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Review: That's What Brothers Do by Derekica Snake

To save his family, he sold his innocence.
To save his sisters, he sold his body.
To save his love, he sold his soul.
Why?
That's what brothers do...







It's one of those where you have to sit back a say WOW when it's over. All that comes out of your mouth is, "That was good. That was so good. Wow." <- me. over and over.

The story is told by Brandt. After his mother died his father couldn't keep up with anything. They were so far in debt that bad things were going to happen to his family if something wasn't done. So, Brandt decided he would sell himself into slavery at the age of 14 in order to protect his family. Because that's what brothers do. Gah. Every time I read that little phrase I think I died a little. 

It's hard not to fall head over feet for Brandt when he goes through so much for his family. He's one of the strongest characters I've come across and he goes through so damn much. All in the name of protecting the ones he loves.

When he sells himself he belongs to Wilbur. The story starts years into his captivity, so by the time we're in on the story, Brandt is already of age. There are bits from the beginning of his slave years, but most of the sex happens +18 years. But what Brandt goes through... it's brutal. He's owned by Wilbur, but Wilbur makes his money off of selling Brandt. The only way Brandt can pay off his families debt is by being sold. Being sold by this man he's somehow come to love. But his contract is almost over and Wilbur and Brandt strike a new deal, which changes everything between them. And folks, this is when shit gets gooooooooooood.

Forget about their circumstances and their past, there's obvious affection between Wilber and Brandt. How they can have these feelings after all they went through? I have no idea. But they do and it shows. But even with their new deal, the one that makes them more of equals and in an actual relationship, they are far from an HEA. Far. Far. Away. They go through so much, but they really prove themselves to each other time and time again. It's beautiful. Their deranged, crazy, unhealthy relationship is beautiful.

There are so many twists and surprises that I'd hate to spoil Brandt's journey for anyone. Just know, it's hard not to love Brandt. Even if he falls in love with his captor, even if he makes gut-wrenching decisions and even if he becomes the unexpected in the end. Because that's what lovers do.


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The Gives Light series by Rose Christo. Books 1-4.



Blurbs:
Gives Light:
"Skylar is my name, tragically."

Sixteen-year-old Skylar is witty, empathetic, sensitive--and mute. Skylar hasn't uttered a single word since his mother died eleven years ago, a senseless tragedy he's grateful he doesn't have to talk about.

When Skylar's father mysteriously vanishes one summer afternoon, Skylar is placed in the temporary custody of his only remaining relative, an estranged grandmother living on an Indian reservation in the middle of arid Arizona.

Adapting to a brand new culture is the least of Skylar's qualms. Because Skylar's mother did not die a peaceful death. Skylar's mother was murdered eleven years ago on the Nettlebush Reserve. And her murderer left behind a son.

And he is like nothing Skylar has ever known.

Looks Over:

"There's nothing wrong with trying to get to know my son's boyfriend."

Skylar knows he's lucky to have an open-minded father. It's not just that Skylar and Rafael are both boys. Between their families exists a dark and turbulent past: Rafael's father was the first serial killer in the history of the Nettlebush Indian Reserve, and Skylar's mother was his last victim.

Skylar is ready to put the past behind him. But Skylar's future is tenuous at best. Skylar is still a ward of the state, and foster care can take him away from the reservation at a moment's notice. Voiceless and powerless, Skylar learns firsthand what it means to be a Native American in the 21st century. And when Skylar stumbles across his father's best-kept, twelve-year-old secret, not even Rafael can shield him from the fallout.

St. Clair:
"I never want to hurt you. You get that, right?"

Skylar knows Rafael wants something very specific from him--and Skylar wants him to have it. Convincing Rafael is going to take some serious innovation. Skylar lost his voice twelve years ago to the Nettlebush Indian Reserve's first and last serial killer. That serial killer was Rafael's father.

Rafael's father, Skylar learns, isn't the problem. Something else happened when Skylar survived that blustery summer night. Something Skylar never thought twice about. Something Rafael can't look past.

The Supreme Court ruling on Kelo v. New London changes the face of US property laws, plunging the reservation into an insidious tug-of-war between the Bureau of Land Management and the Plains Shoshone who have called the soil home for centuries. History, Skylar realizes, is repeating itself. Their parents powerless, the law their enemy, Skylar and his friends are going to have to get creative if they want to keep what's left of their land.

Why the Star Stands Still:
"Your dad's Indian. Your mom's black. Why are you white?"

Skylar St. Clair's been getting questions like these all his life. Skylar's home is the Nettlebush Indian Reserve; his family, the hundreds of Plains Shoshone living there. Skylar can't help it if he better resembles his biological mother, a woman whose untimely death left him with more secrets than memories.

Skylar's father has been in federal prison for the past fifteen years. The summer of his release coincides with familial matters of a different nature: Skylar and his husband are trying to adopt a daughter.

Piecing together a fragmented family is no small task. All the patience in the world cannot contend with thirty-three years of reticence.

But love can.

My first question is...why have I not heard of Rose Christo before? How come this author isn't as well known as JK Rowling? Why is book one not a film. It would make the most amazing independent film. Just WHY??

Okay, so I'm reviewing the first four books of this series together, and then I'll review the fifth one separately. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, I have only just found out about these books and literally read the series, so far, straight through. Secondly, they've been around for a while, but book five was released this month. And thirdly, the first four books are from Skylar's point of view and book five goes back to the beginning from Rafael's viewpoint.

So I'm going to try and leave the break down of each story to the blurbs and talk about what I loved about this series as a whole. And I did love it. I devoured it, have the worst book-hangover and could cry now I've finished with them.

Where to even start though. Okay, the Nettlebush Indian Reservation where the story takes place sounds so perfect, I want to live there and I HATE the heat. I have loved every second of learning about the culture, down to realising that Indian is not a racist term. I know I will be re-reading these and trying to understand more about this culture. I loved the ideals I was learning about and it seems, to me, so much better than the way in which we live here (in England). I love the gift culture. The communal meals. The schooling system....I really loved it all. Even the hunting, which I would hate to do, seems so much better than our way of breeding animals for food. Something about this culture just resonated with me. Would I be able to give up creature comforts I've grown up with? I really don't know, but it's definitely given me food for thought. 

As well as the setting I loved the characters, particularly Skylar and Rafael the MC's. I want to say their voices were so clear...which is odd, seeing as Sky doesn't have a voice. The connection between these two was so electric, it really was as if they were part of each other, that they'd found the rest of themselves when they met. And this is with the fact that Raf's father is the cause of Sky's lack of vocal chords. That Raf's father was the one who killed Sky's mum. The connection between these two was just beautiful. 

All the secondary characters were amazing too...and so real. With the set-up in this Indian reservation and the promotion of this culture through the story, it would have been so easy, so tempting to make the tribe members the good guys and westerners the bad guys, but this does not happen. I mean for a start Raf's dad is a serial killer. There is good and bad in all cultures shown. Everyone is human. It's not just about the characters and their actions, but the consequences of their actions both short and long reaching. It's about how the main characters strive to be better and how love helps them do this. I don't think there is a single character in this who didn't bring something to the story. I loved them all, my heart found a special place for Zeke though. I'd love to know more about him.

So the writing. Rose Christo writes some of the most beautiful sentences I have ever read. Wow, the imagery she uses is powerful, so perfect. The romance between Sky and Raf was gentle and amazing. It was love. Love from the inside out and it was refreshing to read about love without lust being an over-bearing component. So, so refreshing. The visuals Rose Christo painted with her words, of the land, of the history, of the character, of the beliefs, or the love....it was all perfect. I couldn't find a word out of place.

The books go from Skylar being sixteen to when he's an adult. Book four is set several years after the other three. Would I have liked one in the middle, one that showed the journey we know they took to get to the point they're at in book four. Of course I would, but not enough to moan about it or mark it down. The time jump was a shock for the first couple of pages...the story didn't lack for it though.
I've marked them all as five stars, because I read them all as one big book really. If I was nit-picking, one and two were my favourites, by a margin. I'm not marking them at less than perfect though because all the points above re the writing, characters and setting still count. The storyline may have an odd time jump in it, but I really can live with that.

I would recommend these books to everyone. From teens to adults. I know I'll read them again and again. I'm going to get the paperback versions - have you seen the beautiful covers? (St Clair is my favourite cover!!). I just hope you all love them as much as I do. What am I going to read now??

Find out more about Rose Christo and her books on Goodreads.



Guest Review: Klaxon at the Core (Signal to Noise, #2) by Tayla Andor

After surviving alone on Noise for years, Bastian and Theo are exhilarated and terrified by the thriving chaos of Central. Even in the middle of civilization, they stand apart, bound together by their years of isolation. Central is their chance to change that and find the ordinary lives they never knew on Noise. Long, lonely days struggling to survive are firmly in their past.

But the present holds conflicts of its own, and if Bastian and Theo hope to survive to enjoy their new lives, they may have to return to the hard ways of their difficult past …

Reviewed by Vivian

Theo and Bastian finally have left Noise behind and all the horrors of the last three years of solitude as they fought to survive against the Armor incursion. But all those dreams of luxury and peace are smashed when the politics of power come to play.

And Theo and Bastian are power--as it's never been seen before.

With their emergence other powers jockey for position and peace falls beneath the onslaught of allegiances and greed. The twins closer than ever find they must make a decision about how they want to live... and die.

I loved how Theo and Bastian's relationship strengthened further as they experienced more. Through psionic testing, meeting new people and challenges. They were both still beautiful, dedicated and strong. No wasted time with petty personal conflicts as the story is driven by external conflicts.

So, I have one gripe about this story. There are these nods to other science fiction stories that while intended to be cute or a nod are extraordinarily distracting from this story I don't need characters' names to automatically trigger me into thinking about some other plot and rip me out of reading this one. Admiral Olmos (Battlestar Galactica) and Jane Stewart (Star Trek mash) really just aggravated me by interrupting my reading experience. You will also note that the Armors really begin to resemble another foe from sci-fi. While in book one it read very much like an Aliens homage, the sequel has a definite Borg quality to it.

But, the end... Great job. Nicely done, exciting, and sacrifice. The strong conclusion leaves the reader with a better impression and pulled my rating from somewhere around 3-3.5 stars to 4.

Favorite quote:
He could feel Bastian's deep delight now that it was their choice that bound them together rather than uncertain fate.
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Review: Off with Their Heads! by KA Merikan

--- Why would anyone need to steal ten zombie heads? ---

It’s 1907, twenty years after the outbreak of a zombie Plague. For a young medicine student like Clint, the undead bodies provide an opportunity to study human physiology in the working. He is a good young man: tidy, well-mannered and hard working. Focused on his goal to become an excellent surgeon, Clint has a bright future ahead of him. If it weren’t for a shameful secret he’s forced to keep, his life would have been perfect.

Xavier, a peculiar foreigner he finds in the morgue late at night, claims to be an assistant to one of Clint's professors, but doesn’t know the first thing about the proper way to behead zombies. Xavier’s story has many loose ends, but something about him unlocks all the emotions Clint always kept bottled up inside. When he learns the truth about Xavier, Clint finds himself involved in a conspiracy that could destroy everything he’s worked so hard for. Frightened by the possible consequences, yet strangely fascinated by the eccentric, tattooed stranger, Clint follows him to places he would never dare explore on his own.






Absurd. Entertaining. Just plain fun.

I loved the intro. Clint walks in on Xavier choppin' off zombie heads in the morgue. That's basically the definition of meet-cute. Am I right?

Xavier is an awesome character. I liked that he wasn't on anybody's side but his own. He knew what he believed in and he totally went for it. Really, totally went for it. You've got to have conviction if you're willing to walk around with a bag full of zombie heads!

It's obvious almost right away that Xavier isn't truthful about his reasons for being in the morgue in the first place. But Clint still went with it.  He was clearly fascinated by this redheaded guy that's breaking laws all in the name of art.

Despite the zombie beheadings, Clint and Xavier were actually pretty cute together. Xavier paired with Clint and his innocence made for an entertaining couple to read about.

I really would have liked a tighter ending. Off with Their Heads! is really short and I think another 50 pages or so would have made this a solid 4 heart read. I would have especially loved to know what happened with the art and if it made the impact Xavier was hoping for.

But still, there's no way this can be anything but a fun read for anybody.


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Cover Reveal: Rock by Anyta Sunday.


That's right...today we are revealing the cover for Anyta Sunday's new book! I may have squealed a little when this request came in...I am, as you all know, a HUGE Anyta Sunday fan. After I'd stopped doing the happy dance at the knowledge a new AS book would be published soon, I actually had a look at the cover.

Okay, if I'm honest I'll admit I was going to try to figure out what the book could be about, I didn't get very far though...because I just couldn't stop looking at how beautiful it was. It is absolutely stunning. I am in no doubt the story will match up to the beautiful cover but I have to say, even if I wasn't a huge fan of this author, I would most definitely have picked up this book.

Anyway, that's enough of my waffle...you can judge for yourselves....it's a beauty, isn't it?


Now it's just about the waiting...taps fingers impatiently for release.....

Exclusive Cover Reveal - The Devil's Ride by K.A. Merikan

Once again, we at BMBR are lucky enough to be able to debut K.A. Merikan's brand new cover for their hot and sexy biker series. The series is called Sex and Mayhem, and this book is the Coffin Nails MC.

Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to present you with the cover for K.A. Merikan's latest and greatest, The Devil's Ride!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We are proud to present the cover for our next ‘Sex&Mayhem’ book. It should be out by the end of the year, and we’re excited to be writing it since it’s sizzling hot and angsty.
The characters are much different than in ‘Road of No Return’, and their relationship starts as one less equal to that of Stitch and Zak.
Tooth is sergeant-at-arms of the Coffin Nails MC chapter in Detroit. The club is massive and has members all around the US, nothing like the small town club Stitch was in.
Lucifer is the illegitimate son of the Coffin Nails club president, and his appearance after he had ran away from home years ago means trouble in the family.

How do these two men come together? You’ll have to wait and find out, but I can share a few teaser tidbits:
* Tooth and Lucifer have a 13 year age gap between them.
* Their relationship has a very light BDSM element to it.
* Lucifer has a Satanist half-sister who keeps a pet goat called Beast.
* There is lots and lots of unresolved sexual tension.
* Tooth’s nickname is short for ‘Tooth Fairy’ because of his gruesome interrogation techniques.

Other than that, for now, our lips are sealed, and we go back to writing :)

Kat&Agnes Merikan

About the author:
K.A. Merikan is a joint project of Kat and Agnes Merikan, who jokingly claim to share one mind. They finish each other's sentences and simultaneously come up with the same ideas. Kat and Agnes enjoy writing various kinds of stories, from light-hearted romance to thrillers. They love creating characters that are not easy to classify as good or evil, and firmly believe that even some villains deserve their happy endings. It is easiest to find them in galleries, restaurants and historical sites, always with a computer or notebook, because for Kat and Agnes, every day is a writing day. Future plans include lots of travel, and a villa on the coast of Italy or a flat in Paris where they could retire after yet another crazy venture, only to write more hot homoerotic stories.
As K.A. Merikan, Kat and Agnes have published a number of books, which cross genres while always staying homoerotic.


More information about ongoing projects, works in progress and publishing at:
K.A. Merikan’s author page: http://kamerikan.com
Agnes Merikan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/AgnesMerikan




Review: The Knife of Narcissus I & II by Carolyne Chand

Lucius Sentius, along with most people in the city of Rome, assumes that the debauched and chaotic days of Nero are behind them now that Rome has settled down under a sober new ruler, Vespasian. Lucius may be only the son of a merchant, but his newly arranged marriage to an older widow will bring powerful connections and an enviable life. If he keeps himself on a respectable path.

That seems impossible when he discovers that his heart lies somewhere not at all respectable: his lifelong friend Trio, the reserved and serious son of one of the most reserved and pious families in the city.

As Lucius is pushed along the course of duty to family, to his promised spouse, and to Rome itself, he begins to see under the surface of his city, into a net of intrigues, manipulation, and corruption that can carry him upward in status and and bring him what he most wants...or destroy both him and the people he loves.

A serial novel in 7 parts.



Rome… 

It's intoxicating, no? I've always been fascinated by the Roman Empire. Certainly, they accomplished a lot, advanced knowledge, conquered, pillaged… they were kind of on the depraved side. God bless 'em.

Bath houses.
Dens of iniquity.
Togas.

Divine, I say. Scrumptious even.

So, yeah, I like Rome and all things Roman including TV shows and movies, which is why I picked these up when they became available and I regret nothing.

Ordinarily, I'm not down with serials, but I have them all so… *shrug* However, this feels much more akin to an epic saga rather than a serial. The Knife of Narcissus' story arch will take time to develop and unfold. I envision many obstacles along the way for Lucius and Trio. 

Lucius and Trio grew up together. They think of themselves as brothers as do their families. Boys will be boys and they engaged in some exploratory behaviors growing up, but nothing all that untoward. Somewhere along the way they fell in love, but this is ancient Rome. They both have obligations to their families and those obligations have come due for Lucius.

Lucius' father has arranged a marriage to a wealthy widow, Velleia, which will both further the family business and increase their standing in the community. Lucius understands his obligations, yet he wants to have his cake and eat it too. He propositions Trio and gets rejected. Ouch. This relationship strikes me as the heart and soul of this series. Word of caution:  there are ladies in this series. It's Rome. Think decadence or Caligula, whichever you prefer.

Lucius is determined to get his man. His methods are unorthodox and some may say foolhardy, but his devotion is unwavering. Along the way he's… ah, increasing his carnal knowledge. His educational efforts are nothing short of fervent. I admire that sort of devotion all in the name of pleasing his man. In fact, he's so assiduous that he's willing to experience both ends of the spectrum, so to speak. That's dedication, my friends. Hopefully, he's efforts will not be in vain.

The writing is solid. Ms. Chand seems to really know Roman history and it shows in the details. If you're a fan of Ancient Rome, this series should appeal to you.

Stay tuned for the next episode… 



I would like to thank the author for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Goodreads