Posts Tagged With: Homophobia

Book Review: Knave of Broken Hearts by Tara Lain

Reviewed by Susan65

25422386Title: Knave of Broken Hearts
Author: Tara Lain
Series: Love in Laguna #2
Heroes: Jim Carney/Ken Tanaka
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 224 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: August 3, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Jim Carney has a full time job—running from himself. Since he walked out on his wealthy family at sixteen because he’d wrecked his best friend’s life over some yaoi graphic novels, Jim has lived a macho, blue-collar existence of too much booze and too little responsibility. Then Billy Ballew, the man Jim most admires, gives Jim a chance to come through as his construction supervisor. For once, Jim is determined to make someone proud. Then Jim goes in for a physical for his new job and his yaoi dream comes to life in the form of cardiologist Ken Tanaka. Jim discovers he has two heart problems—a wonky mitral valve and a serious attraction to his doctor. But Ken is a major player, and Jim might be just a notch on the doc’s stethoscope. To Ken, Jim is unforgettable—but the living embodiment of his traditional family’s worst nightmares.

How come the minute Jim decides to be responsible, he finds himself taking care of his kid brother, getting a proposal from a wealthy woman, making a deal with the devil, and winding up in the hospital—when all he really wants is the Knave of Broken Hearts?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Black & Bluhe by R.J. Jones

Reviewed by Susan65

25669472Title: Black & Bluhe
Author: R.J. Jones
Series: Out of the Blue #2
Heroes: Grayson Black/Kris Larson
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 178 Pages
Publisher: Vivid Blue Press
Release Date: July 31, 2015
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Grayson Black has never forgiven himself for not saving his identical twin brother, Jet, from a savage beating at their father’s hands ten years ago. Jet’s near-death never would have happened if Gray hadn’t been so focused on his boyfriend at the time. He has sworn to take care of his brother ever since. Gray can’t afford a distraction from his self-imposed mission, the type of distraction presented by the gorgeous blond showing up at their gigs.

Kris Larson is a firefighter with the San Francisco Fire Department. Since splitting from his girlfriend, his favorite way to spend nights off is watching the Black Brothers play in the bars of the Bay Area, especially the guitarist. But it’s not until the brothers are left homeless after a fire at their apartment building that Kris has the opportunity to know the real person behind the brooding façade.

Gray fights his attraction to Kris, but with a meddlesome twin who just wants him to be happy, it’s a losing battle. Before Gray and Kris can have a lasting relationship, though, Gray must learn to forgive himself, let go of the past, and lay more than one demon to rest.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Uncommon Valor by Rachel Ravenheart

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Uncommon Valor
Author: Rachel Ravenheart
Heroes: Jason/Chase
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 172 Pages
Publisher: Cool Dudes Publishing
Release Date: July 22, 2015
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Jason has just buried his brother, Sam, who was also his confidant. No one, other than Sam and Jason’s best friend, knew Jason is gay and, after the funeral he meets Sam’s superior officer Lt. Chase Johnson, who has a letter for him. In the next few days after the funeral, Chase’s platoon is reassigned to Miramar and he invites Jason to Jason to their new abode to meet a few members of the platoon to which Sam had been assigned before he died. Jason approaches Chase with Sam’s letter because he can’t bring himself to read it without coming to tears.

But, Chase has had feelings for Jason ever since Sam had been assigned to his platoon and has little hope of anything coming from it. He finally decides to take a chance to see if maybe his feelings will be returned.

Then Jason is hit with the news that he is about to be a father from a night he doesn’t even remember and the girl is intent on forcing Jason to marry her. Chase supports Jason when his father demands he marry the mother even though he doesn’t love her, and when Jason refuses, he is disowned immediately. Out of spite, the angry woman outs Jason to his father. Chase continues to show his compassion by being there for him. But will Jason stand by Chase when he is blackmailed to get him out of Jason’s life.

Realizing that Jason wants nothing to do with her, Tina places the baby up for adoption, but Jason blocks her plans by filing his own papers declaring that he is the father and he has paternal rights.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Tigers on the Run by Sean Kennedy

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Tigers on the Run
Author: Sean Kennedy
Series: Tigers and Devils #3
Heroes: Simon/Declan
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 260 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: July 13, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Young Australian Micah Johnson is the first AFL player to be out at the beginning of his career. Retired professional football player Declan Tyler mentors Micah, but he finds it difficult, as Micah is prone to making poor life choices that land him in trouble. Nothing Dec can’t handle. He’s been there, done that, more times than he’d like to admit. Being Simon Murray’s partner all these years has Dec quite experienced in long-suffering and mishaps.

As usual, Simon thinks everything is going along just fine until his assistant, Coby, tells him a secret involving an old nemesis. Simon and Dec’s problems mash together, and to solve them, they must undertake a thousand-kilometer round trip in which issues will have to be sorted out, apologies are finally given, and a runaway kid is retrieved and returned to his worried parents.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Evac by Michael Murphy

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Evac
Author: Michael Murphy
Heroes: Benji/Nick
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 200 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: May 27, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  While on a mission in northern Afghanistan, Benji’s helicopter is shot down. Benji went in with a band of brothers but comes out with a stack of body bags, including one for his partner, Blade.

After recovering physically in Germany, Benji is sent home to San Diego. He’s been a soldier so long he doesn’t know how to live as a civilian. The loss of his brothers and his partner weighs heavily on him. Benji’s body might be healed, but he is still a very broken man. Unable to find work, Benji turns to drinking, bar fights, risky sex with anonymous men, and striking out at everything. As he spirals out of control, he even tries volunteering in a BDSM club as a sub for demonstrations and private scenes.

Despair drives Benji to action, and he meets Nick, a young man in desperate need of hope. With his options and his money running out, the only question is if Benji will find his way in time.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Knight of Ocean Avenue by Tara Lain

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Knight of Ocean Avenue
Author: Tara Lain
Series: Love in Laguna #1
Heroes: Billy Ballew/Shaz-Chase Phillips
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 254 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: May 1, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: How can you be twenty-five and not know you’re gay? Billy Ballew runs from that question. A high school dropout, barely able to read until he taught himself, Billy’s life is driven by his need to help support his parents as a construction worker, put his sisters through college, coach his Little League team, and not think about being a three-time loser in the engagement department. Being terrified of taking tests keeps Billy from getting the contractor’s license he so desires, and fear of his mother’s judgement blinds Billy to what could make him truly happy.

Then, in preparation for his sister’s big wedding, Billy meets Shaz—Chase Phillips—a rising star, celebrity stylist who defines the word gay. To Shaz, Billy embodies everything he’s ever wanted—stalwart, honest, brave—but even if Billy turns out to be gay, he could never endure the censure he’d get for being with a queen like Shaz. How can two men with so little in common find a way to be together? Can the Stylist of the Year end up with the Knight of Ocean Avenue?
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Sacrati by Kate Sherwood

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Sacrati
Author: Kate Sherwood
Heroes: Theos/Finnvid
Genre: MM Historical Fantasy
Length: 407 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: May 2, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: As an elite Sacrati fighter in the mighty Torian military, Theos is blessed with a city full of women who want to bear his children, and a barracks full of men proud to fight at his side and share his bed. He has everything he needs—until he captures Finnvid on a raid.

Finnvid is on a secret mission to prevent the Torian invasion of his homeland Elkat. Being enslaved by Torian soldiers wasn’t in his plans. Neither is his horrified fascination with the casual promiscuity of the Sacrati warriors. Men should not lie with other men—and he should not be so intrigued when they do. He definitely should not be most intrigued by the leader of the soldiers who captured him and plan to invade his home.

For Theos, everything would have been easier if the infuriating, lying, bewildering Elkati had never come into his life, but he can’t stay away. When betrayal and treachery threaten both their nations, they must work together to stop a war that could destroy their homes forever—even as they begin to question everything they’re fighting for.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: No Matter What by K.A. Merikan

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: No Matter What
Author: K.A. Merikan
Series: Sex & Mayhem #4
Heroes: Ghost/Luca
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 176 Pages
Publisher: Acerbi & Villani Ltd.
Release Date: April 25, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  — A gentle heart has no place in an outlaw’s chest —

 

Ghost. Not a member of the Coffin Nails MC. Not a doctor anymore. Not gay.
Luca. Bent, not broken. Will not let go of Ghost. No matter what.

Ghost finds out the hard way that people you meet online aren’t always who they seem to be. When he met ‘Zara’ five years ago, they became inseparable. She’s been with him through the rough and the smooth. He’s been there for her when her abusive boyfriend had her in tears.

She is The One, and despite all his friends considering him crazy, Ghost is about to propose.

But ‘Zara’ turns out to be Luca, and Luca is most definitely a guy. Yet Luca is the same person with big dark eyes, so desperate to be saved that Ghost can’t help but fall head first.

Luca’s so-called boyfriend is not just abusive. He is a Sicilian drug lord, a man dangerous and ruthless. If Ghost is to ever save the person who wreaked havoc on his heart, he has to make a deal with the Coffin Nails MC. But being a member is a destiny he’s always tried to avoid. And when a life of violence becomes too much to bear, he might be the one needing Luca to catch him when he falls.

WARNING: Adult content. Explicit gay sex, strong language, violence, potentially triggering sexual abuse scenes. Reader discretion advised.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: A Way Home by Keira Andrews

Guest Reviewed by Morgan 

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00067]Title: A Way Home
Author: Keira Andrews
Series: Gay Amish Romance #3
Heroes: Isaac/David
Genre: MM contemporary
Length: 210 Pages
Publisher: KA Books
Release Date: April 8, 2015
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Will returning to their Amish roots renew their faith in each other?

Isaac and David never thought they’d go back to the Amish world. But when Isaac’s younger brother is stricken with cancer, they don’t hesitate to return. Their relationship is on the rocks after insecurity and fear drove a wedge between them in San Francisco, and David is determined to make things right. Yet if they thought navigating “English” life was confusing, being back in Zebulon is even more complicated.

Their families are desperate to bring them back into the fold, and pressure from the community builds. Isaac and David yearn for a future together, but each day it becomes harder to hide the truth about who they really are. They’re caught between two worlds, and if they’re not careful it could tear them further apart.

Can Isaac and David make their way back to each other—and find a place to call home?

This is the final chapter in a trilogy of forbidden Amish love. Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Just What the Truth Is by Cardeno C.

Guest Reviewed by Morgan 

1Title: Just What the Truth Is
Author: Cardeno C.
Series: Home #5
Heroes: Ben Forman and Micah Trains
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 248 Pages
Publisher: The Romance Authors
Release Date: February 7, 2015 (2nd Ed.)
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  People-pleaser Ben Forman has been in the closet so long he has almost convinced himself he is straight, but his denial train gets derailed when hotshot lawyer Micah Trains walks into his life. Micah is brilliant, funny, driven…and he assumes Ben is gay and starts dating him. Finding himself truly happy for the first time, Ben doesn’t have the willpower to resist Micah’s affection.

When his relationship with Micah heats up, Ben realizes he has a problem: his parents won’t tolerate a gay son and self-confident Micah isn’t the type to hide. If Ben wants to maintain his hold on his happiness, he’ll have to decide what’s important and own up to the truth of who he is. The trouble is figuring out just what that truth is.

Just What the Truth Is is set in the Home series where the books are linked by theme or world. They are independent and can be read in any order.

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