Category: Book Reviews

Riptide Publishing Tour and Giveaway: Junkyard Heart (Porthkennack #7) by Garrett Leigh

Junkyard Heart (Porthkennack #7) by Garrett Leigh
Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist: GD Leigh

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Garrett Leigh’s Junkyard Heart tour. Thank you for such a wonderful interview.

~ Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Garrett Leigh Interview ~

  •  House of Cards featured Calum Hardy and Brix Lusmoore, and Kim Primrose was a part of their story.  Now we have Junkyard Heart, Kim’s story.  How much of that cast returns?

Pretty much all of them. There’s Kim and his BFF/Ex Lena, Lee, Brix, and Calum. Plus new character Jas, and his family. It was a lot of fun to bring them all together again, and add the new faces to the mix.

  •   Since Porthkennack is such a small, ancient village with tight connections everywhere, will those be as visible as they were in the previous story?

Yes. Kim is a Porthkennack native, and Brix’s oldest friend, so he has the same connections and links that Brix had, as well as some unique to him. For example, much of the furniture that comes out of his woodshop is made from materials scavenged on the beaches.

  •    What draws you to write where such a location is as much a character in the story as Porthkennack is?

I was super excited to be invited to write for the Porthkennack series. I’ve never written about a location such as Porthkennack, and unraveling its mysteries was a complex task, especially when there were four other authors to consider. Pulling all our ideas together was awesome.

  •   Would you or do you live in such a small tightly woven community as Porthkennack?  If you don’t, would you like too and why?  If not, why?

I like the idea of a tiny community like that, but I don’t think I’d want everyone knowing my business! That being said, Porthkennack turned out to be far more diverse and welcoming than you might imagine of a small English town.

  •   When you write a character such as Kim who’s a carpenter, how much research do you do into his profession?  Or the professions of all your characters?  Or does sometimes it work in the reverse?  You get interested in a profession and then assign it to a character?

My partner is a jack of all trades, so the carpentry thing wasn’t too hard. He’s also a pro photographer, so that was Jas covered. I usually to pick professions that I have a good knowledge of beforehand. I worked as a chef for many years, and know a lot about tattooing. My brother was in the military, and I know a lot of nurses who work in various hospital departments. I think it’s a dangerous game to set a book in a profession/location that you know nothing about, and getting bogged down in research can really affect your word flow.

  •  How many more stories do you intend to write in this Porthkennanck series?

No more, I’m afraid. To the best of my knowledge, the Porthkennack series is complete.

 

 

About Junkyard Heart

Tired of the London rat race and the heartbreak that comes with it, photographer Jas Manning returns to Porthkennack, the Cornish seaside town where he spent every childhood summer on his father’s farm. Resigned to year-round rain, wind, and homemade jam, he’s sorely unprepared for the impact that artsy carpenter Kim Penrose has on his heart.

Kim’s free-loving reputation precedes him, and he’s as generous with his inked-up body as he is with his time. The sex is hot, the easy friendship even better, and Jas’s time with him building his family’s new farmhouse canteen is everything Jas was missing in his empty city life.

But Kim’s carefree existence isn’t as simple as it appears. He’s worked hard to vanquish his demons and build his dreams, but the devil on his shoulder is ruthless, and when it comes to call, their happy bubble bursts like it was never there at all. The canteen opening looms, but Kim is gone in more ways than one, and it’s down to Jas to shore up Kim’s soul and convince him that he deserves his place in Jas’s heart.

Available now from Riptide Publishing.

About Porthkennack

Welcome to Porthkennack, a charming Cornish seaside town with a long and sometimes sinister history. Legend says King Arthur’s Black Knight built the fort on the headland here, and it’s a certainty that the town was founded on the proceeds of smuggling, piracy on the high seas, and the deliberate wrecking of cargo ships on the rocky shore. Nowadays it draws in the tourists with sunshine and surfing, but locals know that the ghosts of its Gothic past are never far below the surface.

This collaborative story world is brought to you by five award-winning, best-selling British LGBTQ romance authors: Alex Beecroft, Joanna Chambers, Charlie Cochrane, Garrett Leigh, and JL Merrow. Follow Porthkennack and its inhabitants through the centuries and through the full rainbow spectrum with historical and contemporary stand-alone titles.

Check out Porthkennack! http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/universe/porthkennack

About Garrett Leigh

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer, currently working for Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing, and Fox Love Press.

Garrett’s debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.

Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with renowned LGBTQA+ photographer Dan Burgess.

Social media:

Website: http://garrettleigh.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighbooks

Cover art enquiries: blackjazzdesign@gmail.com

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Junkyard Heart, one lucky winner will receive a $20 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on December 9, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Spotlight on Only with You (Only Colorado #1) by JD Chambers (excerpt)

Only with You (Only Colorado #1) by JD Chambers
Publication: December 5th 2017
Cover designer – Garrett Leigh; blackjazzdesign.com

Available for Purchase at:

Amazon global link: http://getBook.at/OnlyWithYou

Goodreads

Blurb

“I guess if the worst thing I’m doomed to in life is mediocre sex, my life isn’t too bad.”

Self-starter and business analyst Zach Keller is living his dream life. He spends his days working from home in his favorite Tolkien t-shirts and pajamas while mothering his best friend-slash-roommate. The fact that his sex life is a bust and his love life is nonexistent? Unimportant. After his college boyfriend berated him for his unconventional desires, Zach doesn’t plan on sharing that part of himself ever again, anyway.

“I’m tired of feeling like I missed out on something by not going to college.”

Craig Pela isn’t lonely. He has tons of friends and weekends packed with activity. He hasn’t needed anyone since he left home at eighteen and never looked back. But everyone around him is moving forward in life, while he still works the same retail job at the same video game store, and it’s making him question his life choices. After all, he doesn’t want to be the loser still playing video games at fifty, does he?

As their relationship develops, Zach’s shy nature melts away to reveal an irrepressible geek that charms the pants off Craig. And Craig’s kind patience and ability to match him obscure quote for quote leaves Zach wondering if he’s finally met the man he can be his true self with. After all, how can someone else love you when you keep a part of yourself hidden.

Book length – 230 pages
Preorder price – $3.99
KU enrolled? – Yes

Excerpt

PROLOGUE

THREE YEARS EARLIER

“Look at that pretty boy watching us,” Eric says with a nod to a slim blond in skinny jeans and leather bracelets that’s been eye-fucking us on the dance floor. Eric’s dick grinds against my ass, and I lean heavily against him, throwing back another shot that miraculously found its way into my hand. They keep appearing, and I keep drinking them without question.

“Uh huh,” I slur and lock eyes with the man Eric pointed out. The blond lifts his drink to his lips and licks them slowly after a suggestive swallow, but his eyes never leave mine.

“Wouldn’t you like to take him home with us? Fuck that pretty mouth?” Eric’s breath is hot against my ear, making me feel even stickier from the sweat of the dance floor. “I bet he’d look so good, laid out between us.”

This is it. Every fantasy I’ve ever had, come to life. Sharing my body with my boyfriend and a stranger who wants me, wants to use me just for a night. Letting my boyfriend take pride in what I’m able to give him, taking what is his and allowing some lucky stranger to see a tiny glimpse, share a small part of me, but never be able to really have me. I’ve been sporting wood all night on the dance floor, but Eric’s murmurings have me diamond hard and tenting my pants as I stumble across the floor to reach our admirer.

“Wanna hang out with me and my boyfriend?” I try to teasingly trail a finger down his arm, but my hands are kind of tingly and I end up palming his biceps instead. I notice Eric rushing past and out the door, so I don’t even wait for a response.

“Come on.” I receive a stunning grin in return for my obviously expert flirting, and he hurries with me out the door to find Eric.

“Are you kidding me right now?” Eric yells, and the giddy feelings that have been bubbling up from my stomach and scattering around my brain like champagne crash faster than a bottle cork in hypergravity.

“Get away from me, freak!” Eric pushes at my sternum, not bothering to hide his disgust.

“But you said …”

“Everyone says it.” The thumping of the club music just around the corner almost drowns out Eric’s snarls. The cute guy with the straight blond hair and leather cuffs left me to Eric’s wrath at the first hint of his displeasure. Fuck. It took so much liquid courage to approach him in the first place. “But it’s just a fantasy. You really are a slut, aren’t you?”

“No, I …” I have no ready response for him, and I need to stop talking anyway. I can’t hide the wavering of my voice the longer this drawsout.

“Lose my number,” Eric says, and I slump against the brick wall of the alleyway as he storms back through the heavy steel doors. Not back to the dorms, to drown his sorrows about my betrayal or his disappointment in the slutty things his now ex-boyfriend wanted. No, he’s returning to the club, probably to pick up where we left off with the twink I approached for him. Or to continue dancing like we were not ten minutes ago, only this time without the shackles of me as his dance partner holding him back.

And now I’m alone, always alone, dizzy and drunk and trying to figure out how to get back to campus. With both Eric and the blond gone, I have no choice but to call CSU’s stupid Ram Ride to get back to the dorms. I’m so fucking stupid. To think I had a real shot with Eric. To think anyone would actually want a guy with the fucked-up desires that I have.

The waves of nausea hit me with barely enough time to lean from my spot on the curb and puke into the gutter. A white car with the tiny green logo pulls up, and it’s a girl’s voice that mutters, “Please don’t puke in the car” under her breath.

I hold onto that one, solitary goal as we make our way back to campus, as if succeeding at not puking in the free drunk-student car suddenly makes me not a total loser.

 

 

About the Author

JD Chambers wanted at various times to be Indiana Jones, Pat Benatar, and Wonder Woman when she grew up. She never considered writing down the stories she crafted in her head. They provided nothing more than entertainment for long drives or sleepless nights, until one particular story insisted it didn’t want to reside only in her noggin.  She hasn’t stopped writing since.

JD finds unlikely heroes, humans courageous enough to be themselves, and spreadsheets incredibly sexy — the last one much to her husband’s chagrin.  Together, they raise three teenagers and the world’s most mellow Chihuahua on the Oregon Coast.

Author website – http://www.jdchamberswrites.com/

An Ali Review: Merry & Bright by Joanna Chambers

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Three seasonal love stories from Joanna Chambers

Humbug

Quin Flint is unimpressed when his gorgeous colleague, Rob Paget, asks for extra time off at Christmas. As far as Quin is concerned, Christmas is a giant waste of time. Quin’s on the fast track to partnership, and the season of goodwill is just getting in the way of his next big project. But when Quin’s boss, Marley, confiscates his phone and makes him take an unscheduled day off, Quin finds himself being forced to confront his regrets, past and present, and think about the sort of future he really wants…and who he wants it with.
Mr Perfect’s Christmas

Sam Warren’s new job hasn’t been going so well so the last thing he’s in the mood for is the obligatory office Christmas party, particularly since Nick Foster’s going to be there. Nick–the guy whose shoes Sam has been trying to fill–seems to take very opportunity to point out where Sam’s going wrong. But when Sam receives an unexpected Secret Santa gift at the party, he’s forced to question his assumptions about his rival. Could it be that he’s been misinterpreting Nick’s actions all along? And is it possible that his reluctant attraction to Nick is reciprocated?

Rest and Be Thankful 

Things haven’t been going well for Cam McMorrow since he moved to Inverbechie. His business is failing, his cottage is falling apart and following his very public argument with café owner Rob Armstrong, he’s become a social outcast. Cam needs to get away from his troubles and when his sister buys him a ticket to the biggest Hogmanay party in Glasgow, he can’t leave Inverbechie quick enough. But when events conspire to strand him in the middle of nowhere in a snowstorm, not only is he liable to miss the party, he’ll also have to ask his nemesis, Rob, for help.
I really enjoyed this trio of holiday stories.  They were all very different and all of the characters were unique and they stood out from each other.  
Humbug is a modern take on the Scrooge story but uses modern elements rather than magic.  I thought the author did this very creatively.  The author may have made Quin a little too Ebenezer Scrooge for me liking through because I really struggled to like Quin.  I realize I wasn’t supposed to like him at the beginning but I had a hard time accepting that he had changed.  I enjoyed Rob though and the while this was my least favorite of the three stories in this book, I did still enjoy it.
Mr. Perfect was a sweet story about starting over and trying to be thankful for what you have in your life.  I felt bad for Sam and I think we’ve all had at least one time in our lives where weren’t in the holiday spirit and had to be brought in to it kicking and screaming.  I didn’t actually blame Sam for not wanting to go to that work party.  His co-workers were the worst and as someone who isn’t a fan of work parties anyways I cringed in a couple of places and silently encouraged Sam to make a run for it.  It all works out for him in the end and he and Sam were lovely together.
Rest and Be Thankful was a bit more serious of a story.  Things are going really poorly for Cam and he’s lonely and isolated in the small town he’s moved to.  His new business isn’t taking off and he’s financially struggling.  In addition, the rest of the small town treats him as an outsider and Cam is particularly worried about Rob after they get off to an especially poor start.  Through the course of the story both men realize neither are the person they thought they were and they begin to open up to each other.  This was a quite, almost melancholy story, but it ended up being my favorite in the book.  
As usual this author provides well written and entertaining stories.  Since there are three stories that are all unique I think this book will have something for everyone’s taste and I highly recommend this book if you’re in the mood for Christmas stories.
Cover art by Natasha Snow:  I think this is a great cover and it fits the stories well.  

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | KOBO | Barnes & Noble

Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 203 pages
Published November 23rd 2017 by Joanna Chambers Books
ASINB0776R441X

Review Tour and Giveaway – Joanna Chambers’ Merry & Bright

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | KOBO | Barnes & Noble
 
Length: 59,000 words approx. 
 
Cover Design: Natasha Snow
 
Blurb
 

Humbug


Quin Flint is unimpressed when his gorgeous colleague, Rob Paget, asks for extra time off at Christmas. As far as Quin is concerned, Christmas is a giant waste of time. Quin’s on the fast track to partnership, and the season of goodwill is just getting in the way of his next big project. But when Quin’s boss, Marley, confiscates his phone and makes him take an unscheduled day off, Quin finds himself being forced to confront his regrets, past and present, and think about the sort of future he really wants…and who he wants it with.


Mr Perfect’s Christmas


Sam Warren’s new job hasn’t been going so well so the last thing he’s in the mood for is the obligatory office Christmas party, particularly since Nick Foster’s going to be there. Nick–the guy whose shoes Sam has been trying to fill–seems to take very opportunity to point out where Sam’s going wrong. But when Sam receives an unexpected Secret Santa gift at the party, he’s forced to question his assumptions about his rival. Could it be that he’s been misinterpreting Nick’s actions all along? And is it possible that his reluctant attraction to Nick is reciprocated?


Rest and Be Thankful


Things haven’t been going well for Cam McMorrow since he moved to Inverbechie. His business is failing, his cottage is falling apart and following his very public argument with café owner Rob Armstrong, he’s become a social outcast. Cam needs to get away from his troubles and when his sister buys him a ticket to the biggest Hogmanay party in Glasgow, he can’t leave Inverbechie quick enough. But when events conspire to strand him in the middle of nowhere in a snowstorm, not only is he liable to miss the party, he’ll also have to ask his nemesis, Rob, for help.

 



December 1 – Valerie Ullmer, Inglorious Bitches, Gay Book Reviews
December 4 – Drops Of Ink, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, OMG Reads, Wicked Faerie’s Tales & Reviews
December 6 – Lelyana’s Book Blog
December 8 – Unquietly Me, Mirrigold: Mutterings & Musings, Bayou Book Junkie, Padme’s Library, Hearts On Fire Reviews, Au Boudoir Ecarlate

Author Bio

Joanna Chambers always wanted to write. She spent over 20 years staring at blank sheets of paper and despairing of ever writing a single word. In between staring at blank sheets of paper, she studied law, met her husband and had two children. Whilst nursing her first child, she rediscovered her love of romance and found her muse. Joanna lives in Scotland with her family and finds time to write by eschewing sleep and popular culture.

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Audiobook Tour for Dyeing to be Loved by Aimee Nicole Walker and Narrator: Joel Leslie (excerpt and giveaway)

Dyeing to be Loved Audio Banner

DYEING TO BE LOVED

CURL UP AND DYE MYSTERIES SERIES, BOOK 1

AIMEE NICOLE WALKER

M/M ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

RELEASE DATE: 11.08.16

AUDIO RELEASE: 11.07.17

Dyeing to be Loved Audio Cover 

 

PHOTOGRAPHER: Wander Aguiar

COVER ARTIST:  Jay Aheer/Simply Defined Art

Narrator: Joel Leslie

Listening Length: 8 hours and 49 minutes

BLURB 

Gabriel Wyatt is a big city Detective living in a small Ohio town. He expects a peaceful existence once he moves from Miami, Florida, but that’s the last thing he finds. Instead, Gabe discovers murder, mayhem, and one smart-mouthed stylist he can’t get out of his head.

Josh “Jazz” Roman is a small-town business owner with big dreams and an attitude to match. He finds himself in the middle of a case that brings the dreamy detective to the front door of his Curl Up and Dye Salon. Josh learns that the biggest threat to him isn’t a killer; it’s a man who wants something from him that he vowed to never give again – his heart.

Both men deny that there’s something between them, even though they’re drawn together like magnets. Can Gabe convince Josh to let down his guard or will Josh let past hurts destroy his chance at a happy future?

AMAZON US:  http://amzn.to/2BmNBOn

AMAZON UK: http://amzn.to/2jZfqbz

 

Dyeing to be Loved Teaser 1

Dyeing to be Loved Teaser 2

EXCERPT

 My ringing phone woke me up. I was disoriented because it had grown dark while I napped on the couch with Diva and I momentarily forgot what day it was. I looked at the caller ID and was shocked to see who was calling me. I debated on letting it go to voicemail for about two seconds before I answered it.

“Hello?”

“How are you doing?” Gabe’s deep voice warmed parts of me that no amount of purring from a cat could affect.

“I’m doing okay,” I replied. Was I?

“You feel like having company?” I heard the slight hesitation in his voice, as if he wasn’t sure how well his question would be received.

I knew what happened almost every single time that we were alone together. Was that what I wanted right then? “Yes,” I said answering both of our questions.

“Good,” he said, his voice deepening because he also knew what would happen. “Come down and let me in.”

“You’re here now?” I stood up and ran my free hand through my hair in an attempt to smooth it into place.

“Yes. Come down here and let me in. I’m freezing my nuts off,” he groused.

“Give me a few minutes,” I said and then hung up. I flipped on a few lights on my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I rushed through my routine so that I didn’t keep him waiting long. It was freezing outside and I didn’t want his balls to freeze. I was pretty fond of them, even if I was unsure of the man they were attached to.

“It’s about time,” he said when I opened the door to him. “What the hell took so long?”

I grabbed him by the coat and pulled him into me, pressing my lips against his. Gabe parted his cold lips and I slid my tongue inside to explore his warm mouth in a languid kiss. For once, I didn’t want to rush him into bed. I wanted to take my time and get to know his body better. Hell, I hadn’t even wrapped my lips around his big cock yet; a mistake I planned to rectify immediately.

“Minty fresh,” Gabe said, when our kiss ended. “You’re forgiven for making me wait.”

“Come upstairs with me and I’ll show you other things I can do with my minty fresh mouth.” I laughed when Gabe growled playfully. I needed to be careful or else I’d start liking the detective and the things he made me feel. 

Aimee Logo

I am a wife and mother to three kids, three dogs, and a cat. When I’m not dreaming up stories, I like to lose myself in a good book, cook or bake. I’m a girly tomboy

who paints her fingernails while watching sports and yelling at the referees.

I will always choose the book over the movie. I believe in happily-ever-after. Love inspires everything that I do. Music keeps me sane.

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Dyeing to be Loved, Book 1

Something to Dye For, Book 2

Dyed and Gone to Heaven, Book 3

I Do, or Dye Trying, Book 4

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A Lila Release Day Review: Thiago by Romeo Preminger

Rating: 2.75 stars out of 5

A hot encounter with a security guard afterhours plunges uptight, Wall Street broker Nate Dennis into obsession and possibly something more.

Nate Dennis made corporate VP at thirty-one, won’t spend a dime for a taxi or laundry, and is socking away enough money to retire at forty-five and live large. He’s arranged his life to not make his mom’s mistake of falling in love with a guy who’s going to leave him broken. Besides, any relationship he’s tried has been a helpless puzzle. He’s better at hooking up, no strings attached, and in New York City, there’s no shortage of hot guys with sick bodies who are interested in the same thing.

Then an afterhours encounter in the office with a new security guard Thiago has him questioning everything.

Thiago is a hard book to rate. The ideas, some of the scenes, and the characterization are interesting and make you keep reading. At the same time, the first person POV, the violence in the relationship, and some of the language are cringe worthy.

The story has a raw appeal that gives it a sense of reality many books lack. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to get over some of the descriptions and events in the story. The way they react to each other is more volatile than sensual. This is more erotica than romance.

If you’re looking for a more down and dirty story, bordering into an abusive relationship, this may be your story. Just be ready for a loose plot, many sex scenes, and two main characters that can be better apart than together.

The cover by Inkspiral Design is very generic, but the model fits the book’s descriptions.

Sale Links: Amazon | Smashwords |NOOK

ebook, 200 pages
Published: December 3, 2017, by Romeo Preminger
ISBN: 9780692948613
Edition Language: English