Posts Tagged With: Contemporary

Book Review: The Way Things Are by A.J. Thomas

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: The Way Things Are
Author: A.J. Thomas
Heroes: Patrick Connelly/Ken Atkins
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 266 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 30, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  A night of drunken confusion at nineteen resulted in Patrick Connelly fathering a child. Determined to be there for his son, Patrick walked away from a sport he loved and forever hid his sexuality. After Patrick’s brutal divorce and a vicious hate crime, his son, Jay, has become obsessed with graffiti. Hoping for a fresh start, Patrick moves Jay to his childhood home in Seattle. Within two weeks, Jay is arrested again. On his way to pick Jay up, Patrick stops an assault, then finds himself in handcuffs too. Thinking things can’t get any worse, he’s confronted by the sexiest man he’s ever seen—his son’s new probation officer, Ken Atkins.

The hardest part of Ken’s job is working with difficult parents, and the undeniably handsome Patrick Connelly is going to be a difficult parent. A chance encounter and steamy hookup with Patrick leave Ken blindsided. As they work together to try to keep Jay on the right path, the passion between them proves impossible to resist. When the assault Patrick prevented comes back to haunt them and Jay gets into trouble again, Ken must convince Patrick that ensuring his son’s happiness doesn’t have to mean sacrificing his own.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Stones in the Road by Nick Wilgus

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Stones in the Road
Author: Nick Wilgus
Series: Sugar Tree #2
Heroes: Wiley Cantrell/Jackson Ledbetter
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 300 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 30, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When his snobbish future in-laws travel all the way from Boston to visit, wise-cracking Southerner Wiley Cantrell learns that gay marriage is not without its disadvantages. Occupied by concerns over the health of his special needs son Noah, a meth baby who was not expected to live and who is now on the cusp of puberty, the antics of Wiley’s outrageous would-be mother-in-law and severely conservative father-in-law strain his relationship with Jackson Ledbetter, a pediatric nurse who poses problems of his own. As their respective families meet and greet, each just as meddlesome and inflexible as the other, North meets South and the fireworks and cultural misunderstandings are plenty.

A tornado blows through the small Mississippi town where Wiley’s mother lives, wrecking his mother’s house and leaving their lives in disarray. Then Jackson’s secret drug addiction comes to light, and Wiley and Noah are devastated. With so many stones in the road, Wiley and Jackson find their dream of becoming a real family falling apart. Though Wiley relies on humor to cope, he’ll need something more to keep his happily ever after from slipping away.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Audio Review: Fall Down the Mountain by P.D. Singer

Reviewed by Morgan

1Title: Fall Down the Mountain
Author: P.D. Singer
Narrator: Finn Sterling
Series: Mountain #3
Heroes: Mark McAvoy/Allan Tengerdie
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: Book – 224 Pages / Audio – 7 Hours, 7 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: Book – October 18, 2012 / Audio – December 2, 2014
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Every night ski patrol Mark McAvoy relives the avalanche that took a life on his watch. Emotionally fragile and single by choice, he’s aghast at his friends’ taking charge of his social life. Hosting a potluck will at least provide him with a good meal.

Invited to the potluck on a whim, Allan Tengerdie catches Mark’s eye—and taste buds. This cuddly chef could be perfect for a lonely, too-thin skier; too bad Allan falls better than he skis. When Allan’s injured and frightened he’ll lose his catering company, he’s afraid to ask too much of a man he barely knows.

Mark wants to help but has his own problems. Was the avalanche a tragic accident or cold-blooded murder? His role in the inquiry leaves Mark in trouble at work, at the mercy of the law, and with too much time on his hands. If he clings tightly to Allan, will they be swept away together?

First edition published by Torquere Press (2010).

Bonus Story: Storm on the Mountain

A blizzard shuts down the ski resort, giving Mark a chance to show Allan he’s learned from his mistakes. Does he know Allan well enough now to say what’s in his heart?

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

Book Review: Secrets and Charms by Lou Harper

Guest Reviewed by Morgan 

1Title: Secrets and Charms
Author: Lou Harper
Series:  Secrets #2
Heroes: Olly Blackwood/Rich Willson
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length:  191 Pages
Publisher:  Samhain Publishing
Release Date:  December 23, 2014
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  One hot ginger. One cool blond. The result is anything but lukewarm.
Out and proud from a tender age, Olly Blackwood is content with life in LA, working at a Hollywood gourmet grocery. There’s only one thing missing: romance. He’s had his fill of casual hook-ups. He wants a man for keeps, and he wants sparks.

He certainly gets them when he meets Rich Willson, who has the stormy temper to go with his fiery hair. But is he keeper material? He might be if only he’d come out of the closet.

After losing his disapproving father, his job, his girlfriend, and pretty much all his money, Rich packed up his secrets and moved to his actress sister’s house to regroup and help her renovate. He doesn’t like the curmudgeon he’s become, but something about the perpetually cheerful Olly rubs him in a way that should be wrong, yet feels pretty damned right.

Over paint buckets and sanding tools, Rich finds Olly getting deeper under his skin. But when an altercation with a paparazzo comes back to haunt him, he finds that sordid Hollywood secrets can be murder maybe his own.

Warning: Contains a hot-tempered ginger, a cool-headed blond, redecorating shenanigans, and sordid Hollywood secrets. Happy ending guaranteed or your ticket price refunded.
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: No Place That Far by L.A. Witt and Aleksandr Voinov

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: No Place That Far
Authors: L.A. Witt and Aleksandr Voinov
Series: Distance Between Us #5
Heroes: Marcus/Timur
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 215 Pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Available at: Samhain Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Sometimes you only get one chance at a second chance.

Still finding his footing after a long-overdue divorce, Marcus is looking forward to some mind-numbing drinking while ogling the grooms at Chris and Julien’s wedding. He never expected his attention to be diverted by the gorgeous best man.

One of Julien’s French Foreign Legion buddies, Timur doesn’t speak much English, but language is no barrier to Marcus understanding exactly what the huge Tartar wants—a one-night stand.

Except that one night turns into two, three, then more, which puts Marcus on edge. After Timur is done house-sitting for the honeymooning couple, he’s headed back to the Legion for another five years. Like it or not, once Timur gets on that plane, the fling is over.

Unfortunately, Marcus forgot to tell his heart not to fall in love. And this time, if history repeats and he makes another wrong decision, he may never see his tattooed Legionnaire lover again.

Warning: Contains a soldier who makes up for his lack of English by using his hands to read his lover’s body; a chef-turned-bartender who no longer believes in love; a length of paracord that probably wasn’t meant to be used this way; and a couple of newlyweds who are game for some four-way play.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Dual Affairs by Lynn Kelling

Reviewed by Susan65

DualAffairs_CvrEPUBN_FIXTitle: Dual Affairs
Author: Lynn Kelling
Series: Twin Ties #2
Heroes: Evan and Brennan / Alek and Luka
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 254 Pages
Publisher: Fantastic Fiction Publishing
Release Date: February 11, 2014
Available at: All Romance Ebooks and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: All Evan Savage wanted was a quiet night at the bar, waiting for his boyfriend to finish his shift; what he gets instead is a nightmare. Things were complex enough when his biggest problem was the tangled sex life he and his brother Brennan share with twin lovers Alek and Luka. When a selfless act ending in terrible violence lands Evan in the hospital, Brennan and Evan’s father returns to loom over their lives, asking questions none of the four want to answer.

The young men’s relationships to each other begin to unravel as carefully drawn boundary lines are blurred and crossed. The four must question the nature of their commitments to each other, what they each want, and what to say to those relentlessly demanding the truth. When the most dangerous thing you can do is admit to who you love, and jealousy is a luxury you can no longer afford, brutal honesty is the only remaining key to salvation…

…or damnation.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Audio Review: The Fight Within by Andrew Grey

Reviewed by Morgan

1Title: The Fight Within
Author: Andrew Grey
Narrator: Andrew McFerrin
Series: The Good Fight #2
Heroes: Bryce Morton and Paytah Stillwater
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: Book – 206 Pages / Audio – 7 Hours, 7 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: Book – March 4, 2013 / Audio – December 15, 2014
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Bryce Morton needs a change of scenery. Since his partner’s death a year ago, he’s become withdrawn and quiet, so his friends, Jerry Lincoln and Akecheta (John) Black Raven, convince him to go camping with them on a Sioux reservation. Though he’s not immediately sure he’s done the right thing, Bryce becomes more interested when he meets Paytah, the man who owns the reservation’s trading post.

Paytah Stillwater’s life is filled with hurt, and sometimes the only thing he has left is pride. After being abused as a child and disbelieved when he spoke up, he has withdrawn into himself—but he can never truly put his past behind him, because the source of his pain still lives on the reservation. Paytah is proud of his heritage and careful with his heart, but when Bryce commits a selfless act of kindness for one of the reservation’s children, the walls around Paytah’s heart begin to melt.

Bryce and Paytah each fight the pain within them. When Paytah’s abuser sets his sights on one of the reservation youngsters, Bryce and Paytah must set their individual fights aside. Finding a way to stop the abuser unites them to fight their way forward—together.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: The Good Fight by Andrew Grey

Reviewed by Morgan 

1Title: The Good Fight
Author: Andrew Grey
Narrator: Andrew McFerrin
Series: The Good Fight #1
Heroes: Jerry Lincoln and John Black Raven
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: Book – 200 Pages / Audio – 6 Hours, 13 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: book – September 3, 2012 / Audio – October 29, 2014
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Jerry Lincoln has a problem: his Sioux Falls IT consulting business has more work than one man can handle. Luckily, that means he can hire some help. Jerry just hopes his new employee, John Black Raven, ends up being more helpful than distracting—but John’s deep eyes and long hair are very distracting.

John came to town for an education and a chance at a life he couldn’t have on the reservation, but what’s important to him now is getting a job and keeping it. Six months ago, his sister died, and now her children are in foster care. Despite having the law on his side, John can’t get custody—can’t even see his niece and nephew.

As Jerry and John grow closer, John discovers he doesn’t have to struggle alone. Jerry helps him win visitation rights and provides much-needed support. Yet their victories aren’t without setbacks. Child Services is tangled up with money, politics, and red tape, and Native American children are their bread and butter. But John and Jerry are determined to fight the good fight and to win—in more ways than one.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Audio Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: My Brother’s Lover by Lynn Kelling

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: My Brother’s Lover
Author: Lynn Kelling
Series: Twin Ties #1
Heroes: Evan and Brennan / Alek and Luka
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 267 Pages
Publisher: Fantastic Fiction Publishing
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Growing up gay in a small town with no mother, Evan Savage learned the hard way to cherish his secrets above all else. Now he’s 18, not even his father can hurt him anymore. When his long-lost twin brother Brennan shows up out of nowhere looking for a new home, Evan’s world, and his very identity, comes crashing down around him all over again. Brennan treats nothing as sacred in his search for a family connection after their mother’s death.

Frustrated and reckless, anonymous sexual encounters are just the first step on a journey of self-discovery for both Evan and Brennan. The sweetness of first love with twin brothers Alek and Luka leads them find in each other things they never knew they had lost…

…and lures them all into danger.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Take the Long Way Home by J.A. Rock

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Take the Long Way Home
Author: J.A. Rock
Heroes: Dresden/Caleb
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 225 Pages
Publisher: Loose Id
Release Date: January 20, 2015
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Dresden Marich has failed out of high school three months shy of graduation. He’s infatuated with his online friend, Evan, alienated from his family and former classmates, and still trying to recover from his father’s death six years ago. He’s also keeping a troubling secret about his older brother, Gunner, who is away at boot camp.

Then Dresden meets Caleb, a judgmental environmentalist who’s hardly Dresden’s fantasy come true. But Caleb seems to understand Dresden’s desire for rough sex, big feelings, and, ultimately, safety. As Dresden becomes embroiled in a farmers market drama involving Caleb, a couple of bullying tomato enthusiasts, and a gang of vigilante vegans, he discovers he might be willing to trade a fantasy relationship with Evan for a shot at something real with Caleb.

But Dresden fears telling quick-to-judge Caleb his secret, and the news that Gunner is coming home sends him fleeing to California for a chance to meet Evan in person and hopefully fall in love. When the encounter doesn’t go as expected, Dresden faces a choice: stay in California and carve out a new life, or take the long road home to his family, Caleb, and a past he must face if he has any hope for a future.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment