Far Away Promises

Book Title: Far Away Promises
Author: Marianne Guenon
Publisher: eXtasy books
Publisher URL: http://extasybooks.net/
ISBN: 978-1-55487-097-4
Genre: M/M/Science fiction/Gay Romance
Nymph Rating: 3.5 nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Woodland Nymph

Varick is a painter, an artist; he’ll paint whatever you want on your home or business. For the most part, he enjoys his solitary life but finds himself missing his family at times. When he unexpectedly meets Cal, he’s not only surprised at the immediate attraction he feels towards the handsome man who has the most exquisite hazel eyes he’s ever seen but finds he has to look up into those eyes from his own six foot four frame.

Cal emanates dominance and Varick is more than happy to follow the seven foot adonis’ lead. Varick is a man who prides himself on his word and still regrets the one and only promise he was unable to keep. When Cal is suddenly called away, Varick promises he’ll wait for Cal’s return, but when his family beseeches him for help, will Varick be able to keep his promise to Cal or will he be forced to break another promise?

Far Away Promises is a very enjoyable well written book from first time author Marianne Guenon. Varick is an impossible-to-resist character you’ll find yourself empathizing with from the start. Cal is also a terrific character and even though the story is told from Varick’s point of view, the reader is definitely not left wondering as to his reasons for doing the things he does or of his feelings for our hero. When they’re together the air around them is combustible and did I say the sex is hotter than hot! I happily recommend this book to all fans of the m/m sci-fi genre.

Welcome to Beaconsfield

Book Title: Welcome to Beaconsfield
Author: D. J. Manly
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Publisher URL: http://www.extasybooks.net/
ISBN: 978-1-55487-072-1
Genre: Contemporary Gay romance
Nymph Rating: 5 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Scandalous Minx


Detective Gian Davinci survived sexual abuse at the hands of his guardian, thanks to his adopted parents noticing his cry for help. They supplied all the love, guidance and nurturing needed to help Gian grow into a well-adjusted man. Knowledge of the abusive treatment of children in the Beaconsfield detention center has caused Gian to go undercover and seek concrete evidence. He meets Cory, an eighteen year old transitioning out of the center. Cory will become the love of Gian’s life, a love that Gian is hard-pressed to elude. After the past pain inflected on both men, will they learn to open up and accept love?

D. J. Manly proves you can find love even under the most inhuman conditions. Cory suffered some type of abuse most of his life. If it wasn’t neglect from his mother, it was the use of his body by others. Gian didn’t have a pain free adolescence himself, but he did have people who loved him enough to remove him from harm. The connection was understandable since Gian had already walked in Cory’s shoes, even if it wasn’t the same degree of abuse. He understood Cory’s feeling and wanted him to do what was necessary to move forward. I felt sorrow for both men’s plights, but that didn’t last long when I noticed the strength they both possessed. Welcome to Beaconsfield is a love story about self-empowerment.

One Night in Memphis

Book Title: One Night in Memphis
Author: Allie Boniface
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Publisher URL: http://samhainpublishing.com/index.php
ISBN: 1-60504-063-0
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Nymph Rating: 5 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Sphinx Minx


Twenty-five-year old Dakota James makes bad, bad choices in men. Police Chief Sean McCabe is the latest example. He’s been promising to divorce his wife for a year now, and Dakota has finally had enough. She’s leaving Little Lakeside, New Hampshire for the weekend to visit her best friend Sarah Wiggins in Memphis. She wants to forget. But Sean tracks her down. And he turns out to be far more evil than Dakota ever would have guessed.

Ethan Meriweather’s wife Lydia has been gone for some time, but Ethan continues to mope and refuses all efforts to get him back in the dating world. Ethan is a California transplant to Memphis. He’s a sportswriter with a collection of good - if not always responsible – male buddies. He feels he can never recapture what he’s lost. Dakota worries she will never find a good relationship at all. Their paths cross, but will they ever really connect?

Author Boniface takes us on a compelling trip to Tennessee, chronicling chance meetings and new hopes hour by hour. It is interesting that the author considers Memphis more friendly and open than small town New Hampshire, even though the action on this night gets really violent.

Both Ethan and Dakota are the kind of people we’d all like to know. Friend Sarah is also likable and gets her own love story. Ethan’s friends are the kind of macho male bonders we’ve all met.

Boniface conveys some real danger and tension in this fast-paced tale, but shows astonishing and realistic growth in her characters. It’s not a sensual relationship yet, but it’s sweet, sensible and extremely entertaining.

This is an absorbing novel, nearly impossible to put down. It has coincidence, a car chase, corruption and cool piano music. I definitely plan to read more by Allie Boniface.

Deception

Book Title: Deception
Author: Sharon Cullen
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Publisher URL: http://samhainpublishing.com/
ISBN: 1-60504-075-4
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Nymph Rating: 5 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Rhiannon Nymph


After leaving Kate alone without a reason, Luke shows up on her door step bloody and pleading. He has no place else to go except back to the woman he knows he can depend on. Against her better judgment, Kate lets Lucas back into her home and her heart. The wounds of desertion are opened once more. She wants an explanation; she needs to know why he left. After patching up Luke’s wounds, a night of watching over him sleeping his nightmares reveal to her that there may be more to his disappearance than she knows; a lot more.

A story of love, survival and deceit, Deception grabs you from page one. Sharon Cullen creates a story that makes you care for her characters. She truly knows how to bring you into the action of the story. The story follows Luke and Kate from their bitter reunion to the rediscovery of the love they once had and lost, all while fighting for their lives.

Deception is a thrill ride you simply must encounter. If action and suspense is what your summer is missing, I suggest you pick up a copy of Sharon Cullen’s Deception.

Children of the Dust 3: Rebellion

Book Title: Children of the Dust 3: Rebellion
Author: Eve Vaughn
Publisher: Changeling Press
Publisher URL: http://changelingpress.com/
ISBN: 978-1-59596-666-7
Genre: Futuristic, Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi
Nymph Rating: 5 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Goddess Minx


Holly is so undecided as to what she should do about the Cyrellians underhanded dealings with humans that she is second guessing herself. When she finds out they are draining the earth of its resources, she starts doing everything possible to incriminate them with pictures. Believing that she isn’t beautiful affects her feelings for Chase and causes them some trying moments before coming to grips about them.

Chase is second in command of the Freedom Fighters and blows up buildings in the city where the Cyrellians are. From the first time he saw Holly, it was love and was not able to stop thinking about her. Now that he has rescued her from the asylum she was put into, his anger is because she does everything without thinking of the consequences to herself or others.

Children of the Dust 3: Rebellion was definitely thrilling to read and was everything I expected and more! The characters give off so much energy and the emotions they feel towards each other had an impact on me. From the big explosions to the very steamy hot sex, this book kept me wondering what would happen next between Chase and Holly and I was never disappointed me. Eve Vaughn has done a fabulous job of writing about a futuristic time and I look forward to the next book in the series.

Children of the Dust 2: The Factory

Book Title: Children of the Dust 2: The Factory
Author: Eve Vaughn
Publisher: Changeling Press
Publisher URL: http://changelingpress.com/
ISBN: 978-1-59596-665-0
Genre: Futuristic, Adventure/Action, Sci-Fi
Nymph Rating: 4 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Goddess Minx


Sydney knows that taking this job at Cryo Cor is what she has wanted and no one will stop her including a friend who objects fiercely. Now that she has sworn off men along comes Jack who turns her world upside down before she can get it back in control.

Jack and his Freedom Fighters have really made a difference with taking out strategic areas of the Cyrellians hold on the Earth people. While on reconnaissance, he spies Sydney who is talking to a friend about her job and knows he has to have her.

Children of the Dust 2: The Factory is beautifully written and continues on with an adventure for everyone involved. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Jack & Sydney’s hot attraction to each other and left me panting for more. Here again, I must say that Eve Vaughn has written about love, sex and violence to a point that keeps you waiting for the next book in the series to read.

Children of the Dust 1: The Zoo

Book Title: Children of the Dust 1: The Zoo
Author: Eve Vaughn
Publisher: Changeling Press
Publisher URL: http://changelingpress.com/
ISBN: 978-1-59596-664-3
Genre: Futuristic/Adventure/Action/Sci-Fi
Nymph Rating: 4 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Goddess Minx


Bella could not believe her good fortune with the Cyrellians help in getting her hearing back and would not let anyone bring her down about the job she was taking. When she found herself in a totally different place, she almost went into complete withdrawal until she met Dar.

Dar is a zookeeper who wants to get rid of his boss because he is a complete jerk when it comes to the animals. Once he made up his mind to have Bella, there was nothing stopping him except breaking the law.

Children of the Dust 1: The Zoo was a total pleasure to read and had me looking forward to the next book in the series. The descriptions of the characters were so detailed I found myself daydreaming about them. When the people of Earth are deceived by the aliens, things really change for everyone involved. Eve Vaughn has done a wonderful job of taking you away from reality to points unknown.

The Nameless God

Book Title: The Nameless God
Author: Emily Veinglory
Publisher: Loose Id, LLC
Publisher URL: http://www.loose-id.com/
ISBN: 978-1-59632-734-4
Genre: LGBT Medieval Fantasy Paranormal

Nymph Rating: 4.5 Nymphs
Literary Nymph Reviewer: Fire Nymph

When Fisk, a lowly peasant laborer, passes out and is visited by a God telling him that he needs to warn the Knight Protector of his impending death and save him, Fisk is unsure if he is going crazy or if the ‘dream’ was real. Fisk wakes up to find that he can barely move his legs.

Fisk struggles with the knowledge and wonders if he should reveal what he knows or just go about his mediocre life. When the Knight Protector Levin enters his room, Fisk feels obligated to divulge his information and tells the Levin. The Nameless God visits Fisk again to send him on a journey for him revealing more information. After every vision Fisk finds his legs grow weaker and weaker.

Levin finds Fisk intriguing and leaves to tell the Knight Protector Albreck of the peasant’s ‘dream’. He did not intend for Fisk to be right. Levin didn’t know that Fisk would be sent into exile. The Knight Protector Albreck is grateful for his life and safety, so he sends Levin to help Fisk on his journey.

Will Fisk make it to Cliff Haven without losing full mobility of his legs? Will he learn to trust in Levin? The only way to find out is to pick up The Nameless God.

This was a truly enjoyable read. However, there could have been a little bit more about the Knight Protectors. I was left unsure of whom they really were. Emily Veinglory did a fantastic job capturing the medieval past in this story. I enjoyed this book very much and can only wish for more of the characters. Fisk and Levin touched my heart. I highly recommend this read.

Crossing Borders

Book Title: Crossing Borders
Author: Z.A. Maxfield
Publisher: Loose Id
Publisher URL: http://www.loose-id.com/
ISBN: 978-1-59632-738-2
Genre: LGBT Erotic Contemporary
Nymph Rating: 5 Nymphs
Literary Nymph Reviewer: Mystical Nymph

Nineteen year-old Tristan is at a crossroads in his life, and he’s ready for a change. He’s been sexually active since he was fourteen, but it’s only after his last girlfriend dumps him that he realizes he’s not been honest with himself. Tristan doesn’t want Viper, he wants her brother instead. The decision made, he formulates a plan where he will learn just what he’s been missing and is anxious to experience; except things don’t go as Tristan anticipates. Instead of finding a willing gay stranger, he ends up catching sexy twenty-seven year-old, Officer Michael Truax, the policeman who gave him his first ticket for skateboarding without his protective helmet.

Michael Truax has been attracted to Tristan since he was seventeen. Due to Tristan’s age, Michael kept his distance from the young, sexy red-head, but that didn’t stop his bedroom fantasies. When he comes across Tristan trolling for gay men in Borders, he can’t believe his luck. There’s no way he’s letting Tristan leave with anyone but him and he sets out to tank any and all men who approach the young man. He figures Tristan must know what he wants, so after eating dinner together, Michael takes the younger man home with him. It’s only when they’re alone that they discover neither is entirely what the other was expecting, but is exactly what the other wants.

Crossing Borders was truly a pleasure to read from beginning to end, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Tristan is a joy…friendly, outgoing, a little reckless, sweet, and oh so sexy. He’s the type of person who’d make a great friend or neighbor and the inclusion of his widowed mother and siblings in the story was perfect. I loved that, despite revealing his gay lifestyle to his family, they stilled loved him and his younger siblings felt able to tease and laugh at him and Michael. In fact, the scene where Michael and his mother joined Tristan’s for Thanksgiving dinner was humorous and the dialogue so realistic, it had me laughing until I had tears in my eyes. It’s a rare author who is able to put so many different emotions into their writing and I’m pleased to say, Z.A. Maxfield has done it well.

There were serious moments in Crossing Borders as well. That the author didn’t trivialize Tristan’s realization that the long term plans for his life…wife, children, and grandchildren or even filing joint tax returns, changed once he accepted his gay lifestyle was thought provoking. Then let’s not forget when strong and caring, sexy hunk, Michael gets seriously injured while on duty and the hospital refuses to give Tristan information on his condition. These wonderfully written scenes revealed not only Tristan’s frantic fear of losing the man he loved, but Maxfield’s awesome descriptive talent as well.

There are really too many good things to say about this wonderful gay romance to adequately cover in a review, so my suggestion would be to buy this gem and read it yourself. For me, I’ll be putting this one in my keeper pile and checking out the author’s website for upcoming books.