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No Such Thing (No Such Thing #1) by A.M. Arthur (4.5 Stars)

Jun4

Sweet and sexy story about redemption and exploration.

Jamie was a sweet guy who lost his Mom to heart disease when he was young, and then had to go through his own heart replacement surgery.  He lives with his sister and is going to school to become a professor.  Due to his lengthy illness, he’s never even been on a date.

Alessandro moved away from his foster family to try to grow up and find himself. However, after his foster-father died unexpectedly, he returned home so that he could help out his foster mom with the two kids that she was still raising.  Although Alessandro has never been in a real relationship before, he’s had plenty of experience with other guys. He also got into quite a bit of trouble as a youth, but he’s moved past that point.

These two made such a cute couple.  Due to their younger age, Alessandro’s checkered past, and both of their lack of experience with relationships, their issues around getting together certainly made sense.  There’s also a bit of a mystery involved with some attacks on the deli and against Jamie. As Alessandro was trying to show Jamie around, they had fun at the bar, which then led to an evening of exhibitionism and fooling around with other people.

Unfortunately, the story ended without the relationship being fully defined.  Although it appears they are on their way to a happily ever after, it will probably take the next book to fully explore the remaining issues between these two.  I will definitely be looking forward to reading it!

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Originally reviewed for Swept Away By Romance. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
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Dirty Drag Collection (Dirty Drag #1-3) by Kyle Adams (5 Stars)

Jun2

I really enjoyed these three stories! I loved how they accepted each other for who they were, kinks and all. It was so touching when Ashley told Rick, in detail, why he liked him and listed these wonderful traits based on Rick’s actions. I love to smile/laugh during a story, and the humor was very sweet.

Link to free download at Smashwords & ARe.

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He Completes Me (Home #2) by Cardeno C. (5 Stars)

May31

The joy of finding your true love when you never expected to have one.

Zach Johnson is enjoying his life as a chef and a party boy. He has no desire to settle down and has never met anybody that made him want to until Aaron Paulson. Aaron spends most of his time taking care of everybody else, but now he’s ready for somebody to take care of him and Zach is the only man he ever wants in his life.

Zach was an absolutely amazing character, and the entire story is told from his point of view. I loved his sarcasm, his wit, his interesting view on the world, and his very opinionated inner voice. Zach didn’t have a great life growing up, and it’s caused him to keep an emotional distance from everybody who wants to love him. Aaron is a veterinarian and one of the nicest people ever written. The only annoyance was with Zach’s brother and sister-in-law who really took advantage of Aaron’s kindness. However, Zach’s constant recognition and commentary on Aaron’s sweetness kept me laughing.

The story focused on Aaron very slowly convincing Zach that they were meant to be together. Even after Zach cheated on Aaron at the beginning of their relationship, Aaron refused to give up. Aaron truly believed that they were meant to be together, and he was willing to forgive Zach. Fortunately, Zach quickly wised up and the rest of the story was spent watching these two build a life together. Once the shell around Zach’s heart melted, he became a wonderful friend and lover to Aaron, and the two of them really began to take care of each other.

I really enjoy when the couple gets together early in a story allowing us to see them spend more time together and truly believe in their happy ending. These two were a perfect match and positively adorable together. In addition to the humor provided by Zach’s thoughts, the time Zach spent with Aaron’s family was priceless. We also were treated to some amazing love scenes with these two.

Zach made this story truly amazing, and he now has a permanent place in my heart as one of my favorite characters.

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

Gay as Mardi Gras by Lily Velden (5 Stars)

May30

A story so devastatingly simple, and yet so wonderfully executed, that it left me with happy tears at the end!

Jesse is just getting over the ending of his relationship with his best friend and childhood sweetheart, Janey. His Nan decides what he really needs is a break before starting his new job so she sends him on a month-long cruise. Since Nan is convinced that Jesse is gay, the cruise ship is filled with men, much to Jesse’s chagrin. He lucks out when his roommate, Daniel, is also there alone, and they quickly become friends.

I love a new-friends-to-lover theme. Jesse and Daniel form a quick friendship discovering that they have a lot in common and enjoy each other’s company. There was the perfect amount of dialogue and descriptions of their daily activities to believe in the developing relationship.

Although everything was only told from Jesse’s POV, it worked very well in this story. Jesse’s character was developed enough that to make sure we fell in love with him and wanted him to be happy. Daniel was presented as a very sweet and considerate person deserving of Jesse’s love. The sex scenes were steamy and fun. The only angst was wondering if Jesse could accept that he really was gay. I read this straight through, enjoying every emotion it pulled from me!

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