Category: Publishers

A Jeri Review: Wash Out (Anchor Point #7) by LA Witt

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

 

I love that the Anchor Point series, although all set at the same Naval base, really are different. This was no exception.

Casey is on desk duty after seriously breaking his leg during SEALs training. And the chances of him continuing that training are zero. Logan is a former Marine, now working as a contractor on base. One guy has been there, the other guy never will go there.
It was heartbreaking to see Casey deal with the same platitudes over and over again about being lucky to never see war. But that is exactly what he signed up for. Being a SEAL was his dream. And Logan is plagued with PTSD from his tours of combat duty and is one of the guys that tells Casey how lucky his is. But it is sticky because Logan and Casey have some serious heat together.
So while they are enjoying the no strings sex, strings form. And each man really has to explain their unique but opposite positions regarding the military and war.
There is a TON of angst in this book, but also a lot of hot sex and a really genuine relationship between Logan and Casey. I think what I enjoy the most about this books is that they are so authentic. The author doesn’t keep it a secret that her husband is active duty Navy, so she really knows what she is talking about with PTSD, active duty, contract work, etc.
We get a few cameos of previous main characters- always a favorite of mine in a series to keep them all connected. I love that one of the supporting characters/previous main characters HATED the Navy in his book and is now a supervisor in a contract position. Felt like a full circle kind of thing.
Cover art by LC Chase works perfectly for the story and the series branding.
Book Details:
ebook, 265 pages
Published May 21st 2018 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN 1626497532 (ISBN13: 9781626497535)
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series Anchor Point #7

A Caryn Review: Fourteen Summers by Quinn Anderson

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This was a new twist on a coming of age book, with not one, but three protagonists.  And to a small extent it is even a bit of a love triangle – the MCs are not only trying to figure out how to relate to each other, but also how to fit platonic, familial, and romantic love into the right places in their lives.

Aiden and Max Kingsman, as the blurb says, were identical twins who had been pretty much inseparable for their entire lives to this point.  Aiden was the quiet, bookish one, and though he was accepted into a more prestigious university, he chose to attend a less prominent college to stay with his brother and share an apartment.  Max had always been more outgoing, loved to be the boss and usually had no trouble getting Aiden and their best friend Oliver to follow his lead.  Despite the differences in temperament, most people couldn’t tell them apart – even their parents had trouble – but Oliver always knew.

Oliver Jones was the only child of parents who fought loudly and bitterly all the time.  His greatest wish was to be Aiden and Max’s brother (which led to a cute opening chapter of six year old Max marrying Oliver, with Aiden officiating), not only because they were best friends, but because their house seemed so much safer and more peaceful.  When his parents divorced while the boys were in middle school, Oliver moved with his mother to NYC, his father moved to California, and the boys inevitably lost contact.

Years later, Oliver arrived back in their little town of Irvington, NY to spend the summer with his father who had also recently moved back to the area to be closer to Oliver as well as to his extended family. Oliver was thrilled to run into Max and Aiden, and they picked up their friendship pretty much where they left it off when he moved, with one big change – Oliver and Aiden were both gay, and ready to act on the crushes they each had on the other so many years ago.

The book is told in alternating points of view from Aiden, Max, and Oliver.  All three characters were given equal time, and equal priority, which I felt really highlighted the fact that friendship and family are just as important as romantic love.  Both sets of parents are also involved, their own relationships providing good and bad examples of how to incorporate those types of love into healthy (and not so healthy) lives.  Each of the men had some pretty unpleasant epiphanies about why they felt the way they did about each other, attitudes that were left over from their childhood experiences that they needed to let go of.  A lot of buried resentments, trust issues, and jealousies emerged that were much more powerful than any of them expected, and as the summer progressed, threatened to not just drive Oliver out of the twin’s lives, but to drive Max and Aiden apart as well.  The character growth came as they identified these problems and faced them down with compassion, with the underlying confidence that the results would be worth the pain.

Overall, this was a great read, with fully three dimensional characters who adapted and grew, definitely character driven rather than plot driven, but engaging and thought provoking, and I finished it with a real sense of satisfaction and contentment.

Cover art by L.C. Chase really made me think – at first I just assumed it was Aiden and Oliver, but as I read the book and got to know the characters, I realized it could have been any of them.  Their bonds were just that close!

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 287 pages
Published May 21st 2018 by Riptide Publishing
Original TitleFourteen Summers
ISBN 1626497648 (ISBN13: 9781626497641)
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Review: Learn with Me (With Me #3) by Kris Jacen

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Josiah “Siah” Kent has always loved learning; now he’s living his dream of teaching children to love it too. After getting his degrees in New Orleans, he accepted a teaching position outside of Washington DC. What a better place to be able to teach and continue learning?

Sergeant Carter May joined the Army right out of high school. He’s always struggled to succeed in school but has found a place in the military but has dreamed of getting a college degree–he’d be the first in his family if he did. Being stationed with the Presidential Firing Battery at Arlington National Cemetery will give him the opportunity to take the chance, but will he risk failing?

A chance meeting years ago in New Orleans, had sparks flying between Siah and Carter. Another chance encounter between the ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, blow those sparks into a full flame. Can Siah and Carter find some common ground to learn more about each other and a possible future together?

The With Me series from Kris Jacen has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary reads.  It established itself with it’s insider knowledge of military life, what it takes to be a part of the military family (whether as part of the family unit or military one that becomes family), the emotional, physical, and mental upheavals that are to be faced, and the support one receives along the way.  Especially if you are lucky enough to be adopted by the Heptad.

Each story has been a favorite.  Until the next story arrives.  Then that’s my favorite.  And its happened again here.  One, I wanted Siah and Carter’s story immediately at the end of Explore with Me (With Me #2). I knew Siah had some growing up to do, which happens before the start of this story. So too Carter who had some tough decisions to make and he did.

Secondly?  The location.  Jacen based her  story in and around the DC Metro area.  While I’m in Maryland, Virginia is just as familiar for those of us who live here.  MD-DC-VA…its all the same really in one respect and the  places she mentions are near and dear to my heart.  Especially Arlington National Cemetery where quite a few family members are laid to rest and we visit every Memorial Day.

She’s right about the traditions and ceremonies bringing tears to your eyes during the story.  You will need several tissues, deservedly so.  Her descriptions are deeply moving as well as informative.

But Learn with Me (With Me #3) is special because of the characters and their romance.  Between Siah and Carter, each has had a past to rise above in some way and done it.  Perhaps they haven’t left it behind completely but they are dealing with it and moving forward.  They are different in size, energy, even background and yet in kindness, loyalty, and an ability to see the best in others, they are so alike.  Jacen did a remarkable job in creating these people and all the others here, including the Heptad (that group of soldiers whose stories are the series or whose support flows through the series).

These are layered portraits, and the people aren’t isolated but are surrounded by a family of friends, a community that adds support and a believability to their lives.  Whether its a school and afternoon classes (and a circle of support) for Siah (who is a black belt as well) or the base and unit for Carter (where both friends and enemies can be found), it all feels so real and authentic.

Kris Jacen uses the framework of a romance to bring modern military life vividly alive, whether its the fears children must face, the struggles of the family, the time away from home both spouses and family feel…its all here and intimate.  There’s also the tight knit community, the sense of belonging to something greater, and, yes, the service to country.

I’m already anticipating the next book in the series.  It’s going to deal with some serious issues her stories hasn’t addressed yet.  I can’t wait.

In the meantime, if you are new to the series, why not go to the beginning and start with Wait for Me (With Me #1) and work your way here.  I highly recommend all the stories, including this one Learn with Me by Kris Jacen.

Cover art by Jared Rackler.  I’m sort of over the bare torso thing but considering all Siah wanted to do when he first saw Carter was climb him like a tree this is pretty perfect.

Sales Links:  MLR Books | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 145 pages
Published May 22nd 2018 by MLR Press
ASINB07D8J548N
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesWith Me #3

A Caryn Review: Cinderella Boy by Kristina Meister

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

I have been actively looking for books with non-binary characters, and so was very excited to read about a gender fluid person, especially one in high school, because I wanted to see their journey through that very difficult time of life.  And when I read the first chapter, I was thinking this was going to be a great book.  Unfortunately, it went downhill from there.

The book jumped right in to introducing Declan as gender fluid – his sister found him putting on her dress and shoes when he thought she was out for the evening.  He braced himself for ridicule and misery, and was thrilled when instead she was instantly supportive and worked with him to create Layla – his beautiful, confident, female alter ego.  They went to a party where Layla met Carter, the most popular guy in school, whom Declan had had a crush on for years.  Carter was smitten with Layla, and instantly started pursuing her.  Layla agreed to a few dates because she just couldn’t resist, but underneath Declan was trying to keep things casual because he didn’t like the lie, and didn’t want to hurt Carter, and his plan was to have some fun before Layla disappeared and the school year started.  The dates turned into anything but casual, and though physically they were somewhat restrained, conversation was always deep and meaningful (and much more mature than I would realistically expect a 16 and 18 year old to be).

At this point I started having my first niggles about the book.  Layla and Carter discussed the nature of love, in the context of Carter’s father having cheated on his mother for years before they divorced, and his mother still having trouble letting go.  Layla commented:

Because that’s the nature of the thing:  to care so much that it doesn’t matter if they ever reciprocate.  If you really feel that way, you can’t hurt them.  You just can’t.  And when they hurt you, you forget it right away.

Hmmm….  sounds like true love requires you to be a doormat, and to me very reminiscent of how battered women justify staying with abusive men.  There was more along that line, and I was getting pretty uncomfortable with it.  They discussed lying in relationships, Layla admitted that she was lying about something but wouldn’t admit what it was.  Carter insisted that he would accept any secret, even if Layla had killed someone – as long as there was a reason.  Yikes!

Layla disappeared right before school started, a little over a third of the way into the book.  After she had schooled all of Carter’s friends on how to treat women right, and demonstrated her superior skillz with her professional paintball rifle.  Oh, and after she and Carter declared their love to each other.  Declan showed up at school and made a splash from the start.  He had been going to a private school where he was bullied and beaten on a regular basis, and his defense had always been to strive for anonymity and inconspicuousness. At the new school, Carter and Declan’s sister Delia turned him into a sort of mascot for the non-popular crowd, and suddenly Declan was popular with everyone, with no bullying in sight.  And he managed to beat up the quarterback of his school’s major rival – which made me wonder why he was beaten up so regularly before when now he could kick the ass of guys twice his size – so everyone loved him.  Snap, bullying over, nothing to it.  The rest of the book involved Carter, Declan, and Delia standing up to the principal’s homophobia and bigotry, and concludes at the homecoming dance which Carter attends with Declan, both openly in love with each other.

By the last third of the book, I was sitting back and finding fault with everything.  Carter and Declan both waffled between uber-confident and meek and doubtful, to the point that they no longer seemed like separate characters.  There was a lot of pointless psychobabble on the nature of love, relationships, truth-telling, labels, bigotry, bullying, etc. with overly simplistic resolution of all their problems.  The dialogue was frequently ridiculous – even adults don’t talk that way, much less teenagers.  There were weird descriptions and misspelled words:  “The pack of dissenters had congealed beside the wheelchair ramp in their purposefully drab color pallet”.  (I hope she meant palette, and how did the pack congeal?).  Another good one – “her warm appearance belied a voice like an ordained opera singer that could strip flesh off the unabashed.”  WTF does that even mean?

In the end, I didn’t even care that Declan a champion of gender non-conforming people, or that Carter was the perfect man for whom gender didn’t even matter when it came to love.  There was so much potential for these characters, and I was so disappointed that the terrible writing ruined it all for me.

Cover art by Shayne Leighton is interesting, the model was androgynous in a way that I saw Declan

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 335 pages
Expected publication: July 2nd 2018 by Triton Books (an imprint of Riptide Publishing) (first published February 5th 2017)
Original TitleCinderella Boy
ISBN 1626497982 (ISBN13: 9781626497986)
Edition LanguageEnglish

A Lucy Review: From This Window by Diana Jean

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

This is the very short (41 pages) story of Lucas and Jeremy.  The story is told from the point of view of Lucas, a hermit who exists in his apartment watching out the window at people, making stories about them and writing notes in notebook after notebook “He had never really written before he came to this apartment, but he found himself drawn to the idea of creating lives for these perfect strangers.”  He doesn’t have a job and only goes out to the café in his building and that is where he comes across Jeremy, who works there part-time.  Despite Jeremy’s beautiful smile and persistent friendliness, Lucas is rude and sarcastic to him always.

Lucas watches Jeremy, as well, as he heads down to work.  He always stops at the department store across the street before his shift and the reason for that is sweet.  Sometimes I couldn’t figure out why Jeremy kept up his pursuit of Lucas when Lucas was so adamantly against it but I’m glad he did.

Lucas is also rude to his brother, Kyle, the one member of his family who hasn’t given up on him even though his parents pay the rent on the apartment but it is ultimately Kyle that precipitates Lucas going over to Jeremy’s for a party.  One that he refused to attend when he was invited but Kyle visiting on Christmas Eve changes things.

Had this story been longer it would have been a 4 star at least for me.  The feel of Lucas’ depression was realistic.  “Sometimes you wake up and think the effort it takes to get out of bed is impossible.  Or the effort to get into the car, drive to work and be there for hours.  And you find out the effort of doing anything is so great that you just do nothing.”  It is never specifically stated but depression seems likely.  Jeremy seems sometimes too perfect and here again I’d have liked a little more fleshing out of the character. 

The cover art, a drawing of two men at a table in front of a window to the city, was a little too fluffy for the feel of the story.  While it ends hopeful, there is a lot of sadness within Lucas.

Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press|   Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition
Published June 18th 2018 by Less Than Three Press (first published November 30th 2013)
ASINB07DVNWCYC
Edition LanguageEnglish