TCO Reviewer: Jennifer

Inheritance by Sean Michael: Release Day Review

January 31, 2017 by Denise

synopsis

Cash McCord’s life is pretty much perfect. He owns the family ranch, loves his work, and invites the occasional cowboy into his bed. But everything is turned upside down when his brother Jack and Jack’s wife Val are killed in a car crash, leaving behind six kids.

Cash is made guardian of the children, along with Val’s brother, Brad Rafferty—a man who couldn’t be more different from Cash if he tried. A Yankee, Brad is a video-game developer who works twelve-to-fourteen-hour days at his desk. They lock horns as soon as they set eyes on each other. Neither man is happy to have the other around, but neither is willing to give up custody of his nieces and nephews.

It’s up to these two polar opposites to keep the kids together and give them a family again. But first they’ll have to keep from killing each other.

First Edition published as Inheritance in Family Matters by Torquere Press, 2008.
Second Edition published by Torquere Press, 2013.

Title: Inheritance
Author: Sean Michael
Release Date: February 1, 2017
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 80

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Dreamspinner Press

jennifer

Ok, so I’m pretty sure Cash is the one who lost his brother Jack and Brad lost his sister Val. I kept getting who was related to whom mixed up, but by the end, I think that was it…So, both passed away in a car accident and left six children behind. I couldn’t imagine, how sad. Fortunately, they both had brothers who they wanted to care for them. They were as opposite as night and day, but it was what their siblings wanted and they didn’t want to be without the kids, so they saddled up and dealt with it as best they could. Sure… it went to blows once or twice and they fought about it quite a bit. Cash wanting to go back to his land, his farm and continue his life and Brad wanted to stay in the home the kids’ parents left to them.

Then, in the midst of arguing and fighting about where to live and when to go, they start hookin up…. Literally every few pages is hot steamy time and I’ll admit, I did start to skim after a bit….which is rare to me, because the steamy part is the best, right? I couldn’t get over the dialogue though… All the “buddies” and the “man”. I’d never call someone buddy in the middle of sex lol, maybe cuz I’m a Midwestern?? I’m not sure… It just never clicked with me though…

Once the guys finally got a routine going, Brad’s mom shows up and makes trouble. Then she makes a lot of trouble and she’s just a nasty, terrible person. Prejudice because she doesn’t feel like 2 men should raise a family and off pouting because she didn’t get asked to be the one to raise the kids, in the will….She’s just a bitter ol’ nasty woman and I was glad that in the end they took the kids away to the farm and got her out of their life. At least, that’s what I hope happened because kids being around someone like that, learning that terrible behavior…. I’da hated that for them, because they all loved their uncle’s Cash and Brad. They were good for them.

I would have liked to have seen the Granny get a little karmatic justice, but meh…. I was content with the way the things ended and of course, I love me a HEA… and everyone ended up happy and healthy and together. Can’t ask for more than that, can we?

Overall, a pretty good read…the only problems I had were my own personal preferences…they in no way took away from this story at all in any other way…Sean Michael has a knack for writing mannies and stories with kids. Can’t wait to read more!

4 pieces of eye candy for me.

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deanna review

Great story, it pulled me in from the beginning and I read it in one sitting.

Cash and Brad inherit custody of their 6 young nieces and nephews when their parents are killed in a car accident. The only stipulation to the will is that Cash and Brad raise the kids together. Cash is a rancher from Texas and Brad is a video game developer, they really don’t have a lot in common except for the kids.

Brad and Cash fumble along trying to keep the kid’s lives as normal as possible while trying to get to know each other and figure out what the future holds. Cash wants to move everyone to his ranch in Texas. Brad balks at the idea at first not wanting to uproot the kids from the only place they’ve ever know. As Cash and Brad get to know each other better they begin to build the foundation for what they hope will be a relationship that far outlasts the raising of children.

Brad’s mother tries to interfere with how he and Cash are raising the kids and Brad starts to rethink Texas. Just maybe a new start on a sprawling ranch is just what everyone needs.

This was a great read, the story was just deep enough to feel for all the characters without getting lost in the grief that might have overshadowed the story. At some points the scenes were chaotic but raising six kids will be like that and made it seem authentic.

The one strange point for me was that Brad’s sister had me been married to Cash’s brother for well over 13 years yet neither Brad nor Cash knew the other was gay. How is that possible?

The unexpected villain was grandmommy dearest. I was expecting a more climactic conclusion to the storyline. I didn’t think she would have given up where her character did in the story. I kept waiting for her to pop back up in Texas.

Overall, a very entertaining read but then again Sean Michael’s books usually are.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Perfect Catch by N.R. Walker: Quick Review

January 19, 2017 by Denise

synopsis

Calvin Lynch and Troy Hoffman have been best mates since they were fourteen years old. They’re both hard-working tradesmen, both love weekends away fishing, both gay, but have never been single at the same time. Until now.
What is supposed to be a weekend away fishing with a group of mates, changes at the last minute when friends bail out in an attempt to give Cal and Troy some alone time.
With more than just hooks on the line, can these two see what’s been right in front of them the whole time?
The Perfect Catch is a short story about falling for your best friend hook, line, and sinker.

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jennifer

Sigh…. I just love every single thing I’ve ever read by this author…

Cal and Troy have been best friends since they were teenagers. Having feelings for one another but to worried about ruining their friendship, neither of them wanted to say anything. Sure, there were times when both of them wanted to say something, but it never seemed like the right time. Now, Cal and Troy and a couple of their other friends a camping trip to just get away for a while.

Both of them are finally single at the same time and their friends use that as an excuse to get them alone together for the weekend. Seems like everyone realizes how they feel about each other, except each other…. So, at the scheming of the friends, they set off on their fishing weekend alone together.

It starts out just the same as I suspect every other trip goes; they hang out, fish, camp and all that… but then one notices the way the other looks at him and thinks, hmmm.. maybe our friends are right… They joke back and forth about hookin’ up, like guys do, but suddenly there’s a seriousness along with it… THEN, a night in the tent together proves to tempting to not try…

Of course, when they come back, some doubt and worries have things awkward for a time, but everything works out in the end; they’re too cute together not to.

I’m such a sucker for a HEA and these guys got a good one. Best friends to lovers is the best. I could have read pages and pages more about these two, and when they finally get together… shew! Hot!

4 pieces of eye candy for me 🙂

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Fire and Hail by Andrew Grey: Release Day Review

January 16, 2017 by Denise

fire synopsis

Carlisle Cops: Book Five

Brock Ferguson knew he might run into his ex-boyfriend, Vincent Geraldini, when he took his first job as a police officer in Carlisle. Vincent’s attitude during a routine traffic stop reminds Brock why their relationship didn’t last.

What Brock doesn’t expect is finding two scared children in the trunk of a Corvette. He’s also surprised to learn the kids’ mother is Vincent’s sister. But his immediate concern is the safety of the two children, Abey and Penny, and he offers to comfort and care for them when their mother is taken into custody.

Vincent is also shocked to learn what his sister has done. For the sake of the kids, he and Brock bury the hatchet—and soon find they have much more in common than they realized. With Abey and Penny’s help, they grow closer, until the four of them start to feel like a family. But Vincent’s sister and her boyfriend—an equal-opportunity jerk—could tear down everything they’re trying to build.

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Dreamspinner Press

jennifer

First, I have to say that I’m in love with this series and I really thought it would be impossible to top Donald and Carter’s story with little Alex; it was just as amazing though. I loved Brock and Vinny although Vinny was a little harder for me to get to know in the beginning…. Let’s break it down…..

Brock is a new Carslile police officer, we first see him doing traffic patrol when we start his story. It’s a pretty boring day even though he had to stop an ex that had broken his heart one summer in college. Cut to another call at the end of his shift, he sees the ex’s sister who has done something terrible…. Locked her kids in the trunk of her car while she takes a joyride in a fancy convertible with her friend. Obviously, she’s not mentally stable. Brock is the one who finds them first and they trust him, making it next to impossible for the softhearted Brock to leave them when they have to call Donald at protective services.

Turns out, Vinny hasn’t seen his nephew Abey since he was a tiny baby and has never met his niece Penny and as secretive and guarded as Vinny was when Brock knew him; he was completely different when it came to those kids. He done everything in his power to protect them from his sister and the dangerous people in her life, and there were quite a few, including one of Brock’s exes. I thought that that was a little far-fetched, who he ended up being to Abey and Penny and who he was to Brock…. Small world I guess….

As a mother myself, I couldn’t believe how selfish and self-centered the kids’ mother was and for that reason, I just couldn’t see her ever redeeming herself. The kids were much better off without her and Brock and Vinny loved them so much, even from the very beginning.

It was a long, tedious fight but everything worked out in the best way possible in the end and I loved getting to catch up with the rest of the crew, even seeing Terry and Red…. I was so happy for Terry!!! I’m so glad we, as readers got that.

Overall, this story was just another great addition to an already amazing series. I can’t wait to read more… perhaps the new guy that was briefly mentioned coming to work for Vinny? Ya just never know, but I’m really looking forward to finding out!

5 pieces of eye candy for me!

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Block and Strike by Kelly Jensen: Release Day Review

January 6, 2017 by Denise

synopsis Jacob Kendricks is three months out of prison, estranged from his daughter, and ready to get his life on track. Taking care of the bum curled up on his doorstep isn’t part of the plan. When he realizes the man has been assaulted, Jake takes him to the hospital, where he learns that Max is his downstairs neighbor… and that he could really use a friend. Keeping Max in the friend-zone would be easier if he wasn’t so damned cute.

Maxwell Wilson has been bullied for years, and the only person who ever cared lives too far away to come to his rescue. Now his upstairs neighbor is offering support. Max remains cautious, suspecting he is little more than a project for the handsome Jake. When he learns Jake has had boyfriends as well as girlfriends, Max has to reevaluate his priorities—and muster the courage to take a chance at love.

Just when a happy future is within their grasp, life knocks them back down. A devastating blow leaves Max lower than ever and Jake wrestling with regret. They both have to find the strength to stand on their own before they can stand together.

Title: Block and Strike
Author: Kelly Jensen
Release Date: January 6, 2017
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 266

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Dreamspinner Press

jennifer

Shew, this story was an emotional rollercoaster…
First, I should say that there will most likely be mild spoilers, because that’s just how I do it. So, prepare.
Jake is fresh out of jail; not wanting to mess up, not wanting to call attention to himself and only worried about himself and when he can see the daughter his ex-wife won’t let him see when he finds a drunk guy passed out on his door-step…. Only this isn’t a drunk guy passed out and covered in vomit and urine, it’s a guy so beat up and left for dead, he doesn’t even recognize that it’s the man who lives downstairs; Max.
Max is so beat down by life. Used to being shuffled around, neglected, beat up and abused; he’s just a hot mess. He flinches at his own shadow and doesn’t have any self-worth at all. He’s trying, but life just keeps on knocking him down. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time has him victim to another beating and thankfully, Jake is there to help him out, even if he does have trouble accepting.
Jake has secrets though, several of them and Max wants to run every time he finds out a new one. I’d say none of them are really terrible. I think Jake has a problem with his anger, but I can’t at all blame him a bit for any of it. In a way I even hated how he made up with the ex and the guy that sent him to prison because every bit of it was their fault. You tell a man that loves you, that your boyfriend beat you up and he DOESN’T come over and give him a taste of his own medicine, that man, isn’t a man… At least in my opinion… Had it been one of my three brothers, my dad or my husband, any man puts his hands on me; he’ll be eating his meals through a straw for the foreseeable future… So, I didn’t hold that against him and I’m glad Max didn’t either.
I loved these two together. It took a while for Max to trust and rightfully so…. then it took a bit for them to admit their attraction for one another, but once they did; I was glad it progressed the way it did. Jake was patient and understanding; he didn’t push or expect too much and you could feel how much he cared about Max from the beginning; how he does things to get him to open himself up to new things, like taking him to the dojo and helping him learn self-confidence and having him meet accepting and considerate people.
I loved Jake’s family. They were great and accepting and they took to Max with open arms; which was awesome, because his dad seemed terrible, even though we thankfully never met him and Max’s mom had passed away and that still hit him hard. I wished that he had closure on what she meant because as a mother, I’d like to think she didn’t mean what he thought she meant. I do wish his dad would have gotten the karmatic beat down that he deserved though.
I also loved that Jake called Max beautiful. Sappy but true, I felt like not only was it sweet but I felt like Max needed that. Overall, this was a pretty angsty read, not too much, but enough to have me flipping pages like crazy to see what happened next… and then I was extremely happy with the ending. I wouldn’t mind reading more about these two and their families.
4 pieces of eye candy for me.

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A Coal Miner’s Son by T.A. Chase: Release Day Review

January 4, 2017 by Denise

synopsis James Callahan is the only son of Nicholas Callahan, owner of the Willow Hollow mine in West Virginia—but he’s never considered himself any better than the miners. He’s best friends with Owain Rees, one of the miners’ kids, and he’s been attracted to Cai, Owain’s older brother, for years. James gets the feeling he might not be the only one sensing the tension between them, but Cai avoids him religiously.

Cai has been working the mine since he was sixteen. He acknowledges James is cute, but he’s grown up privileged while Cai’s family has always been working class, and Cai fears that chasm is too wide to cross. When family drama pushes them together, will Cai and James see they’re more alike than they realized?

Take a leap of faith as two men from different worlds, employer and employee, rich and poor, discover that love transcends social barriers.

States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.

Title: A Coal Miner’s Son
Author: T.A. Chase
Release Date: January 4, 2017
Category: Contemporary, States of Love
Pages: 107

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Dreamspinner Press

jennifer
Owain and James have been friends for as long as they can remember.
James’s Dad ownes the Willow Hollow mines that the little town in West Virgina sit in.
James has always had a crush on Owians brother Cai but, Cai never gave him the time of day because just like a lot of other people in the town; they thought James was like his father….

Let’s talk about James’ father. He was pompous and self-important, I didn’t care for him at all and I was glad James stood up to him about the things that we’re important.

We have other stories going on within the story; like Cai and Owain’s sister leaving her husband who was a drunk and physically violent, so they were dealing with that. That’s actually what helped Cai get over his aversion to dating the boss’s son. Then, we have their sister, who honestly, is another weird spelled name and I don’t remember it; but she’s going to school to be a doctor and the town pitches in to keep her in school, because they know she’ll come back and the town will finally have a doctor. Not many know that James is a big contributor to her though; and the rest of the town, even though they’d probably not like knowing that he buys groceries for the small town and helps them out with things they need.

He’s a genuinely nice guy and he has the means to help. I wish the town would have been more appreciative. I did like the small town feel of this story though, living in a ridiculously small town, I really enjoy the concept of the town being more like a family and everyone helping everyone. I like that Cai and James didn’t hide their relationship once they got together and for the most part people seemed accepting. I liked how James thought about the miners and their families and was good to everyone. He was truly a really nice guy.

This book is a different read than what I’m used to, but I’m glad I gave it a chance. If you’re looking for a low angst book with a “FINALLY” type of relationship lol, you’ll enjoy this book.

4 pieces of eye candy for me

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Add Love and Mix by Sean Michael: Quick Review

December 26, 2016 by Denise

synopsis Firefighter Jason “Jase” Weller and EMT Scott Bronson are living the perfect life. They work together in jobs they love, they live together, and in their downtime, they still can’t get enough of each other. It’s been six amazing years. Then on Christmas Eve, Jase’s former lover Elsa shows up with a six-year-old girl in tow. The strung-out junkie claims Kerry is Jase’s daughter and it’s his turn to care for her, and then she walks out.

Shocked at both the fact that Elsa is now a junkie and that he has a daughter he never knew about, Jase nonetheless steps up to the plate as her father and Scott offers his full support. Having an instant family comes with plenty of challenges, and the two men work to deal with sweeping changes in their lives and to make things right for Kerry.

It’s not going to be easy, and their new circumstances test them and their relationship like nothing ever has. They’ll need all the love they have for each other, and the love they discover for their daughter, to keep from breaking apart.

Title: Add Love and Mix
Author: Sean Michael
Release Date: December 26, 2016
Category: Contemporary, Holiday
Pages: 206
jennifer

I love Sean Michael’s way he writes about daddies and mannies and cute kids that you can’t help but fall in love with. This one was no different.
Jase and Scott have been partners for the last six years. They work together as emergency responders, Jase a firefighter and Scott an EMT, at the same firehouse; working the same shifts and being content just the two of them, happy, together and in love. Everything was perfect for them.
Then, an ex of Jase’s stops by and drops a huge surprise in his lap, in the form of an abused and mistreated daughter; Kerry. Her mother was awful, treated her so badly, it was heartbreaking. She spoke to her and about her in the worst way and it showed in everything Kerry done. Jase had no idea she even existed or he would have done all he could to save her, and jeeeez, had it been me, it would have weighed heavily on me, all the years that she’d been mistreated. It was incredibly sad.

Together though, Scott and Jase tried to give her normal and happy. They worked therselved to the bone to do right by her and to get her to understand that they loved her and that they weren’t going to do anything to hurt her or leave her like her mother did. Half of me expected the whole time for her mother to come back and try to get her back to sell her or something, but thankfully; she doesn’t.
It’s tough though, the guys are doing everything that they can to do what they need to do to ensure that this little girl is taken care of and safe and Scott starts to feel a little cornered, a little but like he’s doing all this stuff because he has to and I hated to see that. I could see where he was coming from especially about the marriage and the proposal at first. That would have hurt my feelings so bad. I could see where he’d feel like, just someone fitted in just because things needed to be done. That wasn’t the way it was, by no means; you can tell how much these two love each other throughout the whole thing, their chemistry and adoration they showed was apparent, but I could see where it might feel like that, due to the circumstance and timing of everything.

So, it wasn’t an easy road. Things got pretty hard for a while, luckily, they both had amazing, supportive, helpful parents who were there to help at every turn. Everyone pitched in and helped and loved Kerry the minute they met her and it didn’t take long for Kerry to turn into a happy, healthy little girl with two loving daddies and some amazing grandparents; even if she did take things out on Scott for a time. That was hard to read too, I hated it for him, especially because he had done so much and sacrificed and turned his life upside down to do everything he could for her and Jase and I’m sure it would have felt like a slap in the face.

In the end though, it all worked out. Love usually does, in the end, doesn’t it? It was an incredibly sweet, low angst, happily ended story and I wouldn’t mind reading more about this couple and their sweet little girl if another one were to happen to come out lol, but if not, it ended perfectly happy and I was pleased with the way it turned out for them.

If you like hot guys with cute kids…. Check this one out, this author does them best!

4 pieces of eye candy, from me!

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