Romance Book Review: LA Witt's Covet Thy Neighbor

Author: LA Witt

Series Connection: A Tucker Springs Novel

ISBN: 978-1-62649-000-0

Genre: Contemporary Gay Romance

Publisher: Riptide

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Seth has a lot of emotional scares where his past, his family and religion are concerned. When he meets his new neighbor he is immediately attracted to the other gay man, but once he learns he's a minister, Seth is extremely conflicted about their relationship.

Darren has moved to Tucker Springs for a new start and to work at a local youth center. When he meets Seth he sees someone he can be himself with, however the morning afters with Seth are getting to awkward and he confronts Seth on it. 

Can Seth overcome his demons before he lets something good pass him by?

Written from Seth's perspective this story develops around his deep seeded conflicts and desires. I think the author does a great job at expresses Seth fears and a wonderful story emerges as the couple works together exploring the possibilites. I fell immediately in love with Darren, who could have easily turned out to be too passive in the story, but turned out just right.

About the Series:

Welcome to Tucker Springs, population 75,000 + you! This collaborative story world is brought to you by three award-winning LGBTQ authors: Heidi Cullinan, Marie Sexton, and L.A. Witt.

The fictional town of Tucker Springs is located on the western slope of Colorado, in between Grand Junction and Silverton. One of the themes of Tucker Springs is that what you see is not what you get. Take, for example, the “springs.” Although many neighboring towns have actual hot springs, the spring here is more of a bubbling mud puddle. Locals like to trick newbies by sending them in search of it.

The Tucker Springs stories are a series of loosely-connected, standalone novels. Most of them will take place in the Light District, a.k.a. Hacktown, a district known for its theaters, galleries, intimate nightspots, and music. The first title, Where Nerves End by L.A. Witt, is available at Amber Allure. The remainder of the series will be published here.

Description:

Opposites attract, but heaven help these two.

Tattoo artist Seth Wheeler thinks he’s struck gold when Darren Romero rents the apartment across the hall. The new guy is gorgeous, witty, and single, plus he’s just the right blend of bold and flirtatious. Perfect.

Except then Darren reveals that he moved to Tucker Springs to take a job as the youth pastor at the New Light Church. Seth is not only an atheist, but was thrown out by his ultra-religious family when he came out. He tends to avoid believers, not out of judgment but out of self-preservation.

But Darren doesn’t give up easily, and he steadily chips away at Seth’s defenses. Darren is everything Seth wants in a man . . . except for that one massive detail he just can’t overlook. Is Darren’s religion the real problem, or is it just a convenient smokescreen to keep him from facing deeper fears? It’s either see the light, or risk pushing Darren away forever.

Decadence, passion, betrayal, and political intrigue

Warriors of Rome collection

All November long, Riptide Publishing will be releasing titles set in this period of decadence, passion, betrayal, and political intrigue. Readers of both historical romance and historical fiction will enjoy these well-crafted stories, as our authors and editors have paid the utmost attention to accurate historical detail, in addition to developing the excellent storylines readers have come to expect from Riptide Publishing. 

"We feel these titles would also be perfect for readers new to LGBT fiction, as the LGBT elements within each story reflect the attitudes and examples of LGBT romance most commonly found during this time period," Riptide Publishing reported.

Here's a list of the books. 

The Left Hand of Calvus
Author: LA Witt
ISBN: 978-1-937551-61-2
eBook release: Nov. 5, 2012

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Description:Former gladiator Saevius is certain fortune’s smiling on him when a Pompeiian politician buys him to be his bodyguard. But then his new master, Laurea Calvus, orders Saevius to discover the gladiator with whom his wife is having an affair. In order to do that, Saevius must return to the arena, training alongside the very men on whom he’s spying. Worse, he’s now under the command of Drusus, a notoriously cruel—and yet strangely intriguing—lanista.

But Saevius’s ruse is the least of his worries. There’s more to the affair than a wife humiliating her prominent husband, and now Saevius is part of a dangerous game between dangerous men. He isn’t the only gladiator out to expose the Lady Verina’s transgressions, and her husband wants more than just the guilty man’s name.

When Saevius learns the truth about the affair, he’s left with no choice but to betray one of his masters: one he’s come to fear, one he’s come to respect, and both of whom could have him killed without repercussion. For the first time in his life, the most dangerous place for this gladiator isn’t the arena.

He is Worthy
Author: Lisa Henry
ISBN: 978-1-937551-54-4
eBook release: Nov. 12, 2012

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Description:

Rome, 68 A.D. Novius Senna is one of the most feared men in Rome. He’s part of the emperor’s inner circle at a time when being Nero’s friend is almost as dangerous as being his enemy. Senna knows that better men than he have been sacrificed to Nero’s madness—he’s the one who tells them to fall on their swords. He hates what he’s become to keep his family safe. He hates Nero more.

Aenor is a newly-enslaved Bructeri trader, brutalized and humiliated for Nero’s entertainment. He’s homesick and frightened, but not entirely cowed. He’s also exactly what Senna has been looking for: a slave strong enough to help him assassinate Nero.

It’s suicide, but it’s worth it. Senna yearns to rid Rome of a tyrant, and nothing short of death will bring him peace for his crimes. Aenor hungers for revenge, and dying is his only escape from Rome’s tyranny. They have nothing left to lose, except the one thing they never expected to find—each other.

The City War
Author: Sam Starbuck
ISBN: 978-1-937551-56-8
eBook release: Nov. 19, 2012

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Description:

Senator Marcus Brutus has spent his life serving Rome, but it’s difficult to be a patriot when the Republic, barely recovered from a civil war, is under threat by its own leader. Brutus’s one retreat is his country home, where he steals a few precious days now and then with Cassius, his brother-in-law and fellow soldier—and the one he loves above all others. But the sickness at the heart of Rome is spreading, and even Brutus’s nights with Cassius can’t erase the knowledge that Gaius Julius Caesar is slowly becoming a tyrant.

Cassius fears both Caesar’s intentions and Brutus’s interest in Tiresias, the villa’s newest servant. Tiresias claims to be the orphaned son of a minor noble, but his secrets run deeper, and only Brutus knows them all. Cassius, intent on protecting the Republic and his claim to Brutus, proposes a dangerous conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. After all, if Brutus—loved and respected by all—supports it, it’s not murder, just politics.

Now Brutus must return to Rome and choose: not only between Cassius and Tiresias, but between preserving the fragile status quo of Rome and killing a man who would be emperor.

Mark of the Gladiator
Author: Heidi Belleau and Violetta Vane
ISBN: 978-1-937551-59-9
eBook release: Nov. 26, 2012

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Description:
After an inconvenient display of mercy in the arena, the gladiator Anazâr is pulled from the sands and contracted to nobleman Lucius Marianus to train his new stable of female gladiators. His charges are demoralized and untested, and they bear the marks of abuse. Anazâr has a scant two months to prepare them for the arena, and his new master demands perfection.

Anazâr is surprised by how eager he is to achieve it—far more eager than a man motivated only by self-preservation. Perhaps it’s because Marianus is truly remarkable: handsome, dignified, honorable, and seemingly as attracted to Anazâr as Anazâr is to him.

But a rivalry between Marianus and his brother sparks a murder conspiracy, with Anazâr and his gladiatrices caught in the middle. One brother might offer salvation . . . but which? And in a world where life is worth less than the pleasures of the crowd or the whims of a master, can there be any room for love? As a gladiator, Anazâr's defenses are near impenetrable. But as a man, he learns to his cost that no armor or shield can truly protect his heart.