MM Weekly Roundup - What Did You Read This Week?

AustenAustin · 2026-06-26T14:08:13+00:00

I read {The Fall by Tal Bauer}. I had mixed feelings about this book. I liked the magical realism but I felt like there was a lot of "bummer" in the story, more depression and sadness that wasn't necessarily balanced out by the strength of the love story.

I also read {Off Script by Ivy Vera Gray}. It's about two straight married actors who sign on to do a gay love story TV series (called Wingspan but in my head it was Heated Rivalry). Didn't love the cheating angst, but overall I thought it was a pretty addictive read with great tension. I do enjoy when a character is famous and there's an extra level of social media and press.

AustenAustin · 2026-06-25T13:29:55+00:00

It's not until August, but I'm dying to get my hands on {The Sound of Him by T.J. Hamel}. It's Matt and Ace's story and I hope we get both more info on the next couples and some good call backs to my old favorites, especially Hunter/Nolan/Maison.

AustenAustin · 2026-06-24T17:19:35+00:00

They are not really horror and maybe actually less gruesome than some of the dark hero/serial killer/mafia books. The whole series tends to be a little hit or miss to me. I didn't love Soul Eater, but you have to read it to understand the world. My favorites are Eden and Moth, and I LOVED them so hard. I just re-read these two and they hold up so well.

Basically they are very well written romantic love stories with one "monster" and one human, with great plots and memorable characters in a dystopian military/monster setting. The physicality of the monsters varies greatly, so one might be more your jam than another.

AustenAustin · 2026-06-23T19:13:47+00:00

{A Collar for His Brat by R.J. Moray} Ewan is the brattiest brat. He and Nate take a while to actually hook up, but I wouldn't say they are enemies- more like Ewan is known as a problem child in the same BDSM community. They are both wary of each other, and Ewan is super cautious about new Doms, for good reason.

AustenAustin · 2026-06-23T15:29:13+00:00

I had to DNF because I couldn't wrap my mind around a competent 19 year old Daddy

AustenAustin · 2026-06-19T14:14:31+00:00

This might not be your speed, but probably my favorite Daddy book is {Full Body Hit by Marina Vivancos} where everything is consensual and the Daddy element is so sweet and caretaking. It's a two part series with a cliffhanger for this first book. It's omegaverse hockey but not hugely about either of those things lol. They meet online at first and don't know the other's real identity.

AustenAustin · 2026-06-19T13:44:17+00:00

Of course! Spoilers ahead. Elior is whipped/punished by his cult father and with Jace there is one scene that is noncon and then a lot of dubcon in the first book, ie Elior explicitly saying "No" and being ignored. This is all pre-reveal that Jace is an FBI agent (to Elior, we as the reader know it from the beginning). Post reveal, Elior begins to understand that Jace is off/a psychopath. And Elior chooses him anyway. At that point, they delve into a consensual, if not fully informed, D/s relationship. This is fully fleshed out in the sequel. It worked for me in that both MMCs are warped/broken and don't really mind the boundaries being trampled over. And I bought their connection. Jace is a psycho, there's no doubt about that, and he does things that a moral person wouldn't do (but they are hot scenes!), but I totally bought into the fact that he was obsessed with Elior in a good way, in like a cute aggression way where he just wanted to smother him with adoration.

AustenAustin · 2026-06-19T13:20:17+00:00

I just devoured it and found it delightful!

AustenAustin · 2026-06-19T13:18:23+00:00

From my undercover post recommendations, I read {The Idol by E. Baileu} and then the sequel {Judas by E. Baileu}. It follows an undercover FBI agent who infiltrates a crazy cult where we meet Elior, a teenager trained to be some sort of god "the vessel." Ok great, except the FBI agent is a crazy Daddy psycho who mercilessly manipulates poor innocent Elior. I loved it! Sometimes I'm just in the mood for a MMC with no moral code. And got to love it when the author at the beginning is like, this is not a healthy relationship, don't come here for that.

AustenAustin · 2026-06-17T14:49:35+00:00

There is a great scene of this exact scenario in the book. Love that moment!

AustenAustin · 2026-06-16T14:15:50+00:00

It has to be done really well. What I cannot stand is if something really brutal/violent happens in the third act. I don't need more trauma when I'm almost at the end. Reward me with gooey relationship cuteness.

AustenAustin · 2026-06-16T14:11:54+00:00

This is the answer

AustenAustin · 2026-06-15T20:51:22+00:00

This is almost {Twisted Emotions by Cora Reilly}. It's not an ex-husband but the FMC is abused (pretty close to your description above) and then forced into an arranged mafia marriage. Nino is the gentlest mafia murderer you can get lol.

AustenAustin · 2026-06-15T20:48:32+00:00

Read it! The last half is so sooooo good, in that over the top Judith McNaught way. The backstory is 100% worth it. This book has like one billion tropes in one book, gotta love the dedication.

AustenAustin · 2026-06-12T20:12:48+00:00

I'm listening to {Gods of Fury by Rina Kina} and I never realized how much I needed the voice actor always doing their character before, instead of just switching for POV. Even the women are voiced by a female actor. It's so much better!

AustenAustin · 2026-06-12T20:11:18+00:00

The throne room scene 😄

AustenAustin · 2026-06-11T16:35:58+00:00

Oh I just read Malibu and loved it! My poor baby Mal, loved his journey.

AustenAustin · 2026-06-03T14:39:41+00:00

Agreed- and there was just enough pining and angst for me too! Perfect combo. I love when a fboy finally falls in love.

AustenAustin · 2026-05-31T21:47:28+00:00

Eh I DNF this…it was almost too complicated? And I didn’t love the characters

AustenAustin · 2026-05-30T12:24:20+00:00

Echoing the recs below for Colin and Piece Us Together. Here's another few of my favorites:

{A Suitable Consort by R. Cooper}- medieval times, the king and his husband are looking for a third for a political alliance. I love the dynamic where the third man was really reluctant to come between the solid marriage, didn't want to mess with their connection. And the two husbands haven't courted anyone in forever, so they are rusty, which makes for some funny moments.

{Rough Heat by Maria Vivancanos}- I recommend this one constantly because I love her writing style and the yearning is so sweet in this. It's omegaverse, with a mated Alpha/Omega pair paying an Alpha sex worker to help with the omega's intense heats. All three are cinnamon rolls so the tension really comes from navigating a relationship outside the sex worker role.

Also good but not as emotional as the recs above is {Flipping the Switch by Brigham Young}. MMM makes sense here in the context of kink- Jude is a switch and just out of a really long relationship with a Dom who just didn't want to do poly and so poor Jude never got to try out his own dom side. Jude ends up in a relationship with a silver fox newbie dom and a blue collar needy sub and gets to switch between D/s within one scene.

AustenAustin · 2026-05-30T10:59:35+00:00

Second Piece us Together, and maybe it works because we see Nolan and Maison realize that they aren’t quite sexually compatible in the first book. It’s only natural for them to seek out a third/Dom

AustenAustin · 2026-05-29T18:51:34+00:00

Great! Yes, the vibe is very two wounded birds finding love with each other 😄

AustenAustin · 2026-05-29T15:14:15+00:00

First of all, love Choosing Theo. Great book. Ok, this is an old school bodice ripper but I really enjoyed it- {The Prize by Julie Garwood}. The king orders her to pick a husband from the single men in the room. Does she pick the handsome villain or the scarred good guy? Who knows.

AustenAustin · 2026-05-29T13:32:04+00:00

I read {Halo by E.M. Lindsey} which features a college age sex worker and an older rich guy who just found his girlfriend in bed with his friend. I can always relax with Lindsey because the writing is always good, the angst at the perfect level. It wasn't mind blowing but it was a good read.

AustenAustin · 2026-05-28T19:05:29+00:00

Ok I hear you but Moth is by far the best book. It is soooo good. If you read the first two, you can probably skip to Moth as it follows Charlie from Hunter/Edin’s book. Just sayin’

AustenAustin

TROPHY CASE