Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  All in with Him

SERIES:  Men of Summer # 3

AUTHOR:  Lauren Blakely

NARRATOR:  Teddy Hamilton, Jacob Morgan

PUBLISHER:  Lauren Blakely Books

LENGTH:  6 hours and 51 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  August 27, 2021

BLURB:

Performed by Teddy Hamilton and Jacob Morgan, the emotional, romantic, and sexy All in with Him is the final novel in the utterly addictive Men of Summer series!

Once upon a time, all I needed was baseball, friends, and extracurricular activities. Then everything changed when Declan Steele stormed into my life and upended all my priorities with his heart, his love, his passion.

So my next five-year plan will include this new ground rule — love big.

Only, that’s easier said than done when my man and I come face to face with hard truths and new troubles about what it means to be all in.

That’s when I learn that finding love isn’t the hardest part. Keeping it is.

All in with Him is the final novel in the Men of Summer series, and should be listened to following Winning with Him.

This audiobook also contains the novella Thirst Trap, performed duet by Shane East and Joe Arden! (*See my Thirst Trap review here)

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Thirst Trap

SERIES:  A Men of Summer Novella

AUTHOR:  Lauren Blakely

NARRATOR:  Joe Arden, Shane East

PUBLISHER:  Lauren Blakely Books

LENGTH: 59 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  August 27, 2021

BLURB:

Some men are irresistible. Like that smoking hot British guy I meet at a nightclub. Trouble is, he disappears after our last dirty dance.

But I’m determined to find my man again.  And I’ve got just the plan — I’ll send him a thirst trap.

But his answer surprises the hell out of me…

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Winning with Him

SERIES:  Men of Summer #2

AUTHOR:  Lauren Blakely

NARRATOR:  Teddy Hamilton, Jacob Morgan

PUBLISHER:  Lauren Blakely Books

LENGTH:  8 hours and 27 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  August 3, 2021

BLURB:

Performed by Jacob Morgan and Teddy Hamilton, the emotional, intense, and sexy romance Winning with Him is the second novel in the utterly addictive Men of Summer series!

Resisting the shortstop has never been my strong suit. I failed at it during my first spring training. It sure as hell looks like I’m about to fail at it again.

The sport I love playing with my very soul hangs in the balance. But everything my heart craves lies with the guy I’ve got to resist.

A guy who’s asking me to make the toughest choice ever.

But how do I become the man I want to be…with him or without him?

Trouble is, I can’t seem to get Declan out of my head, even if I stand to lose everything I’ve worked for my entire life…

Winning with Him is book two in the utterly addictive Men of Summer series and should be listened to following Scoring with Him. This romance between two professional athletes spans five epic years.

Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  Atonement

SERIES:  The Protectors

AUTHOR:  Sloane Kennedy

NARRATOR:  Michael Dean

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

RELEASE DATE:  September 30, 2019

LENGTH: 9 hours and 5 minutes

BLURB:

“Once a f–k up, always a f–k up.”

Words 26-year-old Dante Thorne has had to live with for more years than he can count and a title he finally earned at the tender age of 16, when one careless decision led to tragedy. And since he can’t deny the truth of the words, why not live by them instead? F–king up, f–king, it doesn’t matter as long as it feels good and makes him forget the day he failed the one person he’d always sworn to protect. A good philosophy to live by, until Dante meets the one man who might actually have him wishing he was something more….

At 41, and with a distinguished career as a Texas Ranger under his belt, Magnus DuCane should have been in the prime of his life. Instead, he’s mourning the loss of the daughter he couldn’t save and contemplating a future that looks nothing like the one he had planned. The only bright spot in his life is the young grandson who has suddenly been returned to him after going missing two years earlier and the new family of men that he’s been welcomed into with open arms.

But with his iron will, unfailing self-control, and unflappable discipline, Magnus knows he can start a new chapter and get his life back on track…if he can just get past the disturbing, unexpected feelings one young man stirs in him. Because, everything about Dante Thorne is wrong for Magnus. His arrogance, his cocky attitude, every single unfiltered word that falls unchecked out of his mouth and, of course, the fact that he’s a man.

But when his well-meaning friends send Dante with him as a bodyguard when he returns to Texas to testify in a high-profile case, Magnus begins to see beyond the brash words and endless sexual innuendo. And when he starts to discover that what he sees isn’t all that bad, suddenly, the fact that that Dante is a man instead of a woman no longer seems like such a big sticking point….

Reviewed by Stephen K.

TITLE: Netminder

SERIES: Codename: Winger #4

AUTHOR: Jeff Adams

NARRATOR: Kirt Graves

PUBLISHER: Big Gay Media

LENGTH: 60,788 words (approximately 8 hours)

RELEASE DATE: June 29^th 2021

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Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  The Quiet House

SERIES:  Black and Blue #2

AUTHOR:  Lily Morton

NARRATOR:  Joel Leslie

PUBLISHER:  Self Published

LENGTH:  8 hours and 8 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  July 23, 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.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Endless Road to Sunshine

AUTHOR:  Nicky James

NARRATOR:  Nick J. Russo

PUBLISHER:  self-published

LENGTH:  13 hours and 26 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  August 20, 2021

BLURB:

My name is Jason Atkinson, and I married a serial killer. 

My world shattered on a cold April morning when they took my husband away in cuffs.

The life I knew, the man I loved, and the world I believed in was nothing but a lie. He stole my trust, my happiness, and my faith in humanity, and I’m not sure how to move on.

With my mental health hanging by a thread and a media circus following me everywhere I go, escape seems like the only answer.

Shedding my old life and starting fresh.

A new city. A new job. A new name.

Maybe everyone will leave me alone and let me wallow in peace.

But Skylar Dawson, a student almost twenty years my junior, has a different plan.

Everything about him is endless – his eyes, his smile, even his babbling mouth.

He shines with a blinding inner light I can’t ignore.

He’s a ray of sunshine in my dark world.

Skylar Dawson will not be ignored.

But will his energy and patience run out when he realizes I’m too tormented and broken to love him back?

This is a hurt/comfort, student/teacher, grumpy/sunshine, age gap (25/43) MM romance novel with a moderate amount of angst.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Mystery at the Masquerade

SERIES:  Secrets and Scrabble #3

AUTHOR:  Josh Lanyon

NARRATOR:  Matt Haynes

PUBLISHER:  JustJoshin Publishing

LENGTH:  6 hours and 15 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  May 25, 2021

BLURB:  

Love Is in the Salt Sea Air – And So Is Murder!

Ellery Page, aspiring screenwriter, reigning Scrabble champion, and occasionally clueless owner of the village’s only mystery bookstore, the Crow’s Nest, is both flattered and bemused when he’s invited to the annual Marauder’s Masquerade, the best and biggest social event of the season in the quaint seaside village of Pirate’s Cove, Rhode Island. The event is hosted by the wealthy Marguerite Bloodworth-Ainsley – a descendant of the famed pirate Tom Blood.

Ellery doesn’t even know Mrs. Bloodworth-Ainsley – nor, it turns out – does Mrs. Bloodworth-Ainsley know him. But Marguerite’s son, Julian wants to know Ellery. Julian, handsome, rich and engaging, is a huge mystery buff. In fact, he’s bought quite a few books at the Crow’s Nest bookstore, but never quite worked up the nerve to ask Ellery out.

As his relationship with Police Chief Carson seems to be dead in the water, Ellery is grateful for a little flattering attention from the village’s most eligible bachelor, but any hopes of romance hit the shoals, when Julian is accused of murdering his mother’s unlikable second husband during the Masquerade’s annual ghost hunt in the family’s spooky cemetery.

Reviewed by Stephen K.

TITLE: The Half Wolf

AUTHOR: Jay Northcote

NARRATOR: Hamish Long

PUBLISHER: Jaybird Press

LENGTH: 6 hours and 38 minutes

RELEASE DATE: June 24^th 2021

BLURB:

Mate, family, pack, home… Can Quinn and Kellan have it all?

Quinn grew up feeling out of place in the small town he calls home. Yearning for something he can’t name, he’s always felt different but never known why.

Kellan is part of a nomadic shifter pack. When they set up camp in the woods near Quinn’s town, the humans are unwelcoming and suspicious of the newcomers. The moment Kellan catches sight – and scent – of Quinn, he knows Quinn is special. But for the first time in his life, Kellan can’t trust his instincts. Quinn is human, and Kellan is a wolf shifter, so how can they ever be mates?

Their bond is instant and exhilarating. It breaks Quinn’s heart to know their relationship can only be temporary. Love isn’t enough when pack law forbids shifters to mate with humans. Tension explodes between pack and humans, and when Quinn discovers a shocking truth about himself that changes everything, he fears he’ll have to choose between the only life he’s ever known and the man he loves.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Extra Whip

SERIES:  Bold Brew #8

AUTHOR:  LA Witt

NARRATOR:  Michael Ferraiuolo

PUBLISHER:   Self-published

LENGTH:  13 hours and 36 minute

RELEASE DATE:  August 3, 2021

BLURB:

Will and Aaron Taylor have a perfectly imperfect marriage. For 20 years, even when their desires haven’t quite matched, they’ve always found ways to adapt…until now. When Aaron’s needs push past his Dom’s limits, their best hope for compromise is finding a unicorn — a third person who checks both men’s boxes.

After his estranged father wills him a house he doesn’t want in a town he doesn’t know, Kelly Griffith is itching to find his place in this unfamiliar new world. When he finds an ad from a couple looking for a sub like him, he jumps at the opportunity. A chance to be what someone needs and wants instead of being a perpetual disappointment? Yes, please.

The chemistry sizzles from the get-go. Will and Aaron insist they don’t want to be poly, and Kelly doesn’t want to be anyone’s third wheel, but playing together? Any time, any place. All they have to do is keep emotions from joining the party as the trust and intimacy deepen between them.

But by the time they realize they’re in over their heads, hitting the brakes is no longer as simple as using a safe word.

Extra Whip is a Venti-sized (140,000-word) stand-alone novel in the Bold Brew shared universe centered around an inclusive coffee shop set in a fictional small city. Each steaming hot coffee shop romance can be enjoyed alone, but collect all 10 for the most fun! This ménage romance contains a happily married couple in their 40s, a sassy 30-something submissive, lots of fluffy steam, and a guaranteed happy ending!

Reviewed by Stephen K.

TITLE: Push & Pull

SERIES: (The Midwest Series #2)

AUTHOR: Brigham Vaughn

NARRATOR: James Edward Jones

PUBLISHER: Two Peninsula Press

LENGTH: 8 hours and 29 mins

RELEASE DATE: July 30^th 2021

BLURB:

It was just supposed to be a road trip.

Former hockey player Brent Cameron has a plan now that he’s out of the closet. He’ll take a summer road trip, find a job, and settle down with a fellow jock. Lowell Prescott is not part of that plan, but when Brent’s travel companion bails, he’s the only option.

Out and proud, Lowell has a love of sports, a flair of fashion, and a disdain for anything conventional. Burned by past relationships, he’s wary of jocks who want to change him – and that includes Brent Cameron.

Tempers flare and sparks fly as the miles disappear behind them. Just as it seems they might be on a journey to something more than Lake Superior, Brent receives a phone call that could change everything.

Will Brent stay with Lowell and ignore a friend in need, or go sit by the bedside of the man who broke Lowell’s heart?

The stakes are high when you play for keeps.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Stripped

SERIES:  Four Bears Construction #6

AUTHOR:  K.M. Neuhold

NARRATORS:   Tim Paige and Liam DiCosimo

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  5 hours and 40 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  July 19, 2021

BLURB:

A ripped, transgender construction worker and a tweed-wearing, tortoise-shell-cozy-knitting bear of a professor… Somebody’s getting stripped.

The last place I expected to run into my childhood camp crush was at the local university, looking all kinds of cute in a tweed jacket with a nervous blush. I’ve always had a bit of a thing for the nerdy professor type.

Demetri says he doesn’t date. I want to believe that it’s true and not that he’s not interested in a transgender man like me. If all he can offer me is friendship, I’m more than happy to take it.

Coy looks during sweaty workouts, rainy nights on his couch watching him knit shell cozies for his pet tortoise… I’m falling for him, whether I want to or not.

Can I break down his walls and prove to him that he can trust me with his heart? And can I trust him with mine?

Stripped is a swoony, steamy MM romance that is the sixth book in the Four Bears Construction Series. It can be listened to as a stand-alone, but you won’t want to miss these bear’s antics. This series does not contain any shifters, only the other kind of bears.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Doubling Down

SERIES:  Double Trouble #2

AUTHORS:  Cari Z and LA Witt

NARRATOR:  Nick J. Russo

PUBLISHER:   Author’s Republic

LENGTH:  7 hours and 16 minute

RELEASE DATE:  June 15, 2021

BLURB:

Hacker Leotrim Nicolosi and Deputy Marshal Rich Cody may have escaped a vengeful crime boss by the skin of their teeth, but they’re not out of danger yet. With the mob’s tentacles embedded in everything from local law enforcement to federal agencies, the guys are running low on allies.

Rich has one ace up his sleeve – the men who had his back in warzones during his time in the Marines. When he sends out a distress call, the cavalry comes running. Heavily armed, highly trained, and fully provisioned, they hunker down in a buddy’s missile silo, ready to make a stand against whatever the Grimaldi family sends after Rich and Leo.

Leo isn’t so sure about the Marines, though. He trusts Rich, but something isn’t right, and he’s not a gambling man when his life is on the line. The Marines aren’t so sure they trust him, either, and Rich suddenly finds himself in a standoff between the men he’s bled with and the man he’s quickly falling for.

Now they’re running out of time to either find the turncoat among them or get on the same side.

Because the Grimaldi family is coming, and this time they’re bringing out the big guns.

Doubling Down is the sequel to Double or Nothing, and is the conclusion to the Double Trouble duology.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Double or Nothing

SERIES:  Double Trouble #1

AUTHORS:  Cari Z and LA Witt

NARRATOR:  Nick J. Russo

PUBLISHER:   Author’s Republic

LENGTH:  8 hours and 1 minute

RELEASE DATE:  April 21, 2020

BLURB:

Rich Cody joined the U.S. Marshals to hunt down bad guys, not babysit witnesses. Orders are orders, though, and now he’s protecting a hacker with ties to the Albanian and Sicilian mobs. It’s just another exciting day in WITSEC.

Leotrim Nicolosi was born into a world of crime and bloodshed. When that bloodshed hits too close to home, taking down Leo’s boyfriend — the son of a notorious mob boss — Leo is determined to destroy the Grimaldi family. He’s got evidence that will send every last Grimaldi to prison, he’s got the family’s wealth in an electronic chokehold, and he’s got a vendetta that can only be settled with the blood of the man who killed his lover.

When a routine transfer to a safehouse goes horribly wrong, Rich and Leo narrowly escape with their lives. With the Marshals compromised and Leo being framed for murder, he and Rich are on the run from criminals and law enforcement alike. They have no one to trust except each other, and nowhere to go that their enemies can’t reach.

And the only way out might mean making a deal with the Devil.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Ache

AUTHOR:  Marley Valentine

NARRATORS:  Gomez Pugh, Teddy Hamilton & Emma Wilder

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  6 hours and 56 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  July 28, 2021

BLURB:

From USA Today best-selling author Marley Valentine comes a brand new emotional MM romance.

I couldn’t tell you when I fell in love with Gael Herrera, but I wish I knew how to make it stop.

Falling in love with a straight man is a rookie mistake. But falling in love with my soon-to-be-married-to-a-woman best friend is nothing but heartache.

Through all the years, and all the men I’ve fooled around with, he’s always been at the back of my mind. An unrequited crush I wish I could shake. A dream that was never going to come true.

When I whisk him off to a surprise bachelor party weekend in Vegas, I surrender to the idea that this is an opportunity for me to finally let go of my feelings for him and say goodbye.

But after a heated exchange and an even hotter kiss, everything I thought I knew about our friendship changed.

Maybe I had it wrong. Maybe, after all this time, we were more than best friends. Maybe, just maybe, he felt it too.

Ache is an MM Romance narrated by Gomez Pugh and Teddy Hamilton with a supporting performance by Emma Wilder. This is not a ménage romance.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Scandal at the Salty Dog

SERIES:  Secrets and Scrabble #4

AUTHOR:  Josh Lanyon

NARRATOR:  Matt Haynes

PUBLISHER:  JustJoshin Publishing

LENGTH:  6 hours and 29 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  July 29, 2021

BLURB:  

Mystery stalks the cobbled streets of Pirate’s Cove.

Who or what is haunting elderly recluse Juliet Blackwell, what does it have to do with mysterious goings-on at the Salty Dog Pub – and why is any of it mystery bookshop owner Ellery Page’s problem? According to sometimes-boyfriend Police Chief Jack Carson, it’s not Ellery’s problem, and Ellery should stop asking awkward questions before it’s too late.

Ellery couldn’t agree more, but it’s hard to say no when someone is as frightened as old Mrs. Blackwell. Mrs. Blackwell insists the ghost of long-dead pirate Rufus Blackwell has come to avenge himself on the last member of his treacherous clan.

Before Ellery can say, “Yikes!” Mrs. Blackwell takes a tumble down the grand staircase of her spooky mansion, and it’s up to Ellery to find who is trying to kill his eccentric customer.

Reviewed by Cheryl K

TITLE:  This Is Not a Horror Movie

AUTHOR:  Sara Dobie Bauer

NARRATOR:  Blake Lockhart

PUBLISHER:  Sara Dobie Bauer

LENGTH:  8 hour 57 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  6-8.2021

BLURB:

Emory Jones loves two things: horror movies and Connor Nichols.

For the past four years, Emory, Connor, and their families have vacationed side by side on Longboat Key, Florida. Eighteen-year-old Emory has pined for his neighbor from behind the covers of Stephen King books, but college boy Connor has never noticed him. Probably because Emory looks like Jack Skellington with good hair.

Emory anticipates another predictable summer of sunburn and disappointment. Instead, he ends up with a mystery on his hands when a beloved beach bum goes missing, and Connor volunteers to help with the search. Turns out it’s not just scary movie cops who are worthless, so the boys start an investigation of their own—leading them straight to an abandoned beach resort.

Despite the danger, Emory and Connor grow closer, but as Emory’s gay dreams start coming true, so do the horror movie tropes he so loves. Even though he knows that sex equals death in slasher flicks, Emory can’t keep his hands off the guy of his teenage dreams.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Rules of Play

SERIES:  The Script Club Book 2

AUTHOR: Lane Hayes

NARRATOR:  Alexander Cendese

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

RELEASE DATE:  August 3, 2021

LENGTH: 4 hours and 48 minutes

BLURB:

The genius, the mechanic, and a new playbook…

George

My brother’s friend is hot. If you’re into flannel-wearing lumbersexual former jocks who eat donuts for dinner and still scribble to-do lists on their palms. I’m not. I’m a serious scientist in my final of grad school. Sure, I have few quirks of my own, and I’m all for having fun, but I don’t have time for Aiden’s brand of crazy.

Aiden

A few quirks? Really? I’ve always had a soft spot for George, but he’s the weirdest dude I know. He wears capes in public, brings a book everywhere he goes, and loves all thing spooky. He’s also the smartest person on the planet, and I need his help if I’m going to make a real attempt at becoming a baseball analyst. I just didn’t count on falling for my best friend’s nerdy brother. This is against the rules, isn’t it?

Rules of Play is an MM bisexual awakening story where opposites attract and shenanigans ensue!

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Ripples & Waves:  A Queer Retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid

AUTHOR:  L.A. Witt

NARRATOR:  Michael Ferraiuolo

PUBLISHER:  Author’s Republic

LENGTH:  6 hours and 31 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  December 16, 2019

BLURB:

Colin Everroad should be dead, but after his lobster boat founders during a violent storm off the Maine coast, he wakes up on a beach. He’s cold, but unscathed…with strange memories of a face he can’t conjure and a voice he doesn’t recognize.

No one can explain it, but a friend suggests Colin was saved by one of the mer. Except the mer don’t exist. Do they? But…that face. That voice. Someone was in the water with him. Someone saved him. If not a mer, then who? And whoever it was, Colin wants to see his face.

Lir broke protocol by rescuing a land person, but he couldn’t just let the man drown. When he disobediently resurfaces to see his beautiful land man, he knows it’s only a matter of time before he’s forbidden to leave the depths again.

One clandestine visit turns into more. Soon, Colin and Lir are meeting at the shore as often as possible, and the connection between them deepens. The only problem is that neither can live in the other’s world. Or can they?

Then Lir finds a way for them to be together, but only for a little while…and at a cost. As time grows short, they have to choose: does Lir return to the sea and never see Colin again or stay forever with the man he loves in a world that will never love them?

Ripples & Waves is a modern, queer retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid”.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Thin Ice

SERIES:  Pine Cove #6

AUTHOR:  H.J. Welch

NARRATOR:  Nick J. Russo

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  8 hours and 47 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  July 28, 2021

BLURB:

Kamran’s ex broke his heart, tricked him into aiding a bank robbery, and now he wants him to do one last job. There’s only one way to say no: Seek the protective custody of the biggest, grumpiest FBI agent ever. And pretend to be his boyfriend for a weeklong family reunion in their giant mansion. Wait, what?

Agent Lee Marshall is notoriously all work and no play. Letting a flirty, hot-as-sin playboy like Kamran get under his skin is not an option. He has to protect him, not hook up with him. But pretending they’re an item for a week? That couldn’t hurt….

Kamran swore he’d never love again, but Lee will do anything to keep him out of harm’s way. Maybe there’s a teddy bear heart under the hunky FBI agent’s gruff exterior, and Kamran is the only one who can tease it out. What started out fake becomes all too real, but when Kamran’s past catches up to him, Lee must risk everything to save him.

Book six of Pine Cove. Thin Ice is a steamy stand-alone MM romance novel with a guaranteed HEA and absolutely no cliff-hanger.

Reviewed by Stephen K.

TITLE: Invitation to the Blues

SERIES: Small Change #2

AUTHOR: Roan Parrish

NARRATOR: Greg Boudreaux

PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio

LENGTH: 8 hours and 13 minutes

RELEASE DATE: June 11^th 2019

BLURB:

Eight months ago Jude Lucen fled his partner, his career, and a hospital in Boston after a suicide attempt. Now back in Philadelphia, he feels like a complete failure. Piano has always been his passion and his only escape. Without it, he has nothing. Well, nothing except a pathetic crush on the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen.

Faron Locklear came to Philly looking for a fresh start and has thrown himself into tattooing at Small Change. He’s only met Jude a few times, but something about the red-haired man with the haunted eyes calls to him. Faron is blown away by Jude’s talent. What he isn’t expecting is the electricity he feels the first time they kiss – and the way Jude’s needs in bed speak directly to his own deepest desires.

Jude and Faron fall fast and hard, but Jude has spent a lifetime learning that he can’t be what the people he loves need. So when the opportunity arises to renew his career in Boston, he thinks he has to choose: music, or Faron? Only by taking a huge risk – and finally believing he’s worthy of love just as he is – can he have the chance for both.

Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  BTW: By the Way

SERIES:  After Oscar Book 3

AUTHOR:  Lucy Lennox and Molly Maddox

NARRATOR:  Michael Dean

PUBLISHER:  Ginger Cat LLC

LENGTH:  8 hrs and 15 mins

RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2020

BLURB:

James:

My assignment is simple: Go to the Cape and seal the real estate deal for my most important client. No problem. I’m good at my job, I know how to close a sale, and this time won’t be any different.

Until I meet Sawyer, the sexy young bartender I accidentally kiss in the broom closet. Turns out, he’s one of the owners I’m here to negotiate with.

Okay, so that complicates things. As does the fact that he doesn’t want to sell. Or that we can’t keep our hands off each other despite being on opposite sides. And most of all…that I might be falling for him even though I know better. I’ve made the mistake of falling for a younger man before and I won’t do it again.

Sawyer:

For me, family is everything, and nothing represents ours more than the Sea Sprite, the motel that’s been in my family for eighty years. Sure, others (*cough*James*cough*) may describe it as rundown or derelict or in desperate need of a wrecking ball. But I call it our legacy.

I’ve got plans – big plans to renovate the motel back to its vintage glory. The only thing standing in my way is James Allen, the fancy-schmancy lawyer from New York with his adorable smile, jaw-dropping assets, and his client’s millions of dollars.

James seems hellbent on destroying my future. But maybe there’s a way for us to build a new one together…

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Heartsong

SERIES:  Vino & Veritas #13

AUTHOR:  A.E. Wasp

NARRATORS:  Chris Chambers

PUBLISHER:  Tantor Audio

LENGTH:  10 hours and 12 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  July 20, 2021

BLURB:

It just figures that the first guy I’m bringing back to my place is cute, single, and totally off-limits….”

Sean Anderson has spent his life waiting to get the hell out of West Virginia. His plans got derailed when his dad shipped him off to “pray the gay away”, but he’s over it, ready to prove that he’s a grown-ass man who can take care of himself. Of course, he’d have a better chance convincing himself if he could stop lusting after his grumpy roommate.

Army veteran Cooper Hill returned to Vermont minus one leg and one career, but determined to build a new life. When an army buddy asks Cooper to keep an eye on his nephew, a junior at the local college, Cooper can’t say no. He’s expecting a sheltered kid. What he gets is a gorgeous young man whose brilliant poetry gives voice to everything Cooper’s been trying to express. He wants Sean more than he’s ever wanted anything. And somehow, miraculously, Sean wants him too.

But wanting each other isn’t the same as being good for each other…especially when past pain threatens to write its own verse in their song.

Contains mature themes.

Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Footsteps of the Past

SERIES:  Second Chances #2

AUTHOR:  Felice Stevens

NARRATOR:  Denis Lambert

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  7 hours and 57 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  July 21, 2021

BLURB:

It was like in the movies: Their eyes met from across the room, and they fell in love. Nine years later, Chess and André are the envy of all their friends. But this is real life…and things are never what they seem.

Still, waters run deep – the better to hide Chess’s ugly past. He’s worked hard to bury the troubled teen he once was and is living a life he never imagined possible. André’s love is a gift that makes him believe in second chances, and Chess is grateful for it every day. The only thing he wants is what André finds impossible to give: his time. Six months apart might be the breaking point, even for Chess.

One horrible night changed André’s life forever. Formerly a party boy of the Hamptons social scene, André buries himself in work for years until he meets Chess and learns to enjoy the simple things. He’s tired of being away from home all the time and ready to step down from his role as CEO of the family business, no matter how they try and pull him back in. But old habits die hard…and so do memories.

Photos from the past and present surface, shocking Chess and André out of their carefully constructed dream life. They are forced to face the unthinkable: the love they thought would last a lifetime may be on the brink of falling apart. Secrets are exposed, opening a Pandora’s box both men hoped would stay locked forever. Now Chess and André face the hardest question: Do you ever really know the person you’re living with?