New Release-Review: PARIS AND THE REAPER by Layla Reyne (Soul to Find #2)

Paris and the Reaper by Layla Reyne is now live!

Paris and the Reaper

(Soul to Find #2)

by Layla Reyne

I was given the name Paris at birth.

So far, I’ve lived up to it; or rather, down to it.

Too pretty, too unfocused, too easy a target.

My father even tried to sacrifice me.

 

And then I was saved by a beautiful, haunted man.

 

Mac is a reaper; he delivers lost souls.

But when he came for mine, I wouldn’t let go.

And now I can hear other souls too.

I can help him. Love him, if he’ll let me.

 

Assuming we survive a conspiracy to bring Chaos through the veil.

 

Mac says souls get what they deserve.

If I do enough good, then maybe I can be worthy of his.

Maybe I can hold on to him and our bond—forever.

 

Paris and the Reaper is a soft, swoony, and suspenseful M/M urban fantasy romance. It features a grumpy raven shifter afraid to love and lose again and the sweet, cursed human who makes him want to risk it all.

  Download today!

Amazon US - Amazon UK - Apple Books - Nook - Kobo - Google Play - Layla Reyne's Store

Add to your Goodreads TBR

Carra's Review

First off, I would strongly recommend you read the first book in this series, Icarus and the Devil, and the short story, Jason and the Storm, before you read Paris and the Reaper.  This world the author has created is unique and complex so having those stories under your belt before diving in will give you a better sense of the overall world and the place of all the other characters in it.  You won’t find much backstory in this book, so reading the others first will keep you on more solid footing.

Both Paris and Mac were introduced in Icarus and the Devil, and now here they take center stage. Paris is compassionate and caring, though can seem impulsive when trying to prove himself.  Mac is the consummate protector, though innocent in his own way and with heartache in his past.  They match well together, and while the two are linked things between them are actually a slower burn than you may expect.

My one nit pick with this story is that the details are more surface-level.  Part of this I think is due to there being an assumption that you would have already read the other books in the series, so would understand what is going on (hence my advice to read those first before this one).  I really would have liked to have had things explained more in-depth than they were, particularly regarding the origin of the giants.

Even so, I was still entranced by the story and am looking forward to the next installment in the series.  Paris and the Reaper was a solid 4-star read for me, and I’d recommend to to M/M urban fantasy fans in particular…just please read the other stories first, trust me!  

About the Author

Layla Reyne is the author of What We May Be and the Agents Irish and Whiskey, Fog City, and Perfect Play series. She writes sexy, intense LGBTQIA+ romance featuring competent adults in kitchens, sports arenas, car chases, and other high-stakes situations. Whether it's adrenaline-fueled suspense, rival athletes, vampires and shifters in alt-realms, or love mixed with mouth-watering foodie goodness, queer folks finding happily-ever-afters is guaranteed.

 

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Cover Reveal: PARIS AND THE REAPER by Layla Reyne (Soul to Find #2)

 

Paris and the Reaper

(Soul to Find #2)

by Layla Reyne

Releasing October 22, 2024

Cover Designer: Sleepy Fox Studio

I was given the name Paris at birth.

So far, I’ve lived up to it; or rather, down to it.

Too pretty, too unfocused, too easy a target.

My father even tried to sacrifice me.

 

And then I was saved by a beautiful, haunted man.

 

Mac is a reaper; he delivers lost souls.

But when he came for mine, I wouldn’t let go.

And now I can hear other souls too.

I can help him. Love him, if he’ll let me.

 

Assuming we survive a conspiracy to bring Chaos through the veil.

 

Mac says souls get what they deserve.

If I do enough good, then maybe I can be worthy of his.

Maybe I can hold on to him and our bond—forever.

 

Paris and the Reaper is a soft, swoony, and suspenseful M/M urban fantasy romance. It features a grumpy raven shifter afraid to love and lose again and the sweet, cursed human who makes him want to risk it all.

Pre-order links

Amazon US - Amazon UK - Apple Books - Nook - Kobo - Google Play - Layla Reyne's Store

Add to your Goodreads TBR

About the Author

Layla Reyne is the author of What We May Be and the Agents Irish and Whiskey, Fog City, and Perfect Play series. She writes sexy, intense LGBTQIA+ romance featuring competent adults in kitchens, sports arenas, car chases, and other high-stakes situations. Whether it's adrenaline-fueled suspense, rival athletes, vampires and shifters in alt-realms, or love mixed with mouth-watering foodie goodness, queer folks finding happily-ever-afters is guaranteed.

 

Website - Goodreads - Amazon - Facebook - Facebook Group - Instagram - BookBub - Newsletter

Book Review: ANGEL'S SHARE by Layla Reyne (Agents Irish & Whiskey)

 

ANGEL'S SHARE

by Layla Reyne

Husbands Aidan Talley and Jameson Walker team up again as Agents Irish & Whiskey for their most precarious case yet in this established couple gay romantic suspense novel.

FBI agent Aidan Talley just wanted to spend the holiday weekend cheering on his husband’s basketball team. Instead, he’s investigating a cargo theft for the family business and coming face-to-face with a loose end from the case that almost tore him and Jamie apart.

Coach Jameson Walker may spend his days on the sidelines now, but Jamie refuses to stay there when it comes to his husband. When Aidan is cornered by his past, Jamie will do whatever it takes to ground him in the present, including stepping back into his hacker shoes for the Bureau.

Aidan and Jamie thought they’d seen it all, but the City of Angels has more than one ghost in store for them. As revenge and redemption collide, Agents Irish and Whiskey will have to trust in their love and their partnership to solve the case for the family they have, for the one they lost, and for the one they want to call their own.

Angel’s Share is the final book in the Agents Irish and Whiskey LGBTQIA+ romantic suspense series. While it can be read as a standalone, it is best enjoyed after reading the other books in the series.

Purchase Links

Amazon US - Amazon UK - Apple Books - Nook - Kobo - Google Play - Layla Reyne's Store - Universal

Goodreads

Carra's Review

One of the most satisfying things for me as a reader is when I can revisit existing couples to get one more glimpse into their lives.  The great thing about Angel’s Share is that we get more of Aidan and Jamie while the author gives us a fresh storyline.  That makes it so very easy to sink right back into the world of Agents Irish and Whiskey once again.

I love how they each keep each other grounded, knowing the other is there for them no matter what.  Their bond is as solid as ever without feeling overdone, and they are as hot together now as they’ve ever been.

It was great getting to see all of the supporting characters again as well.  The author has created a great network of characters from their different series that continue to be there to reinforce our guys every step of the way.  

In Angel’s Share you’ll find the suspense and excitement we’ve all come to expect in this author’s works, and for me I was totally engrossed in the story from start to finish.  This was a great way to wrap up things for Aidan and Jamie as things come full circle, though I’d never be surprised if they were to pop up somewhere else in this author’s other stories again.

5 stars for Angel’s Share, it’s a perfect end for one of my favorite couples!

About the Author

Layla Reyne is the author of What We May Be and the Agents Irish and Whiskey, Fog City, and Perfect Play series. She writes sexy, intense LGBTQIA+ romance featuring competent adults in kitchens, sports arenas, car chases, and other high-stakes situations. Whether it’s adrenaline-fueled suspense, rival athletes, vampires and shifters in alt-realms, or love mixed with mouth-watering foodie goodness, queer folks finding happily-ever-afters is guaranteed.

 

Website - Goodreads - Amazon - Facebook - Facebook Group - Instagram - Twitter - BookBub - Newsletter

New Release: ANGEL'S SHARE by Layla Reyne (Agents Irish and Whiskey #5)

New Release! 

ANGEL'S SHARE

by Layla Reyne

Husbands Aidan Talley and Jameson Walker team up again as Agents Irish & Whiskey for their most precarious case yet in this established couple gay romantic suspense novel.

FBI agent Aidan Talley just wanted to spend the holiday weekend cheering on his husband’s basketball team. Instead, he’s investigating a cargo theft for the family business and coming face-to-face with a loose end from the case that almost tore him and Jamie apart.

Coach Jameson Walker may spend his days on the sidelines now, but Jamie refuses to stay there when it comes to his husband. When Aidan is cornered by his past, Jamie will do whatever it takes to ground him in the present, including stepping back into his hacker shoes for the Bureau.

Aidan and Jamie thought they’d seen it all, but the City of Angels has more than one ghost in store for them. As revenge and redemption collide, Agents Irish and Whiskey will have to trust in their love and their partnership to solve the case for the family they have, for the one they lost, and for the one they want to call their own.

Angel’s Share is the final book in the Agents Irish and Whiskey LGBTQIA+ romantic suspense series. While it can be read as a standalone, it is best enjoyed after reading the other books in the series.

 Download today!

Amazon US - Amazon UK - Apple Books - Nook - Kobo - Google Play - Layla Reyne's Store - Universal

Goodreads

About the Author

Layla Reyne is the author of What We May Be and the Agents Irish and Whiskey, Fog City, and Perfect Play series. She writes sexy, intense LGBTQIA+ romance featuring competent adults in kitchens, sports arenas, car chases, and other high-stakes situations. Whether it’s adrenaline-fueled suspense, rival athletes, vampires and shifters in alt-realms, or love mixed with mouth-watering foodie goodness, queer folks finding happily-ever-afters is guaranteed.

 

Website - Goodreads - Amazon - Facebook - Facebook Group - Instagram - Twitter - BookBub - Newsletter

New Release-Review & Excerpt: VARIABLE ONSET by Layla Reyne

Variable Onset

by Layla Reyne

Publisher: Carina Press

Genre: M/M Romantic Mystery/Suspense

Series: N/A

Standalone: Yes

Tropes: Fake Marriage, Forced Proximity, Opposites Attract, Undercover LEOs, Single Dad, Hot for Teacher

A mystery whodunit with a romantic will-they-or-won't-they.

Purchase Links

Amazon - Universal

Blurb

To catch a killer, a special agent and his former student will need to get close—to their target, and each other. 

When the serial killer known as Dr. Fear seemingly reemerges after a cooling-off period, Special Agent Lincoln Monroe wants on the case. He knows his research on the calculating criminal, who targets couples and uses their worst fears to kill them, could prove invaluable. But nothing can prepare Lincoln for the agent waiting for him in Apex, Virginia: a brash and cocky former student. Carter Warren is everything Lincoln is not, and somehow everything he wants. And they’ll be going undercover. As newlyweds.

For Carter, seeing Lincoln again—and flustered to boot—pokes his raging bear of a crush something fierce. He thinks posing as lovers will provide the perfect bait for Dr. Fear. But pretending to be married forces them to confront fears of their own…like giving in to the very real chemistry between them.

With evidence pointing to the possibility of a copycat killer, Lincoln and Carter will have to race to separate truth from fiction. But when another couple goes missing, finding the killer will test every ounce of their training, skills and the strength of their bond like never before. 

Excerpt

Lincoln bent to pick his socks up off the floor, and Carter admired his firm, round ass in well-worn jeans. He’d never seen Lincoln this dressed down before. Not that the professor wasn’t handsome in slacks, a button-down, and argyle, but jeans, a tee, and said argyle was a look Carter could get behind.

Literally.

That gray tee and pink-and-purple argyle rucked up around his torso, those jeans stretched around lean, muscular thighs, that perfect ass in the air, pale skin flushed for the kisses Carter would like to…

A sharp clap broke through the fantasy unspooling in Carter’s head. Lincoln was on his way back from the mudroom off the kitchen, exasperation painting his face, as if he could see inside Carter’s head. “Explain this,” he said, using his ring finger to gesture between them. “Beverley said I was going undercover as the new librarian at Apex U and that my partner on this case would be teaching a survival course to Apex PD. He said nothing about living together or pretending to be married.”

“Because I asked him not to,” Carter replied. Lincoln opened his mouth, no doubt to protest, but Carter spoke again first. “It wasn’t only Agent—Senator—Kirk who asked for you on this case. I asked for you too. You are the Bureau’s resident expert on Dr. Fear. But it doesn’t take an expert to know who Dr. Fear targets.”

“Couples.”

Carter nodded and waited for the implication to register.

It took a few seconds, but then Lincoln paled and braced a hand on the end of the island. “You want us to be bait?” he squawked.

Carter dipped his chin to hide his grin. When he was sure his face was in order again, he lifted it and said, “If they’re active again, or even if this is a copycat, who better to lead the killer to than to two trained agents instead of to more innocents?”

Carra's Review

One fact that is indisputable is that Layla Reyne is an expert at writing romantic suspense.  This time around here in Variable Onset, the story relies more heavily on the suspense and mystery, with the romance being more incidental to everything else that’s going on.  But as a reader you’re so pulled into the intrigue of the case that you may not realize that the relationship that’s developing until it creeps up on you in unexpected moments.

Lincoln has pretty much fallen into being more on the analytical side of things, not just due to the nature of his work’s concentration but also as a result of his more introverted personality.  It was really easy for me to identify with his character since that is me to a T.  Carter’s more outgoing disposition lends itself more to his work in the field working undercover along with his ability to insinuate himself into most any environment.  Right there you have the opposites attract thing going, and if you add that to the age gap and former professor/student dynamic, there’s plenty to attract most readers to their matchup.

With the case being the stronger focal point of the story, it’s easy to be pulled down into the rabbit hole…because let’s face it—when Layla Reyne is writing a story with mystery and suspense, you never know where things will lead or who the actual bad guy is.  She definitely kept me on my toes here trying to guess who the perpetrator was, and that in turn kept me on edge for the majority of the book.

You can’t go wrong when picking up one of this author’s romantic suspense stories, and for me Variable Onset wound up being a 4.5-star read.  This story is a standalone, so no worries if you haven’t read any of her books previously.  Finally, with the adult language and a small amount of sexual content (though there’s plenty of sexual tension throughout), this book is meant for readers 18+.

About the Author

Layla Reyne is the author of Dine With Me, and the Fog City, Agents Irish and Whiskey, Trouble Brewing, and Changing Lanes series. A Carolina Tar Heel who now calls the San Francisco Bay Area home, Layla enjoys weaving her bi-coastal experiences into her stories, along with adrenaline-fueled suspense and heart pounding romance.

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