ARC #REVIEW The Heart As He Hears It by A. M. Arthur #mmromance #romhero #disability

Genre: M/M Romance, part of Perspectives series

Release Date: April 19, 2016

Publisher:  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Length: 253 pages

Description: Love can slip through the smallest crack in the door.

While most of his friends have moved on to “real” careers, Jon Buchanan is content skating through life as a part-time waiter and gay porn star. Firmly single thanks to a previous relationship disaster, he focuses his spare time on Henry, a dear friend dying of cancer.

And with Henry’s happiness paramount, Jon is on a mission to help Henry meet his recently discovered grandson.

Isaac Gregory hasn’t set foot outside for the past year. He has everything he needs delivered, and his remaining family knows better than to visit. When a complete stranger shows up claiming to be his grandfather—with a distractingly handsome younger man in tow—his carefully structured routines are shaken.

Despite his instant attraction, Jon senses Isaac is too fragile for a relationship. Yet tentative friendship grows into genuine companionship. And when Henry’s health begins to fail, they realize Fate brought them together for a reason.

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OUR REVIEW

One of the things I love most about Arthur's stories is that she doesn't shy away from making heroes of the most unlikely characters, and with The Heart As He Hears It, she doesn't disappoint. 

Jon Buchanan is a porn star with body image issues brought on by a bad relationship with a controlling and cruel boyfriend. Issac is a man who's past traumas have left him hearing impaired and agoraphobic. What an unlikely pair! And one that pulled at my heartstrings. How could I not be moved by Jon's kindness and loyalty or by Isaac's sad story and his awakening desire for a better life?

The one task he hated most was the simplest and hardest to do--walking the trash and recycling bags to the curb the morning of pickup. The trip to the sidewalk was twenty feet, and the task took less than forty seconds, because he ran, but for those forty seconds he was exposed. Daylight or not, he had no protection from the outside world, and he always spend the next half hour sick and shaking.

Good thing he didn't have to do that until Thursday.

The world Isaac has built himself is rigid with routine, safe in its regularity. Every aspect of his day is regimented, scheduled, and in lock-step. But all that changes on the day Aunt Nerina shows up on his stoop accompanied by an older man, who claims to be his grandfather, and a gorgeous guy who has suddenly has Isaac thinking all kinds of new thoughts.  

The beautiful man who'd yet to speak or be introduced was even more beautiful up close. He was as tall as Isaac, with the muscle definition of someone who spent a lot of time exercising. Maybe he owned one of those machines Isaac frequently saw advertised during daytime television programs. He smelled like something spicy and warm, probably cologne.

Isaac enjoyed the scent very much.

It was fun to see Jon and Isaac's relationship evolve into something more, which is quite a challenge because Isaac is a virgin, very naive about sex and love, while Jon is a porn star. The way Jon handles Isaac's questions, with gravity and a touch of humor, is really endearing. 

Although I didn't feel as attached to Isaac and Jon as I did to Gabe and, especially, Tristan (The World As He Sees It), I did love their story, the way Jon slowly made a place for himself in Isaac's overly-structured world, how he became Isaac's "safe" place. I also loved how Isaac helped Jon to see himself as he really is and not how others have made him to feel. Their affection was sweet and genuine, and the sex when it comes is great!

If you love damaged heroes who make each other whole again, you'll love The Heart As He Hears It.

OUR RATING: 4 stars

(05/17/2016)

Check out our 5-star review of The World As He Sees It here.

#REVIEW The World As He Sees It by A.M. Arthur #mmromance #romhero

Genre: M/M Romance, part of the Perspectives series
Release Date: October 20, 2015
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Length: 278 pages

Description: Love knows no limits…but fear could keep them from seeing it.

Gabe lives a double life. As Gabriel Henson, he works multiple jobs to support his remorseless, alcoholic mother. As Tony Ryder, he does internet porn for extra cash and regular safe sex without complications.

Yet when he encounters a scared young man freaking out in a night club, he’s compelled to reach out. Ever since then, the memory of that young man has haunted him.

Tristan Lavelle lives his life thirty minutes at a time. After a traumatic brain injury three years ago, he gets through his day recording his life in spiral notebooks and sticky note reminders.

A month after Tristan’s embarrassingly public meltdown, another chance meeting with Gabe sparks a warm, emotionally fulfilling email relationship. Both men crave more, but fear of the next step stands between them.

Until Tristan gets the opportunity to take part in a clinical trial that could improve his memory—if the side effects don’t kill him. But for Tristan, the possibility of a real life with Gabe is worth any risk…


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OUR REVIEW

I absolutely LOVED this book. From the first page to the last page, I was captivated by Tristan and Gabe's story. But to be honest, I've been awaiting Tristan's story since first reading The Truth as He Knows It (Perspectives Book 1), where we first meet Tristan and Gabe.

Three years earlier, Tristan and his best friend Noel were gay-bashed, leaving Tristan with a traumatic brain injury that causes him to forget everything after thirty minutes. Fortunately, he at least remembers everything prior to the accident, so he remembers Noel, the only person in his life who has stuck by him.

Gabe and Tristan meet one day when Tristan, desperate to get laid, escapes his adult care facility and ends up at Big Dick's, a bar owned by Gabe's two dads. Thirty minutes later, when Tristan loses his memory and has a meltdown, Gabe is the one who helps him. 

Big Dick's. Big Dick's. Big Dick's. Big dicks. Big dicks. Big--why am I thinking about big dicks?

Tristan Lavelle blinked out the windshield at the scenery going by, somehow both familiar and new. He wasn't driving, which was a good thing. He hadn't driven a car in a long time. Since the accident. The accident was why he couldn't remember something he'd been thinking about... something. Dicks?

This encounter sets the stage for The World As He Sees It. Gabe has been shooting porn as a way to pay the bills for his alcoholic mother, a woman who can't see her son's dedication to her, but has no trouble spending all his money on things she neither wants nor needs. 

Tristan may have a faulty memory when it comes to right now, but he has no trouble knowing what he wants, and that something is Gabe. The brain trauma has taken a lot from him, but not his sex drive. Nor his funny quirkiness. 

"Hey, you guys made it," said a sexy, sultry voice.

Tristan glanced over his shoulder to see who the voice had spoken to, only to find himself staring into a pair of kind, dark eyes. Kind, dark eyes belonging to a stunningly handsome face. Black hair. Tan skin. Tall and well-built. a walking wet dream who was smiling like they were old friends.

Holy fucking hell, he's gorgeous.

"Hey, Gabe," Shane said.

Gabe.

Those kind, dark eyes never broke from his, and Tristan couldn't look away. Gabe was a stranger, yet somehow familiar.

His eyes. The eyes I see. We've met.

Despite being in porn, Gabe is sweet and giving, and exactly what Tristan needs to regain the fun-loving and impulsive side of himself. 

Tristan tilted his head in an assessing way. "I don't do this a lot."

"Do what?"

"Talk about myself with complete strangers."

"Well, we're not complete strangers." He glanced at the clock above the bar. "We've known each other at least five hours now."

Tristan chuckled, a soft, raspy sound that sent tingles down Gabe's spine. "So I can upgrade you to incomplete stranger?"

This time Gabe laughed. "I don't mind, if it means we get to keep talking."

"Definitely. I don't think I've made very many new friends these last few years."

"Then consider one made."

"Excellent. As long as you're not offended when I forget your name in a little while."

The author does a fabulous job in making the reader experience the world as Tristan does--in bits and pieces, some familiar, most not. Our hearts ache with his and Gabe's each time he forgets someone or has to consult one of his many notebooks.

But we also feel their joy when the trial drug starts to improve Tristan's memory, and we feel their fears that the drug could fail. I loved how we faced these fears with Tristan and Gabe, how we supported them through the setbacks and celebrated their successes.

The World As He Sees It is a story of unconditional love, of overcoming challenges, and of being grateful for what we have. Everyone should read it!

OUR RATING: 5 stars
(04/30/2016)

ARC REVIEW: Make Me Whole by R.C. Matthews #menage #disability #romhero

ARC REVIEW: Make Me Whole by R.C. Matthews #menage #mfm #romanticsuspense #disability

Standalone

Publisher: Loose ID

Release: June 1, 2015

For Jake Hanson, it was the perfect solution to a deep darkness. The accident took more than the use of his legs; it took everything that made him feel like a man. He needs their ménage. It puts him on the path to healing. With Jessie and Chad, he can conquer anything...he thinks.

Jessica Hanson did it all for her husband, to make him feel whole again. She didn’t want a threesome. At least, that’s what she believed in the beginning. But when she realizes that she can’t imagine life without both her husband and his best friend by her side, she’ll question everything she thought completed her.

FBI agent Chad Wilson, couldn’t believe he agreed to his best friend’s proposal. There were too many things beyond his control that could go wrong. But when things go right, he is forced to admit to the best months of his life. Yet on the heels of his greatest joy comes his greatest fear. He’s endangered them all, and the clock is ticking.

They’ll push the boundaries and blur the lines, coming face to face with one of life’s hardest truths: Sometimes to become whole, you have to break.

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1USVEqO

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1K2Yofj

OUR REVIEW 

Ménage romance with a twist! I’m not typically a huge fan of M/F/M, because I find it hard to believe that men who enjoy ménage, don’t ever touch the other man or get turned on by him. This book, however, changed my mind.

Jake is wheelchair bound. He misses the days of wild sex with his wife. Doing it standing up, against a wall, bent over a desk. He’s bored with their sex and with his life in general. This exchange with the therapist is poignant and, for me, helped me to truly understand why Jake is so unhappy.

“Don’t you get it? This isn’t just about me. Jessica’s life was forever changed too. Our sex life isn’t the same. It will never be passionate and wild again. It’s eating me up inside, knowing that it’s all my fault.”

When his therapist misunderstands something Jake says and suggests a ménage, the wheels in Jake’s brain start spinning. At this point, Jake is looking for a surrogate lover for his wife. Someone who will be his legs. Who will give her the spontaneous, passionate love-making she deserves. And who better to do it than the man he trusts most in the world? Chad, his longtime best friend, is, of course, first horrified by the idea, but after careful consideration and seeing how much the idea is brightening his friend up, he agrees to a three-month trial, provided that Jessica is fully onboard.

What follows is a loving journey of growth for all three of these fascinating characters. Having Chad in the mix sparks a new enjoyment in sex for both Jessica and Jake. Jessica and Chad have promised to keep the ménage all about sex. But can they keep their promise?

Over the months that follow, not only does Jake’s confidence in the bedroom increase, but also his confidence in other aspects of his life. As the title says, the ménage brings him to feel whole again, and if for that reason alone, this book is inspiring.

The suspense thread in the story is also thrilling. It adds a touch of urgency and danger to an otherwise fun contemporary erotic romance that takes it over the top to garner full marks from us. When all hell breaks loose, the love and loyalty these characters have for each other shines clear and bright. We hope that this is only the first book in a series, because we’d love to hear more about this awesome trio of characters!

OUR RATING: 5 stars!

(07/13/2015)