Self-Isolation Read - Arctic Heat

• Title And Author: Arctic Heat by Annabeth Albert
• Publisher: Carina Press
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction
• Length: 368 Pages

ARGH! My NetGalley TBR has gotten SUPER out of hand! At the time of writing this, it’s over 100 and I know that a handful of them might not be my reading tastes now as they were requested several years back and if you have been on this reading/blogging journey with me the past few years, you would have seen my tastes change and me reading a few more genres more than others now compared to when I started. 

But I do have a set spot for romance of late. Sometimes, when the world becomes dark, you need a little sweetness, and romance seems to be my go to the past few weeks since lockdown/self-isolation. Plus, the past few weeks, I have felt on the verge of a reading slump so I hoped that this would save me up to a point. A gay romance set in the snowy mountains of Alaska? What more could I ask for?

Owen Han has a new leash of life. Surviving cancer and going through his bucket list, volunteering alongside park rangers and fulfilling his childhood dreams of snowy winters and rustic life. Shy ranger Quill doesn’t want to deal with newbie volunteers. And flirty Owen looks like he wouldn’t survive a week, let alone the winter. But as the two spend time together, their work relationship turns romantic, but can their relationship survive the harsh winter?

Self-Isolation Read - Tough Guy

• Title And Author: Tough Guy by Rachel Reid
• Publisher: Carina Press
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction
• Length: 262 Pages

I was meant to be reading Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. That was the plan. But after reading 20-odd%, my brain wasn’t in the right head space while self-isolating. So, I needed something light and easy. Something that didn’t involve much brain-power, and then I remembered I requested this adult gay romance a while back from the publisher and went “I’ve read a bit of romance the past few weeks, let’s try you out!”

Ice hockey player Ryan Price has recently moved to Toronto Guardians to play their enforcer, but he struggles with self-esteem issues and anxiety. But he’s determined to make a fresh start in the city’s LGBTQ Village. The last thing he expected was to bump into Fabian Salah, a blast from the past who has sworn never to date an ice hockey player. They shouldn’t have a strong attraction, but it’s there… But can these two, who seem completely incompatible, make it work?

Self-Isolation Audiobook - American Fairytale

• Title And Author: American Fairytale by Adriana Herrera
• Publisher: Carina Press
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook & Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and Audiobook borrowed from Scribd
• Length: 368 Pages or 7 Hours 34 Minutes

So, as you can see from the blog post title, this is a Self-Isolation read. Yes, I audiobooked this while in self-isolation due to Corona (the virus, not the beer). I finished Cassandra Clare’s Chain of Gold in self-isolation (though, at the time, I was holiday, using last few days of my work’s allocated holiday in 2019 financial year) but when I knew that I was on self-isolation, I knew I wanted to read and audiobook fun stuff. Fun, silly stories. Now more than ever, I wanted to read and audiobook stories that make me happy. They can be fun, silly, dark-as-heck, a reread, I don’t care but I want stories that make me smile and, hopefully, make you go “Oh, this sounds like something I would like.”

Yes, I know that’s very much what the Pewter Wolf is about for past few years, but you know what I mean… 2020 has been a dark year, let’s lighten it up a bit… Wow, that sounds like that mannequin moment from the first series of BBC’s Miranda…

But I had American Fairytale on my NetGalley for a while as I saw this title on NetGalley a year or so and I went “Ooooh!” when I read the blurb.

New York social worker Camilo (Milo to his friends) has always dreamed of his own happily-ever-after. But, he lives in the real world and knows that kind of ending doesn’t exist. Men who are too good to be true, usually are. So, when Milo does something drunk and reckless one night and has an unforgettable hookup with a mysterious stranger at a gala his boss had to pull out of, he doesn’t think anything about it. Till the mysterious stranger walks into his office that Monday morning and turns out to be Thomas Hughes, the wealthy donor who is backing Milo’s agency’s funding for their next project. 

As the two try (and fail) to keep business and pleasure seperate, the two have to figure their issues out: For Milo, it means learning to let someone take care of him for a change and, for Tom, it means that money can’t solve every problem. But can these two get over their issues to get their happily ever after?

eBook Review - Rough Terrain

• Title And Author: Rough Terrain by Annabeth Albert
• Publisher: Carina Press
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction
• Length: 384 Pages

At the end of August, I wanted to have a small reading blitz to get myself up straight for my Murder Month, but I hit a bit of a reading slump. Though, not exactly. I had binge read The Witch’s Blood by Elizabeth and Katherine Corr and, while I did want to read a crime-y book, I just wasn’t in the mood. Plus, I wasn’t feel great due to the last of summer’s hayfever and its headaches. So, I just wanted something before I attacked the last few reads for Murder Month. So, in a moment of skimming my NetGalley, I saw this and went “You. I’m in the mood to read you.”

In the seventh instalment of the Out of Uniform series, Navy SEAL Renzo “Rooster” Bianchi has a soft spot for a cashier at the smoothie place. So when Canaan asks Renzo for a favour - to be his boyfriend for a weekend camping with his friends - Renzo accepts as there’s a spark between them. But what starts as a weekend con could be more…

eBook Review - Tight Quarters

• Title And Author: Tight Quarters by Annabeth Albert
• Publisher: Carina Press
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest reaction
• Length: 336 Pages

Don’t give me that look. I know what you’re thinking. “Another gay romance, Andrew? Really?” Well, yeah. And be warned, I have one or two others within my TBR so you will see a few more in the coming few months within my blitz of murder and dragons. 

But I wanted a change of pace. And I wasn’t in the mood for anything too heavy. Plus, I wasn’t ready to start my reading of Eragon or Grave Mercy, both first books in the two series I want to read in 2019 and, while looking through my NetGalley eProofs (I have around 60 to be read - a few from when I started on NetGalley. THE SHAME!!! But, am making plans to try and cut down my requesting of eProofs and try to read a good few before I got on a blog break in April/May. I am making plans!), this title catch my eye and went “Ok. I can hammer this out fast. Let’s see where I go with it.” Plus, I did read the previous book in the series, Squared Away (write-up for that is here), and I did enjoy that hugely at the time (I read it in two days flat). 

Petty Officer Bacon, a Navy SEAL, has been asked to in a beta team due to a minor injury and, due to that, been asked to babysit a forty-something journalist, Spencer Bryant, a man who gets Bacon’s blood racing. But when the mission goes sideways, the two men find themselves falling for each other. But keeping a relationship alive in the real world is very different from the front lines - the stakes can be much higher… 

So, what did I think of this? 

eBook Review - Squared Away

Like I said yesterday, am having a genre reading slump/wall so I decided that, the next few reads I do should be outside my comfort zone. I should read something fun, silly and fluffy. Not "Pick My Next Read" as I didn't want to put pressure on people just in case I DNFed it.

So, I remembered vaguely that I requested an adult LGBT romance on NetGalley from an author I tried out once before and went "This. I kinda want to try this", so that's why I read Squared Out, even though I am not a huge romance reader.

After the news of his sister's and husband's deaths, SEAL Mark has to come home to act as guardian to his two nieces and nephew, all under the age of five. What he didn't expect is to come up against Isaiah, who is determined to file for custody. But Mark remembered that last time they met six years ago, Isaiah was young, wild and gets bored easily...

But Isaiah is determined to prove Mark wrong. Isaiah has been there for the family while Mark was away on missions and he's determined to keep the kids together, no matter what. The kids are the most important thing in this situation, not Mark's fears or Isaiah's now dead crush on Mark.

But as the legal situation tries to sort itself out, the two start developing attraction for each other... but unless one of them can open their heart and speak, they both could lose what's important...

I power-read this over the course of three days when I was off work and it was such a lovely distraction. It was light, fluffy, sexy, a Happily Ever After ending (the publisher has said on their site that they publish happily ever after [HEA] or happy for now [HFN] endings), everything I needed at the moment. So, this book came out the right time for me.

What I found interesting is that one of the characters used LGBT terms I have never heard of - demisexual and ace-grey - and it was fascinating to read a character who identified as demisexual and understand this more. I do wish that there was more information on this, though, as when I first heard of it, I did a Google search to get a basic understanding on it, but it's nice to see other sexual identities being talked about here.

This is a beach read for me, a story I switched my brain off to while reading, but I had such a good time reading this, and I am open to trying out another Annabeth Albert story - not sure if it will be in the series or another, but I'm up for the idea.