Posts Tagged With: second chances

Audio Review: In Another Life by Cardeno C.

Reviewed by Morgan

1Title: In Another Life
Author: Cardeno C.
Narrator: Jeff Gelder
Series: Heartwarming
Heroes: Shiloh Raben and Travis Kahn
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: Book – 84 Pages / Audio – 1 Hour, 50 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Dates: Book – December 1, 2013 / Audio – November 3, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: At age 18, Shiloh Raben is tired. He no longer has the energy to deal with mean classmates, inner doubt, and fear of familial rejection, so he takes a razor to his wrist. When he wakes up in the hospital, Shiloh meets Travis Kahn, the EMT who saved him and didn’t leave his side.

Travis is handsome, smart, and funny – the type of guy Shiloh would never be brave enough to approach. But his near-death experience has an unusual side effect: the life that flashed before his eyes wasn’t the one he had already lived, but rather the one he could live. With visions of a future by Travis’s side, will Shiloh find the strength to confront his fears and build a life worth fighting for?
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Audio Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Brokedown Hearts by Cameron Dane

Reviewed by Susan65

7Title: Brokedown Hearts
Author: Cameron Dane
Series: Foster Siblings #4
Heroes: David Joyner/Ben Evans
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 332 Pages
Publisher: Loose Id
Release Date: August 12, 2014
Available at: Loose Id, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Ex-con David Joyner returns home knowing he must atone for his past sins. Working at an animal shelter, David keeps his head down, desperate to prove to a hostile town he’s a new man. The one time David looks up, he spots fellow motel dweller Ben, and is terrified by his attraction to the man. David doesn’t want to feel anything. He can only damage what he loves.

On a forced vacation, PI Ben Evans accepts a job to tail a recently released prisoner. What begins as an easy gig turns complicated when Ben, a controlled man, can’t deny the pang of empathy he feels for his subject, David. Ben can’t suppress his gut-deep sexual desires whenever he’s near David either.

Repeatedly crossing paths, David and Ben do their best to fight their growing attraction. When passion explodes, and secrets are revealed, both men have to conquer inner demons in order to accept the others love.

Someone has turned the tables on David, though, stalking him and leaving threatening notes. Will anyone believe David if he tells? And when David’s stalker raises the stakes, can Ben find the man who has become his world in time to save their love?
Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: In the Fire by Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels

Reviewed by Nikyta

1Title: In the Fire
Authors: Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels
Series: In the Kitchen #2
Heroes: Ethan Martin/James “Jamie” Lassiter
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 93,000 words
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: November 3, 2014
Available at: Carina Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Because the way to a man’s heart…

Eight years ago, the world was their oyster. Until, that is, competing chefs Ethan Martin and James Lassiter’s hot and heavy relationship fizzled after Jamie left for an internship in Paris. Even though Jamie’s career has taken off since his return to the States, with his own television show and a lot of fame, his feelings for Ethan have never quite gone away.

Ethan’s culinary career has developed more slowly, but he’s almost saved enough to buy the restaurant where he works and re-open it as his dream spot, Bistro 30. If only he could get the sexy chef who loved him and left him out of his mind.

But when someone starts sabotaging the restaurant and a fire threatens to take away everything Ethan holds dear, his only option is to rely on Jamie for help. Back in close quarters, the two men will have to find a way to work through their past if they hope to save the restaurant and their future.
Continue reading

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

Book Review: Made for You by Lauren Layne

Reviewed by Nikyta

1Title: Made for You
Author: Lauren Layne
Series: The Best Mistake #2
Heroine/Hero: Brynn/Will
Genre: M/F Contemporary Romance
Length: 260 Pages
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: October 28, 2014
Available at: Forever, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Three years ago, Brynn Dalton made a rare error in judgment and had a one-night stand with the one man she swore would never get into her designer panties. Will Thatcher was exactly the type of sexy playboy that good girls like Brynn stayed away from. And when Will moved across the country just days after their fling, Brynn vowed to put him behind her, even as the memories haunt her.

Now Will Thatcher is back, and just in time to see Brynn’s perfectly structured life begin to crumble. Her job is dull, her social life is tedious, and Brynn’s perfect cardiologist boyfriend doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to get to Tiffany & Co. More than ever, Brynn needs her childhood nemesis to keep his distance.

But Will isn’t content to be Brynn’s dirty little secret any longer. This time, he’s out to show Brynn Dalton that the imperfect man might just be the best mistake of her life.

Continue reading

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

Book Review: Forgiving Thayne by J.R. Loveless

Reviewed by Nikyta

1Title: Forgiving Thayne
Author: J.R. Loveless
Series: True Mates #2
Heroes: Nicholas Cartwright/Thayne Whitedove
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 290 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: October 1, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Nicholas Cartwright has done everything in his power to forget that night six months ago in Senaka, when his true mate rejected him, leaving him shattered and disillusioned. Burying himself in his work, he pushes himself to the point of exhaustion while finding the touch of another unbearable. Suddenly his mate needs his help, and he may be asking for more than Nicholas can find it in himself to give.

Thayne Whitedove has always been a wanderer, spending his days on the road and his nights wrapped in the arms of whatever random hookup he meets, until a fateful mistake sends him rushing for the comforts of home. To his utter dismay, the only way to correct his error in judgment is to accept the one thing he’s never wanted… his mate. Thayne must decide whether to keep running or to stay and fight for Nick’s forgiveness.
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Book Review: Fever Pitch by Heidi Cullinan

Reviewed by Nikyta

1Title: Fever Pitch
Author: Heidi Cullinan
Series: Love Lessons #2
Heroes: Aaron Seavers/Giles Mulder
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 339 Pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: September 30, 2014
Available at: Samhain Publishing and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Sometimes you have to play love by ear.

Aaron Seavers is a pathetic mess, and he knows it. He lives in terror of incurring his father’s wrath and disappointing his mother, and he can’t stop dithering about where to go to college—with fall term only weeks away. Ditched by a friend at a miserable summer farewell party, all he can do is get drunk in the laundry room and regret he was ever born. Until a geeky-cute classmate lifts his spirits, leaving him confident of two things: his sexual orientation, and where he’s headed to school.

Giles Mulder can’t wait to get the hell out of Oak Grove, Minnesota, and off to college, where he plans to play his violin and figure out what he wants to be when he grows up. But when Aaron appears on campus, memories of hometown hazing threaten what he’d hoped would be his haven. As the semester wears on, their attraction crescendos from double-cautious to a rich, swelling chord. But if more than one set of controlling parents have their way, the music of their love could come to a shattering end.

Warning: Contains showmances, bad parenting, Walter Lucas, and a cappella.
Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Shelter Me by Catherine Mann

Reviewed by Nikyta

Shelter Me (Second Chance Ranch, #1)Title: Shelter Me
Author: Catherine Mann
Series: Second Chance Ranch #1
Hero/Heroine: Mike & Sierra
Genre: M/F Contemporary
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 5, 2014
Available at: Berkley, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Nestled in the sunny fields of Tennessee lies the McDaniel family’s Second Chance Ranch Animal Rescue. Two new arrivals are on their way, but only one is the four-legged kind.

Staff Sergeant Mike Kowalski wants only one thing after he gets home from Iraq: to sleep in a king-sized bed with clean sheets. But first, he has to hand off his fallen commander’s dog, Trooper, to his family without handing off his heart to Sierra…

Sierra McDaniel needs a break. Her family life is crazy, and when she’s not mucking out kennels, she’s slogging through grad school. Sierra certainly doesn’t want another dog, especially one that reminds her of her father. And she definitely doesn’t want to see Mike with that charming smile of his…

But Trooper has a mission of his own. Before too long Mike is moving to the ranch to lend a hand—and hoping for his own second chance with Sierra.

Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Cowboy Take Me Away by Jane Graves

Guest Reviewed by Ami

eTitle: Cowboy Take Me Away
Author: Jane Graves
Series: Rainbow Valley #1
Heroine/Hero: Shannon North/Luke Dawson
Genre: MF Contemporary Romance
Length: 464 Pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: April 30, 2013
Available at:  Grand Central Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance Ebooks and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  FIRST LOVE BURNS HOTTER

Rainbow Valley, Texas, has always been a refuge for animals, and Shannon North, director of the local shelter, intends to keep it that way. But with donations drying up and more pets in need of a loving home than ever before, Shannon’s beginning to fear she’s not the savior the shelter needs. When a tall, dark, and handsome cowboy from her past comes to the rescue, she knows that accepting his help may come with a high price: her heart.

THE SECOND TIME AROUND

Bad boy Luke Dawson shook the dust from this little town off his boots years ago. He walked away from everything…except the memory of the one night of passion he shared with Shannon. Now, a few wins away from becoming the world bull-riding champion, Luke’s headed for fame and fortune. But then a crisis calls him back to Rainbow Valley, and Luke is reunited with the good girl who stole–and broke–his heart. As their rekindled relationship deepens into desire, old secrets resurface, and Luke must choose between the future he’s always dreamed of and the only woman he’s ever loved.
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Sweetest Mistake by Candis Terry

Guest Reviewed by Ami

18052982Title: The Sweetest Mistake
Author: Candis Terry
Series: Sweet, Texas #2
Hero/Heroine: Abigail Morgan/Jackson Wilder
Genre: MF Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 Pages
Publisher: Avon Publishing
Release Date: December 31, 2013
Available at:  Avon Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance Ebooks and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: 

When friends become lovers . . .
Firefighter and former Marine Jackson Wilder has tough guy down to an art, but he’s learned the hard way that promises were made to be broken. Abigail Morgan was once his best friend, his first kiss, his first love, his first everything. He’d just forgotten to mention all that to her and she blew out of his life. Five years later, she’s back and he’s battling a load of mistrust for her disappearing act. But for some reason he just can’t keep his lips—or his hands—to himself.

It can lead to disaster or . . .
When her stint as a trophy wife abruptly ends, Abby returns home to Sweet, Texas, and comes face-to-face with Jackson—her biggest and sexiest mistake. Time and distance did nothing to squash her love for the act-first-think-later stubborn hunk of a man, and when he suggests they renew their old just-friends vow, Abby realizes she wants more. She’d cut and run once. Could she do it again? Or could she tempt him enough to break his promise?
Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Debut Author & Early Review: One Door Closes by G.B. Lindsey

Reviewed by Nikyta

1Title: One Door Closes
Author: G.B. Lindsey
Series: Secrets of Neverwood #1
Heroes: Calvin & Will
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 59k words
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: June 30, 2014
Available at: Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Years ago, Calvin Ware found a refuge in Neverwood, a home for wayward boys. Now, following the death of his foster mother Audrey, he’s returned to fulfill her request to restore the decrepit Victorian mansion to its former purpose.

Under the threat of repossession, Cal clashes with his foster brothers over restoration plans while fending off the unscrupulous developer who is breathing down his neck. Audrey’s well-meaning presence in his dreams does more harm than good as he struggles to cope with it all. What’s more, the contractor he hires to get the building up to code turns out to be Will Cabot, his high school flame.

As they begin working together, Cal finds he still has feelings for his first love. But his mistakes of years ago threaten their future, just as they ruined their past, and Cal knows he can’t withstand the heartbreak a second time.

Continue reading

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