BIB 5+ Review: Coming 9/10- Verspertine by Leta Blake and Indra Vaughn

Title: Vespertine

Author: Leta Blake and Indra Vaughn

Publisher/GR Link: GR, Ledra

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: Rock stars, priests, reconciliation

Rating: 5* out of 5 Banned in Boston

Lock this book up: 3 keys.  The sex is SO hot and so worth the slow burn.

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: Gorgeous!

Best Line: “I always loved you.  I can’t even pretend that I loved God more.”

Synopsis: Can a priest and a rock star obey love's call?

Seventeen years ago, Jasper Hendricks and Nicholas Blumfeld's childhood friendship turned into a secret, blissful love affair. They spent several idyllic months together until Jasper's calling to the Catholic priesthood became impossible to ignore. Left floundering, Nicky followed his own trajectory into rock stardom, but he never stopped looking back.

Today, Jasper pushes boundaries as an out, gay priest, working hard to help vulnerable LGBTQ youth. He's determined to bring change to the church and the world. Respected, admired, and settled in his skin, Jasper has long ignored his loneliness.

As Nico Blue, guitarist and songwriter for the band Vespertine, Nicky owns the hearts of millions. He and his bandmates have toured the world, lighting their fans on fire with their music. Numbed by drugs and fueled by simmering anger, Nicky feels completely alone. When Vespertine is forced to get sober, Nicky returns home to where it all started.

Jasper and Nicky's careers have ruled their lives since they parted as teens. When they come face to face again, they must choose between the past's lingering ghosts or the promise of a new future.

Impressions:  There was so much in this book to recommend it, and I know it will be on my short Banned in Boston list of books that I will reread over and over again.  It is just a very special story with two very special MCs.

I went to a Jesuit university, and as a young LGBT leader on campus, I expected to have an adversarial relationship with the members of the clergy.  What surprised me was not only how supportive they were, but that several of them were gay- and openly so.  Like Jasper, they made a commitment to their beliefs, and they had no problems balancing their own identities with their calling.  As I got to know some of these men, and even befriended one of them, I found this complexity of identity to be so interesting.  I had left the Catholic church shortly after arriving on campus, but I have the utmost respect for people who balanced two important pieces of themselves without compromising others.

That being said, Jasper is a great character in this complexity that he embodies.  I thought I would find any religion challenging to see beyond in this novel, but that was not at all the case.  Jasper is sincere in his commitment to God and in his love for Nicky, and I admired that there were no easy answers in this novel that required him to ignore who he was and what he believed.

Nicky is such a broken young man, and he so desperately wants to be healed.  He carries the marks of Jasper in his heart and on his skin, and sometimes he broke my heart.  He is a raw character, and his hurt is right at the surface, and I found him to be utterly captivating.

Beyond the fascinating look at religion and attachment issues, this was, at its heart, an amazing and raw love story.  As is only fitting given the characters, there is a slow build to the sex, but when it hits the page, it was remarkable.  This book kept me up into the night and it lingers in my mind days after it was done.  I feel like Nicky and Jasper are there on their island, and I can’t help but wait to see the amazing journey their love is taking.

There is an excellent collection of secondary characters, and the plot is engaging and well paced.

Don’t miss this excellent read.  Carve out some time on 9/10 because Nicky and Jasper have a lot to share with you. 

5+ Banned in Boston Review: Beneath the Stain

Title: Beneath the Stain

Author: Amy Lane

Publisher/GR Link:Dreamspinner, GR

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: Rockstars, Loss, Recovery, Coming Out

Rating: 5 out of 5- Banned in Boston

Lock this book up: 4 out of 5 keys- Sex is hot but necessary to the plot

Length: 7 short novellas, or one juicy novel

Satisfaction: Bring your tissues, but you'll get an HEA

Cover Impressions: I love it.  Has Lane's style all over it

Best Line: “I love you, McKay. I love you so much it would kill me not to try.”

Synopsis: In a town as small as Tyson, CA, everybody knew the four brothers with the four different fathers-- and their penchant for making good music when they weren't getting into trouble. For Mackey Sanders, playing in Outbreak Monkey with his brothers and their friends—especially Grant Adams--made Tyson bearable. But Grant has plans for getting Mackey and the Sanders boys out of Tyson, even if that means staying behind. 

Between the heartbreak of leaving Grant and the terrifying, glamorous life of rock stardom, Mackey is adrift and sinking fast. When he's hit rock bottom, Trav Ford shows up, courtesy of their record company and a producer who wants to see what Mackey can do if he doesn't flame out first. But cleaning up his act means coming clean about Grant, and that's not easy to do or say. Mackey might make it with Trav's help--but Trav's not sure he's going to survive falling in love with Mackey. 

Mackey James Sanders comes with a whole lot of messy, painful baggage, and law-and-order Trav doesn't do messy or painful. And just when Trav thinks they may have mastered every demon in Mackey's past, the biggest, baddest demon of all comes knocking.

Impressions:  Part of me feels like the author name says everything I could say in a review.  Amy Lane means the most delicious of angst, love, and enough hope to keep you holding on until the teary finish.  It means your heart getting rung out, and you coming back for more every single time.  It means a cast of characters that come alive, and that you feel like you know.

This book was no exception.  Mack and Trav are great for each other, and I loved every second of watching them find their love, their happiness, and their family.

If you love Amy Lane, and really, who doesn't?, get this one and get started.  You can buy this as one novel, or as seven short novellas.  When I bought it, I bought the seven shorts for the bonus material which, though I enjoyed it, you did not need it to fully experience the novel.  Luckily for you all, the novel is totally released now, so there is no need to wait each week for it to arrive in your bookshelf.

There is an amazing cast of characters, and I know this will be a read I return to time and time again.

5 Star Review: With or Without Him

Title: With or Without Him

Author: Barbara Elsborg

Publisher/GR Link: Samhain, GR

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: Prostitutes, Abuse, Rich men, Great secondaries

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Lock this book up:  4.5 out of 5 keys.  Sex is HOT, plot driving, and fitting to the story.

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: Delish!

Best Line: "You came to mean more and more to me, and I could no sooner have turned away from you than stop the earth spinning. I thought, if this ends with me broken, so be it. But as every day passed, I thought: he won't break me, he loves me and one day, he'll tell me. But you didn't because you don't."

Synopsis: "The most dangerous refuge could be his lover's arms. "

Everyone has at least one deep-seated fear. For Tyler, it's being in debt. He's so desperate to get out and stay out of it, he'll do almost anything-including selling his body at Saturday night sex parties.

But he refuses to open his mind to anyone, especially the men paying to use him however they want. The only time he's truly happy is during the week at college, when he can escape into his music.

The moment Haris sees Tyler playing piano at a concert, he falls hard, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to make the guy his. Even if it means-for the first time in his life-opening his wallet as wide and desperate as his heart.

20,000 to live with a good-looking guy for four months? How can Tyler resist the chance to ditch the sex party scene for good? But neither man realizes how much they're risking. And when outside forces close in, ready to destroy them, the trickiest part about the next four months could be just surviving.

Warning: Contains a "for hire" bad boy with a filthy mouth, an awkward guy with a penchant for BDSM, a hypochondriac butler who won't shut up, a dog called Alcide, and a lot of hot and dirty M/M sex.

Impressions: This was one of those please-let-the world-leave-me-alone-so-I-can-read kinda books.  I was lucky enough to be snowed in for a few days, so I got a few of those minutes when I could hide away and keep reading!  I felt totally engrossed by these guys, and I felt like I *needed* to keep reading so they could get their HEA!

I wasn't sure that I would really get Tyler's panic over debt, especially given that so many of us have it, but Ellsborg made his fear totally relatable and believable.  Tyler had been through so much and it was totally evident in his current behaviors and beliefs.  Haris was also a man with a past, though he initially seemed so much more in control.  In reality, he was damaged and maybe even more in need of love.  

The secondary characters were very engaging, in particular Winslow and Jeremy.  They played a crucial role, and moved the story along nicely.

The action was intense and believable, and kept me tapping away on my kindle.  The miscommunication between Haris and Tyler was hard to watch, but never became a ridiculous plot device.  Everything about this book was gripping, but the connection between these two was amazing and really kept me hooked.

Though you may suffer a book hangover at its conclusion, it is worth every sigh!  Check this book!  I know I will be going to Ellsborg's book list and making sure I don't miss any other great reads!

Book Review: A Little Bit Rock and Roll

Title: A Little Bit Rock & Roll

Author: E.M. Leya

Publisher/GR Link: Smashwords, GR

Genre: Contemporary, MM

Vice: Disability, coming out, rockstars, cowboys

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Lock this book up: 3 out of 5 stars, the sex is very hot and totally supports the story

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: Simple.  

Best Line: "He wanted Colt, felt like his life depended on this experience, yet, the thought of going back into the house where the others might see them was petrifying."

Synopsis:Kyle thought he had it all. That was until his band's tour bus becomes stranded in Wyoming during an epic snowstorm. When rancher Colt Billings offers assistance, everything Kyle thought he knew is tested and he is forced to face emotions and truths that he has managed to hide most his life.

The last thing Colt needs is an attraction to a young rock star, but ever since he opened his home to the band to wait out the storm, Kyle consumes his mind. Keeping his distance from the long-haired singer is just not an option.


When their two worlds clash, they must work through their feeling as their passion grows, and secrets threaten to end it all. Just when things look like they might work out, tragedy strikes, adding new insecurities and issues the two must overcome, making them wonder if love really is enough.

Impressions: I picked this up because I just wanted something different, and I was really pleasantly surprised.  I thought this would be a cowboy/rocker love story (and I was A-OK with that!) but it was more complex, and I right when I thought I knew what was going to happen, the story switched it up on me.  I really liked these two guys, and their bandmates/friends.  I thought they both handled the situations realistically and believably.  

This was a great story and just what I was looking for for something different, entertaining, and engaging.  The sex was hot, the characters were great, and the setting was interesting.

Give it a try!

Definitely recommended!

Review posted on Amazon and Goodreads.