Reviews for Today: Smutty/Light and Emotional/Hard Subject

Packing Heat by Kele Moon

Well that was some very tasty smut!! Sweet merciful porn babies, this book was smokin'!!

This was kind of a simple story, not very much in terms of plot. But, if you want a light short read, virtually angst free with some fuckhawt sex and hot as hell MCs, this baby will hit the spot.

Here's the short short version...Brad, super hot, super huge, mildly aggresive firefighter is in love with his roommate Gavin. Gavin, super hot, also huge, not so aggresive cop, is also totally into Brad, but has not said anything for all the years they've known each other. Until one night they get wasted, and the deed gets done.

Things progress pretty fast. Brad is out, but has some baggage from his youth, and is afraid for Gavin if he comes out too. He acts like an ass for like three minutes, but Gavin gets him over that right quick with his trusty copman handcuffs.

Nice little story, not much for substance, but crazy hot nonetheless. The guys were cute together. I had not read this author before and really had no expectations, so the gratuitous and totally indulgent sexathon worked just fine for me.

Very enterainingful indeed, I for one would not mind seeing this touching story being turned into a feature film. I have a few actors in mind, and their names all end in a bunch of Xs.

Bow chicka bow wow...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Better by Jaime Samms

Very touching, emotional and well told love story dealing with the damages of sexual abuse

Jesse is 21, a third year college student, who is still living with the trauma of having been brutalized by his partner two years earlier. He was young, inexperienced, thought the man understood his needs, and would give him what he desired with care and love. He was so wrong, what he got instead was such cruelty and abuse that it completely broke him. Even when that beautiful law student Aadon approaches him, he can't get himself together enough to pursue a relationship, not really, he's terrified.

Aadon knows from the get go that Jesse is not alright, something really bad has happened to him. He more than anyone has seen what the aftermath of abuse looks like. His only brother, is a shell, his mind shattered, the result of years of trying to ignore the pain from his own abuse.

Aadon wants Jesse too much, there must be a way he can make it work. Aadon is a fixer. He has a need to make everything alright. He's a protector, a nurturer. But Jesse can't be fixed, he's too damaged. What he needs is to face just how horrible what happened to him was, and how dark things got. That's the only way that they can move forward. No matter how much they care for each other.

There where three things I really loved about this book. One, I thought the MCs where done really well. They were both broken boys. Jesse by what happened to him. Aadon by the burden of being left alone to care for his brother, without any support from his parents. The way that they were forced to figure out things between themselves, and individually was really good. There was never a secret formula that came along to fix things, or the right word or perfect kiss. With them it would always be hard, but not trying was not really an option.

Two, I loved the secondary characters. Aadon's friends who were supportive and fiercely loyal. Jesse's mother who despite how hard it was to understand her son's sexual needs and desires, never hesitated in her love, or in her conviction that her son didn't ever deserve to be abused like he had been. Sarah, Jesse's best friend, might have been good too, if she hadn't been so incredibly annoying.

Three, I thought Jesse and the cutting was done very well. It was not morbid or gratuitous, and it was not used as way to get a gasp or a reaction. I really appreciated that.

I mostly really loved these two young men, what a hard road they had to travel. It was not perfect, even when they had found a way to move forward together, but it was a satisfying ending. They were on their way.

There were tough moments for sure, some semi-graphic descriptions of abuse, and some of the times with Ricky, Aadon's brother, were really hard.

Jesse and Aadon broke my heart a few times that's for sure, but they figured it out. Jesse finally understood what it was about Aadon that made him the man he needed. "I can be afraid with you and still know I'm safe. That's the difference. That's why I love you."

Very good book. I recommend.

A Cowboy In Ravenna by Jan Irving

A Big, Hot, Oily Mess of Absurdilicious Crazed Insanity!

This book made me laugh so hard that I WTF-ity fuckin' CRIED!
Tears, real tears, running down my face as I was hunched over laughing my ever-loving butt off while texting friends to tell them that I could not BELIEVE what I was reading.

Every sentence of this book dropped me further and further down the rabbit hole. And, with my twisted love for this completely cracked out series, I loved EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!

I thought that after book five, A Plain, Ordinary Cowboy, I would be able to deal with whatever Jan Irving could dish out. I was wrong, and like this book, I was wrong on so many levels.

Jan Irving is just trying to kill me with this series now. She's trying to kill me dead.

A Cowboy In Ravenna is about Trin, 39 years old, and Chace who's 19. Trin is the foreman at Chace's ranch and a shifter who lost his son to rogue wolves eleven years ago. He's also Chace's mate but he thinks he's too old and too much of a monster for the virginal, delicate artist Chace.

Chace has brou-ha-ha with his cold and unloving father when Chace decides to go to Italy to see the art and lose his virginity. When Chace tells Trin his plans, even though Trin is all "I'm not good enough for him", Trin announces that he's going with Chace.

And oh, oh, oh my friends this is where things got craaaaaazy.

First let's talk about the sexual euphemisms in this book.

The Dreaded Dimple And The Forbidden Fruit
Alot happens in Trin and Chace's first sexual encounter but the first thing that made me laugh? When Chace is naked, draped over Trin's lap and ...

"Trin slid his fingers down the invitation of Chace's open body, stroked his dimple."

...it actually took me a minute and I read that sentence multiple times. The dimple? Oh, that's his asshole in case ya didn't know. But wait...just. Wait.

Soon after that?

"Chace pictured himself hanging, his balls luscious grapes that Trin was eating like dessert."

Why? Whhhyyyyy??!!! Why must thou ruin grapes for me so that I can never eat them again in this life or the next??

And FYI; if I was a guy I would never want to envision someone eating my balls. Rocky Mountain Oysters anyone? This is not the X-factor. No one's getting a million dollars if they nosh on some balls.

Oh, but....

Trin's thick root was free, as big as a tree branch, distended and pulsing."

Maybe it's just me but a huge, swollen, distended penis...that sounds like STD City to me. Like maybe Trin needed some prescription ointment or something.

By the way, that first scene ends in the most fabulously ridiculous way. Chace puts Trin's cock in his mouth, not to suck it but simply to fall asleep with it in his mouth. It's not a pacifier, Chace. It's a cock, a big tree branch of a cock that just might choke you while you sleep. Careful there, buddy.


They won't buy the cow if they get the milk for free
What I'm about to explain to you is by far the most mind-blowing aspect of this book. Jan Irving took this next scene and poured crazy-sauce alllll over it.

Trin discovers that he likes to suck Chace off. Somehow this turns into Chace talking about how he saw some porn of a guy with his junk hooked up to an electrical apparatus. Okay, electrical play, okay.

This is where the scene takes a turn for the worse...or the best depending on how you look at it.

Chace and Trin begin to discuss, during the blow job, about how Trin wants to milk Chace by attaching his balls to a cow milking machine.

This starts very, veeeeery un-sexy talk like sucking on Chace's balls to "build up his cream" and "I'll drink all your cream" and "You could spank me if I didn't produce enough cream".

And thank you Jan Irving for ruining all milk products for me for the rest of my natural existence!!!!

Then Irving kicked it up 520,000,000 notches when Trin tells Chace that he wants to chain him up in a cellar under his cabin and hook Chace's balls up to milking machine, and this is all discussed while Trin gives Chace a blowjob and fucks him with one of his sharp-as-shit shifter claws.

Yes, there was a claw in the virgin's butthole!!

By this time I'm gasping for breath, laughing, crying, rolling around and going "OMG, OMG sooooooo funny!"

There is also a scene where Trin is sucking Chace off for the katrillionth time and the words "when he'd milked his pony for as long as he could..." are used.

Is sex while in partially shifted wolf form not uncomfortably close enough to animal sex? We have to throw ponies in there?

The Shadow Shifter
Remember when I said that I wanted to find out what a shadow shifter is? Well, I found out.

Guess how tall a shadow shifter is. No, guess. I don't even know what number you chose but I'm pretty sure you're wrong, so I'll tell you.

20 feet tall. Twenty. Oh, and shadow shifters...they have T-Rex teeth.

By this point in the story I was done for. I broke something, I laughed so hard. I'm still laughing. Actually, laughing is too tame a word for what I'm doing right now.

I gave this book three stars but I wanted to give it five because I was so stunned that I don't even know if this story had a plot. The craziness that is book smacked me and made me its prison bitch.

Gimme the next book, please.

Monday's Most Wanted

It's Monday again, and this week we've got some more awesomeness coming our way. The month of February is looking to be a VERY GOOD month for us readers. Mr. T.j. Klune who had one of the most successul debut novels of 2011, Bear, Otter and the Kid, has something new and totally different for us this month, Amy Lane (who we are MAD CRAZY about) has a new novel, and Carole Cummings whose Aisling series ROCKED OUR WORLD last year has the first installment of a new series being released. All three of these books will be brought to you by none other than Dreamspinner Press. My love/hate relationship with DSP is in full swing this month my friends, they are aiming to please, and I must admit I LIKE IT. Last, but certainly not least, this month from Riptide Publishing we will have the fourth part in the Dark Soul series by Aleksandr Voinov, which I seriously CANNOT wait for.

This week we've got five books for our list, some are books that just looked promising while we browsed the publisher sites this past week, and a couple are books we've been waiting for. We've got a fantasy/horror story from Mr. Klune, a cowboy novel coming out on Sahmain with a cover that makes me want to softly caress the screen of my laptop (and possibly cook it dinner), a very promising firemen book from a new author (for us), and a new PNR series from Marie Harte, both from Loose-Id. Finally,we have the third installment of SJD Peterson's "Whispering Pine Ranch" Series also from DSP. I am determined to actually read this series. Even though the first book did not work for me at all, I hear the second was a big improvement, and there are cowboys in it. So read it we will.

Here it is folks our Monday's Most Wanted for the week of January 30th to February 7th:

1. Burn (Elementally Evolved #1) by TJ Klune

Release Date: February 6th

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Priority Rating: Pre-Ordered, Can hardly Wait!!!

Link to book's Goodreads page

2. Cowboys Down by Barbara Elsborg

Release Date: February 7th

Publisher Sahmain

Priority Rating:Pre-Ordered To Read ASAP (Hello!!! Cowboys!!)

Link to book's Goodreads page

3. Packing Heat by Kele Moon

Release Date: January 31st

Publisher: Loose Id

Priority Rating: Read ASAP, Not Pre-Ordered (it's not really an option since the good people of Loose-Id refuse to get their shit together, and can barely have a blurb and a cover out two hours before a book is released for sale)

Link to book's Goodreads page

4. Favor's Fortune (A Power Up Story) by Marie Harte

Release Date: January 31st

Publisher: Loose Id

Priority Rating: Curious

Author's book page

Loose Id's book page

5. Ty's Obsession (Whispering Pine Ranch #3) by SJD Peterson

Release Date: February 3rd

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Priority Rating: Curious...Again.

Whispering Pine Ranch #1 GR page

Whispering Pine Ranch #2 GR page

Link to book's Goodreads page

Before we go...We wanted to give everyone a heads up on what we are planning for the next couple of weeks. This week in addition to our reviews, we will have our Top Ten List " Free Online Fiction (Stand Alone Stories)".

We also wanted to give you a little teaser for next week, we have BIG plans for our Valentine's Day Post, it's going to be AWESOME!!! We will have all our MOST favorite couples from 2011 on our Top Ten list, and even a few 'updates' and other goodies from some of our favorite boys, some even will let us know what they will be up to for Valentine's. :OP

That's all for us today my babies! We hope you find some books that are of interest for this week...Now go forth and READ!

Authors We Should Know: Persistence of Memory by JM Snyder

How exactly does one explain a story so moving that it's sliced your heart into tiny bits, ripped your idea of love apart, and then pieced it all back together again, making it more beautiful than it was before?

Not only did J.M. Snyder's Persistence of Memory move me, but in approximately 100 pages it managed to change the way I see love.

This is a story of of the future. A time when people are pulled from their homes by a government that erases their memories, brainwashes them and turns them into soldiers.

The people culled by the government not only lose the ability to remember who they were, they lose the ability to remember that they were ever someone other than the soldiers they are once culled.

Five years ago, Joah was culled but he managed to hold onto one thing. His name. And Joah knows that if he had a name then there is someone out there who can tell him who he was; who he should be.

The story opens with Joah's escape from the government compound and it took no time at all for me to fall in love with his strength. J.M. Snyder put a little twist on the usual escapee/fugitive theme. Culled soldiers have a chip inserted when they are first taken. The chip not only takes away the soldier's free will but, if someone manages to escape, it lets out a constant and high-pitched shriek the farther away a person gets from the compound. You go too far and the shrieking begins to burst blood vessels, causing the soldier to bleed from the inside out.

So, is the government worried once Joah escapes? No, because they expect him to die.

Joah fights against the voice in his head telling him to go back, the constant shrieking, and the wounds he's gotten during his escape. He's determined and his determination is the only thing keeping him alive.

And then he finds Tobin.

Tobin was a gorgeous character, the husband who was left behind when Joah was taken away. Tobin is the man who has waited for Joah for five long years. Tobin had no reason to hope his husband would return to him, but he held out hope anyway.

This is where J.M. Snyder put a stunning spin on the way love is usually handled in the romance genre. Tobin's love is so strong and everlasting as he patiently tells Joah who the two of them were before Joah was culled. Joah's desire to love Tobin as much as Tobin loves him broke my heart. There was no insta-love to be had in this story but the bond between Joah and Tobin was so much more believable and so very touching.

I loved reading about how these two men rebuilt their love in the midst of a very unique situation.

One thing I loved about this story was that the problem of the chip implanted in Joah's brain by the government was not abandoned. It plays a large part in the way the story ends. I felt like I was balancing on a high wire for the last 20% of the book. Never have I wanted two men to get their Happily Ever After as badly as I wanted it for Joah and Tobin.

The way that J.M. Snyder pulls everything together in the end was brilliant. I smiled for a couple hours after I read the last word.

I recommend this little story a million times over because this story is not just a gem, it's a million tiny diamonds.

A Song on Saturday: Remain Nameless by Florence + The Machine

I (and Lad too) absolutely LOVE Florence + The Machine, like totally and completely adore her music. So, yesterday on Twitter I read about something that one of my favorite authors in this genre is going through. Some very unfair things that are being said about her, and I immediately thought of this song.

For some reason from the first time I heard this, I connected the lyrics with the writers (and for that matter the readers) in this genre.

I love to share, so I thought I'd put it up here...So here it is, Remain Nameless from the album Ceremonials.

All Time Favorites: Take My Picture by Giselle Ellis

I just re-read this today and had to share. This book is for sure one of the most special books I've read since I began to read M/M romance. I read it almost a year ago, and even after all the other stories I've read since, this one couple is still in my very favorites.

Honestly if you are an M/M fan, and you have not read this. Please do, just stop whatever it is you are reading, buy this and read it. Like right now. You will no regret it.

So, about Take My Picture...

Romance is about love right?...About giving selflessly just because giving to the one you love, gives you the joy of seeing them pleased and happy.

That was Jake an Aaron...They knew how to give to each other, even subconsciously, and that's how they loved. This book, was perfect for me...I can't say just how much.

Jake is a corky photographer who hires Aaron as an assistant when his trusted employee Alyson resigns to get married...From the first instant Jake and Aaron together, work perfectly, and are funny as HELL! They stay like that in platonic perfection, for five years.

Jake, Aaron, and Alyson (trusty fag hag who intervenes to get these dumbasses together when they get too stubborn) are one of the funniest trios I've read...Real comedy. Funny and smart, and just good.

This book was romance to the fullest, I was there with them suffering, wanting to scream in frustration, but knowing that it would happen, because two people that perfect for each other are helpless to their fate...Their ONLY choice was each other.

That HEA, that coming together, that was MONUMENTAL.

I loved this book. Every.Single.Page.

It's a favorite.

Marlowe's Ghost by Sarah Black

Oh Sweet sweet Sarah if being crazy in love with your stories is wrong...Then DAMMIT, I don't wanna be right!

I've said this before and I will say it again, when Sarah Black has something to say, I sit down and raptly listen, because there is always something in her words that just feels like my mind just got some value added to it.

Will Marlowe is a veteran, he was hurt in the war, he's a little angry, he's a bit of a rebel, he's a man undecided on his future, he is also a scholar. It's what he's always wanted, to study the Classics, be a man who lives off his mind.

To be able to do that he had to enter the military, and it cost him a very high price...'To pay in blood and flesh for the care of my mind. What the hell was that about?' He wonders... That anger has him stumped. He's not sure what is next, and his only outlet is his own brand of anarchy, his street art Bad Toys.

One day one of his professors, asks him as a favor to go to London and check on his nephew. Apparently the man has been doing research for his dissertation on Christopher Marlowe, and is now convinced that he is speaking to Marlowe's ghost. Sounds pretty crazy to Will, but it's a free trip, he has nothing to do for the summer other than decide what's next, and BONUS he can take his toys for a little fun across the pond.

He sees Tommy, and he's mesmerized by his fragile face, and his quietness. Tommy is a cancer survivor still recovering in some ways, he is also on fire to discover the legend behind Christopher Marlowe's death. Will is instantly compelled to protect this man he's been sent to help. He believes Tommy has something important to say, and pretty soon in a sunny English garden, Will finds himself speaking to the ghost as well.

Sarah Black is another brand of author in this genre. The stuff she picks up and writes about, RESPECT. She takes on the legend of Christopher Marlowe in this story, one of the most controversial figures in history. He was a poet, a playwright, a spy and believed to be an anarchist during the Elizabethan age. He was also believed to have escaped England after having faked his own death. Some have argued that he continued to write in exile under the pen name William Shakespeare. This man has always been a fascinating figure to me, and Sarah Black did his legend justice. This story was beautifully written.

She of course did not stop there, she hit upon the ravages of war, the game that it is, and how those who pay for it in the end are those that never had a wager in it to begin with. How the weight of it lingers...The consequences of power, feel like they're written in across my skin. Will says.

At the center of all this goodness, there is THE love story. Will and Tommy, they fall in love. Will for the first time, and Tommy for the first time with a person that will be what he deserves. They were a thing to behold. Will asked for Tommy to come with him, to let him love him, he had things to do for Tommy, to say to him, he wanted to stick around and make a life, Tommy just had to say yes. Tommy did.

Like always, Sarah Black, made me cry, laugh, think, and feel so sad for those who are missing out on her brilliance.

I finished this book, and could just see Will whispering in Tommy's ear...A little Marlowe at bedtime.

Come live with me and be my love...

There will we sit upon the rocks,
And see the shepherds feed their flocks...

There I will make thee beds of roses...

Come live with me, and be my love...

As precious as the gods do eat,
Shall on an ivory table be,
Prepared each day for thee and me...

If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.


Cannot recommend this enough.

The Longest Stride by T.A. Chase

Oh where, oh where has my T.A. Chase gone? Because the T.A. Chase who wrote this book doesn't seem to be the same person whose work I loved when I started reading M/M romance.

There's nothing wrong with the premise of The Longest Stride. It's the story of Branimir, a horse shifter who lost his lover in a car accident five years ago, and Austin who's a wealthy event jumper that trains beginning eventers as well.

Branimir and Austin are brought together when they save, and begin to rehabilitate Mary's Gospel; a horse that was horribly abused.

Here's where the coulda-woulda-shouldas start.

The coulda
There could have been alot done with the idea of horse shifters. I, for one, am a little tired of the wolves, tigers, panthers, and bears oh my! Horse shifters are a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, at the end of the story I said to myself...

"Self, what did Branimir being a shifter have to do with anything?"

and the inner Laddie said...

"Oh, there was a shifter in this book? Oh, yeah, there was wasn't there? "

Except for the mention of Branimir being kicked out of his home by his father (the dominant herd stallion) and the couple of times Branimir shifted, most of the story had nothing to do with him being a shifter. It comes into play a bit at the very end but by then it seemed like a last ditch attempt to rev a story that had stalled, at about 20%, into gear.

I needed more evidence of herd politics than the mention of Branimir's banishment from his family. I needed more shifter personality and physical traits than Branimir's "larger than average" cock and balls. I really felt like this book was one big missed opportunity.

The woulda
I wish the author would have inserted something into the plot that made me more forgiving of the fact that there wasn't much of anything going on on the shifter end of things. There was nothing. I said to myself...

"Self, do you think something is actually going to happen soon?"

and the inner Laddie said...

"C'mon, what do you think?"

The inner Laddie is such a smartass...but I digress. The writing in this book was dry and, I hate to say it, a bit lazy. T.A. Chase's books used to pull me in. The last couple of books she's released have really taken the shine off of her writing, for me.

As a result of me not being invested in the story I started focusing on little things that annoyed me. At one point Branimir is said to touch Austin's asshole through his jeans. I spent the next few pages wondering how tight Austin's jeans were. Someone's jeans would have to be all up in their ass crack in order for that person's asshole to be molested. Then I spent the next five minutes going "Austin had to have a wedgie! How is that sexy?! Wedgies are not sexy!"

I should not spend 10% of someone's book thinking about wedgies.

The shoulda
The biggest "shoulda", in my opinion, is that the author should have made this story a bit shorter. When you put together dry writing and a thin plot that's in no way captivating, you get a story that should not have dragged on as long as The Longest Stride did. At about 55% in I said to myself...

"Self...hey, Self. Self! WTF where did you go?!"

and the inner Laddie said...

"Huh? Whaaa? Oh, damn, sorry. I drifted off. Are we still reading this book??"

All in all, there was just too much about this story that was lackluster. T.A. Chase's writing seems to be going through a devolution and it's a shame because her older stuff was good. I hope her next offering is better but, unfortunately, I can't recommend this book.

Grade: C...maybe a C-

P.S.: Here are some books that I enjoyed by T.A. Chase
My review for Duncan's World
Angel's Evolution
Kissed By God
Embrace My Reflection

The Amber Kell Experience

I have an addiction to absurdity.
Most people know that well.
So, since my craziness loves to kidnap mofos,
let me school y'all on Amber Kell.

(Because her stories make me snicker like a baby who just passed gas)

Amber Kell's holy grail is Catching Mr. Right.
This story's like a crack addicted monkey
hyped up on meth
who's been snorting coke all night.

(Like Al Pacino sticking his face in a mountain of coke Scarface style)

There's an ex-mercenary named Tucker
and an uber wealthy, super genius named Norm.
Tucker should've had a name like Dare McDagger
but Kell appeased me with an infamous crime boss and nano-bombs.

(Norm was a devious little sucker)

Running a close 2nd to Catching Mr. Right
is Taking Care of Charlie; a guilty pleasure to the max.
I really had to suspend disbelief for this one
but I have to do that with every Kell story, if I'm giving you the facts.

(Nano-bombs running through a person's blood stream is an everyday thing. Happened to my next-door neighbor last week. I thought the sound of dying cows was him having sex but, nope, he was bemoaning his nano-bomb situation.)

My favorite thing about Taking Care of Charlie?
Oh, that had to be Marcus, for sure.
Without telling Charlie, Marcus follows him across country
and, I didn't get the memo, but I guess that's not called stalking anymore.

(Marcus is all "I have been waiting for Charlie since he was 10 and I was like...16." ...almost creepy...okay, pretty creepy. BUT my disbelief? I haz suspended it.)

Let's not forget Kell's Supernatural Mates series.
Though, unlike the other books, this series isn't that crazy of a ride.
But Kell steps it up in book #4;
Nothing To Do With Pride.

(Not the best in the series but a mofo gets cut in half in book #4 and the end is like "Whaaat whaaaaat?")

So, if you're looking for a SUPER light read;
something that won't tax your brain,
think about giving Amber Kell a try.
You know you want to join me on the madcap crazy train.

Review of "Lovegames" (Queen City #2) by M. Jules Aedin

3.5 Stars

Warning!!!! Anyone that might have risks of passing out, or getting heart palpitations from reading about incredibly hot men having incredibly hot sex, please make sure to keep that 911 speed dial handy or at least one of those brown paper bags that people use when they are hyperventilating close by, because this sex, to borrow from the Kings of Leon IS ON FIRE. Soooo HOT, like "Holy shit was I just reading this and panting?!" HOT!...Just be Warned. Not the you shouldn't read it, the delicious smut might be worth the concussion...Just sayin'.

Ok back to the book, I must say that I had high expectations for this story. This is the second book in the "Queen City" Series, the first one Paper Planes was one of my favorite books from last year. So, I expected something similar. Once I started reading, I had to adjust my expectations, since for the most part this book was totally different. Not worse or better different, just different. Tone, focus of the book, character dynamics, was different.

Adam Cruce (super hot actor) and his partner Keith Black (super hot rockstar) meet Sebastian (super hot twink) getting out of a bit of an awkward situation at the Charlotte Pride Weekend, where Keith is performing. Keith is instantly attracted to Sebastian or Baz, as his friends call him. Keith and Adam habitually play with a third in bed, always very casually and always a one night stand. So Baz gets to be Charlotte sex kitten for Adam and Keith. So, they hook up with the boy. The sex is amazing, they all love it, but move on. Keith and Adam go back to their lives, and so does Baz.

Thing is neither Keith nor Adam can forget about Baz. There is something there, that they want to explore. So, they decide to invite Baz over to their home in LA for another week of playing to see if the time together can finally quench what it is that they have for Baz. Things progress from there...

I'm gonna give the positives first. All the characters were well done. Keith's struggles, I thought were done very well. He has bipolar disorder, which he refuses to treat for fear of losing his career, and the way his mindworks and his persona were portrayed I thought was excellent. Adam as the caregiver/enabler/lover, was also very well done (although he did annoy a few times). Baz's character I also liked, he was not the stereotypical bratty twink, I IMMENSELY appreciated that. The feelings these three men developed were believable, as was the struggle between Adam and Keith. They were a established couple with a good, if at times harried, relationship bringing in a third partner would change everything.things felt a little awkward. It is only once scene and not very long, but the talking specially felt a bit weird. Which was sad, because I love me some good Daddy dirty talk. One thing I have to say, as yummy as the smexing was there was a Daddy/boy scene where

Now for the not so great aspects of this book for me. First, there was a subplot with a stalker situation that felt slapped on, and made no sense. I did not for the life of me comprehend what the point was. It felt inconsequential and unnecessary. I mean wasn't there enough drama already with two celebrities, one with a mental illness, trying to and have an open relationship with a third man? Adding to that was just overkill. Second, I felt that things ended too abruptly, well into the last tenth of the story, there were complications coming up that I just felt needed more book to be flushed out. So...I would have been happier with a couple more chapters.

With all that this book is good, not what I was expecting in some ways, but I am still glad I read it. I enjoy this author's writing. The characters are well written, if high on the dramatics at points. And the sex alone was worth the time. Mercy me that was some tasty tasty smut.

I'd recommend this one, and will absolutely read the next one, which I hope is the friend from Paper Planes and his policeman.

Review for "The Decisions we Make" by RJ Scott

See.Laura.Book.Pimp.

Ok first of all I have to say that I know that this book was supposed to be based on the two dudes from that show Supernatural and that is supposed to make me love it so much more, because they are so awesome. Well I think I saw about an episode and a half of that, and I still LOVED THE HELL OUT OF THIS STORY!

Oh man I loved these boys, this family, their love, their journey, the way it was told...I even loved the author's super cute and TOTALLY Brit expressions that somehow are supposed to pass as slang from Southern California :O)

So, Daniel Keyes is an orphan, at nine years old he is all alone in the world. All he has is his piano, and himself. His dad died from cancer, and his mom took her own life not long after. He is a scared lonely little boy. He does not know what to expect the day that he arrives at this new foster home. He will be living with the Walkers now, until some other family wants to keep him permanently. He is frightened of what he will find in that home. He just wants a safe place where he can just STAY.

From the first moment he arrives he gets mauled and taken over by Jamie, his new foster brother and some kind insane force of nature. Jamie doesn't know much about Daniel other than that he wants to be friends...So he just lets Jamie take over...And that is where they begin. They become inseparable, always together. Simply. Jamie and Daniel.

Then sixteen comes around and things are not so simple anymore...Daniel is still with the Walkers, the people that have become his family. He has a mom, a dad, a little sister, and older brother and Jamie, he's his brother too. But he's MORE. He's everything. Daniel is scared of what that means.

He talks to his family about who he is, and they accept him and support him unconditionally, he just can't bring himself to reveal the other part of what he feels. The part about Jamie. But once Jamie hears the news from Daniel, things with him change as well. He finally sees and begins to understand that what he feels for Daniel is not as simple as he thought. That love they have for each other is still powerful, but somewhere along the line it has changed. Deciding to acknowledge that will change everything, it will change THEM. But Jamie has never been one to shy away from getting what he wants, and Daniel, he just really wants Jamie.

This love story was just gorgeous. There were hard moments, and there were beautiful moments between the family, between Jamie and Daniel. The love was stubborn and strong between all of them, and that strong love got its victory in the end.

Loved it. For sure, one of my favorite Young Adult stories. What sweetness.

I highly recommend.

Monday's Most Wanted

Since we are new at this gig, we want to give you all some info on what our posts will look like, as we go along. Every Monday we will be posting our "Most Wanted" List. These are the books that are coming out during the following week, and that we have on our radar.

We are always on the prowl looking for new stuff that looks interesting, and keeping up with our favorite author's New Releases, so we thought we'd put together a list every week and share what books we are waiting for.

We will usually try to keep the list to no more than five books. The list will have the book title, the author, release date, publishing house, cover (if it's out), our "Priority Rating", and a link to the book's information page on Goodreads. The book at the very TOP of the list, will be reviewed on the release day, as soon as we can swing it.

Here are some of the categories for our ratings:

Can Hardly Stand the Wait!!: That book is getting read the minute it hits the Kindle, or any other device with reading ready abilities that might be on hand at the moment.
To Read ASAP: Book that for one reason or other, just has us all excited.
Top Priority Author: Writers that we have on Auto-Buy and esentially read their books as soon as we possibly can without even looking at the blurb.
New Author: Have never read author before, but looks interesting enough to give it a try (most times that just means the cover is hot).
Curious: That can either be a new author, an author we've read only once before, or something completely different that just captures our attention.

This week we've got some delicious goodies on the queu. Out of the five, there are four books that are part of a series. Two of them are the first installments. One has a cover that makes me want to lick the screen of my computer like a lollipop, and the other is a short story by Ms. Laura Baumbach being re-released by MLR Press.  There is also the  sixth book in the Uncommon Cowboys Series, Laddie has a sickness with these books, so she's happy to take the hit, and review this baby for us. The BIG stars this week for us are the books coming out on Dreamspinner Press and Losee Id.

Dreamspinner has been pissing me off but good lately with their lazy editing ways, BUT Sarah Black has a new book coming out, and that is as good as cash in my hand. So buy it we will. From Loose Id, there is a second book in the Queen City Series by M. Jules Aiden that I  can only pray is as good as the first one, because that was one if my favorites books of 2011.  So, here it is my babies, the Most Wanted for the coming week (January 23rd-January 31st):

1. Lovegames (Queen City #2) by M. Jules Aedin (Sequel to Paper Planes which we LOVED)
Release Date: January 24th
Publisher: Loose Id
Priority Rating: Can hardly wait!!
LA's Review for Paper Planes
Link to Goodreads book's page

2. Marlowe's Ghost by Sarah Black
Release Date: January  25th
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Priority Rating: Top Priority Author
Link to book's Goodreads page

3. A Cowboy in Ravenna (Uncommon Cowboys Series Book 6) by Jan Irving
Release Date: January 30th
Publisher: Total e Bound
Priority Rating: To be read ASAP (by Laddie and author's mom, everyone else waiting for reviews)
Laddie's review of A Plain, Ordinary Cowboy (Uncommon Cowboys #5)
Link to book's Goodreads page

4. Best of Both Worlds (Friends to Lovers  Series Book 1) by Liz Andrews
Release Date: January 31st

Publisher: Sahmain

Priority Rating: Curious/New Author

Link to book's Goodreads page





5. Enthralled (Enthralled #1)  by Laura Baumbach

Release Date: We hope sometime this week since MLR has it for January (this book is a re-release and was originally published with Changeling Press).
Priority Rating: Curious
Link to book's Goodreads page

So that's our  list for the week!! We can't wait to get our hands on these babies, and devour them... Have a great Monday everyone...Now go forth and read!!

The New Kids On The Prison Block

So, it's post #1, and the two of us have been let loose on the unsuspecting citizens of the blogosphere. We've taken a long look around, and decided that we've got to treat this place like a prison yard. You know, make a statement, so that we don't end up getting shanked with a sharpened toothbrush in the showers. There are a lot of pitfalls when you're the new kids on the prison block.

Paying for protection

There are always the big dogs who run the prison yard; the ones who keep you safe, and give you extra cigarettes in return for whatever they need. In other words, authors who want to give away free books in order to get good reviews. Well, we both kicked our nicotine habits, and stopped giving out blow jobs for favors (figuratively and literally) back in college.

So, that's code for, “We won't be asking for or accepting any free books from authors in exchange for pimpage.” We want to keep things as objective as possible here in our little corner.

What we want is simple, we want to give you our honest opinions, make you laugh, share our thoughts, and have a dialogue with other readers. We want this to be a space where we can talk books, and M/M romance with people who, like us, have had their lives and reading time hijacked by this fantastic genre.

Gang life

It's human nature for people to form packs. It happens in any situation where there are enough persons to share an opinion.

And in our little reading pond it happens too…The Crips like the way Author Man writes rimjobs better than Author Lady…The Bloods think that’s bullshit, because everybody knows a good sucking off is what makes or breaks a book…And WHAM!!! All of a sudden we’ve got gang war on our hands over a bunch of assholes.

That’s when the game gets tricky, because with all these bangers on the lookout a person can loose an eye over Three Little Stars…In this yard, a bad review might get you a fork in the eye, and landed in the infirmary faster than you can say “mate claiming”.

The M/M Romance genre is a young one. Everyone knows or knows of, almost everyone else. That means that people form a lot of great relationships. It also means that sometimes people are afraid to give honest opinions and reviews for fear of hurting feelings or getting attacked. We will try and do the best we can with this, we will be honest and fair, while being respectful to the authors and readers alike.

Pleasing The Wardens

And what about the publishers? What about the people who run things behind the scenes and provide us with that sweet crack we love so well? We probably won't be accepting books from them either for the most part, but if we do we will make sure and let you guys know if a review is for a book we were given by a publisher.

You can count on this though: We will not let crappy editing slide.  
Good publishers, like good wardens should be watching out for the newbies. Slacking off on the job, is unfair to the new authors, who need help from their publishers to get the best possible book out to the readers. Authors deserve better from their publishers than a spellcheck, and an Atta boy!...And so do we.

Conjugal Visits

Now to the Daddies, the authors, just because we won’t be taking freebies from you guys, it doesn’t mean we ain’t got no love for you. If you keep us happy we will always be willing to give up some Sweet Lovin', and having good books to read, always puts us in the mood. We are unrepentant smut sluts after all.

We will ALWAYS be looking for ways to promote good books and good writers.  We will try to invite writers in for a chat, for an interview, or just try to keep up with what the authors we love are working on next.

Putting the Word Out

Everyone (those of us who have watched Prison Break, and other incarceration themed shows) knows that news in a prison yard gets around fast.

This community of readers is not too shabby in spreading the word either, we hope that this blog will be one of the places where M/M Romance readers can find what’s new and what’s good, and share the love…Nothing makes us happier than reading a book, loving it, and telling others about it.

Sooooo…Here we are folks, the new kids, making the rounds in the yard…We’re all stocked up on ciggies and porn, and we’re ready to play.