Category: Lgbtq

REVIEW: A Glass of Red by Sam Carlson

1/25/2022

Title: A Glass of Red

Author: Sam Carlson

Length: 180 pages

Genres: LGBTQ, Contemporary Romance

TBR Reviewer: Fiona

Rating: 4 Stars - Highly Recommended Read!

Heat: 3/5 - Blush Worthy!

Noah is at a crossroads in his life. He's an art history major, who's working on his masters degree, but has no way of paying for it. He's been working on getting certified as a sommelier. To earn some extra money over the summer, he's interviewed for a job helping a rich couple, the Cunninghams, with the renovations of the new villa they bought in Italy. He discovers that they don't want him for his art history knowledge, but for his wine acumen.

Christian Caravelli has been drifting through life with no special plan. He's still living with his parents in Miami, but their arguing has led them to the point where a divorce seems inevitable. He decides to spend some time with his grandfather in Italy. When his grandfather falls and breaks his leg, he realizes he'll be unable to do the renovations on the villa he's been commissioned to work on, so he tells Christian that he'll have to do the work.

This sets up Noah to meet Christian when he arrives at the villa. Both points of view are used, and we see how both are attracted to each other. Along with the uncertainty of, is he gay or not? There is also the question of whether or not the other man finds him attractive. Noah has always been the shy, nerdy guy who is hesitant to take chances. Christian has always been the easy-going sexy man who's never been at a loss for men who want him. Over time, both men realize that not only are they both smitten with each other, but that there is the tantalizing possibility that this relationship could lead to more. Both have to be willing to sacrifice and change their future plans.

This was an enjoyable read. I also like learning about wines, and there were bits of knowledge about Italian wines tossed into the story. Since Italian reds are my favorite, I was pleased. I enjoyed the slow build-up to the sex scenes, since good sex starts in the mind, and both men have quite an imagination. This is a fun way to spend a couple of hours, pretending you're in Italy with Noah and Christian.

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REVIEW: Whiskey and Moonshine by Elizabeth Noble

9/24/2021

Title: Whiskey and Moonshine

Author: Elizabeth Noble

Genre: Romance, Gay, LGBTQ, contemporary

TBR Reviewer: Bella

Rating: 4 Stars - Highly Recommended Read!

Heat: 3/5 - Blush Worthy!

I was actually a little confused by the blurb but I gave this book a try and I’m so glad I did! Colt was kicked out by his family as a teenager for being gay. Mal is the CEO who thinks Colt will be a great spokesman for his whiskey company. A romance begins to develop in the most unexpected places.

A billionaire meets a man who doesn’t have a home of his own, not exactly a new plot. I did love the characters though. Colt pulled at my heartstrings. I felt so bad that his family kicked him out! I wanted him to get back on his feet. I wanted him to find someone to call his own. I wanted him to have a home. Mal and Colt forge a friendship first which I really liked. It’s a slow romance that just builds up all those feelings so when they do get together, it’s beautiful! As the story unfolds so does their growing attraction. I loved reading that ending. It was just so edge of your seat kind of thing. Elizabeth Noble continues to impress me with her well thought out characters and romantic plots.

If you’re looking for a beach read or something fireside then I highly recommend Whiskey and Moonshine!

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REVIEW: Playing to Score by Lisabet Sarai

7/5/2021

Title: Playing to Score

Author: Lisabet Sarai

Length: 65 pages

Genres: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQ, BDSM

TBR Reviewer: Fiona

Rating: 4 Stars - Highly Recommended Read!

Heat: 3/5 - Blush Worthy

Jason Hofstadter has spent many years attending the Four States Annual Scrabble championships in Omaha. In fact, last year he made it up to number two! He aims to score higher this year. But that leads to the second reason he attends to score in bed with a likely candidate. He has to be careful about whom he chooses to approach, since approaching a homophobic man could get him thrown out of the tournament. But using his "gaydar," he's always managed to have successful, if totally forgettable one or two-night stands with a different guy every year. He has no reason to think that this year will be any different.

When Jason sees a young man sitting by himself, peering through his thick glasses at lists he's obviously memorizing, Jason approaches him, asking if it's his first championship. The man's sexy smile makes him harden, and when the young man glances at his crotch, he's sure he's met this year's choice. Matt Sawyer is just what Jason looks for in a man. They do some flirting, exchange some words, and before long, Jason is sucking the younger man off in a uni-sex bathroom in a Starbucks. This leads to more varied exploration of each other in Matt's room. Jason is surprised when Matt brings out a paddle and some restraints which he asks shyly if Jason will used on him. Seems Matt's dom passed on a couple of years ago, and Matt's been waiting a long time to find someone new to take his place. But Jason has never been into the BDSM scene. He's never even held a paddle. Will he enjoy it, or will his fear that he's hurting the other man make him too anxious to enjoy it?

This is a quick read and I was disappointed when it ended. I grew to really like Matt--and Jason has possibilities of growing into being the new dom that Matt craves so desperately. Or Jason might just return to being the unrepentant horn-dog that he was in the first chapter. I want to know which way things will end between them! But the story ends on a HFN note, and one can only hope about which direction their budding relationship will go.

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REVIEW: Blue Mountain by Cardeno C.

7/5/2021

Title: Blue Mountain (Pack #1)

Author: Cardeno C.

Length: 148 pages

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Shifters, LGBTQ

TBR Reviewer: Fiona

Rating: 5 stars - A Must Read!

Heat: 4/5 - Smoking Hot!

After being thrown out of his pack by a cruel leader, Omega wolf Simon has learned to survive by ignoring his gentle nature. His mother was also an Omega, who couldn't allow her 13-year-old son to be on his own away from the safety of a pack, so she went with him. When the story begins, 12 years later, he's once again on the grounds of the Blue Mountain pack, to bury his mother, who asked him to accompany her there, knowing she'd die while there.

The first four pack members who find him, rough him up a little, to scare him off. Then they report back to Frederick, their current pack leader. He and his twin brother Mitch, killed off the last pack leader and his three beta sycophants, then took over the pack. They're both alphas, but Mitch has no desire to be a leader. He's the "enforcer" for the pack. His gruff manner keeps everyone at bay, and that's just the way he likes it.

When Mitch and Frederick smell the blood of a foreign shifter on their reporting pack members, they both realize that this is Mitch's mate. Frederick tells him to go deal with the interloper. When found by Mitch, Simon panics, he's been treated badly by Alphas and other male shifters before he smells "off", because not only is he a rare Omega male, but he's gay. His first instinct is to roll over and submit, but he fights until he's worn out. Then he wants to bare his belly to allow the alpha to kill him, since he's tired of always having to fight to survive. But Mitch takes him to his home that he rebuilt out of an old ruined house, it's close enough to where the pack leader lives, but far enough away for Mitch to have the privacy he needs.

Simon fights against everything Mitch tries with him and he refuses to tell Mitch why. Luckily for them both, Mitch's rough exterior hides a gentle, loving man, who will give Simon all the time and space he needs to realize that they're a mated pair, bound to each other for life. The realism in this book was totally engaging. I was captured by Mitch's gentle giant, and astounded by Simon's inner strength, which he didn't believe in, but which kept him alive during his time living out of a pack. I loved both of these characters, and almost wept with happiness that they both found in each other, a harbor for their hearts and souls.

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REVIEW: The Coven by Stephanie Burke

6/28/2021

Title: The Coven (Gargoyles' Song 1)

Author: Stephanie Burke

Length: 368 pages

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Reverse Harem

TBR Reviewer: Fiona

Rating: 4 Stars - Highly Recommended Read!

Heat: 5/5 - Orgasmic

Cyprus Reid has exploded into the consciousness of the world. She's an overnight sensation whose fans are intensely dedicated, and whose detractors are equally rabid. When she sings, listeners are moved to tears. Everyone is intrigued by her. Her sexuality is blatant, irresistible and she is always accompanied by five ridiculously sexy men. Are they her body-guards or her lovers? A reverse-harem, or just eye candy for everyone, to add to the mystique of her allure?

Ex-Navy SEAL Jason Giles is a government-intelligence operative now, who has taken on a dangerous assignment. Scientists have been dying in the towns visited by Cyprus and her entourage. Is she connected in any way? When Jason gets himself hired by the hotel she's staying at, to provide protection for Cyprus, it doesn't take him long to realize he's in way over his head. Cyprus is much more than just a young man in a dress. What Jason discovers will change his life forever.

I'm a huge fan of sci-fi in any medium: movies, TV shows, and books. So I'm aware that building a world is time-consuming. The more you want to play in that world, the more painstaking you have to be in establishing the parameters. This is a very ambitious beginning to a series. I wasn't sure at first what direction the author was going in, until the action became as compelling as the sexy men surrounding Cyprus. With her being a hermaphrodite, even when a man is having sex with her lady parts, there is still a very functional set of man-parts to contend with as well. Once we start experiencing the sex that goes on within this coven, it gets intense very quickly. There is a whole lot of male/male sex going on, and because three members of Cyprus' coven are alpha-males, there is some very violent sex that takes place as the alphas try to force each other to yield. In the end, there is also a very-much-deserved avenging of a horrific wrong committed against Cyprus and her coven, but it's also very violent, so reader be warned.

Ms. Burke has created an interesting world, and the characters who live in it do so by their own codes. I will be watching to see how many books she plans in this series, and if any will be not just back-stories, but will continue the story she started here. The Coven is a highly recommended read!

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REVIEW: Night's Fall by M.A. Church

2/22/2021

Title: Night's Fall

Mystic Bay #1

Author: M.A. Church

Genre: Paranormal, romance, Gay, lgbtq

TBR Reviewer: Bella

Rating: 4 stars - Recommended Read!

Heat: 3/5 - Blush Worthy!

Michael lost his parents, his brother is missing and the creatures of the night just revealed themselves to him. Yeah, his world is definitely out of control. Add in the erotic dreams and they might as well commit him but what if all that is true…

The jump from a happy family to the tragedy gave me whiplash. I wish that had come together more smoothly. There was a lot of jumping that really pulled me out of the story. If that had been better knitted together, I think the story would have flowed better. That said, I liked Night’s Fall! Michael was dealing with the loss of his family, his missing brother and erotic dreams about a man that was definitely not a normal man. Once Michael was thrust into this paranormal world things got interesting. I liked the world building as well. What really showed through was Michael’s personality. I absolutely agreed with a lot of his reactions and found myself snorting at a few of them. It seemed very reasonable to think smoke under the door meant fire not paranormal creature paying a visit. I do hope this becomes a series, as suggested, because it was an entertaining story. I look forward to reading more from M.A. Church.

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REVIEW: Straight to the Heart by S.J. Coles

2/9/2021

Title: Straight to the Heart

Author: S.J.Coles

Length: 112 pages

Genres: Romantic Suspense, contemporary romance, LGBTQ romance

TBR Reviewer: Fiona

Rating: 4 Stars - Highly Recommended Read!

Heat: 3/5 - Blush Worthy!

James Solomon is an FBI agent who works on intuition. His father was an agent, and wanted him to follow him into the agency, since he said that James has good instincts. He works with Agent Lisa Gibson, a married woman who also trusts his instincts. But she's missed too many holidays and birthdays with her husband, so when the head of a pharmaceuticals company is found murdered on the night when a presentation was being made to the board in a small town, she wants to solve it quickly so she can fly back home to celebrate her husband's promotion dinner.

Leo Hannah is a young lab-rat who works in technology for the company. He heads out for a smoke break and meets James, who is taking a breather from interviewing everyone in the company. Seems the videos recorded that night by the omnipresent cameras have gone missing. Leo makes a few seemingly casual remarks leading James to suspect that the guilty party is not the one that Lisa believes it should be pinned on. James is intrigued, but works to fight the allure of the good-looking young man.

Can they solve the crime before James succumbs to his growing attraction? Nope. And in the meantime, it starts to look like Leo might be the murderer. Which means that the Saturday night dinner he made for James, as well as the night they shared afterward, is now going to reflect poorly on James, since he was fraternizing with a suspect. I really liked how James tried to fight his desire for Leo. It was obvious to me, but not to him, that not only did Leo guess he's gay, but that Leo is also, and he's very attracted to the repressed agent who looks so good in a suit. Their relationship develops easily, if quickly, which is why James feels so conflicted when the spotlight shines on Leo as suspect number one. He starts to doubt his instincts, which makes him doubt himself.

Both men carry baggage into the relationship--Leo more so than James. But by the end of the story, you're rooting for them to be able to work things out, since they're so obviously good for each other.

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GIVEAWAY: Midnight Heist by Katherine McIntyre

2/2/2021

7 Comments

Title: Midnight Heist

Author: Katherine McIntyre

Genre: Romance, Suspense, Gay, Lgbtq

TBR Reviewer: Bella

Rating: 5 Stars - A Must Read!

Heat: 4/5 - Smoking Hot!

Grif is in charge of a team of thieves who go after bad companies. Dan is the CEO of their next mark but he may not know how corrupt the company is. This should have gone as planned but the attraction between them is too hot to resist.

Yes! This is a fantastic suspense. It almost reminds me of an episode of Leverage. Grif and Dan are now in the same danger. As Grif tries to take down the company, he’s also falling hard for Dan. Dan knows there’s something wrong but he can’t figure out what. When he meets Grif the attraction is instant. This is the perfect read for my mood. It’s a romantic suspense with great action and great romance. As the heist/investigation plays out, I really found myself on the edge of my seat. That ending is so satisfying!

If you like romantic suspense then Midnight Heist should be at the top of your TBR list.

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GIVEAWAY

Ms. McIntyre is giving away an ebook from her backlist.

The TBR Pile is giving away a $10 gift card!

TO ENTER COMMENT BELOW:
1. Why do you want to read Midnight Heist?
2. Have you read Katherine McIntyre before?

For extra entries share this post using the Facebook and Twitter buttons below. Good luck!

Winners:
$10 gift card: Anna
Backlist book: Lee

7 Comments

Duet: Price of Fame by Treva Harte

9/14/2020

Title: Duet

Series: Price of Fame - Stand alone

Author: Treva Harte

Genre: Romance, Erotic, Contemporary, Gay,

TBR Reviewer: Bella

Rating: 5 Stars- A Must Read

Heat: 4/5 - Smoking Hot

What happens when a child star leave the fame and settles down away from Hollywood. He actually starts to enjoy life. That is until he gets some nasty threats. Now he’s got to go through all the trouble of hiring a bodyguard and worrying about some crazy fan. Who knew the bodyguard would be so hot or that the sparks would fly…

This really reminded me of The Bodyguard by Whitney Houston. It had that same romantic suspense vibe going on. Gene is a great character. He left the limelight and he was almost happy being away from all the crazy but then the crazy came to him. His chemistry with bodyguard Leo is fantastic. I could really feel like tension and need. There’s some great sex and some great action! I enjoyed finding out who the stalker is and why.

If you enjoy romantic suspense this is a must read!

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GIVEAWAY: Outwitted by the Husky by Shea Balik

8/27/2020

6 Comments

Title: Outwitted by a Husky

Mystic Pines 1

Author: Shea Balik

Genre: Romance, Erotic, Gay, lgbtq, paranormal, shifter

TBR Reviewer: Bella

Rating: 5 Stars - A Must Read!

Heat: 4/5 - Smoking Hot!

Spencer takes an old abandoned town and turns it into an inviting spot for lgbtq. However, things aren't as they seem in Mystic Pines. Reese wants to open up a animal daycare but Spencer refused to allow pets. It's a battle of the wills and they both might win the war...

This book was adorable! I loved the idea of taking an old town and turning into a thriving spot that accepts everyone. Spencer had a great idea. I admit to liking Reese better, maybe because I'm an animal person so I would totally want pets allowed. Their romance was sexy and entertaining. I really enjoyed this. I am so excited that this is part of a series because I am hooked and I want to read more!

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GIVE AWAY!

Ms. Balik is giving away an audio copy of Outwitted by the Husky as well as a $5 gift card!

The TBR Pile is giving away a $5 Amazon gift card and 2 books from our prize list (1 each).

TO ENTER: Comment below on why you want to read Outwitted by a Husky. Have you read Shea Balik before? For extra entries share this post using the Facebook and Twitter buttons below!

Winners:
$5 gift card: Sandra and LeeAnn
Audio copy: Kim
Prize list book: Gabrielly, NJ and Loveless

6 Comments

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REVIEW: A Glass of Red by Sam Carlson

REVIEW: Whiskey and Moonshine by Elizabeth Noble

REVIEW: Playing to Score by Lisabet Sarai

REVIEW: Blue Mountain by Cardeno C.

REVIEW: The Coven by Stephanie Burke

REVIEW: Night's Fall by M.A. Church

REVIEW: Straight to the Heart by S.J. Coles

GIVEAWAY: Midnight Heist by Katherine McIntyre

GIVEAWAY

Winners:
$10 gift card: Anna
Backlist book: Lee

Duet: Price of Fame by Treva Harte

GIVEAWAY: Outwitted by the Husky by Shea Balik

GIVE AWAY!

Winners:
$5 gift card: Sandra and LeeAnn
Audio copy: Kim
Prize list book: Gabrielly, NJ and Loveless

Categories

Archives

​GIVEAWAY

Winners:$10 gift card: Anna​Backlist book: Lee

GIVE AWAY!

Winners:$5 gift card: Sandra and LeeAnnAudio copy: KimPrize list book: Gabrielly, NJ and Loveless

Categories

Archives

GIVEAWAY

Winners:
$10 gift card: Anna
Backlist book: Lee

Winners:
$5 gift card: Sandra and LeeAnn
Audio copy: Kim
Prize list book: Gabrielly, NJ and Loveless