What's on the Reading Radar? #read

How's your week going? Mine always see to be going fast. Trying to make friends with one of the flocks of crows that sweep through the neighborhood once a week. 

This is being posted on Sunday instead of Saturday simply because my writing week got in the way of blogging, which I'm not complaining about. So I decided I would create the post late. It's short too, with only books that I read this week in between searching through the rejected mate trope for a plot I want to read. Still searching... 

Title: The Body Catcher

Series:

Author: Megan Derr

Length: 192 pages

Genre/Trope: Romance / Fantasy / Gay / Poly / 

Notes: This hit the spot. Grumpy character, sunny character, bickering, political intrigue, and occupations you don't normally see. I really enjoyed the story and was really happy with how things turned out. 

Blurb: Tashi is a body catcher, paid by inhabitants of the poor districts of Ossiri City to dispose of inconvenient corpses. The fewer questions he asks about them, the happier everyone tends to be. It's not an easy life, and the money isn't great, but it's better than the life he led when he was first thrown out on the streets with nothing but the clothes he was wearing.

Then a colleague asks him to help with the bodies of a woman and babe who died in the birthing. Not just any woman and child, either, but a royal princess and her secret bastard. Though he wants no part of the mess, Tashi agrees, and finds himself facing his past and enough trouble to kill him and anyone stupid enough to help him.

Title: The Trouble with Trying to Love a Hellion

Series: (Murder Sprees and Mute Decrees Book 3)
Author: Jennifer Cody
Length: 189 pages

Genre/Trope: Romance / Urban Fantasy / Poly / Ace Spectrum Character / Sunshine Character / Grumpy Guts Character / Puppy Pile Cuddles / Found Family / Consent and Acceptance Galore / 

Notes: I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. If you have questions about Edovard, read the author's forward for the thorough and no-spoilery heads-up. I thought this was pretty much perfect and I loved every minute of it. Edovard is a delight and I loved seeing the world through his eyes. He's sweet and naïve and doesn't have a mean bone in his body. Highly recommend!

Blurb:

Edovard:

Um…I was told I’m supposed to summarize my story here, but recently I’ve learned that blurbs are hard so I’m not sure what to say.

My name is Edovard Durand Folange. I’m twenty seven years old from Fresno, California, and recently I moved across the country to live with my new parents and brother. Oppa kills people for a living, and Papa is his announcer guy, and my brother is like his assistant, and I guess it turns out I’m the person the magic tells who needs to die—it’s called being an Augur. I don’t really know what that word means, but even though it’s scary, I’m getting used to it.

It’s nice to have a job, but Santanos (he’s the Avatar of Evil) offered me a second job, and I’m really excited about that because I get to work with him and help him fix the minions. A lot of them aren’t doing very well, so my second job is to make sure that everyone gets as much love as they need in their lives. Sometimes that means killing people who are stealing all the love away from them. I guess maybe I’m a little evil too, because I don’t mind letting Oppa kill those people to save the minions.

The Trouble with Trying to Love a Hellion is a 52k MM+ paranormal romance, featuring a cinnamon roll narrator with more than the usual amount of love to give and a sultry incubus who happens to be the Avatar of Evil. If the minions are especially affectionate with the cinnabun, well, who can blame them when he’s the best cuddler they’ve ever met?

Contents include: blood, viscera, someone dies because they call Edovard dumb, and Edovard accidentally creates a polycule, but that’s ok because he’s just making sure everyone gets enough love to be emotionally healthy.

Title: Contaminated

Series:

Author: Amanda Milo

Length: 4 hrs 44 min

Genre/Trope: Romance / Sci-Fi / Aliens / Beauty & the Beast

Notes: So this has been on my TBR for a while. Contagion is the second book in this series and follows the friend from this one, so I knew a little about what went on as well as the side character. When it came out on audio, I gave it a go and oh man, some places were hilarious. It also made me want to reread Contagion (which is one of my all time favorite rereads) another read. Would definitely recommend.

Blurb: The people of my planet are under a devastating genetic curse. To treat the disease’s effects, we’ve turned to cultivating a rare flower. That’s my occupation: raising and studying this flower. That’s precisely what I’m doing the daycycle that an alien drops into our research plot, approaches our plant….

And cuts my flower’s head off, stealing the bloom.

Note: This 37K standalone story is intended for listeners 18+ due to romantic elements. There is no cheating. There is a happily ever after, because this is a sci-fi retelling of Beauty and the Beast--you have to have an HEA. (There is, however, no singing cutlery.)

Important Note II: No unicorns were harmed in the making of this story.

Thank you for stopping by and reading!!

What's on the Reading Radar? #WishList #TBR

January's half gone and I've barely read anything this month. I've been thinking about this blog and whether or not I'm using it to it's full potential or not. The easy answer to that is 'not' but then that begs the question about what I want to do with it. There are so many different social media platforms that if I try to participate in all of them, I wouldn't get anything done. What I want to do is a question that I will be poking at the next couple of months. So for the time being, I'll continue to do the Reading Radar for Saturday's post. This is the one place that I feel comfortable talking about what I'm reading or wanting to read. 

I've save several soon-to-be released covers but didn't note when that release would be, so I'll save that for next week. Today will be all about manga/yaoi. 

Title: Moon & Sun

Series: Vol. 1

Author: Akane Abe

Length: 

Genre/Trope: Yakuza Romance / BDSM elements / Friends / Non-Binary MC / 

Notes: 

Blurb: Masahiro, heir to a yakuza syndicate, has been skating through life without much purpose. When he stumbles one night into the drag club where his childhood friend Hana works, the drunk and obnoxious Masahiro causes such a stir that the beautiful owner of the club is forced to deal with the yakuza brat themself. Is one good spanking all it will take to put the heir apparent on the right path in life…and love?

Title: Tales of Beastkin

Series: Adam & Shiro, 1

Author: Bella Chan

Length: 

Genre/Trope: Mafia Romance / Paranormal / Omegaverse /  

Notes: So, when I grabbed this cover a couple of weeks ago, I thought it was yaoi manga but looking at the blurb, which doesn't follow managa's usual format, I think this might be book. No pictures. Imma going to leave here, 'cause why not?

Blurb: When an alpha wolf shifter mafia boss meets a beaten-up foxkin boy on the run, both their lives change in an unexpected way. A steamy hurt-comfort paranormal shifter mafia mm romance.
Adam

The Beautiful Monster.

Alpha wolf shifter Adam Sullivan, dubbed The Beautiful Monster, is on a “sabbatical leave” of his position as the head honcho of one of the most powerful mafia clans in America. Relishing in his newfound peaceful life, Adam’s wonderful tranquility is being threatened when he happens upon a beaten-up foxkin youth in the back alley of New York City. The moment Adam lays his eyes on the exquisite white-haired, cobalt-blue-eyed Shiro, he is beguiled and knows he’ll be kissing his serene life goodbye if he doesn’t walk away. When Shiro begs for his help, Adam loses the fight to the inevitability and takes the boy home.

Shiro

Into the arms of a beautiful monster…

Shiro is a beastkin, a race of humans with small animal characteristics society despises. Having escaped the institute, he lives in the backstreet scavenging for survival. When Adam saves him after a deadly beating, he is grateful. It isn’t long when Shiro finds himself falling in love with Adam, whose rough exterior and standoffish kindness steals the boy’s fragile heart. Shiro knows he can’t linger around and take advantage of Adam’s generosity, but leaving is just so damn hard, especially when Adam makes him feels he belongs, a feeling he desperately yearns for.

Tales of Beastkin: Shiro is a hurt-comfort paranormal shifter alpha-omega mafia mm romance (boys love, yaoi) with some dark themes. The uke (Shiro) is a beautiful beastkin (a race of humans with small animal characteristics) and the seme (Adam) is an alpha shifter hunk. Note: Seme is the man who does the chasing (the top) and uke is the male being chased (the bottom) in the romantic relationship.

Tags: Hunky wolf shifters, standoffish mafia boss Adam, alpha shifters being protective of their cute mates, omegaverse, cute fox beastkin with white hair and blue eyes Shiro, twinks, sassy wolf beastkin, adorable fox ears, knotting, mpreg later in the series, hurt-comfort, age gap, some dark themes, BL stands for Boys’ Love, it’s a yaoi omegaverse with supernatural, beautiful Shiro is our baby uke, hotty-hot Adam is very daddy, expect steamy scenes between alpha and omega, omega pheromone is sweet nectar that drives their mate crazy.

Title: The 9 Lives

Series: Vol. 1

Author: Rachel Manija Brown

Length: 176 pages

Genre/Trope: Futuristic Sci-Fi / Aliens / Master & Slave Society / 

Notes: I'm on the fence about this one and I keep moving it on and off the wish list. It sounds like Adrian saves Conri though doesn't ascribe to society's practice. But I could be wrong. It is on KU so it would be easy for me to check it out. 

Blurb: Alien refugees have come to Earth. They call themselves 9-Lives. Humans call them cat-boys, and force them to live as collared pets. Conri, a rebellious young 9-Life, ran away to escape this fate. But when a human named Adrian saves him from capture, Conri is torn between his desire for freedom and another desire he can't quite admit, even to himself... Can two people meet as equals in a world divided between masters and slaves?

Title: University of the Underworld

Series: 

Author: Ziloi

Length: 488 pages

Genre/Trope: Fantasy / Mistaken... IDK, from the blurb they both have made assumptions

Notes: 

Blurb: All ghosts in the Professional Malevolent Spirits and Creative Terrorizing Program aspire to become a top malevolent spirit of the underworld. And as for Cui Yue? He’s only here because of Bai Shaonan's unrequited love for him—or at least that was what he thought. Oh well. If Bai Shaonan likes him, it won't hurt to give a little feedback. But ever since he met Bai Shaonan, Cui Yue’s been spending all his time either being hunted, or on his way to being hunted. Hey Shaonan, do you want to fix your love life first?

After admitting a new student who would go on to break the record for the lowest grades in the school’s history, Bai Shaonan firmly believes that Cui Yue's devotion to academia is solely because of himself. Oh well. If Cui Yue likes him, it won't hurt to give a little feedback. But since Cui Yue is spending all his time either being hunted or on the way to being hunted, the only way toward a truly peaceful future is to deal with these issues, once and for all.

Title: Servant & Lord

Series: 

Author: Lo, Lorinell Yu

Length: 232 pages

Genre/Trope: Contemporary / Class Differences / Friends

Notes: I noticed that the reading age is 16 & up.

Blurb: Christian has always admired handsome, talented composer Daniel. Their shared appreciation for music marked the beginning of a friendship between a willful boy and a sophisticated young man... But when tragedy strikes and circumstances twist around to put Daniel in the service of Christian's wealthy family, their bond is tried in unexpected ways.

Years ago, the universal language of music drew them toward one another. Now, Christian has to hope it's still enough to bridge the gap between their vastly different lives.

Thank you for stopping by and reading!!

What's On The Reading Radar? #newrelease #TBR

I'm late but I did create a blog post for today! The question was what to post and I went with January releases. I had some preorders come in this week that I'm excited for.

Title: Shadow's Embrace

Series: Demons of San de Lain, 2

Author: M.A. Church

Length: 302 pages

Genre: Romance / Paranormal / Demons / Gay

Notes: 

Blurb: Kage: Am I still a monster? Very much so. Am I loved? Absolutely. Will I burn it all down to protect my mate? You better believe it. Hunters have come to San DeLain once again, and they’re targeting humans and paranormals for their sick experiments. Many have gone missing. Some for many, many years. Then new information comes to light, and plans are made to raid their top-secret lab and bring home those taken.

But no one is safe, especially Austin.

In the midst of all this, an old flame returns, bringing chaos into their lives. But not all is as it appears to be.

Austin: Kage is still my monster, even if he’s no longer under my bed. I claimed him, and no flame from the past is going to take what’s mine. But the ex isn’t the only danger lurking in the shadows. The hunters have struck close to home, and something heartbreakingly evil is exposed, shocking the paranormal community.

Especially Kage.

What is real? And what is nothing more than a mimic of the real thing?

This is book 2 in the Daemons of San DeLain series which should be read in order.

Title: Blood Omen

Series: (The Beacon Hill Sorcerer Book 6)

Author: Sheena Jolie

Length: 85 pages

Genre: Romance / Paranormal / Gay

Notes: 

Blurb: Set in the Infinite Arcana Universe, BLOOD OMEN is a fascinating peek into the wider world of the Beacon Hill Sorcerer by SJ Himes....

Remi has been doing the same job for the last two thousand years: specialist courier of valuable magical objects and sensitive information. Sent on a mission to get a powerful talisman to the City Master of the Boston Bloodclan, Remi ends up with an unexpected complication: Celyn, a beautiful fae college student who was in the right place at the wrong time.

Celyn was instantly attracted to the sexy vampire when they met by chance at a pub. Thinking he was about to experience the best hook-up of his life, Celyn never expected to end up running across the streets of Budapest with Remi while the High Council of Sorcery was trying to kill them.

Dodging spells and holing up in secret lairs, Remi and Celyn find something even rarer than the object Remi carries: a chance at true love.

BLOOD OMEN is an MM vampire/fae romance featuring a laid-back vampire with a dangerous profession, an adventurous fae college student with some interesting gifts of his own, and a connection to the ongoing battle between the High Council of Sorcery and the infamous Necromancer of Boston, Angel Salvatore...

Reading order is not essential, and for reference, this novella of 22k words takes place after LOVE SPRINGS ETERNAL in the BHS timeline. Features extended character cameos from BHS regulars. Previously released through Prolific Works in 2022. No changes to the text have been made. Sheena Jolie is the new pen name of the author formerly known as SJ Himes.

Thank you for stopping by and reading!!

What's on the Reading Radar? #wishlist

I've been neglectful of the Reading Radar for the last couple of months. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.

This week's list is from my manga/yaoi wish list. I've been reading a lot of them when I haven't been rereading. This list is a little longer than usual because I'm cleaning out my radar folder. If I'm not going to put it on the Reading Radar in the next couple of weeks then I'll be pushing my old finding into a (maybe later) folder to reconsider when my interests shifts. The main folder was getting too cluttered and I started saving current interests elsewhere. It was getting messy. So time for a purge. My computer is thanking me for freeing up so much space. (And the book worm in me feels the need to refill it. LOL)

Title: Fangs

Series: Vol. 1

Author(s): Billy Balibally

Length: 240 pages

Genre: Paranormal / Vampires / 

Notes: So this is on my TBR instead of the wish list. I bought it and I have to keep reminding myself to read it. Note to self: this is that reminder.

Blurb: "What kind of guy is unlucky enough to get bitten... and survive?"

As the sole survivor of a vampire attack, En wakes up to find that his hair has gone white as snow... and, worse, that he's developed a craving of his own for blood.

Fortunately, the vampire health and welfare organization FANGS is there to help with the transition, and the handsome Ichii steps up as his guardian and mentor. Swept up into a confusing and lonely new world where everyone seems to be hankering for a taste of his "virgin" blood, En must navigate the FANGS pairing system, an arrangement that sets up compatible vampires as mutual feeding partners... and partners in all other ways as well. But what happens when En panics and declares that he'll be paired with Ichii? And what does brooding, rough-around-the-edges Ichii make of his spunky, outgoing new charge?

Title: I'm the Catlord's Manservant

Series: Vol. 1

Author(s): Rat Kitaguni

Length: 189 pages

Genre: Paranormal / Shifters

Notes:

Blurb: AT THE MERCY OF THE FELINE MASTER Yukiharu Izumi just wants one thing-to be a normal high school student. But homeless, penniless, and with nobody else to rely on, he finds himself begging on his knees in front of…shape-shifting cats? They’re willing to take him in-but only if he waits on their every whim. And so start his chaotic days as the catlords’ manservant!

Title: A Gentleman Nobles Vacation Recommendation

Series: Vol. 1

Author(s): Momochi, Misaki

Length: 208 pages

Genre: Fantasy (Larping in an alternate world--essentially)

Notes:

Blurb: When Lizel mysteriously finds himself in a city that bears odd similarities to his own but clearly isn't, he quickly comes to terms with the unlikely truth: this is an entirely different world. Even so, laid-back Lizel isn't the type to panic. He immediately sets out to learn more about this strange place, and to help him do so, hires a seasoned adventurer named Gil as his tour guide and protector.

Until he's able to find a way home, Lizel figures this is a perfect opportunity to explore a new way of life adventuring as part of a guild. After all, he's sure he'll go home eventually... might as well enjoy the otherworldly vacation for now!

Title: On or Off

Series: Vol. 1

Author(s): A1

Length: 

Genre: Contemporary

Notes:

Blurb: Winner of the Ridibooks 2019 BL Awards! Available unabridged and uncensored for the first time in English.

They say all's fair in love... and work?!

After joining his friend's startup, university student Ahn Yiyoung never imagined he'd end up presenting their work directly to SJ Corporation, a major company headed by one of the most sought-after talents in the country: Kang Daehyung. It certainly doesn't help that, on top of being a bigshot executive, strikingly handsome Director Kang is his ideal type!

When his presentation fails to go as planned, Yiyoung's desire to impress Director Kang leads him to take desperate measures... and lands him in a whole new mess, tangled up between his personal and professional relationships. How far is Yiyoung willing to go to achieve success in both his love life and his career?

NOTE: This book contains mature themes and explicit sexual content, including situations involving dubious consent. It is not intended for anyone under 18 years of age.

Title: Self-Love and Lingerie How to Love Your Coworker Vol. 1

Series:

Author(s): Rie Honjyou

Length: 133 pages

Genre: Contemporary

Notes:

Blurb: Haruta is introverted and always wears a bra to protect his sensitive nipples. What happens when his extroverted coworker figures out his secret and urges him to wear sexy lingerie...?!

Title: The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter

Series: Vol. 1

Author(s): Yatsuki Wakatsu (Author), Kazuki Irodori (Artist), Kikka Ohashi (Artist)

Length: 180 pages

Genre: Paranormal / Fantasy

Notes:

Blurb: Once upon a time, in the not too distant past, a holy maiden was summoned. Not just any holy maiden—one hailing from modern Japan. But this story is not her story. This is the tale of the humble accountant, Kondou, who accompanied her and his trials and woes as he accounts in a new world... But no tale is complete without a love interest. And who better to play that role than the handsome knight captain Aresh? Will he begin a personal quest to save said bean counter—who toils around the clock—or is Kondou doomed to be married to his work evermore...?!

Title: Love Nest, Vol. 1

Series: 

Author(s): Yuu Minaduki

Length: 242 pages

Genre: Contemporary

Notes:

Blurb: Masato just wants some peace and quiet on his day off, but the kids upstairs continue to make that impossible, so he escapes to his friend Naruse’s gay bar. Sympathetic to his ongoing plight, Naruse recommends Masato just move into his second home since he’s not using it. But upon his arrival, Masato find a gruff, untidy older man already living there. Does this real-life odd couple stand a chance as roomies…and perhaps something more?

Thank you for stopping by and reading!!