Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: How to Save a Human

AUTHOR: Alice Winters

SERIES: VRC: Vampire Related Crimes #4

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 332 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 6, 2020

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River

When I meet Bentley DeGray, I’m at the lowest point in my life because no matter how much I fight, my past won’t let me escape. Bentley makes me laugh and care and love, but what does any of that mean when I’m living a lie?

Things get complicated when I find out he’s with the Vampire Related Crimes Unit, the organization looking for answers about the abductions of prominent vampires.

The same organization that stands in my way.

My time is ticking down while I’m wound up in this role I’ve been forced to play, but I know that I would be drowning without Bentley by my side.

Bentley

We’re facing something that runs so deep that we don’t know who we can trust besides each other, even within the VRC. River makes me feel like every day is worth living and enjoying—like I’m not so alone. I can’t imagine life without him. But I know that if I want to keep him by my side, I will need to do everything I can to help him so our love doesn’t get cut short before it can truly grow.

Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  The Hookup

AUTHOR:  Kindle Alexander

PUBLISHER: Kindle Alexander LLC

RELEASE DATE:  October 12, 2020

LENGTH:  37 Pages

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The Hookup was previously released in The Bookworm Box’s special edition charity anthology, Unconditional, 2019.

Meet me @ The Hookup?

A well-deserved celebration is in order for attorney Easton Elliott. Everything is going as planned until a tempting glimpse of the past sidebars the handsome attorney’s party.

An unexpected invitation has linguist Grant Holt excited about the spur-of-the-moment rendezvous. But words are futile when he arrives to find there’s been a mix up.

A text, a celebration, and a misunderstanding all lead to…The Hookup

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Bat Boy

AUTHOR: Christine Lee

SERIES: Easton U Pirates

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 222 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 10, 2020

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Brady Donovan

With a baseball scholarship to Easton University and awesome family and friends, my life is pretty golden. Except, things have never come together for me in the romance department. Until Kellan Crawford walks onto the field as the team’s newest bat boy. Bells and whistles go off in my body, and just like that, I’m totally crushing on a guy for the first time in my life. Too bad he’s the coach’s son and officially off-limits.

Kellan Crawford

I’m working toward my statistics degree, so landing the bat-boy position with the Easton U Pirates is right up my alley. It keeps me close to the action on the field, even if that means hauling equipment, picking up sweaty jockstraps, and putting up with the players’ antics. My dad’s the coach, and his number-one rule is never to play favorites…which probably includes getting too friendly with the team captain. But Brady Donovan’s annoyingly perfect smile and protective nature are making that nearly impossible.

When something shifts between us at an away game, everything is thrown off-kilter. Donovan’s never been with a guy before, and I certainly don’t want to be his test case. But I can’t seem to help myself. He’s sweet and hot and somehow charms the baseball pants right off me. If Coach ever catches wind of this, he’ll bench us both. Disappointing my dad might kill me, but so would losing the guy who makes my heart pound harder than a home run in the bottom of the ninth.

So much for not playing favorites.

Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  Finding Home

SERIES:  Finding Series #1

AUTHOR:  Sloane Kennedy

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH: 160 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  June 28, 2015

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“I’ve done everything wrong, Finn. From day one. It was the only way I knew how to be with you and still be worthy of you. But I see now that I never really was.” –Callan

Vengeance. It’s the one thing on ex-cop Rhys Tellar’s mind and he’s spent every day of his two year prison sentence planning how he’ll bring down the former lover and partner who sold him out and cost four people their lives. A six month parole stint working at the CB Bar Ranch in Southwestern Montana should be the easiest thing he’s ever done. But the last thing he expects is to feel something for both the charismatic ranch hand who befriends him and the enigmatic foreman who’s pretending to be something he’s not.

A future. That’s what Finn Stewart wants, but to have it he must leave behind the man he wants above all others, his very straight boss and best friend, Callan Bale. As the only openly gay man in a small, homophobic community, Finn has to fight every day to be who he is and walking away is starting to seem like the easier path. Until Rhys Tellar shows up and changes everything.

A Lie. Callan Bale’s entire life has been about hiding the man he really is and it’s about to cost him the one person who’s managed to worm his way past the walls he’s spent years putting up. But choosing Finn would mean giving up everything he’s worked for and breaking the promises he’s made. At least losing the younger man to Rhys means Finn can have the life he deserves.

Three men. Three choices. One chance at finding home.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Watch Me

AUTHOR: Sloane Kennedy

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 315 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 8, 2020

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Nikolai
My rules when it comes to my job in personal protection are pretty simple:

1. Protect the client’s life, not their feelings.
2. Don’t put hands on a client unless you’re getting them out of harm’s way.
3. For God’s sake, don’t do something stupid like fall in love.

Twenty-four hours after meeting Jude Archer, rules 1 and 2 are already out the window.

Thankfully there’s no chance of falling for the callous businessman who cares more about his next deal than he does his own safety.

Jude may have managed to make fools of all the guys his wealthy boss and rumored lover has hired to watch him, but he’s playing in the big leagues now. The son of a bitch might not value his life, but I’m pretty fond of mine.
Time to teach the clueless Jude Archer a few hard lessons…

Jude
My rules for success aren’t for everyone, but they should be.

1. Work hard.
2. When you’re on the verge of giving up, work harder. Life owes you nothing. You have to take what you want.
3. For God’s sake, don’t do something stupid like get distracted by feelings.

With just weeks between me and the closing of the deal that will give me everything I want, I don’t have time to worry about a supposed stalker who hasn’t had the balls to do anything more than send a few threatening letters to my wealthy boss.

Sure, I sent a few so-called bodyguards packing. Even if I thought I was in serious danger, I can’t have someone watching me 24/7. My life works the way it does for a reason and no one, not even the gorgeous Russian ex-soldier who thinks he can scare me into submission, is going to change that.

Nikolai Falkov thinks he has something to teach me? Yeah, good luck with that.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Friends

SERIES: White House Men #1

AUTHOR: Nora Phoenix

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 353 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2020

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Coulson is straight. So why was he checking Seth out?

Seth is an out and proud Secret Service agent. When he’s asked to assist the FBI on the investigation into the presidential assassination, he meets FBI agent Coulson.

Coulson is straight, or so he says. Seth has no reason to doubt that, not even when they become close friends.

Until he finds himself checking Coulson out a little too closely—especially certain over-sized body parts—and Coulson doing the same to him. For someone who’s straight, Coulson shows a lot of interest in Seth’s dating life, his preferences, and his hook ups. Could it be that he’s not so straight after all?

Meanwhile, every discovery they make in the investigation leads to even more questions. Who killed the president and how did they manage to pull it off? And more importantly: are they done killing…or will more attacks follow?

Friends is an intimate friends-to-lovers romance that begins with a slow burn beautiful friendship but ends in high steam and the happiest of endings. It’s the second book in the White House Men series, a romantic suspense gay romance series set in the White House. Think The West Wing but gay and with less politics. Each book has a new love story with a happily ever after, but the suspense plot ends on a cliffhanger and will be continued in the rest of the series, so the series needs to be read in order. Friends has 95k words. Strong TW for detailed description of terrorist attack.

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Tic-Tac-Mistletoe

AUTHOR:  N.R. Walker

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  203 pages

RELEASE DATE:  November 27, 2020

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Hamish Kenneally is moving from Australia to the US for a fresh start, beginning with Christmas at his sister’s place in Idaho. When a snowstorm diverts his plane to Montana and leaves him stranded two days before Christmas, he hires a car and drives right into a blizzard.

Ren Brooks has always called Hartbridge, Montana, and his family hardware store, home. After a few failed attempts at love, he’s resigned to being single forever—after all, no guy wants to stay in his sleepy little town for long. And after his dad’s passing earlier in the year, Ren’s Christmas is looking bleak. But when a car runs off the road in front of his property, Ren pulls the driver out and takes him home to get out of the cold.

With the storm and the holidays leaving Hamish with nowhere else to go, Ren kindly offers a place to stay. Hamish is certain he’s crashed right into a Hallmark Christmas movie, despite more car delays and road closures and the prospect of not seeing his sister for Christmas. And with help from Hamish, Ren is beginning to feel a little Christmas cheer.

These two unlikely strangers have more in common than they first realise, and after two days of Christmas decorations, cookies, and non-stop conversation, it looks like Christmas might be saved after all.

Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  Finding Peace

SERIES:  Finding Series #3

AUTHOR:  Sloane Kennedy

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

RELEASE DATE:  December 28, 2015

LENGTH:  186 pages

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“I knew it would be like this…like finding something I didn’t know was missing.” –Luke

Author Gray Hawthorne has it all and he’s on the verge of having even more. His bestselling detective novels are being turned into a movie series that will make him a household name and he’s rubbing a lot more than just elbows with Hollywood’s elite. Money, fame and good looks mean an endless supply of men, both groupies and celebrities alike, which suits Gray just fine. He’s smart enough to know that his 5 minutes in the spotlight will be just that and he plans to enjoy every moment. Until he gets the devastating news that threatens to steal everything away…

Army Ranger Luke Monroe lives and breathes the military. They’re the family he never had and a life without his brothers-in-arms is unfathomable. But the ultimate betrayal has Luke on the run and a twist of fate leads him to the small town of Dare, Montana to seek help from the foster brother who saved him once before. Only the brother he’s searching for isn’t the man he finds and he has no choice but to keep running. Until an encounter on the side of the road with a stranger changes everything.

The last thing Gray wants when he seeks refuge at his cabin in the secluded Montana mountains is company but a run-in with the mysterious and very straight Luke has Gray offering the damaged soldier a place to regroup. And since a physical relationship isn’t even on the table, Gray finds himself enjoying something he hasn’t had in a long time…a real friend.

But what happens when friendship just isn’t enough? When a man who’s only been with women begins to crave more?

With one man running from his past and the other running from his future, will finding each other be enough to bring them peace?