Reviewed by Dan
This is a Series Review of Memories (Books 1 – 4)
AUTHOR: Max Vos
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
SERIES REVIEW:
I really enjoyed this series, and thought that now would be a good time to do a Flashback Friday Series Review on these first four books because a fifth installment is coming out next week. No hints on that one, but if you’re a Max Vos fan, you’re going to want to pick it up.
I loved reading these installments in the lives of the Sutton family. I highly recommend all four which are covered below. If you are already a Max Vos fan, you will love them. If you haven’t read any Max Vos books, this series is a good one to start on! It is lighter and more fun than some of his works, but each is an entertaining afternoon’s read. Give the series a try. I would highly recommend starting at the beginning because each installment builds on previous installments. Enjoy!
SERIES RATING: 
TITLE: A Christmas Memory
LENGTH: 64 Pages
RELEASE DATE: November 13, 2013
BLURB:
J.J. has always hated the holidays. Presents, decorations, the traditional family Christmas…It’s all his colleagues in the staffroom can talk about. J.J. avoids these conversations like the plague. He’d do anything to keep his co-workers from seeing the real J.J, the gay man who doesn’t want to be noticed. When he slips up and reveals that he is all alone with no plans for Christmas, the well-meaning ladies of his high school want to take him in for the holidays.
Oh hell….
Enter Coach Adam Sutton who comes to his rescue—and now J.J. is trapped by this hulk of a man who won’t take no for an answer. And he would have to be someone J.J finds attractive, wouldn’t he? Too bad he’s straight and J.J’s not about to step out of the shadows and make a move on him. He likes his arms where they are, thank you very much.
But Adam has a secret, one which is going to turn J.J’s world upside-down. Adam wants to give J.J. a Christmas to remember, but as it turns out, both men’s lives are never going to be the same again…
REVIEW:
A Christmas Memory is a feel good, insta-love type story that works in my opinion. I really liked the characters and the story and because I know it is the first of at least five “stories” with these characters, I’m okay with it being a little short!
J.J. is a new teacher in his first year of teaching. Fresh out of college, he isn’t much older than his students at the high school, and to combat any feelings of attraction by female or possibly male students, he dresses fairly frumpy. He gets his clothes at Goodwill, and always buys a couple sizes larger than he needs so they are loose. He wears a bow tie every day, and some old fashioned glasses which make him look like a total nerd. Things are great until that annoying Coach Sutton starts bugging him at lunch and sitting with him and calling him things like Champ. And then there is the annoying thing the Coach does with his hand grabbing the back of J.J.’s neck and shaking him.
When some busy body older female teachers find out J.J. doesn’t have plans for Christmas because he has no family, they get ready to spring into action. But the Coach, Adam Sutton, has other ideas. He comes to J.J.’s rescue and tells the ladies that he and J.J. already have plans.
J.J. isn’t thrilled. The Coach is one of the hottest men J.J. has ever seen…and straight. J.J. is gay and very attracted. This can only lead to disaster. But Adam might have been hiding a thing or two.
I really liked this start to the series.
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TITLE: A Christmas Memory 2
LENGTH: 89 Pages
RELEASE DATE: January 14, 2015
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It’s been a year since coach Adam Sutton changed JJ’s life with a Christmas proposal. Now happily married, the two men are dealing with everything life is throwing at them – new family members, homophobia and prejudice, not to mention an unexpected offer that is about to change both their lives – forever.
REVIEW:
In A Christmas Memory 2, we rejoin Adam and JJ a year after the events in the first installment above. It has been a year since the big proposal and Adam and JJ have settled down to a life of marital bliss. There are a lot of storylines into this one, so hold on for the ride.
Adam and JJ are getting a lot of nasty comments and actions from a homophobic teacher who hates that JJ and Adam are happy and God forbid married. She does everything she can to undermine them at the school. It turns out there might be more to her than we know.
Speaking of homophobes, we also have a quick revisit from Adam’s brother Matt’s ex fiancé, an evil right wing religious shrew spouting Leviticus. It turns out there is a core group of religious zealots who all go to the same church. Go figure.
When, Adam and JJ decide to go out of town to celebrate New Year’s Eve, they drive by the town’s park and see a boy from one of JJ’s classes huddled on a park bench with a blanket. They stop and learn that the boy Thad, who is 15, had been thrown out onto the cold streets with only the clothes on his back a few days before because his parents found out that he is gay. And you guessed it. His parents go to the same church as the other two homophobes above. Forgetting their trip out of town, Adam and JJ load him in the car and take him home. But what will happen with him next?
In this installment, we also have a couple new babies joining the Sutton clan. One to Adam’s oldest brother, and surprisingly one to Adam and JJ! No spoilers on how that happens. I love the Sutton boys and their families.
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TITLE: A Valentine’s Day Memory
LENGTH: 83 Pages
RELEASE DATE: January 29, 2015
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There’s a lot going on this Valentine’s Day for the Sutton family. Adam and J.J. have a romantic evening ahead of them, and they’re not the only ones.
Unfortunately, Thad has something else on his mind, and it’s gnawing away at him. When he finally tells his new family what’s going on, it’s all hands on deck to help him.
No one messes with the Suttons…
REVIEW:
Another great installment in the Memories Series. I personally think this is the best installment in the series so far. This time a lot of the focus moves to the next generation, with Thad being one of the primary characters.
Thad has now been living with Maggie for a couple years and is approaching his eighteenth birthday. He has a little hottie boyfriend named Jason, who is a wrestler at another high school in the area, his grades are great, and offer letters are piling up from colleges eager to have him.
Thad and Jason are ready to take it to the next step. They are both virgins and ready to make that not so. Who can Thad possibly get advice from but J.J. and Adam…of course. Both are happy to help, and when J.J. and Adam figure out there might be a double booking on their Valentine’s Day plans, a plan is hatched to give the additional booking to Thad and Jason. All seems great.
But something is up with Thad. He has become quite withdrawn, and no one knows why. The whole Sutton tribe is still there of course, and they come to the rescue when Thad is threatened.
I think that the author did a great job of addressing the “gay conversion” programs that are out there, and how anyone under 18 could be forced by their parents into one of those programs. Great job on this one.
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TITLE: A Spring Break Memory
LENGTH: 128 Pages
RELEASE DATE: July 17, 2015
BLURB:
When Coach Adam Sutton is suddenly accused of sexual misconduct with some of his students, Matriarch, Maggie Sutton calls on some old friends to help save the day. Meanwhile, J.J. is having self-doubts on his ability to be a good father. Will he ever be able to let go of the past, enjoy the present, and look forward to the future?
While things heat up in an Atlanta suburb, Adam, J.J., Thad, and Jason decide to take a relaxing Caribbean cruise. Although spending Spring Break together is great, it doesn’t come without its challenges.
Meanwhile, Maggie’s old friends throw themselves into the mix, keeping everyone entertained, if not on their heels. Let the fun begin…
REVIEW:
Mr. Vos, you have one filthy mind. I enjoy that in a writer! Rimming, Snowballing, Felching, Oral Sex and Anal Sex…all in the same sex scene! Amazing, and pretty darned hot.
A Spring Break Memory takes us back into the lives of Adam Sutton and his husband J.J.. Adam and J.J. learn that Adam’s adopted brother Thad’s boyfriend Jason has been called into the Principal’s office and questioned on whether or not Adam has ever touched him inappropriately! Then Thad is called in and questioned as well. What is going on? Adam hasn’t even considered doing something like that. Suddenly he is suspended from his position! And escorted to his office by a police officer to get his personal effects!
When Adam’s mother, Maggie Sutton, finds out what is going on, she instantly becomes suspicious and calls in a secret group composed of lifelong friends to solve the mystery! Will the group be able to track down the culprit? Who would want to frame Adam, and why? Is there a way to get the story recanted?
Meanwhile, to stay out of the spotlight, and get some much needed stress relief, Adam, J.J., Thad and Jason embark on a relaxing Caribbean cruise. Hot times ensue, some good…which might contain whipped cream, and some not so good…especially the “hot” time when poor Thad ignores everyone’s advice and doesn’t wear any sunscreen in the pool!
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