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The Thing I Didn’t Know I Didn’t Know (Russel Middlebrook: The Futon Years #1) By Brent Hartinger (5 Stars)

Jul23

I’m hooked on this author’s writing. I’m so glad he decided to move into “adult” books, or I never would have had the pleasure of enjoying his storytelling capabilities.

Russel Middlebrook is an extremely engaging character, and I positively adored him. Although his life seems to be going nowhere, his outlook and humor kept me smiling. Russel thinks he should have already figured out his life’s goals. At a minimum, he should have at least decided between Passionate Aimlessness or having an Unstoppable Career Drive. He’s working two jobs that he doesn’t really like. He lives with two of his best friends, Min and Gunnar, and they were definitely an entertaining group. Gunnar’s quest for Big Foot held a deeper meaning and led to an interesting excursion for the two of them. I also enjoyed the details we learned about Seattle. For as little as Russel seems to think is going on in his life, he certainly kept me captivated with his story.

I wouldn’t really classify this as a romance. Although we do see Russel have sex with multiple partners, he spends most of his time pining for Kevin. Kevin was the first and only love of his life from high school. There is a happy ending, but it’s really just a set up for the next story in the series. Needless to say, I can’t wait until that one comes out!

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Originally reviewed for Swept Away By Romance. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Strong Enough (Family #2) by Cardeno C. (5 Stars)

Jul15

Sweet and sexy love story where the relationship is based on two people wanting the same things out of life.

Spencer Derdinger, a university professor, has been checking out the construction workers outside his office for days. One of the workers, Emilio Sanchez, has had his eye on Spencer. After the first date, it’s become apparent that these two have a special connection. Spencer just needs to work through his insecurities in order to take Emilio up on the relationship that is being offered.

Spencer is a 38-year old math professor at the university, and he truly believes he isn’t much of a catch. This concept was reinforced repeatedly by his last cheating boyfriend and a family that has very little to do with him. Emilio Sanchez is a very sexy, mature, and hard working 22-year old electrician. I got a kick out of Emilio’s arrogance. He knew he was hot, but he never used it in a negative way and instead he hoped it would help him win Spencer. He knows the age difference bothers Spencer, but these two have so much in common and want the same things out of life that Emilio considers their age a non-issue.

Spencer and Emilio absolutely adored each other, and this could have almost been too sweet of a story. Fortunately, there was just enough angst, with Emilio’s jealousy and the appearance of Spencer’s ex-boyfriend, that it kept the story interesting. Even though Spencer wasn’t sure why Emilio would possibly want him, he was smart enough not to push him away. I also adored the interactions with Emilio’s family, including when they teased each other, but especially how they protected each other.

The story moved at a great pace, and I read it in one sitting. I loved the instant attraction these two had, but I also enjoyed the amount of time we spent with them together doing the simple things in life, like making breakfast, to reinforce that they were actually destined to be together.

Spencer believes he suffers from erectile dysfunction. I liked how Emilio tried to help him with it both emotionally and physically. Needless to say, there were a lot of very hot and steamy sex scenes and moments.

I thoroughly enjoyed this sexy and romantic story where love flowed easily between two good men while they found their place in each other’s lives. Another fantastic treat from Cardeno C., who has quickly become one of my favorite authors.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Tag Team (Guards of Folsom #2) by S.J.D Peterson (4 Stars)

Jul5

A story on finding the strength to love again after losing the love of your life.

Mason Howard just lost his two Doms in a horrible car accident. They were everything in the world to him, and he isn’t sure how to move on. Bobby Alcott and Rig Beckworth lost their sub 7 years ago and are finally ready to consider bringing somebody else into their lives on a permanent basis. Fate is on their side when the three of them meet, but now they must see if they can all move forward together.

Although the story starts out heart wrenching, it doesn’t stay that way, and instead we are given an almost angst-free romance. Mason is a really sweet person in his early thirties, but his character comes across as much younger. I think it might be because he was so coddled by his former Doms. Bobby and Rig are a really nice couple who have been together for over 20 years. You could certainly tell that they loved and completed each other. However, they had more love in their heart to share and needed a sub to bring them full-circle.

It was a little hard to get to know the characters, since there were three different points of view along with a few flashbacks to Mason’s life. However, Mason’s voice was the most prevalent since we see him go through the process of losing his lovers, and then working with a psychologist to move forward. The steam level was actually pretty light and the only BDSM element present is a spanking. On a separate point, the author writes a note at the beginning of the story related to suicide which was absolutely devastating to read, and it made my heart go out to her.

Sweet romance focused on recovering from a tragedy and finding the strength to move on with the power of love in a new relationship.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Black John (Johnnies #4) by Amy Lane (4.5 Stars)

Jun28

Taking a walk down memory lane, and finally seeing the truth, will allow John to free himself in life and love.

John Carey has just emerged from drug rehab and discovered his first love, Tory, has died. Tory requested that John toss his cremated remains in the water. This begins the dark journey of John’s reflection on his life. He meets Tory’s neighbor, Galen Henderson, who is not recovering very well from a motorcycle accident and is slowly becoming addicted to pain killers. Together these two discover a way forward out of addiction and into a life with each other.

The story spent a lot of time reflecting upon the depressing life John and Tory led together. John finally left Tory after Tory’s third trip to rehab. John believed that Tory would never recover if John continued to enable him. Unfortunately, John never left the memory of Tory behind and let those memories cloud his life for the next decade. His flashbacks included sex between two minors and plenty of sex between multiple characters including John and Tory. It wasn’t romantic or steamy sex since the emotional connection wasn’t really there.

Galen was an intelligent corporate lawyer who lost almost everything after his accident. Tory became his only real friend, and after Tory passed away, Galen started to get worse instead of better. John and Galen end up forming their own connection as they spend time together. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really convinced that they were going to work out in the long run. After Galen finally admits himself into rehab, the story focuses its time on the crew from Johnnies and how their lives have progressed. It was a nice walk down memory lane if you had read the first 3 stories. I just wish John and Galen could have spent more time developing their relationship.

Even though I didn’t fully buy into the romance, and the story was sad throughout, I still couldn’t put it down. Ms. Lane is a brilliant writer, and she had me completely wrapped up in John’s life.

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Originally reviewed for Swept Away By Romance. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb