Tag Team Review: Bobby Green (Johnnies #5) by Amy Lane

Vern Roberts couldn’t wait to turn eighteen and get the hell out of Dogpatch, California. But city living is expensive, and he’s damned desperate when Dex from Johnnies spots him bussing tables.

As “Bobby,” he's a natural at gay porn. Soon he’s surrounded by hot guys and sex for the taking, but it’s not just his girlfriend back in Dogpatch—or her blackmailing brother—that keeps him from taking it. It's the sweet guy who held the lights for his first solo scene, who showed him decency, kindness, and a smile.

Reg Williams likes to think he's too stupid to realize what a shitty hand life dealt him, but Bobby knows better. What Reg lacks in family, opportunity, education, and money, he makes up for in heart. One fumbling step at a time, they connect, not just in their hearts but in their bodies, where sex that’s not on camera, casual, or meaningless, becomes the most important thing in the world.

But Reg is hampered by an inescapable family burden, and he and Bobby will never fly unless he can find a way to manage it. Can he break the painful link to his unrealized childhood and grow into the love Bobby wants to give?

Adam - 4.25 Hearts

‘Bobby Green’ is classic Amy Lane. It’s angsty as all hell and Amy puts the lovebirds - and the reader - through the wringer, but by the end she stitches everyone together and sends them on along on their happily ever after.

Vern Roberts escapes his small hometown, and ends up as ‘Bobby’ at gay porn studio Johnnies. It makes him question a lot of things, especially his sexuality, but Bobby knows one thing for certain - he’s captivated by veteran porn actor Reg.

Life hasn’t been kind to Reg, so he doesn’t put too much faith in the relationship growing between him and Bobby. But Bobby quickly becomes the one good thing in his life.

Bobby quickly won me over. His one goal is to build a better life for himself and his mom.

Reg also has family commitments, namely his schizophrenic sister Veronica. My heart hurt for him, and for everything he had to put up with or give up in order to care for his sister.

When Bobby and Reg first meet, they’re drawn to each other, but neither takes that step towards something more. Though the two are porn stars, they take it slow and easy, and their relationship builds gradually. Instead, they cuddle and talk.

The two offer each other friendship and understanding. Both instantly just get each other, and they understand that life isn’t always sunshine and roses.

But when they’re together, the two can’t help but think of a happier life. They may share their bodies with other men on camera, but deep down in their hearts, Bobby and Reg know that they’re only meant for each other.

Once Reg and Bobby take that next step, they are on fire. These are two professional porn stars, after all!

Both of the MCs are flawed, yet realistic, characters. They make mistakes along the way, but they never give up on each other. Plus, Reg’s commitments to his sister, in particular, are a huge roadblock in any potential relationship.

It takes a lot of hard work and pain, but Bobby and Reg build the foundation for their future bit by bit, and they get a brilliant happy ending. Highly recommended for fans of the Johnnies series!


Samantha - No Rating

Reading Bobby Green, I had high hopes. There were promises of old-school Amy Lane, and I was just aching for that. I chomped at the bit to read it, and when I started... I had to stop. I know, it sounds dramatic, but let me explain. I am a social worker (therapist). I work in mental health and have clients with a wide range of diagnoses. The way some of the characters were portrayed in this made me pause. I have to work to digest it, as I want to keep reading, but this is one of those times I just need to process how I feel about it and sort in my head reasons why. I had some flashbacks to a newer Lane book that irked me deeply, and so I stopped. Maybe I'm afraid to have negativity regarding a series that for a long time was among my faves, or maybe I just need time. So this isn't a DNF, but a... I'll read (see) you later. One day.

Review: Pins and Needles by A.J. Thomas

The truth is rarely seen on the surface, and getting to it might mean digging deep…

After a devastating accident and a long stay in the hospital, the last thing petroleum engineer Sean Wilkinson wants to deal with is the settlement the oil company tries to force on him. He’ll never be able to work in his field again, his education is all but useless, and his surgeons are pessimistic about whether he’ll ever walk again. He needs someone in his corner, but most lawyers take one look at his tattoo-covered foster father and turn their backs. It’s just Sean’s luck that the one attorney willing to give him a chance is also the hottest guy he’s ever seen.

As a trial lawyer, Nate Delany has a lot to prove—to his father, the world, and himself. Sean intrigues Nate, and he struggles to reconcile the gifted tattoo artist he can’t stop fantasizing about with the quiet, brilliant engineer. His investigation reveals facts left out of the accident report—including an illicit affair, greedy coworkers, and a vicious corporation that will do anything to protect its bottom line. When Sean’s life is threatened, winning Sean’s case, and his heart, becomes a lot more dangerous.

Sean's life is dramatically derailed when an accident occurs and nearly saws him in two. He's left having to reconfigure his life and future and battle the potential of never being able to walk again. When the man who essentially raised him reaches out for legal assistance against the oil company whose ship Sean was on (and who Sean had just started officially working for days before), he meets Nate, who is as stubborn and proud as he, sans the tattoos.

Nate is tired of living in the shadow of people taking credit for his work. Against his father's wishes, he leaves the firm behind and heads out on his own. His first case? Well, certainly not what he expected, and the attraction to Sean is immediate.

Through twists and turn, the men seek answers (all while trying to stay alive.)

“Come on, let’s go for a walk and—” He stopped and slapped himself in the forehead. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…. I’m just sorry.”
Sean chuckled. “They didn’t reprogram my brain to avoid normal figures of speech when they gave me the wheelchair. We can go for a walk.”

Something that I love about A.J. Thomas is that they manage to provide what feels like authentic representation. While not differently abled in the same way as Sean, I have my own physical battles. I felt for Sean as I went through the story and watched him give a middle finger to societies standards for who he can be. I chose the quote above because I think it provides a good example of that in a way that is accessible.

The story has steam, but it is certainly not steam-powered (see what I did there?) It is very much so plot-driven and I really found myself enjoying it. I had predicted at least one of the aspects of who was behind a lot of mayhem, but didn't have it figured out completely. I will say that while A.J. did a great job of making such a complex field and science more understandable, there were times I was still like "what the what?" - and that is part of what took my rating down some. Lucky for everyone, I am not an engineer. We'd all be screwed.

The epilogue felt a bit rushed, but I did like where it went and I don't know that it would've made sense for the story to be extended. It just ended up coming across as reading a 1,000 word paragraph in 20 seconds. Whoooosh.

In the end, this is a solid story by a solid author, and I definitely enjoyed the complex characters, enjoyable side characters, and subplots surrounding family for both Nate and Sean.

A review copy was provided.

Review: Misinformation by Keelan Ellis

Ethan Daniels, host of a popular conservative cable news program, has never thought of his bisexuality as a problem, though he has never acted on his attraction to men. Since his divorce, that desire has become more acute. When he meets Charlie Woods, his daughter's first grade teacher, they have an instant spark, but Ethan hesitates to act. His contract is up for renewal, there are already rumors swirling about him because of a brief encounter from his past, and the last thing his employers want is for one of their stars to come out publicly.

Charlie avoids romantic entanglements because he prefers living on his own terms. He keeps love and sex completely separate, never seeing anyone more than a few times. Hooking up with a closeted celebrity like Ethan seems safe from emotional involvement, even if they have to keep their fledgling relationship secret.

The last thing they expect is to fall in love, but their strong mutual attraction moves them both to make changes neither of them thought they wanted or needed.

He was beautiful in a slightly off-kilter way that translated best in motion. The still pictures Charlie had seen of him on buses and billboards never did him justice, but on television he was golden. In person, Charlie found him astonishingly hot.

Ethan has a nice life. He has a well-paying job, a good relationship with his ex-wife, and a beautiful little girl. Still, it's not all it's cracked up to be on paper. He works for a conservative news station that forces him to take stances on issues he doesn't agree with, and for the most part, he can deal with it -- Until he meets Charlie, his daughter's teacher. Their connection throws a wrench into all his plans, and Ethan finds himself suddenly wondering if the money is worth living a lie.

“Can I tell you how many fucks I give about what people think? Take a guess.”

Ethan smiled despite himself. “Like, ten? Ten fucks?”

She laughed. “Zero fucks, Ethan. Don’t use me as an excuse.”

There were a lot of really great things about this book, but I'll start off with the one thing in particular that took this down quite a bit for me. I honestly didn't feel the connection between Charlie and Ethan. Eventually, as the author kept telling us about it, I bought in, but for a lot of the first half, it just didn't sizzle for me. Sure, they had hot sex, but the emotional aspect was really lacking. Again, toward the end, it fell a bit flat as the author rushed through a lot of time (over a year) in a matter of pages. Those things simply didn't work.

However, as I said, the book had some really lovely points. For example, Ethan embraces the fact that he is bi. The author made a clear effort to not diminish the importance of Ethan's relationship with his ex-wife and the loving nature of it, which I truly appreciated. At the same time, the fear that others would think the marriage was a lie was addressed, making it feel more realistic.

I also really liked all the characters. I would've loved to have heard more about Josh, in particular his adventures with Roland, but in general, even the secondary characters were fun and had multiple layers. There were some that didn't seem to come full circle, like Ethan's ex-girlfriend and his roommate from college who kind of just fell off the face of the book at some point, but I can live with that.

In general, it's a fun, easy read with a nice bit of heat.

Find on Dreamspinner Press or Goodreads!

Guest Review: Tied to Trouble (Gamers, #3) by Megan Erickson

Between love and hate, there's a whole lot of trouble…

Chad Lake only showed up at his sister's party for the free food, but when he spots an uptight nerd at the edge of the crowd, he can't resist trying to ruffle the guy's perfect bow tie and impeccable hair. The hottie's ready for him, though, and in the end, it's Chad who's left wide-eyed, his ears still ringing with the filthy things Bow Tie whispered in his ear. No one gets the upper hand on Chad. Ever.

Owen Hawkins has heard all about the cocky Adonis from Chad's sister—the same sister who holds Owen's career advancement in her hands. He has every intention of steering clear of the other man…until Chad's sexy taunts push him too far. There's something intriguing about Chad, and even though Owen knows that getting tangled up with the infuriating man is trouble, he can't seem to stay away…

**This is part of an M/F series but can be read as standalone**

Guest Reviewer: Samantha

For so long, Chad had been one-dimensional in Owen’s head, and it’d been easy to classify him as Marley’s wild younger brother, the guy Marley always had a funny, unbelievable story about.

But now Owen had met Chad, and despite that he wanted to keep him flat, Chad was slowly ballooning into a 3-D person. A guy with feelings and secrets. He wasn’t classified now. Not at all. He was in the breeze, all on his own, and Owen didn’t like it when he couldn’t pin someone down and figure them out quickly.

Chad Lake is a bit of a wild child. He doesn't settle in one job for too long, doesn't stay with the same person too long... he doesn't really commit. For most of his life, that's worked out just fine, but Owen is about to shake that all up.

Owen works for Chad's sister, and despite the near instant clash of personalities, teetering on the line of hatred, there's something about Chad that just keeps drawing Owen close - close enough to get in his pants a time or two. It's not like Owen at all; he doesn't say those things, do those things... but just maybe Chad is shaking up his life too. There may be something to the saying that opposites attract, and Owen and Chad are about to find out.

“Chad, you’re…” Owen waved his hand, searching for words. “You’re light and fun and spontaneous. Shiny things distract you.” Owen took a step forward. “I wanted to stay shiny for you.”

This is the first Megan Erickson story I've read due to time constraints. I was really looking forward to it, as I've only heard good things about her MM stories. I went into the story with an open mind, and I'd say that my expectations were met pretty well.

The story is a fun and fast read. Once you get into it, the pages fly by easily. There's nothing particularly original about the story line. We've all read opposites attract, a romance between the impossibly uptight nerd and the relentless bad boy. Still, I would say that the story was a cute representation of the trope, even if the club situation toward the end was predictable.

I really enjoyed the side characters. Marley was a strong female, and it's always nice to find those in books. I would've actually loved to see more of Ace too, as he was pretty intriguing. The balance of the number of side characters was spot on. Not too many, but enough to pad the story. One thing I do wonder about is if Gamers ever got that advertising account. We never did find out.

Oh, and how can I forget? The sex. Steaming. I'll never be able to look at a bow tie the same way again. The idea of Dapper Dick was just super fun and a nice little addition to the story.

In sum, this is an enjoyable, no-stress read. It's something I could see someone reading on the beach or on the deck while getting some sun. I look forward to hopefully reading more of Ms. Erickson's books in the near future.

For more information on Goodreads or Booklikes!

A copy provided via Netgalley for an honest review.