Title: Long Lost
Series: N/A
Author: Trina Solet
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novella (147 pages)
Publisher: Trina Solet (24 May 2015)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Blurb: Blake Adler is back in town on a mission. Years ago Blake’s father cut him out of his life so completely that he never spoke of him. Now that his father has passed away, Blake finally gets to meet his younger brother and sister. But Blake didn’t come back to Meadowview for a reunion with his lost family. He’s desperate to find the man he can’t live without and win back the love he threw away.

Blake and Reese were once best friends. They could have been more, but Blake screwed up the most important relationship of his life. Now he wants to fix things with Reese, if he can only find him.
Blake isn’t the only one looking for Reese. No matter how far Reese runs, trouble follows him. Wild and vulnerable, he always had it rough. The one good thing in his life was Blake.

Now Reese is taking a big risk coming back to town. It might be worth it if he can reclaim the man he can’t stop thinking about, the one who rejected him, and the one he loves more than anyone.

ISBN:  9781311118516

Product Link: http://www.amazon.com/Long-Lost-Romance-Trina-Solet-ebook/dp/B00Y8CBO2O

Reviewer: Prime

Review: This is a fun and sweet book by Trina Solet, who has branched out a bit recently from the usual formula of gay guy with a kid, meets his match and falls in love. Okay, so there are kids involved here, but this more about one guy getting his life on track by catching up (or being chased by) the people who he had never really realised love him the most.

Firstly, we are introduced to sixteen year old fraternal twins Finn and Dee Dee, who know that they have a half-brother from their father’s first marriage out there somewhere. They had tried to search for him before but think they see him at their father’s funeral.

But when the man disappears they are relentless in the search for the brother they are intent on meeting and becoming family with.
This is when the twins’ half brother comes in. Blake basically resents everything about the father that had abandoned him at the age of five when his parents divorced.

When his father became terminally ill he didn’t even call Blake. Blake has had a rough life between two neglectful parents. But when he had been in high school there had been one person – Reese – the boy from “the wrong side of the tracks”. He had been fool enough to let love slip through his fingers then, but now he was intent on finding Reese. He just didn’t realise that his stubborn siblings would insinuate themselves into his life and help him in the end.

Then there is Reese. Now he really has had a hard life. What makes it worse is that now his past is coming back to haunt him in the form of a mad man who is stalking him. He loves Blake, hurts from the rejection but more than anything will do anything to keep the man he loves safe.

There is a lot of emotion going on here, but at the same time it is funny. Finn and Dee Dee are pretty much the comic relief in this book. Part of me wonders if Finn, who is bisexual, will get his own story, too. That would be awesome. But for now, I really loved this story.

The only thing that I am going say bad is that sometimes I felt the flashbacks by Blake and Reese seemed to drag on a bit. I felt like we were stopping mid action and my mind did not like the switch in pace, no matter how brief.

Anyone who loves the “crazy kid” type of character will love this. As I said before, Finn and Dee Dee bring in a lot of life and laughter into a book filled with dark emotions. Also, anyone who loves to read best friends becoming lovers. There really isn’t any mystery though there are some sinister aspects to the plot and despite the heavy emotions it is low on angst (which for me is a great thing).

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

Title: His Winter Heart
Series: N/A
Author: Trina Solet
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (164 pages)
Publisher: Trina Solet (25 Dec 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Blurb: Wes is living a lonely, stark existence when he meets Colin, a lively young guy in desperate circumstances. Wes is so taken with him that he has to have him. His decision to invite Colin to spend the night is going to turn his quiet life upside down.

Colin almost finds himself sleeping on the street. When the tall, blond man makes him an offer, he can’t say no either to the money or to the man. Colin is impulsive and full of contradictions. He refuses to sell himself for money and ends up homeless because of it.

But when Wes offers to pay him for sex, Colin jumps at the chance to go home with him. Something about Wes strikes a chord with Colin. He knows there is a warm heart under the serious, impassive exterior and an awesome body under all the layers of winter clothes.

Things don’t go as planned when Wes decides that Colin is too young and inexperienced and refuses to sleep with him. That doesn’t mean that Wes can stay away from someone who shakes up his world.

The more time Wes spends with Colin, the more he wants him. Colin feels the same way, and he isn’t shy about getting what he wants. His relentless pursuit might pay off if Wes doesn’t let his family history and his fears about the future keep them apart.

Will Wes let go of his inhibitions and allow he to love the younger man?

ASIN: B00RG51KBA

Product Link(s): Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/His-Winter-Heart-Gay-Romance-ebook/dp/B00RG51KBA

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/504935/1/his-winter-heart-gay-romance

Reviewer: Prime

Review: This is a very bare-basics type of story but it is very cute and very much sugary sweet. In fact, exactly what I’ve come to expect from Trina Solet.

The blurb says it all really, which is as it should be. Colin is nineteen and struggling. His brother who he lived with has moved away, leaving Colin in a less than desirable position. Cue the Good Samaritan, Wes, who is a perfectly flawed hero and it’s clear he needs his own hero in the form of Colin.

This, I feel, is what made the story feel real and relatable. The attraction between the guys is sweet and instantaneous. It’s the type of story where you know that there’s going to be some sort of HEA between the guys, not with anyone else.

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

Title: Unexpected Dad
Series: N/A
Author: Trina Solet
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (215 pages)
Publisher: Trina Solet (27 Feb 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3.5Hearts
Blurb: One day Tyler finds a surprise on his doorstep. Whether he is ready for her or not, little Julie needs a father. Or maybe she needs two. Tyler and Jake have been best friends, inseparable since college. Now they have to adjust to Tyler’s new role as a dad. As Jake helps him cope with being a new father to a little girl, Tyler might be looking at two big changes in his life.

ISBN: 9781310876868

Product Link(s): Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-Dad-Romance-Trina-Solet-ebook/dp/B00GZ88WCY

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/383311

Reviewer: Prime

Review: This is another sweet book by Trina Solet which follows the formula of young guy finds out he’s a father/ takes custody of his much younger siblings and somehow along the way finds love.

The father in question is Tyler. He’s a webpage designer and lives alone, although he has two wonderful friends, Jo and Jake, who are both funny in their own ways. One day a woman arrives on his doorstep – the stepmother of his high school best friend – announcing he has a daughter and has no one living to care for her.

Okay, so I have two misgivings from this story. One, someone just rocks up at your doorstep with a kid and two suitcases expecting you to be an instant parent? That aside, the woman but she serves her purpose as a character and sets Tyler up for the rest of the story.

Second thing that bugged me, which is probably more important in terms of plot line is that it’s difficult to see at first who of Jo or Jake it is that Tyler is meant to fall for. It made things uncertain for most of the book. Yet, playing devil’s advocate with myself, it also meant that we could see Tyler’s relationship with his daughter grow. It also helps that Julie, Tyler’s daughter, is totally cute.

Despite this being somewhat of a formula that I have come to expect from the author, I still enjoy it. They are always guaranteed easy, uncomplicated reads that are sweet and have a HEA. The children of the book also make for great and funny characters. The best type of book to unwind to or if you’re tired.

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

Title: Poison Heart
Series: N/A
Author: Trina Solet
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (308 pages)
Publisher: Trina Solet (6 May 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Blurb: Is there anything Vince and Cal won’t do for each other? The two of them grew up together and fell deeply in love. They were poor but happy until Cal made a big mistake and ended up in jail.

He did it for Vince.

To get him out, Vince is willing to do anything. Roland Granger has the power and influence to make Cal a free man. All he wants in return is Vince. Even if Cal never forgives him, Vince is willing to sacrifice himself. Now he has to make sure that Cal accepts this unwanted help.

And while Vince is trying to set things right in his own life, can he reunite Roland with a self-destructive young man who loves him?

ASIN: B00K5QOA0K

Product Link: Amazon: http://www.amazon.com.au/Poison-Heart-Fiction-Trina-Solet-ebook/dp/B00K5QOA0K

Reviewer: Prime

Review: Two best friends that became lovers, together until one goes to gaol… it is unlike anything I’ve read and that was the reason that pulled me in after reading the blurb. Also, this is the first Trina Solet book I’ve read that does not involve the formula of a man with a child dependent finding his HEA.

Cal and Vince are sweethearts in more than one sense of the word. With Cal in gaol because he wanted to make a better life for him and Vince, it’s now Vince’s turn to try to get Cal out. Lawyers are expensive but stumbling into people and telling his plight gets Vince the connection he needs to help the love of his life. That is how he meets Roland, something of a noble entrepreneur and came across to me as something like a mafia boss. I will admit that

I normally do not like books that feature cheating, but somehow, because Vince is just too damn nice, it was easier for me to take.
This is really more than just the love story between Vince and Cal, which also features flashbacks of their high school years together.

There are the people who Vince meets along the way to save Cal. Vince is something of a bleeding heart and manages to save one other man and helps Roland regain the love of his life he was too scared to love completely. So in the second half there are really two love stories going on here.

It’s a simple story with complicated characters. In the end it was just so easy to enjoy this one.

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

Title: The Right Guy
Series: N/A
Author: Trina Solet
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novella (49 pages)
Publisher: Trina Solet (28 Mar 2015)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Blurb: On the surface, Nathan and Paul never liked each other. Nathan felt like Paul was always looking down on him. But things aren’t the way they seem. While watching Nathan pine for his friend, Paul has wanted him all to himself. Nathan could never return his feelings. He doesn’t even like him. After spending time with Paul, Nathan wonders if he misjudged this man.

Could Paul be the right man for him?

ASIN: B00VCLLB5E

Product Link: Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Right-Guy-Gay-Romance-ebook/dp/B00VCLLB5E

Reviewer: Prime

Review: A nice quick read but scorching hot and full of emotion. This is the story of Nathan and Paul. They know each other from a distance, sharing the same friends but not quite. We meet Nathan as the man that he thought that he had feelings for, Turner, was getting married. Paul is also a friend of Turner’s and has his own yearning for someone who seems unavailable.

The chemistry between Nathan and Paul is hot, especially when they argue. It is really easy to like both men and root for their HEA.

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

Title: And Manny Makes Three
Series: N/A
Author: Trina Solet
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novella (346 pages)
Publisher: Trina Solet (January 16th, 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Blurb: Mark, a struggling college student, has been working as a nanny for a nice family, but they don’t need him anymore.

Zack has been raising his son, Al, by himself and needs help. Al is a funny kid, and Zack is a funny dad, but more serious issues lurk under the surface. Will Mark be able to deal with these two? And how will Zack and Mark deal with their attraction for each other?

ISBN: 9781301895038

Product Link: http://www.amazon.com/And-Manny-Makes-Three-Romance-ebook/dp/B00EZC3XJO

Reviewer: Prime

Review: This is one incredibly sweet story. I enjoyed the slow build up of the relationship as it started between Mark and Zack from employee and employer, to friends to finally admitting the growing feelings (and the instant lust both men had felt). Zack’s son, Al, is also a hilarious scene-stealer. But to be fair, Zack’s unconventional parenting (broccoli anyone?) is not only effective but funny to read as he and Al pout at each other and boss each other about.

Zack is a successful accountant who adopted his dying stepsister’s son at her request. Work keeps him busy and he’s always in need of some help when it comes to Al. Before Al, he had been a workaholic, but now is a strict 9 to 5 type of person. His friend, Mia, insists that Zack’s solution to his problems is a live-in nanny and recommends her own nanny, Mark, for the job. Al is an adorable 5-year-old boy and certainly has breathed some life into Zack’s world since he arrived.

It’s too difficult for me to choose a favourite character out of Mark and Zack and Al! Then again, Al’s pet cat PJ is a character herself, although she is constantly harassed by her young master.

Mark is nineteen years old. He’s part time at college and trying to work to get some money to live. At seventeen, he was kicked out of home by his parents for being gay and was taken in by Mia, who he had been a babysitter for. Well, it wasn’t all charity. Mark also became her live in nanny. But with Mia and her family being transferred, Mark is left in a bit of a quandary of what he can do next. Mia mentions to Mark that her friend needs a nanny and he’s open to the idea.

The plot is simple. The first half of the book is interesting and sweet because we get to see these two guys interact and become friends as pine for each other. Zack does the usual thing as the older guy in the budding relationship and worry over the fact that there is ten years between the two. But quite nicely, both these guys are mature because of the circumstances that have been thrown to their way in life.

Of course, and more realistically, Zack also has to worry about bringing someone new into Al’s life. The plotline with Mark and his childhood friend and occasional lover, Roy, seems to just appear and disappear. While it adds some depth to Mark’s character, it was overplayed.

An editing issue, there are a number of typos and while they did trip me up I wasn’t too irritated by them.

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

Title: Duncan the Third
Series: N/A
Author: Trina Solet
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (224 pages)
Publisher: Trina Solet (July 25th, 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4.5Hearts
Blurb: Patrick and his little sister, Wendy, have just moved into Duncan’s building and that means trouble. Patrick is exactly the kind of guy Duncan can’t resist. Together he and his little sister might be the family Duncan has been yearning for but only if he takes a chance and lets them into his heart.

Unfortunately, Duncan hasn’t been lucky when it comes to relationships. After getting his heart broken too many times, he has sworn off younger men.

While Duncan struggles against his attraction to him, Patrick is determined to win him over. As Patrick tries to change his mind, can he also heal Duncan’s broken heart?

ISBN: 978-1-91174-941-3

Product Link: http://www.amazon.com/Duncan-Third-Romance-Trina-Solet-ebook/dp/B00M56Z50W

Reviewer: Prime

Review: This is a sweet story featuring two MCs working through their own issues with an incredibly precocious nine-year old thrown in to steal the show and generally be hilarious. After the death of their parents, Patrick Duncan is the guardian to his little sister Wendy and now has to work to support her. He moves into a new apartment and meets Duncan Jeffries. He’s basically a hermit who is reluctant to get into another relationship, particularly one with a younger guy. He’s recently been dumped by his younger boyfriend and has been having trouble coming to terms with things.

This leads me to state the obvious: the recurring theme in this book is all about healing. Patrick is an adorable sweetheart and the death of his parents has forced him to grow up. He’s strong for the sake of Wendy. Often he seems to be the more mature between him and Duncan. In fact, it’s more like he’s thirty-one instead of twenty-one. Duncan’s healing is very different – he’s nursing a broken heart and adamant he won’t get together with a younger man again. The problem for Patrick is that Duncan is so determined about this fact it often feels like he’s pushing Patrick away. However, the relationship that forms between the men is strong and true; it’s also incredibly sweet as you see the friendship become something more.

The problem for me as a reader is that Duncan’s behaviour – destructive and indecisive – bordered on irritating. Duncan’s stubborn mindset sometimes set the plot back, I feel. I suppose you can say Duncan was written as a wallower, and though he is likable when he finally gets his act together he did come across as tedious in the beginning half of the story because he was so deep into his shell from his broken heart it took a lot of effort to get him out. In the end, I suppose there’s nothing wrong with unless the reader is impatient like me.

On a final note, I have to devote some words to Wendy. She is a show stealer! The nine-year old who seems to act about five years older when she’s in her smart-arse mood (which is often), is hilarious. She’s the one that comes up with Duncan’s nickname, Duncan the Third. She also gives one of Patrick’s friend’s younger brother hilarious nickname. But she also has a serious side too. She is acutely aware of the fact that her brother dropped out of college to raise her and this makes her feel guilty. It’s times like these that she truly does act like the nine-year old she is written as. By the end of the book, one thing is clear, this girl is the boss of Patrick and Duncan!

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