Title: A Marked Man
Series: Assassin/Shifter #1
Author: Sandrine Gasq-Dion
Genre: Contemporary / MM Romance
Goodreads

My Rating:

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Blurb

Mateo Esposito loves his job. Hired assassin for the U.S. Government, he takes lives and he kicks ass with no mercy. When a job lands in his lap that’s just not quite right, Mateo finds himself questioning for the first time in his career. Who would have known he’d be undone by a purple hippo…

Riley Flynn is CEO of Flynn Electronics. Deep in his closet, Riley wonders what it would feel like to be with a man. When his path crosses with Mateo’s, their lives will never be the same.

Because Riley is Mateo’s next target…
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Riley looked into those hazel eyes and almost sighed. An assassin sure, but a caring one nonetheless.

My Review

Mateo Esposito, a skilled assassin, who never kisses, never hangs around, and avoids even the tiniest commitment, now falls in love with his newest target, Riley Flynn.

No wonder, as Riley is the most beautiful, innocent, open, cheerful, and irresistible man he has ever met.

Mateo picked Riley’s hand up gently, and kissed his fingertip. Riley moaned softly and nestled into Mateo’s side. Crap, cuddling. Warmth from Riley settled into Mateo’s bones and he closed his eyes.

When a story provides high quality erotica, great plot, characterization and writing style, that’s the best imaginable. Well, A Marked Man excels in erotica, is mediocre in plot and in character delineation, and unrefined in writing style.

Its deficiencies are forgivable, as the erotica completely captures your attention. It is exactly like it should be: steamy, dirty, and affectionate. I loved it! As Mateo and Riley never got tired of each other, I never got tired of reading about them.

He looked at Riley’s lips, slightly parted, waiting to be licked and played with. Groaning, Mateo took Riley’s mouth again. God, he’d never wanted to kiss anyone, and now he couldn’t stop.

I hope the writing style improves in the following installments, and the erotica remains the same high-standard. A Marked Man is a very promising start of the series.

Oh, and I really enjoyed the secondary characters…

Josh sighed and leaned back on his elbows. “God, I hope you know what you’re doing Mat. When you find love, you have to hold onto it and never let go.”
Mateo arched a brow. “Titanic?”
“Fuck you.” Josh smacked Mateo. “My Mom said that.”
“I like her.” Mateo sat back on the dirt. “She always makes me cookies.”

Title: Starfish and Coffee
Author: Kele Moon
Genre: Contemporary / MM Romance
Goodreads

My Rating:

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Blurb

On the island where they first met two lovers from opposite sides of the tracks are reunited. Now jaded and broken, Alex and Matt still can’t deny their sizzling connection or the memories of one perfect, uninhibited year together.

At twenty-two, Matt Tarrington is rich, good-looking and destined to be powerful, but behind that confident exterior lurks a man who resents the life his family thrust upon him. Desperate for an escape, Matt heads to Mirabella Island off the coast of Florida for a year of relaxation and some wild nights with vacationing party-girls.

Matt never expected to find real passion in the arms of Alex Hunter, a handsome, laid-back local.

Alex is gay, but closeted. Matt should be completely off limits, but Alex finds the deeply in denial rich boy too tempting to ignore. Especially when a bet has them working together, fighting the heat in the rundown, beachside cafe where Alex sweats for every dollar.

Their love felt inevitable until youth left them vulnerable to hatred and greed. Now after six years of hating the lies they live, Alex and Matt will have to risk it all for the second chance they both desperately need.
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My Review

The story is actually nothing extraordinary or unusual. Two young men fell in love with each other, and are separated by bigotry, fears, doubts, mistakes, and the lack of communication. Six years later they find each other again, and this time they don’t allow anything to come between them and live happily ever after.

What is special, unique, and outstanding is Kele Moon’s rich, vivid, and colorful characterization.

Ms. Moon perfectly portrays Alex and Matt’s feelings, their joy and longing for each other, their growing affection, blinding lust, blooming love, doubts and million questions about themselves, and about each other. Later their pain and heartbreak, and suffering without each other. It was amazingly done, and the author made me feel everything with her characters.

The structure of the plot is perfect, the dialogues are alive, the erotica and intimacy between them are magnetic and raw and pulsing and fiery and just…

A must read!

He wanted to stay here forever, drowning in the pleasure Matt was giving him. It didn’t matter that it left him wide open to be hurt. The risk was worth taking if it meant he got to be with Matt in every way possible. Alex knew it’d be over some day, he knew some sort of horrible loss was at the end of this road, but his game plan changed. He wanted to take this rare connection he shared with Matt for all it was worth. When it was over, he might be broken, but he’d have a fuckload of memories to sustain him.

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Daily Quotes by Exina.