LGBT Monday: Dreamspinner Novellas Edition

Title: Piece of Cake
Author: Mary Calmes
Series: Matter of Time, #8
Released: August 11th 2015
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 70 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: Dreamspinner press

After years of domestic partnership, Jory Harcourt and Sam Kage are finally going to make it official in their home state of Illinois. It’s been a long and rocky road, and nothing—not disasters at work, not the weather, not a possible stalker, not even getting beat up and having to attend the ceremony looking like he just got mugged—will make Jory wait one more day to make an honest man of the love of his life.

Should be a piece of cake, right?

When you've loved a series as much as I have and for as long as I've loved A Matter of Time, getting a novella that celebrates everything that was special about it is a treat like no other. We’ve followed Sam and Jory to hell and back, seen them make awful decisions and come together in their explosive way, witnessed them settling down and weathering one storm after another, laughed through Jory’s antics and loved them both unconditionally for many, many years. In Piece of Cake, the two can finally get married in their own state after years of domestic partnership, but Jory wouldn’t be Jory if murder and mayhem didn’t follow him closely.


Piece of Cake is basically a condensed version of everything we love about this series. Jory is running around clueless while Sam and Dane do their best to minimize the damage. We see their large, loving family get together to celebrate their love, but most importantly, we get another taste of that unconditional, fiery connection that makes this couple one of my favorite romance couples in the world. Jory might be ridiculous beyond words and Sam can be the epitome of alpha male, but the true magic happens only when they come together, when they make us sigh and wish for a love like theirs.

If you’re new to the series, fix that immediately. It’s a known fact that Mary Calmes sprinkles crack cocaine between the lines of her books. Prepare to get addicted.

This story is free on Dreamspinner Press website.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.

Title: Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts
Author: Charlie Cochet
Series: Standalone
Released: August 19th 2015
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 68 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: Dreamspinner Press

Julian “Quinn” Quintero, a gruff, tough Miami SWAT officer, has been injured on the job, and all he’s looking for is a little peace and quiet to recover—difficult to achieve with his large Cuban family. An adventure in picking up his prescriptions puts him in the path of his geeky, brownie-baking neighbor, Spencer Morgan. Spencer sweeps into Quinn’s life like a tropical storm of sunshine and rainbows. Not surprisingly, it’s chaos at first sight. Quinn’s in need of a little tender loving care, and Spencer decides he’s just the man for the job. Their very different lives might clash, but they might also find some common ground—and maybe more.

Charlie Cochet sure knows how to write them. Whether it's paranormal, contemporary, or just a cute holiday novella, she is sure to deliver a charming story with excellent character development, a wonderful sense of humor and a truly heartwarming happily ever after. It goes without saying that I’m a huge fan… honestly, what’s not to like?

Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts offers it all and more in just 70 pages. We meet Spencer, a true geek if there ever was one, who’s been lusting over his next door neighbor for about a year. Quinn is a gruff policeman married to his work, and while he’s aware that he has a young, male neighbor, he never noticed him beyond that. But when Quinn gets injured on the job and has to spend weeks in his apartment, all alone, Spencer sees an opportunity to finally attract the gorgeous cop’s attention. With brownies, of course. This bold move is very unlike Spencer who is somewhat insecure and considers Quinn to be far out of his league. But once Quinn sees him for who he really is, once he gets to know the smart, adorable guy underneath the geeky exterior, romance is pretty much inevitable.

If you’re looking for a cute, heartwarming afternoon read, it truly can’t get much better than this. It will give you a great taste of Charlie’s work, which might lead you to her THIRDS series, a true favorite of mine.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.