Reviewed by Jess

TITLE: The Line of Succession

SERIES: The Line of Succession #1

AUTHOR: Harry F. Rey

PUBLISHER: Deep Desires Press

LENGTH: 118 pages

RELEASE DATE:  July 24, 2018

BLURB:

Families are built on secrets, but when it’s the royal family, the stakes-and the secrets-can be deadly.

Fifteen years ago, Prince James’s father, Prince Richard, was killed in a mysterious helicopter crash, along with his secret Irish lover. The young James became heir to the British throne over his twin sister, Princess Alexandra.

With Queen Victoria II turning ninety, James’s personal life, now that he’s thirty, has come more into the public spotlight as he’s expected to marry and produce an heir. Known for his playboy lifestyle, he’d gladly accept that reputation to hide the truth that he’s gay and in a secret long-term relationship with his best friend and press secretary, Andrew.

His twin sister knows his secret, and plans to use it to create a scandal that will help her take the crown for herself, but her plans rely on trust, and she will soon learn her allies are not as trustworthy as she thought. Will James win his throne, while keeping the love of his life? Or will the monarchy topple in the face of naked ambition and public scandal?

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Love Me Louder

AUTHOR: Christina Lee

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 259 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 27, 2018

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Noah Dixon is damaged goods. After an accident leaves him physically scarred and emotionally vulnerable, dating isn’t in the cards, so he throws himself head-first into his retail job. When he’s obligated to attend his best friend’s engagement party on Fire Island, it dawns on him he’s about to spend yet another weekend feeling totally invisible and alone among a swarm of gorgeous men.

That’s when the idea of an escort comes in.

After Will Crossen was forced to put his theater major on hold in favor of two jobs to tackle his ailing mother’s hospital bills, he tells himself becoming an escort isn’t that big of a deal. It’s just another form of acting, right? He doesn’t expect his newest customer to be the cheery, overconfident sales associate he avoids like the plague at his day job. Talk about awkward.

But what happens on Fire Island stays on Fire Island…especially when a smoldering attraction sparks into flames. Will doesn’t feel so alone anymore, and for the first time, Noah realizes someone is seeing him behind all the scars. But between their jobs, Will’s massive familial responsibilities, and Noah’s vulnerabilities, they don’t stand a chance unless they find a way to let love speak louder than their demons.

Reviewed by PizzyGirl

TITLE: Somebody to Die for

SERIES: Dreamspun Beyond #27, Requiem Inc. #3

AUTHOR: Kris T. Bethke

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 218 pages

RELEASE DATE: September 4, 2018

BLURB:

A Requiem Inc. Story

Dying is easy. New love is terrifying.

Avery Wagner quit ghostwalking when he lost his beloved anchor to cancer. Now teaching others who have the ability, he’s beginning to live again—but he’s not looking for another lover, not now, maybe not ever.

But then he meets Jameson… younger, talented, dedicated, almost perfect, even though his mouth sometimes opens ahead of his brain. And Jameson wants Avery desperately, though he’ll settle for friendship if he can’t have more.

When an emergency demands they work together in the field, Avery discovers just how perfect Jameson is. But he had a perfect love once before, and he’s scared to even consider that he might have a chance at another. Can he trust Jameson with his newly healing heart?

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Two of a Kind

SERIES: Dreamspun Desires #65

AUTHOR: B.A. Tortuga

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 224 pages

RELEASE DATE: September 4, 2018

BLURB:

Working on a full house.

Once upon a time, Trey Williamson and Ap McIntosh had quite the whirlwind romance—but that was before family tragedy left them the guardians of five kids. Their lives have changed quite a bit over the last six years, but Ap is still on the rodeo circuit, doing what he does best in an attempt to feed all those extra mouths.

That leaves Trey back on the ranch, isolated and overworked as the kids’ sole caregiver. Something has to give, and when Ap comes home, they’re reminded how hot they burned once upon a time. But is it a love that can withstand wrangling over time, money, and the future? They have to decide what kind of family they want to be… and whether what they share can stand the test of time.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: In This Iron Ground

SERIES: Natural Magic #1

AUTHOR: Marina Vivancos

PUBLISHER: self-published

RELEASE DATE: September 3, 2018

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Damien is nine years old when his parents die. What should have been the worst moment of his life begins a journey shadowed by loneliness and pain. The night of a full moon, four years and seven foster homes later, Damien flees to the forest, desperate to escape everything.
Instead, he finds the Salgado pack, and the earth beneath his feet shifts. Damien has seen the Salgado children in his school: Koko, who is in his class, and Hakan, two years older and infinitely unreachable. Damien is suddenly introduced into a world that had only ever existed in his imagination, where there is magic in the forest and the moon. He meets creatures that look like monsters, but Damien knows that monsters have the same face as anybody else.
Over the years, Damien and Hakan grow closer. First, just as friends and foster brothers in the Salgado house, and then into something heated and breathless when Damien joins Hakan at college. Despite what he may yearn for in the darkest part of the night, Damien knows, deep down in that bruised and mealy part of his core, that he’s not good enough to be part of the Salgado family, their pack. He’s not worthy of calling Hakan his home.
Even though he knows in the end it’ll hurt him, he’ll hold onto this for as long as he can.

CONTENT WARNING: This book contains themes of emotional and (nonsexual) physical child abuse and the subsequent emotional, cognitive, and behavioural impacts.
This story contains sexually explicit scenes between consenting adults and is meant for an adult audience.

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Falling into Love

SERIES: Family Found #1

AUTHORS: Kris T. Bethke & Nell Iris

PUBLISHER: JMS Books LLC

LENGTH: 112 pages

RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2018

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Liam O’Donoughue is happy with his life. He runs V Wilderness Adventures with his best friends, his chosen brothers, and gets to spend his days hiking in the gorgeous Adirondacks. What’s not to love? But when he meets Austin on a hike, he thinks he’s found something he didn’t even know was missing.

Austin Jock is content with his work as a radiology tech and playing bass in a cover band. Someday he wants to find his forever person but doesn’t believe in romantic fireworks and isn’t sure it’ll ever happen. Then Liam comes crashing into his life, igniting sparks. Huge, life-altering sparks.

The connection between the two men is instant, and things move fast. But Austin isn’t sure what to do with everything he’s feeling inside. Can Liam convince him falling in love is the easiest thing in the world?

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Ascendent

SERIES: Executive Power #1

AUTHOR: Tal Bauer

PUBLISHER: Self Published

RELEASE DATE: August 23, 2018

LENGTH: 276 pages

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Sasha Andreyev grew up on the wrong side of nowhere, dreaming of starlight as he strangled a secret. He fled, enlisting in the Russian Army, and worked his way up the ranks. Years later, after surviving a beating and being left for dead, he found a new life in Moscow, working with President Sergey Puchkov.

And then, he fell in love.

Desperate to avoid his runaway heart, crippled with a shame that infected his soul, and ravaged by demons haunting his memories, Sasha ran.

But he could never escape Sergey, or the gravitational pull of their love.

Nightmares trail behind his every step and weary ghosts live in the hollow chambers of his soul. He’s spent a lifetime brutally eviscerating the parts of himself he despises, and he’s an empty, shattered shell, struggling to be the man worthy of Sergey’s love.

The pieces of his soul he cut out are the very ones he needs in order to become the man he yearns to be. He’ll need to face himself, and his past, on a journey into the frozen heart of Russia, and into the midnight depths of the dead lands.

Only then can he ascend from the darkness, and be the man Sergey needs at his side.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Blood and Eternity

SERIES: Blood #3

AUTHOR: Shira Anthony

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 232 pages

RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2018

BLURB:

Vampire hunter Adrien Gilbert never dreamed he’d fall for his prey or that his love, Nicolas Lambert, would give him the gift of immortality. But when a hunter bent on destroying the truce between vampires and hunters throws the gauntlet at Adrien’s feet, Adrien must travel through time to save Nicolas, and with him, the entire vampire race.
The time has come to make a choice—one they will live with for eternity.
In this final installment in the Blood Trilogy, Adrien and Nicolas must face their greatest enemy in a deadly last confrontation. But to prevail, they’ll need to master the enemies within.
When Adrien awakens to a future he doesn’t recognize, he faces an impossible decision: live a perfect life with Nicolas in a shattered world, or risk everything to repair a broken past. But before he can challenge vampire hunter Verel Pelletier, he must master the demon who lives in his own mind—and learn to control his ability to travel through time. With Nicolas by his side, he prepares for a final battle against a powerful adversary who likes to play games with the past and future.
But the price of ensuring a future for their loved ones may be an eternity spent alone.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Teaching Truthfulness

SERIES: Forever in Middlebury #3

AUTHOR: Brittany Cournoyer

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 221 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2018

BLURB:

Peyton ~
Landing a job at Little Creations, after my previous job went under, was literally a life saver. Without Tyler taking a chance on me, I would’ve been living with my Aunt Irene in Oregon, helping out at her Bed and Breakfast. While I love my job and life in Middlebury, my love-life is nonexistent after a recent break-up. That is, until I meet Marshall. The attraction between us is palpable, but I can’t take that next step with him, no matter how hard I try. How can I convince Marshall to be okay with what I’m willing to give him, and that I’ll be worth the wait?
Marshall ~
Family means everything to me. Aside from my sister and adorable niece, my grandfather is the most important person in my life. And knowing that I’m keeping a secret from all of them is slowly killing me inside. Then I meet Peyton one afternoon, and I can’t bring myself to stay away from him. Questions start to fill my mind, and I find myself wondering if he’s worth the risk. But how do I tell the people I love a secret so big it could change all of our lives forever? How do I tell them that I’m gay?
Peyton and Marshall each have secrets that make them wary of relationships. After a chance encounter at Peyton’s job, they decide to give each other a shot and see what happens. Frustrations over keeping the relationship hidden puts a major strain on them, and the couple begins to doubt whether it’s worth the risk. Can Peyton and Marshall’s relationship withstand the stress each of them bring to the table? Or will they decide it isn’t worth it after all?