Blurb:Dean Brooks was born a Prince, but his father’s life of luxury was never one he wanted. Determined to make his own path, he accepts the role as prince regent to a small town in the middle of nowhere known as Dahlia City. But when war threatens, Dean will do anything to prevent his father from getting involved, including taking a shifter hostage in hopes of bargaining with the neighboring pack.
Fate has played a cruel joke on the black jaguar shifter, Malachi Xavier. Or at least that’s what he thinks when he realizes the human who has imprisoned him is his mate. To make matters worse, Dean has no knowledge of their bond or its significance.
But the more time they spend together, the more neither of them can deny their feelings. Malachi will have to decide if it’s worth giving up everything he’s ever known for the human that’s captured his heart.
Here is a very quick rundown so I can get straight to the good stuff.
Dean is a prince of a village stuck in the middle of the Shifter war and The Stragorri hunters. He has had enough and goes to the pack to plea with the alpha for a treaty.
Malachi is the Shaman of the pack and as soon as Dean enters, he knows he is his mate. (I know the mate thing but trust me on this one). When Dean leaves, Malachi follows out of curiosity and is accidentally swept through the portal. Dean takes him as captive as a bargaining chip.
Now, Wow again. Let me begin by saying this is book 4 of the series. I started with book three and was hooked, this one held me captive (I know couldn’t resist the pun)
This story is so full of twists and turns. First off, Dean and Malachi and the mate thing: This isn’t a run of the mill ‘you’r my mate and we fall in love’. Not even close. Dean is a bad boy and has been hurt and has sworn off love. He doesn’t believe in love and is convinced nothing will ever sway him on that. Malachi is the opposite. Sweet, good-hearted, loving and longs for love, but he realizes that Dean has his city to run and he has his pack that needs him as head healer and the fates have screwed them both royally. Then just when you think, love will win a BIG twist and a jealous lover and chapter 8 the tears flowed. (Yup, you would get an extra point for that, but can’t go over 5, sorry)Then we find out a big secret (see my recommendation). Yes, it still keeps getting better and better! Then something sweet even happens to seal the deal. So yes, WOW! I’d say start with this one you’d want to read the rest but, this one really doesn’t, mention too many character or much from the past books, but they are all good so read them anyhow!
I highly, highly recommend this if you love awesome worlds, shifters and paranormal, mate bonds, really hot-mansex, super twists, and Gods…you will have to read this one to see what I mean…!
Publisher: Total E Bound Publishing (August 23, 2013)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3 Hearts
Reviewer: Cat
Blurb:Book Three in The Arches series.
Milo has a history of screwing up his life. He meets David at The Arches gym and realizes this is his chance to start afresh.
By some miracle, Milo, Matt’s ex-boyfriend, has managed to hold down his job at The Arches gym, and keep his room in Jimmy’s house, despite being a total slob. But Milo is really bored of cleaning and the menial jobs he does every day. Then David St. Giles walks into the gym, he’s in London for two months and looking for temporary membership. Tall, dark, and handsome David has Milo’s dream job as a political lobbyist and the contacts to get Milo finally into the career he’s always wanted.
Milo has a history of using his boyfriends and friends to get what he wants, and Gabe, Matt’s current boyfriend, is determined to warn David away. David doesn’t take the hint and invites Milo out. Milo is attracted to David, even if the man keeps trying to top him. This time he doesn’t want to take advantage of David, but he’d be stupid not to, wouldn’t he?
Review:Milo is working at a gay gym called the arches. His friend gets him the job when he once again was down and out. Luca gave him job as janitor and Jimmy let him have two months free rent to get on his feet. He meets David and his life changes. Milo is always in control and always a top. But which man will give if either?
I was really loving this story. The banter between David and Milo was Interesting and hot. I was on pins and needles to see the D/s action between them and see if David finally managed to get Milo to submit or if Milo got David to switch. However, I was greatly disappointed when things looked like it was just heating up, I turn the page and it says epilogue…. What the heck? I will say the story was interesting, the characters were great, the sex pretty good, the ending sweet, but I would have liked one good D/s scene with David and Milo. The end came way too soon, and to me the story felt rushed.
I recommend this to anyone that likes gay gyms, lobbyists, a man set on getting what he wants, awesome friends, and a sweet ending.
Blurb: He was dead. And it was murder most foul. If erasing a man’s existence could even be called murder.
When Damien Mitchell wakes, he finds himself without a life or a name. The Montana asylum’s doctors tell him he’s delusional and his memories are all lies: he’s really Stephen Thompson, and he’d gone over the edge, obsessing about a rock star who died in a fiery crash. His chance to escape back to his own life comes when his prison burns, but a gunman is waiting for him, determined that neither Stephen Thompson nor Damien Mitchell will escape.
With the assassin on his tail, Damien flees to the City by the Bay, but keeping a low profile is the only way he’ll survive as he searches San Francisco for his best friend, Miki St. John. Falling back on what kept him fed before he made it big, Damien sings for his supper outside Finnegan’s, an Irish pub on the pier, and he soon falls in with the owner, Sionn Murphy. Damien doesn’t need a complication like Sionn, and to make matters worse, the gunman—who doesn’t mind going through Sionn or anyone else if that’s what it takes kill Damien—shows up to finish what he started.
Review: Damien finally gets a chance to escape his prison when it is set on fire, but he discovers that he just might have jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. With an assassin on his trail, Damien heads for the only place that he knows he can find help: San Francisco, but finding his best friend isn’t going to be easy when most of his memories are missing. Sionn offers help to the young man who busks outside his pub, but things become dangerous when Dee seems to become the target for a mad man.
This is a great mystery/suspense as we dig into the mystery surrounding Damien and his death. Damien is a dead man; after his band was in a car crash Damien was mysteriously whisked away and locked up in an asylum but now his memories are resurfacing stronger than before and someone wants him shut up permanently. Managing to escape, Damien sets out to find the person who means more to him than anything: Miki St. John, but finding his friend is next to impossible when all Damien can remember is a warehouse somewhere in San Francisco. Sionn owns his own pub and becomes intrigued by the young man who busks outside; when he discovers the problems Dee is having, he offers to help. As the two get close things start to fall into place but there is still a killer and the person who hired him to deal with.
I loved this story and the mystery surrounding Damien’s ‘death’, I loved the circumstances of Damien finding himself and Miki again and seeing their incredible friendship in play. Sionn is a wonderful character and he compliments Damien well, he was supportive as Damien fumbled with rediscovering his life and they were very hot together. Damien is wonderfully written with him having fears about his sanity at times and his struggle to remember just what is the truth of his life. The storyline is well paced and drags you in from the beginning; we become involved with discovering the truth about why Damien was locked up in an asylum. The danger is exciting and has you biting your nails on the edge of your seat, the mystery intrigues as you try to work out who was behind it all, and the love story is sweet and passionate.
Although I really loved this book, I wasn’t blind to its faults. The assassin: was there a more incompetent bumbling killer? He might have been vicious and twisted but he was more like an amateur than the professional he professed himself to be. The story never explained how Damien managed to be declared dead…. there would have had to have been a hell of a lot more pay offs than just the pretend parents and many more witnesses to the fact that he was really alive. Those were the things that left me feeling slightly disappointed with this story, I like things to be wrapped nicely in a parcel, and everything explained.
I recommend this to those who love danger and mystery, finding love in dangerous times, rediscovering a friendship, getting to the truth and an ending that makes you wonder what is coming next.
Series: By Degrees (A By Degrees Interlude, By Degrees #1.5) Author: Taylor V. Donovan Genre: Romantic Suspense
Length: Short Story (7k)
Publisher: Taylor V. Donovan
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Blurb:Note from the Author: This is a free interlude to celebrate Mac’s birthday, and will be available for download on May 15, 2013.
Sam Shaughnessy knows what he wants from Mac O’Bannon: monthly, uncomplicated casual encounters.
Mac is on the same page. For two months, they have been enjoying each other’s company, never forgetting that their agreement leaves zero room for long-term commitment.
But a visit to a local gay club during a weekend getaway in South Beach tips the scale, and it isn’t long before Sam starts showing how much he really doesn’t like to share.
Firmly placed rules get suspiciously bent, and by the end of the night, only two things are clear: body shots are conducive to extreme displays of arousal and possessiveness, and anything can be blamed on tequila.
Review: This little story is just a snack to satisfy our appetites for Sam and Mac while she wiles away on Six Degrees of Separation. We get a bit more insight into Mac and Sam’s relationship shift, and the denial, hurt and new understanding that goes with it. Any by the way, I love Sam’s possessive streak! There are more details revealed about the other characters in Mac and Sam’s life too. It’s a good appetizer, don’t miss it! You do however have to read book one, Six Degrees of Lust first.
Series: By Degrees (By Degrees #1) Author: Taylor V. Donovan Genre: Romantic Suspense Length: Novel (389 pages)
Publisher: MLR Press (December 30th, 2011)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4.5Hearts
Blurb:*WARNING FROM THE AUTHOR: Six Degrees of Lust is both an ensemble novel and the first installment in the By Degrees serial. This means there are several point of views and the story will continue. Thanks.
New York City FBI team leader Samuel Shaughnessy lives for his immediate family and his job. After a marriage gone wrong he has stuck to a firm rule when it comes to relationships: he doesn’t have them. Sexually active and emotionally unavailable keeps him satisfied, especially now that he is in hot pursuit of a serial killer targeting gay men.
Former firefighter Machlan O’Bannon now manages a successful sports bar in Houston and after years of waiting he’s ready to stand up and be the man he always wanted to be: out, proud and drama-free. His politically aligned family wants to keep him locked in the closet, but Mac just wants to meet the man of his dreams.
One man is as high strung as the other is laid back. A chance meeting brings the two men together, and one night of passion ignites a fire neither can fight. Their lives are not only miles apart, but also as different as day and night. They don’t want to get involved…but will they be able to stay apart?
Review: First of all, I’m a sucker for a good murder/mystery/whodunit/serial killer sort of thing, and this book excels at that! Second, you won’t get complete resolution with this book, it is a series, and you need to read it in order! Donovan is great at feeding us characters and possibilities, about midway through this book I had six possible suspects in my head and still couldn’t narrow it down to two or three by the end of book one. Her storyline grabs you at the get-go, and keeps a tight fist around you throughout the book. There is a lot of back and forth between character viewpoints and locations but Taylor keeps it clear with date/location headers with each major shift in POV. This back and forth and added location details actually helps with my personality and feeds my ADD well!
The mystery of whodunit was so intense I was like a starving woman waiting for her to feed me each new detail about the new characters as the story evolved. Highly recommended for those who enjoy murder/mystery with plenty of chemistry and smexyness between the MCs. Though I do warn you, Sam can be a real shit, but Mac’s a highly intelligent man who sees right through him!
Blurb:Billy tries his best to keep his smile, even though he’s grieving the death of one of his closest friends, he’s worried about another friend in rehab, and most Saturday nights he’s stuck watching movies with his lonely lesbian roommate. To top it all off, he can’t find a steady job and has a crush on a bartender named Reese, who happens to be oblivious of Billy’s affections.
Now and then Billy works odd jobs for a wealthy eccentric, who has purchased the Riverview, once a popular restaurant immediately after World War II. But the business closed after a series of incidents that culminated with the unexplained death of a waiter in a freezer. Ever since, there have been reports of strange sounds and lights coming from the rundown building, and teens use the remote parking lot to fool around.
Billy leaps at the opportunity to clean out the old restaurant to show off to possible investors. It might also be a chance to get closer to Reese. Together with a small crew, he must brave a harsh winter storm to travel to the Riverview and make it presentable. But when they’re trapped in the eerie building as the snow piles up outside, strange things start to happen. Is any escape from theGhosts of the Riverview?
Review:Billy does odd jobs for Griffin such as house sitting, some cleaning or whatever Griffin finds for him. Griffin does it because Billy was his lover Skottie’s best friend. Skottie was killed in a car crash. Griffin buys a haunted restaurant called the Riverview and offers Billy good money to get a crew to clean it up to show investors. Billy gets his roommate Trina, his crush –of- his –dreams, model Reese and Reese’s sister Quinn. Griffin had one request and that was to get Mathew another of Skottie’s friends that had gone to prison for drug use but is rehabilitated to help.
Oh, wow! For a short story, this was awesome. It has good flow and follow-through. The tension you could feel as if your there. First, the sexual tension between Billy and Reese, and then the scary chills in the restaurant. I can’t say more without giving it away but it’s scary, sexy, one heck of a twist and still a happy ending… well sort of.
I recommend this if you like a haunted building, scary stories, a little romance, surprising twists, and a happy ending.
Blurb:Beneath the ice and crystal lies the future of mankind.
The entire population was sent to sleep in hibernation chambers underground so that the earth could re-grow. When Glenton wakes, it’s to a shaking chamber and screams. He’s saved by Aric, and together they rescue all those they can as the chambers suffocate the remaining humans.
Was it a horrible mistake or a cruel government? Six survivors now try to endure beneath the ice in what remains of the hibernation center, waiting for the day they can return to the surface. Glenton is among them, troubled by his strange feelings for Aric. When their home loses power, they must go to sleep once more.
The future of our species depends on their waking. Will they make it to the surface?
Review: As the world is dying the government come up with a plan for the human race to survive, the population sleeping in hibernation chambers deep underground as The Cultivator works above ground. When Glenton wakes up it is to horror, Glenton is saved by Aric but many others die, and when the dust settles there’s six young survivors who have to learn to survive long enough until the day the hatch opens and they can return to the surface. When Glenton turns eighteen, he has to try to understand his feelings for Aric, and just when he is coming to terms with his new relationship disaster strikes.
This is a great little story that is a touch YA, Coming of Age and futuristic sci-fi. Glenton wakes to chaos when the hibernation chambers are cut off, Aric, Rawn, Chazin, Gela, Enne are the only other survivors, and they have several more years before the surface is safe to live on. The six grow up clearing tunnels for when the hatches open, developing relationships with each other but when Glenton discovers that it is Aric that flips his switch, he doesn’t know what to do as boys should be with girls, shouldn’t they?
I really enjoyed this little story and loved the way that the story progressed, and the way it is set out and how we are left wondering until the very end just what really happened with the hibernation chambers. The developing relationship between Glenton and Aric is kinda sweet, Glenton has no clue that it is normal to be attracted to another male and they have a lot of hidden meeting places so they can be close. Their relationship is one that develops from friends to lovers and gets a touch hot under the collar as they experiment with each other.
I recommend this to those who love futuristic sci-fi, young guys coming together, hot encounters and a new beginning for the human race.
Blurb: In a world where shape shifters are openly bisexual, vampires have insatiable sex drives, and warlocks emit pheromones, warlock Zander Knight struggles to make sense of his own strict upbringing. Everything in Zander’s world changes the night he decides to break the rules and meet on-line chat buddy Giovanni at supernatural hot spot Club Arcane. Suddenly, he finds himself face to face with a magical conspiracy, a huge family secret, and the most handsome man he’s ever seen.
Zander’s night of drinking and partying comes to a screeching halt when the club is attacked and several magicals are abducted and murdered. Zander is catapulted into the middle of a quest to find who or what is killing supernaturals, while sorting through his feelings for a fearsome shape shifter prince named Tau Long.
Born into a conservative magical family, Zander decides not to tell them he’s gay. Unfortunately, Zander isn’t the only one in his family keeping secrets. This is more than just one warlock’s love story — this is a supernatural adventure.
Review: Zander has led a sheltered life in the paranormal world; even though he is a warlock, he has been brought up in the human world and knows very little about other paranormals. Zander is about to change that by meeting up with his on-line friend Giovanni and going to a supernatural night club, but his night of escape comes to a screeching halt when the club is attacked and he finds himself dragged into an adventure to discover who was behind the attack. Zander also discovers that his mother has been hiding a secret, he meets his mate Tau and isn’t sure he wants to settle down.
This is a great paranormal story that is filled with action and secrets. Zander wants to know more about the world he belongs to but has been kept sheltered by his parents. On the one night that he throws off the shackles of responsibility, it ends with him meeting his mate and being in the middle of a violent bloody attack by enemies unknown, and he takes it on himself to rescue the kidnapped paranormals when he discovers his grandmother is among those who are missing. Tau is a shifter prince, discovering his mate fills him with joy but it isn’t an easy mating and he has his own challenges to face in the coming weeks. Giovanni is a warlock who threw his own chains off long ago he has no problem supporting Zander in his rescue mission, Giovanni also meets a vampire, Hung, who he isn’t sure he wants to leave.
Zander is a pretty confused young man by the time this story ends, he discovers secrets that rip his family apart, discovers a mate he isn’t sure he wants yet and finds himself in the middle of rescue and sets himself a mission to discover who attacked the paranormals. Zander’s relationship with Tau is very rocky, and if he had known the truth about shifters, it would have been a lot smoother but still tense. Giovanni proves to be a great friend for Zander and adds some zing to the story. The progression of the story is very quick but doesn’t get confusing, the characters are brilliant, and come together brilliantly to make an interesting cast and the storyline is action packed and exciting.
I will recommend this story to those that love paranormal story’s that have a journey ahead of them, developing love that has hurdles, secrets that can destroy but make you stronger, rescues that rock, difficult choices to make and an ending that makes you want the next eleven installments now!
Blurb: Set against the war-torn landscape of occupied Norway in 1941, a loyal German soldier is obsessed by a young Norwegian national. He must choose between duty to his country and a deep-seated passion for a young man who may well be his enemy.
Review: I am utterly furious with this author. That is no way to end a book, I don’t care what absurd justifications one might have, but that was cruel. Period!
I’m still reeling from the way this book ended. Hell I’m still reeling from the entirety of the book. It was many thing, but if I must use one word to describe it, that would be “powerful.”
This book start with a near end scene, so we already have a hint that things are not going to end all that well. But being the cruel person that he is, this author does not gives us all the details, he allows hope to blossom, and that is a trap that you will fall without fail.
Axel is a young man who is caught up in the pre-WWII Germany. The desolate emotions Germans suffered at the time due to loss of the WWI color all people, and the need to rise from that bottomless pit has the people following the new Nationalist wave. The need to rise higher has Axel accepting the offer of a Baron and working for him at his mansion, his duties later on transforming into some much, much more depraved.
It is there we witness Axel suffer humiliation, being literally the lap dog of the baron. But what turns his experience into a horrific one is the addition of one more “dog” in the house and that would be none other than Bruno, his old wrestling partner whom Axel despises. In his hands and for the Barons whim Axel goes through some dubiously consensual coupling, which in my eyes were plain rape and made me wonder why for Heaven’s sake did he endure all that? It is obvious through the text that Axel hates that condition he’s put himself into, yet he stays until the very last moment when he’s no longer wanted and unceremoniously thrown out.
What made the biggest impression to me was that the above chapter of Axel’s life was told in the most clinical way – we read this entire book from Axel’s point of view – and there were no emotions through this recollection at all. It was rather dispassionate and that made it even more impressing for me.
From that, moment on the “submissive” Axel is lost and thank God, for that for it was obvious he was not of that nature. He studies and makes up the ranks, getting to be a paratrooper officer and deployed to Norway. And yes, that detached feeling slowly slips away, though not entirely, making the Nazi officer all the more real.
The text here is quite peculiar. It reminds a biography one moment and a too personal romantic tale the next. The description of the warfare is astounding. The sentiments of the people described are too raw. It’s perhaps because it’s the first time I read a book on WWII from a German officer’s point of view, but everything seems gut wrenching, especially since said officer is a man who loves men. Don’t misunderstand me, the is a distinguished lack of despair that so often colors such reads, or rather it slowly builds as Axel meets Klaus, a young Norwegian soldier, and slowly but steadily falls for him.
It is most romantic, and yet so naïve of Axel to believe in fairy tales. It is impossible what I kept reading and how Fate was such a bitch to him. The nasty triangle that formed when his ex-tormentor Bruno shows up and out of everything he is his superior, boldly claiming Klaus for his own. Good God, that was so freaking intense, one moment witnessing Axel and Klaus together, the next not knowing how and why and where Klaus is being taken. An agonizing triangle indeed that slowly reveals the guillotine hanging over each man’s head, all but snapping into place, yet the willing blindness that characterizes our protagonist nearly brought me to tears.
Such a tragedy this book was, but for all that, it indeed had me in tears, I have to admit, this was an exquisite read. It has it all, it makes feel a whole lot of emotions, and it gets you so engrossed you practically fell like you’re living inside it for the duration. If it wasn’t for that abrupt ending that leaves, you imagining what happen next with the most horrible scenes that come to mind, this would have easily be a 5 hearts review for me.
Blurb: Samuel Riley is gorgeous – tall, muscular, and intelligent. The girls love him. And so does his roommate, Aidan Flemming. Secretly, of course, because Aidan is as gay as Sammy is straight – and even the out and proud Aidan knows there are limits to Sammy’s acceptance. Cursed to watch as Sammy dates half the co-eds on campus, a lonely Aidan spends his time writing, helping Sammy and his friends survive literature classes, and recovering from a disastrous love affair that left Aidan heartbroken.
But when happiness finally comes for Aidan in the body of his roommate’s fellow rower, all that changes. In Steven, Aidan finds happiness and romance. The rower, a blond, blue-eyed Adonis, makes Aidan feel desired and appreciated. But their very public courtship stirs up controversy and violence, and Aidan’s life gets very complicated.
Attacks rock the campus community, and in the middle of the upheaval, Aidan finds himself noticed by the last person he’d expect. Samuel Riley, his roommate, his impossible dream, and just possibly, a very jealous suitor. But the jealous suitor has a girlfriend. And she is not happy.
Review: Aidan Flemming is out and proud. The strange looks he gets or more due to his attire than his sexual persuasion. Waistcoats, pirate shirts, rose-colored glasses all donned with his favorite top hat are his daily attire. His flamboyance brought trouble on his first day of college when he was cornered by some homophobic jocks, but his roommate Sammy quickly shut them down. Unrequited love is a bitch, and Aidan is no stranger to this concept. So when one of Sammy’s rowing partners shows a romantic interest in him, Aidan is certain the guy is just a tease.
Steven starts out bi-curious, but the more time he spends with Aidan, the more attracted to him he becomes. Aidan loves Sammy and everyone knows it, including Steven. All Steven wants is a chance to be with Aidan, even if it’s not long-term he just wants Aidan to give him right now. So he does, and they just might be happy together. Aidan soon finds out that nothing starts the heart more than a little stiff competition and Sammy definitely see’s Steven as competition! Now the boy who wouldn’t be loved is loved by two decidedly different men.
Steven is tall and lean with blonde hair and blue eyes. The more he opens up the more he realizes he’s always been attracted to men. He quickly falls in love with Aidan’s eccentricity, personality, and independence. Sammy is tall, dark, and straight. The object of Aidan’s secret desires with his muscled ebony physique and blinding white smile. Steven makes Aidan feel alive, but he can’t seem to let go of his underlying love for Sammy. So Aidan is left to make a choice. The man who admittedly loves him, or the man he’s always loved.
I loved the individuality that was written into the three main characters in this book. The storyline was based in reality and even the secondary characters had depth. There was that added element of mystery, first with whom Aidan would choose, then with Sammy’s psychotic ex attempting to exact her revenge. This is the first gay love triangle I’ve read and really enjoyed the way the interaction between the various characters played out, and the romance element was fantastic.
I almost didn’t read this book as I’ve read another of Doyon’s books previously and I wasn’t impressed. But the cover intrigued me and I had to know the story of the two men that graced it. I definitely made the right decision, I devoured this book in one setting, I couldn’t stop once I started, and I had to know what would become of young Aidan. There were also a couple of ‘oh my god’ moments with this book that surprised me, and I do like surprises. This is a must read for fans of the genre as well as lovers of romance, mystery, and some HOT guy on guy action. Well written story, a couple HEA and not one, not two, but three hot ass men that keep tripping over each other and falling into bed. What’s not to love?
Blurb: House-sitting for a friend is supposed to be a lucky break for Aiden Daly. Discovering his new housemate is the image of his first crush turns it into a nightmare. Marco de Luca is obviously interested in being more than housemates, but his resemblance to Aiden’s ideal man seems only skin-deep. Besides, Aiden doesn’t date.
Since his adoptive father’s suicide, Aiden’s first priority has been supporting his remaining family—and shielding them from the truth of their financial situation. Deeply concerned for his mother’s mental health, Aiden remains closeted and lonely, convinced that bad luck is the only luck he’ll ever have.
As if the pressure of keeping his father’s financial secrets weren’t enough to handle, Aiden’s birth father makes contact, sending Aiden’s anxieties spiraling out of control. But it’s a crisis at work that finally brings Aiden to his breaking point. Accepting support from Marco is a gamble, but it could be just what Aiden needs to turn his luck around.
Review: This is the third book in the Seattle Stories series. Like with After Ben and Saving Sean, there are many things to like about this book.
These are the things I thought worked well:
1) The author delivers clever, well-written sentences, that make the imagery and emotion shine off the page.
2) The characters are mostly very likeable and three-dimensional – not always perfect in their decisions – in this book, you see a clear arc in how Aiden approaches his life.
3) Marco has a wonderful liveliness about him and is an adorable character.
4) The story has some sweet moments. For example, how Aiden chose Evan to be his adoptive brother – this little story is touching.
However, there were a few things that didn’t quite work, and unfortunately made this a much harder read for me. Consequently, I found myself often bored and irritated.
·There was too much internalization – Aiden’s thoughts and reflection went on for pages at a time in places, and it often felt like he was repeating himself. I think there needed to be more action and showing of relationship developments rather than reflecting on it after the matter.
·There was also too much looking back on something that recently happened and talking about it in the past. Important scenes were cut and then talked about in a flashback. There would have been more impact if these scenes had been in the here and now and shown to give more immediacy and reader connection.
In the end, I felt disappointed with this read. Aiden’s Luck had interesting story elements and good descriptions, but it would have been that much more powerful if more scenes were written at the time they were happening and more page time given to the really important ones.
Brett Wright and Finn de Morisco come from vastly different worlds. Disowned by his family for being gay, Brett builds both a life on his own terms and walls around his heart. But nothing can prepare him for the evil that stalks him in the night or from discovering the dark secrets of his heritage.
The youngest of a doting family, Finn lives a sheltered life that allows him to trust easily and makes him quick to jump to the rescue. While using his knowledge of the supernatural world to help Brett uncover the truth of his ancestry, Finn learns neither his magical life nor falling in love is as simple and risk-free as he believed.
New knowledge comes with a price—one that may prove too high for them to pay.
Review: Brett Wright is twenty-three and just realizing that things about him are odd and changing. His Grandfather has just died, he is feeling odd things in the ocean, he is setting fire to himself and not burning, he meets a hot man who turns out to be a witch, and life will never be the same. Oh I forgot to mention being chased by a vampire and finding out he is at least part Demon. Brett is an interesting man.
I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait for the next in the series. I do hope it shed light on what Brett is and maybe he can find happiness. This story probably isn’t for everyone, there are some scenes of rape and violence and its riddle with angst.
Brandon has such a way with description that pulls you right into the story. I felt like I was in the water with Brett, at the funeral, hurting, all of it. This is an incredible new world of paranormal with very interesting new types of creatures.
I highly recommend to any one that likes a heartfelt story full of love, and angst, finding out what you are, new worlds, new and interesting creatures, heartache, loss, and some pretty hot man-sex.
Blurb: Ichabod Crane, town schoolmaster and self-proclaimed supernatural expert, wants to better his situation by marrying the wealthy Katrina Van Tassel. But, there is a rival for her attentions.
Local hero, Brom Bones.
Brom lives to torment and tease Ichabod, leaving the schoolmaster wondering if he is more interested in besting his rival than winning Katrina’s hand. Especially when each time Ichabod goes into the backroom of his favorite tavern – a place men can be men –his imagination conjures Brom’s face on every lover.
Late one night, Ichabod is chased by the legendary Headless Horseman. Terrified the ghost wants his head, he tries to outrun the specter. To his horror, he is taken captive by the evil spirit.
Ichabod awakens, naked and tied to a bed, only to discover the Headless Horseman is none other than his rival Brom Bones! Brom confesses that Ichabod has been haunting his own fantasies and he vows to make Ichabod Crane his in every way.
Ichabod wants to believe the pleasure Brom offers comes from his heart, but he is afraid it is another one of Brom’s tricks.
Though surely an enemy’s touch has never felt like this…
Review: My, oh my! What a tale this one was. I feel like I went back in time when I used to read Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and The Grim Brothers’ fairytales. And as you probably have seen from the blurb the speech of the text is written in such a manner that makes you fall right in that trap, using the mannerisms of the 18 century, and traveling in haze through time in that very place when the Tale of the Headless Horseman first took the breath of life. God, I’m affected by it myself.
So, what do you make of the Legend of the Sleeping Hollow? How do you think all started? Did you ever think to yourself that there could possibly be lovers involved? That their wicked and tricky minds could have worked together to perhaps take advantage from the folk’s tales.
But things were not so easy. It was a strong rivalry before it turned to passion and unadulterated love. They were enemies before they became the ultimate lovers, such the world had never seen before.
Meet Ichabod Crane, Schoolmaster and quite the gentleman. Known for his stern ways, his impeccable control, and his vivid imagination. Currently courting Miss Katrina Van Tassel not because she’s beautiful or he in love, but due to her charming wealth that will accompany her. Ambition is an awful treat, but one Ichabod cannot deny.
Enter Ichabod’s rival, Brom Bones. Not only is he courting dear Katrina, but also he is insistently tormenting and teasing Ichabod. The awful man is bound to humiliate and utterly break Ichabod in every way. Unfortunately, for Ichabod, he’s succeeding.
After a gathering that had Ichabod hopes high for winning Miss Katrina when to Hell and beyond when said darling miss completely dismissed him and his attentions, Ichabod has been left to walk through the rumored favorite paths of the Headless Horseman. His imagination ran wild fueling his fear, a fear so strong that made his heart nearly jump out of his chest when the ghost came chasing him and captured him. But the ghost did not behead him, no; this particular ghost’s intentions were far more sinister.
And thus begins a wonderful erotic tale, filled to the brim with hot scenes, kinky and somewhat painful, although always they ended in rapturous pleasure. This is how this tale will blow your mind; right after it has lured you with all that ghostly things. And before you know it, you’ll be lost in the haze, you’ll feel as if you’re living in the book, the mists and the chills will run through you without a doubt, just as if the sensual scenes will make you hot.
I loved this book, can you tell? I loved it from start to finish. If only Ichabod wasn’t such a shallow prick at the beginning, he made me want to slap him, and when Katrina dumped him cold, I admit it, I was so damned satisfied the book instantly got real high in my praise. But it had to be like that, and it gave such an authenticity to all characters. They all felt like the real deal, hence why I loved this so much.
For me this was an excellent re-told tale, one I strongly recommend to all fans of the genre. I immensely enjoyed a very, very remarkable read.
Blurb: When small-time thief Timmy Harwell recklessly “borrows” a Cadillac for a joyride, he doesn’t expect to find a cool $100,000 in the trunk. His elation turns to terror when he realizes the SUV and the dough belong to Miguel Garcia, aka El Poco, a Tijuana drug dealer with a nasty reputation. Timmy sees only one way out: leave the stolen car behind and run as fast as he can.
His getaway is cut short when a storm strands him outside Jasper Stone’s secluded mountain cabin. Jasper finds Timmy in his shed, unconscious and burning up with fever, and takes care of the younger man, nursing him back to health. The two begin to grow close, but Jasper, a writer who seeks only solitude, is everything Timmy isn’t. Straightforward, honest, and kind.
Timmy needs Jasper’s help—and wants his respect—so he hides his dishonest habits. But when El Poco comes after him, Timmy realizes he’s not the only one at risk. His actions have also put Jasper in harm’s way. Honesty now could mean Timmy loses the man he’s come to love, but not being honest could mean far worse.
Review: A story that captures the setting well, but fails to capture this reader’s heart.
The things I liked were the animals and the sense of place. Lola in particular stuck out as being such a sweet, loyal dog and I thought she made a nice character. There’s also a lot of good description that used more than just the visual sense, but taste, touch and sound as well.
Unfortunately, it hit too many of my triggers. Too much exposition, telling, flashbacks, and a strange perspective, which might have been omniscient? Some of Jasper’s thoughts felt inappropriate to the moment, and the sex scenes were uncomfortable to read—especially as poor choices for similes were used.
All this made it difficult for me to get into the story. I think the writing and ideas were all there, but could have been put to better effect if written in a more active tense.
Blurb: In Ternekill, Terne House was said to be haunted. Auction house researcher Byron Shepley knew that all too well because he’d broken into the then-vacant, ominous mansion when he was sixteen, and he’d never forgotten the chilling experience. Or perhaps it was the house that never forgot him. Now, the old estate is no longer vacant, and on this night, the delivery of an expansive instrument has Byron returning once more. Will the house let him leave this time?
Ravol Nova appeared in Ternekill and took up residence at the Terne House two years ago. Once a well-known guitarist, Ravol formerly played his music for no one but his lover, the flamenco dancer Francisco Caspar, until the man died a horrible death at the hands of an unknown killer. Ravol, now a recluse with a dark, mysterious past, came to Terne House for a specific purpose, and has been waiting a long time.
On a dark and stormy night, one man may trade his soul for passion, while another may find the redemption he’s been seeking for so very long. What dangers await these two men when they finally unite and come face-to-face with destiny?
Review: Well, this short certainly had a dark feeling to it. Byron has once come across Terne House when a teenager and left without specific memory of what happened, only the feel that it was something he didn’t want to know.
Many years later, he’s forced to go back as he’s to deliver a very expensive instrument to recluse former artist Ravol Nova, who now inhabits the House. Well forced is perhaps not the right word as Byron seems drawn there and almost craving to return?
The majority of this story takes place during two nights with only the end stretching time. During the first stormy night, certain events happen that left me in a weird state. A long-lost ghost returning to possess a body that has been claimed or perhaps marked a long time before, a dark and mysterious creature wrapped in sadness and longing, and a lonely man bound to a place in manners he doesn’t understand, yet craving to be released in the purest way. A night full of passion, mystique, carnal cravings, and blood. A night that mixed both intensity and sensuality with the slightest hints of danger lurking in the corners.
Yes, this was the kind of read I do enjoy. If it weren’t for the questions that were left unanswered, I might have been completely enthralled from this book. As it is, I enjoyed it a lot and won’t hesitate to recommend this read to fans of the genre.
Blurb: All Shawn Neale is looking for when he stumbles into All Corked Up on Christmas Eve is some wine recommendations. What he finds is an instant attraction to Royce Wilkinson, the shop’s owner. After a few weeks of flirting during shopping and some semi-dates at Royce’s wine tastings, they decide on a real date. It goes well, but life isn’t that simple.
Shawn wants to buy Delicto, the local pub he manages. He’s been planning his life around this for years, but when the owner, who believes being gay is an illness, discovers Shawn went out with Royce, he gives Shawn an ultimatum: stop dating guys or he won’t get to buy Delicto. It’s a heartbreaking quandary: Can Royce and Shawn be happy with a secret relationship until Shawn buys Delicto or is Shawn going to have to choose between his dream job and his dream guy?
Review: As I start reading this book, I feel warm and all excited. It has a very nice beginning what with Shawn showing up at Royce’s shop and wanting rec for wine, as he’s clueless; all this on Christmas Eve and chemistry flaring up with flirtation hit the heat in a heartbeat…
All lead to a very good read until Henry (Shawn’s boss) came in view and we got to see the MC’s real character. I did NOT like Shawn at all. As in “what the hell just happened?” and “how did this read got screwed up like this?”
Shawn has been working for years in a restaurant. He has been saving to buy that restaurant from his boss when he retires. His boss knows Shawn is gay and believes he’s sick, thus while he doesn’t fire him insists that Shawn should not “flaunt” his sickness and if he does so, he will not sell the place to him… And of course buying the place has been Shawn’s dream so he lets a homophobic prick interfere with his personal life. Ok, I get it, having a prick for a boss is not easy, but Shawn – his behavior and personality – was so weird that I couldn’t like him at all. All good impression I had from the beginning of the book was immediately lost and never recovered.
As for Royce, he is yet another flat character that had no appeal to me whatsoever. He seemed a bit charming as the story started and I was eager to get to know him, but he failed to exhibit anything from that point on. Al least for me.
And the rest of the crew – yeah I mean Anastasia and Clint – good God, what on earth were they and where did they come from? I can’t even begin to imagine the horror of having such friends. Perhaps it’s because my own experiences are void of such meddling and awfully prying people, but I despised them both with a passion. Honey, I love you and care for you, but for the love of everything sacred know your boundaries. I kept shuddering and cringing in horror every time those characters were mentioned.
Romance-wise this fell flat for me. Nothing, zero, zip! It was one of the most awkward things I’ve read on the romantic and erotic part. When the guys finally – finally – came together I was left feeling nothing. They simply didn’t take me with them. Perhaps it was because their first interaction happened in an alley, perhaps it was because it followed the scene when Shawn “stood up” to his boss and I kept thinking “is that how people stand up for themselves?” and constantly going back to that scene, recalling it even as I was reading the pair’s rutting. Bottom end they didn’t inspire any hot thoughts or emotions for me.
As a conclusion, while this book was not bad, it definitely didn’t do it for me.
After a whirlwind vacation on the Isle of Wight, where he found the love of his life, Sam Owens sends Liam Marshall home to Michigan to tie up loose ends so they can be together forever. When all communication with Liam goes silent, Sam worries. Fearing the worst, he enlists the help of his brother, British Metropolitan police officer Paul Owens, to help him find Liam and get him back safely in time for their wedding. Paul has little difficulty digging into this mystery across the pond. Paul is also good-looking and openly bisexual, all of which adds to the dismay of Wisconsin Detective Olaf Skandik.
Olaf is ex-military and still closeted now that he’s part of the police department. He’s frustrated, hemmed in by the walls he’s erected, and when he meets Paul, he wonders if this may be the time and opportunity for change. Looking into his brother’s missing fiancé, Paul also starts looking into Olaf, and business soon mixes with pleasure, a bit of romance that may strengthen his case for them to make a future together.
He was dead. And it was murder most foul. If erasing a man’s existence could even be called murder.
When Damien Mitchell wakes, he finds himself without a life or a name. The Montana asylum’s doctors tell him he’s delusional and his memories are all lies: he’s really Stephen Thompson, and he’d gone over the edge, obsessing about a rock star who died in a fiery crash. His chance to escape back to his own life comes when his prison burns, but a gunman is waiting for him, determined that neither Stephen Thompson nor Damien Mitchell will escape.
With the assassin on his tail, Damien flees to the City by the Bay, but keeping a low profile is the only way he’ll survive as he searches San Francisco for his best friend, Miki St. John. Falling back on what kept him fed before he made it big, Damien sings for his supper outside Finnegan’s, an Irish pub on the pier, and he soon falls in with the owner, Sionn Murphy. Damien doesn’t need a complication like Sionn, and to make matters worse, the gunman—who doesn’t mind going through Sionn or anyone else if that’s what it takes to kill Damien—shows up to finish what he started.
Brett Wright and Finn de Morisco come from vastly different worlds. Disowned by his family for being gay, Brett builds both a life on his own terms and walls around his heart. But nothing can prepare him for the evil that stalks him in the night or from discovering the dark secrets of his heritage.
The youngest of a doting family, Finn lives a sheltered life that allows him to trust easily and makes him quick to jump to the rescue. While using his knowledge of the supernatural world to help Brett uncover the truth of his ancestry, Finn learns neither his magical life nor falling in love is as simple and risk-free as he believed.
New knowledge comes with a price—one that may prove too high for them to pay.
A Bittersweet Dreams title: It’s an unfortunate truth: love doesn’t always conquer all. Regardless of its strength, sometimes fate intervenes, tragedy strikes, or forces conspire against it. These stories of romance do not offer a traditional happy ending, but the strong and enduring love will still touch your heart and maybe move you to tears.
Length: Novel (344p.) | Genre: Bittersweet Dreams, High Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires, Angels and Demons | Release Date: August 19, 2013 | Buy as eBook ($6.99 ISBN: 978-1-62380-699-6) | Buy as Paperback ($17.99 ISBN: 978-1-62380-698-9)
Life in the Land by Rebecca Cohen
The magic of the Sawyer family’s extremely green thumbs comes straight from the land. But Bobby Sawyer’s expected superpowers don’t become a reality until he kisses his best friend, Mike Flint. That kiss moves the earth—literally.
When he moves to the city, leaving Mike behind, Bobby keeps his green thumb nimble by working in a garden center and uses his superpowers to help fight crime. He’s on a mission when a bomb explodes, leaving him seriously injured, forcing him to return to the family farm—the source of his strength—to recuperate.
While attempting to recover, Bobby realizes Mike is still the love of his life. But Mike is leery: Bobby left him once before. What if all Bobby needs is one more magical kiss?
Length: Novella (72p.) | Genre: Contemporary, Coming of Age, Fantasy | Release Date: August 21, 2013 | Buy as eBook ($3.99 ISBN: 978-1-62380-103-3)
The Trouble With Tony by Eli Easton
As part of the investigation into the murder of a young woman, Seattle P.I. Tony DeMarco poses as a patient of Dr. Jack Halloran, the therapist who treated the victim at a Seattle sex clinic. This isn’t the first time Tony has gone undercover, but it’s the first time he’s wanted to go under cover with one of his suspects. He can’t help it—Jack Halloran is just the kind of steely-eyed hero Tony goes for. But he’ll have to prove Halloran’s innocence and keep the doctor from finding out about his ruse before he can play Romeo.
Dr. Halloran has his own issues, including a damaged right arm sustained in the line of duty as a combat surgeon in Iraq and the PTSD that followed. He’s confused to find himself attracted to a new patient, the big, funny Italian with the puppy-dog eyes, and Tony’s humor slips right past Jack’s defenses, making him feel things he thought long buried. But can the doctor and the P.I. find a path to romance despite the secrets between them?
August Adahy Mendez would rather be buried in the world of his detective novels or a good film noir movie than in real life. He’s overweight, undermotivated, and stuck in a dead-end job. As a Chincha, he’s part of a long line of chinchilla shifters, but the greatest accomplishment in his life so far has been moving an hour away from his close-knit herd. That all changes when August’s grandfather leaves him enough cash to pursue his dream: becoming a detective himself.
Sam Ewing is a bitter divorcé who enjoys watching football and being alone. It’s easier when his only interaction with people is when he collects rent from his office building tenants. Then August rents space from him to set up his new detective agency, and Sam is drawn to him despite his misgivings.
Sam soon finds himself involved with one of August’s cases, and the men join forces to catch their criminal. The greater challenges they face, however, are how August makes Sam want to give love a second try and how Sam makes August believe that real life might be even better than fiction.
In 1915, after his beloved Carl died from a vicious beating, David Harrison enlisted in the Army and went to war. He returns home to find a world seemingly unchanged, while he will never be the same. At Mrs. Gill’s boarding house, he meets Bernard Donnelly, a young man suffering the aftereffects of his own war experiences. David finds himself increasingly attracted to Bernard, but that terrifies him. He blames himself for Carl’s horrific death and fears he isn’t strong enough to lose another love to violence.
Bernard needs David to help him face each day and find a way they can be together without stigma—and without putting them in legal and physical danger—but David clings to his idea that the only way to keep a lover safe is not to have one. His fears threaten to destroy everything, unless he learns that sometimes the risk is worth it and finds the courage to love.
Length: Novel (200p.) | Genre:Historical World | Release Date: August 23, 2013
It’s July 3, 1976, the beginning of America’s bicentennial weekend, and everyone seems to be celebrating their freedoms except eighteen-year-old runaway Michael Ryder. Fresh from rural Pennsylvania, Michael is doing whatever and whoever it takes to get to San Francisco, where he hopes to find a new life with the freedom to love without fear.
While hitchhiking, a mysterious, tattooed biker named Snake offers him a ride west—on the back of his customized Harley chopper. During their journey across Route 66, Snake introduces Michael to new and steamy pleasures, leaving Michael aching for more than just a physical relationship. But a violent encounter with a cruel biker gang and a harrowing secret from Snake’s military past might destroy their unlikely relationship long before they reach the end of the road.
Release Date: August 23, 2013 |Buy as eBook ($6.99 ISBN: 978-1-62380-038-8) | Buy as Paperback ($14.99 ISBN: 978-1-62380-037-1)
Harmony Ink Press’ releases for the week of August 19, 2013
Nail Polish and Feathers by Jo Ramsey
Sixteen-year-old Evan Granger has no problems with being gay. Despite his mother’s objections, he wears nail polish and makeup to school and pursues his goal of becoming a professional drag queen.
TV drag star Taffy Sweet gives encouragement and Evan’s cousin Holly tries to protect him, but school bullies abuse him so badly because of his sexuality and the girly way he dresses that he ends up at the hospital emergency room. After that, even his new crush, a closeted football jock named Moe Garcia, is unhappy about Evan’s choice to live his life openly gay. But even in girly clothes and nail polish, Evan is a force to be reckoned with, and he soon shows the bullies—and everyone else—that beating a drag queen up does not mean the queen is beaten down.
Length: Novel (210p.) | Genre: Contemporary, Gay, YA | Release Date: August 22, 2013
Blurb:Night Stragorri was born to hunt. As heir to the Stragorri bloodline, his sole purpose to kill any paranormal threatens human life. He is bound by blood to the Hunter code, but he desperately wants a way out. He didn’t imagine in a million years that one fateful visit to a shifter-infested nightclub would bring him face-to-face with the man who would change his destiny.
Akira Landers is a Were-panther with a painful history. Adopted into a pack of werewolves at an early age, he learned to fear Hunters above all others. Working at the pack-run nightclub, things are always eventful, but even he is surprised at the Hunter who enters their domain and more surprised by the attraction he feels for the other man.
Inexplicably drawn together, sparks ignite, but their pasts seek to divide them as they struggle to accept their love in a world where Hunters and Weres are mortal enemies.
[Siren Classic ManLove: Erotic Alternative Paranormal Romance, M/M, shape-shifters, public exhibition, spanking, sex toys, HEA]
Review: This is book 1 of the Be-were series. As usual, I began backwards and had read the third first, causing me to start at the beginning, since I fell in love with the world and characters and had to catch up. I adore the series title Be-were!
Now for a quick rundown on this book. Night is a hunter and is the heir to title of king of the Stragorri house. Hunters have special magic and have been bred to hunt the paranormal and protect the humans. Night unlike most hunters has a heart and a conscience and feels that his family isn’t being truthful and some of the kills are not justified. Night wants things his kind doesn’t, he is tired of being alone and hated and feared but if he ever tried to quit he would be the next on the list.
Akira is a were panther and lives in a pack of misfits that are mostly wolves but Jared has taken in others such as Akira. Akira is happy in his pack, since his Alpha is just, but Akira being very submissive wants a mate that loves him not just to use him for sex then toss him aside when they get bored, or to be a side fling for a gay wolf that has to mate a female to breed. He wants a mate of his own, that loves and cherishes him for himself not his sexual talents. (Don’t we all?)
Ah poor Akira. I sure can relate to him. Though he is by far not my sort of man, I fell in love with him instantly. He is small, and punkish, but by no means a coward or weakling. He is full of fire and heart. Then Night walks into the club to eat.
Now Night is my kind of man tall dark strong with lots of secrets, and not seemingly the nicest man around. Chemistry flows immediately between the two and the story is on!
This is a great story set in a fantastically built world of humans and other beings. There is plenty of intrigue and mystery. Lots of action and plenty of very hot mansex. There was one small issue I had with the story but I can’t tell since it would be a spoiler, but perhaps that question will be answered in the next book anyways, and since I have it, I will soon find out.
I highly recommend this to anyone that like a unique world of supernatural, Vampires, werewolves, and other types of mystical beings, mystery suspense, and really hot man-sex. Yes, this has a bit of everything!
Blurb: Elvis Summers and his writing partner Holt have scored a fantastic gig—spending two months in romantic Buenos Aires while researching their old TV idol, Guy Williams, famous for playing Zorro and the futuristic, perfect father in Lost in Space.
What made Williams fall so deeply in love with Argentina that he gave up his acting career to move there in the mid 70s?
For years, the actor remained an icon as Zorro in Argentina, even though he died alone and under mysterious circumstances in his apartment in the lush neighborhood of Recoleta. As Elvis and Holt retrace the actor’s footsteps, history and gothic romance seep into their souls. Elvis meets a hot local named Joaquin, a man with his own secrets and apparent fears. Elvis falls hard and fast for the sexy porteño, but after scorching nights of passion, Joaquin inexplicably vanishes.
Elvis desperately searches for him even as Holt tries to convince him that Joaquin was obviously not interested, and that residents of Joaquin’s apartment building claim no such man exists.
Feeling the ghost of Guy Williams accompanying him on his sometimes-frightening search, Elvis is determined to find the man he came to adore. Or will he, like TV’s Zorro, find himself shattered by fate?
Review: Short, Sexy and Steamy… My three favorite colors!
Elvis and Holt are in Buenos Aires working on their latest film project about the life of late actor Guy Williams. Famous for his roles in Zorro and Lost in Space, the man behind the masks is a mystery that these two writers mean to unwrap. When they first arrive, the friends venture out to a local gay bar and Elvis meets the sexy, alluring, and mysterious Joaquin. They embark on a whirlwind courtship fueled by a mutual attraction and some electric chemistry.
When Joaquin suddenly disappears and Elvis and Holts apartment is ransacked, Elvis immediately fears something terrible has happened to his new lover. Holt, however, thinks that Joaquin is just not interested in pursuing anything long-term and is giving his friend the brush off. They soon learn that Argentina may be a beautiful and sensual country, but it is always very dark and dangerous. Why did Joaquin just disappear? Was he simply done with the affair, or has he fallen prey to some twisted people?
This definitely a steamy read! Joaquin has a pallet for delectable desserts and his plate is Elvis. The scenes where they blindfold each other and use their other senses to explore touch and devour each other or ‘wipe the steam off your kindle’ fanfriggintastic! My only complaint would be the redundant research and parts of the story concerning Guy Williams. I realize this was the reason for Elvis and Holt to be in Buenos Aires, but it was overdone too much for my taste. Overall though that can be skimmed and everything else was well written and wrapped up with enough mystery and intrigue to keep me turning the pages.
Looking for something short, sexy, and STEAMY? This would be the one!!
Publisher: Extasy Books (August 15th, 2013) First published by Silver Publishing 03/16/13
HeatLevel: Explicit
HeartRating: ♥♥♥2.5~3 Hearts
Reviewer: Thommie
Blurb: A lost gold coin, a centuries old leprechaun and a college student caught in the middle. What’s the worst that could happen?
Luke, an American exchange student studying abroad in Ireland, ignored his roommates when they told him to put back the gold coin he found in the garden. They warned him about what would happen if he kept the leprechaun gold. He might wonder if maybe he should have listened to them when a sexy, kilt-wearing leprechaun shows up that night to claim the last of the coins from his scattered pot of gold.
Review: Back in March, I reviewed this book. Back then, this was a very short story, magical, and with a hint of mischief as the leprechaun, Arn tricks human Luke into giving him his last lost coin back. But the trick was on him as he fell in love with the human and thus being forced to choose his immortality in the Fae Realm or a mortal life with his beloved. Yeah, guess what Arn chose.
In this revised and re-edited version we read all the above in a text much easier in our eyes, but with some additional scenes. Unfortunately, while the addition had quite an interesting aspect, I can’t help but feel that the length of the story was too short for proper development. As fun as the pair is and as romantic the idea of Arn leaving it all behind for his beloved, it was marred by a hasty change and twist of events that for me they simply felt as too much.
The initial text was already pushing those boundaries but this one just went overboard for me, and it left with more questions than before. As the story reached its end, I’m thinking, “what’s next” and “how did that worked” and many, many more.
Bottom end, I’d rather have the prior short with the revision and the one additional scene where both men take things to Arn’s place, without the final visit from Arn’s Mother. However, if you haven’t read this before and if you don’t mind magic and romance overwhelming credibility, this is a nice and fun short read.
Title: Moon’s Captive
![TroubleWithTony[The]LG](http://mmgoodbookreviews.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/troublewithtonythelg.jpg)
