Review of The Christmas Throwaway by RJ Scott

Rating: 4.75 stars

Ben Hamilton is a rookie cop and that means he takes all the shifts the more experienced cops don’t want. And that is how he finds himself outside St. Margeret’s in a blizzard on Christmas Eve looking at the frozen figure curled up on the bench. The young man is shivering in his sleep and the snow is quickly blanketing him, soon it will be impossible to tell there is someone there. It takes Ben several tries before he is able to rouse the young man and ask him his name.

Zachary Weston is only seventeen when his father throws him out of the house for being gay. Left without any money, clothes or a place to go, Zachary finds himself at the end of his rope, on a bench in front of an old church in town, falling asleep in the cold and snow. Then a cop named Ben wakes him up, and ends up taking him home to the house he shares with his mother. Together they show Zachary the true meaning of love and family. This will be the Christmas that changes everything, and not just for Zachary.

“Hey! You can’t sleep here.” That sentence opens RJ Scott’s The Christmas Throwaway, a book I first read last year at Christmas. It quickly became one of my favorite holiday stories. The story of Zachary Weston, a teenager abandoned by his family, at the worst time of year in the worst weather imaginable pulled at my heartstrings from the very beginning. Zachary has given up and is quietly letting the cold and snow pull him under. But Ben Hamilton is an earnest, kind young man, who is horrified to find Zachary close to death in front of St. Margeret’s. Well aware that he should be turning Zachary over to child services, instead Ben takes him home to his mom at his family’s house and changes all their lives from that moment on.

Although the story starts out with Zachary as a seventeen year old boy, Zachary is of legal age when he and Ben start their relationship, a element that looms large in Ben’s mind when he realizes he not only likes Zachary as a friend but is attracted to him as well. RJ Scott gives us wonderful characters to believe in and love throughout this story, not only Ben and Zachary but Ben’s mother who grows to love the “Christmas throwaway” like her own son, Elles Belles Ben’s sister, Mark his best friend and so many others. But your focus will remain on Zachary and Ben, especially Zachary and his plight as a child thrown away because of his sexuality, a grim statistic across America. Zachary is saved, but the story makes clear he is one of the fortunate few and that there are so many others out there needing help and support.

I just loved Zachary and Ben and their slow climb into a lovely relationship. It’s funny, and heartbreaking and always feels so real as they deal with problems that arise, miscommunications and misperceptions by both of them. And there is Rebecca, the sister Zachary left behind who will supply her own share of trauma and angst to this story. But this is a Christmas tale and it ends as it started, on the bench in front of St. Margeret’s on Christmas Eve. From the first Eve to the last, RJ Scott’s shares with us a story of love at Christmas time that will stay with you throughout the year. It has become a favorite of mine. I think you will find it becomes yours as well.

At this time of year, the GLBTQ shelters are over flowing. If you can donate even a little at this time of year, it would be greatly appreciated. Here are some shelters in need:

New York City, NY: The Ali Forney Center for LGBTQ Homeless Youth.

Chicago, IL The GLBT Chicago Shelter

National Coalition for the Homeless, write them at info@nationalhomeless.org

Covenant House, Washington, DC

Cover: That cover by Reese Dante gives me the chills, so perfect in its depiction of characters and time of year.

Review of Gregori’s Ghost by Sarah Black

Rating: 5 stars

Dr. Steven Russell’s grandfather, Charlie, is dying. And in his pain, Charlie keeps calling out two mens names, that of Gregori and Alexi. When Steven asks who those men are Charlie begins to tell his grandson a story, one he has never heard before, that of Charlie’s time in the Army in WWII. Charlie tells Steven that when he meet a Ukrainian war photographer, his live divided into two parts, that of “before Gregori and after Gregori”. Charlie tells Steven a horrific story of a mass execution that Gregori photographed and asks Steven to bring Gregori’s old camera to him in the hospital. Charlie also gets Steven to promise to find Alexi, Gregori’s grandson and make sure he is safe. But when Steven returns to the hospital with the camera, his grandfather has already died and Steven has a promise to keep.

But there is so much more going on than just a promise. When Steven pulled out the camera from its storage place, he noticed its mint condition and looked into the lens. To his utter astonishment, he sees exactly what Gregori saw that day in the Katyn Forest when over 23,000 people were slaughtered and dumped in a mass burial to be hidden. Steven can smell the oder of the guns and feel the cold creep into his bones. Looking into the camera, he is there with Gregori as it happens. And then Gregory and Charlie start to speak to him and tell Steven that he has to help Alexi right the wrongs and save the spirits of the two old men.

All his life, Steven has lead a self indulgent, golden life. Now to honor his promise to Charlie, he must leave it all behind to go to the Ukraine to find Alexi Temchanko a Ukrainian journalist investigating the old crime. While they have never met, they have talked on the phone, and the attraction Steven feels for the journalist is unsettling as is the fact that Gregori is still speaking to him, telling him that time is running out and Alexi is in danger. There are people all around them trying to stop the truth from coming out. Will Steven get to Alexi in time to save him and honor his promise to the ghosts of two men depending upon him as well?

Gregori’s Ghost is a wonder of a story on so many levels. We have an historical element based on fact, that of Katyn massacre, a mass execution of Polish citizens in 1940. Then around this monstrous crime Black builds a tale of family, obligation, honor and love. Sarah Black is an expert on old men, as crazy as that sounds. She knows how they sound and how they move and her characters resonate with authenticity of age and knowledge, how I loved Gregori and Charlie. But Steven Russell is something of a new character for her. He is a “golden boy”, a neurologist who is emotionally removed from everyone around him with the exception of his grandfather, who sees the true Steven. He is a bit of a cad, taking from lovers and never giving of himself. But Black takes this unlovable character and makes him grow and discard his shallow lifestyle to carry out his grandfather’s wishes. But there is no personality transplant but a realistic difficult change that Steven has to undergo. It is just so very well done that I came to like Steven by the end of the story. But Gregori’s Ghost is peopled with characters you will come to love and entrust with your affections, including Gregori and Charlie, the two entwined men who start it all.

On top of her characterizations, Sarah Black gives us a mystical element, that of the ghosts or spirits of Gregori and Charlie who continue to talk or berate Steven into action. The author gives her ghosts as many layers as her living persons, right down to their sexuality as well. Gregori finds himself tempted by the gorgeous Steven and gives in to their mutual sexual needs in several stirring scenes. How you feel about the supernatural might dictate what you feel about this part of the book, but I ask you to just go with it because the end is worth it all.

But most impressive is that Gregori’s Ghost is so different in that her traditional love of the land is missing here. Unlike all her other books where the characters are as wedded to the land as they are to each other, here the landscape is reduced to a minor supporting role. Instead of the land being the characters foundation, it is each other that provides the emotional and mental support they need to go forward. With the exception of Steven, Alexi, Gregori, and Charlie are men who by their nature and the circumstances they find themselves in, are men pared down to their core. In pain, dying, they still act with honor and determination, something Steven learns along the way. Like I said , a remarkable book. Now this great book is free at All Romance Books. Find it here and download it for free. Run, don’t walk to the nearest computer and get it. I hope you will love it as much as I do. And while you are there, pick up some other Sarah Black books, starting with Marathon Cowboys. You will want them all.

Author Spotlight: Sarah Black

The Legend of the Apache Kid by Sarah Black , review here

Marathon Cowboys by Sarah Black, review here

Review of Peace in the Valley by Jana Denardo

Rating: 4.5 stars

John and Anthony have a tough time making time for each other, especially at this time of the year. Not only do both men work in emergency services, John as a EMT and Anthony as a nurse, but they also are members of the local Search and Rescue outfit. But their roles in Search and Rescue make them one unique couple with John as the S&R handler for his “dog” Sir Barksalot who just happens to be Anthony, a wolf shifter. The holidays always bring crazy demands on their time, from people lost on the slopes to a full ER. But they have been lovers for a long time and know how special it is to make time for each other in their special valley.

I loved this short story written for Dreamspinner’s Evergreen Advent Month. Jana Denardo captures beautifully the portrait of a couple who have been together long enough that they mesh in that special way only committed partners do. That one partner happens to be a wolf shifter and Native American adds spice to the relationship but never takes the focus off the love John and Anthony have for each other. There are some very cute scenes in which John interacts with his rescue “dog” during training and Anthony’s comments about his love for liver treats. We also get to see them as an established couple at Christmastime with John’s large Italian family who clearly see Anthony as they would any of their children’s spouses, a very nice touch.

Peace in the Valley gives us tender moments in the lives of John and Anthony, the drama of a rescue and some hot sex too, all nicely wrapped up in 39 pages. Another don’t miss for the holiday season. Lovely.

Review of Inspiration by Henrietta Clark

Rating: 5 stars

Nolan’s mother is having open heart surgery and it is scheduled to happen over the holidays which means Nolan is going to Chicago for Christmas and leaving his lover, Benji, behind in Scotland working on his novel. Definitely not an ideal situation for anyone but what is Nolan to do? Benji hates Chicago, swears Scotland is his muse and the next part of his book is due to the editors. Benji knows he’s being a “wanker” and doesn’t want Nolan to go but realizes that this year Nolan will spend the holidays in the States and Benji will spend them alone.

But before leaving, Nolan prepares an advent calendar to get Benji through the long 3 months without him, and maybe help Nolan get through it too in a very unique way. As Benji starts to find each advent surprise Nolan has left him, he starts to learn more about himself and the man he let leave for the States alone to face his mother’s traumatic surgery by himself. Benji may just learn that his source of inspiration resides not in a place, but in a person he loves more than he realizes.

Run, run right now and go get this book. I have no idea who Henrietta Clark is but I now adore her and will be looking for anything else she writes. Her characters grump and grumble, are selfish, and charming and so totally real that they scampered off the page and into my heart from the first paragraph of this wonderful story. Benji is a grumpy, large old (albeit goodlooking) codger who lives in Scotland, the heart of his muse he thinks. Benji is very much set in his ways, his thought processes following the habits laid down by his body. It is remarkable that he let Nolan in past his defenses to begin with but Nolan’s assault on Mount Benji was thorough and well planned. I only wish that Henrietta Clark had given us a little more of Nolan’s determined courtship of Benji, it must have been a hoot. But could I imagine it from the small glimpses she gave us? Why yes I could and I loved what I saw.

Nolan is a shear delight. Totally American, he is slight where Benji is large, humorous and outgoing where Benji withdraws like a hermit crab into his shell. Nolan sees the best about everyone and every situation, and he is exactly what Benji needs and wants, even if the man doesn’t realize it at first. And little by little, as each advent gift shows Benji just how well Nolan knows his irascible lover, Benji also discovers that Nolan has been his real muse all along and spending the holidays without his love is becoming increasingly unbearable. Yes, I have seen this plot before, but with her rich descriptions and wonderful characterizations, including Nolan’s mother, Clark makes this storyline sing again and just in time to deliver that much needed holiday cheer and joy that I look for in a story at this time of year. I am sure Santa will be adding Henrietta Clark to his “nice” list for giving us such a wonderful story.

Review: Turkey in the Snow by Amy Lane

Rating: 4.75 stars

Hank Calder is a good man, he’s worked hard to get a home and be responsible, remarkable considering his background. So when his sister dropped off her 4 year old daughter and left without a word, Hank accepted Josie into his home and heart because he wanted for her more than what he had growing up. But Josie is so young and missing her mother while all Hank wants is to make everything as perfect for her as possible, with as little drama as possible. Drama is something both Josie and Hank have had too much of in their lives. Stressed out, Hank turns to his gym workouts for relief and takes Josie along to the gym’s daycare.

Enter Justin, daycare worker extraordinaire, young and flamboyant as they come. Justin consistently helps Hank with Josie even though Hank is determined to leave drama and Justin out of their lives. But fate and Josie intervene until Hank realizes that Justin with all his goodness and all his support just might be the man he needs and has been looking for all his life, that Justin might be his “turkey in the snow”.

I am not going to even attempt to explain that “turkey in the snow” reference. It has to be read in context but let’s just say it had me in stitches and is such a perfect Amy Laneism that I was absolutely delighted. It had me giggling and going back to reread it again and again. It made me laugh, it made Justin laugh and it will make you laugh too. But as this is a Amy Lane story, there will also be angst that will arrive on the heels of such laughter and love. Another perfect moment, this of sadness and regret between Hank and his sister, Amanda. Everything here rings of authentic human emotion, pangs of despair, anger over past actions, and so much remembered love to help conquer life’s worst moments as well. That scene will stick with me for some time to come.

I don’t need to go into the author’s gift for characters, it is there in every book she writes. With her characters and her story lines, you can count on depth and layering that feels effortless that it goes by almost unnoticed. Just sit back and enjoy the wonder of two men, both so different on the outside, but match up as equals in the inside where it counts. I just loved Turkey in the Snow. It brightened my holiday reading and left me full of smiles and joy. That to me is the perfect holiday story. Grab up Turkey in the Snow and make your holiday brighter too!

This cover by Paul Richmond just amazed me. It is in a totally different style than the one I have come to expect from him. Here the gentle edges are softened by snow, the darkness of the turkey illuminated by the light around it. But instead of a harsh mood, the contrast is soft, you can almost hear the whispering of the snow as it falls. Really, one of the best covers of 2012. Just outstanding.

Review: Esau (Leopard’s Spots #6) by Bailey Bradford

Rating: 4 stars

During the confrontation with Chung Kee’s lepe and the death of Chung Kee and his shaman, Esau Wallraven was separated from the rest of his family with the mission to find Ye—sun Warren, the brother who helped Jihu Warren and his son Daniel escape the compound. The compound burned to the ground as the different factions fought and neither Bae and Jihu are sure their half brother survived. So as the family gathers their wounded and leaves for home, Esau remains behind to search for Ye-sun.

Ye-sun Warren has had a hellish life. Imprisoned and tortured by his grandfather as punishment for helping Jihu escape with his son, he is shocked and drugged, as his grandfather hopes to force him to impregnate the females in the compound, something he has refused to do. When he is left to burn with the building, he manages to escape and runs directly into a Snow Leopard, Esau.

Both men are astounded to find that they are mates and the biological drive to consummate their bond is overwhelming. But Esau is tormented by his past and doesn’t want a mate, a fact he communicates to Ye-sun after their mating. Hurt, rejected by family and mate, Ye-sun runs off, leaving Esau wondering if he hasn’t just made the worse mistake of his life.

Esau (Leopard’s Spots 6) picks up directly after the events of Gilbert (Leopard Spot’s 5). The Warren family and their mates and friends have confronted the heinous Chung Kee at his compound with the results that several key members of both families were injured, and Chung Kee and his shamans were killed. Esau had disappeared into the woods at the end of that story, looking for the missing Warren brother, and this story picks up just as Esau gets the scent of a Amur Leopard in the woods.

Most of this story deals with the past traumatic histories of both men. Ye-sun’s is one most familiar to those who have read the previous books. Brought up in a cult like compound, under the strict rule of a obsessive leader, his grandfather Chung Kee, Ye-sun was looked at more as a breeding stud than as a person and to refuse that role meant hours of torture and shock treatments to get him to submit to his grandfather ‘s plans. In addition to the physical trauma, his grandfather also used emotional abuse to inflict pain on the young man and chemicals to keep him from shifting. Bradford does an excellent job of giving us a young man, confused and so full of anger that he is not sure about anything now that he has escaped. I liked both main characters here immensely. Ye-sun pulls at our heartstrings and his anger is something everyone can relate to.

Esau Wallraven makes a formidable mate and partner for Ye-sun. The only child of his parents, he lead a sheltered life, where his only dream was to be normal, an impossibility for a Snow Leopard shifter. As soon as he could, he left to travel the world, never settling down, always looking for that elusive “something” to fill up the hole within him. Then a horrific event in South America leaves it permanent scar on his heart and cements his life of isolation. Everything about Esau makes sense, including his rejection of his mate, done out of fear and past pain.

There is no case of instant love or even instant affection. What draws them together is a natural imperative to mate, brought on by their animals and hormones. And mate they do, for about 75 to 80 percent of the book, in both animal and human forms. It’s brutal, snarling, biting and bestial for the most part as is fitting for cat shifters. As humans, there is an exploration of their sexual natures through spanking and mild bdsm, as pain with sex seems to be part of the shifter sexuality as written by Bradford. Ye-sun is a virgin to anal sex but is not treated like one, a subject that is brought up and dealt with.

And that is really my only quibble with this book. Yes, there is tons of hot sex but too much hurts the book when exposition is left behind as it is here. I wanted to know more about the injured family members left in a coma in Gilbert’s book. Here there was only a sentence or two to say all will survive but it did not address some of the serious situations mentioned previously. Another Amur Leopard is scented in the woods during their mating frenzy but never brought up again. Did someone else survive? Is this a red herring? Don’t know and it’s frustrating. There are so many issues and conspiracies involved in this series and this story moves none of the plot lines forward. We need more depth here in storyline, and to resolve some of the problems addressed in Gilbert. None of that really happened here and it makes this story much weaker than it should have been.

We also get a look at a character just introduced, Bobby the wolf shifter brother to the alpha wolf mated to Oscar. Bobby seems to be a good ole boy red neck shifter but Esau sees below the shallow, callow demeanor Bobby projects. Bobby lit up the pages with his sass and moxy. I can’t wait to see more of him. He really deserves his own story and soon.

So on to the next story which is Sullivan (Leopard’s Spots #7). Bailey Bradford has me hooked good and proper. I need to know what happens next, who is drugging the shifters, what happens to all those poor schmoes from the compound who survived. What about the Amur Leopard they smelled in the woods? Who was that? See, so many questions and I need the answers. Hopefully, I will find some in Sullivan. I will let you know.

The gorgeous series covers by Posh Gosh continues. Just beautiful.

Here are the books in the order they were written and should be read to understand the characters, their relationships and events:

Levi (Leopards Spots #1)

Oscar (Leopards Spots #2) read my review here.

Timothy (Leopards Spots #3) read my review here

Isaiah (Leopards Spots #4) read my review here

Gilbert (Leopards Spots #5) read my review here

Esau (Leopards Spots #6)

Sullivan (Leopards Spots #7)

Review: New York Christmas by R.J. Scott

Rating: 4.5 stars

Daniel Bailey and Christian Matthews went to the same university and Daniel was even in the same English class where Chris was the T.A. But that is where the similarities between them ended. Daniel was gorgeous, rich, and a bit of a slut. Everything came easy to him, including a trust fund at the age of twenty five and a job guaranteed at his father’s firm. So Chris never expected to see Daniel again once Chris graduated, but life has a funny way of messing with your expectations.

Now years later, Chris is reeling from a series of blows life has dealt him. Chris had graduated and become a teacher, the one thing he had always wanted to be and was great at. But then his boyfriend, a fellow teacher at the private school they worked for betrayed Chris and the fallout cost Chris his job as well as ruined his reputation. The only thing that saved Chris was his best friend offering him work at her bakery. That’s where Daniel Bailey walked back into Chris’ life, not as the rich man Chris expected Daniel to turn out to be, but as a police officer who very much wants Chris in his life. Christmas is a season of miracles, and if it can bring Daniel back to Chris, maybe everything else can be made right too. Everything seems possible in a New York Christmas.

RJ Scott broke out the carols, the mistletoe, and the wassail because this story is permeated with the glow and good tidings of a wonderful Christmas tale. I have certain expectations of a holiday story. It must make me feel good, leave me smiling in joy for the characters who have found love in each other and the season. I love to have some snow (although not necessary), some good deeds, and a couple or couples well on their way to happily ever after. With New York Christmas I get all that and more.

I love RJ Scott’s characters and here she delivers two more wonderful men, reunited after years apart. Time has changed both of them, especially one who seemed destined for a life lived shallowly and at the expense of others. But Daniel surprises Chris and the readers with his depth, charm and commitment, to his job and to Chris as well. I loved Daniel. Chris is another lovely man who just happens to need a Christmas miracle. Fired from the job he loved because of the cowardice of a man he thought cared for him, Chris was almost homeless if it were not for his friend who gave him a job, filling in for a worker out on pregnancy leave. Chris is full of pain over the loss of a career as a teacher and lonely. It is so easy to empathize with this man, so full of goodness that has been trampled on by others. So when Daniel comes back into his life wearing the very uniform that is an emblem of safety, bravery, and wellbeing, you just know that Chris’ life has changed finally for the better. And it has much to the delight of the reader as their relationship unfolds over the next 79 pages.

At the end, there are good tidings, holiday cheer and a couple deeply in love. And that’s how I like my holiday stories and that’s why I loved New York Christmas.

Cover design by BitterGrace Art. I loved this cover, the men are adorable and perfect models for Daniel and Chris.

Available through RJ Scott’s website.

Holiday Stories, Dreamspinner Advent Stories – Sneak Peek at Next Week in Reviews

As I have said many times before, I love holiday stories, it doesn’t matter whose holiday, Jewish, Christian, Pagan, I just love them. Love what they stand for, the angst, the family traditions, unrealistic hopes and dreams for that perfect holiday dinners, the high drama and love in all its permutations that seems to come out at the holidays, and of course, holiday miracles both little and huge.

So here are some holiday stories and ratings for the first week in December, I adored each and every one of them. There is really something for everyone, check them out.

Holiday Stories: Eight Days by Cardeno C – review here

Turkey in the Snow by Amy Lane – Rating 4.75 stars to be reviewed with Andrew Grey’s story next week

Snowbound in Nowhere by Andrew Grey – Rating 4.5 stars – reviewed next week

Lessons Learned, Wishes Earned by Cassandra Gold – Rating 4.5 stars – reviewed next week

New York Christmas by RJ Scott – Rating 4.5 stars (loved this too!) to be reviewed on the 10th

The Christmas Throwaway by RJ Scott – Rating 5 stars, review coming up next week. This story came out last year but it is so darned great that I will be reviewing it this year in hopes that people will pick it up. Had me sniffling but good. It is now available at RJ Scott’s website, Love Land Books.

And of course, there will be other book reviews posted as well, including Amelia C. Gormley’s Acceleration, 2nd book in her trilogy. It is not to be missed. So next week it’s double the books, double the fun! No stress, really I’m fine. *grabs the nearest bottle of Cabernet* Woohoo, tis the season to be jolly!!!! OK, no singing I promised the dogs (and the neighbors) never again, all those sirens and lights, never a good thing. The whole list for next week will be up on Sunday along with the first of the Winter cocktail recipes. See you on Sunday.

ps thanks, StealthMountain, peek not peak. Typing and Nyquil is never a good mix.

Review: Crucible of Fate (Change of Heart #4) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 5 stars

Domin Thorne should be on top of the world. He is the semel-aten, the leader of the werepanther world, ruler of the city Sobek in Egypt, the capital of the werepanthers. At his side are his new mate, Yuri the former shersuru of Logan Church as well as Mikail, Crane, and Taj from his former tribe, courtesy of Logan and Jin who knew it was crucial to have people he trusted around him as he began his rule.

But the tasks before him are even more formidable than he had imagined. The old priest who supported him has died, and the new priest is intent on undermining his authority. Crane is homesick and both Yuri and Mikail are not acting like themselves. And Domin finds himself short tempered, and impatient with the pace of change in the rules and regulations he wants implemented. Then his ex shows up just as a servant tries to kill him, and Yuri goes on a goodwill mission that turns deadly, and faced with his loss, Domin realizes that he truly loves Yuri, the only one to love him deeply and forever.

As his enemies gather all around him, Domin must prove to himself and all of Sobek that he is truly the semel-aten Logan believes he can be if he is to save those he loves and the werepanther world so desperately in need of change.

I hope that Mary Calmes intends to continue this series because with each book, it gets stronger, more deeply layered and complex. Crucible of Fate picks up after the events of Honored Vow, and the fight in the arena between Domin and the former semel aten, Ammon, a circumstance planned by Logan. Now in Sobek, the werepanther capital city in Egypt, we are given a Domin in crisis mode, inside and out. Everything has changed for Domin and it is overwhelming him on every front. Domin has a mate in Yuri and it is so new for them both that neither has adjusted to their new status. Yuri has always loved Domin, but Domin’s feelings for Yuri are still so brand new, bringing with them a measure of insecurity. Logan gave permission for several close members of his tribe to go with Domin to insure his safety and to insure he would have people around him he could trust but none of them are acting like themselves. Even the goals he wants to set for change within their society seem to distant to enact. Mary Calmes gives us this wonderfully volatile man puts him down within an equally volatile framework and lets the explosions start to happen.

The author places characters we have come to love into situations where their interpersonal relationships must expand and grow to their potential or all will be lost. And it’s not just Domin who must change, but Crane, Mikhail, Yuri and the entire court of Sobek. It’s wonderful because we get to see the start of a social revolution but from the person’s view point who is planning it all. Just a lovely touch. As this author has done in the past, she takes the facts she has given us and then uses them to turn everything we know on its head by the end of the story. All the little twists and turns she throws into the story takes Domin into a place I did not see coming, and I loved that.

And it’s not just the wonderful characterizations that greet us like old friends, but the vivid descriptions of Egypt, from the palace to the catacombs that help the reader visualize each and every scene our beloved werepanthers find themselves in. But no matter how wonderful the settings (and they have been outstanding, especially Mongolia), it is the characters that continue to bring all of us back for more. I never thought I would come to love Domin as I do when I initially met him. Then he was a bully, and a bit of a thug, deserving of a smackdown, which he got and then some. But over the series, we have watched Domin evolve into a man of honor, worthy of both respect and love. One of the true pleasures of this story, is Domin and Yuri’s story, watching their relationship deepen, strengthen and finally reveal itself as one between true mates. It is just so rewarding and satisfying, I can’t wait for you to experience it yourself.

In fact you won’t find a quibble here. Just the plea for another book. Ilia, Jin and Logan’s son is introduced here, and while not giving you any spoilers, let’s just say he is worthy of his own series. Crane has a wedding coming up, and so much more is on the horizon for them all that their story cries out to be heard (yes, that would be Danny’s voice we hear). So here I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping the future will bring us more in the Change of Heart series. Until then I will return to the beginning and start over with Jin and Logan. Don’t miss out on any of them.

Here are the books in the series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the characters and the events that occur:

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)

Review: The Journal of Sanctuary One (Sanctuary #6) by RJ Scott

Rating: 5 stars

Jake Callahan was looking forward to spending time with his brother, Hayden and his boyfriend up at their cabin for Christmas. It had been an extremely tough year for everyone who worked at Sanctuary, the secret organization devoted to keeping witnesses and other “vulnerables” safe when the alphabet organizations (CIA, FBI etc) couldn’t. Sanctuary operatives were still trying to close down the Bullen case as there were files still to be encrypted and a few criminals left to round up. Still, this time of year was special to Jake and he needs it now more than ever as the betrayal by exFBI agent Sean Hanson was as painful as the day he first learned that Sean was working for Bullen. Now all Jake wants is some peace and time with his brother but Mother Nature is making that impossible. The northeast corridor is being blanketed by a snow storm, Hayden is stuck in New York City with his boyfriend Beckett. and Jake is facing Christmas alone at the cabin. That is until a bloody and injured Sean Hansen appears on his doorstep and faints into the snow.

Sean Hansen is being hunted and by several factions, all of whom want him dead. The gunshot wound in his side attests to that and between the pain and the snow Sean is being to despair of ever making his destination. The cabin called Sanctuary One was no longer used for official business but Sean figured it would just be off the grid enough for him to be safe there until the last of his mission is finished. And then all Sean wants to do is find the man he had started to love, so he could explain and apologize. The last person he expects to see just before passing out from pain and blood loss is Jake Callahan, the man he has been thinking about.

As the snow storm turns into a blizzard that seals the cabin off from everyone around them, Jake and Sean are left to deal with their memories, emotions and the fact that the killers are still on Sean’s trail, putting them both in danger.

RJ Scott’s Sanctuary series remains one of my top series for 2012 and this latest edition just cements it firmly in place. The Journal of Sanctuary One picks up where Full Circle (Sanctuary #5) left off, with members of the Bullen family in custody, the Bullen case coming to a close and Sean Hansen escaping from a prison van and on the loose. Now only a short time later, all the operatives are in recovery mode in one way or another. Manny and Josh (Full Circle) are at a safe house in Canada, working on the encryption of the files, Hayden and Beckett are in New York, Dale is waiting for Joseph to come back from a mission and Jake is feeling alone and hurting from Sean’s betrayal. And you are there with him, feeling his pain and loneliness.

And that is one of the real joys of this series. RJ Scott has created a cast of characters, so complex, so real and from a variety of backgrounds that they are memorable from the very start. In some books and series, I have to think hard to bring up names and associate them with their personas, not so with the Sanctuary series. Mention Morgan and I can picture him in detail. Joseph and Dale, two of the hottest characters (Navy Seal and ex Seal) in the series, and I feel as though I know them intimately. Over the course of the series, we meet one unforgettable character after another and watch as they bond with each other, and find love. And through it all, the thread that ties the books together along with the Sanctuary organization is the Bullen crime family, which extends from Congress to the many family businesses. The Bullens have destroyed families, tortured and murdered their way to the accumulation of wealth and power. And Scott managed to make the investigation as thrilling as her love stories. Each book moved the investigation forward (and sometimes back, depending upon the double cross) and always a new criminal element presented itself by the end of the book as well as a new couple. How I loved every minute they continued to investigate the Bullen crime family, a most heinous group of thugs and the wild pathways they took to get evidence and witnesses.

And The Journal of Sanctuary One brings the investigation back to its very beginnings, including something I didn’t see coming and back to Jake Callahan whose father started the Sanctuary organization and who built Sanctuary One. The author really pulls together all the elements from each book, including some I didn’t realize were important, to finish off the Bullens once and for all. We get a closer understanding not only of who Jake is, and what has driven him all these years but that of Sean Hansen, an enigma whose story we have been waiting to hear. RJ Scott has included most of the characters we love from the other stories, even if we only see and hear them over the phones and Skype.

And there is nothing like a snowbound cabin to bring out the emotional explosions and stress that have been building for these characters and the author delivers the required scenes in painful detail and authentically loud conversations. Just what you would expect from these men who are so much each others equal in every way, just perfect.

So have we heard the last from Sanctuary and its operatives? I hope not. I get the feeling that we will be hearing from Dale and Joseph soon. Remember Dale was expecting Joseph back from his mission and we never heard that he made it. Hmmmm….funny that. It brings me hope that this outstanding series will continue and that I will meet up once more with all my favorite couples as they investigate, hack, protect, and love. So if you haven’t made the acquaintance of Sanctuary and their operatives, start at the beginning with Guarding Morgan and work your way through the stories in the order they were written. That way you won’t miss a double cross, new witness or new crime and or course, new couple. You will love them as much as I do.

Sanctuary Series in the order they should be read in order to fully understand the Bullen Family conspiracy and the characters involved:

Guarding Morgan, Sanctuary Series #1 – rating 4.25 stars

The Only Easy Day, Sanctuary Series, #2 – my review here

Face Value, Sanctuary Series #3 – my review here

Still Water, Sanctuary Series #4 – my review here

Full Circle, Sanctuary Series, #5 – my review here

The Journal of Sanctuary One, #6

Buy link here LoveLaneBooks.co.uk

All the Sanctuary books can be bought at the link above.

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