King ( Executioners 3) by J.M. Dabney

Title: King                           Word Count:
Genre: Gay Biker Romance

Blurb:Andrew King’s life wasn’t what he’d expected it to be. At thirty he was a single dad who drove his rig to make ends meet and played in his band Executioners on the weekends. King saw himself being a husband again one day because that’s what was expected. When Melanie had gotten pregnant, their parents had given them one choice—they’d stuck it out a year. At twenty-eight, he became a single dad when Melanie went off to college. He loved his son more than anything, and they’d quickly fell into a life of just the two of them, well, not just the two of them there was Lincoln too. His ex-wife was still his best friend. They all co-parented Mal, it was natural and right.

Lincoln Church lived for his nephew and his teaching job. While King, his ex-brother-in-law, worked driving a truck. As a result, Mal ended up living with him most of the time. It was the closest Linc would ever come to being a dad. The only bleak spot in his life was his feelings for King which he thought would never be reciprocated. It wasn’t so bad because he still had King and Mal in his life and that meant the world to him.

A stupid accident and a broken leg sidelined King, keeping him off the road. When King needed help, Lincoln rushed in, and King couldn’t deny his attraction or love for Lincoln. Would one kiss ruin the weird, little family they’d created?

My Review: Andrew King has been in love with the same man for over a decade. There is only one issue, Lincoln Church is King’s ex-wife’s brother. King and his ex Melanie are childhood best friends who fell in bed together and got pregnant before their sexuality had been truly solidified. They have a beautiful son called Mal and a truly unorthodox family which is co-parented by all three adults. Linc takes care of Mal while King is on the road being a truck driver and Melanie is away at school studying to become a nurse. They usually meet somewhere in the middle and have quite the loving little family.

It would seem that all the Executioners, Brawlers, Twirled and Trenton crews know how these men feel about each other even before they can admit it. Linc has a few insecurities about being chubby, he doesn’t see how a sexy beast like King could be interested in him. On the other hand ,there is King who is totally head over heels in love with Linc, but feels guilty for carrying a torch for his ex-wife’s brother. They both have things they need to work out in their own heads. As usual it’s intervention from the crews that sets the course for the progression of love. It is Twitch , with the help of Elijah, Ben and Landon that opens up Linc’s eyes and pushes him towards his dream.

King has been doing some heavy introspection and he knows he can no longer wait for Linc to belong to him. Breaking his leg in a work accident gives him the opportunity to be homebound. Linc moves into King’s home and King expresses his feelings letting Linc know he wants to date him. Things progress slowly but steadily and its great to watch them coming together so seemlessly. They schedule their sexy times around play dates facilitated by Pyscho’s twins Rage and Gunner. They are just too cute in the way they protect and adore little Mal.

I really enjoyed watching the familial ties unfold amongst all the different crews. It is always great to see how the beloved partners continue to love each other unconditionally. Linc fits right in with the husbands and it doesn’t take long for him to become one. King proposes and as per tradition the matriarchs Lily and Peaches set up the wedding. Another great addition to the series,can’t wait to delve into the next one. I give this my ratings of 4-lose the underwear.

Can’t Fight It( The Blueridge Junction Boys 2) by A.D.Ellis

Title: Can’t Fight It                                  Word Count: 334 pgs

Genre: Contemporary Gay Romance

Blurb:For small-town tattoo artist Levi Wells his few forays into love have only brought him trouble. When trouble with a capital T came sashaying into town two years ago in the form of flamboyant young dancer Jay Owens, Levi becomes more determined than ever to stay away from anything remotely resembling a relationship. Especially one with someone so young and different than him.

Two years. That’s how long Jay has been trying to wear Levi down. But, Levi only sees Jay as a thorn in his side and balks at their differences every chance he gets. Luckily for them both, Jay isn’t going to let a little thing like Levi’s reluctance stand in the way of getting what he wants.

Levi is as stubborn as Jay is tenacious and they find themselves at an impasse. When Jay inadvertently gets himself into an unnerving situation, Levi’s protective nature surges forth even as he berates his heart for getting involved. Will Levi stay focused on their differences and keep fighting his true feelings? Or will Jay finally burrow through Levi’s self-imposed walls? One thing is for sure, you can’t fight love.

*Can’t Fight It is a male/male romance meant for ages 18+ due to language, themes, and adult scenes.*
My Review: Jay Owens is certainly a force to be reckoned with, every inch of his glorious twinky self. He’s had his heart set on a certain Tattoo God, Levi Wells ever since he’s moved to Blueridge Junction 2 years before. They have a great group of friends surrounding them and it is obvious how close they are when its Jay’s birthday. Jay is always fabulously flamboyant in his everyday life and it is increasingly apparent when he has a ‘pretty in pink’ party theme.

Jay is always flirty, sassy and overtly sexual whenever he is around Levi. His behavior makes Levi want to run for the hills. Levi doesn’t feel like Jay is his type especially given their 10 yr age gap. Jay heckles Levi and calls him ‘daddy’.Levi is constantly rebuffing Jay’s advances, but his walls are slowly tumbling down when he starts having sexy dreams about the sexy little twink. When Jay makes a thank you toast to his friends at his party, he opens up a little about his younger self and what drove him to Blueridge Junction. Jay’s home life was less than perfect with a drug addicted mother, he was left hungry and alone for the most part. Seeing Jay in this vulnerable light makes Levi want to wrap him up in his arms and take care of him. 

Levi comes to the decision, albeit kicking and screaming that it’s time to move forward in their relationship slowly. He can’t fight his feelings anymore and he acknowledges that Jay might be the perfect type of guy who can give him his happily ever after.Jay is ecstatic that all his dreams are finally coming through, but he soon understands it won’t be easy. Jay has a very independent spirit and he butts heads with Levi’s ‘take control’ attitude. Levi is left soothing ruffled feathers more than once.

Their first argument stems from a lack of communication and high-handed ways. Jay is extremely pissed when he finds out that Levi has gone behind his back and requested his boss give him time off. To Levi’s credit , he was just being protective of Jay since he has a stalker who keeps calling him. Jay works as an exotic dancer and Levi believes the two things are connected. Their friends provide insight when they explain that both Jay and Levi will definitely have to open the lines of communication for the longevity of their newfound relationship.

Jay and Levi talk things through and make plans for what their roles will be in their relationship. Jay realizes that his past has caused insecurities and he should just accept help when its given. He sees that Levi is more protective rather than controlling. When Jay gets another threat, Levi suggests that he move in with him. Levi has Jay’s best interest at heart and he just wants to love him and protect him now that they’ve ventured on this journey. I really enjoyed watching the sparks fly between these two, their sexual chemistry was amazing. They are opposites who complement each other in every way.

Before they can get their happily ever after, Jay gets a letter saying that his mother died. Levi goes with him to sort things out. This gives Jay closure and a bit of peace on his neglected childhood. It is bittersweet when he finds out that all the money he ever sent his mother was saved for him. She wrote an apology letter saying how much she loved him. For once , she actually did right by Jay. It doesn’t erase all the loneliness and hurt he felt as a child, but it has mended a small part of his heart and given him insight as to what he would like to do as a future career.

They have a couple of blissful days touring the city before they head home. Their friend Kennedy, the cop dealing with the stalker case tells them that the stalker has revealed himself. Jay decides to not press charges as he just wants to move on. Jay has plans to open up a dance studio with the nest egg that his mother saved for him. It will be a place where he can give youths a safe place to be who they want to be. Finally, Jay and Levi’s future is on the right track. I give this my ratings of 4 – lose the underwear.

No Filter ( No Shame 1) by Nora Phoenix

Title: No Filter               Word Count: 290 pgs

Genre: Contemporary Gay Romance

Blurb:Indy will do anything to prevent his mobster ex from finding him. Their last encounter left Indy recovering for months in the hospital, and ever since he’s become an expert at hiding in plain sight. Determined to stay under the radar, he takes on a new identity and moves from place to place. His life has no room for friendships, let alone love, so he keeps his heart firmly closed. After all, he has nothing to offer but a damaged body and a broken soul. Plus, he’s so done with men. Until he meets the man who breaks through all his defenses.

Former Army Medic Noah came back damaged from his last tour—in more than one way. Between supporting his best friend-with-benefits Josh who’s struggling with PTSD, dealing with his own issues, and the stress of his job as a physician assistant, rebuilding his life seems impossible. There’s little time for what Noah needs, let alone for what he wants. When he meets Indy, Noah discovers what he wants more than anything: for Indy to stay. But how will a relationship with Indy work when Noah needs Josh as well?

Indy never expected the strong, confident Noah to be as damaged and broken as himself. But what will happen if he starts letting Noah in? Indy knows he should run to protect Noah and Josh. 

Noah needs Indy to stay more than anything. But will what little he has to offer be enough to make Indy trust him and stay? 

No Filter is a steamy M/M romance featuring an open relationship (no cheating!) that ends with a HFN, but with the promise of a HEA. It’s the first book in the No Shame Series, and is not a stand-alone novel. It contains hot sex, a hint of a ménage, lots of talk about hot sex, flashbacks of said hot sex, and…Oh well, you get the idea. Also: trigger warning for mentions of sexual abuse.

My Review: If anyone would have told Indy that being subjected to a convenient store robbery would have been a turning point in his life, he wouldn’t have believed it. This is how he met Josh, the young army veteran who suffers from severe PTSD. Josh has a flashback the moment he saw the robber’s gun. It is Indy’s quick thinking that saves his life. Indy tackles Josh to the ground with his superior jiu jitsu moves to snap him out of his flashback. It sucks for Indy who already has a broken arm in a cast. Indy is trying to breath through the pain and stay in character since he is on the run and pretending to be a southern belle. Not wanting to blow his cover and desperate to get Josh out of his flashback, Indy decides to ground him by kissing him. It finally works and Josh slowly comes out of his spell.

By the time the cops show up, Indy is in severe pain and in need of medical attention. This is where Noah comes in, he is Josh’s best friend who is a former army medic. He works in the ER now and when Josh calls him frantic telling him he needs to protect Indy’s female persona, he steps in to help. Noah doesn’t know what to think when he meets Indy, but there is an instant spark between the two. However, it is clear to see that Indy is very afraid and hiding something. Warning bells go off in Noah’s head when he feels scars on Indy’s body. He also sees signs of trauma in Indy’s reactions to being restrained.

When Noah and Josh offers Indy a place to stay and recover, he takes a leap of faith and puts his trust in these two men. Indy feels an attraction to Noah, something that hasn’t happened in quite some time. When Indy realizes that Josh and Noah shares a bedroom, he feels like a fool for lusting after somebody’s boyfriend. Noah explains that Josh and him have a very complexed relationship that may defy certain norms.

Watching these three men come together was exhilarating, sensual and a little bit confusing at times. It was the pure trust and honesty in their connections that pulls it all together for me. Here we have three broken men trying to piece together their wounded hearts and souls. We have Josh who suffers from PTSD and is very codependent on his best friend Noah. He is openly gay and navigating his sexually submissive side while also working through issues from his past. Then there is Noah who facilitates Josh’s codependency as a way of healing them both. Noah has lost his leg in the war and has some residual feelings of insecurity. He is only recently identifying and accepting himself as a gay man. Indy is the only other man that Noah has been attracted to sexually. Indy is on the run for his life. He feels like he is damaged goods and it is clear that he has suffered severe sexual trauma. Noah and Josh are the first two men he has been attracted to in awhile. It is Noah who makes him want to trust again. He feels unworthy and undeserving to be in a relationship with a strong man like Noah, because of his past. Indy is afraid to become too attached and wants to protect them from the dangers of his past.

The sexual tension in their house is combustible. They all paired up sexually with each other at different times without any resentment or hurt feelings amongst each other. Noah and Josh had sex all the time as a way of finding release and it helped Josh to understand his sexually submissive side. When Noah let Josh top him, it helped him accept himself as a gay man. Josh and Indy getting together was about healing each other from their past sexual trauma. Josh gave back Indy some of the power he lost when he offers to bottom for him. Indy regains a part of himself he thought was lost forever. After their fun filled activity they fall asleep blissfully.

When Noah comes home after a sixteen hour shift in pain from standing all day, he becomes jealous when he sees them cuddled up together. Tempers flare when he believes that Indy has given Josh something that he couldn’t get. Josh sets him straight and diffuses the situation by offering up himself to relieve some of the stress and pain that Noah feels. Noah goes at Josh hard with Indy watching the whole time. When Noah finds release a dam finally breaks and all the pain and sorrow for all he’s lost comes pouring out. 

This is cathartic for all of them. It is Josh’s way of saying goodbye and bringing Indy fully into Noah’s life. Indy makes the decision the next day to tell Noah his sordid past of being sold into sexual slavery by his mom at sixteen. The man she sold him to, Duncan Fitzpatrick belongs to the mob and treated him deplorably. Indy lived in hell for four years. He finally snapped when Duncan passed him off to his sadistic cousin who raped Indy. When he was done Indy stabbed him and waited for him to die before he called the cops , so he could claim self defense. Duncan found Indy and tortured him before he could testify. Indy knows he will always be a hunted man.

Indy finally sees that what he has found in Noah is worth fighting for. He gives himself freely to Noah without fear. He gets a taste of what a loving sexual relationship should be like. Noah is happy that Indy has finally let him in and is allowing him to love him. Josh will always be a part of their lives and they have a different kind of love for him. Noah is willing to protect Indy with all that he is . He will never allow Indy to be hurt again. This is only the beginning, but it is clear to see how deep their love runs for each other. Looking forward to Josh’s story and the continuation of Indy and Noah. I give this my ratings of 4- lose the underwear.

The Quarterback by MacKenzie Blair

Title: The Quarterback                      Word Count:304 pgs

Genre: Contemporary Gay Romance

Blurb:Matt Lancaster is the star quarterback at Bodine College, a small Southern Division II school with an ultra-conservative Dean of Athletics. Matt is also very much in the closet, and he thinks he’s kept his secret well hidden. Until his best friends take him to a happy endings massage parlor and request a male masseuse for him. 

In walks Trevor Kim, a gorgeous, pierced, tattooed fellow Bodine student who does massages—without happy endings—to pay for school after his family kicked him out for being gay. Trevor takes one look at Matt and breaks all his own rules about mixing business with pleasure.

Matt needs to keep his scholarship, win the National Championship, and survive his asshole father. Instead, he falls in love. Trevor needs to accept that the football god is meant to end up with him rather than a perky cheerleader. It’s time for a happy ever after for both of them.

My Review: It is a real eye opener for star Quarterback Matt Lancaster when his closest friends take him to a ‘happy endings’ spa. He is certainly shocked beyond words when the guy he has been crushing on since freshman year walks in. Trevor works three jobs to pay his way through college. Seeing  Matt Lancaster laying on his table is a temptation he can’t resist. For the first time ever, Trevor is excited to offer the deluxe  package which includes a prostate massage.

Being the star Quarterback of a school in the south Matt knows he has to stay in the closet or risk losing his scholarship. Matt is scared of what will pop up with him having a male masseuse. He is enjoying the feeling of having Trevor’s hands roam all over his body. It is definitely a treat , but he freaks out when Trevor goes where no man has gone before. Trevor is certainly delighted to be touching a godlike man like Matt. However, he soon despair when he ventures too far and Matt flees the scene.

Matt feels overwhelmed and he feels like he has been setup by his friends. His closest friend Connor tells him its time to be truthful and admit he is gay. Matt tries to deny , but when he sees the lack of judgement on his friends faces, he knows he can finally reveal a part of himself he’s always kept hidden. It takes him about a week to go back to the spa and truly enjoy Trevor’s services. Trevor is surprised to see Matt again but he is oh so willing to be the one to touch this hunk of a jock. It is very exhilarating to be with Matt, but he is soon brought back to reality with how tawdry their session really is, when he leaves the room without his happy ending.

Matt is hooked, but when he goes back for another visit he finds out that Trevor has quit. He hunts him down on campus after Trevor’s boss reveals that he is the reason why she lost her best masseuse. Another shocker for Trevor comes when Matt approaches him in his dorm and request tutoring in sex lessons. Trevor is a bit wary of a ‘closet case’, but he just can’t resist the sexy jock. They start hanging out two nights a week and soon they’re both craving their explorations. They find out that they really like each other and they commiserate on their shitty family issues.

Trevor introduces Matt to a whole new world of gay sex with some dominance kink thrown in. Matt is a malleable student and he relishes his new endeavors with Trevor. It doesn’t take them long to define their relationship as boyfriends, but  only in private. It kills Trevor to see the public face  that Matt has to express to the world being the Quarterback. When Matt is tricked into claiming one of the sorority girls as his girlfriend in front of cameras, Trevor is hurt deeply. All his fears of dating a closet case is coming true. Things get smoothed out when Matt introduces Trevor to his core group of friends. This goes a long way in soothing Trevor’s acceptance of their closeted relationship.Both these men realize they have a relationship to cherish.

More obstacles are thrown in their path when one of  Matt’s homophobic teammates suspects their relationship. Matt wants to cool it for a bit, but Trevor lets his hurt feelings push him to ultimately end their relationship. Matt goes off to his Thanksgiving holiday feeling extremely dejected. This is made worse by being in close proximity with his opportunistic swindler of a father. Things get heated between them when Matt doesn’t conform to his dad’s idealistic plans for his future playing football. Matt’s dad become violent and Matt ends up in the hospital.

Things aren’t going too well for Trevor either when he tries to reach out to his family. Once again he is rejected by his mom for being gay. He feels so utterly alone. When he gets a call from Matt’s sister saying he has been hurt, he rushes to his side. Matt feels a sense of relief at having Trevor back in his life. He takes the plunge and introduces Trevor as his boyfriend to his uncle and aunt who are very welcoming. Matt is more ready now to embrace his feelings and become more open about his boyfriend to certain people.

When they go back to campus Matt embraces his newfound relationship. It is definitely not an easy road especially with him being the star Quarterback, but he knows that he can handle anything with Trevor by his side. I give this my ratings of 4- lose the underwear.