Blurb: Christmas is fast approaching and familial obligations are dampening Brandon Jacobs’s holiday spirit. On top of requiring his attendance at the annual neighborhood Christmas party, his mom has been bugging him to call AJ, a childhood playmate who just moved to town. Brandon’s memories of AJ as a kid aren’t exactly fond, and he’s not about to waste time on him as an adult… until he runs into AJ at the party and decides that Christmas might be the perfect time for a fresh start.
A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2013 Advent Calendar package “Heartwarming.”
Review: Ah, this story is such a tease it’s nearly frustrating.
You remember those American Holiday movies where the single son of a family gets constantly set up by the mom on Christmas parties with the neighbor’s daughter and they to fight off a very irritating and meddling situation? Yeah, this story starts and continues one might add as such.
Brandon is constantly being buggered by his mom to call the grandson of their neighbor – with whom he used to play as kids and who actually was a horrible bully when no one was looking their way- to show him around now that he has returned back in town after many years of absence.
Of course, Brandon has managed to avoid doing so, only to regret it when he meets him at the neighborhood’s party. You see his past nemesis has turned out to be a gorgeous man and a very nice one at that. So now, after avoid him for nearly a month, Brandon finds himself chasing A.J. and hoping for a chance with him.
The story is very short and pretty transparent. While it would have easily been a bit more of a challenge if the intimacy between the two men was developed more, I found it to be only a sweet one, one holding promises, and almost a near frustrating one being so short and unfulfilling. Perhaps in another holiday anthology we’ll see how this couple is fairing, but for now it is a happily for now kind of read with the promise of something happening in the future.
Spring struggles against winter in the mountains of Montana as Aiden Cermak and Daniel Schrock settle into their new life together. Aiden, a journalist from the East Coast, wants to make a rustic home for them and their adopted dog, though he continues his reporter’s quest for the truth. Daniel’s roots are traditional Amish, and though he’s become a successful carpenter with his own shop, the modern world still baffles him.
When Aiden’s former boyfriend, Conrad Barringer, ill and alone, asks Aiden and Daniel for help, they agree and welcome him, but with misgivings that persist and grow. Aiden finds fulfillment in nursing Conrad, yet worries that the closeness he shares with Daniel will be lost, as Daniel isolates more and more. Then Daniel learns of an ugly revelation that could change everything, and he grapples with whether to tell Aiden the truth, or carry it with him to his grave.
Giovanni Boca was destined to go down in history as an opera legend until a vocal chord injury abruptly ended his career. Now he teaches voice lessons at a prestigious New York City music school. During auditions for his summer opera workshop, he finds his protégé in fourteen-year-old Emma McPhee. Just as intriguing to Gio is Emma’s father Mike, a blue-collar guy who runs a business renovating the kitchens and bathrooms of New York’s elite to finance his daughter’s dream.
Mike’s partner was killed when Emma was a toddler, and Gio mourns the beautiful voice he will never have again, so coping with loss is something they have in common. Their initial physical attraction quickly grows to something more as each hopes to fill the gap that loss and grief has left in his life. Although Mike wonders if he can truly fit into Gio’s upperclass world, their bond grows stronger. Then, trouble strikes from outside when the machinations of an unscrupulous stage mother threaten to tear Gio and Mike apart—and ruin Emma’s bright future.
One Night Ever After by Elizah J. Davis, Elle Brownlee, Tere Michaels
Just a Drive by Tere Michaels
After weeks of flirting, “One Night” Wyatt Walsh spends a fabulous night with his shy coworker, Benji Trammell. As Wyatt tries to sneak out the next morning, he receives a call from his frantic, very pregnant best friend Raven—she needs him immediately. With no other way to get from New York City to the Pennsylvania town where Raven and her husband live, Wyatt accepts Benji’s offer to drive him there. Wary and unsure of each other, they start the trip at odds, but as time goes on, the barriers that usually keep people at a distance fail. And what started out as “just a drive” becomes a step toward romance.
Just a Stranger by Elle Brownlee
The excitement of meeting a stranger in a club can’t be beat. Loud bass sets the rhythm to Michael Wiercinski’s primal urges as he flirts with Andrew, a cute guy offering the promise of a hot night with no strings, no complications. Still, when their night is done, Michael admits there was something about Andrew that left him wanting more. Months go by with no sign of Andrew until Michael moves back home to help after his father’s heart attack. Once there, Michael is completely amazed to find Andrew Lucas living in his hometown. Despite surprising “complications” in Andrew’s life, Michael vows to take advantage of this second chance to make Andrew more than just a stranger.
Just a Weekend by Elizah J. Davis
James is a homebody in a predictable, if not altogether comfortable, rut. He’d rather stay in with a book than brave the Seattle bar scene. One night, after allowing his friend Kara to coax him out for drinks, he meets Devin—charming, gorgeous, and way out of his league.
With a little bit of help from Kara, James leaves with Devin to indulge in a night together, which is as much time as he’s bound to get with a guy as hot as Devin. He doesn’t expect the easy rapport that quickly develops between them, and when the weather conspires to keep them together, James wonders if this could be more than just a weekend fling.
Jilted at the altar when his best man ran off with his fiancée, Craydon “Cray” Wright trades in his Mexico honeymoon for a vacation in Aruba. When godlike Stone Ferris walks onto the plane, sits next to Cray, and makes his interest known, Cray decides to act on desires he’s felt since high school but ignored.
He agrees to let Stone show him the island, but what starts as fun-filled and casual turns earth-shattering for Cray. When his time in Aruba ends, Cray realizes his feelings for Stone have grown beyond fun, but he worries that it might not translate to real life in LA. Can he convince himself and Stone their love can be paradise at home?
Length: Novella (128p.) | Genre:Contemporary | Release Date: October 2, 2013 |Buy as eBook ($4.99 ISBN: 978-1-62798-163-7)
Puzzle Me This by Eli Easton
Luke Schumaker designs computer games, working from his home. Every day he walks his dog in the woods nearby, never suspecting that someone who is completely smitten is watching. The watcher is Alex Shaw, and he too works from home, designing logic and crossword puzzles. Alex’s options are limited: he’s too shy to approach Luke and his wheelchair won’t let him follow into the woods. His solution? Secret messages for Luke in the crosswords he writes for the local paper. When Luke decodes them, romance begins, but then they face greater puzzles, like Alex’s interfering sister and what commitment to a man in a wheelchair really takes. And, most puzzling of all, how do you know if love is real?
Length: Novella (88p.) | Genre: Mystery/Suspense, Humor | Release Date: October 2, 2013 |Buy as eBook ($3.99 ISBN: 978-1-62798-162-0)
My Only Sunshine by Rowan McAllister
Tanner Wallis is nearly at the end of his rope the night Mason Seidel finds him lying next to the mangled body of a cow on the back pastures of the Seidel family’s Wyoming ranch. Recently out of the hospital after he and his boyfriend were brutally beaten, Tanner is jobless, homeless, and almost penniless. His desperate hope is that Mason will believe he’s innocent of the senseless crime and give him a place to heal, both physically and emotionally, until he can get on his feet again.
But Mason already has enough on his plate. He’s only been back on the ranch a few months, ten years after his father kicked him out for being gay, and only because his sister begged him to come help after the man’s disabling stroke. With all his responsibilities—running the struggling ranch and keeping his sister and father off his back—Mason can’t really afford the distraction Tanner represents. But he can’t just abandon the attractive young man either. There’s trouble in spades on the ranch, but if they face it together, Mason and Tanner might find a future with a little sunshine.
Evan Costa learned from a very early age that there was no such thing as unconditional love and that it was better to settle for what you could get instead of expecting the world to give you what you need. As Ethan, porn model for Johnnies, he gets exactly what he wants—comradeship and physical contact on trade—and he is perfectly satisfied with that. He’s sure of it.
Jonah Stevens has spent most of his adult life helping to care for his sister and trying to keep his beleaguered family from fraying at the edges. He’s had very little time to work on his confidence or his body for that matter. When Jonah meets Ethan, he doesn’t see the hurt child or the shamelessly slutty porn star. He sees a funny, sexy, confident man who—against the odds—seems to like Jonah in spite of his very ordinary, but difficult, life.
Sensing a kindred spirit and a common interest, Ethan thinks a platonic friendship with Jonah won’t violate his fair trade rules of sex and touch, but Jonah has different ideas. Ethan’s pretty sure his choice of jobs has stripped away all hope of a real relationship, but Jonah wants the whole package—the sexy man, the vulnerable boy, the charming companion who works so hard to make other people happy. Jonah wants to prove that underneath the damage Ethan has lived with all his life, he’s still gold with promise and the ability to love.
Length: Novel (350p.) | Genre:Contemporary| Release Date: October 4, 2013
Following the death of their sub, the former owners of the Guards of Folsom, Robert “Bobby” Alcott and Rig Beckworth, were left to pick up the pieces as best they could. After seven years, these two Doms are ready to move on and find the boy who will complete them. Their painful past comes crashing back when they meet Mason Howard, a submissive who just weeks ago lost his Doms in a car accident.
Reeling from overwhelming grief that’s complicated by a severe social anxiety disorder, Mason can barely leave his home. When Rig and Bobby find him, he’s hit rock bottom, believing life is no longer worth living. Bobby and Rig set out to prove the younger man wrong. Fate has brought the three men together, but they’ll have to face the pain of fear and loss head-on before they can all truly live again.
Length: Novel (220p.) | Genre:BDSM/Kink, M/M/M or More | Release Date: October 4, 2013
Harmony Ink Press’ releases for the week of September 30, 2013
The Sacrifices We Make by Sophie Bonaste
Adam Jameson has always felt like an outsider in his own home, where his parents’ constant efforts to instill religious fervor have instead filled him with fear. Most of the time, he just wants to stay out of everybody’s way. But when Adam is forced to volunteer at a homeless shelter his senior year in high school, everything changes. He’s introduced to people who care about more than religion and, as a result, he starts to come out of his shell. For the first time in his life, Adam finds people who he wants to be around.
Mickey Stafford lives on the streets, a teen kicked out by his parents for being gay. He comes to the shelter for food and medical care, and after they literally run into each other, the two boys strike up a friendship. As Mickey introduces his new friend to the world he lives in, Adam starts to question everything: his parents, their religion, even his own beliefs. Once Mickey kisses him, Adam starts soul-searching and finds his heart, which is full of love for Mickey. But these two young men will have their love put to the test as they face a future of uncertainty and fear.
Length: Novel (190p.) | Genre:Contemporary, Gay, YA | Release Date: October 3, 2013
Publisher: Less Than Three Press (21st November 2012)
Heat: Low – Moderate
Heart: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: When the Queen is struck down by a deadly curse, Leal’s only chance of saving her depends on cooperating with the Dragon Master, Hawk. But Hawk, like the rest of the palace, has no love of the foreign Leal or his magic, and would much rather throw Leal in prison until he has good enough reason to execute him.
Review: Leal is a strong sorcerer from Serenee, brought to a new land, Ecottia, when his Prince married their Queen. None of the Serenee are trusted, because of their use of magic. And now the Queen has fallen foul of a deadly curse. Leal turns to the Dragon Master, Hawk, for help and although he isn’t trusted, Leal sets out on a journey with Hawk to find the cure for the Queen. Hawk would rather throw all the Serenee’s in the dungeon (oh he did), but even he knows that he will need Leal’s help on his quest, and Hawk also discovers that maybe there is a Serenee man that he could trust.
Ooohhhh curses, quests, backstabbing and betrayal, trust, love and rescues *happy dance* and all in 113 pages *happy sigh*. Leal knows what will happen if he doesn’t find a cure for the curse cast on the Queen. All his country men and women, as well as his Prince, face imprisonment or death and all because they have magic. Reaching out for help from the only man he can trust, the Dragon Master Hawk, they embark on a journey that will take them into the depths of the forest, to the scorching desert lands, to the island trapped by the sea and to the heights of the rocky mountains.
This story was a wonder for the imagination giving us an array of wonderful creatures, a great storyline and wonderful characters. Leal and Hawk are brilliant together. Hawk doesn’t trust Leal because he uses magic, but he has always felt an attraction towards him. Leal has always hero worshiped Hawk, but was rebuffed when they first met. On the journey together Hawk has his prejudice fall away and he sees Leal for the man he truly is, and they develop a relationship that is soon tested. This is a well written story and I really wish it was longer, but that’s just me being selfish *sigh*.
I will recommend this to those who adore fantasy, knights, dragons (Firebright is so cool), mythical creatures, sweet loving, great characters, some danger and a very happy sweet ending.
![PromiseofSnow[The]LG](http://mmgoodbookreviews.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/promiseofsnowthelg-e1386299573426.jpg)
Title: The Promise of Snow
![StarsThatTremble[The]LG](http://mmgoodbookreviews.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/starsthattremblethelg.jpg)
![SacrificesWeMake[The]LG](http://mmgoodbookreviews.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/sacrificeswemakethelg.jpg)
