Tag: Patrick’s Reviews

Exile in Iowa. Send Help. and Couture.

8461841Title: Exiled to Iowa. Send Help. And Couture.

  

Series: N/A

  

Author: Chris O’Guinn 

 

Genre: Contemporary, Gay, High School, Bullies, Bullying, Gay Bashing, Young Adult

  

Length: Novel (173 Pages)  

 

Publisher: Lightbane Publications  

 

Heat Level: None (Lots of kissing and some amusing innuendo.)  

 

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5- OMG Hearts

 

Blurb: This is the story of me, Collin Murray, a bright, witty, and charming L.A. teen who is cruelly transported to a small town in Iowa by parents who delight in my suffering. It tells the tale of my struggles against such obstacles as flannel, packs of bullies, lack of car, hoodies, crazy English teachers, and vengeful former friends. It is an epic tale of survival in a savage denim wilderness.     

 

Product Link: www.amazon.com/Exiled-Iowa-Help-Couture-ebook/dp/B003M5IQ88/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Reviewer: Patrick

 

Review: At first, I was a little leery about reading once I started. I am not very big on the idea of flamboyancy because it brings about a lot of stereotypical thoughts and there is already a bad stigma associated with gay people that we are all like this. However, as you read you find that Collin is a fighter and boy does he fight back once he learns to accept himself. He has a beautiful soul and a heart of gold with a hell of a fighting spirit. The love and acceptance of his family and the friends he makes and the people he transforms from bully to friend is a great little read. However, it was easy to tell who his boyfriend would end up being and I am glad it was. They seem to mesh very well together. This is a perfect story of bullying, gay bashing, fighting back, and learning, loving, acceptance of not only oneself but of others as well. Absolutely perfect for a young adult just coming out and learning about life and coming out. I would definitely recommend this read for anyone, straight, gay, adult, teen, young adult and everything in between.

 

I have read only one other book by Chris and it was good, but this was just so brilliant.

Healing by Stevie Woods

Healing_med-214x328Title: Healing

Series: N/A

Author: Stevie Woods

Genre: M/M, Gay, Sci-Fi, Conspiracy, Military

Length: Novella (18k words/62 pages)

Publisher: Amber Quill Press, LLC

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts-liked it

Blurb: After an injury, Audin desperately needs the help of a healer, and is shocked to discover the one recommended to him is Tener, a man he hasn’t seen since their split following a blazing argument a dozen years earlier. Since those days, both men have experienced much during their years apart, and life has tempered them. Even though Tener is now a healer rather than the doctor he ought to have become, and Audin is an engineer working for an authoritarian government department, they realize they still have much in common. Including a fierce sexual attraction to each other.

Upon learning that Audin’s life is at stake from an implant placed inside him by the government, and with his own career at risk due to Audin’s position, Tener confesses his secret involvement with an underground organization fighting to bring down the corrupt and dangerous regime.

The men quickly comprehend that they must work together, hoping to solve Audin’s problem and, in consequence, that of others infected by the vicious piece of technology. But can Tener remove the evil device from Audin without killing him in the process?

Product Link: www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/Healing.html

Reviewer: Patrick

Review: First, I have to say the website where this book is found, from the publisher, calls this book fantasy; there is nothing fantasy about it. It is Sci-Fi, or Science Fiction, whichever you would prefer to call it. Second, it is a great story and I enjoyed reading it, though I do feel it could have been fleshed out a great deal. However, it fits fine, until you reach the ending. There is no end. It just kind of, peters out and you are expecting more to happen in the next chapter, or lacking that, at least an epilogue finishing what was started. Seriously, where did the whole thing lead to? Apart from that, and some minor grammar, spelling and punctuation issues, it was overall a very good story. However, if you are looking for a book with an ending, this is not it.

 

Two for One by T.A. Chase

twoforone_ssnax_800Title:  Two for One

Series:  N/A

Author:  T.A. Chase

Genre:  M/M, M/M/M, Gay, Polyamory, Three-Way, Firefighter, Horses, Contemporary

Length:  Short (64 pages)

Publisher:  Total-E-Bound Publishing (December 10, 2012)

Heat Level:  Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts

Blurb:  When Jack receives a Two for One offer at a local club, he doesn’t realize the two men would change his life.

Jack Samson moves to Sumerset to start over again. He’s looking forward to his new veterinary practice and maybe having some fun once in a while. He certainly isn’t looking to fall for two men.

Simon Wittman and Brady Vanderly have been partners for fifteen years. They love each other, but they like to play. When they pick Jack up at a local gay bar, they think they’re just looking for a night or two of fun. They end up finding so much more.

Product Link:  www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?P_ID=1883

Reviewer:  Patrick

Review:  This story between Jack, Brady and Simon is beautifully written and presented. Long-time couple, Brady and Simon, meet Jack at a local club, and lust is born that turns into something else before the night is even over. A lot of people might see a three person relationship (polyamory) as wrong, but love is love, and what gives anyone else the right to say who you can or cannot love? I love the fact that neither of the two men make Jack feel like he is a third wheel, and enable him to join them without feeling guilty, though in the beginning he feels a bit insecure. He has a hard time believing either of these two men can genuinely like him, much less allow love to bloom for them. The sex is incredibly delicious and done with taste and no jealousy. A polyamorous relationship soon evolves, and in the end they all realize it was already there from basically the moment they met. As Jack helps each of the two men weather a crisis in their professional lives, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that this is exactly where all three men need to be; in each other’s arms for the rest of eternity, as a unit.

 

Arcada 2: Silver/Steel by Belinda McBride

BM_SilverSteel_coverinTitle:  Silver/Steel

Series: Arcada (Book 2)  

Author:  Belinda McBride

Genre:  Shifter

Length: Long (No page numbers.)

Publisher: Loose Id LLC  (December 4th, 2012)

Heat Level: Moderate to Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts – OMG

Blurb: When dream hunter Dylan Ryve spots a beautiful shapeshifter raising hell in a bar, he knows he wants the wild young man. But Travis Feris is more to Dylan than a few hot minutes outside in the snow; he’s the assassin’s ticket into the magical town of Arcada. He didn’t plan to rescue the kid, but when he found the shifter being attacked, the opportunity to play hero was too good to pass up.

Through the solitude of a long winter night, Dylan walks in Travis’s fevered dreams, learning about Arcada and the pack, and showing the shifter the man he’d been so very long ago. When morning comes, both men know their lives will be forever entwined.

From Dylan, Travis learns that he is a strong, valued member of the pack. The dreamwalker sees his own worth reflected back at him in the dark blue eyes of the wolf. Yet when Dylan has the chance to free himself from centuries of enslavement, can he betray the man he has come to love?

Product Link:  http://www.loose-id.com/arcada-2-silver-steel.html

Reviewer: Patrick

Review: Simply beautiful. The first book in the series, Blacque/Bleu left you wanting more and this one definitely delivered. Belinda took the time to develop an interesting plot and give the characters real personality and depth. You can see she is definitely improving her skills as a writer. I actually loved Silver/Steel more than I did Blacque/Bleu. I have been chomping at the bit for the sequel to come out and had been hoping that Lukas and Oliver, the main characters from the first book, would be in this one and they were.

Blessed Isle by Alex Beecroft

BlessedIsle_600x900Title: Blessed Isle

Series: N/A

Author: Alex Beecroft

Genre: M/M, Historical, Romance

Length: Novella (103 pages)

Publisher: Riptide Publishing (December 31st, 2012)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts-liked it

Blurb: For Captain Harry Thompson, the command of the prison transport ship HMS Banshee is his opportunity to prove his worth, working-class origins be damned. But his criminal attraction to his upper-crust First Lieutenant Garnet Littleton, threatens to overturn all he’s ever worked for.

Lust quickly proves to be the least of his problems, however. The deadly combination of typhus, rioting convicts, and a monstrous storm destroys his prospects…and shipwrecks him and Garnet on their own private island. After months of solitary paradise, the journey back to civilization – surviving mutineers, exposure, and desertion – is the ultimate test of their feelings for each other.

These two very different men each record their story for an unfathomable future in which the tale of their love – a love punishable by death in their own time – can finally be told. Today, dear reader, it is at last safe for you to hear it all.

Product Link: http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/blessed-isle

Reviewer: Patrick

Review: I was expecting a bit more romance than historical content to this book. I learned a few interesting things, but I also noticed a couple of small inconsistencies. For instance, while it was punishable by death to be found having a sexual relationship with a person of the same-sex, it was done all the time among military personnel and the royal families. History glosses over it quite a bit, but if you dig deep enough, it is there to be found. Now, if you are caught, yes there is a death sentence, but on the ships for the various military Naval personnel, it was very common and most people always looked the other way and pretended it wasn’t happening, especially considering the short life spans, the time away at sea, the constant threat of war and more. If you were flagrant about it though and flaunted it, it would get you killed.

Captain Harry showed the time-honored tradition of denial and thinking something must be wrong with him, as is still the case today for a lot of people, no matter their age when they are on the cusp of coming out of the closet or admitting to themselves who they are. Through the storms, the mutiny, the prisoners, desertion, shipwrecks, disease, rescue and more, two people managed to find one another, but because of the determination to not be something sinful and criminal, things may never have happened without catastrophic interventions, which happened here in this story, more than once.

I still do not understand the reasoning behind the dramatic act outs of the brother arguments at the end of the book though. Then the sudden, oh this happened, but I will sum it up in one sentence thing? Really? That is when the story could really have taken off! That promised for something great, thrilling and exciting, but instead the book ended on just and dead-end kind of note. However, altogether, the story was a nice read, especially with all of the historical information. But next time, the romance should be fleshed out and put more action into this type of story, rather than just the great details of travel and storm. The rebellion of the prisoners could have been a really exciting extra chapter or two.

A Hard Bargain by Hennessee Andrews

ha-ahardbargain3(1)Title: A Hard Bargain

Series: The Man Love Collection

Author: Hennessee Andrews

Genre: Gay, Western, Cowboys

Length: 121 pages

Publisher: Siren Publishing (January 3rd, 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4-loved it

Blurb:   Three months ago, Cade Lawson was left standing at the altar in front of a packed church of friends and family. His bride admitted to a love affair with his own best man. That scene not only injured him, but propelled him forward to find his happiness on his terms.  Cade uses money set aside for a dream home for his bride to chase the dream of owning a ranch. Little does he know cowboy

Jed McMasters will give him more than he bargained for. The ranch has its perks, one of which changes Cade’s outlook and sexuality.  Jed stirs new emotion and desire Cade had in previous years dismissed as merely curiosity. Cade tries to ignore his attraction, fearful of ruining their business deal. What he doesn’t realize is that Jed is gay and has his sights set on luring him into his bed.  Will he succumb to the passion that Jed creates inside him? Or deny the inevitable?

Product Link:   http://www.bookstrand.com/a-hard-bargain

Reviewer: Patrick

Review: I loved every aspect of this story except one. The characters are wonderful and the story was wonderful. I like the fact that a guy did not just come out then jump into a relationship. Most guys in situations like this freak out and run or at least take time go and think. Thank you for making that real. The only part I did not like about this story was the dirty talk. It seemed stilted and unreal, like the author doesn’t know how to use dirty talk during sexual encounters. This is the only reason I gave the heart rating a 4 instead of a 5. It kind of cooled the libido a little when they were trying to talk dirty and be Dominant. Neither one of them is a Dominant or an Alpha, much less a submissive. Now, however, giving over to each other control is a different matter and they handled that beautifully. I hope a sequel is planned for this book with the same characters, because I will read it!

Third Night by Neil Plakcy

third-nightTitle: Third Night

Series: MLR Holiday 2012

Author: Neil S. Plakcy

Genre: M/M, Hanukkah

Length: Short (7,000 words)

Publisher: MLR Press (December 11th, 2012)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts ~ liked it

Blurb: Will Joe’s Hanukkah wish come true—a way to reconcile his belief in the tenets of Orthodox Judaism with his attraction to his friend Yehuda?

Can Joe reconcile his belief in the tenets of Orthodox Judaism with the religion’s disapproval of his sexual orientation? Or will his crush on his friend Yehuda ruin their friendship and leave him ostracized by his community? What will happen on the third night of Hanukkah?

Product Link: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=NP_3RDNT

Reviewer: Patrick

Review: Decent story. No real heat. In fact, most of the story made me feel like I was taking lessons in Judaism instead of reading a romance or erotica. However, I did enjoy the lesson.

A Little Christmas Cheer by Karenna Colcroft

KC_A_Little_Christmas_CheerTitle: A Little Christmas Cheer

Series: Holiday 2012

Author: Karenna Colcroft

Genre: Christmas, M/M

Length: Novelette (11,000 word)

Publisher: MLR Press  (December 7th, 2012)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts ~ liked it

Blurb: Will Braden Porter give his lover Vince Gutierrez the gift of moving in together?

Braden Porter and Vince Gutierrez have been a couple for nearly a year. But because of Braden’s fear of being outed, their relationship has moved slowly. Too slowly for Vince. Braden knows that if he doesn’t take the next step and ask Vince to move in with him, he might lose Vince for good. A chance encounter during a towing job to Boston helps Braden make his decision, but will he dare to tell Vince his choice?

Product Link: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=KC_ALCCH

Reviewer: Patrick

Review: Not much in the way of eroticism truly, but great little romance story about overcoming fears. A perfect little read. This is an example of a story that could most definitely be fleshed out into a story of overcoming adversity in a small town. Definitely something I would be interested in seeing happen. Wouldn’t have to be set during Christmas either.

Once Upon a Christmas Evil by Joshua Skye

onceuponachristmasevilTitle:  Once Upon a Christmas Evil

Series:  N/A

Author:  Joshua Skye

Genre:   Christmas/Holiday/Horror/Icelandic Folklore/Monsters

Length:  Short (95 pages)

Publisher:  JMS Books LLC

Heat Level: Very low.

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts

Blurb:   Folklore is filled with beautiful and magical things, wondrous beings friendly and altruistic. The Easter Bunny. The Tooth Fairy. And Santa Claus. But, unknown to most, they have evil counterparts, nightmarish creatures with sinister intentions.

Ten year old Mackenzie Graves had a terrifying encounter with one of those frightening beings on Christmas Eve. Years later he’s made a home with his boyfriend Dylan in a quiet neighborhood in Erie, Pennsylvania. He has special plans for the holiday — he’s going to propose to the love of his life. But the monster from his past has found him and this time has no intention of being denied its prey.

It’s Christmas Eve, Santa is on his way. But the dreadful demons that punish naughty little boys and girls are already sniffing around. Once Upon a Christmas Evil will give you the shivers!

Product Link:  http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=29&products_id=665&zenid=gk59pe2ftlbhdrkmau8g5qiho0

Reviewer:   Patrick

Review:  I have to say, while the story is very interesting, in order to really have done it justice it should have been longer. It needed fleshing out. There were three separate stories going on all at once, taking place in less than 100 pages. Then a quick and all too brief fourth story in the end. The story never fully satisfied any of the stories.

The concept was very intriguing and would have been a fantastic book if the author had taken time with each story and differentiated between each particular storyline. He started something then it petered out as he was just reaching a plateau and nothing happened. Made me think of a movie where things would come to a head, then nothing, over and over again and you would expect it to explode and all settle at the conclusion, but it did not.

The book claims “substantial sexually explicit scenes” but there is only one scene and there is absolutely nothing explicit about it. In fact, it is a voyeuristic episode from a third person, a child at that who is watching it happen. Then again in the end, the child has an item that allows him to help fulfill his own fantasies and all it does is creep a person out. I am just glad the author was smart enough to avoid actually creating a scene involving this child outside of him being a voyeur.

Too many other questions were posed and left unanswered. Heat and heart were very low. As for overall content, I have to say though, if I were giving it stars out of 5, I would give it a 3. Simply because the author was trying, that much is obvious. The story was very good, it just needed to be fleshed out and it would have been a real Christmas horror story worth reading again and again; especially if he had covered in more detail the reason for the story in the first place, the little monsters.

I will recommend this story simply because it does get your heart going in more than one spot. I would just recommend to the author to take this book and redo it, flesh it out, and republish. It has the true makings of a great horror story.

A Christmas Carol by Em Woods (Charles Dickens)

A-Christmas-Carol-By-Em-WoodsTitle: A Christmas Carol

Series: Clandestine Classics

Author: Em Woods (Charles Dickens)

Genre: Christmas, Classics, Paranormal

Length:  Novella (111 pages)

Publisher: Total-E-Bound Publishing  (December 3rd, 2012)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts ~ liked it

Blurb: Love at first sight is a beautiful thing, but sometimes, true love waits a lifetime to shine…and then needs a little help from the Three Ghosts of Christmas.

As a young man, Ebenezer Scrooge felt the sharp pain of loss and resolved to protect his heart from all others, taking solace in his gold and silver. Years of discarding his own emotions, and those of anyone around him, has turned Scrooge cold.

When deceased lover and partner Jacob Marley pays miserly Scrooge a late night visit, pride and disbelief buoy Scrooge’s courage. As the fabled Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet-to-Come arrive to show Scrooge the error of his ways, they also give him brief glimpses of a love so strong it has stood the test of time.

In an inspiring tale of change, a deep-seated need flares to life, leaving Scrooge without a doubt that love and family are what really matter at Christmas.

Product Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1940

Reviewer: Patrick

Review:  I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It is very difficult to pull off this style of writing in this day and age. With as many times as this story has been told and as many different way in which it has been told over the many years, this is refreshing. I was glad to see it go beyond the HEA you want in these types of stories and show more than just his change of heart, but the allowance of long overdue love from the past. Good job.

100 Days to Christmas by Delilah Storm

100daystochristmasTitle: 100 Days to Christmas

Series: N/A

Author: Delilah Storm

Genre: Christmas M/M

Length: Novelette (46 pages)

Publisher: Torquere Press Publishers (December 11, 2012)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts ~ loved it

Blurb: After nearly a year of online video chatting and text messaging, Jackson and Steve are finally going to meet in person. Jackson is a successful New York City lawyer. Steve owns a popular bakery called Sweet Cheeks, in San Diego – and with that bakery comes a touch of a dough boy body. Steve is understandably nervous and desperate to make a good impression on the man he’s fallen in love with, who has only seen him through a computer screen. Steve has a hundred days to Christmas to become the perfect package he believes Jackson wants to unwrap, over and over again. But can a clumsy chocolate fanatic more interested in feeding his personal trainer chocolate éclairs than in doing push-ups manage to stay the course?

Product Link:  http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78_91&products_id=3762

Reviewer: Patrick

Review:Wonderful short for the holidays. I enjoyed the play on Steve’s body insecurities and how things were resolved. In the gay community, more often than not, things are usually the opposite direction as a good majority of gay men are seeking perfection and can get downright nasty if they don’t see it and a person’s body is usually one of the first things another gay guy will judge. Good job. J

A Present for Daddy by J. M. Snyder

1023864Title: A Present for Daddy

Series: N/A

Author:  J.M. Snyder

Genre: Christmas

Length: 46 pages

Publisher: JMS Books LLC (December 15th, 2012)

Heat Level: No sex, but there is the thought of erections and a press of a hand against an erection through jeans, but that is it. VERY LOW.

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts-liked it

Blurb: Six months after his wife leaves him, Bob Jansen finds himself spending the holidays with his parents in the town where he grew up. With him is his seven-year old daughter, Jenna, who sometimes seems to be handling her mother’s absence better than Bob is himself. But he’s worried that, in her letter to Santa, Jenna has asked the jolly old elf for something Bob knows he can’t pull off. He’s afraid she wants her mother back for the holiday.

While shopping for his daughter’s Christmas presents, Bob runs into Dave Knarr, an old friend. They used to be best buds in high school, before Julia, Bob’s soon-to-be ex-wife, came between them. The two men catch up over drinks, and before the evening ends, Dave makes his real feelings for Bob known.

If Bob is shocked to learn Dave has always been attracted to him, he’s more surprised by his own reaction. Even if he’s willing to take another shot at romance, what will his daughter think of his old friend?

Product Link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/265641

Reviewer: Patrick

Review:  Good story. Could definitely have used some fleshing out. In fact, this book could actually be the start of a series leading away from the holiday’s as long as the story was longer and completely fleshed out. Things happened way too fast for real life, and it didn’t make sense, but hey, this is a Christmas miracle story, so I let it slide. Good job. Write a sequel, flesh it out, make it longer, let your hair done, and let your imagination run wild with this story.