novella

American Christmas: A Multicultural Christmas Romance (Dreamers) by Adriana Herrera: New Release Review

November 29, 2020 by Denise

Denpo Myint “Yin” Thuta is living the dream. His dream. A good job, higher education, supportive community and, best of all, his live-in boyfriend, Ari. Yin has his happily-ever-after…if only he and Ari could take the time to actually enjoy it. With the holidays fast approaching, Yin’s determined to change all that and surprise Ari with an over-the-top gift that will leave him in no doubt how much he’s loved—even though they agreed to keep things simple this year.

Like Yin, Aristide “Ari” Douniama worked so hard to secure his future that he may have forgotten how to enjoy his present. Despite there being plenty to be thankful for in the moment. With big plans of his own in the works to surprise Yin, Ari may or may not have gone overboard. Or forgotten to check their respective schedules.

’Tis the season of giving, and in their quest to celebrate the “perfect” American Christmas—and failing—Ari and Yin get a much-needed reminder that they already have the greatest gift of all: each other.

Amazon

Dreamers

Book 1: American Dreamer

Book 2: American Fairytale

Book 3: American Love Story

Book 4: American Sweethearts

Full disclosure. I didn’t read the first four books when I read this one. In fact, I didn’t know this was part of a series when I grabbed this. I just went in blind, but who could resist that sweet cover? I had to read it. 🙂

Since this novella is book 5, of course I was a little behind. That being said, the author did a great job of making it a very stand alone story. Characters from what I believe are the first four books make their way into the story…and in fact come through in a big way for this sweet, loving couple.

These two young men definitely had it very rough in their early years, but the love that they developed for each other over a long friendship spilled into their romantic relationship and created a strong bond. All they wanted to do was create a life with each other, and make the other man happy. Their misunderstanding was sweet and the reader just wanted to hug everyone when all was done.

They were already working on their fairy tale happy ending, while their friends helped to bring it to fruition for Christmas. Enjoyed this holiday follow up to a couple I hadn’t read, but definitely want to go back and read their story.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Loving Logan (Writing Our Love Novella Book 4) by Sammi Cee: Quick Review

August 21, 2020 by Denise

Logan’s life changed forever six months ago when he lost his best friends and support system. Now it’s up to him to raise the two-year-old son they left behind.

Creed’s family teases him for being a serial dater, but that’s because he refuses to settle. He’s searching for the right person to fall in love with, but no one fits—until he meets the tattooed giant behind the bar.

Logan may look like a tough guy, but he has a shy, vulnerable side that sparks protective instincts Creed didn’t even know he had.

When Creed pursues Logan full stop, will the other man’s insecurities get in the way or will Creed get the love he’s always longed for?

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Super sweet romance about a single man raising his 2 year old nephew and a man who up until now hasn’t been able to make any relationship stick.

Logan is still reeling after losing his cousin and his wife, trying to pick up the pieces and raise his 2 year old nephew. Just going through the motions; working as a bartender during the day and spending every second he can with Jakey trying to keep his life as close to normal as possible.

When Logan fills in at the spur of the moment for an evening shift at work he meets Creed. Hot, successful, personable Creed. The exact opposite of the way Logan sees himself. Creed is enamored at first sight and asks Logan out for coffee after his shift, not taking no for an answer.
The two will have to find a balance between getting to know each other and Logan’s need to be the best parent he can to Jakey. Logan soon learns that together is so much better than trying to forge his path alone.

This one is so good. There is family and romance, cute movie dates watching Finding Nemo. I really enjoyed this story. The characters were well developed, the storyline was engaging and makes me want to read it again.

5 Pieces of Eye Candy

Love Me Daddy by Elouise East: Quick Review

August 21, 2020 by Denise

Will their pasts stop them from striving for a future?

Being homeless makes finding a safe Daddy experience difficult, which is confirmed when Nathan is almost knocked out after calling out the word during a liaison. When Loren steps in to aid him, Nathan is ready to let the strong man take charge. But he won’t ask for what he really needs, not when the reaction could be so extreme.

With many failed relationships in his past, Loren yearns for the perfect boy to cherish, but it’s a fantasy in more ways than one as far as he can tell. Nathan’s vulnerability calls to his protective instincts, but he refuses to cross the line. And then he finds Nathan’s need of him is very real.
When Loren assumes control, it centres them both but as they explore their way through this new dynamic, Nathan needs to learn if he’s going to be Daddy’s good boy or Daddy’s little brat.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Cute novella about a down on his luck young man looking for a daddy and a daddy looking for a boy to call his own. Nathan has been homeless for quite so time but a small accident has Loren running to his rescue. Loren brings Nathan to his house to recover. Taking care of Nathan has all of Loren’s protective daddy instincts rising to the surface. Nathan has never been so looked after in his life. Both of them have some soul searching to do. Nathan will need to find the courage to ask for what he wants and Loren will need to trust Nathan enough to know that’s he sure about his feelings.

Great story line, the characters were well developed and interesting. The daddy/boy dynamic is just what I was looking for.

4 pieces of eye candy

Loving Logan by Sammi Cee: Blog Tour, Excerpt and New Release Review

July 16, 2020 by Denise

Logan’s life changed forever six months ago when he lost his best friends and support system. Now it’s up to him to raise the two-year-old son they left behind.

Logan may look like a tough guy, but he has a shy, vulnerable side that sparks protective instincts Creed didn’t even know he had.

When Creed pursues Logan full stop, will the other man’s insecurities get in the way or will Creed get the love he’s always longed for?

This is a sweet-as-pie standalone novella about two men and a precious little boy; no angst, just healing as they find their happily ever after—together.

Loving Logan

Writing Our Love Novella 4

Sammi Cee

M/M Contemporary Romance

Release Date: 06.26.20

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

“You don’t have to. Bobby, the other bartender, is one of the best, and if he says he’s got it, he does. I’ll be heading out shortly.”

Creed—not that I’d needed him to introduce himself, I’d caught his name hours ago—shrugged his broad shoulders and eased onto the stool. “Well, humor me. You finish what you’re doing, and I’ll walk you out.”

To hide my confusion, I lifted my lips in my best customer service smile. “Okay, well, let me know if I can get you anything else.”

He waved me off with a grin, so I went about my business cleaning glasses, wiping down the bottles, and restocking things to make the rest of Bobby’s night smoother. The whole time, Creed’s fingers flew across the screen on his phone. Every now and then, he’d groan, but otherwise, he appeared content to just wait. But why? He’d spent a lot of the night standing at the end of the bar. Where others went back and forth from their table to get their drinks, or waited on the waitress, he’d hung out and chatted with whoever happened to walk up. Based on the conversations I’d overheard, socializing and shooting-the-breeze came easily to him. Honestly, it had made the whole night easier for me. People loved to chat up their bartenders, especially the evening crowd, and talking had never been my strong suit.

If I hadn’t overheard his brother and his men—which, how cool was that? A throuple—teasing him repeatedly through the night about how fast he went through women, I’d think maybe he’d stayed to hit on me. Since that didn’t seem to be likely, I had no idea why he patiently sat there, without actually speaking to me, playing on his phone. It seemed odd. I guessed him not staying to pick me up was actually a good thing. While Creed’s spectacular body next to most of his friends had been larger with muscle, my sheer body mass and height made me considerably bigger than him. In my experience, any man with a body that showed plenty of time spent in the gym, when they pursued me, they had only one thing in mind: get held down and fucked hard by the big tattooed guy. So not m—

“You okay over there? I’m pretty sure whatever spilled, you got it.”

Creed’s amused voice interrupted my ruminating, pulling me back into the present. I glanced up at him, confused.

He pointed to the broom in my hands. “You’ve been sweeping that same spot for about five minutes.”

“Oh.”My face heated with my embarrassment. “Sorry, I guess I got lost in my head.”

Creed set his phone down on the bartop. “Penny for your thoughts.”

How. Effing. Cute. Look at that cover…
Did ya look at it?!

Fun fact about me, I’m a sucker for a hot dad story… and this one was adorable!
Logan is the gentlest giant, taking care of his nephew after losing his cousin/brother he always wanted in a motorcycle accident that also claimed his cousin-in-law, and Jakey’s mom. With a very close family, the shy tattooed giant was doing an alright job with raising his nephew and working full time as a bartender at a bar and grill…but he hadn’t had time to grieve his loss or even take a minute for himself outside of his new responsibility. That’s when he meets Creed.

I honestly don’t know what Creed does for work, it might’ve said, but I don’t remember. It’s not important though, he comes into the bar and is immediately smitten with the blushing bartender with a hulking body, covered in tattoos and a burly beard. I mean… hot right? It brings him back to the bar every day for lunch and though he’s had a boyfriend back in college, he’s stuck with women since and has never had a connection like the one he feels just being around Logan. He’s also pushy and charming and is everything that Logan needs to come out of his shell a bit, even if it is hard to put himself out there and trust Creed the way he wants to. It’s understandable with a little boy to think of.

None of that stops Creed though, he sees something in the boys that call to him and he wants to protect them and help them heal. Thankfully he has a best friend and brother and their third to get advice from, especially when it comes to handling grief and doing whats best for the two men he already cares so much about.

I’ll admit that I haven’t read Creeds brother and best friends story, as I’ve never been a fan of m/m/m, but getting to know the silly group in this story, I might go give it a try. This one was very low to no angst with a lot of supportive and loving side characters, and I loved that. I’ve gotta be emotionally stable enough for the angst and I was surprised that this had none really. It was hot and steamy and sweet and lighthearted and it was everything you need for a feel good type of read. I really hope to read more about these two, and I’m excited to see who might be next.

If you’re a judge a book by the cover kinda reader, look no further than this one. It’s just as good as the cover would have you believe. Very sweet ending as well.

FAVORITE LINE: “I am, but I’m also going to protect you and pamper you and love you so hard.” – Creed

5 pieces of eye candy

Sammi Cee was raised in a family of readers. Summer vacations consisted of a good book while sitting lakeside from as far back as she could remember. After growing up and having her own children, her appreciation of how the written word could transport you on an adventure, bring you to tears, or give you hope, took on a whole new meaning.

These days Sammi is watching her children develop into fine young ladies while doing the things she enjoys most: drinking coffee, eating chocolate, and writing her own stories.

https://linktr.ee/sammiceeauthor

The Engineer by C.S. Poe: New Release Review

June 9, 2020 by Denise

1881—Special Agent Gillian Hamilton is a magic caster with the Federal Bureau of Magic and Steam. He’s sent to Shallow Grave, Arizona, to arrest a madman engineer known as Tinkerer, who’s responsible for blowing up half of Baltimore. Gillian has handled some of the worst criminals in the Bureau’s history, so this assignment shouldn’t be a problem. But even he’s taken aback by a run-in with the country’s most infamous outlaw, Gunner the Deadly.

Gunner is also stalking Shallow Grave in search of Tinkerer, who will stop at nothing to take control of the town’s silver mines. Neither Gillian nor Gunner are willing to let Tinkerer hurt more innocent people, so they agree to a very temporary partnership.

If facing illegal magic, Gatling gun contraptions, and a wild engineer in America’s frontier wasn’t enough trouble for a city boy, Gillian must also come to terms with the reality that he’s rather fond of his partner. But even if they live through this adventure, Gillian fears there’s no chance for love between a special agent and outlaw.

Title: The Engineer

Book #: 1

Series: Magic & Steam

Author: C.S. Poe

Cover Artist: Reese Dante

Genre: Steampunk, gay romance

Release: May 28, 2020

Amazon

BookBub

Goodreads

The thing about C.S. Poe’s writing is she writes characters and storylines so different than what you might see in a “typical” contemporary romance novel that it is easy to suspend belief when it comes to the reality of a steampunk storyline.

This was a short novella, really a prelude, to what I am hoping is another fun series by this author. I love that the author always writes characters with heart, some serious flaws, and gifts that you just can’t quite imagine. This book had a lot of 1881 references, but also some references to things that would not have been available back then, and that’s what made it so fun! Steampunk can be whatever the author wants it to be, and then some. You haven’t really visualized a book until you visualize a transformer train in the streets of the Wild Wild West…just sayin…

Gillian and Gunner are going to be a fun couple, and I would guess going to keep each other on their toes.

A fun start to another anticipated series.

4 pieces of eye candy

C.S. Poe is a Lambda Literary and two-time EPIC award finalist, and a FAPA award-winning author of gay mystery, romance, and speculative fiction.

She resides in New York City, but has also called Key West and Ibaraki, Japan, home in the past. She has an affinity for all things cute and colorful and a major weakness for toys. C.S. is an avid fan of coffee, reading, and cats. She’s rescued two cats—Milo and Kasper do their best to distract her from work on a daily basis.

C.S. is an alumna of the School of Visual Arts.

Her debut novel, The Mystery of Nevermore, was published 2016.

Author Media:

| C.S. Poe’s Curious & Mysterious |

A Granted Wish by Lily Michaels: Quick Review

January 6, 2020 by Denise

A workplace romance can melt the heart of a real estate mogul Scrooge.

Over the three years Adam Meade has worked for Grant Alexander, his crush has steadily grown, until the annual holiday party, where he finally musters the courage—both actual and a touch of the liquid variety—to dare push their professional relationship in a vastly different direction. A tentative kiss ignites a blazing inferno and begins a stream of steamy hook-ups that the men soon recognize may extend into something much more than just physical.

However, nothing worth keeping is easy, and Adam will need a hefty dose of trust to avoid falling into the trap a scheming co-worker has created to destroy their new bond and allow him to salvage the Christmas of his dreams.

Reader advisory: This book contains very light threads of BDSM and reference to homophobia.

General Release Date: 19th November 2019

Genre:

CONTEMPORARY
EROTIC ROMANCE
GAY
GLBTQI
MULTICULTURAL

Amazon

Pride Publishing

I love office romances. The generally low angst, the power struggle, the hiding and secrets, and I really like the naughtiness in the office. All of those things. I need more office romance in my life!

This was a sexy little holiday novella that took the office romance and tipped it on it’s ear a bit. The boss was the one needing to be bossed around, and the PA was just the man to give it to him.

What I loved, though…it really was a romance, sweet and caring. It really wasn’t just about the office naughtiness. These two men genuinely cared about each other, and it showed in all they did.

I really liked this one! 4 pieces of eye candy