Each of the three stories reviewed here, while unrelated to the others, share basic characteristics; one of the male characters has to make peace with himself regarding his sexuality. In each instance, he is not only extremely physically attracted to another man, but feels a very strong emotional attachment to him as well. But the emotions exist and, while they may struggle for awhile, there is no fighting true love.
I enjoyed each of these stories… the characters in them are varied, the progression of the relationships are different and the stories themselves vary. In one of the stories, the two main characters are police officers and dealing with a serial killer preying on young gay men. One involves a twenty-year high school reunion… and a reunion between two men who have known each other most of their lives. The other story is another reunion story, this time between a man and his best friend’s brother with whom he was always attracted.
None of them easy, but all of them heartwarming.
RATING:
Excellence: Great to Excellent ~ 3.5 stars
Steaminess: Inferno (male-male sex)
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BOOK READ:
Shayla Kersten; Naughty Nuptials: Gaps in Your Soul; Ellora's Cave; June 2007 [52 pgs]
FROM the Website:
Jared North 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 Rainey hasn't forgotten the pain of Jared walking out on him or the passion of their one night. His brother's wedding gives him the ideal opportunity for revenge. He has the perfect plan. Bring Jared to his knees with pleasure and leave him there.
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BOOK READ:
Shayla Kersten; Hidden Force; Ellora's Cave; November 2007 [95 pgs]
FROM the Website:
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.
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BOOK READ:
Shayla Kersten; Past Lies; Ellora's Cave; April 2008 [127 pgs]
FROM the Website:
Two opposite men, two different lives, two sets of past lies.
With his twenty-year high-school reunion looming, Paul Loughton dreads seeing the one person who could tempt him to stray from his path. Small-town mayor, lawyer and budding politician, Paul can't — won't — admit he's gay, even to himself. Years of denial and lies are now threatened by an inevitable encounter. With his denial slipping, he has to come face-to-face with temptation.
Randy Martin left his small-town roots behind before the ink on his diploma was dry. The cliquish world of his childhood didn't have room for the weird kid from the wrong side of the tracks. Rumors of his sexual preferences made life that much more difficult. Now, twenty years later, he should be anxious to rub his wealth and success in the faces of his former classmates. Except with one of them, the urge to rub something else hasn't diminished over the years.
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Books read in April: 13
Har / Sil ~ 3
Others ~ 10
October's MEMBER OF THE MONTH
kalyko ~ Reading: One of life's little joys and a much needed reward!
