Posts Tagged With: Drug Use

Book Review: Behind the Lights (Social Sinners #1) by T.L. Travis

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Behind the Lights
Author: .T.L Travis
Series: Social Sinners #1
Heroes: Joey Hayes/Ricky “Stoli” Branson
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 172 Pages
Publisher: Encompass Ink
Release Date: June 9, 2018
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Joey Hayes and his best friend Ricky Branson have been together through the good times, as well as the bad. Attending their first concert as teens set the path for their futures in motion. Shortly after, the pair joined band class where they meet Ethan and Mick and the foursome formed the metal band, Social Sinners.

Things were going according to plan until Lucas Shane entered their lives, disrupting the flow and testing the strength of their friendship.

When Joey spirals down a dark path after catching his cheating boyfriend, this tasked the other three band members with making a difficult decision that could end his career as their lead singer.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2018, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dual Book Review: Bad Habit by K.A. Mitchell

Reviewed by Nikyta and Susan65

Title: Bad Habit
Author: K.A. Mitchell
Series: Bad in Baltimore #6
Heroes: Scott & Liam
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 230 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: November 6, 2018
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Life is always looking for ways to screw you over. Scott McDermott survived the foster care system and knows better than to let anyone close, but Liam Walsh is his one vulnerability.

Twice Scott let down his guard, and twice Liam vanished from Scott’s life.

So when Scott comes face-to-face with Liam for the first time in six years, he punches Liam in the nose. Only after Scott’s friend—and Baltimore County police officer—Jamie reads him the riot act does Scott discover that in the intervening years Liam has been to war and lost his leg.

Liam hasn’t had the easiest life either. He took care of his drug-addicted mom when she was unable to take care of herself. He’s fallen in love with Scott twice, but when Liam saw Scott going down the same path as his mother, he left. The lesson that he can’t save everyone has been a painful one for Liam to learn. Maybe what he and Scott had can’t ever be fixed.

Scott and Liam have never fallen out of love—which becomes obvious when they start working together—but what will make this time any different from all the others? Will the third time really be a charm? Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2018, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: After the Fire by Felice Stevens

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: After the Fire
Author: Felice Stevens
Series: Through Hell and Back #2
Heroes: Jordan & Luke
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 395 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 24, 2017
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: A single bullet destroyed the dreams of Dr. Jordan Peterson. With his lover dead, Jordan descends into an endless spiral of self-destruction that nearly costs him his friends, his career and his life. When Jordan finds himself working closely with the aloof Lucas Conover, the investment banker’s mysterious past and unexpected kindness shocks him back into a life and emotions he’d thought lost forever.

The betrayal by the foster brother he’d worshiped, taught Lucas Conover never to trust or believe in anyone. Living a solitary life doesn’t free him of the nightmare of his youth; it reinforces his belief that he would never fall in love. When the death of one of his clients forces him to work closely with Dr. Jordan Peterson, he meets a person whose suffering exceeds his own. Though Jordan rejects his effort to help, something within Luke pushes him discover more about the first man to ever get under his skin.

As Luke lets down his guard and Jordan lets go of his pain, desire takes control. Each man must come to terms with past struggles if they are to create a future together. And learning to trust in themselves and love again after tragedy and a lifetime of pain, may be the only thing that saves them in the end.

This is a re-release of the original version published in 2015. It has been re-edited with over 4000 words of additional content added.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Reservations by Kindle Alexander

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Reservations
Author: Kindle Alexander
Heroes: Thane & Levi
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 433 pages
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: October 30, 2017
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Wildly successful entrepreneur, Thane Walker is stubbornly set in his ways and adamantly resists the shackles of commitment. He’s seen enough unhappy endings to learn the best way to play is by keeping his men on the payroll.

Levi Silva’s dream of graduating from one of the country’s top medical schools is in his grasp, until news from home changes everything. Now, he’s raising his two teenage brothers and trying to keep everyone’s head above water, emotionally and financially.

When Levi’s new job puts him in Thane’s path, their chemistry explodes, but their fear of being involved in relationships keeps them apart. Unfortunately, despite the intense desire drawing them together, neither man can move forward until they get past their own…Reservations.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Painted On My Heart by Kindle Alexander

Reviewed by Susan65

31824970Title: Painted On My Heart
Author: Kindle Alexander
Heroes: Kellus Hardin/Arik Layne
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 392 Pages
Publisher: Kindle Alexander
Release Date: January 1, 2017
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Artist Kellus Hardin let love and loyalty cloud his past decisions, a mistake he definitely won’t make again. Now, lost and alone, he’s left to pick up the shattered pieces of his broken heart while facing the truth of his reality.

Arik Layne exudes power, confidence, and determination. But when an encounter with the guarded artist shakes him to the core and alters all his future goals, he finds more than just his heart on the line.

For Kellus, opening himself to love isn’t an option.
All Arik wants is to make the artist his.
Can love create a masterpiece when it’s painted on your heart?
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: The Mind Spy by Tricia Owens

Reviewed by JustJen

31370654Title: The Mind Spy
Author: Tricia Owens
Series: Juxtapose City #10
Heroes: Black/Calyx
Genre: MM Paranormal
Length: 170 Pages
Publisher: Tricia Owens
Release Date: October 14, 2016
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Black is powerless, but his new opponent might possess the power of the future.

With Black back in Captain Dickerson’s good graces, a sense of calm has descended over the men of JC2. Though Black is still psy-null, Calyx and he have managed to keep the secret from Kard and their enemies…for now. However, it’s a calm before the storm, for Dickerson has a new assignment: hunt down and kill the rogue telepath, Marcus Maze. While on the surface the assignment seems legit–Maze has been murdering the wives of prominent Juxtapose City citizens–Black begins to have his doubts, especially when he learns that Maze was a former subject of Dickerson’s experiments. What had the experiment entailed? How had it gone wrong and produced such a cold, calculating killer? And more worrisome: why does Black feel a kinship with a man seemingly intent on bringing Juxtapose City to its knees?
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Prodigal Son by Tricia Owens

Reviewed by JustJen

29856109Title: Prodigal Son
Author: Tricia Owens
Series: Juxtapose City #9
Heroes: Calyx/Black
Genre: MM Paranormal
Length: 156 Pages
Publisher: Tricia Owens
Release Date: April 7, 2016
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Who will pay the price when Black and Calyx crawl back to the JCPD?

Though Black has managed to defuse the escalating war for the time being, he has left himself, Calyx, and the rest of JC2 in a vulnerable position. Friendless on the streets, mistrusted by the police, Black knows that when his enemies come he can present little defense against them…and that is not an option. To keep Calyx out of danger and to re-position himself where he needs to be when the Silent City recovers and gears up for war again, Black decides to throw himself on the mercy of Captain Dickerson. But will the price he have to pay be too much? Or is there no limit to what Black is willing to do to keep the man he loves safe from harm?
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: I.N.E.T.: International Narcotics Enforcement & Tracking by Brenda Cothern

Reviewed by JustJen

29232710Title: I.N.E.T.: International Narcotics Enforcement & Tracking
Author: Brenda Cothern
Series: I.N.E.T. #1
Heroes: Michael Knight/Aaron Slade
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 204 Pages
Publisher: Wench Publishing
Release Date: February 19, 2016
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Michael Knight is an excellent undercover cop and could take a joke. However, the recent jokes and pranks from his co-workers in regards to his name went too far when they messed with his truck. His fury leads to him walking out on the job he loves and a desire to hit something or someone, like the guy leaning on his truck.

Aaron Slade has worked alone undercover for the International Narcotics Enforcement & Tracking agency for years. When he’s sent to meet his new partner, one he doesn’t even want, sparks fly.

Fists soon follow as Slade deals with Knight’s anger management issues over everything, but especially his I.N.E.T. training. All Knight wants is to be back in the field with his new partner, but it turns out that isn’t the only thing Knight wants from Slade.

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

Audio Review: Shock & Awe by Abigail Roux

Reviewed by Susan65 

27073977Title: Shock & Awe
Author: Abigail Roux
Narrator: Brock Thompson
Series: Sidewinder #1
Heroes: Kelly Abbott/Nick O’Flaherty
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 3 hours, 57 minutes
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: November 18, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: After barely surviving a shootout in New Orleans, Sidewinder medic Kelly Abbott has to suffer through a month of recovery before he can return home to Colorado. He’s not surprised when fellow Sidewinder Nick O’Flaherty stays with him in New Orleans. Nor is he surprised when Nick travels home with him to help him get back on his feet—after all, years on the same Marine Force Recon team bonded the men in ways that only bleeding for a brother can. He’s very surprised, though, when Nick humors his moment of curiosity and kisses him.

Nick knows all of Kelly’s quirks and caprices, so the kiss was a low-risk move on his part . . . or so he thought. But what should’ve been a simple moment unleashes a flood of confusing emotions and urges that neither man is prepared to address.

Now, Kelly and Nick must figure out what they mean to each other—friends and brothers in arms, or something even deeper?—before the past can come back to ruin their tenuous future.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: A Lone Stranger by Layla Wolfe

Reviewed by JustJen

26804528Title: A Lone Stranger
Author: Layla Wolfe
Series: The Bent Zealots MC #3
Heroes: Harte/Bond
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 210 Pages
Publisher: Quicksilver Books
Release Date: October 12, 2015
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Ride on. Ride on.
HARTE: After a world-changing run-in with the guy I thought was my father, I went on the road to find myself. I patched over to The Bent Zealots MC, an out-and-proud club on the Colorado River. A cock virgin, I raced to experience all I could, eagerly sniffing every nook and cranny, a whole new existence offered up by Grindr. But when Ormond Tangier was assaulted by a rival club, I quickly got down to brass tacks, to show my new brothers I was all business.

Too bad that business involves Bond Blackburn, jailbird brother of our Prez, Turk. That guy is so far in denial he’s practically Egyptian. But he even he can’t deny what I saw with my own eyes at the gay club. Sure, I was on my knees paying homage to a Daddy Dom, but Bond can’t pretend he wasn’t getting some oral praise as well. And now they’re telling me I have to work with this hypocrite?

BOND: This club is a fucking joke. How’s a man supposed to make a new start after the joint? First, my own brother forced me to prospect. I couldn’t automatically rise to the top of the heap through my family connections. No, I’m supposed to labor in a noxious sweatshop making product for their pot dispensary. And I have to sneak downtown if I want to get some halfway decent head, because I don’t even want my gay so-called brothers knowing about my shameful hobby.

Now we’re reaching out to the cops to even the score with those Hellfire Nuts who abused Ormond. And that delicious Harte Saxonberg is getting my goat, so by the book, such bleeding heart. I just want to strangle him—or fuck him.

HARTE: I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place, one that slab of a man, Bond Blackburn. He kisses me, then punches me. Fucks me, then ignores me. He’s got me so upside-down I’ve lost the clarity I had a week ago when I rode west. Ride west, young man. I could be a steam train if I could just lay down my tracks. But the only name I’m calling out is that sexy convict’s.

Ride on. Ride on.

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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment