m/m

Starstruck by L.A. Witt

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

22468702
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m
Series: Bluewater Bay #1
Published: 11/3/14
Reviewed by Anne
226 ebook pages

Levi is a retired action star who has spent his entire life in the closet.  His parents have made it clear they couldn’t accept him if he was gay and he’s sure that Hollywood couldn’t handle a gay action star.  That’s part of why he retired – he was tired of all the prying eyes and lying about himself.  But then the role of a lifetime lands in his lap.  It’s gritty and complex and pretty much the part he dreamed of playing when he was stuck in his action star roles.  Not to mention, it’s a recurring role on a tv series he loves and it’s being filmed in his new small town.  As if that weren’t enough, the director is a friend of his, and Carter Samuels, a younger actor Levi has admired is on the show and Levi would have a lot of screen time with him.  So, even though taking the role means agreeing to stay in the closet, Levi goes for it.  He didn’t  plan on the attraction between him and Carter.

If you follow my reviews, you know that I really enjoy a low conflict romance, where all the conflict is inner conflict.  It’s all about people building a relationship and learning to live together in a partnership.  Starstruck falls in this category.  The main conflict is if the guys will act on the attraction they feel.  And if they do, how will they handle it?  Will Levi come out?  Will Carter agree to keep their relationship a secret?  How will it work out?

Watching these guys fall for each other as friends was fun.  I enjoyed the other characters in the book, but appreciated that the focus was pretty tight on Levi and Carter.  I didn’t even suspect this was a series until I looked up information on Goodreads after I was done reading.  It didn’t feel like there was obvious sequel bait, so that was well done.

This is the first in a new series being published by Riptide Publishing.  The books will come out quickly – five stories are scheduled to be out by January – and will be written by a few different authors but set in the same world.  I really enjoyed Riptide’s Tucker Springs series written in the same way, so I’m looking forward to the rest of these stories!  They look like they’re all centered around a tv series based on a very popular book series about werewolves.  It’s easy to picture and that was an interesting aspect to this story as well.

I’d highly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys m/m romance!  I can’t wait to read the next one!  This is one of a few books I’ve read with Hollywood famous characters.  Do you have any to recommend?

Stand By You by A.M. Arthur

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

22852756
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m
Series: Belonging #3
Published: 10/20/14
Reviewed by Anne
189  pages

Romy was in a terribly abusive relationship.  He finally got out and is living with some new friends and working in their coffee shop.  He’s still very skittish and trying not to panic over every little thing.  Brenden is the bright spot in Romy’s life.  Romy’s pretty sure Brenden is straight, but it doesn’t really matter because what he most needs is a friend, and that’s what Brenden is for him.   And even if Brenden was gay, Romy knows he deserves someone better than Romy.  He deserves someone who isn’t such an emotional mess and who hasn’t lived such a rough life.

Brenden knows he’s gay, but he’s not sure how his family would take it, so he’s not out to anyone.  He knows he’s falling for Romy, though.  He wants to protect Romy and build him up and make him smile.  He’s just a janitor who lost his football scholarship, though, and he knows Romy deserves more.  He’s happy being friends with Romy, though.

This whole story made me smile gooey happy smiles.  Well, ok, not the whole story, because Romy’s abuse history is just awful.  But I give the book bonus points for giving what I think is a realistic portrayal of how that abuse would affect a person, and also for giving a realistic view of what it would take to overcome that past.  But the parts not about the abuse, the parts where Romy and Brenden make each other happy as friends and inch their way toward more?  Those parts were delightful!

This book is third in a series.  I read the first one and enjoyed it, but it was long enough ago that I don’t remember it well at all.  So I essentially read this book as a stand alone.  There was a little confusion for me in the beginning of the book, because both couples from the first book have large supporting roles.  Keeping everyone straight got a little confusing, but it really wasn’t important.  The story was pretty focused on Romy and Brenden, and it worked fine for me to just consider everyone else as an interchangeable “friend” for the purposes of reading.

There is a bit of a suspense angle to the story, but I was ok with it, which means it was pretty light suspense.  I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys m/m, though it might be triggering for some due to Romy’s abuse history which is shared as a memory.

Dance With Me by Heidi Cullinan

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

11488260
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m
Published: 7/6/11
Reviewed by Anne
240 ebook pages

Ed is adjusting to his new life just fine, thank you very much!  His semi-pro football career may have been ended by an injury, but he’s just fine with his desk job and teaching weight lifting at the community center.  The only thing that bothers Ed is the obnoxiously loud music from the aerobics class that Laurie teaches.

Laurie’s career as an acclaimed dancer veered off track a few years ago, but he’s totally fine with the new life he’s built.  Despite his undeniable talent, he’s never appeared back on stage.  He’s very, very happy teaching dance to kids and aerobics at the community center.  If only Ed would stop bothering him about his music!

When Ed crashes Laurie’s class yet again complaining about the music, Laurie is surprised when Ed offers to do anything to get him to give it a rest.  Laurie surprises himself by asking for help with the ballroom dance class he’s teaching.  When the two of them start to enjoy each other’s company they start to realize they’ve been lying to themselves about how fine they are.  Together and separately they have to work through their issues.

I went into this story expecting something lighter.  Because it involved dance, and because I’d just read a couple lighter Cullinan books (Love Lessons & Fever Pitch) I just expected this to be a fun and simple read.  It turned out to be heavier and more complex, and I’m so glad it did!  This is definitely not just a love story, but almost a coming of age story for two men well past 20!

Ed was pretty unaware of himself and in denial about his injury and life changes.  Cullinan did such a good job writing this.  Ed’s also a pretty straight forward kind of guy, and that somehow makes the way he lies to himself more wrenching.  Laurie seems to be more prone to drama at the core, but is in a more emotionally stable place in his life.  They were very good together!

I really enjoyed this story!  I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys m/m romance!