Contemporary fiction

A MelanieM Review The Edge of the World by Garrett Leigh

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Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Shay Maloney is living his dream—on tour with his pirate/folk-rock band. But you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’re from, and that’s where moody filmmaker and researcher Ollie Pietruska comes in.

The band’s management persuades Shay to let a television company film a documentary about his roots beyond his adoptive Irish family, and Ollie comes into his life knowing more about Shay than Shay’s ever known about himself.

But while Ollie holds the key to Shay’s past, he’s also hiding deep scars. Even as the hardships of the tour bring them closer, Ollie’s demons threaten the blossoming romance. They might both reach the breaking point before Ollie realises he’s been standing on the edge of the world for too long, and it’s Shay who holds the key to his future.

A friends-to-lovers, rock star, road-tripping romance, with a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

Shay Maloney and Ollie Pietruska just may be my favorite Garrett Leigh couple yet.  And that is saying a lot after all the wonderful stories I have read by this author.  But it didn’t take long for me to fall under the spell cast by these men, their incredible chemistry, and the intriguing format that Leigh created for their tale in The Edge of the World by Garrett Leigh.  

Add up two indelible characters, a memorable ragtag fusion folk band on tour, and a mystery of a lost ancestry, and Garrett Leigh had me hooked not only on a hurt/comfort romance but a mystery as well.  A narrative rich in intriguing characters, nationalities,  with a realness seated in one man’s coping with diabetes and another’s trauma, this story has it all.

And connecting it, an elusive music just out of reach, full of drums, flutes, pianos, and a pounding of feet the reader so dearly wants to be a part of .

This is a book of the  senses we ache to feel, beautifully written, gorgeously constructed.  With men so believable I hung on every part of their relationship. so fully invested I couldn’t bear to put down the Kindle until it was finished.  And then was sorry to leave them there, happy and in love.

Definitely a story for me to revisit, I love them that much.  I think you will too.   I guess you already you I am recommending it. Of course you do!

Cover Design: Black Jazz Designh:  How perfect is that cover!

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

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 223 pages
Published January 16th 2020 by Fox Love Press

Don’t Miss Out on the Review Tour and Giveaway for The Edge Of The World by Garrett Leigh

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Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link – Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited
 
Cover Design: Black Jazz Design
 
Length: 60,000 words approx.
 
Blurb
 

Shay Maloney is living his dream—on tour with his pirate/folk-rock band. But you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’re from, and that’s where moody filmmaker and researcher Ollie Pietruska comes in.


The band’s management persuades Shay to let a television company film a documentary about his roots beyond his adoptive Irish family, and Ollie comes into his life knowing more about Shay than Shay’s ever known about himself.


But while Ollie holds the key to Shay’s past, he’s also hiding deep scars. Even as the hardships of the tour bring them closer, Ollie’s demons threaten the blossoming romance. They might both reach the breaking point before Ollie realises he’s been standing on the edge of the world for too long, and it’s Shay who holds the key to his future.


A friends-to-lovers, rock star, road-tripping romance, with a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer.


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.


Website: http://www.garrettleigh.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh

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So Squirrels. This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

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So… Squirrels

 

So as I counted down the days until Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words went on hiatus, I had things to do and wanted everything to go in a tidy, organized manner.  So of course, everything rapidly descended into chaos.  The dishwasher broke down, I had to deal with family RL issues, and then there were squirrels.  Well, a squirrel.  In the house.  For an extended stay.

Looks around.

I think he or she is finally gone.  Of course, with this one, you just don’t know.

Had squirrels in the house before.  Some brought in via the many animals, furkids who have lived here over the years.  Moles, voles, shrews, chipmunks, and the occasional field mouse have all made it in as the unfortunate “living gifts or toys” from various cats and dogs over the years.  Most actually made it back outside.  Then there are the visitors down through the chimney., that wonderful artificial “tree hollow” that has seen so many over the decades (my father built this house).

Most of the squirrels and I have come to a tried and true method when they arrive into the family room that way.  I open the back doors into the yard and boom, out they go.  No drama, all very  neat and quick.  I had assumed we, the squirrel community and I had an agreement on this. All very civilized of course.

But it seems in every small group there exists a rebel.  One who goes left, when all the others go right.  That is the squirrel who came down the chimney several days ago.

They did not go right out the door into the yard.  Nooooooo.  They went  left.  Dashing madly up the stairs into the living room where my tubby little dog awaited!  With glee!  They then proceeded to zoom around many levels of house, levels of rooms, well the squirrel did, tubby didn’t.  Then it happened.  I lost track of the squirrel.  And it went stealth.  No chattering, nothing.

And its scent was everywhere so said dog couldn’t find him.  Although to be fair my sausage with a head gave it his all.  All day and all night tracking the now quiet and unmoving squirrel. I had looked with my trusty flashlight.  The next day, we had a sighting!  And then it went quickly hiding until located once more. I mean is this squirrel a secret Russian operative?

Found!  Unbelievably in the closet full of Christmas Nutcrackers (honestly who writes these things) in the library, up behind all those boxes.  Couldn’t get to it and that squirrel wasn’t coming out.  So new tactic.  Call Animal Control with the nets to come and get it to release.  Right? Nope. I should have remembered.  Unless it’s actually in a trap, nope.  Back to square one. My own method.  While I was pondering what to do, Rambo squirrel made a move, busted out of the louvered door closet and out of the library for another round of madcap chasing.  Door propped up, and again I didn’t see it go out.

Sigh.

Tubby is investigating my desk in the library and the closet as I write this.  No idea if the squirrel is out or in.  Time will tell.

Good news, my little dog has had more exercise than if he’d had a zillion Peloton workouts.  Yay squirrel.

Honestly, I think its out, don’t you? 😬

In the meantime, I am thinking the hiatus will be more like me making intermittent reviews and ramblings until we are back fulltime in June 2020.  Too many books to talk about and apparently things to say.

So stay tuned, more on this later on.

 

 

 

This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

 

 

Sunday, January 26:

  • So Squirrels. This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, January 27:

  • Review Tour – Garrett Leigh – The Edge Of The World
  • A MelanieM Review: The Edge of the World by Garrett Leigh
  • A MelanieM Review: Ted of the d’Urbervilles by Rob Rosen

Tuesday, January 28:

  • Book Blast – Earnest Ink by Alex Hall
  • AUDIOBOOK TOUR – Love’s Trials by Janice Jarrell
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady:Howling on Hold by EJ Russell
  • A Free Dreamer Review: Loose Ends (Badlands Book 4) by Morgan Brice

Wednesday, January 29:

  • REòEASE BLITZ Bound to Liberty by Kai Tyler
  • Release Blitz – Hold Me Up by Colette Davison
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Stay Lucky by Leta Blake
  • A Chaos Moondrawn Review Asylum by Julian Burnes

Thursday, January 30:

  • BLITZ Better Than Beginnings by Lane Hayes
  • Tour: BL Dayhoff on The Right Move
  • A MelanieM Review: Loose Ends (Badlands Book 4) by Morgan Brice
  • A Free Dreamer Review Out of Time (Out of Time #5) by C.B. Lewis
  • A MelanieM Review:Howling on Hold by EJ Russell

Friday, January 31:

  • Blog Tour – Loose Ends (Badlands Book 4) by Morgan Brice
  • Release Blitz – Say It (Fascination Series Book 1) by Sky McCoy
  • Release Blitz with ARC Reviews – Fight For This by Suki Fleet
  • A MelanieM Review: Head in the Game by Jeff Adams
  • A MelanieM Audio Review:All I Want Is You by DJ Jamison and Wyatt Baker (Narrator)

Saturday, February 1:

  • So What Happens Next?

Check Out the Release Blitz with Excerpt for Ted of the d’Urbervilles by Rob Rosen

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RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Ted of the d’Urbervilles

Author: Rob Rosen

Publisher: JMS Books

Release Date: January 18, 2020

Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance, Comedy/Humour, Erotic Romance, Dark Comedy, Gay/Straight romance

Themes: e.g. Personal growth, poor to rich

Heat Rating: 4 flames   

Length:  63 600 / 195 pages

It is a standalone story.

Add on Goodreads

Buy Links

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK  |  JMS Books  |  GooglePlay

Love is Love—though who they will find it with remains a mystery until the very end!

Blurb

Ted is an orphan, a young gay man living on the streets following the death of both his parents. Hope seems futile, though hope is exactly what he finds when a surprising email informs him that an unknown wealthy relative has died, that a reading of a will is soon to occur clear across the country. Ted will inherit something, but what that something is remains to be seen. 

Benny is a young, homeless drug addict, straight except for when cash is involved. Benny has never had a reason to be hopeful about anything until a chance encounter with Ted. 

Both men are soon traveling together from state to state, making ends meet however they can, rushing to the reading of the will that may or may not change both their lives forever. An unexpected friendship quickly forms, and then just as unexpectedly blossoms into something more as their adventure ultimately leads them to their fates. 

At turns darkly funny and tragic, deeply erotic and poignant, Ted of the d’Urbervilles uniquely shines a light on the phrase Love is Love—though who they will find it with remains a mystery until the very end. 

 Excerpt 

I found myself in a tangle of trains. Not passenger trains, but the kind that carries stuff. Coal, lumber, crates. No train cars. Nothing I could hop into so much as on. I wasn’t counting on this. I thought I’d slide open a door and bum a ride. But a ride to where? Even if I could hop on, where would I wind up? I clearly hadn’t given it enough thought. To be fair, my head was full of Chuck at the time, a peg missing its hole. It was, as analogies went, a fine one.

I needed to travel east. East I could figure out. East was away from the Rockies. But all the trains were parked. Which way were they headed once they left? And what if I hopped on and the train never stopped until its destination? What if we started east and then headed south?

I sat on the track. My salvation was somewhere in front of me. Eeny, meeny, miny, which one would the mo choose?

“Where you headed?”

I jumped. I fell backward. I stared up, shielding my face with my hand. A guy stood there staring down at me. He was on the dirty side, young, like me, gaunt, shorter by a foot. I’d seen men like this around San Francisco. I avoided men like this. You wound up homeless for a lot of reasons. You also stayed homeless for a lot of reasons. This guy either started or wound up that way because of drugs. His hand twitched. His right eye did the same. Manic would’ve been a good word for it. Or a bad one.

“Just looking,” I said as I righted my butt back on the tracks. “I like trains.”

I turned away from him. I hoped he’d take the hint. Sadly, he sat down next to me instead.

“You can’t hop them,” he said. “They check. They’re watching you right now even.” He pointed up to a lamppost. I could see the camera. It didn’t matter; there was nothing to hop into. And even if I could make it on top of a car, it would be crazy dangerous. And windy. And cold. Not an adventure so much as an ordeal. “Benny,” he said, holding out a hand. He had long nails. Dirty nails. His current state had always been a possible future for me. I seemed to always be running from it. But in which direction, away or towards?

I didn’t shake his hand. I nodded his way instead. “Ted.”

He put his hand by his side. He frowned. I felt bad. I was homeless. He was homeless. It wasn’t a bond so much as a prison sentence we shared. “Where you headed?” he repeated.

“New York.”

“That’s where I started.”

My heart pulsed. If he started from there, he knew which way to head. I pointed in front of me. “Which one goes that way?”

His grin returned. His teeth were in need of a brushing. He looked like a scrawny, shorter, pimplier Justin Bieber—if Justin Bieber hadn’t showered in a week or had a haircut or shave in ten. I felt bad for Benny. I felt scared of Benny. Were people scared of me when they saw me? I was judging a book by its cover, but covers are a pretty good indication of what’s inside. I sensed Benny was rotting from the inside out, that all he had left was a tattered cover. I didn’t want to be a part of Benny’s story, but our plotlines had intersected just the same.

In any case, he shrugged. “Been in Denver a month. My train has long come and gone.” Again, he pointed. “That one goes east.”

“How do you know?”

The shrug hadn’t moved. “That terminal is a dead end. Trains enter that way and go back the way they came. That train came from the east. Do you have any drugs on you?”

It was an unsettling segue. Benny was unsettling. You could turn a bend and wind up like Benny. Benny had no hope. You could see it in his eyes. That is to say, you couldn’t see it. “I don’t do drugs.”

“Smart.”

“You shouldn’t do drugs.”

He rested his head on his knee. “Yep.”

“It’s not that easy though, right?”

He turned his face my way. He’d been cute once. You could see it if you tried. How many people still tried? “Nope. Any money for drugs? I could trade you.”

I knew what he had to trade. I had the same thing to trade. “I have less than six dollars on me.”

He sighed. He turned his face back to the starting position. “Figures.” We sat there in silence. The trains didn’t budge. Maybe this was a graveyard of sorts. Maybe trains came here to die. Maybe Benny came here to die. Me, I had other plans.

About the Author 

Multi-award-winning and best-selling author/editor/anthologist Rob Rosen is the author of 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, Fierce, And God Belched,  Mary, Queen of Scotch, and Ted of the d’Urbervilles. His short stories have appeared in more than 200 anthologies. You can find 20 of them in his erotic romance anthology Good & Hot. He is also the editor of Lust in Time: Erotic Romance Through the Ages, Men of the Manor, Best Gay Erotica 2015 and Best Gay Erotica of the Year, Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Please visit him at 

Blog/Website  |  Facebook

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Follow the tour and check out the other blog posts and reviews here

An Alisa Audio Review:All the Way to Shore (Stories from the Shore #1) by CJane Elliott and Tim McKiernan (Narrator)

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Rating:  3.5 stars out of 5

 

What happens when a cruise ship romance crashes on the rocky shores of reality?

 

Poor-little-rich-boy Jonathan Vallen is the heir to Vallen Industries, but is more interested in music and gardens. He clashes with new CEO Marco Pellegrini, a self-made man and rising star in business, who is brought in to salvage the company. Jonathan gladly leaves Vallen and moves to Cape Cod. When they meet again on an LGBTQ Caribbean cruise, Marco doesn’t recognize Jonathan, who has spent a year transforming from an ugly duckling into a very sexy swan. After Marco shows interest and sparks fly, Jonathan reluctantly assumes a false identity, egged on by his cousin Anthony. None of them expect a shipboard fling to deepen into true love.

 

Back on land, the romance crashes when Marco discovers his perfect man is not only a lie but the son of his boss, Frederick Vallen. Jonathan resolves to win Marco back, but Frederick takes vengeful action. Jonathan and Marco must battle their own fears as well as Frederick’s challenge to get to the future that awaits them on the horizon.

 

Okay, I am not a huge fan of the blurb (I don’t like when it makes fun of one of the characters) especially since Jonathan was the character I connected most with.  It was great that he was given the opportunity to break free of his father’s company when Marco came, though I’ll admit I did not like Marco what so ever in the beginning.

 

Marco seemed a bit two-faced to me, switching his opinion from one to the other about the company and people.  And I’m not sure what I felt about how different he was away from work (yes that person was perfect for Jonathan) but something rubbed met he wrong way.  Jonathan is adorable and I hated that he felt so inferior because of this father and late brother.  I have to give Jonathan credit for how far he came in the year living away from the company and how Marco made him feel that he could embrace his life fully.  I did think that Jonathan and Marco’s “courting” gifts were adorable.

 

This is my first book narrated by Tim McKiernan and he did a nice job.  I was mostly able to keep track of the story through the voices he used, though the lisp come characters had for their thoughts didn’t agree with me.

 

I liked the cover art and that it had their pendant, which became very important to them.

 

Sales Links: Audible | Amazon 

 

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 5 hrs 55 min
Published: April 19, 2018
Edition Language: English

Series: Stories from the Shore #1

A Chaos Moondrawn Review: Rescuing Kyle (Special Forces: Operation Alpha #1) by Lynn Michaels

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Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Kyle is a motocross racer traveling across Europe when he meets up with his cousin Warren, an Army Ranger, in Germany. Which is how he meets Warren’s colleague, a CIA agent named Steve. Warren and Kyle grew up together, acting more like brothers than cousins due to some family rift not really explained. Being of Chippewa heritage, much is made of the fact they look so much alike that people can’t tell them apart. When mercenaries kidnap Kyle instead of Warren, the race is on to rescue him before it’s too late.

Even though Steve feels his job makes a relationship impossible, he sure dives into one pretty fast. After their first night together, Kyle leaves for his next race but they keep in touch, have phone sex. Even when they meet back up, there are sentences like: “they managed to see each other a few times during the week.” So really the story is telling you without showing you what happens between the sex, which doesn’t encourage the reader to be emotionally connected to the characters, their lives, nor their relationship. I didn’t feel the chemistry even though I’m told it’s there. The sex scenes, though explicit, didn’t feel that hot to me, but I appreciated the sense of fun and laughter at times. Yep, you are allowed to be stupid and have fun during sex. Yet, as soon as he is out of the hospital, of course there is sex, which I’m not sure is necessary. Then later in the story is this quote: “He used it [lube] liberally, trying to get the stretching done fast. Even though that was normally fun foreplay for them, he wanted to get to the best part, the most intimate part.” No. That is not the most intimate part of sex. So as an erotic romance, this didn’t work for me.

It also didn’t work for me as an action adventure. When Kyle is not at the ticket booth at the festival, Steve freaks out and I’m not sure why. He could have gone to use the toilet! Why is the immediate response panic? After the fact that Kyle and Warren look like twins is mentioned to the reader numerous times, the only one who thinks about that when Kyle is taken is Steve, who has to point it out to the rest of the highly trained, elite, special forces team. Spy novels are referenced several times and it seems there wasn’t too much research done into what a CIA agent’s job might be like, even for Steve before he became one. Steve is supposed to be trained at gathering intelligence, but doesn’t know how to search the dark web. That is ridiculous. In fact, because it is mentioned so much in books, I tried it. It’s not the navigating that is difficult; it is paying for things without getting caught that is difficult. Then there is the complete lack of professionalism when Kyle is taken and Warren falls apart and ceases to function.

I have to say, this wasn’t my cup of tea. There wasn’t much depth here, so all the characters fell flat for me. There are about eighteen characters in this story, but the reader only gets to know three of them: Kyle, Steve, and maybe Warren. This is not helped by the fact that one character is half of the time called Chase, and half of the time called Jackson. In fact the author seems to know this since in chapter 17, the reader is told that Oz is Kyle’s manager, again, but I actually found it helpful. Most of the characters are interchangeable military men with nicknames. When Steve and Kyle make changes to their lives in order be together, all new characters get thrown into the last five percent of the book. Or are they from another book and I missed something? Some guy named Jeff lectured to Kyle at the end and it really annoyed me, but it felt like a poke at people who think they know how dangerous these men’s jobs are, but honestly have no idea. I think the point here is that Kyle knows more than most since he “lived it” for two days in an attempt for the author to show that they will have their HEA and can make it for the long haul.

The cover by Kris Jacen shows the motocross part of the book, but don’t communicate the terrorist and military action elements.

Sales Link:  Amazon

Book Details:Kindle Edition, 212 pages
Published January 14th 2020
ASINB08376R7JD
Series Special Forces: Operation Alpha #1

Release Festivities for Powder and Pavlova (Southern Lights #1) by Jay Hogan

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Title: Powder & Pavlova

Series: Southern Lights, Book 1

Author: Jay Hogan

Genre: MM Romance

Amazon Universal: http://mybook.to/powderandpavlova

Synopsis:

ETHAN SHARPE is living every young Kiwi’s dream—seeing the world for a couple of years while deciding what to do with his life. Then he gets a call.

Two days later he’s back in New Zealand. Six months later his mother is dead, his fifteen-year-old brother is going off the rails and the café he’s inherited is failing. His life is a hot mess and the last thing he needs is another complication—like the man who just walked into his café,

a much older…

sinfully hot…

EPIC complication.

TANNER CARPENTER’s time in Queenstown has an expiration date. He has a new branch of his business to get up and running, exorcise a few personal demons while he’s at it, and then head back to Auckland to get on with his life. He isn’t looking for a relationship especially with someone fifteen years his junior, but Ethan is gorgeous, troubled and in need of a friend. Tanner could be that for Ethan, right? He could brighten Ethan’s day for a while, help him out, maybe even offer some… stress relief, no strings attached.

It was a good plan, until it wasn’t.

Excerpt I:

Safe from those heather grey eyes, Ethan collapsed against the door and tried to calm his thundering heart. What. The. Ever-loving. Fuck. He checked his forehead for the tell-tale loser sign he was sure he’d find carved there. Nope, just a shit-ton of nervous perspiration.

“Mister hot and heavy is in again, I take it?” Lucy smiled from the other side of the stainless prep bench, her hands white with flour.

“I have no idea who you’re talking about.” Ethan wiped his hands on his jeans and rearranged the order forms stacked on the desk.

She snorted in disgust. “You can’t lie for shit Ethan, I don’t know why you bother.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” Ethan scoffed. “The guy’s gotta be close to forty.” Just how I like them… apparently.

She looked up from measuring the dry goods. “Well, he’s damn hot.”

“I hadn’t noticed.” He collated the pencils according to colour.

“Liar.”

He threw the last of the pencils in the caddy and fell back against the door. “That obvious, huh?”

Lucy’s grin split her face. “Like a whore in a convent.”

He snorted. “There’s an image I didn’t need.”

Lucy reached for the huge sieve and worked her way through a second mound of flour. “So, what are you doing in here?”

“Hiding?”

“Well, get back out there, mister. He’ll be gone in a minute. You wouldn’t want to miss a final perv.”

Ethan pushed off the wall. “I wasn’t perving. I merely took his order.”

Lucy’s gaze dipped south of Ethan’s belt. “Yeah, right. Tell it to your friend.”

Ethan blushed furiously and crossed his legs.

“And I’ll bet coffee’s not the only order you’d like to take from him,” she added with a wink.

A host of delightfully filthy images raced through Ethan’s head and he groaned.

“And there it is.” Lucy smiled knowingly.

“Oh. My. God. What is it with you lot?” Ethan grumbled, mortified at how badly he’d been caught out. He tugged his shirt a mite lower and flipped her off. “You’re lucky I love you, bitch.”

“You’re lucky I let you, arsehole.”

He pushed open the door and ambled back into the café. Nothing to see here folks. The effort at nonchalance was ruined the second he laid eyes on mister tall, dark and fucking combustible, when he caught his foot in the stool he’d vacated earlier and tripped. Arms wind milling, he stumbled almost to his knees at the man’s feet. Really Ethan? Really? Yeah, not one of his better Kodak moments.

He glanced up in time to see the guy bite back a laugh, but refused to linger on that whole teeth on lip action. If there was a prize for most humiliating crush on an ‘almost’ silver fox, he’d win it hands down.

 

 

Excerpt II:

 

The man nodded in approval. “Someone give that man a balloon. Though I gotta say, the mere thought of a meeting sends rats running up my arse. Bad enough having to talk with every Tom, Dick, and Harry who comes in here for a coffee and expects I’m interested in anything they have to say. Whatever happened to keeping your opinions to yourself?”

Which was rich coming from a guy who had an opinion on almost everything, few of them good, and none of them kept to himself as far as Tanner had seen.

He snorted. “I’ll take that as a hint.”

Adrian handed a coffee each to the two men ahead in the queue. “I’ll let you know if you’re heading that direction.”

Tanner laughed. “I believe it.”

“The usual?”

“Thanks.” He glanced behind Adrian to the closed kitchen door. “Ethan in?”

Adrian’s smirk was hard to miss.

“He’s out back, kneading his balls.”

Tanner nearly swallowed his tongue, a fact not missed by Adrian who sent him another smirk. Bastard.

“His brioche balls.” The barista crafted a heart into the foam of a fresh latte. “Whatever did you think I meant? Hey, Ethan⎯”

“No, it’s… ugh.” He fired Adrian a glare.

The man shrugged. “Oops.” He passed a latte to the man in front and caught Tanner’s eye. “I’ll hold your order for a bit.” Then he winked.

“Do I have a choice?”

“See, you are getting the hang of things around here.”

Tanner could do nothing but laugh.

“You hollered, oh cranky one…” Ethan pushed through the swing door, took one look at Tanner and stopped dead in his tracks. A cute as shit blush spread over a pair of dimpled cheeks.

Ah, fuck. Dimples as well.

About Jay:

I am a New Zealand author writing in m/m romance, and romantic suspense. I have traveled extensively and lived in the US, Canada, France, Australia and South Korea. In a past life I have been an Intensive Care Nurse, Counselor, and a Nursing Lecturer.

I’m a cat aficionado especially of Maine Coons, and an avid dog lover (but don’t tell the cat). I love to cook, pretty damn good, love to sing, pretty damn average, and as for loving full-time writing, absolutely… depending of course on the day, the word count, the deadline, how obliging my characters are, the ambient temperature in the Western Sahara, whether Jupiter is rising, the size of the ozone hole over New Zealand and how much coffee I’ve had.

Welcome to my world.

Social Media Links:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJayHogan/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hoganshangout/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jay-hogan

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayhoganauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayhoganauthor

Website: https://www.jayhoganauthor.com/

Amazon: amzn.to/jayhoganauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17632551.Jay_Hogan

A MelanieM Review: Fade In (Tales of Bryant #3) by V.L. Locey

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Rating: 4,5  stars out of 5

Will Devon and Caiden discover that their new love is a wrap after the filming ends?

Weddings, champagne, and slow dancing. It’s a lethal combination and one that has led film student Devon Maxwell into one awkward predicament. Brought in at the last minute to help his friends Isamu and Brian during their Bryant Park wedding, Devon was not prepared for Caiden Dell to sweep into his life. The spark of attraction between him and the hip film executive was instantaneous. That spark led them right into Caiden’s big bed for a night of pleasure that Devon will never be able to duplicate no matter how many takes life gives him.

To make things even more complicated, Caiden offers the recently vacated job of office intern to him. He’d be a fool to turn down an offer to work at Budgie in the Dell, the hottest LGBT film production company in the Big Apple. Looks as if Devon’s hopes of working in film are about to come true. He’s ready for days filled with tiring shoots, long hours, and irate actors. He just never dreamed his nights would overflow with passion, laughter, and whispers shared with a gorgeous, older lover.

V.L. Locey’s series,  Tales of Bryant,  is one of those that I wish could have concurrent stories running together.  The author has managed to create such a splendid group of complex, layered characters, each so different from each other, then based their lovers also in opposite “worlds” before bringing the two together, hooked by a delicious confectionary of a bakery near Bryant Park.

Two are poor film students, the others older, richer, although not always wiser in love.    Here I am missing the magical chemistry of Brian Gilles and Isamu Taylor who I followed through two stories (Tales of Bryant, Nine Small Sips).  Their relationship, past histories, and love were something I couldn’t get enough of, and only get glimpses of here.  Yes, I want more of them.

But Devon Maxwell and Caiden Dell are a lovely new couple to obsess over in Fade In, the next installment in Tales of Bryant.  Both characters are people we have met previously in Brian and Isamu’s stories and now we see them after that couple’s wedding.

Although Fade In is a novella, Locey makes it feel like a full length novel.  Her characters are well developed, their intense attraction and love for each other realistic and heartfelt. As was their pain and doubts.  I was with them every bit of their faltering way here and loved it.  As with the others, my only issue is the length because I wanted more at the end.

That romantic resolution needed more of a follow up for me, a better peek into their future.  Where Brian and Isamu got a second story, the next doesn’t belong to Devon and Caiden but another familiar character so I felt a bit let down.  I wanted a continuation here for them as well.

Perhaps that’s down the line.  I certainly hope so.

This is a wonderful series.  Layered, vivid, full of life, rich with location and characters.  One I highly recommend.

Cover Art: Meredith Russell is wonderful.  Love it.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Barnes&Noble | Universal Link
Book Details:
Author: V.L. Locey
Series: TALES OF BRYANT, Book 3
Tag: Age Gap
ASIN: B08429CR84
ISBN: 9781393414315
Length: 34,000 words approx.
 
 
Tales Of Bryant Series 



Book #1 – Tales of Bryant – Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link
Book #2 – Nine Small Sips – Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link

 

Release Blitz and Giveaway for Fade In (A Tales of Bryant Romance) by V.L. Locey

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Buy Links: Amazon US:  https://amzn.to/3awaK2B Amazon UK:  https://amzn.to/2NSlNJU Universal Link:  https://books2read.com/FadeInTOB
 
Length: 34,000 words approx.
 
Cover Reveal: Meredith Russell
 
Tales Of Bryant Series 



Book #1 – Tales of Bryant – Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link
Book #2 – Nine Small Sips – Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link

 
Blurb
 

Will Devon and Caiden discover that their new love is a wrap after the filming ends?


Weddings, champagne, and slow dancing. It’s a lethal combination and one that has led film student Devon Maxwell into one awkward predicament. Brought in at the last minute to help his friends Isamu and Brian during their Bryant Park wedding, Devon was not prepared for Caiden Dell to sweep into his life. The spark of attraction between him and the hip film executive was instantaneous. That spark led them right into Caiden’s big bed for a night of pleasure that Devon will never be able to duplicate no matter how many takes life gives him.


To make things even more complicated, Caiden offers the recently vacated job of office intern to him. He’d be a fool to turn down an offer to work at Budgie in the Dell, the hottest LGBT film production company in the Big Apple. Looks as if Devon’s hopes of working in film are about to come true. He’s ready for days filled with tiring shoots, long hours, and irate actors. He just never dreamed his nights would overflow with passion, laughter, and whispers shared with a gorgeous, older lover.

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.

 

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An Alisa Review: Don’t Ask Don’t Tell by Miski Harris

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Rating:  4 stars out of 5

Staff Sargent Elijah Jackson, EJ to his friends, joined the Air Force hoping for refuge from the mess his life had become. For almost ten years he enjoyed new life, success, and love, in spite of the closet he was forced to hide in by the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell military policy. One day it all comes crashing down around him. Now he’s back home with serious decisions to make and a very short time to decide how to salvage his life while healing his heart.

Betrayed by his lover and partner, Dr. Dale Chenault left California and his fledgling practice behind. In Sayville, he’s found a home for his counseling service, and on the surface, seems to have his life in order. The truth is some of the decisions Dale made have become a stumbling block in his ability to rebuild the breach in his heart and by extension, his life.

When Dale and EJ meet the chemistry between them is hot but the pain of past betrayals is strong, and trust seems impossible to build. Will they be able to move past what has been to create a future together?

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is a story of love, trust, betrayal and second chances with an HEA.

I liked this story.  EJ is lucky to have such supportive friends and family, even if it takes him a bit to open up about what is going on.  I loved Dale’s never-ending patience which was exactly what EJ needed at the time.

I loved watching the snippets of these guys building a life together and how unlikely connected their families were.  I liked seeing the different perspectives throughout the book and that it wasn’t just the main characters.  I have to say though that the ending was not what I would prefer, I understand it was meant to have meaning but it just killed it for me.

The cover art is nice and I liked the visuals of the characters.

Sales Links: Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 110 pages

Published: August, 8, 2018

Edition Language: English