Review : Kissing...Cousins? by J.D. Light

Kissing...Cousins? is a mm shorter and fluffy mpreg read about two guys who belong to an enormous, extended family, and are related by marriage.

When Evan and Scout were younger they were the best of friends, but after they hit puberty things changed. One was an alpha, the other an omega. Hormones and crushes got in the way, causing the two best friends to argue and become bitter toward each other. Unrequited feelings are easier to hide beneath an attitude.

They still see each other often as that big family likes to have regular family gatherings and at every reunion the pair snip at each other.

This family reunion starts the same as all the others, but there is a new guest, the boyfriend of their cousin in common. She's both Evan and Scout's best friend as well as cousin, so the pair decide to prank the new boyfriend to make sure the he is worthy of her (plus the rascals get to have a little fun in the meantime).

The new boyfriend thinks Evan and Scout are actual cousins commiting incest, not just related by marriage. The boys think this is hilarious and devise a scheme of pretending to be together to freak him out.

Evan and Scout make out in front of the guy, they pretend to be leaving a room after having just got it on, they even spend a long, hot bout of frottage on the couch while everyone is watching. But somewhere along the line they forget they are faking a relationship and that they don't have to be kissing when no one is looking.

This book was similar to a lot of J.D. Light's novels. She tends to write shorter novellas that are light and fluffy and a bit silly. They are a good escape from reality in a compact little package. These tend to be quick reads and inventive, whether they feature unusual plots, characters, or themes. Kissing...Cousins? falls right alongside her normal writing style.

It had a bit of snark between the two MCs that was underlaid with heat. One of my favorite themes. And who can resist a fake relationship? Another of my favorite tropes. The family dynamics are interesting, as are the characters. The story isn't really long enough to be too in depth on anything, but it's still fun.

It's a bit predictable, which is to be expected in this type of story. If something happened that wasn't to be expected then it would actually kinda suck. It's like if there was a Cinderella story where she didn't go to a dance and meet her happily ever after. That would be disappointing. Luckily that isn't the case here. It goes where you expect the story to go and about how you would expect it to play out.

I liked most of the story. It was funny and cute. The couch scene had a bit of a uncomfortable squick factor to it for me, but some people will find it hot. It wasn't enough to not like the story, just a bit disturbing.

The story flowed well. It was a bit rapid, but it was also pretty short, so it had to be. Even though it was short it was paced well.

I like J.D. Light novels when I just want a quick and easy read that will make me smile.

Kissing Cousins? is book one in the Sprung Like Spring series, which follows along with a vast, extended family made up mostly of omegas. Each of the boys finds a hot alpha mate and gets pregnant. Most of the books are fairly good and I actually like book two, While You Were Sleepwalking even better than this one. All are fairly similar though with a lighthearted and fluffy fun story and each feature a different trope from a tattooed, trucker bodyguard to going away to a convention with a veterinarian boss. The Sprung Like Spring series has eight books, and the series is finished. There will be a spinoff series called Salacious Summer Singe, that will feature a related family and their romances.


Get Kissing...Cousins?
Sprung Like Spring Book 1
Evan & Scout
A Related By Marriage MPreg
 



Don't forget to check out the rest of the series as well. This series is completed, so you're safe to start reading it.


While You Were Sleepwalking
Sprung Like Spring Book 2
Archer & Avery
A Friends to Lovers MPreg



The Sound of You Overreacting
Sprung Like Spring Book 3
Riker & Frost
A Falling For the Nanny MPreg



Guarding Murphy
Sprung Like Spring Book 4
Fisher & Murphy
A Bodyguard MPreg



Pride and White Trashing
Sprung Like Spring Book 5
Neil & Cam
A Frenemies to Lovers MPreg



Wrong Effing Number
Sprung Like Spring Book 6
Riley & Cole
A Falling for the Boss MPreg



Are We Flirting or Nah?
Sprung Like Spring Book 7
Fox & Coley
Crush on BFF's Dad Mpreg

Changing Our Status

Sprung Like Spring Book 8

Easton & Clinton

A Bromate Mpreg

Review: Exes by Kade Boehme

Exes by Kade Boehme
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Exes was a simple, sweet and fluffy friends-to-lovers story with a HEA and a medium spiciness level.

Wesley and Bryce have been friends since college. They were even more for a while, but have settled into best friends and lovers occasionally. Their friends call their little group of cohorts "The Exes" as at some point they have all dating one another. That's actually how Wesley and Bryce initially got together since they both dated Dabney at different points in time. Being bi gives you a bit more choice in partners, but it's still a small community.

Bryce is a bit of the party-boy of their group and Wesley is a bit more settled, so they play off each other well. But lately it seems as though Wesley is being a bit grumpy and in response Bryce finds himself trying to be the life of the party more than normal.

Even inviting a third back after their night at the bar doesn't end up playing out as it used to. Instead of Wesley and Bryce having sexy times with some temporary playmate, it somehow just doesn't happen.

Bryce doesn't know what's going on with Wesley, but he feels like he's losing his best friend. They talk about everything, so to have Wesley not share with him just feels wrong.

Then Dabney reveals that Wesley is interviewing for a job a few hours away. Shocked that Wesley is planning on moving away and didn't even say anything, Bryce knows he needs to find out what's going on.

While Bryce is still trying to figure out what to say or do, the pair go on their annual trip to the cabin. Sex, sun, and fishing is the normal pattern while there, but Wesley seems in a strange mood and Bryce is trying to understand why his best friend is leaving him.

The story might seem like it's potentially angsty, but instead we get a touching, sweet story about one friend wanting a relationship while the other is frightened of taking on more responsibility. Is it time for these two friends to become more? Or for them to leave the gray area of a relationship behind and move on?

This is an emotion-based story, not an active, action-backed one, and unlike many books about emotions, this one is low-angst. It truly was just a simple story about two guys who realize it may be time to grow up and that relationships change over time.

It is a HEA and has a few really nice sex scenes. Not enough to turn this into porn, just enough to spice things up.

I really liked Wesley and Bryce. They were perfectly age-appropriate, just a couple of younger guys no longer in college, but not quite fully settled down yet. That confusing in between time where you're starting to get tired of being with someone new all the time and just want to come home to someone who knows you.

Their rule about "no macho" bs and insisting on talking things out is so awesome. These aren't too-dumb-to-live guys, they actually understand that discussing things can fix problems.

There are a couple minor issues of confusion with the descriptions of the secondary characteristics. Not enough to really be huge, but enough to just make one pause and try to figure things out. Wesley's dads are gay and one of them is called aba which is a Jewish term for father. At another point Dabney's current spouse is spoken of as one person, then later it is another. Not that important, just can be a bit confusing trying to figure out what's up with the people. They have little page time in the book though, so it doesn't really matter. And I've heard the issue has been fixed in some editions.

So, if you want a sweet, short read about two guys trying to figure out when things changed and where to go from here, this one if for you. It's just a light read to make you smile.

Also, I'd love to see a prequel for this one, even just a short story of Bryce comforting Wesley after him and Dabney broke up. It would be so cute to see him come to terms with his sexuality.

Review: Stray Home by Edith Scott

Stray Home by Edith Scott
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This one is a MM gay romance novel featuring hotness and a puppy.

Stray Home starts with a big and buff, tattooed carpenter feeling all alone.

He's out of the military, he's bought and refurbished the family home. But he's feeling unfulfilled. Sad and alone in his big house, he wants a family. He has a sister and a brother and they have kids, but Mike wants his own partner, maybe his own kids. He's got a big house and yet he's all alone in it. Makes you want to sing 'All By Myself'.



Mike is making breakfast and wants someone to share it with him. Just as he gets it all cooked up he hears a sound outside. Is it a prowler? A raccoon? He checks it out and only finds his recycling can knocked over and some holes in the dirt. Going back inside he finds the miscreant--a dirty little Golden Retriever puppy chomping down on his bacon.







Abandoned and alone, the little pup is hungry and scared, and not even a big, bad man like Mike can resist those puppy dog eyes. Mike has never had a dog before, but it seems he's got one now unless he can find the owner. In the meantime, the puppy is dirty and hurt, so they head off to the vet where Mike gets another surprise. The veterinarian is none other than David, his long lost best friend and first love.




Mike and David grew up together and fell in love, but were forced apart by David's father and his homophobic views. Mike joined the military to cope with his sadness while David reluctantly married. Now, years later, David is divorced with twin girls and Mike is home. Can the pair get back together as they bond over the puppy? Or will David's father step in and tear them apart once more?

This book has some of my favorite elements. Big, buff tattooed guy. Sweet puppies. Geeky and awkwardly shy love interest. Friends to lovers. It's everything one could want in a mm romance, but sadly, it fell a bit short.

I liked this book, don't get me wrong. But it had some major issues that will cause a lot of people to not enjoy it. David is really weak-willed. He's so passive he'll do anything if someone tells him to do it strongly enough. One moment he is promising himself to Mike and the next he's reverting back into his shell. And of course his wishy-washy behavior hurts Mike. Some of that is needed for the story, but David never really gets back to that likeable stage for the reader. The redemption arc just sort of falls flat.

For a new author, the book is actually fairly decent. It has flaws and definitely needs some tune-up, but the bones of the story are great. The execution just needs some work. There's some great descriptive language used and it really is refreshing. Everything from hairs on his clothes to crossing the parking lot has evocative descriptions, but at times they seem a bit like someone just went over the book and added them in. They don't quite flow enough. It's almost there. So close. But the sentence structure just pulls you out of the story. I think a few more run-throughs and edits would have helped it become more cohesive.



So, this book was worth reading to me because I can never get enough of hot guys rescuing puppies, but it didn't quite hit the mark. I have high hopes for future books from this author as with experience I think she'll get better.

This is the first in the Amberly book series, so I'm off to read the others. The next one features a hot, tattooed firefighter with a dalmation puppy and a cute dog trainer ;-)