Varro Dacien spends his life riding toward the next adventure. Brian Christie, his best friend and touchstone, the one person who’s always truly seen him, plays sidekick on these madcap adventures and subsequent trips to the hospital until he can’t take it anymore. While Brian can see Varro, Varro has never caught on that he’s breaking his best friend’s heart.
Without Varro, Brian builds himself a life that’s all about just getting by, doing his best to ignore the hole in his heart and his life. Without Brian to balance him, Varro pushes harder and takes more risks to reach that ultimate high. His job racing high-octane bikes on suicide-level courses makes it easy to get that rush… until it’s no longer enough and Varro realizes it’s not the race, but who’s waiting at the finish line that truly matters. Now he just has to convince Brian to be there.
Review
Varro and Brian have been best friends since they were thrown together as foster kids. Varro is wild, crazy, an adrenaline junky and straight. Brian is quiet, studious, a rock and gay. Of course Brian has wanted Varro forever, but not been willing to act on it for the obvious reasons.
Varro is a motorcycle racer and Brian goes out on the circuit to help him stay focused and safe for an entire year. During that year it becomes clear that Brian can’t stay around Varro without completely losing his heart so he opts to leave the circuit to pursue his own dreams.
Varro misses Brian and begins to evaluate his feelings more closely.
When the two get together it is super-nova hot and sweet at the same time.
Though I hate to “spoil” things for you – this is one quote that epitomizes their relationship for me:
“I love you, Brian.” I leaned forward to meet his dark gaze and whisper the words he needed to hear and I needed to say. “I love you, Varro, so much.” “Swear it,” he said and held out his pinky with his right hand as he fisted my cock with his left.
“What’re we?” My voice dropped off. “Ten?” “I am. You’re nine. Now swear.” I hooked his pinky with mine as he pushed up from under me. “Jesus, Varro, you feel so good.” “So do you.” His voice sounded like sandpaper as he reached up and hooked a hand behind my neck, drawing me down to him.
So, in my constant bid to bring the books I love to audiobook format, I highly recommend this amazing and wonderful book!
A Blue Notes novel.
Blame it on jet lag. Jason Greene thought he had everything: a dream job as a partner in a large Philadelphia law firm, a beautiful fiancée, and more money than he could ever hope to spend. Then he finds his future wife in bed with another man, and he’s forced to rethink his life and his choices. On a moment’s notice, he runs away to Paris, hoping to make peace with his life.
But Jason’s leave of absence becomes a true journey of the heart when he meets Jules, a struggling jazz violinist with his own cross to bear. In the City of Love, it doesn’t take them long to fall into bed, but as they’re both about to learn, they can’t run from the past. Sooner or later, they’ll have to face the music.
Note: Each Blue Notes novel is an independent story, although the characters all inhabit the same classical-music universe. Books in the series can be listened to in any order.
Review
This is my first book by Shira Anthony and it was very good. I really loved how she wove the music throughout the entire story, using the music analogies to move the story forward very fluidly.
I think the writing is excellent and for the first part of the book I was really compelled. It started to unravel for me when our MC Jason aka “Jaz” falls under the spell of the alluring Frenchman so easily. For a straight guy (mostly entirely straight guy) it felt a bit too easy.
I loved watching the couple fall in love and Jules is an engaging character. I was really rooting for him and his budding music career. However… I was really disappointed by “the big misunderstanding”. I could see Jules getting mad when he sees Diane (the ex) in Jason’s arms, but when both have declared the big “L” word wouldn’t he at least give him a fighting chance at an explanation… especially after he calls so many times. And Jason, he claims he could never find the man to properly explain – but he’s homeless! How hard could it be to track him down through his job or his friends?
I think it would have been a more poignant story had they dealt with the more real hurdle of their huge age difference, their different life styles and the fact that they live on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
That being said, there was a lot of really great writing and I thought the love story between the two was very sweet and steamy.
Audio
Peter B Brooke, with your vaguely southern twang… what an amazing French accent you have!!
I absolutely adored listening to this because he did such great work with both the French and the accented English. It was practically flawless (to my non-French speaking ears)!
I really think the audio is the way to take in this story – his narration adds so much flavor to the characters that it absolutely raised my rating from a 3.25 to a 4.25 of 5 hearts.
My name is Jamie Atwood, and I’m an addict. I never thought I’d say such a thing. Never had a problem being overly-attached to anything in my life. I came from a perfectly middle-class family, made good grades, and had a hot cheerleader girlfriend… but the truth is, nothing ever really moved me. So how did a guy like me become an addict?
I met Michael Kage.
Kage is an MMA fighter. A famous one. I like to think I helped him get that way.
He’s charming as hell, with looks to rival any movie star and talent to back it up. So why did he need to hire me as an intern Publicist? Simple. He has a darkness in him– like a black hole so deep it could swallow him, and me, and everyone we know– and that’s not good for business.
The first time I met him, I felt the pull. I think the addiction began at that very moment. And even if I’d known then what I know now, I would have fallen for him. How could I not?
For me, Kage is everything.
Review
I have to start out by saying “oh god the ending” That was not what I was expecting…
Jamie Atwood is a 20 year old college student with a girlfriend who he just can’t seem to really connect with. He gets an opportunity to attend an MMA fight as part of his Journalism project. He then meets MMA fighter Michael Kage who is there as a spectator. Jamie notices him right away and is drawn to his commanding presence. They engage in some conversation and Jamie mentions that he really hopes to be a publicist.
Kage shows some interest and some time later Jamie finds himself being invited to Las Vegas to act as an intern/publicist for Michael Kage. Jamie is so pumped and jumps at the chance to go to Vegas for the summer and get hands on experience. He definitely gets more than he bargained for.
Michael Kage is one intriguing character. He has so many layers. He is funny, gorgeous and mysterious. I loved how descriptive the author is in describing Kage’s looks. I definitely had this lovely picture in my head of muscles on top of muscles with gorgeous skin. We get glimpses of sweetness and anger. He’s pretty vague about his background and drops little bits of information about himself that leads the reader to believe there is more to him than meets the eye. He’s not just a fighter and he’s not just a hot guy with a great body. He seems like he knows what it is to struggle and work hard to get what he wants.
Jamie and Kage have such great chemistry when they are together. Jamie can’t help but check him out and study him at every opportunity. I liked the banter between them and I enjoyed their “work out” sessions.
Jamie has always been aware of how good looking he is and isn’t averse to using his looks to his benefit whether it be with women or men. I think that awareness of how his looks affect men made him not freak out so much when Kage and Jamie find themselves having a sleep over with one of Kage’s old friends. When their relationship becomes physical the hotness literally leaps off the pages.
Jamie’s way of describing Kage’s physicality rang true. He admired every muscle, every drop of sweat on Kage. Jamie is so accepting to being physical with Kage once he decides to go for it. He’s never been with a guy before and that really turns Kage on. The first time they actually have sex is off the charts hot. It was hot, hard and dirty.
Kage I think is a much darker character than any other character that Maris has written. It kind of threw me off (his aggressiveness) but it was also a turn on for Kage to be so forceful. I think it threw me because as I said I haven’t read a character like this in any of Maris’ books…but it worked because Kage is rough and tough but he has this sweet and fun side to him. He is a huge flirt and he knows that his looks totally push Jamie’s buttons. I loved the glimpses of Kage’s vulnerability throughout the book…It humanized him and made him not be just “the machine”. He is a scary guy when he gets angry and I need to know why he is the way he is.
I was literally squirming in my seat reading their scene together but it was definitely hot and Jamie fell into submission so beautifully. He would do whatever Kage wanted him to and he was ok with that.
I wanted to shake Jamie and Kage towards the end of the story. Some misunderstandings happen and Kage completely blows up… Ugh!
The ending was just ugh! Crazy! I was so upset. I wanted some type of resolution. My heart broke for the both of them and I don’t know how they’re going to fix it.
I loved this book. I really did. I loved that it took me out of my comfort zone a little because it’s not like Maris’ other books and because of that fact I will definitely be biting my nails til August. Ugh! August??!! Really?
Daily Dose Short Story from Dreamspinner: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6549 Blurb
When a stranger runs into Douglas, makes him spill his coffee, and offers to buy him another one, Douglas thinks that’s all it will be. Even though the man is gorgeous. Even though his daughter has other plans. Turns out, the stranger, Anthony, has other plans as well, and Douglas soon agrees to go to a movie with Anthony. It’s absolutely not a date. Douglas has slept with men, sure, but he isn’t gay. Or bisexual. No matter what Anthony says.
However, a late night and a frank conversation with his daughter’s best friend leaves Douglas with a different opinion. Not that he plans on letting Anthony know he considers it a date. It’s too much fun to wind Anthony up. After one not-so-perfect date, Douglas thinks maybe if he keeps Anthony around, turning fifty won’t be so bad.
Review
Doug has never dated a man, though he’s messed around with a couple in college. He’s divorced from a woman and about to become an empty-nester. One day, at a coffee shop, he literally runs into a guy and the attraction between the two men is encouraged by Doug’s 18 year old daughter.
Over a cup of coffee, Anthony, a much younger man than Doug, convinces Doug to at least try being friends and Doug agrees to a “friend date” of a movie.
Feeling awkward, he solicits advice from his daughter’s gay friend and decides to be open-minded about the date.
Things go well on the date and by the end Doug and Anthony are a couple.
**
I love short stories and what they can accomplish. This one tried to make a simple statement – keep an open-mind, you never know how your own prejudices can hamper you.
It was not a terribly convincing move from straight/exploring to openly dating and gay sex. I never really liked Doug, even his daughter calls him an asshole and he kinda is. Other than a basic physical attraction, I never saw what Anthony saw in him and so as a story I was never really “sold”.
I appreciated the moral and the writing itself was good, but I think I needed a bit more time with the characters to make this great leap.
It’s the summer of 1983, and Trent Days is Major League Baseball’s rookie sensation. Since he was born in Alaska to an Inupiat mother, the press have dubbed him the Eskimo Slugger, but a midseason collision at home plate temporarily halts his meteoric rise to the top.
Sent back to Austin to recuperate, Trent visits his favorite record store, Inner Sanctum, where he meets amiable law student Brendan Baxter. A skip in the vinyl of New Order’s “Blue Monday” drives Trent back to Brendan, and their romance takes them into uncharted territory. As Trent’s feelings move from casual to serious, he’s faced with an impossible dilemma. Does he abandon any hope of a future with Brendan and return to the shadows and secrets of professional sports? Or does he embrace the possibility of real love and leave baseball behind him forever? As he struggles with his decision, Trent embarks on a journey of self-discovery to figure out who he really is and what matters most.
Book review(Previously posted on this site.)
Trent is a baseball player from Alaska, thus the name Eskimo Slugger. He’s at the top of his game when he gets injured and ends up spending two weeks in Austin, TX. There he meets Brendan, a law student/record store clerk. They start as friends but once Brendan tentatively asks Trent “Is this a date?” the two acknowledge the deeper aspect of their blossoming relationship. The two immediately set sparks off one another, though neither has ever had a gay relationship before.
With some pretty funny forays into gay sex, the two explore each other and a relatively unexplored aspect to their personalities. For Brendan, being gay is something he’s pondered but been afraid of, but with the right incentive he embraces the idea and eventually decides to incorporate into his life fully and without secrecy.
For Trent, being gay means possibly (probably) the end of his career, certainly the end of his life as it stands currently, and though he’s always known he was gay, he has never let himself entertain the idea that he could actually live as a gay man.
Brendan enlists the help of Stanton and Hutch (from The Return) as “gay mentors” and together, with Bill Walsh (from The Nothingness of Ben) the group bonds, smoke a lot of weed and begin to form relationships that even death won’t end.
Ultimately, Trent has to make the biggest decision of his life: Choose baseball or choose Brendan. Perhaps the two can be together, but probably it’s one or the other.
**
By now you should have read the first two books (The Nothingness of Ben and The Return). If you haven’t – go! What are you waiting for? Technically this could be a standalone, I guess, but it won’t make a heck of a lot of sense and will leave you very unsatisfied.
If you have read the other books you know that the end of this book is really the beginning of TNOB. That, Brad Boney, is an amazing feat! Mr. Boney has managed to create this beautiful circular set of books that literally bleeds one into the other so that (as a reader) you want to just keep going round and round the merry-go-round.
I found myself referencing both of the earlier books time and again with the “treasures” that were revealed throughout this book. Without completely giving away all the secrets just know that the MCs of all three books are inter-related in various ways and little bits of their stories, past and present are slipped in throughout the story.
In The Return it was all about music – fast paced facts and quips, with Slugger it’s baseball. For me, the music was more interesting, but if you are a baseball fan this will really hit home. (See what I did there?)
I didn’t like the love story as much in Slugger as in The Return or TNOB, probably because it happens so quickly. I just never felt the emotion – especially from Brendan. Trent was invested, you get that feeling so strongly. Brendan was too standoffish for me and it made me a little sad. But… since I know what I know about how things end… he’s forgiven ☺.
I really, really enjoyed these books and was sad to see it end. I can’t say for sure, but I think that if I were to recommend a reading order I would say start with The Return, then Slugger then finish with TNOB. There may be something “missing” with that order, but I think, ultimately, it will be so much more satisfying. Or… do as the author may have intended and read it : TNOB, Return, Slugger, TNOB… and so on and so on…
Just a fantastic book all around, 5 of 5 hearts and for the series 6 of 5!
Audio
Michael Ferraluolo did an excellent job with this! I adored Charlie David and was disappointed he didn’t narrate this, the third of the series. I think the continuity would have been great. But… Michael didn’t disappoint with his performance. He has a great voice that is easy to listen to, did a nice job differentiating the characters, really got into the emotion of the story and even managed to do a nice job with the female voices.
All in all I am sticking with 6 of 5 hearts for this in either book or audio form!
(Book 3 of the A Vampire In Waikiki series)
Waikiki vampire Jimmy Thunder is excited to finally have his cherished mate Tem all to himself. With their family members gone, and this being Valentine’s Day, he has one thing on his mind—some hot undead, man-on-man action. Except Jimmy’s life is never that simple.
Tem is troubled by bad dreams of the life he left behind. And Jimmy, the go-to guy for Waikiki’s undead denizens, is required to come up with a new Ma Ma Loa. But who, or what, is a Ma Ma Loa? Can’t a guy be left in piece to enjoy love’s most famous day? NOTE: This book was previously published (with no assigned ISBN). This reissued version of the book has been reedited.
Review
This short story starts with Tem remembering his sordid past and feeling depressed because his brother moved away. But now it’s Valentine’s day and Jimmy has something exciting to give him.
There is lots – lots and lots – of sex. A fair amount of whining. Some really interesting folklore. And another happy ending for our pair of unique Hawaiian Vampires.
I didn’t love this book simply because Tem was really annoying for most of the book. I did enjoy the folklore and I still love Jimmy.
BLURB: As former NSA, Dayton (Day) Ingram has national security chops and now works as a technical analyst for Scorpion. He longs for fieldwork, and scuttling an attack gives him his chance. He’s smart, multilingual, and a technological wizard. But his opportunity comes with a hitch—a partner, Knighton (Knight), who is a real mystery. Despite countless hours of research, Day can find nothing on the agent, including his first name!
Former Marine Knight crawled into a bottle after losing his family. After drying out, he’s offered one last chance: along with Day, stop a terrorist threat from the Yucatan. To get there without drawing suspicion, Day and Knight board a gay cruise, where the deeply closeted Day and equally closeted Knight must pose as a couple. Tensions run high as Knight communicates very little and Day bristles at Knight’s heavy-handed need for control.
But after drinking too much, Day and Knight wake up in bed. Together. As they near their destination, they must learn to trust and rely on each other to infiltrate the terrorist camp and neutralize the plot aimed at the US’s technological infrastructure, if they hope to have a life after the mission. One that might include each other.
REVIEW: I went into this book expecting to love it. Reading the blurb, I was really excited to get started on it. This is why I was so heartbroken at being disappointed by it. The actual writing wasn’t bad at all, the editing was fantastic. It was the technical aspect and tone of the book in certain parts that I just didn’t ‘gel’ with. The first think that I found odd was the story’s et up. You ah e s guy who’s under attack by these thugs. Day moves in to help the poor fellow out but reaches into his pocket for his phone to dial 911 only to realize it’s dead. Okay, now here is where it gets a bit odd. He’s standing there contemplating the why and how that is. In the meantime, what’s going on with the thugs attacking the kid? Did they stop what they were doing while he was pondering his phone’s battery life? i found that very odd and it threw the rest of the story off for me. Then there’s the technical aspect. Costa Maya, Quintana Roo, was made to sound like it was this isolated or remote area when that is not the case. Curious at to where it is, I ended up Googling the region and was surprised when I found a small, but touristy region. So in looking at this, I asked myself if it was the type of place where the locals or any government entity would not notice a building or base, if you will, set up and run by a group of individuals not native to the area, and no one is going to question it? That, more than anything, confused me. Also, I felt that their characters were a bit cold; I couldn’t seem to connect with any of them. Like I’ve stated earlier, the writing itself wasn’t bad, it was just the poor research and lack of character depth that did the book in for me. RATING: ❤️❤️❤️
The Rebuilding Year, Book 2
After spending the first part of his life chasing pretty girls, love has finally come to Ryan in the form of John, a tall, lanky, red-headed landscape architect with wide shoulders and a five-o’clock shadow.
For the first time in his life, love feels easy. Hell, he even ran into a burning building for John and his son, and he’d do it again if he had to. But telling his father and brothers “I’m gay. I’ve met a man”? That’s a bumpy ride he’s not looking forward to.
For John, loving Ryan is as natural as breathing. Now if only the rest of his life would fall into place. Dealing with his teen son is complicated enough, but with his ex-wife causing trouble and his daughter wanting to move in, John’s house—and his relationship with Ryan—threaten to split at the seams.
Would one month without a new surprise knocking him upside the heart be asking too much? If the sound of Fate’s laughter is any indication, the answer must be yes… Product Warnings Contains two formerly straight guys learning to navigate the gay-guy waters, sometimes without a paddle. Plus six kinds of family ensuring nothing comes easy.
Review
First, this is the sequel to The Rebuilding Year, and you must have read it before for this lovely novel to mean anything to you.
We left off with Ryan just telling his dad he’d met a man… This is the story of how to build a life with someone AFTER the initial blush of romance.
And that’s just it – it takes work, assembly. John and Ryan have to work at their relationship. They have to battle John’s crazy (seriously crazy) ex-wife Cynthia for John’s kids and their sanity. They have to battle Ryan’s homophobic brother and his Dad’s less than warm welcome. Ryan has to continually battle his pain.
What they don’t do is battle each other. That was a really nice touch. Sometimes – in sequels – the couple separates and we have to fight to bring them back together again, almost like a new story. In this case John and Ryan’s love for each other is strong and pervasive. The world throws them curve balls and they work as a team to hit them out of the park.
I loved the emerging personalities in John’s kids. Torrie is a force to be reckoned with and I loved her teen-age angst and thought it felt very authentic.
This wasn’t as “hot” as The Rebuilding Year – not that there isn’t plenty of great sex – there is – but the sexual tension was less and the book focused more on the emotional growth of the relationship at the same time the couple “experiments” with their newfound sex life.
The Rebuilding Year is one of my all time favorite books and it set an extremely high bar. I loved catching up with the guys and learning more about their lives. Kaje Harper is an amazing writer and she crafted another excellent story here. For me, it wasn’t quite as amazing as it’s predecessor, but it was still wonderful and a must read for her fans and fans of the first book.
“Daddy” is not a title Rue Murray wanted, but he never thought he’d have sex with a woman either. Now he’s the unwitting father of a newborn named Alice. Between bartending and cosmetology school, Rue doesn’t have time for babies, but he can’t give her up. What Rue needs is a babysitter, and he’s running out of options. He’s on the verge of quitting school to watch Alice himself when he remembers his reclusive new neighbor, Erik.
Erik Van Nuys is a sci-fi novelist with anxiety issues to spare. He doesn’t like people in general, and he likes babies even less. Still, with his royalties dwindling, he could use the extra cash. Reluctantly, he takes on the role of manny—and even more reluctantly, he finds himself falling for Alice and her flamboyant father.
Rue and Erik are as different as two people can be, and Alice is the unlikeliest of babies, but Rue has never been happier than when Alice and Erik are by his side. At least, not until he receives an offer that puts all his dreams within reach and he’s forced to choose: the future he’s always wanted, or the family he thought he never did.
Review
Rue ends up becoming a daddy when his experiment with heterosexual sex ends up with a broken condom! He elects to keep the baby himself even though he’s really not equipped to handle a newborn. Lucky for him his neighbor – a mostly hermitted writer- needs the extra cash being a babysitter can provide.
Erik is the quintessential nerd and has very few social skills as compared to Rue’s very extroverted personality. Together they find that one nerd plus one flirt can equal one very solid and fulfilling relationship.
**
I LOVED this book! Erik is such a great character – broody, grumpy, awkward. His exploration into gay sex by converting his poorly selling sci-fi into gay-sci-fi is hysterical and hot!
The writing is smooth and flows easily. There is some angst when Rue and Erik need to decide how “real” their relationship is and the baby is there just enough to provide the glue for their new family.
I thought the narrator did a great job with Erik’s stuttering and didn’t make Rue over the top. It was very easy to listen to and added to the overall enjoyment of the book.
Sometimes the best thing you can get for Christmas is knowing what you really want.
Rusty Baker is a blond, rich, entitled football player in a high school full of them—just the type of oblivious jock all the bullied kids hate. And he might have stayed that way, except he develops a friendship with out-and-proud Oliver Campbell from the wrong side of the tracks. Rusty thinks the friendship is just pity—Oliver is very bright, and Rusty is very not—but then Oliver kisses him goodbye when Rusty leaves for college, and Rusty is forced to rethink everything he knows about himself.
But even Rusty’s newfound awareness can’t help him survive a semester at Berkeley. He returns home for Thanksgiving break clinging to the one thing he knows to be true: Oliver Campbell is the best thing that’s ever happened to him.
Rusty’s parents disagree, and Rusty finds himself homeless for the holidays. Oliver may not have much money, but he’s got something Rusty has never known: true family. With their help and Oliver’s love, Rusty comes to realize that he may have failed college, but he’ll pass real life with flying rainbow colors.
Review
Rusty is a good kid. He’s popular. Plays sports. Has girlfriends. Does what his parents tell him to. He’s not the “quickest” but he’s not stupid either.
Oliver is the “new brown kid”. He’s small. Snarky. Gay. And in need of a friend. Despite Rusty’s peer group’s objections, Rusty befriends Oliver and Oliver helps Rusty through his last year of high school.
When it comes time for Rusty to go to Berkley, where he just knows he’s going to fail, Oliver does all he can to assure him that he’ll be there for him and that he knows Rusty won’t get lost in the shuffle. And… he kisses Rusty.
Rusty is left at school, lost, scared, trapped with a crazy but warm-hearted-hyper-sexual-roommate, and the memory of Oliver’s kiss to make him question everything he is or wants to be.
When it becomes apparent that Rusty is in fact NOT ready for Berkley – though he tries damn hard – he is ready for Oliver and KNOWS that Oliver is more than just his best friend. When Rusty gets home for Thanksgiving Oliver is there to greet him and the two kiss again. This time they get caught by Rusty’s homophobic family who immediately throw Rusty out of the house.
Luckily Oliver’s dad is amazing and he helps Rusty to get his bearings again.
What follows is Rusty’s jump into the deep end of adulthood and his navigation of his first real relationship that also happens to be his first gay relationship. Oliver’s impatience and love both help and hinder him in this process, but the underlying support he and his dad offer Rusty give him the strength to grow into the man he needs to become.
**
This is another of my all-time favorite Amy Lane books. Another one I’m hoping will soon become an Audiobook. (Hint, hint!)
Rusty is so very lost but he’s also so sweet and lovable you want to reach through the pages and wrap him in blankets and kiss his cheeks.
Oliver is just smart and snarky enough to ease the saccharine sweetness of Rusty’s goodness and make them a real, fun, and sexy couple.
I loved the interactions with the secondary characters. The role model of Oliver’s dad. The hilarity of the cousins. The hero-worship of Rusty’s sister. And the eventual grace of Rusty’s parents.
I read this book when I need a warm hug on a rainy afternoon and it always makes me feel better.
Blurb
![BlueNotes[2ndEd]AUDMed](https://i0.wp.com/kimichanexperience.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/BlueNotes2ndEdAUDMed.jpg?ssl=1)
![EskimoSlugger[The]AUDMED](https://i0.wp.com/kimichanexperience.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/EskimoSluggerTheAUDMED.jpg?ssl=1)
