Posts Tagged With: M/M Historical Romance

Book Review: Darkness at Endersley by S.A. Meade

Reviewed by Heather C

1Title:  Darkness at Endersley
Author: S.A. Meade
Series: The Endersley Papers #2
Heroes: Joshua Endersley/Daniel Wyndham
Genre: MM Historical Romance
Length: 208 pages
Publisher: Totally Bound
Release Date: July 11, 2014
Available at: Totally Bound and All Romance Ebooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Joshua thought he’d left his past behind, but there’s something in the darkness at Endersley.

Joshua Endersley is glad to leave a broken engagement and his sordid desires behind in London and claim his inheritance on the rolling downs of Wiltshire. What he doesn’t need is temptation in the form of artist, Daniel Wyndham, to remind him of all he wanted to forget.

Joshua finds Daniel impossible to resist and the two men embark on a passionate affair that draws them ever closer. Joshua believes that he can find happiness and live his life the way he wants to in the peace and seclusion of Endersley.

But nothing good can last forever. The very remoteness and solitude that Joshua loves about Endersley turns against him—the darkness at Endersley is deeper and more dangerous than he could have ever imagined.

Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of violence.
Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Early Review: Noble Metals by L.A. Witt

Reviewed by Heather C

21530780Title: Noble Metals
Author: L.A. Witt
Series: Metals #1
Heroes: Robert Belton/John Fauth
Genre: M/M Historical Romance, Steampunk
Length: 52,500 words
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: July 14, 2014 (2nd Edition)
Available at: Riptide Publishing
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Ever since Robert Belton gambled away the money to stake his claim in the Klondike gold fields, he’s been stranded in Seattle working as a prostitute. When an attractive customer needs help hauling provisions to the frozen north, Robert eagerly volunteers.

Dr. John Fauth is only searching for one thing, and it isn’t gold. He needs platinum for the prototypes of his revolutionary inventions, and if he doesn’t find it in the Klondike, his university career—and his research—is over.

Getting to the Klondike is a grueling, dangerous journey, and just hours after leaving Seattle, John and Robert find themselves in over their heads. John is carrying an invaluable device that his competitors will do anything to get their hands on. And as the cold nights and mutual desire pull John and Robert closer together, they discover that they have much more to lose than gold or platinum.

(Publisher’s Note: This book was previously published by a different press; it has since been edited extensively and expanded by over 10,000 words.)

Continue reading

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

Book Review: Think of England by KJ Charles

Reviewed by Heather C

20822874Title: Think of England
Author: KJ Charles
Heroes: Captain Archie Curtis & Daniel da Silva
Genre: M/M Historical Romance
Length: 194 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: July 1, 2014
Available at: Samhain Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Lie back and think of England…

England, 1904. Two years ago, Captain Archie Curtis lost his friends, fingers, and future to a terrible military accident. Alone, purposeless and angry, Curtis is determined to discover if he and his comrades were the victims of fate, or of sabotage.

Curtis’s search takes him to an isolated, ultra-modern country house, where he meets and instantly clashes with fellow guest Daniel da Silva. Effete, decadent, foreign, and all-too-obviously queer, the sophisticated poet is everything the straightforward British officer fears and distrusts.

As events unfold, Curtis realizes that Daniel has his own secret intentions. And there’s something else they share—a mounting sexual tension that leaves Curtis reeling.

As the house party’s elegant facade cracks to reveal treachery, blackmail and murder, Curtis finds himself needing clever, dark-eyed Daniel as he has never needed a man before…

Product Warnings
Contains explicit male/male encounters, ghastly historical attitudes, and some extremely stiff upper lips.
Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Early Review: Sharp Love by Ava March

Reviewed by Heather C

1Title:  Sharp Love
Author: Ava March
Series: Gambling on Love #2
Heroes: Jack Morgan/William Drake
Genre: MM Historical
Length: 77,000 words
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: June 9, 2014
Available at: Carina Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: London, 1822

William Drake has lived among thieves, bastards and beggars all his life, doing what’s necessary to survive. As a young orphan, that included looking after his best friend, Jack Morgan. But as they grew older, Jack took the honest path, leaving Will behind to fend for himself the only ways he knows how.

When an unsavory errand for his employer brings Jack back to London’s underbelly, he needs Will’s help. It’s there, among the alleys they ran through as children, that the love he’s always felt for Will returns. As their nights together grow hotter, Will discovers something new about his old friend—Jack’s need to serve extends into the bedchamber.

Will has never fully abandoned his dream of escaping London with Jack. But what could the Duke’s driver want with a dishonest cheat like him, beyond a bit of rough sex? It takes the gamble of Will’s life to find out if he can win Jack’s heart…

Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: D/s theme and elements, and male/male sexual practices.
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Objects Of His Obsession by Jae T. Jaggart

Reviewed by Heather C

HIS_FINAL_TOTAL_HellfireVampires_inc1-3Title:  Objects of His Obsession
Author: Jae T. Jaggart
Heroes: Benedict & Evander
Genre: M/M Historical Romance
Length: 56,000 words
Publisher: Jae T. Jaggart
Release Date: March 7, 2014
Available at: Amazon & Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: London, 1898

Lord Benedict Yeats has two obsessions.

One of which has a definite pulse – the seductive and beautiful Evander St John, Duke of Casterwell. A man he has a certain history with.

A man who tells Benedict that he has spent too long amongst sand and dead things. He might not be wrong. Casterwell’s world is one of sexual sophistication and games that Benedict cannot hope to match.

But when Benedict returns from working on a famous dig in Cairo, Casterwell invites him to a country house party that will change his life. An Egyptologist of growing renown, Benedict will also catalogue the famous Casterwell collection of antiquities.

And almost certainly, will become one of Casterwell’s string of lovers. But will he be the one to break through that glittering façade? Or will the scars of Casterwell’s dark, bloody past and his complex and fiercely deceptive private life tear them apart?

Warning: Contains two men wildly obsessed, a lust too long denied, hot m/m sex between a naive Egyptologist and one very determined duke, and absolutely no cursed tombs. Approx. 56000 words.

Review:

Lord Benedict Yeats has long been obsessed with Evander St. John, ever since they crossed paths that fateful day in school…the obsessed archeology student catching the eye of the wealthy only son of a Duke.  Evander has played the lead role in Benedict’s fantasies for all these years, afraid to take that last step in confirming his sexuality.  That is, until Benedict is invited to spend the week cataloging the huge Egyptian artifact collection amassed by Evander’s grandfather, and Evander proposes to make Benedict’s obsession a reality.  The problem: Evander’s wife, Juliana, stands in the way of Benedict’s morals.  Of course that doesn’t stop Benedict from succumbing to his obsession.  

I really liked this story…

I really liked how the story was separated into parts designating Benedict’s vs. Evander’s POV.  It starts off with the large, beginning portion of the story being told entirely from Benedict’s POV, which left me wondering all about what Evander was really thinking; I wasn’t sure how he really felt for Benedict.  Was possessing Benedict just a goal?  Another notch on his bedpost?  Or did he really feel something for Benedict.  Oh he felt for him alright!  I’m not sure how realistic Evander’s I-always-knew-we-would-be-together-one-day speech was, but I still loved that scene and his admission.  

I really liked the setting.  From London, England to Cairo, Egypt to Paris, France.  Although, the setting doesn’t play a huge role in the story, I still liked seeing the different backdrops.  Actually, I would have liked for those locations to have been more descriptive and predominant in the telling of the story, but I concede because it wasn’t actually important to the plot.  

And speaking of the plot, I really liked it.  Yeah, I know its a bit cliched for a m/m historical…the I-want-to-be-with-men-and-my-wife-approves trope.  But that was actually one of my favorite factors in the story!  The relationship between Evander and Juliana and how there was never any betrayal.  I will say that I found that whole scenario to be very predictable and not at all surprising, but I still really liked seeing the entire thing play out.  

There was A LOT of sex!  Evander and Benedict get it on pretty early in the story and its totally hot!  Wow, those two together was just…umm.  They were only a little kinky, but I think it was the intensity between them that got to me.  On another note, I think this is the first time I’ve ever wanted the bedroom scene to turn into a menage, because that would have been HOT!  Unfortunately, that would have never been appropriate for any of these characters and I’m happy to see it will never happen…

I really liked the simplicity, but I think it may have been just a bit too simple.  I think there were plenty of places where the story could have been expanded, made a little more angsty.  Shared a little more about Benedict’s work.  Maybe add a little bit of mystery.  But no, its all sweet, romance and the only conflict is Juliana…and she’s not even a real conflict at all. 

Overall Impression: I Really Liked It

*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*

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

Book Review: Hold the World Together by Pepper Espinoza

Reviewed by Heather C

21964324Title: Hold the World Together
Author: Pepper Espinoza
Heroes: Alfred & Sam
Genre: M/M Historical Romance
Length: 31,000 words
Publisher: Amber Allure
Release Date: April 2014
Available at: Amber Allure, Amazon, All Romance eBooks and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Harvard graduate Alfred Chan jumps at the chance to teach languages at the new University of California, eager to leave his life behind even if it means a dangerous cross-country journey. He knows there are bandits in the western mountains, but he never expects the most infamous of those bandits to stop his wagon train and steal him away into the night.

Sam and Shane Lyons are wanted for robbing stagecoaches and wagon trains across the western territories, and they don’t just take money. Sometimes, they kidnap educated men. A mysterious Chinese scroll holds the promise of a better life for the two brothers, if only they can find somebody able to read the strange marks on the page. They whisk Alfred to their hideout high in the ragged cliffs of the Uinta Mountains, and there, during a brutal winter, they warn him that his life will end if he fails to deliver a full translation.

Alfred knows he should fear for his life, but somehow, when he’s with Sam, he’s not afraid of anything… Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Necropolis by Jordan L. Hawk

Reviewed by Heather C

21533138Title: Necropolis
Author: Jordan L. Hawk
Series: Whyborne & Griffin #4
Heroes: Percival Endicott Whyborne & Griffin Flaherty
Genre: M/M Historical Romance, Paranormal
Length: 69,700 words
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: May 5, 2014
Available at: Smashwords, Amazon, All Romance eBooks and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Introverted scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne has spent the last few months watching his lover, Griffin Flaherty, come to terms with the rejection of his adoptive family. So when an urgent telegram from Christine summons them to Egypt, Whyborne is reluctant to risk the fragile peace they’ve established. Until, that is, a man who seems as much animal as human tries to murder Whyborne in the museum.

Amidst the ancient ruins of the pharaohs, they must join Christine and face betrayal, murder, and a legendary sorceress risen from the dead. In the forge of the desert heat, the trio will either face their fears and stand together—or shatter the bonds between them forever. Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Early Review: Enlightened by Joanna Chambers

Reviewed by Heather C

20309995Title: Enlightened
Author: Joanna Chambers
Series: Enlightenment #3
Heroes: David and Murdo
Genre: M/M Historical Romance
Length: 191 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Available at: Samhain Publishing, Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: The cruelest duel may not spill a drop of blood…but it could break their hearts.

Enlightenment, Book 3

Five months ago, David Lauriston was badly hurt helping his friend Elizabeth escape her violent husband. Since then, David has been living with his lover, Lord Murdo Balfour, while he recuperates.

Despite the pain of his injuries, David’s time with Murdo has been the happiest of his life. The only things that trouble him are Murdo’s occasional bouts of preoccupation, and the fact that one day soon, David will have to return to his legal practice in Edinburgh.

That day comes too soon when David’s friend and mentor takes to his deathbed, and David finds himself agreeing to take on a private mission in London. Murdo is at his side in the journey, but a shocking revelation by Murdo’s ruthless father leaves David questioning everything they’ve shared.

As tensions mount and the stakes grow higher, David and Murdo are forced to ask themselves how far they’re prepared to go—and how much they’re prepared to give up—to stay together. And whether there’s any chance of lasting happiness for men like them.

Product Warnings
Men in love, men with secrets, and men armed with dueling pistols.

Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Noble’s Savior by Jerry Sacher

Reviewed by Heather C

21406857Title: Noble’s Savior
Author: Jerry Sacher
Heroes: Benjamin & Sergei
Genre: M/M Historical Romance
Length: 71,020 words
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: March 28, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: To purge Benjamin of his desire to join the Army, his father, a senior British diplomat, entrusts him with a mission to Tsar Nicholas II’s headquarters. On the way to Russia, Benjamin encounters Sergei Breselov, an officer in the Imperial Army, lying wounded in a field hospital. He persuades the authorities to let him escort Sergei to Petrograd, but their trip is halted when their train is attacked by deserting soldiers. Sergei and Benjamin must band together to survive and make their own way to the capitol. 

The handsome Sergei Breselov stirs something in Benjamin, and to his surprise, his feelings are returned. Despite the forbidden nature of their association, their bond tightens as Sergei heals, and they are again thrust into the thick of war as the revolution rages around them, threatening to topple the Russian court forever. Continue reading

Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: A Minor Inconvenience by Sarah Granger

Reviewed by Heather C

18670544Title: A Minor Inconvenience
Author: Sarah Granger
Heroes: Hugh & Theo
Genre: M/M Historical Romance
Length: 66, 165
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: January 14, 2014
Available at: Samhain Publishing, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Duty, honor, propriety…all fall in the face of love.

Captain Hugh Fanshawe returned from the Peninsular War with a leg that no longer works properly, thanks to a French musket ball. Now his fight against Napoleon is reduced to quiet, lonely days compiling paperwork at Horse Guards headquarters.

His evenings are spent dutifully escorting his mother and sister to stifling social engagements, where his lameness renders him an object of pity and distaste. But his orderly, restricted life is thrown into sudden disarray with the arrival of Colonel Theo Lindsay.

Theo is everything Hugh is not—a man of physical perfection and easy yet distinguished address. Surprisingly to Hugh, Theo appears to be interested in making his acquaintance. Lindsay turns out to be a most convivial companion, and Hugh finds great pleasure in his company. Their friendship deepens when they become lovers.

In spite of himself, Hugh falls desperately in love. But when a French spy is suspected at Horse Guards, Hugh discovers nothing is as it seems…and the paper he shuffles from day to day could be the instrument of his lover’s death.

Product Warnings
Contains gallant English officers in love, dastardly French spies, skintight pantaloons (sometimes on the floor) and gleaming tasseled Hessians. 

Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment