Beyond Pain by Kit Rocha

We generally only put up one review each day, but I loved this book so much (and I don’t want to shuffle the rest of our reviews!) so I’m putting it up as a second review today!  One of my favorite reads of the year so far!  ~Anne
Beyond Pain (Beyond, #3)

Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno+
Kink Level: Moderate Kink (menage, flogger)
Genre: Dystopian, Futuristic
Series: Beyond #3
Reviewed by Anne
247 pages

Six was abused and discarded by the former leader of Sector 3. Bren has been looking after her since she first arrived. He’s gets her like no one else in the O’Kane gang does. And because he gets her, he knows he can’t make a move until *she* is ready. She’s got to heal some and find the parts of herself she lost in Sector 3. This book is the story of what happens when Six is ready, and it’s awesome!

For all the action that happens and the continuing story arc of the politics in Eden and the sectors, this is a low conflict story (my favorite!) about the developing relationship between Six and Bren. And, oh, is that relationship sweet and hot!

I’ll get this out of the way right away… sex between Bren and Six is scorching. There’s one particular scene that involves the two of them watching Lex, Dallas, and Rachel… I have no words. There are also a lot of scenes between just Bren and Six and I love that you can see their relationship grow with each encounter.

As much as I liked the sex, I think my favorite part of the book was the strength shown by all the O’Kane women, but especially Six and Lex.

“There was a secret in these women that went deeper than the ink around their wrists, and sometimes she thought if she watched for long enough, she could unlock it for herself.” (p.8)

Lex has been strong throughout the series. We get to watch Six come into her own. We get to see how the O’Kanes truly value each member for the assets they bring to the gang. So when Six figures out what she wants to do, even though it’s not something an O’Kane woman has done before… well, they stand behind her because they recognize it’s something she would excel at. And this happens more than once! Very cool.

When you take this gang and it’s leadership that value women on an equal level with their men, and then you add in the sexual freedom and openness… well it’s just awesome! Seriously , this is a world where it’s ok for a woman to want sex, and to want as much of it as she’d like. No slut shaming. It’s incredible! And the writing is so strong, it’s easy to believe in it.

Another thing I loved in this story is that when one of them goofs up and things go bad between them, they both are hurt but strong, and it’s not easy for them to get back together. Because the characters feel so real, their hurts feel real and it takes some work for them to repair their relationship.

This is book 3 in the series, and it would be best if the books were read in order. (Start with #1, Beyond Shame.) Each book is the story of the main couple, but there are several story arcs going on, and the book will be appreciated so much more if you’ve read the others.

If I have any disappointments in this book it’s that there were a couple scenes I’d hoped to see in this book that weren’t there. [ we didn’t get to see Six’s induction ceremony (drinking in) and we didn’t get closure with Miller yet (hide spoiler)] I hold out hope that we’ll see both these things in another book, though! I’m also excited to learn more about other characters. Emma and Noah, of course, along with the whole tangle of Rachel/Cruz/Ace. There’s also a stripper in Sector 3 who Six pointed out as being really intelligent. I want more of her!

I highly recommend this series!!
 

Masters At Arms by Kallypso Masters

Masters at Arms (Rescue Me, #1)
Grade-A
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Mild Kink
Series-Rescue Me #1
Genre-Contemporary Military BDSM Romance
Reviewed by Kay
166 pages

Warning to those that don’t know, this is a prequel to the series. I didn’t have a problem with that though. I found it engaging, well written and enthralling. I can’t wait to read this series!

This story is done in parts but a summary is that these three men joined the military for various reasons and suffered tragic losses, both military and personal. They formed a bond serving together and continued that bond after their tours were over. They realized they all had Dom tendencies and opened a fetish club in Denver. There are more characters to be introduced as the series goes on I think.

I don’t want to give anything away so that’s all I can say. Read this series and become addicted like me. My only thought is that I hope I can handle all the BDSM that’s surely coming my way. Oh, and I wish Marc’s story wasn’t first because I really want to read about Damian and Adam first. I guess I better warn the hubby about the money we will be missing when I buy them.

Thanks to Kate and my friend Mindy for suggesting this series and for warning about what’s to come.

M/M Monday – Sweet Young Thang by Anne Tenino

Sweet Young Thang (Theta Alpha Gamma, #3)

Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m, college age
Series: Theta Alpha Gamma #3
Reviewed by Anne
414 pages on my ereader; Goodreads says 329 pages
 
This book was funny and sweet and I didn’t want to put it down!

Collin is one of the leaders of his frat, which recently publicly announced their acceptance of gay/bi brothers.  Collin is also in the closet, for the most part.  He doesn’t seem worried about his frat brothers’ acceptance, but he knows his Uncle Monty, the father figure in his life, will not be accepting of him if he came out.

Eric is a firefighter paramedic.  He responds to an explosion and fire at the frat house and is attracted to Collin, who keeps his cool under pressure.  When he sees Collin again, he flirts with him and Collin flirts back.  It’s not long before the two of them hook up.  (And that’s one very hot night!) Both of them are interested in more, but step carefully, not sure if the other would want anything to do with them.

While the fire and an attempted bombing at the frat house drive the storyline, we get to watch Eric and Collin fall for each other and work through issues that come up.  And it’s all so very sweet and hot and good!

It surprises me that I am ok with things in the m/m genre that I know would bother me if the book was m/f.  But it just doesn’t.  In this case it’s Collin’s age (21).  Fifteen years (36/21) is a really big age difference between Collin and Eric.  It’s almost icky.  By the end of the book I really didn’t have a problem with it.  Collin was really mature and handling a lot in his life, so he seemed older than 21, especially compared to some of his frat brothers.

Oh, and let’s talk about the frat brothers.  I loved them!  They provided a great comedic backdrop that kept the story from getting too heavy or emo.  The good hearted but clumsy attempts of the straight brothers to support their gay brothers was hilarious and sweet.  They came across as pretty dumb at times, but I was willing to accept that.  I’m not sure how realistic it is, but I’ll suspend disbelief in favor of the humor in this case.

This was the 3rd book in this series, but it stood alone very well. I hadn’t read the first two and had no problems keeping up.

I’m adding Anne Tenino to my list of m/m authors I love! I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes m/m, but especially those who liked College Boys by Daisy Harris.

 
One final thought.  I really disliked this cover.  Then I read the book and it fits the story, which makes me hate it less, because those purple underwear and taking pictures feature in the story, but still not my favorite cover.