Posts Tagged With: Contemporary

Book Review: Awakening by Cassandra Carr

Reviewed by JustJen

AwakeningTitle: Awakening
Author: Cassandra Carr
Heroes: Vanessa Clark/Will Astin
Genre: M/F BDSM
Length: 248 Pages
Publisher: C-Squared Publishing
Release Date: March 19, 2014
Available at: Smashwords, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Vanessa Clark is doing a research paper for one of her last classes – Psychology of Sex – before receiving her Bachelors’ degree. Once she discovers the topic of BDSM, everything else pales in comparison. But where will she learn about it? The Internet has its limits, and Vanessa needs to talk to real-life practitioners of BDSM to really understand the lifestyle and write about it.

Will Astin, who serves as a dungeon master at a local BDSM club, doesn’t expect to find a gorgeous, irresistible young woman when he agrees to a meet and greet with a college student as a favor to the club’s owner. Even better, she’s interested in learning about BDSM for what he suspects are more than scholarly reasons, and Will decides he’s just the man to teach her about it, hopefully claiming her for his own.

Will and Vanessa begin a journey which teaches both of them there’s more to BDSM than meets the eye. In the process, they grow closer, but when Will’s job puts him in the line of fire – literally – their roles are reversed and Vanessa has to take charge. Can they handle the rapid shift in their burgeoning dynamic, or is their relationship doomed?

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

Gay For You Week Review: Fireproof by Hollis Shiloh

Reviewed by Nikyta

FireproofTitle: Fireproof
Author: Hollis Shiloh
Heroes: Jett & Levi
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 170 pages
Publisher: Spare Words Press
Release Date: March 1, 2014
Available at: Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Jett used to be a firefighter. He gave it up when he developed the terrifying ability to make fire with his mind. Panicked, he fled—also leaving behind his best friend and secret crush, Levi.

Two years later, they meet again. And somehow, Levi can forgive Jett for leaving and never saying goodbye. But now Levi’s getting married, and that hurts more than Jett thought anything could.

How will Levi take the news of Jett’s weird fire magic—or the news that he’s gay?

Two men navigate the waters of magic, changing relationships, and danger in this contemporary, sweet and slightly angsty paranormal gay firefighter-themed romance.

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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Finding Peace by T.A. Chase

Reviewed by Nikyta

Finding PeaceTitle: Finding Peace
Author: T.A. Chase
Series: Nowhere Diner #2
Heroes: Chad & Zane
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 41,000 words
Publisher: Amber Allure
Release Date: March 24, 2014
Available at: Amber Allure, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Chad Mitchell is on a downward spiral and he’s not sure how to stop it. Between the flashbacks of fighting in Afghanistan and the alcohol, he feels like he’s losing his mind. And if he’s not careful, he knows he might lose more than that. Working at Cookie’s Diner is a chance at working through his problems, yet his demons are stronger than he thinks.

Sergeant Zane Smithson comes to the diner in the middle of nowhere to check up on Chad. The men had served together in Afghanistan, and even back then, Zane had been interested in Chad, who had served under him. But when Zane got home, he had his own demons to beat before he could help his troubled comrade. Now, once Zane finds Chad, he sees there is more to the man’s problems than just flashbacks of war.

When a confrontation between them leads Chad to the depths of a bottle, Zane realizes they both need help to find peace in their lives… Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Gay For You Week Review: Love the Sinner by Avril Ashton

Reviewed by JustJen

Love the SinnerTitle: Love the Sinner
Author: Avril Ashton
Series: Brooklyn Sinners #1
Heroes: Gabriel Ashby/Angelo Pagan
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 229 Pages
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Release Date: May 9, 2012
Available at: Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Detective Gabriel Ashby has never looked twice at another man, yet the criminal across from him, the man he’s interrogating, isn’t like any other. Gabe can’t deal with the sudden, intense need he has for one of NYPD’s Most Wanted. Everyone close to Angelo Pagan ends up dead, with the smug gang leader standing amid the rubble. Gabe would love nothing more than to bust Angelo’s ass and lock him up. So why is he seeing the bastard in his dreams at night?

Angelo Pagan knows attraction to Gabe is suicide. He’s resolute to ignore the chemistry…until a police raid goes wrong. He critically injures Gabe, changing the trajectory of both their lives. Now the two can’t get close enough. They settle into a forbidden affair threatened by lies and betrayal, living on different sides of the law with no way of breaching the gap between them. With the authorities looking to make an example of Angelo, Gabe has to decide if it’s really worth it to hate the sin but love the sinner.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2012, Theme Week | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Guarded by L.A. Witt & Cat Grant

Reviewed by JustJen

GuardedTitle: Guarded
Author: L.A. Witt & Cat Grant
Heroes: Jordan Kane/Jase Hewitt
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 344 Pages
Publisher: Cat Grant Books
Release Date: April 7, 2014
Available at: Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: On the surface, rock star Jordan Kane has it all. His band No Rules is burning up the charts and headlining a world tour. His bodyguard doubles as a hot, kinky boyfriend who knows just how to push all his buttons. But behind the scenes, he’s suffocating.

Jase Hewitt never imagined he’d have a shot at bedding the larger than life rock star – never mind dominating him – but now he’s worried he’s in over his head. Jordan’s kinks run deep, dark, and sometimes dangerous, putting Jase’s desires to both pleasure and protect him at odds.

They might have a fighting chance at finding the safe, happy medium between what Jordan needs and what Jase is willing to give, but there’s one problem: Daniel, Jordan’s childhood best friend, the band’s talented guitarist — and a volatile, hard-partying drug addict. Jordan is determined to save Daniel from himself, but Jase has been there, done that, and desperately wants to protect Jordan from the inevitable heartache of watching an addict self-destruct.

When Daniel goes off the rails again, Jordan calls off the tour to get him help. Tension within the band skyrockets and pressure from the record label sends Jordan into a dark spiral. Now his band — and his life — are balanced on a knife’s edge, and Jase is the only one who can pull him back… but only if the echoes of his own tragic past don’t push him over first.

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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Un-Expected by Lisa Worrall

Reviewed by JustJen

Un-ExpectedTitle: Un-Expected
Author: Lisa Worrall
Series: Left at the Crossroads #1
Heroes: Micah Lewis/Harry Boyd
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 122 Pages
Publisher: White Stiletto Press
Release Date: February 25, 2014
Available at: Amazon & All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Little Mowbury is a sleepy English village deep in the Cotswolds. The kind of village where you’re only a local if your lineage can be traced back to the dinosaurs. Where you can find everything in the single shop from morning newspapers to dry-cleaning, and getting your shoes mended. And, of course, where everybody knows everybody else’s business. It’s easy to find… you can’t miss it… just ask anyone and they’ll tell you… “It’s left at the crossroads.”

After being dumped on graduation day by the love of his life, Harry Boyd, Micah Lewis returned to the sleepy village he grew up in. Living next door to his mother wasn’t his best idea, granted, but when your heart was broken, there really was no place like home.

Six years later, secure and content in his job as midwife for a local birthing centre, the last person he expected to move into Lilac Cottage across the street from him was Harry Boyd. Seeing Harry again sends Micah into a tailspin and opens wounds he thought had long since healed. Although, Harry himself isn’t the only issue Micah has to face. That would be Harry’s very beautiful and very pregnant partner, Selena. But is everything as it seems?

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

Early Review: Twenty-Five by Rachel Haimowitz & Heidi Belleau

Reviewed by JustJen

20691958Title: Twenty-Five
Author: Rachel Haimowitz, Heidi Belleau
Series: The Flesh Cartel #15
Heroes: Doug/Mat
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 75 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: April 7, 2014
Available at: Riptide Publishing 
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: In the exciting final season of the Flesh Cartel . . .

With the help of the FBI, Mat Carmichael has let himself be re-taken by the Flesh Cartel. Objective? Rescue his brother, exact revenge, and destroy the entire organization from the inside.

FBI Special Agent Nate Johnson will be playing backup, of course, but to get Dougie out alive, Mat will need to make sure his brother is out of Allen’s clutches before calling in the troops. Now that Mat’s back in bondage, though, there’s no way he can do it alone. He’ll have to ask for help from the only man within the Cartel who cares about Dougie’s welfare: Nikolai. And even knowing it will destroy him, Nikolai delivers.

Bringing down the Cartel should have been the hardest part, but it doesn’t take long to realize that the real challenge has only just begun. Dougie doesn’t know how to be free anymore, and Mat is forced to admit that he may no longer be strong enough to help himself, let alone his brother. But with loved ones in their corner and their love for each other banked but not extinguished, Mat and Dougie learn that you can come home again, no matter how desperate the circumstances you’ve left behind. Continue reading

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

Book Review: Andy, Go-Go Boy by J.P. Barnaby

Reviewed by JustJen

Andy, Go-Go BoyTitle: Andy, Go-Go Boy
Author: J.P. Barnaby
Series: Working Boys #2
Heroes: Andy/Stefan
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 44 Pages
Publisher: Wilde City Press
Release Date: March 26, 2014
Available at: Wilde City Press
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Andy Finnegan is a six foot three brown-haired, blue-eyed, Mack f*cking truck. A former marine who spends his nights dancing for your entertainment, he has a dark side hiding beneath the beautiful veneer.

Sweet little Stefan is awestruck by the big, gorgeous dancer with the rock hard abs and the lonely eyes. Determined to see what lurks behind the perfect surface, he gets a little more than he bargained for.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Book Review: Butterball by Michelle Robbins

Reviewed by Susan65

ButterballTitle: Butterball
Author: Michelle Robbins
Heroes: Travis Wentwood and Jeremy Roberson
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 37,000 words
Publisher: Amber Allure
Release Date: March 23, 2014
Available at: All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: For Travis, it’s business as usual at Wentwood Investments,, other than the annoying task of finding a new account manager for his expanding office. Everything changes, however, the moment Jeremy Roberson walks into the room for an interview. The cuddly butterball is everything Travis likes in a partner, except for The Closet locked around the man.

Jeremy’s worn a mask for so long he isn’t sure who he is anymore. Every lie of his life has somehow become the truth, and yet those lies never hold. Desperation and despair have been his roommates, especially since the moment he’d hurt someone else in his attempt to deny his truth.

But Travis has other ideas for them, beautiful, wonderful moments and promises for tomorrow. All Jeremy needs to do is take that all important step and find the strength to finally come out.

Not much fun, sure, but Travis might be able to help. He has kicked down a few closet walls in his past also. And if he’s going to find paradise with Jeremy, it appears he has to kick down those walls again.

Good thing Travis knows how to fight.

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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Early Review: Tough Love by Heidi Cullinan

Reviewed by JustJen

18170925Title: Tough Love
Author: Heidi Cullinan
Series: Special Delivery #3
Heroes: Crescencio “Chenco” Ortiz/Steve Vance
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 408 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: April 8, 2014
Available at: Samhain Publishing, Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Crescencio “Chenco” Ortiz pulled himself up by his garter straps after his father’s will yanked the financial rug from under his spank-me pumps. He doesn’t need anyone, yet when Steve Vance steps into his life, the prospect of having a sexy leather daddy on tap begins to take on a certain appeal.

There’s a hitch when he learns Steve is friends with Mitch Tedsoe—the half-brother Chenco never knew except through his father’s twisted lies. Despite his reservations, soon Chenco is living his dreams, including a performing gig in Vegas. Now if only he could get Steve to see him as more than just a boy in need of saving.

Steve’s attraction to Chenco is overshadowed by too many demons, ones he knows his would-be lover is too young to slay. Yet as he gets to know the bright, determined young man whose drag act redefines fierce, Steve’s inner sadist trembles with need. He begins to realize Chenco’s relentless tough love might be the only thing that will finally set him free.

Warning: This story contains glamorous drag queens, exhibitionist secondary characters, and no-holds-barred BDSM play, including watersports. Readers advised they may well leave this novel feeling uncharacteristically fierce.

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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment