Category: ebook

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Work in Progress (Belladonna Arms #2) by John Inman

Dreamspinner Presents: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5515

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Blurb

Dumped by his lover, Harlie Rose ducks for cover in the Belladonna Arms, a seedy apartment building perched high on a hill in downtown San Diego. What he doesn’t know is that the Belladonna Arms has a reputation for romance—and Harlie is about to become its next victim.

Finding a job at a deli up the street, Harlie meets Milan, a gorgeous but cranky baker. Unaware that Milan is suffering the effects of a broken heart just as Harlie is, the two men circle around each other, manning the barricades, both unwilling to open themselves up to love yet again.
But even the most stubborn heart can be conquered.

With his new friends to back him up—Sylvia, on the verge of her final surgery to become a woman, Arthur, the aging drag queen who is about to discover a romance of his own, and Stanley and Roger, the handsome young couple in 5C who lead by example, Harlie soon learns that at the Belladonna Arms, love is always just around the corner waiting to pounce. Whether you want it to or not.

But tragedy also drops in now and then.

 Morgan’s review

We return to the amazing Belladonna Arms. Arthur is still there, in horrible drag. Chi Chi and Ramon are there, but fighting. Stanley and Roger are there and in love. Sylvia is about to have her surgery, the kleptomaniac Charlie is still taking his meds and he and Bruce are still a couple. All in all love is in the air, specifically the Love Pollen that Arthur claims falls on the unsuspecting tenants and makes them succumb.

Harlie thinks he’ll be immune to the pollen, however, since he has just gotten back from a four month journey across the country getting “over” his ex. He’s alone and plans on staying that way. His only focus: getting a job and writing his novel.

Sylvia comes through with a job for Harlie, working as a baker’s assistant at the restaurant where she works. The owner of the restaurant is Mr. Burger, an older gentleman whose lover has recently died. We suspect Sylvia probably knew that his son, Milan, might just cure Harlie of his blues, as he, too, is a gay man recently alone.

Sure enough, Milan and Harlie set off sparks. At first, Harlie thinks Milan is straight and hates him, which only makes him that much more fascinating, but then we see them connect outside of work and Milan is really just shy and heartbroken.

Sylvia has other plans for our Belladonna Arms manager, Arthur. Harlie, mistakenly!, tries to change Arthur’s style by making him more “butch”. What a hilarious failure that was! No matter what he tries, Arthur glams it up and looks miserable without his flowing garments. But… Mr. Burger sees something in Arthur he’s been missing and it’s love at first sight!

The remainder of the book is Sylvia healing, Arthur and Mr. Burger sexing and loving, Milan and Harlie sexing and loving, and… a horrible, horrible sad story involving Chi Chi and Ramon…

Overall, it was another amazing book by John Inman and I loved (almost) every second of it as much as the first book Serenading Stanley. I’m not sure why the sad story was included… maybe to give some more depth to this very sweet story, or to open up a new line for the next story (I hope!) but it was hard to read. I hope we hear more about their story in another installment, because it’s just too good to stop now!

Harlie and Milan are a wonderful, sweet couple and I’m sure you’ll love meeting them.

I also give tons of Kudos for giving Arthur a lover, he sooooo deserves to be loved and Mr. Burger was amazing!  I loved the message too – be yourself!  What a gift!

I highly recommend this book and the series, I can’t wait for the audio version to come out as I’m sure it will be awesome as well.

5 of 5 hearts

5

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Chipmunk Drizzled in Honey by Jackie Nacht

MLR Presents http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=JN_CMDIH

chipmunk

Blurb

 

Even this grumpy bear can’t resist this chipmunks charm.

Dallas likes the life he has. He’s the proud owner of the donut shop, Honey Cakes, and now owns the home he grew up in White Pine. He thought his life was perfect until Nikko the chipmunk sashayed into his life. Now, Dallas doesn’t know if he wants to push the spunky chipmunk away or make love to him.

Nikko has known since the moment he saw Dallas that he wanted the bear. Nothing, even the grouchiness of the gorgeous bear will keep him from making Dallas his own. But how can Nikko get Dallas to see they belong together?

Morgan’s Review

This is a quick shifter romance from Jackie Nacht’s series: Paranormal Dentistry for the Fanged and Friendly

Dallas is a bear who likes his solitude. Nikko is a chipmunk and he’s the life of the party. This is a case of opposites attracting.

Nikko makes a ton of mistakes at the donut shop but Dallas can’t bear to fire him, even when he eats all the pecans!

It takes talking to his best friend for him to finally face facts, but Dallas is smitten and when he finally gives in to temptation, Nikko and he make a very sweet couple.

**

I love shifter stories where they actually shift and act like their animal halves and we get to see both the human and the fuzzy side in this little love story.

Dallas is rumbly and bear like, Nikko is high strung and chipmunk like, but Nikko doesn’t let Dallas run all over him. He stands up and cusses him out when need be – in both human and chipmunk forms! It’s really cute!

I thoroughly enjoyed this short story and look forward to reading the other books in the series.

I give it 4.5 of 5 hearts.

4.5

 

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Floodgates Audiobook by Mary Calmes Narrated by Michael Anthony

Dreamspinner presents: http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Floodgates-Audiobook/B00PHF7FBU/ref=a_wl_c1_1_8_ttl

floodgates

Blurb: 
Tracy Brandt considers himself a lucky man. He has a wonderful family, good friends, and a dependable job. His love life, however, features a cheating ex who, though out of the house, is not yet out of the picture—with a past that just might get Tracy killed.

Homicide inspector Cord Nolan wants nothing more than to show his best friend’s little brother that he’s a reliable man, but to do that he’ll have to get Tracy to look past the player he used to be. It’ll be a tough sell; reputation is everything, and Cord’s is tarnished by his past indiscretions.

Tracy and Cord have spent five years trying to suffocate their fiery attraction under a blanket of grudging antagonism. When Tracy finds himself with a target on his back, Cord finally has the chance to ride to the rescue and break through the dam of Tracy’s reserve. But he’d better be careful: if Cord is breaking the floodgates to wash away the past, he’s going to have to hold tight to Tracy to make sure they’re still standing when the tumult recedes.

Review:

Book:

There is a lot going on in this story. Tracy is the ex-boyfriend of Breckin. Breckin cheats. He makes people mad. Tracy finally dumps him, but now Breckin is in trouble and someone wants to kill him.

Tracy is also working for someone who has a brother in the Russian mob. This gets Tracy shot.

Tracy has a brother who is a police detective. He has an ex-partner named Cord who is a man-whore. Cord and Tracy want each other. Badly. But won’t act on it because they know it will end badly. So, for 5 years they dance around one another.

Somehow, Cord ends up guarding Tracy, Breckin and Breckin’s most current love interest (Celia) against the stalker that wants Breckin dead and the people after the Russian mob brother.(It’s okay if you’re confused, because it’s really confusing.)

After 5 years Cord has decided to clean up his act and be the right kind of guy for Tracy. Now that Tracy is single again, Cord makes his play. Tracy, who has always had the hots for Cord, eats it up with a spoon and they make for a hot, hot couple.

Ultimately, Cord and some local police catch the guy after Breckin. Nothing important happens relating to the Russian mob. Cord and Tracy end up together for a very, very HEA.

**

I love Mary Calmes.

I love her.

I did not love this book.

It was meandering, hard to follow, had characters that did things that didn’t make sense, one completely dead end plot and one twisted and confusing plot.

The Russian mob part of the story seemed unnecessary and it added to my confusion.

Breckin was a cheater and had a hard time with monogamy. Though I really rooted for Cord and could tell he really loved Tracy, I wasn’t convinced that he was through with his man-whore ways. We got nothing to show us he had changed. It felt dangerous to Tracy to go from one cheater to another player.

I always love Mary’s alpha males coupled with the sensitive guy and that’s what happens here, but the background story (the stalker, the ex, the mob) took up more page time than their love story and it didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t feel as attached to the characters as I usually do.

Overall, this is not my favorite Mary Calmes story. I enjoyed it like I always do, but I didn’t love it.

I give it a 3 of 5 hearts.

3

Audio:

Michael Anthony is new to me as a narrator and I mostly enjoyed his interpretation. I LOVED his Russian accent and thought his Tracy was excellent. He does emotion and the smexy scenes very well, but he didn’t do much for Cord and I sometimes had a hard time telling who was talking.

Since the story is confusing as it is, the listening was sometimes even more confusing and I found myself re-winding and listening again, even though I had read the book first, it was several months ago.

So… I give the narration a 4 of 5 hearts because it was mostly really good, but needed some tweaking to be great.

4

Overall, as a listening experience I give it a 3.5 of 5 hearts. I was glad to have read and listened to it, but it was not my favorite.

3.5

 

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Brokedown Hearts (Foster Siblings #3) by Cameron Dane

brokedown

From Loose-ID:

Ex-con David Joyner returns home knowing he must atone for his past sins. Working at an animal shelter, David keeps his head down, desperate to prove to a hostile town he’s a new man. The one time David looks up, he spots fellow motel dweller Ben, and is terrified by his attraction to the man. David doesn’t want to feel anything. He can only damage what he loves.

On a forced vacation, PI Ben Evans accepts a job to tail a recently released prisoner. What begins as an easy gig turns complicated when Ben, a controlled man, can’t deny the pang of empathy he feels for his subject, David. Ben can’t suppress his gut-deep sexual desires whenever he’s near David either.

Repeatedly crossing paths, David and Ben do their best to fight their growing attraction. When passion explodes, and secrets are revealed, both men have to conquer inner demons in order to accept the others love.

Someone has turned the tables on David, though, stalking him and leaving threatening notes. Will anyone believe David if he tells? And when David’s stalker raises the stakes, can Ben find the man who has become his world in time to save their love?

Morgan’s Review

David (who we met in A Fostered Love) was the stalker who tormented Christian and almost killed himself. He ends up going to prison and this story picks up after his release where he was also hospitalized and is still being treated by psychiatrists.

Ben is Brayden’s ex from Something New. Brayden, asked by Jonah, asks Ben to tail David and make sure he is doing ok and not hurting himself or others. Ben ends up being attracted to David and this is where I had to stop.

David is fragile. He is messed up. He still panics at the slightest bit of sexual attraction and/or attention. In fact, just thinking about kissing Ben causes him to call his psychiatrist in a blind panic.

When Ben does finally kiss him, David, showing a lot of growth, tells him, NO, I am not ready for this. So what does Ben do? He kisses him anyway, despite his obvious terror and tells him he needs it.

This is where I had to stop. David says “Please. You shouldn’t do this.” “It’s not right.” “You need to leave.”
Ben replies. “ Don’t fuck with me David. There will always be consequences.”

Now. I know from reading other reviews and talking to people who have read the book, that it is explained and might even be “what David needs”. But to me it sounds and feels like rape.

I am just not comfortable with this in a romantic novel.

So, I had to stop.

I love Cameron Dane. I have enjoyed many of her novels and all the Foster Siblings books before this. This just hit me in a bad place and I couldn’t/didn’t want to proceed.

No Rating: DNF

 

Kimi’s thoughts:

This was a difficult read  because not only did we have a guy who’d been imprisoned for stalking  a previous character in an earlier book in the series, and it was one that was easily likeable, but then as we get to know the broken man David truly is and how dysfunctional his family are, along comes some dub con scenes where he is the target.

I’m glad I stuck with it, though, as it turns out that Ben seems to understand something about David that we didn’t, and David, well, David is okay with it. It’s not perhaps the most ideal of relationship models, but these two men fit together to make one whole that gives them their idea of a happily ever after. It’s a dynamic that actually saves David’s life as we discover that the help David is receiving to aid in his rehab is being used as a cover by someone who does NOT have his best interests at heart and actually uses his fear of attachment against him.

David’s work with shelter animals touched my heartstrings too, especially the whole thing with the abandoned kitten.  I’m a huge sucker for the whole kind to animals thing,  and Dane did well to use this, it really helped me see David as a troubled man who has goodness in him

Kimi’s rating: 3.5

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Unexpected Spirit by Nicole Dennis

MLR Press Presents: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=NDUNXSPT

 

unexpected Blurb

Can ex-lovers find their way back to one another while Samhain allows a desperate person to do about anything to connect?

A reluctant medium turned writer, Dmitri Terron, hates Samhain and the spirits invading his life. He follows the Druid path, creating wards and barriers to keep out the ghosts. Even with these barriers in place, an unexpected spirit enters his home. It’s his ex-boyfriend, Zackary Kendrick who is scared and relieved to find Dmitri.

Needing to learn what happen, Dmitri pushes past his personal barriers to help. Zack’s physical body rests in a coma. A piece of Zack’s soul needs to reunite with his body or all is lost.

 

Morgan’s Review

This is a short Halloween story in the series Scare This! (book 5). Dimitri is a medium, hiding from the world, an agoraphobe who gets bombarded with spirits seeking help each Samhain and Beltane. He’s learned some druid tricks to ward his house during these days, but even the most carefully laid barriers are breeched by his ex-lover Zackary’s ghost.

Zackary doesn’t know how he ended up in Dimitri’s home. He hadn’t seen the man in over 10 years and he doesn’t remember the last several days that led him to this point. He remembers thinking about Dimitri and going to their special place, then … nothing.

Dimitri thinks Zack is still alive, but somehow separated from his body. Zack convinces him to leave his haven to help him re-join the two.

Dimitri finds Zack in a coma and must work hard to get his soul back inside the body before the spirit grows too weak and leaves this plane.

**

There was a lot that happened in this short story but I never quite got invested in the characters. I didn’t really get the feeling, aside from gratitude and a new appreciation for what Dimitri goes through, that Zack had done much to convince me he and Dimitri would make it in the long run.

Since most of the story takes place with Zack as a ghost, we don’t actually get to see them as a corporeal couple very much.

However, it was an interesting Halloween story with a romantic twist.

I give it 3 of 5 hearts for being a seasonally fun romantic story.

3

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Nothing Ventured by Jay Northcote

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Dreamspinner presents: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5678

Nothing Ventured by Jay Northcote

Blurb

When Aiden agrees to run the Mad Mucker—a twelve-mile muddy slog over an obstacle course—he’s expecting it to be a bit of a laugh. The training will be tough, but Aiden could use the motivation to regain some fitness.

Matt is the sexy cousin of one of Aiden’s coworkers and a last-minute addition to the team. When he agrees to train with Aiden, Aiden suddenly finds the prospect of regular workouts a lot more appealing.

Soon attraction flares, and they embark on an intense physical relationship. Matt doesn’t want to fall in love with a man, and Aiden doesn’t want to fall in love at all, but despite their insistence on no strings, they grow closer. As the day of the race approaches, time is running out for them to work out how they feel about each other.

Morgan’s Review

Aiden is an out and proud, but sorta lazy, gay man. He ends up getting suckered into competing in an obstacle course race (via too much tequila) by one of his friends who pairs him with her cousin Matt for training.

Matt is “straight” and OCD about fitness ever since his father died suddenly from a heart attack. He and Aiden spark off one another right away, but since Matt is straight and all, Aiden keeps his flirting to a minimum. Until one day… they end up covered in mud and Matt needs a shower… Aiden realizes Matt isn’t all that straight.

They begin a “friends-with-benefits” affair. Matt is bi-sexual but deep in the closet. Aiden is out but not interested in a relationship since the last one he was in left him scarred.

At first this seems to work out great for both men. They are good together in bed and as training partners and they might even be good as friends. But as time goes on they begin to have feelings for each other that makes things awkward.

Finally, after an amazingly touching night of lovemaking and talking, they decide they are too close to one another so they have to split.

What?

Yes, they like each other too much to continue seeing each other.

So now they are both frustrated,sad, and lonely.

Fortunately, not for long… after the race, when Aiden nearly drowns, they come around and realize they can’t let the past dictate their future.

Hooray!

**

Jay Northcote is one of my auto-buy authors. She never disappoints. Her characters are fun, funny, three-dimensional and really enjoyable. In most of her stories we get to see some growth and we always see some hot sex and sweet love.

This book did not disappoint in most of those areas. I really loved the slow burn, the tension as we “hated” Matt for how poorly he treated Aiden and the relief when they finally gave in and admitted their feelings.

But… I thought the last bit there at the end, where Matt and Aiden both admitted (essentially) that they loved one another then broke up felt a little contrived. (I think that if Matt had denied his feelings and broke up with Aiden because Aiden was too clingy or something, it would have felt more authentic and given us the same result. IMHO)

However, that is really a small, nit-picky thing. The only other thing I would have appreciated was seeing the boys together longer as a couple.

So, overall I really enjoyed this book and recommend it with a 4 of 5 hearts.

4

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The Royal Street Heist by Scotty Cade

Dreamspinner Presents: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5666

royalBlurb

When valuable Civil War era art is stolen from a popular New Orleans gallery, NOPD Lead Detective Montgomery “Beau” Bissonet and his partner set out to solve the crime. When the gallery’s insurance company sends Tollison Cruz to the Big Easy to conduct their own independent investigation, personalities clash and battle lines are definitely drawn.

The heist quickly becomes a politically driven high profile case, and Detective Bissonet is furious when he’s ordered to work along side Investigator Cruz to assure a timely arrest. The heat index soars to new levels when the two investigators discover they have a lot more in common then originally thought.

With the tension between them temporarily sated, Bissonet and Cruz finally start to work together, on more then just a professional level. But everything comes to a screeching halt when Beau discovers his cohort in crime has been withholding information regarding the investigation and has been concealing a very questionable past. What happens next rivals the scorching summer heat.

Morgan’s Review

Beau works for the NOPD and Cruz works for Lloyds of London. Both guys are trying to find two missing paintings. It’s made clear that it’s likely an inside job (either the original owner, his family, or someone the original owner hired) but things are now complicated because someone got killed while trying to steal the paintings.

Beau immediately hates Cruz. Which sucks because now they have to work together. Beau’s recent ex boyfriend is also involved in the case, and they have a contentious relationship as well. (Beau can be an asshole!) So Beau is basically feeling sorry for himself all around.

However, there is something else going on between him and Cruz as well – sexual tension. Both guys are really attracted to one another in addition to truly “hating” the other.

The case leads them to cross state lines and they end up sharing a hotel bed. You guessed it, the sparks flying between them eventually catch fire, have some angry sex and it’s H.O.T! But… they still don’t like each other.

They grudgingly agree that they make a good investigative pair as they get closer and closer to solving the case, but something about the other just sets them on edge. Since they’re spending so much time together they decide to go for a no-strings-attached affair, since it’s convenient and all. *wink, wink

When it looks like the case is on the verge of being solved, and it begins to look like the couple may be more than just a quick fling, Cruz is seen corroborating with one of the main suspects and Beau throws him under the bus, immediately thinking the worst.

Fortunately, Cruz is a reasonable guy and the two of them talk it out, realizing that secrets have been kept on both sides. When they finally lay things out of the table, the case finally gets closed and the two realize they mean more to each other than a short-term affair.

But… they live in different cities. Cruz travels all over the world for months at a time. Beau is stuck in New Orleans. It takes some creative thinking, but they do find something they think will work. It’s going to take a big leap of faith and a lot of love to make it work, but I think they have what it takes to make for a very HEA.

**

The bulk of the story really is about solving the crime. That being said, the love story is super sweet and the sex is really hot. I found it fascinating how much the ex played a part in this story and I figure he’s maybe got a book of his own coming up. I’m not sure if this is just being nit picky or what, but there were tons of strange names in this book and it got distracting.

All in all I enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it. 4 of 5 hearts

4

 

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Fixing the Hole by Katherine Halle

Dreamspinner presents: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5646

fisingBlurb

Heavy rains and strong winds slammed an uprooted tree through Steve Crowell’s roof, leaving a gaping hole to match the one in his heart. After his ex left him for a younger man, Steve’s not sure he’s ready to handle another disaster. His best friend highly recommended the contractor, but the man’s already late, and when he shows up with his music thumping, Steve isn’t impressed—until Riley steps out of his pickup truck. Personable, gorgeous Riley talks a mile a minute, which Steve finds both ridiculously endearing and terrifying. Piecing together a heart isn’t as easy as fixing a roof, but Riley might just be the right man for the job.

Morgan’s Review

This is a short book where the ending is the beginning.

Instead of being a book about a relationship, this is really and truly just about the beginning of a relationship. Steve is older, has a thing for younger guys, got burned by the last younger guy, isn’t getting any younger himself, and still has a thing for younger guys.

Riley is a younger guy with a thing for older guys. He’s super sweet, adorable, chatty – very chatty – and he lives at home and tries to keep his dad healthy.

Steve is into Riley, but is worried about being burned again. Riley is into Steve, but worries that Steve isn’t into him.

Most of the book is them dancing around this issue. Then – bam – they go on a date.

The End.

So… the end is the beginning.

**

Ummmm, well. How do I rate this?

It was…nice. I’m sure it was making a statement. It was very well written and some people will like that it didn’t do anything besides start the relationship.

Not me. I was disappointed.

It felt like the beginning of a story that got cut off just when it was getting good! I wanted to see where it went and what happened and … well, all the good stuff that goes with that.

But that wasn’t what this was about.

It was man meets boy. Man wants boy. Man finally gets the balls to ask boy out, and he accepts.

So…

I give the author props for doing something different and for setting up an interesting start to a story, but I can’t really recommend it. However, if you are the sort that just loves the “chase” you will be psyched to read this short story.

I give it 2.5 of 5 hearts for being half a story, good, but unfinished.

2.5

 

 

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Blue Moon by Megan Slayer

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MLR Press Presents : http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=MSBLUEMN

Blurb

The ghost at my door claims to be my ex-boyfriend, back from the dead. Yeah, right.

Two years ago on October 31st, my world fell apart and I know it’ll never be fixed. No ghost can ease my broken heart and bring my boyfriend back to me. None. Now there’s a ghost at my door claiming to be Tristan. I don’t believe it. Ghosts don’t exist—or do they? Have I mentioned it’s Halloween? I hate Halloween.

Morgan’s Review

This is part of a series (Scare This! #2).  The others are by different authors and do not seem connected to one another in a significant way.

This is a very short story about a guy, Paul Michaels, who lost his boyfriend, Tristan, two years ago on Halloween. This year he’s moping, sad, and hating the holiday he and Tristan had always loved and celebrated together.

He thinks someone is playing a horrible joke on him when Tristan’s ghost appears before him claiming to be real.

After some pretty thorough convincing (and ghost sex), Paul finally believes Tristan’s ghost is who he says he is. Which is good, because Tristan made a “deal with the devil”, a demon actually, and he has 24 hours to convince Paul he’s real and that he still loves Halloween and still loves Tristan. If he can do that he has a chance to come back to life.

**

Megan Slayer did a nice job with this little Halloween short story. It’s cute, sexy and fun. The plot is a little weak but the writing is good.

It was too short to really delve too deeply into the characters or their love but I liked what we do know of them and enjoyed them as a couple.

I enjoyed this and give it a 3 of 5 hearts.

3

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The Gin Ricky (Cock & Tails #3) by Renee George

 

gin rickey

When mixology meets biology, it’s pure chemistry!
Alex Michaels values intellect and propriety. To help pay the bills while he finishes his biological research degree, he waits tables at The Other Team. He’s trying to avoid romantic entanglements to focus on his studies, but the new cook, Ricky McNeil, is dangerously attractive. Ricky’s scars and tattoos have Alex both scared and horny. It doesn’t take long for Alex to cave in to their insane attraction. But can two men from two different worlds have more than just a physical connection?

 

 

My Review

Very short, very hot, very sweet love story. Supposed bad boy meets nerd. They have hot, hot sex. Find there is way more to each other than they thought. Maybe even love?

I highly recommend this and give it a 5 of 5 hearts.

5

Buy from Amazon.