Horse Talk Reviews

Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell My rating: 4 of 5 stars Expected publication: November 1 2022 Tennal shut his eyes and tried to read the universe. I was really excited to read this standalone sequel to Winters Orbit, and I'm glad to say it measured up! And another beautiful cover. Of course, my review writing energy today is absolute trash, but here's thoughts anyway: I really loved how distinct all the characters were. Not only did Tennal and Surit have complementary and individual personalities, but the secondary characters (and even tertiary/background ones!) had a solid sense of personality. No neglecting character depth in this book! They all expected Tennal to be cooperative. It wasn’t as if he had a choice. A shame that he’d never been cooperative in his life. I enjoyed seeing Surit and Tennal slowly start to trust and work together. They kind of just gradually slipped into it, very naturally, and it was a lovely theme. That's another general thing...

Temporary Partner by Nicky James My rating: 4 of 5 stars Excellent start to this series! Or continuation, if you read the prequel.....which you should! I know it says optional, but I think it made reading this a lot better. It introduces the characters and their dynamics - which are well developed here - and you get the background for the events discussed in this book. Also its fun. Anyway. I really enjoyed this book! I couldn't put it down - such tightly written tension on all fronts!! I'm a total dingdong for crime solving, and this was perfect for me. I had no idea who could be the culprit, and I got to suspect literally everyone ever. Except the MC, that one takes serious chops to pull off. But anyway. Loved the crime mystery!! (this is a strong positive, i love not knowing what's going on and just like to keep pace with the MCs as they solve it. if i can solve the mystery, its a very bad sign) The chemistry between these two was pret...

Taken By My Boyfriend's Ex by Cara Cumberland My rating: 4 of 5 stars Hilariously self aware erotica, love how dumb Magnus is lmao Very entertaining sequel plus some fun kink View all my reviews

Claiming My Boyfriend's Best Friend by Cara Cumberland My rating: 4 of 5 stars Very amusing brief erotica - focuses mostly on the cheating/cuck aspect for a single encounter. Made me laugh how much Kenny is constantly worried about fabric, like his shirt and the couch despite being in the middle or directly after sex View all my reviews

Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots by Cat Sebastian My rating: 5 of 5 stars 5 stars If you haven't noticed by now, I am a big Cat Sebastian fan. She just gets me, ok? Especially the Cabot books that she describes as "vibes" and "people crying while wearing sweaters" and "generationally queer" which Tommy calls them in this exact book. Which is exactly right. What I loved most about this book is how much space Daniel and Alex make for each other. The story starts with them already as friends and together in every sense besides fucking so there is immediately domestic slowburn vibes which continue the entire time. Alex is an immigrant, a doctor, and neurodivergent, all of which are treated with care in the writing. Daniel is from a wealthy family but is still a cinnamon roll and a dirtbag who starts a community garden on a city-owned abandoned lot. In a way, the book is a story of these two finding their way both as independ...

Wrong Hunt by J.S. Harker My rating: 4 of 5 stars 3.5 stars On the whole, this was a pretty entertaining read, and I enjoyed it. It had mean family, which I have such a weakness for - saddest boi zack being bullied by his mean family!! how dare and then he finds out they're also terrible and judgey and he finds acceptance and niceness in the alleged enemy (vampire/supernaturals) and has to face the pull between being accepted (maybe) by his mean family and everything he's known, vs being accepted by actually nice people...such the best. That part was actually pretty light - Zack didn't face a whole lot of tension accepting that his family sucked and the supernaturals were nice, especially because his family (especially brother!) were OTT Evils. I don't mind that though. I liked that the romance and plot were well woven together, it never felt like one got in the way of the other. It also never felt choppy. However! My one major gripe...

Heart of the Mummy by J.D. Sampson My rating: 2 of 5 stars • Well, I thought there'd be a lot more haunting and mummy presence than there was • The foot fetish thing was not appreciated - I like to be warned about kinks like this rather than just suddenly foot • hilarious that Tarantino got name dropped tho • There was a lot of time spent on Eli and the history of the studio and it's construction etc, and it took over the book • I didn't feel the romance at all, no connection for me between the characters • There was no real sense of priority in the plot - what matters? Everything is given the same level of attention • Lots of plot lines, no real development: there's an evil family, some Tragic Past(???), um.....man I don't even know. There's a lot of stuff and it is left hanging (presumably this will continue in the series?) • On the whole I could follow the plot line, as it was fairly straightforward...but sometimes, things ...

Necromancing with a Ghost by Cari Z. My rating: 2 of 5 stars Okay. Well. The writing is fine. But. but. 1. Where’s the romance?? There isn’t any! A little bit of “he’s pretty” and then….yeah nah. Nothing. 2. This reads like a prequel, not a standalone anything. There’s so many small tidbits of information that would make sense if this was a prequel to a same couple series. The whole world setup with necromancers, the law, history, etc. The brother?? the family??? The dogs! So many things that feel like they’re meant to be expanded on, but since this is just a novella, it feels very out of place. It ends so abruptly. If this was off to “and then they were a ghost-necromancer dog psychic crime solving team roaming the US with dogs” for a series premise, that would be cool. It is not. Instead I’m left feeling very ????? 3. The file is a grand total of 72 pages long, and yet it still ends at 88%!!!! !!! Overall, while the writing was fine, a...

Gardening with a Ghost by Amanda Meuwissen My rating: 2 of 5 stars I was curious about the premise here - gardener who brings plants back to life? Super neat. I guess I should have expected that it wouldn't be a ton about gardening, tragically. the plot Instead there's a babbys first murder whodunit, lead by the worlds worst detective (gardener man), for no apparent reason. He's there to fix the garden, and somehow decides "yes I will follow people around (unsneakily), question them (obviously and they notice he's being weird), and decided everything and everyone is Suspicious" go back to your garden. the romance this was, all in all, kind of just whatever. They had instalove vibes though early on, before Peter even found out who the ghost was or what he looked like, which was a little too far for me to buy into, even for instalove. Feel a connection, sure, but they were very dramatic about it when the ghost dude was like a ...

Cali Boy by Charli Meadows My rating: 3 of 5 stars I have to review this one in two parts. 4 stars: I really enjoyed the beginning, probably around the whole first half. The growly protective Finn parts, the very excellent grumpy-sunshine dynamic, the instalust obsession that hit just right…it was so lovely! I definitely liked that Finn was trying to be grumpy and a jerk to Oliver in the beginning and managed it for like 3 sentences before caving. That was super cute. I also was here for the Gossip Girl style rich kid prep school, dramatic high schoolers doing things that aren’t normal etc. Who cares that’s entertaining. I can roll with it. Unfortunately the fun times didn’t carry through. 2 stars: The growly protectiveness kind of got lost some. It was still there, but I guess it wasn’t …enough? Am I too demanding? maybe. whatever i wanted more possessiveness to continue through There wasn’t a coherent plot thread through this whole book. In the b...

Chasing Shadows by M.A. Church My rating: 1 of 5 stars DNF at 12% The blurb for this one sounded pretty neat, and to be totally honest…I got this author mixed up with a different author when I started reading it. I’ve DNFd two books before by this author, and this one has pretty much the same issues I had with the other books (my reviews here and here ) so …yeah. The issues I had in this book: • The writing is extremely choppy. • It reads like there’s parts missing - characters make leaps that leave me confused, because they’re working on information that I don’t have to make whatever connection they’re making. I’m not talking about a logical leap to solve a mystery or something, this is mid-normal conversation about irrelevant things. • The dialogue, oh lord. The dialogue. How is it stilted, half formal, and yet very young? The demon’s dialogue is sooo cheesy and like mall ninja levels of edge. • Awkwardly inserted info dumps - like when Austin off...

And the Best Man Ran Away With the Groom by Isla Olsen My rating: 2 of 5 stars This was not one of Olsen's better books. Mostly it's very flat - I couldn't keep track of the two main characters, because they never felt like actual people. I don't think I ever even knew what they looked like (one has long hair I guess), and they didn't have personalities outside of sex. In the beginning, it felt like they weren't really interacting with each other, even when they were actively having conversations. It was a bit strange. While I like the fluff and low angst that Olsen writes, this went too far in the substanceless for me. It felt like nothing actually mattered - getting dumped at the altar, accepting that the best friend is willing to just crawl out a window to avoid responsibilities, etc. These are kinda big deals, and it had like no impact. Everyone was just a little too chill. Also - the glossaries at the end of chapters?? W...

Screwing with a Ghost by Morgan Mason My rating: 4 of 5 stars Aww this was very cute and fluffy, and even had a little bit of sad emotional moments to balance it out! I appreciated that this book decided to skip over the "i don't believe in ghosts" part - that has its place, but it gets annoying and I much preferred that this focused on the connection between Miguel and Edward instead. I liked the creative ghost sex too. I mean, that's why I'm reading this series, but still it's fun to see how different authors approach it. Overall, nice easy read, very fluffy and adorable plus ghost. Screwing with a Ghost on Amazon View all my reviews

Death's Bloom by Lily Mayne My rating: 1 of 5 stars DNF at 53% I guess I'm probably an outlier on this one! I have only read one other book by this author - Soul Eater - so it's entirely possible this is a case of writing-taste mismatch. No idea. Maybe if you're already a fan this will work better? • In general, I thought this was just super boring. Zero horror, definitely zero darkness. • Most of the time is taken up describing random daily tasks. • The characters were very flat, like cardboard. The severe case of instalove didn't help. • I skimmed the sex scenes because I didn't feel any chemistry between them, so I didn't feel like reading the extended fucking. • There's a few attempts at being spooky demon cow man, and a little uptick in spoop around the time I quit, but even those were pretty uninteresting to me. Overall, this was just not interesting to me, and was distinctly lacking in horror vibes. A real bumm...

Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers My rating: 5 of 5 stars Expected publication: October 4 2022 (i guess?) This was incredible, I’m not sure I can do it justice. Some thoughts, in no particular order: The creeping horror, the feeling of something is not right was done to perfection in these stories. Supernatural or human, the horror was something that was right in the corner of your eye, causing unease without being overt - I think that’s a balance that’s hard to achieve, and it really elevated the experience, to be right in the same space as the characters. The entire setup for this book was incredibly neat. It’s more one long story in snapshots, than a more traditional anthology/collection of short stories in my opinion. It follows one family through time, past, present, future, and I loved seeing all the different pieces connect through the book. It became all of one piece, by the end. The art! Incredible - this added to the atmosphere of the book so much. Perfect...

Dix by Emmy Sanders My rating: 4 of 5 stars “Oh, griniári mou,” he says softly. Those words again, whatever they mean. “Don’t you see? I like you.” This was so cute!! I love the whole premise - porn stars having to pretend to be boyfriends on camera. I already adore fake boyfriends, but the inversion of it where the sexual intimacy is what has to be faked rather than negotiating PDA levels is always so fun! Dix and Niko were so adorable, separately and together. It's one sided enemies to lovers, but not like real enemies obviously, or even trying to be real hate. More like Dixon is judgey and unhappy and Niko is a lot for him to handle so he gets mad about it. Normal dislike levels, but it made for some great emotional thawing and growth between them! I have no idea if that made sense. The Malibu arc had me so stressed!! That brought in a nice secondary plot, since the porn plot couldn't support an entire book on its own, but it was also worked in seamlessly, and...

Eden by Avon Gale My rating: 2 of 5 stars Unfortunately this book just did not work for me. Here are a few of the more glaring issues: 1. Alaska....?? This books greatest sin: it’s set in Alaska, with two wilderness tour guides, going on wilderness tours, and there is almost no description of the scenery! I read this because Alaska is gorgeous!! This quote is the extent of what we get, essentially: ...and he found himself taking plenty of photographs and even sketching the view from the beach as the group talked and laughed around the fire. He didn’t often sketch in public, because he despised people asking if they could see what he was doing, but the landscape was too gorgeous and inspiring to pass up. “it is pretty” ok? tell me how it’s gorgeous!! describe it!!! oh my god. this book could be set anywhere with some water. 2. Dishonorable discharge Brandon is given a dishonorable discharge - this is like a felony! This is so extra. Go read this revie...

A Cat Cafe Christmas by Codi Gary My rating: 1 of 5 stars Expected publication: October 4 2022 DNF at 15% I thought a Christmas romance centered around a cat cafe would be a safe fluffy holiday romance, but I already absolutely loathe the FMC. I haven't seen enough of the MMC at this point to judge him as much, though he was not off to a strong start either with some suspiciously misogynistic thoughts for a little there. The FMC is insufferable . Her insistence that he is the most evil person ever for not really being a cat person (he's never had pets iirc?) was super annoying. And then when he rescues a kitten and brings it to her shelter to be taken care of, she acts like he's intending to drown the kitten because he wanted to surrender it to her shelter. Why would you force a kitten on someone who doesn't want it and has no experience caring for animals?? What a terrible vet. There were so many other ways to get him to keep a kitte...

Sexting with a Ghost by Ashlynn Mills My rating: 3 of 5 stars I always did have bad taste in men. Normally their issues were being assholes, and now the guy I'm crushing over may not even have a pulse. This was a cute 4 star ghosty romance...until the end. >:( 4 stars: I liked seeing the cute sexting and dating and connection between Darcy and Caleb. It was very sweet seeing them establish a connection and then deepen it despite ghostyness. Though the "communicating while sleeping" was comically silly, since it read exactly like Darcy was still awake, but whatevs. There was a great balance of the romance and mystery too, throughout the book. It felt naturally connected, no choppiness found. The reveal !! wat (positive) why it's now 3 stars: spoilers for the ending!!! [The ending felt super incredibly rushed to me, and left so many strands hanging I was very frustrated. Was there a length limit for these books in this series? That's the only rea...

A look at the kevin's upcoming ARCs for October and a sneak peek at November reads!  September's ARCs can be found here!  Some already read and reviewed, others yet to be opened. Starting to get into Christmas books! All arcs are from NetGalley. ARCs releasing in October You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky Expected publication: October 4 2022 Categories: LGBTQ+, MM, Romance, Holiday From the publisher: Bring a little joy to the world? Not today, Santa. Matthew Prince is young, rich, and thoroughly spoiled. So what if his parents barely remember he exists and the press is totally obsessed with him? He's on top of the world. But one major PR misstep later, and Matthew is cut off and shipped away to spend the holidays in his grandparents' charming small town hellscape. Population: who cares? It's bad enough he's stuck in some festive winter wonderland-it's even worse that he has to share space with Hector Martinez, an obnoxiously attractiv...

Prince in Disguise by Tavia Lark the kevin's review: 4 of 5 stars Another fun and romantic fantasy romance! This one is more adventure-plot based compared to the previous book, which was more interpersonal/intrigue. I liked the shift - it balances well within the series. I enjoyed the characters a lot too, Bellamy and Rakos were very amusing together, and of course I loved Sarka. I hope there's more dragon-y stuff in the next book too, this one did some intriguing openings. I also always love the plant magic, so much fun! My one major issue was the random Julien POV chapter in the middle of the book. It didn't add anything, and it actually was detrimental to my reading enjoyment. It interrupted the story of Bellamy/Rakos and their travels, didn't add anything, and then sort of spoiled a moment (minor, not a plot spoiler) later in the book that would have been fun to guess on for it's whole two pages or whatever. Basically, a small th...

How the Wallflower was Won by Eva Leigh My rating: 4 of 5 stars I wasn't planning on reading a straight regency romance but I was told this one had a dining table sex scene so obviously I became interested. Now that I have read it I can confirm that boy does it ever have a dining table sex scene. A+ work on fulfilling my exactly one expectation for the book. As for the rest of the stuff that doesn't take place on a dining table, it was a fairly decent regency romance. The intellectual pursuits of the titular wallflower were interesting (to a point. Some of it felt like name dropping a bunch of philosophers i dont give a crap about. What is with books thinking I am here to learn!) and the support between the two main characters for fulfilling these pursuits was nice. I also enjoyed how nonjudgmental the intellectual female lead was to the dude's inability to read well. It was very sweet. On the other hand, I could have done without the con...

The Rivals of Casper Road by Roan Parrish My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3 Stars I wanted to like this book more but there was a whole lot of nonsense and not nearly enough of the promised Halloween-y romance. The book was part dissertation on architectural theory, part introspective essay on getting over a breakup, part meddling family, part low stakes prank war, part trauma recovery, part Halloween decorating contest, part cameos from all the queers of Garnet Run and tiny part romance I guess. For such a short book I am kind of impressed how much was shoved in. So yeah while it was competently written and had the start of some of the right vibes there was too much other stuff going on for me to fully enjoy it. Particularly the past trauma for the sad boy main character Zachary that was a bit much. So was all the inner monologuing on architecture I had enough of it in architecture school I don't need that crap in my romance books too! Give me more Hall...

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy My rating: 4 of 5 stars You know what? This book was awesome. It answered the question I never thought to ask and probably still don't really want the answer to: what would happen if a porn star was cast in a Hallmark Christmas movie? The answer is in the form of a delightful little book with everything I love about Hallmark Christmas movies but better??? What I loved: -every moment of dramatique drama was resolved within a few pages -there was a lot of casually accepted queerness including both main characters being disaster bisexuals -it explained how "fat" is a neutral description and not an insult (the female main character Bee describes herself as fat) -similarly, the sex work wasn't used as a way to make Bee and the other porn industry characters less than -it was a book about the making of a Hallmark Christmas movie but the Hallmark Christmas movie romantic beats were between the tw...