Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Daring Duke

SERIES: Love Letters #4

AUTHOR: Anyta Sunday

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 154 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 18. 2019

BLURB:

D is for Duke Lawrence-Decker.

Distracted by his older cousin, Duke yearns for what he cannot have.
Dare he risk admitting his true feelings? Or should he conceal them in his aching heart forever?
Desire this deep, though, cannot be extinguished.
Dreaming about his forbidden love, Duke wonders if it’s destiny—or just a delusion.

Do they dare dance with the devil and risk losing it all?

D is for Daring Duke.

~ – ~ – ~

Feisty. Nerdy. Sexy. Secretive.
Greenville has them all. 
A small town with big hearts, Greenville awakens at the mercy of Millionaire Row, the wealthy neighborhood across the tracks from Poplar Low.
Bad-tempered boys meet cheeky lovers.
Colliding worlds spark a fire of emotion. Heat rages. Hearts mend. Love is lost. And found.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: The Ghosts Between Us

SERIES: The West Hills #1

AUTHOR: Brigham Vaughn

PUBLISHER: Two Peninsulas Press

LENGTH: 325 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2019

BLURB:

Dr. Christopher Allen knows how to deal with death. He’s a psychiatrist who works with hospice patients and their families, helping them cope with grief and letting go. But Chris’s job doesn’t prepare him for the sudden death of his devil-may-care brother Cal.
At Cal’s funeral, Chris is completely thrown when he meets Elliot Rawlings, an artist Cal has been dating. Chris is hurt to discover that the brother he knew as straight was actually bisexual. Elliot is angry and resentful of having been kept hidden from Cal’s family.
After the funeral, a night of drinking at the bar with Cal’s friends leads to Chris and Elliot falling into bed together. The next morning, they’re overwhelmed by guilt and grief and agree to never speak of it again.
But Cal’s apartment needs to be packed up and Elliot reluctantly agrees to help Chris, as well as answer some questions about Cal’s life and their relationship. Despite their guilt and initial dislike for one another, they sort through the pieces of Cal’s life and begin to fall for each other.
Despite his best efforts to fix things, Chris’s family seems to be crumbling around him and he begins to question who he is and what his role with them is. As his feelings for Elliot grow, Chris must decide if they’re worth further damaging his fragile relationships with his friends and family.
Elliot’s rough upbringing has left him distrustful of getting close to anyone, much less another man who isn’t willing to acknowledge him in public. The odds seem stacked against Chris and Elliot, but if they can overcome them, they may be able to lay Cal’s ghost to rest, along with their own demons.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: How Not to Sin

SERIES: LOVESTRONG #3

AUTHOR: Susan Hawke

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 228 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 19, 2019

BLURB:

One regular guy who happens to be a preacher…

Reverend Dr. Gabe Samson doesn’t think he’s better than any of the people in his church, so please don’t put him on a pedestal. While he’s never hidden the fact that he identifies as bisexual, he’s never acted on it either. Gabe isn’t happy to learn that the sole reason he was hired to pastor the LGBT-friendly church was that the ruling elders wanted a safe poster child for inclusivity—in other words, they wanted the rainbow flag without letting it fly.
Plus one easygoing, new age kinda guy…
Seth Thomas owns Holistic Healing, a metaphysical shop and yoga studio. He’s never really been a relationship kinda guy, but only because he hasn’t met the right man yet. Seth is laid back and goes with the flow. When fate drops a hot preacher in his lap, why wouldn’t he accept the gift?
Equals a pair of men who click from the start.
The two men find it almost too easy to get together, especially Gabe, who is fully embracing his bi side for the first time. Nothing in life is simple though. While Gabe and Seth are busy falling in love, they face an anti-gay hate group, a divided church, and a ruling elder who is hell-bent on sowing discord. Between Gabe’s patient wisdom and Seth’s snark, the pair fight the growing drama with the strongest weapons in their arsenal: love and humor.

This is the third book in the LOVESTRONG series about finding love and being yourself in a small town, and the third in series. Intended only for 18+ readers, this is an mm romance full of all the fun, fluff, and feels you’d want from an S. Hawke book.

Note: This isn’t a trigger warning, but please be prepared for a few instances of ignorance and hate speech, and mentions of violence. This is a romance, not a sermon—but please keep in mind that the main character is a pastor dealing with real-life issues in his church and these truths are reflected in Gabe.

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Beta’s Strength

SERIES: Irresistible Omegas #5

AUTHOR: Nora Phoenix

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 245 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 16, 2019

BLURB:

Bray has accepted he, Kean, and Ruari are fated mates, but he knows their happy ever after is still a long ways off. He needs to change, but where to start? Can he ever become the alpha that’s worthy of his two mates and the dad little Jax needs?

The rest of the pack is reeling from the heavy loss they suffered. Can their pack mate’s sacrifice bring forth something good? Relationships are tested and bonds deepen as the pack faces their toughest challenge just yet…

Beta’s Strength is an MMM mpreg romance and the fifth book in the continuing Irresistible Omegas series. All books need to be read in order and are not stand alones. The love story between Bray, Kean, and Ruari has a happy end in this book but the overall story of the pack will continue in the next book.

Reviewed by Cindy

TITLE: Jacked Cat Jive

SERIES: Kai Gracen Series Book 3

AUTHOR: Rhys Ford

PUBLISHER: DSP Publications

LENGTH: 242 Pages

RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2019

BLURB:

Stalker Kai Gracen knew his human upbringing would eventually clash with his elfin heritage, but not so soon. Between Ryder, a pain-in-his-neck sidhe lord coaxing him to join San Diego’s Southern Rise Court, and picking up bounties for SoCalGov, he has more than enough to deal with. With his loyalties divided between the humans who raised him and the sidhe lord he’s befriended and sworn to protect, Kai finds himself standing at a crossroads.

When a friend begs Kai to rescue a small group of elfin refugees fleeing the Dusk Court, he’s pulled into a dangerous mission with Ryder through San Diego’s understreets and the wilderness beyond. Things go from bad to downright treacherous when Kerrick, Ryder’s cousin, insists on joining them, staking a claim on Southern Rise and Kai.

Burdened by his painful past, Kai must stand with Ryder against Kerrick while facing down the very court he fears and loathes. Dying while on a run is expected for a Stalker, but Kai wonders if embracing his elfin blood also means losing his heart, soul, and humanity along the way.

Reviewed by Cindy

TITLE: Black Dog Blues

SERIES: Kai Gracen Series

AUTHOR: Rhys Ford

PUBLISHER: DSP Publications

LENGTH: 246 Pages

RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2019

BLURB:

Ever since being part of the pot in a high-stakes poker game, elfin outcast Kai Gracen figures he used up his good karma when Dempsey, a human Stalker, won the hand and took him in. Following the violent merge of Earth and Underhill, the human and elfin races are left with a messy, monster-ridden world, and Stalkers are the only cavalry willing to ride to someone’s rescue when something shadowy appears.

It’s a hard life but one Kai likes—filled with bounty, a few friends, and most importantly, no other elfin around to remind him of his past. And killing monsters is easy. Especially since he’s one himself.

But when a sidhe lord named Ryder arrives in San Diego, Kai is conscripted to do a job for Ryder’s fledgling Dawn Court. It’s supposed to be a simple run up the coast during dragon-mating season to retrieve a pregnant human woman seeking sanctuary. Easy, quick, and best of all, profitable. But Kai ends up in the middle of a deadly bloodline feud he has no hope of escaping.

No one ever got rich being a Stalker. But then few of them got old, either, and it doesn’t look like Kai will be the exception.

Reviewed by Jay

TITLE: Freckles

AUTHOR: Amy Lane

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 137 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 8, 2019, 2nd Edition

BLURB:

Small dogs can make big changes… if you open your heart.

Carter Embree always hoped someone might rescue him from his productive, tragically boring, and (slightly) ethically compromised life. But when an urchin at a grocery store shoves a bundle of fluff into his hands, Carter goes from rescuee to rescuer—and he needs a little help. Sandy Corrigan, the vet tech who eases Carter into the world of dog ownership, first assumes Carter is a crazy-pants client who just needs to relax. But as Sandy gets a glimpse of the funny, kind, sexy man under Carter’s mild-mannered exterior, he sees that with a little care and feeding, Carter might be “Super Pet Owner”—and decent boyfriend material to boot.

But Carter needs to see himself as a hero first. As he says goodbye to his pristine house and hello to carpet treatments and dog walkers, he finds there really is more to himself than a researching drudge without a backbone. A Carter Embree can rate a Sandy Corrigan. He can be supportive. He can be a man who stands up for his principles!

He can be the owner of a small dog.

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Spies and Allies

SERIES: Death and Destruction #9

AUTHOR: Patricia Logan

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 202 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 20, 2019

BLURB:

Mossad Operative, Adael Dayan, has long been a pain in the ass to ATF special agents, Thayne Wolfe and Jarrett Evans. Showing up in the middle of their cases time after time hasn’t endeared him to the pair but both men grudgingly have to admit, he’s usually provided valuable assistance. When Adael suddenly wakes up believing he’s been poisoned, it becomes a race against the clock to help find the person who’s done this to him and learn why in time to save his life.

Race Parker, former Green Beret, once carried Adael away from a vicious mercenary. Deeply attracted to Adael, Parker stayed with Dayan in the hospital hoping there might be a future between them. When Adael yanked his hand out of his the moment Jarrett Evans showed up, Race didn’t hang around. He wasn’t falling for a guy who wanted someone else.

Long ago Jarrett left Adael and the bad memories that ended their mission in Gaza behind. When he’d seen Parker and the Israeli in the hospital together, he’d had hope that maybe Adael might finally find happiness regardless of Adael’s insistence that gay men never remained monogamous for long.

Thayne has long been resentful of the relationship Adael had with Jarrett. Every time the Israeli shows up, things go from bad to worse. In this final installment of the Death and Destruction series, our men will once again be thrown from the frying pan into the fire, and all because a rogue Israeli spy can’t keep his bullshit to himself.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Trick Play

SERIES: Fake Boyfriend #2

AUTHOR: Eden Finley

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 328 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 24, 2018

BLURB:

Matt:

Want to know the fastest way to get screwed out of a football career? Get photographed in a compromising position in a gay bar. Yep, welcome to my life.
My agent says he can fix my image. He wants me to become the poster boy for gay football players. Me? I just want back on the field. I’ll do anything to play for the NFL again, even pretend to have a steady boyfriend. If only my fake boyfriend wasn’t Noah Huntington III—the most arrogant, entitled rich guy in the world.

Noah:

Pretend to be Matt Jackson’s boyfriend, my best friend said. It’ll be fun, he said. What Damon neglected to mention is Matt is surly and bitter. Being his boyfriend is a job in itself. From his paranoia over being constantly photographed to his aversion to PDA, being with Matt isn’t the care-free fake relationship I expected when I signed on to do this.
It’s supposed to be a win-win. I get to stick it to my politician dad who thinks no one is good enough for the Huntington name, and Matt’s reputation of being the bad boy of football dies.
What I don’t expect is to start caring for the guy. That’s not part of the plan. Then again, neither is fooling around with him on my private jet.
Oops.

Reviewed by Chris

TITLE:  Prince of Death 

SERIES:  Lords of the Underworld #1

AUTHOR:  Sam Burns &  W.M. Fawkes

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  306 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 7, 2019

BLURB:  

Gifted power over life and death, Lysandros has spent millennia in the underworld, listless and alone. The youngest child of Hades and Persephone, he’s been sheltered from the threats in the world above.

Theo Ward hasn’t been so lucky. After watching his mother wither away, he’d do almost anything to have her back. When a messenger appears at the Banneker College of Magic and offers the young professor a chance to save her, Theo can’t pass it up, even if it means going straight into the underworld and dragging her home. But Theo gets more than he bargained for when he crosses paths with the prince of Hades.

Set against the king of Olympus, they must shed their past burdens and learn to trust in each other, so they can face down a storm that threatens to wipe the nation’s capital off the map.

Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Shadowmancer

SERIES: Paladin Charm #1

AUTHOR: Devin Harnois

PUBLISHER: October Night Publishing

LENGTH: 189 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 5, 2019

BLURB:

Marius Everhart is something even mages fear — a shadowmancer. His power marks him as cursed, a creature belonging to the Queen of Shadows. Marius escaped her realm with his memories corrupted and his sanity in tatters, managing to live a fragile, lonely existence at the edges of society.

Some might call Ayodele Sauveterre delusional. He prefers the term “optimistic”. With his homeland in danger from invasion, Ayodele will do anything to protect it, even recruit a shadowmancer. Marius’s incredible power and gentle nature make him a perfect addition to Paladin Charm, a new mage guild dedicated to helping rather than exploiting the non-magical populace. The fact that handsome Marius also warms Ayodele’s bed is a wonderful bonus.

With support from Ayodele and his new friends in the guild, Marius begins to heal. He’s also quickly falling for the alluring mage, but Ayodele struggles with what’s forming between them. Past experience left Ayodele flippant but guarded, and Marius’s open honesty unnerves him.

As they grow closer, Paladin Charm prepares for a battle with impossible odds. And in the darkness, the Queen of Shadows waits to reclaim Marius and drag him back into a nightmare.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Finally Letting Go

SERIES: Infinity #2

AUTHOR: C.J. Lynne

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 334 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 13, 2017

BLURB:

Take What You Want…

Brandon Rosen is a man who refuses to admit what he wants—namely, a life with another man. Being gay just won’t do. It will not go over well with his family, particularly his overbearing father. Thus, for years Brandon has tried to deny his attraction to men, refusing to entertain even the possibility that his perfect person might be a…him. That was the plan and it had worked wonderfully until meeting Simon Carter—an arrogant star swimmer and law school student who also happens to be the best friend of Brandon’s first and only miserably-failed attempt at dating a man.
Simon is constantly in Brandon’s face taunting him to admit he’s gay. The more confrontations he has with the stunning man, the harder it becomes for Brandon to deny the part of himself he thought he’d buried deep years ago—the one that craves the touch of another man, and not just any man, but Simon—the one person he’s convinced hates his guts.
Simon Carter is self-assured, knows who he is and what he wants out of life. He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy who will do anything to protect his loved ones; so when his best friend’s ex, Brandon Rosen, makes an unexpected reappearance in their lives, Simon is determined to keep a watchful eye on the man, being prepared to tear him apart should he try to wreak havoc in his friend’s life again. That will be easy to do—right? Simon thought so, but what he hadn’t counted on was an insane attraction to the deeply closeted jerk.
To his dismay, Simon quickly realizes there’s just something about Brandon that reels him in, no matter how strongly he fights against it. What kind of man is Simon that he wants anything to do with the man who broke his best friend’s heart? He doesn’t know, but one thing quickly becomes apparent—he craves Brandon, and despite his better judgment, he intends to have him,…consequences be damned.

Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Rapid Response

SERIES: Hearts and Health #8

AUTHOR: DJ Jamison

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 346 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 28, 2019

BLURB:

A confused straight guy and a gay hookup artist walk into a bar …

Firefighter Sean Connolly is straight — until one impulsive night changes everything. He tries to dismiss it as a fluke, but when a fire rescue leads him back to the guy who blew his mind, he’s thrown into a chaos of confusion and want. He gives in to curiosity, exploring a new side to himself — not just his attraction to a man, but his desperate need to please.

Paramedic Jace Gillespie is a hookup pro, never letting anyone get too close. When he meets Sean, though, he feels a connection right away. An ill-advised threesome seems to kill a friendship in the making, but when they’re thrown together by work, it doesn’t take long for passion to reignite. Sean calls to something in Jace he never knew was there, and together, they explore a dynamic that fulfills them both.

But as feelings deepen, doubts surface. Sean is in the closet, and Jace struggles to trust his promise that it won’t last forever. With family conflict and his career in the balance, Sean finds it difficult to picture his life without secrecy, but if he doesn’t find a way, he may lose the one person he most wants to please.

Rapid Response is the longest novel of the Hearts and Health series at approximately 92,000 words! It can be read as a standalone.

Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Milo

SERIES: Finding Home #2

AUTHOR: Lily Morton

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 280 pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 15, 2019

BLURB:

Once upon a time a brave knight rescued a young man. Unfortunately, he then spent the next few years bossing the young man around and treating him like a child.

Milo has been burying himself at Chi an Mor, hiding from the wreckage of his once promising career and running from a bad relationship that destroyed what little confidence he had. Niall, his big brother’s best friend, has been there for him that entire time. An arrogant and funny man, Niall couldn’t be any more different from the shy and occasionally stuttering Milo, which has never stopped Milo from crushing wildly on the man who saved him.

However, just as Milo makes the decision to move on from his hopeless crush, he and Niall are thrown into close contact, and for the first time ever Niall seems to be returning his interest. But it can never work. How can it when Milo always needs rescuing?

From the bestselling author of the Mixed Messages series comes a story about a man who needs to write his own happily ever after.

This is the second book in the Finding Home series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Content warning: There are descriptions of domestic abuse in this book.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Echoes

AUTHOR: L.A. Ashton

PUBLISHER: Ninestar Press

LENGTH: 293 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 25, 2019

BLURB:

After one thousand years of listless eternity, Oskar is used to his particular brand of loneliness. But a long walk through middle America and a few chance encounters will lead him straight to a man he’d known to be long since dead―his childhood best friend, Aranck. Being undead hasn’t stopped Aran from living life to the fullest. He has all the money and power his charm and business savvy could earn him, and plenty of friends. Lately, though, something seems to be missing. After a millennium, perhaps the world’s shine has worn off—and that’s when Oskar stumbles back into his life, reminding him of who he used to be.
Together the two vampires remember what it felt like to live, all the while navigating a conflict with the local pack of werewolves. A lot has changed in a thousand years, and only time will tell if those changes will bring Oskar and Aranck closer together, or ensure they remain apart.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Bubbly

SERIES: Uncorked #1

AUTHOR: Shea Balik

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 150 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 29, 2017

BLURB:

Raise your wine glasses high to toast the men of Dahlonia while they discover the secret to happiness – LOVE.

There was no doubt about it, Macalister Whitmore was as straight-laced as they came. He worked all the time, never did anything that would be considered fun, and almost always wore a suit and tie, even in the laid back southern town of Dahlonia, where the dress code tended to be jeans and t-shirts. It was how his parents raised him and Macalister was sure even a tanning salon couldn’t change that.
David Wilson wanted to throttle his best friend for sending Mac to his tanning salon to try and loosen up the uptight lawyer. He had never met anyone that had actually worn a suit to a tanning salon before. What Mac needed was a doctor to remove that stick from his ass. Then again, if Mac continued to look down his nose at David, he would remove it himself.
Still, it seemed that opposites do attract, so they decide to give each other a chance.
Happily ever after may sound like a dream come true, but no one ever said it didn’t come with pain and heartache. Will they walk away from each other, or walk through hell for the chance to pop some Bubbly and celebrate finding their happy ending?

Reviewed by Chris

TITLE:  Heroes for Ghosts

SERIES:  Love Across Time #1

AUTHOR:  Jackie North

PUBLISHER:  Blue Rain Press

LENGTH:  246 pages

RELEASE DATE:  June 13, 2018

BLURB:  

Soulmates across time. A sacrifice that could keep them apart forever.

In present day, near the village of Ornes, France, Devon works on his master’s thesis in history as he fantasizes about meeting a WWI American Doughboy.

In 1916, during the Battle of Ornes, Stanley is a young soldier facing the horrors of the battlefield.

Mourning the death of his friends from enemy fire, Stanley volunteers to bring the message for retreat so he can save everyone else in his battalion. While on his mission, mustard gas surrounds Stanley and though he thinks he is dying, he finds himself in a peaceful green meadow where he literally trips over Devon.

Devon doesn’t believe Stanley is who he says he is, a soldier from WWI. But a powerful attraction grows between them, and if Stanley is truly a visitor from the past, then he is Devon’s dream come true. The problem is, Stanley’s soul wants to finish his mission, and time keeps yanking him back to relive his fateful last morning over and over, even as his heart and body long to stay with Devon.

Will Stanley have to choose between Devon and saving his battalion? Will time betray their love, leaving each alone?