Book Review

Book Review: Stage Fright by Adam Carpenter

Reviewed by JustJen

28407318Title: Stage Fright
Author: Adam Carpenter
Series: The Jimmy McSwain Files #3
Heroes: Jimmy McSwain
Genre: MM Mystery
Length: 246 Pages
Publisher: MLR Press
Release Date: January 31, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  All the world’s a stage, but in STAGE FRIGHT, Hell’s Kitchen private detective Jimmy McSwain learns that life upon it’s wicked boards can be a killer.

The Harold Calloway Theatre on West 47th Street is home to the new play Triskaidekaphobia, and its playwright has been receiving threatening messages. Theatre owner and lead producer Wellington Calloway has hired Jimmy to investigate, but it’s a case not without its complications. His mother is the head usher there, and Jimmy grew up on its aisles. His ex, Remy, is also the costume designer for the show, a man he hasn’t seen in years. Further making his life difficult is the mysterious Seetha Assan, who is connected–albeit tentatively–to the case that forever haunts Jimmy–his own father’s murder. She may just have the clue to help him finally solve the cold case.

As Opening Night for the play looms, Jimmy finds himself involved in a nest of egos and personalities, all while seeking to find the missing Seetha. Toss in his on-again, off-again relationship with Captain Francis X. Frisano, and suddenly Jimmy’s life is edging toward tragedy. That’s when a murderer strikes, and suddenly nothing is pretend anymore. Life on the stage has turned all too real, and all too deadly. Just like on the mean streets of Manhattan.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Early Review: Wolf, Becoming by Rory Ni Coileain

Reviewed by Nikyta

WolfBecomingTitle: Wolf, Becoming
Author: Rory Ni Coileain
Heroes: Volyk & Ilya
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 91 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: February 24, 2016
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Volyk learns very young that he has to hide what he is—oboroten’, shape-shifter—after his father is killed and skinned by a hunter, and the pack that takes in his pregnant mother is hostile to his kind. When Volyk is ordered to fight the pack’s beta to prove his fitness, but instead obeys his hormones and tries to mount him, he’s declared an abomination and forced to flee.

Ilya, too, hides a secret. Being young and gay in modern Russia is dangerous, and he knows it. But the truth eventually gets out, and his brothers lure him into the forest to kill him. They’re stopped by Volyk, who hides the mortally wounded Ilya in his den. The only way to heal the human is to turn him into an oboroten’.

Unfortunately, Ilya’s gentle nature is ill-suited to the life of a wolf. But when Volyk’s old pack returns, seeking to take away Volyk’s magickal den, Ilya will have to embrace—truly become—the wolf Volyk made him to save both his mate’s life and his own.

First Edition published as “Ilya and the Wolf” by Dreamspinner Press, 2014.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Succumbing to His Fear

Reviewed by JustJen

28699335Title: Succumbing to His Fear
Author: River Mitchell
Heroes: Alfie/Fear
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 185 Pages
Publisher: Via Star Wings
Release Date: February 26, 2016
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  After a life changing event makes Alfie the legal guardian of his estranged step-siblings, as well as a chance meeting one drunken night, he finds his world turned upside down when he discovers that everything he thought he knew about himself was catastrophically wrong.

Before meeting Alfie and his family, Fear was content with his casual hookups and one-night stands, purposefully keeping everyone at an arm’s length. As Alfie comes into his burgeoning feelings, a curveball shakes the two men, threatening to destroy Fear and his new found chance at happiness with Alfie.

With everything thrown into turmoil, Fear decides to fight for those he loves, Alfie and his family included. Will they be able to survive the collateral damage around them, or will they lose everything?

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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Debut Authors, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Enemies of the State by Tal Bauer

Reviewed by Morgan 

28814263Title: enemies of the State
Author: Tal Bauer
Series: The Executive Office #1
Heroes: Jack Spier/Ethan Reichenbach
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 324 Pages
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: February 15, 2016
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  A rogue Black Ops unit with the president in their crosshairs.
A Secret Service agent who will break every rule.
A president falling for the one person he shouldn’t—a man.

Newly elected President Jack Spiers’s presidency is rocked from the very beginning, and he’s working furiously to keep the world from falling apart. Between terrorism attacks ripping apart Europe, Russia’s constant posturing and aggression, and the quagmire of the Middle East, Jack is struggling to keep his campaign promise—to work toward a better, safer world.

For Special Agent Ethan Reichenbach, Jack is just another president, the third in twelve years. With Jack’s election, he’s been promoted, and now he’s running the presidential detail, which puts him side by side with Jack daily. He’s expecting another stuffed suit and an arrogant DC politician, but Jack shocks him with his humor and humanity.

There are rules against a Secret Service agent and one of their protectees developing a friendship—big rules. Besides, Jack is straight as a ruler, and a widower, and Ethan has always avoided falling for straight men. Ethan keeps his distance, but Jack draws him in, like gas to a naked flame, and it’s a lure he isn’t strong enough to turn away from.

As the two men collide, rules are shattered and the world teeters on the verge of war, and a rogue Black Ops unit bent on destruction sets Jack in their deadly crosshairs. Ethan must put everything on the line in order to save the man he’s come to love, Jack’s presidency, and the world.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Morgan's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: A Duke by December by Sabrina Darby

Reviewed by Heather C

28485033Title: A Duke by December
Author: Sabrina Darby
Series: A Year Without a Duke
Hero/Heroine: Nathaniel Hughes/Elizabeth Smith
Genre: MF Historical Romance
Length: Novella
Release Date: February 8, 2016
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: A YEAR WITHOUT A DUKE

The duke has died. Long live the duke! The only problem is no one knows who the new Duke of Beckworth is. All of England wonders, but no one more so than the people who depend upon Beckworth for their livelihood. In 1816, a year so cold that the word “summer” is a cruel joke, that livelihood is even more uncertain. However, they are all about to find out, there is nothing more warming than scandal and love…

A DUKE BY DECEMBER

Elizabeth Smith is secretly in love with the tall, handsome golden-haired man who rescued her from Arkansas Territory and offered her a new life. Unfortunately, she knows he’ll never see her as anything more than his secretary.

Nathaniel Hughes has spent the majority of his life in America amassing his fortune. When he discovers he is the next Duke of Beckworth, he must reluctantly travel to England, face down his past, and rehabilitate an estate to save those who live on it. But every duke requires a duchess and an heir.

He’ll figure this out somehow with Lizzie, his loyal and capable secretary, at his side. Once at Beckworth, he finds it increasingly difficult to deny a powerful attraction to the woman he has vowed to protect—even from himself. Can he find the strength to choose duty over desire?

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, M/F, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Give Yourself Away by Barbara Elsborg

Reviewed by JustJen

26173634Title: Give Yourself Away
Author: Barbara Elsborg
Heroes: March/Caleb
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 284 Pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: February 9, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  One guy intent on caution. One an adrenaline junkie. Love could be one risk too many.

March is determined to lose the numbness that accompanies a history of loss and blame. Desperate to feel something—anything—the adrenaline junkie base jumps off cliffs, soars on hang gliders, and embarks on dangerous sea-borne rescue missions. But any release he feels is fleeting, and when you play Russian roulette with fate, eventually you come crashing down.

No matter how hard Caleb tries to forget his past, a dark shadow is always behind him. When a bizarre turn of events results in him being trapped in a sea cave, Caleb wonders how his mantra—safety at all costs—could have failed him. On the point of drowning, he’s stunned when March surfaces in the cave.

March’s disregard for the rules saves Caleb’s life but gets March into a heap of trouble. Not least of which is the guy shivering in the boat next to him. March tries to ignore Caleb but it’s already too late. Together, they take small, awkward steps toward love. But Caleb’s past is waiting to sink in its claws…and this time, it could drag him to his death.

Warning: This book contains difficult flashbacks of child abduction and sexual violence, but also the incredible perseverance of two men who never give up on love—or each other. Bring your tissues and a heart that believes in the resilience of the human spirit.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Go Tell It On the Mountains by Nick Wilgus

Reviewed by Susan65

28691042Title: Go Tell It on the Mountains
Author: Nick Wilgus
Series: Sugar Tree #3
Heroes: Wiley Cantrell/Jackson Ledbetter
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 336 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: February 22, 2016
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Years have gone by since the death of Noah, his special needs son, and Wiley Cantrell realizes it’s time to move on. He and his husband, Jackson Ledbetter, try to adopt little Tony Gorzola, a deaf boy with HIV who is emotionally traumatized.

Difficulties quickly set in. Tony is a sweet boy but very damaged by abuse and neglect. And Tony’s mother, in prison, is unwilling to relinquish her parental rights. No sooner do they get the go ahead to foster Tony when another child they had considered becomes available—the daughter Jackson always wanted.

With two children on their hands, life is complicated—wonderfully so. But just as things begin to settle down, Tony, his immune system compromised, falls ill with pneumonia—and Wiley and Jackson find their little family faced with crisis once again.

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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: The Law of Attraction by Jay Northcote

Reviewed by JustJen

28365986Title: The Law of Attraction
Author: Jay Northcote
Heroes: Alec Rowland/Ed Piper
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 173 Pages
Publisher: Jaybird Press
Release Date: February 5, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  When a professional relationship turns personal, it’s impossible to resist the law of attraction.

Alec Rowland is a high-flying lawyer in a London firm whose career is his life. He doesn’t have time for relationships and his sexuality is a closely guarded secret. After picking up a cute guy on a Friday night, Alec’s world is rocked to its foundations when his one night stand shows up in the office on Monday morning—as the new temp on his team.

Ed Piper is desperate to prove himself in his new job. The last thing he needs is to be distracted by a crush on his boss. It’s hard to ignore the attraction he feels, even though Alec’s a difficult bastard to work for.

Both men strive to maintain a professional relationship, but tempers fray, passions ignite, and soon they’re both falling hard and fast. If they’re ever going to find a way to be together, Alec needs to be honest about who he really is because Ed won’t go back in the closet for anyone.

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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Pride Under Fire by Elizabeth Coldwell

Reviewed by Morgan 

28453352Title: Pride Under Fire
Author: Elizabeth Coldwell
Series: Lionhearts #5
Heroes: Connor Wabsik/Andy McGuire
Genre: MM Paranormal
Length: 157 Pages
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Release Date: February 23, 2016
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Will their passion burn out of control?

Connor Wabsik’s career as a firefighter is on the line after he punched out his commanding officer. Redemption is possible in the form of a move to a sleepy California mountain town, but it will mean leaving his old life behind. What he doesn’t know is that his destiny waits for him in Riesgo. Fate has paired him with a human mate, Andy McGuire—a man with secrets of his own. Connor is fighting to protect the town from a dangerous firestarter. When Andy’s life is threatened, will Connor be able to keep him safe, too?

Detective Andy McGuire is unlucky in love, but when he meets Connor, the handsome new recruit to the Riesgo Fire Service, things start looking up. How can he stop a serial arsonist from destroying everything he holds dear? And as passion threatens to burn out of control between him and Connor, what will happen when Andy learns that the man he loves might not be what he seems?

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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Morgan's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Overtime by T.S. McKinney

Reviewed by JustJen

28627599Title: Overtime
Author: T.S. McKinney
Heroes: Jagger Jameson/Colton Montgomery
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 283 Pages
Publisher: Dark Hollows Press
Release Date: February 11, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Jagger Jameson could be the poster child for a nasty childhood campaign but he refused to allow it to dictate his future. At an early age, he learned to shut down all of his emotions and focus solely on survival. As it turned out, survival came in the form of a basketball scholarship with the University of Kentucky Wildcats. As the rest of the team around him focuses on having a good time and building friendships, Jagger worries only about using his talent to help him escape the life that was dealt to him. Everything is going smoothly until somebody from his past makes a reappearance, and with just the mention of a name, Jagger finds himself struggling to maintain his cool facade.

Colton Montgomery’s wealth allowed him the opportunity to have just about anything in the world he could desire…except the only thing he’d ever really wanted – Jagger Jameson. When the opportunity to try and tame a Wildcat comes his way, Colton welcomes the challenge.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment