Where Fiction and Reality Meet
Title: Curio Author: C.S. Poe Publisher: Self-Published Length: 60 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Curio is chock-full of warmth and smiles. It's a short, sweet, and utterly charming story that shines—not despite its length but because it packs so much heart into so few pages. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: Llewellyn... Continue Reading →
Title: Teacher of the Year Series: Teachers in Love: Book One Author: M.A. Wardell Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 347 Pages Category: Rom-Com, Contemporary Romance Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: If you're in the mood for a book that might make you catch a case of the squishies, with minimal angsties, and brings a smile... Continue Reading →
Title: Upside Down Author: N.R. Walker Narrator: Glen Lloyd Publisher: Self-Published Run Time: 6 hours and 17 minutes Category: Contemporary Romance, Asexual Romance At a Glance: Upside Down—and the audiobook in particular—is easily one of my favorites of the year. I certainly hope Glen Lloyd gets more gigs, because he was such a pleasure to... Continue Reading →
Title: With a Kick: Collection No. One Series: With a Kick Author: Clare London Narrator: Joel Leslie Publisher: Self-Published Run Time: 8 hour and 40 minutes Category: Contemporary At a Glance: If you like stories that feature characters whose lives and relationships are relatable, complicated but still sweet and enjoyable, brought to life by the... Continue Reading →
Title: Vampire with Benefits Series: Supernatural Selection: Book Two Author: EJ Russell Publisher: Riptide Publishing Length: 300 Pages Category: Urban Fantasy, Comedy At a Glance: Vampire With Benefits is a delightfully droll romance with just enough suspense and plot twists to keep the reader fully engaged. Reviewed By: Sammy Blurb: A match between a vampire... Continue Reading →
Title: Building Forever Series: This Time Forever: Book One Author: Kelly Jensen Publisher: Riptide Publishing Length: 337 Pages Category: Contemporary At a Glance: Building Forever is a really lovely romance that promises hope and love and reminds us that family is more than just those you are born with, but also that which you create... Continue Reading →
Title: Three Days in Jackass Flats Author: Rhae Camdyn Publisher: MLR Press Length: 228 Pages Category: Contemporary, RomCom At a Glance: Despite the humor, a cast of interesting characters, and interesting world-building, this was a little too over the top in too many areas for me. Reviewed By: Lindsey Blurb: On the surface, Jackass Flats... Continue Reading →
Title: Full Disclosure (Real Estate Relations: Book One) Author: DJ Jamison Publisher: Self-Published/Kindle Unlimited Length: 278 Pages Category: Contemporary, Romantic Comedy At a Glance: If you are willing to throw believability out the window, and just roll with it, this little romantic suspense is recommended. Reviewed By: Lindsey Blurb: A new real estate agent gets... Continue Reading →
Title: Femme Author: Marshall Thornton Narrator: Joel Leslie Publisher: Self-Published Run Time: 6 hours and 23 minutes Category: Romantic Comedy At a Glance: Lovely romance, hilarious comedy, and a truly satisfying ending. And Joel Leslie is transcendent. Reviewed By: Cassie Blurb: Queeny cocktail waiter Lionel wakes up to find himself in bed with Dog, a... Continue Reading →
Title: Texting, AutoCorrect, and a Prius Author: M.A. Church Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Length: 121 Pages Category: Contemporary, Humor At a Glance: While the book was a miss for me, because both characters had flaws that were too big for me to ignore, I’ve heard others who found it funny and pleasurable to read, so dig... Continue Reading →
Title: Sugar and Shakedowns Author: Peter Styles Publisher: Self-Published Length: 148 Pages Category: Contemporary At a Glance: My one and only complaint about Sugar and Shakedowns is that it just isn’t long enough, but Styles has such a talent for creating lovable characters and, maybe most important of all, making me laugh, which went a... Continue Reading →
Title: Whiskey Business (States of Love) Author: Avon Gale Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Length: 104 Pages Category: Contemporary At a Glance: I hope we see much more of this town and this couple—it would really be a treat! Reviewed By: Sammy Blurb: Ryder Waites will do anything to keep the tiny town of Gallows Grove, Kentucky,... Continue Reading →
Title: Of Mooning Santas and Penis Lights (Bah Humbug: Advent Calendar 2016) Author: Thianna Durston Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Length: 39 Pages Category: Holiday Romance, Contemporary, Humor At a Glance: If you have an hour to kill, and your goal is to read a fun Christmas story that is going to make you smile—not to mention... Continue Reading →
Title: Ben and Shiloh (The Belladonna Arms: Book 4) Author: John Inman Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Length: 204 Pages Category: Contemporary, Humor At a Glance: With elements like humor, great pacing, Arthur in drag, and perhaps the sweetest potential boyfriend ever to grace the page, it all made for an incredibly pleasant story that I read... Continue Reading →
Title: The Buckland-in-the-Vale and Sandstone Tor Gay Book Club (Inaugural Meeting) Author: John Wiltshire Publisher: MLR Press Length: 253 Pages Category: Contemporary, Humor At a Glance: Wiltshire is undeniably a talented writer. There were lots of things that made me chuckle. There were also a handful of things that had me saying, ‘Ummm...whut?’ But, overall,... Continue Reading →
Title: What About Everything? (A Tales from Foster High Story) Author: John Goode Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Length: 230 Pages Category: Contemporary At a Glance: I think anyone would be hard pressed not to enjoy this latest Foster High installment. Reviewed By: Sammy Blurb: Sequel to Taking Chances No matter how fast you run, the past... Continue Reading →
Title: Don’t Twunk with My Heart (Loving You: Book Two) Author: Renae Kaye Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Length: 200 Pages Category: Contemporary At a Glance: So what makes this story a must buy? Humor! Kink! A great HEA! Some drama! Reviewed By: Kathie Blurb: Kee Smith isn’t sure who he is anymore. He knows who he... Continue Reading →
Title: Midlife Crisis Author: Rob Rosen Publisher: Fierce Publishing Length: 182 Pages (Kindle) Category: Mystery, Comedy, Contemporary At a Glance: Humor, like so many other things, is such a subjective concept, but when it comes to authors who write it well, Rob Rosen doesn’t disappoint. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: Jack is thirty-five and single once... Continue Reading →
Title: Adulting 101 Author: Lisa Henry Publisher: Riptide Publishing Length: 256 Pages Category: Contemporary, New Adult, Romantic Comedy At a Glance: I can’t even deal with how cute this book was. It was a feel-good, low angst, laugh-out-loud, lovely summer read. Reviewed By: Jules Blurb: The struggle is real. Nick Stahlnecker is eighteen and not... Continue Reading →
Title: Illuminate the Shadows (Shatterproof Bonds: Book One) Author: Isobel Starling Publisher: Self-Published Length: 161 Pages (Kindle) Category: Contemporary Romance, Comedy At a Glance: I must say that there were times when the story leapt forward a bit too fast for me; however, Illuminate the Shadows kept me enthralled. Reviewed By: Sammy Blurb: After the... Continue Reading →
Title: My Busboy Author: John Inman Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Length: 210 Pages Category: Contemporary At a Glance: As is his usual style when writing in this genre of romantic comedy, this author pulls everything together in the final chapters of this novel, and rewards his readers with a lovely happy-ever-after. Reviewed By: Sammy Blurb: Robert... Continue Reading →
Title: At Piper’s Point Author: Ethan Day Narrator: Michael Lesley Publisher: Wilde City Press Run Time: 9 hours and 46 minutes At a Glance: Ethan continues to be one of my favorite authors. Reviewed By: Amy Blurb: Ten years and many boyfriends later, Cassidy Winters finally returns to the ancestral home of his late grandmother,... Continue Reading →
Title: Whippersnapper Author: Michael Rupured Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Pages/Word Count: 220 Pages At a Glance: A strong and diverse character driven story that pulled me in and kept me rooting for all the protagonists to get their happily-ever-afters. Reviewed By: Sadonna Blurb: Tellumo Magnamater is a fresh-out-of-college, first-year English teacher at Salt Lick County High... Continue Reading →
Title: The Two Gentlemen of Altona (Playing the Fool: Book One) Authors: Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock Narrator:: Nick J. Russo Publisher: Riptide Publishing Run Time: 5 hours and 11 minutes At a Glance: Nick J. Russo gave an excellent performance. Reviewed By: Maryann Blurb: Mischief, thou art afoot. Special Agent Ryan "Mac" McGuinness is... Continue Reading →
The Novel Approach Reviews 