Death in the Spires


Title:
 Death in the Spires
Author: KJ Charles
Publisher: Storm Publishing
Release Date: April 11, 2024
Genre(s): M/M Murder Mystery, Historical
Page Count: 273
Rating: 5 stars out of 5 


Jem, Nicky, Aaron, Hugh, Toby, Ella and Prue - The Seven Wonders, or at the start "Feynsham's set" - Toby's curated collection of fellow students who met their first year in Oxford, becoming fast friends, until Toby's murder in the spring of their third year, 1895. Ten years after, Jem loses his lowly clerk job because of a note sent to his employer: 

Jeremy Kite is a murderer. 
He killed Toby Feynsham. 
Ask him why. 

Following Toby's death, they never told the police what really happened earlier that horrid evening and they went on with their lives, with varying degrees of success. Jem, who fell perhaps the lowest in the aftermath, decides once and for all to uncover who murdered Toby ... and why. 

 KJ Charles gives us the world of Oxford seen in a hundred movies (The world was before them, a great sunlit path through pleasant meadows with a glittering city at its end ready for them to conquer.) - Hugh Grantesque boys in long robes on the quad, friends arm in arm walking down the hallowed paths, student theatricals, etc.: 
"They were facing south, looking over Front Quad and Broad Street and toward the main spread of Oxford, and the setting sun turned everything before him to glowing rose gold. The domes and spires rose like masts from the sea, like prayers to heaven, a glory of human brilliance in stone ..." 
But it's also a world where while there is love and friendship, there is more. "Ah, British friendship ... Tolerance as long as everyone knows his place, but God forbid your subjects should declare themselves your equals." As Nicky says "So: all of us could have, none of us would have, one of us did." And while we ponder Toby's murder, we are lead to ask if murder can ever be justified and if worse crimes have gone unpunished. 

It's all deep, heady stuff and KJ Charles shepherds us through the discoveries, the abject sadness, the philosophical and the practical, all the while giving us a small M/M romance (with absolutely no hint of a HFN or HEA). I found this book deeply moving, completely engrossing and 5+ stars and a Recommended Read if you have the heart for it. 

I received an ARC from the publisher, Storm Publishing, in exchange for an honest review.

Blackmailer's Delight


Title:
 Blackmailer's Delight
Author: David Lawrence
Publisher: Broadbound Publishing LLC
Release Date: February 12, 2024
Genre(s): M/M Historical Romance
Page Count: 325
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 


In the midst of the French Revolution, the English "Revolt of the Housewives" erupted in 1795, whereby the mostly female rioters redistributed food stores to those in need, after one of England's coldest winters, setting fair prices for the food and paying the proceeds back to the original owners. I love how the women strived to give all involved a good outcome, and in a sense, this reflects the overall tone of David Lawrence's book. 

Throughout the course of Blackmailer's Delight, we find, yup, blackmailers, some perfectly horrid characters, miscommunications and misunderstands galore, and situations where there seems to be no good outcome. And at first, the tone of the writing - for me personally - was a bit much to really digest. There's a certain formal tone and a huge amount of descriptions that bogs down the story and many of the actions and events in the book are told after the fact, or recalled as a memory, resulting in a lack of immediacy. 

But once the plot is fully in swing, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it all. Daniel Thornton goes to Grantham to care for his ailing uncle, declaring that he wished to find the goodness in the world. Yet when confronted with Luke Morley "this young man I've joked with, caroused with, argued with, f@cked with, and tried to emotionally blackmail. Everything, it seems, except to speak to properly.") he believes the absolute worst of him, and yet believes most of what his ex Clarence tells him. 

Clarence starts out as a simply horrid character who I was eager to write off, and yet Daniel manages to find a good resolution to their former relationship. He manages to circumvent the supposed blackmail plan for his marriage to Luke's sister, and the solution is really a stroke of genius all the way around. The secondary characters are well-developed and fleshed out and as the book come to an end, there is a world of possibilities for all the characters. 4 stars.

I received an ARC from the Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Curio


Title:
 Curio
Author: CS Poe
Publisher: Emporium Press
Release Date: February 5, 2024
Genre(s): M/M Contemporary Romance
Page Count: 60
Rating: 5 stars out of 5 


Llewellyn Cooper (Lew) and his aunt Julia ("Remember the summer you took up performance art in the park and destroyed all your panties in front of picnicking families?" "It was art, Lew. I was making a statement.") run the Curio Cabinet in NYC's West Village and have lately been fascinated by Professor Bow Tie (Henry), a natty dresser (albeit with thick thighs and a lumberjack beard) who sorts endlessly through old photos in their shop, occasionally buying a photo or two.

Julia insists Henry and Lew would make a great couple. And even after a somewhat fraught first date ("I started to giggle. And not in a cute way either - but in a hysterical way that'd have had a nineteenth-century woman locked away."), Lew and Henry find they are, indeed, a good fit. 

This novella packs in a lot - quirky well-developed characters, an Easter egg (or two?), and the start of what looks to be an interesting relationship. Toss in a robbery, a WWI-era mystery, a steamy sex scene (and, yes, this all fits nicely into this 60-page novella) and you have a thoroughly enjoyable story that I personally loved. 5 stars.

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Cross My Candy Heart


Title:
 Cross My Candy Heart
Author: A.C. Thomas
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: February 6, 2024
Genre(s): M/M Contemporary Romance, Valentine's Day
Page Count: 95
Rating: 4 stars out of 5 



This novella answers the question: "How do you let someone know you're totally crushing on them when dressed as a slightly mangy teddy bear or in a duck costume with candy-striped tights and big webby feet?" 

After his latest bad relationship with a truly horrid ex, Justin is working three jobs to get his head anywhere close to above water. And as an employee of "Season's Greetings," he delivers singing telegrams. AND his latest one is a doozy - Adam Hubert (who I picture as James Garner with a heavier brow and a scowl) is definitely not feeling the Valentine love with this anonymous embarrassing delivery. And to make it worse, Adam is his daily 7:15 am "extra-large Americano with a double shot of espresso" order / crush at the coffee shop where Justin also works. 

What follows is a sweet story of two guys who find they may not be perfect, but they are perfect for each other. But along the way, each man spends far too much time bemoaning their unworthiness - way, way too much time, IMHO - plus the requisite miscommunication and some angst. But no worries - a very improbable resolution to who is sending Adam these singing telegrams (plus a pretty darn steamy sex scene) makes for a very satisfying HEA. 4 stars. 

I received an ARC from IndiGo Marketing and Design in exchange for an honest review.


The [Fake] Dating Game


Title:
 The [Fake] Dating Game
Author: Timothy Janovsky
Publisher: Afterglow Books by Harlequin
Release Date: January 23, 2024
Genre(s): M/M Contemporary Romance
Page Count: 245
Rating: 4 stars out of 5 



Timothy Janovsky is a "new" author to me, so I started this book with absolutely no expectations. And I ending up loving the book; sometimes in much the same way a parent loves their child but doesn't adore everything they do. 

So, great start and a great hook. Holden James and his beloved mother watched Madcap Market, a zany reality show that pit teams against each other in winning a $100,000 prize. Holden dreams of getting on the show as a homage to his mom who passed 6 years ago. Asking his long-term boyfriend Buckley to join him on the show doesn't end up well and they end up breaking up in an epic scene in a crowded restaurant where a nearby diner who is an agent says "Are you two filming test footage for a reality series? Because, if so, this stuff is really juicy. This is my card ..." 

Traveling alone and checking into a decrepit LA hotel with a Tower of Terror vibe and a room that smells like farts, Holden meets Leo Min, the muscly temp concierge with an attitude and then the fun begins. The two team up to get on Madcap Market and win the $100K by pretending to be boyfriends. Their attraction is sizzling and at times involves a vegetable "you could theoretically slice up for a salad." 

I like how these two men are so dissimilar yet somehow there's something that works so well between the two. There is an unexpected joy to this relationship that starts out fake and works its way to the cusp of something more. Until, they start filming the show and ....Holden's ex-boyfriend Buckley appears on the show as a contestant, with a nasty plan for vengeance. 

 Aargh. The entire flow of the book changes, the fun stops and serious times are ahead. I resented this 180, but stay with it, because the book goes deep and it's worth the angst as Holden finally deals with his mom's death and he and Leo come to the HFN they really deserve. A very strong 4 stars.

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.