Posts Tagged With: Past Abuse

Audio Review: Not Knowing Jack by K.A. Mitchell

Reviewed by Susan65

23292157Title: Not Knowing Jack
Author: K.A. Mitchell
Narrator: Jason Winters
Series: Ohio Books #2
Heroes: Tony Gemetti/Jack Noble
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 6 Hours, 33 Minutes
Publisher: Insatiable Press
Release Date: July 18, 2014
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Bartender Tony Gemetti has it all: a rich, hot boyfriend, a McMansion in the ’burbs, and unlimited sex in an expectation-free zone. He thought that was all he ever wanted out of any relationship – until Jack begins making excuses for frequent disappearances. Realizing he has more than his libido and enough drawers for his T-shirt collection riding on this relationship, Tony figures it’s time to find out what’s going on.

Jack Noble has spent his life hiding his real self behind a carefully created image. With Tony, he finally knows real freedom, real happiness. Now a past of buried secrets and lies is closing in, and no matter how hard he tries to stop it, the truth is tearing through. Once Tony learns what kind of man Jack really is, he won’t stay. Jack’s sure of it. Suddenly the past shows up in a completely unexpected way, testing the boundaries of their old, coasting-along-on-fun relationship. Tony indeed finds that Jack isn’t the man he went looking for, but it’s too late. There’s too much at stake to just walk away. First, though, he has to make sure there are no lies left for Jack to hide behind.

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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Scars and Secrets by Avril Ashton

Reviewed by JustJen

29383384Title: Scars and Secrets
Author: Avril Ashton
Series: Loose Ends #1
Heroes: Donovan/Levi
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 218 Pages
Publisher: Sinner’s Haven Publishing
Release Date: April 29, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  After an undercover assignment that changed his life forever, FBI agent Donovan Cintron is barely hanging on to sanity. His new mission is to forget, by any means necessary, so he tries his hardest. Pills. Booze. The warm bodies that never quite measure up to what he’d had. What he’d lost. It’s almost a relief when he learns his identity might be compromised—except he’s not the only one exposed. So is the husband he hasn’t stopped needing all these years later. He’d been aching to die, but for Levi Nieto, Donovan will live. To protect. To regret. To remember.

The realization that everything he loved was a farce sent Levi Nieto spinning out of control, and running away from the memories. Now Donovan is back in his life, still fully entrenched in darkness. Their physical connection is one thing, but the truth of who they are to each other remains trapped among the anger, violence and lies suffocating them. Fixing what’s broken will take more than each man exposing his scars. Secrets—and blood—must be spilled.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Pulling the Vampire’s Braid by Charlie Richards

Reviewed by Morgan 

28577232Title: Pulling the Vampire’s Braid
Author: Charlie Richards
Series: A Loving Nip #8
Heroes: Tate/Psion
Genre: MM Paranormal
Length: 78 Pages
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Release Date: March 15, 2016
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Just a little Love Bite: A nip here and a tug there could bring two people together.

Tate Locklear has worked as a vampire enforcer at his coven for almost two centuries. He’s ready for a change of pace. When his master calls for volunteers to protect shifters in the forest, he thinks it’s the something new that he needs. Tate discovers it’s so much more when the scent of a reclusive leopard shifter’s blood calls to him. Somehow, he must convince the pretty kitty known as Psion, that staying in human form longer than it takes to open and close a door can be extremely pleasurable and beneficial to both of them. Unfortunately, that also reveals a new problem. Can Tate get Psion past his fear of blood so he can claim him?
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Morgan's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: His Favorite Color is Blood: Coffin Nails MC by K.A. Merikan

Reviewed by Susan65

28111327Title: His Favorite Color is Blood: Coffin Nails MC
Author: K.A. Merikan
Series: Sex & Mayhem #8
Heroes: Grim/Misha
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 329 Pages
Publisher: Acerbi & Villani ltd
Release Date: February 10, 2016
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: — When life gives you blood, make mayhem. —

Grim. Assassin. Leather-clad sex god. Has the most unusual taste in men.
Misha. Mutilated. Afraid. Will never trust again.

Grim is a bloodthirsty killer, and he owns it. Gay in a world of outlaw bikers, he firmly stands his ground if anyone dares to cross him. He takes pleasure in showing homophobes their place and fucking his way through a life of carnage.

But there is a part of him always aching for something he cannot get. When by chance he saves the most perfect guy he’s ever met, he is not about to let him go. Even if it means he needs to smother his broken bird.

When a masked, bloodstained man rescues Misha from captivity, he doesn’t know if he should thank the menacing stranger or stab him and run. Grim is not the kind of man who takes no for an answer, and Misha might now be in more danger than when he was trapped as a sex slave.

Misha cannot deny though that Grim is as alluring as he is frightening, and once Misha realizes what power his body holds over Grim, he understands that taming the beast of a man could be within his reach.

But any possibility of a future together is like a house of cards when Zero, the sadistic crime lord who destroyed Misha’s life, sets out to get him back.

Will the ruthless biker assassin at Misha’s side be enough to conquer the monsters from his past?

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Give Yourself Away by Barbara Elsborg

Reviewed by JustJen

26173634Title: Give Yourself Away
Author: Barbara Elsborg
Heroes: March/Caleb
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 284 Pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: February 9, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  One guy intent on caution. One an adrenaline junkie. Love could be one risk too many.

March is determined to lose the numbness that accompanies a history of loss and blame. Desperate to feel something—anything—the adrenaline junkie base jumps off cliffs, soars on hang gliders, and embarks on dangerous sea-borne rescue missions. But any release he feels is fleeting, and when you play Russian roulette with fate, eventually you come crashing down.

No matter how hard Caleb tries to forget his past, a dark shadow is always behind him. When a bizarre turn of events results in him being trapped in a sea cave, Caleb wonders how his mantra—safety at all costs—could have failed him. On the point of drowning, he’s stunned when March surfaces in the cave.

March’s disregard for the rules saves Caleb’s life but gets March into a heap of trouble. Not least of which is the guy shivering in the boat next to him. March tries to ignore Caleb but it’s already too late. Together, they take small, awkward steps toward love. But Caleb’s past is waiting to sink in its claws…and this time, it could drag him to his death.

Warning: This book contains difficult flashbacks of child abduction and sexual violence, but also the incredible perseverance of two men who never give up on love—or each other. Bring your tissues and a heart that believes in the resilience of the human spirit.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Overtime by T.S. McKinney

Reviewed by JustJen

28627599Title: Overtime
Author: T.S. McKinney
Heroes: Jagger Jameson/Colton Montgomery
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 283 Pages
Publisher: Dark Hollows Press
Release Date: February 11, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Jagger Jameson could be the poster child for a nasty childhood campaign but he refused to allow it to dictate his future. At an early age, he learned to shut down all of his emotions and focus solely on survival. As it turned out, survival came in the form of a basketball scholarship with the University of Kentucky Wildcats. As the rest of the team around him focuses on having a good time and building friendships, Jagger worries only about using his talent to help him escape the life that was dealt to him. Everything is going smoothly until somebody from his past makes a reappearance, and with just the mention of a name, Jagger finds himself struggling to maintain his cool facade.

Colton Montgomery’s wealth allowed him the opportunity to have just about anything in the world he could desire…except the only thing he’d ever really wanted – Jagger Jameson. When the opportunity to try and tame a Wildcat comes his way, Colton welcomes the challenge.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Neat Trick by Jaime Samms

Reviewed by Morgan 

28453335Title: Neat Trick
Author: Jaime Samms
Series: Tales From Rainbow Alley #5
Heroes: Jacob/Aaron
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 321 Pages
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Release Date: February 16, 2016
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Being 100 percent sure you know what you want is a sure-fire way to get exactly what you need. You just might not recognize it when you do.

Jacob has rebuilt his life inside Rainbow Alley after a vicious beating sent him to the hospital when he was a teenager. He’s strong again, and he knows what he wants from life. He just has to accept that he isn’t going to get it from Cliff Thatcher.

Aaron has discovered that life never offers handouts. He’s spent years paying other people’s debts and now he is indentured to Douglas, a man who won’t hesitate to use every ugly trick in the book to retain control over Aaron, his skateboard and his life.

When Jacob and Aaron meet, there is not an ounce of doubt in Jacob that he’s found what he wants. The young man might be a little rough around the edges, but he’s a safe bet, and Jacob knows he can control the thrust of their relationship. That is, until Aaron proves he can handle Jacob’s submissive side and pushes to take the dynamic out of the bed and into the rest of their lives.

Jacob’s hard limit, though, is the bedroom door. Only when Douglas makes it clear Fohe isn’t letting Aaron go without a fight, or a pay-off that he seems intent on taking in the form of Jacob himself, does Jacob begin to understand just how shaky his world really is.

If Jacob doesn’t believe Aaron can protect him, he’ll lose everything. Including what might just be his only chance at true freedom from his fear.

Reader Advisory: This books contains scenes of violence and references to past abuse and child pornography. It also contains one instance of sexual violence.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Morgan's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Backlash by Jack L. Pyke

Reviewed by JustJen

27418455Title: Backlash
Author: Jack L. Pyke
Series: Don’t #4
Heroes: Gray/Jack/Jan
Genre: MMM Contemporary
Length: 357 Pages
Publisher: Fantastic Fiction Publishing
Release Date: January 19, 2016
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  In the aftermath of Jack Harrison’s release from the psychiatric unit, Gray Raoul’s first instinct is to take brutal revenge on the one responsible for financing Jack’s and Jan’s torturous psychological reconditioning. However, that person is a plays the game dangerously well, knows exactly how to manipulate everyone in Gray’s life. To help negotiate this delicate situation, Gray contacts Trace and his ex-Diadem Dom, Gabriel Hunter. But the more Gray seems to regain control, the clearer it becomes that there’s something not quite right about Jan Richards. Jan quickly unravels, taking Jack and Gray with him, and bringing out one particularly deadly player, Gray’s left with one last defence: break Jack down in order to partner up with his alter ego, Martin. But once freed, Martin has plans of his own, and he wants to make it personal with Gray. Complete trust between Master and sub, between Gray and Jack, will be tested to the absolute limit.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Audio Review: Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward

Reviewed by  Susan65

51Jn+Zovr3L__AA300_Title: Lover Unbound
Author: J.R. Ward
Narrator: Jim Frangione
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #5
Hero/Heroine: Vishous/Jane
Genre: MF Paranormal
Length: 17 Hours, 25 Minuttes
Publisher: Recorded Books
Release Date: May 26, 2009
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: In Caldwell, New York, war rages between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers—six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Now the cold heart of a cunning predator will be warmed against its will…

Ruthless and brilliant, Vishous, son of the Bloodletter, possesses a destructive curse and a frightening ability to see the future. As a pretrans growing up in his father’s war camp he was tormented and abused. As a member of the Brotherhood, he has no interest in love or emotion, only the battle with the Lessening Society. But when a mortal injury puts him in the care of human surgeon, Dr. Jane Whitcomb compels him to reveal his inner pain and taste true pleasure for the first time—until a destiny he didn’t choose takes him into a future that cannot include her…
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, M/F, Published Before 2010, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward

Reviewed by

51NLGnTVgXL__AA300_Title: Lover Awakened
Author: J.R. Ward
Narrator: Jim Frangione
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #3
Hero/Heroine: Zsadist/Bella
Genre: MF Paranormal
Length: 15 hours, 13 minutes
Publisher: Recorded Books
Release Date: July 21, 2009
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other – six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Of these, Zsadist is the most terrifying member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

A former blood slave, the vampire Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion, and terror is his only passion—until he rescues a beautiful aristocrat from the evil Lessening Society.

Bella is instantly entranced by the seething power Zsadist possesses. But even as their desire for one another begins to overtake them both, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against Bella’s tormentors drives him to the brink of madness. Now, Bella must help her lover overcome the wounds of his tortured past, and find a future with her…
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, M/F, Published Before 2010, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment