Tag Archive | 4 Stars

Racing for the Sun by Amy Lane (4 Stars)

Dec28

Even true love can take a great deal of time to bring a relationship to fruition, but it’s worth winning the battle to get there.

Jasper “Ace” Atchison is a Staff Sergeant in Afhganistan who takes Private Sonny Daye under his protection. Although they are just friends, Ace hopes that one day it will be more than that. Ace goes home first and begins to put their dream of owning a home and car shop into action. Sonny has some demons from his past, and it will be up to Ace to help him move on with his life.

The story is told from the POV of Ace who was a strong character, but very simple in his needs. He just wanted to make Sonny’s dreams come true and hopefully spend the rest of his life with him. Sonny was a unique character who spoke very little and wanted even less out of life. He had his dreams, but the most important one was belonging to Ace. As they fumble their way through forming a loving relationship, they must deal with owning a business, the dangers of car racing, and Sonny’s past which comes back to haunt him.

Every friend of Sonny and Ace needed help in some way. It was hard seeing so many people desperately in need of being treated better. Since the story took place over several years, the relationship was very believable. The author’s writing style always has a way of making you feel like you’re part of the story. Unfortunately, the story had a sad undertone to it the entire time, but at least all of the angst was outside of the relationship.

Overall, this was an interesting story filled with characters that needed to be loved.

cover

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

Grumble Monkey and the Department Store Elf by B.G. Thomas (4 Stars)

Dec22

Nick St. George was at the end of his rope until a sweet little elf saved the day.

Nick is an extremely successful businessman who has everything except love and happiness. He has finally reached a breaking point in his life and is on a road trip to San Francisco to end it all. He meets Kit Jefferies, whose car has just broken down, and decides to give him a ride.

Nick and Kit are both very interesting characters, and we spend quite a bit of time both in their heads and in their discussions, getting to know them. Nick is an extremely unpleasant person which made it hard to enjoy the story in the beginning. In addition to his nasty comments about Kit’s personality, and his overall negative view on gay people, it was very hard to like him at all. However, as the story progressed and Kit rubbed off on him, he became much nicer. The speed in which this happened seemed a little short, but it worked well for this story.

Kit was a joy to be around and just an overall fantastic person. In addition to being a store elf helping children, he was also an amazing artist. I really enjoyed reading the details and descriptions of his work. The only issue I had with Kit was his language. Listening to a grown man, who refuses to swear, say words like “poopie” took me out of the story multiple times. The time they spent on the road trip and at Kit’s house made for an overall enjoyable story.

A sweet holiday romance where one man’s zest for life gives another man a new chance at happiness.

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

Fear, Hope, and Bread Pudding by Marie Sexton (4 Stars)

Dec18

Very touching, emotionally-charged story about two men who desperately want to adopt a child.

Jon Kechter and his husband, Cole Fenton, want to bring a child into their family. Cole is struggling with his desire to grow his family, but frustrated that he doesn’t have any true control over accomplishing it. At the same time, Cole is dealing with his mother who apparently wants to try to be part of his life again.

The majority of the story is told from Jon’s point of view. However, there is a brief period where Jon’s father shares his views. Jon is a pretty straightforward, simple character whereas Cole is much more lively and entertaining. Although their relationship was already established in “Strawberries for Dessert”, I would have liked to have seen more of their interactions as a couple. Too often it felt like Cole didn’t fully share himself with Jon. The beginning was a bit maudlin since Cole was always upset and on the verge of depression. The majority of the story was spent watching them live through the stressful ups and down of the adoption process.

There was also quite a bit of drama as we got to know Cole’s mother better and watch them interact with each other. As Jon and Cole got closer to reaching their dreams, it was easier to get lost in the emotions of the story. I certainly shed quite a few tears for both happy and sad moments. Although this can be read on its own, I think it’s much more enjoyable if you read the entire “CODA” series so that you really understand where all of the characters are coming from.

I recommend this beautiful heartfelt story that engages the heart and mind.

cover

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

Inside Out by Andrew Grey (4 Stars)

Dec15

Strength on the inside is just as important as strength on the outside.

Bull Krebbs, part-owner and head of security at the local nightclub, hasn’t been in a serious relationship in a long time. After rescuing Zach Spencer from being trampled, they begin to spend time together. Now they have to work through Bull’s interesting work history along with family drama to determine if they can get their happy ending.

Bull had the perfect personality for head of security and former mercenary. However, the rough exterior was just covering the protective sweetheart that he really was. Zach was adorable, but at the same time, he had an inner strength that has carried him through a challenging life. I really enjoyed watching these two slowly get to know each other. Bull was such a romantic guy with Zach, and they had some really nice dates. The comic book angle was cute with Zach featuring Bull as the superhero in his first book.

When Bull’s past comes back to haunt him, it got a tad unbelievable. The excessive use of the word “growl” also got to be a bit much. Zach’s uncle and Bull’s mom gave us an idea of what these two dealt with growing up, and it wasn’t pleasant for either of them. It was lovely that they were both able to see the beautiful souls beneath each other’s exterior shells.

This was a very enjoyable story about two people who fit together nicely, and it easily kept me turning the pages.

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