Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Tutus and Tinsel

SERIES: Half Moon Bay #2.5

AUTHOR: Rhys Ford

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

RELEASE DATE: December 21, 2018

LENGTH: 95 pages

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Zig Reid-Harris has everything an eleven-year-old girl could ever want: a great home, two fantastic fathers named Deacon Reid and Lang Harris, and all the books she could possible read.

When a school assignment about holiday traditions unexpectedly broadsides her, she discovers burying the past isn’t as easy as it looks, and the stark reality of her life before her adoption sinks in. Ashamed of the bleakness and poverty she came from, Zig struggles with the assignment until an epiphany strikes the whole family—it’s time to start their own traditions.

Zig and her fathers plunge into the insanity of holiday joy, exploring everything the season has to offer and learning how precious family truly is along the way.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Keeping the Faith

SERIES: Faithfully Yours #3

AUTHOR: A.M. Leibowitz

PUBLISHER: Supposed Crimes

LENGTH: 238 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 1, 2017

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It’s been three years since Micah’s spouse, Cat, passed away at the age of thirty-six. In the process of cleaning his house, Micah discovers a series of letters Cat hid before he died, in which he made one request: that Micah empty his life of Cat as a way of moving on. Micah has been able to work through his sorrow, but he’s unable to fulfill Cat’s last wish. He can’t see a way past his loneliness despite all the caring people around him.
Enter two new friendships. Jude, Micah’s vivacious new coworker, brings joy back into his life. But she has a big secret about her family, and the truth will rock Micah’s understanding of who she is. Chris, the new minister at Cat’s former church, intrigues Micah. Unlike Jude, Chris is an open book, from his musings on theology to his work as a trans advocate and activist. His gentle manner and deep faith become safe space for Micah to open up about his loss.
Through them, Micah becomes involved with the town’s new community center, where he offers a creative writing class. Using Cat’s detailed letters, he fictionalizes their love story to share with his students. In doing so, he at last begins to sort through his complicated grief. Micah learns he doesn’t have to erase his life with Cat in order to make new memories. He may even be falling for Chris, despite their vastly different spiritual views. With a little help from family and friends, Micah will need to open his heart to love completely again.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Double Talk

SERIES: On the Radio #2

AUTHOR: Pandora Pine

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 328 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 11, 2016

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THIS DEBATE IS HEATING UP MORE THAN JUST THE AIRWAVES…

Battling back from losing everything in a scandal that cost him the chance to be elected to the U.S. Senate, disgraced politician Caine Williams is learning to take things one day at a time. The opportunity to host a political talk show, Raising Caine, on PRIDE XM Radio, is the next step in getting his life back.
Up-and-coming Republican political commentator Darwin Edwards is hoping a guest appearance on Raising Caine will give him some national exposure and take his career to the next level. The last thing he expects is such a strong attraction to his annoyingly liberal co-host. Impressed by the ratings brought in by Caine and Darwin’s broadcast, the powers that be ask Darwin to join the show permanently, and sparks begin to fly between the co-hosts both in and out of the studio.
Can Darwin and Caine learn to work together or will their budding attraction be nipped in the bud before it can evolve into something more?

REVIEWED by Jay V.

TITLE: Homebird 

AUTHOR: Amy Lane

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 200 pages

RELEASE DATE: December 18, 2018

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Crispin Henry isn’t an adventurer. He learned early on that the world is a frightening place and that home is rare and precious. If his friends didn’t drag him to sports games and ill-advised trips to Vegas, he wouldn’t get out at all—and his trip to Munich for Oktoberfest is no exception. But it’s there that he meets Luka Gabriel, and he learns to take a chance.

Luka is a free-spirited world traveler, working at Oktoberfest to feed his enchantment with new places and new people. His only possessions fit in his backpack, and he depends on the kindness of strangers for a place to sleep. Crispin should know better—but he takes Luka’s hand anyway, and together they turn three nights in Munich into the relationship neither of them has been brave enough to risk—and neither can let go of.

When Luka turns up on Crispin’s doorstep before the holiday season, Crispin takes him in on hope alone. Yes, he knows the odds are good Luka will flutter out of his life again and leave him bereft, but isn’t it worth it to see if Luka is a homebird after all?

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Written on My Heart

SERIES: My Heart #1

AUTHOR: Annabella Michaels

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 178 pages

RELEASE DATE: August 26, 2018

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Garrett Sullivan’s heart was broken when he learned that the man he was secretly in love with, his best friend, Akio, was head over heels for someone else. Romance writer by trade, starry-eyed dreamer by design, Garrett leaves Chicago to mend his broken heart. After months of wallowing in his own misery, Garrett barely recognizes himself anymore. With only two weeks until he has to return home, he sets off for the beautiful island of Maui, hoping the sand, sea and sun will help him pull himself together.

Dean Wilder has worked very hard to become a household name and for his roles as a leading man in the biggest action films to grace the big screen. Considered one of Hollywood’s sexiest bachelors, Dean has had a string of meaningless relationships. The only thing his past partners have taken seriously are his fame, his fortune and the status they gain by being his plus one. Fed up with playing unfulfilling characters, frustrated and tired of being alone, he longs for serious film roles and a meaningful relationship. Desperate for a break, Dean sets off for his vacation home along a private stretch of beach in Maui.

Sparks fly when Garrett and Dean see each other for the first time, and after a wild night of passion, they agree to spend their vacations together, exploring the island and each other. But what begins as a bit of harmless fun soon turns into so much more than either man bargained for, and they must face some difficult decisions; about their lives, their careers and their hearts.

Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Only Love

SERIES: Only Love #1

AUTHOR: Garrett Leigh

PUBLISHER: Fox Love Press

LENGTH: 355 pages

RE-RELEASE DATE:  October 22, 2018

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The diagnosis of a chronic stomach condition leaves thirty-two-year-old Sergeant Jed Cooper with little choice but to call time on his Army career. Then on the dusty streets of Kirkuk, an ambush gone tragically wrong decimates his team, and he returns to the US with a shattered leg and the memory of his best friend dying in his arms.

Life in his sleepy hometown proves intolerable until he finds solace in a lakeside cabin with vivacious young carpenter, Max O’Dair. In the shadow of the epilepsy that periodically plagues Max, he and Jed form an unspoken bond. After a late night episode, Jed realizes how much Max means to him, and life has taught him not to waste time.

But the lines between contentment and complacency are blurred. Things left hidden resurface to tear through their world, and before they can repair the damage, death comes to call again. Faces, past and present, rally around them to weather the storm, but before long, they are left with only love.

Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Christmas Magic

SERIES: Believe #2

AUTHOR: Shea Balik

PUBLISHER: Self published

LENGTH: Short Novel

RELEASE DATE:  December 14, 2018

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Do you believe in the magic of Christmas? Tim Richards didn’t, so why had he thought he could make a Christmas wish and have it come true?

Much to his surprise, he met the man of his dreams when Nick Snow walked into his world and turned it upside down. The life he had always hated was becoming something from a dream and more than anything he could have ever possibly imagined. For Tim, to believe childhood fantasies could come true, was impossible.

Nick Snow tended to only think about work. That was, until he met Tim. He’d never imagined anyone would ever come between him and his career. Now he knew that there was so much more to life than a job.

Can Nick show Tim that Christmas Magic is real?

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: An Everyday Hero

SERIES: Warmest Wishes – 2018 Advent Calendar

AUTHOR: E. J. Russell

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 54 pages

RELEASE DATE: December 1, 2018

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A Story from the Warmest Wishes: Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar

When Adam Tyler’s sister announced she was pregnant, Adam decided to move from Portland, Oregon, to Phoenix, Arizona, to fully embrace the uncle experience. However, he didn’t count on the move being delayed until three days before Christmas—and three days before his sister’s due date. And he definitely didn’t count on finding a scorpion in his bedroom. Cue the panicked calls to exterminators.

Garrett Strong doesn’t consider himself at all remarkable—his ex certainly didn’t think so—and Garrett’s pest-control business is circling the drain. Although Adam is his first new client in months, that isn’t the only reason Garrett goes above and beyond for him. He feels a real connection to the younger man and intends to do everything in his power to make sure Adam feels safe and welcome in Phoenix—venomous intruders notwithstanding.

Reviewed by Jess

TITLE: Daughter of the Sun

SERIES: Tales of Inthya #2

AUTHOR: Effie Calvin

PUBLISHER: NineStar Press

LENGTH: 408 pages

RELEASE DATE:  November 19, 2018

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Orsina of Melidrie is a paladin of the Order of the Sun, sworn to drive out corruption and chaos wherever she finds it. She has been ordered to leave her home and travel around Vesolda in search of a great evil she is supposedly destined to destroy. But after two years of fighting monsters and demons and evil gods, she does not seem to be any closer to her goal—or ever returning home.

Aelia is the Goddess of Caprice, the personification of poor decision-making. The Order of the Sun has classified her as a chaos goddess, meaning that her worship has been outlawed. During a run-in with Orsina, she is trapped in a mortal body, rendering her unable to leave Inthya.

Aelia is found by Orsina again, but this time Orsina does not recognize her in her new body. So Aelia pretends to be a mortal woman who is fleeing an abusive family. Aelia plans to use Orsina as protection as she hunts down the magical relic that will free her from her mortal body.

As Aelia and Orsina grow closer to one another, Aelia wrestles with her own desire to tell Orsina the truth about who she is, and her fear that Orsina will turn on her if she does. But the decision might not be hers after all, because their actions have not gone unnoticed by Aelia’s siblings.

Reviewed by Cheryl

TITLE: To Be Honest

SERIES: #lovehim #3

AUTHOR: S.M. James

PUBLISHER: May Books

LENGTH: 412 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 15, 2018

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Angus Reid is pretty sure he’s being catfished.

After spending the last half of junior year talking online to the guy of his dreams, Angus wants to meet. In person. So when Scotty brushes it off with excuses of not being ready, red flags go up.

Determined to either catch Scotty out, or take a shot at real love, Angus embarks on a summer road trip with his adorkable roommate, Tyler. But as summer stretches on, and mixed messages fly between them, Angus finds his heart torn.

His potential catfisher?

Or his straight best friend?

And while their road trip takes them across the country, Angus is headed for one destination.

Either a happily ever after … or a broken heart.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: All About Sawyer

SERIES: He’s the One #1

AUTHOR: Marissa Holt

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 235 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 11, 2018

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Given a second chance…would you make your ultimate fantasy a reality?

Kace
Kace McGinnis spent the last four years trying to forget everything about his previous life in a small Alabama town… everything except his high school infatuation – Sawyer Jensen. If Sawyer didn’t know who Kace was then, Kace definitely knew Sawyer: gorgeous, honor student, gymnastic enigma, and star football player. A boy Kace wouldn’t dare dream he’d ever have. The guys Kace now met in the big city were okay, but they weren’t Sawyer. Nothing like Sawyer.
At least until Kace stepped into Steam, Atlanta’s hottest male strip club, discovering the star entertainer looked almost like Sawyer. A little too much like him. But tattooed bad boy strippers were a definite no no on Kace’s check list of compatible guys. However, Kace might have to rethink his strict rules when Sawyer pursues him…and Kace finds himself growing totally infatuated again with the one guy he always wanted.
Sawyer
Demanding pressure caused golden boy, Sawyer Jensen, to rebel against everything he was raised to be after graduating high school. Using his good looks and muscled physique, he pursued an exciting life as a male stripper. Coaxed into taking a job at Steam in Atlanta as the main attraction, Sawyer is soon intrigued by a shy-cutie that looks familiar. Sawyer pursues Kace and contemplates more in life than just random hookups…unaware of Kace’s past super-secret high school crush.
When four years of suppressed hidden passion explodes, Kace faces increasing obstacles that threaten to destroy his one chance at finally landing his ultimate dream man.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Spark

SERIES: North Star Trilogy #1

AUTHOR: Posy Roberts

PUBLISHER: Boho Press

LENGTH: 346 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 25, 2018

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Hugo Thorson fell in love when he was sixteen. He’s maybe been in love since, but probably not. He’s been too busy directing plays to devote much time to men who can’t accept all of him. No one ever made him feel like his first love did.
Kevin Magnus married a woman and has two children, but the marriage wasn’t happy. In the shadow of divorce, he’s striving to be a better father, but he’s still a work in progress.
When Hugo and Kevin bump into each other at the lake, memories of their last kiss incite a new first kiss. Visions of the life they always wanted are vivid, but so much stands in the way of their dreams. Hugo is out and proud but no one knows Kevin’s bisexual. If Kevin comes out, he risks losing custody of his kids. If he doesn’t walk hand in hand with Hugo, he risks losing the love of his life.
The curtain may never rise on their second act.

Reviewed by Dan

TITLE: Tattoos and Brews

SERIES: Corent City Tales Book 3

AUTHOR: Hannah Walker

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 290 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  November 11, 2018

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Nylian Lukalyn, Ny to his friends, leads a content life— working for the family business, while enjoying life as part of the fae community. Watching friends fall in love hasn’t been easy, and he wonders if his ceile, his soul mate, is truly out there, or if he’s destined to spend his life alone.

Dran leads a solitary life, partly because he’s a bear shifter, but mostly because it is the life he has chosen. He’s devoted to tattooing and creating art. While he hopes to find his mate someday, he’s waiting patiently for the right person to appear in his life.

A chance meeting between Ny and Dran leaves an intense, simmering attraction. One they’d both love to pursue, but life isn’t as easy as that. The after-effects of an attack on their paranormal community has left their attention and budding romance divided while both are forced to focus on other aspects of paranormal life.

When another feral attack rocks the community, it shows how much danger they are all in— the most lethal feral they’ve encountered so far is out for blood. Friends old and new work together to try and bring the attacks to an end. Ny and Dran must figure out exactly what they mean to each other while praying that none of them lose their lives while they battle to rid Corent City of the ferals.

Duo review by Cindy & Cheryl

TITLE: From These Ashes

SERIES: Haven Hart Book 4

AUTHOR: Davidson King

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 204 Pages

RELEASE DATE: November 28, 2018

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A product of his past, Black spends half his time saving lives and the other half taking them. Every day, a hard choice must be made and he’s the man to make it. Long ago, he vowed to never love again; one-night stands with a willing body was all he ever needed. But along came Quill, and Black’s life is irrevocably changed. He never expects something as simple as Quill’s persistence to alter the way he not only sees the world, but how he lives it.

Quill has bad taste in men and equally horrible luck. Growing up wasn’t easy, surviving is even harder. When his past and present collide, he’s convinced he’ll finally witness his own destruction. But when an unlikely antihero steps in to protect him, his life is turned on its head. He’s spent months flirting with the man of his dreams and hoping he’d take notice. But it turns out, being on Black’s radar isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and his idea of protection varies greatly from Quill’s.

Unknowingly sharing the same goal—burying their own pasts deeper than the fires of hell can reach—they’re both unaware that jumping into that fire will do more than ignite their feelings, it could lead to their own demise. Will Black and Quill be consumed by the flames, or from these ashes, will they find their own happily ever after?

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Operation Toy Rescue

AUTHOR: Sarah Hadley Brook

PUBLISHER: JMS Books LLC

LENGTH: 4924 KB

RELEASE DATE: December 15, 2018

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When Jules Evergreen lands in trouble at the North Pole and gets shipped off to Snow Hope Island for ninety days, he never expects to take up the cause of the forgotten toys waiting for new homes. Falling for his new boss is not on the agenda either, but his heart has other ideas.
Felix Winterson has grown up on Snow Hope Island and now runs the place. He isn’t thrilled when party boy Jules arrives, and Felix tries hard to ignore the man’s charms. He has other problems, anyway. For years he’s tried to get Santa to look at the growing inventory of damaged toys in the warehouse, to no avail.
When Jules comes up with a plan to save the toys, the men find themselves working closely together. As Christmas Eve looms, there’s a lot at stake. Can they save Snow Hope, convince Santa to rescue the toys, and fall in love all at the same time?

REVIEWED by Jay V.

TITLE: Exit Through the Gift Shop 

AUTHOR: Kim Fielding

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 39 pages

RELEASE DATE: December 1, 2018

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Alex’s traditional family Christmas Compromise means spending the holiday at a second-rate theme park, Poseidon’s Planet, but Alex doesn’t mind. He enjoys the rides and the company of his family, and it’s a good break from his going-nowhere existence back in Indiana. Then he meets a certain sexy employee in a pirate costume, and Alex’s vacation gets even better. But thrill rides last only a short time, and sooner or later everyone has to return to real life. Alex long ago gave up on marrying a handsome prince—will he have to give up on his pirate as well?