Category: Contemporary fiction

A Stella Review: Falling Down by Eli Easton

RATING 5 out of 5 stars

falling-down-by-eli-eastonJosh finds himself homeless at eighteen, but he has a plan. He’ll head north on the bus to New England and spend October there for his mother’s sake. She always talked about going to see the fall leaves someday. And when the leaves are done and the harsh winter comes, Josh plans to find a place to curl up and let go. It will be a relief to finally stop fighting.

Mark spent his life trying to live up to the tough swagger of his older brothers until he pushed himself so far against his nature that he cracked. Now a former Marine, he rents a little cabin in the White Mountains of New Hampshire where he can lick his wounds and figure out what to do with the rest of his life. One thing was clear: Mark was nobody’s hero.

Fate intervenes when Josh sets up camp under a covered bridge near Mark’s cabin. Mark recognizes the dead look in the young stranger’s eyes, and he feels compelled to do something about it. When Mark offers Josh a job, he never expects that he’ll be the one to fall.

The snow is coming soon. Can Mark convince Josh that the two of them can build a life together before the flurries begin?

Trigger Warning: Suicidal thoughts

I probably already said this a thousand times, but I have to repeat myself: Eli Easton is a guarantee in the mm community. She is an amazing writer and each new story is a powerful gem. Like Falling Down.

I knew since I read the blurb, this new book was going to leave me as an emotional wreck for a long time, and it actually did, but with a gentleness and a lightness I wasn’t expecting. I’m pretty sure I will remember those characters forever. I have to say I fell in love with them from the start.

Josh took my heart and gave it back to me just at the end when I realized things were really going to work out well for him and his Mark. He is so young and depressed and it went through so much in his life. I could relate to him because I went through the same grief when I had his age and so he touched my heart deeply. And then there was Mark, who is everything a person should be, good, caring, strong willed , trusting, imperfect. Two lonely souls who fate put on each others path and although hard lives, painful pasts and dark thoughts, an HEA is coming their way.

Eli wrote a beautiful slow burn story, Mark and Josh became first friends, while working together on Mrs. Fisher house and let the old woman take care of them just how much they start caring for her and for each other. A slow burn story but full of chemistry, the attraction between them is clear and strong.

Yes the book is full of angst (read the warning!) but in my opinion the author was great at dosing it in the right way. Although the angst and more than one intense scene where I cried all the tears I had in my eyes, Falling Down isn’t heavy or oppressing at all. It’s full of emotions and it filled my heart so much, I just surrender and loved it. It deserves more than five stars. Highly recommended.

I like the cover art by Eli Easton very much in general but I can’t actually see Josh in the model, he simply is not like I had pictured him in my mind. That said the cover is very well done.

SALE LINKS

65a2f-waxcreative-amazon-kindle

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 252 pages

Published November 7th 2016 by Pinkerton Road LLC

ASIN B01MSIYOHB

Edition Language English

A MelanieM Review: The Next Competitor by Keira Andrews

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

the-next-competitorIf he risks his heart, can he keep his head in the game?

To win gold, figure skater Alex Grady must train harder than the competition morning, noon, and night. He’s obsessed with mastering another quadruple jump, and due to the lack of filter between his mouth and brain, doesn’t have a lot of friends. As for a boyfriend, forget it. So what if he’s still a virgin at twenty? The Olympics are only every four years—everything else can wait. Relationships are messy and complicated anyway, and he has zero room in his life for romance.

So it’s ridiculous when Alex finds himself checking out his boring new training mate Matt Savelli. Calm, collected “Captain Cardboard” is a nice guy, but even if Alex had time to date, Matt’s so not his type. Yet beneath Matt’s wholesome surface, there’s a dirty, sexy man who awakens a desire Alex has never experienced and can’t deny…

The Next Competitor by Keira Andrews was a delightful romance, especially so if you love the world of competitive ice skating.  If you  are one of those who stay hooked to the screen during the Olympics or the many World Championships watching the amazing athletes skate on the ice for medals and points, then Andrews manages to bring that world and back stage competition to life here in this story along with the romance.  I have to admit there were  times I wondered which I enjoyed more.

Alex Grady who’s desire to win makes him a less than sterling person to begin with.  He evolves, thankfully, as a person as the story moves forward.  But I admit to having trouble liking him at first.  All his other competitors and fellow skaters, no matter what division they are competing in, came off far better.  I liked them all, even Mrs C, Alex’s Russian coach.  Every character here felt true, as a believable athlete and person.  I enjoyed all the supporting cast, some almost as much as the main couple and wished to have seen more of them, like Kenny, the Japanese skater with so much riding on his shoulders.

The pain and emotional roller coaster that is professional/yes amateur skating world is  well done here.  One slip on the ice and its over for the year, everything a pair/skater/coach has worked for.  How does one handle that?  Andrews puts it all down into her story, and lets us feel these skaters pain and loss.  As well as the fact that they’re so young too.

Matt and Alex together are adorable.  I do hear that there’s lots of “hooking up” during competitions.  All those gorgeous bodies and hormones flying. That feels so plausible as part of the story. By the end, they are well on their way to HEA and its wonderful.

Cover art works beautifully for the story and characters.

Sales Link

c60a7-waxcreative-amazon-kindle

 

Book Details:

This new version has been extensively rewritten, updated, and expanded into a new adult romance with explicit on-page sex.

ebook, 2nd Edition: First published in 2010. , 246 pages

Published December 6th 2016 by KA Books
ISBN139781988260136
Edition LanguageEnglish

An Ali Review: A Collision with Reality (In Like Flynn #1) by Storm Duffy

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

 

a-collision-with-realityFlynn’s new boss is so hot he can’t wait to get home to tell the chatroom how much he wants Dom’s cock down his throat. By Friday, he’s shared quite a few thoughts on what he’d like his boss to do to him. But he’s not as anonymous as he thinks, and Dom’s intent on disciplining him for breaching company policy on social networking. Dom gives him a choice of put up or shut up: he can play out the fantasy in real life, or he can walk out of the office without a word to HR as long as he never talks that way about Dom again. Flynn chooses “put up”—but he’s forgotten about one of the things he said he wouldn’t mind doing.

 

This story wasn’t a romance, but that isn’t what I was expecting either.  Flynn lets out his fantasies online thinking that no one will ever know.  He continues and when he mentions a different coworker his new boss knows exactly who has been making the comments.

 

I could feel how cocky Flynn was, thinking that he wouldn’t have anything to worry about with his posts.  Flynn is blindsided when Dom confronts him, but gets the opportunity to play out his fantasies.  I liked Dom putting the experience in perspective to thin Flynn in the end.  I’m interested to read more in this series to see what else Flynn gets up to.

 

Cover art by Natasha Snow is nice and gives great visuals of the characters.

 

Sales Links:

Nine Star Press

65a2f-waxcreative-amazon-kindle

 

Book Details:

ebook, 7100 words

Published: January 2, 2017 by Nine Star Press

Edition Language: English

Series: In Like Flynn #1

A Jeri Review: Death Dancer (Dangerous Dancers #2) by Tara Lain

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

death-dancer-by-tara-lainNormally I am not a big fan of mysteries or murder mysteries. But couple it with a romance AND an author I enjoy- sign me up. To top it off, it is set in the ballet world. Second only to baseball for me.

Valentin is a professional ballet dancer earning his dues and wanting the lead he feels he deserves, but the current lead isn’t giving up his spot.

Andrew meets Val when one of the dancers from the corp turns up dead. He isn’t the first and likely isn’t to be the last. Andrew and Val are immediately drawn to each other. But then Valentin’s rival is the next dead body and Val himself is the prime suspect.

The heat and chemistry between Andrew and Val is off the charts! I really liked seeing their relationship develop while also dealing with these murders and Valentin being a suspect.

The supporting characters were great- loved Andrew’s work partner. She cracked me up with her straight talk. The supporting dance characters were very typical of the dance world. The literal and figurative prima donnas, the corp members desperately trying to get ahead and their near hero worship of those who are principals.

The mystery itself was done really well. A nice twist or two kept me turning the pages to see “whodunit”.

This is the second in the series but easily read as a stand alone.

Cover art is wonderful.

Sales Links

Pride Publishing | AMAZON | B&N | Kobo

Book Details:

ebook, 199 pages
Published November 1st 2016 by Pride Publishing
Original TitleDeath Dancer
ISBN 1786515172 (ISBN13: 9781786515179)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series Dangerous Dancers:

Release Blitz Tour – Suki Fleet’s Light Up The Dark (giveaway)

Light Up The Dark – Suki Fleet

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Cover Design: Natasha Snow 

Blurb

For two years Nicky has wandered the dark empty corridors of the overgrown Thorn Hall, unseen and untouched, feeling like a ghost. His only company, the cold man who promised to keep him safe from harm, Lance.

But when Lance dies, Nicky’s assurance of safety disintegrates and his world suddenly becomes a lot more real and a lot more dangerous. Scared to leave the house, Nicky longs for daylight. He employs a gardener to clear the over-grown bushes and vines that have nearly swallowed Thorn Hall whole.

The last thing Nicky expects a little light to do is show him something to fight for.

Eighteen months in a young offenders’ institute has taught Cai two things: he occupies the playful puppy end of the How Dangerous Are You? spectrum, and he has an unfortunate knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Desperate for a job, he takes the first offer he gets. Even though Thorn Hall creeps the hell out of him and he barely knows one end of a pair of garden shears from the other.

Things start to fall apart when Cai is drawn into Nicky’s strange world of sticky notes and secrets. Cai finds he is now a target, blamed for a crime he didn’t commit. Desperate not to go back to prison, he digs deep and risks all the good things in life to help Nicky run.

But now Nicky has someone he wants to protect, he knows he can’t run any more.

 

Author Bio

Award Winning Author. Prolific Reader (though less prolific than she’d like). Lover of angst, romance and unexpected love stories.

Suki Fleet writes lyrical stories about memorable characters, and believes everyone should have a chance at a happy ending.

Her first novel This is Not a Love Story won Best Gay Debut in the 2014 Rainbow Awards, and was a finalist in the 2015 Lambda Awards.

Links
Email: sukifleet@gmail.com
https://www.instagram.com/suki_fleet
https://www.facebook.com/suki.fleet.3
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7919609.Suki_Fleet
http://sukifleet.tumblr.com
http://sukifleet.wordpress.com
https://twitter.com/SukiFleet?lang=en

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

A Paul B Review: Interlude: First Noel (The Executive Office #1.5) by Tal Bauer

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

interlude-first-noelEthan Reichenbach has been demoted from lead of the Presidential protection detail in the Secret Service to the Des Moines, Iowa office.  Instead of leading a team sworn to protect the President at all cost, he now is tracking counterfeiters.  To make matters worse, his supervisor in no way wants the President’s boyfriend working in his office.  He tells Ethan to stay away from the press and to turn his cases over to another agent when evidence materializes.  His only salvation is his nightly video chats with Jack Spiers and his weekend trips to Washington to spend time with him.  However, as Jack is the President, those weekends are not always consistent. 

Jack is trying to enjoy his first Christmas in the White House but things seem to keep getting in the way.  Between international conferences to the rising problem of the Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East, it seems like he has no time to spend with Ethan.  Jack is also unhappy about Ethan’s situation in Des Moines, where he is pushed aside for agents who weren’t even in high school when Ethan joined the Service fifteen years ago.  Add in the tabloid press who basically have Jack and Ethan breaking up or making up depending on whether or not Ethan flies to Washington any given weekend just adds to the stress.  Jack counts the days until the two can be reunited.

I enjoyed this tale of Jack and Ethan as they prepare for their first Christmas together as a couple.  It was interesting to see the side of the Secret Service that most Americans forget that they are in charge of—catching counterfeiters.  Ethan’s demotion is made worse by a boss who thinks that Ethan will contaminate any case in which he is prominently involved in.  The only saving grace in Des Moines is a new agent who at first grudgingly partners with him but comes to an understanding that seems to help with the case they are working on together.  Along the way, Jack and Ethan must develop some sort of protocol for the various White House functions that come at Christmas time and deal with world problems at the same time.  This book nicely expands on the time that was covered briefly at the end of Enemies of the State. 

The cover art by Natasha Snow is perfect for the book.  The cover has the White House in a wintery scene surrounded by snow. 

Sale Links: NineStar | Amazon | NOOK

Book Details

EBook, 125 pages

Edition Language:  English

Published:  December 19, 2016 by NineStar Press

ISBN:  978-1-945952-30-2

Series:  The Executive Office

Enemies of the State (The Executive Office #1)

First Noel (The Executive Office #1.5)

Enemy of My Enemy (The Executive Office #2)

An Alisa Review: Honey Trap by Fyn Alexander

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

 

honey-trap-by-fyn-alexanderWhen Scarlett and Ronin, two very beautiful individuals, approach Julian May, he cannot believe his luck. Having albinism and being somewhat shy, he doesn’t usually get attractive people approaching him. Being gay, he falls in love with Ronin, only to find out that Ronin and Scarlett are the same person and that they made a play for him as part of a honey trap.

 

All hell breaks loose as an angry and betrayed Julian refuses to have anything more with Ronin/Scarlett. Meanwhile Julian needs to rescue an old lover who is stuck in a prison in Afghanistan and the only person willing or able to help him is Ronin. Despite Ronin’s jealously when he sees Julian and his former boyfriend together, he does not give up on trying to win Julian’s heart. Little does he know, he already has it.

 

This was an intriguing story that kept moving.  MI-6 has been using Ronin as Scarlett as part of honey traps, but he lets his emotions get in the way when he is told to get to know Julian.  Julian is content with his life, hiding who he really is from his family and acquaintances, but starts to see a reason for something more when he is with Ronin.

 

Julian is confused by his reaction to Scarlett; he has never been attracted to a woman before.  He becomes a bit confused when he meets Ronin’s family and they are very similar to how Scarlett described her family.  Ronin isn’t willing to let Julian go after he finds out and puts himself in danger to keep Julian safe.

 

Julian is so sweet and really innocent it’s hard not to love him and know how he feels.  When he finally feels as if he has found what he always wanted his reality comes crashing down around him.  Ronin knows the real Julian and you can feel his determination that he can break through the wall Julian puts up after he is hurt.  We could clearly see how hard being Scarlett and Ronin for Julian was and how conflicted he was with his job.  I love how supportive Ronin’s family is of his gender fluidity, but didn’t really like Julian’s attitude toward it; granted he had been hurt, but he doesn’t seem like he even tries to understand.

 

Cover art by Natasha Snow is wonderful gives great visuals of the main characters.

 

Sales Links: Loose Id | Amazon 

 

Book Details:

ebook, 220 pages

Published: October 4, 2016 by Loose Id

ISBN: 9781682521984

Edition Language: English

A Lila Review: Interlude: First Noel (The Executive Office #1.5) by Tal Bauer

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

interlude-first-noelBefore Ethan returns to DC…

Before he becomes Jack’s first gentleman…
Jack and Ethan share their first Christmas together. Step back to Jack and Ethan’s first Christmas season and the tentative early months of their relationship under the world’s spotlight. Three months into Ethan’s transfer-in-exile in Des Moines, Iowa, the pressures of dating Jack, the president of the United States, start to wear Ethan down. His weeks are measured by the days he works in Iowa, chasing counterfeiters and financial crimes, and the weekends he manages to steal with Jack back in DC. The media stalks his every move, he’s isolated by his coworkers, and loneliness hammers at his heart.

In DC, Jack tries to piece together a global alliance to take down the Caliphate, while the world seems focused on tearing apart his personal life. Hostility surrounds him from all corners of the globe, but a surprise offer from President Sergey Puchkov may pave the way for a tentative alliance…and perhaps the beginning of a friendship.

As Ethan finds himself in the middle of an investigation that rubs too deeply against his soul and Jack tries to balance leading the free world and keeping his and Ethan’s relationship going, the two men must face what their love has become…and where they are heading together.

Interlude: First Noel is more than a Christmas short; it’s three stories in one. We get Ethan’s story in Des Moines. How his life as a Secret Service agent changed and the case he’s taking part of, even when no one wants him around. Then, we have Jack’s first Christmas in the White House. The impact of his job and the coalition he’s trying to form. And lastly, we see how those two stories intertwined with Ethan’s and Jack’s romance. Plus, how they deal with their long distance relationship.

More than a novella, this is a full length story. Just like the previous books in this series, the author gives the reader every detail necessary to experience this holiday short as much. We get a lot of characters back, and how they related to book one and book two. And we see important friendships starting to form for Ethan and Jack.

The way both main characters are treated by those they work with is similar even when they are in two different places and have two different job descriptions. How they managed to deal with this, plays an important part in the story. The book is as much about self-discovery as solving Ethan’s case, and Jack’s political issues. As bonus, we get to see Sergey in all his glory.

If you haven’t read Enemy of my Enemy, yet, I’d recommend you read this novella first. Not because it would make a difference in your enjoyment, but it would help you follow the timeline when the book mentions events from when Ethan was in Iowa. As always, my only complaint is the amount of details and additional information we get with each book, but that’s just me. And the best part, everything is wrapped on Christmas spirit.

At first glance, the cover by Natasha Snow seems gloomy. But, it fits the longing atmosphere of the story and the roughness of Ethan’s and Jack’s separation.

Sale Links: NineStar | Amazon | NOOK

Book Details: 

ebook, 125 pages
Published: December 19, 2016, by NineStar Press
ISBN: 9781945952302
Edition Language: English

Series: The Executive Office
Book #1: Enemies of the State
Book #1.5: Interlude: First Noel
Book #2: Enemy of My Enemy

 

Release Day Blitz for A Collision with Reality by Storm Duffy (excerpt and giveaway)

Title:  A Collision with Reality

Series: In Like Flynn

Author: Storm Duffy

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: January 2nd

Heat Level: 5 – Erotica

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 7100

Genre: Erotica, contemporary, UK, D/s, kink, businessmen, online chat, workplace relationship, erotica

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

Flynn’s new boss is so hot he can’t wait to get home to tell the chatroom how much he wants Dom’s cock down his throat. By Friday, he’s shared quite a few thoughts on what he’d like his boss to do to him. But he’s not as anonymous as he thinks, and Dom’s intent on disciplining him for breaching company policy on social networking. Dom gives him a choice of put up or shut up: he can play out the fantasy in real life, or he can walk out of the office without a word to HR as long as he never talks that way about Dom again. Flynn chooses “put up”—but he’s forgotten about one of the things he said he wouldn’t mind doing.

Excerpt

The new manager was really something: tall, dark, and handsome, with a superb arse that looked great in a suit. Flynn wouldn’t mind seeing what it looked like out of the suit. Unfortunately the suit was respectably cut at the front, making it impossible to tell without staring whether the guy dressed to the left or the right, let alone how big his cock was.

Not the sort of thing one ought to be thinking about while listening to the big boss introduce the new manager. He barely caught the guy’s name—Dominic.

“Pleasure to meet you all,” Dominic said. “I look forward to getting to know you better over the next few weeks.”

Flynn looked forward to it as well. He particularly looked forward to getting to know him better in the gents, at least well enough to idly glance down and check out the cock. A pity he wasn’t likely to get to know Dominic in the gents any better than that, not in real life; but it was his own business what he did in the privacy of his own head.

And in the privacy of his favourite board online that evening. No wallet names, no ID. Not even your location listed unless you wanted it out there in the hope of hooking up with someone for a night’s fuck. A safe place to talk about just how much he fancied the new boss.

[New boss arrived today. Absolutely bloody gorgeous, if you like older men. Wouldn’t mind having him discipline me for poor performance.]

[Better if he disciplines you for good performance] an anon said.

[Oh, I think I could perform well for him.]

Flynn could think of a number of ways he could perform, starting with:

[Down on my knees with my mouth open.]

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords

Meet the Author

Storm Duffy has a number of erotica shorts published under that and other names in a variety of venues, including “The Mammoth Book of Quick and Dirty Erotica”. As Jules Jones, she has written several erotic romance novellas and novels, including the first M/M romance published by Loose Id.

Amongst the 2500 or so books on shelves in her house, there is room for rather a lot of cross-stitch thread and entirely too many balls of wool. There are also more bits of computer kit than is quite reasonable for someone who doesn’t do that for a living. The two microscopes, on the other hand, are entirely in keeping with a career in science.

Website  | Twitter | Goodreads | eMail | Smashwords | Livejournal

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Blog Button 2

Save

Save