Between Ghosts is a standalone romantic thriller by Garrett Leigh set mainly in Iraq, during the horrors of conflict in Basra. The main characters are all English and except for Connor, members of an elite SAS squad. Connor Reagan is a journalist and in 2003, he marched with a million others through London, decrying the…
Kai and Garrett. The soldier and the You Tube star. Two different voices written by two different authors. The setup could, if handled tritely, be eye-rolling—Kai is a semi-professional online gamer, and Garrett runs into him while playing Fallen World Online from his bunk in Afghanistan. Garrett fixes military vehicles and has been in the…
Strong Signal is the first novel from authors Megan Erickson & Santino Hassell, and this collaboration is damn good. Happily, this is also the first in a series by the pair called Cyberlove. Writing in collaboration seems to mellow Santino’s usual gritty, cynical angle on love and sex somewhat, while adding a little raunch to…
Levi Talbot made it home from the Middle East, but his best friend Tomas Lopez didn’t. Before he died, Tommy asked Levi to look out for Tommy’s wife, Val, and their girls, so Levi goes home to Whispering Pines, New Mexico, to fulfill his promise. While I appreciate that Karen Templeton is out there fighting…
Library Wars: Love & War is, quite simply, about fighting against censorship and the banning of books. In this fictional near-future Japan, the Media Betterment Committee was formed about 30 years prior to protect the population from unsavory materials. Unfortunately, the MBC took things to a whole new level, where it is a common occurrence…
You know what I like about Carla Kelly’s books? They have real people. I don’t just mean that she doesn’t pull out the marquesses and dukes, although she has eschewed the nobility in the last decade. I mean her characters act and speak like actual complex human beings. They don’t just shriek and sigh and…
With First to Burn, military romance plus a foray into the paranormal proves to be a winner for the most part. Anna Richland takes her immortal warriors and blends the Beowulf legend with modern-day military conflict for a story that certainly caught my attention. Even with the dreaded sagging middle, it’s still strong enough for…
When I read the description of this novella, I just had to read it: An HIV-positive guy and a double amputee war veteran get together over saving homeless dogs to train as service dogs. How cool does that sound? Built-in angst and legitimate survival. Wow. Unfortunately, the total of the parts didn’t meet my expectations….
This book is a slight departure from Cindy Gerard’s typical romantic suspense novels and I had a bit of a difficult time deciding how to categorize it. There are elements of suspense in the book, but it was not really a suspenseful novel. So, I just decided to go with the more inclusive and generic…
Peterson fans should be delighted with her newest couple, two career Marines who are on the verge of retiring just as the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is about to be revoked in 2011. Of all the writers of gay romance who have a handle on what love really is, Peterson outshines them all. Gunner…