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Why am I waiting for this? - I came across Louder Than Love (review) by chance last year when it was released. I took a chance on new author and ended up loving the book. There was no HEA epilogue for Adrian and Kat, so instead Ms Topper wrote a full follow-up novella and I'm sure that it will be just as good as their first book. Older hero, (ex) rock/metal star and a widowed librarian with an adorable daughter - sounds like a perfect romance to me.

Harry adjusted his position hastily. If Julius was a strict taskmaster in other areas he was impossible when it came to horses. But Harry could feel himself improving, his body learning the required posture and movements under Julius’s laconic instructions. It was obvious even to his ignorance that Julius was a magnificent horseman. He seemed brighter on horseback, warmer, less untouchable, and his body moved as though it was at one with the powerful beast that surged between his legs. 

Harry had a certain amount of trouble not staring at Julius anyway, and it became particularly difficult when they rode. The regular motion of the bay mare under him was stirring, granted, but there were also the soft, close-fitting doeskins that outlined Julius’s thighs, and the fact that his daily habit of riding had given him a remarkably taut arse.

That was not something Harry should be thinking about. He was living in a dream of wealth and privilege, and he couldn’t imagine a worse awakening than to be packed off in disgrace for making an ill-judged approach. Sporting with men had to be left in the past, along with poverty and politics. Harry wasn’t going to do anything about his errant urges except in the privacy of his bedroom, where he had spent furtively and frantically into a handkerchief more than once to thoughts of an imaginary Julius. Still perfect, still crystalline, still relentlessly commanding, but in Harry’s fantasy he was all the things the real man would never be. Willing and hot and wanton and needy, and—

They don’t play for the same team. Or do they?

Jamie Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.

Ryan Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, with their college teams set to face off at the national championship, he’ll finally get a chance to apologize. But all it takes is one look at his longtime crush, and the ache is stronger than ever.

Jamie has waited a long time for answers, but walks away with only more questions—can one night of sex ruin a friendship? If not, how about six more weeks of it? When Wesley turns up to coach alongside Jamie for one more hot summer at camp, Jamie has a few things to discover about his old friend...and a big one to learn about himself.

This NA mm romance is a collaboration between two authors whose writing I really enjoy. I love Sarina Bowen's the Ivy Years series and I've greatly enjoyed the first two books in Elle Kennedy's Off Campus.

New adult romance, especially focused on college, is generally hit or miss for me but I'm happy to say this one definitely goes into the HIT category. It's a mm sports (hockey) romance and both characters are in their early 20s, the summer after college before both of them are to become pro hockey players. It's not set in college but in summer sports camp for teeangers and this gave it a very easygoing, time-out of real life atmosphere.

It's a curious mix of friends-to-lovers story which I quite enjoy and sort of Gay-for-You (which is not really my favourite). I very much enjoyed both Wes and Jamie though it was Jamie that stole my heart in this story.

The story is told from dual POV and we have access to the thoughts of both characters. They been best friends as children until Wes developed feelings for his friends and after one crazy night he ended their friendship.

The authors take us on Jamie's journey of self-discovery which leads him to defining himself as bisexual. Early in the story he is casually involved with a girl and I particularly liked how this relationship was developed. After him falling for another (guy) there was no hatred on either side, no additional drama. Jamie didn't end up hating women and regretting his past experiences with them. It felt natural and real. His close friendship with Wes turned into sexual exploration/lust and something he recognised as love not just between friends but between soul mates, partners.

Wes dealt with some issues of his own and while I sympathise with him and he also made me angry sometiems with his immaturity and selfishness.

I loved the interactions with the kids at the training camp, the hockey setting. The families were a little too cliche, Jamie's were fun and easy going and perfectly OK with who their son was, while Wes' were the typical distant homophobic parents. 

It seems to me the story lost some momentum and shapness towards the end. I love the HEA and I'm definitely happy things worked out the way they did for the guys.Still, I felt some of the conflcits were resolved too easily, though

Another element which I liked has to do with hockey and going pro. To avoid spoilers I will only say that it was unexpected and sweet and real and made me love Jamie even more.

In a short an entertaining mm romance - sexy and fun and sweet with a generally feel-good, happy vibe. Recommended read!

PS: Sarina Bowen was already my guest in the Friday Favourites feature on the blog (interview) and I'm looking forward to Elle Kennedy stopping by sometime next month.

Synopsis

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Favourite books — A Selection

Anything by Rosemary Sutcliff. She's been my favorite author since I was eight, and she made me fall in love with British history. I particularly like Blood Feud, The Eagle of the Ninth, Frontier Wolf, and Sword at Sunset, though this book ripped my heart out. 

Anything by Dorothy Dunnett, another favorite author of mine. What she does with language is just mind-boggling. If you want a long, epic series of historical novels, try The Lymond Chronicles (though these might also rip your heart out), but her stand-alone, King Hereafter (yes, this one, too, will rip your heart out), and her contemporary mysteries are also great.

Terry Pratchett is another author I much admire. I love his humor, and I enjoyed many of his Discworld novels, in particular Witches Abroad and Guards! Guards!.

Among my comfort reads are several of Georgette Heyer's novels. I love Bath Tangle, Venetia, The Grand Sophy, and especially "A Clandestine Affair" from the anthology Pistols for Two.

Jacqueline Gilbert is another comfort-read author for me. She wrote for Harlequin Mills & Boon in the 1970s and 80s, so her books tend to be a bit old-fashioned, but still lovely! What I find particularly intriguing is that many of her books are set in the world of theatre. Among my favorites are Poppy Girl (which contains lovely references to Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles!!), Scorpio Summer, and Dear Villain. 

Author Bio and Links

She holds a PhD in English Literature and lives in Frankfurt am Main / Germany with a sketchbook, a sewing machine, and an ever-expanding library.

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

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Just in time for its tenth anniversary, Ms Schwab re-released her debut novel, The Lily Brand, which was originally published by Dorchester in 2005

Synopsis 

Troy Sacheverell, fifth earl of Ravenhurst, was captured in France. He'd gone to fight Napoleon, but what he found was much more sinister. Dragged from prison to an old French manor on the outskirts of civilization, he was purchased by a rich and twisted widow. And more dangerous still was the young woman who claimed him.

Lillian had not chosen to live with Camille, her stepmother, but nobody escaped the Black Widow's web. And on her nineteenth birthday, Lillian became Camille's heir. Her gift was a plaything: a man to end her naiveté, a man perfect in all ways but his stolen freedom. Yet even as Lillian did as she was told, marked that beautiful flesh and branded it with the flower of her name, all she desired was escape. In another place, in another world, she'd desired love. Now, looking into burning blue eyes, she knew there was no place to run. No matter if should she flee, no matter where she might go, she and this man were prisoners of passion, inextricably linked by the lily brand.

And while her heart remained locked in ice, his burnt with hate. Would they ever find true happiness?

Purchase links: Amazon / Kobo