Posts Tagged With: Past Abuse

Book Review: Arctic Absolution by Lynn Kelling

Posted on December 16, 2014 by justjenbo

Reviewed by JustJen

15825603Title: Arctic Absolution
Author: Lynn Kelling
Heroes: Dixon Rowe/Jaye Larson
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 240 Pages
Publisher: Forbidden Fiction
Release Date: December 16, 2014
Available at: Forbidden Fiction and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  In the frozen expanses of remote Alaska, Dixon Rowe is a good man and a good cop who keeps finding himself in bed with the enemy. After he picks up a young ex-con named Jaye Larson for stealing food, Dixon gets seduced by the possibility of helping someone truly in need. Though he tells himself he’s assisting young Jaye out of the goodness of his heart, not because of how sexy Jaye is under all of the tattoos and defiance, the temptations of sin entangle them as their hostile environment threatens. Both of their pasts are filled with malicious ghosts that haunt every step, and while Jaye’s demons are less tangible that Dixon’s, they are all powerful enough to put both of their lives in danger.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Book Review: The Devil’s Ride by K.A. Merikan

Posted on December 6, 2014 by justjenbo

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: The Devil’s Ride
Author: K.A. Merikan
Series: Sex & Mayhem #2
Heroes: Tooth (Jason)/Luci (Lucky/Lucifer)
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 370 Pages
Publisher: Acerbi & Villani ltd
Release Date: December 5, 2014
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  — You don’t fuck with the club president’s son. —

 

Tooth. Vice President of the Coffin Nails Motorcycle Club. On a neverending quest for vengeance. The last thing he needs is becoming a permanent babysitter for a male hooker.
Lucifer. Fallen. Lost. Alone.

After a childhood filled with neglect and abuse, followed by his mother’s suicide, Lucifer set out into the world alone. There was nothing for him out there other than taking it one day at a time. As the bastard son of the Coffin Nails club president, Lucifer never got much fatherly love. So when the Nails show up at the strip joint Lucifer works in, the last thing he expects is to be put in the custody of Tooth, Nails Vice President famous for his gruesome interrogation techniques. The man proves to be the sexiest beast Lucifer has ever met. He’s also older, straight, and an itch Luci can’t ever scratch.

Tooth’s life came to a halt twelve years ago. His lover got brutally murdered, police never found the perpetrators, and all leads were dead ends. To find peace and his own justice, Tooth joined the Coffin Nails, but years on, he’s gotten nowhere with the case, yet still lives on with the burning fire for revenge.
Babysitting a deeply scarred teenager with a talent for disappearing is the last thing on his bucket list. He promised himself to never get attached to someone like him again. To make sure the openly gay boy is safe in the clubhouse, Tooth is stuck keeping an eye on him. The big, blue, attention seeking gaze is drawing Tooth in, but fucking the president’s son is a complete no-go, even when both their feelings go beyond lust.

What Tooth doesn’t know is that Lucifer might hold the key to the closure Tooth so desperately needs.

WARNING Contains adult content: a gritty storyline, sex, explicit language, violence and abuse. Inappropriate use of dental tools and milk.

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

Book Review: Love and the Real Boy by J.K. Hogan

Posted on November 30, 2014 by thebloggergirls

Guest Reviewed by Sadonna

1Title:    Love and the Real Boy
Author:  J.K. Hogan
Series:  Coming About #2
Heroes: Rich Langston/Patrick O’Dowd
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 196 Pages
Publisher: Wilde City Press
Release Date: September 17, 2014
Available at:  Wilde City Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  How­­ much heartache can one man take before he breaks? Rich Langston asks himself that question every day.

A Seattle advertising exec who uses his designer suit and showy car like a suit of armor, Rich refuses to let the world get to him. His traumatic childhood has ruined any faith he had in people, friendship, and love. After a meltdown that led to him alienating everyone in his life, Rich agrees to help with the restoration of an antique sailboat as a form of penance.

Roped into heading up with the boat repair by his mother, marine restorer Patrick O’Dowd finds himself having to babysit a moody, spoiled rich boy with absolutely no carpentry experience. His easy-going nature is sorely tested, but he quickly realizes that things are not always what they seem; sometimes a fancy suit is nothing but an elaborate deflection from what’s real.

Through unavoidable personality clashes and fierce attraction, both Rich and Patrick explore their hidden pain and inner demons, and they end up finding with what really matters—love.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Hesitant Heart by Morticia Knight

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Heather C

Reviewed by Heather C

1Title:  Hesitant Heart
Author: Morticia Knight
Series: The Hampton Road Club #1
Heroes: Sam/Aaron
Genre: MM Historical Romance
Length: 174 Pages
Publisher: Totally Bound
Release Date: November 7, 2014
Available at: Totally Bound and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Sam is a naïve young man who arrives in Hollywood to escape his brutal father. When the older, sophisticated Aaron rescues him, Sam discovers what it means to fully surrender himself to another.

Eighteen year-old Sam Cunningham is used to living with lots of secrets. He’s had to hide his true nature his entire life or else incur the wrath of his strict and abusive father. When he’s faced with a horrible ultimatum, he flees to Hollywood where he hopes he can escape the fate his father has planned for him.

Aaron Rubenstein is a wealthy and sophisticated man who loses himself in painting portraits of bound men to help stave off his loneliness and despair. Unable to find a lasting connection with anyone, he’s had to resort to paying lovers not only for their affections, but to be allowed to indulge in his darker passions. Aaron’s only respite is his nights at the Hampton Road sadomasochism club where he’s a respected Dominant.

Naïve and inexperienced in the ways men can please one another, Sam takes a job at a bathhouse where he first glimpses a beautiful older man. Aaron notices the sweet towel boy watching him with interest every time he patronizes the Temple of Eros bathhouse. A traumatic incident for the innocent towel boy triggers Aaron’s protective tendencies and he’s compelled to rescue the gentle Sam from the clutches of the Temple’s manager.

They embark on a journey together that teaches them both things about themselves that they never knew. As their bond deepens and Sam is trained for his first night at the Hampton Road Club, an unknown danger lurks. Will Sam’s father find him and destroy both men’s chance for true happiness together? Or will Aaron protect his boy and keep him for always?
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Categories: Book Review, Did Not Finish, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Out of CTRL by S.A. Welsh

Posted on November 18, 2014 by justjenbo

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Out of CTRL
Author: S.A. Welsh
Heroes: Andrew/Teddy
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 160 Pages
Publisher: Totally Bound
Release Date: November 14, 2014
Available at: Totally Bound, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Andrew had no intention of ever going back home. But circumstances force him to face his painful past and the friend who betrayed him.

Andrew Finley has no intention of going back to his hometown—ever. After he gets caught hacking the CIA, he builds himself a new life as a computer guy for the very government agency he tried to hack. But over the past few months something has been bothering him, and his boss is acting more paranoid than usual. Every time an operation failed, Andrew collected information that could prove someone was selling secrets and now he’s pretty sure his boss is trying to kill him, so he has no choice but to go back home to buy some time. Going home may be more dangerous than facing his boss, though, considering his former best friend and first crush Teddy had betrayed him and let his evil sister and her minions send him running nine years ago.

But he’s back now and not everything is as clear-cut as he thought. Teddy may not be a Judas but can Andrew catch his fireman without getting burned, or is coming home going to kill him?

One corrupt boss, one evil sister, enough family drama to fill a dozen daytime chat shows and an ex-best friend who he’s been in love with for half his life makes for one hell an interesting trip home.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Unicorns and Rainbow Poop by Sam Kadence

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

Unicorns and Rainbow PoopTitle: Unicorns and Rainbow Poop
Author: Sam Kadence
Series: Vocal Growth #2
Heroes: Dane/Bas
Genre: M/M Contemporary/Young Adult
Length: 260 pages
Publisher: Harmony Ink
Release Date: November 6, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Ex-boyband member Dane Karlson is struggling to overcome an eating disorder and a body dismorphic disorder. His fall through a glass table puts him in rehab and on the road to recovery. Then a friend dies. When depression causes him to lose ground, he calls for the only person he trusts—former bandmate Tommy. But Tommy doesn’t know how to help. He begs his friend Sebastian “Bas” Axelrod to aid them through the emotional struggle.

Bas, an openly gay high school student who’s recently lost his grandmother, is trying to survive his last few months of school before escaping to Stanford. Having just lost the only person in his family to care for him, he is victim to the cruelty of the others. His younger brother bullies him, and his parents are suing him for his gran’s inheritance. When Tommy calls, Bas can’t help but run to his side.

Together Dane and Bas find a middle ground, supporting each other through the lows, dancing together during the highs. They build friendships and plan for the prom and graduation, thinking positively as long as they are together.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Stand by You by A.M. Arthur

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

1Title: Stand by You
Author: A.M. Arthur
Series: Belonging #3
Heroes: Romy Myers/Brendan Walker
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 76,000 words
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: October 20, 2014
Available at: Carina Press and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Three months after his rescue from an abusive boyfriend, twenty-two-year-old Romy Myers has landed his first legitimate job – bussing tables at his friend’s new coffee shop. The job has brought him some stability after years of abuse have left him feeling damaged and broken. He’s working hard on his panic and social anxiety, and those things are often tempered by the big, burly presence of Brendan Walker.

From the moment ex-football player Brendan helped rescue Romy from his ex’s abuse, he’s wanted to protect him. And he does, from a distance, with joking text messages, a new gym routine to toughen him up and a genuine friendship. So far it’s been easy – but Brendan’s feelings aren’t just friendly anymore…

When an argument spirals out of control, a hot and heavy make-out session causes Romy’s friendship with supposedly straight Brendan to reach a new level. The last thing Romy wants is to fall for another guy who could potentially shatter him, but Brendan also wakes up a part of him he thought had been destroyed by violence – his heart.

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

Book Review: Maybe This Time by A.M. Arthur

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Nikyta

Reviewed by Nikyta

3Title: Maybe This Time
Author: A.M. Arthur
Series: Belonging #2
Heroes: Ezra Kelley/Donner Davis
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 168 Pages
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: July 12, 2014
Available at: Carina Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: As a regular at gay hotspot Pot O’ Gold, Ezra Kelley avoids his tangled emotions with the simplicity of one-night stands and attachment-free hookups. Until the night bartender Donner Davis picks him up off the floor after a misunderstanding and too much tequila. Ezra can’t remember the last time someone was…nice. It’s more than he deserves.

Witnessing his lover’s death two years ago has Donner trapped in a holding pattern, living in his sister’s basement, working at the Pot and flirting with the customers. He’s not above spending a night with the gorgeous Ezra, but love is not in the cards. That’s more than he’s ready for.

A passionate night leads to a connection neither man expects, and they take the first steps to something that looks like a real relationship. But Ezra’s been running from himself so long he doesn’t know how to live any other way. And Donner can’t risk his heart just to lose everything again. They’ll both need the strength to let go of the past if they want to get it right this time.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Outcome by Cara Dee

Posted on October 19, 2014 by justjenbo

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Outcome
Author: Cara Dee
Series: Aftermath #2
Heroes: Remy/Chase
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 245 Pages
Publisher: Cara Dee
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Three years ago, Chase Gallardo ran toward freedom with his fellow survivors after having spent five months in captivity. He hasn’t stopped running since. Only now, it’s the memories he’s constantly trying to escape. Haunting echoes of a man who forced Chase to play the part of another, the kidnapper’s younger brother. Chase may have survived, but that doesn’t mean he’s really living. Until one day, when his employee tells him there’s a man sitting at the bar, wearing only underwear.

Remy Stahl has given up—almost. For a year, alcohol, drugs, and faces without names have kept him company. But he has two friends who refuse to give up on him, and they lock him up in his house in an attempt to save him from himself. Though, never underestimate an addict’s desire to see the bottom of another bottle. Remy escapes, and he doesn’t give a rat’s ass that he’s nearly naked.

This is the sequel to Aftermath, where Cam and Austin met, struggled, and fell in love. Outcome takes us back to Bakersfield with Chase and Remy’s story. Fueled by anger, guilt, and shame, they’re not off to an easy start. But it’s only a matter of time before they learn how much they need each other in order to move on.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Walls of Troy by L.A. Witt

Posted on October 7, 2014 by justjenbo

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: The Walls of Troy
Author: L.A. Witt
Heroes: Iskander Ayhan/Troy Dalton
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 255 Pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Available at: Samhain Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Just when the pieces begin to add up, danger blows them all apart…

MA1 Iskander Ayhan’s orders are simple: stay with Admiral Dalton’s son as a plainclothes bodyguard while the kid attends university classes. So typical—a high-ranking officer abusing Navy resources for unnecessary security.

It isn’t long before Iskander realizes there’s more to his assignment than protecting the kid from benign harassment by homophobic classmates. Behind those piercings, eyeliner, and bad attitude, Troy Dalton is scared. Truly, deeply, scared.

Troy is indeed hiding something. Iskander is the only one who’s ever taken his fears seriously, which gives him hope. Yet Troy isn’t sure one lone, armed-to-the-teeth bodyguard is enough to keep him safe, especially since he can’t risk telling Iskander the truth.

As Iskander slowly gains Troy’s trust, the walls start coming down. And before they know it, the warmth between them explodes into real heat. Until suddenly Iskander realizes he’s a magnet for danger, not a shield.

Now he doesn’t know how to keep Troy safe—stay close, or get as far away from him as possible.

Warning: Contains a younger man with a thing for older men, and an older man who doesn’t usually have quite so much trouble resisting younger men. Author is not responsible for any bad academic habits that might result from watching these two “study” for their exams

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment