Wanted: Boyfriend for Christmas by Kimberlee R. Mendoza

Title: Wanted: Boyfriend for Christmas

Author: Kimberlee R Mendoza

Publisher: White Rose Publishing

Publication Date: Nov 2008

ISBN: B002TG4M70

Genre: inspirational holiday romance

Length: novel

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Heat Level: Sweet

Other: n/a

Reviewer: Brecken Stevens

Date: January 13, 2012

Heather and Daniel have been friends for college, but nothing more. Heather decides to take her dating life in hand and submits a personal ad, hoping to find Mr. Right, or at least Mr. Take Home to Mom’s. Daniel thinks he’s in love, but when he proposes to his girlfriend, he is shot down, shattering his dreams. He agrees to help Heather with her family, but as ‘pretending’ hits a little close to truth, both will have to decide if they’re ready to look for something more than friendship.

Wanted: A Boyfriend for Christmas, I love the title and the personal ad element had some cute and telling moments for Heather. I felt like I’ve read this storyline a few times. I adore stories where love was there the whole time, but it was spoon-fed in this one. Still, a very sweet read with a light Christian aspect. A nice, feel-good story for the holidays. 

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Dragon Training 2: Dragon Fire by Emily Carrington

Title: Dragon Training 2: Dragon Fire

Author: Emily Carrington

Publisher: Loose Id

Publication Date: July 2011

ISBN: 978-1-61118-455-6

Genre: GLBT paranormal

Length: novella

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Heat Level: Erotic

Other: Oral, anal 

Reviewer: Brecken Stevens

Date: January 13, 2012

Luke and Mark are committed and hitting the hurtles that arise when lust turns to love. Luke wants to be more to Mark and Mark wants Luke to be happy. In their floundering the two must deal with Mark’s past, namely his family. With love in place, the rest of the relationship must cement, and if Mark can’t trust his lover, all the love in the world won’t make either of them happy.

I can honestly say I’ve never read anything like Dragon Fire. A gay, Jewish dragon who has trouble shedding and has deep seeded trust issues? To say Mark has a nicely complex personality is an understatement. My favorite parts of this story were the main characters. Luke and Mark are great characters who work well with and off of each other. It is erotic and harsh at times, but Mark and Luke made it so I couldn’t put Dragon Fire down. 

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Buttercream by Roslyn Hardy Holcomb

Title: Buttercream

Author: Roslyn Hardy Holcomb

Publisher: Loose Id

Publication Date: July 2011

ISBN: 9781611184402

Genre: Innerracial, contemporary

Length: novella

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Heat Level: Erotic

Other: Oral

Reviewer: Brecken Stevens

Date: January 13, 2012

Poppy’s free spirit and crunchy ways leave her feeling like she’s in the wrong time at moments. A hippy at heart, she channels her simple ways into her career as a baker. When Poppy meets Matthew she thinks he’s cute and the chemistry flairs, but they are completely different people. A soldier, Matthew’s lifestyle and beliefs are fundamentally different than Poppy’s. Explosive together, their lust has the potential to burn bright, but flair out before love can come.

Overall Buttercream had some really interesting and engaging characters. Some of the supporting staff have moments that hit harder than the leading characters.  Buttercream is definitely a hot story with a flair for making sweets even sweeter. Without giving any spoilers, I really don’t see these two living happily ever after though, and that left me not too thrilled with the ending. Readers looking for something sweet and sexy will really enjoy parts of this story.

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Loving a Fairy Godmother by Danielle Monsch

Title: Loving a Fairy Godmother

Author: Danielle Monsch

Publisher: Liquid Silver Books

Publication Date: 2011

ISBN: 978-1-59578-808-5

Genre: fantasy romance

Length: novella

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Heat Level: sensual

Other: n/a

Reviewer: Brecken Stevens

Date: October 12, 2011

When Tiernan made the wish to be a fairy godfather, he had no idea what it all meant. Reina, one of the head fairies never warmed up to Tiernan, but maybe that’s because she secretly lusted after the unorthodox fairy. Affirming Tiernan among the ranks of fairy godmothers will take him finally giving a human a happily ever after, but to get there will mean letting go of his own dissolutions and maybe even finding his own with the fairy godmother of his dreams.

The love story between Tiernan and Reina was the story to watch. I enjoyed watching their love grow despite their personal issues. I didn’t love the side story with Cinderella nearly as much as the main storyline. Overall, a very interesting and entertaining (oh and steamy) take on the fairy godmother idea. A great story for a reader looking for a steamy fantasy story with a familiar twist.

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Eighth Night by Sandra Sookoo

Title: Eighth Night

Author: Sandra Sookoo

Publisher: Liquid Silver Publishing

Publication Date: 2010

ISBN: 978-1-59578-768-2

Genre: holiday romance

Length: novella

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Heat Level: sensual

Other: n/a

Reviewer: Brecken Stevens

Date: October 12, 2011

Eli loves his big, Jewish family, but he needs breathing room. Maybe he’s taken too much in recent years, but after years of being smothered, the break has been a relief. Rachel is unhappy with life as a whole, and adding Christmas gives her something to truly focus her discontent on. When Eli invites Rachel into his world of Jewish tradition and family, he thinks he’s being nice to a girl down on her luck, never imagining how well Rachel will fit in, let alone how much he’ll enjoy her company. The two have a lot of differences and Rachel has a lot of baggage. To make a Hanukkah to remember, they’ll have to decide if they want to celebrate together. 

I enjoy Sandra Sookoo’s stories. They’re uplifting and sexy and let love grow. I like the Hanukkah theme and learning a little about the Jewish faith. Rachel’s attitude was such a downer. With so many aspects of faith playing here, I never felt like she got the real meaning of Christmas from a true Christian sense—but then, maybe she didn’t have to. I also felt like there were a lot of stereotypes in the Jewish family, though I enjoyed Eli’s mother and sister very much. Eighth Night is a good holiday story if a reader is looking for something a little different.

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Lost Wages of Sin by Rosalie Stanton

Title: Lost Wages of Sin: Sinners and Saints: Book 1

Author: Rosalie Stanton

Publisher: Liquid Silver Books

Publication Date: 2011

ISBN: 978-1-59578-824-5

Genre: paranormal romance

Length: 117

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Heat Level: sensual

Other: oral

Reviewer: Brecken Stevens

Date: July 19, 2011, 2011

 Ava is in a pickle. She shouldn’t have fallen for an angel, shouldn’t have shared her secret about being one of Lucifer’s embodied sins, and probably just shouldn’t have gotten out of bed that morning. On the run from demons and her former overlord Ava turns to Dante, a vampire and old friend for help and support. Always just buddies, she’s shocked when Dante reveals how much he cares for her and how much she reciprocates. With hell itself after them, Ava and Dante might not have the time they need to figure out just where they’re headed.

Ms. Stanton has a very creative little world going on here. I love the embodiment of the sins concept-lots of fun possibilities there. Dante and Ava are fantastic characters and I loved being their cheer leader as the story went on. It’s always tricky to write stories like this because the back story has been done in hundreds of different ways. I didn’t love the back story of hell and heaven in this one. It just hit on a few points I personally didn’t love because of my faith. Readers looking for a love story will find it here along with the start of a series that is sure to be a lot of fun.

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Last Minion Standing by Eve Langlais

Title: Last Minion Standing

Author: Eve Langlais

Publisher: Liquid Silver Publishing

Publication Date: 2011

ISBN: 978-1-59578-797-2

Genre: paranormal romance

Length: novella

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Heat Level: hot

Reviewer: Brecken Stevens

Date: October 12, 2011

 Sally doesn’t just need a sidekick, she needs a minion. A one of Hell’s enforcers, she does a great job and loves it, but could use someone to get her coffee and watch her back. When she meets Drake, the dragon shifter they grab each others attention. Drake has a lot on his plate. Not only is he trying to win Sally’s heart, he’s on his way to winning the reality show to be her minion.

Eve Langlais stories make me happy. They are edgy, a little raunchy and always good for a hot and naughty read. Last Minion Standing hits all the right notes for a great quick read. I loved the characters and the reality show aspect made me giggle. A great read.

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Phantom Lover by Kelly Wallace

Title: Phantom Lover

Author: Kelly Wallace

Publisher: Liquid Silver Books

Publication Date: 2011

ISBN: 978-1-59578-813-9

Genre: paranormal romance

Length: 88

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Heat Level: sensual

Other: n/a

Reviewer: Brecken Stevens

Date: July 19, 2011, 2011

 Killed one random evening in his new home, Ian Holt was far from done with his life. ‘The Voice” keeps him on earth in ghost form, but only in his home, which sits empty for years after his death. Paige Stanfield escaped an abusive relationship after a decade of marriage. She wants peace and to regain her confidence, but her ex-husband continues to terrorize her. Ian and Paige form a plan to keep the ex at bay, but when feelings grow between human and ghost, both know no good can come. What sort of future can Paige really have with a man who isn’t really there?

Phantom Lover takes a lot of classic ghost elements and adds interesting spins. I enjoyed the change up with the ex-husband and the abilities Ian had. The mother in law was also a really interesting character. For the most part the plot was very predictable and though there were some new things, I had moments of de ja vu reminding me of many other ghost lover type stories I’ve read in the past. Still, it was a nice story and hit all the right notes for someone looking for a sweet and sexy ghost story.

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Red’s Wolf by PJ Schnyder

Title: Red’s Wolf

Author: PJ Schnyder

Publisher: Decadent Publishing

Publication Date: Sept 2010

Genre: paranormal romance

Length: 70 pgs

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Heat Level: sensual

Reviewer: Brecken Stevens

Date: October 6, 2011

 Carri needed a change and decided to make that change by visiting her mother’s adopted family, who happen to be werewolves. Once there she finds herself enveloped in family and warm fuzzies, but while the males flirt and try to catch her attention, only Jason-a lone wolf-grabs her interest. With mysterious villains kidnapping and killing weres, everyone is watching out for one another, but Carri is the only one with Jason’s back.

I’m always a fan of ‘us against the world’ romances and Red’s Wolf had an element of that. Carri and Jason step on each others’ toes when they expose weaknesses, yet they also grow together because of those instances—a real growing in love that I always enjoy. This is a great story of love with a twist on the usual werewolf theme.

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Marking Time by Sandra Sookoo

Title: Marking Time

Author: Sandra Sookoo

Publisher: Liquid Silver Publishing

Publication Date: 2011

Genre: paranormal romance

Length: 58

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Heat Level: sensual

Other: n/a

Reviewer: Brecken Stevens

Date: October 6, 2011

 Ava is a werewolf who is unable to shift and completely dissatisfied with the way her life turned out. Sam is a phoenix days away from his last change, destined for death without a mate or offspring to carry on his legacy. A twist of Strange Hallow fate sends Ava back to the 1800’s where she and Sam meet and attraction sparks, but only time will tell if their love affair can last.

I enjoy Sandra Sookoo’s Strange Hallow world. I hope she has loads more stories in this world she’s built because amazing things can happen. I liked Ava’s sassiness and Sam’s old school nature that didn’t require him to be ‘alpha’ so much as strong. The story is well written and enjoyable; however, it did not end how I wanted it to-not at all. Still, I can’t complain because the story was well done and I liked the characters and can’t wait to pick up the next installment.

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Just The Way You Are by K.M. Daughters

Title: Just The Way You Are

Author: KM Daughters

Publisher: White Rose Publishing

Publication Date: 2011

Genre: inspirational Christian romance

Length: 90

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Heat Level: sweet

Other: n/a

Reviewer: Brecken Stevens

Date: August 18, 2011

 Noelle’s life changed when she stepped into a burning room to save her neighbor. Scarred and knowing she’s missing true joy in her life, she goes on a pilgrimage to Valselo, hoping to seek help from the Blessed Virgin and the ones she has spoke through in the past. She’s not asking for the scarring on her face to miraculously go away, she’s begging for the tools and acceptance she needs to have inner peace. Shane’s skills as a surgeon let him change people’s lives. In Noelle he sees someone who is truly worthy of his skill, someone completely beautiful on the inside who he wants to help. He goes to great lengths to arrange to operate on her face to help the outside match the inside, but in his zeal to fix Noelle, he misses enough to cost him a life time of happiness with Noelle.

The Christian slant on this is very Catholic, so an understanding of the Catholic faith helps. Noelle was fantastic, very well built and interesting. A fiction story just about her journey would have worked well. The romance element was weak and Shane and his faith never fully fleshed out. The descriptions of the location and the magic Noelle feels make Just the Way You Are a feel-good short read.

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