A VVivacious Review: No Good Deed by Michael Rupured

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Daniel Bradbury and James Walker have a lot in common. Both of them find themselves in dire straits after having been kicked out of their houses by their parents and both of them die within hours of each other.

On Christmas Eve Philip Potter comes home to be informed that his lover James killed himself. Soon after that he meets Beau Carter, a high school English teacher.

As Philip finds himself a suspect in Daniel’s murder, he finds himself desperate and turns to a surprising ally to clear his name and solve the mystery.

That is my attempt at writing a blurb for this story, but I don’t think it quite covers it. Mostly because this book has a lot going on and the blurb would turn out longer then this review if I attempted to cover everybody so I am not. But as such the official blurb of this book is a good preview for what’s in store for you.

I read this book in starts and stops, procrastinated a lot and then one day decided that I am not going to let up till I finish this book and that is how I finished this book. The reason for the multiple starts and stops in the beginning is the fact that I didn’t find the first half of the book very interesting. This is because the first half of the book is essentially a setup for how things go down in the latter half of the book. What this entails is basically an information dump where the author introduces a bunch of characters and fleshes them out really nicely. But there is just too much happening to hold your interest. Also a lot of things happening in the beginning are quite tragic which kind of sets an atmosphere of gloom over the book which just doesn’t let up for quite a few chapters.

This book is kind of like a murder mystery without much of a mystery. There is someone killing teenage boys who turn tricks for a trade and he is definitely not stopping at one. The only thing we know for sure about this murderer is that he drives a yellow Continental car. This book has a lot of characters interacting with each other in multiple ways that complicates the search for the murderer.

I liked Philip instantaneously seeing him being so nice and charitable. Also the author manages to get us to like Potter really easily by introducing Beau, who is quite annoying. So I guess the fact that I could see Philip in contrast to Beau really increased my liking of Philip.

But the characters who make this book really worth reading are Terrence, Anthony, Harold and Daniel. Terrence is this fire-cracker of a guy full of life who wants to avenge his boyfriend, Daniel. Daniel was someone I liked from the moment I started reading about him and his death was something that really set the tone for this book. Anthony is a PI hired by George Walker on the behest of Philip to find out the person who murdered Daniel. I loved Anthony a lot especially his interactions with Terrence which were awfully endearing. Harold Clarkson is a boy who likes to dress up in girl’s clothes, but he knows his father will never understand. What I liked about Harold can be summed up in the fact that I had him pegged as gay from the get go but when he himself says that despite his father’s thinking that guys who like girlish things are homosexual he definitely doesn’t think of himself as one, made me realize that even I render judgement without knowing the whole story.

George Walker is James’ uncle and also a lawyer. When Philip ends up needing a lawyer on account of him being a suspect he goes to George as he is the only lawyer he knows but George and James end up sharing quite a few interests and develop an unlikely but charming friendship.

This book is really well written and once you pass the halfway mark it also becomes very interesting. As such the story is not much of a mystery since the murderer was narrowed down to two possibilities early on in the book, but the back forth on who is really the murderer and how he is finally caught manages to keep the story interesting till the end.

Cover Art by AngstyG. This book has an appropriate cover. It manages to capture the tone of this book, the yellow Continental car and Philip’s state of mind after James’ death.

Sales Links: DSP Publications | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 2nd Edition, 222 pages

Published April 26th 2016 by DSP Publications (first published October 11th 2013)

ISBN13 9781634765718

Edition Language English

A VVivacious Review: Five Times My Best Friend Kissed Me by Anna Martin

Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

Scott and Evan have been best friends since forever. But when Evan realises he is gay, he also realises that he has almost always held a flame in his heart for his best friend.

When Scott kisses him in the beginning of senior year, Evan believes his wildest dreams to have come true but when he finds Katie, Scott’s friend-with-benefits kissing Scott just minutes after, his hopes come crashing down. He decides to forget the kiss as a drunken misadventure, never to be mentioned again.

But even though Evan is ready to forget Scott’s drunken mistake, Scott isn’t so ready to have Evan forget him.

This story is a best-friends-to-lovers story, which is one of my favorite tropes. Evan and Scott are so good together and their story was so cute and so sweet and seeing them finally find each other was the best thing of all.

This book is very well written. I liked the 5+1 (Five Times My Best Friend Kissed Me and One Time I Kissed Him First) idea which the author says originated from fan fiction. It is my first encounter with such a type of story. It’s kind of like six short stories chronicling the epic love story of Scott and Evan. I felt like this particular way of writing the story made it much more interesting, especially as the story of the kisses is out of order, so there this awesome feeling of understanding how future events occurred which we learn about first based on things that happened in the past which we came to know about later. I kind of got the surreal feeling of time traveling to uncover the story of Scott and Evan.

Evan is an artist working to make ends meet he isn’t struggling and he is comfortable living in his own house, doing what he likes and actually getting paid for it. Evan is the type of guy who is trying to figure his life out in high school but is unable to as he has to keep a part of himself under wraps. But once he comes out he tastes the freedom of being who he wants to be and living life as he wants to. I loved Evan he is the kind of loner who has a really popular best friend.

Scott on the other hand is still figuring his life out but getting a job being successful at it and having multiple relationships still hasn’t helped him move on from that dreaded What If question. What if Evan and him could be something more?

Well this book does say five times and I really wondered if this story would be another angst-fest and if the author could justify the MCs letting each other go so many times. As it happens this story was considerably low on angst than I expected and everything that happens in the story feels natural and real and it makes sense that things would go down the way did. It is a beautiful story about how Scott and Evan become Scott and Evan and when they are together it is beautiful.

I loved the story it was one hell of an awesome love story with two characters meant to be with each other and their story, the path they take to find each other may have been long but in the end it made the story worth it.

Cover Art by Garrett Leigh. I loved the cover. I loved the sunset background with those orange tones and the two guys fooling around having fun. Personally the cover will make you look twice. It is really pretty.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Expected publication: May 20th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
Original TitleFive Times My Best Friend Kissed Me
ISBN139781634771566
Edition LanguageEnglish

A VVivacious Review: Souls for Sale Series (Books 1 & 2) by Asta Idonea

Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

Thomas Ives has a made a deal with the devil, for which he has given up his chance at heaven, or has he…?

Saul is a demon deal-maker extraordinaire, always ready to go the extra mile to secure a soul. But he doesn’t know the night he is in for when he gets Tom to sign on the dotted line.

In the weirdest twist of fates, a night of passion see these two beings falling in love. But hasn’t Saul already condemned his lover to a lifetime of misery in hell, isn’t Tom’s soul condemned to eternally burn in the fiery pits of hell, well not if Saul has a say in it…

This book comprises of two stories TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY DEMON and HELL TO PAY.

“Twenty-First Century Demon” is a short story telling us how Saul and Tom met while “Hell to Pay” follows these two as they are on the run from the demons of Hell.

These books are written (mostly) in first person, but what is unique about these books is that the reader is a known presence to Saul and Tom, but again mostly to Saul as he actually makes comments on what he believes to be are the reader’s thoughts, indirectly it’s like he is talking to us and we are following him all around, even when they have sex so basically he refers to us (the reader) as a demon-groupie and a voyeur (and he would be right). This was indeed a unique experience and what I liked about this way of writing is that it got me involved in the book really fast.

Now again if you remember I said mostly first person that is because we have three narrators – Tom and Saul who both use first person in a talking to a third person way and then there is Baruchiel who is talked about in the third person. But these are all technicalities that don’t detract from the reading experience, in fact Saul’s “talking’ really had me engrossed in the story from a very early stage.

To some extent it is hard to find the basis to Saul and Tom’s love, if you ask me the best explanation is love at first sight/sex because this is the one aspect of the book which is extremely vague. They fall in the ‘I am ready to take on hell for you’ way in the span of hours, this decision changes their entire lives, forces them on the rum from Hell and frankly I don’t understand how it is possible. This is exactly where Saul’s “talking” comes in handy because even though I am sceptical of their love which has sprung up out of nowhere, the fact remains that it seems like he is telling me a story which makes me give him creative liberty over the events.

Now if you just push the details of how they fell in love aside the premise of the rest of the story is really interesting. Tom, Saul and Baruchiel are all extremely likeable characters and you will get caught up in their drama.

While I loved Tom and Saul’s extraordinary love and all their small moments that they share, what I loved most about this book was the story of how a demon falling in love can rend heaven and hell into chaos. The story is interesting and appealing in the way angels and demons always are. I loved Baruchiel as the little angel trying to do good and taking on big bad demons in the name of love.

More than a love story this book is appreciable because it has an awesome plot given a nice execution with very likeable characters and the premise is such that it has a lot of potential which the book successfully delivers.

Overall if you like a good old angels and demons story with heaven and hell settling disputes because a demon falls in love with a human, this story is just for you.

Cover Art by 8th floor studio. I loved the cover it is vague but at the same time it is a picture trying to get something across, and it is eye-catching.

Sales Links: Wayward Ink Publishing | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 139 pages
Published February 5th 2016 by Wayward Ink Publishing
ISBN139781925222784
Edition LanguageEnglish
CharactersSaul, Thomas Ives, Adramalech, Baruchie

A VVivacious Review: Einstein’s Peep Show by Josephine Myles

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars ★★★★★

Nathan is a gay cam model which basically means he does solo sex acts for money to pay for his education. But when his highest tipper wants a private show with Nathan aka Einstein blowing another human being, Nathan is in a bit of a fix.

Rory is Nathan’s next door neighbour and when Nathan propositions him, he agrees because, who can turn down a blow job. But before he knows it things get out of control and turns out he might be in a real danger of losing his heart if only, Nathan would return his feelings…

This is the most charming romance I have ever read. These two were just so cute they had me going aww… and between that and the humour, I had a big smile slapped on my face for the entirety of the book and that is truly saying something because Rory had me giggling by the end of the first paragraph and the smile on my face never dimmed from there on out.

Nathan is this adorable geek who takes everything literally, so he can be a bit dense at times and a little too sensitive at the others. But he has had his heart squashed in a previous relationship and doesn’t want to suffer from another hormonal imbalance (if you are unfamiliar by the term, you might refer to it by the name of ‘love’).

Rory is this adorable (yes he is adorable too, you can get why this book is so charmingly funny and cute and romantic!!) guy who made me smile throughout this book, with his actions and words. He is such a nice guy, I loved the way he was open to talking and how he was always smiling and also how he was always trying to get Nathan out of his shell, and trying to make him really enjoy life.

Nathan and Rory together were oh so cute and just fit so well. And this really geeky quote from the book sums them up pretty well –

“Rory’s legs and arms were wrapped tight around him, pulling him inside, like the two of them were no longer separate integers. Like they’d been added together to make the most perfect prime number. Indivisible by anything but themselves.”

This book is perfect in length; it is a complete story and covers all the bases. What I loved was how this story imparts the true essence of Nathan and Rory just through their words and actions; I mean I loved how the plot had them in these adorable yet sexy situations and how they were trying to navigate this quagmire of a situation with their hearts intact, but failed… quite horribly.

If I could put a big arrow with the words READ THIS next to this book, I would. It’s short, it’s sweet, it will make you fall in love with the characters, it will make you laugh and in the end will still be a very satisfying read. Josephine Myles has hit a home run with this one.

Cover Art by Lou Harper. I think the cover is really cute (I am falling abysmally short of adjectives with this book), even though Nathan probably might not smile so much, but then he totally would if Rory was making him smile. I think the cover about covers up the content of this book.

Sales Links: Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 90 pages
Expected publication: February 23rd 2016
ASINB01BLTEQ8K
Edition LanguageEnglish

A VVivacious Review: Mute Witness by Rick R. Reed

Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

Book Synopsis: When a little boy ends up missing, his parents’ lives are turned upside down and inside out. But the relief that comes when the boy is found is marred by the appalling truth that comes to light.

As Shelley tries to be strong for her son while holding herself together, things spin out of control. While Sean’s worry of how his homosexuality might be used as a weapon to keep him away from his only child in light of the abuse he has suffered, is realised. And will Jason speak up against his abuser or has this one event struck him mute forever.

The blurb of this book is very misleading. While I enjoyed the book so I didn’t really mind the misleading blurb but this book is actually about a child who is sexually abused and how this impacts his life and the lives of those around him. Sean being gay though deliberate on the part of the author is just another nuance to the story because this book is not about Sean being gay it is about Sean, a father whose son has been very brutally abused.

Now where this blurb is misleading is in the fact that I thought the events in this book would be narrated as per Sean or Austin’s POV or from their perspective. But this book has multiple POVs including those of Shelley (Jason’s mother), Paul (Shelley’s husband), Estelle (Shelley’s mother) along with Sean, Austin and Jason and all of them are equally important characters, if not more. Especially Shelley we spend quite a lot of time in her head.

This is also not a romance story and doesn’t focus on relationships outside of how this adverse event puts a strain on them. This story is about one horrifying precipitating event that leads to a chain of reactions that propels the characters in this story.

My one problem with the plot was the multiple POVs because as it so happens in multiple POVs the moment the narrative of a particular character becomes interesting we flip to another character who can’t add anything to the interesting titbit we just learned.

This book is a story of people under insurmountable anguish who must learn to live their lives all over again and how our actions at the time of adversity can have irreversible consequences. The characters in this book have a really gritty feel, like the reality of their situations makes itself known on the surface itself. As such the book focuses on a lot of people other than aforementioned six and we get to see their perceptions and motivations as well.

As such I see why multiple POVs work for this story as it helps to increase the scope of the story as well as to realistically portray the extent of damage one wrong thing can produce. Also I loved how we got two perceptions of people one of how they perceive themselves and one of how they were perceived by people who knew them and in some cases an additional third of how a casual bystander perceives them.

This story is riveting, once you start the book it is hard to stop in between as the story twists and turns with subtlety through the wide landscape of havoc that descends on the lives of two parents who love their son immensely.

A word of caution while reading this book is that you will need to keep an open mind and also the fact remains that this book is most definitely not a romance; it is more of a thriller with slight bits of mystery and suspense.

Cover Art by Aaron Anderson. I liked the cover a lot it aptly portrays the dumb horror of what the story holds in store for you.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 2nd Edition, 290 pages
Published February 9th 2016 by DSP Publications (first published 2009)
Original TitleMute Witness
ISBN139781634763455
Edition LanguageEnglish

A VVivacious Review: Save of the Game (Scoring Chances #2) by Avon Gale

Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Ethan and Riley find themselves as roommates, team mates and… boyfriends?

While Riley may have just discovered his interest in the same sex after a good look at Ethan, Ethan is still pretty clueless about the phenomenal change of perception he has undergone in Riley’s eyes. But a bit of good natured snooping in a sub folder leaves Ethan confused and a drunken haze later sees him lock lips with Riley. But is this kiss one of those never to be talked about moments or just the first of many.

People who are thinking of reading this book should probably know that this is part of a series. I say this because I haven’t read the first part and I really didn’t think that me not having read the first book, would be a problem since the books followed different characters.

While having not read the first book didn’t lessen my enjoyment of it, it definitely would have brought a reduction in the number of head scratching moments. This book is pretty entrenched in the world of its predecessor. Like there are characters who have already been introduced and they come into this book with no introductions whatsoever so I had to take some time to figure out who was who but leaving that aside the book was awesome.

Ethan is the enforcer of his team, he is the tough looking guy with his tattooed exterior hiding a guy who loves just as ferociously as he fights. For Ethan family is priority. His family is who he fights and lives for. This also translates to his team who he loves but while Ethan fights for everyone no one has ever fought for him, no has ever fought his fights as their own. So he is used to fighting his own battles and looking after himself.

Riley is the product of absentee parents. Hockey is his life but there is a distinct lack of passion in his life. But when Ethan enters his life, Riley’s entire view on life undergoes a sea change. Riley is the level headed goalie, who never lets anyone score on him. He was the rock in their relationship while Ethan was the drama queen (not really but if you are comparing with Riley then definitely).

Riley and Ethan together are golden. All the issues that they had they solved in a really understanding way. As such personally their relationship just worked on so many levels, there was chemistry, there was understanding and I really liked the way they communicated. As such I guess the thing that had me convinced about these two was the way they overcame the obstacles to their relationship and just the way they handled life together be it family members, team members or just day to day living.

This book had that rare combo of excellent side characters. I loved the guys on the team by the end of the book they were like just another family to me, but anyone reading the first book would be familiar with them, especially Jared and Lane who keep popping up in cameo roles. But Ethan’s family really took the cake, I loved them so much his mother and sisters were just so family, like those really annoying characters you can’t live without who are a constant presence in your life and make life worth living. Also I loved the character of Benett Halley the guy who replaces Lane in the Jacksonville Sea Storm. He was just irritating enough to always be on the horizon but also contained enough to not be a complete asshole. I actually really liked his character maybe because usually such characters in books are irredeemable assholes but he surprisingly wasn’t.

Also this book has hockey in it. I don’t know why but I have come to love Hockey reading MM Romances, I am not a hockey fan but reading books featuring hockey has really got me trying to figure out the game. As such if you want to read this book you don’t need any working knowledge of Hockey, but it definitely added another dimension to the book.

This book is written as a slice of life fiction so the pace of things remains the same from the beginning to the end but it does tell a story in a fascinating way and ends it on a satisfying note, leaving you wanting more. I loved the book for its simplicity and its characters and the story, told in a very engaging and realistic way. Overall this book has me convinced to read the first book as well as the next one in this series.

Cover by Aaron Anderson. I liked the cover for the book but it is way too dramatic than the story what with the raging sea and the thundering storm but I guess the imagery is to accurately depict the “Sea Storm”.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner eBook | Amazon | ARe | Kobo

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Published January 29th 2016 by Dreamspinner
ISBN 1627980474 (ISBN13: 9781627980470)
Edition LanguageEnglishSeries Scoring Chances:

Breakaway (Scoring Chances, #1)

Save of the Game (Scoring Chances #2)

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Sales Links: Amazon | Buy It Here

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Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

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