In ‘Love’s Magic’ we were introduced to the characters of Professor Nate Reese, Professor David Gardener, Sergeant Colin Campbell & Dr. Joshua Abram and while we saw Nate and David get their happily ever after we really only saw the beginning of Colin and Joshua’s story, so now here in ‘Love’s Trails’ the reader/listener gets the rest of their story.

For both of these couples getting to their happily ever after has been a hard fought battle, but a well deserved victory. I thoroughly enjoyed “Love’s Magic’ so much so that I very willingly listened to it again before beginning ‘Love’s Trials’ and if anything I have to say I think I may have been a bit stingy with my stars but be that as it may, I’m going to let that rating stand because really 4 stars is not a shabby thing in my humble opinion. Even more surprising to me than realizing that I seem to have enjoyed the first book more than I realized at the time is the fact that for me the second book was just that tiny bit better.

I knew from ‘Love’s Magic’ that I liked Colin and Joshua, which was part of the reason that I was so excited about this audiobook. What I didn’t realized was how much I would connect with this book on an emotional level…more than once I found myself reaching for the tissues.

While ‘Love’s Magic’ addressed the very real issue of violence on today’s college campus’s, ‘Love’s Trials’ takes it a step further when adding in the issues of drugs.  Colin and Joshua each face their own challenges as these two men endeavor to become a committed couple. Colin’s a bit of a commitment phoebe or he was until Joshua entered his life, while Joshua is struggling to adjust to life with a man whose job puts him in harms way on a daily basis. He’s always known what Colin does for a living he’s quickly coming to realize that knowing this and living it are two very different things.

After getting through the Charlottesville ‘Unite the Right’ riots life should have been a breeze for them but when Colin finds himself in charge of an informant program intended to infiltrate a drug ring he promises Joshua that he won’t be in the line of danger and he’s determined to keep his promise until one of the student’s in the program is placed in harms way and suddenly Colin’s the only thing between him and life threatening danger. It’s the aftermath of these events that will test the strength of Colin and Joshua’s commitment to each other.

While I loved David and Nate’s story and I was rooting for them from start to finish in ‘Love’s Magic’ even then I was equally as curious about Colin and Joshua. Here in ‘Love’s Trial’s’ for me it was all about these two men and the struggles they faced. There’s a solid dose of realism here from start to finish as we’re given a story that’s not wrapped up with a pretty pink bow but held together by two men who are committed to each other and sometimes held together by the strength and clearer heads of friends and loved ones who aren’t afraid to step up to help them find their way back to each other.

I honestly can’t even say that their reactions would have been mine…again that’s not how the world works we don’t all react the same way to the same things but for me how these two men reacted to their circumstances was believable…sometimes heartbreakingly so.

I loved that we got a fair but not overwhelming amount of David and Nate. The friendship that began in the first book between these four men has continued and as the story progresses, we get to see it grow even stronger. So often in series we’ll see couples that start as friends but with subsequent stories the friendship seems to diminish and sometimes the characters disappear altogether and that’s fair enough…it happens that way in real life to but what also happens in real life is that friendships grow stronger as times passes and within the pages of this story we are shown this in a way that isn’t often captured in a story. I’m a fan of stories where we get to see the MCs interact with the rest of the world and not just each other for me it just gives everything a more realistic atmosphere.

This story had me hooked from start to finish, but it was the latter part of the story that left me feeling a bit shattered. There was so much there that I was able to relate to. For very different reasons, I know how it feels to suffer a really traumatic injury and the havoc this can play on even the strongest of relationships add to this the fact that we were given things from both men’s perspective and this story for me was taken to a whole new level.

Add in the fact that Walker Williams was once again the narrator for this story and it all combines to create what was for me a supremely awesome listening experience that I know I’ll be repeating in the near future…this one’s definitely recommended.

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An audio book of ‘Love’s Trials’ was graciously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

From the bigger picture issue of sexual assault and violent crimes in the setting of academia, Janice Jarrell takes us into the lives of four men, giving us a very up close and personal look at how one act of violence touches their lives...bringing them together, driving them apart, making each man look more closely at what he has, what he could loose and ultimately what he's willing to do to keep it.

'Love's Magic' isn't an epic or grand action or romance story, but rather it's a story about how one event unfolded to touch the lives of four men.  We begin with David and Nate, who are in a committed relationship at the start of the story and we follow them as they each struggle to deal with Nate's attack. While each man's reaction to events is distinctly different their love for each other and their desire not to give up on the relationship that means so much to them remains strong within their hearts. It's going to take a lot of introspection on both of their parts to find their way back to each other. 

When Professor David Gardener gets a call telling him that Professor Nate Reese, the man he lives with and loves more than life itself has been seriously injured preventing the assault of one of the college's students all he can think about is getting to his lover. What neither David nor Nate could possibly foretell was how much their lives and the lives of those around them would be affected.

As the reader, or in this case the listener, follows David and Nate, while each man deals with the effects of Nate's attack in their own way we are introduced to a number of secondary characters and while our look at the effects on their lives isn't as in depth as that of David and Nate it is undeniably present from the strain it creates between David and his fellow professors to the bond that forms between Nate and the guardian of the student he rescued to how it draws Sergeant Colin Campbell from the campus police  and Dr. Joshua Abrams, the colleges Title IX Consultant, together...ultimately becoming the catalyst that pushes them apart leaving Colin on his own to deal with the memory of events from his past that could keep him from having the future that in his heart he knows he wants with Joshua. 

Ms Jarrell has created four characters that are all very likable and by the end of this story I was a fan of all four men...each of them containing their own admirable traits and imperfections...making all of them seem not just human but so very likable and real. While the focus of the story is David and Nate along with Colin and Joshua the author also weaves other characters into the story giving a more thorough and well rounded picture of the story's events along with who and how their lives were touched. At the end of it all we are essentially given David and Joshua's story with a solid HEA and we are left with Colin and Joshua in a good place. 

If you’re looking for a steamy, sex fixes everything story than I have to admit you’re probably going to be disappointed. That’s not to say that there aren’t any sexy times here but the sex in this one is very much a part of the relationships and often times almost fade to black and not a driving force of the story. This ones definitely more plot driven than sex dependent and if you’re a fan of stories where it take more than some dazzling sex for the MCs to be able to overcome obstacles and get their lives on track than I think maybe like me, you won’t be disappointed.

I'm not really sure what I was expecting when I started this one but what I got was a story that drew me in, was compelling, realistic and told with very believable characters and was narrated by new to me narrator Walker Williams, who did a superb job of giving added depth and emotion to both the story and the characters while bringing them to life. While his overall narration was enjoyable for me his voices for David, Nate, Colin and Joshua connected incredibly well with each of the characters and meshed perfectly with the images that I had in my mind. So in the end what I was given was a story that I loved and that I’m looking forward to continuing with more of in regards to Colin and Joshua but if David and Nate turn up from time to time you can be sure that this listener/reader will be doing a bit of a happy dance.

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An audio book of "Love's Magic" was graciously provided by the 'Gay Book Promotions' in exchange for an honest review.

Riley works in a bakeshop and the most magical thing in his world is lemon cake...that is until the night he 's saved from zombie like creatures that spew black ooze by tiger-shifting Soldati warriors...one of whom might just be the Soldati king and Riley's mate...oh hell no!!! Neither of them are overly pleased with that little tidbit.

Once Khalon and his warriors realize that Riley is his mate they have no choice but to take him back with them...at least until they can find a way to make him safe from the demons and then they can wipe his memory and return him to his world where he belongs.

As Khalon and Riley travel to see the priestess and get their bond dissolved so that Riley can return home. They begin to spend time with each other, find out more about each other and inevitably neither of them can deny the pull of attraction that they are feeling for each other.

I loved listening to this one on audio and I have to admit as an audio story it worked really well for me. This was so much like having someone read me a story...hey, what can I say I came from a large family and bedtime stories were a very rare event so now here I am all grown up and once in a while it's nice to have someone tell me a story and this one...well this one was definitely an adult fairy tale and I loved it.

All that was missing to make this perfect was a...ok, I'm not going to say it...dragon!!! Come on you thought I wouldn't say it? But seriously tiger-shifters! They count for a lot...oh and foxlings...cute little foxlings so no dragons but lots of other awesomeness.

I really enjoyed this story but I think for me it would have been so much better if there'd been a bit more development in the romance department and maybe a bit more after things were resolved to show us more of Khalon and Riley together as a couple, but this is a series so hopefully that'll come with time, right?

Manuel Pombo was the narrator for this story and I really enjoyed listening to his narration of this story. Not only did he check off my basic 'things I like to hear in an audio book' list but he gave it that bit of extra that for me is the difference between a solid or good audio experience and a truly enjoyable audio experience.

For me this story was probably 3 maybe 3.5 stars while the audio took it to a solid 3.5 maybe even 4 stars for me. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what comes next in the world of 'The Soldati' and hopefully Mr. Pombo will be on board to tell me another story.

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An audio book of 'The Soldati Prince' was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed 'Model Citizen' the firs book in Lissa Kasey's 'Haven Investigations' series this one has definitely stepped things up a notch or two.

While 'Model Citizen' was about Ollie's POV this time around we're given Kade's POV on life with Ollie and I loved it. Kade loves Ollie there's zero doubt about that but he also sees Ollie in a very realistic way which is really, really good for Ollie because Ollie's got some issues that need to dealt with in a realistic way. I just love that I don't feel like Kade views Ollie as a burden to be taken care of. For Kade, Ollie's issues are just a part of Ollie and need to be dealt with in a positive and constructive way which is what Kade does.

Things are going good for Ollie and Kade. As a couple they're on fairly solid ground and the PI business is doing a lot better with the addition of Kade.  Plus the house that Ollie bought for him and Nate to build a family in is getting renovated by Kade as well and even this task shows Kade's love for Ollie with how sensitive he is to how much the house means to Ollie and that there are areas of the house that he knows Ollie's not ready for him to tackle yet because they were meant to be Nate's space and Ollie's still grieving for his brother. He's trying to get on with his life but it's hard and it gets a little harder when questions start arising surrounding Nate's death.

Kade's POV not only gives us a closer look at Kade's life before he came to Haven Investigations but more detail as to how he came to be at Haven Investigations...he had some scary stuff going on and we're not talking PTSD from the war here, ok? 

Ironically it's once again Ollie's past that brings a mystery back to their door along with Jacob...Ollie's ex and a definite contributor to Ollie's issues. Nate's a rock star and a playboy he doesn't do relationships just sex and kink but somewhere along the way he's picked up a stalker...one who's decided that he needs to be punished in a permanent way and there's no limit to the suspects in this one. Jacob's whole family is at the top of the list. This is one serious group of users and leeches and getting to the bottom of things and figuring out who wants Jacob punished may be impossible since Jacob's loyalty is pretty extreme in that he feels that his family is above reproach and would never hurt him...did I mention that Jacob might be a little delusional...trust me he is because I wouldn't trust any of them as far as I could throw them.

Kade's got his hands full as he tries to keep contact between Ollie and Jacob to a minimum because honestly interacting with Jacob really isn't in Ollie's best interest and Kade's got his own insecurities where Ollie's ex's are concerned because Ty...who is also an ex of Ollie's seems to be around a lot more as well, thankfully though this is because he's seeing Tomas so his presence is far less stressful and concerning for Kade. Also let's not forget Kade's still dealing with his own physical injuries and a past that doesn't want to let go of him and may not be over yet.

I loved seeing things from Kade's perspective and I really loved how much Ollie and Kade's relationship has strengthened. Kade is so good for Ollie and good to Ollie. I also felt that Ollie was truly beginning to get past his grief from losing his brother Nate and make a real effort to move forward with is life. I loved seeing Ollie as a capable, contributing partner in Haven Investigations and not some damsel in distress who needs constant rescuing.

Kade and Ollie's relationship may be fairly solid but that doesn't mean that having Ollie's sexy rock star ex in their lives isn't going to be a test for them and sadly for the ready because...holy hell!!! did you see the size of that cliff that the author has left us sitting on? It's a biggie and while I know I could pop the next e-book onto my e-reader to find out what happens I've really been enjoying this series on audio. While the first one was narrated by Mike Pohlable this time around we've been treated to the narrations of Brian Hutchison and I've really enjoyed this one. While I liked Ollie's voice in the first book pretty much everyone else except the annoyingly whiny Donovan was just ok and while this is only my second audio book narrated by Brian Hutchison I have to admit that from an audio standpoint I enjoyed this one a bit more.

I'm really enjoying this series on audio and I admit I'm hoping, really, really hoping that the third audio book isn't too far off but in the meantime because I can't wait to see what's going to happen next with Kade and Ollie but until it arrives I'll just be sitting here over on the cliff's edge...you know that really, really steep cliff that Ms Kasey has left me on passing the time with some more audio books or an e-book here and there...who knows I may even have a DTB or 2 lying around to pass the time with.

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An audio book of 'Model Bodyguard' was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Ollie Petroskovic is finally going to pay his brother back for all the years that he's been there for him taken care of him been the parent that they both lost years ago. Signing the papers to purchase the home where Ollie and his brother, Nate will live. Where Nate and his future wife can raise their children. It's a fixer upper but Ollie knows that's what Nate would love a house that's a DIY dream come true.

Ollie's sure that he's finally made their dreams come true. Ollie can continue his modelling and clothing design career while helping Nate with Petroskovic Haven Investigations, a house where they can be happy as a family. What no one saw coming was how the dream would come crashing down when Nate could no longer deal with the nightmare of PTSD and saw taking his own life as his only escape from it.

A year later Ollie's struggling to try and keep what's left of that dream alive as he continues to work at the PI agency that was Nate's dream but without an Investigator's license it's a struggle that he's slowly loosing until Nate's friend Kade Alme arrives PI license in hand and tool belt strapped on. Kade's looking for to honor a promise made to his friend to take care of Ollie but he's also looking for his own fresh start. He's fresh out of the hospital with his own battle wounds but he's determined to make this work because for Kade that fresh start includes Ollie in his life in whatever capacity he can get him...if it's as friend and co-worker than so be it but if Kade has any say in things it'll be a far more intimate relationship than friend and co-worker.

Ollie's pretty resistant to Kade's help and it takes a lot of patience and determination but Kade's got those in spades and before they know it the two men are firmly involved in a case as they try and help an old friend of Ollie's who seems to be in a lot of trouble.

'Model Citizen' is a fast paced story with a lot going on. I loved both Ollie and Kade. Ollie appeared to be androgynous and identified as gender fluid, while his orientation is gay. Kade identifies as male and his orientation might be gay but to me it was more like he was Ollie-sexual because from the word go Kade was all about Ollie or maybe it was just the manties...nah, I'm pretty sure Kade was very into what was in the manties...mind you I'm just guessing.

I loved how supportive he was of Ollie. But that didn't mean that he was a pushover where Ollie was concerned. Kade wasn't the least bit timid about standing up to Ollie when someone needed to but he also stood up for Ollie when someone needed to. 

I enjoyed the mystery in this one while there were things about it that were fairly obvious or easily figured out this story kept my interest from start to finish, so much so that as soon as I was done listening to 'Model Citizen' I jumped right into 'Model Bodyguard' because I wanted more. 

Mike Pohlable was the narrator for this audiobook and I have to admit I'm a little torn on the audio for this one. I really liked his voice for Ollie for me it aligned with Ollie's identity of being gender fluid. 

While Kade's voice didn't work quite as well for me, most of the time it was ok as were most of the other voices in the audio book but then there was 'Donovan' and I guess in some ways I would have to say his voice was good because for me Donovan was just an annoying little sh*t but really did he have to be such an annoyingly whiny little sh*t! Because there were times the whiny  in his voice was way more than I could stand. As far as I can tell 'Model Citizen' seems to be this narrator's first audio book so I think I'm just going to sit back and see what the future brings before deciding yeah or nay with this narrator...who knows I may love whatever he does next or not but for now it's on to 'Model Bodyguard' and another new to me narrator.