Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Starcrossed

SERIES: Magic in Manhattan #2

AUTHOR: Allie Therin

NARRATOR: Erik Bloomquist

PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio

LENGTH: 10 hours, 36 minutes

RELEASE DATE: September 29, 2020

BLURB:

When everything they’ve built is threatened, only their bond remains….

New York, 1925

Psychometric Rory Brodigan’s life hasn’t been the same since the day he met Arthur Kenzie. Arthur’s continued quest to contain supernatural relics that pose a threat to the world has captured Rory’s imagination – and his heart. But Arthur’s upper-class upbringing still leaves Rory worried that he’ll never measure up, especially when Arthur’s aristocratic ex arrives in New York.

For Arthur, there’s only Rory. But keeping the man he’s fallen for safe is another matter altogether. When a group of ruthless paranormals throws the city into chaos, the two men’s strained relationship leaves Rory vulnerable to a monster from Arthur’s past.

With dark forces determined to tear them apart, Rory and Arthur will have to draw on every last bit of magic up their sleeves. And in the end, it’s the connection they’ve formed without magic that will be tested like never before.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: We Found Love

AUTHOR: Kade Boehme & Allison Cassatta

NARRATOR: Michael Ferraiuolo

LENGTH: 7 hours, 23 minutes

RELEASE DATE: August 13, 2015

BLURB:

It’s no surprise Riley Connors is dealing with issues. He was kidnapped as a young boy, and his parents abandoned him after his newsworthy return. He bounced from foster home to facility and back. Now an adult, ghosts from his past continue to haunt him. After a suicide attempt, he is locked away in Hartfield so that people can make him tune in to emotions he has tried to bury.

Hunter Morgan had the kind of love that spans ages. But the stress of college and adulthood became too much to handle, and the love of Hunter’s life turned to drugs. After he overdoses, Hunter finds himself soaring out of control on the same miserable path. His brother finds him and calls an ambulance, and the sister Hunter would rather not have calls it a suicide attempt, landing Hunter in Hartfield.

Finding love isn’t easy, but it can happen under the direst circumstances. Together Hunter and Riley may be able to grow from their pain. But they will need to learn to live for themselves, letting love come second.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Fourth Point of Contact

SERIES: Legends of Lobe den Herren #1

AUTHOR: AJ Sherwood

NARRATOR: Lloyd Thomas

PUBLISHER: Author’s Republic

LENGTH: 12 hours, 25 minutes

RELEASE DATE: August 19, 2020

BLURB:

“Renjimantoro.”

Ren’s head snapped up, as Brahms only used his full name when being completely serious.
Those dark blue eyes met his levelly, penetratingly, as if he could see every thought going through Ren’s head. And he likely could. The man was exceptionally good at seeing through people. “Come with me.”

Oh hell. He really had no defenses against that plea. Brahms rarely asked anything of him, and every time he had, it turned out to be for Ren’s own good. “You realize that if I go, your reputation is never going to recover. People assume I’ve seduced you over to my side as it is.”

Brahms just stared at him.

“Right, you don’t care. Of course you don’t, silly me, why am I worrying about it?” Relief filled him, making him a little giddy with it, and he had the strangest urge to giggle. Which wasn’t manly, he stamped that out immediately, but still a grin took over his face. “Alright, alright, I’ll go home with you.”

—

Not once in the past five years has Castle Warden Sho Renjimantoro regretted following his best friend to Aart. How can he regret it when he finds open acceptance regarding his sexuality from everyone around him (even if they don’t understand it), and he gets to be with the man most important to him?

No, finding someone in this country is a fantasy best forgotten.

General Arman Brahms, finally home from deployment, has waited over two years to show Ren he’s wrong, that fantasies can come true. Unfortunately, his plans get put on hold to help Ren solve the crisis unfolding in the castle.

Someone is doing their level best to make sure the engagement of Prince Charles and Princess Alexandria of Scovia falls through—by fair means or foul. In addition, they’re trying to make Ren deemed incompetent and dismissed from his position. While hunting for the perpetrator, Ren and Arman do everything in their power to protect those they’re sworn to before the irredeemable occurs.

And along the way, prove that even an ordinary life can become extraordinary.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Royally Screwed:  A Tale of Two Princes 

AUTHOR:  Lynn Van Dorn

NARRATOR:  Michael Ferraiuolo

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  8 hours and 21 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  August 31, 2020

BLURB:

Take one betrothal gone awry…

Prince Angelo is destined to marry Prince Yuri. Never mind that Angelo isn’t gay and didn’t choose to be saddled with a moony-eyed princeling who is determined to ruin Angelo’s life. Then one day Yuri goes too far and Angelo has to take matters into his own hands.

Add one doomed arranged marriage…

Prince Yuri is destined forever to pine after Prince Angelo. Arranged marriages are archaic and awful enough without being stuck for life with someone you want who will never, ever in a million years want you back. Still, for someone who claims to want nothing to do with Yuri, Angelo is surprisingly possessive.

And you just might get one unexpected romance.

Two men, thrown together by fate and scheming parents, shouldn’t have a prayer of finding a happy ever after. But fate can be fickle, and love can exist where you never thought it could.

Royally Screwed is a M/M romance novel featuring royalty, a poorly-thought-out betrothal, one prince in need of a firm hand, a second prince who isn’t as straight as he always thought, drunken texting, bickering, practice kissing, odious British nobility, and falling in love despite all the reasons why you shouldn’t.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Jon’s Crazy Head-Boppin’ Mystery

SERIES: Jon’s Mysteries #2

AUTHOR: AJ Sherwood

NARRATOR: Lloyd Thomas

PUBLISHER: Author’s Republic

LENGTH: 6 hours, 4 minutes

RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2020

BLURB:

I’m rather used to the crazy cases, because let’s face it, most cops can handle the run-of-the-mill with their eyes closed. I’m only called in when the situation is weird or they need to solve the case fast.

This case is a little of both.

Someone’s attacking women as they get off of work, hitting them in the back of the head. What started as a case of battery has steadily built up to homicide. With three murders, six victims, and no leads, the Clarksville PD are desperate to catch the assailant. But there’s no real leads for us to follow, either, and for once my eyes can’t really help.

A madman running around attacking women is bad enough, but the police are demanding answers we can’t give them, and they’re not taking no for an answer. It’s pushing us all past our limits, and frankly, I don’t know what’s going to break first: The case or Donovan’s patience.

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Tigerland

SERIES: Tigers and Devils #2

AUTHOR: Sean Kennedy

NARRATOR: Dave Gillies

LENGTH: 8 hours, 31 minutes

RELEASE DATE: December 15, 2014

BLURB:

After an eventful and sometimes uncomfortably public courtship, Simon Murray and Declan Tyler settled into a comfortable life together. Now retired from the AFL, Declan works as a football commentator; Simon develops programs with queer content for a community television station.

Despite their public professional lives, Simon and Declan manage to keep their private life out of the spotlight. Their major concerns revolve around supporting their friends through infertility and relationship problems—until Greg Heyward, Declan’s ex-partner, outs himself in a transparent bid for attention.

Though Simon and Declan are furious with Greg and his media antics, they can’t agree on what to do about it. Declan insists they should maintain a dignified silence, but both he and Simon keep getting drawn into Heyward’s games. Simon and Declan will once again have to ride out the media storm before they can return their attention to what really matters: each other.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Bitter Heat

SERIES:  Heat of Love #3

AUTHOR:  Leta Blake

NARRATOR:  Michael Ferraiuolo

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  11 hours and 52 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  April 30, 2020

BLURB:

A pregnant omega trapped in a desperate situation, an unattached alpha with a lot to prove, and an unexpected fall into love that could save them both.

Kerry Monkburn is contracted to a violent alpha in prison for brutal crimes. Now pregnant with the alpha’s child, he lives high in the mountains, far above the city that once lured him in with promises of a better life. Enduring bitterness and fear, Kerry flirts with putting an end to his life of darkness, but fate intervenes.

Janus Heelies has made mistakes in the past. In an effort to redeem himself, integrity has become the watchword for his future. Training as a nurse under the only doctor willing to take him on, Janus is resolute in his intentions: He will live cleanly in the mountains and avoid all inappropriate affairs. But he doesn’t anticipate the pull that Kerry exercises on his heart and mind.

As the question of Kerry’s future health and safety comes to an explosive head, only the intervention of fate will see these desperate men through to a happy ending.

This gay romance novel by Leta Blake is the third in the Heat of Love universe which began with Slow Heat. It’s 111,000 words, with a strong happy ending and a critically-acclaimed, non-shifter Omegaverse. It features alphas, betas, omegas, male pregnancy, mpreg, heat, and knotting.

Content warning for a violent and oppressive society regarding reproductive rights.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Trust with a Chaser

SERIES:  Rainbow Cove #1

AUTHOR:  Annabeth Albert

NARRATORS:  Marc Bachmann, Iggy Toma

PUBLISHER:  Tantor Audio

LENGTH:  8 hours and 30 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  February 20, 2018

BLURB:  

One hot cop. One bar owner out for redemption. One smoking-hot summer fling destined to leave scorch marks….

Mason Hanks has returned to Rainbow Cove, Oregon with one goal in mind: turn the struggling coastal community into a thriving LGBTQ tourism destination. Step one is transforming an old bar and grill into a gay-friendly eatery. Step two? Don’t piss off Nash Flint, the very hot, very stern chief of police who’s not so sure he’s on board with Mason’s big plans.

Nash Flint just wants to keep his community safe and enjoy the occasional burger in peace. He’s not big on change nor is he a fan of Mason’s troublemaking family, especially his rowdy older brothers. But Mason slowly wins him over with fantastic cooking and the sort of friendship Nash has been starving for.

When their unlikely friendship takes a turn for the sexy, both men try to steer clear of trouble. Nash believes he’s too set in his ways for Mason, and Mason worries that his family’s reputation will ruin any future with Nash.

Burning up the sheets in secret is a surefire way to crash and burn, and discovery forces a heart-wrenching decision – is love worth the risk of losing everything?

Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Pieces of You

SERIES: Missing Pieces #1

AUTHOR: N.R. Walker

NARRATOR: Glen Lloyd

PUBLISHER: Bluehart Press

LENGTH: 4 hours, 49 minutes

RELEASE DATE: July 22, 2020

BLURB:

Dallas Muller has everything he never expected he’d have. He owns a successful motorbike mechanic shop in Newcastle, and he’s madly in love with his boyfriend of four years, Justin Keith.

Justin has always struggled to find where he fit in, never realising his true worth or what it means to be loved—until he met Dallas. Living and working together might be too much for some, but Dallas and Justin wouldn’t have it any other way.

When a terrible accident tears their world apart, Justin’s left with no memory of Dallas or their relationship. Trying to put the pieces back together is almost impossible when some pieces are blank and some are missing altogether. Dallas has to let Justin find his own way back to him and just hope that their love will light the way.