Kat's Review: The Craft of Love by EE Ottoman

The Craft of Love by EE Ottoman
Publisher: EE Ottoman, October 19, 2018
Genre: Historical Romance -- Queer

When professional respect leads to something more ...

Benjamin Lewis has created a life for himself as one of the most respected silversmiths and engravers in New York City. For Benjamin, his work is his passion and he has never sought out companionship beyond the close ties of family. Stumbling across dresses sew by his late mother, however, reawakens painful memories from his past. Now he is determined to forge something beautiful from the remains of the life and identity he left behind. In the process, he discovers stunning and fiercely intelligent Miss Quincy who might just have the power to tempt him out of his quiet isolation.

Remembrance Quincy's talent is as undeniable as her needlework is exquisite. She has made a name for herself crafting quilts and embroidery pieces for all the wealthiest ladies in the city. When soft-spoken, yet charming, Mr. Lewis comes to her with a particular project in mind she is intrigued both by his artistic design and by the man himself. He treats her like an equal, values her work and makes her smile, but Remembrance already gave her heart away once, now can she risk doing it again?

Where to Buy*:

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo

More Info:

Author's Site
Add it on Goodreads!

Kat's Review:

Kat's Review: American Dreamer

American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera
Publisher: Carina Press (March 4, 2019)
Series: Dreamers, 1
Genre: Contemporary Romance -- Queer, M/M

No one ever said big dreams come easy

For Nesto Vasquez, moving his Afro-Caribbean food truck from New York City to the wilds of Upstate New York is a huge gamble. If it works? He’ll be a big fish in a little pond. If it doesn’t? He’ll have to give up the hustle and return to the day job he hates. He’s got six months to make it happen—the last thing he needs is a distraction.

Jude Fuller is proud of the life he’s built on the banks of Cayuga Lake. He has a job he loves and good friends. It’s safe. It’s quiet. And it’s damn lonely. Until he tries Ithaca’s most-talked-about new lunch spot and works up the courage to flirt with the handsome owner. Soon he can’t get enough—of Nesto’s food or of Nesto. For the first time in his life, Jude can finally taste the kind of happiness that’s always been just out of reach.

An opportunity too good to pass up could mean a way to stay together and an incredible future for them both…if Nesto can remember happiness isn’t always measured by business success. And if Jude can overcome his past and trust his man will never let him down.

Where to Buy*:

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo

More Info:

Author's Site
Add it on Goodreads! | Find the Series

Content Warnings: Anti-queer religious ideology, racist anti-immigrant rhetoric






Kat's Review:

Kat's Review: Unmasked by the Marquess

Remember, this is a Royal Pick for the month! Check back on December 27th when the monthly giveaway opens!

Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian
Publisher: Avon Impulse (April 17, 2018)
Series: The Regency Impostors, 1
Genre: Historical Romance -- Queer (M/enby)

The one you love…
Robert Selby is determined to see his sister make an advantageous match. But he has two problems: the Selbys have no connections or money and Robert is really a housemaid named Charity Church. She’s enjoyed every minute of her masquerade over the past six years, but she knows her pretense is nearing an end. Charity needs to see her beloved friend married well and then Robert Selby will disappear…forever.

May not be who you think…

Alistair, Marquess of Pembroke, has spent years repairing the estate ruined by his wastrel father, and nothing is more important than protecting his fortune and name. He shouldn’t be so beguiled by the charming young man who shows up on his doorstep asking for favors. And he certainly shouldn’t be thinking of all the disreputable things he’d like to do to the impertinent scamp.

But is who you need…

When Charity’s true nature is revealed, Alistair knows he can’t marry a scandalous woman in breeches, and Charity isn’t about to lace herself into a corset and play a respectable miss. Can these stubborn souls learn to sacrifice what they’ve always wanted for a love that is more than they could have imagined?

Where to Buy*:

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo

More Info:

Author's Site
Add it on Goodreads! | Find the Series

Reviews for Sebastian's Books:

• It Takes Two to Tumble

Kat's Review:

Kat's Review: Calling Calling Calling Me

Remember, since this is a Royal Pick, come back on September 27th for a chance to win an ecopy of your own!

Calling Calling Calling Me by Natasha Washington
Publisher: Natasha Washington (September 4, 2018)
Genre: Contemporary Romance -- Queer, M/M (New Adult)

Patrick Mahoney has one goal in mind: get out of his native Fresno and find freedom in the rainbow and glitter-painted streets of San Francisco. As a college freshman, he’s sure he’ll finally have the chance to be himself, away from the judgmental eyes of his conservative hometown.

Josh Dirda’s never wanted to be tied down before, preferring the emotional ease of the one night stand. But when Patrick moves into the apartment that Josh shares with three friends, Josh is pulled in by Patrick’s sly wit and quietly creative spirit. As Patrick’s self-appointed tour guide, Josh can be Patrick’s introduction to the city he loves. But after a drunken Halloween hook-up crosses lines, Patrick and Josh must reckon with their true feelings—and decide whether they can let go of the ghosts from their pasts that haunt them.

Where to Buy*:

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo

More Info:

Author's Site
Add it on Goodreads!

Content note for the book: Contains a conversation where one person makes derogatory comments about trans folks.

Kat's Review:

Kat's Review: Over and Over Again

Remember, since this is a Royal Pick, come back on August 30th for a chance to win an ecopy of your own!

Over and Over Again by Cole McCade
Publisher: Cole McCade (July 23rd, 2018)
Genre: Contemporary Romance -- M/M

A ring of braided grass. A promise. Ten years of separation.

And memories of an innocent love with the power to last through time.

When Luca Ward was five years old, he swore he would love Imre Claybourne forever. Years later, that promise holds true—and when Luca finds himself shipped off to Imre’s North Yorkshire goat farm in disgrace, long-buried feelings flare back to life when he finds, in Imre, the same patiently stoic gentle giant he’d loved as a boy. The lines around Imre’s eyes may be deeper, the once-black night of his hair silvered to steel and stone…but he’s still the same slow-moving mountain of a man whose quiet-spoken warmth, gentle hands, and deep ties to his Roma heritage have always, to Luca, meant home.

The problem?

Imre is more than twice Luca’s age.

And Luca’s father’s best friend.

Yet if Imre is everything Luca remembered, for Imre this hot-eyed, fey young man is nothing of the boy he knew. Gone is the child, replaced by a vivid man whose fettered spirit is spinning, searching for north, his heart a thing of wild sweet pure emotion that draws Imre into the compelling fire of Luca’s frustrated passions. That fragile heart means everything to Imre—and he’ll do anything to protect it.

Even if it means distancing himself, when the years between them are a chasm Imre doesn’t know how to cross.

But can he resist the allure in cat-green eyes when Luca places his trembling heart in Imre’s hands…and begs for his love, over and over again? 

Where to Buy*:

Kindle -- KU Title

More Info:

Author's Site
Add it on Goodreads!

Kat's Review:

Kat's Review: Blaze

Remember, since this is a Royal Pick, come back on August 30th for a chance to win an ecopy of your own!

Blaze by Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott
Publisher: Jocelynn Drake (June 22, 2018)
Series: Unbreakable Bonds, 5 [but book 2 for this couple]
Genre: Contemporary Romance -- M/M

The rings have been selected.
The champagne placed on ice.
The cake decorated.

And the pre-wedding sex is off the charts...

Lucas Vallois and Andrei Hadeon are finally ready to walk down the aisle. There’s just one small problem.

A ghost from Lucas’s past shows up days before the wedding, desperate for help. Against his better judgement, Lucas and his best friend, Ashton Frost, plan a fast trip back to the one place they swore they’d never go: their hometown in Oklahoma. But the danger is worse than they expected.

Now, they’re in a race to track down a killer, keep a young girl safe, and get Lucas back in time to say, “I do.”

Where to Buy*:

Kindle (KU title)

More Info:

Author's Site
Add it on Goodreads! | Find the Series

Kat's Review:

Kat's Review: Tight Quarters

Remember, since this is a Royal Pick, come back on July26th for a chance to win an ecopy of your own!

Tight Quarters by Annabeth Albert
Publisher: Carina Press; Original edition (July 1, 2018)
Series: Out of Uniform, 6
Genre: Contemporary / Military Romance -- M/M

Petty Officer Bacon, a navy SEAL and ace sharpshooter, has been on the front lines of more than his fair share of dangerous ops. Yet when a minor injury relegates him to the beta team, he’s tasked with what may be his riskiest assignment yet: the silver fox journalist he’s babysitting is the hottest, most charismatic man he’s ever encountered.

Award-winning journalist Spencer Bryant may have been named one of Pride magazine’s most eligible bachelors of the year, but he’s not looking to change his relationship status. He’s a consummate professional who won’t risk his ethics or impeccable reputation by getting involved with a source. Even a sexy-as-hell military man. But while Spencer can resist his physical attraction to Bacon, he has less control over his emotions—especially when the mission goes sideways and the two men are trapped alone.

Getting out of the jungle alive turns out to be easy compared to facing the truth about their feelings for one another back in the real world. And whether or not they can build a future is a different story altogether.

Where to Buy*:

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo

More Info:

Author's Site
Add it on Goodreads! | Find the Series

Reviews for Albert's Books:

• Status Update
• Beta Test
• Connection Error
• Treble Maker
• Love Me Tenor
• All Note Long
• Knit Tight
• Wrapped Together
• Danced Close
• At Attention
• On Point

Content Warnings: Discussion of suicide, suicidal ideations, serious bodily injury, child death

Kat's Review:

Kat's Review: Behind These Doors

Remember, since this is a Royal Pick, come back on June 28th for a chance to win an ecopy of your own!

Behind These Doors by Jude Lucens
Publisher: Greenwose Books (June 22, 2018)
Series: Radical Proposals, 1
Genre: Historical Romance -- Menage

Lucien Saxby is a journalist, writing for the society pages. The Honourable Aubrey Fanshawe, second son of an earl, is Society. They have nothing in common, until a casual encounter leads to a crisis.

Aubrey isn’t looking for love. He already has it, in his long-term clandestine relationship with Lord and Lady Hernedale. And Lucien is the last man Aubrey should want. He’s a commoner, raised in service, socially unacceptable. Worse, he writes for a disreputable, gossip-hungry newspaper. Aubrey can’t afford to trust him when arrest and disgrace are just a breath away.

Lucien doesn’t trust nobs. Painful experience has taught him that working people simply don’t count to them. Years ago, he turned his back on a life of luxury so his future wouldn’t depend on an aristocrat’s whim. Now, thanks to Aubrey, he’s becoming entangled in the risky affairs of the upper classes, antagonising people who could destroy him with a word.

Aubrey and Lucien have too much to hide—and too much between them to ignore. Rejecting the strict rules and closed doors of Edwardian society might lead them both to ruin… but happiness and integrity alike demand it.

An Edwardian Romance. 

Where to Buy*:

Kindle

More Info:

Author's Site
Add it on Goodreads! | Find the Series

Kat's Review:

Kat's Review: After the Wedding

Remember, since this is a Royal Pick, come back on May 31st for a chance to win an ecopy of your own!

After the Wedding by Courtney Milan
Publisher: Courtney Milan (April 24, 2018)
Series: The Worth Saga, 2
Genre: Historical Romance

Adrian Hunter has concealed his identity and posed as a servant to assist his powerful uncle. He’s on the verge of obtaining the information he needs when circumstances spiral out of his control. He’s caught alone with a woman he scarcely knows. When they’re discovered in this compromising circumstance, he’s forced to marry her at gunpoint. Luckily, his uncle should be able to obtain an annulment. All Adrian has to do is complete his mission…and not consummate the marriage, no matter how enticing the bride may be.

Lady Camilla Worth has never expected much out of life—not since her father was convicted of treason and she was passed from family to family. A marriage, no matter how unfortunate the circumstances under which it was contracted, should mean stability. It’s unfortunate that her groom doesn’t agree. But Camilla has made the best of worse circumstances. She is determined to make her marriage work. All she has to do is seduce her reluctant husband. 

Where to Buy*:

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo

More Info:

Author's Site
Add it on Goodreads! | Find the Series

Reviews for Milan's Books:

• Hamilton's Battalion (anthology)
• Trade Me

Kat's Review:

Kat's Review: It Takes Two to Tumble

Say hello to our newest reviewer, Kat! Kat's starting off by reviewing a historical M/M that she absolutely loved. It's definitely going onto my list.

Remember, since this is a Royal Pick, come back on April 26th for a chance to win an ecopy of your own!

It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian
Publisher: Avon Impulse (December 12, 2017)
Series: Seducing the Sedgwicks, 1
Genre: Historical Romance -- M/M

Some of Ben Sedgwick’s favorite things:

✦ Helping his poor parishioners

✦ Baby animals

✦ Shamelessly flirting with the handsome Captain Phillip Dacre

After an unconventional upbringing, Ben is perfectly content with the quiet, predictable life of a country vicar, free of strife or turmoil. When he’s asked to look after an absent naval captain’s three wild children, he reluctantly agrees, but instantly falls for the hellions. And when their stern but gloriously handsome father arrives, Ben is tempted in ways that make him doubt everything.

Some of Phillip Dacre’s favorite things:

✦ His ship

✦ People doing precisely as they're told

✦ Touching the irresistible vicar at every opportunity

Phillip can’t wait to leave England’s shores and be back on his ship, away from the grief that haunts him. But his children have driven off a succession of governesses and tutors and he must set things right. The unexpected presence of the cheerful, adorable vicar sets his world on its head and now he can’t seem to live without Ben’s winning smiles or devastating kisses.

In the midst of runaway children, a plot to blackmail Ben’s family, and torturous nights of pleasure, Ben and Phillip must decide if a safe life is worth losing the one thing that makes them come alive.

Where to Buy*:

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo

More Info:

Author's Site
Add it on Goodreads! | Find the Series

Content Warning: Oblique mentions of childhood sexual abuse

Kat's Review: