First Impressions by Jay Hogan

Michael

Two years ago I made a mistake—a big one. Then I added a couple more just for good measure. I screwed up my life, but I survived. Now I have the opportunity for a fresh start. Two years in NZ. Away from the LA gossip, a chance to breathe, to rebuild my life. But I’m taking my new set of rules with me.

I don’t do relationships.

I don’t do commitment.

I don’t do white picket fences.

And I especially don’t do arrogant, holier-than-thou, smoking-hot K9 officers who walk into my ER and rock my world.

Josh

One thing’s for certain: Dr. Michael Oliver is an arrogant, untrustworthy player, and I barely survived the last one of those. He might be gorgeous, but my daughter takes number-one priority. I won’t risk her being hurt again. I’m a solo dad, a K9 cop, and a son to pain-in-the-arse parents.

I don’t have time for games.

I don’t have time for taking chances. I don’t have time for more complications in my life.

And I sure as hell don’t have time for the infuriating Dr. Michael Oliver, however damn sexy he is.

Second Edition
First Edition published by Blackout Books, 2018.

Book 1
Buy Links

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

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
The slow build sexual tension in this book is electric. The family-focused dog handler and the playboy ER doctor hate each other at first sight – but they can’t escape the chemistry that draws them together.

It’s easy to love Josh. He’s a devoted single parent and a genuinely good person. His adorable canine partner is also pretty attractive. But honestly, he’s a little safe and a little bland at times – and it was bad boy Michael who really captured my heart. We first meet him when his backroom hook-up is interrupted by a police raid. He’s gorgeous, talented and arrogant – and he’s fighting some difficult demons. Michael made me laugh and he kept the book from falling into saccharine, white picket fence territory.

I enjoyed the action in this book. From Josh’s first drug raid to Michael’s terrifying run-ins with bad guys, the story is fast paced and exciting. The overall plot wanders a bit (I’m not sure the book needed the storyline about Josh’s parents or the one about the softball team...) and there might be a few too many characters but I liked the characters and I enjoyed their relationships. Some of the action near the end of the story isn’t terribly plausible but I felt thoroughly invested in the very real and relatable characters.

This is part of a very loosely linked series. I read this several months after reading the second novel and there really isn’t much that connects the two books. Michael and Cameron work together at Auckland Med but neither man plays a big role in the other’s story. Plot wise, the two are very different. This story gives readers police action and an organised crime storyline while the second book focuses on a closeted rugby player. I've enjoyed both books but readers don’t need to read them in sequence.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the first book in the series but was rereleased after book two. I really enjoyed Crossing the Touchline, so was keen to read this one too. Cam is the lead in book two, which as you get to know him here, makes a lot of sense.

An engaging mystery, which involves the doctor Michael and K9 officer Josh. They first meet with Michael in a somewhat compromising position – so definitely not a good first impression. However, with time they fall into a friendship/romance. As Michael is on a short contract in NZ, and due to return to LA, he is more than a little reluctant to settle down, even if he has broken all his rules already.

I found the two men were well written, and their hopes and fears well expressed. I did, however, hate how Michael was so selfish in his complete disappearance from Josh's life. Whilst it made sense that he needed the time and space to resolve his demons, he caused a lot of pain and angst that was just cruel. I chose to forgive him because Josh did, but I was not impressed at all!


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

Michael is a successful trauma doctor. He is enjoying being around people who don't know his past. While he's taking this break from LA, being around a different bunch is both comforting and terrifying.

Josh is trying to live his best life. With his daughter and dog walking alongside him in this life, he knows that he can ill afford to screw up. He loves his job and, despite the dangers, can't see himself doing anything else.

Michael and Josh's relationship starts on very rocky territory. Neither man is looking for something real and the fact that Josh can't stand Michael only adds to the stress in both men's lives. But when danger lurks around Michael, Josh can't help but want to protect him.

This is a relationship of more enemies-to-lovers. The chemistry is lacking for me and it seems they really only get together out of spite and a need for release. At times, I found myself skimming the pages because there is a lot of dialogue that just isn't necessary. I enjoyed the mystery behind the danger and liked Josh's daughter a lot. Overall, this was just an okay story for me. It had so much more potential, but just didn't hit the spot for me.

Also Available in the Auckland Med. Series

Book 2
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 Crossing the Touchline post.

JAY HOGAN is a New Zealand author writing in m/m romance, romantic suspense, and fantasy. She has travelled extensively and has lived in the US, Canada, France, Australia, and South Korea. She has a BA degree in nursing and in theology, and in another life, she was an intensive care nurse, counselor, and a lecturer.

Though a late bloomer publishing-wise, she has always had pen to paper from poetry to fiction, benefitting from the unwavering support of a long-suffering husband and the services of an in-house beta reader—oops, sorry, she means daughter.

She is a cat aficionado, especially of Maine Coons, and an avid dog lover (but don’t tell the cat). She loves to cook (pretty damn good), loves to sing (pretty damn average), and as for loving full-time writing—absolutely… depending of course on the day, the word count, the deadline, how obliging her characters are, the ambient temperature in the Western Sahara, whether Jupiter is rising, the size of the ozone hole over New Zealand, and how much coffee she’s had.

Connect with Jay

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of First Impressions (Auckland Med. #1) by Jay Hogan to read and review.

Mischief Maker by Andi Lee

What to expect when your pet rat is expecting, or how to fall in love at a pet show.

Jamie Hewett rescues and breeds prize-winning fancy rats. While he’s surrounded by supportive, animal-loving friends, his ex-boyfriend has never been one of them. One embarrassing breakup later, he definitely isn’t looking for love again, but perhaps a rebound relationship might ease his broken heart.

Liam Donnelly’s quirky dating life is the subject of a popular vlog, and his viewers have interesting ideas on where he might find romance. When they suggest he take Mabel, his new rat, to a pet show, he’s up for the adventure.

Although they can’t deny their growing interest in each other, neither Jamie nor Liam believes in love at first sight. They’ve both had bad luck with men, and Jamie isn’t pleased that Liam makes a living as a serial dater. On top of that, others are conspiring to keep them apart, and Jamie is left holding the baby—or twenty-plus babies—when their fur children have no trouble making a connection. Will a YouTube ukulele serenade convince Liam that Jamie’s love for him—and their unborn rat children—is for real?

Book 1
Buy Links

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

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆
This story is about the romance that sparks between two rat lovers. When we meet them, Jamie has just had his heart broken and Liam is all about YouTube fame. They are brought together by their shared interest in rats.

It’s difficult for me to get into a romance when I don’t particularly like either of the main characters. Jamie is a little bit boring and he’s constantly whingeing. Liam reminds me of all the bro-tubers my teenagers love and I wear headphones to avoid. He’s a bit of a lad with a slightly unusual YouTube channel. Neither Jamie or Liam really caught my attention and I didn’t feel very invested in their story.

The story itself starts slow before building into an unnecessarily angsty relationship between Jamie and Liam. The rats are the most interesting part of the story but I’m not sure I really believed in the big rat drama at the end.

I recognise that I’m probably older than the target audience for this book. I’m sure there will be readers who engage with these characters and their stories more than I did but it didn’t work very well for me.

ANDI LEE lives in the UK, close enough to Birmingham city to be considered a ‘Brummie’, but far enough away to enjoy the Staffordshire countryside. She enjoys writing in many different genres as long as they contain a large dose of cute guys falling in love. She’s a sucker for a happy ending.

When she’s not writing, she enjoys making junk journals, and also jewellery out of polymer clay and resin. She has kept pet rats on and off for twenty years and fell in love with her first ferret when she found him on her way to work one day. She’s kept them ever since.

(And she apparently has an obsession with Vans—the shoes not the vehicles!)

Connect with Andi

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Mischief Maker (Animal Lark #1) by Andi Lee to read and review.

Crossing the Touchline by Jay Hogan

What if you’ve worked your whole life for a dream, to play rugby for the most successful sports team on the planet, the New Zealand All Blacks?

What if that dream is so close you can smell it?

What if you meet someone?

What if you fall in love?

What if your dream will cost the man who’s stolen your heart?

And what if the dream changes?

Reuben Taylor has a choice to make.

Cameron Wano is that choice.

Book 2
Buy Links

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

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
Oh wow. I loved this story so much! This is a gritty, angst-filled read about the unlikely relationship between a rising rugby star and an A&E charge nurse.

I love the ‘star-crossed lovers’ feel to this story. And while this is Reuben’s book, it was Cam I fell hard for. Part flamboyant diva, part tiger, Cam is confident and fabulous. He’s the emotional grown up in the relationship, and every time Reuben let him down my heart broke a little bit for him. In contrast, Reuben is a little bit clueless. He desperately wants to secure his place with the All Blacks, but his dysfunctional family makes it almost impossible for him to focus on his sport. And while Reuben is fearless on the pitch, he can’t stand up to his father and he can’t make things right for his nephew. Reuben constantly hurts Cam, but it is never intentional. The heat between Cam and Reuben is combustible and I love the way they complement each other perfectly. The sweet, sexy chemistry between Cam and Reuben is fantastic.

I love the balanced portrayal of gay men in this story. A few years ago, I remember teaching a PSHE lesson during Pride month and showing a video made by Gareth Thomas. The first comment by one of my rugby playing students was ‘I don’t mind gays like that – it’s the ones that go all girly that make me sick.’ M/M sports romance can sometimes seem to encourage this sort of divisive narrative, so I love the way the author of this book focuses on Cameron’s strengths. While Reuben is a rugby god, he’s also an emotional mess. Off the pitch, it’s Cameron who is fierce, centred, and in control of his life.

I also really enjoyed the rugby in this book. Rugby is much more familiar to me than American football, so I was able to really engage with the sport in this story. The All Blacks are spoken of with a hushed reverence by fans around the world and I loved the way this book made me feel like I was getting behind the scenes access to the legendary team.

This book isn’t without flaws. It’s a long read and the plot wanders in places. There’s also a whole lot going on. Reuben’s home life is complicated and ugly and more of the story focuses on his family relationships than on his rugby. And while Cam and Reuben are wonderfully complicated characters, I didn’t like the overly simplistic portrayal of characters like Reuben’s father. But ultimately, I loved this book. This is the first book I’ve read by the author and as soon as I finished it, I was searching Amazon for anything else by the same author. Sadly, I couldn’t find anything but I’m crossing my fingers for more in the near future.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the second in the series and I have not yet read book one, but will remedying that soon! It involves a couple who are side characters here, so it wasn't essential, but clearly the story is well worth a read. I didn't feel like I had missed elements important to Cameron and Rueben's story. What is interesting is that I couldn't resist reading this book because I am a huge sports romance fan, especially rugby, and actually the series is linked to medical romance – turns out that together they are fabulous!

Cam is a very much closeted rugby player with a total pig of a father, and a distracted single dad brother. He is holding everything together in the hopes of getting his big break with the All Blacks and saving his nephew from the life he has had. That means that his life can only be training and childcare for now. He is introduced to us, however, finding someone so irresistible at a wedding that he breaks all his rules and kisses the man, and then pushes him away when some teammates come to find him. Thankfully we recognise it as blind fear, rather than disinterest, and so does he. For Cam though, it is a nasty reminder of how denied he was by his only serious boyfriend... but you need to read the book to find out more.

As these two men fight an attraction which spills off the page, fate seems determined to keep causing them to meet, and they finally try for friends. Reuben tries to keep his nephew safe, and his father off his case, and his mind on the game – but really, his thoughts are of Cam, of how to balance rugby with love, and how to prevent his father from blackmailing him.

There was an amazing mix of small moments of calm and intense, surrounded by huge issues and how on earth they could be resolved. One could only admire both men, who in their way were trying their very best for each other, even if it took the inexperienced Reuben time to catch up.

Lovely, lovely book, thank you, Jay Hogan.

JAY HOGAN is a New Zealand author writing in m/m romance, romantic suspense, and fantasy. She has travelled extensively and has lived in the US, Canada, France, Australia, and South Korea. She has a BA degree in nursing and in theology, and in another life, she was an intensive care nurse, counselor, and a lecturer.

Though a late bloomer publishing-wise, she has always had pen to paper from poetry to fiction, benefitting from the unwavering support of a long-suffering husband and the services of an in-house beta reader—oops, sorry, she means daughter.

She is a cat aficionado, especially of Maine Coons, and an avid dog lover (but don’t tell the cat). She loves to cook (pretty damn good), loves to sing (pretty damn average), and as for loving full-time writing—absolutely… depending of course on the day, the word count, the deadline, how obliging her characters are, the ambient temperature in the Western Sahara, whether Jupiter is rising, the size of the ozone hole over New Zealand, and how much coffee she’s had.

Connect with Jay

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Crossing the Touchline (Auckland Med. #2) by Jay Hogan to read and review.

Peepshow by Clare London

Ever wanted to spy secretly on other people’s lives?

Ken doesn’t have a choice: his student summer job is manning the CCTV screens for the new central London shopping mall. But instead of spotting criminals or vandals, he becomes fascinated by a cute waiter from the local bistro who sneaks out to the backyard for his break—and plays sexy to the camera.

Is he an old friend, or just an anonymous exhibitionist? Should Ken be excited by this naughty peepshow, or will people think he’s a voyeuristic pervert? Poor Ken’s confused and thrilled in turn. It’s like living in one of the movies he’s studying at university. He knows the man can’t see him, yet Ken feels a connection of some kind. It all encourages Ken to continue with his guilt-ridden Waiter Watch.

Ken bears the suspense as long as he can, until a chance meeting and an abortive blind date provide the explanation to the secret assignations. But will this guide Ken to a real-life chance of romance?

2nd Edition
First Edition published by Amber Quill Press/Amber Allure, 2013.

Book 4
Buy Links

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

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆
I’m still not sure whether this story is very sexy or kinda disturbing. There’s definitely something delightfully naughty about the public wanking in this story. I’d never thought too hard about the people who watch CCTV for a living and I’m still wondering how the author came up with the idea for this story.

This is a very short story and most of it takes place before Ken meets his mysterious wanker. There is more elicit voyeurism and exhibitionism in this story than actual sex but beyond the ick factor of workplace wanking (especially by the waiter), some of the scenes are very hot.

The characters in this story are typical uni students and there’s not really any attempt to develop them further before they hook up and we get a happily for now (HFN).

I’m not sure about the pacing of this short story. An awful lot of time is spent establishing Ken’s tedious job behind the CCTV screens and less time is spent establishing the relationship between these two guys. But ultimately, the story is hot and a little bit kinky – and I kinda liked it.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆
This is a super short read which has a fun outcome, via a pretty unusual (I am assuming!) route.

Most of the action takes place whilst Ken is sat watching CCTV for a security company during his summer holidays from uni. The rest centres round his evenings at the pub with a couple of mates from school/uni. Somehow, Ms. London manages to give us quite a lot of information through these pub chats, and so clears the way for the unexpected outcome.

I am two minds as to whether I want more, or actually whether it was the perfect place to end... It is a quick read – you will have to go and find out for yourself what I mean!

Also Available in the London Lads Series

Book 3
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 A Good Neighbour series.

CLARE LONDON took her pen name from the city where she lives, loves, and writes. A lone, brave female in a frenetic, testosterone-fueled family home, she juggles her writing with her other day job as an accountant.

She’s written in many genres and across many settings, with award-winning novels and short stories published both online and in print. She says she likes variety in her writing while friends say she’s just fickle, but as long as both theories spawn good fiction, she’s happy. Most of her work features male/male romance and drama with a healthy serving of physical passion, as she enjoys both reading and writing about strong, sympathetic, and sexy characters.

Clare currently has several novels sulking at that tricky chapter-three stage and plenty of other projects in mind… she just has to find out where she left them in that frenetic, testosterone-fueled family home.

Connect with Clare

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Peepshow (London Lads #3) by Clare London to read and review.

The Sparky by Marek Moran

Aaron’s been living in what his friend Howie calls a sexual desert. But an oasis appears on the horizon when Paul, a divorced electrician with a five-year-old daughter named Sam, moves in next door. He’s a country boy from northern Australia, and although he’s never been with a guy before, he has an impression that anything goes in the city. They find that the ordinary things in life—books, footie in the park, looking after Sam—lead them into an unlikely relationship.

But as their relationship slowly deepens, with Aaron spending time on Paul’s family’s cattle station, it becomes clear that Paul might have a harder time leaving the country behind. To him, happiness means a conventional life—including a mother for Sam. Being with his old friends convinces him he’s on the wrong path with Aaron, and he starts a relationship with a girl from his hometown. If he cannot find the courage to go after what he truly needs, he and Aaron will become nothing more than awkward neighbours.

Buy Links

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

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
The characters in this book are entirely too believable. Aaron and Paul came to life wonderfully and I fell hard for both of them – right until their thoughtless actions and lack of communication made them real enough to be bloody annoying.

While I struggled some with the characters and slightly cumbersome plot, I really enjoyed the writing style in this book. I love the author’s Australia, I love the way he writes friendships, and I love that he created a fictional kid I actually really enjoyed.

On his own, Aaron is a really likeable character. I enjoyed his friends, I liked his job, and I liked his relationship with Sam. His introduction to Paul’s outback community is slightly awkward, but his relationship with Paul’s parents is sweet. But there is a hint of snobbery in Aaron that I found off putting. His Maurice reference and his constant awareness of Paul’s blue collar roots compared to his identity as an educated professional really rubbed me the wrong way at times.

I warmed to Paul as the sexy cowboy dad next door, but he feels far too old for all his sexual confusion and identity angst. He reads like a self-centered teenager for much of the book, and good looks and sexual chemistry doesn’t quite compensate for his hurtful behaviour. But Aaron and Paul do have great chemistry and there are a few really hot scenes in this story.

While the writing style had me hooked, the plot to this book does ramble and plot threads seem to multiply as the story progresses. This is a new author for me and I’m really looking forward to reading more from him.

MAREK MORAN is, in his day job, a computer science professor. If you want to know about shortest-path graph algorithms, he’s your man. However, that’s probably not why you’re reading this. He currently lives in Sydney, Australia, and has previously lived in France, Germany, and the US. He enjoys traveling around and listening to people talk: he’s learned to respond to enquiries after his wellbeing with a ça va merci, sehr gut danke, or copacetic, thanks.

The only member of his book club to like George Eliot’s Mill on the Floss, he’s discovered that he enjoys writing romance as well as reading it; the other members of his book club don’t yet know this. He plays piano, squash, and his cards close to his chest. The Sparky is his first novel.

Connect with Marek

Facebook  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Sparky by Marek Moran to read and review.

A Good Neighbour by Clare London

A secret affair can’t go on forever.

Dylan Philips admits it himself: he’s a relentlessly single man in a small suburban town, both proud of and resigned to being a good teacher and a devoted nephew to his mischievous great-aunts.

When the aunts take a hand in matchmaking him with Josie Whitman, the girl who lives along the street, Dylan doesn’t tell them what kind of soul mate he’s really looking for—and the fact that he’s already found the man in question. It’s not Josie who’s travelling from London every month to her town property, but her journalist brother Neal. And Dylan meets up with Neal whenever he can.

But decisions must be made for their future. Dylan is risk-averse to everything from overseas travel to coming out, whereas Neal embraces adventure—and now he wants to take Dylan with him.

Horrified that his chance at love will move even further out of his reach, Dylan realises it’s time for him to own up to what kind of man he really is. He needs to find courage and compromise. And who knows whether the great-aunts will be a help or a hindrance with that?

2nd Edition
First Edition published as A Good Neighbor by Amber Quill Press/Amber Allure, 2009.

Book 3
Buy Links

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

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆
This is the third in the series, but the first I have read, and enjoyed. It is a short story which has a happy ending – and involves two men who have been having a secret relationship for a while, so no instalove.

Dylan is stuck in suburbia, but has a secret lover who comes back to the UK between TV assignments. He believes he is destined to live a half-life due to his own insecurities – but one afternoon tea turns everything upside down, but in a good way.

Though this is not a fully fleshed out story, we get enough of an idea of both Neal and Dylan to sense the conflict between their desires and their reality – luckily Neal is prepared to chase his dream.

CLARE LONDON took her pen name from the city where she lives, loves, and writes. A lone, brave female in a frenetic, testosterone-fueled family home, she juggles her writing with her other day job as an accountant.

She’s written in many genres and across many settings, with award-winning novels and short stories published both online and in print. She says she likes variety in her writing while friends say she’s just fickle, but as long as both theories spawn good fiction, she’s happy. Most of her work features male/male romance and drama with a healthy serving of physical passion, as she enjoys both reading and writing about strong, sympathetic, and sexy characters.

Clare currently has several novels sulking at that tricky chapter-three stage and plenty of other projects in mind… she just has to find out where she left them in that frenetic, testosterone-fueled family home.

Connect with Clare

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of A Good Neighbour (London Lads #3) by Clare London to read and review.

The Impossible Boy by Anna Martin

This is not your average love story.

Ben Easton is not your average romantic hero. He’s a tattooed, badass, wannabe rock star, working in a perfectly horrible dive bar in Camden Town. His life is good, and he’s totally unprepared for how one man will turn it upside down.

Stan isn’t your average heroine. As a gender-fluid man, he proudly wears his blond hair long, his heels sky-high, and his makeup perfectly executed. A fashion industry prodigy, Stan is in London after stints working in Italy and New York City, and he quickly falls for Ben’s devil-may-care attitude and the warm, soft heart Ben hides behind it.

Beneath the perfect, elegant exterior, Stan has plenty of scars from teenage battles with anorexia. And it only takes the slightest slip for his demons to rush back in while Ben is away touring with his band. With the band on the brink of a breakthrough, Ben is forced to find a way to balance the opportunity of a lifetime with caring for his beautiful boyfriend.

Buy Links

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

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
I fell madly in love with Stan from the first page of his story. His fragile confidence, his unrestrained glamour, and his unique sense of self make for one of the most captivating characters I’ve read in some time. Completely unassuming, he almost blends into the background in social situations with Ben and his band – yet the man is a famous fashionista who worked for Italian Vogue before he was twenty-five.

In contrast, the only thing remarkable about Ben is his ability to see and to love all of Stan. Ignoring gender norms, Ben is attracted to the many sides of Stan. Otherwise, Ben is a Camden bartender/tutor/struggling musician – a perfectly ordinary and familiar Millennial. Together, Ben and Stan are very special. I love the romance and their friendship – they make each other better.

At first, I felt like this book could have been two separate novellas. The first half is a sweet London romance. Stan and Ben’s romance is slow, gentle, and wonderful. Stan’s gender fluid identity makes him a special character, but it is a non-thing between Stan and Ben. The usual barriers of awkward schedules, work, and social demands pose conflict here. I loved the romance and I loved their world.

The second half of the story was a bit of a shock for me and revealing too much might ruin this for future readers. The book takes a much darker turn. Things we knew about characters and relationships are upended and there is much more drama and angst in this second half. It took me a while to realise that the book works like this. The second half had to be a surprise and the darker second half is why the story is memorable.

Overall, I really loved this book. Unique characters and a surprising storyline captured my interest and a little bit of my heart. Highly recommended.


Angie – ☆☆☆☆
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. Stories with gender-fluid characters don’t always work so well, but this one was really good. There was also sensitive subject matter in the book which I thought was handled well. I enjoyed the main characters, their bond, and the secondary characters were good as well. At times, I wanted the book to hurry up and get over, and other times I never wanted it to end. I enjoyed Stan and Ben and how Ben just went with the flow. Tone was a riot and I would love to read a book with him. Sweet love story with a few tears along the way.

Characters: Well written
Sex: Yes
Religious: No
Would I recommend to others: Yes
More than one book in the series: Not sure
Genre: M/M Romance
Would I read more by this author: Yes

ANNA MARTIN is from a picturesque seaside village in the southwest of England and now lives in the slightly arty, slightly quirky city of Bristol. After spending most of her childhood making up stories, she studied English literature at university before attempting to turn her hand as a professional writer.

Apart from being physically dependent on her laptop, Anna is enthusiastic about writing and producing local grassroots theater (especially at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where she can be found every summer), going to visit friends in other countries, baking weird and wonderful sweets, learning to play the ukulele, and Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk.

Anna claims her entire career is due to the love, support, prereading, and creative ass kicking provided by her best friend Jennifer. Jennifer refuses to accept responsibility for anything Anna has written.

Second place winner of the 2012 Goodreads M/M Romance Member’s Choice Award “Best Musician/Rockstars” for Tattoos & Teacups.

Connect with Anna

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Impossible Boy by Anna Martin to read and review.