A Dom and His Writer by Xenia Melzer

Life is perfect for Richard and Dean. Richard is a wealthy and successful businessman who also owns a BDSM club, and Dean is a best-selling author and sub to Richard. They’re young, happy, and in love. The future is bright….

Until tragedy strikes and an accident claims Dean’s beloved sister. Dean finds himself the guardian of a three-month-old infant, and soon he’s trading in his leather fetish gear for diapers and drool bibs. But little Emily is all that remains of his family, so how can he abandon her?

It’s not what Richard signed up for. As much as he tries to be supportive, he never wanted kids and misses having his partner to himself. Suddenly the life he imagined for them is gone, and he’s not sure their relationship can survive the upheaval. But fate isn’t through with Dean, and when misfortune strikes again, will he be able to turn to the man he loves? A final crisis will determine if they can pull together as a family or must face facts and part ways.

Book 1
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Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

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

Richard and Dean have been lovers for a while now. They enjoy a BDSM relationship where Dean submits to Richard. Richard loves his boy with all of himself. However, when Dean has a tragedy in his life, Richard is anything but a loving and caring master. Rather, he turns into this whimpering, snotty man and I truly had a difficult time liking him.

Dean has known that since he was gay that he would never be welcomed by his parents again. However, his sister has always been there for him. When tragedy strikes and she is killed, he is lost and doesn't really know how to cope. Also, there is the added stress that his sister had a daughter, Emily, and asked that Dean be her guardian. Dean throws himself into learning about how to care for his niece. Knowing how hard this new relationship (his and his niece) is on Richard, Dean tries very hard not to ask too much. However, because Dean is used to having Richard to lean on, he flounders a bit.

When things really come to head, I loved Richard's dad. I cheered for him and loved the way that he loved Dean and Emily. He also was able to help Richard see what a dope he was being. Even though Dean loves Richard, he won't stand by and let Richard make him feel bad for protecting the only family he has left. Both men will need to fight for what they want.

This is about learning to adjust, love and protect those we hold most dear. I really enjoyed this story and the snippet of the next one looks just as intriguing.


Angie – ☆☆☆☆
The saving grace to my four stars is that Richard finally pulled his head out of his butt! I can honestly say I hated Richard through most of this book. It was a great story, I am sure this stuff happens in real life and this was a real life response on Richard's part, but he was just a jerk to Dean. I loved Dean and my heart broke for him in so many ways. When things go tits up, Richard just does a total 180 and I went from liking him to loathing him. I loved Richard's dad, I am glad he was in the story, he added to it and I loved the manny that they hired for the first few months too. I get Richard's side of things, but you just don't do what he did to Dean, especially in that kind of relationship. As much as I hated Richard, I did really enjoy the book and would recommend it.

XENIA MELZER was born and raised in a small village in the south of Bavaria. As one of nature’s true chocoholics, she’s always in search of the perfect chocolate experience. So far, she’s had about a dozen truly remarkable ones. Despite having been in close proximity to the mountains all her life, she has never understood why so many people think snow sports are fun. There are neither chocolate nor horses involved and it’s cold by definition, so where’s the sense? She does not like beer either and has never been to the Oktoberfest—no quality chocolate there.

Even though her mind is preoccupied with various stories most of the time, Xenia has managed to get through school and university with surprisingly good grades. Right after school she met her one true love who showed her that reality is capable of producing some truly amazing love stories itself.

While she was having her two children, she started writing down the most persistent stories in her head as a way of relieving mommy-related stress symptoms. As it turned out, the stress relief has now become a source of the same, albeit a positive one.

When she’s not writing, she translates other authors’ manuscripts to German, enjoys riding and running, spending time with her kids, and dancing with her husband.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of A Dom and His Writer (Club Whisper #1) by Xenia Melzer to read and review.

Changing Colors by Elyse Springer

Tony Quinn has a knack for figuring people out. He likes labels, likes to be able to put everyone and everything in tidy boxes. As a theater director, it allows him to run a production without too much drama. But when he meets Gentry—“call me Gee”—in a bar one night, he discovers that some people aren’t so easily defined.

Gee Parnell is unlike anyone Tony has ever met before. He refuses to conform—to Tony’s expectations, or to society’s gender roles. He’s sexy and flirtatious, unapologetic and unashamed. And Tony isn’t sure he’s okay with that. So he breaks things off and escapes back into his well-ordered life.

But then an attack leaves Gee bloody and bruised, and Tony realizes that he isn’t ready to lose him. Not only is the passion between them off the charts, but Gee shows him a different way of understanding people. However, an exciting new job opportunity means that Tony has to decide between hiding his sexuality and his relationship with Gee, and his newfound appreciation for the color and beauty Gee brings to his life.

A standalone novel in the Seasons of Love universe.

Book 4
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Riptide Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is one in a series, but can be read as a standalone. I read Thaw a little while ago, so it was good to catch up with that couple at a party.

I found this to be a thoughtful and thought-provoking read. Most people have been conditioned to consider certain things to be absolutely unacceptable, and even when it is blatantly wrong, it is difficult to not react. Tony has definitely been subjected to that from childhood, and at least in his mind, it is still affecting his thinking. I felt that his mother dying when he was a child was a significant factor in that inability. It is frustrating, but actually I think it is really well written and addresses a real issue in a refreshing, even if painful, way.

Gee is a wonderful character, determined to break rules he considers to be ridiculous – and his argument is difficult to fault. And Tony is well aware of that, he just isn't sure how to sort all the strands of his life. Watching them come to terms with each other, and seeing how their passion transcended the issues, was fascinating and highly engaging.

Another excellent installment, thank you Ms. Springer.

Also Available in the Seasons of Love Series

Book 1
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Riptide Publishing

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

Book 2
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Riptide Publishing

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

Elyse is an author and world-traveler, whose unique life experiences have helped to shape the stories that she wants to tell. She writes romances with LGBTQ+ characters and relationships, and believes that every person deserves a Happily Ever After. When she’s not staring futilely at her computer screen, El spends her time adding stamps to her passport, catching up on her terrifying TBR list, and learning to be a better adult.

She’s always happy to chat with other readers, and you can find her online.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Changing Colors (Seasons of Love #4) by Elyse Springer to read and review.

Bad Boy's Bard by E.J. Russell

As far as rock star Gareth Kendrick, the last true bard in Faerie, is concerned, the only good Unseelie is... well... there’s no such thing. Two centuries ago, an Unseelie lord abducted Gareth’s human lover, Niall, and Gareth has neither forgotten nor forgive.

Niall O’Tierney, half-human son of the Unseelie King, had never lost a wager until the day he swore to rid the Seelie court of its bard. That bet cost him everything: his freedom, his family—and his heart. When he’s suddenly face-to-face with Gareth at the ceremony to join the Seelie and Unseelie realms, Niall does the only thing inhumanly possible: he fakes amnesia. Not his finest hour, perhaps, but he never revealed his Unseelie heritage, and to tell the truth now would be to risk Gareth’s revulsion—far harder to bear than two hundred years of imprisonment.

Then a new threat to Gareth’s life arises, and he and Niall stage a mad escape into the Outer World, only to discover the fate of all fae resting on their shoulders. But before they can save the realm, they have to tackle something really tough: mending their own broken relationship.

Book 3
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆
3.5 stars

The third book in this series throws readers straight back into the action. Having only read the second book a few weeks ago, I still found myself floundering through the first chapters trying to remember the characters and their relationships. There isn’t really any recap at the start of the book, so this is probably best read directly after book two.

I almost put this story down at 30% because I couldn’t get my head around the complicated plot and I was tired of the pointless secrets and lies between the characters. But I’m glad I continued. Once Garreth and Niall get back to Faerie, the story becomes exciting and much more coherent.

In the Outerworld, I enjoyed David and Bryce’s efforts to care for Niall and their plans to rescue Alun and Mal. I also liked finding out more about Gareth and his band.

Unlike the couples in the first two books, Niall and Gareth have a long history – both together and apart. I struggled with the timelines and Niall’s secrets made it even more difficult for me to piece together their past. As a partnership, these two work well together – but only after a whole lot of angst and sulking more appropriate for teenagers than ancient Fae noblemen.

The first book is still my favourite in this series but I enjoyed this more than the second book. Readers with more experience of high fantasy will probably find this easier to follow and enjoy than I did.

Also Available in the Fae Out of Water Series

Book 1
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Riptide Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our Cutie and the Beast post.

Book 2
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Riptide Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our The Druid Next Door post.

E.J. Russell holds a BA and an MFA in theater, so naturally she’s spent the last three decades as a financial manager, database designer, and business intelligence consultant. Several years ago, she realized Darling Sons A and B would be heading off to college soon and she’d no longer need to spend half her waking hours ferrying them to dance class.

What to do with all that free time?

A lucky encounter with Jim Butcher’s craft blog posts caused her to revisit her childhood dream of writing fiction, and now she wonders why she ever thought an empty nest meant leisure.

Her daily commute consists of walking from one side of her office to the other, from left-brain day job to right-brain writer’s cave, where she’s learned to type with a dog attached to her hip and a cat draped across her wrists.

E.J. is married to Curmudgeonly Husband, a man who cares even less about sports than she does. Luckily, C.H. also loves to cook, or all three of their children (Lovely Daughter and Darling Sons A and B) would have survived on nothing but Cheerios, beef jerky, and satsuma mandarins (the extent of E.J.’s culinary skill set).

E.J. lives in rural Oregon, enjoys visits from her wonderful adult children, and indulges in good books, red wine, and the occasional hyperbole.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Bad Boy's Bard (Fae Out of Water #3) by E.J. Russell to read and review.

Game Point by M.J. O'Shea

Game, set… match made in heaven.

Spoiled socialite Quinn Valenzuela has no interest in sports or his family’s huge sporting goods empire, Sparta Athletics. So when Quinn learns his grandfather has died and he’s in control of the corporation, no one is more surprised than Quinn himself.

Dedicated COO Porter Davis has little time and less patience for brats like Quinn who have never done a day’s work, but circumstances leave him with little choice. Quinn claims he’s ready to leave partying behind and grow up, but it’ll take more than words to earn Porter’s respect. As it turns out, they can work—and play—together after all. A friends with benefits arrangement makes sense for the two busy men, but are they too different for it to ever develop into more? Not if Quinn can convince Porter he has his head in the game.

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Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
What happens to trust fund club kids when they finally grow up? When Quinn’s grandfather dies suddenly, he flies from Ibiza to Seattle to become the CEO of his family’s sportswear empire. Porter, the company’s hardworking COO, has little time for the spoiled rich kid playing businessman – but he does find the younger man irritatingly attractive.

The chemistry between Porter and Quinn is electric. I loved the initial animosity. I loved their hard won friendship and the bromance that becomes more than just a ‘friends with benefits’ arrangement without them noticing. Both of these men are wonderful. Quinn has more substance than we initially expect, and Porter isn’t as cold and uptight as he first appears. I really love the partnership that develops between these two.

This is a classic romance. The sex is skimmed over. They have close relationships with their families and lead a relatively traditional lifestyle. They are both affluent and Quinn’s family is extremely wealthy – but I liked the lack of conspicuous consumption. The Seattle setting is understated, and Quinn and Porter don’t really do bling.

Ultimately, this is a satisfying, feel-good read. The characters are easy to like and the story is free from unnecessary angst. It is a simple, fun, and entertaining read.

M.J. O’SHEA has never met a music festival, paintbrush, or flower crown she can stay away from. She loves rainstorms and a perfect cup of tea, beach days, music, bright colors, and more than anything a cozy evening with a really great book.

She is from the Pacific Northwest. While she lives there still and loves it, M.J. has the heart of a wanderer. So she puts all her dreams of far-off places and extraordinary people in her books.

Except for every once in a while when she does what all travelers have to do on occasion… come home.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Game Point by M.J. O'Shea to read and review.

Wilde in Love by Eloisa James

Lord Alaric Wilde, son of the Duke of Lindow, is the most celebrated man in England, revered for his dangerous adventures and rakish good looks. Arriving home from years abroad, he has no idea of his own celebrity until his boat is met by mobs of screaming ladies. Alaric escapes to his father’s castle, but just as he grasps that he’s not only famous but notorious, he encounters the very private, very witty, Miss Willa Ffynche.

Willa presents the façade of a serene young lady to the world. Her love of books and bawdy jokes is purely for the delight of her intimate friends. She wants nothing to do with a man whose private life is splashed over every newspaper.

Alaric has never met a woman he wanted for his own... until he meets Willa. He’s never lost a battle.

But a spirited woman like Willa isn’t going to make it easy...

The first book in Eloisa James’s dazzling new series set in the Georgian period glows with her trademark wit and sexy charm—and introduces a large, eccentric family. Readers will love the Wildes of Lindow Castle!

Book 1
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Avon Romance

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆
I need to be honest, and I don't know whether it was my mood or not, but I struggled throughout the entire novel. Eloisa James is an author I found when I first began reading historical romances, and I adored those novels, spurring me into a love of the genre. However, Wilde in Love was close to being did-not-finish by me many times over, and it was only because I am a fan of the author that I forced myself to finish.

At the start, I talked myself out of giving up multiple times. Why, you may ask. Silly. That is the only word that came to mind for the first 20% of the novel. Silly. Every bit of dialogue had to be a zinger, whether it was witty banter, dry humor, or over-the-top vapid silliness. I couldn't take the characters or the story seriously enough to fall into it and enjoy myself.

I was intrigued by Alaric, but equally annoyed at the attention paid to him. It felt unrealistic. Now, I realize this may have been written to be 'humorous.' But there is humor, and then there is this feeling of forcing unbelievability on the reader and calling it humor. If Alaric's horde of fans were any indication on society, it's unimaginable that the downfall of civilization didn't happen in the Georgian period. I realize this is to mirror today's society with young girls fangirling hot celebrity actors. But, bear in mind, these were GROWN women, not children collecting lockets and portraits of the object of their affections as young girls did with posters when I was a child, or girls do today with saving pics to their phones.

I know I sound overly critical, and I realize every book isn't written for me. I'm writing this portion of the review for those who are more of a serious nature, who would have a similar reaction as I did. We enjoy humor as much as the next person, but it has to make sense. Those who know they get a chuckle from this sort of thing, on the flip side, they obviously know this is promoting it toward purchasing it.

If Alaric had unwanted fans, he had just as many family members. As the second son of a duke, with the oldest gone, Alaric fled responsibility and grief. His father, the duke, is on his third wife and his third set of children, leaving Alaric with the luxury of doing his own thing, no matter his birth order. Alaric wrote a series of books featuring his adventures all over the world, only to arrive back home to realize a play had been made in his false image, with a horde of admirers meeting him at the docks.

Willa is not an Alaric fan – she doesn't read fiction, seeing Alaric's books as an exaggeration on events rather than nonfiction. Willa is an academic, not prescribing to the silly notions of romance and falling all over a man because everyone else is. Yet, every time she looks at Alaric, the reader is subjected to a rundown of his attributes. I felt this contradicted Willa's personality traits, anticipated it every time she caught sight of him in the beginning portion of the story, but felt it fed into the love-hate tension Willa was tossing out at Alaric at every turn. Willa didn't like what Alaric stood for, but she enjoyed the pretty trappings.

Willa and Alaric's personalities and lives simultaneously balance yet contradict one another. Willa doesn't want to be a member of his fan club, wishing for a private life. Alaric begrudgingly enjoys the attention, yet only has eyes for Willa because she doesn't want him due to his celebrity status. My issues aside, the romance between them does unfold organically, creating a believable balance of a public persona versus a private life.

With such a large cast of characters, often at times, it felt as if the setup for subsequent books overshadowed the narrators and their evolving story.

This was a rough start to a new series for me personally, but I'm curious to see where it goes next. Perhaps it was just my mood, the 'humor' rubbing me the wrong way most of the time, and I patiently wait to find out during the next installment.

ELOISA JAMES is a New York Times best-selling author and professor of English literature who lives with her family in New York, but can sometimes be found in Paris or Italy. She is the mother of two and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Wilde in Love (The Wildes of Lindow Castle #1) by Eloisa James to read and review.

Soft Limits by Brianna Hale

Frederic d’Estang: performer, professional villain and my youthful crush.

Graduate student Evie Bell spends her days ghostwriting memoirs and her nights playing out her most intimate sexual fantasies by penning fan fiction. When a famous stage actor bursts into her life, she’s drawn to his dark, sensual presence, despite herself.

He calls me chérie, ma princesse, minette.

In Paris, Frederic takes Evie firmly in hand, leading her down a sensual path neither of them could have imagined, and pushing them both dangerously near their limits.

I call him Daddy.

Evie is wary—fearing Frederic is a villain both onstage and off—but again and again, Frederic draws her in. Yet the closer they become, the more Frederic holds back, wanting to protect Evie from his despicable truth. He isn’t the man she believes him to be, and his secret may very well destroy them.

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you're looking for with an HEA/HFN. It's a promise!

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Carina Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Kris – ☆☆☆☆
It's been ages since a book shocked me, but Soft Limits had me slack jawed a few times! The age play warning had me wondering if this book was for me, but it was done well enough that while I was shocked, I wasn't appalled, and even got a bit hot under the collar!

Evie is the daughter of Frederic's friend and agent, she's a grad student and a writer.

Frederic's life as a Broadway playwright, singer, and actor has been illustrious and rewarding. Toying with the idea of a biography, Frederic hires the young Evie to write it and invites her to Paris to live with him and interview his friends and coworkers. Evie has crushed on Frederic since she was 13, loving the villains he plays on the stage from her favorite novels.

Evie is a young woman who's naive and childlike, but her needs are dark. Past lovers were unable to fulfill her. She spills her dark desires into her written short stories, but she's never tried them for real. Frederic is a sadist and a dominant. He's drawn to everything about submissive Evie and brings out her innermost longings. He lets her be exactly who she longs to be, no matter how violent or kinky her fantasies. These two really turn a page with sensuality and bring some of the darkest desires to life in each of their encounters. Play acting and also just being themselves, Frederic dresses the part, literally, and Evie plays hers to the extremes. Including thumb sucking and calling Frederic daddy.

Not for the faint of heart, especially if that type of consensual age play bothers you. But I found it written well and intriguingly twisted.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars of kink and naughtiness!

I really enjoyed this book – I am not usually into age play, but actually it was really well introduced and was limited to... well you read it and find out!

The underlying plot was really good, and as soon as I reached the end, I could have read it all over again – except it was 3am and really I needed some sleep before the alarm went off! Definitely a page turner, and one to read when not in public! Super hot and definitely touching on the dark and sadistic, but somehow also a softly romantic story.

I will be looking out for more books by Ms. Hale, as this was a really good read.

Brianna Hale couldn’t live without her notebook and an assortment of glitter pens, and when she’s not writing she can usually be found with a book, fighting video game monsters and aliens, or attending the theater. She believes that pink and empowerment aren’t mutually exclusive, and everyday adventures are possible. Brianna lives in London.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Soft Limits by Brianna Hale to read and review.

Deacon's Law by RJ Scott Blog Tour

How can you trust the man who tried to kill you?

Undercover cop Deacon Shepherd lost everything trying to maintain his cover - the man he loved and the future he craved. He walked away and never looked back because it was the only way to keep Rafael alive.

The last thing he needs is to be dragged back in that world, but an attempt on Rafael's life is enough to make him risk his heart again.

Rafael 'Rafe' Ramirez wakes up in the hospital, the victim of a hit and run. He’s horrified when the first face he sees is that of the man who betrayed him and left him for dead three years before. Witness protection had stripped Rafe of his family and friends, and now it seems his sacrifice to bring his Uncle to justice was for nothing.

Someone wants Rafe dead, and the only way he can stay alive is to go with the murdering drug dealer who broke his heart. But how can he ever trust Deacon, and how can Deacon protect Rafe without falling in love all over again?

Book 3
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Rafe opened his eyes, attempting to focus on the ceiling above him. He tried to lift his hand, but it felt as if there was lead in his veins, everything heavy and he couldn’t move. They’d told him he was getting better, so what the hell had happened? Had he relapsed? Why was he convinced that they’d taken him somewhere in an ambulance? That he’d leaned against a leather jacket that smelled of sunshine and soap? He blinked until the ceiling finally coalesced into the tiles he was familiar with.

Only there were no tiles.

Instead, the ceiling was a smooth white, and there were no strip lights, just a lampshade in a curious shade of blue. He blinked again. This didn’t make sense.

But when he opened his eyes, nothing had changed. The ceiling was still white, the lampshade blue, and the drapes at the window matched the shade. The drapes. There were drapes at the window. Confusion morphed into panic and he turned his head to the right to get a better feel for where he was and he saw…him.

Sprawled awkwardly in the chair, his head back, long limbs this way and that, clearly too big for the chair, was a specter from a past that wouldn’t leave him alone.

Deacon.

Intense fear sliced into Rafe.

They’d found him, had him strapped to a bed…was it Deacon who’d tracked him down and driven a car at him? He was paralyzed with a fear that made it hard to breathe, and he yanked at his hand, hoping to escape his restraints, only he wasn’t tied down, there was no rope. Instead his hand came up fast and he rolled sideways. Catching himself and coming off the bed, forgetting the fact that his leg was in a cast and toppling sideways, falling with a crash into a cabinet. He flailed but couldn’t stop himself falling, and he knew this was it – this time he was really going to die.

Deacon was up and at his side in an instant, and Rafe wanted to shut his eyes, wanted to block out seeing Deacon’s face again as he died, but he had to watch. He wanted Deacon to see his fear, and maybe that would stop him; maybe he could make Deacon stop and think.

“Shit, Rafe— Craig,” Deacon said, and reached for him, grasping his arms.

Terror became ice inside him, and Rafe stopped fighting; like a deer caught in headlights, he froze.

“What happened?” A second man stood in the doorway, someone Rafe didn’t know – tall, dark and dangerous-looking. Maybe this new arrival could stop Deacon?

“Help me,” Rafe forced out, looking past Deacon, scrambling to stand as the ice melted and he pushed himself to move.

“He woke up, saw me, and fell out of bed,” Deacon said, and the other man came right in. There were two of them, and there was little Rafe could do to get away. There and then, he screwed his eyes shut; nothing was going to save him now.

But there was no pain, no bullet. Instead, the two men helped him to stand, and then he felt the bed at the back of his thighs and they sat him down.

“Are you okay?” Deacon asked. Even with his eyes shut, Rafe recognized his voice. He would never forget the tone of it, or the coldness of the man who’d tried to kill him. He said nothing.

“Open your eyes,” the other man asked.

No.

“Craig? Rafe? My name is Mac. We’re here to help you.”

But fear was choking him and he couldn’t breathe. “No,” he managed between attempts to inhale enough oxygen not to pass out.

“He’s panicking. What the hell did you do, D?”

“Tried to fucking kill him three years ago, remember?”

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

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

Deacon is working undercover when he first meets Rafe. Right away, he knows that it will take every ounce of his self-strength to stay away from Rafe. He is attracted to him, knows that he wants to protect him, but also knows that this case is important. Despite his feelings towards Rafe, Deacon keeps his cover and does the unthinkable... he tries to kill Rafe in order to maintain his cover.

Rafe is out of sorts when we first meet him. He knows that his family was murdered, but what truly gets to him is that he is the butt of all jokes about being gay. He is living with his uncle now that his parents are deceased, and his cousins are horrible. They like to pick on Rafe and push him around. Rafe is there on his own mission, so he just kind of takes it. Rafe hopes that Deacon is sharing the same attraction that Rafe does and one night, Rafe tries to show Deacon just how much he likes him.

When the dust settles, Rafe and Deacon have to figure out how to move past what happened and fight together to capture Rafe's crazy cousin. The action in this story is great and I love how strong Rafe is, despite not always feeling like he was.

Deacon and Rafe get what I would consider a second chance at love, because the first time was tainted with lies and deceptions. I really enjoyed this story.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is the third book in an absolutely excellent series – and by far my favourite so far! Ms. Scott has done a fantastic job of combining a believable and passionate romance in a really intense and suspenseful story. It was also good to meet up with Sam and Mac, who lead in Last Marine Standing, and particularly poignant when Rafe needs a reality check.

There is plenty of insight into how both men are thinking and dealing with the cards they have been dealt – and in both cases, they are selfless and self-effacing. Deacon may be the undercover cop, but Rafe too was seeking justice. He suffers terribly for the truth, yet continues to be so positive. His lightness shines very brightly. Interestingly, even though Deacon has to act dark, I did not get the feeling that he is himself, which made the connection and the sweetness all the more believable and enjoyable. The safety and security he offered Rafe was definitely repaid in the pleasure it gave him to be caring.

From suspenseful and violent all the way to cute and cuddly – 20 chapters of very enjoyable reading. Thank you, Ms. Scott.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
How does Deacon get the man he shot to fall in love with him? I loved the dilemma at the centre of this story. Rafe only knows Deacon as his uncle’s bodyguard. The bodyguard who volunteered to kill him. It’s a brilliant start to a romance between a retired undercover cop and the man he feels compelled to save.

Each of the books in this series is completely original and the first three have only been loosely linked. This time, our hero is a cop, not military Special Ops, and the threat is from a crime family, not arms dealers, politicians, or terrorists. But like the first two books, this is packed full of action. The romance between Deacon and Rafe is slow and complicated, but the focus is on Deacon’s hunt for Rafe’s evil cousin.

Like most action stories or films, I’m not entirely sure how plausible most of this book is – but it is definitely exciting. I love that this series isn’t formulaic and I really loved the characters this time around. I can’t wait for the next story.

Also Available in the Heroes Series

Book 1
Buy Links

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

For reviews & more info, check out our A Reason to Stay post.

Book 2
Buy Links

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

For reviews & more info, check out our Last Marine Standing post.

RJ Scott is the bestselling gay romance author of over 100 romance books. She writes emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men and women who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end 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 bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.

Connect with RJ

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Deacon's Law (Heroes #3) by RJ Scott to read and review for this tour.