A Stella Review: Drive Your Truck by Julia Talbot

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Home on compassionate leave for his brother’s funeral, Navy SEAL Garrison Matthews needs to blow off a lot of stress and grief before he returns to active duty. In honor of his brother, he takes Bettie, the brothers’ souped-up vintage truck, out for a spin. A bit of an adrenaline junkie, Garrison has no problem finding trouble. This time trouble’s named Walt, and he happens to be Garrison’s sister-in-law’s brother.  Neither man expects their fun to amount to anything else, but after an injury sends Garrison home for good, he turns to Walt, hoping to start a new life. Walt is a closeted sheriff’s deputy, and while he adores Garrison, he isn’t sure he’s ready to come out… or for such a big commitment. Being fresh out of the service isn’t easy on Garrison either. To find their happy ending, Walt and Garrison must overcome their trust issues and get ready to settle down together

Drive Your Truck is pretty simple story, not too angsty but unfortunately to me not sweet at all. Reading the blurb, I liked the premises of it, so I was enthusiastic when I started reading it. Sadly some things didn’t work for me.

Gar and Walt hooking up on the wake for Gar’s brother was the first thing I didn’t like in this book. I’d be so pained to losing my brother, I honestly couldn’t think about sex. I didn’t see the act as a way to forget for just a moment a deep grief. It came to me as a shallow scene.

And going on in the story, this feeling of levity is a steady point in the book. I couldn’t feel emotions, between Gar and Walt, neither in the second characters. The author made me wait till the end to see Gar and Walt really into each other, making plans for a future together. I’d have liked to have that kind of emotions from the start. Moreover, I didn’t appreciate the author’s choice at the end of the book. Spoiler- click here to view.

I’m still wondering about the title. Ok, Gar and Brandon bought a cherry red 1966 Ford pickup when Gar was seventeen. They called it Bettie and Brandon fixed it whenever he could. The author showed us some scenes where Gar took Bettie for a ride while looking for adrenaline and a way to ease the stress. Still I don’t think the title fits the story. Maybe I missed something.

I have a word for this book: craving. Drive Your Truck left me craving for more. More background about the characters, more moments between Gar and Walt, more scenes with the second characters, more sweetness, more hot sex and more courage.

It seems I didn’t enjoy this book, it isn’t true. I gave it three stars because I liked the story, but it didn’t live up my expectations. I heard great things about Julia Talbot. I think I simply chose the wrong book to start reading her works. I’ll definitely check her books, I’m sure I’ll find the one to love.

Cover Artist Brooke Albrecht.
The cover was eye catching to me, absolutely well done, it fits the title but as I said earlier, in my opinion not the story

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 130 pages
Expected publication: January 28th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781632163981
edition languageEnglish
url http://www.juliatalbot.com

In Our Book Spotlight: A New Man by P. D. Singer (book tour and contest)

A New Man by P. D. Singer
Release Date: February 9, 2015
Goodreads Link

***********************

P.D. Singer Bio:

P.D. Singer lives in Colorado with her slightly bemused husband, two rowdy teenage boys, and thirty pounds of cats. She’s a big believer in research, first-hand if possible, so the reader can be quite certain Pam has skied down a mountain face-first, been stepped on by rodeo horses, acquired a potato burn or two, and will never, ever, write a novel that includes sky-diving.  When not writing, playing her fiddle, or skiing, she can be found with a book in hand.

Contact/Follow P.D. Singer at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pd.singer.9
Facebook Author Page
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PD_Singer
Blog: http://PDSinger.com

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Reese Dante

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press

About A New Man…

Senior year of college is for studying, partying, and having fun before getting serious about life. Instead, Chad’s days are filled with headaches and exhaustion, and his fencing skills are getting worse with practice, not better. Then there’s his nonexistent love life, full of girls he’s shunted to the friend zone. Is he asexual? Gay?  Grad student Warren Douglas could be out clubbing, but his roommate is better company, even without kisses. He’s torn up watching Chad suffer, gobbling ibuprofen and coming home early on Friday nights. If Chad weren’t straight, Warren would keep him up past midnight. They’re great as friends.

Benefits might answer Chad’s questions.  A brief encounter with lab rats reveals Chad’s illness—he needs surgery, STAT, and can’t rely on his dysfunctional parents for medical decisions. Warren’s both trustworthy and likely to get overruled—unless they’re married. “You can throw me back later,” Warren says, and he may throw himself back after his husband turns out moody and hard to get along with, no matter how much fun his new sex drive is. Surgery turns Chad into a new man, all right…  …but Warren fell in love with the old one.

Categories: Contemporary

A New Man Excerpt:

On his feet now, Chad looked a little shaky. For a silent moment he stood, though it wasn’t clear whether he was forcing his body to behave or thinking.

“Uh. You’re a scientist…” Why did Chad make that sound like a question? Unless it was part of his medicine head. “I need some data.”

Oh. Oh!

Warren didn’t flinch or pull away when Chad leaned in. Both his hands rested on Warren’s upper arms, which didn’t keep him from lurching forward so fast Warren thought he’d get hit in the face. But no, he stopped short and came in slow for the last inch. Eyes open and questioning, he met Warren’s mouth in a smooth, gentle kiss. Lips not quite parted, he brushed against Warren, searching, not demanding.

What had gotten into him? Warren kissed back, not too startled to respond in kind, adding nothing that might frighten Chad away. He wouldn’t lift his arms, he wouldn’t offer tongue, but he would meet Chad’s mouth for as long as he was offered it. He had to tip his face up slightly and fight to stay in place when he wanted nothing more than to step forward into Chad’s arms, to plaster himself against that inviting chest, and thrust his tongue into the depths of Chad’s mouth.

Chad’s eyes were blue drowning to black, his pupils dilated widely. Questions, but not fear, dwelled behind his irises, questions that Warren wanted to answer for him. Yes, you like this, yes, you want more, yes, you want it with me. Yes.

Pages or Words: 276 pages

Tour Dates: February 9, 2015

Tour Stops:

Parker Williams, Bike Book Reviews, My Fiction Nook, Kimi-Chan, Inked Rainbow Reads, Prism Book Alliance, Molly Lolly, Bayou Book Junkie, BFD Book Blog, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Kristy’s Brain Food, Cate Ashwood, Fallen Angel Reviews, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Queer Town Abbey, MM Good Book Reviews, Wicked Wolves and Dreaming Dragons, Inked Rainbow Reads, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Kristy’s Brain Food, Because Two Men Are Better Than One, Nic Starr, Velvet Panic, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Nephylim, Multitasking Mommas, Elin Gregory

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: 1 copy of ‘A New Man’ plus one copy from P.D. Singer’s backlist. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

A BJ Review: Payback by John Inman

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

On the night of their fourth wedding anniversary, Tyler and Spence share a special evening before going out to take their dog for a walk in the park where a deadly gay bashing attack changes their life forever.

One reason I wanted to read this book was because it’s set in San Diego, where I lived for many years. Found myself in the mood to revisit, and the book didn’t disappoint in that respect. The trolley, the park, breweries, Coronado Bridge vistas and so many more little details had my imagination firmly planted back in my old stomping grounds.

The story begins with a steamy hot, yet also sweetly romantic scene between a couple so real I felt as if I could’ve known when I lived in the area. As Spence and Tyler celebrate their anniversary by exchanging specially made rings, their dog interrupts with a need to go out and they set off on a walk in the park. What comes next strikes with crushing, chest-constricting suddenness, shattering the almost idyllic happiness we’d just shared with them into fragmented ruins. It’s gut wrenching, heartrending, have-lots-of-tissues-handy reading for several chapters.

In the aftermath of the attack, Tyler is unconscious for a month and wakes to find himself alone in the world. Husband dead, dog missing, and apparently he has no family. After speaking with a police detective, Chris, and learning that they have no real leads on the attack, Tyler’s grief is rapidly overshadowed by intense anger that morphs into a desperate need for vengeance.

A short bout of agoraphobia, which he overcomes on his own in a matter of days, Tyler goes out and buys an illegal gun. His desire to own a gun didn’t surprise me much. Protection would be high on my list after such an attack. But why an illegal gun, unless he already had plans of how he was going to use it?

Up until then, the story was a tearjerker, but working for me. That shifted when Tyler gives in to his rage and goes out riding the trolley at night in bad parts of town carrying his illegal gun and ends up committing murder for which he feels no guilt. In fact, the murder seems to ease the rage inside him and make him feel better for a while. The only remorse comes some time later and is related to fear that his actions may have messed up the relationship between Chris, the detective assigned to his case, and himself.

Chris saw Tyler when he was brought in on the night of the attack, and reveals later that he fell in love from the first. As the story weaves on, Chris starts to creep me out. His sappiness and obsession with Tyler rubs me all wrong. Even more when clues began to make it clear to him that Tyler committed murder, and he chooses to ignore it. Later he goes further when he helps Tyler cover up the first murder in conjunction with another killing. Chris and Tyler actually discuss the cover up scheme while watching the man bleed to death.

Five months after the attack, and Chris has fallen for the grieving Tyler so deeply that he’s willing to go completely against his sworn duty. Five months and Tyler is so deeply in love with Chris that the detective has replaced Spence in Tyler’s thoughts and dreams.

The night of the cover up, Chris and Tyler make love for the first time–in the same bed that he and Spence had used to make sweet love the night of Spence’s death. They even use the same sexual position. Chris and Tyler declare their forever love, but it just didn’t work for me. It wasn’t hot or romantic. In fact, it broke my heart. Five short months and Spence, who the author made me love in that first scene, seems to be erased so completely.

On another note, I share my life with several dogs, so I usually enjoy doggie characters in my books. Franklin, Spence and Tyler’s dog, had the makings of a wonderful animal character initially. Unfortunately, it felt like he was a prop used to move things forward and then be forgotten when convenient. Near the end, he’d been repeatedly kicked with heavy boots while trying the help Tyler. He’s dripping urine on the floor, which makes me think possible kidney damage. Yet Tyler and Chris never take him to the vet to be checked out. My dog lover’s heart was left worried about him.

If some background on Chris and Tyler had been offered, it might have helped to understand them better. However, there’s only the barest hint of background on Tyler and next to none on Chris. This leaves me with many questions—one being why Chris fell for Tyler so hard and instantly when seeing him in the hospital.

The book’s rather reminiscent of a popular movie in which a woman goes vigilante after a similar attack scenario, except Tyler isn’t a vigilante. Rather it came across to me as if he just needed to take his anger out on someone. The idea that going out and looking for someone to hurt, even a bad person, in order to assuage rage over injustice done to you just wasn’t something I found ok.

Cover Artist: Maria Fanning
The cover perfectly captures the essence of this book including the setting (San Diego trolley instantly recognizable for me), the blood and violence, as well as the love. The couple walking with their dog in the park at the bottom, small, almost transparently dreamy as if they’re just a memory makes me tear up each time I look at it after having read the story.
Sales LInks: Dreamspinner Press All Romance (ARe) Amazon buy it here
Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Expected publication: February 2nd 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781632166289
edition languageEnglish
url http://johninmanauthor.com

A Sammy Review: An Infatuation by Joe Cosentino

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

“Is everything all right between you two boys?”
I refocused. “Why do you ask?”

“You two were like molecular bonds. The positive energy between you two was atomic. Now I rarely see you two together. What went wrong with my experiment?”

“I guess the atoms split.”

In high school, Harold High is what you would call a nerd. He’s incredibly smart, loves books and poetry, but in the end, he’s mostly invisible in the chaotic world of youth. That is, until he gets to know Mario Ginetti. Mario’s the quarterback for the schools football team. He’s handsome and strong, but lacks in a lot of the departments that Harold excels in.

Perhaps that’s what makes them such an interesting match. Through tutoring sessions, they grow to know each other, and Harold finds himself in love with the out-of-reach star with a life far more tainted than it appears to be on the outside.

The story spans twenty years, through their time in high school, to accidental meetings, to a reunion, and finally to the end. It’s more a story of life and letting go than it is a story of love and holding on.

“But only for now. You see, Harold, these, our high school years, are their glory days.” She pointed to Barbara’s pink bag sitting next to her on the bench. “Their best days. Ever. Life will never be as good for them.” She grinned from ear to ear. “But for us. These are our hell years. We just need to survive them, so we can get the hell out of high school and move on to doing amazing things in the real world.”

I rested my arm on the back of the bench. “But the sun, the sky, the trees, the water, and the soil are all connected. When a leaf falls, it eventually merges with the water and the soil, and they nourish the trees, and the trees take in the sunlight, and are matted against the blue sky.”

Hannah had an answer for everything. “And what happens to everything on a dark, snowy day?”

I thought about it. “Everything disappears, except for the white snow and the grey sky.”

She pointed her finger at me as if I’d answered a question correctly in class. “Right. With each season, the landscape totally changes.”

It’s very hard for me to collect my feelings at this moment in time, with regards to An Infatuation. I’m completely mixed on so many levels and I’m not so sure it’s something that will become clearer over time. I’m thinking this just might be one of those books that leaves me wondering what I just read, and completely unsure of how I feel about it. Maybe that’s just how it is.

When I first requested this story (to review it), I somehow missed that it was a bittersweet endings story. Had I seen that, I may not have read it – but I did, and if conflicted emotions were dollars, I’d be rich.

The thing about this story is that the writing is pretty good for the most part. It has wittiness and some really lovely lines that are memorable. The author uses poetry and stories in a way that made me smile, and overall, it was a quick read.

But – and of course, there’s a but… I’m not so sure about certain things. For one, toward the end, Mario and Harold admit to seeing each other throughout the years in a way that resonated as an odd sort of stalking to me. Sure, Harold had similar actions in high school, but that made sense to me as a silly little love sick thing a child would do… not so much an adult.

Also, the ending didn’t really leave me satisfied. It more or less left me mystified (if you can’t tell). It was nice, but then again not. I really, really just don’t know.

There are also other things in the book that made me pause. For one, an attempted sexual assault occurs, and I was left very angry at the response to it. Sure, maybe it was realistic to the time period, but it still made me very unhappy. Additionally, in terms of Stuart, I don’t know how I’d feel having my husband have this constant fantasy going on that was a past fling. It’d just bother the crap out of me. He seems so cool and at ease with it, but it didn’t sit right with me.

Still, there are truths to aspects of this. Things don’t always work out, life happens and people drift apart for one reason or another. Marriages fail, the people you once knew become strangers, you question your direction in life. Times get hard, really hard. Those are all true. But how I feel about this? Well, I’m left just not knowing. Just another aspect of life, I suppose.

The cover art by Christie Caughie is nice, but perhaps too fun and light for this story. While the models on the cover may resemble main characters in the story, the vibe I get from the cover just doesn’t match the story. So it’s nice, but not right for this.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

Expected publication: February 4th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781632164834
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

A MelanieM Review: A Wedding to Die For (Brandt and Donnelly Caper #3) by Xavier Mayne

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Justin Capella, son and baker at his family’s up scale bakery, and Roman Montgomery, floral scion, haven’t seen each other since that fateful day in third grade when a single kiss shocked Justin and sent Roman to boarding school. But fate, a gay celebrity wedding combined with their bigoted fathers conspire to bring them back together once more.

When a high-profile gay celebrity couple, a TV news anchor and a famous lawyer, decide that they want the two most popular and well established vendors, Montgomery Floral and Cakes by Capella, to provide their wedding cake and flowers , they are not prepared for the owners of those firms to refuse because they are a gay couple. In the aftermath of the bad publicity and promise of multiple lawsuits , a resulting boycott threatens to shut down both companies. With their fathers stepping aside, its up to their sons to save both family businesses. And while they are struggling to do so, Justin and Roman rediscover love while working on the wedding.

Law Enforcement Officers Brandt and Donnelly are working with a statewide task force for the rights of LGBT citizens even as they search out their own wedding planner. As guests at the celebrity wedding, they are present when things start to go wrong. There’s something more sinister than bigotry afoot at the wedding. When someone dies, its up to fellow cops and soon to be married partners, to save the day, save the date and help another young couple find their own HEA.

A Wedding to Die For is not only my first Brandt and Donnelly story, but its also the first book I’ve read by Xavier Mayne. I found it to be fun, mostly lighthearted, with some serious truths buried beneath the fondant and icing. The author and story assumes you have read the previous novels that introduces fellow state law officers and lovers, Ethan Brandt and Gabriel Donnelly, along with assorted friends that include the flaming, over-the-top Bryce and his buddy/lover? Nestor. A Wedding To Die For picks up with Ethan and Gabriel already engaged and looking to make arrangements for their own wedding. Immediately their flamboyant, enthusiastic besties get involved and perhaps a third of the book involves the various sundry and quite awful wedding planners Brandt and Donnelly are sent to by their friends. This section of the book is shear comedy and would work well on its own as such. But when folded into more serious elements it acts as more of a distraction than a meaningful plot thread.

Another section, the best part of this story actually, is told from the perspectives of both Justin and Roman, two boyhood friends separated by trauma and their fathers. I actually wished this had been a separate book. Justin and Roman’s story has a poignancy and realism missing from the rest of this novel. We meet them as they reunite over the disasters their fathers have made of their family businesses and reputations, and then slowly through conversations and recalled memories does their own pasts start to reveal itself. The anguish and pain comes through beautifully as does the hope and possibility of healing their wounds. I adored both characters of Justin and Roman, they feel believable and their actions as young men growing up in their family companies comes across as authentic. I found myself actually flipping past sections just to get back to this pair and their problems.

The rest of the book is told by Brandt and Donnelly, who I just couldn’t take seriously as any type of law enforcement officers. Whether it was their behavior in front of the captain or out as representatives of the task force, their dialog, and actions tended to veer towards camp instead of that of believable cops. I felt that was a shame as there is some very serious issues playing out here, and not just the companies that refuse to cater towards the LGBTQ public when doing business. Plot threads also address what happens when married gay couples visit states that don’t recognize them as married, especially when tragedy strikes. To have all these very serious issues surrounded by froth and lighthearted fun takes away the gravity and pain that occurs as part of the consequences of a patchwork quilt of LGBTQ equality.

A Wedding To Die For has multiple points of view, a myriad of voices, and almost too many storylines. Truthfully, I really committed to one, that of Justin and Roman and found the rest to be just too silly, especially when stacked up against the other. But Justin and Roman are so memorable and sympathetic that I wished for more of these two and their relationship down the line. But not everyone will feel that way. Others may feel the silliness and froth is just the thing to take the sting off the reality of some of the meanness and bigotry still so much a part of our lives and this story. I will leave it up to you to decide.

If you like light and frothy fun, you will love this story. If you want a heartfelt romance, then read it for Justin and Roman. It’s a short, quick read with entertaining or moving elements for just about everyone.

Cover Artist L.C. Chase did a nice job here. I think that’s Justin and Roman on the cover, and the wedding elements are a great addition.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 250 pages
Published December 15th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press
original titleA Wedding to Die For
ISBN139781632164704
edition languageEnglish
seriesBrandt and Donnelly Caper #3

BRANDT AND DONNELLY CAPERS

Case File One: Frat House Troopers
Case File Two: Wrestling Demons
Case File Three: A Wedding to Die For

A Sammy Review: Ethan in Gold (Johnnies #3) by Amy Lane

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

And they cried, all of them, for the family they’d never really had and the thing they were losing without realizing, until now, how so very badly they all needed it.

Ethan, like many of the others at Johnnies, has a dark past. Being sexually abused as a child and then denied the affection every child deserves, he craves touch in a way that most people hunger for food. Johnnies has provided that for him, a promise of affection and closeness, a way to feed his need.

When he meets Jonah, he’s not looking for a boyfriend, but Jonah’s persistent and buries himself underneath Ethan’s skin. But can Ethan risk giving up the consistent touch for the possibility of something more?

That feeling of connection, of being a part of another human being’s heart—he was starting to see how Ethan could treasure that above his dignity, above his self-worth, above everything he’d ever been taught about a moral code.

So here’s the thing, I love the this series. It grabs my heart and doesn’t let it go. I think because I loved the first two books so much, this one just didn’t measure up to the sheer awesomeness that was them, and that’s why I’m left feeling a bit deflated after finishing it.

The beginning felt a bit schizophrenic to me. It was hard to follow at times and I was beginning to wonder if maybe it was just being profound in a way that I couldn’t quite grasp, or it was trying to be and I wasn’t connecting on that level. It just didn’t flow as well as I would’ve liked.

It also took me a bit to adjust to the fact that what was going on in this book was almost all of what we’d seen from another perspective in the other books. It threw me off at first, as I was expecting to see more of the story, but we didn’t get much of that. Instead, we got the same events from Ethan’s point of view, which was fine, just a bit odd at first.

My favorite part of this story was actually Amelia. I’ve been through a situation of seeing someone dying and having to face it, and becoming so tired, and I resonated with that in this book. I also felt that the part about not being a fighter, and how that’s okay, was incredibly beautiful. It wasn’t something I had thought of before, but it hit me right in the chest.

Overall, a good book, but it didn’t measure up to the first two for me.

The cover art by Reese Dante is nice, and again works well with the others in the series. Unfortunately, I still have the same problem with the font as I did previously. It’s so blocky and doesn’t fit the feeling of the stories. Also, while the guy on the cover could very well be Ethan, I just don’t know beyond that how much personality it has that fits with the story itself. So a nice general cover, but maybe not the best fit for this particular story.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press* All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy it here

*available in paperback and audiobook

Book Details:

ebook, 350 pages
Published October 4th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press (first published October 3rd 2013)
ISBN 162798318X (ISBN13: 9781627983181)
edition languageEnglish, seriesJohnnies #3
charactersDavid “Dex” Worral, Carlos “Kane” Ramirez, Tommy “Tango” Halloran, Evan “Ethan” Costa

The Johnnies Series:

Super Sock Man (Granby Knitting, #2)
Chase in Shadow (Johnnies, #1)
Dex in Blue (Johnnies, #2)
Ethan in Gold (Johnnies, #3)
Black John (Johnnies, #4)

A Sammy Review: Dex in Blue (Johnnies #2) by Amy Lane

Rating 5 stars out of 5

Dex is a seasoned porn star who’s had his heart broken in the worst of ways. His entire identity is framed around a past lover who he never had a chance with, and he practically runs Johnnies while the real boss is busy throwing it all away.

It’s a lot of pressure for a guy to be under, and when Kane takes him by storm with a relationship that seems to be all about sex, Dex goes forth with the assumption that it’s all “just sex”.

Of course, it’s never that simple, and when nothing becomes everything, these two must conquer the difficulties that come from a variety of corners – business, family, and love.

When he held onto Dex, it was all perfect—best part of his day perfect, best part of his life perfect. Just… just sunny spring day perfect, with soft grass where you could see worms and spiders under your feet perfect, and even lizards sunning themselves on granite boulders. Perfect.

Amy Lane is a hit or miss for me, but the Johnnies series has been a huge hit when it comes to the first two books.

I was hopeful when I started this, that I would love it even half as much as the first, and boy did I. Dex and Kane were so completely sweet and complex.

I actually had to take a couple week break in reading this, and normally I lose a lot of interest or forget what is going on, but these two were just so imprinted in my mind that starting up again just went so smoothly.

And, the rarest of all things, I found myself thinking that I would definitely reread this again. (I don’t reread books much, I get bored knowing what is going to happen.)

So yeah, I think it’s safe to say that I loved it.

The cover art by Reese Dante is nice and cohesive with the first book while still having its own personality. I like the addition of the mountains, which speak to David’s roots. I’m not the biggest fan of the font used, but it’s a nice cover.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press* All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It here

*available in Paperback and audiobook

Book Details:

ebook, 350 pages
Published October 1st 2012 by Dreamspinner Press (first published September 30th 2012)
original titleDex in Blue
ISBN 1623800110 (ISBN13: 9781623800116)
edition languageEnglish
seriesJohnnies #2
charactersDavid “Dex” Worral, Carlos “Kane” Ramirez, Chase “Chance” Summers, Tommy “Tango” Halloran, Evan “Ethan” Costa
settingMontana
Sacramento, California (United States)

Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review: Shy by John Inman ~ Audiobook narrated by Tommy O’Brien

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Tom and Frank are both not only shy, they both suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder, so when they meet it seems like a match made in heaven and then they discover that they have so much more than their disorder in common. Their meeting had been set up by Jerry, Tom’s former boyfriend, and Stanley, Frank’s brother. Jerry had cheated on Tom with Stanley and later moved in with him so Tom wasn’t a big fan of either man, but he felt he could be helpful to the shy stranger coming from Indiana since he knew what it was like to suffer from SAD.

Frank came to California to “see the world” rather than remain on the farm where his dad, Joe, still lives. When he and Tom hit it off so well, and Frank even seemed to like Tom’s dog, Pedro (an incontinent Chihuahua), Tom invites Frank to stay with him. Frank’s dad checks in via phone from time to time, and he notices that his dad sounds ill, then he seems to get worse as a few weeks go by. When it’s evident that his dad needs help, the two decide to go out to Indiana to help him, a trip expedited by the fact that Jerry has called his boss with false information about Tom, resulting in him being fired from his job at the bank. It seems Jerry is not so enamored of drug-user Stanley anymore and wants to get back with Tom so this is his way of getting even for Tom’s rejection of his offer to return.

Life on the farm is much more difficult than Tom expects. First, there’s the cows, pigs, and chickens. Tom really hates chickens! And then there’s other farm animals and all the poop they all make. (There’s a lot of poop in this story!) Then there’s Samson, a huge boar who is absolutely vicious but remains the apple of Joe’s eye. Someday Joe’s going to sell him to a sideshow or circus so that he can be seen and appreciated as the fine specimen he is. In the meantime, he scares Tom so badly that Tom avoids him at all costs.

As Tom and Frank acclimate to farm life, Joe’s health deteriorates. Tom and Frank become more deeply committed to each other and Stanley shows up sniffing around to see what his dad will leave him in his will. From this point on, the story takes an interesting turn as Stanley forges ahead with his plans to get in on the inheritance.

I enjoyed this story with its subtle humor and outrageous view of life on a farm. The author’s quick wit is evident, but to be honest, I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it rather than listen to the audiobook version. I did not care for the “voice” of the narrator, especially since there was little to distinguish the MC voices, words were mispronounced, stress was sometimes placed on the wrong syllables in a word or words in a sentence, thereby changing the meaning or tone, and the delivery of many of the lines which I believe were intended to be humorous felt flat.

The romance developed along anticipated lines, and Joe’s illness progressed at the pace foreseen, but the author gives us a whammy of a surprise conclusion when Stanley discovers a map to the will and pursues it with all his despicable zest for leaving Tom and Frank out of it. I’m not usually caught off guard or shocked by where an author takes us, but in this case, I was, and it was truly a unique ending in a sweet romance.

I would recommend this book to those who love a sweet and simple romance between two very shy MCs, humor in their stories—sometimes subtle, sometimes overt, a little bit of angst, and a completely unexpected ending. However, I would not necessarily recommend it as an audiobook—as I said, I didn’t care for the narration on this one.

Cover art by Paul Richmond is highly detailed, beautifully drawn, and is perfect for the story, depicting Tom’s antics on the farm with his animal charges as Frank watches with a smile on his face.

Audiobook Sales Links: Audible iTunes Amazon Buy it here

The eBook was previously reviewed here by MelanieM

Book Details:

Cover Artist Paul Richmond
Narrator Tommy O’Brien
Length 7 hours and 54 minutes

A Sammy Review: The Mechanical Chrysanthemums by Felicitas Ivey

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

Hachisuka Narihiro is the nephew to the shogun and the squad leader of the Tokugawa Chrysanthemum, a group of men who run machines known as musha. He is also one of the few men who speaks not only his countries native language, but also English and Dutch. Perfect to help when it comes to gaining information from the impending Americans.

With the Americans comes as Pennsylvania Dutch man named Maarten Zook. Unlike the other Americans, he is courteous to cultural traditions and has a certain allure that Hiro just can’t seem to turn away. But it’s a volatile time in the country, and with tension between the Americans and Nippon, getting close to an American is dangerous.

He had fallen in love with Maarten, but Kiyoshi was right, it was a love as unreal and pure as the northern snow. They had treated one another as if they were made out of glass. It could have grown to the love men had for one another, aware, very aware of the lust and life that such a relationship would have.

This story mixes aspects of steampunk with alternative history. Being a fan of such things myself, I was excited to give it a try, and unfortunately it missed a few notes for me.

To be perfectly clear, the story is well written and I think the author had the start of some very good world building, but as is the case in many short stories, it was just not the right length to provide the story that the author was giving. Most of the story concerned the details of life in Nippon, as well as political problems that were occurring between two countries. The relationship was truly secondary, and oddly enough, it felt a bit out of place to me in the entire thing. I felt like I was reading about the problems between America and Nippon, not reading a romance between two men. There’s steam at the end, but beyond that, it’s really not what I would consider a romance.

In the end, it just wasn’t right for me, but it may be for someone else.

The cover art by Anne Cain is fitting for the story. There are elements of mechanical parts, a figure that is likely a musha, and of course two men. I do think that it could’ve used some more care when it comes to blending, but as far as fitting the story goes, it works.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press All Romance Amazon Buy it here

Book Details:

ebook, 90 pages
Published January 14th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press LLC
ISBN139781632164933
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

A Sammy Review: Nights Like These by Chris Scully

Rating 3.75 stars out of 5

What did I think I was doing? I wasn’t a detective. I wasn’t even really an art expert. I was only a lowly security guard with a penchant for true-crime shows and mystery novels and a weakness for good-looking men who tossed coffee on me. The realization hit me hard.

Life has changed a lot for Miles Koprowski over the past year. Nowhere in his past did he see himself being laid off, being dumped, and trying to start all over at the age of forty. After a failed attempt at fast food chains, he finds himself in a not-so-cushy security job for a company with an expertise in photocopiers. Exciting? I think not.

But then again, he’s not really into risks and doing daring things, so maybe it kind of fits him. Nothing is ever that easy, though. His boss is Mr. Perfect, gorgeous and flirty and, well, perfect. And then there’s this other thing… the building is covered in art, pretty nice, expensive art, but somehow that art is being switched out with copies that no one should notice, or would, but maybe that art degree does come in handy. And maybe this easy, risk-free job isn’t so easy or risk-free.

The city was alive and it was never more apparent than during the summer, when Torontonians crammed every ounce of enjoyment they could into a few short months. Pedestrians coursed like blood along the main arteries; the subway trains roared through the tunnels below the surface, the steady ta-dum, ta-dum of the wheels on the tracks drumming like an underground heartbeat. I felt as though I’d returned from a long absence and was seeing it with new eyes. The city embraced me, welcoming me back like an old friend, no hard feelings. If only my real friends would be so forgiving.

In a word, this story was cute. It’s the kind of story you’d curl up next to a fire place with a warm cup of hot chocolate (or wine, if that’s more your speed).

For some reason, despite the blurb, I didn’t quite realize the role that a mystery would play in this. It’s not just part of the plot, it pretty much is the entire plot. It reminded me a lot of a cozy mystery, very sweet and not too serious, but full of life and characters.

Some of my favorite parts about the book were the characters. The author did a really great job of creating this whole spectrum of individuals who had their own color. Even though both the MCs are fairly alpha male, they don’t blend into each other. They’re distinct. I will say, though, that I was hoping to get to know Colton just a bit more. We got to see pieces of him, but I just felt like there was so much more for his character to offer.

I also had an issue in that I figured out the mystery by the halfway point in the book. This may have meant that I had issues enjoying the rest of it, but that didn’t really play too much of a role here. It’s just that when it comes to mysteries, I like to be left in suspense to the very end. There’s something to be said for keeping the reader on the edge of their seat, and this didn’t really do that. I think that if the author had spread out details a bit more, the hints, then it would’ve worked better. It was just that a detail was revealed, and then a hint shortly after, and it was a bit too obvious for me.

I was also a bit disappointed with the lack of steam in this. There’s a couple scenes, and the author does a great job with them, but I just wanted more. They talk about topping and such, but it never happens. Granted, the entire book takes place in a time span of two weeks (with one of them being the epilogue of sorts), and there’s a lot of other stuff going on during that week. But I can’t help but be greedy.

One other thing that confused me a bit was adding in the bit about Miles’ ex. I’m not sure it really needed to be there. I was a bit like “huh?” when that part was revealed. It was kind of thrown in for another element.

Still, this was a really cute story. It was light and easy and fun.

The cover art by Bree Archer is nice. It certainly fits the location of Toronto and the profession of one of the MCs. I just don’t really find the angle of the models face very appealing in this. It makes his neck kind of… disappear, which isn’t terribly attractive. So nice, but not the most amazing cover I’ve seen.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Expected publication: January 26th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781632164018

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