Category: Part of a series

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Clockwork Heart (Clockwork Love book 1) by Heidi Cullinan

clockworkFrom Samhain:

As the French army leader’s bastard son, Cornelius Stevens enjoys a great deal of latitude. But when he saves an enemy soldier using clockwork parts, he’s well aware he risks hanging for treason. That doesn’t worry him half as much, however, as the realization he’s falling for his patient.

Johann Berger never expected to survive his regiment’s suicide attack on Calais, much less wake up with mechanical parts. To avoid discovery, he’s forced to hide in plain sight as Cornelius’s lover—a role Johann finds himself taking to surprisingly well.

When a threat is made on Cornelius’s life, Johann learns the secret of the device implanted in his chest—a mythical weapon both warring countries would kill to obtain. Caught up in a political frenzy, in league with pirates, dodging rogue spies, mobsters and princesses with deadly parasols, Cornelius and Johann have no time to contemplate how they ended up in this mess. All they know is, the only way out is together—or not at all.

 

Kimi’s thoughts:

As one might surmise from the blurb and cover, this is a steampunk adventure romance. It has a lot going for it- despite the time it is set, it has a contemporary vibe in tone and doesn’t bog itself down in trying to be overly historical. It stays true to it’s aim, that of of providing swashbuckling adventure with pirates, soldiers, airships, and clockwork while serving up a dollop of romance. It’s a sweet romance on many fronts but this is Heidi Cullinan so it’s not syrupy and there is a definite edge to how our heroes like to play.

The villains are properly heinous, though much less fully fleshed out as characters than our heroes. The plot itself is fast moving though the late introduction of the parasol wielding princess felt a bit overly convenient. All in all though, this was a great way to spend some time if in the mood for something lightly spiced and most definitely fun.

Buy from Amazon

4

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The Other Side of Winter by G.B. Gordon

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From Riptide:

Skanian investigator Bengt fell in love with fellow policeman Alex Rukow in a week. But that was a year ago, and they’ve been apart ever since. Then Alex escapes the corrupt and destitute island nation of Santuario and comes to live with Bengt. Happy ever after . . .?

Alex’s lifelong dream of leaving Santuario has come true at last. But he finds himself adrift in a society he doesn’t understand. Worse, past nightmares come back to haunt him, and after so many years of suspicion and self-reliance, it’s harder than he imagined to trust someone else.

Bengt just wants Alex to share his comfortable life. But the more he tries to give, the more Alex pulls away. Their physical connection couldn’t be better, but Bengt can’t seem to get through to his difficult, taciturn lover outside the bedroom. Meanwhile, he has his own demons to confront—not to mention a serial killer on the loose.

Bengt and Alex must dig deep for the courage to face their pasts, but it may be too late to save their relationship or their lives.

 

Kimi’s thoughts:

It seemed like FOREVER before this came out. No, seriously, it did. You see, I’d been waiting ever since I finished the very last word on the very last of Santuario, so when this came out, I was ecstatic. The story picks up shortly after Alex has left Santuario and begun his new life with Bengt. It’s far from easy though, as culture shock sets in and he finds himself adrift. Add in his PTSD and Bengt’s own issues and you get a volatile mix.

The solutions to the serial killer case and their relationship woes, as well as Alex’s finding his feet, is far from simple. The separate issues become intertwined and the result is a tightly plotted suspense story with realistic romantic nuances. It’s a great read and I’m hoping Gordon continues with this as a series.

Rating: amazing

 

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Legal Briefs by Kyan Christopher Tour with Giveaway

Legal Briefs

Author Name: Kyan Christopher

Book Name: Legal Briefs

Series: Bathhouse Stories

Book: Three

Book three can be read as a standalone, though characters from the first two do show up. Read books one and two for more information on them.

Release Date: November 28, 2015

Blurb:

Josh works hard. Between school and an internship at an investment firm, he has little time and even less funds for an adventurous lifestyle. When a friend buys him a membership to a bathhouse, he encounters his knight in shining armor. But when his regular hookup seems to be too good to be true, suspicions and lies may end the relationship before it even starts.

Kimball’s law firm sends him to New Orleans to expand their Dallas law firm into the Crescent City. Deciding to have a little pleasure while in town for business, Kimball falls for a younger guy that he wants to spend time with. But living his life with secrets may prove to be his undoing, and moving to New Orleans to live out his happily-ever-after may become a distant dream.

Continue reading “Legal Briefs by Kyan Christopher Tour with Giveaway”

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Ghosts of Halloween Past (Sequel to Blind Devotion) by MD Grimm

Dreamspinner Presents

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7016

GhostsofHalloweenPastLGBlurb

Sequel to Blind Devotion

Wolf shifter Sheriff Jack Ulger and cougar shifter Travis Kuger protect the shifters and their human allies living in Haven, Montana. They have known each other for nearly a decade but weren’t always friends. One Halloween night, as teenagers, that changed when Travis saved them both from an abandoned mill and the ghosts haunting it.

Years later, it’s Halloween again, and Travis never shared the ghostly experience with anyone, least of all the skeptic Jack. But he soon regrets the omission when Jack becomes trapped in the same abandoned mill while trying to find two lost kids. Jack must now protect the children, fight off a spiritual attack, and find a way to freedom. Travis knows something is wrong and enlists the help of their friends, and he can only hope they’ll be in time to save Jack from the dark entities.

Review

This is a nice Halloween story that takes a look at Jack and Travis before they’d mated and again, later, after they’d been together awhile.

The ghost story is spooky and creepy – just like you’d want for a Halloween story!

I enjoyed seeing some of the back story for our couple as well as seeing them again, more fully mated.

For fans of the series this is a must read!

4.5 of 5 hearts

4.5

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Blind Devotion (Shifters Book 3) by MD Grimm

Dreamspinner Presents

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3140

 

blind devotionBlurb

“The Shifters: Book Three”

In Haven, Montana, the shifters and their human allies are safe-for now. But that safety hinges on the town’s location remaining a secret, and it’s about to be compromised.

Cougar shifter Travis Kuger spent the past ten years alternating between craving revenge and wishing he could forget his painful past. Ever since the shifter-hating Knights blinded him and killed his family, Haven-and Sheriff Jack Ulger-have been Travis’s refuge.

Travis and Jack know their friendship could be much more, but Jack is part of Haven’s ruling wolf shifter pack. If he takes a non-wolf mate, he’ll be banished forever. But when one of the Knights infiltrates Haven, love becomes the least of their problems.

Review

Travis is hurt by a group of hunters who hate shifters. He finds his way to Haven, a place where shifters can be safe. He is befriended by Jack, but resists anything more because he’s afraid to love again. He lost his entire family to the hunters and can’t risk that kind of emotion again.

Jack has been slowly falling for Travis, for years. But he can’t be with someone not a wolf shifter and still be in the pack’s good graces.

When danger comes to Haven, Travis and Jack are forced to admit their feelings and fight for their right to be together – both against the pack and their own worries.

**

This was a really sweet, slow burn love story. Though there is some danger and some struggle against the pack, most of this is the two of them getting to know one another and slowly growing from friends to lovers.

I love that their pull is as strong as any “True Mate” type attraction, though that isn’t the case. I also loved the magicky stuff the Agency people add to the mix.

I really appreciated the slow pace and easy love in this story and am excited to read the sequel! (I haven’t read books one and two but will absolutely do that now, the continuing saga with the Agency and the Knights is very compelling.)

4 of 5 hearts

4

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The Plumber (Workplace Encounters) by Serena Yates

Dreamspinner Presents

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6979

Plumber[The]LGBlurb

Hard work and long hours have made Will Kovar’s business, Total Plumbing Solutions, a success. When he’s called to fix a bathroom at the Safe Home for Girls and Boys and sees how tight money is for the charity, he’s happy to donate his time. Meeting the home’s manager, Steve Hayes, is an added bonus, especially when Steve invites Will to dinner to thank him for his generosity. Will learns Steve’s wealthy family isn’t happy about his choice to make a career in social work, but neither man expects Steve’s parents to leave eighteen children out on the street to prove their point. Will is determined to help Steve figure out how to provide a safe and happy home—for both the children and themselves.

Review
Will is a plumber and a workaholic. Steve is a social worker who runs a home for Children. Will’s family won’t accept that he’s gay. Steve’s family wants “more for him” than being a social worker.

Though it’s hard, both men work crazy hours, these two guys make the time to be there for one another. When Steve’s home is threatened, they team up to find a solution. Through their steadfastness, they show one another’s families just how wrong they are and how to open themselves up for new “truths”.

**

There is nothing technically “wrong” about this story other than it was very bland. There was no sexual tension. Once they met they began dating. When there was trouble, they discussed it and sorted it out. When there was trouble with work they teamed up and found a good solution.

I just felt no spark from this story. The characters were nice, their romance was sweet, but there wasn’t anything compelling to it.

3 of 5 hearts

3

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For a Rainy Afternoon Audiobook by RJ Scott Narrated by Ian Gordon

Dreamspinner Presents

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7026

ForaRainyAfternoonAUDLGBlurb

Robbie MacIntyre manages a small post office in the old Station House on the outskirts of sleepy Barton Hartshourn northwest of London. He’s stunned when the owner, Maggie, a close friend, bequeaths him not only the post office, but also Station House.

The rest of her estate is left to an American writer, Jason Young, and when he moves to the village, Robbie is thrown by the attraction he has for the man who has more of a claim on the Station House than he does.

Then there is a box that holds several rare first editions and a cookbook. Only when the secrets of the ingredients in a particular recipe are finally revealed does everything begin to make sense, and a love cut short seventy years earlier is finally discovered.

Review

Robbie is a rootless artist who is gifted a benefactor in the form of 80 year old Maggie. She and her ladies read and drink tea at the Post Office/Library she sets up in an old train station. Robbie runs the place and lives in the apartment above it – giving him time and space to paint. This works excellently for 10 years until Maggie dies. She then gifts the entire place to him in her will along with some enigmatic papers and instructions.

Jason, an American, is a long lost distant great-grand-nephew to Maggie. He’s gifted her house and the other half of the enigmatic papers and instructions. Under suspicious circumstances the house he inherits needs massive renovations and he’s forced to seek shelter with Robbie.

Well, it’s a match made in heaven… literally? The two get along great and end up solving Maggie’s “mystery” and living HEA.

**

RJ is a great writer and this short little story is a wonderful example. It’s sweet, very British: full of tea, cold weather and old things! Though the romance between them is quick, and I wish that there was more character development and maybe some more smexy times, but I enjoyed the setting and the sentiment very much.

Audio

Ian Gordon is a lovely British narrator.  It really suited the story and since it’s placed in England I think choosing a British narrator was wonderful.  I did chuckle a bit at his “American” accent.  But it was really cute and it didn’t detract at all.  I loved it!

This is absolutely the best way to appreciate this story.

4.5 of 5 hearts

4.5

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Truth and Consequences: Sarah Madison


PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 240 pages

SERIES: Sixth Sense Book 3

SUMMARY: When FBI agent Jerry Lee Parker wakes from a coma after a murderous attack on his life, he has no memory of his immediate past. In the blink of an eye, he has gone from having a nearly photographic memory to recalling nothing of the last six months of his life, including his partner and lover, John Flynn. While Lee tries to reboot his past and reconnect with John, there are events at play around him he doesn’t understand. John is keeping secrets from him, secrets that could get them both killed.

Matters come to a head when Lee is hounded to turn over a mysterious artifact, of which he has no knowledge. The two men wind up in a fight for their lives as they risk everything to keep the powerful relic out of the hands of a ruthless killer. In order to protect those he loves, however, John may be forced to make a deal with the devil.

REVIEW: This is the third book in the Sixth Sense series and I must say that it’s a pretty damn good. What I like about this series is that the author picks up exactly where we left off in the previous book. Meaning, if she left off with them talking in the car, then that’s where the scene opens in the next book. You’re not left wondering what happened in between if the book opened with them in another place or timeframe.

We left off with Jerry losing his memory after an attack. He has no memory of John, their relationship or the events that led up to the attack. They’re basically starting over getting to know each other. The only thing about this is John, bless his heart, feels that he needs to keep his poor partner in the dark about some of the events leading up to the attack for his own protection. This of course, proves to be a huge mistake because it makes him more vulnerable. Poor Jerry has people after him but has no idea why.

They end up at John’s mother’s home for Jerry’s recuperating and while John’s under investigation for shooting Jerry’s attacker.

Once estranged, John is able to reconnect with his mother. I think that Jerry’s presents facilitated that reunion between mother and son. I absolutely adored John’s mother. She was a delightful surprise. She was a little old lady but she was in no way defenseless or fragile. She was a genteel, gun toting, Southern lady.
I enjoyed reading her and Jerry’s interactions with each other and the criminals (who were total amateurs, by the way) that were after them. Oh, and the cats. I adored reading about Jerry and John and their two fur babies Oliver and Phoenix.

This author did a great job with this book; with this entire series. She has a way with words that I find absolutely delightful. Jerry’s inner monologues were hilarious and that’s another thing about this series that I enjoy: she successfully balances humor,action and suspense, mystery and romance with a touch of steamy sex scenes thrown in. It’s not many sex scenes in this series but that’s quite alright as the plot and storyline is strong and fascinating enough to make up for the lack of it.

Of course the ending of this book is left at one of those oddly benign places where the author can seamlessly pick it up in the next book.

I really look forward to seeing what happens next.

RATING: ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

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Promises (Bounty Hunters 1): A.E. Via

PUBLISHER: Via Star Wings Publishing

LENGTH: 229 pages

SUMMARY: Duke Morgan owns and operates one of the largest bail bond companies in Atlanta. Not only does he bond criminals out of jail, he and his notorious group of bounty hunters will also track them down and ensure they show up for court.

Roman ‘Quick’ Webb is Duke’s business partner and best friend. Both men are in their forties and have given up on the happily ever after with the ranch-style home, and white picket fence. They’d both tried it and failed miserably. But they have their friendship and they have the business.

When Quick’s son, Vaughan Webb returns – after seven years – from studying abroad with his law degree in hand, he’s back to claim what he’s always wanted…his fathers’ best friend… Duke Morgan. Vaughan has always claimed to be a classic gentleman with an old soul. He didn’t party and screw up in school like his buddies. He was focused and dedicated to becoming the man worthy of Duke’s love.

It’s a complex and messy situation as Duke and Quick figure out how to still be best friends when one of them is sleeping with his friend’s one and only son. But when Duke is hurt on the job, all the unimportant trivialities fall to the wayside and Vaughan and Quick put their heads together to save Duke.

Part I of the Promises story is about Duke and Vaughan. Part II will be about Quick and his realization that it’s not too late for any of them to find love.

REVIEW: I love A.E. Via’s books like a fat girl loves cake. And it just so happens that I am a chubby girl who loves her pogey-bakes.

Her books are filled to capacity with tough, rough and tumble, kick ass and take names, no-nonsense, testosterone fueled hot bodied, sexy MEN. There aren’t any pretty boy twinks in her books. These are grown ass MEN.

Duke is a bounty hunter who’s trying really just getting over a heartbreak. He’s surviving but not really living. Sure, he had his businesses and his friends but he goes home to an empty bed every night.

This is where his best friend’s son, Vaughan comes in. In my mind, I was thinking that Vaughan was going to be this inexperienced young guy who is seduced by the father’s best friend. Of course, this was prior to reading the blurb. Then I mentally smacked myself. I mean, come on now: this is an A.E. Via story, so they’re full grown guys between those pages.

Vaughan was in no way a boy. He was a man who knew at an early age that Duke was his. He waited patiently, biding his time getting himself together basically becoming the man that he knew Duke wanted and needed. Always mature for his age, Vaughan was up front with his father about his plans for Duke from the beginning when he was a teenager.

Duke wasn’t expecting Vaughan to be the hot and sexy adult man that he is now. He remembers the mature teenager and I think he expected Vaughan to be interested in men his own age.

I don’t want to give too much away but when I tell you that this book is deliciously written, I mean it. These characters, dialogue, storyline is very well written. What I particularly love about this book was that neither man didn’t play these silly little live games with each other. Vaughan was clear about who and what he wanted and he went after it and Duke, first thought about how his best friend worried was going to take it. Once Duke received the okay from Quick (as if Quick could stop his 30 year old son from being with him), he didn’t put up a fight.

What I especially loved was how you knew how much Vaughan loved Duke. Vaughan did one of the most tremendously selfless act of love I’ve ever read in a book. When he did this, you knew that (if you weren’t 100% convinced already) that Vaughan Webb loved—LOVED him some Duke Morgan.  Talk about dropping the mic and walking off the stage!

As usual, Mz. Via cooked up some fierce words in this book. She served us a full course Sunday dinner of fierce with this book; every word was delicious.

Take off that apron, come out of that kitchen and take a bow. You put your ‘foot in the pot’ with this one.

I for one can not wait to see what happens in book 2 with Quick and the sexy Dr. Chauncey.

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RATING: ???AMAZING???

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon

Via Star Wings 

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