Category: Book Reviews

Release Blitz: RJ Scott’s Seth & Casey (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Universal Buy Link: 
 
Length: 26,000 words
 
Cover Design: Meredith Russell
 
Blurb


Seth Wild is a firefighter who has lost everything. Nearly dying in a fire, he is scared and angry and chases away the only good thing in his life—school teacher Casey McGuire.

When a sudden and violent snow storm hits their town he receives a message Casey and ten kids are trapped in an education centre center with no way out. There is no one else who can help, he’s the last fire fighter in town with his bum leg and his icy heart.

He doesn’t hesitate. He always promised he would be Casey’s hero, but will he ever again be Casey’s love?

Excerpt
 

“…New York’s LaGuardia and JFK International airports officially closed on Thursday afternoon due to the storm, according to the FAA. Both airports had been open earlier despite significant flight cancellations. LaGuardia resumed operations around 7 p.m. ET, while JFK said it planned to reopen sometime during the course of the night.”

Casey McGuire rinsed the last of the mugs and placed it on the drainer with the rest. For some reason, it was always mugs they ran out of in this house. Seth had this idea that the dishwasher ate them but Casey was convinced that they just needed a system to make sure they brought all the mugs back to the kitchen when they were done. Last week he’d found a mug in the bathroom, inside the cabinet, full of cold coffee.

Seth had sworn it wasn’t him, but Casey knew it had been.

He didn’t make a fuss. After all, what was one full coffee mug teetering on the edge of a glass shelf? In the grand scheme of things, it meant nothing.

The TV droned on behind him as he took a dishcloth and wiped the first of the mugs.

“…states from South Carolina to Maine are under a winter storm warning and the governors of Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey and New York have declared states of emergency. Forecasters say the northeast states can expect hurricane-force wind gusts and blinding snow…”

The news channels had been warning about this storm for a week, a huge dump of snow that would cripple the eastern seaboard, but that as yet hadn’t caused much concern here in Vermont. Casey glanced out of the window at the yard and wished for more snow. That way maybe Seth wouldn’t be able to leave the house, and possibly the two of them could have a rational conversation that didn’t end with Seth leaving and Casey wondering where the hell he was going wrong.

“…the situation is “ugly” and “dangerous,” and people should stay indoors…”

Last night, all Casey had said was that Seth shouldn’t forget about his appointment next morning. Seth left the house, clambering back into bed at some ungodly hour, reeking of beer or worse. In his sleep, Seth tried to pull Casey close, but Casey had deliberately scooted up and away, and left his husband in the bed.

Today, at ten, Seth had exploded, accusing Casey of meddling in things he didn’t understand, telling Casey he was fine and didn’t need a shrink.

Yet another night when one of them ended up on the couch.

“Hey.”

Casey stiffened at Seth’s soft, gravelly voice. His chest was tight, he didn’t want to argue. He wanted Seth to admit there was a problem, because he couldn’t handle it anymore. Six months of this had taken its toll. Maybe if Seth had seen the specialists when he should’ve, maybe if he’d seen a counselor, then Casey would see he was trying.

Seth was in denial, and it was destroying their marriage.

He didn’t turn to face Seth; he’d made a decision in the early morning, packed a bag with what he could get without waking Seth, and decided they needed space. If Seth had space he might face up to himself instead of taking it out on Casey.

Seth slid his hands around Casey’s waist, resting his chin on Casey’s shoulder and sighed. He’d brushed his teeth so the only scent was peppermint, which at least was a step up from yesterday when he’d attempted a clumsy kiss with beer still on his breath.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured near Casey’s ear.

Casey could turn now, accept the apology, even offer one of his own for pushing Seth, and everything would be normal for a while. Seth could go back to pretending he was okay, and Casey could go back to walking on eggshells and avoiding conflict.

But what kind of a marriage was that?

What kind of a man did that make Casey?

“I know you are,” he said. Then he tensed because that wasn’t the answer Seth wanted, and Casey knew what would happen next. Seth would go straight onto defensive mode, give some bullshit about how he was a firefighter and didn’t need a counselor.

Meanwhile, Seth not accepting any of what he needed was tearing their marriage apart. Casey had been careful with him for a long time, after all, Seth had nearly died. But when months had passed and he was still refusing to listen to reason, that was when Casey realized he’d been wrong in accepting Seth’s view on what kind of healing he needed.

“I think we need some time apart,” Casey said, and placed the dried mug onto the counter. He eased away from Seth’s hold and moved to the other side of the kitchen table. Somehow, having it between them gave Casey the strength to do what he’d decided was the right thing. Seth had this way of holding him, with a near desperation that never failed to have Casey crumbling.

Seth didn’t answer at first. Casey stopped himself from repeating the words and hoped that Seth was just thinking. The only noise in the kitchen was the news, focusing on Greyhound buses and the routes being cancelled.

“Why?”

RJ’s goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.

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

The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat. 

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Rob Rosen on And God Belched (guest blog)

And God Belched by Rob Rosen

MLR Press
Cover Art: Winterheart Designs

Sales Links:  MLR Press  | Amazon

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Rob Rosen here today to talk about his latest release And God Belched, out from MLR Press.  Welcome, Rob!

🌎

 

Hello Readers! If you’re looking for a laugh, for some romance with a bit of heat, for a truly unique book, then I invite you to check out my twelfth (and, dare I say, best) novel, And God Belched, published by MLR Press.

Here’s a little bit about the book:

In this riotously funny romantic adventure, Randy and his younger brother, Craig, find themselves in a different universe, on a strange planet, desperately searching for Milo, a handsome stranger in imminent danger, all while being chased by the heavily armed local authorities. And that’s just the start of this epic journey. But what else does fate have in store for our brave heroes? And can one human save two worlds, the handsome alien he’s fallen in love with, his entire family, and a self-aware watch? Read on, dear Earthlings, to find out!

Feel free to pick up a copy here:

https://www.amazon.com/God-Belched-Rob-Rosen-ebook/dp/B078GG9L4P/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

And here’s an excerpt:

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, “let there be light,” and there was light.

Um, you know, sort of.

Actually, in the beginning, God belched out a universe—a big bang of a belch, in fact. It was, so it’s told elsewhere, an odoriferous, gaseous cloud of a rumbling belch. And like all good belches, it was followed by several smaller ones, each forming their own universes, which spread out and filled that above-mentioned void.

Ours was belch number four, the very last one. God had to pound his expansive chest to get that one out. “Oomph,” He said as our existence was made manifest, as out atoms spread outward, trailing those other far greater universes, just before that famous light was flicked on.

Click.

Picture, if you will, four bubbles floating through the blackness, turning end over end as they rapidly grew and expanded, as molecules collided and elements formed: hydrogen and helium and lithium—so that many years later we could have zeppelins and balloons and long-lasting batteries, and all because God was a bit gassy one day.

Anyway, that first belch, that first universe, went to the right; we veered leftward. Those other two, well, they’re not really pertinent to this story. So, for the sake of argument, let’s just say that one went up, the other down. Ta-ta, sister worlds. Live long and, um, prosper.

A year went by, two, then fourteen billion, give or take. I, too, was made manifest: Randy—both a name, namely mine, and an apt adjective. Made, in fact, by mom and dad, belching my way into the void on a cold January morning. Yep, just like it’s said, we truly are made in His image, at least in belching ability.

In any case, on that same January morning, in a universe far, far away—sort of, though, uh, not really—another baby boy was born: Milo. Well, that’s what I called him, anyway. Or at least would, at a time when those two universes happened to decide to play bumper cars together. In any case, his real name was close to a dozen letters long, strung together with nary a vowel to be had. I tried to pronounce it once, and was instantly stricken with a sore throat.

But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Back to me, Randy—the name, for the time being, not the adjective. I was born in San Francisco, the city by the bay, the city by the gays. I lived high upon a hill, one of the steepest in the city, sort of like a prince in a castle. Though our home was made of steel, not brick, not wood, not even stone. The architect was hoping to design a quake-proof house, or so the legend went. And like so many legends, such was not even close to the actual case, as it turned out. Anyway, we froze in the winter and melted when the sun poked through the endless fog. In other words, our house was wisely one of a kind.

“High upon a hill lives Prince Randy, clad in his ermine cape and golden crown, scepter raised in royal salute.” The story rolled off my mom’s tongue as she fed me Gerber’s mashed peas: my favorite.

FYI, the cape was my blankie, not ermine so much as polyester. The crown was a yellow bowl bought at Safeway. I still own said crown. Now I use it for cereal, as opposed to headwear. The scepter was my rattle. It was bequeathed to my younger brother a couple of years later. These days, I lift my cell phone in royal salute.

All the best and enjoy!

Rob Rosen

www.therobrosen.com

Author of the award-winning novels Sparkle: The Queerest Book You’ll Ever Love, Divas Las Vegas, Hot Lava, Southern Fried, Queerwolf, Vamp, Queens of the Apocalypse, Creature Comfort, Fate, Midlife Crisis, and Fierce, and editor of the anthologies Lust in Time, Men of the Manor, Best Gay Erotica 2015, and Best Gay Erotica of the Year, Volumes 1 and 2 and 3.

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review here.

 

Cover Reveal and Giveaway for Out Of The Ocean by Lynn Michaels

 

Release Date: March 15 2018
 
Cover Design: Decorous Anarchy Studios
 
Length: 26,500 words approx.
 
Blurb

 

Cal Bigsby spent his life working the fishing boats and ignoring who he really is and what he needs to be happy.

Prescott ‘Scott’ Vandenburton is being primed to take over Daddy’s company, but he craves a life of his own. His only escape is sailing his yacht.

When a freak storm hits, both are forced to think about life from a whole new perspective

Author Bio

Lynn Michaels lives and writes in Tampa, Florida where the sun is hot and the Sangria is cold. Lynn is the newest addition to Rubicon Fiction, and she loves reading and writing about hot m



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A Stella Review: Still The One (The Best Gift #2) by Shawn Lane

RATING 3,75 out of 5 stars

Sequel to The Best Gift

Best friends Malcolm and Dusty have been together as a happy couple for five years. But now Malcolm’s budding career as a stage actor has taken an exciting turn, sending him across the country to Broadway, just as Dustin’s dream of being named Head Chef at the restaurant where he works is coming true.

As the distance tests their relationship, can their love and friendship survive? Can Malcolm find a way to prove to Dusty he’s still the one?

I read the first book in The Best Gift series by Shawn Lane around Christmas time, and although I enjoyed it, it wasn’t a huge success. Nonetheless when I saw this sequel, I wanted to give the author and the characters a second chance and I wasn’t disappointed at all, Still the One was a lovely reading.

What I found here was exactly what I was hoping to have in the first book, I finally felt the characters and saw how they were living their HEA. While The Best Gift seemed to me a little rushed, in this new short I learned more about Malcolm and Dusty, I saw them being truly in love and have a strong attraction, satisfied not just in their romance but in their jobs too. In fact both of them were living the jobs of their dreams. Then things changed and I saw them being scared of their future together.

I was pleasantly surprised with Still the One, well written and engaging, easy and quick to read, although a short story, it was well done. The chemistry between Malcolm and Dusty was pretty hot and the feelings real and clear. I will definitely look for more titles from the author.

The cover art is clean and simple and the colors works well together. I like it.

Sales Links:  JMS Books LLC  | Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 46 pages

Published January 20th 2018 by JMS Books LLC (first published April 11th 2010)

ASIN B078L71T83

Series The Best Gift #2

Edition Language English

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Friends and Lovers by Tinnean

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

This story is one that was originally written in 2009 and I doubt it’s ever been updated. Tinnean is an author I’ve enjoyed in the past so I jumped at the chance to read this, but I was very disappointed in the writing and in the storyline—almost from the first chapter.  The writing is choppy and it felt campy and disrespectful of gay men.  In fact, at times I wondered if this was written to be a parody of what a good story should be.  And that’s when I investigated and found out when this story was originally written.  I strongly suspect that there was no major revision to the original writing and that really shows here. 

My first surprise came from Tom Weber, described as a short, but muscular, leather daddy. Out of the blue, he decides he’s going to try bottoming and can’t think of anyone better to ask than his bestie, Jack, a straight man who was married three times, though he’s currently single.  Here’s the kicker—Jack immediately agrees.  And then—wait for it—once he does it, he starts planning their lives together—how he’s going to fix little things around the place, home improvements he can make, and more.  Umm, after one night?  And after being straight your whole life?  And that’s how the story goes from there on out.  Lots of strange reactions, lots of let’s try this, and let’s try that.  And never a negative reaction to any of it.

And then the author works back to fill in the story of their friendship over the years, especially during the times of his first marriage when Jack chose his new, Bible-banging wife over his best friend when she put her foot down and wouldn’t allow Tom in their lives.  And then we learn about what his life was like and the next two women he married—each time choosing the women over Tom.  So, I wondered, why on earth would Tom choose him to be his top?  This man abandoned him several times over the course of their supposed friendship.  Hmm, not much made sense here, at all. 

At this point, I discovered that I wasn’t even at the 50% mark.  Tom and Jack are now a couple and are on a vacation and making plans for their future.  I really think that should have been the end point of the story.  Honestly, it was more than enough for one book.  Adding more was overkill.   And in those latter pages, we got to see the two domestic partners as they navigated fatherhood and took on even more responsibility by allowing interns and then other “strays” to stay with them as they kept adding on to their new home, and on and on.  I finally came to suspect that the author wrote a number of short stories, or even a serial and then strung the stories together into a book. There were some very obvious errors in latter chapters that should have been corrected and weren’t.  I’m not happy that a reprint of an older story was presented to readers and that no one read it carefully for errors and inconsistencies. 

Suffice it to say I did not like this book.  I will be very surprised if my gay friends don’t find it campy and demeaning.  Giving it two stars is a stretch and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

~~~

Cover art features a man in construction gear as the primary focus with a handsome, suited man in the background—thereby including both MCs in the cover art. Though I didn’t find it attractive or impressive, it was certainly better than the previous cover that featured two naked men with their hands covering their crotches. 

Sales Links:  JMS Books LLC | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook
Published November 25th 2017 by JMS Books LLC (first published May 26th 2009)
Original TitleFriends and Lovers
ISBN139781634865258