Happy Unicorn Fourth of July!!!!!

How is your summer going so far?

Hopefully is a great one filled with hot books and hotter holiday celebrations!



To our friends up north, Happy Canada Day! (July 1st - a little late but we're partying for you today)


And happy birthday to America!


We here at BMB Reviews would like to wish you and yours a very happy day!



Review: Rock Rod Studios Presents: Alex Undone by Emory Vargas

Alex's first 'gay for pay' porn job results in much more than a paycheck. After having his mind (and more) blown by a professional performer, he shacks up with the studio's hot, tattooed administrative assistant.

Peter is flirtatious and edgier than anyone Alex has ever met, and he's deep in a lifestyle Alex has never imagined. His habit of bringing inexperienced boys home for a rough tumble grinds to a halt when Alex wants more than a meaningless lay.

Once Alex has a taste of sexual freedom, he might be gay to stay.






"Touching a penis? Yes. That's in the contract."
"I didn't mean-"
"You did. That's what all the straight guys are worried about. First, do they have to touch a penis? Second, any butt stuff? Because they'd really prefer to not do the butt stuff."
I've read three books by this author in a matter of months. Granted, they were short but I don't normally do that, unless you're Chuck Tingle or Rob Colton. Sometimes, I binge read if the authors words hit me just right. Emory Vargas? She's got it. I'm reading it and paying attention. Remember that name, okay?



"Rock Rod Studios Presents: Alex Undone". First off, how awesome is the porn studio name? And secondly, I'm hoping by the title there is more to come from Rock Rod Studios because this short is seriously one of the funniest things I've read. I laughed hard, continuously and extremely loud. Oh the quotes...the fucking quotes I have.
"Miranda wants Andre to rim you. Is that okay?"
"What is...is that?" Alex thinks about basketball.  He played soccer in high school and he's kind of embarrassed about how little he knows the sport. Rim. Rim shot. Lay up? Free throw?
"It's where he licks your asshole...But most guys get into it after a little while...It feels nice, I promise."
So.
Not basketball.

This story is about broke college student Alex. He's "straight" but for $500, he'll participate in a gay porn movie. The story starts with him clutching his bill of health from his college clinic and meeting the studio's hunky, alt-guy administrative assistant, Peter. Peter is just my type, slick talking, tattooed, with thick framed glasses and flirtatious.
"Don't pass out...If you live, drop by and get my number." 
"Why?" 
"In case you don't get a chance to do everything you want."
He tries to ease nervous straight boy's panic. But I'm glad it only worked for a little bit because being in Alex's head was fun. Hella fun. He is a gay virgin in every sense. Alex knows nothing about the joys of gay sex...hell you saw the rim job quote. Alex is cute and clueless. Reading his deflowering with another professional porn actor made the scene even better. (There isn't any penetrative sex in this book and there is a major sex scene with someone other than the MC) Alex learns something about himself from his acting debut. I don't know if he caught it by the end of the story. But Peter the administrative assistant does!
"Baby, you are so wet," Andre says, his voice rough. Alex doesn't care if he's acting or not. He's probably acting. He's a professional. And it's awesome that he's a professional because he is professionally fucking good at rim ups or whatever this is called. He should be given medals or a title. 
Give me a minute...


Peter is a submissive. He sees the same quality in a certain someone. *groans* Did I mention he's a big guy? *quelts* 
"Submission is a deeply personal, psychological process. It's not just doing what you're told. It's meditative. It's a...total release of the self."
 I loved the way Ms. Vargas writes BDSM themes and doesn't make it so overt or cliche. Third story where it's not too gimmicky like a lot of the popular BDSM where the kink is lame. If you cringe when you see BDSM attached to a story, don't fret. There is not BDSM practiced in this story. Just discussed.  

"Cockslut" was thrown around. *grunts* After that, I was so ready for Alex to get "his ass ramrodded". I swear my wolf razor teeth grew out of my damn head because I was going to read about virgin ass getting split and plowed. 

This was me. This is what I turn into when cockslut or manpussy is mentioned. Yum!

I was fucking READY! But...no butt virgins were taken in this short. 

Alex! Alex actually uses his head! (The one upstairs) He's been pretty clueless and homeboy proves the elevator does go all the way upstairs! Loved that.

It was interesting to get a glimpse of Peter, the real one. I enjoyed his flirting and his needy bottom boy ways that came out to play for a few minutes. But when we learn he has some issues that he seeks help with and still wants to start something with Alex, sees the potential there...why it makes this bi-curious vs. gay submissive erotica something substantial.

Great mix of humor and erotica in a bite sized nugget! The story ends HFN-ish. But there are so many more stories that can be produced from this little story. I was so impressed, I added it to my 2015 favorites shelf. 21 pages...hilarious. Definitely my kinda humor.
"Most guys don't submit to face-fucking like that."
"I wasn't submitting."
"You were. It's not a bad thing. The way you had your eyes closed, and you looked so happy. You looked like you were accepting Jesus into your life."
[...] but now he's picturing Jesus Christ with a huge cock and next time he gets dragged to church on Christmas Eve it's going to be really awkward.
C'mon...you know you want to read to this book. 

Highly recommended. (I'll eagerly await more!)


For more information on Goodreads or Booklikes!

Review: The Captain's Pet (Alien Slave Masters #1) by Samantha Cayto

When a distant planet’s ownership is in dispute, conquering aliens turn defiant human males into pampered sex slaves.

In a not-too-distant future, a lopsided war has led to aliens invading and occupying an Earth settlement. Wid is a young colonist who has been caught harassing the aliens. He and his friends are rounded up and sent to an alien warship patrolling the disputed space. His fate is to serve as a sex slave for the ship’s imposing captain. Wid, at first, fights against his enslavement, but soon learns that not only does he stand no chance against the much larger and stronger captain, he isn’t sure he even wants to.

Like all Travian males, Kell is bound by duty to defend his people. Having risen to the rank of captain, he nevertheless chafes against the boring and endless patrol of the space invaded by the humans. His misses his family and constantly guards against his scheming first officer. He sees his reward of a human sex slave as more of a nuisance. Yet the pretty, fair-haired human’s exotic allure is hard to resist. He finds far more pleasure in the use of his pet than he would like.

Kept naked and leashed, Wid’s days are filled with boredom, while his nights wrapped in Kell’s arms turn from fear into pleasure. Even as the humans plot their escape, Wid and Kell form a bond and their growing affection cannot be ignored. When tensions boil over among the aliens, Wid and his friends may be Kell and his crew’s only chance for survival.



 
Wid and a group of his friends have been captured by the Travian's. They are taken to the ship that's patrolling space and are sent to be sex slaves.  Each of the guys was assigned as a pet for an alien. And they really were nothing more than pets.

Aliens. Slaveboys. Collars.

Yes, yes, & yes. AMIRIGHT? 

Ehhh... a lot of things just didn't work for me. I don't know if it's the writing, or me growing tired of this trope, where a guy falls for his capturer/rapist. I didn't buy it. Not one bit. 

In the early days of their "relationship", Wid is taken to Kell's quarters where he's forced to take it up the butt. It's obvious that Kell's not so into it and is only performing the act because that's what he's supposed to do. It made him a little more redeemable, but I wish he would have voiced these things to Wid. Wouldn't it have been nice for Wid to know that Kell didn't really want to take him by force? I think so, and that it would have made a huge difference to me, the reader. I knew something was amiss, but I wanted to know for sure that Kell was (somewhat) a good guy. It would have made him a whole heck of a lot more likeable to me from the beginning. I didn't like him from the get-go, and I never really did. 

Regardless of Kell's resistance to owning a pet, he was still forceful and brutal towards Wid. 

Not only that... but Kell has a female mate and kids. And he loves her and wants her. Which is great! I love when mates love each other and want each other. But not in my M/M! Aren't Wid and Kell supposed to be the happy couple? Don't they get an HEA? I guess they do, but nothing more than Master and Pet.

Can I bitch about one more thing? The overuse of the words 'pet' and 'alien'. Specifically, alien. His alien cock. His alien hands. His alien legs. His alien this and his alien that. Sheesh. I get it! Dude's an alien!

I can't really recommend this. I didn't feel any love or any romance. If this type of story catches your eye, I would highly recommend Acquainted with the Night

A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Act One: Safe Travels (For Whom the Heart Stone Burns, #1)

Becket built his life around unbelief in the magic Theo, his uncle and guardian, had devoted his all to…until Theo vanished. Grief-stricken, Becket followed Theo’s clues, sending him through a stone grid to Ket. With no magical ability, Becket must find Theo in a land where dragons roam the lowlands and magic evolved in men and women who aren’t apex predators and have settled in high aeries to survive.

Locating his uncle, however, is the easy part. Becket is a bibelot – non-magical. And Theo is recovering from a wild magic storm that hit his expedition to the lowlands. He can’t control his power.

They can’t go home.

Elders will permit a second expedition and Theo’s sole hope of obtaining frequency stone to stabilize his magic, but only if he allows seers to scry Becket’s sentinel first. Too bad the protector scried for Becket is Theo’s rival in this strange otherworld, another caster named Kellan Fik. And Kellan knows Theo and Becket aren’t what they seem.

Handfasting his enemy may be Becket’s best and only chance.



First off, let me say, this isn't going to be for everyone. This would appeal best for lovers of high fantasy, not receiving instant gratification and maybe an appreciation for stones. Healing stones and herbal medicines and "woo-woo" aka magic to be exact.


Now Kari Gregg aka The Gregg is legendary for grabbing the reader by the short hairs and dragging them into whatever world she created. She gives barely any time to acclimate yourself to what's going on because something is about to go down, damn it! And I love that about her writing. Some one usually gets the short end of the stick and its so yummy, you end up not caring as long as you get to read more. Her fans are used to this because she gives you just enough to get by and its over. Sometimes the story is too short and you want more and more of the world she created, more and more of the characters you've come to care for.

Well, Gregg fans, you might be satisfied with "Safe Travels". You can tell this is going to be a longer journey than a hundred pages. This book is just the first part of a series where the magic and tinctures and stones are detailed. And there's no rough and tumble action either. That's right, the book is sex free! I'm sure this is only for now.

Becket is twenty-three and a ginger orphan with quite a mouth on him. He is snarky and angry and all alone int he world even though something tells him he is not. The massage therapist/aromatherapist has one family member who is his total opposite. Becket is practical, his uncle Theo believes in all things magical. Becket raised himself while his uncle went off on cockamamie searches for more stones and magical power. but he always came back. Uncle Theo has been missing for months and Becket is worried. So worried that he leaves Maryland and travels to his uncle's house in Pennsylvania to look for him. He finds clues and a way to possible travel to his uncle in a different world, the magical land of Ket.


Becket doesn't believe it but he somehow manages to land in the fantasy world where everyone has and uses magic...except for him. He's a bibelot, non magical, and he's considered precious. So precious he must be handfasted (married) to a sentinel (magic warrior) to protect him. And since he's approaching the age of twenty-four, this needs to happen ASAP, whether he wants it or not.


We get to see Ket through Becket's eyes, encounter his fears. His uncle Theo is not too happy to see him but offers Becket to the enemy named Kellan, for a chance to find the right magic to return to Earth. We only get to meet the enemy in the last 5% or so of the novella.


Act One is basically world set up, character introductions and setting the stage for the main event which seems to be Becket vs. the alluring and dangerous Kellan. Becket can't seem to keep his mouth shut, proving he is not from that world and putting him and his uncle is possible danger. Not everyone seems to be the way they seem. You don't know who to trust, who has Becket's interests at heart especially since he has no knowledge of anything magical.


I like the set up, I see a possible world of hurt in the future for Becket if he doesn't play his cards right. And his reaction to Kellan when they finally meet was hot and intriguing. I'm definitely ready for more of this world and Becket. I gravitate to characters like him. He might not be the strongest and has the least knowledge about Ket and the political machinations that seem be underfoot but he's plucky.


I don't know if I should trust uncle Theo yet. He loves Becket but I don't know what Kellan has in store for Becket. And the minder, Toreth, the first person Becket encounters in Ket, I'd love to know more about him. I wonder if he'll turn. I thought he was going to be paired with Becket. I don't know if I should hold out hope for a threesome.  The story ends with a cliffhanger or sorts, it's part of a serial/series. I can see the amount of research that went into this and appreciate it. Once completed, this has the possibility of being a very rich tale.

What I'd like in future chapters:

- More Kellan/Becket (preferably sans pants)
- More on Toreth
- More of the world of Ket - the mountain and stone society is pretty cool. Hoping to see the mentioned dragons!
- Maybe Becket getting to one up everyone and prove bibelot doesn't equal weakness.

I usually don't like tying myself to serial/ series lately but this one is shaping up to satisfy my fantasy loving self immensely.
 For more information on Goodreads or Booklikes!

Review: Helping Hand by Jay Northcote

Wanking with a mate isn’t gay—as long as you keep your hands to yourself.

Jez Fielding and James MacKenzie—Big Mac to his mates—are in their second year at uni. After partying too hard last year, they make a pact to rein themselves in. While their housemates are out drinking every weekend, Jez and Mac stay in to save cash and focus on their studies.

When Jez suggests watching some porn together, he isn’t expecting Mac to agree to it. One thing leads to another, and soon their arrangement becomes hands-on rather than hands-off. But falling for your straight friend can only end badly, unless there’s a chance he might feel the same.








What can I possibly say about this book that hasn't already been said?

So many reviewers have said everything so well and so much better than I can.

So what do I do? Try to match the hot gifs?

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Try to say something others haven't?

Did anyone mention how apropos the title is? Because apropos title is apropos.

Jez and Mac lend helping hands literally and metaphorically. They are roommates who have made a pact to focus on their education this semester whilst their other roommates continue to party like it's 1999 and give them both 16 different kinds of shit for being old ladies.

Little do they know their ain't no knitting happening in that house when the cats are away.

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It is hot. It's not the hotness that spoke to me, though; it was the authenticity and the lack of labels. 

I don't like labels. Gay, straight, bi, pan, Chinese, Black, White, rich, poor, smart, disabled... who cares? People are people not check marks on a demographic worksheet and all the stereotypes associated with those labels. Thankfully, Jez and Mac come to the conclusion that they don't really care what others want to label them. They're into each other. The end. I respect that.

The way they explore their sexuality gets more high marks for Northcote. They're awkward and fumbling often. They don't jump into buttesex or even oral for that matter. Hell, it takes an eternity to get to the kissing bits!

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It's all told through Jez but it's painfully obvious that Mac struggles with his feelings. I think maybe if we had been privy to his thoughts I would've felt more of a connection between them. As it stands, I think this is a promising beginning to their relationship that I wouldn't mind reading more of, if that were in the works.




An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more on Goodreads.

Unicorn Favorites: Love in an Open Road Stories: Week Three

The M/M Romance Group on Goodreads hosts a Don't Read in the Closet event each year where they invite members to submit a photo with a story prompt.  Interested authors then volunteer to write the requested stories, which are published for free for everyone to read.  It's a fun/exciting/stressful process, and a great opportunity to read stories from favorite authors.  And chances are, you'll also discover some new authors, who hopefully have a backlist of goodies to check out :)

This year's event was named Love is an Open Road and they started releasing the completed stories on June first. Here at BMBR, we've been following along on comment threads, anticipating the stories from our favorite prompts, and now greedily reading the stories as they become available.


We've already shared some of our favorite stories from the first and second week of the event. And some of our favorites from the third week, June 15-21, are below:

Lorix: Pull Down the Sun by Danni Keane


Oh wow. This story was amazing. I adored it. I want more. MORE> MORE> MORE.

I read this book with a combination of joy, nostalgia, and an unbearable urge to cry. Jacob. Eight year old Tom might not have been able to see through the façade, but this grown-up reader could, and as much as I wanted to read the next word and the next, part of me dreaded it. Feared the sadness that would come. The revelations. 

I couldn't stop reading though.

I wanted to know all the things. I loved how the story was told. I would love to know more about the future these two have. We see the start of the healing, but I want to know more. I want to see their first Christmas. I want Jacob to have that experience. I want the love after the healing. We get glimpses, but I'm greedy and want more.

Also, the setting. The nostalgia. My BFF at school, her family had a static caravan by the coast and many weekends through the summer I would get invited there. Being from a larger, less well off family, I felt some of the awe that Jacob did. I completely understood him.

And anyone who spent any time at the seaside in Britain through the eighties or nineties, or even the noughties, knows those shops, with the beach balls and windmills and ice-creams and buckets and spades... A veritable treasure trove of brightly coloured plastic for children. Just seeing the description summons up a bright summers day. The kind without humidity, but with a blazing sun and cool coastal breeze. Sand and sunburn and salt water. I can smell it, and hear it, and almost feel the sand under my feet. The seaside in summer.

Thank you Danni. This story is amazing. And, if you wanted to write more about Jacob and Tom, I for one want to read it!! This story has made a good day great.


Ann: Shelter From the Storm by Mia West

I’m a sucker for historical stories and make it about a lonely farmer or cowboy and I’m aces!

Shelter From the Storm by Mia West totally did it for me. I loved how the story was told. It’s in the form of a letter written to a newcomer to Stormy Ridge (Daniel’s farm) and tells the story of Daniel and his mail order bride. It gives the letters recipient the whole story and a chance to accept or deny the gift that is being offered with eyes wide open to their history.

My favorite thing was Daniel’s voice. He’s the epitome of the gentleman farmer with good manners, humility and grace. He is also prideful, which he is the first to admit, but it’s in the most charming of ways. His words were spare but held a wealth of meaning. He’s becoming smitten with his Isabel and the life they are creating on the farm. She’s everything he could have asked for and more. Something about Isabel isn’t quite as advertised, but Daniel is willing to turn a blind eye to most things and is voluntarily clueless to what others are seeing. Isabel is the perfect balance of light to Daniel’s more stoic nature and I enjoyed reading about their little moments together as they settled into the routine of farm life.

As their ‘trial period’ is coming to end, Daniel can’t deny he’s got to do a little investigating and imagine his surprise when he spies on Isabel and discovers that she is, in fact, a he. He expects to be put off by the knowledge but he’s a pragmatic man and can’t deny that Isabel/Isaiah makes him happy (and apparently horny). His only concern is Isaiah’s motives. Isaiah puts Daniel’s concerns to rest quickly after a rough Sunday afternoon away from the farm. Isaiah is the victim of a few bigoted townsfolk and Daniel’s reaction was fierce and perfect. Their interaction as they open themselves to one another with complete honesty for the first time was so damn sweet and I absolutely loved it.

The obvious love between these two men and the world they created at Stormy Ridge was such a tease in that I just plain wanted more. I loved everything that happened here but would read the hell out of a full length story about these characters and their world.

Breann: Bare-Knuckle Love by K.A. Merikan

Jason needs to make a buck. The best way he can do that is by fighting. Only thing is, part of the deal is to lose. But when he sees his old crush, Hyde, in the audience, he forgets all about the deal.

Too bad Hyde is the guy he was supposed to lose for. Now Hyde has him in his clutches... and he's not too happy.

Hyde is a crazy motherfucker. Sexy as hell. But crazy.

The story is brutal. It's bloody and, at times, made me cringe.

Hyde and Jason are totally messed up. But Jason loves it. Hyde knows just what to do to get under Jason's skin. He doesn't want to love it, but he so does. He loves that dirty, slutty talk. Mmmm.

Criminals, kink, virgins, fucked-up-ness. <= Full. Of. Win.


Optimist King's Wench: Reubaltach Cridhe by K. Mason

Bursting with Good Feels!

Give me a laird, a castle and some historical GFY manlove with kilts and I'm tickled pink!

Alex and Iain have deserted. Technically, Alex is Iain's prisoner, though neither has any interest in returning to fight a war they've become disillusioned with. Alex has an infection in his leg and is in and out of consciousness when we first meet them and Iain's horse, Bran.

Bran is adorbs BTW.

They find themselves given shelter by Sir Robert, Laird of Barquhar and Baronet of Lag. Robert and his staff are all very accommodating both in nursing Alex back to health and in other ways... NOT SPOILING!

There was a barn frot session, people.

And then some sponge bathing with a hand job.

*shivers*

What is it about kilts??

Anyhoo, the historical setting is well drawn out, the writing is engaging if a little heavy on the interior decorating at times, the well placed "aye" had me grinning and there's good tension building between the MCs.

Did I mention there were kilts?

KILTS, PEOPLE!

*sigh*
Good Sunday is good.

Thanks to the author and her team for the kilts participating in the LOR event.

SheReadsALot: Aniki's Garden by Claire Cray and Matters of State by A. Phallus Si

 Whoa.

Like whoa.

This prompt, right? Like this prompt was dope. Because tentacles. Tentacles that are stuffing a splayed and trussed boy's legs. I imagine those appendages deep inside every hole. Every hole.

I wondered what kind of story would be created from this yummy prompt.

This wasn't the story I expected. And it rocked.

So short. :( I would have read a novel on cousins Kazuo and Yuuta. I imagine the proper Yuuta being violated in all the ways by his cousin. *happy sigh*

I'm getting ahead of myself.

This isn't romance, it's gay fiction/ erotica. I've heard great things about this author. I see why, I liked her tone. The writing style and attention to 1960's Japan were great. Yakuza! A little cousin/cousin action! Tentacles!

Japanese born Yuuta was raised in America. His family tried to ignore their home but not Yuuta. He's a rising Japanese art historian and gets an invite to visit his cousin Kazuo. Yuuta's parents try to keep the cousins from contacting each other but it didn't work. Yuuta meets up with his criminal cousin at his huge house. While searching his garden, he hears the strangest sounds...

The prompt pic? Not who I thought it would be.

Still hot. The entire scene with the octopus was hot.

Man, do I wish it was longer. I think I could come to love the gangster Kazuo of this was a longer story...there's a sense of deviousness there that I like in criminals.

Gah, the ending! I'm smirking.


 “With a deep breath, he pulled in the scent of his boy, his beloved.

“So hard and desperate with your cock dripping.” He wrapped a hand around it and gave a couple firm tugs along the shaft. “This is mine, now. Mine.”
 *quelts*

Nothing gets me excited quicker than a possessive hero who isn't too keen on unnecessary yapping. He sees what he wants, does whatever in his power to get said thing and when he gets that thing in his possession, God bless whoever even fathoms of getting in his way. In A. Phallus Si's "Matters of State" you can find this in Hayden, alien space captain and one owner of a lethal tongue. He kisses and fucks like a champ and younger, slightly bratty Damien is the lucky recipient of Hayden's attention. Filthy, hot public sexual activities, heart pacing thrusting and a space filled world created with enough characteristics to keep you entertains. 

Oh, don't think this story rests on its quality sex and lust filled scenes alone. this story has heart and more importantly, smarts!


“Are you my little hedonist?” he queried. “Just chasing the next sensation, you wanton,” he growled. “Available for any hand or cock to please you― slut.” He chuckled. “You can’t even think anymore.”

But the dirty talk is fab as well! ;P



*** All stories are available for download at  http://www.mmromancegroup.com/ ***