Review: Straight Shooter (Rear Entrance Video, #3) by Heidi Belleau

This macho jock has a crooked little secret.

College hockey player Austin Puett is in trouble. Unless he starts treating his flamboyantly gay roommate with respect, he’ll lose his room and his job at Rear Entrance Video. But Austin’s got a not-so-straight secret of his own: nothing turns him on more than insults implying he’s gay—even though he’s definitely not!—and all his old coping methods have stopped working.

Pure desperation drives him to rent a Mischievous Pictures porn flick about straight men tricked into servicing Puck, a male dominant. Instead of letting off steam, though, it just leaves him craving more, more, more, and suddenly, Austin finds himself at Mischievous Pictures Studios for an audition. After all, you can be Gay For Pay and still be straight . . . right?

But meeting Liam Williams, the real person behind Puck, confuses Austin even more. Liam really seems to like him as a person, and Austin likes him back. And while Gay For Pay’s okay, what does it make Austin if he still wants Liam when the cameras aren’t rolling?

This was the story I've waited for!

Bro! 

That shit was tight!

The final book in the Rear Entrance Video series packed a serious punch! When I read that Straight Shooter was going have Austin, the stereotypical-macho-asshole-super-straight-jock as a main character, I was there with bells on. And then to get a porn actor/ Dom love interest? I thought I hit the jackpot. But it got better when humiliation kink was also involved. I'm still quelting (quivering + melting) after reading this.

Major Quelts!

This is a strong series. Why? Each books deals with new adult men who question their sexuality, question themselves, change their perception and quietly (or not so quietly) change others' perceptions. I've discussed why I think this author nailed the concept with a fresh dialogue and sense of realness in my previous reviews of "Apple Polisher" and "Wallflower". For me to actually finish a series and want more, it says a lot. The author of this series did an amazing job telling all three main characters' story, introducing complex yet engaging main characters. To me, Christian, Rob/Bobby and Austin were more than characters, they were people. But enough about the Rear Entrance Video series on a whole, let me dish about Straight Shooter and why it's the star of the series.

Austin is a college hockey athlete that sees the world in black and white. He never considered the gray. Austin is a jock, so that means he's straight in his mind. There's just that boner problem he gets when a teammate or another guy calls him a derogatory name. He loves being humiliated. He's had this predilection for years. And his boner situation continues to get worse. Could it be from working a gay porn store? Or maybe having gay roommates? The thoughts can't seem to get out of his head, his internal struggle is major, Dude. He goes to some extreme measures to punish himself for his feelings. For Austin, he can't be gay, he's a jock. But the thought of being made to suck another man off, being made to submit...he can't deny it. He's repressed, in major denial and can be downright offensive. He might come off as prick especially to his roommates (okay, some of the stereotypes he spouted made me want to kick his ass) but there's something about Austin. There's a bit of naivete and vulnerability when you look under his prickly, foolish ways.

Austin tries a new therapy, watching gay porn. He watches STRAIGHT SUB SETUP (Yes the title is exactly as it sounds) and falls in lust with Master Puck, the big dick porn star that seems to handle straight guys into submissiveness with ease. Austin can't help but fantasize about him. And when he actually gets to meet Master Puck aka Liam Williams at Rear Entrance Video, it seems that Austin's perfect solution for getting rid of his urges has appeared. Austin can be the next straight sub to submit to Master Puck. It won't make him gay, right Bro?

From the first meeting, reading Liam and Austin brought a smile to my face. Liam/ Master Puck opens Austin's eyes, handles Austin with ease. Austin worries about labels, his sexuality and himself. It was great to see Austin grow. The story was not heavy with angst or drama. Also, for a book about a porn store worker and a porn star, it was not all about sex. (Don't worry, there's sex and it's smutastic.)  There's plot, Dude! (The dirty talk was amazing...*bites lips*)

Liam. *breathy sigh*

He's the type of main character that lingers on the brain. He's such a great Dom. He's not the omnipotent, alpha-hole type of Dom that I've read in stories that do it wrong. He's attentive, caring and just down right sexy. (And the penis piercing is a bonus, Bro!) He's not perfect, his dick doesn't solve the world's problems nor does he use his dick as his brain. The story was based from Austin's POV, so we don't get to explore Liam's POV.  All that is shown about Liam, I really enjoyed.

Bro, Dude, the story is mostly about Austin's self acceptance. Identifying as gay or straight was not as important. His lines are blurred, he learned to see the gray. The ending is HEA in my book. It works for Austin and Liam's type of relationship.

Do you need to read the series in order or the previous books before reading Straight Shooter? Nope. This book can be read as a standalone. But dude, you're totally missing out on a rocking series. 

BDSM Heavy? Not really. The humiliation kink was a nice touch. But you don't have to clutch your pearls if you're not into the heavier side of the spectrum. I'd say maybe a 5 from a scale from 1-10, where 10 is hella heavy, Dude!

Recommended? Fuck yeah, Bro! I gobbled this shit up in a day! Definitely one of my favorite books of the year, Bro! *chest bump*

P.S. Austin was in major denial and word vomited how straight he was to all. So much so that I developed my own straight-boy-in-the-closet situation. I've named him Hank. All the Bro's and Dude's in this review are totally his. Hank's hella straight, Bro! Fucking A, Bro! (Ignore him not the book, Bro!) *fist bump*

Review: Bump in the Night Anthology by Various Authors

Turn off the lights . . . and turn on your darkest fantasies.

Demon pacts. Ghostly possessions. Monsters lurking in the depths. The things that go bump in the night frighten us, but they also intrigue us. Fascinate us. Even turn us on.

Join us as fan favorites Ally Blue and Kari Gregg bring over-amorous aquatic beasts to life with their mythic twists on the Siren and the monster in the lake. Erotic horror pros Heidi Belleau, Sam Schooler, and Brien Michaels show us just how sexy scary can be with a pair of demon deals destined to curl your toes and set your heart thrashing. And literary masters Laylah Hunter and Peter Hansen weave haunting worlds where ghosts and dead lovers can touch our hearts (and other, naughtier places too . . .) and teach us lessons from beyond the grave.

By turns exciting, evocative, and exquisitely explicit, the stories in Bump in the Night are sure to scratch your sexy paranormal itch. Explore your wildest fantasies with us in this collection of dark erotic tales.

Resurrection Man by Laylah Hunter 2.5♥s 

This was a sexy and creepy little tale... and that's about it. I was confused for about 7 or 8 pages, which is a lot considering it's only 20 pages long. It took me a bit to catch what was going on and when I finally did, it was over. 

Let me get you a rundown so you're not all confuzzled when you read it. Basically, Josef takes back his dead lover from the morgue in order to resurrect him so they could be together forever. Everyone knows that when you bring someone back from the dead they are not the same as they were before. Well, neither was Josef's lover. Let the sexy times commence! 

There just wasn't enough background given or character development to make me really care about Josef and what happened to him. Meh. Next.

Mating Season by Kari Gregg 5♥s

Now we're talking! This is what I wanted from this anthology. Some tentaclesex, dubious consent and WTF is going on moments. This was just fantastic and sated all my pervy cravings. Of which I have many.

Danny has had a string of bad luck and just can't catch a break. His BFF, Keith, suggests that he take some time, relax, and go camping at the local lake where a sea-monster is rumored to live. Those silly legends are never true anyway, right?

Oh laaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwd, get me my fan! I was sweating like a sinner in church! 

So, ahem, there was in fact a sea-monster. And there was some definite tentaclesex happening.  Me likey tentacles but I don't think I've ever read tentaclesex of this caliber. It was off the charts.

I think I enjoyed this more because I didn't really know what to expect and was just as shocked as Danny with what went on. So, I'm going to leave it at this: read it.

Flesh and Song by Ally Blue 3♥s

This started out strong, really strong and I loved the concept. Noah ends up on an undiscovered island and becomes entranced by this sex-god person. He's there for an undetermined amount of time living in mindless, sexual bliss. He can't leave and can't even think beyond his lover and what he'll demand of him next.

I really liked his creepy lover and would have preferred if there was more time spent on that part of the story. Once that was over, I became uninterested in what happened to Noah. Then the ending felt rushed and left me wanting. Still, I was more than engaged in the story most of the time.

Out From Under by Brien Michaels 4♥s

That was creepy as hell! There was blood and guts and gore, severed heads rolling around and all that. It was way out of my 'normal' zone, but I really couldn't put it down.

Brent made a deal with the devil and it cost him his boyfriends life. Now, he made yet another deal to bring his boyfriend back. 

I really don't even know how to describe what was going on except that this was a clusterfuck of constant weirdness. But in a good way, a really good way. I was immediately sucked into the story and stayed that way the entire time. Oh, and there were tentacles.

Sleeping with Ghosts by Peter Hansen 2.5♥s

The idea of the story was good. There are some children who are born without souls, because of this there is a group of people who are 'called' to kill in order to take old souls. They give the old souls to the newborns so they can have a new life. Sounds kind of interesting, right?

Well, it kind of was boring. I was never connected to the main character and I did not understand why he was attracted to the ghost. He was haunted by one of his kills and then BOOM! he wanted to have sex with the ghost. Huh? Why? I don't know.

I feel like this could have been a lot better than it turned out to be and is the weakest of the bunch.

Blasphemer Sinner Saint by Heidi Belleau and Sam Schooler 4♥s

This. This one was good.

Tobias is reunited with his first love from when he was a kid. Things had not ended well between Tobias and David, so there were some bitter words that were exchanged when they met again. Ultimately, what came out of their choice words was that David was sick and wasn't going to get any better. Luckily, Tobias found someone to save David, he only had to sell a piece of his soul in return. Dun dun duuuuunnnn...

I love a good second chance romance. Every happy couple deserves another shot, right? The way it happened here might have been a little creepy and weird, but it was an HEA nonetheless, so I was sat.is.fied.

There was more of a focus on the romance in this story. There wasn't much romance or HEA time in this collection of stories and my sappy heart was starting to feel withdrawals. It was a nice way to end the anthology. 

Find on Goodreads!

Review: Wallflower (Rear Entrance Video, Book #2)

"This gamer geek has a lacy little secret."

Art student and MMORPG addict Robert Ng has always been a loner, but he's recently made it his goal to make more (IRL) friends. Which is how he winds up working nights at Rear Entrance Video, shilling sketchy porn and blowup dolls as a favor to his roommate. The longer he works there, though, the more he realizes he'll never be truly happy until he becomes the person he is online: his female persona, Bobby.

 Bobby is cuter and funnier than Rob is, and a thousand times more popular with boys. Becoming Bobby IRL presents its own set of challenges, though . . . especially when you're sitting on the fence between two genders, only one of which has caught the attention of your seriously cute customer/classmate.

 Dylan Ford is a six-foot Inuit comic book artist who always says what's on his mind, and screw anyone who doesn't like it. As rough as he appears, though, Dylan has a soft spot for Rob. But will out-and-proud Dylan still want Rob if he's not all man?

Quick! Can you find me 5 published MM books featuring both a Chinese and Inuit romance lead? I'll wait...

*starts filing nails*

Couldn't find any? Maybe one closer to none? I KNOW. The popular MM romances tend to lean towards the less diverse main characters - white, hunky males with monster packages. You'd think in this diverse world we live in that there would be a better representation of all different cultures and ethnicities that are out there. There are authors that have tried, some fail epically in a stereotypical way (not going to name any names but there's a certain one that comes to mind) and sometimes, you can hit paydirt with an author who knows how write characters as real life people, with normal flaws and issues and not make it about their culture.

I have found this with Heidi Belleau.

She writes characters realistically with different backgrounds (actually researched about her characters' ethnicity), three dimensional feel and diversity. Thank you. She gives good...characterization. ;D

Now getting my kudos for her having two minority romantic leads out of the way, I'll get to my thoughts of "Wallflower", book #2 of the Rear Entrance Video series.

It's quirky. If I had to give a one word description, that would be it.

The series could be read as standalone but trust me, you're going to want to read book #1, Christian and Max's story was an interesting one. Happy we get to see them as secondary characters in "Wallflower". Book #2 is Christian and Max's housemate's story, Robert Ng. Here's a little introduction about Mr. Ng:

"I'm Rob Ng. That's N-G pronounced like I-N-G. Ng. I'm nineteen--"crushing on my straight male roommate who won't so much as glance at me "--in first year, just graduated high school." And I wish I was a girl.

Robert is first generation Chinese-Canadian, an art major freshman, hasn't fully come out of the closet and extremely shy. He internalizes...a lot, he is the wallflower you might ignore or not quite remember if you meet him. Which is fine for Rob because in his downtime, he plays video games and gets to pretend with his alter ego, the extrovert to his eternal introvert, his feminine side...the fun Bobby.

And besides, Rob wasn't a girl. Wasn't born one, not physically and not even on the inside. He just liked...playing one. Dressing up as one.

At nineteen, Robert is still exploring and learning about himself. He has more fun as Bobby, makes some mistakes but his still young right? Plus he works at a porn/sex toy store, Rear Entrance Video which as Rob was intimidating but for Bobby...well just imagine. And Rob happens to meet six foot tall Inuit, fellow art major, Dylan Ford. He's adopted, out and proud, has white parents, a major chip on his shoulder for being a Sixties Scoop kid (don't know what a Sixties Scoop kid is? I didn't either but it's an interesting yet disheartening fact) and the owner of one very smart mouth. But he's charismatic and draws both Rob and Bobby's attention. Rob...he struggles throughout the book to try to find himself, a balance into the mixed up world he's in. Sometimes I wanted to hug him...other times give him a (light) boot in the arse. He did take the coward's way most of the time.

I like being a guy. I just like being a girl sometimes too. And not just as a sex thing, which I think is an important distinction? Or feels like it should be? I guess I'm both. Guy and girl. But more guy.

Dylan and Robert meet at Rear Entrance and share a class together. The sparks...I guess they flew. Their match was definitely an insta-love feel. The sex was hot, the dirty talk and alley sex scene definitely gets my vote for the hotness factor. But I have to comment on the suddenness of their feelings and some of the actions Rob takes. This kid has a lot of social issues and quirks so some of his choices seemed so out of the box for him. Maybe he could say it was a Bobby fueled behavior but at the end of the day Bobby and Rob are still one person. And I have to compare Dylan/Rob to Max/Christian. The couple from the first book is much more believable when comparing this book's couple. At the end of Wallflower, it was nice...the men say the right words I just had a harder time fully believing the longevity of their relationship.

This book gave a lot of focus to Robert/Bobby soul searching, the Dylan pairing felt rushed at times. I wanted to know more about the mouthy comic book artist. He was really good for Robert, very understanding, patient. I just wished I could have read some of his POV. The story is a good one, I enjoyed the secondary characters and storyline. I learned a bit about Canadian culture too. There was a nice twist at the end, a HEA with insta-love. A difficult topic (gender identity) handled with expert care that it was secondary to the rushed  "love you".

Check this book out. The writing is pretty good. Not as good as book #1, in my opinion...but damn close.

Am I checking more from the author? Affirmative.

Reading more of the series? (Please, pretty please let there be more) Definitely.

A copy provided for an honest review.

Find on Goodreads!

Review: Apple Polisher (Rear Entrance Video, Book #1)

Christian Blake dreams of being a kindergarten teacher, but making the grade means maintaining a squeaky clean image: no drinking, no drugs, no swearing, no sex. And definitely no falling for his new roommate-tattooed bad-boy Max, who may or may not be a drug dealer.

Most of all, it means no working at a porn store. But Christian's aunt has cancer, and her beloved Rear Entrance Video will go bankrupt if Christian doesn't take over managerial duties. Soon enough, Christian finds himself juggling sticky twenty-five cent peep show booths, a blackmailing employee, and a demanding professor who likes to make an example of him.

And then there's Max, who doesn't know anything about the store, but hates Christian's preppy sweater vests and the closet Christian forces him into when they're together. Max just wants Christian to be himself-even though Max is keeping secrets of his own. Christian struggles to find the impossible balance between his real life and the ideal one he thinks a teacher needs to live . . . all while trying to keep his aunt's dream alive without losing his own.

(Please note: This review was posted on GR. For those new to the series, or wanting to know my thoughts on book #1- Enjoy!)



"Apple Polisher" the first book in the Rear Entrance Video series (awesome series name BTW) featuring romantic-comedic approach to MM romance while featuring some real life shit. The romance is simple and comforting featuring twenty-somethings.

Christian Blake is gay (but he re-entered the closet), Jamaican-Canadian (yay!), enrolled into a difficult teaching program (where he has to dress in preppy business casual clothes turning him into a perpetual square - boo!) and broke. (Hello, he's a graduate student!) Poor Blake is so broke he answers a roommate request to live a "heritage house" (questionable) with four other male roommates.

Mmm...sounds like it could be a fantastic setup for an orgy, but (regrettably) it is not. The hose is swarming with different personalities, backgrounds and cultures. It was such a delight to read. One of my favorite things about this story is the difference between the five roommates and the multicultural approach. (Major kudos to Heidi - well that and the Jake Bass references because I have a supercrush!)

But Christian does end up falling for one of his roommates, Max, a secretive, snarky, tattooed, tongue-pierced, sexy ,little, lithe bit of yum who has a penchant for wearing superhero themed underwear. Christian has to remained buttoned up and boring but he can't help but lust after Max who he suspects to be a bad boy involved in illegal activities. Christian can't do anything about that, no matter how tempted he is.

Right?

Especially since his favorite aunt who is battling cancer and owner of a small porn store (Rear Entrance Videos) which is tanking, needs Christian's attention and help. Christian has no time for relationships, fuck buddies or whatnot. Besides he doesn't even like Max...that much. Maybe? No.

Max and Christian's bicker-flirting made me smile. A favorite of mine:

"It's totally hot, you being such a square. Don't know why, but I see you with that shirt buttoned up all the way and I know I need to fuck you."
"What you got some Urkel fetish?"
"Don't flatter yourself."

All of the problems laid on Christian's feet are relatable and made me enjoy him the more for them - his family struggles, his sort of laid back approach to handling them, etc. I think Max described Christian perfectly:

"When, in fact, you're an absolutely normal person who takes a bit of time and encouragement to make a hard decision, but gets to the right choice in the end."

In the end, he comes through. He's not perfect and I don't expect him to be. Max was a great foil to Christian's stuffiness. And when he enticed Christian to take a walk on the wild side, I loved it. Also the story is not one long literary porn scene. There's much more than just sex even with Christian working in a porn store(though there was at least one accidental exhibition scene- I loved it).

The narration of the story (from Christian's POV) was humorous, sad and hopeful at times. It went up and down but never hitting extreme peaks with the emotional angle. There's no unwarranted drama thrown in for drama's sake. It read so normal it felt like wrapping in your most comfiest blanket on a cold day. It was a comfort read for me, sometimes those are the best.

All secrets are revealed (Max's I did not expect but it was not a deal breaker for me). The ending was great and realistic. I look forward to reading more from this series in the future. And book #2, Wallflower, looks like it's going to be a doozy (in a good way).

There are many things that made this story great:(people with multicultural backgrounds [I'm partial to the Jamaican references]), real life situations and awesome narration - maybe because I talk and think like that.

Heidi Belleau, it seems you have a fan in me. I'm anxiously awaiting more.

ARC was provided for an honest review.

Find on Goodreads!