has been set up to support vulnerable members of the LGBT, so it isn’t a surprise that the first family to arrive tugs at our heartstrings. I love seeing Jacob grow in confidence at the ranch and I love both Jacob and Ryder with their first guests. This is an easy, satisfying read that fans of all three interlinked series will enjoy. New readers need to start at the very beginning with the first Harrisburg Railers story.


Veronica☆☆☆☆
I was so happy to be spending more time with Jacob and Ryker. Newly married, they are living on a ranch in Arizona, preparing it as a haven to troubled LGBTQ youth and their families. Given what Jacob and Ryker have been through, you’d forgive them for taking time for themselves, but this is what they want to do.

The very first people to stay at their farm are teen David and his family, escaping domestic violence and it brings danger to the ranch. Enter Maksim, a Russian security expert courtesy of their friend Stan. He is charming and entertaining, and he made me chuckle. Maksim's unique ways, together with some lovely romantic moments between Ryker and Jacob, provide some light to this story that deals with some heavy subject matter.

What David and his family are going through is awful and it made for difficult reading at times. But this story was worth it to get to the epilogue, which I adored and had me crying happy tears. A big thank you to the authors for continuing this series so we can spend more time with the characters we love.


Ruthie☆☆☆☆
This is the sixth book in the series and, if like me, you are a big fan of this series, and those interconnecting ones written by this talented duo of authors, you will be very happy on the catch ups as well as the story itself.

It is so lovely to see that Jacob and Ryker now have their plans of a safe haven ranch turning into reality in the Arizona desert. They may be married, older, and more responsible, but still, they have a lovely joy of life and uncertainty of youth – it is utterly understandable and very endearing. They are true to themselves, and deeply invested in being the best they can be for each other and in their chosen roles in life.

I loved the humour drawn from the animals of the desert, as well as those on the ranch itself. It helped to counteract the very serious issues raised by the family in need which comes to stay. It also provided a haven for Ryker from the intensity of the ice hockey arena.

There are some wonderful cameos, but no one will be surprised to know that Stan makes the biggest impression!

 

 

Author Bio

RJ Scott

USA Today bestselling author RJ SCOTT has written over one hundred romance books. Emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, single dads, hockey players, millionaires, princes, bodyguards, Navy SEALs, soldiers, doctors, paramedics, firefighters, cops, and the men who get mixed up in their lives, always with a happy ever after.

She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing. The last time she had a week’s break from writing, she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a box of chocolates she couldn’t defeat.

Connect with RJ

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: RJ Scott – Special Secret Group

 



USA Today bestselling author V.L. LOCEY – Penning LGBT hockey romance that skates into sinful pleasures.

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Doctor Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.


Connect with V.L.

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: Vicki’s Vixens

 
 

ARC provided by

Love Lane Books.


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Desert Dreams (Owatonna U Hockey #6) by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey to read and review for this tour.

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Archangel's Light by Nalini Singh

A love story so epic it’s been half a millennia in the making. Archangel's Light by Nalini Singh.

Nalini Singh returns to the world of the Guild Hunters for the most highly anticipated novel of the beloved series—a love story so epic it’s been half a millennia in the making…

Illium and Aodhan. Aodhan and Illium. For centuries they’ve been inseparable: the best of friends, closer than brothers, companions of the heart. But that was before—before darkness befell Aodhan and shattered him, body, mind, and soul. Now, at long last, Aodhan is healing, but his new-found strength and independence may come at a devastating cost—his relationship with Illium.

As they serve side by side in China, a territory yet marked by the evil of its former archangel, the secret it holds nightmarish beyond imagining, things come to an explosive decision point. Illium and Aodhan must either walk away from the relationship that has defined them—or step forward into a future that promises a bond infinitely precious in the life of an immortal… but that demands a terrifying vulnerability from two badly bruised hearts.

Don’t miss our reviews of other books in the Guild Hunter series!
For book ten, Archangel's Viper, click HERE.
For book eleven, Archangel's Prophecy, click HERE.
For book twelve, Archangel's War, click HERE.
For book thirteen, Archangel's Sun, click HERE.

 

Add to Goodreads.

 

Archangel's Light by Nalini Singh

Book 14
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Audiobook (US)  ~  Paperback (US)
Berkley (PRH)

 

 

Aodhan is the deep, boundless ocean to your tempestuous storm. He anchors you and you take him flying.

 

Reviews


Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team


Erica☆☆☆☆
Archangel's Light is the 14th installment in the Guild Hunter series. Since each book is a continuation of the previous, with threads connecting them all, I would highly suggest against reading as a standalone or skipping installments. Not only would the reader be confused, but the emotional connection built over the arc of the novels would be lessened.

Let's face it, either you were anticipating Bluebell and Aodhan's book or you were dreading it. There is a contingent that didn't feel it proper to have two male protagonists fall in love with one another, either out of squeamishness (to put it nicely) or wrongly felt as if Illium and Aodhan were brothers, even though that wasn't what was put on the angsty pages for 14 installments.

Obviously, I was in the anticipatory camp, giddily waiting to see how Nalini Singh would write this epic friends-to-lovers story.

Told in two time frames, the past and the present, Singh manages to pack an eon of relationship building into the novel, giving readers a good understanding of the foundation, the connection, and the angst that has kept Aodhan and Illium apart.

Most important info for both camps, anti or pro Bluebell and Aodhan:

Nalini Singh plays it safe to appease both camps. Very wise decision. Slow-burn. Chaste romance. Intimate touches, just the brush of wing or the side of the hand, while both angels angst inside their own heads. This should show those who were anti how Love is Love, how it bridges all gaps, how it stands the test of time. How friendship can turn to a romantic connection with a spark. How these angels are not human, their lives timeless over millennium, with no gender or orientation, as it is that spark of connection that fuses two beings of light.

With the romance an undercurrent, the angst the men feel a nonstop buzz that sometimes jolts the reader, the bulk majority of the novel is based in the devastation and destruction wrought across China as they rebuild, along with the transition from an evil Archangel to the benevolent acting Archangel.

Aodhan has been invited to join as the new Archangel's second, which would tear him from Raphael's Seven. Not only were Aodhan and Illium bonded as friends since they were littles, they joined Raphael in the tightest of bonds. It's a major consideration for Aodhan, not only a feeling of honor to be chosen but a sense of loss should he chose to join her, as he would have to cut his loyalties to Raphael and his fellow Seven.

Our Bluebell is beside himself, assuming Aodhan will take the second position and leave him forever, angsting nonstop. While Aodhan angsts nonstop. It's cute and delicious at first, but it gets old fast, like shake the sense into them old. Until their miscommunication and angsting makes them feel like middle schoolers, not centuries' old angels who have known each other for their entire lives, connected in a way that is unbreakable.

To be honest, I felt their relationship a let down, all the anticipation, the buildup over 14 novels, only to receive a similar voice built on the foundation of miscommunication, which I believe is a cop-out to real drama, and unnecessary angst that left both of them sounding immature. There was so much there between them, the miscommunication unnecessary, where a hurt-comfort friends-to-lovers slow-burn would have been best. Thankfully, it does seem to be headed in that direction.

I was delighted with the across time snapshots of their lives, the foundation building of their friendship and bond, along with the snippets from others to create a full picture of what both Illium and Aodhan had gone though over their lives, how they both suffered from the absence of one another. That was beautifully and flawlessly written, bittersweet and heartbreaking with an air of hope.

Aside from the immaturity and pining, there was a major issue I had with the novel, one that I found jarring, tugging me from the story time and time again. I will call this phenomenon "Hearsay" writing.

Singh adopted a new writing style that I do not remember from past installments. I can forgive the random info-dumps at the worst time possible, knowing this is her style of writing over the countless books of hers I've read. Where there will be paragraphs out of nowhere, running down things that were already shown or told within this book, after reading them in real time in the installments before. I forgive this "pace killer" as I'm used to skimming it. But this "Hearsay" writing style was jarring, especially combined with the back and forth of the present and the past from numerable major characters.

Hearsay: in the middle of a scene, suddenly, with no modifier to distinguish it from the scene itself, ALL the narrators would suddenly be thinking of a past conversation with someone/anyone, with actual quotes, most of the time having absolutely NOTHING to do with the scene we were currently reading. No lead-in. No transition. I would have to backtrack, try to remember what was occurring, to not be confused once I was dumped back into the scene itself. There was never a time I wasn't confused when this occurred.

No matter the format, the continuity hit a brick wall. Not an enjoyable experience for the reader to suddenly SLAM into a wall of confusion.

Perhaps this was to skirt around the "Show not Tell" writing rule all writers are hit with from their editors. It's something nearly impossible to avoid. To avoid info-dumps of past conversations with anyone/everyone, where the narrator muses via inner monologue, suddenly the conversation is written out in quotes as a full flashback, not italicized from the main scene to denote the transition, no lead-in as if the conversation was sparked from something happening in the now.

This was a major issue, as in the past, the flashback was italicized. A flashback within a flashback within a flashback. A flashback within the present with more flashbacks within the present. Confused? Me too.

What made it the most challenging is ALL the narrators did it, making them sound similar in diction. I could understand one of the narrators, like a signature voice, but ALL, and I don't just mean Illium and Aodhan.

They would be flying, in the middle of a battle, conversing with someone, musing over another event entirely, and suddenly there would be a sentence or two or a page or two of some conversation between characters not in the scene about things that had nothing to do with the scene happening on the page. Like wait, where did Ellie come from and why did some cutesy convo between her and her Bluebell seem important during a battle? I found this hearsay writing style not only distracting and confusing but grounds to DNF. If I wasn't so invested in the characters and plot after 14 novels, I would have abandoned ship, as it was HUNDREDS of these odd conversations out of nowhere. PLEASE, Ms. Singh, DO NOT do this again. At least put these conversations in scenes where it makes sense.

Aside from the hearsay and the miscommunication immaturity, I did enjoy the major plot of China, which truly was the focal point of the entirety of the novel. The aftermath in China, where they scramble to pick up the pieces and make things right. The connections wrought between all the characters. The insight to the past and how it bonded the Seven. The slow-burn romance between our Bluebell and his Illium. I truly hope to see this as a continuing arc, where it moves on to more, as the series progresses, as we have seen Raphael and Elena evolve.

I'll be waiting with bated breath for more, anticipating the foreshadowing of an angel transitioning to an archangel before his time. More from the Seven. More from Raphael and Elena. Most assuredly more from Illium and Aodhan.

Highly recommend Nalini Singh to fantasy readers, especially urban fantasy (Guild Hunter) and paranormal romance (Psy-Changeling). Pet-peeves or not, Archangel's Light has found a spot at the top of my reread list.


Sarah☆☆☆☆
Spanning nearly 500 years, the intimate bond that ties Illium to his Adi and Aodhan to his Bluebell is both powerful and beautiful. Inseparable since childhood, deep cracks in their relationship are exposed when Aodhan leaves Illium and the rest of Raphael’s Seven to help Suyin rebuild China.

For me, this story was both wonderful and frustrating. The sexual tension between Aodhan and Illium has been a slow burn since the start of the series. The book alternates between telling the lifelong story of their relationship with their present day work in China. As always with Nalini Singh’s books, there are exquisite descriptive passages and beautifully charged moments in both the past and present. While much of Illium’s story has been told in other books, this is the first time Singh gives us Aodhan’s story – and it is definitely worth the wait.

What I found frustrating about this book is Singh’s reluctance to fully commit to the story as a gay romance. Unlike every other couple in all of the books I’ve read by Singh, the author doesn’t give Aodhan and Illium a single sex scene. We get heated moments and charged scenes but everything stays very PG13. It feels wrong to not allow these two the sexual intimacy they deserve after 500 years of buildup.

I finished the book still waiting for Illium and Aodhan’s happily ever after. The book ends suddenly without the sense of closure I expect from paranormal romance. This series has always straddled the line between urban fantasy and paranormal romance – but the couples in this series always get a satisfying happily ever after. It could be that this is building to a second book for Illium and Aodhan. I hope this is the case because I feel like they’ve been slightly short changed. It feels unfair for an author to make me love a couple this hard, only to leave their story so abruptly.

 

 

Author Bio

New York Times bestselling author NALINI SINGH is passionate about writing. Though she’s traveled as far afield as the deserts of China, the Highlands of Scotland, and the frozen landscapes of Antarctica, it is the journey of the imagination that fascinates her most. She’s beyond delighted to be able to follow her dream as a writer. Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand. You can contact her directly through her website. While visiting the site, Nalini invites you to join her newsletter for up-to-date news about both the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series, as well as fun exclusive extras, including free short stories set in her worlds.

Connect with Nalini

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

 

 

Illium flowed into a graceful bow, going down on one knee while flaring his wings out behind him. A powerful, dangerous butterfly in the snow.

 

Berkley Romance.


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Archangel's Light (Guild Hunter #14) by Nalini Singh to read and review.

Caged in Fire by Amy Thorn Blog Tour

Blog Tour. Amy Thorn’s Caged in Fire.

ISAAC

There are enemies all around and I'm in the hands of the worst ones my club has ever faced. They plan to sell me as punishment for what Thanatos has done to them and caught up in the cross fire, I have no idea if I'm going to survive long enough to see the man I love again. I have to keep fighting, despite the darkness that's swallowing me whole. I have to live because dying would destroy him.

THANATOS

I never expected to fall for Isaac, but he's fast become my reason for breathing. I'll stop at nothing to save his life, even if it means risking my own. He's mine and no one is ever taking him from me.

But that choice may not be mine. People are moving against me and my club. If i don't act fast enough, Isaac could be the one to suffer.

Warning: Contains adult content, reading age 18 +. Graphic violence and dark emotional scenes that may trigger some readers.

Don’t miss our review of Caged in Darkness, book one in the Caged duet!

 

Add to Goodreads.

 

Caged in Fire by Amy Thorn

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

 

 

Excerpt



Thanatos

I hit the tarmac hard enough to bruise. My hands bound behind my back make it impossible for me to soften the blow as I smash into the ground, rolling a few times before I come to a sudden stop.

I lie stunned for a brief moment, my chest aching, my hips throbbing. Fuck.

Then, I remember Isaac.

Scrambling awkwardly to my knees, my gaze seeks him out, but he’s not on the road next to me. My eyes shift towards the van that is getting further and further away.

Isaac is nowhere to be seen.

He didn’t get out of the van.

That lump of meat in my chest that has only just started to beat again gets a fucking workout as it begins to gallop.

Heat and cold rises simultaneously in my body as I lurch up to my feet and sprint after the van.

I can hear the bikes behind me, can hear the rumbling of the pipes getting closer as the back of the van disappears off the horizon. I keep running, fear nipping at my heels, but it’s too late. I’m too late.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I drop back to my knees, not caring about the pain that ricochets through my legs. I failed him. I let Garrett take him.

A pain lances through my chest that steals my breath. I’m going to have a heart attack. Everything feels tight, wrong.

Empty.

“Boss!”

I ignore the voice yelling at me, ignore everything but the last spot on the horizon where I saw the van.

“Than?”

A hand drops on my shoulder and I spin to see Hades. His mouth is pinched as he takes me in.

“You hurt?” he demands.

I can see my other brothers abandoning their bikes and rushing in my direction.

“Get after that van.”

The words are garbled. Hard to understand. My tongue feels too big for my mouth, my brain disconnected. Panic like I haven’t felt since Tillie was taken claws at my heart.

“Where’s Isaac?”

My eyes go to Spider as he jogs up to us.

“They took him.” I never thought anything could hurt more than losing my sister, but fuck, I was wrong. I’m drowning in blood right now, the blood of the people I’ve failed to protect. Whatever happens to Isaac is on my head.

“Who took him?” Spider’s voice is raw, because he already knows the trouble his brother is facing. He already knows the man who took him, and what he’s capable of.

“Garrett and his bastards.”

Hades pulls out a knife and cuts through the ties on my wrists. Free, I stumble to my feet.

“We have to go after them. Where’s my fucking bike?” I don’t miss the desperation in my tone, the sheer panic as I peer around, trying to see it. When I don’t, I start towards the nearest hog, intending to go after him.

“No, I’ll go,” Hades says. He gestures to Shakespeare and Weaver. “You’re with me.”

I want to argue, but my legs choose that moment to give out. Spider reaches out and grabs me, stopping me from hitting the ground, but my weight drives us to the tarmac anyway.

Ice clogs my veins as the three bikes roar off up the road in the direction the van went. I don’t fucking believe in a higher power, but if it saves Isaac’s life I’ll get on my knees and I’ll fucking pray. I know what Garrett is capable of, the hurt he will inflict on Isaac just to destroy me. I know it because I’ve seen it before. His men had broken my sister one piece at a time. They’d raped her, drugged her, shattered her like glass.

I can’t do this again.

 

 

I want to tear the world down. I want to set fire to the ashes of it. I want to destroy everything. For him.

 

Reviews


Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team


Avid Reader☆☆☆☆
M/M Biker Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

Isaac and Thanatos have been through a lot. Now that Isaac has been kidnapped, the club is stopping at nothing to find him. Thanatos is beside himself, blaming himself, and only wants Isaac back at his side.

When the club finds Isaac, he's a shell of himself. The boys want revenge, and they are willing to get it by any means necessary.

As the hunt begins, Isaac has to deal with his own feelings about his capture, abuse, and recovery, all while trying to hold it together enough to get his revenge.

Thanatos has lived in the dark for a long time. He never truly understood how someone could lose themselves in their own mind until he had to watch Isaac live it.

As they navigate their new relationship, they also contend with nightmares, guilt, and their need to rectify the wrongs.

I actually thought this was more about their love story, despite the violence in the story. I liked watching their journey. It was raw, real, and you could feel their love seep out of the pages.


Angie☆☆☆☆
Holy crap on a cracker! First off, you must read the first book, this is a duet. Gosh, I don't even know where to start. This book was brutal. I don't want to give anything away because you must read it, experience it, feel it, to truly understand. Isaac and Than. Man, I wasn't sure how this was all gonna end up but man, it was one heck of a journey. Highly recommend this duet.

 

 

I never expected to fall for Isaac, but he’s fast become my reason for breathing.

 

Author Bio


Amy Thorn. Sinfully Dark Male Male.

AMY THORN lives in a small market town in the Midlands, England. She lives with her dog and when she’s not writing, she’s playing with crochet hooks.

Connect with Amy

Facebook  ~  Instagram   ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: Amy Thorn's Readers Group

 

 

Giveaway


 

With him gone there’s a gaping hole in my chest. Every beat of my heart is like being stabbed with a pickaxe, each breath agony.

 

Hosted by

Gay Romance Reviews Tours & Promo.


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Caged in Fire (Caged Duet #2) by Amy Thorn to read and review for this tour.

Role Model by Rachel Reid

For Troy, being in a public relationship with Harris will mean facing off with his fears, once and for all.

The highly anticipated fifth novel in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series sees a grumpy professional hockey player meet his match in an out-and-proud social media manager…

The hits just keep coming for Troy Barrett. Traded to the worst team in the league would be bad enough, but coming on the heels of a messy breakup and a recent scandal… Troy just wants to play hockey and be left alone. He doesn’t want to be in the news anymore, and he definitely doesn’t want to “work on his online presence” with the team’s peppy social media manager.

Harris Drover can tell standoffish Troy isn’t happy about the trade—anyone could tell, frankly, as he doesn’t exactly hide it well—but Harris doesn’t give up on people easily. Even when he’s developing a crush he’s sure is one-sided. And when he sees Troy’s smile finally crack through his grumpy exterior, well… That’s a man Harris couldn’t turn his back on if he wanted to.

Suddenly, Troy’s move to the new team feels like an opportunity—for Troy to embrace his true self, and for both men to surrender to their growing attraction. But indulging in each other behind closed doors is one thing, and for Troy, being in a public relationship with Harris will mean facing off with his fears, once and for all.

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Game Changers series!
For book one, Game Changer, click HERE.
For book two, Heated Rivalry, click HERE.
For book three, Tough Guy, click HERE.
For book four, Common Goal, click HERE.

 

Add to Goodreads.

 

Role Model by Rachel Reid

Book 5
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Audiobook (US)
Carina Press (HQN)

 

 

Reviews


Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team


Erica☆☆☆☆☆
Don't make the same mistake as I did by starting the novel at bedtime, expecting to read a few chapters before sleep. I read from start to finish, all through the night, not falling asleep until well past four am. Learn from my mistake, start early. Ha!

Role Model is the fifth installment in the Game Changers series. While it can easily be read as a standalone with little to no confusion, Troy was introduced in other installments. The emotional payoff would be greater if the novels were read in series order. Start with Game Changer.

Returning readers are no doubt asking themselves whether or not past narrators made an appearance on the pages. Most, if not all, I believe, made a cameo on the pages, their connection to one another made known, while others were mentioned heavily.

Now... to answer the most important question you all wished to know. What about Ilya? Does he make a cameo?

Ilya is a major focal point in the story, acting as a mentor of sorts, seeing something in Troy that resonates with him. Heavily present on the pages, acting as comedic relief, Ilya and the team pup were some of the cutest, most heartwarming scenes, scene-stealers of the best kind.

Back to our main characters. Our heroes. Troy and Harrison.

Troy was portrayed as a mega asshole in past installments, which he did as a defense mechanism, finding the person closest to his father's personality and befriending him as a shield against his true nature. With the flip of a coin, Troy's life is upended. Not only does he get caught on camera calling out his BFF for sexual assault, his closeted secret actor boyfriend dumps him at the same time. Not only does he get dumped, the boyfriend of two years is suddenly out and engaged, which meant he was being cheated on that whole time.

Bumped down to a losing team in the league as punishment for speaking the truth, Troy is surrounded by past rivals, nursing a broken heart and unable to tell a soul, while dealing with the repercussions of speaking his mind. The entire league and its fans, everyone has an opinion on Troy, thinking him a traitor for betraying his friend and teammates because he believed numerous women's accounts of sexual assault and had to audacity to admit it publicly.

Troy, Asshole to Hero. Fans and league, his father too, they all loved him as the asshole, but he's never felt more lonely as the accidental hero. It's no wonder Troy is so reserved, his guard completely up, thinking his new team wouldn't want anything to do with him.

Harrison is the team's social media guru. Extroverted, bubbly, and super friendly, it's impossible for even the most prickly member of the team to not be entertained by Harrison, especially when he brings a puppy to work. An entire team of rough and tumble hockey players melt for Harrison, behaving and treating him with respect as soon as he appears.

Plagued with a congenital defect, Harrison has a good heart, seeing the best in everyone, which is exactly the succor Troy needed to heal. Slightly slow-burn, a friendship is built over one-sided conversations and coffee, Troy making the first step by bringing the coffee, and Harrison being patient and coaxing Troy to open up and reveal the sweet guy beneath.

Warm and fuzzy, super sweet, undeniably realistic, Troy and Harrison were perfect for one another. Their banter, added with the reinforcement of Ilya, made for an entertaining read. Quick wit, humorous teasing, Harrison coaxes Troy until he's a pup eating out of his hand.

Oddball that I am, I adored the fact that their team sucked. Loss after loss. So used to the main characters being super awesome on the best team, it was a refreshing change of pace, as was the teammates being good dudes instead of rampaging assholes. Troy, Ilya, and the others, their team progresses as the story does, the bond improving both their lives and the team itself.

I am anticipating the next and the next in the series. Upon completion, the only thing I could think is how I'd love to do a series reread, get another hit of the feel-good vibe the entire series yanks from me.

Definitely recommend to MM Romance fans, particularly those who love the sports genres. Game Changers tops my favorite series list in the hockey subgenre.


Sarah☆☆☆☆☆
I love that each book in this series feels fresh and original. In this fifth book, Troy is an unlikely hero. For most of his all-star career, Troy was as successful as he was toxic. When a scandal takes away his success, it isn’t easy for him to make a fresh start.

If Troy is difficult to like at the start of this book, Harris is impossible not to love. Out and proud – and as positive as Troy is miserable, Harris is determined to help Troy fix his tarnished public image. I love Harris, but I was surprised to find myself falling even harder for Troy in this story. The wonderful slow burn sexual tension between these two is fabulous.

I love that the author tackles some of the darker aspects of toxic masculinity in this book. I’ve not read a #metoo story from the point of view of a complicit man before and I’m surprised how well this works. Somehow, Harris and the actual hockey parts of the book prevent the story from ever becoming too earnest or too dark. This might be the best book in the series so far.


Ruthie☆☆☆☆
This is the fifth book in the series. I would recommend that you read them in order, but each book deals with another romance, so it is possible to start here and go back!

I read a lot of sports romance and feel that the genre has really moved on from the first to be out, to now looking at the truth for each person and how they deal with how they choose to be. Sadly in Troy's case, he has been conditioned by his horrible, homophobic father, and made friends with a guy who sexually assaulted women. When he calls Dallas Kent out on his behaviour, it is he who is traded to Ottawa, and told to be quiet. Having finally taken a stand on something, and still been the bad guy, Troy is really sad, confused, and determined to keep his head down and his face like ice.

Such a great start to what we have to know will involve him thawing, but we have to be patient – it is a really moving and engaging journey, made all the more exciting by the wonderful Harris.

There are so many great things about this romance, some which made me laugh, some gasp, and some worry. But faith in Rachel Reid meant that I was keen to follow how the complications of their lives would play out. We can rely on Ilya and Wyatt to help, along with Scott and others, to give Troy the self-belief that he does deserve better, and even accept that Harris may be a bright light in his life.

Sexy, swoony, sporty, and satisfying – another great read!


Veronica☆☆☆☆
On first meeting Troy, I wasn’t sure I was going to like him. He has been traded to a new team after calling out his best friend and teammate for raping women (something that didn’t go down well). And while that is a good thing, Troy has spent a lot of his career behaving badly, being a bully, and acting like a homophobe. He is, of course, firmly in the closet, so you can see why I was hesitant. It didn’t take long at all for me to change my feelings about Troy. And I think my feelings changed because Troy is remorseful and wants to be better and do better. His struggles to do better and with his sexuality really tugged at my heart strings and had me desperate to see him find happiness.

Enter Harris, the team's out and proud social media manager. He is full of life and is a social butterfly. He makes the effort to engage Troy and slowly they develop a friendship. I loved Harris. He has a good soul and just what Troy needs, even if Troy doesn’t think he deserves someone as good as Harris. But for me, this story is all about Troy, changing his life, fitting in at his new team, and ultimately deciding if he will come out.

Role Model was a more emotional story than I was perhaps expecting. I felt a good deal of Troy’s sadness and loneliness at the beginning, but the story is also romantic, a bit sexy with some good fun. The only thing I would have liked was to see a little more of Troy getting to know more of his teammates. But I loved reading Role Model. It is another great addition to this series

M/M ice hockey romance is one of my most favorite romance tropes and for me, Role Model is a great story in a great series. If you haven’t read any of the Game Changers series, I’d highly recommend each and every story in the series.

 

 

Author Bio

Rachel Reid has always lived in Nova Scotia, Canada, and will likely continue to do so. She has two boring degrees and two interesting sons. She has been a hockey fan since childhood, but sadly never made it to the NHL herself. She enjoys books about hot men doing hot things, and cool ladies being awesome.

Connect with Rachel

Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

 

 

Carina Press.


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Role Model (Game Changers #5) by Rachel Reid to read and review.