Book Review

Book Review: Making It Pay by J.L. Merrow

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Making It Pay
Author: J.L. Merrow
Heroes: Daniel/Rob
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 11 Pages
Publisher: JMS Books
Release Date: November 16, 2014
Available at: JMS Books and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Sometimes you can’t see the silver lining for the clouds.

Abandoned as a baby and now working as a rent boy, Daniel finds it hard to let people get close to him. But nightclub bouncer Rob has a kind face and he’s helped Daniel out once already, so when he catches Daniel on a bad night, Daniel accepts his offer of money and goes home with him.

Even though it breaks his heart.

Letting Rob pay him for sex may have wrecked their friendship just when Daniel needs all the friends he can get. But there are more reasons why he hasn’t seen Rob since that night — and one in particular that makes building a relationship seem almost too much to hope for.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Rack & Ruin by Charlie Cochet

Reviewed by Susan65

7Title: Rack & Ruin
Author: Charlie Cochet
Series: THIRDS #3
Heroes: Dex/Sloane
Genre: MM Paranormal
Length: 206 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: November 7, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: New York City’s streets are more dangerous than ever with the leaderless Order of Adrasteia and the Ikelos Coalition, a newly immerged Therian group, at war. Innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire and although the THIRDS round up more and more members of the Order in the hopes of keeping the volatile group from reorganizing, the members of the Coalition continue to escape and wreak havoc in the name of vigilante justice.

Worse yet, someone inside the THIRDS has been feeding the Coalition information. It’s up to Destructive Delta to draw out the mole and put an end to the war before anyone else gets hurt. But to get the job done, the team will have to work through the aftereffects of the Therian Youth Center bombing. A skirmish with Coalition members leads Agent Dexter J. Daley to a shocking discovery and suddenly it becomes clear that the random violence isn’t so random. There’s more going on than Dex and Sloane originally believed, and their fiery partnership is put to the test. As the case takes an explosive turn, Dex and Sloane are in danger of losing more than their relationship.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Violence Begets… by P.T. Denys

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Violence Begets…
Author: P.T. Denys
Heroes: Kevin/Rick
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 284 Pages
Publisher: P.T. Denys
Release Date: December 22, 2013
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  After a tragic accident devastates his family, 16-year-old Rick St. James starts his junior year of high school alone in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. When he meets Kevin Vincent, he’s too distracted by the promise of new friends to see that Kevin has secrets of his own.

Having created an environment where he’s feared and admired by his classmates, Kevin finds pleasure in using his good looks and violence to control and manipulate those around him. Secretly, he cruises the gay club scene, turning tricks to earn money so he can party and get high.

As Rick’s dad becomes increasingly violent and abusive at home, the two form a surprising and volatile trust. In this battle of wills, their precarious friendship will either keep their lives from blowing up around them or possibly light the fuse that will cause the explosion.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Book Review: Sin & the Preacher’s Son by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon

Reviewed by Heather C

1Title:  Sin & the Preacher’s Son
Authors:  Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon
Heroes: Jonah/Rafe
Genre: MM Historical Romance
Length: 219 Pages
Publisher: Duet Publishing
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Driven from his family when his sexuality is exposed, Jonah discovers drama, passion and intrigue in a traveling carnival—and in the enigmatic owner, Rafe Grimstone. The preacher’s son and the lord who’s rejected his former life in England feel the heat of attraction from the moment they meet.

Open-hearted Jonah is willing to risk hellfire and damnation for brief moments of pleasure with Rafe, but the older man is frozen in a past he can’t escape no matter how far he runs. As Rafe struggles to choose between responsibilities of his present and his past, mysterious accidents assail the close-knit carnival community.

Will the perpetrator be revealed before the traveling show is ruined? And will Rafe finally reveal his true self to Jonah or continue to mask his identity like the changing images in a house of mirrors?

Previously published as House of Mirrors.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Vines by Christopher Rice

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: The Vines
Author: Christopher Rice
Heroine: Caitlin Chaisson
Genre: MF Horror
Length: 214 Pages
Publisher: 47 North
Release Date: October 21, 2014
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: The dark history of Spring House, a beautifully restored plantation mansion on the outskirts of New Orleans, has long been forgotten. But something sinister lurks beneath the soil of the old estate.

After heiress and current owner Caitlin Chaisson is witness to her husband’s stunning betrayal at her birthday party, she tries to take her own life in the mansion’s cherished gazebo. Instead, the blood she spills awakens dark forces in the ground below. Chaos ensues and by morning her husband has vanished without a trace and his mistress has gone mad.

Nova, daughter to Spring House’s groundskeeper, has always suspected that something malevolent haunts the old place, and in the aftermath of the birthday party she enlists Caitlin’s estranged best friend, Blake, to help her get to the bottom of it. The pair soon realizes that the vengeance enacted by this sinister and otherworldly force comes at a terrible price.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: A Bite In Time by Viki Lyn & Vina Grey

Guest Reviewed by Morgan 

1Title: A Bite In Time
Authors: Viki Lyn and Vina Grey
Series: Orbus Arcana #2
Heroes: John Reeder and Vincent Kamateros
Genre: MM Paranormal
Length: 178 Pages
Publisher: Viki Lyn and Vina Grey
Release Date: August 1, 2014
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  A dangerous secret, a vampire, plus one sexy cop is a recipe for trouble.

JOHN REEDER has accepted his love for VINCENT KAMATEROS, but he doesn’t know his lover is a vampire. When a killer targets Vincent, John has to deal with uncovered secrets that blow his life apart.

Will Vince reveal his true nature to protect the cop who has come to mean more than his own life? In doing so, he might ruin his only chance for a ‘happy ever after’ with John.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: A Gentleman of Substance by Julia Talbot

Reviewed by Heather C

1Title:  A Gentleman of Substance
Author: Julia Talbot
Heroes: Michael St. James/Daniel Calhoun
Genre: MM Historical Romance
Length: 156 Pages
Publisher: Torquere Press
Release Date: April 3, 2011
Available at: Torquere Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Michael St. James is something of a cad, and now he’s paying for it, banished to a backwater, post-colonial Virginia town for his sins. Happily, he finds something to occupy his time in the form of Daniel Calhoun, a stiff-necked local squire who simply begs to be taken down a notch for his arrogance. The two begin a torrid affair, and Michael pushes them to the very edge of social extinction with his wild ways, drawing Daniel into mischief at every turn. Eventually Michael realizes that he teeters on the very brink of ruining Daniel’s life as thoroughly as he has his own, and decides to do the honorable thing. Will it be too late for him to convince Daniel he can do the right thing? Or will Daniel Calhoun decide perhaps he doesn’t want a gentleman after all?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Your Wish, My Demand by J.D. Walker

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Your Wish, My Demand
Author: J.D. Walker
Heroes: Clint Beck/Kyle Rivers
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 9,102 Words
Publisher: JMS Books
Release Date: November 16, 2014
Available at: JMS Books and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Clint Beck has been best friends with Kyle Rivers for over ten years. They went to college together, and now they share a successful boutique landscaping business. Clint usually takes the lead, and Kyle tends to follow.

Kyle is naturally submissive and has suffered a lot of abuse from overly aggressive ex-boyfriends. Clint has always loved Kyle, and he longs for the day when he can move their friendship to something deeper. He knows he can be the caring Dom Kyle yearns for in order to become whole again.

One afternoon, Clint suggests they go to Ties That Bind, his favorite BDSM club. Kyle is usually reticent, but he agrees. Clint knows this is the chance he’s been waiting for. Once at the club, Clint uses all his skill to show Kyle how it can be with a Dom who can meet his partner’s every need in a safe, loving environment. Is Kyle ready to choose the one man who can give him exactly what he needs in every way?
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Home Run by Willa Okati

Reviewed by Heather C

1Title:  Home Run
Author: Willa Okati
Series: Mighty Casey #2
Heroes: Casey/Nate
Genre: MM Contemporary Romance
Length: 111 Pages
Publisher: Loose ID
Release Date: July 29, 2014
Available at: Loose ID, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: If opposites attract—and in this case, they do—then Casey and Nate fit like puzzle pieces. Though married for a year and still rocking the honeymoon lifestyle, Casey’s starting to feel like it’s time for the next big challenge.

Casey’s never been interested in having kids, but knows Nate would love a family of their own and would be a fantastic father. He thinks he’s ready to put aside past prejudices, but he knows it’s not the kind of decision you make on a whim. Nate only wants to have a family with Casey if Casey wants it just as much. Neither would accept anything less.

The annual Rule family reunion is the perfect time and place for Casey to take his hopes for a test drive and inform his choice. He’ll have plenty of chances to practice—with Nate’s ménage-a-parents and seven sisters, there’s a smorgasbord of family to observe and a half-dozen babies to test his limits.

(And a few games to play. This is Nate, after all!)

Is Casey ready to grant Nate his wish to become a dad and wind up the pitch for a proper “home” run?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Undercover Addiction by Hayley B. James

Reviewed by Susan65

7Title: Undercover Addiction
Author: Hayley B. James
Series: Secret Sin #2
Heroes: Connor Bishop/Riley Drapeau
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 240 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: October 20, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Working Vice for the Seattle PD, Connor Bishop’s favorite part of the job is going undercover. His current assignment is to get close to Riley Drapeau, a human trafficker backed into a corner by the FBI and turned informant. Connor needs to milk him for information on his organization, but while doing so, sees an entirely different Riley than he expected.

Caught off balance, Connor relies heavily on Lucas, his outside man and only link to the real world, but he gets sucked in by Riley and his attempt to clear his name and prove his partners fabricated evidence to frame him.

Up to his eyeballs in the dark world of trafficking, Connor finds it easier to believe Riley than what the FBI is saying, especially when a leak is uncovered within the Bureau. The choices Connor has to make become even more difficult when Lucas admits he has feelings for him and promises a safe life far from harm. But Connor can’t deny the only man he wants to be with is Riley. Which forces him to decide if his addiction to the dangerous side of life can include loving a criminal.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment