Colette Davison

I had a great deal of admiration for Callum. He had a horrible family, except for his Uncle Ezra who he came to Leeds to live with. His homophobic father was in prison for the murder of a man just because he didn't approve of the man's sexual choices. The continuous support and actions boarding on glowing admiration for his father was more than he could stand. A fresh start was what he needed, away from what was left of his toxic family....and he found it in Leeds. He lands a job as a barman in "Heaven and Hell", a gay pole-dance club in Leeds. He couldn't believe it when one of the dancers, Dylan, playfully begins to flirt with him. Dylan is lonely and he hides that loneliness behind his numerous tattoos, piercings and one-time hookups. He was desperate for love that he thought he would never find or want. Dylan's childhood consisted of being shoved around from foster family to another. Then, to his surprise, he falls for the club's confused barman, and he fears he has now made himself even more vulnerable. Callum is slowly learning more about himself and none of it is anything that his sister or mother will approve of or care about anyway. I had trouble understanding why he would subject himself to even caring what they thought. This story was all about love and acceptance and how it can be found in the most unexpected places. Dylan made you just wanted to hug him. He was so calm, accepting and patient with Callum....even when Callum didn't realize that that was what he needed or wanted. There was nothing likable, much less, lovable, about Callum's family, so I was happy that the author didn't waste much valuable space and ink on them. This author has always been able to describe the thoughts and emotions of her characters in a way that makes them almost real.… (more)

I really liked the main characters of Kyrone and Jared. Kyrone is a dancer at the Heaven and Hell club, but this is mostly Jared’s story. It's the story of a young man who suffered a traumatic brain injury, spent months in a coma, and while he did survive, he has complete amnesia. His family has become complete strangers to him, no memory of any of them whatsoever. Jared relocates to Leeds in his need to get away from their hopes that he’ll remember, but also to follow the one hopeful clue to his past since he had found, a note in his handwriting, that simply read, "J./Leeds". In Leeds he gets a job as an apprentice at a tattoo parlor and meets the intriguing, if somewhat flamboyant dancer... Kyrone. Several of the men from book#1 filter throughout this story giving the two guys encouragement and friendship. I couldn't imagine how Jared ever managed to live his life with no memory after waking up from his long coma. Kyone is a bit of a surprise, but in a really good way. The author presents him just as he is and lets the reader make their own assumptions. He was so good for, and so supportive of Jared making him more than okay in my book. I had to admire how Jared handled how changed his life had become since the accident. His constant migraine headaches that plagued him almost daily. I can't imagine losing the memories of 21 years of my life...but he had Kyrone to look out for him and to love him unconditionally, never knowing what the next day might bring. This is the 2nd book in the series and on some level, I felt it was a bit better than the first book, Broken, and it received a slightly higher rating from me. The main conflict of the story is better explained and so different than anything I have ever encountered in any genera...not that Broken, the first book, isn't well worth the reading time. I seem to just have a penchant for strays, underdogs:)… (more)

This was a sweet story about two guys who end up being exactly what each other needs. Michael is the club owner who has had a difficult time finding a new relationship since he lost, Edward, the love his life. He's somewhat careful with his feelings because of that, but he is definitely interested in the new dancer, Jag. Jag is a young guy who has been on the run from his family for years since he came out and was forced into conversion therapy. For some reason (I have no recollection about why they are still expending so many resources to go after him), they continue to try and track Jag down, again, not sure what the purpose is, but it plays a major role in how Jag now lives. He has been living on the streets going from job to job, only staying long enough to make some money and hopefully stay ahead of anyone trying to track him down. He is definitely interested in Michael, but his no-strings rule is in effect for a reason. Michael is happy to go along with whatever limitations Jag puts on their “relationship” even though he is not normally a “no strings” type of guy. Of course, feelings grow and convincing must be done to get Jag to see they could actually have something more. Michael was exactly what Jag needed in that he never pressured him until it was safe to do so, and he always made it clear the ball was in Jag’s court. Likewise, Jag ended up being that sprinkle of sunshine that Michael needed to jump start his feelings all over again. We don’t really get too many details about Jag’s past, and much of the story takes place at the club in the present time. Michael’s best friend and employee was a great side character, and I’d love to read more about him and his partner. All in all, while I wasn’t completely wowed by this story, it was quite an enjoyable and easy read.… (more)

I have read all three seasons of this series and have always enjoyed them by these various M/M Romance authors. They all have about the same themes..."Daddy's" or "Boys" summiting letters on the Cuffd Club site hoping to meet their forever Daddy or Boy over the Christmas season. The club calls it "Kinkmas". Barney had used this site in the past but even though he has met and enjoyed time with some really great "Daddy's", he never found one that he wanted to stay with. He makes a trip to Manchester to visit his best friend and his friend's husband when he discovered there was going to be a "Kinky Christmas" event at the club, and he decided it would be fun to attend. There he met "Santa", better known as Magnus, the owner of the club and diffidently a "Daddy" and a "silver fox". Barney was hooked and agreed to spend the week seeing and playing with this silver dream on two legs. Neither of these men expected to so quickly fall in love. There were a couple of things that frustrated me and even though from previous experience with genera, I knew it would eventually work out...but there was over 300 pages to wait for it to happen. One of the biggest frustrations was Barney's unfunded belief that he would have as toxic a relationship with anyone as his parents have. The second thing had nothing to do with the relationship but with Magnus' pet African Grey parrot's portrayal. I spent 28 years of my life in Conservation Education trying to convince people that wild animals were not intended to be or do they overall, make good pets. They are NOT domesticated. Domestication takes hundreds and sometimes thousands of years. Even dogs and cats sometimes turn back to their wild origins and injure and even kill their owners. The parrot was cute and funny, and they are one of best "talkers" in the parrot family...but they don't learn that quickly...or say phrases in just the right places like this one did. Somewhere in the end of the story, it would have been nice if there had been a disclaimer that the behavior and the abilities that this parrot displayed throughout the story was unrealistic, and some were impossible. I wondered how many people read this and went out and tried to purchase an African Grey parrot thinking it was going to behave like the one in the story and then being disappointed with the poor bird. Actually, this alone really bothered me more than Barney's insecurity. Otherwise, it was a sweet story with a happy ending for two guys that deserved it.… (more)