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Book Review: Mastering the Flames by S.J. Himes

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Mastering the Flames
Author: S.J. Himes
Series: The Beacon Hill Sorcerer #4
Heroes: Isaac & Constantine
Genre: M/M Urban Fantasy
Length: 394 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 4, 2019
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: The fourth book in the hit urban fantasy series shifts focus to the remaining Salvatore brother in this slow burn romance…

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Guilt-ridden after the massacre of his family, Isaac Salvatore turned to binge drinking to escape the pain. Now twenty-four years old, Isaac is a recovering alcoholic woefully out of practice in the magical arts, leaving his fire affinity hanging on the edge of disaster. After a month of rehab, he returns to Beacon Hill and his family, determined to remain sober, learn to control his magic, and figure out a plan for his life that doesn’t involve drinking.

Constantine Batiste is the oldest, most powerful vampire in the city. Born in ancient Gaul, the bastard son of a Celtic king, his long life has been shrouded in tragedy and horrors. Recent mistakes have left him wary and determined to guard his clan from all foes. When two of his clan members fall victim to an ancient evil, he summons the Necromancer of Boston for aid. Accompanying his older brother to the Tower is the handsome young fire mage once wounded by Constantine’s arrogance, and their encounter reignites an attraction that burns within both Constantine and Isaac.

The answer to who is targeting the vampires of Boston is buried in the dark, early days of Constantine’s transition to an immortal life. Isaac finds himself saddled with a painful insight into the evil cutting a swath through the supernatural population of Boston. While his brother, Angel, takes over the hunt to find and stop the threat to the city, Isaac struggles to find a balance between helping his brother and finding his own purpose and place in the world, free from his brother’s shadow.

Falling in love wasn’t part of his plan, but mastering the flames that burn between him and Constantine soon becomes the most important thing in his life, even as an ancient evil seeks to destroy them.

Mastering the Flames is the fourth book in The Beacon Hill Sorcerer series and is not a standalone. The series should be read in order for maximum enjoyment and understanding of the plot and characters. The Content Advisory is on the Copyright Page and can be seen by downloading a sample or using the Look Inside feature. 130k words.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Suckerpunch by Elyse Springer

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Suckerpunch
Author: Elyse Springer
Series: Hockey Gods and Monsters #1
Heroes: Alex & Sasha
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 246 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: October 1, 2019
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: A rookie goalie with a secret and a handsome yet hotheaded defenseman clash in the locker room and on the ice—but their shared desire to make the playoffs might help them move from enemies to lovers.

When the goalie for the Seattle Cascades hockey team is injured while drunk driving and Alex Fanning is recruited to take his place, Alex thinks his dream has come true. But to hold on to his hopes, he must keep his vampire heritage secret as the sport moves to ban Paranormals. The sexy but infuriating defenseman Sasha Petrov won’t make that easy. The injured goalie was his best friend, and he resents Alex’s presence—maybe even enough to use his bloodline against him.

Tensions mount, but the realization that there’s more to their feelings than animosity hits both men like a punch to the gut. Alex and Sasha’s newfound friendship promises passion, but a shocking betrayal could cost them all the ground they’ve gained. Continue reading

Categories: Book Review, Nikyta's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Digging Deep by Jay Hogan

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Digging Deep
Author: Jay Hogan
Series: Digging Deep #1
Heroes: Drake & Caleb
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 340 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: August 6, 2019
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Drake Park has a complicated life. As a gay male midwife, he’s used to raising eyebrows. Add Crohn’s disease and things get interesting—or not, considering the sad state of his love life. Experience has taught Drake that most men are fair-weather sailors when it comes to handling his condition—gone for dust when things get rough. Staying healthy is a full-time job without adding in any heartbreak, so a little loneliness is a small price to pay. If he says it often enough he might even believe it. One thing for sure, the cop who arrested him isn’t about to change that.

Caleb Ashton does not have a complicated life. A senior detective with the Whangarei Police Department, he likes his job and is good at it. He works hard and plays hard, happy to enjoy as many men as he can while he’s still young enough—or at least he was. These days he feels adrift for the first time in his life, and the only thing sparking his interest—a certain prickly young midwife.

But can Drake find enough faith to risk opening his heart again? And does Caleb have what it takes to cope with the challenges Drake’s condition presents? Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Indulge Me by Beth Bolden

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Indulge Me
Author: Beth Bolden
Series: Kitchen Gods
Heroes: Bastian & Kian
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 363 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 8, 2019
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Throughout the restaurant industry, Chef Bastian Aquino is a notorious control freak. For two very long years, Kian Reynolds has worked for Bastian as his special assistant, doing whatever he and his restaurant needs. The toughest part isn’t even all the impossible tasks he expects Kian to complete flawlessly—it’s the hopeless, endless love he feels for his older boss.

Falling for someone so far above him might be agonizing, but at least his feelings aren’t unrequited. Bastian fell in love right alongside him, but at the very beginning, they made the choice to abstain for logical, smart, professional reasons.

But love isn’t logical, it isn’t smart, and it definitely isn’t professional. It defies containment, even by Bastian. While he watches Bastian struggle with their attraction, Kian finally comes to the conclusion that he’s done.

He’s done standing off the side, done not getting any of the credit, done letting Bastian define the boundaries of their relationship. Most of all, he’s done waiting.

Indulge Me is an 85,000 word contemporary romance, featuring an enormous amount of pining, a boss/employee relationship, an age gap and very delicious risotto. It is the fourth and final book in the Kitchen Gods series, and to receive a fuller, more enjoyable reading experience, I would recommend reading at least one other book in the series first. Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Diplomatic Relations by J.L. Langley

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Diplomatic Relations
Author: J.L. Langley
Series: Sci-Regency #4
Heroes: Dalton & Blaise
Genre: M/M Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: 281 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: February 19, 2019
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: A lusty special forces soldier who lives by his own set of rules, Dalton Fairfax decided long ago to stop wishing for his father’s love, and he found his calling. Now that he’s back home and between assignments, he finds himself at loose ends. When the opportunity arises to play bodyguard and help out his country, Dalton jumps at the chance. Not only does it keep him busy, but it just so happens that his charge is the man he saw on leave last month and hasn’t been able to get out of his head.

Heir to a dukedom and a conservative politician, Blaise Thompson strives to prove himself worthy of carrying on the family legacy as the next IN Councilman. However, his closest competitor keeps getting in the way and taking credit for Blaise’s ideas. Maintaining his stellar reputation isn’t easy to do while keeping his outrageous younger brother in line and foiling his rival’s personal attacks. He has no time for a guard and even less time for romance.

When a priceless antique goes missing, Blaise and Dalton discover that Regelance has larger problems than just IN plots. Now the only way to stop a scandal that threatens both of them is to compromise, and they are forced to confront the risk of losing everything… even each other. Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Every Other Weekend by T.A. Moore

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Every Other Weekend
Author: T.A. Moore
Heroes: Clayton & Kelly
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 230 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: October 23, 2018
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Divorce lawyer Clayton Reynolds is a happy cynic who believes in hard work and one-night stands. He also believes that being an excellent lawyer means he never has to go home to the miserable trailer park where he grew up and that volunteering at a women’s shelter will buy off the conscience that occasionally plagues him. So when Nadine Graham comes in with a broken arm and a son she desperately wants to protect, Clayton can’t turn down their plea for help.

Taking the case means appealing to investigator “Just Call Me Kelly” for help. That wouldn’t be so bad if Kelly weren’t a hopeless romantic… and the hottest man Clayton’s ever met.

Kelly has always had a crush on the unobtainable Clayton Reynolds. He agrees to help, even though he has enough on his plate with the motherless baby his widowed brother left him to care for.

As Nadine’s case turns dangerous and the two seemingly opposite men are forced to work together, they discover they have a great deal in common—but solving the case and saving Nadine’s life might cost Kelly everything. Continue reading

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

Book Review: Out, Proud, and Prejudiced by Megan Reddaway

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Out, Proud, and Prejudiced
Author: Megan Reddaway
Heroes: Bennet & Darius
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 268 pages
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: June 4, 2018
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: One’s proud, one’s prejudiced, and they can’t stand each other.

Quick-tempered Bennet Rourke dislikes Darius Lanniker on sight. Darius may be a hotshot city lawyer, but that doesn’t give him the right to sneer at Bennet, his friends, and their college. It doesn’t help that Bennet’s restaurant job has him waiting at Darius’s table. So when his tutor recommends him for an internship at Darius’s Pemberley estate, Bennet isn’t sure he wants it. He’s also not sure he can afford to turn it down.

Darius is a fish out of water in the small college town of Meriton, but something keeps pulling him back there. He’s helping out a friend with business advice, nothing more. If he’s interested in Bennet, it’s not serious. Sure, Bennet challenges him in a way no other man has. But they have nothing in common. Right?

Wrong. Their best friends are falling in love, and Bennet and Darius can’t seem to escape each other. Soon they’re sharing climbing ropes and birthday cake, and there’s a spark between them that won’t be denied. But betrayal is around the corner. Darius must swallow his pride and Bennet must drop his prejudices to see the rainbow shining through the storm clouds.

A modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2018 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Giveaway & Book Review: Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

Reviewed by Nikyta

**We’re doing this review a little differently! Scroll below to find out more information about the GIVEAWAY we’re having in honor of Burn Bright releasing on March 6, 2018!

Title: Cry Wolf
Author: Patricia Briggs
Series: Alpha & Omega #1
Hero/Heroine: Anna & Charles
Genre: M/F Urban Fantasy
Length: 321 pages
Publisher: Ace Books
Release Date: July 29, 2008
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Anna never knew werewolves existed, until the night she survived a violent attack… and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. Then Charles Cornick, the enforcer—and son—of the leader of the North American werewolves, came into her life.

Charles insists that not only is Anna his mate, but she is also a rare and valued Omega wolf. And it is Anna’s inner strength and calming presence that will prove invaluable as she and Charles go on the hunt in search of a rogue werewolf—a creature bound in magic so dark that it could threaten all of the pack.

It is recommended you read the prequel “Alpha & Omega” before reading Cry Wolf.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published Before 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Rebel by Rhys Ford

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Rebel
Author: Rhys Ford
Series: 415 Ink #1
Heroes: Gus & Rey
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 220 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 29, 2017
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: The hardest thing a rebel can do isn’t standing up for something—it’s standing up for himself.

Life takes delight in stabbing Gus Scott in the back when he least expects it. After Gus spends years running from his past, present, and the dismal future every social worker predicted for him, karma delivers the one thing Gus could never—would never—turn his back on: a son from a one-night stand he’d had after a devastating breakup a few years ago.

Returning to San Francisco and to 415 Ink, his family’s tattoo shop, gave him the perfect shelter to battle his personal demons and get himself together… until the firefighter who’d broken him walked back into Gus’s life.

For Rey Montenegro, tattoo artist Gus Scott was an elusive brass ring, a glittering prize he hadn’t the strength or flexibility to hold on to. Severing his relationship with the mercurial tattoo artist hurt, but Gus hadn’t wanted the kind of domestic life Rey craved, leaving Rey with an aching chasm in his soul.

When Gus’s life and world starts to unravel, Rey helps him pick up the pieces, and Gus wonders if that forever Rey wants is more than just a dream. Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Etched in Bone
Author: Anne Bishop
Series: The Others #5
Hero/Heroine: Meg & Simon
Genre: M/F Urban Fantasy
Length: 407 pages
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: March 7, 2017
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: After a human uprising was brutally put down by the Elders—a primitive and lethal form of the Others—the few cities left under human control are far-flung. And the people within them now know to fear the no-man’s-land beyond their borders—and the darkness…

As some communities struggle to rebuild, Lakeside Courtyard has emerged relatively unscathed, though Simon Wolfgard, its wolf shifter leader, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn must work with the human pack to maintain the fragile peace. But all their efforts are threatened when Lieutenant Montgomery’s shady brother arrives, looking for a free ride and easy pickings.

With the humans on guard against one of their own, tensions rise, drawing the attention of the Elders, who are curious about the effect such an insignificant predator can have on a pack. But Meg knows the dangers, for she has seen in the cards how it will all end—with her standing beside a grave.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment