Posts Tagged With: ex-military

Book Review: Wickedly Wonderful by Deborah Blake

Guest Reviewed by Ami

1Title: Wickedly Wonderful
Author: Deborah Blake
Series: Baba Yaga #2
Heroine/Hero: Beka Yancy/Marcus Dermott
Genre: MF Paranormal
Length: 352 Pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: December 2, 2014
Available at:  Berkley, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Known as the wicked witch of Russian fairy tales, Baba Yaga is not one woman, but rather a title carried by a chosen few. They keep the balance of nature and guard the borders of our world, but don’t make the mistake of crossing one of them…
Though she looks like a typical California surfer girl, Beka Yancy is in fact a powerful yet inexperienced witch who’s struggling with her duties as a Baba Yaga. Luckily she has her faithful dragon-turned-dog for moral support, especially when faced with her biggest job yet…

A mysterious toxin is driving the Selkie and Mer from their homes deep in the trenches of Monterey Bay. To investigate, Beka buys her way onto the boat of Marcus Dermott, a battle-scarred former U.S. Marine, and his ailing fisherman father.

While diving for clues, Beka drives Marcus crazy with her flaky New Age ideas and dazzling blue eyes. She thinks he’s rigid and cranky (and way too attractive). Meanwhile, a charming Selkie prince has plans that include Beka. Only by trusting her powers can Beka save the underwater races, pick the right man, and choose the path she’ll follow for the rest of her life…
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Semper Fi by Keira Andrews

Reviewed by Heather C

1Title:  Semper Fi
Author: Keira Andrews
Heroes: Cal/Jim
Genre: MM Historical Romance
Length: 320 Pages
Publisher: KA Books
Release Date: November 11, 2014
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: The war is over. The battle for love has just begun.

As Marines, Cal and Jim depended on each other to survive bloodshed and despair in the Pacific. Relieved to put the horrors of war behind him, Jim went home to his apple orchard and a quiet life with his wife and children. Knowing Jim could never return his forbidden feelings, Cal hoped time and an ocean between them would dull the yearning for his best friend.

But when Jim’s wife dies, Cal returns to help. He doesn’t know a thing about apple farming—or children—but he’s determined to be there for Jim, even as the painful torch he carries blazes back to life. Jim is grateful for his friend’s support as he struggles with buried emotions and dark wartime memories. Then Jim begins to see Cal in a new light, and their relationship deepens in ways neither expected. Can they build a life together as a family and find happiness in a world that would condemn them?

Note: Contains scenes of violence and post-traumatic stress.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Early Book Review: No Boundaries by S.E. Jakes

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: No Boundaries
Author: S.E. Jakes
Series: Phoenix, Inc. #1
Heroes: Marcus Lowry/Cole Jacobs
Genre: MM contemporary
Length: 187 Pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: November 4, 2014
Available at: Samhain Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  When your past closes in, running isn’t always an option

The jobs Marcus Lowry works for at Phoenix, Inc. Investigations are quick and easy, and they don’t give him the nightmares his days as a CIA operative did. That is, until he gets involved in a case that grabs him by the throat and won’t let go.

Cole Jacobs left behind his old life on the streets to make a name for himself rebuilding high-end and vintage cars and bikes. But when a stalker threatens to kill him—and to hurt anyone who stands in his way—his past closes in on him, and he’s not sure where to turn.

The last thing Marcus wants to do is take on a charity case, and to say that he and Cole don’t see eye to eye at first is putting things mildly. But when the first attempt on Cole’s life nearly kills them both, Marcus realizes that Cole is in real danger, and Cole is forced to reveal everything. Almost everything. Because Cole’s deepest secrets could destroy them both.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Facing Demons by Lynley Wayne

Reviewed by JustJen

5Title: Facing Demons
Author: Lynley Wayne
Series: Scars #3
Heroes: Seth Dempsey/Cameron Reyes
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 379 Pages
Publisher: MLR Press
Release Date: October 3, 2014
Available at: MLR Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  When demons from his past interfere with his present, Cam knows Seth is the only one he can trust to help him face them.

At the age of fifteen, Seth Dempsey gave his heart to Cameron Reyes. Three years later, Cam shattered it when he walked away. When Cam blows back into Seth’s life years later, Seth knows he will do whatever it takes to ensure Cam doesn’t slip away again. Even if it means going up against a corrupt DEA agent and a drug cartel.

Cameron Reyes was born on the wrong side of the tracks. He fell in love with Seth, but knew the only way to keep him safe was to leave, no matter how much it hurt. Eleven years later, when his life implodes, he knows the only person he can trust is the boy whose heart he broke all those years ago.

While they fight to stay one step ahead of everyone and clear Cam’s name, can they learn to work together in order to face down the demons of the past and find the happily ever after they have dreamed of?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Being Wanted by Caitlin Ricci

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Being Wanted
Author: Caitlin Ricci
Series: Mountain Shifters #1
Heroes: Cole/Julian
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 194 Pages
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Release Date: August 15, 2014
Available at: eXtasy Books and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: For Cole, life used to be simple. He was a military man and knew where he stood in the world. But that was all before the first of the cats came. Now, years later, all but the strongest of the human race have been killed off by the aliens, and those that are left are their slaves. Day and night, Cole is forced to help destroy the human world and return his planet to the way it was before the humans took over.

He’s able to escape, just barely, but an accident leaves him injured and at the mercy of people he can’t be sure are there to help him. There’s a man there that catches his interest, but finding time for a relationship when the world is going to hell around him isn’t exactly going to happen. These people offer him safety and hope, but Cole isn’t sure who he can trust anymore, and love might just be the most dangerous risk of all.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: For a Reason by Jessie G.

Reviewed by Nikyta

ddTitle: For a Reason
Author: Jessie G.
Series: The Sizzling Miami #2
Heroes: Bull Connor/Ian “Red” Jones
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 297 Pages
Publisher: Jessie G. Books
Release Date: October 1, 2014
Available at: Jessie G. Books and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Former Marine and full time big brother, Bull Connor spends his days helping those in need of a second chance and his nights fighting the inner demons that won’t let go. During a routine tow he comes face to face with the only person who refuses to need him and the one man he wishes would.

As a throw away, Ian Jones is used to being alternately overlooked or ridiculed but hasn’t given up on the idea that with just one chance he could turn it all around. Rescued by the one person who neither overlooks nor ridicules him, he longs to be seen as more than just a man in need.

Ian isn’t pining for the family he’s never known but when they descend, unwanted and uninvited, Bull must prove that he’s the man who will protect Ian’s long neglected heart by sharing the demons that torment his wounded soul.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

J.L. Merrow Week Review: Permanently Legless

Reviewed by Nikyta

1Title: Permanently Legless
Author: J.L. Merrow
Heroes: Chris/Josh
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 25 Pages
Publisher: Amber Allure
Release Date: January 22, 2012
Available at: Amber Allure, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: The Taliban may have taken both of Chris’s legs, but he came back from Afghanistan with his sense of humour and his lust for life firmly intact. The one thing that can shake his confidence, however, is meeting Josh, the one-night stand from before his tour of duty he hasn’t been able to forget.

It turns out Josh hasn’t forgotten Chris, either. But with Chris such a changed man, can they still have a future?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Author Week, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2012 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Early Review: Return to Glory by Sara Arden

Guest Reviewed by Ami

1Title: Return to Glory
Author: Sara Arden
Series: Home to Glory #1
Heroine/Hero: Betsy Lewis/Jack McConnell
Genre: M/F Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 Pages
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Release Date: August 26, 2014
Available at:  Harlequin HQN, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  In Glory, Kansas, the best bakery in three counties may not only bring together ingredients for sweet treats, but be the place where—through the powerful mix of friendship, community and a well-stocked kitchen—a wounded hero can forge a forever kind of love.

Jack McConnell’s back in the hometown he left behind five years ago, battle-scarred and feeling like half a man. But Betsy Lewis only sees the hero who saved her life and set her heart on fire. Now she’s burning to save his life in return. She’ll use every trick she’s got up her sleeve, from her generous natural assets to her talent for baking, to coax Jack out from the bottom of his whiskey bottle.

At first, Jack responds to Betsy like any red-blooded man would. He’s always denied his attraction to the innocent girl he used to know, but he’s returned to find Betsy’s grown into a full-on woman with strength enough for both of them. Until Jack realizes the only way to conquer his demons and be worthy of the hero’s mantle she’s pinned to his shoulders is to save Betsy one last time—from himself.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mobster Week Review: Yakuza Courage by H.J. Brues

Reviewed by Nikyta

7Title: Yakuza Courage
Author: H.J. Brues
Series: The Way of the Yakuza #2
Heroes: Kinosuke/Brendan & Kotaro
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 336 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: August 1, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Ex-Navy SEAL Brendan O’Farrihy enrolls in kendo classes to investigate a Honolulu dojo acting as a front for a yakuza syndicate. Or at least that’s what Brendan’s client, Senator Harris, believes. Through his kendo instructor, the cocky, short-fused, gorgeous Kinosuke Yonekawa, Brendan learns the criminals who are supposedly using the senator’s son, Kenneth, to expand their activities into the US, seem to have severed any yakuza connections. The jaded, soul-scarred former soldier is captivated by the loyalty these gangsters show each other and the way they protect Ken like a tight military unit. Brendan wonders why the senator lied to him, and what the yakuza are shielding Ken from.

When Ken disappears, Brendan suspects foul play and decides to help the man he is falling for, Kinosuke, and his friends, find Ken. But when Kinosuke discovers Brendan has been on the senator’s payroll, all bets are off.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Somebody to Love by Merry Farmer

Guest Reviewed by Trish

1Title: Somebody to Love
Author: Merry Farmer
Heroes: Phineas Bell/Elliott Tucker
Genre: MM Historical
Length: 277 Pages
Publisher: Merry Farmer
Release Date: April 29, 2014
Available at:  Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and All Romance Ebooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  For Phineas Bell, love has not only been out of reach, it has been impossible. In a world where men who love other men are anathema, he has poured his love into his work, his town, and the friends who accept him as family. But when a handsome new lodger takes over his home and his heart, breaking all his careful rules, Phin must choose between playing it safe and letting love in.

War hero Elliott Tucker is the answer to Cold Springs’s prayers for a sheriff worth his salt. But with every single woman in town throwing themselves at him, Elliott has eyes for only one person: Phin. The sparks are hot between then, but in spite of Elliott’s best efforts, Phin’s heart proves the toughest nut to crack. A love that starts with fire threatens to burn them both…

… until a shocking abduction throws Phin and Elliott together on the trail of ruthless kidnappers. Will their efforts to save a child wrench them apart or will it prove that at last they’ve found somebody to love?
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Categories: 2.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment