Category: Contemporary fiction

A Lucy Review : Nothing Ventured by Jay Northcote

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

When Aiden agrees to run the Mad Mucker—a twelve-mile muddy slog over an obstacle course—he’s expecting it to be a bit of a laugh. The training will be tough, but Aiden could use the motivation to regain some fitness.

Matt is the sexy cousin of one of Aiden’s coworkers and a last-minute addition to the team. When he agrees to train with Aiden, Aiden suddenly finds the prospect of regular workouts a lot more appealing.

Soon attraction flares, and they embark on an intense physical relationship. Matt doesn’t want to fall in love with a man, and Aiden doesn’t want to fall in love at all, but despite their insistence on no strings, they grow closer. As the day of the race approaches, time is running out for them to work out how they feel about each other.

This story is told from Aiden’s point of view and I have to say I liked him immensely.  The whole “wow, it’s really been that long since I’ve been to the gym?” was all too familiar for me.  It is only a night of tequila with coworkers, specifically Liz (who I also liked so much), that got him roped into do the Mad Mucker obstacle course.  Since I also have completed something similar, I felt his pain as he tried to get out of it.

The team is comprised of coworkers of Aiden and Liz, in addition to Liz’s cousin, Matt.  Matt is super fit, hot and as a personal trainer he knows what he’s doing.  Since he’s so into running and fitness and Aiden is, well, not, Liz teams them up together for training purposes. Aiden is pretty laid back and lighthearted while Matt is much more serious and remote.

They start out being just training partners, moving on to friendly and then friends with benefits.  String free, no hearts involved ever.  Matt isn’t out to anyone (he’s bisexual) while Aiden is out (gay) but has no intention of commitment to anyone, let alone a relationship. 

Both of these guys have baggage from their past but it seems to affect Matt’s life and actions the most.  There were times, especially after they started sleeping together and FEELINGS were starting to happen, that I was so aggravated with Matt.  As Aiden starts hiding his feelings – I mean, come on, Matt changes plans because he’s going on a date with a woman from work and then is “…formal and icily polite” when Aiden says he’s going to see Pete, another friends with benefits. “Aiden felt a flare of irritation.  Did Matt honestly think he was such a sad case that he didn’t have anyone else to spend time with?”   I was glad that Aiden has Pete, though.  Even without the benefits, Pete is a friend and about the only one Aiden can talk to about Matt.  Pete calls him out on it, too as Aiden denies what Matt means to him.  “You falling for someone.  Nobody’s immune.”

It is complicated and it gets awkward at times, with both men fighting their feelings.  The struggles they were both going through were interesting, especially as past history was part of the problem.  They had both been hurt and didn’t trust easily.  It was so heartbreaking at times to see Aiden trying to make himself believe he was okay with casual with Matt, particularly since Matt just doesn’t want more than sex with a man. 

I liked this very much and the whole Mad Mucker just added to the interest for me.  It was somehow fitting that things come to a head at the race, since that’s what started it all.  I would recommend this highly.

Cover art, a running man, in my mind was Aiden and fit the story very well.

Sales Links:

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2Ye6AFm

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2LGRciK

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/NothingVentured

Book Details:

ebook, 142 pages
Published November 12th 2014
Original Title Nothing Ventured
ISBN 163216423X (ISBN13: 9781632164230)
Edition Language English
URL http://jaynorthcote.com/coming-soon/

Love Contemporary Romance? Check Out the Blog Tour for Beautiful Trauma (Queen City Rogues #3) by Aimee Nicole Walker (Excerpt and Giveaway)

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Beautiful Trauma

Queen City Rogues Series, Book 3

Aimee Nicole Walker

M/M Romance

Release Date: 07.18.19

Beautiful Trauma Cover

Cover model: Joel Leslie

Photographer: Christopher John

Cover artist: Jay Aheer

Beautiful Trauma Graphic

Blurb

Does trauma define or motivate a person?

Homeless and rejected, Henry Sullivan arrived on the doorstep of Ryan’s Place with nothing but the clothes on his back. Life as he knew it was over. Within those walls, Henry found the encouragement and love needed to turn hopeless into hopeful. Enrolling for summer classes at his community college was the first step toward achieving the dreams he thought were lost to him. There was just one little snag: the professor standing in the front of the room taught Henry the true meaning of human sexuality.

After a crushing breakup, Professor Ezra Meyer moved to the Queen City for a fresh start where everything was new—job, home, and friends. His first challenge: prove the benefits of his biology of human sexuality course outweighed the controversy. Ezra agreed to teach the class during the summer semester at a community college associated with his university to gauge interest. There was just one little problem: Ezra had personally demonstrated the unit on Sexual Technique and Behaviors with one of his students.

Random or Fate?

It was supposed to be a harmless hookup on a night when Henry was celebrating his birthday and Ezra was trying to ease his loneliness. Fast forward six months later, the attraction blazed hotter than ever, but acting on it could have dire consequences neither man was willing to risk. Or were they? Could true love be Henry and Ezra’s ultimate reward, or were they destined to become just another sad lesson learned?

Beautiful Trauma is a story about triumph over tragedy, embracing the unexpected, and a reminder that family is more than biology. Are you looking for a feel-good romance with witty banter, toe-curling passion, and a story that stays with you long after the final page? Look no further. Beautiful Trauma is the third book in the Queen City Rogues series but reads as a standalone book. It contains sexually explicit material and colorful language and is intended for adults 18 and over.

http://mybook.to/Beautiful_Trauma

Beautiful Trauma Teas 3

Excerpt

Ezra lifted his head and smiled down at me. “I like the way you think.”He started to lower his head to kiss me but jerked back. “Fuck!”

“What is it? A muscle spasm?”

“Hey now,”Ezra said, sounding offended. “I’m not that old.”

“There’s no age requirement for a muscle spasm. Remember my limp earlier tonight?”

Ezra nodded to acknowledge my point. “It wasn’t a spasm; a mosquito bit me on the ass.”

He looked so outraged that a mosquito would dare take a bite of his ass. I couldn’t stop the laughter building inside me. “I-I’m sorry,”I managed to say before the dam broke and it burst from my chest. “I’d bite your ass too if I were her.”

Ezra tried not to laugh, but he joined me until he got bit a second time. “That’s it,”he said firmly, leaping to his feet. “It’s time for a bath, then you need to get some sleep.”He blew out the candles and crooked his fingers for me to follow.

On our way to the bathroom, I watched in puzzlement as Ezra stopped by his bedside table and picked up his phone.

“Checking your messages?”I asked.

“Adding citronella candles to my shopping list before I forget,” he quipped. He looked at me with a raised brow. “Not a single smartass joke out of you about faulty memories at my age.”I

held up my hands in surrender. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”My lips quivered and threatened to give way to laughter yet again.

“Get in the bathroom,”Ezra said, pointing to the doorway.

“Yes, sir,” I said cheekily then gasped when Ezra’s hand landed soundly against my bare ass. I spun around to face him. “Spanking wasn’t in the lesson tonight.”

“Keep it up, and you’re going to get a firsthand lesson in spankings, Henry.”

The idea thrilled me to the core, and I suddenly wanted to be naughty—very, very naughty.

Aimee Nicole Walker Logo

Ever since she was a little girl, Aimee Nicole Walker entertained herself with stories that popped into her head. Now she gets paid to tell those stories to other people. She wears many titles—wife, mom, and animal lover are just a few of them. Her absolute favorite title is champion of the happily ever after. Love inspires everything she does, music keeps her sane, and coffee is the magic elixir that fuels her day. I’d love to hear from you

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Check Out the Review Tour for Nothing Ventured by Jay Northcote

 

Buy Links:

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2Ye6AFm

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2LGRciK

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/NothingVentured

Cover Design: Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design
 
Blurb
 

Mud, sweat, and reluctant romance. Can Aiden and Matt sort out their feelings before race day?

When Aiden agrees to run the Mad Mucker—a twelve-mile muddy slog over an obstacle course—he’s expecting it to be a bit of a laugh. The training will be tough, but Aiden could use the motivation to regain some fitness.

Matt is the sexy cousin of one of Aiden’s coworkers and a last-minute addition to the team. When he agrees to train with Aiden, Aiden suddenly finds the prospect of regular workouts a lot more appealing.

Soon attraction flares, and they embark on an intense physical relationship. Matt doesn’t want to fall in love with a man, and Aiden doesn’t want to fall in love at all, but despite their insistence on no strings, they grow closer. As the day of the race approaches, time is running out for them to work out how they feel about each other.

 Check out Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words review here. We highly recommend it.

Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England. He comes from a family of writers, but always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed him by. He spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content.

One day, Jay decided to try and write a short story—just to see if he could—and found it rather addictive. He hasn’t stopped writing since.

Jay writes contemporary romance about men who fall in love with other men. He has five books published by Dreamspinner Press, and also self-publishes under the imprint Jaybird Press. Many of his books are now available as audiobooks.

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Check Out the Release Blitz and Giveaway for Team Luker by Nell Iris

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | JMS Books | Universal Link
 
Length: 5,500 words approx.
 
Publisher: JMS Books 
 
Blurb
 

What if this is the last time we lie like this?


Uncertainty is keeping Ellery Luker awake at night and robbing him of his appetite. It’s been five days since the love of his life and partner of twenty-five years, Jools, went to the doctor. Five days since the biopsy. Five days of going crazy with worry and what ifs?


What if Jools suffer from the same disease that stole Ellery’s mother when he was just eleven? What if all Ellery’s worst fears come true?


What if …?

 

Nell Iris is a romantic at heart who believes everyone deserves a happy ending. She’s a bona fide bookworm (learned to read long before she started school), wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without something to read (not even the ladies’ room), loves music (and singing along but, let’s face it, she’s no Celine Dion), and is a real Star Trek nerd (“Make it so”). She loves words, poetry, wine, and Sudoku, and absolutely adores elephants!


Nell believes passionately in equality for all regardless of race, gender, or sexuality, and wants to make the world a better, less hateful, place.


Nell is a forty-something bisexual Swedish woman, married to the love of her life, and a proud mama of a grown daughter. She left the Scandinavian cold and darkness for warmer and sunnier Malaysia a few years ago, and now spends her days writing, surfing the Internet, enjoying the heat, and eating good food. One day she decided to chase her lifelong dream of being a writer, sat down in front of her laptop, and wrote a story about two men falling in love.


Nell Iris writes gay romance, prefers sweet over angst, and wants to write diverse and different characters.


Email contact@nelliris.com
Web www.nelliris.com
Twitter @nellirisauthor
Facebook page www.facebook.com/nellirisauthor
Facebook profile www.facebook.com/nell.iris.12
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/nelliris
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nell_iris/
QueeRomance Ink https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/nell-iris/

 

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

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Audio Sales Links:  Amazon | Audible

Audio Details:

Listening Length: 12 hours and 15 minutes

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

A Chaos Moondrawn Review: Intoxicating (Elite Protection Services #1) by Onley James

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

I like my erotic romances with some depth and this fit the bill. There are many triggers in this book so please pay attention to the tags: past and present abuse, off page rape, self harm, flashbacks, alcohol, drugs, and suicide attempts. Of course, this all means the hurt/comfort trope is quite strong. Wyatt is full of pain from parents who don’t know what love means; he is acting out recklessly in his hopelessness. Lincoln is hired by Wyatt’s father as a babysitter for him during the Senate reelection campaign.

Much of this story takes place in a fish bowl of forced proximity. The attraction is immediate for both of them and while a misunderstanding keeps them apart for a little while, once that is gone there is no stopping the lust from boiling over, even if it all seems like a horrible idea, bound for heartbreak all around. As an erotic romance, the sex scenes are plentiful and smoking hot if light Daddy play is your thing. My heart hurt for both of them pretty quickly. Linc’s usual scenes and after care haven’t prepared him for actually caring for a boy of his own. He is in denial about his PTSD from the service and glosses over his own childhood abuse. Wyatt’s never had a man care for him at all, in any capacity. This is completely dysfunctional, but at least Linc understands that. Linc is an intimate witness to Wyatt’s life without his consent; it is Linc’s choice to share his life with Wyatt in return. With this dynamic, I wonder if anyone who showed Wyatt affection would have sufficed. Still, the moment that it becomes less about play and more about making love, the sex is real including the fear, communication, and humor.

The pacing is fast due to the feeling of racing against the clock. This has an expiration date, not just because of the senator’s campaign, but because this bubble is not sustainable. There are thankfully some interesting supporting characters involved: Linc’s boss and former service buddy Jackson, Graciela the housekeeper, Charlemagne or Charlie as Wyatt’s best friend, and Wyatt’s grandmother Violet. Charlie has the largest, much needed role as support for Wyatt when he can’t support himself. Some might criticize her for not doing more, but I think she did what she could whilst not humiliating and outing Wyatt against his will. When he makes the choice to change his circumstances, she protects them all. I admit Linc and his sister’s circumstances make no sense to me: caring for someone who hurt, neglected and abandoned them over someone Linc is falling in love with seems like a fake box to put him in. Neither does Wyatt’s situation make a lot of sense: if at 22, Wyatt is so abused and mentally screwed up that he can’t get out of the situation with his father, then he is not fit to be anyone’s partner. There are two scenes where Wyatt shows he can be supportive of Linc also–enough to give me some hope. With all the angst I had to wade through, I would have liked to see the epilogue expanded to show more of the happiness a romance brings to the table. Their kinks and childhood traumas match enough for them to bond, but I do wish there had been a bit more as to why they would work as a couple in real world circumstances for a more believable HEA.

The cover design is by We Got You Covered Book Design. This doesn’t have anything to do with the story. This model is a bit more built than I pictured Wyatt and less built than I pictured Linc. The tagline makes this seem more about discipline or BDSM, which doesn’t match the flavor of this book at all.

Sales Links: Amazon | Universal Link 

Book Details:

ebook
Published July 12th 2019 (first published July 8th 2019)
Original Title Intoxicating
Edition Language English
Series Elite Protection Services #1

A MelanieM Review: Stand In Place by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

One summer won’t be enough….

Kaenon Geary was done fighting the small minds in his sleepy Texas town when he made his escape and never looked back. But now, for the first time in more than a decade, he’s returned to Braxton to spend the summer with his beloved grandmother—her final summer—and no longer recognizes the home he’d left behind all those years ago.

Everything has changed.

Everything but the man he’s never stopped wanting.

Brody Scott was the local football hero who became a gridiron champ, but he retired from the fast lane to forge a new life as the Chief Constable of Braxton. He longs to put down roots in the community he is now sworn to protect. Though he’s not at all sure he can protect his heart from the quiet, earnest boy he once knew. The boy who has come back a man.

Starting something would be a mistake. Kaenon plans to fly away at summer’s end, but his love is something Brody desperately wants to have…and to keep. Their days together are numbered. Unless some simple hometown magic can make all the right things bloom and show them the true definition of love.

Stand In Place by Mary Calmes is a sort of fantastical mix of romance, forgiveness, family, and love.   Of all sorts.  Familial, friends, houses, gardens, the land they stand on, and of course, romantic love.  All lightly laced through with the aromas and touch of the mystical and magic.  Had that Practical Magic sort of feel about it….sans the murder mystery of course!

It starts with a phone call to Kaenon Geary from his beloved grandmother, asking him to come spring her from the hospital in his home town of Braxton, Texas.    It’s a phone call he can’t and won’t say no to.  Even though the town is a place he has nothing but bad memories and swore he wouldn’t return.  But it’s his grandmother and there’s nothing he won’t do for her.

The setup here is both heartbreaking and life affirming.  It’s about a journey that both looks back, inward,  and, eventually forward.  And it’s all centered in Kaelen who returns to the family, school kids, town who treated him so horrifically when he came out as gay,  All excerpt for his coach, two best friends and his grandparents and Aunt Peg who he went to live with when his parents kicked him out.

The setup is enough to rend one’s heart.  The impending loss of the last person he considers family, the return to the town who beat him for being his true self, and finally having to deal with all the memories and people Kaenon thought were deeply buried in the past.

Then come the gardens, the fireflies, and the magic.

All of which Calmes swirls around her characters like a witch with a wand.  A narrative one at that.

Kaeon is another one of the author’s golden boys she does so well, here given a glow imbued by a land that missed him so.  I believe in that, totally.    Just as I did in the romance between Kaenon and Brody Scott.   And the forgiveness that followed.  Character by character.

Too soon?  Too much forgiveness?  Others will admittedly hate that Kaenon forgave  so easily perhaps , but within this setting and context. I think the author made her case.

Did I want more?  Yes.  Of Aunt Peg, their relationship, the town, even more of Brody and Kaenon but I’m glad it ended where it did.  I didn’t need it to go past the summer and the vibrant return of the garden.  I was content to leave all three right where they were.  In that small house, facing the garden, savoring the summer night and the magic in the air.

And yes, I highly recommend this story.

Cover art: Reese Dante.  Love that cover, perfect for this story.

Sales Links:  Amazon |

Book Details;

Kindle Edition, 311 pages
Published July 17th 2019
ASINB07VCM4QK1
Edition Language English