Tag Archives: mm romance

Book Review: Omega to the Ranchers, by Stephen Hoppa

omega to the ranchers coverAbout the book:

After being beaten and left in the woods, Ryan wakes up in the bed of two powerful ranchers who are much more than they appear to be. Eric and Tyler say they don’t want anything from him, that they just want to help him recover from the horrible incident that nearly left him dead, but Ryan soon discovers that they need him much more than they’re letting on. As he learns to accept their supernatural nature and the role he has to play in saving their pack, Ryan also has to grapple with the question; can he learn to fall in love with the two men after everything he’s been through?

Review:

This is Porn With Plot…no, that’s an exaggeration. This is just porn. The plot is so thin as to be invisible. There’s a twist at the end that attempts to bring the whole thing full circle, but it’s a joke, really. It fails in the plot department.

This is basically just 115 pages of sex. And despite the fact that we’re told these individuals are supposed to be falling in love or forming a bond or whatever, this is basically just 115 pages of frenzied, no foreplay, no build-up, no communicating fucking. So, I can’t even stretch it to erotic romance. It’s porn.

Some of it was hot, but, for me, it failed even as fapping material, as the things these men said in flagrante were so freakin’ cheesy they ruined it for me. As did the repetition of “dominated,” “owned,” “used,” etc. It’s not that the character enjoying these feelings was problematic, even though they often seemed to counter his thoughts during the few non-sex scenes, and when the baddie told him that was what would happen, it was definitely off-putting; it’s the fact that the SAME exact words and phrases were used in just about every sex scene, of which, as I mention, there were a lot.

I guess this is a matter of taste. Maybe some people like this sort of thing. For those, just know the editing could use a little work, but beyond that, to each their own.

Book Review: Full Exposure & Five Dates, by Amy Jo Cousins

Technically, these two Amy Jo Cousins novellas, Full Exposure and Five Dates, are just a little too short to normally be granted a review page (I usually say nothing less than 100 pages). But I read them together, so I’ll make a single post out of two slightly too-short books with equally short reviews and call it a day.
full exposure and five dates

Full Exposure:

There’s more than one way to be a rock star.

Evan Pak is a card-carrying geek (he even has the job to prove it), but when his photographer brother invites him to tag along on a photo shoot with rock star Riley Flood, he figures it will be two days of ogling and eye-rolling and nothing more. But the reckless bad boy is nothing like he expected, and Evan is mesmerized by the mix of cocky and sweet he sees in Riley. When a spontaneous idea ends with Evan stripping down under the hot lights for an intimate portrait for Riley’s next album cover, Evan is absolutely sure their connection won’t end when the lights are turned off. Especially since Riley can’t seem to keep his hands off the tattoos Evan hides under his clothes.

Even a spoiled rock star wants to give up control sometimes, if only for a weekend. The world is full of people who want things from Riley and the demands on him never stop. Evan knows exactly how to turn off the noise in Riley’s head and it starts by putting him on his knees.

Together, they will push each other higher and farther than either one of them have ever gone before. It’s easy to take risks when there’s a time limit on the game. But when their time is up, what comes next if they don’t want the game to end?

My review:

I’ve not read many ‘Don’t Read in the Closet’ stories, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Plus, if I’m honest, I tend to avoid books that are less than 100 pages long. That’s kind of my random, ‘I consider this worth my time’ length. But AJC posted a teaser of this somewhere and it did its job. It made me want the rest of the story. I’m glad about that because I really quite enjoyed it.


Five Dates:

Helping his sister Lucy raise her kid has put Devin’s love life on hold. When he loses a bet to her and the penalty is to go out on five dates with men she’s chosen from Guys4Guys.com, he thinks that’s bad enough. Finding out she used a thirteen-year-old picture of him to score a date with a young guy who looks like a rock star? Epically bad.

Jay thought he wanted to fall for an older man. But his last boyfriend left him feeling humiliated and determined to stick to guys his own age. When he realizes he’s been conned into a date with exactly the kind of man he’s sworn to avoid, he’s ready to walk away on the spot. Only Devin’s swift apologies convince Jay to accept dinner to make up for the deception.

“The date doesn’t count for the bet unless you get a goodnight kiss.” After one not-a-date dinner with Jay, Devin isn’t worried about his sister’s rules. He just wishes he could convince Jay to go out with him for real. Jay wants no part of Devin, but Devin wants every part of Jay . . . so he asks Jay to help update his look for the rest of his dates. But once Jay’s made Devin over into the perfect date, will he be able to let him go?

Review:

I thought it was cute and really enjoyed the beginning. But the latter half didn’t work so well for me. Devin goes and does something out of character to move the plot along, and the conclusion comes about because someone basically changes their mind about something. But the underlying issue was neither addressed nor solved. It felt rushed and unsupported. However, the writing was wonderful and I liked both characters a lot.