Review: Second Hand by Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

As you probably know, I love Marie Sexton. She’s one of those authors who never disappoints. I’m also a fan of Heidi Cullinan, although I haven’t read all of her novels. And now that they are teaming up to write a series of books set in the fictional town of Tucker Springs, I’m very excited to see what they do together. 

Paul’s life was all about his girlfriend. He moved to a different town for her, and did everything she wanted. So when she dumps him he is devastated. Months later, he still hopes to win her back. But when she tells him that she’s living with someone else, a guy she was already sleeping with before ending their relationship, Paul decides that the best way to move on is to sell all her stuff. So he goes to the local pawn shop owned by El Rozal. They become friends, and soon lovers.

Review: August Ice by Dev Bentham

Source: we received a copy from the author for review.

I don’t recall ever reading a story set in Antarctica, so that alone was enough to make me want to read it. Also, one of the characters is French. Enough said!

Max Conway is a former Navy SEAL with more baggage than an airport. Since he was discharged from the teams, he’s been working as a safety diver at a research base in Antarctica. During his free time he either gets drunk, has anonymous sex or both. So is no wonder that one day he wakes up in bed with someone he doesn’t know. The stranger’s name is Andre, a French scientist heading for the same base as Max. Andre is angry at him for falling sleep before sex and not remembering anything after. So when they meet again in Antarctica and are assigned to work together, neither is happy about it.

Guest Post: A Quick and Dirty Guide to Ireland by Violetta Vane

Weeks ago, author Heidi Belleau shared with us the anatomy of a co-written scene. Today the other co-writer, Violetta Vane, is here to tell us a bit of their research process. So get ready to meet Violetta, their Irish friend, Emma, and Ireland!

A Quick and Dirty Guide to Ireland

by Violetta Vane

Heidi and I write some pretty research-intensive stuff, and one reason is because we enjoy the research process in and of itself. Another reason is that we’re passionate about settings. I like reading and writing stories with vivid settings; the characters seem more real to me, their stories more exciting. So when we decided to write a story set in Ireland, I was absolutely thrilled. Colorful Ireland! And then I thought, wait a second, what do I really know about Ireland? Despite my fanatical devotion to the Father Ted comedy series (or perhaps because of it), the answer was... I don’t know very much at all.

Review: One Small Thing by Piper Vaughn and M.J. O’Shea

I bought this book on a whim and read it in one sitting. I wasn’t expecting much, and I certainly wasn’t expecting such a cute story. But cute was exactly what I got.

Rue is a flamboyant cosmetology student that works as a bartender at nights while dreaming of becoming a famous stylist in LA. He’s also very promiscuous. One night when he apparently runs out of men, he decides to make a girl-experiment and has sex with a woman. If you take a look at the cover you can guess what comes next: she gets pregnant. When she tells him that she will give the baby away, he remembers what was like to be an unwanted kid, so he decides to keep the baby. Now he has a newborn baby, school, a job, and no one to take care of it. That’s when he remembers his new neighbor.

Interview: JL Merrow

As you guys know, I love M/M Romance. And today I’m interviewing one of the best M/M authors out there: JL Merrow. We have reviewed some of her books on the blog and she never fails to impress us. Help us give her a warm welcome and stick around because at the end of the interview there’s a giveaway.

Hello JL, welcome to Romance Around the Corner. I have enjoyed every single one of your books so I really appreciate the opportunity to interview you. 

Q. For all of our readers who may not be familiar with your work, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your books?

JL. Well, the J stands for Jamie, and I’ve been writing m/m romance since 2009. I’m British, so that’s reflected in a lot of my settings—although you’ll often see German themes/settings creeping in too, as I spent half a year living in Germany when I was 18 and I’ve never lost my love for the place.

Interview: Josephine Myles

I'm happy to welcome back author Josephine Myles. She's here today celebrating the release of her latest novel, Handle with Care. Please help me give her a warm welcome and stick around for more info on her blog tour and some cool prices you can win.

Hello Josephine! Welcome back to Romance Around the Corner, it’s always great fun to have you.

Interview: Jordan Castillo Price

Today, Jordan Castillo Price is back on the blog to tell us all about her newest release, her plans for the future and answering several other questions I was dying to ask to one of my favorite authors.

Hello Jordan, welcome back to Romance Around the Corner. It’s always a pleasure to have you!

Guest Review: The Captain and Claire by Gabriella West

I bought this rather expensive short story because I liked the cover and sample. It’s narrated by Betsy, a recently widowed young woman. Her husband committed suicide after the stock market crash of 1929. Hungry for change and adventure, she boards a ship bound for England.

Betsy’s husband was much older, and unable to spark her passions. She’s naïve about sex but wants to take a lover. On the first night she meets the Captain, a handsome, bearded gentleman, and Claire, a glamorous Englishwoman. The two women hit it off. Claire tells Betsy that the Captain is a fantastic bed partner, very discreet and well-endowed. She claims that he loves innocent, buxom blondes like Betsy. Then she kisses Betsy goodnight. Ooh la la!

Review: Moving in Rhythm by Dev Bentham

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

Two words: shy hero. How could you not want to read that book?! Way too appealing, I tried to resist because my TBR pile is huge, but I couldn’t resist. So I read it and I’m glad I did, because I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet love story about a guy finally confronting his issues and finding love. Oh! And there are dogs, and the other hero is a dancer. Yep, I pretty much could end the review here, but I won’t because I love torturing you with long reviews.

Review: Irregulars (Anthology) by Nicole Kimberling, Josh Lanyon, Astrid Amara and Ginn Hale

Source: We received an e-ARC of the book from the publisher for review purposes.


All four novellas in this anthology take place in a shared world. Said world is pretty much the same we live in but with a huge exception, all sorts of fantastic creatures -from fairies to vampires- are real and living among us. And when I say all sorts of creatures, I mean everything you can think of, and things that you can’t even begin to imagine. Some of these beings have their own worlds and alternate realities, and some live life as humans. All the governments in the world are aware of their existence, but the regular people aren't, so there are different organizations in charge of both keeping it a secret, and implementing the law and regulating them. One of these organizations is NATO Irregulars Affairs Division (NIAD), and each novella involves one Irregular agent trying to solve a crime.

Review: Academic Pursuits by Lou Harper

Source: we received a copy of the book from the author for review purposes.

I became familiar with Lou Harper’s work after reading the Winter Warmers anthology. I loved her novella and I've been enjoying her stories ever since. Academic Pursuits is another charming and fun novella that made me smile when I read it.

Our main protagonist is Jamie Brennan. He is enjoying college life immensely and his main pastime is seducing straight boys, in fact, he is so good at it, that straight guys actually approach him to find out if they are going through an identity crisis, or just want to experiment and get it out of their systems.

Review: Tailor Made by Josephine Myles

If I had to describe this book in just a few words I would say fun and sexy. Tailor Made is the perfect light story if you’re looking for something quick and entertaining to read.

Felix McAvoy is an art student famous for being a bit of a transgressor when it comes to art, and a bit of a slut when it comes to men. His latest mission is getting into the pants of his tutor and in order to do it he plans to impress him -and everyone else- by doing something quite subversive as his final art project.

Guest Post & Giveaway: Author Josephine Myles

A warning and a note from Brie: this post contains a NSFW picture, so careful when reading it. The comments on the pictures are mine.

We are very excited to welcome author Josephine Myles to our little corner of the blogosphere. If you like m/m contemporary romance you’re probably familiar with her work. Her stories are fun and touching, filled with great characters that feel real and relatable. Oh! And they are quite steamy as well. 

Review: Permanently Legless by J.L. Merrow

Note: We received a copy of the book from the publisher for review purposes.

Is no secret that I love Ms. Merrow’s books and that every time I see a new one coming out I'm very happy. It doesn’t matter if they are full-length novels, novellas or short stories, I know that regardless of its length I will enjoy the book. That’s why I couldn’t wait to read Permanently Legless.

Chris lost both legs in Afghanistan during his last tour of duty. He’s finally recovered and back to living his life. Things aren’t easy but with good humor and a strong will he’s enjoying himself, or at least trying to. One night he goes clubbing with his friends to the place where he went just before deploying. Once there he remembers the one night stand he had with a guy named Josh. He was quite taken with him and hasn’t been able to stop thinking about him during all this time. But he knows he’s wasting his time because Josh was better looking and younger than him, and that was before Chris lost his legs. So even though Josh asked to remain in touch, Chris never did.

Review: Angels of the Deep by Kirby Crow

I keep wondering if angels are the new vampires. This book was published in 2009 before angels became so in vogue, but still, I keep seeing more books dealing with the subject and this was one that kept showing up as a recommended read. I decided to read it because of its darker nature. I didn’t know what I was getting into.

The story is quite complex and filled with twists and turns, so I can’t go into many details, but the books is best described as a paranormal suspense. 

Reading Roundup: Goodbye year, hello books!

This two weeks went by way too fast for my liking, but thank God I didn’t have more days off because I ate like the world was ending, seriously, I’m afraid to put on non-elastic pants because I have a feeling they won’t fit!

Anyway, I had a lovely time spending Christmas with my parents, I had an embarrassing mountain biking accident, I won’t go into details but it involved what I think was a deer but it might have been a leaf, poison oak and my face. You can fill in the rest if you want (at least it was my face and not my butt, like the last time). But above all I read a lot, shocking, I know!

Winter Warmers (Anthology) by Chrissy Munder, Clare London, JL Merrow, Josephine Myles and Lou Harper

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book from the authors for review purposes.


I almost didn’t read this book. My TBR pile is huge and I have lots of books to review, but when I realized that I had three m/m reviews ready I decided to have a special week dedicated to the genre and since I had an extra spot I decided to give it to this book. It was the best decision ever because Winter Warmers is filled with great stories that albeit short, pack a lot of punch.

Review: Simple Gifts by L.B. Gregg

I discovered L.B. Gregg’s work last year when I read Mistletoe at Night, the novella that was part of Carina Press’ His For the Holidays (Anthology). Ever since then I have enjoyed pretty much all of her books, so I was very happy to read this new novella.

Simple Gifts begins when Jason’s friend Sunny drags him to her parents’ Christmas party so he doesn’t have to spend the holidays alone. What she doesn’t tell him is that her older brother Robb is back from the army after ten years away from home. Jason and Robb share a past, they were together for a short while when they were young, but Robb broke Jason’s heart when he left and they haven’t seen each other ever since then.

Review: Men Under the Mistletoe (Anthology) by Josh Lanyon, Harper Fox, Ava March and K.A. Mitchell

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

I'm not a huge fan of anthologies but I enjoy them when I get great quality and the opportunity to read new stories by some of my favorite authors. That’s exactly the case with Men Under the Mistletoe, a book filled with interesting novellas that have a common theme of second chance at love.

Review: Boats in the Night by Josephine Myles

Note: we received a copy of the book from the author for review purposes.

I know what you’re going to say, another British m/m author? Well, yes! I’m on a binge and I’m loving every part of it. There’s something about British writers that’s quite unique, not just m/m authors but romance in general, and Ms. Myles is one of them. Maybe you have heard of her before because her novel Barging In made the rounds in a lot of review blogs and everyone had nice things to say about it, so when I was presented with the opportunity to read this novella I jumped right in.