Blurb: Hotshot lawyer Matthew Owens has it all: a great job, a supportive family, and a fiancée who’s as professional and well-respected as he is. Or at least, that’s what he’d like everyone to think. The truth is that Joe Khalousi may be an accountant, but he does the books for a strip club. It’s not exactly the kind of job Matt’s family had in mind for their future son-in-law.
Worse, Joe is covered in tattoos. They run up one arm and down the other, blanket his back, while some even mark other, more private, places. Matt loves to run his tongue along every one of those inky markings, but he’d be mortified if his friends and family ever found out what Joe hides beneath his pinstriped suits.
Yet when Joe’s desperate employer recruits him to provide the night’s entertainment at the Purple Pecker Club during their monthly Tattoo Madness event, all his secrets are revealed. Joe doesn’t know Matt’s friends have brought him to the club for his bachelor party, and Matt certainly has no idea Joe is going to be the main attraction.
When the stage lights come on, will Joe and Matt’s relationship vanish as quickly as Joe’s clothes? Or will this be the red-hot wake-up call Matt needs to decide whether his attraction to Joe is only skin deep?
Review: I found this book to be mediocre at best. The storyline jumped around a little bit which was frustrating and then some. The characters were strong though. Honestly, this novella was confusing to me at first.
The characters were somewhat strong and quite realistic. I found them to be very interesting people. But when they entered into the kinky part of the story, I found myself shocked by them. The characters were into some dark stuff but they remained strong.
The storyline was troublesome for me. It went from one thing to the next with no transition at all. And that frustrated me like crazy. The more I read the more confused and upset I became. It was very hard to follow and confusing. I had so much trouble with this story.
I wouldn’t recommend it to those that want a solid storyline with transitions.
Blurb: Will Lafferty and Kenny Scalia are both having sort of a day. Will is fired for letting fifth graders read Harry Potter, and Kenny finds his boyfriend and his sex toys in bed with a complete stranger. When Will knocks over Kenny’s trash can—and strews Kenny’s personal business all over the street—it feels like the perfect craptastic climax to the sewage of suckage that has rained down on them both.
But ever-friendly, ever-kind Will asks snarky Kenny out for a beer—God knows they both need one—and two amazing things occur: Kenny discovers talking to Will might be the best form of intercourse ever, and Will discovers he’s gay.
Their unlikely friendship seems like the perfect platonic match until Will reveals how very much more he’s been feeling for Kenny almost since the beginning. But Kenny’s worried. Will’s newfound sexuality is bright, glittery, and shiny, but what happens when that wears off? Is Will’s infatuation with Kenny strong enough to stay real?
I LOVED this novel. The more I read into it, the more excited I became. Amy Lane truly has the talent to write a fantastic novel.
I found this novel to be so addicting. The characters were realistic and true to the humanity. Every character stood true and amazing. With every situation, I found myself either laughing or smiling. The characters truly understood what it was like to be in a state of mishaps.
The storyline was genuine! The more I read into it, the more I smiled. Amy Lane showed true understanding for writing using transitions from one chapter to the next. She showed just how it was to write a story people would love and enjoy. In the end, I found myself laughing and happy with how it turned out.
Honestly, I would highly recommend her novels. They are great, well written, and beautiful. Go out and get a copy of her novels!
Thommie’s Review: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4 ~ 4.5 Hearts
Shiny! is the newest book from Amy Lane and I had the most wonderful time reading it.
Now I know I’ve said this again and again in the past but seriously, one can’t simply not mention the fact that this author is brilliant. Her mind, her imagination, her view of the world and concepts at large and her incredible penmanship are beyond awe and praise. I have long been a fan of her work and personality so this might sound biased, but every other book I read from her is just another brick in my worship wall.
With this work, Amy Lane delivers an astonishing humoristic romance. Astonishing because “Shiny!” is not merely a title, it is a whole notion, ideas and perceptions people have, and reactions that revolve around those perceptions. Shiny! is the shallowness that we all have deep inside us, especially when we’re young and naïve. Shiny! is what we’re all after, forgetting that it won’t stay like that forever. Shiny! is that temporary glamor that will fade away once it gets used a bit, and it will take with it our investment and interest. Shiny! is an incredibly profound book hidden in the lines of a hilarious romance between two fantastic characters, who manage to charm you with their unique personalities and take you with them through their memories and the story of how they met.
Yes, the narration of Kenny and Will’s love story is a flashback through memories while they tell their favourite friends of what exactly transpired when they met. Trust me when I say that I had a real workout of my belly muscles, I laughed so hard the tears would not stop. This book starts with a shocking bam! It continues to feed you incredible events, takes you through some steady paces so that you can take a breather and enjoy the sweetness it provides, and then it hits you with hilarity and intensity yet again so you can grab you heart for fear it will run wild. No there is no angst here, at least not of the Amy Lane’s kind of agonising angst, though the characters do feel real enough to have their own troubles and stresses. They overcome all of that though with a charming fashion, a sweet and joyful declaration, feelings and emotions that make you swoon.
And if you’re wondering about the “sexy stuff”, come on people, we all know how effortlessly Lane writes love, passion, and pure unadulterated sex. Between the hilarity, the sensuality, and the passion dripping like honey through every line I honestly don’t know what I liked more. It was all fascinating and delightful. Then again, I expected nothing less!
Recommendation: Do I really need to? It’s one hell of a book people. Go grab it and have some quality fun! It was absolutely a most captivating and entertaining read.
The idea of jumping out of a perfectly good plane doesn’t make sense to Todd, but when his best friend gives him the gift of a tandem jump for his birthday, he has very little choice.
Nervous and scared, Todd is ready to bolt, but when he meets the large and in charge Tandem Master, Garrett, at the drop zone for his tandem skydive, he puts fear aside for what he hopes are several “firsts”.
Intense sexual attraction and a huge dose of adrenaline lead them into each other’s arms, but will they be able to soar in bed as well as in the sky?
Review: This story was great. It was fast paced, right to the point and then some. The characters are well written. From the moment I started reading it, I found myself able to identify with Todd. His fear of heights and then some. He was just a great person to read about. And then there was Garrett, solid strong and handsome.
The storyline was quick and to the point. The author shows a clear knowledge for knowing how to write great short stories. She writes for the moment and shows that she cares about her characters. The storyline is solid, blunt, and sexy. I would highly recommend this story to anyone that wants to read something short and fantastic.
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services (December 27th, 2013)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Eric
Blurb: Can one night define your future?
When Cory offered to work for his cousin’s estate sale and auction house, he never expected his first assignment to be helping a drop-dead gorgeous man settle his father’s estate. Much to his dismay, the day starts off badly and only seems to get worse, until Cory has finally had enough of the arrogant man. Gorgeous or not, Cory lets him have it.
Andrew just wants to tie up the loose ends of his estranged father’s estate and get back home, that is until the stunning Cory shows up at his door to help. Instead of turning on the charm and impressing Cory, Andrew seems to screw up every encounter with the man. It doesn’t take long for Cory to call him out on his surly attitude, making Andrew only want him that much more.
After an apology and an unexpected kiss, the two men can’t seem to stay away from each other which leads to one life-changing night full of passion, but when Cory overhears Andrew on a phone call the next morning, he jumps to conclusions and leaves without giving Andrew a chance to explain or a way to get in touch with him.
Can these stubborn men overcome their own insecurities and find a way to be together?
Review: Interesting, fresh and addictive, this story provided me with everything I liked to read. A good set of characters that remain as real as you and I. the storyline is strong, solid even. I found the character of Andrew to be rather interesting. He has suffered a bit of trauma and does what he can to make sure things are squared away. But he doesn’t expect to come across Cory.
The story remained strong the whole way through and I found it to be fresh. Despite the whole tough past and facing a bit of grief, I found this story to be strong in storyline. Most people don’t understand that short stories can be just as strong or well written like novels and novellas. And this author proves it.
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services Inc (October 5th, 2012)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Eric
Blurb: The future of planet Earth is bleak. Two warring gods have decimated the planet. Fanatical religious cults, cannibals and cat/human hybrids are just some of the dangers out there. A young boy called Ben Casper lives in a crumbling shopping mall called The Glass Palace with his family. He’s just come back from a rites of passage into the brutal outside world that officially makes him an adult. Now he must get married and be trained to take over from his father as Mayor. Except he sees things differently now. He doesn’t want responsibility. The only things he truly wants is to go back out into the world and win the love of Brian, who happens to be his best friend’s brother. Only he might have responsibility thrust upon him when he becomes embroiled in a conspiracy to kill the gods and save the world; a plot that could lead everyone he loves into mortal danger…
Review: Interesting, fresh, a brand new take on Gods and Goddesses, this book is everything perfection when it comes to science fiction. It truly is the next Hunger Games and as long as The Stand essentially. I found this novel addicting, strong, and well written.
David Dawson truly does have a vision when it comes to writing science fiction. He truly does have a strong understanding on what it means to be out of this world. The author provides very strong characters that face so many complications it will make your head spin. I couldn’t get enough of it once I started. I stayed up into the late hours reading this novel.
The characters were fantastic. I couldn’t get enough of how well this book is written. He shows how powerful it can be when it comes to writing first person perspective. He shows—the author—what can happen if we set our minds to something. The more I read, the more immersed into the storyline I became.
Altogether, this novel is just beautiful. Strong writing, strong storyline, and excellent characters this is a book well worth the time you put into it. He truly does have the power to take you away from your problems. I highly recommend this book.
Blurb: Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s classic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Mitzi Szereto’s Wilde Passions of Dorian Gray continues where Wilde left off with the Faustian tale of a man of eternal youth and great physical beauty who lives a life of corruption, decadence and hedonism. The story begins in the bordellos of Jazz-Age Paris, moving to the opium dens of Marrakesh and the alluring anonymity of South America. In his pursuit of sensation and carnal thrills, Dorian’s desires turn increasingly extreme and he leaves behind yet more devastation and death. He ultimately settles in present-day New Orleans, joining with a group of like-minded beings known as The Night People. They inadvertently return to Dorian his humanity when he falls in love with a young woman he rescues from becoming their victim. She will be his redemption, but she will also be his final curse.
Review: This novel is downright amazing. It shows that there is someone out there that will write just like a classic author and show what they can do for the world.
The characters are downright fantastic. And I am sure there will be more to come from her. She writes the erotic versions of said books or at least the erotic continuations. I found the characters three-dimensional. The plot was thick and fantastic.
I know I will certainly be keeping an eye out for more of her novels. Well worth it.
Blurb: A man who hates Valentine’s Day gets a surprise smack of romance.
With horrid Valentine’s Day experiences, Preston Larkin hates the holiday with a passion to the point he prefers to be drunk and unconscious. Heading to a club, SideWays, he plans to drink and dance until the 15th. He didn’t expect a cute admirer to alter everything. Adoring Lark from afar for over a year, Colin Gabriels finds the courage to buy the man a drink, dance the night away, and take him upstairs to the private rooms. His expectations of the man isn’t matching the reality. Things falter the next morning, but Preston changes everything.
Review: I found myself wondering if this was all the author wanted to talk about. Sure, it showed the promises of a good story but I just didn’t feel like I could understand the characters. Sure, someone could be burned by the past of bad relationships but I didn’t feel like I could get to know the characters. The story didn’t seem that strong to me.
The more I read the more I felt the story getting stronger and yet by the time it was done, I felt like it had gone flat. The story had pretty much stopped when it was finally getting good. I cannot quite pinpoint what happened in the author’s mind but it just didn’t hold onto my interest.
Blurb: In 1724, Thomas Newton is cast out of his home by his aristocratic father. Desperate to make a new life for himself, he heads to London. Through a string of intimate encounters, he enters the underground world of male-male desire.
Soon enough, Thomas meets Margaret Clap, who runs one of the male brothels. Without a child of her own, “Mother Clap” finds herself drawn to Thomas. She offers him a place in her house, but also a place in her heart.
Thomas’s homecoming is too brief. The Society for the Reformation of Manners, a group of Christian zealots, begins raiding the Molly houses. They plan to force the arrest, conviction, and execution of any man guilty of “crimes against nature.”
When Margaret Clap’s house is raided and Margaret herself is arrested, Thomas has to make the most difficult decision of his still young life, one that could destroy everyone around him in a desperate effort to save them.
Review: This book really does define historical erotica. The more I read about it, the more I wished the book would remain strong. There were a few select moments the story did start to flop but the author managed to bring it right back on track. I couldn’t get enough of the history around it. As an avid historical reader, I found myself interested in the story behind it. The plot is solid and the characters have their moments of flatness. But I found the book overall to be pretty smooth despite the few bumps.
I would recommend this to anyone that wants to read the way erotica should be written every now and then.
Just across the river from New Orleans, people cook, eat, ply their trades, pursue their hobbies, and live out their lives in the insulated bubble of Archimedes Street, lined with centuries-old live oaks. Honoria Abbott and Rita Simmons, Redemptorist professors and neighbors, are the salty matriarchs who rule the roost in this small fiefdom. Connoisseurs of M/M romance and aspiring matchmakers, they hatch a plot to awaken two of Honoria’s students to each other’s charms. The first step is to make Dutch and Flip roommates in Rita’s shotgun-double apartment.
Dutch Abbott, a coddled, narcissistic rich boy, is drawn to the down-to-earth Flip, a transfer student with good looks and a pugnacious attitude. Secure in his self-esteem, Flip Abbott starts to question everything he ever believed about himself after he meets the arrogant but undeniably brilliant Dutch.
Little do Honoria and Rita know that their matchmaking will swirl Archimedes Street into the eye of a domestic hurricane, complete with lost cats, teenage longing, shrewd trading of sexual favors, fierce culinary competition, and environmental activism sprinkled with a little white magic.
Review: I found this book to be quite intriguing. The plot was very interesting. The novel actually reminded me of Downtown Abbey and the drama soap operas we find on television when they are mixed together.
This book just got more and more interesting. The more I read, the more I wanted to know about them all. The beauty of it is how one boy Flip Abbott manages to find out how things work and at the same time he challenges every aspect of what he knows. The more he faces, the more he questions. And it ends up being that much more addictive for the reader.
If you like, society novels, humor, and the life of those that can afford to live in such a life, and then I would recommend it.
Blurb: There was no smoking gun. No horrible family secret behind why I left. No reason at all for me, at nineteen, to leave for New York, ready for anything life had to offer—especially if it involved certain proclivities. In the time required to walk to Times Square from the Port Authority Terminal, my naiveté was wiped away. I witnessed a prostitute performing her nightly hustle. In the days to follow, I was mugged twice, ripped off while trying to purchase pot, and beaten to the point of soiling myself. But a chance encounter with a young hustler led to a meeting with Mr. B, mob-connected owner of multiple clubs on Times Square, all under fire from a new mayor embarking on an anti-sleaze campaign directed squarely at The Deuce.
I spent the next twenty years of my life coming of age on the streets, but now, as I speed south across the countryside, heading for my native New Orleans and a dying sister, I make a pact to leave New York in New York, only to find coming home proves harder than coming out.
Review: This book was phenomenal. Everything from how the characters are formed to the strong plotline for the novel. I couldn’t get enough of it. Jeni Decker hit it out of the ballpark. I had a good feeling about this book from the moment I started reading the book. I knew this book was going to be interesting. When the book ended, I wished it hadn’t. I couldn’t get over just how great it was.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to read a good solid novel.
Blurb: Fifteen-year-old Treasa Prescott thinks she’s an alien. She doesn’t fit in with the preppy South African private school crowd and feels claustrophobic in her own skin. Treasa is worried she might spend life as a social pariah when she meets Gabriel du Preez. Gabriel plays the piano better than Beethoven, has a black belt in karate, and would look good wearing a garbage bag. Treasa thinks he’s perfect. It might even be love. As long as Gabriel doesn’t find out, she’s a freak.
As Treasa spends time with Gabriel, she realizes she might not love him as much as she wants to be him, and that the reason she feels uncomfortable in her skin might have less to do with extra-terrestrial origins and more to do with being born in the wrong body.
But Gabriel is not the perfect boy Treasa imagines. He harbors dark secrets and self-destructive tendencies. Still, Treasa might be able to accept Gabriel’s baggage if he can accept who she longs to be.
Review: This book was awesome! I loved it so much. Everything from the intuitive characters to the storyline. It was so mesmerizing I couldn’t stop reading it once I started. The characters are so interesting, so intriguing. The storyline is beautifully written and then some. I’ve come to enjoy this novel and it was the first I’ve read from the author.
As far as I am concerned, this author is on my top ten list of authors to watch. I cannot wait to find out what she writes next!
Blurb: Bryce St. John is a shy man—a geek who lives in his world of computers. After surviving a date attack, he is afraid to trust and is afraid of intimacy. He refuses to risk his heart or his safety by choosing the wrong man again.
Prince Daxton Sorenson is a soldier assigned to protect and learn from the powerful, royal seer Mohar from the time he was a young man. Seeing Bryce on the baseball field, he realizes he has found his aheri. When Bryce panics and flees, Daxton is heartbroken.
Daxton is patient and loving, and Bryce soon finds himself completely smitten. When Mohar arrives to take Daxton back to Sanzel, Dax is injured. Bryce has had enough. He is one seriously pissed off mate who will do what he must to find and protect his man. He is not about to give up on the loving future and the houseful of babies that Dax has promised him.
Lisa’s Review:This is book three of this series and they need to be read in order. It gives you an insight into the characters and the story itself. It is an amazing series to read. I love the fact that Lyssa gives you such wonderful characters to fall in love with. It seems like each character has a pain from the past that they are going through.
In this one, Bryce had been attacked a few months prior and was scared to even let someone touch him. He had the help of his friends to ease some of the fears. However, he was afraid of even the thought of dating. So on the night he saw Daxton he ran from him. However as he was leaving he did look back to see the man with a lot of pain in his expression. He had to think of what to do. With the help of his best friend, he let Daxton in to his life.
Daxton was a prince of Sanzel, warrior and protector Mohar. However, Mohar had been hurting Daxton every time Daxton went against him. When he found his mate, he was full of happiness, but it hurt him when his mate feared him. With a lot of patience, he would get his mate to understand he is loved and protected.
He also needed to tell Bryce about who he is and where he is from. Now that is a funny story to hear. It had to take a healing from Daxton to prove to Bryce that he was telling the truth. Then the change came on and Bryce learned that the men of Sanzel could get pregnant. Could you imagine someone’s expression when they hear that a man can have a baby? There are many things that they have to talk about but the one thing that they will never have to question is the love that they feel.
It is an amazing story and I cannot wait to read book four. I have found another series that I have fallen in love with and am glad to have them added in my library. It will catch your attention from the start and will keep it all the way to the end. I would recommend this story if you love the paranormal worlds, two very sexy men, hot sex and a bit of danger involved. It has the perfect amount of all that and more in this book. I can guarantee that you will fall in love with it and the others. Lyssa has a wonderful gift at telling a story.
Eric’s Review: I found this book very delicious. I had never a Lyssa Samuels novel, but I loved this one to death. Couldn’t get enough of both Bryce and Daxton. I found myself able to identify with Bryce with how shy he was. We all have our inner geeks for something and it made me love Bryce as a character that much more.
I loved the solid plot as well. I cannot wait to read another novel by her. Her novels are fantastic and highly recommended.
Blurb: Benjamin lives a quiet life in a small Pennsylvania town, but he dreams of a larger world beyond the family homestead, of beautiful cities and sophisticated people. He longs to be in the Big Apple among its urbane residents. But the distant cities pictured in magazines seem an impossibility, so he fantasizes about the local legends instead. His favorite story is of The Goat Man and the gift he bestows upon the luckiest of believers.
But The Goat Man is no mere legend. He is very real, a lingering presence ever watchful from the darkness. The time comes when he answers the young man’s prayers and visits Benjamin in the depths of night.
With Benjamin’s magical gift comes dreadful consequences. Sacrifices must be made and unspoken promises kept. Shambling shapes in the shadows beckon Benjamin to a horrific, inescapable fate.
Review: There was actually a good strong storyline to this. The title to me suggested humor but when I was done with it, I found it to be exhilarating. The great ties to the satyr mythology and the ways of the past had me intrigued. The more I read, the more fascinated I became. So interested I wished there was more to it.
This book is pretty good for a novella. I found it well worth the time and would highly recommend it.
Blurb: When the two trannys of taste and not tackiness, Miz M and Miz K, set off to judge a pageant with unusual qualifications in the politically turbulent country of Vulgaria, they stumble into a web of deception and misadventures.
The madcap and unique Miz M and Miz K, trannies of taste and never tackiness, manage to find themselves in the center of a web of political chaos and intrigue when they set out to the hitherto unknown country of Vulgaria to judge a pageant that has the most unusual qualifications they have ever encountered.
Meeting some old foes, like Slit-Eye Sly and Svetlana Orlov, and making some new allies, like Triple Oh Heaven and Count Rudi Vernacular–to name a few–brings them face to face with an unusual challenge.
Taking on Kaiser ‘The Crippler’ Kalishnakov and his plot to take over the world, means stopping germ warfare and the blockage of the world’s oil supply. All it will take is a steady aim, a cattle prod, two elephants, a running supply of champagne and crème de menthe, and the Three Muff-keteers!
CONTENT ADVISORY: This title contains a HFN ending.
Review: I found this book to be not that great. It was somewhat good, but it wasn’t that great. The characters were pretty decently created and the storyline was very adventurous, but the plot was almost…cliché. I just didn’t really enjoy it that much.
I would recommend it to those that love action books and trannys.
Blurb: Pastry chef and bakery owner Jason Wood bakes a mean chocolate soufflé, yet his love life keeps falling flat. He’d blame his past if he wasn’t trying so hard to avoid it.
When his family’s farmhouse burns to the ground, he’s summoned to identify a body found in the ashes. Jason returns to Hancock, Michigan, and reunites with a childhood friend, small town vet Henry McCavanaugh. After fifteen years apart, their rekindled friendship soon develops into much more. But Jason’s baggage threatens their blossoming romance, and he leaves town unannounced to escape his feelings—and Henry’s feelings for him. He has learned the hard way if something seems too good to be true, it’s best to run for the hills. Jason stress-bakes more confections than he knows what to do with before wondering if he’s running in the wrong direction.
Review: This book was beautiful. A novel of self-discovery, this novel goes to show how hard life can be for one that has struggled all their life. When you meet Jason, he is in a state of dark loneliness. One that brings him to a house that he doesn’t expect to have a future in. and as the novel progresses, he finds himself falling for and interested in a special character.
This novel had brought me to tears, got me to laugh, and made me smile. Indra truly knows how to make someone smile and provide a goodness to their heart. The characters were solid and strong, the plot was thick and fantastic. Overall, I would give this book a perfect score.
Indra certainly knows how to show the dark side and realistic view of growing up and moving on. I would highly recommend this novel to everyone that wants to read something new and heart-warming.
Blurb: Val, an English teacher, takes an exchange position in Australia to recover from the death of his lover. He stages Romeo and Juliet at his school, and becomes close friends with Anna, the head teacher. Oliver (who plays Romeo) falls in love with Val, and although the feeling is mutual, because of his position Val cannot allow the relationship to develop.
Val struggles with his feelings, unable to come to terms with Oliver’s youthful seductive ways, and unable to reconcile his heartache over David’s death with his developing affection for Oliver, which he must reject both internally and externally. And at the same time, he must make a life for himself in a country far from his friends and the world he knows. How do you decide between love and duty?
Eric’s Review: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts I found this novel to be fantastic. Facing the loss of one love and pushing the boundaries in order to fall in love with the one that taunts you well. It’s one of my favourite forms of a book. It also makes for one hell of a read.
Eli’s Review: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts TABOO! That’s the one word I have to describe the story. Taboo! Before this review goes any further, it’s important to discuss the taboo element. The object of Val’s affection is a seventeen year old boy named Oliver. Parents out there are now squirming in their seats. How does one even reconcile such a taboo topic? First there is the age difference between Oliver and Val. Val is a man, Oliver a mere boy. Then layer on the issue that Val is a teacher at Oliver’s school and thus in a position of power and then you are into the whole inappropriate scenario. Parents of teenage boys are NOT going to approve of this story. And if Oliver was Olivia, then the words statutory rape would probably abound. However, before anyone gets up in arms, the age of consent in Australia is sixteen so no laws were broken.
Are we now sufficiently past the elephant in the room so to speak? Good, then let’s proceed.
Discussion of appropriateness of the romance aside, the story itself was an interesting one. Val is a man who has lost his lover after watching him deteriorate after a debilitating illness. He wants to run away from his pain and so he runs to Australia which is where David, his departed partner, was from. He hopes to jumpstart his life and get himself out of his funk. However, he lands in Australia only to find himself enamoured by and with one of the students in his play. It is important to note that Oliver is not taught directly by Val. Like any good teacher, Val fights the attraction and only succumbs when he realizes that he must put a physical separation between him and the temptation that is Oliver. Oliver is also going through his own issues since his story is a YA coming of age one as he embraces being gay and comes out in spectacular fashion as befits any drama student. This is then accompanied by the usual teenage high school issues as well as the attending family drama.
Val’s character is extremely well-developed in the story and he’s a very nice, likable and sympathetic character. His attraction to Oliver is clearly understood since Oliver virtually throws himself at Val and Val is a man who’s in the deep throes of pain at the loss of his life partner. The angst he feels and the ability for this young man to spark something in him is clearly easy to understand. Oliver being attracted to an older man is also quite understandable. He knows he’s gay and a student having a crush on a teacher is nothing new. Oliver doesn’t seem quite so sympathetic until the reader learns more about his background. It is then that the reader begins to feel maybe less antagonistic towards the taboo element in the story.
The story, however, does not wallow in the whole issue of Val and Oliver’s attraction. It is merely the backdrop which informs the whole story. At its core, this is Val’s story and how he emerges from being in mourning to finding a way to start his life again with someone new. And while seventeen is young, Oliver is portrayed as a very mature and together young man whose home situation has made him stronger than the average teen.
The secondary characters of the other teachers and another man with whom Val forms an attachment adds richness and a three-dimensional element to the story. While Val’s best friend back in England. provides Val with a tether to reality. There is also some other attendant drama that allows the reader to not focus solely on the Val/Oliver connection since Val does have a life and life comes with issues.
Of course the author employs the ‘play within a play’ strategy by having Val stage Romeo and Juliet which is a doomed romance which could foreshadow what may be happening between Val and Oliver. Additionally, it is no coincidence that the author also has extensive scenes with Val teaching Oliver how to fight and fence ostensibly for use in the play – it’s a great way to move the reader to an acceptance of how these two men will need to fight for their eventual relationship and how they’ll need to defend each other, their relationship and themselves.
Spoiler Alert: The end of the book does give the reader some respite and alleviates the initial squick factor since all’s well that ends well.
Reviewer’s Recommendation: Put the squick factor aside if you can. Parents of teenage boys – I fully get if you can’t. Read the book with the notion that no laws were broken and that maybe just maybe this could be a love for the ages. The book is well written and the characters nicely developed. From a literary standpoint – A reasonably good read.
Blurb: Prince Magnus Sorenson is a warrior who is used to the isolated life of a soldier. He is responsible for the safety of his royal family and their subjects and is haunted by his failure to protect his parents. Magnus never expected to find his aheri—his beloved mate. He didn’t deserve him.
Archer Stockton is a humble carpenter who plays baseball with his buddies on the weekends. Archie is a gentle giant with a pure heart who was beaten by his father for being gay, causing him to have to learn to talk, read, and walk again. He knew he wasn’t much of a catch. Mag deserved better.
Magnus knows Archer is perfect for him. Archer brings love and gentleness into his life. Miraculously, Archer can see through the glamour of Mag’s world. He also sees the beauty of their future and the babies they will have together. Magnus is a soldier who is afraid. Afraid to hope.
Review: I found this novel to be like the others in this series. It is much more likable and less dark, but it is still a delight to have read. The characters were right on the money as to what I liked to read and the plot was as strong as the other two were. I would highly recommend Lyssa Samuels. She knows how to keep us interested.
Blurb: Merek Sorenson is a king with a problem. His world is in unrest, and the Legari warriors are hunting him and his brothers for extermination.
Vance Morrow is a mechanic who spends his Saturdays with his buddies playing baseball. Meeting Merek has raised hope within his heart. He feels an incredible pull to the loving man who has brought kindness, happiness, and downright need back into his life.
Merek has waited for his aheri, his destined mate, his entire life. The love Merek has for Vance is soul deep. He knows he must reveal who he is and the danger that follows him. He prays Vance will want to bond with him and will be open to the fact that the men of Merek’s world can become pregnant. He aches to hold Vance in his arms forever, bring him home to rule beside him on Sanzel, and create children with him that they can nurture and love.
Review: I found this book to be as delicious as the others were. The more I read about the characters, the more intrigued I was with them.
Merek was a highly understandable and likable character. He just wanted the safety of his kingdom. Vance was a smart and a well put together kind of guy. The characters were great and likable. The plot was once again solid. And I would definitely recommend this book to those that love fantasy and erotic romance.
Major sci-fi romance lovers will devour this book.
Blurb: Thatcher knows exactly what is expected of him. Good grades, good job, good wife. He’s supposed to check off the boxes to get the perfect life. Too bad he’s fallen for Peter, the big strong basketball star that can reduce him to a babbling, rock hard mess just by holding him down. It’s also too bad that Thatcher’s about to go too far to hide Peter, and Peter’s about to teach him what happens when he does.
Review: I found this book to be entirely sexy. I loved this book so much I’d read it twice. It was that great. I am not one for BDSM, but this book got me interested big tie. The way the characters went together was great. The creation and the strength of characters was a major strength in this book. The way the story flowed was more than good enough for my interest.
As far as the plot, solid. It was sexy, amazing, and then some. I found the plot to be a bit unoriginal but it worked out for the characters.
Blurb: Allen Jameson had it all—the perfect house, the perfect partner, the perfect life—until his partner, Gary, died suddenly, leaving him alone in the real world, where life isn’t so pretty and people make mistakes. Now Allen is the owner of Sweet ‘n’ Sassy Cupcake Shop, a cute boutique downtown, where he invents delicious flavors like strawberry and French meringue. Between working long hours and making special orders, Allen barely has time to think.
Then a hunky contractor walks into his shop looking for a treat. Allen and Byron Bannigan are total opposites, but they’re perfect together—salty and sweet like Allen’s signature peanut butter and chocolate ganache cupcakes. But as Allen struggles to juggle his business and his boyfriend, he learns he can only handle so much. He may have to choose between the cupcakes in his store and the cupcake in his bed.
Review: I found myself in love with this novel from the start. It was amazing, sexy, and dynamite. The more I read it, the more I loved it. I found myself like Allen—who remained insecure when things got bad. I found it great how the two of them remained together despite the faults they faced.
The characters were perfect. Three-dimensional in my eyes. As for the plot, solid. I loved it so much. I would highly recommend it.
Title: The Groom Wore Nothing At All
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