House of Obscure Book Reviews

By Pain of Death by Suzanne Clay Rating: 5 of 5 stars Content Warnings for book: Depictions of chronic pain, agoraphobia, reference to off-page sexual assault (not by or about MCs), reference to suicide, misgendering, death Kink: N/A, has one veiled sex scene "Stop. Torturing. Yourself. For me," Seph whispered between kisses. Then he held him tightly, a warm barrier against spine-covered terror. "Stop. Stop, stop, stop." "I want to be better than this..." "You are exactly who I want you to be." Seph sucked in a gasp of wet air, speaking through quiet tears. "Upon my word, whatever fears you have, whatever pain you feel, I don't care for you despite them. They're a part of you. Do you understand? And whatever makes up who you are? That's what I'm falling deeper and deeper for every time I see you." I... am finding it difficult to put to words how this made me feel except that despite it's length (40ish pages), ...

-30- by Clinton W. Waters Rating:  4 of 5 stars A friend recommended this to me because it was thought-provoking for them, and I was intrigued. I knew it had a romantic subplot (in general, I read only MM romance), and I was intrigued by the concept and admittedly, it's length. Waters' writing is really well done. Not only do they know how to excellent pace a novella and use the pages they've put down, but they also have evocative writing. Through the first half I didn't feel like I was touching on emotional beats, but as we got along further, suddenly all the emotions came! There is also some sci-fi worldbuilding in here that was woven within the narrative, so nothing felt like an infodump. Despite it's futuristic and fictional premise, there was a lot of that rang true to life now: thoughts about technology, memories, and grief. I cried a lot in this story. Having known the pain of loss, personally, and also the way that desiring death during those dark moments, ...

Daddy's Adorable Assassin by Gianni Holmes Rating : 5 of 5 stars Content Warnings for book: Physical abuse (between MCs), emotional abuse (between MCs), toxic jealousy, disordered eating and body checking, gross child endangerment, parental neglect, parental abuse, reference to attempted child murder, murder, killer for hire, dubcon (between MCs and between others), noncon (between MCs and between others), morally reprehensible MCs, cheating, gun violence, victim blaming, child grooming, manipulation, blackmail, betrayal, incarceration, forced isolation, sex injury, infantilization, claustrophobia (due to being buried alive), disrespect of the dead and graves Kink: Ageplay, ABDL, daddy kink, knifeplay, blood play, dollification, purposeful sex without lube, rough sex If you've read Daddy's Stepstalker by Gianni Holmes, you know that this author is willing to cross lines and make dark romances dark, not softening the edges or morals of the characters involved to m...

  Read: Roman by Grae Bryan . eBook. ARC provided by GRR. 5/5. Omg. Y'all. I'm obsessed with this book. It's an author debut and it is soooo good. Fated mates, sweet possessiveness, level-headed MCs, characters that truly shine, fleshed out side characters... seriously. So good! If you like things on the instaconnection side, vampires, all of that-- check it out. Read my full review here. We Choose You by Katy Manz . eBook. ARC provided by GRR. 3/5. What a sweet and adorable MMM romance, and touching on a concept I haven't seen before. We all wonder what happens if those fated just don't meet at the right time, because life happens, and they're with other people. What do you do? Manz aims to explore this and this low-angst novella crafts a sweet story through it. Read my full review here. The Keystone Alphas by Ashe Moon . eBook. KU. 3/5. This is a harem-style MMMM romance, between three alphas and one omega. I liked the sort of OHSHC vibes we got in the beginni...

  We Choose You by Katy Manz Rating : 3 of 5 Stars Content Warnings for book : Off-page parental neglect, off-page parental death Kink : Group sex We Choose You is a cute MMM novella about an alpha who has an established and happy marriage and mating with a beta, and the fated omega he finds ten years after. So begs the question of choice versus fate, and if these three can find happiness. I thought this novella was overall very cute! There is a lot of presence of children, so if that isn't your thing, you might not like this book. I was surprised to find this was a shifter world (the ARC I received didn't mention the shifter part), but it wasn't a bad thing. I do think that aspect of the world left a little bit to be desired in fleshing it out, because it was approached so nonchalantly - I couldn't tell you if humans knew about shifters or not, it seemed it could be either way. The bigger theme of this book - choice versus fate - was an interesting one. I liked the id...

  Twice Bitten by Jayda Marx Rating:   3.5 of 5 Stars Content Warnings for book: Gun violence, blood, gore Kink: Bondage, group sex Twice Bitten by Jayda Marx is the final in the Javier Coven series, featuring Sam and the twins Flynn and Fletcher. We get ourselves a MMM romance where the twins have romantic feelings for Sam, but not with each other. This was a funny read because the antics of the vampires and Sam's humor are hilarious to me. I chuckled a lot and enjoyed the back and forth. These two come together in typical Jayda fashion: just a moment of sadness and then it is all fixed up. There's a lot more jealousy between the twins than I expected, which was interesting. However, I found the sex scenes lacking a tad in feeling all the details of whatever was doing was included. I'm sad to see this found vampire family come to an end, but thankfully there's a spin-off where we see them again! View my other reviews here

Roman by Grae Bryan Rating : 5 of 5 stars Content Warnings for book: Violence, death, blood, struggles of a parent with dementia Kink: Erotic blood drinking "Unexpectedly, Roman smiled then. Tender and little sad, but genuine nonetheless. "Ohh, mon Dieu. My lovely mate. Life has not been fair to you." He gripped Danny's chin a little tighter. Not hard enough to hurt but enough to make sure Danny was paying attention. "Listen to me, Danny. I am not leaving. Not ever. Not unless you want me to, and even then, I can make no promises. You are mine. I am yours." Roman by Grae Bryan is a fated mates romance between a sweet-and-independent E.R. nurse Danny and the lonely, cynical vampire Roman. Apparently, this is Bryan's debut, but do not let that stop you. Not only was the writing free of errors as far as I saw, but the plot was paced excellently and the voices of both characters came through in their POVs, so they didn't feel interchangeable a...

  Read: Pretty Boy by K.M. Neuhold . eBook. KU. 4/5. This was sugary sweet daddy kink that I really enjoyed. Whirlwind and fast paced, absolutely, and hurt/comfort that was swoony. Barrett does some things that really aren't okay, but neither is it okay to run from home with a man you met three days ago, so I view this more as a "if life was easy and sweet as romanceland tells us it was" sort of story. See my full review here. Sorcery and Submission by Tavia Lark . eBook. Amazon. 4/5. Hot fantasy BDSM. I loved the connection between the two MCs and would love to see something like this in a full romantic arc. Lark is really good at making those emotional moments and pining, even when the purpose is with erotica. Chasing Jackson by Jayda Marx . eBook. KU. 3/5. An older Jayda Marx that shows - things aren't so instant, aided by the whole set up as well. It's just... fine? Chase and Jackson were sweet once they got together, and I liked the humor that Marx employs an...

Swept Away by Amy Bellows  and C.W. Gray Rating : 4 of 5 stars Content Warnings for book: Infertility shaming, s-slur, objectifying and misogynistic language Kink: Knotting Swept Away by Amy Bellows and C.W. Gray is a sweet, fluffy romance between a golden eagle shifter alpha and a lionhead rabbit shifter omega, that explores deeper themes of free will versus spiritual ideas of fate, and how either way, love is something that all people need in various forms. Tru and Griffin were so friggin' sweet. I absolutely LOVED reading this. Griffin is an alpha who has been taught by his fathers within their culture of being a supportive and loving partner to their omega, and they only have one partner in life - their fated mate. Meanwhile, Tru is from rabbit shifter culture which omegas and alphas live separately and due to biology, there is no final mating between rabbit alpha and rabbit omega. They always part ways - and we see throughout the story how Tru's acceptance of loo...

This was originally posted on Reddit under my username, u/queermachmir. Note : You don’t have to like omegaverse, and you don't have to start reading it either. This is just my personal interaction and opinions on the omegaverse genre, and no trans person represents a monolith of trans people and their opinions.  CWs : Discussion of dysphoria, transphobia, misogyny, brief mentions of sex and genitals

  Dragon of Fire by Minerva Howe Rating : 3 out of 5 Stars Content Warnings for book : House fire, human trafficking Kink : Sex toys, knotting Dragon of Fire by Minerva Howe introduces us to Dima, a dragon triplet, and the man he rescues from a building fire, Kameron. This is a sweet size-difference romance with a himbo firefighter and his mate. As for the relationship between Kam and Dima, it was really sweet. Dima was protective and kind, helping Kam every step of the way through recovering from his situation and trauma without being overbearing and recognizing the need for boundaries. It's only when Kam wants to initiate for them to go further do they, and that is where we eventually discover some interesting secrets about Kam. I did struggle with the lack of tension I felt between them, but I think that had to do with the writing style, which I'll touch on later. I liked the building relationships between the two other triplets and Kam, and how they all came to be a sweet...

  Pretty Boy by K.M. Neuhold Rating : 4 out of 5 Stars Content Warnings for book : Alcoholism, low self-esteem, bullying Kink : Spanking, daddy kink, praise kink, orgasm control Pretty Boy is a sweet rich/poor age-gap daddy kink romance, with a whirlwind romance, sugar sweet to its core. Sterling and Barrett were great together. I loved the praise, the cuddling, the protectiveness Barrett had for Sterling. I loved the way Sterling's southern dialect and accent came into play because -- well, it felt real, that is how me and my family speak (though we're from Alabama, so ymmv if it's truly Texan). These two were just so great together, there are so many swoony quotes, and I felt a lot for Sterling and his bad experiences at home. The friendship between Sterling and his boss (Emery? I am bad with names) was sweet too. I'm glad he got a job he felt good about and how he was engaging with his own independence that way. The kink in this was great as well, the daddying so c...

  The Omega's Secret Pregnancy by Anna Wineheart Rating : 4 out of 5 Stars Content Warnings for book : Bullying, violence, pregnancy, birthing, slutshaming, sexual harassment, classism, off-page parental death, suicidal ideation Kink : Public sex, knotting, spanking The Omega’s Secret Pregnancy is an angsty second chance romance, featuring childhood friends Kade and Felix who’s lies and built up guilt come to the forefront — and of course, let’s throw in a baby. For one, kudos to Anna Wineheart making me love tropes and drama that I usually wouldn’t read in another book. There are miscommunications, painful decisions, angst, and second chance romance all which are things I don’t usually prefer in my books. However, even with this book that’s not as polished as her newer work, I was pulled in from the beginning. Not only does she capture emotion and tug on my heartstrings like an accomplished musician, but she makes the drama something you simultaneously read on for and despise in ...

  Tough Luck by Annabeth Albert Rating : 5 out of 5 Stars Content Warnings for book : Reference to drug addiction and rehab, reference to homophobia, stalking, guns, violence Kink : N/A Tough Luck by Annabeth Albert is a bodyguard/charge, brother’s best friend romance featuring a retired Navy SEAL and a retired child actor, who discover new things about themselves as they form an unlikely bond. Daniel and Cash were a very sweet couple together. Daniel is a recovered drug addict, who was recently diagnosed with ADHD and learning how to orient his life again without falling into old habits. However, this has really limited his social life and lead to a lot of loneliness, especially because it feels like those around him just want to “handle” him more than see him for who he really is. Cash is a veteran who is feeling directionless after not having a purpose anymore, and is crashing on his friend’s couch until he figured out what his next move is — all he knows is he definitely won’...

  Ours to Love by Jayda Marx Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars Content Warnings for book : Homophobia, sexual assault, off-page parental death Kink : Group sex, dirty talk Ours to Love is an MMM romance of two brothers in love with the same man, Ryan. Will, Logan, and Ryan were super sweet. Their meetcute of a bad date and swooping in to save the day, the possessive nature of them both, the banter between the brothers… I loved it all. Ryan has a disability (though we aren’t ever given a name to it, but it sounds vaguely familiar), and the brothers are very caring and understanding about it. I don’t know how to put into words just how sweet the slice of life was, the fluffiness, it all just worked for me. The sex scenes were also hot. There is this villain towards the last half with someone trying to sexually assault Ryan — I think this was handled alright? It could be worse, at least. I enjoyed the side characters too, though there Very Flamboyant Gay side character isn’t always my favori...

Head Over Heels: Head Over Wheels Book 4 by Jayda Marx Rating : 4 of 5 stars Content Warnings for book: Homophobia, grief Kink: Lingerie Head Over Heels is the final book in the Head Over Wheels series by Jayda Marx, featuring a younger femme Fabian and Harley's father, Dwayne. With it we explore love after grief, and sweet caretaking between each other. While done in under 100 pages, Marx weaves a cute story between Fabian and Dwayne. I do believe it is crucial to read the other books in this series as it takes place ten years after Jake and Miles' story, who have now adopted Lincoln and Fabian is someone who is at the old hostel Miles had been staying at. Dwayne at first helps Fabian just out of kindness, but quickly the proximity leads to the instalove this author is known for. These two were quite sweet and I loved how they balanced each other out, such as how Fabian's love encouraged Dwayne to want to dress better for Fabian because he wanted to look as good...

  Daddy's Stepstalker by Gianni Holmes Rating : 5 out of 5 Stars  Content Warnings for book:  Physical abuse, rape, dubious consent, forced prostitution, murder, torture, arson, suicide of a close friend, the death of a family pet, bullying, stalking, attempted rape, non-consensual drugging, manslaughter via self-defense, wounding with intention, gun violence, false accusation of sexual assault, suicidal ideation, mental health issues, femme-shaming Kink:  Daddy kink, ABDL, age play, omorashi, watersports, impact play, cockwarming, suckling, exhibitionism, sex toys, lace and lingerie Daddy’s Stepstalker by Gianni Holmes is a wild ride on the codependent, toxic bond between Ari and his obsession, Shaw, who was also his stepfather from the age he was sixteen. Throw in a bunch of kink and murder, and you’ve got a dark and twisty read. Aristotle and Shaw are so interesting as a couple to me, because you really have them bringing out both the good and bad — Shaw brings o...