Outside Collin Fitzpatrick’s dorm room is a dangerous place. Beyond his door the students of his small, conservative college think he’s straight, as does his Catholic family who’d disown him if they learned the truth. Inside, he’s safe with his incredibly sexy roommate Tanner D’Amico. Their room makes a perfect place to hide away and fall in love. The moment they cross the line from roommates to lovers, Collin becomes caught between their heavenly passionate encounters and the hellish reality that someone might find out and destroy everything. Tanner’s not used to being so confined, and wants to show the world how much he loves Collin. But Collin’s not sure he’s ready for the impact stepping outside will make.
Review
Collin is in trouble. His roommate, who he thinks is straight, catches him watching him jerk off. Luckily for both of them, neither Collin nor Tanner are exactly straight.
They embark on a relationship of discovery, but in secret, until it gets to the point where Tanner wants more. Can Collin commit or will he let his fear guide his actions?
**
This was an excellent start to what I hope will be a fully satisfying series. Karen Stivali is an excellent writer. I absolutely adored her angsty, introverted Collin and found his story captivating. (I especially loved the brother’s stories: teen pregnancy or the priesthood, ouch!)
Right from the first sentence, where Collin is spying on Tanner, she caught my attention. Tanner is adorable and the perfect boyfriend for our newly awakened gay boy, Collin.
Because this is a Young adult or New Adult title we get only a little steam, nothing too heavy, but plenty sexy. (I’m hoping we get even more as the series progresses ! )
Since this is a series, I’m also hopeful that the rather abrupt ending will be followed up with more of the boys as a couple and more of Collin’s life dealing with his new “out” status.
Tristan Green left his small English town for Manhattan and a job at a high profile ad agency, but can’t seem to find his bearings. He spends a lot of time working late at night, eating and sleeping alone, and even more time meandering around his neighborhood staring into the darkened windows of shops. One night when he’s feeling really low, he wanders by a beautiful little bakery with the lights still on. The baker invites him in, and some time during that night Tristan realizes it’s the first time he’s really smiled in months.
Henry Livingston has always been the odd duck, the black sheep, the baker in an old money family where pedigree is everything and quirky personalities are hidden behind dry martinis and thick upper east side townhouse facades. Henry is drawn to Tristan’s easy country charm, dry English wit, and everything that is so different from Henry’s world.
Their new romance is all buttercream frosting and sugared violets until Tristan’s need to fit in at work makes him do something he desperately wishes he could undo. Tristan has to prove to Henry that he can be trusted again before they can indulge in the sweet stuff they’re both craving.
Review
(Spoilers at the end)
Tristan and Henry meet over sweets and start a very slow-burning, very sweet and tender love affair. They are gentle with one another, sincere, and then a little hot and sexy for each other, too. Neither wants to presume anything and they are very cautious and tentative as their relationship evolves, even though no real hurdle seems to stand in their way.
Tristan knows it’s getting serious when Henry takes him home to meet his very rich family. Though Tristan knows the family will never “approve” of him (unless he makes them richer, there’s nothing to approve of) he’s still falling in love with Henry and willing to let that go. In fact, he’s making plans to bring Henry home to meet his family.
Suddenly (and I do mean quite suddenly) something happens at Tristan’s work which forces him to use their relationship to gain an advantage at work and Henry finds out.
What, if anything, can be done to make Henry understand it was all a mistake?
**
I was very disappointed when I started seeing mediocre reviews for this book. I really like the authors (both separately and together) and had been looking forward to this book. But… I knew I needed to judge for myself, so I dug in.
Like many things, there are parts that I really loved and parts that just plain pissed me off.
I loved the set-up: The two quiet/nerdy guys. The American meets English. I loved the recipes in each chapter. I loved the two MCs. They were soft, sweet, tentative, compassionate… so caring of one another. In a way, the quiet way their love blossomed was part of the reason the abrupt clash felt so out of line. It took a full 33% of the book for them to kiss and like 75% for them to have sex. It was a very slow-building romance full of kisses, cuddles, and sweet talk. At about 80% everything was feeling very warm and fuzzy and just getting to that point where you know it’s all going to be wonderful and cozy and happy and WHAM! Suddenly, literally out of nowhere, a sudden change in the plot throws our lovers into a tailspin and they barely – I mean barely – recover by the time the story is over.
It felt like being mugged!
It was like walking around in a sugar-coated-love-haze and then having someone slap you and say “Wake up!”
I’m not sure why the story had to end like that. Perhaps the authors felt it was little too “easy” without some major crisis at the end, but it felt so dissonant. The abrupt change from cloud nine to a (kind of ridiculous) misunderstanding of epic proportions just felt off.
And the ending was so unsatisfying. It was a complete 180 degree turn around from the previous 180 degree turn around and it left me feeling a bit dizzy and disoriented.
(Spoiler part here)
I think that the party itself (where Tristan arranges people from his work to meet Henry’s family) could have provided enough friction between the two lovers without having to rely on the misunderstanding to create tension in the story.
Also I think that once Henry forgave Tristan we really deserved to see them together and re-connected again to cement their relationship. As it was left, it still felt iffy to me and I didn’t feel as comfortable calling this a Happily Ever After.
When absent-minded video game developer Jay Thurson impulsively follows his intuition westward, he never expects his rideshare to turn out to be a gun-toting madman. In an act of desperation, Jay turns to the gift he’s long neglected and feared for help and leaps from the moving car on a dark and deserted back country road.
Running for his life leads him to the doorstep of Adam Grauwacke, a roadside nursery owner and sometime vegetable farmer, whose affinity for the earth goes far beyond having a green thumb. Adam’s world is ordered and predictable, dependable and safe, but despite having his dream farm and business, he’s always felt something’s missing. When he welcomes Jay into his home, life seems to click for both men, and together they explore their gifts and their attraction.
But harmony has no value if it is easily won, and a crazed gunman and volatile ex might be their end if Jay and Adam can’t learn to trust the strength of their bond.
Review
Jay epitomizes his element, air. He’s scattered, moves around a lot, has ADD, and is impulsive. He decides to take a trip that ends up going very wrong… then very right.
Adam is the earth. He plants roots and stays solid. In the past he’s run into trouble with relationships but he craves stability.
When Jay stumbles into Adam’s world it’s like the two were searching for one another all this time. They just “fit” together. Adam harnesses the volatile energy that Jay brings into the relationship and Jay provides that spark of light that drives out the depression on days without the sun.
The relationship moves quickly forward, but it isn’t all easy. Jay doesn’t trust the relationship and gets balky toward the end. Adam has a psycho ex who tries to drive them apart (who gets his own book next!). And both of the men are the target of a bizarre fanatic waving a gun.
In the end, however, we see that Jay is the Yin to Adam’s Yang and we have a very Happily Ever After.
**
There are parts of this book that just “wowed” me.
*I loved the symbolism of Jay as the Air – his personality, thought patterns, actions… all fit that element to a “T”. Adam was solid, dependable, loving, literally “grounded”, all in line with being Earth.
*When the magicky things were occurring – the thunderstorm, the fire, the gunman… these were really fun and very well written. It was some nicely developed world-building.
*The smexy times were very nice, hot, but not overbearing. You could feel their “elements” in play and it added a unique flavor to this paranormal romance.
There were parts I didn’t love as much:
*The ex and the gunman. These were definitely added to give the lovers some external hurdles and I can appreciate what they added to the story but they were done in such a way that they felt a little out of place and they were not nearly as well-developed as the rest of the story. They pulled me out of the magicky new world we’d created and they felt a bit awkward.
*The fizzled- out ending. There is a big fire toward the end and there are some pretty major things that happen around this event. When the dust settles and the smoke clears (literally) we get a few pagees of re-connection and explanation and then it ends. Now I know there is a book 2 planned and it may take off from the end of this book and make things feel more complete, but as it stands here, it felt unfinished or rushed at the end.
*As such, I felt the book either needed to be a bit longer and sort of flesh out some of these weak spots or a bit shorter and edit out some of the internal ruminations and character building to make it feel more balanced.
Overall, I was really intrigued by the world-building and enjoyed the characters and their romance very much and am looking forward to the next book eagerly!
Henry Clueley doesn’t want to be in Glamour, not after moving far away to overcome a difficult, if privileged, childhood. He’s no longer that pudgy kid desperate to escape his hometown, but it still holds painful memories. When his recently widowed mother needs him, however, “dependable Henry” does the right thing—even if it means leaving the IRS to take a boring corporate position. Things don’t stay boring for long. Soon Henry helps the local sheriff’s department unravel a crime. Posing as half of a fake couple seems like a fun idea… until Henry learns he already knows the deputy playing his other half.
Deputy Locke may be new to the Glamour Sheriff’s Department, but he’s fought his way up in the world and is determined to make a good impression. He keeps his private life quiet, even from his beloved younger brother. Locke knows better than most the need to protect what’s his.
Henry resents the arrogant, gorgeous cop, and Locke thinks Henry is sheltered and spoiled. Their secret and steamy encounter only adds to the animosity. As they join forces, Henry thinks a relationship with Locke would be catastrophic, but the white-hot passion between them makes it hard to resist.
Review
Henry is an accountant who moved back to Glamour to help his widowed mother. He used to be chubby and now strives hard to keep his new, more fit shape. His dad was a giant jerk, and he’s had real rotten luck with relationships. Until now.
Locke is a hard-nosed cop who moved to Glamour when he got in trouble for whistle-blowing in Phoenix. His family life was also less than stellar and the only family he knows now is his younger brother. He’s gay, but not out and he doesn’t “do” relationships. Until now.
Locke and Henry get together for the first time at Dean and Anthony’s wedding. (Yay!!!) They have a hot round of sex then Locke treats Henry like crap and they don’t see much of each other except when Locke is handing out speeding tickets to Henry.
There is a suicide and a subsequent investigation into the woman’s place of work, which happens to be where Henry works, conducted by Locke’s police department. It’s decided that Locke and Henry must pose as lovers to gain inside information about the financial planners Henry works for to try to expose the cause of the suicide.
At first things are terrible… well terribly HOT… between Henry and Locke. The sexual tension is nearly unbearable, but outside of the physical, they can’t stand one another.
As they work closely with one another on the case, little by little the defenses crumble and they begin an active “no strings” affair… but Henry is seeing strings and maybe… maybe Locke is too.
There is a lot of intrigue. Some family drama on both sides. Lots and lots of hot sex. Some personal drama with Dean and Anthony. Some more hot sex. And finally… a very HEA.
**
This, by far, is my favorite of the “Last Guy” series. It is a really sweet, very sexy, very exciting, very well-written novel. I can really see the improvement, book to book in Skylar Cates’ writing. Her characters are by far her best asset – they are interesting and well-developed and easy to love, both the MCs and the secondary characters as well.
I think the story line in this was by far the most interesting of the three, the mystery and the drama and all the extra stuff that can sometimes overwhelm a romance really did a nice job of show-casing it instead and keeping the reader enthralled.
I am a definite fan of the series and hope we see more from Skylar soon!
Audio
Matt Baca did the other narrations for this series and like the author’s writing, this is the best of the three. I really like his grumpy Locke and his sweet Henry.
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
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.
I highly recommend it, giving it 6 out of 5 hearts!
Will Grant only attends the PFLAG meeting because his mother guilts him into it. But the instant he hears the night’s speaker, Will is glad he showed up. Joshua Rhinehardt is dynamic and engaging. Although Joshua isn’t physically Will’s type, Will can’t get the man out of his head.
Joshua may be comfortable in his own skin, but it isn’t often men like Will are attracted to him, and he’s not comfortable changing for someone else. He wants to make a life with Will, but his own insecurities keep getting in the way.
Will’s unwavering acceptance helps Joshua see that when two people connect, physical appearance just might not matter at all.
Review
This is a super cute, super easy read that is well-written and full of great “feels”.
Will and Joshua meet at a PFLAG meeting and pretty much hit it off right from the start. Joshua is a little insecure and that causes them to move slowly at first, but it is absolutely the right thing for them.
The sex is very hawt. The love is frickin’ adorable. The MCs are really cute, too.
All in all a very full, though short, story with a big heart.
Senior year of college is for studying, partying, and having fun before getting serious about life. Instead, Chad’s days are filled with headaches and exhaustion, and his fencing skills are getting worse with practice, not better. Then there’s his nonexistent love life, full of girls he’s shunted to the friend zone. Is he asexual? Gay?
Grad student Warren Douglas could be out clubbing, but his roommate is better company, even without kisses. He’s torn up watching Chad suffer, gobbling ibuprofen and coming home early on Friday nights. If Chad weren’t straight, Warren would keep him up past midnight. They’re great as friends. Benefits might answer Chad’s questions.
A brief encounter with lab rats reveals Chad’s illness—he needs surgery, STAT, and can’t rely on his dysfunctional parents for medical decisions. Warren’s both trustworthy and likely to get overruled—unless they’re married. “You can throw me back later,” Warren says, and he may throw himself back after his husband turns out moody and hard to get along with, no matter how much fun his new sex drive is. Surgery turns Chad into a new man, all right…
…but Warren fell in love with the old one.
Review
Warren and Chad are roommates. Warren is gay and Chad is… well, Chad is having a lot of trouble defining himself.
Chad, since he was about 15, has been having debilitating headaches and some pretty debilitating erectile dysfunction. He doesn’t link the two, but instead worries about his “manliness”. He decides to conduct an experiment after his most recent female failure and his buddy Warren is happy to oblige.
Though it is far from perfect, Chad is definitely more aroused by Warren than any of the previous girlfriends he’s had and the two embark on an exploratory friends to lovers relationship.
But that isn’t all there is to be discovered. Chad’s headaches are getting worse and Warren and his friend convince Chad to go to the doctor to test a theory they have about the source of Chad’s problems.
It turns out Chad has a brain tumor and it is the probable source of all his physical ailments.
The surgery to remove the benign growth is tricky and there is a chance that Chad will be left a vegetable if it goes wrong. Knowing how his family feels about “pulling the plug”, Chad doesn’t want to be left in a vegetative state and he doesn’t trust his family to respect his wishes. To circumvent this, he and Warren sign all the appropriate Medical Health forms but also decide to get married so that Warren will really have his power of attorney.
Once the surgery has been successfully completed there a lot of changes Chad will go through. Essentially puberty, again. The question is – now that Chad is “a new man” will he still want to be with Warren. The other question is – will Warren still want to be with him?
**
What a unique book! PD Singer is nothing if not an amazing researcher. You can tell she must have done a bunch of serious investigating into this disease. It was fascinating!
There were times when I was certainly skeptical. Two college guys getting married for the sake of a power of attorney was definitely a little on the unrealistic side, but for the most part, the rest of the story seemed to fall within the realm of possibility.
I appreciated the “real” sex in this book, and that it wasn’t always hot and sweaty and joyous. There were some hardships the couple went through that just rang true and felt very authentic.
I was thoroughly captivated by this story and was waffling, right up til the end, right along with Warren on whether or not Chad would figure things out or was the whole relationship about to crumble before their eyes.
I really recommend this unique book and this fascinating look at a relationship.
As part of the investigation into the murder of a young woman, Seattle P.I. Tony DeMarco poses as a patient of Dr. Jack Halloran, the therapist who treated the victim at a Seattle sex clinic. This isn’t the first time Tony has gone undercover, but it’s the first time he’s wanted to go under covers with one of his suspects. He can’t help it –Jack Halloran is just the kind of steely eyed hero Tony likes. But he’ll have to prove Halloran’s innocence and keep the doctor from finding out about his ruse before he can play Romeo.
Dr. Halloran has his own issues, including a damaged right arm sustained in the line of duty as a combat surgeon in Iraq and the PTSD that followed. He’s confused to find himself attracted to a new patient, the big, funny Italian with the puppy-dog eyes, and Tony’s humor slips right past Jack’s defenses, making him feel things he thought long buried. But can the doctor and the P.I. find a path to romance despite the secrets between them?
Review
Jack is a Doctor and a war hero who has had to re-train from surgeon to sex therapist due to debilitating injuries.
Tony is an ex-cop, PI on the case of a murder of one of Jack’s former patients. Tony “pretends” to have a sex addiction and comes to Jack for “help” so that he can assess Jack as a suspect. Jack sees through the ruse and calls Tony’s bluff. Tony admits, finally, to having “a picky dick”. Meaning that he has trouble getting erections except with a very small pool of men who manage to stimulate his “picky dick”.
Jack agrees to take Tony on as a patient, though he is concerned because he is not sure Tony is still being honest and Jack is already too attracted to Tony for professional purposes.
Together Jack and Tony research possibilities for Tony’s “problem” and at the same time build a smoldering sexual tension.
Tony essentially rules Jack out fairly early as a suspect, but still must investigate the clinic and it’s employees as well as following other leads.
Finally, when Tony thinks he knows whodunit, he faces the task of convincing Jack to give their relationship a try.
**
So – you know – I love Eli Easton. I am a huge fan. This was one of the first books I read of hers after falling in love with Blame it on the Mistletoe. There are several things I loved about this book (especially listening to it again after having read it several times). I love the characters. They seem so real and down to earth. I love that I get to learn something about sex therapy and yet it was still a bit kinky at times too. Totally professional and not at all demeaning to the profession, but still acknowledging the sexual edge that is involved in such an intimate form of therapy.
I also loved the gradual exploration of the feelings between Tony and Jack. It felt real and natural. My only complaint was that after Jack and Tony got together we didn’t get to see much of them as a couple. There was definitely enough to believe in a HEA (and we see them in future novels as an established couple) but I wanted to see more of them here.
Narration
I had listened to Tommy O’Brien narrate before and thought he did a fine job.
I was so disappointed with this. There was little emotion and the very slight difference between Tony and Jack’s voices was not satisfactory. Tony is this great East Coast Italian guy and it would have been so fun to hear that come out in Tommy’s narration. There is some inflection and in fact Tony’s voice is the only emotion I felt in the story.
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
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!
PS I LOVE the cover – so beautiful and doesn’t Kelly look awesome?!
Working Vice for the Seattle PD, Connor Bishop’s favorite part of the job is going undercover. His current assignment is to get close to Riley Drapeau, a human trafficker backed into a corner by the FBI and turned informant. Connor needs to milk him for information on his organization, but while doing so, sees an entirely different Riley than he expected.
Caught off balance, Connor relies heavily on Lucas, his outside man and only link to the real world, but he gets sucked in by Riley and his attempt to clear his name and prove his partners fabricated evidence to frame him.
Up to his eyeballs in the dark world of trafficking, Connor finds it easier to believe Riley than what the FBI is saying, especially when a leak is uncovered within the Bureau. The choices Connor has to make become even more difficult when Lucas admits he has feelings for him and promises a safe life far from harm. But Connor can’t deny the only man he wants to be with is Riley. Which forces him to decide if his addiction to the dangerous side of life can include loving a criminal.
Review
(This is book two, and I didn’t read book one, but this can be a stand alone.)
Connor is an undercover cop who is supposed to get information on human trafficker Riley. They end up having an affair. Riley ends up getting caught and tries to convince Connor to stay away from him and stay with Lucas, his cop friend – a “good guy”. But is Lucas really all that good? Is Riley really all bad? Does Connor care?
**
It took me a very long time to make it through this book. At first I was really captivated by the premise: undercover, vice, bad guys who might not be bad guys… but as I started to read and realized that – no – the bad guys are really bad guys – it got harder for me to stay with the story.
The writing is excellent. Hayley James does a great job developing her characters and telling a fast paced, gritty story.
My main issue with the book, which unfortunately shaped my overall opinion, was that I never felt attached to either Riley or Connor. I know that I was supposed to see the “good” seeping through the “bad” but I just never got that hook that made me to see things from their point of view and I was never really rooting for either of them. I know others who have reviewed this did not feel this way and thought that Riley was really a good guy in a bad situation so it might be that it just didn’t rub me the right way.
I think that if you have read book one, and enjoyed it you will definitely enjoy this. (There are some recurring characters and I know I always like re-visiting past couples.) If you are intrigued by the seamier side of police work and enjoy that “gray” area of good and bad and some pretty hot sex, this will really hit your buttons.
Blurb
