Category: 5 star Rating

Back to Cambridge with Charlie Cochrane and Lessons for Survivors! (contest)

 

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Jonty and Orlando are Back In Lessons for Survivors!

Charlie Cochrane’s Cambridge Fellows Mysteries are a favorite of mine!  Each book is a treasure, waiting for the reader to  discover what mysteries are in store for two utterly captivating characters, Jonty and Orlando.

About Lessons for Survivors

A more than professional interest . . . a more than personal intrigue.

Orlando Coppersmith should be happy. WWI is almost a year in the past, he’s back at St. Bride’s College in Cambridge, his lover and best friend Jonty Stewart is at his side again, and—to top it all—he’s about to be made Forster Professor of Applied Mathematics. And although he and Jonty have precious little time for an investigative commission, they can’t resist a suspected murder case that must be solved in a month so a clergyman can claim his rightful inheritance.

But the courses of scholarship, true love, and amateur detecting never did run smooth. Orlando’s inaugural lecture proves almost impossible to write. A plagiarism case he’s adjudicating on turns nasty with a threat of blackmail against him and Jonty. And the murder investigation turns up too many leads and too little hard evidence.

Orlando and Jonty may be facing their first failure as amateur detectives, and the ruin of their professional and private reputations. Brains, brawn, the pleasures of the double bed—they’ll need them all to lay their problems to rest.

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About Charlie Cochrane

As Charlie Cochrane couldn’t be trusted to do any of her jobs of choice—like managing a rugby team—she writes, with titles published by Carina, Samhain, Bold Strokes, MLR and Cheyenne.

Charlie’s Cambridge Fellows Series of Edwardian romantic mysteries was instrumental in her being named Author of the Year 2009 by the review site Speak Its Name. She’s a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Mystery People, International Thriller Writers Inc and is on the organising team for UK Meet for readers/writers of GLBT fiction. She regularly appears with The Deadly Dames.

Connect with Charlie:
Website:charliecochrane.co.uk/
Blog: charliecochrane.livejournal.com/
Twitter: @charliecochrane
Facebook profile page: facebook.com/charlie.cochrane.18
Goodreads: goodreads.com/goodreadscomcharlie_cochrane

Giveaway

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for an e-book from Charlie Cochrane’s backlist (excepting Lessons For Survivors). Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on January 31. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.

Lessons for Survivors is Book 9 in the Cambridge Fellows Mystery.  Reviews for all the stories can be found at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.

 

The Adventures of Johnny Stewart Part 1

Johnny Stewart is the great nephew of Jonty Stewart. His four part story will be related by Mrs Cochrane, official biographer to the Stewart family, over the course of this year’s Cambridge Fellows series blog tour.

Roger Bradley looked out at the Thames, from his mother’s hotel suite. This was going to be a wearing evening and they hadn’t even got round to the dinner guests arriving, let alone sitting down. His godmother had burst her appendix, so a last minute replacement had to be found—probably in the form of cousin Mary—but worse still, Sophia was going to be here.

He’d be the one who’d have to take Sophia in on his arm, have to put up with her flirting all evening and, worse still, also have to contend with his mother’s insinuations about what a nice couple they’d make. She’d got brother Henry engaged to be married within a few months and therefore the possibility of grandchildren pretty well sewn up, so why make such a palaver with him?

And Johnny Stewart would be there. The evening had the potential to be disastrous.

“Are you even listening, Roger?” His mother’s voice cut into his thoughts.

“Of course,” he lied.

“And do you agree?” She fixed him with a gimlet gaze. What would he be letting himself in for if he just said “Yes”? It wasn’t worth the risk.

“Sorry, mother, you were right. I wasn’t paying attention.” He needed to defuse the potential explosion. “There was a rather pretty girl out on the embankment and I got a bit distracted.”

“Ah.” His mother’s tone softened. “All I said was that I suspect that in regard to your reference to your godmother’s medical condition, the word is appendices and not appendixes but we’ll let that go. Was she as pretty as Sophia?”

Roger narrowly avoided asking, “who?”, but he’d always been good at thinking on his feet and managed, “How can I answer that without getting myself into trouble with one or other of you? Would ‘equally pretty’ do?”

“A diplomatic answer, dear.” She sighed. “If only your cousin Mary were as pretty.”

I span round to answer her, then decided I preferred the view of the Thames to the view of a condescending maternal face.

“I hope Mary meets a duke one day, one who falls head over heels in love so she then makes a more brilliant marriage for herself than any other female in the family.”

“Since when have you appointed yourself as Mary’s knight in armour?” Roger’s mother’s voice was cool and languid, the one she adopted when she wanted to let his temper blow itself out.

“Since I was old enough to realise how rotten the family is to her. God preserve all spinsters and save them from the machinations of their married relatives.” Roger span on his heels. “This tie needs straightening.”

He ran into his maternal aunt on the way to finding a mirror, which was blessing in that she sorted it for him and kept him out of his mother’s way until he could calm down.

“I hear Johnny Stewart will be here tonight. I’ll enjoy sitting next to him. There.” Aunt Jacinta added the finishing touch to the bow.

“Better you than me. Johnny’s the most insufferable person it’s ever been my misfortune to come across.” Roger ran his hands through his hair.

“You must dislike him intensely,” his aunt said, drily, “to employ that particular gesture. You always used to do it as a lad when you came to stay and we presented you with something you didn’t want to eat. Or asked you a question you didn’t want to answer.”

He felt a bloody embarrassing flush rising up his neck; why did Aunt Jacinta always see straight through him? Did she know exactly what was going on inside his mind to make him so defensive?

Johnny bloody Stewart. Why had he got to keep coming back and making life so difficult?

Roger tried to rally. “Anyone would run their hands through their hair—or tear great clumps of it out—if they had to deal with him for any length of time. He was bad enough at school and hasn’t improved with maturity.”

“That sounds like you then, dear. Peas in a pod.” Aunt Jacinta fixed him with a smile like an auger. She might look one hundred and forty in her bombazine and lace, but that look, and the machinations of the mind behind it, could strike fear in any man.

“Just don’t vex him, would you, dear? If he’s hardly your favourite person, at least be polite.”

“I will do my utmost.” He swallowed hard. Normally, medical students would be beneath his mother’s notice, but this one being the great-grandson of a lord made a difference and she’d been delighted to invite him in the absences of Roger’s godfather, who was at his now hopefully appendix-less wife’s bedside.

How could Roger ever explain about Johnny? There were two insurmountable obstacles—finding the right words to make anyone else understand the feelings he’d had for Johnny since he first caught sight of him as a spotty youth of sixteen and having to deal with her inevitably negative reaction if he did get his point across. He supposed he was too old—and the matter too serious—to just get away with being taken over her knee, whacked, sent to his room and then allowed to come down half an hour later if he showed the right amount of contrition.

Not even Aunt Jacinta could be as understanding about things as to allow that.

Disgrace, disorder, his mother’s tears, his father’s horsewhip? Not that his father would actually resort to the whip, no matter how often he talked about using it on miscreants, although the outcome would be just about the same. Cut off without a penny and none of the Bradleys ever talking to him again. And while that idea might be an attractive one in the case of Uncle Frederick, the general aspect didn’t appeal.

Try as he might, Roger couldn’t think of any way to sweeten the pill, whatever words he could use to describe how he felt.
There was this chap at school, Stewart, J.O. Year below me; came to the school when I was seventeen. I liked the look of him from the start; he had an air about him, power restrained and all that. He matured and filled out a bit faster than more of the spotty oiks of his age. Lost most of the spots, too. Cocky little sod, though. Opinionated.

“Roger!”

“Yes, aunt?” His mind came back from school days to the present, and two females, his mother having appeared, trying to usher him out of the suite.

“Daydreaming again. His worst fault,” she said, bundling him through the door.

Roger reminded himself that if that remained her opinion of what was his worst fault, then all in the garden was still rosy.
***
Johnny was already in the foyer, chatting to Sophia. His dark blond hair was under control, for once, while his blue eyes seemed to dance with pleasure at the arrival of his hostess. Roger thought his heart was going to lunge straight through his rib cage.

“Mrs. Bradley!” He bowed over her hand. “Thank you so much for inviting me as locum tenens.”

“Thank you for stepping in.” Mrs. Bradley was clearly delighted. “Cousin Mary will be delighted to meet you.”

Johnny looked at Roger, one eyebrow raised. “I didn’t know you had a cousin, Roger. Where have you been hiding her?”

“Away from rogues like you. Sophia,” Roger said, heading off any comment Johnny was going to make, “you look lovely.”

“Thank you. It’s just an old thing.” She smoothed her dress, one which was clearly anything but old.

“Johnny,” Mrs. Bradley waved her hands airily, “would you be a sweetheart and take in Aunt Jacinta when we progress to dinner?”

“It would be my pleasure.” It sounded like it would be the highlight of Johnny’s evening. Roger wasn’t sure if his discomfort was irritation at his oiliness or simple jealousy. Why couldn’t he be on Johnny’s arm?

“I was sorry to hear about Mr. Bradley’s accident,” he continued. “He’s quite right to rest that leg up for a while. Sorry he’s missing all the fun, though. Was the matinee good?”

“Excellent thank you,” Mrs. Bradley purred, blossoming under the attention. Roger noted that every woman in the party had slowly drifted into Johnny’s vicinity, like bees after honey. Or wasps after jam. “Malcolm won’t be sorry he missed that part. He’s never one for the theatre, or for coming up to town in general.”

“Do you think he hurt his leg deliberately to get out of it? Shall I horsewhip him for you?” Maybe only Johnny could have said that and got away with it. Roger had met his great uncle, Jonty—when he was up at Cambridge—and the man was the same. Able to charm the birds from the trees.

“Only if he doesn’t enjoy the birthday dinner I have planned when we get home. And this is for me, of course. My friends. Old and new.” Mother looked graciously around her guests then took Detective Superintendent Matthew Firestone—her godfather’s—arm.

“I’m so pleased you could all come. Shall we go through? They’ve laid on some cocktails for us.”

“Oh, lovely,” Sophia said, slipping her arm through Roger’s. Johnny smirked at him, the swine, and they processed towards the private dining room.

The table looked lovely, but the cocktails looked even lovelier, if they’d help Roger cope with the twin trials of Sophia’s doe eyes and Johnny’s…everything. Roger had given up any hope of the bloke fancying him, but the chap could at least be civil.

Mary had arrived and Mrs. Bradley was asking how her journey from Loughton had been, with none of the gratitude on display she’d shown to Johnny.

“My mother pushes that poor girl from pillar to post.” Roger hissed at Matthew, wondering how many cocktails he could consume and still manage to get all his sibilants out. He managed to detach himself temporarily from Sophia on the pretext of circulating and was half way through his perambulations when the manager slipped into the room, making a beeline for Matthew. He appeared to be delivering some sort of intriguing message, given the expression on Matthew’s but before Roger could manoeuvre himself into hearing range, his mother nabbed him.

“Roger. Why did I never meet this delightful young man when you were at school together?”

“I didn’t realise it was de rigeur for me to bring everyone back for tea” Roger didn’t want to talk about Johnny Stewart, not when the half heard words being spoken over his shoulder were so much more interesting.

“I wish he had invited me. Did you have apple cake?” Johnny directed the questions at Roger’s mother, which at least saved him trying not to say, “I couldn’t trust myself enough to invite you.”

“I wish Roger had. It would have made a change from some of the spotty specimens he dragged along.”

Roger bridled. How ridiculous, his own mother flirting with a man young enough to be her son! He rolled his eyes, but the protest he wanted to make got cut off, as Matthew cuffed him on the shoulder.

“Sorry to interrupt. Got a question for you. Did Ivor Gregg seem quite himself at the matinee?”

Roger frowned. “Quite himself? I think so. In good voice, as ever.”

“He was marvellous,” Mrs. Bradley said, girlishly.

“Why do you ask?” And why had Matthew adopted his professional, rather than avuncular, tones?

“Because he’s disappeared. Not turned up for the evening performance, and can’t be found in any of his usual haunts. Totally out of character.”

“Perhaps he’s had an accident?” Mrs. Bradley flapped her hands.

“Perhaps, although the management say they’ve rung round all the likely hospitals where he’d be if he had.” Matthew shrugged.

Aunt Jacinta had joined the group. “That doesn’t strike me as being the sort of case you’d be called in on, Matthew.”

“It wouldn’t be, normally. But he’s had threats made to him.” Matthew bowed over his goddaughter’s hand. “I’m afraid I have to take my leave, my dear.”

“Phew.” Johnny whistled. “The thick plottens.”

A MelanieM Review: Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall

Rating:  5 stars out of 5

Waiting for the Flood coverTwelve years ago Edwin Tully was happy.  Edwin was in love with Marius, had been since college.  They had found a perfect home, a cottage by the river in Oxford.  Edwin rescued and restored the books while Marius painted.  It was a wonderful life. Until it wasn’t.  Until 2 years ago when Marius informed Edwin he didn’t love him anymore and Edwin discovered his happy life was a lie.

Now Edwin’s life feels hollow. He still loves the work he does but he lives alone in his house meant for a forever two, tending only to his elderly neighbor, his books and his memories.  Until the rains come and the waters in the river start to rise, threatening his neighborhood and his house.

The rains and flooding bring Adam Dacre from the Environment Agency. An unlikely knight in  worn wellingtons, Adam offers Edwin his help, and his friendship and something more.  Adam offers Edwin the promise of a new “us” and the hope for a new beginning.  Now if only Edwin can gather his courage to give his heart away one more time.

Alexis Hall, Alexis Hall, how is it that it took 2 recent stories for me to find you?  Twice now you have managed to blow me away with your lyricism and virtuosity with the English language.   First it was Sand and Ruin and Gold, and now Waiting for the Flood, a stunning  story whose words are strung together like pearls and whose characters move with a quiet, fluid determination and respect through the current events and past traumas of their lives.   I kept wanting someone to come and read it out loud to me so I could close my eyes and savor the words and sentences the way a person might sit in the dark listening to their favorites symphonies.

This is our introduction to Edwin Tully:

When I tell people what I do, they always want to know if I’ve worked on anything famous. The Ben Johnson Shakespeare. The Austen juvenilia. The Abinger papers.

I have, but these aren’t the projects I cherish.

What I like are diaries and letters, commonplace books and ledgers, calendars, invitations and almanacs: the everyday documents of nobody in particular. Ephemera, it’s called. From Ephemeridae, those frail-legged mayfly, with their lace- and-stained-glass wings, who live only for a day.

I wonder, sometimes, if it’s a strange occupation, this semi-obsessive preservation of the transitory. But, whereas for some people history is a few loud voices, declaiming art the and making war across the centuries, for me it’s a whispering chorus of laundry day and grocer’s bills, dress patterns and crop rotations, the price of tallow.

 

What becomes clear almost immediately is Edwin’s love and knowledge of words.  The reason why Edwin feels and talks (or doesn’t talk) the way he does becomes understandable and real for his character., even more so as he is forced by Adam and his attraction to Adam into conversation. But its as the rains fall and the water rises that Edwin and the reader take measure of what his life has become, complete with empty spaces on the walls where Marius’ painting once hung and the dust in the room that Edwin no longer uses.  It’s sad, intimate and Edwin’s loneliness and stasis comes sharply into focus. And the more time we spend inside this smart, isolated man’s mind, the more completely we take him to heart.

And then there is Adam Dacre, a character who continues to surprise scene after scene.  He rises out of the water, carrying sandbags, a warrior in wellingtons, who sees a future in Edwin.  When Edwin finally ventures out to find some sandbags, he discovers Adam:

A laugh. But it wasn’t unkind. “Aye, really.”

At last, I was able to look at him, connect the voice to a body, and resolve them both into the impression of a person. Awkward height and ungainly limbs stuffed untidily into orange waders and Wellington boots. He turned away, and began to unhook the sides of the truck.

I stared at the back of his neck and at his hair, which was a schoolboy tousle only charity would have called red. It was orange, carrot, ginger, marmalade, shining like an amber traffic light, tempting you to try your luck and run.

Mrs. Peaberry, his intrepid neighbor, is another joy and cornerstone here. Her presence helps to anchor it, giving it a foundation and an observant voice for Edwin and the reader to listen to. I adored Mr.s Peaberry, with her stoic nature and kindness.  And outside of a few mentions of other people, that’s about the extent of the characters here.  This is an intimate stage, the location in or next to Edwin’s cottage that is being closed off from the world around it by the rising waters. Although in truth, it’s Edwin who has closed it off with his memories and refusal to move forward.  Its his path forward towards hope and love, however halting, that glues all the fabulous sentences and word choices together and brings the heart of the story alive.

So many analogies here, so many interesting formats and structures to look at and enjoy.  Each chapter is labeled with a part of Edwin’s home.  And his memories precede the start of each chapter.  We enter the story by means of Chapter One, The Front Door.  Through it lies Edwin, entombed in his past, waiting for something or someone to jostle him out of the rut he has gotten himself into.  Chapter after chapter we move through the rooms and Edwin’s memories, followed by the events happening in the present.  It’s a wonderfully engaging structure and it pulled me in completely.

Chapter one: The Front Door

Is green.

With frosted glass panels and a big chunky knocker. The bell doesn’t work. Has never worked. He remembers that first viewing, standing in front of it, expectant, hopeful, hand-in-hand with Marius.

He remembers, like his first kiss, the first time he put the key in the lock, turning first the wrong way, then the right, fumbling over the not-yet-familiar gesture.

It’s heartbreaking, and true, these gentle slices into the heart by means of memory of happier times.  I could really quote this story all day.  Hall’s use of language and structure mirroring that of a composer’s use of notes and chords to build a sonata or symphony, the lyricism is the same. This story so like a melody in composition and fluidity.

That water, the flood, is the force majeure is one more sparkling element in Waiting for the Flood.  While floods these days are considered catastrophic, we forget that they are a necessary part of nature, that floods act to cleanse and renew, washing away the debris even as the retreating flood leaves behind sediment that fertilizes the soil, allowing for new growth and new beginnings. That’s exactly the role that the flood plays here.  The delight is Edwin’s journey through the waters and out into a bright new future.  It’s one I will make again and again.

Just as Sand and Gold and Ruin was one of my Best of 2014, Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall has already found itself on my Best Books of 2015 list.  I highly recommend it and, its author Alexis Hall to all readers and lovers of the written word. And don’t over look the delightful surprise at the end.  It’s a recipe for Edwin’s not always successful Elderflower Wine.   It’s as fascinating, joyful and resourceful as you could want.

Cover artist Simone did a lovely job but any cover would be hard put to match the magical story  found within.  Only the cover of Sand and Gold and Ruin came close.  This is not that cover in tone or design.  I wish it was.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing     All Romance (ARe)      Amazon    Buy It Here  (links to follow)

Book Details:

ebook, 95 pages, available for preorder
Expected publication: February 23rd 2015 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN 1626492700 (ISBN13: 9781626492707)
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://riptidepublishing.com/titles/waiting

A MelanieM Review: A Minor Inconvenience by Sarah Granger

Rating: 4.75 (rounded up to 5) stars out of 5

Duty, honor, propriety…all fall in the face of love. 

A Minor Inconvenience coverAs Lord Wellington wages war against Napoleon, Captain Hugh Fanshawe, third son of Lord Fanshawe, returns from the Peninsular War permanently injured.  His leg torn apart by a French musket ball, Hugh is reduced to quiet, lonely days compiling paperwork at Horse Guards headquarters, the one place he can still make a difference.

From the battlefields to his office, now Hugh’s life is only interrupted by his mother and sister’s social schedule as he accompanies them to functions and galas.  Hugh’s only solace is that his mother no longer tries to fix his up with “suitable girls” with large dowries, thanks to his injuries.  Then Hugh’s restricted, lonely life is upended with the arrival of Colonel Theo Lindsay.

Theo is everything Hugh is not—a man of physical perfection and easy yet distinguished address. Surprisingly to Hugh, Theo appears to be interested in befriending him. Theo turns out to be a pivotal person in Hugh’s life.  An embarrassing turn of events reveals their fondness for the company of men, and soon, a friendship forms that quickly turns into something sexual and deep.

But there’s a mighty war still being fought, and a suspicion of a French spy at work in the Horse Guards.  The search for the spy’s identity and the subsequent revelations will have drastic consequences on all involved, not the least of which is Hugh’s heart!

What an amazing story!  I am so fond of M/M historical romances but accompanying that love of historical fiction is a critical eye towards the locations, settings, and cultural references of the times.  Too often that’s where a novelist goes astray, with dates, people and events not thoroughly researched.  But not here!  No, Sarah Granger has done a fabulous job of bringing the tumultuous times of the Peninsula War (1807 to 1814) to life in every way.  Through the eyes of Hugh (our narrator) we overhear the correspondence to and from Wellington as the war wages overseas and the incompetence and politics interfering with Wellington’s progress (or lack of) at home.  There are recounted clashes and tortured remembrances of bloody campaigns in Spain, and every scene, every bit of dialog feels believable and authentic.

But Granger doesn’t stop there with pulling us into the life of the English ton and upper society.  Hugh’s young sister, Sophie is fond of milliners, mantua-makers and such and is often found regaling Hugh with the descriptions of her latest gowns even as Hugh’s eyes glaze over.  I adored Sophie and her relationship with Hugh is telling, tender and happily contributes to our portrait of the man.

There are the uniforms of the 52nd Foot, the 95th Rifles and Horse Guards, the dress of the men in formal and informal occasions, the barouches, curricles, and phaeton’s and other horse drawn carriages of the times.  There’s the mention that Hugh’s valet wishes his master would have his coats made at Weston instead of patronizing Scott, an inferior tailor. And when Hugh’s not paying attention, the valet manages to tie Hugh’s neckcloth in the Mathematical style.  I could go on and go, the references accurately framing out the author’s time period for her story and giving A Minor Inconvenience a solid historical  foundation and universe upon which her characters and plot stand quite easily.

However, wonderful an author’s world building translates, it still needs great characters to breathe life into the story.  Hugh and Theo are marvelous characters believable in their ages, experiences and background.  But no matter how much I adored Theo, its Hugh that’s this story’s emotional center.  Hugh sees himself as a stolid, good sort of fellow. Not up to the gloriousness of his brothers and sister.  The oldest George is now Lord Fanshawe, intelligent, responsible and grave in his duties.  The second brother is James, a god in appearance, brave without fault, charismatic and an officer close to Wellington. Then there is Sophie, gorgeous, huge hearted, Sophie who looks like their mother, who made a brilliant marriage because she was and still is a well-known beauty.  And then there’s Hugh, whose eyes and hair color are not a match for his mother or siblings.  He’s serious, hurting over the loss of his career and disability and hiding his “unnatural” love of men. Hugh loves to fade into the background where he thinks he belongs. Trust me, Hugh will grab at your heart with all his awkwardness and serious demeanor.  I adored Hugh, even more so when fitted into his family’s framework ( I love his family as well).  Every character here is a marvel and necessary component to this story.

There is a mystery, well not so much of a mystery as I had the spy’s identity figured out.  This part of the story is the only place that I felt needs a little more construction and layers to it.  We build up to a reveal that never quite comes off as explosive or as dramatic as it could have been.  That said, this part also caused me to bawl like a baby over the pain it causes a a main character and the events that follow.  And yes, I love, loved the ending.  It was funny, believable and a HFN as it had to be while the war was still being waged.

I would love to see a return to this couple and England after the war.  What  happens to Lindsay and Hugh?  Does Sophie ever marry her rose-growing lord?  I need to know and hope there’s a sequel to follow.

A Minor Inconvenience is what is said when referring to the damage done to Hugh’s leg.  It’s just a “minor incovenience” , to all but Hugh who has to live with it.  How I love this story and I highly recommend it to all, not just the lovers of m/m historical romance but romance period.  I am going to search out more stories by Sarah Granger.  I’ll let you know what I find!

Cover Artist ?  I’m not sure who the cover artist is but they did a terrific job with the different uniforms and backdrop.

Sales Links:  Samhain Publishing   All Romance (ARe)   Amazon   Buy it here

Book Details:

ebook, 264 pages
Published January 14th 2014 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN 161921766X (ISBN13: 9781619217669)

Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review: The Burnt Toast B & B by Heidi Belleau & Rachel Haimowitz

Rating: 5 stars out of 5:BWBlogo_Web

The Burnt Toast B & B coverI know I keep saying this but it bears repeating—I LOVE this series! This story, in which injured stuntman Ginsburg Sloan seeks shelter at the B&B run by Derrick Richards, a laid-off logger who is trying to make a go of the business he inherited from his parents, is right at the top of the list of outstanding books in this series.

Ginsberg is temporarily out of work after he broke his arm on the set of Wolf’s Landing, the TV show being shot in Bluewater Bay, Washington. In an effort to save money, he heads for the B&B with the worst reputation and therefore cheapest rates, and there he encounters not only Derrick but a smoke-filled kitchen with a fire blazing both in the oven and on the stovetop. Thankfully, Ginsberg knows his way around a fire extinguisher, even with one arm, and after putting out the fire, he takes the time to assess his soon-to-be landlord.

Derrick has been out of work as a logger and was trying his hand at running the B&B he inherited when his parents were killed in an accident several years ago. He’s come to the conclusion that his clumsy efforts in the kitchen, his inability to do the necessary home repairs, and his lack of funds to do anything else equals “get out of business”. But before he can do that, he’s now going to have to find a way to get this guy to vacate the premises. So Derrick sets out to make him leave but it backfires when Ginsberg jumps in to help out. He manages to help so much that Derrick finds himself getting back into the business and enjoying it, despite his inherent objections to doing feminine work such as cooking and cleaning.

As they work together, both he and Ginsberg find themselves attracted to one another. But Ginsberg is feisty and opposed to any outdated notions Derrick expresses about roles for women and men and he won’t tolerate Derrick’s comments on what makes a man masculine. Ginsberg is transgender but, as he explains to Derrick, that has no impact on his opposition to Derrick’s comments and actions. Derrick’s ideas are just plain stupid and outdated, and Ginsberg sets out to help Derrick leave the macho bull behind while making a go of the business. Derrick finds himself enjoying the work and spending all his free time fighting his desire for Ginsberg. He wants him desperately and starts to daydream about every facet of this man—his body, his personality, his kindness, his energy, and his courage. But at the same time, Derrick is still hiding behind his gruff persona and still negative about whether or not his business can succeed in the long run, and he’s firmly convinced that Ginsberg will be leaving by the time his cast comes off and he goes back to work.

He’s so convinced of this, in fact, that he torpedoes their relationship just as it’s starting. They’d spend an amazing night together after which Ginsberg had to get up and get out the door to work and while he was away, Derrick convinced himself that this just couldn’t last. So when Ginsberg came home and presented Derrick with a special gift, it backfired and Derrick blew up, shaming Ginsberg and forcing him away.

This is just a simplified explanation for a complex plot that has more facets than a brilliant-cut diamond. Secondary characters were outstanding, especially Derrick’s ex-boyfriend Jim, and the revisit with Carter and Levi was much appreciated. The way this story evolved, the growth and learning experiences for the MCs, the heartbreak and despair they suffered, and the maturity and change in Derrick’s outlook as the story evolved all combined to make this story amazing and memorable.

I highly recommend this series to all lovers of M/M romance. I am amazed that every author in the series, though very different, has brought us characters which make me smile and leave me with a warm and fuzzy place in my heart each and every time. Don’t hesitate to invest your time in this one.

Cover art by LC Chase depicts both the gorgeous Ginsberg, complete with the typical Hollywood sunglasses, and the rugged Derrick, arms crossed in one of his perpetual scowls, standing in front of the B&B.

Sales Links:   Riptide Publishing     All Romance (ARe)     Amazon          Buy it here

Book Details:

book, 225 pages
Expected publication: January 12th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN139781626492165
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/burnt-toast-bb
seriesBluewater Bay #5

Bluewater Bay Series by book and author:WolfsLanding_transparent

Review: When All the World Sleeps by Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

WhenAllTheWorldSleeps_500x750_0Daniel Whitlock is back in his hometown of Logan, South Carolina, after serving time in prison for killing a man. The man Daniel killed was another local boy, Kenny Cooper, someone who savagely beat Daniel because he was gay.   The problem is that Daniel doesn’t remember burning down Kenny’s house with Kenny in it.  Daniel is a sleepwalker and has been since he was a child but no one believed him when Daniel told everyone that he had been asleep when he burned Kenny’s house to the ground. Convicted with time served, now Daniel has returned home to a town that hates him and a family that won’t speak to him.  Isolated in a cabin in the woods, Daniel chains himself to the bed each night in hopes that he can sleep.  Sometimes it works, mostly it doesn’t.

When Daniel is found causing trouble at the local bar, its up to Logan cop Joe Belman to break up the fight and take Daniel home.  Like everyone else in town Bel has never believed Daniel’s defense of sleepwalking.  But now faced with the reality of a Daniel who doesn’t remember the fight at the bar, Bel’s attitude towards Daniel starts to change. When Kenny’s friends retaliate against Daniel, Bel agrees to watch over him, to keep Daniel safe by any means…including tying him up and handcuffs.

Watching over Daniel, dominating him to protect him, brings out a side of Bel he never knew existed.  And as he slips into a relationship with Daniel, one that deepens by the day, Bel finds himself looking at his hometown and its citizens in a new and harsh light.  It’s not only the town that won’t leave Daniel alone but his own fears and demons too.  Only with Bel does he find any measure of peace…now if only he can let himself believes he deserves it and that Bel will stick with him no matter what.

Not many books these days leave me speechless, let alone exceed any expectations I might have had from the blurb given.  But When All the World Sleeps is that treasure of a book that leapt over my perceptions and conjectures into a triumph of storytelling.

Truthfully, it’s the characters first that surprised me. I was unprepared for damaged Daniel Whitlock and his somnambulism.  And how deeply this character would affect me.  His pain and anguish over the past, and not just Kenny, is so profoundly real that I could swear I saw Daniel’s blood and tears wash over the Kindle’s screen as certain scenes unfolded.  He is steeped in guilt and confusion.  By returning to Logan, all the memories and problems that Daniel carries with him just intensifies for him and the reader on an almost hourly basis.  There is little mercy to be found in this small town with its almost biblical memory and cemented social judgements, whether it be against gays or convicts or those that happen to live outside the town’s proscribed idea of normal.  And oh the danger if someone just happens to be all of those.  That is a marked man, whether it be open taunts or concealed hatred.

Joe Belman, or Bel as he is called is another remarkable character in a sea of them.  Bel is someone we watch grow emotionally throughout the story.  He starts off as just another typical Logan citizen, holding much the same viewpoints and values as all the other close-knit family members and small town denizens.  Logan is so central to who Bel thinks he is that it would never occur to Bel to live anywhere else, so strongly does Bel identify with the town and his family and friends. But all that starts to change when Daniel reappears in Bel’s life.  There is a fundamental change that has to happen before Bel can see Daniel as someone other than a liar and killer, and that change happens slowly and with great realism.  Henry and Rock achieve something remarkable here with Bel.  His changeover in attitude and feelings towards Daniel feels so authentic in his doubt, stubborness, and finally acceptance that the authors pull the readers along with Bel’s introspection and emotional discoveries about himself and Daniel.  It’s intimate, it’s a ground swell of emotion that never stops breaking and its breathtaking in its accomplishment in making me, and all the readers so vested in these characters and their delicate relationship that any swerve off the path for them is as painful for us as it is devastating for them.  Bel is that singular voice in the night, the one that stands out in the sea of small town secrets and listening to him soon becomes as addictive as it is necessary.

Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock certainly understand the small Southern town mentality, one I am familiar with myself.  There is a delicate emotional balance that is necessary to achieve for appreciating and comprehending the complexities of life lived within its confines.   My father escaped it as early as possible, his brother never did.  The pull of a small hometown can sometimes be so strong in its depth of history (familial and otherwise), of its deep cultural and societal roots that establish themselves within a person never to  relinquish their hold, that some people never leave its jurisdiction, whether that be physical or emotional.  Henry and Rock get that and have made it come alive here within the pages of When All the World Sleeps.  The good, the bad, the indifference to the sufferings of those the town cannot abide or understand…its all there, laid out for the reader who has no idea of the charms and pitfalls that exist in such an atmosphere and makes it accessible.

When there is a bdsm content in a story, especially where it is a major element in a main character’s emotional makeup, I always wonder how its treatment will let me relate to the story and the character(s) involved.  Again, Henry and Rock take a multitude of difficult subject matters and by combining them, make us understand the demons that haunt Daniel and the methods chosen to help him deal with them.  Its another outstanding accomplishment that such methods seem utterly reasonable and necessary for both men, including Bel who is new to the whole idea of domination and submission.  Bel does his homework on the subject, researching and having open discussions, well as open as is possible with Daniel, on the toys and tools to be used to make Daniel feels safe enough to sleep. There is a natural progression from ignorance to total participation as a dominant and partner from Bel.  As there is an answering growth and recovery from Daniel at the end of the story.

With all the hatred that floats throughout this story, the self hatred, the hostility and animosity from the town, the pain and rejection that seems to be a matter of course for  several of the inhabitants here, there are also scenes of incredible tenderness and raw sexuality.  There is a moment with body markers so memorable in its tenderness and awkward eroticism that I didn’t know how to respond… then it gets to the end and I what my response should be…cheering for the bravery that is both Daniel and Bel, celebrating their almost impossible union and the milestones they have reached.  Hard not to reach for a tissue after that.

But the authors are not through with us or Bel and Daniel.  They are carefully constructing their plot, laying out the foundation and then the rest of the plot building blocks with the same attention to detail they did with the facts about sleepwalking and therapy.  Daniel is a superb artist, drawing both day and night and remembering only by seeing the results on paper when he awakes. The chills brought forth from the drawings ups the level of rising anxiety as events start to rush towards a climax.  And while the events speed towards a resolution, the plot never feels rushed or incomplete.  This is a narrative that leaves nothing to chance or is weighed down by extraneous or inconsequential elements.  The book is 405 pages long yet it never felt that way to me.

This story is so complete that I don’t feel a need for a sequel.  It ends as it should.  I think this is one of the finest books of 2014.

Cover Art by Amber Shah.  Again this will be on my Best Covers list.  The tones and the atmosphere achieved here are perfect for the story and characters within.

Sales Links:   Riptide Publishing       All Romance (ARe)        Amazon   Buy it here

Book Details:

405 pages
Published March 24th 2014 by Riptide Publishing (first published March 22nd 2014)
ISBN 1626490791 (ISBN13: 9781626490796)
edition languageEnglish
review posted back in 2014

Down Under Showcase Author: Lisa Henry

 STRW down Under Banner sm Hearts

Down Under Showcase Author of the Day

Lisa Henry Icon

Meet Lisa Henry

Lisa Henry is the author of Sweetwater, When All the World Sleeps, Bliss, King of Dublin and so many others listed below.

To get to know Lisa Henry a little better, she agreed to an interview. Look for the interview below and the Down Under Scavenger Hunt word found somewhere within.

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Author Bio 1

Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.

Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.

She shares her house with too many cats, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.

Author Contacts

Contacts/Follow at :
Twitter https://twitter.com/LisaHenryOnline
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5050492.Lisa_Henry
Website http://www.lisahenryonline.com
Blog http://lisahenryonline.blogspot.com.au
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lisa.henry.1441

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Author Books Stories Down Under1 copy

Your Books:

Sweetwater_400x600BlissThe Two Gentlemen of Altona by coverWhenAllTheWorldSleeps_500x750_0

 

 

 

 

The Two Gentleman of Altona (Playing the Fool #1), with J.A. Rock
Fall on Your Knees, with J.A Rock – part of the Rated: XXXmas Anthology
Sweetwater
Bliss, with Heidi Belleau
Another Man’s Treasure, with J.A. Rock
When All The World Sleeps, with J.A. RockBest Books of 2014
The King of Dublin, with Heidi Belleau

 

Mark Cooper versus America coverBrandon Millsverse the V card The Good Boy coverARC fullcover

 

 

 

 

Mark Cooper versus America (Prescott College #1), with J.A. Rock.
Brandon Mills versus the V-Card (Prescott College #2), with J.A. Rock
The Good Boy (The Boy #1), with J.A. Rock
The Naughty Boy (The Boy #1.5), with J.A. Rock
The Boy Who Belonged (The Boy #2), with J.A. Rock
Dark Space
He Is Worthy
The Island
Tribute
The Dreams You Made in the Dirt – a free short.
Falling Away – a free short.
The Last Rebellion – a free short.

Dark Space cover
Genre(s):

I write m/m and I can’t really narrow it down any more than that. I’ve written contemporary, historical and sci-fi.

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Contests and Giveaways:

1. Today’s Giveaway (thank you, Lisa Henry) is an eBook copy of Mark Cooper versus America. Enter using this Rafflecopter link here. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rafflecopter Link: a Rafflecopter giveaway

2. Down Under Scavenger Hunt – find Lisa Henry’s Hunt “Word” in bold green. Collect all the words from each author and submit the list in writing no later than midnight on February 1st. Make sure you include an email address where you can be reached. Prizes will be given to 5 people selected, from 1st place to 5th! Happy Hunting.

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Author Qand A

 

Hi! I mean, g’day. It’s great to be here at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words. Today I’m offering an ebook copy of Mark Cooper versus America, a book I co-wrote with the awesome J.A. Rock, to one lucky commenter! Weirdly, I think it’s the most Australian of my books, even though it’s set in Pennsylvania and has snow and bears in it. I mean, we have snow here too, allegedly. I’ve only seen it once though.

Also today, I’m sharing a recipe with you. It’s simple enough that even I can follow it, I promise. The recipe is for Anzac biscuits, and no, you can’t call them cookies. Anzac biscuits are a century old this year. They are named for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, called the ANZACs, and were the biscuits of choice for families sending gift packages overseas to the troops during the First World War because, being egg-free, they wouldn’t spoil.

Anzac Biscuits Recipeanzac biscuits

Here is what you need:

125g butter, chopped coarsely
2 tablespoons golden syrup – you can substitute with treacle
¾ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon water
1 cup (90g) rolled oats
1 cup (90g) desiccated coconut
1 cup (150g) plain flour
¾ cup (165g) brown sugar
And this is what you do:

Preheat oven to 160° Celsius or 140° Celsius fan-forced. That’s 320° Fahrenheit or 285° Fahrenheit fan-forced.

Combine butter and syrup in a small saucepan. Heat gently until butter and syrup melt.

Combine bicarbonate of soda and water in a small bowl and stir into butter mixture.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour over warm butter mixture and stir well to combine.

Roll rounded teaspoons of mixture into balls. Place about 4 cm apart on baking paper lined baking trays and flatten slightly.

Bake in preheated oven 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes on baking trays; transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

They’re yummy! Enjoy! And now onto some questions:

Were you a reader as a child?

Absolutely. I spent several years in Papua New Guinea as a child, and we had no television there. I’m sure that has a lot to do with my very early love of reading – having no other options. We had movies some weeks at the local club, but our main entertainment was reading and storytelling. There was also no bookshop in the town we lived, so my mum encouraged my sister and me to make up our own stories. Some of the first stories I “wrote” were written down by my mum because I hadn’t learned to write yet.

Title or characters or plot? Which comes first?

Characters, always. Everything else comes after I figure out who my main players are, and what their dynamic is, because that’s always going to be the heart of any story that I write. It doesn’t matter if it’s set in the future in space or in nineteenth century Wyoming (I’ve written both!), the characters are always the first thing I focus on and I build everything else around them.

Do you have a favorite character that you have written?

That’s a hard one! I think maybe Brady from Dark Space. It was so much fun to write in his voice, and be in his head. He’s sarcastic, and defiant, and always gets in trouble because he just can’t shut his mouth, but it’s mostly just a front because he’s so scared of being stuck in space where he knows he’s going to die. And I think I really love Brady so much because I was so worried that readers would hate him—a lot of times he’s selfish and immature and says hurtful things to the few people who care about him—but most readers love him too, which was fantastic. It’s totally a secret of mine that both Brady and Cam are also Aussie characters, even if it’s from an unrecogniSable future Australia. I think probably the only think that gives it away is that Brady mentions cockatoos. Otherwise, it could be anywhere.

Having said that, I’ve also got a total soft spot for Mark Cooper, from Mark Cooper versus America, for being a proud Aussie boy at an American college and refusing to give into peer pressure and use the word “ass”. Mark is fighting the good fight! Mark was written specifically because J.A. Rock and I spent so much time arguing about Australian English (which we all know is correct) and American English (which makes no sense and is wrong). So that gave me a chance to address most of my issues with American English, and will hopefully help explain to Americans why we giggle when you ask us which team we root for. Root does not mean what you think it means.

If you were a tour guide, what would you like a visitor to see and what impression would you want them to take away with them when they leave?

I was actually a bit of a tour guide last year when J.A. Rock came to visit. I made it my mission to take her to a wildlife sanctuary so she could see crocodiles, cassowaries, koalas, dingoes, wombats and the whole shebang. We were mobbed by kangaroos, and saw one of them punch a duck. It was hilarious.

So, the wildlife, definitely. Everyone should pet a wombat and hold a koala at least once in their lives. And see a duck get punched by a kangaroo.