Category: Contemporary fiction

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: Suspicious Behavior (Bad Behavior #2) by LA Witt and Cari Z

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

This story picks up where Risky Behavior left off and Detectives Darren Corliss and his older partner, Andreas Ruffner are persona non grata in their precinct. Actually, they’re not really popular anywhere in the police department because it was their investigation that sent the mayor, the former commissioner, and multiple crooked detectives to prison.  At the very least, the fallout caused many to resign and family members left to suffer from the consequences of the crooked cops’ actions.  On the surface, one would wonder why they wouldn’t be popular after having busted such a large crime ring, but as the story goes on, many of the repercussions are shown and the behaviors directed at them by other officers was damn depressing.

On the bright side, these men are dynamite together—both as detective partners and as boyfriends/life partners.  In fact, by the end of the story, the L word was said.  Not sayin’ who said it, just be aware that it’s a fun side benefit of reading this story.  And for those looking for man on man loving, I need to say there was very little sex in this one.  How could there be?  As the story opens, Darren is still recovering from the shoulder wound he suffered in the last book, Andreas’s children are visiting, Darren’s brother is being committed to a home for his early onset Alzheimer’s Disease, and again, not sayin’ who, but another injury strikes the pair later in the book. But it really didn’t matter because the love shone through, and the caring and concern each shows the other, the strength of their partnership, and their attitude as they worked together as a team were all stronger than ever. 

Not knowing quite what to do with them, especially while the departments are being reorganized due to the loss of so many officers, their captain assigns Darren and Andreas a cold case file with several unsolved serial killer murders.  When they study the notes in-depth, they realize that this is one serial killer who changed his motives, victims, and methods after several killings each time.  And that leads them back to the officer who was investigating, who just happens to be Trent, the IA detective who’s now in prison for his role with the mayor in masterminding the previous corruption.  Complex? Yes.  Interesting? No doubt.  Compelling? Intriguing? Frightening? Suspenseful?  Yes, yes, yes, and yes!  This is a fantastic murder mystery/action drama by two very talented authors. 

The series does not end on a cliffhanger, but does leave plenty of room for personal growth and new situations to develop.  We still don’t know if Darren has the same gene as his brother, Andreas’s oldest daughter has a date with the ER doc they met in the last chapter (and Daddy’s not pleased!), and none of the cops who ignored their pleas for help as this latest mystery came to a head are happy with them as the repercussions for their failure to act add up. 

I’m definitely looking forward to more from this dynamic duo—both the characters and the authors!

~~~

Cover art by G.D. Leigh is similar to the artwork used in book one and features a professional-looking man in a dark trench coat against a dark background and city skyline—possibly Darren.  In combination with the cover for book one, which featured a different character but similar cover, this sets the mood perfectly for the story.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Amazon link to follow

Book Details:

ebook, 283 pages
Expected publication: August 21st 2017 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN139781626496293
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesBad Behavior #2

Book Blitz & Giveaway Tour for JM Dabney’s Ghost (Executioners #1)

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | PayHip | KOBO
 
Cover Design: Winterheart Design
 
Length: 40,000 words
 
Blurb
 

Gideon Jane earned the name Ghost for his reclusive nature when he joined a group of guys in Powers, Georgia in a band called Executioners. It had been his way of settling into small town life after living in New York for the past twenty years. He loved the band and his small organic farm. What he didn’t love was being single, but it appeared it was his new reality. He didn’t want his ex back, although he did want something. What that was eluded him until the evening he walked into Nightingale’s Books.

Small town girl Harper Sage knew pain, and she’d lived with it—she had the scars both mental and physical to prove it. It would’ve been easier to hop in her car to find safety and anonymity, but Harper stayed to prove she was stronger than hurled fists and bruising prejudice. She found herself within the safety of a close-knit group of rough bikers and bar bouncers. That didn’t mean it was all perfect.

What’s a girl to do when she craves normalcy and acceptance: she just smiles. Choices are made, some with dire consequences and others that bring her closer to her dream. Will she make the right decision or finally discover escape is her best option?

 

Author Bio

J.M. Dabney is a multi-genre author who writes mainly LGBT romance and fiction. She lives with a constant diverse cast of characters in her head. No matter their size, shape, race, etc. she lives for one purpose alone, and that’s to make sure she does them justice and give them the happily ever after they deserve. J.M. is dysfunction at its finest and she makes sure her characters are a beautiful kaleidoscope of crazy. There is nothing more she wants from telling her stories than to show that no matter the package the characters come in or the damage their pasts have done, that love is love. That normal is never normal and sometimes the so-called broken can still be amazing.



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On Tour with ‘The Vampire’s Protege (A Vampire’s Angel’s story)’ by Damian Serbu (author interview, excerpt and giveaway)

Title:  The Vampire’s Protege

Series: From the Vampire’s Angel universe

Author: Damian Serbu

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: August 21

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: No Romance

Length: 99600

Genre: Horror, paranormal, abduction, action, blood and gore, cisgender, contemporary, crime, dark, death, gay, paranormal, vampires

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Damian Serbu today on his tour for The Vampire’s Protege. We have a wonderful author’s interview, excerpt and giveaway.  Don’t miss any of it, starting below!

✒︎

~ Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Interview with Damian Serbu ~

When did you write your first story and what was the inspiration for it?

I wrote my first novel after several years of contemplation and fascination with the concept.  I was completing my doctorate in history at the time, and would escape from the concrete world of facts and past events by writing fiction.  That particularly story was inspired by the movie “The Man in the Iron Mask.”  It eventually became Dark Sorcerer Threatening, which is currently out of print but I hope to reprint someday.

Do you have a writing schedule or do you just write when you can find the time?

Because I have full time job, I maintain a pretty strict schedule or I would never get around to it!  I write at least twice a week, for a good chunk of time.

Briefly describe the writing process. Do you create an outline first? Do you seek out inspirational pictures, videos or music? Do you just let the words flow and then go back and try and make some sense out it?

I am way too much of a historian, even in my writing of novels, to go without an outline!  So I sketch out the entire story before I begin.  For a long time before I outline, I keep notes and jot down ideas for the story, then I take that mess of ideas and shape it into the outline, which I then edit several times.  That being said, the outline serves as a general guide, not something written in stone.  I let the muse take me where it will, which often necessitates tweaking the outline as I go.  As for inspiration, I let that hit me wherever it appears.  Sometimes it’s a movie or song or picture, but more often than not it comes out of nowhere and just blasts me in the head.  It seems to happen a lot on my morning jog.  And I just let the words flow when I write – but that requires going back and doing a pretty thorough edit.

Where did the desire to write LGBTQIA+ stories come from?

From being gay!  It’s what I know, it’s what I like to read, and so it’s what I want to write.

How much research do you do when writing a story and what are the best sources you’ve found for giving an authentic voice to your characters?

The amount of research for the story depends on the story, really.  When I set it in the past, I do a great deal of research.  For example, I’ve written about the French Revolution, Antebellum America, and pirates.  Those all took extensive research to get the history correct.  That’s where my academic background comes in handy!  I know how to gather books and articles that give me solid history, and then weave that reality into the writing.  I do all of that research before I even start outlining.  But other stories, including The Vampire’s Protégé, don’t require as much research.  There, I may need to research something that pops up.  For example, this time I suddenly found myself writing about Bitcoin, which I didn’t know a damn thing about.  So off I went to learn a tad so I didn’t make a fool of myself!  But my novels set in a contemporary setting don’t require as much extensive research.

Synopsis

A sinister vampire offers Charon a choice he can’t refuse: play a deadly game of winner takes all, losers die.

Charon relishes the competition and molds himself into a sexy vampire who defies vampire law, savoring his power and embracing the role of villain. He also loves surrounding himself with hot young men. But when an alluring vampire stalks him and threatens to turn him into the Vampire Council unless he helps with a seemingly impossible task, will Charon risk his perfectly narcissistic life on the challenge? Does he have any other choice?

Excerpt

The Vampire’s Protege
Damian Serbu © 2017
All Rights Reserved

Prologue

Introducing Charon

Everyone thinks they adore the Vampire Council with its rules and regulations that allegedly govern all vampires and thereby ensure the safety of virtuous humans. People want to lose themselves in the tales of the Council members: Xavier and Thomas and their love; Anthony and Jaret and their guarding of humanity; Catherine and Harriet and their whims within a righteous vampiric empire. Most of all, the Vampire Ethic provides comfort with its guarantee that goodness protects an individual from a vampire attack, with its promise that all vampires defend innocence.

Vampires accept this reality because it gives them a collective soul. The ethic protects them from the stereotype of evil incarnate preying upon humanity. Or, in the least, obedience to it keeps them alive, lest the Council hunt them down and murder them for transgressions against it.

Humans desire the Council’s laws to maintain their fantasy of security from the supernatural realms. Who would dismiss a hidden force of vampire police that might swoop in at any sign of danger and annihilate the perpetrator?

Yet deep inside, so many long for something different, something that avoids this utopian trope and perfect world, all tied up in a pretty bow. Part of everyone, that piece so desperately stamped down and derided, seeks an alternative story.

To be sure, many will deny it. Fight against these words and honorably cast them out as the devil’s temptations. Yet no proof of Satan or such demonic forces presents itself. Because even those thoughts really stem from the inner being in everyone, that secretly locked-up atom inside a person that pines for freedom and seeks release, even as the goodness scolds it.

Still people contest these words. Deny them.

Yet a fascination with villains thrives in America. Think of the great antiheroes of history and their legendary fame. The Wicked Witch of the West. Darth Vader. Hannibal Lecter. The Joker. The infamy of historic figures such as Adolf Hitler or Ted Bundy or the Son of Sam. The people who don the costumes at Halloween of Lord Voldemort, Dracula, or Vlad the Impaler because it empowers them for a night with beautiful wickedness. People laugh at Scar, Ursula, and even Mr. Potter. They read the tales of Lex Luther and Cujo, privately wishing they would eventually triumph over the heroes of the story and bring a bit of destruction to the globe.

Jack the Ripper lives through the ages because he successfully hid himself, true. But also because his perfect malevolence went unpunished. People want that for themselves. His legend draws them back again and again to that story with the hope of their own misdeeds going unchallenged.

Thus, whether admitted or not, people long to meet Charon. Yes, so many cry out for Charon and his story. People want him. Readers desire him, need him, really. The world will have no choice but to love him. All will embrace him as they have these other villains of history. They will celebrate his perfect treachery.

Unlike those obedient to the Vampire Council, Charon hardly worries about a bit of notoriety from time to time. Fear of retribution never enters his vocabulary. He need not concern himself with the Vampire Council and its regulations. Nor does Charon often fret over any other person or entity cracking down on his masterful empire.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Meet the Author

Damian Serbu lives in the Chicago area with his husband and two dogs, Akasha and Chewbacca. The dogs control his life, tell him what to write, and threaten to eat him in the middle of the night if he disobeys. He previously authored several novels now out of print, and is excited to reignite his writing with Ninestar Press!

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Tour Schedule

8/21    Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 

8/21    Outrageous Heroes of Romance

8/22    Shari Sakurai 

8/22    MM Good Book Reviews

8/23    Drops of Ink

8/24    love bytes reviews

8/24    QSF     

8/25    The Novel Approach

8/25    Bayou Book Junkie

8/25    Erotica For All

8/25    Happily Ever Chapter

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In Our Recent Release Spotlight: Blended Notes by Lilah Suzanne (excerpt and giveaway)

Blended Notes (Spotlight #3) by Lilah Suzanne
Interlude Press

Purchase Links:

Interlude Press |  Amazon |  Barnes & Noble  | Target | iTunes |  Kobo |   Smashwords | Book Depository |

Indiebound 

 

Today I’m interviewing Lilah Suzanne author of Blended Notes, book three in the Spotlight series. Hi Lilah, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

  1. Where did your love of books/storytelling/reading/writing come from? Well, my dad is a musician and my parents met doing theater, so growing up in a family that encouraged creativity probably helped. I was also the sort of kid who was constantly reading; I devoured anything I could get my hands on. Writing always felt like a natural fit for me, I’ve been doing it since I was pretty young.
  1. What were your goals when you started this book? Do you think you met them? I wanted to do justice to Grady’s journey and give him a voice from his own perspective, and I wanted to write a satisfying coda to everyone’s journeys in all three books in the Spotlight series. I feel good about how all of this came to fruition, yes. That said, I can see myself writing short spin-offs for more minor characters who didn’t get as much focus, like Spencer or Clementine.
  1. Have you ever co-written with someone before? Not successfully! I’ve always tackled writing projects on my own—it’s a bit of a solitary journey for me…though I do have a short story coming out in the upcoming holiday anthology, If the Fates Allow, so that maybe sort of counts?
  1. Tell us about your favorite character in a book (yours or someone else’s). Oh, am I allowed to pick a favorite from my own characters? Is that like picking a favorite child? I’ll say, Grady is most important to me, being from the South, and being bisexual, like me. Also he’s gone through some trauma in his past, he’s messed up pretty badly at times, and yet he works so hard on being kind and compassionate, and he still finds his happily ever. I think that’s an important message.
  1. List five foods you can’t live without. I am sort of the opposite of a foodie, so I am actually well practiced at going without certain foods. Instead of my five essential foods, I’d like to pick Grady’s, because that says something about him: Barbecue (of course!); Nashville-style hot chicken; Mello Yello counts as food as far as Grady is concerned; frozen custard; and of course, pecan pie.

BLURB

Grady Dawson’s future looks bright. He’s at the top of his country music career, has a close-knit group of friends who have become his Nashville family, and has found solid ground in his personal life as he plans his intimate, private wedding with Nico, his stylist-turned-lover, turned love of his life. It seems Grady has finally left his difficult childhood and tumultuous youth behind. That is, until his past shows up on his doorstep, news of his upcoming nuptials is leaked to the media, and his record company levels demands that challenge his integrity as an artist and as a person. The foundation of Grady’s new life begins to crumble, and fast. Will he be forced to make the ultimate choice between a private life with Nico and the public demands of his career?

BLENDED NOTES ~ EXCERPT

Have you ever had a moment when you looked at someone and the whole world disappeared?

* * *

Grady’s earliest memory of his mother is watching her leave. It wasn’t the first time she dropped him off at Memaw and Granddaddy’s house, and the remembered moment itself is unremarkable: He’s standing by the road; a cloud of dirt from the driveway into the trailer park lingers hazily in the air; he can see the taillights of her car lit red at the stop sign. The right one blinks a signal, the car turns, and she’s gone. Memaw came to collect him soon after, and he doesn’t recall what he did next—whatever rambunctious five-year-old boys like to do. Maybe he got on his bike and tore around the neighborhood, training wheels be damned. Or maybe he found a squirrel to harass with a makeshift slingshot of forked stick and rubber band. Maybe Memaw plunked him down in front of their old jumpy television.

Sit down for five seconds, Grady. Land’s sake! she’d say, with a look rather similar to the one Nico has when Grady comes around to the aisle where Nico is browsing for home decor. Grady had wandered off when he spotted an old gramophone on display.

“There you are.”

“Here I am,” Grady confirms, dropping a kiss onto Nico’s cheek. Nico leans into him with an easy, comfortable affection that grounds Grady, makes him feel wanted and safe. Grady takes a clear glass bottle from the shelf filled with clear glass bottles of all shapes and sizes and colors and asks, “Do we need apothecary jars?” The label on the jar reads: Green Pain Pills.

Nico takes the jar and turns, holding it up so it catches the sunlight streaming through the plate glass windows in the front of the boutique. “I mean, we don’t not need apothecary jars.” He tips his head and narrows his eyes, assessing the jar before putting it back on the shelf. Nico is determined to fill their new home with things that represent them; it’s sweet, but, for Grady, unnecessary. Nico expresses himself visually: his clothes, his hair, the elegant yet assertive way he holds himself. Of course he’d want knickknacks and furniture and art that speak to the life they’re building together. For Grady, it’s less tangible, not a particular thing he could put on a shelf. It’s two toothbrushes in the holder, the sound of a familiar car pulling into the garage, the lingering scent of Nico’s cologne in their bed, the way Nico brushes a peck to Grady’s lips before he leaves: never a goodbye, always a see you later.

“Did you find something you wanted?” Nico moves on to a display of antique paperweights. One looks like a crystal ball.

“Oh, yeah.” Grady lifts his eyebrows and quirks his lips. Nico shakes his head at that, picks up the crystal ball paperweight, and passes it slowly from hand to hand. “I knew you were going to say that and yet—”

“And yet you still asked,” Grady finishes, teasing, “Why, I think you may even like it.”

Nico hums. He puts the paperweight back. “I suppose I must, considering that I am marry—” He snaps his mouth shut, then glances around to be sure no one overheard him. They’re alone in the store, but still Nico mouths the end of that sentence: “Marrying you.”

And, lord, but does that thrill Grady to his bones, silent or spoken or acted out with charades. He’s marrying Nico, they’re getting married, he and Nico are marrying each other. Grady can tell his own smile is goofy, and Nico has one to match. In the quiet corner of this very unusual store, they can be openly giddy—for a moment.

* * *

Blended Notes, the final installment of Lilah Suzanne’s the Spotlight Series will be published by Interlude Press on August 17, 2017.  Connect with the author at lilahsuzanne.com; on Twitter @lilahsuzanne; and on Facebook at facebook.com/lilahsuzanne.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lilah Suzanne has been writing actively since the sixth grade, when a literary magazine published her essay about an uncle who lost his life to AIDS. A freelance writer from North Carolina, she spends most of her time behind a computer screen, but on the rare occasion she ventures outside she enjoys museums, libraries, live concerts, and quiet walks in the woods. Lilah is the author of the Interlude Press books Spice, Pivot and Slip, Broken Records, and Burning Tracks.

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In Our New Release Spotlight: Getting Through (Only You #3) by J.S. Finley (excerpt and giveaway)

Untitled-2

 Title: Getting Through (Only You #3)

Author: J.S. Finley

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Sara York

Release Date: August 17, 2017

Genre: Contemporary MM

Length: 51K

GettingThroughJSFinley

Blurb:

What if it’s too difficult to get through the rough patches?

Lane:

Being a nurse is Lane’s life, that is until Mike pushes him up against that damn door and kisses him like nobody’s business.

Now he’s left wondering how he can live without Mike at his side. But beneath the sweet, calm exterior Mike portrays to the world is something dark and dangerous. Will Lane be able to deal with the monster within, or will it consume both of them?

Mike:

He can’t unsee the damage that bomb wrought or bring back his friend, but he can find solace in Lane’s arms…or he thinks he can.

One night together is too much, and his memories overwhelm him, opening him up to the trauma he witnessed. Memories are hard to conquer because they don’t have to fight back, they just twist their way deep into the mind, making life too hard to tolerate.

Can Lane save him, or will he push them both too far when the past threatens to overwhelm them?

Buy Links:

Series Link on Amazon

Excerpt:

Chapter One

Emptiness filled Lane as he watched the blue ocean appear then disappear as condos and other buildings slipped by. Mike made a left, heading away from the slice of heaven they’d all enjoyed for the last few days. Maybe it was just the trip ending, but he thought it was more.

He watched Mike, noticing the stubble on his jaw and how it covered his chin and went down his neck. They stopped for a light, and Mike glanced at him, his lips curved up in a smile that made Lane’s stomach twist. Why it made him feel funny, he had no clue.

“So what do you really think about Thomas and Clay?”

Mike’s question threw him. “What am I supposed to say?”

Mike shrugged then went back to looking at the road as the light changed to green. “I don’t know; tell me what you really think.”

He stared out the front windshield for a moment, wondering how to answer the question. “Well, I like Clay. I guess I just…”

Another light stopped them, and Mike turned to look at him with his brows raised. “Are you jealous?”

“What?” Lane couldn’t believe Mike had asked him if he was jealous. “Why would I be jealous?”

“Just, you know, you thought you would get with Thomas if he was going to get with anyone?”

Lane shook his head. “No. Not at all. I’m not jealous. It’s not like that.”

“Talk. We don’t have long before we get to the airport.”

The light changed again, and Mike took off. Lane turned to stare out the window, unsure how to voice what he felt. “I don’t like being alone.”

“Then get out there and date someone.”

He shook his head and turned to stare at Mike. The scene out the window wasn’t as interesting since they’d turned down a street away from the water. He missed the water, but what he missed more was the guys and being with them. “I can’t find anyone.”

Mike chuckled. “Tell me about it. I’m surrounded by sexy women while I’m at work, but I can’t connect with them.”

Depression made his head ache. Or maybe he was depressed, because in addition to having no clue what to do, his head hurt. What if he never figured life out? He would be one of those old men at the bars looking to pick up young women who had no interest in a rotten old fart. He shivered at the mental image.

Mike’s words interrupted his thoughts. “I’ll be in New York next week.”

“You should stop by.” The words were out before he even could think what that would mean. He worked nights and slept during the day.

Mike was silent for a while, and they were close to the airport before he spoke again. “If I came up on Tuesday, could I stay at your place?”

His earlier trepidation was gone. Screw sleeping, he’d have Mike with him. He nodded, excitement filling him. “I’d like that. I have to work on Tuesday night, but I’m off on Wednesday and Thursday nights.”

Mike shot him a sweet grin. He pushed the tingly feelings away and rolled his eyes when Mike looked away.

“Works for me. I’m working a little on Thursday and most of the afternoon and night on Friday. I’ll stay until Sunday.”

“Awesome. It’ll be good seeing you again.” He meant it too. He could sleep after Mike went home.

They pulled into the parking lot for the rental return, and his chest squeezed. If he thought he’d been melancholy before, this was way worse. He didn’t want to head home. He’d been alive when he was with the guys. The vacation had been great, but it reminded him of how much he missed his brothers—and they were his brothers. Seeing Mike next week would be good. Heck, he wished they lived closer. He wanted to see everyone more often, but for now, Skype would have to do.

They got their bags out of the trunk and headed into the terminal after they handed over the keys to the car. Heat was building, and he was happy to be heading back to cooler temperatures. At least he told himself he was happy to leave. Actually, he wanted them all to stay here and live together. Maybe not together, but dammit, they should be closer to each other.

Once inside, they headed upstairs to security. They both passed through without any issues. Mike’s flight was leaving soon, so he had to go. Mike pulled him into a hug and Lane held on, not wanting to let Mike leave. It had been an amazing vacation and he didn’t want it to end.

“Hey, I’ll see you on Tuesday. I’ll call when I’m close.” He squeezed Lane again then backed away.

“Sure, have a safe trip home.” He hated saying those words. Their home should be together.

“You bet.”

Mike gave a quick wave and was gone. Lane felt like his heart had been torn out. He missed Thomas and Clay, and Brent and Jake, but he missed Mike most of all.

Meet the Author

Thank you for reading my stories. I wasn’t sure when I sat down to write if I had it in me to finish this. It has been a journey. I love reading. It’s my greatest pleasure to sit down with a good book and live inside the pages. My perfect day would be a book, good music, and unlimited cocktails.

I’m going to try to keep on writing and reading, playing with my dogs and cats, and living life.

Social Media Links:

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Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway to win one of FIVE copies of Straight Up, book 1 of the series.

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Release Blitz Schedule

GETTING THROUGH SCHEDULE

August 18  – Love Unchained Book Reviews, Tangents and Tissues, BFD Book Blog, The Way She Reads, Oh My Shelves, Louise Lyons

August 19 – Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words, Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author   

August 20 – Bayou Book Junkie, Making it Happen,  Up Against a Wall

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A MelanieM Audiobook Review: Northern Star by Ethan Day and Jason Frazier (Narrator)

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Deacon Miller never had it all—he never really believed he could. Growing up in a broken home with an alcoholic mother and a revolving door of truly pathetic father figures taught him to keep his expectations low. Now at twenty-seven, on the night before Christmas Eve, his life is turned upside down yet again; his boyfriend has dumped him, he just fled the holiday family reunion from hell, and now to top it all off, a blizzard has left him stranded in an airport hotel.

Steve Steele has spent the better part of his forty-four years living a lie, ignoring his attraction to other men in an attempt to fit into the mold of the man he thought he should be, instead of living life as the man he knew himself to be. Recently divorced after coming home from work one day and coming out to his wife, Steve has floundered over the past year, desperately attempting to wade through the guilt and find the courage to start again.

That’s when a chance meeting in a hotel bar brings two lonely men together… and what should’ve been a one night stand turns into something much more than either one ever expected.

I read this story when it was first released in 2013 and loved it.  Ethan Day’s tale of a complicated mess of a romance between Steve Steele and Deacon Miller grabbed at my heart because of all they went through to be together and become a family.  Ethan Day has always been one of those writers with the ability to make me empathize with his characters and their difficult situations.  Day can make you laugh and then turn around and send you running to the tissue box for the next round of Kleenex as his characters problems become seemingly insurmountable.  Nothing put you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions better than Northern Star so I couldn’t wait to see how it would translate to audio.

Well, it was wonderful.  Jason Frazier with a cast of characters that his voice can summon takes a story I loved and made it fresh for me.  I felt as though I was hearing/coming at it for the first time all over again.  Again I’m at the hotel bar where Deacon and Steve are meeting and having really hot sex afterwards.  I’m following them through all the tumultuous days that follow at the hospital where Deacon’s mom was taken after drunk driving.  Steve’s fight to adjust to his new status, Deacon and his sister’s plight, all the incredibly complex relationship dynamics and family drama that unfolds…Jason Frazier’s voice holds our attention to the story and the characters lives happening before us.  And there is so much here.  Child abandonment issues, alcoholism in parents, the effects of being closeted and the fear of being outed for most of a person’s adult life, poor self esteem, on and on. Ethan Day addresses realistically many important issues here, ones that need to be examined before Steve and Deacon can have a shot at a permanent relationship themselves.

The pain the characters are feeling, the anger and the many other emotions all come across in the voices of Jason Frazier.  He really does justice to Ethan Day’s story and characters and he made this story a wonderful audiobook experience!  I loved it in 2013 and I adore it again in audiobook!  I highly recommend this one for all you lovers of contemporary romance.

 

Cover by Wilde City Press art director. Works perfectly for the characters and storyline.

Sales

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Audiobook Details:

Originally released in 2013 from Wilde City Press in eBook format
Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 8 hours and 41 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Ethan Day
Audible.com Release Date: July 4, 2017
Whispersync for Voice: Ready
Language: English
ASIN: B073K15ZRC

 

A VVivacious Review: Weekend Getaway (Daniel and Ryan #7) by Tamryn Eradani

Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

An idea from Ryan regarding a scene can’t seem to get out of Daniel’s head. He wants to try it out but among the safety of strangers, so Ryan and Daniel make a weekend trip that will either end in disaster or make for one very sexy memory. 

This review is the review of the book as well as the excerpt for the next one. Because you can’t drop a bomb in the excerpt and not expect it to have an impact.

I was so inordinately happy after reading this story and then I read the excerpt and I was like – Oh! This is too fast and I know how that sounds because in most reviews for this series I am like things are going too slow but seriously you can’t lull your readers into liking the slow pace you have set for your series and then start springing atomic bombs on them.

There is just too much happening in the next one, there might be a meet and greet with a family member and a very surprising addition to Daniel and Ryan’s sex life. I feel like this is no longer the review for the “Weekend getaway” but more like the review for the excerpt of “Caught in Between” which is a fitting name because that is exactly how I feel.

But if I could get my mind off the excerpt I would tell you that this short story was extraordinarily well written and well paced. There is a lot happening and I loved seeing Ryan and Daniel’s relationship progress so far. Daniel is so much more trusting of Ryan and I felt like these two scenes that they share in this short really pushed the boundaries of their relationship and their sex life but alas I can’t tell you all this because that excerpt completely short circuited my brain. All I can think about is the logistics of the thing, suggested by Daniel in the excerpt, happening.

I had these pretty little butterflies bouncing about in my stomach after reading the last line of Weekend Getaway because at that point I was feeling blissfully overwhelmed and happy considering how far Daniel and Ryan had come about and I was all ready to write an amazing review when I read the excerpt and the butterflies in my stomach transmogrified into vampire rats infected with the bubonic plague.

Okay, I might be exaggerating but I have no idea what to expect from the next one in this series. This particular book was amazing but I am really unsure about “Caught in Between”, but I guess the I will just have to wait and watch.

Meanwhile this particular short is independently a very nice addition to this series and I loved reading it as I hope you can tell but I am pretty nervous about the next one.

The Cover Art by Natasha Snow is amazing and I love the new series of covers for this

Sales Links:  NineStar Press | Amazon

Book Details:

Published August 7th 2017 by NineStar Press
ISBN139781947139541
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesDaniel and Ryan #7

An Alisa Pre-Release Review: Grounded by Aidan Wayne

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

Between raising his daughter Camille, his work as a full-time pastry chef, and his hobby of capoeira, Baz’s life is pretty full. He may be a little lonely, but he’s too busy to think about it all that much.

 

When his cousin Alaina introduces him to Terry, another capoeira student, Baz is instantly drawn to him. Though quiet and withdrawn, Terry ends up being a fun, interesting person who Baz can’t help but fall for. And when Baz does things, he doesn’t do them halfway.

 

Terry is a successful voice actor and a talented martial artist. But the fact that he’s shy, on top of being a trans man, has kept him from really dating. He likes Baz, he does—he just doesn’t want to mess up their friendship by failing at romance. Still, Baz is nothing if not stubborn, and Terry is willing to give things a try.

 

This was a very sweet story.  Baz hasn’t dated since his daughter was born, allowing her and his job to take up his life.  When he meeting Terry he is intrigued and begins with starting a tentative friendship with the shy man.

 

Baz is willing to push Terry for them to move into a relationship but doesn’t want to scare him.  He is so understanding with Terry, almost unbelievably so, and the bumps along the way to build their relationship.

 

Terry has gone through so much with transitioning and how people have treated him throughout his life.  I could see how hard it was for him when people mistook him for a girl and to accept that Baz wanted him, I mean really wanted him.  I loved seeing both Baz and Terry get the relationship they both wanted and needed in the end and I was glad to see them slowly taking more steps to be together longer.

 

Cover art by Natasha Snow is a wonderful picture.

 

Sales Links: Nine Star Press | Amazon

 

Book Details:

ebook, 120 pages

Published: August 21, 2017 by Nine Star Press

ISBN: 978-1-947139-68-8

Edition Language: English