Tasting Notes


Cate Ashwood - 2015
    The willingness to sacrifice any social life in favor of hard work and long hours. 2. The knowledge that taking the right risks always pays off. 3. The desire to see pride overflowing in my grandfather’s eyes. After his death, I doubled down, throwing everything I had into work, but there’s only so long I can ignore the promise I made years ago. Rush: Being a Marine was exciting, intense, and I loved every second. But after years of service, I traded it all for a quiet life back in my small hometown. When my parents announce they’ve sold their vineyard on a whim, I’m blindsided. And when I find out who bought it, I’m furious. The last person who should be inheriting my parents’ legacy is a spoiled rich boy who doesn’t know the first thing about growing grapes. But maybe first impressions are wrong. Maybe quiet and uncomplicated aren’t everything they’re cracked up to be. And maybe some risks are worth taking after all.

Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells


E.M. Lynley - 2009
    Contains approximately 25k words of new content.]Of all the tiny towns, in all the world, he walks into mine.Texas native Kieran Quinn has hit the big time, working in Manhattan as a columnist for Gloss, a national literary magazine. He’s well-known for his snarky, sardonic columns, but deep down he’s more interested in exploring what makes people tick than his editor would like. He keeps his desire to find his own Mr. Right hidden under a sexy, carefree persona that favors champagne and underwear models of the male variety.Jaxon Lang loves being the high school principal in tiny Buckwheat Springs, Texas after relocating from Austin to pursue his relationship with Danetta Archer, despite her reputation for leaving grooms at the altar. So far, he’s avoided examining the questions he has about himself, certain that marriage will put them to rest. Then Kieran arrives in town. Kieran’s charm and unique attitudes about sex and attraction soon challenge Jaxon’s concept of what—and who—he wants.While covering the latest wedding of a real-life “runaway bride," Kieran falls hard for the gorgeous—and supposedly straight—groom, Jaxon Lang, despite that ridiculous X. Then Kieran discovers the bride’s hiding a shocking secret.First Edition published by Ravenous Romance, April 2009.

Block and Strike


Kelly Jensen - 2017
    Taking care of the bum curled up on his doorstep isn’t part of the plan. When he realizes the man has been assaulted, Jake takes him to the hospital, where he learns that Max is his downstairs neighbor… and that he could really use a friend. Keeping Max in the friend-zone would be easier if he wasn’t so damned cute.Maxwell Wilson has been bullied for years, and the only person who ever cared lives too far away to come to his rescue. Now his upstairs neighbor is offering support. Max remains cautious, suspecting he is little more than a project for the handsome Jake. When he learns Jake has had boyfriends as well as girlfriends, Max has to reevaluate his priorities—and muster the courage to take a chance at love.Just when a happy future is within their grasp, life knocks them back down. A devastating blow leaves Max lower than ever and Jake wrestling with regret. They both have to find the strength to stand on their own before they can stand together.

Easy


Ally Blue - 2006
    Stevie Sanger is fighting a past that won't leave him alone. They want each other from the moment they meet, and that attraction quickly blossoms into something deeper, something that could become permanent. But first, they need to overcome all the obstacles in their way. Dan's fear of his own nature, Stevie's belief that he's not good enough for Dan. The unresolved pieces of Stevie's past. Building the relationship they both want may be a challenge too big for either of them. But nothing worth having is ever easy.

Bound to Fall


Jaime Samms - 2015
    With so many fences between them and happily ever after, two men wonder if it’s worth opening the gate. Ten years ago, Eddie Crane, an actor on the rise, loved his costar and dreamed of the day they could be together. But his love, with his submissive nature, couldn’t handle fame, and before Eddie could help him, he died in a car accident—with Eddie at the wheel. Now, scarred and guilt-ridden, Eddie buries himself in bad decisions and prays that a stunt—on or off camera—will go wrong. Teenaged fantasies about the actor on his wall distracted Arthur Pike from real life—his dead father, runaway mother, gruff grandparents, and his unrequited love for his cousin’s straight husband. Now grown and off the farm, Pike is a horse stuntman hired to teach a reluctant Eddie to ride. Pike is drawn to Eddie’s dominant nature despite the sadness clinging to the actor. Eddie let one lover down, but in Pike’s submissiveness, he sees the possibility for redemption.

Despite the Odds


Chris T. Kat - 2015
    He’s lucky his foreman is giving him another chance with the solar panel project at an elementary school in Atlantic City. When he spies a man walking strangely in front of the school, Michael laughs, assuming he’s drunk or high. Little does he realize that Joshua Stone, a teaching assistant, has cerebral palsy, and he’s having a bad muscle control day. Taking a tumble right in front of the handsome construction worker is just his luck.When Michael learns the truth, he feels bad for his cruel behavior. He offers to give Joshua—and his tricycle, the Racing Rhonda—a lift. Joshua accepts the help, and suddenly there’s a gorgeous man breezing into his life, turning his world upside down. But Michael has more issues than his inability to hold down a job, and neither man is sure if they’ll be able to overcome their fears in order to be together.

Unrequited


Abigail Roux - 2009
    He's stuck in a rut, uninspired by his job, and in love with a man who has no clue. Thinking a change of scenery and company will do his aching heart some good, he goes off on a road trip with his best friend, only to find that the answers to his problems may have been right there in front of him all along.

The Pharaoh's Concubine


Z.A. Maxfield - 2011
    But at thirty-six, he wonders how committed Mosko will be to an aging lover.He finds out when a rival gang kidnaps him in a turf war everyone's sure to lose. Mosko unleashes deadly force, leaving no one alive except for a young man whose dark eyes tug at Dylan's heart and the conscience he thought he'd excised long ago.Though he tried to stop the kidnapping, William Memo Escobar knows Mosko will use what's left of him to send a powerful message to his rivals. When Mosko's pampered pretty boy risks everything to help him escape, he can't believe his luck.William figures he's better suited to life off the grid, but as the days go by he begins to realize Dylan's beauty is more than skin deep. And as Dylan coaxes more and more beguiling smiles from William, he yearns for things like family ties he'd thought were best forgotten.Yet behind their newfound happiness lurks the certain knowledge that no matter how careful they are, Mosko will come for what's his.Warning: This book contains a mob boss, a kept man, and a reluctant kidnapper who will never have to hear the words, Size doesn't matter.

The Walls of Troy


L.A. Witt - 2014
    So typical—a high-ranking officer abusing Navy resources for unnecessary security as a status symbol. But it doesn’t take long before Iskander realizes he’s not really there to protect the kid from benign harassment by homophobic classmates.Behind the piercings, eyeliner, and bad attitude, Troy Dalton is hiding something. He’s scared, and although he’s not so sure the armed bodyguard by his side is enough to keep him safe, he can’t risk revealing the truth.Slowly, Iskander gains Troy’s trust, and the walls start coming down, but before they know it, the two men are way too close to each other… and suddenly Iskander is attracting more danger to the man he’s sworn to protect.Now he doesn’t know how to keep Troy safe from harm—by staying close to him, or getting as far away from him as possible.This 74,000 word novel was previously published.

Play It Again, Charlie


R. Cooper - 2012
    He takes care of his family, friends, neighbors—everyone but himself. He’s fine with his books and his cat, and sees his future as one without a partner by his side. That is, until a classic-film-loving twink named Will moves into the apartment across from him and throws flirtatious quotes from classic movies at him from his balcony. To Charlie’s surprise, lively, sexy Will does his best to get invited into Charlie’s apartment and then doesn’t seem to want to leave. Beneath the flirtatious exterior, Will has been looking for home since he was kicked out as a teen, and views the soft romances of old black-and-white movies as something he will never be able to have. Someone like Charlie, older, educated, kind and loving, in pain and achingly lonely, obviously wouldn’t want to keep Will around, much less let Will fuss over him, so he goes for what he thinks he can get, and makes it clear he’d like Charlie to be his new daddy. Charlie discovers it’s a role that suits him perfectly because Will needs care, and Charlie loves to give it. But Will has never stayed in one place for long. He’s never stayed long with one person, either. Charlie wants Will more with each moment they spend together, but to have him, he’ll have to risk the security of his quiet life. To be happy, Charlie will have to put his shattered heart in Will’s hands and invite him to stay.

Between Sinners and Saints


Marie Sexton - 2011
    Ostracized by his Mormon family for his homosexuality, Levi is determined to live his life his own way, but everything changes when he meets massage therapist Jaime Marshall.Jaime is used to being alone. Haunted by the horrors of his past, his only friend is his faithful dog, Dolly. He has no idea how to handle somebody as gorgeous and vibrant as Levi.Complete opposites on the surface, Levi and Jaime both long for something that they can only find together. Through love and the therapeutic power of touch, they’ll find a way to heal each other, and they’ll learn to live as sinners in a family of saints.

Duncan's World


T.A. Chase - 2010
    He's learned the hard way how his father deals with being upset. The only rebellion Kyle's allowed himself is helping out with the bulls after the event. It's on one such night that Kyle meets Duncan Hornsby.Duncan's the reigning world Champion, and has everything he could want. Yet the shy young man whose father is Duncan's biggest rival catches his eye. Kyle makes Duncan feel protective and passionate. Even though he's seventeen years older than Kyle, Duncan's ready to risk rejection to see if Kyle's lips taste as sweet as they look.Could a relationship grow between them amidst the macho atmosphere of bull riding and the danger presented by Kyle's father? Or will Kyle and Duncan prove that age doesn's count in matters of the heart?

Blue Notes


Shira Anthony - 2011
    Jason Greene thought he had everything: a dream job as a partner in a large Philadelphia law firm, a beautiful fiancee, and more money than he could ever hope to spend. Then he finds his future wife in bed with another man, and he's forced to rethink his life and his choices. On a moment's notice, he runs away to Paris, hoping to make peace with his life.But Jason's leave of absence becomes a true journey of the heart when he meets Jules, a struggling jazz violinist with his own cross to bear. In the City of Love, it doesn't take them long to fall into bed, but as they're both about to learn, they can't run from the past. Sooner or later, they'll have to face the music.

Everything Changes


Melanie Hansen - 2015
    The injury he received in Afghanistan forces him to rely on a reserve of strength he didn’t even know he had. A much deserved vacation will let him reconnect with his best friend, who saved his life and has been there for him through devastating injury and painful recovery. Part-time EMT and aspiring singer Jase DeSantis has been in love with Carey for years, but he’s come to accept that his straight friend will never be able to offer more. Jase fills his days with band rehearsals, ambulance shifts, and willing groupies, all while trying to cope with debilitating PTSD. A week of sun, fun, and music in San Diego changes Jase and Carey’s lives forever when their relationship takes an unexpected turn. Jase has been longing for that change, but it leaves Carey reeling with confusion. As Jase fights to hold things together, Carey deals with doubts, fears, and his own preconceived notions about labels and the true nature of love.

Names Can Never Hurt Me


Wade Kelly - 2014
    Everywhere he goes, he stands out as the best looking guy in the room, and women practically fall into bed with him. Then, after kissing Corey on a dare led to much more and on many occasions, Nick’s “screw anything” reputation escalated, but he didn’t care.When Nick meets RC at the restaurant where he works, it throws his whole life out of whack. RC lives up to his dubbed nickname “Scruffy Dude.” He seems Nick’s complete opposite, but Nick can’t get him out of his head.Because of peer-pressure and his fears about defining his sexuality, Nick struggles with stepping out of his comfort zone and caring about someone different than himself. If he’s lucky, somewhere between arrogance and ignorance, Nick might find out what it means to be an adult, but if he’s wrong, he could lose everything.