Ghost Walk by Lydia Nyx
31 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in authors, Lydia Nyx, publishers, Torquere Press Tags: Lydia Nyx, Torquere Press
Title: Ghost Walk
Author: Lydia Nyx
Publisher: Torquere Press
Pages: 22
Characters: Cory, Alexi, Seamus, Thomas
POV: 3rd Person
Sub-Genre: Paranormal Romance
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
Cory Phillips is spending a semester studying abroad in London. In need of a job, he lands a position as a clerk in a gift shop that caters to tourists on London’s famous ghost walks. There he meets Alexi Lovegood, a charming and handsome man who plays the ghost of Sir Donovan Cartwright on one of the tours. As romance blossoms amid the campy fun, something spooky in the mist of London’s streets threatens to intervene…
Review:
Lydia has definitely been able to paint such beautiful characters in such a short piece, I am amazed. Not only that but the cool London streets and brought to the fore with colourful descriptions and reader friendly writing style.
Each character I could see and hear, so much so I felt I knew the characters from the first few pages. The story itself was well paced and intriguing. In a genre that is predominantly sex based, Lydia has shone through with a truly romantic tale of falling in love, with a little mystery and the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Very short, but very, very good.
Reviewed By: Justin James
This Week’s New Releases From Dreamspinner Press
31 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Dreamspinner, publishers Tags: Dreamspinner Press
Sauntering Vaguely Downward by Nessa L. Warin
Dylan Rojers is excited about Dragon*Con—a huge convention in Atlanta celebrating pop culture, science fiction, and fantasy—but he and his last-minute roommate, Brendan Stone, get off on the wrong foot. It seems that every time they manage a tentative truce, something happens to set them back, and by their second day at the convention, both think there’s no way they can get along.
But maybe Dylan and Brendan have more in common than they thought. Once they start talking, the sparks that were starting arguments ignite a different sort of passion. Through the four fabulous days of parties, shopping in the Dealers Room, costume parades, and discussion panels, Dylan and Brendan grow ever closer. There’s just one problem: they live in different cities, and Dragon*Con doesn’t last forever. Will Dylan and Brendan risk a long-distance romance or is a lasting relationship just one more all-too-brief fantasy?
Buy in eBook
Buy in print
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel
Witch Hunt by Nick Chivers
Mike thought he could escape his past. He renounced his crown as High Mage of The Council, had the Bands of Binding placed on him, and tried to start over as a normal human.
It didn’t work. And now a part of that past wants him dead, and Mike is running for his life.
With his best friend, Andrew, and Andrew’s soulbound partner along for the ride, Mike can’t help but feel lonely until he meets Rick, an all-around gorgeous man who might just be the wrong guy—again—especially since Mike can’t shake an ex-lover who’s hoping for a second chance. It’s a lot to deal with as demonic forces pursue him from Mongolia to Brazil, but Mike has to make it to the safety of The Council if he doesn’t want to be the prize trophy at the end of this witch hunt.
Buy in eBook
Buy in print
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
Length: Novel
A Blinded Mind by Cari Z.
Jonathan Hatcher has led an interesting life. Once the psychic protégé of Dr. Nelson Cagney of the Bureau of Psychological Corrections, he escaped and went on the run through post-World War Three Europe, scraping a living out of the ruins of civilization and avoiding the mindless vics: humans turned berserker by exposure to biological and chemical weapons.
Once again at Cagney’s mercy, Jonathan is stuck in PsyCo’s high-security wing with no idea whether Sam, the man he thinks he may love, is alive or dead by his hand. Though at first he only plays along for news of Sam, soon Jonathan sees the conditions in the warring European Coalition are desperate. Sam and Jonathan must make a choice: make for France and a life together… or team up with their captors against a devastating new threat.
Buy in eBook
Genre: Mystery/Suspense, Science Fiction
Length: Novella
Reclamation by Lissa Kasey
After killing with magic to save his own life, Seiran Rou is persona non grata with the Dominion, the ruling body of magic. Though he has the support of his vampire lover, Gabe, his half-brother, Jamie, and his friend Kelly, Sei suffers when Dominion supporters continue to harass him. To make matters worse, long-buried memories of his violent past are starting to surface, including e-mails and phone calls from Matthew Pierson, a man who abused him—a man who’s supposed to be dead.
With his fears driving a wedge between him and Gabe, Sei tries to get help, only to find himself in a trap. Sei does know Gabe will come for him. What he doesn’t know is how either of them will survive the fight.
Buy in eBook
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
Length: Novella
Tutoring Lucas by JC Holly
To David Stark, Lucas Stevenson is pure sex. Competing on the university swim team has given him the kind of body you see in underwear ads or on the cover of GQ, and David volunteers in the tutoring program just for a chance to spend time with him. When he finally works up the courage to ask Lucas out, and Lucas says yes, David is over the moon, even though he’s still not sure what Lucas sees in a geek like him. But it turns out that Lucas has a few lessons to teach David too.
Buy in eBook
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short story
Love Turns the Page by Etienne
An Avondale Story
Tom Foster has his life planned out, and he’s systematically pursuing his goals. At twenty-two, he’s been organist and choirmaster at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd for three years, he’s working on his doctoral thesis, and he’s beginning a secondary career performing in concert. There is no room in his schedule for romance… until Noah Webster, a gorgeous green-eyed blond, walks into the church one evening to audition for the choir.
What starts as an arrangement of convenience—Tom’s usual page turner is unavailable, and Noah agrees to do the job—soon turns into a fast friendship. Then Noah, who is saddled with an obnoxious roommate, rents the spare bedroom in Tom’s house, and ultimately the two men become lovers and partners in life. But before they can ride off into the sunset together, they must face one major obstacle: Noah’s violent, homophobic Southern Baptist father.
Buy in eBook
Buy in print
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel
No Tricks, Lots Of Treats, Eye Candy So Sweet It’s Guaranteed To Give You A Toothache!
31 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Happy Halloween
Happy Halloween from the Top2Bottom Team!
Roughhousing (Rough #2) by Laura Baumbach
30 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in authors, Laura Baumbach Tags: Laura Baumbach, MLR Press
Title: Roughhousing
Author: Laura Baumbach
Publisher: MLR Press
Pages: 260
Characters: James and Bram
POV: 3rd
Sub-Genre: Contemporary
Kisses: 5
Blurb:
James and Bram are back in this sequel to the bestselling A Bit of Rough! They’ve been dating a while, now, but James is still unsure about his feelings for Bram. He’s rushed into things before, and it’s always backfired on him, so James wants to take it slow. Bram is so forceful, though, so sexy and convincing that it’s hard to stand fast against him. In fact, Bram is the one steady thing in James’ life, when everything else seems to be shifting like sand under his feet. His job is getting stressful, his apartment is getting dangerous, and James knows he’s teetering on the brink of change, but is unsure what to choose. When a project at work seems to have fallen under Bram’s influence through the old boy network, James decides to back off and tell Bram they have to cool down their heated relationship. Bram is willing to accommodate James–to a point. But what happens when self-assured Bram has had enough of James’ insecurity? Taking up where A Bit of Rough left off, Roughhousing opens up Bram and James’ relationship, following along as they become a real couple, and face the troubles that come from trying to blend two lives and two independent personalities. Their need for each other burns as hot as ever, but will that be enough to build a life on?
Review:
Leave it to Laura Baumbach to bring us more of the characters we just can’t seem to get enough of, right? And she does it so well that I put the two books back on my TBR list for a re-read. I don’t know that I’ll ever get enough of Bram, James’ ‘Caveman.’
This story picks up as the other left off. The two men are still seeing one another but this one brings us the internal struggles within James and his fears of his past. Here he is, falling head over in love with Bram but he feels it’s too fast, just like the rest of his ex’s. And because of that he attempts to pull back, we see a lot of internal struggle over this and not only see but hear the pain he’s in. However, it just seems that fate has something different in store for him because every time he tries, something happens to pull them together again. We have the evil neighbor of his who tried to rape him in the first book show up for a bit in the beginning of this one with a friend and try to break in his apartment. Williams is his name if you recall and other than that one incident, it’s his only part in this book. In the last that awful man brought angst by the buckets, this one? Not so much. Of course the fact that he did show up when he did, forced James to find another apartment and since Bram is soo protective he doesn’t approve of anything James can find. So, he does move in or rather he does stay at Bram’s for a bit until he can find a place because he doesn’t want to rely on the other man for anything. He’s very independent. And doing his very best to give Bram a reason to break up with him but Bram is not having that.
James ends up finding his own apartment, in what he thinks is the perfect place, as Bram does since James is not bending on the moving into his own place thing. They can’t find a thing wrong with the place, until something horrible happens to James one night and Bram is called to rush to the hospital.
This brings James back into Bram’s care. Now, let me tell you, Bram? He’s every woman’s dream man perfect in every way. He is not afraid of emotions, not afraid to talk, not afraid to love. I would like to order one Bram please?
Sex scenes are awesome, as I knew they would be and these two are like bunnies. Expect to meet a member of James’ family who refuses to wrap her head around James and Bram as a couple. She steps into the scene and I wanted to rip her out. But hey, that’s just me. James has an important project handed to him from his boss and this action causes another issue for him and Bram, so the story is freckled with small bites of angst and reasons why James needs to really grow up a bit before he’s ready to take Bram on as his fulltime lover.
I loved this story, as I did the first one and I’m hoping Laura finds a moment to give us more of these two and perhaps a bit of William’s? Just to stir things up of course.
Reviewed By: Michele
You All Meant the World To Him Bobby Michaels passes away October 30, 2011 at just 56 years old
30 Oct 2011 6 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: bobby michaels
I write this with a heavy sad heart. I learned that we lost a very valuable member in our community very early this morning. Bobby Michaels, just 56 years old passed away at around 3AM on October 30, 2011.
Bobby Michaels as most of you know brought many stories to his readers, mainly the—The Jock Dorm Series. Dar and Greg, Drew and Vince, and Dave and Connor. His others just as big are Red Heart Bowl, Rock Paper Scissors, The Second Time Around, and the Veteran to name just a few. Bobby’s passion in life was writing— he loved bringing his stories to life for his readers. Bobby began telling his stories long ago, and many of those are on Nifty.org. His website lists the titles he’s written and there are over 70 of them. All you need to do is perform a search using the title and it’ll take you right to that story.
From Bobby’s Website:
Bobby Michaels lives in Fort Lauderdale with hundreds – Nay! Thousands – of gorgeous, muscular men (most of them Marines) running around in his mind. Some are memories of sexual encounters, some are the characters from his many Nifty stories and Loose Id novels and some are characters from novels waiting to be written. So, though he lives alone, he is never lonely.
Bobby has been many things in his life. An actor, director, nightclub singer, professional female impersonator, a monk and, for 29 years, a social worker and grant administrator for local government. His government career ended in 2007 when a stroke caused the loss of the use of his left arm so that now all his writing is done by dictation through a voice recognition program called Dragonspeak.
But, through it all Bobby has been first and foremost a writer beginning his career writing stories for trashy romance magazines in the 1960s along with stories and poetry through the rest of his life. From the time he was five years old, Bobby has always dreamed of actually holding in his hands a book with his name on it as the author.
An avid reader, Bobby’s Kindle has hundreds of books in it. Most of them are male/male romances because he loves reading them almost more than he likes writing them.
Elisa Rolles was fortunate enough to speak to Bobby before he passed away and he told her his readers meant the world to him. To read that article, click here: Elisa Rolles.
We, as a community lost a wonderful story teller, but the world as a whole lost a great man and one who will be missed. While I was lucky to enough to talk to Bobby a few times via email, the news of his passing hurt my heart because he was such a pleasant and nice man who generally cared. He offered advice and kept the lines of communication open and I’ll forever be thankful for that. Sadly, time passed and we both had hurdles in life to conquer, and lost touch. I am grateful for what we did communicate. In my eyes, Bobby Michaels went out gallantly. He is a true angel.
Out for Delivery by J.M. Snyder
30 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in authors, J.M. Snyder, JMS Books, publishers Tags: J.M. Snyder, JMS Books LLC
Title: Out for Delivery
Author: J.M. Snyder
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 17
Characters: Jeremy, Paul
POV: 1st Person
Sub-Genre: Contemporary Erotica
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
Jeremy spends the last night of the weekend finishing an article he needs to submit to his editor first thing Monday morning. When someone knocks on his door, he’s tempted to ignore it but answers anyway, only to find a sexy delivery guy outside with something hot and ready in his hands.
Too bad Jeremy didn’t order the pizza—it belongs to his neighbors.
Still, he’s pleasantly surprised when the delivery guy returns to give Jeremy his number. Paul gets off work in a half hour, and wants to hook up, if Jeremy’s interested.
Suddenly Jeremy’s evening just got a hell of a lot better.
Review:
Jeremy is the lucky beneficiary of a minor mistake in Out for Delivery, a very short, very sexy story about two men who meet when a pizza delivery error inadvertently brings hot and fresh to Jeremy’s doorstep in thirty minutes or less. Opportunities are nearly missed, however, when the shock of their attraction leaves them at a bit of a loss for the right words or moves to cross the all important gap between professional courtesy and personal connection.
When the door closes on the possibility for more, Jeremy can’t help but feel a little disappointed that Paul didn’t pick up on that frisson of heat running between them. Given a minute to recover his wits, though, Paul quickly proves dead wrong, the old adage about opportunity only knocking once—it knocks twice, thankfully, and the two men discover, in an oh so erotic way, that Paul’s car can serve a much better purpose than just delivering pizza.
This is another erotic quickie from J.M. Snyder, so yummy.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Pushing Limits by Julia Talbot
29 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in authors, Julia Talbot, publishers, Torquere Press Tags: Julia Talbot, Torquere Press
Title: Pushing Limits
Author: Julia Talbot
Publisher: Torquere Press
Pages: 14
Characters: Dell and Law
POV: 1st
Sub-Genre: BDSM
Kisses: 5
Blurb:
Dell loves to push Law’s limits, but Law’s surprised when a trip to a friend’s house results in the best kind of show, with Dell’s friend Jimmy staging a spanking for their pleasure. It certainly makes for a night to remember, but will it be too much to ask Law to do some of the same things?
Review:
This is just the right amount of sauce for a Torquere Sip. Julia does a wonderful job with her characters, Dell and Law. Dell, the Dom loves to push Law’s limits And here he does a wonderful job at it. They go to a friend’s house where there is a spanking scene taking place and it’s one that really does push most anyone’s limits. Very juicy read, loved the description and the dialogue between the Dom and his sub. The spanking scene very nice and to see how Law handled it, squirming in his pants without moving was fun. I really liked the two characters and highly recommend this even if it is short…
Reviewed By: Michele
Like this:
Closing Time by J.M. Snyder
29 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in authors, J.M. Snyder, JMS Books, publishers Tags: J.M, JMS Books LLC, Snyder
Title: Closing Time
Author: J.M. Snyder
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 19
Characters: Mitchell Nolan, Romy Lariner
POV: 3rd Person
Sub-Genre: Contemporary Erotica
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
Mitchell Nolan is a bartender working late on Christmas Eve. As the last patrons leave, he stays behind to clean up. Why hurry home? There’s no one waiting for him, and he knows Santa won’t bother leaving anything special for him this year.
Then he meets Romy Lariner, who ducks inside the bar when his car won’t start. Sparks fly between these two lonely men this Christmas Eve. Maybe Santa has a little something up his sleeve for Mitchell after all…
Review:
For Mitchell Nolan, the holidays don’t have a lot to do with glad tidings or merry anythings. Christmas serves no other purpose for him than to remind him he’s alone again. Still. And there’s nothing or no one waiting for him at home. If there were, the last place he’d be is at the bar on Christmas Eve, cleaning up after last call.
Closing Time is a story of fate and a wish rolled into an incredibly sexy little scene of a man who wants nothing more than someone to share the holiday with. Romy Lariner is the man who becomes the answer to that wish after his car breaks down outside the bar, leaving him stranded and in need of a phone to call for help.
Mitchell and Romy give the reader a taste of what it means to be swept away by attraction to a place that can only make complete sense to the two people involved. There are no promises of a future spoken. No vows of everlasting love. There is only the spark of an immediate connection and urgent need there, and that was just enough for me to enjoy the heat that spark created.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Mahu Fire by Neil Plakcy
28 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in authors, MLR Press, Neil Plakcy, publishers Tags: MLR Press, Neil Plakcy
Title: Mahu Fire
Author: Neil Plakcy
Publisher: MLR Press
Pages: 309
Characters: Kimo
POV: 1st
Sub-Genre: Mystery
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
Mahu Fire begins six months after Honolulu homicide detective Kimo Kanapaka’a's return to Honolulu from his undercover assignment on the North Shore. He’s becoming more comfortable with his visibility as Honolulu’s only openly gay homicide detective, including mentoring a group of gay teens.
Kimo, his family and friends are attending a local charity event in support of gay marriage when a bomb disrupts the gala. Kimo is determined to find out who feels strongly enough against the issue to kill– but it’s possible that his high profile will stand in his way
Review:
Kimo is back for the third time and we step into his shoes with him six months after the ending of the second book, Mahu Surfer . We are now taken on an exciting journey, told in the first person, by Kimo and his search for people who are responsible for several crimes done to the people of the gay community. Kimo is the detective in charge of this case, not because he was assigned mind you, but because he insisted. As we found out from the prior story Kimo is at this time the only known gay detective who is fully out of the closet, so when he takes on this case he has to be extra careful for obvious reasons. But, its more than that to him. There was a bombing where his family and friends were injured over the hate this certain group of people have against the gay people in Hawaii.
This certain group of people are being led by two people, the Whites, and they have managed to create a new congregation where the subject each Sunday seems to center around how bad the homosexuals are and how they need to more or less disappear. Of course the proof they are behind the evil doings, doesn’t come fast and during the time of investigation Kimo meets firefighter Mike and finally I do believe we have a long term something going to happen with these two, I guess we’ll wait and see.
The story covers more than just the bombing and hate crimes, it also approaches the issue of Gay Marriage on the ballot, a runaway gay teen, and a close member to the family dies. There are several great scenes in the book, the plot does have some tiny holes in it such as ages of the brothers but really, we don’t live in a perfect world anyway, I can overlook that as long as the story is told with love.
Reviewed By: Michele
Cafe de l’Amour by J.M. Snyder
28 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in authors, J.M. Snyder, JMS Books, publishers Tags: J.M. Snyder, JMS Books LLC
Title: Café de l’Amour
Author: J.M. Snyder
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 23
Characters: Austin, Seth
POV: 1st Person
Sub-Genre: Contemporary
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
Barista Austin falls for Seth Jackson the moment the man enters Lakeside Cafe. Seth seems just as interested, but Austin’s too shy to pursue a relationship on the other side of the counter. When Seth visits with a male “friend” in tow, Austin worries he might have missed his chance.
Seth’s just as suspicious of Austin’s best friend, Josh, who hangs out at the cafe. A lunch date offers a chance to clear the air between them. Will Seth and Austin make a special blend, or will Josh turn things sour?
Review:
Café de l’Amour is a sweet little sip of a story in dependable J.M. Snyder style: just enough storyline to draw you in, just enough detail to make you interested in the characters, and just enough of a lure to make you wish for more.
Austin narrates this story, largely from behind the counter of the Lakeside Café, where he brews and serves the sometimes unappealing concoctions his best friend Josh comes up with. Coffee with lime? Uh, no, that’s just gross. But it’s little touches like this that made me want to know a whole lot more about Josh and his quirky imagination.
Seth Jackson is a new customer to the café, one Austin notices immediately, as much for his good looks as for the fact that, though they appear to be the same age, Seth’s workday uniform includes a suit and tie, very much unlike Austin’s coffee stained apron. Just when I thought this was going to be a story of opposites attract, though, it turns out it’s more about mistaken first impressions and that, in this case, clothes don’t make the man.
Appearances certainly can be deceiving, but, honestly, there’s no excuse for bad coffee.
Reviewed By: Lisa
