Ember is a drop-dead gorgeous Las Vegas escort. He notices Alejandro in some of the classes he teaches at his side business—a yoga studio. Then, color-blind Alejandro further captures Ember’s attention when he’s momentarily blinded by a quick change in light and needs Ember’s help at a club. What Ember doesn’t expect is the way Alejandro touches his heart.
Alejandro never intended to develop feelings for Ember. He’s in Las Vegas for a year to sow some wild oats. But Alejandro quickly sees more in Ember when he sets out to make some of Alejandro’s dreams come true—including a trip to the Grand Canyon and the beaches of LA. Alejandro’s wild oats could turn into something memorable.
Ember knows keeping his escort job from Alejandro isn’t the right thing to do, but he wants to be liked for who he is. Alejandro keeps his own secrets for the same reason. But Alejandro’s family obligations, along with Ember’s profession, could make it impossible for the two of them to stay together—unless they can figure out how to make the most of the gifts they’ve been given.
Review
We met Ember in book one, he’s one of the escorts that Hunter worked with before he retired. Ember likes his escort job, but he also has a Yoga studio he goes to center himself and regain the part of himself he loses with each client encounter.
Alejandro is a real Prince of a small Spanish country in Las Vegas for a year to “be himself” and have fun. He “knows” he can’t be gay – he has to marry and have babies to carry on the lineage – but he wants to have some memories and affairs before he settles down.
Ember and Alejandro meet and each know the other is someone important in their lives. They have a (surprisingly) sedate courtship that eventually leads to some hot sex and later devotion. But….
Both men have their secrets and those have to be dealt with before the two of the them can find their Happily Ever After.
**
This is a nice, solid, predictably happily ending Cinderella-type story. There are some nice secondary characters and a few surprising twists, but the story basically unfolds as you’d expect.
It’s a nice escapist story of love conquering all.
Sequel to A Tooth for a Fang Leader Murders: Case Two
Five dead leaders, their bodies arranged in a pentagram. Treason, lies, and backstabbing. A make-believe affair that turns into a real mating.
Timothy Sands is a PBI counselor, half-fey, half-elf, with a secret crush on Herman Weiss, PBI director. As a new chapter is added to the Leader Murders, it is Weiss’s responsibility to investigate what seems an impossible-to-solve case. The other problem? Weiss is suffering from rages, and his only salvation lies in Tim’s emotional-grid-balancing skills. They only have to pretend to be a couple for Tim to use his talents, and he owes Weiss a big favor. Piece of cake, right?
The fey might be involved in the Leader Murders. Someone on the Council might be their ally, and another prominent PBI figure looks more and more suspicious as they investigate. The stakes are upped when Timothy’s father, the Fey King, threatens to leave the Council destitute if they don’t hand Timothy over to him. Weiss’s brilliant solution? Mating Timothy and forcing the Council into protecting him.
There’s only one small hitch in that plan: instead of protecting one, the Council might decide to get rid of two.
Review
Timothy has had a thing for Weiss for a long time. In fact his infatuation with Travis was because of the similarity to Weiss.
Weiss had a male lover once before, but it ended badly. Now he’s stuck in a loveless mating that is about to finally be over, but he has a mess to clean up before he can be happy.
Someone is using magic to make Weiss unstable and it is up to Tim to ground him and keep him alive long enough to solve the mystery and the murders.
In a huge bout of drama our two erstwhile lovers manage to save the day and find love.
**
I really wanted to love this book. I adored book one and was so excited for this to come out.
I never liked Weiss. Sure I understood him better, but he just kept feeling like a big ol’ jerk and he was never very nice to Tim.
Tim who should have been so strong ends up being a door mat and even though he survives all the trials by fire, I never felt like he was appreciated. At all.
The mystery/drama eclipsed the love story for me and took the attention away from what felt like a mediocre love affair at best.
I just never bonded with the couple as a couple and as a result found this book to be lacking.
The writing was fine as was the editing, and if you are looking for drama this is a good book. But if you want a sweet love story I’d keep looking.
William Lyon’s past forced him to become someone he isn’t. Conflicted and unable to maintain the charade, he separates from his wife and takes a job as caretaker at a former mental hospital. Jelley’s Valley State Insane Asylum was the largest mental hospital in California for well over a century, but it now stands empty. William thinks the decrepit institution is the perfect place to finish his dissertation and wait for his divorce to become final. In town, William meets Colby Anderson, who minds the local store and post office. Unlike William, Colby is cute, upbeat, and flamboyantly out. Although initially put off by Colby’s mannerisms, William comes to value their new friendship, and even accepts Colby’s offer to ease him into the world of gay sex.
William’s self-image begins to change when he discovers a tin box, hidden in an asylum wall since the 1940s. It contains letters secretly written by Bill, a patient who was sent to the asylum for being homosexual. The letters hit close to home, and William comes to care about Bill and his fate. With Colby’s help, he hopes the words written seventy years ago will give him courage to be his true self.
Review
Kim Fielding is an amazing writer, who has a way of combining dark, angsty topics with humor and sweet romance. I guess you’d say this is the “perfect” example of that.
We get the dark, very hard to read at times story of Bill – a patient in an asylum for being homosexual and what he experiences.
Then we get William and Colby’s modern day story, far more light-hearted and hopeful. William learns from “Bill” and finally finds the courage to be the man he wants to become.
“…You said gay people—any people—should be who they really are. Be authentic. You said I should wear a pink tutu and vote Republican if that’s what I wanted. Well, I’ll pass on that part. But Colby, this is me. I’m not a man who sleeps around, always wondering if the ass is greener on the other side of the fence. I’m not someone who wants to meet tons of men in clubs or online. Those things don’t suit me any better than this outfit.” He gestured at his borrowed shirt.
Such a delightful mix of tragic and happy. Well done, Kim Fielding, well done.
**
Audio:
KC Kelly does an absolutely amazing job with this! God! I loved his “Colby” and how well he handles the emotion and the smexy times.
I absolutely recommend his narration as a way to experience this novel.
Carter Schunk is a dedicated police officer with a difficult past and a big heart. When he’s called to a domestic disturbance, he finds a fatally injured woman, and a child, Alex, who is in desperate need of care. Child Services is called, and the last man on earth Carter wants to see walks through the door. Carter had a fling with Donald a year ago and found him as cold as ice since it ended.
Donald (Ice) Ickle has had a hard life he shares with no one, and he’s closed his heart to all. It’s partly to keep himself from getting hurt and partly the way he deals with a job he’s good at, because he does what needs to be done without getting emotionally involved. When he meets Carter again, he maintains his usual distance, but Carter gets under his skin, and against his better judgment, Donald lets Carter guilt him into taking Alex when there isn’t other foster care available. Carter even offers to help care for the boy.
Donald has a past he doesn’t want to discuss with anyone, least of all Carter, who has his own past he’d just as soon keep to himself. But it’s Alex’s secrets that could either pull them together or rip them apart—secrets the boy isn’t able to tell them and yet could be the key to happiness for all of them.
Review
(Book reviewed earlier)
Carter is the police partner of Red who we met in book one, Fire and Water. Donald is a social worker who has hooked up with Carter in the past, but walked away from him before they got started as a couple.
Carter rescues a boy, Alex, from the site of a domestic disturbance only to find out he’s been abused and is now an orphan. Donald is called in to help place him in the system, but both men fall in love with Alex and have a hard time letting him go.
Meanwhile, Carter knows Donald is more than his icy façade and wants to break through to the real man he’s had glimpses of before.
Donald is guarding his heart and his secrets but can’t help but be enthralled by both Alex and Carter.
In the end – when an amazingly convenient solution presents itself – we see the formation of a new family and a very HEA.
**
I thought this was better than the first book (and I liked the first book) and I really liked Carter and Alex and the story they shared. I thought Donald was a little harder to like and found his reluctance to share frustrating.
Overall it was a good book and I recommend it to fans of Andrew Grey and fans of men with kids stories.
4 of 5 hearts
Audiobook
Randy Fuller does a fairly nice job with the narration. He is easy to listen to, and tries to make the characters separate from one another and does a nice job with the child, Alex. He isn’t great at portraying emotions and it doesn’t necessarily add to the overall experience, but neither does it detract.
Aiden Flanagan has spent his entire life fighting who and what he is. After losing control of the power within him one time too many, Aiden flees to his parents’ vacation home on Nantucket to lock himself away as punishment and to protect the people he cares about. Getting nowhere on his own, Aiden fears he’ll never have enough control to join the world again—and perhaps he doesn’t deserve to—until an act of kindness brings Murphy Mizuuchi into his life.
Though still grieving the loss of his partner, Murphy’s own gifts won’t allow him to ignore the strongest projector he’s ever encountered or deny the beautiful soul behind Aiden’s drama. Drawing on his own recovery, his empathy, and years of practicing meditation, he shows Aiden not only how to find a safe outlet for who he is, but to value his abilities.
But Murphy isn’t the only one drawn to Aiden’s fire. Someone from his past followed Aiden to the island, and it will take both Murphy’s and Aidan’s powers to protect him from a man who won’t stop until he takes all Aiden has.
Review
This book is the second in a series but can absolutely be a stand-alone novel.
If you read book one, you remember that Aiden was the firey ex of Adam’s that caused so much strife between him and Jay. (If you were like me – you didn’t like him much at all! Which is why it took me forever to get around to reading this!)
We find Aiden right after he’s run away from something tragic – something to do with Adam and Jay. He’s in his head a lot and it’s a mess in there. He keeps fighting and fighting the fire that lives within him and he also wants and needs someone to help keep him grounded but he’s determined not to be all clingy like he was with Adam and scare the next potential lover away.
Aiden goes to a party on the beach near his parents house, severely depressed, and meets some guys at a bonfire. A few hours/beers later and there is an older man, clearly distressed out on the beach with them – upset about the fire. Aiden sees some initials carved in old wood and rescues the wood from the fire to bring to the upset man – Murphy – and is initially rebuffed.
Murphy has his own story to tell. He’s a widower – we never did find out how he became one – and is an empath (and something to do with water). He literally feels all of Aiden’s emotions like he’s yelling them and it psychically hurts. Normally Murphy can shield from such a thing, but with Aiden he can’t.
What follows next is the two men learning about one another and helping Aiden with his “gift”. They don’t deny their instant attraction for long and it turns out that Murphy really helps ground Aiden.
Everything looks to be moving in the right direction when suddenly there is a mysterious “bad” guy in town making Murphy jealous and Aiden uncomfortable. Then there’s a storm, a kidnapping, a rescue and some closure.
**
Phew! This book was a roller coaster. Reading Aiden’s thought process is a bit like living in his brain and is energetically exhausting. Poor guy! But that is where Rowan McAllister did such an excellent job, giving us this manic, frightened character and having it bleed out on the pages in such an amazing way.
Murphy is far more solid and serene and that comes through so well. But… he’s got that side of him that feels too much and has to be hidden. Aiden shows him the benefit of letting that side out now and again.
I was captivated by this story and read it quickly but was a bit disappointed by the end. I am hoping it’s a set up for book three because both sets of MCs really, really need to come together like the Fantastic Four and somehow vanquish the evil Richard! I can see the set up so I’m hoping I’m right!
I would also love to see both couples later in their relationship and having mastered their respective skills.
I did however find it super cute that Adam and Jay were blushing while discussing their whereabouts during the latest storm. Tee hee!
All in all it was a wonderful book and I really hope we see the next book soon!
Cameron Fletcher and Lucas Hensley are advertising executives who have Sixty Five Hours to pull together the campaign of their careers.
Sixty Five Hours to get along. Sixty Five Hours to not kill each other. Sixty Five Hours to fall in love.
** First published in 2012. No additional content has been added.
Review
This is a wonderful short story about two rivals who have to work together for sixty five hours to make an ad campaign for condoms and lube.
Lucas is out and proud and Cameron is exceedingly jealous of that fact. Lucas manages to pull Cameron out of his shell and in the meantime discover that he really, really likes that guy.
The sexy-times in this story are HOT and I absolutely loved all the sock and feet imagery. I can totally picture the ad campaign and thought it was brilliant! (Especially the health and safety part.)
I was glad to buy this from amazon- though it’s free again!- but I gotta say, that I loved the first cover better. Sorry! But the socks are the story and it was a really cute cover!
Half naked businessman on white
So – if you haven’t read this delightful story do yourself a favor and go get it!
Mitch never knew what awaited him when he answered his elderly neighbour’s calls. Finding a stranger crying in her backyard was a new one. Little did he know that rescuing Elijah out of the rain was going to change his life.
Elijah is too young, too good looking, and too bruised for Mitch to consider falling in love with. But Elijah is soon in his house, in his bed, and in his heart.
At thirty-eight, Mitch has a lot of experience with life. Elijah is only twenty-three and just starting out. Mitch’s bedroom skills enrapture Elijah. Mitch just hopes it will be enough to make Elijah want to stay.
Review
Renae Kaye simply can’t write anything but wonderful stories.
This very short story about an older, gay electrician who rescues a newly outed young man one night from the rain is terribly sweet and touching.
Mitch doesn’t realize how lonely he is and Elijah had no idea being out and gay could make you a stronger and better person.
The story moves quickly, Mitch doubts the young man could possibly be interested in anything long term and Elijah is simply hopeful that Mitch wants him as much as he wants Mitch.
There is some hot, sweaty sex and some moving moments between the two and a very HEA.
5 of 5 hearts- It’d be higher only if it were longer!
Twins Blake and Bianca Dunlap have always been there for each other, ready to lend support and make sacrifices. Blake can’t imagine a bigger sacrifice than getting along with Bianca’s fiancé, Matt. However, Matt turns out to be more than the meathead Blake had dismissed him as, but Matt’s best friend, Ryan Everett, is a different story. Ryan seems intent on being an insufferable jerk as often as possible. The fact that Blake is undeniably attracted to Ryan only makes the whole situation more annoying.
Since they’ll all be stuck together for the long haul, Blake is determined to make nice. Unfortunately he overshoots, and he and Ryan end up on much friendlier terms than Blake intended. While he and Ryan agree there’s no harm in having a strings-free fling, that changes when Matt and Bianca find out about it. As more complications arise, Blake and Ryan become more determined to do what it takes to avoid letting them down. But the only way to ensure getting through a joyous wedding and avoid the questions neither of them want to answer is to convince everyone it’s something more.
Review
(From previously)
Blake and Ryan meet because Ryan is Blake’s twin sister’s fiancé. They immediately rub sparks off one another and sorta, kinda hate each other and at the same time want to f*ck.
So… they enter into a hate-sex sort of scenario, with neither of them really admitting that beyond the chemistry there might be a bit of something more substantial.
The premise is that at first they really DON’T like each other. Really. Blake is a pretentious prig and Ryan is a cavalier goof. Opposites attract and all that, so they are attracted to each other sexually but not emotionally.
Once they discover/admit this attraction, they want to hide it from their friend/sister because they fear/know that when it ends it will be messy if sides have to be chosen.
But… the family finds out so they admit to a “real” but fake relationship so that they family is comforted … but in fact they are still just messing around… Sound confusing … it sorta is.
And along the way, between the hating and the sexing and the pretending… they end up really caring about each other up to and including loving each other.
But… they still can’t communicate this to one another for various reasons and that keeps them apart for a bit… and then there is a BIG MISUNDERSTANDING which leads to a blow out fight which leads to… you get the idea.
So, don’t get me wrong, I actually loved much about this book… the writing is excellent and the wit exceptional (I laughed out loud in places) and the development of the characters is great. But there are a few things that would need to happen to make this a GREAT book.
First: Some major editing. It’s a LONG book that doesn’t need to be. Some have called this a “slow burn” but it isn’t , not really. They get together early on and then waffle about with the “I hate myself for wanting him but I can’t help myself”, guilt ridden booty calls for way too long. Then, once they are “fake-together”, they waffle about their “I love him but I can’t tell him or he’ll freak out” way too long. And the end… well, that’s another story.
Second: I loved the MCs and many of the secondary characters. They were funny and added to the story and added a lot of realism. I loved the exes and how they contributed to the story and the friend and the family, all shaped our MCs really nicely for us. Showing, not telling. But the MC’s lives were confusing to me. At one point Ryan is worried that Blake will judge him for not having a college degree when Blake himself is a nanny. And where does all the money come from? I kept expecting someone to have a trust fund because no one seems to work. And Blake has an interest in teaching Cello lessons but never plays or even listens to that sort of music. Given how long the story is, these kinds of details became more obvious.
Third: The BIG MISUNDERSTANDING leading to reconciliation. What should have happened is this: the big misunderstanding, the laughing and crying and forgiving, the making up and the “I love yous”. Instead we had to insert yet another bout of waffling and indecision that was patently not needed. When they do finally get things together it is rushed and unsatisfying after the pages and pages of waffling. I really wanted to finally see Ryan and Blake expose themselves and show their FEELINGS to one another and make me believe in their happy ending. Though I thought the epilogue was terribly witty and somewhat fitting for the characters, it did not satisfy my romantic heart, or make me believe in the final outcome. At some point the jokes and the insecurities should be laid to rest and the real emotions get their page time.
Overall, I believe this is the first full length novel for this author. As such, I think it is a wonderful start. I would definitely look for her again. However, I would recommend some serious editing in the future, as I think that simply shortening this would have remedied a lot of my “issues”.
Audio
Michael Ferrualo did an excellent job with this. He was believable and did a wonderful job with all the emotion. I really enjoyed listening to this and thought it added to the overall enjoyment of the book immensely.
Ribbons and Frills costume sewing factory has always been about creating dreams, but when the owner asks his very upper-class son to take over, sparks fly, and not just from the sewing machines. The last time manager Gary Shaw saw Ashley Turner-Hoff was a year ago, when he left Gary standing on the beach with a broken heart and sand in his underwear.
Ashley Turner-Hoff has a plan to save the factory which involves one famous mannequin and a fashion show in London.
Can Gary forgive Ashley and give him a second chance? Can Ribbons and Frills really compete against top fashion designers, and do Gary’s dreams of being on stage finally come true?
Find out in this summer story of sequins, sand, and surprises!
Part of “Summer Bigger Than Others – A Summer Anthology” from Beaten Track Publishing.
Review
This is a very dark romance between a working-class costume maker and an up and coming designer who’s had a silver spoon between his lips all his life.
In the previous summer the two hooked up and it was a BIG MISUNDERSTANDING that kept them apart at summer’s end.
When Ashley, the boss’s son, returns to try to save the sinking ship of a factory where Gary manages a crack team of machinists and designers, Gary can’t let himself get pulled back into the charmer’s arms and get devastated again.
But… Ashley has always wanted Gary and in time he shows him how much.
**
I didn’t care for this story. There was way too much sex and not nearly enough talking between our MCs. I really wanted some heart-to-hearts to clear the air. I dislike plots that hinge on BIG MISUNDERSTANDINGS from the get go, and this one was pretty thin from the outset.
Though I found Gary’s struggle and loss of dreams to be touching – the stolen van, the strange contest and the way Ashley sort of launched himself back into things never felt organic or real to me. It felt very contrived and I wasn’t very invested in the outcome because I was thrown so out of the story by the plot holes.
The writing wasn’t my style either, though it was technically done well.
Up until Travis arrived on his doorstep, Charlie had lived a very solitary life. He had surrounded himself with isolation; a couple million acres of red dirt, scorching sun and loneliness.
Six months on, winter has settled over the desert, and Charlie has the life he never dreamed possible. But living and working together, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, for six months straight starts to take its toll.
Charlie is a stubborn, stubborn man, who tends to have more conversations in his head than what comes out his mouth, whereas Travis has no problem saying what’s on his mind. And even as they both struggle to communicate, struggle to make sense of need versus want, Charlie can see that he’s pushing Travis away – yet seems helpless to stop it.
When it all boils down to whether Travis should stay or go, maybe the decision won’t be theirs to make.
Review (From Previous Site)
Travis and Charlie have been living and working together for 6 months now and things are mostly on an even keel. The two stubborn boys clash now and again, but mostly, they love one another.
They have some minor/major-ish squabbles over Travis wanting to raise a baby Kangaroo and Charlie worrying incessantly that Travis isn’t happy out in the boonies. But then … real trouble hits when immigration pulls Travis’ visa and Travis faces exportation.
Wow oh wow this was a great book! I had wondered what trouble the boys would get into since the last book ended fairly happily settled and boy do they have trouble.
Charlie really fretted this book. Like constantly. He just can’t get his brain wrapped around Travis being happy out there. The two fight and fight about it and almost split up as a result. But then Charlie digs deep and does some really, really amazing growing and – pull out the tissues – the end result is so sweet, it makes your teeth ache. (The scene at the Cattleman’s meeting and Immigration are the places where the Kleenex will come most in handy!)
I love Charlie and Travis as a couple and was so pleased to see them dealing with real life issues but still retaining the fairy tale romance.
I highly recommend this book and the series. 5 of 5 hearts.
![Gift[The]](https://i0.wp.com/kimichanexperience.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/GiftThe.jpg?ssl=1)
Blurb
![CounselorAmongWolves[A]](https://i0.wp.com/kimichanexperience.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CounselorAmongWolvesA.jpg?ssl=1)
![TinBox[The]AUDMED](https://i0.wp.com/kimichanexperience.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/TinBoxTheAUDMED.jpg?ssl=1)
