Posts Tagged With: tear jerker

Book Review: When the Planets Align by Kate McMurray

Reviewed by Heather C

WhenthePlanetsAlignLGTitle: When the Planets Align
Author: Kate McMurray
Heroes: Michael Reeves/Simon Newell
Genre: MM Contemporary Romance
Length: 220 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 19, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Best friends Michael Reeves and Simon Newell always lived within ten minutes of each other, but somehow they’re never in the same place at the same time.

Brash, outgoing Michael’s unwavering confidence that he and Simon are meant to be carries him through some hard times. When Simon moves to New York, Michael dutifully follows. Quiet, practical Simon loves Michael as a dear friend, but he’s not ready for anything romantic.

Several years and several failed relationships later, Simon realizes he’s been in love with Michael all along. Only now Michael has moved on. Though Simon offers everything Michael’s ever dreamed of, the timing is all wrong. Confusion, betrayal, and secrets from the past threaten their friendship until it might be time for them to go their separate ways. Or maybe the planets will finally align, and Michael and Simon will find themselves in the right place at the right time to take the next step.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Summer Symphony by Brandon Shire

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Summer Symphony
Author: Brandon Shire
Heroes: Martin Zoric/Ren Wakahisa
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 164 Pages
Publisher: TPG Books
Release Date: October 1, 2014
Available at: TPG Books, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Martin Zoric had vivid dreams of fatherhood, of a small hand pressed to his, of pink dresses and girlish laughter. Then his wife had a stillbirth and his world fell apart.

He listened to the unwanted apologies, stood by his wife as was expected of him, and kept his façade strong and firm for the entire world to see.

But does he have the strength to let go and really grieve?

When Ren Wakahisa landed in Croatia he was hoping to escape the cultural pressures put on him to conform. His family wanted him to forsake love for duty. They viewed his happiness as secondary to familial prosperity.

Does he have the courage to be who he wants to be? Or, will he yield to their wishes?

Summer Symphony is the story of how two men find their answers and what they learn about strength, and grace, and the endurance of love
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Love Comes Around by Andrew Grey

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Love Comes Around
Author: Andrew Grey
Series: Senses #4
Heroes: Dan/Connor
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 200 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: September 19, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Dan was a throwaway child and learned to take care of himself in foster care. As an adult, he devotes his life to the business he started and his heart to raising children no one else wants. Dan has already adopted six-year-old Lila, who walks on crutches, and then decides to adopt eight-year-old Jerry, who suffers from MD and is confined to a wheelchair.

Also abandoned as a child, Connor ended up on his own and retreated into himself. He works as a carpenter and woodcarver and is the perfect man to ensure Dan’s home becomes wheelchair accessible.

When Dan hires Connor, neither of the men are ready to open their hearts to the possibility of love. As they learn how much they have in common, both of them must weigh the possibility of family and a future against the risks of getting hurt again.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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.

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

S.A. Meade Week Review: Mourning Jack

Reviewed by Susan65

1Title: Mourning Jack
Author: S.A. Meade
Heroes: Ade and Cal Eric
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 160 Pages
Publisher: Total E-Bound
Release Date: May 14, 2012
Available at: Total E-Bound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When Ade loses his best friend he soon learns that mourning Jack brings not only sorrow but happiness too. Restaurant chef Ade is a man of his word. When his best friend is killed while serving in Afghanistan, he honours a promise to look after Jack s lover, Cal. Ever the white knight, Ade does his best to console Cal in spite of losing his job and nearly losing his life. Ever the fool, Ade falls in love and learns the hard way that loving someone who can t love him isn t enough. With a new job in a new place comes the possibility of a new love, but Eric has baggage of his own. Can Ade and Eric leave their old heartaches behind and find new happiness with each other?”
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Author Week, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2012, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Breaking Down Our Walls by Gwynn Marssen

Reviewed by Nikyta

1Title: Breaking Down Our Walls
Author: Gwynn Marssen
Series: 2014 Daily Dose – Mended
Heroes: Dylan/Owen
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 67 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: June 1, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon & All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: After a difficult year, Dylan Atwood decides to chase his dream and create an epic fantasy novel, and he leaves Phoenix to move into an isolated house in the Prescott National Forest. The solitude of the mountains is the perfect environment for him to write–and the perfect excuse to hide away from everything and everyone is a bonus.

But when Dylan’s brother needs a favor, he can’t say no, even if it means sharing his precious solitude. He accepts Owen Moore, a man with an abusive past who is even more leery of human interaction than Dylan, into his home. As Dylan helps Owen heal, both physically and emotionally, his attraction to Owen increases, and his own scars become more visible. Both men must face their fears, without walls, if they want a life together.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kim Fielding Week Review: The Tin Box

Reviewed by Susan65

18377353Title: The Tin Box
Author: Kim Fielding
Heroes: William Lyon/Colby Anderson
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 210 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: September 20, 2013
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance Ebooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: William Lyon’s past forced him to become someone he isn’t. Conflicted and unable to maintain the charade, he separates from his wife and takes a job as caretaker at a former mental hospital. Jelley’s Valley State Insane Asylum was the largest mental hospital in California for well over a century, but it now stands empty. William thinks the decrepit institution is the perfect place to finish his dissertation and wait for his divorce to become final. In town, William meets Colby Anderson, who minds the local store and post office. Unlike William, Colby is cute, upbeat, and flamboyantly out. Although initially put off by Colby’s mannerisms, William comes to value their new friendship, and even accepts Colby’s offer to ease him into the world of gay sex.

William’s self-image begins to change when he discovers a tin box, hidden in an asylum wall since the 1940s. It contains letters secretly written by Bill, a patient who was sent to the asylum for being homosexual. The letters hit close to home, and William comes to care about Bill and his fate. With Colby’s help, he hopes the words written seventy years ago will give him courage to be his true self.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Author Week, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2013, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Early Review: Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh

Reviewed by Nikyta

Shield of Winter (Psy-Changeling, #13)Title: Shield of Winter
Author: Nalini Singh
Series: Psy-Changeling #13
Hero/Heroine: Vasic & Ivy
Genre: M/F Urban Fantasy
Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: June 3, 2014
Available at: Penguin & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Assassin. Soldier. Arrow. That is who Vasic is, who he will always be. His soul drenched in blood, his conscience heavy with the weight of all he’s done, he exists in the shadows, far from the hope his people can almost touch—if only they do not first drown in the murderous insanity of a lethal contagion. To stop the wave of death, Vasic must complete the simplest and most difficult mission of his life.

For if the Psy race is to survive, the empaths must wake…

Having rebuilt her life after medical “treatment” that violated her mind and sought to suffocate her abilities, Ivy should have run from the black-clad Arrow with eyes of winter frost. But Ivy Jane has never done what she should. Now, she’ll fight for her people, and for this Arrow who stands as her living shield, yet believes he is beyond redemption. But as the world turns to screaming crimson, even Ivy’s fierce will may not be enough to save Vasic from the cold darkness…
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Early Review: Starting Point by N.R. Walker

Reviewed by Susan65

Starting PointTitle: Starting Point
Author: N.R. Walker
Series: Turning Point #3
Heroes: Kira Franco and Matt Elliott
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 234 Pages
Publisher: Totally Bound
Release Date: May 23, 2014
Available at: Totally Bound
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: After going past the point of no return and finally reaching breaking point, the only thing Matthew Elliott can do now is start over.

Matthew Elliott is a recovering man. As an ex-cop and ex-fighter, his new job teaching kids at the local community gym about drug awareness and self-defence, is a little bit of both. His new focus on helping street kids is helping him heal, and with Kira by his side, he’s making strides.

Brother and sister, Rueben and Claudia, are homeless kids and they’re very much alone. As they strike a chord with Matt, he does everything in his power to help them.

But when Ruby and Claude need more help than he bargained for, it stops being about work, and starts being about home.

The day he met Kira, Matt’s life changed direction, and it’s only now he realises that everything he’s been through was a lead up to this. It was never about endings. His life, his purpose, was just beginning.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Challenge Week Review: Downtime by Tamara Allen

Reviewed by Nikyta

DowntimeTitle: Downtime
Author: Tamara Allen
Heroes: Morgan Nash & Ezra Glacenbie
Genre: M/M Historical (Time Travel)
Length: 144,000 words
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: April 1, 2012  (3rd Edition)
Available at: Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: FBI Agent Morgan Nash is on assignment in London when his case goes awry and he finds himself moments away from a bullet through the heart. But fate has other plans: Morgan is knocked out pursuing a suspect… and wakes up in 1888.

While cataloging ancient manuscripts at the British Museum, Ezra Glacenbie accidentally pulls Morgan out of the twenty-first century–an impromptu vacation that may become permanent for Morgan if they can’t locate the spellbook Ezra used. Further hampering Morgan’s quest to get home is the irresistible temptation to investigate history’s most notorious serial killer. But in repressive Victorian London, the unexpected romance blossoming between Morgan and Ezra becomes the most dangerous complication of all. Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Challenge Book Week, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2012 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments