Review: River of Need by Shayla Kersten

Shayla Kersten
River of Need
Ellora’s Cave, 2010

Series:
River of Need is the fourth installment in the Tennessee Cops series. All books in this series can be read as standalones, although you wouldn’t want to miss out on the other books, especially since the heroes make reappearances in their co-heroes’ stories.

Backblurb:
Two years after their breakup, Detective Kyle Shelton didn’t expect to see his lying, cheating, closeted ex. Especially not behind bars for prostitution. Bailing him out is one of the stupidest things Kyle has done in a while. Although letting his ex back in his bed probably ranks higher on the dumbass scale.
Dustin Eldridge’s lying about his sexual preferences has left him with nothing. Literally. He’s lost his home, his family, his job and, worse, he’s lost Kyle. On the streets, with no one to turn to, he’s resorted to selling his body to survive. Then Kyle—of all people—comes to his rescue. Dustin can’t fix the past but maybe there’s hope for a future.
Unless Kyle really believes Dustin added serial killer to his resume along with hooker.

Note: For maximum reader enjoyment, we suggest also reading Hidden Force (Tony and Ryan) and Hidden Hands (David March) where these secondary characters were heroes.

Genre & Keywords:
M/M, Contemporary, Cops, Suspense, Ex-lovers reunite

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Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Heat level: 2.5 out of 3 flames
~~~~~

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

I’ve been a fan of Ms Kersten’s m/m romances ever since I read A Helping Hand, which is one of the books in her Tennessee Cops series, and which is still one of my favorites. I’ve said it before but I think she writes wonderful characters, that I can feel connected with. The way she shows a snippet from their lives, makes you understand them easily, because she effortlessly lets you slip inside her heroes’ heads.

In the novella River of Need - the fourth installment in the Tennessee Cops series - we meet detective Kyle Shelton who reconnects with his ex lover Dustin when Dustin is arrested for prostitution. Kyle bails him out and takes him home because Dustin has nowhere else to go. All the past lies from his closeted ex aren’t forgotten but Kyle can’t help still feeling attracted to him.
The return of the lying, closeted ex lover in itself brings enough conflict into the story, but there’s more. Another element is added when Dustin becomes a suspect for a murder, and with that we’re headed for a romantic ánd suspenseful climax.

This story full of regret and uncertainty is told alternating from Kyle’s and Dustin’s point of view. This way we’re given the opportunity to understand both heroes equally. Yet somehow I found it easier to identify with Kyle than with Dustin, but that has more to do with their personalities than with how their deep inner thoughts were conveyed. I didn’t understand some of Dustin’s ‘choices’ completely and additionally I found it somewhat difficult to believe that he liked to give up control and have rough sex, given his recent situation as a homeless and abused prostitute. Still, he and Kyle are a hot couple, even if I’d preferred more tenderness instead of the rough dominating smexing. The dirty talk that arouses Kyle at one point, probably should not have been about Dustin’s recent experience of abuse either. However, I could understand Kyle’s need for some sort of vengeance and taking delight in Dustin’s suffering after all that he had put him through.

Although I might not have always agreed with their behavior, I still felt very engaged in the protags on an emotional level thanks to the impressive way the author writes about her characters’ feelings. The heroes have to deal with doubts and regrets and the still present feelings for each other while some significant turmoil is going on in their lives. I found myself engrossed in their dilemmas and undeniable attraction.
To be honest, I had to slow myself down because if I hadn’t, I would’ve raced through this novella out of curiosity for the outcome of the mystery and the romance. It’s how the story is paced – fast and steady towards a climax in which it’s highly unpredictable if the main characters will steer clear from getting hurt. And I think it would’ve been a shame if I had rushed through this story, since it’s already too short to my liking (but that’s just greedy me). More importantly, I would’ve missed the little hints that clarify what’s attracting one man to the other and vice versa, apart from the physical magnetism.

River of Need isn’t my new favorite in this series, but it’s certainly a great addition. With a few added extensions on the heroes’ personalities and a bit more showing of their dynamics outside the suspenseful events – for example by continuing their story a little longer after the solving of the murder mystery and the subsequent happy-ending-smexing – it definitely could’ve become a serious rival in the ‘favorite competition’. Now that place is still reserved for A Helping Hand.

Linking:
Shayla Kersten’s website | weblog | on Goodreads | on Twitter | on Facebook

If you’re curious about what I love so much about Ms Kersten’s work in general you can read my fan letter to her here.

Buy River of Need here
Read an excerpt of River in Need here

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We have some winners!

.
Thank you all for leaving your comments and entering last week's giveaways. I loved reading every single one of your comments!
Also a warm thank you to the awesome authors Shayla Kersten, Kele Moon, Stacey Espino and L.B. Gregg for donating the copies of their books for the contests!

And now the moment you've been waiting for: the announcement of the winners! Here they are:

The winner of Stacey Espino’s Fearless Desire is:

Estella

The winner of Shayla Kersten’s River of Need is:

Fiction Vixen

The winner of Kele Moon’s Beyond Eden is:

Diana (Book of Secrets)

The winner of LB Gregg’s Dudleytown is:

Devon Rhodes

Congrats to you all! I'll email you to confirm your addresses, after which the authors will send you each your copy directly.

Happy Monday!

Release Day! Giveaway of River of Need by Shayla Kersten

Today is a happy day for me, because one of my favorite authors, Shayla Kersten, has a new book released! And she’s giving away a copy of it to one of my readers!
Yay!

It’s another installment in her Tennessee Cops series: River of Need.

All books in this series can be read as standalones, although you wouldn’t want to miss out on the other books, especially since the heroes make reappearances in their co-heroes’ stories.



Here’s the backblurb of River of Need:

Two years after their breakup, Detective Kyle Shelton didn’t expect to see his lying, cheating, closeted ex. Especially not behind bars for prostitution. Bailing him out is one of the stupidest things Kyle has done in a while. Although letting his ex back in his bed probably ranks higher on the dumbass scale.
Dustin Eldridge’s lying about his sexual preferences has left him with nothing. Literally. He’s lost his home, his family, his job and, worse, he’s lost Kyle. On the streets, with no one to turn to, he’s resorted to selling his body to survive. Then Kyle—of all people—comes to his rescue. Dustin can’t fix the past but maybe there’s hope for a future.
Unless Kyle really believes Dustin added serial killer to his resume along with hooker.

Note: For maximum reader enjoyment, we suggest also reading Hidden Force (Tony and Ryan) and Hidden Hands (David March) where these secondary characters were heroes.

If you’re curious about what I love so much about Ms Kersten’s work you can read my fan letter to her here.

One of the reasons is that she always writes wonderful characters, that I can feel connected with. The way she shows a snippet from their lives, makes you understand them completely. She effortlessly lets you slip inside her heroes’ head, like in this short sneak peek:

“
When the bathroom door clicked closed, Kyle set the can of soup down then gripped the edge of the counter with both hands. How had he managed to get himself in this mess? “Oh yeah. I’m a fucking idiot.” And still in love with the asshole. “There’s that too.” And now he was talking to himself.

Kyle ducked into the laundry room. Dustin’s clothes were already in the washer. A trashcan stood next to the machine. Temptation almost got the better of him. Throwing everything away would be easier than trying to wash them.

Then what would he do with a naked Dustin?

His pain-in-the-ass mind flashed back to all kinds of things he’d done with Dustin. To Dustin. His body responded with a surge of desire. His dick roused with interest and hardened.

“No.” He hadn’t brought Dustin here to renew their relationship. Or even for revenge sex or to gloat, although the idea raised its ugly head. He really wanted to help him out. Give him a chance to get back on his feet. Which wouldn’t happen with a single shower and one night in a clean bed.

How long was he planning to host his ex? Pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind, he concentrated on what to do right now and let the future wait until at least tomorrow. Feeding him was a good place to start.
”

Does that pique your interest? Now is your chance to win this novella! :)

~~~~~

Giveaway:

Shayla Kersten has generously offered an ebook copy of River of Need to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post for a chance to win. I much appreciate it when you follow my blog (via Google connect in my sidebar), but I leave that up to you. :)

This giveaway is open to everyone, I will announce the winner on Monday, November 1, so be sure to leave your comment before that and don’t forget to check back then or leave a way for me to contact you in your comment or profile.

Good luck to you all!

~~~~~

Linking:
Shayla Kersten’s website | weblog | on Goodreads | on Twitter | on Facebook

Buy River of Need here
Read an excerpt of River in Need here

~~~~~

Running and Upcoming Giveaways:

Tuesday: Fearless Desire by Stacey Espino
Wednesday: River of Need by Shayla Kersten
Thursday: Beyond Eden by Kele Moon
Friday: Dudleytown by L.B. Gregg

All giveaways run until next Monday, when I’ll announce the four winners.
~

Happy Gay Friday & Some Blog and Book Stuff

Friday night! Yay! This Friday flew by and I can hardly recall what I’ve done today. Which makes it pretty perfect imo. :)

I know it started with me staying in bed too long while finishing the novella The One that Got Away by T.C. Blue. It’s the first of four books in the One and One series and was a cute Friends to Lovers m/m story. Although it took the protags a little bit long to realize their love for each other (which made me want to smack them both at different times), I still enjoyed their story quite a bit. It was the first book I read by this author and I liked her writing style, it felt as if being in the heads of the heroes, alternately. When this is done well, it’s my favorite type of narrative. And T.C. Blue did it just right, switching to the other POV in time, without being it too fast. So, it was a 4 stars read for me!

~
Fairly recently, I found out about the upcoming release of a new book of one of my favorite authors, scheduled for October 27th: River of Need by Shayla Kersten. And also coming out this month (the 29th) is Dudleytown by LB Gregg, another one I’ll be jonesing for.

~

Did you notice yesterday’s guest review? The reviewer is Lis, another Dutch girl with whom I only recently ‘connected’. I’d seen her commenting at Wave’s blog before (as Larissa) but never realized how much we had in common and I’m so glad I invited her over to my blog to do a guest review. I loved her review and I’m proud to say that she will come back more often. I have Blodeuedd to thank for ‘introducing’ me to Lis with this review she wrote for B’s blog. Lis introduced herself there as an “incredibly chaotic, sword wielding cowgirl from Holland who lives and breathes books of the supernatural & paranormal variety stirred with some romantic, erotic and mystery and or historic ingredients.” Especially the sword wielding part piqued my curiosity (read yesterday’s review to learn more about that ;)). And she loves the m/m genre as much as I do! I really hope she’ll keep expressing her love for books with guest posts at my place and that you’ll like that too.

~

Speaking of connecting with fellow Dutch smut lovers… Bloggy friend Leontine and I are planning another real life meeting later this month. We’re going to have a High Tea in Utrecht at this cute little place near one of the canals:

I already look forward to hours of talking about books and blog stuff with Leontine while eating the most delicious sweet things and drinking tea. Wanna join us? :)

It’s bed time for me now…

Happy Gay Friday!

~

Monday’s Hot Couple & Sexy, Smutty Scene from Shrouded Angel by Shayla Kersten

[image]

Last weekend I bought a lot of, mostly m/m, ebooks because I needed to feel good after suffering from post-vacation-stress. ;) *it’s always good to have a 'valid' excuse in case hubby asks why so many* Another reason for the binge was that there were quite some cool releases I was looking forward to. One of them was the newest book in Shayla Kersten’s Angel Moon trilogy: Shrouded Angel. She's one of my favorite M/M authors and this is the second book in the series... I haven’t read the first book yet because I rather save them until the release of the last book is near… I’m not saying that I’m gonna make it that long but it’s definitely easier to be patient at this point than when I’m in the middle of the series. Anyhow, still, I always have to buy the other books of a series on (or close to) release date. Silly, huh?

This week’s sexy scene is from the second book, Shrouded Angel, but pictures the heroes from the first book who are apparently back in book #2 although it has new main characters. BTW They all have tricky names (Teo and Sorin – book #1, Hadreal and Patrea – book #2) but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to read their stories. :) In the next scene Teo and Sorin are having a quickie early on in the book. Enjoy!


“
Sorin almost knocked the chair over in his haste to follow. “Need to be quick. Might not have too much time. Salva doesn’t stay asleep long.”
Large hands cupped Teo’s shoulders. Sorin’s chest warmed Teo’s back. When his hips nudged forward, his groin pressed into Teo’s body. The growing ridge of Sorin’s cock against him lightened Teo’s mood even more. “Yeah.”
“Love you.” Sorin’s breath teased the back of Teo’s ear. He pushed Teo through the door to the private bathing area. A quick slap of the controls locked the door. “Best against interruptions.”
“Yeah. Good thinking.” Heat washed through Teo. Desire drove blood to his cock, filling and lengthening. Twisting under Sorin’s hands, Teo faced his tall lover. “We could wait on that shower.”
A grin twisted Sorin’s mouth. “Anything you say.” He shuffled forward, pushing Teo back against a full-length mirror. An unusual vanity on a smuggler, but it could prove interesting. Sorin ran his hands down Teo’s sides. A glint of evil amusement shone in Sorin’s eyes. His normal smile turned into a toothy grin. “Turn around.”
Teo whirled around, facing his reflection in the mirror. Sorin’s intense gaze focused on Teo’s body. Watching his lover sent Teo’s desire rampaging through his body. Very interesting.
Sorin’s palms cupped the backs of Teo’s hands. Strong fingers twined through his. Clasped fast, Sorin ran their hands up the cold metal wall on either side of the mirror, rising until their arms were above Teo’s head.
“We need to add a few improvements to our new place. A couple of hooks right here would be perfect.” Sorin flexed his wrists, tapping Teo’s knuckles against the wall. “A little rope…a quick twist…” He dipped his head until his face nuzzled Teo’s ear. “Holding you in place while I do what I want…” His tongue flickered against Teo’s earlobe.
A shudder of desire and need flashed through Teo. “Yeah. Sounds good.” He pushed his hips back, pressing the ridge of Sorin’s cock against his ass.
“Horny, eh?” Sorin pulled back, leaving Teo rubbing against air. “Have an idea…”
Hands tightened around Teo’s wrist, hampering his attempt to follow Sorin’s body. “Anything. Need you.”
“Sweet.” Sorin’s large hand tugged Teo’s head around until his mouth met Teo’s in a bruising kiss.
”

Shayla Kersten’s weblog | on Goodreads
Buy Shrouded Angel here

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Backblurb Shrouded Angel:

Terra offers sanctuary to both Angellum and Virkola. Unknown to the humans, a truce exists there. To Terrans, the two species exist as myths. One is a frail, winged creature from religious texts. The other, a demon of the night, living off blood. Both are far from the truth…
Because of the Angellum, Patrea, a Virkolan, has spent his life afraid of loss. When darkness descends on his ship in the form of a strange angel, Patrea feels he can’t stay on the Avere. But departing would mean leaving behind the only light in his life—his bunkmate Hadreal. He needs to find the courage to tell Hadreal how he feels.
Hadreal has always felt more than friendship for his younger bunkmate, but bitter past experience keeps him from acting on his feelings. When a new danger brings them closer, he decides it might be time to live again. But now his chance at happiness may end before he’s able to sample it.
Sometimes it takes a brush with death to make life worth living.

~~~~~
Are you like me, putting off reading series until the last book is (nearly) out, but buying the separate books on or shortly after release date? Or can’t you wait reading? Or can you control yourself buying?

Happy Monday!

Fan Letter To Shayla Kersten

Today it’s my turn to let my inner fan girl scream, as part of the amazing Fan Letter Blog Crawl that Kassa started.

Yesterday E.H. from E.H. on Books ‘N More did two letters - one to Ms. LaVyrle Spencer and one to Ms. Jourdan Lane. Tomorrow Orannia (from the wonderful Walkabout blog) will write her fan letter. So, don’t forget to check that out!

The blog crawl is a great way to let authors known how much we appreciate them and how important they are to us bloggers and readers. I’m happy to be part of this celebration of authors who’ve touched us and enjoyed us with their wonderful books. For me, one of those authors is Shayla Kersten. So, here’s my letter to her:


Dear Ms. Shayla Kersten,

When I first started reading M/M romance novels late last summer, short after I discovered the joy of reading romances in general, one of the gay love stories I picked up was your novel A Helping Hand. It was a rather random purchase, mainly inspired by the backblurb and cover, at one of the first ebook seller’s sites I dared to visit and trust with my credit card information, after days of hesitating and wondering if this so called Ellora’s Cave publisher would be legit. So, on more than one front it was a bold venture, but boy, am I glad I took the risk.
I not only met these deliciously hot cops Rich and Dan, I also read one of the best Gay For You themed romances as of today. I instantly recognized it as one of my favorite themes in gay romance, together with the Friends Become Lovers theme which was also there. The emotional and sexual tension between these two friends was keeping me at the edge of my seat and making me hold my breath until they finally found their HEA.

I loved how you wrote it all down, how you made me fall in love with these guys, how you let me feel what they felt, how you left me all hot and bothered after each sexy scene and how you kept me so invested that I really didn’t want to finish the book although I desperately wanted Rich’s and Dan’s happy ending.
You can imagine how happy I was to discover your pretty decent backlist. Off I went and bought several more of your books. After reading a few others I declared myself a fan of your work and added you to my auto-buy list. Or actually, I didn’t have one yet, but instantly started one then, with you as the first author on it.

Since then, I’ve read many of your books. And I have quite some favorites among them: besides A Helping Hand, there are for example Forever, Hidden Force and Past Lies.
It doesn’t matter if your heroes are cops (the Tennessee cops series), a Dom or sub (From Thirty Days to Forever series), an attorney or paramedic (Positive Possibilities), a tattooed cake baker (Icing on the Cake), a mayor or self-made millionaire (Past Lies), an archaeologist or time-traveler (For Olympus’ Sake), or a vampire (Eternity series), they all are easy to fall in love with because of the way you make them come alive and three-dimensional. The diversity of your characters never gets boring and they all have one thing in common: they’re sexy as hell!

Your writing has a lot of other qualities I love. Somehow you manage to make it easy to picture a scene with just a few well-placed words, I never go ‘wait, where did he place his leg/arm/etc.’ and have to go back to look it up. I just don’t get confused and it all makes sense, which is a writing quality I appreciate much. Another one is the slightly hidden but still present touches of humor in your books. It’s mostly in the way your heroes interact with each other, no matter how intense their relationships can get there’s always a light moment or two. Yet another quality is how you know how to explore every romantic relationship you write about, to its full potential. For example, I loved how you took Randy and Paul (from Past Lies) not only out of the closet (making them feel like teenagers again) but into some bondage and kinky play as well.

I could go on and on about how much I love your work, your heroes, their relationships and your writing. Just know that although I’m not much of a rereader I would definitely reread your books. The chance is getting bigger since I only have a few of your books left on my TBR shelf… No surprise that I’m yearning for your future novels. I especially can’t wait for the fourth Tennessee cops book!

So, here’s to many more of your wonderful books and thank you so much for the ones you’ve already written!

Warmly,
Janna
~~~~~~~

Shayla Kersten's blog
Shayla Kersten's books at Ellora's Cave

Blog lovin’ & Last Five Books I Read

The lovely Tracy @ Tracy’s Place has given me the Bodacious Blogging Book Reviewers Award. Thank you so much, Tracy!

Here's how it works:

1. Leave a comment on the post you were nominated on.
2. Then copy and paste the post and add it to your own blog. Make a list of the last 5 books you read and pass the award on to 5 other bloggers.
3. Please also identify the blog from which you got the award and don't forget to tell them they have a blog award!

I took the chance to share my thoughts about the 5 books, although that’s not requested for the award. So, don’t worry, my sweets :)

I am paying this award forward to:

Heather @ Darkly Reading
Lynette @ Lynette’s Two Cents
Renee @ Renee’s Book Addiction
Pattepoilue @ One Book Away From Heaven
Miranda @ Sweet Vernal Zephyr

The last 5 books I read were:

Out of My Mind by M.L. Rhodes (151p.)

Summary: Police detectives Rafferty and Nick are best friends and colleagues for four years now. But since his divorce a couple of months ago Raff’s been having erotic fantasies about Nick, which shocks him, being the straight man he is. Nick’s always known he’s gay, but keeps this under wraps on the job. When the two of them make a weekend trip on Raff’s boat things get stormy.
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My thoughts: I’ve never read anything by this author before, but I’m definitely going to make up for that. Because I LOVED this story! I’m always a sucker for friends become lovers stories and for the GFY (gay for you) theme, especially when it’s been exercised so well as in this story. Raff and Nick both got to me, almost instantly, and I felt really connected with each of them. Ms. Rhodes shifts the point of view from one character to the other at the right moments to accomplish that. And OMG, the emotions were so tangible, it was heart wrenching! I couldn’t help sobbing for these guys. Besides the heart aching moments this story also had some nail biting, thrilling scenes, very hot smexing and sweet kissing scenes, great interior monologues and a satisfying ending. So, what are you waiting for, go grab this book! ;)
4.5 stars

Somatesthesia by Ann Somerville (177p.)

Summary: 2041. Devlin and Connor are both investigators of the Federal Justice Agency. Connor is not an ordinary human, he has scientifically enhanced senses, as some sort of cyborg. He’s known to have zero social skills. When he’s being partnered up with Devlin this rapidly changes together with the building sexual tension between the two of them. But their attraction puts everything at risk, not in the last place their jobs.
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My thoughts: This book was recommended to me by blogger and twitter friend Lynette @ Lynette’s Two Cents. I bought it more or less blindly, so I was kind of surprised when I started reading it to find out that it’s a futuristic novel. The cyborg thing caught me off guard and I wondered what I’d gotten myself into. But, it didn’t take me more than 20 pages to get used to the idea and actually start liking the premise. The awkwardness of Connor and the openness and quirky humor of Devlin did work for me and I couldn’t wait for the teasing sexual tension to turn into something concrete. Meanwhile the case they were working on, about child abduction, brought some good suspense too. But then in the middle of the book I started to get bored a wee bit. There was not only a dip in the plot – not a lot happened regarding the investigation or the romantic evolvements – but I also couldn’t appreciate the narrating choices of the author. There was too much telling instead of showing imo. And, not unimportant for me, the love scenes mainly took place off stage. Fortunately, the flow came back in the story when the suspense got high again and some decisions were to be made regarding the relationship. All in all, this was a good futuristic novel that had its highs and lows for me, but that I enjoyed pretty much.
3.75 stars

Positive Possibilities by Shayla Kersten (82p.)

Summary: Gabe's life has just turned upside down. His lover of six years is cheating and his supposedly straight best friend of twenty-something years claims to be in love with him. Throw in that his cheating ex has possibly exposed him to HIV and Gabe's world is a confusing place. Dean has always been attracted to both sexes, but staying on the straight and narrow seemed an easier path. Now he has to convince Gabe of the positive possibilities of taking their friendship to another level.
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My thoughts: Ms. Kersten always writes wonderful characters, that I can feel connected with. The way she shows a snippet from their lives, makes you understand them completely. In this story we meet Gabe and Dean, who are such hot, delicious and sweet guys. And their chemistry is great! They are friends for decades and one is straight, the other gay. So, both my favorite themes are present: friends become lovers and GFY! Add some tension to the mix in the shape of a cheating boyfriend and the threat of HIV, and Positive Possibilities has all the ingredients that make me happy. The only thing that could’ve made me even happier, was a little more anxiety or angst, for example when they had to fight another obstacle to be together over a longer period of time. Now the complete story took place within only a few days. But it’s my standard reaction to want more when I really like a couple, so nothing new there. I enjoyed this story anyhow, so I’ll better put my demanding inner self back in the box. ;)
4 stars

Gaps in Your Soul by Shayla Kersten (52p.)

Summary: Jared can handle any challenge life throws him, whether in combat or at his best friend's wedding. Facing the groom's brother and the memories of their one-night stand isn't so easy. Even tougher is the excitement he still feels for the man he left behind. For ten years Dalton hasn't forgotten the pain of Jared walking out on him or the passion of their one night. He has the perfect plan for revenge. Bring Jared to his knees with pleasure and leave him there.
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My thoughts: Jared is breaking my heart, he’s a tortured soldier who’s lost one of his men in Afghanistan in the attack that wounded his leg. And he’s so deep in the closet that he doesn’t know how to find the door when he wanted to. And then there’s Dalton, light-hearted and happily gay, but still crushed on Jared after avoiding him for ten years. His plan to take revenge does of course backfire. And then the awkwardness begins. Everyone can tell that they are meant for each other, sparks fly around when they’re together, but how to get this closeted gay out of that dark closet? That’s a tricky thing in romance stories and I got to say that Ms. Kersten didn’t convince me completely with the way Jared came out. First there were the alcohol and drug induced previous encounters with Dalton that left me with doubts about Jared’s willingness to admit he’s gay. Then there were the symptoms of him having some sort of post traumatic stress problems, that made me think he should get therapy first, before he could decide who he loved or what life altering changes he could make. Alas, when you don’t mind to suspend some disbelief I guess the ending was pretty cute. But I think maybe only a full length novel could’ve shown this kind of subject to full advantage. It would’ve given Jared some more time to come to terms with his feelings and that would’ve made the happy ending more believable. But this still was an enjoyable read, despite the length.
3.5 stars

Mark’s Toy Box by Laine Williams (33p.)

Summary: Mark and Keith have a good relationship. Even though Mark is way more experienced than his cop lover, he knows Keith loves him, and he's pretty happy. Every once in awhile, though, Mark thinks about the box of toys he's collected over the years. When Keith catches Mark playing with a few toys by himself, things heat up fast, but will Keith be freaked out by some of Mark's collection?
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My thoughts: This is the prequel to a series of shorts about the sexy couple Mark and Keith, that’s called Lessons in Mastery. Tam @ Tam’s Reads brought it to my attention a couple of weeks ago when she did a New Zealand post (haven’t discovered the NZ connection in this first one yet, Tam, ;) but that’s not what I bought this series for of course). It was Tam’s praise and the to be discovered D/s aspect of Mark’s and Keith’s relationship that piqued my interest. Although it’s a very short first story, I instantly liked this couple. Mark is the playful, smaller guy that has the happy, bouncing around attitude, despite the bad experiences he must have had. Keith is the big, caring alpha who’s self-assured even while he lacks experience when it comes to gay love. They have chemistry in kilos but still a lot to discover together. That’s why Mark doesn’t know how Keith will react when he finds out about Mark’s toy box which contains quite some collection! Well, I can only say that I loved his reaction! A lot. The rest you should check out for yourself. :)
4 stars

Happy Gay Friday & What I've Read

Wow, it’s Friday again. Time for some man on man love! Yay!
Isn't this a hot looking couple? *sigh*

Before I forget, let me remind you of the giveaway of Sloan Parker’s M/M/M romance here at my place. You can still go to Sloan’s guest post on POV here, to enter, until Monday night. I also have an M/F giveaway going on here, until tomorrow night.

Then my M/M reads. The past weeks have been quite good, m/m reading wise. I’ve read a few shorts (Ratchet by Chris Owen & Jodi Payne from their Deviations series and the free story Pineapples & Chocolate by E.M. Lynley) and I’ve read books 3, 4, 5 and 6 in the Bay City Paranormal Investigations series by Ally Blue. Now I have only book 7 from this series left and I find myself postponing reading this one because I don’t want to feel desperate for the release of book 8 (which is not known to be written yet and may not be written at all).
I want to review the books from this series in a separate post in the near future. At least the first five books, which are all centered on Sam and Bo’s love story. The sixth book is telling, their friend and colleague, Dean’s story and the seventh will be about Bo’s son Adrian, so they can both be read (and reviewed) as a standalone.

Like I said I took a little break from Ally Blue’s BCPI series and I did that with two books from authors who weren’t new to me: L.B. Gregg and Shayla Kersten. I’ve enjoyed their work before and they are both on my auto-buy list.

First I read Happy Ending by L.B. Gregg for the DIK Reading Challenge. I have to write a longer review for that but here’s my first impression of this second book of the Men of Smithfield series:
The opening scene is memorable and hilarious. Overall this was an enjoyable read although I didn't laugh out loud as much as I did with L.B. Gregg's other books. Still, Seth made me chuckle quite a lot and he's a rather refreshing character, with his gruffness and direct, short responses. He and David are an unusual and somewhat odd couple - talk about opposites attract - but the author succeeded in making me believe in their pairing. I thought the story ended at a point that their relationship started to get interesting and I found myself wishing the book had at least 50 more pages. My rate: 3.5 stars.

Backblurb:
All Seth really wanted was a simple massage—was that too much to ask? When his usual therapist is replaced by a sexy young masseur, Seth finds himself obsessed with the unpredictable - and wholly inappropriate - David Cooke. Pushed to the breaking point by forces both mysterious and not so mysterious, Seth must lose his rigid control to find the happy ending both he and David deserve.

Second I read Icing on the Cake by Shayla Kersten. My thoughts:
Although this is only 48 pages I really enjoyed this story! Okay, I wouldn't mind if it had been twice or three times as long, because that had probably satisfied my curiosity about this deliciously sexy couple. Jeff and Ollie are such interesting characters that I want to know more about them. Together they are incredibly hot. Jeff is a closeted, conservative, big shot business man and Ollie is a bold, tattooed and pierced biker kind of guy who bakes cakes for a living, and is very successful at that. Their attraction is an unlikely one but made very believable and tangible. They do a lot of hot stuff with icing and other food. And they rock each other's world very convincingly! I rate this with 4 stars.

Backblurb:
Jeff Morgan’s life is all about career. Relationships aren’t on his radar. His friendships are limited to a very few and his sex life consists of wham-bam-thank-you-man sexual encounters. He doesn’t do long term. He doesn’t even do breakfast.
Then the fate of a cake brings Ollie Cranford into his life. Shaved head, tats and piercings, the baker is far from Jeff’s type, but Ollie is as luscious as the treats he whips up in his bakery.
Now if only Jeff can relax long enough to enjoy the icing on the beefcake.

I also wanted to let you know that there's a wonderful post at Jessewave’s blog today about coming out that includes contributions from Ethan Day, Rick Reed, Sean Kennedy, John, Christian Otto, Batboy 126 and Ozakie Knotts. The contributions give a glimpse of the lives and personal experiences of these gay men who talk about “coming out” or choosing to remain in the closet.

Have a Happy Gay Friday!

Short review of Double Happiness by Shayla Kersten

Shayla Kersten
Double Happiness
Ellora’s Cave Publishing, 2008

Genre & Keywords: Gay, M/M , Interracial, Interfering mother-in-law

Rating: êêêê
Heat level: ¹¹

I love the M/M stories of Shayla Kersten a lot. The past couple of months I’ve read and reviewed A Helping Hand, Hidden Force, Thirty Days and Forever. She also wrote a vampire series of which I’m gonna try the first book, The Cost of Eternity soon. Double Happiness is a stand-alone novella about two men, Chen and David, who are about to get married. But Chen’s mother is showing up with malice in mind. She’s not approving of David at all, because she wants a daughter-in-law. She tries to drive a wedge between the two lovers.

Double Happiness is a lovely quick read. It’s funny and sweet with a few sexy love scenes. The characters are well portrayed, as always in Shayla Kersten’s stories. David is a great guy whom it’s easy to empathize with. Both guys are hot and likeable, although Chen’s at first a bit of a mollycoddle or at least too credulous when it comes to his mother’s good intentions. David is kinda adorable and funny in his behavior around and thoughts about Chen’s mother, because he’s biting his tongue more than once. While his thoughts, mostly in italic, show exactly his bad boyish sarcasm and rebelliousness.
The following excerpt shows a little bit of that. Read the complete excerpt on Ellora’s Cave website.

Excerpt:
A quick glance warned him Tai wasn’t playing fair. David couldn’t stand to see Tai unhappy and the younger man knew it only too well.
Retreating around the table, David kept his back to his lover. Their dinner cooling on the counter was a safer place for his gaze. “You have to tell her no.” The Ice Queen hated him. She’d be nothing but trouble
“How can I tell her she can’t come to the wedding of her only child?”
The small affair four days from now was a celebration of their domestic partnership papers. Living in New York, it was all they could do…for now.
Slamming his palms on the counter, David growled, “Does she know it’s not really a wedding?” A sharp gasp forced him to turn around.
Tai’s almond-shaped eyes narrowed into a glare. “It is to me. And it was to you before you knew Ma was coming.”
Uh-oh… Extract foot… “It still is. You know what I mean.” David grabbed the bag of food then set it on the table.
Tai’s frown softened. “Her being here is a big concession. You know how she feels about me being gay.”
“Yeah…all my fault… You know she’ll cause problems. She’d love nothing better than to see us split up. I just don’t want her coming between us.”
Tai opened the bag then pulled out an aluminum container. “I don’t think that’s why she wants to be here.”
David snorted. The woman wouldn’t piss on him if he were on fire. “She never once spoke to me in San Francisco. I didn’t know the meaning of ‘look through’ someone until I met her.”
Tai slammed another container on the table. “Give her a break. It was my father’s funeral.”
“I know, babe.” David circled the table then pulled Tai into a tight hug. The funeral a year ago had been hard on his lover. “I’m sorry. But three days—we were there three days. She couldn’t speak to me even once?”
Tai’s hands clutched David’s back. “It was a tough time for her. But now you’re going to be her son-in-law.” Pulling his head back, Tai glanced up at David. “Maybe she wants to make amends.”
“Maybe…but I’ll believe it when I see it.” When pigs fly… “When does she arrive?”
“Tomorrow evening. I’ll see if I can get off work early so I can pick her up.”
David sent a silent plea to any and all gods. He didn’t want to have to greet the Ice Queen alone.

And this is only the beginning of a well-paced story that made me chuckle on several occasions. I must admit that I thought the idea of an interfering mother-in-law in a gay relationship refreshing. At least I haven’t read about such a situation (but then again, I’m fairly new to the romance genre *grin*). Besides the fun, this story provided some hotness and some struggle (must-have-ingredients in a romance for me). Although the bad situation was solved a little bit too easy, it was plotted well.

So, if you’re looking for a fun, quick M/M read, you can definitely give Double Happiness a try!

The Back Blurb:
Chen Jin Tai faces the worst possible news only days from his commitment ceremony with his lover—Tai’s estranged mother is coming to the wedding. Unable to accept her son’s sexuality—she’s determined to have a daughter-in-law—Chen Qi Xiang’s visit is unexpected. Tai wants to believe she’s looking for reconciliation but he knows his lover’s attitude will be anything but optimistic.
David Anderson never thought about settling down until he literally bumped into Tai on the street. Before Tai, sex was for fun and love wasn’t an option. Now two years later, he can’t imagine life without his partner. Tai’s Ice Queen mother showing up with malice in mind could be the beginning of the end of the best thing in his life.
Two beautiful men, one tiny Chinese soon-to-be mother-in-law, a live cricket as a present and a red wedding dress. It’s about to be an interesting next few days and the men are going to learn a whole new level of sexual excitement.

Review of Hidden Force by Shayla Kersten

Shayla Kersten
Hidden Force
Ellora’s Cave Publishing, November 2007
Genre & Keywords: Gay | M/M | Coming out | Cops | Suspense
Rating: êêêêê
Heat level: ¹¹¹

This is the fourth book I’ve read by Shayla Kersten and she definitely is one of my favorite authors! Hidden Force didn’t disappoint me either. Not at all! Again it’s one hot and exciting story! Not only does she never fail to portray her characters very well and make me sympathize with them very easily, she also knows how to build a solid layer of suspense and add a lot of hotness to the mix. There’s just nothing to dislike in her stories, unless you’re not into gay love I guess. I for one am becoming a big fan of gay romances, and Shayla Kersten is one of the authors responsible for that J.

Hidden Force is part of a series of three books about hot gay policemen. The other two titles are A Helping Hand (look for my review here >>>) and Hidden Hands.
Tony and Ryan are friends with benefits. Ryan would like to be it more than that, but Tony wants to hide their relationship and his sexual preference. But then a serial killer is drawing their attention and things start to get dangerous. Feelings are changing and they might lose what they’ve got.
My stomach fluttered a few times reading some of the love scenes between Tony and Ryan. They were scorching and arousing as well as compassionate. The feelings of excitement and love of the characters did come alive because of the way the author wrote these scenes. It’s hard not to love these two guys with all their comprehensible feelings, doubts, fears and thoughts - and I liked the way the secondary characters were portrayed as well. The sub story about the serial killer is very believable and adds a lot of suspense, which increases the reading pleasure. But it doesn’t overshadow the main story at any time, it only complements it. Shayla Kersten truly does know how to write great books and I’m looking forward to read Hidden Hands (and some more of her books I’ve purchased at Ellora’s Cave’s eBook shop ;-))!

Back Blurb:
Cold-blooded murder and hot-blooded passion…
Memphis homicide detective Tony Costa's life is twisted with both. A killer is stalking prey in the bitter winter nights leaving a trail of victims with hauntingly familiar features. The blond-haired, blue-eyed young men resemble the vice cop whose bed he secretly shares. Afraid of revealing his secret to the world, he may be too late to tell the one person who matters.
Ryan Nilsson wants more than a friend with benefits. Out about his sexuality since high school, Ryan doesn't like hiding his relationship with Tony, but he's not willing to end it. Asked to work with Tony on a series of murders, things heat up and not always in a good way. When an old lover resurfaces during the investigation, Ryan makes a decision that may be his last.

Review of Thirty Days and Forever by Shayla Kersten

Shayla Kersten
Thirty Days
Liquid Silver Books, 2007
Genre: Gay | M/M | Bdsm
Rating: êêêê½
Heat level: ¹¹

Thirty Days is the first of two books about Master Biton and his sub Cavan. In this book they meet, a few months after Biton has lost his partner and the love of his life, Eric. He’s still grieving and not looking for a new sub yet. In fact he’s considering a retirement. But when he’s invited by good friends to a private party he meets Cavan, who’s been badly abused. Biton is interested in the young man and his story. He’s not sure what he’s getting himself into, but Cavan’s terrible past and his psychological problems also help Biton to get over Eric’s death and his own grief. It’s really lovely to see how these two troubled men gradually grow on each other. Biton is really sweet for Cavan and the young man learns fast to trust his new Master. The title of this novel refers to the length of their D/s contract. Cavan is anxious to know if Biton wants to prolong the contract after their thirty days are up. Before the decision can be made, the two men will have to deal with a lot of issues.
I just couldn’t put the book down, because their story is really catching and getting to you. The way Shayla Kersten writes about their attraction and growing love for each other is very convincing and enjoyable. I truly felt compassion for both men and did fall a little bit in love with Biton, who’s not only hot but also so considerate and tender with Cavan. I was glad their story doesn’t end on the last page of Thirty Days but continues in Forever - and that I bought the two books together. Because I think their story isn’t complete at the end of the first novel. They still have a long way to go. Look for my thoughts about Forever after the back blurb.

Back Blurb: Biton Savakis, a 42 year old wealthy lawyer in New York City, is lost without his beloved slave of ten years. Since Erik’s death from cancer three months before, the will to continue his life as a Dom slipped away. Until now. The forlorn redhead looks as lost as Biton feels. Maybe the young man can help ease his pain, even if only for a little while. Unfortunately, the young man comes with his own emotional baggage.
Cavan never chose the life of a slave but he doesn’t clearly remember a time when he wasn’t one. Beaten close to death and thrown aside by his former Master, Cavan doesn’t know how to do anything else. When Biton offers him a temporary contract, Cavan doesn’t understand the meaning of his new Master’s words. All he knows is he has a new home and someone to serve. But what will happen to him when the contract ends... In thirty days...

_____

Shayla Kersten
Forever
Liquid Silver Books, 2007
Genre: Gay | M/M | Bdsm
Rating: êêêêê
Heat level: ¹¹¹

After the arrest of Cavan’s former Master and their initial thirty days contract ended, Biton and Cavan are still together and trying to find out if they can have a true D/s relation. Cavan is still working to leave his trauma behind him and Biton is giving him his space. On advice of Cavan’s therapist they don’t have sex and they don’t talk about the therapy. That doesn’t help them to become closer, of course. When Cavan rebels against his therapist, because she tries to convince him to leave Biton, he runs and he has a breakthrough on his road to independency. It makes their relationship stronger and more equal. But then Shayla Kersten turns the suspension up a knot when Cavan’s past gets back at him.
When it was hard to put Thirty Days down, it was impossible to do so with Forever. It was more thrilling and exciting, where Thirty Days was sweet, tender and full of pathos. Not that Forever wasn’t all that too, but it was even more than that. The love scenes were super hot on top of that. The two books complement each other in a wonderful way. You just want to keep on reading and reading about these sexy, hot, kind and lovely men. So I really recommend both books, I loved them!

Back Blurb: In Biton Savakis’ opinion, following the advice of Cavan’s therapist isn’t working. Refraining from dominant play with an abused submissive trying to heal is one thing. Biton is willing to forgo that part of his life. However, not talking to Cavan about making their arrangement permanent doesn’t make sense.
Three months after his new master promises him forever, Cavan is afraid it won’t happen. Although the thirty day contract is long over, Biton hasn’t offered a new one. Nightmares about testifying against his former master doesn’t make life easier.
Just as Cavan begins to understand what he means to Biton, Cavan’s past reaches out to steal his happiness and maybe his life.

Review of A Helping Hand by Shayla Kersten

Shayla Kersten
A Helping Hand
Ellora's Cave Publishing, August 2008
Genre: Gay | M/M | Cops | Best Friends Become Lovers | Straight Guy Turns Gay
Rating: êêêêê
Heat level: ¹¹¹

Wow!! This novel is very, very hot, sweet, sexy, lovely, arousing, enjoying and surprising. I really recommend this book if you like reading about M/M love, friends turning into lovers and handsome, straight guys discovering their attraction to a man with all the confusing feelings and doubts that go with that discovery. Because Shayla Kersten truly wrote a great story with all these ingredients. And luckily this novel is the first in a series of three, the other two titles are Hidden Force and Hidden Hands. All are M/M stories with policemen as heroes. I’m gonna read them for sure, because if they’re only half as good as this one… *gasp*

A Helping Hand is the story of best friends Rich and Dan, who live in a small town and work for the Sheriff’s Department. Dan is a lady’s man; he’s dating a lot in his search for the right woman to spend his future with. Rich is gay but quiet about it. And he’s in lust with his friend Dan for years now. When he witnesses Dan’s car take a spin and crash, he realizes that his feelings go much deeper. A period follows in which Rich has to take care of Dan because of his injuries. In this period the two men get to share intimate moments which lead to more. And this really shakes their worlds.
Not only are their dialogues and actions well-written about, their feelings, doubts and behavior are also believable and developed very well. The love scenes between the two men were scorching hot and a real joy to read. So, again I’m rating a book by a new-to-me-author this week with 5 stars!

Back Blurb: Deputy Sheriff Rich Taylor has many secrets. His sexuality is only the top of the list. Even his best friend Dan doesn’t know Rich is gay. For good reason. His feelings for Dan are more than friendship. When Dan’s injured, the thought of losing him forces Rich to admit his years-long lust has turned to love.
An accident turns State Trooper Dan Fletcher’s life, and his car, upside down. With his right hand out of commission, he has to rely on his best friend for his basic—sometimes intimate—needs. After spending most of his life looking for the right woman, he begins to wonder if he’s been looking at the wrong gender—an impossible concept in their small-minded world.