In the mood to try something sweet? How about a collection of stories about bears and the special men in their lives? Guys don’t have to be in their twenties, perfectly sculpted, and hairless to be hot. Bears are realmen with real bodies—and that doesn’t always mean a perfect six-pack or an immaculately smooth chest. With bears, it can mean more man to love. The men in this anthology are chubs, cubs, grizzlies, pandas, polar bears, and more—all looking for a connection. And beneath their burly physiques are hearts of gold. Explore the bear scene and beyond with these big, hairy guys and the men who find them irresistibly sexy
Review
(From Previous Site)
So Just What is a Bear – BG Thomas
This is a very sincere prologue with a touching personal story that really sets the tone for this anthology. The basic theme about this entire, delightful book, is body acceptance, loving who you want, being who you are, and stop fighting against what “should/could be” and accept what is.
Truck Stop by Hawthorn Moss
A 1949 love story about a man who runs a truck stop, finding love with a guy who really never would have identified as gay if it hadn’t been for a freak snow-storm and the right man to show him how wrong sterotypes could be. Very sweet.
Bear Chasing – Renae Kaye
A full story involving a small gay “chaser” who didn’t know that’s who he was. When some Bears move in next door it’s instant attraction that leads to something very sweet and tender. There’s even some pretty hot sex, too! Excellent and a full story using a minimum of words.
Life’s Tiny Surprises – Tara Spears
A big brute of a man thinks life for him is to be solitary when along comes a former student, now fully grown, but still quite tiny, with a big heart. The two hit it off and it seems as though love will surely follow.
The Bear Kin of Snowbird Mountain – Michael Rupured
A funny modern fairy tale of a man/bear descended from ancients who finds his true love on the streets of DC. Another full story with an epilogue and all.
Just Breathe- John Genest
A sad, essentially widowed man goes in for a sleep test in order to qualify for a life saving CPAP device. There he meets someone who can appreciate him for who he is and really understands where he’s coming from.
Barefoot – Lillan Francis
A misunderstanding between a scruffy looking man who works at a shelter and the manager of the local supermarket almost halts a budding romance, but when the two figure things out, more than love happens and a compassionate set of hearts is truly rewarded.
Golden Bear – GP Keith
A sweet IT guy offers a cup of cocoa to a city-worker during an ice storm and the two start a relationship that looks like it could definitely last a lifetime.
Banyan Court – Samuel Scott Preston
An aging Classics Professor travels to his homeland of Hawaii and dares to learn surfing for the first time at 60. His surf master turns out to be an old soul in a younger body and the very, very moving story that follows will have you crying and sighing.
The Bear at the Bar – J. Scott Coatsworth
Another story that uses a few words to create a full and rounded story about a vain “gym bunny” who ends up realizing that there is more to life than just how you look. A distinct nod to “Freaky Fiday” with a grown-up, gay twist.
Amped- Zoe X Rider
A short story about a night at a concert where a big ole bear and a newly minted gay boy find that they might have more in common than they thought.
The Bear Next Door – Jack Byrne
A sweet youngish rancher falls for the hard-headed older bear next door. A few misunderstandings keep them apart, but when the two finally clear the air, a sweet love remains. Another full story written is few words.
The Bear Fetish- John Amory
Fetish in this sense is an artifact, not a kink. Robert meets Luis in a gay bar on a business trip to New Mexico. Luis shows Robert how to lighten up and get in touch with his true self and the two show hints at maybe something more than a one night stand.
The Do-it-yourself guide to getting over yourself – Robert B. McDiamid
When a terrible break up makes your friends send you on vacation to “get over yourself” what do you do? Well, you read a self-help book to do just that. The book and the man catch the eye of a coveted bear at the same resort and the two find common ground that could lead to something more permanent.
Hunting Bear: A fairy tale with a very hairy ending- Edmond Manning
A funny story written in the style of a fairy tale about a twink named Tyler who falls for the unattainable Bear, dubbed “The Great White Bear” because no one ever seems to catch his attentions. With the help of his amazing best friend Derrick, Tyler manages to snare a date with the Great White Bear only to realize that maybe, it was someone else he really wanted to be dating all along. This is another full story that manages to incorporate an epilogue.
All of these stories, all of them is 6 out of 5. Some of them are little more than snippets in the life of their characters, others are fully formed stories that tell a complete tale, but all of them are deeply touching.
As a woman, I am used to male characters mostly being pretty self-confident and not overly body conscious. However, these stories show a painfully different story. These are guys who – especially in the stereotypical world of gay love – don’t fit in. They are big, hairy, ungainly, and not at all what you think of when you think “gay man”. Unless… you know about bears. Then, they fit right in. And what a wonderful world to have available to you! These guys let it all hang out and are proud to be who they are, and offer no apologies for their looks. In fact they revel in it. How liberating!
I was deeply touched by the pain in so many of these stories, it really drives home the point that in our world so much of our self-esteem is wrapped up in our vision of what constitutes “physical perfection” and just how damaging that is.
I loved everyone of these stories and will warn you ahead of time that many will bring tears if not outright bawling.
I highly recommend this book and give it 6 of 5 hearts.
When they were at uni, Owen always had a bit of a crush on Nathan. But Nathan was apparently straight, and Owen was too busy with other guys to take his crush seriously.
When Nathan moves back to Bristol after a year away, Owen hears that Nathan has come out of the closet, and he propositions him. Nathan doesn’t want to be just another notch on Owen’s bedpost, though, so he challenges Owen to prove he can be serious: five dates before they have sex.
Owen doesn’t think that sounds too difficult. He’s expecting Nathan to find his charms irresistible anyway. But as they grow closer, Owen begins to care more about proving himself to Nathan than he does about getting him into bed.
Review
(book reviewed previously)
Owen has always been out and proud, at least since college, and that’s when he first met Nate. Nate was “straight” through college, but he’d noticed Owen, and sublimated that interest, back in college, as well. Later, now that Nate is finally being true to himself, Owen wants to see if reality is as hot as the fantasy. But Nate doesn’t do casual relationships and that’s all Owen knows.
On a lark, Nate offers to have sex with Owen, but only if Owen will agree to five sexless dates first. Surprising them both, Owen agrees.
At first Owen is merely placating Nate, biding his time, proving that he can do “dating” as well as the next guy. But it doesn’t take long for things to get “real” and suddenly Owen is looking forward to each new date without worrying about trying to get in Nate’s pants.
Meanwhile Nate is falling for Owen, but positive that Owen will never settle down with just one guy and certainly not him.
After a few fairly minor hiccups, the two manage to make it through date five only to find that what started as a drunken bet has developed into something very real and both end up very happy with the results.
**
What a sweet, fun, fantastic read! Jay has given us another winner!
Both characters are very likable, their emotions are sweet and straight-forward, their romance both hot yet touching. Neither has a boat-load of angst to overcome and the main hurdle in this story is mostly one of self-perception. Owen doesn’t see himself as a “boyfriend” type and Nate isn’t sure of his appeal.
I really enjoyed the old-fashioned “getting to know you” dates these boys went on and enjoyed the sexual tension right along side them. Sure the sexual tension and flirting was there, keeping the steam level high, but since the entire point was to wait for the sex “to mean something” you know (or at least assume) that each encounter isn’t going to end up in the sack. It was refreshing! It made their parting kisses that much sweeter and more meaningful (both to the boys and the reader!).
Jay isn’t afraid to be “British” and her dialog is full of British sayings and the boys travel through the country giving a taste of the locale as well. I loved the unique phrases, even something as mundane as an all you can eat buffet (an eat-all-you-can buffet) or kissing (snogging) or push-ups (press-ups) take on an international flavor and bring another interesting quality to the story.
The secondary characters are fun as well. Simon, Jack and Kirsty are all well developed and help us to understand our MCs all the better while adding more humor to the mix.
5 of 5 hearts
Audio
I was really glad that a British narrator did this audiobook, I think that adds to the UK flavor Jay Northcote sets up in her books. I liked him well enough, I thought that sometimes I could have used more variation in the voicings and maybe a little more raunch or emotion… but I really liked it.
In a town as small as Tyson, CA, everybody knew the four brothers with the four different fathers– and their penchant for making good music when they weren’t getting into trouble. For Mackey Sanders, playing in Outbreak Monkey with his brothers and their friends—especially Grant Adams–made Tyson bearable. But Grant has plans for getting Mackey and the Sanders boys out of Tyson, even if that means staying behind.
Between the heartbreak of leaving Grant and the terrifying, glamorous life of rock stardom, Mackey is adrift and sinking fast. When he’s hit rock bottom, Trav Ford shows up, courtesy of their record company and a producer who wants to see what Mackey can do if he doesn’t flame out first. But cleaning up his act means coming clean about Grant, and that’s not easy to do or say. Mackey might make it with Trav’s help–but Trav’s not sure he’s going to survive falling in love with Mackey.
Mackey James Sanders comes with a whole lot of messy, painful baggage, and law-and-order Trav doesn’t do messy or painful. And just when Trav thinks they may have mastered every demon in Mackey’s past, the biggest, baddest demon of all comes knocking.
Review
Mackey lives with his three brothers in small-town California. He forms a band with them, and some friends, including Grant, his older brother’s friend. The band turns out to be amazing and they go from playing at the prom to getting a record deal. Meanwhile, Grant and Mackey are at once getting closer and closer and yet farther and farther away from one another.
Mackey is gay. So is Grant, but Grant can’t admit it, so neither can Mackey. Grant continues to break Mackey’s heart by dating Samantha because it’s expected of him by the community and his dad. When Grant graduates high school, he tells Mackey he stayed behind for his dad, but we also know the band and Mackey played a role in the decision.
In this episode we really start to see the beginning of the problems that follow in subsequent episodes (i.e. drug addiction, depression). I both loathe and love Grant’s character. He is so understandable, yet you just want to punch him in the face for the way he hurts Mackey. It’s so disarming to see young Mackey shouldering all these heavy burdens and couple that with this shameful hiding of what appears to be true love.
Since the blurb in the story talks about another MC – Trav – it is reasonable to believe that Grant is not our main love interest, even here in Episode one with no mention of Trav. Therefore I feel completely vindicated in hoping Mackey can leave Grant behind, and soon.
Talk about prolonging the drama! This is such a unique (and shall I say painful? – I am an impatient, impatient soul) way to deliver a story. The pain will only exist for those of us who are reading this as a serial, and after October 2014 anyone else will simply have to read the full novel – but WOW – this packs a punch, delivered in segments, keeping us readers on tenterhooks while we await the next installment.
I love Mackey, I can tell he will rival some of Amy’s other MCs in my heart for favorite. So far, this story most closely resembles The Locker Room in the way we are introduced to the MCs as young kids and move through adulthood with them. And in how painful it seems to be. I am keeping Kleenex close at hand.
P.S. The Bonus scenes are great, and I think you only get them in the Deluxe or Serialized Versions.
Part two
Blurb
Trav Ford doesn’t like strings and he doesn’t like messes. Coming off a messy breakup, Trav is grimly determined to keep his life absolutely pristine. When Trav is asked to take over the management of Outbreak Monkey, his first order of business is to clean up their act—and that includes shipping the youngest, most troubled member off to detox and rehab before Mackey Sanders’s life choices kill him.
But Mackey didn’t become an addict overnight, and it’s going to take more than one trip to rehab to fix him up. When an act of violence destroys Mackey’s struggling equilibrium, Trav is going to find that messy isn’t so hard to escape—not when it’s wrapping its mess around Trav’s heart.
Review
We start off with a bang – Grant has left, Mackey is on a downward spiral – though the band is selling millions, Mackey is a wreck. Along comes Trav to save the day and we get a glimpse for what -we hope- a future where Mackey can be himself and be happy.
In Part two we start to see deeper into some of the other boys’ lives and realize there is more to them as well. Uh Sheila? WTF?
I am glad – so glad – Trav got introduced right away, my heart was breaking after Episode one. And he seems hot, sweet and tough – my favorite – just right for Mackey.
I love Mackey’s one liners: “I’m only bi when I’m high” and “Don’t bullshit me Babysitter!” He is going to be one of Amy Lane’s MCs that rivals for favorite in my heart, I just know it.
If I get to make a comparison this early, I’d say this reminds me most closely of The Locker Room. Young guys, growing with them through a painful, painful early adulthood and hopefully the kind of happy ending that legends are made of. (Don’t hate the dangling participle!)
Part three
Blurb
Mackey Sanders doesn’t do anything easy—rehab is no exception. Never one to follow orders for the sake of being orderly, Mackey needs a reason, something real, to make him agree to Trav’s terms of getting clean. Trav knows he can’t be Mackey’s only reason to rehabilitate, but before he can convince Mackey of that, he needs to get to the heart of what’s been eating Mackey alive from the moment the band left Tyson.
Can Mackey’s family—can Mackey’s band—survive the fallout of Mackey telling the truth? More importantly, can Mackey?
Review
Mackey and Blake end up doing rehab together after Mackey gets roofied and attacked at a bar and almost dies.
Travis is struck by his feelings for Mackey and Mackey begins to realize the depth of his feelings for Travis.
The most important part of this segment is rehab itself. Dr. Cambridge (with the help of Travis as motivation) finally breaks through to Mackey and forces him to admit that he’s gay. Forces him to discuss Grant. Forces him to admit his fears. And finally forces him to talk about it with his family.
What we’re left with is a raw open wound. Mackey is bare and tender like new skin after a bad sunburn. The band and Mackey’s mom are left ripped wide open, forced to face their individual roles in Mackey’s collapse.
Travis will have his hands full in managing this bunch now that the truth is out, and everyone’s on pins and needles wondering what’s going to happen when Mackey returns.
**
WOW. This segment was gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, and another reason to be grateful for a Family-sized box of Kleenex. Damn.
Mackey can’t get any deeper under your skin. He’s so, so broken. He has such a simple set of expectations for life (love and music) and yet he cannot get those met. The only thing that works for him is his music and it’s his music that tears him from his love, which makes him self-medicate to the point of self-destruction. Fortunately, Travis frickin’ gets it and gets him and finally, with his help, Mackey can have love and music at the same time. I hope. Amy Lane – you hear me? He better get both!
I am nervous about Grant and what role he’s going to play in the upcoming segments… I have a feeling we haven’t heard the last of him, and I have a feeling he isn’t going to be “a good thing” when he does return.
Of course this segment is as wonderful as parts one and two – maybe even the best so far, simply because I just love seeing the love between Travis and Mackey in its infant stages here. I also love seeing the personalities of the brothers blossom and become full, rich, and complex characters.
Part Four
Blurb
Mackey’s fragile recovery from his bout with self-destruction is complicated even further by his feelings for Trav—and Trav’s feelings back. Trav is older, and he should know better, but now that Mackey is drug-free and conquering his demons, all he can see is the stunning, brilliant man who existed under the stain of pain and excess.
Trav and Mackey struggle to find a balance between Mackey’s recovery and their growing attraction. Trav decides to make a rare leap of faith—but can Mackey find enough faith in himself to make it through life in the spotlight and a visit to the past that almost destroyed him?
Review
Mackey comes back from rehab and he and Trav agree that though it isn’t exactly by the “12 step” book, they need each other. Trav doesn’t want to just jump in bed – ok he does – but he wants this thing between him and Mackey to be REAL not just a way to make this part of Mackey’s recovery “feel better”.
Mackey just wants Trav. He just WANTS him.
So they agree to date and it’s f*ckin’ hilarious and sweet and gut wrenching… pure romance.
There is some more confrontation with Mackey’s past – really painful stuff but some healing, too.
Finally there’s the hot, sweaty, skin on skin… well, you’ll see J
**
What I really appreciate about this section is that, yet again, Amy has given us this perfectly imperfect set of heroes and anti-heroes. Trav isn’t perfect. He craves, desires, wants, needs – even though it’s probably in no way the right thing for either of them right now.
Mackey is so much more than the right-brained, needy, creative, messed-up musician – he also loves, and loves deeply, and sees things in people others can’t or won’t – and he’s not afraid to say what he thinks. Time and again he just cuts you off at the knees then gives you a hand up.
Each section keeps getting better and this is (of course) my favorite so far – but I’ll tell you – after I read this my first thought was “Oh no – what’s going to happen next? When is the next shoe gonna fall?” followed by “How is Grant gonna screw this up?” and finally “Oh, poor Blake. **pets** I hope someone loves him soon!”
Part Five
Blurb
Mackey is great at taking a leap of faith into a crowd—but taking one into a relationship and a future is a totally different animal. When he and Trav decide to take a risk that Mackey’s healing can hold up to them together, they know it’s going to be a long, difficult road. Mackey proves he can handle the stress of performing on his own, but when it comes to the demons that broke him in the first place, that’s a whole other song.
The first time Mackey tries to go home, it sends him into a palm-sweating, stomach-heaving anxiety attack, and Trav has to concede that Mackey is still on loan from the things that almost wrecked him when he was still a kid. When news arrives that affects the entire band, Mackey can either go home and face his demons or let them haunt them forever.
Review
Mackey and Trav are together and it is hot. H.O.T. Mackey is still a train wreck. He barely makes it when Trav has to go to England for 4 days, but manages to stay sober by getting a sexy stomach tattoo and hanging on by a wing and a prayer.
The band is forced to get its own act together for a show in Oakland and they get a new member to the tribe: Briony. Briony kicks ass and takes names as the bands new tech guru.
Trav and Mackey have the hottest rock star sex ever when Trav makes it back in time to see the show, and the first post-rehab show is a huge success.
Trouble is on the horizon though. Mackey doesn’t want to see Trav’s parents for Christmas when he sees himself as still such a work in progress. Trav feels he has to go so the boys are set to head up to Tyson on their own and Mackey freaks out in the airport – the idea of going home too much for his recently sober state to withstand.
Luckily Trav is there to catch him before he falls and the band ends up staying in LA together for Christmas where they get the terrible news about Grant.
Really terrible news. Now Mackey has to face not only going home, but going home to say good-bye for good.
Amy knows how to kill us so very sweetly…
Part Six
Blurb
For as long as Trav Ford has known the Sanders boys, one name has haunted the entire band. Their first lead guitarist and Mackey’s first lover has left a stamp on the kids he’s known as family, an now Grant has one last chance to hurt the people Trav cares for the most.
Except Grant isn’t the monster Trav made him out to be and coming home is harder on the band – and Trav – than he ever could have anticipated. When Trav is confronted with the reality of what Mackey and his brothers left behind – and with what they’re about to lose – he has to seriously reconsider if he’s strong enough to deal with everything that Mackey and Outbreak Monkey have come to represent. Fortunately for Trav, Mackey’s learned a lot in the past year, and one of his best lessons is how to hold on to the people he loves.
Review
Oooo, this one’s a tough one. First off, let me yell CLIFF HANGER!!! Here we sit on the precipice of the end and we are left absolutely biting our fingernails!
The band makes it up to Tyson where Grant meets them looking beat to sh*t and barely hanging on. If that wasn’t enough, when they play in their old bar, the locals FINALLY catch on that Mackey is gay and that one of their own might be too. This, of course, causes a bar fight in which the entire band ends up in jail.
This freaks Trav, Mr. Control, right the hell out and he bails, leaving Mackey to deal with his feelings and his family by HIMSELF… for one night… we hope.
Meanwhile Cheever acts like a total ass-hat and sets Mackey off on another rant about how Cheever can’t bite the hand that feeds him all the time.
On a happy side note, our good friend and techie Briony seems to be finding some warmth with dear sweet Kell and things are looking pretty favorable in that direction. “You are …. Radius!” One of the best lines!
**
While I was really expecting this segment to kick my ass, I think the shoe is really gonna drop in the last. Grant is just too dang likable. That’s Trav’s problem too. He WANTS to hate him, but how can you hate a guy who was just young and dumb and trying to do the right thing for the wrong reasons?
I was so glad Cheever got his head bit off – I was really getting tired of hearing him bad mouth the brothers, even if it is understandable in a backward teen-agery sort of way.
Of course I’ve been rooting for Briony and Kell since she was introduced so I am ever so pleased they seem to be hooking up – man do they seem well matched. And wow! – who would have thunk it – Kell has some pretty deep feelings after all!
I really like how Amy managed to demonstrate in a few short pages just how far Mackey has come, emotionally, and how ready he is to settle in to an “adult” relationship with Trav, at last.
I also really appreciated that Mackey was real with his mom in this part too. Forcing them both to look at her “mothering skills” with a critical eye and acknowledge that no matter what she did she had a rough road to travel with Cheever, maybe even more than with the others.
Part Seven
Blurb
The one lesson that Trav’s learned with the band’s return to Tyson is that it should be hard to say good-bye.
Mackey, Kell, Jefferson, and Stevie have to say good-bye to the person who helped make them and break them. They have to say good-bye to their bitterness and anger, and they have to say good-bye to lingering hope that one of the best parts of their childhood can be with them always.
But in the last two years they’ve grown a lot—and maybe they’ve grown enough to say good-bye to the past without forgetting it, and to embrace a future that they won’t regret.
Review
So we left off with Trav in a hotel leaving Mackey BY HIMSELF to face the house full of craziness…
When we return, Mackey and Trav “make up”… yeah, that’s a description for it (aka have super hot monkey sex) and admit how important they are to each other.
Then the real hard part begins – saying Goodbye to Grant. He is providing closure, taking care of his daughter, telling anyone and everyone the truth – and it hurts. But it is also so beautiful.
Grant has made plans for his funeral and though they are tough, the boys agree and when the time comes, it can be said that no one will ever, EVER forget that funeral. Things get said that should have been said years ago and all of it is “shocking”, and the song that gets sung (“It’s my life” by the Animals) is ever so appropriate.
Finally, it’s time to go home. Their goodbyes have been said publicly, now they have to be said privately, and though not necessarily easier, certainly there is the acknowledgement of the happy part of Grant that only Mackey and the boys got to see. Here the boys sing their version of Wish You Were Here, the Pink Floyd song written for their own lost band member Syd Barrett, and it too is ever, ever so appropriate.
Trav and Mackey are together and happy and willing to keep falling in love with each other every single day.
Hopefully you have bought the series and get to see the bonus material because part 7 is absolutely the BEST bonus material – in it we see Mackey on his way to see Trav’s family as he gets some of the most amazing news from Briony and Kell.
**
This was a very hard segment to read. We went through times where we just wanted to strangle Grant, but it’s hard to forget how much love he had for Mackey and in this segment we see there was so much more there that we didn’t see … and such a potential for more that could never be …
Of course his dying was amazingly sad and the funeral scene is so touching and gutting but Amy finds a way to make us laugh through our tears. To me however, the hardest part to read was the barn scene (you’ll know it when you read it) because it was so symbolically full circle. Here are Grant and Mackey, together, the tables are turned though and it’s Mackey giving to Grant and it’s so beautiful, tender, loving but absent that passion from before because Mackey is Trav’s now, and that is undisputed.
I can’t recommend this series/book enough, it is funny, heartbreaking, enlightening, sweet, tender, passionate, sexy, loving… well… just amazing.
I give it 6 of 5 stars and you’re missing out if you don’t read this book!
**
Lyrics to It’s my Life by the Animals
It’s a hard world to get a break in
All the good things long gone been taken
But girl there are ways to make certain things pay
Dressed in these rags I’ll wear sable some day
Hear what I say, I’m gonna ride that serpent
No more time spent sweatin’ rent
Hear my command, I’m breakin’ loose, ’cause I ain’t no use
Holdin’ me down, girl stick around
And baby, remember
It’s my life and I’ll do what I want
It’s my mind and I’ll think like I want
Show me I’m wrong, hurt me sometime
But some day I’ll treat you real fine
I’ll treat you so fine, dear, you’re so real
There’ll be women and their fortunes
Who just want to mother little orphans
Are you gonna cry while I’m squeezin’ them dry?
Takin’ all I can get, no regrets, when I openly lie
And live on their money, believe me honey
You can have so much fun with that money
Can you believe, I ain’t no saint?
I ain’t got no complaints, so girl throw out, yeah any doubt
And baby, remember
It’s my life and I’ll do what I want
It’s my mind and I’ll think like I want
You show me I’m wrong, it’ll hurt me sometime
But some day I’ll treat you real fine
It’s my life and I’ll do what I want
It’s my mind and I’ll think like I want
Show me I’m wrong, hurt me sometime
But some day I’ll treat you real fine
I’ll treat you so fine, babe
I’ll give you everything, everything you want
Lyrics to Wish you Were Here
So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
Did they get you to trade
Your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We’re just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found
The same old fears.
Wish you were here.
Max Appleton and his mother Celia are are on the run, hiding from an abusive father and husband who’s also a notoriously bad pack leader. When Max hit puberty and it became obvious he’d never make an alpha wolf, his father turned the brunt of his anger toward his inferior son and his beta wolf wife for producing him. Max and Celia find sanctuary in a garden cottage at Holly Court, the sprawling estate where Celia’s oldest friend lives with her pack alpha husband, three daughters, and teenaged son Jonah.
Jonah Spellman has what seems like the perfect life. His family is close, his dad is respected by their whole pack, and he’s been groomed to take over for as long as he can remember. Everything is set, his whole life planned, and Jonah works hard to be exactly what everyone expects. He’s under enough pressure without a runaway from a bad pack complicating his life.
When two teenaged werewolves from very different worlds meet one snowy January day, both of their worlds get turned inside out. From the moment they meet, nothing will be the same for Jonah or Max ever again.
Review
(From Previous Site)
Max and his mother have to leave their pack because Max’s dad is physically abusive to both of them. They find shelter with one of his mother’s friends who lives a little ways away. Max’s father is an alpha, but a terrible and abusive one. They run to another Alpha, but he is awesome, kind and fair.
Jonah is the son of the new Alpha and he is a sweetheart. Everyone loves him, he’s student body president and all around nice guy.
When the two boys meet there is instantly an attraction that the boys can’t deny. They don’t name it for what it is, at least not right away, but they do know they can’t seem to stand to be apart.
Everything seems like a dream come true for Max, he’s left his abusive father to be welcomed into a new family and now he has a new…friend? (He has suspicions there is more to their relationship than friendship, but they are only 16 and boys after all, so a little bit of denial is natural.) This all comes to a crashing halt when school starts back up and Max realizes his new friend is already mated to Zoe and has been since he was 11.
The bulk of the book is Jonah and Max growing more and more close to one another while trying to figure out what to do with these feelings. Zoe senses that the boys are more than friends and she (predictably) begins to cause trouble.
Finally, in a very bloody and sad finale, the issue of mates is resolved, the evil dad taken care of and the very strong beginning for a happily ever after is in place.
I looooved this book!!! MJ O’Shea’s version of shifters is awesome.
This was such a perfect shifter book. I loved the instant, overwhelming attraction, dictated by smell and matched by total compatibility. True soul mates, born on the same day with the same eye color and tastes. It was instantly sizzling chemistry and it was fantastic.
I loved the twist with the omegas and though there were times when I scratched my head at some of the biology, I adored what freedoms it allowed the couple.
I thought that the way the relationship formed was really consistent with teen-agers: sometimes amazingly hot and heavy and sometimes slowed down to just cuddling and hand-holding.
The villains were properly villainous. Just bad enough to cause trouble, but not so overwhelming that they detracted from the love story. Perfect.
The family’s reactions to things was a little odd. But – hey – they’re shifters right? With shifter moralities and traditions. So though it felt strange that the boys slept with one another (just sleeping) every night from pretty much day one and that no one blinked when the two (one of whom was straight and mated to a girl) hung all over each other and no one said anything. It was nice to allow their relationship to unfold slowly even though they were under the strain of the soulbond attraction right from the start.
I loved the sexual tension caused by rut/heat. It made for some compellingly hot reading.
I have no idea if there are more books like this planned, but I really hope there are. MJ is a terrific writer and this shifter-universe she describes is fantastic.
(There were some future stories hinted at – Andy for one…)
I really recommend this book and give it 6 of 5 hearts.
Aaron Seavers is a pathetic mess, and he knows it. He lives in terror of incurring his father’s wrath and disappointing his mother, and he can’t stop dithering about where to go to college—with fall term only weeks away. Ditched by a friend at a miserable summer farewell party, all he can do is get drunk in the laundry room and regret he was ever born. Until a geeky-cute classmate lifts his spirits, leaving him confident of two things: his sexual orientation, and where he’s headed to school.
Giles Mulder can’t wait to get the hell out of Oak Grove, Minnesota, and off to college, where he plans to play his violin and figure out what he wants to be when he grows up. But when Aaron appears on campus, memories of hometown hazing threaten what he’d hoped would be his haven. As the semester wears on, their attraction crescendos from double-cautious to a rich, swelling chord. But if more than one set of controlling parents have their way, the music of their love could come to a shattering end.
Warning: Contains showmances, bad parenting, Walter Lucas, and a cappella
Review
(Book review from previous site)
Finally!
That’s what I said when I found out Love Lesson’s was to finally have it’s sequel!
I knew it had been planned for a long time and was super excited to finally read it! Let me tell you that I was NOT disappointed!
This is another long book of the new adult variety, in keeping with the Love Lesson’s theme. Fever Pitch takes place at another university in the mid-west, small and liberal arts oriented – but no gay swans, mores the pity.
Aaron and Giles actually attended high school together their senior year. It is in their last days there that Aaron begins to give in to his cravings for male romance and Giles is happy to help him explore this side of his personality. Unfortunately, both boys are really quite scarred from past experiences and the relationship is over before it really begins, leaving Aaron tentatively in lust/love and Giles really pissed off.
Aaron follow Giles to St Timothy’s University, mostly in stalker fashion, and over the course of many months they eventually forge a friendship through their mutual love for music.
During this bonding process we get to see our friends Walter and Kelly again – woot! Walter ends up helping Aaron deal with his new feelings and helps him to “get his man”.
Once the boys get together the drama doesn’t stop. There are other crazy parents involved and other sad gay boys to be saved. We see parents who can help save lives and those who set out to ruin them. There is lots and lots of music being played, composed and sung. And finally there is a wedding. Sigh. Walter and Kelly get married in what has to be my all time favorite gay wedding to date.
I just loved these two books so much! This second book is even stronger than the first. The side issues are more serious and the tragedies more tragic. If I’m being honest… the sex is hotter too, but don’t tell that to Walter or Kelly.
I loved how the book furthers the lives of people we met in book one, but if you didn’t read the first book, no worries, this stands on its own quite nicely.
Again Heidi has given us a love story interwoven with some serious, coming of age issues and the result is a rich tale, full of well developed characters and satisfying story lines.
Audio
Iggy Toma does another amazing job with this sequel to Love Lessons. Again he gives us so much emotion and does such a nice job with the voicing that you can’t help but be captivated. I really appreciated his ability to just become fully engaged in the story and let the raw feelings ooze through his voice so that the listener feels like she is right there with Giles and Aaron, feeling their joy and pain.
Kelly Davidson has waited what seems like forever to graduate high school and get out of his small-minded, small town. But when he arrives at Hope University, he quickly realizes finding his Prince Charming isn’t so easy. Everyone here is already out. In fact, Kelly could be the only virgin on campus.
Worst of all, he’s landed the charming, handsome, gay campus Casanova as a roommate, whose bed might as well be equipped with a revolving door.
Walter Lucas doesn’t believe in storybook love. Everyone is better off having as much fun as possible with as many people as possible…except his shy, sad little sack of a roommate is seriously screwing up his world view.
As Walter sets out to lure Kelly out of his shell, staying just friends is harder than he anticipated. He discovers love is a crash course in determination. To make the grade, he’ll have to finally show up for class…and overcome his own private fear that love was never meant to last.
Warning: This story contains lingering glances, milder than usual sexual content for this author, and a steamy dance-floor kiss. Story has no dairy or egg content, but may contain almonds
Review
(Book Reviewed on Previous Site)
Kelly is a small town guy with Disney –HEA – visions in his head. He just KNOWS life gets better in college and he won’t let anybody tell him otherwise.
Walter is the jaded, older student and now roommate who, at first, wants to break Kelly of his romantic ideal nonsense, then feels it’s his duty to protect those dreams and finally to make them come true.
This is a long book, so we cover a lot of ground and in a lot of detail.
We get a good, hard look at what makes Walter so cynical and a good look at what makes Kelly so idealistic.
We get to watch the relationship, in its early seedling stage nearly die before finally taking root to grow into a full-fledged, Disney-level-happiness, rock solid, Red-wood of a relationship.
This is a new adult novel. Not quite YA – too much drinking, drugs, and sex for that. But the story is more closely that of a YA than some of the other, far more raunchy, Heidi Cullinan “adult” books. It is very well written and very involved, like the rest of Heidi’s books, and hits all the right buttons for me.
I just love the characters. They are all very well developed, three-dimensional, interesting and unique. There are several secondary characters that add complexity to the story and help to give this book it’s authentic flavors.
Kelly is an amazing guy. Heidi has managed to give us a freshman boy, who loves Disney movies, is a die-hard romantic, a virgin and yet he is still very much a boy. I love him! I love that he idolizes Tangled and has dreams of how his first date, first sex and wedding should all be. I loved the juxtaposition of his money poor, love rich household with Walter’s money rich, love poor life. Walter, the playboy, the cynic, the last guy to imagine Happy Ever After is the PERFECT choice for Kelly.
Their story is told slowly, organically growing and unfolding tenderly in such a way that we can easily see how the switches can be flipped and how our jaded Walter can come around to being Kelly’s Prince by the end of the book.
I could really relate to Kelly’s vision of what love “should and should not” be, I think many of us remember that time in our lives – whether it was high school, college, or later in life – and how hard it was to mesh that vision in our head with what life hands us. What I admired was how Kelly held on to his vision of Disney-Princess-Happiness without shame or wavering even in the face of disillusionment and that, in the end, his enduring faith brought everyone around and actualized his feelings rather than crushing his spirit.
The length of the book is both its strength and weakness. It takes a little dedication – there are times the story drags and it takes a little perseverance. However, the pay out is definitely worth it. Because she doesn’t compromise on length, the story feels very natural and real, and because life is more than just romance, the added side stories Heidi guides us through help us to see how our MCs are growing and changing in a way that feels authentic.
By the end I think everyone will have at least some tears in their eyes if they are not out-right bawling. It is an amazingly tender, sweet and satisfying book on many levels.
You will fall in love with Kelly and Walter and – now that I have read the sequel – I can tell you that you will be excited to know we get to see even more of them real soon and it only makes this book that much more sweet.
Audio
Iggy Toma is a new narrator to me and he did a fantastic job with this series. He adds so much real emotion that the listener is truly immersed in the story right along with the characters. He did some subtle variations on the voices, enough to differentiate the speakers, but did not go over the top with them. I really, really enjoyed listening to this and will probably find myself listening to it again and again – all 10 hours!
The listening experience contributes so much to the enjoyment to bump this to a 5 of 5 hearts! I loved it!
Dawson Barnes recognizes his world is very small and very charmed. Running his community college theater like a petty god, he and his best friend, Benji know they’ll succeed as stage techs after graduation. His father adores him, Benji would die for him, and Dawson never doubted the safety net of his family, even when life hit him below the belt.
But nothing prepared him for falling on Jared Emory’s head.
Aloof dance superstar Jared is a sweet, vulnerable man and Dawson’s life suits him like a fitted ballet slipper. They forge a long-distance romance from their love of the theater and the magic of Denny’s. At first it’s perfect: Dawson gets periodic visits and nookie from a gorgeous man who “gets” him—and Jared gets respite from the ultra-competitive world of dancing that almost consumed him.
That is until Jared shows up sick and desperate and Dawson finally sees the distance between them concealed painful things Jared kept inside. If he doesn’t grow up—and fast—his “superstar” might not survive his own weaknesses. That would be a shame, because the real, fragile Jared that Dawson sees behind the curtain is the person he can see spending his life with.
Review
(From previous site)
This is a sweet story of two people, seemingly in opposite phases of life, coming together and finding love. Dawson, sort of trapped in an unrequited love finds Jared, who has never really had love, and together they just click, right from the start. But there are still hurdles to be overcome and both Jared and Dawson have to decide where their life is going and how to take control of that life if they want to be together.
Amy Lane’s stories are character driven and Dawson and Jared are amazing characters, so (of course) this is another amazing Amy Lane book. I just loved it. Amy is so good at giving us these bony limbed-kersplang-awkward characters that you can’t help but absolutely adore and then pairing them with a masterful, solid, yet somehow broken-needing-to-be-fixed character. Just when you think Dawson is the one who needs to grow up, you realize that, no, he is the rock in this relationship and poor Jared is the one who needs to be rescued.
Amy also excels at “friends” and Dawson’s friends (and family) are so wonderful and though they may try to steal the story, they only add to its richness and texture, by giving it greater depth.
The dialog in this book is funny, sweet, touching and wonderful, just like Jared and Dawson’s love for each other. I really enjoyed these guys and I hope we get to see them in future books, I didn’t want this one to end!
Audio
The narrator, Hugh Bradley, is new to me, but I will definitely look for him in the future. He did an amazing job, really brining the characters to life with his voices and inflection. He seemed to really “get” Dawson and Jared and their story. Sometimes a narrator can mess up a story for you, if you have already read it and already have a feel for the characters in your head. But Hugh seemed to be reading the same story as me, and I really enjoyed listening to his version. I highly recommend this audible as a companion to the book or all on its own.
Leaving home to go to university is an exciting phase in anyone’s life. One that’s full of new places, new friends, and new experiences. But Lewis is not prepared for the sudden and intense crush he develops on his out-and-proud flatmate, Max—given that Lewis had always assumed he was straight. Max starts dating another guy, and Lewis’s jealousy at seeing them together forces him to confront his growing attraction.
When Max’s relationship goes awry, Lewis is the one to comfort him and one thing leads to another. But after a night together, Lewis is devastated that Max wants to go back to being just friends. Lewis tries his best to move on and their friendship survives, but the feelings he has for Max don’t go away. He faces other challenges as he deals with coming out to his parents and needs Max’s support more than ever. But Lewis isn’t the only one who’s conflicted. When Max finally admits he cares for Lewis too, Lewis must decide whether he dares risk his heart again on being more than just friends.
Review
(From Previous Site)
Lewis is 18 and just starting University where he meets Max, one of his dorm mates. Max is out and proud and gets Lewis thinking that he may be something other than straight.
At first Lewis fights his attraction to Max, but it isn’t long before he begins to acknowledge that the feeling he’s experiencing watching Max hook-up with other guys is jealousy. After a sad break-up one night, the two get drunk and mess around. Lewis is ready to go all in after that; admit he’s gay, admit he likes Max, everything, but Max is on the rebound and isn’t ready to “break in” a new boyfriend, especially since Lewis is new to being gay and they live together.
Lewis is heartbroken, but admits it makes a bit of sense. Moving on, Lewis begins to explore his newfound sexuality by telling his family, friends, joining the LGBT group at school and even dating.
As the semester goes on, Lewis discovers more about himself and Max does, too. They have some hurdles to overcome, but in the end we see a very HFN (or HEA depending on how you look at it.)
**
This was another sweet, wonderful book by Jay Northcote. It’s told in a way that seems very natural and realistic. Lewis isn’t hung up about finding out he’s gay – he’s reluctant at first, only because he’d had a girlfriend in High School, but it doesn’t take much in the experimenting phase for him to admit his preference. Lewis’ family is essentially pretty supportive as are his friends.
Max is a fairly easy going, very open gay man, who is really just following his heart. He doesn’t have any terrible, dark secrets keeping him from loving, just normal life-is-never-perfect stuff that gives him some substance.
When all is said and done, the really nice thing about this story is that it ends up being more about the love story than a “gay” love story.
I really enjoyed this and recommend it. I give it 4.5 of 5 hearts.
Blurb
Tommy O’Shea is raising his seven younger brothers and sisters without any help from his drug abusing father and stepmother. Since he was fifteen years old, he’s managed to keep the children fed and out of foster care. It takes up every ounce of his energy and the last thing he needs is romance complicating his life further.
Rookie cop Bobby McAlister doesn’t belong in Tommy’s harsh world, but Tommy can’t push him out. As their unlikely friendship turns into a tentative relationship, they weather the daily storm of Tommy’s life with a lot of laughs and more than a few arguments.
Tommy isn’t used to trusting outsiders, and he’s never asked for help in his life. But when a tragedy strikes the O’Shea family and threatens everything he’s fought for, he’ll have to learn to do both to recover from the brutal hit. Review
(Book reviewed here previously.)
Tommy O’Shea has a rough, rough life. He’s in charge of his 6 younger siblings, didn’t finish high school, has drug-addled parents messing things up, and he’s very, very poor.
Bobby McAlister has been around for most of Tommy’s life. He’s an only child who lives at home with his recently widowed mother. He’s a gay cop who only wants to love and be loved.
It isn’t easy for Tommy to trust, everyone he knows has let him down, so when Bobby comes around, he is immediately treated with a heavy dose of skepticism.
Through time, perseverance and a lot of love, Bobby worms his way in and the result is this amazing love story written by JH Knight.
JH Knight a new author to me, but she now goes on my “must read” list. I was blown away.
The story is so sweet, so tender, yet tough and gritty at the same time.
The problems Tommy and his family face are realistic and heart-breaking and I really loved that the “gay” part was really the least of their worries.
This was a story about trust, devotion, optimism and most of all, family. Despite all the odds and all the reasons why things really should not have worked out, family prevails, and in ways we could never predict.
I really loved the relationship between Bobby and his mother, June. I just think her involvement in the story added that the icing to this delicious cake of a book. She rounded out the family and brought everyone in that much tighter. She reminded us that you’re never too old to need a “Mommy”.
I felt the love scenes were erotic and touching and just numerous enough to add texture to the story without being the focus. The kids were amazing and I really hope we see more of their stories in the future.
I fell in love with this book and will definitely be reading it again.
Michael Stellman did a fantastic job with his narration here. He doesn’t do anything over the top with the voices but does a really solid job with the emotion and the timing of the story. He subtly changes the tenor to differentiate the different characters and it allows you to become immersed in the story. I really got swallowed up by both the wonderful words of JH Knight and the way it is so artfully told by Michael Stellman. This is one of those audiobooks I will listen to again and again and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
John Carey is just out of rehab and dying inside when he gets word that Tory, the guy who loved him and broke him, has removed himself from the world in the most bitter way possible—and left John to clean up his mess.
Forced back to his hometown in Florida, John’s craving a hit with every memory when he meets Tory’s neighbor. Spacey and judgmental, Galen Henderson has been rotting in his crappy apartment since a motorcycle accident robbed him of his mobility, his looks, and his boyfriend all in one mistake. Galen’s been hiding at the bottom of an oxy bottle, but when John shows up, he feels obligated to help wade through the wreckage of Tory’s life.
The last thing John needs is another relationship with an addict, and the last thing Galen wants is a conscience. Both of them are shocked when they find that their battered souls can learn from and heal one another. It doesn’t hurt that they’re both getting a crash course on how growing up and getting past your worst mistakes sure beats the alternative—and that true love is something to fight to keep if your lover is fighting to love you back.
Review
(Book reviewed on this site previously.)
Where to start….
Well, first we all know Johnnies right – the made up porn studio that introduced us to Chase and Tommy, Dex and Kane, Ethan and Jonah and in a related way, Alejandro and Donny. We LOVE Johnnies. John… we don’t love so much. He was a coke head, douche in Dex in Blue and though he had glimmers of the kinda guy Dex might befriend, by the time we actually meet him, he’s gone over the edge.
This is his story.
We start out with John getting out of rehab, he’s still pretty shaky, but determined, only to find out that this newly sober John has to fly to Florida (across the world practically) to help clean out the apartment and distribute the remains of his first (and only?) love who has committed suicide.
Uh…Thanks Amy for taking it easy on us. NOT!
Tory and John grew up together, realized they were gay together, started doing porn together but I can’t really say they loved each other because Tory never treated John like someone he loved.
As time passes Tory descends down a spiral of sex and drugs and after years and three trips to rehab John decides Tory needs to do it on his own, cause whatever John is doing, isn’t helping.
Thus the birth of Johnnies.
Flash back to today, John is at Tory’s apartment where he meets the neighbor, Galen. Galen is a lawyer who had a terrible accident three years ago, and has since been caught up in a cycle of depression and pain med addiction.
So… of course John is super attracted to Galen, but really – can he? Should he? Is it remotely smart for him to take on another addict?
**
If I were to rank my favorite Johnnies books the order would be Dex, Super Sock Man, Chase, John, Ethan…. Black John is a good book, Amy doesn’t write anything bad. The angst is so painful. Tory hurt John so much. Dex (inadvertently) hurt John so much. But… the one piece I missed with Black John that Chase and Dex and even Super Sock Man had was a bit more of a connection between the lovers.
I loved that John could finally help Galen and that Galen wanted to be strong enough to show John he deserved someone whole. But I didn’t see them as a couple long enough to feel as attached to them as I have in other Amy Lane books.
On the other hand I absolutely loved that we got to see more of Dex and Kane again!
Gomez Pugh is amazing! I love this new addition to the Johnnies series! Gomez has a great voice and does a tremendous job at differentiating the different characters. OMG! I was cracking up at his version of Tommy and Kane. Tommy has this great Boston accent and Kane has a sweetly Hispanic lilt. John is dry and self-effacing, Galen is deliciously southern, Dex is quiet and stern, Ethan is deep and rumbly… it goes on and on. Though I loved the narrator for the previous books (Sean Crisden is one of my favorite narrators!) I really loved these added touches. It absolutely bumped this great book to amazing and I highly recommend listening to this if you are a fan of the series. It was delightful!
Blurb
