4.5*

“New day, new stone”

I have read quite a few of Anyta Sunday’s books and they’ve have a few things in common.
They are all really good and she has a real talent for writing a story covering a long time period, she keeps me invested and interested in the lives of all the characters, not just the MCs. In this book we follow Cooper, the narrator through his parents divorce and living half of his life with this new family.
A new family that includes Jace..
“How do I stop feeling like this? How do I stop that voice in my head that lies to me and tries to confuse me all the time.”
I loved Cooper, Jace, Annie and eventually even Lila and Copper’s dad.

Cooper has an affinity, I guess I’d call it, for rocks of all kinds. He loves them, he knows them and more than that, he needs them.
The rocks lead us through this story as much as Cooper does and I found it a wonderfully unique way to tell this story.
I really don’t even want to say a lot, I’d like to encourage you to read this story, it’s full of emotions and feelings without being drama ridden.
This is a beautiful coming of age story with a depth that pulled the feelings right out of me, I can definitely recommend it and I want to add that I love all of Anya’s covers and this is another great one.

 *Squeeeee* a rentboy story and written by JL Merrow?
I am on that like a BOSS!!

Nathan is going to go to college, he’s going to get off working the streets and make something of himself. But in the mean time he needs to earn money and hooking is how he gets it.

His Thursday evening regular is the highlight of his week. It’s not like he’s all that nice, or chatty, or even handsome, but something about him attracts Nathan. His voice definitely does it for him too.

Of course, finding him at the front of the classroom on day one of school wasn’t quite what he expected.

There is a push and pull going on in Stephan, although this is told completely from Nathan’s POV, I could feel Stephan’s attraction and continued interest in Nathan as well as his reticence about it. When Nathan is in a bind Stephan can’t help himself and jumps in to save the day, which gives these two the chance to see of there is more to it then just rentboy and John.

It’s an easy and angst-free read, a few hiccups along the way but no big misunderstandings or conflict. A cute story that I really was sorry to see end.

This book takes taking nothing seriously very serious. ( yeah, I had to read it twice to understand what I meant too)
It's a spooftastic, caricature laden, chocked-full of every trope under the sun, a hilarious parody that pokes good natured fun at all the things m/m books seem to love to incorporate over and over again in all the books.
In a friendly way it exaggerates everything from growling with a capital G by an Alpha with a capital A to the “Homosapia County police. The fact that, miraculously and very conspicuously, every single officer who worked there was gay made the Hall of Head a double entendre and funny as hell.”
Ram Rage and his partner Blake are the cops that are going to try and solve the murder that was perpetrated at the Sew What and Kory is the prime suspect.
Which brings Kory in to Ram's life and the Alpha (with a capital growly A) doesn't know what hit him.
Murder, mayhem, inept cops, lube, unicorns, applesauce, never ending hot water heaters, and a green-eyed man everyone ( and I mean everyone ) loves and puntastic craziness ensues. Oh and not to forget a freaky plant with his own POV.
To enjoy this story you have to just let go and take nothing seriously and love a jammed packed story of jokey silliness. It was fun seeing what OTT satire was coming next, every trope was covered, sometimes to an extreme. And the book doesn't just make fun of all the ever present and much loved 'typical' and 'stereotypical' things in the m/m genre and in the books I've read and loved, it also makes fun of itself.
“I’m in charge here,” Ram growled. “We’re going to do this by the book. You can’t just skip pages of the gay manual, we do all the steps, in order, so we get the full experience.”

I found myself nodding and smiling, thinking oh yes, that in every other book I've read and then I'd read on and nod and say OH YES riiight that is also a must-have in an m/m story. A lot of the things I complain about or bemoan in books were so cleverly exaggerated that I had to laugh at myself a little for usually being annoyed by them. I've also never read any of it quite like these authors portrait it, I can say despite reading a lot, but the way this was done is definitely unique. At times it was a bit overwhelming and it took me a chapter or two to really get what it was all about, but certain things were just so well done and impressively ridiculous that I just had to be amused. Plus there was one of my favorite things EVER in this book, I don't want to say what, but it's no wonder everyone loves Kory. I also have to add my vocabulary for the word 'butthole' has been expanded ( pun intended) by leaps and bounds..so many different ways of saying it. I'm in awe.
I really don't want to give anything away, this book has to be read to be believed.