Title:  Hollywood Bound

Series:  Gin & Jazz book #1

Author:  Morticia Knight

Genre:  HistoricalRomance

Length:  Novel, 189 pages

Publisher:  Totally Bound, November 1^st 2013

Heat Level:  Moderate to Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥3.5Hearts

Blurb:   Jack and Nick seek fortune and adventure in the silent film era of Hollywood. But their newly expressed love is threatened by the heady allure of fame, gin, and easy money.

Sweet and innocent nineteen year-old Jack has loved the older and more streetwise Nick from almost the first time he met him. Nick has taken care of him ever since Jack arrived in New York after he was beaten and thrown out of the boy’s orphanage for messing around with one of the guys there. They share a passion for silent films and have dreams of heading west to make their fortunes building sets for the studios. If only Nick felt the same passion for Jack, and wasn’t already engaged to a gal back in Philly.

Nick’s temper sometimes gets the best of him, but that’s only because he worries about Jack – Nick is all the poor kid has. But he’s also terrified about the way he’s been feeling towards Jack lately. They’re the kinds of feelings he should be having for his fiancé—Penelope—and never for a man. His only goal is to get them both to Hollywood, where he’s sure they’ll be rolling in the dough in no time, and where everything will all work out the way, it should.

Hollywood isn’t exactly what they’d thought it would be. There are plenty of gin joints, jazz, money, parties and sex—but everything comes with a hefty price. Everyone they meet—from Trixie Fox, the ditzy up and coming starlet, to Bernie, the foreman who gets them their first studio job—seems to have a hidden agenda. Can the newfound love between Jack and Nick survive the tawdry mess that makes up the glitz and glamour of the celluloid kingdom, or will their own secrets tear them apart forever?

Reader Advisory: This book contains mild BDSM elements, drug use, and sex-for-hire scenes.

Product Link:  https://www.totallybound.com/hollywood-bound

Reviewer:   Tams

Review:  Jack and Nick are two friends that seek fortune and fame in the glamorous world of Hollywood. Soon enough they learn that it’s not so glamorous, there is a dark and dangerous side to the fame they seek. Can an already fragile relationship survive the grittier side of the life they want to live?

Jack is young, innocent, and naïve. To spite the abuse he’s suffered in his young life, he still has a purity about him that is endearing. Nick is shady and more aloof. There is nothing, and I do mean nothing, that he won’t do to protect Jack’s innocence. The two form a friendship and bond while traveling from New York to Hollywood that quickly becomes much more. Nick is determined to protect Jack from the reality of their situation. So he makes some very bad choices, the consequences of which may be more than either man can handle.

The first half of this book was laying the foundation for the story. It’s a little slow and scattered. But the last half brings all the randomness together. And although the choices Nick makes threaten to make him an unlikeable character, the reasoning behind them will keep the reader in his corner. I loved the fact that Knight stayed true to the innocence of the character Jack. More often than not in gay fiction, these characters have been written this way, but have been completely violated. Not Jack. He has suffered abuse, but not in that way. I think that aspect makes the decisions that Nick makes more believable and sufferable because you can see the validity in it all.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but it won’t be my last! I don’t usually like stories from this old Hollywood era, but the picture Knight painted of the darker side of this time period just pulled me in. And when the personalities of Jack and Nick came together in the bedroom, oh my, it was sexy. Nick brings out the passionate and kinky side of Jack, while Jack brings out the tender and loving side of Nick. It’s a perfect balance. *Warning* there is a son of a bitch of a cliffhanger! Thankfully, book two is on Nov 30^th!!

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through MM Good Book Reviews*

http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com

Title:  Razzle Dazzle

Series:  Gin & Jazz, Book #2

Author:  Morticia Knight

Genre:  Historical Romance (1920s)

Length:  Novel (216 pages)

Publisher:  Totally Bound (November 29^th, 2013)

Heat Level:  Moderate to Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥4.5Hearts

Blurb:   Jack is on the verge of silent film stardom, but Hollywood glory won’t heal his broken heart. But the seductive screen idol—Roman Pasquale—sweeps Jack away, and makes him his own. Will Roman’s obsessive love finally bring Jack true happiness?

Jack is devastated by the loss of Nick, his best friend and lover. His only other friend, new Hollywood star Trixie Fox, comes to his rescue. What he doesn’t know, is that she’s also helping Roman Pasquale in his carefully planned seduction of the shy and innocent Jack.

Suave film screen idol—Roman Pasquale—has been obsessed by Jack Stone from the moment he spotted him at a Global Studios party. He will stop at nothing until the golden-haired young man belongs to him. An expert at getting what he wants, Roman plans every wicked word, look and move to bring him closer to achieving his prize.

Jack is on the brink of stardom, and can’t believe that his movie star crush, Roman Pasquale, is taking an interest in him. But he resists the older, more sophisticated man’s attempts at seducing him. After all, he still loves Nick, and just isn’t ready to try again with anyone else. But when Roman turns on the charm, Jack is tempted. Can Roman replace Nick in Jack’s heart? Or is the magical world of the great Roman Pasquale all an illusion?

Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of drug use, reference to a prior rape not shown and scene of M/M/M/M.

Product Link:  https://www.totallybound.com/razzle-dazzle

Reviewer:   Tams

Review:  *The ramifications of everything that happened in book 1, Hollywood Bound, are realized in this second installment of the series. I strongly suggest you read book 1 before you dive into this book.*

With Nick gone, Jack is alone and devastated. But he has caught the attention of fellow actor, Roman Pasquale, who will stop at nothing to claim him. It’s hard to forget your first love, but when you have a dashing and sexy older man vying for your attention and professing his love for you, that second chance is awful appealing.

Roman is successful, sophisticated and determined. He has the means and the time to woo young Jack. He is used to getting what he wants but he realizes he has to tread lightly where Jack is concerned. He courts the young man with lavish dinners, expensive gifts, and romantic rendezvous. Jack is good at resisting in the beginning, but Roman’s determination is evident and soon enough he wiggles his way under Jacks skin, and into his heart.

I’m sensing a trend here. As with the character of Nick in book 1, Roman blurred the line of likeability, but you can tell that he truly loves Jack and understand the motives behind his actions. Roman comes across as obsessive, possessive and destructive. But underneath all his bravado, you can see the depth of his feelings, which are sometimes clouded by insecurity. Jack can see beyond the bravado and see the man who he’s falling in love with.

I absolutely loved the way Jack made Roman work for it. The seduction was a slow burn with an explosive pay off when Roman finally got Jack into his bed. But can Jack keep up with the high maintenance actor that has a knack for getting what he wants? Knight stayed true to the backdrop she created in Hollywood Bound as well. Speak Easy’s, Gin Joints and Bowler Hats are just a few of the props used to allow the reader to adapt to the era.

The cliffhanger in this book is not as jaw dropping as the first, but it’s still a doosey. I cannot wait for book three to see who Jack is going to choose. Nick or Roman? I’m usually confirmed in my opinion about who should be where in a love triangle. But Knight has me so torn! I could see Jack with either one of these men, for completely different reasons. If you haven’t read this series, you really should. It’s sinfully sexy and I’d hate for you to miss out on something so good.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through MM Good Book Reviews*

http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com