A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: The Bells of Times Square by Amy Lane

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

What does it say about a story when I admit that I started to cry as I was reading the blurb? Knowing that my favorite “Queen of Angst” was likely to pull out all stops on this one, I went into it with a box of tissues in hand. And I was not disappointed. And yes, the tissues were needed. This story is a beautiful, poignant, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and bittersweet look at a romance that transcends time.

Nate Meyer, a nice, sweet, young Jewish man decides to enlist in the Air Force in World War II, in part because he knows he’s a disappointment to his father, a fact more evident after his brother passed away at a young age. His brother was the one who got all the pride and affection his father could give out, and Nate just feels that it’s time to get away from the stifling environment. The son of a clockworker, he’s surprised to find that his knowledge of cameras and photography are not only appreciated, but needed for the war effort. He’s promoted to Second Lieutenant and together with his pilot, assigned the role of taking photos of potential targets during night missions over France and Germany. On one such mission, he spots a suspicious series of smokestacks and they move in to get a closer look, but the flare he and his pilot use to light the area for the photos is seen by Messerschmitt pilots who give chase. Their plane crashes in a wooded area over Nazi-occupied France, and though the pilot is killed, Nate survives.

He’s rescued by Walter, a diminutive redhead from Iowa who is an escaped POW, and fortunately for Nate, a medic as well. Walter has been living in an abandoned cottage in the woods for several months. He’s resourceful and self-sufficient and the cutest little man Nate has ever had the pleasure of seeing. However, at this point in our history, it’s extremely dangerous to reveal any attraction to another man so Nate hides it until one day when Walter is bathing his extremities and “Little Nate” is too obvious for Walter to ignore.

They confess their mutual attraction and act out on it slowly, engaging mostly in kissing, handjobs, blowjobs, and frottage. Nate doesn’t consider himself deeply religious, nevertheless, he knows that committing the act of mishkav zakhar, “the one act between men that was considered unforgivable”, will guarantee that he won’t find his way to heaven. But when the time comes for them to prepare to leave their nest in the woods, they finally do have sex, and Nate forgets his worries about heaven. Though they don’t verbalize the words “I love you”, they do make the promise to meet at Times Square at midnight on New Year’s Eve after the war is over, with or without the church bells ringing. They know they’ll be separated as soon as they are rescued since Walter is an enlisted man and Nate is an officer, and they have no choice about leaving their cottage, because a Nazi soldier has been using it for a tryst with a local Frenchwoman and they’re fortunate they haven’t been discovered yet. What the Nazi doesn’t know is that the Frenchwoman is working with the resistance and plans to help the men escape.

Circumstances never go according to plan, however, and ….(spoilers) click for hidden paragraph that contains spoilers for the ending of the story.

I have chills right now as I write this review. Amy Lane is an excellent author, her grammar and punctuation are perfect, but what really makes her books stand out among the rest is her ability as a storyteller. I am in awe. This story should have more than 5 stars. Superb is a mild word. By all means, do not miss the chance to read this book. And if you love historical romances, consider it a bonus. I think I may go hide out for a while and reread this story right now. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe how amazing this outstanding story is. Don’t hesitate to buy it.

Cover Art by Reese Dante. At first sight, the cover appears to be a faded collection of random objects, however, it actually tells the story contained within the book. Representations of the plane, the photography equipment, the clock at Times Square are all present and the brown-white rotogravure effect is reminiscent of the early days of photography in the 20th century. Beautifully done.

Sales LInks: Preorder at Riptide Publishing amazon buy it here

Book Details:

Author: Amy Lane
eBook ISBN: 978-1-62649-185-4
eBook release: Dec 15, 2014
eBook Formats: pdf, mobi, html, epub
Print ISBN: 978-1-62649-186-1
Print release: Dec 15, 2014
Word count: 65,300, Page count: 236
Type: Standalone

– See more at:

A MelanieM Review: Old Loyalty, New Love (L’Ange #1) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Jackal shifter Quade Danas has spent decades away from home and pack after his father the Alpha banished Quade for being gay. Quade vanished into the military, acquiring the skills and mindset he would need when he returned to civilian life as a bodyguard for Roman Howell, the teenage son of a very rich man.

Roman Howell has had two constants in his life. The L’Ange, the beloved chateau he grew up in and Quade Danas, his bodyguard who is so much more to him than that title implies. Quade has been there for him through two of the worst times in his life. The first, being the school accident that cost Roman his good looks, physical well being and almost his life. The second time was when his parents died, leaving a scarred young man alone to handle his parent’s business empire and estate, alone except for Quade.

Roman has always loved Quade but how to get his bodyguard to see that its the man he loves and not the safety net Quade has always represented to Roman? Roman is determined to have Quade for his own, because he realizes something that even Quade hasn’t admitted, that Quade loves him back.

Quade has grown to love the young man he has watched over for years. But he has convinced himself that the large difference in years between them as well as the secrets he hides put Roman out of reach, as his love and mate. Then a call from his past puts his continued employment and relationship with Roman in jeopardy. His old pack desperately needs him to return and take over. Quade feels compelled to heed the call, he may be forced to make a choice he never anticipated. But doing so means he must leave Roman behind… unless somehow they find a way to make loyalty and love work together.

I adore Mary Calmes shifters and with her new series, L’Ange, she gives the readers a new cast of shifters to fall in love with. Old Loyalty, New Love sets the foundation of her series with the setting of the lands and the “château d’Ange,” or “house of angels,” as it was named, home of the wealthy Howell family. L’Ange is more than just a huge manor to Roman Howell, the only heir to the Howell fortune and empire.. It is home, full of happy memories of his parents and the only place where he feels safe and content. Calmes brings us into Roman’s life when he is 27. It’s been six years since his parents have died, and Roman, with Quade’s support and advice, has come to grips with their death and his transfigured face and body as Chapter 1 opens. And while we have the occasional flashback, it is mostly the adult Roman that we deal with.

I really like how Calmes is introducing new types of main characters into her stories. In the past the author has been shown to be fond of two distinct types of “leading men” in her stories. In a way, those main characters have been a sort of hallmark of hers, and a beloved one at that. But in Old Loyalty, New Love, a new type of character emerges, one so very different and yet totally appealing in his own right. Roman Howell’s face now resembles a mask of melted wax, the result of a horrific fire aboard a school bus. Here is our first glimpse of Roman, seen through Quade’s eyes:

A lot of the guys that Roman’s “friends” brought to meet him were startled by his appearance. Most of his face resembled melted wax, and the skin that didn’t was cratered and thick in some places, stretched thin and reddened in others. At first glance, people were still surprised, but to me, he was simply Roman Howell, my boss, who I had met as a boy of sixteen and watched become a man I both respected and admired. Now, the pictures of him before the accident were what caught me off guard. What could have been an ordinary face had been transformed, to me, into a visage of resilience and power.

There’s certainly nothing cute or adorable about either Roman or Quade, in personality or visage. Quade is in fact quite a bit older, a bit menacing, and a jackal shifter to boot. Both characters felt as fresh and fascinating as their personalities and relationship. As relayed through the synopsis, Quade and Roman has a long, convoluted history together, one overlaid by an employer/employee relationship as well as a protector/protected one. Mary Calmes then sets about demonstrating how intimate and genuine that relationship has become, changing into something deep-rooted and intense. It’s new depth is one Quade isn’t ready to acknowledge. Trust me when I say, these two will grab you by the heartstrings, never to let go.

Quade has some aspects of past main characters, but he is so much his own personality. Older, scarred, loyal to a fault,and a jackal shifter as well. Quade is as complex and magnetic you could hope for. I loved their interchanges and interactions with each other.

Aside from Quade and Roman, chateau L’Ange, is home to a fascinating assortment of characters, like the head of security, Arman de Soto, and Linus Hobbes, L’Ange’s manager. They and other shifters will figure largely in the books to come. I did find it a shame that the blurb gave away the fact that Quade was a jackal shifter as that bit of information comes slowly to the reader in small pieces. At the beginning you arent’ sure what type of shifter Quade is but you see him following wolves at the beginning, so you might have imagined Quade as a wolf to begin with. But the L’Ange series is full of different types of shifters and you are going to love the surprises that Calmes has in store for her readers. I know I throughly enjoyed it as one wonderful revelation after another surfaced in the plot. It made me love this story, along with Roman, and Quade, and all the rest.

The story flows along quickly, and even as new characters arrive to enlarge the cast, it never feels too overcrowded or bogged down. There is a wonderful resolution and new mysteries set up for the next books to solve. I can already tell this is going to be a new favorite series of mine. I think you will feel the same. Consider Old Loyalty, New Love a highly recommended read! Now on to Fighting Instinct (L’Ange #2). I can hardly wait!

Cover artist: Anne Cain delivers a lovely cover with it’s gothic overtone but I think I had hoped for a little something more to make it great.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press eBook & Paperback & Audio All Romance (ARe) amazon buy it here

Book Details:

ebook, 246 pages
Published December 13th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press (first published December 12th 2013)
ISBN 1627984755 (ISBN13: 9781627984751)
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4464
Books in the Series Include:

Old Loyalty, New Love (L’Ange #1)
Fighting Instinct (L’Ange #2)

A MelanieM Review: Darach’s Cariad (The Fire Trilogy #2) by R.J. Scott

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

Where once there were three who were as close as brothers, now there is only one who remains in the land. Darach Gravenor is a keeper of blue Fire. He is alone in his world because one of them, Eoin, died consumed by his amber fire. Kian, the second of them has fled to Earth, forever out of reach. All Darach can think of is to follow Kian to the Other World now that Darach is older and able to rescue his friend. But to accomplish this impossible mission, Darach needs help and from the one people he has always been told were horrors unto themselves and banned from his city. But Darach knows that a Cariad has crept into their city and been captured. Now all he has to do is rescue the Cariad and get him to help Darach travel to the Other World.

Ceithin Morgan’s brother Trystan was a wielder of the amber fire, and that was reason alone for someone to kidnap and kill his beloved brother. Ceithin seeks answers and revenge upon those who killed Trystan, answers he believes he can find within the forbidden city. Ceithin is a member of the Cariad, a nomadic tribe still connected to the old magic. Captured and tortured for his power, the last thing he expects is to be rescued by Darach.

Both men are on a mission to find theirs to their lost brothers. Unexpectedly, their journey and missions find themselves bound them to each other in a way neither could have predicted. Then they come upon some shocking information, and the search that will bring them both to the Other World and Kian. Soon it’s not just one world but two worlds that need saving….

Darach’s Cariad is the second story in The Fire Trilogy by RJ Scott. Scott continues to build her universe and complicated mythology needed for her Fire lore and trilogy structure. There are three fire powers. Green fire which has the qualities of nature, nuture, and protection. Blue Fire which gives its user the power over water, and finally Gold or Amber Fire, the rarest, most powerful of them all. Amber fire is used to rule. But those born with amber fire are few and they have a tendency to disappear shortly after coming into their powers, a mystery that acts as another primary plot thread throughout all the stories.

I loved the world building here. We start back on Earth (the Other World) with Regan and Kian from the first story in the trilogy, Kian’s Hunter. Immediately we know that things and Kian’s health have gotten worse. For those readers not familiar with the first story, this chapter provides enough information on their story and a tantalizing glimpse into the relationship between Regan and Kian. From there we are transported back to the City, the ruling Council, and the dungeons with its one despairing occupant. I loved all the various storylines, layered one on top of the other, and soon, to flow into one central plot that will pull all three books together, along with their characters.

Scott skillfully builds her larger trilogy leitmotif, first in small clues and facts scattered throughout the first part of the story, then gathering momentum as the characters themselves start to pool all their knowledge to arrive at a horrific and shocking revelation. It helps immensely that we are drawn to the complex characters as much as the characters are mesmerized by each other. Darach is a wonderful combination of youthful confidence and need. We get his measure and strength immediately and love him for it. Ceithin Morgan on the other hand is full of arrogance and pain, a member of the Cariad, a gypsy like clan that are the keepers of the old magic and gateway to the Other World. The Cariad are as fascinating a tribe as all the other engrossing elements that Scott has created here. The fire of attraction that ignites between them is hot and sexy and layered over with uncertainty.

There is so much information as to the world building and lore that it can sometimes confuse a reader unfamiliar with Kian’s Hunter, but never once will a little confusion make you want to put this story down. No, instead, once you have reached the end of this story, the only frustration will be at not having the final story to delve into. This trilogy is addicting and with the resolution just out of reach by the end of Darach’s Cariad, the reader will be left grasping at the clues and revelations that point to a rich, explosive final story. Don’t be surprised to find yourself heading back to the first story, Kian’s Hunter and begin the journey all over again while you wait for the final book to arrive.

If you are a lover of fantasy and romance, if the idea of different worlds or realms connected to each other by magical portals grab your imagination, this is the series for you. You can read Darach’s Cariad out of order but the trilogy is far richer if read in the order they were written. This is definitely a fantasy must read for all.

Cover artist: Meredith Russell. The fantasy element is minimal, with just a trace of fire at his hands. I could wish for a little more of the fantastical worlds that Scott has built for us.

Sales Links: Love Lane Books All Romance (ARe) amazon buy it here

Book Details:

ebook, 133 pages
Published November 7th 2014 by Love Lane Books (first published January 1st 2011)
edition languageEnglish
url http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/new-cover-art-fire-trilogy.html
seriesThe Fire Trilogy #2

Books in The Fire Trilogy in the order they were written and should be read:

Kian’s Hunter (Fire, #1)
Darach (The Fire Trilogy #2)
Eoin (The Fire Trilogy #3)

The stories were previously published at Silver Publishing, but have been revised prior to their re release.

Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review : Hell on Wheels (Bluewater Bay #3) by Z.A. Maxfield

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

I am totally hooked on this Bluewater Bay series! Each book is better than the previous one, and that’s saying a lot, considering the amazing list of authors Riptide has engaged for this series. In this story, Spencer Kepler-Constantine comes to Bluewater Bay to renew his recurring role in the Wolf’s Landing television series being shot in the town. He arrives on the heels of the sensational breaking news that his husband of six months, Peter Kepler-Constantine, has impregnated a famous Hollywood actress and left him for her. To make matters worse, his rental Mercedes has broken down outside of town.

Nash Holly is out riding his Ducati, enjoying the speed and the feel of the breeze along the Washington coast when he comes upon the parked car. Aside from nearly crashing into it, he’s intrigued by what it’s doing there. Nash happens to be the manager of his dad’s auto repair shop, a shop that specializes in foreign cars so he decides to step up and offer assistance. One look at Spencer and he’s lost in those gorgeous gray eyes. Convincing Spencer that he’s not a maniac, Spencer invites him in out of the rain and while sitting together, waiting for the tow truck Spencer had called, the two find themselves immediately attracted. Nash decides to help the uptight guy relax with a quick handjob. Thinking no more of it, he takes off when the tow truck driver arrives.

To make a long story short, the attraction between the two men develops further, and during the time that Spencer is in town filming, it escalates. But it’s more than just sex for both of them, and despite the fact that Spencer is estranged from his husband, Nash and Spencer create a safe space for each other while the beginnings of a relationship form without them even trying.

During this same time, other events in Nash’s life seem destined to throw him into upheaval. First, he finds out his widowed father has been seeing someone, and it’s getting serious. Then, his sixteen-year-old sister, Shelby, who has been wheelchair-bound since she was three, decides that she wants to exert her independence by applying to the Students Abroad Program. It’s bad enough that his twin is away at college and Nash already feels the hole in his life, now Nash finds it harder to cope with the fact that both his father and his sister don’t seem to need him anymore, and taking care of them has been his primary purpose for years. How can a caretaker exist without someone to take care of?

When Peter pulls a spectacular stunt to get Spencer back during Spencer’s late night television interview, Nash happens to be watching. He’s disgusted by Peter’s grandstanding, but he also knows in his gut that Spencer is going to allow him back into his life. Just what Nash needed—one more hole to fill.

The author gives us a wonderful wrap-up to this story and provides Nash with a perfect HEA. But before we get there, we get to know a man with so much character, so much life, that I became immersed in his story and invested in his future happiness. I loved Spencer as well, but my emotional investment was with Nash. And somewhere around the 75% mark in the story, it occurred to me that the feelings I was having were the same feelings I experienced when I read “St. Nacho’s” for the first time. I was left with that same warm emotional attachment to the character as I was in that original story, one that I read nearly three years ago. I haven’t felt that with any of Ms. Maxfield’s other works since then, and I’m so happy to have found it again because she was one of the authors who originally hooked me on this genre.

I highly recommend this series to lovers of M/M romance. Each author is uniquely talented and brings a new perspective to the series. This one is perfect for those who enjoy a hero with a heart of gold. As Spencer put it when describing Nash’s role in his life: “You’re necessary because you make my heart lighter and my mind clearer and my work meaningful, as long as I get to come home to you at the end of the day.” Aww, what more could I ask for than that?

Buy this book. You won’t be sorry. Oh, and it’s not necessary to read the others in the series. Each can be read as a standalone, though you’d be missing out on a great series.

The very nice cover art by L.C. Chase depicts the two young men who are the MCs in the story.

Sales Links: Riptide Publishing All Romance (ARe) amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

book, 225 pages
Published December 1st 2014 by Riptide Publishing (first published November 29th 2014)
original titleHell on Wheels (A Bluewater Bay Story)
ISBN139781626491724
edition languageEnglish
url http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/hell-on-wheels
seriesBluewater Bay #3

Bluewater Bay Series-written by different authors:

Starstruck (Bluewater Bay #1) by L.A. Witt
There’s Something About Ari (Bluewater Bay #2) by L.B. Gregg
Hell on Wheels (Bluewater Bay #3) by Z.A. Maxfield
Lone Wolf (Bluewater Bay #4) by Aleksandr Voinov
The Burnt Toast B&B (Bluewater Bay #5) by Heidi Belleau

A Mika Review: Teaching Professor Grayson by Kade Boehme & Allison Cassatta

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Christian Grayson is a professor of sociology who comes from a close-knit Southern family steeped in values and tradition. He left Tennessee using education as his excuse for escape, when he truthfully only wanted the freedom to be who he truly was. But at age forty, he’s still in the closet and still adheres to the morals his father, a Southern Baptist minister, raised him with. This includes saving himself for Mr. Right.   CJ Hata has been under Christian’s wing since his freshman year. A genius, pure and simple, he’s a senior now and no longer needs to report to Professor G, but he still seeks his teacher out occasionally for a friendly chat.   When Christian accidentally outs himself to CJ while pouring his heart out about his dying father, CJ feels totally out of his element. He convinces himself to put forth his best effort because the man he’s been crushing on for four years needs a friend. In the meantime, everyone around CJ is stumbling out of the closet, but the one person he really wants to come out has barricaded himself in with the bible and his family’s expectations.

Religion must be the theme these days for me. I’ve read at least 4 books where the theme religion is really big. I was raised as a Baptist Christian so I know how it is with parents who are truly religious. I’m confused; I haven’t really gone to church every Sunday in these last few years but for personal beliefs. My thoughts are how can parents who birth these children claim to love them unconditionally, but will disown them and basically verbally abused them because of the love they have with the same gender. It bothers me drastically that people have this hatred based on what the bible say, the bible who was written by men. I can say that, I’m a Christian I’m not as devout as I was growing up but I did step away from the church because I didn’t agree. I don’t agree that because gay choose to sleep with the same sex that they will go to hell. How do we know? We aren’t god, and I’m firm believer in one sin isn’t as big or different enough from another. We’re all sinners’ people. Sorry for the mini rant.

Chikaski Hata and Christian Grayson make a really cute couple. I really liked them. Apart CJ seemed so cynical for someone so young. Here we have a 22 yr old and he almost cold, or callous for his age. I liked how he had to keep telling himself that to be there for Christian, or he thought about someone’s feelings. I totally see where he gets it. His mother is something else, but Rome wasn’t built in a day so we can only hope for him to get better gradually. I really liked CJ’s father, he was so welcoming and loving. It was nice to see a story with gay men, and their father’s accepting of his decision.

Christian was 40 yrs old and a virgin. Seeing his upbringing you kinda expect it. He could have went 2 ways. He could have rebelled and never talked to his family again, or be the good Christian boy that his parents raised him. I think it was ten times worse for him because of him being a pk’s kid (Preacher’s Kid). It was all damnation, fire, brimstone, abomination. How can we expect him to venture out in the world without feeling the about guilt he had. It was truly sad seeing his family treat him the way they did.

I found myself crying every time Christian was reassuring himself on the beauty of love with CJ. Yes, it took him awhile, and he had such bravery to admit these things on the eve of his father’s funeral, but things happen.

Let’s not forgot CJ was his student. Yes CJ was a final, and it wasn’t love over grades. It was them seeing the potential of being together after CJ having a crush for 3 years. It’s almost forgettable him being his student because all the other things going on in the story. I did find myself noticing some of the words were misspelled, the editing was okay. Other than those few instances I really enjoyed it.

Cover Art: Allison Cassatta. The guy on the cover portraying CJ to me was dead on. I really liked him. I think the guy portraying Christian needed to be a little bit more fit and rugged. He was a farmer’s son and a healthy eater, other than that I enjoyed the cover.

Sales Link: Dreamspinner eBook & Paperback All Romance (ARe) amazon buy here and help support STRW

Book Details:

eBook, 224 pages
Published November 21, 2014 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN: 9781632165039
Edition Language: English

A PaulB Review: Desert Foxe (Skyler Foxe Mysteries #5) by Haley Walsh

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

While vacationing at Palm Spring’s annual White party, a dead body drops in front of high school English teacher Skyler Foxe’s feet. Skyler, his FBI boyfriend Keith, and the rest of the SFC are thrown into another mystery to solve.

Skyler Foxe and high school biology teacher and football coach Keith Fletcher have been dating for seven months. As spring break approaches, Skyler informs Keith that he wants to attend the annual White Party in Palm Springs. Keith, also an FBI agent on leave, is not really one for the party circuit. However, Skyler informs Keith that plans were made and paid for a year in advance. If they do not go, Skyler and his friends would be out a lot of money. After Skyler assures Keith that he is the only one for him, Keith agrees to go.

Once the members of the SFC (Skyler Fuck Club, a group of Skyler’s exes) arrive in Palm Springs, the action begins. While moving around the hotel they are staying at, Skyler discovers two of his underage students. As they don’t belong there, the group decides that Keith would drive the pair back home while the rest continue to dance. While dancing, a man who looks very much like Skyler falls down at his feet. The group thinks the guy might have just passed out from an overdose until they see blood.

Soon Skyler and Keith find out the dead man is an FBI agent working undercover in the area. It’s not just murder that Skyler and Keith are investigating but much, much more when the FBI want Skyler in a way none of them anticipated!

While this is the fifth installment of the Skyler Foxe mysteries, the author does a good job of giving enough background information so that it can be read alone. The relationship between Skyler and Keith reminds me of the one between Ricky and Lucy on “I Love Lucy.” Skyler wants to help Keith in solving his cases. Keith gets exasperated at Skyler’s attempts to help. But deep down the two love each other. The members of the SFC provide the Ethel to Skyler’s Lucy. No matter how crazy Skyler’s actions are, they reluctantly go along for the ride. Just like Ethel, they do their best to either prevent or minimize Skyler’s plans to no avail. Usually Skyler knows this going in. However, in this book, while Skyler is going undercover with Keith’s permission, they’re out of the loop. So they take it upon themselves to try to prevent another Skyler mishap.

I also enjoyed how the author brought aspects of Native American culture into the book. The discussion about Native American traditions and the previous reverence of “two-spirits” which has been eroded by exposure to modern thought was quite enlightening.

As usual, Ms Walsh provides a solid mystery and fun read. I recommend this book and series if you enjoy amateur detectives to go along with your romance.

The cover art by Winterheart Designs shows Skyler in the foreground next to a group of men partying above a scene of Palm Springs. It does well setting the stage for the book.

Sales Links: MLR Press All Romance eBook amazon Buy It Here!

Book Details
Ebook, 232 pages
Published: November, 2014 by MLR Press
Edition: English

Series: Skyler Foxe Mysteries
Foxe Tail (Skyler Foxe Mysteries #1)
Foxe Hunt (Skyler Foxe Mysteries #2)
Out Foxed (Skyler Foxe Mysteries #3)
Foxe Den (Skyler Foxe Mysteries #3.5)
Foxe Fire (Skyler Foxe Mysteries #4)
Desert Foxe (Skyler Foxe Mysteries #5)

A MelanieM Review: Fever Pitch (Love Lessons #2) by Heidi Cullinan

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Sometimes you have to play love by ear.

Aaron Seavers is in a world of pain and he doesn’t know what to do about it. His strict controlling father wants him to pick out a suitable college and do it now. But Aaron doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life even if his father had decided for him. His divorced mother won’t support him against his father so Aaron knows he’s on his own and that’s a very lonely place. But no one would guess all that lurks just underneath the exterior of a boy considered one of the popular crowd and its just the tip of the secrets Aaron is hiding.

Giles Mulder can’t wait to get the hell out of Oak Grove, Minnesota. Giles has been through the horrors that middle and high school hold for someone who is different, gay and very different. Bullied, beaten, hospitalized, its all been a large part of Giles’ life, made bearable by the love and support of his parents and family. Now the chance to escape and reboot his life at college looms large. Giles is headed off to St. Timothy’s College where he intends to play his violin, and be everything he wasn’t in high school. Then he meets a drunken Aaron Seavers hiding in a closet at the party and it changes everything.

Aaron is in the closet in almost every way until Giles helps him out and home during a drunken binge at a party. When Giles mentions the college he is going to in the fall, something clicks with Aaron, unbeknownst to Giles and his plans. When Aaron appears on campus,, Giles is afraid that his high school experience is about to repeat itself. For Aaron, Giles rejection is just one more thing to overcome. Neither young man is prepared to the adjustments and changes that college has in store for them both. Giles and Aaron soon realize that sometimes you have to play love by ear in order to find that which you have always wanted.

The title Fever Pitch comes from a quote in the story, advice actually, that if you want something so badly don’t go after it in a fever pitch but slow down, make sure its real, and not just the perception of something you think you want to have. Excellent advice for the title characters here and life in general. Fever Pitch, the second in the Love Lessions series, by Heidi Cullinan, presents two young men on the cusp of adulthood. From starkly different background and families, they represent the best and the worst examples of teenagers dealing with their sexuality and thoughts of the future. Aaron’s childhood is one of stultifying control and restrictions. Even Aaron’s parents divorce, didn’t free him from his father’s oeverbearing, restrictive rules and regulations, especially as his mother lacks the ability to support and parent her son. Every aspect of Aaron’s life has been directed by his father and until his meeting with Giles, that wasn’t about to change. Outwardly, Aaron has everything, including being part of the “in” crowd at school, a faction of which has been tormenting Giles. Inside? Aaron is a mess. Giles, on the other hand, has the love and support of a family who adores him and that includes his homosexuality which they accept. But where Giles has it easy at home, school has been one nightmare after another, so much so that he has ended up in the emergency room at numerous occasions. Two young men, at odds with their surroundings, uncertain about their futures waiting ahead of them.

Heidi Cullinan is one of those writers who is able to take a teenage character and present them in a realistic and complex fashion. Both Giles and Aaron feel absolutely believable, up to and including their histories and back stories. The launching pad of this story is that odd time of panic and anticipation that happens at the end of the high school year, just before you leave for college. Too many paths branching out before you, so many unanswered questions tossing about in your head as you step forward towards your first experience of independence. Cullinan remembers this well and her ability to bring such a time of uncertainty and flux to life makes this story and these characters so moving and memorable.

There are so many wounded young men walking through these pages. And while the damage done to them all carries the same hefty emotional weight, each received their wounds in different manners. Aaron and Giles are so different yet the empathy and pain you feel for them both is balanced and heartfelt. Aaron especially with his moments of darkness and depression feels scarily authentic. Giles’s attitude and assumptions also feels right for someone of his age and experience. Sometimes you forget how hard it is to be 18 and this story is a perfect reminder of how tumultuous it can be and how out to sea they can feel.

One of the important aspects of this story and one that is beautifully portrayed is St. Timothy’s music department, along with the acapella songs that choral groups (that Glee and Perfect Pitch brought to everyone’s attention) sing as well as the school competitions and inequalities present among boy and girl groups. The interdepartmental politics and competition among students is laid out in a way that feels as real as every other element here. That includes the songs and arrangements mentioned throughout the novel.

There is angst, oh my so much angst, that your heart will bleed a little along with the characters. Through devastating events and stunning reversals of situations and beliefs, this is a story that creeps into your heart and mind to stay. Characters from the first story, Kelly and Walter, have huge roles to play here as do the characters of Baz and Elijah (yes, that’s Bad in Baltimore’s Elijah). But through all the issues, and swirl of emotions and adjustments, it still comes down to the love and romance of Aaron and Giles as they take their first steps towards adulthood and the life they want for themselves and each other.

Fever Pitch words fine as a stand alone or as part of a series. I missed out on Love Lessons and Frozen Heart and will now rectify that omission. Like me you don’t have to wait for those stories to pick this one up now. Its a must read as far as I am concerned. Heartwarming, deeply moving, and an ending you won’t believe. Get started today!

Cover artist: I couldn’t find it but as lively and fun as that cover it, it didn’t reflect the story inside.

Sales Links: Samhain Publishing All Romance (ARe) amazon Fever Pitch

Book Details:

ebook, 270 pages
Published September 30th 2014 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
edition languageEnglish
url http://www.heidicullinan.com/Fever-pitch
seriesLove Lessons #2

Love Lessions Series:

Love Lessons (Love Lessons, #1)
Frozen Heart (Love Lessons, #1.5)
Fever Pitch (Love Lessons, #2)

A MelanieM Review: Cranberry Pi (Linwood Academy #1) by Lee Brazil

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Saving for a down payment on a house of his own has caused artist Cecil Trace to make a few hard decisions. He has moved back into his parents house and taken a temporary job as the Art Director job at the exclusive Linwood Academy. And while Cecil is trying to figure out his students, assistants and life at Linwood, he is also trying to work on a scheduled art show of his own. To top it all off, Cecil finds out that he is to put on a series of holiday pageants…with the first one celebrating Thanksgiving just three short weeks away. Cecil needs all the help he can get, whether its from students, parents, and even other teachers. Except for that cute mathematician. Everything Cecil does seems to rub that teacher the wrong way, which is a shame because if Cecil was looking for a boyfriend, Reese is cute and different, perfect in many ways except he seems to dislike Cecil. Good thing Cecil isn’t looking for a boyfriend or relationship of any type.

Brilliant, introspective and socially inept math instructor Reese Cavelli’s world has been turned upside down the moment he saw the gorgeous, long-haired, Art Director Cecil Trace. Reese is a man who has always colored within the lines and Cecil? Well, lines and rules clearly have little meaning for this man. He is a source of endless frustration, of many types, for Reese. To hide his growing fascination, Reese has been abrupt even rude, he just can’t seem to help it. Reese is quiet about being gay and has little in the way of relationships in his past. But he just can’t ignore the impact Cecil is having on him. Good thing Cecil’s position is only temporary. Or is it?

Conflicts over the Thanksgiving pageant and an all important Math Contest bring the two men together and the sparks are about to fly. Will their Thanksgiving wishes be answered?

This was such a sweet, heartwarming story, a perfect read for the holidays. Lee Brazil has captured the stress and strain of the approaching holidays at a influential private school, the Linwood Academy. Some mysterious goings on have forced the resignation of a popular Art Director right at pageant time and the resentment and confusion is apparent everywhere in the halls and classrooms.

Into this tumultuous mess, Brazil dumps free wheeling artist, Cecil Trace. I loved Cecil, with his long flowing hair which matches his faded, painted on jeans and artsy shirts. He’s thoughtful, exuberant, and overwhelmed by the needs of his students and new situation as Art Director. Cecil also has a limited time frame to get everything accomplished, including setting up his art show. Brazil completes Cecil’s character by giving him a family anyone would want to be a part of. They are as warm and welcoming as you could hope for without being saccharine sweet or fake. But the character who will break your heart a little is Reese. The more his history and upbringing is revealed, the more his actions become understandable as does his vulnerability. Reese’s mother is quite the creation, all the more upsetting because the author made her believable although never likable. We get the impact her actions and behavior has had and continues to have upon her son, even if she will never be able to understand it herself.

Brazil manages to combine the holidays, school pageants and math contests, families of all sorts from the dysfunctional to the loving, and a romance that you will root for between two men you will adore. I look forward to more stories from the Linwood Academy, so will you. A perfectly heartwarming story for the holidays, one you will want to put on your TBR list or one to give to someone you love. Cranberry Pi is a Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Warmhearted Recommended Read! Pick it up today.

Cover Art by Laura Harner. I’m not sure who that model is supposed to be? Student or either Reese? Eye catching but sort of confusing because that’s just not my mental image of the math instructor.

Sales Links: All Romance (ARe) amazon Buy it here

Book Details:

ebook
Published November 21st 2014 by Lime Time Press
edition languageEnglish
series Linwood Academy #1

A MelanieM Review: Work in Progress (Belladonna Arms #2) by John Inman

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Writer Harlie Rose is dumped by his lover, it precipitates a cross country journey to mend his broken heart. Now four months later, Harlie is ready to settle down and start writing again. When Harlie finds himself on the doorstep of the Belladonna Arms, a quirky, perhaps even seedy apartment building on the only hill in San Diego, he knows he’s found home. What he doesn’t know is that the Belladonna Arms has a reputation for romance—and Harlie is about to become its next victim.

Needing a job to pay the rent, Harlie finds a job as a baker’s apprentice at the bakery just up the street. The grumpy but gorgeous baker is the owner’s son, Milan, and Harlie finds himself attracted to the man despite Milan’s attempts to push him away. Why? Milan too is nursing a broken heart. Soon the men find themselves hopelessly attracted to each other, despite their histories and internal walls.

The Belladonna Arms cupid has its work cut out for it, but luckily there’s plenty of help from the other residents, from Sylvia, on the verge of her final surgery to become a woman, Charley and PJ- the kleptos in 3C, to Arthur, the aging drag queen who is about to discover a romance of his own, and Stanley and Roger, the handsome young couple in 5C who lead by example, Harlie soon learns that at the Belladonna Arms, love is always just around the corner waiting to pounce. Whether you want it to or not.

I loved Work in Progress by John Inman. It is a heartwarming, wonderful sequel to another favorite of mine, Serenading Stanley (Belladonna Arms #1) by John Inman. That story was our first introduction to this shabby, delightfully quirky apartment building on a hilltop in San Diego and its eccentric, almost bizarre inhabitants. After obseving the Belladonna Arms’ owner, Arthur, in full drag taking out the trash, these are the thoughts running through Harlie’s head:

Yep. It was time to finally settle down and pull those notes together. And time to somehow squeeze The Great American Novel out of them. I was home now to do exactly that, or I would be home as soon as I found a home to settle in.

That’s why I was standing in the rain in front of the Belladonna Arms. The old sign had caught my attention while I was tooling aimlessly down Broadway looking for a place to light. Broadway, by the by, is San Diego’s main thoroughfare. It bisects the city from east to west, and at the moment I could see it a bit down the hill from where I stood.

But back to the sign. When I first spotted it, I had immediately liked the cheesy orange lettering on the rattletrap neon contraption. I even liked the way it stood slightly askew atop the boxy, less than elegant 1940s-era apartment building the old drag queen had ducked into. The whole misaligned package of tattered neon and weathered construction, perched one upon the other on this out-of-place hill on the southernmost tip of the California coast, somehow shrieked home to me. Go figure.

Even Arthur realizes immediately that Harlie belongs there and hauls him in to live in Apartment 2A. By then a love affair has started between the reader and these characters, including the Belladonna Arms, a romance that gets better, deeper and more memorable as the story progresses.

Truthfully, all I would have to do to get you to pick up this story is quote Chapter 1 over and over again. It’s hilarious, and touching, and downright addicting. John Inman’s descriptions are so wildly funny that you will find yourself laughing until the tears flow. Yet those same colorful descriptions, while perhaps being blunt and containing truthful observations of everyone involved, are never cruel or stoop to cheap shots at the characters expense. No, John Inman loves and understands these unconventional people who have all the same hopes and dreams for themselves as everyone else, despite their outlook, outward appearances and even their kleptomania. And he makes you love and understand them as well.

The title appears to be about Harlie’s ongoing attempts to “butch” up drag queen Arthur so Arthur can finally find true love. So initially it appears that Arthur is Harlie’s work in progress. But nothing is ever that simple at the Belladonna Arms, for everyone there is in transition of one sort or another, including all the people we met in Serenading Stanley as well as the new characters too. There’s the fragile, beautiful Sylvia completing her transition to female with her devoted fiance Pete at her side, Stanley and Roger (the main romance in Serenading Stanley) more deeply in love and looking towards the future, kleptomaniacs Charley and P.J. now happily together whether stealing or on their meds, Chi Chi and Ramon who provide the fire as well as the pathos, even the Belladonna Arms cat whose name changes depending upon whose apartment he’s visiting at the time. This tight family of people are all so important to the story that no one really feels like a secondary character. That’s because the Belladonna Arms is a sum of all its parts and we need them all in order for this story to work its magic. And believe me it does. Magic, tacky, glittery, over the top, sort of dusty, magic, is scattered throughout this story like the feathers from a boa tossed in the wind.

John Inman’s comedic narratives always make me smile if not outright guffaw. Believably, those laughs come attached to some of life’s hallmark moments. Some scenes are realistically painful. They will bring up memories of being dumped, sometimes for no discernible reason at all. Or make you remember feeling that you will never find someone to love you for your true self. The sadness and the feeling of loneliness that is part of living…its here as it needs to be. And just as quickly as the poignancy sets in, up pops scenes out of everyday ordinary moments that are rendered touching, affectionate, and somehow very precious. Trust me, I have never looked at Toll House cookies in the same way after Sylvia. Now just a mention brings a smile to my face.

Inman’s new characters are as strongly crafted and layered as the ones we were already fond of. Milan, his father Mr. Berger, each new person fills a void for someone within the Belladonna Arms. And yes, with all the love and laughter that bubbles off these pages, the author balances it with life’s loss and pain. This element is real, raw, and very necessary in order to appreciate the glow and radiance achieved at the end.

Could you read Work in Progress as a stand alone? Sure, but please don’t. Part of the satisfaction and joy contained within this story is finding out how all the relationships of the people we met in Serenading Stanley have progressed. Meet them in that story and then join up with them again here. It will feel like a homecoming, an especially happy one, complete with Toll House Cookies and a disco ball.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that I love and recommend this book (ok, yes, I just did that), it should be obvious. So instead I will leave you with another short excerpt, still from Chapter 1. Harley has just settled in and is heading out for a grocery run.

Lives don’t write themselves any more than WIPs do. Nosirree. Might as well get started living mine right now. And to live it, I needed food.

I locked the apartment door behind me, taking a moment to brush my fingertips fondly over the 2A screwed onto the front of the door in something that resembled copper but probably wasn’t. I trotted my way down the one flight of stairs to the front door, wondering if I’d see Arthur along the way, which I didn’t.

I had a feeling I was going to like the Belladonna Arms. I wasn’t sure why. The place was actually kind of a dump. But hey, I thought, popping open the umbrella and ducking underneath it as I strolled out the door and into the rain, it’s kind of a happy dump. And happy is exactly what I need right now. Christ knows I’ve been morose long enough.

By the time I sloshed my way to the car, I was surprised to hear myself whistling. And wasn’t that a stunning revelation.

You will find yourself whistling along with him. Perhaps even doing a little dance step or two. These characters and this story will have that effect on you. Make your acquaintance with John Inman today and pick up both stories! Happy Reading.

Cover artist: Aaron Anderson. I feel this cover is a bit of a miss. There were so many elements to choose from for this cover and yet this is the content?

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press eBook & Paperback All Romance (ARe) amazon buy it here

Book Details:

ebook, 226 pages
Published October 6th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1632161966 (ISBN13: 9781632161963)
edition languageEnglish
seriesBelladonna Arms #2

Belladonna Arms series:

Serenading Stanley

Work In Progress

A MelanieM Review: Chestnuts Roasting Anthology (Mischief Corner Anthologies #5) by Mischief Corner Books

Rating: 4.75 (rounded up to 5) stars out of 5

Christmas means different things to everyone, but most often it’s all about pulling loved ones close and brightening the gloom. The fire’s crackling. The snow is piling up outside, even if it’s only in your dreams. Time to snuggle up with some cocoa and some stories carefully crafted by the Mischief Corner Crew to warm hearts and cockles.

Mischief Corner Books is comprised of four authors, Toni Griffin, Angel Martinez, Freddy MacKay and Silvia Violet who met on a Tennessee Mountain top and (in their own words) “…and decided since we probably were too easily distracted to rule the world that we’d settle for causing a bit of mayhem instead.  ” That’s how Mischief Corner Books was born.

In this holiday anthologies, their four different perspectives has never had a better showcase for their talents. It’s a heartwarming collection that veers from bear shape shifters to contemporary romance then on to the supernatural and back again. Chestnuts Roasting gets the flow and placing of the selections just right, an issue I find most anthologies have a hard time perfecting. This is such a strong collection that while I had my absolute favorites, I loved them all. So will you.

The first story from Toni Griffin, Wreath of Fire: Smokey Mountains Bears 2, concerns a young bear shifter still trying to recover from years of family abuse, a forlorn young man, one in need of hope and love. The second story is A Christmas Cactus for the General By Angel Martinez. Talk about totally unexpected and wonderfully quirky. It’s told from an alien’s pov, and yes, its a wonderful holiday story. Next up? Holly Jolly By Silvia Violet, that’s the “bah humbug” tale of the bunch. You know you need one and Silvia Violet delivers her Scrooge into the holiday spirit via romance and coffee! Oh, but its that last story that will bring out the tears, the hankies, and the scores of music you want to listen to at this time of year. Chestnuts Roasting ends as it should, on reflections of love and family, of life and death, and perhaps something more. The last and utterly memorable tale is Snow on Spirit Bridge By Freddy MacKay. Never has blowing my nose and weeping away made me so happy.

Here are the stories in the order they appear in the book with a few comments by me.

1. Wreath of Fire: Smokey Mountains Bears 2 – Toni Griffin
Michael’s trying to start a new life away from his abusive father, but he’s drifting and not sure what he wants. When he accidentally starts a kitchen fire, the hot new fireman who comes to the rescue is not only another bear shifter. He’s Michael’s mate. Michael desperately needs to get his act together and figure out what he wants if he has any hope of claiming the bear fated to be his.

A heartwarming story that captures the pain of a young man feeling like an outsider at the holidays. Everything he attempts goes off course until Michael is almost ready to give up. Then another outsider arrives to how him the way home. I loved Griffin’s group or sleuth of bear shifters, such a welcoming family. It makes Michael’s background and family history even more poignant. A lovely introduction to this marvelous anthology.

You can read this story as a stand alone, or if you would like, you can read about the first Smokey Mountains Bears in A Bear in the Woods

2. A Christmas Cactus for the General – Angel Martinez
Exiled to Earth for perhaps the worst failure in Irasolan history, General Teer must assimilate or die. Earth is too warm, too wet, too foreign, but he does the best he can even though human males are loud, childish louts whom he can’t imitate successfully. When a grieving seaplane pilot strikes up a strange and uneasy friendship with him, he finds he may have been too quick to judge human males. They are strange to look at, but perhaps not as unbearable as he thought.

Angel Martinez is a favorite author of mine. Her ability to weave mythology and folklore into her contemporary stories is beyond amazing. Here Angel Martinez explores the idea of humans and American culture as seen through the eyes of an exiled alien. The character of Teer is a wonder. He never thinks or reacts like a human being at any point in the story, his alien persective is kept intact as he tries to understand and adapt to his strange new world that is his home. But if Teer is a true alien, than the man that falls into a friendship with Teer and then love, Bruce, is almost as much or more of an outsider from the people in the town they both live in. Snarly, rude, perpetually brusk and alone, Bruce also stays on the outskirts of community. His alienation is by choice while Teer’s was forced. This story is full of humor, pathos, and romance of an unlikely yet wondrous sort. And yes, this is one of my favorites although I loved them all.

3. Holly Jolly – Silvia Violet
I’m not gay. I just notice men sometimes. Everybody does, right? I notice Dane a lot, like every time I’m near him, but just because I think he’s an attractive man that doesn’t mean I like him, does it?

Holly Jolly is a cute, contemporary holiday romp with a heart. Every holiday collection needs a “Scrooge” type character and Tom the narrator fills the bill nicely. Only later do we find out the source of Tom’s harsh outlook and then everything about Tom snaps into place and he becomes more than just a formulaic persona. In fact, Tom’s past and actions make him not only admirable but courageous. Totally worthy of a hunky Dane who works at The Coffee Bean. I really enjoyed the layers the author added to Tom, Dane, and even Tom’s best friend Shelley.

And the idea of putting Holly Jolly in between the alien Teer of A Christmas Cactus for the General and the wildly enchanting and mystical characters of Snow on Spirit Bridge By Freddy MacKay gives the reader a little break from the angst and pain that both stories contain. Great job of placement all the way through this collection.

4. Snow on Spirit Bridge By Freddy MacKay

Alone in Japan, Finni is struggling against the constant distrust, avoidance, and xenophobia he experiences every day. He misses home. He misses his family. Nightmares come all too frequently because of the stress, and well, Christmas is just not Christmas in Japan. Not how he understands it.
Distressed by how miserable Finni is, his roommate, Mamoru, offers to be Finni’s family for Christmas. Little does he know how much one agreement would change everything between them, because both of them kept secrets neither ever dreamed were true.

Oh, this story. I can’t even begin to describe all the astonishing facets and elements that appear in Snow On Spirit Bridge. On first glance what appears to be a contemporary holiday story of a lonely, homesick exchange student, Finni, one who happens to be huge, blond haired and blue-eyed, traipsing through the streets of Japan on the eve of Christmas. Again we have an outsider’s perspective on a different culture. This time the setting is Japan with the Japanese peoples wariness and sometimes dislike of outsiders playing a huge part in Finni’s sense of isolation. But as the snow swirls around him and his sadness deepens something magical and unbelievable happens. MacKay combines several mythologies into her story and it works perfectly. Snow on Spirit Bridge addresses great pain and loss for several characters. And the last chapter will leave you smiling even as you weep your way through a box of tissues. A marvel of love, holiday cheer and the vastness of possibilities that just might exist make this my favorite story of the collection just as I expect it will end up as yours. This should have been the last story in any collection. And as the last story here, it works to make this one of the more memorable anthologies of this or any other season of the year.

I adored Chestnuts Roasting and absolutely recommend it for your Holiday reading pleasure. But the authors and their stories are so good, it makes wonderful reading at any time of the year. Pick it up today!

Cover artist Catherine Dair cover is lovely and brings the warmth of the holidays in its design.

Sales Links: Mischief Corner Books All Romance (ARe) amazon buy it here

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: November 27th 2014 by Smashwords Edition
ISBN139781311874092

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

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