Alex WhitehallResenhas

3.5 Stars

The blurb captured my interest right away and the story kept it.

Veier has been held prisoner in his bear form, magically compelled to protect an evil king with no will of his own. When technically “freed”, his beastly nature is at the forefront, and it remains to be seen if his human side can dominate over base instinct. The only one in his corner is the new king’s brother Elrid, who has faith that Veier can overcome his past trauma and severe mistrust so that he can return back home and regain his life.

This was a slow burn - both in the healing and in the romance. I have a soft spot for gentle (or not so gentle) giants and when they’re bear shifters? All the better. The plausible progression was appreciated, and this was a thoughtful, touching fantasy tale that didn’t shy away from the brutality or the violent repercussions.

A very satisfying win showcasing that love heals and burrows deep, bringing change in the best possible of ways.

This was a sweet piece of fluff. Nothing terribly deep unless you are closeted also. I totally enjoyed Mr. Whitehall's writing style. It felt like a long yack with a friend. The ending was a nice fit considering the subject matter.

Nice beginning to what could be a very good story. Wonderful character building for only eleven pages.

The only positive thing that I can say about this story is that it was short. I enjoy the author but I think he could have done much better.

This book has all the elements of an m/m romance that I have come to expect. Both Issac and Logan are funny, smart, nerdy guys and I loved the interactions between them. Though the development of their relationship proceeded very quickly, it was written well and I was rooting for them every step of the way. Issac’s sister Sue is hilarious and a great support for him and I was glad she was part of his life. There are also two groups of friends, and I have to say that it was difficult to keep track of them. But, they were overall a great bunch and embodied the friends-like-family trope.

The major conflict in the book is Issac’s racist homophobic parents. And I really couldn’t understand why Issac felt so much for them, at the expense of better relationships in his life. For most of the second half, I just couldn’t go along with his reasoning for wanting to be a part of his parents’ life and not believing that friends could be just as good as family.

The book does have an optimistic ending but I was hoping for a bit more in the epilogue as hinted earlier in the story. Overall, despite some issues, this was an enjoyable read with nice characters and a lot of diversity.

Jade Archer – Cupid's Beau ★★★★✩
J.P. Barnaby – It's the End of the World As We Know It ★★★✩✩
Sarah Black – Sucker-Punch ★★★★✩
Scarlet Blackwell – Breaking Waves ★★★✩✩
Penny Brandon – Wanting Jack ★★★✩✩
Lee Brazil – Be a Bad Boy ★★★★✩
Cardeno C. – Woman With a Dildo ★★★★✩
L.C. Chase – Open Tackle ★★★★✩
Kim Dare – Masochism 101 ★★★✩✩
S.J. Frost – A Little Bit Country ★★★✩✩
Jeanette Grey – Heart and Soul ★★✩✩✩
Jambrea Jo Jones – Wild Blue Yonder ★★✩✩✩
Pender Mackie - Dog Days of Summer ★★★★✩
KM Mahoney - Show & Tell ★★★★✩
JL Merrow – Bear Naked ★★★★✩
M.J. O'Shea – Bridges ★★★★✩
Neil S. Plakcy – Photo Booth ★★★✩✩
D.A. Rhodes – Storm of Passion: A Short Story ★✩✩✩✩
Jaime Samms – Mourning ★★★★✩
Justin South – Reflections ★★★✩✩
Zach Sweets – Luscious Love ★★★✩✩
Piper Vaughn – Wanting ★★★✩✩
Silvia Violet – Time to Tell ★★✩✩✩
Deanna Wadsworth – Unscheduled Maintenance ★★★★✩
Stuart Wakefield – The Elements of Love ★★★✩✩
Alex Whitehall – Hold Me Tight ★★★★✩
Lisa Worrall – Just One Kiss ★★★✩✩
Connor Wright – Gone to Pieces ★★★✩✩

A sweet, gentle story about 2 mature men getting a second chance at love. The MCs were drawn so realistically and their slowly developing relationship rang very true!

A few instances of odd comma placement that made for rough reading but loved the story.

The combination of a white collar office worker, who spends no more than one day a year thinking about "being green", and a volunteer who has made it his life's goal to live as green as possible, is bound to be explosive. Mainly because, as is the case here, Aiden, the greener of the two men, has a humungous chip on his shoulder and believes that Gabe, the office worker, cannot possibly know what it's all about, nor will he care for longer than the one assigned day.

Gabe may be naïve, and may have never really thought about the environmental impact of what he does or does not do, but he is volunteering now, and is willing to learn. He is taken aback at Aiden's aggressiveness, but is stubborn enough to keep digging for more info. I liked how honest he was and that he didn’t back down a single inch.

Aiden is angry at the world for not caring more. While he grudgingly admits that the office-based volunteers who are here for the day to help, he also sees the bigger picture and knows it isn’t enough. He reluctantly answers all of Gabe's questions but doesn’t really expect more than a one-day encounter. The subtle interest and tension between them probably infuriates him further, but he is man enough to admit he is interested in Gabe.

'Planting Seeds' can be taken in more than one way, and I liked how the secondary meaning came through at the end. While most of the story happens around the primary meaning of actually putting seeds in the ground, meanwhile the secondary meaning of planting an idea, the beginnings of something new quietly takes place in the background. If you like simple stories that are all about human nature and a subtly growing attraction between two strangers, if you enjoy reading about two stubborn men who learn to communicate, and if you're looking for a sweet read that is likely to make you smile, then you will probably like this short story.

This book's description had me hooked. The book itself? Not so much. I was expecting lots of drama, because going into a relationship with a couple, that's been together for years? That's complicated, or should be. It didn't seem complicated to me here.

The sex happens really fast, there are little problems on how to handle the new relationship and... that's it. There isn't really a lot happening. If there would have been more show than tell, then maybe I would have liked the relationship/s.

I would have loved if the frog shifter thing (totally new for me by the way) would have received more attention. And maybe explanations, because the parents are wolf-shifters... wolf plus wolf equals sometimes frog? What?

Disclaimer: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

This collection has a little bit of everything in. All though there did seem to be a high proportion of first love, newly out, friends to lover plot lines. I think the only thing I will different when reading through the rest of these volumes is to break it up with other books. This is a great volume with tons of stories and at least in Nook pages over 600 of them. I think breaking it up would take away some of that oh here's the same kind of story feel. The concept was wonderful and how wonderful to be able to enjoy these great stories for free.

Max just left his friends wedding when Stan shows up. He is very suspicious that Stan wants something from him but he feels something that makes it worth at least tring. Seems like it will work out into something.