A VVivacious Pre-Release Review: Unconditionally by Nell Iris

 

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

 

unconditionally-by-nell-irisLuca and Gus are getting married. But when Luca’s mother violently criticises Luca’s wedding attire, a flood of uncertainty hits Luca and he runs. Now it’s up to Gus to find and convince Luca that he has nothing to be ashamed of and to convince him to return to the wedding dressed just as he wants to be.

 

This is a short story which takes us through three moments in the life of Luca and Gus. The first being the moment they met, the second and most significant one being their wedding day and a third moment which constitutes the epilogue.

 

This is a short and sweet story. It is very well written and makes for a fun and enjoyable read. I liked the premise of the story which was basically about accepting who you are but I really appreciated the unique way it was applied to the story, with the choice of clothing forming a big part of the narrative.

 

Luca is flamboyant and prefers to wear androgynous clothing. Despite the fact that we see him at his most insecure, I could appreciate the quiet strength about him. He actually came across as someone comfortable in his skin and confident. Then there was Gus who was such an unassuming character but I loved his integrity and this quiet dignity he had about himself.

 

Luca and Gus made for a handsome couple. I really think they complemented each other well and that they would make it.

 

What I found weird about this story was that despite Luca and Gus being so close to each other, for some reason Gus is completely unaware of Luca’s history with his mother who has never been able to treat him with the respect he deserves and somehow Gus was able to miss this fact for going on six years. Now this fact makes me question Gus and Luca and how well they truly know each other as compared to how they are projected to be. While giving someone time to tell you the details is one thing, having not picked up on the vibe at all seems unrealistic.

 

This story is a nice read and it is written flawlessly making for an enjoyable, short and sweet read.

 

Cover Art by Written Ink Designs. I actually really like the cover especially with the rings placed just so at the bottom and the font for “Unconditionally” which really complements the cover design. I even like the two men wearing formal suits who appear to have just gotten married but I wonder, considering, how a particular wedding attire is the trigger for the whole plot, if it was wise to have the two men on the cover dressed otherwise.

Sales Links

JMS Books LLC

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Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: March 4th 2017 by JMS Books LLC admin@jms-books.com
ISBN139781634863230

In the Spotlight: Alpha Delta by R.J. Scott (excerpt)

alpha-delta-by-rj-scott

Alpha Delta by R.J. Scott
L
ove Lane Books

This book was previously published with All Romance Publishing. There are no additions to the original story, just a change of cover art but due to the demise of All Romance, if you have already purchased this title and require a copy, please email Rachel (rjscott.team@gmail.com) with proof of purchase and she will send you a replacement.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK 

The Book 

Officer Finn Hallan has never run from a fight. With Niall’s life and love at stake, he’s not about to start now…

Finn Hallan is a member of the elite Norwegian Emergency Response Unit, code name Delta. When the team is sent to respond to a hostage situation on a Oil Platform in the Norwegian Sea, he has to face demons he thought he had buried a long time ago.

Scottish engineer Niall Faulkner’s skills in oil platform decommissioning takes him to the Forseti platform at the worst possible time. When he’s captured by terrorists, his only thought is that he will never get to tell his lover how he really feels.

Can Finn keep Niall alive? Or will they both die at the hands of hijackers in the frigid waters of the Norwegian sea?

Excerpt

Chapter 1

The call came in just past fourteen hundred hours, Erik beating him to ops by about two seconds, both men pulling on vests and arranging holsters.

Finn had been reading, spending the quiet down time before dinner trying to get his head around some of the shit that had gone down today. Time at the Urskar training facility was hard work but it wasn’t hard physical work that was bugging Finn. He knew exactly what it was.

Niall.

They’d talked this morning; he was working on the Forseti platform in the Heidrun oilfield for the next few weeks. They wouldn’t be seeing each other for a while, and that was fine. Finn was good with that. Of course, he didn’t like the fact Finn was flying in this weather. The storm passing through near the Forseti platform was a big one. And yes, he had to admit to himself he’d checked. And that was the problem. He’d checked the storm, he’d worried about the flight, and he was already missing the feisty, nerdy, sexy engineer enough to have it consuming his thoughts. All the what-ifs and the whens, and mostly the whys. He didn’t usually do serious, but Niall could make him change his mind. One guy with a soft voice and a wicked mouth comes along and suddenly Finn was losing control of his touch but don’t keep policy.

Then, this morning he’d fucked up. Big time.

He hadn’t been paying attention and he’d seriously blown things in training. He’d let his guard down and got a helmet full of pink dye with a spot-on head shot from a crowing Erik. It wasn’t so much the kill shot, it was why Finn had been distracted. He’d been thinking about Niall, and not in the I want to fuck that sideways kind of way, but in an I hope he’s okay and I’ll miss him kind of way.

Then Erik had to go and manage to kill him. It was the first time Erik had ever gotten the drop on Finn in training. It had taken three hair washes and vigorous scrubbing to get the pink out of his hair and off his left temple.

Fucker.

When they reached the briefing room Erik grinned at him, that shit-eating grin that told Finn he wouldn’t be living it down that Erik’s team had taken first blood in the mini war game they were taking part in. The grin didn’t last long, subsiding as soon as Cap walked in. After all, it didn’t matter what had happened this morning; now they were all about whatever had caused them to be alerted.

“About thirty minutes ago four bodies were found at the Grane oil terminal, identified as security assigned to the NorsDev Forseti Platform.”

Cap stared straight at Finn and for a brief moment Finn wasn’t really understanding the words. Then one thing hit him square in the chest. Forseti. That was where Niall was.

Rising to his feet he didn’t know what to say as fear gripped him. “Four?”

“We have reason to believe these four men were replaced so that a team of hijackers could get onto Forseti.”

“That’s being decom’d.” Erik sounded puzzled. “What kind of collateral does an empty oil platform have?”

“Only four?” Finn interjected. “What about the engineers? Niall Faulkner and his brother Ewan?”

Erik looked up at him and Finn could see the moment the information made sense in his head.

“Fuck. Niall is on Forseti?”

“Both of them… Niall and Ewan. Did they go? Does someone know if he…?” The rest of the team all stared at him, Cap included, and Finn realized he was coming off as a mad man. He subsided. No one could get information out if Finn was raving like a fucking lovesick moron.

“The pilots are back, they took one engineer and four security replacements. So, souls on the platform are one engineer, six skeleton crew, and the four security replacements. Eleven souls in all.”

The bottom fell out of Finn and dread stole his breath. Was it Niall or Ewan on Forseti? With who? Terrorists?

“Intel is showing no communications, or demands, but chatter has it that this is an isolated cell connected to the Hofstad Network out of Denmark.” Cap slid his finger on the laptop and the screen changed behind him to show four faces. Three fair-haired, one dark, all in fatigues with long addendums at the bottom of the photo. Ex-Marine, one former SAS. The names a blur. Except for one.

Svein Roberg.

“He’s dead,” Erik said in disbelief, echoing Finn’s thoughts exactly. Roberg had a long history of fighting the good fight for whichever side paid him most. Ex-Special Forces, he had finally been taken down by the ERU two years before, just after Finn joined the team. In fact, it had been Finn who faced him down after tracking him to a small holding in Alta. They’d chased him to the Alta Dam, where the murdering fucker had died.

The bastard had tried extortion in the name of environmental concern and had killed three oil workers in an explosion at one of the dry land containment depots. Finn would never forget Svein’s face. He didn’t even fight when Erik and Finn had him cornered, simply dropped his weapon and raised his hands.

In the best traditions of all grandstanding bad guys he laughed then said, “I live to fight another day,” repeating this over and over as he fell to his knees. There had been madness in his words, and cunning in his silver eyes. Only when Finn had stepped forward did the madness manifest in a blur of motion, the two men grappling for the weapon and a bullet leaving Finn’s gun and carving into Svein’s neck, blood spurting. Time had slowed and Finn had watched in horror and a curious fascination as the terrorist leaped in a grotesque twist of muscles over the dam wall and down into the churning water below.

“They never found his body,” Finn said softly. But Finn hadn’t cared then. The fucker had a bullet in his neck and had fallen over six hundred feet. He had to have been dead.

“Until four weeks ago his file was silent, but chatter indicated there was movement and he was implicated right in the center of it all.”

“And no one thought to brief us?” Finn demanded hotly. “Why the fuck not?”

Several others in the team, Erik included, added their alarm.

Cap held up a hand and quieted the room. “Wheels up in ten,” he said.

And that was it. They knew nothing. They didn’t know why Forseti was the platform involved or why Svein Roberg had shown up. But, whatever information they received, they would be ready for action when they knew what the hell to do.

Erik grabbed his arm as Finn made to leave. “Finn?” he asked. The question was loaded. It was, are you sure you’re okay, do you know the man you’ve been seeing is on Forseti, and can you handle this, all wrapped up in one word.

Finn nodded. Didn’t matter how he felt or what he actually said to voice any of it, he was going with the team and he wasn’t putting doubt in Erik’s head.

“Let’s get this done.”

Author Bio

RJ Scott is the bestselling author of over one hundred romance books. She writes emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the partners who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing.

The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.

mailto:rj@rjscott.co.uk

www.rjscott.co.uk/

www.facebook.com/author.rjscott?ref=ts&fref=ts

www.goodreads.com/author/show/3432558.R_J_Scott

twitter.com/Rjscott_author

www.librarything.com/author/scottrj

A MelanieM Review: Alpha Delta by R.J. Scott

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

 

alpha-delta-by-rj-scottOfficer Finn Hallan has never run from a fight. With Niall’s life and love at stake, he’s not about to start now.

N.B. Originally published with All Romance, this edition features the same story with new cover art

Finn Hallan is a member of the elite Norwegian Emergency Response Unit, code name Delta. When the team is sent to respond to a hostage situation on an Oil Platform, he has to face demons he thought he had buried a long time ago.

Scottish engineer Niall Faulkner’s skills in oil platform decommissioning takes him to the Forseti platform at the worst possible time. When he’s captured by terrorists, his only thought is that he will never get to tell his lover how he really feels.

Can Finn keep Niall alive? Or will they both die at the hands of hijackers in the frigid waters of the Norwegian sea?

Word Count: 21,000

Alpha Delta by R.J. Scott is an enjoyable action/adventure yarn for all of its short pages.  In short order, Scott sets us  up with the couple, Finn Hallan and Niall Faulkner in meet and set off sparks situation and then waits for the explosives to go off. Literally. Finn, the tough op and Niall, the engineer who decommissions oil platforms is an unusual couple to begin with so I liked them immediately. I don’t know where Scott gets her idea for their professions (and then sticks them together) but I like it.  Both men are skilled and smart and that’s alluring to them and myself as a reader.

I also enjoyed the “green factor” here behind decommissioning the oil platforms, Nice to get some facts and background behind such an huge endeavor even in such a short story.  There are some narrative holes here.  Alpha Delta was a part of a series originally published by the now gone ARe and its other stories presumably carried some of the information needed about the “villain” of this story and the back history with Finn Hallan.  We get some of it, true but more is clearly needed. So while its listed as a stand alone, that’s not entirely true.    This edition does suffer from the same ARe faults that I found as other ARe stories.  A lack of thorough editing.  In one instance, one character name was continually used in a scene in a hospital bed when another was clearly meant.  One man’s name was used throughout the scene instead of bringing in Niall’s when needed.  A good editor or any editor would have caught that, an problem that pops up less here than in other ARe stories but still it rendered what should have been a tender scene into a confusing one.

That aside, there’s some wonderful suspense-filled and thriller moments here.  I wish the story had been enlarged and revised.  Its worth it.  As it is, I enjoyed it but it could have been a terrific RJ Scott book, and maybe even a series.  These two make quite the duo.

Cover art works for the story and character.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK 

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 63 pages
Published January 2nd 2017 by Love Lane Books Ltd (first published February 2nd 2015)
ASINB01NBQZ7HE
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Snowblind (Dreamspun Desires #29) by Eli Easton

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

snowblind-by-eli-eastonSnow, steam, and secrets.

The latest snowstorm carries something unexpected to the doorstep of Hutch’s secluded Alaskan cabin: a stranger named Jude, the most beautiful man Hutch has ever seen. Jude says he’s in the area for a ski trip and that he fled a domineering lover, thinking he could make it into town. But Hutch is a suspicious SOB and treats his unwanted guest warily. The problem is Jude isn’t just gorgeous, he’s funny and smart and flirtatious.

Two gay men snowed in for three days—things happen. Really good things. By the time the storm clears, Hutch finds himself a little too attached to Jude Devereaux, San Francisco-based male model. But is Jude what he claims to be? Or is he entangled in the secrets Hutch moved to Alaska to escape?

I have certain expectations of a Dreamspun Desires title. Romance, a plot from those serial romances of decades ago given a M/M twist and updated, plus a little light hearted “something or other”.  I usually get all that, sometimes I get less, often I get more in terms of great characters and plot.  Then there’s the times the author gives me a story I just sink right into.  Men who are troubled, wounded in some way, irresistible, and so magnetic I can’t pull myself away from their story.  Eli Easton gave me all that in Snowblind.

I didn’t expect the darkness I found. Huh.   Yes, there are parts of this story that are dark and sobering.  Didn’t expect that from a Dreamspun Desires title.  Nor can I tell you how they factor into the story because its so much of the wonderful  twists and turns you will find inside this marvelous novel.  That blurb?  Ha! So had me fooled.  It will you too.  The rich and inventive tale that lies behind that thin facade of a synopsis is suspenseful and character driven and oh so incredible. Usually, the blurb lately has been spelling out the entire story.  I don’t know when I’ve been so surprised by a story.

Easton’s writing is so smooth, so vivid that I felt my heart pound at certain moments, and my eyes tear up at others.  I love her characters and the way in which the story moved from one man’s point of view to the other’s, a necessary, sometimes heartbreaking perspective.

No, you aren’t getting any details.  Anything I say, and I do mean anything, just leads to spoilers and I won’t do it to this book.  Grab it up,  plow right into it.  Make popcorn before you start. Because once you start, that’s it.  There’s no stopping until that wonderful ending.  Do I recommend this story.  Hell, yes! Hutch and Jude will have me smiling for days, maybe weeks.  Maybe more.  I really love them.

Cover Artist: Bree Archer.  The cover works for the branding of the series and the character.  I like it.

Sales Links

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Book Details:

ebook, 196 pages
Expected publication: March 1st 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1635331463 (ISBN13: 9781635331462)
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesDreamspun Desires #29 settingAlaska (United States)

An Alisa Release Day Review: The Real Thing by BG Thomas

Rating:  3.5 stars out of 5

 

the-real-thingBryan Mills has fantasized about cowboys all his life. Real cowboys, that is. He even dresses in what his roommate calls “cowboy drag” when he visits his favorite bar, in the hope of attracting the attentions of a genuine cowboy. But all he usually finds are posers and guys his own age.

 

Then one night, to his surprise, Curtis Hansen buys him a beer, and Bryan has no doubt this is the real thing. Curtis is a rugged, gorgeous man who is every bit a cowboy. He even owns his own ranch. What follows is about the most amazing night of Bryan’s young life.

 

But can they move beyond a night of incredible sex when Bryan admits to Curtis that the only horse he’s ever ridden was a birthday party pony? And that he’s nothing but a poser himself? Maybe, just maybe, Curtis can find the real cowboy inside Bryan, and they can ride off into the sunset together!

 

This was a cute story.  Bryan made some mistakes when he first knew he was gay and since then hasn’t been able to really have a relationship or be with the kind of man he wants, a real cowboy.  He can’t believe when Curtis approaches him at the bar and spends the night with him.

 

Seeing everything through Bryan’s eyes we are able to see how truly innocent he is to the world of dating.  Curtis has been hurt in the past and seems willing to open his heart to open his heart to Bryan.  Both of the characters are adorable and are wonderful together.

 

Cover art by LC Chase is a great picture of the real thing.

 

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | ARe

 

Book Details:

ebook, 52 pages

Published: 2nd edition, March 1, 2017 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN-13: 9781635333305

Edition Language: English

A Stella Release Day Review: My Paradise is You (World of Love) by Lucie Archer

RATING 3,5 out of 5 stars

my-paradise-is-you-by-lucie-archerWhen two very different men are stranded on a deserted island, will opposites attract, or will they end up killing each other—if the elements don’t get them first?

Marc Reed is an expert scuba diver and leads underwater tours of the infamous shipwrecks scattered around Bermuda. When a robbery forces him and his boss’s son—a man he despises on principle—to take shelter on an uncharted island, he might have to reassess his opinion of the spoiled snob.

Ian Blythe-Darcy II lives a life most would envy. He’s a trust-fund kid being groomed to take over his father’s empire of hotels and resorts. But it’s not a life that matches what’s in his heart. He’s in the closet and engaged to a socialite he doesn’t love, but he’s about to get a crash course in being true to himself—and maybe learn money can’t buy happiness after all.

World of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the globe.

My Paradise is You is the first book I read by Lucie Archer, I’m always curious about new to me authors and the cover of this new release is really eye catching; that’s why I was very enthusiastic to read it, plus I enjoyed the stories in the World of Love series I read so far.

I quite liked My Paradise Is You, it was quick and light, the reading flew easily and although Ian is in the closet and engaged with Francesca, there wasn’t really drama or complicate situation, apart from the MCs being stranded on an island together for a week.

I adored how they bickered from the first time they met, the way they teased each other was cute and funny, and gave the novellas a little sparkle needed in a plot like this, pretty simple and granted. It made me more curious to see how it was going to be developed and how Ian and Mark would overcome they differences in backgrounds and lifestyles.

I particularly liked how the author chose for the main characters to wait and be back from the island before they have sex. As I said, Ian is engaged and I (and Mark) would have considered a betrayal versus his girlfriend is they acted on the attraction they strongly feel for the other on the island, instead, as the author did, of explain how things really are to Francesca. I appreciated this choice a lot and in my opinion made the relationship more real and believable.

My Paradise Is You is a lovely reading, it was pleasurable light and I’m curious to see what else Lucie Archer wrote. I definitely recommend it.

The cover art by Bree Archer is a winner, it’s perfect and I love all that blue. And yes, the model is pretty hot.

Sale Links

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BOOK DETAILS

ebook, 97 pages

Publication Date: March 1st 2017 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN 1635333423 (ISBN13: 9781635333428)

Edition Language English

Karen Stivali on Characters, Emotional Ties and Moment of Fate (Moments In Time #5) by Karen Stivali ( GUEST POST )

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Moment of Fate (Moments In Time #5) by Karen Stivali
D
reamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Anna Sikorska

Available for Purchase at

           

and Apple

✒︎

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Karen Stivali here today to talk about her latest release in her Moments in Time series, Moment of Fate. Welcome, Karen.

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STRW: Have you ever had to put an ‘in progress’ story aside because of the emotional ties with it?  You were hurting with the characters or didn’t know how to proceed?

Karen Stivali: It’s funny you should ask this question for this blog tour, because MOMENT OF FATE is the first book I’ve ever had this problem with, and I had it in spades.

I write fast. Always have. I finish most books in 2 months or less. Before I start any project I need to see the whole story in my mind and once I do, that’s it, it pours right out.

Except with this book.

It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen the whole story play out in my mind. I had. I knew the characters inside and out and knew exactly what happened—how they met, how and why they bonded, the path that took them from friends to lovers, the secrets that tore them apart, and how they found their way back to one another. It wasn’t a question of not knowing the plot or struggling with any other aspect of the writing. The problem was that I over-related to one of the characters.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not Bryan. Not in any way, shape or form. He’s a young, sexy, charismatic front man in a band and an out and proud gay man. I’m none of those things. Can’t sing a note. Never seek the spotlight. Don’t consider myself particularly charming. And yet, Bryan shares one characteristic with me that threw me for such a loop this was a book that I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to finish writing, even though I really, really wanted to.

So, what was the issue? Bryan’s main challenge in the book is that although he’s one of those people who has always gone after what he’s wanted and gotten it, although he’s a ridiculously hard worker who’s driven to succeed, although he’s stubborn and self-reliant, he’s had a challenge that he didn’t know how to deal with. A challenge he didn’t want to accept and, worse, didn’t want anyone to know about. He has a chronic illness: Lyme disease. While not a fatal illness, like any chronic ailment it presents challenges. Challenges that are ever-changing and, due to the chronic nature, will never completely go away.

From the host of mysterious symptoms that come and go, to the aches and pains, to the unpredictable flare-ups, to the anxiety and panic attacks, he’s had to learn to cope with an array of problems that conflict with his Type A personality and his unwillingness to let anything stand in his way.

How do I know how much of a challenge all of that is? Because I’m a very driven, stubborn, self-reliant person who has had to deal with Chronic Lyme disease for many years.

So, yeah. I over-related a little. Okay, a lot. Every time Bryan had an anxiety attack, I found myself having one. Which meant every time I went back to reread or edit one of those scenes I had another one. I pride myself on never missing deadlines but with this book I blew the deadline by over six months because it got to the point where I couldn’t even open the file. I set it aside, came back to it, had to put it aside again.

The good thing? Part of Bryan’s character arc is that he has to learn that although he doesn’t need to let his illness define him, he does need to learn to work around it. And part of that includes allowing some other people to know what he’s going through. Why he can’t always do everything he used to or the way he wants to. What his limitations are and how much he doesn’t want those limitations to have an impact on his decisions or his goals or how he lives his life. For the majority of the book he’s told no one in his life what he’s struggling with. Just like almost no one in my life knows that I have Lyme. I don’t want to be defined by it either, and I won’t be. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t need to relearn right along with Bryan that sometimes you have to let other people know what’s going on with you, and that sometimes you need to give yourself a break.

That’s not an easy lesson for me. And it wasn’t an easy lesson for him. But it was one he needed to learn and that I needed a reminder of, in a big way.

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Blurb

A Moments In Time Novel

Bryan Dane’s been living the dream—photography student by day, up-and-coming rocker by night. His summer goals are to earn his last few credits, graduate from NYU, spend as much time in the recording studio as possible, and survive the next few months without sex so he can complete his yearlong goal of self-imposed celibacy. Everything is on track until he meets Oliver Newcastle.

For years Oliver planned a marriage of convenience with his high school BFF, but now that she’s fallen in love for real with someone else, it’s no longer convenient. So Oliver came out to his family, quit his job, and left small-town New England for NYC, an intensive summer study program, and a chance to find his own happiness.

From the moment they meet, the sexual tension between Bryan and Oliver sizzles. But Bryan wants no part of a relationship, and Oliver wants to sow his wild oats—he just isn’t sure how. Oliver seeks Bryan’s help navigating the NYC gay scene, which throws them together in increasingly more sexual situations until they can no longer deny they’re hot for each other. Bryan is desperate to keep things simple, but fate may have other plans.

This is a standalone novel set in the Moments In Time world. You do not need to have read any of the previous titles to enjoy this book.

Release Date: February 24, 2017

Words 80,385

Pages 244

ISBN-13 978-1-63476-546-6

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About the Author

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 Karen Stivali

Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies, and fictional British men. She’s also the multiple award-winning author of contemporary and erotic romances. She writes novels about love…like real life, only hotter.

Full length bio:

Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies, and fictional British men. She’s also the multiple award-winning author of contemporary and erotic romances. She writes novels about love…like real life, only hotter.

Karen’s lifelong fascination with people has led her to careers ranging from hand-drawn animator, to party planner, to marriage and family counselor, but writing has always been her passion. Karen enjoys nothing more than following her characters on their journey toward love. Whether the couples are m/f or m/m, it’s guaranteed that Karen’s novels are filled with food, friendship, love, and smoking hot sex—all the best things in life.

When Karen isn’t writing (and often when she is), she can be found on Twitter attempting witty banter and detailing the antics of her fruit-loving cat, BadKitteh. She loves to hear from readers (and other writers), so don’t hesitate to contact/follow/like her at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/karenstivali/

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

Website: http://karenstivali.com/

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

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/KarenStivali/

E-mail: karenstivali@gmail.com/

Other books in the Moments In Time series:

  • MOMENT OF IMPACT (Book 1)
  • MOMENT OF TRUTH (Book 2)
  • MOMENT OF CLARITY (Book 3)
  • MOMENTS IN TIME (a compilation of Books 1-3)
  • MOMENT OF DOUBT (Book 3.5)
  • MOMENT OF SILENCE (Book 4)
  • MOMENT OF FATE (Book 5)

Cover Reveal for Between the Secrets by S. Ferguson

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Between the Secrets by S. Ferguson

Cover Reveal Date: March 1st, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Cover Designer: Jay Aheer

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Between the Secrets, an all-new MM romance by S. Ferguson is coming March 16th!

Sometimes the past won’t let you escape no matter how much your future wants you to.

Jake James lives in the shadows of his shame. The guilt for what he’s done, for what was done to him, has left him hollow and haunted.

Greg Bissen just wants Jake to let him in, having accepted who he is a long time ago, he is desperate to break through Jake’s defenses.

When danger and an agonizing loss threatens to tear them apart, will Jake let the burdens of his past crush him?

Or can love really conquer all, even if it’s hiding in between the secrets?

Add to GoodReads: https://goo.gl/ScHUCe

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About the Author:

Ferguson is a military wife and mother of three. She loves to find beauty in the flawed and broken.

Connect with the Author:

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A Paul B Review: Credo (Demon Elite 8) by April Kelley

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

credo-demon-elite-8-by-april-kelleyIn most action romance series that I have read, there comes a time when the action gets put on the back burner and the romance comes to the forefront.  For the Demon Elite series, Credo is that book.

The book starts toward the end of the events in Max but told from Twiggy’s point of view.  Starting with Twiggy calling Sydney for help, the first part of the book describes his journey from being captured by Victoria Mize’s men to his rescue by the Demon Elite squad.  He is passed over to Credo, who promises Twiggy not only to protect him, but help in kicking his drug habit. Too bad the man only wants him for information that he does not have.

Credo, Creed to his gringo friends, is determined to keep Twiggy, who is now using his given name of Morgen, safe.  He has been trying to keep his family safe since his mother was in an accident over twenty years ago.  Joining a gang and then a mercenary squad to provide money for his family, he has finally found a home in Demon Elite.  He is starting to get feelings for Morgen but has trouble expressing his feelings.  He needs to get across to Morgen that while he has to attend to family matters, he is not abandoning him.  He also must stress that he will be there for Morgen even if he cannot provide the information that they think he has.  Going so far as to keep themselves invisible from not only Mize’s operation but his own squad should prove that he thinks. 

I liked that his was slow moving romance with the action taking a break for the most part.  All the real action takes place in what is the retelling of the ending of Max in Morgen’s viewpoint.  Unlike most of the other books, this one has several gaps in time between some chapters.   So this is not a face paced romance that some of the others have been.  Morgen is an addict and is learning how to stay sober.  He has issues trusting people as his only real friend has been Sydney.  He starts out thinking that Creed is only interested in protecting him for the trial that will be coming up.  Creed must show Morgen that he thinks of him more than just a protectee while dealing with his family issues.  He has been protecting those people closest to him all his life.  He must learn to take a step back before he loses all that he loves.

The cover by Latrisha Waters is another winner.  A shirtless Credo stands in front of a red background with the Demon Elite crest in the corner again.  The only minor quibble is that the man is not quite as tattooed as his description. 

Sales Links

eXtasy Books | amazon

Book Details

EBook, 111 pages

Edition Language:  English

Published:  November 11, 2016 by eXtasy Books

ISBN:  978-1-4874-0912-8

Series:  Demon Elite

A MelanieM Release Day Review : Ghost (Sanctuary #9) by RJ Scott

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

 

ghost-sanctuary-9-by-rj-scottCan you ever hold on to a ghost?

Elliot is tracking an elusive killer, codenamed Ghost, with ties to organized crime. Every time the Sanctuary team gets close, Ghost slips their grasp.

Cole has nowhere left to turn. With his father dying and his sister in danger, he turns for help to the very people trying to track him down. Sanctuary’s assistance is what he needs to punch another hole in Varga’s organization.

When Elliot and Cole meet, it isn’t just passion that consumes them. When lust becomes something more, Elliot realizes that sometimes you can’t hold on to a ghost, and that sacrifice is often the only way to make things right.

Ghost (Sanctuary story #9) is a terrific installment in the espionage thrillers from RJ Scott.  In Ghost, the author delivers the answers to major series plot points that have been haunting readers from previous stories while bringing us a suspenseful, white-knuckle ride that also happens to include a romance to die for.  I love it when that happens.

Cole has been an enigma since our first meeting with him but now he’s revealed and its heartbreaking.  Both tough guy and victim, Cole is a character you can connect with and you immediately understand why Elliot lets him get so close despite their history and Elliot’s suspicions.  I have always enjoyed the past histories that RJ Scott has created for her characters in this series and Cole is no exception.  The revelations about Cole and his family are huge and I think there’s more to come in the next story.  There are narrative bombshells dropping everywhere in Ghost.  I can almost imagine the glee that  the author felt as she wrote it.

There are huge questions answered about series characters like Simon for instance from his story, Accidental Hero. That’s just a beginning.  Ghost is one giddy festival of plot threads opening, and closing and new ones popping open in their place. We also get our Sanctuary characters from other stories showing up as well, always a plus.  Another RJ Scott staple?  The new couple on the horizon, ready for the next story.

Yes, this massive crime umbrella plot thread is still alive and growing and driving this series like a champ.  I had no idea of the surprises the author had in store for us in Ghost and that Cole was the key to unlocking a whole new chapter of deviousness of evil and villainy. Love when that happens too.  Bring on Book 10!  This series is alive and kicking and I can’t wait for more.

Cover art by BitterGrace Art works for the characters and branding the series.

Sales Links

RJ Scott

Amazon US 

Amazon UK

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: February 28th 2017 by Love Lane Books Limited
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series: Sanctuary