Category: Gay

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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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Hesitant Heart (Hampton Roads Club #1) Morticia Knight

?Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience?

TITLE: Hesitant Heart

SERIES: Hamptons Road Club # 1

AUTHOR: Morticia Knight

PUBLISHER: Knight Ever After Publishing (2nd Edition)

RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2018

BLURB: Sam is a naïve young man who arrives in Hollywood to escape his brutal father. When the older, sophisticated Aaron rescues him, Sam discovers what it means to fully surrender himself to another.

Eighteen year-old Sam Cunningham is used to living with lots of secrets. He’s had to hide his true nature his entire life or else incur the wrath of his strict and abusive father. When he’s faced with a horrible ultimatum, he flees to Hollywood where he hopes he can escape the fate his father has planned for him.

Aaron Rubenstein is a wealthy and sophisticated man who loses himself in painting portraits of bound men to help stave off his loneliness and despair. Unable to find a lasting connection with anyone, he’s had to resort to paying lovers not only for their affections, but to be allowed to indulge in his darker passions. Aaron’s only respite is his nights at the Hampton Road sadomasochism club where he’s a respected Dominant.

Naïve and inexperienced in the ways men can please one another, Sam takes a job at a bathhouse where he first glimpses a beautiful older man. Aaron notices the sweet towel boy watching him with interest every time he patronizes the Temple of Eros bathhouse. A traumatic incident for the innocent towel boy triggers Aaron’s protective tendencies and he’s compelled to rescue the gentle Sam from the clutches of the Temple’s manager.

They embark on a journey together that teaches them both things about themselves that they never knew. As their bond deepens and Sam is trained for his first night at the Hampton Road Club, an unknown danger lurks. Will Sam’s father find him and destroy both men’s chance for true happiness together? Or will Aaron protect his boy and keep him for always?

Reader advisory: This book is best read in sequence as part of a series.

REVIEW: This story is absolutely fabulous. In fact, every single book that I’ve read written by this author is fabulous. Knight’s stories, characters and storylines are always well written and memorable. This series is unique in the sense that it takes place in a different era. The 1920s-1930s. That is what initially caught my attention; I wanted to see how she would create a story with BDSM in that particular time period. And let me tell you, it was glorious.

Sam is a young man who ran away from home to escape his abusive father. It’s there where he meets the wealthy and kind older sophisticated gentleman, Aaron. Together they travel a journey of sexual freedom and discovery for Sam and for Aaron, he’s finally found someone he can be himself with. Both men are happy together but of course, Sam’s past threatens to take away the happiness they’ve found with each other.

This is a fantastic May/December M/M BDSM romance set in the Roaring Twenties. I don’t know of any other storylines, books in the genre that combines all of those elements together. This author did such a wonderful job with these characters and this storyline. The little details of the fashions, technology, language of the times really held my interest. This is the first book of what is shaping up to be an amazing series.

This is a definite must read.

Side note: This is the 2nd edition of the series.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

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Ripe by Alan Semrow

?Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience?

TITLE: Ripe

SERIES:

AUTHOR: Alan Semrow

PUBLISHER: Self Publishing

RELEASE DATE: October 1, 2018

BLURB: Funny, sexy, evocative, and brutally honest, Ripe is Alan Semrow’s ode to relationships with men. In this epistolary book, Semrow writes to the men who have impacted his outlook, reminded him of basic life lessons, surprised him in more ways than one, and left him reeling for days. Writing to one-night-flings, men he has never met, and men he’ll never stop running into, Semrow touches on some of the most constant human themes—love, lust, desire, and the yearning for connection. All the while, the book details a man’s journey navigating and blooming by way of the modern gay scene. Readers will find familiarity and hard truths in Semrow’s statements about the intricacy and explosiveness of the intimate moments we share.

REVIEW: This book is unusual in the sense that it doesn’t have a plot, storyline, or characters. It’s more of a memoir; letters written to the men who has been a part of his life during the different stages. He’s reminiscing about the men of his past, present and who he wishes for in his future through a series of letters written from the heart.

With each letter, the author lays bare his soul. He writes about life and the things he’s experienced, happy, sad, good and bad. These letters are an exploration of friendship, love, and intimacy.

This book isn’t what I would call sexual or romantic. He does hint at sexual encounters/ relationships with the various men throughout his life but they’re not what one would consider explicit. It’s more like a reminisce; a reflection of each encounter.

Again, this isn’t a book in the sense where there are MCs, plots, storylines or tropes. What he has given us is insight into his heart and mind, his youthful dreams, longings, regrets and ultimately his growth..

And that is really quite amazing.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

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Starf*cked by B.L. Morticia

?Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience?

TITLE: Starf*cked

SERIES:

AUTHOR: B.L. Morticia

PUBLISHER: Triad Literary

RELEASE DATE:  September 4, 2018

BLURB: Some skeletons are better left in the closet.

Steven Sharpe is on the road to recovery. After boozing, drugging, and sex with just about anything that moved, he’s making a comeback. Age is only a number, right? Why should he hang up his mic and guitar at thirty-seven when hard rock music needs a shot in the arm? And with his powerful voice, Steven figures he’ll have no problem regaining the adulation he once embraced as the lead singer of StarHaze.

Despite all the crazy, fun times from back in the day, one night will forever be emblazoned in his mind—the moment he fucked up his chance at love.

Driven and determined, Noah James is quickly climbing the corporate ladder. At twenty-eight, he’s been promoted to junior partner and has finally gained his peer respect. Though Noah still gets crap for being a gay black man, he doesn’t allow that to deter him from fulfilling his goal of being the only James man graduate college and build a successful career. But the past has a way of sneaking up when he least expects it and biting him in the ass.

Ten years ago, Noah and Steven were strangers at a run-down bar with their only connection being a song. When they’re thrown together again by chance, neither of them is prepared for the roller coaster of emotions they can no longer deny. Now, the two men must face the truth that while love is a fierce emotion, so is fear.

REVIEW: I’be got to say that I’m not really a fan of the rockstar/pop star trope(s) but being familiar with this author’s work and my love of books with MCs of color and interracial romance, I knew that I was going to give this book a read.

Needless to say that I’m really very glad I did. Steven is a rock star whose star has dimmed due to his boozing, drugging, hard partying ways. Now that life is all behind him and he’s on the road to recovery and he wants back into the spotlight.

Noah is young, hardworking, intelligent and driven. His hard work and determination is finally paying off in terms of his career. His personal life is another story.

Of course, there’s this saying about the best laid plans…

This story is about second chances and a lesson about skeletons in closets and your past creeping up on you.

Noah and Steven couldn’t be more different from each other but the old adage of ‘opposites attract’ rings true with these two men.

These two men are perfect for each other but fear is working them both hard and keeping them apart. The emotions written into this story that it practically leaps off the pages at you. These characters are vivid and the storyline flows quite well. I am really glad that I had the opportunity to read this story. I definitely recommend this story.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

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Because You Loved Me (Again #1) B.L. Morticia, Remmy Duchene

?Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience?

TITLE: Because You Loved Me

SERIES: Again #1

AUTHOR: B.L. Morticia, Remmy Duchene

PUBLISHER: Self Publishing

RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2018

BLURB: Hitoshi Ren has a pretty good life—a great education, friends he considers family, a crush on one of the world’s biggest crooners, and a secret he believes has died. But when that secret walks back into his life in the form of late-night phone calls, he has to put his life aside and hop on a plane to face his past demons. To make matters worse—Rixton Corrigan seems quite determined on turning Hitoshi’s head.

Rixton Corrigan has been on a nonstop ride and he wishes to get off. The exhaustion of touring the world in support of his latest album and his brother’s disapproval of his carefree lifestyle has taken its toll. Since he’s doing a video and a couple of shows in Japan, he decides it’s a good time to unwind and cut himself off from the western world. Time that’s best spent alone until he can get his head on straight.

However, those plans are tested when Hitoshi Ren shows up at his hotel, looking sexy and irresistible. His brother tells him to stay away, but how can he when he’s always been attracted to Dustin’s best friend?

REVIEW: Every book I read from these authors—regardless if they writing individually or together —keeps getting better and better. Their characters are beautifully diverse and rich with each personality shining through each page.

Rix and Hitoshi are as opposite as opposite can possibly be. Their personalities clashes were horribly hilarious. You know you have damn good story on your hands when you, the reader, want to Gibbs smack both MCs on the backs of their heads. You become immersed into the lives of and interested in the happiness of the characters.

These two authors took what could have been a run of the mill, basic enemies to lovers story and too it to the next level. There were outside forces determined to keep them apart but these men fought through them all for their HEA.

This book was filled with passion, heartache and humor. You go from laughing your ass of one minute to wanting to toss these men into the sea the next.

This book went way beyond a good read. It was a great experience. This book took me on a journey of emotions. It was one I thoroughly enjoyed traveling. This is the first book. I’m looking forward to the next trip.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

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A Vampire’s Heart (Ellowyn Found #1) Kayleigh Sky

?Reviewed by The KimiChan Experience?

TITLE: A Vampire’s Heart

SERIES: Ellowyn Found #1

AUTHOR: Kayleigh Sky

PUBLISHER: Kiss Drunk Books

RELEASE DATE: November 13, 2018

BLURB: Vampires live.

And they hunger…

Otto Jones, a cop assigned to the seemingly random murder of a vampire, would rather hide out in the nearest bar than waste his time on a dead vamp. He hates the bloodthirsty demons. But when the king of the vampires commands him to work with one of the lesser princes and find the killer, he has no choice.
Prince Jessamine Senera is ready to sacrifice his happiness in a loveless marriage for his family’s benefit… but not yet. He dreams of adventure, excitement, and true love. He lives on romance novels and detective stories and wishes he could drink synthetic blood like every other vampire. But he can’t. He needs human blood to survive and is hated by vampires and humans alike.

As Otto and Jessa draw closer to an entity that doesn’t want to be discovered, Otto finds the heart he thought long dead opening to the romance-loving Jessa. No good can possibly come from falling in love with a vampire, but when a shadowy assailant attacks Jessa, Otto will descend into the darkest pit of the earth to rescue him.

REVIEW: This is a new to me author and was absolutely blown away by this story. This book was very well written. The storyline, dialogue and characters were wonderfully fleshed out.

Otto’s character is a flawed hero. He’s has his demons and has not moved past the grief over losing his sister. It’s this grief, anger and distain towards vampires drives virtually every decision—good and bad—that he makes.

Jessa’s character is a complete opposite of what you would think a vampire’s personality would be. He’s gentle, kind and soft spoken. He was more human by way of personality and temperament.

These characters are so well written, you end up caring for them. The storyline moved among smoothly, the plot was well thought out and the dialogue is superb. This book held my attention from the first page to the last and I’m really looking forward to seeing more from this author 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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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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