M/M Monday – Good Boy by Anne Tenino

Good Boy (Theta Alpha Gamma, #4)
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary, M/M
Series: Theta Alpha Gamma #4

Published: 10/7/13
Reviewed by Anne
83 pages
 
Brad (a college student) and Sebastian (a grad student) have been together for 9 months now.  They love each other very much, but Sebastian’s writing his thesis and stressed to the max.  Unfortunately this shows itself in him taking Brad and everything he’s doing for granted.  This is especially concerning because Seb and Brad have a D/s relationship.  It usually works very well, but when the story opens, it’s not working, and in fact, Seb is feeling entitled and Brad is feeling like a pet begging for attention.  
 
Tenino does such a good job writing this initial set up, I truly wondered how she would redeem Sebastian!  In the end though, I really enjoyed reading a dom who was NOT psychic!  It was interesting to see them work through things.  Oh, and I should mention it was super hot, too!  Their relationship is presented as one that has always been physical, so it’s no surprise that working through their issues involves more sex than it does talking.  The sex and the talking were both well written, though and I enjoyed the whole thing!
 
This book is the 4th in the series and only the 2nd I’ve read.  It’s even a novella follow up to the first book in the series, (Frat Boy and Toppy) which I haven’t read.  All this means that I can testify that Tenino’s writing can stand up to being read out of order.  I really enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more!

Blue Lines by Toni Aleo

Blue Lines (Assassins, #4)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Assassins #4
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay

Piper Allen loves Erik Titov. She has wanted him for a long time. She knows the kind of man he is. He’s a womanizer through and through. She can’t seem to get over him, maybe because she sees him constantly. Being that he is her brother-in-law’s brother, it adds to the trickiness of her feelings. Then one night, they go home together from a bar and have wild hot sex. She never hears from him again. Then she realizes she’s late and takes a test where it comes up blue lines or positive. She tried to get a hold of him but he never called her back. So at six months pregnant she goes to his home and drops the news on him.

I really liked so much about this book. I loved the depth of Piper’s love for Erik. I loved seeing the characters from the other books. I loved Erik’s parents. I loved the fluidity of the writing. My big problem was Erik. He was a complete douche bag. On every level. So very selfish and cruel. Through almost 90% of the book I felt he was beyond redemption. Really. I truly wanted Piper to move on from him. I know his backstory and as horrific as it was, I just couldn’t handle his cruelty. It kept this book from being a five star read for me. I don’t think I have ever read almost a whole book hating the main character. When I was done reading, I only barely liked him.

Toni Aleo is my favorite new author of the past year. I love her books and can’t wait to read them. She wrote an almost completely beyond redemption lead male character and made you at least like him. She is a true writing talent and an auto-read for me. Her books are always a bit of an emotional roller coaster, which I love. The acknowledgement section at the end of the book broke my heart. I’m so very sorry for your loss, Mrs. Aleo as I am also a motherless daughter.

Temporary Arrangement by Karen Erickson

Temporary Arrangement (The Renaldis, #0.5)
Grade-C
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-The Renaldi’s #0.5
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
46 pages

Solid start to what I think will be a fun series. This is a prequel kind of. More of a teaser really.

Matteo Renaldi is in some way in the fashion industry. Not really sure exactly what he does though. His wife died a few years ago but it wasn’t a happy marriage. His mom is helping him find a nanny so she can go home to Italy. She runs into Paige Stewart at a coffee shop and after they talk she offers Paige the job. That was a little sudden for me.

Paige is a small town girl now living in New York. She was just fired from her previous nanny job because the husband tried to force himself on her. She’s down on her luck and is grateful for the position she gets from Matteo.

There was a self pleasuring scene and an almost sex scene in this short story that were pretty steamy. I will read more of this series because I’ve got to see how their story ends.