Hero – men loving men (also tag LGBTQ)
Penalty Box, Book #1
Heat Factor: So, um, these guys have some stuff to work out, and pain is part of that whole situation
Character Chemistry: For two guys who are absolutely mean to each other, they are shockingly tender
Plot: Two defensemen, one at the beginning of his career and the other at the end, fight their way into a very intense relationship
Overall: If you like unlikeable heroes and super-dee-duper messy characters, do I have a book for you!
Heat Factor: It’s not a slow burn, it’s a no-sex burn
Character Chemistry: There were moments it could have been great, but it never really clicked
Plot: Ethan keeps compounding his problems by trying too hard to make everything how it should be, and Beau opens his eyes to how he wants it to be
Overall: I liked it fine, but readers will probably enjoy it more if they expect a single personal growth arc rather than a glorious romance
Heat Factor: Some scorching kisses!
Character Chemistry: There’s a lot of high school angst here, but it was a bit much for me
Plot: Seryo’s quest for love has become something of a joke at school, and Shino, believing the joke to be all it is, asks Seryo to date him for the week
Overall: Loved the concept, so-so on the execution
Heat Factor: It’s euphemistic until it’s not
Character Chemistry: Long distance is probably worth it, right?
Plot: A professor of criminology with a true crime podcast hobby gets a mysterious and threatening letter regarding an unsolved missing persons case nearly twenty years old, and just when he thinks nobody cares, a sexy FBI agent shows up at the victim’s disappearance vigil to help solve the mystery
Overall: I was in the mood for romantic suspense, and it really hit the spot
Heat Factor: Much of the first quarter of the book is kinky hate sex. Then it’s just lotsa sex.
Character Chemistry: Apparently threats to life and limb are an aphrodisiac
Plot: Will is trying to kill the man Kit is protecting (until he gets the file he wants and can kill his protectee himself)
Overall: If you can buy into the drama, it’s a pretty good spy vs. spy suspense
The Smut Report 