Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is a wonderful collection of three queer love stories. The characters will be familiar to fans of the Five Boroughs books, but this collection diverges from the m/m parings of the earlier books and allows us to enjoy a little bit more of the rainbow. The three stories are separate but interlinked and written in chronological order. Each story features a different set of characters within Raymond and David’s friendship group.

The first story, Rerouted, is my favourite. It’s told from Raymond’s friend Chris’ perspective as he finds himself falling for a polyamorous couple. Chris is bisexual and he is slowly starting to realise that he is also poly. When Chris is trapped with Jace and Aiden in a Manhattan office during a blackout, the men are forced to explore their relationship together. Between their conversations about monogamy and commitment are some wonderfully steamy, dirty scenes. I loved the chemistry between these three and I loved them together.

The second story, Gridlocked, is told from Raymond’s friend Tonya’s perspective. She’s working security for a QFindr event when she runs into Meredith, a woman she once had a fling with. As we know from earlier books, Tonya is a kickass genderfluid former Marine from Queens. And Meredith is a spoiled Park Avenue princess. I really enjoyed the culture clash and I enjoyed getting to see a gentler side of Tonya. The sex in this story is just as hot and just as kinky as the sex in the first one but I found the story itself a little less coherent. This one also didn’t really end – I was expecting the next chapter instead of the third novella. Of the three stories, Gridlocked could have benefitted from being made into a full-length novel because several story strands were introduced but not developed or concluded.

The third story, Derailed, belongs to Stephanie and Angel. Stephanie has been a constant in the background of this series and I’m so glad she finally has her own book. Stephanie’s childhood was grim and as a result, she doesn’t do relationships. Angel has been another background character and I love that he narrates half of this book. Stephanie and Angel have loved each other since childhood but Stephanie’s issues mean that she is afraid of a relationship with Angel. Once again, the sex is crazy hot between these two. I love the way Angel embraces Stephanie’s bisexuality. This is the most angsty of the three stories and I think my heart broke a little bit each time Stephanie pushed Angel away. But the connection between these two is also playful and fun – and pretty kinky at times too.

I love this collection. I love the way Hassell writes about female sexuality and I love that this collection moves past the usual m/m pairings. The collection pushes into erotica territory at times but it also manages to be intelligent, sweet, and funny. I’m not sure if these stories will stand alone – but I also don’t know why anyone would want to miss the earlier books. This collection is a great addition to a favourite series.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is the sixth in a series, and contains three excellent novellas which are set consecutively. I have not yet had the pleasure of reading the other books in the series, but I intend to remedy that soon. I did not feel at a disadvantage, but am certain that I would enjoy them, even if I know what relationships have occurred already.

Rerouted – this is set mainly in the office when there is a power failure across the whole of New York. The heat of the building combined with the difficult decisions that Chris has to make, and the passion between him and married couple Jace and Aiden is intense. I loved that he had David to talk to about his fears and expectations – and that we also got to understand why Aiden and Jace behave as they did. It was insightful, exciting, and extremely hot.

Gridlocked deals with Tonya having to put some bad choices of words behind her and give Meredith the chance she deserves... this is not an easy decision! The chemistry between the two of them is so lustful it flames off the page. Definitely one to read near a fan!

Derailed – for most of their lives Stephanie and Angel have refused to accept that they are in love with each other. Stephanie's past resulted in her making rules which she refuses to break, even if the on-off passion she shares with Angel could be everything, if she gave it a chance. I love how these two are at the same place, but so scared of believing it. How Angel has played by her rules in order to have some of her, rather than nothing, but can no longer suffer the separation. The fact that so many of their friends are now in loving relationships is breaking his heart, when she won't ever settle down. So much pent up emotion, and so beautifully uncovered and just the most wonderfully understated ending, ever.

A fabulous trilogy of hot, passionate, and deeply thoughtful stories, thank you Mr. Hassell.

Three new novellas featuring some of the secondary characters of the 5 Boroughs crew.

Santino's characters are raw and real. If you're a fan of the series like I am, don't miss this add-on!

The first novella followed Chris, a beloved Queens crew character, and his complicated poly storyline with Aiden and Jace. Imagine getting stuck in a building during a heat-induced blackout with two people. Two people who you have a complicated sexual and emotional relationship with. It's really good, and you see how these characters have grown over time. I also loved that this novella starts at Raymond and David's place, because they're my two favorite characters by far. M/M/M poly relationship.

The second novella follows Tonya and Meredith. You don't see a lot of Tonya in the other books in the series, but you get to know her more in this novella for sure. To be honest, I don't love Meredith as a character but I warmed up to her more in this book. Nonbinary/female relationship.

The third and final novella features Stephanie and Angel (commonly referred to as Sharky), and Hassell does something different from his norm here. These two have been the on-again, off-again background couple in the other main Five Boroughs novels, and it's nice to see them highlighted in a stereotypical romance trope – fake romance! They're pushed together on a work trip – camping, of all times – for Stephanie's job, and things get a little hot and crazy. Male/female relationship.

Santino Hassell’s Citywide is basically EVERYTHING to me.

From the second that he announced the title, I was prepared to go into full-squee mode. I love Hassell’s Five Buroughs series to the point where I wrote a grad seminar paper on Sunset Boulevard because I loved the way the narrative used “space” in the text.

I fan-Stitch over him on the regular.

And Citywide continues to validate my love of his writing thanks to three fantastic stories and the way that he fleshes out Queens crew (characters that are friends with the Rodriguez brothers from the first two books of the series) on their way to Happily Ever Afters.

Citywide is made up of three linked short stories that all revolve around the Queens crew and their personal lives.   

The first story in Citywide is “Rerouted” and it focuses on Chris Mendez’s slow-burn relationship with Jace and Aiden Fairbairn basically catching fire in the middle of a hellacious. Personally, I don’t think you can start this story without reading “Third Rail” the short story that Hassell released only a few weeks before Citywide’s release, but I mean… you do you.

Like “Third Rail”, “Rerouted” is hilarious and hot. I was torn between laughing until I wheezed and fanning myself because I was blushing so much I felt like I was on fire. I think that while all three of the stories are basically THE BEST EVER, “Rerouted” shines for me because of that balance of unbelievable sexiness and the “laugh till you snort” comedy alongside the relationship development.

I really adore Chris and so I’m glad to see him get both character development and one hell of an amazing relationship with Jace and Aiden (who are, on their own, quite compelling characters… It’s just that I’ve got a weakness for cute Puerto Rican boys, mkay?).

Aside from the absolutely amazing work Hassell puts into Chris, Jace, and Aiden’s relationship, another thing that I liked about “Rerouted” is that the story is also quite timely. One aspect of the plot deals with finding out that one of the people that works for the queer dating app that Aiden works for is basically a stealth member of the alt-Right and that carries over to the next story in the next story in the book… “Gridlocked”.

In “Gridlocked”, former Marine Tonya Maldonando winds up sort of playing bodyguard to Meredith Stone following a homophobic attack that may have been linked to/sparked by the dudebro alt-Right asshole mentioned in the first story. It’s like… super intense.

I think, that what got me about “Gridlocked” was that I found myself ID-ing very hard with Tonya. I mean, it’s not just that she’s Black, but that she’s Black, genderfluid, and just… the way that she talks about herself and her identity that I’m just super into.

I have a note in my kindle copy where Tonya is talking about a cop’s reaction to her describing herself as Meredith’s boyfriend after the attack and it just says “mee!!!”. Because holy crap did I feel some serious kinship to Tonya.

“Gridlocked” is… less funny than “Rerouted”, but the change in tone works. We’re dealing with different POV characters and Tonya is nothing like Chris. You can see why they’re totally bros, but yeah, absolutely different styles of narration there.

And it works.

Aside from Tonya’s gender identity (and how ridiculously giddy I was to read about a queer Black non-binary babe) and the super freaking steaming sex scenes, another thing I liked about “Gridlocked” is the way the story deals with/talks about family.

Meredith’s dad has appeared/was mentioned in a few other Five Boroughs and he’s a major asshole. “Gridlocked” makes no excuses for his behavior or the harm it’s caused his family and in fact, it shows us how his behavior has hurt Meredith. The novella also has Tonya delving into her past (which is painful) and it introduces Victor Quinones, complicated and frustrating brother to the heroine in the last story in Citywide: “Derailed”.

One of my biggest weaknesses in romance is the “fake relationship” set-up. Sure, Stephanie Quinones and Angel Leon have been on and off from as far back as they can remember, but they’re mostly “off” and things are majorly complicated.  In “Derailed”, the couple winds up working on their relationship while dealing with pressure from Stephanie’s coworkers and their respective pasts. It’s a lot, and it’s intense, but it’s so, so worth it.

“Derailed” is a good, solid story. It maybe doesn’t shine as brightly after the other two, but it’s still rife with delicious character development and potential seeds for future stories in this world. And, I’m gonna be real: you wind up rooting for Angel and Steph to have a “Happily Ever After” pretty early on because this story gets you attached. (And Angel is just such a good guy, y’all…)

If you’re a huge sucker for the fake relationship trope as used in fandom for eons, you’re going to love this story.

All of the relationships in Citywide were, in some ways, #lifegoals for me. I’ve loved the characters since day one of reading my first Hassell novel and I can’t get enough of seeing characters I love, who look like me and mine, find happiness in the series. I know that I’m a major sap when it comes to this sort of thing, but trust me, this is another super satisfying read from Hassell and I think a great introduction to the series if you don’t mind spoilers for the previous books.

Although I loved all three stories in this collection, it had a really powerful start with Chris, Jace and Aiden and I don't think either of the other two quite compared. Especially after recently reading both Corrupting Chris and Third Rail, Chris is definitely my favourite of all.

This is a story about a friendship group who are all finding/accepting love at around the same time.

The first one involves a polyamorous triad, or at least is attempting to, but these boys are not communicating overly well. Chris is sure that both Jace and Aiden both want to keep seeing other people as well as him if the three of them were to enter into something serious, and although he can deal with dating two different people, he can't deal with the two of them dating or having sex with other people on top of that. It's a different definition to polyamory than I would tend to use, but it was still incredibly readable.

Tonya and Michelle have both been mentioned in other stories, but I hadn't realised that Tonya (or T) identified as non-binary and absolutely loved the portrayal of this character with the spotlight fixed on them. The two characters have sizzling hot chemistry and I just want them to be happily ever after forever.

Stephanie and Angel are a couple who refuse to be a couple, more due to Stephanie's hang ups than anything else. I have BEEN in this situation and at times this story was excruciating to read. Angel has been in love with Steph since they were in high school but isn't pushy about it apart from the times when them hooking up tears him apart. I wasn't sure how very believable I found the ending, but Santino does a good job of writing it regardless.

This set isn't erotica so much as it's romance genre, but wow I wish that everyone could write sex scenes like Santino does it.

“For everyone who couldn’t get enough of Jaiden and the Queens Crew. This anthology is for you!”

This introduction by the author very neatly sums up everything most fans of the Five Boroughs series need to know about Citywide. Fascinating, complex, and impossible to overlook, these originally supporting characters’ voices resonated so strongly throughout the previous stories that the notion of the series without them has become unimaginable. So, it was with an inordinate fondness and eagerness that I began reading Citywide, and ended up caring even more deeply for each and every one of them by its end.

“Rerouted”
As previously noted, Chris, Jace, and Aiden have been favorites of mine since they first appeared in the series, and theirs was the story in the collection I was looking forward to the most. Chris has illuminated every scene he’s been in, while Aiden and Jace have always made me crave to learn anything about them that I could. Serving as both introduction and HEA, “Rerouted” exceeded all my expectations, starting Citywide off with as hopeful a beginning as I could have wished for.

“Gridlocked”
Tough, judicious, and fiercely loyal, Tonya has likewise commanded my interest whenever she’s appeared in the Five Boroughs stories. While she could have been cast solely as the Queens Crew’s walking reality check, it was always evident that she was much more. As the outrageous—though equally devoted—heiress and sidekick, Meredith has evolved quite a bit since her first appearance, and made a more compelling match for Tonya in Citywide than I initially expected. While I imagined I’d enjoy “Gridlocked” primarily for the chance to get to know Tonya better, I was both surprised and very happy that the pair got the new start they did.

“Derailed”
As the only one of these novellas that focuses exclusively on two of the original members of the Queens Crew, “Derailed” was the most difficult for me to read. The history Stephanie and Angel share is complicated, even taking into account the intimacy of their larger group, and the battleground they’ve taken up residence on for so long is downright brutal. They know each other far too well for their story to be either sweet or pretty, and it occurred to me at the halfway point that a glass of wine or three would have been welcome. Jagged and sometimes devastating, their HEA seemed the most hard-won of the bunch, even though I don’t believe it could have happened any other way.

Sometimes dark, but often perfect, Citywide should be a must-read for any longtime follower of the Five Boroughs series. While I enjoyed all three novellas tremendously, it was “Rerouted” that completely stole my heart. There’s not a thing I didn’t like about Chris, Jace, and Aiden’s story, and watching them find the love they’ve wanted for so long made me ridiculously happy. With the addition of Citywide, Mr. Hassell has again demonstrated that he is a unique and gifted writer, as well as reaffirming that Five Boroughs is one of the best series in the genre.

I was so excited for both Chris and Stephanie's stories and Hassell did not disappoint. While Tonya's story didn't grab me in the same way, I think that's because I never really had the same sense of her as a character that I did with the others in the Five Boroughs novels. It was a good story, but there was an emotional satisfaction with the other two that in this one, was missing for me. Really glad I got the resolution on this gang.

4 1/2 Stars!


I freakin' loved all three stories here. They all gave me feels. They were all hot and sweet and just perfect. (Or, almost perfect -- they are novellas, after all, and I'm always a bit harder on my grading for them, and solid 5s are really rare for me.) But these 3 novellas came awfully close, I assure you!


Diverse stories and pairings, tons of sex (also very diverse and unashamed and super sex positive, yay!), all wrapped up in Hassell's fantastic writing and snark.


I talk about this one a bit more on my Whatcha Reading (11/18/17) podcast episode: http://www.tbqsbookpalace.com/2017/11/whatcha-reading-podcast-november-18th.html

With Citywide, Santino Hassell advances the plot line of his Five Boroughs series. These three interlocking novellas tell the stories of several single friends from other novels. Here, the Puerto Rican crew, Chris, Tonya, Stephanie, and Angel, are learning to trust, through encounters with each other, and with Caleb’s Manhattan social circle.  However, standalone readers will fall for Citywide’s impeccably portrayed personalities.

During Rerouted, a heatwave-induced blackout locks Chris Mendez in the offices of QFindr, a gay dating app site, with his crushes, Jace and Aiden Fairbairn, who co-own the business. While QFindr’s regular tech is on vacation, they’ve asked Chris, an IT Tech, to investigate a computer glitch. In so doing, Chris discovers the regular tech has been gay bashing them on social media!

Until the computer emergency, Chris had been avoiding Jace and Aiden, a long-standing couple with whom he’d shared threesomes. He’s fallen for them hard, but believes he’s only one of many “thirds” in their poly lifestyle.

Aiden offers Chris his ideal job, replacing the homophobe. But Chris fears closeness, assuming the long-standing duo would never permanently include a newcomer. Besides, he’s far too jealous to share them with other lovers. But what about their needs?

In Gridlocked, Chris’ friend Tonya Maldonado, is a former Marine, who had a one-off with Meredith Stone, Aiden half-sister. A year later Tonya works security at a QFinder event, to protect attendees from the homophobic backlash at the firing of QFindr’s old tech, which has attracted more haters. Tonya and Meredith’s magnetism has grown, fueled by distance.

After Tonya stops two men from attacking Meredith, Mr. Stone offers Tonya a huge wage increase to work security for him. Estranged from her dad, Meredith is furious Tonya considers it. This ends their short-lived steamy reunion. Or will it?

Finally, in Derailed, their prickly friend, Stephanie Quinones, who has been in and out of an intense friendship, and fuck buddy status with Angel Leon, must decide whether to risk more. At a company retreat, low-key Angel makes it clear he’s loved her since High School, but can no longer be masochistic, staying in the wings.

Can a woman grow past her abusive childhood, if she thinks, “I hadn’t wanted to spoil it by making us like all the other couples who inevitably crumbled to dust, and I hadn’t wanted to lose his unconditional sweetness.”

Hassell has pitch-perfect ears for lingo, capturing street rhythms in the cadence and structure of his sentences. “’You got my growly mean-mugging, apathetic bastard bestie to fall in super-sappy love with you, so you must know some trick to the trade,’” Chris tells another friend.
In contrast, note the elegant sparsity of a question asked by wealthy, educated Meredith. “’Is that not still the case?’”

Hassell sketches his characters’ mercurial moods succinctly. “I didn’t have a resting bitch face. I’d been born looking like I was ready to knock everybody out,” Tonya admits to herself.
Likewise, conflicts are portrayed perceptively and with gentle humor. For example, Tonya summarizes Stephanie and Angel’s complicated relationship. “Yeah, you want to fuck him and casually date while being besties, and he wants to carve his name into your ass.”

Hassell treats the sexual spectrum with tender empathy. We understand how scary it is for Jace to consider entering a committed couple, and what they must have gone through to offer him entry. When Tonya is called Meredith’s “boyfriend,” we applaud her for thinking “I never bothered to “correct” people because there was nothing to “correct.” And we completely melt as Angel pines for Stephanie.

And I found Citywide’s intimacy some of the most scorching I read this year.

Perhaps what I love most about Citywide’s novellas, however, is that plot twists merely bring people together. Every day events actually cause these quirky personalities to harmonize.

Don’t most of us fall in love while watching a guy cook, or a gal put on make-up? For all the alpha Puerto Rican brashness and rich-kid brattyness, we, too, fall in love with these folks during their small moments. It is their imperfections that endear them, as much as their strengths.

Maybe the biggest sign of my deep admiration for this series, is what I considered Hassell’s sweetest phrase. In the acknowledgements, he tells us, “We have two more books to go in the Five Boroughs universe.” Alright! Thanks, Santino!

Well this book has a little bit of everything - M/M/M story, F/F story and and a M/F Story. I also believe that reading the series will make this book A LOT more enjoyable since the characters are all introduced within the series.

4.5 Stars to Rerouted. I really loved the story between Aiden, Jace and Chris. It was smoking hot and yet I genuinely liked the characters. Triads are hit and miss with me. I can sometimes have a hard time finding them believable. I actually didn't have that problem with this one although I do think the relationship was a bit Chris centered. Maybe that was because it was in his POV but I would have loved a couple of scenes between just Aiden and Jace even if it was discussions about how Chris fit in with them and what they wanted as a couple since they were the married couple. However, even with that I really thought the author did a great job of showing how Chris fit both Aiden and Jace. With Aiden and Jace being a lot a like and having grown up together Chris was able to be the peacemaker and help when one or the other was frustrated. I liked that in between some really intense and hot sex scenes there were some emotional conversations taking place. Overall, I really loved this one and would like to read more of them.

4 Stars to Gridlocked. I gave this story 4 stars even though for me it was probably more of a 3 star but that's just because I'm not a fan of F/F stories and I skimmed the sex scenes. However, if I went by just the writing alone it was a well done story with fully dimensional characters. I liked both Mere and Tonya and thought there story was well done.

2 stars to Derailed.

I almost gave up a couple of times throughout this story because I really didn't like Stephanie and although I know the author tried to explain her issue with commitment I never found it believable. Angel was a wonderful and sweet guy who was also a great friend but Steph treated him like crap and I wanted to him to let go of her and move on and find someone who would treat him better. I'm all for women who can stand on their own and don't need a man but that doesn't give her the excuse to play with Angel's feelings and that's what I felt like she was doing. She wouldn't be with him but didn't want anyone else to have him so she'd give him just enough to give him hope but never more until the very end of this story. I felt it was far too late by then and I had lost all respect for Steph.

Overall 4 Stars!

So, this anthology can be read as a standalone, but I would highly recommend checking out the rest of the Five Boroughs series. This gives a lovely HEA to secondary characters who have grown in the series that have now gotten their own storylines. AND I LOVE THAT WE HAVE THIS BOOK. Here's your reminder that Third Rail is a collection of short stories that is available for FREE about Chris/Aiden/Jace that leads into their story in this book.

A fun fact about this novel is that we get the perspective told from the Queens Crew for each of their stories. So, that means Chris, Tonya, Stephanie, and Angel are the POVs and while we've read stories from Chris' perspective (and a very little bit from the others if you're on Patreon), this is the first time we get entire chapters told from their perspective. It does mean that I'm kinda missing Aiden and Jace's POVs in Rerouted, but Chris is more than enough to carry the story. <3

REROUTED
New York City is in the middle of a heat wave and servers are messing up at QFindr's HQ. It's actually pretty interesting seeing how far QFindr has come since the days of its inception in First and First. Caleb calls Chris to help out, and with the prospect of making a few easy hundred dollars, Chris agrees. There's...tension between Chris with Aiden and Jace. Aiden and Jace have been wanting Chris to be their third for months now, but Chris' insecurities doesn't allow him to just be with Aiden and Jace so easily. Aiden and Jace still hang out and find men at Liberty X to have sex with pretty regularly.

Most of this story takes place in QFindr's building, but I do love that we see Raymond and David in this story, as well as some Caleb and Oli. This story is ANGST. More so than the others, at least. Chris is so precious and he wants to be with Aiden and Jace, but you can see why their lifestyle confuses him and hurts him even though they don't mean to hurt him. The chemistry with these three is absolutely electric (and that's probably what caused the electric grid to go down in this story TBH). I love, love, LOVE Chris, Aiden, and Jace. Aiden and Jace have been through SO MUCH and it's really nice to see how Chris fits with them so perfectly. I could honestly read more about these three forever.

GRIDLOCKED
We finally get Tonya and Meredith's story!!! We haven't seen as much for these two characters, so it was nice to catch up with their lives. The last (and only) time they've hooked up is during the QFindr promotional campaign. They've been eyeing each other, but not really doing anything about their sexual tension since then. Tonya is working as security for Meredith's QFindr fundraiser when things really escalate between the two. QFindr has been doxxed and the founders attacked online quite viciously, but when Meredith gets attacked in real life, she hides out with Tonya for a couple of days.

Meredith and Tonya are complete opposites. Meredith is the rich white girl who knows how to throw parties and appears on Page Six whenever new scandals arise. And Tonya is a former Marine, Queens girl. These two have chemistry together that is on FIRE in this story. What I especially loved about this story is that Tonya is nonbinary and I loved that Meredith asks and addresses Tonya by Tonya's chosen pronouns.

An interesting piece to this story that I did not expect is Kenneth Stone - Aiden, Caleb, and Meredith's father. He's a billionaire who seems to be pretty harsh towards his children the last time we saw him in First and First. Well, we see in this story that he cares very much about this children and would like to do whatever it takes to keep them safe and comfortable with the security team he wants to provide them. And that's just so sweet?

We do get introduced to a new character in this story who will be a love interest in Clive's book and I am SO EXCITED. It's lovely to see the Queens crew all hang out with Raymond and David and see that Michael and Nunzio are kind of the parents of the group.

DERAILED
I'm going to get to Angel and Stephanie in a minute, but can we just talk about the BOMBSHELL THAT THE OPENING CHAPTER GAVE US??! I am so freaking out over this thing that happens between Gridlocked and Derailed and I need a short story or SOMETHING told from these characters' POV about what happened. I just need something. These are my favorite characters and I'm so glad I didn't read this in public, because I legit shrieked reading this thing that happened.

*clears throat*

So. There's a thing that gets brought up at the beginning of Derailed and we have the Queens crew going to a party. This is the first of the stories in Citywide where we get dual POV chapters - one from Angel and one from Stephanie. Angel has been in love with Stephanie since forever. And Stephanie...she knows. Everyone knows. But Stephanie doesn't want to be in a monogamous relationship and that's what Angel wants them to have. Stephanie's been hurt before and it's not something she's interested in, and it hurts to see Angel and Stephanie circling one another like this. They've barely been able to keep their hands off each other, but their relationship hasn't progressed at all in the past year.

The majority of this story takes place outside NYC. Stephanie's company decided to do a team-building retreat weekend out in the country and because Stephanie lied and told her co-workers that Angel's her fiancé, Angel tags along with her on the trip. This story is sexy, and we finally get to see Angel and Stephanie getting together for REAL. I was not expecting Angel to be super swoon-worthy. He is such a romantic.

One of my favorite quotes in this book is when Angel is freaking out over text with Raymond and Chris over something Stephanie said and is being super dramatic, and Raymond shuts him down:
Raymond: Dude this ain't eat pray love, calm down

Raymond is always keeping his friends grounded. These stories only got better as you kept reading. Like, give me more Tonya/Meredith! Give me more Angel/Stephanie being cute! And what's really awesome is that somehow Caleb over here is a precious cinnamon roll who doesn't realize he's playing matchmaker in each of these character's lives by bringing them together in situations they would otherwise not be in. In these books, we also see for the first time, the author publishing a M/M/M, Nb/F, and M/F ships that we've never read before in other books. Citywide is just all the feels. ALL OF THEM. <3 I can't wait to read Charles/Luis and Clive/Victor's books!!!

***Thanks to Riptide Publishing for providing me an ARC on NetGalley***

sooooooooooooo much heart !!

Okay, so here’s what needs to happen .... EVERYONE needs to experience this Anthology. I cannot tell you how much joy each of these stories brought to my heart. I’m especially fond of Rerouted and Derailed!!!

Now, before you read Rerouted you really need to read Corrupting Chris, which is FREE so no excuses and you MUST read Third Rail, also FREE, to get a full picture of this beautiful M/M/M relationship. I never gave Chris a second thought before these short stories were published. Yes, I knew his character because I’ve read this entire series, but it never occurred to me his story would not only interest me, but tug at my heart so damn much! Chris’ journey with Jace and Aiden turned out to be magnificently sweet and sexy from beginning to end. *happy sigh*

Derailed blew my heart right out of its chest! I would categorize it as the second most emotional story in this series, next to Sutphin Boulevard of course. Stephanie and Angel have history. Not the kind of history that is in the past. They have history that is past, present and future. They are destined but can’t stop tripping over themselves

“Why are we so bad at everything?” Angel kissed my forehead. “We’re bad at trying not to be in love with each other. That’s it.”


Until they stopped tripping and it was magical

“We’re really doing this,” he whispered.


“We’ve got this, Angelito,” I said softly. “I promise.



I enjoyed reading Meredith and Tonya’s journey in Gridlocked but it was hard for me to feel their romance. I read it and it was hot, but I couldn’t connect. But you know what, Santino Hassell is still a word wizard. There is nothing this man cannot write and write it well. He is so unbelievably talented it’s ridiculously. Seriously. He’s untouchable. If you haven’t experienced his words yet, you’re missing out on a momentous experience #TRUST

Copy provided by Riptide Publishing for blog tour review

--4.5 stars --

Citywide is an anthology that has a little something for everyone, featuring fan-favorite secondary characters from the Five Boroughs series finding their happy. It can be read as a standalone, though I’d wager readers won’t feel as tied to the characters if they haven’t met them before. Though the three stories are shorter in length, they weren’t underdeveloped or lacking. And as usual, Mr. Hassell’s writing is smooth and polished without sacrificing the authenticity of the dialogue and characters.

Rerouted (m/m/m)
5/5 stars
In every anthology, I always have a favorite. In Citywide, this one was my runaway favorite. I know part of that was the recent release of Third Rail in which I first saw Jace, Chris, and Aiden getting together, subsequently burning up my e-reader, and leaving me eager to see how their story would finish out. I think that warm-up gave me more opportunity to connect with the characters and see the chemistry build. Obviously I recommend reading Third Rail first, but there is enough recapping to ensure readers who haven’t picked up that short won’t be left confused. I really liked how the triad’s relationship played out in Rerouted. The insecurity each of the characters faced was palpable and I loved all three of them, but I fell hard for Chris. His playful but awkward personality shone brightly and made this story fun, sweet, hot, with a mild hint of angst to propel the conflict.

Gridlocked (nb/f)
3.5/5 stars
I’ll fully admit I started this short not really feeling a pull for either heroine. Tonya was always more distant in the other Five Boroughs books, and Mere just never really did it for me. That said, I did like their story. It had a nice, albeit brief arc and their physical chemistry was intense. I liked seeing their emotional chemistry take hold and increase over the course of the story, but it felt a little stilted compared to this author’s other couples and even the other couples in the anthology. What I did really like, and totally surprised me, was the extra peak into Caleb, Aiden, and Mere’s father. I thought this was a really nice way to pull all those storylines together while advancing Tonya and Mere’s relationship.

Derailed (m/f)
4/5 stars
In Derailed, fans of the series finally get a better glimpse at Angel and Stephanie’s on again/off again relationship as hinted at over the course of multiple books. The longstanding feelings and chemistry, both physical and emotional, came through clearly and I found myself drawn to this couple more than I anticipated. I liked the way their story progressed and the conflict resolution complete. The only thing that kept Derailed from being 5 stars for me was Stephanie. Her hesitancy to get into a relationship followed by her sudden change-of-heart felt disingenuous and rather convenient. Despite enjoying their story and liking them as a couple, I found myself wishing there had been a bit more length to smooth out her transition. However, the closing scene was the perfect way to end the story and anthology, complete with all those warm fuzzies of a good romance.

It's no secret that I have been in love with the trio of Chris, Jace and Aiden since we were first tested with a little bit of their sexy times. I wished for an entire book because honestly, I think they definitely deserved their story to be told. So, we got it in a few installments, and that was ok too. I love Chris....and the kid needs to be taken care of and loved. He can't share his love, when he got in he goes all in or not at all. And what he feels for both Jace and Aiden is love but he guards his heart. Can these three find their way to the HEA they need? Oh, and about those sexy times. Yeah....damn these three together could melt everything around them!

And, I am not going to lie. I...read very little F/F...in fact.... so the story of Meredith and Tonya was not my cup of tea. 

And finally, Angel and Stephanie who have been each other's bff's, side pieces, on again off again couple. Obviously, these two belong together but their own insecurities keep them apart. I like these two together though, they obviously belong together and obviously love each other. They just needed to grow up to see it.

Three novellas about secondary characters from other Five Boroughs novels, primarily members of Raymond Rodriguez's squad. There's plenty of explicit sex and lots of people who are determined to keep their distance and consequently fail to communicate because they're afraid of being hurt. My favorite was Rerouted, which features everybody's BFF Chris Mendez figuring out how to have a polyamorous committed relationship with Jace and Aiden. I appreciated the insights into this dynamic and finally have an inkling of how a "throuple" could work well for some people. Gridlocked is an F/F story about former Marine Tonya and Caleb Stone's sister Meredith. Despite the slight suspense angle, the predictable plot revolves around whether the two women will let down their guards long enough to be together. Similarly, Derailed, which features two of Raymond's friends, is mostly relationship-phobic Stephanie finally realizing that she is in love with her f*ck buddy Angel.

Perhaps if each story had included a little more plot besides the relationship angst and hot sex I would have found the reading experience to be more interesting. I will say that Santino Hassell has a great sense of place; he truly understands what it's like to live in the Big Apple, and the stories could not have taken place anywhere else. The series is aptly named - each borough is lovingly and carefully described, and the diversity of the metropolis is celebrated. Plus after all of the drama of two full novels, it's nice to see Raymond and David finally happy together. But overall, I found this collection okay but not memorable.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Citywide by Santino Hassell: Angsty, Raw, Emotional, and Sexy As Hell.

Fair warning: this book cannot be read in public- cannot! This book is hot af! I felt as if I was about to self-combust while I was reading.

Anyhoo, back to the review…

Citywide is a Contemporary Romance collection of novellas about some of our favorite secondary characters from The Queens Crew.

Rerouted: M/M/M

Chris, Aiden, and Jace

This story takes place after they had messed around some and Chris put the breaks on things. He feels like his feelings are too involved and doesn’t want to be just another guy Aiden and Jace mess around with.

Highlights:
-Lots of feelings, more than I was expecting.
-The story is told completely from Chris’ POV, but SH did a great job in also letting the readers in on Aiden and Jace’s feelings.
-THE SEX. The chemistry and relationship dynamics between these three are EXPLOSIVE.

This novella is full of feels and some of the hottest scenes I’ve ever read.

5 Stars

Gridlocked: NB/F

Tonya and Mere

Gridlocked is told from Tonya’s POV, but just like in Rerouted the narrator does an outstanding job in letting us in on Mere’s feelings. It takes place a year after their hook up, and neither one has forgotten about the other.

Highlights
-Tonya. Yes, she could come across as brash and mean but inside a loyal individual who loves those close to her and will have their back no matter what.
-Mere. At first, you may see “poor little rich girl, ” but there’s more than meets the eye.
-Relationship development. I admired their capability to talk things out and their willingness to see things from the other’s perspective.
-Steam: Hot, hot, hot!

This one surprised and turned out to be my favorite of three.

5 Stars

Derailed: M/F

Angel and Stephanie

Angel and Stephanie have been fulling around with each other for a while. Stephanie is open and adventurous about her sexuality and doesn’t believe in being tied down to one person. Unfortunately, Angel has been in love with Stephanie since they met and she has come in between all his attempts at having relationships with other women. They found themselves playing boyfriend and girlfriend due to a small fib told by Stephanie.

Highlights:
-Dual POVs
-We were given lots of backstories that clued us in on their connection which went way beyond physical attraction.
-Angel was… an angel. I loved him everything about him.
-Stephanie, despite wanting her to get her head out of her ass (she was giving me high blood pressure) because of her refusal to see what was right in front her I still liked her. I loved her openness and strength.
-Steam: much like the first two- HOT.

5 Stars

Citywide is an outstanding compilation. It had excellent character development, realness, emotion, and Santino Hassell’s signature edgy style.

5 EXPLOSIVE, EMOTIONAL Stars

Santino has this ability to construct a story where the words just knock you for six by describing a moment or situation so truthfully and without apology it’s like he’s pistol whipping you with words. There are so many moments throughout this book where he just nails it dead on. What a rare gift it is to hone in on the heart of a moment or a feeling and depict it so utterly perfectly, with heart and meaning and humour. In this anthology he yet again proves his unparalleled worth. Santino’s destined for even bigger things and he deserves every bit of success that comes his way and then some. The respect he has from readers and peers is testament to his skill as an exceptional storyteller.

Going back to the 5B’s was like returning home. With characters you feel a kinship with and who have such solid friendships that are rare to find and you’d be blessed to have. In any book you’ll find meaningful exchanges between people that touch you in some way; or can relate to on some level and even that hit at the very heart of you, well this book was chock-full of them.

Rerouted
Chris Mendez is my homeboy. There’s just something so endearing about the guy, he’s so likeable, precious and loyal to a fault and I’d be damn lucky if he was my friend―I just want to tackle hug him and not let go. If there’s one guy who deserves a HEA, it’s him. His heart to heart with David broke me and I felt so much for him, because we’ve all had that unrequited crush and been passed over for a better option and it cuts like a knife. To see someone so inherently good and worthy standing on the sidelines looking in really touched me.

Chris’s musings on Ray and David: “It was like a Pinterest photo for relationship goals.”

How can a character speak a line that is so full of their history and be so indicative of their past? This was a guy so in need of some love and affection to call his own

“...Not everyone is like me and catches feelings after a couple of rolls in the bed.”

To see Chris’s relationship develop with Jace and Aiden by putting his heart on the line and then finding out that he wasn’t the only one feeling afraid and that this wasn’t a disjointed union. Chris became the last piece of this poly jigsaw and boy did he fit! Everyone was what everyone needed.

Gridlocked
Tonya Maldonado is one stone cold cookie; she reminds me of Raymond in that she’s so protective and she’ll go berserk at anyone who might harm or disrespect her friends. She doesn’t do romance, the odd hook-up has been sufficient, but when Meredith enters the picture, we start to see her thaw a little and begin to want something of her own for the first time and that was amazing to see.

“Don’t ruin the vibe, Meredith.”

We see there’s more to Meredith than just being a rich party girl, she desperately needs an anchor and Tonya’s strong enough to be that for her. Cue a lot of hesitation and when a job offer comes Tonya’s way, some give and take on both ends is required.

Derailed
Stephanie, oh Stephanie... I worship this girl. She’s so forthright and plays to her own tune without any apologies and I love her for it. She’s so guilt-free and open with her sexuality; if she wants it and it feels good, why the hell not? With a background as broken as hers, who can blame her for taking her pleasure where she finds it. Man, did I fall for Angel. He’s solid as a rock, dependable and ever so sexy and has been in love with Steph since they were kids. He’s knows what he wants but he’s just torturing himself waiting for Steph, she’ll never want to be his alone and it might be time to cut the cord ‘cos it’s killing him.

“I just want to be yours. Yeah, the only one you want to sleep with, but I also wanna be your go-to person...”

Seeing Steph wrestle with the fear of losing Angel to someone else but being too terrified to give in and give a relationship a try touched my heart. Things have got to come to a head and with it the realisation that sometimes you’ve just got to just jump and trust that everything will be okay.

This return to the Boroughs was everything I’d hope it’d be and such a whole lot more, I really cared about these guys and I want to be in their squad. They’re just so real and I can relate to parts of each characters personality, I’m alot Chris, a little bit Steph, you get the drift and they’re who I wanna hang with when I escape real life. This is a place where I’ll revisit often. You have my heart Queens crew, I love you!

Review Copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMG Reads.

I finished this anthology last night and I found myself still thinking about these characters this morning while i was waking up. It felt almost like they were real people and I can totally see this as a sort of sitcom or wanna be reality TV show. I could see this entire series sort of running in tandem as a show, It is something i would definitely watch on TV.

I was sort of an emotional mess through this series as well, so many feels! Santino did NOT disappoint with this Anthology.