Week of November 17, 2025

We’re gearing up for Thanksgiving this week! My daughter, Maddie, and her fiancé, Drake, will be staying in Idaho for the holiday, as will my mother and my brother, so we’re light on the family this year. We’ll see Ross’s brother’s family the Saturday after the holiday. So for Thanksgiving day we’re getting together with our friends across the street again (they came to dinner last year, too) which is a fun thing to do. When I was growing up, holidays were for family only - friends were only for non-holidays. So when the concept of “Friendsgiving” evolved I thought it was a great idea. When our kids were young, we had a large group of friends that we used to have over every year for a party the night before Thanksgiving. As I think back on it now, I have no idea how I used to entertain like that for days in a row - it makes me tired to even think about it now. But no matter what, this really is my favorite holiday of the year. I hope that no matter what your plans are for the upcoming holiday, you all have a safe and happy day with your family and friends!

Thanks for joining me this week! Let’s dive in!

1. Maestro, by Auden Dar ⭐️⭐️⭐️

   This was one of those books that, had I seen it in book form instead of Kindle form, I would have expected much more from it. It was 604 pages long, which was far too long for what it accomplished. What did it accomplish? Heartbreak after heartbreak after heartbreak. And not much else. Chad and Aurelia must have been the real deal for them to stick around for each other for more than 20 years despite ripping each other apart on multiple occasions. The constant yearning and longing was almost too much. And the fact that Chad didn’t get a paternity test when Sera told him she was pregnant is ridiculous. The self-sacrificing for the sake of love and career was overplayed in my opinion and it got tiring hearing them profess their undying love for each other while they weren’t together. I don’t think I would have been able to wait around had I been Aurelia - at what point is enough, enough? (Or is that just my Scorpio talking?)

2. Bump Start, by Eve Holmes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

   Perfection. Absolute perfection. I adore reading about damaged men finding their way out of their trauma. And this book had that in spades. Dr. Cade Cormier, a brilliant professor of quantum mechanics, and Alder Roy, the Vice President of the Basin Kings Motorcycle Club, shouldn’t have a single thing in common. But the two of them are an absolute masterpiece together. Cade’s life’s work is studying and teaching how energy exists and behaves in the universe, and yet his personal demons hold back that very thing from within himself. He turns to alcohol daily to even feel anything at all, and then he meets Alder. Alder was born into the MC life and has committed his existence to protecting his MC family no matter the cost to life or limb. Alder exudes both strength and danger and that combination awakens something long buried in Cade that somehow grounds him when they’re together and keeps him hooked.

   The author weaves this story so well, transitioning between gritty scenes of MC club business that can include territorial warfare, gun running, drugs, and murder, and then onto high level college lectures of quantum mechanic particle theory or wave-function which actually reflect Cade’s personal theory on his own failed existence. It’s so so beautifully written. These two men fall hard for each other throughout the course of the story, and they’re absolutely perfect for each other. In the beginning, Cade needs Alder to be rough because he needs pain to feel alive, and Alder gives Cade whatever he needs. But through the course of the book we see them both soften and we watch Cade learn that he can let himself feel love without pain. It’s just a stunning book.

3. Money Shot, Eden Finley & Saxon James ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

   Finn and Curtis were awesome together from the start. I enjoyed their story a lot, regardless of how convoluted it may have been. Unconventional? Absolutely. But the story was modern and this one was fun. The plot has too many twists and turns to really delve into here, but if MM is your jam and you like golden retriever types and some slow burn stuff, this would probably appeal to you. Yes, there’s a 3rd act breakup, but also a good HEA so it all comes together in the end.

4. The Marriage Policy, by Riley Hart ⭐️⭐️⭐️

   I listened to this one on audiobook while I was driving and at the gym and I had to check multiple times that my headphones were connected. Phew. This was a spicy, bi-awakening, friends to lovers story that was overly syrupy-sweet and not very original but cute nonetheless. Gay Donovan convinces his not-so-straight best friend Eric to marry him to provide access to his benefits when Eric breaks his ankle and has no health insurance. Donovan also convinces Eric to move back in with him so he can take care of him while he’s injured, and while they’re living together, Eric starts to realize he may be attracted to guys. Specifically to Donovan. And since they’re best friends, well, they decide to explore these feelings for real. The story is cute but like I said, a little too sticky sweet for my taste.

5. Rare, by Briar Prescott ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

   I’m amazed at how authors come up with plots for their stories. When I stumble on one that’s unique, I have to give it props. This was one of them. The romance aspect of the book wasn’t all that out of the ordinary. But the underlying plot was completely unique. Alex, bored rich kid trouble-maker from New York, finds himself facing jail time until his father finds a way to creatively bail him out of the system. He sends him across the country to the wilds of Oregon to live and work on a wild animal sanctuary run by the judge’s brother. On his first day there, Alex meets Noah, a quiet, studious boy about Alex’s age who interns at the sanctuary in order to gain experience as he wants to become a vet. Alex is bisexual and interested. Noah is clearly either straight or not out, but Alex is used to getting his way. Eventually, the two strike up a sort of friendship and a timid physical relationship grows. Noah tells Alex he lives with his over-protective mother but doesn’t explain much else about his upbringing, though Alex can tell it’s been very sheltered. But just when things start to get serious between the two of them and feelings enter the picture, Noah’s mom interferes and Noah tells Alex he can’t see him anymore. Alex is crushed, now realizing that despite not wanting to fall for him, he really had. Deeply.

   Fast forward 10 years, and a chance meeting has the two men standing face to face again. Alex is still angry at Noah for the way he abandoned their relationship, and Noah wants another chance with Alex, perhaps more than anything he’s ever wanted. But why did he leave in the first place? That’s where the originality comes in. It was a really clever twist, and one which then spurs Alex into contemplating how Noah had to face the hard truth of the “if you love something, set it free” concept, and debating if he might have to do the same in return. It was well done, and actually a poignant story about injustices in modern social justice and medicine. I enjoyed this one a lot, and both characters were charming and likable.

6. Accidental Blind Date, by Mia Mara ⭐️⭐️

   This book was fine, but I’m rating it pretty low because there were literally dozens of typos and grammatical errors in the book. After finding the first five or six, I just got annoyed. There were sentences without verbs, misspellings galore, punctuation errors, etc. It was just a mess. So all of that aside, the book itself was fine, basically “You’ve Got Mail” in book form.

7. Pretty Mess, by Lily Morton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

   Charming book. It’s the MM version of “Pretty Woman”, but better. The British wit and humor makes this much sharper than that movie ever was. Wes and Mac are irresistible, and the banter between them was absolutely top tier.

That’s it for this week! As always, you can keep up with all of my reading on my Goodreads if you want to. https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/12921106-karen

Love, Karen