Carly Marie

My heart went out to Liam who is a stressed and exhausted young man (26), who had been turned into single parent of his little brother, Jakson, (8), since the sudden, unexpected death of their parents. He holds a stressful job with a company run by a boss that is ill-fitted for the job and doesn't want to understand that his employees...especially Liam, who battles with dyslexia, are on the brink of total collapse. Liam is a very talented ad designer but just can't work well under all the added pressure being piled on him every day. A great deal of that pressure comes from Jackson's school who refuses to believe that Jackson has some type of learning disorders... and calls Liam several times a week to leave his job and come to the school for yet another hopeless meeting. With all this, Liam doesn't know how to make time to accomplish all his "adult" obligations. In spite of his asking, begging repeatedly, the school is unwilling to put in the extra effort into testing Jackson for Discalculia...instead calling it laziness. With the daily struggles of living with dyslexia himself, he feels like he is holding on by a thread...and to his "blankie"... to not fall into a total burnout. Then he discovers a place called Sunshine Ranch and signs Jackson up for riding lessons. This turns out to be the best decision he ever made. He meets Garrett and Garrett's younger brother, Gunner. Gunner takes on the task of helping Jackson with his math and reading using methods that allows him to "see" the numbers and words in a different manner...making them make sense and making all the difference in the world in Jackson's young life. This book is loosely linked to Carly Marie's terrific other books & series, most notably, "At Home" where Gunner was the band's drummer. The story has a wonderful happy ending with these three men and Jackson, who start by trying to figure out who they are but somehow along the journey they all find something they thought they would never have again...a true loving "family" Now I need to find Gunner's Sunshine Ranch story.… (more)

This was Jasper's story. I was always taken aback by the way this wonderful family of accepting parents and other gay siblings, had treated Jasper. Jasper was like the "red-headed stepchild"...put him in the barn, have him manage the farm, but never treat him like one of the other sons. Jasper never was able to tell his family that he was bisexual. He knew even if he did, they wouldn't have believed him. Even inviting him to go to the Stick Pony, a gay bar, with them on night was a bit on the "mean" side. It backfired big time on them though because this is where Jasper meets not one...but two men, Greg and Harrison, that become the "loves of his life". We had met Harrison in the first three books. He was Derek's best friend and a member of the band. I was happy to see that his three brothers did have the good graces to come and talk to him and apologize for their years of bad behavior. It was also good to see his dad come around to being a better father and not so judgmental. Jasper was his oldest son, but he treated him like slave labor. I hated to see this series end...I'll miss all the wonderful, warm, sweet guys...but I own all the books so I can revisit, and I will. There is a Christmas book, Home for Christmas, that is part of this series with a story for each couple.… (more)

Jasper and Harrison finally get their story. As always with this series, there is a kink involved here...and it involves Greg Joseph, one of the Navy SEALs introduced in Book 2 of this series. Jasper finally becomes comfortable with himself, but several unresolved issues remain setting the stage for a sequel and the final book in this series. The three guys were sweet together, but some of the other characters, like Ty, Jasper's rock star brother, was a bit harsh for no apparent reason. I would have liked to see him at least be a bit more supportive of his brother. At any rate...I enjoyed it, and it was a good addition to the "Finding Home" series. Maybe in the next book, the last one, the brothers, Ty, Declan and Jaspers's father can become a little more human and forgiving.… (more)

Seth Johnson is a hockey star with the Tennessee Grizzlies hockey team. He is also the first-born in the Johnson family of 9 children. The family is unusual in the fact that the mother, father, and grandmother...all are a part owner, and all work at the family owned BDSM club. Also the 6 sons and 3 daughters are all gay. This is the last book in the series although the characters are likely to pop up in other Carly Marie books. Seth and a man, Mazdon Grabowski, meet at a Halloween party. Maz is the newest member of the team but hadn't met his teammates yet. When Maz and Seth meet at the party, they believe it's just a one-time hook-up, so they didn't use their real names, and both were in costume. .Maz hadn't played yet with the team so he nor Seath knew who the other was...but neither of them could ever forget the encounter. Seth went by the name "Pretty" and Maz was "Phantom". When they began sending text messages to those names, neither had any idea they were from the two of them who are now playing on the same hockey team. I have loved each of these three books. I hate to see this series end but was so glad I bought all of them so I can reread to my heart's content. Seth and Maz end up getting to know one another, while each thinking they were still receiving text from someone that they met at the party. There were some clues that they "thought" were things that each of them remembered learning from the other...but they didn't learn the identity until more than half-way though the story. In spite of it being nontraditional, their story really works. Seth and Maz are so sweet together, and I liked how they made one another a stronger person and how easily they accepted each other's individual kink. One of the lines that really made a lasting impression on me was when one of Seth's brothers told him "You have to always be yourself no matter what, because everyone else is already taken". The real possibility of such a totally accepting hockey team, really existing is probably a bit of a stretch, but times are changing and seeing as they are all truly nice guys...it's totally possible. Their camaraderie as a team is all there for everyone to see...and I loved these tough, grown men and their teddy bears.… (more)