Hiya peeps, we have Cat Grant popping in today with her newest release Rites of Passage, we have a great excerpt, a fantastic giveaway and Lisa’s review so enjoy the post and click that rafflecopter link <3 ~Pixie~
Rites of Passage
(A Courtland Novel)
by
Cat Grant
Adulthood sucks.
With college graduation behind them, Seth Thompson and Bilal al-Mansoori enjoy their last carefree summer. But the perfect future Seth’s envisioned since high school—moving to New York to pursue a career as an artist—doesn’t appeal to city-phobic Bilal. A job offer allowing Bilal to remain in upstate New York drives a wedge between them, and Seth’s family’s well-meaning interference doesn’t help at all.
A trip to the UK for Bilal’s sister’s wedding offers a chance to get back on the same page. But their holiday is abruptly cut short when the unthinkable happens…
And Seth faces the very real possibility that he may never see the man he loves alive again.
Title: Tap Out Series: Bannon’s Gym, #3 Author: Cat Grant Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novella (143 pages) Publisher: Samhain Publishing LLC. (January 13th, 2015) Heat Level: Moderate Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts Blurb: It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
Bannon’s Gym, Book 3
As a child, Tom Delaney did the best he could to protect his mother from his abusive father, but her eventual suicide left him a guarded and wary man who’s still carrying around a metric ton of baggage.
At Bannon’s Gym, Tom learned how to take back his power, and found love with fellow mixed martial arts fighter Travis Gallagher. Yet Tom can’t bring himself to take their relationship to the next level. Not if moving in together means leaving behind Gloria, his surrogate mom, who’s desperately ill.
When Gloria’s son, Eddie, hires an out-of-work nurse to care for Gloria, Tom is out of excuses—and afraid he’s being pushed out of his family of choice. That fear explodes in a violent sparring session that leaves Travis with a broken nose and Tom on the brink of getting booted out of Bannon’s Gym for good.
When tragedy strikes, Tom realizes it’ll take more than fists to conquer his fears, or he risks losing everything—his fighting career, his family, and the man he loves.
Warning: Sweat- and testosterone-drenched alpha males ahead! More angst than an entire season of Downton Abbey! Wear a helmet—this could get messy!
Product Link: http://www.amazon.com/Tap-Out-Bannons-Gym-Grant-ebook/dp/B00LO4EN9A ISBN: 978-1-61922-452-0 Reviewer: Shorty Review: Tom Delaney feels like his world is spinning out of control. Instead of talking about what’s going on with anyone, he takes his frustration and anger out on them. After witnessing his boyfriend Travis touching his ex boyfriend Aaron’s shoulder, he gets pissed and breaks Travis’ nose during a sparring match. After which Danny tells him that after the tournament he’s out. He finally gets it that he’s acting like his father after talking to Danny and after Gloria’s passing. In the end, Travis realizes what he was doing and makes amends with everyone.
Interesting story that involves the lives of Tom, Danny, Eddie, Gloria, Travis, and Aaron. Lots of drama, angst, and action in this intense well-written book. The intimate scenes between Travis and Tom, two sexy alpha males were intense and hot. Some of the scenes in the book were heartbreaking. The fight scenes are intense and brutal. Great read.
Title: A Year in the Life Series: A Courtland Novel – Book One Author: Cat Grant Genre: Contemporary Length: Novel (267 pages) Publisher: Cat Grant Books (December 15th, 2014) Heat Level: Low Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts Reviewer: Aerin Blurb: Courtland fans, get ready – the next generation’s here!
A campus flu outbreak, complicated by a freak October blizzard, brings Cornell seniors Seth Thompson and Bilal al-Mansoori together. Three days spent waiting out the storm at Seth’s snowbound apartment leads to an unexpected mutual attraction—and a hot night under the covers, which quickly deepens into a true emotional bond…
Plus, a world of problems for Bilal, an Iranian Muslim. Despite his homeland’s harsh laws and even harsher punishment for homosexuality, Bilal can no longer deny who he really is: A gay man falling in love for the first time.
Seth’s gentle manner and passionate lovemaking bring Bilal more joy than he ever thought possible. Yet, despite the lovers’ growing happiness, Bilal’s haunted by guilt and shame left over from his strict upbringing, and the sad realization that he’ll never see his family in Iran again.
Speaking of families, it’s time for Bilal to meet Seth’s…
Eric, Nick, and Ally. Ten years later, this committed triad is still as deeply in love as ever, but even commitment comes with challenges…
Is there room in this non-traditional family for Bilal? His future with Seth may depend on it.
Review: This was an amazing story that was so beautifully written, I was lost in it from the beginning to the end. I was able to connect with every single one of the characters and they were all complex and unique; I loved the journey to get to know every single one of them.
The story is told from multiple points of view but don’t let that stop you from reading this. It was done perfectly and it will help you understand better what the characters are going through, their struggles, and feeling; we get Bilal and Seth’s point of view through most of the book but we also get to see life through Seth’s parents eyes. They are an unconventional family to say the least and I loved getting to know them as good as I did.
Bilal is an Iranian Muslim who’s studying in the United States. His inner turmoil is hard to witness and I got teary eyed multiple times. Once he meets Seth, he can no longer deny he is gay, but how can he choose between accepting his true self and giving up his family forever? Homosexuality has a death punishment in Iran and once Bilal chooses his own happiness, there’s no way for him to ever go back to see his family. Bilal was born in England and grew up there, until he was around 10 years old. His father hated everything about England and once Bilal’s British mother died, Bilal and his sister were suddenly removed from everything they knew; they were taken to Iran and the change was brutal.
My heart ached for him and his sister both. We get to see Bilal experience the American holidays for the first time and we also learn a lot about the cultural differences Bilal deals with every single day.
Seth was my absolute favorite character and I adore him. He is patient, loving, and accepting. He is also truthful and he manages to help Bilal overcome most of his personal struggles. Seth knows how happy and fortunate he was growing up. He’s filthy rich but he isn’t self-entitled at all; he is humble, and grateful. He appreciates everything he got in life and it’s truly impossible not to fall in love with him.
Seth and Bilal’s relationship isn’t very steamy, so we don’t get any intercourse in this book. Why? Because for Seth intimacy and closeness are more important than anything. He doesn’t need anything else other than a loving relationship with someone who truly loves him. Seth has a huge heart and isn’t afraid to fall in love and get hurt, and his family is a little concerned about how fast his relationship with Bilal progresses.
This book couldn’t have a better title than this, because for me, life was all this book was about. The decisions the characters make and the changes that occur in their lives are both admirable and heartbreaking. There are obstacles to overcome and the end result isn’t always what they want it to be, but the journey makes it all worth it. The ending of this book isn’t exactly a cliffhanger, but it’s pretty close to it (we get a happy for right now).
Most of the problems are still unresolved and the next book in this series will resume where this one left off. I honestly can’t wait to get my hands on it.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance, one that’s complex and where happiness isn’t so easy to achieve.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Title: In From the Cold Series: A Courtland Novella Author: Cat Grant Genre: Contemporary /Interracial Length: Novella (91 pages) Publisher: Cat Grant Books (September 15th 2014) Heat Level: Mild Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts Reviewer: Tams Blurb: For all the Courtland fans clamoring for the next generation…
Cold and sick, Seth Thompson must fight through a snowstorm to get home. Seth’s unconventional upbringing taught him to always reach out to strangers in need, and Iranian engineering student Bilal al-Mansoori is no exception. Being trapped together leads to an unexpected mutual attraction—and a feverishly hot night under the covers.
But Bilal needs more than simply a rescue from the weather—he’s trapped under lifetime of cultural pressures. His strict Muslim father and fellow Iranian students have no clue about his inner torment. His attraction to Seth isn’t a welcome discovery—instead he’s trapped between the existence he’s always known and the prospect of living and loving openly for the first time in his life.
Note: This story stands alone—no need to have read the prior Courtland books
Review: Seth Thompson lives an open and accepted lifestyle, completely opposite from the life Bilal is forced to lead. Seth was raised by a very unconventional family that is comprised by two dads and one mom, as a threesome. So to say Seth and his family are open-minded would likely be an understatement.
In contrast, Bilal was born and raised as a practicing Muslim. His family would disown him and his country would see him dead if they knew his secret. None the less, Seth reaches out and offers assistance to Bilal when he sees him first at the clinic, then at the pharmacy and finally stuck in the early falling snow at the bus stop.
Seth offers Bilal a warm place to stay and wait out the storm outside, not knowing about the storm raging inside the young man.
Soon enough the mutual attraction and being trapped inside due to the storm, in a small confined space, brings the feelings Bilal fights so hard to suppress to the surface. But once the storm clears and Bilal goes home, will he maintain the newfound friendship? Or go back to living a shadow of a life, being everything that is expected of him, and nothing that he wants to be.
Opposites attract is the heir apparent in this short story that is all about finding your way and being who you are. There was a decent amount of back-story for so few pages, and though brief, you do get a glimpse into the lives of each young man. I haven’t read the series this story stemmed from, but I still easily followed along and didn’t feel like I was missing anything. Not necessarily a HEA ending, more of a HFN, and the ending was a little abrupt.
Overall, a really good story that kept my attention throughout, I hope there is more to come for these two from Ms. Grant.
Title: Breaking Free Series: A Guarded Novel Author: Cat Grant Genre: BDSM/Transgender Length: Novel (204 pages) Publisher: Cat Grant Books (July 9th, 2014) Heat Level: Moderate Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts Blurb: Richard Carr has the kind of life most people would envy. Partner in a major Los Angeles law firm, married to the man of his dreams, Richard seems to have it made – except for the lie he’s been living for the past forty-odd years.
On special nights, in the company of kinky friends, Richard disappears inside Renee, his sexy, dominatrix alter ego. Strong, sassy, and flirtatious in her red and black corset, Renee is who Richard truly is on the inside – and who he longs to be outside of the dungeon.
But starting his – her – transition doesn’t provide the relief Renee had hoped for. Her business partners demand that she go back to dressing as a man at the office, while Robert, her husband and fellow Dominant, can’t conceal his shock as the man he married disappears a little bit more every day.
Their one true point of connection remains in the dungeon – in the person of Jase Hewitt, the submissive they both share. But when a devastating tragedy shatters Jase and sends him running to his Masters for comfort, it quickly becomes apparent that Robert’s love for Jase extends far beyond their Dom/sub roles…
And Renee faces a choice – abandon her journey toward becoming the person she truly is inside, or risk losing the man she loves.
Review: Richard Carr, a litigation partner, secretly longs to be Renee full-time. Tired of pretending to be someone he’s not deep down but terrified to come out as well. His husband Robert, an architect, is hesitant but gives him his blessing. So Renee begins hormone treatments unfortunately this causes problems between her and Robert. As Robert wasn’t as comfortable with the actual transformation, as he lead Renee to believe.
It was a very unique story that I have never read before. It broke my heart that Richard struggled so badly with who he yearned to be and what the world wanted him to be. But I’m very glad in the end everything worked out. No one should have to hide who they are inside. Intense dungeon scenes with flogging, whipping, and a very hot sex scene between Robert and Jase, a friend and a future Dom.
Title: Guarded Author: Cat Grant & L.A. Witt Genre: Contemporary Romance / BDSM Length: Novel (344 pages) ISBN: 9780989694940 Publisher: Cat Grant Books (April 7th, 2014) Heat Level: Explicit Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3.5~4 Hearts Reviewer: Thommie Blurb: On the surface, rock star Jordan Kane has it all. His band No Rules is burning up the charts and headlining a world tour. His bodyguard doubles as a hot, kinky boyfriend who knows just how to push all his buttons. But behind the scenes, he’s suffocating.
Jase Hewitt never imagined he’d have a shot at bedding the larger than life rock star – never mind dominating him – but now he’s worried he’s in over his head. Jordan’s kinks run deep, dark, and sometimes dangerous, putting Jase’s desires to both pleasure and protect him at odds.
They might have a fighting chance at finding the safe, happy medium between what Jordan needs and what Jase is willing to give, but there’s one problem: Daniel, Jordan’s childhood best friend, the band’s talented guitarist — and a volatile, hard-partying drug addict. Jordan is determined to save Daniel from himself, but Jase has been there, done that, and desperately wants to protect Jordan from the inevitable heartache of watching an addict self-destruct.
When Daniel goes off the rails again, Jordan calls off the tour to get him help. Tension within the band skyrockets and pressure from the record label sends Jordan into a dark spiral. Now his band — and his life — are balanced on a knife’s edge, and Jase is the only one who can pull him back… but only if the echoes of his own tragic past don’t push him over first. Purchase Link: ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-guarded-1441814-354.html Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Guarded-Cat-Grant-ebook/dp/B00JGWKT1I Review: Rock stars, drugs, sex… Nah, not good enough, let me try this again.
Gorgeous, stunningly hot rock-star and equally drool-worthy bodyguard; addictions to alcohol and drugs with seriously realistic repercussions packing one hell of an emotional punch; lots of kinky, domineering, controlling and breath-taking (pun intended) sex that drives you out of your mind with the carnal and sensuous eroticism it packs. These are the ingredients of this exiting book and trust me when I say that this was one hell of a ride I didn’t expect.
Truth is I feared this would be just another one of “those” books, that generate the same old theme with nothing new to give, and I was a bit apprehensive of it when I started reading. But, really, I should’ve known that both authors wouldn’t simply write a trivial story. This book is so much more than that. The view and life of the rock stars when they are off the stage and all lights are off is amazing. The needs they have, the tiredness they feel, the choices they make, everything is charged with realistic-feeling emotions that do not fail to turn you inside out, drain you out of everything, only to recharge you with new feelings of hope, happiness and eroticism in the end.
The characters, Jordan, Jase, and Daniel are… the best description I can find for them is raw. They are humane, they are flawed to the bone, and they are geniuses who drown in their own brilliance. Their strengths and weaknesses are sublime and you can’t help but feel a number of emotions for each of them.
I loved Jordan, I hated Jordan, and I pitied Jordan. His love for both Jase and Daniel was heart breaking and it managed to do just that, break my heart a bit in the end.
Daniel; he just killed me. I managed to re-live the same emotions I used to feel about a number of extremely talented people who simply throw their life away, and/or can’t find the strength to go on despite their brilliance.
But Jase, I think he was my favorite character, though I hated his guilt to no end. He made me happy, he made me horny (yes, he did) he made me cry, he made me mad.
In the end, what I’m trying to say I that these authors manipulated their characters to the max of their strength in order to deliver an incredible story that lacked nothing. It felt too real, it felt too raw, and it definitely felt too hot.
If I wasn’t so emotionally drained by the end of this story, I think this book would’ve taken a good 4.5 hearts from me, but I just couldn’t handle it all. While I had fun, and I loved the BDSM aspect more than I can say, I couldn’t handle the emotional roller coaster that came within the blink of an eye. The highs and the lows of the story were too close to each other and I constantly felt unbalanced while reading it, not being able to set for one bit in a particular emotion, and that was what in the end took a heart from my rating.
Overall though I found it an amazing book, incredibly well written and worthy of your selves. Strongly recommended for those who love a love story that takes lots of work to stand and survive.
Title: The Only One Who Knows
Series: The Only One, #1
Author: L. A. Witt & Cat Grant
Genre: Men in Uniform, Gay Contemporary
Length: Novel (220 Pages)
ISBN: 978-1-61921-925-0
Publisher: Samhain Publishing (January 7th, 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts
Reviewer: Lisa
Blurb: When Navy SEAL training pushed Lieutenant Josh Walker to his limit, Chief David Flint’s stern heart-to-heart—more like boot-to-ass—helped Josh realize his potential. When the holidays found them alone together and sharing a mutual attraction, they couldn’t help breaking a few regulations. And nearly breaking some furniture in the process.
Years after their short-lived fling, Senior Chief Flint returns to SEAL duty and finds himself under the command of the man he’s never been able to forget: Lieutenant Commander Walker. And Josh hasn’t forgotten David, either. Rules be damned, they can’t keep their hands off each other.
Despite their discretion, another SEAL catches on and threatens to expose their relationship, forcing Josh to bend to a blackmailer’s demands to avoid strife within the team just before a dangerous mission. David is the last man he can confide in…and the first to pick up on Josh’s tightly screwed-down stress.
When a life-or-death decision calls Josh’s leadership into question, coming clean could cost him what he values most. His coveted trident…and the man he loves.
Purchase Link: http://store.samhainpublishing.com/The-Only-One-Who-Knows-p-73181.html
Review: This is book one in this new series. I can guarantee that you will love it. The moment you open the book up you will be caught with the first paragraph. You will fall in love with Josh and David. You can’t help it. They are the strongest men you will ever meet. Josh is just trying to survive Navy Seal training, but Chief David Flint pushes him to be the best. He sees the potential in Josh and can tell that this man is going to go far. The only problem that they seem to be having is their attraction to each other.
They had one night of hot passionate sex, but David puts a stop to any further action even though he wants this man more than anything he has ever wanted. Although Josh keeps pushing him for more. He keeps his mind on the goal, wanting to get his twenty years in and retire. He wants to do more than what he is doing now.
A few years later, David comes back to do what he was trained to do. The only thing he see’s in his sight is the man he left behind after one hot night. One Lieutenant Commander Josh Walker, who just happens to be his Commanding Officer. The heat is still there between them, and they decide that this time there is no calling quits. Even though they can’t be out, they plan on being with each other.
They had been doing really good at keeping it secret, but had made one fatal mistake one night. One of his men had seen them and taken a picture so that he could blackmail Josh into making his papers look real good. He wanted promoted and the only way he could do it was to black mail for it. Knowing that they could all lose their jobs, Josh decides to handle it after their tour is over. However when David gets injured, Josh helps to keep him alive. The truth comes out.
I can guarantee that you will love this book. It comes with everything you will ever love. Hot, sexy men in uniform, Navy Seals, danger coming from all directions, tours of duty showing their strengths, and hot sex. I definitely recommend this wonderful story to anyone who loves men in uniform. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.
Blurb: Danny Bannon and Eddie Roscoe have been fighting in and out of the ring for more than 15 years, held together by mutual attraction and small town ties, yet kept apart by a shared tragedy that continues to haunt them. Their steady on-again off-again is shaken up by the arrival of Tom Delaney, a teenage runaway trying to escape his tense home situation and his punch-happy dad.
In no time, the scrawny, homeless kid has shown himself to be a boxing prodigy, and building him up brings Danny and Eddie closer than they’ve been in ages. It seems that the three of them, plus Eddie’s mother, Gloria, are forming a new family unit, much tighter than anything Tom experienced in his difficult past.
But Tom’s politically influential father isn’t the only person he left behind, and when his mother shows up at Eddie and Gloria’s diner with a shiner and a haunted look in her eyes, Tom is hopeful for her future. But when that hope is snuffed out, Tom is ready to turn his new fighting skills to a deadly purpose: get revenge on his abusive father, or die trying.
It’s up to his surrogate big brothers, Danny and Eddie, to put their differences and their painful history aside to prevent another tragic ending.
Review: What a peculiar book this one was. I think if someone would read my mind about what I like in a contemporary romance this would be the result.
Here we have a book that has not one or two, but three main characters – and no it’s not a threesome. Danny and Eddie are in their thirties. They’ve been friends, they’ve been lovers, and they share a past that haunts them for fifteen years. As much as they love each other – that is a given here, there is no search for love or romance – they cannot reconcile with the pain their relationship has given them in the past. A ghost stands in between them, a memory so strong that every time they get together, their resulting breaks up gets stronger and the aftermath more painful.
Each tries to amend on their own, Danny turning to drinking himself stupid, becoming more and more the person he mostly hates, and Eddie trying to save the world while wallowing in a pit of guilt.
In the picture comes Tom, a homeless kid Eddie finds around his diner and decides to do what he’s known for, help him stand on his feet. Tom is a frightened kid marred by abuse, but his will to prevail is so strong, it’s downright scary. Between Danny and Eddie they manage to create a fighter out of Tom, give him confidence and tools to get on his life without having to look around his shoulders like a scared rabbit every time. Add in the mixture the mother figure of Gloria and the kid gets a bit more than he ever expected, love, and a semblance of a normal family. Until his real mother shows up and everything shatters once again.
I really, really loved this book. It had this incredible balance between love and friendship, pain and hurt. The evil of the story was bad enough to want to make you kill him yourself, yet he still maintain such a wonderful grasp with reality, not being overwhelming and not engaging in incredulous actions. His profiling was simply perfect for me.
The abusive past and the pain that came were also very well-balanced. The author showcased the horrors of everyday living in an abusive family without making it overbearing for the reader. The character’s emotions were enough to grip you without dragging you into darkness.
As for the blend of the romantic plot with the action part, you have a clear view of two stories moving in parallel, or should I say three, as there is the story between Danny and Eddie that origins from back fifteen years, there is the story of all three characters together as they move on, and there is the underlying romance between Eddie and Dannie that gets stronger the more they focus together into helping Tom. It was fantastic, one feeding the other and ending in the inevitable with such smoothness.
I the end I was left with a most enjoyable read that entertained and challenged me at the same time. However this book felt as a standalone and I’m curious what the author will do with the next one? Will this trio continue or is it going to be Dannie and Eddie with a new charge? Will it be two completely different characters in the same setting? Normally I get a pretty clear idea from a series as to what to expect next, but this time I’m wondering, and that’s what makes it even more intriguing.
As for this one, if you like strong characters, men who fight through their ugly and persist when things seem to be hopeless in a very realistic setting, and a romance that comes effortlessly without dragging the main plot under it, then this is definitely a book you will want to read. Strongly recommended!
Blurb: Steve Campbell used to be a player, until a mid-life crisis opened his eyes to his long-repressed love for Connor, his soon-to-be-married best friend and business partner. Coming out at thirty-eight means learning how to date all over again, and this time, Steve’s not willing to settle for empty one-night stands. He wants the real thing.
Gil Alvarez has never had it easy, struggling through childhood and rejected by his family for a body that didn’t match who he was inside. A skilled driver and mechanic, he’s working hard to make his auto shop a success. The last thing he needs is a rich white guy in a candy-apple-red Ferrari tempting him, but Steve’s ready smile and easygoing manner prove irresistible.
One brief, intimate encounter leaves them both hungry for more. Gil’s not ashamed of who he is, but he’s terrified that Steve will reject him—or worse—when he discovers what Gil can’t find the courage to tell him.
Review: This title is part of a series, but can be read as a standalone.
Oh. I loved this book. It was almost as if I was looking at the couple next door. It faces the complication in relationships when communication is poor and bitterness along with a cruel life blinds you to what is.
In this book, we see Steve who at nearly forty years old is trying to embrace his life and his sexuality. As the book starts Steve thinks things are quite hard for him, but he will quickly realize how sheltered his life has been, especially compared to Gil, whose life has been one rejection after another and to top it all violence has had a good part of it too.
The two men are worlds apart, Steve wealthy and pampered, and Gil poor and always trying a bit harder for that longed for break. However, both of them have one thing in common and that is the way they view themselves. Steve doesn’t think he is the catch he is, not if you don’t count his money, and Gil, well he always has hated his body, a trap for his true self that he can’t overcome.
In the chase for love, both men fall in the same old problem, communication. As smart as Steve is, he is clueless to the hardships gay and Trans alike suffers and Gil has long ago lost faith that people will look at him like anything other than a freak.
As I said, I loved this book. Both characters were so, so lovable and by the time I hit “The End” I felt I didn’t get my fill. I want more of this lovely couple. We don’t get to see them in a relationship here; this book is all about the beginning of one and overcoming the difficulties that would make an impossible situation real. I get to meet Steve, who is an extremely attractive man, intelligent, sweet, and quite sexy. We get to see him move on from his crush with Connor and really make an effort to find happiness and fulfillment in his life. And we get to meet Gil who I fell in love immediately. Beside the hot description we get of him, Gil is the type of character you just want to crush in a bear hug and never let go.
As for the rest of the plot, it was a lovely, lovely story. Fast cars, races, and adrenaline rush along with the romance of the new relationship. It’ was dreamy and I enjoyed it immensely. This author’s writing style is so easy flowing that it lures you in the core of the story so effortlessly you don’t even realize it when you’ve hit the end pages.
As I mention in the beginning this is book #4 of the Irresistible Attraction series and while you can easily read it as a standalone you will feel the urge to get them all and devour them in one go. I certainly do. As it is if you’re in the mood for a great story this title will not disappoint you.
Discharged under Don’t Ask Don t Tell, former Marine major Cole Hammond is struggling to find a new identity. But PTSD casts a pall on everything, and his hard-nosed, homophobic father can t even bear to look him in the eye. To top it all off, he’s pretty sure he’s flunking out of law school.
Marc Sullivan is a kind, sensitive romance author-slash-waiter with a thing for men in uniform. Cole’s not wearing his anymore, but there’s no mistaking the warrior Marc meets in the diner one rainy afternoon. Cole’s sexy smile and Carolina drawl prove irresistible, but Marc’s played this game before, and he always loses. Once a Marine, always a Marine, and if there’s one thing Marc knows about such men, it’s that they all leave him in the end. It doesn’t t help that Cole’s practically closeted in public, or that he refuses to seek treatment for his PTSD.
But like any good Marine, Cole’s willing to fight for what matters. And like the characters in Marc’s stories, he’s certain that if they try just hard enough, together they can find their own happily ever after.
Review: Marc Sullivan is a struggling author who waits tables in order to make ends meet after being a college professor. His passion is writing, not teaching little frat boys. Marc also has a weird fetish and that is men in uniform. Cole Hammond is handsome and the drop-dead gorgeous type of guy. He has recently been discharged from the Marines under the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell scenario. He returns to college to study law, after spending his entire professional life with the persons who turned their backs on him for being gay. He has a homophobic father, financial problems and is on the verge of failing law school. What do these to need? Each other.
I loved Marc. He was the nerdy type of guy who left everything just to do what he loves, writing gay romance novels. He has had it tough, but he keeps fighting and moving on in life. I absolutely loved Cole! He was that amazing and perfect to me. My heart broke after learning about his troublesome past. At first, he seemed dazed, lost and confused with Marc, since everyone had turned his back on him for being gay. But, he proved himself to be a charmer and a sweetheart. I don’t blame him for running away from the fact that he was gay at first and being jumpy about it. When these two let their guards down and let love fill their hearts, I completely fell in love with this story. They grew in each other arms and became one in the process.
I recommend Once a Marine to anyone who is looking for a historical and classical love story between two very diverse characters. I must warn you; this novel will take you through the biggest emotional ride of your life.
