New Release Review: Pretty Sweet by Riley Hart & Christina Lee #Review #Giveaway

Title: Pretty Sweet
Series: Boys in Makeup #2
Authors: Riley Hart & Christina Lee 
Self Published
Publication Date: June 17, 2020
Length: 295 pages

Reviewed by Nikki


Synopsis

Seth
Portland was supposed to be my fresh start, my chance to live for myself. Unfortunately, it’s not working out that way. I stay in the apartment Mom chose and major in finance like she wants. I let bad memories keep me from hooking up. I wouldn’t know the first thing about finding a guy who gets me, who’s okay with my need to be held and feel safe.

When I befriend a worker at the assisted living facility where I volunteer, I don’t expect to get invited to dinner, only to realize her son is Jake, a guy I met through friends last fall. Jake’s not only hot, he’s also sweet, a caretaker, and attracted to me too. Since he’s never been with a guy, and I’m a virgin, we’re setting the pace together, learning what we like, one bone-melting touch at a time.

Jake
My childhood was rocky, with an abusive father and a mother I needed to protect. The first thing I did after high school graduation was get us out of there so we could finally breathe. And start living. For me that means managing the garage I own with my best friend and enjoying the modest house I call my own.

Then Seth enters my life. Our connection is palpable. He’s shy, innocent, and sets my blood on fire. He makes it impossible to ignore my attraction to men. The trust he puts in me is more potent than any desire. I get as much from talking to or holding him as when we let our inhibitions go.

Seth and I fulfill each other’s needs—in and out of the bedroom. But our struggles aren’t easy to shake. With my urge to protect and Seth’s desire to fly, we’ll have to strike the right balance, but when we do, the results will be pretty sweet.

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Review

If you’ve never read a Riley Hart or Christina Lee book, you’re really missing out. And the two of them together? Pure. Magic.

This is the second book in the Boys in Makeup series, but you absolutely can read it as a standalone. Seth was the roommate of one of the MCs in book one, but this one stands completely on its own.

The sweetness and innocence of Seth really sucked me in immediately. I loved how he just wanted someone to cuddle with and to make other people feel good. I just wanted to protect and love him!

Then there was Jake. He’s this big, muscular mechanic who’s only ever been with women—so you’d think he’d be a typical alpha male character. He’s the furthest from it and it was awesome. It was so sweet how he was always worried about his mom and how he was protective of those he cared about.

The way the two of them tentatively feel each other out and then slowly begin to build a relationship of trust and love was so nice to watch. They learned from and took care of each other in a way only they could.

Plus, I adored Seth’s relationship with Jake’s mom! Heart-meltingly sweet! I one hundred percent recommend Pretty Sweet. You’ll love it.

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Random Review: A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies by Christina Lee #Review #Giveaway

Title: A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies
Author: Christina Lee 
Self Published
Release Date: April 2, 2020
Length: 272 pages 

Reviewed by Sammy


Synopsis

The last thing Emerson Rose expects is to fall for his best friend, Rhys, especially since he’s never been attracted to a man before. Everything in his life is already complicated enough. He’s put his own future on hold to raise his two younger siblings, and confusing feelings for the guy who always has his back muddy the waters even more. But then something astonishing happens. For one perfect moment, he thinks Rhys might feel the same—only to have his world come crashing down around him a second time.

Rhys Lancaster has always known he’s gay and that Emerson isn’t. Best friends since childhood, their easy companionship has usually been enough. Between his job, his adrenaline-filled adventures, and hanging out with Emerson and his siblings, he has it good…until he wakes up in the hospital with no memories of the last year of his life.

Like they normally do when things go horribly wrong, Rhys and Emerson support each other. Frustrated by all he’s lost, Rhys stays with Emerson during his recovery, and Emerson helps Rhys through the fog, while pushing those other feelings aside. To make matters worse, Rhys knows Emerson’s keeping something from him. Everything feels different now when he looks at Emerson, and as they fall into a comfortable routine, that aching desire doesn’t stay buried for long.

But Emerson has a family to raise, and Rhys is struggling to figure out what’s going on inside his head. Unless they can push past the doubts and fears to seal that connection between them again, this tragedy might become the one each has to weather alone.

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Review

Emerson and Rhys are inseparable and have been since they were young boys. Living across the street from each other, the two did everything together so when Rhys figured out he was gay he told his best friend first, of course. Emerson was a bit shocked but took it in stride after all what were best friends for? Six years later Emerson lost his parents to an accident and thoughts of going to nursing school went right out the window as he assumed the rearing of his two siblings. Again, Rhys was there for him—helping with the kids, celebrating every milestone. Then one night Emerson saw Rhys return from a date and watched as the two men said goodnight. Suddenly there was an odd stirring in his gut and he realized it was not only a bit of jealousy but arousing to him as well. Could he like Rhys more than a friend? But Emerson had always grappled with sex and the lack of emotional connection to his one and only girlfriend to date—could he be gay?

As time went on Emerson would realize it took a deep emotional response to feel anything sexual or otherwise about someone—male or female. He was demi sexual and more than a little infatuated with his best friend. But he could never act on his feelings and jeopardize what they had—losing Rhys would be intolerable. Then Rhys kissed him and the world turned upside down. Rhys bolted, Emerson worried and then the world crashed around them—Rhys had a climbing accident and the last year of his life, including that kiss, was a long forgotten memory Rhys might never get back.

A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies by Christina Lee explores the foundation of friendship when it is shaken by a mutual longing that is suddenly derailed. The bulk of this novel ponders the question what if? What if that kiss scared Rhys and his memory loss was for the best so that Emerson would never have to deal with being rejected by the one man he loved? What if Rhys didn’t run away because he was scared but because the full impact of Emerson coming out to him and their feelings were a bit overwhelming especially since Emerson’s little sister walked in on them? What if the climbing fall and subsequent amnesia saved them both from making a huge mistake and losing their friendship? So many questions swirled around in Emerson’s mind and it had the effect of squelching any mention of that fateful night. So the two men had an uneasy relationship—something both hated but never spoke about.

The premise for this story was a good one and at first I enjoyed how the two men both skirted around the obvious elephant in the room. The sexual tension followed up by Emerson’s grappling with all his doubts and fears and Rhys’ confusion about why Emerson was sometimes so distant was done very well. Unfortunately this went on for most of the novel—way too long, in my opinion. There are only so many ways an author can write about the same conflicting thoughts and emotions and honestly while I applaud Ms. Lee’s ability to ferret every one of those ways out and incorporate them in her story it got to be just too repetitive after a while. I wanted one of these men to make a move and it never happened until near the end of the novel. Then when it did, the circumstances surrounding it made Emerson doubt Rhys even more—I mean truly? That was when I seriously felt the story had moved into territory that just wasn’t realistic. Honestly these guys were best friends for years—surely they could trust each other not to lie to each other about something as important as to whether they wanted to be together.

This novel is a prime example of a little too much introspective musing making for a slower pace that often stalled and left me frustrated and wanting to give up on the book completely. I love a slow burn but this was more than that—this was a rehashing of a common theme that went on for much too long considering these were two grown adults who had known each other all their lives. I do think this story, A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies, will resonate with a certain audience but for me I felt a second editing to tighten the story line would have made this novel really shine.

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Random Review: Pretty Perfect by Christina Lee & Riley Hart #Review #Giveaway

Title: Pretty Perfect 
Authors: Christina Lee & Riley Hart 
Self Published
Publication Date: January 16, 2020
Length: 261 pages

Reviewed by Jenn

Synopsis

Jesse
After spending the first part of my life trapped in a small town where it wasn’t okay to be a makeup-wearing boy who liked boys, I swore I’d leave and never be anything but loud, proud, and unapologetically me. I’ve kept that promise. I’m following my dreams, have an apartment with my bestie, and get to dance my nights away at one of the hottest gay bars in Portland.

The only downfall is Dane, the sexy bartender with a perma-scowl always aimed my way. The tension between us is so strong that even the clubgoers notice, and they eat that stuff up. Our boss makes us dance on the bar together every Friday night. I might shake my booty a little more with Dane just because I love getting under his skin. It’s not my fault he doesn’t know how to have any fun…but I kind of want to teach him.

Dane
I got burned bad by my last boyfriend. Thankfully, my sister, Bree, and my niece, Hailey, make my days a whole lot brighter. I’m getting back on my feet, including a decent job as a bartender. But working in a gay club makes it harder to keep to myself. No way do I want to get reeled in by another charming, pretty face and get hurt again, and definitely not by someone like Jesse, whose audacity frustrates me to no end.

So why do I want to shove him against the wall and screw that boldness right out of him?

Only…sometimes he’s pretty sweet, especially with Hailey. As we go from enemies to angry hookups to friends, our feelings are changing and moving into uncharted territory. This can’t go anywhere. Jesse and I are like oil and water; we just don’t mix…right?

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Review

Pretty Perfect by Christina Lee and Riley Hart is aptly titled because the book is pretty darn perfect. Enemies to lovers with so much more than attraction between them. These two men, Jesse and Dane are made for each other…they just don’t know it yet.

Jesse is a student by day and a dancer by night. Jesse grew up in a small farming town where being gay is difficult but being gay and loving make up and a more feminine look is almost impossible. While Jesse loves his parents and they love him, he can’t picture a middle ground for them and leaves. He ends up in Portland where he makes an awesome best friend and they share an apartment together. Jesse is living out loud…he’s proud of who he is and he’s happy. So what if he’s broke most of the time and the hot bartender at work is grumpy…he sure is nice to look at.

Dane is the grumpy bartender in the hottest gay club in Portland. The same club Jesse dances in. These two bicker so much and it’s filled with so much tension that the boss makes them dance together twice every Friday night. Jesse shakes his booty a little extra each time to annoy Dane and the customers eat it up! Both men deny enjoying dancing together, but if the steam coming off of them is an indication…they love it as much as the customers do.

Dane is grumpy, but he’s not in any way mean. He’s a great guy who happened to be burned in an awful way by his ex. Tending bar and living in his sister’s basement is what he wanted for his life, but he can’t deny that he loves being able to help his sister with his niece, Hailey. Seeing Dane and Hailey together is the sweetest thing, this little girl knows how to wrap her uncle around her finger. When an accidental meeting between Jesse, Dane, and Hailey outside of work starts a friendship between the two men, it’s hard to tell who is more shocked. Dancing on the bar quickly goes from annoying to something neither man can deny looking forward to. For Dane, Jesse has always been a pretty boy who gets whatever he wants. After seeing him with Hailey though…there’s so much more than a pretty face and that scares the grumpy man…even if it would never admit it.

I love this book, I love the message of acceptance and the strength in the characters. Jesse is unapologetically who he is even when that causes him pain. His relationship with his parents is one of my favorite parts of the book. While there are problems, we see the love this family has for each other. It almost makes their struggle with each other more painful. Each scene between them both, gives me hope and breaks my heart. Dane’s relationship with his family adds a layer of love to this story that warms your heart. Hailey and her mom, Bree, see Dane as the best kind of man. They love him unconditionally as when Jesse enters the picture, they’re welcoming of him into their lives is so incredibly moving. This book is about two people falling into friendship and into love, but it’s also really about family. The family you’re born into, the family you choose, and the family you make when you put those altogether. It’s a book that makes your heart happy. Jesse and Dane are super-hot together and their chemistry is off the charts. But all the other things they are to and for each other, those are the reasons I love this book so much.

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