LGBT Romance

Secret Admirer is a super-sweet friends-to-lovers slow-burn romance that follows our two main characters Ace and Benji, who attend the same university. Ace is a couple of years older than Benji and is the best friend of Benji’s brother Jeremy. Ace promised Jeremy that he would keep an eye on Benji to ensure that he doesn’t feel too alone at the university. Jeremy and Benji were supposed to attend the same university together, but then Jeremy accepted an internship elsewhere, so he’s feeling a bit guilty for abandoning Benji.

Now Benji has had a lifelong crush on Ace, even though he is supposedly straight. And as for Ace…well…he may not be so straight as everyone thinks. He is beginning to accept that he’s bi-curious and can no longer ignore his ever-growing attraction to Benji. He initially decides not to act on his feelings, given that his friends asked him to keep an eye on his brother, not try to seduce him.

But when Benji begins feeling kind of down in the dumps, Ace begins sending him anonymous gifts and notes from “A Secret Admirer” in the hopes of cheering Benji up. But after Ace begins sending the gifts, he can no longer deny his feelings for Benji and decides to come clean. But of course, things don’t go as smoothly as he’d hoped, and all sorts of hijinks ensue.

I loved this low-angsty tender story about a young man discovering his sexuality and subsequently falling in love with someone he feels he shouldn’t. I enjoyed getting this story from both of their alternating perspectives, allowing us to see the drama unfolded from each man’s point of view and how each man’s view of himself differs from the other man’s view of him, an element that I always enjoy in stories.

I also loved the secret admirer angle in the book. I mean, who wouldn’t love having a secret admirer? Though, of course, there’s a fine line between that and stalking, I guess. But still, I thought it was sweet, and I loved the emotion and reasoning behind it — merely trying to make Benji feel better about himself. It’s also worth mentioning that Benji doesn’t really believe anything Ace tells him, figuring that Ace is just being nice to him because he’s best friends with Benji’s brother. So from Ace’s point of view, the secret notes and gifts are a perfect solution.

All in all, this book about bisexual awakening, a mildly forbidden romance, complicated families, and first love was a hit for me. DJ Jamison is a new to me author, and I certainly will be checking out more of their work.

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I love me a holiday story with a ghost, so this one caught my attention. It’s been on my TBR for a while now, and it follows a young man named Nathan (AKA Nathaniel) who runs a B&B, which just happens to be haunted by a ghost named Gabriel, who has taken it upon himself to play matchmaker with Nathan’s guests. Nathan has become used to Gabriel’s tricks and matchmaking over the years and does his best to ignore him.

So as we learn, Gabriel has been trapped in the house for nearly 100 years, and his time there is coming to an end. That is to say, unless he can make someone else fall in love, Gabriel will cease to exist and face only darkness.

To add to the intrigue, one of Nate’s former crushes is coming to the B&B, so if Gabriel can get them to fall in love, maybe he’ll get to move on. But things are not always as they seem.

This was such a sweet and enjoyable read, and I was in the mood for a fluffy holiday romance, so this one fit the bill perfectly. Though it’s a short book, coming in only at about 135 pages, it is a satisfying read. It would have made a fantastic full-length novel, though.

All in all, a heartwarming and romantic Christmas story with delightful characters and fun banter. Given that’s it’s a short book, I can’t say too much more about it, but I will say that if you’re in the mood for a little holiday spirit, then you may want to give this one a go.

This was a fun, small-town holiday romance read that’s been on my TBR list for quite some time, so I finally got to it. Plus, it takes place at a library, which automatically ticked a box for me.

The story follows twenty-four-year-old Toby Kincaid, a junior librarian in the town of Sandy Lake, Ohio. He spends his days at the library with his enigmatic boss, Sean Miggles, on whom Toby harbors a secret crush. Toby would love to get closer to Mr. Miggles, but his boss keeps his distance and rebuff Toby’s flirtations. Toby seems to notice a darkness or sadness surrounding the man as though he’s gone through a horrendous event.

The calmness of Toby’s days come to an end, and the story takes somewhat of a dark turn when Sean is accused of a horrible crime that could destroy him — a crime that Toby knows the man did not commit. Toby is determined to help his boss and prove the man’s innocence, but in order to do so, he ends up unearthing some of that darkness in the man’s past.

I loved all the characters in this story, especially Mr. Miggles, who was not only devoted to the library but also to the community as a whole and made the world a better place just by being in it. And, of course, Toby, an absolute sweetheart who steps out of his comfort zone and does whatever it takes to help Mr. Miggles and the library. He also goes out of his way to ensure that Sean didn’t give up, no matter how bleak the situation looked. There was also a cast of lovable secondary characters, each of whom added an essential element to the story.

This was such an endearing, sweet story that tugged on my heartstrings. It was not just about love, but also about community, family, commitment, and doing what’s right. This was a story with a huge heart that caused me to shed a tear or two at the end…but in a good way, and it gave me a warm, happy glow at the end. I loved the chemistry between our two main characters, who both got their HEA at the end. I also appreciated the conversation about the importance of libraries to the community. I also appreciated that we have two main characters that love books.

I See the Light is a delightful and endearing Christmas novella that takes place on Christmas Eve. It follows a a man named Heath who, after feeling like an outsider his entire life, discovers a new and exciting world that he never knew existed.

The author then leads us on an unforgettable journey into the world of the Elves, where Heath meets an exceptionally handsome Elf named Shea, and it doesn’t take long before sparks fly between the two of them.

I loved how this story combines the bitterness of loneliness and exclusion with the sweet excitement of a newly found family, creating a heartfelt and memorable book. Though our main character Heath is considered an oddball by most of the townspeople who know him — especially given that he has the ability to communicate with animals — he also has an enormous heart.

When his newfound Elf-friend Shea takes him to witness a heart-wrenching scene, my heart broke right along with Heath’s because of his extreme desire to help — but it being “against the rules” to do so.

But I will say though that the grim situation that we witness is somewhat lightened by realistic dialogue and genuineness of feeling from the characters. I loved how Heath has such a sad, sweet whimsy about him, which balances perfectly with Shea’s almost stubborn determination to win the boy over.

I enjoyed how unique this story’s setting is, and I found the tale to be lush and ethereal, making me feel like I’d been enraptured by some old fairy tale that, strangely, felt completely modern at the same time. The evocative prose took me on a thrilling holiday adventure for the mind and the heart, and I really felt the magic inside of this story.

The writing evokes the feeling of a myth or fairytale and does so without creating too much distance from the characters, which is an incredibly hard line to walk.

So when the night comes to an end, Heath is asked to make a decision: either entirely embrace the magic of the elves and move forward with Shea or remain as a human and return to a world without Shea in it. A couple of other elements ensure that this decision is not an easy one.

At the end however, I felt happy, hopeful, when I finished—everything you want to feel at the conclusion of a great story.

Readers seeking feel-good fantasy tales with an endearing holiday message will love journeying along with Heath from when he was a five-year-old boy to the twenty-three-year-old young man who makes a startling discovery in the woods.

This big-hearted book is a love letter to anyone who has felt uncomfortable in their own skin and wondered where exactly they belonged.

Note that this is a “sweet” Christmas story, so as such, there is no sex on-page or off.

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