Something To Talk About. June's Reading #bookshelf

Can you believe June is over? I can't but it was a good month. I wrote "The End" on Releasing Chaos. Devil's Heart is close to being wrapped up. Also, I'm very excited about the cover reveal and giveaway coming tomorrow hosted by Creative Minds, so don't forget to come back by to check that out.

The books I read this month were excellent, too. I have a lot to share.

I'm starting out with this one because I actually read it in May. I don't know how I missed it when I put together last month's reading post. I even wrote a review that was more than five sentences. :)

The Harvest Young is set in Church's Harvest world and are the offspring of the characters of the first trilogy. Szin comes across as a physically vulnerable character when compare to his twin and his future mate, Takeo. His appearance is that of a full human when in fact he is not but he's grown up around hearing disparaging whispers and now believes them. Takeo is the one who is positive they were meant to be together and no matter how Szin tries to escape, Takeo is set on proving Szin is exactly who he needs. It was a great addition to the Harvest world and I can't wait for the next one.

I've been jonesing for gargoyles and there really aren't many in the M/M genre. Chevalier is the sequel to Romanus. And me being me, I didn't even read the blurb before reading. I'd read Romanus a while ago (like, years) and vaguely recalled the details. I think I was 1/3 the way through the book before I pieced together who was who. Even though I didn't recall much of the Romanus, I didn't have a problem following Chevalier and I enjoyed every second. The downside was after reading the book I wanted more gargoyles and I'm still looking.

Killer Mate is the 5th book in the mainstream Space Grit series. The books before this one are all M/F pairings, which I do read, but I wanted to really, really read this one because the bounty hunter is cybernetic. *claps hands* This can be read as a standalone and you don't have to worry about getting lost. I would suggest reading the blurbs of the other books to get the gist of the other characters. There is a side story separate from the rescue of their brother. The couple form Kilt in Space are trying to get their nest to a safe location. This was well written and the tension between Tee and Mal was awesome and kept me on my toes. There were a couple of times I was sure Tee would try to kill Mal again but this is an enemies to lover story.

I found Planet Glecerus reading Goodreads reviews. GR sends out that update every morning about what people on my friend's list are reading. Sometimes I don't even look through the list because I don't need anymore temptation, you know? I'm really glad that I did because this was a great read. This is a love triangle that turns into a menage. Yeeessss. There's a bit of dystopia on Earth and people volunteer to become mates to aliens so that their families are taken care of. Nobody reads the handbook on the aliens, which is humorous part of the human's predicament, adding the 'holy crap' moments as the story progressed. There was a side character who really squished my heart and his book is next. Double Yes.

Between Brothers is not a romance. Its the erotic exploration of Marisa. She's recently separated from her husband and she's just waiting for the day that he comes back to her. Their sex life might've been crap but she still loved him. A risque conversation with her best friend lead to Darren helping her explore her sexual side. Marisa learns things about herself and finds a confidence she never had before. When her husband comes back will be content to go back to the life she once had? Like I said, this is not a romance. Darren and Marisa have a friends with benefit's relationship. Darren isn't her only sexual partner and the story doesn't become M/F/M until the end. The sex was smoking without being finely detailed. The relationship between Marisa, Darren, and Eric is one of affection and friendship. This did take me a while to read because each scene always led up to an erotic encounter, and there's only so much of sex after sex I can read in one sitting. 

I bought this anthology a while back. In the month of June I received one story per day to read. These are the perfect for a couple of hours reading. The stories are all about un-ordinary shifters. I haven't been able to read one a day though. (Mood reader) The ones I have read I enjoyed. Fieldwork, Love Unmasked, To Arizona, and Love, Marriage, and a Baby Carriage were all really, really cute. They Called Him Nightmare and A Wolf's Resistance were more on the more serious darker side. I have a ton of these left to read and looking forward to it.

This little gem was so adorable. Myka is a unlicensed Spell Weaver barely getting by. He has a crush on one of his best clients, Jonah, who accidentally left behind his invitation to a royal ball. Life is really sucking for Myka and he takes a chance and uses the invitation himself. Myka was so likable and his situation heartbreaking. The whole spell weaving aspect of the story was interesting. Excellent quick read that gave me a pick-me-up. 

Trial by Fire is about an Aussie cowboy and a Texas cowboy coming to terms with the loss of family. And fighting over how/where Chloe will be raised. I enjoyed the narrator... that sample was what lead me to buy the book. The conflict and mystery were well done. I loved watching Lachlan and Holden grow past the suspicion and preconceptions to form a relationship. Plus, Holden decked the hell out of Lachlan (well deserved), which was just awesome to see the little cowboy hold his own. This is my first Dreamspun Desires book and it's convinced me to look at the others. :)

I finished Deductions last night. It's not a quick read. I'd been reading it over three days when I could catch a couple of hours here and there. As with all of Lyn Gala's books, I freaking loved this. The world is unique and complex. The push/pull between Darren and Kavon had me wanting to beat one or both of them a time or two. I really felt for Darren and his unrequited love, but once things began to be revealed I went from, "Darren, baby, you need to pull back." To, "Go get him!" The only thing I didn't like was I have to wait for the next one to come out. It was excellent and I will definitely be rereading it.

Thank you for stopping by and reading!!