Tag: JMS Books LLC

A MelanieM Review: Knight Errant (Legends of Osaire Book 2) by T.A. Creech

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Sequel to Witch King

When an Archmage needs a guard to see him through the enchanted Alahanai Forest, dwarf Einith Redstone jumps on the opportunity. The amount of coin offered for the contract is enormous, and he wants to help a fellow dwarf find his Heartstone. And then Einith is stunned when the enticing elf Tae’liamath joins them as their guide.

Their journey through Alahanai is more dangerous than expected, physically and personally. Between the search for a missing knight out of legend and a bond unexpectedly formed, Einith and Tae find themselves growing close, and their emotions are sent reeling. With a Heartstone at stake, magickal encounters, and falling for each other, Einith and Tae have much to overcome before their journey ends.

Knight Errant (Legends of Osaire Book 2) by T.A. Creech reads like a much longer story.  In  that I mean, the author, T.A. Creech has managed to make 107 pages feel like double that in a marvelous way.  Creech (a new author for me) managed some lovely universe building, great characters that made me committed to the tale and their relationships (I laughed, cringed, and white-knuckled in all the right places).  Not only that but did it in a way that I felt I didn’t lose much by coming in at the second story.

Yes, once again I dropped into a series at book two. Honestly I had no idea because when you are looking at the title there was no indication there was a previous story or even a series. However, I enjoyed this so much that I intend to go back and pick that one up asap.  Unfortunately I already know how it ends (those characters appear here), and my favorite ones from this story, the dwarf and the elf will probably be nowhere at all.  Sigh.  How I came to love them both!

Yes, I think this will turn out to be one of those series that needs to be read in sequence as when the characters from the first story popped up here I really had no idea who they were or their importance in this universe (huge).  What I enjoyed was the author’s myth building, ability to create an atmosphere (in one case dark, full of black magic) and make me feel it creep from the page as well as play with the characters emotions.

The romance between dwarf Einith and elf Tae is slow, and a wonderful thing to behold.  I loved Einith and his recognition that his Heartstone might be at hand was a joy to read. I really could have used a second book with these two and I hope this is not the last of them that we see in this series.  There’s another couple here too that you will need just as much of.  The four of them are just plain addictive narratively speaking. More, T.A. Creech, I definitely need more!

So back to book one I go.  If you are as unfamiliar with this series as I was, you will want to go there to.  There head here for a wonderful fantasy adventure.

Cover art is dramatic and perfect for the story.

Sales Links:  JMS Books LLC | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 107 pages
Published July 8th 2017 by JMS Books LLC
ASIN B073MFBBDS

A MelanieM Review: Red, White, and a New Beginning by Thomas Grant Bruso

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

It’s Independence Day, and the annual fireworks along Lake Champlain are set to begin.

Adam Rankin gets a telephone call from his former boyfriend, Dave Peterson, who’s back in town for the festivities. It’s been a year since they separated and parted ways. Dave has moved from their small upstate New York town to Albany, where he works as a paralegal. Adam stayed behind, working as a chef in a Greek restaurant and feeding the homeless on weekends at a local shelter.

The two men reconnect over the holiday and sparks fly. Can they rekindle the flames between them, or will their romance burn out? Will this be the start of a new beginning?

I looked at the cover and blurb and anticipated a cute, short lovers reunited story.  What I got was a bundle of oddities I’m still pondering over. One, you have a very detached narrator, who seems to be looking at what’s happening around him at an emotional distance, almost describing actors on a stage.  So right away there’s a huge disconnect.

As Adam weirdly talks about himself (close to 40, thinning hair, paunch, etc), his ex, the town), I start to think wow, is this a horror story and not a romance, because that’s the way it’s starting to sound.  Plus this author has a disturbing way of putting adjectives together that most writers or just people wouldn’t think would go together.

Example: “his cavernous blue eyes hypnotizing me”  

Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve never looked at someone and thought their eyes looked especially cavernous.  Look it up in the dictionary. Yes, its there.  But here, deep would have been fine, this is just odd.  Another “His face pinched, as if thwarted”,  his thirty something lover is described as ‘fresh faced”, and pink skies turn into purple eggplant. Actually Bruso hasn’t met an adjective he doesn’t like and can’t match up with another, and another.  All while continuing a story that at times sounds more like a two man play complete with awkward discourse.

They talk and talk.  Drink, have sex, and talk some more. But honestly even when some out of the blue element showed up about Dave’s parents that again made no real sense, I had long stopped caring.  The whole thing seems more like a literary exercise than story.

So not a story I’d recommend unless you’re a fan of this author and he’s an auto read.  I’ll leave it at that.

Cover art is colorful and certainly caught my eye.

Sales Links:  JMS Books LLC | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 46 pages
Published July 1st 2017 by JMS Books
ISBN139781634863315

An Alisa Review: Rescued by Dakota Storm

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

 

Dean Montgomery loves his ranch and his family, but something is missing. When he sets out on a road trip to purchase land to expand his ranch, he finds himself stranded in a snowstorm.

 

When the sexy and gruff Colt James, a tracker and rescue worker, rescues Dean, both of their lives are turned upside down. Attraction sizzles, and hearts race. But then trouble brews, and Dean is needed back home. Can these two make their new relationship work?

 

This was an interesting and sweet story.  Dean is rescued by Colt when he is stranded during a snowstorm and Colt brings him home to wait it out.  Their attraction and the intense situation help them get to know each other quickly.

 

Most of this story is told from Dean’s point of view which makes it easy to understand his thoughts and doubts he can easily read between the lines when it come to Colt and get past his gruff exterior.  Colt’s nephew Coop understands their relationship and quickly knows the new family dynamic he thinks they should have and he is a wonderful and helpful kid.  Dean supports Colt when he has to put himself in danger to rescue Colts friends and, after a little pushing, Colt knows he wants to help Dean when his brother is in trouble.  I really liked the loving relationship these two build and how much they understand the others quirks.

 

The cover art by Written Ink Designs is nice and works well for this story.

 

Sales Links: JMS Books | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 132 pages

Published: June 17, 2017 by JMS Books

ISBN: 9781634864039

Edition Language: English

 

A MelanieM Review: The Wooden Samurai by Alex Morgan

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

In 1708 Japan, Hirata, a samurai serving Lord Takarada, is enjoying his elevated status in the daimyo’s army when he finds a gift, a wooden carving of a samurai on a horse. Hirata realizes he has a secret admirer, and soon discovers Matsuda, a young archer in Takarada’s retinue, has taken a liking to him.

But Hirata isn’t ready for a relationship with a man and refuses Matsuda. When he realizes he really does love Matsuda, the archer is far away with Lord Takarada in Edo Castle, and Hirata doesn’t know when they will return.

Hirata decides to convince Matsuda he is ready, but before he can put it into action, an earthquake and a tsunami destroy the daimyo’s manor.

Is Matsuda still alive? Is it too late for love to bloom between the two men?

The Wooden Samurai by Alex Morgan sets out a huge tale for itself and its far too big for its 45 pages to accomplish.  That’s a sad thing because I loved the premise and this sort of story is just the thing that always hooks me in.  I love stories of feudal Japan and samurai, especially if they get their history correct and can make their settings come alive as Alex Morgan did.  Lord Takarada’s manor is a living, breathing small village unto itself…full of life, swarming with people, structures we get to see through the eyes of Hirata, the samurai who serves him.

While the setting, the history and the events that occur are dramatic and more than enough to connect any reader to the story, the relationship between Hirata and Matsuda isn’t.  It just has too many flaws, due in part to the short nature of the tale.  Enlarged, I think The Wooden Samurai could be an entirely different novel but at 45 pages there’s just not enough time for the switch from Hirata not having any leanings towards sexual feelings towards not only men but Matsuda himself to love just isn’t plausible, no matter the circumstances.  Morgan just doesn’t make the case here with enough passion or enough interaction between the men to make me believe it.   Again,  the author has so much going on, that had everything been explored in more depth, whether it was the events occurring (no spoilers here but how I wanted more) to seeing Matsuda and Hirada converse, be, whatever, with each other enough to have a chemistry that I felt was lacking here.

So, The Wooden Samurai earned it’s 3 stars not on it’s romance but on everything else which was so well done.  Alex Morgan can write, I think the author just got really ambitious here for a short story.  I’d love to see an expanded version sometime down the line.  I will certainly be looking forward to Morgan’s other stories, longer ones, in the future.

Cover art has nice touches.  But I wish that the wooden samurai carving that plays such a large part in the story could have been featured on the cover instead of the overused naked torso.

Sales Links:  JMS Books LLC | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 45 pages
Published June 24th 2017 by JMS Books LLC
ASINB0721TRMXN

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Cultivating Love by Addison Albright

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

This was a nice story about two “regular” guys in their mid-twenties, though too be honest, for quite a while I thought for sure they were older—at least in their forties. Joe is a farmhand who was disowned by his family when he came out seven or eight years before, and Ed is a mechanic who’s been on his own for years, ever since his mother died. Suddenly, Ed inherits a farm from the father he never knew, having been told by his mother that his dad died when Ed was born.

I thought the story was rather boring, although a homophobic guy in the town where the ranch was located gave them some trouble and caused turmoil and excitement in the latter half of the book. Ed and Joe are an established couple as the story opens, having been together a little over two years. But apparently they had just been floating along as friends-with-benefits and not bothering to tell each other they were developing feelings. The sudden inheritance changed that for them and they declared their commitment.

At the 7% mark in the story, the two had sex—not hot, amazing, tear-the-sheets sex that readers would anticipate was a natural progression in the story—just sex between two guys who liked each other. To be honest, I don’t like sex scenes early in a book because at that point I generally really don’t care about the characters and their story. I need more time for the plot to develop. And the sex here was bland, likely what led to me think the characters were older before I got to the point of the book that explained their ages. It certainly wasn’t necessary to the plot or story development at that point, so it didn’t add anything.

This was a nice story, overall, but nothing struck me as outstanding or unique, so though I might recommend it to someone new to the genre or to someone who likes established couples, I don’t think everyone will really enjoy it. I found it interesting that there’s a large print note at the beginning of the blurb that states that there’s a new chapter and new ending. To be honest, without the ending tying things up, I can’t imagine how I would have rated this higher than 2 or 2.5, so it’s good the author decided to make the revision.

~~~

Cover art by Written Ink Designs depicts a picture of a young man leaning against a wood fence and surrounding shrubbery. Wearing jeans, an open green-plaid shirt and a cowboy hat, the guy fits the story but blends into the background. The overall effect of so much green tone is bland and would not grab a potential reader’s attention.

Sales Links:  JMS Books LLC | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 2nd Edition – Expanded
Published June 24th 2017 by JMS Books, LLC (first published June 9th 2009)
Original TitleCultivating Love
ASINB071S9DLT6
Edition LanguageEnglish
URLhttps://authoraddisonalbright.com/my-publications/stand-alone-stories/cultivating-love-2nd-edition/
CharactersEd Jamison, Joe Durham settingNebraska (United States)
Mayfield, Nebraska (United States)
Omaha, Nebraska (United States)

An Alisa Review: Prise de Fer by A.R. Moler

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

 

Chemistry major Kelly Hendrick has lusted after his analytical chemistry professor Simon Randall for a several semesters. They share common interests in reading, fencing, and, of course, their chosen career field.

 

Now several semesters past being Dr. Randall’s student, Kelly finally dares to cross the line and pursue his attraction to the professor. He finds the feeling reciprocated, but there are deep, more than human secrets in Kelly’s life.

 

An assault on Simon forces Kelly to confront the idea that Simon needs to know more if they’re going to be together. Can Kelly own up to non-human genetics and still maintain his growing relationship with Simon?

 

This was an enjoyable story.  Simon has continued to try and keep Kelly at arm’s length in order to keep any feelings he may have at bay.  Kelly embraces his friendship with Simon and is willing to let that be all they have if Simon refuses to have more.

 

I felt as though I was watching this story from a distance and didn’t really connect with the characters.  Kelly struggles with the reality that he would need to tell Simon about his true nature but isn’t sure when that would be the right time.  Simon doesn’t put up too much resistance once Kelly really makes a move once he isn’t his student anymore.

 

The cover art by Written Ink Designs is nice and works well for this story.

 

Sales Links: JMS Books | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 47 pages

Published: June 3, 2017 by JMS Books

ISBN: 9781634864084

Edition Language: English

An Alisa Review: Admiring Jesse by Shawn Lane

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

Jesse is used to Valentine’s Day passing without finding his own sweetheart. But suddenly he starts receiving gifts from a secret admirer.

 

With encouragement from his too-sexy roommate, Gilbert, Jesse opens himself to the idea that someone is actually interested in him. Though he has doubts, Jesse can’t help but wonder if his admirer could finally be the man of his dreams.

 

This was such a sweet short story.  Jesse can’t see how anyone would really be attracted to him let alone how he would have a secret admirer, however his admirer seems to know all of his favorite things.  Gilbert is encouraging and I loved when he revealed himself to Jesse and explained his feeling for Jesse to see that it was real.  It was wonderful to see them still together in the future and continuing to build a life together.

 

The cover art by Written Ink Designs is a sweet picture and is perfect for this story.

 

Sales Links: JMS Books | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 24 pages

Published: 2nd edition June 17, 2017 by JMS Books

ISBN: 9781634864008

Edition Language: English

An Alisa Review: The Sky at Night by Wayne Mansfield

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

 

When Armand happens to look down into his new neighbor’s yard one night and discovers him lying on his back, staring up at the night sky, he doesn’t know what to think. It doesn’t happen every night, but it happens often enough for Armand’s curiosity to be piqued.

 

When they finally meet, Armand falls instantly in lust with Ben, a dentist with an interest Armand can only describe as out-of-the-ordinary. As they get to know each other, Armand’s feelings towards Ben blossom into love. Yet Ben reveals he has recently come out of a six-year relationship and isn’t quite ready for anyone special in his life. Armand is disappointed but learns to live with the fact he and Ben might only ever be friends.

 

But the future is a strange and wonderful thing. When Armand starts to show a fondness for Ben’s unusual interest, it leads to more than one surprise event.

 

This was much more a story of friendship than romance to me.  Armand has been attracted to his new neighbor since he first saw him and jumps at the chance to get to know him better.  He gains a wonderful new friend and new interest for them to share as they get to know each other.

 

We see this story from Armand’s point of view and don’t really get to see Ben’s emotions as he keeps them hidden a bit.  We see their friendship develop from their first real meeting to great friends that see each other a few times a week and spending a lot of time together.  Ben finally opens up near the end of the story giving Armand the chance to have what he has been hoping to have for months.

 

The cover art by Written Ink Designs is understated but is perfect for this story.

 

Sales Links: JMS Books | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 36 pages

Published: May 20, 2017 by JMS Books

ISBN: 9781634863865

Edition Language: English

A VVivacious Review: Sex in C Major by Matthew J. Metzger

Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5
 
I really can’t write an adequate blurb for this one. My fumbling attempt at writing one for this book yielded this –
“Stefan is a transgender male who has fantasies that could get him killed especially combined with his mile long issues. When a chance encounter with Daz seems to get him exactly what he wants, will he finally come to terms with what he wants or will it take something very different to force Stefan to recognise himself?”
…just read the blurb, its pretty spot on.
 
I finished reading this book on the 4th of June and as I sit down to write this review it is the 8th of June. I have taken a lot of time to assimilate my thoughts regarding this book and I still don’t think I have grasped them all. Reading this book feels like an experience. It’s the kind of book that pulls you kicking and screaming into its world and wrings you out till all you can do is absorb everything this book has to offer. This book is a sensory overload and that might be the most truthful thing I think there is to say about this book.
 
Regarding the warnings that come with this book, while this book is pretty dark and overwhelming with emotions and frankly pulls you in a million different directions it didn’t even come close to my limits so I on the whole didn’t have to deal with discomfort when I read it, but I feel that for a lot of people this is going to be a significant aspect of this book. This book is bare bones reality it doesn’t cover up anything nothing fades to back and everything is starkly defined so there is no getting away. So when you pick up this book heed the warnings.
 
When I started reading the book it was like reading the book you love to hate. I had a million problems with this book when I started it but if I have to be true to myself I realise that I loved the book then as well. But at that point, in the beginning, there was so much I had a problem with. Stefan harps on normal so much in the beginning of this book that I hated seeing the word come up in the text and it comes up a lot. Also Stefan has some extremely outdated views on woman and it felt really wrong to hear those from him. One of the biggest wins for me in this book was when Daz sets the record straight on that account. It instantaneously made me respect Daz even when I was in the love to hate phase with this book. Initially I felt like this author isn’t for me because I have read another book by this author and I didn’t like that much but this book proved me wrong in that regard.
 
The best thing this book has to offer is undoubtedly Yannis. Reading a character like him made me realise why diversity is so important because looking at the world from a different perspective can be beyond enlightening it can be transcendent. He is the kind of character that you don’t even know you want to read about till you have met him and then you realise how much you were missing when you finally do. When Yan fights it’s something so amazing.
 
Yan and Daz’s relationship has got to be the most mind boggling relationship of all times because it is missing all the tradition elements that you find in relationships. It is a sexual and romantic relationship but only from one side of the equation and the other side is completely indifferent. While indifferent is the word that comes to mind it has also made me realise that love is more than romance and sex and while those are the two things that love is most often related with and for some people romance + sex = love it is nice to meet a couple that doesn’t fit the former part of the equation at all but still manages the latter. I loved the fact that these two characters loved each other without their Love being love. It’s truly made me realise that Love is so much more than our mind can comprehend and it truly is something else, more than you know, more than you can imagine and is the most unclassifiable thing in the world.
 
Daz is a quintessential male. While writing this review the thing that comes to mind when I think of Daz is a classical romance hero who is nice but dark except Daz’s so called darkness isn’t an indefinable something but something you are made familiar with in the very beginning of the book. He is dangerous and he is sweet. I loved his sweet and cuddly moments and it’s very funny to think of the fact that he is the only romantic one in the relationship he shares with Yan because he is kind of the guy in books who is the least interested in romance but in this book if he wants romance he has to grab it with both hands. Irony thou art funny.
 
Stefan is the one character in this book who was not an instant favourite. Initially his very skewed view on cis gendered people was really getting to me and then his obsession with normal was maddening. The only thing that I could understand of Stefan’s initially was his kink. I got his need for it and I also got his hatred for it and how he would let his want for it made him go crazy but when the want was fulfilled it would leave him defiled. One of the things that Stefan learns during the course of this book was to let be, to not let his impression of normal prevent him from living his life the way he wants to live it. There is a conversation between Daz and Stefan which in a very overly simplified manner amounts to Stefan harping on the fact that he wasn’t normal and Daz telling him to get over it, to get over the fact that he enjoyed things others wouldn’t consider normal because the fact was that he enjoyed them, so he should and fuck anyone else who thinks otherwise. Surprisingly I have been on Stefan’s end of this conversation and while what Daz was saying to Stefan is exactly what I wanted to say to Stefan I also understand how hard it is to just let go of your beliefs no matter how wrong they may be, so Stefan’s struggles made a unique impact.
 
There is this scene at the end of the book which is really intense. I read two reviews that I read before reading this book both in their own way propelled me to read the book. I only read one line of the second review and that said DNF @98%. Now this was really surprising for me and insanely for who would possibly stop reading a book just before it’s about to end. So yeah there is something at the end of the book that could possibly be distressing enough to just DNF the book on the spot, but for me while the scene is intense it also fits the story and the characters, it is not jarring and it didn’t feel unreal in fact I am very surprised how naturally that scene flowed. But I guess this scene will be the source of quite a lot of debate. Personally for me Daz and Stefan’s sex life is something I completely understand. I get both the desire to submit to the extent Stefan wants to as well as the desire to call something someone yours.
 
Whenever I think of this book I think of colours so bright you feel you can touch them.
 
This book is like notes on a page when you play the notes some will hear a noise while others will hear the symphony.
 
Cover Art by Written Ink Designs. I loved the attention to detail in the cover. It is an amazing cover.
Sales Links:  JMS Books LLC | Amazon
Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 426 pages
Published May 27th 2017 by JMS Books LLC
Original TitleSex in C Major
ASINB06Y1QZP55
Edition LanguageEnglish

An Alisa Review: Romancing the Bouncer by J.D. Walker

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

Bennett “Ben” Pachowski is a bouncer at Throwbacks. He likes his job, though he gets tired of being thought of as more brawn than brain. He loves books, prefers to be romanced before sleeping with a man, and has a crazy feline companion named Bessie.

 

Ben’s favorite band, Rebel’s Ultimatum, plays at the club on weekends, giving him an eyeful of sexy bass player, Monty Mabuse. Ben is content to flirt — nothing more. He knows the kind of person Monty is, and commitment is not something the bass player is interested in.

 

When Monty resorts to something devious to get what he wants, it backfires, and Ben walks away. Before he goes on tour with his band, Monty finally gets Ben to talk to him, but if Monty really wants to have something serious with Ben, he’ll have to change his ways.

 

A little romance could go a long way.

 

I really liked this story.  Ben knows he is a relationship kind of guy and won’t settle for anything less.  He keeps his distance from Monty until he rescues him and suddenly he is waking up next to Monty no knowing how they got there.

 

Ben forces Monty to look at his life and decide what he really wants.  While Ben is making some big changes in his life so does Monty.  I felt Ben’s pain when he realized what Monty had done and was happy to see him make the changes to make his life happier even if it meant moving on from his comfort zone.  Seeing Monty make the changes in his life that finally put his past behind him was wonderful.

 

The cover art by Written Ink Designs is nice and gives a good visual of Ben.

 

Sales Links: JMS Books | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 58 pages

Published: May 13, 2017 by JMS Books

ISBN: 9781634860918

Edition Language: English