Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Open Mind

SERIES: Kink Chronicles #1

AUTHOR: Luna David and Morningstar Ashley

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 269 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 25, 2019

BLURB:

At twenty-eight, Jamie Gray has realized his dream of becoming a traveling nurse. After years of moving from place to place, he’s met so many new people but hasn’t formed any true connections. Jamie knows it’s time to stop avoiding his life, like he’s been doing since the death of his mother; his only family. Moving to the big city of Powell’s Point to share an apartment with his best friend is exactly what he needs. It feels like the best time to set down some roots and get into a routine…and maybe, just maybe find love.

Ronan Kincaid comes from a long line of doctors. Not being one to conform to the desires of his parents or society, his small practice focuses on the people in the BDSM community of Powell’s Point. Often misunderstood, the community needs someone who knows and lives their lifestyle…someone who will take care of them the way they deserve.

With his well-respected practice and exceptional bedside manner—coupled with afterhours scenes and kinky house calls—the nickname Dr. Kink takes hold, much to his dismay. Needing to replace his long-time nurse, he hires the best candidate for his growing practice, figuring his mild attraction is of no consequence. But as time passes, he finds it harder and harder to keep his thoughts and hands away from his new nurse. If only Jamie wasn’t so captivating, drawing Ronan to touch.

As their mounting attraction becomes impossible to ignore, their secrets are revealed, changing everything between them. Heated glances turn into heated touches, and they find themselves wondering: Is what they have a passing phase of pleasure and kink, or can they both open their minds to the possibility of a forever love?

Author’s Note: For those of you that prefer warnings use the “Look Inside” feature to find them within the first several pages. For those of you that prefer to be surprised, ignore them. . . Happy reading!

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Tainted Love

SERIES: Soho Noir #1

AUTHOR: T.S. Hunter

PUBLISHER: Red Dog Press

LENGTH: 113 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 18, 2019

BLURB:

SOME RELATIONSHIPS ARE JUST MURDER

It’s 1985, and Joe Stone is excited to be joining his old school friend, and lifelong crush, Chris, for a long weekend in London’s Soho—home to a vibrant, developing gay scene, and a million miles from the small town Joe and Chris grew up in.
But when Chris is brutally murdered, the police just write his death off as another rent boy, fallen foul of a bad hookup. Joe realises that his best friend was killed deliberately, and joins forces with former police detective, Russell Dixon—Chris’s flatmate—to find out why.
Spiralling debt, illicit sex, blackmail, spurned lovers and hard-nosed gangsters all play their part, but who among the celebrities, fashionistas, drag queens, ex-lovers and so-called friends is Chris’s killer?
A noirish whodunit set in 1980s London, with all the big hair, electro-pop, shoulder pads, police discrimination and lethal killers that the era had to offer.

TAINTED LOVE IS THE FIRST BOOK IN THE SOHO NOIR SERIES OF COZY CRIME NOVELLAS.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Ghosts

SERIES: The Power of Zero #2

AUTHOR: Jackie Keswick

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 119 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 10, 2016

BLURB:

Jack Horwood doesn’t do families. Or Christmas. From the time his mother sold him to her pimp to the moment he walked out on the man he loved, Christmas has always been about change and painful choices. This year seems no different. Helping Daniel and Nico recover from their imprisonment and hunting down those responsible puts Jack in a frame of mind he doesn’t want to inflict on anyone. Least of all Gareth and the tentative relationship they’ve started to rebuild.
But Gareth, for whom Christmas is all about new beginnings, won’t let Jack take the easy way out. He makes him face his ghosts instead. Even when said ghosts invade their bedroom.
When Daniel’s parents are found, Jack is determined to settle the matter without involving Daniel at all. But fate decrees otherwise, and it’s Gareth who helps him finally understand that the strongest bonds are those forged together. Once he gets that, Jack can step up and make a decision designed to lay his ghosts to rest—for good.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Kyle’s Reveal

SERIES: My Brother’s Keeper Collection #1

AUTHOR: Royal Blue

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 266 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2019

BLURB:

Some scars are on the body, while others exist only on the heart. But together, two scarred souls can find healing, love, and family.
Professional basketball player Kyle Tyson is suffocating beneath the weight of his responsibilities and his past. Childhood abuse left its mark, as did Kyle’s guilt over his sister’s death. Now he’s trying to raise his young nephew, pursue his career, and dodge a narcissistic and manipulative ex who wants to out Kyle before he’s ready.
Schoolteacher Andy Connor found comfort in food as a boy, and he bears the marks of a botched skin-tightening surgery following the dramatic weight loss that saved his life. Still, Andy is insecure about his body and can scarcely believe someone like Kyle could be interested in him. But as they get to know each other, Andy starts to see himself through new eyes. Now if he can just help Kyle learn to love himself as much as Andy is growing to love him.

Reviewed by Dan

TITLE: Falkrag

SERIES: Wytch Kings – Book 5

AUTHOR: Jaye McKenna

PUBLISHER: Mythe Weaver Press

LENGTH: 258 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  August 22, 2018

BLURB:

Newly released from his bondage to the Wytch Council, Prince Shaine of Rhiva strives to prove that he can be trusted. Burdened by guilt and shame, but determined to help the Northern Alliance win the coming war against the Wytch Council, Shaine ventures into the Iceshards to investigate an ancient ruin rumored to contain a hidden cache of powerful weapons. He doesn’t get far before being badly wounded by a deadly mountain predator.

Son of the hunt leader of his village, Vorri is destined to one day lead his people, a group of exiled shifters from Rhiva who have survived in the dangerous Iceshards for nearly three hundred years. When the hunters who keep the village fed begin disappearing, the fearful village elders forbid anyone to seek them out. Determined to save the missing hunters, his own brother and sister among them, Vorri disobeys, and sets off alone to find them.

When Vorri saves Shaine from certain death, the two young men strike a bargain: Vorri will help Shaine find the ruin, and Shaine will aid Vorri in his search for his kin. But fulfilling the bargain turns out to be far from simple, and in the end, Shaine and Vorri’s actions could change both the course of the war and the future of Vorri’s people.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Omega Reclaimed

SERIES: Omega Re #1

AUTHOR: Tanya Chris

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 103 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 27, 2016

BLURB:

“Of course I smelled him—smelled him and was drawn to him. Rich, ripe, male omega—not far away and well into his heat. Unsatisfied heat. I laughed, realizing that in this moment, at least, the omega was the boss of the alpha. I needed to help him.”

Angel, an alpha who’s left the violent, strictly hierarchical rules of his pack to find success in the big city, and Leo, an omega on the run from his abusive alpha, are thrust together to satisfy Leo’s urgent heat-lust. But can a once-hurt omega ever trust an alpha to care for and protect him again? And can an alpha sensitive to social injustice learn to enjoy his naturally dominant nature?
Angel and Leo must both face the pasts they ran away from before the two can build a new future together. They may not be able to change the laws of nature, but they can change the language of love.
Omega Reclaimed is a MM alpha/omega shapeshifter novella.

Content warning: this book includes references to past physical abuse and a description of suicide.

Reviewed by Kimberley

TITLE: Under His Protection

SERIES: Dreamspun Desires #80

AUTHOR: LaQuette

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 250 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2019

BLURB:

They can escape their enemies, but not the desire between them.

Prosecutor Camden Warren is on the fast track to professional nirvana. With his charm, his sharp legal mind, and his father as chief judge in the highest court in NY, he can’t fail. Nothing can derail his rise to the top… until an attempt on his life forces him to accept the help of a man he walked out on five years ago.

Wounded in the line of duty, Lieutenant Elijah Stephenson wants to ride his new desk job until retirement—not take a glorified babysitting gig with more risk than it’s worth… especially not protecting the entitled lawyer who disappeared after the best sex of their lives.

The threat against Camden’s life is real, but their passion for each other might prove the greatest danger they’ve yet to face.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Galen’s Redemption

SERIES: Links in the Chain #2

AUTHOR: Parker Williams

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 285 pages

RELEASE DATE:  April 16, 2019

BLURB:

A rich man is about to set foot into an unknown world, while a Good Samaritan fears he’ll have to close the charity he’s spent his life building. Poised to lose it all, they might find what they need most in each other.

Son of a wealthy importer, Galen Merriweather lives to broker deals, and he’s damn good at it. But it’s getting harder to ignore the kind of man his father is—a man who would pay Galen’s brother’s lover to leave… a man who’d demand Galen retrieve a quarter-million-dollar check from a struggling homeless shelter.

Robert Kotke knows the money is too good to be true, but it’s a godsend that could help so many people. Still, he hands it over when Galen shows up. But he isn’t done with Galen yet, and he’s going to challenge everything Galen ever believed.

Galen will face an impossible decision: the redemption he’s come to realize he wants, or the life he’d always dreamed of.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: One-Eyed Royals

SERIES: Seven of Spades #4

AUTHOR: Cordelia Kingsbridge

PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing

RELEASE DATE: September 10, 2018

LENGTH: 336 pages

BLURB:

Spoiler Alert! The following blurb contains spoilers for Cash Plays, book three of Seven of Spades.

Shattered by their devastating breakup, Detective Levi Abrams and PI Dominic Russo find themselves at war right when they need each other most. While Dominic is trapped in a vicious cycle of addiction, Levi despairs of ever catching the Seven of Spades. The ruthless vigilante’s body count continues to climb, and it’s all Levi can do to keep up with the carnage.

When Levi’s and Dominic’s paths keep crossing in the investigation of a kidnapping ring with a taste for mutilation, it feels like history repeating itself. Thrown together by fate once again, they reluctantly join forces in their hunt for the mastermind behind the abductions.

But the Seven of Spades hates sharing the spotlight, and they have an ace in the hole: a new batch of victims with a special connection to Levi. Their murders send shockwaves through Las Vegas and change the rules of the game forever.

The Seven of Spades has upped the ante. If Levi and Dominic don’t play their cards right, they’ll end up losing everything.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Blush

SERIES: Uncorked #3

AUTHOR: Shea Balik

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 187 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 29, 2017

BLURB:

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

Fifteen years ago, Kadyn Bellamy and Valor Lee had blown any chance of building a future together. Valor had joined the CIA to hunt down terrorists and Kadyn abhorred violence. At the time, their differences had seemed insurmountable.
When Valor shows up in Dahlonia looking as hot as ever, Kadyn needs to decide if he can reconcile their divergent viewpoints. The choice wasn’t as easy as it might seem. If only the love he’d felt for Valor had diminished, he could easily walk away. It didn’t seem fair that he might have to give up the love of his life, twice.
All Valor wanted was the future he and Kadyn had dreamed. For fifteen years, his love for Kadyn had only grown. He’d known when he’d walked away from Kadyn all those years ago, it would be a challenge to convince Kadyn they could still make their dreams come true.
It was only when tragedy struck, that Kadyn was forced to come to grips with the past. With eyes wide open, he was ready to take a step into the future. He just needed to decide if Valor would be a part of it or not

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: The End of Darkness

SERIES: Druid Curse #1

AUTHOR: Shea Balik

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 199 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 15, 2019

BLURB:

Ryley Duggan resented his family for forcing him home on his twenty-first birthday to perform another stupid fire ritual, instead of letting him go out and get shit-faced like normal people his age. He’d never believed in the stories his grandmother told him about the reason behind what they were doing. That was, until he walked outside to the bonfire to see blood-curdling creatures that no Hollywood studio had ever come close to replicating, killing his family.
Since an early age, Eirik had one job, to protect the ancestors of the one who’d cursed him and his friends. It hadn’t been what he’d ever imagined for his life, but after nearly a millennia Eirik had learned one thing, life never went as planned. Never had that been truer than when he’d rescued Ryley from certain death.
Now the two must learn to work together to save humanity. Will all be lost? Or will they discover a way to heal their hearts by opening themselves up to love?

WARNING: Unseelie monsters run amok in this story!

Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Living on a Dare

SERIES: A Shore Thing #1

AUTHOR: Grace Kilian Delaney

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 236 pages

RELEASE DATE:  April 19, 2019

BLURB:

Stuntman Draven O’Connor never turns down a dare—even if it means getting down on one knee to propose to his former college roommate and friend. The same man he’s been crushing on since the first day they met. The same man that has grown distant over the past year. And the same man who just agreed to be his fiancé.

Julien Bouchard is tired of living a lie. He spent the past year exploring his sexuality in secret, enduring countless dates with women to appease his mother, and dodging his best friend, Draven, who knows everything there is to know about him, except the one thing that could change their friendship. Ready to face his friend, he meets him at a bar and is greeted by an unexpected marriage proposal. The dare isn’t surprising; it’s the scorching hot kiss that sends Julien’s head and heart in a tailspin—and gives him an idea for the perfect plan.

But perfect plans are never go according to plan, and news of their fake engagement spreads to their families as fast as a wildfire, forcing them to confront their true feelings about each other and hope they don’t get burned.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Devil Next Door: Criminal Delights – Obsession

SERIES: Criminal Delights

AUTHOR: Alex Jane

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 140 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 19, 2019

BLURB:

All Remy Harker wants is a fresh start.
Well, maybe that’s what he tells himself as he rolls up to his nice new house, in the nice little neighborhood, in a town where nobody knows his name.
He’s surrounded by friendly neighbors and a white picket fence. The ugly pink carpet might drive him to insanity, and he can’t stop wondering where the old lady who lived there before him died—but it’s nice.
And if he puts his mind to it, he can be anything—or anyone—he wants to be. He can be nice too.
At least, he thinks he can until he lays eyes on his next-door neighbor.Luke Boucher is nice.
And quiet.
And perfect.
It doesn’t take long for Remy to insinuate himself into Luke’s life. A camera here, a break-in there.
—It’s not really stalking if you love someone, is it?—
But when Remy’s plan to make a good impression goes to hell, he ends up over his head in more ways than one. Then things aren’t quite so nice anymore.
—It’s not really murder if you love someone, is it?—
Loving your neighbor isn’t so easy when you’re the devil next door.

Reviewed by Danielle

TITLE: Dedicated

SERIES: A Rhythm of Love Novel

AUTHOR: Neve Wilder

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 328 Pages

RELEASE DATE: December 9, 2018

BLURB:

“Our greatest hit is a love song I wrote for my bandmate. And he has no idea.”

Messy-haired, soulful-eyed, off-kilter lyricist Les Graves holds tight to the hedonist’s credo of consumption in every avenue of life. He has trouble staying still, trouble staying sober, trouble turning down a good time—but put a pen in his hand, and he’ll set a page on fire.

Music was Evan Porter’s ticket out of the backwater mud puddle he was born in, the passion keeping him warm as he busked on street corners. Every chord, every song, every ounce of sweat has been devoted to making Porter & Graves a success. He’s the level-head, the quiet maestro, the seatbelt that keeps Les from flying too far out of control. And he’s getting pretty tired of playing savior.

Their onstage chemistry is electric, offstage it’s… complicated.

After Porter & Graves’s third album bombs, the pressure is on for the duo to redeem themselves with their fourth. While sequestered in an East Tennessee cabin to compose, things take a turn for the worse when an event from their past comes back to haunt them in an embarrassingly public fashion and forces them into an unusual position that tests a partnership already hanging by its bloody roots.

Can Evan and Les find harmony or will they—and their music career—go down in flames?

Dedicated, the first standalone in the Rhythm of Love series, is a steamy bisexual friends-to-lovers romance featuring semi-kinda forced proximity, a fake relationship, angst, snark, a cock-blocking greenhouse, really poor decisions involving social media, and a HEA guarantee.