Tag: mm romance (Page 11 of 14)

Second Hand by Marie Sexton & Heidi Cullinan

February 28, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: Marie Sexton and Heidi Cullinan are two of my favourite m/m romance authors. I’d been saving this one but after reading and loving Dirty Laundry (Tucker Springs #3 Heidi Cullinan) recently, I decided I definitely needed more Tucker Springs.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Paul Hannon moved to Tucker Springs for his girlfriend, but she’s left him with a house he can’t afford and a pantry full of useless gadgets. All Paul wants is to get back to normal, even if he’s not sure what that is anymore. When he wanders into Tucker Pawn for a gift to win her back, he meets El Rozal, pawn shop owner and all-around cynic. El Rozal doesn’t do relationships, especially not with clueless straight boys still pining for their ex. El may make his living dealing in castoffs, but that doesn’t apply to men. Still, when Paul starts clearing out his old life, pawning kitchen equipment he never wanted in the first place, El is drawn to Paul in spite of himself. Paul and El have nothing in common except a past full of disappointments. There’s no reason to believe the two of them could fit, but in El’s line of work, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. When it comes to love, El and Paul may learn that secondhand doesn’t mean second best.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I loved the slow build of the romance in this story. Told in alternating POV (first for Paul and third for El), I enjoyed getting inside the minds of both men. El was smitten right from the start and his methods of making sure Paul returned to the pawn shop amused – Paul was so oblivious to what was going on around him but El didn’t take advantage. El tells Paul late in the book that he was happy to be the one to wait around long enough for Paul to notice and I liked that El didn’t make Paul suffer for it – it was part and parcel of who Paul is and El loved him. This is very much juxtaposed with Stacey’s treatment of Paul which is ALL ABOUT HER.

Bellskis 1 & 2 by Astrid Amara

February 27, 2013 / Kaetrin

Carol of the Bellskis

Why I read it: This book (and the next) has been on my wishlist for a while and I was reminded of them again in the comments of a recent Vacuous Minx post. So I went shopping.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Paralegal Seth Bellski is tired of being the secret lover of his boss, Lars Varga, founding partner of Finch & Varga Law. So when he asks Lars to spend Hanukkah with Seth’s family at their kosher B and B in Whistler, B.C., and Lars refuses, Seth realizes he will never get his self-conscious boss out of the closet.So Seth prepares to spend his Hanukkah holiday alone in the B and B. Instead he finds himself running the place, as his aunt and uncle are missing, and seven demanding, peculiar, and danger-prone guests have arrived. To make matters worse, Lars shows up, begging forgiveness. Lars’s touches remind Seth of why he put up with his boss’s behavior in the first place. If only the words that came out of that beautiful mouth were as sweet as his kisses.But how can Seth find time to fix his broken relationship when the guests are demanding kosher, gluten-free diets, losing their pet terriers, and hitting their heads on the ice? Seth and Lars find themselves put through the paces of being a married couple, all while still broken up. But then again, if they can survive this Hanukah, maybe they’ll be singing a carol of the Bellskis.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): This fun Hannukah themed novella is told from Seth’s first person POV. Seth is a paralegal at Lars’ law firm. They’ve been together for a year but on the downlow and Seth is tired of being a dirty little secret. When Lars pulls out (har har) of a holiday to a family run B&B in Whistler for Hannukah, they break up and Seth goes alone. When he arrives his aunt and uncle are nowhere to be found, guests keep arriving (with various special requests) and Seth is beside himself. When Lars turns up (lucky he happens to be a very good non professional chef), Seth accepts (albeit with reluctance) his help so that the guests have a decent Hannukah while he tries to locate his missing relatives. In the meantime, Lars, having realised that if he doesn’t make some big changes, he’s going to lose Seth altogether, uses the holiday period to try and win Seth back and convince him Lars is a good bet.

Priceless and Fearless by Cat Grant

February 26, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read them: I received ARCs via NetGalley.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) “When love’s for sale, who really pays?”Connor Morrison is a 3-D optics pioneer, the star of the UC Berkeley physics department, and a socially inept workaholic. And with his dear friend and business partner, Steve Campbell, handling their investors, he’s content to remain in the shadows. That is, until he meets the gorgeous and starry-eyed physics student Wes Martin.Wes is brilliant but broke. Ever since his scholarship fell victim to the financial crisis, he’s had no choice but to sell his body to stay in school. Already half in love with Connor, Wes initially resists Steve’s offer to be Connor’s thirty-fifth birthday present. But in the end, Wes is too broke–and too smitten–to say no.Connor has no idea Steve bought Wes’s attentions, and he quickly falls under the young man’s spell. Yet after one night together, Wes disappears. He can’t bear to hook with a man he could so easily grow to love, but he also can’t bear to tell him the truth. Besides, if he sleeps with Connor again, there’d be no way to hide the bruises one of his regular johns loves to inflict. Only one thing to do: let Connor go. Walking away is painful, but not nearly as much as building a relationship on lies.

Warning: Some non consensual sexual activity – by a client of Wes’s (not Connor).

What worked for me (and what didn’t): This story was part of Riptide Rentboys: The 2012 Collection. I had only read the Anne Brook novella, Where You Hurt The Most but went back and pulled this one up after reading the blurb for Fearless

By His Rules by JA Rock

February 23, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: Sarah Frantz recommended this to me during a discussion of BDSM in romance fiction on Twitter. I bought it during the recent Valentine’s Day sale at ARe (50% rebate FTW!).

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Aiden Cole can be anything men want—naughty schoolboy, palace slave, virgin twink, or slutty secretary. He’s a gifted actor with a gorgeous body who gives legendary head. Aiden could have his pick of any Top in the local leather bar, but is drawn to Scott Runge—a cruel, sexy Dom who pushes Aiden to his limits, allowing Aiden to experience the excitement and danger of the BDSM lifestyle to a degree he never has before. But when Scott goes too far, injuring Aiden, Aiden withdraws from the BDSM scene completely. Until he meets Keaton Hughes.Keaton’s looking for something he can’t find in any dungeon: A domestic discipline relationship, in which he can provide his partner with guidance, support, and loving discipline. When Keaton takes Aiden in after Aiden’s traumatic encounter with Scott, he vows not to pursue any sort of relationship with the troubled sub. But as Aiden struggles to overcome the damage Scott has done and get his life back on track, Keaton’s rules might be just what he needs.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I confess I had not read the blurb until I cut and pasted it here just now. I picked that Keaton would be the other hero and was kind of thrown when Aiden takes off with Scott instead. Their interaction made me vaguely uncomfortable – it was only as the ‘relationship’ progressed that it became clear to me that it was abusive and dysfunctional. By the end, Scott was firmly in the BBD (badly behaving Dom) category. (Although, I think, by the end, he was realising that he was screwed up and I wonder if the author will try to redeem him in a future book?).

Sacred Hearts by Dev Bentham

February 19, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I received a review copy from the author.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Life’s a gamble–and lately David Schwartz’s partner has been losing so much that David must close their restaurant, the hippest little place in Portland. He sells everything and moves back home, but at thirty-five, he’s not eager to sleep alone in his childhood bedroom or to be supported by his father for the second time in his adult life.David’s had enough. He needs to start over, maybe with someone like the elusive man he’s been seeing in his dreams. An old friend offers him a job catering a movie set in Puerto Vallarta. It’s been years since David’s alcoholism spun out of control along the highways of Mexico. Determined to experience Mexico sober, he stuffs his few remaining possessions in a backpack and takes the next flight down.As Mexico prepares for Christmas, David lights Hanukkah candles, celebrating the return of the sun and wishing for true love. On the first night of Hanukkah, David meets a tall, dark stranger who rocks his world in a secluded moonlit cove. Is this the mystery man of his dreams–the answer to David’s prayers? And what must David sacrifice to make his dreams come true?

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I liked David very much and, over the course of the book, felt I got to know him fairly well. David is a recovering alcoholic and as he deals with his breakup with Rick and the demise of his restaurant because of Rick’s actions, as he travels for work to Mexico and deals with old trauma, I very much admired how he clung to his sobriety. How he found AA meetings and went to them, how he reached out and throught through his actions to keep him from drinking, no matter the significant temptations. There was a clarity to David’s breakup with Rick and even though he lost virtually everything, it came across as freeing rather than a complete failure.

Dirty Laundry by Heidi Cullinan

February 18, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I picked up a copy from NetGalley.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) The course of true love doesn’t always run clean. But sometimes getting dirty is half the fun.Entomology grad student Adam Ellery meets Denver Rogers, a muscle-bound hunk of sexy, when Denver effortlessly dispatches the drunken frat boys harassing Adam at the Tucker Springs laundromat. Thanking him turns into flirting, and then, much to Adam’s delight, hot sex over the laundry table.Though Denver’s job as a bouncer at a gay bar means he gets his pick of geek-sexy college twinks, he can’t get Adam out of his head. Adam seems to need the same rough play Denver does, and it’s damn hard to say no to such a perfect fit.Trouble is, Adam isn’t just shy: he has obsessive compulsive disorder and clinical anxiety, conditions which have ruined past relationships. And while Denver might be able to bench-press a pile of grad students, he comes from a history of abuse and is terrified of getting his GED. Neither Denver nor Adam want to face their dirty laundry, but to stay together, they’re going to have to come clean.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Ever have the experience of slowing down and re-reading paragraphs as you come to the end of a book just so you can make it last longer? That’s what I did with Dirty Laundry. It was sooooo good. I did not want it to end.