A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Lay It down by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Hudson Barber loves his twin brother, Dalvon, but as the story opens, he’d like to kill him too. Dalvon, a high-paid model, has left his billionaire boyfriend’s estate on the island of Ibiza, and all the responsibilities related to running it, and headed to the US using Hudson’s passport. He didn’t even have the balls to tell his boyfriend, Miguel Garcia Arquero, that he was going, nor did he take care of the businesses he was supposed to be running. In short, he left Hudson holding the bag for managing the businesses, straightening out the estate, and telling Miguel that his boyfriend has taken off. Add to that the fact that Dal has settled in with Will, Hudson’s ex-boyfriend, and Hudson is not a happy man.

Dal has always been the pretty one—beautiful, lighthearted, and empty-headed—unlike his fraternal twin who takes responsibility seriously and is pursuing his MBA diligently. Left with no choice, Hudson uses the time while Miguel is away to streamline functions in the household, turn part of the villa into a luxury getaway for the wealthy, revamp the nightclub and make the restaurant more efficient. Within three months, he’s taken the businesses Dal was supposed to manage and made them profitable. He’s also gotten permission from his academic advisor to use this experience as independent study for this semester so he has until the end of the semester, around the time that Miguel is due home, to make everything perfect.

And he’s hit with a few surprises. The first is that Miguel comes home early, and Hudson loses all hold on his emotions and his intellect. He’s gob smacked by Miguel, and the feeling is reciprocated. Never having been in love, and as the product of the foster care system and protector of his brother, Hudson has never been number one in anyone’s life, so when Miguel treats him as if he is precious and necessary to Miguel’s life, he flounders helplessly in a sea of confusion. And then there’s the gun running. One little detail Dal forgot to tell Hudson—Dal took possession of a million dollar shipment of arms from a gunrunner and now it’s time to pay up. Oh, oh.

This story follows the pattern of many of Mary Calmes’s stories in that one MC is beloved by friends or family or both and the other is tall, dark, alpha, and powerful and becomes the love of the other’s life and vice versa. Personally, I love the formula, and in this case, I loved these characters. Hudson had personality, wit and intelligence. He also had a need to be needed and to be loved, and when Miguel came along and swept him up in both need and love, it was a match made in heaven.

There’s a whole host of secondary characters, many of whom are strong women. (Thank you, Mary Calmes!) The setting, the story, the characters, and especially Hudson and his soulmate Miguel make this one of my favorites. The only thing I’d change is to make the story longer. It gave me a pick-me-up just when I needed it most. I recommend this story to those who enjoy MM romance with a strong, masculine and wealthy hero and a sweet, intelligent and needy nerd. It’s fairly short so would make the perfect treat when you are heading to the beach, an airplane ride, or just want to devour something fantastic real quick.

~~~~~

Cover Art by Reese Dante depicts a young man lying on his back with his arm raised above his head as if he’s sleeping. The white background and bright red title letters make the cover unassuming but smart— just like Hudson.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 126 pages
Expected publication: March 16th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781634771313
Edition LanguageEnglish

A Lila Review: Romanus by Mary Calmes

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The story starts right into the action described in the blurb. We get Mason finding the old man–Fabron–and giving him a ride home when the man refuses to get to the hospital. For some reason, Mason doesn’t consider the man’s hands curled into claws, growls, and the change in his eyes strange.

By the time they made it to the man’s house, Mason is fighting with sleep since he just finished a double shift as a firefighter. Everyone at the house seems to recognized Mason as a Romanus, but the reader, just like Mason had no idea what that means or the implications.

Mason leaves his information with the man’s granddaughter and tries to leave, but ends returning after a couple of minutes because he’s too tired to drive back home. He accepts the invitation to stay the night made by Raoul, the one in-charge of the group, but as soon as he meets Luc, he goes with him instead.

From here, we get a condensed version of insta-lust with several smexy scenes between two house parties, and a visit from the bad guy. The story was interesting; unfortunately, it didn’t have enough of a plot to hold into.

Romanus is a novella with a Napoleon complex. The amount of twists and turns taking place are enough to be handled in a full-length novel, perhaps a series. As always, the author took a different approach to shifters and mating; giving the reader a taste of all the possibilities. The amount of characters, their purpose, and relationship are overwhelming. At least, the action moves quickly, making the story short enough to be read all at once.

I liked what I read, but this story is not a romance. It’s simply an erotica short with the potential to be something more. It lacks coherence between the scenes and the characters behave oddly, almost like a parody of what gay men in their late twenties would act.

Luc speaks in riddles most of the story, and we get the story’s resolution by means of the villain giving his evil speech. And at the same time, giving Mason enough time to planned and executed his escape. Then, Luc saves him, and they live happily ever after. Probably not, but that was the goal.

And a pet-peeve of mine, the story ends at 92% with the rest being filled with the covers and blurbs for other stories by Mary Calmes.

And the cover? Easy to identify as a Reese Dante cover with the author’s signature’s font. It encompassed the central theme of the story, depicting a view of Luc’s back and wings.

Sale Links: Dreamspinner | Amazon | ARe

Book Details:

ebook, 60 pages

Published: January 27, 2016 (first published June 1, 2010), by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN: 1634768574 (ISBN13: 9781634768573)
Edition Language: English

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Sleeping ’til Sunrise (Mangrove Stories #5) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Number five in the Mangrove series, this story features sexy fire chief, Essien Dodd. Essien moved to Mangrove when he took the chief position so that his precocious daughter, fourteen-year-old Ivy, would have a safe environment in which to grow up. His ex-wife passed away from cancer during the past year, and he stayed with her and Ivy to care for them until the end. Now he has full custody, and he wants to provide the best home life possible for his little girl.

Essien is a caretaker—from his job, to his family responsibilities, to his friends and neighbors— if someone needs to be taken care of, it’s a sure bet Essien will find out and be there to help. He had divorced his wife when he knew he was gay and needed to come out, and he’s enjoyed his freedom as a gay man since then, but now that Ivy lives with him full time, he doesn’t pursue relationships or one-night-stands because he wants to be available for Ivy 24/7. Ivy, on the other hand, seems to want him to find someone, so much so, that she actively seeks gay men her dad might like. After the match with the school counselor fell through because he was much too young for Essien and because he refused to let his daughter set him up, he finally told her that if he ever finds a man it will be a man, not a young boy, and he’ll find him all by himself.

What he didn’t tell her is that he has his eye on the gorgeous Dr. Roark Hammond. And Roark seems attracted to him as well, but Roark has a secret, and it’s one that Roark feels will put any hope of a long-term relationship into the impossible-to-have category. Will Essien settle for being put off? Will Roark be able to allow Essien to be his caretaker? Will they sleep together ’til sunrise and wake to greet each new day with hope?

I really enjoy this series, and this one has one of the author’s trademark heroes in Essien—the nice guy who doesn’t realize how much others admire and like him and care about his happiness. Essien deserves to find his man, and the man in this story equally deserves a guy like Essien. There’s nothing about this story to dislike. It’s fairly short, a very light read, and a very sweet romance. Another great bedtime story for the holidays.

~~~
Cover Art by Reese Dante depicts a gorgeous black man, sans shirt, standing against a picturesque sunrise coming up over the Atlantic. It’s perfect for this story.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 90 pages
Published December 16th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1627984712 (ISBN13: 9781627984713)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series Mangrove Stories with links to Barb the Zany Old Lady’s reviews:

Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review: Easy Evenings (Mangrove Stories #4) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Continuing in the Mangrove series, Mary Calmes brings us the story of Lazlo Maguire, part time rent boy, part time Mangrove Florida business owner, and his lost love, Attorney Britton Lassiter.

Readers of the series may recall that Laz’s best friend, Mia, had decided to expand her law practice by bringing on a new attorney—an attorney whose name happens to be the same as the man Laz once loved but refused to give up his escort career for. Well, Laz’s worst fears are realized when it turns out that Britton is one and the same, and he no longer wants Laz. In fact, he’s put out a restraining order against him.

Lazlo Maguire works as an escort in NYC for six months of every year then heads to Mangrove, Florida for the rest of the year where he hones his metalworking craft and sells his unique sculptures to townsfolk, and collectors. He’d love to do this work full time, but he’s supporting his mother and sister, ungrateful though they may be, and he can’t afford to do that without the money he makes as a rent boy.

The only time he’d ever let his guard down was with Britton Lassiter, a gorgeous work-driven attorney who found that Laz was the only person who could meet his needs and get him to relax. Laz never acted as his escort; they met on an even playing field and fell in love. Unfortunately, Laz felt he couldn’t put himself first due to his need to support his family, and he broke Britton’s heart when he left town. No wonder Britton is hurt when he sees Laz again—he thinks Laz followed him to Florida but is going to run off again.

Enter one sweet three-year-old girl and the attorney escorting her who informs Laz that he is not only a father, but he now has custody of his child since her mother passed away. After the initial chaotic feelings run rampant through his system, he wholeheartedly embraces being a father. First stop is to his friend Mia’s law office so that he can get an ironclad agreement that once Kitty is his, she can’t be taken away. And who happens to be working that day instead of Mia? Britton, of course. Despite his antipathy toward Laz, Britton helps him with Kitty, and that action proves to be the first step toward getting back together with his lover.

The two men find themselves revealing their hurts, their past misunderstandings, and their innermost feelings, and they very quickly realize that the only way forward for either of them is together.

This is a fairly short story, no more than a novella length, but it’s typical Mary Calmes in that there’s hot, hot sex scenes, heartwarming love declarations, and a touch of alpha action in the bedroom—this time from the physically smaller man. There were some instances and experiences in the story that I felt required a stretch of my imagination, and I would have loved to have had the time to explore more about their past and to have allowed more time for Britton and Laz to get back together, but that wouldn’t have been possible with the length of this book.

Overall, I found this MM romance very satisfying and sweet. It would be an excellent beach read or the book you’d want to curl up with on a cold winter day.

~~~
Cover Art by Resse Dante is very bright and colorful, depicting a young man smoking a cigarette while leaning on his deck which overlooks dense Florida greenery. Though attractive, I don’t feel the cover represents the character as portrayed in the story. It looks more like what Laz may have been before the story started, but nothing like the Laz depicted as a young father in this book.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 77 pages
Expected publication: November 18th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634765915 (ISBN13: 9781634765916)
edition languageEnglish

Series Mangrove Stories with links to our reviews:

Stella’s Top Comfort Reads for a Spooky October Night!

Stella’s Top Comfort Reads

“On a scary, spooky October night, you just might need to settle in with your favorite romantic story. The one that warms your heart and soul….

I have been reading exclusively mm books from more than three years, since the first time I put my eyes on Testa Calda, the Italian translation of Hot Head (Head, #1) by Damon Suede. I never looked back and in the years I read a lot but there are some stories that stayed in my mind and heart and that I have re read often, especially when I need a cuddle after a hard book or when I simply need a strong story.

Let’s start with one of the best, Mary Calmes. I can always count on her cause she never disappoints me, I think I read everything she wrote, all of them are strong and emotional but I want to mention just a couple I love so much. Mine, as the title says, is full of that “not always sane” possessiveness and tight dependence between the MCs, Landry and Trevan, that can sound strange in RL but it works so good with Mary’s writing, especially cause it’s enclosed in so many positive feelings I could forgive anything else. My all the time favorite book is Frog, it was love at first reading. I have a soft spot for this kind of story, with characters that came from different social worlds and with children. This is a magic book to me, it has the power to let me forget of everything bad in my life and just focus on Weber and his big heart. I fall in love with him each time. Melanie loved Frog too, she used it for our MM Romance First Line Quiz, did you see it?

There a series I like to reread by another favorite author of mine and it’s the Shifters one by Chris T Kat. Secret Chemistry and Secret Energy are both a five stars to me, sweet and light, and both the covers by Anne Cain are so cute. Same author, different cover artist (Paul Richmond), same love (mine), different shifters, The Wolf and His Diva is funny and adorable too.

Other times I need a different kind of comfort read, a little more emotional to me since I already know I will end up sobbing under my blanket, sad and happy tears either.

One of the most emotional is Second Chances by TA Webb, there are no words to explain how much this book is beautiful. It’s a second chance at love story, overwhelming in the heartbroken it gives me, it drawn me in each time I read it. But it’s full of hope. It’s one of that stories I call complete, it evolves in a long time frame and the relationships and the events that happen are all well developed.

Then there is The Last Thing He Needs by JH Knight. Another emotional story based on the strong and brave love Tommy, the MC, has for his own family, and the amazing people that surround him. I cry for him and his so heavy life but I laugh too and most of all I cheer on him and his HEA till the beautiful end.

One more is Finding Zach by Rowan Speedwell is one of the first MM I read in Italian and one of the few I read about abduction cause I am not brave enough, it is a little hard to take but it deserves my tears. It’s scary and awful and amazing. What zach suffered was unbelievable and his long and hurtful journey to take his life back was so well written I could feel all of him.

It’s cristal clear I like to suffer with all those tearjerker comfort reads, so I can’t not talk a little about Nick Wilgus. The Sugar Tree series and Get Your Shine On are all emotionally beautiful and so real. The unexpected union of an angsty sadness and hilarity. He’s a master at creating imperfect characters and make them growing on you. I could read anything by him.

All of the books I mentioned are five stars to me, they are highly recommended, for different moods, but each one is simply the perfection. If you’d like, let me know what are your comfort reads.

~ Stella

Stella’s Comfort Books with Goodreads Links

Hot Head (Head, #1) by Damon Suede

Frog by Mary Calmes
Mine by Mary Calmes

Secret Chemistry (Shifters, #1) by Chris T. Kat
Secret Energy (Shifters, #2) by Chris T. Kat

Second Chances (Second Chances #1) by T.A. Webb

The Last Thing He Needs (The Last Thing He Needs, #1)
by J.H. Knight

Finding Zach by Rowan Speedwell

Shaking the Sugar Tree (Sugar Tree, #1) by Nick Wilgus
Get Your Shine On by Nick Wilgus

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Fit to be Tied (Marshals #2) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Another amazing installment in the Marshal’s series by Mary Calmes. Miro Jones and Ian Doyle are two sexy, muscular alpha males— Deputy US Marshals who happen to report to Chief Deputy US Marshal Sam Kage of A Matter of Time fame. Miro and Ian first came together in all their rugged masculinity in All Tied Down and this story opens shortly after that one ended.

<spoiler>The men are now living together, and they love each other deeply, so when Miro pops the question, he’s shocked when Ian says no. Ian’s all about independence and his identity as a marshal and as an officer in the Special Forces reserves. He doesn’t want that identity jeopardized, and after all, being married is just about having a piece of paper, isn’t it? And Miro knows he loves him, doesn’t he? </spoiler>

To be honest, I was pretty surprised when this little tiff occurred at the beginning of the story, but I was happy to find out the argument didn’t end there; it became a recurring theme throughout the book, so I don’t feel that I’m throwing out a spoiler by stating that up front, though I did put in the tags. We have love, romance, sex, compatibility issues, and bickering over marriage as ongoing themes throughout the story, with an overlay of excitement, danger, intrigue, and an ongoing battle between Miro and Ian about Miro’s personal safety as he has a tendency to “leap before looking” during fugitive chases. There’s also a healthy dose of stark terror in this story as Miro and Ian not only ward off the usual crazies in their efforts to find and detain fugitives from justice, they also face a monstrous threat from Miro’s past which has far-reaching effects on their future.

As the two men discover, while facing multiple missions and dangers throughout the story, there’s more to trust than lip service, and there’s more to love than saying a simple “I do.”

As I said in my review of All Kinds of Tied Down: if you love M/M romance and you like law enforcement and action adventure mixed in with your visit with sweet and sexy alpha men, this is the book (and series) for you. However, a word of caution on this one: there is graphic violence in this story, so it is not for someone who can’t tolerate explicit details of violence and torture.

I love Mary Calmes’s stories, and this one is no exception. These two characters have moved to the top of my favorite couples list, alongside many of her others like Dreo and Nate, Rand and Stephan, and Jin and Logan, but what I love best about this one is that they are both big, strong, sexy alpha males with soft, gooey centers, and she shares their hopes and fears, both individually and as a couple, thereby endearing them to me further as I now know them intimately. If you are also a fan, by all means join me in hoping for a long and happy future for Miro and Ian. If you haven’t read a book by Mary Calmes before, I won’t ask where you’ve been— I’ll highly recommend this two-book series as a great place to start.

~~~~~

Cover Art by Reese Dante depicts the “tools of the trade” of the Deputy US Marshals: gun, badge, and cuffs on a background of what appears to be a dark gray bulletproof vest. One additional item— a surgeon’s scalpel represents Miro’s nemesis who comes back to terrorize him in this story. Very cleverly done cover.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 228 pages

Expected publication: September 18th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press

original title Fit to be Tied

ISBN13 9781634764889

edition language English

series Marshals #2

A Stella Audiobook Review: Heart of the Race by Mary Calmes, Greg Tremblay (Narrator) (Audiobook)

Rating 4 stars out of 5 (3,5 story/4,5 audio)

Varro Dacien spends his life riding toward the next adventure. Brian Christie, his best friend and touchstone, the one person who’s always truly seen him, plays sidekick on these madcap adventures and subsequent trips to the hospital until he can’t take it anymore. While Brian can see Varro, Varro has never caught on that he’s breaking his best friend’s heart.

Without Varro, Brian builds himself a life that’s all about just getting by, doing his best to ignore the hole in his heart and his life. Without Brian to balance him, Varro pushes harder and takes more risks to reach that ultimate high. His job racing high-octane bikes on suicide-level courses makes it easy to get that rush… until it’s no longer enough and Varro realizes it’s not the race, but who’s waiting at the finish line that truly matters. Now he just has to convince Brian to be there.

Heart Of The Race was my first official audiobook. I only listened to a couple while I run, but this one was “serious”. I chose this specific audio for different reasons: first of all it’s short, just a couple of hours, and so if you are basically a audiobook virgin like me it could be the perfect one for you, as it was to me. Then, sorry everyone, but it’s Mary Calmes we’re talking about. I’m her biggest fan. She wrote what can be consider probably my all time favorite m/m book, Frog (I read it in English and Italian too and my heart just missed a beat when it realized there’s the audio version too *sigh*). So of course I was going to pick this up. Least but not last the narrator, Greg Tremblay was recommended to me by a friend for another audio. I read the ebook a couple of years ago so I already knew what the story was about and I was confident I could fill up my “English listening gaps” with help from my memory. I don’t want to talk a lot about the story, once you read the blurb and know that this is written in perfect Mary’s style, you’re pretty much set for the ride.

I prefer to linger a little on the narrator and his qualities, and what great ones they are! I admit I was a little scared at first, because I know I can read English pretty well but listening to it? Intimidating. In my opinion Greg made a great work in making the words understandable and to me it was really important. I liked his voice, listenable and always with the rigth tone, in every little detail, from the different voices (but believable) to the short hot moments. I felt it was true. I’m not sure if it’s normal or it was just me and the novelty of the first real time of an audiobook, but sometimes I found myself not only picturing Varro and Brian in my head, and whole drama they made for themselves, but the narrator too and his experience in recording. I don’t know, it was two times engaging.

Of course I want to recommend this novellas by Mary Calmes but I want to highly recommend Greg Tremblay. I’m going to check out more about his works.

Cover art by Catt Ford. No other cover could have been more fitting but the style is not my favorite.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Audible | Amazon | iTunes

Audiobook Details:

Audible Audio, 3 pages
Published July 6th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press LLC (first published May 31st 2013)
ASIN B0112WWFDE
Edition Language English

A MelanieM Review: Piece of Cake (A Matter of Time #8) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 5 stars out of 5 ★★★★★

After years of domestic partnership, Jory Harcourt and Sam Kage are finally going to make it official in their home state of Illinois. It’s been a long and rocky road, and nothing—not disasters at work, not the weather, not a possible stalker, not even getting beat up and having to attend the ceremony looking like he just got mugged—will make Jory wait one more day to make an honest man of the love of his life.

Should be a piece of cake, right?

Jory Harcourt and Sam Kage hold a special place in my M/M book heart as does their series, A Matter of Time. They were my first introduction to Mary Calmes, her stories and couples which I love so much.. So approaching Jory and Sam’s final story with any sort of objectivity is close to impossible, not only for me but I expect for a huge number of Mary Calmes fans who found her in the same manner.

Here at Piece of Cake, the eighth book, we know what to expect from Jory’s behavior. Adorable, stubborn, over the top in love with Sam and his kids, still a magnet for trouble…which always finds him. We know what to expect from Sam Kage. Totally in love with Jory, a lot of bellowing and roaring (not the same thing), a little waving of guns and scaring people, and lots of sex and love.. Here are the adorable kids, which arrived in the latter books, and always more trouble as well as domestic bliss. Was it predictable at times? Yes, but we knew that going in, perhaps, that was even part of the charm. We wanted them happy, we loved the arguments, the makeup sessions, and laughter, the familiarity of it all. Now at the series final, we are all close friends, wishing each other well and a happy bon voyage. No, that’s not a time for objectivity but for goodbyes.

Piece of Cake has not one but two weddings! Ok, one is a couple of scenes at the beginning when police Lieutenant Duncan Stiel and husband (and Jory’s ex) billionaire real estate mogul Aaron Sutter get married again in Chicago. Still! Two weddings! It should have been a double wedding with Jory and Sam. Didn’t happen because each man, Aaron and Jory, had vastly different ideas of what their weddings should be. Jory and Sam’s children, Hannah and Kola, Sam, and Jory are sitting in the 2nd row, and instead of watching the ceremony, all four are having a family “whisper style” argument over the use of the word “crap” at a wedding. Somehow that rang very true. And funny.

That’s exactly why I love these stories so. Mary Calmes combines the love that Jory and Sam have for each other and their children into a funny, human moment any parent will recognize. Its a balance she maintains throughout this story and all the others. That moment of family squabbling, whispered so not to attract any (more) notice but you know that’s unavoidable yet you are treating your kids and their questions/statements with the attention they deserve. Later on, when Jory ignores the danger signs pointing ginormouse arrows at his head and you want to roll your eyes a teensy bit, those earlier moments pull you back, and let you believe that its all just a part of Jory’s character makeup. Jory is Jory, and you’ve long come to accept and love his shortcomings as has Sam Kage.

Now Jory and Sam are preparing to get married in their backyard with their friends and family in attendance, so what could go wrong? Hmmm.

Well, there’s that strange car that seems to be following Jory everywhere…that he’s not taking seriously. Yep, that sounds familiar. Of course its a villain from the past to be dealt with, which happens. All their family and friends we have met and gotten fond of have small parts here, if nothing else as guests at the backyard wedding. Finally Sam and Jory get married and live happily ever after.You just know they do. In short, Mary Calmes gives us and Jory and Sam exactly what we wanted. We all get a Happily Ever After. Sigh.

I happily recommend Jory and Sam and their series, A Matter of Time. Please don’t start here if you haven’t read any of these stories before. This doesn’t give new readers enough of a feeling for the couple, their history, and their relationship for them to enjoy it like those of us coming to it with a ton of good will and back knowledge.

Bon voyage, Jory and Sam, its been a treat!

Cover artist is Reese Dante. That cover is about right. Guns and wedding cake, perfect for Jory and Sam.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 70 pages
Published August 12th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781634765909
edition languageEnglish
seriesA Matter of Time #8
characters:Jory Keyes, Sam Kage

A Matter of Time Series (Goodreads Links):

A Matter of Time, Vol. 1 (A Matter of Time #1-2)*
Books 1 through 4 are also earlier separate editions

Ears, Eggs and Bunnies (A Matter of Time, #6.5)

Parting Shot (A Matter of Time, #7)

Piece of Cake (A Matter of Time, #8)

A MelanieM Review: Forging the Future (Change of Heart #5) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Jin Church is back where he started, alone, wandering, and uncertain of his path. It’s not by choice but by circumstance, as he remembers he’s a werepanther… but not much else. He knows one thing for sure—he needs to find the beautiful blond man who haunts his dreams.

Logan Church is trapped in a living hell. His mate is missing, his tribe is falling apart, and he’s estranged from the son he loves with all his heart. His world is unraveling without his mate by his side, and he has no one to blame but himself.

If Jin can regain his memory and Logan can overcome the threats to his leadership, then perhaps they can resume their lives. The question is: Is that what they want? Back to the same house, the same tribe, the same troubles? They can choose from various roads leading to their future… or they can forge their own path.

When an author or publisher announces a book that ends a beloved series, it unleashes a flood of mixed feelings. Shock…the series is ending? Sadness…I love this series and can’t bear to seem them go. Happiness…I get to read about some of my favorite couples and characters. Fear…how will the series end and will I be happy? Anticipation…how will the author pull it all together and will I be content to let them go? Mary Calmes gave me the perfect answer to all my questions with Forging the Future, the last in the Change of Heart series.

I fell deeply and totally in love with Jin Raine and Logan Church, Mary Calmes’ panther shifters, from the moment I met them in Change of Heart (Change of Heart #1). Each character had such a rich and varied back history to them, it had a interesting location of Reno, Nevada, and the drama that swirled around them was layered, full of pain, discrimination, and race pride. I couldn’t get enough of them or their story. I read the book twice. Finished it the first time and started rereading it all over again. Yep, hooked.

But it wasn’t just the characters that drew me in, it was the fascinating culture and enthralling species history that Mary Calmes built book by book that had its origin in Egypt and egyptian mythology. Especially when the plot and characters ended up on Sobek, Egypt, ancestral home of their kind, then I was riveted. Calmes wove the plight of her characters (often horrific and gutwrenching) into the idea of Egyptian myths come alive and an ancient shifter tribe on the brink of change and the result was gripping and magnificent.

So what does Mary Calmes do with her last Jin and Logan story? She terrifies us! From the very first sentence, the reader is plunged into a living nightmare. It’s Jin at his most heartbreaking and horrific. Jin has been stripped of everything he fought so hard and so long to have. He’s alone, amnesiac, and heartsick, although he doesn’t know why. No Logan, no family or friends or tribe. Its chilling, and his panic and uncertainty becomes ours from the outset. And overtop of what Jin is feeling is the fact that we can imagine just what Logan and the others must be going through at Jin’s absence. Above all, the question looms for Jin and us….what the hell happened to blow everything to bits?

That answer comes slowly and with great suspense. Mary Calmes’ approach here is masterful. It is suspenseful, gripping, and excruciating in the anticipation it creates along the way. I loved it. And when the reunion comes, the scene explodes with just the sort of power and emotion we have come to expect from this story and characters. My heart was pounding along with Jin’s. But it doesn’t stop there but just starts gather more strength and energy as the pieces start to fall into place and Jin’s memory returns. I went back and forth reading and rereading passages for the shear amazement and total enjoyment that brought to me as a reader and fan of this series.

What else did I love? That the author brings her saga full circle, back almost to the beginning and then launches it upward with new direction and hope for the future. This story has all the elements I look forward to in a Change of Heart story and then some. Calmes gave us more mythology and also filled in some world building that was extremely practical and down to earth. Things made sense at the end. I found myself nodding “yes” at certain turning points and crosspaths in the narrative.

And it all made me want to go read it from the start all over again. Which I am going to do.

What can I say? I thought this was perfection. It ended better than I hoped, with a smile and laughter and utter joy in all the characters and the new future ahead for them all. Am I sorry its over? Absolutely. But did Mary Calmes give Jin, Logan, Yuri, and all the rest the ending they deserved? Without question. Change of Heart remains a series close to my heart and Forging the Future is one of the Best of 2015! I highly recommend this book and the entire series. Now you must excuse me, I have a series to reread!

Cover art by Anne Cain is just perfection. Perfect for the last cover in the series.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press eBook & Paperback | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 180 pages
Expected publication: June 29th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781634763042
edition languageEnglish
seriesChange of Heart

Books in the Change of Heart series in the order they were written and should be read for character and plot development.

Change of Heart (Change of Heart, #1)
Trusted Bond (Change of Heart #2)
Honored Vow (Change of Heart, #3)
Crucible of Fate (Change of Heart, #4)
Forging the Future (Change of Heart, #5)

Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review : Sultry Sunset (Mangrove Stories #3) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5:

Hutch Crowley is well-liked in the small resort town of Mangrove—he’s got friends in his new neighbors, he’s the owner of the town grocery, and he’s building a community center—but he’s still unlucky at love. Every man he’s attracted to is either taken or simply not interested, including his best friend, Mike Rojas.

When Mike came to Mangrove two years ago, Hutch gave him a job and a place to stay in his guesthouse, where Mike has remained ever since. Despite the rumors circulating about them, Hutch knows Mike is straight and looking for the right woman. But his friends disagree, and after some hints to the contrary, even Hutch finally has to admit that maybe the rest of the town sees something he’s been missing. If Hutch wants to spend each sultry sunset with the man of his dreams, it might be time to figure out what’s going on with his best friend’s heart.

This was a sweet gay-for-you story in the world of the friends we met in “Blue Days” and “Quiet Nights”. Hutch Crowley, a businessman and town leader, was the guy dating Coz in “Quiet Nights” when Kelly finally realized he had to act quickly or Coz would be gone. It’s nice to see that Hutch got his own story.

It takes Hutch a while to realize that the reason he’s so upset at seeing the parade of women tiptoeing the walk of shame away from his guest house at dawn each morning is that he’s jealous of them. His guest house is occupied by Mike Rojas, his best friend and the co-manager of Heath’s grocery store. Mike is a widower who came to Mangrove two years ago after wandering the country in a state of restlessness when his wife died.

Finally ready to move on with his life, he’s looking better, and obviously feeling better as evidenced by the increase in his dating. Heath can’t quite cope with his new feelings for Mike, but believes he’s hiding them well. However, all of their friends are just wondering when they are going to see the light. It’s obvious to them that these guys care for each other, but it isn’t until Heath lands in jail that the situation comes to a head.

This story was too short to form a deep attachment to the characters and to build up the sexual tension. However, it was sweet and a good pick-me-up for those days when you need to feel good. A few new characters were introduced in this story as well, and I’ll be surprised if we don’t see Mike’s new neighbor, Essien, in his own story someday soon.

I’d recommend this to fans of Mary Calmes, those who like a GFY short story to brighten their day, and to all lovers of M/M romance. You can never go wrong with a little Mary Calmes in your life.

Cover Art by Reese Dante is a photo of a man standing alone on a beach at sunset— a gloriously, beautiful sunset. This is one of the most attractive covers I’ve seen this year.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 62 pages
Published May 15th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press LLC
ISBN139781634761512
edition languageEnglish
seriesMangrove Stories #3

Mangrove Series Stories include:

Blue Days (Mangrove Stories, #1)
Quiet Nights (Mangrove Stories, #2)
Sultry Sunset (Mangrove Stories #3)

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