Fitting In by Sylvia Violet
Two cops walk into a bar. Mason, the bartender, waits for the punch line, because no way in hell are these ridiculously hot men real cops. They're straight out of a cop-fetish fantasy. But he quickly learns that Jack and Gray are the real deal, and they want him in the worst way.
What starts as a night of hot, three-way sex becomes a lot more. The two cops fulfill Mason's submissive fantasies, but they also meet a more basic need, comfort. They want to take care of Mason, to offer him unconditional friendship, but their concern for him unnerves Mason more than even the kinkiest sex.
To find happiness with his new partners, Mason must change his belief that love is as much a fantasy as a pair of gorgeous, handcuff-wielding cops landing in his bed.
Mason can barely keep his mind on the job when he first sees two hot cops come into the bar where he is a bartender. Gray and Jack are partners who are questioning people about a robbery in a neighboring business--the third such robbery in this area of Durham. Mason tries to keep his eyes on what he is doing but they insist on straying to Gray and Jack. The more he watches the two cops who start frequenting his place of work, the more he is convinced that Gray and Jack are already a couple which only reinforces his belief that his fantasies are just that with no hope of every becoming reality.
Mason has had a bad experience with trying to be a third when a former date admitted he had a boyfriend and invited Mason along for some fun. Mason ended up sneaking out when the two fought over how serious the boyfriend really was and Mason was stalked by one of the partners. Mason is used to being alone now, especially since his family is convinced that being gay is just a phase he is going through and have eliminated all support both emotional and financial from Mason. When it looks like Gray and Jack are both interested in him he is nervous due to past experiences--he really doesn't want to come between two such loving, amazing men but he can't deny how much he would love to be a part of them either.
Mason takes a chance and goes home with Gray and Jack where he finds they meet all of his needs, even those he didn't know he possessed. Gray's dominant tendencies and Jack's tender caring only make him fall deeper and harder for these two men. His insecurities grow as their relationship continues to develop until Mason decides he can't take it any more and leaves them both. At the same time, the robberies are continuing and when a cop is killed, Mason worries about what would happen if one of the men he loves died before he could tell them how he truly felt.
Watching Mason come to terms with his fears and decide for himself the future he really wants was amazing--Sylvia Violet walked a fine line of making his fears extremely understandable without having him wallow in melancholy or veer into holding out for too long and she stayed on the right side of that line the whole time. Mason is not the only one with issues either--Gray is getting tired of hiding what he is and who he loves but he knows that coming out doesn't only effect him and that he needs to take Jack's needs into account as well. At best they wouldn't be able to remain partners--at worst they would have to work in separate precincts. Watching all three of these men come together with an emphasis on communication and compromise was a beautiful thing. You know there are still hard times and difficult choices to come for these guys after the story ends and yet I am so confident that theirs is a relationship that can weather all storms. This is the first book in a series with at least one more book being about Jack, Gray and Mason-- I can't wait to read it!
Reading Challenges
Authors A to Z
Contemporary Romance
ebook Reading
Men in Uniform
Reading Road Trip
Story Sprites
I purchased this book with my own funds.
Warrior's Cross by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux
Cameron Jacobs is an open book. He considers himself a common waiter with normal friends, boring hobbies, harmless dogs, and nothing even resembling a secret...except a crush on a tall, dark, devastatingly handsome man who dines alone at his restaurant on Tuesday nights. All it takes is one passionate night with Julian Cross to turn Cameron's would on its head.
Julian's love and devotion are all Cameron could have hoped for and more. But when his ordinary life meets and clashes with Julian's extraordinary lifestyle, Cameron discovers that trust and fear can go hand in hand, and love is just a step away from danger.
Cameron is captivated by the man who sits in his section at the restaurant he works at every Tuesday, who always orders a bottle of wine and the special of the day, never talks or gets dessert, and often sports bruises, cuts and scrapes. One evening, the man breaks his silence and Cameron is only more intrigued. Shortly after that Cameron is inviting Julian back to his apartment and that begins a relationship between the two men. If you can count seeing each other for 48 hours of the week as a relationship. Cameron has questions and, at times, reservations, about Julian but always he knows that he loves him. Julian is very clear in his love for Cameron as well, but there is always a sense of danger around Julian and what he might be doing for a living. Eventually this causes Cameron to issue an ultimatum and Julian, to both of their regrets, leaves Cameron's life. This part of the story was leisurely and meandering and beautiful. I had tears in my eyes when Cam and Julian's relationship came to its heartbreaking end--I watched it teeter on a point knowing it could fall either way and when Julian turned around and walked away my heart broke right along with Cam's.
It is at this point in the story that things really speed up. Julian's dangerous job takes more of a leading role as a mysterious figure named Lancaster comes into play. He is scary and clearly out to hurt Julian and it seems like he has decided to use Cameron as his instrument to deliver said pain. There was no easy resolution to this story as bad things happened to good people and Cam's already broken heart gets completely shattered in the course of events that took this reader hurtling to the end of the book and left her trying to recover her composure before writing this review. I'm not sure that I really believed in Cameron and Julian's relationship in the beginning, it was hard to see what was so fascinating about Cameron that would catch Julian's eye to the degree that it did...don't get me wrong, Cameron is a really sweet guy who loves his four pups and does his job as a head waiter in a prestigious restaurant to the best of his ability--I just don't know what it was about their limited interactions at the restaurant that caused Julian to become so enamored. Once they were together, it also didn't seem as if they really got to know each other enough to stay together long term--between their limited time together and Julian's secrets it seemed that there was so much they didn't know about each other besides how compatible they were in bed together. But...the writing was so well done, both characters were so great to know--Cameron with his honesty and Julian with his intensity that I didn't really care about believability and instead threw myself into the story, feeling Cameron and Julian's emotions in the pit of my stomach and hoping against hope that they would somehow, someway have a happy ending, even when it seemed that any such hope of that would be in vain.
Reading Challenges
105 Challenge
Authors A to Z
Hard Core Reread
Romantic Suspense
Bookish Bingo
I purchased this book with my own funds.
Afterglow by Cherry Adair
A high profile celebrity wedding in Monaco in the kind of A-list event security specialist Rand Maguire excels at. Everything goes like clockwork, until guests start inexplicably losing all their inhibitions.
Rand is no stranger to the effects of Rapture. His chemist father's attempt at a cure for depression caused Rand's mother's death years ago, and put his father away for her murder. Now someone is circulating Rapture in a campaign of terror, intending to manufacture and sell it on a global scale. But with no leads, Rand feels the heat.
Sexy Lodestone agent Dakota North is sent to help Rand kick-start his search, armed only with her uncanny sixth sense. But what they discover in their race across Europe is more far-fetching and lethal than an erotic street drug. From a Barcelona bank heist to a million-dollar arms deal in Paris, Dakota and Rand give in to an insatiable craving for each other in nights of pure carnal delight, no senses left untouched. No Rapture necessary.
Yikes. This book. At the end of of it, I wished I had abandoned it after the first couple of chapters like I originally wanted to. I didn't for two reasons: it was one of the titles on my Official TBR Pile challenge list and it was clear that the hero had seriously wronged the heroine and I wanted to see him grovel. I love a good grovel. Unfortunately, I was let down.
From the beginning: Rand is the head of a security firm who is having to seriously cover his keister after members of a high profile wedding were slipped a drug causing ALL of them (priest, grandmother of the bride, EVERYBODY) to immediately start having sex with whoever was closest to them. Dakota shows up as the help requested by Rand who is NOT happy to see her as they used to be engaged until he broke it off because he believes she was 1) cheating on him with many different men, 2)involved in the death of his mother and 3) a money hungry whore. So, no warm fuzzy feeling for him although he does spend a lot of time rhapsidising about her red hair.
Rand and Dakota form an uneasy alliance and Dakota uses her psychic ability to track the bad guys. Mayhem across Europe ensues, Rand and Dakota come together and fight apart again and again until things come to a head when they visit Rand's father in an Italian prison to see if he can give them any insight into the drug they are sure is being used. This scene is used as a catalyst to give Rand a chance to see for himself the weakness of the evidence used to frame Dakota. More mayhem ensues until the final showdown which is completely whacked out. The explanation as to how everything came to pass was ludicrous in its dependency upon coincidences and seemed in no way plausible. And after sticking with all of that I never got my grovel scene. Instead, Dakota, who had been treated abominably by the hero and his family makes excuses for Rand and assures him she understands. Ugh!
I have read some books by Cherry Adair that I really enjoyed but I am sad to say that this is definitely not one of them. Ludicrous and unsatisfying--this book disappointed on many levels.
Reading Challenges
Around the World
Monthly Mix Up Mania
Official TBR Pile Extreme
Romantic Suspense
Somebody Nice! by Raine O'Tierney
Danny, his (almost adopted?) daughter Melissa and their dog Bunny are a happy family. However, Danny would be happier still if the man he is dating would allow himself to be introduced to his daughter as his boyfriend. Milo, who works at the school Melissa attends as a librarian is painfully shy, and while he is out to his mother, he worries about letting Melissa know he is dating her father. When Melissa asks Milo for help at school, he doesn't expect her to want to create a profile for her father on a dating website so her Danny won't be lonely. This gives Milo the push he needs to take the step of being honest with Melissa and the four of them (can't forget Bunny!) begin spending a lot of time together...until Danny gets the opportunity to switch jobs. He is a cop without a lot of opportunity for advancement until he is offered a job in a related unit that will require a lot of hard work. When he begins to transition to this new job, it takes all of his time but he doesn't communicate with Milo about this or anything else. He simply doesn't communicate with him at all and Milo is left to wonder what happened. Melissa misses Milo and decides to take things into her own hands. This is a free download and is an enjoyable way to spend a bit of time.
Reading Challenges
Contemporary Romance
Authors A to Z
Read Your Freebies
ebook Reading
New to You
What An Animal
Coming Home by Jay Northcote
Jago returns to his home in the wilds of Cornwall, and is looking forward to catching up with old friends after a term away at university. When he's reunited with Will--his best mate from sixth-form college and last summer's fling--Jago's feelings for him are rekindled and impossible to ignore.
Over the short winter break, Jago can't resist taking whatever Will's offering. But will the New Year bring new beginnings? Or will Jago be left with more bittersweet memories and a heart that needs to heal again?
This is a short--35 pages--free read that is worth the time to download. I quite enjoyed this sweet story in which Jago misses Will, his best friend of two years and boyfriend for three months before Will decided it would be too difficult to deal with a long distance relationship and broke things off before they both went to college. Home on break, Jago is both looking forward to seeing Will and nervous as his feelings are still strong and he doesn't want things to be awkward with Will. Going out with a group of friends helps somewhat but he can't keep from watching Will and wondering if Will still feels anything for him...it is at one such gathering that Jago gets his answer and it is a positive one, however the specter of going back to school after the holiday is hanging over Jago's head. He wants more from Will, a real commitment but doesn't know if that is in the cards. Watching these two reconnect in this short story was a treat.
Reading Challenges
105 Challenge
Around the World
Authors A to Z
Contemporary Romance
ebook Reading
New to You
Read Your Freebies
Bookish Bingo
I downloaded this book for free.
A Gentleman by Any Other Name by Kasey Michaels
Old enough to remember his beginning, Chance Becket has spent all of his thirty years trying to forget, hiding his unsavory youth behind a society marriage and a prestigious position with the War Office. But now the widower must confront his past and return to the windswept coast of Romney Marsh...where the ghosts of his childhood still linger.
Newly hired governess Julia Carruthers is delighted to be in charge of Chance's young daughter and eager to escape the confines of London. Yet the excitement of the journey to her employer's strange home is nothing compared to the attraction between them. And when Julia sees something she should not, she wonders if Chance's sudden intentions are prompted by ungentlemanly desires or his need to protect his family's secrets.
When I first began this book I didn't think I would like it but after a bit I became certain I would love it. Then I didn't love it anymore, until I did again. Julia and Chance were delightful together as many of Kasey Michaels's couples are--lots of smart dialogue and both protagonists not particularly happy about their developing feelings for the other while also realizing that there would be nobody more perfect for them. It was the plot involving smuggling that kept me from being able to consistently love the story in the beginning. It was necessary to set up the relationship between Julia and the Becket family as well as allowing Chance to renew the ties to his family that his long absence had left tattered and frayed. But it was serious and I wanted the story to remain light-hearted. Luckily, I was not the one to make the decisions on how the story developed and over time I came to be as deeply invested in the smuggling story line as I was in the romance as both Julia and Chance were so deeply entrenched in the matter that it became one seamless, heart wrenchingly beautiful tale.
Chance and Julia did not have a smooth road to their happy ever after and I found myself pleasantly surprised with how deftly Kasey Michaels wrote the part of Julia. She was able to be sharp tongued and observant while also having to deal with 1811 restrictions towards women. Chance could be cruel in his remarks (mostly unwittingly so) and Julia was hurt by them and yet didn't break. The secondary characters were also very well rounded with everyone having both good and frustrating traits...which is good as this is the first in a series about eight siblings. Too perfect characters would be cookie cutter and boring; not the Beckets all of whom are flawed and not-so-charmingly at that and yet I have no doubt that Kasey Michaels will find a way to redeem them all and make them worthy of rooting for. I strongly enjoyed this book but am waffling on reading the rest of the series which makes for a mixed message. This book was compelling and captivating but not an easy read for me. I can't decide if I would want the next book to be less challenging or if I would want it to be as frustratingly and rewardingly complex as the first.
Reading Challenges
105 Challenge
Around the World
Historical Romance
Monthly Mix Up Mania
TBR (retro read for June's criteria)
TBR Pile
TBR Reduction Extreme
Bookish Bingo
Story Sprites
I purchased this book with my own funds.
Gift of Gold by Jayne Ann Krentz
Being a tough taskmaster and a great cook made Verity Ames a success with her Colorado restaurant. And her new employee, Jonas Quarrel, followed her orders to a "T" during the working hours. It was when the day was done that his lazy smile and bedroom eyes threatened to make him the boss who could turn her from a she-cat into a kitten. So hot-tempered Verity taunted him that she would never surrender to a drifter like Jonas, who left a prestigious career as a Renaissance scholar to roam the world. But Jonas suspected the lady protesteth too much. His plan was to tame the shrew by seducing her; crumbling her defenses with nibbles, bites, and kisses; melting her resistance with his fiery passion; and making his love seem like heaven until his hellish past caught up with him. For Jonas had not arrived at Verity's kitchen by accident. She was the key to a chilling secret that had nearly destroyed him. And now he needed to woo her and win her -- even if he endangered both of their lives and broke her heart!
Jonas first saw Verity when she was fleeing from a would-be attacker in a back alley in Mexico. He had followed to assist her if necessary and discovered that his mystery lady had lost an earring in her flight for safety. He picked it up and felt something--a knowledge that she would be important to him. A few months later he has finally tracked Verity down to Sequence Springs where Verity runs a vegetarian restaurant that catered to locals and visitors of a nearby health spa. Jonas responds to Verity's want ad and is hired as waiter, dishwasher and handyman.
Verity is drawn to Jonas and a romantic relationship is developing between them. It is during this time that Verity learns of Jonas's psychometric talent--when Jonas handles antique weapons and artifacts, particularly from the Renaissance period, he is drawn into the past and experiences what the owners experienced. Unfortunately, the more violent the memory the harder it is for Jonas to remove himself and return to the present. It was due to this ability that he had left his roots in historical studies behind and become a drifter.
Verity and Jonas are soon drawn into an intrigue involving an eccentric, and reclusive, artist who has plans of revenge in mind. Unknown to Verity and Jonas they will be playing starring roles in an intricate plot she is planning to take down a figure from her past who had changed her life forever. Verity and Jonas will have to put their complete trust in each other and in Jonas's abilities in order to make it out unscathed. The fact that Verity is able to help Jonas maintain control over his abilities further muddies the waters as Verity cannot be sure why Jonas is with her--is it only for the help she can give him or does he have deeper feelings for her? With all of the danger and intrigue surrounding them, this doubt could prove to be very dangerous for all involved.
This 1988 paranormal romance by Jayne Ann Krentz features the quick witted dialogue and independent female lead that JAK is well know for. Jonas is a wonderful male lead who strikes a delicate balance between "taming" Verity's sharper edges while also enjoying the "little tyrant" aspects of Verity's personality. These two really do prove that sometimes the whole is greater than the parts.
Reading Challenges
Genre Decades
105 Challenge
Color Coded
What's In a Name
Hard Core Re-read
I purchased this book with my own funds.
