Tag Archive | Medium Sexual Content

A Mended Man (The Men of Halfway House #4) by Jaime Reese (5 Stars)

May30

Aidan and Jesse have not lived easy lives, especially after they both suffered significantly at the hand of kidnappers. They have become extremely close after working together for several years, but they haven’t moved past the friendship stage. Jesse is hospitalized after being attacked by his kidnapper, and Aidan realizes just how much he depends on Jesse for his own emotional stability. These two have a lot to overcome, but they both know it will be worth it in the end.

It was heartbreaking hearing what these two people went through during their lives, and I was brought to tears several times during the story. I loved the slow pacing and the length of time that it covered. It made every moment, every kiss, between these two more believable and emotional.

Quite a bit of the story revolves around the task force that Aidan serves on and the crimes that they are working on. I’m not a big fan of crime stories, but I liked the way the task members interacted with each. I could easily see several stories letting us get to know more about these guys.

The only reason I can see this book as part of the Men of Halfway House series is that some of the characters are related. Although it can be read as a stand-alone, every book in this series is amazing and well worth reading.

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Book Blurb

Red River (Pack #2) by Cardeno C. (5 Stars)

Apr17

Wesley Stone is done waiting to become Alpha for the Purple Sky pack. Although a bit gruff, Wesley cares more about the pack than anything else in his life. If necessary, he’ll force his uncle to battle for the position. The strange scar on his abdomen shouldn’t be enough of a reason for the pack to dismiss him.  Once he finally confronts his uncle, he’s dealt the final blow. He’s being sent away to become the Alpha of the Red River pack. As if that’s not bad enough, he also has to mate with the Jobe Root, the wolf that’s next in line at Red River.

Fortunately, Jobe knows that Wesley is his mate. Jobe is one of the most easy-going people Wesley’s ever met. Jobe must patiently wait until Wesley realizes that they were truly meant for each other. Together, as they connect the pack back to nature, they will make the Red River pack as strong as it’s ever been. Watching these two beautiful characters fall in love and develop a happy, fulfilling life together was very touching.

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

Winter Ball by Amy Lane (4 Stars)

Mar17

A lovely winter treat with two friends realizing they were truly meant for each other.

Skip (Christopher) Keith is a nice but very lonely guy who didn’t have a great childhood and now doesn’t have any family. Fortunately, he coaches his recreational soccer league and has a small group of friends because of it. He’s known his best friend, Richie Scoggins, since they went to tech school together. Skip is great at calming Richie down, and Richie makes sure Skip enjoys life. Richie works for his dad’s junkyard, but he doesn’t really have a great life either. His dad’s new wife and step-brothers make life challenging for Richie, but misplaced loyalty to his dad keeps him working there.

One night, Skip and Richie get carried away while in a car and the results completely change their relationship. Now they have to figure out whether this can be permanent or not. Neither had been with another guy before, and coming out to their family and friends could definitely have negative consequences. The majority of the story was built around Skip and Richie getting to know each other better even though they were already really good friends. This included plenty of sex, but also plenty of conversations. There was plenty of drama with Richie’s family and some fun with Skip’s job providing tech support.

It was a sweet story with relatively low angst for this author. I shed a few happy tears when these two recognized their love for each other with some heartfelt comments.

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

Too Stupid to Live (Romancelandia #1) by Anne Tenino (4 Stars)

Mar3

An enjoyable story about a relationship between two people who seemed unlikely to get along.

Sam is a very sweet young man who is also a huge reader of romance stories. He tends to relate a lot of things in his personal life to how it would happen in a typical romance. Hence the title, “Too Stupid To Live”, is one of his common thoughts about activities taking place around him. He is also a fairly happy person with an enjoyable personality and a supportive group of friends and family. Ian, on the other hand, was a troubled young man. After an accident left him unable to continue as a fireman, and a family that clearly didn’t support the fact that he was gay, he decided to move to a new town. He realized that he lacked common emotional social skills and was actively trying to improve himself. He would have been an unlikable character except that we got to hear what was going on in his head. It was very apparent that he cared deeply for Sam and was just horrible at expressing himself. I enjoyed his therapy sessions where he exposed his deeper thoughts and fears.

The plot moved along nicely, the dialog was witty and enjoyable, and the sex scenes were very steamy and slightly kinky. It took quite a bit of time for them to move from just having sex to having a relationship. I think if that had happened sooner, and we could have enjoyed their relationship longer, it would have been an amazing book.

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Book Blurb