Review: Saugatuck Summer (Saugatuck #1) by Amelia C. Gormley

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Topher Carlisle likes to think of himself as fabulous. Topher knows he looks fabulous, now only if he felt that way on the inside. He is turning twenty one and stands on the precipice of adulthood with life changing decisions rising up around him. Gay, gorgeous and of mixed race, Topher’s upbringing has been anything but normal. Or happy. Or safe. His mother is a drug dependent alcoholic whose mental health issues threatened his health and his sanity growing up. His other relatives are little better, giving him support on their terms, which were both emotionally and physically abusive. And while most people only see a flamboyantly gay, intelligent and perhaps superficial young man, the inner Topher is the one who continues to battle with his depression and thoughts of worthlessness.

Supporting himself through college on a swimming scholarship, Topher’s education might be cut short if he can’t get in condition to compete for the team in the fall and earn the money he needs for board. Luckily for Topher, his BFF, Mo is bringing him with her to the family beach house on Lake Michigan. A summer of swimming and, hopefully, part time work, should just do the trick if Topher can stick with the program, but that is something he rarely does. And something totally unexpected and disasterous happens….his bestfriend’s father is handsome, closeted…and it turns out, available for an affair. An affair that ruins everyones lives before the summer is over.

Now homeless, friendless and desperate Topher needs help in the worst way. And it comes in the shape of a artist named Jace who asks to paint his portrait and sees beyond the facade Topher has erected to protect himself from further pain. And he just might be the answer to this young gay man’s prayers…if only Topher will give him a chance and let him in.

What? Don’t recognize the book by the synopsis above? Not even close to the blurb you read that starts out “Hi, I’m Topher Carlisle: twenty-one, pretty, and fabulous”? Not surprising because that light, somewhat comedic summary has little in common with the dark, heartrending story that is Saugatuck Summer. Just like you, I was expecting a sort of coming of age story featuring one of those fabulous characters who burbles on in an almost stream of consciouness, missing an editor gate sort of inner monologue. You know light, kind of frothy, with hints of angst here and there. That is not, as I said, Saugatuck Summer. What I got was darker, deeper, and totally involving featuring a mess of a main character who is not instantly likable. All of which is much, much better than anything I had originally anticipated.

Instead of light romance, Gormley gives us Christopher “Topher” Carlisle, a chronic depressive who is half black, gay, and on the cusp of turning twenty one. A traumatic event sent him into a downward spiral last year in college, turning him into a black hole of depression and making him unable to attend classes or stay in shape to swim. We meet Topher as the summer starts. His bestfriend, Mo, has invited Topher to stay with her and her family at the summer vacation home on Lake Michigan free of charge. There Topher can swim himself back into shape and get a part-time job to help pay college expenses in the fall. Sounds great, right? And it would be for anyone but Topher who is also self destructive and possesses of poor self image. He is, as they say, his own worst enemy and proves it over and over again to himself to be certain.

Gormley establishes that the reasons why Topher acts the way he does are grounded in his abusive past which continues to haunt him as he cannot bring himself to cut all ties to his mother and his family. The author doesn’t dump all the horror that is Topher’s family on the reader at once which is probably a good thing because the ghastly mess that is Topher’s family and upbringing is made more effective when it is revealed in segments of painful revelations as Topher relives scenes from his childhood and other memories that refuse to stay buried. Topher himself is aware of his self destructive tendencies. He is the product of years of therapy and doctor ordered medications that help with the depression. But as the cause of most of his pain is only a phone call away, a complete breakdown is a possibility in any given stressful situation. Over and over again, Gormley’s Topher will bring us to tears even as we want to give him a shake in frustration over his actions. We get it and him. It will take a while to accept Topher as he is such a deeply flawed young man but when you do (and you will if you give him a chance), then his journey out of the darkness and into a reality where he just might find happiness is one you will wholly invest yourself in. You will love this young man and every step he takes, forward and back, are ones that you will take together.

Ah, yes, the cheating. I know that for some of you, just the mention of cheating will have you crossing this off your TBR list. And that the man who cheats is not only married but Topher’s best friend’s father might send the rest of you running for the proverbial door. To all of you, please put that issue aside and read this story. Brandon, the father, has his own demons to fight and he also is a flawed, impulsive human being. Brandon knows that this affair will end badly but like Topher, he can’t help himself. Again, Gormley provides a solid and realistic rationale for both men’s actions. You don’t have to like what they are doing, just understand that each man, or almost man in Topher’s case, has so many dark skeletons in their closet that it makes this jump into bed almost a given. Everyone here is so authentically human, painfully so that no matter how awful their actions seems, you still end up empathizing with everyone who gets pulled into this mess. And that includes the two main participants.

Gormley does an outstanding job with all her characters here. Mo, the best friend betrayed by both her father and Topher, is a portrait of loyalty and heartbreak. A married couple, Robin (an art gallery owner) and Geoff, his partner and tattoo artist, who turn out to be the grounded gay couple who helps save Topher by providing a framework of knowledge and friendship that Topher has never had before. And finally Jace, the artist who sees deeply into the troubled Topher and still wants to pursue a relationship. Each and every one is a stunner of a character. And their importance to this story and Topher is beautifully rendered in scenes that will make you laugh and cry and want to be a part of that village that starts to raise Topher up out of the hole made by his upbringing and family.

Is this an easy book to read? No, not really. But it is a wonderful one. It will pull you in, involve you emotionally and mentally. It will tear you up as you watch Topher breaking on the shoals of his illness and family history. And finally it will move you to tears and happiness as Topher finds his way to love and a future. Thankfully, Amelia C. Gormley realizes that there will never be an easy resolution to someone with Topher’s illnesses and past, only better ways to handle them with the right therapy and a balanced doctor proscribed plan of medication. So the ending is marvelously conceived and wonderfully realistic. I loved it as I did Topher and everyone else found within the covers of Saugatuck Summer.

Saugatuck Summer is a book not to be missed. It will be one to be remembered. And Saugatuck Summer will be on my Best of 2014 list at the end of the year.

Cover artist is LC Chase. That cover is beautifully deceptive. You only think it shows a lovely peaceful beach scene but look at the gathering storm clouds and the portent is clear. Just an amazing cover, one of the best of the year.

Of Special Note: Be sure to check out the Saugatuck Summer soundtrack by singer/songwriter Casey Stratton . This soundtrack is the soundtrack for Topher’s life. Stratton’s music and lyrics are found throughout the story, linking events, memories and happenings together in a seamless strand of melody. I found a new musician to love with this story. Visit his website. I think you will find the same.

Book Details:

ebook, 363 pages
Published May 19th 2014 by Riptide Publishing (first published May 17th 2014)
original titleSaugatuck Summer
ISBN139781626491168
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://riptidepublishing.com/
seriesSaugatuck #1

Buy Links: Riptide Publishing Amazon ARe

Author Spotlight: Writing with Humor by John Inman (contest)

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Author Spotlight: John Inman On Writing with Humor

The stories of John Inman are a true favorite of mine. I think of John Inman and his stories and immediately I start to smile. He has the ability to convey the emotions and thoughts of real people with startling issues in his stories through humor, frankness, and acceptance. Interspersed, of course, by the occasional moments of angst.

“Laughing through our tears” is probably a phrase most readers would associate with this author, whether it is through his books, Shy, Hobbled, or the recently released Spirit. I invited John to talk a little about how he combines the authenticity of every day problems and real life difficulties with humor. John has brought a copy of his latest release, Spirit, to give away. To enter to win leave a comment and an email address where you can be contacted. The contest ends June 4 at midnight.

Writing with Humor by John Inman

I was recently asked how and why I temper the impact of real issues with humor.

Well now, there’s a question and a half, huh?

Questions about why I write the way I do always go flapping over my head like distraught pigeons, because I honestly never know how to answer them. My motives are a mystery even to me. They always have been.

I do know there are times when I’m trying to delve into serious issues in a story and it’s an uphill battle for me to not start cracking jokes or going for a laugh. I’m talking about my writing here. In real life I’m much too shy to shoot for a belly laugh from anybody. I’m the guy sitting in the corner behind the potted palm slurping down cocktails to calm his frazzled nerves and trying to be inconspicuous. On paper, however, I’m fearless.

I honestly had not thought about it before, but behind every one of my comedies — SHY, HOBBLED, SPIRIT, LOVING HECTOR, SERENADING STANLEY — (I’m leaving out PAULIE because the only serious aspect to that story was the fact that everybody wanted to get laid, and I mean seriously.) Taking those other stories in order, the serious issues are Social Anxiety, Murder and Kidnapping, just plain Murder, Physical Abuse, and with STANLEY, an apartment building full of crazy people and the MC’s Inferiority Complex.

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Even my serious novels have a good deal of comedy interwoven into the story. Take A HARD WINTER RAIN, for instance. With all the people being violently mowed down left and right, that one simply cried out for mood lighteners. So I gave them to the reader through the gallows humor of two homicide detectives chasing down a serial killer. JASPER’S MOUNTAIN, too, had its lighter moments. How could there not be an underlying comedic tone when the main character had three dogs, two cats, a couple of baby pigs, and a shitload of alligator lizards infesting his mountain retreat?

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I think even in the most serious story lines, there is a need to lighten the mood now and then. I realize I go a little overboard with my humor sometimes, but still it serves a purpose. I know when I’m reading a long, sad, morose tale of abuse or angst or heartbreak, I require an occasional chuckle just so I won’t set the book aside periodically and toddle off to the bedroom to blow my brains out.

When I was a high school kid back in Indiana about a thousand years ago, I remember my English Lit teacher giving us an assignment to write a story about ancient Rome. Growing up in Switz City, Indiana, with a population of 212 people, and with only one stoplight, one feed store, one tiny market where the clerk doled out change from a cigar box, and about a gazillion churches, I had, of course, never been to Rome in my life, ancient or otherwise, and unless I was sorely mistaken, I was pretty sure none of the other kids had been there either.

So instead of writing a story about something I knew absolutely nothing about, I wrote a commercial. A commercial like you might have seen had ancient Rome been bombarded with endless hours of mindless television shows like we are. (Yes, even as a kid I hated TV.) Remember Cal Worthington and his dog Spot (who was actually a tiger) hawking used cars all over TV? That’s the type of guy I based my commercial on. Only Cal wasn’t Cal anymore. He was Calicus. And he didn’t sell cars, he sold chariots. Calicus stood there in his lot full of used chariots, his toga flapping around his pale skinny legs, touting the wonderfulness of his inventory in a loud booming voice, while his bigass pet elephant, Spot, followed him around like a Corgi.

I fully expected to get an F on the assignment, but strangely enough Mrs. Donahue (who I always thought hated my guts) –see? I was paranoid even then — well, Mrs. Donahue gave me an A+ and asked that I read my creation in front of the class, which I refused to do because I was just too damn shy. My best friend at the time, Linda Strietelmeier, of brave German stock, took pity on me and offered to read my story to the class in my stead.

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I still remember the kids laughing at my silly commercial as Linda stood at the podium reading it out loud. Even sourpuss Mrs. Donahue cracked a smile or two. I sat there looking down at my lap, blushing up a storm, and loving every fucking minute of it. Looking back now, I do believe that day was the beginning of my need to write comedy.

It isn’t a pretty story, I know. But it is my own. And as true as the day is long.

So in answer to the question, how and why do I temper the impact of real issues with humor, the answer is — I have no choice. It’s just what I do, what I am, how I write. There is no big mystery to it. I’m just doing what I enjoy doing. And in truth, I think the answer to the question is pretty simple.

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Not only am I simply wired that way, but maybe even more to the point is the fact that I’m doing it because that’s the kind of writing I like to read.

And what better reason is there than that?

Author Bio:

John has been writing fiction for as long as he can remember. Born on a small farm in Indiana, he now resides in San Diego, California where he spends his time gardening, pampering his pets, hiking and biking the trails and canyons of San Diego, and of course, writing. He and his partner share a passion for theater, books, film, and the continuing fight for marriage equality. If you would like to know more about John, check out his website at—-

Follow John Inman at:

If you are unfamiliar with John Inman and his stories, I have listed a few,ok a lot of my personal favorites below. Check them out and prepare to start laughing. It’s the only way to go. Those marvelous covers are by artist Paul Richmond except for Spirit whose wonderful cover was done by Reese Dante.

Review: Powerless (The Borders War #3) by S.A. McAuley

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

He was built to be invincible.

Merq Grayson and Armise Darcan return to the States, their mission to assassinate the remaining Committee members unfinished. Why? The President of the Revolution is in need of their services to protect the Revolution’s most important proponent for freedom, the President himself. But all is not stable within the Revolution’s leadership and factions within are looking to supplant the President with another.

When the unthinkable happens and headquarters is breached, relationships, friendships even old rivals are torn asunder. In the wake of the devastation, Merq faces the ultimate of challenges and decisions forced on him by the very people he trusted. Armise, Simion and Neveed. And each with a different and explosive impact on Merq and his future with the Revolution.

When everything and everyone around Merq is falling apart or disappearing, it is only one man, Armise Darcan, that he wants at his side. But Fate or something worse has other plans in store for Merq and Armise. Events are coming that neither man may survive, with or without each other. What happens when the invincible turn out to be anything but invincible?

Powerful, intense and emotionally scorching….these are the words I would use to describe Powerless, the third story in the Borders War series by S.A. McAuley. The complexity of and relationship between these two genetically modified warriors is only exceeded by the intrigue and deceit that McAuley has built into her elaborately layered plot. And it all happens on a world that has been defiled, corrupted by three hundred years of war that has turned its seas into acid and its air into toxic clouds. The author’s powerful world building elements are delivered in slivers of descriptions throughout the stories, that compiled, present a stunning atmosphere of bleakness and despair in which these men live and operate.

With each story, S.A. McAuley offers up more of Merq and Armise’s back history. In Powerless. we enter the story in February, Year 2539 Singapore—The Outposts. Merq Grayson is 15 and in the middle of Lim2—Limitation Elimination training needed to become a Peacekeeper. The trials aren’t just arduous, they are deadly and only the strongest will survive. And although Merq is a teenager in years, he is far older mentally and emotionally. Already he is being stripped of his feelings and his humanity and he is aware of it happening. Powerful stuff indeed because as we watch Merq’s younger self push himself to his physical limits we also see him internalize and hide his conflicting emotions. And as we read we are already aware of what that boy ultimately becomes…an almost invincible dehumanized soldier for the Revolution.

All of McAuley characters are such densely layered constructs, believable and flawed, even with all their genmod strengths and abilities. They don’t know what they are capable of and neither does the reader. It’s a gripping process of continual shocks and revelation that flows through all the stories, especially this one. What new discoveries are uncovered concerning their genmods? What new insights into their pasts will surface with each treacherous twist and turn of McAuley’s intricate plot? Will they be able to keep enough humanity to save each other and the rest of the world? Stellar questions all even as McAuley miserly doles out clues to the answers.

Merq Grayson is such a compelling and contradictory personality. Although he appears so tough, almost superhuman in the first two stories, Powerless, starts the process of breaking him down into a person who is questioning everything about his life and his role in the Revolution. It’s painful and realistic. And the scenes of Merq shattering (emotionally as well as physically) are so vivid that McAuley makes his pain and fall almost visceral in its impact.

Armise Darcan is Merq’s equal in every way and he has to be to hold his own as a character and believable partner to such a warrior as Merq. Armise has had as interesting an upbringing as Merq, although in different ways. Both are genetically modified and yet Armise has held on to more of his humanity and ability to love than Merq. How and why that is possible is also slowly coming to the surface in these stories too.

There will be no excerpts here as even the smallest paragraph might point to spoilers. McAuley’s narrative is as paired down as the men themselves. At times as stark as the landscape, it is fast paced and explosive as the Borders War reignite with horrible implications for the people we have come to know and the world population that still exists. Some aspects of this story are absolutely chilling and the dread they conjure up for Merq and Armise as well as the future for all nations will be hard to dispel.

Some readers will ask if this is a romance and I am not sure how to answer them. The connection and feelings between Merq and Armise are almost cellular in their need for each other. Love, yes, but at a level and intensity that speaks of blood and loss not flowers and hearts. Romance can’t exist in this world and it doesn’t. But a hard fought for love? Even if they can’t say the word or even know if they trust each other? That you will find here at the core of this story and within the men themselves. The only thing powerless about this book is the title.

One Breath, One Bullet (Borders War #1) and Dominant Predator (Borders War #2) were on my Best of 2013 list. Now I add Powerless to this year’s list too. This is an amazing series. And with each new story, S.A. McAuley’s plot and her plans for Merq and Armise intensify and become more convoluted. McAuley plans five books for this series. The fourth book, Falling One by One (Borders War #4), will be out later this year. I, for one, can’t wait to see how where this talented author will take this series and these incredible characters next.

Cover art by Posh Gosh. Strong cover, although I would wish for a little more of a science fiction feel to it.

Books in the Borders War series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the men and the universe building:

One Breathe, One Bullet (Borders War #1)
Dominant Predator (The Borders War, #2)
Powerless (The Borders War #3)
Falling One by One (The Borders War #4) to be released later on this year
Fifth Book as yet unnamed.

Book Details:

ebook, 185 pages
Published March 28th 2014 by Totally Bound
ISBN139780857156839
edition languageEnglish
seriesThe Borders War #3

Buy Links: Totally Bound Publications Amazon ARe

Review: Daylight Again (Hell or High Water #3) by S.E. Jakes

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Before Prophet Drews can have a future, he must first put his past to rest.

Prophet Drews and Tom Boudreaux, his partner on the job and in real life, are back from the tumultuous events in New Orleans and trying to figure out where they go from here. Tom has moved into Prophet’s condo while continuing to work for E.E, Prophet’s former employer. And Prophet? He remains haunted by a past that won’t let him go and a secret he is hiding from Tom that might shatter any future they might have together.

Then his old CO asks Prophet to help in a dangerous rescue mission, one that will reunite all of Prophet’s old SEAL team and bring out Prophet’s and the team’s old enemies as well. When Prophet asks Tom to come with him, Tom jumps at the chance to support his partner and uncover some answers of his own.

Before long it’s not just CIA assassins, the terrorist Sadiq, and the enigmatic spook Cillian involved with Prophet, Tom, and the SEAL team’s rescue mission. Odd events and occurrences start to point at one of the most important person in Prophet’s past… John—”traitor, former teammate, and Prophet’s first love”, being involved as well.

With only a small window of opportunity to get in, accomplish their mission and then escape and when no one is sure who to trust , Prophet and Tom must search within themselves and their relationship for the truth, not only about each other but their relationship as well. Danger , past, present and future lurks everywhere….can Prophet and Tom make it out alive and together?

In Prophet Drews and Tom Boudreaux, SE Jakes has created two marvelously complex and troubled men among a company of such men in her E.E series. Through the last several stories, we have watched Prophet and Tom circle around each other in an absorbing pas de deux of action, passion and traumatizing personal past histories. Endlessly drawn towards each other, the constant push and pull of attraction and yes, love, has made these two men fascinating to connect with in the drama they create and the mysteries that follow them through each adventure and calamity. Now back from New Orleans and with their relationship strengthened, Prophet’s PSTD is getting worse by the day as is his indecision and pain over an enormous secret he is hiding from Tom.

Jakes has always been able to pull us intimately into the minds of these men and in Daylight Again the author puts them both under a narrative microscope that will magnify all the demons Prophet and Tom have been fighting and bring them into the light for them and the reader. Daylight Again begins a journey of revelation for Tom and Prophet on many levels. SE Jakes starts to pull together the plot threads and characters from several of her interconnected series and weaves them here into a suspense filled, action packed drama that kept me on the edge from beginning to end. This is a taut, streamlined narrative and it flows just as quickly from point to point as one would expect from this author and this series.

I love this author’s ability to create characters that zing off the page, their vitality and depth almost too much to be contained within the confines of a page. We have gotten to know them from Catch a Ghost, and then watch them pull together in Long Time Gone. Now Daylight Again starts with them living together and adjusting to that fact and each other with varying degrees of success. What hurts is how close these men have become to each other and yet the reader is always aware that some sharp shard of their past lurks just outside their growing relationship to splinter it all to hell and back at a moment’s notice. That tension that haunts this couple and story is just one more marvelous element in SE Jakes storytelling repertoire and it serves to keep the reader engrossed in the story and tightly connected to these men.

All my other favorites are here too, especially Cillian and Mal, whose story Dirty Deeds uncovered a major past connection between them whose disclosure devastated them both. Mal and Cillian are front and center here, still trying to deal with that personal bombshell while working together for the success of this mission. These are strong characters too and SE Jakes does them justice and keeps us invested in their status even though this really isn’t their story….Its Prophet’s and Tom’s. And what a story it is. SE Jakes has me both anticipating and dreading the next installment because of the great way this story ended.

The ending is astonishing. I love the way Jakes sets us up for that denouement. And it will take us and this couple into the penulitmate story in their Hell or High Water series. I can’t wait. Consider this one of ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords highly recommended novel as well as one of the most entertaining series of the year. Don’t pass up this or any of these stories by SE Jakes. In fact, grab up everything in the Extreme Escapes universe and start reading. You are going to fall hard for each and every dangerous and sexy man you will find within.

LC Chase has again supplied us with another outstanding cover, I just love these tats. Graphically appealing and perfect for the men involved.

Books in the Hell or High Water series in the order they should be read:

Catch a Ghost (Hell or High Water, #1)
Long Time Gone (Hell or High Water, #2)
Daylight Again (Hell or High Water, #3)
Not Fade Away (Hell or High Water, #3.5) Expected publication: July 14th 2014
If I Ever (Hell or High Water, #4) Expected publication: October 1st 2014

Associated Series: Extreme Escapes Universe: Men of Honor and Dirty Deeds:

Dirty Deeds (Dirty Deeds #1) Mal and Cillian

Free Falling (Extreme Escapes, Ltd.) Blue and Mick

Book Details:

ebook, 265 pages
Published May 5th 2014 by Riptide Publishing (first published May 3rd 2014)
ISBN139781626491403
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/daylight-again
seriesHell or High Water #3

Review: Into the Wind (Mermen of Ea #2) by Shira Anthony

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Taren and Ian Dunaidh have landed on the mainland Ea settlement near Raice Harbor after the tumultuous events of Stealing the Wind. Taren knows he is one of the Ea but nothing else of his heritage and he is searching for answers. Vurin, leader of the mainland Ea and governor of Callaecia, the Ea village, seems to hold the clues to Taren’s past and perhaps his future. Vurin is a powerful mage and he believes it is Taren’s fate to be the wielder of the fabled rune stone—a weapon of great power. The stone holds great significance for Taren and his past. It is also a weapon that can keep the Ea safe. But no one really knows where it is. Only that Odhrán the pirate is rumored to possess it.

Again the Goddess has some incredible twists and turns in store for Taren. On the voyage to the island where Odhran is said to reside, Ian’s ship, the Phantom, comes under attack by an old enemy and Taren is swept overboard during battle. Taren awakes on one of the Gateway Islands unsure of how he came to be there. At his side, a young boy, Brynn, who says he can lead him to Odhrán and the mysterious stone.

Taren knows he must get that stone no matter the cost. But who is he to trust? The pirate is said to make slaves of the Ea, humans like the boy consider him an enemy, and he is separated from Ian on an unknown island, unsure of Ian’s and the Phantom’s fate. Everything looks bleak and impossible. Taren’s past is the key to his present safety and the future of the Ea. And only the Goddess knows if he will prevail in his quest for the stone and a happy future with Ian.

Shira Anthony sails back into her Mermen of Ea universe with Into the Wind, the second book in the series. The first book, Stealing the Wind, revolved around Taren’s discovery of his true nature and his meeting/new relationship with Ian Dunaidh, Captain of the Phantom and a merman himself. This story ventures further into Taren’s past and his reincarnation of the Ea priest Treande. Taren is the key and locus for the tumultuous events occurring around him. The Ea people are under attack, not just from humans but from other Ea who retreated to an island and rule by a increasingly rigid Council. Taren who only recently found out that he was an Ea as well is under assault himself. Plagued by dreams and nightmares of his previous life, hunted by a dark mage of the Ea Council, and still under a pledge of one more year’s service to the pirate Rider of the Sea Witch, nothing about Taren’s life is simple or sane. Anthony lays down more and more threads to an increasingly complex plot and the complexities here are one of the real joys of this story.

Once more Shira Anthony weaves her magic with her sensual underwater imagery and complex Ea culture and physiology. The story starts off with the Phantom engaged in battle with a mysterious ship. The Phantom is under heavy fire, and both Taren and Ian are in the midst of the battle. Cannons are fired,and masts splintered as the battle is brought home for the Phantom crew and the readers. What a great fight scene!

The aftermath of the sea battle is traumatic for all characters involved and dissolves into a mystery. Then the narrative retreats in time to two week earlier in the Ea settlement of Callaecia. And once more we have a Taran whose reality is shifting between his memories of Treande who lived there centuries ago with his mate Owyn and the present, a life where Taran is visiting this place for the first time. Each step around Callaecia is overlaid with visions from an earlier time when the place was new and the temples stood instead of ruins. This could be a tricky element to pull of but Anthony does it extremely well. What happened here? Is it just time responsible for the changes or something more? Where Taren sees ruins, his memories show him houses and temples as if they had been just recently constructed. Taran is constantly pulled between the past and the present, with nightmarish results. Even his new relationship with Ian echos with layers from the past and Treande’s love for and relationship with Owyn (who has been reincarnated in Ian). Anthony shows Taren buffeted by so many winds that at times he threatens to loose any semblance of mental and emotional balance.

Vurin, a minor character in the first novel, returns to guide Taran and show him parts of his past that still remain hidden. Old temples and the rune stone that Owyn gave his life to keep safe figures in greatly here. Ea religion and history come to the fore to play major roles in Taran’s fate when a ghostly figure/priestess reappears with portents of the future. It is here the Vurin first mentions the pirate Odhrán who might possess the stone and the Gateway Islands. Shira Anthony has a large scale plan in store for this series, obviously. And all the clues and plot threads are being laid down for the stories yet to come so there are numerous ideas and elements being juggled here, sometimes simultaneously. This makes for a wonderfully rich tapestry of storytelling magic. Into the Wind glows with a richness of detail that it can lay claim to the vitality and depth of the sea itself. And at the heart of the wealth of riches is the character of Taran.

I love the duality aspect to Taran. He is two people and we are often treated to two perspectives on any given situation, whether it is the appearances of the settlement or of his relationships with others like Vurin when he was Treande. And the memories are often awful ones, as the loss of Owyn is something Treande never recovered from. Now Taran with his new relationship to Ian, has to fight with his anxiety over loosing Ian just as Treande lost Owyn so not even his present love exists without a veneer of sadness and fatality. We are privy to both his love for Ian and his love and memories of Owyn, whose sacrifice and death haunts both the story and Taran. Again, this is where Ian suffers in comparison as a character. Owyn is the more compelling persona. Ian is just not as complex a person or we don’t get to see that aspect of his character. He is supposed to be the reincarnation of Owyn, a powerful mage. But none of that is apparent as yet, and his character suffers for that deficiency. This is my only quibble here with the story.

A new fantastic character is added to the series here with the appearance of Odhrán, the pirate of unknown origins. A person of mystery, rumors and legends swirl about the man including his possession of the stone that will save the people of Ea. But nothing is as great as the truth of Odhrán himself. With his interaction with Taran and a look into his angst filled past, Odhrán will quickly become a favorite character of this series.

The story divided towards the middle into almost two separate stories. One concerned with Taran and his search forOdhrán. The other with Ian and the crew of the Phantom. Both locations and plots are hugely effective but as our concentration and empathies are with Taran, again this section with Ian seems a little diluted in emotion and conciseness. Plus Taran has Odhrán, and he is such a charismatic character that he just outshines everyone else when he is in the scene.

I loved Odhrán and the mystery that surrounds him will likely carry into the others stories as it looks like he has a huge part to play in the events to come. Other major characters from Stealing the Wind return towards the end of Into the Wind with shocking results. And no, I didn’t see that coming either.

That ending! What a bombshell the author has in store for everyone here! I will say this only once. Do not read the ending first. You know who you are! Don’t, just let that impulse pass. The stunning ending is one that needs to be savored and that will happen only if you read everything that leads up to it. I didn’t see it coming and neither will you. And that made me want to have the next book to reach for…to see what happens next.

We won’t get that story until next year. But it will probably send you back to the beginning of this story to see if there were any indications of the revelations to come. Still that astonishing ending as well as the great new characters made this my favorite story of the series to date. I loved the plot, with all the intervening flashbacks/nightmares for Taran and juggling of almost two competing sets of characters and locations. Plus there are mermen. Sexy, smexy mermen. It just doesn’t get better than that. Or does it? Hmmmm, only the next story in the series will tell us whether it is so.

If you love the idea of mermen or love found under the sea, if you love high adventures and pirates, or even a forever love that is found once more, this is the story for you. In fact this is the series for you. It sings with all the love and emotion this author clearly has for her subject matter and the waters the swirl around them and their fates. Start your journey with Stealing the Wind and then continue the voyage here with Into the Wind. Both are highly recommended reads from ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords.

Cover art by Anne Cain. I thought that first cover was incredible (it was). But now, take a look at how this one almost glows with a luminosity and fluidity that mimics the movement of the sea. Love, love this cover. The name of the character on the cover is something that Shira Anthony kept hidden for a while. And no, it’s not Taran or Ian.

Books in the series planned to date are in the order they were written and should be read:

Stealing the Wind (Mermen of Ea #1)
Into the Wind (Mermen of Ea #2) released May 5, 2014
Running with the Wind (Mermen of Ea #3) coming 2015

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: May 5th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press (first published May 5th 2013)
ISBN139781627988766
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4975
seriesMermen of Ea #2

Buy links Dreamspinner Press Amazon ARe

April 2014 Summary of Reviews and Best Covers

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords April 2014 Reviews

Review Key *Key:
S series
C contemporary
F-fantasy
SF-science fiction
PN-paranormal
SN-supernatural
H-historical
HR-horror
N-Nonfiction
YA-young adult
Rating Scale: 1 to 5, 5 stars is outstanding

* 5 Star Rating:
Blown Kisses (Whispering Winds #2) by Havan Fellows (PF2014) C
Every Time I Think Of You by Jim Provenzano C,
Message of Love by Jim Provenzano C, sequel
Queens of the Apocalypse by Rob Rosen, SN
When All The World Sleeps by Lisa Henry and JA Rock C
With Pride by Megan Derr F, S

4 to 4.75 Star Rating:
A Reason To Stay by RJ Scott (4.5) C, S
Bound To Be A Groom by Megan Mulry (4), H,
Cold Comfort by Lee Brazil (4.75) (PF2014) C, S
In Distress by Katey Hawthorne (4.25) SN, S
It’s Complicated by L.A. Witt (4), C, S
Poster Boy by Anne Tenino (4.5) C, S
The Calm Before by Neena Jaydon (4.5) F
The Forester II: Lost and Found by Blaine D. Arden (4) F, S
To The Other Side by S.J. Frost (4.5) F, S
Vampire Prince by S.J. Frost (4.5) SN

3 to 3.75 Star Rating:
Angel’s Truth (Angel #2) by Liz Borino (3) C, S
Floodgates by Mary Calmes (3) C
Haunted Halls by M Raiya (3.5) SN

2 to 2.75 Star Rating: None

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Best Covers of April 2014

Floodgates, cover art by Reese Dante
Haunted Halls, cover art by Aisha Akeju
In Distress, cover art by PL Nunn
Pulp Friction 2014 covers by Laura Harner
Queens of the Apocalypse, cover art by Wilde City Press
The Forester I and
The Forester II: Lost and Found covers by Nathie Block
When All the World Sleeps, cover art LC Chase

Your Best Books That Most Readers Never Read and the Week Ahead in Reviews

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ScatteredThoughts Call For Favorite Books Most Have Never Read!

Have you ever finished a book, loved it, and then wondered why you have never heard of it before? Or see a book released to kudos only to vanish shortly after? I have seen both happen and I bet you have too. Or perhaps it’s a book you love but somehow it never found a larger audience and you can’t figure out why? Maybe it’s the title that throws people off or even a blurb that doesn’t reflect the story within. What ever the reason…these stories never really found an audience that you hoped they would find or think they deserved. And you wish you could change that.

So I was thinking, why not add a page to the website of books you love but no one has really heard of. Give these great stories and their authors another chance with readers who might have passed them by. I have been making a short list but I know you have books to add.

So look through your libraries and books you want to rec, check them twice for stories and authors that you think others may not have heard of. And then pass them on to me. Let’s compile a list together, all genres, for others to explore and discover whether they can new stories, old stories, no matter. And perhaps include a comment or two about what makes them so special. And we will keep adding to it. So spread the word. We need those recs of little known or barely known books and authors and why you love them so. I can’t wait to see what you all send me.

Now here is the week ahead. I have two author book tours, both with sequels to their new series. S.J. Frost is here on Monday talking about Knight of Fire, her sequel to To the Other Side, her Terra series. And Shira Anthony is here on Tuesday talking about her inspiration for her Mermen of Ea series and the release of Into The Wind, sequel to Stealing the Wind. Both have brought books to giveaway and Shira Anthony has an over the top book tour mega contest as well to offer. I will be reviewing those stories as well as books by David Pratt and Kimber Vale.

It’s going to be a outstanding week in books so don’t miss a day of it. It’s the first week of May, let’s hope it’s a merry one! Have a great week and happy rreading.

Sunday, May 4: April 2014 Review Summary/Best Covers of April
Monday, May 5: Spotlight on S.J. Frost and her Knight of Fire release (contest)
Tuesday, May 6: Go Into the Wind with Shira Anthony and her Mermen of Ea’s lastest story and 2 contests to enter
Wed., May 7: Into the Wind by Shira Anthony
Thursday, May 8: Knight of Fire by SJ Frost
Friday, May 9: SE Jakes Daylight Again Book Tour
Sat., May 10: Forever Is Now by Kimber Vale
Looking After Joey by David Pratt

Review: Stealing the Wind (Mermen of Ea #1) by Shira Anthony

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Taren Laxley’s life as a slave changed for the better when a handsome pirate, Captain Rider, abducted him from the inn where he worked and took him out to sea. Life abroad the Sea Witch was incredible. Taren had been chosen to become a third in an established loving relationship between the Captain and his lover, Bastien, and soon was happily climbing the masts as a rigger as an accepted shipmate and accepted between the sheets as their lover. But fate had more in store for Taren than he could have ever imagined.

An accident at sea sent Taren into the depths of the ocean and into a new life once more. Taren was rescued by Ian Dunaidh, the enigmatic enemy Captain of the Phantom, a rival ship to the Sea Witch. Immediately, Taren feels drawn to Ian, pulled by emotions he cannot fathom. Once again the fates intervene, shifting Taren’s path forever. Shortly after his rescue the truth comes out that Captain Ian Dunaidh and his crewmen are mermen, a race called Ea, and in a truly stunning disclosure, Taren finds out he is one as well.

Taren and Ian each feel a tie to each other than neither can explain but the storm clouds of war are gathering that will impact them all. Old hatreds and suspicions, old and new alliances, between Ea and Ea, and Ea and Humans, will explode with devastating results. And Taren and Ian will be caught in the middle. Taren is going to have to learn quickly who he is and how to steal the wind if all are to survive.

I have to admit it, Shira Anthony had me at the word “merman”. With thoughts gone wild I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this story and throw myself into the characters and mermen universe that Shira Anthony had created. And it was even better than I had imagined. We first meet up with poor Taren as his world is collapsing around him. The only “family” he has ever known, a Master Rigger, is selling Taren to pay his gambling debts. This scene is almost excruciating as Taren gets ripped away from Borstan Laxley and the only home he can remember. His new destination? A inn where pirates and their crew are known to favor. Again, Taren’s fate is sealed as a certain Captain Rider makes advances that confuse Taren as much as they turn him on.

Quickly, Anthony swirls Taren off on another fated path when Rider abducts Taren and takes him out to sea. It is here that the story comes fully alive with every twist and swoop of the Sea Witch over the water. Clearly, Shira Anthony loves and is familiar with the sea and life aboard a vessel, size not withstanding. Through her almost visceral descriptions of the movements of the ship and the feeling of the waves and wind when Taren and the Sea Witch are sailing, the reader feels as though they are a part of the crews and ships found inside this story. Being near or on the ocean brings out so many deep seated emotional responses in people and those are apparent in the thoughts and feelings of Taren as he climbs the masts or looks out over the seas they are sailing through. Taren’s “gut deep” involvement with the water is both physical and emotional. He is drawn to it and it brings him peace. His stunning realization that he is a merman, an Ea, then brings a resultant joy and self knowledge that feels as natural as the next wave.

The world building here is impressive. Anthony constructs not only several cultures of Ea but histories as well, when a racial separation happened with some Ea retreating to an island nation with a resultant rise of an oppressive government and others staying on the mainland . There is the Ea Goddess based religion and Ea mages to go along with ancient temples and hidden cities. But it is with the Ea or merman form and physicality of that shape that is so enchanting and sensual that it will ignite your imaginations and passions for this race and these wonderful characters. The detailed descriptions of the glowing colors and fluid movements of their merman body is almost mesmerizing. Anthony’s underwater scenes feels so alive that one might feel as though they have their face pressed against the glass in some large city aquarium. It’s voluptuous and seductive as the sea the Ea are made to live in.

There is a duality of character here in both Taren and Ian. Both of them have memories of an intertwined past, one that is slowly revealing itself through this story and the next. But of the two of them, only Taren brings that other aspect truly alive. With Ian, it’s a little more blunt and one dimensional. We see little of the other character in him, unlike Taren whose duality is impressive as both characters have the same force of being and vitality. I am not sure if that is part of the author’s overall plan for this couple but it just seems that Taren has more depth and more secrets to him than Ian does. For me that is the only small hitch to this otherwise marvelous story. It could be that Ian is just coming into the role he will play in the rest of the series. Either way I can’t wait to go forward with this characters and the course that Fate (and a certain author) has charted for them.

Put this amazing story on your list to read and that glorious art work on your list of covers to drool over. Both are highly recommended!

Cover art by Anne Cain is just glorious. That merman and those colors are scrumptious and perfect for this story.

Books in the series planned to date are:

Stealing the Wind (Mermen of Ea #2)
Into the Wind (Mermen of Ea #2) released May 5, 2014
Running with the Wind (Mermen of Ea #3) coming 2015

Book Details:

ebook, 1st Edition, 220 pages
Published August 12th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press (first published August 11th 2013)
original titleStealing the Wind
ISBN 1627980547 (ISBN13: 9781627980548)
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4101
seriesMermen of Ea #1
charactersBastian, Taren Laxley, Ian Dunaidh, Jonat Rider
literary awardsRainbow Award Honorable Menti

Review: The Race for Second by Chase Potter

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Ethan is about to start off on an adventure he has always dreamsed about, he is going to be spending his sophomore year in college abroad in the university town of Freiburg, Germany. Leaving behind his first boyfriend at the University of Minnesota and his mom, Ethan is ready to experience new things, meet new friends and even hopefully find new love. All he has to do is submerse himelf in the German language, figure out the Strassenbahn network of trams, his mode of transportation other than walking. and uncover why one of his new roommates hates him so. All while carrying a heavy course load and feeling a little isolated to boot.

Of all of Ethan’s roommates, it’s only Daniel who seems to take an instant dislike to Ethan. True, Ethan is nineteen, much younger than any of the others. But there seems to be something more behind it, some problem that not even Florian and Paula, his other floormates, can make sense of. However, there is something so intriguing about Daniel that not even Daniel’s cold demeanor can stop Ethan from falling in love with his chilly roommate. When Ethan has an accident, Daniel’s behavior and attitude towards him changes drastically, enough for Ethan to hope that his crush might be returned.

Daniel has many secrets, including the ones that made him reject Ethan to begin with. He is also very straight. When all his secrets are revealed, will their friendship still be there in the aftermath or will something more be possible between them.

Coming of age stories are a common rite of passage for many writers. It is a needful retelling of that first momentous journey from childhood into the footprints of an adult and maturity. For some authors remembering that benchmark of their lives translates into a remarkable story that stirs up our own memories of youth and time of transition. Those tales bring forth a wellspring of emotions that speak to the heart of who we are and how we become that person we are today. The Race for Second by Chase Potter is one such memorable story.

In addition to conjuring up memories of our own youth,The Race for Second shines the light onto one young man’s first voyage of discovery and growth. From Ethan’s story we glean the lessons he learned and the price paid for that experience from this rite of passage tale. And those shared elements that we all go through at that stage serves to connect us all together. In Ethan, Chase Potter gives us a 19 year old young man on the cusp of change, a change he not only welcomes but has created for himself by choosing to spend his sophomore year abroad in Germany. Ethan is a marvelous character and his journey of one year in Germany will pull you in from the first moment you meet him on board a plane bound for Frankfurt and a year he will never forget.

Ethan is a product of a single parent home. His father left the family when he was three and his mother has given her all to support them both in a loving but financially straightened environment. Ethan was also lucky in other ways including a maternal love and acceptance that never changed when Ethan came out. Even in childhood Ethan’s dreams and ambitions have always extended past the trailor park where they live into a much larger, expansive future for himself. Potter’s descriptions of Ethan’s childhood and mother are interspersed throughout Ethan’s story, giving the reader glimpses of his life in Minnesota and clues to his emotional makeup.

One element of Ethan’s story is the automobile, a specific type of one that is powerful, expensive and beautifully designed. With the ever present Autobahn and its fast flowing river of cars interrupting Ethan’s thoughts and trips out from the university, cars play an important role in Ethan’s life that started in childhood. Ethan uses cars as a metaphor for the vehicle which will carry him away from his mundane, restricted life in the trailer park towards some unknown powerful future. Here is an excerpt to introduce you to Ethan and his point of view:

Cars were another reason that it would have been great to have a dad— one that stuck around until middle school at least. I love them. In high school, before making dinner so Mom could eat when she got home from work, I’d go out to the road and watch the cars. The speed limit was only forty-five, and I’d sit where I could see every vehicle that passed. It let me see the make and model names inscribed on the back. We didn’t have a computer then, so it was how I learned what was out there.

It was rare that anything cool came along. No one with money had any reason to go near Twin Meadows trailer park. Except one time, the last week of class before the end of tenth grade. It was almost time to go inside and start the spaghetti and meatballs I was planning. But there were still a few more minutes. Maybe a Corvette or Mustang would zoom past, and the wait would be worth it. Wind blasting last year’s dead grass as it rolled up to the road, I lay back, crossing my legs at the ankles and staring up into the clouds. I was kidding myself. That night was just like all the others in that damn place. I stood up to head inside, and then I heard it. A deep purr with a rich timbre, coming up fast.

My head snapped to the point in the road where it would emerge from behind the trees. In a rush of gray and chrome, the enormous sedan erupted around the corner. Its flat nose and massive grille spoke of earlier times, but the flowing lines proclaimed it to be modern. It was easily the largest car I’d ever seen, both in length and girth. The rumble of its engine struck a reserved note that belied its current speed far over the limit. Then it was gone. I didn’t have any idea what the heck it was at the time, other than a really expensive car. In retrospect, it was probably a Rolls Royce or a Bentley. All I knew is that it was beautiful, every part of it. Even the sound felt like the engine was singing to my soul. Okay, sometimes I’m full of shit, but it really was awesome.

And there’s Ethan, that wonderful, singular American voice that narrates The Race for Second. It’s through his curious, adventurous eyes that we explore the town of Frieburg and its history. Or head out to Marseilles and beyond. As Ethan wanders and explores, so does the reader. Over the cobblestones and through the old parts of town, into shoppes and market places. Potter’s descriptions bring us immediately into the location and settings as well as Ethan’s thoughts about it all. And never does it come across as a travelogue instead of the personal journey of one young man. Through Ethan we get both an American viewpoint as well as that of someone on the brink of self discovery and adulthood. Trust me you are going to fall in love with this character and his year in Germany.

Along with fine tuning his German and coping with a heavy curriculum, Ethan must adjust to the German lifestyle and the situation of being alone and uncertain. The story abounds with German phrases and information about the language. We learn as Ethan does. It’s a useful concept that makes Ethan’s problems accessible and easy to relate to. But at the center is Ethan’s perception of and relationship with his roommate Daniel. Daniel is a bit of an enigma through most of the first half of the story. His rationale for his dislike of Ethan, his change in outlook and finally his friendship occupy Ethan’s thoughts and emotions throughout the story. There’s more than one mystery here, both of which are buried in the past. And its into the past Ethan must first look for answers before he can grow and accept certain things for himself.

The Race for Second abounds with lively, multidimensional characters as does the locations and settings they find themselves in. Potter brings Freiburg and the university alive for the reader. We are immersed in the campus life and the ancient town that surrounds the university as Potter weaves its history and its people into the tapestry of life abroad he has created for Ethan and the reader. It is a journey fraught with disappointments and emotional outbursts, filled with moments of incredible joy and personal discoveries. The reader will be able to laugh along with those that Ethan has gathered together for his recreation of an American Thanksgiving in his dorm and cry along with Ethan with the exposure of the harsh and painful truths that life offers up to go along with the joys.

Is this a romance? Not really, but love does play into it in many forms. And although it might not work out the way you had thought it would or had hoped for, it is still enough to make you happy and able to go forward with Ethan and his travels into adulthood. Chase Potter had a wonderful story to tell and in The Race for Second he has absolutely achieved that goal.

I loved The Race for Second and Ethan. It was a remarkable journey that Potter sends Ethan and the reader on and it was one I was sorry to see end. But Chase Potter has said that he intends to continue Ethan’s story. The story here is somewhat open ended so I welcome the information that a sequel will be in the works. I can’t wait to see what happens to Ethan after Germany as he is a hard character to let go.

I have been luck to find two new authors through their coming of age stories. Both tales of young men at the start of something remarkable in their lives and each so uniquely different in character and story. For Chase Potter, The Race for Second is his first book and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s beautifully told, full of textures,vivid descriptions and of course, characters that pour from the page and into your heart. Grab it up today and start y0ur journey with Ethan as he discovers the wonders and pitfalls of life abroad in Germany and the personal growth that important life experiences bring.

Book Details:

The Race for Second by Chase Potter
Paperback, 250 pages
Published May 1st 2014 by Chase Potter Books
ISBN 0615982603 (ISBN13: 9780615982601)
edition languageEnglish
other editions (1)
The Race for Second Copyright © 2014 Chase Potter
Buy Link: Amazon

Review: Blown Kisses (Whispering Winds #2) by Havan Fellows

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Rowen Smithe’s world got infinitely larger and more complicated the day he met Mick Rutger, a friend of Finn’s. Mick is determined to draw Rowen out of his cabin and confined lifestyle and into Mick’s much larger and outgoing circle of friends. Rowen is equally determined to stay away and removed from the gregarious,handsome Mick. But now that Mick has moved just across the road from him in another rental cabin, it has become so much harder to ignore his neighbor.

Mick Rutger is fascinated by Rowen Smithe. Everything about the man from his long black hair to his secretive ways is attractive to Mick and he is determined to find out more and be the man’s friend, if not something even better. His first move is into the cabin across from Rowen’s and a stray cat to share with his neighbor. But then something more appears…a threat not only to their shared cat but to all the creatures of the woods, woods Rowen is bent on protecting.

Rowen Smithe’s top priority is no longer trying to quiet his inner demons but to put an end to the evil that has invaded the woods of Mountain Shadows leaving the bodies of small tortured animals in its wake. And he will need the help of a very nosy neighbor to track and remove those behind the animal deaths.

I should just make this review as short and sweet as this story and just say “go, go now and get this series”. Don’t dilly dally, or shilly shally around. This story and series are ones everyone should be grabbing up (and its companions series to boot). Havan Fellows has created in Rowen Smithe, a tortured soul whose background and secretive ways has made the man an enigma to many (including the readers). Rowen is alternately sexy. self assured and bold, or distressed, angst filled and withdrawn, and all within a space of 5 to 10 minutes. His is such an unexpected personality and that aspect draws everyone to him like moths to a flame. And that includes readers as well. A true naturalist and outdoorsman, his respect for nature is boundless. Less so his regard for his fellow human beings. Only a few have been let inside his personal space and now he is beginning to consider that Mick might be one more person to include in those he trusts.

The model on the cover is perfect for the larger than life persona that is Mick Rutger. Charming, enthusiastic with all the energy of a Golden Retriever, Mick is determined to get close to Rowen and a kiss from the man in question has only fueled Mick’s desires. But for every step forward he makes in his pursuit, Rowen takes twice as many in retreat. Rowen is a puzzle Mick is intent on figuring out and the reader is just as eager as Mick is. How I adore these characters. This excerpt is sure to entice you:

Rowen slouched lower and watched through a crack between the curtain and window as the bane of his existence rocked slowly with that fat ass cat sitting on his lap, her head bouncing up and down from his attentions.

“Don’t fucking scratch her so hard. She may be big but she still has a tiny neck,” Rowen mumbled to no one.

He realized what he’d just said and twisted on his heels from his squat to land on his ass against the wall between the front door and the window he’d just been spying out of. He must be mad to be worried about a stray cat that did nothing but run from him every time he stepped outside.

The irony of that thought was not lost on him; he just chose to ignore it for the moment.

But you are mad, aren’t you?

He banged the back of his head against the wall once, twice…when he lifted his head for a third round of punishment, the knock of flesh on wood happened before the contact between his skull and the wall did.

Huh?

Rowen sat quiet for a second, wondering where the extra noise came from when it happened again, and he looked up to the right.

“Shit…” he muttered under his breath. Someone was knocking on his door.

He turned his body, slowly moved the curtain out of the way, and with only his right eye, peered out the window. He couldn’t see the front door from this window, but he wondered if a certain…

Two clear pale blue eyes stared back at him, crinkled around the edges undoubtedly because of the smile Rowen couldn’t see from this close.

Mick moved back enough to lift up Filigree—no, the stray cat—and wave her paw at Rowen.

Rowen gracelessly fell backward on his butt, the curtain fluttering closed when he pulled away. He flipped himself over and scuttled up the stairs to his second floor window and his blessed tree.

He easily climbed out of the cabin and onto the branch then froze with one hand on the window frame and the other on the limb above his head.

Standing beneath him and slightly to the left, a blond-haired man sans a stray feline smiled up at him.

“Thought I’d find you here. So, do you want steak for dinner?”

Irresistible right? Mick waving that little paw at Rowen? Adorable. But as sweet and funny as that moment and others are, the narrative also is quick to turn as dark as the voice inside Rowen’s mind. When the small dead animals start to turn up, its clear that other demons haunt the woods around Shadow Mountain. Soon the hunt is on for the culprit or culprits and everyone around is drawn into the task.

The narrative is very much like a day on a mountain, It can start off so promising with blue skies and a warm sun shinning down on you, but before you know it, a front moves in and you are caught out in the wild as a storm rages around you and rescue looks bleak. That how quickly the mood and relationships twist and turn here. It makes for a quick, provocative and suspenseful read. It’s one of the elements that makes this story and series so successful and the Pulp Friction group as a whole. You never know what’s coming next or which layer is going to be pulled back to reveal a tortured past or criminal element. It’s surprising how fast it all goes by. It pulls you into the story so completely that when you reach the end you are ready for the next story because you want it to continue immediately. But I have to wait and so do you, at least for a little while.

If you are new to these characters and series, start with the first story, Blown Away, then Blown Kisses. So go now, get started reading. You will fall in love with these characters and their series. And then move on to the other connecting stories. They are as addictive as they come and are highly recommended for all. All are listed below.

Cover art by Laura Harner. I love these covers, from the models to the branding for the Pulp Friction group. Just perfect.

Book Details:

ebook, approximately 45 pages
Published April 14th 2014 by Appleton Publishing Avenue
ISBN PF1400002
edition languageEnglish
seriesWhispering Winds #2

Round One of Pulp Friction 2014:

Firestorm (Fighting Fire# 1) by Laura Harner
Cold Snap (In From the Cold# 1) by Lee Brazil
Blown Away (Where the Wind Blows# 1) by Havan Fellows
Higher Ground (Earthquake# 1) by Tom Webb

Round Two of Pulp Friction 2014:

Controlled Burn (Fighting Fire #2) by Laura Harner
Cold Comfort (In From the Cold #2) by Lee Brazil
Blown Kisses (Where the Wind Blows #2) by Havan Fellows
Moving Earth (Earthquake #2) by Tom Webb

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