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.
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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.
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Dirty Laundry by Heidi Cullinan (5 Stars)

Jun24

I absolutely loved this exceptionally well-written, dialogue intensive, character driven romance with some extremely steamy and kinky love scenes. Adam and Denver both have some issues that they need help with and find that they are the perfect people to help each other out. Adam suffers from severe OCD, and Denver is the first person to completely accept him and provide him with a sense of security he’s never had before. Denver has some learning issues that have forced him to limit his options in life. Adam is more than willing and capable to help him with this challenge.

The story takes place over several months which really allows us to see the characters go through some life-altering changes, truly fall in love with each other, and provide for a realistic relationship with typical ups and downs. Denver also has a penchant for dirty-talk, and he is positively wonderful at it! I really liked how the author alternated between the exact words Denver used and Adam’s summary of what Denver was saying. I think that helped it to avoid sounding cheesy at all. There is quite a bit of sex, but not enough to overwhelm the plot at all. Their play included bondage, spanking, anal, oral, and gags.

I’m hoping that Louisa, the one other true friendship that Adam developed during the story, will get her own story.

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Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
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Something in the Way He Needs (Family #1) by Cardeno C. (5 Stars)

Jun15

If you’ve never needed anybody before, if you’ve never really been needed before, will you know how to handle it when you finally do?

Asher is a tough cop who doesn’t do relationships but enjoys being a Dom for a night. Daniel appears to be a flighty young man without any desire to really accomplish anything. Asher lusts after Daniel the minute he first sees him while at a bachelor party in Las Vegas. Daniel refuses to do a casual hookup with Asher. For the first time in his life, Asher decides he can accept that if it means he gets more time with Daniel. Their relationship continues with Daniel moving in with Asher, but certainly not without its challenges. The biggest issue is Asher’s incredible and surprising possessiveness of Daniel.

We are slowly introduced to all of Daniel’s amazing capabilities which make for several surprising treats. These two people truly cared deeply for each other, and it showed in their actions. The story takes place over several months allowing for the realistic growth of the characters in their feelings. Although Asher is portrayed as a major Dom who enjoys whipping and caning subs, the only thing that takes place in this story is one spanking. There are a significant number of very hot and descriptive love scenes.

Extremely well-developed characters, minor characters who helped contribute to the story, great dialogue, and solid relationship development made this a fantastic story! I’m thrilled to have found an author that I’ve never read before, but will certainly be reading again!

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