Winter Wonderland by Heidi Cullinan

WINTER 2
Winter Wonderland by Heidi Cullinan
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (205 pages)
Other: BDSM, M/M, Anal Play, Toys, Spanking
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Lisianthus

Finding Mr. Right can be a snow lot of fun.

Paul Jansen was the only one of his friends who wanted a relationship. Naturally, he’s the last single man standing. No gay man within a fifty-mile radius wants more than casual sex.

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Kyle is tired of being the town’s resident Peter Pan. He’s twenty-five, not ten, and despite his effeminate appearance, he’s nothing but the boss in bed. He’s loved Paul since forever, and this Christmas, since they’re both working on the Winter Wonderland festival, he might finally get his chance for a holiday romance.

But Paul comes with baggage. His ultra-conservative family wants him paired up with a woman, not a man with Logan’s rainbow connection. When their anti-LGBT crusade spills beyond managing Paul’s love life and threatens the holiday festival, Kyle and Paul must fight for everyone’s happily ever after, including their own.

Heidi Cullinan is easily one of my all-time favorites for M/M small town romance. I enjoy that she addresses the prejudices that can crop up in small town USA and that she meets it head on with characters that aren’t afraid to love each other despite the world around them.

Snow penises, that’s what sold this book for me, the cute way that Kyle and Paul finally saw each other as a possibility, the moment that Paul realizes that Kyle is all grown up. Kyle is the smaller of the two men, but he’s definitely in charge. I loved this about him, he’s not afraid to be everything Paul needs to fall in love and be happy.

The way that a good chunk of the town works hard to help Kyle woo Paul made me smile, and I loved catching up with past characters and the way they supported each other. I so want to visit Logan Minnesota myself, after reading this book, too bad it’s fictional.

For a good small town romance with a MM twist, look no further than Winter Wonderland, it has quirky characters, a warm fuzzy feeling and leaves the reader craving some Christmas cheer.

Strength of Arms by Danica St. Como

ARMS
Strength of Arms by Danica St. Como
Publisher: Loose Id
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense
Length: Full Length (188 pages)
Other: M/F/M, M/F, Menage
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Sorrel

In the wilds of Maine on her way to complete an assignment, CIA Clandestine Ops agent Lorelei Randall is ambushed and nearly killed. She is rescued by retired Marine scout sniper Adam Stone and his spotter/partner, Lucian Duquesne, and taken to Sanctuary training camp. The men care for her, and sexual heat quickly develops between the three.
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Unable to choose between them, Lorelei ultimately accepts both hard, muscled, determined men as her lovers—which puts her assignment, and her life, at further risk. With Lucian as their anchor, Lorelei experiments with both him and Adam, singly and together, realizing she’s been missing such hot, over the top, ramped up sex. Although the men do their best to protect her, she stubbornly insists that she is totally capable of caring for herself. But changing the game plan at the last minute, her stubbornness places her at the wrong end of an assassin’s gun.

If you love erotic romance with a side of mystery, this might be the book for you.

It’s a ménage with a very suspenseful mystery. I found the story portrayed the characters very well and the writing was good enough that it plunged me into their world enough to fall in love with the characters.

The plot and the characters shone through and that is sometimes difficult for me to say about an erotic novel. Why? In many books, the erotic writing and the sex scenes tend to overshadow everything, but in Strength of Arms there was passion, chemistry and sex that worked and a strong story. The main plot offset the amount of heat that these three characters gave off and it was a good balance.

Strength of Arms is perfect for readers who love erotic stories with a little bit of something else as well.

A Mansion, A Drag Queen and A New Job by CC Dragon

MANSION
A Mansion, A Drag Queen and A New Job by CC Dragon
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (206 pages)
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Orchid
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Psychic medium Deanna Oscar wants to be a normal psychology professor at a nice college. The universe has other ideas. When the grandmother she never knew dies and leaves her everything, Deanna enters a different world. In New Orleans anything goes and her psychic powers aren’t a secret. She doesn’t plan on staying but a psychic vision puts her on the trail of a killer. Deanna can’t turn her back on the future victims and becomes immersed in her grandmother’s world. She isn’t sure how to manage the mansion and fortune she inherited or the people who came with it. An ex-priest, a Latina drag queen and a socialite beauty queen are the living entourage. Add in a houseful of ghosts and haunted objects and Deanna needs a little help. In over her head, she struggles to catch a killer who is out to get her as well.

Psychic visions take over when Deanna Oscar arrives in New Orleans for a job interview. The young woman finds herself inheriting a house from a grandmother she never knew existed. Grandma was also psychic and Deanna finds herself entangled in a murder mystery.. Thrown into a world of murder and the paranormal, Deanna also finds humor in her friendship with Ivy the drag queen, her neighbor Mary Lou and Missy her ghostly maid.

This book is one of a kind, although as the first of a series there probably will be more like this…at least I hope so. The writing is unique. Ghosts and paranormal have been written about before, but not with such depth. I traveled with Deanna as she helped hunt down the killer, discovered why he behaved in such a way and tried to save the victims. Along the way she makes friends with a judge, a sheriff and her recently deceased grandmother. Then there’s the unfriendly magical items locked in her storeroom, items which must never be allowed to escape.

The book contains a wealth of characters who make the story extremely enjoyable and I would love to read the next book in the series. If it’s as good as this one it will be a winner.

GodBomb! by Kit Power

GOD
GodBomb! by Kit Power
Publisher: The Sinister Horror Company
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Horror, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (122 pages)
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Somebody wants answers.

North Devon, England. 1995. A born-again revival meeting in a public building. The usual mix of the faithful, the curious, and the desperate. And one other – an atheist suicide bomber. He’s angry. He wants answers. And if God doesn’t come and talk to him personally, he’s going to kill everyone in the building..

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One of the things I love the most about Mr. Power’s writing style is how much tension he packs into every single scene. Reading one of his stories is like drinking a shot of espresso for me. I feel the effects of it almost immediately, and I can’t concentrate on anything else until I’ve digested every last drop of it. This works really well for the mystery genre in particular because it made it almost impossible for me to figure out where the next plot twist would take the character next.

Speaking of plot twists, this tale was full of them. I’d estimate that I was caught off-guard by ninety percent of them. This is something that almost never happens when I read this genre, so it was a lot of fun to be surprised by where the author was going so regularly.

The author’s intelligent use of flashbacks was yet another reason why I gave GodBomb! such a high rating. Not only did they give me a strong impression of who these characters were as individuals, they provided short breaks from what was currently happening to them. It was really nice to slow down the pace a little bit for these scenes, especially as I grew closer and closer to the end.

Definitely check out the list of characters and their brief biographies before diving into the first chapter. I was very glad to see Mr. Power include this information as it made it incredibly easy to remember everyone’s backstory.

GodBomb! is one of the best books I’ve read so far in 2015. I can’t recommend it highly enough!

Safe Words by Drury Jamison

SAFE
Safe Words by Drury Jamison
Publisher: Loose Id
Genre: Contemporary Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (382 pgs)
Other: BDSM, M/F, M/F/M, M/F/F, F/F, M/M, F/M/M, Ménage, Multiple Partners, Masturbation, Anal Play, Forced Seduction, Fetish, Toys, Spanking, Voyeurism, Exhibitionism
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Thistledown

After years of alcohol and promiscuous sex, Detective Eleanor Silver is not the cop or the person she wanted to be. New doors and new worlds open up when the murders of sexually dominant women, involved in the world of BDSM, lead her to Dr. Anderson Wells. A psychologist and sexual submissive, Anderson offers to be her guide. They soon find themselves exploring on more intimate levels. He sees in her, the strong and forceful woman he craves. She sees in him, a man strong enough to surrender control.

As he escorts her into the world of kink parties, leather corsets and safe words she flourishes, becoming the kind of woman she never dreamed. Even as they become closer, both as lovers and as Dominant and submissive, new murders and his own lie make Anderson a suspect and then the target of a cop looking to clear his own name.

Events and passions collide with bite marks, pretty underwear and murder in a world where cops may be killers and lovers may hold whips. Eleanor Silver has to let go of her pain to claim for herself the life she wants and risk everything to save the man she loves.

Floggers and paddles…oh my.

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Detective Eleanor Silver is a dominant woman struggling with a drinking problem in a world run by men. During a murder investigation of a Domme, she is introduced to Dr. Anderson Wells, a sexual submissive known as the Professor. He illuminates the mysterious world of BDSM and in showing Eleanor who she is, also takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster ride.

Men as sexual submissives are misunderstood. Eleanor had expected a shy and blushing man, not the capable person sitting in front of her at the local bar. Her tightly woven cage begins to unwind and Detective Silver finds herself in deeper than she ever imagined herself to be. There is everything kind of kink you can imagine all around her at the events and gatherings she attends.

The murders of dominant women continue and Silver has a lot on her plate. But one thing she has figured out. She no longer has the burning desire to drown out her life in drink. Instead, she thinks about Anderson constantly. This new hard and soft side of her is both illuminating and surprising but what she learns next will either save her or set her free. All at the soft whisper of a safe word.

I loved this book from beginning to end. The ugly parts and the pretty. The glamour and the underbelly. Drury Jamison shows us the world of submissive men and the vast rainbow of characters at any given BDSM event. Most novels I’ve read showcase the Dom, but not this one. This one glorifies strong women and the men behind them. It also shows the power struggle in some circumstances and just how real secrets can get in the cold light of day.

There was nothing I didn’t like about the book. The characters were rich, the scenes described beautifully and the interaction between the MC’s absolutely beautiful. Seeing Silver flourish and become the Domme as Anderson showed her what home meant was amazing and I had tears in my eyes on more than one occasion. It also had cutting edge mystery that kept you guessing who the murderer was until the moment it was revealed. Wow….wow.

I want more of Detective Silver and her man Anderson and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to read this novel. Fans of Kallypso Masters, Sierra Cartwright and others that delve into the healing aspect of BDSM will adore this book.

Bring me more…

Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron

SHUDDERS
Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense
Length: Full Length (276 pgs)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

Check in for some Southern hospitality in Plantation Shudders, the Cajun Country series debut from Ellen Byron.

It’s the end of the summer and Prodigal Daughter Maggie Crozat has returned home to her family’s plantation-turned-bed-and-breakfast in Louisiana. The Crozats have an inn full of guests for the local food festival–elderly honeymooners, the Cajun Cuties, a mysterious stranger from Texas, a couple of hipster lovebirds, and a trio of Georgia frat boys. But when the elderly couple keels over dead within minutes of each other–one from very unnatural causes– Maggie and the others suddenly become suspects in a murder.

With the help of Bo Durand, the town’s handsome new detective, Maggie must investigate to clear her name while holding the family business together at the same time. And the deeper she digs, the more she wonders: are all of the guests really there for a vacation or do they have ulterior motives? Decades-old secrets and stunning revelations abound in Ellen Byron’s charming cozy debut, Plantation Shudders.

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First, the mystery works. I didn’t figure out the “whodunit” until the author wanted me to. I liked the fact that so many of the guests had secrets that Maggie ferreted out, but I never clued in as to which one was going to be the ‘tell’. I enjoyed all hoops the heroine had to jump through in order to investigate on her own. Another aspect of her sleuthing is her eventual trust in Bo. I was thrilled when he not only didn’t stop her from doing her own investigating, nor did he try to dissuade her, but instead treated her as a valuable informal partner. I enjoyed watching that trust grow.

The strongest element in the novel is Maggie and her family’s relationship. The author is able to bring a reader into the Crozat family home where they’re treated to some very down to earth daily activities. They may seem normal and routine but that’s part of the book’s charm. It’s that welcoming atmosphere that brings the guests to the B & B, and gets a reader to care about the Crozat family and creates a drive to continue reading until the amazing conclusion when all is revealed. I think the moving log is a great scene.

One thing I noticed was the importance of food and local dishes to the atmosphere of the book. Imagine my delight when I found recipes after the epilogue. There is one that I am surely going to try. It sounds delicious!!

My favorite parts of the story are whenever Maggie and Xander are together. I appreciated how the author handled that subject and I thought their final scenes together to be the sweetest things ever. It highlighted more than anything else in the story, just how wonderful a person Maggie really is. It’s that kind of insight that helped her solve the mystery, and it will surely be an asset when a future relationship develops with Bo. At least, I hope that’s what will happen. It sure was a nice touch in Plantation Shudders.

Cozy mystery fans need to give Plantation Shudders a try. It’s a fascinating read and I enjoyed watching Maggie try to solve the crimes. She’s a regular lady with a strong sense of family and history. Her character has a gentle strength which appealed to me. I also got a kick out of the wrap up epilogue which documented how the aftermath of the solving of the mystery affected the town and some of its residents. It was totally grin worthy.

Plantation Shudders is a great read and it gets a hearty recommend from me. Ms. Byron has a winner.

Mystic Mayhem by Sally J. Smith and Jean Steffens

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Mystic Mayhem by Sally J. Smith and Jean Steffens
Mystic Isle Series Book One
Publisher: Gemma Halliday Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Short Story (144 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Orchid

Melanie Hamilton is not your average artist. She brings home the bacon by inking tattoos at New Orleans’s Mansion at Mystic Isle, a resort in the middle of the bayou that caters to fans of the peculiar and paranormal, but her true passion comes alive when she volunteers restoring Katrina-ravaged landmarks. Between her day job, her restoration work, and selling her paintings in Jackson Square, Mel’s life is more hectic than Bourbon Street on Fat Tuesday. But when a guest of the resort, a millionaire’s widow, is poisoned, and Melanie’s close friend is arrested for the murder, things go from hectic to downright dangerous.

Mel joins forces with the resort’s delish manager, Jack Stockton, to prove her friend’s innocence. Soon they find themselves dealing with séances, secret passages, the ghost of the millionaire himself, gators, swamp rats, and a sinister killer who proves that not everything is what it seems in the Louisiana bayou.
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Come on along, and get your creep on.

Melanie Hamilton lives in New Orleans and splits her time between helping revive a chapel destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and the job that provides her with a living.

Mel is a tattoo artist at the The Mansion at Mystic Isle, an old plantation house which is decorated in a haunted house style and where guests dabble in the supernatural. The staff are actors whose roles included soothsayers, tattoo artists, magicians and even a doorman who looked like a monster and was called Lurch.

Mel drools over Jack, the new hotel manager but a murder interferes with their growing feelings. The hotel magician is arrested for theft and suspicion of murder, but Mel is determined to prove the man’s innocence.

I have to admit the setting drew me to read the book. I’ve always wanted to visit New Orleans and one day I’ll get there. Meanwhile books like Mystic Mayhem take me there without having to pay a huge air fare.

This is a book I couldn’t put down. As mentioned the location drew me in at first, then the wonderful cover, but the book contents held me there. The story flowed from one scene to the next without a hitch, merging together the paranormal aspect of the hotel, with the modern day aspects, for instance Lurch’s determination to take a selfie with anyone who came his way. Then there was the bayou, the ferry across to the hotel, Mel’s home and her walk through the city. I could almost taste the cajun food prepared by the hotel chef. There is no doubt this story is set in New Orleans.

Everything merged together to produce a wonderful book and at the end there was a treat – the first chapters of the second book in the series. Must watch out for this one. I have one word to say about Mystic Mayhem – fantastic!

Guarded by Carmen Fox

GUARDED
Guarded by Carmen Fox
The Silverton Chronicles
Publisher: Smart Heart Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Full Length (263 pages)
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Orchid

Voted BoM by LASR Readers 2013 copy

When everyone’s existence depends on the lies they tell, trust doesn’t come easy.
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Ivy’s neighbors have a secret. They aren’t human. But Ivy has a secret, too. She knows. As long as everyone keeps quiet, she’s happy working as a P.I. by day and chillaxing with her BFF Florian, a vampire, by night. When a routine pickup drops her in the middle of a murder, her two worlds collide. While Florian knows how to throw a punch, deep down he’s a softie. His idea of scary? Running out of hair product. It’s time Ivy faced facts. Even with a vampire on stand-by, one gal can only kick so many asses.

For help, she must put her faith in others. A human, who might just be the one. A demon, who will, for a price, open the doors to her heritage. And a werewolf, who wants to protect her from herself.

Torn between these men, Ivy must tread carefully, because one wants her heart, one wants her body, and one wants her dead.

Ivy is a private investigator with unusual neighbors, but then she’s not exactly normal herself. Her mother was a leanan sidhe and her father was a satyr. Her maternal grandfather was a brather demon also known as the Guardians. At the beginning of the book Ivy knows none of this but she has had her brush with the Fae when Lathan, kindlord of the demons, kidnaps her and tries to make her his slave. Two years later she escapes from Alethia and returns to the normal (well sort of normal) world where Ivy finds she can see auras which tell her the nature of the person.

Which brings us to the strange neighbors. A family of vampires, and a pack of wolves. Lucky for her they’re friendly. Now all she has to do is fight off Lathan’s demons who are trying to drag her back to the Alethia, find her boss and his daughter, and fight off the urge to make love to every man she sees.

I enjoyed this book from the paranormal scenes to the hot sexy bits. I found this to be one of those books I couldn’t put down. It had just the right level of hotness, mixed with a little bit of mystery and a good dose of comedy. Add to this the book was well written and edited and I believe it is a winner. From the title it looks like there’s more to come.

Shadows Strike by Dianne Duvall

STRIKE
Shadows Strike by Dianne Duvall
Publisher: Zebra Books/ Kensington Publishing Corp.
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Full Length (411 pgs)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

The Immortal Guardians protect the innocent in secret. Sometimes the secret gets out…

U.S. law enforcement agent Heather Lane can read minds. But not the future. The dream of battle and blood that recurs every night must be a fluke, some obscure terror from her own mind. What its significance might be, she can’t guess: an attack from seven psychotic vampires at once, only separated from nightmare by an eighth very different immortal. A handsome, brave man fighting at her side, a man she misses when she wakes.

Then the dream comes true. Heather is flung into a war between predators and protectors of humanity, the man from her dreams beside her again. Except now that she’s awake, she isn’t sure she can trust Ethan, or the shadow organization he represents. The U.S. military doesn’t trust either of them. But against an onslaught of evil like the one that’s coming, it will take everything they have just to survive…

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The story starts with Heather’s premonition of her meeting Ethan. Right off the bat, the author creates an unusual way for a heroine and hero to meet. It makes an indelible impression but it’s only the beginning. The revelations, the action, the worries, the fears, the determination to survive and protect, the wonder, the beauty, the sword fights, and the camaraderie that populate most chapters simply astound a reader. All those things and more provide depth and breadth to the plot and characters that are on stage. Shadows Strike is a big book, a busy book but time ceases to have meaning when a reader is immersed is this extremely well written and awesome novel. Please give yourself plenty of time to sit and enjoy because if you’re anything like me, you won’t want to stop; you won’t be able to, it’s that remarkable.

I honestly have no negatives to convey. This book is perfect. The dialogue, the descriptions and most of all, the surprises, totally and completely worked. Not all the surprises were good, some were downright deadly. Some took the main characters completely unaware and they fought for their lives, more than once. One completely floored me and greatly affected Heather and her relationship to Ethan. I never saw it coming.

The most adorable moments came from a tiny baby. I simply adored those scenes because Adira was the bright spot that brought charm and levity in an otherwise serious story. Her little character showed that no matter how gruff, tough and deadly the immortals are, they are also capable of tenderness, affection, gentleness and love and it was proved every time they held her, or protected her. For such a wee thing, she had a strong presence.

Heather and Ethan as a couple are wonderful together. I enjoyed their dynamics, their dialogue and how they fell in love. When they finally succumb to their physical passions, it was hot, delightful and well written. I was very happy to see Ethan finally in love.

Secondary characters abound and most are from the previous books. I’m really feeling sad for Aiden. I hope he gets his happy ever after soon. He’s such a good guy, he deserves it. Then again, so does Seth. But what kind of woman would be his equal? I hope someday to find out. As it is, every single character, including Zach and Lisette, play pivotal supporting roles that help support and foster Ethan and Heather’s growing relationship.

Shadows Strike proves once again that Ms. Duvall is a masterful storyteller. Its drama and suspense kept me on edge but the romance made me melt. I can’t get enough of this world that Ms. Duvall has created. When I am reading her books, I feel like I’m right there, and it’s exactly where I want to be.

The Charlemagne Connection by R. M. Cartmel

TCONNECTIOn
The Charlemagne Connection by R. M. Cartmel
Publisher: Crime Scene Books
Genre: Historical, Mystery/Suspense
Length: Full Length (328 pgs)
Rated: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snapdragon

The second in the Commander Truchaud series finds the diffident policeman unravelling yet another mystery in the little Burgundy village of Nuits-Saint-Georges. A young German tourist seems to have gone missing. But what at first appears quite a straightforward affair soon turns dark when a decomposing body is found in the woods.

Another episode of murder, mayhem, violence and villany in the orderly vineyards of Burgundy.

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Logical, likeable Truchard is an old-style detective. He gathers facts, searches, interviews; and best of all, reveals his process along the way.

It starts with a missing tourist; hardly a dark or sinister case. Truchard might find the case petty–along with some other minor crimes–but things ratchet up rather rapidly. In the midst of investigation, he also must cope with pressing family matters, and a very legitimate concern about his ‘real’ job back in Paris. various things seem to conspire to hinder investigation, from language issues to the intrusion of his personal life. Still, he approaches untangling the crime with tenacity.

The mystery is at once unpredictable and believable. It was, however, the very revealing details about Truchard himself, and his family, that really piqued my interest.

The village and vineyards provide a charming and familiar backdrop. The discussion and knowledge of winemaking, the patience, dedication and importance of it, both to those in the profession and those just in the area. Wine; making, understanding, enjoying/quality seems to unite the various inhabitants of the village. Characters, from the young constable to an array of others all are well developed, and Lenoir is even amusing.

R.M Cartmel, and more importantly, his detective, Truchard, have stepped firmly into the ranks of Hercule Poirot, Richard Jury and Roderick Allyn. Mystery fans absolutely must read…and if you aren’t a mystery fan, Cartmel might well convince you. He is a skilled writer and this latest is easily the match of his first. I for one cannot wait for the next.