Reviewers

Challenge Week Review: Billy’s Bones by Jamie Fessenden

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Billy’s Bones
Author: Jamie Fessenden
Heroes: Kevin Derocher/Tom Langois
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 254 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: July 22, 2013
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Kevin Derocher was thirty-two when he walked into Tom’s office, newly married, a baby on the way, and the collar of his red flannel shirt pulled up to hide the bruises around his throat from when he hanged himself in his garage. After his initial consult, therapist Tom Langois believes he’ll never see Kevin again—but Kevin turns up three years later to make repairs on Tom’s new house.

Kevin and Tom become fast friends, and Tom begins to suspect Kevin may be interested in more than friendship. However, Kevin remains haunted by something from his childhood—something so terrible he blocked it from his mind. These suppressed memories make it impossible for Kevin to get close to anyone without panicking and lashing out, sometimes violently. But as his past begins to surface, it becomes apparent that Kevin may hold the key to a twenty-five-year-old mystery: what happened to Billy? Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Challenge Book Week, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: A Liar’s Moon by Joy Lynn Fielding

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: A Liar’s Moon
Author: Joy Lynn Fielding
Series: Strength of the Pack #2
Heroes: Jason & Riley
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 44,307 words
Publisher: Siren Publishing
Release Date: November 11, 2013
Available at: Siren Publishing, Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Journalist Riley Clark is chasing the story that could make his career—the reported sighting of a fabled Argent shifter. His investigation takes him to the town of Elk Ridge, which turns out to be everything he hates. Things start to look up, however, when he meets Jason Nichols.

Jason is shy, sweet, and has the most beautiful smile Riley has ever seen. Riley wants to keep seeing that smile, and as he spends time with Jason, his hoped for scoop becomes less and less important. But his editor is still pressuring him for that story. So when Riley discovers that Jason is a member of the pack he’s in town to look into, it seems like fate—he can be with Jason and continue his investigation at the same time.

His plan has just one drawback—he hasn’t thought about what will happen if Jason and his pack discover Riley’s real reason for being in Elk Ridge. Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Tournament of Shadows by S.A. Meade

Reviewed by Heather C

20721879Title: Tournament of Shadows
Author: S.A. Meade
Heroes: Gabriel and Valentin
Genre: M/M Historical Romance
Length: 51,406 words
Publisher: Totally Bound
Release Date: March 21, 2014
Available at: Totally Bound
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: In a shadowy game where defeat can mean death, a deal with the enemy can change things forever. 

In 1842, Captain Gabriel O’Riordan of the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars is sent on a mission to Bukhara. His task—to try to free two of his compatriots from the clutches of a mentally unstable Emir. On his way, he encounters Valentin Yakolev, an officer in the Russian Army, who is also on a mission—to persuade the Emir that an alliance with Russia would be in his best interests. Gabriel, disguised as a holy man, is not happy to be the object of Yakolev’s intense scrutiny. After all, he’s working for the opposing team in the Great Game being played between their two nations. When Gabriel realises that his mission is little more than a forlorn hope, a game he has no chance of winning, he’s desperate enough to turn to Valentin to help and offer him anything in return. What he doesn’t expect is to have his plans to return to Calcutta scuppered by events.

Instead, he and Valentin flee north, fighting off bandits, their desire for each other and the hardship of desert travel. Their travails bring them closer together until a secret from Valentin’s past tears them apart.

Can they set the past behind them and move on together?

Reader Advisory: This book contains some violence, including beheadings. Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Duke’s Deception by Sasha L. Miller

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: The Duke’s Deception
Author: Sasha L. Miller
Heroes: Larkin & Garnett
Genre: M/M Historical Fantasy
Length: 8,000 words
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Release Date: January 8, 2014
Available Free at: Less Than Three Press & All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: All Larkin wants is to be left in peace, live a life free of lies and deceit. But agreements have been made and he must see them through if he ever hopes to achieve his goals. But between nefarious dealings, dangerous encounters, and one stubbornly determined prince, the obstacles may ultimately prove insurmountable … Continue reading

Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Ball & Chain by Abigail Roux

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Ball & Chain
Author: Abigail Roux
Series: Cut & Run #8
Heroes: Ty Grady and Zane Garrett
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 340 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: March 9, 2014
Available at: Riptide Publishing, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Home from their unexpected deployment, the former members of Marine Force Recon team Sidewinder rejoin their loved ones and try to pick up the pieces of the lives they were forced to leave behind. Ty Grady comes home to Zane Garrett, only to find that everything around him has changed—even the men he went to war with. He barely has time to adjust before his brother, Deuce, asks Ty to be his best man. But that isn’t all Deuce asks Ty to do, and Ty must call for backup to deal with the business issues of Deuce’s future father-in-law.

Nick O’Flaherty and Kelly Abbott join Ty and Zane at the wedding on an island in Scotland, thinking they’re there to assuage Deuce’s paranoia. But when bodies start dropping and boats start sinking, the four men get more involved with the festivities than they’d ever planned to.

With the clock ticking and the killer just as stuck on the isolated island as they are, Ty and Zane must navigate a veritable minefield of family, friends, and foes to stop the whole island from being destroyed. Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Book Review: Normal Enough by Marie Sexton

Reviewed by Heather C

20803150Title: Normal Enough
Author: Marie Sexton
Heroes: Kasey Ralston & Brandon Kenner
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Length: 24,000 words
Publisher: Amber Allure
Release Date: March 16, 2014
Available at: Amber Allure
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When Brandon Kenner shows up at Kasey Ralston’s garage with a 1970 Chevelle SS 454, Kasey is smitten by both the man and his car. Between what Kasey considers a shameful fetish and his long estrangement from his family, Kasey finds it easiest to be alone, even distancing himself from his coworkers. But Brandon doesn’t think Kasey’s fetish is weird. In fact, he likes it.

Kasey doesn’t know how to resist a man as charming as Brandon, and he’s more than willing to be seduced. But what are Brandon’s long-term intentions? Kasey is afraid of hoping for too much, but equally afraid that when all is said and done, Brandon will leave, and Kasey will be left alone once again. Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Faery Reel by Arielle Pierce

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: The Faery Reel
Author: Arielle Pierce
Heroes: Osian & Conall
Genre: M/M Contemporary, Fantasy
Length: 22,960 words
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: February 7, 201
Available at: Smashwords, Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Faeries don’t exist, right?

That’s what Osian tells himself. So what if the stranger in the pub, the one that glows in the darkened room, has a beauty that is otherworldly. And that the man is watching him with eyes that promise trouble. So what if the music that drifts across the moor sounds like nothing he’s ever heard. So what if it’s the night of the summer solstice, the night when the veil between the human world and the faery world is whisper thin.

Osian is not a believer. Not until he is kidnapped by Conall and taken to the world of the fey. In the Otherworld, Osian is offered something he’s never had: the love of another man. But this love comes at the cruelest price. For in order to stay with Conall, Osian must give up his home, his friends, and his family.

But there is a way out—if he chooses. It involves letting himself go, allowing himself to trust Conall, and finding the true meaning of his name.

Can Osian trust Conall enough to risk it all? It’s a dangerous game he plays, but the prize—love—may be worth the risk of losing it all. Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Artist’s Touch by Kerry Adrienne

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Artist’s Touch
Author: Kerry Adrienne
Heroes: Kenon Alavi and Wally Harte
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 147 Pages
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Release Date: February 26, 2014
Available at: Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Every starlet wants master painter Kenon Alavi to do her portrait…and more. But Kenon prefers firm to soft and sates his desires with the boyfriends of the women he paints, enjoying the diversity of many lovers but shunning any attachments.

Wallace Harte’s English degree isn’t helping him and working at a bar is the closest he’s gotten to being the Second Coming of Faulkner. Something’s gotta give soon, or he’ll be out on the street.

Kenon zeroes in on the bartender at an art exhibition, intending to add him to his long list of conquests, but Wally bolts, initiating a heated game of cat and mouse. Kenon delights in the game until he discovers what Wally is writing. Feeling betrayed, Kenon swears off all entanglements until he reads Wally’s story and discovers true love is sometimes between the pages and not the sheets.

Inside Scoop: This book contains hot, sexy scenes of M/M interaction of an artistic nature. Who knew having your portrait painted could be so hot? Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Challenge Review: Shoes & Ties by Jena Wade

Reviewed by Heather C

18709987Title: Shoes & Ties
Author: Jena Wade
Series: Shoes & Ties #1
Heroes: Ashten Brody & Trent Cole
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Length: 33,500 words
Publisher: Loose Id
Release Date: October 2013
Available at: Loose Id, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Ashten Brody is a chef fresh out of college. He lands his dream job working as a personal chef to Trent Cole, local luxury hotel owner. As it turns out, Trent is also his dream man.

After working together, the two are unable to deny their attraction. One late night they can’t hold back any longer. Too bad Ashten rushes off soon after.

In the weeks that follow, it appears to Ashten that he has landed his dream man and his dream job. He and Trent appear to be on the path to a serious relationship and life-long happiness. Life seems to be just too perfect… Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Challenge Book Week, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Challenge Week Review: Coming to Terms by A.R. Moler

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Coming to Terms
Author: A.R. Moler
Heroes: Aidan & Kris
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 17,000 words
Publisher: MLR Press
Release Date: November 2013
Available at: MLR Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: When Aidan Sterling has been to hell and back doing his duty to his country, who will help him come to terms with what happened?

Sometimes, inevitably, life hits a snag. What if love turns up at the same time? Aidan Sterling’s life has hit one of those moments-the times when things might just change whether he wants it to or not. Outside of the inherent paranoia of his active career in covert ops, he’s recovering from some serious physical and emotional trauma from a mission gone disastrously wrong. His bosses aren’t sure if he’s up to returning to active fieldwork—and neither is he. And Kris Jameson is the kind of guy who’ll take the time to understand and care about Aiden. He’s a regular guy with a large heart. Kris is a carpenter and a part-time bouncer, easy going and hardworking. But not all danger can be found overseas, and nice guys aren’t always safe even here at home. Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Challenge Book Week, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment