August 2023 Romance Reads Recap

Hola!

Thanks for stopping by. Since summer is almost over, what did you do this summer? We are almost in my favorite season–Fall. In last month’s recap, I promised to be more present on the blog and write more reviews, and I am pleased to say I did. Yayyy Me!

Regarding reviews, I’ve decided to write reviews for all of J.R. Wards’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series. One book a week, I am slightly behind in the series. I am currently on The Thief, which is Book 16, and plan on picking back up soon–I am about 6 books behind.

I started the month with a bang, but I’ve made some personal changes in my life. The first thing is I started working a part-time job, and the second is I’ve started on some side hustles. They always say to have at least 5 income streams, so I’ve delved into creating journals, coloring books, etc., for Amazon KDP. I am also starting my Itsy shop, so I will have less time to read. However, according to Goodreads, I’m 3 books ahead of my book challenge of 100 books for 2023.

 As a result of my new ventures, I read only 1 book in August, and 1 reread twice (Thomas’ Choice (Scanguards Vampires Book 8). You can read my review (one of my first) here=>> Thomas’s Choice Book Review.

I cannot believe it, but I’ve read one so far this month, so let’s see what happens.

Again, I am totally obsessed with MM romance, and the book that I read was MM Romance–just like last month. Like I said, I don’t see this changing any time soon. The author was S. Legend, and I don’t know how I ended up reading it; it must be from one of the MM Romance groups on Facebook. I don’t think I’ve read anything from this author before. 

Here is the 1 book I read in August 2023, along with books purchased and added to my to-be-read list and the books I reviewed in August–look out for more reviews next month. 

The book I read last month is below:

• Heartbreak Hockey ( Heartbreak Hockey Book 1) By S. Legend

Heartbreak Hockey is the first book in the series. The second book is set to be released in March 2024. 

To be honest, Heartbreak Hockey (Heartbreak Hockey By S. Legend was just okay for me. Based on the reviews, other readers loved it 4.3 stars on Amazon and 4.1 on Goodreads. I didn’t find it enthralling at all, but it packed a whole lot of steam. In the second book, MC is one of the MC’s ex-boyfriends this book, and he is not likable at all. So, hopefully, the author will change that in book two. Book 1 is Jack and Mercy’s book and is set in Canada.

Jack is playing on the hockey farm team, hoping to get called up. When his boyfriend, Rhett, received a hockey contract to play for New York, Rhett proposed that Jack quit hockey so that they could start a family. This was wild to me because they were both in their early twenties. Anyway, Jack declined and stayed–enter his new coach ( a former professional hockey player). They had a one-night stand prior–imagine their surprise. As I mentioned, the book is jam-packed with steam. 

• Sports Romance
• MM Romance
• Hockey
• Age-gap
• Enemy-to-lovers kind of vibe
• Funny characters
• Steam O meter at 100 flames

Who is your favorite book boyfriend?

My book boyfriend changes because I have so many. Today it’s Lawless from The Renegade Soul MC Book Series (book 7.5 Lawmaker and 12 Darling Psycho). He is smart, gritty, and badass.

Read my review of his two books here==>Lawmaker and Darling Psycho.

• Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood Book 1) By J.R. Ward – Paranormal
• Lover Eternal (Black Dagger Brotherhood Book 2) By J.R. Ward – Paranormal
• Feral Sins (The Phoenix Pack Book 1) By Suzanne Wright – Paranormal 
• Reno (Diablo Disciples MC Book 2) By V. Theia

So, I purchased 4 books in total in August–see below. Keep in mind the below books do not include books I grabbed with my Kindleunlimited subscription.

• My Perfect Screwup Ryan Taylor, Joshua Harwood – M/M Romance
•  After Darkness Falls: A Vampire Romance May Sage – Paranormal Romance
• Confessions: Chloe (Confessions Series Book 9) Ella Frank – Gay (MM/F) Romance
• Dealing Him In (The Kings: Royal Flush Book 1) Charlie Cochet – Gay M/M Romance

I am really looking forward to the release of J.R. Ward, Darius. It will take me a while to get to this one because I’m behind in the series, but it will be both on my Kindle and my collection on my bookshelf.

• Darius (The Black Dagger Brotherhood) By J. R. Ward ~ September 5
• Diesel’s Perseverance (Insurgents Motorcycle Club) ~ September 2

My TBR list is getting bigger and bigger every day. Last month, I added 7 more books to my TBR list (not yet purchased)–not many were added for a change. One common theme here is all but one gay (MM) Romance book. The 7th is MC Romance. You can click on the book covers to read more–if you like.