Review: Nine Lights over Edinburgh

Nine Lights over Edinburgh by Harper Fox and ~
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(Part of His For The Holidays Anthology)

Detective Inspector James McBride is riding high on the belief that he's about to bust a human-trafficking ring. But just five days before Christmas, his unorthodox methods catch up with him and his world comes crashing down.

McBride tries to concentrate on his new day job as security for the visiting Israeli ambassador. He even starts to feel a renewed sense of self-worth when the leader of the Israeli team, the aristocratic Tobias Leitner, takes a bullet for him in the line of duty.

This was a police action story with two gay protagonists. The mentioning of Christmas was reduced to informing the reader how time passed. Narration was good. It had a strong vibe like 'Life After Joe', by the same author.

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Review: Foolish Puckboy

Foolish Puckboy by Eden Finley and Iggy Toma, Alexander Cendese
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

ALEKS
After my divorce, I’m ready to have fun, date around, and not get into anything serious. Then I meet Gabe Crosby, superhero firefighter and a disgrace to the Crosby name. He doesn’t even like hockey! Gabe turns me inside out and upside down in the best possible ways.

GABE
When I meet Aleksander Emerson during an emergency call-out, there are three things that catch my attention: his sexy tattoos, his kind eyes, and his drunken offer to have my babies. He’s new to Seattle and recently divorced, so I take him under my wing–and under my sheets. I’m showing him what the world of hookups is like, only those hookups turn into sleepovers and dates and public displays of jealousy.
 

I loved the humor in book #3 although the plot was not always believable. This next book had some funny moments and was more realistic but it did not grasp me. I was not captivated by the question of how they would solve their differences.
The narration was good.

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Review: Common Goal

Common Goal by Rachel Reid and Cooper North
My rating: 3 of 5 stars 

Veteran goaltender Eric Bennett has faced down some of the toughest shooters on the ice, but nothing prepared him for his latest challenge—life after hockey. It’s time to make some big changes, starting with finally dating men for the first time.

Graduate student Kyle Swift moved to New York nursing a broken heart. He’d sworn to find someone his own age to crush on (for once). Until he meets a gorgeous, distinguished silver fox hockey player. Despite their intense physical attraction, Kyle has no intention of getting emotionally involved.

So, I relistened this book to find out why it did not keep me focused, the first time. This is a so called 'slow burn' but there is no tension. For some reasons the protagonists decide not to make a move and that is it, for most of the book. I like to get offered a reason to finish a book. I mean, other than the question if the couple ends up together, which some authors make tantalizing, there is nothing here.

The narration was good but the sound quality eas not perfect. I regularly heard a low vibration buzzing underneath the low vowels. 

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Review: Racing for the Sun

Racing for the Sun by Amy Lane and Nick J. Russo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Staff Sergeant Jasper "Ace" Atchison takes one look at Private Sonny Daye and knows that every word on paper about him is pure, unadulterated bullshit. But Sonny is desperate, and although Ace isn't going to take him up on his offer of "anything," that doesn't mean he isn't tempted.

Instead, Ace takes Sonny under his wing, protecting him when they're in the service and making plans with him when they get out. Together, they're going to own a garage and build race cars and make their fortune hurtling faster than light across the desert.

I liked the love and care in this book and how protective Ace was. I kept reading because I wanted to know more about Sonny, nothing else was interesting.
The narrator did a great job.

But I will not relisten to this audiobook. The ending did not satisfy me because I believe the San Diego police can easily solve that crime. They can investigate the last race and investigate the pet. Ace's believe SDPD will not be interested because the victim was a criminal, does not match with his statement they have a 97% crime-solving rate.

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Review: Behind the Curtain

Behind the Curtain by Amy Lane and Hugh Bradley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 

Dawson Barnes recognizes his world is very small and very charmed. Running his community college theater like a petty god, he and his best friend, Benji know they'll succeed as stage techs after graduation. His father adores him, Benji would die for him, and Dawson never doubted the safety net of his family, even when life hit him below the belt. But nothing prepared him for falling on Jared Emory's head. Aloof dance superstar Jared is a sweet, vulnerable man and Dawson's life suits him like a fitted ballet slipper. They forge a long-distance romance from their love of the theater and the magic of Denny's. At first it's perfect: Dawson gets periodic visits and nookie from a gorgeous man who “gets” him—and Jared gets respite from the ultra-competitive world of dancing that almost consumed him.

There was nothing wrong with this audiobook. All characters were nice, even the immature Dawson,  and the only trouble in the relationship was Jared always leaving and risking injury. And that was not enough. You can't write hundreds of pages just letting the question hang out there, without tweaking the tension. The narration was so good it kept me listening.

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Review: The Husband Hoax

The Husband Hoax by Saxon James and Teddy Hamilton, James Joseph
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Christian
Being invited to my cousin’s wedding really shouldn’t be such a big deal except, oh yeah, I haven't seen my family for a decade.
My parents turned their backs on me and I’ve done everything since to become successful and show them what they lost. Only, it’s kinda hard to be a success when you’re a walking trainwreck.
So I’m going to fake it.

Émile
One letter from my dearly departed grandfather, and suddenly I’m on a husband hunt.
He’s reworked his entire will so I’m set to inherit far more than I'm entitled to, and all because he’s asked me to use that money for “good”.
In order to get that inheritance, though, there’s one stipulation: marriage.

 

DNF at 30%
The fake boyfriend trope is not easy. How do you convince the reader this is a probable situation? Some authors pull it off, others seduce their readers to allow some fantasy in an otherwise realistic story.

In this case I enjoyed the beginning but when they started discussing marriage there was so much unclear, glossed over, left open, ignored or waved away, I could not take it any longer.

Pity, because I really enjoyed the narration.

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Review: Chase in Shadow

Chase in Shadow by Amy Lane and Sean Crisden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Chase Summers: Golden boy. Beautiful girlfriend, good friends, and a promising future. Nobody knows the real Chase. Chase Summers has a razor blade to his wrist and the smell of his lover’s goodbye clinging to his skin. He has a door in his heart so frightening he’d rather die than open it, and the lies he’s used to block it shut are thinning with every forbidden touch. 

He may have met Tommy Halloran in the world of gay-for-pay—where the number of lovers doesn’t matter as long as the come-shot’s good—but if he wants the healing that Tommy’s love has to offer, he’ll need the courage to leave the shadows for the sunlight.

 
I listened to the audio book after reading the e-book several times. It is a sad story about two young adults with mental health issues. The official girlfriend plays a big part in it and she was this really annoying perfect super feminine cutie. I disliked the ending, where the story tried to fulfill some family norms I could have done without.
The narrator is better, nowadays. In this production he sometimes swallowed the last word and he made the tone a bit too friendly. Long stretches were read in a nice matter-of-fact tone, while the text described drama and suffering.

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