Holding Out (Returning Home #4) [Griff & Becca] by Serena Bell

While I LOVED the previous installments in the series, this one just wasn't for me. First of it felt VERY different from the previous ones, the issues it deals with and mostly the WAY it is dealt with. For me the main problem with this book was the amount of sex, sex talk and constant thoughts about sex. If I could I would have deleted round 90% of that and THEN this book would have been GREAT. I just felt like instead of DEALING with anything really, they turn to sex as a sort of escape. It was even in conversations, a real meaningful conversation would end with a sex innuendo instead of feeling like there's a real progress being made. It's OBVIOUS for me that this exact issue for me could be a TURN ON for someone else - books are subjective and that's the beauty of it, right?

Griff Ambrose & Becca Drake have known each other for a while now. He is friends with Nate who is married to Becca's sister - Alia. But it was mostly a casual sort of friendship. They would meet on family and friends meetups and that's about it. Everyone knows Griff is a "player", and Becca is quite a sheltered girl who wants to be brave and strong but finds it hard to date men since she is 24 and still a virgin. For some reason guys are freaked out about that and she had enough.. Which is how she finds herself asking Griff to "help her out" - just a one time thing - like he does.. Griff accepts and though they have their own rules once Becca is back for two weeks working in Jake's resort (where Griff also works) they find it hard to keep their hands from one another.. and the big question is - what happens next..

Crossroads (Crossroads #1) [Nick & Bryce] by Riley Hart

This book was simply beautiful. Nick and Bryce's journey into finding each other and building a loving relationship was a JOY to read. While they had a lot of bumps in the road I loved how mature they both are. They were frustrated and at times angry, mostly at the world and for things not going the way they wished, but never on each other. That was the certain thing - Wanting to be in each other's arms no matter what.

Nick Fuller is trying to build a new life. He loves working in his restaurant, he spent enough years becoming a chef and making his business successful, but his wife had other interests which is how he finds himself sans said wife renting a new place and looking for better future, even if his life is mostly him going to work, returning late and going to sleep.

Top Secret by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy

This was SUCH a great read and exactly what I expected from Sarina and Elle. Though the idea behind the synopsis sounds like a great fun, a spice up sexual experience, this book is much more complex, it's not a MMF novel, it's a story about two young men finding a special friendship, learning to trust one another and against their "better judgment" also falling in love. It was tender, it was raw, it was difficult to read at times being so heart breaking, yet the sweet moments between these two, the hope they both share made this book a BEAUTIFUL read.

Keaton Hayworth III has it all. He is studying biology in a prestigious college, he has a beautiful girlfriend - Annika - he adores. They have been together for 5 years and she is his best friend. He lives with his friends at their "Alpha Delt" frat house preparing to becoming its president. He is wealthy and he is very close to fulfilling his dream in an exciting expedition looking for a new species of killer whales. Well, his parents won't approve as his dad have BIG plans for him running their pharmaceutical company, but he'll get to telling them when he actually gets accepted.

When Annika surprises him with the offer of a threesome for her 21st birthday. At first Keaton isn't sure if she is serious but once he realizes she MUST be if she keeps bringing it up, he opens up the "Kink" app looking for a candidate.

Made for You (Love & Family #2) [Ben & Jack] by Anyta Sunday

Another beautiful and touching story. I really enjoyed this one. Like the previous one, it's not just about the two MCs finding love with one another, it's about finding and building a family. It was sweet and tender. It's a real slow burn, the MCs don't even kiss till something like 80% I think.. It's all about friendship, acceptance, appreciation, being there for one another, SEEING the other person. This is what makes love eternal.

We've met Jack Pecker in the previous installment "Taboo For You", he is Luke's best friend and though he thought he could find his HEA with Luke, it wasn't meant to be.. so though he had a rough time getting over Luke he is truly over it and he is happy for Luke and Sam being together. Though he might be a bit jealous, especially since he's living with them now until he finds another house to renovate. This is what he does, he works as a carpentry teacher but his main job and income is living in a house needing renovation, saving up for his dream house. His TRUE love is a house he already has the full funds to buy, but the owner who is somewhat of a friend (considering they have been dancing to this song for YEARS) is reluctant and Jack isn't really sure why..

Taboo For You (Love & Family #1) [Sam & Luke] by Anyta Sunday

This book was EVERYTHING. It was sweet and tender, it was o heart breaking my soul was crying out and yet it didn't feel angsty it just felt genuine and heart felt. Browsing Instagram I found this very fitting quote

"You can ask the universe for all the signs you want but ultimately, we see what we want to see when we're ready to see it"

In a way this sentence sums up the whole things. Sam and Luke have been neighbors and best friends for the past 7 years but it took a while away from one another and a bit of exploring for them to realize they already have much more. Seeing them getting closer and closer even if it was first an "experiment" was simply BEAUTIFUL. I can't remember when I read a sex scene that felt THAT tender. I'm sure they'll have more sporty sex in the future, but what they had in this one felt just right for the both of them, for what they are building together that compliments everything they already have.

May 2019 Reading List? Nobody cares....

I've been doing a monthly "preview" of my scheduled books for a LONG while now and though theoretically I love doing those I don't stick to the plan AT ALL. Either because I don't manage to read all the books or I change them up completely after deciding to let go of a series. So basically with all the changes I make throughout the month, there is no sense reading this post in the actual month is was written..

I also used to do monthly recaps, but I got tired of those because I felt I was repeating myself unnecessarily as I'm already writing detailed reviews to all the books I read..

So I decided to delete the whole concept! I might add monthly something, maybe not even books related, just a general "life" update. We'll see..

But since I still DO plan my reading, I enlarged my "Next on my list.." (on the left sidebar) which is updated automatically through my GoodReads monthly bookshelf.

Happy Spring! See you on my next review!

Beautiful rose from a friends' garden, 

If you could have seen them all and actually SMELLED them.. Bliss!

New in Town (Out of Uniform) [Alex & Marco] by Annabeth Albert

This was a short sweet read. I would have liked to get a bit more of Alex and Marco and yet I still feel like I got a treat with the little glimpses into a few of the characters from other "Out of Uniform" books.

Alex Odell-Correa and Marco Correa are moving together with their two kids to San Diego. It's not an easy move for them, considering all their memories together are going to stay so far away in the East Coast. Yet being married to a Marine means sometimes you need to move where the military needs you and Marco is needed with his service dog with out favorite unit.

Forever & Ever: A Collection of Stories (Faith, Love & Devotion #7) by Tere Michaels

Getting back to this series, after 4 (!) years away was a bit of a struggle to remember all the details and yet I surprised myself with how much I DID remember. Though I still wish I listened to the whole thing from the start before reading this one. It was SUCH a beautiful series and this book gave us the PERFECT ending. I'm usually satisfied with the general "HFN but can IMAGINE the HEA" but getting the WHOLE thing, for real, seeing them together for 10+ years was beautiful and heartfelt.