Posts Tagged With: Mercenary

Book Review: Keeping Cade by S.E. Jakes

Reviewed by Susan65

Title:Keeping Cade
Author: Stephanie Tyler writing as S.E. Jakes
Series: Crave Club #1
Heroes: Cade/Tegan/Vic
Genre: MMM Contemporary
Length: 321 Pages
Publisher: Stephanie Tyler, LLC
Release Date: May 24, 2019
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Protection has its price, but so do fantasies…

Fantasy Week happens twice a year at Crave, and it’s always a big hit—a way to live out your wildest fantasy in a safe, sane, and consensual manner.

But when Cade comes in with his Fantasy Week invitation, he’s not happy about it. He’s stoic as hell and his preferences don’t seem to match his fantasy at all…and yet, despite that, he enjoys himself with Tegan and Vic. At least at first.

When it becomes glaringly apparent that the fantasy isn’t something Cade’s comfortable with, it’s confusing for the men he’s been paired with, and Tegan and Vic put a stop to the scene immediately.

What Cade doesn’t know is that Tegan and Vic are not only co-owners of Crave, but they’re also owners of a mercenary group, Gray Ops, that’s run out of Crave. They’ve also been circling each other for years… but nothing sparks until their session with Cade.

What happened in Room 4 is something none of the men can forget…but it’s got nothing to do with a fantasy and everything to do with blackmail. Can Tegan and Vic help Cade keep his secrets, while keeping all of them safe at the same time? Because the threatening to spill out aren’t only Cade’s…

*This series is set in the MEN OF HONOR world, in the bar called Crave from Bound By Honor
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2019, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Montana Sky by R.J. Scott

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Montana Sky
Author: R.J. Scott
Series: Montana #6
Heroes: Tyler & Martin
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 143 pages
Publisher: Love Lane Books
Release Date: April 24, 2019
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When they spend time alone on a Montana mountainside will Tyler ever convince Martin that like sapphires, love is worth searching for?

Martin’s name was the very last on a kill list. The son of a murderer, he’s had no childhood; lost in a horrific holding pattern of death that turned his heart to stone. Thanks to the man who called him brave and spared his life, he no longer has to look over his shoulder, but he does have one question. Why did Justin let him live?

Tyler Colby has identified a major flaw in the seismic mapping system used to monitor earthquake activity. Sent to Crooked Tree by his employer, the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, he is tasked with adding a new remote station to the network. The installation should be his entire focus, but the lure of sapphires and his attraction to a heartbroken young man called Martin is enough to make him want more. Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2019, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Pros & Cons of Vengeance by A.E. Wasp

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Pros & Cons of Vengeance
Author: A.E. Wasp
Series: Pros & Cons #1
Heroes: Steele and Ridge
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 324 Pages
Publisher: A.E. Wasp
Release Date: January 17, 2019
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: *FIVE JOBS. FIVE JOBS. FIVE CHANCES FOR REDEMPTION.

One thing’s for sure: these men are no angels.

There’s nothing like being blackmailed by a dead man to really bring a group of cons together. And what a group we are: a hacker, a thief, a con artist, a thug, and a Federal agent with an axe to grind.

The deal is simple, we do the jobs and Charlie’s lawyer wipes the slate clean for each of us, one at a time. Since job number one calls for some muscle, it looks like I’m up first. I’m Steele Alvarez, ex-Special Forces Close Protection Specialist (aka, a bodyguard for some not so nice guys).

After learning what the job is — taking down a seemingly untouchable senator with a penchant for beating up young male prostitutes — I’m in. No questions. A bullet ought to do the trick. Then I met Senator Harlan’s latest victim: Breck Pfeiffer, the gorgeous hooker with a heart of gold and the soul of a fighter. One look at him and I’m gone. That kid laid me out harder than any punch ever did.

I’ll do anything to protect Breck, even kill for him. But Breck doesn’t want the senator dead, he wants vengeance. If we’re going to find a way bring down the slimebag and get the blackest mark on my record erased, I’m going to need all the help I can get.

Like it or not, we’re all in this together.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2019, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: If I Ever by S.E. Jakes

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: If I Ever
Author: S.E. Jakes
Series: Hell or High Water #4
Heroes: Prophet and Tommy
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 320 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: January 21, 2019
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2019, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Shades by Jaime Reese

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Shades
Author: Jaime Reese
Series: N/A
Heroes: Killian/Nick
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 344 Pages
Publisher: Romandeavor, Incorporated
Release Date: May 21, 2018
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Killian Marks is a third-generation hitman. After hunting monsters for over twenty years, he lives under no illusions of happily ever afters and fairy tales. Until he meets a man who threatens to disarm him, by giving him hope for a future and showing him there’s more to life than just death.

For Nick, living in shadows is second nature. He’s all too familiar with the dark side of humanity and knows how delicate life can be. Each new day is a gift, even though it means doing it alone. But he’ll risk his survival for the one man who awakens something deep within and leaves him yearning for more.

Nick wants to solve the mystery behind the dark, brooding man, while Killian craves the life and light emanating from Nick. They soon discover they have more in common than either could have anticipated. With both their lives and hearts at stake, they must confront the ghost from Nick’s past intent on tying up a loose end. Only then will they truly find peace, and discover the shades of life in between.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2018 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Revelation by Sloane Kennedy

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Revelation
Author: Sloane Kennedy
Series: The Protectors #7
Heroes: Cain/Ethan
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 336 Pages
Publisher: Sloane Kennedy
Release Date: April 7, 2017
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: “I trusted once. I won’t make that mistake again…”
An ugly childhood and devastating betrayal have left 25-year-old Cain Jensen scarred inside and out. Protecting himself means keeping everyone at arm’s length and protecting others means never getting emotionally involved. In the three years since he’s joined an underground vigilante group, every life he saves helps ease the guilt of the ones that were lost to him so long ago. So when he’s sent to a remote cabin in the Cascade Mountains just north of Seattle to follow up on the disappearance of his boss’s co-worker, his only thought is to see that justice is served, no matter what the circumstances.

But nothing he’s ever experienced has prepared the cold-hearted and very straight Cain for who he finds on that mountain…or the intense need to suddenly offer more than just protection.

“I’ve finally managed to break free, but I’ve never felt more trapped in my entire life…”
Ethan Rhodes has been running for six months, but it’s never fast enough, it’s never far enough. At 30 years old, the talented ER Doctor should be spending his days saving other people’s lives, not worrying about his own. But he knows that the four years of physical and emotional abuse he’s suffered at the hands of his volatile ex are nothing compared to what will happen when Ethan runs out of places to hide, especially after taking something from the man he once was sure would be the love of his life.

A violent episode that has Ethan narrowly escaping death leads to a quiet cabin in the mountains where his battered body will have time to heal before he and the young girl relying on him need to run again. But everything changes with the arrival of a mysterious stranger who threatens to give Ethan something he’d finally accepted was gone forever…hope.

“I didn’t see this coming. I don’t think he did either…”

To get to the truth, Cain must first get through Ethan’s defenses, but watching the other man’s walls start to come down forces Cain to face his own past. And as the tremulous connection between the two men grows and gives way to something more, both will need to decide if they’re willing to risk giving each other the one thing that has cost them so much in the past…trust.

Will two men who’ve vowed never to let someone close again let down their guard long enough to find each other, or will they let their pasts determine their future?

Trigger Warning: This book includes references to physical, emotional and sexual abuse so please proceed with caution

Note: This book contains M/M sexual content and is intended for mature audiences.

***This is Book 7 in the series, but can be read as a stand-alone story – no cliffhangers.***

The Protectors series crosses over with some of my other series, so for the most enjoyment, they should be read in this order, but it is not required:

Book 1 – Absolution (M/M/M)
Book 2 – Salvation (M/M)
Book 3 – Retribution (M/M)
Logan’s Need (Escort Series #3) (M/M)
Redeeming Rafe (Barretti Security Series #2) (M/M)
Saving Ren (Barretti Security Series #3) (M/M/M)
Freeing Zane (Barretti Security Series #4) (M/M)
Book 4 – Forsaken (M/M)
Book 5 – Vengeance (M/M/M)
Book 5.5 – A Protectors Family Christmas
Book 6 – Atonement (M/M)
Book 7 – Revelation (M/M)
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Where There’s Smoke by Cari Z

Reviewed by Morgan

25369553Title: Where There’s Smoke
Author: Cari Z
Narrator: Nick J. Russo
Series: Panopolis #1
Heroes: Joe/Raul
Genre: MM Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: 2 Hours, 8 Minutes
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: February 2, 2017
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Panopolis is a rough place to be an average Joe. I came here looking for adventure and excitement, but nobody cares about one more normal guy in a city filled with super-powered heroes. The closest I’ve come to glory is working in a bank that villains often rob.

But then I maybe accidentally-on-purpose helped a villain escape the hero who was trying to save the day. Imagine my shock when, a week later, that villain asked me out for coffee. One date turned into more, and now I’m head over heels in love with Raul.

Falling in love with the guy dubbed the Mad Bombardier isn’t without its downsides, though. I’ve had to deal with near-death encounters with other villains, awkwardly flirtatious heroes who won’t take no for an answer, and a lover I’m not sure I can trust. It’s getting to the point where I know I’ll have to make a choice: side with the heroes, or stand fast by my villain.

Either way, I think my days as a normal guy are over.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Morgan's Reviews, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Soldier of Fortune by S.J. Frost

Reviewed by Susan65

32827131Title: Soldier of Fortune
Author: S.J. Frost
Heroes: Conrad/Lucas
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 140 Pages
Publisher: MLR Press
Release Date: November 25, 2016
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Mercenary. Gun for hire. Soldier of fortune. That’s Conrad Dane. Maybe he hasn’t always done things the right way in his life, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. And sometimes, it takes doing the wrong thing, to get the right results. These days, he’s backing out of the underworld, taking more jobs in the open in personal protection. He’s contracted to protect a rising politician and gets more than he expected. Not from bad guys, but from the politician’s son, Lucas.

Lucas likes the good guys, both in his favorite comic book superheroes and the men he forges relationships with. Conrad isn’t the kind of man he goes for, but that’s not stopping Lucas from being drawn to him, wanting to be closer to him.

Conrad and Lucas can’t deny their attraction toward each other. When someone targeting Lucas’s father pulls Lucas into danger as well, Conrad will do whatever it takes to keep Lucas safe.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Vengeance by Sloane Kennedy

Reviewed by JustJen

31393404Title: Vengeance
Author: Sloane Kennedy
Series: The Protectors #5
Heroes: Memphis/Brennan/Tristan
Genre: MMM Contemporary
Length: 353 Pages
Publisher: Sloane Kennedy
Release Date: October 4, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Memphis
At thirty-four years old, ex-DEA agent Memphis Wheland has lived, loved and lost…everything. The ultimate betrayal by the man he gave everything to has left Memphis with no family, no career and a bone deep bitterness that refuses to release him from its icy grip. His work with an underground vigilante organization is the only light in his otherwise bleak existence. That and the occasional no-strings hookup with men whose only focus in that moment, and for as long as Memphis wants them, is him and only him. No clingy exes, no unrequited love, no relationship drama. Period.

Because Memphis has one rule that he won’t break for anyone or anything. He doesn’t share.

Ever.

Now if only someone had told that to the young man who would come into his life in the most unexpected way…

Brennan
With his entire life ahead of him, graduate student Brennan Devereaux wasn’t expecting it to change in the blink of an eye. But when a case of mistaken identity nearly costs Brennan his life, it isn’t just his future that’s about to change, but his past too. Because for years he’s been in love with a young man who only sees him as a friend and nothing more. And while he was content to love Tristan Barretti from afar, he hadn’t expected to be drawn to the mysterious stranger who saved his life and changed it with a simple promise.

I’m not letting you go.

They were words spoken in the heat of the moment as the darkness of death had threatened to claim him, but even as Brennan’s love for Tristan refuses to wane, his need for the intriguing Memphis Wheland continues to grow.

But any relationship with Memphis means he has to let go of the one thing in his life he’s always valued above everything else…

Tristan
At nineteen, Tristan Barretti should have had the world at his feet. His musical gifts have garnered him prestige as well as admission to the famed Julliard School in New York and he has a family that most people would kill for. But the protective bubble his fathers have kept him in has burst and he’s discovered that life outside his unconditionally loving family isn’t as accepting of a kid born with HIV. A poor decision to find answers to questions better left unasked, along with the complications of living with his disease, have Tristan returning to Seattle and the solace of his family.

And to the young man he’s wanted from the time he was barely old enough to even understand what that meant.

But with an uncertain future that leaves him nothing to offer the gorgeous and successful Brennan Devereaux, Tristan knows the best he can hope for is to keep building on the friendship they’ve shared for years and not get his hopes up that Brennan will be the one man who sees him and not his disease.

Except all bets are off when danger follows him home…

Choices
Even though a physical relationship with Brennan was supposed to be just that, Memphis finds himself unable to refuse his young lover’s request to help put a stop to the threat against Tristan. Even knowing full well that Brennan’s heart lies with the man he claims is nothing more than a friend, Memphis accepts the challenge of ensuring Tristan’s safety.

But when the quiet music student stops being a “job” and starts being something much more, Memphis is torn between his growing feelings for both young men and the fear that he’ll be facing an even greater betrayal that he’ll never be able to come back from.

Except none of that matters when the threat that Memphis never saw coming puts Brennan and Tristan in the crosshairs.

And the cost of the vengeance he once craved suddenly comes at too high a price…
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Forsaken by Sloane Kennedy

Reviewed by Susan65

30644887Title: Forsaken
Author: Sloane Kennedy
Series: The Protectors #4
Heroes: Maverick “Mav” James/Eli Galvez
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 236 Pages
Publisher: Sloane Kennedy
Release Date: August 18, 2016
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Abandoned. Abused. Betrayed.
Ex-cop Maverick “Mav” James needs only three things. His Harley, an open road and his work in an underground organization that delivers justice when the law can’t.

Family?
They left him long before he left them.

Friends? A liability.

A place to call home? Doesn’t exist.

Mav’s motto is simple: Get done and get out. Work, sex, doesn’t matter. No emotional connections. Simple.

Until he meets him.

Alone. Hiding. Broken.

At fifteen years old, Eli Galvez had nothing. No family, no friends and only his body as a means to make enough money to survive. But a chance meeting changed all that and eight years later, he’s well on his way to having the life he could once only dream of. He’s been accepted into medical school and he’s finally returned home to Seattle to be closer to the men and women who don’t share his blood, but are the only family he’s ever really known.

Only things aren’t what they seem and the secrets Eli has been hiding are about to come to the surface with dangerous consequences.

One final chance at a real future.

Guys like Eli just aren’t Mav’s type, period. Yet he can’t deny his intense attraction to the younger man who only looks at him with fear in his eyes. Until the day there’s something else in those eyes too. Something that draws Mav in and refuses to let go. Something that makes him want to forget his rules. But Mav’s learned the hard way what happens when you get too close to something. And while he vows to protect Eli after a violent attack leaves the younger man shaken, protection is all he’ll offer.

Because anything else would just cost too much.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments