Reviewed by Donna

TITLE: The Practical Mage’s Guide to Magic and Mayhem

AUTHOR: Dan Ackerman

PUBLISHER: Supposed Crimes

LENGTH: 189 Pages

RELEASE DATE: June 1st, 2020

BLURB:

Hiram Reinhart abandoned a life of privilege when he could no longer stomach the ugliness of plantation life. Now he resides in Canada, selling small enchantments to keep his rag-tag family fed and housed, if only barely.
Matthew Blackwell, another mage, seeks out Hiram’s assistance in order to find a demon. Hiram seeks out the demon on his own, concerned for the creature’s well-being. The demon, Phaedrus, turns down Hiram’s offer of aid at first. Soon enough, Hiram and Phaedrus regret not helping each other and not much later, it’s all they can do to stay alive.
Hiram and Phaedrus grow closer as they try to stay one step ahead of Blackwell and his unsavory plans. Along the way, they help each other cope with a world that doesn’t have much room for a man who doesn’t like women and a demon who doesn’t belong on either side of the gender binary.

Reviewed by Sammy

TITLE: Extra Time

SERIES: The District Line #4

AUTHOR: C. F. White

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 172 pages

RELEASE DATE:  December 29, 2020

BLURB:

When it’s time, it’s time.

Jay Ruttman and Sebastian Saunders are back.

Used to the press, used to the public interest, and used to being just the two of them, they’ve forged a life juggling their high-profile careers with their low-key relationship. And it’s working. Mostly.

There’s only two things left hanging that could elevate their contentment to perfection—marriage and a child.

Six years since bridge-gate, and Jay’s spectacular proposal on the Millennium Bridge, the bill has now passed for legal same-sex marriage. It looks like they might be able to finally tie the knot, and the pitter patter of tiny feet isn’t as far flung an idea as it might have first seemed.

Until Jay has his first call up to play for the national team and must, once again, decide what’s more important—family or football.

Reviewed by True

TITLE: Dark Christmas Magic: The Quest for Krampus

SERIES: Yuletide Knights

AUTHOR: Johnny Miles

PUBLISHER: Deep Desires Press

RELEASE DATE: December 19, 2020

LENGTH: 259 pages

BLURB:

Someone is kidnapping Magicals. Kris Kringle and his soulmate, Bucket the Elf, are determined to find out why. Only then can they spend the rest of their lives together. But first they must find a suitable candidate to take over the mantle of Santa Claus. They find Griffin Kloss in the backwoods of North Carolina and realize they must get to him quickly.

Someone else is after Griffin and it’s not his former boyfriend, Jackson Frost. Whomever is after Griffin doesn’t want him for his good looks.

Putting themselves at risk, Kris and Bucket, together with Griffin, Old Man Winter, and members of The Wild Hunt, travel to the Ninth Realm, in search of answers. There, in a dark and dismal place, they discover that Krampus, an ancient evil once thought dead, is still alive and at large. Now, they must join forces to battle demons and the menace that threatens not just their happy-ever-after, but the very existence of Earth Realm.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Stars Collide 

SERIES: Written in the Stars, Book 1

AUTHOR: Mia Monroe

PUBLISHER: self-published

RELEASE DATE: January 6, 2020

LENGTH: 268 pages

BLURB:

He always gets what he wants. Until he meets me.

Above average intelligence is the only break life has given me. I studied hard, got the scholarship to my preferred school, and now I’m poised for my dream job.

That is, until Gabriel struts into my life lobbying for the position he didn’t lift a finger for. And who gets to train him? This guy.

Gabriel is many things- soccer star, golden boy, rival- but this is one thing that won’t come easy to him. I’ll prove I’m the better candidate for the position and somehow manage not to get lost in his eyes.

We spend our days talking about space, and when two stars collide, there’s always an explosion.

Stars Collide is a steamy, low angst, enemies to lovers, opposites attract, MM romance with a determined science major, a former athlete finding his way, a galaxy of assumptions, and only ONE bed. It is book one in the Written in the Stars series, featuring science-loving nerds and the men who fall for them.

Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  Against the Grain

SERIES:  Auckland Med #4

AUTHOR:  Jay Hogan

PUBLISHER:  Southern Lights Publishing

LENGTH:  406 pages

RELEASE DATE:  December 8, 2020

BLURB:

I don’t like labels and I’m happy that way, but it’s taken a long time to get here. A jerk of a father, too many bullies to name, and a string of dipshit boyfriends whose interest in me rarely made it past the skirts I sometimes wear. Suffice to say, my faith in men runs a little thin.

The last thing I need is a gruff, opinionated, fiery, closeted, Paralympian jock messing with my hard-won peace. Miller Harrison is a wrinkle in my life I could definitely do without. I have a job that I love at Auckland Med., a boss who understands me, and a group of friends who accept me as I am.

I should walk away.

But Miller knows a thing or two about living life against the grain, and that hope I thought I’d buried a long time ago, is threatening to surface.

REVIEWED BY SADONNA

TITLE:  A Shot of Fear

SERIES: Vasquez Inc #2

AUTHOR: Lou Sylvre

 LENGTH:  163 Pages

RELEASE DATE:   November 29, 2019

BLURB:

Jackie Vasquez knows he needs to submit to a Dom he can trust—just as much as he needs to manage his own life. He found the right Dom in Brian Harrison, and then romance beckoned them both beyond bindings and safewords. They take the first steps toward a life together in London, where Brian is pursuing his dream career at Scotland Yard, and Jackie is working toward a master’s degree. Their private hours deep in the night brim with both heat and beauty as Brian’s artful vision for bondage makes a masterwork out of Jackie, body and soul.

But time together becomes scarce as a series of horrific gaslight crimes keeps Brian at work and out of reach for Jackie much of the time. Though Jackie is faithful, he isn’t the type to sit and wait for his lover’s attentions. His self-assured ways and his geocaching hobby lead him to a dangerous discovery—all is not as it seems at the University. Trapped in the Gaslighter’s web, he’ll need to use every trick he knows to stay calm and buy time. But will Brian unravel the knot of mystery in time to save the man he loves?

Reviewed by Sammy

TITLE: The Inside Edge

AUTHOR: Ashlyn Kane

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 240 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  December 1, 2020

BLURB:

What does a work-life balance look like to recently retired professional athletes?

Ex-hockey player Nate Overton is trying to find out, but dipping his toes in the gay dating scene post-divorce is a daunting prospect even without the news that his show is on thin ice. Before he can tackle either issue, he skates headfirst into another problem—his new cohost. Former figure skater Aubrey Chase is the embodiment of a spoiled rich playboy. He’s also flamboyant, sharp, and hot as sin.

Aubrey knows how important it is to get off on the right foot. He’s just not very good at it outside the rink. Having spent his life desperate for attention, he’ll do anything to get it—even the wrong kind.

For Nate and Aubrey, opposites don’t so much attract as collide at center ice. But while Nate’s everything Aubrey has scrupulously avoided—until now—Aubrey falls suddenly head over heels, and Nate’s only looking for a rebound fling. Can Aubrey convince Nate to risk his heart again, or will their unexpected connection be checked at the first sign of trouble?

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  XOXO, Santa

AUTHOR:  Spencer Spears

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  285 pages

RELEASE DATE:  December 16, 2020

BLURB:

How do you ask your best friend to be your first time?

Blake: What do you do when you realize at age 20 that you might like guys?

If you’re me, you come up with a brilliant and foolproof plan:
Proposition the one gay guy you know to swipe your V-card over winter break.
In my case, that’s my childhood best friend, Henry.

Just one problem—Henry hates my guts.

That’s okay, though, because I’ve got a Plan B:
Download an app, find a guy to hook up with, and figure out once and for all if I’m as gay as my internet search history suggests.

One more little problem—before I can meet the guy I’m messaging online, I have to get through a week’s vacation with Henry and our families.

Henry, who can’t stand me, but who I can’t get out of my head.
Henry, who’s off-limits, but who I maybe kinda sorta kissed last night?
Henry, who’s spending an awful lot of time checking messages on his phone…

XOXO, Santa is a 70,000 word stand-alone gay romance novel with holiday sweetness, first-time steam, and a borderline-unhealthy level of snark. It features jock/nerd, friends-to-lovers, and online love tropes.