REVIEW - Faking it by Lydia Michaels

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Book Title - Faking it
Author - Lydia Michaels
Publisher - Secret Cravings Publishing
ISBN/ASIN -
B00J2ID16Q

Sheilagh McCullough has been faking it her entire life. When she’s given an ultimatum by her overbearing brothers, she’s forced to face sides of herself she’d rather leave in the dark. Her confidence falters when she meets a professor intent on challenging her. Sheilagh’s fiery attitude can only abide the man’s arrogance for so long, before her actions draw the attention of her territorial family and she must make a stand.

Dr. Alec Devereux is enchanted by his new student. Her transcripts attest to her genius, yet she seems paralyzed by parts of her past. Toeing the blurred line of ethics, Sheilagh proves a temptation he can’t refuse. Secret past relationships collide with present affairs and passion erupts, as Sheilagh’s happiness becomes a promise no ordinary man can deliver. Alec knows what he wants, but nothing can prepare him for facing the McCullough Clan.

A courageous journey of the soul that confronts one woman’s fears of love and embraces the truth in her heart.

 

 

Award winning author, Lydia Michaels, writes all forms of hot romance. She presses the bounds of love and surprises readers just when they assume they have her stories figured out. From Amish vampires, to wild Irishmen, to broken heroes, and heroines no man can match, Lydia takes readers on an emotional journey of the heart, mind, and soul with every story she pens. Her books are intellectual, erotic, haunting, always centered on love.Lydia Michaels loves to hear from readers! She can be found of Facebook or contacted by email at Lydia@LydiaMichaels.org

 

 

This series of books have all been really very good and can be read as a stand alone. This is Sheilagh story and really is a read, as one of two girls in her large family of 9 she gives as good as she gets, but what she wants is someone to get her, being one of the smart ones she goes to Princeton University however when she try's to 'phone in an assignment' this is where it all starts with her, can she stop faking her way through life or does she continue, that really becomes the question. I would recommend this series to anyone, if you love to read about a large Irish families then definitely try these books.

 

Connie gives Faking it

REVIEW - Going Under by Kade Boehme

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Book Title - Going Under
Author - Kade Boehme
Publisher - Self Published
ISBN/ASIN -
B00MRD6AAM

Ex Coast Guardian Kyle Bevins is a joker, a friend, and unlucky in love. His friends know he’s a good guy to turn to if for nothing other than a much needed laugh, but he rarely heeds his own advice. He’s content as the new co-owner of his friend’s charter fishing company in Pensacola Beach, Florida, but he’s missing the companionship of having a significant other and tired of the old hookups.

Eddy Jiminez is unlucky, period. He’s been dealt most every negative consequence of being gay. He’s also an ex-con, so he figured he’d play it safe, keep working hard and trying to forget that it was men he craved. But when he meets Kyle, he can’t stop going back for more, but tired of the lies and hurting, he doesn't want to give Kyle up.

Kyle would do anything to keep Eddy from drowning again, so he decides to see him safely into the big world of being Out but a past connection may ruin everything. Will there be a second chance for both of them, or will their relationship go under?

 

 

Kade Boehme is a southern boy without the charm, but all the sass. Currently residing in New York City, he lives off of ramen noodles and too much booze.

He is the epitomy of dorkdom, only watching TV when Rachel Maddow or one of his sports teams is on. (That'd be Orioles, Seahwaks, Ravens, or Gators.) Most of his free time is spent dancing, arguing politics or with his nose in a book. He is also a hardcore Britney Spears fangirl and has an addiction to glitter.

It was after writing a short story about boys who loved each other for a less than reputable adult website that he found his true calling, and hopefully a bit more class.

He hopes to write about all the romance that he personally finds himself allergic to but that others can fall in love with. He maintains that life is real and the stories should be, as well.

 

 

I loved this book! As a sequel to Keep Swimming, this book was everything and more. This book focuses on Heath's partner, Kyle. One thing I love about Kade Boehme's books is that the characters are so multifaceted. They are imperfect, each with their unique flaws that make them so relatable. And his story lines just grip me by the heart and tear me open. Just when you think you know where it is going, bam! He hits you with a sucker punch that guts you. The book hangover alone is epic. Every emotion possible flowed through me, and I found myself worrying for the characters.

Kyle is in his late 20's, partner with Heath in the boat excursion business and business is good. The one big issue in his life has been his choices in dating. He seems to keep dating guys who are so far in their closets that they cannot see daylight. Every time he lets himself fall for these men, he is destroyed by their inability to be open about the relationship. He feels like he does not matter enough for these men to be seen in public with him. It makes him feel like he is not worthy of being loved.

Eddy has had a very tough life. To hide the fact that he is gay, as a teen he bullied other kids to keep the focus off of himself. When someone plants a gay porn magazine in his locker in high school, his life began its decent into hell. Getting outed like that drove his father to beat the ever living stuffing out of him and darn near cost him his sight in one eye. His family blamed him being gay for ever ill that befell them. If he could just stop being gay, their lives would be better. When he overheard a father berating his son, it triggered his anger and he beat the father so badly, he ended up in prison. Throughout his life, he has tried to deny that he was a gay man, even so far as dating women to prove he could. 

Kyle is hanging out at his local gay sports bar near his home. He sees a handsome, shy looking man with tattoos and begins using bad pick up lines on the guy. Eddy is a smart ass to Kyle, and they hit it off. Eddy doesn't want to be attracted to him, but Kyle is hitting all his senses and they go to Kyle's apartment. After a hot and heavy session, Eddy freaks and leaves. He doesn't want to be attracted to Kyle. He has had being gay is bad beaten in to him for so long that he fears his own truth. After avoiding Kyle, they cross paths at another bar and Eddy hurts Kyle deeply. But some attractions are so deep they can not be ignored. Kyle struggles with Eddy's closeted behavior. When Eddy meets an ex of Kyle's, his eyes are opened. He starts to realize that life is too short and Kyle is too important to hide. But life is a cruel master and when a terrible truth is brought to life, their love just might not survive the turn of events.

This story is so amazing. Everything I have read of this author has been beyond incredible. Kade is such a brilliant story teller, I am in awe. If you love gut wrenching tales of love and loss, grab this book. I am constantly in awe of this author's books. It is such an experience to read his books. Few authors possess the talent that Kade Boehme has. He is definitely one of my all time favorite authors. Pick up this or any book written by him and you will be in heaven. Don't forget the tissues, you will need them!"

 

Heidi gives Going Under

Read This Round-up #7

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heartbooks

Photo courtesy of KissinBlueKaren

Welcome to Read This, a collection of book reviews and giveaways that were posted in the past week or so from around the web. This is a collection of book reviews & contests from real reviewers. If you want to be included in the next edition start with the guidelines, then use the submission form.
Want to read more reviews? Check out Read This for a list of the latest reviews and stellar reviewers. You can also follow on twitter for the latest round ups. Read This is now accepting photo submissions for each edition.

CONTESTS


NON FICTION

-EDUCATIONAL


FICTION

-HUMOR


YOUNG ADULT

-DYSTOPIA

-FANTASY

-PARANORMAL


NEW ADULT


ROMANCE

-HUMOR

-SUSPENSE


EROTICA

-PARANORMAL EROTICA


PARANORMAL


THRILLER

-HUMOR


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REVIEW - Roadrunner by Rain Carrington

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Book Title - Roadrunner
Author - Rain Carrington
Publisher - AAS Publishing
ISBN/ASIN -
B00OGTDF26

In the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico, lives a man who has secrets. Levi Kape watches people at a bar nightly, writing things in his notebook and trying to blend in with the locals. His secrets keep him from getting close to anyone until Bobby Dawes comes off the road after a long haul in his 18-wheeler. After getting to know Bobby, he realizes he’d never been close to anyone. That was about to change.

Levi can’t settle down and not because he doesn’t want to, but because it could endanger his life. Bobby is a gentle, loving and strong man who doesn’t do commitment. He’s also a man that Levi wants more than anything, including his own safety.

Danger causes Levi to leave but he can’t forget the truck driver that drove into his life, changing everything. When Levi leaves, Bobby goes back onto the road, trying to forget the “Golden God” he’d fallen for, but with some help from friends with connections to dark people and places, Bobby finds his man and swears never to let him go again.

Can they save each other not only from the men who want Levi dead but from years of never seeking or finding the love they found in one another? Will the ultimate betrayal cost them the trust they need to make it work between them? Can Bobby save him, or be lost in a dark world alone…

 

 

Carrington started writing when she was just a teenager in Trinidad, Colorado but didn’t start writing M/M romance until much later. Through the years many of her gay male friends told stories of heartache and the struggle to find “the one” so she told them stories, fantasies all about them and their future cowboy, fireman, biker or policeman. When she found a writing site that encouraged her to write them down she started what was an adventure like she never had before.

Her first story, Cabin fever, about a young man searching for love and finding it wrapped in a member of a mafia family gained her readers who cheered for more. She knew then that she had found her place in the world. To make stories of love and kink that not only her readers but she could get lost in as well.

Rain now lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado but has traveled most of the US. Her last road trip to San Francisco gave her characters still coming out…no pun intended…in her newer stories. Rain has severe scoliosis which makes it hard for her to do all the things she used to love but it did give her the time to write that she never had before. She fights for lgbt rights from her home as best she can now and keeps in close contact with her friends that fight on two good legs to point them where they should go. She is a fervent believer that one door never closes without another opening so there are no limits she can’t get past.

Of all the people in the world no one has encouraged and supported her like her friends, many of them writers themselves, and her family. There is never a dull moment in her home where laughter is in the air 24/7 and everyone knows to avoid the computer screen when she sits in front of it. They never know what kind of beautiful man love they may see. Rain calls it research, they call it, “there she goes again!”

 

 

I love all Rain Carrington books. The characters are so alive, so human. Their struggles in life endear them to you and you cannot help falling in love with them. This book is no different. Even though this is a new series, we get to revisit our favorite guys from the Honky Tonk series. Ethan and Hunter, Carter, Gene, Antonio Carillo, they are all in this book. It is an incredible journey of love and loss, good and bad, and the twists and turns it takes to get to the finish line. Rain's incredible vision comes to life on the pages, and I was enthralled.

Bobby Dawes is a good 'ol boy from New Mexico. He is a long haul trucker who fears relationships because he spends a lot of time on the road. Now as he is approaching 40, things do not seem to be changing for him, although he is saddened by the fact that he has missed many life events of his friends. He has a little brother who is married to the man of his dreams, a few great friends, and no lover to call his own.

Levi/ Matthew Behar was a successful author who was touring the country promoting his book and in a relationship with a man who he never saw, who had developed a taste for rent boys and spending his money. When he tries to understand his boyfriend and pick up one last hooker for him, Matthew is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thrown into WITSEC, his boyfriend bails. This leaves him stuck in no where New Mexico with an agent and nothing resembling a life.

After a long stretch on the road, Bobby heads to Honky Tonk to hang out. One night of talking to the new stranger turns his life on its head, breaking open the cage that had formed around his heart. But Hunter thinks something is amiss and starts digging. Too many unanswered questions to Levi leaves a bad taste in his mouth and he will protect his friends even from themselves. When Hunter learns the truth, Levi's world is shaken and he has to relocate. Seems Hunter's past is destroying Bobby's life. With Levi seemingly gone, Bobby finds it hard to go on. Levi has gotten through the trial, but that was just the beginning. Gone from Bobby's life, he tries to start over. But things rarely go as planned. And the guys in New Mexico cannot let their buddy down as well. More ups and downs transpire in this book, and that is no where near the end. Bobby and Matthew have to go through so much more. And their love may not survive the journey. Not to mention the hell that is roaring up on them. Even if they can find each other, nothing will prepare you for the fear and suspense that comes. None of them may survive this story.

This book takes you on such a roller coaster of a ride, you may want to take some anti-nausea meds first. Just when I thought I was near the end- wham! Not even close. This is a heart breaking story, so real in its gut wrenching tale that a happily ever after is not guaranteed. It is an incredible read that should not be missed, and I promise you won't see the end coming."

 

Heidi gives Roadrunner



REVIEW - The Laird (Captive Hearts #3) by Grace Burrowes

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Book Title - The Laird (Captive Hearts #3)
Author - Grace Burrowes
Publisher - Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN/ASIN -
B00IYV3BO4

The morning after Michael Brodie marries the lovely Brenna, he marches off to join Wellington’s army, leaving his new wife alone with his unseemly Uncle Angus and an estate to manage.

Ten years later, when Michael finally returns home, he discovers a nest of vicious lies, tales of disloyalty, and most surprising of all, a blossoming love for the woman he left behind.

But his beloved is keeping a dark secret from him. A secret that begins to unfold when Michael’s young sister joins their household, and Uncle Angus’ true nature is revealed.

 

 

Grace Burrowes started writing as an antidote to empty nest and soon found it an antidote to life in general. She is the sixth out of seven children, raised in the rural surrounds of central Pennsylvania. Early in life she spent a lot of time reading romance novels and practicing the piano. Her first career was as a technical writer and editor in the Washington, DC, area, a busy job that nonetheless left enough time to read a lot of romance novels.

It also left enough time to grab a law degree through an evening program, produce Beloved Offspring (only one, but she is a lion), and eventually move to the lovely Maryland countryside.

While reading yet still more romance novels, Grace opened her own law practice, acquired a master's degree in Conflict Transformation (she had a teenage daughter by then) and started thinking about writing.... romance novels. This aim was realized when Beloved Offspring struck out into the Big World a few years ago. ("Mom, why doesn't anybody tell you being a grown-up is hard?")

Grace eventually got up the courage to start pitching her manuscripts to agents and editors. The query letter that resulted in "the call" started out: "I am the buffoon in the bar at the RWA retreat who could not keep her heroines straight, could not look you in the eye, and could not stop blushing--and if that doesn't narrow down the possibilities, your job is even harder than I thought." (The dear lady bought the book anyway.)

To contact Grace, email her at graceburrowes@yahoo.com.

 

 

I love Burrowes writing. She transports me in every book she writes. This time I got to travel to the Scottish Highlands. The story line was interesting and kept me glued to my e-reader. I loved this series and can't wait to read more from Burrowes.

 

SB Morales gives The Laird (Captive Hearts #3)

REVIEW - The Groundbreaking (Love Under Construction 0.5 Introductory Volume) by Deanndra Hall

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Book Title - The Groundbreaking (Love Under Construction 0.5 Introductory Volume)
Author - Deanndra Hall
Publisher - Celtic Muse Publishing, LLC
ISBN/ASIN -
B00EJ71NIS

Nine lives. Nine stories. One last, best hope. But will they find it in time? The introductory volume to the Love Under Construction Series, this quick read introduces you to the major characters in the series. The books within the series are not stand-alone, and reading this one will help the reader understand them better. All other books in this series are full-length novels. This volume is free!

 

 

Deanndra Hall is a working writer living in far western Kentucky. A free spirit and chronic jokester, she and her partner of over 30 years enjoy visiting their two adult children and their partners and playing with their three crazy little dogs. When she's not writing, Deanndra can be found kayaking, working out at the gym, cooking something healthy, or reading. After writing for business, industry, academia, and non-profits for years and having her work credited to others, she jumped into the fiction realm, particularly erotic fiction and erotica, and had so much fun she never looked back. Look for her on Twitter and Facebook and on her website and blog.

 

 

This book is an introduction to the main characters from the series Love Under Construction. It's a series of flashbacks to the lives of the characters before their respective books. 

 

I attempted to read this book before Laying a Foundation but found it confusing because it is a series of unrelated flashbacks of the characters from the series so after the confusion I decided to come back to it after having read the first book which I think was a good idea.

 

You get to see the lives of these characters but be warned you will cry. These characters have all had horrible lives and this book only gives a glimpse and it isn't all sunshine and roses but it will make you want to pick up the books and learn all about these characters and what their future holds. 

 

This is definitely a book that readers will want to refer to during and after each book in the series to understand the characters and their motivations.

 

Christine gives The Groundbreaking (Love Under Construction 0.5 Introductory Volume)

REVIEW - Crazy Little Man Called Love - Book 4 in the Apashipa Creek Chronicles by Rain Carrington

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Book Title - Crazy Little Man Called Love - Book 4 in the Apashipa Creek Chronicles
Author - Rain Carrington
Publisher - AAS Publishing
ISBN/ASIN -
B00OC4CF6C

Running to America to lick the wounds of a broken relationship, Sidney Haxby still could not find the Dom he desired. Set to go back to London, he decides to stay a few more days, taking in the solitude and beauty of Apishipa Creek to spend a few days with his father, big bad Dom Lin.

When Brandon Love crashes a dinner party and offers to take Sidney home, they get snowed in for days, forced to confront the feelings they had for each other each time they met at the BDSM club, Manacle. Seeing in each other what they’d always longed for, they want to begin a relationship, putting Sidney where he wanted, on his knees at the feet of the Master he feared he would never have.

A trip to London so Sidney could settle his affairs and past puts him in peril. Can Brandon save Sidney? Will their pasts get in the way of their future together? And what is the mysterious stranger trying to tell them about the house in Apishipa Creek they all live in at one time or another? Find out in Crazy Little Man Called Love…

 

 

Carrington started writing when she was just a teenager in Trinidad, Colorado but didn’t start writing M/M romance until much later. Through the years many of her gay male friends told stories of heartache and the struggle to find “the one” so she told them stories, fantasies all about them and their future cowboy, fireman, biker or policeman. When she found a writing site that encouraged her to write them down she started what was an adventure like she never had before.

Her first story, Cabin fever, about a young man searching for love and finding it wrapped in a member of a mafia family gained her readers who cheered for more. She knew then that she had found her place in the world. To make stories of love and kink that not only her readers but she could get lost in as well.

Rain now lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado but has traveled most of the US. Her last road trip to San Francisco gave her characters still coming out…no pun intended…in her newer stories. Rain has severe scoliosis which makes it hard for her to do all the things she used to love but it did give her the time to write that she never had before. She fights for lgbt rights from her home as best she can now and keeps in close contact with her friends that fight on two good legs to point them where they should go. She is a fervent believer that one door never closes without another opening so there are no limits she can’t get past.

Of all the people in the world no one has encouraged and supported her like her friends, many of them writers themselves, and her family. There is never a dull moment in her home where laughter is in the air 24/7 and everyone knows to avoid the computer screen when she sits in front of it. They never know what kind of beautiful man love they may see. Rain calls it research, they call it, “there she goes again!”

 

 

I have loved the Apashipa Creek Chronicles since the first page of Rebel Yells. This book is so amazing! I love m/m romance, and Rain does it so well. She takes the world of BDSM and shows that it truly is different for each person. At the same time, there are no apologies for being true to what the characters need to feel safe and loved. The passion her characters show is breathtaking. The characters are so real, they are flawed and so human you find yourself rooting for them from the beginning. This forth book is everything and more than the books before it. The multiple story arcs make you feel like you are viewing their lives for a period of time, not just through the troubles to a conclusion. Each book feels like a season of a show. I loved this one even more because so many things were happening.

Sidney is a 30 something submissive, looking for his perfect Dom. He has been in the lifestyle for a very long time. His mother is a lesbian and his father is a Dom who donated his sperm to his best friend. Sidney never had too much trouble for being gay. He has more trouble with the fact that he is a very tall, very built submissive. His father thinks he is a Dom, and he has never corrected him. He wants to be in a Master/ slave relationship and had tried coming to the U.S. to look, since he hadn't found what he was looking for in England.

Brandon Love is 40 and a Dom. He manages Manacle, the BDSM club that Travis owns after buying it from Sidney's father. He is enamored with Sidney, and can see that Sidney is a true submissive. Brandon had been in two relationships and had been hurt by both so he is a bit gun shy about trying again.

The ""sub club"" doesn't want Sidney to leave. They get him to rent Rebel's house so that he will stay. They try to fix him up with a local Dom, but Sidney can't get Brandon out of his thoughts. With a turn of events and a snow storm, Brandon is snowed in with Sidney for a few days. Sidney is about to lose his mind with the elusive Brandon, and they finally have it out. Master Brandon has some strict rules, and Sidney loves this fact. Sidney wants to worship at his feet 24/7. Brandon insists that he go back to England and find closure with an ex and inform his mother of his plans. Something goes totally wrong. When Brandon has given up on Sidney, the subs convince him to go and find out. Lin is on the plane and they have it out. But the nightmare that they face will bring them closer together. If they can save Sidney. Binx's two Doms are at a crisis as well. When Nathan loses his first patient, the nightmares from his own past threaten to destroy them all. Binx may get punished a lot, but he is instrumental in every positive thing that happens in Apashipa Creek and the guys he cares about. When all the subs are in punishment for the things they did for Brandon and Sidney, desires of a new kind come to light. All of the couples and the threesome have a whole new idea to kick around and the choices made are as different as the men.

Can Brandon save Sidney before it is too late? Can Nathan find the peace and closure he needs? What will happen in all of their lives? Are the relationships strong enough to get through this latest wave of trouble and danger? Will Brandon be able to be the Dom Sidney needs after everything they go through? And what about the latest clues to the next possible relationship? Will the two men be able to set aside their fears to even begin? These questions are all dealt with in this riveting installment in our favorite little part of Colorado, along with so much more! I loved seeing the changes to our favorite guys and their relationships. Some are stronger, some are not, but they are all wonderful characters that get under your skin and tug at your heart. Each of them trying to find the love and acceptance that they each need. I also love that these characters will go to any length to protect their friends and family. We could all wish to be as loved as they are. Grab this book. It will take you on one heck of a journey!"

 

Heidi gives Crazy Little Man Called Love - Book 4 in the Apashipa Creek Chronicles