Monthly Round-Up: May 2021

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Dear Daddy, Please Hold Us (Naughty or Nice #3) – Colette Davison

Contemporary – Self-published – Holidays – Christmas – Poly MMM – Menage – BDSM – Kink – First Person POV – 18+ – Explicit – Age Gap – Age Play – Fluff

Read the thing. SO MANY FEELINGS! Rett and Zeke are two former army brat best friends/lovers at the end of a round-the-world trip. They’ve been best friends since childhood and love each other deeply. The major problem between them, though, is that they’re pretty much incompatible sexually, what with both of them being subs and bottoms. They’d like nothing more than to be together forever, but the sex thing is an obstacle they can’t really overcome. Because of that, Rett makes the decision to separate from Zeke, moving back to the UK where he’s from while Zeke stays in America. Desperate for a miracle to prevent that from happening, Zeke enters a Christmas promotion on his kink app, putting out a request for a Daddy with a heart big enough for two. Enter Micah. I just could not with how much emotion this story managed to pack into it. I absolutely loved it. Rett and Zeke just want to be together, but they can’t really see a way for them to last as lovers with them so incompatible in the bedroom (which is something that’s very important to both of them). Micah is basically the answer to their prayers: a Daddy who ticks all their boxes, and whose boxes all get ticked in return. The book covers a fairly short amount of time, two weeks at the most, and in that time Rett, Zeke, and Micah develop a very deep bond with a startling intensity. What was meant to be a temporary arrangement, just to see if Rett and Zeke could be together with a third, instead turns into a beautiful romance between three men who weren’t expecting it. Did they all fall in love with each other fairly quickly? Yes. Did things get really intense and deep really fast? Maybe. Do I care? Absolutely not. This story is beautifully written with plenty of emotion and heart, even during the (multiple and quite often kinky) sex scenes. It’s very much Daddy kink with some added non-sexual age-play (totally here for it), and really the formation of a family. Rett is a total sweetheart, Zeke is a bit of a brat with a soft streak, and Micah is a firm and loving hand to guide them along. They’re all three very wonderful men who are pretty much perfect for each other, and I loved reading about them getting to know and falling in love with each other.

Dear Daddy, Please Trust Me (Naughty or Nice #8) – Rheland Richmond

Contemporary – Holidays – Christmas – Self-published – BDSM – Kink – First Person POV – Raising Children – Age Gap – 18+ – Explicit – Hurt/Comfort

Read the thing. This story was a bit hard for me to get into, and I’m not sure I really did connect with the characters, but I did enjoy the story. There was a bit of an interesting dynamic with a boy looking for a Daddy, but who already had a child of his own. Having said that, I don’t feel that that was really explored here, but whatever. The main premise is that Sebastian is looking for a Daddy, but he feels that he’s too old to be anyone’s boy, and his young daughter might add further complications to that. Maddox has been burned by his last relationship and has sworn off being a Daddy, not wanting to be taken advantage of again. However, Sebastian’s brother and Maddox’s best friend take the reins and hook Sebastian and Maddox up over a kink app they both use. And though both men are reluctant, they find that neither of them can really keep away from the other. They’re falling for each other whether they want to or not, and it might just be the best thing they’ve ever done. More than a story about two men finding love, there’s also a theme of found family threaded through the story. Sebastian grew up in foster care and none of his family members are blood-related to him, though he absolutely loves them all. Maddox’s parents and brothers are condescending assholes for the most part, and Maddox is much closer to his longtime friends. Sebastian and Maddox’s relationship maybe moves a bit fast, but they develop a quick connection and they are pretty sweet together. Maddox takes good care of Sebastian, and Sebastian openly shows his appreciation and love in response. There are many side characters and they all (with the exception of Maddox’s biological family) provide unconditional love and support and are just all around great. I honestly might prefer the scenes that include them, to be honest. All in all, a sweet story about two men who don’t think they belong, but who fit together perfectly.

Bad Daddy (Unexpected Daddies #3) – Victoria Sue

Contemporary – Self-published – Ebook Only – BDSM – Kink – Age Gap – 18+ – Explicit – Trigger Warnings Apply – Dysfunctional Family – Hurt/Comfort

Read the thing. This is a return to the Unexpected Daddies universe, where men tend to find exactly what they didn’t know they were looking for. Caleb is an ex-con recently returned to his hometown (I don’t think it says how long he’s been out of prison at this point), and gets a bit of a surprise when he discovers the true nature of the club his brother-in-law owns. The club is where Caleb meets Max, a sub on the lookout for a high-end Dom who is willing to hurt him until he feels better. They’re immediately drawn to each other, but they’re also both convinced that they can’t be what they need for each other. It’s not until they get involved with a tight-knit group of Daddies and their boys that Caleb and Max discover that maybe they’re more compatible than they think. This is actually a very sweet story about two men who feel like they maybe don’t deserve love and affection, but end up with it anyway. They both have unhappy pasts that have coloured their perceptions of what happiness for them could look like, and that’s something that they both need to overcome to go after what they want. Unlike the other books in this series, there isn’t really much of a focus on age play, this leans more towards daddy kink. We still get to see beloved characters from past books, and we’re back in the little room again, but Caleb and Max’s time together focuses less on toys and colouring books, and more on care and affection (with plenty of sexytimes thrown in, naturally). I absolutely adored these two and I especially loved all the hurt/comfort moments (so much hugging and cuddling, here for it). I also enjoyed seeing familiar favourite characters from previous books. So much to love here. (Trigger warning for eating disorder)

The Articles of Release (The Release #2) – BA Tortuga

Contemporary – Audiobook Available – Turtlehat Creatives – Injury – Military – Disability – Dysfunctional Family – 18+ – Explicit – Hurt/Comfort – Western

Read the thing. I don’t know if one could consider this a western when the only cowboy is a side character (I don’t know how westerns work), but this book has a distinctly western feel to it, like all the other books I’ve read from this author. I liked the atmosphere. Anyway, Eric is newly released from the army for medical reasons and has no place to go because he doesn’t really have any friends and his family are a bunch of bigoted fuckwits. Adam, from the previous book, is an old army buddy and readily welcomes Eric into the home he shares with his lover, Sage. Eric needs to get back on his feet, and part of that will involve physical therapy so Sage introduces Eric to his trainer/friend, Troy. Eric and Troy get off to a rough start, but it isn’t long before they’re nearly inseparable. This book doesn’t have too much of a plot; it’s closer to slice-of-life stuff with Eric, Troy, Adam, and Sage training, hanging out, and generally just having a good time. I didn’t expect to see as much of Adam and Sage as we did, but I was delighted to see them again, still together and happy. The focus this book had on friendships was also really nice, watching these four men have genuine fun with each other was nice. (Also special mention to Troy’s family, which is amazing.) And with Troy and Eric, who both have disabilities (Troy has no legs and Eric has a bum leg), it was interesting to see how a relationship like that would work. There aren’t a lot of books out there that feature a disabled romantic lead, never mind having both leads be that way. And this book doesn’t shy away from the fact that Troy’s legs are missing and Eric himself struggles with mobility and balance at times, it’s right there in the text. I can’t speak to the accuracy of it, but it was always consistent, which I liked. Another thing I liked was how a lot of Eric and Troy’s relationship tended to focus a lot on touch and intimacy, not necessarily sex. They both pretty much just seemed to slide into a relationship without much thought, but even from the beginning there was a big focus on touch. It was nice. If you enjoy a more slice-of-life type of story with some dramatic moments because Troy is an adrenaline junkie who doesn’t know when to quit, then this is a good read.

Falling for the Omega (Hobson Hills Omegas #1) – C.W. Gray

Contemporary – Omegaverse – Military – Audiobook Available – Novella – Self-published – Disability – Raising Children – Insta Love – 18+ – Explicit – Mpreg – Rich Lead

Read the thing. This was absolutely ridiculous on so many levels. Having said that, I had fun reading it. Elijah is a single omega parent of a five-year-old daughter, Olive (her bio alpha never shows up in the story and has nothing to do with anything). Because of that, and because this universe includes prejudice against omegas, a lot of the residents of the town of Hobson Hills say some shit about Elijah. They suck. A new resident to the town is Carter, an alpha who is newly discharged from the army for medical reasons and moves in next door to Elijah and Olive. They meet and it’s literally love at first sight and then they’re married within the month, basically. This is insta-love to the extreme, even by Omegaverse standards. The romance here is a bit lacking, Elijah and Carter go from strangers to in love in a snap and there are no issues with their relationship at all going forward. They’re cute together, don’t get me wrong, but there’s no real substance there. Which is fine, the whole story really isn’t that deep. That and most of the drama comes from Elijah’s shitty parents. This reached soap opera ridiculousness quite quickly, which I’m normally not a huge fan of, but I actually had fun with it here. Elijah and Carter were sappy and in love (as immediate and baseless as it was), Elijah’s large extended family were a hoot and a half, and all the shenanigans were fairly entertaining. This also read quickly, which helped. Honestly, it helped to not take anything seriously and to just go with the flow in regards to whatever was happening. A fun little story with some heart and some laughs and some nonsense.

Snow Kisses for My Omega (Hobson Hills Omegas #2) – C.W. Gray

Contemporary – Omegaverse – Novella – Self-published – Audiobook Available – Mpreg – Asexual Lead – Holidays – Christmas – 18+ – Explicit

Read the thing. I’m starting to get the feeling that the books in this series don’t need to be read in order, but considering the large cast of side characters present it’s more fun to have some background going into each book. Harper is an alpha and we briefly met him at some point in the previous book. There, he mentioned that he was in love with an omega he was in contact with over the internet. That omega is Greyson, alone and pregnant and also in love with Harper but convinced that he’s too much of a mess to be loved. But as I expected, considering the previous book, that all gets solved and wrapped up quickly and Grey is soon in Hobson Hills and living in Harper’s house. They try to say that they aren’t completely head over heels for each other, but that doesn’t last long either. Harper and Grey’s relationship is completely no-angst and no-drama. In that regard, pretty much everything comes up roses for them. Also Harper’s large extended family quickly embraces Grey and his sort of adopted abuela completely and with no issues. This story mostly floats along with Harper and Grey deepening their relationship and Grey making new friends and getting close with his new family members. The drama comes from outside, with Harper’s mentally unstable and stalkery ex, and also with Grey’s lying ex-boss. That started to get maybe a bit outlandish at times, but they were eventually dealt with and of course there’s a happily ever after. This story is quite sweet, though maybe not all that deep, and there is almost no conflict. It’s quite fun, though, with a lot of heart and humour and family. Along with an abundance of animals. And I like that we got the birth I felt we were sort of cheated out of in the last book (Grey has his baby in this one, Elijah from the first book still hasn’t had his).

The Beta’s Love Song (Hobson Hills Omegas #2.5) – C.W. Gray

Contemporary – Omegaverse – Novella – Self-published – Friends to Lovers – Raising Children – Holidays – 18+ – Explicit – Fluff

Read the thing. So this was stupidly cute. David is 47, a beta, and perpetually single. He shows up in the previous books in the series as a friend to the extremely large and nosy (in a good way) Wilson clan. He’s convinced that he’ll be alone forever since he’s still hung-up on a married friend he left behind five years ago. Of course, his new friends/family only want him to be happy, so they track down this friend in the hopes that he’ll somehow return David’s feelings. It’s Hobsons Hills Omegas, so of course David’s friend Sawyer is conveniently single, totally in love with David, and willing to instantly move him and his three children to Hobson Hills to be with David. This is basically a fluff piece with David getting his happily ever after with the man of his dreams and the children he’s always longed for. There is pretty much no drama at all with the relationship. Even Sawyer’s ex is a non-issue. It’s completely smooth sailing for David, Sawyer, the three children, and their assorted animals (of which there are a lot). Also many of the Wilson clan appear to provide humour and friendship and to stick their noses in everything (they’re all precious, really, and I do enjoy them). This was all sweet and fun and I enjoyed it. Not as much excitement as the first two books (no crazy exes or manipulative parents), but still a nice read. Also, despite what the summary says, this isn’t really an mpreg romance as David and Sawyer are both male betas and therefore can’t get pregnant. David is expecting a set of twins from a surrogate (which all happens in the background, though the babies do show up in the end), and Elijah (from book 1) is somehow still pregnant, and that’s the extent of the pregnancies in this story.

Romancing the Omega (Hobson Hills Omegas #3) – C.W. Gray

Contemporary – Novella – Omegaverse – Self-published – Audiobook Available – POC Lead – Raising Children – Dysfunctional Family – 18+ – Explicit – Fluff – Insta Love – Mpreg – Trigger Warnings Apply

Read the thing. I’m so glad I’m reading this series one book after the other because I don’t think I’d be able to keep track of everyone otherwise. (Also Elijah is somehow still pregnant). This book features Elijah’s husband Carter’s (from the first book) brother Caden as he awkwardly romances the new omega in town, Yeo. Actually, the romancing, as cute as it was, barely covers a fourth of the book. Caden and Yeo get together no problem and a month after they first meet, Caden is moved into Yeo’s apartment above the book store he owns and is already daddy to Yeo’s son and younger sister. It’s all very sweet and no-drama between those two. Most of the focus of the story is on Yeo’s family and the drama that follows them around because Yeo’s father and grandfather are literally the worst, his step-mother is nice-ish but spineless, and his ex-wife is a manipulative skeeze. Makes for plenty of drama, though it all gets resolved quickly enough. That’s the thing about this book (and the series in general), things are never serious or down for very long. And some really serious subject matter comes up in this, but it’s mostly glossed over. This might be a real ‘your mileage may vary’ thing. I expect these books to be mostly surface-level fluff, so that’s what I read it as. I knew from the beginning that anything that happened would be dealt with right away and completely (if maybe a bit too conveniently, the whole subplot about Yeo’s papa went insanely smoothly, for example). It seems like the Wilsons and Wilson-adjacent just can’t be kept down. Everything turns out alright for them with ease. Some people won’t like that. I didn’t think too deeply into anything and didn’t expect much so I enjoyed this book. It has the same heart, humour, and family togetherness that the other books have, and I did enjoy it. Convenient problem-solving and all. (Trigger warning for mentions of rape and abuse)

Dear Daddy, Please Keep Me (Naughty or Nice #7) – Morticia Knight

Contemporary – Ebook Only – Self-published – Novella – Age Play – BDSM – Kink – Poly MMM – Menage – Holidays – Christmas – Age Gap – 18+ – Explicit – Second Chances

Read the thing. So this book is a bit of the opposite of an earlier book in the series, Dear Daddy, Please Keep Us, where instead of two boys and one Daddy, it’s two Daddies and one boy. Eric is a sweet hearted, anxious little who is looking for a forever Daddy. A holiday promotion on the kink app he’s on spurs him on to write a letter to Santa, where he sort of makes a joke about maybe needing two Daddies to keep up with him. That letter is spotted by Dalton, who latches onto the idea of two Daddies sharing the same boy and takes it as an opportunity to reunite romantically with an ex-lover, who he’d only separated from because they couldn’t give each other what they needed with their dynamic. Clint is another Daddy with a busy career as an international pilot that leaves him with little time to properly care for a boy in the way he wants to. But Dalton manages to sway him with the fact that if they shared a boy then Dalton could pick up the slack when Clint was away. All three men aren’t entirely sure that everything will work out between them, but it doesn’t take them very long to realize that being together as a throuple could be the best thing that ever happened to any of them. This story was quite sweet and heartwarming and it didn’t take me long to get invested in the characters and their relationship. Eric, Dalton, and Clint have been so lonely for so long, and getting together seems to be the solution they were all looking for. Eric is a little who hits four-years-old when in his little headspace, and he’s a total sweetheart. Dalton and Clint love caring for him and delight in making sure that Eric knows that he’s safe with them. I loved the age play scenes, especially as they were completely separate from the sex scenes, so they were able to just be completely sweet. The relationship maybe moves a little quick, but the nature of their dynamics makes everything that much more intense to it makes sense that they all get so attached so quickly (though there’s also the thing where Dalton and Clint have a history and never really stopped loving each other). This was a sweet read about three lonely men finding love with each other, and a boy and two Daddies who finally find what they’ve been longing for.

Bennett’s Dream (Hobson Hills Omegas #3.5) – C.W. Gray

Contemporary – Omegaverse – Novella – Self-published – Ebook Only – Established Relationship – Raising Children – 18+ – Explicit – Fluff

Read the thing. Another fluff piece from Hobson Hills! (And Elijah finally had his babies!) This is a short novella following Bennett and Marco of the extensive Wilson clan. (These are also the parents of Harper from Book 2, Snow Kisses for My Omega.) Bennett and Marco are happily married and have recently just welcomed a new baby into their busy family despite already being in their early 40s. The two of them are honestly just so sweet and so full of love and it’s great. They also seem to be starting on their journey of amassing children like the Wilson family amasses animals. They have four biological children together, and in this book they adopt two others from foster care and it’s heavily implied that they’ll adopt even more. This story is pretty cute, if pretty unrealistic in terms of how easy it is to adopt children, but whatever. It’s all in good fun. Like the other books in this series, it’s extremely low angst and drama. Bennett and Marco’s new adopted children came from difficult circumstances, but all becomes well in their world once they’re taken in by the Wilsons. This is just a very fluffy short full of children, animal, and love. Don’t expect anything too deep, but do expect plenty of heart.

Healing the Omega (Hobson Hills Omegas #4) – C.W. Gray

Contemporary – Omegaverse – Novella – Self-Published – Audiobook Available – POC Lead – Age Gap – Raising Children – Disability – Trigger Warnings Apply – Mental Health – Friends to Lovers – 18+ – Explicit – Mpreg

Read the thing. This was a… weird addition to this series. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy it, but I really don’t think some of the subject matter was a good fit for this kind of series, which is mostly fluff. This book is the story of Ray and Dean, Carter’s (from Book 1) friend and Yeo’s (from Book 3) father respectively. We’ve seen Ray around the series before, he acts as the Wilson and Benson families’ private investigator and he’s friendly with just about everyone in those families. Dean first showed up in Book 3; he’s Yeo’s omega father who was raped by Yeo’s alpha father and had been forced to give Yeo to him to raise. And then he was forcefully married off to a shitty alpha who abused and controlled him for years. See? Not the kind of thing you’d expect from Hobson Hills Omegas, is it? I really don’t think many aspects of the whole situation were dealt with right. Aside from a mention of things here and there, everything that happened to Dean was almost a non-issue. I suppose that’s fine in the long run, not everyone likes to read that kind of thing. But I really feel like those kinds of subjects shouldn’t be introduced into a story as side fluff. Or maybe that’s just me, I dunno. Anyway, that aside, this book was pretty much like the others. Ray and Dean’s relationship goes off without a hitch, they are constantly surrounded by members of the Wilson and Wilson-adjacent clans, there are many children and animals around (and more keep coming), and any drama comes from outside the relationship and is handled off-screen or otherwise very quickly and doesn’t leave any lasting impressions on the characters or story as a whole. One complaint I have, aside from the barely non-handling of the more serious topics, is that there’s an all-out catfight in the local diner at one point that basically completely took me out of the story because it made no goddamn sense. It was so out of nowhere and over the top that I just straight-up hated it. Like, what even? Overall, this is a fine read for people who’ve enjoyed the other books in the series. Just once again, don’t go in expecting anything too deep. (Trigger warning for mentions of abuse and violence)

Omega’s Protector (Poppy Field #6) – Beau Brown

Contemporary – Omegaverse – Self-published – Ebook Only – Mpreg – Trigger Warnings Apply – First Person POV – Age Gap – Mates – 18+ – Explicit

Read the thing. This was a good read. Nothing special, but perfectly fine. Sam is an alpha who is having a hard time in the romance department. His ex cheated on him and is marrying another alpha, and the omega he tried dating after that ended up still being in love with, and eventually went back to, his previous alpha (see the third book in the series, Alpha’s Secret Baby for that story). So Sam is out of luck there. And then he stumbles across heavily pregnant omega Caden being forced into a car by another alpha. Sam saves Caden, then determines that Caden is flat-broke and homeless, and eventually convinces Caden to come home with him where he can be warm and safe. Sam is completely genuine and just wants to help, but Caden has had mostly bad experiences with alphas and so is understandably wary at first. Sam is going to have to put in some work to get past Caden’s defenses, but he’s sure it’ll be worth it in the end. I suppose it also helps that they’re both fated mates. This was a nice read, and just barely skirted insta-love. Sam and Caden were sweet and I was happy that Sam had to work for Caden’s trust and that they didn’t immediately just fall into bed together. There was some drama with Caden’s ex-alpha, who was just terrible, but of course it all ends with a happily ever after. Would recommend. (Trigger warning for mentions of abuse, violence, traumatic birth)

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