Tag: K.A. Mitchell

What I Read Last Week

Posted April 24, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 5 Comments

Howdo!

Sorry this was delayed by youngest was sick YET AGAIN and I just didn’t get around to it yesterday. I need to do something to boost that girls immune system cuz she catches every damn germ that goes around her school!

Anyway, I did manage to get away on Friday night and went to the beach with some friends. I couldn’t stay the whole weekend but we had a great time visiting, playing games and eating. 🙂 Here’s the view from the balcony off the back of my friends condo in Oxnard 

On to what I read – (sorry these descriptions/my thoughts will be abbreviated today): 

I started off the week with a short read by AR Moler called Not an Elf which is the story of a man who is near death from a brain tumor who decides to spend his last days at his friends remote cabin. He is debating killing himself when he meets a man who is actually Fae and the two fall in love. This was very sweet and I enjoyed how much was said in so short a book. 3 out of 5 

Next up was True by Erin McCarthy. This story is in the New Adult genre and though I don’t read that genre very often I really liked this one. Yes the college girl eventually got involved with the bad boy but it was more he looked worse than he actually was and I liked that about him. 4 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Never Love a Highlander by Maya Banks was the final book in the McCabe Trilogy. The story is about Caelan who steps up to the plate and marries a neighbors daughter when his brother falls in love with someone else (book 2). Rionna has been raised as a boy but Caelan wants to change that. The story is about the couple dealing with their lust, dealing with Caelan’s desires to change Rionna and how she deals with that and Rionna’s clan coming to terms with an non-MacDonald being Laird. Not my favorite of the three but still a very good story and written well. 4 out of 5

Built 4 It by Daisy Harris was the story of a guy working in a lab where they do experiments on reanimated corpses and the lab worker falling for one of said corpses. It was interesting. 🙂 You can read my thoughts here. 3 out of 5

The Law of the Jungle by HL Hoston & Eleanor Bruce is about a college kid from Nebraska who gets picked up by a millionaire in a club in NY where the kid is going to school. This was an ok story about their night together but kind of just a “night in the life” type read. 2 out of 5 (free short from ARe)

The Break In by Sloan Parker is the story of a guy who breaks in to his ex-lovers apartment to feel closer to him. It seems like it would be pretty skeevy but it was very sweet and I really enjoyed it. 4 out of 5 (free short from ARe)

Trying to Score by Toni Aleo was next up. This is book 2 in the Assassins hockey series. The story was about a couple who had once been together and now 7 years later the man wants to get back together. She’s not all over that like he thinks she should be. Could be his child she’s trying to hide from him. You can read my thought in my review here. 3.5 out of 5 

Wicked Cravings by Suzanne Wright is book 2 in the Phoenix Pack series. A shapeshifter novel that deals with a woman who’s inner wolf was once frightened and now wants to hurt whoever she’s near when her human shifts. Because of this the woman, Jaime, hasn’t shifted for 4 years. Dante is Beta of the pack and rather than see her banished because of her itchy trigger wolf he becomes her guard and so much more. This was a great second story in the series. I really like the world that Wright has created and am looking forward to reading more. 4 out of 5 

Surrender to the Earl by Gayle Callen deals with Audrey who is blind who seeks help from Robert who was in the army with her now deceased husband. They create a false engagement to get her out from under her fathers thumb but it soon becomes real – after Audrey deals with her independence, etc. This was good but I had some issues with both Robert and Audrey, unfortunately. 3.5 out of 5 (releases 5/28/13) 

Last read for the week was Bad Company by KA Mitchell. I really like Mitchell’s writing but this one just wasn’t as good as the others I’ve read in the past that she’s written. Kellan is trying to give his dad the big “fuck you” because his dad has thrown him out and cut him off. As Kellan hasn’t ever had a job he’s not sure what to do. He thinks that maybe convincing his dad he’s gay would send him over the edge so he looks up his old best friend, Nate. Nate’s not thrilled about helping but does. As Kellan lives with him they soon find themselves falling in love. It was a good story but I just found it so improbable that it couldn’t ring true for me. 3 out of 5

My Book Binge Reviews that posted last week:
Seeing is Believing by Erin McCarthy
Stranded with a Billionaire by Jessica Clare
Saved by the Rancher by Jennifer Ryan
Wild Invitation by Nalini Singh 
The Baby Bargain by Jennifer Apodaca

Happy Reading!


Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Review: Red Hot Holiday by Anne Calhoun, KA Mitchell & Leah Braemel

Posted December 5, 2012 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Wish List by KA Mitchell


Blindfolds. Handcuffs. Submission.

There’s so much Jonah Kendrick hasn’t tried, and so much he wants to explore. But just before Christmas he finds a ring box in his boyfriend’s desk. Jonah panics. He loves Evan and their sex is hot, but how can Jonah be ready for forever, when there are so many items on his Naughty Bucket List? Desires that might drive Evan away.

Evan’s noticed Jonah has been distant. His usually talkative and cheerful boyfriend is preoccupied. The seemingly straitlaced Evan stumbles across Jonah’s wish list of sexual kinks, and Evan realizes he may not have to hide his true nature from Jonah after all. The Dom in him wants to see Jonah on his knees, begging, submitting, but Evan isn’t sure Jonah’s ready to accept what being Evan’s sub would mean.

The two lovers must figure out how to share their hidden desires with each other before their secrets permanently damage their love.

In this first novella we meet Jonah who is searching for tape to wrap a present when he finds mens wedding rings in his partners desk. He freaks the fuck out and his partner, Evan, notices immediately that something is up, especially when Jonah start turning down sex. Jonah’s not sure he’s ready for marriage and there are things he may want to try sexually that he hasn’t done with his current partner and can’t image Evan ever even considering – like domination.

When Evan and Jonah head to Evan’s family’s home Jonah sits down and makes a list of all the things he wants to try. Evan finds the list and is a bit shocked that Jonah has never told him of his desire to be dominated and Evan’s all over it as he totally used to be in the D/s scene. When Jonah goes so far as to update his profile on a dating site – and Evan gets notification – Evan sees red. Is Jonah ready to break it off and be with someone else or can Evan keep him at home by moving them in to a more D/s relationship?

This story, I must admit from the start, really frustrated me. I had a very hard time liking Jonah. He seemed very immature and flighty and after 2 years with the same guy he just NOW has such strange sexual desires that can’t be met by Evan? All because he thinks Evan is asking him to marry him. I guess I had a problem with Jonah’s lack of trust in Evan after so much time. He should have felt comfortable enough to go to Evan and talk to him. Of course then it wouldn’t have been the same story.

I liked Evan a whole lot more than his partner but was still upset at him for not communicating with Jonah about his past and experiences with D/s. Not that it’s something that comes up in casual conversation but you’d think after 2 years that they would have discussed past experiences.

The way things are handled in the end was satisfying but the road to getting to that point was exasperating to say the least. I liked neither Evan’s nor Jonah’s actions and didn’t feel that in the end it was a very strong nor lasting relationship.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

I Need You For Christmas by Leah Braemel

Ryan Porter is a sculptor, and beneath his callused hands, even the most rigid metals bend to his will. So, too, does his girlfriend Megan—a confident, strong woman who delights in submitting to Ryan’s dominance in the bedroom.

Megan is a Mountie, and she’s spent the past few years in the arctic following her career dreams. Family obligations kept Ryan at home, but their love survived the distance thanks to several hot visits. A Mountie always gets her man, and Megan is bound and determined to keep Ryan.

Now Megan’s with Ryan for the holidays…but how long will this visit last? She’s always been willing to do anything Ryan desires, but will he finally tell her that all he needs for Christmas is her?

Megan is in Canada for Christmas and she’s so very excited to be with her love, Ryan, once again. Little does he know that she’s made plans to be with him forever. Ryan is beside himself with joy having Megan back in his arms but he’s made plans of his own and he’s ready to surprise Megan with his good news.

This was very much a slower paced story. I think we were supposed to be so wrapped up in the sex scenes and the different bondage show that we didn’t mind that there wasn’t much more to the story. I think the sex was supposed to show us their trust and their love, which it did to a point I’ll admit, but I found myself wanting more.

Besides the sex the story focused around Ryan & Megan’s sacrifices – which the other knew nothing about – kind of a gift of the magi type thing. Ryan quit his job and planned to move to the Arctic where Megan was posted as a Mountie and Megan gave up her job as a Mountie to move to Ryan’s town and take a job with the local police. It was all very sweet I felt, however, that those incredibly life-changing plans weren’t something you did without discussing it with your significant other. In the end it all worked out so all’s well that ends well, right?

Rating: 3 out of 5

Breath on Embers by Anne Calhoun

Christmas is the perfect time for Firefighter Ronan O’Rourke to take things to the next level with his sexually adventurous girlfriend. He knows she has feelings for him—and he’s sure of his feelings for her—but when Thea refuses his invitation to sample Christmas in New York City because what they share is nothing more than sheet-burning sex, Ronan sets out to change her mind.

Deep down Thea Moretti knows she cares for Ronan, but she can’t move past her grief over her late husband. Loud music and sex with Ronan are the only things she’s got that her feel alive, so she takes as much of both as she can get. She knows Ronan wants more, but during the darkest time of the year finding her way won’t be easy.

Ronan gambles everything and challenges Thea: one night of passion with him and another man. Can he prove to her that what they share isn’t just great sex but an emotional connection strong enough to last forever?

It’s been two years since Thea’s husband died but she’s still shutting life out. She wears ear buds while moving around New York city to block out the signs of life and she’s been having meaningless sex with Ronan for about 6 months. But is it really meaningless? It’s not for Ronan and he’s determined to bring her back to the present.

This story was a wonderful surprise. I was thinking, after reading the first two stories that this would be more about a bdsm relationship and while there was some incredibly light bondage that really had nothing to do with the story.

Thea and Ronan’s relationship is intense and emotional but Thea’s thinking that it’s just something she does – it doesn’t mean anything. Ronan knows better and wants a deep and lasting relationship with this woman. he goes about trying to bring her back to life in different ways and I loved how he did it – with care and subtlety and love. It was kind of a manipulation in a way but since it was to her benefit I couldn’t fault him for that.

The story had a lot of story packed into such a small amount of pages but I was glued to my ereader as I just couldn’t get enough of it. Breath on Embers was a very well written and thoroughly enjoyable story that I highly recommend reading. Really great book.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 
(Psst – Anne will be visiting the blog on Friday and will be giving away a copy of Breath on Embers so be sure to stop back by for a chance to win.)

I normally give an overall rating for anthologies but this one had such different ratings I think I’ll skip that this time. :0)

KA Mitchell
Anne Calhoun
Leah Braemel


Tagged: , , , , , ,

What I Read Last Week

Posted December 3, 2012 by Tracy in Features | 4 Comments

So what do you do when you get a call from the High School your daughter attends telling you that she’s in trouble and oh, yeah, gonna be suspended. Yikes. That’s how my week went – from bad to worse. Apparently some boy called her a bitch but instead of blowing it off my daughter the bruiser took him by the backpack straps, picked him up and when she put him down he fell and hurt himself. She was suspended for use of force. Oy. She knows better than to touch another kid in anger or any other way but apparently the bitch comment sent her over the edge. My daughter was diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder when she was younger but in her case it’s usually being incredibly argumentative…about everything. This kid obviously hit her switch and my kid got a day spent in the school office and a day at home. sigh My hubby and I sat and talked with her but it’s “I know, Mom!” If you KNOW why did you DO?  So, any wise words that have worked for you with your kids (if you have them) or worked on you (when you were a kid)??

That was the excitement for my week…on to what I read…

First off was A Dragon’s Seduction by Tamelia Tumlin. This story was about a dragon shifter who is from a, I think, alternate universe, and he’s a gatekeeper. He is after an evil dragon who shouldn’t be on Earth at all. His path leads him to sorceress who is smack dab in the middle of it all but only on the side of good. This was an ok story. Pretty predictable and not to intricate of a world, but cute. 2 out of 5

The Red Hot Holiday anthology by KA Mitchell, Leah Braemel and Anne Calhoun was next. This had Christmas stories that were all very different. I’ll post my review on Wednesday.

Wallbanger by Alice Clayton was next. This was a darned cute story about a woman who moves into an apartment and her next door neighbor is having sex almost constantly with 3 different women. She thinks he’s just a sleaze but when they eventually become friends she sees that he’s not at all. The friend and love story was great and it kept me laughing, that’s for sure. Yes, there were some thing that annoyed me – like when the heroine was more worried about her missing “O” than the hero while having sex…and other things but overall I really liked it. 4 out of 5

Tempting the Bride by Sherry Thomas was next. I had very mixed feelings about this book. I liked the characters very much when they were getting along but they were only getting along because the heroine had amnesia. Normally she hated the hero so much she could barely be in the same room with him. He, of course, has been in love with her since he was 14. The thing is that over the years the hero felt that he’d rather rile the heroine and send out nasty verbal barbs and have her get pissed off rather than have her ignore her completely. I just didn’t see the logic in this. I mean, I did, but what he did only made her hate him more. So while the writing was good as is usual with a Thomas novel, the story had me on the fence. 3 out of 5

My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was the novella Just One Bite Vol. 1 anthology which includes: The Unlikely Vampire by Scarlet Blackwell, Sacrifice by J.L. Merrow, One Last Wish by Josephine Myles, Mayan Time by Erik Orrantia, Fire Can Make It Rain by Nix Winter, The Hunter & the Hunted by Stevie Woods. These was vampire related short stories with some odd, some ok, some great – they were all pretty much very hot and I liked this volume a lot. 4 out of 5

Another book I’ve had in my TBR pile for a while was The Virgin Proxy by Georgia Fox. This was a medieval erotic romance and it was really good. The story is about a woman who has lived most of her life in a convent during the Norman invasion. She is asked by fellow convent dweller to be her virgin proxy. Deorwynn will take Sybilia’s place on the wedding night, behind a heavy veil, because Sybilia’s not a virgin and she doesn’t want the marriage to go bad because of it. But Guy the groom is quite a bit smarter than the women think AND he’s got the hots for Deorwynn rather than Sybilia. I liked the characters the writing, the setting – almost everything. The cover is a bit misleading as looking at it you would think that the woman ends up with two men but while there are multiple partners at one point it’s just a h/h romance. This is book 2 in the Conquerors series so I’ll definitely have to go back and read book 1 and then on to the others. 4 out of 5

Next up was Courting Carolina by Janet Chapman. This is book 3 in the Spellbound Falls series. The story is about Alec who is out in the wilderness blazing a trail, literally, for his friends resort. He ends up harboring a woman who he found escaping from kidnappers. She, however, is the daughter to Titus and is a mythological princess from Atlantis and her father wants her to marry a warrior of his choosing. She’s run but there’s someone after her. While with Alec they fall in love but Alec plans on never getting married so that puts a kink in things. While I found this book cute and at times fun and funny it didn’t move fast at all. The second half of the book had Alec and Jane (Carolina) apart almost completely until the end and that just didn’t work for me all that well. 3 out of 5

Last was a free short I got from Amazon called Rent-A-Groom by Jennifer Blake. The story was about a woman who was using her honeymoon suite even though her wedding had been called off. A man shows up at her door claiming to be from Rent-A-Gent and is there to escort her so that her fiancé will think she’s over him. We could tell the man, Race, was up to something but we didn’t know what but it was sweet watching Gina and Race get to know each other. It was a short but the couple did fall in love in 2 days. That being said they did state that they would take it slow and get to know each other so that saved the insta-love a bit. 2 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that have posted since last week:
When the Duke Found Love by Isabella Bradford
The Bridegroom Wore Plaid by Grace Burrowes

Happy Reading!


Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What I Read Last Week

Posted August 28, 2012 by Tracy in Features | 11 Comments

Well here we are on Monday again. I don’t understand how this keeps happening so quickly every week! lol

I went back to work on Wednesday but am still under the weather and pretty sick this weekend. I’m at work today just dreaming about home. 🙂

My youngest had a belt test this past Saturday for her Danbo belt. It’s the last belt before she hits black and I was so proud of her! I took a lot of little mini videos and then thanks to a great little app on my iPhone I was able to merge them all together into one video. In this test she had to break a ton of boards and even one with her head! OMG that scared me but she did a great job. I’m embedding that video but there are also a couple of sparring vids on my youtube channel if you want to watch them.

Other than that not a lot happened this week so on to what I read:

I started off the week with About That Night by Julie James. I swear this book must have gotten lost in the shuffle but I was so excited when I unearthed it. This is the story of Rylann who is a US Attorney and Kyle who is an ex-con (he shut down Twitter for 48 hours) and how they fall in love. It was a really great book which is what I expect from Julie as she writes so well. I read this one for Book Binge and will let you know when my review posts. 4 out of 5

Next was a reread for me – The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook. I loved this book the first time I read it and it was no different this time. I wanted to refresh my memory on events and characters before I delve into books 2 & 3 (I know, I can’t believe I’m that behind either). If you haven’t read this steampunk book then you should cuz it’s oh so good. 5 out of 5

My next read was Archangel’s Storm by Nalini Singh that I read for Book Binge. This is a great addition to the Guild Hunter series. In this book we get Jason’s story. Jason is Raphael’s spymaster and is in one of the other Archangel’s courts to try and find a murderer. He meet Mahiya and the man who never thought he could feel again, does. Now he doesn’t turn from dark to light and change personalities and that’s what I loved about the story. He was himself only better and Singh kept his character true. Very good story. 4 out of 5

After that I picked up But My Boyfriend Is by KA Mitchell. This is book 4 in the Florida series and one of the men is the brother of Aaron who was in Collision Course. Dylan’s twin, Darryl, is beaten up because the bashers thought he was Dylan. Darryl was saved by good Samaritan, Mike. Mike and Dylan have a connection and though they quickly getting off in the bathroom, Dylan is in complete denial as to the fact that he’s gay. This one was very angsty but oh so good. I really liked Mike a lot and thought he was extremely patient with Dylan and his constant denials about his sexuality. Definitely worth reading, especially if you’ve read the others in this series. 4 out of 5

Nothing of a Son by LA Witt was next and this was an unusual read for me. I don’t normally read m/m historical romance but this sounded so good. The story is about a soldier, Daedalus, who asks a Duke for shelter from a storm. The duke allows him in but warns him about touching his two daughters. But Daedalus is gay and when he sees the duke’s son, Rauman, he is completely smitten. Rauman is also head over heels for Daedalus. They fall into each others arms but know they can’t be together forever. This was a good historical read. I didn’t get to know the characters that well so I felt I was missing something in the end. The story is more of a HFN story but was still good. 3 out of 5

Turn to Darkness by Jaime Rush was my next read. This is a spin-off from her original Offspring series. I haven’t read any of the other stories but I didn’t feel too lost at all with what was going on. Shea was hurt horribly 6 years earlier but none of her friends know about it. She hides behind baggy clothing. This doesn’t stop her friend Darius from liking her but he wants to possess her and frankly it’s a bit creepy. Then there’s Greer who she really likes but tells herself she doesn’t. The story revolved around Shea and Greer coming to terms with what they were to each other as well as the father’s of Shea and Greer coming to kill their offspring. It was an interesting story and I think I may want to go back and find out more about the “Darkness” which seems kind of like a strange magical ability. 3 out of 4

Love, Hypothetically by Anne Tenino is a follow up to Frat Boy and Toppy that I enjoyed so much. Paul was the nasty ass roommate that couldn’t keep his trap shut about jocks. We all thought he had a stick up his ass but apparently there was a very good reason for the way he acted. I’ll review this one later this week.

Last for the week was Forbidden by Nicola Cornick. This story was about Margery who is a ladies maid and quite happy for the time being. She wants nothing more than to save enough money to start her own confectioners shop. She meets Henry and is quite charmed by him…until she finds out some important information. I’ll review this later this week and tell you more then.

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
A Perfect Stranger by Jaden Skye
Echoes at Dawn by Maya Banks

Happy Reading!


Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Guest Review: Men Under The Mistletoe by Ava March, Josh Lanyon, Harper Fox, and K.A. Mitchell

Posted February 5, 2012 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments

Judith’s review of Men Under the Mistletoe by Josh Lanyon, Harper Fox, Ava March, & K.A. Mitchell

Baby it’s Cold Outside

A man receives the gift of pleasure at the hands of two expert lovers. Boyhood sweethearts get a second chance at romance. Two very proper gentlemen indulge their forbidden desires. And a Christmas tree farmer has an epiphany. It may be cold outside but these four holiday novellas will warm you up.

Anthology includes:

My True Love Gave to Me by Ava March

Winter Knights by Harper Fox

Lone Star by Josh Lanyon

The Christmas Proposition by K.A. Mitchell

I don’t do anthologies, period! I don’t know why the format has never clicked with me but it just hasn’t. Now having said that, I turn right around and decide to read this one, mainly because I don’t read a lot of M/M romance and I am trying to read more of it, and because there are a couple of authors included in this line-up that I like because of stuff I have read in the past. These novellas are definitely holiday related, but they are all perfectly OK to be read any other time of the year. They are just plain good stories about good people and those that love them. As in all good stories they are built around a love relationship that is in crisis in one way or another. But all of us romance lovers know that going in, so it isn’t something that usually bothers us. The mark of a good story is how they resolve the crisis, as I see it.

My True Love Gave To Me by Ava March is a historical novella featuring two men of 19th century England when being openly gay put one’s reputation, one’s social position, and possibly one’s life in danger. Both men were young, had met in university, and while the older of the two was comfortable with his sexual preferences, the other man was not. He gave in to their attraction for one another with hidden groping and short quick encounters in hidden corners of the campus, but when it came down to spending some quality time with his lover, Thomas, the younger of the two, gave in to his fear and not only left his lover but also left the country. Four years later, Thomas returns to England from New York and is mature and accepting of his homosexuality and he knows that “Sasha” is his true love. But the man he encounters upon his return is cold, bitter, unforgiving. It is a very emotional story that will tug at the reader’s heart strings and is written so well that I had no difficulty feeling the stress and hurt between these two lovers.

Winter Knights by Harper Fox is set in Northern England and features two men who are at different stages of their personal journey toward accepting who they are. They had been in a relationship of sorts for three years when one of the men breaks off the relationship and declares that not only won’t he “come out” to his family but he is renewing his engagement to his ex-fiance. Now begins a bit of magical involvement with some well-know mythological characters who are also gay lovers and who bring healing and peace to the man whose lover has left him. This is a more difficult story to get one’s head around– not that it isn’t well-written, but it has the sense of fantasy and myth about it yet appears on the surface to be contemporary and real. The resolution of the crisis was surprising to me, and it is one of the really complicated stories of the four.

Lone Star by Josh Lanyon is set in modern-day Texas and features a man who left his hometown and his dad 12 years earlier after his dad refused to not only reject his choice of occupation but also his homosexuality, telling him to leave and never return. Add to this trauma the fact that the man he loved deeply and dearly not only refused to leave their hometown with him, but also refused to “come out” to his family. Now he has returned to settle his dad’s estate–an old, rundown ranch that has been left vacant for six months. It is Christmas time, the weather is terrible, and he has just lost the chance at a prime role as one of New York’s featured dancers. He has also happened upon his lover being serviced by one of the guest performer. You see, our guy is the principal male lead of the American Ballet Troup, a life and a occupation choice his dad never could accept. He wants to get his dad’s personal effects taken care of and the ranch put up for sale, but while he is considering this as he journey’s from the airport, he has a terrible accident which totals his car. As it so happens, the car that was driving behind him a ways back was a Texas Ranger and, of all things, the man who refused to come with him 12 years earlier. This is a story that starts out tense and stays that way for awhile yet almost from the first the reader perceives that the tension comes from feelings they both have buried and have now leaped to the surface when they are least expected. The resolution of their crisis was another surprise–one that I found inventive and one that had the smack of reality–real people dealing with life’s realities and working to preserve their love honestly.

The Christmas Proposition by K.A.Mitchell features two guys who are from vastly different “walks” of life. One is the unhappy and sort of unwilling proprietor of a Christmas tree ranch–an enterprise that barely broke even to the extent that he had to take a second job to pay the rest of the bills and keep a roof over his and his sister’s heads. After three silent years, Bryce returns–the owner of a major natural gas company and Mel’s lover in the past, and one who has just up and left–or at least that’s the way it felt. Now he has returned and they once again reunite, but the road to true love seldom is smooth, and while Bryce is certainly a part of the activities of the moment, there is every expectation that he will once again disappear. It’s a story of uneasy relationship, deep anxiety over the future, and a sense that life and love just kept passing him by. There is a ton of friendship and family connection here and even a wedding, but it is during that context Bryce did something that set Mel on his ear and he froze. Kudos for Mel’s sister who seems to be the family member with her head on straight (no pun intended) and even though she is in drug and alcohol recovery, she has a sense of what the mature response to the proposition should be.

All in all, each of these novellas are wonderful love stories and a great collection of tales that deal with the issues that all lovers probably face from time to time. These are real guys with big hearts who must deal with the pressures of a world that still feels very uneasy about their orientation, yet they forge onward in the search for authentic relationship as do all human beings. This anthology may be a holiday release, but it is well-worth reading any time of the year.

I give it a rating of 4 out of 5

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This book is available from Carina Press. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,