A Mika Review: Violated by Jamie Fessenden

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Derek Sawyer thinks he has it all—a high-salaried position, a boyfriend, a dog, even a new cabin on the lake—until a business trip with his manager and best friend, Victor, shatters his world.

One night of drunken horsing around in their hotel room leads to the most intensely personal violation Derek has ever endured. As if the humiliation of working under his attacker every day isn’t enough, Victor reports Derek for sexual harassment. Now he’s without a job, without a boyfriend, and the mortgage on the cabin is due.

Officer Russ Thomas has worked with rape victims before, and it doesn’t take him long to sort out the truth in Derek’s tale. With his support, Derek finally reports the crime, months after it happened. But restraining orders and lawyers further Victor’s anger toward him, and even though a relationship develops between Derek and the policeman, Russ can’t be there to protect him all the time

This is going to be hard for me to rate, not because of the content of the story but solely based on the execution. I felt this was very much a one-note novel. I didn’t get a rise out of myself reading this, not one time. Certain parts of the story should demand a certain reaction out of it’s audience, but this did not get one. Reading this story, I feel like the way it was written left it emotionally unavailable. It did not feel authentic at all. I just felt like I was reading this, and felt completely detached from the story. I reached the end and felt absolutely nothing. I want to thank the author for being bold enough to write about this type of incident. I don’t think people talk about it enough. Going into this I expected turmoil, tears, and just an emotional read and I didn’t get it. I don’t want to say everyone is going to have the same reaction, because they aren’t but it was a straight read through.

The story itself was good. While I liked certain areas of it, I disliked more than a few of the characters, and the situations that the MC’s found themselves in. The author did a good job on the subject. Its not something we read a lot about in m/m fiction, it had a realistic feeling to it. Derek reacted like an individual would in this situation to me. A couple of times, I felt myself wanting to throttle him for not speaking up for himself afterwards, but nothing can be done on my time. I applaud Derek for going to work with his attacker everyday and living, surviving, and fighting to get back to himself. This incident brought up Derek’s dislike with himself. I think all the personal issues surrounding his sexuality might have impeded his recovery, but this is only my speculation reading it. Russ was a good guy, and character. I liked Russ with his sister, and I liked Russ with Derek. I did not like Russ on his own. It felt very filler-ish type. Like the author needed some space plugged up so we are just going to put Russ with these random people. I’m saying that not because he needed someone else, I’m saying it like it did not feel real. Where was the connection between Russ and the other two guys? None, I felt zero hints of magic with them. I just think it added n0thing really except me feeling like it was open space.

Cover Art by L.C. Chase: I liked this cover, very serene feeling. I think Derek had to come to terms with himself before he could love someone else.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Amazon links coming Aug. 7th.

Book Details:

ebook, 256 pages, also in paperback
Expected publication: August 7th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
original titleViolated
ISBN139781634764513
edition languageEnglish

A Stella Review: Get Your Shine On by Nick Wilgus

Rating: 5 stars out of 5 ★★★★★

When his mother goes out to party one Saturday night and doesn’t come back, seven-year-old Ishmael Hood is taken in by his estranged uncle Henry and Henry’s live-in boyfriend, Sam. As this unlikely trio begins to build a new life together, they encounter both support and hostility in the small Mississippi town where they live. Seems like just about everybody has an opinion on the matter—and they’re not shy about expressing it.

While this blossoming little family finds its feet, outside forces—and ghosts from the past—threaten to tear it apart. Henry, still trying to deal with the tragic death of his parents, finds himself hard-pressed to open his heart to this needy child.

Just as a little shine begins to come back into their lives, Ishmael’s mother returns, and their world is thrown into chaos.

Nick Wilgus is one of my favorite authors, I have a soft spot for his Sugar Tree series, so every time I know he’s releasing a new book, I start to hyperventilate. Even if his books are not the usual m/m books I read, most of all even if his writing is hard to read for me, I’ve learned to simply love them and wish for more and more of his characters.

Get Your Shine On was another winner to me. I didn’t read the blurb because I didn’t care what it was about, I just cared that it was out. I wasn’t expecting this kind of story, so much (sometimes too much) emotional for me and I wasn’t ready for it. Especially halfway through it when we get some heavy angst. I so hoped, until the end, that it wasn’t like I suspected to be and when my suspicions became reality they were hard to take; the central part was melting, I had to stop a couple of times.

The style and the language are the ones we used to find in the Sugar Tree series so if you liked that books you absolutely can’t miss this new one. I enjoy Nick Wilgus’ writing so much especially because he talks about children, the not so lucky ones, the same ones that break my heart in almost every scene I read. He writes so beautifully about imperfect characters, in fact there is no one perfect character in all of his books. For example at the start of Get Your Shine On I despised Henry, the MC, so much. I didn’t like how he approached his nephew Ishy, he didn’t get the boy at all and often he was too hard to the little one to my liking. But Wilgus is great at creating well developed characters, some of them will grow in the book and become better people, for other character there will be no hope sadly. Each one of them is well portrayed, from the details, to their background.

What I appreciate the most (cause it’s real) but at the same time I can understand it could be not easy to accept, is a specific quality of this author, so present in this book too. His books are full of crap, the MCs usually have to take it from everyone. There are a lot of homophobic people, too many times the word pedophile is said and it is just one of the nasty things that flew in the books. It’s a trait of his writing that can leave the reader puzzled the first time but later will be understood as the true way to show us a world that truly exists. Moreover the icing on the cake is that all of this is surrounded by a ton of laughter. There are so many funny scenes that balanced the angsty and heavy and sad parts.

As you can see I haven’t talked about blurb, plot or characters, it will be your pleasure to discover them, I’m sure. I just want to mention my favorite character (apart from the little Ishy that filled my heart every time he smiled), because she deserves it. She is Sister Ascension. She was the best, so fierce in her wanting to help Hen and his new family. Religion and I have a tough relationship and I can’t tell you how much I appreciated the author for giving me a nun as the most positive person in this book.

I want to recommend Get Your Shine On cause it was emotional, funny, too many times really over the top. I can’t have enough of Wilgus’ works.

Cover art by AngstyG. It’s not my favorite by this artist. Not a bad cover at all but not so eye catching. I like it but nothing more. But at the end you could have give me a blank cover for this book, I wouldn’t have cared.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook 350 pages
Published July 24th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN13 9781634763738
Edition Language English

Anna Butler is Here Talking SciFy, Aliens, Romance and Heart Scarab! (Author Interview, Excerpt and Contest)

Heart Scarab (Taking Shield #2) by Anna Butler
Release Date: July 22, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Wilde City Press
Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas

Sales Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Kobo

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Anna Butler, author of Heart Scarab.
Hi Anna, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

First, thank you for hosting me today. I’m delighted to be here.

Heart Scarab is the second of the Taking Shield series, which charts the life and loves of Shield Captain Bennet. Taking Shield is both a sweeping sci-fi story (old school sci-fi with spaceships and lasers, aliens and handsome heroes) and an equally sweeping love story. I should warn you, though, that it isn’t a romance in the sense that it won’t be what most m/m romance readers would expect.

Thousands of years after an alternate-universe Earth went dark, the people of one of her colonies, Albion, are struggling in a war that’s probably unwinnable, against aliens called the Maess. Although humans have been fighting the aliens’ cyborg drones for over a century, they haven’t seen a real, organic Maess. Set against the war, is the love story between Bennet and Fleet Lieutenant Flynn. They meet in the first book, Gyrfalcon, but for various reasons theirs isn’t going to be an easy love. They meet and part several times before the end. In Heart Scarab, Bennet’s return after being declared missing in action, presumed dead, puts intolerable strain on his relationship with his long term partner, Joss, but paves the way for a reunion with Flynn.
As for me, I worked for the UK civil service for many years as a communications specialist, working on everything from marketing employment programmes to running an internal TV service. These days I’m concentrating on trying to make it as a writer, combining my love of old school science fiction and m/m themes. I live in London with my husband and our cockapoo, Molly. We’re currently house hunting, looking for a country retreat.
• Do you buy a book because of the cover, the blurb, or something else?

That depends. I won’t say that I buy books *because of* either of those things, but if I’m trawling Amazon or a bookshop they do influence which books I’ll look into and which I’ll then consider buying.

I’m a very visual person, so the cover will catch my eye first. Truly, all the advice you read about getting a good cover that tells the reader something about the story, really holds true. Terrible cover, and I probably won’t even get to the blurb to see if it’s worth pursuing.

If the book comes to me as a recommendation, I’ll usually not let the cover influence me too much (beyond a wince if it’s dire).

Best possible tool – the ‘look inside’ feature on Amazon, or the sample. That really gives you a feel for if you’re going to get on with this author and book.

• What does ‘romance’ mean to you?

‘Good storytelling’ and ‘strong characters’ and ‘lose yourself for an hour here’—heartfelt emotion and drama, eroticism, sex scenes in which the feelings and the relationship matter as much (more?) than the physical gymnastics, an ending that is happy/enriching/hopeful. Stories about love. Sometimes about loss. But ultimately uplifting stories that leave you feeling good.
• What are your current projects?

I’m currently working on the fourth Shield book, The Chains Of Their Sins. On the current timetable, it will be published around this time next year, so I have a little time to polish it up! In this book, Bennet and Flynn are thrown together again, but it isn’t all hearts and rainbows. In fact, it isn’t hearts and rainbows at all…

• What is the most difficult part of writing for you?

Not to edit as I go along. I have a terrible habit of tinkering with what I’ve written so far, trying to perfect it, rather than ploughing on to the end and then editing in its entirety. It is a bad habit, because I can spend hours dithering over word choices and syntax when I should be forging on with the plot. Scrivener helps because it’s a separate folder and document for each chapter, so going back to the beginning to read is several steps more complex than in a word processing programme like Word. Scrivener is breaking me of some bad habits!

• Tell us something about yourself that would surprise people.

I’ve ridden in the circus ring.

I was about five, and my parents took my sister (then about three) and I to a small circus visiting a nearby town. The clowns brought in a Shetland pony, trained to do tricks as part of their routine, and at the end the Ringmaster asked for a volunteer to ride it. I was down in the ring almost before the man finished speaking. I can just about remember noise and light and a lot of people’s faces as I rode three times around the ring, led by the chief clown. He had a red coat and blue trousers and that’s all I remember about him. The pony was called Pickles.

Thank you, Anna, that was wonderful!

Now more about Heart Scarab.

Blurb:

Telnos is an unpleasant little planet, inhabited by religious fanatics in the festering marshlands and unregistered miners running illegal solactinium mines up in the hills. But the Maess want Telnos, and Shield Captain Bennet’s job is to get out as many civilians as he can—a task that leaves him lying on Telnos while the last cutter of evacuees escapes in the teeth of the Maess invasion.

Bennet is listed missing in action, believed dead on a planet now overrun by Maess drones. His family is grieving. His long-term partner, Joss, is both mourning and guilt-ridden.

And Fleet Lieutenant Flynn? Flynn is desolate. Flynn is heart-broken… no. Flynn is just broken

Pages or Words: 97,900 words

Categories: Gay Fiction, Science Fiction

Excerpt:

Flynn liked kissing. In fact, Flynn considered himself something of an expert in the art. He’d tried it in all its forms, from the first tentative pressing together of juvenile lips that had you wondering what all the fuss was about, to the discovery that if you just opened your mouth and, you know, kind of moved everything, your tongue suddenly had a lot more positive uses than just allowing you to articulate clearly and swallow things without choking. Flynn got the hang of it, ran with it, and never looked back.

Soft kisses and hard kisses; kisses that were wet and slobbery with people who didn’t know exactly how to hold their lips to get the best and sexiest effect, and wet and sexy kisses with people who did. Kisses that turned the blood to molten lava and kisses that cooled you as you came down. Kisses that inflamed and kisses that soothed; feverish kisses and languid after-sex kisses. Kisses that meant only good fellowship and casual affection, and kisses that were desire incarnate.

Flynn had not only tried them all, he’d made them his own. He was considered by all the relevant authorities to be rather a specialist in the area.

Flynn really liked kissing. He had been gratified by the discovery that Bennet liked it too. Because now he could add slow kisses to the repertoire. Kisses so leisured and intense the world came to a stop while a hot tongue moved over his lips, explored each and every tooth down to the last molar, while teeth pulled at his bottom lip, biting it gently until it was swollen and hot and heavy, and he had to lick his lip to cool it and met Bennet’s tongue with his. Only then, would Bennet’s mouth close over his and start a real in-earnest kiss that lasted several more centuries. Those were kisses Bennet seemed to specialise in.

Flynn was always willing to take tips from another expert. A man should always try to extend his technique.

About the author:

Anna Butler was a communications specialist for many years, working in UK government departments on everything from marketing employment schemes to running an internal TV service. She now spends her time indulging her love of old-school science fiction. She lives in the ethnic and cultural melting pot of East London with her husband and the Deputy Editor, aka Molly the cockapoo.

Where to find the author:

annabutlerfiction@gmail.com
Website and Blog
Facebook
The Butler’s Pantry (Facebook Group)
Pinterest
Twitter

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize:

– a copy of my novella, FlashWired (epub, mobi or pdf) on every stop to one random commentator

– Chance to enter a rafflecopter for

(i) top prize of an Amazon gift voucher (is $50 overdoing it? It makes for a decent prize!)

(ii) second prize, winner’s choice of a Heart Scarab ipad cover or kindle cover

(ii) third prize, a Gyrfalcon iPad cover

Must be 18 years of 18 or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

Rafflecopter Code:

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Tour Dates & Stops: Wednesdays July 22 – November 4, 2015

22-Jul

Prism Book Alliance

29-Jul

Just Love Romance

Bayou Book Junkie

5-Aug

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

12-Aug

19-Aug

26-Aug

2-Sep

9-Sep

Inked Rainbow Reads

16-Sep

Velvet Panic

Molly Lolly

23-Sep

Emotion in Motion

30-Sep

BFD Book Blog

Jessie G. Books

7-Oct

Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

14-Oct

MM Good Book Reviews

21-Oct

The Novel Approach

28-Oct

Amanda C. Stone

4-Nov

Butterfly-O-Meter

In the Book Spotlight: Agate: Then and Now (The Stones of Power #4) by M.D. Grimm

Agate: Then and Now (The Stones of Power #4) by M.D. Grimm
Release Date: August 5, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: Shardel_4251

Sales Links: Torquere Books

Time travel. For mages, it violates their number one rule: what the Mother has written, let no one unwrite. The Mother writes the destinies of the creatures on the world of Karishian. If her writings were undone, it is feared that Creation itself could be undone. The Dark Mage Morgorth takes this rule to heart, but there are others who do not.

Morgorth is about to claim a stone of power when it is stolen from him by a female mage he hasn’t seen in decades. As they struggle for the stone, she activates it, and Morgorth is unwillingly plunged into another time and another place. It isn’t long before he realizes what time he’s found himself in and there are a few familiar faces.

Most notable is a much younger version of Aishe. His mate.

Living with a tribe who will be massacred, caring for a young lad who will become his mate, and fighting a battle against a mage who can travel from past to future at a whim; Morgorth’s life has never been easy but now he must contend with the will of the Mother. Unable to change the future and the tragedies of Aishe’s life, he must decide what his role in his mate’s past will be, and ask himself one vital question: how does one defeat time?

Pages or Words: 74,654 words

Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

 Even as I felt the air around her began to tremble and heat, I only had a split second to make a decision. I lunged forward, trying to grab the stone again. She jerked her arm away but I managed to grab her wrist just as she activated the stone’s power. I didn’t have time to change my mind as a silver dome formed around Drasyln, as the stone seemed to open a vortex with a gravity I couldn’t fight. I was being suffocated, compressed on all sides. My breath left my lungs, my muscles seized and wept. My last thoughts were of Aishe, and if I would ever see him again.

In my efforts to prevent this exact event, I realized I’d just broken the cardinal rule of a mage. The Number One rule my mentor Master Ulezander had ever taught me.

What the Mother has written, let no one unwrite.

Atcoatlu was an agate. It was the stone of time.

M.D. Grimm has wanted to write stories since second grade and nothing has changed since then. Thankfully, she has indulgent parents who let her dream, but also made sure she understood she’d need a steady job to pay the bills. After graduating from the University of Oregon and majoring in English, she embarked on her writing career and couldn’t be happier. Working by day, writing by night, she enjoys embarking on romantic quests and daring adventures and creating characters that always triumph against the villain and find their soul mate in the process.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001710645622
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.D.-Grimm/e/B00I0KZMY6/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Website: http://www.mdgrimmwrites.com

Tour Dates & Stops: August 5, 2015Parker Williams, MM Good Book Reviews, TTC Books and More, Bayou Book Junkie, BFD Book Blog, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Molly Lolly, Christy Loves 2 Read, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, 3 Chicks After Dark, Amanda C. Stone, Full Moon Dreaming, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, My Fiction Nook, Andrew Q. Gordon, Ogitchida Book Blog, Inked Rainbow Reads

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘Agate: Then and Now’. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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A Mika Review: Beyond the Scars by Louise Lyons

Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars

After years of physical and mental abuse, Tommy Chadwick finally finds the strength to leave Colin, his tormentor. But Tommy soon finds that escaping his violent boyfriend was only the first step on his path to recovery.

Now he must overcome feelings of worthlessness in order to rebuild his battered self-esteem. Tommy’s lack of self-confidence prevents him from going out… at first, but then has him ricocheting from one man to another, desperately trying to please them in his search for love and acceptance.

After being rejected on New Year’s Eve, and then beaten after leaving the gay bar, he agrees to accompany his best friend, Sarah, to a martial arts club. There Tommy meets Marcus, a strong older man, who at first becomes his friend, introducing Tommy to new interests, and later, tentatively asks him on a date.

Will Marcus be the man to help Tommy put his past behind him and fall in love for real?

I really like Louise Lyon’s writing style. I’m happy that one of the elements was domestic violence, it’s not something we see a lot of in m/m writing. Most guys who are victims of D.V are ashamed to come forward and get help, at least it seems that way to me.

At first I was certain that Beyond the Scars was going to be a DNF for me because I did not feel like Tommy was acting like a victim. Then I had to stop and think as I’ve never been in this situation. I can’t judge him for how he decided to deal with himself after getting away from his abuser. I can only speculate on what I would do, but then again unless you are living with this then you really can’t speak on it.   Tommy is a young guy, barely 23 and the last two years of his life has been hell. Being in an emotional and physically abusive relationship took a toll on him. He described his abuse in ways, and early on we got to see it. I’m happy he took his life back, and I’m glad that he was able to overcome his abuser when so many people can not. I really enjoyed Marcus. I thought he was a good guy, and I liked how the author described his emotionally abusive past as well. We can’t judge people based off their looks. Marcus was a man’s man and no one would have ever thought he’ll be a victim of domestic violence.

The story itself was okay to me. I wanted this story to pull more emotions from me, and that’s something the story wasn’t able to do. In fact, I feel like it did the complete opposite, and left me feeling contempt instead of compassion. I wanted Tommy to fight more, I wanted tears and anguish. I wanted emotional turmoil. I didn’t get that, and okay I’m happy that they were able to find themselves together. I just wish it took more of a toll on the heartstrings.

Cover Art by: Jay Aheer, I really like this cover. First the model looks like the guy who plays Jimmy Durmondy from Boardwalk Empire. It’s very beautiful and eye catching. I like the natural light as well it’s the shifts of shapes as Tommy is reclaiming his life back.

Sales Links: Wayward Ink Publishing | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

eKindle Edition, 176 pages
Published July 24th 2015 by Wayward Ink Publishing
original titleBeyond the Scars
ASINB011H33IOS
edition languageEnglish

A MelanieM Review: Lovers Entwined by Lillian Francis

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Ewan is one of Boston’s leading genealogy experts. When a would-be bridegroom comes looking for confirmation that there are no skeletons in his ancestral closet, Ewan considers turning the job down. Trey is a jerk of the highest order and yet Ewan experiences an infuriating attraction that’s easy to justify. Trey’s exactly his type—a carbon copy of the man Ewan’s been looking for his entire life.

Harder to explain is the sense of recognition that leaves Ewan speechless the moment Trey steps into his office. Or the stomach-churning sensation at the thought of casting the job aside.

Trey gets more appealing by the day, leaving Ewan struggling with forbidden desire for his client. Desire not helped by strange voyeuristic dreams that have started to haunt his sleep. Dreams that appear to be an echo of the past…

Lovers Entwined by Lillian Francis is a moving, romantic story, one that I loved. Based on the belief that true love has no boundaries, even that of time, it follows the deep love of Ewan/Owen and Trey/Tristan through centuries of tragedies until we find their latest reincarnations in Ewan, a leading genealogist, and surfer/playboy Trey, a groom whose future father in law is looking for reasons for his daughter to dump him. Ewan has been hired to look into Trey’s family background for anything that could embarrass Trey’s fiance along with her father and his huge political aspirations. But what Ewan finds soon starts to bind Trey and Ewan together, as odd facts, places and names trigger nightmares and recollections they should not be having.

As Trey spends more time with Ewan, it ignites the flashbacks to the other couples they once were and the tragedies that ended their lives but never their love for each other. As each follow the other through death and time, the names change only slightly as does the location and Francis connects them all in a manner that is logical and meaningful. And heartbreaking. Prepare to have the tissues close by when each one meets their death once more. I was sobbing like mad several times in this story, even though I knew it was coming. But the power of the descriptions and the emotional strength of those moments won through and I was lost.

There are some important, believable secondary characters too. Trey’s grandfather, Pops, for one. I adored him. And his nurse. Much harder to understand was Trey’s fiance who was more of a one-note character. Her transformation from someone who Trey could love to the cold woman we met was never fully explained so she came off as just too one dimensional in a story with characters you believed in and a love that lasted through time.

Flashbacks can be a tricky thing, especially when going back not just one era but several. But Francis handles each flashback and couple almost as a separate story, giving them the attention each is due. She gives us a real connection to every reincarnation, and as that love is lost, all that affection and hope is transferred to the most recent couple…Ewan and Trey.

Lillian Francis is quickly becoming a “must read” for me. I loved her “Theory Unproven“, and now her “Lovers Entwined”. I highly recommend both of these stories and author Lillian Francis!

Cover art by Meredith Russell. This cover really works. It establishes the characters of Ewan and Trey as well as their counterparts of Owen and Tristan. I loved it.

Sales Links: All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 2nd edition
Published August 3rd 2015 by Smashwords Edition
(first published December 6th 2012)
ISBN139781310580345

A Jeri Review: Undercover Lovers (Bodyguards Inc. #4) by R.J. Scott

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Even if Ross and Kyle make it out of this alive, will the secrets in Kyle’s heart stay safe?

Kyle gets caught up in a case that is entirely unrelated to Bodyguards Inc. Not only does he abruptly need time off, but he has to have absolute trust and complete support from Ross without being able to tell Ross a thing.

CIA Agent Stefan Mortimer needs Kyle’s help with a case of a geneticist and a missing formula. Trouble is being led right to Kyle’s door, endangering the life of the team he has built and the man that he loves.

Going undercover, with Ross as his fiance, is the worst kind of torture in so many ways, but it is the only answer. Kyle and Ross may well live through this but Kyle is convinced his heart won’t survive.

Kyle is ex Army Ranger who owns Bodyguards, Inc. Ross is his PA and office manager. Although they have worked together in the same office for several years, each harbors hidden feelings for the other. So when one of Kyle’s friends needs a client “babysat” while he is in the hospital recovering, he calls in a favor to Kyle.

For Kyle to do this job undercover, he needs a spouse. Preferably a husband because they will be staying in the Honeymoon Suite of a charming artsy B&B. With all of his other employees either on the job or injured, he has no choice but to ask Ross to step up. Both are incredibly nervous about this job. Not because it is dangerous, but because their cover story is secretly what they both want.

I love watching two guys who are pretty oblivious to each other’s feelings. The sidelong glances, the kicked up heartbeat, the not so innocent touches. And when it has gone on as long as Kyle and Ross have been dancing around each other, it makes for a pretty hot moment when they finally get together.

The romance between these two is fun. They’ve known each other in work for so long, but doing this undercover job lends them to learn more personal things about each other. And even with that, they keep up the humor that has always been between them. Because if love and sex aren’t fun. Why bother?

The story is definitely a little “fluffy”, pretty low on the angst scale overall. There is a bit of action at the end which was welcome. The sex scenes were definitely hot and I really liked these two guys together. I also appreciated that, even though this is book four in a series, I was able to read it as a stand alone. But it also made me want to go out and read the first three.
A fairly light, quick, but hot read with some real feelings and humor. Put this on your list to read!

Cover art by Meredith Russell. It’s ok but says nothing about the story inside or the characters.

Sales Links: Love Lane Books | All Romance ARe | Amazon (other links to come)

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: July 31st 2015 by Love Lane Books Limited
url RJ Scott’s website
seriesBodyguards Inc. #4

Bodyguards Series in the order they were written:

Bodyguard To A Sex God (Bodyguards Inc. #1)
The Ex Factor (Bodyguards Inc. #2)
Max and the Prince (Bodyguards Inc. #3)
Bodyguards Inc Volume 1
Undercover Lovers

Music Is the Key to Love with Annabeth Albert’s Treble Maker (excerpt and contest)

Treble Maker by Annabeth Albert
Release Date: August 4, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Kensington
Cover Artist: Cora Graphics

Sales Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

On Perfect Harmony, the ambitious competitors heat things up on stage and off…  Cody Rivers is determined to be a rock star, but couch-surfing between bar shows gets old fast. Joining an a cappella group for a new singing competition show could be his last chance at real fame—unless the college boy from the heart of the country messes it up for him. Lucas Norwood is everything gothy, glittery Cody is not—conservative, clean-cut, and virginal. But when a twist in the show forces them together, even the sweetest songs get steamy as the attraction between them lights up the stage. Lucas wants to take it slow, but Cody’s singing a different tune—and this time it may be a love song…

Pages or Words: 100,000 words

Categories: Contemporary, Erotica, Gay Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, New Adult, Romance

The bass singer was gay. Cody wiggled his hips in an exaggerated move that always got him company on dance floors, waited a beat, and … there. Right on cue, the curly-haired singer gave him another sidelong glance.

A straight dude might grant Cody the occasional double take because, yeah, it was damn hard to ignore Cody’s style of fabulousness. Today, for example, the style gods had smiled on him—his hair was the perfect combination of deliberate spikes and casual falls, the silver specks in his eyeliner complemented his studded leather belt, and his red skinny jeans showed off his ass. So when the bass’s double take had turned into something more like a quintuple take, Cody knew what those lingering glances meant. Knew it despite the fact that the bass looked fresh off the farm, all wholesome and rosy-cheeked and wearing a tie/sweater vest combo perfect for performing in a church choir.

Crash. The bass missed a step, sending a speaker skidding across the stage. One of the camera guys groaned. On second thought, maybe the bass hadn’t been checking out Cody. Maybe he had trouble controlling his big blue eyes the same way he had trouble controlling his big-assed feet.

Whatever the dude was, he was screwing up Cody’s big break. Twitchy farmer boy and the rest of his all-boy group had screwed up multiple run-throughs of the opening number for the new season of Perfect Harmony. No one would notice Cody’s singing if the other groups kept crashing into one another and losing the chorus. He’d worked damn hard to earn this solo, and he didn’t need farmer boy messing it up with his clodhopper feet that kept tripping over thin air.

Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.

Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two toddlers.

Represented by Saritza Hernandez of the Corvisiero Literary Agency

Where to find the author:
https://www.facebook.com/annabethalbert
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/annabethalbertauthor
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/AnnabethAlbert
 Tumblr: https://www.annabethalbert.tumblr.com
Fan group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/annabethsangels/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/Nb9yv

 Tour Dates & Stops: August 4, 2015

My Fiction Nook, BFD Book Blog, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Book Reviews and More by Kathy, 3 Chicks After Dark, Just Love Romance, Happily Ever Chapter, Divine Magazine, Bayou Book Junkie, Velvet Panic, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Bike Book Reviews, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Boys on the Brink Reviews, MM Good Book Reviews, Jessie G. Books, Inked Rainbow Reads,
Foxylutely Book Reviews, Molly Lolly, Amanda C. Stone, LeAnn’s Book Reviews, Mikky’s World of Books, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Multitasking Mommas, Charley Descoteaux, Parker Williams

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $20 gift card, must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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In the Book Spotlight: Spurred On by Jon Keys (excerpt and giveaway)

Spurred On by Jon Keys
Goodreads Link
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Cover Artist: Tibbs Designs

Sales Links: Amazon | All Romance (ARe)

About Spurred On:

Kegan’s new stepfather and stepbrothers are out to make his life miserable. Between the bullying and being overworked, he’s nearly at his wit’s end. When his mother leaves on an annual cattle buying trip for the ranch, he’s determined to suffer through. He must, if he expects to protect her like he promised his dying father.

When the family of a young man he’s been infatuated with holds a rodeo, Kegan can’t see a way he can compete. Not until a mystical medicine hat stallion walks into his life. It’s not long before they are the talk, and mystery, of the rodeo.

The only thing more daunting than keeping his identity secret is how Kegan is going to balance all this with his draw to the man of his dreams. Will Cole end up being his magical prince, or is Kegan going to find himself left in the dust?

Pages or Words: 29,490

Categories: Contemporary, Erotica, Fantasy, M/M Romance, New Adult, Western/Cowboy

Excerpt:

An hour or so later, Kegan stood in the driveway watching Alec drive away in the final rays of sunshine. Alec had offered to give him a ride to the rodeo, but he’d turned him down. Once the pickup disappeared from sight, he walked into the house and worked his way to the dark back room he called his bedroom. He flipped on the light and clenched his jaw at what he found.
His clothes were strewn across the room. Some were ripped, but all of them looked and smelled like they’d been stomped on by someone who’d just walked through the holding pens after they’d worked cattle. They were smeared with mud and cow shit.
“Dammit to fucking hell! The assholes!”
He stomped through the room, kicking piles of clothes out of his way in a blaze of fury. Everything he touched needed to be patched, washed or, more often, both. This settled it. Brent and Seth were out to make his life miserable. The question had become, what was he going to do about it? They seem to have done a good job of taking away his choices.
He began to straighten the tiny basement bedroom. A few minutes later, the job became so discouraging he dropped to the bed and sighed. Kegan lost track of time as he thought through the last months. The sound of a horse nearby shook him from his desolation.
He forced himself from the bedroom, tired of being the one who was crapped on around there. He stomped through the empty house, his anger as fierce as ever. Another nicker drifted to him, and his focus shifted to the present. He opened the door to find a horse standing beside the porch. A beautiful Paint stallion with classic medicine hat markings.
Kegan eased down the steps and held one hand toward the horse, watching him closely. The animal leaned forward, sniffed him, and then snorted.
“Hey, big guy. Where did you come from? If a medicine hat had appeared in any of the BLM herds around here, we’d have known.”
The horse tossed its head, the black and white markings shimmering in the sun. He didn’t shy as Kegan moved closer. The horse’s only reaction was the rippling of thick muscles as it shifted its weight.
“Easy, boy. You’re awfully tame.”
The horse froze in place, studying Kegan as he moved closer. He reached out, resting his hand against the stud’s silky skin. It nickered at the touch but didn’t move. As he ran his hands over the animal, he marveled at how calm the stallion was. This was one of the steadiest horses he’d ever come across.
“Fella, you must belong to someone. Where’d you come from? I know if I was missing a horse like you I’d be having a fit.”
He turned to go into the house and put out the word he had a mystery horse. When he did, the horse stepped in front of him.
“Hey, guy. I gotta let people know you’re okay.”
Kegan tried to step around him again, but the horse’s hooves shot out and stopped him. After a third attempt earned him the same results, he threw his hands up in surrender. “Okay, so you don’t want me to go into the house. What are we going to do?”
The stallion stuck his muzzle in Kegan’s face and snorted. He turned and started down the driveway toward the river. The river had become Kegan’s favorite place to escape his problems, especially after his dad died, and they scattered his ashes there. He had spent a lot of time watching the snowmelt flow past. In the past couple of months, he’d stopped going to the river. But the mysterious horse headed directly toward a large boulder marking his favorite spot.
The stallion threaded its way through aspen thickets that looked tight for a goat, but he slipped into them without disturbing a leaf. The sound of the river grew as they passed through the mix of evergreen, aspen, and willow. He cleared the final clump of trees to find the horse standing among boulders larger than he remembered.
Kegan took a step and froze in mid-stride. A neatly folded set of clothes was perched on the nearest flat rock. He stepped closer and touched them. The deep-blue jeans and the heavily pressed white shirt were obviously new, not some freak occurrence. He glanced around, wondering what was happening.
“Horse, did your rider fall in or something? You don’t seem concerned about finding anyone though.”
He searched up and down the riverbank to see if someone was trying to swim, or in trouble. He checked for a good distance in each direction and found nothing to indicate the source of either the horse or the clothing. He made his way to the boulder holding the pile of clothes and ran his hand over them.
The Paint stepped close and pushed them toward Kegan. He flared his nostrils and snorted again. With the horse fixed squarely in his sight, he pulled the jeans from the boulder and held them in front of him.
“They’re my size. How the hell….”
The horse struck his hoof across the rock and the wind gusted, sounding like the low note of a Cheyenne flute. The tone drifted away, but not before leaving Kegan with a lingering sense of peace. He looked again to find a cowboy hat, hand-tooled belt, and a pair of boots in the mix with everything else. Each of them appeared custom made. He studied the stallion again.
“You know, I never put much store by the whole medicine-hat-horse-having-magic thing, but I’m starting to change my mind.” He paused for a minute to consider. “Does that mean you’re going to let me ride you, too? I need a horse to do the rodeo thing.”
The stallion slipped beside him, pressed his nose under Kegan’s backside, and shoved him forward. His nudge was enough to send Kegan stumbling across the rocks.
“Okay, got it. I’ll change already.”
He stripped quickly, splashing the crystal-clear water over himself to wash off the day’s dust and sweat. As he slipped into the clothes, he found he’d been right. Each piece was a custom fit. The boots came to just below his knees and stitched across the uppers were patterns of horses and aspen leaves. The jeans hugged his butt, emphasizing his ass until even he had to admit it was toned and muscular. By the time he fastened the silver buckle and situated the hat, he was transformed. The ugly duckling feeling he always had, evaporated. With a final brush of his hands, he fixed his gaze on the horse.
“All right. It’s time to see if this is going to work out. We need to get to the stable and find a saddle to fit you. The big question is, are you going to let me ride you? I guess now’s as good a time to find out as any.”

Author Bio and Contacts

About the author:

Jon Keys’s earliest memories revolve around books. Either read to him or making up stories based on the illustrations, these were places his active mind occupied. As he got older the selection expanded beyond Mother Goose and Dr. Suess to the world of westerns, science fiction and fantasy. His world filled with dragon riders, mind speaking horses and comic book heroes in hot uniforms.

A voracious reader for half a century, Jon recently began creating his own creations of fiction. The first writing was his attempt at showing rural characters in a more sympathetic light. Now he has moved into some of the writing he lost himself in for so many years…fantasy. Jon has worked as a ranch hand, teacher, computer tech, roughneck, designer, retail clerk, welder, artist, and, yes, pool boy; with interests ranging from kayaking and hunting to drawing and cooking, he uses this range of life experiences to create written works that draw the reader in and wrap them in a good story.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jon.keys.773
Twitter: @Jon4Keys
Other: http://jonkeys.com/

 Tour Dates & Stops:
Parker Williams, Prism Book Alliance, Divine Magazine, Havan Fellows, Molly Lolly, Full Moon Dreaming, Happily Ever Chapter, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Mikky’s World of Books, Bayou Book Junkie, BFD Book Blog, Inked Rainbow Reads, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Multitasking Mommas, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Hearts on Fire, MM Good Book Reviews, Dawn’s Reading Nook,
Velvet Panic, Michael Mandrake

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: Razor – a novella published through Decadent Publishing. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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A Stella Review: Breakthrough by J. H. Knight

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

The road to recovery is never easy, even when you’re just an innocent bystander to someone else’s addiction.

For Jack, it’s especially hard because he blames himself for his son Rick’s drug problems. It took Jack over half his life to admit to himself (and his wife) that he was gay, but years later, he still carries guilt over what his realization did to his son.

He never thought Rick’s treatment would help him rehabilitate too, but when Jack meets Seth, the man trying to help his son get back on his feet, it’s the breakthrough he never knew he needed.

I swoon over JH Knight‘s works every time. This week I read two of them: this new novella called Breakthrough and a free story, Just a Feeling. If you love sweet stories like I do, these two are just for you too. The author of the so emotional The Last Thing He Needs never disappointed me. She’s so talented. What I like more in her books is they all are so real, especially this new one. Breakthrough was a quick read, light and funny too. What amazed me was that in just 57 pages she could put so many emotions, I found myself often crying with Jack. We were both a wreck.

I’m pretty sure this was my first book with a Mc as a grandfather, a young one cause Jack is only 49 years old, still I found it interesting. Moreover it was also the first one I read where the focus of the story wasn’t mainly on MCs’ relationship, the spot was on Jack and the breakthrough he’s subjected to while trying to help his son recovering from a serious drug addiction. In only one meeting Seth was the key to finally break the impenetrable wall behind which Jack hides his deep guilty trip over the failure of his wedding and his son’s addiction.

I enjoyed Breakthrough a lot, I put it in my comfort shelf and I am surely going to reread it, but it could have been much better, and that’s the only reason I didn’t give it the full 5 stars. In my opinion it needed just one more little chapter, an epilogue, to know something about Jack and Seth life together, just a little snippet would have been so appreciated, because I saw them together just a couple of times and it wasn’t enough!

Well done JH! Waiting for more by this author, always. Highly recommended!

Cover art by Brooke Albrecht. Honestly this cover didn’t impress me, it’s well done and the model could fit the story but nothing more. It wasn’t eye catching.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 59 pages
Expected publication: August 5th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN13 9781634763189
Edition Language English

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Heart Scarab (Taking Shield #2) by Anna Butler Release Date: July 22, 2015

Goodreads Link Publisher: Wilde City Press Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas

Blurb:

Excerpt:

Giveaway

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Agate: Then and Now (The Stones of Power #4) by M.D. Grimm Release Date: August 5, 2015

Goodreads Link Publisher: Torquere Press Cover Artist: Shardel_4251

Sales Links: Torquere Books

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Treble Maker by Annabeth Albert Release Date: August 4, 2015

Goodreads Link Publisher: Kensington Cover Artist: Cora Graphics

Sales Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

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Spurred On by Jon Keys Goodreads Link Publisher: Decadent Publishing Cover Artist: Tibbs Designs

Sales Links: Amazon | All Romance (ARe)

About Spurred On:

Excerpt:

Author Bio and Contacts

Giveaway

Share this:

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Heart Scarab (Taking Shield #2) by Anna Butler
Release Date: July 22, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Wilde City Press
Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas

Agate: Then and Now (The Stones of Power #4) by M.D. Grimm
Release Date: August 5, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: Shardel_4251

Treble Maker by Annabeth Albert
Release Date: August 4, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Kensington
Cover Artist: Cora Graphics

Spurred On by Jon Keys
Goodreads Link
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Cover Artist: Tibbs Designs