Tempestuous Relations by Amanda Young

This is Amanda Young's lastest offering and, while it took me awhile to get to it, it was worth the wait. It's a relatively short story published by eXcessica and, as always, she's written an engaging and emotionally strong story.  Short though it may be it's filled everything you expect to get in an Amanda Young story.  There is the requisite man-on-man loving, a shocking surprise and the expected fallout; but that's all I'm going to say because I really wouldn't want to ruin the impact.  But be assured that it is a romance with all that entails... and enjoy! 

One thing that I will mention is that one of the tag-lines that Amanda uses is: Romance Without Inhibition... definitely one of the things that I enjoy a lot about her stories!
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Book Description:


Dominic Mackenzie isn’t too proud to take advantage of the local gloryhole. As far as he’s concerned, there’s nothing better than a warm, wet mouth without any strings attached. It’s only by accident that he discovers the shocking identity of the man on his knees. Once the secret’s out, then all bets are off.

Heart Song by Jambrea Jo Jones

On one of the Yahoo groups to which I belong someone mentioned something about this new book being released by Jambrea Jo Jones called Heart Song.  So, being the book fiend that I am I checked out the excerpt and wow!  I was hooked and immediately headed off to get my own copy. 

Then yesterday while at one of the groups discussion turned to J3's book and I mentioned that I didn't need to enter a contest for the book 'cause I'd already bought it.  As I was reading, or rather re-reading Ethan Day's Dreaming of You at the time, and had a number of new books that I wanted to devour.. er read, I said that I'd be reading it soon-ish. 
One of the other posters encouraged me to read it NOW and she was so enthusiastic about it I decided that I'd read it as soon as I finished my book. 

Am I ever glad that I listened to her! Even as I started reading I was entranced; the power that this story had to get one's attention was surprising.  As I contiued I honestly felt as though I'd been whacked upside the head and grabbed by the heart; the emotional impact as I was reading had tears running down my face and I couldn't see to read.  In fact even as I write up this review I can feel the emotional tug. 

I'm not going to put the excerpt here, just the brief blurb... and let me tell you it's a real tease.

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Rafe lost his love, but did he really have it to begin with? He finds out more than he bargained for after the death of his ex-lover. Will he ever find the love he is looking for?
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So if you're looking for a wonderful short story with a big impact, give Jambrea Jo Jones' Heart Song a try... you won't be sorry! Oh and yeah... the cover's not too bad either. *wink*

Faith & Fidelity by Tere Michaels

I'm not much for writing book reviews. That said, there are times that I read a book that has such an impact on me that I cannot just say one time what it was that got to me so much. But this latest book that I read ~ Faith & Fidelity by Tere Michaels ~ is so much more than just a story to me. I do tend to get involved in the stories that I read, some much more so than others, but there is the occasional story that takes my heart and my very emotions by storm and I want others to find the treasure as well.
Below is the review that I wrote up on my eHarlequin blog... but I really wanted to get the word about this amazing author out even further, so here it is:

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Tere Michaels ~ Faith and Fidelity ~ Loose Id, LLCSeptember 2008 [88K]

My reaction to the story from the beginning was far more involved than I ever expected, and while often very emotional it was also intensely invigorating.
The basic premise of the story, as I see it: Love ~ true love, romantic love, whatever you want to call it ~ is more than gender. Neither man, Matt nor Evan, had ever experienced attraction to another man. But finding someone that knew just how lonely and hurt the other was, was the basis for a friendship that superceded anything they had ever imagined, and slowly, eventually, they both came to realize that what they felt for each other was far more than mere friendship. And that shocked the heck outta both of them.
The process by which they came to terms with what they felt, both the emotional component and the impact it would have on their lives, reads as an extremely realisitic experience.
There were times that I seemed to experience emotional overload and had to take a short break, but I could never leave them for long. It wasn't only the beauty and strength of Matt and Evan's love that drew me deep into their lives; many of the other characters ~ Helena, Vic, Liz, Miranda, Kathleen & Elizabeth and Danny (Love those two!) ~ added so much life and realism to what I was reading. All I can say is is that I would read this story again... right now. And even for me, that is very, very rare! All I can say is that, for anyone that loves a romance that will leave a lasting impression, you will NOT want to miss Tere Michaels' Faith and Fidelity.