"Us" by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

In this sequel to "Him," Ryan Wesley is in his rookie season with the Toronto Maple Leaves and lives with his boyfriend, Jamie Canning.  However, they have to keep their relationship secret to avoid any distractions to Wes and his team.  He's promised Jamie that they'll come out once his rookie season has ended, but the deception is taking a toll on them both especially after one of Wesley's teammates moves into their building and constantly bugs them.  This was a wonderful follow up to the first book, which I loved.  Wes and Jamie still have great chemistry together, and their texts to each other are hilarious.  The angst in the story is just right, and Blake, the nosy teammate, adds a lot of humor with his irrational fear of sheep.  Another winner from Bowen and Kennedy that I couldn't put down.  328 pages (Kindle edition).

"Healing Jacob" by Nicole Stewart

This angsty romance between a homeless musician and a bakery owner fell flat for me.  Neither main character was three dimensional, and I couldn't invest myself in their story.  The misuse of commas was distracting.  I think the writer has potential, and a good editor could have helped with the flow of the story and fleshing out the characters.  166 pages (Kindle edition).

"In the Kill" by K. Sterling

Book 1 in the Lavender series is about a hit man and the artist whom he is sent to kill.  However, once he meets Sage Bradley, "Mr. Lavender" is sure that he's about to assassinate the wrong man.  Surely someone so talented who devotes his spare time to helping homeless teenagers and knitting hats for the elderly is not deserving of death.  Lavender must figure out who hired him to kill an innocent man and why before another assassin is sent to finish the job and him with it.  Although not a full length novel, it was packed with exciting scenes and kept me guessing how things would turn out.  109 pages (Kindle edition).

"Heat" by Wolf Specter & Angel Knots

Book 1 in the Fated Mates series focuses on Dane, a dragon shifter, and Wes, his fated mate and just a regular guy.  Dragon shifters have lived among humans protecting them for many years and are not supposed to make themselves known, but when Dane recognizes Wes as his mate he must reveal what he truly is.  I know it sounds weird, but this turned out to be a cute story that worked, even with a very unusual event between the two main characters.  140 pages (Kindle edition).

"If the Seas Catch Fire" by L.A. Witt

This excellent book about two hit men in the Mafia controlled town of Cape Swan, CA, is one of the best I have ever read.  Domenico “Dom” Maisano is the nephew of Corrado Maisano, the head of one of the Mafia families.  He's a "made man" and has few choices in his life as his uncle's hit man, which he has always hated.  When Sergei Andronikov saves him during a beating, Dom pursues a temporary, no-strings relationship with the man before Dom is forced to marry a woman to keep up appearances and appease his uncle.  He thinks Sergei is a stripper but he's actually a contract killer whose goal in life is to wipe out the Mafia families who destroyed his own family when he was a boy.

I cannot praise the writing, story line, and character development enough.  Dom and Sergei have tragic and emotional back stories which allow the reader to understand their motivations for doing what they do.  Full of action, tenderness, suspense, despair, eroticism, fear, thrills, and more, this story will stick with me for a long, long time.  Highly recommended.  451 pages (Kindle edition).

"Winter Blom" by DJ Jamison

This was a cute love story between a widower and a newspaper intern who is sent to interview him about his metal art.  Lane Cross works construction and does art to support himself and his six year old son who keeps running off his sitters.  He's immediately smitten when he meets Andy Blom, who's going to interview him for the local paper.  Lane tries his best to woo Andy while still dealing with his son's grief over his mother.  Andy is also mourning the death of his mother, so emotions are running high.  There are misunderstandings and lots of snow in this nice, little read.  156 pages (Kindle edition).

"Lover on Top: A Firefighter Romance" by Kristine Cayne

Another "later in life" coming out story, this one features "Hollywood" Wright, a firefighter who seems to love the ladies.  When he accidentally sets his kitchen on fire, he moves in with his best friend's younger brother, Chad, an out and proud paramedic.  Confusion, denial, and misunderstandings ensue along with a dangerous situation.  It doesn't help that Hollywood's father is a rabid homophobe who holds a high ranking position in the fire department.  Even though the two main characters acted like brats sometimes, I still liked the story.  292 pages (Kindle edition).

"For the Living" by L.A. Witt

This was a very well written story about a man coming to grips with the death of his wife and his sexuality at the same time.  Jay has been trying to make himself admit to his wife that he's gay for a year when she suddenly dies.  He's already overwhelmed with guilt for wanting to end his marriage, but after Misty dies he nearly comes unglued.  Luckily, he finds a confidant in a stranger, the assistant funeral home director, Scott.  As someone used to dealing with death and grief, Scott listens to Jay and tries to give him advice about working through his feelings and eventually coming out to his family.  I'm sure you can tell where this heading, but Jay's journey was still satisfying to read.  I like L.A.Witt's writing and will definitely read more.  279 pages (Kindle edition).

"Secrets and Lies" by Amanda Young

This is the first book in the Daywalker Legacy and features two brothers who are vampires.  Cadge won't leave his apartment due to his deep mourning for a dead lover, which leaves Teague to run their club alone.  Soon Teague's own lover stop seeing him, and he panics that nightfeeders may have gotten to him.  This was a different sort of story with gay vampire brothers fighting their own kind and nightfeeders to protect a human.  144 pages (Kindle edition).

"Clinch" by Charity Parkerson

Gunnar is a boxer, Liam is a stripper, and they went to high school together.  Now they have lived in the same apartment building for two years, but Gunnar still doesn't recognize Liam.  When he does, they fall in lust and angst ensues. 

This book felt like it took forever for me to finish.  The writing was inconsistent, the characters were unoriginal, and the story didn't seem to have a point.  241 pages (Kindle edition).

"Salvation" by Sloane Kennedy

Book two in The Protectors Series features Seth Nichols, whose parents were murdered and he was tortured when he was 14.  Now 21, he's trying to run his father's shipping company and deal with his PTSD and self-doubt.  He once had an older brother, but he died while serving in the military.  Out of the blue, his brother's fiance, Ronan Grisham, appears and throws Seth's life into even more turmoil because he's had a crush on the man since he was a teen.  Now someone is after Seth, and Ronan will do everything he can to protect him even if it breaks both of their hearts.  Like the previous book in this series, there was a ton of angst, terrible traumas in both men's lives, guilt, and suspense.  I was annoyed at how often Seth and Ronan pushed each other away then changed their minds, but it was still an interesting story.  367 pages (Kindle edition.)

"Absolution" by Sloane Kennedy

This is book one in The Protectors Series and deals with three men who've all suffered some form of trauma.  Jonas was kicked out of his home at age 14 for being gay and spent several years as a teenage prostitute before having even more tragedy befall him.  Mace's son was kidnapped and murdered by a killer.  Cole faced the traumas of war before losing his sister, who was Jonah's best friend.  Now someone has hired Mace to kill Jonah for bogus reasons, and Cole gets involved.  This novel was full of angst and heavy and was not quite believable at times, but it was a compelling story.  356 pages (Kindle edition.)

"The Power of Sensitivity: Success Stories by Highly Sensitive People Thriving in a Non-sensitive World" by Ted Zeff, Ph.D.

This book is an accumulation of short essays written by highly sensitive people.  High sensitivity is an innate trait with the tendency to process information more deeply, be easily overstimulated, have increased emotional reactivity and empathy, and have an increased perception of subtleties.  Although research shows that about 20% of the population are highly sensitive people (HSPs), we are not very valued in our society.  We are usually told "you're too sensitive" or "just get over it" or "be more sociable" and are made to feel like there is something wrong with us.  This book shows HSPs having success in many aspects of life by using their high sensitivity to enhance the world around them.  Quite a few suggestions are given for improving the quality of life, including self-care, somatic healing, releasing guilt, risk-taking, and more.  It was inspiring to read how so many HSPs have come to accept and value their high sensitivity.  I highly recommend first reading the most authoritative book on HSPs, "The Highly Sensitive Person: How To Thrive When The World Overwhelms You" by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D., before reading this one.  186 pages.

"Out of Nowhere" by Roan Parrish

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, called "In the Middle of Somewhere," and this story focused on Colin Mulligan, one of the brothers of Daniel (the hero in the first book).  In the first book, Colin was a mean, homophobic jerk to his brother.  This story is told from Colin's point of view and explains why he was that way.  We learned at the end of book one that Colin is deeply in the closet; this book shows how that happened.  While Colin isn't nearly as likable as Daniel, the author clearly shows his mental anguish at hiding such a large part of himself from his family and friends.  Although not as good as the first book, mostly because the main characters weren't as sweet as Daniel and his boyfriend, Rex, it was still a compelling story.  300 pages (Kindle edition).

"The Devious Book for Cats: A Parody" by Fluffy & Bonkers

This book is borrowed from Tammy P. and is written by cats for cats.  It has advice on lots of topics like cardboard boxes, catnip, kitty litter, grooming, vacuum cleaners, and my favorite, crazy cat ladies.  There are also plenty of devious instructions in chapters like "Getting Away With It," "Secrets of Daredevil Cats," "The Pros and Cons of Being Sullen," and "Toying With Allergy Sufferers."  It's a good thing cats can't read or we would all be in big trouble!  224 pages.

"In the Middle of Somewhere" by Roan Parrish

Daniel Mulligan has just moved to Holiday, Michigan, to teach at a small college after finishing his PhD in English.  Originally from Philadelphia, Daniel is a tough and tattooed outcast who's never really fit in with his family or classmates.  His mother died when he was young, and his father and three older brothers (all mechanics) never much cared for him, especially after he told them he was gay.  So Daniel feels especially out of place in the small town until Rex Vale comes back into his life.  The two men met six months earlier when Daniel was in town for an interview with the college and was literally rescued by Rex when he wrecked his rental car in a snowstorm.  They soon begin a relationship, but Daniel has never really dated and Rex doesn't want to get too attached to Daniel due to others in his life leaving him.  But as they grow closer, they discover that being vulnerable and letting someone help you is not the same as being weak.

This was a great book with two memorable and very likable main characters who seem to have little in common but complement each other well.  Rex doesn't talk much but can fix or build just about anything, while Daniel loves his books and overthinks everything.  Secondary characters, especially Daniel's best friend, Ginger, help move the story forward to a satisfying conclusion.  I have already started reading the next in the series.  350 pages (Kindle edition).

"The Game Changer" by Kay Simone

This is the second Kay Simone book that I have read, and although it felt very different from the first ("The Company We Keep," which was great), I really enjoyed it.  Malcolm Rodgers is a professional quarterback who's having a very bad week.  First, he's injured in a game that will require him to undergo weeks of intensive physical therapy causing him to miss at least six games in the season.  Second, his fiancee calls off their wedding and breaks up with him for reasons he can't quite comprehend.  Malcolm ends up spending most of his time with Vance Coberly, his team's head physical therapist, just trying to get his leg back in shape as fast as he can. Although different in the way they approach life, the two men become friends.  However, when the seemingly straight Malcolm kisses the out-and-proud Vance, the two will never be the same.

This novel was about a lot of things: self-discovery, family obligations, friendship, homophobia, professional football, and love.  The author takes time to flesh out the two main characters, why they are the way they are, their fears, and their faults, which doesn't always happen in character driven novels.  This was another winner from Simone that had me hooked from beginning to end.  403 pages (Kindle edition).

"Fish Stick Fridays" by Rhys Ford

Opposites attract in this romantic suspense novel about a biker dude trying to do right by his eight-year-old niece and a wealthy bookstore owner in small town California.  Deacon Reid is trying to raise his dead sister's foul mouthed daughter away from the chaos they were both born into.  He buys a garage in Half Moon Bay and rents a house from Lang Harris, who owns a bookstore just down the street.  They both feel attraction when they meet but are wary of getting too close to each other due to mistrust in past relationships.  Then things blow up, people get shot, and craziness ensues.  But who is the target?  Unusual characters and a whodunit make this an above average read, but the little girl cussed so much that it was a distraction for me.  204 pages (Kindle edition).

"Just Like Heaven" by Suki Fleet

This was a cute story of a busker and a college student falling in love in London.  They meet on the street when David prevents Jess' tips from being stolen.  When he realizes that Jess is down on his luck and needs a job, David offers him a temporary gig as a waiter for his uncle's catering company.  The attraction between the two young men is mutual but both are afraid to make the first move for different reasons.  Short and sweet, this was a very low-angst novella that takes place in London.   101 pages (Kindle edition).

"Helping Hand" by Jay Northcote

Jez and Mac are two of eight roommates sharing a house in college.  After spending too much money and not enough time on grades during their freshman year, they decide to save their dough and study when the rest of the house goes out every weekend.  They obviously grow closer and soon Mac is questioning if he is as straight as he's always thought.  Two likable main characters, low angst, and set in England made this book a winner for me.  107 pages (Kindle edition).