Tag: A Stella Review

A Stella Review: How to Walk like a Man by Eli Easton

Rating 4.5 stars out of 5

How To Walk Like A Man coverDeputy Roman Charsguard survived Afghanistan where he lost his best friend—his K-9 handler James. Roman was a military dog until two years ago when he developed the ability to shift into a human. It’s not easy to learn how to be a man. He found a place to live in Mad Creek, a haven for the secret world of dog shifters. Finding a reason to live has been harder. That is, until a certain human walks into the Mad Creek Sheriff’s office and starts making trouble.

Matt Barclay has the worst luck. First he was shot in a SWAT drug raid, then he was sent as DEA investigator to Mad Creek, a little town in the California mountains. Matt’s job is to keep a lookout for illegal drug farms, but nobody in the town wants him there. And then there’s Roman, Matt’s erstwhile baby-sitter. He’s the hottest guy Matt’s ever seen, even if he is a bit peculiar. If the town doesn’t kill him, sexual frustration just might.

The town is counting on Roman to prevent Matt from learning about dog shifters, Matt’s counting on Roman to be his work partner and tell him the truth, and Roman’s trying to navigate love, sex, and a whole lot of messy human emotions. Who knew it was so complicated to walk like a man?

I was anxious to read Roman story since I first met him in  How to Howl at the Moon  , the first book in the Howl at the Moon series by Eli Easton. I was intrigued by this character cause I could feel he would be different and I wasn’t disappointed. I learnt to love him a little more with each page I read in How to Walk Like a Man.

His story was a little strange because Roman, as the title says, needs to start his human life, to learn how to walk like a man and not only as a dog. He lost his human James in Afghanistan, the one who saved a hurt Roman from a sure death.The flashbacks that showed the relationship between them, were all very emotional especially in the clear connection with James and in Roman sense of loneliness when he woke up for the first time in his doggie cage as a human and had no idea what was happening.

It was surely not the usual m/m book and Roman is not our usual character. That’s the reason why in this case I loved the slow burn story with Matt, it couldn’t have been different, since Roman has no clue about human life at all. And it didn’t bored me for a minute cause Matt and Roman were together from the first page, becoming friends little by little and starting to trust each other.

Moreover How to Walk Like a Man not just Roman and Matt’s story. There is so much more going on and I can assure you won’t have enough. It was sweet, simple and beautifully different as Roman is, with some emotional parts and some light and funny, like when Roman discovered for the first time his penis and the related sexual maneuver. I laughed so much at Lance’s embarrassment when Roman called his friend in the middle of his first erection asking for help with his problem.

How To Walk Like a Man and the whole series is highly recommended. I’d love to know if there will be more about these great characters in a near future.

Cover art by Reese Dante. There really is nothing to say about this cover, I can see Roman in the dog eyes, so it’s perfect to me.

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

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 241 pages
Published November 13th 2015 by Pinkerton Road
ASIN B0176KQPH8
Edition Language English

Howl at the Moon series

  • How to Howl at the Moon #1
  • How to Walk Like a Man #2

A Stella Review: Vampire Prince (Paranormal Nobles #1) by S.J. Frost

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Vampire PrinceThree years ago, Sebastian Beaumont, was starving and struggling on the streets. An offer for safety and shelter was nothing but the lies of a vampire. Since then, he’s been trapped, surrendering his blood and body as a blood slave to vampires, all for the hope of gaining one more day of life and maybe, someday, his freedom.

Having crossed more than three hundred years of life, Valentin Wyndham, is a prince among vampires. Memories of betrayal still haunt him and love isn’t something he seeks. When his need for blood becomes too strong, he breaks his usual habits and visits a blood house. Though he tries to resist, he can’t help but be captivated by the beautiful Sebastian.

Unable to deny the intensity between them, Valentin frees Sebastian from the blood house, but danger follows them both from those who don’t want to let Sebastian go.

Vampire Prince is the story of Sebastian, a young man taken from the streets three years ago by Wesley with promises of a better life (or at least some food) and brought in his blood house as a blood slave, where people like him, runaways and people no one is going to miss, are used and abused by vampires. This mansion is become his prison, but he has no choice, he needs to stay safe and play the good boy, pretending to enjoy the entertainment he provides vampires. But Sebastian is really tired, three year in this life are really too much and he knows the time for his death is near.

Prince Valentine has just moved to Savannah from England. He doesn’t like the kind of blood house he’s going to, but it’s his only choice at the moment to not become a danger with his thirst. There he meets Sebastian and the insta-attraction will bring them to a sweet and steamy relationship.

I enjoyed this story a lot, I haven’t read the previous edition so I’m not sure about differences or changes SJ Frost made in the plot/writing. I found the writing good and I was surprised by the plot, I was waiting for the usual “vampire story”, instead I got an interesting and original book, light and funny. I felt soon a connection with Valentine and Sebastian, both well developed and likeable.

I can say I am particularly curious to read the next books in this series. Sal and Basil, Valentine’s friends, were both so well done, sometimes took away attention from the MCs.

The reason why I can’t give Vampire Prince an higher rating is that I often found myself bored by too many sex scenes and sugary sentences  (a little too much even for me). Still I can’t wait for the next one.

Cover art by Scarlet Tie designs. I really like this cover, it’s mysterious and dark, and it soon caught my attention.

Sales Links:  MLR Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon |

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 236 pages
Published November 28th 2015 by MLR Press (first published March 7th 2014)
Original TitleVampire Prince
ASINB018GKSB74
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesParanormal Nobles #1
CharactersSebastian Beaumont, Valentin Wyndham settingSavannah, Georgia (United States)

A Stella Review: For Want of a Christmas Miracle by Olley White

Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars

For Want of a Christmas MIracleWhen one down-on-his-luck gardener and one garden centre owner meet, neither could predict the attraction they’d feel towards each other. Toby is just about turning round the business he’d inherited from his dad, and it’s all going well—until a risk he took looks like it might not pay off. Rhys’s employment at Toby’s garden centre is temporary, just to cover the Christmas sales, and frankly he’d much rather be outside gardening. And avoiding Christmas.

When an accident means Toby can’t be at work at a crucial time, it’s time for Rhys to step up to the mark. But can the Christmas Scrooge make the difference required for the man he’s starting to love?

 

Honestly For Want of a Christmas Miracle by Olley White was not a success to me. I love a holiday story and I read a lot of them this past December. Although it was a lovely read it wasn’t what I was hoping for in a Christmas story. First of all, it lacked in clarity about the characters, starting with their ages for example or more background.

Something in the writing then didn’t work well. Not sure yet what it was but often I had to reread various sentences. The bigger problem is that the book and the relationship between Toby and Rhys, while likeable and sweet, weren’t really engaging. On the contrary I struggled a little because I got bored. What I liked was the actual development in the plot and the good ending. So to me this short story was yes, enjoyable but it lacked too many things to give it three full stars.

 Cover Art by Aria Tan is really cute and I particularly like light and bright colors in covers, in this case the white of the snow. Well done.

Sales Links:  NineStar Press   | Amazon

Book Details:

Published December 6th 2015 by NineStar Press
Kindle Edition, 59 pages
ASIN B01915JE4C
Edition Language English
Holiday Hopes series #1

 

A Stella Review: Textual Attraction by K-lee Klein

Rating:  3,25 out of 5 stars

Textual AttractionLewis has spent most of his adult life looking after his aging parents, and he recently ended a relationship with a domineering guy who’d been nothing but bad for him. Despite his less-than-stellar track record with men, he’s still hopeful there’s someone out there for him, but he’s learned to be careful with his heart. So he can’t figure out why a cryptic, gruff, drunken voice mail from a stranger named Jerry doesn’t make him hit the DELETE button. It’s clear the man’s got the wrong number. But when Jerry begins to text, Lewis finally responds, saying he’s not the guy Jerry wants. Jerry, however, is nothing if not persistent, and he keeps texting and teasing Lewis, even after he knows the truth.

Lewis is surprised when something sparks between them. Jerry turns out to be charming and witty, and they develop an odd friendship through text messages. When Jerry suggests they finally meet in person, Lewis is apprehensive, yet curious. Can he take the big step to meet Jerry face-to-face? More importantly, can he maybe even trust Jerry with his heart?

I’m a fan of K-lee Klein, I’ve always found her writing endearing, emotional and romantic. Unbreak my Heart is my favorite among her works and I often come back to it. I read Textual Attraction and it was just what I needed, it is a light book, funny and quick, not very emotional (but I’m an emotional wreck and I was able to spill some tears cause it addresses a couple of things dear to me). What I appreciated the most was the author’s choice of not steering the story versus a more deep and maybe angsty themes as depression and diseases that are in the story in a large measure but not in a sad mode. The perfect way for a book like this one.

The beginning of a new possible relationship between Lewis and Jerry starts with bizarre voicemails left on Lewis phone by a man called Jerry who is looking for Tom (LOL) and it develops in a beautiful attraction among two lovely and sweet men, because the guy on the other end of the phone is funny and entertaining and maybe a little out of his mind.

I quite enjoyed the two MCs, well characterized and with  important lives. I particularly liked to have seen them with their great parents, all of them positive and for once, finally, all of them supportive of their sons. A well written story,  sweet but not too much.

The only “negative” note on Textual Attraction is that I think the author could have given us more, especially in the final part. I felt a little unsatisfied at the end because I wanted more pages to learn Lewis and Jerry better.

The cover designed by Trace Edward Zaber is simple and clean and that’s the reason why I like it.

Sales Links:  Amber Quill | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

ebook, 109 pages
Published November 19th 2015 by Amber Quill Press, LLC
ISBN139781681751214
Edition LanguageEnglish

A Stella Review: Reindeer Games by Kenzie Cade

RATING 4 out of 5 stars

Reindeer GamesDashing von Stride has one thing on his mind: winning the window display contest for the Miracle on Main Christmas Contest. His plans are set and ready—and then he walks into his toy store, Reindeer Games, to find a sleigh that shouldn’t be there. The mystery sleigh sparks a new plan, however, and now all Dash needs is the perfect Santa to model his display after.

This year, the pranks with his reindeer have gotten out of hand. Instead of preparing for the Big Day, Niklaus Kringle is hunting for his missing sleigh. Locating it should have been easy, but games easily won are seldom worth playing…

I discovered Kenzie Cade with the Portland Pack Chronicles series and when I saw this new holiday short, I was soon curious about it, especially cause… have you seen the cover? Impossible to resist.

Reindeer Games is the story of the toymaker and toy store owner Dash, who lives in a fabolous town, Wassail, where Christmas is highly celebrated and the annual competion of the best window display is coming. Dash is tired of his usual second place. This year he gets a surprise, a sleigh materialized out of nowhere in the middle of his store.

Niklaus is the Prince of the Kingdom of North pole, he comes to Wassail looking for his lost sleigh and  finds his mate. But is Dash ready for a future that it’s waiting for him to learn who he really is?

Reindeer Games (perfect title not just cause it’s the toy store name but for the role a naughty reindeer will have) is a great holiday short. It’s well written and engaging from the start. The dialogues are good and even if it is short, the author gave us some important background on the MCs and amazing second characters, like Tinsel and Pumpkin, the guard team, or Wendy, Dash’s best friend.  It is a sweet and cute reading, I’d have loved to have a couple of chapters more of course, but I felt pretty satisfied at the end, because Reindeer Games is traditional and original at the same time. It filled my heart with its good vibes.

If you’re looking for a magical story on your holidays, quick and dreamy, give this one a chance. Highly recommended!

The cover art by London Burden is what caught my attention first, it is super cute and well done.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 81 pages
Published December 9th 2015 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781620046845
Edition LanguageEnglish
settingColorado (United States)

A Stella Review: Midwinter Night’s Dream (Unwrapping Hank #2) by Eli Easton

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Midwinter Night's DreamMicah is the hippest, most chill guy on campus. But when he gets the hottest kiss of his life from a cute guy during a game of ‘spin the bottle’, Micah’s cool turns into a puddle of anxious goo. Sure, Micah’s always been a little bi-curious, but he never thought he’d pursue a guy, much less a guy who doesn’t seem to be interested in getting caught. 

Leo is passionate about two things: gay rights activism and acting. He stays focused and in control, and he never, ever, dates straight guys. When a chance spin of a bottle at a party has him locking lips with Micah Springfield, president of the Delts, dread-headed, serial-dating, straight Micah, Leo is determined to forget about it, no matter how incendiary the sparks or how gorgeous Micah may be. 

Leo has bigger problems. His senior project is directing Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream just before the Christmas break. When his venue cancels at the last minute, Micah offers the use of his parent’s barn in rural Pennsylvania. Leo’s play may be saved, but what about his heart? Between Micah’s sweet lips, his family’s welcoming arms, and a devious bulldog who is determined to play Puck, Leo may find himself falling under the spell of Christmas magic

I’m a fan of Eli Easton but her Unwrapping Hank series isn’t a winner to me, especially in this second installment called Midwinter Night’s Dream. The title and the amazing cover soon caught my attention, but then it wasn’t what I become to expect from this author. It was a nice reading, light and funny, well written, unfortunately it was nothing more. I found some parts boring too and it didn’t keep me glued to my Kindle at all.

The bigger issue is the fact that I don’t like more than my MCs’ POVs and in this story there are too many of them, Helen’s one, Yas’, Micah’s and Sloane’s, plus the two main ones. It was confusing and dispersive, and it made no sense to me cause I wasn’t interested in the other people’s life. I wanted to know about Leo and Micah. I was almost halfway through the story when I realized I had no clue about the MCs’ lives. I knew nothing about them apart from Leo  passion for the theater. And the fault can be ascribed to this choice of show more than our couple life. It was a bad choice cause Leo and Micah had not the space they deserved, the different POVs took away too much from their story. At the end it felt to me uncompleted.

I’m not saying it isn’t a good book, it simply didn’t work for me and I surely not going to reread it.

The cover art by Reese Dante is amazing. The model is gorgeous and the golden details are fabolous. Well done.

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

BOOK DETAILS

Published November 25th 2015 by Pinkerton Road

Kindle Edition, 121 pages

ASIN B0176UHYKK

Edition Language English

Unwrapping Hank series

Unwrapping Hank #1

Midwinter Night’s Dream #2

SALE LINKS

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AMAZON http://www.amazon.com/Midwinter-Nights-Dream-Eli-Easton-ebook/dp/B0176UHYKK

A Stella Review: Blueberry Boys by Vanessa North

Rating: 4. 5 stars out of 5

Blueberry Boys coverConnor Graham is a city boy—a celebrated fashion photographer in New York. When his uncle’s death drags him back to the family blueberry farm, all he wants to do is sell it as quickly as he can. Until he meets his uncle’s tenant farmer.

Jed Jones, shy and stammering, devout and dedicated, has always yearned for land of his own and a man to share it with. Kept in the closet by his church, family, and disastrous first love, he longs to be accepted for who he is. But now, with his farm and his future in Connor’s careless hands, he stands to lose even the little he has.

Neither man expects the connection between them. Jed sees Connor—appreciates his art and passion like no one else in this godforsaken town ever has. Connor hears Jed—looks past his stutter to listen to the man inside. The time they share is idyllic, but with the farm sale pending, even their sanctuary is a source of tension. As work, family, and their town’s old-fashioned attitudes pull them apart, they must find a way to reconcile commitments to their careers and to each other.

“You confuse the hell out of me.”

Jed cocked his head to the side and stared. “Why?”

“Are you gay?”

Jed wouldn’t meet his eyes. “That’s a c-complicated question.”

Connor sat again, not caring if their legs touched. “There’s nothing complicated about it. You like dick or you don’t.”

“I’m a Christian.”

“The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

“In th-this town? In my family? Yeah. They are.”

Blueberry Boys is the story between Connor and Jed, two young man living in two very different worlds that will collide under a meteor shower.

Connor is a famous photographer of NY, who has just lost his uncle Bruce and inherited his blueberry farm with his older, bully of a brother Scott. He is gay and out and comes back to what was at one time his home, Blandford, a close-minded town, for his uncle’s funeral.

Jed is the farm boy who is growing organic blueberries on Connor’s new farm soil. He’s shy and cute with his stuttering, he’s incredible attractive with a jaw to die for. He’s gay but in the closet. He is soon attracted to Connor, still they don’t rush into having sex after the first kiss but take their time.

I was surprised the author chose Jed to be a Christian and I loved how she showed me things. The Sundays at the church, the time after spent with his close family, not a perfect one but supportive and caring. Most of all Jed’s strong faith mixed with his need to be accepted.

There were a lot of elements I liked in this book but there was one I freaking loved, so much it brought tears to my eyes and it’s enclosed in Pastor Brenda’s words to Jed.

“Jed, this church is your home. Your faith is as welcome here as it has always been.”

I’m writing this review the same day the Vatican is shaken by the coming out of an important priest  closed to the Holy See. Allow me to please quote his words: “I want the church and my community to know who I am — a homosexual priest, happy and proud of his own identity,” and “It’s time the church opened its eyes and realized that offering gay believers total abstinence from a life of love is inhuman”.

When I read Blueberry Boys and I realized Jed was a Christian, I was a little dubious. I’m always wary when authors approach the religious’ themes cause I’m afraid they will focus on the bad side of the Church and I don’t want to read about it (it’s already showing me its worse side every day, I don’t need more). So you can imagine my joy when I found such a beautiful example to follow in Pastor Brenda in this story, the acceptance, the support, the “no need to be forgiven because there’s nothing to forgive”. I cried with Jed and his finally feeling lighter after having the weight of years of fears and “lies” on his shoulders. There was a ton of positiveness in this book that simply fill my heart.

The story felt real, so real I don’t know how to explain but I was lost in it sometimes. So beautiful real like few things I read. And I love when I’m so lost in a story I forgot everything else.

Blueberry Boys, a standalone contemporary out for you romance lovers, is sweet, hot, emotional, full of hope. I read only one more book by Vanessa North, called Rough Road, still she became a guarantee to me. I like her style, simple, clean, normal. Now I just need to rush through The Dark Collector to know Oliver’s story. I think it’s clear the author simply got under my skin.

COVER ART by L.C. Chase is great, it just made me want to read the book cause it made me curious. I especially love the colors’ choice. And all the layout work with blueberries on every chapter was very well done.

Sales Link: preorder  at Riptide Publishing |  All Romance (ARe) | Amazon  Other links coming closer to release date

BOOK DETAILS

ebook, 186 pages
Expected publication: November 30th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN13 9781626493414
Edition Language English

A Stella Review: ACID by Wulf Francu Godgluck & S. van Rooyen

 

RATING 4,5 stars out of 5
(4 stars for the story and 5 for the cover, too beautiful to ignore!)
ACID cover

Dear Author,
This is obviously a real tough guy – he likes his guns, booze and cigarettes. His new robo arms are pretty damn awesome, even if the story of how he lost his normal arms isn’t pretty and it took a long time to get used to the new ones. He’s a man of action, not words, and you’ll never hear him spout sappy declarations of endless love. The love of his life clearly needs to be just as tough to keep up with him.

Basically, I want a story with this tough guy and his equally tough love interest(s). Romance shouldn’t be the main focus of this story, I want a kick-ass plot with at least a bit of world building, please! Established couple or not, ménage or not and the genre is up to you. Kinky sex would be a huge plus, but only if you can work it into the plot. I’m fine with whatever ending works for the story, I don’t need a HEA. Every shade of consent is fine by me. Kink-wise I’m pretty much open to anything, even extreme stuff like med-kink and sounding.

Photo Description (see it here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/17401437-acid-by-wulf-franc-godgluck-s-van-rooyen-8-31):

A man with bionic mechanical arms sits in a dusky room holding a cigarette between his robotic fingers. A shot glass with amber liquid in his right hand. Faded scars and wounds cover his collar bone and abdomen; he stares at nothing, obviously bored with the world he lives in.

This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group’s “Love is an Open Road” 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.

This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.

Story and Content Information:
Genre:science fiction, horror

Tags:revenge, slaves, dystopian, genetic mutations, dark, cliff-hanger

Content Warnings: cannibalism, premastication, rape, forced pregnancy and childbirth (only mentioned), gore, extreme violence and murder, no HEA/HFN, and swearing (It’s Wulf Francú Godgluck; what else did you expect?)

 

“So, let’s get some shit cleared and out of the way. There aren’t many rules… but these are mine.
The first rule of ACID City: Avoid. Do not get involved in other people’s shit. People will fuck you over, in any way they can. And enjoy it.
Two: Lie. Everyone lies. There has not been hard, honest truth in this world for God knows how long. Except for one…
Three: Fake it. No one is who they seem— not even ourselves. Your heart will fuck you over. Your feelings are a bunch of shit made up to make you believe you once were human… but there might as well not be any more humans left. The ones that are… just don’t have the humanity to give a shit.
I broke every one of my own rules.
And I hate him for it.”

Please read the warnings because they are there for a reason, ACID is not for everyone so if you are not comfortable with dark books, don’t even think about reading this one.

This is not a nice story, you can’t sympathize with any one character. It is really violent, not just in the death scenes, too many times it was very disgusting.

The book is set in the ACID city, a dark place with no natural light, lived in by criminals and the altered (a new species created in laboratories where human DNA is been mixed with animal ones), there are no laws to obey, just stronger (or sicker) men to follow.

The Dark Heart Cartel is run by Vex Noux, a cryo-ibernated man with mechanical arms who woke up seven hundred years after his death and his life was nowhere to be found. He was married with Johan and had a son, Danny, who was only four when Vex had to leave to join the war, where four months later he died on the battlefield. He’s not a nice guy so don’t let you be moved by his story. There is not one drop of good feelings in it.

There are a lot of characters in ACID, like the gungers,the city enemies and slave traders or Jozi whose parents had been killed when they couldn’t afford the rent anymore and now he’s looking for revenge. But you are going to meet more, all of them well defined. As in the world development, amazing and so well done. Nothing is said in a general way, every little detail is well explained. It’s a complex world and it could have been difficult to follow it but the authors did  clear work, so there was no confusion for me.

Some parts are really hard to take, too strong even if you are used to reading dark stories. I overlooked them because I knew what I was getting myself into. Still, even if I shouldn’t have been surprised since I know Wulf’s mind , this is a scary place, ACID did surprise me. It’s a book full of hate, betrayal, f***ed up beings and things. They gave me chills more than once and the authors went often where they shouldn’t have gone. And of course I can’t talk about the ending but be ready for a big cliffhanger, something I was expecting from the start of the second half of the book. I have no clue who got the idea, I don’t know S. van Rooyen but I know Wulf and I was sure he would have created something twisted and cruel like that ending.

I still can’t believe it I liked this really sick (please let me use the adjective) story, but I couldn’t put it down for a minute, it was addictive, no other word can describe what I felt. Just a suggestion, if you’ll decide to give ACID a chance: don’t read it while having dinner as I did. Bad mistake!

Cover art by Wulf Francu Godgluck. I LOVE this cover so much! The lines, the front, the colors, everything is perfect. 5+ stars!

SALE LINKS (free) Goodreads M/M Romance Group

BOOK DETAILS

ebook, 78 pages
Published August 31st 2015 by M/M Romance Group @ Goodreads
Edition Language English

 

A Stella Review: Beyond the Surface (The Breakfast Club #1) by Felice Stevens

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Beyond the Surface coverOn 9/11, firefighter Nick Fletcher’s world changed forever. He’s unable to rid himself of survivor’s guilt, made worse by the secret he hides from his family and co-workers. Nick’s life is centered around helping burn victims, until he is reunited with the man he’d once loved but pushed away. Now he has a second chance at a love he thought lost forever.

For fashion designer Julian Cornell, appearances mean everything. His love affairs are strictly casual, and the only thing he cares about is making his clothing line a success. A chance encounter with the man he loved long ago has Julian thinking for the first time in years there may be more to life than being seen at the best parties and what designer labels to wear.

When Julian’s world takes an unexpected turn, it’s Nick who helps him regain perspective on what matters most in life. Julian, in turn, helps Nick accept who he is and understand he isn’t responsible for tragedies he couldn’t prevent. Lost love found can be even sweeter the second time around and after all the years apart, both men learn to look beyond the surface to find the men they are inside.

“I see the real you, the man underneath the scars at the surface. Those mean nothing to me. I’ve looked beyond that. A person’s body is merely a place card for their soul, their heart, and their mind. And in that respect?” Julian bent down and kissed him softly. “You’re the most perfect man I know.”

Beyond The Surface was my first Felice Stevens book and it will not be my last. I know it sounds rhetorical but I really loved her writing style a lot.

This story was a joy to read, a hurt/comfort book hard to ignore since it’s well written and so full of good feelings. I was afraid it was going to be more angsty since Nick being there on the 9/11. Instead everything was showed us in the perfect way, delicate and thorough. It simply filled my heart.

I love “second chance at love” stories and this one was amazing. After being left by Nick without a second though in high school, Julian met him again almost twenty years later; Nick who, in spite of everything, is still the man of his life. Both their lives have changed so much, but the chemistry is still there waiting for them to act on it, especially for Nick to finally be brave and come out. Pretending to be straight is what Nick has done all this time, afraid to disappoint his family, already wounded by his injuries and impossibility to work as a firefighter anymore. He’s afraid when he shouldn’t be cause his family is really great. That’s one more thing I liked, the acceptance and the no drama his coming out was met with. Beautiful and light to see.

“I’m gay.” Julian expelled a long breath and leaned his forehead against Nick’s.
“Thank God.” He kissed Nick then, a soft sweet brush of his lips like the wing of a bird. “It’s the first step. I’m so proud of you.”
Nick kissed Julian back, and he knew he’d finally come home.

There is a great second characters’ cast, some made me laugh, others, the boys and girls at the burn center, broke my heart with their pain and their courage, but they represented the turning point in the MCs’ relationship. In a couple of scenes that played around these young people, I admit I shed some tears, almost of all them were happy tears. It’s an emotional book so it was inevitable.

Beyond the Surface is the first book in a new series called The Breakfast Club, set around three young friends who are used to meet for breakfast. Julian is one of them, then there’s Marcus, club owner always looking for the next man to seduce, and the sweet and shy geek Zach. I’m dying to get their stories too. With this first installment, Felice made me fall in love with her talent and her boys and I’m waiting for the next couple.

Highly recommended!

Cover art by Reese Dante is sweet and simple, it fits the book perfectly in every little detail.

Sales Links:  Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details;

Published August 17th 2015 by Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Kindle Edition, 229 pages
ASIN B013JB97QY
Edition Language English