Tag: Retro GLBT Reviews

The Obsession by Christie Gordon

7861524Title: The Obsession

Series:   N/A

Author:Christie Gordon

Genre: Contemporary

Length:  Novel (236 pages)

Publisher: eXtasy Books (March 15th, 2010)

Heat Level:  Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3.5Hearts

Reviewer: Eli/Mandingo

Blurb: As a senior-year art student at a Santa Barbara university, Tristan is caught in a mental prison of his own making. Sexually repressed and emotionally abused by an oppressive mother, his preference for men leads him into sexual addiction. Then a new roommate appears in his dorm—Collin, a stunning psychology major from class he’s fantasized about since the start of the school year, a young man Tristan’s fallen in love with from afar. Collin uses his charm and knowledge of psychology to pull Tristan out of his self-destructive existence and into a tumultuous affair. But Collin has a secret, a secret that could potentially further damage Tristan and send him plummeting deeper into isolation and desperation than he’s ever been before. Will Collin’s secret emerge? And will Tristan move forward and find the love he’s always craved or will he fall headlong into addiction and lose everything he’s worked so hard for.

Purchase Link:   http://www.extasybooks.com/christie-gordon/the-obsession/

Review: This book was first written in 2010 and I’m hoping that it’s in for a revival because it’s quite an interesting book.  There is lots and lots and lots of sex. So much so that after a while, the readers may find themselves skimming over some of the scenes in order to get back to the plot. Not that the sex isn’t pivotal to the plot – it is – the reader just really wants to get back to the story.  The title is The Obsession and it isn’t until the end of the book that the reader understands that it is both Tristan and Collin who both have obsessions and that their rather unorthodox relationship allows both of them to work through their obsessions.

Tristan has extremely serious psychological issues and while the story presents them very well, the ease with which they seem to be solved almost trivializes his illness by making it seem that a novice could help him overcome them with ease. So, while I love the plot of the story and how it wove along to bring the characters together and allow Tristan and Collin to bond and interact with the outside world, the notion that Collin could achieve what he did with Tristan in a mere few weeks is a tad far-fetched in reality. However, it works beautifully for the storyline and so the reader will gladly go along with suspended disbelief to achieve the outcome of the story.

Tristan when first presented seems to be introverted, sullen, invisible and full of psychoses and neuroses. Then Collin enters the picture and the reader sees Tristan begin to move from a caterpillar to a butterfly. (Insert suspended disbelief).  By the end of the story, Collin and Tristan seem to have done a personality switch and it is Tristan who’s suddenly emerged as the stronger of the two characters.  This is a necessary occurrence because half way through the story it is clear that Collin is indulging in some seriously douche-like behaviour blended with intensely unethical practices and it is only total reversal that he will in the reader’s eyes be worthy of Tristan. Of course, his selfless actions by the end of the book give him some redeeming qualities and allow the reader to actually wish to see Tristan and Collin ride off into the sunset together.

The story is well written and the character of Tristan is very well-developed, while Collin provides the necessary tool for conflict and crises in the story. And did I say there was sex?  Yes LOTS of sex! The only flaw is the timeline. For this story to have achieved perfection, it should have taken place over a longer time span – at least six months to make Tristan’s change of heart, attitude and behaviour more believable. And, that is easily achievable since the author puts specific dates of occurrences within the book – simply spread the dates out.   Without doing this, it doesn’t matter how much of a protégé Collin is, the human psyche is not a microwave and does not suddenly change at warp speed. 

The content is a little dark, but well worth the read.

The Oasis by A.J. Llewellyn

9586480Title: The Oasis

Series:  Palm Springs Diaries

Author: A.J. Llewellyn

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Novel (152 Pages)

ISBN: 978-1-920468-75-0

Publisher: Silver Publishing (December 11th, 2010)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Reviewer: Eric

Blurb: Elias and his best friend/roommate Josh take the plunge and head to Palm Springs for one of the notorious gay circuit parties that take place in the lavish desert resort called The Oasis on holiday weekends. After a disastrous start, they find all the sex with all the hot bodies they could want. However, they find to their surprise that the real oasis…was right under their noses all along. Elias and Josh realize there is something else between them. Could their real oasis be…each other?

Purchase Link: https://spsilverpublishing.com/the-oasis-ebook-p-136.html

Review: Elias has always been one to hide his emotions from the ones he’s been with. But, he cannot hide the desire he feels for Josh. Josh has been hiding his emotions on the occasion but in the meantime, he’s been hiding a major crush on someone he’s been super close to.

I really enjoyed this book.  The characters were great.  Josh and Elias make a great couple. Elias has had a rough year, but Josh is there for him.  If you like, a good friends-to-lover read…The Oasis would be a great pick.

In a Dark Wood by Josh Lanyon

71u4EQnqORL._SL1280_Title: In A Dark Wood

Series: Part of Arresting Developments anthology, has a sequel also: The Parting Glass

Author: Josh Lanyon

Genre: Murder/Mystery

Length: Short Story (37 pages)

Publisher: JustJoshin (January 28th, 2011)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts

Blurb: (Part of Arresting Developments anthology)

In a dark, dark wood there was a dark, dark house…

Camping in the Jersey Pine Barrens may literally turn out to be a first date from hell for travel writer Tim and the cute cop who persuades him to revisit a past that Tim has done his best to forget.

Product Link:  http://www.amazon.com/In-a-Dark-Wood-ebook/dp/B004LGS79U

Reviewer:   GiGi

Review: I like how this short story flashes around in time, and while it’s a horror story about a serial killer in the woods, it’s also about darker, scarier things like alcoholism and codependency. And oh yes, a very harsh first date between detective Luke O’Brien and Tim the travel writer. There is plenty of action, suspense, and viable characters. One of the very reasons Lanyon is among my favorite authors is this added layer to his characters, they are flawed, they are believable, and there is always some bit of dark undertone to them. Great read, short, dark and a bit gritty…be sure to add The Parting Glass to your list, it fits this book tongue in groove.

Six Degrees of Lust by Taylor V. Donovan

11757362Title: Six Degrees of Lust

Series:  By Degrees (By Degrees #1)
  
Author: Taylor V. Donovan
  
Genre:  Romantic Suspense
Length: Novel (389 pages)

Publisher: MLR Press (December 30th, 2011)

Heat Level:  Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4.5Hearts

Blurb:  *WARNING FROM THE AUTHOR: Six Degrees of Lust is both an ensemble novel and the first installment in the By Degrees serial. This means there are several point of views and the story will continue. Thanks.

New York City FBI team leader Samuel Shaughnessy lives for his immediate family and his job. After a marriage gone wrong he has stuck to a firm rule when it comes to relationships: he doesn’t have them. Sexually active and emotionally unavailable keeps him satisfied, especially now that he is in hot pursuit of a serial killer targeting gay men.

Former firefighter Machlan O’Bannon now manages a successful sports bar in Houston and after years of waiting he’s ready to stand up and be the man he always wanted to be: out, proud and drama-free. His politically aligned family wants to keep him locked in the closet, but Mac just wants to meet the man of his dreams.

One man is as high strung as the other is laid back. A chance meeting brings the two men together, and one night of passion ignites a fire neither can fight. Their lives are not only miles apart, but also as different as day and night. They don’t want to get involved…but will they be able to stay apart?

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

Reviewer:   GiGi

Review: First of all, I’m a sucker for a good murder/mystery/whodunit/serial killer sort of thing, and this book excels at that! Second, you won’t get complete resolution with this book, it is a series, and you need to read it in order! Donovan is great at feeding us characters and possibilities, about midway through this book I had six possible suspects in my head and still couldn’t narrow it down to two or three by the end of book one. Her storyline grabs you at the get-go, and keeps a tight fist around you throughout the book. There is a lot of back and forth between character viewpoints and locations but Taylor keeps it clear with date/location headers with each major shift in POV. This back and forth and added location details actually helps with my personality and feeds my ADD well!

The mystery of whodunit was so intense I was like a starving woman waiting for her to feed me each new detail about the new characters as the story evolved. Highly recommended for those who enjoy murder/mystery with plenty of chemistry and smexyness between the MCs. Though I do warn you, Sam can be a real shit, but Mac’s a highly intelligent man who sees right through him!

I couldn’t put it down! So go pick it up!

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Deanna Wadsworth

9585993Title: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Series: N/A           

Author: Deanna Wadsworth

Genre: Historical Romance / BDSM

Length: Novella

Publisher: Decadent Publishing (October 23rd, 2010)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

Blurb: Ichabod Crane, town schoolmaster and self-proclaimed supernatural expert, wants to better his situation by marrying the wealthy Katrina Van Tassel. But, there is a rival for her attentions.

Local hero, Brom Bones.

Brom lives to torment and tease Ichabod, leaving the schoolmaster wondering if he is more interested in besting his rival than winning Katrina’s hand. Especially when each time Ichabod goes into the backroom of his favorite tavern – a place men can be men –his imagination conjures Brom’s face on every lover.

Late one night, Ichabod is chased by the legendary Headless Horseman. Terrified the ghost wants his head, he tries to outrun the specter. To his horror, he is taken captive by the evil spirit.

Ichabod awakens, naked and tied to a bed, only to discover the Headless Horseman is none other than his rival Brom Bones! Brom confesses that Ichabod has been haunting his own fantasies and he vows to make Ichabod Crane his in every way.

Ichabod wants to believe the pleasure Brom offers comes from his heart, but he is afraid it is another one of Brom’s tricks.

Though surely an enemy’s touch has never felt like this…

Product Link: http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=176&osCsid=al067bmvsoiid1j1s0gjsq0mp3

Review: My, oh my! What a tale this one was. I feel like I went back in time when I used to read Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and The Grim Brothers’ fairytales. And as you probably have seen from the blurb the speech of the text is written in such a manner that makes you fall right in that trap, using the mannerisms of the 18 century, and traveling in haze through time in that very place when the Tale of the Headless Horseman first took the breath of life. God, I’m affected by it myself.

So, what do you make of the Legend of the Sleeping Hollow? How do you think all started? Did you ever think to yourself that there could possibly be lovers involved? That their wicked and tricky minds could have worked together to perhaps take advantage from the folk’s tales.

But things were not so easy. It was a strong rivalry before it turned to passion and unadulterated love. They were enemies before they became the ultimate lovers, such the world had never seen before.

Meet Ichabod Crane, Schoolmaster and quite the gentleman. Known for his stern ways, his impeccable control, and his vivid imagination. Currently courting Miss Katrina Van Tassel not because she’s beautiful or he in love, but due to her charming wealth that will accompany her. Ambition is an awful treat, but one Ichabod cannot deny.

Enter Ichabod’s rival, Brom Bones. Not only is he courting dear Katrina, but also he is insistently tormenting and teasing Ichabod. The awful man is bound to humiliate and utterly break Ichabod in every way. Unfortunately, for Ichabod, he’s succeeding.

After a gathering that had Ichabod hopes high for winning Miss Katrina when to Hell and beyond when said darling miss completely dismissed him and his attentions, Ichabod has been left to walk through the rumored favorite paths of the Headless Horseman. His imagination ran wild fueling his fear, a fear so strong that made his heart nearly jump out of his chest when the ghost came chasing him and captured him. But the ghost did not behead him, no; this particular ghost’s intentions were far more sinister.

And thus begins a wonderful erotic tale, filled to the brim with hot scenes, kinky and somewhat painful, although always they ended in rapturous pleasure. This is how this tale will blow your mind; right after it has lured you with all that ghostly things. And before you know it, you’ll be lost in the haze, you’ll feel as if you’re living in the book, the mists and the chills will run through you without a doubt, just as if the sensual scenes will make you hot.

I loved this book, can you tell? I loved it from start to finish. If only Ichabod wasn’t such a shallow prick at the beginning, he made me want to slap him, and when Katrina dumped him cold, I admit it, I was so damned satisfied the book instantly got real high in my praise. But it had to be like that, and it gave such an authenticity to all characters. They all felt like the real deal, hence why I loved this so much.

For me this was an excellent re-told tale, one I strongly recommend to all fans of the genre. I immensely enjoyed a very, very remarkable read.

 

Forget Me Not by Adrianna Dane

6335018Title:  Forget Me Not

Author: Adrianna Dane

Genre: Contemporary

Length:    Novella (65 pages)

Publisher: Amber Allure (March 25th, 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥ 2.5 to 3Hearts

Blurb: It was a friendship that forged their relationship. It was passion that bound them together. And tragedy that tore them apart. Yet time and distance could not destroy their yearning. A failed marriage could not quench the memories. Nothing could make either forget what they had once shared…

Boyhood friends, now mature men reunited after eighteen years apart. One had saved the other’s life. Cooper Lynch is a man locked by his mer blood to the town of Raven’s Cove. He cannot leave. Ever. Bound by cursed blood and by ancient duty. Ian Lynch is a man who feels rootless, now at the crossroads of his life, when fate brings him back again to Raven’s Cove and the only person he’d ever desired. It was a love they had tried to deny. A love that was never meant to be. But one that changed both their worlds with a night of passion they could never forget.

Different worlds, different lives. Will this forbidden love defy the demands of fate?

Product Link:http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/ForgetMeNot.html

Reviewer:  Showme

Review: Cooper and Ian have regretted the paths they chose in life ever since their one desperate night together. Both men were obviously confused by the intense attraction they felt for each other after years of friendship. Cooper is worried he took advantage in Ian’s moment of weakness and Ian isn’t sure he remembers things being as amazingly passionate as the dreams he has about his one and only time with another man. Fate or Ian’s need for closure puts both men on the island together again. Their kids from failed marriages meet and become good friends forcing the men to confront each other and the feelings they’ve held onto for eighteen years.

This was a short, sweet and angsty story. I thought the mermaid lore was interesting and would have enjoyed more about it. It felt a little rushed at times. Everything happened rapidly and it felt that way. Some of the dialogue switched from modern to historical sounding at times, which threw me because that wasn’t how the character spoke in the beginning of the book.

Not bad but not great.

Bring the Heat by M.L. Rhodes

400000000000000313937_s4Title: Bring the Heat

Author: M. L. Rhodes

Genre:  Contemporary/Mystery/Suspense

Length: Novel (127 pages)

Publisher: Amber Quill Press (June 28th, 2009)

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts

Heat Level: Explicit

Blurb: Police Detective Riley Ellison has a new habit…stopping by a coffeehouse called the Java Pit on his way to work. The coffee’s good, but it’s not the rich flavor that lures him to drive blocks out of his way each morning, and it’s not an addiction to caffeine either. He’s half-embarrassed to admit it, but it’s the man who keeps him coming back. The long-legged, painted-on-jeans wearing, dark-haired, edgy sex god with the teasing eyes. He’s everything Riley—who has a history of geekdom and being flustered around hot men—is not. Riley knows he should put a stop to the daily forays because nothing can ever come of it. Guys like that aren’t interested in men like him. Yet every time the hunk meets his gaze across the crowed shop and aims a sizzling grin at him, Riley gives in and comes back to participate in the silent sexy, flirtation another day. 

The last thing he’s expecting when he goes to question a witness about a murder at a local gay strip joint is to discover the witness is his coffeehouse hottie. Dane Scott works as a stripper strictly for fun. He doesn’t need the money—he’s got plenty in the bank from his other career. He just likes to have something to keep him busy a few nights a week. When one of his fellow dancers turns up murdered outside the strip club, the police detective who shows up on Dane’s doorstep asking questions is none other than the sexy, blond cutie he’s been flirting with at the coffeehouse for weeks. Riley Ellison’s a fascinating contradiction—rugged, strong, serious-eyed hero, and bashful boy next door. A combination Dane finds all too appealing and a refreshing change from the selfish, shallow men he’s known and dated in the past. From the moment Riley flashes his badge at Dane, Dane’s determined to show the skittish cop they can make magic together. 

The heat between them quickly soars to the boiling point and not even a murder investigation can cool the passion they share. That is until new information on Riley’s case turns up that implies Dane may not be all seems… 

Product Link: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/BringHeat.html

Reviewer: Cat

Review:  Riley is a police detective, and like order in his life. He has no idea why he is all of a sudden obsessed with the man he sees in an out-of-the-way coffee shop but he can’t seem to stay away.

Dane is intrigued by the sexy quiet man and everyday he comes in the more he knows he is more than intrigued, He wants to get to know this man and not just in a sexual way. Dane is handsome, outgoing, a successful model and a stripper, but not only is his stereotypical image wrong he loathes those kinds of people.

Riley keeps saying he is going to quit going back to the coffee shop but a case brings them together.

I really liked this story a lot. I loved both Dane and Riley. The storyline of the romance, why Riley hesitates, why Dane wants more, and the murder mystery are all intriguing and fit together well. My only issue was the story was rolling along then BAM! We find out from Dane it’s days later and the case has been solved and how it’s been solved. I would have loved to see it unfold and more about, the case but I can see why the author chose to solve the case in this manner. I really like how the o author drops description and tips through other characters. One of my favorite parts was the coffee barista looking Riley over describing him. I won’t tell you why but his was a very cute sweet scene. You will have to get the book and see! It’s worth it!

I thought the romance between Riley and Dane was awesome. I loved how Dane knew what he wanted and went for it but also knew how to step back and not push too hard, and the dinner in bed was so sexy, sensual, and hot!

Recommendation: If you like, mystery and suspense, police detectives, male strippers, coffee and a sexy, hot romance this is definitely for you.