Category: M/M Contemporary Fiction

An Alisa Review: The Remaking of Corbin Wale by Roan Parrish

Rating:  5 stars out of 5

Last month, Alex Barrow’s whole life imploded—partner, home, job, all gone in forty-eight hours. But sometimes when everything falls apart, better things appear almost like magic. Now, he’s back in his Michigan hometown, finally opening the bakery he’s always dreamed of. But the pleasure of opening day is nothing compared to the lonely and beautiful man who bewitches Alex before he even orders.

Corbin Wale is a weirdo. At least, that’s what he’s heard his whole life. He knows he’s often in a fantasy world, but the things he feels are very real. And so is the reason why he can never, ever be with Alex Barrow. Even if Alex is everything he’s always fantasized about. Even if maybe, just maybe, Corbin is Alex’s fantasy too.

When Corbin begins working at the bakery, he and Alex can’t deny their connection any longer. As the holiday season works its magic, Alex yearns for the man who seems out of reach. But to be with Alex, Corbin will have to challenge every truth he’s ever known. If his holiday risk pays off, two men from different worlds will get the love they’ve always longed for.

I loved this story, both Corbin and Alex have wanted someone that they needed or that needed them but they either weren’t looking for it or were too scared if it were to happen.  Alex and Corbin first begin with a tentative friendship which builds up to more on both sides but they have to learn how to really open up to each other to risk everything.

Corbin is considered strange but I think he has persevered despite his non-traditional upbringing.  I love the world he has built around him and how he sees the world differently than most.  These things are what initially draw in Alex and he just wants to learn more about this elusive man.

I liked that we got the opportunity to see this story from both characters’ points of view.  We get to see Alex’s open mindedness and
how he doesn’t allow others to influence his life negatively.  I also loved seeing how Corbin’s mind worked, at times it was harder to
follow that others but that was expected but also how he was willing to try and change what could happen in his life despite what he was told as a child.  I loved their support of Alex’s best friend, Gareth, and the support and push they need in return.  I was so happy to see both of these men find their HEA and would love to see a story about Gareth someday.

Cover art by Natasha Snow is wonderful and I love it.

Sales Links: Riptide Publishing | Amazon | 

Book Details:
ebook, 237 pages
Published: November 27, 2017 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-62649-692-7
Edition Language: English

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Secret Santa by Jay Northcote

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Jay Northcote’s stories get better and better each year.  This one pokes a bit of fun at dating apps, as Luke, who happens to be working as Santa this year while awaiting the start of a new job, spots a guy on his app who seems to be interested in more than just a quick hookup.  But as Luke’s getting older, he’s getting more interested in finding some permanence—a steady relationship with just one man. 

Theo is thrilled that his first foray into the dating world since his son, Archie, was born four years ago seems to be a potential success.  The only problem is that as they were chatting online, Luke made a comment that indicated he didn’t like kids.  So Theo makes a decision that will drive the plot of this story most of the way to the end—he decides not to tell Luke about Archie.  That can wait until later.  If they hit it off, Theo will then explain that he and his high school girlfriend had a child four years ago and they share custody of the sweet little boy. 

I enjoyed this plot bunny and really liked Archie. He wasn’t overly precocious.  He was just a sweet little fellow.  And when Theo takes his little guy to the mall to visit Santa, Theo is impressed that Santa seems to really like working with the kids.  On the flip side, Luke is shocked when the little boy who comes to see him happens to be accompanied by a gorgeous daddy—Theo!   Luke decides not to tell Theo who he is, thinking he’d wait until their first real date and Theo would share all about his son.  But the more time that goes by, the deeper both men get into the lies and when Archie convinces his daddy to come back to see Santa two more times, Luke starts to get really angry with Theo. 

How this resolves is fun and interesting and just adds to the overall joy of the holiday season.  A very light and uplifting story, with the implied moral of being truthful (even on dating apps!), I found it very difficult to put this down and literally consumed it as fast as a box of chocolates.  It was just as delicious, and I highly recommend it to all lovers of stories of men with children, seasonal romances, and of course, a very happy ending. 

~~~~~

Cover art by Garrett Leigh features a handsome, bearded young man, no doubt representing Luke. Though there is a Santa hat on the page, the cover doesn’t feature a lot of holiday glitter—a good thing in my opinion. 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 150 pages
Published November 24th 2017 by Jaybird Press
ASINB077MKNWD1
Edition LanguageEnglish

Review Tour – Secret Santa by Jay Northcote

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Length: 38,000 words approx.
 
Cover Design: Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design
 
Blurb
 

Keeping secrets is never a good way to start a relationship

Theo hardly has time to date. Between work and caring for his four-year-old son there aren’t many hours left over. He’s lonely though, so he joins a hook-up app and starts chatting to a guy called Luke. Luke seems friendly and they arrange to meet. Theo doesn’t mention that he has a child. It’s early days and he’s worried about putting Luke off before they get to know each other.

Luke is currently working as Santa at the local shopping mall. He figures Theo never has to know. Christmas will be over soon and Luke will move on to a new, less embarrassing job. He’s surprised when Theo and a little boy visit Santa one afternoon. Theo doesn’t recognise Luke, and Luke realises he’s not the only one with a secret.

Despite misgivings on both sides, they start dating, and the chemistry is amazing. But as Christmas approaches their secrets pile up like colourful packages under the tree. If they’re not careful, they’ll lose the best gift of all—each other.

 



November 24 – Gay Book Reviews, Mikku-chan
November 27 – Out Of My Head, Mirrigold: Mutterings & Musings
December 1 – The Day Before You Came, Millsy Loves Books, V’s Reads
December 4 – BooksLaidBareBoys
December 6 – Drops of Ink, Au Boudoir Ecarlate
December 8 – My Fiction Nook
December 12 – Valerie Ullmer, Padme’s Library, Nicole’s Book Musings, Wicked Faerie’s Tales & Reviews
December 14 – Books Lovers 4Ever, Making It Happen, Slashsessed, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Wicked Reads
December 16 – Jim’s Reading Room, Bayou Book Junkie, Xtreme Delusions, The Way She Reads

 

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 5 star Review Here

Author Bio

Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England. He comes from a family of writers, but always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed him by. He spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content.

One day, Jay decided to try and write a short story—just to see if he could—and found it rather addictive. He hasn’t stopped writing since.

Jay writes contemporary romance about men who fall in love with other men. He has five books published by Dreamspinner Press, and also self-publishes under the imprint Jaybird Press. Many of his books are now available as audiobooks.

Jay is transgender and was formerly known as she/her.

 

Website: https://jaynorthcote.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jay_Northcote
Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/dellamere
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/jaynorthcotefiction
Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/JN-readers
Jayís books: http://author.to/JayNorthcote

 
 
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A MelanieM Review: Love Happens Anyway by RJ Scott

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Hiring a boyfriend for Christmas; what can go wrong?

Derek is facing yet another Christmas where his life feels out of control. He has a new career that doesn’t feel like his, and parents who would just love to see him settled down. All he needs is a temporary buffer for the parties he has to attend, and for his parents to leave him alone. Enter, Luke.

Luke is twenty-thousand dollars short for the renovations on Halligans; his family’s bar in New York’s Financial District. A favor for a buddy has him agreeing to play the part of boyfriend to a guy with more money than sense.

But when the spirit of Christmas works its magic on the two men, and they begin to fall for each other, Derek runs scared, and Luke needs space.

It doesn’t matter what obstacles you throw in the way of love, or how much you run in the other direction, because, when you’re least expecting it, whether you want it or not, love happens anyway.

Love Happens Anyway is RJ Scott’s holiday take on that familiar romantic storyline whereas the romantic heroine or hero in our case has been hounded by family and friends for  weeks/months/years/an ungodly amount of time to bring a boyfriend home to the family, makes one up and then for whatever reason has to produce one just in time for a big family event or the family  holidays celebrations.

The Hallmark Channel would go broke if we took this staple of a theme out of their  rotation.

Derek has done his story up right.  It’s so detailed that he needs a notebook to keep all the make-believe elements straight, including all the names of the kittens his firefighter boyfriend rescued and who he gave them to.  Omg!  Yes, the cuteness aspect here is lovely! So the man he needs has to meet his exact qualifications.  As it so happens, one does.

Luke is out of a job (the why’s on this is nice twist in the story), and in deep need of money. I’ll save you on the hows and whys he ends up as Derek’s temporary boyfriend.  That’s the only part that seemed sort of a stretch here.  Everything else? Amazing and nothing I’ll spoil.  It has to do with Luke’s background and a part of NYC’s history.  With Luke’s family and background folded into what starts off as a familiar romantic storyline, RJ Scott deepens it, adding touch of poignancy and reality to a lovely heartwarming romance.  I loved the couple and the family and friends that surrounded them.

The holidays are a wonderful time to curl up in your favorite spot and read some wonderful holiday  romances.  Be sure to put Love Happens Anyway by RJ Scott on your list to read this holiday season.

Cover art is absolutely adorable.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book Details:

110 pages
Published December 2nd 2017
Edition LanguageEnglish

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Secrets & Silk: A Holiday to Remember by Nicole Dennis

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

(Part of the “A Holiday to Remember 2017 Series”) 

Conscientious and detailed to a fault, David Appleton refuses to leave for the office Christmas party until he finds the error in a report submitted by Marc, one of the workers in his department. Aside from the fact that this guy constantly tries to undermine David, the bottom line is that David won’t allow anything with his department’s signature on it to go out incorrect.  Get the picture?  David is pretty darn straight-laced.  He’s also a nice guy, a gay man who has never had a partner, and a man with a secret underwear fetish that he doesn’t want exposed.  He actually came close to being outed for his sexy pants when CJ, a coworker, happened to see him in the locker room after his workout one day, but so far, CJ seems to be keeping his lip zipped.

After finding the error and having a confrontation with Marc, David heads to Santa’s secret gift exchange.  Marc and his buddies slip a gift into the exchange that’s intended to embarrass David, but CJ, this year’s Santa, spots it and knows it’s not really for David since CJ is the one who drew David’s name.  The clearing up of the confusion over the gifts and over that day in the gym and a consequence for Marc lead to a satisfactory conclusion for this light holiday romance. 

This story had a promising plot bunny, but unfortunately, the execution was poor.  The author is a new author to me, and I’m not sure how experienced, but very definitely her writing style, the transitions from scene to scene, and the missed opportunities for humor or further dialogue were quite below average.  So two stars for the fact that the overall story was okay and an extra half because it’s Christmas, and I don’t like being an Ebenezer who shoots down an author’s efforts at holiday romance. 

~~~

Cover art by Freddy MacKay features a handsome guy in a plaid vest and dark slacks superimposed over a gift box with tissue paper in disarray.  This would be David after opening his gift from CJ.   Very nice representation of the story.

Sales Links:  Mischief Corner Books | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 40 pages
Expected publication: December 13th 2017 by Mischief Corner Books, LLC
ASINB07767S6XC