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Of Monsters and Men (A Forever Home #2) by Caitlin Ricci

Dreamspinner Press, LLC

Blurb:

Seth’s life looks idyllic on the surface. He has a great job at the pet rescue with a fantastic boss, who happens to be a werewolf. He is getting his degree at the local university and has a best friend who understands that the most intimate thing for Seth is a kiss. But when it comes to relationships, Seth’s perfect life is a jumbled mess. No guy stays around because eventually, they always want more than Seth, who is asexual, is able to give. Seth wants love and a relationship, but not the sex that everyone puts so much value on.
Seth tries for something more with the man he has a crush on, but when that ends Seth feels like he’s back to square one. So when his boss’s brother, Jeremy, pushes his way into Seth’s life, insisting that he won’t press for more than Seth is comfortable sharing, Seth is wary. All of Seth’s experience says it won’t last long. But Jeremy is one werewolf who is used to getting his way, and might just be patient enough to wait for Seth to see he means what he says. 

  

Review:

I liked really liked Seth’s character from the first book so when I saw this sequel, I immediately went for it without reading the blurb because I really wanted to know more about sex character. As I’m reading the book I realized that Seth was asexual. When I realized that I will admit that my enthusiasm for reading the story tapered quite a bit.  I am not a fan of books with sexual MCs but I decided to give it a chance since I liked the first book so much. 

First let me start off by saying that the writing wasn’t bad at all.  I just found Seth to be kind of irritating, confusing and kind of unlikeable. Seth had a crush on Peter but ran when Peter kisses him and starts touching him. When he finally calmed down, he tells Peter that he’s asexual. Okay, now that the asexual thing is out, Seth then became upset when Peter became slightly sexual with him on their second encounter and said something he didn’t like. It wasn’t an offensive or crude sexual comment or anything like that but Seth completely overreacted to it and used it to 86 the man. Seth’s reactions, or overreactions to virtually everything irritated me to no end. He’s hypersensitive, quick tempered, sulks like a little boy and stews before he finally decides to talk about whatever it is that is bothering him. Then there is his aversion to nudity which is completely bizarre considering the make out cuddle sessions he has with Marius’s brother.

This brings us to Jeremy. Marius’s older brother, self and Seth proclaimed asshole. I liked Jeremy. I felt that his hard and gruff exterior hid a soft and caring interior. The thing with Jeremy, I felt came from out of nowhere. Yes, Seth thought that Jeremy was kinda cute but that’s about it as he didn’t really know Jeremy all that well, at least that’s what it appeared to me. So these two get together and have these cuddle, kissing and make out sessions.  And that’s it. That. Is. All.

I tried to like this book. I wanted to like this book, I truly did but I just couldn’t get into it. I wanted to try to gain a better understanding of how relationships with someone who identified as asexual worked. This is the second book that I’ve read which featured an asexual MC and I must say that this is not my cup of tea, hot or cold.  It’s not so much the lack of sex in the book that I found disappointing, I could’ve worked with that. It was just that the storyline was not strong enough to support, carry or compensate for the lack of of it and there wasn’t anything else in its place to make up for it. I’m sorry, but it is what it is. 

Rating: ❤️❤️

Buy Links: 

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press, LLC 

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Toy With Me (Sexy Secrets Shorts) by Annabelle Jacobs

Availble from Amazon

toy with meBlurb

Aaron is hiding something in his drawers—but that’s not his only secret.

When he moves in with his new housemates, Aaron intends to tell them about his sexuality from the outset. But a large pink item of a personal nature, given as a joke, scuppers his plans and he misses his chance.

Fellow housemate Rob is out and proud. He guesses Aaron is gay, and when he finds Aaron’s other secret concealed in his sock drawer, he takes it upon himself to help Aaron out with a little sexual experimentation.

 

This is a quick bite of the beginning of a love story.

Aaron is trying his best to be “out and proud” but he’s not quite that brave. Rob comes along and with the help of some toys helps him to explore his sexuality and his bravery.
There isn’t enough here to call it a story with a HEA, but definitely HFN with a lot of hope.

Both Aaron and Rob are very sweet and the writing is excellent.

4.5 of 5 hearts

4.5

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Holding Out for a Fairytale Audiobook by AJ Thomas Narrated by Jeff Gelder

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6591

HoldingOutforaFairyTaleAUDMEDBlurb

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.

For both, 3 of 5 hearts.

Love the cover though!

3

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Crossed Wires by T. Strange Tour with Excerpt & Giveaway

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Rory isn’t expecting much more than clowns and elephant poop when he agrees to take his niece and nephew to the circus, but he finds himself entranced by the trapeze performers. Returning to the circus another night, he meets Lev and Tanner after the show and finds himself just as interested in the men themselves. They take him back to their hotel room for a night of steamy sex. After the circus leaves, Rory can’t stop thinking about the duo, though they never call him. He enrolls in a trapeze class as a distraction, and is astonished to find out who’s teaching the course.

Pages or Words: 13,500 words

Excerpt:
The spotlight followed him across the tent, other lights coming up in succession as he swung past them, creating a corridor of light for him to perform in.
At the height of his swing, on the opposite side of the tent from where he had begun, a spotlight appeared on another platform. Another man stood there. He was wearing magenta and teal as well, but his pattern was the opposite of his partner’s. He leapt off, holding his trapeze, then flipped himself so he was hanging upside down.
I looked back at the first man, and I almost cried out when he leapt. He didn’t even have a trapeze to stop his fall, but the second man had swung out to him. They met at the perfect moment, both their arms outstretched until they met, and then they were swinging together, safe.

Sales Links: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=200&products_id=4412

Final

About the author:

T. Strange is an author of M/M romance, published with Torquere Press. She writes both BDSM and vanilla, so there’s something for everyone! Her first novel, My Zombie Boyfriend, was published in 2015. When not reading or writing, T. enjoys playing with her many pets, gardening, and watching videos of Duo XY.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tq.strange
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTStrange
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TqStrange
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/tqstrange/
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Aiding and Abetting by Nora Roth


Daily Dose Short Story
Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6584
AidingandAbettingBlurb
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.

5 of 5 hearts

5

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Submission Guidelines by T. Neilson

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6486

SubmissionGuidelinesBlurb

Cole Doren is starting over. He’s moved, started working as a food writer again, and is crushing hard on his new neighbor, Daniel Mazurek, who is a genuinely nice guy and as hot as a supernova.

Too bad for Cole, Daniel’s not what he seems.

And too bad for Daniel, the cute boy-next-door’s DNA says he’s one of America’s most wanted, and it’s Daniel’s job to confirm that and bring him down. Digging through Cole’s past, Daniel finds out about Cole’s BDSM videos and while it should set off warning bells, it only leaves Daniel damn hot for Cole. Getting closer to his subject is easy, but starting a relationship built on trust is a lot harder when everything Daniel’s ever told Cole has been a lie.

Review

Daniel is a bounty hunter trying to capture somebody named Ro. He thinks he’s found his guy in Cole. But when Cole shows up, drunk, clumsy, and cute – he has to re-think his data.

Cole reviews food for a living. But he also has a past that gives him some interesting hobbies.

The first part of the story is figuring out if Cole is guilty; the second is the couple finding their feet in a relationship; the third is them solving the mystery of “Ro”.

I loved the interactions between Cole and Daniel in the beginning and thought the mystery was a little unbelievable but gripping. I didn’t care for the BDSM part of the story or how it didn’t seem to fit the rest of the plot line. To me it seemed stuck in there for added “heat value” but didn’t necessarily fit well with the characters and how they interacted.

Overall this story has some great potential and I would look for more from this author in the future.

3 of 5 hearts

3

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The Family Time Anthology Tour with Excerpt and Giveaway

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Excerpt from First Day of School, a And Manny Makes Seven short by Sean Michael
Lizzie stared at Hutch with huge, tear-filled eyes. “Please. Please, Hut. Don’t make me go away. I’ll be the best cooker ever. I promise.”

God, she was breaking his heart. Hutch managed to find a warm smile for her, though, as he crouched to give her a hug. “You’ll be home by three thirty. And I bet you find you like school. There’s so many fun things to do.” He’d known it would be hard to send the twins off to school every day, leaving the house empty until afternoon, but he hadn’t expected it to be this hard.

She shook her head, the tears beginning to fall. Felicia was desperate to be big, to go to school like Darla, but this one had been opposed to the whole idea and finding out she wasn’t in the same Kindergarten class as her twin hadn’t helped. The school claimed they split twins up to let them develop their own individuality.

Well, Hutch knew damn well his girls were plenty individual, each with their own unique personality despite being together since birth.

“When you get home you can help me make supper,” he promised. “That won’t change just because you’re going to school.”

“Please? You can tell Addie-Lou it’s okay. I know you can,” she insisted.

“No, little. He can’t.” Adam shook his head. “School is important.”

“Is not!” She stamped her little foot, glaring at Adam. “I want to stay with Hut!”

“Okay, Lizzie, that’s enough.” Hutch gave her his most firm voice. “School is important and you’re going to make friends and find really fun things to do. Addie-Lou and I will be here when you get home.”

He wanted so badly to tell her she could stay home, but he knew she needed to do this. It was his job to make sure she didn’t need him and Adam anymore and this was how it started. Even if it was the hardest thing ever.

Buy from Amazon

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Anything Goes Audiobook BY BG Thomas Narrated by Charlie David

Dreampsinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6542

AnythingCouldHappenAUDMEDBlurb

Moving to Kansas City could be the best thing Austin Shelbourne has ever done. For a start, he can stop living a lie and finally come out of the closet. And there’s a chance, though slim, that he might be able to locate the love of his life, Todd Burton. It had seemed like a good idea when he seduced his friend, but Todd freaked out and vanished. Austin hopes to find Todd, make things right between them, and win his love. But when he meets actor Guy Campbell, things get even more confusing.

The moment Guy sets eyes on Austin, he knows Austin is The One. But Austin makes it clear he feels a responsibility to Todd, and Guy has some dark secrets of his own. He’s found redemption in acting and directing, but worries that if Austin learns the truth, he might not be able bear it. And what if Todd accepts Austin’s apology and the love Austin offers? Guy wants Austin desperately, but he also wants him to be happy. In the play of life, with the happiness of good men in the balance, anything could happen.

 

Austin and Todd were friends, Austin fell in love and hit on Todd, Todd freaked and ran. Now Austin is tracking Todd down and hoping that they both can live the life they should, out and proud.

What Austin finds is his Uncle Bodie and Guy. Together, all three men explore what it is to be true to yourself and your passion.

There is a lot of subtext and learning through the work Guy does in the theatre and this takes up a lot of page time.

The romance between Guy and Austin is filled with growth and learning the difference between true love and fantasy.
**

I did not read the first book in this series, though I’m told it works as a stand-alone and I think that’s accurate. I also LISTENED to this so that shaped my feelings as well.

On the one hand I ADORE Charlie David and when he gets to use his southern twang it is always a good narration! On the other hand, this is a very slow burn, character based, more coming of age book than a fast moving contemporary romance.

For me, it’s just not my favorite thing. I appreciated the growth of all the characters and the way the author used the theatre to demonstrate this growth, but I like my romances to be the central theme and at times the other characters and their stories took center stage.

I’d give the narration a 5 of 5 and the story a 2 of 5, so overall a 3 of 5 because it is an entertaining, nicely written story about men finding themselves and Charlie David does an excellent job brining life to the story with his narration.

3

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Takes Two To Tango by Vicky Heysham


Daily Dose Short Story
Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6582

TakesTwoToTangoBlurb
Established TV personality Daniel Josephs only agrees to take part in a reality dancing show in London to lose weight. Single, successful, and (mostly) sorted, he’s already happy, even if he secretly wishes his love life was as rewarding as his professional one. Young athlete Will Smith, who gave up the earldom he inherited to pursue Olympic dreams, is far from happy—not to mention not interested in someone as old as Daniel. But when Will’s past catches up with him, it’s Daniel who helps him piece his life back together.

Review

This is an odd story. On the one hand, it’s very British and you have to read it carefully to follow who is doing what and why. On the other hand, it is very fast paced and loosely framed, so the author leaves us with a lot to fill using our imagination.

Daniel is the older guy, out and proud, who stars on AM TV shows but took on the dancing with the stars stint to help stay fit.

Will is a member of the aristocracy, in the closet, training for the Olympics and looking to make some connections. He’s very intense, by comparison Daniel’s very laid back.

In a somewhat strange turn of events, Will gets dumped by one of the dance coaches and has no place to live after also being outed while dating said dance coach. Daniel, who had always had his eye on the younger man, but kept getting rebuffed, helps him out by offering him the use of his spare room until the contest ends.

Eventually, Will and Daniel end up romantically involved and though geography is against them, they manage to find their HEA.

**

This story never flowed quite right for me. It sort of hopped all over the place and I never felt a strong connection with either MC or their subsequent coupledom.

I appreciated the uniqueness of the writing style, but found it a bit too scattered to say that I liked it.

2.75 of 5 hearts

3

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Friday at the 7-Eleven by J.T. Hall Tour with Excerpt and Giveaway

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Excerpt:
Craig couldn’t help but chuckle, as the day’s events unfolded.
He’d had his eye on Brent for some time—weeks, in fact. Six feet tall with light brown hair in a neat cropped style, muscles that advertised his time at the gym, and gorgeous blue eyes. What was there not to notice? The guy scowled a lot, though, and moved with a jerky, decisive style. Brent was a guy used to giving orders, and he wasn’t happy about it.
Craig had known Brent would love taking orders. Yet, it had to be from somebody with the power and the balls to back it up. Happily, fifteen years as a Marine had given him that power.
As he cleaned up around the drinking fountain and the snack area, Craig grinned, recalling the feel of Brent’s mouth on his cock, the way the guy had challenged him, and then ended up begging for release. Brent’s little tagalong had been watching, too. Younger guy, blond and lean, probably more into running than lifting weights. Obviously a submissive, and pining after someone who might not give a fuck about him. But cute. Very cute.
Sales Links: Torquere Books

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About the author:
J.T. Hall has a bachelor degree in Creative Writing and a Master in Education. She has long been active in the LGBT and local leather community and does charity work including AIDS education and suicide prevention. Currently, J.T. works as a technical writer in the healthcare industry and lives with her partner and teenaged daughter in sunny Arizona.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005608068142
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Short-Fiction/1671302273095356
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JTHall7
Blog: http://jthallwriting.wordpress.com

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25657865-friday-at-the-7-eleven
Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: BSClay

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