Category: 5 star Rating

A MelanieM Review:Sword Dance (Sword Dance #1) by A.J. Demas

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Five years ago, Damiskos’s brilliant military career was cut short, leaving him with a permanent disability and scars that are not all physical. Adrift and still grieving, he tries to find meaning in an unsatisfying job.

Work takes him to the remote seaside villa of an old friend, where, among an odd assortment of guests, he meets the eunuch sword-dancer Varazda. Enigmatic and beautiful but distinctly prickly, Varazda is the antithesis of the straightforward and serious Damiskos. Yet as they keep getting in each other’s way at the villa, their mutual dislike is complicated by a spark of undeniable attraction.

Then the villa’s guests begin to reveal their true characters and motives—no one here is what they seem—and Damiskos finds himself at the centre of a bizarre web of espionage, theft, and assassination. Varazda may need Damiskos’s help, but not as much as Damiskos, finally awakening to a new sense of life and purpose, needs Varazda.

Sword Dance is the first book in the Sword Dance trilogy, an m/m romance set in an imaginary ancient world, with murderous philosophy students, sex acts named after fruit, and love blossoming in the midst of mayhem.

The first story in a planned trilogy, Sword Dance (Sword Dance #1) by A.J. Demas is an engrossing novel that just happens to encompass the beginnings of a relationship between a eunuch and a retired ex warrior, political intrigue and rebellion, religious intolerance, racial purity factions, and even  same sex love condemnation and slavery differing perspectives.  Not enough?  Add in characters each dealing with their own issues of PTSD.  And this is a fantasy novel.

And an incredible one at that.

The only thing missing here is a map and I sort of wish the author had supplied one of those so I could geographically place the various countries in my mind, otherwise the world building, which I suspect the author will continue into the next story, is superb. From the different cultures to the cities and towns discussed/or used as a setting, it all has the feel of an authentic, well thought out world.  It feels familiar, although it’s a place we will never step foot in. And its peopled with nuanced characters as vivid and believable as the locations they inhabit.

It all starts with our weary, hurting traveler,Damiskos.  His history will unfold along with the story, and as we find out, everyone here has multiple layers to their personage.  Even down to the slaves that serve the Mistress and owner of the Mansion that he has traveled to, their hidden depths appear as the book progresses.  But none so great as with the eunuch Varazda.  His complexities are equal to those of Damiskos, perhaps surpass it.  Their pasts full of anguish, their present full of surprises.

Even with that blurb there are many twists and turns here within this story that I just adored.  It’s full of action and a relationship that’s introspective as well as passionate on its own terms. The author treats the element of Varazda being a eunuch with respect as well as within the culture of this world.  That turns out to mean Varazda’s emotions and feelings about  his physical state and much more.  It’s a sensitive and beautiful portrayal of a person who’s undergone an horrific act of mutilation and survived.

What A.J. Demas does is create authentic, connectable people.  Strong, flawed, wonderful characters, men and women,  who pull you into their lives and this story and make you wish you had the next novel right in your hands when Sword Dance is over.

Because as it ends on the precipice of another journey.  One I can’t wait to take with them both.   If it’s half as splendid as this one, it will be a magnificent tale.

If you love fantasy stories, ones with high adventure and twists and turns you don’t expect?  Pick up Sword Dance (Sword Dance #1) by A.J. Demas.  I highly recommend it.

Cover art: Aud Koch, Cover design by Lennan Adams. Love this cover.  It’s different yet I can clearly see both characters within the moving artwork. Gorgeous.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link

Book Details”Kindle Edition, 265 pages
Published July 31st 2019 by Sexton’s Cottage
ASIN B07VPDNCRG
Edition Language English
Series Sword Dance #1

 

For Your Next Fantasy, Check Out the Book Tour for Sword Dance (Sword Dance #1) by A.J. Demas (giveaway)

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link 
 
Length: 82,000 words approx.
 
Cover Art: Aud Koch
 
Cover Design: Lennan Adams
 
Blurb
 

Five years ago, Damiskos’s brilliant military career was cut short, leaving him with a permanent disability and scars that are not all physical. Adrift and still grieving, he tries to find meaning in an unsatisfying job.


Work takes him to the remote seaside villa of an old friend, where, among an odd assortment of guests, he meets the eunuch sword-dancer Varazda. Enigmatic and beautiful but distinctly prickly, Varazda is the antithesis of the straightforward and serious Damiskos. Yet as they keep getting in each other’s way at the villa, their mutual dislike is complicated by a spark of undeniable attraction.


Then the villa’s guests begin to reveal their true characters and motives—no one here is what they seem—and Damiskos finds himself at the centre of a bizarre web of espionage, theft, and assassination. Varazda may need Damiskos’s help, but not as much as Damiskos, finally awakening to a new sense of life and purpose, needs Varazda.


Sword Dance is the first book in the Sword Dance trilogy, an m/m romance set in an imaginary ancient world, with murderous philosophy students, sex acts named after fruit, and love blossoming in the midst of mayhem.

 

For Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words’ 5 star review, visit here.  We highly recommend it.

A.J. Demas is an ex-academic who once studied and taught medieval literature. Now she looks after her two-year-old daughter and writes romances set in an imaginary world that is sort of like the ancient Mediterranean with the serial numbers filed off. She also publishes fantasy and historical fiction with a metaphysical twist as Alice Degan. She lives in Toronto.


Newsletter: http://ajdemas.com/list/
Website: http://ajdemas.com/
Twitter: @ajdemaswriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ajdemas/

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A MelanieM Audio Review: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and Ramón de Ocampo (Narrator)

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends…

First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

It was through another book recommendation that allowed me to find the perfect romance story and what I regard as an audio treasure,Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and Ramón de Ocampo (Narrator).  The only thing that could have made this even more splendid?  Finding out that the author,Casey McQuiston, had an entire back library to stories to dive into.  Alas, this is the author’s only published work.  But it’s such a gift that I immediately went out and also bought the ebook too.  Perhaps I’ll even see about a trifecta if a paperback version is available.  That’s how over the moon I am about this story.

I dunno.  I think that cover ought to glow or something just to give off a hint as to what awaits readers inside.  It wouldn’t be amiss as I feel as though Casey McQuiston has written the perfect contemporary romance story and Ramón de Ocampo has, in every way possible, given voice to it.

It’s her incredibly moving story, a straightforward narrative of two young men and their complicated path towards a relationship and love, but the actual novel format, which helps elevate the story into something that elevates it,  is interspersed with texts and emails, both funny and poignant, sometimes both, with the odd late hour phone call thrown in for good measure.  Alex and Henry use everything from emojis to moving literary quotes to relate moods and send deep love (as the relationship progresses).  And the structure immediately connects the reader into the “now” of the moment and the heart of whatever both men are feeling, alone and with each other.

The story works from the beginning to introduce us to these characters and yes, the entire cast of this story, all of whom are finely crafted, multilayered, and so memorable that I’m smiling now just thinking about them all. On both sides of the Atlantic.  Because while this tale is all about the romance and relationship of US first son Alex Claremont-Diaz and  HRH Prince Henry of Wales, it’s also about the people who support them (their sisters and friends like June, Nora and Pez, the people who protect them, and even  parents like the Senator and the President and more).  It’s also about service to one’s country, and about hope, and making the world a better place. And yes, total deep heart to heart love.

This story had me laughing, crying a box of tissues worth of tears, and then back to the puddle of heartwarming, hold this book tight, love affirming, hope filled, reader goo. When they put out that question “What books would you take to a deserted island?”, I now can answer firmly that Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is right there in the top 5, maybe top three.   If I can bring a narrator along then Ramón de Ocampo is coming too.

Because he may be a new favorite as well.  He swings effortlessly between accents, English, American, Hispanic….no problem.  And different people within those accents.  Again with ease. I didn’t want to stop listening…take the dogs out?  The story kept going.  Listened through dinner, lunch, even breakfast.  It was hard even to go to sleep until I had finished it.  It was and is perfection.  I really feel any words are almost inadequate to describe how beautifully written, how   gorgeous a story, how memorable a love story you will find within these pages.

And what a splendid job Ramón de Ocampo does with the author’s tale.

This will be in my Best of 2019 this year.  Yes, I highly recommend it in both ebook and audio.  Get both.

Cover art is cute, but honestly nothing on the cover will live up to what is inside.

Audio Sales Links:  Amazon | Audible

Audio Details:

Listening Length: 12 hours and 15 minutes

Audiobook
Published May 14th 2019 by Macmillan Audio
Original Title Red, White & Royal Blue
Edition Language English

In Our New Release Spotlight: The Shaman of Kupa Piti (Shaman’s Law #1) by A. Nybo (special excerpt)

The Shaman of Kupa Piti (Shaman’s Law #1) by A. Nybo
Published July 30th 2019 by DSP Publications

Cover Art: Kanaxa
Sales Links:

DSP Publications /  https://www.dsppublications.com/books/the-shaman-of-kupa-piti-by-a-nybo-518-b

Amazon / https://www.amazon.com/Shaman-Kupa-Piti-Shamans-Book-ebook/dp/B07Q7QD2PG

Kobo / https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-shaman-of-kupa-piti

Barnes & Noble / https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shaman-of-kupa-piti-a-nybo/1131080510

A.Nybo is on tour for the new exciting release The Shaman of Kupa Piti (Shaman’s Law #1) and has brought a excerpt for all our readers.  Check it out below and how to contact the author as well.  It’s a story I’m happily recommending as well.

✒︎

Blurb

When an international case involving a series of ritual murders lands in his lap, strait-laced and logical Agent Leon Armstrong is going to need some help.

Leon follows the trail to the opal-mining town of Coober Pedy, Australia, where he gets tangled up with the wild Russian mystic Sergei Menshikov. Despite his commitment to rationality, Leon discovers he isn’t immune to the way of the spirits, no matter how much he’d like to think so. When Sergei tells him he treads a predestined path, Leon’s world turns upside down.

Leon’s experiences in Coober Pedy will change his life forever, but can he hold out against Sergei and the spirits—who Sergei claims have chosen them for each other?

 

 

The Shaman of Kupa Piti.

Setup: Australian Federal Police agent Leon Armstrong enters Soda Bob’s pub to speak with the witness, Sergei Menshikov. The following is one of Leon’s ongoing lessons of the way of life in the mining town of Coober Pedy.

Excerpt

Someone yelled “Doris!” and every patron turned to look at the door and, with broad grins, began chanting “Dor-is, Dor-is, Dor-is.” There were a few heckles as well, with one man yelling out to ask whether there was a Doris Day available for some extracurricular activity.

Not understanding the jibe, Leon largely ignored it, but knowing it was a taunt of some sort, he smiled and gave a little nod as though bowing to his audience.

Glancing towards the bar, Leon met Sergei’s eyes. Sergei had twisted on his bar stool to watch their advance, a teasing eyebrow raised and a smirk on his lips. He turned back towards the bar.

When Charlie went to the left of Sergei and leaned on the bar, instead of moving to the other side of Charlie and using the big man as a buffer, Leon slipped in between the two. He wasn’t sure why.

The barman was about to speak when Sergei introduced them. Leon supposed it didn’t take a genius to guess they were here to see him.

“Soda Bob, you know local Doris, and this is federal Doris.” Sergei grinned.

“Doris?” Leon asked.

Soda Bob chuckled. “Did you ever watch A Country Practice?”

Leon gave it a moment’s thought and realised the pig in the TV show was named Doris. He turned to Sergei. “I guess that makes you Rasputin.”

Soda Bob’s brow drew down. “Wasn’t Rasputin mad?” he asked one of the patrons sitting to Sergei’s right.

“Mad as a meat axe,” the man with blinding white teeth confirmed.

Coober Pedy was relatively isolated, but was their knowledge of the outer world really that restricted? “He was a mad monk,” Leon offered.

The white-toothed man’s eyebrows shot up. “A monk? I didn’t know that.”

Leon glanced at Sergei who, seemingly ignoring the conversation, stared straight ahead, one hand loosely holding the stubby on the bar before him, the other grooming his beard.

“Nah, he wasn’t a monk.” The redhead who spoke had so many freckles they’d started joining up like overlaid dot-to-dot pages. He added uncertainly, “I don’t think.”

“I don’t know anything about him being a monk,” said Soda Bob, “but whoever gave Rasputin his blasting ticket should’ve been hauled over a bed of shit and left in the shade for the flies.”

His blasting ticket? What the fuck?

At that moment, Sergei turned and looked directly into Leon’s eyes, a smug eyebrow raised and a smile twitching on his lips as if to say, “Well, that went well for you, didn’t it?”

Given he was not in the habit of blushing, when the heat rushed to Leon’s face, it was like lava flowing through the blood vessels in his cheeks. Sergei’s hazel eyes pinned him to the spot like a bug to a board. Leon couldn’t look away, couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Sergei blinked, and the self-satisfied expression lightened to a teasing and playful gaze that was more captivating than the previous look had been paralysing.

Sergei turned his head away, but his eyes remained playfully on Leon until he was gazing out of their corners from beneath hooded lids. With another blink he looked ahead again.

“Yeah,” said White Teeth. “Tiny was lucky he wasn’t in his pit that day.”

Leon dragged his eyes from Sergei. What were they talking about? Oh yeah, Rasputin and his blasting ticket. Obviously the conversation had gotten away from him completely.

“The man was a menace with explosives,” Soda Bob assured Leon. “He blew up Norman’s washing machine.” He laughed. “It was said that if you wanted a pig to fly, you just had to leave it with Rasputin. He sent most things around him sky high sooner or later.”

Leon assumed Sergei’s soft chuckle was triggered by Soda Bob’s seemingly unintended pig pun.

“Lesson learned,” said Leon, acknowledging that he was the one receiving the education. “Rasputin was a crappy powder monkey.”

 

About the Author

 

A. Nybo has tried conventional methods (a psych degree and a GC in Forensic Mental Health) but far prefers the less conventional, such as the occasional barbecue in the rain, four-hundred-kilometre drives at 1:00 a.m. for chocolate, and multiple emergency naps in any given twenty-four-hour period.

Western Australian born, she has been spotted on the other side of the planet several times—usually by mosquitoes. She’s also discovered Amazonian mosquitoes love her just as much as they do in her home state.

Twitter/ https://twitter.com/anybo5 /@anybo5
DSP Publications / https://www.dsppublications.com/authors/a-nybo-108 / A. Nybo
Dreamspinner Press / https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/authors/a-nybo-1078

A MelanieM Review: Here Comes the Son by Dahlia Donovan

Rating: 4.75 stars out  of 5

When evil stirs in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, heroes come in both ordinary and extraordinary packages.

Ignatius Faber knows a few things for absolute certain. He’s half-demon, his father is the unequivocal prince of darkness, and demons want to destroy his city. And if he doesn’t make the first move on his crush, they’re never going to be anything more than a teenage fantasy that’s lasted into his thirties.

Lalo Pavia grew up hard and fast, orphaned at a young age. As an autistic, he’s learned to approach life cautiously. He throws his energy into gardening and photography—allowing both to provide a buffer between himself and the rest of the world.

Except for Iggy.

Can they find triumph, life, and even love in the middle of a city in flames?

Their fight for the mile high city has just begun

Well this was just superb!  Long a fan of Dahlia Donovan’s stories, her contemporary romances, her mystery cozies here springs a totally engrossing supernatural urban fantasy yarn so full of twist, turns and great characters that I was up until the wee hours reading until I was finished.

Yes, Here Comes the Son by Dahlia Donovan is a book whose characters I embraced and whose plot kept me guessing.

Don’t you love it when that happens?

Not only that but the relationships are so remarkable.  Starting with Ignatius Faber, aka Iggy,  and Lalo Pavia .  Their tight, bond and love for each other is so deep, compounded by Lalo’s autism and Iggy’s understanding of Lalo’s special needs and drive to insure that Lalo can live as best as possible within their universe, given his autism.  And it’s quite the universe.

Donovan has taken her time building a world full of demons, priests, levels at war with each other, scary scientists, and even Lucifer himself.  And none are exactly what you might think.  So many twists here that the plot at points resembles a maze of story threads and wandering possibilities.    None of which I will discuss, but the payoffs are tremendous as far as the narrative are concerned.

The author has built in depth everywhere you look. Layers to her characters.  She has certainly done her homework with regard to people with autism and it shows in Lalo’s character, mannerisms, and behavior.  Lalo is real!  And so is Iggy and his love and commitment to him.

The world building has just as many layers to meet this convoluted plot.  If I had any issues it’s that i  wanted more.  More of the characters, more of Lucifer, more  past the ending.  It’s that sort of story.  Your mind keeps racing past the ending into the thousands of “what ifs” the characters and story keep generating.

Here Comes the Son by Dahlia Donovan is a splendid example of how imagination and plot plus characters and worldbuilding send a novel soaring….it grabs your heart, messes with  your mind, and leaves you wanting more. How great is that?

Cover art is just wonderful.  Works for the character and novel.

Sales Links: Hot Tree Publishing | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CAN | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | QueeRomance Ink | Goodreads

Book Details:

ebook
Published July 27th 2019
ISBN 139781925853568
Edition Language English

A Stella Review:How to Run with the Wolves (Howl at the Moon #5) by Eli Easton

RATING 5 out of 5 stars

Zeus loves his job on the new Mad Creek Search & Rescue team, and his inner Saint Bernard is finally being used to his full potential. When he sees a mysterious and wild-looking quickened—a dog shifter—at an earthquake site in Alaska, Zeus is compelled to investigate. Zeus falls hard for the primal beauty of Timo and of Alaska itself. Both call to his deep canine soul. But the Quimmiq pack’s laws are as harsh as the Alaskan winters, and Timo is out of his reach.

Timo’s pack of dog shifters left their Inuit village generations ago and have lived wild ever since. Not trusting the “one-skinned,” and with their numbers dwindling, the Quimmiq are on the verge of extinction. Timo is shocked to discover a whole group of “two-skinned” working as a rescue team, and he is particularly fascinated by Zeus, a gentle giant. He senses what Zeus feels for him… but it’s forbidden.

Can Mad Creek save this lost quickened clan? Perhaps—if they can learn how to run with the wolves.

I was waiting for a new story in the Howl At The Moon series since forever! As soon as  I got How To Run with the Wolf in my hands, I started it and read it quickly. It was a beautiful journey I will surely do it in the future again.

This series is different from the usual shapeshifter stories, cause quickens are something else. Especially with this plot I was very much bewitched with Timo and the Quimmiq, the author outdid herself, this new release is so packed with amazing scenes, characters, feelings, important themes like the climate change. She took me with her in the beautiful world Alaska is. Moreover it’s clear from her words how much she’s a dog lover, it pours from the pages, that’s one more reason why this series and well, everything she writes, is a success. Don’t miss it, all books work great as a standalone too but of course better read them in order. And don’t stop, read them all, cause they are always better and more emotional and addictive.

And then she went and said at the end of the book that she’s writing a spin off of this series set in Alaska about the Quimmiq people and I am over the moon since then.

The cover art by Reese Dante is amazing and fitting like all the others in the series, I can always see the Mcs on them,

SALE LINKS: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link – Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 231 pages

Published July 19th 2019 by Pinkerton Road LLC

ASIN B07VD891ZV

Edition Language English

Series Howl At The Moon #5

Howl At The Moon Series


How To Howl At The Moon (Book #1) Amazon US | Amazon UK
How To Walk Like A Man (Book #2) Amazon US | Amazon UK
How To Wish Upon A Star (Book #3) Amazon US | Amazon UK
How To Save A Life (Book #4) – Amazon US | Amazon UK

An Alisa Review Close to Home (Finding Home #3) by Carly Marie

Rating:  5 stars out of 5

Jasper Scott is a single workaholic. He split with his girlfriend two years ago and hasn’t felt drawn to anyone else since… except the sexy Navy SEAL he met at his brother’s house two years ago. But that man lives halfway across the country and after so long, Jasper’s convinced his mind has embellished Greg’s sexy gray eyes, rippling muscles, and gorgeous salt and pepper hair.

After his husband died, Greg Joseph devoted his life to raising their two kids and his work as a Navy SEAL. Now, his kids are grown and in college, he’s retired, and he’s facing a house that’s too big and too empty for one person. After dropping his son off at college, Greg accepts an invitation for drinks with a friend and runs into the man he hasn’t been able to get out of his head—Jasper Scott.

Harrison West’s life is falling apart at the seams. After walking in on his partner of ten years in bed with another man, he flees Tennessee and heads home to Oklahoma to figure out what to do next. When he’s dragged out of his house for a night at a bar, the last thing he expects to find is his long-time crush, Jasper Scott, kissing another man. He’s also not prepared for how being around Jasper again awakens feelings Harrison thought he had put behind him a decade ago.

For Jasper, deciding to take a chance on a relationship with Greg was confusing enough, but what happens when Jasper and Greg both realize they have feelings for Harrison? Is Jasper ready to accept both men into his life and his bed? Are Jasper and Greg the two men who could mend Harrison’s broken heart?

I love this series so much!  Jasper is so adorable and I know he was scandalized by his brothers in the last book but I can understand not wanting to know that kind of information too.  I love how he finally gets the guts to explore his attraction to men and love that he gains so much more.  I loved Greg’s patience and acceptance of Jasper and wanting to help him accept himself.  I love the friendship they grew and then how they smoothly brought Harrison into their lives too.  Harrison and Jasper had been friends, though distant ones for years and Harrison had become the one person that Jasper felt he could lean on.  So so good, I can’t get oo much into the story to give it away but it was wonderful.

Now Jasper’s brothers, I loved them in previous books but throughout this one I just felt frustrated with them.  All they wanted to do was shock Jasper or ignore his presence and I couldn’t help but feel how hurt Jasper was and how much Greg and Harrison felt for him.  I can’t wait for Already Home to see the conclusion of their story.

The cover art by Soxational Cover Art is great following the style of the series but just different enough for the story.

Sales Link: Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 250 pages

Publication: June 27, 2019

Edition Language: English

Series: Finding Home #3