Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Home Plate

AUTHOR:  Christina Lee

SERIES:  Easton U Pirates #2

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  256 pages

RELEASE DATE:  January 29, 2021

BLURB:

Dominic Girard

My final baseball season with the Easton U Pirates feels bittersweet. I’d like to go out on a high note, graduate, and focus on the family business. But a certain pitcher is making senior year a challenge. Not only because Maclain is stubborn as hell, but because he makes me feel things I never have about another guy. With each snarky comment and hard-won grin, he reveals a little more of himself, and before I know it, I’m in over my head.

Mason Maclain

I’ll be graduating college this year, which also means the end of baseball, a sport I’ve played my entire life. It feels like a significant chapter is coming to a close, leaving behind a void I’m unwilling to face. Something else I don’t want to face? The impossibly charming Pirates catcher, whose quick wit and killer smirk poke holes in all my defenses. With each lingering look and quiet exchange, I want to push him away and pull him closer at the same time. I’ve never felt this intense draw before, and there’s no way I’ll ever admit it.

When Coach proposes a team-building activity to improve our chemistry on the field, little does he know things are heating up behind the scenes as well. A flicker of a connection sparks into a firestorm, and soon Girard and I are experiencing things for the first time—together. But outside the haven of our hotel room, reality infringes all too soon. I’m clinging to my fraying relationship with my dad, and for Girard, coming out is still scary, loving family or not. Resisting the pull to Girard seems futile, but I struggle at every turn. Any longer and I’ll lose the only person who makes my pulse thud quicker than a fastball over home plate.

There’s a pitcher-and-catcher joke in there somewhere.

Reviewed by Cheryl K

TITLE: The Murder Between Us

AUTHOR: Tal Bauer

PUBLISHER: Tal Bauer

LENGTH: 280 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 28, 2021

BLURB:

It was just one night.
It was just one mistake.

FBI Agent Noah Downing had questions about his sexuality that a single night in Vegas should have answered. But dawn finds him on a plane back to Iowa, back on the trail of a vicious serial killer who disappeared six years ago and has suddenly resurfaced. There’s nothing like a murder investigation to escape an existential crisis.

FBI profiler Cole Kennedy is still reeling after finding a heart-stopping connection with a seemingly perfect man, only for him to vanish. When he’s sent to Iowa to profile the killer terrorizing America’s heartland, he finds more questions than answers – both about the murderer and about Noah, the last man he ever expected to see again.

A twisted secret stretches between Cole and Noah, tangled with questions they both have about each other. But now, thrown together, they’ll have to unravel the killer’s profile and follow his trail… back to the very beginning, to where everyone’s questions are answered once and for all.

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Walker’s Flame

AUTHOR:  I.M. Flippy

SERIES:  L.A. Fire #1

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  210 pages

RELEASE DATE:  January 29, 2021

BLURB:

Walker Grace and I used to be best friends, having co-starred together on a hit TV show for almost a decade.

But when Walker came out of the closet and it wrecked his career, he drifted away just when he needed me most.

Now Walker’s got another chance at the spotlight, and the two of us have a second chance at repairing what was broken.

As the stars of LEO TV’s new firefighter drama, L.A. Fire, we’ll be back together on screen, and maybe best buddies once again.

I just have to pretend that I haven’t been in love with Walker Grace since the day I first met him.

Good thing I can act.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: A Dragon’s Fortune

SERIES: Magic Emporium #3

AUTHOR: Sam Burns & W.M. Fawkes

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 162 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 28, 2021

BLURB:

Cillian Roarke is the world’s sweetest dragon. He’s a great boss, a good person, and he spends his days making honey-glazed caramel treats in the shape of bunnies for his bakery, Honey Bunny. Still, the highlight of every day is watching the adorable college student who’s Much Too Young For Him stuff his face full of Cillian’s sweet buns.

Finnick West is a college student who dreams of baked goods, much to the consternation of his figure-skating partner. She’s not offended by the temptation, but by Finnick’s continuing failure to ask out the cute baker. With pressure from all sides, Finn knows it’s time to take something for himself, if only he can catch Hot Baker’s eye.

While the two of them work up the nerve to ask each other out, an assassination attempt reveals forces working to not only stop their interspecies romance in its tracks, but destroy everything and everyone they love.

A Dragon’s Fortune is part of the Magic Emporium Series. Each book stands alone, but each one features an appearance by Marden’s Magic Emporium, a shop that can appear anywhere, but only once and only when someone’s in dire need. This book contains dragons, ice skating, a whole bunch of sugar, and a guaranteed HEA.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Sheriff’s Secret 

SERIES:  Brigs Ferry Bay Book 1

AUTHOR: K Webster

PUBLISHER: self

RELEASE DATE: 12/29/2020

LENGTH: 307 pages

BLURB:

When you’re the sheriff of Brigs Ferry Bay, certain things are expected of you.
Marry a local girl, settle down, have a few kids. You know, the small-town dream.
But I’ve got a secret I’m terrified will get out.

I’m gay.
Not bi. Not curious. Not confused.
Just gay.
So, settling for that dream won’t be happening.

If this secret gets out, the people I serve and protect, especially my father, won’t be accepting.
I’m not brave like my high school sweetheart, Kian.
The day he came out was the day I had to let him go, and with it, love.

I’ve done a great job of pretending I’m perfectly fine being single. Until a villainous and annoyingly charming new B&B owner, Dante Kincaid, rolls into town. The spark between us is electric and undeniable. He wants to give me a taste of what he has to offer, and better yet, he vows to be discreet. I’m too selfish to refuse.
But my secret is still a heavy burden, leaving me handcuffed to expectations and unable to fully grasp what I want—him. History has a way of repeating itself, but this time around, with Dante, it’ll hurt a lot worse.
I have to decide if I’m going to let love slip away again or if I’m going to finally fight for it.

***Brigs Ferry Bay is a steamy MM romance series. While each book can be read as a standalone, in order to get the full experience, they’re best read in order. Enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, hurt comfort, age-gap romance, and so much more. Fall in love with the charming small-town gay romances of Brigs Ferry Bay…***

Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: One Cup Of Daddy and a Dash of Love

SERIES: Unexpected Daddies (Book 1)

AUTHOR: Victoria Sue

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 196 pages

RELEASE DATE:  July 16, 2020

BLURB:

Can an accidental Daddy love a boy for real? 

Jensen Cartwright managed to get to forty-seven years old thinking he would never meet a man that wanted the sort of relationship he craved until Dashael literally fell into his arms.

Homeless, and convinced adulthood is some cruel joke forced on him to make him lonely, Dash is overawed by the sexy older man who seems to offer him everything he’s ever wanted including story time, bath time, and special play time.

One Cup of Daddy contains an overworked businessman who finds out that cuddling a sweet boy and keeping him safe might be the best thing he’s ever done, and a scared boy who discovers that finding a Daddy and holding on tight might just be the best recipe for love ever written.

#AgePlay #NoABDL

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Infected: Legacy

SERIES:  Infected #11

AUTHOR:  Andrea Speed

PUBLISHER:  self-published

RELEASE DATE:  December 17, 2020

LENGTH:  184 pages

BLURB:

The werecat virus has altered society, and for Roan McKichan, a born infected ex-cop turned private investigator, life is a capricious landscape.

With all the unknowns of his mutating virus, Roan has relocated to Canada, and he should be enjoying early retirement, but his restlessness makes it impossible to walk away from being a detective. Taking on the case of a missing teenager gives Roan the chance to use his heightened senses to see through the deceptions—and reunites him with a few old friends.

As Roan and Dylan adjust to their new reality, everything shifts again… when Roan discovers he might not be alone in his exceptional abilities.

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: In Death

SERIES: sequel to For Life

AUTHOR: Sam Burns & W.M. Fawkes

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 130 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 21, 2021

BLURB:

Robin Dubicki almost lost his best friend to cancer last year, but everything changed the night they met the mysterious tall, dark, and handsome Doctor Sexy. Now, Timothy’s different. The sports-loving, sunshine man who was always at Robin’s side is now attached at the waist to his new boyfriend, and Robin’s convinced he’s joined a cult. Why else would Timothy refuse to go out in the daytime?

While Luke’s friend Michael is immersed in taking care of his new boy, Luke is the only one to notice Timothy’s best friend investigating. If he’s not careful, the young man’s going to get himself killed digging for dangerous secrets.

When Robin puts himself right in harm’s way, Luke has no choice but to act, and this loner vampire and lonely boy will find the connection they’ve both been looking for—if Robin can break free of a rival vampire trying to manipulate him.