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Ms. Irving has created a Gothic style contemporary paranormal romance with many interesting twists that keep the reader spellbound until the very end. 5/5 stars - Teresa @ Rainbow Reviews

Hiding behind the safe mask of Obsidian, his online persona, Kain Mitchell woos Nick Anders, an untouched artist. Nick tells himself that Obsidian is merely his erotic muse, but when Kain drags him down into his dark world, echoing the myth of Hades and Persephone, Nick discovers he wants to see him, touch him, and move beyond the limitations of masks. Because as seductive as Obsidian is, Nick senses Kain’s real isolation.

Implicated for the murders of young men matching Nick’s description, Kain lives under a shadow, and troubled by the mystery, Nick pushes to get closer. Driven to prove Kain’s innocence, Nick pursues the killer with Kain’s reluctant help—and strives to become the human submissive and tender lover needed by the lonely and otherworldly warrior.

A Bottled Up Story

Sean Bielecki has built a new life, leaving an infamous identity and painful past behind. Now Sommelier Wines is Sean’s dream. And after taking in Bobby, a homeless teenager who was attacked in the alley behind his store, parental instincts wake in him that he didn’t know he had, giving him new courage and direction.

Officer Sam Davis has been watching Sean for a while—not because of his past—but rising star because Sam wants to be a part of his life now. Sam finally asks Sean out, and they seem to click, but Sean is haunted by his memories.

It all comes to a head when the man who attacked Bobby returns, awakening Sean’s buried fears, which are compounded by a hateful ex and a new lover who puts his life on the line for others. Can Sean come to terms with his past and present to move into the future? Or will his dream of love end before it starts?

When the manager of Kazuki, Japan's hottest pop star, approaches Benjamin Blume, manager of the fledgling rock 'n' roll band Hayate, he can't believe their good fortune. Their plan to court publicity by having Hayate's lead singer, Kaji, pose as The Shining One's lover sends both groups' popularity skyrocketing.  But when the publicity stunt turns into a real affair with disastrous consequences, Kaji is left heartbroken.

Unfortunately, Ben has problems of his own. Soothing his lead singer's pain and keeping Hayate on the road to success becomes even more challenging when his ex-lover, rock god Hagen Rune, shows up promoting rival band Voodoo. Torn between the attentions of Kazuki's attorney, Shin Yoshiro, and the feelings for Rune that have never quite died, Ben's decisions could send Hayate to the top of the charts—or lead to disaster for them all.

Nicholas Sayers, needing money for college, takes a job as assistant to infamous photographer Damian Wolfe. It's just taking pictures, right? Wrong. While Nick has never questioned what kind of man he is or what he truly wants in life, working for Damian during a BDSM photo shoot opens his eyes to all sorts of sexual possibilities, and many of them include the handsome Mr. Wolfe.

Damian has serious doubts about getting involved with a younger man who knows nothing about the BDSM lifestyle, but Nick's adventurous and humorous approach to new experiences is far too alluring to resist. Although he knows it might be a mistake, Damian takes Nick into his life.

Flirting on the edges of control, submission, and pain excites Nick more than he would have ever dreamed possible. With Damian, Nick learns about his own deeply hidden desires and finds out that relinquishing control doesn’t make him weak—having someone else in control of his sexual pleasure simply heightens it. And the reverse is true for Damian: Control turns him on. So they set out to explore these sensual boundaries together, neither expecting to find love along the way.

Seeking first-time riding lessons in the rolling hills of Connecticut, Gerald Saunders is pleased to discover Sutcliffe Cove. The current proprietor, Brett Sutcliffe, welcomes the beginner, and Gerald quickly finds a home away from home at the farm as he spends more and more time volunteering there.

Over the course of a few months, Gerald and Brett build a strong friendship, but it's not until Gerald is off on vacation that the two men realize their friendship could be so much more... sexually satisfying, emotionally intimate, or even warmly loving. But Gerald is so laid back, Brett just isn't sure what to do next. Move forward and deepen their relationship? Or back off and just be friends with benefits?

A Bottled Up Story

Tyler O'Connor, a successful antiques dealer, meets aspiring artist Mark Burke when Mark's mother decides to sell some of her antiques collection. Tyler is enchanted by the quiet, reserved artist and works up the courage to ask Mark to dinner. Despite the date's success and their mutual attraction, Mark's happiness takes a blow when his mother learns that he is gay and throws him out of the house. Unsure of where to go, Mark shows up on Tyler's doorstep and finds shelter.

Tyler's encouragement and support help kick-start Mark's career, especially when Mark finds that Tyler inspires him in the bedroom as well as the studio. But they're daunted when bad memories of the past, struggles in the present, and fear for the future strain Mark and Tyler's budding relationship. As the old saying goes, the best revenge is living well—and in this case—loving well, and with that in mind, Mark and Tyler go in search of happily ever after.

John McCann, a man who judges life by the tally of an accounts ledger, has a supreme goal in life: To achieve, live, and enjoy the rarified executive lifestyle. But he's encountered one problem: The migraines are going to continue to get worse unless you make some major changes in your lifestyle. What you need is a 'sea change'… Perhaps buy a nice little business in the country, settle down, something easier to occupy your time…

While John knows the doctor is right, he just can't resign from the job he's fought so hard for. He decides the sacrifice of taking a year's leave of absence won't interfere too much with his plans, and so he finds himself running Margins, a cozy little bookstore, with the help of the former owner's son, Jamie. John expects to put in his year, get his stress under control, and then get back to business.

What John doesn't expect is how Margins and its denizens draw him in, particularly the quiet, disheveled man who takes refuge in the old leather chair in the second-hand book section. John's plans for an unattached year of simple business crumble when he meets David and is forced to reevaluate life, love and what he really wants from both. John and David are forced to come to terms with their pasts as they struggle to determine what possible future they might build together.

Captured and accused of piracy, privateer Blaise Risner, captain of the Golden Stallion, finds himself in a clinch - literally - with Confederation Admiral Peter Keller, who promises to see justice done by way of hard labor. But when the chemistry between them rivals the heat of the twin Talixin suns, the dominant admiral decides he wants to handle the rehabilitation of the provocative pirate himself. After their first close encounter, Blaise figures that serving Keller in such a personal capacity won't be such a terrible sentence.

Keller dispenses his own forms of painful justice and sensual discipline, which usually involve a not-so-resistant Blaise on his knees bound and determined to give as good as he gets. The privateer can't deny that suffering the handsome admiral's punishments makes him burn like the fires of the Horsehead Nebula. Serving in the roles of prisoner and captor defines their 'relationship', but no power can stop a shooting star ... the star of startling passion that flares every time they touch.

Just when Blaise thinks he can navigate the treacherous asteroid field of emotion to find common ground with Keller, an interstellar war tears them apart. Through it all, Blaise's desire for his captor stands as tall and strong as the monoliths of Maraven, and he'll go to the very edge of the galaxy and back if that's what it takes to crack the ice around the admiral's heart.

When British drug lord Gareth "Hairy" Carey stakes out territory in their jurisdiction, openly gay police officer Rick Miles is determined to use the opportunity to prove his worth to prejudiced colleagues. With no backup but his partner Graciela Cruz, Rick goes undercover without official sanction and wins a spot in Carey's gang using his good looks and sheer bravado.

Now Rick is in the tank with the sharks, but this isn't his first cruise. He's prepared to deal with the vicious drug traffickers.  What he isn't prepared for is Billy Rose, Carey's astonishingly handsome spoiled brat paramour.  Billy is sexy and smart, and he delights in seducing dangerous men - men like the one Rick is pretending to be.  Thrown together when Carey orders the new soldier to squire Billy around town, Rick finds himself fighting a strong attraction to the sharp-tongued toy boy.

Juggling the dangerous distraction and maintaining a credible cover, Rick is thrown off-balance by a sequence of disastrous events, and as he scrambles to keep his footing, the havoc accelerates before he can call in backup. Marooned in a realm of sly deception, immediate reprisal, and sudden violence, he's forced to act against the dictates of his conscience to stay alive when a single misstep could mean death.

It wasn't the first time Heydn Case had to transfer to a new school, but Acton-Pierce Academy was the prep school of choice for people with a lot more money than he had. As always, the good-natured Texan was hoping to find a friend; his assigned roommate was hoping to be left alone and said so rather bluntly.

Heydn had never met anyone quite like Blue Barclay, the campus's resident eccentric loner, but the two young men soon find they have more in common than they might have imagined. Friendship quickly takes on a new dimension of physical intimacy accompanied by bewildering new feelings. However, Blue and Heydn are given little time to explore and understand what is growing between them before they're pulled apart.

Heydn is chosen for the track team and befriended by a popular senior. Fearing, rightly, that their relationship would cost him the place he's won at Acton, Heydn turns his back on Blue. He feels he's made the right choice for his future, but when Blue finds a new friend, Heydn realizes he's made a terrible mistake. Is it too late for him to try to win Blue's heart again?

Jack Christensen has everything he ever wanted. He's a rising star in US Diplomacy, the youngest man to have been appointed as an Ambassador of the United States. A career diplomat who's just been sent to a politically interesting Embassy in Europe, he has the perfect wife, speaks five languages and has all the right credentials, yet there's something missing and he doesn't quite know what.

Then Lucas Carlton walks into an Embassy reception and introduces himself and his American fiancée. From the first handshake, the young Englishman makes an impression on Jack that leaves him confused and uncharacteristically insecure. Lucas' position as the British liaison to the American Embassy means they are forced to work together closely and they have a hard time denying the attraction between them, despite their current relationships.

When their women decide to go on a weekend trip together, Jack and Lucas start a passionate relationship, which continues long after their partners return. Diplomatic circles are notoriously conservative though, and they each know that the right woman by their side makes a very significant contribution to their success. Will they be able to make the right choices in their professional and personal lives? Or will they need to sacrifice one for the other?

A collection of three m/m sci-fi novellas by Madeleine Urban: Enhanced, Close Encounter, and Following the Sun.

Enhanced

In Earth’s not-too-far future, a talented scientist stumbles over a plot to use the genetically enhanced military to declare martial law and take over the government. Dr. Ryne Siler enlists his friend, Dr. Cary Matthews, a brilliant engineer, to figure out how to stop it. When the investigation goes awry, they’re on the run, and the only thing between them and capture is a hidden cache of sleeping soldiers with enhancements of their own. Ryne and Cary are desperate, but will waking these soldiers help – or just make things worse?

Close Encounter

Space privateer Tris is just doing his job – delivering canisters to a military science vessel – when he discovers that he is transporting people infected with an engineered virus designed to exterminate the human race. In the midst of an alien attack, can the rogue pilot save patient Retter - the key to the cure? Or will he lose both humanity’s salvation and his heart?

Following the Sun

The nearly fatal crash of their spacecraft leaves Jack and Samuel stranded on a verdant planet far from civilization. Discovered and sheltered by a native tribe, the two resign themselves to new lives – lives that include a new culture, a new language, and even new love. But their new home isn’t at all what it seems, and when war and illness strike, they find out just how far from home they are.

A collection of short stories from one of today's most talented and challenging new writers. Eric Arvin covers everything from college love to mystical river sprites, from deep tragedy to bawdy sex comedy, in this collection that takes the everyday and finds the adventure within. It's a read sure to keep you guessing.

Cover art and illustrations by HvH http://hvhexpo.blogspot.com

Seven years ago, Roan Bucklin left the family ranch for college, leaving foreman Patrick Lassiter with a mix of sweltering emotions: relief, regret, and nearly overwhelming desire. Afraid that Roan would regret giving himself to an older man, Patrick let him go without a word about his true feelings. But Roan took Patrick's heart with him.

Roan had harbored a crush on Patrick from the time he'd turned fourteen. He thought he'd gotten over it, grown up, moved on, but now he's back and home to stay. After one look, he knows he has something to prove to Patrick – that he wants to be claimed by the cowboy who has always possessed his heart.

Includes the Bonus Novella ~ Justice

Years of eating, breathing and dreaming revenge have left the three Abrams brothers homesick for a place that doesn't exist. When they happen upon the small town of Justice, the welcome and acceptance seems too good to be true. As each brother finds a reason to stay, the desire for revenge fades – until one Abrams brother disappears. Then Justice bonds together to support its own, and the brothers discover they've finally found a home.

Upon their grandmother's death, Tristan Northland and his twin, Will, inherit her Book of Shadows and discover that one of their ancestors, a spurned witch, is responsible for dark magic that has affected the Sterling family for generations: Your firstborn son shall know the lure of the night and the lust of the moon... he will become a creature of nightmares... until the true love that should have been, finally is. Determined to right the ancient wrong, Tristan sets off across the ocean to reverse the centuries-old curse.

Benjamin Sterling might not be happy alone—not quite human, nor accepted by true werewolves—but his life is predictable, at least until Tristan Northland shows up in his office, unannounced and with nowhere to stay. Because of the curse he carries, Benjamin has plenty of reason to distrust witches and Northlands as well as the werewolf tribe that has always treated him as an outcast. But with Tristan at his side, Benjamin finds himself and his future transformed by two unexpected emotions: blooming hope and enduring love.

...a touching romance that is genuine and timeless. The supporting players are rich and brought even more warmth and appeal to the story. I was guessing who the villain is (different guesses each time!) throughout and I wasn't disappointed with the final reveal. A delightfully sensual romance. 5 of 5 Cherries - Chamomile @ Whipped Cream Reviews

Overseer Nicolas Wells had been coming to Mount Desert Island for ten summers to help build cottages for the rich and powerful.  Despite his secrets, he had grown comfortable in the peaceful little island town, getting to know its inhabitants and even to consider some of them friends.  The eleventh year, however, he arrived to startling news:  the island's peace had been shattered by a murder.  At the request of the sheriff, Shawn Parnell, Nicolas agreed to hire Philip Hall, the local blacksmith and the probable next victim, in the hope that the secure construction site would be safer than his house in the village.  He never expected the decision to lead to danger. Or to love.