HIS LION TAMER

TITLE: HIS LION TAMER

AUTHOR: CAITLIN RICCI

Pages: 116

Date: 30/04/2014

Grade: 4

Details: Received from Dreamspinner Press

            Through Love Romances and More

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The blurb:

“Charlie thinks his Friday will be the same as any other working as an animator, until Quinn Fitzgerald and his rescued Asiatic Lion, Aseem, walk into the studio. While the lion is impressive, his handler is the real reason Charlie’s heart skips a beat. 

Quinn has devoted years of his life to rescuing big cats, so he can’t turn down the donation the animation company is offering in exchange for using one of his cats as a model. 

Charlie isn’t quite as confident as the handsome, charming man his sister teasingly calls Sex God Quinn Fitzgerald. He’s so nervous he can hardly talk to the other man, so he’s shocked when Quinn not only notices him but invites him to spend the weekend at his big cat sanctuary.” 

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My thoughts:

Note: This novella is derived from a combination of two novellas previously published by Silver Publishing: Taming the Lion Tamer and Lions in the Candlelight

Quinn Fitzgerald runs a sanctuary for large cats. When he brings his young Asiatic Lion, Aseem to an animation studio to model for the artists, all he expects in return is a donation and maybe some exposure for his sanctuary. What he didn’t expect to find was the interesting but very shy artist who draws a wonderful picture of the lion. When Quinn leaves his gives Charlie his card and invites him to come for a visit the following weekend.

Charlie is insecure and shy as well as very impressed with the self-assured and very attractive Quinn. He can’t believe the man would talk to him never mind invite him to his sanctuary. Despite his shyness and encouraged by his sister he decides to accept the invitation.

The weekend will change both men’s lives in ways they couldn’t have foreseen.

I should start by saying that this description only covers the first part of the book. I’ve got a feeling it may well have been the description for ‘Taming the Lion Tamer’ when this book was still two novellas’. I’m disinclined to expand on it though. I think it is nicer if you’re unaware of what or how much is still to come. I know I was very pleasantly surprised.

I enjoyed this book. It is a sweet, almost angst free romance about two men who are clearly made for each other. Quinn is loud, self-assured and in charge with a wonderful sense of humour and a big heart. In fact, Quinn was adorable. Charlie is far less secure in and about himself but brave enough to take the bull by the horn when opportunity stares him in the face. I loved reading about Quinn and Charlie together; the way they fitted and complemented each other was wonderful. They sparked off each other nicely and were very hot together too.

Charlie’s sister Lisa was an amazing secondary character, She is fun and completely over the top. I loved her and couldn’t stop laughing at her referring to Quinn as ‘Sex God Quinn Fitzgerald’.

It was nice to read a book in which we get some of the aftermath. Most romances are, for obvious reasons, about the road that leads to the two main characters getting together. There will be twists and turns, obstacles and U-turns but in the end, true love prevails. The reader leaves the characters at the moment when everything has at last come together and they can start the rest of their lives, together. This book gives a little bit more. The story goes on after the two men have found each other and decided to make a life together and I enjoyed it, even though I realise it is the result of this book previously being two stories. I enjoyed watching them living their daily lives in the sanctuary. I enjoyed seeing them still deliriously happy with each other after a few weeks, a few months, a year. And I loved the second happy ending we got to enjoy with Quinn and Charlie.

In fact, that’s the best way to describe this book: pure enjoyment. Easy to read, with likeable characters and a charming story this book gave me an afternoon of relaxed reading enjoyment. There are worse ways of spending your time.

THE FRENCH TOAST EMERGENCIES

TITLE: THE FRENCH TOAST EMERGENCIES

AUTHOR: BRIGHAM VAUGHN

Pages: 45

Date: 29/04/2014

Grade: 5

Details: Story M/M

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The blurb:

“Arthur Cain has removed himself from a social life littered with mistakes and unhappiness. When a freak April snowstorm hits, he just wants to stock up on the basics so he can get back to writing his thesis. Samuel Richards is a musician with a wicked sense of humor and he knows how to use it. The last thing he expected was to have it save him when he heads out for supplies and everything falls apart. The storm sends both to the grocery store, but neither had a “date” on their shopping list. 

It’s one disaster after another for Samuel, but the history student comes to his rescue. If only Arthur was as good dealing with live men as he was with dead Vikings.” 

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My thoughts:

“With ten to twelve inches predicted, don’t forget to stop at your local store and stock up on milk, eggs and bread. We have a level five French toast emergency...”

‘The French Toast Emergencies’ is a charming and wonderful story and since this is a new to me author also a revelation. I adored Arthur and Samuel and their meeting in a grocery store. With a freak April snow storm on the way, both young men are trying to stock up on essentials before the weather confines them to their houses. A tug of war over the last loaf of bread sparks something in both of them and when Samuel finds himself stranded outside the store after locking his keys in the car, Arthur offers him a place to sleep until the weather improves.

I loved the contrast between these two men. Arthur is very serious, caught up in writing his thesis, with little time for a social life, never mind dating. Samuel appears to be more carefree and playful and yet they’re perfectly suited to each other. I really liked that despite the obvious attraction between them, Arthur and Samuel decide not to rush things from the very first moment. And I loved, that when it came down to it, both of them were looking for the same thing. By the end of the story I felt that I knew both characters, which impressed me since it is ‘only’ 46 pages long.

All too often when I read short stories I’m left feeling short changed. The stories feel rushed, the characters underdeveloped or the ending disappointing. ‘The French Toast Emergencies’ had none of those issues. It was a complete and very satisfactory story about two interesting and likeable characters. I’m more than a little bit impressed and will have to add Brigham Vaughn to my must read list.

On a side-note, even if I hadn’t liked this story I would have loved the way it came into being; as the result of a Facebook thread. Which just goes to show that inspiration can really be found anywhere provided you’re open to it.

FRACTURED

TITLE: FRACTURED

AUTHOR: MICKIE B. ASHLING

Pages: 221

Date: 29/04/2014

Grade: 3.5

Details: A Bay Area Professionals book

            Received from Dreamspinner Press

            Through Love Romances and More

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The blurb:

“Roque “Ro” Celdran dreams of a better life, far away from the hand-to-mouth existence of his migrant worker family. He moves to San Francisco to study Landscape Design but finds himself short of cash. Tony, Ro’s identical twin, comes up with a plan to help Ro make ends meet. The BDSM club Tony frequents is looking for gay men to act as submissives to the Dommes-in-training. Ro reluctantly takes the job and falls headfirst into a world he neither understands nor desires. 

Lance Roberts is the new doctor at the dental practice started by Scott Gregory and Robin Kennedy. On the surface, he seems to have it all: the Mensa IQ, blond and blue-eyed good looks, and the determination to make it in his competitive field. Underneath lies a frustrated Dom in search of the perfect sub who can handle his obsessive behavior and debilitating need for control. 

When Ro ends up in Lance’s dental chair, the last thing either one expects is a physical and mental connection. Ro’s attraction to “White Bread” never pans out, and Lance’s weakness for Latinos always leads to a dead end. Could this time be different? What happens between the two alphas leads to a lot of soul-searching and some surprising conclusions.”

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My thoughts:

I do like a book that starts right in the middle of the action, and ‘Fractured’ certainly does that. The very first thing the reader encounters is poor Roque – Ro - Celdran being beating into a pulp not knowing what has provoked the attack and unable to adequately defend himself.

The beating leaves Ro with severe damage to his mouth and teeth which brings him to Lance Roberts’ surgery and the free dental care he so desperately needs. From the moment the two man meet there is an attraction between them. While both of them try to deny it to themselves for a while, it isn’t long before they are spending more time together and not much longer before they act on the irresistible pull.

Both Lance and Ro have issues they’d prefer not to share. Lance tries to hide his ODC from the man he’s attracted to, afraid his compulsive need for order will scare the other man off. Conscious that Ro is as much of an alpha as he is, Lance also decides against sharing his need to dominate with Ro. Ro has things he’s ashamed of as well and fails to mention that he has been supplementing his income by working as a submissive in a BDSM club. He doesn’t believe in BDSM or that it could ever be a viable life-style or relationship choice and has no interest in ever exploring it further. Ro also fails to mention his troubled twin brother Tony and the huge chip his has on his shoulder about being Latino.

The slow emergence of their secrets initially only brings the two man closer together. But when everything Tony has done comes back to haunt Ro, the time for secrets is over. And even full disclosure might not be enough to safe the relationship between these two man who thought they’d at last found what they’d been looking for all along. Even without the secrets they are still two dominant males wanting to control their counterpart. A delicate and surprising balance will have to be found.

There were quite a few things in this book I really liked. It was refreshing to read a book in which the two main characters were equally flawed and needed each other to the same extend. The issues between these two men and the secrets they wanted or needed to keep made perfect sense and added interest to the story. I also really approved of the fact that the conflict in this book was not drawn out. I do prefer a story in which a problem is dealt with rather than allowed to linger on for chapters on end. And most of all, I loved how these two dominant man managed to find a way to make their relationship work. I adored the give and take between them, with both Lance and Ro willing to give themselves to their partner in ways they’d never considered before.

I did have one issue with this book though. 52% into the story there’s a huge ‘for-telling’ of what’s to come. I had no objection to knowing that trouble lay ahead – I had known that since the start of the book. Nor did it bother me that I those few lines revealed who would be the cause of the problems – that had been clear from the start as well. I didn’t like that the exact from the problem would take was spelled out in detail nor the way in which it was described in those few line. In fact this frustrated me so much that I had to put the book down and walk away from it and found myself reluctant to pick it up again. And that was a shame because up until that point I had loved the story and was really invested in the characters and their journey.

This was an interesting story that would have been better if it the author had been a little bit stingier with the information she shared with the reader, or had timed that sharing differently. Overall though, I loved spending time with Ro and Lance and enjoyed their torturous road to happiness.

THE PLEASURES OF SPRING

TITLE: THE PLEASURES OF SPRING

AUTHOR: EVIE HUNTER

Pages: 320

Date: 27/04/2014

Grade: 4

Details: No. 4 Pleasures

             Received from Penguin Ireland

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The blurb:

An invitation to the hot and steamy world of bestselling Irish erotica author Evie Hunter...

He picked up her hand where it grasped the water glass, felt her pulse and looked into her eyes. 'You don't want a man with manners. You want someone who will let you walk on the wild side, who knows what you're really like ...'

Roz Spring is an actress and a chameleon, the kind of woman who always lands on her feet. But even Roz can't talk her way out of witnessing a murder, and she must go into hiding before the murderer comes for her.

Andy McTavish has turned his back on a life of privilege to prove himself in the world of international security. Tall, dark and dangerous, Andy is the ultimate seducer who has never met a woman who can tame him.

Roz needs his protection and, to get his family off his back, Andy needs a fake fiancée. The solution is obvious: pretend to be a couple. Getting up close and personal won't be hard, as the chemistry between them is electrifying.

As two practiced charmers drive each other beyond the limits of sensual endurance, they find their usual defences are no good. When the barriers come crashing down, a raw passion emerges that neither wants to admit.

They know that when the murderer shows his hand, they will face a fight for life and freedom. And if they survive, what will happen when the need to pretend is over?

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My thoughts:

Once again the two authors who are Evie Hunter have provided their readers with a fun, intense, intriguing and hot story. This is the fourth book in ‘The Pleasures’ series and didn’t disappoint.

Both Roz and Andy were wonderful characters, although Roz managed to captivate me most. None of Evie Hunter’s female characters have been shrinking violets or walk-overs but Roz is in a category of her own when it comes to independence and living life according to her own rules. Her slow progression from complete self- sufficiency and deep distrust of others to acceptance of her past and her own desire to share her life with others, was wonderful and almost overshadowed Andy’s journey from playboy adventure seeker to loving lord of the manor.

Did I mention that these two characters were hot together? Well, they were. Roz is a former professional dominatrix, convinced that she hasn’t a submissive bone in her body. Yet every time Andy takes control she finds herself not only, reluctantly and after a huge internal fight, submitting but also thriving on it. Andy has the time of his life giving this independent woman what she didn’t even know she wanted and needed. As for the reader, they are the lucky beneficiaries of Roz and Andy’s hot exploration of each other.

If I had an ‘issue’ with this book it would be that it took so long to get Roz and Andy together. Apart from a short interlude early on in the story they spend a lot of time apart while Roz is trying to hide and Andy is either trying to find her or spending time with his parents. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with those parts of the story but more that the story was so much more fascinating when the two of them were together. And I don’t just mean in the biblical sense, hot as those encounters were. The way Andy and Roz spark off each other and the constant struggle between them for the upper hand was entertaining overall and panty-melting when they got to the sexy stuff.

This book has it all, adventure, danger, hot sex, angsty romance and quite a few laugh out loud moments. Not to mention two fascinating main characters as well as interesting secondary characters. I can think of quite a few less enjoyable ways to spend a spring day.

While this is the fourth book in this series it can, without any problem, be read as a stand-alone title. Having said that, all the characters from the previous three books make an appearance here and already knowing their stories would probably add to your reading enjoyment. Taking into account that the three previous books are wonderful reads in their own right I can only recommend that you read those books as well.

If you’re interested links to my reviews of the previous titles can be found through the links below:

The Pleasures of Winter

The Pleasures of Summer

The Pleasures of Autumn

Don’t forget to take a look at the fascinating guest post the author wrote for me. Everything you might want to know about ‘Research for writing BDSM’ explained in a fun narrative.

And finally the authors have been kind enough to provide their readers with a free Kindle novella accompanying this book. If you want a taste of their writing or need more Roz and Andy, make your way over to Amazon and help yourself to ‘A Touch of Spring’.

Amazon UK

Amazon US.