Posts Tagged With: Domestic Violence

Book Review: Credence by Delphia Baisden

Posted on February 27, 2019 by susan65coug Miss Behaving

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Credence
Author: Delphia Baisden
Heroes: James & Kieran
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 227 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: March 1, 2019
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: James Morgan, lead guitarist for the rock band Eden, seems to have it all. That is, until Theo, Eden’s lead singer and James’s secret lover, violently betrays him, sending James into a deep depression and cutting their current tour and the band’s life short.

Kieran Jackson, the lead vocalist for the less successful band Lost and Found, is at his wits’ end. At thirty-three, he never dreamed he’d still be opening for bands comprised of twentysomethings. When Eden pulls out of the last few shows of their summer tour, Kieran returns home burned out and heartbroken.

Over a year later, James, Phil, and David of Eden decide to reform under a different name with Kieran as their new vocalist. James, never having forgotten his single interaction with Kieran, nor the only time he ever listened to him perform, knows Kieran’s the best choice.

James is still closeted—and skittish after his last relationship—and one fumbling, drunken kiss threatens to undo everything he’s worked so hard to rebuild, as well as the cover he’s fought to maintain.

Can James overcome his past, confront his demons, and reclaim his former fame? Or will he and the newly formed True North remain in Eden’s shadow forever? Can he finally find comfort in who he is, accept his past, and reopen his heart? Or will the memories of Theo’s betrayal and the subsequent fallout dash any hope of finding—and trusting—love again?

Trigger warning: this book contains explicit rape, as well as one failed suicide attempt by a main character.
Continue reading →

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2019, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Audio Review: Sanctuary Found by Sloane Kennedy

Posted on November 18, 2018 by susan65coug Miss Behaving

Reviewed by Susan65 

Title: Sanctuary Found
Author: Sloane Kennedy
Narrator: Michael Pauley
Series: Pelican Bay #2
Heroes: Maddox/Isaac
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 9 Hours, 13 Minutes
Publisher: Sloane Kennedy
Release Date: April 20, 2018
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Coming home should be the easiest thing in the world, but I’ve never felt more lost….

When his stellar military career comes to an abrupt and terrible end, 32-year-old Maddox Kent returns to the town he never planned to step foot into again, hoping to mend the rift he himself caused with the brother he left behind. But coming home means facing some hard truths about himself and his actions. When he has the chance to start making amends by helping his brother with the wildlife sanctuary he runs, Maddox is thrown another curveball when a stranger appears….

As long as we keep moving, everything will be okay. That’s what I keep telling myself, anyway….

For 21-year-old Isaac, Pelican Bay is only supposed to be a stopping point on the trek from San Francisco to New York. With his little brother, Newt, in tow, Isaac is just looking to make things right by returning something of value to a person he wronged. But “getting lost” in the next big city proves to be a problem when the brutal Minnesota winter claims Isaac’s car and strands him and Newt at the animal sanctuary. When the owners of the place offer him a job, a desperate Isaac agrees, despite the presence of a man Isaac instinctively knows could be his downfall….

It should be so easy to let him go, but I can’t. And not just because I want to protect him….

Nothing about Isaac makes sense to Maddox. Not his piercings or makeup or flashy clothes. And most certainly not the snarky mouth that doesn’t match the vulnerability Maddox sees in the younger man’s eyes. But one thing does make sense to the hardened former soldier. Isaac is running from something, and Maddox’s gut is telling him not to let Isaac and little Newt go until he can ferret out the truth.
Continue reading →

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2018, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Embrace the Fire by Felice Stevens

Posted on August 24, 2018 by susan65coug Miss Behaving

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Embrace the Fire
Author: Felice Stevens
Series: Through Hell and Back #3
Heroes: Brandon & Sebastian
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 390 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: March 24, 2017
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Brandon Gilbert has spent years in hiding, but he’s finally accomplished his dream of working as a public school teacher. When offered the chance to help bullied children, there was no way he could say no. Not to mention that meeting Dr. Tash Weber, the psychiatrist who helps them, a sad yet sexy older man, ignited a spark inside Brandon he’d never had before.

Though five years have passed since the death of his lover, Dr. Sebastian “Tash” Weber has no interest in relationships or love. But young, enigmatic Brandon awakens his heart and his desire. Despite Tash’s best efforts to push him away, Brandon unlocks the passion for life Tash thought he’d lost forever.

Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan for either Brandon or Tash, but neither family disapproval nor self-doubts can stop them from embracing the fire that burns between them. And when Brandon returns home to fight for a future he never imagined possible, he and Tash discover that the one thing worth fighting for has been with them all along.

This is a re-release of the original book published in 2015. It has been completely revised and re-edited with over 10,000 words of additional content added.
Continue reading →

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Galaxies and Oceans by N.R. Walker

Posted on July 25, 2018 by thebloggergirls

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Galaxies and Oceans
Author: N.R. Walker
Heroes: Aubrey & Patrick
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 313 pages
Publisher: BlueHeart Press
Release Date: June 23, 2018
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Seizing his one chance to escape, Ethan Hosking leaves his violent ex-boyfriend, leaves his entire life, and walks into the path of a raging bushfire. Desperate to start over, a new man named Aubrey Hobbs walks out of the fire-ravaged forest, alive and alone. With no ID and no money, nothing but his grandfather’s telescope, he goes where the Southern Cross leads him.

Patrick Carney is the resident lighthouse keeper in Hadley Cove, a small town on the remote Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia. After the tragic death of his lover four years ago, he lives a solitary life; just him, a tabby cat, the Indian and Southern Oceans, and a whole lot of loneliness. He’s content with his life until a stranger shows up in town and turns Patrick’s head.

Patrick never expected to be interested in anyone else.

Aubrey never expected to be happy.

Between Aubrey’s love of the stars and Patrick’s love of the ocean, these two fragile hearts must navigate new waters. If they can weather the storm of their pasts, they could very well have a love that eclipses everything.
Continue reading →

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2018, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Safe & Sound by Lucy Lennox and Sloane Kennedy

Posted on July 24, 2018 by thebloggergirls

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Safe & Sound
Author: Lucy Lennox and Sloane Kennedy
Narrator: Michael Pauley
Series: Twist of Fate #2
Heroes: Aiden & Ash
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 2, 2017
Available at: Amazon & Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: I’ve been drowning for a long time. I never thought I’d find someone who knows what that’s like….

Self-proclaimed playboy, Aiden Vale, has it all – good looks, successful career, plenty of cash in the bank, and an endless supply of men who know the score…that one night is just that. So the last thing he wants, or needs, is to forge a connection that might mean revealing more of himself than he’s ready to. But when fate intervenes, putting Aiden in the path of someone who threatens to knock down his carefully constructed walls, he’s quick to realize the young man he’s become infatuated with is hiding a painful secret.

I finally have a shot at freedom. I’ll never let anyone take that from me ever again….

Ash Valentine is just looking for a way out, and the last thing he wants or needs is another man controlling every aspect of his life. Desperate for the cash that will help him flee his abusive boyfriend, Ash accepts what is supposed to be a temporary job at a local coffee shop. But nothing prepares him for the gorgeous and enigmatic Aiden Vale, and the small acts of kindness the charming coffee shop regular bestows on him or the new friends he begins to make along the way.

Terrified of once again becoming too reliant on someone else to take care of him, Ash refuses Aiden’s repeated offers of help in any form. But when it becomes clear that there’s something more behind Aiden’s need to save him, Ash begins to wonder if he’s found someone who needs saving just as badly.

I know he wants to save me, but what if he’s the one who needs saving….

As their tentative friendship turns into something more, long buried secrets begin to surface. When Aiden’s need to protect Ash clashes with the younger man’s desire for independence, memories of the one he couldn’t save begin to tear at the fragile cords of Aiden’s soul, and he’s forced to face a truth he’s been hiding from for a long time. Continue reading →

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Two Man Station by Lisa Henry

Posted on February 16, 2018 by susan65coug Miss Behaving

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Two Man Station
Author: Lisa Henry
Series: Emergency Services #1
Heroes: Gio Valeri/Jason Quinn
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 273 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: January 22, 2018
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Gio Valeri is a big city police officer who’s been transferred to the small outback town of Richmond with his professional reputation in tatters. His transfer is a punishment, and Gio just wants to keep his head down and survive the next two years. No more mistakes. No more complications.

Except Gio isn’t counting on Jason Quinn.

Jason Quinn, officer in charge of Richmond Station, is a single dad struggling with balancing the demands of shift work with the challenges of raising his son. The last thing he needs is a new senior constable with a history of destroying other people’s careers. But like it or not, Jason has to work with Gio.

In a remote two man station hours away from the next town, Gio and Jason have to learn to trust and rely on each another. Close quarters and a growing attraction mean that the lines between professional and personal are blurring. And even in Richmond, being a copper can be dangerous enough without risking their hearts as well.
Continue reading →

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2018, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: On Davis Row by N.R. Walker

Posted on November 27, 2017 by susan65coug Miss Behaving

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: On Davis Row
Author: N.R. Walker
Series: N/A
Heroes: CJ Davis/Noah Huxley
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: N/A
Publisher: N.R. Walker
Release Date: November 27, 2017
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Nearing the end of a suspended jail sentence should unlock a brighter future for CJ Davis, only the chip on his shoulder is as hard to shift as his bad reputation. Born into a family of career criminals who live down Davis Road, an address the cops have dubbed Davis Row, his name alone is like a rap sheet that makes optimism impossible.

Brand-new parole officer Noah Huxley is determined to see the good in men like CJ. After all, he knows firsthand that bad things can happen to good people. His colleagues mock his doe-eyed optimism, but Noah soon sees CJ’s bad attitude and bravado are weapons he uses to keep people at a distance.

Both men know one simple mistake can change a life forever. At first glance, they might seem to be polar opposites. Yet underneath, they’re not that different at all.
Continue reading →

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Finding Home by Garrett Leigh

Posted on October 13, 2017 by justjenbo

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Finding Home
Author: Garrett Leigh
Heroes: Leo/Charlie
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 178 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: October 9, 2017
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: How do you find a home when your heart is in ashes?

With their mum dead and their father on remand for her murder, Leo Hendry and his little sister, Lila, have nothing in the world but each other. Broken and burned, they’re thrust into the foster care system. Leo shields Lila from the fake families and forced affection, until the Poulton household is the only place left to go.

Charlie de Sousa is used to other kids passing through the Poulton home, but there’s never been anyone like his new foster brother. Leo’s physical injuries are plain to see, but it’s the pain in his eyes that draws Charlie in the most.

Day by day, they grow closer, but the darkness inside Leo consumes him. He rejects his foster parents, and when Charlie gets into trouble, Leo’s attempt to protect him turns violent. When Leo loses control, no one can reach him—except Charlie. He desperately needs a family—a home—and only Charlie can show him the way.
Continue reading →

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Rank & File by L.A. Witt

Posted on September 29, 2017 by justjenbo

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Rank & File
Author: L.A. Witt
Series: Anchor Point #4
Heroes: Will Curtis/Brent Jameson
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 272 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: September 25, 2017
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Senior Chief Will Curtis is as straitlaced as they come. While his fellow Sailors have partied their way through their enlistments, he’s had his eye on the prize—making master chief and retiring after thirty years of service.

Lieutenant Brent Jameson is a Navy brat turned Annapolis grad. He’s lived and breathed the military his whole life, and he knows he’s destined for great things—once he’s done paying his dues at the bottom of the ladder.

When their paths cross, both men know better than to give in to temptation, but that doesn’t stop them. It also doesn’t keep them from coming back for more, even though being discovered would sink their careers. Something has to give—Will can retire, Brent can resign, or they’ll both face court-martial.

But there’s also the option neither wants to acknowledge: jump ship and walk away from each other instead of ending their careers over a fledgling relationship. And they should probably decide before they fall in love.

Except—too late.
Continue reading →

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Trusting Cade by Luna David

Posted on August 3, 2017 by susan65coug Miss Behaving

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Trusting Cade
Author: Luna David
Series: Custos Securities #1
Heroes: Zavier “Cade” McCade/Braden Cross
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 380 Pages
Publisher: Luna David
Release Date: February 13, 2016
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: At 38, Zavier “Cade” McCade has it all: a military career he can be proud of, a successful business, and a close knit group of family and friends. A former Army Special Forces Captain, Cade leaves the military to create Custos Securities, a burgeoning protection agency that provides unparalleled security for both civilians and corporations across the U.S.

After a string of disastrous relationships—and a narrow escape from an abusive partner—Braden Cross is finally putting his past to rest. Combining both his passion for baking and his knack for business, Braden owns the Sugar n’ Spice Café with his best friend who concocts exotic coffees and teas that pair perfectly with his decadent confections.

When a stalker sets his sights on Braden, the young pastry chef’s world is turned upside down. More frightened than he cares to admit, and not knowing where to turn, Braden is relieved when Cade steps in to offer his protection. Caught up in a maelstrom of threats, break-ins, and vandalism, the two draw closer together. Braden eventually realizes that he can trust Cade with his life, but he finds himself wondering… can he trust him with his heart?

Author’s Note: For those of you that prefer warnings (trigger or otherwise) for your books, please use the “Look Inside” feature to find the warnings within the first few pages. For those of you that hate warnings–don’t “Look Inside” . . . Happy reading!
Continue reading →

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