Review of No Fear (No Shame #3) by Nora Phoenix

by Nora Phoenix

3.5 Stars

 Aaron is drowning. After coming out as gay, he lost his parents’ approval, his job, and his sense of identity. He feels like a freak who doesn’t fit in anywhere. His last hope was his brother Josh, but Josh can’t seem to forgive him for how Aaron treated him when they were teens. Not that Aaron can blame him, because he did treat Josh like crap. 

All Aaron wants is for someone to accept him, guide him, because he doesn’t have a clue. When sexy jiujitsu teacher Blake takes him in and starts mentoring him, Aaron has hope for the first time, even though he can’t understand what Blake sees in him. 

Blake doesn’t do relationships. At all. He’s more than willing to help Aaron find solid ground under his feet, but that’s it. Until insecure, vulnerable, and surprisingly sexy Aaron gets under his skin, triggering all kinds of protective instincts that make Blake long for more. He wants to take care of Aaron, give him what he needs, but how can he convince Aaron of that? 

When Josh’s friend-with-benefits Indy’s past finally catches up with him, it endangers them all—and leads to heartbreaking decisions for everyone involved. 

So glad we are sticking through this No Shame Series because book 3, No Fear is the best one yet!  We finally get a closer look at Aaron and visit with some of our favourite boys.

What did we like?

- Plot:  There seems to be more of a plot development in No Fear.  He story had tighten up quite a bit and instead of some meandering around we get a clear story.  Super enjoyable!

- Relationship:  We really love Aaron and Blake’s relationship.  We love how authentic they are with each other, and don’t apologize for what they both need.  The development of their relationship is super hot, and we loved the puppy play aspect. 

- Sex:  This book tomes down the sex, and yes, that is a good thing.  The pervious books were super sexy, but became a bit much after a while. No Fear has some serious steam, but it plays well with the rest of the story.  Yes, it is still an erotic story, but that’s not all it is.

What didn’t we like?

- Series:  While we love this series, we want some resolutions.  We are really looking forward to Book 4, but another cliff-hanger ending.  Ugh.

No Fear so far is the best of the No Shame Series.  With the focus on the relationships, and plot it doesn’t struggle with the balance of sex vs. story like the previous books.  Nora Phoenix has created some memorable characters, so authentic relationships and really fantastic suspense. 

Review of No Limits (No Shame #2) by Nora Phoenix

  

 by Nora Phoenix

3.5 stars

Josh is convinced he’ll never find someone who’ll love him the way he is. He’s not exactly a catch with his PTSD, which has transformed him into a homebody most of the times. Sweet, maybe, but also boring as hell. Plus, there’s that submissive tendency he recently discovered and is dying to explore. His complicated relationship with Noah and Indy don’t make it easy, either. When Connor shows interest in him, he can’t believe the sexy cop would look at him twice, let alone make an effort to get to know him. When he does, Josh discovers they have more in common than he’d ever thought possible.

Connor had survived the ordeal that left his best friend and fellow Marine dead, but that survival came at a price. He’s a robot, going through the motions, but barely alive. Until fate intervenes when he meets Josh. The vulnerable man triggers all kinds of protective and dominant urges in Connor, but what would a cute guy like Josh want with an inexperienced, closed-off, bossy steamroller like him?

When Connor discovers his past endangers Indy, all hope for a future between him and Josh seems lost. After all, there’s no way Josh will ever choose Connor over Indy’s safety and Noah’s lifelong friendship. When a crisis hits, can Connor prove he’s strong enough to deal with everything that’s thrown his way?

No Limits is the 2^nd in the No Shame series by Nora Phoenix, and a great continuation from the first book No Filter.  While we enjoyed the first book, we found editing and story inconsistencies kept us form loving it, Nora Phoenix has ironed out a bot of the story, making No Limits a much easier read.

The yay?

-  BDSM:  We really enjoyed watching Connor and Josh finding their kinks, and exploring their dominant/submissive relationship.  Nora Phoenix spent some time really developing this relationship and not jumping too hardcore into whips and chains.  It seems like a natural progression for their relationship, and we loved how it suited and settled Josh.

-  Continuation of Story:  This is a series; you can’t read this book without reading the last book. We liked that, but it could be a negative.

-  Story flow:  The story was so much better edited, there was a flow to the events and just didn’t stumble along. 

The meh?

-  Confusion:  We still feel the story was a little confused about what it is trying to be.  Erotica, threesome / foursome ménage, hurt comfort, mafia, there is a lot going on.  Seem to jump from story line to storyline and it gives us a bit of whiplash.

-  The cliffhanger:  Just like the end of the first in the series and man it is unsatisfying!

-  Story flow:  Yes, this was something we enjoyed, but there is so much going on in this book, that sometimes we felt a good editor could streamline a bit more, and deal with the grammatical and word confusion issues.

So many things going on, so many feelings and storyline, so many relationships.  We love these boys and feel invested in the series, but a few issues still nagged at us, and ironing out the kinks could really skyrocket this series. 

On Davis Row by N.R. Walker

 by N.R. Walker

4.5 stars 

Nearing the end of a suspended jail sentence should unlock a brighter future for CJ Davis, only the chip on his shoulder is as hard to shift as his bad reputation. Born into a family of career criminals who live down Davis Road, an address the cops have dubbed Davis Row, his name alone is like a rap sheet that makes optimism impossible.

Brand-new parole officer Noah Huxley is determined to see the good in men like CJ. After all, he knows firsthand that bad things can happen to good people. His colleagues mock his doe-eyed optimism, but Noah soon sees CJ’s bad attitude and bravado are weapons he uses to keep people at a distance.

Both men know one simple mistake can change a life forever. At first glance, they might seem to be polar opposites. Yet underneath, they're not that different at all.

Another knock-it-out-of-the-park novel from N.R. Walker.  It is a different sort of book, slower-paced than N.R. Walker other books and deals with a heart-breaking story of trying find value in yourself when no-one else see it.  Yes, this is a love story, but it is heart-breaking, we laughed, we cried, we stopped reading because our heart was breaking. It is a story of love of second chances and so much more.

What did we love?

- Dual POV: So many dual POV stories struggle with the different voices, but On Davis row is a perfect example of never confused voices.  We loved Noah’s optimism, his belief that everyone sometimes just needs a hand up.  And even through his own personal tragedies he still has so much hope and drive.  CJ’s voice is broken; he doesn’t believe much in himself and thinks that everyone is there to take from him.  The balance between Noah’s bright eyed optimism and CJ’s negativity is brilliant.  Don’t know if we would be able to survive a whole book from either of their POV, but moving back and forth gives balance.

- Slow burn:  We love slow burn romance, and On Davis Row is wonderfully unhurried.  Not to be misconstrued with the chemistry between CJ and Noah, because that is palpable.  But, the story takes it’s time, there is no rush to get them into bed, there is no rush to the happy ending.  There is significant issues that need to be worked through to get to all those things, and they make Noah and CJ’s journey to love so much sweeter.

- The Characters:  We love these men.  We love that CJ as hard and tough as he wants to appear is taking care of an elderly sick relative.  We love the Noah is determined to help, to support and to be anything CJ needs, how he could see through all the walls and labels and see the real CJ. We loved falling in love with them through each other’s eyes. 

- Epilogue:  A beautiful beautiful epilogue – thank you.

N.R. Walker is one of our favourite authors and On Davis Row is a wonderfully book full of so many emotions.  On Davis Row is a character driven story that sucked us in and kept us hoping for that happy ending.  A great read!

Eight Nights in December by Keira Andrews

 

 by Keira Andrews

4.5 Stars

 

A geek. A virgin. One sexy holiday.

Orphaned Lucas figures spending the holidays with his obnoxious roommate’s family in New York City is better than staying alone on campus upstate. He ends up sharing a room again, this time with his roommate’s brother, Nate. Geeky photographer Nate isn’t at all what Lucas expects. In fact, he’s incredibly sexy—especially when he invites Lucas into his darkroom...

They hide their attraction during Hanukkah celebrations, but behind closed doors, Lucas and Nate can’t keep their hands (or mouths) off each other. Nate’s only looking for a bit of holiday fun, and amazing sex with a hot virgin definitely fits the bill. Yet as the candles burn, Nate and Lucas begin to realize eight nights will never be enough.

A really sweet holiday romance! This revised, expanded and rereleases Novella is everything a Christmas love story should be.  Keira Andrews writes engaging stories of people falling in love and Eight Days in December is a perfect example of her craft.

What did we love?

-  Hanukah:  We really enjoyed this story being set through Hanukah, instead of Christmas.  We don’t know much about the Jewish tradition so it was nice to read about a family that honored the holiday and learn a little more. So many stories are set against Christmas, so this was a nice twist on the traditional.

- The Love:  Normally we aren’t huge schmoopy love-story fans, but this time of year we want to feel the sweet and, Eight Nights in December delivers. The sweet, charming, enjoyable story brings home the holiday spirit.  The chemistry is hot between Nate and Lucas and we loved that the story and the love-story had equal value.

- The story:  This is an easy novella to read.  The story flows, the dialogue makes sense and we get just enough back stories to understand the main characters, and has very little angst. 

What we wanted more of?

- The boys:  We really enjoyed both Lucas and Nate, and LOVED the epilogue.  We would love to see a full length book of these boys awhile down the road.  They were engaging, fun and interesting characters (like we expect anything else from Keira Andrews) and really wanted to spend more time with them.

There are 1001 Christmas Love Story Novella’s out there but Keira Andrew’s Eight Days in December is a standout, it is a cute read, with delightful main characters falling in love.

Review of Audiobook If the Seas Catch Fire by L.A. Witt, narration by Michael Ferraiuolo

by L.A. Witt, narration by Michael Ferraiuolo

5 star 

Sergei Andronikov was a child when the Mafia wiped out his family, leaving him with nothing but a hunger for revenge. Years later, through ruthless strategy and tireless patience, he's a contract killer working for the three families ruling Cape Swan...and he's nearly in position to bring them all down from the inside.

Domenico "Dom" Maisano is Mafia royalty, a made man...and a hitman. He's caught up in a violent life he can't escape, struggling to maintain an image he doesn't want, and suppressing desires he can't have.

A chance encounter throws the killers into each other's paths. Though Dom knows he's playing a dangerous game, he's intrigued and keeps coming back. Sergei can't resist him either - Dom is everything he set out to destroy, but he's also everything he's ever ached for in a man.

Then Sergei gets the contract he's been waiting for - the hit that promises to bring the town's Mafia to its knees.

But when a boss makes an unexpected move, Sergei must choose between dropping the hammer on the families he vowed to annihilate, and protecting the man he swore he wouldn't love.

And the wrong choice - or even the right one - will destroy them both.

We LOVE this book!  If the Seas Catch Fire is our favourite L.A. Witt book, hard to choose just one!  And in all honesty we have read it 5+ times.  So what could make it better?  An amazing narration by Michael Ferraiuolo!

Why we love the book?

-          The story:  We love Mafia stories and If the Seas Catch Fire is at the top of our love list.  These 2 are normal men who are dragged into a life they don’t want.  There are so many similarities between Dom and Sergei yet they are so far apart on who they believe themselves to be.  It made us want to shake them, and make them acknowledge what they were felling.   This is a fast-paced ride of a story, so many ups and down, intrigue and heat-ache.

-          Dark dark dark:  this is a dark story, murder, drugs, human trafficking, torture, the list goes on.  But what do we love a dark romance?  The idea of redemption, the hope that itr will be okay.  And man we held onto that throughout If the Seas Catch Fire, we yearned for these men to find a little peace.

-          Sexy sexy sexy:  So sexy.  Dom and Sergei know they shouldn’t be together but just can’t stop needing each other, their middle of the night tryst are so hot and so good.

Let’s talk about the Narration:  Michael Ferraiuolo is amazing.  We have heard him in other audiobooks that do nothing for his talent.  He seems to have 100 voices from mafia Italians to Russians, and they are all exceptional.  We never felt confused, about who was who or what was going on.  And he delivered on the feels.   the Seas Catch Fire is an emotional read and Michael captures that heart-breaking quality, the hopelessness that surrounds Dom and Sergei. 

If the Seas Catch Fire is a perfect example of a fantastic author and an excellent narrator coming together to create a superior audiobook.  It is one of the best we have heard this year and on the top of our recommendations.  We are so pleased that L.A. Witt choose Michael Ferraiuolo to narrate and hope for many successful collaborations in the future.