Final: It's a light-hearted, closed-door, opposites attract M/M magical romance. I did enjoy it (it gives off Angel Martinez or Jordan Castillo Price vibes), and I would buy book two if/when a sequel gets made.

Mostly because of Leopold (miss you, Army bud!).

What I loved: The side characters! All vibrant and larger than life.

Leopold! He's the best poor schmuck there is, you just want to hug him and make everything better.

The reveal mentioned in the blurb! (Finding out WHY the Office of the Lost is so hell-bent on acquiring Leopold... aah!) 😃

What I didn't like: When they meet, they accidentally call each other a nickname. Each of them gently corrects the other; it's Leopold and Crispin, not Leo and Crispy. But despite this, they continue to misname each other throughout the ENTIRE book, ignoring their stated preferences.

What I liked: The two characters, Leopold and Crispin, have clear and distinct voices (it's dual POV). I liked that there wasn't instalove (they are very much opposites), and that their relationship developed naturally and fairly convincingly.

Sometimes it's hard deciding on one (or more) books based just on covers and blurbs, but as soon as I read about the walking disaster that is Leopold Lane, I knew I had to have this one.

(I've been missing an army bud, who personifies Tom Hardy in Venom; a mess of an MC is exactly what I wanted).

In that vein, requesting book recommendations! M/M romance with an absolute mess of a MC, paranormal or SF/F preferred but not required.

I also finally watched the third and last Venom movie! Eddie/Tom Hardy remains a complete mess of a man... which apparently I find super attractive?
Between him and Shane from Stardew Valley, I have come to realize that I have a type, which seems to be my drunken best friend from the army days.

Currently available on Kindle and KU, and Book One remains 50% off through Tuesday morning, 22 July. If a story about diverse werebeasts, reluctant mates, a witch finding a new home away from home, and three men supporting each other in the face of long odds is your thing, consider giving it a go!

(And also, whoops! Somehow I got the dates wrong for the promotions, so Book 4 of TBM series joins Books 1 and 2. Alas! Next time, I'll just say screw Amazon promotions, and just set the price for the full month.)

If alcohol magic, weredog detectives, and a djinn P.I is your speed, try out The Bartender Mage series.

If you're wanting a coven of witches, a cinnamon roll werewolf, and an over-worked drake-shifter, try out Shifters of Bastion Keep... but wait to buy it until the 15th when it's on sale!

I'm sorry that you're going through that. Our body's stress system can be SO dumb sometimes, and I hope you find a way.

I sometimes like to use sarcasm, as personifying anxiety has helped me. "A gift of adrenaline because I'm ordering pizza over the phone? Gee, THANKS. Totally saved my life, yup."

What I LOVED:
The characters! Luca the saucy sweetheart in "Cubs and Campfires" was my favorite.
The banter! Conversations between the MC's never felt forced or fake or out of character.
The acceptance! The tender supportiveness between the characters. Yes, give me all the feels and the HEAs.

What I didn't like:
Maybe it's a newer trend, but books (book 2) where infatuation begins from just seeing a picture of the other guy. I've seen attractive photos of guys, yes, but an ID mugshot never left be breathless and hard.

Still, gotta start that meet-cute somehow, right?

What I liked:
The characterizations, esp. of the supporting cast. "...a Puerto Rican skyscraper with sleek black hair." All the physical descriptions tend towards the evocative and poetic. Apt for an author poet!

A pair of sweet sex-positive, body-positive M/M books by gay Aussie www.dylandrakes.com

Both books are standalone (though if you read book 1, you get a kind of easter egg in book 2). Both books are adorably sweet (esp. 2). Both books are heavy on the spice, almost erotica, but have a strong plot.

I'm so excited that it's finally complete. ^_^
Now I have just enough time to give myself one day off before I get the house ready for moving, tweak my earlier Bartender Mage series to tone down the horniness (maybe in exchange for more story?), and then...

Start writing book three! Yee-haw!

Story time!

Recently, I saw someone suggest Book 1 to another reader on reddit. Yay! But, their comment boiled down to, "It's a great book, just ignore the cheesy cover."

Boy howdy, talk about mixed feelings! But it encouraged me to improve my Canva game, so thank you random internet reader! <3