Tag: Haven Coffee House series

Hot Cocoa and Candy Canes by Stephani Hecht

4285hotcocoaandcandycanes510w-430x645Title: Hot Cocoa and Candy Canes

Series: Haven House Coffee Boys, #5

Author: Stephani Hecht

Genre:  Young Adult (Holiday)

Length: Novella (65 Pages)

Publisher: Devine Destinies and Extasy Books (December 15th, 2013)

Heat Level: No Heat level

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3 Hearts

Reviewer: Lisa

Blurb: It’s the holiday season and the Haven Coffee House Boys area looking forward to a time of parties, gifts, and good food. But their past comes back to haunt them in the worst way possible.

It’s Christian’s favorite time of the year, the holiday season. He thinks it’s just the thing he and his friends need to pick them up from the funk they’ve been in the past few months. Now, they are all back together and it looks like the bad times are behind them.
But the past has a way of catching up to you, whether or not you want it to, and it threatens the Haven Coffee House Boy’s dreams of a happy holiday. Will they be able to forget the former bad times? If not, will the holidays be doomed for failure?

Product Link:http://www.extasybooks.com/hot-cocoa-and-candy-canes/

Review: This was a sad story, but sweet at the same time.

Most of the kids had very lousy home lives, but they come together as a family. Andy was coming back to school after trying to commit suicide because of his friends and a very rude bunch of homophobes. Dalton’s own home life pretty much sucked, but his friends rally besides him and he even has a crush on Andy.

This story is told in such a way that you come to realize what happens to many teenagers that come out to their family and friends. It makes you want to stand up and scream at people who are such fools. To tell them that you support your friends and others that come out as gay or lesbian. The only problem I found is that it left me hanging wondering about Andy and Dalton. This story is told with seriousness and you feel the anger and pain from each character, but you also feel the support and love they have for one another.

If you want a truly heartwarming story, one that might make you cry and want to just hug each and every one of them.

Light Outside the Closet by Stephani Hecht

Title:  Light Outside the Closet

Series:  Haven Coffee House Boys

Author:  Stephani Hecht

Genre:   YA LGBT, Contemporary

Length:  Novella

Publisher:  Extasy Books (March 1, 2012)

Heat Level:  Low

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts

Blurb:   Sometimes the dark feels safer than the light.

Being a gay teen is hard enough, but when Christian’s strict father is transferred to a different city and Christian has to go to a new school, he discovers how much worse things can get. Fortunately, before he sinks into depression, Christian finds a new group of friends, who are also gay. Christian soon learns that his friends have their own problems, from desperately seeking attention to abusive family members.

Product Link:  http://www.extasybooks.com/light-outside-the-closet-5-2/

Reviewer:   Portia

Review:  Christian is the new kid in school.  But, as a military brat, he’s used to that.  Luckily, even before school starts, he makes friends, other LGBT teens just trying to make it through senior year.

I hated this book.  Hate that in this day and age, teenagers are still having to deal with bigots and bullies at school.  My mama-heart spent much of this book pissed as hell.  Pissed because the issues and concerns of the characters were a bit too real for me.  Real in that they reminded me of my teenagers’ friends who are struggling with their sexuality, sometimes with little or no support at home.

No, Light Outside the Closet is not a maudlin survey of adolescent psychology.  Life Outside the Closet introduces, what I’m calling, the many faces of gay adolescence.  Taylor is effeminate and “out”.  Christian is out, but looks straight enough to pass.  James is so deep in the closet, he’s practically in Narnia.  One character is bi-racial and you might not know it, but RuPaul is the only acceptable gay man in the minds of many African-Americans.

This basically is Christian’s story.  Well, maybe not.  It is very much an ensemble cast.  Stephani did a good job introducing their world.  But, back to Christian, he has a crush on James, but James’ cousin, Devlin has a crush on Christian.  All very Pretty Liars.  But, when James makes a decision that affects other lives, well…let’s just say feelings change.  More than anyone, I think James learns about himself. And, honestly, I worried that he might not make it to the end of the book alive.

This is labeled YA romance, but don’t let that stop you from reading it.  The emotions are so well-written that anyone who enjoys romance will enjoy this story.

So, yeah, I hated Light Outside the Closet.  And I hope Stephani is cuddle up somewhere with her computer, writing book two.  I can’t wait to hate that one, too. 😉  Highly recommend.