Snow Balls by Tara Lain
Balls to the Wall #6
Release Date: December 6, 2017
Genre: Adult, M/M Contemporary Romance
Source: I received a complimentary copy as part of the blog tour. This did not affect my rating and my review is voluntarily provided.
Rating: 4 Bookworms
Challenges: #2017NewRelease
Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ B&N
Synopsis
Is it always wrong to pretend to be Mr. Right?
JJ LaRousse looks like a quarterback but acts like a queen. He's trying to be proud of who he is - until a robbery at the famous Laguna Winter Fantasy brings JJ face-to-face with tough cop Ryan Star. JJ hears Ryan likes manly men, so he drops his voice an octave, colors his pink hair, and tries to pass as a football fan.
Ryan Star may be tough, but he keeps his sexuality to himself at work. He learned in New York that being a gay cop can be deadly. His attraction to JJ threatens his secret, but he's finding it hard to back away from a guy who's so totally his type. Then, during a ski trip and a confrontation with JJ's biggest nemesis, all the facades come crashing down. In the aftermath, can Ryan love JJ for who he really is? More importantly, can JJ?
Yet again, Lain delivers a fell good story about finding yourself and embracing all you discover!
We've all done it. Pretended to like or dislike something hoping to increase our odds of getting someone's approval or catch their eye. However, even if you earn that approval or catch that eye, eventually things fall apart because we can only pretend for so long, right? That's exactly what happened with JJ and Ryan.
JJ LaRousse is 6' 4" of lean muscle, sparkling wit, and fluttering hands. He's seriously a sweetheart and he's worked hard to accept who he is. But upon learning hunky Ryan Star prefers "manly" men, JJ sets about pretending to be just that.
Ryan Star is a recent transplant to Laguna via NYC. He works hard and is good at his job but he experienced a situation at work in New York that has him less that willing to live out in his new job. Meeting JJ, this tall, delicious guy who looks like he could be a football player makes him want a relationship. They'll just have to keep things on the down-low.
Lain deftly combines humor, character development, action, and a relevant social message and creates an engaging story. From page one, I could feel the tension in JJ's body when he got wound up and his hands started fluttering. I delighted in watching JJ and Ryan fall for one another. And even though JJ was projecting a false image of himself, he was still himself at the most elemental levels. I also though it ironic that Ryan balked at finding out JJ didn't like football and beer because he was living closeted and that in and of itself is a for of pretending to be something you're not, right?
At any rate, I was entertained by their story, rooting for them all the way, and cheering in the end.
a Rafflecopter giveaway;
Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in gay romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 40. Her best-selling novels have Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Paranormal Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, Best Romantic Suspense, and more. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft. She lives with her soulmate husband and her soulmate dog near the sea in California she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!
Fire Balls by Tara Lain
Balls to the Wall #5
Release Date: July 12, 2017
Genre: Adult, M/M Contemporary Romance
Source: I received a complimentary copy as part of the blog tour. This did not affect my rating and my review is voluntarily provided.
Rating: 4 Bookworms
Challenges: #2017NewRelease, #COYER
Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ B&N
Synopsis
Can two men with skewed self-images see their true reflections in each other’s eyes?
Jerry Wallender—firefighter, surfer, and occasional nude model—knows he’s no rocket scientist. So why does he keep choosing intellectual guys who make him feel dumber? He worked his buns off to overcome his reading disability and pass the firefighter’s test, and he loves everything about the job.
Well, except for Mick Cassidy, the big, blond, hunky homophobe who harasses Jerry for being gay. But Jerry is smart enough to realize it’s not hate driving Mick, but the pain of a very unhappy upbringing.
Mick Cassidy, Firefighter Assist and Search Team, fights fires, but he can’t fight his attraction to the kindest, most generous—and sexiest—guy he’s ever met. Does that make him gay? If it does, he just might get himself killed by his gay-hating preacher father—and take Jerry down with him.
FAST Balls was a satisfying read as Lain not only gave me Jerry's story - a character I met at the beginning of this series and have come to love - but she also conveyed it in a way that dealt with societal prejudice, discrimination, and ignorance. That's something I'e come to expect from her and something she does well.
When I saw Jerry was getting his own story, I was excited. Jerry is such a good guy - a good friend, fun-loving, and kind. He's a surfer but he's deeper than that having dealt with the struggle of returning to school (he's dyslexic) and becoming a firefighter. He's a character I've come to adore and one who doesn't see all that he is.
Mick Cassidy is not the guy I would have chosen to for a love interest for Jerry. He's also a firefighter - at the same station as Jerry - but he's proven to be callous in his homophobia in the past. However, after learning of Mick's upbringing and how he's lived his life, not to mention his confusion over his own feelings about what he's been taught and lived...well, I softened toward him. Quite a bit actually, especially seeing how he views himself.
Jerry and Mick have gotten to know each other while working together and while that happened off-page, I still felt their feelings toward one another were genuine. They connect because of certain situations and I liked how they were there for one another. I also liked how they helped each other see themselves through each other's eyes.
Overall, FAST Balls was fulfilling for me in that Jerry got his story. I got to spend time with the other guys from the series - even if it was only a little - and the way Lain incorporated bigotry was handled well. I'm excited for the next installment!
Giveaway
Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in gay romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 40. Her best-selling novels have Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Paranormal Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, Best Romantic Suspense, and more. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft. She lives with her soulmate husband and her soulmate dog near the sea in California she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!
Volley Balls by Tara Lain
Balls to the Wall #1
Release Date: January 11, 2017
Genre: Adult, M/M Contemporary Romance
Source: I received a complimentary copy as part of the blog tour. I voluntarily reviewed it.
Rating: 3.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #2017NewRelease
Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ B&N
Synopsis
A double dose of alpha male might be better than one.
Despite just getting out of an abusive relationship with an asshole alpha, David Underwood's wandering glance lands on two hot members of the Australian volleyball team on Laguna Beach and gets him harassed again. Still, when the delicious Gareth Marshall proves his interest by coming out to his team, David succumbs to his attraction. But Gareth's volleyball partner, Edge, who's equally hot, makes the lovers' lives miserable.
For Gareth, a lifetime of hiding his orientation--and his attraction--from his best friend, Edge, as well as everyone else around him, adds up to hurt and frustration. David's the first man to ever compete with Edge for Gareth's passion. But Edge has secrets of his own, and David's ex-lover will never be happy without David under his fist. With everything stacked against him, can a gay Laguna man find happiness with an alpha male--or two?
Although I had a few reservations, I quite enjoyed this first book in the Balls to the Wall series. Not only did I get to meet new characters to fall for, Lain also took on the topic prejudice.
When we first meet David, he's being yelled out, taunted with slurs, by one of two hot volleyball players. It shakes him up, of course. It turns out David is a successful guy, owning his own art gallery. But he's also recently out of an abusive relationship and has no real interest in a new one.
Then he meets Gareth - the other half of the volleyball duo he was ogling...the one not yelling slurs. Gareth's been raised in a country and in an environment that ridicules gays. Which is problematic since he is gay.
Edge, Gareth's volleyball partner, is one of the worst offenders in the bigotry department. He and Gareth have been best mates since they were young. And his attitude and behavior are really upsetting since Gareth wants to come out and is attracted to Edge.
All the characters were engaging and I liked the story. I liked watching David help Gareth deal with the fallout over revealing his sexual orientation. I enjoyed seeing how attentive and serious Gareth was over David. Edge had to grow on me but I could see what he was hiding from everyone, including himself. However, I didn't feel like there was enough time spent with the characters, seeing all the dynamics, the relationship(s) grow, so that kept me from forming the deep connection with them that I would have liked. Also, the chain reaction of events that happened once David and Gareth became a couple occurred really fast. Not that I didn't feel the connection between them - it was just lightning quick. I had to wonder at the reality of it all - whether or not Gareth would have come out so quickly or whether David would enter into any sort of relationship with someone who'd harassed him after what he'd suffered with his ex.
Overall though, I enjoyed the story and am eager to continue the series. Lain's writing makes for easy reading and I always like her take on topics such as prejudice. I hope to not only get to know side characters better but continue getting to know David, Gareth, and Edge as well.
Rafflecopter Giveaway
Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 23. Her bestselling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft. She lives with her soulmate husband and her soulmate dog in Laguna Beach, California, a pretty seaside town where she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”
Snow Balls by Tara Lain
