Tag Archive | No or Low Angst

Drift (Turbulence #2) by Lyn Gala (5 Stars)

Oct30

A continuation of an amazing romantic sci-fi series, this story had all of the elements I love reading about.

I would highly suggest reading Turbulence, the first book in the series, before DRIFT. Turbulence was an outstanding story, and the plot continues into DRIFT, but with different characters as the main focus. Fortunately, we do get to see Zeke and Jacqs again, which thrilled me to no end. There aren’t any spoilers in my review of the plot so it will be a bit vague.

Allie and Shank Lacroix have been involved for quite some time, but they’re about to take their relationship to the next level. Allie is a very strong person as evidenced by the mission she’s about to undertake. She likes to be a part of the action and help out where she can. The only little issue I had with the story was that it didn’t give me Shank’s point of view. It seemed like he had lived an extremely interesting life as part of a large pirate family, and his thoughts and background would have been fascinating. There was still enough information provided to make me fall in love with him and know that Allie would admit she was doing the same. Allie seemed to be in love with him from the beginning, but she was afraid of losing him due to everything going on in the universe. I really enjoyed the dynamics of these two together.

Allie’s interactions with Shank’s mom and his former girlfriend were fascinating. The detailed dialogue provided put me right in the room with them. The plot was filled with exciting action, including visits with the different government factions, stealing a ship, and struggling to figure out their future. The sex was steamy, and included bondage to the point of immobility. The science fiction aspect was interesting and easy to follow.

I loved this journey through space with several highly engaging characters.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
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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.
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Ethan in Gold (Johnnies #3) by Amy Lane (3 Stars)

Oct24

The sweetest porn star that you can’t help but fall in love with.

Ethan (Evan) Costa was molested as a child, but the way his mother avoided touching him from that moment forward caused him even more devastation. As a porn model for Johnnies, he is finally getting all of the touches he could possibly want, but he doesn’t realize how alone he truly is. Jonah has spent most of his life taking care of his sister while she was slowly dying from cystic fibrosis. As these two spend more time together, Ethan will have to accept that he deserves to be with Jonah.

Ethan and Jonah both have hearts of gold. Ethan will do anything for his friends and family including living with his horrid mother to help protect his sisters. These two certainly deserved to be happy, and I could easily see them spending their lives together. The trick was getting Ethan to come to the realization that he deserved somebody as wonderful as Jonah. Fortunately, Jonah was extremely persistent which kept this story almost angst free. They enjoyed some nice dates, sweet conversations, and some hot sex scenes.

The story takes place almost parallel to the first two books in this series. A good portion of the story was spent alluding to what was happening to Dex, Chase, and the other Johnnies without ever really explaining what was actually happening. It was as if the author thought you were reading all 3 books at the exact same time. I read and absolutely loved the first two books in this series. However, this aspect created some confusion for me and took away from the time needed to more fully develop the relationship between Ethan and Jonah.

The other bit that got a bit repetitive was the almost constant mention of Ethan’s need for touch. I wish this would have been toned down a bit. I don’t think this can be read as a standalone story, and I highly recommend the first two books in the series.

A sweet journey in the continuing saga of the sexy Johnnies.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
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A Better Man (The Men of Halfway House #1) by Jaime Reese (4 Stars)

Oct20

A great beginning to a new series about people moving on with their lives and romances after leaving prison.

After just getting out of prison himself, Matthew Doner wants to provide a safe place for other new releases. He can provide the funds, but he really needs somebody with a lot of construction experience to make the necessary repairs to the building he purchased. Julian Capeletti desperately needs to work again before he gets kicked out of his apartment. Fortunately, he also happens to be extremely talented at all of the things related to building a home. These two discover that working together is only the start of their relationship.

Matt and Julian are both kindhearted souls. Unfortunately for Matt, he has a pathetic father and a horrible mother who attacks him every chance she gets. Luckily, his aunt spent a lot of time with him and loved him unconditionally. Julian is adorably sexy and loves to tease Matt. Julian also suffered at the hands of his family, but was fortunate that his mother was amazing until she died too soon. Since neither of these guys are very communicative, it makes it really hard for them to move their friendship forward. This was the biggest challenge for me with this story. The majority of the time was spent in their heads or in conversations with others. I really wanted to see more in-depth and emotional discussions between Matt and Julian. There were so many missed opportunities where we could have been watching them get to know each other better.

Nevertheless, it was still a smooth flowing story that was interesting to read with some touching, emotional scenes. I was surprised and thrilled at how fascinating I found the discussions about the construction work on the house. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.

A sexy romance between two lonely guys trying to make the most of their lives by giving back to others.

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