4.5 Star Ratings

Book Review: Crossroads by Riley Hart

Reviewed by JustJen

25963015Title: Crossroads
Author: Riley Hart
Heroes: Bryce Tanner/Nick Fuller
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 241 Pages
Publisher: Riley Hart
Release Date: July 28, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  After divorcing the woman he’d been with since he was seventeen, Nick Fuller is starting over. He owns the restaurant of his dreams and he’s determined to meet new people, find new passions, and experience life to its fullest. Easier said than done—that is until he meets his new neighbor, Bryce Tanner…

Bryce is all about a good time. He plans to show Nick how it’s done, help him meet a few women, and enjoy the gift of the single life he’s been given. But things don’t go as planned, and soon they realize they’d rather be together than with anyone else.

Neither man has ever wanted another guy, but there’s a connection between them from the start—a spark they can’t deny. They find themselves navigating an unfamiliar new world and dealing with unforeseen obstacles. Physical desire isn’t enough, and now Nick and Bryce are at a crossroads. They have to decide which way to go: the easy path they’ve always followed, or the one that’s determined to trip them up at every turn.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Trasmundo: Escape by Varian Krylov

Reviewed by JustJen

25970839Title: Trasmundo: Escape
Author: Varian Krylov
Series: Trasmundo #1
Heroes: Luka/Tarik
Genre: MM Dystopian
Length: 236 Pages
Publisher: Varian Krylov
Release Date: August 6, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Strange, quiet Luka doesn’t live in this world; long ago he took refuge in his art, escaping into surreal mindscapes inspired by his favorite painters. In the beautifully monstrous realms of his imagination, he is safe from the pain of his losses: his family, his friends, his hope.

Until war breaks out, and he is forced to flee the only home he’s known since he was thirteen.

Captured by an enemy soldier, young Luka is marched across brutal terrain, toward a fate known only by the bearded menace holding him prisoner. Quick with a knife, tireless and strong, Tarik guards the purpose of his mission as he takes Luka deeper and deeper into enemy territory.

When the soldier discovers the painful secret he has been hiding since childhood, Luka fears he is about to endure a new kind of cruelty, worse than being abandoned, ostracized or beaten. Or is it possible the soldier holding Luka prisoner is the one person who isn’t afraid of the truth behind Luka’s silence and lies?
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Two Hearts One Voice by Valentina Heart

Reviewed by Susan65

25237757Title: Two Hearts One Voice
Author: Valentina Heart
Series: Mending the Rift #3
Heroes: Rin/Merin
Genre: MM Fantasy
Length: 95 Pages
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: They are at war, fearing for each other, both carrying the upbringing of their children and the survival of their country. They are kings.

With the future of the throne secured, Rin and Merin still have little time to rejoice for their children or the unity of their kingdoms. Stuck in the middle of a battlefield, their lives prove to be once again at risk, Rin heads out on a long journey home with his heirs, leaving Merin to lead their army.

Rin receives his rightful title of a king from the Kari council and for once feels as if he belongs on the throne without Merin there to guide him. Missing his husband, he raises their children the best he can, but there’s no end to the war in sight and, after months of futile conflicts, Rin sees Merin cut down in battle.

Distraught and with no patience for his council, Rin threatens the Riki, making even his own men fear him.

Can Rin cope alone and still win the war, or will his sorrow mark the end of his reign?

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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Blowing Smoke by Rory Ni Coileain

Reviewed by Nikyta

Blowing Smoke Final CoverTitle: Blowing Smoke
Author: Rory Ni Coileain
Series: SoulShares #5
Heroes: Lasair & Bryce
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 222 pages
Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books
Release Date: July 12, 2015
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Lasair Faol, Master of the Fade-Hounds to the Royal court of the Demesne of Fire in the Fae Realm, has been exiled to the human world by the Princess Consort for failing to catch her son’s kidnapper. Bryce Newhouse, Greenwich Village investment banker, is universally loathed by all who know him. Generally, he’s perfectly cool with that, but he discovers what he’s been missing—literally—when he finds Lasair chained in his basement.

Bryce was supposed to receive half of Lasair’s soul at his birth, but thanks to the Fae of Purgatory, the Pattern—portal between the worlds—has been damaged, and Bryce’s soul arrived thirty-one years too late. Now the exiled Fae is the shunned human’s only hope of healing his broken past. And with the fate of two worlds riding on that healing, Lasair is going to have to overcome both his race’s innate mistrust of genuine emotion and his own very unFae awkwardness, to have any chance of reaching Bryce’s impenetrable heart.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Breaking by Barbara Elsborg

Reviewed by JustJen

25063508Title: Falling
Author: Barbara Elsborg
Series: Break or Fall #2
Heroes: Archer Hart/Conrad Black
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 314 Pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: July 28, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Archer Hart is on the move before the man he’s just killed is found. When a bullet whizzes past his ear, he realizes hunter is now hunted. So much for his retirement plans. Someone wants him dead and all he can do is keep running.

Downed by a hit and run driver, barrister Conrad Black is certain the ‘accident’ was deliberate but he has no proof or support. In recovery, struggling to work out of partial paralysis, he has plenty of time to wonder who regrets not striking him harder. At this point, running anywhere is a distant dream.

The confidence, determination and stamina of two alphas males will mean little if neither is willing to bend—seize the love offered—and work together to understand why they’re suddenly both marked men. Not easy for either when Archer has broken the law in the worst possible way and Conrad is the law.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Sons of the Countryside by Jenni Michaels

Reviewed by Nikyta

SonsoftheCountrysideTitle: Sons of the Countryside
Author: Jenni Michaels
Heroes: Knox & Cailean
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Length: 200 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: July 3, 2015
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: In the kingdom of Ailis, the Council removes all magicians from their family at the onset of their powers. All except one—Knox Cane, whose father hid him to keep him safe. But when Knox’s skills become known, the Council captures his father and gives him an ultimatum: use his abilities to help them locate and kill the last prince of the Phela line, the royal family the Council overthrew twenty years before, or never see his father again.

When he was just a child, Cailean Phela lost most of his family in a senseless slaughter perpetuated by a power-hungry group of men. His race—the Mac Tire—were banished to the nearly uninhabitable northern mountains of Cairn, where their numbers have dwindled. Luckily for the Mac Tire, the rising resistance is finally ready to make a move. If they can harness the magic the land holds for them before time runs out, they might find the strength to take back their kingdom.

Cailean knows he is a hunted man. He anticipates a difficult battle to free his land from the Council’s tyranny, but he never expected to fall in love with the man charged with ending his life.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Tutor by Bonnie Dee

Reviewed by Heather C

25859807Title: The Tutor
Author: Bonnie Dee
Heroes: Graham Cowrie & Sir Richard Allinson
Genre: MM Historical Romance
Length: 178 pages
Publisher: Bonnie Dee
Release Date: July 21, 2015
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:

Gothic romance with a twist.

Elements of The Sound of Music, The Enchanted Garden, Jane Eyre, and “true” ghost hunting shows make this story feel familiar. Gay love makes it unique.

Seeing an ad for a position at a Yorkshire estate, typesetter Graham Cowrie decides to make an upward career move by passing himself off as a tutor. How hard can it be to teach a few subjects to a pair of nine-year-old boys? But on his arrival at the ancient house, he finds the staff creepy, the twins odd, and the widowed master temporarily absent.

His first meeting with brooding, stern, but oh-so-attractive, Sir Richard doesn’t go well, but with no other prospects vying for the teaching position, Graham manages to keep it. His mission soon becomes clear, break down the walls of reserve both father and sons have erected and attempt to bridge the gap between them.

But strange sounds, sights and experiences keep Graham on edge until he finally admits the Hall is haunted by two entities with very different agendas. Graham works to appease one and combat the other while protecting the broken family he’s grown to care for.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Family and Reflection by Anne Barwell

Reviewed by Nikyta

FamilyandreflectionTitle: Family and Reflection
Author: Anne Barwell
Series: The Sleepless City #3
Heroes: Lucas & Declan
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 226 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: June 6, 2015
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: For as long as Lucas Coate can remember, werewolves have been taught to mistrust vampires. Lucas is an exception—he has close friends who are vampires. The werewolf pack in Flint—and their leader, Jacob Coate—have made it clear that Lucas’s association with vampires is barely tolerated, and another transgression will be his last. When Lucas finds out about the plague of werewolf deaths in the area, he wants to help even though his own life may already be in danger.

Declan has been away from Flint for ten years, but he isn’t surprised to learn that the internal politics of the Supernatural Council haven’t changed for the better. When a series of burglaries hit close to home soon after he arrives, Declan—a vampire and professional thief—is their prime suspect, although for once, he isn’t responsible. With the council keeping secrets, no one is safe. Time is running out, and for Lucas and Declan, everything is about to change.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Just Business by Anna Zabo

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Just Business
Author: Anna Zabo
Series: Takeover #2
Heroes: Justin White/Eli Ovadia
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 266 Pages
Publisher: Intermix
Release Date: June 16, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Justin White may not look like an up and coming corporate superstar, but his new boss knows he has the smarts, grit, and determination to succeed. Now he just has to convince his company’s CFO, Eli Ovadia. Unfortunately, Justin can’t seem to keep his cool around the domineering Eli—and soon he finds himself taking their heat from the boardroom into the bedroom….

Still haunted by a tragic accident that left him with a wounded leg and broken heart, Eli has a need to be in control. But his desire for Justin makes him want to lose that control—and push them both far beyond their limits. But will his need to dominate Justin drive him away—or will Eli find a way to be the man he needs for both of them?
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Early Review: In the Distance by Nikka Michaels & Eileen Griffin

Reviewed by Nikyta

{EEB8C335-52AD-4057-8FE3-8DA4E98AB89B}Img100Title: In the Distance
Author: Nikka Michaels & Eileen Griffin
Series: In the Kitchen #3
Heroes: Tyler and Trevor
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 104,230 words
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: June 15, 2015
Available at: Carina Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Tyler Mitchell has worked hard to rebuild his life after his family kicked him out. A culinary student and sous chef who spends his spare time volunteering with kids, he’s happy enough even though he has no time to consider a relationship.

Trevor Pratt is finally getting over losing the one person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but it’s taken screwing every cute guy in Manhattan to get there. He’s vowed to repair the friendship he broke along the way, but that’s hard to do when his friend’s new employee catches his eye. Despite being warned to stay away from Tyler, Trevor turns on the charm.

Romance is a terrible idea. Trevor is ten years older and a relentless playboy. Tyler is still unsure of his place in the world. Neither of them is ready for life-changing love, but as things heat up, their chemistry in the bedroom might just take that decision out of their hands.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments