After a lengthy world tour, pop star Samuel Gibbs is looking forward to a nice, quiet break—sleep in, write a bit of music, do his own cooking for a change. He doesn’t want his time spoiled by the constant presence of bodyguards, and he is certainly not willing to have someone tail him each time he so much as goes to the shops. No way, no how. It’s a good thing, then, that his head of security relents on the matter—or so he leads Samuel to believe.
The break is starting to look even better when Samuel runs into his new neighbor. Ryan Halston is smart and hot and, quite possibly, everything Samuel wants. However, he doesn’t know that Ryan is part of the rejected security detail, tasked with protecting him from the dangerous attentions of an unknown stalker.
Review
Samuel meets Ryan and hits on him. Ryan tries to do the right thing and keep his distance (both because he wants to be professional and also because he doesn’t “do” relationships). Eventually Ryan caves in and they begin an affair. When Sam finds out he’s mad and then he makes Ryan work REALLY hard and then he finally forgives him.
I thought this was an ok book. I was never really captivated by any of it. I didn’t really bond well with Samuel, though I loved Ryan. I thought the way Samuel put Ryan through the ringer was a little unbalanced by the mediocre HEA.
It wasn’t a bad book, the writing was nice and the characters were pretty well developed, but the emotional connection wasn’t there for me.
Jamie Kincade’s world is turned upside down when Sebastian, a young man who doesn’t speak and who shares the ability to see ghosts that Jamie’s had since childhood, enters his life. Jamie finds Sebastian fascinating on multiple levels, and is determined to help him learn to speak again. But he can barely keep his thoughts – or hands – off Sebastian, who wants him and makes no attempt to hide it.
The age difference between them – Sebastian is almost 15 years Jamie’s junior – is a problem for Jamie, but Jamie’s reluctance isn’t the only thing keeping them from focusing on the potential they might have as a couple. The collection of ghosts Jamie has been living with in relative harmony for more than a decade has no intention of leaving Sebastian alone now that he’s here. Their desperate attempts to get Sebastian’s attention are a distraction Jamie would be grateful for if they didn’t upset Sebastian so much. Jamie is torn between wanting to send Sebastian away for his own good and wanting to drag him off to bed, and with Sebastian tempting him both deliberately and subconsciously, it can’t be long before Jamie’s self-control snaps…
Review
Jamie has a house full of ghosts he can see but nothing else. One night he finds a real human, a man, Sebastian, out huddled from the rain in his garden shed. Turns out Sebastian can not only see the ghosts but he can hear and speak to them, too. When he can speak, that is.
Sebastian has been mute since his parents died in a fire years ago and has also been on the run since then, having no other family that he knows of. He wanders into Jamie’s shed one night and finds more than just shelter.
Together they learn more about ghosts and their “abilities” than they’d ever want to know and also find love.
**
From page one this story gripped me and kept me turning pages. It is very well written, captivating and interesting.
Though the romance is a fairly easy going May/December story, the addition of the ghost story and the mystery hiding in Sebastian’s life make this an interesting and fast-paced story.
I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
Tristan ‘Trip’ Hagan is a Husky shifter who was born to be the Hagan Clan’s next Alpha, a position of honor and nobility, a position he never wanted and was all too happy to pass onto his younger brother. But when they discovered his brother couldn’t have pups, the responsibility of continuing the Hagan Alpha line fell back to Trip. Under the weight of the Hagan Council’s demand to fulfill his duty, Trip settled down and produced an heir, but after years of struggling to uphold his family’s traditions, Trip found the courage to do what no other Hagan Alpha had done in the history of the clan: he came out.
Five years later, and Trip is living a happy life with his cheeky pup and their own little makeshift family. True mates within canine shifter clans are very rare, but Trip has had one since he can remember. Despite losing his heart to Boone twenty years ago, Trip holds little hope of ever getting to bond with the sexy Enforcer, as it’s against clan laws for pure-bloods to bond with half-breeds. With the call from their feral halves to seal the bond growing stronger by the day, can Trip and Boone find a way to be together without losing everything?
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group’s “Love Has No Boundaries” event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
Review
This is a lovely and hysterical and hot romance! Trip and Boone are mates, but can’t recognize that publicly due to archaic clan laws that could result in banishment or even death.
When the pressure gets too much, twenty years later, they finally give in to temptation and are given a wonderful surprise.
Charlie Cochet is great for giving us witty dialog and hot smexy times wrapped around interesting characters involved in intriguing drama.
Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6320 Blurb
All his life, Leith has loved Aaron, and all his life, Leith has wondered if Aaron returns his feelings. Through high school, college, and beyond, Leith and Aaron are drawn together and pulled apart. Leith is finally convinced he and Aaron are not meant to be when a cowardly act of violence against Leith changes everything.
Aaron returns to Leith’s side, but Leith struggles to accept that Aaron can love him now.
If Leith doesn’t overcome his doubts and fears, he will forever be waiting for the moon and Aaron… and true love.
Review
Told with a lot of flashbacks – this is the story of Leith and his friends and (very briefly) his romance with Aaron.
I honestly can’t really rate this as a romance because 80% of this was NOT a romance – but Leith’s story.
If you are interested in a story about coming to grips with who you are and friendships and life… this is a book for you. But if you are interested in a romance about two men finding love with one another – you might be unhappy with this selection.
I was not a fan of the flashback writing style used here and so the overall experience was not great for me.
It’s a lovely little life Kelly Seaton leads. He’s got his own landscaping business, a nice little house, and his best friend, Cosimo Renaldi, and Coz’s goofball family who have adopted Kelly as their own. Sure, it’s a little lonely at night, but it’s a sweet deal, and Kelly can’t chance ruining it by letting on that he wants more—has always wanted more—with Coz.
Then Kelly’s past comes to town, bringing bad memories and hurt feelings that start to break Kelly down, and Coz just doesn’t understand why Kelly won’t let him be the support and strength that Kelly’s always been for him. They’ve already been through war, Coz’s devastating injury, and starting new careers in Mangrove, Florida. Why shouldn’t they face their chaotic pasts and build their future of quiet nights… together?
Review
(Reviewed previously)
Oh Mary, how I love thee, let me count the ways!
This is the second book in her new Mangrove Stories series. So… yep we get to see Dwyer and Takeo again. (Yay!)
Kelly and Coz are best friends and have been since their days in the military. Kelly is Coz’s de-facto brother, his family disowned him for being gay. Kelly saved Coz’s life but Coz still lost an arm, and as a result still feels inadequate in the realm of romance.
Takeo actually is to be credited with pushing Kelly and Coz together, because it is his matchmaking endeavors that sort of push Coz into dating which makes Kelly so jealous he can’t see straight!
This is a short story, so we get a little build up and a little steamy smexy times and lots and lots of warm feels.
One of my favorite quotes from the book illustrates this exactly. Coz is talking to Kelly. “You’re who I think of telling shit to, who I miss even when I’m busy doing something and you’re who I want to roll over on top of in the morning.” See? Build up, smexy times, and lots of great feels!
4 of 5 hearts
Audio
Greg Tremblay did an amazing job with this. I just love diving into his stories – he is so compelling – adding a layer to Mary’s work that just makes everything exponentially wonderful.
Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6274 Blurb
After ten years in an abusive relationship and a near-fatal knife wound, Jonathan Watson is finally free. Unused to being able to make even the smallest decision and smothered by family and well-meaning neighbors, he’s floundering in the real world. Jonathan is afraid of falling into another relationship too quickly and realizes he needs time to rediscover who he is before he attaches himself to another man.
He never counted on meeting Ben Urquhart, though. Ben tempts Jonathan to forget everything and take a leap. For Ben, it’s love at first sight, and he doesn’t want to take it slow. He wants to build a life with Jonathan, free from harm and full of laughter. But before they can take the next step, they must protect Jonathan from his possessive, threatening ex. Jonathan must find the courage to confront him and break the chains of his past before he can be truly free to build a future with Ben.
Review
Jonathan was in a terrible relationship for years and is almost killed by his ex. The last thing he wants is another relationship but … when he meets Ben, he can’t help but be entranced.
Ben just plain falls for Jonathan and wants to help him get through his troubles with the ex.
**
I vascillated on this story because I liked the relationship between Ben and Jonathan in that it felt intensely real at times and I liked that.
However, what I didn’t like was the constant drama, the fact that Jonathan continued to make disturbing choices and the fact that our couple is a couple for only about 20% of the book.
I thought the writing was good and perhaps if I had read the previous books in the series I may have been more invested in this one. I think that if you have liked the earlier books you will probably like this one as well.
Halym knows better than to trust humans. Even though he’s a dragon at the top of the magical food chain, he just can’t get any respect from humans–particularly not from a magician like Merrick Leigh, who has the audacity to steal Halym’s soul.
Merrick has good reasons for taking the dragon captive, though it leaves him holding the proverbial wolf by the ear. He wants to use Halym’s powerful magical abilities to work an important spell, but Halym has other plans. Something about this magician piques Halym’s curiosity and whets his sexual appetite. Once Halym gives chase, Merrick finds he doesn’t have the will or the wiles to fend off the dragon’s advances. Although the dragon is under Merrick’s control, Merrick realizes he’s not the one in charge…and he likes it that way.
But everything changes when Halym steals back his soul. Now that Halym is free to leave, he isn’t sure he wants to. Yet staying with Merrick means not only learning to trust humans, but becoming one.
Review
Merrick wants to find a way to return his lover to the land of the living and captures the most powerful magical creature in Europe to help, Halym the dragon.
Halym doesn’t want to help Merrick at first because he’s a lowly human and dragon’s are far superior, then he doesn’t want to help because he’s fallen for Merrick and doesn’t want to lose him to the past lover.
In a fit of selflessness Halym gives Merrick what he thinks he wants only to find out that you can’t go back in time, no matter how much you might want to.
**
This is a good book. The dialog is witty and the banter between Halym and Merrick is great. The magic and the mix of old and new world technology is fascinating.
I found the writing to be bulky at times, but mostly good. I never felt the connection that I wanted to between Merrick and Halym, the old lover took up more space than felt comfortable.
Overall I liked this book and would recommend it to lovers of dragons and magic.
Excerpt:
We were no sooner on the couch than Dominic had me in his arms and I was really flying. He nibbled on my neck, sending waves of pleasure through me. The sharp edge of his teeth grazed my skin, ready to bite into me. But he stopped and froze all over for a second, leaned back, and his sightless eyes betrayed a confused indecision that startled me. For a moment, he seemed lost. But before I could formulate words to ask him what was wrong, his expression changed, his lips returned to mine, and his tongue renewed its attack.
Friday night, his kisses had been tentative and delicate, but now he pressed his lips to mine with animal-like ferocity and gripped me in a powerful embrace. He licked and nibbled on my neck while unbuttoning my shirt, and then he nudged me forward to remove it.
I started to lift his pullover, but he pushed my hands away. His fingers explored my naked torso and roamed over every inch of exposed skin, adding to the tension building up inside me.
Huston Piner writes books prominently featuring gay characters. His first book My Life as a Myth was nominated for the 2014 Stonewall Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature and was a 2013 Rainbow Awards finalist. His second book, the highly anticipated Conjoined at the Soul, was published in February 2015. In the edgy Light in Endless Darkness, his first New Adult offering, he explores the supernatural romance of a gay vampire. Huston lives in the mythical town of Chadham, Virginia, with his partner and three domineering cats.
[2nd edition has been extensively rewritten and the story changed from the original. Contains approximately 25k words of new content.]
Of all the tiny towns, in all the world, he walks into mine.
Texas native Kieran Quinn has hit the big time, working in Manhattan as a columnist for Gloss, a national literary magazine. He’s well-known for his snarky, sardonic columns, but deep down he’s more interested in exploring what makes people tick than his editor would like. He keeps his desire to find his own Mr. Right hidden under a sexy, carefree persona that favors champagne and underwear models of the male variety.
Jaxon Lang loves being the high school principal in tiny Buckwheat Springs, Texas after relocating from Austin to pursue his relationship with Danetta Archer, despite her reputation for leaving grooms at the altar. So far, he’s avoided examining the questions he has about himself, certain that marriage will put them to rest. Then Kieran arrives in town. Kieran’s charm and unique attitudes about sex and attraction soon challenge Jaxon’s concept of what—and who—he wants.
While covering the latest wedding of a real-life “runaway bride,” Kieran falls hard for the gorgeous—and supposedly straight—groom, Jaxon Lang, despite that ridiculous X. Then Kieran discovers the bride’s hiding a shocking secret.
First Edition published by Ravenous Romance, April 2009.
Review
The blurb pretty much tells you what happens. Jaxon is supposed to marry Danetta, but he finds he has feelings for Kieran – a man! He convinces Kieran to “experiment” with him, but at the last minute decides he needs to follow through and marry Danetta.
Kieran uncovers some “truths” about Danetta and Jaxon and he go to Hawaii to explore their new “relationship”.
When the article that Kieran wrote about Jaxon comes out it paints Jaxon in a bad light and Jaxon gets mad – but then he gets over it and they reconcile.
**
I really wanted to like this story because the premise is cute and I love GFY/OFY. But it just failed for me in a lot of ways.
I thought the “exploratory” sex between Jaxon and Kieran was funny and hot but it sort of felt teen-agerish. Jaxon acted like he’d never been around a penis before or heard what happened during gay sex.
I also thought the progression of their relationship was a little too fast. From “get to know you” to “I love you” then there’s the “big misunderstanding” that tears them apart. That was pretty frustrating. I would have liked to see them really work on their relationship – Jaxon being with a man, Kieran living in a different state, Jaxon’s feelings of guilt…these are real issues that could have built on some of the more real challenges the couple faced.
But… I really could have gotten over these issues if that had been all.
What I couldn’t get over was Jaxon. I just never liked him. I didn’t like what he was willing to do to Danetta (cheat) or how he treated Kieran (like an experiment) or how he completely over-reacted to Kieran’s article (wouldn’t even listen to the man he said he loved).
Over 70% of the book sees Jaxon and Kieran separated and then in the last few pages they reconcile but I didn’t really buy that their relationship would be a long lasting one.
The writing and editing were fine and I liked the cover a lot, but I just didn’t connect with it well.
The year is 1987. The boys wear pink Izod shirts, the girls wear big hair, everyone has a stash box, and AIDS is just an ugly rumor rumbling like a thunderstorm from the cities. A teenage runaway wanders the side of the road, a heartbeat away from despair, and is rescued by a long-haired angel on a Harley. But that’s just the beginning of their story. Josiah Daniels wanted peace and quiet and a simple life, and he had it until he rescued Casey from hunger, cold, and exhaustion. Suddenly Joe’s life is anything but simple as he and his new charge navigate a world that is changing more rapidly than the people in it. Joe wants to raise Casey to a happy and productive adulthood, and he does. But even as an adult, Casey can’t conceive of a happy life without Joe. The trouble is getting Joe to accept that the boy he nurtured is suddenly the man who wants him. Their relationship can either die or change with the world around them. As they make a home, negotiate the new rules of growing up, and swerve around the pitfalls of modern life, Casey learns that adulthood is more than sex, Joe learns that there is no compromise in happy ever after, and they’re both forced to realize that the one thing a man shouldn’t be is alone.
Review
Casey gets kicked out of his house for being gay. He ends up being a “rent boy” briefly, and the punching bag of some truckers as he hitches out of town. Just when he’s thinking about giving up he meets Joe.
Joe is a Quaker, a nurse, a biker, a bear, bi-sexual, hippie… you name it, he’s probably done it. He is easy going, big hearted and lovely. He sees Casey on the side of the road and has to – HAS TO – help him.
At first Casey is leery – he’s been burned before by men, then he realizes how truly good Joe is and then he is determined to seduce him. The only problem is he’s 16 and Joe is at least a decade older and no way is Joe going to act on anything Casey is offering.
The years go by and Joe essentially raises Casey from a precocious 16 year old to a sassy 21 year old – managing to get him through high school, first love and into college. When Casey makes one final play for Joe that ends up in a huge fight, he takes off – leaving Joe lonely and decimated.
When Casey’s father dies, Joe helps him attend the funeral and they finally admit what they mean to one another.
But – both Joe and his family know that Casey can’t give him what he most wants in life – a baby. Add to this a judgemental sister and a significant age gap and we still have some hurdles to face.
However, in the end, with miracles abounding Casey and Joe put together a family and manage to be the most rock solid team you could ever dream about.
**
Oh man. I love – love – love- this book. Joe is one of my favorite “Amy” characters. He is so steady but funny. Down to earth and sweet. Casey is equally awesome – sassy and sarcastic – always pushing buttons and never afraid to ask for what he wants.
There is some angst – it’s an Amy book for Pete’s sake – but by and large most of this book is two men building a relationship and a family and making their own pathway in life.
It was beautiful and touching and sweet and sentimental and yet the sex scenes are some of Amy’s best work!
The narrator did an AMAZING job. He makes Joe a bit growly and Casey a bit snarky and just lets you sink right in to the wonderful story Amy has given us.
I can’t recommend this highly enough – I’ve already listened to it three times – it’s just so good!
Blurb
