It's Time to Say Goodbye

Hey everyone!

I know I haven't been around much, and I apologize for that. Unfortunately, I've decided to stop utilizing this blog. I will continue to write about LGBT+ topics - including lots of book reviews - on ShootingStarsMag. If you aren't already following me there, please do! I'd love to still keep in touch and as always, I'll be visiting your blogs and commenting. I'm not going anywhere - I'll just be posting strictly on ShootingStarsMag instead of on both blogs.

Why am I moving to just one blog?

1. I've been able to blog less and less here, and I don't want a blog that's only a few posts a month. I'd rather turn all my energy to just the one blog - where I blog practically five days a week, every week.

2. With all the new GDPR compliancy restrictions, it's been a bit stressful figuring out what I needed to do and then adding all those new things to ShootingStarsMag. I haven't done anything anything with this blog, and I'm not going to, as I will no longer be using it. I'm not deleting the blog though - you can still come here and look at old posts. I'll keep updating my blog list in the sidebar because it's how I keep track of new posts from bloggers I love. I don't want to figure out where else to keep these blogs (yes, I do follow most of them via Bloglovin, etc. - but this is seriously handier sometimes!)

Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone for reading and/or commenting all these years. It's been great sharing my love for all things LGBT+ and that won't stop because I'll keep posting about it on ShootingStarsMag too.

Please follow me there?

Best (and remember - let's get beyond tolerance!!!)

Lauren

Lock Nut by J.L. Merrow

Lock Nut by J. L. Merrow

Review by Lauren

source: copy from Netgalley; all opinions are my own

Official Summary: Read it on Goodreads if you're okay with some slight spoilers! 

Review: If you've been reading my blog for awhile now, then I know that I love the Plumber's Mate Mysteries series and Lock Nut is number 5. I do think these books are best read in order. Each one focuses on a new, complete mystery, but at the same time, you get to know more about some of the characters as you read the books - especially main characters, Tom and Phil, who are in a relationship. I love seeing their relationship grow and change through the books, which made it seem really realistic. As for the mysteries, Phil is a private investigator and Tom has a "power" of sorts that lets him feel the emotions of a person who has deliberately hidden something; so, say that something is a body - it would probably have a really strong, bad feeling attached to it (and it would feel guilty if the person felt bad). This power comes in handy in each book to help solve various crimes, but it's not necessarily something that Tom loves.

As the books progress, more and more people find out about this gift and they don't always understand that he's not a psychic in the "traditional" sense where he can see the future or find anything (it has to be deliberately hidden). Lock Nut's mystery surrounds a guy who has most likely been murdered, and Tom was just seen the previous day chasing him around Camden Market in order to deliver a package. Therefore, many believe that Tom is involved...so Tom and Phil do get involved, but in order to find out who the real culprit was, and boy, did I not see this one coming! Maybe it will be obvious to some - I can never say - but I do think the motive will surprise many, and that's just as interesting as the who, right?

One thing that I really loved about this book is all the mentions of Camden Market - where the deceased used to work - because this is somewhere that I actually visited when I went to London. It was nice to recognize the landscape and picture my time there. If you ever go to London, I recommend checking out Camden Market.

It looks like Lock Nut might be the final book in the series, but I'd really love to hear more about Tom and Phil and all their crazy adventures. I don't usually care if I have a physical copy of most e-books that I read, but I honestly wish I had actual copies of this series that I could keep on my shelves. I might have to invest in those! Hopefully that will tell you just how much I enjoyed these books! Read them!

Life of Bliss by Erin McLellan

Life of Bliss by Erin McLellan

Review by Lauren

source: copy from Netgalley; all opinions are my own

Official Summary (add on Goodreads): Nobody plans to accidentally marry their frenemy with benefits.

Todd McGower and Victor Consuelos do not like each other. They can’t have a conversation without insults flying, and Victor seems to get off on pushing Todd’s buttons. The fact that their antagonism always leads to explosive sex . . . well, that’s their little secret.

Victor has a secret of his own. His full-blown crush on Todd is ruining his sex life. He hasn’t looked at anyone else in months, and he’s too hung up on Todd to find a date to his cousin’s wedding.

In a moment of weakness after a heart-stopping night together, Todd agrees to be Victor’s fake boyfriend for the wedding. Victor will have his plus-one—which will get his family off his back—and Todd will get a free mini-vacation. It’s a win-win.

But pretending to be fake boyfriends leads to real intimacy, which leads to too much wine, and suddenly, Todd and Victor wake up with wedding bands and a marriage license between them. That was not their plan, but a summer of wedded bliss might just change their minds.

Review: When I requested to read Life of Bliss, I didn’t realize it was the companion novel to Life on Pause. Luckily, I’d already read the latter (my review here). If you have not, you could still read Life of Bliss as a stand-alone as it explains how Victor and Todd met each other (through mutual friends – Life on Pause is about them). I really like the friends to lovers and enemies to lovers tropes when it comes to romance, but what’s especially intriguing about Life of Bliss is that it mixes both of these. It’s almost enemies to friends – get married one drunken day – and then friends to lovers. For me, it really worked, and I definitely rooted for Todd and Victor to open up more and more to each other and make it work.

I really liked that Victor and Todd already had a history with each other. They worked physically together, so Life on Bliss was more about them opening up emotionally and realizing that they actually liked each other. I thought it was kind of fun to see them navigate a new marriage, after having drunkenly tied the knot (and signed the papers -so it’s legal). It’s not always easy for them as they are really different people, and Todd ends up moving away from the people and life he knows to live with Victor (it’s not very far, but it’s still a big adjustment).

As we’re officially into Spring, I think this book about a newly married couple is the perfect book to dive into!