Romantic comedy How To Marry Your Husband

Romantic comedy How To Marry Your Husband is now available as an ebook at Amazon for only £1.99!

Most romantic novels end with a kiss. This one starts with one. When Olivia asks Kieran to marry her on Leap Year Day, the answer isn't quite what she's expecting. Still, even reluctant fiancés will eventually understand what's best for them, and Olivia is plunged into a summer of scary dress shops, mad mothers and bad hair days. VERY bad hair days. 

Will Olivia be able to negotiate her way through the marriage minefield whilst keeping her sanity almost intact, and can she ever be truly prepared for the perfect day of her dreams?

It will shortly also be available as a paperback. I hope you enjoy the read!

Anne Brooke Books

Taking A Chance: Gay Comic Romance with a Twist!

Gay comic romance Taking A Chance is now published at Amazon for only 99p!


The moment model and part-time actor Benjamin spots the sexually alluring David outside his local restaurant one night, he's determined to get to know him better. Much better. So he takes a chance and pretends to be Timothy, the blind date David is waiting for. 

When David asks him about submission, safe words and spanking, Benjamin knows the sensible thing to do is to make his apologies and leave. Funny then how his body keeps telling him something different, and instead he finds himself strangely eager to know more. Will it be a date to remember, and if David discovers his deceit, could he ever be persuaded to take any kind of a chance on Benjamin? 

Reviews: 

"This is the first book I've read by Anne Brooke. It will not be the last! The author captures the essence of sensuality in so few pages. The way David dominated Benjamin with zero cruelty and played his body in ways Benjamin had never been played was just oh so sexy. I tore through this book on my lunch break. If you're looking for something quick and sexy that will leave a huge smile on your face, take a chance on this one!" (From a 4-star review at MM Good Book Reviews) 

"A good coupling with a sure, sophisticated, caring lover and passionate, willing partner. I also like that it was a forty something and a thirty something in the lead. Not that I suppose it matters, but it's just good for a change. There is a very slight twist at the end, I knew there would be, but not what I was thinking … so go, Anne Brooke. Terrific, sexy and quick reading with a couple of nice characters and a good ending." (From a 4-star review at On Top Down Under Reviews) 

"I very much enjoyed this cheeky story which managed to be blistering hot whilst retaining a lighthearted tone … this is definitely worth reading, especially if you are a fan of BDSM romance books." (From a review, graded Excellent, at Well Read Reviews)

I hope you enjoy the read!

Anne Brooke Books
Gay Reads UK

Mad About You by Sinead Moriarty: mishmash novel with some sparky sections

The plot involving the mad nanny really needs to be put to sleep now, on a permanent basis - it's very 1980s and very dull. And actually, I have no idea why it appears as such a main item in this book as it doesn't need it - I had the feeling that Moriarty was trying too hard to jazz the chick lit genre up a little, but adding a (boring) thriller element to it just isn't the answer.

It was also strange that all the characters are dull, flat and whine a lot up until p242 (in my paperback copy) when something exciting and funny happens, hurrah! The scene here with new friend Poppy telling the gals how honest she's been with her new man is hysterical and very satisfying indeed - why can't Poppy be the main character? That would be a wonderful read for sure!

Anyway, after the marvellous page 242, it was as if the author suddenly woke up and starting giving us a decent story - well apart from the crazed nanny thing (yawn) and our super-shallow irritating heroine. More than that, the minor characters start to feel real for the first time and I even began to fall in love with the 'in your face' sister Babs, from a position of absolutely hating her at the beginning! Now, give me a novel with Poppy and Babs in and I'm definitely buying it ...

So, something of a mishmash but with some good characters in secondary roles, once the author got round to writing them.

5 out of 10.

Anne Brooke Books

Conversations with God Book One by Neale Donald Walsch: New Age irritation

This has some interesting gems of wisdom, but on the whole it's New Age-type vagueness writ large. Sometimes it strays into dullness, and it needed a lot of editing to make it have any kind of impact for me.

Still, I'm glad the writing of it helped the author through a difficult time, but it's curiously irritating. I won't be rushing out for the sequel!

Anne Brooke Books

Gay romance Where You Hurt The Most

Gay romance Where You Hurt The Most is now available at Amazon for only 99p!

Adrian is more than happy as high-class escort for a number of regular clients. When his boss and dear friend asks him to entertain his nephew, Adrian readily agrees, but meeting Dan challenges him in ways he'd never imagined. Dan is scarred inside and out from an accident that destroyed a promising future. Despite Adrian's loveless lifestyle and Dan's withdrawal and anger, the two men forge a deep - if unnerving - connection. Soon they find themselves questioning the choices they've made and the futures they've mapped out for themselves. 

Yet even bright young men like Adrian and Dan fear the unknown and take comfort in the familiar. Neither may be strong enough to step away from the life they know and toward the one they dare not hope for. But while it's true that love can't heal all wounds, it is the surest balm for where you hurt the most. 

Reviews: 

"A story of seeing and sensing the pain and the promise that lies beneath the surface of the fragile and imperfect skin, of going beyond the physical and delving into places where the strength of the man, the truth of him, resides, until, finally, he is changed for the better. This is a short but truly gorgeous story, rich with the hope found in something new." [From a 5-star review at The Novel Approach] 

"Where You Hurt The Most demonstrates perfectly the harmony that emotional impact and intimate detail can have in well-done erotica … This is the type of writing I love, simple and sparse yet used to tenderly convey a connection of spirit that defies logic or explanation." [From a 5-cup review at A Book and a Short Latte Reviews] 

"Where You Hurt The Most is a beautifully written novelette from the first-person viewpoint of a British man who is an exclusive and highly paid escort … I am always glad to snap up the latest fiction from Anne Brooke because the writing is flawless - clean, crisp, minimalist, and elegant - and her insight into the interactions between people is profound. This story fulfills both expectations." [From a review at ARe Cafe Reviews]

I hope you enjoy the read!

Anne Brooke Books
Gay Reads UK

The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton: a wasted opportunity

The story is rather too full of cliche for me - 'woman in jeopardy', and partial 'environmental thriller' were both just a little dull here. The journey across the snow was also far too long and uninteresting and I did a lot of skipping. That said, Ruby (the daughter) has a very strong voice and is by far the most interesting character in the book. I particularly liked how Ruby describes words by taste and smell. The sign language is also well used as a key part of the plot.

I also enjoyed the mother/daughter relationship and tensions, but Matt (the father) was just far too flat and really very annoying. He appears directly in the book at far too late a stage, and then launches into a huge section of 'info dumping' concerning what exactly has gone on, which is very amateur. It would have been better if Matt could have had sections earlier so we discover things in the same timeframe as he does - this would have been far more exciting.

In general, this book could easily have been cut by a third, and I suspect the film will be far better than the novel. That said, the final scenes of drama are fun (though anything would be good after that dull trawl through the snow!), and the ending surprisingly delicate.

Anne Brooke Books

Sweet Caress by William Boyd: an interesting failure

Key issues about this book:

1. The fiction in an autobiographical style was interesting, but not particularly attention-grabbing
2. No character grabbed me (apart from Amory's brother and sister, from whom I would have liked to have heard a lot more as they have more interesting lives) and they all seem distant. Amory was written in a very 'thin' manner, with no substance to her, which was disappointing.
3. Amory is defined by the men in her life and makes lots of really important decisions on a whim and for selfish reasons
4. The photographs in the novel are excruciatingly amateur and a waste of time
5. The story is packed with cliches - e.g. the lover's wife being in a wheelchair, the blackshirt riots, the war pieces, the hippy community crisis and the undeveloped incident with Marlene Dietrich
6. Boyd writes Amory's sex scenes as if she were a man, sigh ...

Not one I'd recommend.

5 out of 10 stars

Anne Brooke Books

Gay romance A Seasonal Reunion

Gay romance A Seasonal Reunion is now available at Amazon for only 99p!

Danny Brigson makes a serious mistake when he sleeps with Marty, an old boyfriend at an ill-advised reunion. He tries to cover it up, but Marty tells all, and the love of Danny's life, Jake, throws him out. 

Over the next year, Danny tries to sort his life out, determined to stop relying on drugs and drink to get him through. Can he even dare to hope that one day Jake might give him the chance to put things right? 

Reviews: 

"If you have the ability to enjoy a story where one person has done the wrong thing but sets about bettering themselves. And if you can understand why someone might just love a person enough to give them a second chance, then this is a nice Christmas short about the power of love and forgiveness." (From a review at On Top Down Under Reviews) 

"If you're looking for a quickie to tide you over during your afternoon cuppa, then you don't need to look further. As the blurb states, there is cheating involved and Danny is a bit of an ass. He makes good though and over the course of a year gets his act together. He wants his man back. That's something I can get behind." [From a 4-star review at Because Two Men Are Better Than One Reviews] 

"What can happen when one is unfaithful is succinctly explored in A Seasonal Reunion. I was along for the journey from beginning to the particularly suitable end. Put this one on your to read list soon." [From a review at The Romance Studio Reviews]

I hope you enjoy the read!

Anne Brooke Books
Gay Reads UK