Tag Archive | Light Sexual Content

Loving Jay by Renae Kaye (5 Stars)

Oct27

I loved this touching romance with its two amazing characters.

Liam Turner has never really experienced true love or even been in a relationship that really excited him. Fortunately, he meets Jay Bell, and his life is almost instantly improved. Liam is a sweet, down to earth kind of guy who rarely gets riled up until Jay enters his life. Now, Liam will do just about anything to protect the man who has stolen his heart.

The story is told from Liam’s POV, and I just couldn’t get enough of his voice. I thought it would be hard watching him question his sexuality and the way he would treat Jay because of it. Instead, I couldn’t have been more thrilled with how the author played out this plot. Jay was phenomenal with his sweet demeanor, heart of gold, and ability to talk non-stop about almost anything. The story was filled with honest conversations, amazing dialog, a well-developed relationship, and just the right amount of background activity to keep the story moving forward. The best part was how the author managed to hit me on an emotional level throughout the story. I was shocked to see this was her first published story, and now I’m really looking forward to her next one.

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

Control by Cardeno C. & Mary Calmes (4 Stars)

Oct13

Pack dynamics and interesting shifters made this an enjoyable romance with some great action sequences.

Vy is arrogant on the outside, but lonely on the inside. A hawk shifter, Vy is excited to finally find his mate in Robert, even though Robert is a bear. Unfortunately, Robert isn’t interested in shifting, and, therefore, doesn’t recognize Vy as his mate. Vy struggled with wanting to be with Robert while at the same time feeling very frustrated that Robert wouldn’t recognize him as his true mate. Instead, Robert is just interested in Vy as a person. This leads to the biggest conflict between these two mates, and gives the story an interesting twist on the instant love we usually see with mates. Fortunately, Robert was an amazing and patient person who was willing to try to work through this issue with Vy. Robert was always going out of his way to help improve the world around him and take care of Vy. Vy matured quite a bit during the story with the help of Robert and Vy’s father. This allowed him to truly step up to being the pack leader. By the end, it was obvious Robert and Vy were meant for each other.

I enjoyed the focus on the different issues with the pack members, and the trouble that they were having with another pack. This aspect of the story gave Robert, an outsider, a chance to prove he was trustworthy to the pack.

The one little thing that bothered me was the constant interruptions between the characters as they were talking to each other. It’s a pet peeve of mine when people interrupt each other in real life, so seeing it happen in the story distracted me.

As a huge fan of shifter stories, I was excited to see two of my favorite authors write this story together.

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

Twin Flames (Sumeria’s Sons #1) by Lexi Ander (5 Stars)

Oct6

What if the soul mate chosen by the gods doesn’t end up being the one that completes you?

Tristan is a Lycan descendant who suffers from believing he is mediocre. He has discovered his Twin Flame, the one person destined to be his, cheating on him. Tristan has requested that they be permanently separated. This is rarely done since it can lead to Tristan’s death. After the separation, he must try to find a way to go on with his life.

The story was not a strong romance and instead focused on building the world and delving deep into Tristan’s life. Tristan was a fascinating character with an amazing ability to tell a story. He had his heart broken by the one person in the world who should have loved him through eternity. Fortunately, his best friend, Ushna, stood by him during his dark recovery period. Ushna helped Tristan come back to life, and his commitment to Tristan never wavered. I would have loved to have gotten to know Ushna better and watch them develop their relationship, but Ushna didn’t talk very much.

The unique world the author created was very interesting and easy to follow. The ending clearly continues into the next story, but I didn’t feel frustrated that it was too much of a cliffhanger.

Engaging storytelling kept me hooked from beginning to end, and I’m really looking forward to the next entry in this series.

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

Controlling the Burn by Tonya Ramagos (5 Stars)

Oct4

Controlling the burn of a fire makes sense, but controlling your heart’s burning desire is never a good idea.

Drew Ward is the newest member of an elite group of smoke jumpers. Wesley Payton is a senior member of the same team and 20 years older than Drew. Drew has wanted Wesley since he first met him over a decade ago and has just been biding his time. Now that Drew met his professional goal, he is focused on his personal goal of making Wesley a permanent part of his life.

The life of a smoke jumper is explored in detail in this story. In addition to learning about their daily training, we are also exposed to what takes place during a real forest fire. The fire scenes were exciting and nerve-wracking since you could really feel what was happening but weren’t sure of the outcome. Although it made it more authentic, the constant use of fire jargon also hurt the flow of the story just a little bit.

The romance between Drew and Wesley was very sweet. Although Wesley was anxious about starting a relationship, he didn’t stand a chance against Drew! Drew knew what he wanted, and had the patience to work through Wesley’s concerns. There were a few steamy scenes, a lot of good conversations, and some interesting interactions with the other jumpers. Overall, it was a touching romantic story with some great suspenseful scenes!

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