Month: February 2019

Series Review Tour for NASU and ENRAI (Blood Sealed Book 1 and 2) by Jet Lupin (excerpts)

SERIES REVIEW TOUR

BOOK 1

Book Title: Nasu (Blood Sealed Book 1)

Author: Jet Lupin

Publisher: Self-Published

Genre/s: M/M Paranormal Romance

Length: 83 000 words/ 156 pages

Release Date: November 25, 2017

Add on Goodreads

This story can technically be read alone, though there are unsolved things that are further explored in the next book

Blurb

Go to work. Come home. Repeat. Phil’s life is boring and he loves every second of it. No excitement, no boyfriends breaking up with him over cereal in his underwear. When everything’s predictable, nothing bad happens. But nothing good does, either.

One night, when his best friend forces him to step outside of his comfort zone, he meets Shige who’s too enigmatic to really be interested in him. He’s trouble, but Phil can’t help ignoring his own advice.

Decades have gone by while Shige’s kept himself locked away. He’s tired of the world, of humans and vampires. He was happy collecting dust until one day he wasn’t. On a whim, he ventures out and meets Phil, setting them on a path that’ll change them both.

Whatever this is between them, it won’t come easy. Plagued by distrust and danger from within and without, but if they survive, it just might be worth it

Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

Universal Link

Amazon US

Amazon UK 

Excerpt

From Chapter 1

Phil Torres sat in Mercer General’s basement level breakroom for the first time that shift. With a sports drink in one hand and a protein bar in the other, he worked to cram both things into his mouth. He couldn’t remember what he’d eaten last or when. Even so, he had no appetite. Other nurses came and went through the breakroom offering looks of sympathy and pity. He was on the ass end of a 16-hour shift no sane person would envy.

It had been a trial of will. He’d seen some terrible things in the three years he’d been a fully licensed nurse but during this one shift, he’d beheld some of the worst things he’d ever seen, things that would haunt his dreams and hang on during his waking hours. A savage gunshot wound, a leg so badly broken the bone slashed through the skin, a pair of asthma attacks that left the patients blue in the face, gasping, and a stomach bug so virulent, puke covered the floors of two of their closet sized exam rooms. The cleaning staff was going to love this evening’s cleaning detail, but it was just another night at Mercer General.

“What’re you still doing here?” Yolanda came into the breakroom, looking every bit as tired as Phil felt. Her sneakers, damp from the storm she’d weathered out on the floor squelched with every step as she made her way to the lockers. “Didn’t your vacation start an hour ago?”

Phil took a swallow of sports drink to help keep his meager meal down. “Jackie was running late, so I filled in for her, then Shelly needed help tapping a vein… I got trapped.”

Yolanda rolled her eyes as she shut the door to her locker. “More like you let yourself get­ trapped.”

She was right, of course.

During his time here, the older nurse had taken him under her wing, brought him into the fold. They’d become as close as cousins. It helped Phil feel at home out here on the West Coast where he had no family and few friends, but as a side effect, lying to her was now next to impossible.

Yolanda perched on the plastic chair next him. She bumped him with her shoulder. “I’ll never understand why you always drag your feet when it comes time to get out of here. You’ve got an OK place—by yourself—in a decent neighborhood. You know how many people would kill for that set up­? What’s the issue?”

Yolanda couldn’t understand it. She had a home waiting for her. A husband and kids who kept her busy. She might not admit it but they filled her life with joy. All Phil had waiting in at home was a dog bent on systematically destroying anything he could get his mouth on.

“I like keeping busy,” he said. “It’s not a crime.”

“Neither is taking time off once in a while.” Yolanda quickly wiped her sneakers down with a paper towel and threw it into the trash. “Since you got here, you’ve never taken more than three days off at a time. You need this break. You’re gonna burn out if you don’t take it easy.”

There was truth to Yolanda’s words, but to hear her tell it, Phil was a workaholic, little more than a care dispensing robot. He knew how to relax. He just didn’t enjoy it.

Work kept him too busy to worry about the lacking areas of his life. He liked helping people and Mercer’s shortage of staff guaranteed any offers to come in on his days off were never turned down. Without work, as rough as it could be on a good day, he’d be left alone. He didn’t know what to do with alone.

“Why can’t it be a week? Or two! I’d gladly do that much!”

Yolanda clucked her tongue in disgust. “I wish they’d let your ungrateful ass give me the two months since you so obviously don’t want it. I don’t see how you let it rack up.”

“Same,” Phil said. “Same.”

Yolanda stood, ready to go back out onto the floor, but she stopped in the doorway. She rested a small hand on Phil’s shoulder. “Your body remembers how to relax, even if you don’t. But you’ve got to get out of here first.”

Read more here: https://jetlupin.me/nasu-excerpt/

BOOK 2

Book Title: Enrai (Blood Sealed Book 2)

Author: Jet Lupin

Publisher:  Self-Published

Genre/s: M/M Paranormal Romance

Length:  54 000 words/ 111 pages

Release Date: February 8, 2019

Add on Goodreads

Is it a standalone story? No

Blurb

Phil has a problem.

It’s not his job or the fact that his maybe boyfriend, Shige, is a vampire. He’s a sensitive– an ability he’s had since he was small that lets him peek into people’s minds— and it’s gotten out of control. He can’t turn it on and off like he used to. He needs help, and he has to fly to the other side of the world to get it. The catch? Shige’s the only one who can take him there, but things with him haven’t been great. Their relationship is in tatters, and he doesn’t know how to fix it or if it’s even up to him. This is so not what he needs right now.

But Phil’s not the only one with issues. Shige’s got a territory to maintain and a mystery to solve all while worrying about Phil. He takes all this in stride, but when things take a turn for the worst, can he get them both home in one piece?

Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

Universal Link

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Excerpt

From Chapter 1

PHIL

“Earth to Phil!”

Phil blinked at the sudden snap inches from his nose. He shook himself as the world rushed up to meet him. He’d been adrift in a sea of consciousness surrounding them. There were 30 other people in this restaurant, and at any given time, Phil heard the thoughts of the closest 15 or so, everything from the mundane to the raunchy. None of it was his business, but his instinct was to latch onto every granule of information as he noticed it. Giving in was very easy and very satisfying.

Sorry. I’m here.” But he hadn’t been. Thoughts continued to float in and out of his mind, not all of them his own. Today was particularly bad. It kept getting harder to focus on the things he needed to live his life.

Before, he needed to concentrate to hear other people’s minds, like eavesdropping. Now it was like everyone spontaneously broke into fits of reciting their inner monologues. There was no way to tell when it would start, but nine times out of ten, it was when he needed all his mental faculties.

He’d taken more breaks at work than what his job owed him, just to get away from the noise. People had started to notice. He’d been lucky enough not to hurt anyone yet, but it was only a matter of time.

“You sure?” Jerome said with no small amount of skepticism threading through his words. “You’re a little spacey.”

“I got distracted by a work thing, but I heard every word.”

Jerome cut his eyes at him. “What’s the last thing I said?” He smirked.

“You asked how things are with Shige.”

Jerome sucked his teeth. “Lucky guess.”

The question from his brain reached Phil before Jerome put it into words. It got mixed in the deluge of their fellow diners’ minds, but he remembered because it concerned him directly and hadn’t been about the food. He focused on Jerome, and the feedback lowered to a dull hum, blending with the audible background noise of the restaurant.

“So you got an answer for me? Hurry up, while it’s just us.”

“We’re good. Why would I go on this trip with him if we weren’t getting along?”

The short answer was what Phil told him; things between him and Shige were fine. The truth, as always, was more complex. He didn’t know what they were or where they stood.

Read more here https://jetlupin.me/enrai-excerpt/

About the Author

Stories longing to have words put to them were in Jet’s heart from an early age. Jet enjoys exploring the connections and similarities between people whether they be shifters, vampires, or aliens, rendering the unknowable very knowable indeed.

Jet’s days are spent toiling away at a keyboard, slumped over a pen and paper hunting for those words, or playing around on twitter with a partner, and two rambunctious cats for company in the temperamental North Eastern US.

Author Links

Blog/Website

Facebook

Twitter

SERIES REVIEW TOUR SCHEDULE

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

In the Contemporary Spotlight: Drama Castle (A Nicky and Noah Mystery Story) by Joe Cosentino (excerpt)

Drama Castle (Nicky and Noah Mystery #7)

by

Joe Cosentino

Cover Art: Jesús Da Silva

Release date: February 1, 2019

Sales Links:

My Book  | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

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Blurb

Theatre professor Nicky Abbondanza is directing a historical film at a castle in Scotland, co-starring his spouse, theatre professor Noah Oliver, and their son Taavi. When historical accuracy disappears along with hunky men in kilts, Nicky and Noah will once again need to use their drama skills to figure out who is pitching residents of Conall Castle off the drawbridge and into the moat, before Nicky and Noah land in the dungeon. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, side-splittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining seventh novel in this delightful series. Take your seats. The curtain is going up on steep cliffs, ancient turrets, stormy seas, misty moors, malfunctioning kilts, and murder!

Excerpt of Drama Castle, the seventh Nicky and Noah mystery, by Joe Cosentino

Ainsley Conall, the thirty-five-year-old lord of the manor, stood on the grassy moor surveying his property. He watched the mist spread to the nearby golden cliff, emerald mountains, and white-capped turquoise sea. His tunic, kilt, hose, and shoulder cloak matched the tall, strapping man’s long auburn hair and striking emerald eyes. The leather sporran hanging from a chain over the impressive lump at his groin proudly bore the Conall family crest—three lions. As he rested his size-ten leather brogue on a rock, Ainsley proudly gazed out at the ancient lighthouse, old abbey, and most importantly Conall Castle standing majestically in the distance. This was his heritage, his pride, and his joy.

An eastern wind blew the kilt up his back, exposing his melon-like bubble butt.

“Cut! We’ll save that for the blooper reel.”

I always wanted to say that. But I didn’t think I’d be uttering those words on a mountaintop at the northernmost tip of Scotland. I’m Nicky Abbondanza, Associate Professor of Play Directing at Treemeadow College, a private college plagued by murder in scenic Vermont. How did I get to Scotland, the land of men in kilts? After directing a play at Treemeadow College that moved to Broadway, I helmed a slasher film, which to nobody’s surprise was ignored by the Academy Award voters. However, Barclay Conell, the owner of Conell Castle and Hotel in Scotland, caught it while scrolling through one-star instant-play movies on his computer. It wasn’t so much that Barclay was impressed with my artistry. The film’s low budget and one-week production schedule caught the green in his eyes. You see Barclay was also the author of The Lord of the Castle, a five-hundred-and-thirty-eight-page novel that could turn an insomniac into Rip Van Winkle. Propelled by his novel’s high local sales, Barclay decided a film adaptation was in order—even when a local fisherman confessed he had bought up all the novels as gifts for unsuspecting fishermen in hopes of sinking the competition’s ships. When Barclay’s emails to Z-list celebrities went unanswered, undaunted in his cinematic pursuit, Barclay decided to star in the film version himself—playing his 1745 ancestor, Ainsley Conall. His wife, Moira (an unemployed actress currently working as his desk clerk), finally got an acting gig as Ainsley’s devoted wife. For reality sake, and to keep peace in the family, Barclay’s middle brother, Magnus (the hotel’s accountant), was cast as Ainsley’s middle brother and pal, Archibald. Finally, Barclay’s youngest brother, Fergus (the hotel’s restaurant manager), didn’t have much of a stretch to play Ainsley’s youngest brother and little buddy, Angus. And to keep the budget anemic, Lairie Naughton, the fourteen-year-old daughter of the hotel’s head of Housekeeping, was slated for the role of the devoted young maid, Aggie.

Barclay took no reservations at the hotel for a week in June and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: a four-figure salary, a film budget as thin as a vegan with a malfunctioning juicer, and a one-week shooting schedule. How could I say no? So, I continued the casting by adding my ten-year-old adopted son from Hawaii, Taavi, as Ainsley’s adored son, Roddy. Before a divorce was threatened, I hired my husband of four years, Assistant Professor of Acting at Treemeadow College, Noah Oliver, to play

Roddy’s noble tutor, Oliver, and to serve as the film’s acting coach. I decided to cast the smaller roles once we got to the castle.

There was the small, or not so small, matter of the film adaptation. Barclay’s attempt was as ponderous and heavy (pun intended) as his novel. So, my best friend and department head, Professor of Theatre Management Martin Anderson, wrote the screenplay, or as Ruben Markinson, Martin’s husband and our producer, said, “the foul-play.” With the excitement of a conservative politician nixing environmental laws, Martin went to work loading the script with scandal, seduction, and assassination. Try saying that three times fast. His new title: When the Wind Blows Up Your Kilt, You Need a Scotch.

Noah and I made our way up the gigantic poplar wood staircase. After standing all day and evening, the thick burgundy carpet on the steps was a welcome cushion to my tired feet. Noah admired the intricate molding of lions in various positions on the staircase, walls, and pewter chandelier above us. “Nicky, the castle must be much more crowded when open for business.”

“I prefer having it to ourselves.” I pinched his firm bottom and he giggled.

On the second floor, Noah and I headed down the long corridor and knocked on Mom and Dad’s door. Dad opened it, wearing a T-shirt and Bermuda shorts.

“Dad, we’re in Scotland, not the Caribbean,” Noah said.

“A vacation’s a vacation.” Dad welcomed us into his room. “This is some place, huh?” He gestured to the large canopy bed. “And look at that!” Poking my arm, he added, “You planning on giving it to Noah in the caboose tonight?”

Noah turned scarlet.

Dad laughed uproariously. “How are my two boys?”

“Tired.” I sat on an ornate bench.

“Stay and watch TV with me.” Dad opened a giant oak wardrobe revealing a flat screen television.

Did they have those in the eighteenth century?

He sat next to me and ran a hand over his bald head. “Braveheart is on tonight.”

Noah sat on a wide oak chair opposite us. “Dad, you’re in Scotland. Why not do some sightseeing?”

“No sights can beat the locations in Braveheart,” Dad said.

The door opened, and an iPhone covered my face. “What a cute picture of you two boys. Do you like my new iPhone?” Mom texted and then smiled proudly. “Judy from Wisconsin says her son and son-in-law, Tommy and Timmy, have never been to Scotland.”

Dad laughed. “Lucky for Jack. He’d have gotten stuck with the bill.”

“How are my boys?” Mom kissed every inch of our faces.

I wiped Mom’s tangerine lipstick off with a handkerchief. “How are Tommy and Timmy?”

“They’re worried about their little adopted daughter from Vietnam. Poor Dung gets

under everyone’s feet, and Judy and her husband Jack keep stepping on Dung!” Mom sat on the canopy bed and adjusted the tie of her tangerine robe. “I think Tommy and Timmy are spreading Dung too thin with baby classes in sign language, swimming, and art.”

“All paid for by Grandpa Jack,” Dad added.

Mom patted her dyed blonde hair into place. “Dung is a sweet child, but no kid is as gifted and talented as our grandson.”

“Amen,” Dad said while readying the television remote control.

“Speaking of Taavi.” Noah looked around the room. “Where is he?”

Wearing a canary polo shirt that highlighted his olive-colored skin and black hair, Taavi looked adorable with his legs dangling off the high bed. “Grandma and I explored the castle.” His dimples appeared. “I found a secret passageway.”

“A sleuth, like your dads,” Dad said.

“And like your grandfather,” Mom added.

Taavi wiped his palms on his sky-blue shorts. “I can’t wait to shoot my scenes.”

Noah smiled. “Will you steal them from me?”

“That’s the plan.” Taavi offered his father a hang loose sign and a huge grin.

Mom said, “Judy was very impressed with our little Taavi’s acting in that slasher film you all did last year.”

“As she should be,” Dad said as if he were Taavi’s agent.

“Judy said that little Dung’s chocolate coloring would show up well on film.”

“Too bad Tommy and Timmy aren’t in the movie business like our Nicky and Noah,” Dad said.

Mom and Dad laughed together triumphantly.

I noticed a gold necklace around Dad’s neck as it danced over his flabby chest. “I’ve never seen that before, Dad.”

He stuck out his already protruding stomach. “What, my sexy physique?” Dad winked at Noah. “I may be giving you a run for your money tonight, Noah.”

Noah’s scarlet cheeks turned crimson.

I walked over to Dad. “I mean your necklace.”

“He’s worn that thing around his neck since I met him,” Mom said.

Taking it in my hand, I admired the fine craftsmanship of the gold two-leaf clover.

“It’s really a four-leaf clover,” Dad explained, “but the other two leaves broke off.”

“Where did you get it?”

“In a little shop on a glen in a valley in the highlands of Scotland. A year before I met Mom, I visited the land of my ancestors to find my roots.”

“While I was covering up mine with peroxide,” Mom said with a smile.

“But my ancestors didn’t come from a place like this.” Dad explained, “They were sheepherders.” The dairy farmer added, “Milking is in my blood.”

“So is high cholesterol from all the cheese he eats,” Mom said as if speaking about a death row criminal.

Dad patted his stomach. “I like food.”

“Me too, Grandpa.” Taavi patted his stomach too.

“Did you all eat dinner?” Noah asked with concern showing on his handsome face.

Mom nodded. “A sweet young waiter named Donal served us in the dining room.” She giggled like a young girl. “He paid extra attention to me.”

“Were you jealous?” I asked Dad.

He waved me away like a color guard on speed. “Donal was a nice-looking guy. But he reminded me of you and Noah, if you know what I mean.”

My father-in-law developed gaydar?

Taavi’s dark eyes glistened in delight. “We ate cock-a-doodle-doo soup, blood pudding, green fish, and bread for short people.”

As if a United Nations translator, Mom said, “Taavi means cock-a-leekie soup—”

Okay, it’s not what you’re thinking. It’s a soup with chicken, bacon, leeks, and spices.

Mom continued, “—black pudding—”

Get ready to be grossed out. It’s pork fat, pork blood, oatmeal, and oat and barley groats.

“—scallops with cabbage and green apple sauce, and shortbread.”

“I texted all my friends from school. I can’t believe we’re livin

Praise for the Nicky and Noah mysteries:

“Joe Cosentino has a unique and fabulous gift. His writing is flawless, and his use of farce, along with his convoluted plot-lines, will have you guessing until the very last page, which makes his books a joy to read. His books are worth their weight in gold, and if you haven’t discovered them yet you are in for a rare treat.” Divine Magazine

“a combination of Laurel and Hardy mixed with Hitchcock and Murder She Wrote…

Loaded with puns and one-liners…Right to the end, you are kept guessing, and the conclusion still has a surprise in store for you.” “the best modern Sherlock and Watson in books today…I highly recommend this book and the entire series, it’s a pure pleasure, full of fun and love, written with talent and brio…fabulous…brilliant” Optimumm Book Reviews

“adventure, mystery, and romance with every page….Funny, clever, and sweet….I can’t find anything not to love about this series….This read had me laughing and falling in love….Nicky and Noah are my favorite gay couple.” Urban Book Reviews

“For fans of Joe Cosentino’s hilarious mysteries, this is another vintage story with more cheeky asides and sub plots right left and centre….The story is fast paced, funny and sassy. The writing is very witty with lots of tongue-in-cheek humour….Highly recommended.” Boy Meets Boy Reviews

“This delightfully sudsy, colorful cast of characters would rival that of any daytime soap opera, and the character exchanges are rife with sass, wit and cagey sarcasm….As the pages turn quickly, the author keeps us hanging until the startling end.” Edge Media Network

“A laugh and a murder, done in the style we have all come to love….This had me from the first paragraph….Another wonderful story with characters you know and love!” Crystals Many Reviewers

“These two are so entertaining….Their tactics in finding clues and the crazy funny interactions between characters keeps the pages turning. For most of the book if I wasn’t laughing I was grinning.” Jo and Isa Love Books

“Superb fun from start to finish, for me this series gets stronger with every book and that’s saying something because the benchmark was set so very high with book 1.” Three Books Over the Rainbow

“The Nicky and Noah Mysteries series are perfect for fans of the Cozy Mystery sub-genre. They mix tongue-in-cheek humor, over-the-top characters, a wee bit of political commentary, and suspense into a sweet little mystery solved by Nicky and Noah, theatre professors for whom all the world’s a stage.” Prism Book Alliance

“This is one hilarious series with a heart and it just keeps getting better. I highly recommend them all, and please read them in the order they were written for full blown laugh out loud reading pleasure!” Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

About the Author

Bestselling author Joe Cosentino was voted Favorite LGBT Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary Author of the Year by the readers of Divine Magazine for Drama Queen. He also wrote the other novels in the Nicky and Noah mystery series: Drama Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective, Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle; the Dreamspinner Press novellas: In My Heart/An Infatuation & A Shooting Star, A Home for the Holidays, The Perfect Gift, The First Noel, The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland with Holiday Tales from Fairyland, the Cozzi Cove series: Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out, Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings, Cozzi Cove: Happy Endings (NineStar Press); and the Jana Lane mysteries: Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll (The Wild Rose Press). He has appeared in principal acting roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Holland Taylor, and Jason Robards. Joe is currently Chair of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and he is happily married. Joe was voted 2nd Place Favorite LGBT Author of the Year in Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards, and his books have received numerous Favorite Book of the Month Awards and Rainbow Award Honorable Mentions.

Web site: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeCosen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4071647.Joe_Cosentino
Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino

Paperback: 215 pages

Language: English

ISBN-13: 9781792043819

ISBN-10: 1792043813

ASIN: B07L2L374P

 

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: Hexhunter (Hexworld #4) by Jordan L. Hawk

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Detective Bill Quigley first met Isaac, the mastiff familiar, the night Isaac was rescued from the witch who kidnapped and tormented him to force his magic for illegal uses.  He’s head over heels for the quiet young man who works for MWP (Metropolitan Witch Police) but Isaac doesn’t seem to return his regard. In fact, Isaac seems quiet and withdrawn most of the time; definitely not someone who’d appreciate Bill’s advances. So when Sionn, the owl familiar who works with Isaac, asks Bill out, he accepts and it seems to be with Isaac’s blessing.

But Isaac does indeed like Bill—he just feels inadequate and worries that his magic is tarnished after what happened. Plus, the witch Isaac’s familiar is attracted to doesn’t want him, and Isaac knows Bill only has a little magic and likely wouldn’t be interested in someone with damaged magic like his.

There’s plenty of time for a slow-burn attraction in this story, and that’s what happens. Just when it seems Bill might settle for Sionn in an effort to forget Isaac, an attempt is made on their lives and Isaac and Bill are thrown together in painful circumstances.  They can’t deny their attraction after that and that day begins a slow return of Isaac’s confidence and starts their journey to a lasting relationship.  Along the way there’s plenty of adventure and a dastardly scheme involving kidnapping children and experimenting with hexes to tailor the form the adult familiar takes so that the wealthy witches can have what they want.  Add to that, a surprise in the form of Bill’s half brother and the story has so much to offer that readers, like me, will get lost in the pleasure of this author’s highly creative and imaginative mysteries.

I am looking forward to much more in this wonderful hex world and most definitely I’m hoping Sionn gets his own book.  That little owl has a lot to offer!  I highly recommend this story and this series to readers of paranormal and mystery MM romance.

The cover by Jordan L. Hawk is done in a style similar to others in the series: above the title a profile of a man matching the description of MC Bill Quigley and below the title is the shadow of a mastiff, which represents MC familiar, Isaac, and it’s set against the background of an old street map of New York City.  Very creative and attractive.

Sales Links:  Buy from Amazon

Buy from Kobo
Buy from Apple Books
Buy from Barnes and Noble
Buy from Smashwords

 

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 244 pages
Expected publication: February 8th 2019
ASIN B07MM5SL79
Edition Language English
Series Hexworld #4

An Ali Review : The Other Book by Roe Horvat

Rating:4 out of 5 stars

It was supposed to be just sex… Famous last words.

Tyler doesn’t overthink pleasure and avoids complications. He knows it might be stupid to get involved with his closeted boss, but the temptation is too great. At first, the cold and beautiful Joel Sandstrom seems to loathe Tyler’s guts.

Except one late night at the office, his reasons become clear…and his control breaks.

Every time they touch, Joel’s stony face comes alive, harsh lines smooth out, and for a minute, he looks serene. Happy, even. Just sex – dirty, intense, spectacular sex.

During their covert encounters, Tyler discovers the power he has over the lonesome man, and it’s a heady feeling. What if he could set Joel free and give him peace of mind? When Tyler realizes how much Joel needs him, he doesn’t regret breaking his own rules.

Holy cold showers Batman, this book was scorching hot!!
This was a seriously hot, erotic story about two guys who work together and can’t stand each other.  They also can’t stop having kinky sex with each other.  As the story goes on they admit their feelings and they decide to try a relationship that includes more than sex.
There is a story about Joel’s controlling and abusive father as well as Tyler helping Joel experience parts of his sexuality he has not been open to in the past because he’s closeted (daddy issues).  The plot was pretty good and held its own with the sex scenes.  There were a lot of sex scenes though.  Way more than half the book.  Which is not a complaint, just the reason I would categorize this as erotica. Really well written erotica.
I haven’t read this author yet so I had no idea what the writing would be like.  I picked up from other reviewers that this is outside the other’s norm but I am intrigued enough to try some of his other stuff.
Cover:  The cover is just average in my opinion.  It is not bad but it does not stand out from many other books.
Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited
 
Book Details:
ebook
Published January 30th 2019 by Beaten Track Publishing
Original TitleThe Other Book
ISBN139781786453044
Edition LanguageEnglish
URLhttps://www.beatentrackpublishing.com/theotherbook

Characters and J.M. Dabney! Check out the Blog Tour for Gage (Trenton Security #3) by JM Dabney (excerpt and Guest blog)

releasedayblitzgraphic

GAGE

TRENTON SECURITY BOOK 3

J.M. DABNEY

M/M ROMANCE/SUSPENSE

RELEASE DATE: 01.29.19

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host once again JM Dabney here to talk about the latest release in the Trenton Security series, Gage.  Welcome, JM!

Characters and J.M. Dabney

You have a penchant towards bad boys and damaged men in creating your characters, but also there’s a spectrum of souls that run a gamut of personalities and individuals.  From those who regard themselves as “normal looking’, trans, older, younger,  hulking, or slight, is there any character personality or type you wouldn’t consider for one of your novels? Or romances?

I don’t know if there’s a type that I wouldn’t include in my stories. Yes, I do lean more towards so-called damaged characters, but we’re all damaged in a way. Some trauma no matter how small leaves a mark. When I start a project, I don’t really have a picture of the characters, I build them from page one. From their backstories I let character development naturally progress. Out of the almost 30 stories I’ve created over the last five or six years, I’ve never said I won’t write a character who is this or that. With all that said, I won’t write someone who’s bigoted in any way. As someone who is body positive and believes in diversity in all genres, to romanticize the bigot is a detriment to the genre. Yes, it makes for a good story, the villain becoming the hero, but there is a point when someone is beyond redemption and I won’t write a victim of bigotry falling for their abuser/bully as if they had simply needed to see the error of their ways. I’m too realistic to believe that love conquers all.

Most of your stories show two types of families: those you are born into and those that are formed from those you gather around you.  Was that an intentional choice?

This is a great question. For me, personal experience I have no close ties to my biological family. Familial love is supposed to be unconditional and we all know that has proven to be impossible. To see the statistic of LGBTQI+ youth being disowned. Love always comes with some condition. It’s the sad reality of life. I’ve found that bonds formed with friends, through shared personal struggles or just acceptance. Blood doesn’t make a family. Sharing a name doesn’t make a family. Love and acceptance can bring people together in a bond stronger and more intense than simply sharing DNA. Chosen family is just that, you choose these people, strangers that shouldn’t have any bond at all. Yet they show up to embrace and support for no other reason than a mutual love and respect. And with my stories I want to show that you can create this beautiful extended family – a safe space of kindred spirits.

For many of these characters, normal for them is something entirely different and hard won.  In fact “normalcy’  is a questionable term in every aspect of their lives.  Again, is that something you wanted to factor in?

Normalcy is such a weird concept. I think every one of my characters is normal for them. A lot of my characters deal with mental health issues. What’s normal for one is completely off for another. When writing my characters I try to keep the reaction as natural as possible. And with mental illness, they process things differently. I don’t factor in if it is so-called normal or not, it’s just something the character deals with. Yes, by the end of a book, I give them their HEA, but non-traditional relationships are as healthy as what society deems appropriate. I don’t know if I consciously started using the struggle for normalcy as a part of the story or character development. Each processes their quest for a HEA in different ways. I like the fact that I make my characters evaluate the expectations place upon them, either they adapt or they don’t. I find acceptance overrides the expectation of normalcy.

Trenton Security is the fourth in a group of connected series that i just love.  Is this the end, or will it keep going?

Twirled World Ink was supposed to be the end, fast forward to Trenton, and I’m still finding voices popping up. Pure will be coming out in a few months and that’ll be the end of the Trenton Security series. Powers County Series will start next. It’s about a group of transplant. Grace and Alex, both found in Little’s book get their story first. Unlike with the other connected series, Powers will have five books. At this point Powers County will be The End of the Powers Universe, but I have been toying with the idea of the Next Generation affectionately known as the Hellions. So, we’ll see how everything works out, but there’s definitely one more series after Trenton.

Thank you for allowing me to ramble on a bit.

 

 

 

BLURB

The forbidden is the sweetest lure.

Trenton Security’s Public Relations go-to was Hayden Gage. He loved his job, and it kept him distracted from the demons haunting his nightmares. His past wasn’t up for discussion, and Hayden wouldn’t allow it to intrude on his future. Yet, that was easier said than done when his best friend came to him desperate for help, and it put him right on the path to his one weakness.

Young didn’t equal lost.

Derrick Thorpe lived in the shadow of his father’s mistakes. Although he was adopted by Linus Trenton, he wanted to prove that he wasn’t like his biological father. When he was asked to go undercover to help at Trenton Security, it put him in close quarters with Gage. Being Gage’s was only an act, but when lines blur, what happens when the operation ends?

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EXCERPT

T

Dishes rattled, and the low murmuring of conversations filled the interior as the lunch rush started to slow down at Heidi’s Diner. Typically, Gage ate alone before returning to the office, but today, he hadn’t turned out to be so lucky.

 

“How about I buy you dinner, Gage,” the confident young man across the table from him asked.

 

He stared at the boy as if he’d lost his mind. He slowly closed his laptop and calmly leaned back in the booth. The first time he’d seen Derrick Thorpe the kid was skin and bones, skittish from years of abuse by Derrick’s homophobic and racist father, the former Sheriff of Powers County, Georgia. The last time he’d allowed himself to be in the same space with Derrick, he had graduated from college. His boss, Linus, adopted Derrick and his toddler brother after the death of their father and, well, the mother hadn’t fought Linus when the man demanded she sign over custody.

 

Today Derrick was a man in his mid-twenties, and even with the pale blond stubble, he was still as pretty as the last time he’d seen him which had occurred Christmas a year ago. He’d made his excuses and went to stay with friends for the holiday. Fighting any of the Crews to get out of a family function always turned into a lost cause, and he’d found it easier to escape.

 

Gage forced a chuckle and a good-natured smile at the eager boy in front of him, but he felt neither of those actions. Because his greatest hell sat across from him and there was no way he’d ever allow the boy close to him.

 

“Not going to happen, kid.”

 

“Why not?” Derrick looked offended.

 

He wasn’t fucking around with some boy with Daddy issues. No matter how much he wanted to find out what his handprint looked like on the boy’s ass. Derrick wasn’t for him. Age difference aside, with Derrick’s history, he wouldn’t let the young man find out how interested he was.

 

“Go find someone your own age, Derrick.”

 

“What’s this got to do with age? I’m an adult, and I think I’m old enough to know what I want.”

 

He felt the muscles in his jaw clench. He didn’t like telling people no twice. When he made a decision, it was final. This little boy was asking for a spanking. A vision of Derrick over his knee came to mind, and he banished it as quickly as it appeared. This was getting out of hand. That’s why he’d avoided anything that had to do with seeing Derrick.

 

“And I said it wasn’t happening. I don’t like to repeat myself, Derrick.”

 

Derrick’s chin lowered to rest on his chest. There was a deep breath, and then Derrick looked up, his dark brown eyes shimmered with indignation.

 

“Yes, sir,” Derrick pushed the words through clenched teeth.

 

About the Author

J.M. Dabney is a multi-genre author who writes mainly LGBT romance and fiction. She lives with a constant diverse cast of characters in her head. No matter their size, shape, race, etc. she lives for one purpose alone, and that’s to make sure she does them justice and give them the happily ever after they deserve. J.M. is dysfunction at its finest and she makes sure her characters are a beautiful kaleidoscope of crazy. There is nothing more she wants from telling her stories than to show that no matter the package the characters come in or the damage their pasts have done, that love is love. That normal is never normal and sometimes the so-called broken can still be amazing.

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Review Tour and Giveaway for The Other Book by Roe Horvat

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited
 
Length: 42,000 words approx.
 
Cover Design: Roe Horvat
 
Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing
 
Blurb
 

It was supposed to be just sex… Famous last words.

Tyler doesn’t overthink pleasure and avoids complications. He knows it might be stupid to get involved with his closeted boss, but the temptation is too great. At first, the cold and beautiful Joel Sandstrom seems to loathe Tyler’s guts.

Except one late night at the office, his reasons become clear…and his control breaks.

Every time they touch, Joel’s stony face comes alive, harsh lines smooth out, and for a minute, he looks serene. Happy, even. Just sex – dirty, intense, spectacular sex.

During their covert encounters, Tyler discovers the power he has over the lonesome man, and it’s a heady feeling. What if he could set Joel free and give him peace of mind? When Tyler realizes how much Joel needs him, he doesn’t regret breaking his own rules.



Jan 30 – The Way She Reads, Boulevard des Passions, Diverse Reader, Gay Book Reviews, Two Chicks Obsessed, Feb 1 – Sanaa’s Book Blog, Cupcakes And Bookshelves, Amy’s MM Romance Reviews, What’s Amy Reading?, Kimmers Erotic Book Banter, Mikku-chan, Xtreme Delusions, Feb 4 – Book Corner Reviews, My Fiction Nook, Mainely Stories, Love Unchained Book Reviews, Feb 6 – Making It Happen, Feb 8 – Mirrigold, Valerie Ullmer, Lillian Francis, Bayou Book Junkie, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Wicked Reads

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words review here. We highly recommend it!
Author Bio
 

Queer fiction author Roe Horvat was born in the post-communist wasteland of former Czechoslovakia. Equipped with a dark sense of sarcasm, Roe traveled Europe and finally settled in Sweden. He came out as transgender in 2017 and has been fabulous since. He loves Jane Austen, Douglas Adams, bad action movies, stand-up comedy, pale ale, and daiquiri, with equal passion. When not hiding in the studio doing graphics, he can be found trolling cafés in Gothenburg, writing, and people-watching.

More about the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roe.horvat.98
Twitter: @roehorvat
Website: roehorvat.com
Publisher: http://www.beatentrackpublishing.com/?n1=authors&id=107

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Release Blitz and Giveaway for Forgive Me Father by TL Travis

 

 
Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK – Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited
 
Length: 55,000 words approx.
 
Cover – Model: Kegan R. Ward | Photographer: Eric McKinney | Design: Mayhem Designs
 
Series
 
Greyson Fox – Amazon US | Amazon UK – Currently only 99c/99p
 
Blurb
 

Shunned and cast aside by his faith and family, Jamie is left to do whatever it takes to survive.


He comes across a group of kids in the same predicament, braving the streets of Seattle due to circumstances beyond their control. Lost souls who’ve slipped through the cracks of the broken systems society forced them into. Yet they still offer what little they have to him, including their home.


As time moves on, darkness surrounds him and when one of their own fall’s victim to the streets, Jamie wonders if there’s anything left worth living for. When his savior appears out of nowhere, he finds it hard to believe its real because he knows he’s not worth loving.


This is Jamie’s story from the #1 Amazon Bestselling book, Greyson Fox.


Potential triggers:
Sexual and physical abuse by church and family members, cheating, drug usage, prostitution and thoughts of suicide. Flashbacks of the abuse are present throughout this book. These are the opinions of the characters and in no way reflect the author.

 

About The Author

 

TL Travis is the author of The Sebastian Chronicles along with numerous other erotic novelettes (and many more in the works), The Elders Trilogy – an erotic paranormal (Vampire) romance novel series and many non-fiction articles.


In her spare time she likes to fish, enjoy all the Pacific Northwest has to offer, spin spicy erotic webs for readers to enjoy, and rescue any 4 legged lost souls she comes across. Since her children are grown and have flown the coop, she’s taken to spoiling her two deaf white boxers even more so than they were before.


To view TL Travis literary and photography works please visit her website at www.tltravis.com TL Travis can also be followed on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/tltravisauthor
Or via twitter at http://www.twitter.com/tltravis1

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