Lenni Reviews: “Whiskey Business” by Avon Gale

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated for 18+.

*This review is cross-posted at Otakus and Geeks.

In order to get his hometown some much-needed money, Ryder Waites is selling his family’s whiskey recipe to a company named Bluegrass Bourbon. To seal the deal, he has to convince a hard-assed representative from the company; Adam Keller. Keller is out to prove he can get by on his own merits and not rely on his rich family’s money and reputation. As the stuffy Adam audits the distillery, their attraction grows. But Adam doesn’t want to get attached as this is supposed to be a quick business trip and nothing more.

At 17% I had snorted laughter out loud at the sentence “That sort of dislike-to-lovers thing only happened in Harry/Draco fanfic.” I have read way more of those than I care to admit before I grew out of that to… Well, books like these.

The story generally follows that formula, though. Couple meets, instant attraction, hot smexy times, misunderstanding, reunion and resolution. What sets this story apart is the setting. The town of Gallows Grove feels like the real star here with its fun residents and pun laden business names. The writing gives this place real heart and makes it come alive around our two very likable leads. A perfectly serviceable romance with a fun setting, I give this a 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Spell Cat” by Tara Lain

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated for 18+

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.

Professor Killian Barth teaches the history of witchcraft and has a unique perspective on the matter considering he is indeed a witch. He is the most powerful male witch to come along in generations.  Keeping his identity a secret from regular humans, he catches the eye of the quantum physics professor; Blane Genneau. Their attraction is instant but Killian is being forced to marry another witch, Lavender, in order to save the witch race by pumping out magical children. But not only is Killian gay, Lavender is in love with someone else, and Killian finds the magnetism between him and Blane is too strong to resist. There’s also the added rub that if a witch sleeps with a human, it will drain the witch’s power away. Can Killian find a way to not only be with the one he loves but overcome prejudice against humans, find a way to save his race, and convince a man of science to believe magic is real?

First off, I have to point out that Lain made Lavender a likable character. It’s so easy to fall into that trope of one of the people in the forced marriage being a complete horror to make the main character look even more put upon. But Lavender is a kind, sweet person and even tries to help Killian whenever she can. That was very refreshing.

While this book was decently written and cute, sometimes it felt a little contrived. It has this fanfiction like quality to it where everyone is too perfect, too pretty, and sex literally tears the skies apart it’s so good. I mean, geez, nobody even had an interesting mole or tattoo… I also would have liked to see the fantasy elements explored more. I know that they’re technically supposed to take a back seat to the romance but there are some interesting concepts here that I felt were glossed over to get the couple where they needed to be. But I do give this book credit for turning a couple tropes on their heads, having some fun characters and steamy romance scenes. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “All in with the Duke” by Ava March

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*This book is intended for 18+

Plagued by gambling debts, Tristan Walsh works at a brothel; to pay them off. One night he has a client named Max Arrington; who is nursing a broken heart after a former lover tried to extort money out of him. After saving Tristan from a violent client, Max not only pays off Tristan’s debts but takes him in as essentially a kept man at Max’s vacation estate. Both men are hesitant to open their hearts but nevertheless, deeper feelings form over time and they must decide if the risk of not only heartbreak but the discovery of their relationship is worth the possibility of happiness.

Historical m/m romances can be kinda fun and the set up of a wealthy duke and an indebted prostitute was intriguing enough for me to nab this book. Max and Tristan are cute together; especially Max as he can be delightfully awkward. If I had a gripe, it would be the conflict centering around Tristan going “I needed you to stop me.” That has always ticked me off. Don’t do or say something with the intent on testing the other person. That comes off to me as needlessly manipulative; not romantic. For Tristan to pull the “I only told you I was leaving because I wanted you to beg me to stay” then to turn around and continue to test Max over and over made me like Tristan less. Not dislike him but he wasn’t as endearing to me after that. Other than that, this story is sweet, saucy, and has a good ending. I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “A Kind of Honesty” by Lane Hayes

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated for 18+

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.

Tim Chalmers is a drummer for an up and coming band named Spiral. The stress of his new fame and recent tabloid fodder breakup with a supermodel sends him to a dive bar for what he thinks is a one night stand. Turns out the man; Carter Hamilton-Temple, is a friend of a friend and Tim runs into him at a birthday party. As one night turns into three then four, both men find themselves wanting more but the stress of Tim’s fame and Carter’s painful past dealings with bisexual men keep them from taking the next step.

First the good stuff. The writing starts off strong and sets a great scene. Despite it being from Tim’s perspective, you can glean a lot of what Carter’s feelings are just from Tim’s observations; as they are detailed and well written. Tim is just the right amount of sassy and Carter has this reserved strength and power that makes him likable and fun.

The “bad” stuff. The band is TOO good. Dropping little bombs like breaking The Beatles records felt kinda silly; like Bella being the most beautiful girl in the world. Spiral could have easily been a hugely popular band without making them seem overly perfect.

As for the relationship, this is another case of the conflict persisting because the plot demands that the characters don’t offer any reasonable explanation. I think Carter gave up too easily after it was made clear to him that Tim’s ex-was a manipulative liar. Yes, Tim has other issues but I feel Carter jumped the gun and could have been as understanding as he was presented at the beginning.

Overall, not terrible but not great either. The writing was OK, the setup was OK, and eve the sex scenes were OK… All of it just OK. Nothing stood out to me as being particularly memorable but I did enjoy it so I give this a 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Timing” by Mary Calmes

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+.

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.

Stefan Joss has been invited to be in his best friend’s wedding. Not only does his boss take this as a chance to take on a sales deal to the trip to Texas, Stefan has to deal with his friend’s brother, Rand Holloway; who has made no effort to restrain his hatred of Stefan. With the chaos of the wedding and meeting with his client, Stefan learns there is more to Rand’s feelings than hatred and his business deal ends up risking his life.

While meant as a romantic mystery kind of story like Mystery of Nevermore, the mystery in this book took far back seat to the romance. Not a criticism, just something I noticed. I can see either adding more of the mystery or taking it out entirely and just having the wedding be the backdrop that brings Stephan and Rand together.

Anyways, Rand as a hard-ass cowboy coming to terms with how he fucked up and will do his part to fix it and Stefan putting in effort too worked for me. I liked them both and I wanted to see them together. The smexy times are prevalent and positively indulgent so if you want a healthy dose of manluvin, this book is more than happy to dole it out along with some romantic sappiness.

When it came to the action/mystery parts, I kinda got whiplash. You’re crusin along in this lovey dovey romance and WHAM! Rape! Murder! Guns!

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“Well… That took an uncomfortable turn…”

Even so, I enjoyed this book. You can feel the love all over; even aside for our main pair. The details in describing ranch life (Rand owns a ranch) were written well enough to get a real feel for the setting and I ended this book with a cheesy grin because it was so damn sweet. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Mystery of Nevermore” by C. S. Poe

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is intended for 18+

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.

Ever walk into work and find a pig heart under a dislodged floorboard? Me neither but Sebastian Snow has. Now he’s caught up in a mystery involving the works of Edgar Allen Poe and falling for the lead detective on the case – Calvin Winter – despite being in a rocky relationship with another cop, Neil Millett. More important than his now complicated relationships, Sebastian can’t resist being nosy and may very well end up the next victim.

First off, it was interesting having the main character; Sebastian, have achromatopsia. I didn’t know that was a thing and learning about it through our main character didn’t slow down the pacing of the book.

As for the rest, the mystery itself was compelling and I’m not a fan of mysteries. To be fair, it’s likely because I’m a literature geek and it was based around Poe’s work. Sadly, I have to take a point off for (er, spoilers, kinda?) damaging a rare book. I’m a bibliophile and a librarian. You just don’t hurt books.

But seriously, this book was a fast, fun, and naughty read. Sebastian and Calvin are characters you can empathize with and have a decent amount of chemistry. The mystery itself I can’t really comment on as I don’t have much experience in this genre but I found it interesting. I would consider reading more in this series in the future. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Ten Count” volume 2 by Rihito Takarai

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*This volume was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is intended for 18+.

*This review is cross-posted at Otakus and Geeks.

Even after agreeing to keep his distance, Kurose still has feelings for Shirotani. Shirotani however, has virtually shut down after Kurose insisted on not seeing him anymore. With the help of his co-worker, Mikami, Shirotani finally agrees to meet up with Kurose; who confesses he wanted to stay away because it was not appropriate for a counselor to be in love with his patient. Not only that but Kurose wants to touch Shirotani; whose condition makes him sick at the thought of being contaminated. Shirotani finds that while his germaphobia still affects him, Kurose’s touch also makes him excited.

And WHOA does it ever make him excited! Remember in the last review when I said there was no smut but a good build with the characters? This volume earns its M rating. Kurose and Shirotani go from tentative interaction to touching naughty bits. But as sensual as they get, there is still something traumatic in Shirotani’s past that’s only being hinted at in quick flashbacks. Shirotani “endures” very intimate touches but something simple like Kurose ruffling his hair sets him off. We’ll have to wait to find out what happened but I give this volume a 4 out of 5.

This volume will be released November 8th, 2016.

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Lenni Reviews: “Like Heaven on Earth” by Jaime Samms

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*I received this book in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+.

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.

Cobolt Winslow is involved in an unhealthy, long-distance relationship with Calvin Denvers. Calvin infected Cobolt with HIV, which cost Cobolt his dancing career in their ballet company as his body became too weak to put up with such strenuous activity. The only stable person Cobolt has come to rely on Malory Preston; a driver who works for Cobolt’s brother, Azure. As his health takes a turn for the better, Calvin comes back into the picture and Cobolt is faced with choosing between dancing and his growing attraction to Preston.

I cannot go any further without mentioning the naming conventions in this book. Yes, they are a little odd (at least for me) because it was like reading characters from a fantasy novel but this isn’t fantasy. I did get used to it as the book went on.

The relationship between Cobolt and Preston works and makes sense the way those characters are written; even if there are times where I felt Cobolt needed a swat of sense on the back of his head. If a character can frustrate you, he/she is well written.

Other than that, this book is short, sweet, sultry when it needs to be, but standard. Cobolt and Calvin’s HIV status is handled with maturity and not used as a crutch or a lame gimmick to make the characters act a certain way. The dancing was immersively written and the subtle nuances of stage culture were there but not as dark as something like Black Swan. I enjoyed it and by the end I was cheering for Cobolt but – and it’s likely my personal bias here – the attempts to make Calvin a sympathetic character failed miserably. It would take MUCH more than 204 pages for an abusive cheater to redeem himself in my eyes but this is certainly not the book’s fault. I’m betting since this is the third in the “Dance, Love, Live” series (and yes, this novel can totally stand on it’s own), I’m sure Calvin has or will get an entire book to himself to work out his issues. As for this book, a happy 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Relative Best” by Pat Henshaw

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*I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

*This review is cross posted at Otakus and Geeks.

Zeke Bandy believes life’s too busy for love. He runs a historical hotel and sings two nights a week at a local saloon. Vic Longbow is in town involved in opening a branch of a brokerage firm and looking for some photos of his Native American ancestor. When they meet, Zeke and Vic discover they have a lot in common and friendship becomes more than they are prepared for.

I wanted to like this more but this was a pretty bland little story. Characters are tossed at you without enough detail so aside for out main beaus, you don’t get to know anyone. As a result, the drama in the book falls flat since they’re all strangers. Also, this is a pretty tame m/m romance. Other than hold each other and kiss, Zeke and Vic have a PG-13 relationship; so if that’s what you’re after with this book, you will be disappointed.

This is the 5th in a series of books from A Foothills Pride series and I don’t know if this story is better or worse than the others but it can be read as a standalone novella. At only 80 pages it’s wobbly on it’s own feet, but perhaps this premise would benefit from a longer book. As it is, the whole thing meanders to the conclusion without any real impact. I give it a 2.7 out of 5 for it’s competency as a written work even if it was flat.

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Lenni Reviews: “Ten Count” volume 1 by Rihito Takarai

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*I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

*This review is cross-posted to Otakus and Geeks.

Tadaomi Shirotani works as a secretary for a CEO while suffering from germophobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. One day, his boss is nearly hit by a truck and a young man named Riku Kurose; who is a therapist, saves the man from being killed. Kurose notices Shirotani’s condition and offers to help him work through it. Kurose has Shirotani make a list of 10 things to get over in order of discomfort from least to most. Shirotani is only able to come up with 9. They make a deal to meet regularly to work through the list then Shirotani will come up with that 10th item, but he finds he develops more than just a friendly attraction to Kurose.

Unlike a lot of yaoi manga with an M rating, this first volume is very innocent. Our two main characters meet, get to know each other, and slowly build what will likely be a deeper relationship. There’s an author’s note in the back expressing concern that readers will be disappointed with the leisurely pace but I like it. The art is beautiful, the writing on point, and I think I would like to see Shirotani and Kurose take their time so I can enjoy their story. 4.5 out of 5.

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