One of my great loves is reading. There are so many stories out there and I can’t get enough. The rise of eBooks has made my reading addiction so much easier, now that I can have an entire library of books in my hand thanks to my faithful iPad.

Now that I have this website, I thought I would start sharing some of my recent discoveries with the world – and hopefully you’ll find something you’ll want to read yourself. Here are a few recent titles I have been reading.

‘Larry Boots, Exterminator’ by John Inman

This was a wonderfully quirky tale with a hint of suspense and a heaping bowlful of dark humour.

Larry Boots has never really considered romance a priority in his life. His work takes up a lot of his time, as does keeping tabs on his eccentric stoner mother. But all that changes when he meets Kenny, a blind man, who awakens Larry’s inner romantic. But can Larry really get involved with someone, when his life is, to say the least, dangerous?

Whenever anyone asks what Larry does for a living, he lies and tells them he works as a software developer. The truth is, Larry is a hit man. He helps grieving families get the justice they deserve by killing criminals that the police and courts have failed to convict.

But Larry is no cold-hearted psychopath. His feelings for Kenny only reinforces how much he wants to get out of this line of work. But their budding romance is quickly endangered when the man Larry wants to kill suddenly tries to kill him. Can Larry and Kenny survive long enough to open up to each other?

I really enjoyed this book. Wonderfully written and filled with dark comic moments. A must read!

‘Blue Umbrella Sky’ by Rick R. Reed

A beautiful tear-jerker with a heart of gold, this is a masterpiece of modern Gay romance.

After losing his husband to early onset Alzheimer’s disease, Milt packs up his quiet life as a teacher in Ohio and moves to a Trailer Park in Palm Springs, California to start anew. Trying to work through his grief, he tries to shut out everyone and everything.

But a natural disaster changes everything. A flood forces him to bunk with one of his neighbours, a gorgeous younger man named Billy who has been watching Milt from afar, hoping for the chance to win his heart.

Billy’s life has also been filled with tragedy and darkness. But he’s finally starting to rebuild his life, and is ready to commit to something more permanent. And the gorgeous older man who lives in a neighbouring trailer has his head swimming with possibilities.

This is the tale of two men who have suffered, been broken and are now trying to find their way to peace, happiness and of course, love. Blue Umbrella Sky is sad, beautiful and wonderfully engaging.

‘The Playmaker’ by Andrew Grey

This one of my favourites and I’ve read it multiple times. It’s one of my comfort reads that I break out when I can’t decide what new book to read next!

Professional NFL player Hunter is openly Gay, but despite support from his family, friends and teammates, he knows a real relationship is off the cards if he wants to keep his lucrative sponsorships and endorsements. So he gets by with meaningless, empty, unfulfilling hookups. But when his manager forces him to hire an assistant to manage his schedule and keep the player from being late to important meetings, Hunter gets more than he bargained for.

Monty is not a football fan, but he desperately needs a job. Drowning in student debt and supporting his recently laid off father, he needs to take any job he can get. When the opportunity to be a personal assistant to a professional footballer falls into his lap, how can he refuse?

Hunter is immediately attracted to Monty, but he can’t risk fraternising with an employee, or be seen to be involved with another man publicly. Monty is attracted to Hunter, but can’t risk losing his job, or further sullying his already scandal-ridden job history.

Can these two men find a way to overcome their obstacles and fall in love, or will the forces gathering against them snuff out their romance before it even begins?

This one is sweet, sexy and funny. Andrew Grey is one of my favourite authors, and this novel is easily one of his most enjoyable. Glorious characters that are so real and relatable make this a perfect read.

‘Rattlesnake’ by Kim Fielding

I just started reading this one last night, but so far I am really enjoying it. An engaging story with beautifully detailed characters, I can already see myself rereading this title multiple times.

Drifter Jimmy has spent his life travelling where the wind will take him, never being tied down to a single place for too long. His beat-up old car doesn’t have much life in it, but since he doesn’t have a specific destination, that hardly matters.

When Jimmy offers a lift to an elderly drifter headed for Rattlesnake, California, he learns the old man is trying to deliver a hand-written letter to his son, Shane, whom he hasn’t seen in decades. When the old man suddenly dies on route, Jimmy takes it upon himself to deliver the letter to Rattlesnake.

But when he finally meets Shane, a former cowboy and now bartender at the Rattlesnake Inn, he is stunned by the younger man’s kindness and generosity. But Jimmy has learned the hard way that getting his hopes up can lead to heartbreak. But perhaps he has finally found a place to settle down – if the call of the open road doesn’t tempt him first.

Well, that’s all for the moment. If you enjoyed this post, give it a Like and I’ll post some more book recommendations soon. In the meantime, happy reading and take care!

Alex Leslie

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