Tag Archive | 5 Stars

Assimilation, Love, and Other Human Oddities (Claimings #2) by Lyn Gala (5 Stars)

May9

An excellent continuation of Liam and Ondry’s story, the author took us deeper into their special relationship.

Ondry and Liam are enjoying their new lives together, but that’s about to be interrupted by the humans. In the middle of a war, the humans need metals to fix their damaged ships. They have come back hoping that Liam can assist them with the trading. Since humans aren’t logical people, the question is whether or not they can be trusted.

I absolutely loved the first book in this series, and I wondered where the author would take us with an already established couple. She definitely succeeded in her choice. We got both points of view, a better understanding of their connection to each other, and an idea of how they spend their days. It was nice to see how much Ondry and Liam utterly adored each other and tried to keep each other happy. We learned more about their jobs as traders. The play on words continued in this story, and it was interesting to watch how a translation was dissected. The excitement and tension for the story came from the officer that was sent to trade with Liam and Ondry. Her motivations weren’t clear, which kept us on the edge waiting to see how it would all play out.

This is the second book in the series, and it definitely needs to be read after the first amazing story, Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts.

I really enjoyed this story about romance and the nuances of the spoken word.

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

Slam! by J.L. Merrow (5 Stars)

May5

Witty sarcasm coupled with a sweet romance made for a story that’s hard to put down!

Jude Biggerstaff is a recent college graduate who hasn’t quite started to work on his career. After a bad breakup, he decides to live with his Mom, work on his violin and poetry skills, and hang out with his best friend Keisha. After David saves Jude from being mugged, they begin a lovely romance. Since David isn’t completely out, and Jude’s Mom is dating David’s coworker, there are some interesting antics taking place.

Phenomenal character development with Jude, his best friend Keisha, his Mom, and David. The story is told from Jude’s POV, and he is one of the most sarcastic and funny characters I have ever read with Keisha as a close second. Their relationship was truly the key to this wonderful story. I could have read about them all day and never got tired of their conversations.

Jude’s love interest, David, was a nice guy who was still partially hiding the fact he was gay from the rest of the world. They had a very sweet relationship developing with David trying to get to know Jude through several dates before engaging in a physical relationship. Considering Jude could turn almost any comment into a sexual innuendo, this wasn’t easy for David. For the bulk of the story, you’re basically following Jude around in his daily life, including some fun poetry slams, looking at things from his very interesting perspective. I’m really looking forward to reading this book again!

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

New Beginnings by Kyle Adams (5 Stars)

Apr18

Although Kyle Adams is known for his lighthearted and funny stories, “New Beginnings” shows us a different side to his writing. My stomach was in knots and my heart felt like it was being ripped apart as I read the beginning of this lovely story. Fortunately for me, the angst didn’t last too long. I enjoyed getting to know Urban and watching him deal with the emotions of everything that was happening to him.

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Originally reviewed for Swept Away By Romance. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Perfect Imperfections by Cardeno C. (5 Stars)

Apr13

I absolutely loved this amazing story! Jeremy was a high maintenance person, and he struggled to keep anybody around because they would eventually get tired of his antics. However, he was also a very lonely and kind person deep down. He was definitely not your typical bad boy rock star. He fortunately convinces Reg to become a part of his life, even though the plan is for it to be temporary.

Thank goodness plans can change! Reg becomes first his friend, and then eventually his lover, after they spend quite a bit of time together. I loved seeing their relationship develop slowly while they really got to know each other. Not only did they spend a lot of time talking, but they also had several fun adventures together. Reg really understood Jeremy and was able to truly support him so he could focus on his music. Reg was extremely patient and helped Jeremy mature in his behavior.

The build up to their first hot sex scene together was so intense and emotional. I liked the way we saw time pass by so the strengthening of their relationship made sense. Throw in a little mystery about somebody leaking information to the press, and I had a story that I couldn’t put down.

My favorite thing about books by this author is that he spends the time to fully develop both the characters and the relationship. If you haven’t read the author’s work before, this is a great starting point, since it’s not part of a series.

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Originally reviewed for Swept Away By Romance. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb