Book Review: Going Up – Amy Lane

Posted on October 18, 2014 | Leave a comment
via goodreads

via goodreads

Every dreary day, Zach Driscoll takes the elevator from the penthouse apartment of his father’s building to his coldly charmed life where being a union lawyer instead of a corporate lawyer is an act of rebellion. Every day, that is, until the day the elevator breaks and Sean Mallory practically runs into his arms.

Substitute teacher Sean Mallory is everything Zach is not—poor, happy, and goofily charming. With a disarming smile and a penchant for drama, Sean laughs his way into Zach’s heart one elevator ride at a time. Zach would love to get to know Sean better, but first he needs the courage to leave his ivory tower and face a relationship that doesn’t end at the “Ding!” via Goodreads

This one didn’t really work for me. It was comical to the point of being folly. I loved Amy Lane but this story’s just too bland with uninspired characters. The elevator “dates” are just downright ridiculous. Like seriously? I’m like, get his freaking number already and ask him out on a freaking date!!!! It’s just way too over the top for me and it’s not even romantic at the least. I’m almost sorry I’ve to give this a 2 star rating.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

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Book Review: A Small Miracle Happened – Marie Donne

Posted on October 17, 2014 | Leave a comment
via goodreads

via goodreads

I kinda liked this story because I find it a bit educational. Yeah, we learn a lot from books aye? I’m not sure how factual it was but who cares? It’s easy and romantic enough but I find it a bit rushed although given the premise, I didn’t see anything for the author to play with the story more.

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Dan accepts an interesting new job, only to discover after he moves that he’s the only Jewish gay man in a small Midwestern town. On the first night of Hanukkah, he’s a bit homesick and very lonely. Then the mailman delivers a box containing his menorah to the wrong house.

Chris sees that misdirected package as an excuse to knock on his attractive new neighbor’s door. He doesn’t know a thing about Judaism, but he’s willing to learn, especially if it means becoming better acquainted with Dan.

Eager for company, Dan explains the meaning of the menorah and introduces Chris to less traditional amusements like a game of strip dreidel. Soon they are celebrating long into the nights with sweet, sexy fun. As Dan and Chris light a new flame each night, what started as a playful fling deepens into passion that promises to outlast the eight days of the holiday.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

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Book Review: The 51st Thursday – Mercy Celeste

Posted on October 17, 2014 | Leave a comment
via goodreads

via goodreads

Shelby Bainbridge, former championship winning quarterback and son of an Alabama Senator with presidential aspirations, lost everything one Thursday night fifty-two weeks ago. Lost, alone, battered, and broken Shelby finds comfort in the local bar called Deacon’s Place. Week after week, he finds himself drawn to Deacon’s for the beer, for the atmosphere, for the solace and for Deacon himself.

Deacon can no longer deny the desire he feels for the man he calls Thursday. When Deacon wants something Deacon is a hard man to resist. The problem is, Deacon never planned to lose his heart. Especially to a man who could be destroyed by an unexpected night of forbidden passion. via Goodreads

First, I may have expected too much after reading the surprisingly good story of “Behind Iron Lace” but don’t get the wrong idea that this isn’t any good at all. The main characters are actually very interesting; perhaps too interesting that the story’s shortness didn’t do them much justice at all.
This would’ve been a great full-on novel but alas, it was reduced to something that feels like it has no conclusion at all.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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Book Review: Between Friends – Lou Harper

Posted on October 16, 2014 | Leave a comment
via goodreads

via goodreads

Lucas and Julian were childhood friends, but when bachelor party hijinks landed them in bed together, no one was more surprised than Lucas. That one night turned into a full-blown hidden affair—until the openly gay Julian couldn’t stand being Lucas’s dirty little secret anymore. After two years of missing his best friend and lover, Lucas finds himself desperate to convince Julian that his love really does blaze as bright and as proud as the fireworks on the Fourth of July! via Goodreads

This is a beautifully written short story that is direct, romantic and yes oh-so-sexy. The night of the Bachelor Party, I was like “No, they didn’t” – that was so freaking hot man!

It’s cute how the story was told through Lucas’ perspective from his younger years with his buddies until they’re all grown men. It seems like everything got covered here and it resulted to an awfully pleasing read!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Book Review: Secrets And Ink – Lou Harper

Posted on October 15, 2014 | Leave a comment

via goodreads

via goodreads

When Karma writes you a ticket, pay up or else…

If life was like the movies, Jem Mitchell’s wouldn’t be such a mess. In LA’s glittering world of dreams, he works an unglamorous job at a gourmet grocery store. His past is so deep and dark, the details are lost even to him. All he knows is he was once cursed by a meter maid, and ever since, his love life has sucked.

When Detective Nick Davies becomes a regular at the store, Jem dares to hope he’s un-hexed at last. He should have known that sex with a remarkably normal guy, devoid of weird fetishes and fatal personality flaws, was too good to be true.

During a post-encounter cuddle, Nick recognizes the tattoo on Jem’s back—and remembers him as a young hustler he arrested nine years past.

As Jem’s memories come crashing back, he flees from Nick, but fate contrives to keep pushing them back together. And when Jem’s old partner in crime is found murdered, the stakes are raised for life, for love, and a dangerous drama with no guarantee of a Hollywood ending. – via Goodreads

I’ve to say I was a bit disappointed with this one especially after reading the author’s short story entitled “Between Friends”. That one was awesome. This, however is pretty much running on all sides of cliché with characters that are simply forgettable. I also didn’t like how Jeremy’s backstory was revealed. The whole karma and Jeremy’s shady past is borderline ridiculous – that’s just too WTF to even be part of the story’s conflict. The spider tattoo, the Japanese bondage and the whole dealio with that actor also didn’t make that much sense. Oh I don’t know, it was just all over the place.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

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Book Review: Heatstroke – Taylor V. Donovan

Posted on October 14, 2014 | Leave a comment
via goodreads

via goodreads

At twenty-one years old, Richard Lewis Bancroft was on the fast track to fame and fortune. An award-winning start on the Broadway stage led him to the silver screens of Hollywood, where his star began to rise, and his heart fell hard for professional baseball sensation, Manuel Guzman. But there was no script for living out loud with the man of his dreams in the world of 1964.

Then Richard disappeared without a trace.

Forty years later, Michael Spencer discovered a journal in his grandmother’s attic that would change his life forever, and quite possibly, solve the mysterious disappearance of Richard Lewis Bancroft. – via Goodreads

I really enjoyed reading this FREE novella. It’s one of those stories that lingers with you days after reading it. I loved its nostalgic vibe with Michael discovering journals of a famous Hollywood actor which led him to unravel the truth about his family and getting a glimpse of love at its purest. I think I even cried by the end of the story. This is a special book with a fairy tale ending – another great piece from Taylor V. Donovan.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Book Review: Sweet Little Thing – Renée Carlino

Posted on October 13, 2014 | Leave a comment

19507801Sweet Little Thing gives us a glimpse of Mia and Will’s life as a couple starting out a new journey and pursuing their dreams in music. This, hands down is one of the best novella sequels ever! I love that Renée Carlino gave us a chance to see how Mia and Will’s adventures in life panned out as they also start creating a family of their own. It’s a beautiful, beautiful journey and reading it made giddy with happiness. Thank you Renée for this wonderful novella!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Review: For A Lost Soldier (1992)

Posted on October 12, 2014 | Leave a comment

(Spoiler Alert)

By May be found at the following website: http://www.geheugenvannederland.nl/?/nl/items/NAGO02:EYE-A32652, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44056341

For a Lost Soldier is a 1992 Dutch film based on the autobiographical novel by ballet dancer and choreographer Rudi van Dantzig. It tells a tender, quietly haunting story about the bond between Jeroen (Maarten Smit), a young boy from Amsterdam during World War II, and Walt (Andrew Kelley), a Canadian soldier who helped liberate the Nazi-occupied Netherlands.

When the Canadian troops arrive, Jeroen finds himself drawn to the young soldier. Walt, in turn, shows affection and interest in Jeroen, and their relationship gradually turns physical.

This is where the film enters more complicated—and at times uncomfortable—territory. Walt is clearly an adult, likely in his early twenties, while Jeroen is on the cusp of adolescence. It’s easy to view their relationship through a romanticized lens, especially as the film leans into nostalgia and longing. But there’s also an undeniable undercurrent of unease. Questions of consent, age, and power dynamics linger, and it’s hard to ignore the implications of what is, by today’s standards, statutory rape.

What I appreciated most about the film was its atmosphere and emotional resonance. The nostalgia Jeroen feels as he reflects on this chapter of his life is palpable. There’s a bittersweet ache in the way the story is told, and I found myself hoping, perhaps irrationally, for a reunion—sorry for the spoiler.

In the end, I was left wanting closure. But maybe that’s the point. Not every story has a neat or happy ending. Like the real-life Jeroen, we’re left yearning for a lost soldier who may never return.

Rating: 8 out of 10
Cast: Maarten Smit, Andrew Kelley
Director: Roeland Kerbosch

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Book Review: Sweet Thing – Renée Carlino

Posted on October 12, 2014 | Leave a comment

sweet thingI’ve been meaning to read this one earlier this year but I got soaked up with a lot of fantasy and sci-fi reads. The first book I’ve read by Renée Carlino entitled Nowhere But Here was released earlier this year and I totally loved it. Now Sweet Thing was actually her debut and it’s just up there! It’s crazy good and it’s the kind of story that I’d die to see in movie (I already have Anna Kendrick in my mind playing the lead role lol).

Sweet Thing centers on Mia Kelly landing in New York to start out a new life after the untimely death of her father leaves her with all of his assets and a café to run. Then he meets Will Ryan, a struggling musician who ends up renting a room at her father’s house. From there, their friendship blossoms and any tinged of romance was easily killed off by Mia fearing the involvement with Will would result to the destruction of all her carefully planned goals. As usual, life would keep getting in the way and Mia needs to figure things out and rearrange her plans before truly losing her dreams and the love of her life – that is if she’s not already too late.

The characters of Mia and Will here just have this unbelievably great book chemistry leaving us readers rooting for them from start to finish. Mia seems like a real 25 year old woman who’s still searching for her place in the real world. Will meanwhile is a heartachingly beautiful guy that readers would totally fall in love with – I know I did. *blush* Aside from being beautiful, he’s also smart, funny and very talented. ‘such a perfect book boyfriend. With these two entangled in a journey of finding themselves and finding their way through love – things couldn’t get any better.

I said it before and I’m saying it now – Renée Carlino writes with passion and this book is a clear testament on how really good a writer she is.

Bravo!

Rating: 5 out of  5 stars

Published May 5th 2014 by Atria Books

About The Author
Renée Carlino is a screenwriter and bestselling author of romantic women’s novels. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons, and their sweet dog June. When she’s not at the beach with her boys or working on her next project, she likes to spend her time reading, going to concerts, and eating dark chocolate.

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Book Review: The Perfect Place – Kol Anderson

Posted on October 11, 2014 | Leave a comment

via goodreads

via goodreads

I actually find the first few chapters interesting – I mean pretty interesting like this is going to be so good but then somewhere in the middle, it just became messy. I don’t know why I had this foreboding that this thing about the couple won’t go well. By the end of it, I was utterly stunned by their revelation. Jax’s illness was already a foreshadowing on what’s going to happen but I still refused to accept it. Then about fifteen more pages from the ending, I was like – why is the narrator stalling? There’s definitely some dark shit looming here. I was indeed right but it still came as a shock. It was sad and heartbreaking but something’s gonna give what with everything they have endured – Jax and his bittersweet relationship with Lee and Lee himself and his inner demons.

synopsis via goodreads: When Liam Dailey arrives in his hometown of Flint Hill, Virginia because of a family tragedy, he has every intention of leaving with the first flight back. Unfortunately, when he encounters long time ex Jackson Brooks, things start taking a turn for the worse and Liam finds himself getting stuck in a spiral again. Will he ever be able to leave?

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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