Book Review: On Higher Ground

Title: On Higher Ground

Author: Melissa Collins

GR Link: GR

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: PTSD, Children, Tattoos, Sequel

Rating: 5 Stars

Lock this book up: 4 keys…this is a sexy, romantic read.

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: I love it.  Fits perfectly with the first.

Best Line: Love is love, and family is family.

Synopsis: When there’s no peace after war…

When there’s no solace after death…

When there’s only pain and suffering…

Anxiety and loss…

All you can hope to find is something more…

Something that makes you whole and complete

Something that puts you

On Higher Ground

Impressions: I loved book 1, and I was eagerly awaiting this sequel.  It was great to catch up with Dax, Beck, Violet and the rest of their extended family.  In this sequel, we see Dax still struggling with his PTSD, but also making huge strides in his work.  Beck is developing as a father for Violet, and together with Dax, they form a family. 

It was wonderful to see these men grow and to observe their love deepening and growing.  You will definitely get the most out of this novel after reading the first book.  The secondary characters in book 1 continue their support and love of these guys and their new family.

Beck is struggling to deal with the reemergence of his father, and he is juggling his worry for Dax, is care for Violet, and his expanding business.  This is a book about growth, love and family, and I loved every second of it.

All I can say as a final thought is I hope we get more Micah!

New Release: Inversion Point (Chaos Station #4)

Title: Inversion Point (Chaos Station #4)

Author: Jenn Burke and Kelly Jensen

Publisher/GR Link: Carina Press, GR

Genre: MM Futuristic, Science Fiction

Vice: Science Fiction, Space Travel, PTSD

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Lock this book up: 4 keys.  This is a hot, sexy series that builds on an incredible love.

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA, with some more to follow!

Cover Impressions: I love the look of this whole series.

Best Line: “Never letting go.”

Synopsis: Zander and Felix's relationship has been to the brink and back: the Human-Stin War, imprisonment and an actual death/resurrection. Zander's death, to be specific, and the experience has left him…changed. The mysterious race known as the Guardians chose to revive him and appointed him as their emissary. A high honor, but he could do without the group of would-be cultists following him around the galaxy.

When a recently discovered species destroys a stin probe, Zander's new role soon commands all of his time and focus. The human ambassador—Felix's ex-lover, much to Zander's annoyance—pulls them into strategy talks aimed at preserving galactic peace. Soon everyone is relying on Zander's Guardian tech to telepathically communicate with the strange aliens.

Only Felix seems concerned with the strain piling up on Zander, but he has his own resolve tested when the very stin that imprisoned him show up to a summit. Zander and Felix will both have to find a way to face their doubts and preserve their love—while preventing another galaxy-wide war.

Impressions: I could write for hours about this series, but the simple truth is that this is everything that is wonderful about a great science fiction adventure, a great romance, and a great story all in one amazing series.

This book was non stop action and had me glued to each page.  In fact, I was up about 3 hours past my bed time finishing it!  I was about 44% into the story, convinced I was going to read to the end of the chapter, and then- BAM!  I couldn’t dream of putting the book down until I had seen how things progressed.

Zed and Felix are such complex and real characters, and I love learning more and more about them as each book gives us more of their past, and shows us more of their future.  Seeing more about Zed’s family in book 3 really helped me to understand him, and in this book I was really eager to learn more about Felix’s past.  Burke and Jensen expertly weave backstories into the current plotlines as they develop the love and relationship between Zed and Felix.  With each new chapter of this series we get to see more of what makes Felix and Zed so hurt, and so perfect for each other. 

What I really loved in this book was the continued world, or universe, building.  I have been in love with the Ashies, and I loathe the Stin, and I was captivated by the new discoveries that I unfurled in this book.  The plot moves along at a perfect pace, and the new developments in action and plot help to highlight the evolutions of the main characters that we love.  These stories have an amazing cast of secondary and tertiary characters that I love, hate and love to hate.  I hope we see more in book 5!

I closed this novel with a great feeling of satisfaction, eagerness and anticipation.  I gleefully suffered a terrible book hangover all day, and I cannot wait until book 5 in May so I can see where these wonderful characters will leave us.  I trust Burke and Jensen will make book 5 as amazing as 1-4, but I don’t know if I can let these guys go!  They are some of my all time favorite MM pairs, and this might be one of my all time favorite series in ANY genre.

Double Review: Howl at the Moon, books 1 and 2 by Eli Easton

 

Title: Howl at the Moon- How to Howl at the Moon, book 1 and How to Walk Like a Man, book 2

Author: Eli Easton

Publisher/GR Link: Pinkerton Press, GR Book 1, GR Bk 2

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: Shifters, Police, PTSD

Rating: bk 1- 4, book 2- 4.5- 4.25 Overall

Lock this book up: 3 keys out of 5, the sex is hot and romantic

Length: Two novels

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: I love them and they go so well together.

Best Line:  “I’m a selfish bastard.  I’ve always wanted the best.  Trust me to find the most extraordinary guy in the world.” (book 2)

Synopsis:

Book 1: Sheriff Lance Beaufort is not going to let trouble into his town, no sir. Tucked away in the California mountains, Mad Creek has secrets to keep, like the fact that half the town consists of ‘quickened’—dogs who have gained the ability to become human. Descended on both sides from Border Collies, Lance is as alert a guardian as they come.

Tim Weston is looking for a safe haven. After learning that his boss patented all of Tim’s work on vegetable hybrids in his own name, Tim quit his old job. A client offers him use of her cabin in Mad Creek, and Tim sees a chance for a new start. But the shy gardener has a way of fumbling and sounding like a liar around strangers, particularly gorgeous alpha men like Sheriff Beaufort.

Lance’s hackles are definitely raised by the lanky young stranger. He’s concerned about marijuana growers moving into Mad Creek, and he’s not satisfied with the boy’s story. Lance decides a bit of undercover work is called for. When Tim hits a beautiful black collie with his car and adopts the dog, its love at first sight for both Tim and Lance’s inner dog. Pretending to be a pet is about to get Sheriff Beaufort in very hot water.

Book 2: Deputy Roman Charsguard survived Afghanistan where he lost his best friend—his K-9 handler James. Roman was a military dog until two years ago when he developed the ability to shift into a human. It’s not easy to learn how to be a man. He found a place to live in Mad Creek, a haven for the secret world of dog shifters. Finding a reason to live has been harder. That is, until a certain human walks into the Mad Creek Sheriff’s office and starts making trouble.

Matt Barclay has the worst luck. First he was shot in a SWAT drug raid, then he was sent as DEA investigator to Mad Creek, a little town in the California mountains. Matt’s job is to keep a lookout for illegal drug farms, but nobody in the town wants him there. And then there’s Roman, Matt’s erstwhile baby-sitter. He’s the hottest guy Matt’s ever seen, even if he is a bit peculiar. If the town doesn’t kill him, sexual frustration just might.

The town is counting on Roman to prevent Matt from learning about dog shifters, Matt’s counting on Roman to be his work partner and tell him the truth, and Roman’s trying to navigate love, sex, and a whole lot of messy human emotions. Who knew it was so complicated to walk like a man?

Impressions:  I love Eli Easton, and I have gobbled up several of her novels and novellas with gusto.  I have to be in the mood for a shifter book, so I wasn’t sure about these, but the pull of a new Eli Easton book could not be stopped, so I grabbed these two and read them back to back.  I am so happy I did!

These are not your typical shifter stories.  I loved that the shifters in these books are dog shifters (not wolf) and I found it so adorable to see how dogs can be “quickened” into human form.

These books have Easton’s typical humor and warm fuzzies, and I couldn’t put them down.  I loved the world building that started and book one, and Tim was a great partner for uptight Lance.  I liked Tim’s nervous, yet stubborn, persona to bring Lance to his knees.

In book 2, I really loved both Matt and Roman.  Ro, so recently quickened, has so much to learn about human life and human sexuality.  Add in his developing feels for Matt, and Matt’s for him, this was an adorable love to watch!

The outline of these stories allows for such a unique and endearing GFY development.  I love these two stories and I hope there will be more to come!  Don’t let these pass you by, even if you aren’t always a shifter fan!  (If you ARE a shifter fan, you are probably reading them right now!)