Hard Ride - A.M.Arthur

Hard Ride by A.M. Arthur
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one is a 3 1/2 rounded up to 4 stars. It was a good read, but didn't quite make the full four stars as it did drag very slightly in the middle.
The story is about Slater and Derrick, who after a late night, one-off hook up, decide to become fake boyfriends. It's a storyline that I've come across a number of times before and while it isn't very realistic I do enjoy it. The relationship between Slater and Derrick is good and they clearly really click. The only slight problem is that most of the book is taken up with them both wanting to take things further, but not actually telling the other and taking any steps to do anything about it. Obviously, there needs to be some conflict in order to make the plot move along, but for me the whole I love him but I don't know how he feels about me from both of them began to drag a bit.
I enjoyed the conclusion of the book and the two men finally getting their happily ever after. They worked well as a couple, I'd just have liked them both to realise that just a little bit sooner.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Alex - A.M. Salinger

Alex
A.M. Salinger
(Twilights Falls, #1)
Publication date: September 20th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

Alex Hancock needs money to salvage his career. Finn West needs a spouse to stop his aunt from sabotaging his future. Can the two men make more of the fake marriage they enter into?
When Alex’s business partner runs off to Mexico with their company funds, the lawyer has little choice but to return to his hometown of Twilight Falls to marry someone he’d never met in order to raise the money to save his business. What he didn’t expect was that the woman he was meant to wed would turn out to be a gorgeous, brooding man.
Finn had resigned himself to a life without love after his wife’s death from cancer. Wracked with guilt at never being able to satisfy her in bed, Finn is shocked when his body and his heart starts responding to the man he is tricked into marrying to stop his aunt from dissolving his trust fund.
Passions collide when the two men start exploring their relationship in ways neither of them anticipated. Can Alex convince Finn to embrace his sexuality and take a chance on them? Or will Finn run away from his only chance at true love?
Discover Alex and Finn’s story in the enthralling first novel in Twilight Falls, the new series by the author of the bestselling, contemporary romance series Nights.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:

Ava Marie Salinger is the pen name of an Amazon bestselling author who has always wanted to write scorching hot contemporary romance. In 2018, she finally decided to venture to the steamy side. NIGHTS is the first of several sizzling series featuring sweet, sexy men with dark pasts and a whole lot of love to give to the ones brave enough to fight for their hearts. When she’s not dreaming up hotties to write about, you’ll find Ava creating kickass music playlists to write to, spying on the wildlife in her garden, drooling over gadgets, and eating Chinese.

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My Review

A while ago now I read and enjoyed the Nights Series by A.M. Salinger. That was a series of short, hot reads. Most of them focused on male/male couples and it looks as though Twilight Falls will follow a similar route.

Alex left Twilight Falls after a car accident that he felt responsible for. After his business partner runs off with his money, he returns to the town to take part in a fake marriage. Finn needs to marry if he isn't going to be cut off from his funds by his aunt. After the death of his wife, his aunt is doing her best to convince Finn to keep living his life.

This is a very quick read and it moves at great speed. Salinger's books are certainly hot and steamy and if that's what you're looking for, you'll certainly get it in this book. I enjoyed this story and I'm looking forward to finding out what else Twilight Falls has in store for us.

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Out of the Ashes - MJ James

Out of the Ashes by M.J. James
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this one, I really did. But sadly, for me, it just didn't work. I loved the idea of the storyline, but unfortunately, when it came to the execution, it just fell a bit flat.
I think that part of the problem with it was that the characters didn't sound real. Their dialogue was a bit off, there was nothing that I could put my finger on, but it just didn't flow naturally and that stopped you from really connecting with them. Add to that the fact that there was a lot of internal thoughts and feelings, rather than actually showing us what was going on through actions and I found it hard to feel anything for either of the two main leads and didn't really connect with their instant love connection.
The plot itself wasn't so bad, but parts of it just didn't make sense the way that it was recounted to us. People went from being suspects to everyone knowing that they were innocent or vice versa for no apparent reason. There were also inconsistencies that tripped you up as you read. Someone would ask where the person calling got their number when they'd given out a business card in a previous chapter. A relationship is described one minute as being almost an arranged marriage and later as they met and fell in love instantly. The main characters decide to investigate the fire at the shop, but then go and do something else instead.
This probably sounds as though it should be a one-star review, but it's not. There are things in this book that show promise and to be honest I think that with a bit of re-writing it could actually be a really good read. It almost seems to be a book that just isn't ready for publication yet.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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