Posts rated 5 stars
Review - Dublin Bay by John Patrick
My rating:
James is a seventeen-year-old working-class Irish man just out of school and looking for his first job. He's picking mussels from Dublin Bay one day to feed his family when he spots another young man his age on the dock. James is mesmerized by the blond youth, Otto, who also seems attracted to James. Otto is German, and he and his father are on the dock seeing off Otto's mother.
Tags: WWII
Review - Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell
My rating:
Prince Kiem enjoys the life of a royal, even if some of his more outrageous behavior sends the emperor into displeasure. When the emperor summons the Prince this time, it's not for another dressing down. It's to announce that Kiem will be marrying Count Jainan, the recently widowed husband of Kiem's cousin Taam. The marriage is necessary to maintain the fragile alliance between the empire and the vassal planet Thea.
Tags: Science Fiction Mystery
Review - Hybrid Incubator by Meraki P. Dark
My rating:
Alex has been an avid ecologist since he was a young boy picking up trash in the woods that people carelessly discarded. Unfortunately, even with a doctorate in environmental science, his passion doesn't pay the bills. After another fruitless day of interviewing for jobs he is over-qualified for, Alex feels the need for a drink. Slightly drunk, he agrees to a road trip with another patron who is also a bit down on his luck.
Tags: Kidnapped by Aliens Science Fiction Non Consensual M-preg
Review - Release by Marie Sexton
My rating:
Misha was orphaned at a young age and grew up in the “trenches” of lower Davlova, where the poorest citizens scratch out a living without technology while the high-born “purebloods” live in luxury behind the thick protective walls of the inner city on the top of the hill. In some ways, Misha was lucky. He was taken in by one of the clans, criminal gangs that ran all sorts of operations in the city.
Tags: Science Fiction Dystopian
Review - Malena MCD by Beryll Brackhaus and Osiris BrackHaus
My rating:
Mauve is a ‘pet,’ a genetically engineered sex slave, and not a fancy one, either. His genes didn't produce quite what the breeders hoped for, so he ended up in the bargain bin. He's had a succession of brutal, uncaring owners from the underbelly of Malicorn society who used him and passed him on when they became bored. His latest master has been shot dead, along with his gang of thugs, and so Mauve is now ‘evidence’ in the investigation.
Tags: Virasana Empire Science Fiction
Review - The Prince's Frog by Eden Winters
My rating:
Prince Bob - his full name is one of the reasons this is a novella and not a short story - has a problem. His parents want to marry him off to the princess of a neighboring kingdom. Bob dislikes the demanding young woman. Actually, everybody does, but they're too afraid to say so. To make matters worse, Bob doesn't really like women. He would much prefer the company of the blacksmith, or the jousting team.
Tags: Fairy Tales Novella Humor
Review - Deserted by Cara Dee
My rating:
Spoiler alert: If you haven't read the first two books of this series, this review of the third may disclose some of what has already happened. Gray made a promise to Jonah, one of the other young me who had fallen prey to the human sex trafficking ring. As Jonah lay dying from a gunshot on the island where the men were hiding, Gray vowed to find Jonah's little brother Jayden and ensure he was safe.
Tags: Thriller
Review - Fang'd by Vin George
My rating:
Charley is on the run from the biker gang he works for because they think he killed one of their members. The young man may be a bit odd, but he's no killer. When Charley runs across a country lane trying to escape his pursuers, he's nearly run over by Luc's SUV. The slightly older Luc is instantly attracted to Charley and sympathetic to his problem, so he offers to help out.
Tags: Fantasy Shifters Vampires
Review - Potential Energy by Kim Fielding
My rating:
Haz Taylor is down on his luck, and he's been there for a year now. He managed to get his heavily damaged ship to a backwater planet, but without the use of the vessel, he has no way to make money to pay for repairs. Hope for escape seems to come from the most unlikely quarter: His old commander from the Earth-based Coalition, who offers to cover the cost of fixing Haz's ship and hire back his old crew.
Tags: Science Fiction
Review - Genie in a Vodka Bottle by Rob Rosen
My rating:
Paul is on his way to Spain, on a vacation he booked with his now ex-boyfriend and forgot to cancel. Through a series of seemingly random encounters, Paul ends up in Gibraltar and then Morocco, where a bartender insists on serving him a bottle of vodka, which just happens to hold a genie. Once the magical being is released, the fun really begins, taking Paul, the genie, and even Paul's ex on a ride around the world and back in time.