Posts Tagged With: favorites

Book Review: Campfire Confessions by Bru Baker

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Campfire Confessions
Author: Bru Baker
Heroes: Mitchell & Case
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 50 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: February 11, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Best friends Case and Mitchell are so inseparable everyone assumes they’re dating. Case’s dad even buys them a joint gift—a camping trip. Even though Case hates the woods, he wants Mitchell to have a good time. When they discover the trip is a couples’ retreat, they have to fake a relationship. Case can’t understand why the trust and intimacy exercises the other couples struggle with come so naturally to them. After all, they’re not really boyfriends….

A part of the “A Valentine Rainbow” set of 14 holiday stories. Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Valentine Shower by John C. Houser

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Valentine Shower
Author: John C. Houser
Heroes: Reuben & Terry
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 56 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: February 12, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: For Reuben, numbers are everything people are not: rational, predictable, and soothing. Outside of this family, his boss, Terry, is the one person he feels connected with. In the years they’ve worked together, listening to Terry’s jokes and stories over coffee has become a reliable part of his routine. But he’s missed having family nearby since his parents retired to Florida, and figures he’ll need a woman to correct the problem. He’s hurt and confused when Terry not only refuses to help, but announces he won’t be coming around much anymore. It’s up to Reuben’s no-nonsense sister Yaffa and his therapist, Dr. Greenberg, to help him understand Terry’s feelings—and his own.

A part of the “A Valentine Rainbow” set of 14 holiday stories. Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Book Review: The Affair of the Porcelain Dog by Jess Faraday

Reviewed by Heather C

10116196Title: The Affair of the Porcelain Dog
Author: Jess Faraday
Hero: Ira Adler
Genre: M/M Historical Fiction; Mystery
Length: 72,897 words
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Release Date: June 14, 2011
Available at: Bold Strokes BooksAmazonAll Romance eBooksBarnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf at: GoodreadsBooklikes

Blurb: London 1889.

For Ira Adler, former rent-boy and present plaything of crime lord Cain Goddard, stealing back the statue from Goddard’s blackmailer should have been a doddle. But inside the statue is evidence that could put Goddard away for a long time under the sodomy laws, and everyone’s after it, including Ira’s bitter ex, Dr. Timothy Lazarus. No sooner does Ira have the porcelain dog in his hot little hands, than he loses it to a nimble-fingered prostitute.

As Ira’s search for the dog drags him back to the mean East End streets where he grew up, he discovers secrets about his own past, and about Goddard’s present business dealings, which make him question everything he thought he knew. An old friend turns up dead, and an old enemy proves himself a friend. Goddard is pressing Ira for a commitment, but every new discovery casts doubt on whether Ira can, in good conscience, remain with him.

In the end, Ira must choose between his hard-won life of luxury and standing against a grievous wrong. Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Book Review: From Johann To Tannenbaum by Ashlyn Forge

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: From Johann To Tannenbaum
Author: Ashlyn Forge
Series: Toys and Soldiers #4 (but can be read as a standalone)
Heroes: Johann & Tanner
Genre: M/M Sci-fi/Fantasy
Length: 345 pages
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: November 5, 2013
Available at: Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Johann Andreas IV is a rich loser who has a raw deal in life. He is handsome, yet with a poor self-image, clever, but still uneducated, and despite being the heir apparent in his grandfather’s will, he’s about to be thrown out with nothing.

In the underground colony of his birth, two things matter the most to its denizens: a name, which will guarantee his wealth and status, and a designated branding tattoo, the only thing allowing Colony-Dwellers to live safely underground. Johann has one year to secure both.

His grandfather’s unexpected passing has propelled Johann to the foreground of his family. He must learn the family business within the year. He’s up to the challenge but one thing stands in his way; his mother has plans of her own…and they don’t include him. Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How Mary Beat My Funk…

Timing by Mary Calmes eBookHave you ever gotten into such a book funk that every time you try a new story, you can barely make it more than five pages in before you move on to another novel? Yes? No? Well, I have. MANY times. In fact, just about eight months of last year I was in such a bad book funk that it took more than a week to finish a 200 page novel and even days to finish a 50 page story.

After the Sunset by Mary Calmes eBookWell, my solution to these funks? Re-reads. I’ve read my fair share of books in the last few years but only a few of them are good enough for re-reads. In fact, when I re-read, it’s pretty much the same books over and over. What books might those be, you ask? Well, Mary Calmes books, of course. As I’ve said (and you’re probably sick of hearing) Mary Calmes is one of my favorite authors. I just love her books (and she’s a pretty awesome person, too!) and no matter how many times I re-read them (at least a few times a year), they never get old. She’s gotten me out of more funks than I can count over the years.

One of my all time favorite re-reads of hers is the Change of Heart series:

Change of Heart by Mary Calmes eBook Trusted Bond by Mary Calmes eBook Honored Vow by Mary Calmes eBook Crucible of Fate by Mary Calmes eBook

I ❤ Jin and Logan!

In December, I went on a ‘Mary Spree’ as I like to call it and read 8 of her books. A mix of re-reads and ones I hadn’t read yet. I ended up reading Timing again then finally read After the Sunset. This was right before Old Loyalty, New Love came out and I was jonesing for that book but obviously, I couldn’t get it just yet so I had to settle for her other stories.

I re-read Acrobat (a classic for me) and finally read Heart of the Race, which made me wonder why I had waited so long to read it!

Acrobat by Mary Calmes eBookAfter I came down from my Mary Spree, I was quite content not to read anything for a while but then I went on a M/F Spree (which I totally put the blame on Ami for but that’s a story for another time).

There’s just something about re-reading a Mary Calmes book, where I know the characters almost by heart, know what they’re going to do and know that, in the end, I’ll be satisfied with how they got there and how they ended up. It restarts my brain and allows me to get out of my funk. Thus is how Mary saved me from my funk 😛

Heart of the Race by Mary Calmes eBookIf you haven’t read Mary Calmes yet, I only have one question for you: Why the hell not?!

And for those of you who just now discovered her (looking at you Jen), well, all I have to say to you is get your ass in gear and read another book by her already! Hehe

And don’t forget! The giveaway for Old Loyalty, New Love will only be open for a few more days so make sure you enter before it closes! I absolutely adored that story and you’ll be able to see all my gushing about it on Saturday. For now, we hope you enjoy the rest of Mary Calmes Week! We have a little special something posting tomorrow so stick around 🙂

-Nikyta

Categories: Author Week, Random Posts | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Book Review: Written In Red by Anne Bishop

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Written in Red
Author: Anne Bishop
Series: The Others #1
Heroine/Hero: Meg Corbyn & Simon Wolfgard
Genre: M/F Urban Fantasy
Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Available at: PenguinAmazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape- shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow. Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments