Bark At The Ghouls

Happy New Year, everyone! I'm not making any resolutions this year because I have no idea what this new year may bring. The only plan I have is to read more for me, less for everyone else. That means no more ARC's, no more Netgalley, and no more review submissions. 2021 is going to be the year of reading selfishly! I hope you'll join me.  I had a slow year of reading, as most of us did, due to the constant upheaval and stress of 2020 and my usual difficulties concentrating but I did manage to finish 57 books so I'll take that as an accomplishment! Here are some of the books I enjoyed the most in no particular order. The V.C. Andrews was a reread from my childhood. Of course, it's not perfect but I loved it still! It's amazing when a book can hold up like that!  Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - link to my review Betty by Tiffany McDaniel -  link to my review The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones  -  link to my review True Crime by Samantha Kolesni...

My ongoing archive project continues with another romance. About the Book Wicked Lies by Karina Cooper M/M Romance ,  192 pages, released March 2013 Goodreads  | Better World Books   | Amazon In this Dark Mission novella, Jonas Stone emerges from the shadows into his own story, and finally allows himself to have the same shot at love he's given his friends.  Jonas Stone has been given his first independent operation: rescue the insurrection leader's imprisoned grandson from the Mission. Getting the job done means more than getting Danny Granger out--it means staying with him while he heals. Staying too close, for way too long.  Danny is everything Jonas isn't: confident, optimistic, honest--a man to be reckoned with. If only it didn't mean going against everything Jonas has planned. He's kept his secrets for years, hid behind a mask no one could see through...until now. Danny isn't the kind of man Jonas deserves. But he might be exactl...

And now for a complete change of pace :) Five Dares by Eli Easton MM Romance Released by Pinkerton Road April 2018 Amazon  ♦  Goodreads Andy Tyler has been the class daredevil since middle school. Over the years, he’s convinced his best friend, Jake Masterson, to perform some dangerous-looking stunts with him. But the dare they attempt on the night of their college graduation goes sideways. The firecrackers explode too soon and both of them end up with badly burned palms. But hey, nothing gets the “terrible two-o” down for long, and they recuperate in style at Andy’s family cottage in Cape Cod. As the weeks go by, both Andy and Jake grow frustrated over the inability to use their hands for all sorts of daily activities—including getting off. So Andy begins a new series of dares that don’t just cross the friendship line, they obliterate it. But what might be mere sexual relief to Andy is serious business to Jake, who only recently got over years of secret pining ...

An apocalypse story that probably isn't for everyone but I mostly loved it. Strain by Amelia C. Gormley Dark M/M Romance Fiction Amazon ♦ Goodreads In a world with little hope and no rules, the only thing they have to lose is themselves. Rhys Cooper is a dead man. Cut off from the world since childhood, he’s finally exposed to the lethal virus that wiped out most of the human race. Now his only hope for survival is infection by another strain that might confer immunity. But it’s sexually transmitted, and the degradation he feels at submitting to the entire squad of soldiers that rescued him eclipses any potential for pleasure—except with Darius, the squadron’s respected, capable leader. Sergeant Darius Murrell has seen too much death and too little humanity. He’s spent a decade putting plague victims out of their misery and escorting survivors to a safe haven he can never enjoy. He’d rather help Rhys live than put him down, so when Rhys can’t reconcile himself to do...

This one has all the sexy time one could ever need . . . The Boyfriend Makeover  by River Jaymes , Narrated by  Marc Bachmann   MM Erotic Romance Fiction, 12+ hours Series: The Boyfriend Chronicles #3 Audiobook Released April 2017 by  Tantor Media Amazon ♦ Goodreads Noah Tanner loves life and the gay men who live it. Bisexuals rock too. Questioning? Even better. Random hot encounters are almost as regular as his nightly cocktail, but it’s his friends and his calling that feed his soul. He’s spent years raising money for San Francisco’s homeless in honor of the boyfriend who died. His most important objective? Ensuring the success of his upcoming, upscale charity event. He’s closing in on his goal, but the deliciously scruffy, oh-so-sexy Bachelor Bid contestant, Dr. Kyland Davis, is proving far too distracting. Former Texan and no-nonsense surgeon Ky Davis prefers his beat-up Stetson boots to polished dress shoes. But after a difficult year for his si...

Monsters, romance, humor what more could I want? Maybe a better narrator . . . Threshold  by Jordan L. Hawk , Narrated by Julian G. Simmons M/M Romantic Horror Fiction Book #2 Whyborne & Griffin Audiobook Released November 2013, 7+ Hours Amazon ♦ Goodreads Introverted scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne wants nothing more than to live quietly with his lover, ex-Pinkerton detective Griffin Flaherty. Unfortunately, Whyborne’s railroad tycoon father has other ideas, namely hiring Griffin to investigate mysterious events at a coal mine.  Whyborne, Griffin, and their friend Christine travel to Threshold Mountain, a place of dark legend even before the mine burrowed into its heart. A contingent of Pinkertons—including Griffin’s ex-lover Elliot—already guard the mine. But Griffin knows better than anyone just how unprepared the detectives are to face the otherworldly forces threatening them. Soon, Whyborne and Griffin are on the trail of mysterious disappearan...

This is SUCH an adorable little story. It's getting the rare five star treatment. Puss In Prada  by Marie Jacquelyn   M/M Romantic Fiction, 60 Pages Released April 2017 by Less Than Three Press Amazon ♦ Goodreads Still struggling with his recent breakup, Alexander runs headlong—literally—into a witch who leaves him far less than human. Now a wise-cracking cat with a taste for expensive clothes, he is forced to live with the ex he can't get over and help the man find someone who will finally make him happy My Thoughts   This is an adorable little fable. It’s about a man named Alex who was turned into a talking cat by an irate witch. He’s been this way for a few years when the book begins and is living the cat life with his ex-boyfriend Ethan. Ethan was kind enough to take him in even though they were already broken up at the time because Alex was sassy, sarcastic, self-centered and snobby and an all-around dreadful boyfriend. Oh wait, he’...

I loved Hearts and Flour by this author. It was super sweet and sexy and a great book to use as a palate cleanser in between all of the darker things I usually read. This one went on my wishlist awhile back and now it's free and would you look at that cover?! Get your copy for the  Kindle @ Amazon US . Spell Cat  by  Tara Lain MM Paranormal Romance 206  Pages Amazon  ♦  Goodreads When Killian Barth, history professor, meets Blaine Genneau, quantum physicist, they ignite their own big bang. But sadly, Killian walks away. He doesn't do physics professors. In fact, he doesn't do humans, because Killian is the most powerful male witch in 10 generations and, though gay, he's expected to save his declining race by reproducing. He can't even have sex with Blaine, because he's been taught that sex with humans depletes his power. But if that's true, why can young human, Jimmy Janx, dissolve spoons with a thought? Somebody's a lying witch. With h...

Retro Review Rise of the Thing Down Below  by Daniel W. Kelly Not Monsterporn, 288 pages The boys and bears of Comfort Cove are counting the days until the opening of the sexually charged boardwalk attraction SandMen Strip. But before the naked fun in the sun can begin, the mutilated bodies of a few burly dockworkers wash up on the sand.  Suspicion falls on the cute young owners of SandMen Strip, but local paranormal investigator Deck Waxer has to look at all the possibilities, including new faces in town. There’s the cocky two-and-a-half foot tall artist named Little Larry Long. The city’s mayor is hiding some unnaturally large life form in his mansion. And even trusted religious leader Father Merrin has been keeping a troubled young psychic a secret from the public.  As the body count rises, the angry and scared dockworkers target Deck’s crew of sex-loving friends, unaware of the real terror that has surfaced in Comfort Cove: a grotesque evolutionary...