Reviewed by Christian (Brianna)

TITLE:  Code Silver

SERIES: The Sierra View Series

AUTHOR:  Max Walker

NARRATOR:  Jason Frazier

PUBLISHER:  Self Published

LENGTH: 6 hrs and 28 mins

RELEASE DATE:  December 15th, 2017

BLURB:

Dean Harper is the type of doctor anyone would want to bump into in an elevator. He’s devilishly handsome, deeply caring, and has a pair of sapphire blue eyes that pierce right through you. He was well on his way to having the perfect life with whom he thought was the perfect man. Well, until he found that perfect man cheating on him with three other guys. At the same time.

Noah Silver is having a difficult time. With his mom passing and his dad growing more and more difficult to live with, he’s pushed into an unorthodox way of making money. He knew that being a cam boy would be temporary, but he didn’t realize how drastically it would change his life.

He had no idea he would meet the man of his dreams because of it. He also had no idea he would become the target of a serial killer because of it.

Dean’s world gets turned upside down when Noah, the guy he’d been fantasizing with through a computer screen, ends up in his exam room. Their connection is immediate, even though Noah has no idea Dean is behind his online crush. They both have issues to work on, but can either of them pass up a chance like this? Or are they both throwing themselves into harm’s way?

Code Silver is the first book in the Sierra View series. It’s a full-length, steamy gay romance that can be enjoyed alone and has no cliffhangers.

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Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Tell Me It’s Real

SERIES: At First Sight #1

AUTHOR: T.J. Klune

NARRATOR: Michael Lesley

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2014

LENGTH: 10 hours, 24 minutes

BLURB:

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Paul Auster doesn’t. Paul doesn’t believe in much at all. He’s thirty, slightly overweight, and his best features are his acerbic wit and the color commentary he provides as life passes him by. His closest friends are a two-legged dog named Wheels and a quasibipolar drag queen named Helena Handbasket. He works a dead-end job in a soul-sucking cubicle, and if his grandmother’s homophobic parrot insults him one more time, Paul is going to wring its stupid neck.

Enter Vince Taylor.

Vince is everything Paul isn’t: Sexy, confident, and dumber than the proverbial box of rocks. And for some reason, Vince pursues Paul relentlessly. Vince must be messing with him, because there is no way Vince could want someone like Paul.

But when Paul hits Vince with his car – in a completely unintentional if-he-died-it’d-only-be-manslaughter kind of way – he’s forced to see Vince in a whole new light. The only thing stopping Paul from believing in Vince is himself – and that is one obstacle Paul can’t quite seem to overcome. But when tragedy strikes Vince’s family, Paul must put aside any notions he has about himself and stand next to the man who thinks he’s perfect the way he is.

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Reviewed by Christine

TITLE: How to Bang a Billionaire

SERIES: Arden St. Ives

AUTHOR: Alexis Hall

NARRATOR: Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER: Hatchette Audio

LENGTH: 11 hours

RELEASE DATE: January 16, 2018

BLURB:

Rules are made to be broken….

If England had yearbooks, I’d probably be “Arden St. Ives: Man Least Likely to Set the World on Fire.” So far, I haven’t. I’ve no idea what I’m doing at Oxford, no idea what I’m going to do next and, until a week ago, I had no idea who Caspian Hart was. Turns out, he’s brilliant, beautiful…oh yeah, and a billionaire.

It’s impossible not to be captivated by someone like that. But Caspian Hart makes his own rules. And he has a lot of them. About when I can be with him. What I can do with him. And when he’ll be through with me.

I’m good at doing what I’m told in the bedroom. The rest of the time, not so much. And now that Caspian’s shown me glimpses of the man behind the billionaire I know it’s him I want. Not his wealth, not his status. Him. Except that might be the one thing he doesn’t have the power to give me.

Reviewed by Christian

TITLE:  Switched

AUTHOR:  N.R. Walker

NARRATOR:  Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER:  Tantor Audio

LENGTH:  8 hrs and 50 mins

RELEASE DATE: September 20, 2017

BLURB: 

Israel Ingham’s life has never been easy. He grew up in a house devoid of love and warmth. Nothing he ever did was good enough. The fact that Israel is gay just added to the long list of his father’s disappointments.

Then a letter from Eastport Children’s Hospital changes everything.

A discovery is made, one of gross human error. Twenty-six years ago, two baby boys were switched at birth and sent home with the wrong families.

Sam, Israel’s best friend, has been his only source of love and support. With Sam beside him every step of the way, Israel decides to meet his birth mother and her son, the man who lived the life Israel should have.

Israel and Sam become closer than ever, amidst the tumultuous emotions of meeting his birth family, and Sam finds himself questioning his feelings toward his best friend. As Israel embraces new possibilities, he needs to dissect his painful relationship with his parents in order to salvage what’s left. Because sometimes it takes proof you’re not actually family to become one.

Reviewed by Annika

This is a Series Review of  The Art of Murder Series (Books 1 – 2 )

AUTHOR:  Josh Lanyon

PUBLISHER:  JustJoshin Publishing Inc.

NARRATOR: Kale Williams

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Sanctuary Found

SERIES: Pelican Bay #2

AUTHOR: Sloane Kennedy

NARRATOR: Michael Pauley

PUBLISHER: Self Published

RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2018

LENGTH: 9 hours, 13 minutes

BLURB:

Coming home should be the easiest thing in the world, but I’ve never felt more lost….

When his stellar military career comes to an abrupt and terrible end, 32-year-old Maddox Kent returns to the town he never planned to step foot into again, hoping to mend the rift he himself caused with the brother he left behind. But coming home means facing some hard truths about himself and his actions. When he has the chance to start making amends by helping his brother with the wildlife sanctuary he runs, Maddox is thrown another curveball when a stranger appears….

As long as we keep moving, everything will be okay. That’s what I keep telling myself, anyway….

For 21-year-old Isaac, Pelican Bay is only supposed to be a stopping point on the trek from San Francisco to New York. With his little brother, Newt, in tow, Isaac is just looking to make things right by returning something of value to a person he wronged. But “getting lost” in the next big city proves to be a problem when the brutal Minnesota winter claims Isaac’s car and strands him and Newt at the animal sanctuary. When the owners of the place offer him a job, a desperate Isaac agrees, despite the presence of a man Isaac instinctively knows could be his downfall….

It should be so easy to let him go, but I can’t. And not just because I want to protect him….

Nothing about Isaac makes sense to Maddox. Not his piercings or makeup or flashy clothes. And most certainly not the snarky mouth that doesn’t match the vulnerability Maddox sees in the younger man’s eyes. But one thing does make sense to the hardened former soldier. Isaac is running from something, and Maddox’s gut is telling him not to let Isaac and little Newt go until he can ferret out the truth.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Spencer Cohen Book 3

SERIES: Spencer Cohen #3

AUTHOR: N.R. Walker

NARRATOR: Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio

RELEASE DATE: May 8, 2018

LENGTH: 6 hours, 26 minutes

BLURB:

Learning to be in a committed relationship has been easy for Spencer. In fact, too easy. Andrew has fit into his life seamlessly. Spencer’s let go of his insecurities and hang-ups, and he and Andrew are enjoying where things are headed. For the first time in years, Spencer’s life is unbelievably perfect.

Andrew overthinks everything. So when Spencer gets a phone call from Australia, he’s certain Spencer will push him away. But instead of driving them apart, maybe it will solidify what they already have. Maybe Spencer will depend on Andrew more than ever. Maybe the Spencer Cohen story will come full circle, and maybe, just maybe, Spencer will have the happily ever after he never thought possible.

Reviewed by Christine

TITLE: How to Blow It With a Billionaire

SERIES: Arden St. Ives #2

AUTHOR: Alexis Hall

NARRATOR: Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER: Hatchette Audio

LENGTH: 11 hours, 37 minutes

RELEASE DATE: February 13, 2018

BLURB:

Be careful what you wish for….

Once upon a time there was a totally ordinary boy who fell for a cold, beautiful prince. Only it’s not a fairy tale, it’s my life. The prince is a billionaire called Caspian Hart. And we’re trying super hard to live happily ever after.

He’s everything I want, need, and can’t resist: a man who looks like a god and bangs like the devil. Except he’s still got his rules and he’s still got his secrets….

But if there’s one thing Caspian’s taught me it’s that you should never settle for less than you’re worth. And I’m worth his trust. I have to show him that I see him. That I’m not afraid of his passion, or his power, or his past. And that I won’t settle for less than everything.

NOTE: This book ends on a cliffhanger! See how Arden and Caspian’s love story ends in the third book, coming Summer 2018!

Reviewed by Christine

TITLE: Yanni’s Story

SERIES: Spencer Cohen #4

AUTHOR: N.R. Walker

NARRATOR: Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio

LENGTH: 15 hours, 14 minutes

RELEASE DATE: June 5, 2018

BLURB:

When Yanni Tomaras is kicked out of his family home, his parents’ final words are religious insults and an order to never return. Homeless and desperate, he’s lured in by Lance – charming on the outside, an evil predator underneath – who abuses Yanni until he finds the courage to leave. Yanni should feel free. But by the time Spencer Cohen finds him, he’s resigned to being handed back to Lance and once again being caged by fear.

Starting school and a part-time job, Yanni begins to reclaim his life. But a love for silent films leads him to Peter Hannikov, a man with a kind heart but who’s twice his age. An unlikely friendship between them blooms into so much more. Neither man knows what he wants, at first. Finding out exactly what he needs is Yanni’s story.

“I’d spent years as a bird, caged with my wings clipped, tormented and beaten. I thought I’d escaped when I’d left my abuser, but in hindsight, I could see that I was still caged, this time by fear and self-doubt. Spencer and Andrew, and Andrew’s parents, opened the door to the cage that confined me. But it was Peter who taught me how to fly.”

Contains mature themes.

Reviewed by Tori (Vicki)

TITLE: Leaning Into the Look 

SERIES: Leaning Into #6

AUTHOR: Lane Hayes

NARRATOR: Nick J. Russo

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 8 hours, 20 minutes

RELEASE DATE: June 18th, 2018

BLURB:

Grant Kostas made a career based on his looks before joining his family’s real estate firm. He may not love his job, but he’s better at sales than he thought. And when he’s poised to bring in the biggest account of the company’s history, even his father is impressed. Unfortunately, the extra attention highlights Grant’s personal life. His parents accept he’s gay; they just wish he’d meet a nice Greek man.

Miles Harrison is a fabulous redhead going through a rough patch. Between getting dumped by his long-term boyfriend and finding a new place to live in the city, he’s nearing his wits end. He’s not sure why he thought rooming with his boss’s friend was a good idea. Miles has had a crush on Grant for years. However, he knows attractive people aren’t always pretty on the inside.

As the two men grapple with external problems, they form an unexpected bond of friendship and trust that feels like the real thing. The only way to know for certain is to let go of fear and lean into the look.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: On Davis Row

AUTHOR: N.R. Walker

NARRATOR: Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio

RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2018

LENGTH: 11 hours, 29 minutes

BLURB:

Nearing the end of a suspended jail sentence should unlock a brighter future for CJ Davis, only the chip on his shoulder is as hard to shift as his bad reputation. Born into a family of career criminals who live down Davis Road, an address the cops have dubbed Davis Row, his name alone is like a rap sheet that makes optimism impossible.

Brand-new parole officer Noah Huxley is determined to see the good in men like CJ. After all, he knows firsthand that bad things can happen to good people. His colleagues mock his doe-eyed optimism, but Noah soon sees CJ’s bad attitude and bravado are weapons he uses to keep people at a distance.

Both men know one simple mistake can change a life forever. At first glance, they might seem to be polar opposites. Yet underneath, they’re not that different at all.

Reviewed by Christian

TITLE:  Saving Ren

SERIES: Barretti Security Series, Volume 3

AUTHOR:  Sloane Kennedy

NARRATOR:  Michael Pauley

PUBLISHER:  Sloane Kennedy

LENGTH:  6 hours, 44 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  July 16, 2018

BLURB:

Three men brought together by circumstance who found something none of them knew they needed…

Ren Barretti has finally come home after a year of being held captive by the terrorists who slaughtered his entire Special Forces team. But he can’t escape the nightmares that torment him or the guilt that he was the only one to walk away. The life his older brothers have brought him home to doesn’t exist for him anymore, and to keep them and their loved ones safe from the rage and pain that consume him, Ren needs to disappear.

Police Detective Declan Hale has felt an undeniable pull toward the very straight Ren Barretti since the day Ren’s brother married Declan’s younger sister almost a dozen years earlier. But even though the Ren who has come home isn’t the one who left, all of Declan’s feelings come rushing back to the surface, and he steps in to help the only man he’s ever truly wanted. And even though there’s no future for them, keeping Ren safe is all that matters, and Declan will risk anything to make that happen.

Tough as nails former soldier and mercenary Jagger Varos has returned to Seattle after years of running from his past, and he’s hoping that joining Barretti Security Group will help him finally call the city he left behind home. But within weeks, his new beginning is tested after multiple run-ins with the gruff, infuriating Detective Hale. When he inadvertently discovers that Declan is hiding Ren from the very brothers offering Jagger a new start, Jagger finds himself torn between his newfound loyalty to Vin and Dom Barretti and the need to protect the young man he himself helped rescue from his captors.

For Declan and Jagger, it’s hate at first sight, but they soon realize that they will need each other if they have any hope of saving Ren from himself. And neither of them expects their mutual distrust in one another to grow into something else entirely or that Ren himself will find in both of them what he needs to rebuild his life and come to terms with who he really is.

Can the fierce attraction between three men become something more, or will the demands of the real world tear them apart?

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Dirty Kiss

SERIES: Cole McGinnis #1

AUTHOR: Rhys Ford

NARRATOR: Greg Tremblay

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2014

LENGTH: 8 hours, 21 minutes

BLURB:

Cole Kenjiro McGinnis, ex-cop and PI, is trying to get over the shooting death of his lover when a supposedly routine investigation lands in his lap. Investigating the apparent suicide of a prominent Korean businessman’s son proves to be anything but ordinary, especially when it introduces Cole to the dead man’s handsome cousin, Kim Jae-Min.

Jae-Min’s cousin had a dirty little secret, the kind that Cole has been familiar with all his life and that Jae-Min is still hiding from his family. The investigation leads Cole from tasteful mansions to seedy lover s trysts to Dirty Kiss, the place where the rich and discreet go to indulge in desires their traditional-minded families would rather know nothing about.

It also leads Cole McGinnis into Jae-Min’s arms, and that could be a problem. The death of Jae-Min’s cousin is looking less and less like a suicide, and Jae-Min is looking more and more like a target. Cole has already lost one lover to violence he’s not about to lose Jae-Min too.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Dirty Laundry

SERIES: Cole McGinnis #3

AUTHOR: Rhys Ford

NARRATOR: Greg Tremblay

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

RELEASE DATE: June 19, 2014

LENGTH: 8 hours, 56 minutes

BLURB:

For ex-cop turned private investigator Cole McGinnis, each day brings a new challenge. Too bad most of them involve pain and death. Claudia, his office manager and surrogate mother, is still recovering from a gunshot, and Cole’s closeted boyfriend, Kim Jae-Min, suddenly finds his teenaged sister dumped in his lap. Meanwhile, Cole has his own sibling problems-most notably, a mysterious half brother from Japan whom his older brother, Mike, is determined they welcome with open arms.

As if his own personal dramas weren’t enough, Cole is approached by Madame Sun, a fortune-teller whose clients have been dying at an alarming rate. Convinced someone is after her customers, she wants the matter investigated, but the police think she’s imagining things. Hoping to put Sun’s mind at ease, Cole takes the case and finds himself plunged into a Gordian knot of lies and betrayal where no one is who they are supposed to be and Death seems to be the only card in Madame Sun’s deck.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Dead Silent

SERIES: Cold Case Psychic #3

AUTHOR: Pandora Pine

NARRATOR: Michael Pauley

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

RELEASE DATE: October 12, 2018

LENGTH: 7 hours, 11 minutes

BLURB:

After a dramatic end to the Justin Wilson case, Psychic, Tennyson Grimm heads to a small island off the coast of Maine, hoping to clear his mind and renew his spirit. When the dead won’t let Tennyson rest, the psychic curses his gift and orders the spirits to leave him. He wakes the next morning to silence, and finds truth in the saying, “Be careful what you wish for.”

Detective Ronan O’Mara has been tasked by his boss with the chore of finding a more “sedate” cold case to investigate this time around. The handsome cop is only too happy to oblige. He chooses the twenty-year-old case of a family patriarch who was murdered on Christmas night, 1997. The only possible suspects are either his wife or his daughter, who were both with him at the time of his death. Ronan figures this one will be a piece of cake. All he has to do is get his favorite medium to talk to the deceased man’s spirit.

When Tennyson reveals the truth about what happened in Maine, he’s forced to take a hard look at who he thought he was, and what his gift really means. Ronan does his best to help his lover cope with his new normal while he uses good old-fashioned police work to figure out a family who put the ‘dis’ in dysfunction.

Will Tennyson be able to find the key to unlock his gift, or will the spirits stay dead silent?

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Exhale

SERIES: Flesh and Bone #1

AUTHOR: Joel Abernathy

NARRATOR: Kirt Graves

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

RELEASE DATE: September 12, 2018

LENGTH: 9 hours, 10 minutes

BLURB:

Two men haunted by the same ghost…

Falling for “the other man” in my marriage was never part of the plan. Then again, according to Nicolae Ursache, I am the other man, and human wedding vows don’t apply. Not to werewolves.

Nicolae is a smug, arrogant alpha male stereotype–and I do mean alpha in the literal sense–but when the same people who killed my wife kidnap my teenage daughter, he’s my only chance at getting her back. The fact that Nicolae was my wife’s rightful mate means that we share a mutual interest in bringing Ellie home, but I never could’ve imagined how he planned to do it.

I will do anything to protect my daughter. Even if it means becoming the plaything, or worse, of the man I loathe most.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Dead Weight

SERIES: Cold Case Psychic #4

AUTHOR: Pandora Pine

NARRATOR: Michael Pauley

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

RELEASE DATE: October 31, 2018

LENGTH: 7 hours, 55 minutes

BLURB:

Cold Case Detective, Ronan O’Mara, is looking forward to starting a new life in his new home, but when a strange house warming gift appears on his doorstep, he has no idea that it marks the start of a series of events that will put his life, and the lives of everyone close to him in danger. When murders similar to those committed by a dead serial killer, Rod Jacobson, start occurring around Boston, Ronan is certain he has a copycat killer on his hands.

Psychic, Tennyson Grimm, is approached by friends for help dealing with issues surrounding their son. He quickly realizes there is more going with the boy than teenaged angst. Though he doesn’t want to believe it, his psychic abilities and a series of strange paranormal occurrences point to a link between the troubled teen and the murder victims that are turning up all over Boston.

When Ronan is attacked during the investigation, it’s up to Tennyson and Captain Fitzgibbon to find the killer without him. Will they be able to stop the murderer before the evil that surrounds him destroys them all?

Reviewed by Christine

Retro Review by Annika

TITLE: Femme

AUTHOR: Marshall Thornton

NARRATOR: Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 6 hours, 23 minutes

RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2017

BLURB:

Queeny cocktail waiter Lionel wakes up to find himself in bed with Dog, a straight-acting softball player, and the two embark on a rocky road to romance. A journey that requires coming out of the closet, going into the closet, a pair of red high heels, many pairs of red high heels, a failed intervention, a couple of aborted dates, and homemade pom-poms. Mostly, Lionel and Dog learn what it means to be a man.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Hug It Out

SERIES: Haven Heart #2

AUTHOR: Davidson King

NARRATOR: Joel Leslie & Philip Alces

PUBLISHER: Tantor

RELEASE DATE: November 6, 2018

LENGTH: 7 hours, 45 minutes

BLURB:

Riordan Darcy has spent the last fourteen years building a name for himself as a notorious assassin. He travels the world taking the lives of some of the worst humanity has to offer, leaving his signature on every victim.

Riordan becomes unhappy and withdrawn from the world after a job goes horribly wrong and he makes the decision to get out of the life he was forced into, so long ago. When his meddling, older sister gives him a birthday gift that’s impossible to refuse, his plans to leave his life of crime take a backseat when he’s forced to protect the life of a veritable stranger.

When professional hugger and TLC provider, Teddy Harris, is offered a month-long companionship contract, he’s hard pressed to turn it down. Cuddler by day and a video game reviewer by night, Teddy’s need to make people feel loved and cared for is what drives him. When he meets Riordan Darcy, professional challenge and personal temptation collide, making it nearly impossible for him to endure a whole month with the gorgeous, enigmatic man without falling head over heels in love.

When a mole is discovered within Riordan’s organization, relationships are compromised, and people’s lives are in danger. Time isn’t on their side, and they discover answers can’t always be found by hugging it out when someone is hell-bent on eliminating each and every one of them. Can Riordan and Teddy survive long enough to fall in love, or will they die trying?

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Blame it on the Mistletoe

SERIES: Blame it on the Mistletoe #1

AUTHOR: Eli Easton

NARRATOR: Jason Frazier

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

RELEASE DATE: September 21, 2014

LENGTH: 2 hours, 38 minutes

BLURB:

When physics grad student Fielding Monroe and skirt-chaser and football player Mick Colman become college housemates, they’re both in for a whole new education. Mick looks out for the absent-minded genius, and he helps Fielding clean up his appearance and discover all the silly pleasures his strict upbringing as a child prodigy denied him. They become best friends.

It’s all well and good until they run into a cheerleader who calls Mick the “best kisser on campus”. Fielding has never been kissed, and he decides Mick and only Mick can teach him how it’s done. After all, the physics department’s Christmas party is coming up with its dreaded mistletoe. Fielding wants to impress his peers and look cool for once in his life. The thing about Fielding is, once he locks onto an idea, it’s almost impossible to get him to change his mind. And he just doesn’t understand why his straight best friend would have a problem providing a little demonstration.

Mick knows kissing is a dangerous game. If he gives in, it would take a miracle for the thing not to turn into a disaster. Then again, if the kissing lessons get out of hand, they can always blame it on the mistletoe.