Rating: 3.5 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Ezra Huckaby’s father taught him the bare bones ins-and-outs of being a sin eater; his mother made sure he was deeply ashamed of every aspect of performing those rites. Ezra may have escaped “Bumfuck, Arkansas,” but he cannot abandon his sin-eating duty or the self-loathing that service engenders.

Rating: 3.75 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Patrick needs a break and a change of scenery, so when he wins a stay at Valhalla, a B&B in Firefly Valley, he’s quick to take the vacation. A hike in the woods is supposed to bring him clarity, but it brings a snowstorm and hypothermia instead. Fortunately, Patrick finds a house and though Seamus, the occupant, is grumpy and monosyllabic, he allows Patrick to stay.

Rating: 3.5 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Lyric didn’t mean to acquire a girlfriend! It just … happened. One picture taken with the new girl for Lyric’s beauty vlog ended up racking up views and Lyric — working hard for every penny to support herself and her grandmother in their one bedroom house — can’t let the opportunity slide past.

Rating: 3.75 stars Buy Links:  Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Parker loves life in the small town of Willow Lake. He has good friends, owns a popular cafe, and feels like he has found his place. And while his crush on Levi, the hot owner of the local motel, seems unrequited, at least the two are friends. Parker can't help but feel like something is just a bit strange about Willow Lake, however, a bit of a tingly sense that things aren't quite right.

Rating: 4 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novella Paul Hafner planned a romantic Christmas holiday in Venice for himself and his husband, Darren, but three weeks before departure, Darren decided their five-year marriage was no longer working. Paul is a bit of a timid man, or at least he was more passive as a partner, allowing Darren to make the bulk of decisions and plans.

Rating: 3 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Charlie is running out of steam. His next advice column is due in a few days and he has … nothing. No inspiration, and worse, no interest. All people send in are fake stories designed to get attention, and Charlie wants his writing to be better than clickbait.

Rating: 3.75 stars Buy Links:  Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Cal has gone through a rough time and is just coming out the other side, with the help of his friends, Felix and Lane. The two have basically adopted him and provide friendship, support, and a job at their detective agency. It hasn't taken away Cal's traumatic past, but it is making it easier to move forward.

Rating: 3.75 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Ray and his best friend, Gene, are the founding members of their blues-rock band, The Dusty Brooms. They write the music and lyrics for all of their songs and have a special chemistry. But it’s the 1970s and the men can’t put a name to their feelings. Ray spends his time with hookups and girlfriends, while Gene pines for Ray.

Today I am so pleased to welcome Todd Brown to Joyfully Jay. Todd has come to talk to us about his latest release, When Shadows Burn. Please join me in giving him a big welcome! Exclusive Excerpt Timothy Michaels had made it past Richmond almost two hours ago, heading northwest, when he began to get that weird feeling in his stomach.

Hi all, I hope you had a great week! This weekend I have been at the final GayRomLit Retreat in Scottsdale, Arizona. As I mentioned last week, GRL has always had a special place in my heart. It was my very first book conference and I have meet some of my closest friends over the years at the retreats. I have been every year since the second conference, so maybe it's been 12 years?

Rating: 4 stars Buy Links:  Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Ferris is finishing up college and has been signed by the Bruins to play hockey in the NHL. In the meantime, Ferris lives in his college fraternity house and, while he has made some close friends, he has never had a boyfriend or even been with a guy.

Rating: 4.25 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Weston Lively and Brenner Fleming went to law school together and experienced three intense years of extreme rivalry. Weston inevitably came out on top, something Brenner assumed was due to Weston’s wealthy and politically connected father. Brenner, a former foster child with modest adoptive parents, always looked over his shoulder whenever Weston was in his orbit.

Today I am so pleased to welcome Rayne Hawthorne to Joyfully Jay. Rayne has come to talk to us about their latest release, The Call of Azure. Please join me in giving them a big welcome! Exclusive Excerpt He’s tall and dark and handsome and dressed in skintight, shiny black pants and a magenta corset, of all things, and even though he looks sweaty and panicked and his hair is just a bit longer than it is in my memories and dreams, I know in the blink of an eye that this is the man who dragged me into the bathroom of the jazz club nearly a year ago.

Rating: 4.25 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Working for the Anax of the United States has given Quinn Boucher so much—a place to call home, a sense of belonging, and a guard job he excels at with his aura-sensing skills. But there are downsides. One is that the Anax has been going through changes that concern Quinn and others close to the Anax.

Rating: 4 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Gabriel has never been anyone’s choice. He’s fun and people like hanging out and hooking up with him, but no one has ever wanted to keep him forever. Gabriel is now determined not to fall so easily and he’s giving up on love. He’s going to focus on other things in life, like his performance art, and when he sees a hot guy that night, their encounter will end there and Gabriel will move on.

Rating: 3.25 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Memoirs and biographies aren’t the easiest things to review, because unlike books, you can’t poke at plot holes or judge how realistic a character is. Instead, you can only take the words at face value, even as you know the author is phrasing everything just so, giving themselves grace, and showing us events and people through their very biased lens.

Rating: 4.25 stars Buy Links:  Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Blake Holbrook has moved away from his family home in the Outback to the coast and Barking Beach. He has learned to surf and volunteers with a group that aids the lifeguards on the busy beach. And one particular lifeguard catches his eye, Damian “Damo” Williams. Blake has no idea if Damo even likes guys, but with some encouragement, he works up the nerve to ask him out.

Rating: 4 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Cillian is intrigued by Ollie and he’s trying to understand why. Ollie is sweet and good compared to Cillian. Cillian has grown up around violence his entire life and that’s the life he will stay in. He has responsibilities and obligations, but when Ollie gets hurt, he becomes Cillian’s priority.

Rating: 5 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novella Chih, a Wandering Cleric from the Singing Hills monastery — along with their friend Almost Brilliant (a hoopoe bird with an excellent memory) — has come to the town of Baolin to listen and record stories of the last famine and how the people did and did not survive it.

Today I am so pleased to welcome Chencia C. Higgins to Joyfully Jay. Chencia has come as part of the Coastal Magic Blog Tour to talk to us about her upcoming release, The Ties Between Us. Please join me in giving her a big welcome! Excerpt Catching me easily as if this were a dance we'd done a dozen times, Mistress Jay walked me backward a couple of steps and helped me into the chair I'd abandoned.

Rating: 4.25 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel It is two years after Atrous disbanded and Blake Acosta is just surviving. He still lives with best friend and former bandmate, Luke Dougherty, is dating Luke’s sister, and doesn’t know what to do with himself. When he comes home from a trip and finds Luke in a downward spiral, Blake thinks the best thing to do is take Luke to the cabins.

Rating: 4.5 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel To everyone at Vulture Hollow and in the eponymous motorcycle club (MC), he’s just Creep. He’s the crack shot who melts into any shadow, skitters silently over rooftops, and on the rare occasion that he speaks, never knows quite what to say. Despite his extreme social awkwardness, Creep is a valued member of the MC, offering sniper skills and delivering drug orders to the club's customers.

Rating: 4 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Cordelia is a survivor. After their parents death, Cordelia and her brother Edward were put into a children’s home in London where they only had each other. There was abuse, privation, neglect, and bullying, as other children picked on those younger, weaker, or simply more helpless than themselves.

Rating: 4.25 stars Buy Links:  Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel Dash and his friends are going to the new play that is opening at the local community theater owned by Fox's father. Inconveniently for Dash, the play is written by his nemesis, Pippi Parker, and based on his life and experience with Vivienne. The whole town seems to have shown up and it is a surreal experience for Dash.

Rating: 4 stars Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK Length: Novel For Anden, the King of Dawn, there has been little peace since he came to the throne. Having defeated one enemy, he now must contend with the High Queen, Telmaine. On the surface, she seems to wage a war on religious grounds against Vindra, but nothing with Telmaine is quite so straightforward as it seems.