5 Star Book Review: Confessions of a Wild Heart

Title: Confessions of  Wild Heart

Author: Kade Boehme

GR Link: here

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: OFY, Abuse, drag, angst

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

Lock this book up: 4 out of 5 keys. The sex is hot and supports the romance. 

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: Love it. 

Best Line: "I was lost those last few months in the military, scared shitless I'd die...Then I got home and the only sane thing I had, the only thing I looked forward to was hearing from you."

Synopsis: US Army PFC Jase Emery, on leave in Germany, sees Ase Ramirez for the first time with a camera to his face. Ase’s wild child ways provide a welcome distraction for Jase. But their weekend of fun ends abruptly when Ase’s conservative family catches them. Through email, Ase and Jase are able to keep the link open. But that too comes to an end.

Jase was never able to live up to his parent’s expectations like his brother was. He didn’t stay and work the family ranch, or marry. He saw the world. His return from serving in the Army changed nothing, he wanted to be free to live his own life. But the death of his father and his mother’s failing health force him to come home, hide his bisexuality, and live a life in the closet as a local Sheriff Deputy so he can take care of his family. This was to be his life… Until Ase returns.

After his family caught Ase and Jase together, Ase worked hard at getting the heat off himself. His occasional thoughts of Jase and their amazing weekend dwindle as life and family take the forefront and fear drives Ase to make huge mistakes.

When Ase and Jase come face to face again, it isn’t easy. Insecurities, and a hurt that have only grown with time make it hard to see the future.Can their friendship blossom into something more? With Ase’s wild side reappearing from the shadows and major trust issues, can he and Jase, with huge obstacles of his own, learn to forgive, move on, and find a peace they both so desperately want… together?

Impressions:  I've read, enjoyed and reviewed several of Kade Boehme's books, and though I have enjoyed them all, this one is something special.  With We Found Love, Boehme explored issues of mental health and created a darker setting for love to blossom.  In this novel, he continues to break hearts and put them together again when he created these complex, hurt, and strong characters who are fighting for their HEA.  

Jase is caught between his own desires and his family obligations.  He is bisexual, but fears that there is no way he can ever have the love he wants from a man without sacrificing everything he has.  In the midst of that all is the spark he felt with Ase, and the connection that slowly developed over email, and the ember that is left when it all disappears.

Ase is a compex, prickly man.  Tattooed, Latino and gay, Ase seems to expect to have to fight, and he readily does so when needed.  Smart and tough, he seems to stand on his own two feet, but under neath his tough exterior lurks a man dealing with his own secrets, fears, and internal compromises.  Can he face them himself, and can he share them with Jase?

This books pulled me in from page one, and didn't let me go until I was clicking to the last page on my kindle.  Both of these men are complicated and scarred, and yet so strong.  I loved that Ase was not an easy man to categorize...He was fiercely queer and yet he struggles with his own challenges and obligations.  Jase really captured my heart though, and I wanted to see him help Ase learn to trust, love and open up.  In the beginning of the novel it seems like Jase is the one who will have to compromise, but as in reality, both men have a journey in this wonderful novel, and it is a pleasure to watch it.  This is certainly more angsty than some of Boehme's other works, but you will be all put together at the end, and just like for Ase and Jase...the journey is worth it!

Highly recommended 

Review: Dance with Destiny a Highly Recommended Read!

Title: Dance With Destiny

Author:  Sloan Johnson

Publisher/GR Link: GR 

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: Coming Out, loss, new beginnings

Rating: 4.75

Lock this book up : 4 out of five kets, very hot and supports the story.  Bring a fan!  It gets hot!

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: I love it!

Best Line: "'I'm not going to fuck you tonight', I inform him bluntly. 'Fucking is something you do with a guy you're attracted to.  What I feel with you, Dom, it's so much more than that. Tonight, I'm going to make love to you so you'll never doubt my confidence that we're it for one another.'"

Synopsis: Tony DeLuca has to get to New York, nor’easter be damned. His older sister is getting married and it won’t matter to her if the entire east coast is shut down if it means she’s short a groomsman. She’s the only reason he’s willing to make the trip home to face a father who’s never forgiven him for wasting a perfectly good degree to become a firefighter. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything about Tony that his father will never accept. 

Dominic Tricoli’s living his dream. He’s spent the past few years working to mesh his business degree and love of the outdoors into a thriving company, providing team building retreats for some of the country’s largest corporations. Unfortunately, there’s a price to pay for happiness, and having someone to come home to at night is the sacrifice Dominic made.

When Dominic overhears Tony’s plight, he’s drawn to help the man get to New York City. Little does Dominic know that one kind gesture will awaken a side of him he’s ignored for far too long. Against his better judgment, he gives in to his desires and Tony’s advances. Just for the night.

When destiny steps in, giving him another chance with the charismatic man who saved his hide, Tony’s willing to do whatever it takes to earn Dominic’s forgiveness and understanding. There may not be forever, but Tony’s determined to enjoy every single minute he’s given with Dominic.

You can’t fight fate. Whatever’s meant to happen, eventually will. 

Impressions: I was lucky enough to read Ms. Johnson's earlier book, Teach Me, and I really enjoyed it.  I was really excited to read this one, and it totally surpassed my high levels of excitement!  This book was amazing, and I can't wait to re-read it.  I hope for more about these two guys, because Dom, and especially Tony, really captured my heart!

The story begins with two men driving a rental car to New York during a storm.  After a hot, but slightly awkward start, they meet up at a wedding, one there for the groom and the other for the bride.  

I was definitely captured from the start of the book.  I had a little bit of trouble keeping the MC's straight with the alternate point of views in the beginning, but I very quickly determined their very different personalities.  I really loved watching these guys realize how strong their feelings were, and I appreciated that Ms. Johnson really took the time to explore their complex backgrounds.

About 50% of the way through the book, I wondered how much more could happen.  The MC's were beginning to fall in love, Tony was getting close to standing up for his love, and Dom was coming along well, and I expected this to wrap up like a typical love story.  I was so glad it wasn't over, but I wondered what could come next.  What came next set this book apart for me.  

We really were able to experience the loss Dom had in his past, and we got to see the transformation that Tony went through.  Both Tony and Dom as a couple grew and faced challenges that were difficult, but which never tested their love.

I really connected with these two, and I loved their supporting characters.  The friends and families that supported them helped provide the support that these men both needed, and sadly lacked in their own lives.  I found them to be very realistic in their actions and reactions.

As for the end of the novel, while I won't give any spoilers, I will say that I really enjoyed it.  I know there are challenges that Tony and Dom will face, but I have every feeling that they will face them together.  I believe that the challenges are temporary, and I have every positive hope for their future.  I would love to see more from these two, as they are definitely at their HEA for love, and I want to see them get their life HEA too!  Great story and a very, very highly recommended read! 

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't take the time to say that this book was HOT.  Like turn the fan on hot.  The sex scenes were emotional and SO sexy!

Advanced copy received from author for an honest review.  

Book Review: Hard Feelings

Title: Hard Feelings

Author: Ashlyn Kane, Morgan James

Publisher/GR Link: Dreamspinner, Goodreads

Genre: MM

Vice: Contemporary, angst

Rating: 4.5

Lock this book up: 4/5 Keys.  Very hot, sexy scenes that totally support the romance!

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA- totally satisfied!

Cover Impressions: Adorable, and I liked it even more after I read the scene it was based on, and after I really knew the characters.

Best Line: "How did this even happen?  How could Rylan have been so blind that he missed this, the stupid swell of affection and happiness that had replaced the irritation he always associated with Miller?"

Synopsis: Rylan Williams hates conferences: too many people, not enough routine, and way too much interaction with strangers. When he gets stuck in a broken elevator with Miller Jones, the kid who fell asleep in his lecture, he figures things can’t get worse. Then Rylan realizes he’s the same guy he just spent an hour perving over from afar. 


Rylan wants to await rescue in silence, but Miller insists on conversation, or at least banter. But just because they don’t get along doesn’t mean they don’t have chemistry, and Rylan breaks all his rules about intimacy for a one-time-only conference hookup. He’ll probably never see Miller again anyway. So of course, two months later Miller shows up at Rylan’s office, having just been hired to work on a new computer program—with Rylan. 

And Rylan thought being stuck in an elevator with him was bad. 

Soon Rylan and Miller learn that they get along best when they take out their frustrations in the bedroom. Their arrangement goes against everything Rylan believes in, but the rules are simple: Don’t stay overnight. Don’t tell anyone. And don’t fall in love.

Impressions:  After a surprisingly busy week, I needed something light to read.  I had downloaded Hard Feelings on my kindle, but I hadn't added it to my TBR pile yet.  I was expecting something light and fluffy, but I was SO pleasantly surprised. I thought I would blow through it, but once I started it I never wanted it to end!

Let me clarify, though, this book was not a sickly sweet romance by any means.  I loved the handful of angst combined with adorably delicious characters, both man and secondary, that I just wanted to hang out with.  Miller was geeky and dorky and everything I wanted, but there was so much more meat to this story, and to the character of Rylan, that this story really made me think.

Rylan's social awkwardness often presents as abrasiveness, and I loved getting into his mind, and seeing how he balanced his own desires with his discomforts.  There is a line where he talks about how Miller, always gregarious and easy going, doesn't push him to socialize of to be more chatty that he wants to be, but rather Miller comforts him and provides the security and acceptance he needs to feel at ease.  I thought this was a great insight into people who are stressed out by social situations, and because I don't ever feel that way, it really made me think about the people I know who may struggle as Rylan does.

This story was so captivating and entertaining, and so much more than the quick, fluffy read I expected.  The sex was HOT and totally added to the story and supported the characterizations.

Highly Recommended