Tag Archives: Vino & Veritas

Absolutely delightful sports romance which hit all my favourite things about the trope

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15_V&V_Kyle_ebook_FINALShowstopper by Regina Kyle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Back on the 5* trail! Definitely one of my favourites in the series and jam packed with loads of my go to tropes.

Regina Kyle pretty much hit everything I love about college sports romances and opposites’ attract tropes in this book.

I adored both Adam and Kolby but Adam absolutely stole my heart, he is just a giant teddy bear of a young man who has a heart of gold.

Kolby is a bit prickly, understandably so given his background, but I liked that he was unashamedly himself, he doesn’t hide his sexuality, but he does hide his vulnerability. Together they’re just incredibly sweet and seriously sexy.

Adam’s had a bit of a traumatic time at his previous school, so he’s wary of exposing his bisexuality, again something the narrative plays out well. But as he spends more time with Kolby, it becomes clear that he doesn’t want to hide the connection they’ve found.

They connect on all levels, not only are they sexually attracted to each other, but they also have mutual likes and interests and they’re both determined to look out for the other, which makes not only for some really love conversations but also hot times between the sheets!

A couple of outside events add tension to the plot, there’s the odd lack of communication elements but they’re not the type which has me eye-rolling in annoyance. Both of these men are young and relatively inexperienced and they’ve both been burned before.

I didn’t feel it was out of place they’d both blow up at times and then find it difficult to make the first move to reconnect. There’s some great grovelling too, on both sides, and a fabulous secondary cast of characters not only from the Vino & Veritas world, but also pulling in from the Moo U series too.

Thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this one.

#ARC kindly received from the publisher Heart Eyes Press in return for an honest and unbiased review

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Low angst and very sweet romance keeps the interest going

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13_V&V_Davies_ebook_FINALLimelight by E. Davies

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is another solid entry in the Vino & Veritas series and it’s as sweet as the mead that Tag makes.

That’s also one of the reasons why it didn’t become a 4* read.

There’s very little tension, in spite of the secret Tag is keeping, so the narrative felt like it was all running along at the same pace.

The other reason is the timescale they fall in love. I know people do meet and have whirlwind romances, but even so, this is fast.

There is a connection between them which is more than just sexual. Ed does well to get that over in the story, they just click.

***SPOILER-ISH***

But I still thought that for it all to come together, have the “meet the family” gathering, then the secret coming out because of someone else, the big split, and the reconciliation, all happen within a fortnight, was a bit much.

***ENDS***

Still, that’s a me thing, it may not bother other readers.

Both characters are lovingly written, they’re their own people, with very much distinct voices, and I liked them both.

Caleb is a bit of a cinnamon bun, he’s the youngest of four brothers and he’s maybe been over protected.

He’s inexperienced in relationships and love, which is another reason for me not committing 100% on the timescale.
Not because I couldn’t see him absolutely getting a crush, but because he has nothing to compare with.

That said, it’s ‘slow burn’ ish within the time frame, with their smexy times hitting low steam levels until after they reunite.

There is a lovely, emotionally connected scene here which does demonstrate how they’ve built up a level of trust and intimacy.

Overall, a simple to read, not overly dramatic romance with a few of the usual gang showing up.

#ARC kindly received from the publisher Heart Eyes Press in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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A very solid and nicely steamy entry in the V&V series sees former best friends reunite

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12_V&V_Ashley_ebook_FINALStronghold by Ana Ashley

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

When I started reading, I felt sure this was going to be another solid 4 or 5* book, but unfortunately it just tailed off a bit towards the middle act and things fell a bit flat for me at that point.

There’s a super sweet ending and a very firm HEA though which definitely brought my enjoyment level back up by the time the book finished.

On the face of it, this sounded like it would be a passionate former best friends/enemies to lovers romance, with the added spice of a reality TV show – but the supposed camera crew that keeps popping up everywhere actually doesn’t, at all.

Well, they’re there, as part of said reality TV show, but only in the moments when filming is taking place for the competition, they certainly don’t appear randomly as if trying to catch out our two MCs actually having a relationship and not just being friends anyway.

It seemed to be a plot point that just never fully developed as the reality TV show part doesn’t even come into the book until almost two quarters of the way through, after Judson and Skyler have reconnected.

One thing the book does well though, is have them actually have a conversation about what led to Judson leaving 10 years ago and why Skyler’s overjoyed to see him and puzzled by his negative attitude.

It also scores highly on their emotional and physical reconnection, you can feel the UST leading up to the point where the pressure cracks and they end up snogging madly 🙂

There’s a secondary plot involving Skyler’s family farm which is also done well, and the integration into the wider Vino & Veritas series is solid, with a few of the regular characters turning up as part of the scenery.

I found both characters sympathetic, I liked how they were able to move past the misunderstanding which had caused Jud to leave and I liked that there wasn’t really much in the way of relationship angst.

Most of the tension points come from external sources, which makes perfect sense when you see what’s been going on, and they were also integrated well into the overall plot.

All in all, it’s a solid, and steamy 😀 entry in the Vino & Veritas series and very much a nice, easy read.

#ARC kindly received from the publishers Heart Eyes Press in return for an honest and unbiased review

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