JustJen’s Reviews

Book Review: Defined by Deceit by A.E. Via

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Defined by Deceit
Author: A.E. Via
Heroes: Llewellyn (Llew, Llewell)/Shane (Smith, Jr.)
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 300 Pages
Publisher: A.E. Via/Via Star Wings Publishing
Release Date: March 27, 2015
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Life isn’t always fair, and that’s something that Llewellyn Gardner knows about first hand. His life was on the fast track until one night of extreme passion changed everything. Now eight years later, he’s still living with the aftershocks of that night. Everywhere he turns or runs, there’s another reminder. What the hell do you do when you try to drown your demons only to find out they can swim?

Shane Smith, Jr. owner of Smith Construction, could see the emotional turmoil within his new employee — it’s why he hired him. There was something about the gorgeous, misunderstood man with the overly expressive eyes that came to their small town with a past no one was willing to overlook. Shane could see the good in Llewellyn, and those eyes of his were a clear window to his soul. Shane wasn’t going to let the man live a future of solitude because his past had been plagued with deceit.

Llewellyn wasn’t sure what to think about Shane. After years of protecting himself from being tricked twice, he was now faced with worry again. What would happen to him if Shane didn’t believe his truth, and walked away? Llewellyn wasn’t sure he’d be able to survive being left alone. Again.

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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Kick by C.D. Reiss

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Kick
Author: C.D. Reiss
Series: Songs of Perdition #1
Heroine/hero: Fiona/Deacon
Genre: MF Erotica
Length: 120 Pages
Publisher: C.D. Reiss
Release Date: May 5, 2014
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Fiona Drazen, sex addict, submissive slave, celebutante, trapped in a mental ward until Dr. Elliot Chapman can help her remember why she’s there. But once she does, she might not want to go home to the Master she tried to kill.

***This is the first of a serial. It’s about 120 pages and ends in a cliffhanger, because that’s how I roll. There’s also a ton of drug use, and educated men who like dirty sex, because that’s also how I roll***

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, M/F, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: In the Absence of Light by Adrienne Wilder

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: In the Absence of Light
Author: Adrienne Wilder
Heroes: Morgan/Grant
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 333 Pages
Publisher: Adrienne Wilder
Release Date: March 28, 2015
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  For years Grant Kessler has smuggled goods from one end of the world to the next. When business turns in a direction Grant isn’t willing to follow he decides to retire and by all appearances he settles down in a nowhere town called Durstrand. But his real plan is to wait a few years and let the FBI lose interest, then move on to the distant coastal life he’s always dreamed of. Severely autistic, Morgan cannot look people in the eye, tell left from right, and has uncontrolled tics. Yet he’s beaten every obstacle life has thrown his way. And when Grant Kessler moves into town Morgan isn’t a bit shy in letting the man know how much he wants him. While the attraction is mutual, Grant pushes Morgan away. Like the rest of the world he can’t see past Morgan’s odd behaviors Then Morgan shows Grant how light lets you see but it also leaves you blind. And once Grant opens his eyes, he loses his heart to the beautiful enigma of a man who changes the course of his life.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Hunted by Nicholas Bella

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Hunted
Author: Nicholas Bella
Series: New Haven (Season 2); House of Théoden #4
Heroes: Théoden/Noel
Genre: MM Paranormal
Length: 100 Pages
Publisher: Nicholas Bella
Release Date: March 16, 2015
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Théoden: Far be it from me to refuse an invitation from the Celestial Dragon King, Evander. Besides, what’s the point of living forever if you can’t have fun? A little distraction would serve me well. I still had so much to do this night. Children to Sire, a rebel hybrid to hunt down and a test to conduct with Noel that would surely elevate his status in my eyes. That is, if he passed. Apart from that, there was this matter of hunting Dante. Sure, I enlisted the assistance of wolf Alpha, Deacon, but I didn’t want to leave the hunt of Dante solely up to him and his pack, especially with the price being so high. I do know one thing, Dante better be worth it.

Noel: My training with Marco is advancing and the more I learn about what I am, the more I discover who I am. Maybe Théoden had a point when he told me that being a vampire is what I wanted. I don’t know. I do know that I find myself enjoying the powers and strength I possess. He really is making me into the vampire he wants me to be. I realize that even more now as I try to figure out who I should sire and why. This person will be my child, an extension of me. How do I want to be represented?

Warning: This serial contains strong adult content not meant for sensitive eyes. The novelettes in this serial will be filled with dark, twisted, raunchy and steamy scenes between powerful, sexy men that will either offend you or get ya revved up. This series will not be pulling any punches, and it won’t apologize for hurting your feelings, either. You’ll find no fluff and ruffles here. The vampires are not misunderstood, hopeless romantics looking for love. The werewolves are not cute and cuddly and the dragons aren’t the ones from your childhood. This is NOT a romance. There are approximately 33700 words in this novelette.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Everything Changes by Melanie Hansen

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Everything Changes
Author: Melanie Hansen
Heroes: Carey Everett/Jase DeSantis
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 200 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: March 13, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  What happens when friendship catches fire?

Former Marine and lower-leg amputee Carey Everett keeps a grueling schedule of counseling fellow war veterans and their families. The injury he received in Afghanistan forces him to rely on a reserve of strength he didn’t even know he had. A much deserved vacation will let him reconnect with his best friend, who saved his life and has been there for him through devastating injury and painful recovery.

Part-time EMT and aspiring singer Jase DeSantis has been in love with Carey for years, but he’s come to accept that his straight friend will never be able to offer more. Jase fills his days with band rehearsals, ambulance shifts, and willing groupies, all while trying to cope with debilitating PTSD.

A week of sun, fun, and music in San Diego changes Jase and Carey’s lives forever when their relationship takes an unexpected turn. Jase has been longing for that change, but it leaves Carey reeling with confusion. As Jase fights to hold things together, Carey deals with doubts, fears, and his own preconceived notions about labels and the true nature of love.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Debut Authors, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Falling by Barbara Elsborg

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Falling
Author: Barbara Elsborg
Series: Fall or Break #1
Heroes: Harper/Malachi
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 325 Pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: March 24, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Falling is easy. Landing without breaking your heart? Impossible.
Harper is no longer behind bars, but it doesn’t feel like it. Ten years serving time for a crime he didn’t commit have left him shut down, numb, and a frozen wreck over the simplest of choices.

He’s acutely aware of the dark-haired young man checking him out in the supermarket, but he’s too deep in panic mode to even meet the guy’s gaze. Afraid the slightest move will trigger a fall that will never stop.

Fresh off a long-term relationship with a controlling man, Malachi is stuck living with relatives who think he’s a waste of oxygen. The tall guy in the long, gray coat is the first bright spot he’s glimpsed in a long time…though the man’s unblinking stare at a bottle of shower gel is a touch alarming.

Hard experience tells both of them to turn away before lust turns to hopeless attraction, and inevitably to disaster. But once their sparks connect, the arc of electricity is too strong to deny. Even if the cost is too much to bear.

Warning: Contains an ex-con with disaster written all over him, a boy toy who’s trouble with a capital T, a damp old British house, compulsive meddling, and enough hot sex to cure the severe case of nervous babbling.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: 500 Miles by Parker Williams

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: 500 Miles
Author: Parker Williams
Series: MLR Mixed Tape Anthology
Heroes: Mark/Jase
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 37 Pages
Publisher: MLR Press
Release Date: June 7, 2013
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Since he was fourteen, Mark knew he loved Jase, his brother Eric’s best friend. As Jase and Eric leave for the Army, Jase leaves Mark something to hold onto, but when the two men are shipped to Kuwait, things change when Jase tells Mark he’s met someone.

Confused and hurt, Mark is left to wonder what happened. Eric returns, but with devastating news – and needing Mark’s help. Can Mark help the man who broke his heart? Or will he let Jase push him away – for the second time?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Strangers in the Night by Jaycee Edward and Helena Stone

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Strangers in the Night
Authors: Jaycee Edward and Helena Stone
Series: Strangers #1
Heroes: Slade/Callum
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 51 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: March 11, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  When Army veteran, Slade, stumbles upon an isolated cottage on a cold, dark, night, the young man finds more than just the shelter he’s seeking.

Former club Dominant Callum is surprised to find a handsome stranger knocking at his door but invites him in despite his reservations. A nightmare reveals Slade’s deep-seated emotional issues, and Callum knows he needs to get creative if he’s going to help Slade leave the past behind.

Neither man is prepared for the feelings Slade’s introduction into the world of BDSM will unleash, and thirty-six hours will either be enough to bind them, or they will remain forever strangers in the night.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Losing Control by Riley Hart

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Losing Control
Author: Riley Hart
Series: Broken Pieces #3
Heroes: Ben/Dante
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 225 Pages
Publisher: Riley Hart
Release Date: February 27, 2015
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  On the surface, Ben seems to have it all: money, influence, good looks. He smiles and jokes in all the right places, but it’s all a façade. Inside he’s a wreck, and it’s only getting worse. With his Congressman father using Ben’s recent kidnapping for his own political agenda, and Ben still struggling to get over the only guy he’s ever loved, he feels like he’s losing his grip on reality and he’s quickly spiraling out of control.

Then he meets Dante, an enigma of a man with as much self-hatred as Ben has. In Dante, Ben finds what he didn’t know he needed: Dante’s control, his power, is the only thing that clears the fog in Ben’s brain. For the first time in his life, Ben has a lover who just might need Ben as much as Ben needs him. When they’re together, the demons from their pasts don’t lurk so heavily on their shoulders.

But Dante can’t fix him. Not when a memory from Ben’s past is haunting him in ways he doesn’t understand, waiting for him to put together the missing pieces in his head…and what he discovers just might have the power to break him for good.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Full Circle by Riley Hart

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Full Circle
Author: Riley Hart
Series: Broken Pieces #2
Heroes: Tristan/Josiah/Mateo
Genre: MMM Contemporary
Length: 229 Pages
Publisher: Riley Hart
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Nothing in life is ever easy, and no one is more painfully aware of that than Josiah Evans, Mateo Sanchez, and Tristan Croft. They know what they want—each other—but with three people as broken as they are, all those pieces aren’t so easily mended.

Josiah is their glue. All he wants is to give his men what they need.

Mateo wants to absolve himself of his sins. To be worthy of love and to protect it.

Tristan must let go of his past, must learn how to need, and what it really means to take care of someone.

To keep the balance intact, they all have their roles to play. But what happens if the balance shifts? What happens when someone doesn’t play the right part? If one of them falters, they all feel the strain.

The only way to complete their full circle is for all their pieces, despite the curves and rough edges, to fit together perfectly. To do that, Josiah, Mateo, and Tristan must learn to get over the pasts that have defined who they are. And when an old enemy returns and threatens the foundation of their new life, decisions will be made, and boundaries will be tested that could change their lives forever.
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment