Guest Reviewer

Ghost Week Review: Across the East River Bridge by Kate McMurray

Guest Reviewed by Gyn


Across the East River Bridge Title:
 Across the East River Bridge
Author: Kate McMurray
Heroes: Finn & Troy
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 77k words
Publisher: Loose Id
Release Date: October 11, 2011
Available at: Loose Id, Amazon, All Romance eBooks and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When Finn’s boss sends him to a museum in Brooklyn, the last person he expects to see is his old rival, Troy. Although Finn and Troy have undeniable sexual chemistry, Finn still blames Troy for sending his career off the rails but Troy has research Finn needs. Troy also has an intriguing story; the museum he curates is haunted by the ghosts of two men who died under mysterious circumstances in 1878. Troy strikes a deal: he’ll help Finn if Finn helps him find out what happened to the men who died.

From diaries, police reports, and newspaper articles, Finn and Troy piece together the lives of the two dead men–and the romance that bloomed between them. As it becomes clear that the men were murdered, it also becomes clear that the ghosts are real and are capable of manipulating the dreams, thoughts, and actions of the living. When Finn and Troy start falling for each other, Finn worries that it’s all an illusion concocted by the ghosts to keep them working together to solve the mystery, but Troy is convinced the love between them is real. But how can he get rid of a couple of ghosts and prove it?

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Theme Week | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Removed by S.J. Pajonas

Guest Reviewed by Candace

Removed (The Nogiku Series, #1)Title: Removed
Author: S.J. Pajonas
Series: The Nogiku #1
Heroine: Sanaa Griffin
Genre: M/F Romance/Post Apocalyptic
Length: 304 pages
Publisher: Onigiri Press
Release Date: September 11, 2013
Available at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Twenty-year-old Sanaa Griffin is about to get more than she bargained for when she wishes for love, happiness, and excitement on New Year’s Eve. Ripped from the job she always loved, she is reassigned to work for mysterious Mark Sakai and spy on the corrupt leaders of her city. War looms on the horizon, and Sanaa must help Sakai determine the key players and their weak spots before it’s too late.

Mark Sakai has many plans for Sanaa that will take her into a web of lies and danger, and her only protection is to learn to defend herself. But defense training under the watchful eye of Jiro, a strong and enigmatic young man she has a crush on, was not what she expected. Between falling in love with Jiro and the information she is gathering, Sanaa realizes Sakai is holding back secrets about her family and her deceased parents, secrets as to why she was chosen for this job, and learning the truth puts all of humanity in jeopardy.

REMOVED is the first book in a captivating post-apocalyptic series that harnesses the cultures and traditions of Japan and sweeps them into the future between Earth and a faraway land. Continue reading

Categories: Book Review, Did Not Finish, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Timing by Mary Calmes

Guest Reviewed by Morgan

4Title: Timing
Author: Mary Calmes
Narrator: Sean Crisden
Series: Timing #1
Heroes: Stefan Joss/Rand Holloway
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 5 hours and 41 minutes
Publisher: Hudson Audio Publishing
Release Date: Book – March 1, 2010; Audio – June 7, 2011
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Stefan Joss just can’t win. Not only does he have to go to Texas in the middle of summer to be the man of honor in his best friend Charlotte’s wedding, but he’s expected to negotiate a million-dollar business deal at the same time. Worst of all, he’s thrown for a loop when he arrives to see the one man Charlotte promised wouldn’t be there: her brother, Rand Holloway.

Stefan and Rand have been mortal enemies since the day they met, so Stefan is shocked when a temporary cease-fire sees the usual hostility replaced by instant chemistry. Though leery of the unexpected feelings, Stefan is swayed by a sincere revelation from Rand, and he decides to give Rand a chance.

But their budding romance is threatened when Stefan’s business deal goes wrong: the owner of the last ranch he needs to secure for the company is murdered. Stefan’s in for the surprise of his life as he finds himself in danger as well.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Foster Family by Jaime Samms

Guest Reviewed by Trish

aTitle: The Foster Family
Author: Jaime Samms
Heroes: Kerry Grey, Charlie Stone, Malcolm Holmes
Genre: M/M/M Contemporary
Length: 330 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: February 14, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, AmazonBarnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Growing up in foster care has left Kerry Grey with little self-esteem or hope for his future. A college dropout, Kerry scrapes by on a part-time job at a garden nursery. His friendship with his boss and working with the plants are the only high points in Kerry’s life. He’s been dating the man who bullied him at school, but when his boyfriend abandons him at a party, Kerry wanders down the beach to drown his sorrows in a bottle of scotch.

Malcolm Holmes and Charlie Stone have been together for fifteen years. Despite Charlie’s willingness to accept Malcolm’s unspoken domination in bed,something is missing from their relationship. Early one morning, they rescue a passed out Kerry from being washed away by the tide and Charlie immediately senses a kindred spirit in the lost younger man. When Kerry’s roommate kicks him out, Malcolm and Charlie invite him into their home. As Charlie and Kerry bond over Charlie’s garden, Malcolm sees Kerry may be just who they have been looking for to complete their lives. All they have to do is show Kerry, and each other, that Kerry’s submissive tendencies will fit their dynamic.

But someone is sabotaging Kerry at every turn. As he struggles to discover the culprit, he fears for the safety of his new friends. If Malcolm and Charlie cannot help, their lifelong search for their perfect third may not end with the happily ever after they imagined.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Pine Valley by Ged Ruggles

Guest Reviewed by Karen

Pine ValleyTitle: Pine Valley
Author: Ged Ruggles
Heroes: Jeff Carpenter/ Kent Baxter
Genre: M/M Contemporary/Comedy
Length: 154 pages
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: June 25, 2014
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Most men of ambition would kill for the chance to play a bracing game at Pine Valley, the most celebrated, and exclusive, golf course in the world. And in the summer of his 30th birthday, Jeff Carpenter gets his chance.

Trouble is, Jeff isn’t exactly a man of ambition, having put his literary dreams on hold 10 years ago for a soulless back office job. Nor did he ever master the art of the swing farther than once making par on the giant dinosaur hole at his local childhood mini golf.

But a chance encounter with the son of Pine Valley’s most senior councilman at a Philadelphia gay bar, sparks a clandestine romance that plunges Jeff into a web of intrigue that threatens Pine Valley’s very existence. Continue reading

Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Wicklow’s Odyssey by R. Cooper

Guest Reviewed by MsMiz(Tina)

1Title: Wicklow’s Odyssey
Author: R. Cooper
Heroes: Wicklow Doyle/Alexander Rhoades
Genre: MM Historical
Length: 350 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: July 7, 2014
Available at:  Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Union soldier Wicklow Doyle is infiltrating enemy lines to set up new radio communications technology in Confederate-held Charleston when his location is betrayed. After sacrificing himself to get his team to safety, he’s on the lam, friendless in a hostile town. Determining who betrayed him without discovery by Confederate soldiers is dangerous, but Wicklow grew up in the slums of New York and knows how to handle himself. He isn’t expecting anyone on his team to return to help him, much less Alexander Rhoades.

An effete dandy of great intelligence and conviction, Alexander Rhoades speaks through stories instead of giving orders, and he has earned the confidence of the rich and powerful. While Wicklow has come not to trust men with those traits, Rhoades has never once let him down. He looks at Wicklow in ways that make him burn beneath his skin and tells him stories of love and bravery Wicklow yearns to understand. Wicklow has absolute faith Rhoades’s brilliant mind will uncover the traitor in their midst and find them a way out of the city. But when Rhoades tells him he’s not alone, Wicklow isn’t sure he can believe him. For the first time in his life, though, he wants to.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Son of No One by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Guest Reviewed by Gyn

bTitle: Son of No One
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Series: Hellchaser #6, Dark Hunter #23
Heroine/Hero: Josette/Cadegan
Genre: M/F Paranormal
Length: 432 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Available at:  St. Martin’s Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  It’s not easy being life’s own personal joke, but Josette Landry has made an unstable peace with the beast. Life will continue to throw every bad thing it has at her, and she will continue to not put her head in an oven. But that’s okay. That which doesn’t kill her will just require a few hours of mental insanity. Completely down on her luck, Josette takes a job with a local paranormal group trying to get their own cable show as a photographer and camerawoman. Yeah, they’re even crazier than she is. The only paranormal thing she believes in is the miracle that keeps her rusted out hoopty running. But when her group accidentally releases something truly evil into the world, they are forced to call in reinforcement.

From the moment Josette meets Cadegan, she knows something about him isn’t quite right. And it’s not just because she can’t even begin to pronounce his last name: Maboddimun. Mysterious and armed with lethal sarcasm, he seems a lot older than his apparent age…

Centuries ago, Cadegan sold his soul for vengeance against the betrayer who cursed him. Forced against his will to do good, he hates everything in life. All he wants is a way out. But for the damned there is only eternal suffering. And yet there is something about Josette that intrigues him as much as it irritates and frustrates him. Something he can’t seem to fight, and the last time he felt this way about a woman, it cost him his soul.

He knows he has to stay away from her, but the evil her friends unleashed is hellbent on consuming her soul. Something he cannot allow. If one more innocent is taken, he will be sent back to an unimaginable prison that makes his current hell look like paradise. But how can he keep her safe when his being with her is the greatest threat of all?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Greymalkin by Chris Quinton

Guest Reviewed by Gyn

11Title: Greymalkin
Author: Chris Quinton
Series: Melusine’s Cats #1
Heroes: Jesse Adams/Will Blake
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 188 Pages
Publisher: Kouros Books
Release Date: June 16, 2014
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: The mutual attraction between Jesse and Will is a bonus for Melusine when her enemies close in and she needs to rebuild her war band—starting with Jesse, Will, and Greymalkin.

Jesse Adams is an ex-rugby player who’s gone into seclusion to avoid the media following a guilty verdict in a court case. Jesse has come to live for a year in Greenlynn, where he is supposed to be writing his biography.

Will Blake is an out and proud policeman, respected and liked by the community he helps to protect from rural crime.

When the two men meet their attraction is instant, but they have no idea their love will draw them into a centuries’ old conflict.

Melusine, a deity of rivers and seas, long ago lost the Battle of the Betrayal and is imprisoned in a nexus centered on the source of the Lynn River. She can only travel in the flowing water of her river, and cannot set foot on her banks. Her cats are not so bound. Neither pets nor familiars, they move freely between the realities, her agents among the humans who live along the Lynn.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: One Night More by Mandy Baxter

Guest Reviewed by Ami

One Night More (U.S. Marshals, #1)Title: One Night More
Author: Mandy Baxter
Series: U.S. Marshalls #1
Heroine/Hero: Galen Kelly/Harper Allen
Genre: M/F Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 Pages
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp./Zebra Books
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Available at:  Kensington Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Savvy, hard-riding, rule-breaking—they’ll go anywhere and do anything it takes to protect and serve. But this U. S. Marshal has just met his match—and playing for keeps is one sizzling game…

Getting saved from disaster by a handsome stranger—Harper Allen has no problem with that. But when he leaves without a word or a clue to his real identity, the newbie reporter writes it off as the best one-night-stand she’ll never have again. Until a year later, when Harper comes face to face with the man assigned to hide her from a senator’s killer…

Galen Kelly hasn’t forgotten a single sensual minute of his night with Harper… or that she betrayed him. But with the FBI also on their trail, he’s got to pretend he’s never met her or risk both their lives. But as danger closes in, Galen may not be able to protect himself from taking the biggest risk of all…
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: The Devil’s Brew by Rhys Ford

Guest Reviewed by Morgan

The Devil&#39s Brew by Rhys Ford AudiobookTitle: The Devil’s Brew
Author: Rhys Ford
Narrator: Tristan James
Series: Sinners #2.5
Heroes: Miki St. John and Kane Morgan/Damien Mitchell and Sionn Murphy
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: Book – 65 Pages/Audio – 1 Hour, 34 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: Book – May 20, 2014/Audio – August 4, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

 

Blurb: Miki St. John’s life has been turned upside down, but it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

His best friend, Damien Mitchell, is back from the dead. He has a dog named Dude. And more importantly, he and his lover, SFPD Inspector Kane Morgan, now share Miki’s converted warehouse.

For the first time ever, Miki’s living a happy and normal-ish life, but when Valentine’s Day rolls around, Miki realizes he knows next to nothing about being domestic or domesticated. Nothing about the traditional lover’s holiday makes sense to him, but Miki wants to give Kane a Valentine’s Day the man will never forget.

Can he pull off a day of wine and roses? Or will his screwed-up childhood come back and bite Miki in the ass?
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment