Sara

You know, the show must go on and all that shit.I knew I would be a mess reading this book. The emotions that T.A. Webb can pull from me make it impossible to breathe. Have you tried to read an ebook on your phone while crying into your glasses that you need to be able to read? Sweet Saint Brigid!A burden shared is a burden halved. That’s what my momma used to say.This may be the shortest review I have written about a story, that is simply stunning. Told in a unique way through an interview we get the heart behind the successful drag queen Auntie Social. The easy answer won’t be given this time to the frequently asked question; this time Matthew Trammell will tell his tale -his truth- to Paul Stewart.I remember sitting there, with him, and thinking, he’s not mine.The story of Matthew and his love for his friend, his lover, Patrick was sweet, it was beautiful and it was utterly heartbreaking. Being a child of the 80′s I remember the scare of AIDS but never quite understanding it until I got older. This story brought it full circle. To be in the head of a gay man, wanting to be intimate with the man he loves but being so scared. That sex, just having sex could be a death sentence. I couldn’t breathe, that small but HUGE fact gripped my chest and from that moment on my eyes were filled with tears. I cannot even make sense of the emotions I got from this short story, being only 43 pages from cover to cover, I just felt. Yeah…I felt, I felt each word deeply and thoroughly. I am still feeling hours after finishing it.This is a bitter sweet and lovely story that I will say it is a must read. There is not much I can say or should say other than, just read it. This is another bundle of characters that are not going to leave me for sometime. I am going to go listen to Deniece Williams now and dance my ass off in honor of unrequited love, love at last, lost love and the hope of finding love again.He was my boy. No Romeo, but he was my love and one man show.

“You look like trouble,” he grinned. “When I was growing up, my mother used to tell me never to trust a redhead.” I think your mother may have been right in this case Caleb, as least when it comes to Leah.Leah; where do I start? I knew that I was going to love to hate you and hate to love you when I learned we would get your side of this story. What I did not know was the depravity you would succumb to or compassion that you would rip from me at times. Once again, Tarryn Fisher has done a complete mind fuck on me with this story; I am still not sure how I can fully explain what I read. Can I explain Leah? Can anyone really?I was beautiful. I knew that, men told me all the time and most women were jealous of me. Dirty Red is not a retelling of The Opportunist, thank goodness; it is a continuation of the story right where we left off. Do we get glimpse of what happened in the past; meeting Caleb, the amnesia and the trial, through Leah’s eyes? Of course and they are brilliant and disturbing. Just as I had hoped they would be.“What is this? What is Dirty Red doing here?”I am who I am. My name is Leah, and I will do anything to keep my husband. Um yeah, will she ever! I knew that Leah was a bit nutty having met her before, but being inside her head was like a train coming at me head on and no matter how much I screamed at my limbs to move the wouldn’t obey. We get so many sides to this sultry, seductive and secretive redhead. From the first page she is selfish beyond belief. I swear I had to take medication to ease the TMJ pain from my jaw hanging open for at least 99.86% of this book. I am still shaking my head at the things that are done. I mean, come on Leah, can you honestly go through life thinking this way and doing the things you do?You’re so selfish. I'm sick of your drama. There are times that I felt for this woman, us redheads have to bond at some point right? I suppose I could attempt to give Leah half of the souls I have been accused of taking and I still think she would end up rather soulless. So what would be the point? The point is that everyone has a story; everyone has a reason for being, a reason TO BE, and a moment, that singular something that shapes their life and molds them into the person they become. Poor Leah, we get this with her chapters in the past. I wanted to hug this damn woman from the time she was 8yrs old, to trying to fit in at the slumber party to the moment she realizes she is in love with Caleb and the moments of clarity and semi-redemption that follow.Love is illogical. You fall into it like a manhole. Then you’re just stuck. You die in love more than you live in love. Oh this book! Ugh. It’s fantastic, it’s maddening, it’s frustrating and it’s not the end. Nope, we still get to hear from good old Caleb in the next book. That boy has some ‘splaining to do to this redhead. What in the world was he thinking? What have any of them been thinking? I mentioned in my review of The Opportunist you never quite figured out who it was, just which one of them was the true opportunist taking advantage of who with the lies and the deceit, you still don’t know. I still don’t know but I need to know. Goodness me.“What else are you not telling me?”“Probably the same amount of stuff you’re not telling me.”Leah, you are one bat shit crazy lady but you did not disappoint me one bit, not for one minute, one word of this book. I went from hating you, to loving you, to wanting to punch you in the throat, to feeling so sorry for you and then you did it again! This was craziness! I can only sit on my hands and wait for the conclusion of the Love Me With Lies series. I know it will be another horizontal mambo of my brain that won’t begin with an ounce of foreplay. This series likes to have a go with you and make it rough. I just hope we finally get the truth from our Thief.Human eyes are the sing language of the brain. If you watch them carefully, you can see the truth played out.

Rating: 3.5 starsCaleb, where do I begin? I met Caleb on one of the hottest days of 2012, July 4th to be exact; a day of BBQ’s and family togetherness to celebrate our countries independence. I peeked in on him in Captive in the Dark just to see that the story loaded correctly and after a few paragraphs was hooked. His mind, his beautiful fucked up mind as he stalked a young girl waiting for her bus, deciding on when he would take her enthralled me, I became his captive at that moment. Which moment to be exact? I fell for him when he “saved” Livvie on the street. Those eyes got me. I kept reading, not knowing if I hated him or felt something for him. I read Captive that day, forgetting about food that needed to be made, showers that needed to be taken, kids that needed wrangling or trips that I needed to be a chauffeur for, I just read. I had to stop at a crucial point to make our trip and a case of voluntary tourettes erupted from me with my tick being the repetitive use of the word “fuck” and “he’s gonna be so pissed when he finds her!” Once I arrived at our destination, I sat down to finish the story. After that last page I looked up the second book, found there was a Kickstarter project for it and promptly pledged my money to get Seduced in the Dark published. I needed that book. I became part of a great group (you know you who are..meow!) of readers who all had one goal; we needed the rest of the story.When my physical copy of Seduced in the Dark arrived in the mail, I was afraid to touch it but of course had to open it to read the autograph which made me giggle and hug my book. I turned the page to the prologue; those few lines from Caleb had me instantly in tears. I was terrified, anxious and just a mess worrying about what would happen. See, I had read the first chapter of Seduced before and it turned me into Rain Man wondering what the hell was going on. Why was Livvie that way saying Caleb was WHAT? I had no idea where Seduced would take me and I was thankful for my support group when I finally submitted and gave into reading it. I was so lost in this story, so IN the story with Caleb and Livvie that everything stopped while I was reading it. Sleep did not matter, just those words on the page did. There was a moment, at the end of chapter 15 where I was so distraught and sobbing that my husband had to hold me a good 20 minutes before I could calm down, and then that end? That epilogue? It was beautiful and perfect; a total package in two books that I adored and loved. The image of Livvie asleep at Caleb’s feet while he finally read her story is engraved in my mind.A few months back, the wickedly fabulous CJ put a few lines out there from Caleb’s POV. Say what? Didn’t we already have the end of the story? What was this? A new Epilogue? We got one at the end of Seduced in the Dark and I loved it. I cried over it and I savored what we got. I was torn on if I wanted this version or not. I loved what was put out there but Seduced had wrung me out and strung me out on the biggest book hangover that I was unsure I could handle anymore. What WAS this going to be? The end but told via Caleb; but we got the epilogue in Caleb’s POV already. Trusting Ms. Roberts I went in with new eyes, let’s see what happened from the time Livvie meets Caleb at the Paseo to the end of Seduced where she is at his knee while he reads her version of the story.What we get is a NEW Epilogue, a new version of what happened told by Caleb. Is he Caleb or is he James that told us briefly what went on after he watched Livvie run from the café when she read his note?I’d been called Caleb most of my life, and were it not for Livvie, the name would be lost to me. Caleb had done horrible things – he’d been a monster – but he’d also allowed James to survive. Caleb deserved to live. I could be both men. I am both men. This, this is not the same story we got in the epilogue of Seduced, this is retold, reworked and reignited. Caleb and Livvie find each other again after a year apart. What the hell are they going to do? How do you move on from him leaving her in Mexico after she told him she loved him? Can they move on? Well, we know they do from Seduced but HOW they move on is the question. It’s a good thing Caleb has become chatty as of late isn’t it? With this new found talkative Caleb, Livvie is full of questions for him.“Ask me anything you really want to know. But only if you think you can handle the answer.”I can handle it, can you? Do you want to know the truth? YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH! Sorry, I need a stress reliever after reading this.Is this the story I wanted to read, the way I wanted to see Caleb/James and Livvie /Sophia. I am still unsure about that. For me, the epilogue in Seduced was beautiful, it was gorgeous and it was perfect. That image is engraved in my head, my heart and my soul. It cannot be replaced for me, ever. I don’t know that I needed more but I got it. I will say there are bits of further redemption via Caleb that I really liked, I liked his playful side as he grew into James and left the harsher side of Caleb behind. Not too far behind, he is Caleb after all.My final thoughts on this book I will leave to Caleb himself since it’s all about him and he does say it best…How can anyone understand what love is without experiencing it? It would be like trying to describe color to a blind man. Some things you have to see for yourself. To understand love, you have to feel it for yourself. Will this be the story you want, the ending you want for Caleb and Livvie? You will just have to find that out yourself. ~A word from CJ:~ I always planned for this story to be told in two parts. Well, one part, but then it just got bigger than me. LOL! Did I have my fears about writing Epilogue? Yes. However, the blank page has always been my canvas and my place to express myself. This time I expressed myself through Caleb. He’s grown as a character as much as I have as a person over the years. Whether or not everyone is going to love this new epilogue is a question only the readers can answer. For my part, I’ve cried and said my goodbyes. I’m always a little sad when an avid fan of the Dark Duet doesn’t enjoy part of a story. However, I have always prided myself on the fact this series BEGS for open discussion, dissention, and debate. I don’t expect my fans to be mindless drones, nodding their heads, and telling me every word I write is brilliant. For this reason, I love this review. I still love you, Red.***ARC provided by the author for an honest review.***

“Strong enough themselves to weather the storm that was largely their own brewing, they turned loose and plundered the wrecks that floated about them.” ~Jack London, The Iron Heel Never has a quote been truer for the story of Jonathan and Bran. I honestly think the authors did a fantastic job of mind fucking me until I was in sub space with [b: Resistance|13484184|Power Play Resistance (Power Play, #1)|Rachel Haimowitz|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329195964s/13484184.jpg|19019159] and then sensually stroking me until I submitted on my knees in perfect posture with Awakening. This, THIS is the story I wanted!"You’re too smart not to learn from your mistakes, Brandon, so why are you here?" "Because you’re too smart not to learn from your mistakes, Jonathan." Bran is back, he has come back to Jonathan. Unable to deal with what he has endured at the hands of the sadistic Dom and unable to deal without it the week he has been away. The duo reunite and realize what went wrong…they lacked some serious communication. Well boys, I don’t like to rub it in but, I told you so! I am going to toss this out there right away; that quote up there at the top, that is the perfect way to describe reading the first book. It was tough, it pissed me off and made me rant about it for at least 1,000 words but it was necessary. You had to get through the dark, the hurt, the pain, the shit ton of misunderstandings to the point where I was yelling at fictional characters to understand the beauty of Awakening. Ugh, what brilliant titles for these books, it describes exactly what is written on the pages. So, Bran is back and he and Jonathan are going to resume their relationship but try harder with the whole talking deal and honesty. What happens that first night just had me in awe. The change in both men was amazing. Jonathan became the man I wanted him to be in book one, my sadistic Dom with a side of morality. Yeah, it only took a few pages for the ice around my heart to melt for him. He wants Brandon so much that he knows he screwed up and is willing to work at this. To take it slow and to make sure that he not only gets what he needs but gives Brandon what he needs as well as teaching him. I suppose I could threaten to beat him. There were better – if perhaps less fun – ways to instruct the man. Especially now that he’d come to understand just how much Brandon had to learn – not only about being a submissive, but being, well, himself. Oh Jonathan. You made me so mad but you, Sir, turned me into one big pile of gooey mush more times than I care to admit. I am sure I could count each time if I tallied up the highlights with just you in them but I won’t. I can’t be that creepy, can I? Maybe? The way you cared and took care of Brandon this time around was breathtaking. The explanation of each scene was what I wanted. You did it for me right? The scenes were so brutal but beautiful and the praise was heart wrenching that yes, I got choked up at that first BJ out of the cage. How could I not? You gave so much with just a simple gesture. You listened and learned who Brandon really was and what he needed. The coaching, the teaching…have I said that before? I think I have gone all floaty thinking about you. Dammit. “Don’t you know by now, that I will never let you fall?”“I know Jonathan, but…what if you don’t catch me in time?”“I will catch you. And until you believe it, I suppose you’ll simply have to take it on faith.”Bran…Bran…Bran. You came back to Jonathan and I was scared for you. That first chat had me on edge but seeing you transform was again, beautiful. The strength and courage you had to learn to trust, to trust Jonathan that he could take care of you with simple things as feeding you to making sure you came out of each scene. I knew my heart was with you in Resistance but you dragged my head into this one. The submission, YOUR submission was transcendent. The fight against submitting was turned into the fight against what controlled you from the inside, the nagging destructive voices and with the skill, patience and yes love of Jonathan, you blew my mind. But Jonathan believed he could do it. And if Bran had learned one thing, it was to listen to the man. To trust him. Jonathan had never once asked something of Bran that he hadn’t turned out to be capable of giving, no matter how much Bran may have doubted it at the start. This book, I am in love with it. I still have strong feelings about where Resistance took me and I stand by what I said. I have never been so mad at a book yet wanted to read the next one the way I have done with Power Play. I am beyond pleased with the turnabout of Jonathan and Bran’s story. This really was an Awakening; not only for the boys but for me as well. It felt as if this was not a sequel but a rewind, reboot and relive the way it was supposed to be. The way Jonathan and Bran learned to trust one another, either in the dungeon with or without guests, up at Big Sur (some of my favorite moments, the beach with s’mores…sigh) on that discovery of a trip and in the Epilogue, I was enamored, entranced and enchanted through each page and when the last one was turned, I was sad it was over. “So what changed?”Brandon looked him dead in the eye and said simply, “You.”

Rating: 4.5 starsI am a person who gets on a genre kick. I find one that I fall in love with and immerse myself in it completely. It’s hard to come out of with my OCD but when a book comes along that takes me out of that genre and has me up until the wee hours of the morning to finish it. I dare say it’s a damn good book. I have said it before; I don’t stay up that late for just any book, even though it’s fun to tease my husband that I am up with another man. Anyway…That First Kiss was a breath of fresh air. I had the privilege of reading [b:Stranded|16125520|Stranded (Night Calls, #1)|J.C. Valentine|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351954758s/16125520.jpg|21948662],the novella before this. It’s not needed to read it first but I would recommend it for the simple pleasure of knowing Felix and Poppy’s story and getting to see them once again. So, we meet Piper Donovan as she is being interviewed for a new position, a position that can seriously make or break her current living situation. “So would you say that you work well with others?”Piper nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, yes. I haven’t met a person yet that has been able to get me riled.” Um, are you sure about that Piper? After landing a position with Bookish Temptations (that name was the only thing that bugged me about this book) Piper goes out with her girl friends to celebrate with one central goal, to get drunk and get laid. I adore that Piper is a WOMAN, she is not some little girl who is unaware or afraid of sex. Piper is an adult, living in a grown up world where she owns her sexuality and if a one night stand is what she wants it is what she is going to get and her friends will make damn sure about that. What else are best girlfriends for than to look after you wants and needs.“Seriously, if you don’t go over there and scoop up that hottie one of us will.” Sheila motioned to herself and the others. “Believe me, if you don’t want him, one of us will be more than willing to take one for the team. Besides, you need to get laid.” When Piper catches the eye of man across the dance floor she is instantly attracted but with a turn of her head he disappears, sigh, oh well the night must go on. The girls head out to burn off the drinks with a bit of dancing; Piper feels hands on her hips and gets into the bump and grind (come on...a little R. Kelly never hurt anyone, he is still trapped in the closet after all) and upon a spin she comes face to face with HIM! The man had two perfect dimples that she had the urge to lick. She didn’t of course, because that would be creepy, but she could do whatever she wanted in her mind, and she was licking his face like it was the last creamsicle on the planet. Well now. I do declare! Our feisty Piper heads off for a bit of fun with Mr. Sexy Dimples and ends up with an altering kiss at the end of a little counter action…that first kiss. Oh boy. As Piper heads into work for her first day she is ready to take on the ego inflated author who blows through assistants as fast as Charlie Sheen blows through brain cells. Oh no, say it ain’t so…her new “second boss” the one she has to work side by side closely with is none other than Mr. Sexy Dimples himself, aka Tate Larson. Poor Piper, if it wasn’t bad enough to see a one night stand in the broad daylight to have it be this man? Oh I felt for her, I did. The relationship between Piper and Tate is strained to say the least. He is well, Tate and pretty much an ass and she is Piper just trying to do her best to keep her job and her head above water. What doesn’t help is the sexual tension between these two. Piper wants Tate but won’t give in. Tate wants Piper but won’t give in…they drove me nuts most of the time but had some of the funniest scenes and goodness there were a few instances where I had to kick my foot out of the covers to cool off they got so damn hot. It’s been a while since a standard romance could do that to me. Thank you Ms. Valentine for allowing me to have faith in this genre again, I had thought it long gone. The problem was – and if she was being completely honest with herself – as much as she detested Tate Larson, she was finding it more and more difficult every day to say no to him. Tate Larson was going to be the death of her, but oh what a way to die. Mr. Tate Larson, you are one head strong man with a tongue of gold. Some of the things that come out of your mouth make it justifiable to slap you silly but then you come out with these words, these oh so sexy words that had me melting. “What are you doing?” Piper flattened herself against the door as Tate tilted his head toward her. “Thinking,” he said distracted. “About what?” Her heart pounded and she was finding it harder to breathe. His lips whispered across hers. “Kissing you.” He dragged his lips down the slope of her jaw to her neck. “Tasting you.” When he reached the curve of her shoulder his hand dipped between her legs and cupped her. “Fucking you,” he whispered…Um...yeah. What was I saying? Oh yes, Tate and that filthy, deletacable mouth of his. Yeah, that was just one of the reasons I fell for that man. This is one of the others, just one.Damn, but her smile was fucking gorgeous. Just seeing her smile caused his own to stretch across his face and his worries to disappear as if they had never existed. Watching these two fight their attraction, then give in, then fight it again only to give in AGAIN (ahem - Las Vegas hotel room - just saying.) was a great ride that I would gladly take again. Piper and Tate are a match made in frustrating heaven but seeing them grow in their relationship was so much fun. There really is a match out there for everyone even if they drive you nuts and no, I am not talking about stage five clinger nuts, Sheila. That First Kiss was a fun read, a book you can curl up and get lost in, smile at, gush over, fawn over and route for the couple to finally get it together so they can BE together. I simply adored this story; this boy meets girl have a one night stand and are thrust together by fate. Sounds cliché but the author does a great job of telling a sweet and sexy love story of two stubborn as hell individuals who finally give into what they want. ARC and review copy provided by the author.

I thought what I needed was time to process this book but no amount of time will do that. I am shaking my head just thinking about what I read and debating on how to rate this utter mind fuck. This is half review/half rant complete with a few colorful words and I will warn you, here there be spoilers. Not many but consider your self warned. This story starts out simple. Boy meets boy in a bar. Boys have a bit of intense sexuality activity in the alley; boy leaves his business card just in case. Boy calls number on card, boys have a date/dinner together, share a few stories, a few smiles, some great sex and the next date leads to “become my sex slave for six months and you get everything you will need to live happily ever after.” What the ever living fuck? Now I am not a prude nor do I shy away from the genre of dark erotica or taboo. Hell, one of my favorite books happens to be a Master/Slave story but this…this is not a kinky book. This is not even “Your Kink Is Not My Kink” because the only thing that could be classified as kink was their first time having sex in a bed with the handcuffs. Anything after Bran signs Jonathan’s contract was not kink, it was abuse. Have you ever seen a wild horse be broken? This book would be the equivalent. Horses are proud, strong and stubborn. What they don’t want it to be saddled, ridden and confined to cage. Breaking a horse is beyond difficult; I have seen it done as I used to work on a ranch over the summers. Bran, he is a beautiful horse who wants that nuzzle of a hand, that soft stroke on his flank, that word of encouragement that makes him want to please. What he isn’t… is submissive. I firmly believe the man does not have a single submissive bone in his body. Not one. If he did, that month those first fucking days would not have been so difficult for him. He would not have fought so damn hard to keep control. Yes, I know that some people have a “submissive” tendency and can be taught/trained but the railing against what Jonathan wanted even when he wasn’t deserving demerits, was not that of a sub. Yes, Bran was attracted to Jonathan and wanted what he gave him but on a lighter level. Did he want it? So hard to forgive him for what he’d done, though. To forgive him for being so fucking edible all the time, even when he was a total ass, infuriating, heartless and cruel. So hard to forgive himself for wanting the little shit anyway. Maybe that’s what happened when you broke.In a relationship there has to be communication, whether it’s full on kink or plain old vanilla. You have to talk. I get that Jonathan was the big bad Dom but I honestly think if he took the time to explain more of what has going on than just simply stating “this is how it is” to Bran things might have been different. You need to talk folks. The contract, I wanted a bit more of that. What was in it? I didn’t need to see it repeatedly but I would have liked the cliff notes version of it. Bran, he isn’t submissive and if he has the tendencies they sure as fuck are not in line with a masochist. Why would Jonathan do this to him? No remorse, no feeling no nothing. Even after the talk with his friend, there wasn’t enough from Jonathan in that respect. What happened to the Jonathan from the beginning of the book; the Jonathan that was fascinated by “who” Bran was. What, Bran signs on the dotted line and Mr. Jeckle arrives? Ugh. I honestly love a good dark erotic story but this; there is a fine line between kink and abuse that I think this book teeters on. A submissive wants the control taken away from them, it’s freeing to let go and just do what you are told. Maybe not in a 24/7 relationship but in that place where it’s their role they revel in it. Revel in what it gives them and gives the Dom. It’s supposed to be a win/win situation. Bran never lets go. The times he is in “Sub Space” um, he blacked out…Sub Space my ass. I liked Jonathan in the beginning, I really thought this would be a story of sexual self discovery but this was more of “do what I say or else.” Those punishments? Not the first but when Bran wouldn’t eat; talk about hard pages to get through. Jonathan is a sadist and I do understand that, I just happen to prefer my Sadistic Dom with side of morality. "Yet, here you are." Ugh, Bran what the hell did you get yourself into? I don’t think even you really knew and the one time you actually talk to Jonathan about that it’s clear you didn’t. “Three million dollars, remember? It’s not like you didn’t know what you were signing on for? Except, he supposed, for the part where he really actually kinda hadn’t known.” The money, you kept thinking about the money and the tender side of Jonathan. “Shit. Please don’t tell me I did not just come thinking about Jonathan being tender.” I yelled at my Nook so many times, “Just fucking leave Bran, LEAVE!” You took way more than I could have and it was difficult to read. I agree with most of your assessments of Jonathan. Oh fuck the throat. Bran wanted to punch him in the fucking nuts.Good Lord this book has me twisted tighter than a chronic masturbator waiting for the confessional. Trust me, I could go on and on with what bugged me about it, what I feel and what I wanted to see done. Bottom line, there was so many misunderstandings in this story, a whole sink hole full of the communication that was lost and SHOULD have been included. Both men are so damn stubborn that neither of them was going to bend. I know I need the next book NOW, I have to see what happens and if it’s redeemable. Boys, I am not sure about that ending, about those last two scenes or what is going to happen next but I am with you for it. I need to know, I want to know and for fucks sake in the next book TALK! Now, after my rant, let me clarify the rating and yes, I did read the disclaimer provided. Why the four stars? The writing is fantastic! The story telling is superb. The words flow off the page seamlessly and even the tough scenes become a page turner. Had this book lacked in readability, I would have dnf’d it about half way through, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. Also, any book that can push my buttons this hard and make me salivate to read the next in the hopes that they prove me wrong deserves a high rating on my scale. ***And now for my kinky PSA***I do need to toss something about there, not only to this book but to many books that use BDSM; all the detail about the instruments, the stripes, the welts, the bruises, the strength of the swings with the flogger/whip/crop/cane are fantastic but folks, please don’t forget to include the After Care in there. It is just as important. I think it was mentioned slightly once in this book about a “special lotion” but when you are going at it as hard as Jonathan did with Bran, shit…help the man out to heal. That is all.Review copy provided by Riptide Publishing via NetGalley.

What can I say about this book? My thoughts are all over the place. Hello scatterbrained Sara. This was my first solo flight with Aleksandr Voinov and I am again stunned by the beauty of a story. The writing in this…sigh…it was comparable to poetry. I read the first paragraph and next line walking up my stairs as I was heading to bed, aware of the summary and prepared for the battlement of the story. As I settled in quickly to the cadence of the words I was taken aback. I backtracked up to word one and started again. Read the entire first page and then read it five more times before I moved on. I love to be sucked into a book but this? This engulfed me completely in its beautiful prose. Do I sound too swoony? Oh well, deal with it. This book, this story deserves it. I’m normally counting the empty spaces. The absences. But I never count them in his Staffel. Nobody else exists to me when he lands. Everything stops existing when he takes off, as if he takes it all with him when he goes up there, to places I’ll never see again. Felix is a mechanic, one of the “black men,” who work on the fighter planes during the war, who attends to the fighter pilots as well. One fighter pilot has caught his eye, Baldur Vogt, and Felix is secretly infatuated with the man. After a brief chat one night, a shared cigarette and an accident in which Baldur gets injured, the two men enjoy some time off the airstrip together upon Baldur’s request. What starts out as seemingly as chance to get away from it all and a simple friendship soon turns into more. The more was told slowly, slowly and beautiful careful not to rush anything. I am one who loves a good love scene, a good hot and dirty scene but there are times when you get more with less. The simple gestures and words these men share had me blushing darker than a sting of dirty words tossed onto the page. I don’t want to admit to the childish fantasies I have about him. For me, he can walk on water, dance in the clouds. I know he can’t, really, but what he can and can’t do pales into nothing when I look at him. Now of course I loved the story of Felix and Baldur coming together but what I fell for in this book beyond the poetry-esque prose…the detail. There is nothing better to me than a story that can entertain and teach at the same time. (I love it in music as well and compared this book to many early songs from The Police. As a young girl I was constantly looking up words Sting used to better understand the song.) I was intrigued by the different planes that were being flown, the German words used throughout the book and the general feel of what was happening. Whether it was intended or not, I learned a bit about Germany in 1945 from this story. It’s why it took me a few days to read it. I would read, and then visit Google and YouTube. Read and visit sites again. Again, the detail, it was amazing; the sky full of birds made of metal taking off and landing, the sounds as they performed their essential duties, I could hear it. I could feel the run of the cloth against Felix’s hands as he tries to rid them of the oil. I could…okay, I will stop there. If you can’t tell by my ramblings that I loved this story, well you never will. It was fantastic though it was short and that ending left me wanting MORE! I will just imagine what happens after that last word and trust me I have a short story in my head of how it all plays out. I needed to do it or my OCD would drive me crazy. Skybound is a story of two men finding each other amongst the chaos and destruction in a time that feels like the end of the world. This is a book that cannot be missed. That is all that needs to be said. If the world ends tomorrow, how will I go? Without ever having risked anything, or having done the one thing I can’t stop thinking about?

Do you remember that crush you had in High School? That boy or girl that you doodled your name on your folder with, dreamed about and hoped that one day you would live Happily Ever After with? So did Kimmy Turner and this is her story.We met Kay, as Kimmy is now called, returning home sooner than expected to find a not so wonderful surprise at her apartment with her soon to be ex-boyfriend. With the emotional turmoil of her grandmother’s passing and now this; Kay heads back “home” to deal with her grandmother’s house, her loss and to spend some much needed time off reflecting. Alone time is good for the soul but so is running into the ultimate crush of your youth, James Margolis, looking handsome and sexy and who is now inviting you over for some food. Great Googly Moogly the food…just saying.Told in the alternating POV’s of Kay and James we get this sweet romantic story. I was in love with James right away as we get in his head. Each of his “I want to, but I shouldn’t…yet’s” were perfect and how I would imagine a guy’s overactive brain would react to seeing Kay after all these years. It was adorable, endearing and at times damn sexy to know what he was thinking.There was no hint of the awkward girl she’d been years ago when they’d first met. She was all woman now, and it took his breath away. Kay, oh goodness she could have been me through parts of this story. Not the traveling photojournalist part of her but the part that had unrequited love with the boy of her dreams. (Small FYI. I had mine in the 6th grade and ended up marrying him 12yrs later.) Their story is sweet, sexy, passionate and comfortable. Yes, I said comfortable. I love a good romance where our main characters have a history. Sure, these two still have to go through the getting to know you NOW phase but they share a past and this isn’t a case of instant attraction, this is pent up longing for years that finally gets to be released. Thank goodness.For years James had been a dream. A richly detailed, often imagined, desperately longed for fantasy that she’d been certain would never become a reality. And now he’s real. A shiver ran through her.Now let me let out a button out of my jeans for a minute to talk about the food in this book. I swear I gained ten pounds just reading the detailed decadence of the food in James’ soon to be opened restaurant and the sexy teaching lessons of Grams recipes between our lovers. I could hear the sizzle of the onions as they hit the pan, smell the mushrooms as they were added and my mouth watered thinking about the sweetness of Cranberry Chocolate Chip Scones. Sweet St. Bridid, I need to run for a week straight, Forrest Gump style, to work of the virtual muffin top I now have. ~Thank you Ms. Stivali for the indulgence.~From first dates, walks on the beach, painting bathrooms, showers, baby sitting gone wrong, snotty ex’s and misunderstandings, the love story of James and Kay is just what I was looking for. It was the right book at the right time.Then, Again is a beautifully told love story of looking back to find your future. Both James and Kay have left for bigger and better out in the big city lights to find out what they really want, what has always been there and the one may have always been simply waiting right in their backyard.James changed everything. For the first time in her life she wanted something more than she wanted success. Him. It had always been him. ARC provided by the Author and Literati Literature Lovers

Rating: 2.5 with a slight round up to a 3I have been going back and forth on how to rate this book and how to review it. I have to say I went into it with high hopes as I was on a killer book streak with my boys. Inferno was much more cop drama than I was expecting and the first half of the book dragged for me. I did love Zack and his place in the closet (I have a soft place for boys like that), adored the few POV's we got from Claire and was curious about Dante. BUT this wasn't a book that had me turning the pages...not until 51% in where I was going to toss it on the dnf shelf did it turn itself around enough to keep me going. The story in general wasn't bad. There were a few things that had me rolling my eyes like how many times "Christ" is said by our MC's, (it was A LOT) and the use of typical British words/slang that just would not be used by adult men who live in the beach communities of Southern California (where I live). **Review Clarification: I tend to rate a book on what I can remember about it, my favorite parts, quotes etc. and I have a hard time telling this story to my friend, whom I bounce all my stories off of before reviews, without pulling out my Nook for reference.

Let me begin by stating what I loved most about this book; it took the fist genre of romance I devoured as an early teenager embarking on my hopeless romantic journey into Historical Romance and combined it with my current hopeless romantic obsession with male/male Romance. How could a girl ask for more? She couldn’t, I didn’t but I am oh so glad I picked up this gem of a story.Iain Munro has been enamored of Tavish MacIntyre for most of his young life. Tavish, having set his sites on another is unprepared for what he sees in wee Iain one day at the harvest festival.How had his shy, hero-worshipping tagalong grown so beautiful? Iain’s unrequited feelings for the soon to be Laird become a desire that neither he nor Tavish were prepared for, as one kiss in the stables turns into years of longing, stolen moments, family secrets and never enough time.“What’s got into ye?”“Ye, have my sweet Iain.” Then Tavish kissed him. When Tavish drew back, he laid his forehead against Iain’s panting. “A whole year it’s been and everyday I thought of ye. Every night, I’ve dreamed of ye. Thought of all the things I’d do if I got the change to touch ye again.”Told between the past and the present we get the men’s stories. I am one who loves a story told his way, it gives the reader an immediate glimpse into where are couple is, how they got there and just the “why” of it all. The flow between tenses was delivered flawlessly.Year after year, the men meet in hidden and bitter sweet trysts. The all too short times they get to be together tore at my heart. I loved how both men learned how to be with each other together. They way they learned how to be intimate was so sweet and tender. As the years go by, the pull of Tavish’s life, training to be the next Laird and what comes with that could be the end of their relationship and the secret relationship may not be so secret after all. What lengths will these men go to so that they can stay together?Iain fell silent and Tavish heard him swallow.“Loath as I am to say it bonny Tavish, it sounds as though ye need a wife.”Tavish cringed. “Dinnae even suggest such a thing!”“Ye have to think of it someday. Someone to help ye –““Nay,” Tavish said shortly. “I could never promise before God to worship a woman with my body. The thought makes me cold. ’Tis ye I want in my bed, wee Iain. Ye and none other.”Oh boy! That right there is what had me up until midnight or so staying up to read until I seriously fell asleep and had my Nook smack me on the head. This book was a short read but it was lovely. I loved the language and how it was used. This wasn’t a contemporary masquerading as a historical, I felt like I was transported back to Scotland. Maybe it’s my heritage, being Scottish and all or maybe it was the passionate tale of these two men (*ahem* in kilts…swoon) as they fell in love and fought for their chance to be happy with the one they want. Whatever it is, it just made this story work.For my first Historical Romance in 15yrs, this was absolutely perfect. I miss Iain and Tavish already and I hope where I left them on that last page is the start to a beautiful life.

I am at a loss how to review this book. I have gone back over many of my favorite scenes at least a half dozen times since I finished it three days ago. I cannot get enough of it. My thoughts are all over the place so let me see if I can even begin to formulate a review.Shattered Glass was a wonderful surprise. After reading a quote from it in a friends review (Hi Blacky!) I immediately bought it. I had high hopes that it would be funny, suck me in and give me the great feelings I have been experiencing in my current obsession with male/male romance and it did not let me down, hell the damn book was fantastic. So much more than I could have hoped for.This book was so funny, so endearing, so sweet, so special, so passionate and so perfect! I am not a fan of the first person narrative at all yet this was so brilliantly written that it did not even faze me until the end. You have to admire talent like that.We meet Austin Glass, detective with the Denver Police Department where he waits at a less than fabulous diner for his contact who could break his current case. While waiting, a set of Bunny Slippers catches his eye and he lets his gaze follow up the body of a man who Austin cannot look away from. With this, we get our first glimpse into the hilarious and endearing inner dialogue of Detective Glass.Curious about the wearer, I skipped to his face. My breath caught. Model beautiful, with thick red hair and millions of freckles, blue eyes, blue like glacial waters, like romantic poems, like heavens and…blue like romantic poems? What the ever-living fuck? Cold blue eyes. That was all I could concentrate on. Cold but captivating. I had always thought freckles went with innocence, but there was nothing innocent about those eyes. From their first “meeting” Austin become obsessed with “Bunny Slippers,” actively stalking him because he cannot get him out of his head, even while he is on his way to meet his fiancé to get fitted for his wedding tux. Yes, that is right; Austin is engaged to a woman, so why is he lustily fixated on a redheaded man in bunny slippers? That is where this story turns into a fantastic read for me.With Shattered Glass, you don’t get the “boy meets boy, boy falls for boy story,” well, you do in the fact that Austin falls for Bunny Slippers almost immediately but what you get is Austin’s struggle with “embracing the gay.” Our hero is most certainly not gay as he tells himself often enough. He has been with women for years and is engaged, so he can’t be gay, right?The story of our Detective and his Bunny Slipper wearing crush, aka Peter is high on my list of favorite couples. These two had a slow burn effect to their relationship; never quite knowing where the relationship would go or IF it would go anywhere at all, it kept me turning page after page to continue on while the laughing until I cried with chapter titles that were hysterical and set the scenes up perfectly. The amount of sharp wit in this book has me smiling and wanting to go back and read my favorite parts again.“You’re confusing,” I answered.“You stand in the doorway, clothes sticking to you like you just got out of the shower and didn’t dry off.” I hadn’t dried off actually. “Your hair is wet like it’s been raining, but it’s near ninety outside. You glare at me for a good ten minutes before you come over. Sit across from me in my booth, without an invitation. Don’t introduce yourself. Don’t say hello. You announce you’re not gay, but that I made you gay, and I am the one who is confusing you?”Ah Peter, how could I not fall in love with you? You and your secrets that come out in the oddest moments, the twists with your story and that unexplainable pull that not only has Austin a total mess but me as well, you sir are something else. Your love of family, of wanting to do what’s right and your fantastic ability to screw with Austin’s mind makes me love you unconditionally.Again, my thoughts are all over the place. There is so much in this book that needs to be read. It not only is a love story, it is as story about acceptance. Through Austin’s flash back to his teenage years we get a heart breaking tale of a friend’s “coming out.” We deal with Austin and his acceptance of who he truly is and what he ultimately wants and needs in his life to be happy and whole.“That’s a lot of blood,” I point out, wincing at the picture of dark shapes nestled in pools of blood.“It’s my interpretation of Stonewall,” says Jesse, examining my face closely.“Okay. What’s that?”“A riot that started the gay rights movement. So they didn’t have to worry about getting hassled or arrested for being gay.”“I don’t get it. Why didn’t they just stop being gay?”“Could you?”What I knew beyond a doubt, was that if I continued to deny who I was, I’d end up with my service revolver in my mouth. Shattered Glass is a wonderful story; one that had me constantly saying “WTH?” as each new twist was thrown at these men. One that had me smiling, gasping and falling in love with Peter and Austin just as fast as Austin fell for those Bunny Slippers. Laughter through tears is one of my favorite emotions and that is how I would describe me reading this book. The humor is there, it’s unavoidable with Austin, it’s his thing, but the intensity of the subject matter is not lost behind the laughs. It’s front and center and dealt with in a way that has me once again, flustered trying to review this.If I did love him, what then? Did men love each other? Was that even real? What if I loved him and he never loved me back? What if his kind of love was different?Gay love. It wasn’t the same right?Peter had righted the ground under my feet. I was normal for the first time in my life.I have been on the best book streak and I am happy that Shattered Glass is added to this list. After reading the Epilogue I am more than ready to get the second book…a kiss? Really? Bring it on!

Cai and Riley? Really? My God!

I am fortunate that I read this minutes after I finished City Knight. I bought it over lunch and realized that I left my reader at home so I sat at my desk, reading on my phone. I was so lost in this story that I tuned out an entire office of loud college students, jumped when my phone vibrated with a message and was unaware that my Vice President was standing behind me reading over my shoulder. If you haven’t read my review of City Knight and heard me gush about the writing of T.A. Webb, well that right there should prove how his words can draw you into a story.Please, please, don’t let anything bad happen to him, I will do anything. Anything. Knightmare picks up exactly where we left off in City Knight; that awful cliffhanger with Marcus scrambling and Ben, well did I mention an awful cliffhanger? Marcus is doing everything he can to find his Benjamin who has vanished leaving nothing behind but his cell phone.It was only after Benjamin came into his life, and he could breathe again without feeling the dark cloud of grief, that he’d even been really aware of how much time had passed. And how utterly alone he was. He didn’t want to go back to that place. Couldn’t go there again. He really would rather just lay down and die. The lengths that Marcus goes to so that he can find his lover, to keep him safe had my heart pounding. Talk about a wild ride and again in very few pages. This book grabs you by the collar, looks you in the eyes and says “You ready kid? Let’s go,” and just pulls you along. You don’t have a chance to breathe. You need to keep reading, to be with Marcus as he reconnects with old friends who have the connections he needs to find Ben. Old friends that I just realized have their own books (well played authors, I have gone an added them to my ebook collection) and who I cannot wait to read.Through the game of lost and found, it gives Marcus and Ben the opportunity to come to terms with their omissions, with their want of each other and what it means they can have. Marcus and the loss of his beautiful doctor and Ben with his horrible attack; these men can heal, they can love and they deserve to.But a man like Marcus, he deserved someone whole and good. How could he love damaged goods? Ben wasn’t good. But he wanted so much, he wanted to feel. To have his heart unclench and know what love felt like. Wanted to feel warmth in his chest, arms around him at night and kisses at the back of his neck. He wanted to have someone to care if he was running late because he stopped at the library and got lost in a book, Wanted someone to laugh with and cry with and grow old with. As with the first book; I can’t and won’t go into spoilers. These honestly just have to be read. It is a heart stopping, forget to breath read that has it’s very tender moments as well as some sexy scenes. You can’t throw two men together like this and not have it be hot. Come on now…Knightmare is a wonderful sequel to City Knight and even though there is one hell of a cliffhanger that had me tossing my phone across my desk with a gasp and an audible “NO!” that had numerous eyes turn toward me with concern, I cannot wait for the third book to come out so I can get more of Marcus and Ben.I have said it a few times; the writing of this author is spectacular, it is gorgeous and through the wonderful words T.A. Webb has given me, he has created a fan, an admirer and a forever reader of his works.

Can a simple midnight breakfast after a rescue change two men, can a chance meeting mend two broken souls? There are times when you pick up a book and expect to get one thing and you get another. Usually you expect a great read to be left wanting. This is not the case here at all. I had City Knight on my Nook for a bit, always intending to read it, I do love a good Rent Boy story, but last night I finally did. What I expected was a good read before bed, what I got? What I got was me in tears at 2% into the book and literally hugging myself to get through the few paragraphs of back stories for these men. 2% in…there is only one other author out there who has set me on my ass as firmly. Mr. Webb, you are in mighty fine company on my shelf.City Knight is a short read, only 50 pages in length but what the author delivers is nothing short of brilliance. You are instantly drawn into the characters of Ben and Marcus. You get to know them within a few pages; you want to know more about them, about their past that has left them broken and you want them to heal.Ben is a college student, working nights to pay his way through school. Marcus is an ex-cop, keeping a promise to make his neighborhood safe. On a cold night when things turn bad, the men meet face to face in the darkness and in each other look to find a light.I won’t go into much detail about the story, it’s too short for that and, well, I don’t do the whole spoiler deal but…Let me gush a minute about the writing of this story, it’s simply fantastic. There is no telling the reader what they are going to feel, you are sucked in from the first word and you are there. You feel it; the cold, want, hurt, loss and longing. The words flow freely off the page and into your soul. There aren’t many books that I can say that about. Sure, there are book that make you feel but to get so much emotion in very little pages…that folks is talent. I am in awe, my jaw is on the floor after reading this for a few reasons but the beauty of words strung together to make my heart race, yeah…this is a work of art.He snapped out of his reverie when a cold hand grasped his, fingers curling around his palm. Marcus looked up, surprised, into a knowing gaze. The kid’s eyes were gentle, all that hot anger and spice gone and replaced with kindness and…understanding. He let the moment stretch on, only because there was no trace of pity or sympathy and Benjamin – he couldn’t call anyone who gave him this without asking questions kid now – squeezed once more before leaning back. Marcus and Ben, their stories are heart wrenching, their meeting is special and their story is just beginning. I have to say, this is a MUST READ BOOK. Regardless of gender of the main characters, this writing is something that should not be missed.

“Where the hell have you been? You scared me, Ty. Scared me.” “I know,” Ty said still calm. “ I’m sorry I scared you. But I’m not sorry for going. You and I both know I needed it.”“I wouldn’t have stopped you,” Zane said in a more controlled tone.“I know, Zane.”“Then why the hell didn’t you wake me?”“I was afraid…I was afraid if I woke you and looked into your eyes I wouldn’t be able to go. And I had to go, Zane, I had to.” After the total heartbreak that I was left with at the end of Divide & Conquer I was more than thrilled to see my boys back together and working their issues out. Even if they are another case that will threaten their lives, they are together. I cannot stand them apart, the four days in Divide & Conquer was too much for me.Ty has gone dark on the order of Executive Assistant Director Burns and left Zane alone in Baltimore. After an urgent call from Burns, Zane is sent on a plane to back up a fellow agent on a case. What a wonderful surprise for both boys to walk into an airport and find out they will be working together; after Zane’s revelation and admission they NEED to be together.The assignment; get foreign national and former CIA operative,Julian Cross to Washington DC. What could be so hard about that job? Have you met Julian Cross? I have and I know what is capable of and what he will do for those he loves; aka Cameron Jacobs. From the minute Ty and Zane arrive at Cameron’s condo the hilarity began. The boys have their banter but this was a complete boy on boy book orgy of sexy, funny, smart men that had me grinning like a loon page after page.Special Agent B. Tyler Grady is in love with his partner, Special Agent Zane Garret and Zane has finally said those words back to his lover. The words Ty knew were there and he waited patiently to hear them. Their reunion after Ty bailed and only left a note was perfect. It gave a chance for the boys to get a few things out there and for Zane to finally give Ty that damn compass. I had been waiting for that, ( I did buy a shirt after all) and was not disappointed. Their jaunt around Chicago was so sweet, just two men in love and hanging out around town.Ty closed his eyes and allowed himself to enjoy the moment. “Come on,” he said after a few seconds of silence. “Let’s go see the sights for a few hours. Pretend it’s real.”Zane’s brow wrinkled. “Pretend what’s real?”Ty slid his hand down Zane’s arm and linked their fingers again. “That I can hold your hand without worrying about being recognized,” he said with a smile.Zane’s smile reappeared and he nodded. “Anytime you want.”Of course all too soon, they are on the job; heading to Cameron’s condo to take Julian into custody. What the boys didn’t realize is what Cam means to Jules. I loved, LOVED that I read Warrior’s Cross before this and got to meet Julian and Cameron. It was lovely to see them again, to see how Cameron has grown into himself and into his relationship with Julian. He is so confident yet still so Cameron. He had some wonderful, funny lines and his insight to simply unplug the coffee pot while the trained killers flailed about was brilliant.The twist and turns of this case kept me on my toes. I was unsure who was behind the attempts on the foursome’s life , curious if Julian would keep finding springs to undue and if Ty could come up with another Irish nickname for Julian, if Cameron could keep the egos of these men in check and if Zane would toss out another movie reference to further endear himself to me. The road trip was indeed “like National Lampoon’s Vacation, but with death, property destruction, and an Irish accent,” but it was never boring. With Ty and Julian at each other’s throats how could it be?As the gang tries to stay alive they have to seek out help and who better to help out a Grady than a Grady right? That is all I am going to say about that, it just has to be read but I did do a Snoopy Dance I my head when it happened. I do have to toss something, rather someone, in there that I loved in this book… Nick fucking O’Flaherty. Oh my, this tough talking, boat driving, gun wielding Irishman is fantastic. I wanted to punch him in Divide & Conquer but I fell for him instead. Nice job on turning my card Nick. The confessions he lays out in this book had me a mess as I read it at work. Oh man, I cannot wait to get more of Nick.With what I call classic Ty and Zane, Armed & Dangerous comes with the near death experiences, the funny one-liners, the sexy scenes, the tender moments between Ty and Zane with a few side bars of Jules and Cam and a whole road trip of fun. Pure and simple, this series is nothing but fun with a body count of insanity. I could go ahead and say this is my new favorite of the Cut & Run series but that would be a lie; each book is my favorite. I have never wanted to keep reading a series so much and hold off on the same time. The patience to begin the next book is my version of Ty and Zane foreplay.I have said it before, this series keeps getting better. Though the departure of Ms. Urban was sad to read about, I am amazed at what Ms. Roux has pulled off. This read wonderfully, the story of Ty Grady and Zane Garrett could not be told in one book. Their personalities wouldn’t allow it. I love the build of their relationship, watching them grow and change is one hell of a ride I am more than happy I finally decided to jump on.“Can you take more?”“Yeah, I’m really getting to like this whole slow burn thing.” ******Hopping up on my semi-soapbox for a minute******What absolutely killed me about this book what has my mind spinning and my heart aching? The longing that Ty and Zane just want to be together, to be with the person they love, to just be OUT together. I can’t get the scene in the airport out of my head; thinking of any same sex couple (or any two people for that matter) reuniting after time apart and NOT being able to show affection out of fear. Yes, I know how the boys handled it, but the angst that I felt for them, about any one not being able to show affection for those they loved broke my heart. The longing of wanting to show the world that you found love, that you are loved, but not able to show it again for various reasons? That just tears at my heart strings like nothing else. Though Ty and Zane are fictional characters “The ones who look at us like we offend them. Those are the ones I’d like to deck.” Yeah, I would like to deck them too Ty. Go hug and kiss my/your boy Zane for me.

Good Lord! I am glad I grabbed a glass of wine before I started this. Love the boys so passionate and in love they can't keep their hands off each other. What a great little sexy short. “I smell like undercover,” Ty warned as he shrugged out of the jacket. Zane ran his hand through Ty’s unruly hair. “It’s okay. The smell of undercover Ty turns me on.”