Tag: GLBT Contemporary Romance

Single Use Only by Pender Mackie

18308785Title: Single Use Only

Series:   NA

Author: Pender Mackie

Genre: Contemporary

Length:   Novel (286 pages)

Publisher: Loose ID (September 30th, 2013)

Heat Level:   Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Reviewer:   Eli/Mandingo

Blurb:  Mike Strenton is tired of the hook-up scene. All the men he meets in the Las Vegas gay bars are interested in only one thing and only one night. Been there done that. About to turn thirty-eight, Mike avoids casual sex until his need for contact is too great to ignore. He secretly longs to meet someone who sees beyond his laugh lines and broad shoulders to the sensitive lover underneath. A man who’ll chose him over the walk of shame.

Twenty-seven year old Chris Bennington has never even been to a gay bar though he’s into men as well as women. He sees the funny side of just about everything, even his first time with Mike. Chris wants a lover who doesn’t have a problem with his quirky sense of humor, his inability to cook or his bisexuality and he thinks Mike fits the bill. All he has to do is convince the big guy he’s not just sticking around for breakfast

Purchase Link:   http://www.loose-id.com/single-use-only.html#product_tabs_description

Review: So many m/m stories paint the picture of man meets man, man falls for man and they live happily ever after. If that were the case then more people would be in HEAs instead of out constantly trolling for their next conquest or someone to spend their lives with.  Single Use Only explores the themes of what it means to be gay after the age of 30, and what happens to a man after his preconceived ‘use by’ date?  By the time the reader grapples with this first notion, the author introduces a second conundrum: How does a gay man relate to a bi-sexual man? How do they overcome their differences to build a life of trust and acceptance with each other?  Having now been presented with the main characters, the reader is sucked into the meat of the story – How does a man, Mike, riddled with poor self-esteem begin to believe that he is worthy and deserves a HEA? 

These are the issues which Chris and Mike must navigate if they are to build a life together. First they must overcome their own insecurities and prejudices before they can even begin to think about how they can be together.  The author creates a very real tale told from both men’s perspectives.  Their relationship has a natural progression and the reader is able to see how each of the men feel and what it will take for each of them to overcome their obstacles.

As with any good story, there is angst, misunderstanding and then the final drama which creates the conflict which the lovers must overcome.  You don’t actually ‘see’ the big drama coming, but when it happens, it seems natural and organic and not contrived and it allows you to root for Chris and Mike even more; because at this point, they’ve both overcome their own personal demons and must now battle the external ones in order to be worthy of their HEA.

A thoroughly realistic and enjoyable read.

A Different Drummer by Deirdre O'Dare

17838897Title: A Different Drummer

Series: N/A

Author: Deirdre O’Dare

Genre: Contemporary / The Arts

Length: Novella (61 pages)

Publisher: Amber Allure, Amber Quill Press (April 22nd, 2013)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥2.5~3 Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

Blurb: Jest has been on his own since his mid-teens and still blesses the chance that allowed him to realize his dream of playing percussion in a band, one that has become his substitute family. Although he misses the close sharing, he doesn’t expect to find a partner, and certainly not one as clearly out of his element as the man, looking totally lost and friendless, who one night wanders into the club where Jest’s band plays.

Greene has struggled to build himself a life far from the undisciplined communal community in which he grew to his mid-teens. He’s lonely, though, and not sure how to remedy that, so he keeps working as a game programmer in Silicon Valley until he makes a faux pas at a party. Traveling aimlessly, he meets Jest and the other members of Taken By Storm, and is intrigued but terrified of slipping back into a disorderly world like the one of his childhood.

Opposites do attract, but can a rebel percussionist and a totally uptight game programmer find common ground for a partnership? 

Product Link: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/DifferentDrummer.html

Review: Now this story is a peculiar one. It might seem like its main character and the focus behind the plot is the drummer as the title suggests, but in my opinion, it was the game programmer.

We have Jest, a special brand of drummer. He’s the hippy look-alike, with rainbow Mohawk, tight skin jeans, and rainbow suspenders. Doesn’t strike like the peculiar kind right? Now put him in a country band that wears western clothes and same kind of crowd. Heh, that’s right. Jest is the kind of guy raised by conservative parent who threw him out of the house once they found out he was gay. He made his way toward a life that he always dreamed of and his band is his family. What he misses is a soul mate.

Greene is an oddity too. He is the exact opposite of Jest. He grew up in a New Age/Hippy community. His parents mostly stoned and his siblings and other children left to fend for themselves. So, he did. He finished high school young, got his scholarships, cut himself from his family, and made it to a big gaming cooperation as a programmer. He has nearly the life he always wanted. What he misses is a soul mate.

After a drunken proposition to one of his co-workers and a public humiliation, Greene takes his car and drives. He reaches Las Vegas and hit the first Bar & Grill he finds to get some food in him and that’s when he sees a sight he simply can’t take his eyes from.

So this is how this story starts with Jest and Greene falling in love with first sight, even if they don’t know it yet. The pair seems interesting enough, easy-going Jest inviting Greene to crash with him for the night and Greene following as if in a dream. It did seem way too easy though, so much, so that I had a voice in my head screaming come on, that just don’t happen all the time. Jest had this intuition thing going and probing Greene all the time for some reaction. When they had their first intercourse together, I just didn’t feel it. It was as if the author simply skipped the scene and just let us know that it was mind-blowing. I felt a bit cheated, you know. I’d have liked reading the mind-blowing part myself.

Furthermore, the dialogues between the two was a bit off-putting. Even in the end, they held a bit of formality that just didn’t fit with the intimacy that they were supposed to share. It somehow made me feel quite detached from the characters and viewing the story dispassionately.

As for Greene’s backstory and how the plot around it evolved, I don’t know what to make out of it. Besides being quite sad, that too was skipped and simply told later on with a clinical narration. We didn’t get to witness it and experience the emotions first hand, resulting to the whole intensity slipping right out and never reaching us. Some lost potential there. I kept expecting some “getting back” to Mickey, but boy was I wrong in that account?

So all in all it was not bad, bad it simply didn’t make me say “yeah, this is a great story,” and it’s a shame because it had some good stuff in there. Plus it kind of lost the whole “The Arts” genre with the focus staying mainly on Greene and his issues. Result? Good story, no more, no less.

 

The Hearts of Yesteryear by Vivien Dean

51tduJ9XjeLTitle: The Hearts of Yesteryear

Author: Vivien Dean

Genre: Contemporary

Length:  Novella (92 pages)

Publisher: Amber Allure, Amber Quill (September 22nd, 2013)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Cat

Blurb: Throughout his career, actor John Paravati has stuck with the line he sold to the gossip rags—he’s been in like, been in lust, even been in respect once or twice, but never love. It works for him. After all, the only thing he’s ever cared about is performing, and if he’s stuck now doing commercials for cruise lines to pay his bills, at least it’s better than shilling adult diapers.

But people in Hollywood are pros at pretending, and John is the master of them all. Because once upon a time, in the world of his youth, he loved two things with all his heart—his best friend Frank and the movie palace he used as sanctuary.

More than fifty years ago, John ran away from his hometown, never to look back. Now, someone has decided to restore the theater he left behind, and they want John to be a part of its relaunch. Though the memories still sting, he swallows his pride and agrees to go, even if it means finally dealing with the heartache he’s ignored all this time. At seventy-seven, he’s too old to continue holding onto the hurt. The question is, however, is he too old to start over once it’s gone?

Purchase Link:  http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/HeartsYesteryear.html

Review: John left his hometown in his twenties after his heart was crushed. He became a successful actor and now 50 years later the memories are all brought up in an invitation to go back to the grand opening of the restoration of the theatre there.

This is a very well written sweet story about a man’s past coming back to haunt him. It’s also a starch reminder that so long ago gay lifestyles were less accepted than they are nowadays causing many young men to deny themselves of whom they really are and who they truly loved.

I also really loved that the characters were older men (in their seventies) and well established in their lives. It goes to show that love can be found no matter what the age, that all of us have needs and desires and hurts.  Well done!!

I highly recommend this to anyone that likes older characters, actors, military men and a very sweet love story.

One Good Man by Talia Carmichael

18455009Title: One Good Man

Series:   Book 4 in the Impressions Series

Author: Talia Carmichael

Genre: Contemporary

Length:   Novella (116 pages)

Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing (October 11th, 2013)

Heat Level:   Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts

Reviewer:   Eli/Mandingo

Blurb:   When a man who has lost his belief that there are any good men meets a man who sees inside his hidden depths, he’s unsure what to do…

Gabriel Simmons loves his work at Vaughn Choppers. Building custom bikes and restoring cars is his passion. He has a knack for it and for bringing out their hidden depths. The man he meets while doing a favor for his boss and friend tests him, drawing him out of his shell. He wants to find out what makes Mace tick. The man resists him yet looks at him as if he wants all Gabe has to give. Gabe is more than willing to take him up on the offer he sees in his eyes. But first, he needs to get Mace to verbalize his desires.

Mace Hutton is being driven daft by a man who is nothing like any other man he has been attracted to. Gabe is a danger to his hard-fought plan to keep free from entanglements. The contrast of his big bear of a man size and his gentleness makes Mace long to feel Gabe’s touch. He can’t take the chance…yet Mace cannot get the man out of his mind. He’s been burnt enough to know there are no good men out there. Or have his assumptions been wrong? Is there one good man who is just right for him?

Purchase Link: https://www.totallybound.com/one-good-man

Review: If you are a gearhead, you will love this book. There are lots of great descriptions of cars and renovations and all the things that gearheads like. This serves to create the connection between Gabe and Mace. In betwixt and juxtaposed within all the gearhead information, there is a story about trust and acceptance. I’m never one to recommend shorter, but I think that this could have been more effective had it been shorter. Yes it would mean cutting out some of the car discussions and some information that didn’t move the story forward.

I loved the interaction with some of the secondary characters, especially Gabe’s family.  Mace’s mother, Susan, was also a key secondary character and both Gabe’s and Mace’s interaction with her was well written and pivotal to Gabe and Mace’s HEA.

The development of the relationship between both men is believable and you do feel that both men want to be together, but that there is something holding them apart, ergo Mace. The final conflict is understandable and comes so late in the story, but that must be resolved quickly to lead to the HEA and so it seemed a little rushed rather than being something the reader could anticipate. However, the author had already set up the reader to want to root for the couple so all’s well that ends well. So grab a beer and some pretzels and you’ll be ready to enjoy this ride.

Snowflake by Ash Penn

pennash_snowflake_coverinTitle: Snowflake

Author: Ash Penn

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Length: Novel (136 pages)

Publisher: Loose Id (September 11th, 2012)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3.5 Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

Blurb: Closeted eighteen-year-old Steve Chiverton’s fantasy boyfriend is Beau Mason, a quiet and reserved older man who lives on the edge of the village. A man who barely knows Steve exists. Amateur artist Beau’s fantasy is Rick Angell, international rock star and the fuel of many an erotic dream.

Temptation is the hottest club in town, and Steve’s there looking for a boyfriend who can tear down his walls of secrecy. Beau’s there too, looking for indiscriminate sex to ease the pain of a broken relationship. When Beau suffers a minor asthma attack, Steve sees his chance to play rescuer and jumps at the chance to escort his fantasy home.

The sex they enjoy is more intense than Steve’s virginal imagination could ever have supplied. Beau is everything he could want in a boyfriend and far more besides. The unexpected arrival of Beau’s ex-lover sends Steve’s dream-come-true crashing around his ears. How can he possibly compete for Beau affections with Rick Angell, world-famous rock star, public heterosexual and bedroom user of Beau’s affections and body?

  • Note: This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: male/male sexual practices.

Product Link: http://www.loose-id.com/snowflake-1.html

Review: I first read this book last year and somehow it got rooted in my mind. Back then I was not is a good state of mind and somehow what I got out of this book was distorted. When I finished reading it and started writing the review I felt that I wasn’t doing this book any justice, or even being objective, but I was rather projecting my own feelings, thus I stopped and simply left it alone.

Now a year later I picked it up again, even suggesting it as a book read for our weekly chat. One entire year passed by and this book has been haunting me, even my dreams. Why? I simply hate it when I don’t give something/someone their due.

So here it is:

This is the love story of Beau and Steve who live in a tiny village in South England. Beau is one of my favorite characters appearance-wise. He’s an albino, white hair, white eyelashes, and pale translucent skin. He’s gorgeous the way this author describes him, he’s beautiful the way Steve sees him, and he’s an angel the way his lover feels for him. You would think Beau is a self-assured confident man…

Steve is a young man who has never fell in love or in lust with anyone male or female. Or perhaps we should say he has an infatuation verging to obsession with Beau. Unfortunately, Beau thinks of his as a homophobic and he quite literally thinks Steve wants to harm him.

Rick is a famous rock star who has for year been Beau’s lover when nobody’s looking, or should we say Beau has been his dirty secret stashed away in remote villages when off the spotlight.

This book is quite the emotional ménage with Beau trying to leave his lover, who can never be more than that, Steve wanting to have a relationship with a man who is ten years his elder and afraid of him, and Rick trying to keep his kept man despite the fact that everything has been over for a long time.

This is a mix of a melancholy read, with some delicious romantic scenes, some frustrating one’s (I admit I would have kicked Richie’s butt a bit more) and a whole lot of love in a very easy to read novel. I felt sad for Beau at the beginning, so much so that I didn’t want to keep reading it. He gave me the impression of being a self-destructive character, I almost thought he wouldn’t be able to stand tall and escape that dead-end relationship. Steve on the other end was a character that surprised me, although I think most of his “good” points came from the fact that he was too overwhelmed to react hence waited it out and in the meantime gave it the chance for every intel he got to sink and make a decision. If he was a bit more hotheaded, I don’t think there would be a happy ending there. But I loved him, and his sweetness. He was indeed a character that deserved all the snuggling and cuddling. As for Richie, oh dear, they say when you write a story you need to make the villain as good as or better than the protagonist. Well, mission accomplished; Richie was indeed the character that made you despise him, want to kick him, want to strangle him, yet deep down want to shake him and make him see light. He was not so bad as he was spoiled, and in the end, I didn’t know if I should say good riddance or feel sorry for him.

So the romantic story here I liked it, even though there was that instant love thingy that has me reeling. I just can’t go around that thing. But all in all, I liked how it all went down, I liked the end and as for the erotic part, I have one word: HOT! Steve and Beau felt right to me and they had it, they had all the sensuality and eroticism I needed to make this read right!

As for Bone, thank God that dog wasn’t a Chihuahua. She is the start of this book for sure!

Recommended for everyone who loves a good romance. Enjoy!

Naked Temptation by Jay Di Meo

71NGebCwHsL._SL1200_Title:  Naked Temptation

Author: Jay Di Meo 

Genre:   Contemporary Romance

Length:  Novella (46 pages)

Publisher:  A JAY pyblishing (May 20th 2012)

Heat Level:  Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts

Blurb:   When Daniel joins the monastery on the island of Andros to escape his violent family, he thinks he has found peace. Two years later, vivid sexual dreams with a gorgeous male demon test his loyalty to the strictness of monastic life and make him wonder if he’s made a huge mistake in striving for purity…

Gay Erotic Romance novella (46 pages / 21.000 words) / explicit same sex scenes, nudity and profanity.

Product Link:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00851HHNO

Reviewer:   Tams

Review:  Short, Sexy and Steamy… my three favorite colors! This book hit the ground running with Daniels demon pleasing him from the first sentence.

At just sixteen years old Daniel left his family and joined the monastery. Two years later and Daniel is having a definite crisis of faith. He’s having waking dreams of a sexy demon with long, flowing black hair and exquisite green eyes that seem to see deep into his very soul. He struggles with what he’s always been told that such acts are deviant and evil coupling that with the feelings of pleasure, comfort, and home he has when his demon visits him.

Soon Daniel decides that what he feels can’t possibly be wrong, can’t possibly be a sin and decides to leave the monastery. The series of events that follow bring Daniel face to face with his demons and opens up the possibility of a life with love and happiness. I can’t say more than that, it would give too much away. Just like previous books I’ve read from Di Meo, this book has a couple of very compelling characters and a gripping story to keep the reader intrigued. And the sex is off the chains, oh my good god, H.O.double t HOT!!!

End in Tears by Thomas Kearnes

91WwlsgDvAL._SL1500_Title: End in Tears

Author: Thomas Kearnes

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Short (20pages)

Publisher: JMS books (September 1st, 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts

Reviewer: Cat

Blurb:Darren Young and his older lover Cutter Drake are a study in contrasts. Cutter has everything: success, confidence, looks, and a kinky sexual appetite. Still in college, Darren is unsure of most things, except his love for Cutter.

It is during their weekly visits to a bathhouse in Dallas where a reluctant Darren indulges some of Cutter’s more bizarre sexual demands. What choice does he have? Cutter could have anyone, but he loves Darren, Darren can see it in his eyes.

This trip to the bathhouse promises to end in tears, but whose, and why?

Purchase Link: http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=29&products_id=908

Review: This was an interesting story. Darren is obviously very love-struck on Cutter. Cutter is an older man with some kinks. There is a surprising twist that sort of left me confused in the end. I would have loved for this story to have been longer to clear this up.  Having said this, I do like this story I love this authors deep emotional style, though I would like to see a full-length story. The stories deal with hard subjects in this case drugs, and kinky sex habits. I really could feel Darren’s pain and love for Cutter.

If you like, short stories dealing with emotions, sexual kinks and drugs this one is for you.

The Black Dog by Cat Grant

18295949Title: Black Dog

Series: Bannon’s Gym #1

Author: Cat Grant

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Length: Novella (130 pages)

Publisher: Cat Grant (August 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

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.

Product Link: Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Dog-Bannons-Gym-Volume/dp/1491258195/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1EUI1OXK8752M&coliid=I38PDMSHVZF6FM

Smashwords:https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/337076

ARe:https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-blackdog-1251851-149.html

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!

No Tea, No Shade by Clancy Nacht

cn_noteanoshade_1Title:  No Tea, No Shade

Author:  Clancy Nacht

Genre: Contemporary

Length:  Novel (121 pages)

Publisher:  Loose Id LLC (September 23rd, 2013)

Heat Level:  Moderate

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥2 – 2.5

Blurb:   When Hank’s father catches him in a not-so-innocent childhood embrace with the neighbor Hank’s older brothers refer to as “Ladyboy Lindsey,” he forbids Hank ever to see his best friend again and sends Lindsey home in tears. Later, despite landing on opposite ends of the social and sexual spectrum in high school, neither can forget the boy who gave him his first kiss. While Hank becomes a sports star and bully, Lindsey throws himself into an elaborate sexual game played from afar for Hank’s benefit. When Hank’s football scholarship takes him away to college, their tenuous bond seems severed for good.

After Lindsey finds his calling as drag diva Miss Anne Thrope, embracing both his male identity and the natural androgyny of his intersex body, he’s finally in control of his world…until the night his first love disrupts Miss Anne’s show after a decade of silence. Hank’s dysfunctional behavior, crazy father, and their bittersweet history together threaten to destroy their fragile new romance before it’s truly begun. Should they let go of the past, or is this unique love one worth saving?

Product Link:  http://www.loose-id.com/no-tea-no-shade.html

Reviewer:   Any

Review:  Could have been really cool with more expansion.

All the elements and backstory are there to make a terrific novel, unfortunately in places it reads more like a synopsis for a really cool story. I don’t feel absorbed ‘in’ the scenes, because the story rushes along without taking the time to deepen the conflicts, and things are resolved too easily to be satisfying. Hank barely had to apologize and then he and Lindsey were giving their relationship a go. The ‘father’ the villain, is hateful one moment, and then inviting them both to Christmas the next.

Despite the uneven feel of the story, I could sense something really intriguing in here. Hank and Lindsey’s backstory, whoa! If that had really been shown on page as if it were happening in the here and now, that would have been quite powerful.

This is a quick read . . . oh, and quite hot in places. 😉 

I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore by Jet Mykles

18463421Title: I Can’t Fight this Feeling Anymore

Series:   N/A

Author: Jet Mykles

Genre: Contemporary

Length:   Novel (203 pages)

Publisher: MLR press, September 27th, 2013

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts

Reviewer:   Mandingo

Blurb: Can a party boy and a responsible businessman really make it work? Bryce is the adorable young thing that Dustin knows he shouldn’t want. He should be looking for a man his own age. Someone with a future. Someone with a real job. But no matter how hard he tries, no matter how much he knows that it just won’t work, he can’t resist those big blue eyes. Dusty is an adult. So unlike any of the party crowd that Bryce hangs around. But after just a brief taste of Dusty’s so-called boring, normal life, Bryce is more surprised than anyone to find out that that’s the life he wants. No wonder they just Can’t Fight This Feeling.

Purchase Link:   http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=JM_ICFTF

Review: Okay, so to read about the world I inhabit part-time (the world of older straight women who love and write for the m/m genre) gave me a chuckle.  I think readers will enjoy that aspect of the story since they are in large part the writers and demographic of this genre.

So with that said. I LOVED this book. Why? It rang true. It felt real like the men would really act this way.  In many books, we watch the arc of the protagonist or antagonist and we revel in the massive leaps they take to become better people. In real life, we make small incremental changes to become better versions of ourselves. This book demonstrates that well. It shows Bryce struggling at 22, when he suddenly realizes that there is more to life than he previously knew. Those of us who are older get that, since we’ve all been there. when we suddenly realize that dinner with friends or home with family can actually be more fulfilling that a night of drunken debauchery.  Dustin learns that sometimes life offers you a gift in an unexpected package and you need to accept the package and not ask too many questions.

Women fall in love and then revel in sex. Man have sex, which then leads to love.  This book clearly demonstrates that. Their sex is epic and will have readers both fanning and writhing in their seats – so hang on for that! But, the men both navigate their feelings, while engaging in torrid sex – very true to how men operate in their physical love lives. Often many m/m romances tend towards having the men behave with feminine tendencies with feelings of angst and things that most men are rarely burdened with.  This story however, does none of that which makes it very real and true to how a gay man would act. This is now the fourth book I’ve read by this author and I continue to be pleased with the results.

Dustin and Bryce…adorable. You root for them to be together and understand that what the universe puts together, is meant to be together. Bring on the popcorn and Merlot and let’s get to reading.

Finding Home by Diana DeRicci

91zU1No4RxL._SL1500_Title: Finding Home

Series:  Jasper, #3

Author: Diana DeRicci

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Novel (145 pages)

Publisher:Purple Sword Publications (September 25th 2013)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Reviewer: Cat

Blurb:Sometimes that imaginary line in the sand is the only thing stopping you from loving.

Parker is homeless. He’s hot, tired, hungry, and thirsty. He has never expected miracles in his short life. They don’t happen to him. When he’s picked up on the side of the road by a well-meaning grandfather, he’s driven to Jasper. Another small town on another long stretch of highway. One that would be nothing but a place to get a meal with the twenty he reluctantly accepts from the compassionate driver.

Ian can well remember the sight of his niece that long ago morning Caleb brought her shivering, terrified, and homeless to his door. Unable to leave the young man, he offers the first kindnesses Parker will have known in more than three years.

Through Ian, Caleb, and their family, Parker regains his dignity, and his ambition to reach goals taken from him. It’s a slow process for him because trust doesn’t happen overnight. But by the time he’s found a family, love, and dreams, he also realizes he may have found home

Purchase Link: http://purplesword.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=149

Review: Parker has been homeless three years. A homophobe father kicked him out when he was just 17. He has been walking and just surviving, never going backwards.  One day he is walking and so hot and tired when a Man in a pickup stops and offers him a ride into Jasper.  He also gives him twenty dollars and tells him to go into the café for a hot meal. As he is entering, he sees a cop and has a panic attack nearly passing out. A man helps him offers him a meal. Parker sees the man kiss the cop and call him husband.  Ian, Caleb’s (the sheriff) husband, Takes pity on the boy and feels a strong need to help him. Parker never knew how much one ride to a small town could change his life. 

I absolutely loved this book. The story was so sweet and interesting. All the characters are intriguing. This is a nice happy story even if there is some of parkers past brought up and a twist near the end but all in all this is a sweet loving happy story.   I would like to think there are people as kind as Caleb and Ian that could take in a stranger and treat them as their own. It makes life worth living in this time of so much hate, and sorrow. This is a refreshing read, though I would have liked a bit more sex especially near the end (can’t say more it would be a spoiler)

If you like, a good love story about acceptance, family and love, small ton sheriff (yes, a hot man in uniform) mechanics, dentists and I even got my cowboy! This one is for you!

If Wishes Were Coffee by Michelle Moore

PrintTitle: If Wishes Were Coffee

Author: Michelle Moore

Genre: Contemporary (with a dab of paranormal)

Length: Novella (56 pages)

Publisher:Less Than Three Press, LLC (Sept. 18th, 2013)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Cat

Blurb:Todd and Daniel have been dancing around each other for almost a year, both afraid to take that step past ‘just friends’. Then Todd waits on a customer who introduces himself as Joshua, and leaves Todd a strange message in the form of a spell-infused coffee sleeve, gifting him with love at first sight. Their first sight long-since gone, Todd and Daniel both see the magical present as the potential end to any chance they have together.

Purchase Link: http://www.lessthanthreepress.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=90&products_id=500

Review: Todd is a coffee shop Barista. One day, a handsome man who leaves him a ticket for Love at first sight visits him. This bothers Todd because he has a thing for his neighbour Daniel and   they have known each other for close to a year but just flirt.  He confides in Daniel about the weird meeting and Daniel is a bit unhappy and wary since wishes don’t work on him and he is afraid to start anything with Todd that he will fall in love at someone else on first sight.

This is a very cute, sweet story of Magic and love. I would have liked to have more about each character since we got hardly any backstory and I would have loved to know more about Daniel’s secret and the Gifter’s secret,too. However, having said that, the actual story was cute, if not a bit predictable. But, a great sweet fun read for a night you need a little lift.

If you like, a good, short story about friends to lovers, and magical twists this is for you.

The Darker Side of Trey Grey by Tara Spears

17924251Title: The Darker Side of Trey Grey

Author: Tara Spears

Genre: Suspense

Length: Novel (444pages)

Publisher: T.O.S.O.L Books (June 11th, 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Cat

Blurb:No one told Trey Grey that life could be dark and unpredictable. With the death of his father when he was eight, his mother’s departure from Earth on a syringe full of heroin, and the brutal abuse of his stepfather, Trey learned these lessons all too well on his own.

Now at twenty years of age, he is nearing the completion of his accounting degree and can finally glimpse the end of his life as a prostitute. The only profession he has ever known. 

Wracked by nightmares of Willie’s years of abuse, and controlled by severe obsessive-compulsive disorders as a result, he seems to have a tentative handle on his own life. That is, as long as he keeps a death-grip and no one touches his Camaro, kitten.

But even the best-laid plans can be torn to gory bits.

His savior comes in the unlikely form of a spiky-haired blond named Justin, after a night of drunken debauchery that neither of them seems able to forget. Justin might just need Trey as much as Trey needs him. 

Trey travels through his fearscapes and begins to find his own forgiveness, but at what cost to the manic-depressive Justin? Will they be able to live through the trauma of each other’s lives and find their own version of normal? 

This is a gritty and raw story about escapism, and how one’s life can alter course when you least expect it. Trey looks at his own life with an irony that is sometimes amusing and often shocking, yet quickly draws the reader to his corner. Public Press Review

Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/Darker-Side-Trey-Grey-ebook/dp/B00DCGGSEQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1380041284&sr=1-1&keywords=the+darker+side+of+trey+grey

Review: Awesome cover. Warning this book does have child abuse and rape.

You have to give the author a round of applause for dealing with such a touchy subject. Well done!

I really liked this book. I like stories that deal with difficult situations and these deals with child abuse and rape in a very direct, compelling and heart-gripping story of a young man, Trey Grey.

Trey is a prostitute that has lots of street knowledge, since he has been on the street since he was a young boy. He is free from his stepfather, but this is the only way he has to make money and get through college.

Trey has secrets, so he doesn’t have any friends or steady boyfriends. With his past abuse, he has lots of issues with sex and accepting it as pleasure. And he can’t have anyone stay the night, since he has night terrors and sometimes loses it for days at a time.

He meets Justin at a restaurant, one day, and goes with him to a sex party at Justin’s. He has unique feelings and finds that Justin may be the one man who can deal with him, since he seems to have Demons of his own to deal with.

I really loved how this story unfolded with Trey’s past coming to us in vivid dreams that lead to him waking up in tragedy. I did find, at times, the transitions threw me a bit, until I realized we were back in a dream or just woke up.

Trey’s story is sadly beautiful, yet tragic. Beautiful in the sense that the poor man is dealing with such issues alone, trying to overcome his dark past, and surviving. The romance between Justin is a bit fast, yet they do take it slow and don’t have over expectations. I cannot wait for the next book to see how Trey manages his life.

If you like a story with lots of angst, dealing with tragedy, overcoming the past, and some hot sex, give this a try. I guarantee you will look at child-abuse in a different light.

We are Daddy by Evelise Archer

1e45f0c7e356b0136e5f6f8c350992ee6b34fbe3Title:   We are Daddy

Series:  Weekend Getaways

Author: Evelise Archer

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Short (31 pages)

Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing (September 19th, 2013)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts

Reviewer: Mandingo

Blurb:   Cyril Eona always had a hard life; born with a deformity and growing up in the system until he meets Devon Haley; the man of his dreams, who becomes the love of his life. Soon, their wonderful world gets turned upside down by an unexpected arrival, a daughter.

Life changes; a couple becomes three and fatherhood looms. Can Cyril get past all his insecurities and allow Devon to show him that although life as two was wonderful, life as daddy can be ultimately fulfilling?

Purchase Link:   http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=33&products_id=712

Review: This is a short erotic tale that opens with Cyril struggling with learning he’s to become a father and Devon immediately rushing in to assure him through love, understanding and physical expression that life changes need not spell the end or doom and gloom. 

Becoming a parent is a daunting task for anyone. Most people have months to get used to the idea of becoming a parent and then slowing learning who this new person in your life will be. Cyril becomes overwhelmed at becoming a parent and it takes Devon’s reassurance to help him realize that parenting does not come with a manual or a guarantee, it’s a day-to-day exercise and that mistakes and mishaps happen along the way.

This story short reaffirms that love comes in all shapes and sizes and that the love two people share can be intensified and magnified when a child is added to the mix. Additionally parenting can dramatically alter your life and you can choose to make that choice a good or bad one or one that will enhance or encumber your life.

Crossing the Line by Megan Slayer

2263Title:  Crossing the Line 

Author:  Megan Slayer

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Length:  Short (76 Pages)

Publisher:  Total-E-Bound (September 18th, 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Reviewer:  Laurie

Blurb:  Opposites can attract and sometimes come together with explosive results.

Ryan Malone punts for the Dragons and likes his life as an art restorer. Love isn’t in his game plan—unless Paul Toth is involved. They’ve known each other forever but have never taken the next step. Ryan’s not sure if Paul can accept his kinky needs. All it takes is one chance to see if sparks will fly.2179

Paul’s ready and willing to snag the sexy punter. He doesn’t care what team Ryan plays for as long as he’s got Ryan at night. But Ryan’s holding something back. Can Paul unlock whatever he’s hiding before their burgeoning affair gets struck down by penalties?

Reader Advisory: This story has been previously released as part of the Out of Bounds anthology by Total-E-Bound

Purchase Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?P_ID=2263

Review: This is the last part of a fun little series set in the football world of the Griffons and done by this author as well as Cheryl Dragon and Stephanie Burke. One of the things I loved about this series, it gave me two of the things I love most in reading, sports and hot guys. This story was as well written as the others, and continued with the amazing cast of supporting characters.

In this story, not only do opposites attract but also opposing teammates are attracted to each other. We met Paul as part of the workings in “Making the Pass”, as he pushed Aiden and Jack together, gets his story here. He has longed for and lusted after Ryan, the punter for the Griffons worst rivals, the Dragons. Ryan has had the same feeling as Paul, but just like Paul, he doesn’t pursue a relationship because Paul is on that other team. Ryan also has a side to him that he’s not sure someone like Paul would be able to handle. He’s a dominant in bed, and love to play with toys. In fact, some of his best fantasies have been using his toys on Paul. And a past relationship has put Ryan in fear of ever leaving himself open for being hurt again.

Jack and Aiden goad Paul into finally taking the chance and going after Ryan. Ryan think he has his heart well protected and can take the hit if Paul runs when he finds out about Ryan’s kink. Surprise, Paul has a natural submissive side. Things are taken to another level when Ryan admits to his kink and Paul decides to take the chance and see if he can handle what Ryan dishes out. Ryan’s faith in his ability to read a lover and his insecurities keep him from wanting to commit fully, but Paul has no problem with saying I love you almost from the first.

Along the way Ryan is injured to the point where he can no longer play football, will that affect the way Paul feels about him? It did to his last lover, Duke. Duke was about the lime light and money that Ryan had because of his career in the NFL and put up with the kink because of that. Then when Ryan and Paul have their first scene, complete with spanking, nipple claps etc., Paul enjoys it but freaks afterwards because he did enjoy it and leaves. Ryan decides that he has to be true to himself, even if that means no Paul in his life.

I enjoyed watching the two of them work their way into the loving relationship they both wanted and needed. Paul realized he needed to give up control and Ryan helped him to understand that what happened between them was okay, because it was just between them.

This was well written, making it easy to see how the relationship worked between the two of them. The sex, while kinky and hot, was more about the trust and love working between the men. I would love the authors to visit this world again, and to write more stories about the Griffons football team.