2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: The Silksmith's Girl Reece Pine

1) Excellent story. Involving, draws in the reader with verve. Wonderful historical transgender story.
2) Through the vivid and poetic writing, I was quickly transported by the author to a different time and place. I happen to love circuses and have seen people perform aerial silks many times. The author did an excellent job describing the Silksmith performer and his silks. The relationship that developed between the Silksmith and the Bearded girl was intriguing and breathtaking. I was enthralled to the very end. At first glance, one might think this is a straightforward romance between two circus performers. It's far from that. The author takes two gender-nonconforming characters and tell us how they may have found their place in the world in times gone by.

The Silksmith's Girl Reece Pine
Transgender - Historical
File Size: 2354 KB
Print Length: 62 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Less Than Three Press (May 1, 2017)
Publication Date: May 1, 2017
Amazon: The Silksmith's Girl Reece Pine

Bearded woman Rudolph joined the circus to find a wealthy husband. The star attraction, the lofty silksmith, shares his caravan and his bed with her while he helps her to arrange marriage meetings in the towns they visit. But as she meets and rejects each suitor, Rudolph realizes the only person she really wants is the silksmith himself...

2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Arctic Restitution (Arctic Absolution #3) Lynn Kelling

1) I am so lucky to have read the two previous books before reading Arctic Restitution. I loved Jaye from the get go, hated Cash to the point I wanted to scratch his eyes out. The entire series puts you into an emotional rollercoaster when at some times you're flying high, and at some, you're a puddle of goo with snot running down your nose. At times you're all excited (after the first book) and with sexual tension, then you're filled with fear for Jaye and what is happening to him at a particular moment.  Out of the three books, Caged Jaye and Arctic Restitution were my two favorites. There were so many times when I wanted to pull Jaye out of the story and give him a hug, keep him safe from the gangs and the ghost monsters. I really liked him and from the beginning was rooting for him, for his safety, his sanity. I also enjoyed and appreciated the Note at the end of the book. It gives you a view of the characters as the author perceived them. That was quite thoughtful. I really enjoyed reading this series and have to give Lynn a huge thank you for the feels and especially her generosity. Keep on writing, Lynn!
2) I was totally hooked by this gritty, raw, honest, and engrossing book.

Arctic Restitution (Arctic Absolution #3) Lynn Kelling
Gay - Contemporary Romance
Series: Arctic Absolution
Paperback: 254 pages
Publisher: Fantastic Fiction Publishing (May 23, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1622343263
ISBN-13: 978-1622343263
Amazon: Arctic Restitution (Arctic Absolution #3) Lynn Kelling

As he approaches his twenty-second birthday, the three-year anniversary of the brutal attack in an alley that nearly cost him his life in a few different ways, Jaye Larson thinks he’s left behind the ghosts from his years spent incarcerated, but when he’s delivered a mysterious letter with terrifying implications, old monsters rear their ugly heads. His normal new life in remote Zus, Alaska, with his lover, Dixon Rowe, the heart of a found-family that supports Jaye in ways he’s never before dreamed possible, is threatened by old deals and ties he begins to fear may never be broken. While old alliances strive to draw Jaye backward, Dixon and the rest of their family are called to step up to keep him steady. When the letter turns out to be just the first clue in a chain leading both Jaye and Dixon back inside the walls of the Federal Corrections Institute of Sheridan, Oregon, all of them are left facing carefully-held secrets and terrible new truths that refuse to be ignored.

2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Suspicious Behavior (Bad Behavior #2) L.A. Witt & Cari Z.

1) Well written, fast paced, delicious characters.
2) Wow, this was un-put-downable! A well-crafted, action-packed story with two excellent, complex main characters. Really, really well done.

Suspicious Behavior (Bad Behavior #2) L.A. Witt & Cari Z.
Bisexual - Romantic Suspence
Series: Bad Behavior (Book 2)
Paperback: 246 pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing (April 20, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1626496307
ISBN-13: 978-1626496309
Amazon: Suspicious Behavior (Bad Behavior #2) L.A. Witt & Cari Z.

Detective Darren Corliss is hanging by a thread. In between recovering from a near-fatal wound and returning to work at a hostile precinct, he’s struggling to help care for his ailing brother. His partner and boyfriend, Detective Andreas Ruffner, wants to help, but doesn’t know how. And with his own family crises brewing, Andreas is spread almost as thin as Darren.

For cops, though, life takes a backseat to the job. When a stack of unsolved homicides drops into their laps, Andreas and Darren think they’re unrelated cold cases. But when a connection surfaces, they find themselves on the tail of a prolific serial killer who’s about to strike again.

Except they’ve got nothing. No leads. No suspects. Just a pile of circumstantial evidence and a whole lot of hunches. Time is running out to stop the next murder—and to pull themselves back from their breaking points.

2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Ask, Tell E.J. Noyes

1) Very well written story. Tells it like it was during DADT time period. As I was reading this felt like I was right there with the MC's. Gave a realistic look into the military service. 
2) Great characters we can admire and a well-told story.
3) The author draws the reader in and grips them throughout the story.  I wasn't able to put the book down until I finished it.  Great read, totally enjoyed the story.

Ask, Tell E.J. Noyes
Lesbian - Contemporary Romance
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Bella Books (January 24, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1594935300
ISBN-13: 978-1594935305
Amazon: Ask, Tell E.J. Noyes

Where can you turn when you’re caught in a crossfire of war and passion?

Captain Sabine Fleischer is a skilled and dedicated U.S. Army surgeon deployed to a combat hospital in Afghanistan. She is also one of the thousands of troops who are forced to serve in silence because of the military’s anti-gay policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT).”

Usually driven and focused, Sabine finds that battles raging both inside and outside the perimeter walls are making it more and more difficult for her to deal with her emotions. Dealing with loss and mortality, lack of privacy, sleep deprivation, loneliness and the isolation forced on her by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” are all taking their toll. Plus, her long-term relationship with a civilian back home is quickly becoming another casualty of war.

Colonel Rebecca Keane is an enigmatic career officer who runs the surgical unit like clockwork. Well liked and respected by those who work with and under her, she walks a fine line to preserve the military’s chain of command while connecting with those under her care and supervision. Sabine knows the Colonel is way off-limits, but can’t help fantasizing about her. Especially when she starts picking up unspoken cues—a stolen glance, a secret smile, an “accidental” brush of hands. Or is it just wishful thinking? After all, Rebecca’s wedding ring shines almost as brightly as her deep blue eyes…

2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Dangerous Times Isobelle Winter

1) I took a long time trying to figure out how to rate this. It’s an ambitious story with characters that are not strictly LGBTQIA. Rather, they are aliens—a combination of mechanical and organic, with an insectile appearance—that have a sense of gender that is also completely alien. That’s a difficult thing to pull off, and the author pulls it off very well. Although the sex scenes were too, well, alien for me to get into, they were well done and in keeping with the character of the story. What really impressed me was how the author managed to draw me in so completely to an emotional and social system that was also very, very alien. I felt for these characters and wanted them to succeed. The social and emotional systems were complex, well drawn, and fascinating. And the writing, which was beautiful, wrapped it all up into a neat package. I found this story engrossing, engaging, and exceedingly well constructed. Well done, Ms. Winter.
2) This was an utterly engrossing read. Isobelle Winter has created a unique civilisation of insectile rather than humanoid characters, complete with customs, castes and superb world building.  The book is well paced and the plot carefully crafted. I look forward to reading more by this author. The only thing I didn't like was the use of ne, nem and nir in place of he, him and his.

Dangerous Times Isobelle Winter
Transgender - Sci-Fi / Futuristic
Paperback: 214 pages
Publisher: Less Than Three Press (February 11, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1620049554
ISBN-13: 978-1620049556
Amazon: Dangerous Times Isobelle Winter

Over seven hundred star systems have been colonized by the Augment Empire, a cybernetic species that requires organic tissues to process food into usable fuel. When the cruel King Taen attempts to appropriate the lands of Lord Mavren, ne instead makes an enemy of the once-loyal lord, and turns all the power of the Empire against itself in a brutal civil war. Young and ambitious Nact moves swiftly up the ranks of Mavren's rebel army to the coveted post of General. To cement nir position, and prove once and for all the lower castes are just as capable as the highest nobility, ne has only one task left to accomplish: capture Lord General Aiomonni, the brilliant, lethal head of King Taen's military... and Mavren's defected lover. When the disastrous aftermath of a battle flings Nact and Aiomonni beyond the charted galaxy to land on a hostile planet, their only hope of survival lies in cooperation. But being enemies makes finding common ground impossible, and no matter how compelling Nact finds the beautiful, intelligent Aiomonni, it's hard to trust someone known not only for nir prowess in war, but for nir treachery...