To Heaven Resembled by Pepper Espinoza

91v298biXVL._SL1500_Title: To Heaven Resembled, 2nd edition
Series: Some Like it Hot
Author: Pepper Espinoza
Genre: Contemporary/Fire fighters
Length: Novella (63 pages)
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books (October 6th, 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4.5Hearts
Blurb: Fire fighter Lance Stuart is minding his own business when a man on the street stops him with a simple expression of gratitude. He falls into the conversation with the man, and learns that Jakob is far more than what one might expect from a busker. For starters, he’s gorgeous. He’s also funny, charming, and flirty. Lance immediately wants to get to know him better.

Jakob Fox spends his days performing on the sidewalk and his evenings in various coffee shops and clubs, reading his poetry. But he always takes the time to thank fire fighters when he sees them. He knows first-hand how much fire fighters risk and what they sacrifice. His father was a New York fire fighter, until he died in the line of duty. As a result, Jakob can show his appreciation, but he always keeps his emotional distance—from everybody. He also suffers from almost debilitating anxiety.

He wants to be with Lance, but he can’t handle the emotional stress of being with a fire fighter. Jakob needs to decide if they have a future, or if he should just walk away.

ISBN: 978-1-62210-154-2

Product Link: http://www.lsbooks.com/to-heaven-resembled-p957.php

Reviewer: Prime

Review: This isn’t a hardcore read, it is rather relaxing. It probably helps that both main characters are extremely likable guys. In fact, Jakob is an absolute sweetheart. He’s easy going sort of person, sweet and sensitive. He performs his poetry most nights and busks for fun (playing his guitar). He also has the totally adorable (and kind) habit of saying thanks to every fire fighter he sees, all because his father died on the job as a fire fighter when Jakob was 13.

Lance is not as sweet as Jakob but still very likable. He’s the fire fighter that Jakob thanks for his service. Strong and reliable, compassionate and understanding, Lance only wants to help people, and has a heart of gold. The two seem polar opposites, but neither of them cares about that when there is chemistry between them! And there certainly is chemistry between the couple!

The plot reveals a reluctant Jakob trying to get over his hang up about dating fire fighters. This is where Lance’s compassionate nature comes in and where it’s obvious that Pepper Espinoza really knew what she was doing when she created these characters. The emotions of Jakob and Lance also come through in the text, which is always great and there are both some steamy and tender scenes between them.

This relatively short story is full of character background – very satisfying to read – as well as a steady pace plot as the uncertain couple try to figure things out. The ending seemed a bit rushed, but that was all right, the resolution was nice and left me satisfied nonetheless. This is the type of story that I think would be hard not to enjoy on some level and probably will leave many wanting more.

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

Hold the World Together by Pepper Espinoza

71YR+wxwp4L._SL1500_Title: Hold the World Together

Series: Vive La Différence AmberPax™ Collection.

Author: Pepper Espinoza

Genre: Gay / Historical / The Old West

Length: Extended Novella (109 pages)

ISBN: 978-1-61124-586-8

Publisher: Amber Allure, Amber Quill Press (April 20th, 2014)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Reviewer: Cat

Blurb: Harvard graduate Alfred Chan jumps at the chance to teach languages at the new University of California, eager to leave his life behind even if it means a dangerous cross-country journey. He knows there are bandits in the western mountains, but he never expects the most infamous of those bandits to stop his wagon train and steal him away into the night.

Sam and Shane Lyons are wanted for robbing stagecoaches and wagon trains across the western territories, and they don’t just take money. Sometimes, they kidnap educated men. A mysterious Chinese scroll holds the promise of a better life for the two brothers, if only they can find somebody able to read the strange marks on the page. They whisk Alfred to their hideout high in the ragged cliffs of the Uinta Mountains, and there, during a brutal winter, they warn him that his life will end if he fails to deliver a full translation.

Alfred knows he should fear for his life, but somehow, when he’s with Sam, he’s not afraid of anything…

Purchase Link: http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/1951-Hold-The-World-Together.aspx

Review: Alfred is on his way to California for a teaching job from Boston when a pair of notorious robbers takes him from the train. The Lyons brothers have a bad reputation of murdering and robbery. He finds there is a third member of the group also and a mysterious scroll written in Chinese that they want deciphered.

They are holed up in a hidden abandoned train car. Here are more dangers to survive the winter than the men holding him captive. Alfred never thought he would want to give up his warm cozy life with servants and everything his heart desires but something about Sam Lyons makes him feel things he never knew existed.

This is an absolutely beautiful story set in the old west about roughing winters, living on the run, and discovering love. The story hooked me from the beginning. There are many twists and turns and I fell in love with not only Alfred but also Sam, Mike and Shane.
If you old-time westerns, gunfighters, robbers, hidden secrets, historical settings and an all-over beautiful store this is definitely for you.

Intercession by Pepper Espinoza

IntercessionLGTitle: Intercession

Author: Pepper Espinoza

Genre: Paranormal, Angels, Vampires

Length: Novel (206pgs)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (8th March 2013)

Heat: Explicit

Heart:  ♥♥♥♥4Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: After fifty years of searching for his lost brother, vampire David Derringer attempts the unimaginable: he bends his knee in prayer. While he doesn’t believe, his mother’s faith was strong, and her final request—a request made the night she and David died—keeps David on the path to his younger brother, Danny, despite the many obstacles.

David doesn’t expect his prayer to be answered. He certainly doesn’t expect an angel to intercede on his behalf.

Jophiel is tasked not only with helping David find his brother but with saving David’s soul. It seems like an impossible assignment meant to punish him, especially when they must face the Brotherhood of St. Rocco, an organization dedicated to eradicating vampires.

But David has a chance to prove he’s not like other vampires when he meets Arthur, a young man with a secret and a death wish. Following a very steamy encounter, Arthur expects to be bitten. David never even drops his fangs. Which is a good thing, since Arthur might be the key to finding Danny before it’s too late.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3641

Review: David has been searching for his little brother, Danny, for fifty years; ever since the day he was turned into a vampire.  Following even the smallest lead, he is determined to keep his promise to his mother. One night in a fit of desperation, David prays to God for aid in his quest. Jophiel is given the task of aiding David in looking for his brother, but he has also given hints that the vampire’s soul could be saved… but vampires don’t have souls? Jophiel has a hard task before him, especially with the monks of St. Rocco hunting David down. Arthur is dancing with death and decides to welcome it with open arms by bedding a vampire.  But, things don’t go as planned and it is discovered that Arthur might be the only way to find Danny.

Oh my God, there had better be a sequel to this book, otherwise I am going to hunt down Pepper Espinoza and force her to write the sequel just for me. David is a vampire with a difference, he hasn’t given in to the mindless monster that is Lucifer, because of a promise he made to his mother on her death-bed. Jophiel feels guilt over something that happened thousands of years before.  He sees his task with David as more punishment, but he begins to see that there is something special about David. Arthur learns that he doesn’t want death as much as he thought he did, but death might just seek him anyway when his past wants something from him.

This is a story where the vampires are evil, they aren’t pretty and they love nothing better than draining their prey. The Angels are as uptight as you’d imagine, holier than thou and judgmental. And the humans, well they know to stay inside after dark. This is a world where there is a fight between good and evil, but sometimes the lines get blurred and something unique happens. David is a character that defies the vampire world.  Jophiel is torn by his duty and the feelings he develops for David, and Arthur is the human who makes it all work. Each character brings a punch to the story, and you never quite know what will happen or which way the storyline is going.  In fact, at one point it leaves you floundering and wondering what had just happened, but leaving you grasping at hope in the next scene.

Jophiel, David and Arthur make this a great story, but there isn’t a miraculous happily ever after. In fact, the ending is left wide open and you sit there scratching you head wondering at the implications (after you stop growling that is). There are many twists in this story, fitting hand in hand with the surprises.  We learn quite a bit about the Brotherhood of St. Rocco and not all of it is nice.  We are given a great back story for the vampires’ creation and, honestly, we get a brilliant reason for all of humanity. One of my favorite lines in this book happens during a conversation between David and God ‘God “Of all the infinite worlds and planets I’ve created, Earth is the only one I’ve populated with humans. Do you know why?” David “Because you only made that mistake once?”’

This isn’t a story to read if you want a sex filled ‘nice’ vampire story.  It’s a story to read because you want a darker ‘humans are food’ vampire story, monks using modern technology to hunt vampires and using any means necessary to get them.  God intervening because he has plans, interfering Archangels and a human who makes a vampire pause.

I have to recommend this story for those who love vampires, Angels, humans, blurred lines, sacrifice, hot sex, a great storyline, sacrifice, death, threats, developing relationships and an ending that makes you want more.