Book Review

Book Review: The Kayan’s Mage by Jess Buffett

Reviewed by Nikyta

The Kayan's Mage (Hunter Clan #1)Title: The Kayan’s Mage
Author: Jess Buffett
Series: Hunter Clan #1
Heroes: Sawyer & Jake
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 36,127 words
Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand
Release Date: April 3, 2013
Available at: Siren-Bookstrand, Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Sawyer McLeod lost his family and his entire Guild, except his twin, seven years ago. Now almost twenty-one, he is coming to the age to receive his abilities as a Mage. Unfortunately there are others who will stop at nothing to see the brothers don’t survive that long.

When Jake Hunter, Kayan for a Clan of Wolf Shifters living in Australia, finally finds his true-mate, he doesn’t expect it to be in the midst of a brutal attack. Through omissions of truth, misunderstandings, and fear, Jake struggles to prove to Sawyer that he can trust him.

When Sawyer is finally willing to give Jake a chance, a ghost from the past returns to destroy everything they have built together. Will they be able to overcome the foe long thought gone, or will it be the end for the Kayan’s Mage? Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Hidden Identity by Adam Carpenter

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Hidden Identity
Author: Adam Carpenter
Series: The Jimmy McSwain Files
Heroes:  Jimmy McSwain
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 206 Pages
Publisher: MLR Press
Release Date: May 20, 2014
Available at:  MLR Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  When Jimmy McSwain is hired to find missing heir Harris Rothschild, he finds that identities can be altered and lives can be changed–or taken with the simple pull of the trigger.

Jimmy McSwain is a New York City private detective, operating out of Hell’s Kitchen, the rough and tumble neighborhood he grew up in. At age fourteen, he watched as his NYPD father was gunned down. Now, at age twenty-eight, gay, Jimmy has never given up pursuit of whoever killed him. But a PI must make a living, and so he’s taken on the case of missing heir Harris Rothschild, whose overbearing father doesn’t approve of his “alternate” lifestyle.Tracking down Harris is easier than expected, but the carnage that follows isn’t. With a shocking murder on his hands, and a threat coming from some unforeseen person, Jimmy’s caseload is suddenly full, and very dangerous.
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Breaking Down Our Walls by Gwynn Marssen

Reviewed by Nikyta

1Title: Breaking Down Our Walls
Author: Gwynn Marssen
Series: 2014 Daily Dose – Mended
Heroes: Dylan/Owen
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 67 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: June 1, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon & All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: After a difficult year, Dylan Atwood decides to chase his dream and create an epic fantasy novel, and he leaves Phoenix to move into an isolated house in the Prescott National Forest. The solitude of the mountains is the perfect environment for him to write–and the perfect excuse to hide away from everything and everyone is a bonus.

But when Dylan’s brother needs a favor, he can’t say no, even if it means sharing his precious solitude. He accepts Owen Moore, a man with an abusive past who is even more leery of human interaction than Dylan, into his home. As Dylan helps Owen heal, both physically and emotionally, his attraction to Owen increases, and his own scars become more visible. Both men must face their fears, without walls, if they want a life together.
Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Captain’s Mate by Jenn Dease

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Captain’s Mate
Author: Jenn Dease
Series: Marine Dragons
Heroes: Franklin/Dane
Genre: MM Paranormal
Length: 90 Pages
Publisher: MLR Press
Release Date: May 29, 2014
Available at:  MLR Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Can a Dragon and human solve the problems on a naval ship in the middle of the Pacific while falling in love?

Patrolling in the Pacific Ocean, there are problems aboard the USS Ronald Reagan.Newly appointed Lt. Commander Franklin Delano Michaels is sent to rectify the problems between the Marines and the human sailors. When he meets Marine Captain Danegeld Drake, the Dragon shape-shifter in charge of the Marine squadron, there’s an attraction that takes them by surprise.

There are more problems aboard ship than Franklin knows about. A Dragon shifter doctor whose infirmary is being sabotaged. A Dragon/human mating between one of the Marines and a Sailor. A plot against Dragons throughout the military. And a possible build-up of the Voldai, an enemy that almost defeated the allies in the ‘Almost War’. Can the two of them build a future together with all this going on?
Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Debut Authors, JustJen's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Hearsay by Taylor V. Donovan

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Hearsay
Author: Taylor V. Donovan
Series: Bylaws #1
Heroes: Derrick/Roman
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 299 Pages
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: May 28, 2014
Available at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance Ebooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Senior associate attorney Derrick Swain wants it all: a loving husband, a fulfilling career, and a couple of kids. After years of hard work he’s on the fast track to a promotion. He’s also met the man of his dreams. A week of daily lunch meetings in Central Park provides the perfect setting to get to know him better, and Derrick thinks it won’t be long before they take the next step and go on a date. But instead of asking him out, the object of his affection stops showing up without explanation, leaving him to wonder what went wrong.

As part owner of one of the most prestigious law firms in New York City, Roman Bradford knows that professional success isn’t the be all end all. Although he’s been lucky in life, true love has eluded him for the most part. One too many failed relationships have caused him to be leery of trying again, until he meets a man that can only be described as temptation personified. A few conversations is all it takes for Roman to start believing things will be different this time around. It doesn’t matter that they are boss and employee, or that he’s feeling too much, too fast. Not when he can see the same emotions in Derrick’s eyes. Then life turns on a dime, and Roman has no option but to let his chance at happiness go.

A battle of wills ensues when a life-altering case brings them together a year later. Roman wants to do the right thing by not letting anything happen between them, and Derrick is determined to prove they’re meant to be together. Evidence will be presented and final arguments will be made. Will they be able to come to an agreement, or will they opt to have their potential relationship dismissed?
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Guarded Desires by Morticia Knight

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Guarded Desires
Author: Morticia Knight
Series: Uniform Encounters #4
Heroes: Stephen Morris/Joseph Pirelli
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 206 Pages
Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing
Release Date: February 7, 2014
Available at: Totally Bound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance Ebooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: A sexy young National Guardsman, a snarky bear of a DEA Agent and a vicious Mexican drug cartel. Someone’s going to be sorry.

Special Agent Stephen Morris thought his home life had settled into a pleasantly dull routine. Hanging out in his yard and barbequing is a typical weekend for the brawny mid-thirties man—and his partner Rigo from the DEA office is usually there with his family to keep him company. Being assigned to a main border crossing in Nogales, Arizona, keeps him busy enough at work, so he doesn’t have time to worry about love. However, that doesn’t mean he’s not lonely.

Twenty-two year old PFC Guardsman, Joseph Pirelli, is on an active-duty-for-training mission to help support border patrol and the DEA. The Vasquez drug cartel has become even more vicious than ever—going so far as to target civilians on both sides of the border. Joseph and Stephen are thrown together in a direct conflict with the cartel and a part of Joseph’s dark past is revealed.

Joseph is incredibly attracted to Stephen, even though he doesn’t typically go for older men. He longs to find love, but is still recuperating from an abusive past. The idea of becoming close to a man who could physically harm him brings up fears that may ruin his chances at any kind of relationship with the big teddy bear agent.

Sometimes love shows up when you aren’t looking for it and gives you a chance you shouldn’t ignore. Both men will have the opportunity to wonder what it would be like to lose the other and to decide what they’re willing to risk to be together.
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Reivew: The Mark of the Tala by Jeffe Kennedy

Reviewed by Nikyta

The Mark of the Tala (Twelve Kingdoms, #1)Title: The Mark of the Tala
Author: Jeffe Kennedy
Series: The Twelve Kingdoms #1
Hero/Heroine: Andi & Rayfe
Genre: M/F Fantasy
Length: 353 pages
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Release Date: May 27, 2014
Available at: Kensington Publishing, Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Queen Of The Unknown

The tales tell of three sisters, daughters of the high king. The eldest, a valiant warrior-woman, heir to the kingdom. The youngest, the sweet beauty with her Prince Charming. No one says much about the middle princess, Andromeda. Andi, the other one.

Andi doesn’t mind being invisible. She enjoys the company of her horse more than court, and she has a way of blending into the shadows. Until the day she meets a strange man riding, who keeps company with wolves and ravens, who rules a land of shapeshifters and demons. A country she’d thought was no more than legend–until he claims her as its queen.

In a moment everything changes: Her father, the wise king, becomes a warlord, suspicious and strategic. Whispers call her dead mother a traitor and a witch. Andi doesn’t know if her own instincts can be trusted, as visions appear to her and her body begins to rebel.

For Andi, the time to learn her true nature has come. . . Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: More Than Life by Garrett Leigh

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: More Than Life
Author: Garrett Leigh
Heroes: Mikail/Isa
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 75 Pages
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Release Date: June 1, 2014
Available at:  eXtasy Books
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  A love forged in war, and saved by the shadows of death.

Set in the Kosovan war, Mikail fights in the depleted underground resistance, smuggling intelligence and precious cargo out of war torn Pristina. Isa, an enigmatic CIA operative becomes an unlikely ally, and when a secret mission brings them together, heat, passion and a love they’ve never known consumes them. They forge a deep bond, but the war around them continues to rage, and as Serbian forces close in on Pristina, Isa makes the ultimate sacrifice to save his young lover.

Four years later, Mik lives in the shadow of the Albanian mountains, trying to rebuild his life with what remains of his family. His grief for Isa weighs heavily on his young shoulders and their time together feels like nothing more than a stolen dream.
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Desire in Any Language by Anastasia Vitsky

Reviewed by Nikyta

Desire in Any Language by Anastasia VitskyTitle: Desire in Any Language
Author: Anastasia Vitsky
Series: Mira #1; Masters of the Castle #4.2
Heroine: Mira
Genre: F/F Contemporary/Kink
Length: 21,090 words
Publisher: Blushing Books
Release Date: January 2013
Available at: Blushing Books, Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Mira thought she wanted a spanking. What she got was love.

On her own for the first time, Mira is studying abroad for her translator’s certificate. Unfortunately, the heady excitement of dance clubs, late-night parties, and endless shopping quickly distracts her from her educational goals. Mira’s advisor offers her private tutoring, but the combined pressures of culture and language difference threaten Mira’s progress at school. She is unable to get her act together until she makes a discovery that horrifies and tantalizes her: in her new country, corporal punishment is a way of life. The secret to her academic success just might also fulfill her wildest, unspoken dreams.
Continue reading

Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Branded by Bru Baker

Reviewed by Nikyta

Branded by Bru Baker eBookTitle: Branded
Author: Bru Baker
Series: 2014 Daily Dose – Mended
Heroes: Coren & Bran
Genre: M/M Historical
Length: 36 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: June 1, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon & All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When a would-be assassin sneaks into the citadel disguised as a servant, the king requires that all servants who work in the castle be branded with the royal crest for easy identification. Prince Coren is powerless to fight the edict, but he refuses to allow his personal advisor and secret lover Brannir to suffer alone. Coren shows his devotion by wielding the brand to mark Brannir himself, even though he fears it will change their relationship. He’s prepared for resentment, hurt, and anger–every outcome but the one he receives: unconditional love.
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment