Needing the Kraken: Cursed Mermen Book 6, Aramis Jordan

This book was...interesting.

I liked the premise and was drawn into the general story trajectory and was tantalized by the tentacle love... But somewhere between the beginning of the middle and the very end I got lost. The spice was there, oh holy good night, was it there, but that was kind of what carried the story. There were feels and they came on slowly since admissions were kind of few and far between with most of the feels being revealed through actions and inner dialogue rather than being shared and communicated.

The scene where certain personal truths were shared and explained was actually done well with tact, heart, and acceptance. Perhaps it was a little too easy, but by this point there was a whole lot of drama put behind them, danger conquered, and time for genuinely deep feelings to take root. I didn't mind that it was more tender and sweet rather than complicated.

And we have the implantation and birthing scenes....oh my... If that kind of cephalopod stuff is not your thing, understandable, just skip ahead.

Also, if this is the first book of the series that you read, as was the case for me, there's nothing included, even in the epilogue, that would give spoilers for any of the previous books. There are a couple characters and groupings that interested me in the epilogue, but I have to say, despite that interest, those stories will likely not make the top ten on my To-Read list merely because the writing is very word heavy with less progress achieved than expected with the sheer number of words. I totally feel the reviews of readers that said they skimmed a whole lot. At times I wish I had.

*$4.99 on Amazon or Free on KU!

A man on the run.

A dangerous sea witch offering shelter.

Nobody can know who Sebastian really is. Driven from his home and chased by the king’s henchmen, Sebastian runs into Malik, a sea witch and kraken shifter. At first he’s repulsed by Malik’s eight long appendages, but with nowhere to go, Sebastian has no choice but to fling himself into Malik’s many arms.

Malik is the mightiest witch in the New World. His magic grants him dark powers, but the one thing he can’t have is love—because Malik guards a deep secret. When Sebastian comes to him for protection, he grants it. As they grow closer, the pressure on Malik to reveal his best-kept secret mounts. But what if the truth sends Sebastian running into the arms of his enemies?

Needing the Kraken is a 72,000 word MM romance. It features an intense love story, plenty of steam, secret identities, close proximity and a non-binary main character. This gay, paranormal romance is a standalone and the final book in the Cursed Mermen series. HEA guaranteed!

Goodman Dairy: Dan's Hauntastic Haunts Investigates Book 1, Alex Silver

This really was an interesting start to the series with quite a bit more honesty than I expected.  There were moments of irresponsibility and selfishness, but other than that there were some solid foundations being laid that bode well for what comes next both in the relationship and the video series they work on together.

I really liked the premise a ton and the circumstances that brought the men together.  Both men were interesting in a simple way and I was liking that they didn't get together right away.  Letting them build something together with shared goals and different strengths coming together to create a good product was mature in a way I didn't expect from this story.

What got in the way of that maturity were Dan's irresponsible and selfish actions in the name of getting good haunting shots.  He put everyone in danger and was intentionally untrained where he had ample resources and opportunity to figure out how to be an effective medium instead of stumbling on hauntings of various types and bumbling his way through giving them peace.  His actions appalled me and I was absolutely on Chad's side when he called him out on it and left.  Dan's idea for giving the ghost resolution was far more dramatic and unhelpful and executed quite poorly because of his tunnel vision.

What I was glad for in the outcome was that Dan acknowledged his actions, even if it took a while, and went about making amends in healthy ways.  I'm really interested to see where the training aspect will go from there.  And giving Chad the new position was an excellent way to maturely move forward both in the relationship and the show.  With an average plot evolution and getting a little bogged down in the mundane details as well as simplistic characters this should have been an average story, but I ended up more curious than I thought I would be by the end.  There are a lot of places we can go from here and I'm willing to see them through it.

*$3.99 on Amazon

When ghosts reach across the veil, Daniel Collins is there to tell their stories.
Dan is a vlogging ghost hunter. He has devoted his life to documenting paranormal activity. In his converted van, he travels around the country exploring haunted sites. He loves the thrill of filming restless spirits.

Chad Brewer, skeptic, works for an insurance company. He doesn’t believe in ghosts, but watching Dan’s vlog is his guilty pleasure. The cute vlogger is accident prone. He has Chad’s work extension on speed-dial. The two talk whenever Dan gets hurt during an investigation, a frequent occurrence.

When Chad loses his job for approving too many claims, Dan offers him a position as his personal assistant. The pair sets out to investigate a haunted dairy barn for the vlog’s next video series. The catch is that they must live and work together in Dan’s tiny traveling home.

As the paranormal activity at the haunted dairy ramps up, so does the romantic tension between the two men. Can the love between a skeptic and a social media sensation conquer a vengeful ghost?