Posts Tagged With: Drug/Alcohol Use

Audio Review: Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward

Reviewed by Susan65 

51gRFJPCgLL__AA300_Title: Lover Avenged
Author: J.R. Ward
Narrator: Jim Frangione
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #7
Hero/Heroine: Rehvenge/Ehlena
Genre: MF Paranormal
Length: 23 Hours, 6 Minutes
Publisher: Recorded Books
Release Date: May 12, 2009
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Caldwell, New York, has long been the battleground for the vampires and their enemies, the Lessening Society. It’s also where Rehvenge has staked out his turf as a drug lord and owner of a notorious night club that caters to the rich and heavily armed. His shadowy reputation is exactly why he’s approached to kill Wrath, the Blind King and leader of the Brotherhood.

Rehvenge has always kept his distance from the Brotherhood—even though his sister is married to a member, for he harbors a deadly secret that could make him a huge liability in their war against the lessers. As plots within and outside of the Brotherhood threaten to reveal the truth about Rehvenge, he turns to the only source of light in his darkening world, Ehlena, a vampire untouched by the corruption that has its hold on him—and the only thing standing between him and eternal destruction.
Continue reading

Categories: Audio Review, M/F, Published Before 2010, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Forbidden by Scarlett Blackwell

Reviewed by Susan65

27886198Title: Forbidden
Author: Scarlett Blackwell
Heroes: David/Jeremy
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 85 Pages
Publisher: Nine Star Press
Release Date: November 30, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When things are forbidden, you merely want them more…

Vice-president David should have had it all–nice cars, the most expensive restaurants and the finest clothes. But he hides a secret from all his colleagues–he’s gay. He’s too scared to come out at work so he spends his evenings cruising for company and frequenting strip clubs. In one such place, he meets pole dancer Jeremy, a young man with problems of his own. Jeremy’s controlled by his boss Donny and soon David’s interest starts to spell danger for them both…
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: We Found Love by Allison Cassatta and Kade Boehme

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: We Found Love
Authors: Allison Cassatta and Kade Boehme
Heroes: Hunter Morgan/Riley Connors
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 214 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 5, 2015
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  It’s no surprise Riley Connors is dealing with issues. He was kidnapped as a young boy, and his parents abandoned him after his newsworthy return. He bounced from foster home to facility and back. Now an adult, ghosts from his past continue to haunt him. After a suicide attempt, he is locked away in Hartfield so that people can make him tune in to emotions he has tried to bury.

Hunter Morgan had the kind of love that spans ages. But the stress of college and adulthood became too much to handle, and the love of Hunter’s life turned to drugs. After he overdoses, Hunter finds himself soaring out of control on the same miserable path. His brother finds him and calls an ambulance, and the sister Hunter would rather not have calls it a suicide attempt, landing Hunter in Hartfield.

Finding love isn’t easy, but it can happen under the most dire circumstances. Together Hunter and Riley may be able to grow from their pain. But they will need to learn to live for themselves, letting love come second.
Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Violence Begets… by P.T. Denys

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Violence Begets…
Author: P.T. Denys
Heroes: Kevin/Rick
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 284 Pages
Publisher: P.T. Denys
Release Date: December 22, 2013
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  After a tragic accident devastates his family, 16-year-old Rick St. James starts his junior year of high school alone in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. When he meets Kevin Vincent, he’s too distracted by the promise of new friends to see that Kevin has secrets of his own.

Having created an environment where he’s feared and admired by his classmates, Kevin finds pleasure in using his good looks and violence to control and manipulate those around him. Secretly, he cruises the gay club scene, turning tricks to earn money so he can party and get high.

As Rick’s dad becomes increasingly violent and abusive at home, the two form a surprising and volatile trust. In this battle of wills, their precarious friendship will either keep their lives from blowing up around them or possibly light the fuse that will cause the explosion.
Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Book Review: The Last Thing He Needs by J.H. Knight

Reviewed by Susan65

22594999Title:  The Last Thing He Needs
Author:  J.H. Knight
Heroes: Tommy O’Shea/Bobby McAlister
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 220 Pages
Publisher:  Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: July 28, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Tommy O’Shea is raising his seven younger brothers and sisters without any help from his drug abusing father and stepmother. Since he was fifteen years old, he’s managed to keep the children fed and out of foster care. It takes up every ounce of his energy and the last thing he needs is romance complicating his life further.

Rookie cop Bobby McAlister doesn’t belong in Tommy’s harsh world, but Tommy can’t push him out. As their unlikely friendship turns into a tentative relationship, they weather the daily storm of Tommy’s life with a lot of laughs and more than a few arguments.

Tommy isn’t used to trusting outsiders, and he’s never asked for help in his life. But when a tragedy strikes the O’Shea family and threatens everything he’s fought for, he’ll have to learn to do both to recover from the brutal hit.
Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Forbidden Mate by Toni Griffin

Reviewed by Susan65

cTitle: Forbidden Mate
Author: Toni Griffin
Series: Holland Brothers #4
Heroes: Patrick Holland/Jake Richmond
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 205 Pages
Publisher: Mischief Corner Books, LLC
Release Date: July 5, 2014
Available at: Mischief Corner Books, LLC, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Finding his mate should have been Patrick Holland’s greatest day, instead it turned into a nightmare with one phone call. His mate didn’t want him. His heart broke, but at sixteen he was too young to do anything. The next ten years—ten long years— of Patrick’s life are spent at odds with his mate. Split by forces he can’t comprehend and a long line of misunderstandings, Patrick doubts he’ll ever get the man he’s both loved and hated.

Jake Richmond never expected to come home from Uni to find the youngest Holland brother was his mate. Knowing the news might uplift his still grieving father, Jake shares the news only to have his young mate threatened. Jake does the only thing he can think of, protect Patrick. The next ten years are nothing but torture for Jake as he watches his mate grow into a remarkable young man.
They say time heals all wounds, but how much time?

Please note: FM has been reedited, and expanded by about 50,000 words.
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Melysious Intent by R.L. Rushing

Guest Reviewed by Candace

10Title: Melysious Intent
Author: R.L. Rushing
Series: Cursed Existence Collection #3
Heroine/Hero: Melysa Makenzie/Gabriel Soileau
Genre: M/F Paranormal
Length: 208 Pages
Publisher: R.L. Rushing
Release Date: July 2, 2014
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Melysious Intent serves as the back story of Melysa Makenzie, a mind reader. It takes place before she’s thrust into the hellhole which is Ledger Headquarters.

Recovering from physical scars that pale in comparison to the jagged emotional reminders left behind by her drug addicted boyfriend, Melysa Makenzie meets a breathtakingly handsome man named Gabriel Soileau who is intent on showing her a love she has never before known. Due to a life altering encounter, ArtWorx, the advertising firm by which she is employed as a graphic designer, scores a once in a lifetime contract with Gabriel’s revolutionary new airline. When Melysa, not only walks away with the grand prize, but also the clients heart and soul, her co-workers are none too happy. As she works to expand the HydroAir brand, outside forces work to take her down. Is her life at risk simply because of jilted ex co-workers, or is it because she is a telepath?
Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Home the Hard Way by Z.A. Maxfield

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Home the Hard Way
Author: Z.A. Maxfield
Heroes: Dare Buckley/Finn Fowler
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 230 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: July 28, 2014
Available at: Riptide Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Dare Buckley has come home—or at least, he’s come back to Palladian, the small town he left as a teenager. After a major lapse in judgment forced him to resign from the Seattle PD, Palladian is the only place that’ll hire him. There’s one benefit to hitting rock bottom, though: the chance to investigate the mystery of his father’s suicide.

Dare also gets to reacquaint himself with Finn Fowler, whose childhood hero worship ended in uncomfortable silence when Dare moved away. But Finn isn’t the same little kid Dare once protected. He’s grown into an attractive, enigmatic stranger who neither wants nor needs what Dare has to offer.

In fact, Dare soon realizes that Finn’s keeping secrets—his own and the town’s. And he doesn’t seem to care that Dare needs answers. The atmosphere in Palladian, like its namesake river, appears placid, but dark currents churn underneath. When danger closes in, Dare must pit his ingenuity against his heart, and find his way home the hard way.(
Continue reading

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

Book Review: Kissing Cody Starr by S.J. Frost

Reviewed by Susan65

22033644Title: Kissing Cody Starr
Author: S.J. Frost
Heroes: Christian/Finn
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 184 Pages
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Release Date: May 16, 2014
Available at: Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Kobo

Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Known as Cody Starr to his fans, Christian is one of the most popular and desirable young actors in gay adult films. His sweet looks, sensual skills and charisma on camera have earned him fame. Now he wants out of the adult industry, but his fear of what could—or couldn’t—be waiting for him keeps holding him back.

Finn is an Army veteran who knows what it takes to protect people. When he meets Christian, something tells him the pretty young man needs protecting in more ways than physically.

Tension between Christian and Finn can only hold back their attraction to each other for so long before passion takes hold of them. For all the heat and emotion between Christian and Finn, the challenges of Christian’s fame may tear them apart.
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Urban Fantasy Week Review: Cruce de Caminos by Heidi Belleau & Violetta Vane

Reviewed by Susan65

Cruce de CaminosTitle: Cruce de Caminos
Author: Heidi Belleau & Violetta Vane
Series: Layers of the Otherworld #0.5
Heroes: Sean O’Hara and Angel
Genre: M/M Urban Fantasy
Length: 51 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: May 21, 2013
Available at: Riptide Publishing, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Addiction and desperation drive Sean O’Hara to a critical crossroads. Will he make the right decision, or will the floodwaters bound for New Orleans sweep him away?

Street kid Sean O’Hara has never had it easy, but New Orleans has driven him to his knees. His girlfriend’s broken up with him for a sugar daddy, a gun-toting pimp has robbed him of everything but the clothes on his back, and he’s down to his last two Oxycontin. Sean’s no seasoned streetwalker, but he’s not above it either, not when he’s already itching for his next fix.

A familiar-seeming stranger named Ángel may be his ticket to some quick cash, but only if Sean’s willing to help him indulge a high-class john’s weird fetish for the night. As Ángel tells him, in this city and this business, you have to get a little weird to survive.

When night falls on the French Quarter, Sean realizes Ángel and the john want more from him than he was expecting to give. What once seemed merely strange soon crosses the line into supernatural and sinister. And Ángel, the man Sean had viewed as a partner and protector, might also be his otherworldly judge and executioner. Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2013, Susan65's Reviews, Theme Week | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments