Loosen Up by J.M. Snyder
20 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in J.M. Snyder, JMS Books Tags: J.M. Snyder, JMS Books LLC
Title: Loosen Up
Author: J.M. Snyder
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 29
Characters: Liam Martin, Cooper Dawson
POV: 3rd Person
Sub-Genre: Contemporary
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
Between course work, an internship, clinicals, and a part-time job, med student Liam Martin is worn out. When his lab is cancelled, freeing up his Friday night, all he wants to do is crash.
Liam’s roommates have other plans. They think Liam is too stressed and needs to loosen up … as in going out to party, not staying home to rest. Adam scores coveted tickets to a concert by local alt band Ebola Rain and uses his connections to get backstage.
But Liam doesn’t want to go, and manages to lose his roommates backstage by hiding out in one of the dressing rooms, where he promptly falls asleep. Little does Liam know the room belongs to Cooper Dawson, sexy frontman for the band, who also thinks Liam needs to loosen up.
Then Cooper asks Liam to hang out with him, and suddenly Liam isn’t so tired anymore.
Review:
Liam Cooper spends his days dissecting cadavers in med school. He’s burning the proverbial candle at both ends and has just about come to the point where he will be snuffed out by the sheer burden of his schedule if he doesn’t find a way to unwind.
His roommates seem to be the only two who can see this, though, as Liam draws further into his need for sleep and downtime by burrowing into his bed and hoping the world—or at least his roommates—will just go away and leave him alone for a while. They can see better than Liam that he needs to get out and do something that doesn’t include working or studying or sleeping, so they invite him out for a night of mindless fun, anything that will get him out of bed.
Liam can think of a million reasons why he should say no but just one, albeit a very compelling reason, to say yes—to remind himself that he’s still alive. But that doesn’t mean he acquiesces without a fight, both with himself and with his roomies, when they take him to a concert by a band he’s never heard of, and decides pretty quickly he doesn’t care to hear of. He only wants to ditch his friends, the venue, and catch up on some much needed sleep—and he does, just not at home in his own bed.
Cooper Dawson is the sexy front man of the band Ebola Rain, who finds Liam in the one place Liam shouldn’t be. Cooper doesn’t know whether to be mad at Liam or to be curious about him; maybe he’s a little of both, but eventually the curiosity wins out and he becomes as determined as the others to make sure Liam loosens up and lets go for just a bit.
This was a quick and sexy read from J.M. Snyder, delivered in a way that made me wish we’d learned a lot more about Cooper and a little bit more about Liam. This is one of those short stories that felt like it could’ve been a novella, at the very least, because what is there is so darn tasty and it only whetted my appetite for more.
Reviewed By: Lisa
You Think We Don’t by J.M. Snyder
19 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in J.M. Snyder, JMS Books Tags: J.M. Snyder, JMS Books LLC
Title: You Think We Don’t
Author: J.M. Snyder
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 10 (.pdf)
Characters: Thad, Joachim
POV: 2nd Person
Sub-Genre: Contemporary
Kisses: 4.5
Blurb:
Two college basketball players on a team bound for the championships carry on an affair after hours. Neither talks about the time they spend in each other’s arms. They kid themselves and pretend it’s just sex. They think no one else knows.
They’re wrong on both accounts. But it isn’t until a fellow teammate interferes that they’re willing to admit how much they care for each other.
Note: This story appears in my anthology, Flashed, available in both e-book and print format.
Review:
I first had the pleasure of reading You Think We Don’t in J.M. Snyder’s flash fiction anthology Flashed. There were quite a few memorable stories included in the collection, but this one was definitely of the notable variety; first because of the narrative style, and second because it was such a touching exposition on what it means to live life up to others’ expectations rather than living on your own terms.
Joachim and Thad are the worst kept secret on their college basketball team. Even their coach knows that the two boys feel more for each other than they’ve been willing to admit to anyone, including themselves.
Sneaking into Thad’s room in the night, lights out, no words between them other than a name that escapes in the passion of the moment, the boys let their actions speak for them in the way they touch and kiss; though in the light of day, they resume the act of being nothing more than teammates. Or they think they do.
Narrated by an outsider, by a friend who is on the outside looking beneath the façade the two boys think they are portraying, the opportunity to say the things that need to be said is the turning point in Thad and Joachim’s relationship.
This is flash fiction, so the depth isn’t in the exposition but in the atmosphere and the emotion that J.M. Snyder skillfully constructs that drew me in and left me feeling satisfied in the happy-for-now ending.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Tricked Out by J.M. Snyder
17 Jan 2012 2 Comments
in J.M. Snyder, JMS Books Tags: J.M. Snyder, JMS Books LLC
Title: Tricked Out
Author: J.M. Snyder
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 82
Characters: Willis Moore, Corey Thomason
POV: 3rd Person
Sub-Genre: Contemporary Romance/Mystery/Crime Drama
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
Willis Moore is a detective with the Richmond City police department. A case he was involved with went down badly and he was given a month’s sabbatical to pull himself together after the death of his informant, a young man named Teabag, with whom Will had let himself become sexually involved.
Back on the force now, Will finds himself drawn to another street punk, a hustler named Corey, who seeks police assistance to protect his “boys” from a violent attacker. He and Corey work well together, and Will dares to hope their relationship might be heading toward something more. But he still can’t seem to shake the feeling he will eventually fail to protect the hustler … the same way he failed to save Tea.
Review:
Tricked Out is the story of a man who is given a second chance, not to repair past wrongs, but to atone for them. This is a story of forgiveness, about being able to forgive oneself and to heal.
Willis Moore committed the near cardinal sin of police work: he allowed himself to become intimately involved with his informant in a case that, in the end, went horribly wrong, leaving Tea dead and Willis irrevocably scarred, not physically but emotionally. After a month long sabbatical, Willis is back on the job and quickly becomes embroiled in a relationship with a hustler that smacks a bit of history repeating itself, especially when Corey Thomason’s boys start showing up battered and abused and unwilling to talk to the police.
For Willis, it’s an opportunity to redeem himself; it’s a race against time to find the perpetrator before a murder is committed, and, perhaps most important of all, it’s a chance to keep Corey safe in the way he couldn’t with Tea. The only question is how will he keep Corey from using himself as bait to catch the criminal?
Willis and Corey’s relationship was sweet and sexy, and there was plenty of action and suspense in the plot to keep me turning pages, even though J.M. Snyder allows the reader to know who the attacker is from the outset. The thrill in this story is in the cat and mouse contest to see how quickly Willis will discover and neutralize the threat before Corey becomes the victim.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Santa Vic by J.M. Snyder
25 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in J.M. Snyder, JMS Books Tags: J.M. Snyder, JMS Books LLC
Title: Santa Vic
Author: J.M. Snyder
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 42 (.pdf)
Characters: Matt di Lorenzo, Vic Braunson
POV: 3rd Person
Sub-Genre: Holiday/Contemporary
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
Vic’s boss asks him to don the Santa suit for the company’s employee family Christmas dinner — again. Vic doesn’t want to do it, but the added incentive of double his usual yearly bonus changes his mind. He knows Matt’s begun looking to buy a house, and the money would go far toward a down payment.
At the dinner, the kids love Vic. One little boy in particular, Brucey Carlson, wants to make sure Vic — or rather, Santa Vic — doesn’t forget his sister, who’s in the hospital for the holiday.
Now Vic has one more stop to make before he can return the Santa suit.
Review:
Beneath Vic Braunson’s tattooed, pierced, and buff exterior lies a gooey marshmallowy middle. Vic might look tough, but the man has a heart of gold, and it beats only for Matt di Lorenzo.
It’s Christmastime in Richmond and Vic has been asked by his boss to play Santa again at the company party. Saying no isn’t exactly an option, and the deal is sweetened just a bit by the offer of a little extra bonus, which Vic knows will go a long way toward helping achieve Matt’s dream of owning a home of their own. So, Santa Vic it is, even if it’s not the most comfortable of options.
This is the story of a man who comes to realize some truths about himself; that he has been heroic for far longer than he has had superpowers. That the gift of love is something he’s given for many Christmases but hadn’t defined it until he had the opportunity to make the holiday special for a complete stranger, a little girl who would be spending the day in the hospital.
Whether you know Vic and Matt or not, this is a sweet and heartwarming holiday story that can be read as a standalone. J.M. Snyder added just the right amount of spice, as well, to make it a sexy, sexy treat. I have to say this one made me love Vic even more than I already did, and it made me even more anxious for the next installment in the Matt & Vic series.
Reviewed By: Lisa
The V in Vigilant (Vic & Matt V Series, Book #3) by J.M. Snyder
03 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in J.M. Snyder, JMS Books Tags: J.M. Snyder, JMS Books LLC
Title: The V in Vigilant (Vic & Matt V Series, Book #3)
Author: J.M. Snyder
Publisher: JMS Books
Pages: 52
Characters: Matt diLorenzo, Vic Braunson
POV: 3rd Person
Sub-Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal/Contemporary
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
When Vic has a rough day at work, his lover Matt puts their telepathic connection to good use, tapping directly into Vic’s needs to provide some relaxing downtime at home. However their sensual massage turns to serious talk, and Matt finally asks Vic the question he’s been wrestling with for the past few months. The next day, Vic’s latest super power almost makes him call in sick. Then a disabled bus passenger is attacked, and Vic rushes to the rescue.
Review:
Fans of all things Matt and Vic ought to find plenty to love in The V in Vigilant, the continuing saga of the couple that gives new meaning to you light up my life.
Their relationship takes that all important step forward in this installment as Matt finally finds the courage, or, rather, is coerced into finally giving voice to the thoughts he’s been hiding from his lover for weeks. Romantic and sexy is what Matt and Vic have always done very well. Add to that the challenges of Vic’s powers that find him the reluctant hero, once again, and you’ve got the recipe for another entertaining addition to J.M. Snyder’s fantasy series.
If you’ve been following these men from the start, add this one to your reading queue. It’s well worth it.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Devilish Good Time by J. M. Snyder
21 Nov 2011 1 Comment
in J.M. Snyder, JMS Books Tags: J.M. Snyder, JMS Books LLC
Title: Devilish Good Time
Author: J.M. Snyder
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 23
Characters: Jacob, Bobby
POV: 1st Person
Sub-Genre: Paranormal/Contemporary
Kisses: 4.5
Blurb:
Against his better judgment, Jacob goes to a Halloween party on campus where he runs into Bobby, a jock on the crew team he’s been eyeing for a while. Problem is, guys like Bobby don’t usually go for guys like Jacob.
Once they ditch Bobby’s roommate and his girlfriend to find a little quiet time in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, it seems Bobby only has eyes for Jacob. But their tryst is soon interrupted. All those tales and legends about the Jersey Devil are just talk, right?
Review:
The Jersey Devil is back for round two in Devilish Good Time, the stand-alone companion to Devil of a Night, the terror-ific, pulse racing horror story of an unborn child damned by his mother, who goes on to menace Pine Barrens with his evil presence. Is the Devil only legend? Or is he real, patiently laying in wait to claim his next victim? Close calls and taut, suspenseful storytelling kept me on the edge of my seat, dying to find out.
This is a story that begins playfully enough, draws the reader into the “let’s tell scary stories” atmosphere, when four college students pile into a car, looking for a place to get busy. Nerdy film major, Jacob, and gorgeous jock, Bobby, look for a little privacy within the forest said to be haunted by the Devil himself. A healthy dose of skepticism makes for a false sense of comfort, but the boys quickly find out the things that go bump in the night can shred that fragile confidence to pieces.
J.M. Snyder had my heart racing just a bit with this one. If you like spooky tales of the weird and unusual, give this one a try.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Wanted by J.M. Snyder
05 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in J.M. Snyder, JMS Books Tags: J.M. Snyder, JMS Books LLC
Title: Wanted
Author: J.M. Snyder
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 55
Characters: Jesse McCray, Ethan Phillips
POV: 3rd Person
Sub-Genre: Historical/Western/Erotica
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
Jesse McCray ekes out a hard living cutting cattle from the local beef baron of Defiance, Texas. He’s known for his quick draw and his steady aim; no one outguns him. Whenever he and his ragtag group of friends known as the Rustlers ride into town, the local cowboys hold their breaths, waiting for the men to ride through. But one evening, while playing faro at Billy’s Saloon, Jesse’s attention is drawn to a new face in the crowd.
Ethan Phillips is an idealistic tenderfoot from back East, passing through Defiance on his way to the California coast. He’s heard tales of the gold that enriches the west coast, and he’s looking for a way to make his dreams come true. When his horse pulls up lame, he offers to sing for the cowboys of Billy’s Saloon to earn a few coins, but the men jeer at his song until a man in black quiets them. With one look into Jesse’s dark eyes, Ethan finds himself falling for the man.
Ethan’s horse heals but he stays in Defiance, enamored by his outlaw lover. But the cattle baron has a grudge against one of Jesse’s outlaw friends, and a gunfight in Billy’s Saloon puts a price on the Rustlers’ heads. Can Jesse protect Ethan from the lawmen gunning for him and his friends?
Review:
There was a breed of lawless men in the Old West, men who lived by their own rules, saw what they wanted and took it, and lived and died by the luck of the draw. The Rustlers are such men, cattle rustlers who’ve carved out a reputation for being very good at what they do, and made an enemy of Newell Sutton, the cattle baron who’s placed a bounty on the heads of the Rustlers, marking them as wanted men.
Billy’s saloon sees its share of cowboys and outlaws, sees plenty of short fuses lit with a little help from the liquid courage the bartender serves. Jesse McCray spends his share of time there with his gang, playing cards and keeping a wary lookout for the hunters who’d love nothing more than to profit from their deaths, trying to stay one step ahead of a bullet.
When a stranger walks into the saloon, young, an obvious tenderfoot who’s just passing through on his way out West, where the streets are paved with gold, he captures Jesse’s attention. Ethan Phillips’ horse has come up lame, leaving him stranded in Defiance, Texas and looking for a way to make some quick money, which he does, playing the piano and singing for tips.
Jesse and Ethan fall into a romance that is based partly in urgency and partly in the uncertainty of what may come between them, especially when one of them is targeted for death. The spark that ignites between them marks them both as wanted men, but vengeance and greed are two very real threats that might tear them apart almost before they’ve begun.
Wanted is a good old fashioned gun-slinging Western romance, with plenty of suspense to keep me worrying all the way to the very end over how the story would play out. While the relationship between Jesse and Ethan is a bit rushed, there’s a certain sense of romanticism to the idea of the attraction between the naïve tenderfoot and the hardened desperado. I’d have loved for J.M. Snyder to have taken this one a bit further, but what is there is a true adventure.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Bounty of the Heart by J.M. Snyder
01 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in authors, J.M. Snyder, JMS Books, publishers Tags: J.M. Snyder, JMS Books LLC
Title: Bounty of the Heart
Author: J.M. Snyder
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Pages: 55 (.pdf)
Characters: Emmett Ward, Jack Robison
POV: 3rd Person
Sub-Genre: Historical
Kisses: 4
Blurb:
For seven years, Emmett Ward has harbored amorous feelings toward his partner, Jack Robison. A chance encounter brought them together—Emmett slaved in an illegal warehouse run by a Korean criminal known as the Dragon Lady, when Jack, a notorious bounty hunter with his sights set on her son Lin Ji, was captured. Emmett helped Jack escape in return for his own freedom. They’ve been together ever since, but Emmett aches for so much more than their platonic partnership.
A new bounty has been placed on Lin Ji’s head, sending Emmett and Jack to the wilds of Alaska, where they hope to take out the crime lord during an annual dog-sled race. As they near their target, they run into Monty Becker, another hunter Jack used to know. He takes an interest in Emmett, who is drawn to the sexy, charismatic fellow despite Jack’s warnings.
Emmett is torn between the two men—Monty is more than willing to show him what he’s missing, but Jack is what his heart wants. When the three team up to take out Lin, Emmett learns more of the past Jack and Monty share, and discovers just why his partner has ignored his obvious feelings for so long.
Review:
Set against the backdrop of the rugged Alaskan wilderness, Bounty of the Heart tells the story of Emmett Ward, a young man who, at the age of twelve, was captured at sea and forced into slavery by the notorious Dragon Lady. Shackled in a cold, dark, and foul warehouse, Emmett was forced to labor for Kim Ji, processing illegal cargo in the woman’s profitable racketeering empire. For three long years, the boy suffered under the most horrific of conditions until one day, he found hope and the means to escape his imprisonment.
Bounty hunting legend, Jack Robison, has a well earned reputation for being one of the best in the business, but a bitter betrayal by his former partner, Monty Becker, left Jack entirely vulnerable to the Dragon Lady. Jack was captured while on a job and dragged to the warehouse where Emmett was being held, where he was beaten nearly to death, left lying in a pool of his own blood. It was at that moment, while Emmett was doing his best to put Jack back together again, an act for which Emmett would suffer the whip, that life for the boy would take a turn for the better.
Seven years after escaping the Dragon Lady’s clutches, Jack and Emmett are partners, successful in their own right, hunting criminals for profit, as long as the price is right. Another chance at Lin Ji, Kim Ji’s son, comes with nothing more than a note with the man’s name on it and the coordinates to Aliak, Alaska, where this journey begins and ends with a fair amount of intrigue, suspense, and action in between.
Bounty of the Heart is told from Emmett’s point of view, so the reader quickly learns of his true feelings for his partner. Jack is a harsh and cold man who has kept himself at a distance, never allowing Emmett to get too close to him, never allowing himself to get too close to Emmett. The young man’s feelings for Jack run well beyond their platonic partnership; Emmett loves the older man and wants nothing more than to be able to show Jack how he truly feels, but Emmett is pushed away, both physically and emotionally, time and time again missing the opportunity to break through Jack’s defenses.
Emmett’s heart belongs to Jack, completely, but his body is starving, hungry for the attention he’s been deprived of by the man he loves. When the betraying snake Monty Becker comes crawling out of Jack’s past to insinuate himself between Jack and Emmett, Emmett is presented with the ultimate temptation, helplessly drawn to the physical attention Monty is so willing to give, even though Jack warns Emmett the man can’t be trusted. Jack should know, and Emmett quickly learns the truth that has kept Jack isolated and aloof all those years.
Tensions run high as the three men agree to team up and split the bounty on Lin Ji, against Jack’s better judgment. When their best laid plans go terribly wrong, Jack is faced with the very real possibility of losing the one person he’s spent the past seven years trying his hardest to push away. He quickly learns that losing Emmett is too high a price to pay for allowing the past to jeopardize his chance at happiness.
Bounty of the Heart is a subtly romantic story. Emmett’s innocence and devotion to Jack lend a sweet counterpoint to Jack’s abrasive demeanor and Monty’s slick and deceptive nature. This is definitely one of those stories that I’d have loved to have seen go a little deeper into the backstories of each of the characters. As it is, though, the reader is given just enough to satisfy the longing for Jack to finally open his eyes to the gift Emmett offers so freely.
Reviewed By: Lisa
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
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
