3 Star Ratings

Early Review: In the Raw by Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels

Reviewed by Nikyta

1Title: In the Raw
Author: Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels
Series: In the Kitchen #1
Heroes: James Lassiter/Ethan Martin
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 209 Pages
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: October 6, 2014
Available at: Carina Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: If you can’t take the heat…

James Lassiter has had a crush on fellow culinary student Ethan Martin for three years, but has never had the guts to make a move. Putting himself out there is hard, especially when under the thumb–and wallet–of his overbearing parents. Now that bad boy chef Ethan–who is always vying with Jamie for best in class–is struggling with the pastry course, Jamie suddenly has a reason to reach out.

Ethan doesn’t mean to be an ass–okay, so mostly he does–but even though he’s secretly hot for Jamie, he sure as hell doesn’t want help with pastry. Ever since his dad walked out, Ethan has been the one to hold things together and he’s done fine on his own. Except that he can’t get his cake to rise.

Jamie could be the answer to what Ethan’s been missing his whole life–someone to depend on. But with the two competing for the same scholarship, things suddenly get too hot to handle. And if Jamie finds the strength to go for what he wants, he isn’t about to settle for what he needs.
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Mistletoe on Main Street by Olivia Miles

Guest Reviewed by Ami

1Title: Mistletoe on Main Street
Author: Olivia Miles
Series: Briar Creek #1
Heroine/Hero: Grace Madison/Luke Hastings
Genre: M/F Contemporary Romance
Length: 400 Pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing/Forever
Release Date: September 30, 2014
Available at: Forever, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Sleigh bells, snow, and second chances . . .

Briar Creek’s quaint shop windows, cozy homes nestled in snow, and neighborly residents are what Christmas dreams are made of–for everyone except Grace Madison. She left her hometown years ago to pursue a writing career. But when her father’s death leaves his bookstore empty, Grace must return to face why she fled Vermont in the first place: Luke Hastings, who still heats her up like a shot of smoky whiskey on a cold winter’s night.

Grace is back, and Luke is worried. How much has she changed as a bestselling author in the big city? What memories will she stir up? And was the choice he made five years ago the biggest mistake of his life?

Now, with their past, present, and future rocking around the Christmas tree, it’s time for Grace and Luke to face the music . . . and the mistletoe.
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: A Taste of Chardonnay by Heather Heyford

Guest Reviewed by Ami

1Title: A Taste of Chardonnay
Author: Heather Heyford
Series: The Napa Wine Heiresses #1
Heroine/Hero: Chardonnay St. Pierre/Ryder McBride
Genre: MF Contemporary Romance
Length: 206 Pages
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Release Date: October 13, 2014
Available at:  Kensington Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Chardonnay St. Pierre’s father is as infamous for his scandals as he is for his wine, and it’s up to Char to restore the family name. The Challenge, an elite charity competition held in Napa, seems like the perfect opportunity for the socialite to cement her image as a philanthropist. But all eyes—including Char’s—are on the Hollywood heartthrob who’s also entered the race…

Long before his face was splashed across the gossip magazines, Ryder McBride grew up in a working-class family in Napa. He knows all about the St. Pierre sisters and their notorious father, and when he learns he’ll be up against Char in The Challenge, he assumes the grape doesn’t fall far from the vine. But the more they get to know one another, the more they begin to realize that nothing pairs better with a heated rivalry than a healthy pour of flirtation…
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Dakota Skies by Taylin Clavelli

Reviewed by Heather C

1Title:  Dakota Skies
Author: Taylin Clavelli
Heroes: Jamie Carter/Kit Brooks (Daniel)
Genre: MM Historical Romance
Length: 359 Pages
Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing
Release Date: September 12, 2014
Available at: Wayward Ink Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Born in the wrong time…

In 1875 Dakota, Sheriff Jamie Carter has to hide his interest in men, even from his gutsy twin sister, Anna. On a good day, the truth can mean a bullet between the eyes, and on a bad, one in the back.

A man on a mission…

Jamie leaves Anna in charge of Blackrock and he hits the bounty hunting trail, along with his faithful equine companion, Houston. Five territories, scores of ‘Wanted’ posters, and many bullets later, his path unexpectedly converges with that of enigmatic loner, Kit Brooks.

Two men with one soul…

Will the smoldering fire between them rage into an inferno and break down protective barriers, allowing them to find love? Or will it separate and kill them?

Beneath Dakota skies…

Jamie and Kit’s story is a sweeping saga of cowboys, Indians, persistent broads, and vengeful villains, where the cowboys aren’t always the good guys, and love can’t be taken for granted.
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Sweetwater by Lisa Henry

Reviewed by Heather C

3Title:  Sweetwater
Author: Lisa Henry
Heroes: Elijah Carter/Grady Mullins
Genre: MM Historical
Length: 240 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: September 29, 2014
Available at: Riptide Publishing and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Wyoming Territory, 1870.

Elijah Carter is afflicted. Most of the townsfolk of South Pass City treat him as a simpleton because he’s deaf, but that’s not his only problem. Something in Elijah runs contrary to nature and to God. Something that Elijah desperately tries to keep hidden.

Harlan Crane, owner of the Empire saloon, knows Elijah for what he is—and for all the ungodly things he wants. But Crane isn’t the only one. Grady Mullins desires Elijah too, but unlike Crane, he refuses to push the kid.

When violence shatters Elijah’s world, he is caught between two very different men and two devastating urges: revenge, and despair. In a boomtown teetering on the edge of a bust, Elijah must face what it means to be a man in control of his own destiny, and choose a course that might end his life . . . or truly begin it for the very first time
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Hunting the Spy by Tyler Flynn

Reviewed by Heather C

3Title:  Hunting the Spy
Author: Tyler Flynn
Heroes: Nathan Kennett/Sir Peter Ross
Genre: MM Historical
Length: 188 Pages
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: September 22, 2014
Available at: Carina Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: England, 1792

Revolution rages in France, and war with England is imminent. But Nathan Kennett is fighting his own battle. An undercover spy catcher, he’s after an unknown informant who’s supplying valuable secrets about the English coastal defenses to the French.

When he discovers a dead body in his employer’s house, with Sir Peter Ross hunched over it, he has his suspect. Lean, strong and firm, Peter is Nathan’s ex-lover—and a member of the aristocracy. He represents everything Nathan hates and has the arrogance to match. Peter broke off their affair with no explanation, but is he capable of murder, and treason besides?

Trying to keep one step ahead of his enemies, Nathan has only two days to identify and deliver the informant to his superiors in London. Peter swears his innocence and offers to help find the true culprit, but as riots swell in the streets, Nathan can’t be sure he can trust him. Or himself, when they’re together.
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Into This River I Drown by T.J. Klune

Reviewed by Morgan

12Title: Into This River I Drown
Author: T.J. Klune
Narrator: Matt Baca
Heroes: Benji Green/Cal Blue
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 400 Pages / 18 Hours, 45 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: Book – March 25, 2013 / Audio – August 19, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Five years ago, Benji Green lost his beloved father Big Eddie when his truck crashed into a river. Everyone called it an accident, but Benji knows it was more. Even years later, he’s buried in his grief, throwing himself into managing Big Eddie’s convenience store in the small-town of Roseland, Oregon. Surrounded by his mother and three aunts, he lives day to day, struggling to keep his head above water.

But Roseland is no ordinary place.

With ever more frequent dreams of his father’s death and waking visions of feathers on the river’s surface, Benji finds his definition of reality bending. He thinks himself haunted; by ghosts or memories, he can no longer tell. Not until a man falls from the sky, leaving the burning imprint of wings on the ground, does Benji begin to understand that the world is more mysterious than he ever imagined – and more dangerous. As uncontrollable forces descend on Roseland, they reveal long-hidden truths about friends, family, and the stranger Calliel – a man Benji can no longer live without.
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh

Guest Reviewed by Gyn

Rock Addiction (Rock Kiss #1)Title: Rock Addiction
Author: Nalini Singh
Series: Rock Kiss #1
Heroine/Hero: Molly Webster/Zachary Fox
Genre: M/F Contemporary
Length: 300+ Pages
Publisher: TKA Distribution
Release Date: September 9, 2014
Available at: Amazon, Kobo and iBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  A bad boy wrapped in a sexy, muscled, grown-up package might be worth a little risk…

Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media’s harsh spotlight, she vowed to live an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker with a voice like whiskey and sin, and a touch that could become an addiction.

A one-night stand with the hottest rock star on the planet, that’s all it was meant to be…

Fox promises scorching heat and dangerous pleasure, coaxing Molly to extend their one-night stand into a one-month fling. After that, he’ll be gone forever, his life never again intersecting with her own. Sex and sin and sensual indulgence, all with an expiration date. No ties, no regrets. Too late, Molly realizes it isn’t only her body that’s become addicted to Fox, but her heart…
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Fight Within by Andrew Grey

Guest Reviewed by Morgan

3Title: The Fight Within
Author: Andrew Grey
Series: The Good Fight #2
Heroes: Bryce Morton/Paytah Stillwater
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 206 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: March 4, 2013
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Bryce Morton needs a change of scenery. Since his partner’s death a year ago, he’s become withdrawn and quiet, so his friends, Jerry Lincoln and Akecheta (John) Black Raven, convince him to go camping with them on a Sioux reservation. Though he’s not immediately sure he’s done the right thing, Bryce becomes more interested when he meets Paytah, the man who owns the reservation’s trading post.

Paytah Stillwater’s life is filled with hurt, and sometimes the only thing he has left is pride. After being abused as a child and disbelieved when he spoke up, he has withdrawn into himself – but he can never truly put his past behind him, because the source of his pain still lives on the reservation. Paytah is proud of his heritage and careful with his heart, but when Bryce commits a selfless act of kindness for one of the reservation’s children, the walls around Paytah’s heart begin to melt.

Bryce and Paytah each fight the pain within them. When Paytah’s abuser sets his sights on one of the reservation youngsters, Bryce and Payton must set their individual fights aside. Finding a way to stop the abuser unites them to fight their way forward – together.
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ghost Week Review: Ghost Layer by Robin D. Owens

Reviewed by Nikyta

3Title: Ghost Layer
Author: Robin D. Owens
Series: Ghost Seer #2
Heroine/Hero: Clare Cermak/Zach Slade
Genre: M/F Paranormal Mystery
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Available at: Berkley, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: What lies beneath…

Clare Cermak’s adjusting to a new man in her life—and a lot of ghosts. The passing of Clare’s aunt gave way to a sizeable inheritance of not only money, but also the ability to communicate with the dead. At the same time, she met Zach Slade, a private detective with a rough past, and just like Clare, he’s not yet ready to accept her gift—or his own.

But Clare has another matter to look into. A multimillionaire needs her help after relocating an old ghost town to his mountain estate. The bones of a murdered prospector are making nightly appearances in his guests’ beds. When the gold miner’s ghost contacts Clare, she promises to help find the name of his killer—but someone doesn’t want the past revealed and might find her first…
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014, Theme Week | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment