REVIEW TOUR and Giveaway for Chef On Top (Sizzling In The Kitchen #3) by MJ O’Shea

 

 

Buy Links:

Universal LInk:  https://books2read.com/ChefOnTop

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2JqUfcv

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2S5S3Kb

 
Cover Design: LC Chase
 
Sizzling In The Kitchen Series
 

Book #1 – Chef In The Wild – Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link
Book #2 – Chef Vs Chef – Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link

 
Blurb
 

Chef Jake Casey has never been what you’d call… liked. By anyone. He was the odd outcast son of the town drunk, and he’s spent his adult life doing everything he can to be nothing like his father. If that meant stomping on a few dozen toes, so be it. But contrary to popular belief, he is human. It gets a little old being alone all the time. When he lands a new job on the other side of the country, Jake decides he’s going to change. New city, new restaurant, new Jake.


It’s going pretty well until his first and only friend’s ex shows up with a fiancé in tow. Ty is horrified. Jake might not have much practice with the friend thing, but he decides he’ll do what everyone in the movies always does – he offers to be Ty’s fake boyfriend. It can’t go wrong. Right?


Ty Caldecott knows better. His life isn’t a teen rom-com and situations like these always end up in humiliation. But the prospect of seeing Taran every day with that ring shining on his finger makes Ty want to vomit. Ty doesn’t want to look like a pining loser, so he tells Jake he’s in.


It can’t go wrong.

Right?

 

MJ O’Shea has never met a music festival, paintbrush, or flower crown she can stay away from. She loves rainstorms and a perfect cup of tea, beach days, music, bright colors, and more than anything a cozy evening with a really great book.


She is from the Pacific Northwest. While she still lives there and loves it, MJ has the heart of a wanderer. So she puts all her dreams of far off places and extraordinary people in her books.


Except for every once in a while when she does what all travelers have to do on occasion… come home.

Giveaway

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Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions

 

It’s the SALE BLITZ for Ryker (Owatonna U Hockey #1) by R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey !

 

ONLY 99C/99P ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS

 

 
 

This New Adult book is the first in the Owatonna U Series, a spin off from the best selling Harrisburg Railers Hockey Series.

 

Ryker is hockey royalty, Jacob is a poor country boy. Can two vastly different people find common ground and become the men they want to be?

Ryker comes from a long line of championship-winning hockey players. Playing college hockey to develop his game is his only focus, and nothing will stand in the way of him working to become the best player. He has no room for relationships, people who point out his flaws, or anyone who calls him on his dreams. He certainly has no place for love, and meeting Jacob is nothing but a useful distraction on the side. After all trying to get his Owatonna Eagles teammate into bed is less work and more play. When tragedy rocks his family, his charmed life crumbles, and the only person he can turn to is the same one who claims to hate him.

Jacob Benson has only known hard work and stifling conservative values his whole life. Born and raised in the small rural community of Eden Crossing, Minnesota, he’s the only son of a hard-working but struggling dairy farming family. Jacob is using his skills in hockey to finance his way to an agricultural science degree. These four years at Owatonna U. will probably be the only time he has to enjoy life, gain acceptance about his sexuality, and live openly before his inevitable return to the farm. Running into a pretty rich boy like Ryker Madsen is putting a damper on his enjoyment of life away from home. Ryker’s flip, conceited, carefree attitude grates on Jacob’s every nerve. So why, if Ryker is everything he dislikes, does he want nothing more than to explore the sinful dreams that his annoying teammate stars in every night?

USA Today bestselling author RJ Scott writes stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, a happily ever after.

RJ Scott is the author of over one hundred romance books, writing 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.

She’s always thrilled to hear from readers, bloggers and other writers. Please contact via the links below:

 

 

USA Today Bestselling Author V.L. Locey – Penning LGBT hockey romance that skates into sinful pleasures.

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Dr. Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.

 

Standalone or Part of a Series? This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Standalone or Part of a Series?

Ok, all of you know, it’s usually something I’m reading or just read that sets off a topic for my Sunday blog, and that’s the case again today.  Actually I’m surprised this hasn’t come up before now because I feel pretty strongly about it.  And that’s whether a book is labeled a standalone story or is part of a series.  And should a reader know that in advance of picking up a book to read.

My answer is yes, let the reader know.

Give your reader as much information about your story to make an informed guess as to whether to go and read the previous stories or to jump into the middle or, as I just did without any inkling, end up at the end of a trilogy that killed off a main character.  Was I happy?  Uh no.  This while giving happy endings to characters I had no idea who they were but apparently had stories that preceded this one.

How did I find that out?  Because while the title and blurb gave no indication that this novel was part of a series and the finale, when I went looking for  (hopefully) stories or notes that would indicate that the author would have new books coming to resolve this ending (there were ways given the nature of this book), instead I found reviews for the others in the series.  I was flummoxed.  Looking over each title, none indicated it was a part of a series/trilogy.  Yet the two characters in books one and two only get their resolution in the third novel.  One actually dies in his story. So uh, without reading them, what is their ending like? Got to be cliffhangers.

How do you feel about picking up stories you think are standalone only to find  that they are part of a series?

Sometimes it hasn’t mattered.  I have come in many times in the middle of contemporary series that feature multiple couples throughout the stories and pictured up the other books with no problem.  It depends I think on the narrative and overall arc.  I’m trying to think if I have done the same with a fantasy or paranormal series, and the answer is probably given the sheer amount of books I’ve read.  But again, I’ve already noted in my review that said novel or story, unlike whatever the blurb has said, isn’t a standalone, that its a part of a group of tales to be read in the order they were written.

I just did that with a Josh Lanyon book (The Art of Murders series) and a Ana Newfolk book from her Made In series.  The foundation and universe is the series each author has painstakingly created for their stories. Especially in Josh Lanyon’s case where The Art of Murders is a brilliant labyrinth of twisted psychology, deep emotions, and murder mysteries. Separating one out of the mix?  Can’t and shouldn’t be done.  In fact, the number of series where you shouldn’t come into the middle far out number the ones where it probably wouldn’t matter so much.  That’s like falling into the middle of Abigail Roux’s fabulous Cut & Run series with Ty Grady  and Zane Garrett.  You could do it but why would you? Or Amy Lane’s Fish Out of Water Series or or or…

So why do it at all?  Why say standalone if they really aren’t?

Hmmmm. Well, probably to sell stories for one.

People are less likely to commit to a series than they are to one story.  Well not me.  I love series.  But others, probably. Ok poll time let’s find out.

 

I can’t wait to see how this turns out.  How do people really feel about reading one book. One or  three or more?  For me it’s the more the merrier honestly.

Unless I come in on the end and they have killed off a major character with no hope of revival.  Sigh.

But I can see publishers or authors wanting to put their stories out there and making them as accessible to readers as possible, even if (in my opinion)that’s labeling them as a standalone when they aren’t (again my opinion) or lumping them under a bazillion of genre tags.  Ok, how many times lately have you seen a story labeled as a sci fy fantasy paranormal supernatural romance?  It’s a cat and bunny romance, you are already there.

Head desk!

Well that’s a topic for another Sunday.

Anyhoo, back to my topic.  How do you feel about standalones and series?  Write in and let me know.  There’s a $10 Amazon gift card waiting for a lucky reader chosen among the replies. And please take our poll, I’m dying to see our answers!

Oh and as to the book that set this all off?  I’m reviewing it later this month.  See if you all can guess which one it is. lol

Note:

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is looking for Reviewers!  We are looking for reviewers for our blog.  If you love to read or listen to LGBT stories and share your thoughts about them with others, consider reviewing with Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.  Please send all inquiries to scatteredthoughtsandroguewords@gmail.com.  We look forward to hearing from you.  We are very flexible about how many reviews each reviewer takes on.   That’s entirely up to each reviewer’s own schedule.

And now onto our week ahead.

This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, July 14:

  • Standalone or Part of a Series? This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
  • SALE BLITZ – RYKER – RJ SCOTT & V.L. LOCEY

Monday, July 15:

  • REVIEW TOUR Chef On Top (Sizzling In The Kitchen #3) – MJ O’Shea
  • SERIES REVIEW TOUR – The Series of Fates by C.C. Dado
  • Release Blitz – Alison Temple – Cold Pressed
  • An Alisa Review :Denying Fate (A Series of Fates #1) by C.C. Dado
  • A Lucy Review: Invisible by Iyana Jenna
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Chef On Top (Sizzling In The Kitchen #3)  by MJ O’Shea

Tuesday, July 16:

  • Review Tour Request – C.F. White – Love & Tea Bags
  • Tour for “Serpent’s Teardrop” by Mary Rundle
  • Blog Post – Victoria Milne – Purple Method
  • Book Blitz  – WS Long – Revving It Up Box Set
  • A Stella Review: Love & Tea Bags (Pink Rock Series #1) by C.F. White
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: Warm Heart (Search and Rescue #1) by Amy Lane

Wednesday, July 17:

  • Cover Reveal, – Joanna Chambers – Gentleman Wolf
  • AUDIOBOOK REVIEW TOUR – Lucky Town by Morgan Brice
  • PROMO M.D. Grimm
  • A MelanieM Audio Review: Lucky Town (Badlands #1.5) by Morgan Brice and Kale Williams (narrator)
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audio Review: Terms of Service (The Heretic Doms Club #2) by Marie Sexton and John Solo (Narrator)

Thursday, July 18:

  • R GREY PROMO ON Oasis
  • Release Blitz Signal – Sam Burns & W.M Fawkes – Patron Of Mercy
  • Release blitz Beautiful Trauma by Aimee Nicole Walker
  • BLOG TOUR Treasure Trail by Morgan Brice
  • An Alisa Review: Treasure Trail by Morgan Brice
  • A Caryn Review: Dancing with the Lion: Becoming (Dancing with the Lion #1) by Jeanne Reames

Friday, July 19:

  • Release Blitz  – What Lies Beneath – RJ Scott
  • Release Blitz – Hanna Dare – Black Sky Morning
  • Release Blitz – Eli Easton – How To Run With The Wolves
  • An Alisa Release Day Review: Kneading You by CS Poe
  • A MelanieM Review: Séance on a Summer’s Night by Josh Lanyon

Saturday, July 20:

  • A Chaos Moondrawn Review: Craving’s Creek by Mel Bossa
  • A Lucy Review: 9 Willow Street by Nell Iris

A MelanieM Review:The Monuments Men Murders (The Art of Murder #4) by Josh Lanyon

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Someone is watching. Someone is waiting.

Despite having attracted the attention of a dangerous stalker, Special Agent Jason West is doing his best to keep his mind on his job and off his own troubles.

But his latest case implicates one of the original Monuments Men in the theft and perhaps destruction of part of the world’s cultural heritage–a lost painting by Vermeer. Naval Reserve Lieutenant Commander Emerson Harley wasn’t just a World War 2 hero, he was the grandfather Jason grew up idolizing. In fact, Grandpa Harley was a large part of what inspired Jason to join the FBI’s Art Crime Team.

Learning that his legendary grandfather might have turned a blind eye to American GIs “liberating” priceless art treasures at the end of the war is more than disturbing. It’s devastating.

Jason is determined to clear his grandfather’s name, even if that means breaking a few rules and regulations himself–putting him on a collision course with romantic partner BAU Chief Sam Kennedy.

Meanwhile, someone in the shadows is biding his time…

When it comes to men and their romances, Josh Lanyon has managed to write some incredibly complex and psychologically convoluted relationships.   Whether it’s the brilliance of The Adrien English Mysteries and the long twisted road that Adrian English and Jake Riordan took to happiness or perhaps her Holmes & Moriarity  series with its deep levels of mixed ties professional  of authorship and personal relationships intertwined to confuse and befuddle its two main protagonists, you can count on a story that is both haunting and gripping to the end.

So it continues to be with The Art of Murder series and the tortured relationship between Special Agent Jason West and BAU Chief Sam Kennedy.  Always strained by their own past histories and by the long distance between their offices, the latest attack by Jason’s stalker has put additional pressures on Jason’s mentally and emotionally.  He’s missing his partner’s support although he won’t admit it.  The constant threat to his safety is imperiling his health, he’s not sleeping.  And Lanyon makes us feel every second, every minute of West’s anxiety and fear.

For me this series runs neck and neck with Adrian English with its couple and labyrinthine path to any sort of happiness.  And we are only at book four.  Lanyon just demonstrates a consistent excellence in character development, depth of storyline, and overall arc that showcases her prowess as an author.  These are not easy men but hard, articulate, intelligent men in demanding jobs that take them around the country or all over the world in some cases.  It puts them in danger, and has cost them highly in emotional terms. Especially one.    They have hugely different (and by now well known to the readers) back histories that contribute sometimes to their difficulties in their relationship.  Everything they argue about, try to work through is grounded in something authentic and real. So we as readers bleed emotionally with them when they hurt in these times.  And they are many considering who they are and what they are going through.

Which is a series theme with a truly evil stalker for West.  This is one thread that is chilling in more ways than one.  As it’s been playing out, its psychologically physically, and emotionally scary.  After that is a mystery/murder per novel that is enthralling.  Often involving artwork which brings in Jason, then a murder which will involve Sam.  Somewhere all will overlap in a mentally challenging narrative that will have you glued to the page until it’s all done.

Like it did here.  Where it looked to tear my heart out right up to the last sentence.

Where it teetered on the brink of despair and barely brought it back again.  Just barely.  Oh these men.

Stories and series like this are one of the reasons I read   They aren’t easy but they keep you thinking, your mind and heart are always alert for what’s coming next.  And you never see it when it hits you.

So amazing.  Lanyon can’t write them fast enough for me.  I need the next one now.

If you aren’t familiar with this series.  I have listed them all for you below.  Read them in the order they were written.  Then this amazing novel next.  I highly recommend them all for those looking for contemporary romances with adult long paths to happiness and mysteries too.  Trust me, just brilliant.

Cover art works for the storyline and to draw your eye to the book. Great job.

Sales Links:  Amazon | GooglePlay | Kobo

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 199 pages
Published June 30th 2019 by JustJoshin Publishing, Inc.
ASINB07R818GZ9
Edition Language English
Series The Art of Murder #4

The Art of Murder Series

The Mermaid Murders

The Monet Murders

The Magician Murders

The Monuments Men Murders

The Movie-Town Murders winter 2020 smh!

A Free Dreamer Review : Salmon and The Hazel (Rowan Harbor Cycle #8) by Sam Burns

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Jesse’s only priority in life is protecting the people he loves, so he’s determined to see Rowan Harbor’s wards rebuilt. There’s just one problem: they’re missing an ingredient that can’t be ordered online.

Jesse volunteers to search for the missing component in the realm of the fae, but his boyfriend, Sean, isn’t letting him go alone. The town has an enemy among the fae, so they’ll need to keep a low profile. Along their way, they find unexpected allies, surprising enemies, and a whole host of problems.

The journey is a test of their endurance, but also of their relationship and their faith in each other. Can they find what they need and get back home in one piece in time for the summer solstice?

I can’t believe “Salmon and the Hazel” is already the penultimate book of the series. Only one more book to go!

Once again, this book is not a stand-alone, you have the read all the previous books in the right order to fully understand and enjoy them.

I’ve liked Jesse and Sean from the beginning. They’re great together and I really enjoy their dynamic.

This is the first book of the series that isn’t set in Rowan Harbor. Instead, Sean and Jesse go traipsing off into the realm of the fae to find that one crucial ingredient for the warding spell. It was interesting to discover a whole new world, but I would have liked a few more details.

Sean and Jesse really grow as a couple. Or rather, Jesse does, I guess. I really liked how they worked together in this weird and potentially dangerous world. Their adventure was very enjoyable and I loved some of the things the author came up with.

I was happy with their HEA. It was perfect for the two of them and it wasn’t as cheesy as that of Devon and Wade.

Overall, this was once again a thoroughly enjoyable trip to Rowan Harbor. It makes me a little wistful that I won’t get another book with Jesse and Sean.

Cover Design: Melanie Farlow @ Clause & Effect The cover fits with the rest of the series, even if I’m not a huge fan of the overall look.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK – Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited

Book details: ebook, 146 pages

Published July 4th 2019

Length: 43,000 words approx.

The Rowan Harbor Cycle Series


Book #1 – Blackbird in the Reeds – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #2 – Wolf and the Holly – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #3 – Fox and Birch – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #4 – Hawk In The Rowan – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #5 – Stag and the Ashe – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #6 – Adder and Willow – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #6.5 – In Any Light – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #7 – Eagle In The Hawthorn – Amazon US | Amazon UK

A Chaos Moondrawn Review: Jaeger’s Lost and Found by Ofelia Gränd

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Archie, Archibald Jaeger, is from a long line of respected finders. Unfortunately, his talent for finding doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. His business partner and best friend Edie, is the only person keeping him from being a hermit. When a vampire named Gael comes looking for a finder to help with his missing coven, there is more on the line than ever before. Archie is completely out of his comfort zone with someone’s life in his hands. Gael is having to face home truths in the face of his imminent death. Coming to care about each other in these circumstances, no one saw coming.

What made this novella work for me was all of Archie’s quirks, compulsions, and neuroses. Gael has to face his own bad judgments, regrets, and mistakes. They had no room to judge each other, and with the clock ticking down, no time. It’s their foibles that make them dimensional. Their support of each other is uncharacteristic of how they interact with others. They just fit together. The author does a good job of capturing steamy moments of carpe diem. I enjoyed the flashes of humor. The moments that tugged my heart made this worth reading.

Unfortunately, there is not much world building so details about nagi, shifter, or vampire culture, or life in the human or nonhuman zones aren’t explored. Edie is a large part of the plot and is only on page at the beginning and the end. The big issue is how Gael’s mental connection to his coven is described as a “Milky Way of linked minds, his internal sky of diamonds” which seems too similar to the Psy-Changling series by Nalini Singh. With the way this was resolved, I do wonder about what changes in character Archie would have, but there is no way to know.

The cover design was done by Written Ink Designs. I think that is supposed to be rain, which most of the story takes place in. There is also supposed to be a ghostly hand, so it could be that? I’m not really sure this cover communicates anything about the story at all except showing Archie.

Sales Links: JMS Books LLC | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 100 pages
Published June 1st 2019 by JMS Books LLC
ASINB07S9PP8L5
Edition Language English

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: The Doctor’s Date (Copper Point Medical #2) by Heidi Cullinan

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Before I started this book, if I had taken a bet on how good I thought Owen’s story could possibly be, I would have lost soundly. Because this book was not just good—it was fantastic!

Owen is the anesthesiologist at Copper Point Medical Center. He’s also the former roommate of Simon and current roommate of his other bestie, Jared. Together, the three shared a house when they came to Copper Point to work at the hospital. Now, Simon lives with Hung-Wu, aka Jack (The Doctor’s Secret), and Owen gets his fun by picking arguments with Erin Andreas, head of HR and son of the hated board president, Jean Jacques Andreas.

Though Owen doesn’t know it, Erin is strongly attracted to the gruff doctor but his inexperience in all things sexual (yes, he’s a virgin!) and his natural shyness, coupled with the emotional abuse heaped on him by his father as he grew up, all keep him from acting on the attraction. Until the bachelor auction held to raise funds for the new cardiac unit. Erin bids on Owen. In fact, Erin makes an outrageous bid for Owen—in the amount of $25,000! And things change between them. Each realizes the other is not the persona they show the world. And Erin learns that fighting with him is one of Owen’s life’s pleasures and he has to admit Owen’s attention is not unwanted.

I love how the author took the time to develop a relationship between these guys as their outer layers were slowly peeled away, one at a time, to reveal their true self, their inner child, so to speak. Because both have undergone emotional turmoil in their teens that strongly affected their lives and relationships with family, friends, and each other. And concurrent to their budding relationship, there’s more going on at the hospital as the administrator, their friend Nick Bennett, discovers that the hospital funds have been siphoned off for years. The dirty, underhanded board politics goes deep, and Erin fears his father may be at the center of the web. But, for as much as he hates him, he’s not sure he’ll survive the shame. There’s just so much to this story that it would take three times the size of a normal review to delve into what makes it so wonderful. 

And guess what? No on-page penetrative sex. Wow. It wasn’t necessary to the story so the author didn’t offer what would have amounted to a gratuitous sex scene. There’s kissing. Lots of kissing. And cuddling. And there’s some frottage, and more kissing, and more cuddling. And there’s love. Much love. In fact, I adored this couple and I believe other readers will too. I very highly recommend this book and series, beginning with The Doctor’s Secret for the full experience.

The cover by Kanaxa not only ties in to the cover of book one, it also spotlights Dr. Owen Gagnon in all his gruff glory. It’s perfect for this book.

Sales Links:Goodreads • Publisher • Audible • Ripped Bodice • Barnes & Noble • Google Play Ebook • Google Play Audio • Apple Books • Kobo (US) • Kobo (Canada) • Amazon (US) • Amazon(Canada) • Amazon (UK) • Powells

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 448 pages
Published June 18th 2019 by Dreamspinner Press
Original Title The Doctor’s Date
ASINB 07PNPP1GD
Edition Language English
Series Copper Point Medical #2

Copper Point Medical Series

The Doctor’s Secret

The Doctor’s Date

The Doctor’s Orders

Tara Lain on Odes to Ashland and her new release Home Improvement by Tara Lain (guest blog,excerpt and giveaway)

Home Improvement
by Tara Lain
 

Odes to Ashland

Hi. I’m so happy to be here to celebrate the release of my new romance, HOME IMPROVEMENT – -A LOVE STORY, my first book set in Ashland, Oregon.

You might know that for most of my writing career (first published in 2011) I’ve been associated with southern California. Heck, I have two series plus additional books totaling around 17 or 18 books set in Laguna Beach alone. Then almost exactly a year ago, I moved. Yes, it was a huge deal. My hubby was a native Californian and aside from a couple years in his teens, had never lived outside of California. But SoCal, while grand, has more traffic than practically anywhere on earth. Even in charming, ocean-side Laguna Beach, you can sit in traffic for hours just trying to get home. My honey, who drove everyday, was done. In search of less cars and more trees, we went looking for a new home.

We had been to Ashland, Oregon a few times to attend the famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF). Far from a “summer theater”, OSF operates four theaters nine months a year doing a repertory of eleven plays. It has one of the largest budgets of any theater in America. It’s an industry  — and an artistic triumph! I adore theater (my degree is in theater) so the idea of being able to go any time I wanted was amazing. OSF presents more than 780 performances annually with attendance of over 410,000 people. Because of all the tourists, Ashland has tons of 5-star restaurants. Other artistic endeavors like an art museum, a symphony, a cabaret theater and many of the trappings of an upscale artsy metropolis. It also is a college ton, so there a mass of young people.

BUT, the permanent population of Ashland is only 21,000. There’s a town square that could be in a movie next to a flowing creek with restaurants beside it. There are parades for July 4th, Halloween, Christmas, Hannukah celebrations on the square, Pride parades and more super picturesque stuff. No chain stores are allowed in Ashland, so the totally walkable downtown is also shippable because all the stores are adorable, unique boutiques. And yet, there’s an airport 20 minutes away.

I have a friend who’d been sending me photos from Ashland for over a year. My honey and I took a serious trip to consider the town as a place to live and we lost our hearts. We sold our California house and moved north. While the move was super hard, the outcome was super happy. I’ll still be writing books in California. I still love it. But expect to make a lot of visits to my hometown, Ashland.

I hope you love your first visit in HOME IMPROVEMENT – A LOVE STORY.

Blurb:

Romance on Aisle Sixteen—opposites attract amid the hammers and screws of the home improvement store.
 
Gabe Mason became a father at seventeen, and his daughter, Ellie, is the most important thing in his life. But being the parent the courts demand means Gabe has given up most of his dreams—education, making furniture, a gay social life—to be a model dad with a steady, reliable job in a home improvement store. Life’s predictable until Jerry, a shy, eccentric guy in a hat and sunglasses, begs Gabe to oversee the renovation of his run-down mansion.
 
Gabe loves the house and the work, and Jerry’s pretty lovable too, but when Gabe discovers Jerry’s secret identity, he fears their passion could overturn both their lives forever. 

Excerpt  – Home Improvement – A Love Story

Jerry pretty much smiled all the way through the unloading, which was damned hard and took an hour of trying to maneuver the huge pieces of furniture across the lawn and up the stairs to the nearest door. Once inside, they placed the credenza at one end of the dining room that looked over the pool. The gleaming wood of the cabinet glowed against the Saltillo tile floors and gave the room—which still needed paint, rugs, and a table—some promise.

When they’d wrangled the coffee table into place in the middle of the huge great room, Gabe laughed. “I guess we can call it a start.”

Jerry threw his arms out and spun. “But it’s sooooo beautiful.” He kept swooping and twirling around the room until his head spun and the floor of the room and the wood ceiling far above kind of blended together. He threw his head back and laughed, his foot hit one of the rough places on the tile, and he staggered. “Whoa!” He slid and teetered toward the floor.

Before he could hit, Gabe snatched him into a full-body grab. “Hang on.”

Jerry took him at his word. Wrapping his arms tightly around Gabe’s neck, he hung on like crazy. Truthfully, he was too dizzy to stand up—

—and the Captain America arms didn’t help that dizziness one bit.

Before he could really analyze his situation, he’d pressed himself full length against Gabe’s tall, sturdy body, laughing tipsily.

Yes, the contact was pretty wriggly, and if he’d asked himself a hundred times whether Gabe might, just might, like guys since he seemed to look at Jerry like an hors d’oeuvre sometimes, he now got his answer. One formidable protuberance rose in the middle of the embrace and seemed to be matched in his own pants. Gabe’s heartbeat pounded against Jerry’s chest.

Oh fuck! Just one taste. Jerry slid the arm that was tightly wrapped around Gabe’s neck up a couple inches and yanked Gabe’s head down so he could lock their lips together.

The first touch produced an electric spark that slammed straight to Jerry’s balls so hard, for a second he had to hold his breath to keep from embarrassing himself with wet sweats. As the first gasp came under control, a tsunami of heat washed through him, and he slid his fingers tightly into Gabe’s shaggy, silken hair, as he pressed closer from lips to hips.

Gabe had been holding Jerry around the waist. His strong hands slid down and grasped Jerry’s butt and squeezed. Jerry gasped at the amazing pressure, and everything in him wanted to climb Gabe like a tree and then plant that evergreen where it would do the most good.

Before Jerry could anchor a leg around Gabe’s hips, he was gone, and Jerry was staggering backward to keep from falling.

Gabe gasped, “Oh God, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I hope you enjoy the furniture. Let me know if you change your mind about the other pieces. Otherwise I’ll make sure they get here while you’re gone.” With that he turned, hurried from the house, and before Jerry even made it to the front door, had disappeared out of sight.

Jerry slammed the front door, leaned against it, then slowly collapsed to the floor. Fuck-a-doodle-doo. Good job, asshole. Find somebody you actually like and enjoy being around and screw it up by being you.

He dropped his head onto his bent knees.

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Excerpt
 
 
About the Author

Tara Lain believes in happy ever afters – and magic. Same thing. In fact, she says, she doesn’t believe, she knows. Tara shares this passion in her best-selling stories that star her unique, charismatic heroes — the beautiful boys of romance —  and adventurous heroines. Quarterbacks and cops, werewolves and witches, blue collar or billionaires, Tara’s characters, readers say, love deeply, resolve seemingly insurmountable differences, and ultimately live their lives authentically. After many years living in southern California, Tara, her soulmate honey and her soulmate dog decided they wanted less cars and more trees, prompting a move to Ashland, Oregon where Tara’s creating new stories and loving living in a small town with big culture. Likely a Gryffindor but possessed of Parseltongue, Tara loves animals of all kinds, diversity, open minds, coconut crunch ice cream from Zoeys, and her readers. She also loves to hear from you.

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Love a Little Kink In Your Romance Stories? Check Out Intoxicating (Elite Protection Services #1) by Onley James (excerpt)

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Intoxicating

Elite Protection Services Book 1

Onley James

M/M Contemporary/Age-Gap/Daddy Kink/BDSM

Release Date: 07.08.19

ebook (5)

Cover Designer: Molly Phipps @ We Got You Covered Book Design

Blurb

Lincoln Hudson has just been handed the easiest job in the world. Babysit the spoiled son of a conservative senator, keep him out of trouble, and receive a six-figure paycheck, a paycheck he desperately needs. Wyatt’s father claims he needs Linc’s firm hand and discipline. One look at him and Linc agrees. Wyatt needs discipline.

Being the closeted gay son of a family values senator has left Wyatt Edgeworth with a reckless streak and a love of partying that just cost him eight months of his life and might cost his father his re-election. So now he has a babysitter. A very sexy babysitter.

When Wyatt drunkenly tells Linc he’d make an excellent Daddy, they reach an understanding. Wyatt gets a Daddy and Linc gets a paycheck, then they go their separate ways. For this to work, discretion is key, but with a reporter dogging Wyatt’s every move, that might prove impossible.

Staying together was never an option, but with each passing day, their feelings only grow. Will they risk it all for what’s supposed to be a harmless fling?

Intoxicating is the first book in the Elite Protection Services Series and contains age-gap, Daddy-kink and BDSM elements complete with a HEA and no cliffhangers. Warning: This book contains scenes which may trigger some people including, self-harm, suicide attempt, past and present physical abuse and implied past sexual violence.

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Excerpt

“You can’t-”

Two more sharp slaps turned Wyatt’s words into a low moan. If this wasn’t what he wanted, his fucking body wasn’t getting the memo. His body bowed, pushing his hips towards Linc like a whore. Fuck, it would just figure Wyatt would like being spanked. God, he really wasn’t paying his therapist enough.

“I. Can’t. What?” Linc asked, punctuating each word with another blow until Wyatt’s ass burned and tears pricked at his eyes.

“Please,” Wyatt heard himself whisper, breathless.

Slap. “Please what, baby?” Linc purred in his ear.

“I-”

Slap. Slap. Slap.

Tears rolled down Wyatt’s cheeks, skin blazing everywhere Linc’s blows landed and all he could think about was whether he’d still see Linc’s handprints on his ass tomorrow, whether he’d still feel them. It made the pain worth it. It made him crave it.

“You finished misbehaving?” Linc asked.

“I don’t know,” he heard himself say, his voice sounding far away.

He swore Linc chuckled before he delivered another three slaps. “How about now?”

Wyatt wiped his face against his forearm, bracing it against the door. His limbs felt heavy and numb. “Yes,” he mumbled.

The barest hint of a slap had Wyatt hissing. “How do you address me?”

“Sir?”

“Wrong answer,” Linc growled. “You know what I am. Say it.”

“Daddy,” Wyatt whispered, every nerve ending standing at attention. “Yes, Daddy.”

Linc’s lips grazed Wyatt’s throat, his teeth tugging his earlobe. “Good boy. Kiss me.”
Onley James Logo

Onley James is the pen name of YA author, Martina McAtee, who lives in Florida with her daughter, her daughter-in-law, and a menagerie of animals, both good and evil. When she’s not writing m/m romance or supernatural LGBT young adult books, she’s running 7 Sisters Publishing and attempting to maintain both her sanity and her full-time job as an RN.

When not at work you can find her mainlining Starbucks refreshers, whining about how much she has to do and avoiding the things she has to do by binge-watching unhealthy amounts of television in one sitting. She loves ghost stories, true crime documentaries, obsessively scrolling social media and writing kinky, snarky books about men who fall in love with other men.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/OnleyJamesWrites

Facebook Reader Group: www.facebook.com/groups/OnleysOubliette

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/onleyjames/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/OnleyJames10

Instagram: www.instagram.com/OnleyJames10

Website: www.onleyjames.com

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Review Tour and Giveaway for Salmon and The Hazel (Rowan Harbor Cycle #8) by Sam Burns

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK – Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited
 
Length: 43,000 words approx.



Cover Design: Melanie Farlow @ Clause & Effect


The Rowan Harbor Cycle Series


Book #1 – Blackbird in the Reeds – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #2 – Wolf and the Holly – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #3 – Fox and Birch – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #4 – Hawk In The Rowan – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #5 – Stag and the Ashe – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #6 – Adder and Willow – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #6.5 – In Any Light – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #7 – Eagle In The Hawthorn – Amazon US | Amazon UK


Blurb


Jesse’s only priority in life is protecting the people he loves, so he’s determined to see Rowan Harbor’s wards rebuilt. There’s just one problem: they’re missing an ingredient that can’t be ordered online.


Jesse volunteers to search for the missing component in the realm of the fae, but his boyfriend, Sean, isn’t letting him go alone. The town has an enemy among the fae, so they’ll need to keep a low profile. Along their way, they find unexpected allies, surprising enemies, and a whole host of problems.


The journey is a test of their endurance, but also of their relationship and their faith in each other. Can they find what they need and get back home in one piece in time for the summer solstice?

 

Sam wrote her first fantasy epic with her best friend when she was ten. Like almost any epic fiction written by a ten year old, it was awful. She likes to think she’s improved since then, if only because she has better handwriting now.


If she’s not writing, she’s almost certainly either reading or lost down a Wikipedia rabbit hole while pretending to research for a novel.


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Check Out the Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review here. We highly recommend it and the entire series.