Month: July 2016

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Becoming Rory (College Rose Romance) by Ashavan Doyon

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Becoming RoryRory Graeble is a returning college sophomore and a new man. Or at least he’s trying to be a new man. Outed last year when a gay bashing turned the campus upside down, the former “Lawrence” Graeble, a geeky introverted guy who sucked men off in the steam tunnels off-campus, is now out-and-proud Rory, the sole leader of the Queer Alliance. Showing up early for orientation with other student leaders, Rory meets Danny Smits at a party, and the two literally make sparks fly together.

Contrary to his past introverted behavior, Rory decides to pursue Danny, who is the leader of the Young Entrepreneurs on campus. A skater, Danny and his group have designed a new board and are trying to find funding to move their ideas into reality. In the meantime, Rory’s RA, Barry, is becoming a close friend and is pursuing a relationship with Rory’s BFF, Stacie. Getting the support of his friends while he pursues Danny, who is sometimes like quicksilver, is important to Rory. But catching Danny, and defining their relationship is very difficult, and when he finds out why, Rory allows self-doubt to cloud the picture.

Danny suffers from a <spoiler> that has led to some very destructive behaviors in the past, including drug addiction and a criminal record. When the bank turns down the loan application to get the skateboard business up and running, he nosedives into a deep depression, knowing the cause is his criminal record. Rory has seen this disorder up close in a family member in the past, so he decides to find out more about it before he makes any commitment to his volatile lover. Will he go or stay? Will Danny’s moods even allow him to recognize his own feelings toward Rory? And what about Danny’s friends, his crew as he calls them; will they allow him enough slack to decide for himself about Rory? After all, they’ve been his rock and been his only stabilizing influence in the past. Will they now allow that role to be held by Rory?

There’s so much to this story that it’s difficult to sift through all the facts, emotions, and drama. There’s also a subplot surrounding Barry and Stacie, and there are references to the past gay bashing on campus and to the characters involved. I suspect these were featured in previous stories by this author and it was difficult to get them all straight, so this story should be labeled as part of a series. It can still be read as a standalone, but readers like me may be confused and long to have that backstory filled. I liked the basic premise of this story, however it felt too long. And there was a lot of sex, very rough sex, bordering on abusive sex. By the latter part of the book, I glossed over the sex scenes to get back to the rest of the action.

The disorder wasn’t revealed until later in the book, and it was treated with so much gravity that if I happened to suffer from it, I would have definitely tipped into depression. I don’t mean to make light of it, not at all. It’s just that it was treated like something insurmountable and fatal, and yet I’ve known many people with the disorder who have stabilized with treatment. But in this book it felt quite hopeless.

One other thing, perhaps minor, perhaps not—there was a concurrent romance between Barry and Stacie that I felt that would have been okay as a quick mention, but quite a bit of time was spent on it and I didn’t particularly care for what happened or the time spent on them in the story.

Overall, the storyline felt very dark and depressing. I honestly don’t recommend it if you are looking for a sweet young adult romance, but if you like hurt-comfort stories and don’t mind some dark angst mixed in, you might want to consider this one.

~~~~~

Cover Art by Kris Norris fits the story quite well as it features a headshot of a young man with a skateboarder jumping in the background.

Sales Links:  Torquere Press | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 240 pages
Published June 8th 2016 by Torquere Press LLC
ASINB01GLQA3KS
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesCollege Rose Romance

A Lila Review: Loving Djinni by Beryll & Osiris Brackhaus

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Loving DjinniLeft to die in a sealed tomb, David, an educated and good-natured New York arts dealer and part-time forger, stumbles over an old oil lamp. But instead of producing a little light for David’s last hours, it conjures forth a veritable djinni.
An ancient, tempting, puckish djinni, who in David’s company prefers to show himself as an irresistibly handsome, fit and barely legal teenager. Quite literally an incarnation of trouble waiting to happen.
So what’s a modern man to do with his three wishes, when he can literally wish for anything except the one thing the truly desires – to mend his broken heart?

 

Loving Djinni brings a refreshing breath of air to the traditional MM fantasy genre. It starts as a mix between Indiana Jones and Lara Croft but rapidly finds its own place. I think (please don’t quote me) that this is my first MM djinni story. It was a pleasant surprise, to say the least, and I really enjoyed this authors’ style.

 

David seems a little distant and overdramatic at the beginning of the story, but the reader warms up to him as soon as they learned more about his story. The more time he spent with Sharu, the more we wanted for them to get their HEA. David is the traditional boy next door in everything but his job as a questionable art dealer. That hint of spice he has in him comes through the story creating an interesting character.

 

I have to say that Sharu was my favorite of the two main characters. I like the idea of having the djinni learning about the new world after his long confinement on his own and with minimal help from David. How many times he had been hurt by his masters has obviously shaped the person he’s now. David was the right master for him, caring, loving, but at the same time, intelligent and somehow outgoing.

 

This story has a great amount of sarcasm and humor. Their banter is fun and develops as they get to know each other better. Their daily lives give us an inside of what they both wanted, and there was a nice compromise during their relationship. They worked great as a team and as a couple. Their chemistry is sizzling, and the UST only enhanced it.

 

There aren’t many secondary characters, but Stanley and Mrs. Weintraub worked well, bringing trouble and comedic relief into the story. Yes, Stanley was perhaps too much of a stereotypical antagonist, but it felt real in this fantasy world. My less favorite parts were their history and art related conversations. For some reason, they didn’t read as smooth as the rest of the story.

 

I’m really impressed by this, new to me authors, and I’m definitely looking forward to more books from them.

 

The cover by Natalya Nesterona is perfect for this story. It shows both characters, the lamp, and David’s apartment. A great combination of style and fantasy.

 

Sale Links: Smashwords | Amazon | ARe

Book Details:

 

ebook, 190 pages
Published: April 14, 2016, Self-Published
ISBN: 9781310559877
Edition Language: English

 

A BJ Review: Just a Bit Ruthless (Straight Boys #6) by Alessandra Hazard

 

Rating:  3.5 stars out of 5

Just A Bit RuthlessStockholm syndrome or Love?

When you want someone completely wrong for you…

Luke Whitford has always dreamed of meeting Mr. Right. A hopeless romantic at heart, he dreams of falling in love with a nice man, getting married, and having a bunch of adorable babies. The problem is, Luke has the propensity for being attracted to men who are anything but nice.

Roman Demidov, a homophobic, cynical billionaire who has a grudge against Luke’s father, is certainly not Mr. Right. Cold, manipulative, and ruthless, he’s not a nice man and he doesn’t pretend to be.

Luke is fully aware that Roman is all wrong for him. His attraction to the guy is just some sort of Stockholm syndrome; it must be. If life were a fairy tale, Roman would be the main villain, not the hero. But even villains can fall in love. Or can they?

The story of a boy who dreamed of Prince Charming and ended up falling for the Beast.

Can I start by saying up front that I absolutely love this series. It’s one of the few that when a new book comes out, I absolutely must read it right away. Like the first day if possible. I was especially looking forward to this book after the teaser leading into it at the end of book five. And enjoyed this story. I really did. But I was also disappointed for several reasons.

The set up for from the last book had seemed to promise something dark, and as I began to read I could see so much potential here to be that dark and angsty read I’d been hoping for–but it really didn’t go that way. In fact, it was rather fluffy and sweet. That disappointed me–I’d been looking forward to going a bit dark. Also disappointing was that it seemed to lack that raw, hot sexual tension that the series usually delivers for me.

I believe both are related to the way some key elements are glossed over and just “told” rather than actually being seen on page. For example, when Luke is first kidnapped, he is beaten and mistreated by Roman’s people… but we don’t get to see that. He simply tells us after. Why!? Living through that with him could have made the story so much more raw, visceral, and lent that hint of darkness that I’d been expecting, and thus longed for!

As for the characters, I liked Luke from the other stories, and enjoyed how he finally discovered who he was and became the person he’d suppressed. Roman was interesting and a good match to him. However, I felt like there could have been more development. For instance, Luke tells us he acts very submissive in order to pull Roman from dark moods, but I wanted to see that rather than have him tell me. And we are told repeatedly that Roman is a bad guy, but yet we are never really shown that by his actions (nor is it really explained in a concrete manner).

There are many sections in this story where I felt like I should have felt angst from the guys, but just didn’t.

Roman’s past hurt, the death of someone close to him at the hands of Luke’s father, is a driving force behind the plot since it’s the reason that he kidnapped Luke in the first place. Yet Roman’s angst over the event didn’t come through for me. And the revenge aspect itself is played down, which confused me being it was one of the MC’s motivating force.

Luke’s had suspected his Dad wasn’t all above board, but when he discovers some truths about what his father actually did, it just doesn’t seem to affect him much. That should be a bit of an angsty thing, right? To find out that your father has done some truly awful things? But that felt glossed over as well.

Even regarding the relationship, Roman had very little angst over his attraction to a guy even though it’s said that is not something he’d ever done or felt before and that in his country it is not very accepted.

We are given just a tiny taste of daddy kink from Luke, but it’s not developed beyond that one bite! Considering that Luke said he didn’t love his own father, I’d really liked to have explored that some.

So this story had the potential to be awesome. But I felt like all the stuff that was told but not fleshed out resulted in the relationship lacking the vital intensity of the others of the series.

I wanted more detail, more dark, more angst, more development of plot and character. Just overall more of every thing… except one. I could have done with less POVs. There are five (the two MC, plus three other brief step-ons). Each of these rather threw me, and I actually didn’t feel like they were necessary for the story.

Okay, so all that might make it sound like I didn’t enjoy the story, but as I said at the beginning of the review, I did really. It just had so much potential and I wanted MORE of so many things that it left me disappointed in the end.

There is another interesting set up for the next story, Dominick and his rescued homeless boy Sammy, which as usual I will be snapping up as soon as it comes out.

The cover is sexy as hell. Two thumbs up.

Sales Links:  Amazon


Book Details: 208 pages

Published June 1, 2016 by Alessandra Hazard

A Jeri Review: Wolf, en Garde (Wolf #2) by A.F. Henley

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

Wolf en Garde Front CoverThree years ago Lyle made a mistake that cost him his freedom, and almost his life. Now, sick to death of watching his father love the man that Lyle wanted, Lyle accepts an offer to leave Wolf, WY behind and see what life in Washington, D.C. can do for him instead.

When Lyle comes across a seductive, attractive stranger with a fascinating yet terrifying view of humanity, he’s more than intrigued. It doesn’t take Lyle long to realize that Arius isn’t just playing games, though, and when Lyle runs across a secret in Arius’ lair he has no choice but to flee, even knowing his actions will enrage Arius.

On the run, with only a psychic’s second sight and his own instinct to help him, Lyle has nowhere to go but home. The only question is, will they have him when he shows up.This book is a follow up to Wolf, WY. In that book father and son shifters were vying for the same man- although that man was only interested in one of them. Fast forward a bit to this book.

Lyle and family head to Washington, DC to visit his dad’s boyfriend’s family. Lyle has never been out of Wyoming and although he is completely uninterested in the “family” part of the family trip- he is beyond excited to see a new place. Even though his father forbade him from shifting while there. But Lyle was never really one to listen. After shifting and sneaking out his first night, Lyle comes across an old vampire who is determined to woo him. Young, impressionable, never out of WY Lyle falls right into his spell. But the vampire has some dark secrets.

So when I started reading the story I assumed that Lyle and the vampire, Arius, were the couple to fall in love against all odds, yada yada. I was wrong. In fact, we don’t meet the man Lyle is going to fall for until about two thirds into the book.

Honestly, this book kind of felt like a super fleshed out outline that was basically just setting us up for book three. Tons of things were left up in the air, too many questions left unanswered. And the instalove between Lyle and BOTH guys (ok, instalust?) was just a bit much.

Why did Arius taunt Lyle about Randy? How was Randy’s dad so clueless about Randy’s mom? Why was Randy’s mom so incredibly cold toward her son?

Too many questions which beg for a book three, but I really don’t know if I will invest my time in book three.

The dark cover with only bright green eyes and a full moon visible is catching, yet not unique for a wolf shifter book.

Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press |  ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 254 pages
Published May 18th 2016 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN 1620047748 (ISBN13: 9781620047743)
Edition LanguageEnglish

SeriesWolf #2 settingWashington, D.C. (United States)

A Stella Review: Succumbing to His Fear by River Mitchell

RATING  4 out of 5 stars

Succumbing To His FearAfter a life changing event makes Alfie the legal guardian of his estranged step-siblings, as well as a chance meeting one drunken night, he finds his world turned upside down when he discovers that everything he thought he knew about himself was catastrophically wrong.

Before meeting Alfie and his family, Fear was content with his casual hookups and one-night stands, purposefully keeping everyone at an arm’s length. As Alfie comes into his burgeoning feelings, a curveball shakes the two men, threatening to destroy Fear and his new found chance at happiness with Alfie.

With everything thrown into turmoil, Fear decides to fight for those he loves, Alfie and his family included. Will they be able to survive the collateral damage around them, or will they lose everything?

Alfie is 24 years old when he gets the news his father, unseen for about two decades, is killed in a car accident. The same dad who built a whole new family which Alfie knew nothing about. His two siblings are now waiting for him to take care of them. Moreover they are in the States, not in London where Alfie lives and to look after them, he needs to move to Pennsylvania. Of course he can’t abandon them and there  will begin a new life to Alfie and his new big family.

I admit I’m a sucker for those kind of stories, I adore reading about children and the first meeting with Griffin and Lily left me with puffy eyes.  I loved the nuggets.The book caught my attention from the start. It was hard to put my kindle down and deal with my RL. I liked the characters, all of them, especially cause I usually enjoy a large support cast and here we had so many great second characters I’d love to read more of. One more thing I loved was how easily Alfie accepted his desire for Fear, no second thoughts, no issues to solve, he just followed his heart and body.

The only reason why I’m giving Succumbing To His Fear “only” 4 stars is due to the mystery part, so unreal, it simply didn’t convince me. But if you can overcome the trite ending, you will find the novel by River Mitchell a pleasure to read. I surely will read the next book in the series about Tate and Talon. Can’t wait!

The beautiful cover by Jay Aheer is a winner to me.

Sale link:  Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 185 pages

Published February 26th 2016 by Via Star Wings Books

ASIN B01AVVS3JM

Edition Language English

  

A Lila Review: The Pirate of Fathom’s Deep by Megan Derr

Rating: 5+ stars out of 5

The Pirates of Fathoms DeepHigh Commander Lesto Arseni is the most feared man in the Harken Empire. None but the High King dares risk his wrath—and a pirate who once punched him in the middle of the imperial pavilion. A pirate who later snuck away with Lesto to an empty room, touched him in ways far more memorable. And then immediately bolted like a man who’d gotten what he wanted.

Shemal just wants to live a normal life, leave his pirating days behind him and prove that he’s respectable now. The last thing he needs is the two idiots who show up wanting his help with the noble they’ve kidnapped—the very man Shemal had been hoping to prove himself to, the man he hasn’t forgotten since Shemal punched him a year and a half ago.

The Pirate of Fathoms Deep is a marvelous tale of friendship and love between two strong men. There’s a small mention of the incident that brought Lesto and Shemal together in the first book in the series, but not enough to realized more had happened or would happen between the two of them.

Lesto is Harken’s High Commander, but more importantly, he’s High King Sarrica’s right hand and best friend. Their friendship kept them alive in the battlefield and now, helped them run the Empire. Their bromance stays strong in this book and extends to Allen and Shemal, too. Lesto is also the Duke of Fathoms Deep and Nyle’s and Rene’s older brother. He runs his troops and his family/friends like a well-oiled machine.

Shemal is trying to put his pirate ways behind him, but trouble met him at his door. The last thing he expected in his remote parcel were two of his mates bringing him, without warning, the very man he had wanted for the last eighteen months. The man he was trying to be better for. But after all, a pirate can’t resist a treasure.

Since that first encounter, they have been jonesing for the other without a way to get in contact. They both wanted normal lives with a family and a partner. They keep a strong veneer for everyone else, but when together, they were able to relax and be vulnerable. The way the first met, didn’t allow the other to share their wants, but in the end, destiny brought them together. The chain of events they were involved in helped to bring them closer and closer until they surrendered to each other.

In comparison to The King’s Golden Tongue, this second book in the series is more up to point. The reader is familiar with the Harken Empire and has a better understanding of all the little details that make this world work. All the characters we loved are back, and we get to know more about Sarrica & Allen and Rene & Lord Tara.

Even with only 54K words, this story has enough twists and turns to keep us reading the next page, and the next page, and… The author did an outstanding job keeping this story simple and not allowing the kingdom troubles to interfere with the romance. The main plot is Lesto’s and Shemal’s relationship; everything else is well-written but secondary. We get enough information to follow what’s happening with the Empire and to set the next book in the series without losing perspective.

Another great cover by John Coulthart. The colors of the duchy make it appealing, and the images from the settings are beautiful. Plus, it matches the cover of the first installment.

Sale Links: LT3 | Amazon | ARe

Book Details:

ebook, 216 pages
Published: July 13, 2015, by Less Than Three Press
ISBN: 9781620047934
Edition Language: English

Series: Tales of the High Court
Book #1: The High King’s Golden Tongue
Book #2: The Pirate of Fathoms Deep
Book #3: The Heart of the Lost Star (2017)