Sometimes you pick up a book or movie, and you find out early on it’s going to be a pure popcorn eating, relaxing experience. It’s not going to be particularly deep, it’s not going to be perfect, it’s not going to live rent free in your mind, but it’ll be enjoyable. That’s ok. We need more of those experiences in the world.
The Unlikely Pair by Jax Calder checks those boxes.
During my never-ending search for my next read, I’ve seen N.R. Walker’s name come up constantly on other readers' recommendation lists. I thought it was time to give the popular writer’s books a try to see if lighting would indeed strike or if it was just a lot of hot air.
Fossil Feud is a well-marketed book, but beware: this isn’t the high adrenaline romance story you think it is. There are fossils but hardly any feud.
Despite being an area of historical interest to me, I haven’t read many books set during the Great War. Much of my previous historical fiction experiences have involved World War II, so when I stumbled upon No Man’s Land by Sally Malcolm, I was intrigued by the premise and setting and eager to dive into this story.
Bump, Set, Sparks is a book which captures the Southern California beach lifestyle, but not much else.
Connection From Chicago is a story about two goalies that highlights the pressures of being a professional athlete, dealing with grief, and how meeting the one person who understands you can make all the difference.
Former outlaw Jimmy Downing is trying to live an honest life but upon running into Oscar Yates, a starving scamp, his life is turned upside down… except it really isn’t even though it should have been.
It’s no secret I’m a big fan of sports stories, and I’ve often seen the name Rachel Reid recommended on reader curated lists. I decided to pick up Game Changer to see if the story could live up to its hype.
Ever on the lookout for sports themed books, I tried to find a story about two coaches for a change of pace instead of a story about two players. After a brief search, I stumbled upon Caught Running by Abigail Roux. With the World Series in full swing, I thought maybe a baseball story would be appropriate.
As the seasons change and temperatures cool, we still want to cling to the stories which remind us of the fun and enjoyable parts of summer. Combine summer romance with hockey and childhood friendship to lovers and you have my full attention. From the summary, Snapshots in San Diego by Wendy Hawthorne captured me with these elements and a title which reminded me of a classic 90s romcom.
Long have I underappreciated a short story. While growing up, I devoured any book I could get my hands on, never caring about its length. I had all the time in the world it seemed between being the passenger in a vehicle or staying up late at night secretly reading beneath a bookshelf light after bedtime. In adulthood, I lost a lot of the free time I took for granted. Between working a full time job and managing other responsibilities, my free time is something precious and hard fought. Sometimes that free time isn’t more than an hour or two before bed—the perfect time frame for reading a oneshot story.
As luck would have it, a short story crossed my timeline and provided a chance to show me how strong a short story could be.
Gravity by Tal Bauer redefined the way I consume sports media, and my view of the sport of hockey. I enjoy all sorts of sports media, everything ranging from manga to movies. Hajime no Ippo is a boxing manga that made me appreciate a boxer's physical and mental journey, and Remember the Titans is a movie ANYONE can enjoy whether you like football or not because it not only tells a important and great story, it shows how sports brings people together.
Still, I have never had one blend the MM Romance genre with sports in such a flawless way as Gravity has done.
Sports and a close family dynamic is a combination that had me picking up Puck Drills & Quick Thrills by Eden Finley and Saxon James. I was also curious about the dual authorship as I had not previously read a book that was written by two authors. With its catchy title and interesting relationship premise between a college professor and coach, I decided to dive in and see if this book lived up to my expectations.
While browsing through Reddit looking for a new m/m romance to read, I saw someone describe one of the main characters of Heat Stroke by Tessa Bailey as a “muscular himbo puppy who dotes on his love interest.” While I haven’t read anything from Tessa Bailey previously, I am 100% into the doting character trope. Because of this, I decided to take a chance and picked up this book to see if it lived up to this particular user’s description.
Despite being an area of historical interest to me, I haven’t read many books set during the Great War. Much of my previous historical fiction experiences have involved World War II, so when I stumbled upon No Man’s Land by Sally Malcolm, I was intrigued by the premise and setting and eager to dive into this story.
As the seasons change and temperatures cool, we still want to cling to the stories which remind us of the fun and enjoyable parts of summer. Combine summer romance with hockey and childhood friendship to lovers and you have my full attention. From the summary, Snapshots in San Diego by Wendy Hawthorne captured me with these elements and a title which reminded me of a classic 90s romcom.
Alan Wake 2 is a unique masterpiece and my personal game of the year for 2023. This game sets a new standard for story based games. I loved this game so much and needed to have my thoughts organized into a proper review. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a new game to sink their teeth into!
Anyone who has ever been invested deeply into a story has thought about what they would do if they were in that same story. Whether you’d call the main character an idiot for trusting someone they shouldn’t, or tell your favorite side character not to do something because you already know it would lead to their demise. Would you change the story or let it play out as intended? The Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint answers those types of questions.
I probably can’t convey in words just how excited I was to read this series after so long, but I’m certainly going to try. I added it to my local comic store pull list as soon as it was announced and even double dipped digitally to have it on my kindle app to read first thing in the morning on release date. Like I said I was EXCITED.
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