Horse Talk Reviews

Fire Season by K.D. Casey My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a hard book to review, because its strength is not the story itself, really. It's a simple story and most of it is about the day-to-day of two professional baseball players, Charlie the star pitcher, and Reid the down-to-his-luck relief pitcher that's just been traded. Both are dealing with their own stuff when the book starts: Charlie is recently divorced and Reid is a recovering alcoholic who's not sure about his future in the league. The main strengths of Fire Season, and what differentiates it from the other hundreds of sports romances, are the slow pace, the deep exploration of both characters and the evocative writing. Basically, what we could call the vibes . The tone of Fire Season is unequivocally melancholic and reflective, without being melodramatic or (the worst crime of all), boring. Not much really happens: I wouldn't call it a slow-burn, but it does have the feel...

  Pack of Lies by Charlie Adhara Expected Publication Date: August 30, 2022  ARC Difficulty:  We received ARC copies of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own.   Erratic's review : 5 stars Pack of Lies hit every beat of mystery storytelling I expect from Charlie Adhara through the new character of Julien, an actor being thrown into the world of wolves, and Eli, a wolf from Adhara's previous series who has a dark past and special wolf shifting abilities. The use of dual point of view made the book even better as we finally got to see the wolf side. Don't get me wrong, I usually love a single point of view but since everyone was lying all the time having an understanding of both characters strengthened the narrative. The setting of Maudit Falls, North Carolina gave me deja vu while reading because it brought me right back to the setting in Wolf in Sheep's Clothing and into this world of wolves. The struggling ski lodge ...

Leading Love by Sophie O'Dare My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a cute fluffy coworkers to lovers short. Despite some of the potentially heavier themes like coming out (as an omega) and parental abuse (not on page), it stayed pretty angst free. I think the length made it feel a bit rushed at times, but overall I found it very sweet. Leading Love on Amazon View all my reviews

A Taste of Gold and Iron   by   Alexandra Rowland Expected publication: August 30th 2022 erratic's review:  4 of 5 stars I went into this book with very little idea what it was about and absolutely no expectations. All I knew is it was a gay SFF something or other with a beautiful book cover and I think this helped me enjoy it. Kinda like when I watch a movie without watching any previews or reading any reviews or looking up the plot summary on Wikipedia or seeing mean tweets about it filled with spoilers. Clear eyes, full heart, can't lose. Or something. What A Taste of Gold and Iron delivers is a slow burn meandering romantic fantasy novel with undercurrents of political intrigue and magic. It dumps you right into the world without explaining anything (something fairly common with Science Fiction and Fantasy) but I got the hang of everything by the second chapter. I would have appreciated a tiny bit more explanation but the book was simplistic and shallow enough it ulti...

Fake Dating the Prince by Ashlyn Kane My rating: 4 of 5 stars “And he looks at you when he thinks you’re not looking, like now.” This was an cute fluffy romance! I really enjoyed how sweet it was, very low angst. The fake dating trope is on the lighter side here, it's a lot more focused on how well Brayden and Flip get along and fall in love. There was some very nice family dynamics too, with Flip's parents and his cousin, and the snippets we see of Braydens family. They were all great supporting characters to the romance. It's really just an adorable read, definitely recommend it! Fake Dating the Prince on Amazon View all my reviews

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare My rating: 4 of 5 stars “You may say you dinna want to attract notice. Well, I notice all of you.” Very cute book, with very solid and well developed leads. Both FMC and MMC had struggles to face, but they did it with great communication, and really supported each other throughout. The setup was very amusing. A solid read! When a Scot Ties the Knot on Amazon  (I got it from my library) View all my reviews

Just a Bit Heartless by Alessandra Hazard My rating: 4 of 5 stars “You didn’t have to come. I hardly forced you.” The laugh that left Damiano’s throat lacked true mirth. “I had no more agency than a moth that flies to a flame.” Yessss this was lots of fun! Classic Hazard in this infinitely readable series. I love the codependency, the unhealthy obsession, the pseudocheating, the total lack of boundaries...perfection. Someone he loathed, needed, and adored.  This worked very well as a standalone - anything you need to know is introduced in the first chapter, and the appearances of Nate/Rafe are not overwhelming and generally just kind of cute. Another winner for my bonkers unhealthy obsessive book pile! And I'm definitely on the lookout for the next book.........more captivity...!!! Just a Bit Heartless on Amazon View all my reviews

Bend Toward the Sun by Jen Devon My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3 stars This seemed like the perfect book for me. It had an old rickety vineyard in a small town with two characters brought together with very different tragic backstories and was filled to the brim with overwrought descriptions of the farm and plants and even the dang fog. Total catnip to my purple prose Hallmark movie season of life. Unfortunately, this book was not perfect for me. The first star I deducted is because Rowan (the female main character) was too much of a moldy cactus type where she had boundaries and million foot tall walls around her heart or some shit but never clearly expressed any of these to Harry (the male main character) and she instead came across as closed off and mean and disrespectful. I simply did not believe she had enough positive characteristics or was hot enough for Harry to try so hard and fall in love with her immediately because besides the being really into...

Dark Valor by Helena Novak My rating: 2 of 5 stars Well. Dry fisting: What more do you need to know - the killer MC (Godric) fists the other dude (Lucas) with only a little spit. Very rapidly too - a couple fingers, then bam! Fist. And then arm to the elbow. He also drags the Lucas around by his arm in his asshole, so. He bites my tailbone, pumping his thick arm deeper and deeper until I’m sure I’ll split in half.  NO Mindbreak: This was, I think, supposed to be mindbreak via making Lucas question his reality/make the Godric into his savior or only thing he can trust. It did not work for me. The main tactic the killer MC uses is breaking into Lucas’ house, and then …moving things? Being seen but for some reason Lucas thinks he didn’t literally hear and see him? At one point, he sees Godric in the mirror behind him, but the only investigation he does is to turn around and give up. His eyes lock on mine in the mirror, and he drops the phone with a sharp gasp. By the ti...

I Am God's Dagger by K.A. Merikan My rating: 4 of 5 stars The big appeal of this book is the horror tale, and I think it's better to go into it almost blind, so this review will be short. Do read the warnings, though. I thought the story was intriguing and the mystery fun. I just love the kind of themes the story revolves around; we have a creepy orphanage, an evil paian cult, and an angel that arrives just in time to help our naive, sheltered MC to get his revenge. The atmospheric, sometimes dream-like quality of the writing reminded me of another horror-themed Merikan's book, Where the Devil Says Goodnight, though maybe not as complex or evocative narratively. I think the strength of Where the Devil Says Goodnight was that every scene about it felt dream-like and elevated, including the romance scenes. The change in tone and pace in I am God's Dagger is more jarring in parts, and there's definitely a lull in the middle, where the book focuses...

Dix by Emmy Sanders My rating: 4 of 5 stars I liked this more than I thought I would! This story about two porn stars having to film a series of "boyfriend"-type scenes while not getting on IRL ended up being way sweeter than I expected. I've been having trouble finishing books lately, but I read this in one sitting. I really felt the emotional connection between the two MCs and it gave me the "Aww", swoony type of feels I've been missing lately. I was impressed by the writing and how the whole "porn stars" thing was handled. I thought the premise called for some OTT plot gimmicks, but the result was more refined and subtle than that. During the filming of the sex scenes, the focus is really on the characters and not on the technical, behind-the-scene aspect. Is it realistic that the actors would forget everything around them and that the scene would go on with almost no stoppage or cues? Probably not, but it's way less cr...

I Am God's Dagger by K.A. Merikan My rating: 3 of 5 stars Horse rating: 0 of five horses This one is a little hard to rate. 3.5 stars I guess? My enjoyment levels were incredibly variable as I read it, so I'm gonna.......round down. It is dark, and does need the warnings, so make sure to read those. This has a strong start, great mystery tension, great suspense. This book has the Merikan hallmarks, which I always appreciate. Unfortunately, there's a complete flat zone in the middle where I was really, really bored. I did a lot of skimming. I had trouble buying into their relationship and connection, which made their interactions uninteresting. I really struggled to make it through this middle third or more. Once I made it to around 65%, it picked up again, probably because it was much more plot heavy than the (imo, weak) romance focused. I really enjoyed the plot overall, it was a stellar mystery/confusion, and nice and bonkers. Overall, the book was fine. I...

I Am God's Dagger by K.A. Merikan My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a difficult review to write without spoiling the whole book so here are some notes that are hopefully not too generic. - I recommend going into this book without reading any spoilers if possible. Definitely look at the content warnings because there is some dark stuff in it but otherwise go in unbiased! - It starts out strong, drags for the middle portion, then really picks up towards the end. I had to push myself through the 40%-60% portion of the book before I was invested again. - For how dark the book is the romance and ending were very cute. - There is a CAT! - We were THIS CLOSE to emotional hair brushing and it didn't happen. :( - It's very Merikan, really. Not really the best work they've done but very distinctively theirs. - I am going to pretend the emotional hair brushing happens off page because otherwise what is the point in all of this pain! - Overall, if ...

Gravity by Tal Bauer My rating: 4 of 5 stars 4 stars This review has spoilers! Okay look I love Tal Bauer's particular brand of schmaltz and I love how over the top everything is and this book hit the dramatiques big time. The extreme Tal Bauer-ness of Gravity was kind of a lot honestly. 1. The hockey! I am a big hockey fan and my team has made several deep playoff runs in a row so I am deeply familiar with the sport. Tal's hockey was fairly technically accurate albeit improbable at points. The stuff that was wrong can be excused as narrative decisions. The brutality of the last quarter of the book is where it gets a bit, um, wtf for me. Bryce (one of the main characters) blocks a puck with his NECK and bleeds everywhere and has to get major surgeries during the playoff run and recovers enough to play in the Stanley cup final game 7 approximately 6 weeks later. So, yes, players do return after major surgery in the playoffs etc but holy crap T...

Rare Vigilance  by  M.A. Grant erratic's review: 4 stars Solid action and vampire book (with caveats - see notes below). Once the action (and vampire stuff) picked up in this book around the 30% mark it was a very fun read! I already bought the second one to read and have my popcorn ready for the drama. Some unorganized notes on this book: - The romance is very light and doesn't really hit until the very end. Possibly a feature of it being book one of a same couple trilogy. - The names are ridiculous. - Also there are a LOT of character names and I forgot who most of these people were. There's a group of people who were the vampire main character's groupies and they all blurred together into one. - The action also sort of ends on a cliffhanger. I would categorize this book very firmly as Not a Standalone Book. - Seriously, the names. The book starts with a minor side character named Greasy Ferret Jr. What the heck. - The vampire lore is only sort of touched on. I assum...

A whatever kind of reading month. Covid did not help. Less reading means less DNFs I suppose? The good news is, unlike June , there were no one star but finished reads. A minor positive. Title links will take you to my Goodreads review.  War Games by Daniel May  (Hanged Men #2) - one star DNF at 20% This was, quite honestly, unreadable. Why use 3 word when 300 do the trick? There is no tangible emotion here. Any point where there should be emotion, or might start to be emotion, is immediately drowned in flowery pointless prose. The over the top descriptors make all the feelings abstract and unreal. Not everything needs a metaphor, but they sure do get them. There’s no sense of importance in this book, because absolutely everything is given three or more paragraphs of fanciful description. Simple scenes last for pages upon pages. A scene where Nerva walks into his room, gets a small bag, and leaves earns 3+ paragraphs of room decor description. Why? His room isn’t important at ...

Christmas Eve at Cranberry Cross by Kate Forster My rating: 2 of 5 stars Horse rating: horses are in protective custody Expected publication: September 29th 2022 I don't even really know how to review this. What on earth. From the blurb: An absolutely charming and uplifting Christmas love story of hope, forgiveness, and the true meaning of Christmas. Based on the blurb, I was anticipating a fluffy Christmas romance where the scroogy writer learns the meaning of Christmas and love and helps the FMC do something idk. • This was incredibly depressing. There's surprise kids in this - neglected, emotionally damaged kids. The 7 year old buries dolls in the snow to rescue them because she is so lost. The teenager hides in a tower not talking to anyone. Cosy. • I liked Eve, generally. She was a solid character. • I did not like Edward. He was incredibly selfish and a terrible parent. This is acknowledged in text, but isn't super well addressed. • I did not buy int...

How the Wallflower was Won by Eva Leigh My rating: 3 of 5 stars Horse rating: 0 of 5 horses Expected publication: September 27th 2022 Overall, a decent historical romance, more idealistic than some but that’s okay, it made it entertaining. Positives: • I liked the casual FF relationship between side characters. • Lots of diversity rep just casually dropped in. • Anachronistic but idgaf. • The beginning was a really fun read - both of them being in denial, Finn trying to set up Tabitha and • Dom despite the obvious chemistry between Finn and Tabitha…a lot of good moments. • There were also excellent sex scenes throughout the book. Criticisms: The biggest criticism that I have is how unbalanced this is between the leads, emotionally speaking. Finn does so much for Tabitha - libraries, going to the Sterling Society, bringing her books, helping build the Platinum Collective, and then the big thing he does at the end despite their estrangement…! He does so much . Emotionally ...

Let It Snow  by Beth Moran My rating: 1 of 5 stars Horse rating: 0 of 5 horses Expected publication: August 30th 2022 I read until 36%, and then the absolutely bonkers job interview was stressing me out so I skipped ahead and read the last 15%, and….uhhhh. This does not have the happy Christmas romance vibes I was expecting. It feels mildly grinchy to DNF, but it was not at all working for me on several levels. Things: • There is so much going on with this plot. Plots. There’s like 7 major plot lines. It is way too much for any book. Please, just pick one or two! I don’t need a romance, a job drama, an Evil Woman, Family Drama, ??? things, romance, an ex, etc. It’s just so much. • Everything was described. I don’t need to know the details about everything. • This relied heavily on flashbacks for building the romance and story, which didn’t quite work for me. It still never built a connection between Henry and Bea. Obviously, there’s probably more in that middle part I...

Make Mine an Otter by Harper B. Cole My rating: 3 of 5 stars Horse rating: 🐴 of five horses I can't say this was good, or even if I enjoyed it, but it was at least accidentally hilarious. The writing was very hard to follow at times, as it made logic leaps and scene shifts without actually connecting any of them. The world building is lacking, which doesn't help not being able to figure out whats happening. The amusement I got came from the bizarre use of words. Absolutely baffling at times. The sex scene made no sense, things happened and then unhappened and then they checked the oven and went back to sex. My tongue pried open his lips, and slid inside. And then we boogied, our tongues twisting and writhing around one another in their version of a dance routine. boogied??? there's more of these treasures in my highlights attached to my goodreads review (linked above). It was still an easy and fast read, and with the amusement(?) I got out of it, I'l...

The Marriage Ring by Cathy Maxwell My rating: 4 of 5 stars Horse rating: 🐴🐴 of five horses This was very sweet, I really liked both Richard and Grace, and especially them together. Grace was a lovely character, facing her past and all the mental baggage she had from life. She never let it get her down, even if it made her defensive at times (understandably) but still open to hope and connection with Richard. Poor bb Richard, trying so hard to be good enough and fit in and he just struggles. I loved seeing him find himself slowly throughout the book. He also wished he’d taken a moment to tell her what he really thought about her. He’d tell her she was beautiful—but then she’d heard that from a hundred other men. So Richard amended his thoughts. He decided, if he could speak to Grace one last time, he’d tell her how resourceful she was, and wise. And that he admired her intelligence and even her bluntness that could set his teeth on edge. there was just so much sweetness...

These are the books I read from July 29th to August 5th! Husband Material by Alexis Hall 1 star I did not like this at all. I can't even summarize everything I thought about it into a pithy sentence review, mostly because I am still so exhausted from reading this book, so if you want details you can see my goodreads review and book highlights here Late Bloomer by Morgan Hawes 5 stars Super long, super slow burn omegaverse? Heck yes. Total chefskiss for me. And by "super long" I mean "extremely super long not even an exaggeration so don't go in expecting a cute little fluffy book because this is not it". So good though. Gave me all the cow book domestic slow burn vibes I could ever want. Note: there are no on page cows in this book.

Late Bloomer by Morgan Hawes My rating: 5 of 5 stars Sometimes a book just really, really works for me even if it doesn't seem like it should. This one is long, it spends several pages describing the contents of various homes in detail (not a trinket left undescribed), the two main characters spend a huge part of the book with other people, so much could be solved with a little bit of communication, and it's the slowest of emotional burns. But Late Bloomer hit the domestic slow burn vibes exactly right. I can't even say I'd recommend this book to anyone. It requires some commitment to vibe along for 700+ pages! If you like books by Kit Oliver or Tal Bauer this one has a similar feel while being completely different. I mean, it is omegaverse. But somewhere between a detailed summary of the contents of one of the main character's home office and the emotional pining for 95% of the book it hooked me. So, read it! 5 stars! Or don...