Showing posts with label Genre: Romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Genre: Romance. Show all posts

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Part of the Bargain by Linda Lael Miller

Part Of The BargainPart Of The Bargain by Linda Lael Miller

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book Blurb:

Libby kincaid has returned to the ranch where she grew up to heal the wounds that a broken marriage and the death of her beloved stepson have left. But instead of the solace she craves, she finds jess Barlowe.

My Review: 

An easy read set in contemporary Montana, with fun but unmemorable characters. This won't make my list of favorite comfort reads, but it's great for vacation.
View all my reviews

A Creed Country Christmas by Linda Lael Miller

A Creed Country ChristmasA Creed Country Christmas by Linda Lael Miller

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book Blurb:

Celebrate the holidays with the Creed forefathers--Montana men who built the family homestead and established a legacy of love...

In the unforgiving Montana wilderness of 1910, widowed rancher Lincoln Creed is up against more than rustlers, wolves and the coming winter storms. His young daughter has needs beyond the beans and bacon he can barely cook. Lincoln must find little Gracie a governess, a lady who can teach and cook--yet won't set her sights on him. Disowned for her refusal to marry, twenty-five-year-old Juliana Mitchell shares the love in her heart with her young students at the underfunded Indian school. When she meets Lincoln and Gracie, her response to the handsome rancher makes her realize she's not against marriage after all.

She longs to help, yet the two orphaned brothers in her care need her. But in the season for miracles, Providence just might find a way to bring Juliana, the boys and the Creed family together for Christmas Eve....

My Review:

It's Christmas 1910 in Stillwater Springs, Montana--one of Linda Lael Miller's favorite states. We revisit the Creeds in a sweet holiday story that brings a dedicated school marm and rancher together. It's an easy read with a satisfying happy-ever-after.

View all my reviews

Sunday, February 13, 2011

The Dark Tide by Josh Lanyon

The Dark Tide by Josh Lanyon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Blurb:

As if recovering from heart surgery beneath the gaze of his over-protective family wasn’t exasperating enough, someone keeps trying to break into Adrien English’s bookstore. What is this determined midnight intruder searching for?

When a half-century old skeleton tumbles out of the wall in the midst of the renovation of Cloak and Dagger Bookstore renovation, Adrien turns to hot and handsome ex-lover Jake Riordan -- now out-of-the closet and working as a private detective.

Jake is only too happy to have reason to stay in close contact with Adrien, but there are more surprises in Adrien’s past than either one of them expects -- and one of them may prove hazardous to Jake’s own heart.


My Review:

When Adrien finds a decades-old corpse boarded up under his floor, he just can't bring himself to leave it for the police to solve alone. So he turns to Jake, who's out of the closet now and working as a P.I. For the first time, it seems like these two have a chance to build a lasting relationship. But only if they can come to terms with their past.

Adrien and Jake track down witnesses in this cold case, keeping me guessing till the end. At the same time, they try to figure out where they stand with each other. But Adrien's mother and step family are there to help, and Guy, Mel and Angus all play a part.

The Dark Tide provides plenty of closure, but don't read it by itself! Start from the beginning of the Adrien English series.

I was apprehensive when I started this series; I loved mysteries, but I had never read a gay romance before. I didn't know how I'd handle the explicit scenes. Well, I only keep my eyes half-closed now. (And they don't dominate the book anyway.) And after this satisfying finale, all I can think about is how much I'll miss Adrien!

View all my reviews

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Death of a Pirate King (Adrien English Mystery) by Josh Lanyon

Death of a Pirate King (Adrien English Mysteries)Death of a Pirate King by Josh Lanyon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Blurb:

#4 in the acclaimed Adrien English Mystery Series by award winning author Josh Lanyon. Gay bookseller and reluctant amateur sleuth Adrien English's writing career is suddenly taking off. His first novel, Murder Will Out, has been optioned by notorious Hollywood actor Paul Kane. But when murder makes an appearance at a dinner party, who should be called in but Adrien's former lover, handsome closeted detective Jake Riordan, now a Lieutenant with LAPD -- which may just drive Adrien's new boyfriend, sexy UCLA professor Guy Snowden, to commit a murder of his own!

My Review:

Adrien is in transition here, coping with his new step-family, a turn in his writing career, and his deepening relationship with Guy. Not the best time to witness another murder--or to try solving it with his ex, Jake Riordan. Adrien may have been keeping his distance from the closeted, married cop, but it's clear the man is still under his skin . . . and that kept me turning the pages just as much as the mystery!

View all my reviews

Saturday, January 29, 2011

The Hell You Say (Adrien English Mystery) by Josh Lanyon

The Hell You Say (Adrien English Mysteries)The Hell You Say by Josh Lanyon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Blurb:

The long anticipated third novel in the Adrien English series finds the "ill-starred and bookish" mystery writer and bookseller battling demons-maybe literally.
After bookstore clerk Angus flees following terrifying death threats, Adrien must contend with a mysterious Satanic cult, a hot and handsome university professor, and his on-again/off-again relationship with closeted LAPD Homicide Detective Jake Riordan.

My Review:

Angus's odd lifestyle plunges Adrien into another mystery, but The Hell You Say seems more character driven than plot-driven. Even a cultic murder takes a back seat to the changes in Adrien's life; but since I'm sold on Adrien, that's fine. His story moves forward as his mother makes a startling announcement and his problems with Jake come to a head, creating a make or break moment in their relationship.

View all my reviews

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Adrien English Mysteries: Fatal Shadows and A Dangerous Thing by Josh Lanyon

Adrien English Mysteries: Fatal Shadows and A Dangerous ThingAdrien English Mysteries: Fatal Shadows and A Dangerous Thing by Josh Lanyon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Blurb:

Relationships can be murder. Bookseller and mystery author Adrien English is looking for love in all the wrong places--and, according to hot and handsome LAPD detective Jake Riordan, it's liable to get him killed.

My Review:

Fatal Shadows and A Dangerous Thing are the first two books of the Adrien English series, sold together as one book for Kindle. This mystery romance was my first M/M book, and though I skipped over the explicit scenes, I fell for Adrien and his snappy narration.   I enjoyed the other characters as well, including Adrien's over-protective mother, his closeted love interest and his slightly spooky assistant.

Despite his uncanny ability to get tangled up in murder mysteries, Adrien's not a private eye or a cop. He's just a mystery book store owner who's trying to make it through the day and find acceptance and love . . . preferably without discovering any more bodies along the way. 

This book came highly recommended and did not disappoint. In fact, I'm already devouring the third book in the series. Explicit scenes aside--which are not my thing--this is a four star read!

View all my reviews

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Willow by Linda Lael Miller

Willow: A NovelWillow: A Novel by Linda Lael Miller

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book Blurb:

Montana was a wide-open, lawless land when the golden haired Willow married Gideon—a railroad magnate turned U.S. Marshal. Their union was tempestuous and passionate, a mating of two fiery, strong-willed souls destined for each other.

But Willow's love for her husband was matched by her devotion to her outlaw brother, a renegade pursued by a man sworn to hunt him down—Gideon! Willow had to choose...she could betray her own kin, or risk everything—even the love she had dreamed of all her life—to save him.


My Review:

This historical, old West romance is a pleasant, easy read with likeable characters, clever dialogue and a predictable plot. A nice way to spend a few hours.

View all my reviews