Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Disrupt

SERIES: Iron Heretics #1

AUTHOR: Michelle Frost

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 134 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 27, 2020

BLURB:

Being vulnerable makes you a target. Pax knows this all too well. He doesn’t want to need a hero, but the green-eyed biker that keeps rescuing him anyway has him sliding into dangerous territory—namely, Mace’s bed.

Mace is the Sergeant-at-Arms of the St. Louis Iron Heretics MC—treading through volatile situations is all in a days work. At the end of the day, he knows better than to let his heart rule out over his head, but Pax is an anomaly he can’t shake loose.

When a threat returns, taking aim at Pax and disrupting the balance they’ve reached, Mace has to recalibrate his sights, bringing what he truly wants into focus. Unfortunately for them, danger doesn’t always stay dead.

Disrupt is the first book in the Iron Heretics MC series. It can be read as a stand-alone and features no cliffhanger, no cheating, and a HEA.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Mating Forged in Fire

SERIES: Paranormal Wars: Stone Haven #3

AUTHOR: Shea Balik

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 124 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 27, 2020

BLURB:

Maui Knight can’t believe he’s found his mate when he saves Ian Carmichael from the Psy labs. The need to keep his mate safe has Maui denying Ian’s request to go get his sister away from Ian’s father. Maui hadn’t counted on Ian’s determination to save his sister from their father’s dishonorable intentions.

Ian Carmichael runs from the safety of the Alliance Territory in order to bring his sister back with him. From the moment he enters his childhood home things go horribly wrong. He saved his sister but managed to get recaptured by the Psy. The last time he’d been imprisoned by the Psy they had tortured him, this time they took that torture to a whole new level. What’s even worse is they’ve changed him.

Ian’s only hope is that Maui will once more rescue him. Even if he does, Ian isn’t sure Maui can love who he’s become.

PLEASE NOTE: This is the second edition of Mating Forged in Fire. Although it has been revised and re-edited, there is no significant new content.

Reviewed by Jess

TITLE: Hard Ride

SERIES: Clean Slate Ranch #5

AUTHOR: A.M. Arthur

PUBLISHER: Carina Press

LENGTH: 336 pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 17, 2020

BLURB:

Five Weddings and a Fake Boyfriend

City slicker Derrick Massey has always had a thing for cowboys. So a roll in the hay with Kendall “Slater” Stamos during a rustic weekend wedding is more than A-OK. But when Slater’s forced to hang up his saddle for the season, Derrick surprises even himself with his proposition: be my fake boyfriend and get my family off my back about finding a permanent partner.

Though unexpected, the arrangement is a win-win. Derrick gets a plus-one for a slew of summer weddings and Slater gets a place to stay while he recuperates…with lots of casual fun in between. Which is just how the sexy cowboy likes it: casual. Yet it’s obvious the chemistry between them is anything but.

With the countdown to their “breakup” on, the more time the two men spend together. And the more it becomes clear that what they have could be real, if only they let it be.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Reserved

SERIES: Tales of Bryant #4, A Tales of Bryant Novella #2

AUTHOR: V.L. Locey

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 134 Pages

RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2020

BLURB:

WORKING BLURB

Not even the darkest night can extinguish the radiance of two loving hearts coming together.

Life is a daily celebration for Adrian Pontimore, the hottest new event planner for the Manhattan elite. His days are a high-priced whirlwind of cocktail parties, weddings, conventions, tea parties, housewarmings, and baby showers. Everything is simply amazing for the owner of Quintessentially Adrian Event Designs. Until the dark and hate-filled side of life rears its ugly head, tearing apart the delicate happy bubble that Adrian has constructed around himself.

If not for the bravery of one of New York’s finest, Adrian’s days fussing over décor and bridal parties might have come to an abrupt end. There’s something about a man in uniform, but there is something extra special about Officer Galen Ellison. Not only did he save Adrian’s life, he’s slowly winning his heart. It’s going to take time, patience, and good humor to help Adrian overcome the fears that haunt the shadows now, but those are qualities that the handsome, affable beat cop seems to have an abundance of.

Reviewed by Donna

TITLE: Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

SERIES: Big Bad Wolf #4

AUTHOR: Charlie Adhara

PUBLISHER: Carina Press

LENGTH: 268 Pages

RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2020

BLURB:

Agent Cooper Dayton and his partner, Oliver Park, are going undercover—at a retreat for couples who need counselling. They do say the best cover story is one that’s close to the truth…
Agent Cooper Dayton is almost relieved to get a phone call from his former boss at the Bureau of Special Investigations. It means a temporary reprieve from tensions created by house hunting with Oliver Park, his partner both in work and in life. Living together in a forever home is exactly what Cooper wants. He’s just not keen on working out the details.
With a former alpha werewolf missing, Cooper and Park are loaned to the BSI to conduct the search at a secluded mountain retreat. The agents will travel to the resort undercover…as a couple in need of counseling.
The resort is picturesque, the grounds are stunning and the staff members are all suspicious as hell.
With a long list of suspects and danger lurking around every cabin, Cooper should be focusing on the case. But he’s always been anxious about the power dynamics in his relationship with Park, and participating in the couples’ activities at the retreat brings it all to the surface. A storm is brewing, though, and Cooper and Park must rush to solve the case before the weather turns. Or before any more guests—or the agents themselves—end up dead.

Reviewed by Dan

TITLE: Guns n’ Boys: Black Lies

SERIES: Guns n’ Boys Series – Book 10

AUTHOR: K.A. Merikan

PUBLISHER: Acerbi & Villani Ltd.

LENGTH: 226 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 20, 2020

BLURB:

“That man is not your fairytale ending.”

Griffith has spent two of the most amazing years with his boyfriend Mark, who is undoubtedly The One. Mark is everything Griffith could want in a man. Sexy, kind, always there for him, showering him with gifts and anticipating his needs.

Until one wrong turn sends them crashing into Mark’s past, and suddenly Griff doesn’t even know who his boyfriend is anymore. A spy? A mafioso?

Or a ruthless criminal who has lied to Griff about his identity all along, hiding his brutality under charming smiles.

Is there room for love in a relationship based on lies?

One thing is certain: Griff can’t know what the future holds for him and Mark until he discovers the truth. Too bad the truth is soaked in blood.

Reviewed by Donna

TITLE: Decision

SERIES: Diversion #8

AUTHOR: Eden Winters

PUBLISHER: Rocky Ridge Books

LENGTH: 241 Pages

RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2020

BLURB:

Follow the law, or follow their hearts?
By-the-book Bo Schollenberger’s training to be the new boss at the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau. He’s always been the moral compass for his partner Lucky Lucklighter, or Simon Harrison, or whatever-the-hell his name is this week.
Lucky might have read the book, or parts of it, but toes the line between legal and… not so legal. A little moral elasticity lets him out-maneuver the bad guys. It’s not broke, why fix it?
They butt heads at work, but they’re rock solid at home, where their biggest concern is when, or if, they’ll become parents.
Their latest case puts them in a tailspin when drugs flood a local high school and someone hands Lucky’s nephew a vial of pills like they were candy. Unravelling the drug ring leads them straight into a nest of human trafficking, way outside the jurisdiction of the SNB, but no way could Bo and Lucky let the perpetrators leave Atlanta scot-free. No one gets away with harming innocents, especially family.
The letter of the law says to trust the legal system, but doing the right thing might lead them outside the lines.
Especially when the youngest trafficking victim lands squarely in Bo’s lap.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Make Me Say Yes

SERIES: Omega Celibacy Club #4

AUTHOR: Angel Knots

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 479 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 14, 2020

BLURB:

Welcome to Fate. Tristan Lawson’s Fate. Which is apparently to be a virgin forever despite the fact that sex sounds awesome and he’d toss his celibacy club membership out the window in a heartbeat if only his alpha would wake up. Well, the guy who’s probably his alpha. And it’s not like Tristan actually wants to quit the OCC, he just wants Cade. And sex. Specifically, sex with Cade. And Cade will wake up, right? Soon. Or at least, eventually. He has to, because even if no one else knows it, Tristan is absolutely positively almost completely sort of sure that Cade is (hopefully) his fated mate…

TRISTAN

I just knew that finally heading off to live on my own for college last year would be everything I wanted it to be. (Well, almost everything, if you didn’t count the actual studying parts.) But freedom! Friends! Sex (finally)! But it turned out that I wasn’t exactly on my own since I ended up moving in with my big brother and his roommates, and then my brother decided we should all start a celibacy club, and since I hate letting people down almost more than I hate doing homework, of course I said yes (even though I was pretty bummed at the idea of not getting any sex).

That was last year, and spoiler: I’m the only one in the Omega Celibacy Club who’s still celibate. But that’s okay, because the other thing that happened last year? I’m pretty sure I found my fated mate. Cade Washington is a patient at the veterans hospital I volunteer at, and he’s in a coma, but all the stuff I feel when I’m around him, that has to be real, right? And someday, even if I’m the only one who seems sure of it, he will wake up…

CADE

I have no idea how long I’ve been in limbo, but what I do know is that this foggy, muffled half-existence is my own personal hell. Nothing exists here except memories I’d rather escape… and an omega. My omega. Except that for all the memories that endlessly plague me, I don’t have any of him, and that means he doesn’t really exist, either… except for in here. So even though I’m stuck here, I don’t want to leave, either. Because he’s here. Tristan’s here. And I’d rather spend every moment of whatever my life has become in this hell with him than return to a world where he doesn’t exist.

Until I realize that Tristan needs me, and that maybe this wasn’t hell after all, but simply the price I had to pay to find the one thing I really needed all along…

***See TRIGGER WARNING in Look Inside, or skip straight to Chapter One to avoid spoilers***

MAKE ME SAY YES is the fourth book in the Omega Celibacy Club series, a contemporary omegaverse world where the only thing stronger than an alpha’s will is his desire to protect his omega and keep him happy, and where sometimes, doing that can save both of them.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Hope

SERIES: Wolves of Walker County #2

AUTHOR: Kiki Burrelli

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH:

RELEASE DATE: February 29, 2019

BLURB:

Nash Walker is a simple wolf. His days are spent at the firehouse and he never has trouble finding someone to fill his nights. He isn’t ashamed to admit he has an amazing body and though his cousins tease him for his hero complex, he does save lives. He’s a popular guy on the isolated island he calls home and certainly doesn’t need to be around anyone who isn’t thrilled to be in his presence.

Until he meets Phineas.

Phineas is a nerd through and through. Not just a nerd, but as far as Nash is concerned, an angry one. All of the traits that normally make men fall at Nash’s feet have no effect on Phineas, and though his head tells him there are plenty of fish in the sea, Nash’s wolf only wants him. There’s a sadness in Phineas that calls to Nash.

Phineas is used to being invisible. No one cares when he walks into a room and he prefers it that way. People in his life have a habit of getting hurt so he lives alone. All his friends are online where they can be safe from his curse. His touch heals, but not without making sure a price is paid. But when Phineas has a problem he asks Nash—the insanely gorgeous fireman who is everywhere Phineas turns—for help. He might as well learn what he can before Nash comes to his senses.

Meanwhile, a serial arsonist is targeting buildings in Walker County, particularly on pack lands. As much as Nash hates the idea of helping the wolf pack that he once called his, he must do his job. When the danger spills to the other side of the island, particularly at his human’s door, Nash knows he must find the culprit or he might not ever have a chance to truly claim his mate.

Hope is the second book in the Wolves of Walker County with steam, humor, magic, and intrigue as well as a second surprise pregnancy that will continue to change everything. For maximum enjoyment, this quartet should be read in order.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Coop

SERIES: Boys of Brighton #5

AUTHOR: M. Tasia

PUBLISHER: Boroughs Publishing Group

LENGTH: 123 pages

RELEASE DATE: September 5, 2017

BLURB:

Running from parents who didn’t know how to love him and a past he’d sooner forget, private security contractor “Coop” Stenson must protect from danger the unexpected happiness he finds with beautiful but accident-prone Matthew Whitton.

CATCH ME WHEN I FALL

King of the one-night stand, Coop Stenson knows his warped upbringing and chosen profession with the Sentinels, a private security team, has conditioned him to avoid romantic attachments. Yet when accident-prone Matthew Whitton literally falls into his life, one thing is abundantly clear: Matt deserves more than a man-slut.

Matthew’s love is overpowering, and just as Coop is ready to take the plunge, having fought its inevitable pull for as long as he could, an old nemesis targets the partners of the Sentinels. So keeping Matt safe is about more than just another job or set of logistics. It’s about the rest of his life.

Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  Falling

SERIES: Delicious #3

AUTHOR: Stella Starling

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

RE-RELEASE DATE:  October 11, 2019

LENGTH:  304 pages

BLURB:

“You’re the best fake boyfriend I ever had.”

“Love exists… in books, at least.”

There’s no way bookstore owner Jeremy Bennett is going to his ten-year class reunion after accidentally drunk-posting on the reunion’s Facebook page and making himself sound a) much more interesting than he actually is, by b) claiming to do the kind of things he actually only reads about, and c) worse, also claiming to have a super hot boyfriend, when in reality, d) his dating history is more like the bastard love child of a trainwreck and a what-not-to-do reality show.

“I’m no good at romance.”

When one of Nick Roberts’ personal training clients mistakes him for the boyfriend of a new gym member, Nick decides to play along on a whim. After all, he can’t let the guy die from embarrassment, and besides, even though Nick isn’t gay, he has a feeling that the story behind the mistaken identity might prove to be the most fun he’s had since moving to Tulsa.

“I went from faking it to feeling it. Don’t tell me this isn’t real.”

Falling for your fake boyfriend is a guaranteed dating fail. Unless the stars align…

TITLE: Stormdrake

SERIES: The Dragon Mage Chronicles #1

AUTHOR: J. A. Jaken

PUBLISHER: White Owl Publishing

LENGTH: 181 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2019

BLURB:

Jander Teregnan has succeeded in his ambition to become a mage-apprentice, but the troubles that face him are far from over. He and Andrei set out on their first mission together as mage and apprentice to investigate a mysterious series of dragon attacks near a provincial city at the edge of the kingdom, where Jander’s unique talents may particularly come into play. What they find there turns out to be far more devastating than a mere homicidal dragon, as they are caught up in a conspiracy that will threaten not only their own lives, but the lives of everyone in the kingdom they have sworn an oath to protect.

Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  Jason’s Justice

SERIES:  Delta Force Team Panther #7

AUTHOR:  Annabella Stone

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

RELEASE DATE:  January 16, 2020

LENGTH:  255 pages

BLURB:

Jason LeHar learned his tracking skills as a kid in the Bayous of Louisiana. Those skills earned him a place on Delta Force Team Panther, and he found the family he chose for himself. When his best friend’s relationship with one of their team commanders was exposed. The world he had built fell apart and he drifted for years, taking one Government sanctioned job after another, until one man called him home, with a single short sentence, “Panther needs you.”

James “Frtiz” Blackwell, as a former Delta Force Commander, and leader of the team who rescued Matt Garrett in Afghanistan. He carries the guilt of having exposed Jonah and Matt’s relationship, causing their discharge and the reassignments of all Team Panther members. Now as more secrets are exposed and bullets start to fly once again, can he convince the stubborn man he loves that everyone deserves a second chance?

It is one thing to go to war for your country, it’s a whole different ball game when the ones you are fighting for are the ones you love more than life itself. After years of betrayals, backlash, and battles, everything Delta Force Team Panther has fought for is at stake, including the ones they love. Jason and Fritz will need to face the ghosts of their pasts and fight together to have the happy ever after they both crave, but are too stubborn to admit to.

Jason’s Justice is part of the Delta Force – Team Panther Series. While it can be read as a standalone… To ensure maximum enjoyment, it is best read in series order.

Reviewed by Danielle

TITLE: Virgin FLyer

AUTHOR: Lucy Lennox

PUBLISHER: Self Published

RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2020

LENGTH: 291 Pages

BLURB:

Wanted: One night together, no strings attached. Hold me, make love to me, treat me like I’m the most important person in the world. No talking. No names. And don’t be surprised if I’m gone in the morning.

After crushing on my best friend for years, I realize he’ll never want someone inexperienced like me. So I decide to get it over with, play the V-card once and for all with an anonymous hook-up. The terms are simple: no talking, no names.

It isn’t as easy as it seems. Now I can’t get the handsome stranger who greeted me with soft kisses and gentle touches out of my mind. Those hands, those lips… But it was just a one-time thing, and I need to forget about him once and for all.

At least I know I won’t ever see him again—until I board a flight and catch sight of a familiar profile in the cockpit just as the door closes.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Samhain

AUTHOR: Pelaam

PUBLISHER: MLR Press

LENGTH: 42 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 23, 2019

BLURB:

Robert must care for his niece, Aimee, who is unaware he’s a witch of light. Darkness seeks to use her against him. On Samhain, the forces of light and dark will clash. Who will be the victor?

Robert unexpectedly finds he has to care for a niece he hasn’t been allowed to see in over a decade. Aimee is unaware that he is a Witch of Light, or that he even has a male lover, Leander, who is also his familiar. As Samhain approaches, they have to find a way to complete their ritual while not revealing their true selves to Aimee.

Angry at being sent to stay with a man who hasn’t been in contact with her since she was a baby, Aimee is a target for the dark forces that seek to destroy Robert’s forest sanctuary.

On Samhain, darkness and light will clash. Who will emerge victorious?

Reviewed by Dan

TITLE: Ghost House: A Fairy Tale

AUTHOR: Jacqueline Grey

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 244 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  September 24, 2019

BLURB:

One night in a haunted house thrusts Andrew Hollenbeck into the center of a sixty-year-old curse. In his dreams, he meets a mysterious stranger named Caius. With each recurring dream, the connection between them grows. But it is one thing to fall for someone you cannot have, it is something else entirely to fall for a person who doesn’t exist. Or does he?

Details from Andrew’s dreams are seeping into reality, in the form of books he’s never seen before and a terrifying creature called the Snake. He wants to believe that Caius could be real too, but waking Caius with a kiss would only be the beginning of their story.

Caius is a sorcerer who cursed people in the past, and he’s been trapped in the dream as punishment for his crimes. Andrew doesn’t think Caius is evil, but if he were to awaken, would he be the charming man Andrew knows? Or a villain in disguise?

Reviewed by Dan

TITLE: Stop at Nothing

SERIES: Chosen One – Book Five

AUTHOR: Macy Blake

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 246 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 4, 2020

BLURB:

Series Finale

With all of his mates assembled, Sawyer Smith should be ready for his own version of the end game. He must defeat the god of air and restore both of their broken magics to all of the realms. There’s only one problem: he still doesn’t know how to do it.

HIs brother is a god and is raising the forces of darkness against Sawyer and his mates more quickly than he can mount a defense. It’s time to fight, but Sawyer has too much to lose to risk disaster. As the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place, Sawyer is faced with a task that seems impossible. He must go into battle without the knowledge or power to win.

So many of his questions remain unanswered, but Sawyer knows one thing: He will stop at nothing to keep his mates safe.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Silent Sin

AUTHOR: E.J. Russell

PUBLISHER: Reality Optional Press

LENGTH: 275 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2020

BLURB:

When tailor Marvin Gottschalk abandoned New York City for the brash boomtown of silent-film-era Hollywood, he never imagined he’d end up on screen as Martin Brentwood, one of the fledgling film industry’s most popular actors. Five years later a cynical Martin despairs of finding anything genuine in a town where truth is defined by studio politics and publicity. Then he meets Robbie Goodman.

Robbie fled Idaho after a run-in with the law. A chance encounter leads him to the film studio where he lands a job as a chauffeur. But one look at Martin and he’s convinced he’s likely to run afoul of those same laws—laws that brand his desires indecent, deviant… sinful.

Martin and Robbie embark on a cautious relationship, cocooned in Hollywood’s clandestine gay fraternity, careful to hide from the studio boss, a rival actor, and reporters on the lookout for a juicy story. But when tragedy and scandal rock the town, igniting a morality-based witch hunt fueled by a remorseless press, the studio brass will sacrifice even the greatest careers to defend their endangered empire. Robbie and Martin stand no chance against the firestorm—unless they stand together.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Burn

SERIES: Ignite #3

AUTHOR: Nora Phoenix

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 254 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 29, 2020

BLURB:

In a world where it’s every man for himself, all they can do is hold on to each other…

An MMM survival romance. The last book in an exciting trilogy!

With soldiers next door, the situation has become dire for Austin, Mack, and Tan. Every time they find a solution for one challenge, another arises, ranging from family members who show up unexpectedly to reunions with people they’d never hoped to see again.

But they may have bigger problems when the earthquakes continue and concern increases about the earth crust’s stability. The only way to prevent an even worse disaster is to stop the aliens from drilling for more oil, but how?

They cling to each other as the future looks more and more bleak. Is there any hope left for a happy ever after for them?

Burn is the last book in the suspenseful Ignite trilogy, a slow burn MMM romance set in an alternative world. This series will end with a deeply satisfying HEA.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Bloodstained Heart

AUTHOR: Kassandra Lea

PUBLISHER: JMS Books LLC

LENGTH: 1384 kb

RELEASE DATE: November 2, 2019

BLURB:

Living in a mysterious house overlooking the town, Seamus haunts the halls with his dog at his side. He’s doomed to un-life, cursed, essentially a zombie, but without all the icky rot. His only human friend is a delightful fella by the name of Tibbit. Sweet Tibbit accepts him for who he is, and oh, how Seamus loves him for that.

But can there ever be love between a lonely human and a man whose heart doesn’t beat the way it should? Love got Seamus into this mess; is it worth it to try again?