S.E.X. Review~ Sunset on Turtle Lake by Carol Lynne

Winter isn’t the only chill in the air on Turtle Lake.

When Sam Burgman’s mother, Gloria, nears the end of her battle with cancer, Sam makes the hard decision to leave his job as a corporate lawyer in Miami to take his mom home to Turtle Lake, Minnesota.

Ian Mendoza takes his job as Gloria’s caregiver very seriously, but, unlike the assignments he’s taken in the past, Ian fails to maintain a professional distance when it comes to Sam. Unfortunately for Ian, Sam refuses to open his heart despite their mutual attraction.

Born and raised in Miami, Ian isn’t prepared for the frozen landscape that is Minnesota in the winter, but the chill he wants to erase is the one coming from Sam.

Reader Advisory: This book deals with maternal illness/death.

Once again Carol Lynne has reduced this reader to tears as I waded through her touching romance Sunset on Turtle Lake. A beautifully written story of loss and found, Sam found solace and understanding in Ian, the man who cared for his mother through her last days.

Set in the wintery Minnesota the descriptors were aptly written and transported me to the house on the lake. The tenderness displayed by the characters through Ms. Lynne's words traversed time and place and brought a sense of peace to the sorrow.

Sunset on Turtle Lake is a must read, but grab a tissue or two...I guarantee you'll need it.

Definite S.E.X.

A five handcuff review

Pride Publishing Buy Link

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2016 ©Evelise Archer All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.

S.E.X. Review~ It was a Thursday by Carol Lynne

It was a Thursday. The day one eighteen-year-old gunman would change the lives of an entire town.

Principal Mark Kurtz loved his school. He worked hard to give his students every advantage in life, but he could have never predicted that on a warm day in May, a distraught senior would commit an unimaginable act of vengeance on his classmates.

In the aftermath of the shooting that left both students and faculty members dead, Mark must deal with his own guilt while trying to help those around him feel safe once again.

Mark’s problems are compounded when an old flame, Lane Warner, arrives in town to help treat the trauma victims. How can he possibly deal with his own guilt, be there for his seventeen-year-old son and confront the part of himself he’s always denied while trying to heal a broken community? 

It was a Thursday by Carol Lynne delved into a topic that we are becoming all too familiar with~ school violence. A heart-warming story of a high school that experienced bullying and tragedy, Ms. Lynne created a sentimental journey of finding life after death.

Mark, high school principal, must come to terms with the knowledge that one of his students committed a sad and heinous act of violence against fellow students and faculty. Mark not only witnessed the shooting, but the young man who felt there was no other way out, spoke to him as his final act. Mark began to tailspin into depression and the bottle.

Lane, former college classmate and best friend of Mark, was a trauma psychologist and arrived in the small town in the aftermath of the tragedy to assist the victims with their feelings and the will to live on.

It was a Thursday was not only the story of tragedy amongst our school systems, but a story of unrequited love and affection between Mark and Lane. Mark must come to terms with the feelings he has always harbored for Lane even as he married and had a child, Max.

What I particularly enjoyed about the book~ Ms. Lynne delivered all point of views. Mark~ the principal who felt guilty about not being able to save and keep all his students safe. Mark~ the adult who must come to terms with his homosexuality and his love for Lane.

Lane~ the psychologist who never stopped loving Mark and hoped to make a life for the two of them now that they had found each other again.

Max~ Mark’s son. A special young man who fought for family and friends, the high school senior who accepted life would never be the same and yet still found the courage to go on, accepting that not everything is black and white, and love can truly make the world a better place.

Carol Lynne took a difficult subject and wrote a powerful book full of compassion for all. In death and despair we are all victims and must find forgiveness and understanding. Without that, we cannot make the world a better place.

Book provided by author/publisher in exchange for an honest review

A five handcuff review

Pride Publishing Buy Link

2015 ©Evelise Archer All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.

S.E.X. Review~ Solo by Carol Lynne

In a club of mean bikers, being gay can get you killed, but love can save any man.

Sam ‘Solo’ Braun lives by one truth, the Grave Diggers Motorcycle Club, above all. The creed has served him well, giving him the only real family he’s ever known. He would die for his brothers and them for him, but they don’t know he prefers men over women. Coming out to a group of men who fear no one isn’t high on Solo’s priority list, especially because he’s never indulged in more than one-night stands.

Everything changes after one night with Eric James. For the first time, Solo can’t stop thinking about a single night he’d spent with a man. When fate intervenes, Solo comes face-to-face with his blue-eyed obsession, only to find out Eric is a cop. Solo hates cops, and so do his brothers in the club. However, Solo decides to gamble everything and spend more time with Eric under the guise of getting information.

Falling in love with a cop is a very dangerous proposition for a man in Solo’s position, so why can’t he walk away?

Carol Lynne delivered a MC book where the men were macho and hard, yet with a loving streak a mile long. Solo, Grave Diggers MC 1 lived up to my expectations of everything that should be in a book where the choppers hate the coppers~ with an added twist.

Solo runs with the Grave Diggers, has a hatred for those who sell drugs to school children and finds love in the most unexpected person~ police officer Eric James. Big, bad MC members are supposed to hate the police. For Solo and Eric the inexplicable attraction tears at their soul and binds them together through all trials and tribulations.

Ms. Lynne gave us men of hardened hearts, of those who have seen too much in a short life time, and delivered a beautifully written story of realistic feelings and expectations.

Life in a motorcycle gang is not for the faint of heart and hurt and pain are a part of the member’s everyday lives. Ms. Lynne demonstrated the ability to exist in this world and still come out sane and intact, with love and security.

The camaraderie between the MC members validated the proven fact that the men take care of each other and those they consider their own. Kudos Ms. Lynne for delivering!

I look forward to reading more in this series. Solo was a wonderful start.

Book provided by author/publisher in exchange for an honest review

Definite S.E.X.

A five handcuff review

 Pride Publishing Buy Link

2015 ©Evelise Archer All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.

S.E.X. Review~ Welcome to Lobster Cove by Carol Lynne

When following your dream lands you in Lobster Cove, Maine, anything is possible.

After gaining custody of his younger brother, Boone Jensen moves to a unique LGBT community on the coast of Maine. There, he hopes to find work as a stonemason, heal his broken heart and give his brother a safe place to call home.

Life was good in New York City for chef Dante Madia, until his business partner betrayed him. Determined to trust only himself, Dante risks everything on a new restaurant venture in a small fishing village built on acceptance.

Neither man is looking for love, but in a town like Lobster Cove, secret dreams have the ability to become realities.

I enjoyed Carol Lynne’s start to her spinoff series Lobster Cove in Welcome to Lobster Cove. Maine’s version of Cattle Valley, Lobster Cove is a newly formed gay-friendly town with welcoming characters.

Two men starting over, Dante and Boone relocate to Lobster Cove for different reasons. Both characters were likeable, but I have to admit that I fell in love with Laddie, Boone’s down syndrome teenage brother who he is raising since their mother died. Laddie was larger than life, warm and precocious. He stole the show.

Boone and Dante’s relationship went from zero to sixty in a few short pages with a bit of angst and hesitation on Dante’s part. I do believe that Ms. Lynne did a nice introduction to her new series—friendly characters, loving men and a safe haven.

Book provided by author/publisher in exchange for an honest review

Frisky but Nothing to Kinky

A three handcuff review

Totally Bound Buy Link

S.E.X. Review~ Professor Sandwich by Carol Lynne

Love is a give and take, whether shared by two men or three.

After the devastating loss of his parents, Rusty Bonham feels like he is floating through life without an anchor. The problem, he discovers, is the anchor he wants is already tied to another man, an equally hot professor.

Professors Adam Ryan and Manuel Corto Delgado believed they had the perfect life, but everything changed the day Rusty walked into Adam’s classroom and sat in the front row. Four years later, Adam and Manuel still want Rusty, but it wasn’t until Rusty fell victim to an attack that they decided to do something about it.

Inviting Rusty into their bed and lives turned out to be the easy part, but when Rusty reveals a secret, they discover the challenge will be keeping him there.

Professors Adam Ryan and Manny Corto Delgado have had their eyes on Rusty for some time, and Rusty has admired the stunning professors from afar too. An unfortunate attack brings the two scholars to the forefront of Rusty’s life as they nurse him back to health, their emotions on their sleeves.

Professor Sandwich by Carol Lynne was a wonderful addition to the Campus Cravings series. Adam and Manny were solid, passionate lovers who craved Rusty to join their relationship. Rusty, a sexual virgin, was timid and apprehensive at the possibility of being with the two men.

Ms. Lynne delivered a wonderful transition to Rusty’s personality, from shy introvert to outgoing and open. He became a caterpillar that morphed into a well-rounded and beautiful butterfly, expanding his horizons and becoming secure in his life.

Professor Sandwich spoke of a journey, the slow and sometimes painful trek needed to achieve your goals. Steamy sex scenes aside, Ms. Lynne created a safe haven of sexual exploration and gratification for all parties and not a sexual frenzy.

Always one to capture my attention, Ms. Lynne created depth and sincerity with her latest installment in the Campus Cravings series.
(Copy provided in exchange for an honest review)

Definite S.E.X.

A five handcuff review

Totally Bound Buy Link