A Mika Review: Kage by Maris Black

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

My name is Jamie Atwood, and I’m an addict. I never thought I’d say such a thing. Never had a problem being overly-attached to anything in my life. I came from a perfectly middle-class family, made good grades, and had a hot cheerleader girlfriend… but the truth is, nothing ever really moved me. So how did a guy like me become an addict?

I met Michael Kage.

Kage is an MMA fighter. A famous one. I like to think I helped him get that way.

He’s charming as hell, with looks to rival any movie star and talent to back it up. So why did he need to hire me as an intern Publicist? Simple. He has a darkness in him– like a black hole so deep it could swallow him, and me, and everyone we know– and that’s not good for business.

The first time I met him, I felt the pull. I think the addiction began at that very moment. And even if I’d known then what I know now, I would have fallen for him. How could I not?

For me, Kage is everything.

As much as I would like to 1 star the story, I can’t. The writing was okay, just not so much the execution. I think I would have liked the story if Jamie was not a idiot in the beginning, and then acting like a love drawn puppy later on in the story. I found Kage ridiculous. If there was ever an athlete who worked out his much, ate the right things every freaking day but turns around drinking and smoking weed. Really? Kage, you respect your body? When did Kage become a psychopath? His range of emotions went from scared closeted guy to You don’t know what I’m capable of. His behavior at the end of the story left a really bad taste in my mouth.

The story had some good parts. I do feel like Jamie was naive to certain situations. He did not see that Kage misled him from the beginning. I thought the whole uncle owning the business/mob tie situation was irrelevant, I did not get the point of this plot reference. Another huge problem to me was the sex. I’m not a man, but I’ve read countless mm books and PREPARATION is a must. For this author to do that with someone that was considered a virgin was demeaning/border like assault during that last scene.

Cover Art by: I actually liked the simplicity of this cover.

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

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 226 pages
Published May 25th 2015 by Maris Black Books
ASINB00VMX9MSK
edition languageEnglish

A Mika Review: Piece Us Back Together Collection by Raine O’Tierney. L.J. LaBarthe, and Cate Ashwood

Rating: 3.5 star out of 5 stars

A M/M Romance “Healing” Anthology

Red Runs Through by Cate Ashwood/3 stars out of 5
Carter McClintock’s life is uncomplicated. For the past five years, he’s spent so much time in hospital scrubs that one day bleeds into the next, and that’s just the way he likes it. That is, until he meets Matthew Nolan. Carter has never had a patient affect him the way Matthew does. During Matthew’s stay in the hospital, the chemistry is unmistakable, and once he is discharged, Carter asks him out.

Despite the obvious attraction between them, Matthew’s HIV status keeps him from handing Carter his heart, refusing to believe anyone could ever truly want him. When Matthew’s past comes to light, their budding relationship is threatened before it has even begun. But Carter isn’t one to give up without a fight and he will do anything to show Matthew the lengths he will go to keep them together.

I like the author for writing about a topic that we seldom see in m/m romance stories. I did not like the execution of the story with these two characters. I had a hard time believing that Carter just accepted Matthew with no reservations or anything. I do think it was too convenient for Carter to be taking medication to prevent certain illnesses. Outside of their initial meeting, I didn’t feel a connection between the two. I was kind of bored reading it honestly. I do think we ever got to see Matthew develop as a character. I found myself skimming through the story. I wish I could have seen them in another light. I did like the author’s writing.

All That Shimmers by Raine O’Tierney /Rating 3 stars out of 5
Beau Bell is a former Olympic hopeful, left paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident. He has every reason in the world to be pissed off and miserable, yet he’s training for the Paralympics Men’s 100m—S6 division. The chair? Just a part of who he is now. Beau’s attitude is golden. If only he could contend with this one little issue: errant erections and no way to relieve them!

Nikša Meríc is a lonely scientist and really bad poet living underneath the old building where he does his research. Every night he watches his neighbor through his basement window as he undresses in his wheelchair. Although there is no apparent reason for Nikša to be unhappy, he’s struggled with depression his whole life and has tried to kill himself on multiple occasions.

When Beau proposes that his “voyeur” come over and help him experiment with the erections he can’t actually feel, the relationship they build is a sexual one. But the relationship they need is one that will heal each other’s hearts as well.

I liked this more than I thought I would. I found the relationship between Beau & Niksa meaningful. I really liked Beau as a character. He was assertive, confident, and sweet. I didn’t understand his disability a lot when it came to being in the Paralympics. I found his drive really attractive. He didn’t let being paralyzed stop him from living his dream. Goodness when he yelled at Niksa through the window that it still works, I was laughing uncontrollably. He had no modesty. My faults lied with Niksa, he was such a depressed character. I felt sorry for him, he’s only 24 yrs old and so alone. I get it, I understand that need to have people around, and just have someone. My heart broke for him, but those poems literally made my skin crawl. They were so morose, and at the time I felt like Beau should have driven him to the nearest 72 hour hold facility. I’m glad he didn’t because he opened up and hopefully he’ll get better not for Beau’s sake but his own!

Swimming with Elephants by L.J. LaBarthe/ Rating 3.5 stars out of 5
After suffering a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder, Garrett believes his life is over. Depressed, bereft, in pain, and unable to return to the career he loves as an arborist, he sees no hope or future for himself. But a trip to Havelock Island in India turns his world upside down. He meets Jai, an Indian nurse, and becomes smitten with him. Near the end of his trip, while swimming with an elephant, he tells Jai how he feels.

After Garrett returns to Australia, he wonders if he can ever be healed of all his pain—physical, emotional, and mental—and fears that love and romance will never be his again. But then Jai turns up in Perth and brings with him astonishing news.

I liked this story. I thought it was very refreshing. For me, the character Jai made the story refreshing. It was such a thrill to read about a character that was just positive, spiritual and there for you.

Garrett was suffering from a tear in his rotator cuff that left him unemployed, depressed, and brokenhearted. It never fails to surprise me what people do to one another. To break up with someone after you spent 4 years with them because of a shoulder injury is outrageous. Garrett found himself travelling to India for a physical therapy resort upon going there he meets Jai a beautiful India man who is a nurse but works all over the world. I liked it alot, it was a slow burn. They were friends for 2 years before anything happened. I actually liked that they took there times. Yes Garrett annoyed me at times with his self-pity, but he eventually got over it. I liked them together, more than that I liked Jai’s sunny disposition on life. I’ve never read anything by this author, but I look forward to more.

Cover Art by Paul Richmond as are all the covers: I like this cover. I think it shows unity and love which every story covers.

Sales Links:

Dreamspinner Press (collection link):

Red Runs Through by Cate Ashwood
All That Shimmers by Raine O’Tierney
Swimming with Elephants by LJ LaBarthe

Individual Sales links are listed under the titles.

All Romance (ARe):

Red Runs Through by Cate Ashwood
Swimming with Elephants by LJ LaBarthe
All That Shimmers by Raine O’Tierney

Sales Links at Amazon:

Red Runs Through by Cate Ashwood
Swimming with Elephants by LJ LaBarthe
All That Shimmers by Raine O’Tierney

Buy Them Here

Book/Collection Details:

eBook, 260 pages, May 20, 2015 by Dreamspinner Press

Each Story Sold Separately or as a Collection:

Piece Us Back Together at Dreamspinner

Red Runs Through (Piece Us Back Together)by Cate Ashwood

ebook, 90 pages
Published May 20th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press

All That Shimmers (Piece Us Back Together)by Raine O’Tierney

book, 90 pages
Published May 6th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press

Swimming with Elephants (Piece Us Back Together) by L.J. LaBarthe

book, 95 pages
Published May 13th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press LLC

A Mika Review: Kick At the Darkness by Keira Andrews

Rating: 5 star out of 5 stars

To live through the zombie apocalypse they have to survive each other first.

College freshman Parker Osborne is having the worst day ever. He humiliated himself trying to pick up a cute guy, he hasn’t made any friends at school, and his stupidly hot jerk of a TA gave him a crappy grade on his paper. He’s going to drop Adam Hawkins’ film class and start fresh tomorrow after he’s had a good sulk.

But Parker’s about to find out what a bad day really looks like—if he can survive the night.

A virus is unleashed, transforming infected people into zombie-like killers. After these quick and deadly creepers swarm campus, Parker only escapes thanks to Adam swooping him onto the back of his trusty motorcycle. Now they’re on the run—and stuck with each other.

When they’re not bickering, they’re fighting off the infected in a bloody battle for survival. Their only hope is to head east to Parker’s family, but orphaned Adam has a secret he’s not sure Parker will accept: he’s a werewolf. Can they trust each other enough to find some light in these dark days?

Kick At the Darkness by Keira Andrews surpassed all my expectations. It was really good from beginning to end. No, let me say Parker surpassed all my expectations. Here I thought he was going to be this pretentious idiot but he was not. He was a fighter, and sure, I would have freaked out as well in his shoes. I thought the writing was very good. Loved Parker snarkiness. Can I just give K.Andrews a big ass high 5^ for naming him Parker Osborne, seriously You Rock!!!

Dude, this book helped me if there was ever a zombie apocalypse in the future. Now I know what to do and what not to do. I thought they were fortunate about the things that they were able to do and say. Also great? The pacing of the story. In situations like these, it always seems to me like Marshal law is the first thing that happens so I don’t know if I would be brave enough to leave my house in a situation like this. Unlike Parker.

For me the best part of the book was the FREAKIN DIRTY TALK. Parker, who is 18, is one of the dirtiest boys ever! I enjoyed every second of all the words that came out his mouth. The story was at 85% when Kiera Andrews wrote this scene and I damn near fainted because I can picture that in my mind! I re-read it 3 more times to make sure it said what it said. It wouldn’t be a zombie apocalypse book without some crazy people. Yeah that whole entire Pine resort thing was nice, but I seen crazy coming from a mile away.

I do wish I could have gotten a better ending. I understand it was 10% of Parker finding what he was looking for, but that’s it? We just are going to coast along. Hmmm that was a little disheartening. Overall I really enjoyed this book.

Cover Art by Dar Albert. I thought the cover was fitting considering the situation. I liked just seeing Adam & Parker plus Mariah the faithful motorcycle.

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

Book Details:

265 pages
Published May 28th 2015 by KA Books (first published May 26th 2015)
ISBN139780994092410
edition languageEnglish

A Mika Review: Time Waits by C..B. Lewis

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Badly wounded and on the run from his WWII Hungarian brigade, Janos Nagy stumbles through a temporal gateway to the future. Suddenly stranded in Manchester, England, 2041, Janos wants answers about a crazy world he doesn’t recognize.

Dieter Schmidt, flamboyant historian/linguist for the Temporal Research Institution has those answers, but the TRI is a neutral entity, set up to verify historical events under a strict code of noninterference. That doesn’t stop Dieter from taking Janos under his protection. Trust doesn’t come easy to Janos, who came from a time when revealing his secrets could get him killed, but the two men slowly build a tentative friendship with a possibility for more. But Janos’s continued presence in the future and Dieter’s persistence raise questions about the limits of the noninterference policy.

Since the rules have been bent once, one agent sees no reason why he can’t push them further, and he travels back to 1914 to make a few changes of his own. Under Janos’s guidance, Dieter must leap back in time to stop the rogue agent from changing the past and risking everyone’s future—if he can survive history

I honestly don’t know what I was thinking when I got this book. I don’t read many sci-fi books, time travel is something I’ve never been interested in. However, I’m so happy I read this book. I liked it a lot. It was different from my comfort zone reads, this was also a new author to me as well. I think the author did a good job with the WWII facts pertaining the history part of the story. I thought the concept was really good, and executed well.

For a story that was based on the future I didn’t see as many futuristic elements in here as I had hoped for. The blurb says it’s 2041, but nothing was very different from now until then. I think the only noticeable thing was the pod cars. My thing is, if you’re going to write a story based on a futuristic time, I’d like to see some of those elements throughout the setting; other then that, I liked everything else, including Dieter and Janos. Each guy had different qualities about themselves that made them better with each other.

From the first meeting of the two, until the last moment on the page I was happy. Sure they had a very rocky beginning. I can’t blame them, Janos is from early 1900’s, and everything he knew was gone, blown out the water. I thought it adapted very well. He was a very quick study. My favorite thing about Janos was him accepting that this present world he lives in does not care who he loves. He was cautious about showing his intentions with Dieter and I get it, he’s from a time where even the thought of sodomy had the person killed. I liked his reactions at the end of the story when Dieter was doing his own Jump. His emotions came full circle. Dieter was amazing as well. I love that he was super confident in his sexuality and how his approach to the story was handled.

For me Dieter grew the most in this story. He had countless hurdles to get across, he was not an aggressive person, but he had to put on a strong face numerous of times.   As for the plot of the story, I really liked that as well. I wish for me that the historic event could have been more familiar to me. When I was reading it, I had to stop and Google to see if this information really happened. LOL, it did. I enjoyed those scenes a lot. All in all, I think the author did a very good job on this book, and I liked it a lot.

Cover Art by Catt Ford. I liked the cover. I think both models are good descriptions of the main characters.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 330 pages
Published May 15th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press LLC
ISBN139781632168535
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

A Mika Review: The Book of Ethan by Russell J. Sanders

Rating: 4 star out of 5 stars

Ethan Harker is the son of The Prophet, the stern, demanding leader of a small Southwestern polygamous community. Ethan has been groomed to one day take his place as the leader of this isolated cult.

But things happen that compel Ethan to flee his stifling community and find his way in the world beyond it. Totally out of his depth, he is sheltered by a remarkable group of people from a loving and accepting church. From them, he learns what family truly means and begins to construct a life free from the restrictions he’s grown up with. Little by little he dismisses the assumptions he was taught about the “evil” people in the outside world.

Amid all this, Ethan realizes something about himself when he meets rapper Kyan, a boy his age. Although he’s been brought up to fear and hate members of Kyan’s race, he can’t help falling in love with Kyan. Fueled by a new understanding and new friends, Ethan gains the strength and courage to conquer the confusing world he has been thrust into.

The book was not on my radar until my “Ethan” brought it to me. I had never read anything by this author so I didn’t know what to expect. I’m very curious about reading books pertaining religion tropes outside of Christianity. For me it’s nice to see how other people’s faith details how they will live their lives.

I think the author did a good job on Ethan’s questions involving the world. I don’t know any person that doesn’t have question about how the world works. I know from experience growing up in a Baptist church we were expected of certain things, and I had all these question about general people. It shows in the author’s writing his familiarity with curious. I’m not familiar with the Mormon religion, and I don’t know if what I’ve read is correct, but if it’s like this then someone needs to pray for the children involved.   I loved Ethan, I didn’t see him standing up for himself. I did not see him standing up for other people or questioning folks.

I think the author did a very good job on Kyan. I seldom see African American YA male characters, but to see one who is not closeted, not scared to admit him being gay is amazing. What else is amazing is having a supportive mother like Kyan does. It brought tears to my eyes because she didn’t stop loving him because of that, she didn’t want him to rap. It seems silly seeing as this is present day, but her reasons are validated. I think this books shows courage, strength, and seeing good in people.   If I had to find fault in the story it was my displeasure of the author having Kyan speak in constant slang or Ebonics. I will say, it turned me off in the beginning alot. I didn’t like it, still don’t like it, but it’s a part in the book Ethan mentions that he loves how Ky could turn off his street self, and turn on the son of a professor. I get it’s just a book, but I think we could have done without it.

I really enjoyed the diversity in this book. It had such a supporting cast, and I appreciated everyone in this book. I do love that it was such a positive note instead of the negative things like runaways, prostitution, or drugs something that could have easily happened to Ethan. It had sad moments but it’s life. I will probably be on the look out for more from this author.

Cover art by Anne Caine. I liked this cover a lot, it showed the boys in the most simplistic view. I liked that we didn’t get to see a full picture of Ethan seeing as in the book he talked about vanity being a sin, and trying to not gauge his looks in the mirror often. I think they did a very good job on the cover.

Sales Links: Harmony Ink Press (DPS YA Press) – All Romance (ARe) – Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 266 pages, also in paperback
Published April 23rd 2015 by Harmony Ink Press
ISBN139781634760065
edition languageEnglish
url http://www.harmonyinkpress.com

A Mika Review: The Glass House by Suki Fleet

Rating: 5 star out of 5 stars

At seventeen, Sasha is a little lost and a lot lonely. He craves friendship and love, but although he’s outwardly confident, his self-destructive tendencies cause problems, and he pushes people away. Making sculptures out of the broken glass he collects is the only thing that brings him any peace, but it’s not enough and everyday he feels himself dying a little more inside. Until he meets Thomas.

Thomas is shy but sure of himself in a way Sasha can’t understand. He makes it his mission to prove to Sasha that he is worthy of love, and doesn’t give up even when Sasha hurts him. Little by little Sasha begins to trust Thomas. And when Sasha is forced to confront his past he realises accepting the love Thomas gives him is the only way to push back the darkness.

I’m telling you that Suki Fleet is becoming a favorite of mine. Her writing is so beautifully done. She has the power to reach inside of you, and rip out all your emotions. I expect to cry reading her books, and I love every second of it. The Glass House was no different. It flowed from beginning to end effortlessly. I absolutely loved her characters in this one, and I liked the concept…a lot. I normally don’t read YA but this YA had definitely surpassed all expectations. I loved every second of it..

Sasha is remorseful, and cynical in a way a teenager should not be. I was rooting for him from the start. He doesn’t have it easy with his life. I almost felt sorry for him, but then I stopped because he stopped feeling sorry for himself. I know all about teenage angst and the ability to lash out to hurt others in order to protect yourself. Goodness, someone was looking out for him, because they sent Sasha a beautiful loving angel in Thomas. Thomas made me smile so much. He did not want much; he just wanted to be loved and to give love. I truly like how they came together; there was such innocence about them together.

I think Sasha reacted in a way that made sense. He’s still emotionally closed off from being abandoned by his mother. Her reappearance in his life had the potential to push him over the edge. If it wasn’t for Corinne and Thomas I don’t think emotionally Sasha could have recovered.

I liked Corinne and Thomas’s grandmother; those two women were very supportive in these boys’ lives. I was so happy at the end, and even those moments of uncertainty weren’t enough to steer clear for me. I will be reading more by Suki Fleet.

Cover Art by: Aaron Anderson. I think this cover was beautifully done. This is how Sasha sees himself, and he was in the darkness for a long time, before he was able to come into the light. I like the symbolism of it.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 180 pages, also available in paperback
Published April 16th 2015 by Harmony Ink Press
original titleThe Glass House
ISBN139781634760515
edition languageEnglish

A Mika Review: I’m The Guy You Hate by Isa K.

Rating: 3 star out of 5 stars

Thirty-eight year old Jonny Ordell is hopelessly in love with his friend Mark Dorsett. There’s just one small problem: Mark Dorsett is insane.  Not a charming, cute, surprisingly insightful kind of insane. The kind of mental illness that rips apart Jonny’s insides and turns otherwise good people into villains. It isn’t Mark’s fault. It’s not like he asked to be sick. At the same time Mark’s erratic behavior and his refusal to get help is destroying everything in his path, including Jonny.  Now Jonny must decide: does he stand by his man and hope loyalty and love are enough to make Mark realize the error of his ways? Or does he abandon Mark to his illness and save himself? Neither choice offers much hope of happiness. As their affair continues Jonny must confront the possibility that his love is not healing Mark, it may actually be making him worse.

There’s no damsel in distress here. The character may be tragic, I’ll give you that, but he’s a willing participant in his own destruction and there’s nothing you can do about that.   That might the sanest thing said throughout this entire tragedy. It was train wreck from beginning to end. The writing wasn’t bad but it was the way I felt about the characters and plot. Isa K is a new author to me. The story itself was depressing, sad and just frustrating. I hope that if this was real for anyone, anywhere, that they would have the strength to walk away. The two guys, were bad for each other. Nobody can dispute that. Mark is sick, he’s alcoholic, had mental illness issues that I felt like the author should have told us which disease was involved. He might be the most unstable person I’ve ever read about. He’s selfish, rude, sexist, inappropriate, and sick. First and foremost enabling a sick person with any kind of addiction is wrong. I have no sympathy for Johnny, he put himself in the worst positions ever. I honestly felt like he forced Mark’s hand on the sexuality issue.

I want people to know I’m The Guy You Hate is not romance so don’t go in thinking it’s going to be, a person who is sick then magically gets help and falls in love.   It’s destruction from page 1. I kept getting so frustrated because Johnny felt the need to validate Mark’s behavior to everyone. I hated it, Mark is a grown ass man who didn’t need anyone to stand up for him. It kept pissing me off because in the novel Johnny keeps making references to Mark being a good guy. When is Mark a good guy? I haven’t seen anything selfless he’s ever done for no one in the entire book. I’m trying to understand what the author wants us to realize while reading it. Honestly if Johnny was supposed to be the sane person in this story, how come no one pointed that out. He’s so pathetic in how he reacts to Mark. For me this element is a slap in the face the entire book involving other relationships.

The author explained that this is more based on the illness than the actual romance, and I’m okay with that. I’m just not happy with what was on the page. The author wrote well enough, and if that’s the case then it’s a 3 for writing, . I want to know Why to everything? The main character that was gay who wasn’t sick almost devoted his life to Mark in a worshipful sense. It was horrible, that the treatment of him. And no one in this book acknowledged that Mark had any type of mental illness. I guess I’m just upset that I read this, and I might be feeling a certain way for actual people that go through things like this in real life. It sucks. Honestly I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone. If you can feel my anger at this book, then you’ll understand. Maybe I’ll go email the author and get some questions answered.

Cover Art by Wilde City Press.I don’t get the cover at all. It doesn’t match the tone of the book, as well as where we leave off after reading it.

Sales Links: Wilde City Press Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook
Published March 25th 2015 by Wilde City Press
ISBN139781925313017
edition languageEnglish

A Mika Review: Crossed Hearts (Hearts and Scars #1) by K. Vale

Rating: 3 stars out of 5:

One heart’s been broken. The other is secondhand.

Kory Vansant doesn’t deserve to be alive.

As time sucks him dry of energy, sapping the final ounces of strength from his congenitally enlarged heart, he’s forced to end his career as Kory Kent, porn star. Staring down death, he questions his life choices and prays for a miracle. For another chance at life, he vows to change who he is at his core.

His prayers are answered. A perfect heart now beats in his chest, but it comes at a heavy price. The donor is an innocent young man cut down far too prematurely.

Kory’s blemished history and his donor’s spotless past are far from ideal matches.
As his debts skyrocket, Kory can’t help but think his resolve to walk the high road is being tested. After he meets the adorable Will Squire at the gravesite they both visit, he’s doubly damned because there’s no way he can keep up his end of the bargain. What happens when a man breaks a deal with a higher power?

Will often prefers the company of the dead to that of the living. Following a bad breakup, he pours himself into his two jobs—funeral director at his uncle’s mortuary and part-time paramedic. He’s drawn ever closer to Kory, as if fate sticks her fickle hand in and pushes them together like two unlikely puzzle pieces. But sometimes history can’t be buried, and maybe divine intervention isn’t always right. Will discovers everyone is imperfect, no matter how pretty the outer package, and opening one’s heart is never easy, but can be oh, so worth the pain.

I’m disappointed in this book. The blurb painted different picture to me. For the first half of the book it was all morose. The two mc’s in my opinion were better off as friends the way the first half went. I was tired of reading about death. I understand what both mc’s went through but, at least for me, there are only so many times that I want to read gloom and doom in my stories. There were too many of these moments in the story for my liking. I felt the entire first half of the story was lacking life or light.

However, I did like how Will and Kory started off doing small things for each other. Will became assertive with Kory, and I think that showed us that his confidence was growing. Kory finally got over living a certain way because of the transplant and decided to live his life more fully. I liked Will’s ability to support Kory’s effort in whatever he wanted to do. He didn’t put him down, and was very patient with him.

But I think Kory needed a kick in the butt big time. He is rewarded with a second chance at life and it’s like he was waiting on something to happen for him instead of going out and getting what you wanted. As usual boy meets boy, boy doesn’t mention the “big lie”, and boy finds out, boy leaves, boys get back together.

Nothing spectacular about the story at all, but I did like certain areas. I got tired of Will’s self esteem issues. Will needed to own up to his role in that relationship. I don’t believe that Will had never seen that side of Darryl before. He’s almost homophobic, but remains in the closet, continuing to ruin other people’s life. I’m happy Will was able to walk away with the least possible scars. I’m happy he did find someone who appreciated him and loved him enough to be Out.

Kory did better as well. I don’t know if I think they should be together. Honestly I skimmed over the smexy scenes because they were predictable. *Sighs* I just wish I could have saw the chemistry in the beginning then maybe I’d believe it by the end, it kind of looks like they forced themselves to be together out of loneliness!

Cover Art by Kimber Vale. It’s a little crowded. I would have preferred just the two guys on the cover. It’s nice at the top, but then we look down and the rainbow umbrella with the cemetery just looks out of place.

Sales Links: Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: April 27th 2015 by Kimber Vale (first published 2015)
original titleCrossed Hearts
edition languageEnglish
seriesHearts and Scars #1

A Mika Review:Scarred Souls (Scarred Souls #1) by T.T. Kove

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5:

On a cold, wet afternoon Damian stumbled across a young man huddled beneath a tree crying his eyes out. He’s got more than enough problems of his own, but is compelled to give the bloke a place to crash for at least the night.  Josh is used to being alone, and most days it’s easier than trying to deal with people who can’t, or won’t, understand him. When Damian takes him in for the night, Josh assumes it’s gong to be one more go round of sex and get out in the morning.  Neither of them expects the friendship that develops, and they’re far from prepared when friendship starts to turn into more.

I really like the author’s writing style and that includes her writing in Scarred Souls. This is my second book by T. T. Kove, and as usual the writing flows nicely. Reading this, I felt like I stepped into the middle of the story based on Damian’s and Josh reaction towards each other. They meet and it’s not a care in the world about getting to know each other. I really liked Damian as a character, I mean he’s 18 years old, but he seems so mature for his age. Also, Damian has gone through a traumatic experience as well. When it comes to his history, I think the author fell short on providing some background history. I would have liked to have seen the way his friendship with Silver progressed from beginning to end. He’s functioning and I think he’s allowed to be angry one day out of the year because of what happened to him. I give him tremendous credit for being mentally strong enough to be in a relationship with Josh.

Josh had so many problems. I felt bad for him. Someone who was supposed to love and care for him took advantage of him and it became this permanent stain on his heart . Sometimes I do feel like Josh used his borderline personality disorder to take advantage of Damian. He didn’t quite respect Damian’s reasoning on some sort. I do feel like all the times that he did harm himself was selfish, as well as givingsomeone else that burden of looking after you. I get it’s he’s mentally unstable. I wish his mother would have pushed the issue on him getting help more efficiently. I do like the side characters that were in the story. I think I’ll continue on the series.

Cover Art by: Aisha Akeju. I think the guy on the cover represents Damian, I’m not really sure since the main guys physical descriptions were hardly talked about. Either way it’s a nice cover since characters go through some traumatic experiences.

Sales Links: Less Than Three Press (preorder discount) All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It here (other links to follow)

Book Details:

ebook, Second Edition
Expected publication: May 20th 2015 by Less Than Three Press (first published July 31st 2012)
ISBN139781620045428
edition languageEnglish
seriesScarred Souls #1, Their Circumstances #1
charactersDamian Fielding, Joshua Slater settingLondon, England, 2003 (United Kingdom)
London, England (United Kingdom)

A Mika Review: Breaking the Habit by J.P. Bowie

Rating: 3 stars out of 5 :

Mike Peterson is determined to break the gambling habit that resulted in two failed marriages, no money, no job, plus almost getting himself and his brother killed when loan sharks came looking for their money. In addition, he’s recently been having some doubts about his own sexuality. When his gay brother suggests he get in touch with an old friend, recently out police officer Larry Bertoli, Mike is at first leery of the idea, and their first meeting isn’t exactly ideal.

They decide to meet again and this time more of what they are and what they could mean to one another is revealed during their time together. They begin a tentative friendship that graduates to a first, fumbling attempt at romance. Can they find the secure relationship they both want, or will Mike’s addiction and lack of self-esteem hinder what could possibly be salvation for both men?

Seriously, if I could take the entire cast of the book out to a field and shoot them I would. Is everyone selfish and hurtful in this book. I’m so happy it was only a 100 pages, I literally wanted to DNF at the first re-introductions of the main characters. Why?? I can’t say without spoiling it for you, but it’s ridiculous. I can’t look past that. I’m disgusted that the mother and brother actions, as though it was perfectly fine as long as Mike is getting his life together. How is that okay? Another thing was if the sister was okay with it, where was she during most of the story? Absent, that’s where she was. I don’t get it, you might as well as portrayed them as long lost class mates. And let’s not talk about the assassin type murder your brother’s boyfriend supposedly had done, based on your own gambling addictions. Isn’t he a journalist? Come on, I just found the story lacking on all fronts. The excessive usage of Lar, and Jer got on my last nerves. It’s only 2 damn syllables; you can say Larry and Jerry without being tired.

Then the insta-love, I dislike this trope because it doesn’t work well for me. They literally had 2 dates in a 2 week duration before the underwear was getting thrown around. Both were virgins, as well. The romance part lacked for me as a story element. They were so over the top with everything. Let’s not mention the marriage proposal in a month’s time. I mean, Mike, you went from confused, to not knowing, to thinking about Larry, to being okay with identifying as a gay man? I think not, it felt totally unrealistic.

Cover Art by: Wild City Press, I don’t know who is suppose to be who. The descriptions I remember doesn’t suit with the cover models. Nice efforts with the dice though.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 100 pages
Published February 4th 2015 by Wilde City Press
ISBN139781925180947
edition language English

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A M/M Romance “Healing” Anthology

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Dreamspinner Press (collection link):

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