Dirty Talk - Joey Jameson A free copy was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Readers first meet Vegas at his job as a phone sex operator at Black Vanilla. He doesn't especially like it or hate it although sometimes he can get really into his role. He was introduced to it by his trust fund best friend and roommate, London.

It goes off on a bit of a tangent after that going into the story of how Vegas met his well off lawyer boyfriend, Bronx. London's disapproval of their relationship and Vegas and Bronx's growing infatuation of each other. Things get serious between the two and Bronx wants Vegas to move in. Vegas does so but after a year finds the relationship not to be what it was, Bronx is abusive and treats him as a possession. Leading Vegas to the decision to leave him, move in with London, who got him a job at Black Vanilla. Things are looking great until Vegas starts receiving scary calls.

Starting off, after reading the second chapter I thought I had a strong inkling of who was Vegas's stalker. But as the story progressed I started doubting myself. That being said, the author did a great job of keeping the readers on their toes. I felt myself wanting to change my guess of whodunit but am kind of glad it turned out to be right and then some. The twists the author managed to pull were a great surprise and somewhat unexpected.

It was easy to breeze through this book. The depiction of Vegas's psychological state was an intriguing stance to read. It was believable to see this happening just like in a movie or TV drama.

I did have an issue with the names though. There was a bunch of characters named after city/state/boroughs i.e. Bronx, Aspen, Dakota, Venice, London, Nevada, etc. It all got a bit tiring and it was funny how none of the characters drew attention to it jokingly or seriously in disbelief.

 

Candy From Strangers - Joey Jameson

A gay erotic thriller? That’s what Candy From Strangers is alright. I read a lot of romances and a lot of dark novels, many about horrible people doing horrible things to each other but I can’t recall reading such a dark m/m romance that started out so sweetly and ended so painfully. In the end, I felt bad for both characters. That’s an author doing his job the right way because making me feel something is what it’s all about.

Dylan is a happy, successful owner of a restaurant, living alone with his two dogs. One day a new neighbor moves in across the street and the two hit it off and begin dating. Darien is the perfect guy. Initially. He is handsome, sweet, attentive and even though their relationship moves quickly Dylan is so lust-struck he can’t believe his luck. When Darien shows signs of being a wee bit possessive Dylan ignores the warning signs. But then the strange little things get progressively bigger and more difficult to ignore and their sexy-sweet idyllic romance turns into a deadly obsession.

The story alternates between the present day where Dylan is being questioned by police and recalling his relationship with Darien. The way the story is told you pretty much know from the very beginning that things take a very ugly turn for the lovers. Knowing this up front casts a pall of dread over the romance. I really didn’t want to read about the terrible thing that was going to happen to them but yet I couldn’t stop reading despite myself. I had to see how it all went so wrong and as long as no doggies were hurt I’d be okay (they weren’t, whew!).

This may be the author’s first published work and it shows a little in the dialogue which contains too many exclamation points and ellipses making it appear, at times, that characters are either super excited or unable to complete a thought. After a few chapters I stopped noticing and just went with it which says a lot about how much the story grabbed me. There is also a secondary character, the gorgeous straight female confidant, who seems to have stepped straight out of a Sex and the City episode who calls him “Miss Dylan”. Dylan loves her but I have to say she mostly annoyed me.

The ending contains some WTFery that I guessed at but I’ve read more evil books and seen far too many horror movies than is probably good for me. Still, despite those nitpicks the book was sexy and thrilling just as the cover promised and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the two characters fall in love even if it didn’t end well for them.

*I was provided with a copy of the ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Candy From Strangers - Joey Jameson To start, I took a chance on this book. My preferred genre is romance. I have read books outside of this genre before and enjoyed them, but it is rare for those genre's not to have some element of romance in them to smooth out the rough edges. This book, however, was a little out of my comfort zone because of the thriller part. I read for relaxation and enjoyment and thrillers put me through so many ringers that I am usually drained to the point of exhaustion by the end. I was afraid this book would not have enough of the romantic traits I love to make this book enjoyable for me.However, while there were intimate moments, this was primarily a mystery/thriller read. And I didn't care. I was so caught up in Dylan's story I didn't notice this was not primarily a romance. This book was like reading a M/M version of Basic Instinct; it was chilling and yet compelling. There were times I had to put the book down and walk away because it got too intense for me. Then I would have to turn right back around and pick it back up because I had know what happened next. I didn't even mind this was written in first person! (First person usually bothers me because the character's voice is so different from mine and usually kicks me out of the story.) By the end of the story (and what an ending, totally didn't see it coming!), I was left feeling in the middle between being run over, stunned and yet exhilarated, an odd mixture let me tell you. Hours after reading it--as I type this--I'm still thinking about Dylan. I was really impressed with this book.*Review copy provided by publisher/promoter for honest review.