Swap by H K Carlton

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book review, my thoughts

I recently wrote a review for my publisher’s monthly newsletter, and I thought that I’d share it with everyone else 🙂

Title: Swap

Author: H K Carlton

Buy links: Total-E-Bound – Amazon UK – Amazon Kindle – All Romance eBooks – Barnes & Noble

Genre: Contemporary/Romance

Length: Novel

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book blurb

Hailey Hollinger has it all—a great husband, a fantastic career in journalism, good friends…and one hot brother—in—law that won’t stay out of her fantasies.

When Hailey Hollinger was eighteen she thought her boyfriend, Brent, was the best-looking guy around. That was until he introduced her to his older brother, Mike. From that moment on she had the biggest crush on him and he became the star of all her teenage fantasies.

Hailey’s all grown up now and has been married to Brent for three years. They have great careers, a nice house—they enjoy life and each other. Everything is supposed to be perfect. Except for that pesky little infatuation with her husband’s brother has never completely gone away.

A crush, by nature and definition, is supposed to be short-lived and should diminish over time. But, unfortunately for Hailey, it hasn’t, and it is beginning to mess with what she thinks should be perfection. And if her life is so great, why does she then find herself groping her brother—in—law in the cab of his truck like some sex—starved teenager? And the biggest question yet—why is he groping her right back?

Review

Hailey Hollinger’s crush on her brother-in-law Mike has refused to wane over the years. The close friendship between the two of them has done nothing to help diminish her feelings for him, but she refuses to give up what they have together. Control over her feelings for Mike is what she strives for, but the loneliness from her marriage and the recent flirting and small intimate touches with Mike, has had Hailey all but losing her mind on what she should do. Then one night, a hot and steamy embrace between Hailey and Mike changes everything.

Swap by H.K. Carlton was an excellent read that kept me captivated the entire time. Hailey and Mike’s struggle of their attraction to each other was incredibly well written—I could feel the tension between them myself and of course was silently rooting for them. Most people might find their trysts immoral, but once you learn of Hailey and Mike’s relationships with their own spouses, you’ll understand the imperative need to have Hailey and Mike find their own happily ever after together. I definitely recommend Swap as a must read, and if you cherish a good night’s sleep then I also recommend that you start the book early in the day, because you’ll find it impossible to put down.

The Curtis Reincarnation by Zathyn Priest

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book review, my thoughts

Title: The Curtis Reincarnation

Author: Zathyn Priest

Buy link: Scarlet Tie Books

Genre: Gay/Contemporary/Romance

Length: Novel

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Book blurb

Tyler Curtis is the quintessential rock star, with a notorious bad boy reputation as legendary as his awesome talent. Jordan Braxton, on the other hand, leads a quiet existence as a website designer and shares a house with his sister, Rebecca.

When Rebecca wins tickets to see Curtis in concert, and drags an unwilling Jordan along to the show, his ordered world is about to be turned upside down. Tyler’s life is spinning out of control, but reality is far different to the myth a controlling manager has built up around him. Will Jordan get to know the real Tyler, and can they both survive the fallout that ensues?

Review

Jordan Braxton has a big heart and he’s looking for a man to love – just one.  Yet his standards for this one man are quite specific, therefore hard to find.  In his eyes, Tyler Curtis is the absolute opposite of what he’s looking for…until they meet.

Jordan may have a big heart, but Tyler is all heart.  His passions and desires for his music and other people is inspiring.  All he wants in return is for somebody to love him, but his troubled past and other unfortunate circumstances have held him back – in some cases literally.

The moment you meet Tyler you’ll fall in love with him.  He is an incredible young man who you just want to wrap your arms around and protect from the evils in the world.  Life isn’t always easy, but Tyler has it exceptionally rough, so I was more than happy to see him and Jordan together.  These men were meant for each other in every way two people can be.

The Curtis Reincarnation is an amazing read.  It’s one of those stories that has you enthralled the entire time wondering  what’s going to happen next.  The twists and turns bring the book to exciting levels and emotional ones.  For me, I wasn’t just reading a book, I was in the book with them seeing everything first hand.

Zathyn Priest did a marvelous job bringing this story to life.  The details and feelings he portrays are outstanding.  He’ll have you smiling with the characters, sharing their happiness and anger, their heartaches and moments of bliss, and that wonderful feeling deep down inside that is simply described as true love.

This is a book that I highly recommend and will definitely be re-reading a number of times, not only for the story, but to experience the feelings again and again.

As You Are by Ethan Day

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book review, my thoughts

Title: As You Are
Author: Ethan Day
Publisher: Loose Id
Other Buy Links: All Romance ebook, Fictionwise, Amazon, The Book Depository, & Barnes and Noble
Genre: LGBT Erotic Contemporary
Length: Novel                                           Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book Blurb

Operation   Danny… that’s all bartender and recent college graduate, Julian   Hallowell has had on his mind the past year.  Julian may have no idea   what he wants to do with his life, but he definitely knows he‘s in love   with the boy next door: The one in next room to be exact, his roommate   Danny Wallace.             

Danny owns a used text book store just off campus and while   Julian has done his level best to make Danny fall for him, all his hard   work appears to have been in vain.  Danny doesn’t seem to view Julian as   anything other than that…a roommate and friend.  So when new guy in   town Andy Baker asks him out on a date, Julian can’t seem to think of a   good reason to say no.

Julian has already instituted a Reverse Operation Danny plan,   which he’s positive will purge all thoughts of love and lust for his   roomie out of his head.  He’s ready to move on and start looking for his   next Mr. Right, and Andy just might fit the bill.

Review

I would like to start off by saying that there are very few books out there that can actually make me laugh out loud when I read them, and As You Are had me laughing quite a few times.  The way Ethan Day incorporates humor into his writing is brilliant; it comes across so natural.

Anyway, on to the review.  The story takes place in a first person point of view and I really enjoyed being inside Julian’s head.  If you like a quirky, funny, romantic, easily… uh, lustful ;), says the first thing that pops into his head kind of guy, then you’ll love Julian.  Julian’s passion to find love is endearing.  He wants what every person wants – that heart stopping, hard to breathe, can’t think about anybody else, deep down inside you just know he’s the one kind of love.  But does it exist?  For Julian, yes, and it comes in the form of Danny, his roommate.  An unfortunate moment, though, has Julian convinced that Danny doesn’t want him, so he tries to move on.  But how can one really move on from love?

Danny is your typical manly man, only he’s gay.  He’s a great character, though you sometimes have to read between the lines with him and his actions, but it’s great because it keeps you enthralled – wondering excitedly “Am I right, am I right!?”  I liked the way the two men would banter back and forth between each other, the tension building with every playful move.

I love the secondary characters as well, they add a lot of backbone to the story.  Both Julian’s friend Gabby and Julian’s mother are funny yet strong women, and you definitely find yourself falling for Andy and only wanting the best for him.

This is a wonderful story about love, loss, hope, hurt, and coming to understand what’s real and what’s a fantasy.  Julian has to realise that love isn’t always easy, and that sometimes he has to see past himself and try to understand what other’s are going through, that not everyone wears their heart on their shoulder like he does.

Even though there is no majorly dramatic suspense to the story, I still think that Ethan did an excellent job at keeping you intrigued and wanting to read more.  The story is more simple, but it’s the way it’s told that really counts.

One last note; at times I find flashbacks in a story difficult to hold my attention; to me a lot of the time it’s like “Yeah, okay, now get back to the story so I can find out what’s next”.  But the way Ethan take’s you through Julian’s cherished moments with Danny throughout the story definitely had me captivated, it’s like I forgot that I was even reading a flashback because I was so absorbed in the moment.  The only thing I wish is that there was a more distinct way of separating the past from the present.  When everything is written in the same format, and there’s no asterisk or something like that to separate the two, it can sometimes get confusing when the story goes from the present to the past and vice versa.

Overall, I think As You Are is a great book and I highly recommend it.  I liked it so much, and it was so hard to put down, that I ended up reading it within 24 hours – it would have been less than that, but hey, I’ve got to sleep at some point. 🙂

It Could Happen To You

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my thoughts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pR9gyloyOjM

This video is definitely worth watching.  It breaks my heart that people have to go through such turmoil after an already heartbreaking tragedy.  Make sure you have a few tissues nearby.

Latter Days

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my thoughts

This was definitely a good movie.  Honestly, I expected the acting to be kinda bad, but it was actually pretty good.  You definitely fall in love with the characters… and cry a little for them too.  I do wish a certain part of the ending had a little more to it (without giving too much away, I’ll just say its the part where Christian drops his food tray).  But still a good watch.

And I know I’m not alone on the Ryan Reynolds/Wes Ramsey look-alike.  Sometimes I had to remind myself that I wasn’t watching Ryan.  But lets face it, both guys are hot!