Caregiver by Rick R. Reed

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Indie Reviews

It’s 1991, and Dan Calzolaio has just moved to Florida with his lover, Mark, having fled Chicago and Mark’s addictions to begin a new life on the Gulf Coast. Volunteering for the Tampa AIDS Alliance is just one part of that new beginning, and that’s how Dan meets his new buddy, Adam.

Adam Schmidt is not at all what Dan expected. The guy is an original—witty, wry, and sarcastic with a fondness for a smart black dress, Barbra Streisand, and a good mai tai. Adam doesn’t let his imminent death get him down, even through a downward spiral that sees him thrown in jail.

Each step of Adam’s journey teaches Dan new lessons about strength and resilience, but it’s Adam’s lover, Sullivan, to whom Dan feels an almost irresistible pull. Dan knows the attraction isn’t right, even after he dumps his cheating, drug-abusing boyfriend. But then Adam passes away, and it leaves Sullivan and Dan both alone to see if they can turn their love for Adam into something whole and real for each other.

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Playing By The Rules by Justin Crockett Elzie

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Indie Reviews

The military has lots of rules and they are all expected to be followed. United States Marine Corps Sergeant Justin Elzie, wanting to make a difference, followed a rule of integrity and came out publicly on ABC Evening World News in January 1993. He became the first Marine discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and later reinstated, becoming the first Marine to challenge Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell with a federal court case and went on to serve four years openly gay.

In Playing By The Rules retired Marine Sergeant Justin Elzie takes the reader on an autobiographical journey of self-discovery from his early years growing up on a farm in Wyoming to joining the Marine Corps and finding an underground gay subculture within the military.

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Wonder: A Novel by Dan Boyle

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Indie Reviews

Tom Flaherty is a Caltech professor, world-renowned physicist and String theorist. He takes a sabbatical and moves back home to Washington State to help take care of his aging mother who’s been diagnosed with a rare form of dementia. Maude Flaherty’s dementia causes her to journey back in time and relive her memories.

During his sabbatical, Tom is invited to guest lecture at the University of Washington where he begins a series of lectures on space, time and the cosmos. While his return home heralds a rekindling of old friendships and the formation of new ones, it is not an easy family reunion as Tom comes to terms with his mother’s aging and illness, and is forced to face the issues surrounding his painful relationship with his sister. But all these things coalesce and serve as catalysts for Tom’s realization that he’s been hiding from life since the violent death of his lover and partner, and that it’s time to start living again.

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The Zagzagel Diaries: Loved (Story 6) by Bryl R. Tyne

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Indie Reviews

It all comes down to this…

The guardian angel Zagzagel has had a difficult time reconciling the requirements of his job with his personal feelings for his charges. Through his diary entries (FORSAKEN, DENIAL, DESPERATE, LOST and BROKEN) his frustration has grown until it forced a showdown with none other than Big Papa himself

Now the fallout from that confrontation begins to settle, but nothing can prepare Zagzagel for the return of two faces from his past…and a complete surprise that will forever alter his future.

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The Art of The Delaneys by Anne Brooke

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Indie Reviews

Liam is determined to prove to the Delaney twins that he’s more than just a good bed-partner for them. His chance to show them what he’s worth comes unexpectedly soon when his boss at the art gallery, Melissa, is asked by the Delaneys to take part in an art scam, and Liam agrees to help her.

When the Delaneys turn up with their henchmen on the night of the scam, Melissa and Liam are startled to discover that it will involve a painting by one of their best artists.

Can Liam make sure the gallery doesn’t get too seriously involved and keep the Delaneys satisfied, in the only way he knows how, at the same time?

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Reading Round Up: NYC Road Trip, Meeting Online Friends and Books!

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Indie Reviews

This year’s road-trip season kicked-off early on May 13 when I boarded a train from Montréal to New York City. My partner was attending a conference at the United Nations, so I though it a perfect opportunity to tag along and visit one of my favourite cities, next of course to the city I will always consider home – Montréal.

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Entertaining The Delaneys by Anne Brooke

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Indie Reviews

Since his initial encounter with the Delaney twins, Liam’s thoughts have turned back to them time and time again, and he can’t help hoping for another meeting. His chance happens one night when Mark Delaney rings and tells him to get into the car waiting outside. Liam does so at once, eager to see the twins again.

Once at the Delaney estate, Liam is at first overawed by the grandeur and style of his surroundings, the lush gardens replete with nude statues and the opulence of the residence itself, but seeing Mark, together with Johnny, focuses his mind on the entertainment to come. And it looks as if entertainment is certainly what’s in store. A business associate of the Delaneys, Mr. Buchanan, has agreed a deal with the twins, and part of that deal is Liam himself!

How will the evening end, and will Liam be able to handle the salacious challenges thrown at him this time?

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StarCrossed 4: In The Blink of An Eye by Reno MacLeod and Jaye Valentine

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Indie Reviews

StarCrossed 4: In the Blink of an Eye takes us back to Salem, Massachusetts, where the town is evolving from openly making amends for its witch-burning past to something darker. While some people choose to lock their doors and pretend those who are Other don’t exist, some decide to use them to turn a profit.

For years the home of vampire Gennady Zaitsev has been a refuge to wayward supernatural boys. Taken in at the age of four, werefox Fallon Demeter has grown up with the love and caring of his blended, surrogate family. As the fragile peace enjoyed by the supernaturals begins to break down, Fallon draws the unwanted attention of a vicious enemy from Gennady’s past. Plunged into a harrowing adventure that brings his forgotten past back with horrifying clarity, Fallon becomes lost and alone in the brutal outside world.

As the buffer the supernaturals have enjoyed for so long continues to erode, Salem may no longer be their safe haven.

The secret is about to get out…

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Out On The Net by Rick R. Reed

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Indie Reviews

Ray Tolliver has bad timing. Cold feet? It doesn’t get much worse than accepting you’re gay twenty minutes before your wedding to a woman, yet that’s just what happens.

Join Ray as he recounts in his blog the hilarious and touching events that lead him on a journey toward true love. Although he originally starts looking for love in all the wrong places, will he eventually find another man who wants more than just quick sex? A man who appreciates romance, hearts, and flowers? Or will he find that self-acceptance and bliss do not always go hand-in-hand?

And what of Alice, Ray’s lovely, jilted fiancée? Will she find it in her heart to forgive the man who left her at the altar?

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The Zagzagel Diaries (Stories 1 to 5) by Bryl R. Tyne

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Indie Reviews

The Zagzagel Diaries is a beautifully written contemporary fantasy short story series that is part of the Minority/Diversity Voices Collection published by Untreed Reads. The series chronicles the experiences of Zagzagel, the Angel of Wisdom, who develops deep feelings for his human charges thereby putting him in continuous conflict with God, otherwise known as Big Poppa. The author takes a refreshing approach to the writing of these stories and in particular the character of the angel Zagzagel. While Tyne assigns some of the basic attributes associated with the angel archetype in speculative fiction to the character of Zag, at the same time the author cuts an innovative path away from the at times over-tired angel characterization to create an original and unique character in Zagzagel.

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