Review: Prince of the Playhouse (Love in Laguna #3) by Tara Lain

Title: Prince of the Playhouse (Love in Laguna #3)

Author: Tara Lain

Publisher/GR Link: Dreamspinner,  GR

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: OFY, theater, secret pasts

Rating: 4 stars

Lock this book up: 3 keys.  This book is hot and the sexy times support the great romance.

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: Adorable.  I love these covers.

Best Line: “You did it.  You decided what you wanted from life.  I just happened to be lucky enough to be hanging around when you did.”

Synopsis: Driven by his desire to become a successful fashion designer and concerned with hiding his questionable past, Ru Maitland lets his obsession with action movie star Gray Anson on the big screen replace his social life. Then obsession and reality collide when Ru is asked to design fashion costumes for a special performance of Hamlet at the Playhouse in Laguna starring none other than Gray Anson. Gray turns out to be a compelling mix of shy and brash and, despite a high profile engagement to a female socialite, the signals Gray sends Ru have his libido doing the salsa.

Gray Anson has what most people only dream of—great wealth, huge fame, a job he loves. For that, he’s given up any semblance of privacy and the right to say no to the thousands of people who depend on him and the millions who love him. He sees everything he’s ever wanted just outside the bubble of his life, but how can he make the compromises needed to embrace it? When Ru’s shady past crashes into Gray’s paparazzi-haunted present, both men have to learn that sometimes the only acceptable compromise is the truth.

Impressions: I love this series and I won’t admit to the volume of my squee when I saw this on the “Coming Soon” pages of Dreamspinner.  This novel is a great addition to one of my favorite series. 

I have to admit, I don’t know that anything can beat out book 1 in this series, but each new book brings me back to the characters that I love and gives me a brand new couple to adore.  I really liked Ru in the past book.  He is sassy and stylish and carries an iron will.  When he got his own story, it was great to see more of what has made him who he is, and to see how he balances his past and his present.  I loved that he was getting the professional respect he deserves, and his story was much more complex than I anticipated.

One of the biggest difference in this book is that Gray is out to himself, but deeply closeted due to his family and career.  As we got to know him and his intricacies, it really made me understand and empathize with him.  Gray was sweet and sensitive, and I enjoyed his evolution.

This was a great book, and despite Ru’s story, it was a little more lighthearted than the first two.  As an English teacher, I loved all of the Shakespeare jokes and comments.

Don’t miss this installment in one of the best series being written right now!

New Release Review: Never Too Late by Sloan Johnson

Title: Never Too Late

Author: Sloan Johnson

Publisher/GR Link: GR

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: OFY, Children, Accident

Rating: 4 Stars

Lock this book up: 3 keys.  The sex is hot and supports the plot very well.

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: I really like it!  Classy and gorgeous.

Best Line:  "I'll be here as long as you'll let me."

Synopsis: Dax: My life ended six years ago. No, really. I was dead on the side of the road following a gruesome motorcycle accident. From what I've been told, it's only because of one stubborn man that I have another chance to make something of my life. I no longer hate him for screwing up what I thought I wanted. I want to thank him. NEED to tell him what his actions mean to me.

Now, I’m headed back to the town I’ve never set foot in even though it’s a huge part of my life. I’m not thrilled about that, but the job offers haven’t exactly been flowing in. They’ll probably think I’m crazy, because there’s no way I won’t be able to look at every guy I walk past, wondering if he’s the one who saved me.

Michael: My entire life, I wanted to save lives. I’d earned a full-ride scholarship and had been accepted to med schools across the country. I was so close to making those dreams a reality until the night held a dying man in my arms. I’ve never been able to get the images of his lifeless body caked in mud out of my head. Even when the paramedics tried to take over trying to save him, I couldn’t let go. I never let go. Eventually, my guilt over not doing more cost me everything but my son. And now, I worry I’ll lose him if I don’t get it together.

I’ve often thought that if I could find him, maybe I could get some closure and finally get my life back on track. Now he’s here and I’m more of a mess than ever. Once the truth comes out, will he keep trying to save me or will he realize that it’s too late?

Impressions: This story is told in alternating points of view.  I really enjoyed getting to know both MC’s and to hear things from their individual POVs.  When I first met Jagger and Michael, I saw them through Dax’s eyes, and I, like Dax, felt like Michael was an out of touch parent.  When I saw the world through Michael’s eyes I had a whole different perspective.  I love a story that keeps me on my toes and makes me evaluate things differently with every chapter, and this book certainly does that.

I also really appreciate stories with kids when the kids are written realistically, and Johnson does a great job at that too!  The kids in Dax’s class, along with Jagger, were adorable and endearing.

Most of all, I really loved the love story that is at the heart of the story between these two men.  Johnson always delivers a great love connection, and this books was certainly not exception!

New Release: Out of Nowhere (Middle of Somewhere #2)

Title: Out of Nowhere (Middle of Somewhere #2)

Author: Roan Parish

Publisher/GR Link: Dreamspinner

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: OFY, traumatic past, homophobia

Rating: 5 Stars

Lock this book up: 3.5 Stars.  The sex is very hot and helps to move along the story line.

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: Gorgeous.

Best Line: “I love you too,” he says.. And I don’t have to see his face to know that he is smiling.”

Synopsis: The only thing in Colin Mulligan’s life that makes sense is taking cars apart and putting them back together. In the auto shop where he works with his father and brothers, he tries to get through the day without having a panic attack or flying into a rage. Drinking helps. So do running and lifting weights until he can hardly stand. But none of it can change the fact that he’s gay, a secret he has kept from everyone.

Rafael Guerrera has found ways to live with the past he’s ashamed of. He’s dedicated his life to social justice work and to helping youth who, like him, had very little growing up. He has no time for love. Hell, he barely has time for himself. Somehow, everything about miserable, self-destructive Colin cries out to him. But down that path lie the troubles Rafe has worked so hard to leave behind. And as their relationship intensifies, Rafe and Colin are forced to dredge up secrets that both men would prefer stay buried.

Impressions: This book was not always easy to read, but it was always worth it.  I could not tear myself away from Colin, who narrates his own difficult tale, until I was sure that Rafe and he could make it to a brighter part of their dark journeys.

Colin was such a hated and hateful character in book 1, it was hard for me to imagine that I would ever feel badly for him.  I loved book 1, and I was ready to read anything created by this author.

In book 2, Colin doesn’t start off any more likable than he was in book 1, but there is a certain vulnerability that builds off the last time we had seen him in book 1.  I reread book 1 right before this one, and I am glad I did.  Parrish expertly overlaps the chronology of these two stories and provides an insight into Colin’s terrible self image and family past.  With each word I began to realize Colin’s struggle until my heart hurt along with him.

Rafe was a great counterpart for Colin.  He is tough and strong, yet compassionate and patient.  He never seemed to lose his own identity and self worth in the face of Colin’s hurt and pain, and I respected him for that.  He was a wonderful man for Colin, but he brought his own strength and past to the equation.

The secondary characters (including some awesome queer kids!), and revisits from Dan and Rex made this book and even bigger gift.  I know it is only February, but this might be a best of 2016 already.