Category: 5 star Rating

An Alisa Review: Amen To Love by Carolina Valdez

Rating:  5 stars out of 5

 

amen-to-love-by-carolina-valdezDr. Bond Bergstrom fights to save the life of a man shot near the lakeside path where he jogs. Later, when the hospital where Bond works as chief of surgery learns the shooter attempted to kill him also, the board insists on assigning security protection to him 24/7 until the killer is caught.

Bond is furious with the decision. Former Navy SEALs, he argues, can protect themselves better than anyone in the world. Not so, counters former Delta Force operative Rory O’Shea. He’s the hot, sexy Irish-American who owns the agency providing the hospital’s routine security.

Bond grudgingly gives in, unaware that O’Shea has an ulterior motive in assigning himself to spend nights with the doctor as his personal bodyguard. Will O’Shea prove he has what it takes to satisfy Bond — both in and out of the bedroom?

 

This was a wonderful story.  Bond tries to save a man shot near his jogging path and ends up putting himself in danger in the process.  When Rory is forced upon him for protection it takes a bit of compromising for him to accept it is the best solution overall.

 

This story is told from both character’s points of view, so we are able to see the struggles they both go through.  Bond wants to be a great surgeon and just help people anyway he can.  Rory loves his security business, but has been following Bond from the sidelines for years and will not waste this new opportunity to get to know Bond and see if they can build a future.  I felt so connected with both of these characters and was rooting for them the whole time.

 

The cover art is nice and catches your eye.

 

Sales Links

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Book Details:

ebook, 123 pages

Published: 2nd Edition, September 17, 2016 by JMS Books

ISBN: 9781634862196

Edition Language: English

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Enjoy the Dance (Dancing #2) by Heidi Cullinan

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

enjoy-the-dance-by-heidi-cullinanWhen Spenser Harris spots a young man with a black trash bag hovering outside his apartment door, his first thought is panic, the second is that the boy must belong to the Spanish-speaking family across the hall.  But then he learns the true story, and all the compassion of this kind-hearted kindergarden teacher comes to the forefront as he opens his arms and his heart wide to take in the homeless teen. They have more in common than the teen, Duon, suspects. Spenser was once a child of the foster system and didn’t find family until he had aged out of the system when Avenues for Homeless Youth placed him with a lesbian couple through the GLBT Host Home Program.  Spenser is determined that Duon won’t have to go through what he did and immediately makes plans to become an eligible home. 

Speaking of the neighbors across the hall, Duon was indeed looking for them, more specifically for Tobias, the adult son of the household, a man who instructs dance at the studio where Duon takes lessons in exchange for work. The studio is owned by Ed and Laurie (Dance With Me) and is the best thing in Duon’s life to-date. Tobias also works as a barista at Starbucks and as a nursing home janitor and sometimes even squeezes in an extra job when it looks doable. He’s the sole support of his undocumented immigrant parents who, in turn, are the sole support of his sister’s three kids. His sister, an addict and all around ne’er-do-well is generally MIA, and between avoiding INS and needing someone to watch over the kids, his parents can’t work so earning money to support everyone falls to Tobias.

This story is the love story of Spenser and Tobias but the theme is family—family of the heart as well as family of origin—for better or for worse. And it’s about the love of one person for another, with or without a blood relationship. Spenser lost his sisters when they were taken into the foster care system after his mother was arrested when Spenser was a young child. His mother is out of jail now, and he’s seen her once, but his sisters are lost to him. His heart and psyche bear the scars of abandonment from that incident and from the loss of all his foster homes. It seemed to him at the time that no matter what he did, he was never good enough. Wheras Tobias has grown up in a loving family but in a world where every misspoken word could lead the INS to their door. And every wrong deed done by his sister could bring the focus of DHS children’s services to their door and therefore INS as well. Fear is a very real emotion for Tobias, every single day.

But Duon seems to bridge a gap for both men, and Spenser finds family where he least expected it, as he’s virtually adopted by Tobias’s parents, and Tobias finds not only his own family in Spenser and Duon, but help where he least expected it. Together, they forge a new future as Tobias, Duon, and Laurie teach Spenser how to overcome his fear of failure and enjoy the dance.

I hope it’s obvious by now that I totally enjoyed this story, and I highly recommend it. It’s one of those stories that gets better with each page turn. In fact, I have never highlighted so many passages, so many quotes, so many things I thought were memorable and worth saving—not just to write the review, but to use in my life choices. A simple example is: “All lives cast shadows. Pretending otherwise is how we end up accidentally living in darkness.”

And this next passage really sent an arrow to my heart as I am aging, hopefully gracefully, while attempting to maintain my integrity and dignity: “…one day, no matter what we do, there will be darkness and end. But the time between the spark and the curtain’s close is ours to shape.” I have no words that would truly do justice to how much I respect Heidi Cullinan. After reading this book, both my eyes and my heart have been opened to the plight of both undocumented immigrants and teens in foster care, particularly “queer teens.” Please don’t skip over the Author’s Note at the end of the story. I’m trying to force down the tears as I write this, knowing there are young gay, lesbian, or transgender youth out there who are suffering at this very moment. I wish I was in a situation to do more right now, but I can donate something, and I will. 

On a much lighter note, I really need to thank the author for introducing readers to the joys of using Tajin as a seasoning. It’s as good as, or maybe even better than, described in the story. It just goes to show, you never know what you will find when you open a book by Heidi Cullinan!

Cover Artist: Kanaxa is perfect for the story.

Sales Links

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Book Details:

ebook, 273 pages
Expected publication: October 11th 2016 by Heidi Cullinan
Original TitleEnjoy the Dance
ISBN139780996120364
Edition LanguageEnglish
URL http://www.heidicullinan.com

Series:Dancing – add to your Goodreads page below:

 

Avenues for Homeless Youth

A Stella Review: Defenseless by AJ Rose

RATING 5+ out of 5 stars

defenseless-by-aj-rose
Kyle Decker knew dating Jesse McGovern would change his life. Young and in love, and with the Supreme Court ruling in favor of marriage equality, the world is theirs to conquer.

But their victorious Pride celebration ends in a savage attack, brutally demonstrating they’re far from equal. Instead of wedding planning, Jesse and Kyle face an arduous recovery and a shattered sense of their place in the world, their once-promising future suddenly something to survive.

While Jesse struggles with a permanent injury and its emotional aftermath, Kyle’s single-minded focus on Jesse’s recovery is the only thing keeping his demons at bay…for now. What was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love is now full of lies and resentment.

With their dreams tattered and forever changed, trusting anyone—even each other—is daunting. So how can they have faith in twelve strangers on a jury? They’ve already learned the hard way it only takes a moment to become truly defenseless.

Surprisingly Defenseless was my first book by A.J. Rose, I own some books by this author but I was a little scared to try them (don’t ask me why). When I read the blurb of her new release, I was soon curious, I lately read a story who treated an abuse like the one Jesse and Kyle suffered and I was interested in seeing how a new to me author would deal with the same theme.

Although anything I will say in my review will do no justice to the awesomeness the story actually is, I’m going to try and put my thoughts into words.

Defenseless is a powerful book, very emotional and well written. It’s a little long to my liking with its over 400 pages but not once I was bored, even through the various scenes that took place in the law court, the author was great at keeping my attention and making me cringe for a second time when the MCs retold what happened. I replayed that night with them and it was painful as the first time. That  night that changed Jesse and Kyle lives forever, from that moment they needed to learn to be together again, to trust and help each other, but first of all they had to learn how to let their own minds recover from a horrible violence. Their journey is not an easy one, overcome fears and hidden rage while feeling defenseless, although a huge group of incredible people is around them, ready to shield and support them from the outer world.

IMO that special element that made the book great was how A.J. Rose was able to approach and show us the MCs difficult changes from every angle and from every emotion. She told us everything (every little detail of the assault) with a delicacy and a respect hard to find in other stories like this one. It surprised me so much I had to put her among my favorite authors.

Don’t think for a moment Defenseless is an oppressive and dark story, because it isn’t. There is so much pain of course, but the light  all the characters have inside themselves brightened my reading.

I feel to recommend Defenseless to everyone, it’s an amazing story, don’t miss the opportunity of meeting these guys.

I like the cover art by Elizabeth Mackey Graphic Design, it’s well done and fitting. Perfect for the story.

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BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, First Edition, 438 pages
Published September 13th 2016 by The Grim Writer Press
ASINB01LBLVTCO
Edition Language English

A MelanieM Review: Reading the Signs by Keira Andrews

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

reading-the-signs-by-keira-andrewsPitcher Nico Agresta is desperate to live up to his family’s baseball legacy. Since he was a teenager crushing on his big brother’s teammate, he’s known he can’t act on his desires. His father made it clear there should be no queers on the field, but if Nico can win Rookie of the Year like his dad and brother did, maybe he can prove he’s worthy after all.

At 34, veteran catcher Jake Fitzgerald just wants to finish out his contract and retire. His team doesn’t have a prayer of making the playoffs, but who needs the stress? Jake lost his passion for the game—and life—after driving away the man he loved, and he swore he’d never risk his heart again.

Then he’s traded to a team that wants a vet behind the plate to tame their new star pitcher. Jake is shocked to find the gangly kid he once knew has grown into a gorgeous young man. But tightly wound Nico is having trouble controlling his temper in his quest for perfection, and Jake needs to teach him patience and restraint on the mound.

When their push and pull explodes into the bedroom, Nico and Jake will both learn how much they’ll risk for love.

As my Nats head into the playoffs, this was the perfect story to settle into…romance, baseball and a chance to see this game I love yet again through another’s eyes. Keira Andrews did not disappoint me.

Vet catcher Jake Fitzgerald is burned out.  Fitz is ready to leave the game.  Then he’s traded and what was to become the end of his career instead becomes a game changer.  The team’s new star pitcher?  A troubled hothead, Nico Agresta, someone Fitz new before.   I loved how Andrews tumbles the reader not only into the game and the team but the lives of the main characters all at once.

We get a feel for the new team dynamics, the feel of the playhouse, the management, Jake’s history and Nico’s too.

A reader doesn’t have to know, understand or particularly love baseball (although its a huge plus) to adore this story.  Andrews spells it out enough in the story for those new to the sport to understand what’s going on.  If you’ve played any sport, you can understand the pressure these athletes are under to perform.  More so, if they are coming from a tradition bound family like Nico.  The depths of character are  built up within the story, a element I really appreciated as I watched the characters grow.

The bdsm element here is one that makes sense.  Its also very sexy.  At first I have to admit, I was started and had to think about the relationship, and where and between who it was taking place.  Maybe in other  hands I might not have “bought” it, but Andrews made her case for it and I connected with both MCs and their love for each other.

This story is all about passion.   Passion for each other,  passion for America’s sport, the game of baseball, passion for family.  Keira Andrews takes two separate men, one burned out, one in trouble and brings them together in Reading the Signs…a story I can absolutely recommend because of the emotion, the connection I felt towards them both…and the game I love.  Its all there.  I couldn’t ask for more.

Cover art. I love this cover.  Its  tremendous.  One of my best of the year.

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Book Details:

ebook, 293 pages
Published September 22nd 2016 by KA Books
ISBN139781988260082
Edition LanguageEnglish

A Lila Review: Bitter Legacy by Dal Maclean

Disclaimer: if promiscuity, open relationships, or perceived cheating are deal breakers for you, this isn’t your book. 

Rating: 5+ stars out of 5

bitter-legacy-by-dal-macleanLondon.

Detective Sergeant James Henderson’s remarkable gut instincts have put him on a three-year fast track to becoming an inspector. But the advancement of his career has come at a cost. Gay, posh and eager to prove himself in the Metropolitan Police, James has allowed himself few chances for romance.

But when the murder of barrister Maria Curzon-Whyte lands in his lap, all that changes. His investigation leads him to a circle of irresistibly charming men. And though he knows better, James finds himself enticed into their company.

Soon his desire for photographer Ben Morgan challenges him to find a way into the other man’s lifestyle of one-night stands and carefree promiscuity. At the same time, his single murder case multiplies into a cruel pattern of violence and depravity.

But as the bodies pile up and shocking secrets come to light, James finds both his tumultuous private life and coveted career threatened by a bitter legacy.

Bitter Legacy is a bloody brilliant debut book. See the Britishism? I had to set the tone because not many authors can pull it off. For once, some try to play it down to make the story more accessible for worldwide audiences. Others only have research to go by, but Dal Maclean makes the reader travel with her characters. We are with them for the full ride even when the story is narrated in its entirely from James’s POV.

Needless to say, the settings, language, meals, and everything in-between engages the reader from the very beginning. Yes, the Oxford comma was necessary in the previous sentence. All these serves as the perfect background for a well-presented story, filled with police procedures and investigations. Perhaps my only complaint in this regards would be Scrivenor’s authenticity. It was hard to follow when he spoke more than two or three sentences at a time, but by the end of the story, I was used to him and his brogue.

Now to the characters. Everyone, from Ben’s lovers to the murder victims had a layered background. There were no flat or unnecessary characters, and each one of them provided a clue to solve the overall mystery. The cultural diversity was refreshing, and it displayed London’s diversification. Family ties, friendships, and acquaintanceship played a central role.

As a narrator, Jamie is a complicated character. He had an entirely different life before starting to work as a Detective Sergeant. We see how those aspects influenced the way he conducted the investigations and how he related to others. For some, Jamie can be considered weak or malleable. There were many moments in which I wanted to shout, don’t do it or don’t give in. But in reality, his strength comes from the way he gave everything he had for others. And we couldn’t discard his physical attributes and intelligence.

Ben isn’t a traditional main character. Even when the story is mostly about Jamie’s life and work, his relationship with Ben colors the readers’ view of the events being investigated, and Jamie’s self-worth. Their relationship goes beyond the physical; it’s complicated and intrinsic to the central mystery. The author did an excellent job keeping the reader from figuring out if they love or hate him. The more we learn about him, the more we understand his actions. Even so, I wanted the final outcome to be different. I think a bittersweet ending could have worked better than the HEA.

The antagonist is one of the friendliest I had seen in a long time. I wanted this person to play a bigger role throughout the story instead of just showing here and there, but in the end, it worked. I had hope for redemption, but sometimes we have to let go of our darlings. And figuring out who/whom had the bitter legacy was a welcome surprise.

I expected this story to be a psychological thriller but not to this extent. The way the murders and the characters are weaved together show a complexity many authors try to evade. This book works because every plot line presented was equally important to the overall idea. The number of sex encounters in the story is as important as the amount of time Jamie spent working the case and as necessary as its full cast.

To figure out the case, the reader has to pay attention to every detail no matter how small or insignificant it appears. The story does start slow, but as soon as it picks up, it’s hard to put down. I’m a fast reader, but this book made me want to read faster. I wanted to know what would happen next. Plus, I wanted to know if my guesses were correct.

And yes, you guessed it—I’m leaving the stories specifics out of my review. Anything I say could be considered a spoiler. I did add the disclaimer at the top, but those topics are part of the blurb. This is not an MM Romance or a police procedural novel, it both and none; perhaps a literary fiction hybrid.

Overall, this is one goes under my best reads for 2016.  I don’t do re-reads, but this is a story I’d not mind listening to if it becomes available in audiobook. The complexity of the plot lines and the characters are worth re-exploring. I highly recommend this book; it’s definitely an ace. See, I did it again. 🙂

I can’t wait for another book from this author. I’m a fan of her style.

The cover is eye-catching, but hard to relate to the story. The man in it is Jamie, but the colors don’t translate as police lights. It makes me think of a sci-fi cover.

Sale Links: Blind Eye Books | Amazon | Barnes & Nobles

Book Details:

ebook, 350 pages
Published: Oct 4, 2016, Blind Eye Books
ISBN: 9781935560432
Edition Language: English

A Stella Review: God of Jazz: Fugue, Concord by Varian Krylov

RATING 5 out of 5 stars

the-god-of-jazz-fugueAfter years struggling to realize his dream of directing a feature film, on the final night of his fundraising campaign Godard is on the cusp of having everything he ever wanted. The man he loves is upstairs waiting for him, and he’s just a few dollars short of his GoFundYourself goal.

Then everything falls apart.

His personal and professional life in ruins, when his old nemesis from film school offers to fund his dream project if he’s willing to shoot it in Spain, Godard knows it’s a deal with the devil. But he also has nothing left to lose.

Among the labyrinthine streets of Barcelona’s Barrio Góthico, the city’s vibrant music scene, and the sun-gilt beaches of the Costa Brava, Godard begins shooting his dream project and putting his life back together, largely under the domineering gaze and deft touch of Ángel, the god of jazz.

But Ángel is keeping a secret, and a deal with the devil always comes at a price.

The God Of Jazz: Fugue, Concord is not the usual Varian Krylov book. I was grateful for the choice of stay away from all the pain I went throught when I read Dangerously Happy or Bad Things. I need stories like this new release. Of course there were some parts a little hard to take but nothing too heavy. Definitely sweeter, unexpectedly sweet and so hot, but nothing new in this.

IMO the story was very good, it engaged me from the start and it was impossible to put it down. I soon felt a connection with the characters. Although it wasn’t exactly love at first sight with Godard, I actually needed some time to warm up to him, still not sure why, but I was able to see the best part of him only when he met Angel. And then there was no coming back. To me it was a crescendo, each scene I like Godard a little more. Instead I soon fell in love with Angel and no one can blame me. He is an amazing character, mysterious at the beginning, perhaps as a way to protect himself, and so open and powerful in his feelings later. A perfect man, caring, gentle and sexy as hell.

Apart from the plot which I quite liked, what deeply took my interest, was how the author did a good job at showing me the characters’ emotions. I didn’t miss one little bit of what went into their hearts, the fear of letting go and trusting the person beside them, the hope for a future for their dreams, the hope for a future together when they finally overcame themselves and opened their souls. The connection between them was unbelievable and it was beautiful to see how they made each other happy. And of course the sex scenes were hot how only this author can describe them.

A mention about the secondary characters cast, each of them was well portrayed and had an important (to the plot and to the MCs’ lives) role. How they worked and spent the days together and the fierce protectiveness and support they treated each other often brought little tears in my eyes.

I feel to recommend The God Of Jazz: Fugue, Concord to everyone. If the author scared you in the past, I totally understand you but no need to be afraid of this story. One of the best book I read this year.

The cover art by Bey Deckard is the only little thing I don’t like, it just doesn’t work for me. At all. I admit I wouldn’t have picked it if it wasn’t for the author.

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Book Details:

Published September 25th 2016
Kindle Edition, 326 pages
ASIN B01M1S6BNI
Edition Language English

A Paul B New Release Review: Unsafe Exposure (Hidden Wolves #4) by Kaje Harper

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

unsafe-exposure-by-kaje-harperWildlife artist Dylan Shore is accompanying his sister Frankie as she being Northwestern University.  He decides to go to the zoo to see if he can find anything interesting to draw.  Sitting at the wolf exhibit, a group of young men come up to him and ask why he did not pay respect when he came into pack territory.  Thinking his only way to prevent from being killed by this gang, he runs.  While he can outrun most everybody, these four not only keep pace but are actually gaining ground.  Only when a car pulls up along him does Dylan find an actual escape route.  He jumps in the car and they put the gang behind them.

Alex is a statistician doing medical research in Chicago.  As fourteenth in the Seattle pack, he is the lowest ranking werewolf there.  When he sees a strange werewolf running from members of the Chicago North pack, he decides to give the man a break, hoping the others don’t recognize him or his car.  After all, as a low ranking visiting wolf, you don’t want to piss off your hosts.  As he gets to know Dylan, there are two things that surprise him.  First, Dylan is a gay werewolf.  Second, Dylan has no clue that he is a werewolf.  It is no wonder that Dylan does not understand pack protocol.  With members of the Chicago North pack after both of them, Alex must now educate what it means to be a shifter.  But when both are captured and taken to a military research facility, Alex’s mission changes.  Now he must keep both of them, along with a young shifter boy, alive in order to escape.  When the escape occurs, it will have far reaching consequences for the werewolves not only across the country, but the world.

I have enjoyed Kaje Harper’s Hidden Wolves series from the start.  This is the fourth book (not counting two  interlude titles) to the series and as such should be read in order in order to understand the over-arching story lines. The series is a bit darker than most shifter series.  The emphasis is on pack politics and hierarchy, along with doing what wolves need to do to advance.  In fact, Aaron calls his mate “eleventh” during official pack business.   They are human wolves.

As for this book,  I like that the first part of the book focused mostly on the new characters that are introduced here.  There are mentions of the leader of the Alpha Council and the alpha of the Chicago North pack but do not play a major role until later.  In fact, the main characters of the previous books do not appear until two thirds of the way through the book.  Simon and Paul’s two kittens (both of whom think that they are wolf pups) make a cameo as well.  I await the next book in this series.

I like the cover by Winterheart Designs.  It has our two young men causally dresses as if going out in the Chicagoland area.  Below them is the skyline for Chicago.  Above them are wolf eyes watching out over the scene.  This fits the model of the other covers in the series.

Sales Links

MLR Press LLC

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Book Details

Ebook, 393 pages

Edition Language:  English

Published:  September 9, 2016 by MLR Press

ISBN:  978-1-944770-32-7

Series:  Hidden Wolves – add to your Goodreads shelf here: