Category: Part of a series

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The Cop and the Geek (Books 1 and 2) by Cat Blaine

Evernight Publishing Presents

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/the-cop-and-the-geek-by-cat-blaine/

And book 2

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/the-cop-and-the-geek-2-by-cat-blaine/

cop and geekBlurb
Book One
James O’Brien is having a horrible day. He’s dropped his car off at a repair place in a bad part of town. While he’s there minding his own business he ends up in a bar room brawl with a mouthy homophobic thug.

Officer Scott Brown is the sexy, kind cop who arrives on the scene. He can tell immediately that while James is a geek, but he isn’t a criminal, and is most likely just a nice guy caught up in a bad situation. The two of them have an immediate attraction and when Officer Brown gives James a ride home…things heat up.

 

cop and geek 2Blurb
Book Two

Geeky James O’Brien was involved in a barroom brawl a month ago where he met Officer Scott Brown. The two clicked immediately, but sometimes geeky James worries he isn’t exactly what someone like Scott would need.

When Scott talks James into going camping, James is a little worried. He’s much more of a virtual camping kind of guy. But since it means a lot to Scott, James agrees. Once out in the wilderness Scott breaks his leg and loses their only working phone. Now it’s up to James to prove there’s more to him than meets the eye.

 

Review

James is picked up and helped out by a police officer, Scott. James hates cops since his father was an abusive ass-hole and a cop. Scott is a single parent and very protective of people he allows in his life.

Scott is smitten with James right away and when he’s convinced James is a good guy he pretty much does the full court press to win him over. James is reluctant to get involved with anyone, much less a cop, but he can’t resist the attraction between the two.

In book two, the they’ve been together – dating – for a couple months and you can tell things are going well, but they are still miles from anything “serious”. James is still clearly reluctant to trust things working out.

Scott convinces him to go camping and ends up hurt – when they make it back to civilization their relationship has finally changed and is now on far more solid ground.

**

What I love about these two books is James. He’s such a believable character. He really doubts Scott all the time and is quite prickly. To counter that, Scott is almost super-humanly perfect and charming – but it works.

The smexy times are hot and the tender moments more so because James is so sparing in his warm-and-fuzzy moments.

4.5 of 5 hearts for the series

4.5

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Souffle’s at Sunrise Audiobook by MJ O’Shea and Anna Martin Narrated by John-Paul Barrell

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6679

SoufflesAtSunriseAUDMEDBlurb

“Welcome to a new season of Burned, where we find fresh new cooking talent… and a few culinary disasters! Every season we do something a little different, and this time it’s all about the sweet things in life. Get ready in week one as twenty pastry chef hopefuls and dessert connoisseurs compete for the thirteen coveted workspaces in our Burned kitchen. With stakes this big, we ask the one question on everyone’s mind: Do these chefs have what it takes to rise to the top? Or will they get Burned?”

Burned contestants Chase and Kai are attracted from the start and can’t wait to spend more time getting to know each other… until they see the first episode treatment and realize the producers intend to portray them as bitter enemies. At first it’s fun to pretend to bicker—enemies on film, lovers when the cameras stop rolling—but soon it’s hard not to take the faux rivalry seriously. It’s only when their choice is to band together and bake their way to the final or get burned that they find where their real loyalties lie.

Review

Both Chase and Kai are contestant on a cooking show. The producers decide that the two need to be “rivals” in order to spice up the show. They even have it decided whose to win…

The two men quickly become lovers, however, instead. There are a very few hurdles for the men to traverse, especially when they get together long term as Chase lives in Wisconsin and Kai in California, but those are managed easily enough.

**
A lot of this book happens “on air” while the cooking show takes place and to me it kept me distanced from these two MCs.

I never quite felt connected or invested in their relationship. The writing of both Anna Martin and MJ O’Shea is wonderful – as always – but I wasn’t really that enthralled with the romance.

The recipes are neat and the mocking look at reality cooking shows was funny if not a little cynical.

John-Paul Barrell does the narration and he does an okay job. Nothing too spectacular in terms of voice modulation, but easy to listen to for the most part. Sometimes he ends the dialog on an up note that got repetitive, but mostly this was an enjoyable listen.

For both the audiobook and the story itself 3 of 5 hearts for a nice, light, enjoyable read/listen.

3

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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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Bear Wanted Grizzly List Book One by Julia Talbot

ARE Presents https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-bearwanted-1841563-340.html

grizzly listBlurb

He always wanted a bear to keep him warm at night…

Lane knows want he wants in a lover, but hasn’t been able to find the perfect bear of a man in his small Colorado hometown. So he turns to the Grizzly List, a regional personal ad service for bears and their lovers. He’s not sure what to expect when he meets Fin, but what he gets might be his perfect man.

Bear shifter Fin has been looking for someone with whom to spend his days, nights, and winter hibernation. He’s a happy guy, but needs someone who wants a big, burly, slightly dominant mate. When he meets Lane, Fin knows he’s found what he needs, but will he be able to convince Lane that they’re made for one another, in human form and bear?

Review

Lane writes an ad requesting a bear, cuddly, firm, kind, likes sweets and Fin answers it. They meet and instantly find a strong connection. Fin knows he’s a bear and thinks Lane might be one as well but can’t be sure…
Together they explore one another and find more than they bargained for.

**

This is a very sweet, very hot novella about a man finding his mate (not in the “destined for” sense, but very close). What I loved about it was how much “bear” was in it. So often shifter romances use the animal part for a few things here and there, mostly to speed along the “mating” and maybe some growly “mines” or some super-human senses.

Fin is very bear like and does a number of things as a human that mimic his animal and when they do shift it’s adorable! Very fun, frolicky and cute.

There is some spanking in this story – mild – but if that’s not your thing, be warned.

I really enjoyed this and look forward to more in the series.

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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Tonight by Karen Stivali

GoodReads Presents http://www.mmromancegroup.com/tonight-by-karen-stivali/

Tonight-JutohBlurb

Dear Author,
See the hot jock sitting on top of me? He’s my older brother’s team mate and I’ve lusted after him— and loved him— since forever. I never thought I’d have a chance though. That dumbass brother of mine always said he was straight. But look at the way he’s giving the phrase “He takes my breath away” a whole new meaning! My brother must be wrong. Please, dear author, let him be wrong and make my dream come true.

 

 

 

 

couchPhoto Description:
Two sexy, shirtless, dark-haired young men are making out on a couch. The muscular, tattooed man on top is holding the other guy’s wrists above his head with one strong hand as they kiss.

This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group’s “Love is an Open Road” event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

Review
This is another short story from GoodReads.

David has had a crush on his brother’s best friend Wiley. When he asks Wiley to model for him one day, both guys realize they might have been missing out on something.

**
This is a super cute, short story, however it’s very well developed, gives a suitably believable HFN/HEA and the sexy times are hot yet very sweet.

I really enjoyed this and recommend it.

5 of 5 hearts

5

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Hook, Line & Sinker (Hard Hats #2) Audiobook by Piper Vaughn Narrated by Jack Fleming

Dreamspinner Presents
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6638
HookLine&SinkerAUDMEDBlurb
When they were teens, Castor McCormick was the bane of Blake Kowalski’s existence. Their mutual animosity led to summers filled with rivalry. Now, nearly two decades later, Cas is moving back into the neighborhood to live in his grandmother’s old house. Blake tells himself he isn’t interested in seeing how snarky little Cas grew up, but when his mother dupes him into visiting his former nemesis, he finds out “pretty” can evolve into “sexy as hell” on the right man.

Cas didn’t think he wanted to see Blake again. No one has ever pushed his buttons like the arrogant boy he remembers from their youth. Turns out, the adult version of Blake still gets him hot under the collar—and everywhere else. With Blake on leave from work to nurse an injured leg and Cas taking time to move and unpack, they form a tentative friendship that turns into a sexual affair neither man can deny. But when Cas’s job sends him out of state to deal with a difficult client, their new relationship will be tested, and if they fail, Blake’s broken leg might not be the only thing to end up scarred.

Review
Blake and Castor were competitors as kids. When Blake gets injured and is forced to move back home to his mother’s house, and Castor moves in to the house across the street, they find that as adults they have more in common than they thought.
They begin a relationship fairly early on, fairly easily. Things are going well, they’re getting pretty hot and heavy in fact, when Castor gets called out of town for business for several months. They try the long distance thing and that seems to be working, until Blake decides to surprise Castor with a visit and ends up suspecting Castor of cheating.
Castor can’t be with someone who doesn’t trust him and they break up.
Fortunately, after some soul searching, they realize the mistake they’ve made and agree to try harder to make things work.
**
This is book two in the series and though I generally LOVE Piper Vaughn’s books, this was a little disappointing. I found things were just a bit too easy. The sexual tension was released early on and things between the two move along fairly easily until the big break up. The resulting make up is really down-played and though I do believe they get their HEA it wasn’t really well-developed by the end of the story.
Her writing, as always, flows smoothly and the character development was excellent. If you are in the mood for a relatively low angst story with lots of hot sex, however, this is definitely the story for you. It is very enjoyable if not amazing.

Audio

The narrator Jack Fleming did a really nice job. I loved the assertive voice he gives Blake. He didn’t do a lot with the voices but they are each distinct and I enjoyed his take of Blake’s mother.
I think the audio adds to the overall entertainment and makes the experience even better.

4.25 of 5 hearts

4.5

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Cheeky Hipsters & Jocks by Posy Roberts

Amazon Presents http://www.amazon.com/Cheeky-Hipsters-Jocks-BFP-Collection-ebook/dp/B00YZP85OE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1436140800&sr=8-2&keywords=cheeky+hipsters

cheeky hipstersBlurb

Jack has a secret hidden in his pants, and Eli thinks he knows what it is.

Jack Cox has a secret he’s kept hidden for years until a fellow hockey player discovers a scrap of silk and lace hiding in his pocket. Elijah Mitten notices how anxious Jack is as the hot-pink fabric makes its way around the locker room, and when Jack throws it in the trash like it means nothing, Elijah guesses what’s beneath his stoic façade and possibly his pants.

When Elijah shows up on Jack’s doorstep looking for answers, Jack won’t admit anything. But when Elijah takes matters into his own hands, Jack has to make a decision: share his secret and risk losing hockey or keep it hidden forever.

Review

These Sexy Secret Shorts are cute little novellas about someone’s sexy secret… DUH. In this case Jack likes to wear Manties… and Eli finds out. Eli thinks it’s hot and the two start an affair that leads to more.
I liked that even though this was a short story we got a complete feeling by the end. Jack and Eli are hot together and I enjoyed this little story very much.

4 of 5 hearts

4

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The Right Time (Right and Wrong Series) by Lane Hayes

Dreamspinner Presents
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6462

RightTime[The]Blurb

Workaholic Nate Erickson is a successful real estate developer who thrives on long hours and stress. When a Los Angeles project prompts him to relocate to Santa Monica, he welcomes the change of scenery. Nate has always considered romantic entanglements trouble, but his sexy next-door neighbor isn’t easy to ignore. Which makes no sense, because Nate is straight… or so he’s always thought.

Alex Reyes is a retired professional soccer player turned West Hollywood business owner with an insatiable lust for life. He loves his family, friends, and work. But there’s one life challenge left to accomplish: coming out publicly. Respect for traditional Latino values has kept him in the closet, but Alex begins to think he and his new neighbor might help one another combat their fears. As Alex and Nate forge a strong friendship, they soon realize facing their personal demons will take more courage than either man bargained. The reward is immeasurable… if the timing is right.

Review
Alex is Michael’s friend from book one, another (ex) professional soccer player who has now opened his own gym. He also acts as a landlord and rents Nate a place for 6 months while he works on his most recent real estate deal.

Nate is divorced (from a woman) has an interesting past that leads him to believe he is best alone and straight. He is reluctant to explore his bisexuality due to some bad experiences and it’s up to Alex to convince him to give “his gay side” a chance.

Alex is great at giving advice, but doesn’t follow it for himself. He doesn’t want to come out to his dad for fear of disappointing him.

They sort of, tentatively agree to a “for right now” sexual relationship that morphs into more as time goes on. But when Alex finds out something disturbing from Nate’s past it looks like things are all over.

**

Like the other books in this series, the writing is excellent, the character development is well done, and the sexy times very hot.

I didn’t care for the drama regarding Nate’s college girlfriend. It felt stuck in there at the end to give the couple an obstacle that I don’t think they needed.

I liked that Nate didn’t waffle about exploring his sexuality even though it had been years. But, I never really understood Alex’s issues and I really would have appreciated seeing more of the story from his POV (it’s told from Nate’s).

I liked revisiting the boys from the past books, and I look forward to more in this series.

3.5 of 5 hearts

3.5

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Vampire Wishes by Teegan Loy

Amazon Presents http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Wishes-BFP-Secrets-Collection-ebook/dp/B0108J1EWA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435977723&sr=8-1&keywords=vampire+teegan&pebp=1435977725004&perid=0ZC36YNV4EZ8QAPM7TXG
vampire wishesBlurb
Griffin McKellan has a secret . . . actually, more than one.

He wants to take a class at the local university, but he’s got more than studying on his mind. Griffin’s enamored with the professor, Jackson Grady. He’s spent months spying on the guy, but now he has to meet him face to face.

And even though Griffin wants nothing more than to teach the professor a thing or two, there’s a huge problem standing in his way.

Vampires don’t usually date their food source.

 

Review
Grif is a youngish vampire, recently allowed to be on his own. He falls in lust/love with Jackson one night while out hunting.
He discovers that Jackson is a professor at the local university and convinces his sire that he can handle being around humans long enough to take his writing class.
Jackson is attracted to Grif, but is hiding something. He pushes Grif away despite their mutual chemistry.
Grif finds out what Jackson is hiding and offers to solve his problems by converting him, now Jackson has to decide what the next step will be.

**
I thought the character development was nice, the basic story line interesting and overall it was an entertaining short story.
There was way too much time spent waffling about between Grif and his friend Kieran and not nearly enough developed between Grif and Jackson.  I didn’t get the sense that they were a good couple as we barely got to know much about Jackson at all.

The overall effect was a fairly shallow, and unsatisfying experience.

2.75 of 5 hearts

3

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