Tag Archive | Gay Romance

The Shearing Gun by Renae Kaye (3.5 Stars)

Mar25

Hank and Elliot are both really great guys. The entire story is told from Hank’s POV, and he was pretty interesting. I would have loved to have gotten to know Elliot better. He seemed to have an interesting background, but it was never really shared in any great detail. The other characters, especially Hank’s family, added to the enjoyment of the story. Unfortunately, the extensive time spent on the sheep farm and the details about shearing made the story lag for me. I wish that time had focused more on developing the relationship between Hank and Elliot. Although they were both pretty amazing people, and they certainly connected on a physical basis, I’m not sure I understood why they fell in love with each other. Overall, it was a fairly light and enjoyable romance.

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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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Rise: A Gay Fairy Tale by Keira Andrews & Leta Blake (4.5 Stars)

Mar22

Interesting take on “Jack and the Beanstalk” with a bit of magic, two very lonely men, and an enemies-to-lovers romance.  The story was a bit sad at the beginning, but this made it even more meaningful when they eventually found happiness. As children, they were both raised to believe that the other person was evil. I liked how they learned to let go of this prejudice.

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How to Train Your Dom in Five Easy Steps by Josephine Myles (5 Stars)

Mar19

Easy might be an exaggeration, but it was certainly worth the effort.

Jeff White is 100% straight and intends to stay that way. He has finally admitted that he’s a sadist, but he’s having a very hard time finding a new lover after the breakup of his 15-year relationship. Eddie Powell is a huge pain-slut who is having a very hard time finding the right man. When Jeff decides that he needs some training to be a good Dom, a mutual friend connects the two of them. The question is, what will happen after the training is over?

Jeff’s fear of doing anything at all that might be considered gay is palpable. On the outside, he is extremely rude and has no idea how to filter anything before speaking. However, on the inside, he is actually a very considerate and thoughtful person. Fortunately, Eddie catches on to this right away and sees the potential of a relationship with Jeff. Eddie is a cheeky, adorable sweetheart who runs his own graphic design business. These two were a perfect fit when having scenes together.

There is a lot of serious play taking place in this story including several instruments of pain, like an electro-therapy wand and a tawse, along with significant humiliation. Eddie obviously enjoyed everything, and it came through loud and clear. On the other hand, Jeff was an absolute baby when it came to receiving any pain at all, but he loved dishing it out.

In addition to the scenes, these two had quite a bit in common, and it was great to see them develop their relationship. I liked watching Jeff constantly questioning whether each act he performed would be considered gay or not, until he finally accepted the truth about himself.

A fabulous trip into the minds of a sadist and a masochist who were fortunate enough to find each other.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
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Misfits by Garrett Leigh (5 Stars)

Mar16

A sweet, but angst-filled, romance with three men trying to find their place with each other.

I loved all of the characters, and I really enjoyed the restaurant angle of the story. Tom, Cass, and Jake were all misfits in their own way brought together by Jake. He became the glue they needed to bond together. I didn’t know much about Tourette’s Syndrome before, but I liked how the author kept it as a natural part of the story. It didn’t define Jake, and instead it was just something he lived with.

This was definitely not your standard romance story, and watching Tom and Cass try to work through their poor communication skills was heart-wrenching. Tom seems to be the strongest of the team, and he definitely likes to be in control of everything, but it’s really just a front. He’s desperate for more attention from Cass. He wants to take care of Cass, but he also wants more from Cass than it seems Cass is capable of giving. Cass seems like he just doesn’t love himself mostly due to how he was treated while he was young. He’s also holding onto the past in a way that isn’t letting him grab the future he has with Tom. It was nice to see these three people help each other heal in their own way, and accept that they were deserving of better. I loved that we got all of their points of view by the end of the story. It really helped to understand where they were all coming from.

All of the guys are extremely talented and hard-working. I loved how the author wove their talents so that they worked and played well together. Not really an overt romance, but you knew they really loved and cared about each other because of the things that they did for one another. It’s not that it was high angst, but it also wasn’t a happy feel good kind of story either.

I was trapped in the vortex of their messed up lives, wondering how on earth this would resolve itself in a believable way. Needless to say, I was very happy with how everything worked out.

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

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