Series: This title is part of the Haunting Words AmberPax™ Collection.
Author: Clare London
Genre: Contemporary/Paranormal
Length: Novella (147 pages)
Publisher: Amber Quill Press (June 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Blurb: Felix’s life is full, juggling a supportive homelife for his disabled brother, a job as a care home assistant, a brand new boyfriend—and now he’s had his arse pinched by a lewd gay ghost on the late night bus!
If only that were the end of it. But Bryn the ghost follows him home and wheedles himself into Felix’s life. That includes sharing his shameless opinions on the patronizing way Felix treats his brother, on how Felix should eat more food and put some flesh on his bones, and—worst of all—exactly how Felix should be getting down to it with his seriously sexy new boyfriend Mickey! And in between all that, Bryn finds time to leer at Felix himself and make outrageous suggestions on what they’d be doing if Bryn wasn’t…well…ghostly.
Felix considers he’s a tolerant guy. But the last thing he needs now is to get wrapped up in the mystery of a missing teenage girl, the inhabitants of a local squat, and conversations with a fire-and-brimstone old preacher. Yet with a nudge or six from Bryn, the help of his brother Patrick, and some cozy loving from Mickey, Felix starts to wonder how he ever thought his life was busy before!
Review: An insanely busy life between work, caring for his brother, and basically everyone else, but himself, Felix is accosted by a guardian angel of sorts. Well, maybe he’s more like a big ol’ angel-bear. Bryn is thrilled that Felix can sense him, and taunts him constantly, bringing a lot of crude humor and working class gay bear attitude to the story.
Bryn works hard to make Felix see himself in a new light, see that he’s worthy of love, that he needs and deserves to pay attention to his own life. His brother Patrick needs independence more than he needs Felix now, but Felix just doesn’t know how to let go of the mother hen act.
So Bryn gives him a shove, and a grab, and plenty of sexual innuendo along with comedic relief. The biggest thing, besides the humor, that Bryn brings to the table, is opening Felix’s eyes to see that he is worthy of Mickey, and in fact Mickey needs him just as much.
No Angel is a fast-paced read, with humor, a bit of mystery, sexual tension, and a sweet aw shucks ending. * I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Title: Wolf Hall Series: N/A Author: Harper Fox Genre: Contemporary/Shifter Length: Novella (19K words) Publisher: FoxTales (October 30th, 2014) Heat Level: Moderate Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts Blurb: Once upon a time, a family lived up on the wild northern moors. They were clever and attractive, close-knit and polite. And everyone left them strictly alone…
Halloween is a wild, weird night in the lonely moorland towns of the north. It’s dark and cold, and cracks can open up in the fabric of the safest world.
Davey Bell has been trying to live safely. He’s struggled through a rough adolescence and has a decent job, a home of his own. He agrees to a meeting with his ex, even though Burdo got him into so much trouble in the past.
But Burdo has plans, armed robbery amongst them. When Davey recoils from his efforts at blackmail, Burdo swears he’ll track him down. There’s something inhuman about Burdo’s rage, and Davey panics and runs from him. The town is small, the darkness beyond it absolute. Davey has lived there all his life, but he takes a wrong turn on the moorland road and is suddenly lost.
It’s the first night of winter, and set to freeze hard. Not much chance of survival for a man without shelter, a man on the run from his past… Then Davey stumbles into the forest, and his fears of Burdo and the cold dissolve to nothing at the sound of deep, bestial growls.
The moon is full. Ancient moorland legends are coming to life in its silvery radiance. Out of the woodland steps a strange young man, and the snarling beasts fall back. He’s offering sanctuary, but at what price? He’s the most beautiful creature Davey has ever seen. If Davey follows him in fascination through the gateway of Wolf Hall, what secrets will unfold before the dawn? ISBN: 9781910224120 Product Link: http://www.harperfox.net/books/wolf-hall/ Reviewer: Gigi Review: A bad past, and a bad ex-boyfriend are haunting Davey nowadays. Fox starts us in s seedy diner in Davey’s ex-mining hometown to have a meet up with his ex-boyfriend Burdo who only seems to dredge up bad memories and bad feelings for him.
Davey has spent years trying to get a new start, an education, a job, a way to get out of his small town and away from his past. He feels pride and guilt in turn until he sees Burdo, who only makes him feel guilt, and resentment.
Burdo has not tried to better himself, only taking a downhill turn to a life of crime and drug abuse, and now he wants to abuse his past relationship and friendship with Davey. Burdo tries to use Davey’s guilty conscience to make him assist in robbing a local store by gunpoint so he can pay his debts, and get his hands on more drugs.
When Davey stands up for himself, stops Burdos’ plans and attempts to seek help, he finds himself running for his life, directed by a witch to choose Wolf Hall as shelter, and running right into a mysterious man’s paws…ahem…arms.
This is where Davey’s life truly becomes strange and twisted, as he finds himself instantly attracted to this man, feels safety in his arms, and a need to confide everything with him, and reverse that role of secret sharing to cast light on the secrets of Wolf Hall…
A fun twist on coming of age for a shifter, and becoming part of the clan, for Davey who has been outcast most his life. Will he find shelter, and commitment, and a new start in this most strange of places?
A fun read, wish it were a novel instead to the details and plot could be longer and more layered…basically great enough to want more!
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
TITLE: Otherworld AUTHOR: Emma Jane and Liz Powell GENRE: Contemporary/Paranormal/Mystery LENGTH: Super Novel (251 pages) PUBLISHER: Torquere Press (November 4th, 2014) HEAT LEVEL: Low HEART RATING: ♥♥♥2.5Hearts BLURB: Archetypal English toff William “Liam” Barnes is in big trouble. He’s borrowed money from Irish gangster Davey McGrath with one simple condition. Get a special prism from Matthew Luttrell – seducing Matthew if he has to – and bring it back. But the prism isn’t with Matthew, and Liam makes a decision he can’t undo, meaning he’s twenty thousand pounds in debt to a vicious gangster and has no idea where to find the prism.
That is, until he meets stoic Irishman Jim Henvey, the real owner of the prism, who has a cruel Demi-goddess of a mother on the warpath for him. Liam and Jim quickly find themselves tied up in each other’s messes, and with more than just the mortal world out to get them, they must find their way out of a battle between dimensions and still have time to figure out their feelings for each other. Or will they just sink deeper into trouble?
REVIEW: I have to admit, just the cover and the blurb had me intrigued. Starting the story, we dive right into the action, where Liam is desperately trying save his hide by finding a mysterious prism after borrowing money.
The tone of book was immediately dark and I found myself concerned whether or not I would find sympathy for Liam. One thing is for certain, Liam has himself in a right proper mess. Although I wasn’t entirely impressed with Liam, but this has nothing to do with how he was written, it was the character himself. He was entirely too selfish, but that was the reason why he got into the situation he found himself in and I enjoyed watching him grow up as his mistakes just keep coming back to bite him. He becomes desperate to make amends. It is in his romance with Jim that we see the majority of Liam’s development.
On the other side of the story is Jim. We are introduced to him quickly. He has complicated family life, so it seems. He seems to be keeper to his fifteen-year-old twin sisters, who seem intent on getting Jim in trouble when it comes to their mysterious, evil mother. He also has the mysterious prism, which Liam is hunting for. Jim develops as a character as Jim learns that he can indeed trust Liam, despite the trouble that Liam has brought into their lives by going after the prism. Really, Jim is extremely generous when it comes to Liam.
Since the story began in the middle of action, the momentum took a little while to build sufficiently (at least in my mind), but that was because there was numerous pieces of information which we needed to know before going too far into the story. I can’t help but be impressed by all the threads that the authors use which links Liam and Jim. This includes numerous minor characters, including Jim’s family.
In between all that, there is the mysterious, mystical prism. Ultimately, the authors have managed to weave a pleasing tapestry, with an action packed ending all the loose ends tied up for a quick happily ever after.
However, some things had me thinking. I find myself wondering why Matthew was given such a prominent role in the blurb when he is barely in the book. It is important to point out his character’s appearance does play a pivotal role to Liam’s decisions that sets him on his path that leads to Liam. Another point, the prism that is key to the entire story, I liked how it remained mysterious by only vague allusions and limited displays of its power, which is the complete opposite for me normally because I’m usually big on wanting details.
To be honest, the story didn’t capture my imagination at the beginning and certainly didn’t get me emotionally. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t particularly like it either and for that reason, I had trouble figuring out my rating, which in my mind lies somewhere between 2.5 and 3 (I wonder if anyone would appreciate a 2.75 middle ground rating?).
Perhaps the reason for this there is too much intrigue, it pisses me off and I’m liable to yell at the page. I realise that this will be a tough read for those who don’t like too much and complex intrigue. This is a proper mystery, a well-written story bound with a number of elements.
Regardless of my feelings, it had me intrigued until the end.
Blurb: After coming out to his family and being disowned by his father, Adam is forced to drop out of college and work at a convenience store to make ends meet. At the store, he meets handsome but married and deeply closeted police officer Steven Miller. Their illicit affair quickly becomes much more for Adam, but Steven can only return his affections physically. Hurt and unfulfilled, Adam turns to a gay dating site to hook up for sex. During one of his hook-ups, he’s robbed.
Although Adam expects Steven to help him out, Brian, another member of the dating site, comes to his rescue instead. Brian helps him recover his property and wants a more personal relationship. But when the man who robbed Adam turns up dead and things happen that Adam can only describe as supernatural, it becomes apparent Brian wants more than Adam is willing to give. Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4777 Review: This was an amazing story. I love the twist and turns that it gives you especially when it includes the supernatural. John and Robert have amazing gifts at telling stories. I love how this one has voodoo in it. Adam had at first intended to go to college and then figure things out from there. But when he had come out to his family, his father basically kicked him out and stopped supporting his college life. So he had dropped out and took a job at a convenience store to make ends meet. It was not so bad all things considering he had been hurt by his father.
While working there Adam had met and fallen in love with a married cop. Steven had told him that he was getting a divorce but would not come out for fear of losing his children. And for a while that was ok, but Adam was slowly getting tired of it. So he had decided to try a dating site for gays. But the one time he hooks up he gets robbed. He didn’t know what to do. He turned to his cop lover but Stephen was not as helpful as he wanted. However, Brian wanted to help him.
When Adam met Brian he got a weird feeling from the man and decided to cut his loses. However, what he didn’t know was Brian was heading into voodoo. He was into the Guede Baron Samedi, a very powerful Voodoo god and his disciples are pure evil. The thing was Adam was still very much in love with Stephen. Now here he had a man who he loved with all of his heart, but wasn’t so sure about. A man that was not only crazy, but also deadly, a ghost who was insane and a tattoo that just wouldn’t go away. He was lost as hell. To fix it he had to fix what was going wrong in his life including apologizing to people he had wronged. He must have done something wrong in his life, because first his lover wouldn’t come out, then hooks up with a one-night stand and gets robbed, has his stolen stuff returned by another date, attacked by crazy man, shot at by an ex-coworker, haunted by a ghost.
I definitely love it when John and Robert get together and write. I love the characters that they give you and the world they create. It caught my attention from the very start and kept it all the way to the end. It gives you the best of multiple worlds. Excitement, adventure, danger, two hot and sexy men, the paranormal worlds and mixed up minds.
Title: Surviving Sin City Series: A Zombie Boyz story Author: Ethan Stone and Daniel A. Kaine Genre: Post Apocalyptic Zombie Romance Length: Novella (119 pages) Publisher: Wilde City Press (December 18, 2013) Heat Level: Moderate Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts Reviewer: Tams Blurb: Board up the windows, push an old dresser against the door and load your shotgun. A zombie apocalypse is about to hit Wilde City, and if you want the best survival tips, six of Wilde City’s boys are here to help.
Gather your friends and fight for the man you love, as Ethan Stone and Daniel A Kaine turn Vegas into a zombie nightmare in SURVIVING SIN CITY.
Previously published as part of the Zombie Boyz Anthology Purchase Link: http://www.wildecity.com/books/gay-mainstream/zombie-boyz-surviving-sin-city/#.U0xsX2co92s Review: Surviving Sin City is very much your traditional zombie story, with two consenting adult males pounding each other into oblivion as an added bonus! Cooper is a Brit on vacation in Las Vegas when he finds himself smack dab in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. While trying to get out of Vegas and back to England he runs into Kaleb, an American trying to stay alive and hide while he looks for his brother. The sexual chemistry is evident from the start and it doesn’t take long for Kaleb to find a safe place to bury himself, if you catch my drift.
Can these two find Kaleb’s brother, as well as safety, while surrounded by hoards of zombies that get smarter with each brain they eat?
This hard-core zombie story with lots of blood, guts, brains and some sexy guy on guy action when Cooper and Kaleb redefine the term “mile high club”! I’d recommend fans of the M/M genre give this one a go, if you like zombie stories as well, that’s definite plus! This book was just bloody good fun with some hot sex thrown in the mix, you know, just in case. ** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through MM Good Book Reviews ** http://www.mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com
Blurb: Alien being conjures ideal partner for lovelorn recluse.
Adam has been in love with Seth for as long as he can remember. Seth returns his affection, but only as a straight buddy. After a weekend visit that culminates in a session of mutual masturbation, Adam is visited by what appears to be his ideal lover. The only problem is that Adam lives deep in the woods, miles away from any another human. Is he losing his mind, or has something reached out from the infinite shining heavens above to bring him happiness?
Review: A little bit odd, confusing, and sexy in a masturbatory kind of way. I think that Seth is a tease, and is almost a bit cruel to his friend. The alien voyeur aspect is a bit freaky, and the fact that the alien represents himself a lot like Adam is also uncomfortable. Maybe this story is making a statement, don’t’ worry about if anyone else loves you, at least love yourself??? Adam is a hermit after all, maybe alone way too much? This shorty is very surreal, very mind bending, and the sexual content is very dreamlike.
Title: Another Healing
Series: N/A
Author: M. Raiya
Genre: Paranormal
Length: Novel (212 Pages)
ISBN: 978-1-62798-560-4
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (March 10th, 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Reviewer: Lisa
Blurb: When James first discovers he can heal, he thinks he has a rare and miraculous gift. But when he learns the price, it feels more like a curse. He falls passionately and completely in love with every person, male or female, he heals. But only until he heals again, when he becomes hotly infatuated with the next person. He doesn’t dare express feelings he knows are only transitory or hold out hope anyone will love him back under those conditions.
One night, he meets Ambient, the victim of a car accident, dying, his neck broken. James heals him despite knowing what is in store. He can’t resist Ambient, and to his amazement, Ambient returns his feelings. Thinking Ambient has broken the curse, James heals the next injured person he comes across. To his joy, and confusion, he does not fall in love anew. If anything, his feelings toward Ambient intensify. Awash with the certainty that somehow, he and Ambient are meant for each other, they set out to learn the truth about James’s strange power
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4761
Review: Well, this one had me laughing at certain parts of the story. It is really a cute and loving story. I loved it even though it had me lost in certain sections but that is probably just me. James discovered that he could heal, although it does cost him. Every person that he heals he falls in love with whether they are male or female. And for a gay man to fall in love with a female kind of makes it a bit strange which means I laughed my ass off. I love how he comes off though, he is just gentle, caring, very loving not to mention sexy as hell.
One night though he comes across Ambient. He wants to love Ambient but he is afraid that it is just part of his healing aspect. Ambient was in a car accident and was dying. His neck broken he was slowly going to die. James heals him and falls in love with him. Which, considering his gifts, had him scared. However, he is surprised that Ambient is falling in love with him too. He is still afraid of his gift at healing. What happens when he heals the next person, does he fall in love, or is the curse gone?
When he heals another and realizes that it only intensifies his feelings for Ambient, he is amazed and happy. With James’s help, they are in search of how he got this gift and what it is truly for. You will fall in love with this story because it is just so full of heat and love that you will grin when you read it. It tells of a story that is heart breaking. With the fear of a gift, that could pull him in one direction. But, because of one man, he now uses it knowing that he will always have the man he loves.
Mushy sounding, I know, but it just comes across to me that away. I am not really sure if it is an adapt reading or not, but I really got into this story. It caught my attention from the start and kept it all the way to the end. I think that M. Raiya has a gift for telling a story and bring characters that you will fall in love with. I was confused with some parts though, but like I said, it is probably me. You will need to get this book because it is amazing and you will fall in love with them.
I would recommend this book to everyone because you will love reading it.
Blurb: Sometimes the horrors reality throws at us go beyond our wildest nightmares.
Half-demon Colin succeeds in unveiling one of mysterious sex-club owner Ben’s biggest secrets—much to his boyfriend Mikey’s dislike. Fortunately, he knows just what to do to make Mikey happy and they enjoy some pleasurable distractions before the nightmare that is Colin’s life continues.
Haunted by flashbacks from a past he can’t remember, Colin struggles to make sense of the mixed signals he receives from the people around him and the signals he subconsciously sends out to them.
Ben is only too willing to help Colin figure out things about himself and even Mikey isn’t immune to Ben’s devious charm. Together they continue to explore Colin’s submissive side—but is Ben the rightful third man in Colin and Mikey’s bed? Or does that place belong to a love that’s lost but not forgotten and may just play an important role in the plan to stop their mutual enemy?
This is book five in the Nightmares series. See the full series listing here
Review:Beyond your wildest Nightmares is the fifth book in the nightmare series and boy is this some nightmare. It seems things get more and more complicated. Mikey and Colin have a bit of an argument, after Mikey watched Ben bite Colin and realized what he is. Ben consoles Mikey and the two try to come up with a plan to help Colin out of his nightmare.
As I mentioned, this is a very complicated story and with each installment, it gets even more twisted. You do need to read these in order. The storyline is intriguing and twisty, this series is a lot like a serial as each book picks up where the other left off and ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. There is a lot of very explicit sex, but as I mentioned before it fits into the story very well since Colin is and Incubus (A Demon that feeds from sex).
I love Colin, he is very different and even though he is a demon, you can’t help but have sympathy for him and like him. He is also extremely sexy. Mikey I also like. He is the perfect boyfriend/lover. His and Colin’s relationship is to die for. (Couldn’t resist the pun). I dint think I would like Ben, but I do. He is strong, intriguing and mysterious. Sasha, I still haven’t quite connected with.
If you like, series that continue (serials), vampires, demons, incubus, porn-stars, ménage, voyeurs, twisty plots and hot mansex I recommend this to you!
Blurb: Visiting his sister Mary at the lighthouse should be a delightful vacation for Elliot–except he’s going there in disgrace while he awaits his fate from the wizard council.
Mary’s assistant, Rue, is a gentle, self-possessed young man about Elliot’s age. Elliot is drawn to him, and his magic seems to calm down around the handsome and mysterious Rue. Elliot sinks gratefully into the unexpected grace of Rue’s kindness and friendship. He doesn’t understand why his magic is broken or why it feels whole again around Rue. But right now he’s just trying to survive, grateful for the reprieve Rue’s friendship provides.
But then a potential tragedy on the beach culminates in Rue revealing his true nature: he’s a Selkie, both man and seal, with a magic that somehow complements and heals Elliot’s when they’re together. And that might not be possible for much longer.
Review: Elliot is a young wizard who was looking forward to his new job, but after a terrible accident his magic is unstable and he visits his sister Mary while awaiting his fate from the Wizard council. Elliot meets Mary’s assistant, Rue, who is a lovely young man who has secrets of his own and seems able to calm Elliot’s magic, but as the Wizard Council comes to a decision, will they listen to the two young men or will Elliot’s broken magic be too great a danger?
This is a lovely gentle story that is set in a little fishing village with a strong historical feel to it and we have two young men who both come from magic and a connection that settles both their souls. Elliot is a young man who is severely troubled, his magic has broken, and keeping control is proving hard, when he meets Rue just being close to the other man helps to settle the magic. Rue finds himself working at the lighthouse as an assistant after his family basically turn their backs on him, Finding someone who could accept his nature is something he never dreamed of, but Elliot is the answer to his silent prayers.
Elliot and Rue are a wonderful couple whose relationship starts out as a friendship where love blooms, but it is a gentle love, an innocent love that develops slowly. Elliot isn’t sure if he wants a physical relationship but the love he feels won’t let him shy away from the possibility, whereas Rue has his own reasons from keeping their relationship platonic. Their feelings for each other shine through especially near the end when Elliot is given the Wizard Council’s decision.
While I liked the storyline of the mystery of what happened to Elliot’s magic, I was enthralled by the setting and innocent love between Elliot and Rue, their determination to protect each other and to accept whatever they have between them as it comes. I loved the descriptions of the wild storms and how it affected Elliot, the loss of control and his desperate feelings as he fought within himself with his magic. This story is one that has an old feel to it, like it was set two hundred years ago and where magic is accepted, but Selkies are still thought of as more of a myth.
I recommend this to those who love fantasy and history combining, a gentle love story, determination to get the truth and accepting love in all its forms… oh and a happy ending.
Publisher: Smashwords (Triad Literary) June 18, 2013
Heat Level: Mild
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Reviewer: Lisa
Blurb:Identical twins, Ryland and Ryder Durand have consummated their relationship but jealousy and concern about their personality clashes have brought problems to their seemingly perfect union.
Will the brothers stay together despite the challenges?
Review:This is book two in this wonderful series and needs to be read in order.
Ryland and Ryder had always been together, and when Ryland was near death, Ryder made the choice to have them both change into vampires. A choice that had at the time made Ryland upset with Ryder and their maker, Gren Dumont. Gren had been murdered and both Ryland and Ryder made the choice of staying in their home and going after those responsible for Gren’s death.
Ryland had told Ryder that he would be the only one he would love and be with, however it looks like a human might just change his mind. Although Dale never really makes an appearance and Ryland only thinks about him. It still brings out the jealousy in Ryder. Ryder seems to be more in love with Ryland then Ryland is love with Ryder. Confusing I know but they just come off that away. They seem to be a bit lost, but you can feel the desires from each other.
I love this series, however I do wish it was longer in length. I have never really cared for short stories, because when I want to lose myself into another world I would prefer to be there for a while, however this series is an amazing one. It changes my mind most of the time. I would recommend this story to anyone who loves the paranormal world, vampires, two hot sexy twins who love one another and hot sex. I cannot wait to read more about these two hot men and to see where Ryland goes with Dale.
I hope for Ryder’s sake that Ryland makes the right choice, or maybe Ryder will bring Dale into their twosome. Makes for a hot read.
Blurb: For Tony and Carter, room number 9 in the Galaxy Gold motel on Seattle’s seedy Aurora Avenue is a refuge. There, the two young lovers have found a place to hide away from a world that would condemn them for their love. Within the darkened, summer-hot confines of room number 9, Carter and Tony can explore their love and lust for one another, free of the burdens of the outside world.
But room number 9 holds a terrible and tragic secret, one that dates back to the Galaxy Gold’s opening back in 1962, when Seattle was hosting its World’s Fair. There’s a ghost in room number 9, and he has a message for Tony and Carter, a message about the consequences of shame and hiding love behind a closed motel room door.
Will Tony and Carter listen to the ghost’s message and have the courage to bring their love out into the open? Or will this long-ago story, one eerily similar to Tony and Carter’s, be ignored?
Review: I do appreciate that there is a moral to this story…gay is not wrong, cheating on a spouse is wrong. And these two fellows know it and need to come to terms with it. Either be honest, come out and face the consequences, or end it. If they don’t it may end very much the way of the ghost in number 9! This is almost a Dickens classic, with cruising, elicit affairs and steamy gay sexual content. The sex to love thing seems to happen too quick for me and maybe I am just a cheesy romantic but it seems hard to build that “love” without some real out of bed experience with another person.
But this story exposed a real honest and dark truth, you can’t hide from yourself, you can’t hope the very core of your being will just change because you or your loved ones want it to. Sometimes decisions in life are extremely difficult, but not facing up to them is irresponsible. That’s a powerful message for a little story!
Blurb: Through the gates of the sun lies the land of dreams, and beyond that…the realm of the lost.
In a private hospital room, motionless and still beneath a sheet, lies Joseph Caldwell. His surgery has passed, to all intents and purposes, successfully. The doctors offer no explanation for why he hasn’t awakened from the medically induced coma. The stream of visitors trickles down to nothing, and still he lies in endless sleep. Nearly everyone has given up any hope for his recovery.
Anesthesiologist Oliver Gideon is racked with guilt and confusion. Could he have somehow done something wrong? His superiors assure him he is not at fault, the science he reviews tells him his dosages were correct, but the longer Caldwell sleeps the more Oliver is haunted by the loneliness of the figure in the bed. He spends every possible moment with the patient, reading, talking, trying to fill the little room with sound, to stir a response that science isn’t sure is possible.
Morpheus, King of Dreams has welcomed Joseph to his realm. Some dreams, he explains, are true, and some are false. There’s only one way tell. Joseph loves the dream world Morpheus has woven for him, for in it, he’s found something he never found in reality—a soul mate. For the first time, his life is perfect.
In the end, he has to choose. He cannot stay in the Realm of Morpheus forever. It’s either back to the land of the sun, and potential loneliness or on to the realm of the lost.
Review: Joseph Caldwell has undergone surgery. He did not wake up from a medically induced coma. The anesthesiologist Oliver Gideon refuses to give up hope that Joseph will come back as everyone else has seemed to have done. He stays with him every chance he gets, talking to him, reading to him, anything to get him to respond, whether the nurses like him being there or not.
Joseph has found himself in the realm of dreams, some are true and some are not. Joseph has to find his path back to reality or choose to stay forever in the realm of dreams. In his dream he has found a soul mate and life is perfect, does he want to chance waking up to find this is just a dream?
This story is very different and intriguing. Though it begins six months after the fact, the backstory is dropped slowly, just enough to let us know what’s going on, and the two stories complement each other well. The realm of dreams is intriguing, I’m not sure I would want to wake up either. I did find in a couple of places, that some things from Ollie’s point of view were repeated in Joey’s point of view. The story was interesting in the fact that something beginning as guilt turned into something so much deeper and the patient did hear and feel what was going on around him. I have always believed that people in comas can hear and feel people around them. I was heartbroken that everyone gave up so quickly on Joseph and relieved that the anesthesiologist refused to let Joey go. This is a beautiful, yet gripping, love story and almost made me cry.
If you like 50’s songs, Drs., stories about dreams, and comas, love, faith, this is definitely for you!
Blurb: After millennia of hiding in the shadows, the creatures of myth known collectively as “The Others,” have stepped forward into the light of day and demanded the right to live in peace, sharing the planet humans had long claimed as their own.
When the humans respond to the appearance of the Others with a threat of genocide, the Others convene a Council of War, intent on developing and implementing their attack, but they discover a chilling prophecy.
“Heed me well, all of you. Attack the humans without the Keeper and you will fail. Every one of you will become nothing but a memory, a myth, and the humans will truly inherit the earth.”
The choice is clear: The Others must find the Keeper, or die. The Council charges Liam, son of the Fae chieftain, with this critical mission but he quickly finds this mission isn’t easy. Not only does no one have any idea where The Keeper might be, but also time is running out, and the Keeper is determined not to be found.
Review: Marin has lived in secret amongst the humans ever since he fled his home in Atlantis, the loss of his family and discovering the truth of their deaths forced him to run. When the other paranormal creatures revealed themselves Marin stayed hidden. At first humans and The Others lived together in peace but that soon changed and the humans declared The Others the enemy. Forced into the shadows The Others convened a Council of War but a powerful being declared they needed the Keeper or they would fail, but the Keeper disappeared several years before. Liam is the son of the Fae Chieftain and has been tasked with finding the Keeper, but finding someone who is adapt at hiding might just be an impossible task. Can Liam find the Keeper before it is too late? And will Marin face his past and embrace the powers he never wanted?
This is a great paranormal story that has the paranormals revealing themselves to the world only to be thrust into a war that has a dismal outlook. Marin is a lovely Atlantean who has had his entire family wiped out; he fled after discovering the terrible truth and hides amongst the humans, never confiding in the other Atlanteans the truth. Liam is a powerful Sidhe Warrior tasked with finding the Keeper, but he wars with himself over doing what he has been ordered to do and doing what must be done in order to stop a war. Both males can’t deny what they feel for the other, but getting to the truth is their imperative task.
Hmmm there’s nothing like conflict to get the blood pumping and this story is filled with conflict, evil planning, wicked deeds, and a love that blossoms in hard times. I really enjoyed this story and the two main characters; I liked how the author showed the strengths and the fears of Marin and Liam, Marin with his incredible powers but with his shame over running rather than confronting and Liam with his Warrior nature but with fears he will never be the Sidhe his father is. The story flows smoothly and you fall into it quickly, there’s plenty of explanation as to what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present so you never lose the thread of what is going on.
Marin and Liam’s relationship is an instant lusting between them that quickens its pace and they soon find themselves falling for each other, there’s enough hot scenes to quicken our pulses but not too many of them that it overtakes the story. The story of the beginning of the war is wonderful, there’s someone aiming for power and it is down to Marin and Liam to stop them but convincing others that there is a traitor is hard to do, especially with the powerful egos of the leaders of the different species in play. I must admit to wanting more from this story and I can only hope that there is more from Liam and Marin and this world in the future.
I recommend this to those that love the paranormal, fantasy, great characters digging deep to do the right thing, twisted enemies masquerading as allies, a love developing in hard times and a great ending that leaves you wondering if more is to come.
Blurb:When a dyed-in-the-wool skeptic meets a starry-eyed psychic, sparks are sure to fly. Can they resolve their differences and find a future together?
Jack Stephens is a skeptic who lectures in Parapsychology at a community college. In his spare time, he works hard to prove that things going bump in the night have rational explanations. When Jack meets psychic, Casey Lambeth, he sees yet another chance to debunk paranormal phenomena. But there is something about Casey that defies explanation. When they’re thrown together to investigate a haunting at Edith Andrews’s home, sparks begin to fly. As they work on the case, Jack and Casey are forced to face some issues from their pasts. Together they work their way towards understanding, respect, and possibly something more…
This story is a re-release of Hunter’s Dawn: Laying the Ghosts originally published with Torquere Press.
Review: Well I love the paranormal but never really thought anything about ghost. This story was told with a bit of humor and seriousness that it definitely hit a spot inside of me. It was a cute story that kept my attention from the beginning and kept it all the way to the end.
Jack taught classes on Parapsychology at a community college but he wasn’t a believer. He had grown up with a mother who dealt with tarot cards and the supernatural. He just could not believe that there was any way that once you’re dead your still hanging around. He comes off a bit hard, however once you get to know him you realize that he is just as kind, gentle, and loving a man who one would want. Casey had always dealt with ghost, actually lives with one. His mother died when he was ten and has stayed with Casey to guide him and help him. He was scared to trust others, because those who knew him thought of him as a freak and tried to stay away from him. He was lonely, but he was also caring, gentle, and loving. The sex between them was slow, sensuous, and very hot.
When I first got this book, the more I looked at it the more I thought there was no way that I can read it let alone anything else, however it surprised me. I loved it and laughed at parts of it. It was very good and kept me entertained. It is a story that you can sit back and just lose yourself into. I would recommend reading it.
Blurb: Board up the windows, push an old dresser against the door and load your shotgun. A zombie apocalypse is about to hit Wilde City, and if you want the best survival tips, six of Wilde City’s boys are here to help. You’ll never want to exercise again as Eric Arvin and TJ Klune turn a gym full of hunks into a smorgasbord of terror in GHOUL’S GYM.
Gather your friends and fight for the man you love, as Ethan Stone and Daniel A Kaine turn Vegas into a zombie nightmare in SURVIVING SIN CITY.
And bring a date to dinner to celebrate Grumpy Grampy’s 90th birthday and introduce your family to your new zombie boyfriend in Geoffrey Knight and Ethan Day’s GUESS WHO’S COMING AT DINNER.
You’ll scream with terror and howl with laughter as Wilde City’s boys bring you our first undead anthology ZOMBIE BOYZ.
Review: So what is the politically correct way to deal with individuals infected with the zombie virus? And what do you say when your boy brings one home for dinner?
Answers to these questions and more are found in this funny and PUNny short story about a zombie apocalypse. This has plenty of slapstick and queer as folk, humor. Plenty of vomiting, blood gore and mad cows, and might I admit, yes, sympathy for brain-eating zombies! There is little to no sexual content, just innuendo, in fact, I think my tween son would laugh at this book. It contains his type of humor.
It’s what I would expect for a book about Zombies from these two!
Blurb: Will–forty-three, straight, homeless, with precognitive abilities. Mick–eighteen, gay, a street kid, and Will’s companion. Kevin–eighteen, a college freshman. When these three men’s worlds collide, life will change for all of them.
Will Reynolds is forty-three years old, straight, and living on the streets while dealing with his precognitive abilities. Mick Gillen, eighteen and gay, is a runaway street kid and Will’s constant companion.
Kevin Parker, also eighteen, is the son of a single parent and beginning his freshman year in college.
When Kevin is attacked by an unknown assailant, these three men’s worlds will collide and their lives will be forever changed.
Review: I loved, loved, and loved this book. I am a huge fan of Edward Kendrick and love the way he combines mystery with a sweet romance. I have to say this on top of my favourite list of his now.
Where do I begin? Let’s start with a little rundown. Will is living on the streets with a young runaway that is 18 and had quit school. He has taken him under his wing, and is teaching him basic schooling to eventually get him off the streets. Will has precognitions at random. He tries to help people when he has a premonition, but mostly people think he is crazy and ignore him and this eats him up having this gift that becomes a curse most times. One day Mick is watching a young man he thinks is cute wishing he had a chance for dating, Will see the young man and has a premonition that he will be attacked. They try to find him to no avail and read of the attack in the paper. Here the story gets interesting and twists just keep coming!
Oh boy does this story have some twists. The mystery is simple but intriguing, as the story unfolds we find out more of who Will is. The romances that develop as the story unfolds are also so sweet and I felt very romantic. Only Edward can take a mystery/suspense and make it so romantic without becoming too sugary. The sex is all off the page but I love the way it eludes to such happy sensual loving.
If you like a good mystery/suspense’s, precognitive gifts, cops, coming of age, slow-moving romance, and an all-over good story this is for you! Oh! For those of you that just like M/M romance, don’t let the M/F in the genre throw you off. The M/F is very secondary and off the page. No girly bits.
Blurb: After a grueling battle in ancient Greece, lovers Dexios and Lykon committed their lives to each other in the name of Goddess Cythera. After the war, fearing the strength of his love for Dexios, Lykon abandoned his vow and returned home. Heartbroken, Dexios called on Cythera, who changed him into four unfinished statues. In that form he would wait for his fickle lover to return, break the curse, and make him whole.
Thousands of years have passed when Galen Kanellis finds the disassembled pieces in the storeroom of a Seattle museum and makes them the focus of his new exhibit. Needing information, he contacts his ex-lover Nick Charisteas. Nick has a lifelong dream of finding the Dexios Collection, and the last thing he expected was for it to wind up in the hands of the man who broke his heart. As both men search for answers about the statues, worries of abandonment and fear of loss test their renewed relationship, threatening to separate them again—this time permanently.
Review: What an intense book this one was. Emotional intense that is and with good reason too since the protagonists of this story were all Mediterranean men, or descendants as they were Greeks and hot-blooded to the point of being irritating as hell. And as much as you wouldn’t have thought it from the way this story started, it was one heck of an interesting and passionate ride, so much so that by the end of it I was left nearly dumbfounded with the spin of this mythological tale and how well the tragic morale the ancient Greeks were so fond of was spun and told.
The story is a mix of Greek mythology and contemporary romance. It starts with Dexios and Lykon, two Greek warriors who fall in love while on a campaign. Dexion fears the end of the battle though, not because he loves the bloodshed, but because it means the end of their relationship as they would both have to go back at their homes and duties. In the heat of passion and driven by fear Dexios extracts a vow from Lykon to forego his return home and stay with him, and Lykon, always weak when facing Dexios’ love, readily agrees without thought. However, when the battle ends and his head cools, he sees that he made a rash decision about their entire future and his family’s expectations and breaks that vow, asking Dexios for time. Hurt, anger, and fear are the emotions that grab both men leading to a fight that have both of them saying harsh words that leave behind only loneliness and unfathomable pain. However, in their hot-blooded spat, they both forgot the Goddess in whose name they vowed, and Greek Gods were known for the cruelness of their vengeance. Cursed to incarnation until they both learned their lesson centuries pass that see Dexios and the everlasting statue of a waiting lover and Lykon trying to make it up to him.
But, things are never as simple as that.
The tragic myth of Dexios and Lykon is enough to take your heart, squeeze it till it bleeds, and make you suffer along with the unfortunate lovers. I can’t congratulate this author enough for writing such a beautiful myth, with such an intense moral, and such a tragic end for the ancient lovers. They were sublime and I felt for them and their loss.
At this point the story moves on to Galen and Nick, two former lovers that lost their chance when Nick became too intense with his feeling, catching Galen off guard and scaring him into running away. But though scared Galen never really forgot Nick as their chemistry was one of a kind. Six months ago, he might have not been ready for what Nick had to offer, but now, now that Galen thought about him every single day he only needed an excuse to reach back to his lost almost-lover. That excuse comes in the form of a mysterious collection of statues that appear at his storeroom in his gallery. Knowing Nicks fascination with art and ancient statues Galen reaches out with the hope that there might be a future for them. What he doesn’t know though is the fact that Galen is Lykon’s descendant and Nick Dexios’, the tragic love story bound to repeat or if the two men are strong enough to get past their inner demons and issues the curse might be finally over.
Now the ancient story is tightly bound with the contemporary one, yet different as well. As much as I loved the myth, I adored Nick and Galen. They were one hell of an intense love story and combined the past and present made for a fascinating read.
I had a bit of an irritating moment with them though, Nick asking for commitment when at the same time he himself ran and ruined the possibility for one, and Galen with his pain and fears, they just drove me crazy for a spell. Add in that the perfect depiction of a strong-headed and hot-blooded Greek and you felt like tearing you hair in frustration. The urge to slap ‘em both till their ears rung and their head got off their ar$$es was very, very strong. However, those very urges were what made me think that these characters were incredibly well written. They had the perfect personality for the myth this story follows. In addition, they had incredible chemistry as well. From the get go, their dates, their fights and their intimate encounters were passionate and hot as it gets. You heart would race with their spats, your blood would heat with their sensuality, the kinky way their relationship took was mind-blowing intense, and when the Goddess put her hand and stirred the pot causing chaos, they nearly shattered my heart. It was exquisite!
So you might well ask why only 3.5~4 hearts. It’s simple. As great as the story was, I found it a bit heavy and slow in pace, mostly in the beginning. At times, I lost concentration and had some difficulties following the story, forcing myself to go back a paragraph and re-read it to get back on-line. Maybe it was me, maybe it was these parts of the story, but the end result was that I got a bit frustrated and that took part of my enjoyment. Overall though, I can’t stress enough how much I adored this book, and felt very lucky to have read this very creative story. Definitely recommended for lovers of intense/cursed romance and Greek mythology fiction.
Blurb: It’s Halloween night. Devil dogs Keir and Ryu are prowling the night, seeking condemned souls to take back to the underworld. But being among the humans proves too tempting for Ryu. He escapes his duties to party among the mortals, and in the process, finds himself in the middle of a case of mistaken identity with a sexy stranger.
Review: Hellhounds let loose on Halloween, for a moment there, I thought I’d be reading a horror story, but this is the story of Devil’s dogs gone out one the one night they can. Nope, they are not out there for fun either, though Ryu is finding it hard not to. They are out there searching for lost souls and bring them back in Hell, where they belong. Ryu has been chained at the graveyard for too many centuries though and he does have a fascination with humans, so when his opportunity arises he takes advantage of it, consequences be damned, and goes to party on this wondrous night.
As he takes the form of a human that once came through the gates of the graveyard, he finds himself face to face with a human that knows him, and takes him along to party together.
It’s a weird story as the plot isn’t well developed and there are questions hovering around as we read. It turns quite erotic though with a dreary sense when the guy that recognizes Ryu in this human’s form is also one of the condemned souls he must bring back. The story has a sense of mystery and fun well woven together and the end is a bit surprising with its mellowness. I think I would have liked the story better if the erotic part was between Keir and Ryu. But, as it was, it was quite interesting as well. Recommended!
Blurb: Friends, employers, lovers, and nature conspire against Ralph having a quiet life while tending to Mr. Hudson’s vast garden estate. A Halloween college survival trip during the full moon further complicates things, leaving Ralph to prove that nature doesn’t define us.
Ralph just wants a quiet life tending to his employer’s vast estate. But life has other plans. Conan, the forester over the fence, still wants the heady sex of their college days. His employer, the rich and influential Hudson, keeps coming up with schemes to kill werewolves to avenge his mother’s death. Russell, Mr. Hudson’s sheltered son, seems equally trapped by this world.
A compulsory college survival trip prompts Hudson Senior to insist Ralph accompanies his son into the forest. At Halloween, the full moon pulls an incited mob with guns and alcohol into the woods. Man and nature conspire, and Ralph must battle his inner demons to prove to Russell nature doesn’t define us.
Review: What a strange world this one was. Werewolves exist and are hunted down. Not only that – that makes some sense – but also men are totally against nature. As if knowing nature, surviving in the wild is something, no one ought to do. Admittedly, I would love to read a longer story set in this world, there were questions that this idea drew out of me and now I’m enticed.
That said, in this story we have a rich Mr. Hudson who had lost his wife from “nature” and is now on a vengeance trip, throwing a campaign against werewolves and trying to enforce humans a silver solution for their waters. Yes, silver shall be the doom of those dreadful creatures.
Ralph is thankful his employer, Mr. Hudson, doesn’t know he has one such creature on his very own grounds. While Ralph only want to care for the perfectly manicured outdoors of Hudson mansion, he is constantly thrown into various scenes that won’t let him be in peace. There is Conan, the forester and college sweetheart, from outside the fence, there is Russell, the young Mr. Hudson, who is a tempting creature on his own, and there is of course his employer who is throwing said temptation on his hands for a bit of “nature training”. There is a big outdoors trip coming up after all.
But visiting Nature is not as simply as it once might have been if it ever was. Nowadays, especially on Halloween, drunk and armed people roam on their witch-hunt and they shot at everything that moves. Innocents die a fast death and one ought not to be out there on a full moon.
Creepy much? Well not so much, I would have been happier if this read could make me shake with dread since there was no lovemaking (how disappointing was that), but it was nearly there. The playful flirtation going between young Russell and Ralph was fun to read. You kept expecting for that something to happen, I did certainly expect the werewolf to throw the kid down and molest him a tiny bit. The chemistry was there though, the anticipation too. The feeling of that something about to happen never left you alone as Mr. Hudson was a threat to be considered. So when everything went down that anticipation was not for nothing as the end was a bit of a surprise. Or at least it surprised me, for some reason I didn’t saw it coming.
So if you’re searching for a Halloween story this might be one for you to read, I sure liked it.
Blurb: When Robert Caldwell inherits a haunted house, he calls on ghost-hunter Simon Feximal to rid him of the supernatural menace. But the ghost is stronger than either man realizes — strong, angry, and desperate for release. Trapped in a haunted house with a dangerously attractive ghost-hunter and a sexually frustrated spirit, can Robert survive the night intact…and will he want to?
Reviewer: Pammie
Review: A Torquere Press Halloween short
I loved this quickie read. Robert calls on Simon when he finds his home is haunted. Simon has a fairly unusual way of communicating with the spirit world, but when Robert inadvertently steps out of Simon’s protective circle, they have to take drastic measures. By the end of the story the unhappy ghost, of a man so untimely killed, is finally satisfied.
If you like a short, hot, and spooky read, this is for you.
Title: No Angel
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