Hallie Burton – MM Good Book Reviews

Title: For a Price
Series: N/A
Author: Hallie Burton
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Length: Novel (180 pages)
Publisher: Harmony Ink Press, Dreamspinner Press (May 29th 2014)
Heat Level: Mild
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3.5 Hearts
Blurb: At seventeen, Charles “Trey” Maddox Taft III has had better years. His father ran off with a younger woman and with no alimony or child support, his family has to move from affluent Coconut Grove to a rough neighborhood near Miami’s Little Havana. It’s a completely different world, but Trey is determined to make the best of a bad situation, if only no one finds out he’s gay.

On Trey’s first day in his new territory, he’s saved from being run over by local bad boy Bobby Cruz. Bobby is an unabashedly gay, sexually active high school senior who’s tired of one-night stands. After meeting preppie Trey, Bobby decides to try something new.

Things go well at first, but being in a relationship is tricky and might take more work than either wants to do.

ISBN: 1632161419

Product Link: http://www.harmonyinkpress.com/books/searchresults?q=for+a+price

Reviewer: Tams

Review: Trey Taft, his mom and his sister are fresh off a messy divorce and having to downsize their lives considerably. Moving to a poorer neighborhood and losing all the amenities he’s used to having won’t bring Trey down though. He is determined to make friends and make the best of a bad situation. He’s out walking around his new neighborhood when he meets bad boy Bobby.

Bobby Cruz is a loner of sorts, sleeping his way around Little Havana and making sure his friends don’t get rundown. When he first meets Trey he’s kind of shocked. The kid is sort of adorkable with his pants that miss the ground by a few too many inches, shiny shoes and neon green polo shirt.

Trey is definitely the nerd type, so everything about him clashes with Bobby’s torn jeans, beat up cons and leather jacket. Regardless, sparks fly and soon the two are making out on rooftops and spending every waking moment when they aren’t at school or work together.

Inexperience and youth are working against them beating the odds and finding a way to stay together though. Bobby is Trey’s first real crush, his first real boyfriend. And Trey quickly shows to be the jealous type. Still, they both give it all they’ve got until Trey is handed the opportunity to kiss another guy on a silver platter. Can Bobby overlook one small lapse in judgement? Or will he walk away from Trey and chalk the relationship up to simple infatuation?

I really enjoyed the relationship that Bobby and Trey had throughout the book. They were smitten from the start, but they became friends and got to know each other as well. Through the entire book they were continuing to learn more about each other and grow, sure they both made some mistakes, but there was still growth and learning.

Sadly, the constant dialogue in the story and jumping around through multiple characters confused me sometimes, and it was so busy with little descriptives and so much dialogue that it hindered my enjoyment of the story several times.

This was just an okay read for me, but I will say again I loved the two ML and how their stories developed from start to finish. The book is definitely age appropriate for teen and YA LGBT youth to read and enjoy as well.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *

Title: Tapestry

Author: Hallie Burton

Genre: High Fantasy, Young Adult

Length: Novel Plus (276pgs)

Publisher: Harmony Ink Press (Dreamspinner Press) (15^th March 2013)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: In Ollas, anything that stirs the emotions is forbidden by the governors—especially music. So when Tallie Tarmelin, a farm boy from a lower-tier guild, is offered a scholarship for his talent in design, he keeps his head down and follows the rules. He’s terrified of breaking one of his society’s many laws and ruining his future. But feeling lost and alone in an unfamiliar city takes its toll, and Tallie accepts sympathy from a guildless social outcast even though he knows it could destroy his reputation.

Despite the rules against casual touching and fraternizing in public, Jonis Sinter offers Tallie comfort instead of denouncing him for an excessive emotional display, and they fast become friends. Secret friends, though, because Worran, the respectable son of a governor, has asked Tallie to be his partner.

When Worran’s mother learns of Tallie’s association with an outcast, she dispatches the militia. Worran sends Tallie a warning, and Tallie flees the city and civilization with Jonis. Surviving the wilds will take every ounce of perseverance they can muster, and the rediscovery of music might be their only solace— unless they recognize the love that’s growing between them.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3694

Review: Tallie is quite happy with his life. He is about to become a Journeyman in the Design Guild. He has a Master who will guide him and he is about to accept the partnership of a wonderful man. But, it all begins to fall down around his ears when his friendship with Jonis, a guildless Bonder, is discovered. Fleeing from the militia for breaking a secret Fundamental law, Tallie and Jonis begin a journey that will bring love and hope back to all the people of Ollas.

This story is of an incredible journey of two young men who discover that the restrictive society that they have grown up with has been stifling the spirit and the joy that can be discovered in a simple life. Tallie is a young man who has gone along with the rules set down by those before him. But, when his friend Jonis breaks a law that they don’t even know about and the militia comes for both of them, they flee to the wilds and begin to discover what the Governors have been suppressing for three hundred years. Sharing their discovery with others is risky, but both Tallie and Jonis agree that the joy they feel must be shared and it begins a change within Ollas that can only make a better life.

This is a very in-depth story of a very repressed society, where anything that could entice emotions is banned and you could get punished for the simplest of touches. I found this story to be fascinating. Nobody but the governors knows what the Fundamental laws are, but the breaking of a Fundamental law is severely punished, so you could break a law and not even know about it. Jonis and Tallis’s journey is incredible as they set out to survive in the wilds while dodging the militia who won’t stop hunting them, falling in love along the way and discovering the true tapestry of life.

This story is well written and the storyline is really good. An entire society will be changed by the simple discovery by two young men. The descriptions are wonderful and at times feel spiritual, but not in a religious way, more pure and celebrating life type of way. The characters are wonderful and they pull together well. Slowly realizing that what has been hounded into them since they were young isn’t right. The characters face danger and love and they buck against a system that is draining the life out of them. They all end up on a journey of discovery, with Jonis and Tallis leading the way and having, sometimes, dangerous brushes with nature.

I have to recommend this story to those who love shaking the foundations of society, finding love, discovering joy and bringing people together, and a happy ending.

Tag: Hallie Burton

For A Price by Hallie Burton

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Tapestry by Hallie Burton

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