gay romance | Ad Librum Aeternam

Hello, lovelies!

Every month, I have so many books to read: ARCs, books for book clubs, books from my bookshelves, and so on. But oftentimes, my OWN bookshelves are put aside for the other readings. So, I decided to do a monthly draw challenge where I pick a book blindly for six months from my curated TBR list. This makes things a bit more fun, and ensures I read at least one of my own books per month, too.

I was inspired to do this by a certain book vlogger I just love to watch (she's my favorite, hiya!), Sarah Hafidh (a.k.a SarahsCozyCorner). I figured it would be the solution to my problem of not reading enough of the books I own, while being amusing, too!

So, I picked six books for January to June 2025 to choose from blindly:

Teach the Torches to Burn by Caleb Roehrig

The Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black

La casa de los espíritus by Isabel Allende (Why not read also in Spanish when I can, huh?! So, to spice up this reading challenge, I decided to read in another language as well. As a polyglot, this is very helpful in keeping what I learned!)

The Witches of St. Petersburg by Imogen Edwards-Jones

Roseblood by A. G. Howard

Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell

Then, I took out some brown paper to wrap them in, scissors, tape, and a Sharpie to number them. I would have preferred an ecological solution, but I didn't haven enough cloths lying around at home. So, I am trying with this method first, and another time if I repeat this endeavour, I will use cloth.

I wrapped them up, then numbered them. I made sure that when two-three were done to mix them up on my table so I couldn't know which was which, and I didn't number them in order at all–only after I'd mixed them up. Otherwise, what's the point of choosing my next read blindly if I know which one it is in advance?

And tah dah, all done! Isn't it just beautiful?! Now, there's no book I can identify–besides the mega one, I know which one it is (it's The Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black), but STILL! The rest is still a surprise, and it's fun just to pick the books blindly through an app.

Now, only one last step for January 2025: picking the actual book!

I chose an app called LuckyDraw, so that I could input six numbers and it won't pick the same number twice (great feature! It makes this draw challenge easier.) I turned the wheel, got the number 3, annnnnnddd…

January 2025 Read: Teach the Torches to Burn by Caleb Roehrig!!! YAY!!!!

I've been longing to read this book since I ordered it a few months back, and I couldn't be happier for the number 3 to have been picked! You can watch my happy unwrapping reel.

You can now expect a review of Teach the Torches to Burn towards mid-February, and a new pick at the beginning of February, and so on for the Draw Challenge! Fun, right?

Here's the blurb of this Romeo & Juliet LGBTQ+ retelling:

In Teach the Torches to Burn, a breathlessly romantic remix of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet and seventh book in the Remixed Classics series, a queer teen boy discovers first love amid a bloody, centuries-old feud.

Verona, Italy. Seventeen-year-old aspiring artist Romeo dreams of a quiet life with someone who loves him just as he is. But as the heir to the Montague family, he is expected to give up his womanly artistic pursuits and uphold the family honor–particularly in their centuries-old blood feud with a rival family, the Capulets. Worse still, he is also expected to marry a well-bred girl approved by his parents and produce heirs. But the more Romeo is forced to mingle with eligible maidens, the harder it is to keep his deepest secret: He only feels attracted to other boys.

In an attempt to forget his troubles for just one night, Romeo joins his cousin in sneaking into a Capulet party. During a fateful encounter in the garden, he meets the kindest, most beautiful boy he's ever encountered, and is shocked to learn he's Valentine, the younger brother of one of his closest friends. He is even more shocked to discover that Valentine is just as enamored with Romeo as Romeo is with him.

So begins a tender romance that the boys must hide from their families and friends, each of them longing for a world where they could be together without fear. And as the conflict between the Montagues and Capulets escalates out of control, Romeo and Valentine find themselves in danger of losing each other forever–if not by society's scorn, then by the edge of a blade.

Hello, folks!

Or space colleagues? smirks

Either way, I'm glad you're here because today I've got something exquisite to show you:

The cover of Anticipated Angel by Laura Navarre, a delicious sci-fi erotic MM romance novella. Trust me, I'm halfway through the book and gosh, it's… not what I expected, but I needed it and dang do I love it! I squeal and chattered to my bestie about it, non-stop. I think he was slightly afraid of my mental state at that moment, yet he thought it sounded awesome!

Now, how about we start this fun ride by introducing you the author?

Here we go!

tries to mimic (poorly) the Star Trek theme song

The Author: Laura Navarre

A long time ago in a galaxy far away, Laura Navarre was an award-winning dark historical romance author for Harlequin, while her diabolical twin Nikki Navarre wrote sexy spy romance. In a daring bid to escape a global pandemic, armed only with an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction and a professional background in weapons of mass destruction, Laura voyaged through a wormhole to an alternate universe where she crafts turbocharged, epic, hyper-erotic poly science fiction romance starring three sexy bi heroes, one seriously kickass heroine, and plenty of sizzling outer space action.

Interstellar Angel is a steamy, angsty, enemies-to-lovers MMMF poly sci fi action romance and your gateway to the Astral Heat universe, where Star Wars meets 50 Shades by way of The Hunger Games. Outer space adventure just got a whole lot hotter!

Author Website

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Is it me or is it getting hot in here??? fans her face overdramatically with her hand

Okay, but what about ze book, Cat?

Ah-ha! So, you want to get right into the matter, hmmmm?

Here's a fun deal: I'll tell you more about the book, but you'll have to wait a lil' bit more for the cover… Why? Well, if you're here, reading such a forbidden MM romance trope, I bet you rather enjoy cranking up the tension till release, right? 😉

That's what I thought.

Space Cadets, More Info, Please!

Author Name: Laura Navarre

Publishing Company: Ascendant Press

Release Date: Friday, April 1 2022

Format: eBook

Is This Book Romance?: Yes

ISBN: 978-1-955236-06-5

ASIN: B09PHXMPZ2

Price: .99

Story Type: Novella

Word Count: 20,000

Cover Artist: Kim Killion

Genres: MM romance, sci fi romance, futuristic romance, space romance, space opera, new adult, erotic romance (not erotica), LGBTQ+ sci fi

Pairings: This novella contains an M/M pairing only. It's the prequel to a newly published MMMF series involving the same males among others.

LGBTQ+ Identities: Novella contains two bi males. The subsequent series is poly MMMF with three bi males and a straight/ally female.

Tropes: forbidden love, friends to lovers, first time, coming of age, most mindblowing sex ever, cultural differences, interracial relationship, alpha character, true love

Is This Part of a Series?: Yes

Series Title: Astral Heat Romance Series

Position (Number) in Series: Prequel (comes before Book 1)

Necessary to Read Previous Books: No, But It Doesn't Hurt

Other Books in Series:

1 – Interstellar Angel

2 – Renegade Angel

3 – Atomic Angel

Was This Book Published in An Earlier Edition?: No, but the book will be published again as part of the box set later in April.

WARNINGS: This book contains explicit M/M encounters. Bi-curious hero comes from an empire that crucifies lovers for same-sex unions, but no crucifixion is shown or described in the book. This MM romance prequel leads into a poly MMMF series with explicit M/M, M/F and MMMF encounters in the subsequent books.

Are you ready?

Really, really???

Bite your lip in expectation and…. BEHOLD!

TAH DAH!!!!!!!!

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Now, I gotta say I really like the striking colours and the gorgeous details.

Oh, the guys? Yeah, I guess they're… handsome. (Lesbian here, so fawn over them all you like! I just prefer reading amazing MM romances… that includes such amazing books and fanfics, too.)

Beautiful cover, in my opinion. :)

But what the story?

I thought that was enticing enough, but I guess I can sometimes be wrong.

You naughty, demanding reader. 😉

Here it is:

All Hail the Book Blurb!

On an alien world that crucifies men for prohibited desires, two boyhood best friends risk the ultimate punishment to explore a forbidden passion.

Nero: He’s the most intimidating guy at our intergalactic next-gen leaders’ camp, and his psycho galactic tyrant of a dad has a crucifixion fetish. Our two races are deadly enemies, but Dex was my boyhood best friend. Suddenly this summer, he’s all grown up—and suddenly he can’t seem to stop staring at me. I don’t know whether to be afraid that it’s all a figment of my telepathic imagination…or that every dangerous desire we’re forbidden to acknowledge is searingly real.

Dex: I’m one combat-to-the-death away from the imperial command I’ve devoted my life to achieve. All I need to do is keep my dick in my pants. Besides, Ben Nero’s my oathsworn brother. Not to mention the most gorgeous, most maddeningly unattainable, most sought-after guy at leaders' camp. There’s no way he’d ever look twice at a buttoned-tight, hyper-competitive, compulsive overachiever like me.

Until the night I blundered in on Nero in the shower. Which was a total catastrophic mistake. Because now I’ve seen what he looks like naked…now I’ve heard the way he sounds when he’s moaning my name…how in blazes do I keep him at arms’ length? Because my father crucifies men for loving men.

Which means letting Ben Nero in close, the way I’m burning to do, means risking the ultimate punishment.

For both of us.

Anticipated Angel is a steamy, angsty, friends-to-lovers MM new adult sci fi romance novella and the standalone prequel to the award-winning Astral Heat Romance Series.

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Of course, you have the choice not to.

But do you really want to miss out on that sexy thing?

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Liked it? Want more?

Here's an excerpt just for you! 😀

Excerpt (You're Welcome!)

Still damp and dripping under the tunic and breeches he’d dragged over his desperately aroused body, breathless and panting from pounding through the jungle after his frenzied best friend, Ben Nero stood on the step outside Dex’s dormitory cabin and glared at the locked door.

Dex never locked his door. They’d been coming and going from each other’s dorms day and night for three summers straight.

Sure, Dex was arrogant, aggressive, pigheaded, surly, introverted, hypercompetitive, a compulsive overachiever. The golden boy at leaders’ camp. In other words, a typical Mogadon.

Nero had hated him on sight. Until everything changed.

Since the night Dex waded into battle to defend him, Nero had been secretly crushing on the guy.

Now—this summer—their final summer when they both gained their majority and left leaders’ camp behind forever, the sexual dynamic between them had torqued so much tighter. Their unspoken chemistry had condensed into an alchemical compound so volatile it was practically pyrophoric. With Dex grown into something between a deadly predator and a tawny god, Nero knew his secret summer crush stood in acute danger of developing into a connection fathoms deeper.

And far more lethal to his guarded heart.

But given Dex’s inherited battery of hang-ups and all that sexual baggage his best friend was carting around, the state of his heart was one secret Nero fully intended to keep.

Until tonight. Cat’s out of the cave now. Of all the possible, gods-cursed times for Dex to show up for a late-night shower…

For at least the twentieth time, he cursed his own rotten timing. Wryly he admitted the inferno of heat glowing in his chest and scorching his face had less to do with exertion than sheer embarrassment.

No use pretending it didn’t happen. Dex has been pushing me away all summer. What he just saw me doing while I moaned his name will probably finish the job and end our friendship for good.

Especially with their rival planets poised on the brink of war. Nero huffed out a breath harsh with frustration.

The next time I encounter Dex Draven after summer camp will probably be in deep space at the wrong end of a solar cannon.

Grimly Nero jabbed a finger at the entry button—for the third farking time. The chime caroled away like his whole world wasn’t imploding around him. Beyond that door, his psychic senses whispered, Dex was pacing his cabin’s spartan confines, wearing a path in the silica floor.

Staring at his own locked door, heart slamming against his sternum like a meteor bombardment. If he didn’t open it…if he didn’t answer…

Nero shoved a mental barrier between them to give the guy a little privacy as a basic matter of telepath ethics. Same way he’d been doing all summer. Fighting like hell to do the decent thing and respect his best friend’s boundaries and stay out of his head.

Now he scowled at the stubborn silence but held tight to his temper.

“Dex?” He pitched his voice to carry. “Let me in. We need to talk. Anyway, you, uh, left your blaster in the shower house.”

The silence stretched between them. A silence tighter than a pressurized airlock, shredded by the shrill scream of a hunting panther. Intuition told him the critter was on the prowl, hunting for blood and savage with hunger. If the cat tracked him to Dex’s doorstep, Nero would have to defend himself. Not with Dex’s blaster, which he’d buckled around his own hips, but with the psi fire he was learning to channel as he honed his rapidly expanding arsenal of psychic powers.

Doggedly he pounded on the door. “Come on, Dex. I know you’re in there. I could feel you fulminating halfway down the path. Open up.”

“No bloody talking. I’m not in the mood.” Dex’s muffled voice sounded surly. And more than a little desperate. “For gods’ sake, Ben, it’s after midnight. Go away.”

Nero squared his shoulders and hardened his voice. “Open this door or I’ll open it for you.”

Violet sparks flared at his fingertips. Fiercely he reeled in the billowing surge of psi fire sizzling through his channels before he lost control and blew Dex’s door through the opposite wall. Tonight he wanted to talk to Dex, not fight him. And a full-out assault would only trigger all those primitive Mogadon instincts Dex was always striving to suppress.

Apparently some god with a fondness for bisexual adolescent telepaths decided to take pity on Nero’s awkward dilemma and whisper a word of reason in Dex’s ear. With a chirp, the maglock released and the door swung wide.

“Finally.” Pushing out a breath, Nero strode into the moonlit darkness. “What the hells, Dex…”

His words stuttered to a stop.

In the narrow confines of the shadowy cabin whose angles and corners he knew by heart, Dex stood silhouetted against the viewport. Wearing nothing but an insubstantial pair of sleeping trousers that clung to his supple hips and spectacular ass.

The light of Paragon’s three moons limned his broad shoulders and corded back and bulging triceps in a way that made Nero burn to sink his teeth in and just nibble his way down the guy’s body. Starlight flamed in Dex’s cropped golden hair and caressed the sun-bronzed skin Nero longed to trace with his tongue.

Nero sucked in a hit of oxygen to clear his damn head and felt his senses spin. He was already half-drunk on lotus pollen, a seductive sweetness like spicy sugar tickling the back of his throat. Now his head was reeling with the potent kick of Dex’s scent—that heady whiff of pheromones Mogadon males exuded that telegraphed aggression, territoriality, or arousal.

Nero ached to know which of those stimuli was driving Dex tonight.

Ferociously he fought back the temptation to shove aside his inconvenient ethics, peek inside Dex’s brain, and find out for himself. And screw his farking ethics and screw his best friend’s privacy.

And screw his best friend.

Screw his best friend senseless.

Wait… Cat, you mentioned a series?

Yeah, I'm glad you remember!

Series Blurb

The Astral Heat Romance Series is a steamy, angsty, enemies-to-lovers MMMF poly sci fi action romance series with M/M. Perfect for fans of Tymber Dalton, Kathryn Moon, Ariana Nash, and Pippa DaCosta.

Here’s what early reviewers are saying about this category bestselling LGBTQ+ sci fi erotic romance series:

“Fast-paced, erotic, and brutal.” – Library Journal

“Intense and incendiary! This is hot stuff not for the faint of heart.” – Viragos Reading Odyssey

“This book just grabs and doesn’t let go….One of the steamiest books I’ve ever read.” – Amazon reviewer

“Astronomically out of this world action suspense drama, topped off with XXX sizzle! …Hang on to your space helmet, this is one wild ride!” – Goodreads reviewer

“This swashbuckling reverse harem Roman Empire in space saga turns up the heat to incendiary…a pulse racing read…Fabulous fun! I loved it!” – Alicia on Amazon and Goodreads

This award-winning series has notched contest wins in the RWA Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal On the Far Side Contest (speculative romance) and the 2021 Chesapeake Romance Writers’ Rudy Contest (erotic romance).

The Astral Heat Romance Series contains explicit M/M, M/F, and MMMF encounters.