Tag Archives: M/M

Team ALBTALBS TBR Challenge Review: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Contemporary romance published by St. Martin’s Griffin on May 14, 2019

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston book coverWhat happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?

When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius—his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.

Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through? Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn’t always diplomatic.

I’m reviewing this for the July #TBRChallenge. While it’s a fairly recent release, I feel like I’ve waited forever to read it. If unrequited love, enemies to lovers, and friends to lovers are things you like in a romance, then this book is for you. It has all of these tropes and more between one couple and it’s delightful. Pretty much all of this story worked for me. Alex and Henry are lovely main characters, the secondary characters are so compelling. I feel like I got enough information for them to be fully developed but at the same time there’s potential for other stories in this world involving these great characters. A big component of the romance between Alex and Henry is epistolary—they communicate via text and email, initially getting to know each other more then it evolves into love letters. It’s so romantic y’all. Continue reading

Review: Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

Deb’s Review of Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy
New Adult (M/M) Contemporary Romance released by Rennie Road Books on July 28, 2015

HimThey don’t play for the same team. Or do they?

Jamie Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.

Ryan Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, with their college teams set to face off at the national championship, he’ll finally get a chance to apologize. But all it takes is one look at his longtime crush, and the ache is stronger than ever.

Jamie has waited a long time for answers, but walks away with only more questions—can one night of sex ruin a friendship? If not, how about six more weeks of it? When Wesley turns up to coach alongside Jamie for one more hot summer at camp, Jamie has a few things to discover about his old friend…and a big one to learn about himself.

Warning: contains sexual situations, skinnydipping, shenanigans in an SUV and proof that coming out to your family on social media is a dicey proposition. (less)

Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy have blended their unique voices and amazing writing talents to create an unforgettable love story. I have always had a weakness for M/M novels since reading Mary Renault’s series about Alexander the Great. It’s a relic, and quite tame by today’s standards, but Ms. Renault blew my mind with her tender love story of Alexander and his best friend. Their’s was also a friends to lovers story; both students of Aristotle, then warriors in battle together, their love had no limits and held no fears. I’ve never forgotten Ms. Renault’s magnificent and moving novel. Him has these same beautiful qualities that will have me remembering these characters for a long time. Continue reading

Review: The Only Gold by Tamara Allen

Liz’s Review:

The Only Gold by Tamara Allen
Historical romance released by Dreamspinner Press on March 21, 2011

Jonah Woolner’s life is as prudently regulated as the bank where he works. It’s a satisfying life until he’s passed over for promotion in favor of newcomer Reid Hylliard. Brash and enterprising, Reid beguiles everyone except Jonah, who’s convinced Reid’s progressive ideas will be the bank’s ruin. When Jonah begins to discover there’s more to Reid than meets the eye, he risks succumbing to Reid’s charms—but unlocking the vault to all of Reid’s secrets could lead him down a dangerous path.

Losing his promotion—and perhaps his heart—is the least of Jonah’s difficulties. When the vengeful son of a Union army vet descends upon the bank to steal a government deposit of half a million dollars during the deadliest blizzard to ever sweep New York, Jonah and Reid are trapped, at odds and fighting for their lives.

The Only Gold begins as Jonah prepares for what he expects to be a promotion within the bank and the bank’s upgrade to National status as they accept a large deposit from the government.  When Reid takes the promotion instead, Jonah is swamped with anger, jealousy, and insecurity.  No matter how hard he tries to appear unaffected, he cannot help butting heads with Reid as he implements change after change to Jonah’s beloved bank.

Jonah’s family turned their backs on him because of his proclivities, and the bank became his haven.  He looks at it as if it were a living thing that he needs to protect from harm and degradation.  Reid is the wrench in the works of Jonah’s love of the bank, making changes hand over fist and forcing him to come along for the ride or leave forever.  Jonah is heart breaking to read as he struggles with his growing feelings for Reid and begins to blossom as a man once love begins to take hold.

Reid is a complex character.  At first he appears to be a man that is wholly fixated on bringing the bank into the present and doing away with the old ways of doing things.  And he seems most insistent on deviling Jonah in the process.  Then the author teases us with little glimpses of Reid’s nature:  the charmer, the playful young man, the reverent son, and finally….the lover.  There is more to Reid than meets the eye, and he is one of the best written characters I’ve come across in a long time.  His character kept me guessing, as surprise after surprise were thrown up in the storyline.

There are a number of incredible secondary and tertiary characters, from the employees of the bank, to the renters in the boarding house where Jonah lives, and finally to the bank robbers who had their own skewed view of right and wrong.

The Only Gold is the story of a romance between two men and the love scenes between them are not explicit.  Rather, they weave the emotion of the growing bond between the two, sharing the intimacy of the nights together in a way that leaves it to the readers’ imagination.

This award winning novel is well worth the read to anyone who enjoys historical romances with a unique twist.  While the average romance novel that takes place in the late 1800s tends to overflow with descriptions of ball gowns and dance cards, those are exchanged here for waistcoats and bank ledgers but are no less enchanting in their detail.  Well written, engaging, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Grade: B+