M/M - novella
TBR Reviewer: Becca

Review

How far are you willing to go for love? Are you willing to put aside your pride and allow yourself to be open to abuse if it meant being with the one you can’t help but admire? Ren finds himself exactly in this situation as his attraction to prickly Shin heats up but all everyone else can see is Shin watching Kyouya.
 
I feel as though the summary blurb for this book is a bit misleading on the plot. You go into the book thinking that there will be a good suspense and a bit of who-done-it but that isn’t the case at all. Not to say that the author didn’t do a very good job at suspense but it was suspense involving the characters and not that plot. That plot actually fell through for me but the one involving the romance of these characters held tight and was top notch.

The chemistry between the characters literally sizzled on the pages, you could feel the draw between the two even as Sin tried to continuously push Ren away. If you enjoy books that don’t immediately have the characters going at each other then this should be at the top of the least. Because of this delay we got and awesome in depth look at these imperfect characters and just what made them tick. 
 
What the book could have use more of is details, not in characters because as I mentioned before that was well done but in the overall telling of the book. More could have been put into how the characters looked and my God, describe the surrounding area! It took awhile for it to dawn on me that these characters are in Japan and not some made up place brought to life by the author. Part of that I blame on me being an idiot but I also feel that had the author put a some detail into the scenery than I might have caught on faster.

While it’s not perfect Incognito is good for a sizzling hot read involving frustratingly interesting characters.

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M/M, science Fiction - novel
TBR Reviewer: Brutally honest

Review

Kirk is a pretty boy, the rich son of a billionaire who’s somehow mistaken (Or is it a mistake?) and now being sold as a Slave. Lyndarum is a shifter who is of no value because he has freckles. Together they’re stuck in this grueling slave market and that's just the beginning of their problems.

 I noticed the editing was a little worse with this book. Things popped out very frequently, both grammar and head hops. The relationship between Kirk and Lyndarum was way too quick, almost instant. I think if that was flesh out they would have felt more connected. That does change as the story progresses and the main characters have more time together. The science fiction is amped up in this story. More fantastic details and an awesome space chase. The space battle was freaking epic! There a very hot sex scenes, some shocking revelations and more action. As the plot unfolds and twists the story becomes an adventure, a race against time to save Lyndarum’s people. 

Atlantica Dream is a sexy adventure and a great addition to the Schism Universe Series.

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Thriller, Paranormal - novel
 TBR Reviewer: Kim

Review

This is the story of William Chandler. Disillusioned with his life after the death of his husband he turns into a vigilante and starts killing anyone connected to child abduction. He has a police officer after him about the murders but she isn't as disgusted by his behaviour as she should be. Together they must try and save a young girl who has been abducted by an entity known only as 'The Devourer'.

This story started off really well. I liked the idea of a vigilante serial killer taking out anyone connected with child abduction. It made serial killing seem almost honourable! The side story of the police officer chasing him, but not really trying too hard was engaging. Then ghosts were introduced and I thought things were getting a little strange but it was still enjoyable and I carried on page turning to find out what happened next. Then vampires and
werewolves were added. It all got a little bit silly and went downhill from there. It seemed as though the author had decided to throw in every cliched monster and go from there. The last quarter of the story didn't make much sense and created more questions than answered them. The author kept getting their characters muddled up. I wish I could recommend this as it started off so well, but sadly I can't as it just didn't hold up to it's early promise.

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M/M, Science Fiction - novella
TBR Reviewer: Brutally Honest

Review

This had an interesting concept. This line had me laughing -  the mighty lump of manhood at my groin bulging heroically. I know what you’re thinking, lame line but when you read it in the context of the story, funny stuff. 
 
Ready for the issues? First, is his age. How old is  he? By him getting beat up by that bully it sounded like he was a kid but once he’s lex there’s description that’s adult. In other words if this is a kid, those descriptions were awkward to read. I had to go back and check the blurb.
Turns out this is a m/m science fiction novel. So, the author definitely could have explained that better. There’s no age on Lex or background. There were excessive commas. They needed to be eliminated. Lex and Lotar also have a relationship already so there was no connection between them. None what so ever, so it's pretty much like reading the ending to a 400 page book. Then there’s an ammonia leak and they’re stopping to have sex...Come on!

Then we come to the ending which is a moment I like to call, what the hell! That was no an ending. It just ended. No resolution, no explanations and I hate wasting time when authors do this. I invested in the story and they left me hanging. It’s becoming such a common occurrence with these new authors. A story should have a beginning, middle/climax and AN
ENDING!

 Infinity Incident was a waste of time.  Normally, because it sounded promising I’d give it two stars. This is not a book, it’s a bad short story and as such will be rated accordingly.

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M/M, Romance - novella
TBR Reviewer: Amanda

Review

The story opens with a vampire hunting a snack at a dance club. When he finds what he wants, he kills, and the first of the main characters, Van Scott, a gay, vampire-killer tracks him down and cleans up. Van works for a secret organization that seems to exist in order to protect humans from vampires, which are ugly, flesh and blood-eating monsters. When Van is asked to protect a man named Daniel Winters for a few days, his handler gives him an unusual caveat, "do not fall in love". From the very first moment that Daniels enters Van's
street, he discovers that everything is different in this protection detail from any one he had worked before.

Although I felt the overall premise had promise, the writing was stilted in points and poorly edited. From the beginning, I thought Van was a jerk, full of himself and thinking he was both the "uber-hunter" and god's gift to mankind, but near the middle of the story, my opinion changed. When he opened up and talked to Daniel, his past made his attitude more understandable. He was still a jerk, but one that was covering up a severely damaged emotional past. Daniel was obviously hiding major secrets and when they finally came to light it was quite interesting, but until the very end his character was just too one-dimensional. 

Basically, I just didn't buy them as a couple because it happened too fast and with little reason other than they each thought the other was hot, and with all the strangeness going on it seemed unrealistic. The almost constant barrage of vampire attacks kept making it obvious that Van was not being told what he needed to know, and there were too many loose ends within the story, even though it is the beginning of a series.

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M/M, Romance - novella
TBR Reviewer: Luta Wolf

Review

What would you do to keep your dream job and what would you do to meet the person of your dreams? Terry only has one chance to keep the job of his dreams but it means betraying Aiden the man/angel of his dreams. He has to make a decision but he doesn’t have long, which one can he stand to lose.

I loved the concept that the author was going with this. An Angel that acted like anything but an Angel. He reminded me of the bad boy cops on the shows I’m addicted to, you can’t help but love how good they are at being bad but in the end you know they will do what’s right. Except the author took it a step further and did this with an Angel.

The problem became the fact that the author didn’t stick with this plot and truly develop it, instead we get caught up in many different faucets of plots. I went from reading about a homophobic jerk of a boss that won’t lay off the whiney but lovable Terry to there suddenly dealing with an evil vampire. I could have worked with that but the added bits of BDSM threw me for a loop. There just wasn’t enough character build up for me to really see an Angel getting it busy the very first night he meets this guy or the whole him making Terry his “slave”. 

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m/m, Romance, science fiction - novel
TBR Reviewer: Brutally Honest

Review

This is another book in The Schism Universe series by Mark Alders. The first one I read was freaking fantastic and I’m anxious to see if the greatness continues. Sarge’s Angel is about tough Sarge buying a slave that he's fallen completely for but this 'angel' has a secret that could kill them both.

I’m not  a fan of flashbacks. They tend to hinder the flow and muddle the story but apparently not in a Mark Alders book. I was thoroughly impressed. The flashbacks blended into the story beautifully. I also like how Alders includes foreskin on most his characters, if
not all. The erotica books I’ve read rarely have them uncut or don’t bother to get that detailed. It gives this science fiction world a little more jump into reality the way he describes the sex scenes. Holy hell, the sex scenes are so hot. Do not read this in public. Then there's this fantastic new world and the budding romance. The relationship building is magmatic between the smitten Sarge and the slave Hayden.

I did notice the editing was really bad in this book. Run-on, comma usage, repetition of words and other things were heavy enough to through me out of the world Alder’s created. The chapter  ends were choppy and the story really could have been polished better. Thus, the four star rating.

Sarge’s Angel was a sexy addition to the Schism Universe Series. I can’t wait to read more of this world and the fantastic man on man goodness.

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M/M, Romance - novel
TBR Reviewer: Amanda

Review

In an unknown future time, earth has been destroyed and the wider galaxy colonized. As some people have re-colonized earth, they have tried to escape the "Distant Rule" that seems to run everywhere else and have been at war ever since, twenty-years. Herman is a cyborg and part of the invading forces who has become mixed up with Blaze, a magician in the earth's army and is starting to doubt everything he has ever believed.
 
Because everything is shown from Herman's point of view, there are often murky points because his memories have been tampered with as well as his physical modifications. As Herman learns more about the force he fights for, he becomes more confused about which side is right and what he should do. When he finally has to choose a side, it becomes obvious that he must make a decision - and that alone helps him to decide what to do. Once he discovers that he has a choice, he becomes a freer man. He also fights mixed signals from Blaze. One moment he thinks the red-haired magician wants him, the next he thinks he is just a pawn, no longer even a soldier but just a tool. There are a lot of undercurrents in this story, like the issue of free-will and how the cyborgs memories are continously erased to keep them from caring about each other or empathizing with their enemies. Herman fights bias and prejudice from the people that he is helping on one hand, and the lies and manipulations that are all he knows on the other hand.

I admired his character for doing what he felt he should at great cost to himself and against all odds, and I was pleased with the end of the story when it looked as if he and Blaze might have a chance. Blaze himself is not as fully-realized a character as Herman, again because of the way the story is written, but some of his compassion and caring seemed to help in pushing Herman out of his "perfect soldier" mold. In all, I found this an enjoyable story and would recommend it for those who like science-fiction with romance thrown into the mix.

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M/M, Science Fiction - novel
TBR Reviewer: Brutally Honest

Review

Another Mark Alders novel, I’ve been a fan of his after reading several fantastic books.
(Oddly, the only thing I don’t like about Mr. Alders is the titles he picks. Eh, to each his own.) This particular book is about David who been on solo space missions for years. On a mission from Ardross Major David comes upon a stowaway. One that isn’t quite human but sexy as hell.

Mr. Alders has done it again. Mouse in the Wainscott is a fantastic, unique and sexy novel. He has more wonderful one-liners. His descriptions are almost poetic and really pulls the reader in. This ship was well detailed, the hot men even more so but without any dragging. Naru is the stowaway who’s actually a shifter. His background story is very interesting and deep. I loved reading about his world, why he’s being hunted and why he considers himself a murderer. David’s only companion has been a female computer, Miranda. She’s fantastic and witty, although she didn’t sound like a normal AI, it was still a fun character. 
  
There’s a good amount of action as Naru’s hunters find the ship and attack. There are a few editing issues but nothing major. There isn’t much sex in this as Alder’s usual novels but I think that was a good call. David and Naru had a chance to really connect and form a relationship. When they did finally discover each other it was more meaningful and really hot.
 
As I said, Mark Alders books are some of my favorite to sink into. The stories are fuel for fantasies and dreams. Mouse in the Wainscott is another great addition to Mark Alders successful book shelf.
 
If you haven’t read him yet – what the hell are you waiting for?

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M/M - Novel
TBR Reviewer: Amanda

Review


Four friends dealing with an odd combination of issues wonder if it is true that college should be the best time of your life. Blake, a pre-operative transgender, is dealing with body issues and bullying which just make his problems worse. His new roommate, Devon, starts out on the wrong foot as he enters the college in January and tries to find his place among established groups. Riley, a football player and frat-boy type surprises Blake by becoming
friends with them all. And Ethan, Blake's best friend since high school, may be becoming something more.
 
Although this story had interesting moments and covered unusual issues, with Blake's dysphoria and the bullying he received because of his transitional state, there were too many contradictions within the story. I felt like Riley and Devon's relationship felt rushed and unreal, although Blake and Ethan's rang true. Their background of having been there for each other for several years made their developing relationship realistic. However, there were details that contradicted each other (Blake talks about his old boyfriend at one part of the story, then later says he's never been in a relationship, for example), and that combined with the strangeness of the narrative kept me from fully enjoying the book.

I think it had potential, but either needed to be two seperate stories, one for each couple, or needed more length to flesh out what was happening.

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