London Kelly is in love with her best friend and has been for years.
Too bad he’s an adorably clueless idiot who a) just doesn’t see what everyone else sees and b) abides by the rule of ‘don’t screw the crew’s sisters, daughters, or exes.’ And since London’s dad is his fire captain, that puts her firmly in the do not touch category.
Then one night, London decides to throw caution to the wind and kisses him, finding her unequivocally placed in the friend zone.
That’s when London decides that maybe it’s time to move on.
Except fate decides to have the last laugh, calling Luca to the scene of a fire at the very same restaurant where London is on a secret blind date, bringing him face-to-face with the reality that he could lose his girl.
Suddenly all bets are off.
Besides, bending the rules isn’t the same as breaking them… right?
*** USA Today Bestselling Author BJ Harvey brings you Rule Bender – Book 4 and the last book in a spin-off to the Cook Brothers steamy rom-com series featuring first responders in Chicago who are fighting the good fight and also finding love at the same time. This series can be read as a standalone and is set in the same world as the Bliss and Cook Brothers series before it.
“Lonnie’s the one who met Luca Rossi and fell head over heels at first sight,” my sister Violet declares.
“That’s old news, Vi,” I mumble, my cheeks burning hot.
“Hey. It’s cute. Kinda adorable. And even after you went away and came back, you’re still friends with him, despite everything.”
“Despite nothing. He’s gone from ‘no, I don’t see you like that’ to ‘I’m going to drop two thousand big ones and give you the date of your dreams with the man of your dreams then give you the best sex of your life and—’” I slap my hand over my mouth, my wide eyes slowly scanning the amused and approving faces of my friends and family.
“I knew it!” Val says. “It’s still eww because he’s my brother, but good on Luc. At least he’s got that working for him. The rest can be a work-in-progress.”
“As much as I hate to admit it, if you’ve got chemistry, respect, honesty, and yes—hot sex—anything is possible, ” Skye adds.
I sigh. “Do I have honesty though? Because he took three years to make a move after more than a few chances.”
Renee shrugs. “Maybe he’s just slow on the uptake.”
“More like a damn snail,” Val says.
Skye giggles. “Or a sloth.”
Val’s brows furrow “Is a sloth slower than a snail?”
BJ Harvey is the USA Today Bestselling Author of angsty contemporary romance, romantic comedy, and sometimes a little bit of romance suspense. She regards herself as a smut peddler, suspense conjurer, and a funny romance thinker upper. An avid music fan, you will always find her singing some hit song badly and loving every minute of it. She’s a miner’s wife, a mom to two beautiful teenagers, and was born in New Zealand and currently lives in Perth, Australia.
Title: Strut Author: Jay Hogan Series: Style Series #2 Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
New Zealand farm boy turns New York fashion model. Fairy tale? Maybe. But it hasn’t been easy. A year in this crazy city, working my tail off just to survive in a ruthless industry where sex sells and boundaries are too readily crossed.
A year and a reassuring ocean away from Hunter Donovan—a sexy, humiliating mistake that I’m not about to repeat. Distance is good. Distance is safe.
But now Hunter is back. In New York. In my life. In all those treacherous feelings that haven’t gone anywhere. But when my world suddenly crashes and I have to piece myself back together and fight for my career, will Hunter be there when I need him? Will we have what it takes to make it through this, together?
Note: This book contains themes of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
Halfway down the block I came upon a small queue outside a tidy brick establishment which proved to be Color. The distant thrum of Ariana Grande leaking through the double wooden doors onto the sidewalk reminded me I was close to a generation older than most of the guys ahead of me waiting to get in.
I joined the line, ignoring a low whistle of interest from one of the guys as I passed. I took his appreciation as reassurance that my skinny black jeans paired with one of Rhys’s new season tight black-and-white-checked T-shirts passed muster. I checked my phone as I waited and fired off a text to my younger sister knowing it was afternoon in New Zealand. A few seconds later the phone rang in my hand, and I smiled and swiped it open.
“Hey, sis.”
“Hey, you. I’m heading to the supermarket. What’s up?”
The line shrank by a couple of guys, and everyone shuffled forward. “Not much. I’m waiting to get into a bar and thought I might catch you.”
Silence. “Hunter Donovan is in a queue?” She chuckled. “You don’t do queues, bro. I thought you rarefied fashionista types skipped those pesky things.”
“It’s not that level of club,” I explained. “Think popular, off-the-beaten-track gay bar. I doubt I’ll see anyone I know and certainly no one who knows me.”
“A gay bar? Ohhhhh, are you on a date?”
“No, I am not on a date. You know me. Besides, I’ve only been here two days.”
“You’re right. I do know you. Which means you’re cruising for some pretty arse. You after a bit of downtown rough, big brother?”
“Jesus, Patty, you sound like a low-budget movie, and we are not having that conversation. Ever. If you must know, I met a guy I worked with in Auckland and he happens to tend bar here. I said I’d drop by.” Kind of, almost.
“Riiiight.” She sounded sceptical. “Do I know them? You’ve always said the best thing about your trips to New York was all the great clubs. I’ve never known you to waste your time on suburban bars.” My sister was way too perceptive.
“True, but this is that model from fashion week last year? The guy Rhys discovered—”
“Oh my god,” she blurted. “That gorgeous hunk of drool you shot for Flare. Alec someone, right?”
“Alec Williamson. He got signed by Cage Talent after the show and has been in New York since. I ran into him quite by chance.”
Patty was quiet for a few seconds as the cogs in her brain ticked over. “But you liked him, right?”
What the fuck? I said nothing
.
“You can’t lie to me, Hunter. I know you. He’s the one hanging in your office on your wall of fame, aka my personal wall of hotness. He’s wearing Rhys’s design. Holy shit, Hunter. Do you have a thing? Are you—”
I needed to shut this down fast. “He’s hanging there because it was my best friend’s signature shoot for his new label,” I argued. “Not because it’s Alec.”
“Mm-hmm.” There was an irritating smile in her voice. “Pull the other one. I called into Flare that day, remember? You couldn’t take your eyes off him. Neither could I, to be honest, but you were a little smitten kitten.”
I so was. “I so wasn’t. You’re dreaming. Alec is a great model, that’s all. If I was smitten, it was on a purely professional level.”
“And yet you’re queuing to have a drink at the place he works?”
Well, when you put it like that. “Maybe.” It was all she was getting. “It’s the friendly thing to do, right?”
“Aha. Yep. Very neighbourly of you. Oh, here’s a thought. If you like him, how about you keep it in your pants for once, at least for more than a day? Get to know him.”
Too fucking late. “Oh, look at that, the bouncer’s waving me in. Gotta go, sis. Nice talking to you.” I stabbed the End Call button, stared at the double doors for a second, took a deep breath, and then pushed through.
The immediate assault to my eardrums almost rattled my brain from my skull. Add that to the heaving crowd and multicoloured light display circling the room and dripping down the walls, and I needed a minute to orient myself. I passed the coat check desk and slid against the closest wall to take a look around.
The place was humming, the music pulsing loudly above the thrum of a hundred different conversations, while the surprisingly spacious dancefloor writhed with every possible combination of couples, throuples, and dogpiles of slick bodies. Like the queue outside, it was a younger crowd, mostly early twenties, but with enough around my age to drop the creep factor to acceptable. I watched the dancers for a bit, appreciating all the hot skin and tight muscle on display before scouting the bar.
“You wanna dance?” A warm body leaned close, and I turned to find an attractive dark-haired man just inches from my face. He had the greenest eyes I’d ever seen and a pouty mouth made for sucking cock. He licked his lips and ran his hand up my arm. “You’re fucking gorgeous.”
On any other night I would’ve had him down the back and on his knees with my dick down his throat in about five minutes flat, but I wasn’t even tempted—a disturbing fact that was worth an alarm bell or two. Instead, I simply smiled and covered his hand with mine. “Thanks. You’re pretty hot yourself, but I’m meeting someone.”
Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year.
She is a New Zealand author writing mm romance and romantic suspense, primarily set in New Zealand. She writes character driven romances with lots of humour, a good dose of reality and a splash of angst. She’s travelled extensively, lived in many countries, and in a past life she was a critical care nurse, nurse educator and counsellor. Jay is owned by a huge Maine Coon cat and a gorgeous Cocker Spaniel
The last person she wants to see in Magnolia, North Carolina, could be exactly whom she’s been waiting for…
Mariella Jacob was one of the world’s premier bridal designers, but one viral PR disaster later, she’s trying to get her torpedoed career back on track in small-town Magnolia, North Carolina. With a secondhand store and a new business venture helping her friends turn the Wildflower Inn into a wedding venue, Mariella is finally putting at least one mistake behind her. Until that mistake—in the glowering, handsome form of Alex Ralsten—moves to Magnolia too.
Mariella ruined Alex’s wedding by announcing that his starlet bride-to-be was sleeping with Mariella’s fiancé. While he’s furious when they’re forced to work together, there’s no denying Mariella is hardworking, talented…and gorgeous. In fact, though Alex keeps reminding himself that they’re enemies, something deeper is growing…daring them to admit that a rocky past might lead to something unexpectedly wonderful.
Mariella and Alex have a history – and it isn’t a nice one. It might not have been so bad if they still lived in the big city, but somehow they both ended up in Magnolia, North Carolina, a small town, and it’s a lot harder to avoid each other. And not only can they not avoid each other, but somehow they end up working together on a project. A project that features part of their not-so-nice history.
This isn’t the only thing seeming to pull these two together. On every page, it seemed like fate was going to drag them into each other’s arms even if it killed them. And they may just need to figure out how to put the past behind them so they can both move on with their lives. Because along the way, they find out it isn’t just their lives they’re impacting anymore.
Mariella was a wounded character. Her past weighed very heavy on her shoulders, and it seemed to consume her every moment. While I understand the concern over her reputation coming back to hurt her new business and friends, she just wouldn’t let it go. Her struggle was very real but was too much of the main focus at times.
Alex has similar issues. And they really interfere with him running his company successfully – mainly because he refuses to take advice and hire Mariella to help. But he can’t seem to stop thinking about how hot Mariella is, and how attractive he suddenly finds her. It was a lot superficial at first. In the end, he learns she is a really great person though.
While I enjoyed a lot of the story, there was a little too much of the main characters hating on themselves for things in their past. Too much avoiding the issues. I think the best part of the story wasn’t the romance but wrapped up in a side character with unexpected connections.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
