Catering Girl is a prequel to Boris's first novel, The Joke's On Me! The main character in both books is Frankie Goldberg, a nice Jewish girl from the East Coast who has made her way to L.A. to try to make it as an actress, or a comic, or both. Instead, she's working for a catering company on the set of a film starring Oscar-winning starlet Anastasia Cole. Anastasia is a diva with a reputation, but Frankie happens to deliver her cappuchino when she's having an identity crisis -- and before long, Frankie finds herself wheeling and dealing on Anastasia's behalf. But how long will Anastasia continue to need her? And what if, in the process, Frankie loses herself?

I love Frankie. Her snarky attitude just barely covers her major self-esteem issues. And Boris has given her a great foil in Anastasia, the not-quite-brainless beauty who essentially hires Frankie to be her best friend.

I would highly recommend Catering Girl to anyone looking for a quick, fun summer read -- and if you find Frankie as appealing as I do, you'll be glad to know you can segue right into the rest of her story.

The rather quick introduction to Charlie and Adam (Joshua), otherwise known as the Trager Family Secrets Series. Laurie makes the budding romance between the two men both delicious and sweet, and sexy as hell.

Absolutely nothing explicit or in-your-face in terms of sex, this is a very soft opening to the romance, which will build into an amazing series.

I read book 3 first, so the events in this part are not new, but I got more information about the supporting characters, particularly Xander and Freddie. Both of which I adored already from their parts in book 3, and it helped to see them in this opening short story. It made the whole thing more realistic.

ETA: This book has a few themes that might bother some readers: cheating and children are part of the existing family.

If you want to try a glorious, sweet and sexy m/m romance try Laurie's Trager Family Secrets series, you won't be disappointed.

The best thing about e-books is that you don't have to go anywhere to shop for them. So while your pals are out at the mall, elbowing other shoppers out of the way to get to the least ugly sweater in the picked-over bin, you, my friend, can simply go online and buy copies of A Sudden Gust of Gravity for everyone you know. And while you're at it, get yourself a copy, too.

The lady on the cover is Christina Davenport, a waitress who has given up on her dreams of becoming a magician. Then she meets Reynaldo the Magnificent, who offers her a job -- not as a magician's apprentice, but as a magician's assistant. You know, the girl in the flirty skirt who keeps the crowd's eyes occupied while the magician does his tricks. Still, she figures she can pick up some pointers from the guy.

Across town, Devon Park is a surgical resident with his own set of personal problems. Yet he's intrigued by Christina, when he sees Reynaldo's show in a public park -- and concerned about the bruises Christina's trying to hide with makeup. He's interested, she's trying not to be interested, and Reynaldo's jealous -- so you can bet things are going to get very interesting indeed before the story ends.

Boris continues to amaze me with her ability to write about characters from disparate cultures. Devon is Korean-American -- very unlike the Jewish family in her Trager Family Secrets books and, again, unlike any of the characters in Drawing Breath. Laurie Boris is the real deal, guys. Why she's not a bigger literary name is a mystery to me. Highly recommended.

Happy holidays, everyone!

(Note: I read an Advance Reader Copy of this novel.)

I want to start by clarifying that I have not read books one and two in this series. This did not detract from the book at all. This can certainly be read as a stand-alone book.

Playing Charlie Cool is a realistic and amusing look at LGBT issues in a modern world. It stars Charlie Trager, the Producer of a daytime TV talk show and Adam Joshua Goldberg. Adam/Josh, who goes by both names for sanity sake throughout the book, used to be an Aide in New York’s political arena. He announces to the world that he’s gay and ending his marriage and begins looking to run for Congress.

This is where things get interesting. The pressures on these two characters by friends, family and, in fact, society were really well portrayed in this book. The dialogue was tight, emotional and spot on. From Charlie talking to his best friends about Josh:

“This Mr. Right.” Freddie leaned forward and rested his hands, still flushed from washing dishes, on his knees. “It has been months and months, and you are still ashamed to introduce us? He must be Mr. Wrong-But-It-Feels-So-Right.”

To minor characters offering amusing support/disinterest for the LGBT cause:

“She let her shoulders relax. “Look Charlie. Personally, I don’t give a flying fig what people do behind closed doors. If it makes them happy to dress up like kangaroos and swing from the track lighting, more power to them…”

But by far, the most amusing aspect of the writing was the witty little one liners that were thrown into otherwise normal daytime scenes:

‘His phone, which he’d left on the table, was vibrating more than the test lab at a personal pleasuring device manufacturing facility, but he ignored it.’

The dialogue and writing aside, the story was a solid one. The characters are brilliantly constructed to have their own personalities and set of flaws, that I’m pleased to say, were exhibited and shown for the reader along with their strengths. Characters make mistakes. They are stubborn and pig-headed and then regret their decisions later. It’s all very real.

Character interactions and conversation and friendship subtleties were extremely well portrayed in this book. The use of body language, tone of speech and the subtle interactions of best friends or lovers was all drawn into the story. It created a very warm and realistic dialogue and interaction between all characters. Liza was one of the best characters, but Charlie took first place. The reader is drawn along with him in the tumultuous journey he and Adam/Josh take.

The writing was flawless. I found no typos, nothing grammatically incorrect or anything I stumbled over. This is a brilliant showcase on just how to create a great manuscript.

I’m only giving it four and a half stars though. Because, as much as the writing, characterisation and dialogue was spot on, there was some passion missing. The romantic scenes between Charlie and Josh were sweet, urgent and well placed, but they didn’t quite get there in terms of heat. It was obvious the boys were into each other, but that next level was missing.

Because of this lack of heat, the story loses some of its power. It doesn’t feel quite as real. It needs a little more from the boys.

Certainly a book I’d recommend to M/M romance (sweet not sexy) lovers, and to those who like current day real-life dramas with a twist of romance. Play Charlie Cool will be a welcome addition to anyone’s reading diet.

Come see for yourself... Great story and terrific read!!

FREE right now at Amazon:

CLICK HERE to buy at Amazon

Television producer Charlie Trager knows he’s lucky to have a successful career and good friends and family who support him. The man he loves, however, is not so lucky. Joshua Goldberg suffers the spite of an ex-wife gunning to keep him from their two children…and maybe Charlie. Determined not to let Joshua go, Charlie crafts a scheme that could remove the obstacles to their relationship…or destroy their love forever.