Unfortunately this was a book i just couldn’t get into at this point in time, probably more of a case of it being a me problem not a problem with the book. Being a big fan of Supernatural i found it hard to not compare.
I will hopefully come back to this and try to read it again at a later date and edit my review.
I think a lot of people will like this title, maybe more so if they don’t have a connection to the Supernatural show. I think it’ll definitely appeal to Paranormal/fantasy lovers.
Thank you for providing me a copy!

This book is so incredible! I read it and immediately started reading it again. I have not stopped telling other people to read it (and they have all loved it too). This story is a gorgeous, character driven mlm urban fantasy romace. Magen Cubed immerses her readers immediately in the tension--and mutual pining--of her main characters. Dorian was one of the best written characters with anxiety I have ever read and Cash's quiet, kind soul radiated off the page. I could not put the book down, I was so desperate to see what happens next. I cannot wait for the sequel!

This was a good story with good characters, but I didn't love all the writing choices.

Dorian was an anxiety-filled, tattoo-covered, heeled boots and crop top-wearing vampire who didn’t have the best childhood and, because of that, struggled with relationships and trusting people to stick around. Cash was a karaoke-loving, monster-hunting human who wanted to settle down in a real, meaningful relationship. They felt believable, and I can see them becoming more developed over the course of the series.

There was anxiety rep, since Dorian has anxiety and panic attacks and an emotional support dog. There was POC rep, since Cash is Hispanic/Latinx (I don’t think a country was specified). I also saw on the author’s Twitter, after reading the book, that Cash is gay and Dorian is pansexual and non-binary (he/him). I’m pretty sure Dorian being non-binary was never mentioned in the book though (since other reviewers don’t seem to realize either), which is a little frustrating only because it would’ve been nice for it to be on-page representation, but maybe there’s a reason it wasn’t.

There was some romance, but there was also a plot about these two, partners in hunting bad supernaturals, tracking down some murderous weredeer.

The vampires weren’t explained super well, but I understood enough to get by. There’s clearly a whole vampire and supernatural culture in this world that seems interesting.

My biggest problem with this book was that the head-hopping or omniscience (whichever it was) kept me at a distance, unable to sink into any character’s mind, pulling me out of the story every time I had to figure out whose head I was in. The author also used “the vampire,” “the human,” and “the hunter” a lot instead of pronouns or names, which felt awkward and made me feel even more distanced.

I love mutual pining and because it usually has lots of tension and emotion, and this was such a great pining situation with so much potential (what with them having a bit of history even), but I never really felt much here, and I think it was also because of the POV keeping me distanced.

Another issue was that there were kind of two timelines, but it was hard to figure out sometimes whether we were in the past or the present, at least until part way through it, which was confusing. (I had an advance copy, so perhaps the author will add something to indicate this before publishing.)

I do think it was a good story with good characters and a great mutual pining romance situation. I considered rating it 3.5 stars for those reasons. But the writing choices made it hard for me to really get into the story. I did somewhat enjoy it though, and maybe the writing will work better for other readers. I might give the next book a try to see if I can get into the story more as it gets more developed.

"Leather and Lace" has many things that can be considered enjoyable, especially in queer literature such as an actual plot that's important alongside the romance and queer folks having actual personality traits that aren't "being gay". I've grown to become particularly attached to Dorian, anxious vampire protagonist; I read somewhere about him being nonbinary (and pansexual) and I'd like to see that more explicitly further in the series as a nonbinary person with anxiety, and there isn't much pansexual representation, so it'd be great to see him announcing his sexuality explicitly.

I'm not exactly a fan of reading action, as I'm more of a lovey-dovey kind of person, but I was actually invested in the plot and reading it wasn't boring or overwhelming as plot-driven scenes were interspersed with emotional bits and and character's thoughts. The excessive use of descriptive words such as 'the vampire' and 'the hunter' instead of their names and pronouns did bother me a little, but it's fair that writing scenes between people who use the same sets of pronouns can be difficult (though, in this specific case, that could've been used as an opportunity to introduce another set of pronouns for Dorian; of course, not all nonbinary people use more than one set of pronouns, but it would've been heartwarming to not see someone use more than one.)

Something that actually felt great during my experience of reading this book was how real the characters felt to me: neither of them did the right things all the time and they aren't portrayed as irredeemable because of their mistakes. I also enjoyed the way many characteristics, emotions etc. were depicted by Cubed such as the dichotomy embraced by Dorian, who's described as both monstrous and graceful. The author was also skilled with the portrayal of the villains, who are complex and multifaceted while also not likeable.

A little warning before you read it, though, is that it does have a lot of sexual mentions, though I didn't find them excessive, and it has a lot of gore, graphic imagery of violence. It is, without a doubt, an adult book, and it should be read with that in mind.

What a different spin on vampires! I think that was my favorite part of Leather and Lace. I also liked the relationship between Cash and Dorian – even though they took a while to figure out that they were both on the same page.

Honestly, the only issue I had at all with Leather and Lace was the back and forth in the story telling. I’m actually a fan of multiple POVs and I usually don’t have a problem with getting characters’ back stories through flashbacks. In this case though, the combination was a little much. Not enough for me to not enjoy the story, but just enough to make me notice it and be just a little distracting. Other than that minor detail, I liked getting to know Cash and Dorian and I found myself rooting for them to find their HEA even with everything stacked against them.

Since this is the beginning of a series, I’m looking forward to getting to know Cash and Dorian even better, as well as some of the supporting characters. 😉

Leather and Lace by Magen Cubed

This was a light cozy. It talked about vampires, humans, and shape shifters. Bad people turned into deers and killed humans for their blood and organs. Romance between a vampire and a regular human was difficult. There’s wasn’t much depth to this story.

Thank you Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

Well this was better then I thought it'd be. I love the idea of the world built by the author, it was very believable and entertaining. I love the budding relationship between Dorian and cash. they actually make a sweet couple. The mystery is interesting and helps the relationship to grow. there were a few funny parts and a few emotional parts. I love the ending in the karaoke bar. What a way to end it lol.

Supernatural vibes if the monster hunters were also monsters and gay.
It was an interesting fun read, but the times skips often got confusing and there were several times where I found the characters very annoying to read.

Gay representation
CW: child neglect, sex work, panic attacks, anxiety, murder, gore, nsfw content

This story follows Dorian, a vampire, and his best friend Cash, a cowboy, as they hunt monsters. When they’re sent on a new case, they have to juggle finding a murder and the growing tensions between them.

I first heard about this story after the ending to a popular tv show. I read Magen talk about how her characters were inspired by two of the main characters. The promise of an actual love story was the hook that caught me.

I love the chemistry between Dorian and Cash. From the very start there was something brewing. The two couldn’t be anymore polar opposite but they just mesh so well together.
Cash isn’t your typical Texas cowboy. He has an unhealthy amount of love for Stevie Nick and Dorian. Dorian is the character you want to protect despite the fact that he’s a creature of the night.

The only thing that frustrated me about this story was the constant misunderstanding and refusal to just emote. Though that had more to do with me wanting them to just get together already than with the writing or story. Emotionally constipated boys are the worst, in the best way.

I will say that I loved the use of having the murderer be a creature that one would not normally associate to being bad. I can’t wait to see what else comes in this brand new series. Magen has such a wild and amazing series to come. If you want gay monster hunters who don’t know how to emote properly then you have come to the right place.

I was given this eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Dorian and Cash are best friends, roommates, and coworkers. Despite their significant differences - Dorian is a vampire and Cash is a human who hunts monsters - they've grown to care about each and they make a good team, hunting down killer monsters at the behest of the Devereux Police Department. However, their easy camaraderie is upset when their friendship veers from platonic to romantic. Add to the mix a serial killer with a taste for human flesh, and Dorian and Cash's careful balancing act is thrown for a loop as both men struggle to decide if they should make a move and risk their current status quo or remain in the friend zone.

Leather and Lace presents two compelling main characters and fleshes out their relationship through well timed narrative flashbacks. Dorian and Cash are polar opposites, with Dorian coming from a past filled with betrayal and upheaval, and Cash from a nurturing family of female hunters. Dorian has flair and loves to wear makeup and crop tops, masking his deeper issues and severe anxiety. Cash maintains an easy going demeanor but is searching for someone who appreciates all of him, including his deep love of Stevie Nicks and karaoke.

At its heart, Leather and Lace is about the relationship between Cash and Dorian but it also has a gruesome serial killer plot and an intriguing urban fantasy world populated by humans and supernatural creatures like vampires, werewolves, and shifters of all types. This book will definitely appeal to fans of shows like Supernatural and urban fantasy book series like White Trash Warlock and the Mercy Thompson series.

So, I read these two back in Twisted Romance, and was super excited to hear they were getting a full length book. And man, did this deliver on the serotonin when I needed it. Cash and Dorian are fun characters to watch bounce off of each other and pine and be fuckups in the way that only semi oblivious men can be at times. The weredeer that form the backbone of the murder mystery are a nice twist on the paranormal were-animals, and there’s just enough world building to make the world solid but intriguing. My one point of criticism (some of the flashbacks aren’t the clearest in the version of the ARC that I got) turns out to have been addressed by Magen, and the version that comes out will have the flashback chapters more clearly labeled.

If you want the good serotonin, pick this up when it comes out; you’ll be in for a treat.

A fun romp that began as Supernatural (the tv show) fanfic and now has a life of its own, this novel features a slow burn romance between two hunters of the supernatural, one of whom happens to be a vampire himself. I enjoyed the very real emotional rollercoaster and difficult relationship choices the characters struggled with and the light banter they shared while tracking down a pair of weredeer gone bad. I’m not a big fan of Supernatural, but Cubed makes her story so original and cute that it should appeal to a wide range of fans, non-fans, and those who don’t even know the show.

content warning for everything you'd expect in a paranormal hunter book - gore, violence, murder, blood, etc.

This book is not your typical romance, and it doesn't try to be - and for that, I really enjoyed it. The grim atmosphere combined with the "mundane" urban fantasy was intriguing, and as a big true crime fan, I loved reading about the hunters investigating paranomal crimes.

I may be in the minority, but I like a lot of sex scenes in my book, and I wish there had been more here - but, I would have DNF'd most romances for not really having steam in the first 30%, so the fact that I was happy to continue this book should tell you it was good.

The flashbacks could be a little confusing, and there was more historical background/worldbuilding than I needed, but you can tell the author knows the characters inside and out. I wasn't a huge fan of Dorian, and I did question a couple of small things regarding how the investigation progressed, but it was still such a fresh take on the romance genre.

If you are looking for a stereotypical romance, this is probably not it. There is more focus on the characters' shared history and their hunting job than the usual formula for romance, but if you're into that, you should definitely give this a try!

Leather and Lace truly is something different altogether, I loved how far they strayed from the conventional vampire stories to carve a unique yet engaging story. It offered a fresh perspective on vampirism with a realism that I quite enjoyed. There were no sparkly shiny skin, superhuman abilities, or blood lust clichés but rather a story about a vampire and a human trying to navigate life together.

I appreciated reading about the other side of the coin- the vampire slums and the poverty of those less fortunate. To see the world through the eyes of Dorian, a vampire suffering from anxiety and abandonment issues created a vulnerability and insecurity not commonly associated with this species. How often do you read about a vampire with a chihuahua as an emotional support dog????

To round off this unconventional crime fighting duo, there was Cash-a human cowboy hunter with an unhealthy obsession with Don Henley and Karaoke.

Several components of this novel interested me; the human-vampire dynamic, gay romance vibe, the blood and gore of the crime scenes, the action of the fight scenes and my personal favorite- mocking Twilight at every opportunity.

One aspect that I wasn't too excited about, was the paranormal crime-fighting police unit of the "Monster Beat." At first read, they were portrayed as characters straight out of a bad television crime series, with the obvious clichés of bad coffee and overworked cops. Eventually, the unit grew on me, purely because of its integral role in the overall story and its potential for breakout novels.

I would recommend this novel for those interested in a monster-hunting rom-com featuring gay friends to lovers romance.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

A deeply fun read. Lively characters that felt real and complicated, a very well imagined world, and lots of action. Enjoyed every minute, could not put it down. Can't wait to see more of these characters and more from this author.

Sometimes fan fiction surpasses the original--Christina Lauren's fantastic Beautiful series is so.much.better than Fifty Shades of Grey (which I haven't actually ever finished because the writing was so atrocious) or Twilight (which is just too anti-feminist for me, plus sparkles). But even though I wasn't a big fan of the tv show Supernatural, this fan fic is not an improvement.

Like lots of fan fic, unpublished or not, it's poorly written, with more fawning than characterization and more rehashing than plotting. It wasn't very scary, and it wasn't very sexy. I skimmed most of it because I just didn't care enough to stay focused and the clunky writing (why aren't there any pronouns? and if there are [him and I!!!] they are incorrect) annoyed me.

Arc provided by NetGalley.

A fun read with an interesting premise. It’s very reminiscent of Supernatural in a way and flow similarly. Fans of it will definitely enjoys this one.

The characters are well developed and rounded with sufficient back story to complete the book. They are also relatable and understandable in their own ways.

You will be guessing till the very end with this will they/won’t they story and you will enjoy every second of it.

I didn't finish this book, sorry.
<b>DNF</b>
<i>Thanks to the Editor. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

I had some expectations for this book because we are promised some banter between two characters that seem quite intriguing and one of them is a Vampire who owns (and adores) a chihuahua! So I was ready to love it. And we are said by the author (the introduction was a pleasure to read and it upped my expectations too) that this is inspired by Supernatural and it is an homage to it. I have to say that I am not the biggest fan of this show, but since my problem is that I really love the concept behind it but I find myself easily bored by the development of it. I just have to watch a couple of episodes and sbam, boredom everywhere! So yeah, I am not a fan, but since the concept is solid I was hoping to like this one. But I was wrong.
I cannot say that this is a poorly done story, we have interesting worldbuilding full of fascinating, even if creepy, creatures and our MCs are not plain or boring, that's for sure. The problem for me is that this story to me was more a fandom than an homage.
And we have quite a lot of horror vibes, and again I am not a fan. Guess why? Exactly, boredom. I tried, I really tried, but horror has the annoying tendency to bore me to no end. And here the horror elements were quite a lot.
It is the atmosphere of it, the vibes. And so nope, this really wasn't for me. I was quite sad because I was hoping to love it, but in the end, I decided to just let it go and don't force myself through it.

This review is based on an ARC. With any luck (and a good editor) this will be a 4 star story on release. As is I debated giving it two stars because it has one VERY serious flow : an overabundance of epithets. Not only is Dorian "the vampire" in times it wasn't remotely relevant, but there are times it uses "the hunter" when both characters in the scene are hunters. Another time the only female character in a memory is the Abuela but she is still referred to as Abuela almost exclusively without use of she. The story itself is lovely. I love the characters and the world, but the epithets need to go!

3.5
The first thing you need to know about Leather and Lace is that it is Dean Winchester and Castiel fanfiction…or was at some early point in its life. I’m not assuming here; the author says so in the introduction. The fact that the characters’ names start with D and C is even a nod in that direction, she says. I mention this because I think it’s interesting, but also because I haven’t watched all of Supernatural (please don’t stone me). I have seen just about enough for Castiel to appear as a character, but not enough to understand Destiel as a ship yet. So, I’m a little behind the game coming into the book. But if I’d not been told about the love of Dean and Castiel prior to reading the book, I wouldn’t have known. It’s not something necessary to enjoy the story. I can attest to that.

Outside its Supernatural connection, I thought this was a super sweet, high angst book. Dorian and Cash are both wonderful characters that you want to care about and see get their happily ever after. I did think Dorian’s push-me-pull-me went on too long without explanation and, honestly, I didn’t wholly buy his hesitation in the end. But I could still appreciate it. Similarly, I didn’t think the investigation/monster hunt held enough significance to move the plot as needed. But I still enjoyed the book and will happily read more of Cubed’s writing.