Brake Me

Brake Me #1

by Athena M. Bliss, Marluxia Bliss

“Fucking Fox was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. The shadows of the car wrapped around me, through me, surrounding every nerve with heat and motion.
I knew how to drive him, and Fox clearly knew how to drive me crazy.”

Buying a 1992 Mustang was a stupid idea, and Al knew it, but he had loved that car from the very first moment he’d laid eyes on him. He’d never expected that the car would love him back, until a dark, shadowy figure appeared in the passenger seat beside him, eager to show Al his gratitude. Al's new car, Fox is a jealous, possessive, powerful machine that adores his new owner and will happily distract Al from his driving, but when the two are forced apart, both will have to make sacrifices before they can be reunited.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Paranormal, LGBT, Fantasy, Novella, Spicy

148 pages, ebook

Published April 1, 2026

Reviews

[Анастасія ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡]

це було цікаво, здається це я вперше читаю про людину та автівку. і поки ви не надумали зайвого, автівка має якийсь дух? який дещо людяніший, як призрак чи щось таке. а ще тут була бонусна історія про лея та привида, і другий теж являлась таки духом, але хотілось про них ще більше прочитати.

[Kyle Modschiedler]

Nothing out of the ordinary here. Just a man that loves his car! I mean yeah, the car also loves him back so maybe that’s a little out of the ordinary 🤣 seriously tho this book was an unhinged fun time and I think that people that love books like Pounded by Produce, Get in My Swamp and Squeak would love this!

[369Pages]

2.5⭐️
Honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting, as this is my first time reading a book where a character romances an object. Yet alas, Instagram somehow influenced me to pick this one up, so here are my thoughts.

I wanna preface this by saying, I did not know that this book was part of a bigger universe when I picked it up. So I feel like some of the complaints that I have could be from a lack of context. But honestly reading this book did not make me feel like I wanted to read anymore from this universe. Anyways, I feel like if you want to read this book, you should probably read the other books 1st for maximum enjoyment because I felt like I was missing out on a lot of the background here.

Essentially, this book is about a guy who is a bad boy, but also has some kind of magical powers that make random objects become sentient if he puts enough interest in them, if that makes sense? So he has been eyeballing this car for a really long time and finally decides to bite the bullet and buy this old Mustang car. And of course, the car now has this like living shadow entity, which he calls Fox. They immediately start having a very sexually charged relationship, despite him being already married, so he does have an open marriage and two partners that aren’t even in this book by the way. However, someone who is very prominently in this book is his ex fiancé, which I did find a little bit strange?

Anyway, the writing style had some interesting points, but felt unpolished overall. The plot was also so ridiculous and I don’t wanna get into it because it will contain spoilers, but the actions of the characters just make no sense at all whatsoever, especially considering that they’re supposed to be grown adults in their 40s, as far as I can tell.

Anyways, I couldn’t take this one seriously and it just maybe is not the niche sub genre for me. However, I definitely don’t regret reading it because it was definitely something that I can say I’ve never read about before.

[Alice]

I’m a lesbian… why did a M/M CAR ROMANCE do something for me?? 🥵

This was exactly what it fuckin looks like. And I had the time of my LIFE! Fast-paced, witty and fun as fuck. Get in bitches, we’re going for a drive 💨

Thank you to The Berry Agency for the ARC.

[Merry Jayned]

I feel like I just came back from war.

[C.T. Whistle]

Listen, did this book make emotional about cars? Yes. Did it also involve a funnel and a whole bottle of engine oil going into unspeakable places? Also yes.

I don’t care what anyone says, I was invested and i will be reading the next one. 🚗🍑💦🏁

[WhoaJack]

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5

Listen guys, I am not a car girl but when the algorithm showed me this post about a Gay Shadow car demon daddy that's up to debaucherous things at high speeds, I was to say the least INTRIGUED and the wonderful Power Couple that wrote it were quick to send an ARC. I devoured it HAPPILY

Seriously you heard me the first time, the plot is about a fox body mustang that becomes sentient and manifests as a shadowy possessive chrome fanged Being that attracts the attention of University Headmaster Al. Going by Fox, the mustang is bought by Al and the two form a heated relationship that lands them some interesting predicaments ranging from a high speed police chase to finding other sentient muscle cars in need of love and also some extremely questionable uses of motor oil but hey boys and their toys amiright? 💀

This book is for every one of us who thought Bumblebee had plenty of personality in the first transformers movie and is the most HEAR me out short story i have ever read.

I also like kinda learned a tiny bit about cars? 😂 If this strikes your interest at all head over to @spawn_of_echidna or @marlydrawssometimes and comment on any of their ARC posts! ✨

Releasing~ 4•24•26

| M/M Romance | Human MMC | Car MMC | Shadow Daddy | Sentient Objects | Gay Romance | Romantasy | Novella | Spicy | Indie | ARC | TBR | Currently Reading | Book Review |

[Brianna]

I don’t want any judgement towards me about the fact that I just read (and liked) a book about an MMC fuxking a car. I also don’t want any judgement about the fact that this book made me cry.

[Athena M. M.]

New book! Precious child 🙌

[ʟᴀᴜʀᴀ]

4.25🌟

a short, sexy read with great chemistry between a guy and his car - quite fascinating even with zero knowledge of the lore

[Ayla Shoulders]

What in the weird-ass-shadow-daddy-mm-car-fucking did I just read??? How was this the weirdest and best thing I’ve ever read all wrapped up in a big sexy 1992 Ford Mustang GT Fox Body with a five-speed manual transmission and a five-liter V8 engine shaped box?
I’ve for real never read anything like this. Al was hot as hell. And Fox, HIS CAR… sexyyyyy baby (in my best Austin Powers voice)! And yes, they fuck. Has anyone else ever shipped a dude and his car this hard? Probably not.

"My backseat has seen plenty of action," Fox chuckled softly against my ear. "And I'm a quick learner." Of course. I could've guessed as much; no one bought a Mustang without a plan to fuck someone in it. I'd just taken it one step further in fucking the car itself.”


If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like if Gone in 60 Seconds had a baby with Bumblebee from Transformers and that baby grew up, fell in love with and fucked a wayyyy sweeter (but probably just as sexy) version of General Kirigan from Shadow and Bone …. Well, look no further.

"If you ever look at another Mustang like that again," Fox said sweetly, leaning close to my face, "I’ll drive us both off a cliff."

I don’t even know what else to say other than give this book a try. It’s a vibe.

COVER AND INSIDE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE TO DIE FOR!!! So damn beautiful!!!

[Abigail Beckwith]

Here's Marluxia Bliss's and Athena M Bliss's "Brake Me." It's the first book in their Brake Me series.

["Buying a 1992 Mustang was a stupid idea, and Al knew it, but he had loved that car from the very first moment he’d laid eyes on him. He’d never expected that the car would love him back, until a dark, shadowy figure appeared in the passenger seat beside him, eager to show Al his gratitude. Al's new car, Fox is a jealous, possessive, powerful machine that adores his new owner and will happily distract Al from his driving, but when the two are forced apart, both will have to make sacrifices before they can be reunited."]

Sometimes you just need something a little out there to ground yourself. It...makes sense.

It took a hot minute (or most of the book) to gather all of the information about this universe/magic system. This novel is part of a different series/universe. So there were characters and plot points and magic that just didn't make sense. Then again, it didn't have to make sense, not really, not to understand the basics of this piece. I actually really did like the magic system (if I liked m/f more, I'd read the rest of the universe).

I loved the dual POV. Al's was standard first-person. Fox's was second-person. It was fun and unique.

I also loved how fast Al and Fox clicked. They had a connection, and they both fostered it, knowingly or unknowingly. When they finally "met", the chemistry grew. Al needed a shake-up in his life, and Fox was just that. Fox needed life breathed back into him, and Al was more than happy to provide. They were flirty and sassy with each other, but they were also so dedicated, even though, especially through, the hard times. If you didn't know that Fox was a car, you'd think this was your every day average slightly-gray romance.

Not to mention all of the wonderful, full-color art intermixed in here!!

Trigger warnings: speeding, cheating (sort of, but also not), toxic relationship.

#brakeme #challengeme #athenambliss #marluxiabliss #brakemeseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

[Linn Browning]

Overall Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

Summary: Man sees car. Man wants car. Man daydreams for months about owning car.

Turns out, car also wants man. Man buys car, car takes man on absolutely wild ride in more ways than one. Said ride includes high-speed chases, magical conversations, spectacularly written ex-lover tension and so much more that I don't even want to spoil it.

Impression: Magic, sentient vehicles, snarky brats (multiple, as it happens), and a twist of abandonment issues. This book made me go outside and hug my partner's Ranger.

Conclusion/Recommendations: There are relevant taste notes which should be taken into consideration. Brake Me is a novella. It is part of a larger world but reads absolutely fine as a stand-alone. It is sexually explicit, LGBT+ positive, and involves consenting sexual relations between an adult man and his equally adult sentient car. If that's your vibe, run--don't walk--to get this book.

After reading the ARC, I immediately went and bought the rest of the Sons of Echidna series. I devoured the whole series in a week and while each of those books is its own thing, Brake Me is hands-down the best in the series so far. I cannot wait to see what more Athena and Marluxia Bliss have in store (rumor has it the next one is titled Challenge Me).

[Misty's Book Space]

2.5 stars

I came across this book on Instagram one day while I was scrolling, I read the synopsis and was intrigued enough to want to read it. It's a weird premise but there's something about weird books that makes me want to read them. This was a short and quick read, so it was easy to get through. So, this book is about a man who is in love with his car and his car just so happens to be in love with him too. I just learned this was a spinoff book of a different series that I didn't read and after reading this one I probably should have because I was confused about some things pertaining to the world and magic. Our MMC Al is in a relationship with 2 people I believe. One he referred to as his wife. I have no clue if they are all in an open relationship or not but the whole time Al is hooking up with Fox his car his partners are never aware. In fact, he does everything he can to keep them from knowing he even bought the car. His partners never even make appearances on page so in my eyes he's cheating on them and I hated that. This is where I think reading the original series first would have helped. I went into this expecting it to be very spicy but honestly it was very tame and a bit repetitive. I probably won't continue on with this series, and I don't really have any interest in reading the original series either.

[Viv]

Brake Me... Oh where to start with this one?
Well, let's just dive into the deep end here-yes, the car is alive and yes, there is fu*king lol. The art work & cover for this book was so beautiful, I knew I had to read it. Honestly, my mind was going crazy thinking about what was going to go down in this novella, but I am so glad it wasn't like anything I thought it would be. Because it was way better. Fox is a sassy, possessive little psycho (I love that for him) mustang spirit/sentient entity and his pov really puts you, as the reader, in the driver seat which I thought was cool. Al, my man Al, he's something special. If that sexy man is willing to risk jail time for his car, I can't imagine what he'd do for his family. Don't even get me started on his bestie/Ex Lai. Those two are a trip. I was smiling and laughing my ass off at every new turn this story took me on, and the smut? Yes, she's there-loud and proud in her own unique and engine hungry way.
Also, yes, there was a moment there where I was like, 'Al, ain't you married?!?!' but it seemed that sort of thing isn't a problem and would slide off his partners backs, which come to find out, by the lovely authors, that is in fact the case so more power to you sexy! Y'all get your freak on.
I adored the element of found family and the sweet bonds that are built and established between the characters, sooo good!
Overall, Brake Me is low angst, sweet, hilarious, sexy, and unique... What more could you ask for?

[Isabella Cardenas]

✨ARC REVIEW ✨

4 ⭐️ honestly, I have no words for this book, I was in for an absolute ride, and I have zero regrets! It was SOOOO much fun, hehe, and super unhinged. It was so fast-paced, especially since it’s 150 pages; the plot was spaced out perfectly in my opinion. The spicy scenes served & devoured, my pearls were clenched. I was fully invested in Al & Fox (car ghost); I was rooting for them to the point where I had to remind myself that this was a Man and his Car… Fox had so much attitude and jealousy stored in his ghost body haha, and Al was more on the shy & reserved side, but as his relationship with Fox progressed, Al started coming out of his shell. The storyline had me hooked, and I was eating it up. I’m still at a loss for words because I enjoyed it so much and was so sad when it was over. I wanted more of Al & Fox. I will not allow any judgment on how much I enjoyed reading about Al, his car ghost Fox, and maybe some extra activities with some Car Oil, but a TIME was a HAD.
Now, when mister Lai entered the chat, he had me in the palm of his hand. He sounded hot, and he looked hot from the character art. I would LOVE his story ASAP I just know it would be amazing 🤭🤭. I will say I would have loved to get more insight on Al’s family dynamic since UM, he is married with kids soooo…. I would have liked to see what his family thought of this, or if his wife even knows about cars with some soul inside of them. I don’t think it would make for a good dinner convo, so I would have liked to see that. But either way, this was such a fun, toxic, & unhinged story, and I honestly was sat for the ride! I kept picturing Fast & Furious and how passionate they all are with their cars AHAHA. 🏎️👻🖤

[Chasary Mendez]

Arc review

This is a new to me author…

This book was a fun read. I’ve read alot of books but nothing like this one.

Fox!! Omg he’s a possessive little thing. But also such a loving thing. When I read the title brake me I truly thought it was about just cars oh boy you’re in for a treat is about cars alright!! 😮‍💨😮‍💨

Al someone who loves adrenaline and danger. Until he makes a decision to by this mustang V8 a vintage car that everyone just passes by!! Colored me shocked when that mustang he named Fox seeps through the vents!!

This book is spicy 🥵

It’s a cute little love story Fox and Al are truly cute together.

Athena M. Bliss wrote this beautifully I enjoyed the banter Fox and Al.

[reader_dreamer_4life]

What a freakin ride….
I Absolutely devoured this fast-paced story and ate up every second.

Brake Me is an MM love story between a man (Al) and his car (yep no typo)
Let me tell you..I couldn’t wait to get to the spice because god damn, I was intrigued. Like how? What’s happening? Where are things going? You know you are thinking it. I can report the spicy moments were a chef’s kiss.
From the start, this book had me obsessed. The tension was building, the chemistry was undeniable, and I absolutely needed to see how it was all going to play out.
Then… Add in the moments of banter, emotion, and the addictive pull of the characters, and I was hooked from start to finish.
And Lai? Al’s wingman….
I’m still thinking about him and desperately need his story next.

[Frommailenesbookshelf]

Do you remember that wild story about a man falling in love with his car and having 💦 with it? No? It's because you haven't read this book yet, and you need to!

This book was SO good! I've only read a handful of sentient object romances, but this one was SO well done! And now I feel justified when I was younger and said that the front of the cars look like they had their own facial expressions 🤣

I can't wait to read the next book in this series! I feel like it's going to make me tear up in the best way 😭

🖤 Sentient Object Romance
🖤 Found Family
🖤 Possessive MMC
🖤 Multi POV
🖤 Questionable Use of Car Oil
🖤 Novella

[Kay]

First off, thank you to The Berry Agency for the eARC of this book.

Something a little different to my normal choices, but I was certainly intrigued by a sentient car. added bonus there being some spice...
Definitely would recommend reading if you're after a short book, with a little bit of drama, some spice and, I'd say a happy ending.

Would love to read more from this world as I'm very interested in the magic system/gods(?) and would love to see more from Lai and Ghost.

[Nelliesbooknook]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌶🌶 .5

This story was a wild ride! Al and Fox are absolutely adorable. I need more!! Have you ever felt your car had a soul? Maybe it does. Give something enough thought, care, and love…and it may just love you back. This transcends your average sentient object romance story.  I will absolutely be looking into more involving this world. Thank you for letting me read your story, and will definitely be giving my car the good oil from here on out.

[Krystal]

This was easily one of my top reads so far this year! When I heard it was a car spice book I expected something totally different - i thought it would either be like one of those magazine stories where someone marries a bridge or a transformers fanfic. This was neither and I need so much more of it in my life!

[Nikki Ritchie]

I will never look at a car the same way again, or treat mine badly. I never thought I would ever feel bad for a car. This was the most fabulous read and I absolutely love the way Athena writes. I now can’t wait to read the rest of Athena’s books.

[booksandkelly]

This book was interesting in the best way 💯! Brake Me is a MM romance between a man and his vintage car 😉 the description definitely piqued my curiosity and I loved every page of it! It’s a short quick read but written so well! Could not put it down until it was done!! I hope there will be more 😍 absolutely recommend if you’re interested in a spicy read between a man and an inanimate object

Thank you to The Berry Agency to sending me this arc to read and review

[what_emmareadnext]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This was a quick read and deranged in all the best ways. The writing was hilarious about the spicy times between Al and Fox! And I loved Lai- will definitely read Lai & Ghosts book. Good fun read!

[Anne Hampton]

THIS WAS SO GOOD! Like seriously I want a full length book with these characters and this world!!!

[Cassie]

great, now i’m enjoying car fucking books

please give me a second one about lai

[Rae]

Fox

This was a cute, spicy, quick read that I absolutely enjoyed. I’ll definitely be going back to read the connected books. 🖤

[Jamie Sands]

Deliciously weird and unhinged, but above all delicious.

[Caitlyn Blue]

Speachless