Tag: Lou Harper

Secrets and Bow Ties by Lou Harper

secrets-and-bow-tiesTitle: Secrets and Bow Ties
Series: Secrets, #3
Author: Lou Harper
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Length: Novel (163 pages)
Publisher: Samhain Publishing (May 19th 2015)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts
Blurb: Who said nerdy can’t be sexy?

Self-confessed gold digger Dylan Price is cooling his heels as a waiter at a trendy West Hollywood restaurant, waiting for the sugar daddy of his dreams to walk through the doors. Someone rich, sophisticated. Preferably old.

Bookish Simon Wainwright couldn’t be further from Dylan’s ideal. Aside from his terrible fashion sense, Simon suffers from a glaring lack of a Beverly Hills mansion. And he’s barely over thirty!

Dylan, however, isn’t made of stone. Coincidence, an obscene candle, even Simon’s dorky cardigan compel him to give the shy academic a very special birthday gift, which Dylan files away as a one-night stand. But when Dylan’s quest lands him in hot water, he runs to Simon to hide.

The two take off for Las Vegas, where Dylan takes upon himself to give Simon a complete makeover. For reasons he can’t comprehend, Dylan begins to reevaluate his life—and what he holds most dear. But with danger not far behind, he might be too late.

Warning: Contains a nightclub where the staff is as hot as the food, a waiter with a smart mouth (in more ways than one), a nerdy college professor, Vegas “boylesque” shows, and lots of smexy times.

ISBN: 9781619226289

Product Link: https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5435/secrets-and-bow-ties

Reviewer: Tams

Review: Dylan Price is on the lookout for the perfect man. Someone rich and willing to lavish Dylan with precious things, someone to keep him firmly grounded within the lifestyle he wishes to become accustomed to. For now he bids his time as a waiter. When a group of girls bring their adorkable friend Simon in to celebrate his birthday, Dylan takes notice and decides tonight might be the night for Mr. Right now.

Simon Wainwright is smart, bookish and impeccably dressed with his crazy bow ties. The college professor is gay and single and not so much loving it. He’s never found a guy that really sees him or appreciates his quirkiness. But Dylan sees him, and treats him like a person. They share a pretty sexy night, but then Dylan is gone by the time Simon wakes up.

When Dylan lands in hot water, the only safe place he can think of is with Simon. The two go on a whirlwind trip to Vegas that is supposed to be just friends and lying low, but attraction and chemistry eventually change the rules. The danger Dylan ran from has followed them though, and in an attempt to keep Simon out of the line of fire Dylan does what he does best, he runs.

This was such a fun story about two polar opposites that find what they’ve been searching for in each other. Dylan thinks he wants a sugar daddy, but what he wants is stability, a family, a home. And Simon, who has walked through life almost completely invisible, shines like a diamond to Dylan. Their differences are what draw them together. There was some danger and suspense as well with Dylan being chased over something he doesn’t even realize he has.

I really liked the opposites attract in the story, and then the little twist in the relationship. I can say no more, you’ll have to read for yourself. I didn’t buy the gigolo angle at the start though, not sure why, it just read wrong for me. But overall I really enjoyed this story about finding love in unexpected places.

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

Secrets and Charms by Lou Harper

91i1pEeMt-L._SL1500_Title: Secrets and Charms
Author: Lou Harper
Series: Secrets, #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novel (191 pages)
Publisher: Samhain Publishing (December 23rd 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts
Blurb: One hot ginger. One cool blond. The result is anything but lukewarm.

Out and proud from a tender age, Olly Blackwood is content with life in LA, working at a Hollywood gourmet grocery. There’s only one thing missing: romance. He’s had his fill of casual hook-ups. He wants a man for keeps, and he wants sparks.

He certainly gets them when he meets Rich Willson, who has the stormy temper to go with his fiery hair. But is he keeper material? He might be if only he’d come out of the closet.

After losing his disapproving father, his job, his girlfriend, and pretty much all his money, Rich packed up his secrets and moved to his actress sister s house to regroup and help her renovate. He doesn’t like the curmudgeon he s become, but something about the perpetually cheerful Olly rubs him in a way that should be wrong, yet feels pretty damned right.

Over paint buckets and sanding tools, Rich finds Olly getting deeper under his skin. But when an altercation with a paparazzo comes back to haunt him, he finds that sordid Hollywood secrets can be murder maybe his own.

Warning: Contains a hot-tempered ginger, a cool-headed blond, redecorating shenanigans, and sordid Hollywood secrets. Happy ending guaranteed or your ticket price refunded.

Product Link: https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5284/secrets-and-charms

Reviewer: Tams

Review: Rich Wilson’s attitude blazes as bright as his ginger, red hair, especially in the presence of his sister’s best friend, Olly. Rich feels a pull to Olly, an attraction he is not willing to admit to or act on for that matter. So in an attempt to cover up his true feelings, he does what he does best, he barks.

Olly is nothing but nice to Rich, so he is taken aback at the negative attitude he receives from the guy every time he comes around him. Once Olly figures out exactly what Rich is trying to cover up with false bravado, Olly pushes the envelope, but he pushes too far and Rich pulls back. Olly will have to be patient with Rich if he plans on taking their relationship to the next level.

When they learn completely by accident that Rich’s sister is being blackmailed, they learn to navigate their way around their mutual attraction with minimal effort in order to discover the identity of the blackmailer. The stakes are raised when Rich stumbles upon the supposed blackmailers body though, and when Olly is put in the line of fire, Rich learns quickly just how much Olly has grown on him.

I absolutely loved the chemistry between Olly and Rich, how it was anything but love at first sight. Rich had to come to terms with his own personal demons about his attraction to other men, and Olly has to trust that his heart will be safe with Rich.

There was mystery and suspense with the blackmailing, I seriously had no idea who it was and when the culprit is revealed I was a little surprised. There was also a lot of sexy, steamy passion between Olly and Rich that literally jumped off the pages. There were a few little inconsistencies in the how and why of the whole blackmailing scheme, but overall I was completely engaged in this read.

This is the second book in a series apparently but I haven’t read the first, that being said, I wasn’t lost and never felt like I was missing anything in the story because I hadn’t read the first. A must read for fans of mystery, suspense and steamy guy on guy action!

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

Dead Man and the Lustful Spirit by Lou Harper

81UGSazT6KL._SL1500_Title: Dead Man and the Lustful Spirit

Series: Dead Man, #1.5

Author: Lou Harper

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Length: Short (30 pages)

Publisher: Harper Books (January 24th 2014)

Heat Level: Mild

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts

Reviewer: Tams

Blurb: Denton is a necromancer and his boyfriend Bran is a witch. It’s not as exciting as it sounds. They don’t even get to dress the part, unless it’s New Year’s Eve and they’ve been invited to a costume party. Denton is happy to let his hair down, but coaxing the reclusive Bran out of his shell is hard enough without a demonic spirit crashing the party.

Convincing the spirit to return whence it came from will call on Denton’s special skills, but not in necromancy.

Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Man-Lustful-Spirit-Harper-ebook/dp/B00I1HVTZO

Review: Denton and Bran are more than just a necromancer and a warlock. They are lovers. When they stumble upon a drunken man possessed by a demon at a New Year’s Eve party, they coax the vessel back to their apartment in order to do an exorcism, of sorts. What ensues is kind of hysterically sexy when Bran falls victim to the demons charm.

This was just a short, fast, fun read that will definitely perk up your lunch hour. A few grammatical errors and a part in the story when I’m certain the author was writing about Bran but she wrote Denton caused me to subject a few marks. But really, for a freebie and only twenty something pages, this book was laugh out loud fun, with a little smexy for good measure.

Harper has a knack for packing a small trunk full of great things. I’ve read several of her shorts that range from fast/fun/sexy to short/sexy/steamy… I would recommend her work and she has several free shorts to reel you in!

http://www.amazon.com/Lou-Harper/e/B00795OFTQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Dead in the Desert by Lou Harper

18360697Title: Dead in the Desert

Series:  L.A. Paranormal #3

Author: Lou Harper

Genre: Psychic-paranormal/Murder/Mystery

Length: Novella (111 pages)

Publisher: Lou Harper (September 13th, 2013)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4.5

Blurb: Jon Cooper used to think he wanted a life free of complications, but that was before he got involved with his roommate, Leander. Jon knows that the only thing he can’t lose is what he doesn’t have, but where does that leave him?

Leander Thorne, on the other hand, is an easygoing bookworm, with an addiction to books and cooking shows, and a soft spot for Jon, despite Jon’s grumpiness. He also happens to be a psychic specializing in finding lost pets and—more recently—lost people. He’s good at it. Too good if you ask Jon,

Unsolved crimes, missing people and bodies buried in the Mojave Desert make Jon’s and Leander’s lives anything but uncomplicated. Jon is forced to dig into his soul and find a way to let go of his past if he wants to keep Leander.

Product Link: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-deadinthedesert-1294298-149.html

Reviewer:   GiGi

Review: I must first admit that I haven’t read the previous book in this series and I usually don’t think it’s fair to review a book without the back-story, but even so, I was enthralled. Maybe it’s because I like a good murder/mystery, or possibly, because Jon and Lender have such wonderful chemistry and a strong partnership when they go on adventures for Leander’s psychic work. Either way this story captured my imagination as well as the main characters capturing my heart. I love the way Jon takes such care of Leander, making sure he wears sunscreen, eats well, and watched out for his general well-being, all the while denying what his heart already knows, he’s totally lost in love with “Andy” and needs to come to terms with and admit it before he loses him.

The psych job Leander is on, the hunt to discover what has happened to heir apparent Ethan sends Jon and Andy on a wonderful wild goose chase. It’s also interesting to see Leander come into his psychic skills set and develop it. The secondary characters Harper introduces are quite complex and spike my curiosity also, they have plenty enough strength to balance the main story. The ending is surprising, and I especially enjoy the epilogue! I can say no more else, I give it all away. Definitely, a recommended read, in fact I’m going in search of Books 1-2, so I can be fully involved in Harper’s intriguing plot twists.

Winter Warmers Anthology

winterTitle:  Winter Warmers

Series:  N/A

Author: Anthology (Clare London, Chrissy Munder, JL Merrow, Josephine Myles, and Lou Harper)

Genre:  Anthology, Contemporary

Length:  Novella

Publisher:  Pink Squirrel Press (November 26, 2011)

Heat Level:  Moderate overall, though a few of the stories were more explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥4Hearts for anthology as a whole, each story has ratings in review.

Blurb:  Baby, it’s cold outside! Beat the chill with Winter Warmers – a seasonal anthology

Mulled wine. Butterscotch kisses. Hideous sweaters. Candy at the beach, or a trip to a sex shop in Amsterdam. And the man of your dreams, wrapped around you…

Winter warmers come in many shapes and sizes, from the tongue-in-cheek to the hot-as-hell. Enjoy a quintet of heart-warming tales of men loving men from Clare London, Chrissy Munder, JL Merrow, Josephine Myles, and Lou Harper that are guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face.

One thing’s for sure—it’s going to be a red-hot Christmas!

Product Link: http://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/108246/1/winter-warmers

Reviewer:  Cat

Review:  Overall I found the stories all very cute and interesting. I did have one caveat on the overall book and that was there was no titles on each stories It just seems to flow into the about the author then into the next book with no warning. But once you figured out where you were the stories were as sweet and fun as can be!

Individual stories

Lucky Dip by Clare London

Heat Level: Explicit   Heart Rating:   ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts

I loved this one. Andy is a teacher getting ready for a school fundraiser.  He is going to have to share his corner with a volunteer that turns out to be his ex-boyfriend Greg.

I laughed until I cried over this one. The kids were so cute and funny and the story was a sizzler; sure to warm you on a cold winter night.

Butterscotch Kisses by Chrissy Munder

Heat Level:  Explicit  Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts

I also loved this one! Mathew was afraid of heights and this fear cost him his boyfriend and a lot of humiliation. After purchasing a self-help program, he goes daily to the toboggan run to climb the steps. He meets “cute Ticket guy”. Does he conquer I his fear? Do he and ‘cute ticket guy’ go out’? What do butterscotch kisses have to do with heights? You will have to read this one and see! This was another very cute story written with a lot of wit and humor. The story of the fear of heights is easy to relate too and you can just feel Mathew’s fear. And the hats on cute ticket guy? Just hilarious!

Wintertide by Lou Harper

Heat Level:  Explicit  Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts

I really liked this one, too. It’s not as humorous as the last two, but just as sweet and sexy. Jem lives in the run down part of Hollywood and is alone for Christmas. He goes to the beach and sees an older man who he finds intriguingly handsome. He watches him throwing in candy in the water. They meet and immediately hookup. Jem wakes up at Oscar’s and looks around, seeing a lot of photos of another handsome man. Assuming Oscar has a boyfriend, Jem leaves.

This story has a very sad backstory, so be sure to have some tissues on hand. It is very sweet and sexy also! A real heart-warmer.

When in Amsterdam by Josephine Myles

Heat Level:  Explicit Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥3Hearts

Brandon went with his boyfriend, Jos, to Amsterdam for their version of Christmas. They wind up at a kink shop. Brandon isn’t into the kink scene, but knows Jos is.

This was my least favorite of all five stories. It was a good, but it centered mostly on the D/s, and sex thing without a real plot. I did like the loving relationship that Brandon and Jos had, and the fact that Brandon loved Jos enough to try new things.

A pint of beer, A Bag of Chips, and Thou by JL Merrow

Heat Level: Moderate                        Heart Rating:   ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts

This one was another very cute funny one. I loved the way this one felt like the author was speaking directly to you, even asking you questions. I found myself answering a few! I laughed and laughed. I would definitely read more JL Merrow books.

Liam was a son of a witch. His family is quite eccentric, as is he. He plays his sax in the tube for money. He has his eye on a man who frequents the area, but is sure the man is far out of his league. His aunts and mom give him these horrendous knitted Christmas gifts: one a day for three days. You will have to read this to see what they are and how they play a part in the story! You won’t be sorry! The story is cute, sassy and sexy as heck! A great one to cuddle up under a blanket with hot cocoa!

I recommend this collection to anyone that loves a good anthology. Witches, Doms, peppermint lovers, cute guys in silly hats, and lots of laughs! Oh, I almost forgot the hot mansex!