Tag Archive | 4 Stars

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.

cover

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

Say Everything by Gina A. Rogers (4 Stars)

Jun3

A story about love and forgiveness.

Gregory has finally decided to try to move on from his past. He’s putting these memories, in the form of clothes and games, on Craigslist, hoping to sell them. Chad, the potential buyer, is a party planner and is excited to take the 1980’s memorabilia off Greg’s hands. As a simple transaction turns into a romance, Greg will have to decide if he’s really ready and willing to move on from his past or else risk losing Chad.

A good part of the plot revolves around finding out exactly what happened to Greg in his past to cause him to be so afraid of falling in love. Greg is a huge trivia junkie and loves to share fun little tidbits of information. There’s a nice sense of humor to this story especially around the timing of this sharing. Chad is a sweetheart who everybody seems to adore. We get a pretty good idea of their relationship based on the things they do together, and some nice glimpses into their daily lives.

The sex scenes are raunchy and slightly kinky with some mild spankings thrown in for good measure. I liked their conversations and the creative way the author pulled the 1980’s theme into the story at various points. I also loved watching Chad help Greg recover from his past.

This amusing and heartfelt story, with love leading the way to forgiving one’s self, was a very enjoyable read.

cover

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

Welcome, Brother (College Fun and Gays #5) by Erica Pike (4 Stars)

May25

A simple romance with some college fraternity drama leads to an interesting tale.

Kyler Morris applies to the most sought after fraternity on campus. Hunter Kingsley, their leader, accepts Kyler and takes him under his wing to teach him the ropes. Some of the fraternity brothers don’t like to play nice, and the two new friends must cope with their budding romance and fraternity troubles.

Kyler Morris and Hunter Kingsley are both very nice people. They come across as charming young men who want to make a difference in the world. They also both love art very much, giving them something significant in common. Neither of them has been in a relationship before so it was fun watching them dance around each other without playing any games.

The story takes place over several months so there is ample time for them to get to know each other. There was also enough dialogue for us to get to know the characters. There were a few events that brought some heaviness to the story surrounding some of the other fraternity brothers and their bigotry.

Overall, a sweet romance between two young college students who are experiencing a relationship for the first time.

cover

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

Forever Promised (Promises #4) by Amy Lane (4 Stars)

Apr25

Having the support of loved ones can help you deal with any of the changes that life might send your way.

A story that brings us up to date on the lives of the characters from the first three novels. Deacon and Crick are doing great, but they really want children. Crick’s sister, Benny, has just offered to help them fulfill that dream. Jeff and Collin are married and taking everything day by day. Shane and Mikhail are taking care of the teenagers that come to the Promise House. There was a large focus on the Promise House activities and the teens that are living there.

The story is told from multiple points of view, with almost every character getting a chance to speak their mind. I loved this approach and thought it worked so well because the characters were strongly developed in the prior books. Deacon actually talked quite a bit more in this book, and I felt like I got to know him even better and fell in love with him. I really enjoyed the time with Deacon and Crick together, including the steamier scenes in the book. The other characters were true to form, and I loved all of them. Life isn’t perfect for these wonderful people, but they always stick together and do whatever they can to help each other out.

The only thing that really bothered me about the whole story was the underlying reason for Benny to have Deacon’s baby. Since that was a major plot point and I just couldn’t get it to make sense to me personally, I really struggled to just ignore it. Outside of that issue, I enjoyed seeing everybody and catching up on their lives.

If you are a huge fan of the series, and you really want to see how everybody is getting along after several years of being together, then I think you will love this book. You get a true idea of the life that the couples and their friends are living on a daily basis. If you haven’t read the series, I think you’ll struggle to follow everything that is taking place without the history behind it.

A wonderful end to a strong series with a story of love, challenges, and people coming together to truly support one another.

cover

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