Category: Contemporary fiction

Release Blitz – Out Of The Ocean by Lynn Michaels (excerpt and giveaway)

 

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Length: 26,500 words approx.
 

Cover Design: Decorous Anarchy Studios

 
Blurb
 

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


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


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


Shipwrecked, fighting for their lives, and finding unexpected love.

Excerpt


“Well, we do have some food here,” Scott said, as Cal sorted the nets.


“Yep.”


“I have some crackers and a can of smoked oysters. Want that for breakfast?”


“Nope.”


“Aren’t you hungry, Cal?”


Cal grunted. “You need to ration that food. Who knows how long we’ll be out here.” There was no way Cal was going to take food from Scott. He couldn’t.


“Uh…you mean we.”


“Huh? No.”


“Don’t grunt at me. This is serious. You’re sharing this food with me. Now what do you want to eat?”


Cal ignored him. Scott meant well, but his own instincts wouldn’t let him compromise. No matter what happened, Cal had to do everything he could to protect Scott, make sure he survived. Nothing else mattered. “Have some crackers, Scott. I’m busy.”

 

Author Bio


Lynn Michaels lives and writes in Tampa, Florida where the sun is hot and the Sangria is cold. Lynn is the newest addition to Rubicon Fiction, and she loves reading and writing about hot men in love. She writes paranormal and contemporary MM Romance


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Release Blitz: Would It Be Okay To Love You Box Set by Amy Tasukada (excerpt and giveaway)

 

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Length: 287 pages
 
Blurb



A robot fanboy. An erotic voice actor. Will their secrets overwhelm their love?


Sato doesn’t get out much. The anime company accountant spends his days at a desk and his nights working on his own small-scale robots. His geeky life is like a dream, but it has just one piece missing…


The world only knows outgoing playboy Aoi for his moans. The budding voice actor has sworn off relationships since they’ll only distract him from his budding voice acting career. That was until he met Sato.


As Aoi’s popularity rises and secrets about his past begin to reveal themselves, can the accountant and the voice actor rise above their problems to create something real?

Excerpt
 

After a few more minutes of searching, Sato found two model kits worthy of assembling. He liked one figure more, but the other would be more challenging. After all, he couldn’t spend his entire New Year’s vacation watching anime like last year.

“It’s really hard to pick one sometimes, isn’t it?” Sato said.

“I guess so,” the teenager said.

Sato bit his lip. Usually he wouldn’t hold a conversation with random strangers, but the teen clearly loved Gundam as much as he did. Why else would he linger as much as he had?

The teenager lifted his sunglasses and perched them on his black beanie. Blond hair peeked out from under the hat. He smiled at Sato, showing the dimples on his cheeks.

“They let you dye your hair in school now?” Sato blurted out without thinking. “A friend of mine got in trouble when he lightened his to brown.”

“I’m twenty-five.”

“Oh, please excuse me, I didn’t mean…” Sato bit his lip.

“Is it because I’m short?” The dimples disappeared, and a mischievous glint appeared in the man’s green eyes. “Maybe you’re just really tall.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry so much. I once bought my friend a pack of cigarettes and a cop popped out of nowhere and said I was too young to use the vending machine. He went into this big lecture, then I showed him my ID and he thought it was a fake! He threatened to call my parents and everything.”

Sato gave a weary smile and rubbed the back of his neck. Knowing the blond was close to his own age zapped away what little social courage he possessed.

The man’s gaze met Sato’s, then wandered down his body without shame. Sato’s face grew hot, and his heart thumped in his ears.

“So is everything else about you as big?” he asked.

“I—ah…”

The guy was actually flirting with him? Sato’s technique consisted of vaguely making eye contact and hoping the other person realized he was into him. The way the blond’s crooked smile spread across his face didn’t make Sato’s heart beat any quieter.

In the accounting department, the most out-there anyone got was wearing a khaki suit. Sato had never even talked to anyone bold enough to wear colored contacts and dye their hair so drastically. He pushed up his glasses but couldn’t squeak out a reply.

“So which one did you decide on getting?” the blond asked.

Sato swallowed. The man still wanted to hold a conversation with him?

“I think this one.” Sato picked a five-hour do-it-yourself kit. It would take him three if he was lucky.

“Nice choice.”

Sato rubbed his sweaty palms against his coat. “I—ah—which one are you getting?”

“Oh, these.”

He held up a few manga graphic novels. The cover of one had a man clinging onto another man, his private parts covered by a conveniently placed bedsheet. They were boys’ love novels. Sato’s tongue twisted into a Windsor knot like his tie.

If the guy was reading them, then he surely had to be gay, or at least bi. Though the fact he’d flirted with Sato had to be the biggest giveaway.

Sato’s breath caught in his throat even thinking of buying a gay manga himself.

Sure he’d dated people who were out before. There’d been that upperclassman in high school, but that had only lasted three days. His college boyfriend had lasted longer. They’d been in the same trigonometry class and had even studied together. Then he’d stopped taking Sato’s calls after the final exam. Sato tugged at his tie. He couldn’t really count those as meaningful relationships.

The man stared at Sato.

“So you’re not getting a kit?” Sato asked.

“I ducked here to hide from them.” The blond pointed to the door where the group of women walked out.

“All of them?”

He laughed. “What can I say?”

 

Author Bio


Amy Tasukada lives in North Texas with a calico cat called O’Hara. As an only child her day dreams kept her entertained, and at age ten she started to put them to paper. Since then her love of writing hasn’t cease. She can be found drinking hot tea and filming Japanese street fashion hauls on her Youtube channel.


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A Lila Review: Undercover Star by Jackie Keswick

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

It sounds like the stupidest idea in the history of stupid ideas. Detective Inspector Josh Ingram wants to find a deadly medieval locket and through it, a murderer. So why does his boss decide to team him up with Matisse Vervein, a pop idol many consider just a pretty face… and expect the two of them to hunt down an art thief?

Marissa Godwin, Matisse’s no-nonsense manager, isn’t stupid. Neither is her brother-in-law, Detective Superintendent Tim Montgomery. Each is looking out for a lonely man on the verge of quitting what he does best, and both believe that their charges would make a great team.

The attraction sizzling between Josh and Matisse is hard to miss, but there’s plenty of resentment, too. Focused on pushing Josh and Matisse towards each other, Marissa and Tim haven’t imagined the kind of trouble a music star and a detective can find when they ditch their prejudices and accept that the attraction between them is mutual. Or how far each is prepared to go to prove it to the other.

Undercover Star is a mix of intrigue, adventure, and romance. It starts right into the action which can be confusing. It takes time to learn all the names and follow Matisse first meeting with Josh. His acceptance seems rushed and out of nowhere, but after that, the rest of the story takes a more linear form.

There’s a disconnection between catching the thief and the romance arc. One is the catalyst to the other, but the investigation becomes secondary, and almost pushed aside after the MCs’ relationship starts.

As always, the author did an excellent job setting the story in a realistic part of the world. And adding the right amount of politics and procedures for the investigation to feel realistic. I’m almost sure people who know the area easily recognized the towns and stops in the book.

Overall, it’s a nice story. The end was somehow abrupt and there’s no sense of ending. Not really a cliffhanger, but a HFN. Hopefully, there’s more to see in this world.

The cover by Emma Griffin has several important elements of the story, but it’s a bit cluttered.

Sale Links: Wintergreen | Amazon | NOOK

ebook, 130 pages
Published: November 22, 2017, by Wintergreen Publishing
ISBN: 2940154955376
Edition Language: English

Series Review Tour for Infinity #1 and #2 by C J Lynne (excerpt and giveaway)

SERIES REVIEW TOUR

Get to know the secretive men of Infinity nightclub as they find love in the most unexpected places.  True love has no beginning or ending…it simply is.

They are standalone stories, but characters from previous books make appearances in successive books.

Book Title: Worth the Risk, Infinity #1

Author: C.J. Lynne

Publisher:  Self-published

Cover Artist:  C. J. Lynne

Genre/s:  LGBTQ, Romance, Erotic

Length: 154,000 words/362 print pages

Blurb

Love doesn’t exist…

Or so Tyler Johnson thinks.  He’s never had much, if any, of it thrown his way.  A chance meeting with the enigmatic Jaxon Markham causes Ty to—if still not believe in love—at least know without a doubt that lust is alive and well.  Ty’s not looking for forever, but what’s the harm in spending a few days, and scorching nights, with Jax—as long as Jax plays by his rules and keeps things casual and uncomplicated?

Jax knows his luck has finally changed for the better when he lays eyes on Tyler.  The man is gorgeous, and stirs feelings in Jax he’d never thought he would experience. The more time Jax spends with Ty, the more certain he is that Ty’s his soulmate.  Now all that remains is convincing the stubborn Tyler of that elating fact. Jax is more than up for the task, because he’s nothing if not persistent—a fact the elusive Tyler is soon made aware of.

Jax quickly, and much too easily, demolishes all of Ty’s protective walls and Ty reluctantly begins to think that maybe, just maybe that intangible emotion called love is alive and well after all, and perhaps finally within his grasp.  However, when his ugly past returns to haunt him, making him doubt all the good he’s experienced with and because of Jax, Ty’s positive outlook crumbles, giving way to doubt, fear and despair making him wonder if he can truly be the man Jax needs and deserves—or will past and present demons destroy Ty’s one chance at true happiness?

Goodreads   

Excerpt  

“Since we’ve been dating for a week, and after last night—which was fucking fantastic by the way,” Jax began. “Can I—”

“I totally agree,” Ty interrupted around a kiss.

“Mmmm, good.”  Jax nibbled at his lower lip.   “In that case, I hope I’ve proven I‘m not a loon.”

“You wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t,” Ty assured him with a chuckle.

“Good to know.”  Jax fingered his hair before resting his arm along the back of the sofa. “Since you now trust me to know where you live, have invited me into your home, bed and…your body—for which I’m very grateful, I might add.”

“Yes?” Ty’s breath arrested at Jax’s statement and the downright decadent look in his eyes.

“I was thinking that maybe I can know your last name.”  Jax gave him a wink and begged, “Please?”

Ty’s chuckle quickly morphed into a full-blown laugh as he leaned into Jax’s side.  He laid his head on Jax’s shoulder and smiled up at him. He really liked this man.

“Well…since you now know my body intimately, I guess I can tell you my last name.”   Ty acquiesced and informed, “It’s Johnson.”

“It’s nice to meet you Tyler Johnson.”  Jax brushed strands of his hair off his forehead and reciprocated, “I’m Jaxon Markham.”

Ty’s grin slowly fell and he sat up, staring at Jax horrified.   Yep, horrified was the perfect word for how he felt.  His eyes grew wide with shock and his mouth fell open as he struggled not to pass out.  He shot off the sofa, quickly standing as if he’d been burned. Oh fuck, this is Jaxon Markham?  It can’t be.  

Wait a minute, Ty tried to calm himself.   Maybe he wasn’t the same Jaxon Markham Ty was thinking of.  But…hell, it wasn’t a common name; Jax had to be the Jaxon Markham Ty knew—well, knew of.  When that appalling possibility raced through his mind, he suddenly remembered where he’d seen Jax before—the jacket of his latest legal-thriller novel, which Ty had read twice, and owned along with the six others Jax had written.   Jax had sported a beard on the book jacket, and his hair had been longer, which is why he hadn’t immediately placed him.   

Jax was a famous writer, but that wasn’t the worst of it.  Jaxon Markham was also soon to be his… He closed his eyes and shook his head trying to ward off that unwelcomed thought.  Horrified eyes sprang open, and he stared speechlessly at an obviously baffled Jax.

Oh shit, I had sex with Jaxon Markham!  How fucked up is that?

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Book Title: Finally Letting Go, Infinity #2

Author: C.J. Lynne

Publisher:  Self-published

Cover Artist:  C. J. Lynne

Genre/s:  LGBTQ, Romance, Erotic

Length:  133,000 words/320 print pages

Blurb

Take What You Want…

Brandon Rosen is a man who refuses to admit what he wants—namely, a life with another man.  Being gay just won’t do.  It will not go over well with his family, particularly his overbearing father.  Thus, for years Brandon has tried to tamp down his attraction to men, refusing to entertain even the possibility that his other half might be a…him.  That was the plan and it had worked wonderfully until he meets Simon Carter—an arrogant star swimmer and law school student who also happens to be the best friend of Brandon’s first and only miserably-failed attempt at dating a man.  

Simon is constantly in Brandon’s face taunting him to admit he’s gay.   The more confrontations he has with the stunningly handsome man, the harder it becomes for Brandon to deny the part of himself he thought he’d buried years ago—the one that craves the touch of another man, and now not just any man…but Simon—the one person who hates his guts.

Simon Carter is self-assured, knows who he is and what he wants out of life.  He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy who will do anything to protect his loved ones, so when his best friend’s asshole ex, Brandon Rosen, makes an unexpected reappearance in their lives, Simon is determined to keep Brandon from ruining his friend’s new relationship.  That will be easy to do—right? Simon thought so, but what he didn’t count on was an insane attraction to the deeply closeted man.

Simon soon finds out there’s just something about Brandon that reels him in, no matter how mightily he fights against it, making him question what kind of man he is to want anything to do with the person who once broke his best friend’s heart?  He doesn’t know, but one thing quickly becomes apparent—he craves Brandon Rosen, and despite his better judgment, he intends to have him…consequences be damned.

Goodreads 

Excerpt

Brandon watched mesmerized as Simon’s mocking lips slowly lowered toward his.  His parted in anticipation of touch and being devoured, but before his silent wish was granted, he found the strength to push out of Simon’s loose embrace and take a few steps to the side, ending all physical contact between them.  He needed to stop this. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—give into the insane desire coursing through him…not for a man, and certainly not for this man.

“You need to leave me alone,” Brandon firmly suggested, even though his heart was beating so loudly in his ears, it deafened him.

“Why?”

“Because, I’ve told you repeatedly that I’m not into men.”

Simon laughed heartily and gave him a chastising look before accusing, “I’ve never met someone more into men than you, Blondie.”   Then he smugly coaxed, “Why don’t you admit it? Things would be so much easier if you did.”

They’d become that much more complicated, Brandon silently admitted.  Having a relationship with a man would throw his world into complete and utter chaos—that was something he was determined to avoid at all costs.  With that in mind, he straightened his spine and hardened his expression, and tamped down his overwhelming want for the man staring at him like he was a meal he couldn’t wait to devour.  Oh hell, I need to get out of here…now!

“If we’re unfortunate enough to meet again, keep your damned hands to yourself,” Brandon ordered and without waiting for a response, he jerked open his car door and got inside, slamming it shut behind him.

Just to fuck with him, Brandon was sure, Simon leaned down and rapped his knuckles on the dark tinted window.  He waited a few seconds thinking over the pros and cons of lowering it, but eventually despite his good sense, he did just that.  

“What?” he tightly asked the man staring down at him.

“What about my lips?” Simon flippantly asked in response to Brandon’s previous statement.

“Fuck off,” Brandon growled, raising his window again.  When there was another knock, he sighed loudly before rolling it down a bit, not bothering to hide his irritation as he gritted out, “Now what?”

Smiling eyes danced over his face, lingering on his lips before Simon said the last thing he expected, “Nice car.”

He frowned and uncertainly responded, “Thanks.”

Simon placed a hand on the hood of the car, leaned in closer and, in a bedroom voice if ever he’d heard one, suggested, “Maybe one day soon you’ll take me for a nice, long ride.”

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About the Author 

C.J. is first and foremost an avid reader of romance.  Nothing is better than watching two strong-willed people meet, connect and work through personal challenges while fighting to overcome internal and external obstacles to be together.  

C.J. is a southerner who believes that love is love, and if you’re ever lucky enough to find it, you should hold onto it with both hands and feet.  C.J. writes love stories filled with emotion and hopes you—the reader—will enjoy them as much as C.J. enjoys creating them.

C. J. writes M/M romances with heart and heat.  She believes that love is love and if you’re ever lucky enough to find it, you should hold onto it with both hands and feet.

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Release Day Blitz Heartbeats by Jenna Kendrick (excerpt)

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 HEARTBEATS

JENNA KENDRICK

M/M ROMANCE

RELEASE DATE: 03.13.18

Heartbeats Cover 

 Cover Artist – Dianne at Lyrical Lines

 

BLURB 

When Andrew Palmer and his husband decide to expand their family, they use a surrogate to carry their baby. On the day they get the happy news they’re expecting, Andrew is blindsided when Mason asks him for a divorce and moves out, taking their daughter with him. Instead of counting down the days until the twins’ birth with his partner, Andrew’s fighting for every moment of time with his daughter and readying himself to become a single father.

Orphaned at a young age, Bradley Stern has always wanted a family to call his own. He’s done everything possible in preparation to become a single father including finding a surrogate to carry his child. Knowing he’s going to have two babies to care for means double the love, and he can hardly wait the last few months for his twins to be born.

When Andrew and Bradley each get a call about a tragic car accident and premature delivery, they discover their surrogate has promised the twins to both of them. As they wait for paternity results and watch the babies struggle to survive, they turn to each other for comfort. Only one man will walk away with what both want most, but now he’ll also take the other man’s heart, as well.

 

Heartbeats Available 

Heartbeats Teaser 

EXCERPT

 “Surely you can tell me something. How are my babies?” Bradley raked his fingers through his hair, barely resisting pulling it out by the handful. No telling what it looked like, but he left it firmly attached to his scalp.

“Mr. Stern, as I’ve already said, someone will be out for you shortly.” The NICU nurse’s voice straddled a fine line between professional courtesy and annoyance. “Now, are you going to wait patiently, or do I have to ask security to escort you out of the hospital?” As he turned away, the glass divider between the info desk and the waiting area rattled with more force than the last time he’d demanded answers. Too bad, because he wasn’t budging until he knew what was happening to his twins and their surrogate.

For all that the hospital had tried to create a welcoming environment, the empty waiting room stank of lost hopes, stale coffee, and the astringent smell that lingered in all hospitals. If he sat, he’d be swallowed up by the despondency that clung to the chairs. Instead, he walked. Fourteen steps up the hall, fourteen steps back, just far enough for it to be considered pacing and not hovering. He’d practically worn a trench into the hardwood floor. It’d been hours already—he glanced at his watch—no, more like twenty minutes. No wonder the staff was losing patience. Time was standing still.

His mouth opened in an overly loud yawn that had him looking right and left with embarrassment, but it was too early for anyone other than hospital staff to be milling about. The inscrutable nurse didn’t even look up from her computer screen.

The adrenaline rush from racing to get here battled with the exhaustion of having been awake for over twenty-four hours. After a long week in New York City filled with frustrating meetings and high-profile events with Uncle Richard and his merry band of blowhards, he’d been unable to stand one more night there. Every car horn and squeal of brakes from the street below set him on edge, and come morning, Richard would have one more piece of business, one more person he needed to meet. Any excuse to keep him nearby and try to wear him down. He’d just wanted to get home to his mountain, treacherous roads in the middle of the night be damned, and he’d called down for his Tesla Roadster before he so much as loosened his tie. Halfway to Egremont, he’d received the call that had him veering east to Springfield.

The same refrain haunted him as it had the rest of the drive. I’m not ready. I’m not ready. Never mind that this was the culmination of a long-held dream. Making lists of baby supplies and everything he needed to decorate the nursery was a far cry from having checked so much as a single item off said lists. But none of that was important right now. He’d deal with the nursery and all the rest once he knew his babies were well.

They’re not ready, either. He’d been reading about fetal development week-by-week throughout the pregnancy, not that he could recall a single useful fact right now. Fingernails and blinking—the parts he’d been so excited about a couple days ago—suddenly took a back seat to lung development. He swallowed the knot in his throat and reached into his pocket. No. Already a hair’s breadth from losing his shit, Googling worst-case scenarios wouldn’t help him avoid being kicked out of the hospital for causing a disturbance.

Stomping feet and labored breaths caught his attention as two men ran down the hall. One pointed at the chairs, then approached the nurse’s station, quietly giving his name. His companion, jacket wide open and sweatshirt clearly inside-out, looked around the area wide-eyed before lurching across the hall to the restroom.

“Did you see where my brother went? A little bit taller, a lot less handsome?”

There was no reply from the nurse. Bradley glanced over to see the man staring back at him quizzically. He pointed at the bathroom just as the door opened.

The brother was indeed taller, by at least a few inches. But his dark blond hair, bright blue eyes, and muscles for days rendered him a hundred times sexier than the first guy.

Judging from the greenish cast to his skin, he was also either hungover or sick. Bradley stepped away in distaste, leaving the other men to melt into the chairs of despair while he resumed pacing. Fourteen steps up the hall. Turn. Five, six, seven—

The door to the unit opened. “Who’s here for the Penn twins?”

—Eight, nine. Wait. Penn.

Bradley hurried over to the man in bright blue scrubs. The surgical mask tucked under his chin pulled his ears forward, giving him a slightly elfin appearance. Or maybe lack of sleep and stress were making Bradley as fanciful as the giraffes and elephants painted on the walls.

The nurse gave Bradley a welcoming smile. “You the new dads?”

Bradley looked to his right, only then noticing the tall guy had also approached.

“Oh, we’re not together,” he said. Being together with someone wasn’t in the cards for him. His heart was taking a big enough risk letting children in, much less a partner.

“We ask that only parents come into the unit for the first visit. Which one of you is the father?” He looked expectantly between the two men.

“I am,” they both replied at the same time.

 

 JennaCorkscrewFullScreen

 Jenna Kendrick writes contemporary, new adult, and paranormal romance about smart guys with a propensity for snark. Jenna went to a small college in the woods of Western Massachusetts, where she alternated between bare feet and hiking boots and used dining hall trays as a mode of transportation in the winter. She fell in love with creative writing after writing a satirical essay to get out of yet another literary analysis assignment. Unable to choose a coast or climate zone, she bounced around the country before settling in Upstate New York. She lives with her husband and several furry creatives, some of whom think of her desk as their own.

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RELEASE DAY BLITZ EXPOSED ANTHOLOGY (a novel taken promo)

Title: EXPOSED: A Romance Anthology

Publisher: Karen Stivali

Release Date (Print & Ebook): March 13, 2018

Length (Print & Ebook): ~400k words

Subgenre: contemporary romance/mixed pairings

Of note: This collection contains m/f, m/m, f/f and menage stories, some of which contain BDSM

Order:

Amazon http://amzn.to/2C8PkWV
iBooks https://apple.co/2BR74KR
Barnes & Noble http://bit.ly/2Bln8U3
Kobo http://bit.ly/2nWp6lz

Book blurb:

Hot. Naked. Guys. Reading.
When the sexiest Top 30 Under 30 men agree to pose naked for the “Expose Yourself To A Good Book” charity calendar, their hot bodies aren’t the only thing that gets EXPOSED. Nine brand new romances with M/F, M/M, F/F and menage pairings from bestselling and award winning authors, there’s something for everyone in this limited release anthology.

Annabeth Albert
LEVEL UP
When Landon, a genius physicist, is picked for a charity calendar, he must deal with an inconvenient attraction to Bailey, his rising-star photographer. Can he slay enough demons from his past to ensure a future together with him?

Karen Booth
WISHING
Jobless and painfully single, Samantha agrees to drive musician Duncan to a photo shoot. He’s in town for only five days, so sexy, and she’s eager for a no-strings fling. But Duncan shoots straight for the heart, making her unsure how she’ll ever survive his goodbye.

Amy Jo Cousins
KATE LIKES GIRLS
Garden center manager Kate Rhee is on a mission. No more hook ups with women or second-guessing her recent break up with an unavailable man. Too bad the foxy, pink-haired bar owner she meets at a naked calendar photo shoot has sworn off girlfriends. Because Kate isn’t doing casual. She can totally resist that temptation. Totally.

Robin Covington
GHOST
Oliver Burns publicly bragged he’d sign the reclusive artist “G”- creator of the First Nations graphic novel, Ghost Warriors – to his comic publishing company. But that gets tough when “G” is Gareth Rain – the man he pulled a post-one-night-stand runner on years ago and the man he’s never forgotten.

Vanessa North
RIGGED
For Kaitlyn, seeing her best friend Gordon naked is no big deal—until watching Sean tie him up changes everything.

Tamsen Parker
THROWN OFF TRACK
Teague has been License to Game’s bassist for over a decade, during which time he’s slept with almost everyone in his path. But it’s always felt like going through the motions. Until he sees his bandmate Christian naked at a charity photoshoot and suddenly, he knows what it is to want.

Roan Parrish
NATURAL ENEMIES
When buttoned-up botanist Stefan Albemarle meets freewheeling urban gardener Milo Rios, it’s hatred at first sight. But hatred quickly turns to lust as Milo shows him how exquisite it can feel to lose control. When opposites attract, love blooms in unexpected places.

Tiffany Reisz
THE WATERMARK
Jason “Still” Waters’ life looks perfect from the outside—money, fame, and the words “World Champion Bull-Rider” after his name. But Jason has a secret, one he never planned on telling anybody…until he meets Simone. She’s the kinky girl of his dreams…and his conservative family’s worst nightmare.

Karen Stivali
LEGAL BRIEFS
When organizing a naked charity calendar puts Rose’s tenure bid in jeopardy, the last person she wants help from is Michael, the gorgeous, arrogant lawyer she butted heads with during his shoot. He’ll defend her for free, but if their secrets come out they could both pay with their hearts.

“The authors of this anthology are hoping to show readers that romance series, like the real world, should reflect our society and should feature the stories of people falling in love without regard to their gender and sexuality. That is why you’ll find m/f, m/m, f/f and menage stories all within this collection.” –Karen Stivali, Curator and Publisher, Exposed: A Romance Anthology

“One of my favorite things about my friends in the romance community, aside from their stellar writing skills, is their passionate commitment to having romance novels depict healthy, loving relationships featuring people of all orientations falling in love in varied combinations. The premise for this anthology is that indie bookstore owner Emma Davis and her best friend, college professor Rose Everheart, both owe a debt of gratitude to the literacy foundation that changed their lives. When they’re trying to come up with an idea to raise money for the foundation, they combine the viral popularity of Hot Dudes Reading with the enormous success of the Naked Rowers charity calendars and the idea for Hot Naked Guys Reading is born.” –Karen Stivali, Curator and Publisher, Exposed: A Romance Anthology

“The calendar will feature men who are not only irresistibly sexy, but have been named to Top 30 Under 30 lists in their respective fields, posed in famous libraries throughout the country. The Expose Yourself to a Good Book campaign draws the attention of photographers, reporters and other professionals. People often find love where they least expect it, when they’re not looking for it, so this anthology explores the journeys of not only the models but the crew, the organizers and all the people brought together in the creation of this charity calendar. Readers will find m/f, m/m, f/f and ménage stories, told by award-winning and bestselling authors from the romance community in this limited-release collection.” –Karen Stivali, Curator and Publisher, Exposed: A Romance Anthology

Teaser from Karen Stivali’s LEGAL BRIEFS:

“I missed you.” He murmurs the word as he kisses his way back up to my neck and latches on, his erection pressing into me, making me wish our clothes would magically disappear.

His phone rings and I feel the vibration against my hip.

He fumbles to grab it and glances at the screen. “Shit. I have to take this.” He swipes at the screen looking worried and barks, “What?”

I can’t hear the other side of the conversation, but his face quickly relaxes.

“No, it’s fine. I just can’t talk. I have a…pressing matter to attend to.” He rolls his eyes and I can see him willing the other person to stop talking. “Okay. Call you tomorrow.”

“Everything okay?”

He slides the phone onto the counter and returns his hands to me, grinding against me again. “Yes. Just my brother. Nothing important.”

“Did you refer to your dick as a ‘pressing matter’?”

He grins and kisses me, rubbing against me again. “Is it pressing?”

“Yes,” the word comes out as a groan as he hits just the right spot.

“Does it matter?” He swivels again, and I sigh, dropping my head against his chest.

“Yes.”

“I rest my case.”

About the authors:

Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.  The #OutOfUniform series joins her critically acclaimed and fan-favorite LGBTQ  romance #Gaymers, #PortlandHeat and #PerfectHarmony series.

To find out what she’s working on next and other fun extras, check out her website: www.annabethalbert.com or connect with Annabeth on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify! Also, be sure to sign up for her newsletter for free ficlets, bonus reads, and contests. The fan group, Annabeth’s Angels, on Facebook is also a great place for bonus content and exclusive contests.

Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter.  In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two active children.

Connect with Annabeth: Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Newsletter | Instagram | Website

***

Karen Booth is a Midwestern girl transplanted in the South, raised on ‘80s music, and forever envious of Judy Blume. She is the author of more than twenty sexy contemporary romances.

Connect with Karen:

Website https://karenbooth.net

Twitter https://twitter.com/karenbbooth

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

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

***

Amy Jo Cousins writes contemporary romance and erotica about smart people finding their own best kind of smexy. She lives in Chicago with her son, where she tweets too much, sometimes runs really far, and waits for the Cubs to win the World Series again.

Connect with Amy Jo:

Website: http://amyjocousins.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/AmyJoCousins/

FB reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583199461964237/

Newsletter sign-up: http://amyjocousins.com/newsletter/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amy-jo-cousins

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_AJCousins

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/259275.Amy_Jo_Cousins

***

A USAToday bestseller, Robin Covington loves to explore the theme of fooling around and falling in love in her books. Her stories burn up the sheets. . .one page at a time. When she’s not writing she’s collecting tasty man candy, indulging in a little comic book geek love, hoarding red nail polish and stalking Chris Evans.

  

A 2016 RITA® Award finalist, Robin’s books have won the National Reader’s Choice and Golden Leaf Awards and finaled in the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice, and the Book Seller’s Best.

 

She lives in Maryland with her handsome husband, her two brilliant children (they get it from her, of course!), and her beloved furbabies, Dutch and Dixie Joan Wilder (Yes – THE Joan Wilder)

 

Drop her a line at robin@robincovingtonromance.com – she always writes back.

Connect with Robin:

Email: robin@robincovingtonromance.com

Website: http://www.robincovingtonromance.com

Facebook Profile: http://on.fb.me/YSW9n3

Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/1fCyWuQ

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobinCovington

Tumblr: http://robincovingtonromance.tumblr.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/robincovington/

Pinterest: http://bit.ly/1c1Tm5u

Amazon Follow: http://amzn.to/1L2PrAG

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5812874.Robin_Covington

Street Team: http://on.fb.me/1hZdeEu

Book+Main Bites: https://bookandmainbites.com/users/1756

Bookbub Follow: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/robin-covington

Newsletter sign up: http://bit.ly/1hde9GD

***

Vanessa North is a romance novelist, a short fiction geek, and a knitter of strange and wonderful things living her own HEA in Northwest Georgia with her husband, twin boy-children, and a very, very large dog.

Connect with Vanessa:

Website: vanessanorth.com

Facebook profile page: facebook.com/AuthorVanessaNorth

Twitter: @byVanessaNorth

Goodreads: goodreads.com/VanessaNorth 

Patreon: http://patreon.com/vanessanorth

***

Tamsen Parker is a stay-at-home mom by day, USA Today bestselling erotic romance writer by naptime. Her novella CRAVING FLIGHT was named to the Best of 2015 lists of Heroes and Heartbreakers, Smexy Books, Romance Novel News, and Dear Author. Heroes and Heartbreakers called her Compass series “bewitching, humorous, erotically intense and emotional.”

She lives with her family outside of Boston, where she tweets too much, sleeps too little and is always in the middle of a book. Aside from good food, sweet rieslings and gin cocktails, she has a fondness for monograms and subway maps. She should really start drinking coffee.

Connect with Tamsen:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tamsenparker

FB: https://www.facebook.com/tamsenparker/

FB Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1585025098209507/

Website: http://tamsenparker.com/

Newsletter Sign-Up: http://eepurl.com/8GBJX

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tamsen-parker

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tamsen-Parker/e/B00PMCWTDC/

***

Roan Parrish lives in Philadelphia, where she is gradually attempting to write love stories in every genre.

Connect with Roan: website | newsletter | facebook group | twitter | instagram | pinterest | bookbub | amazon | goodreads | book+main bites

***

Tiffany Reisz lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, author Andrew Shaffer. She has won a RITA Award (The Saint), a Lambda Award (The King), and two RT Booklovers Editor’s Choice Awards (The Siren and One Hot December). Find her online at TiffanyReisz.com.

Connect with Tiffany:

TiffanyReisz.com

facebook.com/littleredridingcrop

instagram.com/tiffany_reisz

***

Karen Stivali is the multiple award winning author of over twenty straight and LGBTQ+ contemporary romances. She writes novels about love…like real life, only hotter.

Connect with Karen:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/karenstivali

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

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/karenstivali/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5170527.Karen_Stivali

Reader group: Stivali’s Steam Team https://www.facebook.com/groups/671373056322979/

Blog: http://karenstivali.com

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/csUiGr 

B+M: https://bookandmainbites.com/KarenStivali

Giveaway information:

Prize: Enter to win one of three e-copies of any backlist books by any of the contributing authors.

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Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/88d45f0351/

A MelanieM Review :Explore with Me (With Me Series #2) by Kris Jacen

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

Can two coming from such different backgrounds and points in their lives find a balance to explore together?

The Army is the only thing that First Sergeant Danny Glenn has known in his adult life. From the age of nineteen on, he’s worn a uniform every day. He’s seen so much in his twenty years but the last deployment did something to him. Danny’s begun to wonder if he can’t do more good helping people in the US instead of other countries but to do that he’d have to get out.

Doctor Liam MacNamara is finishing up the last of his residency in Emergency Medicine. Now’s the tough part, which offer to accept. He could stay in New Orleans where shifts are never dull or choose to uproot and experience somewhere different. College followed by medical school and then residency are the only things he’s known since he was eighteen. There’s got to be more out there, right?

Can a retired first sergeant and a brand-new doctor balance each other enough to explore their options together?

I so glad Kris Jacen went ahead and wrote another story in what became a series because it’s wonderful.  Explore with Me continues in the same universe and with the same characters and heptad as the marvelous Wait for Me. First Sergeant Danny Glenn is another member of the heptad that I fell in love with in the first story.

But the author removes him from that close-knit group and their support system by placing him in New Orleans.  I have to admit I missed them but they all will show up later.  By isolating him, cutting him away from his heptad, the focus is again primarily on him, his issues, and the problem at the moment, the one the places him at the hospital.    His doctor, Doctor Liam MacNamara, happens to be the baby brother of Mackay…yep  the same Master Sergeant Jeff “Mackey” MacNamara of Wait for Me.  Lian is also at a crossroads in his life, needing to figure out where to go next now that his internship is done.

Two men, one major attraction, close ties between them,  and both at crossroads in their lives. All you need for a wonderful, emotionally charged story and Jacen gives us that.  And she does so within the framework of the military she knows so well.

The members of the heptad (the group of soldiers that serves together and support each other) don’t have to be physically present to be a strong presence here.  No, they appear via  phone calls, texts, what have you.  And then of course, they do come when needed. They are family. All the nibbles and squeakers (the children as they are called), the dogs, the spouses (men and women)…everyone is here.  I love that about these stories.  Kris Jacen makes it clear that a soldier cannot be a soldier within their support system, their military heptad family which includes their actual ones.  That important message comes through strongly here for the readers and Danny.

The buildup to a relationship is slow and realistic.  I liked that too.  In fact I loved everything about this except maybe I wanted a little more at the end.  Maybe the author will give it to us in another story.  Plus there’s a certain soldier May that now needs his story told as well.  I hope they have a part to play in his.  This is a terrific series that I can see going on for some time.  It’s rich and full of love and wonderful people.  I can’t wait for the next one to come out.

I highly recommend this story and the previous one. It helps to have read Wait for Me to understand all the characters you meet here.   Take this soldier and the whole heptad into your heart today.

Cover art: Jared Rackler. I love the cover for this book.  Attractive and the colors are striking.

Sales Links:  MLR Press | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1 edition, 127 pages
Published February 8th 2018 by MLR Press
Original TitleExplore with Me
ASINB079Q4BCCZ
Edition LanguageEnglish