Posts Tagged With: Friends to Lovers

Book Review: Loving and Loathing Vegas by Lex Chase

Reviewed by Nikyta

LovingAndLoathingVegasTitle: Loving and Loathing Vegas
Author: Lex Chase
Series: Sleigh Ride – 2015 Advent Calendar
Heroes: Jackson & Vegas
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 62 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2015
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Jackson has loved Vegas since God created Man—literally. As demonic incubi hailing from the Seventh Circle of Hell, Jackson and Vegas have never been anything more than roommates. Now living among humans, they run Eaven, a TripAdvisor-recommended detour-worthy diner famous for its devilishly decadent pies. Business is dead on the holidays, and Jackson will gleefully stab himself with a spatula if he has to clean spotless pots and pans one more time.

For fun—or torture—Vegas makes him a bet that should Jackson win, they take a much-needed vacation. Should he lose, he’s doomed to clean out grease traps for all eternity. When the challenge is to fall in love with other people by Christmas, it proves Vegas isn’t the least bit interested. But when they find an abandoned baby in the trash, she could be the Christmas miracle to warm Jackson’s cynical heart.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Sleeping ’til Sunrise by Mary Calmes

Reviewed by Morgan 

27844573Title: Sleeping ’til Sunrise
Author: Mary Calmes
Series: Mangrove Stories #5
Heroes: Essien Dodd/Roark Hammond
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 90 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 16, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Everyone in Mangrove, Florida, knows Fire Chief Essien Dodd is a saint. He took care of his ex-wife until she died, is raising his teenage daughter alone, and is the kind of man who pulls kittens from trees. All in all, the man’s a catch. But Roark Hammond has sworn off getting involved with a man who’s been hurt before because he can’t guarantee he won’t hurt his prospective love again. If only he could get Essien out of his mind long enough to focus on anyone, or anything, else.

Strong emotions are in play. Essien is lonely but determined to focus on Ivy; Ivy wants her father to have a new life so much that, to his horror, she’s trying to find him a man; and Roark is so scared of the present and past, he won’t allow himself to commit. To have any chance of sleeping ’til sunrise and greeting each new day together, Essien and Roark will have to rethink how they’re living their lives and focus on what’s most important.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Book Review: Christmas Kitsch by Amy Lane

Reviewed by Morgan 

28155477Title: Christmas Kitsch
Author: Amy Lane
Narrator: Nick J. Russo
Heroes: Rusty Baker/Oliver Campbell
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 6 Hours, 17 Minutes
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: December 9, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Sometimes the best thing you can get for Christmas is knowing what you really want.

Rusty Baker is a blond, rich, entitled football player in a high school full of them—just the type of oblivious jock all the bullied kids hate. And he might have stayed that way, except he develops a friendship with out-and-proud Oliver Campbell from the wrong side of the tracks. Rusty thinks the friendship is just pity—Oliver is very bright, and Rusty is very not—but then Oliver kisses him goodbye when Rusty leaves for college, and Rusty is forced to rethink everything he knows about himself.

But even Rusty’s newfound awareness can’t help him survive a semester at Berkeley. He returns home for Thanksgiving break clinging to the one thing he knows to be true: Oliver Campbell is the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

Rusty’s parents disagree, and Rusty finds himself homeless for the holidays. Oliver may not have much money, but he’s got something Rusty has never known: true family. With their help and Oliver’s love, Rusty comes to realize that he may have failed college, but he’ll pass real life with flying rainbow colors.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Loving Blitz by Charlie Cochet

Guest Reviewed by  Gyn

26251259Title: Loving Blitz
Author: Charlie Cochet
Series: North Pole City Tales #4
Heroes: Cupid/Blitzen
Genre: MM Fantasy
Length: 94 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 16, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  From North Pole City to Winter Wonderland, preparations are underway after a royal announcement sweeps everyone into a frenzy of festivity. At the heart of the celebration are the city’s most beloved elf pilots, the Rein Dears. Once the Big Flight is behind them, the pilots prepare for the royal event. Assigned a special task of finding an Elska rose, Cupid and Blitzen are unaware of how their friendship is about to change forever.

Yet not all that glitters is gold. The sweet, angelic Cupid hides a dark secret, one that threatens to destroy his Rein Dear status, his friends, and the elf who’s captured his heart. It’s up to Blitzen to help Cupid see the light in the darkness and show him that together they can mend broken hearts.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Encore by Shira Anthony

Reviewed by: Morgan

EncoreAUDTitle: Encore
Author: Shira Anthony
Narrator: Andrew McFerrin
Series: Blue Notes #5
Heroes: Roger Nelson/John Fuchs
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 8 Hours, 57 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: November 9, 2015
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Cool kid violinist Roger Nelson doesn’t give a damn about anything. Wannabe conductor John Fuchs is awkward, effeminate, and just figuring out he’s gay. Despite their differences, they become friends—then lovers—and after college, they try to make it work. But it’s the 1970s, and Roger can’t bring himself to admit he’s gay. Worse, after his brother is killed in Vietnam, Roger tries to live up to his memory and be the perfect son. Then after suffering one tragedy too many, he makes the biggest mistake of his life: Roger pushes John away.

Through the years, they dance around the truth and in and out of each other’s lives, never quite able to let go. Twenty years later, Roger still carries the pain of losing his dream of a brilliant career with him, while John is a superstar conductor with a wild reputation. John’s off-stage antics get him plenty of attention, good and bad, though deep down, he wants only Roger. Finally determined to hold on to what really matters, Roger asks John for another chance, and when John panics and runs, Roger has to convince him to listen to his heart.

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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Son of Santa by Kate Sands

Reviewed by Nikyta

SonofSantaTitle: Son of Santa
Author: Kate Sands
Series: Sleigh Ride – 2015 Advent Calendar
Heroes: Noel & Fannar
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 53 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2015
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Noel Nicholas is on a sabbatical from the North Pole realm. Back home he’s known as the Son of Santa, but in the human world, he’s a university student and he likes living in anonymity. Only Ruby, his cupid friend from the Eros realm, knows his true identity. That is, until Fannar, the gorgeous ice-sprite from the Pole, shows up unexpectedly. This causes Noel’s suppressed and unrequited crush on Fannar to return full force. However, there are more pressing matters at hand—Noel’s father has taken an extended vacation but cannot be found, and there’s only a month until Christmas.

As Noel is finishing his semester at school and he hasn’t seen his father in months, Mrs. Claus has tasked Fannar with finding Santa. Fannar keeps in touch with Noel but comes around far more often than necessary. It’s not helping Noel’s ability to hide his feelings… but as it turns out, they may not be as one-sided as Noel originally believed.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Shiver by Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott

Reviewed by Susan65

26695561Title: Shiver
Authors: Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott
Series: Unbreakable Bonds #1
Heroes: Lucas Vallois/Andrei Hadeon
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 301 Pages
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: October 27, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Lucas Vallois is always in control. He’s building an empire in the glittering city of Cincinnati and created his own family from his three close friends. The self-made millionaire has everything he wants within his tight grasp. But his world starts to crumble after he’s jumped by a trio of thugs late one night after leaving a club. The warning is clear—give up his new property venture or end up dead.

Caving to the demands of his friends, Lucas accepts the help of bodyguard, Andrei Hadeon, as he hunts for the source of this new threat. But as Lucas gets closer to uncovering the danger, he realizes the sexy Romanian bodyguard poses an even bigger risk to his carefully constructed world. Trapped by a need he never expected, Lucas must find a way to deny the shiver of longing he cannot control.

His brother. His warrior. His heart. Four friends. Unbreakable bonds.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Say It With Ink by C.C. Dado

Reviewed by Morgan 

27419988Title: Say It With Ink
Author: C.C. Dado
Series: The Seattle Chronicles
Heroes: Levi/Jamie
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 61 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 2, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Levi can remember the exact moment the projection of his life changed entirely, from homeless dropout to college graduate. It was the day he found Jamie Donovan standing on his front porch—the boy Levi had secretly drooled over from afar would become the best friend he secretly drooled over up close.

When Levi gets a full ride scholarship but Jamie doesn’t, Jamie becomes an exotic dancer to help pay his tuition. Watching Jamie perform is pure torture for Levi, and hiding how he really feels starts to take its toll. And when the hot new guy from his Econ class hits on him, Levi has to decide just how long he’s going to stay devoted to his straight best friend.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dual Book Review: Not Every Time by Alexa Milne

Reviewed by Susan65 and Morgan

27465477Title: Not Every Time
Author: Alexa Milne
Heroes: Raziel Slade/Jack Hastings
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 54 Pages
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Release Date: November 17, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: What would you give up for love?

Raziel Slade and Jack Hastings have been best friends since Raz saved Jack’s life twelve years ago. Jack has spent years searching for the perfect woman with the help of his wingman, Raz, the man he thinks of as his guardian angel. At a company Christmas party, the world Jack thought he knew turns on its axis, and feelings he didn’t know he had punch him right between the eyes. Can Jack learn to see his friend in an entirely different way?

Openly gay, Raz loves his best friend and has given up more than Jack will ever know to be with him, but he’s never dared to tell Jack how he truly feels, or to reveal his true identity. For twelve years, he has waited in the wings.

Now, with Jack’s sudden epiphany, can these two best friends work out if they have a future together?
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: It Was a Thursday by Carol Lynne

Reviewed by Morgan 

27465447Title: It Was a Thursday
Author: Carol Lynne
Heroes: Mark Kurtz/Lane Warner
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 118 Pages
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Release Date: November 17, 2015
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  It was a Thursday. The day one eighteen-year-old gunman would change the lives of an entire town.

Principal Mark Kurtz loved his school. He worked hard to give his students every advantage in life, but he could have never predicted that on a warm day in May, a distraught senior would commit an unimaginable act of vengeance on his classmates.

In the aftermath of the shooting that left both students and faculty members dead, Mark must deal with his own guilt while trying to help those around him feel safe once again.

Mark’s problems are compounded when an old flame, Lane Warner, arrives in town to help treat the trauma victims. How can he possibly deal with his own guilt, be there for his seventeen-year-old son and confront the part of himself he’s always denied while trying to heal a broken community?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment