Tag Archive | 3 Stars

Ethan in Gold (Johnnies #3) by Amy Lane (3 Stars)

Oct24

The sweetest porn star that you can’t help but fall in love with.

Ethan (Evan) Costa was molested as a child, but the way his mother avoided touching him from that moment forward caused him even more devastation. As a porn model for Johnnies, he is finally getting all of the touches he could possibly want, but he doesn’t realize how alone he truly is. Jonah has spent most of his life taking care of his sister while she was slowly dying from cystic fibrosis. As these two spend more time together, Ethan will have to accept that he deserves to be with Jonah.

Ethan and Jonah both have hearts of gold. Ethan will do anything for his friends and family including living with his horrid mother to help protect his sisters. These two certainly deserved to be happy, and I could easily see them spending their lives together. The trick was getting Ethan to come to the realization that he deserved somebody as wonderful as Jonah. Fortunately, Jonah was extremely persistent which kept this story almost angst free. They enjoyed some nice dates, sweet conversations, and some hot sex scenes.

The story takes place almost parallel to the first two books in this series. A good portion of the story was spent alluding to what was happening to Dex, Chase, and the other Johnnies without ever really explaining what was actually happening. It was as if the author thought you were reading all 3 books at the exact same time. I read and absolutely loved the first two books in this series. However, this aspect created some confusion for me and took away from the time needed to more fully develop the relationship between Ethan and Jonah.

The other bit that got a bit repetitive was the almost constant mention of Ethan’s need for touch. I wish this would have been toned down a bit. I don’t think this can be read as a standalone story, and I highly recommend the first two books in the series.

A sweet journey in the continuing saga of the sexy Johnnies.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
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Covert Delivery by Draven St. James (3 Stars)

Oct18

A strange Easter egg treasure brought them together, but they will have to work through their personal demons to open their hearts to love.

Aspen Starr desperately needs to get out from under his father’s control. A strange package arrives, giving him the chance he needs to start a new life. Upon meeting his new boss, Garren Thomas, the sparks instantly fly between the two of them. Unfortunately, Garren doesn’t like to get involved with somebody at work. He actually doesn’t like to get involved with anybody. Aspen will have to work hard to get Garren to bring down the walls around his heart.

I enjoyed getting to know both Aspen and Garren on an individual level. They were well-developed characters who both had a deep down desire to help others. Both of them had very sad childhoods, and yet they tried to take that pain and turn it into a way of helping others. I enjoyed watching them work together doing psychological evaluations, and I found it interesting to learn a little bit about this area.

I loved when they hooked up at the bar by pure chance. This was followed by the first of many steamy sex scenes. I just wish that they could have spent more time together after that and formed a connection. I just didn’t get to know them enough as a couple for me to get emotionally connected to them. The ending became a little melodramatic when one of the patients became violent. At least it served as a reason for Garren to finally admit that Aspen brought a true sense of happiness to his life.

An erotic romance with family drama and an interesting insight into the world of psychology.

Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
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The Crush Revisited (Lincoln Hill #1) by Shawn Lane (3 Stars)

Oct3

High school reunions can bring both happy and sad memories, but the future is all that really matters when it comes to love.

Brandon Collins has lived his entire life in Lincoln Hill. Although lonely in school, Brandon now has a job he loves and lots of good friends. His high school reunion has just been scheduled at the resort he manages. He can’t attend since he’s working, but that doesn’t really concern him. His biggest issue is that the person he had a major crush on in high school will be at the reunion.

Tim Olfander was the popular guy in school that everybody liked, but he was desperate to leave town and hit the big city. He dreamed of being a top lawyer working at a large law firm. Although he’s getting that dream to come true, he’s starting to realize that it’s not really making him happy. He’s working too many hours to enjoy life, and he has no time for a real relationship. As the two connect at the reunion, they slowly begin to realize that there is a chance for something more between the two of them, but only if some significant changes take place.

The majority of the first part of the book was spent with Tim and Brandon having a “no strings attached” sex affair. The two characters really didn’t have a lot of conversations, which made it difficult to emotionally connect to the almost constant sex. We did get to know the characters through their interactions with other friends. I really liked both of them, but I was really fond of Brandon, who was just a sweetheart. The friends were also fun, and I could certainly see future stories with them as the focal point.

Fortunately, the last portion of the story was significantly better. We finally got to see some real conversations between the men as they tried to make a long distance relationship work. The ending was very realistic and gave me hope that they could truly find happiness together.

An enjoyable story about high school reunions, and making changes in our lives for love.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
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Breaking Point (Turning Point #2) by N.R. Walker (3 Stars)

Sep30

One man faces down his personal demons of guilt, but will it be in time to save the relationship with the love of his life?

Matthew Elliott and Kira Takeo Franco have been together for over a year now. Things seem to be going well with their relationship, but everything is about to change. Matt is going undercover to fight a narcotics ring, but he can’t tell Kira. As Matt struggles with living a lie, his relationship with Kira slowly starts to disintegrate.

This is the second book in the series, and it picks up with the same characters. The entire story is told from Matt’s point of view, and he still feels horribly guilty about Kira’s kidnapping. Matt has decided to accept an undercover assignment to discover how a large narcotics ring is working. This requires him to act as if he is leaving the police force to join the underground world of cage-fighting.

Unfortunately, I didn’t understand why Matt couldn’t tell Kira what was going on. Since Matt wasn’t hiding his identity, Kira wasn’t any safer not knowing what was going on. Instead, it created a huge trust issue in their relationship that lasted the entire story. This was not a romantic story, although there were a few sex scenes, nor was it focused on their relationship. The main plot of the story was educating the reader on the training that goes into preparing for cage-fighting, and the turmoil that Matt was going through internally. It also dealt with the aftermath of violence and guilt. Although it was interesting being inside Matt’s head while he deals with these different issues, it wasn’t the romance I was hoping for.

This story is for fans of Matt and Kira, who also enjoy reading about letting go of guilt and the dangerous world of cage-fighting.

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