Waiting For Wentworth

Waiting On Wednesday (742) Chase Hooper Likes It Hot (Goose Run #3) by Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey

Chase Hooper Likes It Hot
(Goose Run #3)
by Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey

Expected Publication: February 10, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings
that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.
(WoW was previously hosted by Breaking The Spine.)

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Chase Hooper doesn’t like people, apart from his housemates and his twin brother Cash. He especially doesn’t like the hot guy who stops by Goose Run Gas in the middle of every night to interrupt his nap and tell him how terrible his coffee is.

Lee Torres is a baker, and the best and worst part of his morning is when he stops at the gas station for coffee. The coffee is awful, but the guy serving it is kind of cute, even if he’s blatantly hostile. Still, something keeps Lee coming back for more, and it’s certainly not the stale pastries.

When Chase and Lee are thrown together working at Goose Run’s newest entrepreneurial venture, it’s a chance for both of them to get what they need. For Chase, it means no more night shifts. For Lee, it means running his own bakery. They can both keep it professional, right?

Wrong.

Sparks fly, and things are getting heated in the kitchen, but if Lee thinks he's going to be allowed past the protective walls that Chase has spent a lifetime building, he can think again. Because Chase Hooper doesn’t do feelings.

If they’re not careful, this could be a recipe for disaster.

These books are cute and very light, almost fluffy. Nothing too serious, so reading is just a gentle escape and not enthralling. I guess I'm saying they're just alright...

What are you waiting on this week?

Assassin Fish
by Amy Lane

Expected Publication: January 13, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Eric Chistiansen—not his real name—has been looking for sanctuary for a long time. He finally thinks he's found a crime syndicate that might watch his back while he tries to disentangle himself from his highly lucrative, highly illegal job as a killer for hire, albeit a picky one. He's ready to hang up his guns for some peace.

Brady Carnegie came to this little slice of desert between Meth and Hell because he wanted to help bring crime down. He's deeply disappointed to find that his new boss and others in the department are crooked. But Brady has stumbled onto the key to ending the corruption plaguing the stretch of desert he's coming to love, if he can stay alive long enough to use it.

Brady finds unexpected allies in the same unlikely group that's sheltering Eric and starts to realize that the good guys may not wear badges, and the bad guys have enough to lose to put his new friends at risk. Brady's always been a solid law and order man, but he finds himself shifting allegiances like the desert sands shift beneath his feet.

As Eric grows more protective of the earnest deputy, it becomes clear that a true warrior never gets to hang up his guns, and redemption doesn't come without a price. Can a hidden nest of vigilantes bring justice to their barren land while the cop and the hitman find comfort in each other's arms? Or is the cost of redemption only measured in blood?

This book is part of the larger universe of the Fish Out of Water series from this author. I actually haven't read the last book yet, so I need to catch up.

What are you waiting on this week?

The 12 Days Ultimatum
by Josh Lanyon

Expected Publication: January 19, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Nobody gives FBI Supervisory Special Agent Lucas Alexander ultimatums. His reputation as a hard-ass perfectionist is well-deserved. There’s a reason he’s the go-to person for agents, the community of Silver Pine, Idaho, and even the Salt Lake City Field Office. For Lucas, the job always comes first. Always has.

Always will?

Because Lucas does have one weak spot, and his name is Special Agent Riley Christopher. Two days ago, Riley delivered his boss an ultimatum: prioritize their relationship or end it. Now Lucas has a choice. The job or the relationship? Lucas has to decide whether he’s capable of balancing love and duty before the 12 days of Christmas are up.

Everything this author writes is an auto read for me. This was promised as an exclusive bonus on Patreon before Christmas, but it's already had a wide release. I guess it's better late than never.

What are you waiting on this week?

Kiss Me Again
by Garrett Leigh

Expected Publication: January 15, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Aidan Drummond is happy on his own. A solitary tree surgeon, he’s made peace with working alone, eating alone, being alone. Until a serious accident tears his world apart and lands him in a hospital bed opposite the most beautiful man he’s ever seen.

Ludo Giordano is beautiful, bright, and impossible to ignore. Bipolar and sleepless, his world is ruled by colour—shifting, vivid, relentless. And when he looks at Aidan, he finds a flare of yellow he can’t resist. Their midnight conversations ignite something electric.

Something dangerous. Something Aidan can’t forget once he’s discharged. Grey isn’t enough anymore, and when a chance reunion pulls them back together, that flare… Aidan can’t resist it either.

His recovery is slow and painful. Ludo’s instability is a storm they can’t outrun. Yet together, their fractured lives start to feel whole.

Almost. Because loving Ludo means weathering every shade. It means holding on when he whispers kiss me again because he needs an anchor more than a promise. It means fighting for a love that burns brighter in the dark.

I have to read this author in small doses because she loves angst too much. I love emotional if it's done in the right way. But most of her books are ANGST and internal drama and really dark and depressing. So much so that it effects my mood. That's why I space out reading her books. I'm still getting over her Christmas story that I read a month ago!

What are you waiting on this week?

Into the Midnight Wood
by Alexandra McCollum

Expected Publication: January 13, 2026

Genre: MM, Cozy, Romance, Fantasy

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
There are at least 100 things wrong with Meredith Schwarzwelder. In fact, keeping track of these things is the only way David Carew has managed to remain living with him for as long as he has. Meredith is an irredeemable eccentric who flirts with everyone in his path (#3 on the list), cries at anything (#35), makes the worst coffee in the world (#70), and talks to mice, or imagines he does (#50).

It’s bad enough living with such a person on the edge of the Midnight Wood, but when magic starts to seep from the wood and a dark being emerges with a sinister plan involving Meredith, David decides that it’s time to leave the cottage, and his roommate, behind. Then Meredith’s brother gets engaged to the daughter of David’s boss, and David sees an opportunity: If he can insert himself into the festivities, maybe he can advance his career and get himself out of a personal rut.

With wedding bells sounding and the dangers of the Midnight Wood encroaching, David realizes there’s much more hiding beneath the surface of his roommate’s seemingly carefree charm, and that perhaps his own exasperation carries more fondness than he’d like to admit.

Debut author, so I'm definitely taking a leap of faith on my pick this week. It just sounds so good! I'll at least give it a try.

What are you waiting on this week?

Stuck With Me
by Annabeth Albert

Expected Publication: January 8, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

As a receptionist at a legal aid organization, I’m used to hot attorneys in suits. But Marshall Wilson is different.
I’ve had a crush on our newest hire for months now. When I’m finally ready to make my move, we end up trapped in an elevator together. Talk about bad timing!
A medical emergency adds to the tension as we await rescue. However, we’re also bonding, and there’s a glimmer of hope that my crush might be mutual.
Can Marshall and I stumble our way to forever, or are the doors closing on our chance?

Hot Dish
by Annabeth Albert

Expected Publication: January 15, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance

Synopsis from Goodreads:
The hottest silver fox EMT happens to live on my street. When he rescues me, I bring him a casserole as a thank you. Seems like the neighborly thing to do.

However, I don’t anticipate my thank you turning into a steamy afternoon delight. Now Percy and I are heating up the sheets and finding more in common than I ever could have expected.

Both Percy and I have been burned by love before. Are we ready to take a chance on love or is this fling just a flash in the pan?

This author is releasing these 2 short stories as part of a series that I really need to get caught up on!

What are you waiting on this week?

Kismet
by Nicky James

Expected Publication: December 22, 2025

Genre: MM, Romance

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
My name is Dominique Chevalier, and I am broken. Two years ago, a beloved part of me died. Angelique was everything, but she left me alone.
Alone with an infant, a broken heart, unimaginable pain, and a promise that I’ll never forget.
After relocating and taking a job as Ottawa’s chief forensic pathologist, I find purpose.
I find escape from the anguish that threatens to drown me.
I find him.
Detective Kobe Haven is everything I can’t have but everything I want.
Our paths cross when we are called to investigate a murder. Kobe is charming, smart, and relentless, but I can’t move on. I’m not ready. Before I know what’s happening, he’s under my skin, inside my veins, warming a special place in my heart.
I can’t turn him off.
He’s all I think about.
But do I really know him?
Does he really know me?
As the case unravels and the bodies pile up, true feelings surface.
Winter storms rage. Spring is nothing more than a feverish wish on a cold night. Eternally out of reach.
Or is it?
Is Kobe someone I can trust?
Is he someone I can love?

Oh no. I love this author, but she's starting a new series without finishing her last series, so murder and mayhem are left dangling until she gets back to it. Frustrating. But I'm still excited to start a new series!

What are you waiting on this week?

The Skin Game
(Subtle Deceptions #3)
by Elle Keaton

Expected Publication: December 18, 2025

Genre: MM, Romance

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Gabriel Karne is cautiously optimistic. Life seems to be settling down into a nice even keel.

It’s a new year and the former con artist has a permanent-for-now address. Even Keith the cat seems to like it there. No more rickety sailboats and living out of go-bags for Gabriel Karne. No surprises. No dead bodies.

Romance wise, he and Ranger Man are easing into being a couple. A lifetime of habits is hard to break for both of them but they’re getting there.

Gabe even has a job. Will he regret agreeing to it? Probably. But it’s almost legal, so... baby steps.

Then a strange young woman claiming to be his long-lost daughter appears on his new doorstep, and she has some sketchy documentation to prove it. It’s not impossible, but Gabe wasn’t born yesterday, and Heidi Karne was his mother, after all. And another damn letter—this one from a stranger—shows up. The author claims to be a friend of Heidi’s and to have some of his late mother’s belongings. Just great.

It's pretty clear that the past isn't done with him yet.

It will be fine. Everything will be fine.

I've read the last few series from this author and really enjoyed them, especially the Pacific Northwest setting. I like the dark mystery in this series, and the low steam romance between the 2 MCs. Can't wait to see more secrets revealed.

What are you waiting on this week?