Month: October 2016

A Stella Review: A Selfless Man (Men of Manhattan #6) by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

RATING 3,5 out of 5 stars

a-selfless-manRyan Carter always hoped his life would turn around for the better. He has a job that he loves, and another one that he hates. Becoming a rent boy was never his life plan, but circumstances forced his hand. When his life falls apart, hunky firefighter Michael Callahan comes to his rescue. Ryan knows better than to believe someone as wonderful as Michael would ever want to be with someone who sells his body. But spending time with Michael gives Ryan something he’s never had before.

Hope.

For months, New York firefighter Michael Callahan has been thinking about the hot guy he rescued while working crowd control during a robbery standoff. His brother is very happy dating a man, and Michael wonders if he’s finally ready for a relationship of his own. An apartment fire brings him face to face with the young man who’s been haunting him for months. Their friendship starts strong, but will Ryan’s alternate life put out the flicker before it has a chance to flame?
Can Michael convince Ryan that he wants him no matter who he is? Or will the relationship turn to ash before it even begins?

I read the previous books in the Men Of Manhattan series and I was very curious about this new installment, A Selfless Man. I don’t recommend to read it as a standalone cause here we found a lot of the couples of the previous stories, so reading the series in the right order would  be a wise choice.

I love firefighters’ stories, especially when they have some action in them and in this sense the book was a winner (even thought there is a little cliffhanger at the end, not related to the MCs story but to the mystery part). Plus firefighter and rent boy together? I couldn’t resist.

I adore when my characters fall in love at first time but the insta love needs to be supported by more elements, at least some knowledge of each other. In A Selfless Man the insta love was too much to me, really over the top;  it’s a shame because it took away credibility and I found it hard to feel Michael and Ryan as real persons.

That’s the only reason I didn’t rate it more than 3,5 stars. But in general I enjoyed the book. In fact I liked the plot, I liked how the relationship between the MCs developed and how many friends they have. Yes I admit if you haven’t read the previous books, too many characters can overwhelm your reading but if you follow the series, it will be a pleasure to meet them again and see how supportive and protective they are of their friend.

Now I just have to jump to the seven  book hoping for Bobby (Ryan’s bestie) to find his HEA and for the serial killer to be stopped.

The cover art by Wilde City Press is hot and well done. Too bad this pic has been over used, I saw it on so many covers it became boring to me.

Sales Links

Wilde City Press

7104e-waxcreative-amazon-kindle

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 132 pages
Published September 14th 2016 by Wilde City Press
ASIN B01LW4DAWM
Edition Language English

Men of Manhattan series

Sizzing Miami Series is Back with His Premier by Jessie G (excerpt and giveaway)

tourbanner

Book Title: His Premier

Series: Sizzling Miami Book 6

Author: Jessie G

 

synopsisHis PremierFinal

Born into wealth and privilege, Colin Sinclair was raised on the knowledge that money could buy anything and everyone had a price. Trouble was no trouble at all, not when the money was there to sweep it under the rug. But those lessons, learned at the knee of his father, were going to be challenged in a way that would change Colin forever.

In middle class suburbia, Arnaud Dechene learned the value of hard work, focus, and dedication to a dream. He was well on his way to achieving it, the role of Premier, when he catches Colin’s eye. Rich snobs didn’t usually do it for him, but there was something about Colin that made him impossible to resist.

Despite being opposites in every way, falling into a relationship was surprisingly—and deceptively—easy, but Arnaud never lost sight of his dream and Colin had trouble accepting that he was second place to anything. When a stupid argument leads to a reckless act, the repercussions leave Arnaud fighting for his life and Colin paying with his own.

With a little meddling from an aging schemer and intentions that are more well-meaning than realistic, their paths will cross again. However, Colin and Arnaud aren’t the same men who loved with abandon. They are older and wiser, with a history that might be too big to overcome.

Fans of the series know revenge is a double-edged sword, forgiveness doesn’t always come easy, and forgetting is damn near impossible. But love…well, that may just conquer all.

thp_buy-nowAmazon

All Romance Ebooks

Barnes & Noble

Kobo Books

 

teaser

teaser teaser4

 

12987930_1789225687963743_141073039_n

Sizzling Miami Series

blogroll-1

 

12966806_1789219084631070_1428898157_n

Like many readers, the dream of being a writer has been with me a long time. After three decades of trying, I’d begun to doubt. Thanks to social media, I followed my favorite authors hoping to glean some words of wisdom as I pounded out half-formed ideas with alarming regularity. Two repetitive themes emerged: To be a great writer you must read a lot and your butt must be in the chair every day like it’s a job. The more you write, the easier it will be to write and the better you will be at writing. I took that advice to heart and write every day. With three series in the works and counting, it’s been amazing to have made this dream my reality.

I am a firm believer in marriage equality, love at first sight, power dynamics and happily ever after. I’m a lover of strong secondary characters and series filled with families, biological or chosen. All are themes you’ll find throughout my books.

giveaway

TWO CHANCES TO WIN

JOIN MY NEWSLETTER:
Anyone who signs up for Jessie’s monthly “Those In The Know Newsletter”—featuring exclusive scenes, series and new release information, and mailing-list-only giveaways— between 10/3 and 12/1 will be automatically entered for a chance to win a $25 Amazon or ARe Gift Card. Sign up today! http://eepurl.com/bhuja1

a Rafflecopter giveaway

https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

A Caryn Review: Morning My Angel (Angel Enterprises #1) by Sue Brown

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

e50f3-morning2bmy2bangel2bjpgYou gotta love thrillers with snarky protagonists!  Josh Cooper works for CDR, a security company in Seattle that usually provides bodyguards and such to celebrities, but he and his team have been sent to London for a special assignment.  This job is more of an investigation than what they usually do, and they first have to find their mark, before they can protect him.  CDR has contracted with a London based company to assist them, and set Josh’s team up with an equivalent team there.  From the beginning, there is mistrust and animosity as both teams – as well as various London law enforcement agencies – battle over turf and refuse to share information.

Josh is unapologetically out, gay, and willing to hit on anybody who is attractive – gay or straight – sometimes to get laid, but mostly because he just loves to get a rise out of people.  He is snarky, abrasive, has a massive caffeine addiction, and proud that everyone at CDR knows him as an asshole, but an asshole who gets things done.  About two years prior to the events of this book, after an accidental message, he started up a virtual friendship with a man whom he dubbed “Charlie” who called Josh “Angel”.  Yes, there are mentions of Farrah Fawcett in here and references to the original TV series!  Josh comes to regard Charlie as a close friend, confides in him, is happy every time Charlie contacts him, and realizes that he is falling in love with him.  Now he just needs to find out Charlie’s identity so they can get together in real life.

The pace of the book was fast and exciting, both the investigation and the romance, and I basically read it in one sitting.  Just when I thought that the action was peaking and the book was wrapping up, I’d realize I was far from the end, and the plot would take another twist.  Some of those were very predictable (Charlie’s true identity was pretty obvious to everyone but Josh), but I have to admit the big reveal at the end really surprised me.

There were a lot of loose ends that weren’t completely tied up at the end of the book, which would have been disappointing, until I realized this would be the first of a series.  Josh and Charlie don’t get their HEA, but they definitely have a HFN and the set up for more danger and adventure in the next installment.  This is a series I am going to enjoy reading!  It reminded me a little of the Shadow of the Templar by M. Chandler, for those who enjoyed that series.

The cover art by Meredith Russell made me think of an entirely different story – the model looks like a mild mannered software engineer looking out over Seattle instead of who I imagined Josh to be, and even had a beard that Josh certainly didn’t have.  The book reads like a thriller, and the cover doesn’t convey that at all.

Sales Links

6f71e-all2bromance2bbutton

7104e-waxcreative-amazon-kindle

A Lila Review: Prince of Land and Fire (Three Brothers Fair Book 2) by Emily Carrington

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

prince-of-land-and-fireAgainst his will, Lord Tian has fallen for a magical land creature–a gnome. A prophecy says he must wed a land creature and become a destroyer and spy. But he can’t resist Alastair or the BDSM games they play.

Alastair is trying to spy on Tian’s mother and preserve the balance of the natural world. Needing Tian in his bed and in his heart does nothing but disrupt his plans.

But prophecies are often right–and misunderstood. When Tian and Alastair play at BDSM and love they set in motion the destruction of the status quo.

Prince of Land and Fire takes place years after Prince of Seas and follows a similar structure. By now we know about the prophecy and which element belongs to each prince. Tian is the middle triplet and is destined to marry a land creature and become destroyer and spy. Just like we learned before, things didn’t go as planned.

I really enjoyed Tian and Alastair, and how good they were together. They both longed for the perfect balance between pain and pleasure, but they had a lot to figure out before they were able to explore their relationship. The BDSM element is an integral part of the story and can be difficult to understand without the story context.

This story had potential, but some of the events took away from it. Everything Alastair endures and how he’s treated by his parents seemed too extreme for what he needed to accomplish. Tian’s mom got more over the top, and the small amount of time Tian and Alastair spent together wasn’t enough to compensate for the rest.

It was nice to see and get updates from the characters in the previous book. No matter the lower rating in this installment, I’m looking forward to the next one.

Another beautiful cover by Fiona Jayde. It makes Prince of Seas but still looks contemporary.

Sale Links: Loose Id | Amazon | ARe

Book Details:

ebook, 114 pages
Published: August 29, 2016, by Loose Id
ISBN: 9781682521915
Edition Language: English

Series:  Three Brothers Fair
Book #1: Prince of Seas
Book #2: Prince of Land and Fire

 

Let’s Go Legend Tripping with Wolf’s Clothing by E.J. Russell (giveaway and release tour)

wolfsclothing-600x900

Wolf’s Clothing (Legend Tripping) by E.J. Russell
Riptide Publishing
Cover art by L.C. Chase

Read an Excerpt/Buy It Here

About Wolf’s Clothing

What do you do when you finally prove the existence of the otherworld, but the ghosts kick your ass?

For Trent Pielmeyer, the answer is run like hell—away from his hostile family, away from the disbelieving cops, and far, far, far away from anything that smacks of the supernatural. After seven years’ captivity in a whacked-out alternate dimension, he is so over legend tripping.

When Christophe Clavret spots Trent in a Portland bar, he detects a kindred spirit—another man attempting to outrun the darkness of his own soul. But despite their sizzling chemistry, Trent’s hatred of the uncanny makes Christophe hesitant to confide the truth: he’s a werewolf, one of a dwindling line, the victim of a genetic curse extending back to feudal Europe.

But dark forces are at work, threatening more than their growing love. If Christophe can’t win Trent’s trust, and if Trent can’t overcome his fear of the paranormal, the cost could be Trent’s freedom and Christophe’s humanity. Or it might be both their lives.

Available from Riptide Publishing: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/wolfs-clothing-legend-tripping-novel

About EJ Russell

E.J. Russell holds a BA and an MFA in theater, so naturally she’s spent the last three decades as a financial manager, database designer, and business-intelligence consultant. After her twin sons left for college and she no longer spent half her waking hours ferrying them to dance class, she returned to her childhood love of writing fiction. Now she wonders why she ever thought an empty nest meant leisure.

E.J. lives in rural Oregon with her curmudgeonly husband, the only man on the planet who cares less about sports than she does. She enjoys visits from her wonderful adult children, and indulges in good books, red wine, and the occasional hyperbole.

Connect with E.J.:

Website: ejrussell.com
Blog: ejrussell.com/bloggery/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/E.J.Russell.author
Twitter: twitter.com/ej_russell
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ejrussell/

wolfsclothing-tourbanner

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Wolf’s Clothing, one lucky winner will receive a $25 Riptide Publishing gift card! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on October 15, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Ride Into Love with ‘The Rancher’s Son (Montana #2)’ by RJ Scott (recap tour and giveaway)

 The Rancher’s Son (Montana #2) – RJ Scott

Author: RJ Scott

 
Cover Design: Meredith Russell
 
Length: 66,200 woords
 
 
Series
 
Blurb
 
A man without memories, and the cop who never gave up hope. 

When he wakes up in hospital, the victim of a brutal beating, John Doe, has no memories of who he is or who hurt him. The cops can find nothing to identify him and he can’t remember anything to help… except the name Ethan and one recurring place from his dreams. Three words, and they’re not much, but it’s a start. Crooked Tree Ranch. 

Cop, Ethan Allens has never stopped searching for his brother and his brother’s best friend who vanished. When a report lands on Ethan’s desk that may give new leads he jumps at the chance to follow them up. The man he finds isn’t his brother, but it’s someone who could maybe help him discover what happened ten years ago. 

What neither man can know is that facing the very real demons of the past could very well destroy any kind of future they may think they have together. 

Author Bio:

RJ Scott is the bestselling gay romance author of over ninety MM romance books. She writes emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing. 

 
RJ also writes MF romance under the name Rozenn Scott.
 
The last time she had a weekís break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldnít defeat.
 
mailto:rj@rjscott.co.uk
www.rjscott.co.uk/
www.facebook.com/author.rjscott?ref=ts&fref=ts
www.goodreads.com/author/show/3432558.R_J_Scott
twitter.com/Rjscott_author
www.librarything.com/author/scottrj

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Enjoy the Dance (Dancing #2) by Heidi Cullinan

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

enjoy-the-dance-by-heidi-cullinanWhen Spenser Harris spots a young man with a black trash bag hovering outside his apartment door, his first thought is panic, the second is that the boy must belong to the Spanish-speaking family across the hall.  But then he learns the true story, and all the compassion of this kind-hearted kindergarden teacher comes to the forefront as he opens his arms and his heart wide to take in the homeless teen. They have more in common than the teen, Duon, suspects. Spenser was once a child of the foster system and didn’t find family until he had aged out of the system when Avenues for Homeless Youth placed him with a lesbian couple through the GLBT Host Home Program.  Spenser is determined that Duon won’t have to go through what he did and immediately makes plans to become an eligible home. 

Speaking of the neighbors across the hall, Duon was indeed looking for them, more specifically for Tobias, the adult son of the household, a man who instructs dance at the studio where Duon takes lessons in exchange for work. The studio is owned by Ed and Laurie (Dance With Me) and is the best thing in Duon’s life to-date. Tobias also works as a barista at Starbucks and as a nursing home janitor and sometimes even squeezes in an extra job when it looks doable. He’s the sole support of his undocumented immigrant parents who, in turn, are the sole support of his sister’s three kids. His sister, an addict and all around ne’er-do-well is generally MIA, and between avoiding INS and needing someone to watch over the kids, his parents can’t work so earning money to support everyone falls to Tobias.

This story is the love story of Spenser and Tobias but the theme is family—family of the heart as well as family of origin—for better or for worse. And it’s about the love of one person for another, with or without a blood relationship. Spenser lost his sisters when they were taken into the foster care system after his mother was arrested when Spenser was a young child. His mother is out of jail now, and he’s seen her once, but his sisters are lost to him. His heart and psyche bear the scars of abandonment from that incident and from the loss of all his foster homes. It seemed to him at the time that no matter what he did, he was never good enough. Wheras Tobias has grown up in a loving family but in a world where every misspoken word could lead the INS to their door. And every wrong deed done by his sister could bring the focus of DHS children’s services to their door and therefore INS as well. Fear is a very real emotion for Tobias, every single day.

But Duon seems to bridge a gap for both men, and Spenser finds family where he least expected it, as he’s virtually adopted by Tobias’s parents, and Tobias finds not only his own family in Spenser and Duon, but help where he least expected it. Together, they forge a new future as Tobias, Duon, and Laurie teach Spenser how to overcome his fear of failure and enjoy the dance.

I hope it’s obvious by now that I totally enjoyed this story, and I highly recommend it. It’s one of those stories that gets better with each page turn. In fact, I have never highlighted so many passages, so many quotes, so many things I thought were memorable and worth saving—not just to write the review, but to use in my life choices. A simple example is: “All lives cast shadows. Pretending otherwise is how we end up accidentally living in darkness.”

And this next passage really sent an arrow to my heart as I am aging, hopefully gracefully, while attempting to maintain my integrity and dignity: “…one day, no matter what we do, there will be darkness and end. But the time between the spark and the curtain’s close is ours to shape.” I have no words that would truly do justice to how much I respect Heidi Cullinan. After reading this book, both my eyes and my heart have been opened to the plight of both undocumented immigrants and teens in foster care, particularly “queer teens.” Please don’t skip over the Author’s Note at the end of the story. I’m trying to force down the tears as I write this, knowing there are young gay, lesbian, or transgender youth out there who are suffering at this very moment. I wish I was in a situation to do more right now, but I can donate something, and I will. 

On a much lighter note, I really need to thank the author for introducing readers to the joys of using Tajin as a seasoning. It’s as good as, or maybe even better than, described in the story. It just goes to show, you never know what you will find when you open a book by Heidi Cullinan!

Cover Artist: Kanaxa is perfect for the story.

Sales Links

Amazon • Kobo • iTunes • Barnes & Noble • All Romance Ebooks  • Smashwords • Scribd

Book Details:

ebook, 273 pages
Expected publication: October 11th 2016 by Heidi Cullinan
Original TitleEnjoy the Dance
ISBN139780996120364
Edition LanguageEnglish
URL http://www.heidicullinan.com

Series:Dancing – add to your Goodreads page below:

 

Avenues for Homeless Youth

An Ali Release Day Review: Breaking Hell’s Rules by Lyssa Dering

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
breaking-hells-rules-by-lyssa-deringWhen succubus Reth finally meets their soul quota and gains freedom from Hell, they decide to take up residence in New Orleans. Immediately they discard the body they’ve been wearing since 1952 and slip into something a little more virile, pleased to find they get a cozy apartment for their trouble. Too bad the apartment has a joint lease with their body’s ex-boyfriend Jude.

Jude is walking around with a black eye and a bad attitude, and when Reth tries to explain things, Jude doesn’t believe them. Plus, he refuses to move out. Reth doesn’t want to take Jude’s soul, and they really like this body. So they show him some succubus action minus the soul-grabbing, hoping to scare him off.

But they never expected for the mortal to take a liking to them. And they never could have predicted just how pure Jude’s soul would be. When Reth unwittingly commits a sin against Lucifer, they’ll need Jude’s help to avoid an eternity of suffering… For them both.
This story was a mixed bag for me.  Some of it I liked a lot but some parts didn’t work for me.  I loved the concept of the story and all of the paranormal characters that were in it.  I thought it was a really unique idea for a book and the plot drew me in right away.  One of my issues though came up right away and that was that Reth was supposed to have no gender and therefore was referred to as “they” or “their”.  It kept confusing me and pulling me out of the story.  I would have to re-read sentences to figure out if “they” was Reth alone or Reth and Jude.  It also didn’t make a lot of sense to me plot wise because initially Reth explains that gender is just for humans but then every other paranormal creature in the story, including another succubus, are all assigned a gender and called “he” or “she”.
The biggest issue though was that I just didn’t feel any connection or love between the two MC’s.  There was a lot of telling me that they loved each other but not a lot of showing.  None of it felt believable to me.  Jude barely batted an eye to find out his boyfriend was dead and his body was now possessed by a demon.
There were a host of great side characters in this and I especially enjoyed the hellhounds.  It’s a cool world that the author has created and I’d like to see this turn into a series so we could see what happens to some of these creatures.
There were parts of this I really liked and then the above mentioned things that didn’t work for me.  Overall I would say it was a good read and I liked it well enough to check out some more works by this author.  If you’re looking for something outside the norm this would be a good pick.
Cover:  I think the cover is great.  I like it a lot and think it is perfect for the story.
 
Sales Links
7104e-waxcreative-amazon-kindle
6f71e-all2bromance2bbutton
Book Details:
Kindle Edition
Published October 10th 2016
ASINB01IWLJ554
Edition LanguageEnglish