Posts rated 5 stars
Review - White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton
My rating: 
Adam has “the Sight,” the ability to see into other realms and even visit them in spirit. The gift hasn’t been very beneficial to Adam. When Adam was in high school and had very little control over his abilities, his older brother had Adam committed to a mental hospital. When he comes of age, Adam goes in search of his father, who abandoned the family when Adam was still a small boy.
Review - It's Not Unusual To Be Loved by an Alien by Chloe Archer
My rating:
River is a huge science fiction nerd. He also believes that aliens live amongst humans on Earth, and he's now convinced his new neighbor is one of them. When the neighbor drives off in the middle of the night, River and his uncle follow him out to the Nevada desert. What they find there will change River forever. This book is a hilarious romp about extraterrestrials living and working alongside humans on Earth.
Tags: Science Fiction Humor Tentacles
Review - Innocence & Carnality by J. Alan Veerkamp
My rating:
Nathan has lived with the physical and mental shackles imposed on him by his family for five years since his sexual orientation was announced to the court. He should be happy that the arranged marriage to a wealthy foreign businessman will finally get him out from under his father's thumb. But Nathan has never met his future husband, and the speed with which the marriage is to take place makes him uneasy.
Tags: Steampunk
Review - A Matter of When by Eden Winters
My rating:
Henri may be a chart-topping rock star, but he hates his life. He can afford to buy whatever he wants, but what he really needs is freedom from his overbearing stage mother-manager and band members who won't stab him in the back at the first opportunity. A crazed fan who drugs him at a party gives Henri the chance he needs to figure out what he really wants. He fires his mother, and his new manager arranges for voice lessons from an opera singer who lives in the Rockies.
Tags: Contemporary Music
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