The Healing Power of Eggnog Audiobook by Jamie Fessenden narrated by Robbie Ravena

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The-Healing-Power-of-Eggnog-Audiobook/B00NG10L1S/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1420149062&sr=1-1

eggnogBlurb

Will Sutherland hasn’t been home to see his parents in four years – not since they reacted badly when he came out. This Christmas, he’s finally worked up the courage to go home, where he’s surprised to find they’ve taken in a boarder. Ryan Bennett is just a couple years younger than Will, cute, sweet…and openly gay.

As Will deals with his jealousy of the man who’s been receiving the love and acceptance he was denied, Ryan finds himself falling for Will’s brooding good looks. But Ryan also suspects the Sutherlands may be using him as a pawn in their long-standing conflict with their son. Will this Christmas finally tear the family apart, or is there a chance they can put their hurt and anger behind them.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2013 Advent Calendar package

Review

This is a short holiday story about love and forgiveness. Will hasn’t been home since the Christmas when he came out to his family. There is a “mystery” as to why he’s stayed away, but you can guess why. When Will’s family extends an olive branch, he decides to try again but is mystified by the boarder they are sharing their house with.

Ryan is a young gay man who was kicked out of his home by his religious family and is now being supported by Will’s family.

At first Will is jealous and guarded with the virginal Ryan, but as the eggnog gets drunk and the inhibitions loosened the two find they might have a bit more in common than they think.

**

Since this is a short story, a lot happens in a time line that feels unrealistic to me, but is acceptable given the parameters of a holiday love story.

I didn’t really feel Will ever had a reason to “love” Ryan or vice versa, though I was certainly rooting for the relationship.

I thought the sex and the “I love yous” were rushed but sweet nonetheless.

Audiobook:

I thought Robbie did a nice job with the narration, this was his first narration I’d heard and I would definitely look for him in the future. He didn’t do a lot with the voices but he certainly seemed to understand and translate the story well.

Overall I give the book a 3 of 5 hearts and the Audiobook a 4 of 5 hearts for a total of 3.5 hearts.

3.5

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Trouble Comes in Threes by MA Church

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5884

trouble in threesBlurb

A snowstorm in the South—on New Year’s Eve—is a perfect recipe for a catastrophe. After two soul-crushing bad breaks, Kirk’s waiting for disaster number three to strike when, naturally, two stray cats arrive on his doorstep during the storm and decide to make themselves at home. Tenderhearted Kirk lets them stay even though there’s something decidedly odd about his overly friendly felines.
Out of the punishing weather and full of tuna, Dolf and Tal are happy to be snug in Kirk’s house. But then their human goes outside for firewood and suffers a nasty fall that leaves him unconscious. Now the two cats have no choice but to reveal themselves.

Kirk wakes up to find the two kitties are actually Dolf and Tal. They’re cat shifters—and his destined mates. Being part of a feline threesome is enough for Kirk to grapple with, but soon he learns they come from a clowder that doesn’t believe humans and shifters should mix. Kirk knew those two cats would be trouble. Little does he know the real trouble lies ahead.

Review

Kirk is having a bad… life so far. His partner has left him, his house is falling apart and though he has his own garage – it’s early days and he worries about every penny. Suddenly, on a snowy new year’s night, 2 cats show up on his door. Little does he know these aren’t your average cats and they are in fact shifters and his mates!

Dolf and Tal are already mates when they scent Kirk. They both know he is their (uncommon but not impossible) third mate. They petition the alpha for the right to claim him and bring him into their “clowder” or group of cats. They are accepted… but that is where the easy stuff ends and the tough stuff begins.

Though it doesn’t take long, Kirk has to be convinced of the whole mating, shifting, moving part of his new life. The clowder is less than welcoming and this puts a rift in their relationship. To add to that, someone is targeting Kirk and physically attacking him as well.

Luckily, the clowder joins together to keep Kirk safe and we end up with a very HEA.

**

I loved this book! It was exciting and a unique but still traditional take on shifter romances. The threesome really worked for me. I thought that each truly added to the relationship and though Dolf and Tal were there together first, Kirk really added a needed dynamic that kept them closely bound.

I didn’t like a lot of the very light BDSM between Kirk and Dolf (not my taste) but it was mild enough I could skim it.

I hadn’t read this author before but I will definitely be looking for more from her in the future.

I give it 4.5 of 5 hearts

4.5

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Hook, Line, & Sinker (Hard Hats #2) by Piper Vaughn

hooksinker

Hard Hats: Book Two

From Dreamspinner:

When they were teens, Castor McCormick was the bane of Blake Kowalski’s existence. Their mutual animosity led to summers filled with rivalry. Now, nearly two decades later, Cas is moving back into the neighborhood to live in his grandmother’s old house. Blake tells himself he isn’t interested in seeing how snarky little Cas grew up, but when his mother dupes him into visiting his former nemesis, he finds out “pretty” can evolve into “sexy as hell” on the right man.

Cas didn’t think he wanted to see Blake again. No one has ever pushed his buttons like the arrogant boy he remembers from their youth. Turns out, the adult version of Blake still gets him hot under the collar—and everywhere else. With Blake on leave from work to nurse an injured leg and Cas taking time to move and unpack, they form a tentative friendship that turns into a sexual affair neither man can deny. But when Cas’s job sends him out of state to deal with a difficult client, their new relationship will be tested, and if they fail, Blake’s broken leg might not be the only thing to end up scarred. 

Marieke’s Review:

Blake has broken his leg in a stupid street hockey accident, leaving him sleeping in the couch at his mother’s. He’s frustrated and irritated by sitting inside doing nothing all day. But when his mother tells him Cas has moved into the house across the street, he doesn’t feel inclined to go over there and say hello. Cas used to be this bratty, annoying, smart-mouthed know-it-all, who he clashed with every summer. And he liked to forget that Cas had been way more attractive than Blake had wanted to admit at the time.

Cas doesn’t have to travel as much for his job anymore, so he’s able to move into his grandmother’s house. He’s thinking about remodeling, to update the outdated kitchen and bathroom. This gives his grandmother and Blake’s mother the perfect opportunity to interfere and meddle. They get Blake to go over to Cas’s place for a estimation of the work, but Cas has no idea he was coming.

Even knowing they’ve been frenemies all they teenage years, they get along great now. They go out camping and fishing, watch movies and eat pizza’s together. On the first camping/fishing trip, Blake sees Cas jerk off before going to sleep. One thing leads to another and a very––and I mean VERY––steamy hot, sex scene happens.

From there one, the story revolves a little bit too much about the sex, and not enough on the way a relationship grows. Both men develop feelings for the other, despite them trying not to. I would’ve loved to see a bit more of that, instead of reading it between the lines.

Don’t get me wrong here, the sex is amazing. The men are both very likable in their own way, and I love the fact that they used to be frenemies. It’s just that it gets a bit predictable and almost a bit boring at times. Blake could’ve thought about going to see Cas in Denver, where he’s working on an difficult account. When his mother finally suggests it, it’s almost too easy.

The trouble between them is kind of predictable too, but the way the author lets the fight develop, when Blake goes home, the silence and Blake’s fear… that part I loved. The ending is sweet, yet not completely fulfilling. It’s almost like an afterthought, so short. Cas’s way of finally communicating again, is very romantic though…

The first book in this series was more exciting, had more angst and emotions. But this was definitely not a bad book at all. I liked it a lot.

3.5

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