Paint It Black by Amy Lane

Everybody thinks Mackey Sanders and Outbreak Monkey is the last coming of Rock’n’Roll Jesus, but Cheever Sanders can't wait to get out of his home town and make a name for himself where nobody expects him to fill his famous brothers’ shoes. He’s tired of living in their shadow.

Blake Manning knows the feeling. He's been Outbreak Monkey's second lead guitarist for ten years. He’s come to terms with the fact that he’ll never be Grant Adams, the guy he replaced, and that Kell Sanders will never love him like Mackey loved Grant. He got this gig on luck and love, not talent. So watching Cheever blow through Outbreak Monkey's hard-earned money in an epic stretch of partying pisses him off.

Blake shows up at Cheever's nonstop orgy to enforce some rules, but instead of a jaded punk, he finds a lost boy as talented at painting as Mackey is at song-making, and terrified to let anybody see the real him. It’s something he and Blake have in common.

Both men have to make peace with being second banana in the public eye. Can they find the magic of coming absolute first with each other?

Book 2
Buy Links

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B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
Beneath the Stain remains one of my all-time favourite m/m books, so this sequel had a lot to live up to. And for the most part, it delivers. Outbreak Monkey may be a proper A-list band in this story, but the Sanders family relationships are just as messy. At the start of the story, Cheever’s demons are slightly different than his brothers’, but his life hasn’t been easy and this second book adds child rape to the dark themes of addiction, depression, and abuse in the first book. This isn’t an easy read at times, but the unlikely relationship that develops between Blake and Cheever is pretty special.

With all the big personalities in Outbreak Monkey, Blake became the band member who faded into the background. Similarly, growing up with superstar brothers often made Cheever feel invisible. But Blake has always seen Cheever and it is Blake who comes to Cheever’s assistance when he hits rock bottom. For me, Cheever felt like an entitled asshole at times in the first book but in his own book, I found myself falling hard for the brother the band left behind. There’s a huge age gap between Cheever and Blake but the relationship works. There is much more communication and much less angst in this second story but there are moments where Cheever’s story is just as heartbreaking as Mickey’s was.

I really didn’t enjoy the domestication of Outbreak Monkey in this book. Mackey and Trav are almost bearable here but they do feel like dimmed versions of themselves. The women from the first book have almost been re-written into good little wives who guard communal fridges and keep popping out children. They feel more Mormon than counterculture and did not resemble their previous selves in any way. The many small children don’t help the rock star image at all and I felt like this book was missing the streak of wildness and sense of fun that balanced the darkness in the first story.

I enjoyed this book and I devoured it in a single sitting – but I don’t think I’ll remember it or re-read it like I have the first one. Beneath the Stain took me on a brutal emotional journey and I loved every moment of it. This book was a gentler, possibly more mature read and a chance to say goodbye to favourite characters who have grown up and are moving on.

AMY LANE is a mother of two college students, two grade-schoolers, and two small dogs. She is also a compulsive knitter who writes because she can’t silence the voices in her head. She adores fur-babies, knitting socks, and hawt menz, and she dislikes moths, cat boxes, and knuckle-headed macspazzmatrons. She is rarely found cooking, cleaning, or doing domestic chores, but she has been known to knit up an emergency hat/blanket/pair of socks for any occasion whatsoever, or sometimes for no reason at all. Her award-winning writing has three flavors: twisty-purple alternative universe, angsty-orange contemporary, and sunshine-yellow happy. By necessity, she has learned to type like the wind. She’s been married for twenty-plus years to her beloved Mate and still believes in Twu Wuv, with a capital Twu and a capital Wuv, and she doesn’t see any reason at all for that to change.

Connect with Amy

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Amy Lane Anonymous Facebook Group

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Paint It Black (Beneath the Stain #2) by Amy Lane to read and review.

Warm Heart by Amy Lane

Survive the adventure. Live to love.

Following a family emergency, snowboarder Tevyn Moore and financier Mallory Armstrong leave Donner Pass in a blizzard… and barely survive the helicopter crash that follows. Stranded with few supplies and no shelter, Tevyn and Mallory—and their injured pilot—are forced to rely on each other.

The mountain leaves no room for evasion, and Tevyn and Mal must confront the feelings that have been brewing between them for the past five years. Mallory has seen Tevyn through injury and victory. Can Tevyn see that Mallory's love is real?

Mallory’s job is risk assessment. Tevyn's job is full-on risk. But to stay alive, Mallory needs to take some gambles and Tevyn needs to have faith in someone besides himself. Can the bond they discover on the mountain see them to rescue and beyond?

Book 1
Buy Links

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B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is Amy Lane at her best. The exciting story of an Olympic snowboarder attempting to survive a helicopter crash in a blizzard is also an intense romance. After the crash, Tevyn finds himself stranded with his financial manager Mallory and their injured pilot. As Mallory and Tevyn work together to survive the storm, they are both forced to acknowledge the feelings they’ve had for each other for a very long time.

I always love Amy Lane’s new adult characters best and snowboarder Tevyn is one of my all-time favourites. The Olympic medallist is talented – and he knows it. He’s fearless and sexy but he’s also smarter than he seems. Mallory has taken care of Tevyn’s finances since he first started riding competitively as a teenager and Tevyn’s trust and admiration for the older man has slowly become something more. Mallory is older and more conventional. He works with money and he’s happiest when he sees the people and projects he funds doing well. Over time, Tevyn has become more to Mallory than a simple investment but Mallory doubts the beautiful young athlete could ever feel the same about him.

I love that there is very little relationship angst in this story. Tevyn and Mallory work together to survive the harsh winter storm and the forced intimacy of the situation brings them closer and makes them both reevaluate their lives, their futures, and the connection that simmers between them. Despite the slightly fantastic situation, this story feels real and the characters are wonderfully complicated and relatable. I love the humour and sense of play between Tevyn and Mallory, even when their situation starts to deteriorate further.

I loved pretty much everything about this book, and I can't wait for the next one in the series.

AMY LANE is a mother of two college students, two grade-schoolers, and two small dogs. She is also a compulsive knitter who writes because she can’t silence the voices in her head. She adores fur-babies, knitting socks, and hawt menz, and she dislikes moths, cat boxes, and knuckle-headed macspazzmatrons. She is rarely found cooking, cleaning, or doing domestic chores, but she has been known to knit up an emergency hat/blanket/pair of socks for any occasion whatsoever, or sometimes for no reason at all. Her award-winning writing has three flavors: twisty-purple alternative universe, angsty-orange contemporary, and sunshine-yellow happy. By necessity, she has learned to type like the wind. She’s been married for twenty-plus years to her beloved Mate and still believes in Twu Wuv, with a capital Twu and a capital Wuv, and she doesn’t see any reason at all for that to change.

Connect with Amy

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Amy Lane Anonymous Facebook Group

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Warm Heart (Search and Rescue #1) by Amy Lane to read and review.

Red Fish, Dead Fish by Amy Lane Audiobook Review

They must work together to stop a psychopath—and save each other.

Two months ago Jackson Rivers got shot while trying to save Ellery Cramer’s life. Not only is Jackson still suffering from his wounds, the triggerman remains at large—and the body count is mounting.

Jackson and Ellery have been trying to track down Tim Owens since Jackson got out of the hospital, but Owens’s time as a member of the department makes the DA reluctant to turn over any stones. When Owens starts going after people Jackson knows, Ellery’s instincts hit red alert. Hurt in a scuffle with drug-dealing squatters and trying damned hard not to grieve for a childhood spent in hell, Jackson is weak and vulnerable when Owens strikes.

Jackson gets away, but the fallout from the encounter might kill him. It’s not doing Ellery any favors either. When a police detective is abducted—and Jackson and Ellery hold the key to finding her—Ellery finds out exactly what he’s made of. He’s not the corporate shark who believes in winning at all costs; he’s the frightened lover trying to keep the man he cares for from self-destructing in his own valor.

Length: 11 hrs, 48 mins
Narrator: Greg Tremblay

Book 2
Audiobook Buy Links

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Ebook Buy Links

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B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
I’m currently kicking myself for not listening to Red Fish, Dead Fish sooner. Honestly, with as much as I loved Fish out of Water, I’m still uncertain as to how it took me so long to cue up its sequel. Between the continuation of Jackson and Ellery’s story and Greg Tremblay back as narrator, it boggles my mind. I can only assume that I was subconsciously worried – needlessly and unnecessarily – that I wouldn’t love book two as much as I loved book one. How utterly silly of me.

Picking up two months after the end of book one, Red Fish, Dead Fish has Jackson just getting back to work… well, chomping at the bit to get back to work full-time after his part-time return didn’t go as well as planned (and thanks for the bonus chapter that showed just how that went down). On par with the aggressively independent man we met in Fish out of Water, Jackson is bordering on resentful that those close to him are trying to keep him from doing for himself. Ellery, Jade, and Mike walk a fine line trying to support Jackson while trying to keep him from overdoing it and ending up back in the hospital, AGAIN! Good intentions be damned, Jackson Rivers has a home still being renovated, meth dealers to roust from said home, and a serial killer to catch, and he’s going to do it all or die trying. Unfortunately for all involved, dying trying isn’t off the table. While Jackson might be sharing some of Billy Bob’s nine lives, there are some situations when even a tomcat can’t land on his feet. And that’s exactly what has Ellery so scared. I have to say that Lane did a fabulous job of keeping Ellery and Jackson true to the characters we met in book one. While there is definitely some character growth in Jackson, it occurs in kicks and starts, stunted just like the man; and the level of emotional and physical trauma Jackson endures this time around just adds to the complications and obstacles he has to overcome. Jackson’s sense of recklessness comes off like a bit of a death wish, but it’s the objective observation of Ellery’s mother that makes it easier to understand why Jackson seems so out of control – and had me nearly crying for the little boy Jackson once was. If it weren’t for the fact that Ellery is as stubborn as Jackson is reckless, I don’t know that the showdown with the serial killer would have felt nearly as believable, but it was absolutely perfect for my favorite crime-fighting couple. And the threat to Taylor’s client… WOW! The fact that I get to dive right into the next book is the only thing that makes my waiting to listen to Red Fish, Dead Fish worth it.

It’s no secret that Greg Tremblay is my favorite narrator, so there’s not a lot I haven’t already said about his talent in my previous reviews. What was new for me was just how CREEPY he was able to make the serial killer’s voice. I love the amount of emotion he taps into when narrating Ellery and Jackson, but the whiplash level of crazy that Owens displayed was superbly done. I can’t forget the damaged vocal cords voice of Tess Dakin because that had to hurt to perform, but it was an excellent touch. And I love the way he’s able to capture Taylor’s cool aloofness and warm amusement – the woman is a bit of a contradiction at times and Tremblay conveys that so well. The accompanying stories were a delight because I’ve recently read Racing for the Sun and was amazed by the voices Tremblay created for Ace, Sonny, Jai, and Alba. It was such a treat that left me grinning and even more enamored with his narration. Being as I don’t have to say goodbye yet, I’m off to listen to A Few Good Fish.

Also Available in the Fish out of Water Series

Book 1
Audiobook Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Audible US  ~  iTunes

Ebook Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Dreamspinner Press

For reviews & more info, check out our Fish out of Water Audiobook Review post.

AMY LANE is a mother of two college students, two grade-schoolers, and two small dogs. She is also a compulsive knitter who writes because she can’t silence the voices in her head. She adores fur-babies, knitting socks, and hawt menz, and she dislikes moths, cat boxes, and knuckle-headed macspazzmatrons. She is rarely found cooking, cleaning, or doing domestic chores, but she has been known to knit up an emergency hat/blanket/pair of socks for any occasion whatsoever, or sometimes for no reason at all. Her award-winning writing has three flavors: twisty-purple alternative universe, angsty-orange contemporary, and sunshine-yellow happy. By necessity, she has learned to type like the wind. She’s been married for twenty-plus years to her beloved Mate and still believes in Twu Wuv, with a capital Twu and a capital Wuv, and she doesn’t see any reason at all for that to change.

Connect with Amy

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Amy Lane Anonymous Facebook Group

Trained in vocal and stage performance, Greg Tremblay brings a passion for storytelling to every aspect of his life and work.

Critically-recognized and listener-beloved, Greg’s work has been praised by Audiofile Magazine’s “Earphone” award, numerous blogs, and is the recipient of the Goodreads Reader’s Choice award for Best Narrator – 2016 in M/M Romance.

Greg also maintains a curated collection of uniquely and delightfully spicy boudoir treats branded under the “Greg Boudreaux” narration name.

Connect with Greg

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Red Fish, Dead Fish (Fish out of Water #2) by Amy Lane, narrated by Greg Tremblay to read or listen to and review.

Stand by Your Manny by Amy Lane

Learning to trust and falling in love.

Sammy Lowell has his hands full juggling his music, college, some pesky health problems, and making the uncles who raised him proud. He needs help fulfilling his after-school duties with his siblings. Nobody can be in two places at once—not even Sammy!

An injury puts Cooper Hoskins in a tough spot—if he can’t work, the foster sister he’s raising can’t eat. But years in the foster system have left Cooper short on trust, and opening up to accept help isn’t easy.

Luckily, family intervenes—Cooper needs a job so he can care for Felicity, and Sammy needs someone who can see past his illness to the wonderful things he has planned for his life. Each heals the damaged places in the other’s heart. But falling in love is a big responsibility for young men deep in family already. Can the two of them get past their fear of the immediate future to see forever with each other?

Book 3
Buy Links

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B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angie – ☆☆☆☆
This was a sweet story. I loved Sammy and Cooper and the rest of the family. This story shows us what family is all about and always there for you, even if they aren't your biological family. I loved every character in this book. I felt like I was right there in the story living it as it happened. The love and affection between Sammy and Cooper was so sweet and loving you couldn't help but love them. I loved how caring Cooper was about Sammy's health issues and always looked out for him. Super sweet book that gave me the feels.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This happy, fluffy feel-good romance left me on a massive sugar high. Fifteen years after Tino and Channing’s book, Sammy is all grown up – and falling hard for the new manny. This story sees two more additions to Tino and Channing’s almost nauseatingly happy family as they take in Chase and his foster sister, Felicity.

Chase comes to Tino and Channing exhausted and injured but he slowly finds a place for himself in the family. And he quickly finds himself fighting his attraction to Sammy. Sammy has his own problems, but he thrives under Chase’s care.

At times this story feels more young adult than new adult because Sammy and Chase feel very young. Sammy still lives at home and his health needs make him more dependent than the average college senior. And the fact that we read his father figures’ romance first makes Sammy seem even younger. But these two are wonderful together. Their innocence is very sweet – if not terribly believable – and their connection makes both boys better versions of themselves. There is a little bit of heat in the story but this is definitely a family romance.

Sammy’s illness, Chase’s music, and Chase and Felicity’s pasts add some substance to this story but the power of love prevails and things never get too angsty in this story.

The fairytale themes in these books are alternately comforting and irritating but I am more than happy to spend a few hours believing in wealthy, happy alternative families that are happy to extend privilege while sharing love and sprinkling pixie dust.

Also Available in The Mannies Series

Book 1
Buy Links

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B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Amazon Audiobook  ~  Audible  ~  Dreamspinner Press

For reviews & more info, check out our The Virgin Manny Dual Media Review post.

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Amazon Audiobook  ~  Audible  ~  Dreamspinner Press

For reviews & more info, check out our Manny Get Your Guy Audiobook Review post.

AMY LANE is a mother of two college students, two grade-schoolers, and two small dogs. She is also a compulsive knitter who writes because she can’t silence the voices in her head. She adores fur-babies, knitting socks, and hawt menz, and she dislikes moths, cat boxes, and knuckle-headed macspazzmatrons. She is rarely found cooking, cleaning, or doing domestic chores, but she has been known to knit up an emergency hat/blanket/pair of socks for any occasion whatsoever, or sometimes for no reason at all. Her award-winning writing has three flavors: twisty-purple alternative universe, angsty-orange contemporary, and sunshine-yellow happy. By necessity, she has learned to type like the wind. She’s been married for twenty-plus years to her beloved Mate and still believes in Twu Wuv, with a capital Twu and a capital Wuv, and she doesn’t see any reason at all for that to change.

Connect with Amy

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Google+  ~  Instagram

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Stand by Your Manny (The Mannies #3) by Amy Lane to read and review.

Crocus by Amy Lane

Saying “I love you” doesn’t guarantee peace or a happy ending.

High school principal “Larx” Larkin was pretty sure he'd hit the jackpot when Deputy Sheriff Aaron George moved in with him, merging their two families as seamlessly as the chaos around them could possibly allow.

But when Larx’s pregnant daughter comes home unexpectedly and two of Larx’s students are put in danger, their tentative beginning comes crashing down around their ears.

Larx thought he was okay with the dangers of Aaron’s job, and Aaron thought he was okay with Larx's daughter—who is not okay—but when their worst fears are almost realized, it puts their hearts and their lives to the test. Larx and Aaron have never wanted anything as badly as they want a life together. Will they be able to make it work when the world is working hard to keep them apart?

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
The second book in this series manages to combine gentle family dramas with terrifying police incidents as Larx and Aaron navigate their personal and professional lives. This time Larx and Aaron are settled as a couple. They don’t have as much time as they’d like together as their almost adult children need more support than they’d predicted – but they are a solid couple.

This time, there is more focus on policing than teaching. Some of the drama is a little bit over-the-top, but the action prevents the cosy domesticity from becoming too cloying. I really love Larx and Aaron together but there are moments in this book when some of their kids are a little bit too perfect and the story starts to feel like an ‘80s family values sitcom with a tiny rainbow twist.

I do love that this is another story about love between two men in their 40s. Larx and Aaron feel real and they feel intimately familiar. I really loved them both. But while this is a relatable romance, at times it felt a little bit too much like real life. I tend to read romance for idealised escapism, so I was torn between loving the way the author captures the joys and strains of family life and finding the realism a little bit stressful.

I’ve really enjoyed both of the Bonfires books and I’m not sure I’m ready to let this family go quite yet.

Also Available in the Bonfires Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Dreamspinner Press

For reviews & more info, check out our Bonfires post.

AMY LANE is a mother of two college students, two grade-schoolers, and two small dogs. She is also a compulsive knitter who writes because she can’t silence the voices in her head. She adores fur-babies, knitting socks, and hawt menz, and she dislikes moths, cat boxes, and knuckle-headed macspazzmatrons. She is rarely found cooking, cleaning, or doing domestic chores, but she has been known to knit up an emergency hat/blanket/pair of socks for any occasion whatsoever, or sometimes for no reason at all. Her award-winning writing has three flavors: twisty-purple alternative universe, angsty-orange contemporary, and sunshine-yellow happy. By necessity, she has learned to type like the wind. She’s been married for twenty-plus years to her beloved Mate and still believes in Twu Wuv, with a capital Twu and a capital Wuv, and she doesn’t see any reason at all for that to change.

Connect with Amy

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Google+  ~  Instagram

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Crocus (Bonfires #2) by Amy Lane to read and review.

Bobby Green by Amy Lane

Vern Roberts couldn’t wait to turn eighteen and get the hell out of Dogpatch, California. But city living is expensive, and he’s damned desperate when Dex from Johnnies spots him bussing tables.

As “Bobby,” he's a natural at gay porn. Soon he’s surrounded by hot guys and sex for the taking, but it’s not just his girlfriend back in Dogpatch—or her blackmailing brother—that keeps him from taking it. It's the sweet guy who held the lights for his first solo scene, who showed him decency, kindness, and a smile.

Reg Williams likes to think he's too stupid to realize what a shitty hand life dealt him, but Bobby knows better. What Reg lacks in family, opportunity, education, and money, he makes up for in heart. One fumbling step at a time, they connect, not just in their hearts but in their bodies, where sex that’s not on camera, casual, or meaningless, becomes the most important thing in the world.

But Reg is hampered by an inescapable family burden, and he and Bobby will never fly unless he can find a way to manage it. Can he break the painful link to his unrealized childhood and grow into the love Bobby wants to give?

Book 5
Buy Links

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B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This is full of all the grit and angst I love in Amy Lane’s best writing. I’d almost forgotten how much I loved the Johnnies books.

There is a formula to the books in this series. For the Johnnies models, porn is an escape from difficult circumstances and like the rest of the Johnnies crew, both Reg and Bobby are tethered to difficult circumstances in their real lives off-film.

Many of Amy Lane’s familiar tropes resurface here – the healing powers of the boys’ ‘family of choice’ is explored and Bobby’s mum takes on the wholesome, nurturing parent role readers will be familiar with. Bobby and Reg are wonderful. They feel real and honest and I loved them both from the start.

Like Reg, I’m a carer for someone with serious mental health problems and I really appreciate the way the author approaches mental health issues and the incessant emotional and practical demands on carers.

The plot does wander. Between Bobby and Reg’s problems, I think there are probably a few too many plot threads in this story, which makes it somewhat cumbersome at times. My one reservation about the whole series has been the overlapping timelines. These stories take place simultaneously, not sequentially and this has confused me from the start. I also enjoy catching up past characters while reading a series and the Johnnies boys are kinda fixed in time.

AMY LANE is a mother of two college students, two grade-schoolers, and two small dogs. She is also a compulsive knitter who writes because she can’t silence the voices in her head. She adores fur-babies, knitting socks, and hawt menz, and she dislikes moths, cat boxes, and knuckle-headed macspazzmatrons. She is rarely found cooking, cleaning, or doing domestic chores, but she has been known to knit up an emergency hat/blanket/pair of socks for any occasion whatsoever, or sometimes for no reason at all. Her award-winning writing has three flavors: twisty-purple alternative universe, angsty-orange contemporary, and sunshine-yellow happy. By necessity, she has learned to type like the wind. She’s been married for twenty-plus years to her beloved Mate and still believes in Twu Wuv, with a capital Twu and a capital Wuv, and she doesn’t see any reason at all for that to change.

Connect with Amy

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Google+  ~  Instagram

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Bobby Green (Johnnies #5) by Amy Lane to read and review.

Regret Me Not by Amy Lane

Pierce Atwater used to think he was a knight in shining armor, but then his life fell to crap. Now he has no job, no wife, no life—and is so full of self-pity he can’t even be decent to the one family member he’s still speaking to. He heads for Florida, where he’s got a month to pull his head out of his ass before he ruins his little sister’s Christmas.

Harold Justice Lombard the Fifth is at his own crossroads—he can keep being Hal, massage therapist in training, flamboyant and irrepressible to the bones, or he can let his parents rule his life. Hal takes one look at Pierce and decides they’re fellow unicorns out to make the world a better place. Pierce can’t reject Hal’s overtures of friendship, in spite of his misgivings about being too old and too pissed off to make a good friend.

As they experience everything from existential Looney Tunes to eternal trips to Target, Pierce becomes more dependent on Hal’s optimism to get him through the day. When Hal starts getting him through the nights too, Pierce must look inside for the knight he used to be—before Christmas becomes a doomsday deadline of heartbreak instead of a celebration of love.

Buy Links

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B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is a really enjoyable read, with a Christmas timing, but much more depth than many festive romances. The fact that it is set by the ocean in Florida makes the activities less traditionally Christmas, although Hal makes sure that they do get to decorate too.

Pierce is an interesting mix of hero and Eeyore; luckily Hal has found the way to unlock his warmer side, and it is lovely to see how they heal each other. They are fun pair together, and support each other in just the way you would hope. I was delighted with the ending, and will be following Ms. Lane's blog to see what happens next.

AMY LANE is a mother of two college students, two grade-schoolers, and two small dogs. She is also a compulsive knitter who writes because she can’t silence the voices in her head. She adores fur-babies, knitting socks, and hawt menz, and she dislikes moths, cat boxes, and knuckle-headed macspazzmatrons. She is rarely found cooking, cleaning, or doing domestic chores, but she has been known to knit up an emergency hat/blanket/pair of socks for any occasion whatsoever, or sometimes for no reason at all. Her award-winning writing has three flavors: twisty-purple alternative universe, angsty-orange contemporary, and sunshine-yellow happy. By necessity, she has learned to type like the wind. She’s been married for twenty-plus years to her beloved Mate and still believes in Twu Wuv, with a capital Twu and a capital Wuv, and she doesn’t see any reason at all for that to change.

Connect with Amy

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Google+  ~  Instagram

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Regret Me Not by Amy Lane to read and review.

Familiar Angel by Amy Lane

One hundred and forty years ago, Harry, Edward, and Francis met an angel, a demon, and a sorceress while escaping imprisonment and worse! They emerged with a new family—and shapeshifting powers beyond their wildest dreams.

Now Harry and his brothers use their sorcery to rescue those enslaved in human trafficking—but Harry’s not doing so well. Pining for Suriel the angel has driven him to take more and more risks until his family desperately asks Suriel for an intervention.

In order for Suriel to escape the bindings of heaven, he needs to be sure enough of his love to fight to be with Harry. Back when they first met, Harry was feral and angry, and he didn’t know enough about love for Suriel to justify that risk. Can Suriel trust in Harry enough now to break his bonds of service for the boy who has loved his Familiar Angel for nearly a century and a half?

Buy Links

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B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angela – ☆☆☆☆
Hang onto your hats folks, because this is gonna be a bumpy ride. At least that’s how I felt as I read the beginning of Familiar Angel. Lane drops the reader into the story, right in the middle of the action, and begins world building simultaneously. For me, it was almost too much information coming at me all at once. Those readers who are more comfortable with the Urban Fantasy genre may not have the same issue, but I found myself confused more than once and had to re-read a few passages to insure that I understood what was going on and the relationships between the various characters – and there are a lot of them. Of course, when the story moves from the prologue to the first chapter, we are once again plunged directly into the deep end as we join Harry and his brothers 140 years later while they are in middle of a rescue mission that doesn’t go smoothly. Have I scared you off? Well don’t let me. The point I’m not so eloquently making is that if you find the beginning of the book to be a bit frantic and confusing, stick with it because once the groundwork is laid, the pacing slows down so that the reader can focus on what they came for – the romance between an angel from heaven and a not-so-human 150-something year-old boy.

This is the point in my review where I should tell you that I hadn’t intended to read Familiar Angel because I tend to shy away from books about angels – don’t ask me why because I really don’t know. However, one of my co-reviewers struggled with the beginning and, in the end, declared that she was not in the right state of mind to finish it. Soooooo, I decided to give it a go as I’ve enjoyed a few of Lane’s books in the past couple of years, and I’m very glad I did. Once I got through my information overload, I thoroughly enjoyed Harry and Suriel’s romance. Because the story is told from Harry’s point of view, we also get to see him come to terms with his past and the events the led to him becoming a shifter, meeting Suriel, and becoming part of a family again. Despite his years on earth, Harry is still a kid in many ways and this gives the story a bit of coming of age feel to it because there are several realizations that Harry must come to before he can accept, embrace, and return Suriel’s love. What surprised me was that Suriel, too, had to come to his own set of realizations in order for him to be able to “fall” from heaven so that he could be with Harry. And Lane does a great job of sowing the seeds of doubt as to whether the men will be successful in their endeavors.

Although it is not marked as being the first in a series, I can only hope that Familiar Angel is merely the beginning as I am in desperate need of Edward’s and Francis’s stories. I need to know how this magical family will save Mullins, just as I need to know what will become of Beltane and Francis’s fledgling romance. Despite the awkward (for me) introduction to the Youngblood family, I have become quite attached to them and want to see how their stories play out. So I guess I’ll pray to an angel, make a deal with a demon, and chant with a sorceress in the hopes that Lane is busy writing Edward’s story and plotting out Francis’s tale.

AMY LANE is a mother of two college students, two grade-schoolers, and two small dogs. She is also a compulsive knitter who writes because she can’t silence the voices in her head. She adores fur-babies, knitting socks, and hawt menz, and she dislikes moths, cat boxes, and knuckle-headed macspazzmatrons. She is rarely found cooking, cleaning, or doing domestic chores, but she has been known to knit up an emergency hat/blanket/pair of socks for any occasion whatsoever, or sometimes for no reason at all. Her award-winning writing has three flavors: twisty-purple alternative universe, angsty-orange contemporary, and sunshine-yellow happy. By necessity, she has learned to type like the wind. She’s been married for twenty-plus years to her beloved Mate and still believes in Twu Wuv, with a capital Twu and a capital Wuv, and she doesn’t see any reason at all for that to change.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Familiar Angel by Amy Lane to read and review.