Publication date has nothing to do with my choices. Some of them might be a year or 2 old. I just happen to love them and wanted you to love them too. So, in no particular order I give you the top reads for the month of July.
KEEP SWIMMING by, Kade Boehme
After his partner dumped him with a pregnant surrogate four years ago, Cary Whitmore was forced to play single parent while starting up a new business. With the dog bakery now semi-successful and his son healthy, Cary thinks he may be ready to date again.
Heath Cummings is trying his damnedest to get his charter boat service off the ground and dreams of one day soon being able to quit his job as an offshore driller. Paying off his dream requires making it through a couple more years, which means being open about his sexuality isn't in the cards just yet.
When the two take their flirting to the next level, Cary wonders if he can handle another guy who might take off, while Heath has to decide if he can risk his dream of a laid back life—and giving up his long-held and much enjoyed bachelor status while taking on a child when being a father was never on his to-do list. Will they sink, or will they keep swimming?
My GR and Amazon review: I held on not crying as long as I could in this book. But alas, I did. Tears on my kindle!!!! Kade has the amazing ability of making all his characters relatable. I love how he nails each emotion. Written by someone who has clearly lived a life in every feeling there is. This story tugged at my heart and immersed me into a story that I never wanted to end.
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WHAT HE WANTS by, Kate Aaron
Christo's life fell apart when his partner of eight years walked out on him. There wasn't even a reason for it: sometimes love just fades, as quickly and mysteriously as it appears in the first place.
Enter Damien. Damien's the guy with a different man on his arm for every event, he's smooth and arrogant and always impeccably turned out. Christo hates him. But God, he's gorgeous. Damien could be exactly what Christo needs to get him over John.
It's only going to be a fling. Nothing serious, nothing that will affect their working relationship or the rest of their lives. So why are they fighting through the night rather than letting go and walking away? Why does Damien's secretive nature bug Christo so much? And why does he even care that the other man might not be as tough as he pretends to be?
My GR and Amazon review:
This is my favorite Kate Aaron book so far! That's saying something since I think she's extremely talented in all her writings. This book is wonderful! Damien and Christo go from boardroom enemies to bedroom lovers. Watching the entire thing transform before your very eyes is entertaining and joyful. Both men are as stubborn. Both want the same thing. I want to hide Damien away for my very own and never return him. LOL! This is a beautiful story and I loved every part of it.
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Yakuza Pride by, H.J. Brues
When yakuza underboss Shigure Matsunaga meets Kenneth Harris at a boring social event, he’s surprised to find himself attracted to the blond gaijin with the mismatched eyes. Shigure is even more pleased when he discovers Ken not only speaks Japanese fluently, but is fluent in Japan's ways, even the more violent of the martial arts. Ken’s expertise at kendo is not his most striking quality—it’s the passion beneath his quiet, almost fragile exterior that ignites Shigure's lust, and the two come together as explosively as they spar.
Shigure is a dangerous man in a dangerous position. He’s been trying to keep the peace with the Daito-kai—Shigure's hated rivals—but the danger on the streets is escalating, threatening those Shigure most wants to protect. He may claim to love his gaijin, but before he can keep Ken safe, Shigure will have to overcome hostility from his people, a hidden enemy, and, the most insidious opponent of all, his own hard-won pride
My GR and Amazon review: I don't know where to start. I love this book so damn much! I don't know much, if anything, about Japanese culture. I've heard of the Yakuza and I dated a Japanese guy in high school. I love the food... I'm a typical tourist I guess. This book was descriptive to the point of art! I'm usually a dialog person but H.J. Brues painted the scenery and I was transfixed. Ken blew me away. He's strong and American and probably one of if not the most bravest character I've ever read.
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HONOR C by, C.Zampa
When Honor Castillo convinces himself he isn’t gay, he begins a new life. He ends his affair with his lover, Jorge Villagomez, and marries Rebecca to establish a life with her as a respected San Antonio businessman. They have a son and he tells himself he is happy.
Eleven years later, Jorge returns to San Antonio, and his path crosses with Honor’s once more. The flame of their passion never died, and neither did Jorge’s love for Honor.
When Jorge approaches Honor to design his studio, Honor believes he can walk the line between friendship and lovers. But when a sudden crisis threatens to take Jorge from him forever, Honor must choose between his duty and his heart. Most of all, he’s forced to decide what he’s willing to lose in order to be true to who he really is.
My GR and Amazon review: LOVE LOVE LOVE! Seriously what a gorgeous story. And Jorge? WHAT A FEISTY ONE! This told in 3 different POV's and I was skeptical at first but that was short lived. Once again C. Zampa did a hell of a job bringing characters to life and building a visually beautiful world to us.
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WOLF BOUND, by Theo Fenraven
A year after suffering a disastrous end to his relationship with his partner, teacher Jon Anderson trades his apartment in the city for a lake house in the country. Told there is an author living nearby, Jon, who dreams of being a writer, goes in search of him and finds the attractive older man in a small, rustic cabin on a tiny island on a neighboring lake. Harrison Kalmes shows Jon around, but makes it clear he’d rather be left alone. Jon respects that wish until the night he and his friend, Suzie, drink a little too much scotch and impulsively decide to visit the island.
What happens then is the start of an incredible journey that will eventually take Jon all the way to mysterious and seductive Transylvania in Romania, where he searches for the answers that will save someone’s life while setting him on the road to rediscovering his own.
Beware the woods. Transylvania isn’t only about vampires.
My GR and Amazon review: I'm funny when it comes to paranormal. I either love it or hate it. I fear grabbing that sci-fi book from an unknown author and hope for the best. Theo Fenraven has dipped his hands in the paranormal before and I wasn't disappointing then and I'm not disappointed now.
It's rare when an author can make the unbelievable into something the reader can relate to. This story was not just about the shifting of the physical being but the shifting on the mental being too. Shaky ground and uncertain futures, about being in control even when you are pulled by things out of your control. We constantly struggle with that in our everyday. To see it from this perspective was fascinating.
Theo is a writer I very much look forward to reading when a new book comes out and I have been waiting for this. You can love paranormal or not, either way this book will suit you well. Wolf or human you will have no choice but to be pulled in by these majestic creatures and embrace the human in them.
How many times we wish we can hit reset, or wake up to find out that was a test and it all starts right now. Wolf Bound, for me, gave me that kind of feel. That, "You have no idea how big this world is and how much there is you'll never see unless you go and look for it," kind of feel.
It's a literary breath of fresh air that I highly and excitingly recommend!
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