Gay Romance Holiday Collection by Keira Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So sexy, sweet, romantic, spicy and hot. Mmmm loved these novellas.

This was a lovely - and hot - holiday read. I enjoyed how it wasn't just Christmas stories, that there was a Hanukkah story as well. I'm also a sucker for any story that takes place in my country - Canada.

Eight Nights in December—

An orphaned college student spends Hanukkah with his roommate's family and falls hard for his roommate's younger brother, a hot geek with an amazing eye for photography.

In Case of Emergency—Former stepbrothers find Christmas romance under the tree.

Ahhh - Ottawa. I loved living there :D

This story is of Daniel Diaz, a type 'a' software company exec who tries to find love in the wrong place, but a former stepbrother's injury interferes - in the best possible way. Cole is just what Daniel needs to find love and happiness and a happily ever after.

Santa Daddy—

Mmmmm, who knew a mall Santa could be so sexy and hot - and dommy?

Enter Hunter Adams, a college grad who's trying hard to be an adult but failing because he's miserable in his chosen field - plus the unpaid internships sucked. Hunter ends up in his old job as an elf in Santa's village to make some money and proceeds to fall for the Scroogey Santa Daddy... and finds his happily ever after.

Where the Lovelight Gleams—

What happens when out actor Ryan Drake falls for his seemingly straight co star, Cary Holloway? Their characters are on the verge of becomming a couple on a hit sci-fi show and the two men are best friends in real life but, Ryan has a hidden torch for his Hollywood dynasty co-star. An on screen kiss sends both men reeling and makes Cary reevaluate if he's really straight or not.

Inviting Cary to spend Christmas with his family in Canada was a dangerous idea but sometimes you gotta take a massive risk to get the result you desperately want.

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Exploration by Quinn Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First time reading a Quinn Ward book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is NOT a hardcore BDSM book, this is more about domination and submission, a Dom being the caretaker and his boy being the one receiving all the care. And it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Frankie was sort of forced into taking over his family restaurant - it was the gift he didn't want. It leaves him feeling out of control and out of sorts, being responsible for his family legacy, and so he finds release in less than legal means in order to be able to give up the control his real life forces him to have. That and he's from an Italian Catholic family and he's gay so... coming out just hasn't been an option for him, and yet one more stressor to add to his life.

Calvin is Frankie's older, divorced roommate with a teenage son. Cal wasn't in the closet but when he was still trying to figure out his sexuality he got his girlfriend pregnant. They married and Calvin was a faithful husband and a good father. He and his ex are still close friends and they still love each other, they just both realized that their marriage wasn't giving either of them what they truly wanted out of life.

Now that he's single again, Calvin is ready to embrace being gay and ready to dip his toes into the BDSM lifestyle that has always fascinated him. So when he finds Frankie on his knees, sucking off a John, in the back of his friend's bar, a few things snap into place for Cal. One - he wants Frankie. Two - he likes seeing Frankie on his knees. Three - he wants to take care of Frankie, to be the one to give him orders to eat and to sleep and to take care of himself because he can see how frayed around the edges Frankie really is.

But Frankie's knowledge of the Dom/sub lifestyle comes completely from badly written books and titillating conversations his wait staff have, oh and maybe some late night porn perusal. So to say Frankie is nervous is an understatement. Frankie and Cal learn to navigate the lifestyle together, as well as balancing the needs of family, both their families, until a situation develops that makes them both realize that they don't want to hide who they are and who they love anymore.

I really liked this slower, gentler style of bdsm book, one that shows another aspect of the lifestyle that doesn't require tools and toys but emotional involvement, intimacy and trust.

Definitely an enjoyable read.

 

**A copy of this book was provided for an honest and unbiased review by Lescourt Author Services**

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Counterblow by Isobel Starling
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Book 4 of the Shatterproof Bond series picks up soon after the events of book 3 have left Sam and Declan in reversed roles with Sam the broken one and Declan the stronger partner.

After being set up by his father as bait, Sam is broken in body and spirit. He suffers from nightmares, his body is slow to heal, and his father - Sir James - is keeping him out of the loop, probably on purpose. As for Declan, he loves his fiance but the man is hovering - and getting stronger and sexier by the day, and also keeping things from him.

But the man who tried to end Sam's life is still in captivity in ALL Headquarters under Sam's childhood home, still a poisonous viper in the heart of London, and Sam is slowly losing himself to the fears that continue to eat at him. Not even marrying Declan, the love of his life, settles Sam's fears for long.

As for Declan, he's not as happy and content to play 'house husband' as he lets on. He'd warned James Aiken there would be consequences for using and betraying his son, Sam, and the time for payback was rapidly approaching. Throwing himself into learning Krav Maga so that he can teach the bastart a thing or two and help both Sam and himself take back control of their lives, Declan soon finds himself played despite having the upper hand physically.

I admit I found Sam a little whiny and, well, histrionic in this book. Oh I get he was tortured, left to die in front of the love of his life so on and so forth, but the last three books set him up as this wunderkind James Bond-Eggsy from Kingsmen hybrid and now, all of a sudden, he is the damsel in distress. It was jarring, and a little off-putting.

But, like Declan in the last book, he rebounds and is once more the wunderkind we've come to know in the last three books, taking charge of his life, and taking his fate in his hands. He faces down the bogeyman of his nightmares, the man who had tortured him and left him for dead, and he comes out stronger.

But Sir James is still up to his old tricks, and he's still spreading poison and discord like some cancerous rot. And Sam and Declan have an upcoming deep cover mission that could make or break them.

I definitely enjoyed this book and will be reading the 5th one when it comes out, but after reading all 4 back to back, I'm in need of a little light-hearted fluff, because these books are ANGST-Y. Good, but sooo angsty.

**A copy of this book was provided for an honest and unbiased review by Lescourt Author Services**

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Return to Zero by Isobel Starling
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Book 3 of the Shatterproof Bond Series takes place almost immediately after Book 2, Illuminate the Shadows. 

This book was a little more challenging for me in a number of ways. The plot was fantastic and the continuity was really good but my issues had to do with one of the main characters, Declan, at least in the first half of the book.

In the first two books he'd been sort of large and in charge, not only that he'd stated numerous times that he didn't like how Sam's dad, his boss, treated Sam. He, in fact, called Sir James Aiken a manipulative bastart a number of times in the first two books and had, in fact, been tortured and interrogated by Sir James as his 'entrance exam' into the secret spy world that Sam lived in.

But in this book, Declan is quick to fall for James' manipulations of pitting him against Sam. It played well into the continuing plot of the book but I found it a little harder to swallow given Declan's own statements in past books. But Declan does eventually dig his head out of his arse midpoint through and that vastly improved the book. I just had to get past him acting like a wee stroppy child throwing a tempter tantrum first.

The tension and the action that the writer brings to the book is quite good. The threat from book 2 comes to fruition in this book and soon Sam and Declan are fighting for their lives in the Scottish Highlands against a ghost from Sam's past - someone with a serious grudge against Sir James and who is willing to make Sam suffer for his father's sins. The two men have to learn to work as a team in order to survive, and they have to be able to trust each other completely.

As I said, the first half was a bit of a challenge but I thoroughly enjoyed the 2nd half!

**A copy of this book was provided for an honest and unbiased review by Lescourt Author Services**



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