Review: Dark Flame (Flame Born #1) by Kat Silver

"I know who you are because you belong to me. You were born to be mine." ~ Prince Alexei Vasiliev

Haunted by the death of his parents, Michael Blakeley wants answers. The twenty-six-year-old martial artist seeks their killer, but he also wants to know why electronics short out at his touch, and why his libido is a raging fire.

So when a group of soldiers calling themselves Guardians rescue him from a back alley ambush and claim to have the answers he needs, he agrees to go with them. Especially when they tell him the attackers were vampires. But nothing in this supernatural underworld is as it seems, and when the silver-eyed commander cages him instead, Michael's answers slip further away.

Can Michael find safety from the vampire prince who claims him? Can he escape the dark destiny he discovers is written into his blood? And will he break the chains of the commander who keeps him captive? The one man he has no desire to leave?

Dark Flame is the first pulse-pounding book in the Flame Born LGBT urban fantasy series. If you like enemies to lovers, shifters, sexy vampire princes, and scorching heat, you'll love this smoldering tale of bloodlust and magic. There is content some readers may find distressing. Meant for mature audiences.

Can I let you in on a little secret? The first line in the blurb is what sold me on reading Dark Flame.

"I know who you are because you belong to me. You were born to be mine." ~ Prince Alexei Vasiliev

That one sentence can be really magical if the character can back it up. And after reading, I am a fan of Prince Alexei....though he doesn't have much page time in the overall book, his presence was definitely there. I do enjoy a good villain. 

 

Debut novel Dark Flame is told in first person POV. Our protagonist is 26 y.o. orphan martial artist, Michael. He has no idea of his background other than being found as an infant with his slaughtered parents. He wants answers but doesn't know where to start. And strange things keep happening to him. He shorts out electronics and it's difficult to  hold a job. Plus, he sees a shadow that no one else can see. A late night hook up with a lady (there's only a brief M/F encounter) changes his entire world.

The reader and Michael are thrust into this new urban fantasy world with vampires, shifters, witches, fae and magic, oh my! And the most important of all, Flame (think of it as supernatural life source). There are battles and cool mystery as to what the hell Michael is and why his sexuality is not as defined as he thought it was. 

Gabriel Flanagan is the head of supernatural soldiers and takes charge of introducing Michael to his new world (in more ways than one). Michael also has a dark fae/vampire prince Alexei that wants him all to his self. Alexei introduces himself around the 20% and wields a lot of intensity that Michael can't resist, though he tries.  Alexei's words are very seductive and one ever knows what tricks he has up his sleeve because Alexei is not only seductive, he's cunning. Whenever he's on page, he uses his influence to his best ability. I want more of him in the rest of the series. *fingers crossed*

Michael has a lot of his plate. He's learning his new abilities, the magical world where creatures he thought were make believe actually exist and exactly what makes him special. He's trying to find out the truth about his heritage. And he's trying to figure out his attraction to two specific men. 

Is this a romance? Nope. It's urban fantasy with romantic elements. There is some eroticism, but it's more about the seduction and intense moments. No penetrative scenes, but what is written fits the characters and is hot. More sensual and sexy than balls deep, if you will.  I do enjoy a good slow burn and love triangle. And though I'm Team Alexei, and I want him to devour Michael and show him a thing or three. Trigger warning: attempted rape

This is Michael's story through and through. And at first, I was indifferent to him. As the story progressed, I grew to like him. The secondary characters for me stole the show, though he's a close second. The world building is solid. There is modern day UK where the story seems to be set and different realms. There is long histories just waiting to be delved into. There wasn't a lull moment, I found the novel to be evenly paced. 

I ended the story with questions that I'm sure will be answered in the overall arc of the story: 

• What is Michael's background? 
• What happened to his family? Was this foretold? 
• What is the set up between Alexei, Gabriel and Michael? (I hope it ends with menage because I don't think I can choose)
  

The story ends at a hopeful for now spot and no defined relationship...yet. I see the author offered an erotic freebie, Two Nights and a Day, featuring Gabriel and Michael which I will be jumping right into. (You must read book #1 first)

This seems perfectly set up for a second (and third) book. I'm curious to see what else author Kat Silver has up their sleeve. Consider me a fan of the Flame Born series.

Recommended for fans of urban fantasy with secrets, action, dark characters and solid world building.

A copy provided for an honest review.

Review: Daddy's Forbidden Room by K.A. Merikan

“Oh, Kevin, no… you don’t need a boyfriend. What you need is a Daddy.”


Kevin knows his worth. He’s a cute twink who, despite his lack of experience, has a lot to offer. So when life deals him lemons, all he needs is sugar to make lemonade.

A Sugar Daddy that is.

Kevin is ready to throw caution to the wind when he meets a mysterious man who offers him the opportunity of a lifetime. A million dollars in exchange for becoming the man’s boy toy and staying with him for one year. Sandro is older, devastatingly handsome, and ready to show Kevin a world of sensual pleasures while lavishing him with luxury.

But Kevin’s new Daddy also has strict rules.

Never leave the island.

Never disobey.

And never enter the forbidden room behind the white door.

What starts as a mutually beneficial arrangement quickly turns into a whirlwind of passion. Secrets become too tempting to resist, and whatever hides behind the white door could be the undoing of all that Kevin loves about his Daddy.


***

“What’s this room?”
Sandro put his hand on Kevin’s nape. “This is a part of the house you’re not allowed in.”
Kevin stared at the white door with his lips parted. “Why, Bluebeard? Hiding all your dead ex-husbands?”
Sandro chuckled. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”


POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
Themes: Daddy kink, secrets, age gap, Sugar Baby/Sugar Daddy, rent boy, spanking, discipline, lingerie kink
Genre: M/M romance with dark elements
Length: ~35,000 words (Standalone novel)
Scorching hot, emotional, explicit scenes

WARNING: This story contains scenes of violence, and morally ambiguous characters.

This was my kind of story! And really with a title like that I knew it would be right up my alley. For those of you who don't know, my thing is kind of Daddy kink.... in a big way.

So yea 3 stars right off the bat for using that very special word.

Ok to the nitty-gritty. I loved this! This novella was kinky, sexy and as character driven as a kinky novella can be. It was also full of my two favourite tropes, morally ambiguous main characters and attempted rape with the hero swooping in to the rescue.

The story really wasn't that surprising and it was pretty simple in its execution but that was perfect for a novella. I'll definitely reread this when I'm after something quick, fun and sexy.

Recommended for anyone and everyone who enjoys any of the things I mentioned in this review!

A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Review: Fair Catch (Players of L.A. #2) by Leigh Carman

A Players of LA Novel

Two men.

One night of passion.

They never expected to see each other again.

They were wrong.

Tobias Bennett is a quiet and unassuming man who teaches yoga and enjoys parkour. Though he is proud to be gay, an abusive relationship with a domineering man has left Tobias wary of romance, and he keeps to himself in his tidy Los Angeles apartment.

Pro football player Sullivan Archer is Tobias’s complete opposite: loud, brash, fond of the spotlight… and deep in the closet. When a hamstring injury sends Van to Tobias as part of his therapy, neither of them is expecting to come face-to-face with his one-night stand. Now they’re stuck together throughout Van’s healing process, and the close proximity will force them to deal with some hard truths. For Tobias, it’s realizing his hookup is a celebrity. For Van, it means accepting that he likes Tobias more than he wanted. They’ll both have to acknowledge that if they choose to pursue a relationship, their lives will change in big ways.

Told in dual first person POV, Fair Catch is a new adult romance (I use that term in the loosest of terms) between 22 year old yoga instructor, parkour enthusiast, genius techie and millionaire 5' 6" Tobias "Toby" Bennett and 25 year old Superbowl winning, best NFL wide receiver in the league, 6' 6" alpha male Sullivan "Van" Archer.

That's a lot of hats these main characters wear. Usually when I read a story that give their MC holds many titles, it's used as the depth and characteristics that story lacks.

So is the case with Fair Catch. It was the equivalent of reading about paper thin types play acting a romance. I'm not a fan of those.

Also this story doesn't have trigger warnings, so let me get those out the way: domestic abuse, gay bashing, attempted rape and domestic violence.

The story starts out roughly, Toby (the smaller, beautiful owner of crystalline eyes) is herded into an office but a club owner (best friend of Van) for closeted Van Archer's pick of ass for the night. Toby was celibate and allegedly wary of others since his last relationship, one with a controlling abusive older, larger lawyer. So what does young Toby do when grabbed and told to go into the room? Why he drops to his knees and hooks up with the intimidating stranger's friend. Makes sense.

This monumental hookup is mentioned in the blurb, however, there is no description of this life changing scene, just exaltation of why the MC is so beautiful and smaller, there's a foot difference in height, don't you know?

The story jumps around to Van winning the Superbowl but getting an owwie. Then we jump to a yoga class with Toby as the teach. And it continues to jump all around to make for a bumpy transitions, declarations of not doing an action and then doing it either before or a few paragraphs down the line. The disjointed brand of story telling continues throughout. And the thing is, though weeks and months pass, the main characters basically spend a handful of days together, with no meaningful events written and shown to the reader.

Oh, there is sex. Repetitive sex that I could write the script for you: big hulking guy manhandles the little guy, calls him "beautiful" two finger probe into the "little hole", condom, lube, insert dick, thrust, "mine", cums and falls on top. Rinse and repeat.

Fair Catch was swimming around the 2.5 mark until the repeated attempted rapes plot line. Actually it's right around when the unnecessary villain/ex-boyfriend with the extremely weak blackmail twist was thrown in. After that, the story went onto an over the top tangent with a lot of bruises, tears, possessive behavior and and stereotypes.

The best things about the novel is the concept and the readability. It's very simple to read and you can quickly zip through.

The negatives outweigh the positives however.

The writing style - Too telling, contradictory and relies on stereotypical characters to make the story "interesting" and for added drama. The telling is so heavy, an example is that a character would need to look in the mirror to tell the reader they were horny and describe to you, instead of just writing it and letting the reader figure it out on their own. To say the book needed a through edit, content wise, is not wrong. There are too many examples of this writing style where it fails to showcase the character. More descriptive and time were spent on the superficial things rather than letting the character have a hint of depth. And key scenes that could have actually used a thorough description were ignored.

All of the character could instantly know what the other characters were thinking, been through, etc. Maybe clairvoyant is an unofficial hat to add to the list of jobs they all have.

The stereotypes - I really was not a fan of the way Leo, Toby's best friend was written. He was nothing more that a loud color wearing, cock hound who went into hysterics at a drop of a hat.

The abuse/domestic violence - I am always on the side of an abuse victim. However they react is their right. This book minimizes abuse (also again the characters can just tell what happened to each other):

"My last boyfriend. He was... not nice."
"What do you mean?" Then Leo gasps, gripping his shirt over his chest. "Oh My God, Toby. Did he hit you?"
"Not exactly. Well, sort of. I don't know, Leo. It was abusive, I know, but it all built up over such a long period of time, I didn't realize what was going on until it was too late."

Toby can't tell if he was abused? It was just last year when he described being raped and beaten. Or the fact Toby stated he felt worse for his friend being called homophobic slurs than suffering through actual physical abuse and being raped. Both are horrible, let me be clear, but they are not equal.

And in case the past rape wasn't used enough, the attempted rape plot device was added... TWICE!

To create dramatic effect? The last one made no sense, nor did it add to anything other than it gave the alpha hero a shot to flex his muscles and allegedly save the day. The thing is Van wasn't there the first time the attempted rape card was brought to the table and he didn't seem as cut about it afterwards.

Van - I know he's supposed to read like a good guy. But the way he was written was not as effective, He realized his true self as being a gay man by not wearing sweats and sneakers but rather tailored, designer clothes. Seriously? Or how about the fact he knows about Toby's abused past but didn't care when he got mad at his lover and started to go apeshit on him? Or manhandling Toby in the heat of sexy times so soon after Toby gets beaten again.

If an abuse victim closes himself off from others, why would Van be the one to break their celibacy on? Nothing was shown to support that. The reader is told they're horny for one another, told they're soul mates, told they love each other...but nothing is shown.

This book has the potential to appeal to certain readers, if you rather not learn main characters' life stories, just want a beginning and middle and end with some sex thrown in and a lot of drama, then Fair Catch might be the book for you.

For me:

I'm sure this is my last Leigh Carman I'll read.

Not recommended.

Find on Dreamspinner Press or Goodreads!

Review: Beyond the Grill by Tracey Michael

Justin Walker is used to being the hookup but never the boyfriend, and that’s okay. Justin has goals—he might sling burgers by night and work on his car by day, but he has plans to go to school and make a life for himself. He also has a few friends and loving parents.

What more could a guy ask for?

Hot, muscular, manly Shane Steel is a walking wet dream. Justin fantasizes about having Shane as more than a casual acquaintance, and one night he works up the courage to flirt with Shane. To his surprise—and terror—Shane is interested. Very interested.

As they bond over their love of cars and drag racing, Justin begins to believe he can be more to Shane than a side guy. Too bad Shane’s manipulative and dangerous ex is dead set against letting that happen.

Based on the blurb, I thought I was going to get a redeemed cumdump romance novella. I was hopeful for a reformed cum dumpster who doesn't know their worth, and they finally realize it on their own and also rebuild self esteem to find love. (Without a magic penis please.) Alas... that wasn't to be found here.

In fact, it barely delivers the blurb.

Justin is (who knows how old) but he works in a fast food chain as an assistant manager and learned to fix cars because he read a manual. He flirts with his friend/acquaintance who he thinks is straight and doesn't know how read his stalking signals. (I'll get to that later) This friend/acquaintance owns a mechanic shop, is "alpha" (and not a shifter--trust me I checked) and doesn't know how to communicate well.

The two sloppily date, drily start a...relationship(?) (I don't know what to call that when it was poorly executed within such a short time frame). Spoiler-ish: the story's tone is so monotone, a third person is thrown in for left field drama which includes roofie and coke use. (Side note: I'm not going to lecture on how to use roofies, but just to take a picture of a person naked?)

I could go on for hours on the book's so-called villain or the nonsensical scenes such as characters commenting smelling smoke when there was a locked door. You'd think there was a fire right? Wrong? It's a guy with a gun. Potential triggers: attempted rape

Basically, it was a no from the first page, but I was still holding out hope for a personality transplant.

Shane stalks Justin, who is presented as a doormat in the beginning. And is a doormat throughout the story. He learned nothing and did nothing. Shane actually hooks up with someone else very easily when his access to Justin is denied, so any feeling (which is questionable from the start) is meaningless.

The writing style is too underdeveloped for the mediocre plot.  Who are the main characters? How old are they? Why would the "villain" want to be with Shane? Or Justin? Rather than spend time on discussing drag racing, Fast and the Furious (which I've never watched) and the NHRA, it could have been spent on making the characters three dimensional and more than one note. Justin and Shane just continued to say they were lonely instead of show, a main problem of the book. Too much tell, not enough showing. And then when it came time to make a difference with the story, it was way too late.story could've been cut in half or written differently if the characters were developed more.

The best thing about the book? It's an AngtsyG cover. I kinda fell for the cover and then read the blurb.

Beyond the Grill is not the worst book I've read this year, which is also a plus in its favor. I just can't recommend.

The story ends with a HEA. And if you prefer a book to be penetration free, look no further. I can guarantee, this will be my last time reading from this author.

P.S. If anyone knows of cum dumpsters who reform and find self esteem with a romance added in, please point me in the direction. I'm on the hunt for reading something like that.

Find on Dreamspinner Press or Goodreads!

Review: An Infatuation by Joe Cosentino

With his ten-year high school reunion approaching, Harold wonders whether Mario will be as muscular, sexy, and tantalizing as he remembers. As a teenager, it was love at first sight for Harold while tutoring football star Mario, until homophobia and bullying drove Mario deep into the closet. Now they’re both married men. Mario, a model, is miserable with his producer wife, while Harold, a teacher, is perfectly content with his businessman husband, Stuart. When the two meet again, will the old flame reignite, setting Harold’s comfortable life ablaze? How can Harold be happy with Stuart when he is still infatuated with his Adonis, his first love, Mario? Harold faces this seemingly impossible situation with inimitable wit, tenderness, and humor as he attempts to reconcile the past and the future. 

Minutes are worth more than money. Spend them wisely.

                                                          Thomas P. Murphy  

Time.

It's a funny thing; it heals, it flies, it can be wasted or treasured. It's too short - or too long -, it's of the moment and the past and the future. But what can time do to infatuation? That one perfect first love? This is what Harold, and his husband, Stuart, wonder when Harold's ten year reunion comes round.

High School, being a teenager, developing from childhood to adulthood and all the emotions and fears and uncertainty that comes with it can be both the best and worst time of a person's life. Whilst it is true that the start of the journey is just there, any route still able to be taken, it is also true that being different - and fear of being different - can hinder, cripple, the choices a person makes. 

When a person has to hide who they are, for fear of ridicule, of violence. Of being an outsider, friendless, alone. Of abandonment. When a person has to hide because of these - and many more - factors, then ultimately the routes that seem so wide open are suddenly diminishing. Choices are becoming fewer, decisions harder, options minimising. Life becomes a compromise. And not a compromise through choice, but a forced compromise. Even in the land of hope and plenty.

As we wander back with Harold through his memories, it is easy to see him as the victim. The weak one. The one who is different, who is bullied, who is (in the eyes of his peers, and they are so important at the time) lesser. Mario on the other hand, has it all. He is popular, good-looking, a jock. His family have money. He is well known and well liked. The boy at the top of his game. So basically, they are two opposites: nerd and jock, popular and not, strong and weak.

And ain't that the truth? Though as we follow Harold's story, it becomes obvious that those black and white lines are actually much further from defined than one would first think. And this is because Joe Cosentino is a very clever writer. He takes the stereotype (I admit to using that word hesitantly) and shows more. I've said before that this author is very observational, and he really is. He takes a character, makes them  almost cartoon like, then cleverly dissects away to reveal the real them. And all with a brilliant touch of humour.

And make no mistake, this author is very, very witty. With the timing of the actor he is, his humour shines through, again and again. Hah - time again. The perfect time to wit. (It's my review, I can make a noun a verb if I want. Even if it does make me think of owls, which are in no way part of this review).

As well as Harold, his loving and understanding husband, Stuart, and Mario, there is one other character I want to mention. Mr Ringwood. I had extreme feelings about Mr Ringwood. At first glance I despised him. Though understanding, he didn't have enough backbone to do the right thing. How he treated Harold was wrong - so, wrong. And he knew it. But in a way he was as much a victim as Harold. Not at that precise point in time in the same way Harold was, and don't get me wrong, as an adult it was his job to protect Harold, but he was a victim nonetheless. For all the reasons listed above. Time had yet to help him though. Time did nothing more at that point than make the fear bigger. Too big to do the right thing. Later though, time does help, he knows it, knows it's too late for him, that it is time for someone else.

"It's too late for me. My time has gone, but your time, Harold, is now."

Like an onion, Joe Cosentino's stories have layers. I would really recommend them. This is a Bittersweet novel, but it has laughs-a-plenty despite the sad and ugly lurking beneath the veneer. A truly fabulous read.

Excerpt and to buy links:

One Friday afternoon I accidentally ran into my hero in the boy's locker room. I’d had enough of the big guys banging me into gym lockers, pushing me into cold showers, and hanging me from the gym ropes. So I was on my way to give Mr. Adoni a note from Dr. Dlorah excusing me from gym class for the remainder of the school year (due to my highly contagious disease being studied by my doctor in Guatemala, where he could not be reached for the next year).

The locker room smelled of an odd combination of soap, cologne, sweat, and desire. Mario was getting ready for football practice, standing at his gym locker without a combination lock on it. Nobody would dare to break into it (Except for me that one time I smelled his jock strap. Okay maybe it was a few times, but not more than ten.). Mario slid his T-shirt (red today) over his thick, black hair and threw it on the nearby bench. No longer harnessed by cotton, his arm, back, chest, and neck muscles swelled to full size. I was half hidden behind the adjoining row of lockers, wearing my usual green and blue flannel shirt and brown corduroy pants. Mario, who wasn’t looking in my direction, said something really beautiful to me that I will never forget. “Hi.”

“Did you just? Oh. Hi. Hello. Good afternoon. Nice to see you. I mean, change with you.” I looked down at the floor (but cheated a bit) as Mario kicked off his boots, slipped off his jeans then threw them in the lucky locker. His red underpants (briefs) revealed ample manhood. This is better than the newspaper’s underwear ads!

“Good gym class today with Mr. Adonis, I mean, Mr. Adoni.” Did I just say that? “Harold High.”

“Hi.”

“High.” How can I get my pulse down to 260?

“Hi.” Mario reached into his locker for his sweat clothes.

Shouldn’t people be doing that for you? “Oh, my last name is High. Like a kite.” How can I stop my arms from waving like an airport flagger on speed?

“Mario Ginetti. Like nothin’ else imaginable.” Mario smiled, revealing a row of perfectly white teeth, and held the sweat clothes in his hands as if he was mortal.

“I know. I watch your body play.” Why can’t I stop talking? “I mean, I watch you play … football … on the field … in your football outfit.” I feel like Michelangelo with his David!

As Mario put on his sweats, I continued to sweat.

“I'm voting for your body … I mean I'm voting for you for president of your … our … the student body.” I need my jaw wired shut. “I’m your lab partner in Chemistry class. Ms. Hungry’s class … I mean Ms. Hunsley’s class.”

His olive-colored face glistened as Mario’s face registered recognition—of me! “I thought I knew you from somewheres. Hey, thanks for doing the lab reports.”

“It’s my honor … I mean my pleasure. It’s fine. If you need help putting up posters for your campaign, I can … ”

Having just tied the laces of his sneakers, Mario stood absolutely still. He looked at me as if he was staring into my heart and somehow knew what I was feeling. “I gotta take a wicked piss.”

Can I watch?

“Thanks for helping me out, Buddy.” He slammed the locker door and left.

He called me, Buddy! My heart was as soft and silly as putty that Mario held in the palm of his hand like his soap on a rope.

AN INFATUATION by JOE COSENTINO: a novella from Dreamspinner Press: e-book $4.99

purchase links:

Dreamspinner press 

Amazon

For more information check out Goodreads.

A copy of this story was given to the reviewer. The review reflects her honest feelings.