Best Laid Plans by DC Juris

Title: Best Laid Plans
Author: DC Juris
Pages: 167
Publisher: Breathless Press
Characters: Kale, Perry
POV: 1st person
Sub-genre: Transgender, Romance
Kisses: 3


Blurb:

Disowned by his family for being transgender, Kale drained his bank account and set out to go as far as the money would take him planning to make a new life for himself. But when the money stopped, he found himself homeless, his plans pretty much screwed.

Perry set out to find a male hooker to slate his lust. Instead he found a handsome young man who insisted he wasn’t a prostitute. Can they work past their differences and see what’s in front of them, or will their best laid plans drive them apart?

Review:

I liked Kale, he is a sweet young man who is comfortable in his own skin (f to m). I found it hard to believe why he would put himself in danger selling himself on the streets, yes to put a roof over his head BUT mainly to see Perry on Tuesday nights.

Perry is a middle age gay man with a teenage daughter who lives in another state. I can see how he starts to have feeling for Kale, who has not been honest with him about being transgender…( they had not gotten past oral sex). When Kale tells him, Perry was very cruel to Kale, though I have to give it to Perry he does research the difference between transgender and transvestism.

I also liked the character of Enrique, Kale’s friend though we didn’t get to see him much or Perry’s daughter who we only met on a phone call. Although this was a sweet story with a scary moment for Kale it was very short and introduced characters who could have enriched the story. Unfortunately, they were not allowed to develop more and were largely ignored once introduced. This was a story I could have loved and maybe there will be a sequel that will give this story the time it deserves.

Reviewed by: Cheryl

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Substitute Heart by Summer Michaels

Title: Substitute Heart
Author: Summer Michaels
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Pages: 41
Characters: Travis, Oliver
POV: 1st
Sub-Genre: Contemporary Romance
Kisses: 5

Blurb:

Three years have passed since Travis buried his husband, but he is unable to let go and move on. Even the support of his late husband’s fellow Marines cannot motivate him to live again. His apathy for life reaches a breaking point when he is fired days before Christmas, and an unexpected visitor shows Travis that he has one last chance for a happy future, else he is doomed to one far bleaker …

Review:

Whew! For a story under 50 pages, Substitute Heart by Summer Michaels really packed a lot of punch. I had a feeling once I read the blurb, that this book was going to be something special…and I was right. From the first page to the last word, I was enthralled with the lives of these characters and I loved every minute of it.

I honestly don’t want to give anything away, so I’m going to tread lightly with the summary of the story. For the past three years, Travis has been in mourning. His husband, Lane was in the line of duty and Travis can’t seem to have the desire to really live again. He has a friend, Oliver, who was in Lane’s military unit and has become a staple in Travis’ life. Oliver loves Travis, but when it comes to loving again, Travis would rather keep him at arm’s length. He misses Lane and doesn’t want to go through the pain of loving and losing someone again.
Enter Lane. Lane comes to Travis and shows him a series of what life can be like with or without loving and living again. Will Travis be able to learn from what Lane has shown him and give Oliver a chance?

I loved this book! Not only is Travis a likeable, relate-able and sympathetic character I thought he really lived and breathed off of the written page. I felt like I was experiencing his vast array of emotions with him as his story progressed. I felt his pain and cried with him, but I also couldn’t help but hope that he would be able to work through his pain and take a chance on life and love again.

Substitute Heart is a beautifully written story that lived with me long after I finished reading it. It brought me to tears, made me smile and finally rejoice at the hopeful ending. My only gripe about the book is…I wish it had been longer. I loved these characters and every moment I spent with them. Hopefully, Ms. Michaels will one day revisit these characters again so we can see how everything turned out for them. Highly Recommended!

Reviewed By: Gabbi

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Ride the Line Book One: Purgatory by Jewel Sinclair

Title: Ride the Line Book One: Purgatory
Author: Jewel Sinclair
Publisher: Breathless Press
Pages: 29
Characters: Jax and Luke
POV: 3rd
Sub-Genre: Western, Contemporary Romance
Kisses: 3.5

Blurb:

When rodeo star Jax Weller looks at Luke Parsons, he sees a colt ready to be saddled and ridden hard to the edge of Purgatory.

Rodeo rider Jax Weller is cock of the walk at the Bar C. One smile from Jax and every filly and stallion in the territory, two-legged and four, comes running. It’s business as usual until Luke Parsons shows up at the ranch. Thwarted at every turn, Jax is driven wild by the young drifter’s beauty and charm. When Jax finally gets him alone, he discovers that Luke has a wild heart behind his angel face. The west has never been as hot as it is in a place called Purgatory.

Review:

Purgatory is: A hot tale of the old pro and the greenhorn.

Jax is part of a working ranch and rodeo team, toned from riding broncos, and tattooed from his previous life on San Francisco docks. Luke is the newest recruit at the Bar C, a proverbial golden boy, who’s as much a novice when it comes to sex as he is at working the ranch.

A contrived meeting in the bath house by Jonesy, Jax’s closest friend, and ex-lover, leads to revelations. A further contrivance ensures that they are partnered to head up to Perdition Ridge, away from the other ranch hands, and so free to take things further. Jax makes love with Luke on Purgatory Mesa, and the sex is hot and sensual.

I loved the way you immediately felt a part of the world of ranch and rodeo. Purgatory is well written, and the sex scenes scorch. However, Jax also has a rather indiscriminate nature regarding who he beds. So if you don’t mind the mention of het sex, and love cowboys, then you have a searing couple, with the promise of more sizzling sex to come.

Reviewed By: Pammyla

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Truth Deeper Than Logic by Lee Brazil

Title: Truth Deeper Than Logic
Author: Lee Brazil
Publisher: Breathless Press
Pages: 83
Characters: Nathan Hawthorn, Seth Greenwood
POV: 3rd
Sub genre: paranormal
Kisses: 4

Blurb:

His lover’s death filled Nate Hawthorn with rage. From that time were born legends of bloodthirsty cats and killer bears, of humans entering the woods and never leaving.

Legend exaggerated, and he had calmed down and accepted the transiency of human life. Fragile, defenseless, but curious, brave, and loving. He’d allowed their presence in his valley in the beginning because they intrigued him with their resourceful cleverness in turning their fragile bodies into a strength rather than the weakness he’d taken them for.

When Daniel died, he’d chosen to live among them for simple reasons. He felt closer to his lover walking among his descendents. He took a warped pride in the growth and the progress of the town Daniel had started, in the prosperity of Daniel’s people even as their growth and progress had overtaken his woods. Perhaps some fatalistic part of him believed that the circle of life would one day claim him, had known that they would one day kill him.

When Seth Greenwood, a junior architect with a local firm who dreamed of bigger things, pinned his hopes for career advancement on a project that required the use of Nate’s land, Nate realized how much he wanted to live. And how very much he wanted Seth.

Review:

Nathan Hawthorn is the owner of a nursery and a hundred acre section of woods that has been in his family for many generations. The city has served him a notice that they want to use the right of eminent domain to take 35 acres of his property to build a new high school.

Seth Greenwood is the architect who is hoping that building the new high school will lead to him getting a job at a architecture firm in a big city like LA or New York, anywhere besides the small town where everyone knows him and no one takes him seriously.

Three months before, Seth and his friend Gerry had been in the woods with a couple of acquaintances doing a film project for Gerry’s college class. Seth gets separated from the others and he sees a large cat with red eyes staring at him from the bushes. He freaks out and runs into the front door of a isolated cabin that he had noticed earlier and finds a very large, very sexy man inside. They are instantly attracted to each other and proceed to have a brief but passionate encounter.

When Nate goes to the meeting to challenge the city’s right to seize his land, he provides them with proof that the founder of the town is buried on his property and so they can’t take it as it is a historical place. He also recognizes one of the men at the meeting as the young man he had the brief but very passionate encounter with in his cabin.

Nate and Seth proceed to have a passionate relationship, but both know that Seth is going to leave eventually to take a job in another town. He asks Nate to go with him but Mate refuses. When Seth asks him why, Nate reveals that he is a hawthorn tree spirit and can’t get too far from his tree or he’ll die. Seth isn’t scared off by what Nate has told him and even comes up with a potential way for Nate to be able to leave the valley.

This short story by Lee Brazil is not your average “man vs the bureaucracy.” I love how he is able to combine nature, history, passion, and modern problems into a seamlessly entertaining tale that kept me entertained from beginning to end.

Reviewed by: Pat

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137 Owens Street by DC Juris

Title: 137 Owens Street
Author: DC Juris
Publisher: Breathless Press
Pages: 56
POV: 3rd
Sub-Genre: Paranormal
Kisses: 4

Blurb:

Matthew is going insane. But the man reaching out to Matthew in his visions might be his only chance to find the truth or his true love.
Matthew is going insane. How else can he explain remembering things he doesn’t own or trips his wife never took? Not to mention the visions, and the phantom in the café. But when the man in the visions reaches out to him with an explanation, and the phantom from the café tracks him down, things start to make a little more sense. Morgan is a devout Christian. He believes in God, heaven, hell, and the Bible. But his world spins out of control when his husband Matthew disappears and a mysterious man tells a tale outside the realm of reality. How can Morgan put his faith in something so far-fetched? And what will happen to Matthew if he doesn’t?

Review:

When DC decides he wants to write a story to keep you guessing he really does a hell of a job at it. I will be honest, I have to be. I really found myself lost at the start of the story, I had no idea what in the world happened, one second Matthew and Morgan are discussing chips in the car in the parking lot of the grocery store, and the next Matthew is melting from the heat and grumbling over Morgan taking so long about buying a box of crackers. When finally the door to the car opens and closes, it’s not Morgan sitting in the seat of the car without air, it’s a woman named Stephanie, and apparently she’s his wife.

Call me confused, I can’t wait for you to read Matthews thoughts, and you too will be, but there’s a method behind the madness of this story. Once we are in Matthews head for sometime with him thinking he’s lost his mind, we are also thinking maybe we have read something wrong, or missed something, that is until you get to his husband’s POV, Morgan. Then we know something fishy is going on here.

I encourage you to read this story, I promise, DC does pull it off with skill of a seasoned writer, there are no plot holes, the characters are very well done, and my heart loves Morgan. He’s a sweet man who loves his husband dearly. Poor Matthew on the other hand is clueless and lost for most of the book, but I’ll gladly put that on DC. Thank you, DC, for keeping my mind working and ready for more.

Reviewed By: Michele

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Choices by Em Woods

Title: Choices
Author: Em Woods
Publisher: Breathless Press
Pages: 44
Characters: Brandt, Laden, Mike
POV: 3rd
Sub-Genre: Contemporary, Menage Romance
Kisses: 4

Blurb:

When a rodeo clown, a small town veterinarian and his assistant form a complicated trio, they find it’s their choices that determine who finds love.

When rodeo clown Brandt Collins is forced into retirement by an injury in the arena, he heads to long-time friend Kaden Slater’s hometown to settle down. As far as he’s concerned if that old flame ignites into a wildfire, then all the better.

Kaden is glad to see Brandt, but a little complication in the form of Kaden’s new assistant, Mike, throws a wrench in all their plans. Sexy, smart and young, Mike wants Kaden more than he wants his next breath.

Soon, misunderstandings and the past conspire to tear the trio apart before they’ve even begun. And now it’s their choices that will determine who finds love – and who doesn’t.

Review:

Brandt Collins is an ex champion rodeo clown who is back in his hometown after being gored by a bull and being beat up by a group of anti-gay thugs. He’s dreading running into his old friend Kaden.

Many years before Brandt and Kaden were in love with each other but both had ambitions that took them in different directions-Brandt to be a rodeo clown and Kaden to become a veterinarian.

Every so often Brandt would come back into town and Kaden would get his hopes up that Brandt would stay this time but always had them dashed when he would leave again.
Kaden’s veterinary assistant Mike has been hopelessly in love with his boss for over a year and has almost given up his dream that Kaden will stop pining after Brandt and realize what he has right in front of him.

Brandt, Kaden, and Mike come to the conclusion that the only way that all of them will be happy is to have an unconventional relationship between the three of them.

I LOVED this story about three men who find themselves in a situation when the person they love decides that careers and ambition mean more to them than love. In the end, this beautiful tale shows that the path to true love doesn’t always go smoothly or in the direction that you think it should

Reviewed By: Pat

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It’s Simple, Simon by Lee Brazil

Title: It’s Simple, Simon
Author: Lee Brazil
Publisher: Breathless Press
Pages: 67 pages
Characters: Simon and Chase
POV: Third Person
SubGenre: GLBT: contemporary erotic romance
Rating: 4.5 Stars

Blurb:

Simon Carter has achieved unimaginable success and he owes it all to a man from his past whose scorn set fire to his ambition.

“It’s Simple, Simon. You lack ambition.”

Chase Garvin’s jibe had sent Simon Carter on unexpected paths and brought him unimaginable success. No longer a penniless musician, the highly paid investment banker is going home for the first time in years. He plans to rest, relax, and spend a little time rubbing his ex-lover’s nose in his success. A visit to the Renaissance Fair brings this not-quite-so-simple- Simon nose to nose with his past and somehow revenge doesn’t seem quite so attractive.

Chase Garvin, Denver, Colorado’s very own Pie Man, is still incredibly handsome. What’s more, the more mature Chase is very appreciative of Simon’s talents.

When the old attraction flares between them, Simon and the Pie Man get caught up in tasting the wares, and neither counts the pennies.

Review:

It’s Simple, Simon by Lee Brazil is premised on a clever idea of using the nursery rhyme, in this case Simple Simon, as motivation for a story. This is part of a Naughty Nursery Rhymes collection through Breathless Press and the first m/m in the collection.

The first two chapters introduce the reader to Simon and then Chase. Simon comes off as a bitter man who wants to exact revenge on Chasse, the man who pushed him away many years ago. He’s the kind of guy you think, what a brat. But then you meet Chase.

Chase is well-established in Denver owning several pastry shops. When he sees Simon, he makes a number of assumptions about his ex, assumptions which kind of justify Simon’s hurt feelings from all those years ago.

As soon as the two spend their first day together, old flames are fanned and each wonders whether they made a huge mistake. Simon wondering if seeking revenge was truly what he wanted and Chase wondering if his reasons for breaking things off with Simon had actually been valid.

The two men enjoy a physical reunion filled with passionate sex. But this reunion wasn’t just about sex for either of them. Each quickly realized they had made mistakes in the past which broke them apart and were continuing to make mistakes in the present which threatened to keep them apart.

When secrets are revealed, tension hits, but even when the initial round of tension is resolved, a new, even more stressful turn of events takes place and it kept me on the edge of my seat until the end.

I was drawn into this story from the first page. Mr. Brazil’s has a talent at establishing full, rich characters with depth and flavor. As I experienced their journey in alternating POVs (Simon’s then Chase’s) I was able to enjoy the angst and uncertainty they spiraled closer and closer together. As each page turned, my desire to see these two work out increased until I was tearing through the last portion of the story.

As with any short story, this one being about 65 pages, I had to suspend belief here. But overall, the journey was exquisite. It was a lovely balance of yearning and confidence, independence and compromise, love and hate. Through their experiences, we come to appreciate how love doesn’t always come easy, but if it’s right, the challenges are worth it in the end. Mr. Brazil also deftly portrays the message that compromise doesn’t mean changing who you are for someone else, but making choices so you can be who you are and allow someone else to be who they are, even if the obstacles seem impossible to overcome.

In keeping with the level of heat and emotionality of the Truth of Dare series (a must read if you haven’t yet), Mr. Brazil has knocked another one out of the park.

Reviewed By: Doug

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Saint’s Curse: Luke by Lee Brazil

Title: Saint’s Curse: Luke
Author: Lee Brazil
Publisher: Breathless Press
Pages: 72
Characters: Luke Leveraux, Jeremy St. James
POV: 3rd
Sub-Genre: Paranormal Romance
Kisses: 4




Blurb:

Luke Leveraux hates seeing suspicion darken Jeremy St. James’s eyes when he leaves for his monthly hunting trip, but some secrets just can’t be shared
On the surface artist Luke Leveraux has it all: money, a fantastic historical home, talent. When his boyfriend Jeremy moves in, his life should have been perfect. But Luke’s hunting expeditions are a cover for something much darker, and he doesn’t dare expose his lover to this unpredictable side of his life.
Art teacher Jeremy St. James has always known about his lover’s hunting trips. He just expected that they would stop when he moved in with Luke. Or, at the very least, that he might be included in the monthly excursions.
Someone else knows Luke’s secret, though. Someone determined to put an end to the situation.

Review:

I’ve read several books by Lee Brazil and I’ve enjoyed every one of them. Lee has a knack of writing interesting characters with fast moving storylines that really keep this reader’s attention. In Saint’s Curse: Luke, I found myself quickly intrigued with these two heroes lives and the interesting story they told.

Since the blurb does an excellent job at describing the story, I won’t rehash it. But I will say in the past few years, I’ve read many paranormal/shifter books. What I really liked about this book was: it has an interesting, freshness to the storyline and with the characters’ situation itself that kept me interested in the book from the very first page to the last word.

I also liked that Luke and Jeremy are an established couple. Now, normally I prefer to read the beginnings of a romance between the two heroes. This is simply because I like watching them get to know each other while they fall in love. I think sometimes when a book starts off with a couple that’s already together, I personally feel like I’ve lost out of something, and that I’ve missed huge parts of their life together. But in this book, I didn’t feel this way. Although they two heroes really love each other, there is still a lot of mystery and things they do not know about each other. They are still in the ‘honeymoon’ phase of their life together and are still learning there is a lot more to each other than meets the eye. Lucky for us, we’re able to discover these things along with the heroes, so it made it a really enjoyable read.

Both heroes were interesting and definitely made for each other. At first, the mystery of Luke’s disappearance each month and lack of openness about what he really is to Jeremy troubled me a little, so I wondered if they really belonged together. But as the story progressed, I really began to see the connection they have together and I found myself wrapped up in the interesting world that Luke lives in and hoped he somehow be able to come clean about who he really was with Jeremy. I liked how Luke’s wolf-side wasn’t glamourized like so many shifter books are, and I enjoyed watching these two men really overcome the fears and find a way to become a strong pair together.

My only gripe about the book is: I wish the book had been longer because just when I really started getting into the story, it ended. But since this is the first book in a series, I’m looking forward to reading more about these characters and definitely more by this author. If you are looking for a romance with a unique spin on the everyday shifter story, Saint’s Curse: Luke is definitely the book for you! Recommended.

Reviewed By: Gabbi

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Shelton’s Homecoming by Diane Hartsock

Title: Shelton’s Homecoming
Author: Diane Hartsock
Publisher: Breathless Press
Pages: 50
Characters: Shelton, Nevil
POV: 3rd
Sub-Genre: Contemporary Romance, Series
Kisses: 4

Blurb:

Shelton’s grown tired of living a life separate from Nevil. So when Nevil is hurt in an accident at work, Shelton comes home for good. Feeling closer than ever to his lover, Shelton’s ready to make a lasting commitment to their relationship. But is that what Nevil wants? Nevil is less than enthusiastic when an old flame marries, leaving Shelton wondering if he’ll have to keep his dreams on hold indefinitely.

Review:

When Shelton learns his lover, Nevil, has been injured on a job site, he immediately flies home to make sure he’s alright. At the hospital, Shelton begins to realize that he wants to always be the most important person in Nevil’s life. He begins to question his decision about having a long-distance relationship and wonders what it would be like to marry his lover, and the more time he spends with Nevil, the more Shelton is convinced that it’s time for him and for his relationship with Nevil to change. Will he be able to convince Nevil it’s time for them to take that next step?

When I asked to read and review this book, I didn’t realize it was part of a series, so I went into reading about this couple pretty blind. I will say that the author does a very good job at describing what’s happened to these characters in the past, so I didn’t feel that lost throughout the story. It’s also obvious that these two characters really love each other. Ms. Hartsock does an excellent job at writing about the love and affection between Nevil and Shelton. I never doubted they loved each other, nor did I doubt that they belonged together. Although, this could probably be read as a stand-alone book, I am going to recommend reading the entire series. I still felt like I might have missed the dynamics between all of the characters in the book and that I walked into a conversation that has already taken place for several minutes before I arrived. Having said that, I really liked this book and I am going to get the first three books in the series and start from scratch and read the entire series.

For a book just under fifty pages, the story moves pretty quickly. I liked the relationship between Nevil and Shelton and both were very interesting characters. I could tell that they’ve weathered many storms, but still have somehow managed to stay together and have a strong foundation of love and respect between them. They also have a very intense, sexual chemistry between them that practically smoked up my computer screen. The sex between them is hot and plentiful, so when you read this book you might want to have an ice cold drink and fan nearby.

I also liked the camaraderie between the couple and their friends. It’s obvious that the couple have a tight, supportive group of friends that they are able to rely on when things get touch. It was good to see how they interacted together and the affection they had for one another. This is the first book I’ve read by Diane Hartsock and it definitely won’t be my last. I’m looking forward to reading more about Shelton and Nevil in the future and other works by this author.

Here are the other Shelton books in series order:

Shelton in Love
Shelton’s Promise
Shelton’s Choice
Shelton’s Homecoming

Reviewed By: Gabbi

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Reaping Shadows by Jamieson Wolf

Title: REAPING SHADOWS
Author: Jamieson Wolf
Publisher: Breathless Press
Pages: ebook novella
Characters: Darion Murete and Kale
POV: Third Person
Sub-Genre: mm romance paranormal
Kisses: 2.5

Blurb:

Death has always been a lonely business. Darion Muerte knows this firsthand as a Reaper. But his world changes when he meets Kale.

Darion is a Reaper, one of those who gathers the souls of the dead so they can move on. He has been a Reaper for centuries. Accompanied only by his Shadow, a being that scouts for the dead, Darion has not been touched by another for over a thousand years.
That all changes when Darion meets Kale. Though mortals are not supposed to be able to see Reapers and their Shadows, Kale can see both of them. And his dark blue eyes see right into Darion.

Answering the call of passion that sets fire to his skin, Darion gives in to his needs and lets himself experience one night of passion. That is all he can take. And then Darion must make the ultimate sacrifice.

Review:

Reaping Shadows is a modern-day Grim Reaper story in which the main character, Darion Muerte travels the planet seeking souls to collect. His job is to be a soldier of sorts that works for Death. With the use of his shadow, he finds people who are ready to die and captures their soul.

As the story begins, Darion is drawn to a particular target named Kale. Surprisingly, Kale does not appear to be anywhere near ready for death nor does he fear Darion. This is unusual being that typically all humans fear his presence. Darion senses a connection with Kale and the two come together and make love. This lovemaking session somehow transforms Kale into an agent of Death himself, and the two become supernatural partners.

When I first started reading this story I was almost positive that it would be a five star read. I loved the beginning and was intrigued by Darion and by the way he was drawn to Kale. After the first love scene, though, the story started to fall apart for me. It became rather cheesy and I started to view it more as a comedy.

I think many readers may appreciate this type of storytelling. In my opinion, the author was trying to infuse humor into the dialogue and to sort of make light of death. He introduces a couple of villain characters that he calls the Brothers Grimm. I couldn’t figure out how their role specifically differed from Darion’s or from Death itself.

The sex scenes were the best part, in my view. These alone are the story’s redemption. This is a short, entertaining read. The writing is very strong but the plot is flimsy. I kind of think this intentional though. It’s just a kind of fun paranormal fantasy.

Reviewed By: Jeff

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