James Carter is forty-five and has been a police officer most of his life. He married young, lost her young, and his life revolved around his work and his son. Young is a recurring theme in his life, he thinks, when he meets the considerably younger AUSA Derek Moore on a case and finds himself ruled by the whims of his heart.
The road to love between a hotshot lawyer and a veteran cop was never going to be smooth, not in the real world, but there are criminals, misunderstandings, and a lack of communication standing in their way too. Both are so stubborn and convinced their interest is one-sided that it takes a murder case, exhaustion, and an adjournment for them to get their act together. They move fast after that, but they both know there’s no guarantee for tomorrow.
Review
This is how a short story should be written.
The author moves us forward through time without the obvious – “two weeks pass”, instead showing us the important information with well written examples.
Both characters are very well developed, and again this shows the author’s skills in that it is all shown to us rather than dumped on us in one long spew.
There are even well-developed secondary characters!
I thought the love story was very sweet but wish there had been more steam as the sex is fade to black.
Be warned, this is told in third person present tense and that can be difficult for some readers. It’s done well, though it isn’t my favorite writing style.
A Blue Notes novel.
Blame it on jet lag. Jason Greene thought he had everything: a dream job as a partner in a large Philadelphia law firm, a beautiful fiancée, and more money than he could ever hope to spend. Then he finds his future wife in bed with another man, and he’s forced to rethink his life and his choices. On a moment’s notice, he runs away to Paris, hoping to make peace with his life.
But Jason’s leave of absence becomes a true journey of the heart when he meets Jules, a struggling jazz violinist with his own cross to bear. In the City of Love, it doesn’t take them long to fall into bed, but as they’re both about to learn, they can’t run from the past. Sooner or later, they’ll have to face the music.
Note: Each Blue Notes novel is an independent story, although the characters all inhabit the same classical-music universe. Books in the series can be listened to in any order.
Review
This is my first book by Shira Anthony and it was very good. I really loved how she wove the music throughout the entire story, using the music analogies to move the story forward very fluidly.
I think the writing is excellent and for the first part of the book I was really compelled. It started to unravel for me when our MC Jason aka “Jaz” falls under the spell of the alluring Frenchman so easily. For a straight guy (mostly entirely straight guy) it felt a bit too easy.
I loved watching the couple fall in love and Jules is an engaging character. I was really rooting for him and his budding music career. However… I was really disappointed by “the big misunderstanding”. I could see Jules getting mad when he sees Diane (the ex) in Jason’s arms, but when both have declared the big “L” word wouldn’t he at least give him a fighting chance at an explanation… especially after he calls so many times. And Jason, he claims he could never find the man to properly explain – but he’s homeless! How hard could it be to track him down through his job or his friends?
I think it would have been a more poignant story had they dealt with the more real hurdle of their huge age difference, their different life styles and the fact that they live on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
That being said, there was a lot of really great writing and I thought the love story between the two was very sweet and steamy.
Audio
Peter B Brooke, with your vaguely southern twang… what an amazing French accent you have!!
I absolutely adored listening to this because he did such great work with both the French and the accented English. It was practically flawless (to my non-French speaking ears)!
I really think the audio is the way to take in this story – his narration adds so much flavor to the characters that it absolutely raised my rating from a 3.25 to a 4.25 of 5 hearts.
Two men, one with a past, and one determined to give them a future, together.
Mick Flanagan has kept himself hidden since his only lover died three years ago. He works at night, keeps to his routine, has impressive facial hair, and avoids contact with other people. Enter Ceri Llewellyn, with his constantly changing rainbow-coloured hair, who seems determined to talk to him. Gradually, Mick tells his story and begins to trust Ceri, but Mick has a past that contains more than just a dead lover. Can Ceri show him that he deserves to be loved and, above all else, help him find his true self?
Review
This was a surprisingly different book than I expected. I was thinking it would be a fairly fluffy geek/nerd love story with a twinky/goofball and instead I got a fairly rich, and deep story about a deeply controlled man who has never been on his own and doesn’t know what to do when he is.
Mick’s mom is a piece of work. She never let Mick stray far from her grasp all throughout his childhood, threatening home schooling and demanding almost complete isolation from him while instilling fear of the outside world into his head. It is only dumb luck that Mick finds love at the hands of a paramedic, Alfie, who both saves his life and rescues him from his mom.
But Alfie has his own imperfections and he, too never let Mick be his own man. He loved Mick, to be sure, but he controlled him and never let him flourish. Neither his mom nor Alfie encouraged his creativity or self-reliance and when Alfie suddenly dies, Mick is on his own. (His mom kicked him out for being gay, of course.)
Now, three years later, Mick is coping – just – but still not thriving. He meets Ceri (pronounced Sherry – it’s a Welsh name) at work and is immediately captivated by the outgoing man who literally changes his hair color each week.
Ceri is a big kid – not quite but almost ready to settle down and admit he will never be a pro-skateboarder at the age of 27. He meets Mick and thinks he sees a diamond in the rough hiding behind the awkwardness and the bushy beard.
The two start to get to know one another and Mick slowly comes out of his shell. Here things move along rapidly (maybe a bit too rapidly) and they become lovers. But Mick is still holding tight to his dead-lover’s memory and can’t let Ceri in.
Only when an old friend interferes can he really let Ceri in and get past Alfie. At the same time he finds out his mother is dying from cancer and may only have a limited time left around for building bridges.
What really surprised me about this story was how much growth we got to witness in Mick. He really was so controlled, but in both cases lovingly, if not dangerously. Ceri has to dance around helping him without taking over and becoming the next leader Mick follows blindly.
All in all I really enjoyed this and will definitely look for more from this author.
Six years ago, Jeff Beachum comforted a frightened teenager outside an HIV treatment clinic, and Collin Waters has remembered his kindness ever since. Now, after six years of crushing on the kind, brown-eyed sweetheart of his dreams, Collin is feeling adult and together enough to make his move. Too bad fate, which has never been kind to Jeff, has something else in mind.
Jeff’s life had fallen completely apart before that long-ago day, and it isn’t much better now. Jeff has toughened up, become self-reliant, been the funny guy his friends turn to, the one who gives advice and comfort when needed. But every phantom from Jeff’s past is about to come out to haunt him, and the family Jeff has staked his future on isn’t in such great shape either. Collin is more than a starry-eyed kid, and it’s a good thing, because Jeff’s going to need all the help he can get. No one knows better than Jeff that life can be too short to turn your back on honest love, and that living happily is the best promise of all.
Review
This is book three in Amy’s Promise series and it is one of the roughest (IMHO) to read. Right from the start she pulls our heartstrings with the tale of Jeff’s ex, the man who gave Jeff HIV then essentially kills himself rather than deal with the consequences of the disease and his homophobic family.
Then there’s Collin. Young, dumb and full of … exuberance… and not wearing a condom while doing it. He, too contracts HIV and is touched by the caring he receives at the hands of Jeff at the crisis center.
Years later the two meet again and Collin is determined to have Jeff as his own.
Jeff, however, hasn’t really put himself out there and certainly not for a “boy” several years his junior.
The push/pull of attraction goes on for quite awhile but Collin is perseverant and eventually he gets his man.
Meanwhile – lots of things are happening at the Pulpit… Crick is Crick and Deacon is Deacon and Mickey and Shane are adorable and snarky and at their best…
Martin, Jeff’s ex Kevin’s brother comes to town looking for answers and meets Shane and Mickey and learns to love something he was taught to hate.
**
First let me say that I loved all the books in this series. LOVED. THEM. But, this was the weakest in my opinion. (Still awesome, amazing, wonderful, brilliant…) I loved seeing the folks at the Pulpit but sometimes wanted to see more of Jeff and Collin. I never connected with them as a couple as strongly as I did the others and I think one reason why is the lack of page time for them developing their relationship as compared to Crick, Deacon, Mickey, Shane or even Benny and Drew!
I loved the Martin/Kevin storyline though it tore me up… so much.
This was an amazing (and difficult) book and I highly recommend it. It is NOT a standalone.
Audio
Paul Morey did a great, great, great job of giving Jeff a swishy but not over the top voice. I wish he’d made Collin’s voice a little bit more differentiated, but I appreciate the challenge of giving so many “main characters” unique voices. I loved his Kevin/Martin voices and really enjoyed this narration.
Blurb (Book 5 of the A Vampire In Waikiki series)
You can steal a man’s heart or you can steal his wallet, but stealing his car?…that’s just asking for trouble. Waikiki Vampire, Divine Thunder, and his husband, Tem, thought that going to hell and back—literally—was an ordeal. Now they’re home and things are a mess. Even Div’s precious car, which he calls his “other husband,” has been stolen. Picking up the pieces of their half-demolished home, they find themselves in the middle of a new and weird mystery.
They’ve employed an art historian who’s a real weirdo, and somebody keeps pinching their good wine and leaving booby traps in their garden. So they decide to hire Francois, a big, beautiful, black security expert to get to the bottom of the twisted events. But wait…now they keep seeing Div’s car, driven by the thief, all over the island. This is gonna give a whole new meaning to “thunder in paradise.”
NOTE: This story was previously published with the ISBN: 978-1-55487-364-7. This reissued version of the story has been revised and reedited.
Review
This is the next short segment in the adventures of Tem and Div. In this “episode” Div’s car gets stolen, they invite a third to share their bed and they consult with Francois about security.
As always there is a lot of hot, steamy sex – ménage this time! – and lots of laughs.
If you’ve been enjoying this quirky series you will undoubtedly want to continue with this. This is NOT a standalone.
Cassidy Monarch had dreams to sing, to be famous, to tour the world at the head of his own rock band. Then his parents were killed in a tragic accident, leaving him to raise his two siblings. Determined to hold on to what remained of his family, Cassidy settled into an ordinary life, his dreams of fame reduced to occasional nights of singing at karaoke dives. But his careful, ordinary life began to fray with his new job, and the beautiful, charming boss who reminds him of all the things he tried to stop wanting.
Malcolm Osborne is a classic rags-to-riches story, a foster child who wound up with the perfect family and more money than he knows what to do with. He’s wealthy, beautiful, successful, and completely miserable. Then he hires a new worker for his office, a young, hardworking man with a sadness in his eyes that Malcolm aches to banish, hoping that in doing so he will be rid of his own loneliness as well.
Review
I don’t know why I haven’t read this sooner!
It was fantastic!
Cassidy is an amazing vocalist on the cusp of setting the music world on fire when his parents die and he’s left in charge of his younger siblings. He ends up getting one crap job after another – for years – and is only now working at an office job that seems to appreciate him.
Malcolm is a foster kid who struck it rich. Now he and his other foster siblings work together on various projects – including an entertainment enterprise.
At first there are some questions: Is he gay? Can I get in trouble fraternizing with a fellow employee? Are we too different? Etc.
Eventually coincidences collide and the two meet and then are forced to deal with these questions AND their attraction.
**
I loved Cassidy and his story. Up until the very end, his was a real and very authentic story of struggle and “doing the right thing”. There were a few instances about the ending that felt a little rushed or set up to keep the lovers apart, but they were small. (IE the coincidence of the band, the sudden change of heart, his unwillingness to see his siblings as adults…)
Malcolm’s story was more fantasy than anything else. I would have liked it a bit better if his story held some more realism in it… but again, a minor complaint.
I am looking forward to the upcoming sequels and frankly couldn’t put this book down once I started it!
Audio
Paul Morey is a favorite of mine and I loved his narration here as well. I still think his “Spanish accent” sounds a bit too much like his Russian accent, but it still gives the story that exotic flavor and helps to differentiate the characters so well.
All in all I give both the book and the narration 4.5 of 5 hearts
Tem and Div, Waikiki’s hottest vampires, are settling into domestic bliss when a tornado hits Honolulu and something sinister blows in. Mysterious forces, hell-bent on abducting Tem and Div’s baby nephew—Akua, a storm demon—whisk Tem away and hold him hostage.
Devastated, Div must fight to rescue the man he loves, which involves a descent into the past, to French Vietnam, a step back in time to undo the deal he made with the devil many, many years ago—a deal to give him a second chance at love. The catch is, Div must choose between the life of the man he loves and the baby…
Review
The blurb explains the gist of it. Jimmy has to fight for the baby against the devil with whom he bartered his soul.
This story is definitely a more action filled story than the previous 2 (which were more sentimental). There is still lots of sex and the “bad guys” and the “good guys” are pretty funny. It’s a bit longer than books 2 and 3 and the complexity of the story is evident as a result.
I like that AJ Llewellyn and the characters don’t take themselves too seriously.
The ending is a nice twist and I enjoyed having all the other characters back in the storyline.
Former cat burglar Rook Stevens stole many a priceless thing in the past, but he’s never been accused of taking a life—until now. It was one thing to find a former associate inside Potter’s Field, his pop culture memorabilia shop, but quite another to stumble across her dead body.
Detective Dante Montoya thought he’d never see Rook Stevens again—not after his former partner’d falsified evidence to entrap the jewelry thief and Stevens walked off scot-free. So when he tackled a fleeing murder suspect, Dante was shocked to discover the blood-covered man was none other than the thief he’d fought to put in prison and who still made his blood sing.
Rook is determined to shake loose the murder charge against him, even if it means putting distance between him and the rugged Cuban-Mexican detective who brought him down. If one dead con artist wasn’t bad enough, others soon follow, and as the bodies pile up around Rook’s feet, he’s forced to reach out to the last man he’d expect to believe in his innocence—and the only man who’s ever gotten under Rook’s skin.
Review
This another amazing work by Rhys Ford! Rook is a thief, trying to get clean, but stuck in the middle of family drama “that keeps pulling him in”!
Dante is the cop on the case – at first determined to put Rook behind bars, but later determined to keep the man in his bed.
It’s a wonderful story of enemies to lovers with that special, emotionally charged twist that Rhys infuses into all her work. Rook is such a great character – warm hearted, giving, loyal, and totally unaware of how awesome he is.
Dante is the tough, alpha figure who knows a gem when he sees it. He won’t let Rook slip through his fingers and he’s lucky enough to get Rook’s crazy family, too.
The sex scenes were amazing, the love story so sweet and the action/mystery compelling.
I enjoyed the pop-culture references and laughed out loud many times. It was great seeing Alex again and catching up with him a bit. I also LOVED the pet names they had for each other… so adorable!
I can’t wait for this to be an audiobook – it’s going to go up with my Cole McGinnis stories as those books you just read/listen to again and again.
On the run from his old-blood werewolf family, Tim Dirus finds himself in Wolf’s Paw, one of the last surviving refuges from the days when werewolves were hunted by humans and one of the last places Tim wants to be. Kept away from other wolves by his uncle, Tim knows almost nothing about his own kind except that alpha werewolves only want to control and dominate a scrawny wolf like him.
Tim isn’t in Wolf’s Paw an hour before he draws the attention of Sheriff Nathaniel Neri, the alphaest alpha in a town full of alphas. Powerful, intimidating, and the most beautiful wolf Tim has ever seen, Nathaniel makes Tim feel safe for reasons Tim doesn’t understand. For five years he’s lived on the run, in fear of his family and other wolves. Everything about Wolf’s Paw is contrary to what he thought he knew, and he is terrified. Fearing his mate will run, Sheriff Nathaniel must calm his little wolf and show him he’s more than a match for this big, bad alpha.
Marieke’s thoughts:
Tim, aka Little Wolf is on the run. He’s a wolf shifter but only half and that makes him smaller and weaker than most full wolf shifters. He came to Wolf’s Paw because someone he trusted sent him there. But the first day he arrived he made a foo out of himself with the Sheriff. Luckily Sheriff Neri is his mate, and a very powerful yet controlled wolf. He tries to show Tim that he can be patient and trustworthy.
Tim slowly gets used to Nathaniel, even starts to look forward to his visits to the café/ souvenir shop where Tim works. He’s still scared shitless though, and freaks out with every little thing that happens.
But when his room is breached by magic, he runs straight to Nathaniel––without knowing why. Nathaniel takes him home, stating can protect him better there.
Of course then the whole ‘starting to get to know each other’ begins, and Tim learns a lot about Nathaniel but also about himself. He lets himself shift for the first time in years, which is quite the victory for him. The sexual tension is overwhelming and the two end up having sex. But that’s not the end of the problems Tim has.
I loved how Nathaniel cares for Tim, even if I sometimes wished he’d just hurried up and claim the guy already. Tim is frustratingly slow in understanding anything to do with shifters, and I often wanted to hit him on the head. But when you hear his story, you understand why. He’s in denial and his brain won’t let him out of that.
It’s a slow burn book, and you really have to love that to be able to read this. I happen to do love it, so this book was great for me. If you like action and fast paced stories, you better skip this one though.
Little spoiler alert
In the end there is action, and suspense so you do get it. But you have to wait for it. Tim’s uncle, who you think is the evil bastard in this story, ends up kind of stealing my heart….kind of, because he’s still an ass. But, not an asshole like his right hand, who I truly wanted to end up dead…alas, that wish didn’t come true. Thank God he did get some sort of punishment.
In the end, this was a very pleasant read for me, even if it sometimes was a bit too frustrating that Tim was so clueless and Nathaniel so reluctant to force the issue. Another good story in this series that I adore.
The Secrets Collection are sexy short stories by four different authors. The stories are linked by the common theme of secrets.
June 5, 2015: Top Me Maybe? by Jay Northcote June 12, 2015: Cheeky Hipster & Jocks by Posy Roberts June 19, 2015: Toy With Me by Annabelle Jacobs June 26, 2015: (to be confirmed) by Teegan Loy
Please visit Blanket Fort Press for full details on the other stories in the Secrets Collection
Excerpt:
“What do you want to talk about?”
Tyler thought for a moment then answered, “Sexual fantasies.” They hadn’t had that conversation yet. Not in any detail anyway.
“Okay.” Duncan sounded a little dubious. “You can go first then. Seeing as it’s your idea.”
“God. I have loads… where to start? Okay, one of mine is deflowering a Catholic priest or a monk or something—someone who’s taken a vow of celibacy, but in the fantasy I’m so hot they can’t resist me.” Tyler’s cheeks heated at the admission, but somehow it was easier having this conversation in the dark when Duncan couldn’t see his face. “Another is having sex in public…. Not in the park or something—that would be a bit skeevy—but somewhere people have come expecting to see it, like a live sex show. Or maybe being in porn, knowing that people were watching me and jerking off watching me fucking someone else…. That would be hot.” He stopped because Duncan hadn’t reacted. “Well? It’s your turn now.”
“I feel really boring in comparison,” Duncan said. “Your imagination is wild.”
Tyler chuckled. “Yeah… well I was a late starter in the practical side of things. Didn’t even kiss a guy till I was seventeen, so I spent a lot of time wanking in my bedroom thinking about stuff like that. Anyway, come on. There must be something you fantasise about. It doesn’t have to be something you actually want to do for real. I don’t think I’ll ever actually shag a priest or make a porno, but it’s fun thinking about it. It turns me on.” He wriggled a little closer to Duncan, pressing his thickening cock against the curve of his arse and combing his fingers through the hair on Duncan’s chest.
He waited for Duncan to respond, and the silence stretched out long enough to get a little awkward.
“Hey, you don’t have to if you’re not comfortable sharing,” Tyler said. Suddenly he was worried. Maybe Duncan was into something really kinky? Maybe Tyler didn’t want to know what his fantasies were. “Don’t worry about it, we can—”
“I think about being fucked.” Duncan’s voice was quiet, a deep rumble that vibrated in his chest under Tyler’s hand.
Surprise hit Tyler at the admission. It wasn’t what he’d expected to hear from Duncan at all. But he didn’t react, waiting for him to elaborate. But he didn’t, so Tyler prompted, “And?”
“That’s it.” Duncan took a deep breath, his ribs expanding under Tyler’s arm. “I’ve never bottomed. But I… I fantasise about it. About being fucked by another guy.”
Author Bio:
Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England, with her husband, two children, and two cats.
She comes from a family of writers, but she always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed her by. She spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content. One day, she decided to try and write a short story–just to see if she could–and found it rather addictive. She hasn’t stopped writing since.
Duncan has a secret fantasy, but is Tyler the right man for the job?
Tyler’s new policeman boyfriend, Duncan, is gorgeous. Tall, broad, and über-masculine, he’s the epitome of the dominant top—in appearance at least.
When they discuss their sexual fantasies, Duncan confesses to a secret desire that surprises Tyler. Luckily for Duncan, Tyler’s happy to oblige and is determined to give Duncan a night to remember.
Review
This is a super sweet short story about two guys in the very beginning stages of their relationship. Neither is comfortable asking for what they want and both are trying to be what they think the other wants.
Once they begin to trust each other they get EXACTLY what they dreamed of!
I liked it because it felt authentic and real, yet had the kind of “fantasy” feel to it as well. Very well rounded and developed for such a short story.
The sentiment is very sweet and the sex is very hot and my only complaint is that it’s so short! But it is very satisfying and I loved it!
Blurb
![BlueNotes[2ndEd]AUDMed](https://i0.wp.com/kimichanexperience.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/BlueNotes2ndEdAUDMed.jpg?ssl=1)
