Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Beneath the Stain

SERIES:  Beneath the Stain #1

AUTHOR:  Amy Lane

PUBLISHER:  Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH:  352 pages

RELEASE DATE:  October 17, 2014

BLURB:

In a town as small as Tyson, CA, everybody knew the four brothers with the four different fathers—and their penchant for making good music when they weren’t getting into trouble. For Mackey Sanders, playing in Outbreak Monkey with his brothers and their friends—especially Grant Adams—made Tyson bearable. But Grant has plans for getting Mackey and the Sanders boys out of Tyson, even if that means staying behind.

Between the heartbreak of leaving Grant and the terrifying, glamorous life of rock stardom, Mackey is adrift and sinking fast. When he’s hit rock bottom, Trav Ford shows up, courtesy of their record company and a producer who wants to see what Mackey can do if he doesn’t flame out first. But cleaning up his act means coming clean about Grant, and that’s not easy to do or say. Mackey might make it with Trav’s help—but Trav’s not sure he’s going to survive falling in love with Mackey.

Mackey James Saders comes with a whole lot of messy, painful baggage, and law-and-order Trav doesn’t do messy or painful. And just when Trav thinks they may have mastered every demon in Mackey’s past, the biggest, baddest demon of all comes knocking.

Reviewed by True

TITLE: Shai

SERIES: Malicious Gods: Egypt #2

AUTHOR: H.L. Day writing as H.L. Night

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 300 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 18, 2021

BLURB:

How do you play a game when there aren’t any rules?

Petty crook and drug dealer Elijah Page’s plan was simple. Stay off the feuding crime-lords’ radar for long enough to make a quick buck in the city, and then get out. He couldn’t have been more naïve. Captured and beaten by McIntyre, he escapes death, only to find himself in the hands of McIntyre’s opponent. Shai is an enigma, a man as charming as he is twisted. And he’s set his sights on possessing Elijah—body and soul.

Shai will stop at nothing until he’s ousted McIntyre. In the meantime, fate has provided him with an interesting distraction in the shape of the stubborn and rebellious Elijah. Elijah’s lips may say one thing, but his body says something else entirely. Elijah might think he has what it takes to go up against a man like Shai, but he’s wrong. He’s nothing but a fly in Shai’s web, and Shai will always be two steps ahead.

A game ensues. One that Elijah may not even realize he’s playing, or just how big a pawn he is. Everything is at stake. Possibly even his heart and mind. By the time Shai has finished with him, there might not be anything left of the man he used to be.

Let the games begin.

A dark mm romantic suspense featuring snakes as a weapon, a manipulative main character, and a few twists and turns along the way.

Welcome to the dark world of Malicious Gods: Egypt. A collection of standalone modern tales, both magical and non-magical, featuring deities from Ancient Egypt. You’ll find reincarnated Gods, assassins, gangs, madness, and different realities. Expect high heat and morally ambiguous themes. Seductive and often twisted, they are not for the fainthearted.

Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  Forbidden Lover

SERIES:   Exit Strategy #4

AUTHOR:  Jocelynn Drake

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  254 pages

RELEASE DATE:  June 11, 2021

BLURB:

Devlin Relic was off limits.

The sweet man had already lost a husband and nearly lost his life when someone put a contract on his head last year.

He needed to focus on raising his adopted son and finding a nice, normal man.

Kai was anything but nice and normal.

He was an assassin, and that did not fit into Dev’s neat and tidy life.

But when a dead body mysteriously appears in Dev’s bathtub, it looks like an assassin is exactly what he needs.

Maybe this time Kai will be brave enough to fight for Devlin and finally put his exit strategy to use.

Reviewed by Cheryl K

TITLE: The Grave Between Us: M|M Romantic Suspense

SERIES: A Noah & Cole Thriller Book 2

AUTHOR: Tal Bauer

PUBLISHER: Self

LENGTH: 376 Pages

RELEASE DATE: June 06, 2021

BLURB:

It was just one moment.
It was just one mistake.

For years, men have been disappearing. A father in North Carolina. A boater in California. A hiker in Arkansas. And more, scattered across the United States. The FBI knows who’s responsible: a serial killer they caught, a man they sent young profiler Cole Kennedy to interrogate. But then the killer escaped, leaving the FBI in chaos and Cole’s psyche in tatters.

Eight years later, Cole’s life has changed. He’s found the man of his dreams, and he’s moved to Iowa to be with Special Agent Noah Downing, leaving the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit and the murderers behind.

Or so he thought.

An attack on the backroads of Iowa shatters the FBI, and in the aftermath, they uncover the signature of the last man they expect: the killer who got away. Now he’s hunting Noah, and the BAU descends on Des Moines, sending Cole back on the psychological chase.

To catch the only man who has ever beaten him, Cole will have to delve inside the killer’s mind. It’s a place he barely survived before, and the deeper he goes, the more horrors await. And though Noah is ordered to back off the investigation, he won’t leave Cole to face this darkness alone.

If Cole has any hope of saving the man he loves, he must unravel the killer’s twisted profile and follow his trail of death… even when it leads him into the marrow of his worst nightmares.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Farview

SERIES:  Greynox to the Sea #2

AUTHOR:  Kim Fielding

PUBLISHER:  Tin Box Books

LENGTH:  268 pages

RELEASE DATE:  June 10, 2021

BLURB:

Ravaged by a horrific experience, Oliver Webb flees the smog-bound city of Greynox for a quiet seaside village and the inheritance he’s never seen: a cottage called Farview. He discovers clear skies, friendly imps, and a charming storyteller named Felix Corbyn.

With help from Felix’s tales, Oliver learns surprising secrets about his family history and discovers what home really means. But with Felix cursed, Oliver growing deathly ill, and an obligation in Greynox hanging heavy around his neck, it seems that not even wizards can save the day.

Still, as Felix knows, stories are the best truths and the most powerful magic. Perhaps the right words might yet conjure a chance for happiness.

Reviewed by True

TITLE: Luca

SERIES: Gentlemen of the Emerald City #1

AUTHOR: L.A. Witt

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 303 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2021

BLURB:

Ethan

Hockey season is over, and that means one thing—returning home to my empty condo. With nothing to distract me from this loneliness, it’s going to be a miserable summer.

Then I hire Luca for one night.

At least, it was supposed to be one night.

Luca

Ethan isn’t like my other clients (not that I have many these days). He’s nice. He’s genuine. He doesn’t treat me like I’m here to earn my pay.

When he asks me to make this a regular thing for the summer, my wallet doesn’t leave me much choice.

But I’m pretty sure my heart isn’t supposed to get involved.

Gentlemen of the Emerald City

Luca is Book 1 of Gentlemen of the Emerald City, a sexy series centered around the high class, high-dollar Gentlemen of Seattle’s most exclusive escort service. Each book is full of snark, sass, and sweetness, and like any Emerald City client, you’re guaranteed a happy ending.

Reviewed by Cheryl

TITLE: Proficiency Bonus

SERIES: Roll for Love #3

AUTHOR:  Charlie Novak

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 269 pages

RELEASE DATE:  May 18 2021

BLURB:

Organising yourself is harder than it looks—Lewis may be a highly proficient PA for two very successful cosplayers, but that means nothing when you’re living at your parent’s house after yet another failed relationship and trying to find some stable ground.

Jason Lu, star of Celestials, is stuck between a rock and a hard place. When the show is cancelled and his character pigeonholed into a homophobic ending, Jason must choose whether to fall in line or break ranks. But one misstep will mean bumping heads with some powerful people.

Teaming up with the very cute guy he met at Comic Con seems like a natural first step and now Lewis and Jason must choose between heartbreak and justice. As they forge ahead, they realise there are no bonuses for navigating life’s challenges, instead they’ll just have to fight for what they believe in.

But sometimes overcoming the biggest hurdles yields the best results.

Proficiency Bonus is a 79,000-word contemporary MM romance featuring plushies, Pokémon, and a fight for the perfect ending. It is book three in the Roll for Love series and can be read as a standalone.

REVIEWED by Jay V.

TITLE: Wormwood Summer

AUTHOR: Kai Butler

SERIES: San Amaro Investigations #1

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 364 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 18, 2021

BLURB:

Parker Ferro owes the fae his life. They’ve come to collect.

When the Summer Queen summons Parker to her court, the private investigator knows there’s trouble brewing. Trapped into compliance by his past debt to the fae monarch, he’s tasked with locating a missing girl in San Amaro. Now he has to find the girl or give up his life.

Things only get more complicated when a very familiar cop asks Parker for his help on a case involving murdered magic users. With the victims completely drained of their magic, the San Amaro Police Department needs Parker’s special skill set to track down a killer. Navigating through San Amaro’s paranormal underbelly while dealing with his own past and this new case is the last thing Parker wants or needs.

Now Parker’s stuck trying to locate a missing girl, stop a paranormal war, find a killer, and resist Detective Nicholas King’s many charms. Here’s hoping he doesn’t die trying.

Reviewed by True

TITLE: Ben’s Boss

SERIES: Maine Men #2

AUTHOR: K.C. Wells

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 267 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 12, 2021

BLURB:

“Pearson’s a common name.”

“It can’t be him.”

“God wouldn’t be that cruel.”

A painful history

Walking into the job interview confirms Ben White’s worst fears. It’s been eight years since high school, yet he can still recall Wade Pearson’s taunts.

There’s always a chance Wade isn’t the same homophobic asshole Ben knew. Yeah right.

Except the boy Ben remembers has grown into one seriously hot, brooding man. In another life, Ben would have climbed him like a tree. Wade’s gaze still makes Ben shiver – although now for entirely different reasons.

A secret longing

As soon as Wade read Ben’s application, he knew he had to see him. Ben’s still as gorgeous as Wade remembers. It’s obvious he doesn’t expect to get the job, given their history.

But Wade has an agenda. He has to make it up to Ben for treating him so badly – not that Ben will ever know why he acted like he did. Seeing him every day only heightens Wade’s regret. If he’d had more courage back then, maybe he and Ben could have been something.

The least he can do is show Ben he’s changed.

There’s no way Wade can get what he really wants – Ben’s heart.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Treaure

SERIES:  Greynox to the Sea #1

AUTHOR:  Kim Fielding

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  132 pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 3, 2016

BLURB:

Julian Massey has always been sickly. When the young man’s parents send him to the seaside town of Urchin Cove to recuperate, he finds himself stranded in a tiny cabin with only the quirky local inhabitants for company. Then a storm blows through, and he finds an unexpected discovery washed up on the beach: an unconscious man.

After stealing a treasure, Kit Archer is taken prisoner by a ruthless pirate, Captain Booth. When a storm hits the pirate ship, Kit is able to escape, but not without serious injuries. Jules nurses him back to health, and friendship grows into desire. But Captain Booth is bound to come in search of his treasure and the man who stole it.

In a world with dragons, sprites, and wizards, it’s going to take more than a little magic for Jules and Kit to find lasting happiness together.

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Solstice Surprise

AUTHOR:  Gabbi Grey

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  175 pages

RELEASE DATE:  April 15, 2021

BLURB:

A blizzard, an urgent plea, a desperate journey, and the most important moment of their lives.

Action movie star Peter Erickson is spending the Christmas holidays ensconced with his in-laws and his new husband. In the wilds of Northern British Columbia, they are as far away from the bustle of the
city as they can get.

Thomas Walsh and his famous husband are deeply in love. Although he prefers the intimacy of their city house, he’s come home to face the reason he left ten years ago, and to finally tell his parents the truth.

A desperate phone call has the couple scrambling. Will they get back to Vancouver in the middle of a snowstorm in time for their solstice
surprise?