Book Review: Damaged Goods

Title: Damaged Goods

Author: Cooper West

Publisher/GR Link: Dreamspinner, Goodreads

Genre: MM

Vice: Abusive past, Contemporary

Rating: 4/5

Lock this book up : 3 out of 5 keys, hot sex scenes that support the romance

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: Mehh.  I get the baggage thing, but it isn't really character appropriate, and I really don't like Templeton's tattoos.  I like Templeton in my mind more than this one.

Best Line: "But I figured out in the end that it doesn't matter whether I believe you.  You made a choice, and it wasn't me."

Synopsis:Professor Jesse Ford feels like a failure in both love and life. He's moved home to live over his mother's garage after his previous relationship ended in heartbreak and a minor academic scandal, derailing his career. Tired and disappointed, he holes up to lick his wounds and concentrate on his next book, determined to avoid anything having to do with love or romance.

Jesse starts to change his mind when he meets Templeton, the beautiful and engaging punk rocker working as a short order cook at their small town's popular diner. Templeton, a talented musician, is back in town after escaping from his abusive boyfriend back in Seattle where they had tried to start a band. Encouraged by friends and family, Jesse and Templeton realize they can't fight their mutual attraction.

The two men from very different worlds decide they might have a chance, but they find their tentative romance threatened by the many secrets Templeton is keeping, and Jesse's own bruised heart. When Templeton's dangerous ex shows up, both Templeton and Jesse have to decide whether their fledgling relationship can withstand facing the demons of their pasts.

Impressions:  I was very interested from the blurb alone, as I love a good tortured hero, and the only thing better than that is TWO tortured heroes.    Templeton captured me in this book, and he is what held my interest the most.  I found him to be a complex character who did not fit a cookie cutter mold of an abused man.  I loved the reveal about his secret, and I thought it really added dimension to him as a young man without options who could have been swayed by someone like evil ex-Cory.  Templeton is clearly a man with a series set of issues and challenges, but he had hope and nerves, and I felt like we got to see a side of him that was fun loving, strong, and still excited by the things life could offer him.  He may not have always trusted they would last, but I liked that he didn't shy from trying to trust again, even just in the friends he found.

Jesse wasn't my favorite MC ever, but I felt like I knew who he was for the most part.  I felt like he kept backing himself into a corner a bit, but his heart was in the right place.  I loved his mother, and several of the other secondaries, especially Jesse's old school friend and Templeton's boss.  Cory was evil to the core, and I enjoyed completely hating him.

I found this book a compelling read and I was eager to get back to it.  I wanted to see Templeton grab on to his fledgling optimism and make a go of it.  I felt satisfied at the conclusion and I enjoyed seeing some of the out-of-the-box endings these guys could finally get!

Definitely recommended.

Book Review: Let Love Live

Title: Let Love Live

Author: Melissa Collins

Publisher/GR Link: Melissa Collins, Goodreads

Genre: MM (part of MF series, but can be read as a standalone)

Vice: Contemporary, Healing

Rating: 4.5/5

Lock this book up: 4 out of 5 keys, very hot sex scenes that support and enhance the story

Length: novel (book 5 in series, can be standalone)

Satisfaction: Heartbreak and then HEA.  All worth it!

Cover Impressions:  Do I really need to say?  I think it speaks for itself. :)

Best Line: "But I can give you me.  I can give you all of me, because thats all I have."

Synopsis: Who would you become if you lost the only person who ever mattered?

For twenty-six year old Dylan Hopkins, the answer is easy. He’s become no one. Memories of the happier times are all he has left as he finds himself meandering numbly through his now dull life. Though he cares about his work and family dearly, he’s yet to let himself find love again. Afraid of letting go of what he once had, Dylan chooses to keep his heart buried, where it belongs, having died a long time ago.

Conner Michelson is about to change everything Dylan knows. He’s every bit the bad boy persona - tatted up, ex-MMA fighter, but after an injury leaves him unable to fight, he has to rethink his goals. Having just opened his own gym, Conner can cross his first major life accomplishment off his very short list. Next up: find a man he can settle down with and build a family. Seems simple enough - a dream most people have, but when he meets Dylan, his carefree, easy-going life is thrown into a tailspin.

Determined to keep Dylan in his life, Conner vows to resurrect Dylan's long ago buried heart and let love live once more.

Impressions: I was wary of starting this because I have a severe case of book-order OCD, and I just didn't want to read 4 MF books to get me ready for this one, but the buzz was so amazing I had to download it and fast track it to the top of my TBR list, and am I glad I did!

The book can be viewed in two parts, one the story of Dylan and his first love, Shane.  I was surprised at how long this part of the story was, but it was perfectly crafted to support my understanding of Dylan, and his relationship with Shane's family.  The parts with Shane were so moving, and his story was simply heartbreaking.  Even knowing that it was a tragic element of Shane's life, I was kept completely enraptured by the tale, and I experienced the loss as if it were a complete surprise and shock.  I felt Dylan's pain in each and every step, and I understood and felt for Shane.  Needless to say, there were lots and lots of feels.

In the second half we get to see Connor and Dylan's relationship, and after the pain we experienced with Dylan, we, like he, needed some love and comfort.  Connor was the perfect hero for Dylan.  He was a man with his own past and his own challenges, and I loved that he didn't ride in on a white horse.  Dylan's mourning was a part of him, but he never felt like an emo kid I wanted to shake (disclosure: I don't really shake emo kids, its just a figure of speech!) because he wasn't written as a stereotype of loss, but rather as a three dimensional man who is trying to live with a terrible pain in his past.  He didn't need to be rescued, he needed to be loved and to feel like he could return that love and support, and Connor was a perfect.

The secondary characters were amazing.  Some you can't help but love, and others you really want to see pay for their crimes, but I can imagine their stories must be equally compelling.  

I am so glad I put aside my book-OCD and read this as a standalone.  It really is worth the excited buzz surrounding this story!

Highly Recommended!

Book Review: A Heart for Robbie

Title: A Heart for Robbie

Author: J.P. Barnaby

Publisher/GR Link: Dreamspinner, Goodreads

Genre: MM

Vice: Contemporary, Children

Rating: 4.5/5

Lock this book up: 3 out of 5 keys, sex and romance proportional, and sex supports story

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA, very pleased and warm fuzzes

Cover Impressions: Adorable.  Two teddybears?!  Totally fits.

Best Line: "Is it scary being in it?"

Synopsis: Celebrated Young Adult author Julian Holmes pits the heroic characters in his Black Heart series against all different kinds of monsters. But when a critical heart defect threatens his son’s life, he finds he has no champion. No amount of books, classes, or practice can prepare Julian for the fight to save his beautiful son’s life.

Suddenly there are hospitals, transplant lists, and the nightmare of insurance red tape to navigate. In the midst of his trouble, Julian meets Simon Phelps, the insurance coordinator for Robbie’s case. Simon lives so deep in the closet he might never find his way out, but he dreams of exactly what Julian has. Then one night, drunken need and desperation brings them together, and a new fight begins.

Impressions:  What a wonderful read!  This book touched me as a romance, but also a wonderful story about a single dad caring for, and worrying about, his young son.  As a single, queer mom, I really empathized with Julian's worries over his son's health, the helplessness he feels while navigating the confusing world of medicine and transplants, and the paranoia that his own sexuality will someone be a factor in his son's happiness and health.  Barnaby completely hit the center of the target when writing Julian, both as an author who needs his characters, and as a father caring for his son.

Simon was harder for me to love at first.  I was frustrated with his unwillingness to face his own demons, and I couldn't always tell how many of the demons were internal, but as the novel progressed I felt that he was his own worst enemy, and he knew it.  His knowledge of this, as well as his grand gesture, totally redeemed him in my eyes, and I grew to love and understand him too.

Not only is there a solid and beautiful romance here, it is also a fascinating look into the world of transplant procedures and the medical challenges that so many people face.

A very well done book that was very enjoyable to read, even while dealing with some very big issues!

Highly Recommended!