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Review of If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales & Cale Dietrich

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If this gets out book coverI’ve read other books by Sophie Gonzales and have enjoyed her writing, so I was excited when this book about a wildly popular boy band came to my attention. This novel paints an eye-opening portrait of what life in such a band is like, and it’s not as glamorous as it’s cracked up to be. Our story focuses on Ruben Montez and Zach Knight, two members of a four-person band called Saturday whose friendship transforms into a slow-burn secret romance. The book then explores the reaction of the label as well as that of the other band members (Jon and Angel), and soon, cracks begin to form.

On the surface, this novel is about a romance between two band members, but it goes much deeper than that. At its core are hard-hitting issues such as the dark side of the music industry, drug abuse/addiction, emotional abuse, parental abuse, homophobia, toxic dynamics between the band and management, exploitation, the pressure of being famous, identity, and mental health, all of which are explored through the multiplicity of characters the author has created. Though this is an intense story in places, it’s also a hopeful, upbeat, and heartwarming story about love, coming together, following your dreams, and found family.

As for the romance, Zach and Rueben were absolutely adorable together. They are very much in sync, so much so that I had no trouble in seeing that they belonged together right from the beginning. I loved their chemistry, their concern for each other, and how they communicated their feelings. Though messy at times, theirs was a sweet and tender romance that was a joy to read. The author tells the story from the alternating POVs of Rueben and Zach, so it was nice to get into both of their heads to view the situation from their perspective.

Alongside this engaging story, the author gives us an incredible cast of characters. I loved the dynamics between all four band members — how much they cared for each other and how much they grew, not only as individuals but also as friends. Their connection was amazing, and I adored the way they supported each other and ultimately saved each other. The characters’ personalities shined through like a bright light that zinged right to my heart, and I couldn’t help but deeply care for each and every one of them by the end of this story. There’s magic in finding the people with whom you belong and making a home for them in your heart, and that is what we see in this novel. Thus, I feel that the character development in this story is phenomenal, and each character is relatable and engaging. Every character is well-fleshed out and necessary to the brilliant rendering of this story.

I loved the tantalizing glimpse into the day-to-day life of the band. It was a treat to get a behind-the-scenes glance at the life of a popular boy band, and I felt that this helped the reader identify and empathize with the characters.

I never thought I would gush over a book about a boy band, yet here we are. “If This Gets Out” brought a smile to my face and gave me all of the right “feels.” And though the plot is compelling, it’s the characters that make this book truly shine, and they all captured my heart. This emotive book explores so many different facets of love, be it familial, platonic, romantic, in all its aspects. Recommended!

A huge thank you to Netgalley for providing a review copy of this book. This book will be released on December 7, 2021 but it available now as a preorder.

Review of Out of Character by Annabeth Albert

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Out of Character Book OcverBlurb:

Jasper Quigley is tired of being everyone’s favorite sidekick. He wants to become the hero of his own life, but that’s not going to happen if he agrees to help out his former best friend turned king of the jocks, Milo Lionetti. High school was miserable enough, thanks, and Jasper has no interest in dredging up painful memories of his old secret crush.

But Milo’s got nowhere else to go. His life is spiraling out of control and he’s looking to turn things back around. Step one? Replace the rare Odyssey cards he lost in an idiotic bet. Step two? Tell his ex-best-friend exactly how he feels—how he’s always felt.

Jasper may be reluctant to reopen old wounds, but he never could resist Milo. There’s a catch, though: if Milo wants his help, he’s going to have to pitch in to make the upcoming children’s hospital charity ball the best ever. But as the two don cosplay for the kids and hunt for rare cards, nostalgia for their lost friendship may turn into something even more lasting…

Review:

Out of Character is an enemies-to-lovers new adult romance set in the same world as Albert’s previous novel, “Unconventionally Yours.” The story is based around a fictional tabletop game called Odyssey and follows our two main characters, Jasper and Milo. Milo has accidentally traded away his brother’s very rare and expensive Odyssey cards and has turned to Jasper to help him get them back. The kicker is that Jasper and Milo used to be best friends until Milo starting hanging out with the jock crowd — the same crowd who bullied Jasper. Jasper has not forgotten how horribly Milo treated him in high school.

However, Jasper reluctantly agrees to help him, and the two men head off to an Odyssey gaming convention where Jasper will try to win back the elusive cards. Of course, neither boy could have guessed that all the time they spend together would result in them falling in love, and in so doing, the author captured perfectly how simultaneously beautiful and daunting it can be to fall for your enemy.

This ended up being a delightful, heartwarming story of two young men who find their way back to either other. The romance between the two of them was perfect, as was their chemistry. I adore romance redemption/second chance stories, and these aspects were exceptionally well done in this novel.

I also loved the colorful ensemble of friends/found family in this book. Albert does this really well, and I was especially delighted to see cameo appearances by several characters from Unconventionally Yours.

All in all, Out of Character is a beautiful story about love and how it can spring up in the most unlikely of places and circumstances. It’s a lovely, heartfelt second-chance nerdy romance with vibrant characters that I loved. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

A huge thank you to Netgalley for providing a review copy of this book.

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Review of The Player’s Encore by Joe Consentino

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Blurb:

Can a man and a ghost be soulmates? When young music teacher Andre Beaufort unleashed the ghost of dapper Roaring Twenties playboy Freddy Birtwistle from his antique player piano, he never imagined they would fall in love and solve two murder mysteries. Now Freddy yearns to visit his family’s beach house in Florida. So, Andre and Freddy embark on a vacation to the stunning home which has become a bed and breakfast. Before Freddy can say “zotched,” a young, mysterious houseboy is murdered, the second hunky houseboy to meet the same fate. Will Andre and Freddy find the murderer to save the inn—and themselves?

A year later, Andre and Freddy venture off on a vacation with Andre’s uncle, an ex-priest, to Tuscany, staying at an inn which happens to have once been Freddy’s old family villa. Before the sun sets golden on the hills, a handsome young guest is murdered. Will Andre and Freddy uncover the secrets of Freddy’s ancestral home, solve the mystery, and find eternal love?

The Player’s Encore, the second installment in the popular Player Piano Mysteries series by Joe Cosentino, includes two cozy mysteries: The Beach House and The Villa.

Review:

This is the second book in the ‘Piano Player Mysteries’ series. We again follow Andre Beaufort and his ghostly lover Freddy Birtwistle as they solve crimes and travel to homes that formerly belonged to Freddy’s family. Like the first book in the series, this volume actually contains two novellas: ‘The Beach House’ and ‘The Villa’.

‘The Beach House’ takes place in Freddy’s former home in Key West, Florida, where we learn that the head houseboy was murdered there five years prior. As it turns out, the same thing occurs again: someone murders the head houseboy at the house by pushing him off the balcony. So Andre and Freddy take it upon themselves to investigate.

The second book, ‘The Villa,’ occurs in Tuscany, where Andre and his Uncle Daryl book a stay at a gay-friendly villa that once belonged to Freddy’s family. This time, a wealthy guest drops dead during dinner, and the detective on the case, knowing that Andre has solved other murders, requests his help.

These were both zany and fast-paced whodunnits with oddball secondary characters and plenty of 1920s humor from Freddy. Because Freddy is attached to the pianos and cannot leave the room, Andre does all the legwork of interviewing guests. Through his interviews with the wacky (and in some cases, despicable) characters, we get to piece together the mysteries step by step, though there are a few red herrings thrown in to keep the reader guessing. The murder mysteries at the core of these books were gripping and twisty, with both keeping me guessing until the end.

I found both stories to be equally quirky and delightful. Like the first book, we get a mixture of contemporary society along with Freddy’s scandalous stories from the Roaring 20s, and the humor provided many laugh-out-loud moments. There are some fairly silly and over-the-top developments and plot twists, but they are all part of the whimsy. I won’t spoil anything, but we see some new sides of Freddy and get some insight into his family and the heartbreaking events surrounding them.

To conclude with the characters, I’m pretty invested in them at this point, and I enjoyed seeing the evolution of Andre and Freddy’s relationship — how in each book, they grow closer and more in love. I really savored the stories, and I’m going to miss these characters until the next installment comes out. Another fun, highly entertaining cozy mystery in the Piano Player Mysteries series!

NOTE: This book was provided by the author for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews

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Review of Keeping Casey by Amy Aislin

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Keeping Casey Book CoverBlurb:

Casey Preston is the guy with the plan. The list-maker. The one who micromanages his own life.

Spontaneously offering to be his best friend’s fake boyfriend to get Ethan’s annoying team captain off his back?

That’s not thinking things through. It’s not even smart given Casey’s been fighting his feelings for Ethan for years.

Ethan Rain just wants to play hockey and get his college degree. Adding a fake boyfriend to the mix? He doesn’t need that complication.

If Casey were his real boyfriend, though? If he got to keep Casey forever? Now we’re talking.

But what if Casey doesn’t want to be kept?

Review:

Keeping Casey is a sweet college romance that contains many of my favorite tropes/elements: gay hockey players, friends-to-lovers, and fake-dating, so I was super excited to delve into this book. The story follows Casey and Ethan, who have been best friends throughout their entire lives. Ethan is demisexual, and Casey is gay, and both of them have a secret crush on the other — but neither has ever been brave enough to act on their feelings, each certain that their love is unrequited. Thus, there’s plenty of angst as well as mutual pining going on. What’s fun is that pretty much everyone around them assumes that they’re a couple because of the way they act towards each other, and their friends call them out on it more than once.

It’s also worth mentioning that the boys are bonded by a shared family tragedy: they both lost a parent in the same horrific construction accident, so this tragedy has overshadowed their decisions in life and affected each of them in different ways. They take care of each other, support each other, and provide that unconditional yet unspoken love that really is what they both need so desperately.

Their relationship takes a turn when, on the fly, they decide to become fake boyfriends in order to put Ethan’s homophobic team captain in his place. Suddenly, their intense feelings for each other are forced out into the open with some unexpected results. I love how these two move through so much indecision and inner doubt as they toy with the idea of falling for each other.

Note that this is an extremely slow burn and low heat story — in fact, they don’t even kiss until near the end of the book. In this way, sex is secondary to the intense emotional bond that the men share. So if you’re looking for a steamy romance, this isn’t it. What we do have, though, is a deep love and bond between two men who have intimate knowledge of each other’s faults and imperfections. Yes, both characters are flawed and slightly broken — but their complementary characteristics balance out their flaws.

Though this is a tender, lighthearted romance, there’s also a serious aspect to it as the story delves into topics such as homophobia, love, grief, parental distancing, chronic illness (Ethan is living with rheumatoid arthritis), fear, insecurity, and sexuality. The sprinkling of humor throughout, however, kept the story from being too heavy.

Though Keeping Casey may be a bit cliché in the way that it ends up resolving some pretty big problems and conflicts, it is an endearing romance that allows a reader to enjoy a bit of escapism into a beautiful relationship that never really falters. Their love is engaging and passionate — and Casey and Ethan have become one of my favorite couples. They both become different people by the end of this book, and it is lovely to see it happen. So though a tender romance is at the heart of this book, the story is also about facing unimaginable heartbreak and loss — and coming out stronger on the other side, no matter how long it takes you.

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Review of Where There’s a Kilt, There’s a Way by Ella Stainton

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Where There's a Kilt, There's a Way book coverBlurb:

Two years ago, Dr. Ainsley Graham proved the existence of ghosts, and fell in love—hard to top that. But a trip to Sweden to research at a prestigious University for the summer is nothing to sneeze at, especially since his partner, psychologist Joachim Cockburn, will be teaching alongside him. A change of scenery might be just the thing.

Their idyllic trip to Sweden is interrupted by a ghost with a proclivity for rude hand gestures and graphic curse words—and a ghastly history begging to be investigated. Life among the living is complicated, too, by a gruff professor who can’t take his eyes off Ainsley, and an enticing new job offer for Joachim.

What starts as an adventurous trip abroad turns into mayhem, murder, and…a magical moose? And everyone—well, perhaps not the moose—is a suspect in the death of the ghostly young man who brings them together to expose secrets, loves lost, and a crime that will shock them all

Review:

This is the second book in the “Kilty Pleasures” series, and it was fun to spend time with Dr. Graham and Dr. Cockburn (Ainsley and Joachim) once again. In this story, Ainsley heads off on a field expedition to Sweden to research folklore about a ghostly moose (I know, right?). The kicker is that the Swedish professor who Ainsley will be accompanying may be a murderer — or at least, the ghost who’s haunting Joachim claims that he is. Worried that his lover’s life is in jeopardy, Joachim rushes off to Sweden to his aid. The two men then take it upon themselves to solve the ghost’s murder and bring the culprit to justice.

As was the case with the first book, there was plenty of fun and witty banter between our two main characters, lovable and quirky secondary characters, lots of zany situations, as well as misunderstandings and jealousy along the way. There were even gnomes!

I loved the chemistry between Ainsley and Joachim and enjoyed how the story was told from both of their points of view. allowing us a glimpse into each other’s thoughts. The story wasn’t only entertaining with its captivating setting, but the author also gives us a compelling ghostly mystery to solve. This is one of those warm, fuzzy stories where everyone gets what they deserve in the end, in the very best possible ways. But it’s the romance between Ainsley and Joachim that still steals the show. Their bond is a powerful one, and I adored their interactions.

The author has created a delightful world here, and I look forward to reading more books in this series with these endearing characters. There’s something about the comfortable familiarity, as well as the charm and lightheartedness with which the author approaches the world-building and the characters, that’s just fun.

Purchase Where There’s a Kilt, There’s a Way from Amazon

Review of Beautiful Things Shoppe by Philip William Stover

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Blurb:

Their collections may clash but their hearts are a perfect match.

Moving to eclectic New Hope, Pennsylvania, and running The Beautiful Things Shoppe is a dream come true for elegant and reserved fine arts dealer Prescott J. Henderson. He never agreed to share the space with Danny Roman, an easygoing extrovert who collects retro toys and colorful knickknacks.

And yet here they are, trapped together in the quaint shop as they scramble to open in time for New Hope’s charming Winter Festival.

Danny has spent years leading with his heart instead of his head. The Beautiful Things Shoppe is his chance to ground himself and build something permanent and joyful. The last thing he needs is an uptight snob who doesn’t appreciate his whimsy occupying half his shop.

It’s only when two of New Hope’s historic landmarks—each as different as Danny and Prescott—are threatened that a tentative alliance forms. And with it, the first blush of romance. Suddenly, running The Beautiful Things Shoppe together doesn’t seem so bad…until Danny’s secret threatens to ruin it all.

Review:

The Beautiful Things Shoppe, which is the second book in the Seasons of New Hope series, is a sweet enemies-to-lovers/opposites attract romance. It completely stands on its own as this story focuses on different characters, though a couple of the characters from the first book (The Hideaway Inn) do make a guest appearance.

The two main characters in this story are Danny and Prescott, are so much fun! Here we see two opposites who find themselves in somewhat of a forced business situation. I loved how different they were from each other, with Prescott being a stuffy, elegant, almost snooty fine arts dealer and Danny being an easy-going extrovert who collects retro toys and colorful pop culture tchotchkes. I enjoyed the plot device of having these two opposites sharing the same retail space when they thought they’d leased the entire space for themselves, all of which resulted in plenty of comical situations and snarky banter.

Our two characters, each of whom finds the other attractive, come to realize that they actually complement each other in ways they didn’t expect. Once they stop bickering, they eventually discover that there’s a fantastic chemistry between them, and I enjoyed watching their false assumptions about the other come crumbling down as they wormed their way into each other’s hearts. The rich and quirky secondary characters also really added to this story’s charm, and I loved seeing a couple of familiar faces from the first book.

It was heart-warming to see how both of the guys set their differences aside in order to come together to help save a couple of architecturally significant buildings. So, all in all, I found The Beautiful Things Shoppe to be a light-hearted yet addicting and engaging story that oozes with romance yet is layered with complexities of identity and judging people by outward appearances. It’s an emotive story with distinctly drawn, genuine characters, and I loved watching their relationship play out on the page. I’ll definitely be picking up the third book in this series.

Purchase The Beautiful Things Shoppe at The Book Depository