After Midnight: A Fallen Fairytales Dark M/M Romance by Blake Allwood

 

 

Blurb:

In the shadows of Denver’s comedy scene, a bartender named Dominique becomes the unexpected star of his own twisted Cinderella tale. Is love strong enough to save him from his wicked stepmother?

After Midnight is an enchanting tale that reimagines the classic Cinderella story as a dark and passionate gay romance. In this modern retelling, Dillon, a talented and aspiring comedian, finds himself drawn to Dominique, a sexy bartender at the local comedy club.

Dominique, whose unfortunate life mimics the story of Cinderella, selflessly cares for his younger stepsisters while facing a treacherous stepmother.

Amidst the glittering lights of the comedy club, Dominique and Dillon’s love slowly grows as they overcome the challenges created by a willful and selfish adversary.

After Midnight is a captivating journey of resilience and the power of love; but is love enough to save Dominique when his hateful stepmother tries to end him once and for all?

Fallen Fairytales is a dark M/M romance, multi-author series. Each book may be read as a standalone, but why not load up your Kindle, kick back, and enjoy sexy men, shenanigans, and deliciously dark fairytale retellings.
 

*Note: This is a dark romance, and readers sensitive to certain content should make note of the following triggers:

Racism, homophobia, child neglect, kidnapping, false allegations, lawsuits, embarrassment, loss of parent, grief and loss, manipulation by a parent figure, MC close to death.

 

My review:

After Midnight is a modern, gay take on the Cinderella tale complete with a horrible stepmother and a happy ever after. I was floored by this tale. It had me laughing and crying by turns. I adored the characters and stayed up way past my bedtime finishing this one off. Fabulous.

 

Buy link:

Amazon

 

Kissing the Suspect (Mystical Melvilles Book 1) by Kimberly Frost

 

Blurb:

Callie sees the future. The universe expects her to deal with it...

Callie Melville doesn’t know the first thing about solving crimes. Especially one that hasn’t happened yet.

Callie’s a Melville storm survivor. Her family has a history of being struck by lightning, only to wake with mystical powers. Now a premonition leads Callie to the prime suspect in the upcoming abduction of a pretty teenager. At first the sizzling chemistry between Callie and the attractive ex-Marine makes investigating him easier, but the more personal things get, the higher the stakes become.

Add in a massive mutt with bad manners, a nasty new police chief who’s gunning for her, and an irrepressible octogenarian, and life has become pretty complicated. Will she rescue the teen girl in time? Or will Callie become a casualty of the vision herself?

No one ever said being a Melville was easy.

 

My review:

Kissing the Suspect is a laugh out loud romp that will have you believing in the impossible. Callie and Rufus are adorable and Brink is a mountain worth climbing.  For a fun escape I highly recommend. I look forward to more in this series.

 

Buy links:

Amazon

Royal Crush (Royal RomCom Rebels Book 1) by Rich Amooi

 

 

Blurb:

She’s the worst wedding planner ever.
Perfect to sabotage his wedding.

GRACE
Scorned by viral videos of my client’s wedding fiascos, I never expected royalty to appear at my door and throw me a lifeline. Yet the roguishly handsome Prince Oliver insists on hiring me to plan his lavish nuptials, saying he believes in second chances. Whisked away to his romantic seaside palace in Europe, I vow to pull off the wedding of the century and prove I’m not as horrible as people think.

PRINCE OLIVER
I’m trapped in an arranged marriage I simply don’t want. I need an escape plan, and fast! Luckily, I have a brilliant idea. Hire that bumbling American wedding planner everyone is talking about. She’s sure to botch everything! Grace is supposed to be a surefire way to ruin my wedding, but when her planning is nothing but smooth, I panic. Especially when I start to develop feelings for her.

Royal Crush is a swoony and sweet closed-door romantic comedy.

 

My review:

Sweet and funny. I fell for Grace and Oliver as they fell for each other. The theme for this book is whatever can go wrong does but love will out. I loved how Grace dealt with the Queen.

 

Buy link:

Amazon

 

Her Maryland Crabby Daddy (Stateside Doms #19) by Golden Angel

 

 

Blurb:

Geographically UnDesirable

Crabs, good friends, and beer.

That's pretty much what Ethan Davies' life consists of, and he's not looking to change it.

He's certainly not looking for his sister's gorgeous, curvy best friend to turn his bachelor pad into her temporary home away from the Big Apple. And he is absolutely, one hundred percent, not looking to teach her everything she ever wanted to know about Daddy Doms.

But fate and meddling little sisters have other plans. And now that she's turned his world upside down, he'll need to find a way to convince his New Yorker babygirl that where she really belongs is with her Maryland Daddy.

Even if he is a little...crabby.

 

My review:

Her Maryland Crabby Daddy is a fun and smexy romp that will have you sweating and laughing in equal measure. I learned more about Maryland than I knew I needed. Though this is part of a series it can be read standalone.

 

Buy link:

Amazon

No Escape (Redemption’s End #1) by Bianca Sommerland

 

 

Blurb:

One chance.

One mistake.And Axton Hawthorn’s already reached his limit. As a courtless shadow fae on his own, with only his skills as a thief to keep him alive, Axton has nothing to fight for besides his freedom.

Until he’s imprisoned for his crimes, then has his prison break foiled by an order of supernaturals who keep exposure from humans to a minimum—or something like that. He wasn’t really paying attention until the last part. His choices are simple.

Join them or die.

Yeah...he’ll look for another option until they give him a damn good reason not to.

Edric ‘King’ Kingston should never have been allowed into the High Guard in The Géillsin. Hellhounds are meant to be chained in the apocalyptic demon realm, not secretly protecting the human one as a high ranking soldier. Leading reluctant young law breakers and teaching them to use their skills for the good of their kind isn’t what he would’ve signed up for, but it’s all he has left to give to prove he’s not the cursed creature he was born as.

He owes his life to one man. To a moment when someone saw more in him. The only way to pay that debt is to make sure the man’s son survives.

Falling for Axton would be a very bad idea. He’s reckless and defiant. Forces the order to make new rules he can’t work his way around. But Edric can’t look away from the trainwreck he’s brought to the doorstep of the place that represents everything he believes in.

And hope Axton’s presence will even their odds against forces threatening to destroy everything they’ve built.

While the man he can’t stay away from seems determined to watch it burn.

 

My review:

A brilliant new world from Bianca Sommerland. I was drawn in from the first page. Fantastic characters bring you into their world and make you want to know them better. I absolutely adored this book and can’t wait for the next installment.

 

Buy links:

Amazon

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Saving Scarlet (Syndicate Daddies #2) by Kate Oliver

 

 

Blurb:

Scarlet Jensen
She's finally learned her lesson. All it took was being abused and kidnapped. Scarlet is done with men. They can't be trusted. The only thing she's focused on is herself and trying to survive the nightmares she's endured. Sometimes that means drowning them out however she can. The only problem is there's a big, grumpy, bossy Irishman who thinks he's in charge of her, but he's got another thing coming.

Killian Lachlan
All it took was one look at Scarlet to know she was someone special. She's a lost Little girl in need of love, and while he's not so sure he can give her that, he can give her the discipline and structure she so desperately needs. If only she would stop fighting him every step of the way, maybe he could help her save herself from herself.

 

My review:

Cali’s (Corrupting Cali) sister Scarlet was kidnapped by the Russian mob and Killian is the one who carried her out from the hellhole she was locked up in. It is going to take all the patience Killian has to nurse her back to health and his arms.

Watching Scarlet heal and discover the man she was meant for was sigh inducing. I really enjoyed watching them fall in love.

 

Buy links:

Amazon

 

Random in Death (In Death #58) by J.D. Robb

 

 

Blurb:

In the new crime thriller from #1 New York Times-bestselling J.D. Robb, a small and easily concealed weapon wreaks havoc, and the killer is just a face in the crowd.
 

Jenna’s parents had finally given in, and there she was, at a New York club with her best friends, watching the legendary band Avenue A, carrying her demo in hopes of slipping it to the guitarist, Jake Kincade. Then, from the stage, Jake catches her eye, and smiles. It’s the best night of her life.
 It’s the last night of her life.

Minutes later, Jake’s in the alley getting some fresh air, and the girl from the dance floor comes stumbling out, sick and confused and deathly pale. He tries to help, but it’s no use. He doesn’t know that someone in the crowd has jabbed her with a needle—and when his girlfriend Nadine arrives, she knows the only thing left to do for the girl is call her friend, Lieutenant Eve Dallas.

After everyone on the scene is interviewed, lab results show a toxic mix of substances in the victim’s body—and for an extra touch of viciousness, the needle was teeming with infectious agents. Dallas searches for a pattern: Had any boys been harassing Jenna? Was she engaging in risky behavior or caught up in something shady? But there are no obvious clues why this levelheaded sixteen-year-old, passionate about her music, would be targeted.

And that worries Dallas. Because if Jenna wasn’t targeted, if she was just the random, unlucky victim of a madman consumed by hatred, there are likely more deaths to come.

 

My review:

Random in Death pits Eve against a murderer who thinks they are smarter than everybody including the cops set to take them down. This is going to take the skills of everyone on the case. Nobody likes it when a child is murdered so heinously. This book is a perfect example of why this series can continue without getting stale.

 

Buy links:

Amazon

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Good Time Boyfriend (First Time #1) by Carrie Ann Ryan

 

Blurb:

A new town. A new bar. A new life.
At least, that’s what I’m hoping for.
I moved to Denver to try to piece my family back together, but I have no idea how to do that.
Then the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen walks into my bar, and I think things are looking up.
She needs a fake boyfriend for the night and I’m all too eager to play along.
But when the sun rises, reality settles in and I know I want more. Only I don’t think she’s ready for what I have to give.
I want to be more than a good time, but I know what I’m good for. I need control. And she’s far too innocent.
Only when something happens that changes the rules, we’ll have to make a choice quickly, or we could lose everything before it even starts.

 

My review:

We met Greer and her brothers in Best Friend Temptation but you don’t have to have read that to enjoy this story (but it is a terrific story). In this book Heath (Greers oldest brother) meets his match in Devney and lordy this is a total romp. This fun romcom had me laughing and sighing. A total hit. 

 

Buy links:

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Man-Killer (Gina Cototi Cases #I) by Lawrence Kelter

 

Blurb:

Gina Marie Cototi is a feisty Sicilian sparkplug, a Brooklyn-based PI with a fondness for family, friends, and one roguishly handsome Casanova named Rocco Benelli. Hey, nobody's perfect.

This headstrong sleuth drives a split-window '63 Corvette coupe and never, I mean never, misses Sunday dinner with Ma, Dad, and her sister Theresa.

Broke, brooding, and breathtaking, Benelli, an out-of-work parole officer is cursed with more charm than any man deserves. Deep down, Gina knows she shouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole, but she's got more cases than she can handle, and Benelli's ready, willing, and able-bodied, the perfect partner to help her get the goods on Vlad "The Scud" Rzhevsky, a disreputable boxer running point on dirty deeds for Luca Mura, a mobster as evil as he is dangerous.

Gina must somehow close the case without losing her life to Mura or her virtue to Benelli, but a moth working alongside a flame is always in danger of catching fire.

 

For fans of Janet Evanovich. Think of Man-Killer as Stephanie Plum meets Moonstruck.

 

My review:

I really wanted to enjoy this. I had a hard time connecting to Gina. I loved Rocco. The bad guys were great but I just didn’t resonate with Gina. She spent way too much time worrying about her boobs. The story was fun but…

 

Buy links:

Amazon

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Moonlit Betrayal (Alpha Ascension Chronicles Book 1) by Milly Taiden

 

 

Blurb:

A New Series filled with suspense, action and sizzling romance

Private investigator Kiera Moore lives life as she wants and answers to no one. She left that behind long ago and now lived as a lone wolf shifter … no pack, no alpha, no problem! That’s all great until an investigation brings her face-to-face with the first man who could make her strong will shatter…her mate.

Elijah Winds, the new alpha CC, keeps finding the bodies of his murdered pack mates and doesn’t have a clue why his people are being targeted. So when PI Kiera comes to investigate, he has an extra problem added to the mix. She’s stunning, smart-mouthed, intelligent and he can’t keep his hands off her.

The killer is smart, leaving no evidence behind and quickly manipulating Kiera and Elijah, turning the pack against them. If Elijah can’t get Kiera to open her heart to him, then the only happy ending will be for the rogue wolf wanting power over the pack.

 

My review:

Kiera has been burnt before and its forced her into becoming the tough, take no prisoners, lone wolf she is. When she meets her mate the new alpha of the Northern Winds pack over a dead body its as far from a meet cute as you can get. Kiera is determined to do her job without alpha interference. Elijah has the patience of an alpha predator and he has to tap into that to win Kiera’s heart.

The first in what looks to be a fantastic new series by Milly Taiden. I loved watching Kiera and Elijah find what worked for them.

 

Buy link:

Amazon

The Night Island (The Lost Night Files #2) by Jayne Ann Krentz

 

 

Blurb:

The disappearance of a mysterious informant leads two people desperate for answers to an island of deadly deception in this new novel in the Lost Night Files trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz.
 
 

Talia March, Pallas Llewellyn, and Amelia Rivers, bonded by a night none of them can remember, are dedicated to uncovering the mystery of what really happened to them months ago—an experience that amplified innate psychic abilities in each of them. The women suspect they were test subjects years earlier, and that there are more people like them—all they have to do is find the list of others who took that same test. When Talia follows up on a lead from Phoebe, a fan of the trio’s podcast, she discovers that the informant has vanished.
 
 

Talia isn’t the only one looking for Phoebe, however. Luke Rand, a hunted and haunted man who is chasing the same list that Talia is after, also shows up at the meeting place. It’s clear he has his own agenda, and they are instantly suspicious of each other. But when a killer begins to stalk them, they realize they have to join forces to find Phoebe and the list.
 
 

The rocky investigation leads Talia and Luke to a rustic, remote retreat on Night Island in the Pacific Northwest, where the Unplugged Experience promises to rejuvenate guests. Upon their arrival, Talia and Luke discover they are quite literally cut off from the outside world when none of their high-tech devices work on the island. It soon becomes clear that Phoebe is not the first person to disappear into the strange gardens that surround the Unplugged Experience retreat. And then the first mysterious death occurs. . . .

 

My review:

Another fantastic adventure from the pen of Jayne Ann Krentz. In this installment we are introduced to more characters who have experienced a lost night and increased psychic abilities. Talia and Luke have their hands full and abilities tested in their search for answers. Looking forward to Amelia’s tale.

 

Buy links:

Amazon

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Wolf on the Edge (SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team) by Paige Tyler

 

 

Blurb:

He can’t be a werewolf without a pack…

For SWAT member Carter Nelson, everything is on the line. Something has triggered the omega wolf in him causing violent outbursts and blackouts. Losing control means losing his pack, so when he’s ordered to see psychiatrist Hadley Delacroix, he grudgingly agrees. However, the more time they spend together, Carter begins to suspect she’s The One, but dating your shrink breaks all the rules. He needs her as his therapist, but he craves her as his soul mate.The decision is out of his hands when a serial killer with supernatural abilities targets Hadley. Carter will risk it all to save his mate, but he’s running out of time…

 

My review:

Fast paced with lots of action and a lot of heart. My heart bled for Carter. I hated he was having such control issues. His life had blown up before was it going to deal him another life altering blow? This story had me flipping pages to find out. A great addition to the series.

 

Buy links:

Amazon

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Corrupting Cali (Syndicate Daddies #1) by Kate Oliver

 

Blurb:

Cali Jenkins

She’s a good girl. A rule follower. Mature beyond her years, but not by choice. She’s always had to be the responsible one. The caretaker. The strong one. No one would ever know it, but sometimes she wishes things were different. When things take a devastating turn, she isn’t ready for the roller coaster that’s about to begin. She never expected to get mixed up with a devastatingly handsome yet terrifying mafia boss.

Declan Gilroy

He has everything. Money, power, respect, family. What else could he possibly want? Something he’s sure he will never find. After all, he’s twisted and ruthless. Imagine his surprise when the timid little waitress approaches his table filled with the most dangerous men in Seattle and bravely demands a moment of his time. When she makes him an offer, there’s no way he can refuse. In fact, he can’t wait to say yes so he can corrupt her and make her call him Daddy.

You may have met Declan already, but if not, you can get to know him in my Daddies of the Shadows series where he first appears in Wolf’s book

 

My review:

Sweet, sassy and sexy. I loved Cali. She knows who she is and is comfortable in her skin. Declan has his world tilted on it’s axis the moment he sets eyes on her. I loved watching them find each other.

 

Buy links:

Amazon

A Fatal Groove (Record Shop Mystery #2) by Olivia Blacke

 

Blurb:

It’s springtime in Cedar River, Texas. The annual Bluebonnet Festival is brewing and the whole town is in harmony. Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie thought opening Sip & Spin Records was going to be their biggest hurdle, but the Frappuccino hits the fan when the mayor drops dead--poisoned by their delicious coffee.

Since Tansy was the one to brew the coffee, and Juni was the unfortunate citizen who stumbled upon the mayor’s body, the sisters find themselves in hot water. Family is everything to the Jessups, so with Tansy under suspicion, the sisters spring into action.

Between the town festivities, a good old-fashioned treasure hunt, and an accidental cow in the mix, Juni will have to pull out all the stops to find the mayor’s killer.

 

My review:

Juni finds another body and the fun begins. This small town cozy will have you laughing and scratching your head trying to figure out who done it. Truly enjoyable.

 

Buy links:

Amazon

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Vinyl Resting Place (Record Shop Mystery #1) by Olivia Blacke

 

 

Blurb:

First in a new series by Olivia Blacke, Vinyl Resting Place follows three sisters who discover that opening a family business can be murder.

When Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie put all their beans in one basket to open Sip & Spin Records, a record-slash-coffee shop in Cedar River, Texas, they knew there could be some scratches on the track, but no one was expecting to find a body deader than disco in the supply closet.

Family is everything to the Jessups, so when their uncle is arrested by Juni’s heartbreaking ex on suspicion of murder, the sisters don’t skip a beat putting Sip & Spin up for bail collateral. But their tune changes abruptly when Uncle Calvin disappears, leaving them in a grind. With their uncle’s freedom and the future of their small business on the line, it’s up to Juni and her sisters to get in the groove and figure out whodunit before the killer’s trail—and the coffee—goes cold.

Music and mocha seem like a blend that should be “Knockin' On Heaven's Door,” but caught up in a murder investigation with her family and their life savings on the line, Juni wonders if she might be on the "Highway to Hell" instead.

 

My review:

Vinyl Resting Place is an adorable cozy mystery with quirky characters. Loads of puns, laughs and of course murder. Juni is just fabulous. Totally recommend.

 

Buy links:

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