GOODBYE PARADISE
Series: Hello Goodbye #1
Genre: MM Romance
Author: Sarina Bowen
Release Date: March 21, 2017
Most people called it a cult. But for twenty years, Josh and Caleb called it home.
In Paradise, there is no television. No fast food. Just long hours of farm work and prayer on a dusty Wyoming ranch, and nights in a crowded bunkhouse. The boys of the Compound are kept far from the sinners’ world.
But Joshua doesn’t need temptation to sin. His whole life, he’s wanted his best friend, Caleb. By day they work side by side. Only when Josh closes his eyes at night can they be together the way he craves.
It can never be. And his survival depends on keeping his terrible desires secret.
Caleb has always protected Josh against the worst of the bullying at the Compound. But he has secrets of his own, and a plan to get away — until it all backfires.
Josh finds himself homeless in a world that doesn’t want him. Can Caleb find him in time? And will they find a place of safety, where he can admit to Josh how he really feels?
Warning: Contains a hot male/male romance, copious instances of taking the Lord’s name in vain, and love against the kitchen counter. This book was previously released under the title: In Front of God & Everyone.
Caleb,” he whispered against my skin. “Just make me yours.”
“You,” I said, kissing him on the forehead, “are already mine.”
When was the last time you read a romance that was so powerful and sweet that you felt it touch your very soul? For me, that was today and this romance was this book. THIS BOOK. My god. I sobbed my way through almost the entire thing. I couldn’t help myself. It wrecked me and it owned me all at once. I don’t have enough praise to describe everything that was this story. All I know is that Caleb and Josh’s story is one that will stay in my heart forever, and as a voracious romance reader, I don’t make that statement lightly. It was just that good.
Caleb and Josh have been best friends for as long as they can remember. And Caleb has been Josh’s confidant and protector just as long. Growing up in a religious cult where a man’s worth is measured by his strength and ability to withstand hard labor, brainy Josh has always been at the bottom of the food chain. Caleb has always looked out for him and protected him, and Josh has been secretly in love with Caleb just as long.
When it becomes evident that Josh will soon be tossed out, Caleb makes a plan to escape. Having nothing to their name, no IDs, no money, they only have each other to lean on when they end up in a world that Josh had no idea existed and Caleb only had quick glimpses of.
Caleb has always been the strong one, but Josh has always been his strength. Unbeknownst to Josh, Caleb has been in love with his best friend but much better at hiding it. Now that they’re out, there’s nothing holding them back from being together but each other.
This was such a powerful story of an emotional journey of two boys growing into men with nothing to guide them through it but each other. There’s no crazy drama, no silly angst. Absolutely nothing to take away from the incredibly poignant romance.
The secondary characters only served to strengthen the story and add another touching layer to something that was already solid to begin with. I loved the friendships and bonds that these boys formed through their journey. Every secondary character drove the plot further and just connected me to the story that much more.
I adored Caleb’s strength, but what I loved even more was Josh’s silent and unassuming strength. They balanced each other so well and their undying devotion to the other was nothing if not incredibly touching.
This book is exactly why I’m such a huge fan of this author. It was romantic and powerful, sweet and emotional, it was touching and poignant and everything that I love about romance. It was one of the most unforgettable romances I’ve read in a long while and I simply can’t recommend it enough.
DEVIL IN SPRING
VICIOUS
Ok. If you don’t love assholes, then you probably shouldn’t read this book. But if you love assholes……this is the most perfect asshole in all the books I’ve read. I have never met a more perfect asshole. I mean, this guy is actually mean. Like……really really really narcistic mean. And he doesn’t get better….ok, maybe marginally better.
It all starts in high school when Emilia’s parents begin working for Vicious’s parents at their estate. Vicious is a tortured soul, but we don’t find out about his demons until much later. WE HATE HIM….for most of this book. He hates Emilia and always find a reason to torture her, despite that Emilia does nothing to make him hate her. For most of this book, he doesn’t even say her name.
The beauty of this book is that Vicious learns to be a marginally better person, but in the end, he is still who he is. And she loves him for it. And she doesn’t try to change him. I loved living along with these characters as they grew and changed.
ROYALLY MATCHED
I couldn’t have picked a better book to read on Valentine’s Day. This book! ALL OF THE FEELS! For someone that grew up on the classics and adores all thing Jane Austen, this story was calling to my inner mushy parts. This heroine is my spirit animal. A more shy and introverted version of my spirit animal, but still. It melted my cold black heart. I’m seriously on the swoon train, on the way to swoon city here and I plan on riding the train over and over and over again. Don’t get me started on the perfection that’s Henry or the laugh out loud bits and the glorious writing. Because gah! Just. GAH. Where do I even begin?
Emma Chase is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the hot and hilarious Tangled series and The Legal Briefs series. Emma lives in New Jersey with her husband, two children and two naughty (but really cute) dogs. She has a long-standing love/hate relationship with caffeine.
SEX SAYS
It’s official. Lola Sexton is my spirit animal and Reed Luca is my current obsession. Max Monroe have ruined me. Done and ruined me for any other man. They are now the proud owners of both my ovaries and possibly my first born. I offered all three to them for just another hit of the crackilicious addiction that was this book. They don’t know it yet. But it’s totally true.
Lola was one of the best heroines I’ve read in a while. She was a woman after my own immature little heart. She was a funny, quirky, sharp witted, sarcastic ball of fun and I loved her. I SERIOUSLY LOVED HER. How can you possibly not love a free spirit that likes to roller skate to work and writes a relationship and sex column full of wit and humor. You can’t! You seriously can’t.
Lucy Parker lives in the gorgeous Central Otago region of New Zealand, where she feels lucky every day to look out at mountains, lakes, and vineyards. She has a degree in Art History, loves museums and art galleries, and doodles unrecognizable flowers when she has writer’s block.
GRIEVOUS
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a fan of duets or trilogies. It always starts out great and then fizzles out for me at the end. That’s why I’m so blown away right now after finishing this book? Because this was quite possibly the best conclusion that I have ever read. Period. It couldn’t have had a better ending. Talk about going out with a bang. DAMN. I’m still calming my tits over here.
Everything only got better with book two; Morgan being one of them. As much as I liked her in book one, she was even better here. She’s this amazing combination of strength and vulnerability, tough as nails personality with a splash of pain. She was absolute perfection. If only every heroine I read was more like this woman. She totally had me under her spell.
He’s a violent, messed up, insane killer, and I loved his so muh muh much. I’m talking slightly questioning my own sanity over how much I loved him. The man has loose marbles rolling around in his head. He’s not all there, get me? He’s downright certifiable at times, and yet he’s one of the most endearing anti-heroes I’ve read in a long while.
If you had any doubt about the raw talent that is JM Darhower before, this book will make a believer out of you. Trust me. It’s an absolute must read!
Amazon US
So this book….*giggles*
Dawson was just….rarrrrrrrr. The man was sex on a stick. He was funny, swoony, and just total perfection. I couldn’t get enough of him, especially when he was determined to drive Paige out of her mind with either frustration or lust.
This book was by far my favorite in the series. I adored every single hilarious page of it. And it was hilarious. Like laugh until you have tears in your eyes hilarious. Not only is it my favorite Brooke Blaine book, but it may easily be my favorite rom com I’ve read to date. Yeah. It was that good.
You could say Brooke Blaine was a book-a-holic from the time she knew how to read; she used to tell her mother that curling up with one at 4 a.m. before elementary school was her ‘quiet time.’ Not much has changed except for the espresso I.V. pump she now carries around and the size of her onesie pajamas.
How to Date a Douchebag: The Failing Hours
This book is the epitome of why I love assholes so much. Zeke is a pissy, giant bear. Ugh. I loved him. He’s so broody and angry all the time. Zeke needs a tutor, but Violet stands him up because he is so damn intimidating. He is forced into a Big Brother role by his coach and ends up partnering with Violet anyway. Violet is such a good person, but Zeke is not good. He is downright mean and grouchy.
Violet is happy sunshine, but not in an annoying way. She truly cares about people, but she is a stuttering little mouse. Zeke and Violet couldn’t be more opposite. But they have no idea how much they have in common. They are both lonely, so they truly need each other.
This book is all kinds of my favorite. I love broody Zeke. I love mousey Violet. I love the writing. I love the FEELS. I didn’t expect the feels and the swooning. Zeke falls HARD for Violet, and I fell HARD for Zeke and Violet.
Purveyor of all things witty & romantic, I love: iced latte’s, traveling, and bright, bold colors. On any given day, you can find me in my office, lovingly gazing at my bookshelf or shuffling my Bic felt-tip pen collection. I love hand writing letters, and sarcasm.
RUTHLESS
Well, well, Miss Maxwell, you naughty naughty girl. If I knew this new series of yours was THIS hot, I’d have jumped on it way sooner than this. As it is, I’m kicking myself for taking this long to discover it. I’ve been a huge fan of this author since I first discovered her with 
What I loved most of all is that wrapped into all the smoking hot sexy times was a fantastic hot story that only revved up the hotness factor of this book. I seriously loved every page of it and i’m already salivating for the next book. One of the guys happens to have a particular kink that happens to be my catnip. I won’t tell you who or what it is but OMG I NEED HIS BOOK!
