5 Star Ratings

Book Review: The Devil of Downtown by Joanna Shupe

Posted on July 1, 2020 by thebloggergirls

Reviewed by Ami

Title: The Devil of Downtown
Author: Joanna Shupe
Series: Uptown Girls #3
Hero/Heroine: Justine & Jack
Genre: M/F Historical Romance
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: June 30, 2020
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: The final novel in Joanna Shupe’s critically acclaimed Uptown Girl series about a beautiful do-gooder who must decide if she can team up with one of New York’s brashest criminals without losing something irreplaceable: her heart.

Manhattan kingpin.
Brilliant mastermind.
Gentleman gangster.

He’s built a wall around his heart…

Orphaned and abandoned on the Bowery’s mean streets, Jack Mulligan survived on strength, cunning, and ambition. Now he rules his territory better than any politician or copper ever could. He didn’t get here by being soft. But in uptown do-gooder Justine Greene―the very definition of an iron fist in a velvet glove―Jack may have met his match.

She wears hers on her sleeve…

Justine is devoted to tracking down deadbeat husbands and fighting for fair working conditions. When her mission brings her face-to-face with Jack, she’s shocked to find the man behind the criminal empire is considerably more charming and honorable than many “gentlemen” she knows.

Forming an unlikely alliance, they discover an unexpected desire. And when Justine’s past catches up with them, Jack may be her only hope of survival. Is she ready to make a deal with the devil…?
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Alpha Night by Nalini Singh

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Alpha Night
Author: Nalini Singh
Series: Psy-Changeling Trinity #4
Hero/Heroine: Selenka & Ethan
Genre: M/F Urban Fantasy
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: June 9, 2020
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Alpha wolf Selenka Durev’s devotion to her pack is equaled only by her anger at anyone who would harm those under her care. That currently includes the empaths who’ve flowed into her city for a symposium that is a security nightmare, a powder keg just waiting for a match.

Ethan Night is an Arrow who isn’t an Arrow. Numb and disengaged from the world, he’s loyal only to himself. Assigned as part of the security force at a world-first symposium, he carries a dark agenda tied to the power-hungry and murderous Consortium. Then violence erupts and Ethan finds himself crashing into the heart and soul of an alpha wolf.

Mating at first sight is a myth, a fairytale. Yet Selenka’s wolf is resolute: Ethan Night, broken Arrow and a man capable of obsessive devotion, is the mate it has chosen. Even if the mating bond is full of static and not quite as it should be. Because Selenka’s new mate has a terrible secret, his mind surging with a power that is a creature of madness and death…
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey

Posted on June 12, 2020 by Heather C

Reviewed by Heather C

Title: Love Her or Lose Her
Author: Tessa Bailey
Series: Hot & Hammered #2
Hero/Heroine: Dominic/Rosie
Genre: M/F Contemporary Romance
Length: 347 pages
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: January 14, 2020
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Rosie and Dominic Vega are the perfect couple: high school sweethearts, best friends, madly in love. Well, they used to be anyway. Now Rosie’s lucky to get a caveman grunt from the ex-soldier every time she walks in the door. Dom is faithful and a great provider, but the man she fell in love with ten years ago is nowhere to be found. When her girlfriends encourage Rosie to demand more out of life and pursue her dream of opening a restaurant, she decides to demand more out of love, too. Three words: marriage boot camp.

Never in a million years did Rosie believe her stoic, too-manly-to-emote husband would actually agree to relationship rehab with a weed-smoking hippie. Dom talking about feelings? Sitting on pillows? Communing with nature? Learning love languages? Nope. But to her surprise, he’s all in, and it forces her to admit her own role in their cracked foundation. As they complete one ridiculous—yet surprisingly helpful—assignment after another, their remodeled relationship gets stronger than ever. Except just as they’re getting back on track, Rosie discovers Dom has a secret… and it could demolish everything. Continue reading →

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, M/F, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Fake It ’til You Make Out by Isla Olsen

Posted on March 10, 2020 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Fake It ’til You Make Out
Author: Isla Olsen
Series: Love & Luck #1
Heroes: Heath & Declan
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 198 pages
Publisher: Moonwalker Press
Release Date: February 6, 2020
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Heath

It’s a classic story: Boy meets girl, girl breaks boy’s heart, boy pretends to be gay to get back at girl, girl outs boy to everyone on Facebook…

Okay, maybe it’s not that classic. But it’s what happened to me.

When I bump into my cheating ex and catch sight of the moon-sized rock on her finger, there’s only one option to save face: pretend to be dating my gay best friend, Declan.

And when she outs me on Facebook and everyone I know sees it, there’s still only one option: keep pretending to be dating Declan.

And when Declan and I have to kiss to keep up the ruse and it turns out there’s actually a spark between us (more like a blazing inferno, if truth be told) there’s once again only one option…

Warning: this book is not appropriate for anyone who doesn’t like laughing, anyone who doesn’t like dogs, or anyone who doesn’t like hot men having a lot of sex…with each other.

*Happily Ever After included
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Heather C

Reviewed by Heather C

Title: Dance of Thieves
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Series: Dance of Thieves #1
Hero/Heroine: Jase/Kazi
Genre: YA Fantasy
Length: 512 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: A stunning new young adult adventure set in the kingdoms of the Remnant, by the author of the New York Times-bestselling Remnant Chronicles and the Jenna Fox Chronicles.

A formidable outlaw family that claims to be the first among nations.

A son destined to lead, thrust suddenly into power.

Three fierce young women of the Rahtan, the queen’s premier guard.

A legendary street thief leading a mission, determined to prove herself.

A dark secret that is a threat to the entire continent.

When outlaw leader meets reformed thief, a cat-and-mouse game of false moves ensues, bringing them intimately together in a battle that may cost them their lives―and their hearts. Continue reading →

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, M/F, Published in 2018 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Ramen Assassin by Rhys Ford

Posted on June 21, 2019 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Ramen Assassin
Author: Rhys Ford
Series: Ramen Assassin #1
Heroes: Kuro & Trey
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 216 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: June 25, 2019
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When life gives Kuro Jenkins lemons, he wants to make ponzu to serve at his Los Angeles ramen shop.

Instead he’s dodging bullets and wondering how the hell he ended up back in the Black Ops lifestyle he left behind him. After rescuing former child star Trey Bishop from a pair of thugs in the middle of the night, he knows it’s time to pick up his gun again. But it seems trouble isn’t done with Trey, and Kuro can’t quite let go… of either the gun or Trey Bishop.

Trey Bishop never denied his life’s downward spiral was his own fault. After a few stints in rehab, he’s finally shaken off his Hollywood bad-boy lifestyle but not his reputation. The destruction of his acting career and his relationships goes deep, and no one trusts anything he says, including the LAPD. When two men dragging a dead body spot him on a late-night run and try to murder him, Trey is grateful for the tall, dark, and deadly ramen shop owner he lusts over—not just for rescuing him, but also for believing him.

Now caught in a web of murders and lies, Trey knows someone wants him dead, and the only one on his side is a man with deep, dark secrets. Trey hopes Kuro Jenkins will stick around to see what the future holds for them once the dust settles, but from the looks of things, neither of them may survive to find out. Continue reading →

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: His Steady Heart by Nell Iris

Posted on May 27, 2019 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: His Steady Heart
Author: Nell Iris
Heroes: Buck & Pippin
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 86 pages
Publisher: JMS Books
Release Date: May 25, 2019
Available at: JMS Books & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Ashley “Buck” Buchanan moved back home to take care of his sick mother when he was 22. That was the first time he met Pippin, the neglected 6-year-old boy next door. Fifteen years later, Buck, a caretaker by nature, offers up his couch for Pippin, who needs a break from his mom and a quiet place to sleep.

Pippin Olander is a ray of sunshine despite his emotionally lacking upbringing and works hard to make a better life for himself. Even though he’s fiercely self-sufficient, he learns to accept help from Buck, his rock and the only steady presence in his life.

Their friendship deepens and grows into something more as they spend time together. But when other people try to throw a wrench in the works, when Pippin’s independence is triggered, can Buck and Pippin trust in the love they’ve found?
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Posted on March 27, 2019 by justjenbo

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Heated Rivalry
Author: Rachel Reid
Series: Game Changers #2
Heroes: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 310 Pages
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: March 25, 2019
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Nothing interferes with Shane Hollander’s game—definitely not the sexy rival he loves to hate.

Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night.

Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.

As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option…

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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: The Blueprint by S.E. Harmon

Posted on November 20, 2018 by susan65coug Miss Behaving

Reviewed by Susan65 

Title: The Blueprint
Author: S.E. Harmon
Narrators: Sean Crisden and Alexander Cendese
Series: Rules of Possession #1
Heroes: Kelly/Blue
Genre: MM Contemoprary
Length: 8 Hours, 24 Minutes
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Release Date: June 30, 2018
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Kelly Cannon is satisfied with his life. He has friends, a wonderful family, and a great job. But his love life has reached a new level of pitiful. Why? Well, his heart decided to break all the rules. Don’t fall in love with a straight guy. And definitely don’t fall in love with your best friend.

NFL standout Britton “Blue” Montgomery has pressure coming at him from all sides. From his father, who’s only interested in Blue’s football career. From his coaches, who just want him to play without getting injured again. From the fans. From his agent. And from his mother, who has popped up on the radar after leaving his family years before. And now his relationship with Kelly is on shaky ground, and that frightens Blue more than anything.

When Kelly admits he’s in love with Blue, bonds are tested, and Blue has to decide what’s really important. He doesn’t want to lose the number-one person in his life, but the cost to keep Kelly close might be more than he’s willing to pay.

It’s a good thing his nickname is the Blueprint—it’s time to draft a new set of plans.

Continue reading →

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2018, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment