The Earl and the Executive: Imperial Space Regency Book 1, Kai Butler

While the setting promised some incredibly vast and fantastical uniqueness, the story focused on the regency era of England and the jaded wealthy man and the possibility of a love match if he swallows his hurt and accepts the earl's heart.  The research and application of that knowledge was near impeccable to my proletarian sensibilities.  What I was less impressed with was the tedium that dominated the majority of the book.  With a wonderfully sweet ending and a lovely confession from Zev there was something to enjoy by the end, it was just quite a slog to get there.

To be fair, this wasn't a poorly written story at all.  The subject matter was interesting, the characters had potential, and Tiral was both compelling on his own and heartbreaking in all the emotional abuse he received.  There were quite a few things to enjoy if you're willing to read slow yet witty banter that occurs and reoccurs and reoccurs again with no goal or intention beyond showing he and Zev share a sense of humor.  Nothing of interest occurs until at least two-thirds of the way through the book.

I was moved by Tiral but unimpressed with everything about Zev.  There are a few side characters that are interesting and amusing, but if their stories are anything as dry as this one I'll likely pass on reading them.  Even with the little mystery thrown in at the end this story could have been cut in half and would likely have benefitted from the subtraction.  Getting to the point sooner rather than later would have allowed for due attention to be given to the little danger plot which ultimately fizzled in the end as well because it wasn't exciting, dramatic, or even germane to the story itself.

So honestly I was bored by the story more than I was intrigued and if it weren't for Tiral I would probably have stopped reading.  It wasn't a bad story, just a piece of pre-packaged lunch meat when I was expecting a slab of prime rib.  Weird metaphor?  Yeah, I know, but being left unsatisfied when I was expecting all kinds of amazing feels like that.  Overall this had an interesting premise followed by a less than riveting follow-through, but a very sweet ending.

*$3.99 on Amazon

An impoverished earl...

Tiral Oican has inherited his brother’s title, estate, and the tremendous debt his brother took out before his unexpected death. There is only one option to save the estate and all the people who are now depending on him: marry a rich heir who is willing to pay off the debt in exchange for Tiral’s title. 

Now, scholarly Tiral must transform himself into a seductive fortune hunter. The only way he can see through the mess is by hiring a tutor in love. It’s too bad that Zev is so good at his job that Tiral is falling for him.

And a rich entrepreneur...

To protect his heart, Zev Laft has spent years fooling the ton into believing he’s no more than an entertaining flirtation. He just didn’t expect the ruse to work so well that the newest penniless earl to arrive on Lus for the season would assume him a demimonde and try to hire him to be his instructor in courtship. 

Now one of richest men in the empire finds himself struggling to keep up the façade, when his own heart is being taken by a man he has no intention of marrying.

Reveal: Men of Hidden Creek Season 4 Book 4, HJ Welch

Whenever a geek scores a jock, or in this case a fireman, I just about melt.  There's a lot to unpack in Jason Miller's view of self-worth, but because Channing is patient, sweet, and kinda oblivious, they create a lot of magic together.  Reveal gives us a ton of my favorite tropes (ugly duckling, opposites attract, fake relationships...), an antagonist that actually sees his karmic return gift, a bit of danger, and a whole lot of tenderness and first time steam.

What I really appreciated about this story was the "love yourself first" concept.  Jason has spent his entire life trying to fit in with his peers or to just blend into the background.  His one bit of self-acceptance was when he got to live out his geeky imagination back in the day with a couple childhood friends.  There's a whole lot of "real man" talk that's pretty deplorable as well as over-the-top and because Jason is incredibly vulnerable he gets sucked into those ridiculous ideas of societal norms.  He has a big "A-ha!" moment in the salon where he gets completely schooled by his friends.  It brought to the forefront that his ideas about the LGBTQ+ community around him are just as hurtful as his ideas about himself.  It was a toxic mix of projecting his insecurities on the community at large as well as internalizing all the hate that can come from the ignorant masses.

I won't say that a few outfits, a haircut, some makeup, and a killer pair of boots will fix all the years of internalizing all the damaging rhetoric, but it can definitely give you the boost to see yourself beyond the box you've shoved yourself into.  For Jason, it gives him a glimpse through other people's eyes that they're suddenly seeing a glimmer of confidence and personal expression that was completely missing before.  It's a stepping stone to seeing himself as more.  When he was in charge of his own look, he was still too deep into the workplace abuse he'd endured to embrace any real change.  He needed the help of friends who saw the real him.

As for the relationship, it was mainly sweetness, exploration, and subtle revelations with a small period of them figuring their individual stuff out enough to realize they wanted to be together.  There was no real conflict there and certainly no real angst regarding sexual inclinations on Channing's part.  I'm not a fan of one character making decisions for the other, especially in regards to their own wants, needs, and desires, and Jason really fell prey to that.  And with the karmic justice, it was well-earned by the slightly cliched bully and I especially loved the reckoning coming from the spouse.  She, along with quite a few other side characters, gave a good base for Jason and Channing to find their way both alone and together.  I kept thinking about how I want friends like these ones...Hidden Creek gets all the good ones.

*$3.99 on Amazon

“I wish this were real with you.”

Geeky Jason Miller has never really been with a man, and his bullying colleagues at NASA know it. But when an innocent white lie gets out of hand, Jason never would have guessed his gorgeous-but-straight childhood friend would leap to his rescue.

Firefighter Channing Forster saves people every day, so when protecting his former next-door neighbor turns into faking a relationship for a work getaway, he doesn’t hesitate. As the weekend goes on, though, Channing starts to think that he doesn’t just see cute Jason Miller as a buddy anymore.

Are Channing’s feelings for Jason real enough that he could be his first? Jason needs to accept his true self before he can love another. But when his colleagues and boss discover his many secrets, will he lose everything forever, including Channing?