Category: 5 star Rating

A Mika Review: Exchange of Hearts by N.R. Walker

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars   ★★★★★

Piano classical music musician player. Pianist with musical instrument grand piano
Piano classical music musician player. Pianist with musical instrument grand piano

Eighteen-year-old Harrison Haddon has grown up alone. Surrounded by wealth, nannies, and material things, all he craves is the approval of his father. Sent away to the boarding school his father and grandfather attended, it’s assumed he will follow in their footsteps from Sydney’s prestigious Ivy League school straight into medical school.

But Harrison doesn’t want to be a doctor.

He dreams of music and classical piano. His only true happiness, his escape from the world expected of him, is dismissed by his intolerant and emotionally detached parents.

Levi Aston arrives from London for a three-month student exchange program. Free-spirited and confident in who he is and what he wants to do with his life, Levi convinces Harrison not give up on his dreams.

But convincing Harrison not to give up on his family might not be so easy.

This is going down as one of my favorite Y.A/N.A books ever. N.R. Walker has gold on her hand. No angst!!!! I deserve some of that. From beginning to end I was sucked into this story. I really love Levi & Harrison. Goodness, why does she do this to us? Did you really have to make it a novella? I kept looking at the page percentage, like please, don’t reach 100%, pretty please ,with a cherry on top.

Harrison is a brilliant, 18 year-old living in Sydney Australia,. He is picked to room with a student on the study abroad program and in walks the most loving guy ever!! Levi is everything I wish I had at 18. He is definitely up there with Charlie & Travis, and Thomas & Cooper. I didn’t want these two to end at all.

I really love the devotion that these young guys seemed to have towards one another. I like that Harrison stands up for himself, he knows what it’s like to fall in love, and be in love at a young age. Levi’s family is how a family is supposed to be towards their kin.

N.R. Walker has managed to pack some powerful love story in this small amount of pages. I hope that she decides to revisit these two soon, and maybe we can get a full length novel! I want it please.

Cover Art by Sara York, I think Sara did a good job with the cover. It’s not quite how I imagined Harrison in my head, but this model is cute. I love how each guy home is presented on the cover. The piano is a major plus as well.

Sales Link:   Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 133 pages
Published November 11th 2015 by BlueHeart Press
ASINB017WROVI0
edition languageEnglish

A Wynter Review: Wolf, WY (Wolf #1) by A.F. Henley (A 2 Review Novel)

Rating: 5 stars out of 5      ★★★★★

Wolf, WY CoverThere’s nothing like a fresh start, and for Randy, still nursing wounds left by a cheating ex and harboring a deep mistrust for all things corporate, Wolf, Wyoming seems like the perfect place to start over. Secluded, quiet, and self-sufficient, Wolf is bound to not only inspire, but to bring Randy the peace he needs. The view’s not bad, either.

Vaughn O’Connell and his family are Randy’s only neighbors for miles, and while Randy knows it’s somewhat unlikely that a man with three kids is gay, it doesn’t hurt to look. When a misunderstanding brings Randy face to face with both Vaughn and his eighteen year old son, Lyle, Randy’s not sure what to feel about either of them.

But things are not what they appear in Wolf, and the closer Randy gets, the stranger the O’Connell family seems…

The beauty of this novel has two parts. The first was how easy it was to sink into the world of Wolf, WY. The second lies in the two story perspectives presented in every chapter. The first and most obvious perspective is Randy Connor through whose point-of-view we follow in the story. The second, less obvious one is of the wolves that the author shares at the beginning of every chapter in italics. It did such a beautiful job portraying the cold – emotionally and of-the-weather, as well as the loneliness and isolation of Wolf, WY and its inhabitants.

While I wished those italics parts were longer, Henley’s ability to convey so much in so little is, in and of itself, a thing of wonder. They are a very powerful depiction of, presumably, Vaughn – a man of few words but full of emotion from holding on and keeping in all the secrets that protected himself, his family, and his community. I can just imagine how he must’ve wrestled with the notion of sharing who and what he is (and Lyle) with Randy. For me, all of that made me ask many questions about Jackie (you’ll have to read to find out who that is, I’m afraid).

As much as I could ache (and cry) for the head of the O’Connell family, I couldn’t help laughing, groaning, and shaking my head at Randy Connor, an attorney who left all he knew behind in search of a fresh start. One of the best things about Henley’s stories is his knack for getting the main character’s introduction out of the way so the story could unfold without interruption. The prologue found (“stupid”) Randy buried in the middle of his dry and sarcastic introspection about life. The following chapters unfold the mystery of the O’Connell family and how Randy changes as a person – from an arrogant and egotistical city-brat to someone who realizes that there’s a lot more to being out in the country other than self-efficiency, and that running away can’t keep being the answer to his life’s problems.

As a lover of the winter season, I loved how Henley described Wolf, WY in the cold months: a rare and most beautiful place of a winter wonderland where snow danced and both the wolves and the winds howl in harmony with each other. There is ample warning though, and as Randy came to learn, the more beautiful winter became, the more likely it is to find fun ways of maiming a person, if it doesn’t succeed in killing you first.

I found the story predictable in some areas, but I think Henley did a good job in keeping the mystery going and left plenty of opportunity for some of the questions to be answered in a sequel. I like how several of the paranormal elements were kept simple while the author inserted his own creativity and kept the characters and the circumstances real. We didn’t have two characters who meet and immediately try to make things work. What seems like indecisiveness in Vaughn (along with his coldness and curt behavior) really drives home just how much the man struggles within himself – something that Randy didn’t, and couldn’t, understand. Many of us have been there ourselves, finding that one interesting and overly intriguing person who refuses to open up. In fact, such silence tends to annoy and frustrate some more than others, doesn’t it? It certainly frustrated Randy.

If nothing else, reading the book for the children is well worth it. Hannah and Isaac are positively adorable in this novel, so full of life and character, yet don’t let their young years deceive you. They can be quite the adults when the circumstance calls for it, much to Randy’s chagrin. It made me so proud and made my heart ache all in the same instance: children grow up entirely too fast. Faster in Wolf, WY, it would seem.

And per Henley’s usual arsenal, it does contain a couple of very hot, very erotic scenes.

This is the first time this author has published a book intended for a serial. I think the readers of this book are going to fall into two groups: the ones who absolutely love it (like me) and the ones who will absolutely hate it. I do recommend the book – highly, in fact – but if my personal experiences can be called upon to make a judgment about serials for those hesitant about this novel, sometimes reading Book 2 before Book 1 might be better. It’s worked for me before.

Thank you for reading! I hope you have yourselves a lovely Fall day! ❤

The cover artist for this novel is Raphael (Boys in Ink and Color), and I must say he did a splendid job. If I had been walking the aisle of a bookstore and strode right by a showcase with this novel on it, there would definitely be a pause in stride to pick it up. The wolf eyes just draws me in. On top of that is a snow covered landscape that suggests an adventure is about to happen, or is happening, and will involve at least a wolf.

Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

  • Author: A. F. Henley
  • Length: ebook, 223 pages; kindle edition, 260 pages
  • Language: English
  • Series: Wolf, #1
  • Genre: Fantasy – Paranormal, M/M Fiction
  • Published: 1st edition October 21, 2015 by Less Than Three Press LLC
  • ISBN-13: 9781620046180
  • Digital ISBN: 9781620045398
  • Print ISBN: 9781620046197

A Free Dreamer Review: My Magical Palace by Kunal Mukherjee

Rating: 5 stars out of 5     ★★★★★

My Magical PalaceHaunted by dreams of an unforgettable loss, Rahul, a young man of thirty living in San Francisco, suddenly becomes secretive and withdraws from his partner Andrew. When Andrew discovers that Rahul is still interviewing girls sent by his parents for an arranged marriage, he gives Rahul an ultimatum-stop living a lie, or give up their relationship. In response, Rahul tells Andrew a story. About a boy who lived in a palace. A boy named Rahul. Set in San Francisco today and in India in the early 1970s, My Magical Palace is a sensitive tale about a boy’s coming of age, and the many hurdles he must cross to heal and find himself.

I’ve been fascinated by India ever since I got my hands on an old copy of “Kim” by Rudyard Kipling when I was nine or ten. So when I read the blurb of “My Magical Palace”, I just had to have it.

First of all, this is not a love story. It’s a coming of age story, with just a tiny hint of romance. Of course there’s the first love and Rahul is in a relationship when he starts telling his story, but those are just two of many important details about Rahul’s story.

Rahul, a young man who grew up in India and now lives with his boyfriend in America. He isn’t out to his parents, so when they once again send him a woman that they think would make a great wife, he asks Andrew to leave the apartment for the evening. Andrew is understandably pissed and threatens to dump Rahul, if he doesn’t come out to his parents right now. So Rahul starts telling the story of the year that changed his life. How he slowly turned from the little boy who was afraid to go upstairs, because his older sister told him there were ghosts at the top of the stairs, to the mature teenager, who has to keep his sexuality hidden and who has lost so many things in such a short time that it changed him forever.

I absolutely loved every single second of this book. The descriptions were so vivid, I felt like I’d seen the palace with my own eyes. It sounds like such a beautiful place. The author managed to describe everything in great detail, without it ever getting boring or feeling like an info-dump.

The Indian setting was incredibly well written. If you aren’t very familiar with the Indian culture, you’ll be hitting Google a lot. The author doesn’t bother to explain things like food or clothes and even though I didn’t know a lot of those things, I loved that. Explanations like that tend to pull me out of a story and I don’t mind if I don’t just what they’re eating. The author grew up in Hyderabad and it’s obvious that he really knows what he’s writing about from personal experience and not just from research.

I was so engrossed in Rahul’s world that I felt a bit of a culture shock every time I was forced to surface from his story and found myself in cold, monotonous Europe.

Rahul was immediately likeable. It was very easy to relate to him, even though his life is nothing like my own. I felt strongly for pretty much every somewhat important character in this book. I was at times deliriously happy, utterly depressed, incredibly pressured and absolutely terrified. Once or twice I was even close to tears.

The plot was addicting and unpredictable. I wasn’t sure whether Rahul and Andrew would actually manage to rescue their relationship till the very last chapter. Rahul’s childhood was full of unexpected twists and turns and it never once got boring.

But “My Magical Palace” is so much more than just a deeply enjoyable novel. It has taught me a lot about the life of gay men in India. I’ve read plenty of books about women in India, but this is the first one with a gay protagonist.  It was very educating, but it never felt like the author was trying to force me to learn something.

I do have one very tiny niggle, however. Everybody gets their resolution in the end. Everybody but Rani. We never learn what happened to the grown up Rani. I would’ve loved to know if she managed to escape the strict expectations her family and tradition put on her.

Long story short, “My Magical Palace” is a hidden gem that deserves a huge audience. Read it and I’m sure you’ll agree with me.

And now I want a story about Rahul’s neighbour Colonel Uncle and his Italian lover. Colonel Uncle was my favourite character and his story needs to be told.

Cover: I love the cover. The bottom half shows Rahul’s childhood home, the Indian palace, and the top half shows the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rahul’s home as an adult.

Sales Links:  Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 236 pages
Published November 17th 2013 by Kunal Mukherjee, Inc. (first published 2012)
ASINB00GQOM2RS
edition languageEnglish
literary awardsBest Indian debut Writer December 2012 by The Tales Pensieve (2012)

A BJ Audiobook Review: Into Deep Waters by Kaje Harper; Narrated by Kaleo Griffith

Rating:  5 stars out of 5   ★★★★★audiobook clipart bw

Into Deep Waters Audiobook CoverFor Jacob and Daniel, two young gay men aboard a US Navy ship in WWII, the risks are high. Not only the risks of injury and death from Japanese planes and submarines, but the risk of discovery. Only a special kind of love is worth taking that chance. But from the moment Daniel meets Jacob’s eyes across a battle-scarred deck, he knows he has to try.

Being together requires figuring out what it means to be gay in an era when they could be discharged, imprisoned, or worse for admitting the desires of their hearts. Their relationship is measured in stolen moments and rare days of precious leave, with no guarantee there will be a tomorrow. And, if they survive the war, they will need even more luck to keep their love alive through the years to come.

This story was originally written from a prompt and photo submitted as part of the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s Love is Always Write event in 2012.

This book blew me away. It’s an touchingly beautiful story of an enduring love that spans over a period of sixty years. While it begins and largely takes place during WWII, the last third of the book carries us through the rest of out heroes lives, touching briefly on important events like Stonewall, but mostly letting us watch as these men deal with things like post-war trauma, family acceptance, workplace concerns, coming out, births, adopting a cat, and all the small and large changes that personal and physical relationships goes through as we age. An amazingly real, believable, and relatable story. Bravo.

The book itself was a wonderful free gift from a talented writer, but I’m very glad she decided to take it a step further and put it into audio. I’d been meaning to read it for a while but hadn’t gotten to it. Since I listen to audio every day while driving and hiking with the dogs, I snapped it up right away when the audio came out. For those who enjoy listening to audio, don’t hesitate on this one. It’s one of the most worthwhile audible credits I’ve used lately.

Kaleo Griffith did an excellent job with the narration, most notably in bringing to life the emotion that this story so richly deserved. While the two men’s voices are not as vastly different as on some audios, I enjoyed the Jersey accent he used for Jacob very much. It fit and wasn’t at all overdone. And he did an outstanding job of aging the voices as the main characters matured and grew old.

Some of the scenes in this book are still stuck in my mind’s eyes weeks after reading, especially the scene in the ocean after the USS Gageway sinks. The author’s use of description read so incredibly vivid, I’d say it was like watching a movie except it really was more because not only did we see and hear, but I could taste and feel as well. Rarely have I felt so immersed in a scene whether in print or on the big screen.

Despite being set in wartime and feeling realistic, the author didn’t go overboard on angst, nor did she hype up the gore for the shock or thrill factor. Overall this was a heartwarming tale that spoke to me of destiny, of finding that one person and going through all the good and bad times, of nearing the end and looking back with joy on a life well-lived. And well-loved. This story is a gem, a treasure. You owe it to yourself to read it.

Sales Links:   Audible

eBook Details: 172 pages

Published May 8th 2012 by M/M Romance Group

Into Deep Water Series – Goodreads link M/M Romance Group

Audiobook Details: Unabridged, 7 hrs and 29 mins
Published October 19th 2015 by Kaje Harper

The author, Kaje Harper, generously agreed to answer a few questions which I was curious about, and which I hope you will find interesting as well.

BJ: What motivated you to bring one of your books into audio? Why did you choose Into Deep Waters?

KH:I’ve heard readers talking about how much they enjoy M/M in audio format. They apparently listen to audiobooks during work commutes (although the thought of hitting an angsty Amy Lane scene while cruising the freeway or on a public bus gives me a little pause. Maybe I’d stick to Eli Easton for those.) I can really see the appeal of audio while exercising or doing chores, or to rest your eyes after a day staring at a computer screen. But my pro publishers aren’t offering my books that way yet.

So I thought, why not try it with one of my self-pubs? It was hard to decide which one. Many of them are free novels, and I wasn’t sure if people would pay for an audio version of a freebie. Then… should I start with a favorite, or learn the process and make any initial mistakes on a book I didn’t care as much about?

In the end I picked my favorite of my own stories – “Into Deep Waters.” It’s a short novel, it has good reviews, there’s emotion that a skilled narrator could bring to the surface. And if I only do one, if the logistics aren’t there for another, then this book is the one I wanted to have in audio. This book, which is my tribute to the LGBTQ Americans who lived and loved through the decades past, and helped shape the acceptance that is building now in my children’s time.

BJ: How do you feel about the final audio? What was your own reaction upon listening to it?

KH: I love the final result. It was hard choosing a narrator. I had excellent auditions from some wonderful narrators, including guys who have a great following among M/M listeners already. But when my friend and producer, Jonathan Penn, and I heard Kaleo Griffith read the audition script, we agreed that he took the emotional passages of the story to a new level.

It’s funny – I don’t usually get caught up in the emotion of my own stories as I write them; I’m more on the outside, finding the words for the feelings. And definitely with a story I’ve edited a dozen times, I don’t expect much impact. But when I listened to “Into Deep Waters,” interpreted and intensified by Kaleo’s performance, I actually laughed and got choked up. At my own words! It was as if his reading made them fresh again for me. I hope others have the same response to it.

BJ: Do you plan to bring more of your stories into the audio?

KH:I hope so. It was fun to hear my words given new life. It depends on how this book sells, though. There was a fair bit of up-front investment, in time and money, to get a great narrator and produce the book. With luck, if it appeals to readers, then I’d love to do others. Some of my best-known books, like “Life Lessons”, are contracted to the publisher, but I have several novels that could be taken to audio as a self-pub release, if it seems like the demand is there.

A Free Dreamer Review: Song of the Navigator by Astrid Amara (Double Review*)

Rating: 5 stars out of 5 ★★★★★

Worst Possible Birthday: Being sold into slavery by none other than your lover.

Song of the NavigatorTover Duke’s rare ability to move anything instantly across light-years of space makes him a powerful, valuable asset to the Harmony Corporation, and a rock star among the people of the colonies. His life is luxurious. Safe. Routine.

He has his pick of casual hookups passing through Dadelus-Kaku Station. His one brush with danger of any kind—the only bright spot in his otherwise boring life—is Cruz Arcadio, a dark-haired, hard-bodied engineer whose physical prowess hints he’s something much more.

When a terrorist abducts Tover, hurling him into a world of torture, exploitation and betrayal, it’s with shattering disbelief that he realizes his kidnapper is none other than Cruz. As Tover struggles to find the courage to escape his bondage, he begins to understand the only way to free his body, his mind—and his heart—is to trust the one man who showed him that everything about his once-perfect life was a lie.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of extreme violence and assault. It also contains graphic sexual depictions. It also has a lot of birds. And pirate movies from the future. And romance.

 I didn’t read the blurb all that carefully and thus went into this expecting something much lighter. Song of the Navigator is definitely not light. At times, it’s very dark and violent. The slavery here is real. Tover really does get tortured and there’s no redeeming the slavers. I was positively surprised, to be honest.

Cruz sells Tover into slavery. To me, that seemed like something you can’t possibly forgive anybody and thus a credible romance between Cruz and Tover seemed completely impossible to me. The author works with that expectation. Tover is furious with Cruz, hates him, even, and spends a lot of time thinking about how he’ll kill the man he once loved. I was right there with Tover, absolutely hating Cruz. There is no excuse for betraying anybody like this, even a casual hook-up. But Astrid Amara managed to convince me, and Tover, to slowly forgive and understand Cruz. It took time and there was a lot of hurt for a very long time, but it worked out eventually. That was incredibly well done. Somehow, I went from hating Cruz to really liking and understanding him.

Tover was instantly likeable and I found it very easy to relate to him throughout the many things he experiences. At first, he’s carefree, a bit superficial and also quite vain. He’s cocky and self-assured, which is to be expected. Improvisational navigators are revered. There’s even a bunch of people who think he’s a god. That’s the world he’s lived in since he was a little child. But then he gets kidnapped and sold into slavery. He’s tortured and treated like a tool. Suddenly his world comes crashing down and Tover changes. What follows is some really excellent character building.

The world the author created in this book was intriguing, with lots of creative ideas and enough world building to satisfy even me. The world building was cleverly woven into the plot, without any info dumping whatsoever.

The plot was addicting and full of surprising twists and turns. The end was unexpected and very satisfying. Overall I just absolutely loved Song of the Navigator. If you’re looking for some good sci-fi with real world building and don’t mind a bit (or a lot) of violence, then I’m sure you’ll love this. If you’re looking for a fluffy romance with a dash of sci-fi, however, keep looking. This is not the book for you.

Personally, I’ll definitely check out the author’s other works. Astrid Amara has some serious world building skills.

Cover: The cover by Kanaxa is great. The dark brownish red somehow really fits the tone of the story.

Sales Links:  ARe | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book details:

Kindle Edition, 224 pages
Published May 26th 2015 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
ASINB00SB49GJ8
urlhttp://astridamara.com/portfolio/navigator/
*Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Note: This is the 2nd Review of this Book: When F. D. said she finished reading this story and wanted to write a review, I knew that BJ had already read and written her review which we posted here.  But I was curious, how would F. D. view Astrid Amara and this story?  Too dark?  I should have known better.  Consider this a double recommendation for this amazing author and novel.