Texas Wedding by R.J. ScottMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Scott takes us back to Texas for the final installment in Jack and Riley’s life together. No, their tale does not end tragically. This is merely the last book that Scott has planned for the couple and it’s a great way to finish out the series – with the guys fighting for what’s right and using the advantages of their fortune (both financial and emotional) to try to make Texas a more level playing field for couples like them.
Within the first chapter, the author reminds us why Jack and Riley have stayed strong over the years together. They pay attention to each other, what their partner says and doesn’t say, what their partner does and doesn’t do, and each man will take whatever action he feels necessary to keep the line of communication open between them and their connection strong. Fortunately for my voyeuristic tendencies, this means that not only do Riley and Jack talk, they are not shy with their physical affections for one another. Not at all. And they just get sexier and sexier with each book. But beyond that, Jack is Riley’s anchor and Riley is Jack’s rock. There is no doubt that they have one another’s back and the support and encouragement Riley gives Jack to move forward with his idea for the ranch, to make it a safe place for young men like Liam to live and work, is merely one of the ways that demonstrate how well they understand one another. Their bond is also vital to them getting through Hayley’s first date. I chuckled several times over the course of the book as Riley and Jack had to face the fact that their little girl was growing up.
As with the previous books in the series, we get a chance to catch up with the other characters and see how their lives have changed since the last book. It was nice to see that Lisa was finally moving on and finding happiness, even if her revelation nearly gave Riley and Jack a heart attack. Being as I work with children and adults with autism, I really, really liked how the author shows Jack and Riley constantly striving to do more for Max and their willingness to learn all that they can about autism and how it affects Max as an individual. One of the things that made Texas Wedding
interesting was watching Jack and Riley’s responses to the impending SCOTUS decision regarding same-sex marriage. Watching Jack remain hesitant about Texas’s reaction regardless of what the high court said was realistic as we’ve already seen in real life how government officials have ignored the law. At the same time, Riley’s enthusiasm for what it would mean – that their home state would have to recognize their marriage – and the plans he hoped to follow-through on WHEN (because there was no IF in Riley’s opinion) the decision came down were heartwarming and trailblazing. Riley’s enthusiasm for making Texas a better place for same-sex couples is inspiring, as is his willingness to use his resources to do what he can to make it happen. Obviously there’s a wedding, so make sure you have your tissues handy because Hayley made me bawl when she talked about what it meant to her to have two dads. Texas Wedding was the perfect way to wrap up the series, with tears and laughter and lots of love, but I won’t lie – I would happily read more about the Jack and Riley and the rest of Campbell-Hayes family.I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!
Check out the Texas Wedding (Texas #7) by R.J. Scott blog post on Crystal's Many Reviewers.
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was no exception. Witt re-immerses readers into what brought us to Bluewater Bay to begin with – Wolf’s Landing – and does so as we follow Jeremy as he guards Anna, one of the show’s more well-known producers – hence the need for a body guard. While a return to the set means series fans get to catch up with characters from previous books (Levi & Carter), it also means a front-row seat to Anna and Leigh’s relationship (which has been rocky from the beginning of the series) as they go through couples counseling and related activities in an effort to save their relationship.
was a fun and sexy way to round out the Southern Spirits series. I don’t know that the author has ended the series officially, but as it’s been a couple of years since this installment’s original release and no new characters were introduced as potential leading men, I’m assuming this is the final book in the series and I must say that Bradford certainly went out with a blast. After Conner found love in Ascension, it was only fitting that our other long-term and interactive spirit, Stefan, find his happiness in the ever after. And Stefan’s tale reads like the best case of karma ever. 
was no exception and I found myself falling in love with Eric and Troy – even as I wanted to throttle Troy on several occasions. His siblings were lucky he was the baby because had he been the firstborn, at least half that brood wouldn’t have been born. 
, it required more of a suspension of reality than the previous installments in the series. After all, we’re looking at a relationship between Conner, who we’ve only known as a spirit, and Sev’s nephew Rogelio. Without spoiling the book for potential readers, this means you are either going to have a relationship between a spirit and a living being OR two spirits if Ro were to pass away during the book. As the blurb intimates of Conner feeling desire for the first time in many, many years, it’s pretty much a given that we’ll be treated to some hot sex regardless of the nature of the pairing. So either way, you should be prepared for even more of a paranormal angle to the story than we’ve seen in previous installments because living or dead, Bradford brings the heat to McKinton.
, I was surprised with why I loved it due to the elements the author included (some of which I cannot tell you as they’re potential spoilers) – not because they were elements I don’t tend to enjoy in a book, but because there were some rather personal-to-me issues brought up that I wasn’t expecting to encounter. For me, this generally translates into a personal connection with the characters that tends to make a book even more enjoyable and meaningful and this was certainly the case with Jesse’s Diner.
may be my favorite. Where When the Dead Speak focused on Laine and how his relationship with Sev developed, this book is more about Sev and his ability to communicate with the spirits. Set three years later, Sev and the other residents of McKinton are taken aback when they realize that the spirits of their friends and family are no longer present. While this is upsetting for all of the residents affected as they take comfort in knowing that the spirits in their lives are watching over them, their disappearance is especially devastating for Severo because a large part of his identity is tied to speaking with the spirits.
was a two-pronged story for me. The primary storyline is the romance between Dave and David and how both men “find themselves” as they let each other in. The secondary storyline is a more honest approach to BDSM then I typically find in romance novels and whether it was the author’s intent or not, I believe it delves into why BDSM romance novels have become so popular in recent years. Of course, the storylines do intertwine because Dave is a central player in both of them…after all, this is his story.
. Unlike book one, there is no doubt as to Zach’s or Kirby’s gender or sexuality – at least not for the reader. What there is doubt about, is whether or not these two guys can get along well enough to work together, much less form the relationship the blurb suggests. And while the straight-laced boy-next-door, Zach, and the free-spirted hippie, Kirby, seem to have nothing in common, the sparks certainly fly once Kirby learns that Zach is gay and the guys begin to spend time together outside of work. But with Zach leaving for college in the fall, will their time together be simply a summer romance or the start of something more?
was well-written and I enjoyed it. Lace does a nice job of giving enough background that you can feel the tension in the relationship between the twins in the beginning, and then unfolds the story in such a way that the shift in their feelings and attitudes toward each other is believable. That’s not to say that I believe twincest is a commonly occurring phenomenon in our society, but rather that I began this novella expecting it to occur and found the way in which the author took Tristan and Thad from estranged siblings to bed partners believable. As this is the first installment in the series, the question becomes – will I read the next book in the series? Honestly I don’t know. With Forbidden Secrets being my first twincest read, I don’t know how it compares to others in the genre. While I’m not dying to read the sequel, I did enjoy the writing style and would be interested in seeing where the author takes the guys as long as my schedule allows. 
a lighter read than I expected, but don’t despair because it's not without its own intensity.
just to refresh my memory. BIG MISTAKE! I didn’t skim it. I reread the whole book. Considering how much I enjoy the author’s writing, I’m not overly surprised that I found myself sucked back into Trent’s story. And while it didn’t help my review schedule at all, I enjoyed myself immensely on the second read. 
I’m pretty sure my low expectations for storyline and high expectations for sex had a lot to do with the fact that the title makes me think of the song You Can Leave Your Hat On, my preferred version being the one recorded by Tom Jones as heard in the movie The Full Monty. And while there was a rather steamy scene between Travis and Bo – and yes, the boots were left on – there’s far more story packed into this novella than I expected and I enjoyed it immensely. 
continues the story of Brady and Cam’s life together since reuniting with Lucy and resuming their military service, on Earth. While Brady had a possibility of advancement when in space, back on Earth he’s been relegated to janitorial work and as much as he hates it, he comforts himself with Cam and Lucy – the only things in his life worth fighting for. But when residual effects from Cam and Brady’s time with the Faceless begin to reappear, the men are left wondering WHO they will be fighting against.
. After finishing When the Dead Speak, I was expecting Matt and Rich to be the subject of All of the Voices. When Matt found his partner in book three, I assumed that Rich had been relegated to simply being support cast who wouldn't be back. Boy was I wrong. And so very glad of it. 
. At 19, Toby is the perfect combination of teenage angst and assured dominance. At 37, Laurie is a wonderful bundle of maturity, whose relationship insecurities get the better of him from time to time. When Laurie's insecurities emerge, he comes off a bit cold and much younger than his age, but not in the sense that the author lost track of who the character was. And once you learn more about his previous relationship and the reason behind its demise, Laurie’s insecurities make a world of sense. After all, he and Robert grew into adulthood and BDSM together and losing his anchor stunted Laurie in some ways. While at first glance, the characters of For Real shouldn’t work together, they do and do so beautifully.
. I was apprehensive when I began the book because a couple of my fellow readers weren’t enthusiastic about it when they finished it. They weren’t negative about it, but they weren’t glowing about it either. But me, I so totally connected with Rafi and his struggle to fit in, to do everything right, to juggle work, school & scholarship requirements, and to be the first person in his immediate family to go to college. That feeling of being a little fish in a big pond after having been the big fish in a little pond is so overwhelming and having been there myself, I felt it for Rafi. Cousins brought back all those feelings from almost two decades ago and made me experience them all over again, right alongside Rafi. Thank goodness I didn’t have to deal with the added pressure of sports practices and navigating my first relationship at the same time, but it made it that much easier to see where Rafi was coming from when he lost it. And lose it he does, more than once.
. I have yet to read one of Petrova’s books and not love it. What did surprise me was the fact that I really didn’t care for Skye. I have a problem with people – male or female – whose knee-jerk response/accusation is that their partner is cheating on them, especially when there is nothing to support it. There is a big difference between a flirt who has a smile and compliment for others and a lech who makes passes by touching, caressing, and engaging in suggestive language. Booker is a flirt and nothing that goes down in the present or their conversations and memories about the past indicate that he was a lech. So while I felt badly for the situation that Skye found herself in – and by no means do I absolve Booker on his failure to do what he should have – she created it with her mistrust and insecurities. I do give her props for her decision to track him down and even more when she decided to avail herself of his employers’ services. What red-blooded heterosexual female doesn’t want a hedonistic week with her very own cowboy…or two?
is a really sweet tale about a young man (Tristan) who realizes that despite being a bit of a player with the girls in his teens, he might be gay. Again, I had no idea that Borders was THE place to go to find a hook-up, so I found myself snickering at the interactions between Tristan and the guys that approached him, as well as Michael’s Mystery Science Theater 3000 style commentary via texts. Equally amusing was when Tristan finally realized that Michael was picking him up and freaked out over the idea of hooking up with Officer Helmet. Once Tristan got past his freak out and took Michael up on his offer, the sex was hot. Repeatedly hot. In the first part of the book, there is a LOT of sex, but as we’re dealing with a young man discovering his sexuality with someone who is taking his time with Tristan to insure that the sexual encounters are pleasurable and not painful, then it’s likely within realistic limits. But Maxfield does a good job of interspersing life between sex scenes and we got to see Tristan and Michael spend time together, build a friendship, and a relationship as their feelings began to grow – and this merely made the sex scenes that much hotter. But when Michael’s job puts him in grave danger and Tristan is forced to face the realities of Michael being a cop, the strain on their relationship and their eight year age difference becomes a huge hurdle that Tristan’s not sure he wants to make the jump for.
didn’t freak me out as badly as Bliss did, it still affected me because even in this day and age, members of the military are expected to follow orders without question and Tin Man shows just how dangerous that can be.