Category: Hurt/Abuse

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Stealing the Wind (Mermen of Ea 1) Audiobook by Shira Anthony Narrated by Michael Stellman

Dreamspinner Presents
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6536

StealingTheWindAUDMEDBlurb

Taren Laxley has never known anything but life as a slave. When a lusty pirate kidnaps him and holds him prisoner on his ship, Taren embraces the chance to realize his dream of a seagoing life. Not only does the pirate captain offer him freedom in exchange for three years of labor and sexual servitude, but the pleasures Taren finds when he joins the captain and first mate in bed far surpass his greatest fantasies.

Then, during a storm, Taren dives overboard to save another sailor and is lost at sea. He’s rescued by Ian Dunaidh, the enigmatic and seemingly ageless captain of a rival ship, the Phantom, and Taren feels an overwhelming attraction to Ian that Ian appears to share. Soon Taren learns a secret that will change his life forever: Ian and his people are Ea, shape-shifting merfolk… and Taren is one of them too. Bound to each other by a fierce passion neither can explain or deny, Taren and Ian are soon embroiled in a war and forced to fight for a future—not only for themselves but for all their kind.

Review

We start this with Taren being sold to a pirate captain (Rider) by the man who essentially raised him in return for gambling debts.
Taren then falls into a triad relationship with Rider and his current “cabin boy”, Bastien. Rider offers Taren his freedom if he agrees to stay on board for three years. To say Taren is grateful is putting it mildly. The relationship is consensual if you disregard that Taren is Redier’s property and can’t really say no, but Taren does enjoy it and he eventually develops feelings for the other two.

There is a skirmish and Taren is tossed out to sea (after two years with the triad) where he is rescued by Ian, another sea captain, Ian, of a rival ship.

Ian is a merman and it turns out so is Taren. Ian develops feelings for Taren and the two begin a relationship. Taren has to embrace his origins or else he might die so Ian helps him to transform into his alternate form.

When Taren and Ian return to Ian’s homeland, Taren is accused of being a spy and thrown in jail. Ian has to decide if his affection and strange connection to Taren is more important than his trust in the rulers of his land. There is a bit of a twist thrown in as well and we are left with the two essentially in a HFN scenario that leads to book 2.

**
This is an amazingly rich and dense book. I’m assuming that all the wonderful world building will carry us through the next books in the series and we will see more of the relationship and the mysterious tie between the two of them develop more fully.

I had a hard time seeing Taren with others in an on-page relationship and this keeps me from giving this book 5 of 5 hearts. I can appreciate that it’s part of creating his back story and giving us the full impression of his life up until he meets Ian, but I can’t say that I liked it.

We don’t get to see much of Taren and Ian together and happy in this book so I look forward to seeing where the two will go from here.

Shira Anthony writes beautifully and has a gorgeous imagination and I’m looking forward to seeing where she takes us in book 2.

4 of 5 hearts

Audio

I really like Michael Stellman. He is a very easy narrator to listen to. He doesn’t go over the top in differentiating the voices of all the many characters in this complex story, but you can always tell who is talking. He does a nice job with the new names and definitely adds to the overall experience.

4.5 of 5 hearts

4.5

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Home and Away by Samantha Wayland

Lock Awe Press Presents
http://www.amazon.com/Home-Away-Samantha-Wayland-ebook/dp/B00Z7KJUCW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1435979338&sr=1-1&keywords=home+and+away+samantha+wayland&pebp=1435979339508&perid=1EF5M5WW6F8WD3CFYSMT
home and awayBlurb
You can build a team, but you have to find your home.

Rupert Smythe is fond of many things. Callum Morrison isn’t one of them.

Rupert is a quiet, thoughtful business man and, sadly, a total wimp. Maybe not the ideal candidate to run a professional hockey team, but he signed on to do it anyway. As his life has reminded him on an almost daily basis since, this isn’t the most brilliant idea he’s ever had. And that was before Callum showed up.

Being in the spotlight is just part of being a professional athlete, but Callum needs a break. He arrives in Moncton unannounced, determined to help grow the team he just bought, and under the assumption he’d be welcome. Possibly he should have tried to make a better first impression.

Callum figures he can push through the rest of the summer, never expecting two kids, a host of friends, and his growing feelings for Rupert to derail everything he has ever believed about what he wanted, and what he could have.

Review
Rupert is a co-owner of a hockey team, but deathly afraid of hockey players. He is forced to work with them on a daily basis and manages well enough until Callum, the brother of the other co-owner bardges his way into his life when Garrick (the brother) is called away.
Callum is an in-the-closet hockey player and gruff on a good day, insufferable on his worst.
When Rupert’s little brother goes missing and is subsequently found, Callum rushes in to help Rupert collect him and then get him set up in his new home.
Callum comes from a large family and is great with kids, Rupert is an only child and raised by nannies. Together they make a great team helping poor Oliver acclimate to his new life. While doing so, what started as enemies morphs slowly into lovers.
Callum has never had a boyfriend, only hook-ups, he can’t come out because he fears there is no room for a gay hockey player in the NHL.
Rupert knows his time with Callum is on borrowed time but can’t help falling in love one day at a time with the gentle giant.
**
This book is so rich and full of emotion. I fell in love! There are so many layers. Callum is essentially a virgin – it’s been four years since he’s been intimate with anyone (for a specific reason) and never has he had more than a hook-up in a bar.
Rupert is growing through his own painful past experiences with large men and has no experience being a father.
Oliver is a four year old who was essentially abandoned by his uncaring mother and spends the first several weeks mute.
Christian is a boy Callum and Rupert meet through a Scout service skate lesson. He’s twelve, believes he’s gay and is the only son of a very homophobic drunk.
From Samantha’s previous book, … Net (see review on this site), Alexi and … show Callum how safe it can be to be gay and a hockey player.
There are some very obvious plot holes and some things that you just have to suspend your disbelief – but the slowly building love story and the heart warming relationships that develop between Oliver, Callum, Rupert and Christian are amazing.
The dialog is witty, Samantha does an excellent job of showing and not telling and the secondary characters are just as rich and well developed as the primary characters.
I cannot recommend this highly enough, even to those of us non-hockey fans.
Though it is a standalone, I highly recommend reading Crashing the Net first because it adds a bit to the back story and it’s a really good book! (Reviewed on this site previously.)

6 of 5 hearts

amazing

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Being True Audiobook by Jacob Flores Narrated by Mark Westfield

Dreampsinner Presents
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6655

BeingTrueAUDMEDBlurb

Truman L. Cobbler has not had an easy life. It’s bad enough people say he looks like Donkey from Shrek, but he’s also suffered the death of his policeman father and his mother’s remarriage to a professional swindler, who cost them everything. Now dirt poor, they live in the barrio of San Antonio, Texas. When Tru transfers to an inner-city high school halfway through his senior year, he meets Javi Castillo, a popular and hot high school jock. Javi takes an immediate liking to Tru, and the two become friends. The odd pairing, however, rocks the school and sets the cliquish social circles askew. No one knows how to act or what to think when Mr. Popular takes a stand for Mr. Donkey. Will the cliques rise up to maintain status quo and lead Tru and Javi to heartbreak and disaster or will being true to who they are rule the day?

Review

Truman is 17, in his last year of high school, and this is his 6th school in as many years. Due to his small stature he is the object of bullying and his poor single mother can do nothing more than move them to help the situation.

Javi is the star of the baseball team and a genuinely nice, great guy, part of a loving family.

After Tru gets beat up again (on the first day by Javi’s best friend), Javi rescues him and takes him home to his family where he is immediately embraced into the fold.
After that day Javi and Tru become best friends. Javi protects him as well as really enjoys his company, more than the other kids think he should.
When push comes to shove, Javi has to face the fact that he has feelings for Tru (admittedly gay, but not out officially). After facing the truth he has to decide what to do with the information but before he can decide things have heated up at school to the point where it may already be too late.
**
OMG! I loved this story. I’m not a huge YA fan, but I really love Jacob Flores and Mark Westfield so I decided to give this a try. Boy am I glad!
First, since this is their last year in HS most of what the boys are dealing with is adult enough not to feel awkward when it comes to relationship stuff.
Second, Jacob Flores is an excellent writer and he does an excellent job of creating two believable characters in situations that feel authentic. Javi is (perhaps) a bit too good to be true, but every story needs a hero and he is an absolutely wonderful one.
There are plenty of “bad guys” in this story, including most of Javi’s “friends” from the baseball team.
Tru is another wonderful character who just keeps trying and trying. He never gives up and I really liked that he didn’t perseverate on the future or have dire thoughts of suicide. He truly lived in the now and simply focused on doing the best with what he was given in that moment.
Claudia, the BFF, is another fantastic character – serving to give some attitude to the couple who are so sappily sweet.
I also loved that most of the characters in this story were non-caucasian but that race really wasn’t made much of an issue – if any.
It was a super sweet and lovely story and I highly recommend it.

Audio
Mark Westfield (who I really admired in the THIRDS books) disappointed me with this. He does a nice enough job and is easy to listen to, he gives Javi’s folks a bit of an accent, but I think that someone like Gomez Pugh would have rocked this as most of the characters in this were Hispanic and I think more accents would have made this sound more like I had it scripted in my head.
That being said, it was a nice (if not amazing) way to listen to this book and did not detract.

5 of 5 hearts

5

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The Backup Boyfriend (Book 1) Audiobook by River Jaymes Narrated by Marc Bachmann

Audibles Presents

http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The-Backup-Boyfriend-Audiobook/B00YNT53WE/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1435249035&sr=1-1

back up boyfriend audioBlurb

Professionally, Dr. Alec Johnson has almost reached his goals. As this year’s recipient of a humanitarian award with his ex, Dr. Tyler Hall, Alec’s work with the homeless is about to be recognized. Unfortunately, his personal life sucks because now he has to attend several events alongside Tyler – with his ex’s new boyfriend in tow. In an attempt to lift his mood and break out of his rut, Alec purchases a motorcycle he has no idea how to start. Dylan Booth doesn’t have time for Dr. Clueless and his fickle 1964 Harley, but the cocky mechanic can’t say no to the request for help.
Having spent his teen years on the streets, and losing his best friend to HIV, Dylan decides teaching the do-gooder how to ride is the least he can do. But watching Alec flounder in his ex’s company throws Dylan into protector mode, and the confirmed hetero introduces himself as Alec’s new boyfriend. But Dylan’s a master bullshitter, and the phony PDA soon turns ultra-hot. Alec can’t afford to get attached, and Dylan’s learned everyone eventually leaves. Unfortunately, playing the backup boyfriend is starting to feel way too real….

Book Review

Alec is in a bind. He’s been dumped, needs a new “look” and some external reassurance that he’s not all washed up.

He does this by buying a motorcycle he has no business buying and then failing miserably at driving it.

Fortunately a friend recommends he talk with a mechanic, Dylan, about the bike. As events fold out, Dylan surprises Alec by being willing to put on a brave face and “fake” being a boyfriend for Alec at his exes party – even though Dylan identifies as straight.

Things get out of hand after a lot of alchol and the surprisingly versatile Dylan opens up to Alec in a sexual way that neither anticipated. The two are hot for each other!

They begin to explore this “relationship” more and find an amazing amount of compatibility. But – when things start to get serious – both outside and internal forces work to drive them apart as well as to really look into their hearts as to what it means to be gay/straight/bi and what does it mean to have a boyfriend/partner/relationship.

**

Though I thought that the growth each of the characters went through was impressive, I wanted a bit more of an emotional connection between them to receive page time.

I loved the GFY/Gay-virgin sexy times and thought that it was a refreshing take to have the “straight” guy be so open and honest in his exploration.

3.75 of 5 hearts

Audio Review

Marc Bachmann did an excellent job with this! I loved his Dylan and Alex – they were as I’d pictured them in my head! He did a fantastic job with the other voices – keeping them all differentiated and his smexy scenes were smoldering! I really enjoyed this narration and will look for his narrations in the future.
I think the narration really added to my overall enjoyment, taking some of the less than fluid phrasing used by the author and infusing more organically genuine emotion into the scenes.

5 of 5 hearts

Overall 4.5 of 5 hearts

4.5

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PS Why did they change the Audiobook cover?  The other was a much better cover IMHO 🙁

 

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Lover at Last Audiobook by JR Ward Narrated by Jim Frangione

Audibles Presents http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Lover-at-Last-Audiobook/B00BMCXK9S/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1435248890&sr=1-1

loveratlastaudBlurb

“The hottest collection of studs in romance” (New York Times best-selling author Angela Knight) returns as number-one New York Times best-selling author J. R. Ward brings together two of the most beloved people in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world – at last….
Qhuinn, son of no one, is used to being on his own. Disavowed from his bloodline, shunned by the aristocracy, he has finally found an identity as one of the most brutal fighters in the war against the Lessening Society. But his life is not complete. Even as the prospect of having a family of his own seems to be within reach, he is empty on the inside, his heart given to another….
Blay, after years of unrequited love, has moved on from his feelings for Qhuinn. And it’s about time: The male has found his perfect match in a Chosen female, and they are going to have a young – just as Qhuinn has always wanted for himself. It’s hard to see the new couple together, but building your life around a pipe dream is just a heartbreak waiting to happen. As he’s learned firsthand.
Fate seems to have taken these vampire soldiers in different directions…but as the battle over the race’s throne intensifies, and new players on the scene in Caldwell create mortal danger for the Brotherhood, Qhuinn finally learns the true definition of courage, and two hearts who are meant to be together…finally become one.

Review (book)

This is Book 11 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by JR Ward, and it is mostly a m/f series. However, since the beginning there have been hints and suspicions about a couple who were into each other – thus gay or at least bi.

If you haven’t read the series, don’t bother with this. It will barely make sense and it will undoubtedly make you crazy.

I was a devoted fan for the first several books, but lost interest once I realized the very repetitive nature of each story and I began to feel the author was spending less time on developing a tightly woven, character driven story, and began focusing on getting longer and longer books out there with more violence and repetitive sex scenes than anything else.

However… when I saw she had finally paired up the two Vamps who’d been showing gay leanings… and I saw the backlash… and I’m a sucker for these guys… I had to read it.

Welllllll – there were parts that I adored. I loved the hugely masculine and mind altering sex these guys had. Scorching (if not terribly plausible – I don’t think lube was ever mentioned and they pretty much had anal sex every time they touched.)

I loved the deep soul searching and the way these guys finally had a heart to heart and got TOGETHER – AT LAST.

But – there was way more that I did not adore. Frankly I skimmed.

There were so many subplots and entire other couples and couples with other couples and babies and drama and drama and more drama.

Sigh.

It was too much.

If this had been more focused on these guys, their relationship and their immediate exes, etc it would have been a tightly written and probably excellent addition to the series.

I kinda felt like JR Ward didn’t just fully commit to writing the m/m book she wanted – maybe it was her publishers her editors … who knows. But it ended up watering down their love story to a sort of side show and also minimized all the other couples’ stories as well.  I was also really, really annoyed at how Qhuinn danced around saying he was gay, or admitting he was at least bi-sexual and that their relationship was still “less than” for being two males.

So – I have to say I gave up on the series at this point, I was glad to see the boys got their sappy ending, but I really didn’t see investing more time in the series. Especially since I enjoy m/m so, so much more.

Audio
I got the audio book because – Thank God – it was narrated by a man – and the sample sounded excellent.

He did a terrific job! He does accents and emotions and doesn’t shy away from the sexy times either.

On the whole, I think the audio version makes the entire book more palatable, though less easy to skip over the stuff I wanted to skip.

I give the book a solid 3 for at least attempting to break out of the “norm” in her genre, the audio a 5 for being awesome, and an overall score of 4 for entertainment value.

4

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Shield of Winter (Psy-Changeling #13) by Nalini Singh

Jove Presents  http://www.amazon.com/Shield-Winter-Psy-Changeling-Book-ebook/dp/B00G3L7TX6/ref=sr_1_1_ha?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1435301972&sr=1-1&keywords=shield+of+winter

shieldBlurb

Assassin. Soldier. Arrow. That is who Vasic is, who he will always be. His soul drenched in blood, his conscience heavy with the weight of all he’s done, he exists in the shadows, far from the hope his people can almost touch—if only they do not first drown in the murderous insanity of a lethal contagion. To stop the wave of death, Vasic must complete the simplest and most difficult mission of his life.

For if the Psy race is to survive, the empaths must wake…

Having rebuilt her life after medical “treatment” that violated her mind and sought to stifle her abilities, Ivy should have run from the black-clad Arrow with eyes of winter frost. But Ivy Jane has never done what she should. Now, she’ll fight for her people, and for this Arrow who stands as her living shield, yet believes he is beyond redemption. But as the world turns to screaming crimson, even Ivy’s fierce will may not be enough to save Vasic from the cold darkness…

Review

Yet again – I had a craving to re-visit some of my favorite m/f authors and Nalini Singh and her Psy-Changeling series is one of my all time favorites!

This is definitely one of those books where if you haven’t been reading along you will be totally lost. It is NOT a standalone. No matter what it might say anywhere else.

In this, the long awaited book, Vasic, the troubled and suicidal Arrow works with Kaleb as well as Judd to secure the re-introduction of the EPsy – the empaths – back into their powers. It is determined that the EPsy are what the NetMind has needed all this time to combat the illness.

What is left unknown is how these EPsy will take breaking Silence and just what is it they need to do and how can they be protected when those protecting them suffer just being in their presence.

Ivy is a strong EPsy whose Silence has been fractured for years. She assumes when Vasic comes to collect her that she is at last to be killed for her “faults”. From the moment they meet the two share a connection.

Then – for many pages – we work out who must do what and why for the NetMind to become fixed. Vasic and Ivy struggle with their feelings for one another – neither having any kind of experience in love/sex/relationships at all.

In the end thre is a race against time and more crushing blows to the NetMind, some reconnections with previous characters and a climactic finish setting us up for the grand finale – Shards of Hope – Aden’s story.

**

I have to admit I was disappointed in this book.

It took a lot of slugging through to reach the end.

I liked Vasic way more before he had his own book and Ivy was pretty MEH the entire time.

In previous books in the series the love was at least half the important part and I feel in these last few books, Kaleb, Vasic, Aden – more time is devoted to the greater story arc than the individual love stories.

As a fan I was glad to re-visit with Nalini’s Psy-Changeling Universe and I am excited to finally read the last story in this arc – but I am also kinda ready for it to be over.

Overall, the writing is good, I think it needed tighter editing, and maybe a more focused story line that equalized the love/romance part with the story progression.

3.5 of 5 hearts

3.5

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Unexpected by Amelia Mann

Daily Dose Short Story

Dreampsinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6562

UnexpectedBlurb

Fifty-one-year-old Jonathan Allen is watching his friends sign domestic partnerships left and right, and for the first time considers how lonely his future might become. His last boyfriend was a parasite, hurting him in so many ways, and he’s beginning to believe living alone with his cat is a better option than chasing shadows.

When Jonathan starts working for Tricorp, a multinational construction company dealing with conservative religious countries in the Middle East and Asia, he connects with CEO Blake Carter on all levels. But the company is antigay and forces its employees to sign a reticence clause, which puts the company on the LGBT-blacklist, and Jonathan back into the closet. He knows fantasizing about Blake is a pointless endeavor. But life throws them a curveball when Jonathan’s ex and a man from Blake’s past come together to destroy both their lives.

Review

This was a frenetic explosion of a short story! We burst in the scene when Jon’s presentation to a group of very conservative businessmen is interrupted by a display of pictures showing him having sex with his boyfriend.

His boss, Blake, is quickly corralled into the mess by a member of the board with a vendetta against Blake.

In no time at all, both Jon and Blake are being escorted by security out of the building, threatened by Jon’s ex-boyfriend, the father of one of Blake’s ex and facing unemployment to boot.

Luckily, they have each other and it turns out they’ve both been harboring feelings for one another for some time.

**

This would be a great novel – it was way too much for a short story. There was too much drama covered in too few pages with a conclusion that (though very happy) felt way too rushed to feel natural or authentic.

I also didn’t bond with either MC as well as I wanted.  Jon was an unreliable hero who never redeemed himself for having a relationship with someone as evil as his ex.  Blake seemed all over the place, flighty, insecure, then bossy and commanding.  I didn’t get a feel for him as a person very well.  Beyond the sexual, I didn’t see their attraction in the other.  The relationship, though born in crisis, moved way too fast to feel comfortable and therefore the HEA didn’t feel organic either.

I think this has potential, but it didn’t quite make it as a great short story.

2.75 of 5 hearts

3

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Forging the Future ( Change of Heart Book 5) by Mary Calmes

Dreamspinner Presents
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6527

ForgingtheFutureLGBlurb

Change of Heart Series Book 5

Jin Church is back where he started, alone, wandering, and uncertain of his path. It’s not by choice but by circumstance, as he remembers he’s a werepanther… but not much else. He knows one thing for sure—he needs to find the beautiful blond man who haunts his dreams.

Logan Church is trapped in a living hell. His mate is missing, his tribe is falling apart, and he’s estranged from the son he loves with all his heart. His world is unraveling without his mate by his side, and he has no one to blame but himself.

If Jin can regain his memory and Logan can overcome the threats to his leadership, then perhaps they can resume their lives. The question is: Is that what they want? Back to the same house, the same tribe, the same troubles? They can choose from various roads leading to their future… or they can forge their own path.

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(Beautiful art from Karrie Jax!)

Review

Wow oh wow! When I saw the excerpt for this I just knew Mary was gonna give us the ugly cry!

We start off with Jin separated from Logan and with no memory of him, his life, his powers, or even his SON!

(Mary – why do you separate our boys like that – it kills me!!!)

There is some weird tribal stuff that happens and apparently it is figured out that Jin belongs to someone and someone important. Finally, Crane comes around and Jin doesn’t even recognize him! (Oh, Mary, cruel, cruel Mary!)

Apparently Jin has to prove he and Logan are mated by recognizing him without being told who he is – another stinkin’ test! – but of course he does! However … he still doesn’t have his memory back – he just knows Logan is HIS!

(I love it when they go all MINE! on each other- so sexy!)

It has been rough on Logan to have Jin gone for so many months. His tribe is questioning his strength. His a-hole family is stirring trouble and it looks like there is going to be a big ol’ fight sooner rather than later to determine who is the rightful leader of the Mafdet tribe.

In addition, Domin has been trying to lure Logan to Egypt to lead a tribe there that would be both benefited by his leadership and serve to help Jin and Ilia train their own powers.

When Jin finally does regain his memory (So, so touching!) there is a huge fight and big trouble and much bloodshed. At one point I found myself yelling at Mary – NOOOOOOO! – but it all worked out in the end – as we knew it would.

**

Mary is my hero. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. She can write such amazingly diverse subject matter and do it so well. Kudos!

There is no way this story will mean much to you if you haven’t been reading the series, so I’m assuming you are all fans, like me.

I adored catching up with Jin and Logan and Crane and the gang. There are some new romances on the horizons, new babies, new deaths, more heartache – life.

I felt the end was a bit rushed for my taste. I got the abbreviated version of what’s happening with everyone in Egypt and a rough idea of what Jin and Logan will be doing there – I’m assuming (read: hoping!) that there is another book coming to take us through that experience more fully.

I highly recommend this to all the fans of the series 5 of 5 hearts

5

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Safe in His Arms Audiobook by Renae Kaye Narrated by Randy Fuller

Dreamspinner Presents: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6673

SafeInHisArmsAUDMEDBlurb

In the late-night quiet of the caravan park shower room, Lon Taylor washes away the filth of the Western Australian mines. He’s not looking for anyone, but when Casey offers, Lon doesn’t turn him down.

Welcoming the young man in his big, hairy arms, Lon provides a safety to Casey that he has never known, and Casey wants to stay forever. Still reeling from the breakup of his family years ago, Lon’s not sure he’s ready for the responsibility of the comfort and security Casey craves.

But perhaps Lon can risk opening his heart again and hoping for a brighter future. Casey has some pretty big skeletons in his past to deal with. And Lon wonders what Casey will do when he finds out how badly Lon failed at protecting the ones he loved eight years ago.

Book Review
(Previously on this site)

Lon comes home from working in the mines, hot, sweaty, exhausted. After a nice shower and shave he catches the eye of a hot, young, twink staring at him in the public showers. He asks him to either suck his cock or quit staring. Figuring that will make the little guy scamper away, he turns back to his shaving. But what does he hear instead of the pattering of feet? “I’ll take option A.”

Renae Kaye’s book starts off with a bang right from page one and never lets up.

The story is both simple and complex. It’s simple in that Lon and Casey meet and immediately want each other. It’s complex in that both men have a past that is heavily influencing their todays.

Casey has been abused in his past. Badly. Really, really badly. But he’s strong and resilient, and despite receiving some amazingly bad therapy (not abuse, just wrong advice) he’s on the road to recovery. But he still has moments of weakness, of panic and it’s those moments that drive him into Lon’s giant arms.

Lon is a big guy, always has been. In addition to being physically immense, his heart is of equal size. He’s always been the caretaker. That back-fired once and now he’s gun-shy. Casey fits him perfectly, but Lon’s afraid he might let him down, and afraid he might not want him when he knows more about Lon’s past.

Despite their issues, (Lon’s past, Casey’s past, their age difference, family opinion, Lon’s work schedule ) they begin their affair and it burns brightly. Little by little they get to know each other and to cross the hurdles. Fortunately they have great friends with great advice and Casey has a wonderful therapist who helps them to see things clearly.

In just a few months it becomes clear that the couple are more to each other than a casual fling and things really heat up. But the past resurfaces in a couple of different ways, forcing the lovers to face things they hadn’t wanted to bring to light. It seems like things might not ever be smooth sailing, but when pushed, the truth, as always, sets them free.

**
Again, I was delighted with Kaye’s writing. Though her books are both funny and touching, Safe in his Arms is also deeply emotional. It is clear she did some research because the subject matter here is not an easy one. I applaud how thoroughly she addresses the issues of intimacy between partners when one has been abused. There was no quick solution or “magic wand waving” to fix the problem. The couple had to address the very real concerns each had, and face them directly. I also thought it was hilarious how the hurdle manifested for Casey, such a simplistic problem for a nineteen year old but when viewed through the eyes of the therapist it was really a very complex issue.

I also really appreciated the fact that Kaye’s secondary characters were real people, too. They had flaws and talents, none being all good nor all bad. I loved that Casey’s grandma suddenly took a different tack in the middle of the book when faced with Lon as a boyfriend for her grandson. It made her very real. I also loved the intriguing side story about Lon’s brother and sisters. Every bit of the story was important and fascinating and kept me turning pages to see what would happen.

I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it giving it 5 of 5 hearts.

Audio

I was so, so, so disappointed that they didn’t choose someone with an Australian accent to do this narration. Normally Randy Fuller is hit or miss for me. I have enjoyed some of his narrations immensely, others less so.

In this case he did an okay job. He tried to give some voice differentiation to the characters, didn’t attempt any accent at all, and did a fair job with the intense emotions.

Overall, I wasn’t impressed and was still disappointed with this choice in narrator. If it hadn’t been set in Australia and if I hadn’t heard wonderful narrators (Like the narrator for Blinding Light) I wouldn’t have been put off by Randy Fuller’s narration, it just didn’t “wow” me.

Narration 3 of 5

Total 4 of 5 hearts

4

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Pure Innocence by Victoria Sue with Excerpt and Giveaway

 

Final

 

Excerpt:

Oliver breathed. A breath so shallow and so insignificant, the urgency and determination with which his lungs insisted on it surprised him, because breathing had been so hard. It had become so impossible to expand his lungs fully; the futility finally stopped him from trying.

He took another small hesitant breath, and stilled in shock, almost. He hated the dampness, the cold, and he tried to protect his lungs against that, but he’d caught a scent of something else—something clean, fresh, that came with a strong voice and gentle hands that didn’t hurt. Oliver desperately wished it was real.
Pain.
Just four letters. Such a small word for something that filled his mind and summed up his existence. It wasn’t just the horrific hot pokers that stabbed at his fingers and needled his heart. It was the black feeling that caged him, wrapped him up and would never let him go. He wanted to die, but it wasn’t just him—everyone wanted him to die. From the time he was little, his mom had screamed, “I wish you were never born.” He hadn’t been old enough to understand the words but he knew what she meant. Then came the nightmare that was school. He had no idea why he’d been picked on.
Yes, yes I did. The bullies knew he was from the trailer park, and knew no one would complain. It wasn’t just his looks; he knew what the word “fag” meant before sixth grade. When his mom had said he was done with school at twelve, he’d been secretly relieved, until he’d found out what she’d expected him to do instead. That was the first time he’d started wishing he was dead instead of just listening to other people say it.
He moaned, and tried to bite the sound back. If he made a noise the nightmare would come back, and when he just lay quietly, he could pretend the nightmare didn’t exist. He had screamed for so many days at first when no one had heard him, then he had tried to be as desperately still and quiet as he could. He tried not to drink the water but he’d made him. All he’d had to do was touch his fingers, and the pain would have made him do anything. His throat burned; he was so thirsty but he couldn’t swallow. Panic wove an insidious path through his arteries. Some machine beeped faster in time with his heart.
“Hey, hush. You’re safe.”
Oh. Oh. The voice, that voice. He was back, but it wasn’t real—he wasn’t real—this was all something Oliver’s imagination had sent to taunt him, make him believe the quiet words and the gentle touches were really for him, but he knew they couldn’t be. It was the drugs—it must be—conjuring something he could never have. Playing with him. Toying with him. He tried to move his head, but everything seemed so heavy, numb.
Something had touched his cheek. He—it was soft, no not soft, that wasn’t the right word. Almost warm, almost…comforting. Oliver could vaguely hear other voices, felt movement around him, which was confusing, because it had just been him and the nightmare for so long, and he didn’t know where he was. He tried to work it out…who, or what…but he was so tired, so desperately tired…
Something touched him again, and not in anger, not trying to hurt—it was a hand. Not just any hand, his hand—the one who came and talked to him, the voice, the source of comfort. Oliver leaned, ever so slightly. He didn’t have the strength to do more, and the hand held him still, warm, safe. He breathed in a little. Yes, the same clean smell.
“You going to open your eyes today, gorgeous?”
Gorgeous? Him? He couldn’t mean him. It was a mistake. Now he knew he had lost his mind. The guys that came this close to him never smelled good, and they were definitely never gentle.
Oliver’s heart started beating faster, and he could hear some machine with its annoying beeping getting louder. He couldn’t open his eyes. If he opened them everything would become real, and he couldn’t cope with any more reality. Not yet, maybe not ever. Mind numbing terror met him whenever he opened his eyes.
“I know you’re awake. It’s like being fastened to a lie detector.” The amused voice carried on. “Would you like some water?” Oliver opened cracked lips painfully to refuse, he didn’t trust the water, but felt something cold and wet touch them, and it robbed him of sound. It was ice, and cool trickles dropped onto his parched tongue. “Those lips look sore.”
Oliver was confused with the voice, tried not to trust the soothing words. Then his heart slammed in his ribs as he felt the cold swipe of something brush his lips. Slow, confident, but infinitely gentle. It was almost…almost caring. Which was completely ridiculous. No one cared about Oliver. No one had cared about Oliver in a really long time, which was fine, because Oliver didn’t really care about Oliver any more.
“Ice is good, but water would be better.”
Oliver held his breath a little at the sound of the voice. He wanted to believe it was real, that it belonged to someone who cared.
Could he? Dare he? Oliver parted dry lips again and closed them over a straw. He sipped slowly, a tiny mouthful. The taste was different, better, fresh.
“Much better.”
He was glad he didn’t seem to need an answer, but the hand had been taken away to get the water. The water was wonderful, but he wanted, needed, the touch more. The hand moved back and the beeping slowed. Just a gentle tick. He heard a soft click and then a thumb gently smoothed something cooling over his dry lips.
“There. You tell me if anything else hurts.”
Oliver didn’t have the strength to reply, and wasn’t sure he could get his voice to work anyhow. He could feel his mind slipping away again, but he didn’t care. He moved his face a fraction, and settled deeper into the touch. Warmth seeped into him, and he heard a soft chuckle. He could have smiled almost as the warmth from the sound wrapped him up.
Whatever this was, whoever he was, if he could just hold on to the thought that someone cared for a little while longer before it was taken away…

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About the author:

MM Love stories – because the only thing better than one hot guy is two of them.
Has loved books for as long as she can remember. Books were always what pocket money went on and what usually Father Christmas brought. When she ran out of her kids’ adventure stories, she would go raid her mom’s. By the age of eight she was devouring classics like Little Women, and fell in love with love stories.
She’s still in love with them. Any size, any shape, any creature – love is love, no matter what it says on the box.
In fact if they don’t fit very neatly into any box she loves them even more!
She has a very patient husband and three wonderful children. In 2010 in search of adventure they all moved from the UK to the US and are happily settled in Florida. Finally, after reading love stories for so long, she decided to write her own.
Where to find the author:

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/victoriasueauthor
Twitter: @vickysuewrites
Other: http://www.victoriasue.com
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9792476.Victoria_Sue
Publisher: Dark Hollows Press
Cover Artist: 3 Rusted Spoons

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