Some people might call Avery Babineaux a prick. He’s a hedgehog shifter from an old-money Louisiana family with a penchant for expensive shoes and a reputation for being a judgmental snob. His attitude is why he and his fated mate are estranged. Not that Avery cares. He doesn’t want to be mated to some blue-collar werewolf anyway. Or so he keeps telling himself.
No werewolf likes to be looked down upon, least of all Dylan Green. He doesn’t need a mate, especially not some snotty hedgehog who sneers at his custom motorcycle shop and calls him a grease monkey. But when Avery gets into trouble with a shady loan shark, Dylan can’t stand by and let him be hurt—whether he wants the brat or not.
Yet once Dylan steps into Avery’s world, he realizes there’s more to Avery than his prickly exterior, and that unexpected vulnerability calls to Dylan’s protective instincts. The sassy little hedgehog needs a keeper, and despite their horrible first impressions, Dylan starts to believe he might be the wolf for the job.
Review
Avery is a hedgehog shifter who has decided to leave his home territory of Louisiana and move to Oregon after falling in love with the state during college. Shifter law dictates that he must join the local wolf pack since Portland falls in that jurisdiction. Though his family has always looked down upon wolf shifters, Avery doesn’t care a bit, and happily joins the pack.
Avery finds his mate, a wolf, and in a drunken mistake, throws him over for not being “good enough”. Dylan is of course hurt, and somewhat glad, because he doesn’t ever want a mate anyway.
Two years go by, and the mates avoid each other at all costs. It isn’t until Avery ends up in trouble because of some gambling debts that they spend any significant time together.
Luckily, the time spent together, coupled with some important new ways of looking at things, shows them that they do have something in common and a future together.
**
This is a bit longer and a little different than the average “shifter” romance. For one, though the instant attraction is there, it isn’t acted upon until much later in the story. In addition, the side stories – Avery’s gambling problems first and later a missing female wolf shifter – take up a lot of the book.
The world building is excellent and the character development is also well done. I enjoyed the romance between Dylan and Avery but I was disappointed by how little time they spent together.
I wish we’d had more of them working on the crime solving together and had seen more of them developing their romance more.
The writing was really good and I am definitely interested in seeing more from this series.
Archer Hart is on the move before the man he’s just killed is found. When a bullet whizzes past his ear, he realizes hunter is now hunted. So much for his retirement plans. Someone wants him dead and all he can do is keep running.
Downed by a hit and run driver, barrister Conrad Black is certain the ‘accident’ was deliberate but he has no proof or support. In recovery, struggling to work out of partial paralysis, he has plenty of time to wonder who regrets not striking him harder. At this point, running anywhere is a distant dream.
The confidence, determination and stamina of two alphas males will mean little if neither is willing to bend—seize the love offered—and work together to understand why they’re suddenly both marked men. Not easy for either when Archer has broken the law in the worst possible way and Conrad is the law.
Review
Wow! Another amazing, gripping, very HOT and tender love story from Barbara Elsborg.
We met Conrad in book one, he was Malachi’s ex, the controlling, self-centered, almost kinda evil guy, who redeems himself at the end. He’s been struck down by a hit and run driver and was paralyzed from the accident – briefly. While he’s on the mend, he takes himself to a beach cottage and searches for the person he’s convinced tried to make the hit and run look like an accident.
On a walk one day he sees a surfer nearly drown and risks his own life to save him. That man is Archer, a murder-for hire who is trying to get out of the business. Archer also has someone after him – and he needs time to figure out who that is.
Together, these broken men – both uber alpha – struggle against their powerlessness, their attraction to one another and their pasts.
Of course – neither trusts the other – one being on the side of the law and the other being on the side of the highest bidder.
As the story unfolds it becomes clear that the men might have more of a connection than just the beach rescue.
(I’m not going into that more here – you’ll just have to read it to find out!)
**
As with book one, I thought this was an amazing story with really richly developed characters who organically grew and changed over the course of the story until they became the men who could accept the deep and abiding love that finally finds them.
I grew a bit tired at the secondary plot – it was certainly important – but I wanted to skim parts of the “intrigue” and “action” scenes.
I absolutely loved how Conrad turned from villain to good guy. It felt very real and authentic and not at all forced.
The final scenes were a little confusing to me – I wasn’t sure what Archer’s motivations were in keeping Conrad in the dark for so long – but… in the end it all worked out really beautifully and the epilogue was both hot and terribly sweet!
Alexandra Monzelle is a hard-fighting, heat-packing Seattle vice cop, and she’s not much interested in being protected. Her short skirt and sex-kitten heels are tools to lure her suspects into talking about the deadly new drug hitting the streets. She can take care of herself and then some. Unfortunately, she can’t seem to get that through to Kellach Dunne.
Kellach is a fresh import from Dublin, and he’s landed at the heart of a vicious motorcycle club that deals in guns, narcotics, and mayhem. He’s all male, all rough power—and all interference in her damn investigation. Maybe he’s one of the good guys. Maybe not. Lex knows an affair with an immortal like him would risk everything. No matter how delicious he looks…
Review
Another departure (for me) from m/m. Rebecca Zanetti has been another of my favorite romantic paranormal writers for a long time. I love her “Dark Protector Series” and this is a spin-off, but the same universe and still some of the same characters.
In this case: Alexandra is a vice cop in Seattle and Kellach is a witch and an enforcer in Seattle. Both are trying to get the drug Apollo off the street, but for different reasons.
At first it is the simple misunderstanding keeping them on opposing sides: she thinks he’s a bad guy, he thinks she’s hot.
Then, she thinks he might be a good guy, he’s pretty sure she’s hot.
Then she knows he’s a good guy, but he’s still keeping secrets from her; he know’s she hot, and he’s keeping secrets from her.
Finally, they get together and BAM – he accidentally … uh – well now that’d be tellin’ – but something happens and now she knows he’s keeping things from her and that he’s a good guy and he has hell to pay; he can’t believe what he did – thank god she’s hot.
After a bit more waffling about they finally manage to defeat the bad guy, give in to true love and chemistry and with a slight little twist at the end, all’s well that ends well.
**
As far as this series goes: it was great seeing the other folks from the Dark Protectors. I wasn’t too impressed with either the hero or the heroine, though the Grizzlies – Bear, etc; seem very intriguing.
I got frustrated with Alex’s repeated trust issues and wonder why in the world Kell would put up with all that. On the one hand she seemed to swallow the paranormal stuff super easy, but at any hint that Kell may have a different agenda then what he’s told her – she’d jump off the deep end into distrust.
I also would have liked to see more of her special powers… that’s the fun part of paranormal romance – the cool crap you can do!
All in all it was good, but not great. I’ll still read the next book because it was definitely good enough.
On September 1, 2011, TJ Klune wrote, “…it’s not about the ending, it’s about the journey…” in a review of Eric Arvin’s Woke Up in a Strange Place. With those words, two men began a journey of love and invited us to ride along. TJ and Eric have shared so much with us: their wonderful books, their smiles, their humor, their lives, and their inspiring devotion to each other. In December of 2013, their journey took a detour when Eric was taken to the emergency room. He survived the surgery to remove a cavernous hemangioma from his brain stem, but the challenges TJ and Eric face are far from over.
The authors in this anthology donated their talent as a way to support Eric’s continued recovery, to help bring strength to TJ, and to show both of them just how much love surrounds them. Grand Adventures is a diverse range of stories about the journey of love. We’re going on some grand adventures for a great cause. Thank you for joining us.
One hundred percent of the income from this volume goes directly to TJ and Eric.
Reviews
Teeny Tiny Blurbs:
(Audio chapters)
3-Prologue by Brandon Witt, Narrator Andrew McFerrin
Touching explanation of the book, the situation with TJ and Eric and blessings for the future.
4-An Unexpected Thing by John Amory, Narrator Peter B Brooke
Established lovers travel to Seattle and find unexpected kindness.
5-The Twinkie Ignition by J.E. Birkm, Narrator Nick J Russo
A super cute story about a guy who never had a birthday party and how his amazing friends give him one – after they set fire to a bunch of Twinkies!
6-Simple Desires by Tempeste O’Riley, Narrator Aaron Pickering
This is based on her previous stories, but is a stand alone.
7-What You Will by Tinnean, Narrator John Solo
Another snippet from the author’s previous works.
8-Air (Roads #1.75 million) by Garrett Leigh, Narrator Finn Sterlin
A trip with Ash and Joe to the park.
9-Object of Care by Zahra Owens, Narrator Andrew McFerrin
Flynn and Gabel and a kitten.
10-Water Under the Bridge by Mia Kerick, Narrator Nick J Russo
A sweet story about two young lovers and a bridge.
11-From Fantasy to Friends by CR Guiliano, Narrator Aaron Pickering
A man goes back to college and re-visits a fantasy about a straight professor who turns out to be gay.
12-That Place Across the Hall by C.C. Dado, Narrator John Solo
A really cute short story about a guy who falls in love with his neighbor.
Josh has a (typical-for-him) one-night-stand-guy in his apartment when someone (his June Cleaver-eque) neighbor bangs on his door to invite him to a party for one of the other tenants. John isn’t a joiner. He has tattoos. He sleeps around. He doesn’t do relationships.
Brandon is all about relationships and has “fancied” John since day one.
The brief meet and greet at the party leads to a complete change in John’s thinking and Brandon manages to capture the heart of the lone wolf.
13-Mistaken MD by Phoenix Emrys, Narrator Peter B Brooke
Two people meet over a stethoscope.
14-When Friendship Becomes More by Sophie Bonaste, Narrator Nick J Russo
Two friends find love on a camping trip.
15-The Exhibition by Andrea Speed, Narrator Finn Sterlin
A short story from the Infected series Roan and Dylan.
16-Holding Court by Cardeno C, Narrator Peter B Brooke
An older guy has a one night stand and years later finds out there are still fires burning between the two lovers.
17-Cops and Comix by Rhys Ford, Narrator John Solo
A cop falls in love with a nerdy comic store owner after discovering a dead body coming through the ceiling.
18-For Dear Life by Mary Calmes, Narrator Nick J Russo
A GFY short story of a divorced man and his best friend. (Warning some sad stuff too.)
19-Witness Protected by Dawn Kimberly Johnson, Narrator Finn Sterling
A US marshal falls in love with someone destined for the witness protection program.
20-Fall Train by Jaime Samms, Narrator Andrew McFerrin
Finding love on a train.
21-Stripped by Shae Connor, Narrator Peter B Brooke
Finding love on Valentine’s Day … in a strip club!
22-Stalking 101 by Moria McCain, Narrator Aaron Pickering
Cute story about finding a hot construction guy.
23-Under the Full Moon by Ellis Carrington, Narrator Andrew McFerrin
Love between a vampire and a werewolf who were never supposed to be together.
24-Isle of Waiting by Sue Brown, Narrator Finn Sterling
A short story with the characters from the series.
25-An Atheist and a Yoga Instructor Walk into a Bar by Rowan McAllister, Narrator John Solo
A funny blind date story.
26-Last First Kiss by LE Franks, Narrator Peter B Brooke
A hard story about love and loss.
27-The Jogger by KC Burn, Narrator Finn Sterling
Danger forces a shut-in out in the open and together they find love.
28-Kid Confusion by Madison Parker, Narrator Nick J Russo
Funny story about penises and TJ and Eric.
29-Tomorrow by John Goode, Narrator Andrew McFerrin
A short story about the importance of communication in a relationship.
30-A Gentle Shove of Human Kindness by Amy Lane, Narrator John Solo
Super sweet story of an angel playing cupid in a Starbucks.
This is a great book to listen to because each “chapter” is it’s own short story, perfect for when you only have a minute here or there and don’t want to get involved in a full length novel.
The narration is all the guys we’ve come to love from The Falcon Sound company who we’ve met reading our favorite books: Peter B Brooke, John Solo, Nick J Russo, Finn Sterling, Andrew McFerrin.
These are the authors we all love, some writing snippets from their series, some coming up with something completely new. Each story is complete in itself, and all very touching and well written.
I really loved these short stories and was amazed at how so few words can tell such big stories and move you so deeply.
Of course, it also helps that this book helps out two such amazing guys, TJ and Eric!
I highly recommend this book and it’s audio version.
(I purchased the book for review and received the audio from the publisher for an honest review.)
When his vicious cousin Alejandro makes a violent late-night visit, San Diego homicide detective Ray Delgado gets a brutal reminder of why he left his family behind. Alejandro wants Ray to find his sister, Sophia, who disappeared from the UC San Diego campus, before the FBI digs too deep into his business.
Special Agent Elliot Belkamp spent his entire life jumping from one place to another, but his new assignment assisting a FBI task force offers him a chance to settle down. When Elliot catches a missing person’s case as his first assignment, the last person he expects to find poking around the victim’s dorm room is Ray, a one-time hookup he’s more inclined to punch in the face than kiss hello. After discovering Sophia’s disappearance is linked to a massive computer-based theft that has two powerful crime families ready to declare war, Elliot focuses on his investigation and tries to ignore Ray. As the search for Sophia turns dangerous, Elliot and Ray discover that tackling organized crime might be easier than resisting the urge to tackle each other.
Review
From the blurb you see that both men are in a similar line of work. They hooked up once, but it didn’t take. Ray is a player and not interested in permanence – yet?
Most of the story revolves around a dizzying array of crime investigations ranging from a missing person to murder to crime families. This is really the meat of the story. There is some sexual tension, a bit of fulfillment, some “why am I so attracted to you when you’re so wrong for me” and at the end some “absolution”.
I never really bonded with either MC, though I did find the fight scene to be particularly hot. (Elliot taking a Judo class while Ray watched and wanted.)
I didn’t read book one, though I think this is a good stand-alone.
When I read the blurb I was thinking it was going to be a hot and heavy enemies to lovers – and it is – but the mystery/crime absolutely takes precedence.
Audio
Jeff Gelder is hit or miss for me. In this case he didn’t do the story any favors. Sometimes, the way his voice lilts at the end can be distracting. Like everything is kind of a question. He didn’t do a lot with the voices or the emotion, so it didn’t add too much to my overall impression of the story. I’d have loved some sexy accents and growly sex scenes, but it was pretty tame.
Overall, if you are interested in crime novels with a romance sub-plot this is your book. I think if you liked book one you’d find this as good.
The writing was good, the editing fine, just not my type of romance.
Daily Dose Short Story
Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6584 Blurb
When cynical forty-three-year-old police officer Evan Andrews finds his home broken into, he quickly learns there’s more to Beau Toliver than meets the eye. Injured and afraid, Beau mistrusts Evan and the police every bit as much as Evan mistrusts Beau. As affection slowly grows between them, Evan discovers the real threat might come from the colleagues he’s considered friends for over two decades. When the truth comes out, Evan races to save Beau’s life at the risk of his own. His actions could mean the end of his career, but he might finally realize there are more important things in life.
Review
One day Evan finds a bleeding Beau hiding out in his house after being stabbed by someone. Evan only barely knows Beau, has seen him being hassled at the Police Station where he works, but doesn’t know how Beau found out where he lives or why he’d choose him as a refuge.
Beau has a checkered past, but he’s mostly a normal 22 year old kid. He gets picked up for a crime he didn’t commit and in return does something he shouldn’t have – to the wrong person. Now he’s in trouble.
**
Most of this short story is the mystery/suspense. The romance is excellent, too. Great sexual tension, sweet ending, nice accompaniment to the suspense.
This short story really packs a punch – it feels very full and fulfilling – the boys get a great HEA and the mystery is solved in a very dramatic way.
I really enjoyed this and hope to see more from this author in the future.
After an attack by the Coalition leaves THIRDS Team Leader Sloane Brodie critically injured, agent Dexter J. Daley swears to make Beck Hogan pay for what he’s done. But Dex’s plans for retribution are short-lived. With Ash still on leave with his own injuries, Sloane in the hospital, and Destructive Delta in the Coalition’s crosshairs, Lieutenant Sparks isn’t taking any chances. Dex’s team is pulled from the case, with the investigation handed to Team Leader Sebastian Hobbs. Dex refuses to stand by while another team goes after Hogan, and decides to put his old HPF detective skills to work to find Hogan before Theta Destructive, no matter the cost.
With a lengthy and painful recovery ahead of him, the last thing Sloane needs is his partner out scouring the city, especially when the lies—however well intentioned—begin to spiral out of control. Sloane is all too familiar with the desire to retaliate, but some things are more important, like the man who’s pledged to stand beside him. As Dex starts down a dark path, it’s up to Sloane to show him what’s at stake, and finally put a name to what’s in his heart.
Review
Wow. Just wow. This book is sooooo full of good feels.
Sloane and Dex are so wonderfully gushy and sweet in this book. Their relationship is definitely cemented by the end.
We get a peek into the mystery that is Hobbs and an amazingly sexy and funny scene between him and Calvin.
Ash is looking like less and less of a hard ass and more and more like the love of Cael’s life.
All of the relationship stuff is amazing. The dialog, like always is hysterical. The spying done is both naughty and funny. The danger… well this isn’t really that “tense” of a book.
The biggest “hurdle” in this story is Dex trying to avenge Sloane’s attack. Predictably, Sloane doesn’t want him involved, and in fact, the team has been ordered to stand down. But… Dex is determined to capture the culprit himself, in Sloane’s name.
I kinda wanted to shake Dex, and totally understood Sloane’s feelings about it. I liked, however, that this was the first time we saw Dex as the guy who might screw up the relationship, and Sloane was doing everything “right” for a change.
All in all this totally appealed to my every romantic sensibility and tickled my funny bone.
I can’t wait for the next installment and I really hope Calvin and Hobbs get their own book ☺
Audio
I really enjoy Mark Westfiled’s narrations. He does a great job differentiating the different and myriad characters. He adds extra touches like altering his voice for telecom and intercom communications. I love even his female characters and his accents are wonderful!
Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6208 Blurb
Salvatore Terranova is a teacher at the local high school. He used to live in the big city of Charlottetown, but never did meet the man of his dreams. Jaded but not defeated, Sal returns to Montague, completely unaware that the mysterious new neighbor in the old Victorian across the street is much more than he seems.
Having uprooted himself, Behr Kincaid settles in a small town, thousands of kilometers from everything and everyone he’s ever known. And with good reason, because he wasn’t born with that name. Behr always knew his brother was a criminal, but when Maurizio killed Behr’s husband of ten years, Behr gave up the life he had in order to see justice served. Despite his new identity, Behr knows the inevitable showdown will come when Maurizio tracks him down.
As Sal gets to know Behr, he realizes the man is lying about more than his name. While Behr wonders if there’s room for the truth, Sal wants to know who he’s falling in love with and must decide if it can lead to anything but a broken heart.
Review
I really, really love DW Marchwell’s writing style. I love her choice of character development and how loving her men are.
Because I’m a fan, I don’t like writing a review of anything less than stellar, but this book just didn’t do it for me.
Behr (David) is in hiding from his brother who killed Behr’s husband and is now in jail, but has outside connections. Essentially Witness Protection.
Sal is his neighbor and the two have an almost instant attraction to one another. Their romance is slow to take hold though, because of the secrets. Sal is reluctant to be involved, again, with someone not entirely truthful.
In fairly short order, Sal learns the truth and the two become lovers.
Over the course of only 3 months, it becomes clear that Behr is in danger and may need to move again, or risk his and Sal’s life.
Fortunately things resolve in a way that allows the men their HEA.
**
What didn’t work for me:
I never felt that Behr got over his first love, even though, by the end marriage looks to be on the horizon. It felt just a little too convenient, rather than an epic love.
The second thing I didn’t care for was the resolution at the end. I really thought there would be some angst and danger and life threatening moments or separation – and we get a small moment there at the end, but it was rather anti-climactic.
So – if you are a fan of DW Marchwell, you may still want to read this. Her writing is still wonderful. But I was a bit disappointed by the story and not as moved as I have been in the past by her books.
As a young man, Dominic Jacobsen already suspects he’s gay, and he gets all the confirmation he needs when a rich boy from out of town climbs into the back seat of Dominic’s GTO. One night with Lamar Franklin is all it takes to convince Dominic he’s found the man of his dreams. Unfortunately, that one night is all he’ll get before Lamar returns to Tucson.
Fifteen years later Lamar returns to Coda, Colorado, after ending the latest in a string of bad relationships. He’s alone, depressed, and plagued by late-night phone calls from an unidentified caller. Lamar’s ready to give up when he comes face-to-face with his past.
Since he was seventeen, Dominic has dreamed of a reunion with Lamar, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready for it now. Facing small-town rumors and big-family drama is bad enough, but Dominic won’t risk losing custody of his teenage daughter, Naomi. The only solution is to make sure he and Lamar remain friends and nothing more. Clothes stay on, no matter what.
It seems simple enough. But for better or worse, Lamar has other ideas.
Review
Though this comes from the Coda story line, it is a standalone. However, if I hadn’t read the other books I wouldn’t have found much that I found appealing in this story.
Basically, this is about Dominic and his complete unwillingness to be a gay man because he’s afraid of what people will think. Poor Lamar just gets hurt over and over as Dom chooses everyone’s happiness but Lamar’s time and again.
Lamar and Dom met as teenagers and made out once on the night before Lamar left town. There is no contact between the two for the next 15 years.
Lamar ends up dating several men with major problems and never finding the “right” guy. He moves back to Coda not realizing Dom still lives there and is in fact teaching his daughter for weeks before realizing who she is.
Dom can’t be gay – he thinks – so he ends up in a failed marriage with a wonderful woman and they have a daughter. For the last several years he’s been raising his daughter and sharing custody with her mother.
When Lamar comes back to town, the attraction is still there. Back and forth we go with the “I want you” “I can’t be around you” but “I want you” but “I can’t be gay” but “I want you” until finally Lamar puts his foot down.
When Matt (from earlier books), the wife, and ultimately the daughter, all finally get Dom to listen to reason, Dom finally admits who he is to his family and reaches out to Lamar, hoping it’s not too late.
**
Marie Sexton and the Coda series was one of the first few books in this genre I read. I LOVE them. I was so psyched to see the boys again that I barely skimmed the blurb and just said YES,YES,YES!
While I was more or less happy to catch up with the guys: all married now, still acting like they did before (ie Jared makes Matt jealous just by breathing, Matt still checks out women more than men, Zach still likes watching Ang with other guys) it wasn’t earth shattering.
I really, really didn’t care for Dom. Not even at the end when he’s supposed to have “redeemed” himself. He just felt like a douche and Lamar could do better.
Though I was happy for the HEA I didn’t feel it as keenly as I had in the other books in this series.
If you’re a fan, you’ll probably be like me and be interested enough in the series to continue with this, but if you’re not I don’t know that this will appeal all that much.
Marie writes really well, and I love her descriptions of life in Colorado (makes me homesick!), but I was disappointed in the love connection between Lamar and Dom. I just didn’t see them making it.
I give it a 3 of 5 hearts because it wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t nearly as good as I was expecting or hoping.
James Carter is forty-five and has been a police officer most of his life. He married young, lost her young, and his life revolved around his work and his son. Young is a recurring theme in his life, he thinks, when he meets the considerably younger AUSA Derek Moore on a case and finds himself ruled by the whims of his heart.
The road to love between a hotshot lawyer and a veteran cop was never going to be smooth, not in the real world, but there are criminals, misunderstandings, and a lack of communication standing in their way too. Both are so stubborn and convinced their interest is one-sided that it takes a murder case, exhaustion, and an adjournment for them to get their act together. They move fast after that, but they both know there’s no guarantee for tomorrow.
Review
This is how a short story should be written.
The author moves us forward through time without the obvious – “two weeks pass”, instead showing us the important information with well written examples.
Both characters are very well developed, and again this shows the author’s skills in that it is all shown to us rather than dumped on us in one long spew.
There are even well-developed secondary characters!
I thought the love story was very sweet but wish there had been more steam as the sex is fade to black.
Be warned, this is told in third person present tense and that can be difficult for some readers. It’s done well, though it isn’t my favorite writing style.
Blurb
