The Aerialist (Black Cat Circus 3) by Morgan Lysand

3rd in the Black Cat Circus series, The Aerialist follows Brighton and Zander.

From the blurb:

Brighton was a gangly awkward teenager the last time he saw his dad’s best friend Zander. Six years later, Brighton’s an adult, and still very aware Zander is hot.

As an aerialist in the Black Cat Circus, raven-shifter Brighton has honed his skills in the air. On the ground, not so much. He’s best friends with a cat—the circus mascot—and reads in his free time. But despite his seemingly quiet nature, Brighton knows what he wants. Zander.

Zander is freshly retired from a career in the military and eager for a new adventure. The circus awaits! Unfortunately, his best friend retired from said circus and decided to celebrate with a month long trip, leaving Zander alone with his kid. Zander remembers an adorable child, not the handsome young man Brighton has become, and his intense attraction makes him feel all kinds of wrong.

Can Brighton keep his secrets safe from his biggest crush? Can Zander control his yearning for the young acrobat? What will Brighton’s father think?

The Aerialist is a spicy dad’s-best-friend paranormal MM romance with a touch of primal play, forced proximity, and so. Many. Crop. Tops. It is part of the Black Cat Circus, a multi-author series that features found family and a magical cast of characters. Each book can be read as a standalone, but better enjoyed together.

Sheena's Review:

This is the 3rd entry into the multi-author Black Cat Circus series, following Brighton - the Aerialist of the title - and Zander, his dad's best friend.  It's essentially an age-gap romance with a paranormal twist.  That's simplifying things a LOT, because there's a lot more going on with the circus, and Bri and Zander than that.  

Brighton is a circus kid, he has grown up in the circus all his life and has been with Black Cat since he was a child.  Zander has been there all his life too, albeit away in the Marines.  I loved Brighton from when I met him in the first Black Cat book, and was so looking forward to his story.  It didn't disappoint and I loved this story.  I loved both Brighton and Zander, I loved how they communicated well with each other right from the start, which was super important once we found out what Brighton was into, and communication is key in that.  This is super steamy, as I'd expect from Brighton and I really loved the exploration of what he was into, those scenes were great, right from the first one.

Also loved the twist of Zander, didn't see that one coming but it was fun when we got to see what he can do.  I have loved this entire series, and this was no exception to that.  I am so looking forward to Seven's story now.  

Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Angel's Review:

When I first 'met' Brighton his character seemed to be happy-go-lucky, colorful, energetic, caring, and of course fashionable. And while he is all of those things, he's also so much more too! 

I have really enjoyed each book in this series so far, each book is another addition to The Black Cat Circus, it's another layer that's peeled back. More for us to discover and learn. More secrets were exposed and more information was told. 

Brighton has so much more going on in his life than I originally thought. And we get to learn all about him and his past. We also got to see more of Peanut which I loved! The relationship Brighton and Peanut have is so sweet and adorable. You could practically feel how much they care for one another.

And Zander.. Oh boy, was he a surprise!! I went into this thinking one thing... And I got something else entirely! I love how all of these authors have their own writing style and their own way to bring characters to life. And one of the best things about this series is it feels so fluent and concurrent with one another. It's like one continuous story that flows together beautifully! 

I learned some new things while reading this story, Brighton's spicy times we're new to me. I did not know about those kinks before, and now I do. I liked how supportive all of these characters were for one another, and the found family aspect is so magnificent! 

When you first get introduced to Zander, at first you kind of question how him and Brighton are going to work together. But they end up working together so we'll! Their relationship is beautiful and it's a slow burn... Yet it's not? It's difficult to explain, you'll understand once you read this. Which you should!! 

This is really well written with such incredible detail! Wonderful characters, a fantastic storyline and breathtaking performances! Oh, and tons of spicy times!

Rating: 5 Stars

Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's Review:

Morgan Lysand is a new to me author so I had no idea what to expect going into this book in regards to the writing style. I did have knowledge of the characters because I previously read an ARC of the The Firedancer beforehand, but that was by a different author. I know I know, I am reading these out of order and I usually hate that, but I requested Firedancer thinking it was the first one so now I'm going in order from there and I'll def be circling back to book 1. Anywho...

I really enjoyed Brighton's story. There were a lot of surprises about the young flighty aerialist that I absolutely did not see coming. I'm not going to mention them here because I think it's best you discover for yourself just what this sweet guy is like. It was a lot of fun seeing him tease poor Zander who tried his best to resist him. I can understand where Zander was coming from too. He'd known Brighton since he was a toddler and considered his parents his closest family. It had to be jarring to come home from retiring from the military to see that not only had the adorable child Brighton turned into an adorably sexy man, but he was also flirty AF.

I know I said Zander tried his best to resist him, but it truly didn't take long for the man to give in. Brighton is temptation personified with his crop tops and booty shorts. Weaker men have caved for less no doubt. Not to mention these two are smoking hot together. *fans self*

We also get more insight into the mysterious Peanut the cat. After finishing this book I am pretty sure I know exactly who Peanut really is. He definitely has a connection to the mysterious ringmaster Seven who STILL has never seen Peanut in person. I have a feeling the next book, The Ringmaster, will have Seven being quite shocked once he finally gets a glimpse of the Circus' famous black cat.

Rating: 5 Stars

Janet's Review:

The Aerialist is the third book in the Black Cat Circus. Brighton has been part of the circus since he was a child, he’s also a raven shifter. Zander is Brighton’s father’s best friend and has just retired from the military. Brighton’s parents have also retired from the Circus and take off for a month-long vacation leaving Brighton to pick up Zander from the airport. 

Brighton comes off a total sweetheart but he has a secret kink and Zander is the perfect mate for him to play with. 

Overall, freakin fantastic! Well written with addicting pacing that kept me engaged and flipping the pages!

Rating: 5 Stars

The Aerialist is available to buy as an ebook, paperback, or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.