4.5 Star Ratings

Challenge Book Review: Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Widdershins
Author: Jordan L. Hawk
Series: Whyborne & Griffin #1
Heroes: Percival Endicott Whyborne & Griffin Flaherty
Genre: M/M Paranormal Historical
Length: 85k+ words
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: December 3, 2012
Available at: Smashwords, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Some things should stay buried.

Repressed scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne has two skills: reading dead languages and hiding in his office at the Ladysmith Museum. After the tragic death of the friend he secretly loved, he’s ruthlessly suppressed any desire for another man.

So when handsome ex-Pinkerton Griffin Flaherty approaches him to translate a mysterious book, Whyborne wants to finish the job and get rid of the detective as quickly as possible. Griffin left the Pinkertons following the death of his partner, hoping to start a new life. But the powerful cult which murdered Glenn has taken root in Widdershins, and only the spells in the book can stop them. Spells the intellectual Whyborne doesn’t believe are real.

As the investigation draws the two men closer, Griffin’s rakish charm threatens to shatter Whyborne’s iron control. When the cult resurrects an evil sorcerer who commands terrifying monsters, can Whyborne overcome his fear and learn to trust? Will Griffin let go of his past and risk falling in love? Or will Griffin’s secrets cost Whyborne both his heart and his life? Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Challenge Book Week, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2012 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Book Review: Glory Lands by Vastine Bondurant

Reviewed by Heather C

Title: Glory Lands
Author: Vastine Bondurant
Series: Texas Piney Woods #1
Heroes: Glory Lands & Emory Joe Logan
Genre: M/M Historical Romance
Length: 146 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 22, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Rural East Texas, 1931. Preacher’s son Emory Joe Logan and a fiddler from Shreveport, Glory Lands, meet and form a tender bond. When they are caught and arrested for homosexual acts by Sheriff Elihu Bishop, the lawman’s sanctimonious bigotry threatens to rip the young men from their families.

Emory Joe’s father, Pastor Charles Logan, is brought to his knees in terror, confusion, and anger. He still regrets not standing up against Bishop when the lawman murdered a youth in cold blood nine years ago.

Now there’s no longer a choice for the preacher to stand up to the lawman. Cold-blooded justice, bigotry-disguised-as-religion, and hatred take on a whole new meaning when they’re standing on his doorstep, ready to take the son he loves. Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Book Review: Interlude with Tattoos: A Charm of Magpies Story by KJ Charles

Reviewed by Heather C
interludesmagpiesv1Title: Interlude with Tattoos
Author: KJ Charles
Series: A Charm of Magpies #1.5
The Heroes: Stephan Day & Lord Lucien Crane
Genre: M/M Historical Romance, Paranormal
Length: 14 pages (4,550 words)
Release Date: December 10, 2013
Available Free at: Smashwords
Add it to your shelf at: Goodreads
Blurb: A short story set just after the end of The Magpie Lord. Stephen Day and Lord Crane return to London. Neither is quite sure where their fledgling relationship is going. It seems unlikely that there can be much of a future for them, under the circumstances, with Stephen going back to work and Crane returning to China. Until they encounter an unexpected moment of magic… Continue reading
Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Challenge Book Review: The Nothingness of Ben by Brad Boney

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: , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Young Adult Week! Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Series: Graceling Realm #1
Heroes/Heroine: Katsa and Prince Po
Genre: M/F Young Adult Fantasy
Length: 480 pages
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books
Release Date: September 7, 2009
Available at: Harcourt, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight – she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po’s friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace – or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away… Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published Before 2010, Theme Week | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Book Review: The Pack or the Panther by Tara Lain

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: , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Early Review: Dirty Deeds by SE Jakes

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Dirty Deeds
Author: SE Jakes
Series: Dirty Deeds #1
Heroes: Mal and Cillian
Genre: M/M Action, Mystery
Length: 94 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: January 13, 2014
Available at: Riptide Publishing
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Two seasoned operatives finally meet their match: each other.

Cillian works for the mysterious Special Branch 20: an organization that runs black ops commissioned by the British government. His specialty is deep undercover assignments with virtually no support. He’s been alone for so long that he no longer knows anything else.

Mal’s also used to being alone. Wanted in several states and even more countries, he’s not allowed in the vicinity of any of his former Navy SEAL teammates. And his current assignment is to track Cillian in order to discover the spook’s endgame. Except he’s no longer sure which one of them is getting played.

Cillian isn’t about to let the mission that’s consumed him for the past several years crumble because an outsider is poking around where he doesn’t belong. But Mal forces his way through Cillian’s defenses—and into his heart—exposing a devastating betrayal that could destroy them both.

Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Book Review: The Gentleman’s Madness by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon

Reviewed by Heather C

The Gentleman's MadnessTitle: The Gentleman’s Madness
Author: Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon
The Heroes: John Gilliam and Samuel Tully
Genre: M/M Historical Romance
Length: Short Novel
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: December 31, 2013
Available at: Samhain Publishing, Amazon, All Romance eBooks, & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: An imprisoned heart finds escape in forbidden love.

No pride. No privacy. No hope.

Academic John Gilliam thought being caught embracing another man was the worst that could happen. Until he agrees to “treatment” at an asylum, where a vicious attack leaves him shaken and afraid.

But having all means of writing or reading taken from him… That is a serious threat to his sanity. Then a moment of kindness from an asylum attendant begins to restore his dignity.

Sam Tully feels sorry for the patient everyone calls “the professor”, but with a back injury that cost him his job on the docks—and without the education that would have bettered his position—he tries to keep his head down, and a tight lid on his attraction to men.

As John prays for freedom, he grows closer to the gentle, innately intelligent Tully. In spite of themselves, forbidden attraction leads to touches, kisses, and more. But there’s something other than curative treatments going on at the asylum. When John and Tully uncover a heinous conspiracy, their very lives are in danger.

Product Warnings:

Contains heinous crimes and frightening treatments—oh, and some sweet and loving sexy times between two healthy, not-crazy men. Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Written In Red by Anne Bishop

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Written in Red
Author: Anne Bishop
Series: The Others #1
Heroine/Hero: Meg Corbyn & Simon Wolfgard
Genre: M/F Urban Fantasy
Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Available at: PenguinAmazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape- shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow. Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments