Category: Gay

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Shawn’s Law Audiobook by Renae Kaye Narrated by Casey Hunter

Dreamspinner Presents:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6717
ShawnsLawAUDMEDBlurb

Shawn is a frequent victim of Murphy’s Law. Can he and Harley stumble toward love despite insecurity and epic bad luck? Shawn is single, twenty-nine, the full-time carer of his Alzheimer’sstricken mother, and a frequent victim of Murphy’s Law—although his family calls it Shawn’s Law. Other than caring for mum, his day consists of painting nude men and spying on the guy who walks his dogs along the street every day at four o’clock. When Shawn takes a spectacular fall on his front steps, who is there to witness it other than the man of his dreams? Harley doesn’t believe in Shawn’s Law—but he soon changes his mind. The two men make it through a memorable first date and Shawn’s sexual insecurities to begin a relationship stumbling toward love. But when Shawn’s Law causes Harley to be injured, Shawn is determined to save Harley’s life the only way he knows how—by breaking up with him. Not once, but twice. Throw in a serial killer ex-boyfriend, several deadly Australian animals, two dogs called Bennie, a mother who forgets to wear clothes, an unforgiving Town Council, and a strawberry-flavored condom dolly, and Shawn’s Law is one for the books.

Review

(Posted Previously on this site)

Shawn is a HOT MESS. If you can think of someone who’s a clutz, that’s Shawn times a thousand. He’s so accident prone the ER staff knows him by name. He’s got the auto club on speed dial and the Ambulance driver’s are his friends.

But he’s also super adorable with a giant heart. He loves his mother and cares for her as she suffers the last stages of Alzheimer’s. He helps his sister with her budding family and he thinks nobody could want to (or should want to) be involved with him in a boyfriend-type-way.

Harley, aka “Hippy Hotpants” is Shawn’s new “neighbor”. He’s actually going out of his way when he takes his daily walks to be seen by and to see Shawn working in the garden and when yet another accident throws Shawn literally at Harley’s feet, it’s the start of a wonderful, if rocky, relationship.

Between Shawn’s own insecurities, his numerous accidents, his family and his need to “protect” Harley from Shawn’s law they don’t exactly have smooth sailing … but when they do connect it’s mind blowing.

Finally, after what seems like the true and final last straw, they do manage to come together at last for a very, very HEA – well a well-bandaged HEA.

**

As you know I’m a huge Renae Kaye fan. Her writing keeps improving with each book she puts out. This story is definitely a bit different from her others in that it relies far more heavily on humor than her other books, but is no less full of tenderness and a loving relationship as we have come to expect.

As usual, she also gives us a host of amazing secondary characters, fully developed who are rich additions to the story – Shawn’s mother with the Alzheimer’s, his sister- with no verbal filter, Harely’s dad- a true ex-hippy, and Shawn’s best friend- who talks to Shawn in verbal short hand as though they share a brian. To name a few.

I devoured this in one afternoon, I couldn’t put it down. The humor was contagious and Shawn and Harley just had me wrapped around their proverbial fingers.

If you are looking for a book with almost no angst, but still plenty of substance, this is the book for you. It’ll brighten your day and lighten your heart.

Audio

Casey Hunter is a new narrator for me, he does not have an Australian accent – so that was disappointing… but he was still quite good! He did a really nice job with the emotion, and especially the humor. He didn’t do a lot to change the voices, but it was always clear which character was speaking. I really enjoyed this and it absolutely added to the overall enjoyment of the story.

6 of 5 hearts!

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Bitter Taffy (Candy Man Book 2) by Amy Lane

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6687

BitterTaffyBlurb

Rico Gonzalves-Macias didn’t expect to fall in love during his internship in New York—and he didn’t expect the boss’s son to out them both and get him fired either. When he returns to Sacramento stunned and heartbroken, he finds his cousin, Adam, and Adam’s boyfriend, Finn, haven’t just been house-sitting—they’ve made his once sterile apartment into a home.

When Adam gets him a job interview with the adorable, magnetic, practically perfect Derek Huston, Rico feels especially out of his depth. Derek makes it no secret that he wants Rico, but Rico is just starting to figure out that he’s a beginner at the really important stuff and doesn’t want to jump into anything with both feet.

Derek is a both-feet kind of guy. But he’s also made mistakes of his own and doesn’t want to pressure Rico into anything. Together they work to find a compromise between instant attraction and long-lasting love, and while they’re working, Rico gets a primer in why family isn’t always a bad idea. He needs to believe Derek can be his family before Derek’s formidable patience runs out—because even a practically perfect boyfriend is capable of being hurt.

Review

From Candy Man we meet Rico, Adam’s cousin who is in New York doing an internship who has just admitted to Adam that he’s gay and has found his love in Manhattan. The book opens with Rico and Ezra (the lover) breaking up spectacularly when Ezra’s dad discovers their relationship.

Rico moves back to Sacramento (almost 2 months early) heartbroken, happy that Adam and the miraculous Finn are there to help him heal. And of course there’s Darrin, the psychic candy shop owner who knew Rico was on his way before Rico did.

Rico gets hooked up with Derek, the provider of Art jobs for Adam, both romantically and as an employer. But it doesn’t always go smoothly, Rico is seriously cautious and doesn’t want a repeat of his last workplace romance.

In the end, Derek’s perfection and his persistence pay off and we get another HEA.

**

What I LOVED about this story, besides seeing so much of Finn and Adam, was how much healing we got to see Rico go through. His family is SO toxic and it takes some serious balls for him to come out – not just for himself but for Adam’s sake as well – and he does it so well!

I loved how steadfast both Derek and Finn were and what good examples their families provided for both Rico and Adam.

Of course the pets are wonderful as are Darrin and the other secondary characters.

Reading this is EXACTLY like a trip to your favorite candy store. You know you will be sad when the book/candy is over/gone but you just have to devour it as quickly as you can because it’s so enjoyable!

I can’t wait for Ezra’s story and for these to come out on Audio.

So, so wonderful!

6 of 5 hearts

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The Mating of Michael Audiobook by Eli Easton Narrated by Michael Stellman

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6754

MatingOfMichael[The]AUDMEDBlurb

Michael and James are made for each other. But they must let go of stubbornness to see that life finds a way and love has no limitations.

Sex in Seattle: Book Three

Everyone admires Michael Lamont for being a nurse, but his part-time work as a gay sex surrogate not only raises eyebrows, it’s cost him relationships. Michael is small, beautiful, and dedicated to working with people who need him. But what he really wants is a love of his own. He spends most of his time reading science fiction, especially books written by his favorite author and long-time crush, the mysteriously reclusive J.C. Guise.

James Gallway’s life is slowly but inexorably sliding downhill. He wrote a best-selling science fiction novel at the tender age of eighteen, while bedridden with complications of polio. But by twenty-eight, he’s lost his inspiration and his will to live. His sales from his J.C. Guise books have been in decline for years. Wheelchair bound, James has isolated himself, convinced he is unlovable. When he is forced to do a book signing and meets Michael Lamont, he can’t believe a guy who looks like Michael could be interested in a man like him.

Michael and James are made for each other. But they must let go of stubbornness to see that life finds a way and love has no limitations.

Review

(From previously on this site)

Everyone should have a Michael in their lives. If we did, the world would be a better place.

I fell in love with Michael in the first of the “Sex in Seattle Series” and was so excited to see him finally get his own book. Eli Easton has taken a somewhat controversial subject, surrogacy, and shown us how beautiful and powerful a tool it can be for healing.

Through Michael’s story we are shown how sex is not only an important part of being in a realationship or being in love, but how it’s a natural part of being ourselves, being human. She has clearly done her research, as she explains in the prologue, and her effort shines through. I admit, when we met Michael at first, I wondered, along with him, how he could possibly have a long term relationship for himself, given his job. I felt how sad for him, and/or for his potential clients, because what he offers is such a gift, but it must be hard to share that with someone you love. This story addresses that issue. It is touching and sweet, sexy and informative. It made me laugh and cry and I couldn’t put it down.

I love Eli’s characters. They are not physically perfect gods, they don’t have picture perfect resumes, they have flaws, quirks and are real people. She has a fantastic grasp of pacing and story telling. I never felt like I needed to rush ahead but was always on the edge of my seat. The story just plucks at every darn heart string and leaves you with a huge smile on your face, after you’ve gotten done crying, of course.

James’ character is so heartbreaking, you feel for him, from the first page. His back story is amazing and so sad, but his ability to use his pain and turn it into something wonderful is a precious gift.

Marnie and Tommy are also inspired characters and brought both pain and love and humor to an already rich story.

I really loved the snippets of James’ book that we are shown throughout Michael’s story and would love to read the real thing! Eli may have to branch out into some serious Sci-Fi next, clearly she has a knack with the genre. Lamb’s story also made me cry… you bastard!

This is another one of those books that I will have to read and re-read because there was just so much going on that I am sure I missed some the first pass. But it will be a pleasure to find every nook and cranny because it is such a good book.

Thank you Eli for giving us Michael’s story and I really hope that there are people out there doing your work, it sounds amazing.

I highly recommend this book!

Audio

Michael Stellman does a great job with this narration. He doesn’t do much to the different voices, but he is really easy to listen to and handles the emotion so well. I really think this adds to the overall enjoyment and recommend the experience.

6 of 5 hearts!

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The Carpenter by Serena Yates

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6504

Carpenter[The]Blurb

A Workplace Encounters Book

Tom Halderson is a carpenter in desperate need of a big project to save the financially troubled construction company he inherited from his father. Tom is a better carpenter than a businessman, and worse yet, Tom’s estranged brother suddenly demands his share of the inheritance. When Matt Langford hires Tom to renovate his house, things begin to look up. A safari guide, Matt plans to restore and sell the home his grandfather left him and return to his exciting life in Africa. He is not about to let his sudden—and powerful—attraction to Tom persuade him to settle down—not after infidelity destroyed his own family. But adventurous Matt is exactly what Tom’s life is lacking, and Tom is determined to show Matt what could be between them.

Review

Tom takes over the construction company from his father, though it isn’t his dream. His evil brother Derek returns to take the company from him and when he’s rebuffed, tries to sabotage things.

While trying to keep the company afloat Tom meets and falls for Matt, a new (rich) client.

Tom has had some significant abuse in his past relationships, the trouble with the company and his brother, but together he and Matt find their way to happiness.

**

As with the others in this series, this is a fairly light read with some darkish moments. I liked the storyline well enough, though I thought Derek’s character acted in ways that didn’t make sense. I also felt the dialog and communication between Matt and Tom was a bit stiff and awkward.

In general, if there had been a bit more showing and less telling this could have been a better read.

3 of 5 hearts

3

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Prickly Business (Portland Pack book 1) by Piper Vaughn and Kenzie Cade

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6530

PricklyBusinessBlurb

Some people might call Avery Babineaux a prick. He’s a hedgehog shifter from an old-money Louisiana family with a penchant for expensive shoes and a reputation for being a judgmental snob. His attitude is why he and his fated mate are estranged. Not that Avery cares. He doesn’t want to be mated to some blue-collar werewolf anyway. Or so he keeps telling himself.

No werewolf likes to be looked down upon, least of all Dylan Green. He doesn’t need a mate, especially not some snotty hedgehog who sneers at his custom motorcycle shop and calls him a grease monkey. But when Avery gets into trouble with a shady loan shark, Dylan can’t stand by and let him be hurt—whether he wants the brat or not.

Yet once Dylan steps into Avery’s world, he realizes there’s more to Avery than his prickly exterior, and that unexpected vulnerability calls to Dylan’s protective instincts. The sassy little hedgehog needs a keeper, and despite their horrible first impressions, Dylan starts to believe he might be the wolf for the job.

Review

Avery is a hedgehog shifter who has decided to leave his home territory of Louisiana and move to Oregon after falling in love with the state during college. Shifter law dictates that he must join the local wolf pack since Portland falls in that jurisdiction. Though his family has always looked down upon wolf shifters, Avery doesn’t care a bit, and happily joins the pack.

Avery finds his mate, a wolf, and in a drunken mistake, throws him over for not being “good enough”. Dylan is of course hurt, and somewhat glad, because he doesn’t ever want a mate anyway.

Two years go by, and the mates avoid each other at all costs. It isn’t until Avery ends up in trouble because of some gambling debts that they spend any significant time together.

Luckily, the time spent together, coupled with some important new ways of looking at things, shows them that they do have something in common and a future together.

**

This is a bit longer and a little different than the average “shifter” romance. For one, though the instant attraction is there, it isn’t acted upon until much later in the story. In addition, the side stories – Avery’s gambling problems first and later a missing female wolf shifter – take up a lot of the book.

The world building is excellent and the character development is also well done. I enjoyed the romance between Dylan and Avery but I was disappointed by how little time they spent together.

I wish we’d had more of them working on the crime solving together and had seen more of them developing their romance more.

The writing was really good and I am definitely interested in seeing more from this series.

4 of 5 hearts

4

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Sultry Sunset (Mangrove book 3) Audiobook by Mary Calmes Narrated by Greg Tremblay

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6709

SultrySunsetAUDMEDBlurb

Hutch Crowley is well-liked in the small resort town of Mangrove—he’s got friends in his new neighbors, he’s the owner of the town grocery, and he’s building a community center—but he’s still unlucky at love. Every man he’s attracted to is either taken or simply not interested, including his best friend, Mike Rojas.

When Mike came to Mangrove two years ago, Hutch gave him a job and a place to stay in his guesthouse, where Mike has remained ever since. Despite the rumors circulating about them, Hutch knows Mike is straight and looking for the right woman. But his friends disagree, and after some hints to the contrary, even Hutch finally has to admit that maybe the rest of the town sees something he’s been missing. If Hutch wants to spend each sultry sunset with the man of his dreams, it might be time to figure out what’s going on with his best friend’s heart.

Review

(Review posted previously for book)

If you’ve been reading the series (which you should, but don’t have to), you know Hutch is our grocer, and so far he’s been “interested” in every gay man the town has to offer, but has failed to find “the one”.

We find out that for the last two years he’s had a best friend, Mike “Don’t call me Michael”, living in his guest house and taking up most of his free time.

As you can predict, there is more to them than friendship, despite the fact that up til now Mike has always been straight.

**

I compare these Mangrove stories to cotton candy – one of my all time favorite foods – because they are wonderful, light, sweet and just a touch unsatisfying. Because they are so short, we don’t get a lot of lead-time to develop the tension between our MCs. Sure, Mary always gives us wonderful characters and an amazingly sweet love scene or two, but I really miss her ability to create that heat and draw out the sexual neediness between her characters that she’s just so great at.

I still love these stories, don’t get me wrong – but boy I wish they were longer.

In this case the secondary characters of Ivy and Essien almost – almost! – steal the show, but Mike and Hutch are terribly sweet together and I love them as a couple.

The mangrove series is fun because the small town and the recurrence of previous characters feels like coming home and I eagerly await the next installment.

Audio

Greg Tremblay – one of my favorite narrators – did another amazing job with this. I just love how he voiced the secondary characters including the young girl! I love listening to his telling of these stories because he makes you feel like you are part of the action. Definitely adds to the overall enjoyment of the story.

5 of 5 hearts

5

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Beta Undone (Lone Wolves #2) by Tielle St. Clare

Amazon Presents http://www.amazon.com/Beta-Undone-Lone-Wolves-Book-ebook/dp/B00WTCS5NG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1436807427&sr=1-1&keywords=beta+undone&pebp=1436807429157&perid=1ZTNEYTF2PWW92HH1770

beta undoneBlurb

Is it his fault the Alpha Mate can’t take a joke?

After pissing off the Alpha’s mate, Kia gets sent on a crap job—check on Madge, the crazy werewolf living near Pack lands. Kia has no love for the nutty wolf who makes silver bullets designed to kill other werewolves. He’d just as soon see the bastard gone.

Until he meets him. The half-crazy wolf is sexy and shy and Kia wants nothing more than to fall into an adult puppy pile with the guy.

Madge just wants to be left alone. If the kids from the local Pack would stop harassing him, he’d be perfect, except he’s pretty sure the silver he works with every day is slowly killing him. The one thing he doesn’t need is a gorgeous Beta wolf stalking his property under the guise of helping him. And maybe finding out the truth.

Review

Kia, who we met in book one, is sent to look after the crazy Madge – another lone wolf on Pack Lands. Madge intrigues Kia, though he is prickly as a porcupine.

Madge is scared of something and hiding for fear of his life. When Kia comes in and upsets the little order he has, he becomes even more paranoid.

There are real threats against Madge (for some reason) and Kia takes it upon himself to intervene. He realizes that his wolf is fascinated with Madge and vice versa.

In the end Kia must mate with Madge to save him (again a little Deus ex Machina) but it’s a very sweet HEA.

I wish there had been more explanation of Madge’s predicament and more interaction with them as a couple, but as a short story it was fun and enjoyable.  Madge was a great character and I hope we see more of him in the future.

It was fun seeing Craigh and Rowan again too – especially when Craigh punches Rowan – so funny!

(Free for Kindle Unlimited!)

4 of 5 hearts

4

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Masked Booby (Peckers #3) by Jacques N. Hoff

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6485

MaskedBoobyBlurb

Mickey, Keyser, Clyde….

He goes by many names, calls many different countries home, and has a wardrobe that rivals most professional theater companies, but some days it’s impossible to remember who he really is. It’s the price he pays for the adrenaline. The Masked Booby. A man torn between his instinct to survive and his bird nature of taking a dive.

Irwin Stephens is in love—in love with life, his home, and the animals he watches over every day at work. He doesn’t have a man to call his own, but everything else is so perfect he can’t complain. Except maybe about the scratchy khaki uniform all zoos seem to require with fiendish glee.

When Mickey meets Buff Zookeeper, it should be a one-night love nest, but something besides peckers is up in the land down under.

Review

Irwin works in a zoo and is trying to rescue a puffin shifter he’s found being drugged and kept in captivity. He stumbles upon Undercover Peckers and asks them for help. They send in the crew, including Mickey the masked bandit and all kinds of shenanigans ensue.

Mickey sees himself as a loner, a one and done kind of guy, so he resists the pull Irwin has on him. Irwin is just plain attracted to Mickey, clueless to the internal struggle, and insulted by Mickey’s actions.

When all is said and done, the crew manages to save the puffin and Mickey and Irwin find their HEA.

**

As usual there are a lot – A LOT – of hilarious puns and ridiculous dialog. The pace of the story is quick and the reader must follow closely to keep track of all the players.

I enjoy the mind games of these stories and the light hearted romance. I think, compared to the other two books in the series, that the “story” took precedence over the romance and I missed it. I wanted more time spent with Mickey and Irwin and maybe a bit less building around the rescue. For me this detracted from my enjoyment, but I’m still a fan and will definitely look forward to the next installment.

3 of 5 hearts

3

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Blue Eyed Stranger (A Trowchester Blues Novel) by Alex Beecroft

Riptide Presents
http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/blue-eyed-stranger

blue eyed strangerBlurb

Billy Wright has a problem: he’s only visible when he’s wearing a mask. That’s fine when he’s performing at country fairs with the rest of his morris dancing troupe. But when he takes the paint off, his life is lonely and empty, and he struggles with crippling depression.
Martin Deng stands out from the crowd. After all, there aren’t that many black Vikings on the living history circuit. But as the founder of a fledgling historical re-enactment society, he’s lonely and harried. His boss doesn’t like his weekend activities, his warriors seem to expect him to run everything single-handedly, and it’s stressful enough being one minority without telling the hard men of his group he’s also gay.
When Billy’s and Martin’s societies are double-booked at a packed county show, they know at once they are kindred spirits, united by a deep feeling of connectedness to their history and culture. But they’re also both hiding in their different ways, and they need each other to be brave enough to take their masks off and still be seen.

Review

This is the second book by Alex Beecroft I’ve read and the second book in her Trowchester series. I really admire her writing. She is fluid, coherent, descriptive and not telling, creates amazingly detailed characters and a deeply emotional story.

This is a very DARK story. There is an almost instant connection between the two lovers but the physical aspect of their story is a slow burn.

Martin is in the closet and Billy has some serious psychological problems. When they find each other they find that other piece of their soul that completes them.

Martin teaches history at a high school (British equivalent) and is obsessed with historical re-enactments. As a result there is A LOT of history in this story.

Billy’s depression also plays a major role in the story line and though Martin helps he is not the “cure”, which is awesome.

So… I have a hard time reviewing this book. On the one hand it’s quite good, but… I can’t say I “enjoyed” it. It’s very hard to get through at times, the subject matter is heavy and the history will either be fascinating to you or boring…

In either case – if you are in the mood for a more “meaty” romance I’d recommend this – if you’re looking for light and fluffy – keep looking.

3.5 of 5 hearts

3.5

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Food For Thought Audiobook by Amy Lane Narrated by Philip Alces

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Food-for-Thought-Audiobook/B011A7NKO4

food thought audioBlurb

Emmett Gant was planning to tell his father something really important one Sunday morning—but his father passed away first. Now, nearly three years later, Emmett can’t seem to clear up who he should be with—the girl with the apple cheeks and the awesome family, or his snarky neighbor, Keegan, who never sees his family but who makes Emmett really happy just by coming over to chat.

Emmett needs clarity.

Fortunately for Emmett, his best friend’s mom has a cookbook that promises to give Emmett insight and good food, and Emmett is intrigued. After the cookbook follows him home, Emmett and Keegan decide to make the recipe “For Clarity,” and what ensues is both very clear—and a little surprising, especially to Emmett’s girlfriend. Emmett is going to have to think hard about his past and the really important thing he forgot to tell his father if he wants to get the recipe for love just right.

Review

Emmett is hiding his sexuality from his friends and families because he thinks if he finds the right girl, makes his own family, he won’t risk a broken heart – again.

Of course, Keegan is NOT down with that. He has feelings – big feelings – for Emmet, but thinks Emmett is straight… or is he?

Anyhow, when the truth is revealed and the closure … closed?… Keegan and Emmett get their HEA.

**

As usual Amy made me tear up when I read about the death of Emmett’s dad… God this was supposed to be a light sweet book! Damn you Amy (shaking fist!).

But… of course that helps us to buy into Emmett’s lies and betrayals.

I loved the cooking part and the paranormal aspect to the receiving of said book… In general I’m digging this series as a whole.

Another win for the Queen of Angst!

Audio

Philip Alces is not my favorite narrator but he ROCKED this. He did an excellent job with the emotion and the humor. I really enjoyed his take on the story and think it added to the overall enjoyment of the story.

5 of 5 hearts

5

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