Ex Meridian (Nothing Special VII) A.E. Via

?Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience?

TITLE:  Ex Meridian 

SERIES:  Nothing Special VII

AUTHOR: A.E. Via

PUBLISHER: Via Star Wings Books

LENGTH: 237 pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 26, 2020

BLURB: Police Lieutenants, God and Day are under intense pressure from the chief to take back control of Atlanta’s streets. The last thing their task force needs is a pair of trained killers in town with a personal score to settle. 

Take a man and strip him of his ability to feel compassion, empathy, remorse, or any of the emotions that make him human, but leave the ones that ignite rage and aggression and you have the perfect killing machine—now imagine two of them. 

Code names Ex and Meridian are synonymous for ‘guaranteed death’ to international terrorists. Two broken men from the same crooked streets, recruited into an unsanctioned government program that few know about. Trained to operate most efficiently—lethally—together. 

When Ex returns from an op in Bolivia to learn his little brother has been accidentally killed in a feud between drug gangs, he’s stateside before he can consider the rules he’ll be breaking, and of course Meridian is right beside him. There’s mayhem on the streets of Atlanta and the police are losing control. If Godfrey and his elite team of detectives can’t get the job done then they’d be happy to lighten their caseloads for them. And Ex nor Meridian care about doing it quietly. 

“I know who you are.” The man grunted when Ex turned to leave. “You’re the fucking devil.”

Meridian walked past, glaring one final time. “Say that loud enough… maybe God will save you.”

But after their first run-in with the big lieutenant and his protective husband, Day, Ex and Meridian start to reevaluate their own relationship. Wondering if they could be even deadlier if they let loose the feelings for each other that they’ve been forced to suppress for years. 

Meridian’s dark eyes stayed locked on his, “A man who can fight beside the one he loves doesn’t make him weaker, Ex—it makes him more dangerous.”

REVIEW: This latest installment of the series continues on with two new characters. Ex and his partner Meridian are two CIA agents who are in the ATL on an unsanctioned, off the books op searching for the drug and gang kingpin who murdered Ex’s baby brother.

The characters from the previous books in the series and their spinoffs make brief appearances throughout the book. God and Day’s team more so than the others as they are the force that moves the story along. 

The author introduces two new players in these books. Ex and Meridian are too mysterious and extremely dangerous men. These two are ruthless, unstoppable killing machines. But the author injected quite a bit of humanity into their characters. Reading the story, you could feel Ex’s  overwhelming sorrow over his brother’s death. The deep regret and guilt Ex feels for not being there for him and his mother is heartbreaking.

You stepped smack dab in the middle of Ex and Meridian lives fully aware that there’s a backstory that belongs to them only. Yet, you don’t feel disoriented or like there’s something missing in the author not giving the reader their full history’s. The bond these two men share is strong and you can see it clearly. This is such an important element of the story as it illustrates just how perfectly in sync with each these men are. 

These men are fierce, battle hardened and confident. Secure and communicating their wants and needs to each other. But there are some part in the story where Ex is a mixture of vulnerable and commanding that gives his character a depth that is much more fascinating and complex.

My favorite thing about this authors writing style is her ability to assert humor in her books at the most unexpected moments. There are moments when the dialogue takes me completely OUT to the point where I am positively wheezing, damn near laughing myself into an asthma attack.

This author’s work is brilliant, her characters’ personalities are so vividly written. These are every day working men that embark on these extraordinary adventures. Her characters are these mature, crazy, bold, dangerous men who work, live, play and love hard.

Just when I think this series can possibly get any more fantastic, this author goes into our kitchen and cooks up yet another even more delicious creation.     

And Sis *puts her foot in the pot* every single time she goes into that kitchen aka writer’s room of hers. 

*AAVE*

This book includes two fabulous bonus chapters at the end. While this story does not have a HEA ending it has a HFN one that is a perfect fit. 

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

The Disheveled Duke (A Little Bit Cupid) Catherine Curzon, Eleanor Harkstead

?Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience? 

TITLE:  The Dishevelled Duke 

SERIES:  A Little Bit Cupid 

AUTHOR: Catherine Curzon, Eleanor Harkstead 

PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing 

LENGTH:  58 pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 11, 2020

BLURB: Will a photographer be swept off his feet by a duke who’s more disheveled than dashing?

It’s Valentine’s Day and it’s Billy last shift at The Chelsea Bunn. His photography career never took off, so it’s time to leave London, parcel up the leftover heart-shaped cakes and head back home to Hampshire.

Rumpled Charlie and his two mischievous dogs are Billy’s favourite customers, so when Charlie turns up at closing jtime with a mysterious wrapped gift and the offer of a whirlwind trip on the London Eye, Billy can’t say no. But Charlie is keeping a secret that could turn Billy’s world happily upside down.

As the snow falls over London and the big wheel grinds to a halt, Billy discovers that wishes aren’t just for Christmas. 

REVIEW: Of all the novellas in this collection, this is got to be one of my favorite. This is such a cute and sweet story. This gives us Billy. Billy is a photographer who moved to London with the hopes of building a successful business but he decides to pack it all and seeing us things haven’t gone quite as he had planned. Then one day in walks Charlie and his two adorable dogs and presents Billy with yet another better plan.

The thing with plan is is that they don’t always go the way we want expects or even wants them to. In this instance Billy’s life takes a happy direction things to Charlie and his two adorable fur babies.

These two characters in the flow of the story is nicely paced. The authors managed to spend quite a tale is such a short length. Even with that, the characters and storylines were well thought out and presented.

As usual, these authors put forth a story that is wonderful is sweet. The characters are delightful and the storyline is lovely. This novella brought a smile to my face reading it.

Catherine and Elizabeth did a fantastic job.

RATING: 4.5

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

 

Pride Publishing

https://www.pride-publishing.com/book/the-dishevelled-duke

 

Service to the State: A Literary Seduction by Starlight Barque

?Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience?

 

TITLE: Service to the State: A Literary Seduction

AUTHOR: Starlight Barque 

PUBLISHER: Carnation Books 

RELEASE DATE:  July 22, 2019 

BLURB: In the year 2190…

Brilliant surgeon Galen Jayr has given up on love and moved halfway across the world to escape heartbreak. While working at a relief hospital in Alaska, Galen meets and befriends Navojan, an alien living on Earth but hiding his true identity as a being from another planet.

Over the course of their unlikely friendship, Galen and Navojan spend their days working and spending time together, often discussing their favorite books. It never occurs to Galen that Navojan has a flair for writing himself, until one day he happens upon Navojan’s open tablet and his unfinished romance novel.

The steamy contents of the novel activate Galen’s imagination, sending his feelings for Navojan into overdrive. Could the human character in Navojan’s book be a stand-in for Galen himself? Galen is completely distracted by dreams and fantasies of his friend, whose physiology feels pain as pleasure, and whose features–among them, a tail–are so very alien.

This short read is full of passion and sensuality, exploring the relationship between pleasure and pain, and detailing an alien/human love affair that is a bit sweet, a bit strange, and extremely, delightfully sexy.

REVIEW: I feel compelled to start by saying that science fiction, futuristic, alien/human or dystopia themed books are not my cup of tea, hot or cold. However, the the blurb for this novella piqued my interest. Deciding to step outside of my familiar zone, I gave it a shot.

I am really glad that I did!

Because if I hadn’t, I would’ve missed out on a really great story. This novella was sweet, sensual and sexy. The characters, although a bit strange, were quite interesting. Here you have Galen, a human and Navojan, an alien running from their past lives. In this futuristic semi dystopian world, these two manage for find each other and form a friendship based on a love of literature and companionship. I also feel that their mutual loneliness is something that also brought them together.

Navojan’s character especially drew me in. Here you have this sweet and gentle alien man who altered himself to fit into this planet, this which for him is backwards and somewhat primitive. You’re able to feel that he’s homesick but understands that he can’t return. He’s not a fan of this planet but his friendship with Galen makes it bearable. There’s a trust and a genuine love he feels for his friend.

Galen has always been attracted to his friend but didn’t want to act on it, not totally sure if Navojan shared the same feelings. His attraction reaches new heights when he discovers a few pages of draft of Nav’s book.

The journey these two make together is beautifully written. This is strange story but not in at all in a bad way. Quite the opposite, in fact. This story is truly outside the box. The author successfully combines science fiction with sensual romance and erotica. And it was very well done.

This story pleasantly surprised me! I am really glad that I decided to step outside my comfort zone and read this novella. This author also did a great job making this novella feel like you were reading a full length book.

 

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Bishop (A True Lover’s Story) A.E. Via

?Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience?

 

TITLE: Bishop

SERIES: N/A

AUTHOR: A.E. Via

PUBLISHER: Via Star Wings Publishing

RELEASEDATE: September 30, 2019

BLURB: At only thirty-two, Bishop Stockley has lived a hard-knock life. His gang was his family, the streets his home. Until the crew he’d always called his brothers betrayed him. After doing five years in a federal prison, Bishop is back at his dad’s trailer and working for his landscaping company, thrust into a legit world where he’s no longer the alpha—a world where a criminal record is the least of his disadvantages, because Bishop can’t read or write. Illiteracy had never been an obstacle for him on the streets, he didn’t need to know how to read Moby Dick to survive, he needed to know how to read people… and that was a hustle he’d learned hard and fast. Now, he had to change his life.

 

Bishop’s only support system was a young, inexperienced dad who’d insisted he call him Mike all their life—since they looked more like brothers than father and son. And his hot-tempered, childhood, best friend from ’juvie, Trent. Bishop already had the deck stacked against him, but he wasn’t afraid of hard work to change his situation, and he did want to change. Especially after he encountered Edison Scala, a kind-spirited office manager who didn’t hesitate to come to his defense… a man that saw past Bishop’s grass-stained coveralls. A man who wasn’t intimidated by his stern features and his silence.

 

Edison hadn’t grown up the way most of his peers had. He’d been raised by a single father who’d owned an old-fashioned barber shop where Edison was taught how to not only shave with a straight razor, and shine shoes, but also how to treat others, to not judge, to be a gentleman, to be respectful and speak without profanity. But, the biggest lesson he’d learned, was to always be himself. His lack of friends and a social life wasn’t his fault. No matter how much weight he gained, no matter how many times his staff called him a square, Edison did not need to change.

 

Bishop knew Edison was off-limits. He’d made personal vows to himself when he was released from prison, ones that he never intended to break. But, when Edison asked him about providing landscaping services at his home, there was no way he could refuse. He hadn’t expected Edison to feed him, praise him, encourage him, and look at him the way he did—as if Bishop was somebody. Mike and Trent warned him not to mix business with pleasure and he didn’t intend to.

 

No multiple pairings. No cliffhangers. Ends with a very, very HFN. Warning:

This book is a M/M contemporary romance, a hardened man’s struggle to find real love. There are no police chases or doors being kicked in, in this one. But, don’t worry. Bishop is still intense enough to keep you on the edge. 

REVIEW: Okay, y’all. Can I tell you how much I loved this book, these characters? Miss Via has done what she always does and spin a story that will make you care for her characters as you’re reading them. Bishop and Edison are two strong men from different backgrounds, yet they seem to find common ground even though they have nothing in common.

Even though Bishop was the main character, it was Edison who spoke to me the most. But I’ll speak on that in a bit.

I particularly loved how the author approached the topic of Bishop’s illiteracy. It was handled with kindness and understanding. The author wrote it in a way that didn’t belittle him. Bishop is a flawed hero. A man who like many of us, have made mistakes, faced the consequences of said mistakes and is looking for a little redemption and forgiveness for it. He wants to live his life—not necessarily a BEST life— but just go along the familiar lines and on the right path of it. He wants to do better and fought hard to BE better. He’s not asking for or expecting the moon and stars, he’s just asking for normalcy and stability with a man who sees him as something other than what he was. 

Now, to Edison. His character resonated more with me because his kindness, generosity, sweet nature and integrity reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago. Edison is like many of us, one who struggles with poor self image, body issue and low self esteem but to me, his character was beautiful, more beautiful because he had a beautiful spirit and a big heart. I absolutely loved how the author had a character who didn’t have the perfect body and was still find the type of passionate love still. This story had a great deal of body positivity and I loved it and we need to see more of it in the romance genre.

At first glance, one would think he’s someone whose weak. But I didn’t find that to be the case at all. Edison is gentle and kind. Respectful. Mature. This comes from him being raised around older gentlemen. This made him a target for bullying by some of his colleagues but his insistence on being who he is is what makes him strong.  I adored his character and I adored him and Bishop together. Bishop’s gentle toughness combined with Edison’s sweet old world charm is what makes them perfect for each other. Edison’s character was actually like being reunited with my friend.  It was amazing.

This author is a master of her craft. Her writing style is absolutely superb. Miss Via’s work is always top notch, regardless of whatever genre she chooses to write. Her characters are ALWAYS vivid, complex and multifaceted. Her dialogues are ALWAYS beautifully written and her storylines are simply perfect. This book flows smoothly. She doesn’t simply tell a story, she’s giving you a front row seat of their thoughts and heart. 

This book doesn’t have a traditional HEA and that’s okay because life doesn’t always work that way. You just know that these men’s life Journey is just getting started so the HFN ending fits perfectly. This story is memorable and the characters and their experiences will linger long after you’ve finished reading this book.

This author and this book is a serious must read. Take a bow, Miss Via. You’ve done an amazing job yet again.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

 

 

The Captain and the Theatrical (The Captivating Captains #3) Catherine Curzon, Eleanor Harkstead

?Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience?

TITLE:  The Capatain and the Theatrical 

SERIES: The Captivating Captains #3

AUTHOR: Catherine Curzon, Eleanor Harkstead 

PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing

RELEASEDATE: September 3, 2019

BLURB: When Captain Pendleton needs an emergency fiancée, who better to turn to than his male best friend? After all, for Amadeo Orsini, life’s one long, happy drag!

Captain Ambrose “Pen” Pendleton might have distinguished himself on the battlefield at Waterloo but since he’s come home to civvy street, he’s struggled to make his mark.

Pen dreams of becoming a playwright but his ambitious father has other ideas, including a trophy wife and a new job in America. If he’s to stand a hope of staying in England and pursuing his dream, Pen needs to find a fiancée fast.

Amadeo Orsini never made it as a leading man, but as a leading lady he’s the toast of the continental stage. Now Cosima is about to face her most challenging role yet, that of Captain Pendleton’s secret amour.

With the help of a talking theatrical parrot who never forgets his lines, Orsini throws on his best frock, slaps on the rouge and sets out to save Pen from the clutches of Miss Harriet Tarbottom and her scheming parents.

As friendship turns into love, will the captain be able to write a happy ending for himself and Orsini before the curtain falls?

Reader advisory: This book includes mention of PTSD.

General Release Date: 3rd September 2019

REVIEW: This is the 3rdinstallment to this series and it followed the first two books in the series in that the characters are delightful and vividly written. 

The twist is in this story includes a bit of drag which is always fantastic in virtually any occasion. As with the other books, these authors manage to bring their MCs to life. I adored Ambrose aka Pen and Amadeo are my favorite couple in the series so far. 

The premise of the story isn’t new by any means but the authors did a fantastic job of making it fresh and bold in that it’s set in a Regency timeframe. That to me makes it all the more delightful. 

The authors’ ability to transition seamlessly from one book to the next and their ability to maintain their characters is very well done. These stories are like tasty meals. All of these wonderful ingredients and spices combined to create this delicious dish.

Grab a cup of tea, a saucer of fancy scones and curl up with this wonderful read. 

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BUY LINKS:

Pride Publishing 

Amazon 

The Captain’s Cornish Christmas (Captivating Captains #2) Catherine Curzon, Elizabeth Harkstead

?Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience?

TITLE: The Captain’s Cornish Christmas

SERIES: Captivating Captains

AUTHOR: Catherine Curzon, Eleanor Harkstead

PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing

RELEASE DATE: December 11, 2018

BLURB: For a lonely Cornish lifeboatman and an author who’s more used to crime scenes than love scenes, this Christmas is going to be very merry indeed!

When Jago Treherne agrees to man the Polneath lifeboats one snowy Christmas, he knows he can forget turkey and all the trimmings.

Yet when he boards a seemingly empty yacht and stumbles upon sexy Sam Coryton enjoying an energetic afternoon below decks, Jago soon realizes that he might be unwrapping a very different sort of Christmas gift this year!

Publisher’s Note: This book is related to the Captivating Captains series.

REVIEW: This is a charming and well written novella in the Captivating Captains series. I absolutely adored these characters. Although the book has two MCs, the authors decided to do something a little different by having the story pretty much told from Jago’s perspective. Even though this was the case, the story still flows quite well.

Jago is on duty and has no huge plans for holidays other than spending time at home snuggled with his cat. Now, for those who are not aware, I am a total cat lady so of course, Peregrine the cat stole the show for me for a bit.

Jago happens upon a docked yacht that he thinks is in trouble but find, to his chagrin, that it belonged to famous author and childhood friend, Sam Coryton in a somewhat compromising, embarrassing and hilarious position. Figuratively and literally.

Sam has grown jaded of the London high society life and is looking to get back to his roots, peace and quiet. It becomes clear rather quickly, these two men belong together.

This novella is sexy, funny, and charming. Each story in this series is better and better and although different, still has a cohesive feel to them. These two authors did an amazing job of telling Jago and Sam’s story. What I particularly love about these novellas is that they’re so well written, the characters and dialogues so well fleshed out that they read like full length books.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novella and definitely recommend it and this series.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

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His Light In the Dark ✨ Remmy Duchene

✨Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience✨

TITLE: His Light In The Dark

SERIES:

AUTHOR: Remmy Duchene

PUBLISHER: Self Published

RELEASE DATE: November 1, 2018

BLURB: Maxim Hagan’s father taught him one valuable lesson:

Life is like a game of baseball—three strikes and he’s out.

And to make matters worse, Maxim was already born with two strikes against him and has has spent his entire life trying not to swing for strike three. Running from his demons worked until a roadside bomb sends him hurtling back home. When he’s forced to come face to face with the one demon he could never outrun, Maxim has a decision to make.

Ethan Garrick’s life has descended into a world of loneliness after the death of his mother. Meeting new friends is never easy but, he’s managed to fall into a lovable group of brothers. When he meets his new friends’ best friend, Ethan knows one thing for certain:

He can try outrunning his desires for Maxim, but the end of the earth wouldn’t be far enough.

REVIEW: I can’t even begin to tell y’all how much I enjoyed reading this book. Where do I start? Let’s start with the cover. This cover is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. The fact that two gorgeous black men grace the cover of this book is in itself amazing. The next amazing this about this book is that black love is front and center in this book. Not just black love, but BLACK MEN in love. This story and these characters were beautifully written. Maxim and Ethan…both of these men are battling demons: loneliness, heartache, pain, disappointment and loss.

These two men deserve happiness, and they find it with each other. This isn’t a book where the men fall into bed without getting to know each other. These guys take the time to build something permanent.

I really enjoy this author’s work. I absolutely love how she portrays her characters of color in general, black men in particular. She shows that black men are capable of love and tenderness. These characters experience the loneliness, heartbreak and pain but was able to find solace and love within and can heal each other. And it was a beautiful thing to read.

Take a bow, Remmy. You’ve done an excellent job with this.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

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Blaze (Unbreakable Bonds) by Jocelynn Drake, Rinda Elliot

?Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience?

TITLE: Blaze

SERIES: Unbreakable Bonds

AUTHOR: Jocelynn Drake, Rinda Elliot

PUBLISHER: Self Published

RELEASE DATE:  June 22, 2018

BLURB: The rings have been selected. The champagne placed on ice. The cake decorated.

And the pre-wedding sex is off the charts…

Lucas Vallois and Andrei Hadeon are finally ready to walk down the aisle. There’s just one small problem.

A ghost from Lucas’s past shows up days before the wedding, desperate for help. Against his better judgement, Lucas and his best friend, Ashton Frost, plan a fast trip back to the one place they swore they’d never go: their hometown in Oklahoma. But the danger is worse than they expected.

Now, they’re in a race to track down a killer, keep a young girl safe, and get Lucas back in time to say, “I do.”

REVIEW: WOW! What else can I say? When I heard that book 5 was about Lucas and Andrei’s wedding I couldn’t wait to read it. I knew that meant all the guys would be together again and wherever they were, trouble would not be far behind. Well that was an understatement. Lol! I enjoyed this book so much I didn’t want it to end. It easily earned a 5star rating from me. Lucas and Andrei’s love for each other is just as fierce and hot as it was when they first met and we see that from the beginning of this book, (lol) all the way to the end. We get my control freak Lucas with the arrogance of a billionaire, Ashton Snow Frost and his wicked sense of humor, sweet Ian (who’s high on wedding fumes). I died laughing at that comment, and Rowe with his devil may care attitude “the embodiment of chaos”. I want a Rowe in my life!

We get to know more about Lucas and Snow’s past. The unbearable childhood they each had to endure that later forged their friendship and brotherhood. We meet some of Lucas’ family members like Nicole and Taylor along with his despicable parents. My heart broke for the anguish so much intolerance had caused. We also meet some new members of Ward security Seth and Cole. We were briefly introduced to a friend of Taylor’s, by the name of Bran with pink hair. I can’t wait to get his story as I’m sure there is one.

Finally, you will love this page turner. It will have you crying at times and laughing out loud at others. The action ad suspense will have you on the edge of your seat and the sex will make you blush.

RATING: ✨✨✨✨✨

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

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Touch by Remmy Duchene

?Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience ?

TITLE: Touch

SERIES: N/A

AUTHOR: Remmy Duchene

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2018

BLURB: One can’t walk the path of darkness and expect to escape unscathed. At eighteen, Foster Erickson stepped out of the closet into a world of homelessness, prostitution, and drugs. Years later, he’s pulled it together and is ready to rebuild. Determined not to let the demons win, Foster starts university with a plan to keep others from making the same mistakes he did. The last thing he expects is Sylvester Roberts. After years of working with his father, Sylvester decides to step out on his own. University at his age is strange, but for him, failure isn’t an option. After flunking a few tests, Sylvester’s professor assigns him a tutor—Foster Erickson. The moment they meet, Sylvester knows Foster isn’t like other guy

As the darkness hovers and Sylvester begins falling, he will have to decide if helping Foster fight his demons will be worth it in the end

REVIEW: Foster’s character intrigued me from the first page. His past was really heartbreaking but not uncommon, which is even more heartbreaking. Here was a young man who fell into homelessness, sexual assault, drugs and forced into prostitution to survive and to feed his drug habit, which I suspect he fell into as a way to cope with his situation. Reading about his painful past will have your heart in your throat, it was just so sad to read. With the help of a cop who befriended him, Foster was able to escape his circumstances and get himself together. Understandably, there were some residual effects from his past which he is getting help for. Foster’s life is going well and he’s starting college. This is where he meets Sylvester.

Sylvester is a successful older student who is striking out on his own after years of working for his father. He needed a tutor Foster was recommended to him. Sylvester was intrigued by the beautiful man but he sensed Foster’s general uneasiness at being touched, of getting close to anyone, both emotionally and physically.

This story flows so well. At first I thought that I would’ve liked to have had more information on Foster’s past but now that I think about it, I’m glad the author chose to place more emphasis on his present and future, the happiness he finds and the relationship (first friendship, then romantic) he’s building with Sylvester. I love how she gave both MCs equal amounts of attention. I also loved how she wrote Sylvester’s character. This man was beautiful, intelligent, compassionate and passionate, loving, patient, tender and kind yet tough. He understood that he needed to proceed with a great deal of caution and patience in pursuing Foster because of his past. I adored these men individually but together as well.

Foster’s painful past made me cheer that much harder for him to find peace and happiness with Sylvester. And Foster’s friend Jason is an absolute sweetheart who was always there to with a shoulder to lean on, cry on and advise to help him along.

I enjoyed everything about this book. The characters, storyline and flow were well executed. I loved that it’s interracial and there were no ridiculous stereotypes in neither them or the storyline. Really, if it wasn’t mentioned purely for the character’s physical appearances you would never have known the race or ethnicity of the characters as the author wrote them all the same. The two MCs were simply two men who meet, fall in love and work through some issues to make their relationship work.

I also loved the cover. It was strikingly beautiful and is what initially draws your attention to the book.

I will definitely recommend this book as well as this author.

RATING: ????

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/touch-by-remmy-duchene-9404-b

 

Closer by F.E. Feeley, Jr.

?Reviewed by Kiwi?

TITLE: Closer

AUTHOR: F.E. Feeley, Jr.

PUBLISHER: Beaten Track

RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2018

BLURB: Maplewood, Vermont is a picturesque town filled with unique shops, unique homes, and a quaint familiarity all centered around a lake with an unusual history.

Legends, old as well as Urban, float around like the mist that hovers above the lake at break of dawn.

But they’re just stories, right?

Hayden Moore’s life was destroyed when his husband, Malcolm, was murdered. Giving up his job as an assistant district attorney in Boston, Hayden moved to the little burg of Maplewood to recover.

A new life.

A fresh start.

However, something underneath the water is stirring. Something rotten. A deadly secret wakes underneath the black waters of Lake Veronica so disturbing it haunts the nightmares of the local residents.

It’s coming closer…

REVIEW: Freddy Feeley has excellent stories to tell. And he tells them with perfection. This book is a full course meal. With almost 400 pages of an excellent storyline, character development and superb editing; this book is really something.

With the hopes that a change in scenery would help him in his grieving process after his husband’s murder, Hayden settles within a beautiful small town in Vermont. On the surface, it’s picturesque, Norman Rockwell painting perfect but under the beautiful veneer lies a dark and disturbing secret.

Hayden purchases a home and hires the town contractor and former soldier Tommy Law to renovate it. Although Tommy’s a loner, he finds himself surprisingly drawn to Hayden. Hayden’s pain and grief positively leaps off the pages at you. You feel every single bit of it and Tommy’s loneliness. It’s a damn good author whose able write a story and stir an emotional response within the readers.

What’s also interesting about this story is that the author didn’t just make the MC’s the main focus of the book. His peripheral characters also had their own vibrant personalities that were also made a part of the story. Their characters were extremely well written. He did a fantastic job of allowing those characters to shine while simultaneously maintaining focus on the MCs and the storyline.

This author is one of those authors that everyone tends to ‘sleep’ on. Meaning, he’s not part of the ‘in’ crown and as such, his work is often overlooked which is crazy. He has a writing style that is complex, cerebral and his writing style is crisp. The way he weaves a story is absolutely amazing.

You had so many wonderful ingredients to this book: grief, pain, love and loss, mystery, suspense, with a big dash of horror thrown in.

I truly enjoyed this book and definitely recommend this book and this author. Don’t sleep on this author, y’all. He churns out the most amazing stories.

RATING: ?????

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Beaten Track Publishing 

 

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