Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Evolved

AUTHOR:  N.R. Walker

NARRATOR:  Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER:  Tantor Audio

LENGTH:  8 hours and 17 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  September 4, 2018

BLURB:  

In 2068, androids are an integrated part of human life. Big Brother no longer just watches from the shadows. It’s in every household.

Lloyd Salter has OCD issues with noise and mess, and he’s uncomfortable with human interaction. When his ex claimed the only thing perfect enough to live up to his standards was an android, Lloyd dismissed it. But two years later, after much self-assessment, he thinks he may have been right.

SATinc is the largest manufacturer of androids in Australia, including the Fully Compatible Units known as an A-Class 10. Their latest design is the Synthetic Human Android UNit, otherwise known as SHAUN. Shaun is compatible to Lloyd’s every need; the perfect fit on an intellectual and physical basis.

But Lloyd soon realizes Shaun’s not like other A-Class androids. He learns. He adapts. Sure that SATinc is aware Shaun functions outside of his programmed parameters, Lloyd must find a way to keep Shaun safe. No one can know how special Shaun is. No one can know he’s evolved.

Contains mature themes.

Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE: Blue Moon: Too Good To Be True

SERIES:  Blue Moon #1

AUTHOR: A.E. Via

NARRATOR: Tim Paige

PUBLISHER:  Tantor Audio

LENGTH: 8 hours and 32 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  August 25, 2020

BLURB:

Angel DeLucca is one of the most sought after gay bachelors in Virginia Beach. He’s smart, successful, lethal, and more than anything he’s drop dead gorgeous. When a one night hook-up goes terribly wrong, Angel comes into contact with the breathtaking Maximus “Max” Strong.

Max is a firefighter for the Virginia Beach Fire Department. Max is beautiful, charming, and also very straight. One meeting with the mysteriously sexy Angel DeLucca and a whiff of that silky, jet black hair, Max finds himself questioning everything he’s known to be true about himself. Max tries desperately to understand the new feelings he has for another man and turns to his gay, older brother…Ryker.

Ryker has always been Max’s protector and his guide their entire lives, which has left him feeling uncared for and alone to handle his own life’s problems. Ryker craves to be taken care of, he craves the attention and praise of a Master. No one knows the dark desires within him until Angel’s Chief of Security, Sebastian “Bass” Bagatelli, shatters that secret with their first intense encounter.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Flakes

SERIES:  Licking Thicket Prequel Novella

AUTHOR:  Lucy Lennox and May Archer

NARRATOR:  Michael Dean

PUBLISHER:  Self

LENGTH:  2 hrs and 5 mins

RELEASE DATE:  January 12, 2021

BLURB:

Colin’s Do’s and Don’ts for a Happy New Year:

1. Do not develop a crush on your archnemesis, contractor Ryder Richards.
2. Do finish remodeling the heinous mega-mansion with him well before the first snowflakes fall on New Year’s Eve.
3. Do not notice that he’s still the hottest man in Licking Thicket.
4. Do not let that gorgeous man provoke you.
5. Do not let his provocation distract you.
6. Do not let your distraction leave you stranded at the house with him during a blizzard.
7. Dear heavens, do not let him crack open the moonshine and light a fire.
8. Do not play drunken truth or dare with him.
9. And for gravy’s sake, do not let yourself fall in love.
10. But if you do… Don’t be surprised if this is the happiest year ever.

Opposites attract in this fun prequel novella set during an unexpected Tennessee snowstorm. Enjoy forced-proximity and enemies-to-lovers tropes as this brand new couple finds love among the zany, meddling residents of our beloved Licking Thicket.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Redemption of River

SERIES:  Sex in Seattle #4

AUTHOR:  Eli Easton

NARRATOR:  Michael Stellman

PUBLISHER:  Pinkerton Road LLC

RELEASE DATE:  November 30, 2020

LENGTH:  7 hours and 37 minutes

BLURB:

River Larsen is a world traveler, truth-seeker, and tantric healer. He’s a master of loving all – and no one. Both his past and his spiritual path warn him against attachment. When he falls for his surrogacy client and coffee magnate, Brent McKay, River tells himself it’s a temporary idyll, a beautiful encounter they’ll both enjoy and move on from like mature adults. Only his heart misses that memo.

Brent McKay hasn’t been interested in sex since his wife died two years ago. When he goes to Expanded Horizons sex clinic in Seattle for help, he meets River Larsen, a sex surrogate specializing in reiki massage and tantric sex therapy. Brent never expected to be interested in a man, but River’s light-filled spirit, inner peace, and electric touch bring him back to life. Brent’s loyal heart is ready to commit again. But how can he convince River that love can last forever – if you just have faith?

The Redemption of River features a widower who surprises himself, a gorgeous hippy who thinks he’s a dandelion puff, an age gap, midlife discovery of bisexuality, foodie Seattle, a houseboat, dogs, a trip to Mumbai, and tantric secrets. (You know, the ones that let you have sex for hours. Those secrets.)

The Redemption of River takes place in part at the Expanded Horizons sex clinic and is thus book four of the Sex in Seattle series. It features a brand new couple and can be listened to as a stand-alone.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Smash & Grab 

SERIES: Relic Book 1

AUTHOR:  Maz Maddox

NARRATOR:  Kirt Graves

PUBLISHER:  Tantor Audio

LENGTH:  5 hrs and 38 mins

RELEASE DATE:  January 12, 2020

BLURB:

My standard issued lab badge reads “Simon”, but it really should say “unexciting nerd with no social life”. Don’t get me wrong – I love what I do with a passion, but it doesn’t leave a lot of time for much else. Especially romance.

While chipping away at my work, I’m suddenly the person between hired cartel muscle and the fossil that will define my career. Which isn’t the most insane part of the story.

My savior is a chaotic, bat-wielding punk with a bubble-gum pink mohawk and a killer smile.

In a mad dash to escape the thieves, my knight in studded armor sweeps me across the country while hitting every tourist trap along the way. While smuggling a fossil, might I add.

Oh, and did I mention this pink punk can shift into a dinosaur?

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Fake It ‘Til You Make Out 

SERIES:  Love & Luck Book #1

AUTHOR:  Isla Olsen

NARRATOR:  Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER:  Self Published

LENGTH:  4 hrs and 12 mins

RELEASE DATE:  Oct 9, 2020

BLURB:

Heath:

It’s a classic story: Boy meets girl, girl breaks boy’s heart, boy pretends to be gay to get back at girl, girl outs boy to everyone on Facebook.

Okay, maybe it’s not that classic. But it’s what happened to me.

When I bump into my cheating ex and catch sight of the moon-sized rock on her finger, there’s only one option to save face: pretend to be dating my gay best friend, Declan.

And when she outs me on Facebook and everyone I know sees it, there’s still only one option: keep pretending to be dating Declan.

And when Declan and I have to kiss to keep up the ruse and it turns out there’s actually a spark between us (more like a blazing inferno, if truth be told) there’s once again only one option….

Warning: This book is not appropriate for anyone who doesn’t like laughing, anyone who doesn’t like dogs, or anyone who doesn’t like hot men having a lot of sex…with each other.

*Happily ever after included*

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Virtually Screwed

SERIES:  Love & Luck Book #2

AUTHOR:  Isla Olsen

NARRATOR:  Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER:  Self Published

LENGTH:  5 hrs and 31 mins

RELEASE DATE:  December 22, 2020

BLURB:

Blake

At 43, I’m supposed to have everything figured out, and if you’d asked me six months ago, I’d have said I did: head of my own tech company, beautiful fiancée, amazing future all planned out…life was perfect. Or, at least, I thought it was….

So now, I’m in New York after selling my company and fleeing San Jose, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I have nothing to fill my day – no meetings, no reports, no tests, no launch parties – and that’s how I manage to get hooked on Warpath 4 and, somehow, find myself sexting with a guy almost 20 years younger than me.

Say what?

Okay, here’s the thing: It didn’t start out dirty. It was all completely tame. Mild. Conversational. But then conversation turned to flirting, and flirting turned to dirty talk. And, well…let’s just say things escalated from there.

But it’s just a bit of fun. Right? It’s not like anything would ever work in real life. I’m too old, he’s still closeted. And let’s not get started on how I’m supposedly straight. It’s just way too messy. Definitely best if we never actually meet each other…

But what if we already have?

Turns out my virtual f–k buddy is actually Owen Kelly, my best friend’s kid brother. Which leaves me pretty much screwed….

Warning: This book is not appropriate for anyone who doesn’t like laughing, anyone who doesn’t like the word daddy, or anyone who doesn’t like when hot older guys and gorgeous younger guys have a hella lot of super-steamy sex.

Happily ever after included.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Promise

SERIES:  Single Dad Support Group

AUTHOR:  Piper Scott

NARRATOR:  Michael Ferraiuolo

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  15 hours and 7 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  January 7. 2021

BLURB:

When an ex-boyfriend turns Jayne’s night out into a living hell, he has no choice but to make a deal with two hot, hunky, would-be bodyguards. The promise? If they can get him out unscathed, Jayne will do anything they want…

Sarcastic, snarky, and totally fabulous, when single dad and bioethicist Jayne is cornered by his abusive ex-boyfriend on a night out, he comes up with an escape plan on the fly – find the biggest, strongest, and thirstiest man in the club, and seduce him into giving Jayne safe passage home. Easy. Over the last few years, in a bid to mask the pain of loss, Jayne’s bedded more men who fit that description than he can count, and he knows he won’t have any trouble bagging one tonight.

Until one becomes two, and suddenly, nothing’s so certain anymore.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Heroes for Ghosts

SERIES:  Love Across Time Book 1

AUTHOR:  Jackie North

NARRATOR:  Greg Boudreaux

PUBLISHER:  Self

LENGTH:  6 hrs and 38 mins

RELEASE DATE:  November 18, 2020

BLURB:

Soul mates across time. A sacrifice that could keep them apart forever.

In present day, near the village of Ornes, France, Devon works on his master’s thesis in history as he fantasizes about meeting a WWI American Doughboy.

In 1917, during the Battle of Ornes, Stanley is a young soldier facing the horrors of the battlefield.

Mourning the death of his friends from enemy fire, Stanley volunteers to bring the message for retreat so he can save everyone else in his battalion. While on his mission, mustard gas surrounds Stanley, and though he thinks he is dying, he finds himself in a peaceful green meadow where he literally trips over Devon.

Devon doesn’t believe Stanley is who he says he is, a soldier from WWI. But a powerful attraction grows between them, and if Stanley is truly a visitor from the past, then he is Devon’s dream come true. The problem is, Stanley’s soul wants to finish his mission, and time keeps yanking him back to relive his fateful last morning over and over, even as his heart and body long to stay with Devon.

Will Stanley have to choose between Devon and saving his battalion? Will time betray their love, leaving each alone?

A male/male time-travel romance, complete with hurt/comfort, French coffee, warm blankets, fireplace kisses, the angst of separation, and true love across time.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Secret Santa 

AUTHOR:  Jay Northcote

NARRATOR:  Hamish Long

PUBLISHER:  Self published

LENGTH:  3 hrs and 44 mins

RELEASE DATE:  December 14, 2020

BLURB:

Keeping secrets is never a good way to start a relationship.

Theo hardly has time to date. Between work and caring for his four-year-old son, there aren’t many hours left over. He’s lonely though, so he joins a hook-up app and starts chatting to a guy called Luke. Luke seems friendly, and they arrange to meet. Theo doesn’t mention that he has a child. It’s early days, and he’s worried about putting Luke off before they get to know each other.

Luke is currently working as Santa at the local shopping mall. He figures Theo never has to know. Christmas will be over soon, and Luke will move on to a new, less embarrassing job. He’s surprised when Theo and a little boy visit Santa one afternoon. Theo doesn’t recognize Luke, and Luke realizes he’s not the only one with a secret.

Despite misgivings on both sides, they start dating, and the chemistry is amazing. But as Christmas approaches, their secrets pile up like colorful packages under the tree. If they’re not careful, they’ll lose the best gift of all – each other.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Hitman vs. Hitman

AUTHORS:  Cari Z and L.A. Witt

NARRATOR:  Michael Ferraiuolo

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  7 hours and 40 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  November 2, 2020

BLURB:  

Ricardo Torralba and August Morrison don’t agree on much besides the fact that they hate each other. According to Ricardo, August is a spoiled brat who really needs to knock off the sass, once in a while. August insists that Ricardo needs a sense of humor, a good lay, or a well-placed bullet. Maybe all three.

Fortunately, the assassin’s profession is a solitary one, and they can go about their lives without getting in each other’s way.

Usually.

When a contracted hit turns out to be a setup for both of them, they narrowly escape with their lives. Now, even if they don’t like it (spoiler: They don’t), August and Ricardo have to work together if they want a shot at survival.

In between firefights and questionable interrogation methods as they hunt down their would-be killer, the cranky assassins discover that under all that mutual loathing is a spark of chemistry they can’t ignore. They want to ignore it, they probably should ignore it, but August can’t help flirting to annoy Ricardo, and Ricardo can think of at least one way to shut him up for a while.

But they need to focus, damn it, and figure out who’s gunning for them and why. Assuming they don’t kill each other first.

Hitman vs Hitman is a stand-alone, gay romantic suspense featuring two men who’d rather chew glass than fall for each other, a whole lot of inappropriate comments, and some buttons that will need resewing.

Reviewed by Cheryl K

TITLE:  Everybody Burns

SERIES:  Enhanced World #6

AUTHOR:  Victoria Sue

NARRATOR:  Iggy Toma

PUBLISHER:  Tantor Audio

LENGTH:  8 hours and 4 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  November 03, 2020

BLURB:

Eli was only seven years old when he had been given to monsters.

Sixteen years later he finally gets the chance for revenge, and with his enhanced abilities changing, nothing and no one is going to stop him, especially a new partner who seems to see right through the black holes in his soul.

Agent Daniel Connelly left Washington trying to keep his sanity, but the images of the innocent victims are still haunting him and knows the horror in Eli’s eyes is exactly what he is trying to forget.

Everybody Burns is a story about two men falling in love. Except one doesn’t think he is capable of it…and the other doesn’t think he deserves it.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  A Boyfriend for Christmas

AUTHOR:  Jay Northcote

NARRATOR:  Hamish Long

PUBLISHER:  Self

LENGTH:  6 hrs and 2 mins

RELEASE DATE:  12/11/2020

BLURB:

Archie’s posh parents want him to meet a nice girl – how can he tell them he’s fallen for a bad boy instead?

Closeted, innocent, and lonely, Archie Arandale longs for someone special in his life. A Christmas party organized by his wealth management company is the last place he expects to meet the man of his dreams.

With his leather jacket, tattoos, and piercings, Cal Turner turns heads the moment he walks through the door. He definitely isn’t looking for a boyfriend, but Archie’s hesitant charm captures his attention, and sneaking off during the party to have a little fun can only make a dull evening more interesting.

After their reckless and thrilling encounter, Archie is keen for more experience and Cal is happy to oblige. The need for secrecy means this can only be a casual fling, yet as they spend time together in the run up to Christmas, their feelings become more intense than either of them had bargained for. How can Archie find the courage to tell his family about Cal, when Cal’s the exact opposite of the “nice girl” they’ve been hoping for?

Contains: a closeted virgin, a tattooed biker, class differences, a dramatic coming out, a very inappropriate Christmas gift, and a happy ending (of course).