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Common Powers #4
Pushing Phillip
Jobless, homeless and alone at Christmas—can his new friends keep him from running?
When the guys decide to spend Christmas together at the ranch, it’s going to be a time for catching up with each couple. Rush and Brian are hosting, Edward and Jack will be there and Mitchell and Sammi are coming in from Houston.
When Brian and Rush take Phillip, a newly outed gay man, under their wings, they discover he’s got a power. But this power is one that makes all of them uncomfortable, along with the young man himself as issues of trust arise.
Phillip finds himself jobless, homeless and alone for the holiday, and he’s run out of options. Just when he’s ready to move on, he finds new friends who are ready to give him a second chance at his dreams. Along with a second chance at love.
When the guys decide to spend Christmas together at the ranch, it’s going to be a time for catching up with each couple. Rush and Brian are hosting, Edward and Jack will be there and Mitchell and Sammi are coming in from Houston.
When Brian and Rush take Phillip, a newly outed gay man, under their wings, they discover he’s got a power. But this power is one that makes all of them uncomfortable, along with the young man himself as issues of trust arise.
Phillip finds himself jobless, homeless and alone for the holiday, and he’s run out of options. Just when he’s ready to move on, he finds new friends who are ready to give him a second chance at his dreams. Along with a second chance at love.
- GenresM M Romance
209 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 19, 2017
About the author
Lynn Lorenz
68 books315 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
(1)gay romance
I’m from New Orleans, that’s N’awlins for those of you who speak the language. I grew up in the Riverbend, or Carrollton, for the old timers, but was a Quarter rat from the age of 11, taking 3 buses to go to art class on Burgundy Street at the Cabrini Doll Museum and NORD center. I attended University of New Orleans and have a BA in Fine Art. My mother worked at Tulane University, six blocks from our house and when we were kids my brother and I parked cars in our driveway for the Saints games at Tulane Stadium. We could get six cars down the drive, two on the front lawn, and two on the street and we only charged $2 a car. We made enough to buy a coupla roast beef po’boys at Comeaux’s on Hickory St. and a snowball over at Williams Snow Ball Stand. We lived 1/2 a block from a cemetery, but doesn’t everyone in N’awlins? We used to watch jazz funerals from our front porch.
Now, my family lives in Katy, Texas. I have a “real” job, a truly supportive and understanding husband, two incredible kids, and a slightly neurotic dog. We used to have a guinea pig, but the dog killed it. Did I say slightly?
My son is 15 and has Asperger’s Syndrome (high functioning Autism) and Crohn’s Disease, and is a constant lesson in patience, acceptance and managing expectations. He’s super smart, loves video games, fencing, movies, building with legos, and hanging around the house. Like me, he believes that it’s all about him. Sometimes, I wonder if I don’t have Asperger’s, too. Oh, and he’s very handsome.
My daughter, 13, is so creative it’s scary- she loves to paint, draw manga and anima, build dioramas with any box she can get her hands on, create worlds with legos and then make movies with them, sculpt people, animals and objects with those little twist ties from the grocery store, does pottery, and wants to be a lifeguard. And she’s smart, too. And
beautiful, inside and out.
I write for a few hours in the evenings and on weekends as much as I can, without neglecting my family. (That laughter you hear is my husband) I attend a critique group, and do whatever the kids are into at the time.
(1)gay romance
I’m from New Orleans, that’s N’awlins for those of you who speak the language. I grew up in the Riverbend, or Carrollton, for the old timers, but was a Quarter rat from the age of 11, taking 3 buses to go to art class on Burgundy Street at the Cabrini Doll Museum and NORD center. I attended University of New Orleans and have a BA in Fine Art. My mother worked at Tulane University, six blocks from our house and when we were kids my brother and I parked cars in our driveway for the Saints games at Tulane Stadium. We could get six cars down the drive, two on the front lawn, and two on the street and we only charged $2 a car. We made enough to buy a coupla roast beef po’boys at Comeaux’s on Hickory St. and a snowball over at Williams Snow Ball Stand. We lived 1/2 a block from a cemetery, but doesn’t everyone in N’awlins? We used to watch jazz funerals from our front porch.
Now, my family lives in Katy, Texas. I have a “real” job, a truly supportive and understanding husband, two incredible kids, and a slightly neurotic dog. We used to have a guinea pig, but the dog killed it. Did I say slightly?
My son is 15 and has Asperger’s Syndrome (high functioning Autism) and Crohn’s Disease, and is a constant lesson in patience, acceptance and managing expectations. He’s super smart, loves video games, fencing, movies, building with legos, and hanging around the house. Like me, he believes that it’s all about him. Sometimes, I wonder if I don’t have Asperger’s, too. Oh, and he’s very handsome.
My daughter, 13, is so creative it’s scary- she loves to paint, draw manga and anima, build dioramas with any box she can get her hands on, create worlds with legos and then make movies with them, sculpt people, animals and objects with those little twist ties from the grocery store, does pottery, and wants to be a lifeguard. And she’s smart, too. And
beautiful, inside and out.
I write for a few hours in the evenings and on weekends as much as I can, without neglecting my family. (That laughter you hear is my husband) I attend a critique group, and do whatever the kids are into at the time.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 1, 2018
A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review An Alisa Review:
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
This book gave us the chance to see into the relationships of those in the previous books and to also learn about Phillip and Estaban. Phillip has just been surviving for as long as he can remember, being used by his mom for his powers and then on his own after he ran away and just as he is settling in somewhere it starts fall apart around him. Luckily for him he had met Brian and their motley crew quickly adopt him into the fold.
I loved seeing the flourishing relationships of those from the previous books. Sammi is really started to grow up more though he still needs to be taken care of but that is what Mitchell longs to do. Edward still likes to throw Jack for a loop but he has started to take more in stride. Brian and Rush have continued to be strong partners even as Rush worries.
Phillip is delighted when Rush given him the chance to learn and try to be a cowboy. I could feel his desperation and hopelessness when he was sure that he would have to start out somewhere new. We didn’t really see all that much of Estaban, more from Phillips side, which made it a little harder to connect with him. I didn’t like how he made such quick judgements though and was glad to see Sammi put him in his place a bit.
The cover art by Posh Gosh is a wonderful picture and continues the pattern for the series.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
This book gave us the chance to see into the relationships of those in the previous books and to also learn about Phillip and Estaban. Phillip has just been surviving for as long as he can remember, being used by his mom for his powers and then on his own after he ran away and just as he is settling in somewhere it starts fall apart around him. Luckily for him he had met Brian and their motley crew quickly adopt him into the fold.
I loved seeing the flourishing relationships of those from the previous books. Sammi is really started to grow up more though he still needs to be taken care of but that is what Mitchell longs to do. Edward still likes to throw Jack for a loop but he has started to take more in stride. Brian and Rush have continued to be strong partners even as Rush worries.
Phillip is delighted when Rush given him the chance to learn and try to be a cowboy. I could feel his desperation and hopelessness when he was sure that he would have to start out somewhere new. We didn’t really see all that much of Estaban, more from Phillips side, which made it a little harder to connect with him. I didn’t like how he made such quick judgements though and was glad to see Sammi put him in his place a bit.
The cover art by Posh Gosh is a wonderful picture and continues the pattern for the series.
February 19, 2018
This will be loved by fans of the series. If you haven't read the other books a lot of this will float over your head. I enjoyed it more for seeing the other couples than for the Phillip story-line. I was hoping to see the asshole at the garage get more of a comeuppance, but on the whole, I enjoyed reading it. I think Sammi & Mitchel are my favourite couple, but when I need an emotional re-read I always go for Edward and Jack. But Brian and Rush are hot too. LOL They were my first m/m so this series will hold a special place in my heart so I'm likely slightly biased.
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February 19, 2018Read and reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews. Review coming soon.
March 11, 2022
It has been a number of years since the original releases of the ‘Common Powers’ series by Lynn Lorenz. Imagine my delight when I discovered she wrote a fourth installment. I was over the moon when I read the description and realized I would get such a great way to revisit all three of the couples and spend a little time with them. Seeing how much I loved ‘Edward, Unconditionally’, book three in the series, I was really hoping the author could bring the magic back, and give Phillip the happy ever after each of the other couples received. I so love being right!
He could have pushed the guy, but he’d promised himself to never do that again. Influencing someone who didn’t want to have sex was the same as rape. He’d understood that for years, ever since he’d first acted on his desire to be with men. Ever since he’d realized his power could be used to hurt people. That what his mother had made him do was not only illegal but immoral.
I knew from the start that Phillip is a good man. Regardless of what his mother had made him do, the kind of power Phillip possesses is the kind that a nefarious person could use to do just about anything they wanted, and no one would know the difference. The complete and utter a**hole who beat Phillip up, ended up coming to his work and revealing his sexual orientation to Phillip’s boss. Well, seeing as it’s a “Christian” business, Phillip was out on the street, jobless and homeless, on the day before Christmas Eve. Go Texas homophobes! *heavy sarcasm on that sentence*
Please find my full review at Rainbow Book Reviews
He could have pushed the guy, but he’d promised himself to never do that again. Influencing someone who didn’t want to have sex was the same as rape. He’d understood that for years, ever since he’d first acted on his desire to be with men. Ever since he’d realized his power could be used to hurt people. That what his mother had made him do was not only illegal but immoral.
I knew from the start that Phillip is a good man. Regardless of what his mother had made him do, the kind of power Phillip possesses is the kind that a nefarious person could use to do just about anything they wanted, and no one would know the difference. The complete and utter a**hole who beat Phillip up, ended up coming to his work and revealing his sexual orientation to Phillip’s boss. Well, seeing as it’s a “Christian” business, Phillip was out on the street, jobless and homeless, on the day before Christmas Eve. Go Texas homophobes! *heavy sarcasm on that sentence*
Please find my full review at Rainbow Book Reviews
August 14, 2018
The 4th in the Common Power series. This could be read as a stand-alone but all 4 books that are published so far are better read in order as the MC's do play into each other's stories so it's more fun to read them all. Very entertaining. The characters are all different, most have a unique "power" and their stories diverse enough to be keep the reader very engaged.
April 7, 2018
Another great book in this series!
January 16, 2018
Things That Make You Go ...
Hmm? Crazy? Take your pick. I'm not sure what it was about this book that irked me. Maybe it was a lot of little things that added up to one big ... irk. I dunno. What I do know is that it was a personal failing and not a problem with the book itself.
I'm not too fond of MCs with really bad self-esteem. Is that shitty? Probably. But it's true. So, strike one. I'm also not fond of 'runners'. Strike two. Strangely enough, I'm pretty non-confrontational myself, but I don't run from my problems, if you know what I mean.
I never got to 'strike three' but otherwise, I just had a hard time with this one I guess. It was sweet, it was heartwarming, the angst was low-key, and I was rooting for Phillip, I really was. It was nice to see some of the previous MCs from the series again and the premise was interesting, too. It just didn't manage to tick off very many of my 'fan-freaking-tastic' boxes.
I recommend it for fans of the author and/or of the series. It was a good book, it just wasn't for me.
3 hearts
Review cross-posted at:
More reviews by NeRdyWYRM can be found on Goodreads here.
Images (when present) may be subject to copyright.
An ARC copy of this title was provided for an honest review.
Hmm? Crazy? Take your pick. I'm not sure what it was about this book that irked me. Maybe it was a lot of little things that added up to one big ... irk. I dunno. What I do know is that it was a personal failing and not a problem with the book itself.
I'm not too fond of MCs with really bad self-esteem. Is that shitty? Probably. But it's true. So, strike one. I'm also not fond of 'runners'. Strike two. Strangely enough, I'm pretty non-confrontational myself, but I don't run from my problems, if you know what I mean.
I never got to 'strike three' but otherwise, I just had a hard time with this one I guess. It was sweet, it was heartwarming, the angst was low-key, and I was rooting for Phillip, I really was. It was nice to see some of the previous MCs from the series again and the premise was interesting, too. It just didn't manage to tick off very many of my 'fan-freaking-tastic' boxes.
I recommend it for fans of the author and/or of the series. It was a good book, it just wasn't for me.
3 hearts
Review cross-posted at:
More reviews by NeRdyWYRM can be found on Goodreads here.
Images (when present) may be subject to copyright.
An ARC copy of this title was provided for an honest review.
March 7, 2018
Reviewed by Vicki
I’m going to break this review in to two parts, the part about Phillip and Estaban, and the revisiting of characters from the previous three books. That’s really how my brain handled this book, two separate stories intertwining.
We first met Phillip as a barely there side character in Edward’s story, he was working the front counter at the auto repair shop that Edward’s car was towed to after Jack shot his tire. Phillip was the nice but quiet guy that helped, as compared to Jimmy the raging asshole/homophobe who harassed Edward. I was happy to see Phillip get his own story! We find out in this book Phillip has issues… he has a secret power, the ability to influence people’s minds. His mother forced him to use this ability for her gain, until Phillip had enough and took off. He ends up in the small town of Spring Lake Texas, and walks around until he sees a “now hiring” sign on an auto repair shop. He “influences” the owner to give him a job and let him stay in the crappy trailer behind the shop. He settles and lives a quiet life, crushing on a coworker named Estaban, and occasionally going in to the bathroom with a guy at the local bar. A good portion of his life is spend avoiding Jimmy the asshole, who also works at the same shop.
Phillip gets himself in trouble one night, and it costs him his job and place to stay. The only good part it he is rescued by Brian, the cop we met in book 2. Brian offers Phillip a place to stay on Rush’s ranch for the few days over Christmas, which Phillip reluctantly agrees to accept. He doesn’t like charity, but the chance to spend time on a real ranch and spend time with other gay men, who are out and proud, is too much to resist. Now if he could manage to get himself a job at the ranch…. well that would be just too perfect.
Most of the Phillip story line is spent on getting Phillip out of his bad situation, and into a good one. There is also some romance, it turns out that Estaban has also been crushing on Phillip, but the two just never put two and two together until Phillip loses his job. Then Estaban shows interest and the two go out on a date. Of course we have to have the Big Misunderstanding fight, which about drove me crazy. That plot device is used waaaaay too much, and we’ve already seen it in another book in this series. But anyway, it works to create some drama, and ultimately things workout for Phillip and Estaban. I will say that the romance part of Phillips story comes late to the game, and could have been stronger for me. There is also not much sex between the two of them, only right toward the end of the book. But overall I loved Phillip and liked Estaban (we don’t get to know him very well), and I liked how their story worked out.
The other half of the book was spent catching up with the three couples from the previous three books. Rush and Brian invite the other four men to the ranch for Christmas, and I enjoyed seeing them. Sammi was pampered by Edward at his new spa, which was fun to see, Sammi needs some attention! I was also surprised at how much I liked Rush in this book, considering how much I hated him in his own book… he was a totally different character. Charming and sweet, and so gentle with Phillip. I wish he had been that way in his book! Brian was helpful with the Phillip situation, and Mitchell was around too. There were a couple of naughty sex scenes at the beginning of the book with a couple of the couples that was nice to read as well. I liked seeing all of the men happy and stable!
This was definitely my favorite book of the series. I liked the Phillip story line quite a bit, although I wish the romance part was stronger and started sooner. But once Phillip and Estaban got started it was good. I also liked seeing the other couples and how they came together to help Phillip, both as a fellow gay man, and as one with a “power”. And as an unemployed, homeless man at Christmas! I feel like the writing was better in this book, I think there was a bit of time between when the first three were originally written and this one, and I liked this one much more.
I have found it interesting to re-read books I read early in my m/m reading, and see how I like them now compared to then. This series was one that suffered a bit I think, I remember liking the first three better the first time I read them than compared to now. This fourth one though was great from the start! I really enjoyed it and I’m glad I read it. If you have read the other three you really need to finish off with this one, it’s worth it!
This book was provided for free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.
I’m going to break this review in to two parts, the part about Phillip and Estaban, and the revisiting of characters from the previous three books. That’s really how my brain handled this book, two separate stories intertwining.
We first met Phillip as a barely there side character in Edward’s story, he was working the front counter at the auto repair shop that Edward’s car was towed to after Jack shot his tire. Phillip was the nice but quiet guy that helped, as compared to Jimmy the raging asshole/homophobe who harassed Edward. I was happy to see Phillip get his own story! We find out in this book Phillip has issues… he has a secret power, the ability to influence people’s minds. His mother forced him to use this ability for her gain, until Phillip had enough and took off. He ends up in the small town of Spring Lake Texas, and walks around until he sees a “now hiring” sign on an auto repair shop. He “influences” the owner to give him a job and let him stay in the crappy trailer behind the shop. He settles and lives a quiet life, crushing on a coworker named Estaban, and occasionally going in to the bathroom with a guy at the local bar. A good portion of his life is spend avoiding Jimmy the asshole, who also works at the same shop.
Phillip gets himself in trouble one night, and it costs him his job and place to stay. The only good part it he is rescued by Brian, the cop we met in book 2. Brian offers Phillip a place to stay on Rush’s ranch for the few days over Christmas, which Phillip reluctantly agrees to accept. He doesn’t like charity, but the chance to spend time on a real ranch and spend time with other gay men, who are out and proud, is too much to resist. Now if he could manage to get himself a job at the ranch…. well that would be just too perfect.
Most of the Phillip story line is spent on getting Phillip out of his bad situation, and into a good one. There is also some romance, it turns out that Estaban has also been crushing on Phillip, but the two just never put two and two together until Phillip loses his job. Then Estaban shows interest and the two go out on a date. Of course we have to have the Big Misunderstanding fight, which about drove me crazy. That plot device is used waaaaay too much, and we’ve already seen it in another book in this series. But anyway, it works to create some drama, and ultimately things workout for Phillip and Estaban. I will say that the romance part of Phillips story comes late to the game, and could have been stronger for me. There is also not much sex between the two of them, only right toward the end of the book. But overall I loved Phillip and liked Estaban (we don’t get to know him very well), and I liked how their story worked out.
The other half of the book was spent catching up with the three couples from the previous three books. Rush and Brian invite the other four men to the ranch for Christmas, and I enjoyed seeing them. Sammi was pampered by Edward at his new spa, which was fun to see, Sammi needs some attention! I was also surprised at how much I liked Rush in this book, considering how much I hated him in his own book… he was a totally different character. Charming and sweet, and so gentle with Phillip. I wish he had been that way in his book! Brian was helpful with the Phillip situation, and Mitchell was around too. There were a couple of naughty sex scenes at the beginning of the book with a couple of the couples that was nice to read as well. I liked seeing all of the men happy and stable!
This was definitely my favorite book of the series. I liked the Phillip story line quite a bit, although I wish the romance part was stronger and started sooner. But once Phillip and Estaban got started it was good. I also liked seeing the other couples and how they came together to help Phillip, both as a fellow gay man, and as one with a “power”. And as an unemployed, homeless man at Christmas! I feel like the writing was better in this book, I think there was a bit of time between when the first three were originally written and this one, and I liked this one much more.
I have found it interesting to re-read books I read early in my m/m reading, and see how I like them now compared to then. This series was one that suffered a bit I think, I remember liking the first three better the first time I read them than compared to now. This fourth one though was great from the start! I really enjoyed it and I’m glad I read it. If you have read the other three you really need to finish off with this one, it’s worth it!
This book was provided for free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews