4 Star Ratings

Book Review: Duty to the Crown by Rebecca Cohen

Reviewed by Heather C

1Title:  Duty to the Crown
Author: Rebecca Cohen
Series: The Crofton Chronicles #2
Heroes: Sebastian Hewel/Anthony Redbourn (Lord Crofton)
Genre: MM Historical Romance
Length: 210 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: May 27, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Despite the uncomfortable clothing and the gossip at court, Sebastian Hewel is still enjoying the role of Lady Bronwyn, wife of Earl Anthony Crofton. But when Queen Elizabeth asks a favor of Anthony, Sebastian’s world fractures and his heart threatens to break. The Queen wants Anthony to seduce Marie Valois, the beautiful daughter of a French noble, to discover the whereabouts of her father, who is wanted by the King of France.

Sebastian knows Anthony can’t refuse the Queen, especially since he has something of a reputation at court. But the situation is further complicated when Marie meets Sebastian without his disguise—and starts flirting with him. Her brother, Nicholas, arrives at Crofton Hall, not happy that his sister has been linked to a man like Anthony, only to find his own head turned by Lady Bronwyn and her acerbic wit. Contending with the attentions of both siblings—and a very jealous Anthony—would be bad enough. But then Sebastian’s uncle demands Sebastian and Anthony stage Bronwyn’s death to avoid discovery….

A Timeless Dreams title: While reaction to same-sex relationships throughout time and across cultures has not always been positive, these stories celebrate M/M love in a manner that may address, minimize, or ignore historical stigma.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Love You Senseless by Susan Mac Nicol

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Love You Senseless
Author: Susan Mac Nicol
Series: Men of London #1
Heroes: Gideon Kent/Eddie Tripp
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 160 Pages
Publisher: Boroughs Publishing
Release Date: October 9, 2014
Available at: Boroughs Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: One of London’s up-and-coming chefs, Eddie Tripp has just the right recipe to drive tragedy from the mind of Gideon Kent—and leave him senseless with desire.

THE MEN OF LONDON
From Soho to Norwich, there’s no escaping love.

A TASTE OF FOREVER
An award-winning chef with his own restaurant and an inexhaustible passion, Gideon Kent once had everything. Then came tragedy. It stole more than Gideon’s home. He hasn’t cooked since.

Until Eddie Tripp. Fun-loving and vivacious, the Norfolk redhead’s a real up-and-comer in Gideon’s kitchen—and other places. Slim where Gideon’s broad, easy-going where Gideon is growly, he and Gideon seem polar opposites, and yet Eddie conjures flavors that would tempt anyone with a taste for perfection. The sauce of love is already simmering, and this pair is about to dine on the most delicious dish they’ve ever prepared. Because Eddie’s been Gideon’s missing ingredient all along.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Book Review: The Actor and the Earl by Rebecca Cohen

Reviewed by Heather C

22061178Title: The Actor and the Earl
Author: Rebecca Cohen
Series: The Crofton Chronicles #1
Heroes: Sebastian Hewel/Anthony Redbourn (Lord Crofton)
Genre: MM Historical Romance
Length: 216 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: May 9th, 2014 (2nd edition)
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Elizabethan actor Sebastian Hewel takes his bow at the proscenium only to embark on the role of a lifetime. When his twin sister, Bronwyn, reneges on the arrangement to marry Anthony Redbourn, Earl of Crofton, Sebastian reluctantly takes her place. At nineteen, Sebastian knows his days as a leading lady are numbered, but with this last performance, he hopes to restore his family’s name and pay off his late father’s debts. Never mind the danger of losing his head should he be discovered.

He didn’t expect Anthony to be so charming and alluring—not to mention shrewd. While he applauds Sebastian’s plan, Anthony offers a mutually beneficial arrangement instead. Sebastian will need every drop of talent he has to survive with both his head and his heart intact, because this is the best part he’s ever had.

A Timeless Dreams title: While reaction to same-sex relationships throughout time and across cultures has not always been positive, these stories celebrate M/M love in a manner that may address, minimize, or ignore historical stigma.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Making It Pay by J.L. Merrow

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Making It Pay
Author: J.L. Merrow
Heroes: Daniel/Rob
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 11 Pages
Publisher: JMS Books
Release Date: November 16, 2014
Available at: JMS Books and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Sometimes you can’t see the silver lining for the clouds.

Abandoned as a baby and now working as a rent boy, Daniel finds it hard to let people get close to him. But nightclub bouncer Rob has a kind face and he’s helped Daniel out once already, so when he catches Daniel on a bad night, Daniel accepts his offer of money and goes home with him.

Even though it breaks his heart.

Letting Rob pay him for sex may have wrecked their friendship just when Daniel needs all the friends he can get. But there are more reasons why he hasn’t seen Rob since that night — and one in particular that makes building a relationship seem almost too much to hope for.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Sin & the Preacher’s Son by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon

Reviewed by Heather C

1Title:  Sin & the Preacher’s Son
Authors:  Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon
Heroes: Jonah/Rafe
Genre: MM Historical Romance
Length: 219 Pages
Publisher: Duet Publishing
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Driven from his family when his sexuality is exposed, Jonah discovers drama, passion and intrigue in a traveling carnival—and in the enigmatic owner, Rafe Grimstone. The preacher’s son and the lord who’s rejected his former life in England feel the heat of attraction from the moment they meet.

Open-hearted Jonah is willing to risk hellfire and damnation for brief moments of pleasure with Rafe, but the older man is frozen in a past he can’t escape no matter how far he runs. As Rafe struggles to choose between responsibilities of his present and his past, mysterious accidents assail the close-knit carnival community.

Will the perpetrator be revealed before the traveling show is ruined? And will Rafe finally reveal his true self to Jonah or continue to mask his identity like the changing images in a house of mirrors?

Previously published as House of Mirrors.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: A Gentleman of Substance by Julia Talbot

Reviewed by Heather C

1Title:  A Gentleman of Substance
Author: Julia Talbot
Heroes: Michael St. James/Daniel Calhoun
Genre: MM Historical Romance
Length: 156 Pages
Publisher: Torquere Press
Release Date: April 3, 2011
Available at: Torquere Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Michael St. James is something of a cad, and now he’s paying for it, banished to a backwater, post-colonial Virginia town for his sins. Happily, he finds something to occupy his time in the form of Daniel Calhoun, a stiff-necked local squire who simply begs to be taken down a notch for his arrogance. The two begin a torrid affair, and Michael pushes them to the very edge of social extinction with his wild ways, drawing Daniel into mischief at every turn. Eventually Michael realizes that he teeters on the very brink of ruining Daniel’s life as thoroughly as he has his own, and decides to do the honorable thing. Will it be too late for him to convince Daniel he can do the right thing? Or will Daniel Calhoun decide perhaps he doesn’t want a gentleman after all?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Serendipity Kit by Connie Bailey

Reviewed by Morgan 

1Title: Serendipity Kit
Author: Connie Bailey
Narrator: Peter B. Brooke
Heroes: Christopher “Kit” Britten and Romy O’Keefe
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: Book – 212 pages / Audio – 6 Hours, 38 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: Book – December 6, 2013 / Audio – October 15, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Christopher “Kit” Britten drifts through life, partying with friends and spending his parents’ money. He hasn’t told them he’s gay, but he’s told all of his five sisters, and to keep from being harassed about responsibility, he works part-time for one of them. When she sends him on an errand and his shiny red Ferrari breaks down in one of Houston’s seediest locals, he pushes it to the nearest garage. That’s where he meets Romy O’Keefe.

Romy works hard as a mechanic to provide for his mother and little brother. When Kit pushes his to-die-for Ferrari into Romy’s garage, Romy is wary of falling for gorgeous Kit despite instant attraction. Kit impulsively decides to prove how serious he is about Romy by coming out to his parents – and his father disowns him!

Uptown and downtown clash as the two men share the tiny space in Romy’s Airstream trailer and struggle to make ends meet. When Kit’s former boyfriend comes sniffing around, and Romy gets the bill for his little brother’s surgery, it drives home to him how very different his world is from Kit’s. However, Kit is in love with the velvet-voiced Romy, and he isn’t about to give up.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Audio Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Home Run by Willa Okati

Reviewed by Heather C

1Title:  Home Run
Author: Willa Okati
Series: Mighty Casey #2
Heroes: Casey/Nate
Genre: MM Contemporary Romance
Length: 111 Pages
Publisher: Loose ID
Release Date: July 29, 2014
Available at: Loose ID, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: If opposites attract—and in this case, they do—then Casey and Nate fit like puzzle pieces. Though married for a year and still rocking the honeymoon lifestyle, Casey’s starting to feel like it’s time for the next big challenge.

Casey’s never been interested in having kids, but knows Nate would love a family of their own and would be a fantastic father. He thinks he’s ready to put aside past prejudices, but he knows it’s not the kind of decision you make on a whim. Nate only wants to have a family with Casey if Casey wants it just as much. Neither would accept anything less.

The annual Rule family reunion is the perfect time and place for Casey to take his hopes for a test drive and inform his choice. He’ll have plenty of chances to practice—with Nate’s ménage-a-parents and seven sisters, there’s a smorgasbord of family to observe and a half-dozen babies to test his limits.

(And a few games to play. This is Nate, after all!)

Is Casey ready to grant Nate his wish to become a dad and wind up the pitch for a proper “home” run?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: In Another Life by Cardeno C.

Reviewed by Morgan

1Title: In Another Life
Author: Cardeno C.
Narrator: Jeff Gelder
Series: Heartwarming
Heroes: Shiloh Raben and Travis Kahn
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: Book – 84 Pages / Audio – 1 Hour, 50 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Dates: Book – December 1, 2013 / Audio – November 3, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: At age 18, Shiloh Raben is tired. He no longer has the energy to deal with mean classmates, inner doubt, and fear of familial rejection, so he takes a razor to his wrist. When he wakes up in the hospital, Shiloh meets Travis Kahn, the EMT who saved him and didn’t leave his side.

Travis is handsome, smart, and funny – the type of guy Shiloh would never be brave enough to approach. But his near-death experience has an unusual side effect: the life that flashed before his eyes wasn’t the one he had already lived, but rather the one he could live. With visions of a future by Travis’s side, will Shiloh find the strength to confront his fears and build a life worth fighting for?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Audio Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: There’s Something About Ari by L.B. Gregg

Reviewed by Nikyta

1Title: There’s Something About Ari
Author: L.B. Gregg
Series: Bluewater Bay #2
Heroes: Buck Ellis/Ari Valentine
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 95 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: November 10, 2014
Available at: Riptide Publishing
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Buck Ellis’s future seems pretty damn bright. With a full college scholarship in hand, he’s going to ditch Bluewater Bay and pave the way for his kid brother Charlie to do the same. The only fly in Buck’s ointment is his ten-year addiction to his best friend since second grade, his true love, and his Achilles heel: Ari Valentine, Mr. Least Likely to Succeed.

But then Buck’s mother dies, changing everything, and five years later, his future is still on hold. It’s a struggle to keep food on the table, a roof over their heads, and Charlie on the straight and narrow. Buck can’t afford any temptation, especially in the form of the newly returned, super hot, super confident, super successful television star Ari Valentine.

ADHD poster-child Ari Valentine left for Hollywood and lost everything, including his bad reputation. Then the breakthrough role of his skyrocketing career lands him back in Bluewater Bay, to the stunned disbelief of, well, everyone. But there’s only one person Ari longs to impress—the only person who ever really mattered to him, the person he left behind: Buck Ellis.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment