Posts Tagged With: trust issues

Book Review: Rented Heart by Garrett Leigh

Reviewed by JustJen

29553199Title: Rented Heart
Author: Garrett Leigh
Heroes: Liam Mallaney/Zac Payne
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 228 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: September 10, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Ex-surfer-turned-businessman Liam Mallaney moved back to Holkham, Norfolk, to mourn the loss of his husband. Grief and loneliness keep him a solitary figure, and he likes it that way. There’s no room in his broken heart for anything else.

Rentboy Zac Payne left London and most of his demons behind, but he still only knows one way to make a living. When he spots Liam in a club one night, it seems he’s found his mark. But Liam proves nicer—and their connection far deeper—than he’d bargained for.

Their arrangement quickly becomes too complicated for Zac, who has other things on his mind: namely his BFF and wayward flatmate, Jamie. Zac owes Jamie the world, and even as Jamie’s drug addiction destroys all they have, Zac won’t leave him behind.

Besides, Liam knows nothing of Zac’s home life, too caught up in his own head to think much beyond the crazy heat he and Zac share. But when trouble comes to Zac’s door, putting his life in danger, Liam must set his grief and anger aside to pick up the pieces of Zac’s shattered heart and his own.
Continue reading

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

Book Review: The Art of Living by Cassidy Ryan

Reviewed by Susan65

31226261Title: The Art of Living
Author: Cassidy Ryan
Series: Arts & Hearts #2
Heroes: Gus/Brodie
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 69 Pages
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Release Date: September 6, 2016
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: It’s time to stop running and start living again.

Gus had been living life under the radar, hiding from ex-turned-stalker Michael. He’d been running for a long time, and had had to cut ties with everything and everyone he knew—including his family.

It was a lonely, frightening existence, until he met the guys at the studios. With his dog, Zephyr, and his new, makeshift family, he has found some kind of peace. Though his new life is far from perfect, he is content.

Then he meets Brodie, and soon Gus wants to shake things up and take back his life.

But Michael isn’t ready to give up on Gus yet, and he isn’t going to let anybody stand in his way.
Continue reading

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

Audio Review: Misfits by Garrett Leigh

Reviewed by Morgan

31676216Title: Misfits
Author: Garrett Leigh
Narrator: Craig Beck
Heroes: Tom Fearnes/Jake Tompson/Cass Pearson
Genre: MMM Contemporary
Length: 6 Hours, 43 Minutes
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: August 18, 2016
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Restaurant owner Tom Fearnes has loved his partner Cass for as long as he can remember, but their work often keeps them apart. When he meets a striking young man named Jake on the vibrant streets of Camden Town, their heady first encounter takes an unexpected turn.

Jake Thompson can hardly believe his luck when he wakes up in Tom’s bed. Tom is gorgeous, kind, and . . . taken. Tom’s explanation of his open relationship leaves Jake cold, but Tom is too tempting, and when hard times force Jake to accept Tom’s helping hand, he finds himself between two men who’ve lost their way.

Cass Pearson is a troubled soul. He loves Tom with all he has, but some days it feels like he hasn’t much to give. Jake seems like the perfect solution. Cass risks everything to push Jake and Tom together, but Jake resists, wary, until the darkness of Cass’s past comes to call. Then Jake finds himself the last man standing, and it’s time to dig deep and shine a light for the men he’s grown to love.
Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Morgan's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: The Burnt Toast B&B by Heidi Belleau and Rachel Haimowitz

Reviewed by Morgan

31331561Title:  The Burnt Toast B&B
Authors:  Heidi Belleau and Rachel Haimowitz
Narrators:  Dorian Bane and Tobias Silversmith
Series:  Bluewater Bay #6
Heroes: Ginsberg Sloan/Derrick Richards
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 6 Hours, 22 Minutes
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: August 2, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: After breaking his arm on set, Wolf’s Landing stuntman Ginsberg Sloan finds himself temporarily out of work. Luckily, Bluewater Bay’s worst B&B has cheap long-term rates, and Ginsberg’s not too proud to take advantage of them.

Derrick Richards, a grizzled laid-off logger, inherited the B&B after his parents’ untimely deaths. Making beds and cooking sunny-side-up eggs is hardly Derrick’s idea of a man’s way to make a living, but just as he’s decided to shut the place down, Ginsberg shows up on his doorstep, pitiful and soaking wet, and Derrick can hardly send him packing.

Not outright, at least.

The plan? Carry on the B&B’s tradition of terrible customer service and even worse food until the pampered city-boy leaves voluntarily. What Derrick doesn’t count on, though, is that the lousier he gets at hosting, the more he convinces bored, busybody Ginsberg to try to get the B&B back on track. And he definitely doesn’t count on the growing attraction between them, or how much more he learns from Ginsberg than just how to put out kitchen fires.
Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Morgan's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Gays of Our Lives by Kris Ripper

Reviewed by JustJen

29862883Title: Gays of Our Lives
Author: Kris Ripper
Series: Queers of La Vista #1
Heroes: Emerson/Obie
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 226 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: July 11, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Emerson Robinette only leaves his apartment to get laid and go to work. Having MS—and trying to pretend he doesn’t—makes everything more complicated, especially his fantasies of coming on strong and holding a guy down. Finding a partner who’ll explore that with him isn’t Emerson’s idea of a realistic goal.

Until a chance meeting with a hipster on a bus makes him reconsider. Obie is happy, open-hearted, and warm; what’s more, he gets his kicks being physically dominated, spanked, and teased until he’s begging. It would be perfect, except for one thing: Emerson isn’t made for happiness, and he doesn’t see how a guy like Obie would settle for a cynic like him.

But as far as Obie’s concerned, the only thing keeping them apart is Emerson. Can Emerson handle a boyfriend who’s more invested in his future than he is? Emerson’s barely convinced he has a future. But when Obie’s smiling at him, anything seems possible.
Continue reading

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

Book Review: The Last Enemy by Christian Beck

Reviewed by Susan65

29974937Title: The Last Enemy
Author: Christian Beck
Series: Agents of Influence #1
Heroes: Simon/Ben
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 200 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: July 5, 2016
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Highly decorated Delta Force operator and Iraq war hero Simon Monk loses everything when his romantic partner defects to Beijing after being caught selling US secrets to Chinese Intelligence. Monk is drummed out of the Army from the blowback but gets a second chance at a career when he is recruited into a covert group within the CIA.

Years later Monk’s latest assignment sends him to Cairo, where the head of station has disappeared amid a highly publicized sex scandal. But things are not what they seem. When the base chief turns up dead and the Egyptian government looks the other way, Monk and his team hunt down the assassin.

All roads lead to a ruthless and lethal cult from Egypt’s ancient past who discard every unwritten rule of espionage to win. Monk is forced to take to the shadows to find and destroy his most dangerous adversaries yet, as a chain of events threatens to ignite war in the Middle East.
Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Audio Review: Love, Hypothetically by Anne Tenino

Reviewed by Morgan

30621804Title: Love, Hypothetically
Author: Anne Tenino
Narrator: Nick J. Russo
Series: Theta Alpha Gamma #2
Heroes: Paul/Trevor
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 3 Hours, 2 Minutes
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: June 13, 2016
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Paul’s been called many things—graduate student, humanities tutor, jock-hater, even broke—but “forgiving” isn’t one of them. When the new women’s softball coach at Calapooya college specifically requests Paul to tutor his athletes, Paul’s forced to put aside his strict “no athletes” policy for the sake of his paycheck.

Enter Trevor Gardiner, former Major League Baseball player and Paul’s high school boyfriend. Yeah, that one—the guy who sacrificed Paul for the safety of his closet and his future career. But Trevor’s come out and retired from baseball, and now he’s looking for forgiveness and a second chance.

There’s no earthly reason Paul should give him one, but he keeps letting the man state his case. And touch him. And take him sailing. The waters are far from smooth, though, and Paul says awful things to Trevor he isn’t sure he means. Now Paul has to decide: apologize and forgive Trevor for everything, or chalk it up as revenge and move on.
Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Morgan's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: 24/7 by J.A. Rock

Reviewed by JustJen

26174748Title: 24/7
Author: J.A. Rock
Series: The Subs Club #4
Heroes: Gould/Kel/GK
Genre: MFM BDSM
Length: 283 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: June 4, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  We started the Subs Club to make the kink community safer for subs. Except now the others are so busy chasing their happy endings, it’s like they’ve forgotten what Bill did to Hal and the fact that he got away with it. They used to think I was betraying Hal’s memory by hooking up with the owners of the club where he died. Now they don’t seem to care about any of it anymore.

Maybe I am sometimes angry with GK and Kel for giving Bill a second chance, but they’ve been mentoring me for a year now, and whatever else they’ve done, they make me feel incredibly safe. So I want to try something: I want to offer them my complete submission, 24/7. To serve the people who forgave Bill. That’s the way I want to hurt.

Except I’m starting to care about them in a way I never meant to—and I think they feel the same way. But after Hal, I don’t know if I want to be in love again. Because what I really need, more than anything, is to see Bill brought to justice. Even if I have to do it myself. Even if it means losing GK and Kel.
Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, M/F, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: There’s Something About Ari

Reviewed by Morgan 

30165084Title: There’s Something About Ari
Author: L.B. Gregg
Narrator: Nick J. Russo
Series: Bluewater Bay #2
Heroes: Buck Ellis/Ari Valentine
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 2 Hours, 41 Minutes
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: May 9, 2016
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Buck Ellis’s future seems pretty damn bright. With a full college scholarship in hand, he’s going to ditch Bluewater Bay and pave the way for his kid brother Charlie to do the same. The only fly in Buck’s ointment is his ten-year addiction to his best friend since second grade, his true love, and his Achilles heel: Ari Valentine, Mr. Least Likely to Succeed.

But then Buck’s mother dies, changing everything, and five years later, his future is still on hold. It’s a struggle to keep food on the table, a roof over their heads, and Charlie on the straight and narrow. Buck can’t afford any temptation, especially in the form of the newly returned, super hot, super confident, super successful television star Ari Valentine.

ADHD poster-child Ari Valentine left for Hollywood and lost everything, including his bad reputation. Then the breakthrough role of his skyrocketing career lands him back in Bluewater Bay, to the stunned disbelief of, well, everyone. But there’s only one person Ari longs to impress—the only person who ever really mattered to him, the person he left behind: Buck Ellis.
Continue reading

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

Audio Review: Never a Hero by Marie Sexton

Reviewed by Morgan 

30077553Title: Never a Hero
Author: Marie Sexton
Narrator: Iggy Toma
Series: Tucker Springs #5
Heroes: Owen Meade/Nick Reynolds
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 4 Hours, 54 Minutes
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: April 29, 2016
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Everyone deserves a hero.

Owen Meade is desperately in need of a hero. Raised by a mother who made him ashamed of his stutter, his sexual orientation, and his congenitally amputated arm, Owen lives like a hermit in his Tucker Springs apartment. But then hunky veterinarian Nick Reynolds moves in downstairs.

Nick is sexy and confident, and makes Owen comfortable with himself in a way nobody ever has. He also introduces Owen to his firecracker of a little sister, who was born with a similar congenital amputation but never let it stand in her way. When she signs the two of them up for piano lessons—and insists that they play together in a recital—Owen can’t find a way to say no. Especially since it gives him a good excuse to spend more time with Nick.

Owen knows he’s falling hard for his neighbor, but every time he gets close, Nick inexplicably pulls away. Battling his mother’s scorn and Nick’s secrets, Owen soon realizes that instead of waiting for a hero, it’s time to be one—for himself and for Nick.
Continue reading

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