This is the second book in the Will Darling series of 1920s queer pulp action/adventure novels. It is absolutely imperative that readers begin with Slippery Creatures, the first book in the series. There won’t be any spoilers for The Sugared Game, but I’ll be discussing some of the events of Slippery Creatures over the course of this review, so please proceed with caution.
Format: Trade Paperback (ebook & audio also available!)
Price: $14.99 U.S.
ISBN: 9781335542823
Book Description: It’s not long before their pet-centric arrangement sparks a person-centric desire…
Simon Burke has always preferred animals to people. When the countdown to adopting his own dog is unexpectedly put on hold, Simon turns to the PetShare app to find the fluffy TLC he’s been missing. Meeting a grumpy children’s book illustrator who needs a dog walker isn’t easy for the man whose persistent anxiety has colored his whole life, but Jack Matheson’s menagerie is just what Simon needs.
Four dogs, three cats and counting. Jack’s pack of rescue pets is the only company he needs. But when a bad fall leaves him with a broken leg, Jack is forced to admit he needs help. That the help comes in the form of the most beautiful man he’s ever seen is a complicated, glorious surprise.
Being with Jack—talking, walking, making out—is a game changer for Simon. And Simon’s company certainly…eases the pain of recovery for Jack. But making a real relationship work once Jack’s cast comes off will mean compromise, understanding and lots of love.
Caro Cassidy helped Team USA win Olympic medals when she was younger, but now she’s content to manage a hockey training center outside of Chicago for girls’ hockey.
Amy Schwarzbach never made it to the Olympics, but she’s a hotshot player for a professional women’s hockey team. She’s very excited about the opportunity to work at Caro’s facility because Caro has always been one of her idols.
At first, Caro doesn’t know what to do with Amy’s exuberant personality because it’s such a stark contrast to her more reserved nature, but opposites attract.
Perrin and Henri are on opposite sides of the Reign of Terror. Perrin is an aristo and a member of a secret organization working against the government. Henri works for the government, and his reasons for hating aristos are more than political.
They have every reason to hate each other, and at first, that’s exactly what happens. But Henri is convinced that Perrin is up to no good (true) and follows him at every opportunity. As the narrative progresses, their lives become more intertwined and the line between the dual games of cat-and-mouse and seduction blurs.
Daniel Bellamy, who plays for the Atlanta Venom (the NHL team featured in the first two Hat Trick books) has been given the opportunity to play for the Miami Thunder. They aren’t the best team in the league (they’re closer to the bottom in terms of stats), but the Thunder is his hometown team.
As much as moving back to Miami is a dream come true, Daniel never thought he would reconnect with Micah Kelly, his childhood best friend AND his first kiss. Micah is all grown up and he works at the aquarium, and Daniel is still totally attracted to him.
This book is super cute. First of all, it was low-angst. The biggest stressor in the narrative is Daniel’s adjustment to playing for a new team. It’s clearly not what he was expecting, but he’s determined to make the most of it.
Format: Trade Paperback *also available in ebook and audiobook formats.
Price: $14.99 U.S.
ISBN: 9781335146656
Book Description: RITA® Award—winning author Elia Winters delivers a sexy, playful frenemies-to-lovers road-trip romance.
Megan Harris had hopes of seeing the world, but at twenty-five she’s never even left Florida. Now a wedding invitation lures her to Quebec…in February. When her ex-friend Scarlett offers to be her plus-one (yeah, that’s a whole story) and suggests they turn the journey into an epic road trip, Megan reluctantly agrees to the biggest adventure of her life.
A week together in a car is a surefire way to kill a crush, and Scarlett Andrews has had a big one on Megan for years. The important thing is fixing their friendship.
As the miles roll away, what starts as harmless road-trip games and rest-stop dares escalates into something like intimacy. And when a surprise snowstorm forces Megan and Scarlett to hunker down without the open road as distraction, they’ve got a bigger challenge than making it to the church on time: facing the true nature of their feelings for each other.
Matt’s father is the head of an organized crime family, and now that Matt is 17, he’s expected to join the family business. But Matt just wants to be normal and not have to worry about the retaliatory attacks that could come at any moment from their rivals.
And then Matt meets Jason and finds him utterly fascinating. He’s not supposed to have friends outside the “family”, but as their friendship grows closer—and the possibility of something more than friendship emerges—Matt tries not to worry about whether or not the whole thing might be a setup.
Cassie Worthy’s senior year spring did not go as planned—she got mono and missed prom and graduation and a bunch of other stuff. But now she’s better, and she’s starting her job at the America’s Best Cookie store with her amazing boyfriend of two years. They’re going to spend the summer working at the mall together, and then head up to NYC together for college.
And then almost immediately, everything goes wrong. Cassie finds herself dumped, jobless, and wondering what happened. Our intrepid heroine has pick herself up, find something to do all summer, and most importantly, realize that plans can only go so far.
Rowan Roth has spent her four years of high school locked in a bitter feud with Neil McNair. They compete over EVERYTHING.
Finally, it’s the last day of senior year, and Rowan is determined to beat McNair at Howl, the city-wide scavenger hunt that takes students all around Seattle. There’s a $5k prize waiting at the end.
There’s also a catch—while everyone is going around collecting clues, they are also playing a game of Assassin: elimination means being out of the game.
When Rowan realizes that some of the students—annoyed by her and McNair’s constant one-upmanship of each other—are planning to collaborate and take the two of them out, she has no choice.
So that’s how she and McNair team up together, going all over the city, and getting to know each other for the first time. Maybe they’ll become friends, or—maybe, just maybe—even more than friends.
Jessica McGale is a hustler. She knows her family’s soap business would be an instant success, so when she travels to London as part of her lady’s companion duties (side hustle), she takes the opportunity to find a shop on the exclusive Bond Street to sell her soap.
Everybody loves the soap, but there’s one hitch: there was a fire on the farm, so they don’t have the means to fulfill orders and none of the shops are interested in investing in a business without the certainty of profiting from it.
Jessica hears about a Business Bazaar, wherein wealthy investors listen to pitches and then invest in promising products and ideas. Unfortunately, the bazaar is invitation-only; inventors can’t walk in off the street. So Jessica does what any rational person would do: she pretends to be a wealthy widow interested in investing and formulates a plan to drop subtle hints about McGale Soaps.