Category: LGBTQ Book Reviews

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: Snow in Montana (Montana #4) by R.J. Scott

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

snow-in-montanaThe fourth installment in the Montana series, it’s now Sheriff Ryan Carter’s turn to find love, and not just the one-night-stand kind of love he’s used to. When he meets Jordan Darby, a child star now known as the King of Christmas for all the holiday made-for-TV movies he’s starred in, something stirs in Ryan’s heart, even before he realizes Jordan is gay.

Closeted for years, Jordan fears coming out, not just because it will lose him jobs as a romantic lead, but also because it may upend the fledgling production company he and his twin have started. This first year they are filming their Christmas romance in Montana and have sold it to a family network so the fear is real. His coming out right now could cause that network to negate their contract, and he and his brother could lose all the money they’ve invested from both their own savings and from their deceased actor father’s estate.

But RJ Scott delivers a very feasible story to create a world in which Jordan, only a Hollywood B-list actor, can leak the story slowly and move on with his life. Without flaunting it, he manages to find a way to make a romance with Ryan work, even after he returns to LA to finalize the film.

What makes this story different is that the mystery, which surfaced in the first book involving Adam and Justin, remains strong and is interwoven throughout this book. So much so, in fact, that at times I felt that it detracted from the developing romance between Ryan and Jordan. Instead of this story being 80% Jordan and Ryan, 20% other series’ characters, it felt like at least 50-50, and if anything, it may have even been tipped the opposite way. I guess that’s my way of saying that I would have liked more of Ryan and Jordan, more conflict, more slow burn, more loving, and more romance, so I was ultimately disappointed in this book. I’m ready to move on from the mystery, and I’m at the point where Adam is more annoying than anything, and Justin comes across as a drama queen. I hope the end of the series is near and that future books don’t focus so much on either of the former books’ characters or else just focus on them and be done with it.

So overall? Jordan and Ryan—great couple, beautiful setting, sweet romance; and the ongoing mystery—complex, annoying, ready to draw to a close. If that’s something you’d like, this would be a great series to pick up. I would not recommend this book as a standalone.

Cover art by Meredith Russell shows a beautiful scene of two handsome men against a snow-covered background

Sales Links

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Book Details:

ebook, 360 pages
Published December 7th 2016 by Love Lane Books Limited
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesMontana #4

In Our Holiday Spotlight Today: Hearts Alight by Elliot Cooper (excerpt and giveaway)

Title:  Hearts Alight

Author: Elliot Cooper

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: December 19, 2016

Heat Level: 1 – No Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 26700

Genre: Romance, paranormal, holiday

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Synopsis

Dave Cunningham hates the rampant consumerism that’s come to dominate his family’s Hanukkah celebrations. But a chance to bring a bit of a holiday happiness to his long-time crush, Amit Cohen, helps put him in a more festive mood.

In the quest to craft the perfect gift, Dave tries to urge a few personal details out of stoic Amit. Unintentionally, he learns the Cohen family’s secret: Amit is a golem. But Amit has a problem that runs deeper than his magical origin, and a Hanukkah miracle might be the only thing that will keep the budding flame between him and Dave from going out.

Excerpt

Elliot Cooper © 2016
All Rights Reserved

Nothing made Dave Cunningham want to hibernate in his apartment for the winter quite like shopping for Hanukkah gifts with his brother-in-law. He stared up at the shelves full of brightly colored toys with an internal groan. Only another hour, he told himself. Two if he was unlucky. He fought the urge to plug his headphones into his ears to drown out the omnipresent Christmas music filling the store.

“What d’you think of this LEGO set?” Jake held up a large box depicting a desert island playset, complete with pirates and skeletons. His wide brown eyes looked frantic, panicked. He shook the box and pulled a face at the heavy rattling. “Shoshie loves pirates, but she’s probably too old for LEGOs. Or…I mean, is anyone ever too old for LEGOs?”

“She’ll love whatever you get her.” Dave half glared at Jake but caught himself and shook his head. It wasn’t Jake’s fault the delightful minor holiday of their youth had been swept up in consumerism. “You shouldn’t have to get her anything. We go through this same torture every year.”

“It’s not torture; it’s fun. It’s festive!” Jake insisted and flashed a bright smile. “Just thinking about her face when she opens the big one on the eighth night? I love it. And, more importantly, she loves it.”

“My sister likes getting presents,” Dave said. He couldn’t help but blame her for the deterioration of their family’s Hanukkah celebrations. There wasn’t any malice left in his blame, though, just an understanding of the sad truth. In trying to keep Shoshana invested in and excited about her Jewish heritage, their parents had put them on a dark path to celebrating materialism.

It had started when he was in high school and Shoshana was in middle school. First, with her upset at her Christmas-celebrating friends and their incredible hauls of gifts. Then the growing jealousy over not being able to participate in the Santa-spangled sweep of dominant American culture. Finally, they’d all endured one too many crying fits and months-long debates about whether or not modern―or historical―Christmas was even about Jesus’s birthday.

Their mother and father decided to do what some of their friends had done: one small gift for each night of Hanukkah. And since their father had grown up in a Christian family, he liked the idea of gifts exchanged between everyone, not just from parents to children.

For the first few years, the new tradition seemed all right. Shoshana’d been made happy. Dave had even enjoyed helping pick out gifts for his sister and parents. But as time went on, the presents got bigger, and their importance in the scheme of the holiday celebrations almost usurped their father’s latkes. They’d definitely overshadowed the lighting of the menorah and family game time.

“Don’t act all high and mighty like you don’t like gifts,” Jake said, arching a brow. He glanced back at the second box he’d picked up―a pirate LEGO set of a huge ship. “Ship or island?”

“Ship, so she can display it after it’s built.” Dave didn’t bother looking at the boxes or their respective price tags. Jake made plenty good money running Gin Teal, his hipster bar downtown. “I’m not saying I don’t like gifts or that she shouldn’t. Just that Hanukkah isn’t about gifts. It’s the festival of lights. Celebrating the rededication of the Temple. The miracle of the oil. Spending time with family and―”

“You’re saying you don’t want a totally secular Hanukkah, I get it. But Shoshie does.” Jake put the ship set in his shopping cart and headed down the aisle toward the board games. “She’s an atheist. I’m agnostic. It works for us and we can celebrate with old traditions and more modern ones. Without guilt, even.”

Dave plucked at the fringe on his blue-and-silver-striped scarf, his mind a jumble of rebuttals. There was more to it than the consumerism, the secular chokehold. He didn’t mind a dash of either. Modernity wasn’t the problem. It was the lack of balance. And the horrible pressure to be thoughtful and tasteful and have enough money to bring material happiness to his loved ones. He’d tried not giving gifts the year before, after explaining his tight budget and distaste of the focus on presents. No one had batted an eye; they’d all been understanding. And then they’d lavished him with gifts and, without meaning to, had made him feel terrible for not being able to reciprocate. It was a vicious cycle he couldn’t break.

“Maybe I should just celebrate on my own this year. I could open up my schedule to take more evening shifts at work, make a little extra money. Business is picking up with people wanting to do pottery-painting parties to make holiday gifts. And we’re booked up for three of our five holiday-themed painting classes,” Dave said as he trailed after Jake, hands thrust deep into his jeans pockets.

“You just said Hanukkah is about families celebrating together.” Jake shot him another look, pursing his lips in disbelief. A slow smile crept across his lips. “Oh, I know what this Scrooge act is about.”

The gleam in his eyes was the same one Shoshana and his mom got when they tried to set him up on dates.

“Don’t say it!”

“You’re lonely. Romantically lonely.” Jake picked up a game box and skimmed over the descriptions on its side and back. “Hiding at work and in your apartment isn’t going to change that. Besides, no one’s going to be doing art classes the week after Christmas. You’ve told me before your Valentine’s customers don’t start until after the first of the year.”

Dave groaned and picked up a Magic 8 Ball, flipping it over a few times without reading the message in the inky window.

At least Jake hadn’t said the dreaded “you need to find a woman.” Dave had tried dating women, but it had never worked out, for one reason or another. He was too oblivious. Too attentive. Too observant. Not observant enough. And, once, he’d been so lackluster in bed that his girlfriend had told him to stop, thanked him for his time, and walked out of his life.

Dating men hadn’t gone much better, if he were being honest with himself. He was no towering gym-honed testament to manhood, with his short stature and soft middle. He wasn’t highly educated, having done a failed stint at one of the local community colleges. He didn’t have much money, though he did have a decent job at his dad’s art studio. Since he’d gotten his own place, he’d been treading water. No one wanted to stick around and join him in his ambitionless pool.

“You should swing by the bar Saturday night,” Jake said after placing a dice game in his cart. He smiled at Dave with the brotherly warmth that had been there since high school, when they’d only been best friends, and then reached over to grip Dave’s hunched shoulder. “I’ll buy you a beer if you’ll just show up. You don’t even have to talk to anyone. Just…be present.” He smirked and cocked his head to the side, putting one fabulously thick sideburn and wooden earlobe plug on display.

“Har-dee-har. Let’s see what the oracle has to say. Should I go to Jake’s hipster haven on Saturday?” Dave shook the Magic 8 Ball, still secure in its packaging. When he flipped the ball over, the answer floated to the window. Dave sighed. “It is decidedly so.”

“Good!” Jake pushed his cart down toward the seasonal area of the store, beyond the tinsel trees and endcaps bursting with foil bows and rolls of wrapping paper. “Just a heads up, my uncle Amit’s working that night.”

The man was physically everything Dave wasn’t: chiseled muscles, strong chin, tall, huge hands, and slightly wavy black hair that swept perfectly to one side. Amit Cohen straddled that maddening line between men Dave wanted to be and men he wanted to be with. So what if he was a reclusive workaholic?

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon

Meet the Author

Elliot Cooper writes speculative fiction featuring queer characters. His novels and novellas come with hopeful and happy endings, though his short fiction runs the gamut of styles and genres. He strives above all to make his readers feel, while also increasing positive representation of LGBTQ characters and their stories.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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A VVivacious Review: Connections Matter (Loving the Rainbow #3) by Nicole Dennis

Rating : 3.75 Stars out of 5
 
connections-matterJulian is fed up with his job, especially his supervisor who seems to save up all his nasty especially for Julian. When things get to be too much to bear he quits. But quitting his job opens a whole new can of uncertainty as he finds himself at a loss for future prospects.
 
Meanwhile Julian’s boyfriend Emmett proposes a road trip to meet Riley and Conor, a couple in Virginia who Emmett wants to interview for his online zine. But as it happens meeting Riley and Conor is just the thing to set Emmett and Julian on the right track, and give Julian an idea of what he wants to do with his future.
 
I liked this story. Prior to starting this story I was unaware that this story was a follow up story to the previously published stories “Stranded” and “Whatever It Takes” by the author featuring “Julian & Emmett” and “Riley & Conor” respectively. I haven’t read these stories but I can assure you that that did not lessen my enjoyment of this story. In fact having read this story makes me even more enthusiastic about reading these ‘prequels’ so as to get to spend more time with these characters.
 
My only problem with this story were the awkward phrases and typos that turn up at pivotal points, not that there were many of these but they seemed to appear at engrossing moments in the story and disturbed the flow of the story for me. But thankfully these typos disappeared towards the ending.
 
I loved the characters in this story. Julian is the quiet, introspective guy who carries the weight of the world and finds himself at a loss after having quit his job while Emmett is full of energy, the kind of guy who is super fun to be around and who is always on the go. I loved these two together because they seemed to balance out each other perfectly and also because we got to see them grow as a couple. I loved how both of them were so supportive of the other, especially after Julian quits his job, I loved how Emmett was non-judgemental and completely supportive of Julian despite not having to be in that position often with Julian.
 
If I had to choose I would say this story is essentially Emmett and Julian’s but that in no way diminishes the role that Riley and Conor play in this story. In a way Riley & Conor represented the balance Emmett & Julian hoped to achieve. I loved Riley & Conor, they were an amazing couple.
 
This was a feel good slice of life fiction about a couple trying to navigate their life. I loved the story and I loved the contrasts drawn between the two couples and I loved the love these two amazing couples shared.
 
Cover Art by Scarlet Tie Designs. I didn’t quite like the choice of red on blue but otherwise the cover is okay.
Sales Links
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Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 112 pages
Published October 2016 by MLR Press
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Edition LanguageEnglish

An Alisa Review: Hangin’ with My Window Man by Carolina Valdez

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

 

hangin-with-my-window-manRyan Halloran is attracted to Boon Andrews the moment he sees him on the window cleaners’ gondola outside his high rise office. But horror sweeps through Ryan when a gondola cable snaps, and his call to 911 saves the lives of Boon and his co-worker.

 

Although the near-fatal accident brings these two men together, never could two men be further apart in lifestyle and social status. Boon, a tattooed high school drop-out, wears earrings and dresses in frayed cutoffs and Doc Martens boots, and he cleans pools and windows for a living. Ryan, however, holds a master’s degree from the most famous film school in southern California and, as the elegant, cultured, and self-controlled vice president of a motion picture studio, he dresses in Versace suits and Bruno Magli shoes.

 

Despite their differences, Ryan not only responds to Boon’s carefree spirit and relaxed manner, he lusts for him. And Boon discovers his craving for nude sex play with this man turns out not to be based on gratitude that Ryan saved his life, but out of love.

 

As Ryan wrestles with work problems that could mean the loss of the film studio, he also falls deeply in love with the one-of-a-kind Boon. But when they start appearing in public together, and a former lover makes an appearance, the differences in their social status may well destroy their future.

 

This was a sweet short story.  Ryan was deeply hurt by the betrayal of his previous lover and nothing has really made him take notice of anyone until he sees Boon.  Boon is afraid that their connection can’t withstand their differences, but still wants to see if it can work out.

 

For all his high profile life he doesn’t have much confidence in himself.  We can see his insecurities and the problems he has dealing with conflicts at home and also at work.  Until they are dealt with he definitely needs someone by his side supporting him.  Boon has enough confidence for both of them and quickly knows he needs to look out for Ryan in some ways.  They both complement each other well and work together to grow their relationship.

 

The cover art is nice and gives a good visual of the characters.

 

Sales Links: JMS Books | Amazon | ARe

 

Book Details:

ebook, 70 pages

Published: November 5, 2016 by JMS Books

ISBN: 9781634862387

Edition Language: English