Release Day Review: Like Father, Like Son by Sarah Masters #Review #Giveaway

Author: Sarah Masters
Book: Like Father, Like Son
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Publication date: September 19, 2017
Length: 140 pages

Reviewed by Jenn

Synopsis

Murder is never a good thing…

Fingertips have been turning up in various locations around the city. The problem is, Detective Inspector Matt Blacksmith has no idea why they’re being left where they are. He knows who they belong to, though, so that’s something. However, the man they used to be attached to isn’t anywhere in sight, and Matt worries he’s been killed.

Detective Sergeant Aaron Thaxter is the man who has stuck by Matt through thick and thin for the past few years. In and out of bed, he’s always there, the steadying hand that keeps Matt from drowning in the memories of his past. When the case takes a murky turn, forcing Matt to acknowledge those memories yet again, Matt is grateful that Aaron is there to help him.

Robby Zeus knows that being in a gang isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Despite his dreams of being someone to be feared and respected, now that the reality of being in a gang has slapped him hard around the face, he’s desperate not to get himself into any more trouble. With the help of Matt and Aaron, Robby faces being wrenched from the only life he’s ever known to somewhere safe, away from the gang, where he can live a good life with his ma. But things have never been that easy for Robby. Can he be free from the leaders of the two gangs he’s tied to?

Time will tell. Except time might not be on anyone’s side…

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Review

Do the sins of the father always have the be the sins of the son? That's the question I asked myself while reading this book. 

Detective Matt Blacksmith is working a case with his partner, Detective Sergeant Aaron Thaxter. Matt and Thax are longtime partners on and off the force. Fingertips are turning up in various locations around the city and they don't know why. They know who the fingertips belong to, now they need to figure out if he's still alive. This case will have Matt questioning everything he's knows about himself, his father and whether or not he's really all that different from the man.

Robby Zeus is the owner of those fingertips and is very much alive. Robby is a small time gang member who was caught in the wrong place in the wrong time. Robby is someone else who's father left and he's always wondering who he is and what he would do if he saw him again. Now, Robby finds himself caught between two gangs and one particularly dangerous man, Damien Fox. With Damien Fox in the picture, it's all about the sins of the father. With Matt, Robby and Damien all involved now, secrets from the past will soon be revealed.

This book is light on the romance although the commitment and love between Matt and Aaron is very strong, it's just not a focal point. The murder mystery and the sins of the past is what's at play here and is done very well. You see some of the sons find redemption and others choose to follow their father's footsteps all the way to hell. This was a very interesting read, I certainly enjoyed it. 

Definitely not a romance, but a good crime drama

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Release Day Review: Flying With The Stars by Sarah Masters #Review #Giveaway

Author: Sarah Masters
Book: Flying With The Stars
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Publication date: August 8, 2017
Length: 44 pages

Reviewed by Michael


Synopsis

Not every superhero needs a cape!

Hello. My name is James and I’ve just got over a break-up with the awful Gareth, who left me for a man who has nipples the size of cigar stubs. How’s that for a bash to my self-esteem? Gareth did me a favor, though, and now it’s time to go after the man I really love, but first I need to crash out of my morose shell and go clubbing.

After I bump into my crush—ahem, neighbor—Ronnie, and find myself babbling stupid things while ogling him as he stands in his doorway wrapped in nothing but a towel, I begin to wonder whether true love will ever come my way if I keep acting so amateurish in the relationship department. But Ronnie accepts my invitation to join me at the club, and what happens afterward both amazes and freaks me the hell out. The man of my dreams is like no other, and he might well need me as his sidekick in the future if things keep going the way they are.

With a nasty thug to deal with and a robber stealing a woman’s handbag, Ronnie has to let his inner force free and right the wrongs. Can I handle this new life? And more to the point, can Ronnie? Who needs a cape and a mask when Ronnie has power at his fingertips and a brilliant ability to whisk us here, there and everywhere so we’re flying with the stars?

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Review

It’s not that often that I’m pleasantly surprised by a short story.  I was with this one.  This is a romance, pure and simple. 

James and Ronnie have been neighbors for a while.  They may have been attracted to each other, but circumstances have always gotten in the way of them becoming anything more than neighborly.  Ronnie has tried, creating excuses like needing to borrow sugar that he didn’t need. 

James has been in a funk since the break-up with his boyfriend, and decides to go to the bar.  On his out of the apartment building, he runs into Ronnie, and invites him along.  Originally declining, Ronnie changes his mind and follows James to the bar.  This being romance, things don’t go as either of them had anticipated.

Oh, yeah, did I mention that Ronnie has some really cool super-powers, ones he doesn’t really understand? No.  Well, that’s kind of the point. 

This story is more about the beginnings of a new relationship, one that both have wanted for a long time.

It’s also about acceptance.  Of the things we don’t understand.  Of the things that may scare us, but we hang in anyway because the end result may be so much more valuable.

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Release Day Review: Nurture by Jaime Samms & Sarah Masters #Review #Giveaway

Authors: Jaime Samms & Sarah Masters
Book: Nurture 2nd edition
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Publication date: May 16, 2017
Length: 145 pages


Reviewed by Erin


Synopsis

Nature versus nurture. Which one is the culprit?

It’s been a while since Paul fell for Carl, and now he’s having a hard time remembering why. As their relationship slides beyond aggressive into dangerous and frightening, Paul wants a way out that doesn’t involve more violence. How can he leave a man who swears to God he loves him beyond all reason, though—a man who has almost convinced him of that, too?

To Carl, a bit of rough sex doesn’t even touch the tip of violent. The twisted path he has followed to show Paul the true depths of his love could lead them both a long way from where they thought life would take them. Carl will do anything to make Paul understand how much he cares. Anything.

When Paul is hauled to the police station for crimes he didn’t commit, one man, Victor, stands between him and the complete disintegration of his life. But Vic is the cop who arrested him, and he knows way more than any stranger ought to about the details of Paul’s life.

Caught between the man he thought he loved and one who might be stalking him, Paul is due to learn some serious lessons about trust, friendship, and what love—twisted or not—is really capable of. 

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 Review

If you look at my "read" bookshelf on Goodreads, you'll find a large number of Jaime Samms books on there. I love her work. It's always written so well, the characters are flawed but real and complex, and the story lines interesting. When I saw she'd co-written a book with Sarah Masters (who I've never read before) I was immediately intrigued, even more so when I read the blurb for their new release, Nurture. A bit of mystery, a bit of suspense, Nurture piqued my interest right away, especially since it appeared the book would fall more toward the darker side rather than romance. I'm always up for a change and trying something outside of my normal choice. I'm glad I gave Nuture a try, and really I'll try anything Jaime writes, but unfortunately, this one didn't quite hit all the right notes for me. 

There is a lot of violence in Nurture, we are talking about a serial killer here as well as showing physical abuse. Most of it is on page and what isn't, your imagination will definitely fill in for you. That wasn't my issue per se, but rather the whole plot of Carl being a twisted serial killer obsessed with Paul just didn't work. Yeah, Carl killed a lot of people, yes he was abused as a child and is clearly psychotic and violent. All of that made sense to me. The main problem I had was with the investigation the police, and specifically detective Victor ?. There were a lot of threads that didn't manage to fully connect that left me scratching my head and feeling frustrated rather than engrossed in the story. The book itself is written well; I wouldn't expect anything else from Jamie Samms whether she's writing alone or with a co-writer. I had a hard time connecting Paul with Vic as well. We're told that Vic but we're never told or shown why or how they came about. I also liked the appearance of secondary characters Brian and Lil but I sure would have liked more background on them and seen more interaction between them and Paul. 

All in all, Nurture was a bit all over the place and left me wanting more from the story. I enjoyed it well enough, but I didn't love it. I will check out more of this writing duo, though, so I hope you give this book a chance.

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