Reviewed by Cheryl K

TITLE: Taste of Fear

SERIES: Joker’s Sin

AUTHOR: Davidson King

PUBLISHER: Davidson King

LENGTH: 196 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 8, 2021

BLURB:

Ciro Navarro has never had it easy, but he learned to survive. Nightmares of a past he cannot erase plague him but thankfully, much of his horrible life is in the rearview mirror. He lives in the present, focusing on his found family, lifelong friends, and the job that fulfills him. Ciro’s circle is small but tight; if you’re in it, you are his world. And somehow he’s become a rescuer—at the slightest hint someone he cares about is in trouble, he comes running.

After years of hard work and patience, Xander has fulfilled his goal and made a name for himself as a world-renowned chef. He lives his dream every day: cooking up and serving recipes that bring people joy. Though he has restaurants in several locations, it’s Haven Hart Xander calls home, and he can’t imagine settling anywhere else. Life is good. In fact, everything in Xander’s life is perfect…until people from his past start turning up dead.

When word of a serial killer hell-bent on ending Xander comes to light, Ciro’s instincts kick in and he vows to keep Xander, the sweet and humble man he finds himself gravitating toward, alive. The seriousness of what is happening rattles Xander, and he allows Ciro into his home to protect him. Close proximity heats things up and shows Ciro and Xander how much they’ve come to mean to each other, but the precautions they’ve taken may not be enough to keep them safe.

When the unthinkable happens, they are put to the test. Can Xander and Ciro survive the crazed serial killer who stands in the way of their forever?

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: The Harder We Fall

AUTHOR: Rebecca Raine

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 280 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2021

BLURB:

For years, I’ve been bound by sleeplessness and sorrow. His voice threatens to set me free.

Insomnia. It’s part of the penance I pay for my greatest mistake. But when an ill-timed doze behind the wheel of my car nearly introduces me to a pole, I know something has to change.

Sleep with Me, a locally-made meditation app, promises a cure. I don’t expect it to work. Nor do I expect to become enthralled by the voice of its creator, Sam Stephenson. His ability to coax forth my nightly surrender is unnerving. I have to meet this man and learn the secret behind his techniques, so I can evict him from my head—and still get a good night’s sleep.

In person, the quiet and reclusive Sam is his own kind of complicated. He needs my business skills as much as I need his meditation skills and we forge an unlikely partnership. But the attraction between us soon flares into passion and, as we grow closer, I start to long for more than my guilty conscience will allow.

I have no right to love, not after the damage I’ve done. How can I give Sam all he deserves, when our chance at a happy ending was ruined before we even met?

Reviewed by Larissa and Sadonna

TITLE: Twist Me

SERIES: Tattoos and Temptation Book 6

AUTHOR: Mia Monroe

PUBLISHER: self-published

RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2021

LENGTH: 216 pages

BLURB:

He gave me freedom through restraint.

He captivated me the first time I saw him. I was drawn to him, curious about the mysterious, soft spoken older man. I convinced myself there was no way someone so worldly would be interested in a shy, inexperienced guy like me. I’m careful what I reveal, choosing instead to live with what if.

But with each interaction, I felt things I never had before. Patiently, he gave me the space to peel back my armor, allowing him to twist me apart in ways I never imagined. Now I crave the security of his ropes.

He opened up the way I see the world and myself in it. Can he open my heart too…

Twist Me is a steamy age gap tale exploring love and self through Shibari. It is book six in the Tattoos and Temptation series featuring hot Miami nights, Latin desserts, and guys with ink.

It can be read as a standalone but the author recommends reading the series in order or at least book three, Free Me, for maximum enjoyment.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  All the Way Out 

AUTHOR:  Ingrid Sterling

PUBLISHER:  Literary Wanderlust

LENGTH:  277 pages

RELEASE DATE:  April 1, 2021

BLURB:

Even at that young age Zach knew that those two truths – all-star athlete and homosexual male – could not exist concurrently. So, he’d started dating Rebecca, his devoutly Catholic girlfriend who wants to wait to have sex until she’s married, during his junior year of high school and never looked back.

But on the last night of a team trip to Rome, on the cusp of his senior season at Northwestern University, a Heisman, a number 1 draft pick and a National Championship, Zach seeks out one last anonymous encounter. He opens Grindr and slips out into the Italian summer night to meet Liam – Liam who has a face that looks like it was carved from Carrara marble by one of the ancient greats and whose brazen facade becomes sheepish when he’s asked about his past in Paris. The night is intense, better than Zach could have imagined. But like all one-night stands, it comes to an end by morning’s light.

But what happens to Zach’s carefully manicured plans for a professional football career and a life in the closet when Liam shows up, not only on the Northwestern campus the first day of the fall semester, but in Zach’s upper-level Plato seminar, too?

Reviewed by Cheryl

TITLE: Blind Tiger

SERIES: The Pride Book 1

AUTHOR: Jordan L. Hawk

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 238 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 19, 2021

BLURB:

1924, Chicago. Prohibition is in full swing and gang bosses rule the city with might—and magic.

When Sam Cunningham flees his small-town life to try his luck in the big city of Chicago, he quickly finds himself in over his head in a world of gangs, glitz, and glamour. Fortunately, he has his cousin Eldon to teach him the trade of hex-making.

Everything changes the night Sam visits The Pride speakeasy and meets grumpy cheetah-shifter Alistair Gatti. After losing his first witch to the horrors of the World War, Alistair isn’t interested in any new entanglements, romantic or magical. Especially when said entanglement comes in the form of kind, innocent Sam.

When Eldon is brutally murdered, Sam becomes drawn into the dark underworld of the Chicago gangs. Sam must find the missing hex Eldon created for one of the crime bosses—before whoever killed Eldon comes back for him.

Together, Alistair and Sam begin the search for the mysterious hex, diving deep into the seedy side of Chicago’s underworld while dodging rival gangs. And as they come to rely on one another, Alistair realizes he’s falling for the one man he can’t afford to love.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Quiet House

SERIES: Black and Blue #2

AUTHOR:  Lily Morton

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 271 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2021

BLURB:

Levi Black has mostly recovered from the events of a year ago. The only lingering effects are that he’s much more well known in York than he’d like to be, and he’s a lot more cautious about walking around his house naked. However, those events brought him the capricious and fascinating Blue, so he’s not complaining. On the contrary, he’s happy, in love, and looking forward to Blue finally moving in with him. And if sometimes he wonders what Blue sees in a boring cartoonist, he keeps that to himself.

Blue Billings is finally ready to throw off the memories of his past and move in with the person who means the most in the world to him. His psychic abilities have grown in the last year to his mentor Tom’s consternation, but Blue is determined to look on the bright side. He’s also focused on ignoring all the warning signs that he’s received lately.

However, even deeply buried secrets have a way of rising to the surface. And when a surprise from Blue’s past turns up and draws them away to a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors, Levi and Blue must fight for their survival once again.

From bestselling author, Lily Morton, comes the second book in the Black & Blue series. The books are intended to be read in order.

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Undercover

SERIES:  Vino & Veritas #4

AUTHOR:  Eliot Grayson

PUBLISHER:  Heart Eyes Press

LENGTH:  203 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 29, 2021

BLURB:

Gabe wants Alec between the sheets…too bad Alec’s undercover already…

Rich kid. Party boy. Gabe is tired of the labels. He’s a smart guy, but ever since he got kicked out of grad school, people are only interested in his no-limit credit card and his pierced ears…and other places.

Tall, dark and scowling Alec hates Vermont, with its artisanal-freaking-everything and its irritating people. To be fair, most people irritate Alec, including the FBI director who sent him here to investigate a smuggling scheme involving yoga mats.

When one of the cutest twinks Alec’s ever seen takes an interest, Alec knows there’s an ulterior motive. No one with multi-colored hair, piercings, and an ass like that would want boring, serious Alec. The kid must be up to no good. Either way, Alec can’t blow his cover. If only he could keep his hands off of Gabe long enough to find out what he’s up to…

Can they ignore their explosive chemistry long enough to foil a smuggling ring? Or will their budding relationship sink faster than a yacht full of contraband?

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Flicker

SERIES: The Fire of Felwing #1

AUTHOR: Elizabeth Tybush

PUBLISHER: Ninestar Press

LENGTH: 304 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 2, 2020

BLURB:

Stripped of his magick and exiled to Earth, Solin Felwing vows to redeem himself. He committed a lot of bad for “the greater good” and the only way to make up for it is to give back to those he stole from. Incognito, of course, to avoid being brought to justice by humankind.

Solin volunteers at a soup kitchen, but his redemption is thrown into disarray when his best friend Jemier arrives to profess his love. Sam, Solin’s one-man support group and only human friend, thinks Solin deserves better.

When old enemies resurface, Solin fears his attempt to change is over for good. He could easily wipe his foes from existence—if he had his magick. Saving his friends—and himself—means compromising in new ways, but the temptation to sin remains. Everything could change in a flicker

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Other Side of Here 

AUTHOR:  E.M. Lindsey

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  298 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 30, 2021

BLURB:

“I’m a man of regrets, my love. I can always think of a thousand ways I could have done things better. But I don’t regret him.”

Married for nearly two decades, Luca and Sebastion know what they want from life and from love, but they certainly don’t expect the shake-up that is Alexander Thomas. Their marriage has been open since the start, but it’s not until Luca sends a wrong text that they realize there might be room for something new. Something a little bit more permanent. The only problem is, Xan’s already taken, and the man he’s with is dangerous.

Xan’s life has been off the rails since his parents died, and with his current relationship turning toxic, he’s not sure he wants to inflict his chaos on the lives of two men who don’t deserve it. Luca and Sebastion are worthy of so much more, and Xan isn’t sure he’ll ever deserve the chance at their unconditional love. After all, he’s been engaged to a man who can’t stand him for two years, and he still can’t find the courage to leave. But when things go from bad to worse, Xan knows something has to give, and he realizes then the only difficult step to take is the first one.

Some relationships are meant for moments, and some are meant for forever, but none of these men know how their story will end until they’re standing together, on the other side of here.

The Other Side of Here is a MMM stand-alone romance with a happily ever after. Please see forward for content warnings.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Booklover

SERIES: Vino & Veritas Book #6

AUTHOR: J.E. Birk

PUBLISHER: Heart Eyes Press

LENGTH: 265 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2021

BLURB:

Two guys meet over a stack of romance novels. Soon they’re turning pages late into the night…

Jamie Morin’s college GPA drops every time a cow breaks through a fence, but he’s determined to get his degree and keep his parents’ Vermont dairy farm afloat. He’d rather be reading than milking, but he can’t let his family down…not the way his brother did. So the last thing he needs is distraction in the form of an irresistible bookseller with a mysterious backstory.

Briar Nord has a lifetime of experience proving that happily-ever-afters only happen in his favorite books. But his luck might be changing. He’s got a great job at a bookstore, and he lives in a city that puts maple syrup on everything. But Briar knows not to trust anything or anyone. And that includes a gorgeous farm boy with soulful eyes and too many obligations.

When Jamie joins Briar’s romance novel book club, they both feel an instant connection. Soon they’re turning pages long into the night. But Briar’s past was bound to catch up with him. Sometimes, though, it takes two heroes to write a new ending . . .