Tag: A Stella Recommended Read

A Stella Review: Strange Bedfellows by Cardeno C

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Strange Bedfellows coverCan the billionaire son of a Democratic president build a family with the congressman son of a Republican senator? Forget politics, love makes strange bedfellows.

As the sole offspring of the Democratic United States president and his political operative wife, Trevor Moga was raised in an environment driven by the election cycle. During childhood, he fantasized about living in a made-for-television family, and as an adult, he rejected all things politics and built a highly successful career as far from his parents as possible.

Newly elected congressman Ford Hollingsworth is Republican royalty. The grandson of a revered governor and son of a respected senator, he was bred to value faith, family, and the goal of seeing a Hollingsworth in the White House.

When Trevor and Ford meet, sparks fly and a strong friendship is formed. But can the billionaire son of a Democratic president build a family with the congressman son of a Republican senator? Forget politics, love makes strange bedfellows.

Cardeno C will always have a  special spot in my heart. She was one of the first m/m authors I read and some of her books are in my “all time favorite” shelf. So you can imagine my enthusiasm every time she writes a new story. I enjoyed Strange Bedfellows even if I was a little hesitant. I always stay away from books about politics, most of all because I don’t live in the USA.  I ‘m not so sure if what I’m going to read it will match the reality of the current politics or not. Of course I made an exception for Cardeno, I couldn’t resist. And I didn’t regret my choice.  In a way the book was almost shallow (in a good sense), because it didn’t address political aspects, even if it is full of characters that breathed politics since their birth. To me it was better, definitely easier to follow a story otherwise too heavy and not very romantic. Giving the subject I wasn’t expecting something so light and easy, which I so appreciated. I read it in one stand and loved it.

The story between Ford, the 37 years old republican congressman, son of a democratic senator and Trevor, the 42 years old son of the democratic president of the USA was sweet, funny and sexy. A couple of things I particularly liked: first of all I loved how Trevor wasn’t once mad at Ford for being in the closet. He never pressed him to come out, he was always understanding and accepting of Ford’s fears and doubts. Then  there was Ford. He was my favorite character, so loyal to the family and to a career even when it interfered with his love life and forced him to be in the closet. He had duties and commitments that he couldn’t forget, especially with his father’s delicate health. But there was just one tiny problem, the situation between Ford and Trevor was not just a fling, a friends with benefit thing, they were in love with each other. How to solve it?

The title fit the story very well, cause the Strange Bedfellows is made of each time Ford and Trevor met at hotels to stay together, not to just have sex, but to talk, to know each other better and to Ford to discover how to be out in his family’s world. There are some funny moments too and an amazing HEA, in a true Cardeno’s style. I gave it just four stars cause although it was sweet, it lacked of hot parts and the ending seemed to me a little rushed, I would have preferred a couple of chapters more, not cause I’m greedy, but because it would have deserved more time to develop.

Shortly, if you’re a Cardeno fan you have to read Strange Bedfellows, I’m sure you will love it. If she is a new to you author, this story could be a lovely way to become addicted to her characters.

Cover art by Jay Aheer. What can I say about the cover? Not perfect or eye catching but well done. It is okay, nothing more.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 174 pages
Published June 26th 2015 by Smashwords Edition
ISBN139781942184300

A Stella Review: When Will I Be Loved (Crescent Bay Chronicles #2) by Julie Lynn Hayes

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Fairy tales can come true…

when will I be loved coverMiller Fenwick wants the kind of happy ending his best friend got, with the hunky werewolf of his dreams. Trouble is, there doesn’t seem to be a Prince Charming on the horizon, and casual encounters don’t cut it anymore. Now that Alexx and Raoul are engaged, Miller is becoming resigned to being the bridesmaid, never the bride. But a chance encounter with a sexy stranger at Charisma has his hopes soaring, and his heart is wide open to possibilities.

Holt Wynne is the head of Helios, the largest vampire organization in the country. He’s a very influential and wealthy man, with a deep-seated hatred of werewolves. His running into Miller at Charisma isn’t entirely accidental. He’d meant to wait, but his emotions got the better of him, and he couldn’t stay away. And now see what he’s done…

Wait until Miller finds out he’s sort of just gotten married to the sexy vampire who hates the people who are Miller’s best friends. Sparks are gonna fly—and not just in the bedroom. One thing for sure—life in Crescent Bay is never dull!

When Will I Be Loved is the second book in the Crescent Bay Chronicles series by Julie Lynn Hayes. I liked the first one so much, so as soon as I saw this one was out , I got my hands and eyes on it. Here we meet Miller, Alexx’s best friend (When Will I See You Again), tired of meaningless nightstands and of being alone. He’s looking for someone serious in his life but the perfect guy he’s spent one night with, has vanished the morning after. Miller works as a receptionist at the Crescent Bay Chronicles, the newspaper just bought by Holt Wynne, the head of Helios, the largest vampire clan in the country.
Holt saw his mate, or eternal love as vampires say, at the Lupercalia Ball, and soon started changing his life, moving to Crescent Bay and buying the newspaper Miller works at.

“I saw you and I knew,” Holt whispered in a husky voice.
“Knew what?”
“That you were mine,” Holt said simply.[…]
“What does that even mean?” He gave Holt a confused look.
His legs felt as if they were ready to give out on him, and he didn’t put up an argument when Holt gently seated him back on the sofa.
“It means, my love, that you and I… That we…” […]“I know you’re probably familiar with the concept of soul mates. With us, it is that, but more so. And it’s a rare occurrence. To find another person who is as much you as you are, even if he or she appears to be very different. It’s about two hearts becoming one, two souls finding one another and reuniting. We call it eternal love. And you are mine. I knew it the moment I saw you at the Ball. And I knew I had to come back for you.”

Their first meeting was hot and explosive, maybe the “I love you” after seeing each other only two times was a little too much but I love stories about destined mate so it was okay. Miller was good to Holt, too strict and not used to having some fun. I liked how Holt showed his weakness and he wasn’t ashamed of his feelings. He seriously suffered in the past and I was happy for him for finally have found his mate. He fell apart on Miller more than once, very human for a vampire.

I appreciated seeing more of Alexx and Raul, they had a huge role to play in this book, but don’t worry, it can be read as a standalone. The book is sickening sweet (and I loved every single sugary moment) but there are a few childish behaviors that forced me to give it not more than four stars.

I can admit I preferred the first one, it was more engaging to me and less predictable in some parts, even if it’s hard to compare the two stories, they are totally different. Nonetheless When Will I Be Loved was perfect for the Miller story, he deserved this kind of lover and HEA. Now I’m really curious to know if there will be a third book in this series.

Cover art by Trace Edward Zaber. The cover shows a specific scenes in the story. I like it a lot, especially in the use of colors.

Sales Links:  Amber Quill Press  |  All Romance (ARe)  |  Amazon  |  Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 363 pages
Published June 7th 2015 by Amber Quill Press
ISBN 9781681750378
Edition Language English

Crescent Bay Chronicles series
When Will I See You Again #1
When Will I Be Loved #2

SALE LINKS

ARE https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-whenwillibeloved-1838226-340.html
AMAZON http://www.amazon.com/When-Will-See-You-Again-ebook/dp/B00IA6Q77Q
AMBER QUILL PRESS http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/2200-When-Will-I-Be-Loved.aspx

A Stella Review: The Dom Around The Corner (Escape #1) by Christine d’Abo

Rating:  3.75 stars out of 5

The Dom Around the Corner coverSimon is jaded. His bookstore is failing, his personal life is nonexistent, and he’s tired of the local scene. He’s desperate for a change, and hopes to find it at Escape, the hot new BDSM club in town.

What he finds there is Gavin. One look at the sexy submissive is all he needs to know that his trip to Escape was the right decision. And their night of no-holds-barred kinky sex feels like only the beginning . . . until his promising new sub vanishes with the dawn.

Then Gavin walks through the door of Simon’s bookstore—for business, not pleasure. To both of their surprise, he’s the consultant Simon hired to help save the store. As they work together, Simon realizes that he might have another shot at happiness, if only he can convince Gavin that he’s worth sticking around for.

The Dom Around The Corner is the first book in a new series by Christine d’Abo and the first I read by this author. I’m always curious about “new to me” writers and this one surprised me positively. I’m glad I picked this book to review. It was a winner to me for different reasons, apart from the BDSM theme which I enjoy a lot.

I’m a sucker for characters with baggage and bad luck in life, it makes them more real, just like me. In this book we meet Simon, a respected Dom, that is going through some hard times. His bookstore is having some trouble and he can’t come out of it.  He is still looking for a sub, the perfect one, the one Simon is searching for since forever, someone who fit in his life as a sub and as a life partner too. He is tired of the BDSM world around him, it is not what he wants anymore, to play for just a couple of hours. He makes a last attempt going to a new club and finally he finds Gavin.

Gavin has been without a Dom for three years. He’s still not ready to move on but he’s tired of being on pause with his life. He just needs someone who helps him relax and shut down his mind. He is soon attracted to the beautiful and powerful Dom but at the end of their first scenes together, scared of the possibility of something more, Gavin leaves Simon in a hurry. Destiny seems to put them on the same road again but can both of them put down their barriers and give their lives a second chance?

I loved Simon and Gavin, I found them so real in their worries and relationships. The book is also enriched by some second characters, as in Jocelyn, Simon’s cousin, a strong, helpful, stubborn young woman, the one to cheer Simon up; or Jared, the bartender matchmaker.

I liked the writing, the double POV helped me a lot at understanding both MCs and the dialogues were engaging. I think the author was really good at making me love Simon and Gavin (especially the young sub) choosing to focus the story in their present and not in Gavin’s hurtful past, which would have made the book definitely heavier.

The Dom Around The Corner has the right amount of everything I like to read about and I’d like to recommend it. I hope to see more of this new couple soon in the next book.

Cover art by L.C. Chase. Well done, the arrow recalls the story but it wasn’t eye catching to me cause I simply prefer another style.

Sales Links:   Riptide Publishing  –  – Amazon  Buy It Here on June 15th

Book Details:

ebook, Second Edition, 104 pages
Expected publication: June 15th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
original title Commanding Acquisitions (1-800-DOM-HELP, #2 )
ISBN 9781626493
Edition Language English
Escape series #1

Publisher’s note: This title is a heavily revised re-issue of a prior story, Commanding Acquisitions, originally released in 2010.

SALE LINKS

RIPTIDE PUBLISHING

A Stella Review: Cliff’s Edge (Willow Springs Ranch #7) by Laura Harner

Rating:  3.75 stars out of 5

Cliff's Edge coverNavy SEALs Cliff “Snides” Snyder and Ryan “Rhino” Matthews have been moving comfortably in each other’s worlds for two decades. Best friends since attending BUDs twenty years earlier, and despite playing for different teams, they’re often accused of acting like an old married couple—much to their amusement.

Assigned to shore duty for his final tour before retirement and without Ryan to anchor him, Cliff’s restlessness leads him to a local club and hands-on research that leaves him in a compromising position and a witness to murder—signaling the abrupt end of his Navy career. Needing a place to lay low and lick his wounds, Cliff visits his old friends at the Willow Springs Ranch while he considers making cowboy his new job title.

After six long months on deployment, Rhino returns to San Diego—only to discover Cliff’s gone dark and the unlikely words ‘poor judgment’ hanging in the air. Despite the offer of a prestigious assignment, Ryan opts to track down his best friend first and finds him at the WSR…along with more questions than he ever expected. With the most coveted orders for a SEAL dangling, twenty years of service under his belt, and Cliff determined to move on without him, decisions must be made.

Ryan is certain he has the perfect solution going forward, but Cliff knows he must face the fallout of his actions alone—and the one thing he’s determined to do is protect Ryan from making the biggest mistake of his career—even if it costs Cliff everything. You know what they say—the only easy day was yesterday.

Cliff’s Edge is the seventh book in the Willow Springs Ranch series. I read the first two and something else by Laura Harner. She is a great author, I like her writing style and let me say she writes hot sex scenes. This book was good too. Every book in the series can be easily read as a standalone, so pick whichever you want and give it a try. Remember the first one, Ty Hard is free at major online retailers. I can say I particularly enjoyed this last one.

I’m a fan of friends to lovers and gay for you stories so I soon jumped into this one. Ryan and Cliff were great and hot together, but it took too much for them to see in their heart. Twenty years, what a waste of time!

“Are we having a bromance?” Ryan blurted.
“A bromance?” Cliff laughed, and Ryan’s eyes narrowed. Oh boy, never laugh at a drunk who thinks he’s making an important point.
“Yeah, a bromance. Where two guys hang out all the time, like the same shit, would probably fuck each other if they were both gay—or if one of them was female.”
Fighting off more laughter, Cliff nodded. “Sure, you can call it that. Come on, princess, let’s get you to bed.”

It was a solid book to me, quick but well developed. There was an actual story, a mystery to solve and some important life decisions to take. I particularly liked the writing, it let the reading flow smoothly.

There were a couple of things that bugged me a little. First of all the accurate use of military acronyms forced me to use Google a little too much for my taste, sometimes diverting my attention from the story. But it was my fault, my ignorance.
Then in some scenes Ryan was disconcerting: first when he was still thinking he was straight after their first hot encounter and then once realized he was bisexual, he was too easy in exploring his new acceptance with Cliff. Sometimes he confused me.

Luckly once they cleared the air everything went well, hot, sweet and romantic.

Rhino’s hand fisted in Cliff’s hair and he pulled hard enough to force his head around to meet his gaze. He knew if it had been light enough in the room he’d see the gold flecks blazing in the hazel eyes.
“Tell yourself any lie you want to, Cliff, if you think it will make you feel better. Just remember, I know you as well as you know me…maybe better. You might run, but you’ll never be able to hide. I’ll just drag your ass back. To me.”
His lips closed over Cliff’s, mashing them so hard their teeth bumped.

“You’re never going to be alone as long as I’m alive.” […]“I love you, Cliff. As my friend. As my lover. As my forever.”

What I would have like to know more was the unexplored bdsm aspect, maybe to just have a short scene to see how they will behave. More in the next book, please? Even if I want Draco’s story.

Cover art by Laura Harner. It fit very well the style of all the covers in the series.

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

Book Details:

Published April 22nd 2015 by Hot Corner Press
ebook, 115 pages
ISBN13 9781941841013
Edition Language English
Willow Springs Ranch series #7

Willow Springs Ranch Series:

Come meet the men of Willow Springs Ranch in northwest Arizona. Life isn’t always easy, but these men know the value of friendship and hard work…and will touch your heart along the way.

  • Ty Hard (Willow Springs Ranch, #1)
  • Hold Tight (Willow Springs Ranch, #2)
  • Taking Chance (Willow Springs Ranch, #3)
  • Ty’d Down (Willow Springs Ranch #3.5)
  • Hanging Chad (Willow Springs Ranch #4)
  • Park’s Lot (Willow Springs Ranch #5)
  • Whit’s End (Willow Springs Ranch #6)
  • Cliff’s Edge (Willow Springs Ranch, #7)

 

A Stella Review: An Intrepid Trip to Love (A Little Bite of Love #1) by Charlie Cochet

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

An Intrepid Trip to Love coverTristan ‘Trip’ Hagan is a Husky shifter who was born to be the Hagan Clan’s next Alpha, a position of honor and nobility, a position he never wanted and was all too happy to pass onto his younger brother. But when they discovered his brother couldn’t have pups, the responsibility of continuing the Hagan Alpha line fell back to Trip. Under the weight of the Hagan Council’s demand to fulfill his duty, Trip settled down and produced an heir, but after years of struggling to uphold his family’s traditions, Trip found the courage to do what no other Hagan Alpha had done in the history of the clan: he came out.

Five years later, and Trip is living a happy life with his cheeky pup and their own little makeshift family. True mates within canine shifter clans are very rare, but Trip has had one since he can remember. Despite losing his heart to Boone twenty years ago, Trip holds little hope of ever getting to bond with the sexy Enforcer, as it’s against clan laws for pure-bloods to bond with half-breeds. With the call from their feral halves to seal the bond growing stronger by the day, can Trip and Boone find a way to be together without losing everything?

This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group’s “Love Has No Boundaries” event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story

The blurb tells pretty much everything you have to know about the story so I’m just going to leave some of my thoughts.

First of all it’s free, so picking it will cost nothing, you can give it a chance and I’m sure you’re going to love it. If you are already a Cochet’s fan like me you can’t absolute miss this gem, but if she’s a new to you author, An Intrepid Trip To Love it could be the right book to start knowing how amazingly she writes.

An Intrepid Trip to Love is a fantastic read, it caught me from the start and Robbie got my heart at his first whined Dad!.
The story opens with an hilarious dis-adventure, four grown up men and a seven years old who can’t get rid of a monster of a spider, saved by a woman (of course, we’re awesome!). Robbie is funny and smart, definitely too smart for his age.

“It’s okay, Dad. No one’s going to think any less of you for not being able to kill a spider.”
Trip arched an eyebrow at his son. “You’re the next Alpha, why don’t you kill it?”
“Because I’m seven.” The “duh” wasn’t said but it was certainly implied. “But you, you’re old.”
“I’m thirty-five! In human years, anyway.”
“That’s, like, still super old. Even in human years.”
“Why am I bothering? I have underwear older than you.”
“Gross.”
“They’re clean…”

Trip is the greatest dad ever, even if he makes Robbie feels ashamed of him every day with the unbelievable things trip is capable of. Boone is Trip’s mate since Trip was fifteen years old. Boone has been at his side as his guardian, never insisting to be something more considering the Hagan Clan and its rules. They had some stolen moments sometimes, but Trip can’t take it anymore, being without Boone as his mate is becoming unbearable.

“What did you think you were doing?”
“You always say if we need help or if there’s an emergency to call Boone. You said he’s the biggest, strongest, bravest, most honest, most reliable…”
Trip felt his face burning up as Robbie proceeded to list every one of Boone’s virtues off his little fingers. With a nervous laugh, Trip threw a hand over his pup’s mouth. Mortified didn’t begin to cover it. Boone, on the other hand, seemed thoroughly amused, and his lips quirked up on one side.
“Is that so?”
“Well, you know, you are an Enforcer.”

An Intrepid Trip To Love is funny, sweet, with a great second characters cast and a huge sense of family. There is also a lot of hatred but the HEA is assure so don’t worry, you are going to read a light story.

I reread An Intrepid Trip To Love to refresh my memory of this funny couple and be ready for the second one in the series, Healing Hunter’s Heart, and I loved it more than the first time if possible, cause I already gave it a five stars review.

There is a short free Valentine story too, called The Perfect Valentine’s Day (you can find it here if you are interested. Here we meet Trip and Robbie looking for a present to Boone for the Valentine’s Day. Trip is our usual dork and Robbie is our lovely too smart kid who knows the difference between underwear and a hairband (I’m starting to doubt he’s really Trip’s son!). A super sweet and funny little story, adorable as the first one, in which we can get a glimpse of Trip and Boone life together.

Cover art by Charlie Cochet. Sweet and cute as the story.

Sales Links:  It’s Free here at Goodreads M/M Romance Group    All Romance (ARe) 

Book Details:

Published May 26th 2013 by M/M Romance Group @ goodreads
ebook, 84 pages

A Little Bite of Love Series
An Intrepid Trip To Love #1
The Perfect Valentine’s Day #1,5
Healing Hunter’s Heart #2

 

A Stella Review: The Errant Prince by Sasha L. Miller

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

The Errant Prince coverMyron’s task is easy enough on the surface: locate the runaway Prince Tamsen and bring him home. But Tamsen is not merely a talented wizard, he’s an exceptionally stubborn one, and dozens of others have already failed at the task. When he manages to find the cabin where Tamsen is hiding, Myron isn’t foolish enough to mistake the find for a victory.

 Instead of attempting to drag the prince home by force, Myron tries a different tact: patience. He might not be able to best Tamsen magically or physically, but Myron can certainly out-stubborn him. He’s nothing if not used to doing what other people say he can’t.

But neither prince nor soldier expected stubbornness to be the crack in armor they’ve both become adept at wearing…

Lately I’m reading a lot of quick and sweet fantasy stories and The Errant Prince by Sasha L. Miller  is one of them, a cute novella with a really slow burn between MCs and no sex scenes.

Myron is a soldier of the King’s Guard, sent after the spoiled Prince who ran away from his duties seven years ago. When he is finally able to track him down he finds a beautiful man with bright red-orange braided hair and who lives selling the herbs and the vegetables he grows in his garden. Runaway Prince Tamsen in fact lives alone in an old cottage in the Heart Forest. He was able to stay hidden all this time cause he is a very strong wizard. While everyone failed, Myron is determined to find a way to approach the Prince and take him back to the palace. He just needs to be patient and wait for the stubborn Prince with no manners at all.

Basically the book consist of two parts: “The Improper Soldier” told by Myron’s POV and “The Errant Prince”, told by Tamsen POV. The first part was really good, it was lovely to see Myron try to make bundle of herbs and drinking nasty tea just to approach Tamsen and show he can trust Myron. It was funny reading about them arguing, Tamsen scowling and Myron grinning and provoking him.

In the second part of the book, when they are at the palace, I found myself bored as some scenes felt too long, too slow and with almost too many details, for example when Tamsen teaches Myron how to shift. At the same time I loved this second part cause it helps me to see a new Tamsen, more open with his (not yet) personal guard and not the unpleasant young man we met at the start of the story. Here we read about a few second characters, some likeable like Tamsen’s brother, Stirling, the current King, some to just hate, like the stupid parents of Myron, who decided to don’t love their daughter (Myron) anymore just cause he can’t feel himself as a daughter anymore but as a son.

The Errant Prince is really interesting and the final part so sweet, for me this story was definitely a winner. As always I’d like to read more about these characters and their magical world.

Cover art by Natasha Snow. This cover is perfect, sweet and magical as the book, I can see myself in front of cottage. Lovely!

Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press      All Romance (ARe)       Amazon      Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: February 18th 2015 by Less Than Three Press
original titleThe Errant Prince
ISBN139781620045091
edition languageEnglish

 

 

A Stella Review: A Fighting Man (Men of Manhattan #3) by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

A Fighting Man coverArmy Ranger Slater Cassidy has a very special – very sexy – target in his sights. Meeting gorgeous, smart, uber-snarky Casper Kennedy was the highlight of Slater’s last trip home to New York. The soldier in him carefully plans his conquest. Unfortunately, Casper’s wearing some seriously strong armor and Slater’s charm offensives bounce right off. Casper’s refusal to fall for him is puzzling – not to mention incredibly annoying. When Slater gets leave again after grueling back-to-back tours in Afghanistan, all he wants is another shot at wooing Casper. He jumps right into the battle for the other man’s heart, but Casper does not intend to entertain the troops.

A heartbreaking revelation changes the rules of romantic warfare, and Slater suddenly realizes he doesn’t just want Casper. He wants to capture his heart, too.

 Casper Kennedy is fighting a losing battle. A certain outrageously demonstrative Army Ranger has been a thorn in his side since his last trip home – and the main character in his steamiest dreams. Now he’s back. He launches an all-out sensual assault and no matter how hard Casper pushes Slater away, the man somehow manages to inch closer. So close, in fact, that Casper’s once-impenetrable defenses are in danger of collapsing. Should he throw up the white flag and take a chance at love? Or start firing back and keep his heart protected? When the handsome Ranger shows his true colors, Casper just might have to surrender the fight

A Fighting Man is the third book in the Men of Manhattan series. You can’t help but love this series. These books are all well written and the characters (main and second ones) are so enjoyable and well depicted, I had the feeling of knowing them forever.

Casper Kennedy is a 25-year old administrative assistant. He lost his lover, Mason, three years ago, they were engaged when Mason died in the field. He’s still missing Mason badly, so it’s hard to him to fall for the stubborn Sergeant that has his eyes on Casper.

Slater Cassidy is an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, and from the first time he saw Casper, he knew he had to have the man. Now is coming home on leave for a month. Can it be enough to conquer Casper? He will try everything, from sending him a fake police officer to made a striptease, to a serenade with the Casper film’s theme song.

After losing Mason, Carter is afraid to fall in love again, specially with a military guy, but thanks to an ad campaign and a little jealousy, Slater is slowly making his way into Casper’s life. Will Casper surrender to Slater?

As I already said at the start on this review I really loved this book. First of all it’s a funny and easy reading, I particularly liked the dialogue parts, they were fast paced and entertaining. The double POV use is my fave, cause I need to know what goes through my characters’ mind and in this case, seeing them both struggle with their feeling till almost the end and overcome their fears was heartbreaking and hard to watch without being able to hug and reassure them, but so worth it.

Some parts were really emotional, I’m thinking for example at the family aspect in this story. I ached for Casper, he was very unlucky with families. His parents don’t speak with him since he came out, Mason’s family didn’t even let him know Mason was dead. Finally he has found a new family in Slater’s mum, Raquel,(she rocks!) and in Blaine and Spencer.

There’s a great support cast, funny and strong as Casper and Slater. I can see more couple in the future books.

Highly recommended!

Cover artist by Wilde City Press. Nothing special in this cover and all the others in this series. They are nice to look at but nothing more.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 103 pages
Published May 7th 2014 by Wilde City Press
ISBN139781925180022
edition languageEnglish
seriesMen of Manhattan #3

 

The Men of Manhattan Series:

  • A Betting Man (Men of Manhattan, #1)
  • A Marrying Man (Men of Manhattan, #2)
  • A Fighting Man (Men of Manhattan, #3)
  • A Working Man (Men of Manhattan, #4)
  • A Healing Man (Men of Manhattan, #5)

A Stella Review: The Biker’s Pup by Sean Michael

Rating 3 stars out of 5

The Biker's Pup coverWhip came to the Gay Riders Carnival fundraiser weekend looking for a good time, but what he found was infinitely better.

Whip always has a good time at the Gay Riders Carnival, and this year he’s hoping to meet up with some studs and top last year’s festivities. The last thing he expects when he walks into his cabin is to be nearly bowled over by a skinny lad with a bruised jaw.

Nick came to the Carnival with his so-called Master Dirk, but instead of having a good time, things moved quickly from bad to worse and Dirk responded to his safeword with a punch. Running away and hiding was Nick’s only option.

 Broke, alone and not entirely sure how he’s going to get home, Nick thinks Whip is a dream come to life and he’s just waiting for the other shoe to drop. For his part, Whip is drawn to the sweet pup and falls hard for Nick over the course of the long weekend.

But what’s going to happen when the weekend is over?

 

Being a huge Sean fan, I try to be objective in the rating and not going with 5 stars, so I give this book just 3 stars cause I have to complain with the author about the sex part. I’m used to high levels of hotness and unfortunately The Biker’s Pup wasn’t so hot. And I want to add that if you have some issues with the BDSM world, you don’t have to worry, in this book it’s very light. There’s just a short demo of a figging (I had no idea something like that existed, if you are curious have a look http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figging).

Speaking of the sex aspect, can I have a rant moment please? Some people like to define some of the Sean’s books using the PWP acronym (Porn Without Plot). I know I’m biased cause I’m a Sean fan but I really hate this description, although I’m the first to say there isn’t a lot of plot in this book and in other ones. That’s one of the the reason I read them. The other reason is that I don’t like watch porn, I prefer to read about it. A couple of weeks ago I read Guns, Leather and Tinsel and that was so hot and sexy, I found it compelling. Then a week ago I start the Mannies Incorporated series and there was a plot, not just steamy sex, but a sweet and funny story. I love this author’s writing cause, looking at all his works, I can find the perfect book that fit my day mood.

The Biker’s Pup by Sean Michael is not one of that dark biker’s stories I lately read. What I read was a sweet and tender story, sometimes a little too much, but it was very welcome.

Whip goes to the Gay Riders Carnival weekend to enjoy some fun times with a friend or a sub and to join the Mr Leatherman contest. When he comes to the cabin he rented, he finds Nick, a young man abused by his ex dom, the worst dom ever, who actioned Nick as a slave and beat him frequently. The poor Nick is lonely, without money and without a future.

“…just tell me what you want.”
“A place,” Nicky finally finished. “Like somewhere I belong.”

But Whip is sweet and protective of this scared twink. They soon feel a bond that will lead them to hope for more. Whip will find his pup and Nick an angel, who will help him to straighten out his life.

“Oh… Are you for real? You’re like an angel in leather who showed up just when I needed you.”
Whip snorted. “I’m not an angel, pup.”
“You’re starting to seem like my angel.”

They will spent a weekend together at the Carnival, having fun and some (not too hot) sex and Whip will try to convince his pup to come home with him. But Nick is used to people treating him badly and wanting him just for the sex. Can he convince himself that Whip is for real and for the long haul?

“I’ll hold on tight.”
“I’m counting on it, pup.”

So, if you like some light BDSM with a caring dom and a sweet sub, I can totally recommend The Biker’s Pup to you.

Cover art by Posh Gosh. I’m sorry to say I don’t like it. Of course it’s well done and surely could have been used for another book, cause in my opinion it doesn’t fit the story, or better the characters. The models on the cover really aren’t how I imagined Nick and Whip in my mind.

Sales Links:   Totally Bound Books   All Romance (ARe)      Amazon     Buy it here

Book Details:
Published January 9th 2015 by Totally Bound
ebook, 74 pages
ISBN13 9781784303556
Edition language: English

 

A Stella Review: Rabbit Season (Lost Shifters #2) by Megan Derr

Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars

Rabbit Season CoverSidney has quietly loved twin brothers Brook and Colby for years, watching and pining as they came to his house for the summer every year. Painfully aware that they have each other, and that they have no reason to notice the unremarkable duck they grew up babysitting. 

Then the twins and their mother are attacked days before an important meeting that will change the shifter world forever. When the twins come to stay with Sidney’s family until the attackers are caught, Sidney learns that all things have their season, and even violent protests will not keep two rabbits from the man for whom they’ve been patiently waiting…

Warning: Story contains incest

Just a short premise. Even if this is a very light book, if you are uneasy to read about incest, I think this book it’s not for you. Usually I don’t feel so comfortable reading about this theme but I found out that it’s really important how the author showes it to us. In this case, it wasn’t so hard to me to read the incesty threesome (how Brook called it), maybe cause it’s a paranormal story, or perhaps cause it’s not uncommon in the shifters’ world Megan created, in general it’s allowed. In fact, if you’ll read the book, you’ll discover Sidney’s parent are the first to welcome his relationship. No drama at all.

Sidney is a duck shifter and the heir of the kingdom; he has two dads, Troy, human and James, the flock leader. He’s in love with the Hot Twinks (Brook and Colby), the rabbit shifters, since forever. he has tried (not so) hard to forget them, until one morning, still wearing Spiderman pajama pants, he finds them in his kitchen. Just like that, after being ignored all these years, they start flirting with him. Are they making fun of him?

Colby and Brook have feelings for Sidney since he was sixteen, but they stayed away because he was too young. Now he’s twenty and they are ready to take what they want.

The flock is not welcoming this new relationship, they want Sidney to be with a duck, not a rabbit, even less two of them. So Sidney needs to understand if the rabbits are just looking for some fun time or something more. Are the Hot Twins worthy losing the flock leading?

The author created a great shifters world with a DPRS (Department for the Protection and Regulation of Shifters) and a Lost Shifters Foundation, who rescue feral shifters and find them a home. Being a short book, I understand it wasn’t possible to develop all the conflicts and mysteries we read about them, but I think it has penalized the success of the story.

Rabbit Season is cute and there are some funny dialogues that lighten the story, but I missed the sweetness of Backwoods Asylum. In my opinion it’s due to the choice of adding the sexual aspect. In fact, while in the first book the physical relationship between the two Mcs started at the end of the story and there were no sex scenes, in this second one Sidney and the Hot Twinks are together and having hot sex almost from the start. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading steamy sex scenes, really love, just not in this story. Maybe it’s cause I’m still playing with Hansel and Gretel (if you read Brady and Skylar’s story, you know what I’m talking about). I thought I was going to read something on the same line. I simply didn’t get the same emotions from this book, even if I enjoyed a lot and I devoured it.

So far, I want to recommend the Lost Shifters series, it’s a funny, sweet and light reading.

The COVER DESIGNED by London Burden is not ethereal as the Backwoods Asylum one. It misses one thing: the clothes Brook and Colby stole to Sidney in the scene at the pond. It would have fitted the story perfectly.

Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press  All Romance (ARe)  Amazon   Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: February 18th 2015 by Less Than Three Press
original titleRabbit Season
ISBN139781620044346
edition languageEnglish
seriesLost Shifters #2

Books In the Lost Shifters series:

  • Backwoods Asylum (Lost Shifters #1)
  • Rabbit Season  (Lost Shifters #2)