Posts Tagged With: PTSD

Book Review: Carolina Blues by Virginia Kantra

Guest Reviewed by Ami

20949468Title: Carolina Blues
Author: Virginia Kantra
Series: Dare Island #4
Heroine/Hero: M/F Contemporary Romance
Genre: Lauren Patterson/Jack Rossi
Length: 304 Pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Available at: Berkley, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Jack Rossi is Dare Island’s new police chief. The laid-back North Carolina community is just what he needs to recover from a rocky marriage and a big-city police department. He’s learned his lesson: no more high-profile women or high-pressure jobs. The last thing he wants is an unconventional alt girl rocking his world.

Grad student Lauren Patterson made headlines when she kept a bank robbery from going bad. She’s fled to Dare Island to clear her head and focus on writing her story. However, sexy Jack Rossi is a distraction that’s too hot to ignore, and it’s igniting an affair too combustible to resist—or quit.

But when their pasts come looking for them, Jack and Lauren find themselves fighting for the future they deserve, whatever the price.
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: For a Reason by Jessie G.

Reviewed by Nikyta

ddTitle: For a Reason
Author: Jessie G.
Series: The Sizzling Miami #2
Heroes: Bull Connor/Ian “Red” Jones
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 297 Pages
Publisher: Jessie G. Books
Release Date: October 1, 2014
Available at: Jessie G. Books and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Former Marine and full time big brother, Bull Connor spends his days helping those in need of a second chance and his nights fighting the inner demons that won’t let go. During a routine tow he comes face to face with the only person who refuses to need him and the one man he wishes would.

As a throw away, Ian Jones is used to being alternately overlooked or ridiculed but hasn’t given up on the idea that with just one chance he could turn it all around. Rescued by the one person who neither overlooks nor ridicules him, he longs to be seen as more than just a man in need.

Ian isn’t pining for the family he’s never known but when they descend, unwanted and uninvited, Bull must prove that he’s the man who will protect Ian’s long neglected heart by sharing the demons that torment his wounded soul.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Blue Moon II: This is Reality by A.E. Via

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Blue Moon II: This is Reality
Author: A.E. Via
Series:  Blue Moon #2
Heroes: Pierce/Hawk, Shot/Fox
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 190 Pages
Publisher: A.E. Via
Release Date: September 26, 2014
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  The Story of: HAWK, PIERCE, SHOT & FOX WITH THE BEASTMASTERS

Pierce aka Strategic Intelligence Specialist, Backhander is back to flush out some of the DEA’s most notorious criminals, and he has one helluva’ team backing him up. The country’s most decorated Navy
Seals…the Beastmasters.

Pierce is more than capable of doing his job, but he has one insanely hot distraction that continuously causes him to second guess his hidden orientation–Dane Aramis, call-sign, Hawk. Hawk can see what most people can’t, and whether his sexy Pierce wants to admit it or not, he can see the brilliant man’s desire runs deep for him. Hawk is not the type of Seal to lose his man. Pierce will be his.

However, when Pierce and the Beastmasters are on their final assignment, the last person they expect to encounter with the opposition is rogue assassin… Omega. The man is unstoppable, and when he comes too close to what Hawk holds dear, the Beastmasters call on the only man that can control the lethal assassin. Omega’s faster more skilled brother, Alpha.

Bringing Alpha – the deadliest man in the world that has no allegiances and no alliances back into society may be disastrous for everyone involved. But, Hawk is willing to take that risk to keep Pierce safe.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: A Rose by Any Other Name by Charlie Cochet

Reviewed by Heather C

3Title:  A Rose by Any Other Name
Author: Charlie Cochet
Series: Fallen Rose #2
Heroes: Julius/Edward
Genre: MM Historical Romance
Length: 270 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: September 12, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Nights in the roaring city remind bright young things that life’s too short to take for granted. Tucked away in Times Square hides the Pantheon: a secret cabaret for wealthy gay men. Pretty young men in elaborate costumes and rouged lips are eager to please, and the champagne flows all night long. It’s a world of frivolity, fantasy, and debauchery. As Eros, the most sought after performer at the Pantheon, Julius uses his beauty and charm on enthusiastic patrons, but growing weary of superficial love, he longs to make a better life for himself.

Five years after being declared mentally unfit after surviving the trenches of No Man’s Land, Edward Joseph Clarence Junior pieced his shattered life back together. Now he’s ready to take on the family empire. To celebrate his thirtieth birthday, Edward’s cousin takes him to the most posh nightclub in town, the Pantheon. Falling under the sway of Eros, Edward and Julius find a love they’ve never imagined and the chance for a future they had only dared to dream about. But as Ares, a notorious gangster and Julius’s most important—and dangerous— client watches them, the threat to their love and their lives grows by the day.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Breakdown by Jack L. Pyke

Reviewed by JustJen

eTitle: Breakdown
Author: Jack L. Pyke
Series: Don’t #3
Heroes: Jack/Jan/Gray
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 90,000 words
Publisher: Forbidden Fiction
Release Date: August 19, 2014
Available at: Forbidden Fiction, Amazon and All Romance Ebooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  The evidence is there in his hands: the DVD and notepad convincing Jack that Gray is responsible for his kidnapping and torture, tearing Jack and Jan brutally apart. But with Jack trapped in his own mind, lost to blackouts and self-harming, getting away from Gray must take a back seat to getting away from himself.

While locked away in a secret facility run by the Masters’ Circle, a new beast is unearthed from the depths of Jack’s tormented past. Martin only comes out to play when Jack needs to hide, a psychopath as capable of ruining Jack’s life as he is of defending him. Martin is the repository for Jack’s most horrifying memories, protecting him from the bloody tasks Jack can’t handle. Martin’s purpose is to drive everyone Jack fears – or loves – away, before they get the chance to hurt Jack again.

Now Jack hurts more than he ever has before, Martin is back, and Jack has to figure out what Martin knows that Jack forgot, before it’s too late.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Early Review: Return to Glory by Sara Arden

Guest Reviewed by Ami

1Title: Return to Glory
Author: Sara Arden
Series: Home to Glory #1
Heroine/Hero: Betsy Lewis/Jack McConnell
Genre: M/F Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 Pages
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Release Date: August 26, 2014
Available at:  Harlequin HQN, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  In Glory, Kansas, the best bakery in three counties may not only bring together ingredients for sweet treats, but be the place where—through the powerful mix of friendship, community and a well-stocked kitchen—a wounded hero can forge a forever kind of love.

Jack McConnell’s back in the hometown he left behind five years ago, battle-scarred and feeling like half a man. But Betsy Lewis only sees the hero who saved her life and set her heart on fire. Now she’s burning to save his life in return. She’ll use every trick she’s got up her sleeve, from her generous natural assets to her talent for baking, to coax Jack out from the bottom of his whiskey bottle.

At first, Jack responds to Betsy like any red-blooded man would. He’s always denied his attraction to the innocent girl he used to know, but he’s returned to find Betsy’s grown into a full-on woman with strength enough for both of them. Until Jack realizes the only way to conquer his demons and be worthy of the hero’s mantle she’s pinned to his shoulders is to save Betsy one last time—from himself.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Flesh Cartel 19: Promise by Rachel Haimowitz and Heidi Belleau

Reviewed by JustJen

iTitle: The Flesh Cartel 19: Promise
Author: Rachel Haimowitz and Heidi Belleau
Series: The Flesh Cartel #19
Heroes: Mat/Doug
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 56 Pages
Publisher:  Riptide Publishing
Release Date: August 4, 2014
Available at: Riptide Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf:  Goodreads

Blurb:  In the exciting final season of the Flesh Cartel . . .

With the help of the FBI, Mat Carmichael has let himself be re-taken by the Flesh Cartel. Objective? Rescue his brother, exact revenge, and destroy the entire organization from the inside.

FBI Special Agent Nate Johnson will be playing backup, of course, but to get Dougie out alive, Mat will need to make sure his brother is out of Allen’s clutches before calling in the troops. Now that Mat’s back in bondage, though, there’s no way he can do it alone. He’ll have to ask for help from the only man within the Cartel who cares about Dougie’s welfare: Nikolai. And even knowing it will destroy him, Nikolai delivers.

Bringing down the Cartel should have been the hardest part, but it doesn’t take long to realize that the real challenge has only just begun. Dougie doesn’t know how to be free anymore, and Mat is forced to admit that he may no longer be strong enough to help himself, let alone his brother. But with loved ones in their corner and their love for each other banked but not extinguished, Mat and Dougie learn that you can come home again, no matter how desperate the circumstances you’ve left behind.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Meatworks by Jordan Castillo Price

Reviewed by JustJen

22472342Title: Meatworks
Author: Jordan Castillo Price
Heroes: Desmond Poole/Corey Steiner
Genre: M/M Sci-Fi
Length: 300 Pages
Publisher: JCP Books, LLC
Release Date: July 3, 2014
Available at: JCP Books, LLC, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Desmond Poole is damaged in more ways than one. If he was an underachiever before, he’s entirely useless now that he’s lost his right hand. He spends his time drowning his sorrows in vodka while he deliberately blows off the training that would help him master his new prosthetic. Social Services seems determined to try and stop him from wallowing in his own filth, so he’s forced to attend an amputee support group. He expects nothing more than stale cookies, tepid decaf and a bunch of self-pitying sob stories, so he’s blindsided when a fellow amputee catches his eye.

Corey Steiner is a hot young rudeboy who works his robotic limb like an extension of his own body, and he’s smitten by Desmond’s crusty punk rock charm from the get-go. Unfortunately, Desmond hasn’t quite severed ties with his ex-boyfriend, and Corey isn’t known for his maturity or patience.

Meatworks is set in a bleak near-future where cell phone and personal computer technologies never developed. In their place, robotics flourished. Now robots run everything from cars to coffee pots. Taking the guesswork out of menial tasks was intended to create leisure time, but instead robots have made society dependent and passive.

Desmond loathes robots and goes out of his way to avoid them. But can he survive without the robotic arm strapped to the end of his stump?
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Flesh Cartel 18: The Long Road by Rachel Haimowitz and Heidi Belleau

Reviewed by JustJen

20692882Title: Flesh Cartel 18: The Long Road
Author: Rachel Haimowitz and Heidi Belleau
Series: Flesh Cartel #18
Heroes: Mat/Doug
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 88 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: July 7, 2014
Available at: Riptide Publishing
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  In the exciting final season of the Flesh Cartel . . .

With the help of the FBI, Mat Carmichael has let himself be re-taken by the Flesh Cartel. Objective? Rescue his brother, exact revenge, and destroy the entire organization from the inside.

FBI Special Agent Nate Johnson will be playing backup, of course, but to get Dougie out alive, Mat will need to make sure his brother is out of Allen’s clutches before calling in the troops. Now that Mat’s back in bondage, though, there’s no way he can do it alone. He’ll have to ask for help from the only man within the Cartel who cares about Dougie’s welfare: Nikolai. And even knowing it will destroy him, Nikolai delivers.

Bringing down the Cartel should have been the hardest part, but it doesn’t take long to realize that the real challenge has only just begun. Dougie doesn’t know how to be free anymore, and Mat is forced to admit that he may no longer be strong enough to help himself, let alone his brother. But with loved ones in their corner and their love for each other banked but not extinguished, Mat and Dougie learn that you can come home again, no matter how desperate the circumstances you’ve left behind.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Running Wild by S.E. Jakes

Reviewed by JustJen

1Title: Running Wild
Author: S.E. Jakes
Series: Havoc #1
Heroes: Sean/Ryker
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 280 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: May 30, 2014
Available at: Riptide Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Embrace the danger.

Sean Rush is an adrenaline junkie. That’s why he was in the Army, why he steals and races classic muscle cars . . . and why he can’t stay away from bad boy Ryker, a Havoc Motorcycle Club lieutenant. Fortunately, Ryker can’t seem to stay away from Sean—he’s spent the last eight months breaking into Sean’s apartment and stealing into his bed, leaving Sean physically satisfied but increasingly restless.

Sean has always avoided relationships. He likes to come and go without being controlled. And Ryker is possibly the most controlling man he’s ever known. Still, he finds that he wants more from Ryker than their silent nighttime encounters.

Then one of Sean’s thefts goes bad, and Ryker’s protective instincts kick into overdrive. He takes Sean to the Havoc compound, determined to keep him safe. But Sean’s past threatens the safety of Havoc—and everything Ryker holds dear. Worse, Ryker’s hiding secrets of his own. Soon it’s obvious that the adrenaline rush can’t keep them together anymore. But maybe love can.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments