Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Omega’s Protector

SERIES: Irresistible Omegas #5.5

AUTHOR: Nora Phoenix

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 118 pages

RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2019

BLURB:

When hot alpha cop Sean rescues an omega from being assaulted, he has no idea what fate has in store for him…not one mate, but two.

Sean meets Felix, a nerdy beta lawyer, and Gia, a sassy omega, under unexpected circumstances. He’s not even looking for a boyfriend, far from it, but something sparks between them, something that’s hard to define and impossible to understand rationally.

And that’s not even the strangest thing happening on the ranch that offers them a safe place. The air simmers there, wild and powerful. But what is that power they all feel?

After riding out Gia’s heat together, they find out what secrets the ranch holds, and they have to make a choice. How much stock do they put in fate? And is their short but explosive encounter enough to last or will their connection fizzle out?

Omega’s Protector is a novella (32k words) set in the Irresistible Omegas universe that can be read as a stand alone and has a HEA. In the series timeline, this book fits in right after book five. It’s got heat, sass, a little action, and all the feels. Plus, some familiar faces for fans of the series. The characters from this book will show up in the next books in the series.

Reviewed by Dan

TITLE: Keeping Secrets

SERIES: The Castaways Series Book 3

AUTHOR: Alexa Land

PUBLISHER: Self published

LENGTH: 230 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  June 24, 2019

BLURB:

The truth can cost you everything.

Twenty-six-year-old Beck Medina is convinced of that. He’s been abandoned by so many people over the course of his life, including most of his adopted family. Now he’s created a new family for himself at the resort he manages on Catalina Island. But they don’t know the whole truth about him.

As much as he hates keeping secrets from the people he loves, he knows revealing the truth is a gamble. What if they all walk away from him, like so many others have before?

Then there’s gorgeous, mysterious Lee Speros. The tall, handsome Greek is harboring secrets too, and some of his are deadly. Just as Beck and Lee take the first tentative steps toward becoming a couple, Lee’s dark past finally catches up to him. The fallout threatens to destroy not only the two of them, but everyone they hold dear.

With impossible odds stacked against them, can two stubborn, fiercely independent men learn to accept help not only from each other, but from the people who care about them? And once they reveal all, will the truth set them free? Or will it cost them everything, just like Beck always feared?

This gay romance is book three in Alexa Land’s Castaways Series, but it may be read as a stand-alone. It is intended for a mature audience.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Stand in Place

AUTHOR: Mary Calmes

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 311 pages

RELEASE DATE: July 17, 2019

BLURB:

One summer won’t be enough….

Kaenon Geary was done fighting the small minds in his sleepy Texas town when he made his escape and never looked back. But now, for the first time in more than a decade, he’s returned to Braxton to spend the summer with his beloved grandmother—her final summer—and no longer recognizes the home he’d left behind all those years ago.

Everything has changed.

Everything but the man he’s never stopped wanting.

Brody Scott was the local football hero who became a gridiron champ, but he retired from the fast lane to forge a new life as the Chief Constable of Braxton. He longs to put down roots in the community he is now sworn to protect. Though he’s not at all sure he can protect his heart from the quiet, earnest boy he once knew. The boy who has come back a man.

Starting something would be a mistake. Kaenon plans to fly away at summer’s end, but his love is something Brody desperately wants to have…and to keep. Their days together are numbered. Unless some simple hometown magic can make all the right things bloom and show them the true definition of love.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Avristin: Duty and Sacrifice 2

SERIES: God Jars Saga #2

AUTHOR: Devon Vesper

PUBLISHER: Magelight Press

LENGTH: 262 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 31, 2017

BLURB:

Avristin isn’t the quiet, contemplative monastery he imagined…

Valis escaped his birth father and made it to Avristin. Now, the adopted son of his two saviors, the honorable Aesriphos Kerac and Darolen, Valis vows to become just like them. The only things standing in his way are his lack of magic and crippling social anxiety.

With the help of six new friends, Valis hopes to overcome his new fears. But when the eldest of the group, Tavros, finds the mark of the evil God, Qos, tattooed on Valis’ skin, he sends Valis right back into his birth father’s clutches.

Surviving and escaping the prison cell is just his first test. Once he’s back in Avristin, more await. And with Tavros as his new mentor, Valis needs to do everything in his power to make the man trust him again. Valis’ entire future depends on it, in more ways than one.

The M/M romantic elements in God Jars is a very slow burn. The God Jars Saga contains explicit material including violence, abuse, and M/M sexual encounters, and is not advised for anyone under the age of 18.

REVIEWED by Jen B.

TITLE: King Slayer

SERIES: Fog City

AUTHOR: Layla Reyne

PUBLISHER: Layla Reyne

LENGTH: 195 Pages

RELEASE DATE: August 5, 2019

BLURB:

Never fall for a mark. Mission fail.

Christopher Perri—a.k.a. Dante Perry—infiltrated the Madigan organization with one goal: vengeance for his murdered partner. Falling for the assassin at the head of the table wasn’t part of the plan, but Hawes Madigan is not the cold, untouchable Prince of Killers Chris expected. Everything about the newly crowned king is hot, and every inch of him eminently touchable…and off-limits once Chris’s cover is blown.

Exposure couldn’t come at a worse time. Hawes’s throne is threatened, and Chris suspects the same person who killed his partner is behind the coup. Working with Hawes benefitsthem both, but Chris’s employer has other ideas. Dismantling criminal organizations is what Chris does best, and his boss expects the King Slayer to deliver.

But Hawes is taking the Madigans in a new direction, one Chris can get behind, and the two men form a shaky alliance strengthened by the irresistible attraction between them…until Chris learns who killed his partner. Once he knows the truth, the King Slayer is unleashed, and Chris will stop at nothing to destroy those who betrayed him, including the king who stole his heart.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Digging Deep

SERIES: Digging Deep #1

AUTHOR: Jay Hogan

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 342 pages

RELEASE DATE: August 6, 2019

BLURB:

Drake Park has a complicated life. As a gay male midwife, he’s used to raising eyebrows. Add Crohn’s disease and things get interesting—or not, considering the sad state of his love life. Experience has taught Drake that most men are fair-weather sailors when it comes to handling his condition—gone for dust when things get rough. Staying healthy is a full-time job without adding in any heartbreak, so a little loneliness is a small price to pay. If he says it often enough he might even believe it. One thing for sure, the cop who arrested him isn’t about to change that.

Caleb Ashton does not have a complicated life. A senior detective with the Whangarei Police Department, he likes his job and is good at it. He works hard and plays hard, happy to enjoy as many men as he can while he’s still young enough—or at least he was. These days he feels adrift for the first time in his life, and the only thing sparking his interest—a certain prickly young midwife.

But can Drake find enough faith to risk opening his heart again? And does Caleb have what it takes to cope with the challenges Drake’s condition presents?

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Mary, Queen of Scotch

AUTHOR: Rob Rosen

PUBLISHER: JMS Books LLC

LENGTH: 227 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 10, 2018

BLURB:

Four five-star Yelp reviews do you little good when you’re nailed inside a giant barrel of whiskey, which is where our intrepid private detective Barry finds himself while on the case to help his campy drag friends, all of whom have numerous secrets to hide.

If he can decide between the man he once loved and the bartender he’s falling for, successfully stay undercover as his alter-ego, Mary, Queen of Scotch, and keep one step ahead of the bad guys, plus a raucously funny meddling mom, he just might live to see that much-desired fifth review.

Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Spellbound

SERIES: Magic In Manhattan #1

AUTHOR: Allie Therin

PUBLISHER: Carina Press

RELEASE DATE: July 29, 2019

LENGTH: 243 Pages

BLURB:

1925

New York

Arthur Kenzie’s life’s work is protecting the world from the supernatural relics that could destroy it. When an amulet with the power to control the tides is shipped to New York, he must intercept it before it can be used to devastating effects. This time, in order to succeed, he needs a powerful psychometric…and the only one available has sworn off his abilities altogether.

Rory Brodigan’s gift comes with great risk. To protect himself, he’s become a recluse, redirecting his magic to find counterfeit antiques. But with the city’s fate hanging in the balance, he can’t force himself to say no.

Being with Arthur is dangerous, but Rory’s ever-growing attraction to him begins to make him brave. And as Arthur coaxes him out of seclusion, a magical and emotional bond begins to form. One that proves impossible to break—even when Arthur sacrifices himself to keep Rory safe and Rory must risk everything to save him.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Two Silent Cries

AUTHOR: TN Tarrant

PUBLISHER: MLR Press, LLC

LENGTH: 114 pages

RELEASE DATE: July 2, 2016

BLURB:

Micah Valery meets veterinarian Santiago Curtis meet over Micah’s unconscious service dog.

Micah Valery is hearing impaired and unable to speak. As if that didn’t make life interesting enough, he also suffers from a panic disorder that regularly disrupts his life. With a wonderful assistance dog named Goldie, however, he manages to live independently, and comfortably. When something goes wrong with Goldie, he meets Dr Santiago Curtis, a veteran veterinarian with issues of his own to cope with. Still, the attraction is strong enough to explore, and a new romance blooms. Enter Micah’s estranged family, attempting to deprive him of his inheritance.

This title has been previously published.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Daddy Rules

SERIES: Breaking the Rules #6

AUTHOR: Jacki James

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 194 pages

RELEASE DATE: July 22, 2019

BLURB:

Rule #10- Remember, Daddy knows best. 

A move to a new town was the fresh start River needed to finally find himself and figure out what to do with his life. He is tired of making decisions and messing up. If only there was someone who could tell him what to do for a while so he didn’t have to think.

Blake has had enough playing around. He wants the real thing. Someone to come home to at night. Someone to love. Someone who would let him take care of them, completely.

Blake is new to dating a man, as well as new to being a Daddy. River is a hot mess. No boy has ever needed a Daddy more than he does.

Can a newly out bisexual man just coming into his own be the right Daddy to handle River?

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Unbroken

SERIES: Port Lewis Witches #3

AUTHOR: Brooklyn Ray

PUBLISHER: Ninestar Press

LENGTH: 238 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 8, 2019

BLURB:

Despite the rumors about Port Lewis, Michael Gates doesn’t expect the house he rents with his sister on Foxglove Lane to be haunted. An eerie meeting with Victor Lewellyn, the resident witch-turned-demon who is bound to the property by dark magic, changes his mind.

Michael isn’t looking to start a relationship with anyone, let alone someone like Victor, but the intense attraction between them can’t be ignored. As he dives into the world of magical drug rings, demons, witches, and necromancers, Michael also grapples with the complicated past he left behind in Arizona.

A relationship might not be what he wants, but it sparks something in him he didn’t realize he needs—the chance to heal.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Where the Night Reigns

SERIES: In the Darkness #3

AUTHOR: Emilie Lucadamo

PUBLISHER: Ninestar Press

LENGTH: 229 pages

RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2019

BLURB:

The barrier between worlds has shattered. Demons wreak havoc across Earth; the dead are rising from their graves; psychics and witches are vanishing without a trace. The fate of the world rests in the hands of the enigmatic Tresser Corporation, a company of demon soldiers… and a kindergarten teacher. To save both worlds, they’ll have to travel into the mouth of Hell itself.

TITLE: Small Town Sonata

AUTHOR: Jamie Fessenden

SERIES: Dreamspun Desires

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 260 pages

RELEASE DATE: August 6, 2019

BLURB:

Can the trusted town handyman rebuild a broken pianist’s heart? When a freak accident ends Aiden’s career as a world-renowned classical pianist, he retreats to his New Hampshire hometown, where he finds the boy he liked growing up is even more appealing as a man. Dean Cooper’s life as handyman to the people of Springhaven might not be glamorous, but he’s well-liked and happy. When Aiden drifts back into town, Dean is surprised to find the bond between them as strong as ever. But Aiden is distraught over the loss of his career and determined to get back on the international stage. Seventeen years ago Dean made a sacrifice and let Aiden walk away. Now, with their romance rekindling, he knows he’ll have to make the sacrifice all over again. This time it may be more than he can bear.

Reviewed by Cindy

TITLE: Relationship Material

AUTHOR: Jenya Keefe

PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing

LENGTH: 220 Pages

RELEASE DATE: August 5, 2019

BLURB:

It’s not always possible to meet in the middle.

Registered nurse Evan Doyle doesn’t consider himself fit for more than occasional hookups. He has a good life, but the emotional aftermath of a horrific crime makes him feel too damaged to date. So when his sister’s hot bestie, Malcolm Umbertini, comes on to him, he turns him down flat. Mal is Relationship Material: the kind who thinks in the long term. What would Evan do with a man like that?

As a prosecuting attorney, Mal’s learned how to read people, and he knows there’s more to Evan than meets the eye. Mal has faced his own hardships since his family kicked him out as a teen, and he respects Evan’s courage and emotional resilience. More than that, he wants Evan–in his bed and in his life. But can he weather another rejection?

Both wary, they agree to a no-strings fling. Mal knows that Evan wants things to stay casual, but he’s falling in love a little more with each encounter. With health, happiness, and bruised hearts on the line, Mal and Evan must risk everything for love.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: You Are My Sea

AUTHOR: Tina Isabel Leung

PUBLISHER: Sunflower Romance Press

LENGTH: 39 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 2019

BLURB:

“You are my sea” is a 38 minutes long romantic read, featuring a male / male relationship, and it ends with an erotic scene.

“He got closer and gave me a liplock, to which I just couldn’t say no. I loved him so much. Without even thinking, I started kissing him back, as lovingly as I could, trying to light a flame in his cold soul, in the way one would try to ignite the fire in a sea cave, cold and dark.”

When Peter has a mental breakdown and rushes out of office, his coworker Arnold drops everything to help him. The two start a lonely pilgrimage through lunar landscapes of Iceland. Peter’s goal is to discard his sadness at the sea, while all Arnold wants is to winPeter’s heart. Peter isn’t interested… Or is he? Arnold doesn’t know, but he won’t stop hoping.

In this story you will find:

• Quirky, convincing characters with unique secrets, that will not only surprise you, but also change your way of thinking about everything that you’ve been reading.
• Witty, intelligent and sexy dialogue which will make you hope that Arnold and Peter will end up together after all.
• A message of hope to brighten up the darkness of internal torment that sometimes hits everyone in life.
• A tasteful sex scene being more than just an expression of physical desire.
• Gorgeous descriptions of wild forests, furious waterfalls and black beaches.

Warning! This short story contains adult material, including explicit sex scenes.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Skin in the Game

SERIES: Cedar Falls #18

AUTHOR: Shea Balik

PUBLISHER: Siren-Bookstrand Inc

LENGTH: 137 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2017

BLURB:

Tahl Pendev had been lusting after Reed since Utopia first opened. He could have easily taken Reed to his bed, but Tahl wanted more than a one night stand. What he wants–no, demands–is forever, or he won’t have Reed at all.

Reed Bowden doesn’t believe in love, marriage, or even commitment. He was happy with one night stands and no strings weighing him down. But when one of his friends gets shot because of Reed, he starts to wonder if his lifestyle is all it was cracked up to be.

Will Tahl find a way to reach Reed, or will they implode before they have a chance?

Warning: High jinx will ensue as the characters from Cedar Falls try to play matchmaker.