Posts Tagged With: Abuse

Audio Review: Clear Water by Amy Lane

Reviewed by Morgan 

1Title: Clear Water
Author: Amy Lane
Narrator: Robert Nieman
Heroes: Patrick Cleary/Wes Keenan
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: Book – 230 Pages / Audio – 7 hours and 23 minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: Book – September 1, 2011 / Audio – July 20, 2012
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Meet Patrick Cleary: party boy, loser, and spaz. Patrick’s been trying desperately to transform himself, and the results have been so spectacular, they’ve almost killed him. Meet Wes “Whiskey” Keenan: he’s a field biologist wondering if it’s time to settle down. When the worst day of Patrick’s life ends with Whiskey saving it, Patrick and Whiskey find themselves sharing company and an impossibly small berth on the world’s tackiest houseboat.

Patrick needs to get his life together—and Whiskey wants to help—but Patrick is not entirely convinced it’s doable. He’s pretty sure he’s a freak of nature. But Whiskey, who works with real freaks of nature, thinks all Patrick needs is a little help to see the absolute beauty inside his spastic self, and Whiskey is all about volunteering. Between anomalous frogs, a homicidal ex-boyfriend, and Patrick’s own hangups, Whiskey’s going to need all of his patience and Patrick’s going to need to find the best of himself before these two men ever see clear water.

Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2012 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Heart by Garrett Leigh

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Heart
Author: Garrett Leigh
Heroes: Seb Wright/Dex
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 204 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: October 27, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Cornish pastry chef Seb Wright dreads the summer tourist season. The cash injection to his artisan fudge pantry is more than welcome, the extra work, less so. Then one summer, a shadowy Good Samaritan catches his eye. Irish Traveller Dex is bewitching, a beautiful sullen enigma who turns Seb’s world upside down until he disappears in the night, vanishing like a mystical summer rain.

Twelve months later Dex is in the midst of a dark storm. A slave to his master, ‘Uncle’ Braden, he spends his days cleaning caravans and his nights working in Braden’s other businesses. His short summer with Seb seems a lifetime ago. Lost in the savage violence of the murky underworld, he doesn’t dare dream he’ll ever find his way back, until one night, a brutal crime opens the door for a chance escape. A new life beckons, old faces emerge, and immersed in the heady vibe of London’s East End, new love begins to heal his fractured heart.
Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Audio Review: Choices & Changes by K.L. Belanger

Guest Reviewed by Morgan

1Title: Choices & Changes
Author: K.L. Belanger
Narrator: Jonathan Waters
Heroes: Bo Sanford/Erick
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: Book – 253 Pages / Audio – 6 hours, 43 minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: Book – Feburary 1010, 2013 / Audio – September 22, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: On the cusp of his twenty-fifth birthday, Bo Sanford grows frustrated with his directionless life. Slaving away at his father’s construction company all week and partying every weekend leaves him little time for introspection, but he knows it’s time for a change. When his best friend, Mac, drags him to a college party, Bo catches sight of a girl. But not just any girl—the girl of his dreams: a delicate blonde-haired beauty with a pink scarf and a smile that promises warmth and humor. There’s just one problem: she isn’t a girl.

Even after Bo discovers the truth, he keeps seeing Erick, and the choice to follow his heart despite the obstacles has profound repercussions on not only his sense of self but his relationship with his family and even his job. Being with Erick makes him all the more determined to be his own man and claw his way out from under his father’s thumb.

But Erick faces choices of his own: the choice to get involved with someone redefining his sexuality, the choice to trust again, and even the choice to believe love can last beyond the temporary.(
Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, Debut Authors, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Last of the Summer Tomatoes by Sherrie Henry

Guest Reviewed by Morgan

1Title: Last of the Summer Tomatoes
Author: Sherrie Henry
Narrator: Paul Morey
Series: Young Love’s Journey #1
Heroes: Kyle Jackowski/Sam Johnson
Genre: YA/NA M/M Contemporary
Length: Book – 246 Pages / Audio 7 hours, 15 minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: Book – July 17, 2013 / Audio – September 24, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Kyle Jackowski, typical sullen emo teen, struggles to find a way to deal with his sexuality and finds himself in trouble with the law… again. But instead of being sent to a juvenile detention center like he expected, he is given a chance to commute his sentence by working on a farm for the summer.

Enter Sam, son of the farm owners, who shows Kyle what he feels is perfectly normal and that he doesn’t have to hide from his feelings. In turn, Sam’s parents show Kyle that his abusive stepfather and battered mother are not the norm. With their love and support, Kyle finds his place in the world—by Sam’s side.
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Audio Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Bad Things by Varian Krylov

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Bad Things
Author: Varian Krylov
Heroes: Xavier/Carson
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 410 Pages
Publisher: Varian Krylov
Release Date: September 15, 2014
Available at: Amazon and Smashwords
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Xavier makes a lot of people nervous. The rest, he flat-out scares. More than his hulking, tattooed body, it’s his predator’s gaze that makes people feel vulnerable, as if he had the power to read their thoughts and see their soul. For his lovers, it’s Xavier’s ravenous appetite for all things carnal—for the taste of flesh under his tongue and the feel of a trembling body under his control, for whispered pleas and muffled cries—that makes him dangerous.

But recently, driven by a festering rage against the men who attacked his sister a decade ago, Xavier has developed a taste for a different kind of hunt and conquest: stalking men who do truly bad things and punishing the predators he sniffs out. The problem with vigilante justice, though, is sometimes the man in your trap is innocent.

Carson suspects he’s playing a risky game with dangerous men. But the lies are convincing, especially when they’re slipped to him among hundred dollar bills. He never guessed how big and dark the secret hidden under all the lies and money could be. And he has no idea he’s not the predator, but the prey, until it’s too late.

And you can’t beg for mercy when there’s a gag in your mouth.

But when Carson escapes from Xavier’s trap, he’s forced to accept that Xavier is far from his most dangerous enemy. Xavier may even hold the key to overcoming the painful past that has kept Carson prisoner for almost two decades.
Continue reading

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

Vampire Week Review: Dare to Love Forever by J.C. Wallace

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Dare to Love Forever
Author: J.C. Wallace
Series: New Vampire Justice #1
Heroes: Carson Locke/Lincoln Samuels
Genre: MM Paranormal
Length: 230 Pages
Publisher: Amber Allure
Release Date: June 30, 2014
Available at: Amber Allure, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Carson Locke is a Tabula Rosa vampire—a dangerous rarity in the world of vampires. With one bite, he can wipe clean a vampire’s mind, creating a mindless drone. Because of this, Carson has spent his entire twenty-three years sheltered at home. That changes, however, when his entire family is murdered. On the run and near death, Carson meets Commander Lincoln Samuels, a beautiful vampire who tries to heal him. In doing so, Carson is bonded to Lincoln and turned into something the vampire world has never seen.

Lincoln is a Sanatore vampire with the ability to heal other vampires. He heads a team in the New Vampire Justice police force in Utica, NY. Late one night, he’s called to a local Vampire Blood Market where a starving Tabula Rosa vampire is about to be executed by one of his officers. Feeling a strong connection to Carson, Lincoln wants to heal the broken man despite knowing the risk in doing so—it could destroy Lincoln and cost him the chance to love again. And he soon discovers there’s a greater evil threatening to take Carson from him.

Can two vampires who have loved and painfully lost in the past learn to trust one another, defeat the evil rising against them, and dare to love forever?
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Facing Demons by Lynley Wayne

Reviewed by JustJen

5Title: Facing Demons
Author: Lynley Wayne
Series: Scars #3
Heroes: Seth Dempsey/Cameron Reyes
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 379 Pages
Publisher: MLR Press
Release Date: October 3, 2014
Available at: MLR Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  When demons from his past interfere with his present, Cam knows Seth is the only one he can trust to help him face them.

At the age of fifteen, Seth Dempsey gave his heart to Cameron Reyes. Three years later, Cam shattered it when he walked away. When Cam blows back into Seth’s life years later, Seth knows he will do whatever it takes to ensure Cam doesn’t slip away again. Even if it means going up against a corrupt DEA agent and a drug cartel.

Cameron Reyes was born on the wrong side of the tracks. He fell in love with Seth, but knew the only way to keep him safe was to leave, no matter how much it hurt. Eleven years later, when his life implodes, he knows the only person he can trust is the boy whose heart he broke all those years ago.

While they fight to stay one step ahead of everyone and clear Cam’s name, can they learn to work together in order to face down the demons of the past and find the happily ever after they have dreamed of?
Continue reading

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

Book Review: Laurel Heights 2 by Lisa Worrall

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Laurel Heights 2
Author: Lisa Worrall
Series: Laurel Heights #2
Heroes: Scott/Will
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 143 Pages
Publisher: White Stiletto Press
Release Date: October 1, 2014
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Will and Scott are now out and proud and living together in Scott’s tiny house. So everything is perfect, right? Wrong…

Scott has a new partner, a new male partner, and Will is not happy about that at all.

A sadistic serial killer is at large, torturing his way through the gay community, but Will and Scott have no leads.

And one of the residents of Laurel Heights has been arrested for murder.

Review: What a great, freaking ride…Wowza!!! I must admit that I was a bit concerned I would be lost reading this story as it had been so long since I’d read book one, but nope, I was instantly right back on the Scott and Will bandwagon and loved every minute. Scott and Will are two of the hottest MM characters ever, and when they slam each other against the walls, the doors, the back of the couch, or on floor and then go at it, it’s some of the steamiest sex you will ever read about. Lisa Worrall nailed it…pun intended.

Will and Scott are now in a committed relationship, living together, and out & proud at the police station where they work. They are not partners on the force though, and Will is not thrilled with Scott’s new partner Kelly…a man, not a woman…and a man that he is convinced has his eye on Scott. Will and Kelly have a battle of words throughout the story and you wonder when they will come to blows. However, all is not as it appears, and more than once, we get a surprise twist where Kelly is concerned. Can’t give anything away, but I will tell you that I was wrong about him…more than once.

Laurel Heights is once again in the middle of an uproar. And even though I initially forgot who was who in that little cul de sac, it didn’t take long to put a name with a crime or scene. Jay is still the bad guy in prison, and Todd is still the victim…just not like you would think. Scott and Will are driving themselves nuts trying to keep their friends together and safe, but that’s hard to do when they can’t even wrap their minds around the issues still plaguing that exclusive enclave.

If you love hot alpha males who are devoted to each other deeply and exclusively, but fuck like it’s their last time together, then this book will be for you. If you enjoy a great mystery involving a sadistic serial killer, the violence is not a hard limit, and it’s impossible to even guess who it is, and then freak out when you finally learn…and it’s the last person you imagined…then this book is for you. If you enjoy reading about strong secondary characters, get pleasure from amazing dialogue, and hope that another book is in the works…then this book will be for you. My heart was in my throat all through the last chapter and the epilogue…that speaks volumes on how great this book turned out to be.
I can’t recommend this story highly enough. It was amazing and worth the wait and I think you will love it too.

Overall Impression: It was amazing!

*I purchased my own, personal copy of this book for review.*

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Evil’s Embrace by L.M. Somerton

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Evil’s Embrace
Author: L.M. Somerton
Series: Investigating Love #2
Heroes: Alex Courtney/Conor Trethuan
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 178 Pages
Publisher: Totally Bound
Release Date: May 30, 2014
Available at: Totally Bound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Never underestimate the power of obsession.

After the trauma of the Rasputin case, Detective Inspector Alex Courtney and his boyfriend, Detective Constable Conor Trethuan, are in desperate need of a holiday.

The peace and tranquillity of Cornwall can’t eradicate Conor’s nightmares, though, and the unbearable prospect of losing Alex drives him to confess feelings that he isn’t sure are reciprocated. Alex responds in the best way he knows how—by issuing orders and claiming Conor’s body as well as his heart.

Prematurely recalled to work, they are thrown into a dangerous trafficking case focused on a leather bar with a hardcore reputation, Spikes. Conor is sent in undercover, not knowing that he is only a decoy. When Alex learns that the motivation behind his team’s involvement in the case might not be as straightforward as it seems, he realises that his actions might jeopardise not just their relationship, but Conor’s life, too. A shadowy figure from Conor’s past is about to step into the light.
Continue reading

Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Being Wanted by Caitlin Ricci

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Being Wanted
Author: Caitlin Ricci
Series: Mountain Shifters #1
Heroes: Cole/Julian
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 194 Pages
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Release Date: August 15, 2014
Available at: eXtasy Books and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: For Cole, life used to be simple. He was a military man and knew where he stood in the world. But that was all before the first of the cats came. Now, years later, all but the strongest of the human race have been killed off by the aliens, and those that are left are their slaves. Day and night, Cole is forced to help destroy the human world and return his planet to the way it was before the humans took over.

He’s able to escape, just barely, but an accident leaves him injured and at the mercy of people he can’t be sure are there to help him. There’s a man there that catches his interest, but finding time for a relationship when the world is going to hell around him isn’t exactly going to happen. These people offer him safety and hope, but Cole isn’t sure who he can trust anymore, and love might just be the most dangerous risk of all.
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment