Review: The Husband Hoax

The Husband Hoax by Saxon James and Teddy Hamilton, James Joseph
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Christian
Being invited to my cousin’s wedding really shouldn’t be such a big deal except, oh yeah, I haven't seen my family for a decade.
My parents turned their backs on me and I’ve done everything since to become successful and show them what they lost. Only, it’s kinda hard to be a success when you’re a walking trainwreck.
So I’m going to fake it.

Émile
One letter from my dearly departed grandfather, and suddenly I’m on a husband hunt.
He’s reworked his entire will so I’m set to inherit far more than I'm entitled to, and all because he’s asked me to use that money for “good”.
In order to get that inheritance, though, there’s one stipulation: marriage.

 

DNF at 30%
The fake boyfriend trope is not easy. How do you convince the reader this is a probable situation? Some authors pull it off, others seduce their readers to allow some fantasy in an otherwise realistic story.

In this case I enjoyed the beginning but when they started discussing marriage there was so much unclear, glossed over, left open, ignored or waved away, I could not take it any longer.

Pity, because I really enjoyed the narration.

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Review: The End Zone

The End Zone by Riley Hart and Iggy Toma

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

 

Jeremy
Seeing my best friend West happy with his fiancé opened my eyes to things I’ve been missing in my own marriage. My divorce, which was amicable, followed. Strangely, at West’s wedding, I find myself confiding in Darren, the straight, confirmed bachelor and star quarterback of the Atlanta Lightning.
Darren
I still can’t say how it happened, how a random decision to strike up a conversation with Jeremy turned into…whatever this is. All I know is, months later, my days aren’t complete until we tell each other good night.
I didn’t think I was made for relationships, thought something inside me was broken, but I want it all with him. Except, it feels like as soon as we make it past one obstacle, there’s an even bigger one waiting for us.

Do not listen to this audiobook right after series #1. It is exactly the same, except the protagonists are absolutely shallow. Darren plays football, is a people pleaser with a close bond to his family and no father. He starts a secret relationship because he identified as straight and his close friends wonder about his changed behavior. He texts constantly with Jeremy and they use nicknames.
There was one difference with book #1: Darren was the one always making jokes about how good he was in bed.

It was really hard to trick myself into thinking these were other people. And now imagine those two characters often meeting up with their carbon copies from the first book. It made the confusion complete.

The narration was alright.

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Review: The Ghost Slept Over

The Ghost Slept Over by Marshall Thornton and Jason Frazier
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

When failed actor Cal Parsons travels to rural New York to claim the estate of his famous and estranged ex-partner, he discovers something he wasn't expecting...the ghost of his ex! And worse, his ex invites Cal to join him for all eternity. As Cal attempts to rid himself of the ghost by any means, he begins to fall for the attractive attorney representing the estate. Will Cal be able to begin a new relationship or will he be seduced into the ever after?

 I listened to 30% of this audiobook and decided to ask for a refund. I did not recognize a single thing as funny. I was really bored by the 'theater' plotline and thus was annoyed whenever it took the focus away from the gay romance I was waiting for. All three of them (Mac, Dewey, and Cal) had not had one flattering thought of the others after 2 hours of listening and I couldn't care less if any one of them found love.

The narrator was marvelous.

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Review: American Dreamer

American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera and Sean Crisden
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

For Nesto Vasquez, moving his Afro-Caribbean food truck from New York City to the wilds of Upstate New York is a huge gamble. If it works? He’ll be a big fish in a little pond. If it doesn’t? He’ll have to give up the hustle and return to the day job he hates. He’s got six months to make it happen—the last thing he needs is a distraction.

Jude Fuller is proud of the life he’s built on the banks of Cayuga Lake. He has a job he loves and good friends. It’s safe. It’s quiet. And it’s damn lonely. Until he tries Ithaca’s most-talked-about new lunch spot and works up the courage to flirt with the handsome owner. Soon he can’t get enough—of Nesto’s food or of Nesto. For the first time in his life, Jude can finally taste the kind of happiness that’s always been just out of reach.

 
I am at 75% and bored during the whole audiobook. I missed the emotions between the characters and I read LGBTQ romance because of the emotions. All drama came from some over-the-top side character.

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Review: Shawn's Law

Shawn's Law by Renae Kaye and Casey Hunter
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Shawn is single, twenty-nine, the full-time carer of his Alzheimer’s-stricken mother, and a frequent victim of Murphy’s Law—although his family calls it Shawn’s Law. Other than caring for mum, his day consists of painting nude men and spying on the guy who walks his dogs along the street every day at four o’clock. Harley doesn’t believe in Shawn’s Law—but he soon changes his mind. The two men make it through a memorable first date and Shawn’s sexual insecurities to begin a relationship stumbling toward love. Throw in a serial killer ex-boyfriend, several deadly Australian animals, two dogs called Bennie, a mother who forgets to wear clothes, an unforgiving Town Council, and a strawberry-flavored condom dolly, and Shawn’s Law is one for the books.

 
I read 25% of this audiobook and have to stop now.
I get that Sawn is accident prone but I want something more than that. The joke is getting old and I want a gay love story. Not a listing of setbacks.
Second to that, the story is told in the past tense, interrupted in the present tense when the character interrupts his story to talk to the reader. Not my favorite thing.

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Review: Always

Always by Kindle Alexander and Lee Swift
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Born to a prestigious political family, Avery Adams plays as hard as he works. The gorgeous, charismatic attorney is used to getting what he wants, even the frequent one-night stands that earn him his well-deserved playboy reputation. When some of the most prominent men in politics suggest he run for senate, Avery decides the time has come to follow in his grandfather's footsteps. 

Easy isn't even in the top thousand words to describe Kane Dalton's life after his father, a devout southern Baptist minister, kicks him out of the family home for questioning his sexual orientation. Despite all the rotten tomatoes life throws his way, Kane makes something of himself. The last thing he needs is the yummy, sophisticated, blond-haired distraction sitting at table thirty-four.

I give up at approximately 30%. Nothing happens! And I have the feeling sometimes the point of view shifts in the middle of a sentence and I noticed some logic errors. The story also doesn't feel like the seventies at all. Except for the part where Avery deliberately gets Kane drunk before having sex, because he just rejected having sex. And in the morning they both totally agree that is what one does.

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Review: Simon and the Christmas Spirit

Simon and the Christmas Spirit by Summer Devon and Cornell Collins
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The holiday spirit has forsaken Simon Harris. A recent reminder of the man who used and then left him sends lonely Simon on a glum visit to his club to while away a few hours. A breath of fresh air in the form of Christopher Andrews is about to enter his stale life. Performer of many talents and faces, Christopher gained entrée into the club to win money at cards.

 

I did not finish a 2 hour audiobook. Narration was fine.

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Review: Frat House Troopers

Frat House Troopers by Xavier Mayne and Peter B. Brooke
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

State trooper Brandt’s new assignment to infiltrate a sex-cam operation puts him in a very uncomfortable position, especially since he’ll have to perform naked on camera for his audition. Fortunately, his partner and best friend, Donnelly, has his back—whether that means helping Brandt shop gay boutiques for sexy underwear or offering Jäger encouragement while he researches porn.

Suddenly everything the two men thought they knew about themselves and each other gets turned inside out. Meanwhile, they still have a case to solve… but it may not be the case they thought it was.

I tried, but this audiobook was very tedious. The sex was boring, too. I listened for 30% and then checked the blurb again because the point of view switched to Eugene and he was not mentioned as the love interest.

In the blurb, I also was at 30%. That makes me think the whole story except the last chapter is told in the blurb. Funny fact: Below the blurb Audible added the tag "suspense".

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