Tag: Andrew Grey

What I Read Last Week

Posted February 14, 2012 by Tracy in Features | 5 Comments

Welcome to another week! Are you ready? I think I ask myself that every week and frankly the answer isn’t always a resounding YES. lol. I’ve been waking up at 5am for the past week with absolutely no idea why. It’s not like I plan it and I certainly try to go back to sleep but alas my brain starts up and won’t let me rest. Hopefully my bodies alarm clock will reset itself to normal soon and I can get a good nights sleep.
Life was pretty low-key this past week which was a welcome change from the previous week. Nothing much happened which in my book falls under the chapter entitled “WooFreakingHoo”. lol
How was your week? Anything exciting happen?
I got a lot of reading done which was nice. I got some books read that I’ve been meaning to get to and I love it when that happens. I think I get so caught up in what’s coming out that I don’t sit back and look at all the wonderful books I have sitting on my shelves or in my ereader. I need to make more of an effort to read those books I’ve had for a while.
On to what I read this week – and sorry – no author links today as I’m rushing! lol
First up was a novella by Amelia Fayer called Lust in the Library. This was 2 related erotic short stories set in one novella. The first is about a girl that has got a thing for a man that comes into the library where she works but she’s too shy to take the bull by the horns and talk to him above and beyond the call of duty. The second story was about a girl who has what she thinks is a cheating boyfriend and the story covers part of their relationship and the patch work it needs to get back together. Both stories were cute. I’ll post my review later this week. 3 out of 5
Next was Wrangled and Tangled by Lorelei James that I read for The Book Binge. This is book 3 in the Blacktop Cowboys series and it was a good one. This was 2 romances in one book. While I liked both stories I thought the story of Abe and Janie wasn’t quite as in depth as it needed to be. The story of Renner and Tierney I liked better. Both were pretty scorchin. 🙂 4 out of 5
After that I read Love Means…Family by Andrew Grey. This was the story about Arie who goes to visit his best friend Robbie to try to escape the grief over his sisters’ death. There he meets officer hunky aka Duane and the pair fall for each other. You can read more here in my review. 3.25 out of 5
The Last Night by Nico Rosso is a fantasy/post apocalyptic story that was really good. I’ll be posting my review of it later this week so keep your eyes open.
Shane’s Last Stand by Suzanne Brockmann is a prequel to the upcoming Born to Darkness novel that releases March 20th. This is the story of Shane and his last mission as a Navy SEAL but the story is set in the not too distant future. I’m not sure what year but they do mention some document from 2024 so it’s at least that far. Not too much seems different when it comes to military stuff though and Shane is leading a team on a search and destroy mission. But one of Shane’s team realizes that the woman that their technology tells them is the killer is actually someone else who is in hiding. Shane makes a decision that will change his life forever but a decision that keeps his conscience clear. It was a good story but there just wasn’t much to it. I think it will be a good set up for the novel but beyond that no real conclusion. 3.5 out of 5
Next was one of my Tracy’s TBR challenge reads and that was Carnal Intentions by Stephanie Hecht. This was the story of Mitchell and his mate Dean. They had met and fell in love and had been having a long distance affair via Skype for a long while. Now they are working together again to try and find Mitchell’s lost brother Joel and Mitchell doesn’t want to let Dean go again. Things aren’t always easy though and there’s a lot to work through. I really liked this fourth story in the Lost Shifters series. Books 2 and 3 had been so similar to book 1 that I was afraid that they had all fallen into a pattern but this one proved me wrong. It was a great story and good continuation of the story arc. 4 out of 5
Next was A Wicked Caress by Stephani Hecht. Continuing the series…we have Joel who now goes by Noah coming into the family fold and being treated with kid gloves. He is somewhat fragile but Seth who knows that Noah is his mate doesn’t want him to not be able to defend himself if the Ravens come for him. Especially since there’s one in particular that wants Noah for his own. This was a good story as well. I was a bit disappointed that some of the conversations and falling in love portions were off page but I was more than satisfied with the story I was given. 4 out of 5
I kept up with the Lost Shifter series by then reading Ruthless Pursuit. This was about Vapor who is sent to get Mitchell’s last missing brother, Andy, or Andrew as he now goes by. Andrew has been brainwashed by the man who raised him and always believed that his brother Mitchell had sold him to his guardian. While running from Vapor and giving him a good chase the pair fall for each other in their own rough way. It wasn’t romantic but it was hot and I liked how each character stayed true to his personality and didn’t get too sappy when dealing with the other once they realized their feelings. It was a good story and I’m looking forward to reading more in this series. 4 out of 5
Taken by the Cowboy by Julianne MacLean was a free book from ARe not that long ago and since it was a time travel novel I snapped it up. Jessica somehow time travels to the old west and lands in 1881. The first night she’s in Dodge she is accused of killing a man. He was a wanted criminal though so she’s actually offered a reward – even though she didn’t do it. She’s anxious to get home but then starts falling for the local sheriff who in turn is falling for her. She has to decide – does she want to stay in the wild west or try to get home and lose her love forever. This was a darned good story and I really like almost all of it. There were some slow parts in the middle but they didn’t detract from the overall story. The ending had me thinking as I’m just not sure how I feel about it. I can’t tell you details because it would spoil everything completely but it definitely wasn’t your usual HEA. Despite the end I would definitely recommend this one if you’re a time travel romance lover like me. 4 out of 5
My Book Binge reviews that posted last week
*crickets chirping*
Happy Reading!


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Review: Love Means…Family by Andrew Grey

Posted February 10, 2012 by Tracy in Reviews | 4 Comments

Four months ago Robert Edward “Arie” Hawkins lost his sister and the rest of her family in a plane crash. Now his parents have decided it’s time for him to marry and carry on the family name. Arie knows it’s most likely the grief talking—especially from his mother, who’s taken to putting more than ice in her iced tea—so to escape Mississippi, Arie calls his best friend, Robbie, and arranges for a visit.

Life is always changing at the Michigan farm where Robbie lives. Owner Geoff Laughton and his partner, Eli, have started a therapeutic riding program and adopted a little boy, creating a family. It’s while feeding Jakey that Arie meets Officer Hunky.

Officer Hunky’s real name is Deputy Duane Keenan, and he has troubles of his own, but not enough to stop him from pursuing Arie. But Duane’s and Arie’s families are pulling them in opposite directions. Trying to build a connection to support their mutual attraction may prove to be more than difficult… it may be impossible.
Arie Hawkins misses his sister, Charlotte, horribly. Charlotte and her family were in a plane crash months prior to the story beginning and Arie and his family are in a state of grief and sorrow that doesn’t seem to be lifting. Arie’s parents talk to him about producing an heir now that he’s an only child – completely ignoring the fact that he’s gay. Arie has decided that he needs to get away from his mother’s depression and drinking so he calls his friend Robbie (from Love Means…No Boundaries) and asks if he can come visit him at the farm where Robbie works.
Arie arrives at the farm and immediately feels more relaxed. He is surprised by the fact that the farm owners, Geoff and Eli have adopted a son but he loves taking care of little Jakey. He quickly falls into a routine of helping with their horseback riding therapy classes and feels more at home every day. Almost from the start Arie finds himself attracted to sheriff deputy Duane Keenan. The pair become almost inseparable and find themselves becoming closer and closer. But Arie is only there for a visit and if their feelings for each other deepen what will that mean for the men when Arie heads home to Mississippi?
This is book 7 in the Farm series and though I read this one out of order (I haven’t read books 5 & 6 yet) I didn’t find that I missed too much. Since I had read the first 4 books I was pretty caught up with the characters that were involved in this book and didn’t feel lost at all.
The story is very sweet and pretty easy going in the fact that Duane and Arie hit it off right away and there’s not a ton of angst. Yes, they have their issues that need to be dealt with later in the book but even those were worked out without too much argument between the men.
There was a portion of the book that I felt was a bit superfluous and that was the small suspense plot. There were shots fired at the farm and though they were investigated and eventually solved the reasoning behind it was only guess at and never fully explained. Yes, I wondered who the person while it was happening but really I just thought it was something that was added but didn’t really forward the story in any way.
One of the big issues in the story was Arie’s parents – especially his mother’s– nonacceptance of his sexual preference. She wanted him to give her a grandchild but when it came down to it she didn’t want him to grow up or to leave home at all. Arie’s parents were well off and Arie and his sister had gone to boarding schools while his parents traveled. Arie felt that besides his sister he really hadn’t had any family life and he craved that with everything that he was. I really loved how the differences with Arie and his parents were dealt with and that everyone could find happiness.
While this series seems to me a bit too good to be true I really enjoy reading it. I think that the love and acceptance that is always within arms reach makes for great HEA’s.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5


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What I Read Last Week

Posted October 26, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 11 Comments

What’s up? What have you all been up to? Anything fun? Tell all!
Sorry this is so late today folks, I’m just busy, busy, busy!
So this is a short work week for me as tomorrow evening I’m leaving for San Francisco to go to Yaoi-Con and to meet up with Chris, Kris, Tam & Jenre and have a jolly good time. I can’t believe I’m actually going to meet all of these fabulous ladies from all over the globe. (Chris is from Minnesota, Kris from Australia, Tam from Canada and Jenre from England) It’s amazing that we could all work our schedules to get together and it’s going to be fabulous!
My reading this week was a tad frenetic – didn’t exactly stick to my normal routine of reading different sub-genre’s (contemp, then paranormal, then historical…in no particular order). I needed to get several books read so that the reviews could post on time so that kind of directed my reading. I’m happy to say that I got it all done – yay! And now I’ll have no worries about the blog while I’m gone. Hopefully my hubby will give up his laptop for the trip cuz I need to be connected!
Not a lot of excitement here other than getting ready for my trip so on to what I read last week:
First up was book 4 in the Farm series by Andrew Grey called Love Means…Freedom. This was a book about Stone who was kicked out of his father’s house when he came out to him. He was working his way south to warmer weather but got kicked out of his ride during a blizzard. He happens upon Eli and Geoff’s farm and is taken in. He meets Preston, who is in a wheelchair after being hit by a drunk driver and is doing the riding therapy at the farm. The two hit it off but as it usually does, life creates obstacles. This was a good installment in the series. It was almost a little too sweet for me between Preston and Stone. Preston’s father was an ass and I kept thinking that it would be revealed that he was the one that was hurting Preston’s work options but that never came to light. Who knows. 🙂 Cute though. 3.5 out of 5
Saving Lady Ilsa by Crystal Kauffman was a book that I read for The Book Binge. A historical about a second son who’s father wants him to marry but he’s in a committed relationship with another man. He’s willing to marry but not have the marriage be in name only. On a whim he takes home a tailor’s assistant, Ilsa, who is being abused by the tailor and decides to make her his bride. But he and his partner, Frederick, might want to keep her around and have the marriage be more than just in name. A cute book but it was a little hard for me to think of two gay men suddenly wanting a woman. 3.5 out of 5
Next was Duchess of Sin by Laurel McKee. This is book 2 in the Daughters of Erin series. I didn’t read book 1 but didn’t feel that I was missing anything. The story revolved around an Irish Duke who is anti-Union in 1799 and a woman who is looking for some meaning in life. The two fall in love and it’s quite romantic. The book mostly takes place in Dublin. I read this one for The Book Binge – it releases on November 30th. 4 out of 5
Next was a book that I received from the author for review – Forsaken by Shadow by Kait Nolan. The first book about the Mirus, who are paranormal beings. This story was about Cade who woke up and had no memory at all. Ten years later the woman he loves shows up needing his help to save her father. She would have looked for him sooner but she was told he was dead. We get to meet shadow walker, dragon shifters, fey, vampires. It was quite a good book and not that long so if you’re looking for a quick paranormal read this might be for you. You can a short review here. 4 out of 5
Craving Beauty by Nalini Singh was my DIK reading challenge book for the month. I’ll post my review on Friday.
My Tracy’s TBR challenge read for the week was Allergies by TA Chase. A shifter story about two men who meet at work – Lou’s a wolf shifter but Ray seems to be allergic to him when he’s in his human form. The story covered them getting together and the issues around Lou “coming out” as a shifter and those issues. There was another part of the book that had some shifter hunters coming into the territory but that wasn’t dealt with by the end of the book which was a bit surprising, and a little annoying. I can only assume it will be in the next book? IDK. I’ll have to read it and see. 3.25 out of 5
Undeniably Yours by Shannon Stacey was my next read. This was another book that set with the Kowalski family. Kevin has a one night stand but he’s really likes the woman, Beth, and wants to see if more can come from it. Well it did since she got pregnant – but she wants to just stay friends – friends that are having a baby together. I’ll post my review for this on Wednesday. It releases from Carina Press on Nov. 1. 4 out of 5
Picture Postcards by JM Snyder was a very short book but one I really liked. It was about a man, Donny, who was in love with his best friend, Greg, but his friend marries a woman and moves away. They fall out of contact but suddenly Donny is getting random postcards from Greg about his feelings and how he misses Donny, etc. Only 15 pages but it packed a punch. 4 out of 5
After Midnight by Teresa Medeiros was next and this was a book I read about when Luisa Prieto was on DIK recently. It’s a historical about a woman who thinks that the man who is courting her sister might be a vampire. Whether he’s a vampire or not she finds herself falling in love with him and he with her. Good book. The end resolution was a bit rushed but overall I really liked the story, thanks Luisa! 4 out of 5
Next up was Icing on the Cake by Alison Kent. I read this one for the True Vows tour and will be posting my review on Nov. 3rd. Let me just say though that the romance was great and I very much liked Kent’s writing.
Dance with a Vampire by Fabian Black was next. Only 7 pages long. The story was told in first person but it was told as if retelling a story to the person it happened to. (example: if I was telling the story of how I met my husband to my husband). It was short but sweet. I liked it. 4 out of 5 (free on ARe)
Last on the list was the novella You Get What You Want by Janey Chapel. This was a great book. An ex con, Jay, meets Patrick, a cop, when Patrick gets a drink at the bar that Jay works at. They are incredibly attracted to each other and have a great time in the bar’s office after closing. But Patrick can’t stop thinking about Jay and has 12 hours to kill before he has to head home (to another city), so seeks out Jay’s company. The time they spent together was very touching and sexy and I really loved the emotion that was infused into the story. 5 out of 5
My Book Binge reviews that posted since last Monday
Happy Reading!


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What I Read Last Week

Posted August 23, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 16 Comments

Greetings and Salutations!
How the heck are ya? Doing well I hope, as usual. We had a pretty darned quiet week in Tracyland – which I really like saying. 🙂
The kids are enjoying school so far. My oldest can’t stop complaining about the amount of folders and “stuff” she has to carry daily because she has no locker. She seriously has the most stuffed backpack I’ve ever seen! lol She’ll get used to it eventually, I’m sure. I hope.
Yesterday I watched a really great movie called Were The World Mine. It’s the story of a gay teen who attending an all boys school. His school mates are not understanding fellows, to say the least. He gets cast as Puck in a Midsummer Night’s Dream and his drama teacher helps him discovers a “recipe” that turns people gay temporarily. It’s a musical and pretty campy and a bit ridiculous at times but it was really good!
The week before last I didn’t read any m/m books and I think I was going through a bit of withdrawal so last week I made up for it. Now it may seem that I read a lot of books this week but some of them were very short and many 200 pages so it really wasn’t that much. 🙂
I started the week getting back into the Farm series by Andrew Grey. I had read Love Means…No Shame and really liked it so I picked up the prequel, Love Means…Courage. Another great book! This was Len and Cliff’s story (Geoff’s dads). Len goes to work on the farm after Cliff’s wife dies (the wife was Len’s best friend) and Len tries to get the land back in shape and drags Cliff out of his depression. I very much enjoyed watching the two men come together as Len had had a crush on Cliff since high school. 4.25 out of 5
I immediately started the next book in the Farm series, Love Means…No Boundaries by Andrew Grey. This was the story of Joey who had worked on the farm since he was 16 years old. Now graduated college, he had recently gotten into a motorcycle accident and had scars on his face that those who didn’t know him found offensive or disturbing. He meets Robbie who is a musician, and blind. Robbie is staying at the farm for 2 weeks while his orchestra is in town. In those two weeks Robbie and Joey find love. At first I was bothered by the fact that Robbie was blind and felt it was a bit of a cop out with Joey being scarred – why couldn’t it be a seeing person who accepted him, scars and all? But as the story progressed I saw that the fact that Robbie was blind helped Joey see life and himself in a different way. I think Robbie’s blindness also brought a level of intimacy that they wouldn’t have had otherwise. A very good book. 4 out of 5
I would have started the 4th book in the Farm series next but it wasn’t on my ereader and I was too lazy to get up and put it on so I started another series. I know, it’s horrible! lol
So I started a series that I’ve had for a while and had been meaning to read. I’m so glad I finally started it and ended up making a big dent in it. I started the Psycop series by reading Among the Living by Jordan Castillo Price. What a great story! The Psycop team is made up of 1 person with no psychic abilities whatsoever that they call a Stiff and 1 person who has psychic ability. In the first book we meet Victor who is the psychic (a medium who communicates with the dead) part of a team only his partner has retired. He’s at a party and gets cornered by a hunk of a cop, and a Stiff, Jacob Marks. Vic is pretty shocked that Jacob even knows who he is but goes with the flow…and likes it. The story revolves around Vic’s burgeoning relationship with Jacob, Vic meeting his new partner and Vic and his fellow cops finding a killer. I just loved Vic, despite his neurosis and other issues. 4.5 out of 5 (90 pages)
I continued with the series by reading a short (4 pages) called Thaw by JCP. The in-between shorts in this series are just little slices of life and not continuations of the story. This one was a cute story about Jacob and Vic ice skating. 4 out of 5
My next read was the second book in the Psycop series by JCP is called Criss Cross. This story had the continuing relationship between Vic and Jacob who have now moved in together while Jacob looks for a new place to live. Vic is adjusting to yet another new partner while his psychic powers are going bonkers. He’s seeing even more dead people and it’s starting to freak him out. He seeks help from a healer who turns out to be Jacob’s ex-boyfriend and also from a doctor at a clinic who helps pychics. But everyone in this story isn’t a good guy and the bad ones are out to get Vic. This was another great story that I so enjoyed reading. 4.5 out of 5 (about 91 pages)
Next was another slice of life short (6 pages) called Mind Reader. This story had Vic and Jacob’s ex, Crash, visiting an Egyptian exhibit so that Crash could see if Vic could communicate with a dead mummy. 3.75 out of 5
Book 3 in the Psycop series was Body and Soul. This story had Vic meeting, you guessed it, yet another new partner and making adjustments to someone who’s an old school cop and not used to dealing with a psychic. Jacob and Vic have moved their relationship to the next level and are looking for a new place to live…together, Vic is meeting Jacob’s family at Thanksgiving and Vic is then searching for 3 missing persons. This is another totally engaging story. I love seeing how Vic deals with life, non-believers in his medium powers and also Jacob dealing with his family. Good stuff. 4.25 out of 5 (169 pages)
The last JCP book in this series that I read last week was another short (6.5 pages) slice of life called Stroke of Midnight. This had Vic working on New Year’s Eve and Jacob heading to a party as well as thinking about his life with Vic. I really liked getting into Jacob’s head a little and seeing things from his point of view. 4 out of 5
Yes, I so would have continued in the Psycop series but I found that I had gotten them all except #4! ARG! lol I’ve remedied that problem and will be reading the rest of the series this week.
Jude in Chains by KZ Snow was my next read. This story was about Misha who is a reporter and heads to a seminar/camp/retreat that has reparative therapy for men who don’t want to be gay any longer. It heals them and makes them “normal”. Ug. Misha runs into a man, Jude, who he’d been attracted to for years but hadn’t acted on it. He’s distressed and disturbed by Jude’s desire to not be gay any longer. This was a very good story about Misha trying to get Jude to see that there was no repairing him because there was nothing wrong with him to begin with. 4 out of 5
Next was The Art of Dying (Partners in Crime #4) by Josh Lanyon and Jordan Castillo Price. Lanyon’s story was about a man, Finn, who is in a car accident and goes back to his hometown to recover after being gone for 3 years. During this time he’s told that his twin hasn’t been heard from in the past 3 years and he begins to suspect foul play. Along with the investigation he works out issues he had with an ex love. This was a great story. I had my suspicions about whodunit but I was WRONG! I know, it sucks that I was wrong but it was wonderful story. lol
JCP’s story was about a man, Ray, who had it all, money, cars, etc., and lost it all when his then boyfriend gambled it all away. Now he’s taken a job for a man who has Alzheimer’s and his wife. Only a dead body is found buried on the property and they don’t know who killed him. Anton is a next door neighbor who is an eccentric artist/sculptor and a bit off – but Ray and Anton find a connection in the midst of the chaos. Another wonderful story that I very much enjoyed reading. I thought that Anton’s character was great and Ray’s acceptance of his “quirks” was so good to see. 5 out of 5 for the two stories.
Talk about quirks and having your S.O accept them: Work of Art by Rob Knight was just such a short story (25 pages). Wade is an artist who is a bit of an odd bird. He does things like move all of his belongings into the kitchen because he wants to start fresh. He’s fascinated by the sleeping bag in the shower getting wet. He only eats cornflakes unless someone brings him food or takes him out. He’s obviously got some sort of disorder by functions well as long as he’s not around too much noise or too many people. Sawyer loves Wade to pieces and helps him whenever he can. I loved seeing the two characters play off of each other. I would have loved to see what Sawyer thought of Wade when he first met him but it was great to see Sawyers acceptance of Wade. 4 out of 5
Next I read a couple of Harlequin presents books that were sent to me from Tell Harlequin – they send them, I read them and then took a survey.
The first was Public Affair, Privately Expecting by Heidi Rice – London shop girl meets movie star and has affair – get’s pregnant and doesn’t tell him. Not bad. A little far fetched but ok. 3 out of 5
The second was Wild Fling or a Wedding Ring (who comes up with these names??) by Mira Lynn Kelly  – this was the story of a hard working woman who meets the man of her dreams and they have a great time once he gets her into bed. They hit it off well but he wants no commitment and she’s moving in 3 months. I really liked the reality in this one as it could totally happen. Yes, they both acted like idiots at different points in the book but I liked it. 🙂 4.25 out of 5
Born to Bite by Lynsay Sands is book 13 in the Argeneau series. This is the continuation of the book that I was so frustrated with, The Renegade Hunter, back in January. TRH ended on a total cliffhanger which I abhorred. I found out from Ms. Sands that Born to Bite was originally supposed to be published only 1 month later than TRH so there wouldn’t have been such a delay in finding out what the hell happened but it didn’t work out that way. Anyway, this was Armand’s story along with Eshe who is his second life mate. They are trying to figure out who killed his first 3 wives, as well as his daughter-in-law, while trying to save their own lives. I read this one for The Book Binge. 4.5 out of 5
Last on the list was The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. Lori had told me how much she enjoyed this book so I finally got it from the library and I loved it. The story of a woman who takes a job as a secretary for an Earl and they fall in love, though he’s engaged to someone else. Loved the story and the writing! I think I’ve got a thing for scarred heroes lately. 🙂 4.5 out of 5
My Book Binge reviews that posted:
Happy Reading!


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Tuesday Teaser – Love Means…No Boundaries

Posted August 17, 2010 by Tracy in Reviews | 11 Comments

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Today’s teaser comes from Andrew’s Grey’s Love Means…No Boundaries page 6:

“These aren’t you, and they don’t make you ugly. They just are.”

“What something looks like doesn’t matter to me.”


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