Apple Polisher (Rear Entrance Video, #1) in Riptide Publishing

Jul 30, 2013 Mandy*reads obsessively* rated it really liked it

Shelves: m-m, feel-good-read, ebook-owned, hurt-comfort-disability, series-sequels, cottoncandy-fluff-cupcake, jerk-mc, geek-mc, heaps-of-sex, adventure

I really really enjoyed this author's #First Impressions #Second Chances and wanted to check out more of her stories.
I didn't love this one as much, but I didn't expect to, that LHNB story was just awesomesauce lovely.

There is a lot going on in this book, lots of secrets being kept and as the first in a series it has to set the stage for the following books.
Christian has his goal and he is going to succeed, even if it kills him, well maybe not kill him, but damages who he really is. At the end o ...more

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Jun 18, 2013 Debra ~~ seriously slacking on her reviews ~~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs-and-for-review, college, part-of-series-or-serial, m-m, teachers

4 stars.

School teacher in training by day, purveyor of porn by night, Christian Blake needs to figure out if the one thing he always wanted from life is worth changing who he is.

By all outward appearances, he makes the perfect teacher in training with his buttoned up clothes, doesn’t drink, swear or smoke, and sex is off the table as he steps back into the closet all for the sake of appearances. Underneath all of that, however, Christian is a hot mess. When his Aunt is stricken with ovarian can 4 stars.

School teacher in training by day, purveyor of porn by night, Christian Blake needs to figure out if the one thing he always wanted from life is worth changing who he is.

By all outward appearances, he makes the perfect teacher in training with his buttoned up clothes, doesn’t drink, swear or smoke, and sex is off the table as he steps back into the closet all for the sake of appearances. Underneath all of that, however, Christian is a hot mess. When his Aunt is stricken with ovarian cancer, and unable to continue funding his education, he moves into a room in a house with four other roommates. All of them seem welcoming except perhaps for Max who, based upon his bad boy looks, apparent lack of steady employment and sudden occasional pockets full of cash, Christian thinks may be a drug dealer. Christian, however, cannot deny his attraction to Max and soon their rocky relationship has Christian questioning whether he has his priorities straight.

His relationship with Max is just one thing that has turned Christian’s life upside down. When his Aunt can no longer work at her porn store, Rear Entrance Video, Christian steps in to try to save the store even though it could potentially result in dismissal from the teaching program. Driving himself to exhaustion dealing with thieving employees, a full-time school schedule, the declining health of his Aunt, and keeping it all a secret, Christian takes out his frustrations on Max, who it turns out has a few secrets of his own.

The story is told solely from Christian’s perspective, and we are really given a good look at what drives him to make the decisions he believes are in the best interest of his future career. Having been abandoned and labeled a deviant by his mother when she finds out he is gay has a lot to do with his ability to lock down who he really is in order to project the image of the straight laced teacher. Max is a saving grace for Christian. Max is the only person he feels comfortable talking to and gives him the support and advice he so desperately needs, yet Christian still has trouble being honest about and accepting their relationship.

Heidi Belleau deals well with Christian’s internal struggles and the real problems he is facing. I enjoyed the interplay of Christian and Max, and when the two get down to business it was definitely hot. The secondary characters in this book, from the roommates to the store’s customers, are well written and add to the story. This being the first book in the series, I look forward to getting more in depth stories of the other roommates.

A copy of this book was provided by Riptide Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Jul 30, 2013 Heather C marked it as did-not-finish

I tried to get into this but all the dashes and parentheses were very distracting. Me and this writer's style just aren't compatible. ...more

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May 26, 2013 Shirley Frances rated it really liked it

Shelves: mm-series, read-2-review, glbt, 2013, contemporary

Christian is trying to achieve his dream of being a teacher, only he's losing himself in order to attain it. Between school, his aunt's illness and paying his bills he has enough to worry about without adding to it an enigmatic roommate he can't stop thinking about. Max is everything Christian vowed to stay away from since beginning his teaching program - the clothes, the look, the lifestyle - but he is the very person he needs to keep his head on straight. Now the question is, will Christian ge Christian is trying to achieve his dream of being a teacher, only he's losing himself in order to attain it. Between school, his aunt's illness and paying his bills he has enough to worry about without adding to it an enigmatic roommate he can't stop thinking about. Max is everything Christian vowed to stay away from since beginning his teaching program - the clothes, the look, the lifestyle - but he is the very person he needs to keep his head on straight. Now the question is, will Christian get his head out of his ass before he looses himself, his aunt's business and his chance at love?

I'll be honest and say that I didn't like Christian much in the beginning. I couldn't believe he was so clueless - so wrapped up in his life that he got his priorities messed up in the process. Thankfully, Heidi Belleau did an amazing job of developing his character. Slowly but surely she brought to life a different, more caring Christian to the page. This Christian finally realized what he was doing and went about fixing it.

Max was adorable. I loved him from the start. he wouldn't take Christian's bullshit, nor did he try to preach to Christian. he simply told it like it was and left it up to Christian to make up his mind. I could easily see how he cared about Christian and could understand why he acted the way he did.

The secondary characters were great too. I enjoyed the interactions between the roommates. They were so different from one another, but yet they got along and pulled together when they needed to. I can't wait to read Rob's story in Wallflower.

I have to say that I loved it when Christian and Max finally got together. I was eagerly awaiting this coupling and was not disappointed at all. Who knew the all-too-proper Christian had that in him!? I think that scene was what kick-started my change of heart about him. Yes, I am that easy.

I also enjoyed the events that took place in the video store. I was a hoot to read Christian's reactions to the store itself, the different DVD titles and the collection of toys. And I won't even mention what took place there. Holy crap! Heidi Belleau blew my mind with that...that...'scene' is not the word I want to use, because it was much more than that. I love my sex scenes, but I especially love the ones that add something more to the story. I believe this one was fundamental to Christian and Max's story and Heidi Belleau hit it out of the park.

All in all, Apple Polisher was a fun yet touching read about finding yourself and getting your priorities straight with a whole lot of hot, sexy man-love thrown in to make it an awesome read.

I received this title from Riptide through NetGalley in exchange of my honest opinion.
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May 10, 2015 Samantha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mm-read

Review Now Available @ Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words ...more

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Mar 23, 2015 Liz (Bugetta) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance, m-m-romance, e-book, 1st-in-a-series, new-adult-and-college

This was such a nice surprise! I think I've only ever read a short book by Heidi Belleau and it was BSDM heavy (before I really got into BDSM), so I was expecting that in this book and it wasn't at all. It was a really sweet, funny and sexy coming of age story/romance. I love the secondary characters who will be getting their own stories too. Methinks a series glom is on the horizon. ...more

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