Category: Contemporary fiction

In Our Spotlight: The Wrong Woman (Toronto Connections #4) by Cass Lennox (Riptide Publishing Tour & Giveaway)

The Wrong Woman (Toronto Connections #4) by Cass Lennox
Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist L.C. Chase

Read an Excerpt/Purchase it at Riptide Publishing

📚

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Cass Lennox on The Wrong Woman tour.  Check out the latest in the Toronto Connections series!

✒︎

About The Wrong Woman

As an independent filmmaker, Katie Cherry is used to difficult shoots—but a band’s music video in a tiny lesbian bar is proving worse than most. Stress-busting, expectation-free sex with Zay, the calm, gorgeous bartender, seems just the ticket. But then she and Zay discover the band’s lead singer beaten into a coma in the bar bathroom. They need an alibi, but playing girlfriends is a role Katie’s never excelled at, so she can’t see this ending well.

Zay Fayed-Smith is finally getting her life back together after her junkie ex broke it apart. She’s working part-time while pursuing her dream of being a lawyer, and definitely keeping things chill on the girls front. Of course, that’s when a crime happens in her bar and her ex shows up wanting to try again. “Dating” Katie seems like the best way for Zay to keep her head down and teach her ex a lesson.

Except pretty soon, the charade begins to feel less and less like acting. And when the attacker turns his attentions toward Katie, they have to cut through the lies to discover what’s real.

Now available from Riptide Publishing. 

About the Toronto Connections Universe

The winters might be cold, but hearts are warm in Toronto. Canada’s largest city is home to a big lake, a big tower, and a big queer community. People here are trying to get by like everyone else: pay the bills, deal with life in the city, and maybe find some happiness along the way with someone who’s sweeter than maple candy and more constant than a Canadian’s love for Timmie’s coffee.

For some, falling in love is a real challenge. For others, falling is the easy part—it’s the happy ever after that proves a little more difficult. But in the end, love is worth every complication, misunderstanding, and occasional swear word.

Check out Toronto Connections! http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/universe/toronto-connections

About Cass Lennox

Cass Lennox is a permanent expat who has lived in more countries than she cares to admit to and suffers from a chronic case of wanderlust as a result. She started writing stories at the tender age of eleven, but would be the first to say that the early years are best left forgotten and unread. A great believer in happy endings, she arrived at queer romance via fantasy, science fiction, literary fiction, and manga, and she can’t believe it took her that long. Her specialties are diverse characters, gooey happy ever afters, and brownies. She’s currently sequestered in a valley in southeast England.

Connect with Cass:

● Blog: casslennox.wordpress.com/

● Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cass-Lennox-1704635609768647/

● Twitter: twitter.com/CassLennox

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of The Wrong Woman, one lucky winner will receive a $15 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on May 27, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Release Blitz and Giveaway for Keira Andrews’ Road To The Sun

 



Buy Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2rdAbmj

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2rPRYfg

Global Link: myBook.to/RoadSun_KA


Paperback: Amazon US | Amazon UK


Length: 70,000 words


Blurb

A desperate father. A lonely ranger. Unexpected love that can’t be denied.


Jason Kellerman’s life revolves around his eight-year-old daughter. Teenage curiosity with his best friend led to Maggie’s birth, her mother tragically dying soon after. Insistent on raising his daughter himself, he was disowned by his wealthy family and has worked tirelessly to support Maggie—even bringing her west on a dream vacation. Only twenty-five, Jason hasn’t had time to even think about romance. So the last thing he expects is to question his sexuality after meeting an undeniably attractive park ranger.


Ben Hettler’s stuck. He loves working in the wild under Montana’s big sky, but at forty-one, his love life is non-existent, his ex-boyfriend just married and adopted, and Ben’s own dream of fatherhood feels impossibly out of reach. He’s attracted to Jason, but what’s the point? Besides the age difference and skittish Jason’s lack of experience, they live thousands of miles apart. Ben wants more than a meaningless fling.


Then a hunted criminal takes Maggie hostage, throwing Jason and Ben together in a desperate and dangerous search through endless miles of mountain forest. If they rescue Maggie against all odds, can they build a new family together and find a place to call home?


Road to the Sun is a May-December gay romance from Keira Andrews featuring adventure, angst, coming out, sexual discovery, and of course a happy ending.

Author Bio


After writing for years yet never really finding the right inspiration, Keira discovered her voice in gay romance, which has become a passion. She writes contemporary, historical, fantasy, and paranormal fiction and — although she loves delicious angst along the way — Keira firmly believes in happy endings. For as Oscar Wilde once said:

“The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.”


Giveaway

A MelanieM Review: Hawaiian Orchid (The Hawaiians 2) by Meg Amor

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

 

Kulani is “The Orchid,” a young, insecure, pro-surfer who comes from a rough background on the Big Island of Hawai’i. He’s Beau Toyama’s cousin from Hawaiian Lei. But he’s also a healer and has a heart as deep as the ocean he’s part of. Like the great Hawaiians, who have gone before him, warrior Kulani Mahikoa epitomizes the spirit of aloha and love. Kulani’s not only healing his own wounds, but “The Lost Boys”—young, homeless, abandoned and abused gay boys he’s taken under his wing.

Rob Masterson is a wounded psychologist who’s trying to come to terms with his husband Tony’s death. When he died, they were separated but still living together. Can the lone and lonely New Zealand widower reconcile all the pieces of guilt and love, to heal and fall in love again? When he drops anchor in Kona Harbor and meets the exotic islander—young, bolshie Kulani—explosive heat makes sparks fly between them.

Is the age difference between them a barrier or something they’ll get past? Kulani has more layers than Rob ever bargained for. And Rob’s tangled knot of responsibility, grief and guilt with his New Zealand heritage and past life is something he needs to untangle.

Two wounded men have to learn to trust and love one another. Traveling between the South Sea Islands of beautiful New Zealand and the exotic Hawaiian Islands—they forge a sea change, finding a home for their shrapnel laced souls.

I discovered Meg Amor through the first terrific book in this series, Hawaiian Lei. Hawaiian Orchid (The Hawaiians 2) by Meg Amor cemented the fact that I’ve found something incredibly special, in this series and in this amazing author. From that forward where I learned the author had suffered two losses central to her heart, she brought that pain and loss to this story, making it ours through the character of Rob.  All the way, from the first sentence through to the dictionary at the end, Meg Amor held me captive by a tale layered in the need and search for love in all its aspects, from romantic to familial.  It does so within a deep and encompassing framework of various Pacific Island cultures and religions, the spirituality flowing through the storylines like a healer’s chant.  It takes place not only on the Big Island (BI) of Hawaii but also in New Zealand as Rob searches for closure for himself and a start anew finally with Kulani. For Kulani, he’s looking for acceptance, healing, and love too.  It’s his journey as well. This is a big story, big in heart, big in scale and the author makes this vast narrative intimate in emotion and connectivity for the reader.

Rob Masterson is a complex character. He’s older than Kulani, wounded by the loss of his husband, torn and beaten in ways by the way in which his marriage was ending and the way his husband died. Rob hasn’t healed when he meets Kulani, a gorgeous younger man.  Rob immediately recognizes in Kulani someone with wounds as deep or deeper than his but there’s an attraction between them than neither can resist.  Kulani is a character full of surprises for us and Rob.  That initial meeting of a sullen, young man lays the right superficial impression for the author to blow us away with the depths of pain and beauty awaiting below the surface.  She peels away the first layer slowly for Rob and us as Kulani slowly begins to open up and show his true self, only for Rob to realize how much he’s been holding back himself. Amor makes us believe in each man.  Their pain, sometimes awkwardness (Kulani’s), abruptness (Rob’s), and tenderness to and for each other is vivid, authentic and real.  So is the steps they take, forward and back,  towards a relationship.  It includes help and support from a number of other characters, including Beau and Matt from Hawaiian Lei and even their respective parents.  Again, the relationship dynamics here are complex and real.  And they make the story.

Now this story also contains a third element I won’t go into here.  It sets the stage for the third book in this series, Hawaiian Fragrance (The Hawaiians #3) which I’m going to read and review next.  Going into it here would I believe spoil something wonderful so I’m leaving it out.  But again, this aspect of the story, again just elevates Hawaiian Orchid and this series into another realm for me, that of the comfort read and the story I’ll read again and again.

The mysticism and spiritualism present in the first story is still here, toned down somewhat but it flows through as naturally as breathing air.  So beautifully done you might not even notice how deeply ingrained it is for these men and families.  But it’s there, especially in the reading Rob has done for him, one more important necessary step in the healing process for him.  Plus there are other elements that appear in the story as well, folded in so easily that I believed in them as much as Rob and Kulani.

This is an incredible story.  I highly recommend it as I do the one that starts the series. Hawaiian Orchid (The Hawaiians 2) by Meg Amor will be on my Best of List this year and it’s highly likely the series will as well.  Hawaiian Fragrance is next.  There’s something else you might want to look at! There’s a link here to the Hawaiian Orchid page on Meg Amor’s website. It contains more information on the meaning of the different orchids, the characters, the big island of Hawaii and much more.  Check it out!

Cover artist:  Syneca Featherstone. I just love these covers.  Beautiful and as lush as the islands themselves, the men are perfect!

 

Sales Links:  Amazon |    Loose Id LLC

 

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 302 pages
Published September 15th 2015 by Loose Id LLC
ASINB015G3F1N6
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series The Hawaiians :

Release Blitz for Equality (Dublin Virtues #2) by Helena Stone

 

Buy Links: Pride | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Publisher: Pride Publishing


Length: 58,300 words


Dublin Virtues Series


Patience (Book #1) Pride | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Renewal (Book #3) Pride | Amazon US | Amazon UK 


Blurb

Love is love. But what if the fight for equality gets in the way of building a relationship?

Lorcan Barratt has never considered himself relationship material. After his parents made it perfectly clear they’d never welcome a partner of his into their home, he learned to love his own company and can’t imagine sharing his life with another. After a single passionate kiss with Eric Kavanagh—the night before he travels to Canada for three months—Lorcan’s no longer sure he wants to be on his own. The problem is, he has no idea what sharing his life with someone else might entail.

Eric Kavanagh grew up in a loving and supportive family and always assumed he’d end up in a committed relationship. Sure that he’s found the one, Eric doesn’t worry about the fact that Lorcan has no experience when it comes to love and relationships. They are good together, so what could possibly go wrong?

When both men get involved in the marriage equality referendum in Ireland, it appears to bring them even closer together until Lorcan’s insecurities get the upper hand and he shuts Eric out. Will the fight for a yes-vote cost them their relationship or will they be able to find a balance between the love they share and the need for equality?

Author Bio

Helena Stone can’t remember a life before words and reading. After growing up in a household where no holiday or festivity was complete without at least one new book, it’s hardly surprising she now owns more books than shelf space while her Kindle is about to explode.

The urge to write came as a surprise. The realisation that people might enjoy her words was a shock to say the least. Now that the writing bug has well and truly taken hold, Helena can no longer imagine not sharing the characters in her head and heart with the rest of the world.

 

Having left the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam for the peace and quiet of the Irish Country side she divides her time between reading, writing, long and often wet walks with the dog, her part-time job in a library, a grown-up daughter and her ever loving and patient husband.

Helena can be found in the following places:

Email: helenastoneauthor@gmail.com
 

Giveaway

 

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A VVivacious Review: Reckless Seduction (Reckless #1) & Reckless Behavior by Amanda Young

Rating: 2.5 Stars out of 5
 
Armed with an invite to the hottest party of the year and one hell of a sexy Zorro costume Cody is out to get his cherry popped. What he doesn’t expect is that Dante Santiago of all people would show an interest in him.
 
Cody has a massive crush on Dante, his uncle’s friend, one which he is never been able to get over. Now that Dante is showing an interest in him, Cody can’t help but want more, more than just one night and more than a casual meaningless encounter and more than that, this time Cody is going to make sure Dante knows it.
 
The first thing I want to get out of the way is that this is the second edition of Reckless Seduction and this book also included the bonus follow-up novella to Reckless Seduction that is Reckless Behaviour. So the following review is effectively a review for both Reckless Seduction and Reckless Behaviour.
 
This book made for an okay read for me, primarily because this book is spattered very judiciously with sex scenes and I just wasn’t able to get into those scenes. There were very few scenes that started out hot but most of them lost their flare in the long drawn out description that followed. All the sex scenes in this book are very long and very detailed and in the second part of this book “Reckless Behaviour” they don’t even add much to the story. This is also the reason I found the first novella a bit better than its follow up because the first book has two sex scenes, though I am sure they take up half the length of the novella, but at least they added something to the story. The second part is just three consecutive sex scenes till we finally get to the meat of the issue.
 
I really liked Dante’s character, I loved his integrity. I really liked how at the end of the first novella he tells Beau everything exactly as it is. I for one could really appreciate the courage it took to do what he did. Even in the second novella I couldn’t find fault with Dante’s character I really felt that his actions and feelings were all very human. Dante’s character is an amazing one and to some extent I think the story isn’t able to do him justice.
 
Cody was an okay character. I didn’t think one way or the other about him until that very stupid thing he does in the second novella. He jumps to a conclusion on the drop of an hat, in an instant he is ready to believe everything everybody else says about Dante and what was actually worse was the fact that he didn’t even have the decency to give Dante a chance to explain. This fact really irked me about Cody’s character.
 
I liked the story as it was though if some of the sex scenes could be deleted it would be a bonus or at least trimmed, as it stands now even if the scene is interesting in the beginning by the time it ends you’re just exhausted with having read every minute detail till the activity is only pleasurable for the characters and excruciatingly boring for you, especially in the second novella.
 
The second novella has a blurb that tells you everything you need to know about Cody in the first half of the book and then the moment you read the first page of the novella you know everything there is to know about Dante in the first half and then it is just a sequence of one mind numbing sex scene after the other till finally at about the halfway point the story finally progresses to a point beyond that mentioned in the blurb.
 
Overall it was an okay read but this book does have a big plus point in Dante.
 
Cover Art by Kaylea Ehm. I liked the cover for the book.
Sales Link:  Amazon
Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 132 pages
Published May 3rd 2017 (first published October 28th 2008)
Original TitleReckless Seduction
ASINB072DVN24Y
SeriesReckless #1
CharactersCody Bradbury, Dante Santiago settingVirginia (United States)

A MelanieM Review: Frozen Heart (Love Lessons #1.5) by Heidi Cullinan

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Proposals don’t come with instructions.

Walter Lucas knows his boyfriend has been looking forward to the newest movie about a certain snow princess, but he isn’t prepared for the reality that is the front-row seat of Kelly Davidson’s cartoon obsession. There’s more going on in November than just the movie, however—Walter’s been working up the nerve to ask Kelly a certain question. When Walter set up his elaborate Thanksgiving marriage proposal, it seemed like such a good idea, but as the holiday, the movie premiere, and the question Walter never dreamt he’d be asking anyone converge…let’s just say even Hollywood’s best couldn’t sing and dance their way out of Walter’s tangle.

A short story or interlude in the Love Lessons series from Heidi Cullinan,  Frozen Heart is the proposal story of Walter and Kelly.  If you have followed this series, then you know this couple.  Kelly loves and for a special reason his Disney movies.  He’s been waiting for Frozen to come out and Walter has been waiting to  propose to Kelly.  Its hugely emotional, heartwarming, and everything I love about this series in a small bundle.

Plus if you have been oversaturated by the movie Frozen, Heidi Cullinan, through Kelly and Walter’s eyes and ears, reminds you why it resonated with millions of people young and old world wide.  Don’t be surprised if you find yourself singing those songs out loud once again.  You  really can’t help it.  It’s magic and so is this little story about a Frozen proposal.

Cover art by Kanaxa is adorable and works for branding the series and story.

Buy links: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo,  Smashwords

 

Book Details:

ebook, 2, 32 pages
Expected publication: May 23rd 2017 by Heidi Cullinan (first published December 24th 2013)
Original TitleFrozen Heart
ISBN139781945116025
Edition LanguageEnglish
URLhttp://www.heidicullinan.com/frozen-heart
SeriesLove Lessons #1.5

An Alisa Review: Truth or Lie by Lynn Lorenz

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

 

Anthony Pappas has known since puberty he was gifted with a special gift due to his Greek ancestry. After all, he’s the descendant of Artemis and Socrates’ one night stand. It’s good, because he has a passion for teaching. It’s bad, because he can tell when someone is lying to him. As he’s matured, he’s realized his superpower is a relationship killer.

 

Everyone lies. And if they lie over the little things, like jobs, they’ll lie over the big things, like cheating. So he just hangs back, teaching elementary school, waiting for Mr. Tall, Dark and Honest. So far, it’s been a bust.

 

Travis Conner is just a dumb fire fighter, or at least it’s what he’s been told and he believes. He’s hated school his entire life, but one thing he does love is his nephew, Rusty, his sister’s kid. When Rusty begs him to come to school for Bring Your Dad to Work, Travis can’t say no, no matter how uncomfortable it makes him feel.

 

But when he gets there, and meets Anthony, Rusty’s sexy, but geeky teacher, he’s smitten. And for Anthony, Travis’ honesty and honor draw him to Travis like a magnet. Both men have stayed aloof, each for his own reason, but can their attraction pull them out of the shadows and into a relationship?

 

Can Travis be Anthony’s Mr. Honest and will Anthony still want Travis when he finds out he barely graduated high school? Both men have secrets, but when they get down and honest about them, will those secrets, especially Anthony’s gift, tear them apart?

 

This was a nice story.  Travis and Anthony have both been hurt in previous relationships and are a bit gun shy about getting involved with anyone.  Travis won’t make the first move because he can’t believe a teacher would want a dumb jock but all Anthony can see from their first meeting is how honest and caring Travis is.

 

I liked both Travis and Anthony in the general terms but it felt like they both kept doubting themselves and waiting for something bad to happen.  Travis is quick to jump to conclusions but after taking some time to think and talk to his sister and nephew he realizes that maybe he should be a bit more trusting.  They both came together rather quickly and resolve their one problem fast too.  I think it would have been nice to see them build up a solid relationship and not have everything work out so well so fast.

 

The cover art is nice and gives visuals of both of the characters.

 

Sales Links: Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 108 pages

Published: May 9, 2017 by Hartwood Publishing

Edition Language: English

Release Audiobook Blitz for Isobel Starling ‘s As You Wish, Narrated by Gary Furlong

 
Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Audible US | Audible UK
 
Ebook Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Narrator: Gary Furlong
 
Length: 4hrs 9mins
 
Blurb
 

Declan Ramsay’s brother Oliver was marrying Annabelle Aiken at a fairytale castle on the banks of Loch Ness in Scotland. The bride and groom decided that Annabelle’s gay younger brother would share the best man duties with Declan. Declan had never met the kid who was to be his joint best man. Sam Aiken was abroad, working as an interpreter and finishing his studies. He wouldn’t meet Declan until a few days before the wedding, so the best men communicated and planned their speech by email for more than a year.


But on meeting Sam Aiken, Declan is surprised to realize the kid isn’t a kid at all, but a tall, blond, and athletic young man. Declan is sure he’s straight, so he’s alarmed by the ferocious attraction he feels for Sam. And as the attraction is reciprocated, the events at Dunloch Castle change everything Declan has ever believed about himself.


But, is Samuel Aiken all that he appears to be?

Author Bio
 

Born in Germany, Isobel Starling spent most of her twenty-year professional career making art in Ireland. She relocated to the UK and, faced with the dreaded artist’s creative block, Isobel started to write and found she loved writing more than making art.


The ‘Shatterproof Bond’ series is an Amazon Gay Romance bestseller. Isobel has just completed her eleventh book and signed French and German and Italian, translation and publishing rights deals for the whole Shatterproof Bond series. The ‘As You Wish’ translation “Comme Vous Voudrez” is a best seller on Amazon France. It was released in German in March 2017, and as an audiobook in May 2017.


Isobel’s greatest love is writing M/M relationships, and she hopes one day to actually finish the fantasy novel that she put ‘to rest’ three years ago.

 Giveaway

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In the Spotlight: Frozen Heart (Love Lessons #1.5) by Heidi Cullinan (giveaway)

Frozen Heart (Love Lessons #1.5) by Heidi Cullinan
Cover Artist: Kanaxa

 

FULL BLURB:

Proposals don’t come with instructions.

Walter Lucas knows his boyfriend has been looking forward to the newest movie about a certain snow princess, but he isn’t prepared for the reality that is the front-row seat of Kelly Davidson’s cartoon obsession. There’s more going on in November than just the movie, however—Walter’s been working up the nerve to ask Kelly a certain question. When Walter set up his elaborate Thanksgiving marriage proposal, it seemed like such a good idea, but as the holiday, the movie premiere, and the question Walter never dreamt he’d be asking anyone converge…let’s just say even Hollywood’s best couldn’t sing and dance their way out of Walter’s tangle.

Buy links: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Tolino, Smashwords

RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2017

Original free edition release date December 25, 2013

Format: Short Story • Genre: Contemporary New Adult Romance • Length: 9,000 words

Publisher: Heidi Cullinan

Cover Artist: Kanaxa

ISBN: 978-1-945116-02-5

Series: Love Lessons #1.5

Characters: Walter Lucas, Kelly Davidson

 

About the Author

Heidi Cullinan has always enjoyed a good love story, provided it has a happy ending. Proud to be from the first Midwestern state with full marriage equality, Heidi is a vocal advocate for LGBT rights. She writes positive-outcome romances for LGBT characters struggling against insurmountable odds because she believes there’s no such thing as too much happy ever after. When Heidi isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking, reading, playing with her cats, and watching television with her family. Find out more about Heidi at heidicullinan.com.