LGBT

Challenge Book Review: The Nothingness of Ben by Brad Boney

Posted on January 19, 2014 by justjenbo

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: The Nothingness of Ben
Author: Brad Boney
Heroes: Ben/Travis
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 248 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: November 23, 2012
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Ben Walsh is well on his way to becoming one of Manhattan’s top litigators, with a gorgeous boyfriend and friends on the A-list. His life is perfect until he gets a phone call that brings it all crashing down: a car accident takes his parents, and now he must return to Austin to raise three teenage brothers he barely knows.

During the funeral, Ben meets Travis Atwood, the redneck neighbor with a huge heart. Their relationship initially runs hot and cold, from contentious to flirtatious, but when the weight of responsibility starts wearing on Ben, he turns to Travis, and the pressure shapes their friendship into something that feels a lot like love. Ben thinks he’s found a way to have his old life, his new life, and Travis too, but love isn’t always easy. Will he learn to recognize that sometimes the worst thing imaginable can lead him to the place he was meant to be? Continue reading →

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Challenge Book Week, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2012 | Tags: BDSM, Brad Boney, Contemporary, Dreamspinner Press, Friends to Lovers, Gay for you, M/M, The Nothingness of Ben | 6 Comments

Book Review: My Cowboy Heart by Z.A. Maxfield

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: My Cowboy Heart
Author: Z.A. Maxfield
Series: The Cowboys #1
Heroes/Heroine: Speed Ball Malloy & Crispin Carrasco
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Length: 266 pages
Publisher: Intermix (Penguin Imprint)
Release Date: August 20, 2013
Available at: Penguin, Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: A cowboy’s heart has room for anything…

J-Bar ranch foreman Malloy pretty much keeps to himself—slinking around the edges of everybody else like an old coyote, doing his job and staying private. That is until Crispin Carrasco shows up.

Lean, muscular, and with a motor mouth that won’t quit, Crispin sparks something in Malloy—something the foreman didn’t know was there. But how does a lone coyote approach the warmth of a fire? And more important, what would happen if that fire burned? Continue reading →

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: Angst, artists, closet cases, Contemporary, cowboys, cute, emotionally damaged, grieving, Intermix, M/M, My Cowboy Heart, Pets, romance, series, sweet, tear jerker, The Cowboys Series, working together, Z.A. Maxfield | 2 Comments

Book Review: The Wrong Side of Right by Nya Rawlyns

Posted on January 18, 2014 by justjenbo

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: The Wrong Side of Right
Author: Nya Rawlyns
Heroes: Tony/Aidan
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 210 Pages
Publisher: PubRight
Release Date: May 27, 2013
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Tony Mitchell is a loner who spends most of his life staying low, denying who and what he is until Aiden Caldwell walks into the shop and changes everything. Tony thinks his new supervisor hates his guts, but that doesn’t keep Tony from dreaming and yearning. His fantasies drive him to follow the older man, revealing a secret that only confounds Tony’s obsession.

Conflicted and confused, Tony falls under the spell of a man called Tank who leads Tony down a dark path of seduction and dangerous cravings. Under Tank’s guidance, Tony learns to suspend reality, to succumb. The one thing he doesn’t learn is how to say no.

Aiden Caldwell pulls Tony from the precipice but not from the addiction that threatens to consume the young man.

In the matter of love and trust, can two men intent on hiding their most secret selves find common ground as fate and their own tumultuous pasts conspire to tear them apart? Continue reading →

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2013 | Tags: Abuse, BDSM, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, mystery, Nya Rawlyns, PubRight, The Wrong Side of Right | 4 Comments

Young Adult Week! Review: Under the Bridge by R. Cooper

Posted on January 17, 2014 by justjenbo

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Under the Bridge
Author: R. Cooper
Heroes: Chris/Nick
Genre: M/M Young Adult
Length: 24 Pages
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: October 15, 2012
Available at: Smashwords
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Grad night is supposed to be a night of carefree celebration before growing up and leaving childhood behind, but after graduation Chris is spending his night wandering streets alone with a black eye and a split lip. Beat up yet again for being out and proud, he is contemplating how glad he’ll be to leave his childhood, and this town, behind, when he stumbles across the town’s other outcast, his childhood best friend, Nick. Chris hasn’t spoken to Nick in years. When Nick was thirteen his family moved away, and when they came back to town a year later, Chris had a new stepfather, a new set of bruises, and no interest in being friends with Chris or anyone else. He’s spent high school getting into trouble and breaking hearts while Chris has been getting ready for college. On the surface they couldn’t be more different, but it isn’t long before Chris starts to see that Nick is just as scared and lonely as he is, and just as used to pain. Continue reading →

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2012, Theme Week | Tags: Abuse, Bittersweet, Coming Out, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, R. Cooper, Self-Published, Under the Bridge, Young Adult, Young Adult Week | 1 Comment

Book Review: The Pack or the Panther by Tara Lain

Posted on January 16, 2014 by susan65coug Miss Behaving

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: The Pack or the Panther
Author: Tara Lain
Heroes: Cole Harker and Paris Marketo
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 202 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 8, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Cole Harker, son of an alpha werewolf, is bigger and more powerful than most wolves, tongue-tied in groups, and gay. For twenty-four years, he’s lived to please his family and pack—even letting them promise him in marriage to female werewolf Analiese to secure a pack alliance and help save them from a powerful gangster who wants their land. Then Cole meets Analiese’s half-brother, panther shifter Paris Marketo, and for the first time, Cole wants something for himself.

When Analiese runs off to marry a human, Cole finally has a chance with Paris, but the solitary cat rejects him, the pack, and everything it represents. Then Cole discovers the gangster wants Paris too and won’t rest until he has him. What started as a land dispute turns into World War Wolf! But the bigger fight is the battle between cats and dogs. Continue reading →

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: Abduction, Alpha Males, Dreamspinner Press, Feline shifter, M/M, paranormal, Revenge, Shifters, Tara Lain, The Pack or the Panther, Werewolves | 4 Comments

Young Adult Week! Review: Ash by Malinda Lo

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Heather C

Reviewed by Heather C

Title: Ash
Author: Malinda Lo
The Heroines: Ash & Kaisa
Genre: YA Fantasy, F/F
Length: 272 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 11, 2009
Available at: Amazon & Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf at: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Cinderella retold

In the wake of her father’s death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, re-reading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King’s Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash’s capacity for love—and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief. Continue reading →

Categories: 1.5 Star Ratings, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published Before 2010, Theme Week | Tags: Ash, F/F, Fairy Tale, fantasy, Malinda Lo, The Blogger Girls, Young Adult, Young Adult Week | 1 Comment

Young Adult Week! Review: Safe by C. Kennedy

Posted on January 15, 2014 by susan65coug Miss Behaving

Review by Susan65

Title: Safe
Author: C. Kennedy
Heroes: Nicolo (Nico) Caro and Caleb Deering
Genre: M/M YA Contemporary
Length: 89 Pages
Publisher: Harmony Ink
Release Date: October 24, 2013
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: They met at ten; they kissed at twelve, and were madly in love by eighteen.

Caleb Deering is the captain of the swim team and the hottest senior in school. He comes from a loving home with a kind father and a caring, but strict, mother who is battling breast cancer. Nico Caro is small and beautiful, and has a father who rules with an iron fist–literally.

One morning Caleb forgets himself, and he pecks Nico on the lips at school. A teacher sees them and tattles to the Headmaster. The accidental outing at school might be the least of their problems, because the ball set in motion by the school’s calls to their parents could get Nico killed. In the face of that very real danger, Caleb knows he has only one mission in life: to keep Nico safe. Continue reading →

Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2013, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: Abuse, Barely Legal, Bullying, C. Kennedy, Coming Out, Coming-of-Age, Contemporary, Dreamspinner Press, Family Drama, First-Time, Harmony Ink, High School, Hurt-Comfort, M/M, Safe, Young Adult, Young Adult Week | 2 Comments

Book Review: Pen Name – Doctor Chicken by KC Burn

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Pen Name – Doctor Chicken
Author: KC Burn
Heroes: Stratford Dale & Vinnie Giani
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Length: 63k+ words
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: November 22, 2013
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Sometimes Stratford Dale feels like Doctor Chicken consumes his life. It’s his pen name for a series of wildly popular children’s books. They were his brainchild; he meant for them to be a way to pay his many bills while he pursued his dream of publishing graphic novels. But the Doctor Chicken contract was a raw deal. Instead, he churns out book after book for a pittance, leaving him broke and no closer to his dreams.

Stratford’s dreams of love have fared no better, but he’s still trying. After yet another disastrous date, he’s intrigued by a man going into a cooking class—so he takes the class too. Vinnie Giani is a successful, self-made man who is charmed by Stratford’s bow ties, sharp humor, and clumsiness—which leads to an opportunity to take Stratford in for stitches. Vinnie is, above all, responsible, having taken on the care of his mother and sisters from a young age. Perhaps it’s natural when he begins to treat Stratford more as a child who needs a parent than as an equal partner. But when Vinnie tries to “fix” Stratford’s career woes—including the Doctor Chicken problem—and ends up making the situation worse, their fledgling relationship may not withstand the the strain created by blame and lies. Continue reading →

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: artists, Contemporary, cute, dependent family, Dreamspinner Press, geeks/nerds, injury, KC Burn, M/M, omissions, Pen Name - Doctor Chicken, Pets, romance, separated for a bit, sweet read | 2 Comments

Early Review: Payoff by Aleksandr Voinov & L.A. Witt

Posted on January 13, 2014 by justjenbo

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Payoff
Authors: Aleksandr Voinov, L.A. Witt
Series: Market Garden #6
Heroes: Jared/Tristan
Genre: M/M, Contemporary
Length: 52 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: February 3, 2014
Available at: Riptide Publishing
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Tristan and Jared have got it made. When they aren’t raking in the cash together at Market Garden, they’re burning up their own sheets and getting closer by the day. But something isn’t right. Tristan’s on edge, and Jared doesn’t understand why.

Before they can hash things out, their services are requested by none other than Rolex. And Rolex doesn’t just want to be a bystander this time. He wants Jared while Tristan watches, and he’s more than willing to pay for it.

But Tristan’s reached a breaking point, and even that huge wad of cash might not be enough to keep tonight’s arrangement from crashing and burning. Continue reading →

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: Aleksandr Voinov, Contemporary, L.A. Witt, M/M, Market Garden Series, Menage, Payoff, Rentboy, series | 1 Comment

Book Review: The Carousel by Eva Vicci

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Heather C

Reviewed by Heather C

Title: The Carousel
Author: Eva Vicci
The Heroes: Jonathan Moore & Francis Johnson
Genre: M/M Historical Romance
Length: 74 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 8, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Eighteen–year-old Jonathan Moore works as a garden hand on a lord’s estate in Victorian England. On a festive servants’ day off, he visits the Christmas fair, hoping to fulfill his childhood dream of riding the carousel. The trip turns out unexpectedly when he catches the eye of impudent footman Francis Johnson. Despite Jonathan’s reservations, the flirtatious Francis doesn’t give up, and after some hesitation, they share a ride on the glittering carousel. Before they say good-bye, Francis asks to meet again, and with a quickening heartbeat, Jonathan agrees.

Rarely having a day off from their duties, their yearning for one another cannot be quenched, while Jonathan’s fear of heartbreak makes him uncertain whether Francis is the right man for him. Meanwhile, Francis does everything in his power to make a next date happen. Will Jonathan’s naïve heart give in to the temptation of the seductive footman? Continue reading →

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: Dreamspinner Press, Eva Vicci, Historical, little or no sex, M/M, Novella, romance, sweet read, The Carousel | Leave a comment

LGBT

Challenge Book Review: The Nothingness of Ben by Brad Boney

Book Review: My Cowboy Heart by Z.A. Maxfield

Book Review: The Wrong Side of Right by Nya Rawlyns

Young Adult Week! Review: Under the Bridge by R. Cooper

Book Review: The Pack or the Panther by Tara Lain

Young Adult Week! Review: Ash by Malinda Lo

Young Adult Week! Review: Safe by C. Kennedy

Book Review: Pen Name – Doctor Chicken by KC Burn

Early Review: Payoff by Aleksandr Voinov & L.A. Witt

Book Review: The Carousel by Eva Vicci

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