Posts Tagged With: Contemporary

Book Review: And Your Enemies Closer by Cecelia Stryder

Reviewed by Susan65

31813803Title: And Your Enemies Closer
Author: Cecelia Stryder
Series: Love & Deceptions #1
Heroes: Cori/Nero
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 258 Pages
Publisher: Lovelight Press
Release Date: September 30, 2016
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: “You’re dead.”

“No one knows the real Cori Archontis. All anyone ever cares about is that I’m the lead singer from that band.”

Five years have passed since Cori Archontis traded dirty money for fame and skyrocketed his band, Love & Deceptions, into stardom – five years spent drowning his past in narcotics, dating women to stay publicly closeted, and running from his mistakes. But Cori’s time is up. The Hollywood based crime syndicate who pushed him to the top of the charts is done waiting for him to pay back his debt.

And they’ve sent the most handsome man Cori’s ever seen to collect what Cori owes them – his life.

“No matter what, I’ll never let myself be like my father.”

The job is simple. Get in, put a bullet through the kid’s skull, and get out. Nero’s done it before. He’s been a member of crime syndicate The Mad Royals for twenty years, and as crime lord Caligula’s right hand man, he’s as unsympathetic as he is ruthless.

And it’s cocky, gorgeous, arrogant flirts like Cori that Nero hates most of all.

But there’s a vibrancy in Cori’s voice and a sincerity in his song that makes Nero’s finger pause before he pulls the trigger – and it fills him with dread. He’s been sworn off men for longer than he’s been a Royal, and there’s no way he’d ever stoop so low as to go down the path he followed.

“I’m ready to give it all up – for you.”

But fate has other plans.

When two troubled pasts collide and expose a threat far more urgent than a simple debt, Cori and Nero’s lives are thrust onto parallel tracks. Forced to trust one another while the world unravels at their feet and old scars open fresh, if they want to survive, they’ll have to learn to conquer their differences and find middle ground.

Or maybe somewhere even closer than that.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Lights! Camera! Cupid! Anthology

Reviewed by Morgan

lightscameracupid_audiobook-1Title: Lights! Camera! Cupid!
Authors: S.E. Jakes, Amy Lane, Z.A. Maxfield, Anne Tenino and L.A. Witt
Narrators: Nick J. Russo and Dorian Bane
Series: Bluewater Bay #6
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 6 Hours, 22 Minutes
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: September 26, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Cupid is visiting Bluewater Bay, and he’s leaving chaos in his wake.

Nothing’s been the same in this sleepy little logging town since Hollywood came to shoot the hit TV show Wolf’s Landing—especially Valentine’s Day.

In L.A. Witt’s Just Another Day, beloved actors Levi Pritchard and Carter Samuels have an announcement for their fans, while in Z.A. Maxfield’s I’ll Be There, actor Spencer Kepler and his boyfriend Nash Holly brave a blizzard and a fan convention to spend their first February the 14th together.

Of course, it’s not just TV stars celebrating the day. In Anne Tenino’s Helping Hand, an aspiring artist eager to escape Bluewater Bay decides he just might have a reason to stay: lust-inspiring logger Gabriel Savage. In SE Jakes’s No Easy Way, a local teacher reconnects with an old lover working security on the film set. And in Amy Lane’s Nascha, a Bluewater Bay elder recalls how his own unconventional family used to celebrate the holiday.

Real life may be nothing like TV, but when Cupid comes to town, there’s plenty of romance and drama to go around.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, 4.5 Star Ratings, 5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Morgan's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Friendly Fire by Cari Z

Reviewed by Susan65

30799159Title: Friendly Fire
Author: Cari Z
Heroes: Elliot McKenzie/Lennox West
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 252 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: October 17, 2016
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Elliot McKenzie is the king of reinvention. Five years after losing his job and his lover and almost going to prison, his self-help program, Charmed Life, is more successful than he’d ever dreamed. He thinks he’s put his sordid past firmly behind him, until he starts receiving cryptic threats . . . and realizes it might not be as over as he’d hoped.

Security expert Lennox West has been lost since a deadly skirmish in Afghanistan led to his forced retirement from the Army. His PTSD makes helping his ex raise their daughter a challenge. When his ex’s sister asks him to set her boss up with a security system, Lennox isn’t expecting anyone like Elliot McKenzie—a man who captures his attention and makes him feel relaxed for the first time since leaving the service.

But Elliott is dangerously stubborn. Even as the threats against him escalate, he refuses to involve the police, and Lennox fears that stubbornness could kill him. A battle of wills ensues that brings them closer to each other than either man expected. But if the threats turn real, they might not live long enough to get their future together.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: An Honorable Man by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

Reviewed by Morgan 

32295130Title: An Honorable Man
Author: Sandrine Gasq-Dion
Series: Men of Manhattan #7
Heroes: Danny Finnegan/Bobby Laughlin
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 147 Pages
Publisher: Wilde City Press
Release Date: September 21, 2016
Available at:  Amazon & Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Officer Danny Finnegan loves his job. As one of the youngest faces on the police force, he has taken on the challenge of going undercover to catch a serial killer in Manhattan. Ten rent boys have been murdered, and Danny knows it won’t be long before another one turns up dead in an alley. He and his partner, Tiernan Callahan, gear up to hit the seedy side of the city that never sleeps. There’s only one problem. They need help to make Danny’s cover convincing.

Bobby Laughlin left the back streets of Manhattan behind when he came way too close to becoming another number in the rent boy killings. He spends most of his time on Fire Island working at a bar. He is trying to get his life back on track when officer Danny Finnegan walks back into his life. Bobby was attracted to Danny the first time he saw him — when the boyish-looking cop took Bobby’s statement after a client beat him brutally. Working with the the sexy cop could be dangerous. It would put him right back on the streets he’s been trying so hard to avoid.

Bobby reluctantly takes on the task of teaching Danny how to work the streets. As things heat up on the case and in their hearts, Bobby finds himself falling for Danny, and Danny has eyes only for Bobby.

But can they catch a killer before one of them ends up as the next headline?
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Morgan's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Suddenly Yours by Jacob Z. Flores

Reviewed by Ami

31825486Title: Suddenly Yours
Author: Jacob Z. Flores
Series: One Fine Day #2 / Dreamspun Desires #20
Heroes: Cody Hayes/Julian Canales
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 244 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: October 15, 2016
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas.

Cody Hayes is having one epic morning-after. The hangover following a Vegas bachelor party is nothing new to him, and neither is the naked man in his bed.

His apparent marriage is a different story.

Carefully plotting every detail of his life carried Julian Canales to a Senate seat as an openly gay man. A drunken night of Truth or Dare isn’t like him… and neither is marrying a man he just met. He’d get an annulment, but the media has gotten wind of his hasty nuptials. If Julian’s political career is going to survive, he has to stay married to a man who’s his opposite in every way.

Now he must convince Cody that all they need to do is survive a conservative political rival, a heartbroken ex, their painful pasts… and an attraction neither man can fight.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Blueprint by R.J. Jones

Reviewed by Susan65

32191170Title: Blueprint
Author: R.J. Jones
Series: Out of the Blue #4
Heroes: Jet Black/Ethan Nichols
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 221 Pages
Publisher: Vivid Blue Press
Release Date: October 14, 2016
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: If only building the foundation for a lasting relationship was as easy as drafting the blueprint.

Jet Black doesn’t date. Even if he wanted a man beyond sex, his ever-watchful identical twin scares potential suitors away. Jet lives with his brother, but since Gray fell in love with Kris, Jet feels like a third wheel. Despite their bond, Jet knows he needs to move out and experience life for himself, whether Gray likes it or not.

After his father dies in a boating accident, Ethan Nichols is devastated. As the last survivor of his family, he feels the need to put down roots. He leaves Australia and returns home to San Francisco and his old architectural firm. But there’s more to building a new life than simply moving house.

Jet and Ethan’s first encounter is brash and anonymous, but when Ethan moves across the hall, their lives become irrevocably linked. Jet is quirky and fun loving, while Ethan is rock steady and dependable. There’s no denying the passionate spark between them.

But Ethan is looking for a more solid foundation than Jet is ready to offer. Until Jet learns to spread his wings and trust Ethan with his darkest secrets, building a life together will be impossible.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: A Selfless Man by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

Reviewed by Morgan 

31684646Title: A Selfless Man
Author: Sandrine Gasq-Dion
Series: Men of Manhattan #6
Heroes: Ryan
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 132 Pages
Publisher: Wilde City Press
Release Date: September 7, 2016
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Ryan Carter always hoped his life would turn around for the better. He has a job that he loves, and another one that he hates. Becoming a rent boy was never his life plan, but circumstances forced his hand. When his life falls apart, hunky firefighter Michael Callahan comes to his rescue. Ryan knows better than to believe someone as wonderful as Michael would ever want to be with someone who sells his body. But spending time with Michael gives Ryan something he’s never had before.

Hope.

For months, New York firefighter Michael Callahan has been thinking about the hot guy he rescued while working crowd control during a robbery standoff. His brother is very happy dating a man, and Michael wonders if he’s finally ready for a relationship of his own. An apartment fire brings him face to face with the young man who’s been haunting him for months. Their friendship starts strong, but will Ryan’s alternate life put out the flicker before it has a chance to flame?

Can Michael convince Ryan that he wants him no matter who he is? Or will the relationship turn to ash before it even begins?
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Categories: 2 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Morgan's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Vengeance by Sloane Kennedy

Reviewed by JustJen

31393404Title: Vengeance
Author: Sloane Kennedy
Series: The Protectors #5
Heroes: Memphis/Brennan/Tristan
Genre: MMM Contemporary
Length: 353 Pages
Publisher: Sloane Kennedy
Release Date: October 4, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Memphis
At thirty-four years old, ex-DEA agent Memphis Wheland has lived, loved and lost…everything. The ultimate betrayal by the man he gave everything to has left Memphis with no family, no career and a bone deep bitterness that refuses to release him from its icy grip. His work with an underground vigilante organization is the only light in his otherwise bleak existence. That and the occasional no-strings hookup with men whose only focus in that moment, and for as long as Memphis wants them, is him and only him. No clingy exes, no unrequited love, no relationship drama. Period.

Because Memphis has one rule that he won’t break for anyone or anything. He doesn’t share.

Ever.

Now if only someone had told that to the young man who would come into his life in the most unexpected way…

Brennan
With his entire life ahead of him, graduate student Brennan Devereaux wasn’t expecting it to change in the blink of an eye. But when a case of mistaken identity nearly costs Brennan his life, it isn’t just his future that’s about to change, but his past too. Because for years he’s been in love with a young man who only sees him as a friend and nothing more. And while he was content to love Tristan Barretti from afar, he hadn’t expected to be drawn to the mysterious stranger who saved his life and changed it with a simple promise.

I’m not letting you go.

They were words spoken in the heat of the moment as the darkness of death had threatened to claim him, but even as Brennan’s love for Tristan refuses to wane, his need for the intriguing Memphis Wheland continues to grow.

But any relationship with Memphis means he has to let go of the one thing in his life he’s always valued above everything else…

Tristan
At nineteen, Tristan Barretti should have had the world at his feet. His musical gifts have garnered him prestige as well as admission to the famed Julliard School in New York and he has a family that most people would kill for. But the protective bubble his fathers have kept him in has burst and he’s discovered that life outside his unconditionally loving family isn’t as accepting of a kid born with HIV. A poor decision to find answers to questions better left unasked, along with the complications of living with his disease, have Tristan returning to Seattle and the solace of his family.

And to the young man he’s wanted from the time he was barely old enough to even understand what that meant.

But with an uncertain future that leaves him nothing to offer the gorgeous and successful Brennan Devereaux, Tristan knows the best he can hope for is to keep building on the friendship they’ve shared for years and not get his hopes up that Brennan will be the one man who sees him and not his disease.

Except all bets are off when danger follows him home…

Choices
Even though a physical relationship with Brennan was supposed to be just that, Memphis finds himself unable to refuse his young lover’s request to help put a stop to the threat against Tristan. Even knowing full well that Brennan’s heart lies with the man he claims is nothing more than a friend, Memphis accepts the challenge of ensuring Tristan’s safety.

But when the quiet music student stops being a “job” and starts being something much more, Memphis is torn between his growing feelings for both young men and the fear that he’ll be facing an even greater betrayal that he’ll never be able to come back from.

Except none of that matters when the threat that Memphis never saw coming puts Brennan and Tristan in the crosshairs.

And the cost of the vengeance he once craved suddenly comes at too high a price…
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Reading the Signs by Keira Andrews

Reviewed by Susan65

32184585Title: Reading the Signs
Author: Keira Andrews
Heroes: Nico Agresta/Jake Fitzgerald
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 293 Pages
Publisher: KA Books
Release Date: September 22, 2016
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: This hot-headed rookie needs discipline—on and off the field.

Pitcher Nico Agresta is desperate to live up to his family’s baseball legacy. Since he was a teenager crushing on his big brother’s teammate, he’s known he can’t act on his desires. His father made it clear there should be no queers on the field, but if Nico can win Rookie of the Year like his dad and brother did, maybe he can prove he’s worthy after all.

At 34, veteran catcher Jake Fitzgerald just wants to finish out his contract and retire. His team doesn’t have a prayer of making the playoffs, but who needs the stress? Jake lost his passion for the game—and life—after driving away the man he loved, and he swore he’d never risk his heart again.

Then he’s traded to a team that wants a vet behind the plate to tame their new star pitcher. Jake is shocked to find the gangly kid he once knew has grown into a gorgeous young man. But tightly wound Nico is having trouble controlling his temper in his quest for perfection, and Jake needs to teach him patience and restraint on the mound.

When their push and pull explodes into the bedroom, Nico and Jake will both learn how much they’ll risk for love.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Model Citizen by Lissa Kasey

Reviewed by Morgan

31307696Title: Model Citizen
Author: Lissa Kasey
Narrator: Mike Pohlable
Heroes: Oliver “Ollie” Petroskovic/Kade Alme
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 7 Hours, 53 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: July 26, 2016
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Oliver “Ollie” Petroskovic’s life as an international supermodel was heading in the right direction. He worked part-time for his brother at his detective agency—Petroskovic Haven Investigations—and had just bought his dream house. But all that changed when he found his brother dead, a victim of PTSD-induced suicide.

Almost a year later, Ollie is trying to keep his brother’s business afloat, but can’t get his PI license. Then his brother’s best friend, Kade Alme, shows up, fresh from the battlefield after a close brush with death. Kade is looking for a new life, in more ways than one, and with PI license in hand, he’s exactly what Ollie needs to keep PHI running.

When one of Ollie’s childhood friends gets in trouble, Ollie feels he has to help. Kade insists on investigating if only to keep Ollie safe. Neither realizes the danger they’re in as someone tries to tear them apart before they can find solid ground together.
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Categories: 2.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Morgan's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment