Posts Tagged With: First-Time

Audio Review: The Locker Room by Amy Lane

Reviewed by Susan65

lovcker roomTitle: The Locker Room
Author: Amy Lane
Narrator: Sean Crisden
Series: NA
Heroes: Xander Karcek & Christian (Chris) Edwards
Genre: MM YA
Length: 7 hours 40 minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: September 12, 2012
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: 

Xander Karcek has only wanted two things in his life: Christian Edwards and basketball—the man he loves and the game that let him escape a childhood he’d rather forget. His two obsessions have served him well. He and Chris beat the odds and stayed together through high school, college, and right on to the NBA.

But life under fame’s microscope isn’t easy, especially when two men are pretending to be frat-buddies so the world doesn’t know they’re the next best thing to married. Their relationship survives the sacrifices they make and the lies they tell to stay together, but when their secret is exposed, the fallout might destroy them when nothing else could.

Chris and basketball are the two things holding Xander together. Now the world is asking Xander to make a choice. Is there an option that includes a future with the man he loves?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2012, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Ryker by R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Ryker
Authors: R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey
Series: Owatanna U Hockey #1
Heroes: Ryker/Jacob
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 181 Pages
Publisher: Love Lane Books
Release Date: September 26, 2018
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: This New Adult book is the first in the Owatonna U Series, a spin off from the best selling Harrisburg Railers Hockey Series.

Ryker is hockey royalty, Jacob is a poor country boy. Can two vastly different people find common ground and become the men they want to be?

Ryker comes from a long line of championship-winning hockey players. Playing college hockey to develop his game is his only focus, and nothing will stand in the way of him working to become the best player. He has no room for relationships, people that point out his flaws, or anyone who calls him on his dreams. He certainly has no place for love, and meeting Jacob is nothing but a useful distraction on the side. After all trying to get his Owatonna Eagles teammate into bed is less work and more play. When tragedy rocks his family, his charmed life crumbles, and the only person he can turn to is the same one who claims to hate him.

Jacob Benson has only known hard work and stifling conservative values his whole life. Born and raised in the small rural community of Eden Crossing, Minnesota, he’s the only son of a hard-working but struggling dairy farming family. Jacob is using his skills in hockey to finance his way to an agricultural science degree. These four years at Owatonna U. will probably be the only time he has to enjoy life, gain acceptance about his sexuality, and live openly before his inevitable return to the farm. Running into a pretty rich boy like Ryker Madsen is putting a damper on his enjoyment of life away from home. Ryker’s flip, conceited, carefree attitude grates on Jacob’s every nerve. So why, if Ryker is everything he dislikes, does he want nothing more than to explore the sinful dreams that his annoying teammate stars in every night?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2018, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Risk by Baylin Crow

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Risk
Author: Baylin Crow
Series: N/A
Heroes: Drew/Asher
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 271 Pages
Publisher: Baylin Crow
Release Date: April 25, 218
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: We never should’ve been anything more than roommates.

DREW: Life dealing me a hard blow is nothing new. What’s one more sucker punch?

When my uncle offers me a job working at his MMA training center, I jump at the chance to turn my life around…not upside down and questioning everything I know about myself.

Light Heavyweight Champion Asher Ramsey is the definition of a ladies’ man. His stormy gray eyes and inked skin call to the artist in me and make me itch for my pencils and sketch pad so I can capture every detail. If I’m honest, they make me itch to touch every detail too, which confuses me.

After he offers to let me stay in his guest room, I discover there’s more to Asher than he allows the world to see.

ASHER: My life is a lie. A play written and directed by my PR manager.

With the biggest fight of my career only weeks away, my focus is on securing my title. Losing my belt to some new up-and-comer isn’t an option, and I can’t afford any distractions. Or an unwanted attraction.

When Drew begins working at the gym where I train, my priorities waver. To make things worse, I offer to let him stay with me until he finds a place of his own. It’ll be fine. Sure, I’m attracted to him, but I’m an expert at hiding behind the mask of a straight man. Besides, he’s completely off-limits. Not that it matters–we don’t even play for the same team.

What’s the worst that can happen?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2018 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Blood Fury by J.R. Ward

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Blood Fury
Author: J.R. Ward
Narrator: Jim Frangione
Series: Black Dagger Legacy #3
Heroes: Peyton/Novo and Saxton/Ruhn
Genre: MF/MM Paranormal
Length: 13 Hours, 10 Minutes
Publisher: Random House Audio
Release Date: January 9, 2018
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: A vampire aristocrat, Peyton is well aware of his duty to his bloodline: mate with an appropriate female of his class and carry on his family’s traditions. And he thought he’d found his perfect match—until she fell in love with someone else. Yet when his split-second decision in a battle with the enemy endangers the life of another trainee, Peyton has to face the idea that his future, and his heart, actually lie with another.

Novo, as a female in the Black Dagger Brotherhood’s training program, feels like she has to prove herself to everybody—and she has no interest in being distracted by falling in love. But when Peyton proves to be so much more than a rich playboy, she is forced to confront the tragedy that has broken her soul and closed her off from love.

As the two grapple with Novo’s past and Peyton’s present, another couple must contend with an erotic connection that is unparalleled—and potentially scandalous. Saxton, who has had his heart broken, discovers in himself a deep-seated attraction to Ruhn, a new member of the household. But will the other male explore the connection? Or will he close his mind and his heart to what could be true love . . . and cost Saxton everything?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, M/F, Published in 2018, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Lovers Like Us by Krista and Becca Ritchie

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Lovers Like Us
Authors: Becca and Krista Ritchie
Series: Like Us #2
Heroes: Maximoff/Farrow
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 462 Pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 31, 2017
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Twenty-seven-year-old Farrow Keene lives by his actions, and his actions say he’s the best at whatever he does. As a 24/7 bodyguard and the new boyfriend to Maximoff Hale, protecting the headstrong, alpha billionaire has never been more complicated. And one rule can’t be bent:

Keep your relationship secret from the public.

Farrow is confident he’s the best man for the job. But a twist in Maximoff’s fast-paced life sticks them with the rest of Security Force Omega and their clients.

On the road.
In a sleeper tour bus.
For four rocky months.

Sexual frustrations, check. Road trip drama, check. Awkward bonding, check.

But Farrow couldn’t have accounted for a high-risk threat (identity: unknown) that targets Maximoff before the ignition even turns. And it hits Farrow — someone has it out for the guy he loves.

Every day, Maximoff & Farrow’s feelings grow stronger, and together, they’ll either sink or swim.

The Like Us series is a true series, one continuous timeline, that follows a family of wealthy celebrities and the people that protect them. You must read Damaged Like Us, Book 1, before reading Lovers Like Us.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Alpha Heir by Victoria Sue

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: The Alpha Heir
Author: Victoria Sue
Series: Kingdom of Askara #2
Heroes: Caleb Harken/Taegan Callan
Genre: MM Paranormal
Length: 191 Pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: September 4, 2017
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Man and wolf. Sworn enemies in the battle for Askara. Can hate and betrayal ever lead to love?

Caleb Harken has spent six years wrongfully imprisoned for his father’s treachery. Tortured and reviled by the very wolf pack he should have been leading as Alpha, he is not surprised to learn he’s finally to meet his death at the hands of the human rebel leader, Taegan Callan.

Taegan gave up his dreams of a life-mate and a family after seeing too many humans butchered at the hands of the wolves—even if Caleb doesn’t seem to be the bloodthirsty savage he expects, and even if he starts to long for a different kind of future with the wolf.

Can Caleb become the Alpha he was always meant to be and lead his pack, or will he finally realize that winning his freedom means nothing when he has already lost his heart?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: WILD by Adrienne Wilder

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: WILD
Author: Adrienne Wilder
Heroes: August Vallory/Keegan Brooks
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 326 Pages
Publisher: Adrienne Wilder
Release Date: September 1, 2017
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: August Vallory had it all. A modeling career, a man he loved, and the extended family he’d acquired in the business. Then the world he knew was torn away when the plane he was on crashed en route to a photo shoot.

Lost in the Alaskan wilderness, August doesn’t stand a chance.

No sane man would choose to live in the Alaskan bush unless he had something to hide. And Keegan Brooks has secrets darker than night, more dangerous than wolves, more brutal than an Alaskan winter.
Every day was a fight for his life until he stumbled upon a downed plane with a lone survivor. Now it’s no longer just Keegan’s life teetering on the edge of survival.

It’s his heart.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Battered & Bruised, but not broken by T.L. Travis and Piper Kay

Reviewed by JustJen

Title:Battered & Bruised, but not broken
Authors: T.L. Travis and Piper Kay
Heroes: Hunter/Elliott
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 125 Pages
Publisher: Encompass Ink
Release Date: August 18, 2017
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Battered & bruised, but not broken, is an erotic, male/male, gay romance/gay erotica novel. It’s the culmination of two lost souls finding what they didn’t know they were looking for.

Hunter’s an ex-con, always in the wrong place at the wrong times, which is how he landed up in prison. He’s looking to start anew, when in walks Elliott.

Timid , sheltered, Elliott, has his life in order. Or so he thinks. That is until, Hunter, introduces him to a whole new world.

Both are battling demons from the past, but what happens when their two worlds collide?
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Empty Net by Avon Gale/Scott R. Smith

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Empty Net
Author: Avon Gale
Narrator: Scott R. Smith
Series: Scoring Chances #4
Heroes: Isaac Drake/Laurent St. Savoy
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 6 Hours, 38 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 10, 2017
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Spartanburg Spitfires’ goalie and captain Isaac Drake ended last season with an unexpected trip to the playoffs. He’s found a home and family with his coach and mentor, Misha Samarin, and he’s looking forward to making a serious run for the Kelly Cup. But things take an interesting turn when Isaac’s archnemesis, Laurent St. Savoy, is traded to the Spitfires. After Laurent’s despicable behavior in the playoffs last year, Isaac wants nothing to do with him – no matter how gorgeous he is. But that changes when Isaac discovers the reason for Laurent’s attitude.

Laurent St. Savoy grew up the only son of a legendary NHL goalie in a household rife with abuse, constantly treated like a disappointment on and off the ice. When a desperate attempt to escape his father’s tyranny sends him to the Spitfires, the last thing Laurent wants is to make friends. But there’s something about Isaac Drake that he can’t resist, and Laurent has an opportunity to explore his sexuality for the first time, but he’s cracking under end-of-the season pressures. When facing the playoffs and a rivalry turned personal vendetta, Isaac’s not sure he’s enough to hold Laurent—or their relationship—together.

Please be advised: This book does contain some non-graphic references to past childhood physical/emotional abuse as well as issues relating to ED (bulimia and restricted eating, disordered thoughts about eating).
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Izzy’s Boy by Viva Gold

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Izzy’s Boy
Author: Viva Gold
Series: Woolf Tales #1
Heroes: Isadore Woolf (Izzy)/Adam Cohen
Genre: MM Contemporary BDSM
Length: 227 Pages
Publisher: Viva Gold
Release Date: March 31, 2017
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Isadore Woolf is a man who knows what he wants in life and most recently that happens to be Adam Cohen. Isadore comes from a steady background with loving and supportive parents and is a good son. He has rejected his father’s wealth in favour of making his own and he has built a successful career in the financial world.

Izzy surrounds himself with people who cater to his needs and never more so than at his ‘club’ where his Dominant side is free to express itself among the many willing subs happy to kneel at his feet. But Isadore has reached the stage where his tastes have matured and refined, and the tall, muscle packed, long haired, quietly spoken Adam Cohen feeds every one of his kinks. Getting this mountain of a man to submit seems impossible but Izzy was never one to back down from a challenge.

Still, it’s not all handcuffs and roses as a sinister plot of revenge against Adam could jeopardise their love and even their lives.

Can Izzy save Adam?

Can Adam be what Izzy needs?

Fierce passion and untamed arrogance drives Isadore to risk everything for a future together.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Debut Authors, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment