Tag Archive | Gay Romance

Cupcakes by Sean Michael (3 Stars)

Dec12

Just like the title, this is a sugary sweet romance!

Allen Jameson owns a successful cupcake shop, but as the sole employee, he is working long hours. He started it after he lost his partner unexpectedly. After almost two years of being alone, he’s finally met somebody who he’s interested in getting to know better. Byron Bannigan, otherwise known as B., owns a construction company and finds he’s also very interested in getting to know Allen better after meeting him at the cupcake shop one afternoon. Sparks fly almost immediately, and now the only impediment to their relationship is Allen’s work hours.

This is a nice romance between two extremely kind guys who hit it off almost immediately. There was very little angst between the characters. They worked well together and were supportive of each other. Allen is a prim and proper man which is apparent from his mannerisms. Byron adores everything about Allen and really wants to take care of him. Allen really did need somebody to build him up since he had a very low self-esteem. This became abundantly clear for most of the last portion of the book. Allen spends some time reflecting on his former relationship, and I liked how this was approached in such a loving manner. Unfortunately, along with the constant use of the word “baby”, there were so many sex scenes that it detracted from the story quite a bit. If more time had been spent developing the relationship, the sex would have been more meaningful to me.

A super steamy romance about fresh beginnings in life and love.

Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
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David’s Selfie by Daisy Harris (4.5 Stars)

Dec10

Sweet and sexy, this was a nice little holiday treat. David and his daughter are both adorable. Although I’m not a big fan of kids in a story, this plot worked extremely well. David is bisexual and had married his best friend, Ana. After she died in a car accident, he thought it would be easier to move forward by falling in love with a man. Craig was the perfect guy for David. Craig had a hard upbringing, and he hasn’t had a lot of luck so far in his life. However, he’s smart and works hard, and you just know he’s going to be fine. David and Craig were great together, and the epilogue had me shedding a happy tear.

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Brandon Mills Versus the V-Card (Prescott College #2) by Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock (4 Stars)

Dec9

I loved the first book in this series, “Mark Cooper Versus America“, and I was really looking forward to this one. I definitely liked it, but it was laced with such a horrible tragedy, that I can’t say it was always fun to read. After being molested by his teacher, Brandon has never fully recovered. We live through the terrible memories with him over and over again. I adored Brandon and Alex. While I felt like I got to know each of them individually, I really think they needed to spend more quality time together to convince me that they were meant for each other.

Unfortunately, Mark Cooper, who was one of my favorite characters, was almost a caricature of himself and his antics served as an unwanted distraction from the relationship between Alex and Brandon.  There are plenty of fun things taking place throughout the story to keep it engaging. There is very little sex in this story, but plenty of marijuana use.

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Missed Connections: I Swear to You by Sloan Parker (4 Stars)

Dec7

Forgiving a break in trust is not easy, but it can be worth it in the long run to be with the love of your life.

Grady and Mateo have been best friends since first grade. They are now enjoying their final year at college together, and one fateful night, they take their relationship to the next level. Unfortunately, while Mateo was more than willing to keep it moving forward, Grady couldn’t deal with possibly being gay and so he walked away from Mateo.

Once Grady is finally willing to accept that not only is he gay, but that he left the love of his life and best friend, he goes in search of Mateo. Mateo isn’t the same person he used to be and has suffered greatly since they last saw each other. Now Mateo has to determine if he can forgive Grady, and if they can have a life together again.

I loved Mateo and thought that he was such an amazing person who was trying so hard to do the right thing. He wasn’t afraid to stand up for what he believed in. Grady came across as somebody who was initially very spoiled, but was now finally maturing and accepting how horribly he treated his best friend. I wasn’t sure I would be able to forgive Grady, but the author managed to make me love him and hope that the two of them would get back together.

I enjoyed the heartfelt conversations that they had and especially liked watching Grady open his heart completely. These two were also definitely smoking hot together. The story takes a nice little turn and throws in a roadblock to their future happiness. It has to do with how Mateo spent the last 6 years. I was very surprised at the reason for Mateo’s scars and thought the author did an excellent job with this bit of mystery.

Although I finally forgave Grady, it was very hard to think of Mateo’s life for the past six years and not get a bit depressed. His entire social connection was basically ripped away from him because of Grady’s cowardice.

An emotional take on the friends-to-lovers theme with a bit of mystery.

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