Category: eBooks

A VVivacious Review: Spare Parts by T.J.Land

Rating: 2 Stars out of 5

Meteor, Gloss and Spike are slaves to a technologically superior species but they manage to escape from their owners, masters and creators. In a bid to win freedom for all tools, Meteor hatches a plan, an ingenious but extremely foolhardy one. Along with his companions, Meteor is going to find out just how difficult and distracting Earth and its inhabitants can be.

This book is a science fiction space odyssey with a group of sentient beings fighting for freedom from their oppressors. It mostly details the struggles of the tools (or scavengers as they later decide to call themselves) as they attempt to escape the control of the Gentle Folk, the technologically advanced species. Though it does feature a tentative romance between a human and a tool and a maybe developing one between two tools (the human identifies as male and all other tools involved in said relationships refer to themselves as he), this book’s primary focus is not the romance and it gets little development in the grand scheme of things. If you haven’t thought it already, think Westworld and you will have a general idea where this story is going. The rest of this review has my views on the book and it’s definitely me, not the book.

This book started out amazing, with three robots on a mission to free their fellow beings from service under the “Gentle Folk” by hatching a plan so far-fetched it might just be brilliant. I loved how the book tried to incorporate how bizarre humans would appear to any intelligent being not familiar with us and it was amazing that the author was able to depict just how difficult it will be to do anything in a world you know very little about, like just finding a place to start would have you tearing your hair out and I loved that part of this story. Meteor, Gloss and Spike’s struggles to make head or tails of humans led to some interesting developments which I enjoyed thoroughly. The story has really organic developments that help make it more than just the narration.

But then the Gentle Folk themselves made it down to Earth and things just changed perspective in my mind. All of a sudden that fight for freedom that Meteor, Gloss and Spike were pursuing that seemed mostly benign became dangerous enough to destroy humankind. I could imagine being in the place of the humans in this story and I could imagine being in place of the Gentle Folk but all of a sudden, the slave-master analogy that I was applying to explain away the tools feelings blew up in my face because they aren’t master and slave, they are creator and created. This blew up this story to the realm of metaphysical debate in my brain and it literally became Westworld for me which I didn’t like for similar reasons. Do we need to have such debates when we are nowhere near creating a true AI and secondarily do we really have to think about what species that as of yet remain undiscovered might be doing on their home-worlds? Maybe but we would be having those debates in a safe cocoon where either thing though not impossible is still pretty distant. I feel like when these debates are anywhere near affecting our reality we will hopefully have better tools to deal with them, or we won’t and we will screw it up like science fiction has me believing because truly what is the right way? I found myself exceedingly worried about the fate of the Earth. Here were these super-robots inhabiting Earth who were quick to pull the trigger and capable of vaporizing any evidence thereafter, free to terrorize humans for all eternity. If they decided to wipe us out a millennium from now we would all be dead and they would still be here and that made me vulnerable. The third point of view that I couldn’t find myself taking to was the point of view of the tools because that would bring up some serious questions about God and well do we really want Gods like the Gentle Folk? Will there come a time when the tools, who rebelled and killed their creators, will worship those very same Creators and what about our creator if there indeed is a being that created us?

This book was really interesting. Initially, while I found it intriguing, I was a bit reserved about if I would like it but I was surprised by just how well written it was and how it was able to truly get me to sympathize and appreciate it’s characters. I didn’t like the violence in this book and not because I am squeamish because frankly it isn’t like graphic violence where you can feel the blood dripping but I just resented that it was there because it had me acutely aware of exactly how defenseless we, humans, are. In fact, towards the end of the book, I was glad that the story was going to end on a debate with the fate of the tools/scavengers somewhat settled as their journey for freedom continues when Bam! Violence. I mean how stupid are these Gentle Folk that they have absolutely no idea what their creations have become but I guess, that is the whole idea that they have no idea.

I didn’t enjoy this book much so I am not going to give it a high rating but this one was definitely a case of it’s me not you because I am pretty sure people who don’t have my hang-ups are sure to enjoy this one and maybe even have answers to the various questions this book poses.

I would definitely like to mention some things I liked. The moment when they decide not to torture Bek because Gonzalo thought they were impressive was an amazing moment which kind of lost its shine in face of the casual speciesism that the tools/scavengers threw out but it remains a pretty splendid moment despite the dings. Also, I loved how these three had their personalities change organically throughout the story despite having nothing organic about themselves to boot.

One thing I definitely didn’t like was that all the tools became more human. It would have been nice if they could have introduced the gender concept of their owners instead of just their technology because I am sure that the Gentle Folk definitely will have some novel concepts that can help mankind.

I guess the reason I really didn’t like this book was that in the end no one in this book really cares about your fate, the fate of human beings and that was just unsettling because by the end of the book they are the only beings I could identify with.

Cover Art by Natasha Snow is beautiful as always but it gives kind of a horror-suspense feel which doesn’t gel well with the feel of the book.

Sales Links:  NineStar Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook
Published October 22nd 2018 by NineStar Press
ISBN139781949909012
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Better Not Pout by Annabeth Albert

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

 

One hard-nosed military police officer.

One overly enthusiastic elf.

One poorly timed snowstorm.

Is it a recipe for disaster? Or a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for holiday romance?

Teddy MacNally loves Christmas and everything that goes along with it. When he plays an elf for his charity’s events, he never expects to be paired with a Scrooge masquerading as Santa Claus. His new mission: make the holiday-hating soldier believe he was born to say ho-ho-ho.

Sergeant Major Nicholas Nowicki doesn’t do Santa, but he’s army to his blood. When his CO asks an unusual favor, Nick of course obliges. The elf to his Kris Kringle? Tempting. Too tempting—Nick’s only in town for another month, and Teddy’s too young, too cheerful and too nice for a one-night stand.

The slow, sexy make-out sessions while Teddy and Nick are alone and snowbound, though, feel like anything but a quick hookup. As a stress-free holiday fling turns into Christmas all year round, Teddy can’t imagine his life without Nick. And Nick’s days on the base may be coming to a close, but he doesn’t plan on leaving anything, or anyone, behind.

Ahhhhh….the holiday spirit is in the air! I’m getting the hankering to set a fire, toast some chestnuts, grab a hot toddy, and look out the window for the first sprinkling of snowflakes! Never mind that our leaves just started turning colors and the tricker or treaters barely had the door slammed on them. Nope, feeling all  holiday and Christmassy here.  Why?  Because Annabeth Albert’s story, Better Not Pout, has left me feeling that way!  That’s why!

Next I’ll be hearing jingle bells up on the roof.  Laughing.

With this marvelous, heartwarming story, characters guaranteed to make you laugh, make you love and yearn for family, and everything that the holidays can bring up in your heart and memories, the author has jump started my Christmas and holiday season.

Sergeant Major Nicholas Nowicki?  A hard case that comes under the spell of Teddy the man with a  huge heart in elf h gear and a town that seems full of people all named MacNally.    I was under this town’s and Teddy’s spell myself, that’s how real Albert makes them all.

It’s a slow burn relationship for Nic but he’s the only one.  For Teddy and the reader the slide into love is quick and permanent.  I could have stayed with this couple and town for the longest of times.  Definitely past New Year’s.

It’s the writing that’s so well done.  We feel like we know all these people.  The ones in trouble and needing Teddy’s assistance, all the many family members, all the situations that Teddy and Nic find themselves in, the snow, the tentative path towards a relationship, and finally, the love.

Yes, this is an excellent story for the holidays.  Or anytime of the year.

Grab it up, a warm blanket or two, get all snuggly and prepared to be transported into the snow, and the town where Christmas and love is alive and well and waiting for two men so very much in need of it.

And yes, I highly recommend this story.

Cover art is not credited but it’s adorable and a great representation of the characters. Love it.

Sales Links:   Carina Press | Barnes & Noble (mmp)  | Barnes & Noble (ebook)   |   Amazon 

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 288 pages
Expected publication: November 12th 2018 by Carina Press
Original TitleBetter Not Pout
ASINB07DCT4BQB
Edition LanguageEnglish

A Lucy Review: Bump by Matthew J. Metzger

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

David’s pregnant.

He’s always wanted to have children, and being a stepfather for the past two years has been a great adventure. There’d even been a plan to start looking into adoption and turn their family of three into four.

But now there’s a bump, and David doesn’t know what to do. He’s spent years escaping the grip of his own body and burying the past—but there’s no way he can hide from his history if he lets the bump get any bigger. It’s not just his baby; it’s also his breakdown.

He doesn’t know if he can do this.

Books dealing with this subject matter fascinate me because I can’t begin to imagine the strength it takes to go through with what it’s going to do to your body and your mind, yet it’s something you’ve always wanted. That’s the dilemma David is in right now.  He and his partner, Ryan, were in a car accident and his HRT was reduced due to liver issues.  Reduced too much, apparently, because what happened was pregnancy.  David is a veterinarian, an educated, established man and this rocks his being to the core.

This was interesting to me because I remember reading of Thomas Beatie, a transgender man who carried three children with his now ex-wife.  The media made it seem so happy and carefree and at the time I wondered how true that could be.  Here, it is far from simple.  David first can’t even decide whether to keep the baby, knowing what it may to do his core self having to now be seen, again, as female.  I did appreciate that David didn’t just make the decision without consulting Ryan, even though Ryan himself puts David before anything.  When David makes but can’t keep an appointment for an abortion, it’s a rough time ahead.

There were times during this story things weren’t explained until later.  Such as, I didn’t realize for a while that Ryan is in a wheelchair and you don’t find out until much later why.  Not a huge deal but it did have me going back a couple times to see if I missed something.  His status as well, sort of popped out of nowhere and surprised me.

David and Ryan are a solid couple and thankfully they talk to each other.  When David needs space to deal, Ryan gives it without getting his feelings hurt.  David knows he’s being unreasonable sometimes, “I’ll make it up to you.”  I just really liked them together. Add in that Ava, at age five, actually acts like a five-year-old and this family seemed real.  Alas, Ryan’s brother, Jay, and his mother, Aggie, also seemed too real and disgusting.  All I can say is, go pregnant David!  We do get Ryan’s mom, who makes up for Ryan’s lack of family sense.  The reason for naming the baby Sam was a little heartbreaking.  “He’d died because he hurt, not because he’d hurt other people.”  David’s feelings on both Ben and Sam, also so real.

What this story focuses on is what having this baby that they so want is doing to David.  Especially since for years he’s not had to come out as trans.  He has been just a man and that will inevitably change.  “Because ultimately, David wasn’t a trans man. He was a man.  Nothing else. No qualifier.”  The dysphoria David suffers comes through loud and clear.  When he hears Sam’s heartbeat, it’s not a happy thing for him.  “He’d never known he could hear his own dysphoria.”  It’s never ending. “He’d been so horrified by his own baby moving that he’d thrown up.”   The fact that he’s also dealing with snide comments, stares and the massive waste of space that is Ryan’s brother and mother, well, I’m glad Ryan is who he is. “Knights riding in on white wheelchairs to save the day.”   Glad that David has friends such as Vicky who knew him before and support him always.  That Ava and Ryan’s ex are there for support as well. That the midwife, Nadia, is what medical professionals should be.

From his awkward boss to Ava’s ignorant teacher to sitting in a waiting room full of women, it’s just an emotional slap over and over.  We read his struggle and feel his fear that after all this, he’s going to end up with a baby he doesn’t love.  This is something I appreciated because not everyone gives birth and has that “hallelujah” moment, this child is perfection.  Sometimes those hormones have to settle before you can feel it and that’s a normal thing.

This was such an interesting read with a hopeful, happy ending.  Definitely would recommend it.

Cover art: Natasha Snow.

Sales Links:  NineStar Press |  Amazon

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: November 5th 2018 by NineStar Press
ISBN139781949909104
Edition LanguageEnglish

Ready for Some Holiday Romance? Check out Better Not Pout by Annabeth Albert (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Better Not Pout by Annabeth Albert

Publisher: Carina Press (Harlequin)

Release Date (Print & Ebook): Ebook: Monday November 12, 2018

Print (mmp): Tuesday November 27, 2018

Length (Print & Ebook):  Ebook: 288, Print (mmp): 288

Subgenre: Contemporary Romance, Male/Male Romance, Holiday Romance, Military Romance

Order at:

Carina Press | Barnes & Noble (mmp)  | Barnes & Noble (ebook)   |   Amazon 

 

 

Book Synopsis:

One hard-nosed military police officer.

One overly enthusiastic elf.

One poorly timed snowstorm.

Is it a recipe for disaster? Or a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for holiday romance?

Teddy MacNally loves Christmas and everything that goes along with it. When he plays an elf for his charity’s events, he never expects to be paired with a Scrooge masquerading as Santa Claus. His new mission: make the holiday-hating soldier believe he was born to say ho-ho-ho.

Sergeant Major Nicholas Nowicki doesn’t do Santa, but he’s army to his blood. When his CO asks an unusual favor, Nick of course obliges. The elf to his Kris Kringle? Tempting. Too tempting—Nick’s only in town for another month, and Teddy’s too young, too cheerful and too nice for a one-night stand.

The slow, sexy make-out sessions while Teddy and Nick are alone and snowbound, though, feel like anything but a quick hookup. As a stress-free holiday fling turns into Christmas all year round, Teddy can’t imagine his life without Nick. And Nick’s days on the base may be coming to a close, but he doesn’t plan on leaving anything, or anyone, behind.

***

Annabeth Albert says that, “BETTER NOT POUT is a male/male holiday romance featuring endearing characters with a fun, flirty plot that will remind readers of their favorite holiday rom-coms.”

 Excerpt :

It was entirely possible that standing in Teddy’s office in his drawers was less humiliating than trying to squash himself onto the couch. He narrowly avoided rolling to the floor, but ended up in a sneezing fit because up close and personal, the couch smelled like a combo of woodsmoke and fabric cleaner of some kind. And his neck and thighs were both cramping, but he tried to not groan aloud.

“Yeah. You look totally comfy.” Teddy shook his head at Nick as he finished putting the game away and banking the fire. “Come on. Bed. I’ll even turn on the electric bed warmer for you.”

“We can share,” Nick said decisively. He’d slept next to men on planes and in various mission situations. Surely he could survive the temptation that was Teddy in a warm bed.

“Excellent.” Teddy’s eyes went dark and hot.

“To sleep,” Nick clarified.

“Darn. Can’t blame a guy for hoping?” Teddy gave him a smile over his shoulder as he led the way up to a cozy sleeping loft. A large, high sleigh bed that still looked too small for both of them dominated the room, piled high with colorful quilts. Teddy clambered onto the bed, crawling across it, muttering something about finding a controller but Nick was too transfixed on his bouncing ass to pay much attention to his words. It was surprisingly round and high and rather bitable and…

“See something you want?” Teddy glanced over his shoulder.

Busted. And he must have not been able to wipe the want off his expression fast enough because Teddy crawled back across the bed to kneel in front of where Nick stood, looking like some angelic offering. An offering Nick wasn’t sure he could turn down a second time.

“How about…” Teddy pitched his voice low and seductive, almost a whisper. “I get it, I’m not your type, but maybe I could turn off the lights and you could… I dunno…pretend? Just for tonight?”

“Never said you weren’t my type,” Nick said, voice like sandpaper. True, he’d been thinking just that an hour earlier, but Teddy not being his usual didn’t mean that Nick didn’t see his appeal or that the chemistry wasn’t there. And fuck, it would be so much easier if the chemistry between them didn’t crackle like the downstairs fire. His hand was apparently done taking orders from his brain that evening and reached out to stroke Teddy’s smooth jaw. “Just that it was a bad idea.”

“It’s an excellent idea.” Teddy stretched like a cat under Nick’s touch, eyes drifting shut, like he was every bit as hungry for Nick’s touch as he was to give it. And Nick gave up the fight with a groan. This was a terrible idea for all sorts of good, logical reasons, and things were likely to get awkward, but hell if he could bring himself to stop touching Teddy. He buried his hand in those golden curls, which were far softer than they looked.

And Teddy knew he’d won, closed the remaining distance between them and looped his arms around Nick’s neck. “Now do I get to tell you what I want?”

This time Nick laughed, long and low. “Yeah. You do.”

“Goody.” Teddy beamed at him. “But it’s probably gonna be easier to show you…”

With that, Teddy leaned in, slow enough that Nick could have stopped him if he’d been so inclined. Which he wasn’t. No, he’d made up his mind to have this thing. He’d deal with the consequences—and there would be consequences—like an adult, but for tonight, he was going to let himself have Teddy.

About Annabeth Albert:

Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer. Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Her critically acclaimed and fan-favorite LGBTQ romance series include the #OutOfUniform, #Gaymers, #PortlandHeat, #RainbowCove and #PerfectHarmony series.

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

Connect with Annabeth Albert:

 

 

 

Giveaway: Win 1 of 2 e-copies of any OUT OF UNIFORM series book or a finished Paperback copy of BETTER NOT POUT!

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Release Day Blast for Mama, Me, and the Holiday Tree by Jeanne G’Fellers (excerpt and giveaway)

Mama Me and the Holiday Tree

Jeanne G’Fellers is sharing the cover for her new enby/pansexual queer paranormal fantasy book: Mama, Me, and the Holiday Tree.

A dozen handmade holiday ornaments, that’s all, but it might be an impossible task.

Centenary Rhodes and her mother are at constant odds. It’s one of the many reasons Cent left home when she was eighteen. Mama’s difficult for anyone to manage, but now that Cent’s back home, she has to try. Mama, however, won’t acknowledge who Cent’s become, even though she’s repeatedly been shown the truth.

It’ll take more than popcorn strings and paper snowflakes to heal the rift that’s formed between Cent and Mama. It’s going to take bushels of patience, heaps of magic, and assistance from everyone on both sides of Embreeville Mountain to reset the Balance between them.

But with Yule and Christmas just around the corner, it might already be too late.

Join Cent and her Mother for a heart-warming, magic-filled holiday tale of acceptance, family of choice, family of blood, love, magic, and patience all served with a queer Appalachian twist.

Warnings: This novella broaches the subject of mental illness, specifically Schizophrenia, within families and the relationships struggles therein.

About the Series:

Four elements plus one, four seasons, over a hundred lives – Centenary Rhodes has returned home to discover she isn’t who she thought. Join her on a journey through history, family of blood, family of choice, and love that renews. The mountains are alive, y’all, everything hinges on the Balance, and a little moonshine can cure what ails you in this identity-exploring, imaginative queer Contemporary Fantasy series steeped in Appalachian magic and folklore.

Mountain Gap Books | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CAN | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | Goodreads

Giveaway

Jeanne is giving away two eBook copies of the first book in the series, Cleaning House, with this tour. Enter via Rafflecopter:

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Excerpt

Mama Me and the Holiday Tree

Chapter One

A Cedar in the Corner

December 19, 2017: 5:30 p.m.

This is what I get for marrying an earth elemental.I stare with dismay at the dirt trail leading across the porch and through the front door. I don’t get rare gems or sparkling geodes placed lovingly at my feet by my elemental spouse. No, I get a cedar tree, bare roots caked with half-frozen mud, wedged into the living room corner.

Stowne’s dragged a holiday tree into our home while I was at work today.

“No one saw you do this?” I scratch my head as I consider the leaning mass of fern-like, scaly, sticky needles. “And I thought we’d talked about getting a tree tomorrow.”

“No one was here.” Stowne’s grinning ear to sandy ear. “It is a surprise. You have worked so hard lately that you have forgotten how close it is to Yule.”

Yeah, Yule. About that.This is my first Yule with Stowne. No, let me correct that. This will be my first Yule celebration thislife, and they’re trying to make it special for me, so I can’t sound as upset as I’m feeling at present. “Two days. I know. Thanks, honey, but can we do something about the mess?”

 

“I’ve got it.” Stowne’s fire elemental friend, Pyre, rolls into the living room on a cloud of white smoke, and they’re holding the old half-barrel planter from beneath my Aunt Tess’ trailer’s back porch. “I found something to line it.” Pyre holds up a faded canvas tarp they’ve found Gods know where.

“Thank you.” Stowne’s smile still spans their face. They’re happy about this, about the tree in the corner, the leaky planter, and faded tarp, so I try my best to look happy too. “Go to the kitchen, relax, and drink some coffee, Centenary. Pyre and I will finish setting up the tree.”

“Sure.” I tuck my messenger bag under my arm and head to the kitchen, where Rayne is waiting for me, an earthenware mug of steaming coffee in their translucent, watery hands. Water elementals make wonderful coffee, by the way. Rayne claims the secret is spring water filtered through their form, and I’ve no reason to doubt them.

“Stowne’s really excited about the tree.” Rayne gives me the mug and takes my bag, setting it on the kitchen table. It’s a huge piece of well-loved furniture, a good eight-foot-long trestle, and handmade from American Chestnut, a species that’s widely considered extinct. “They’ve been looking for the perfect one since Samhain.”

“They have?” Who knew there was so much to Yule? Certainly not me, at least that I can remember. See, I’ve got this whole multiple-lives thing I’m sorting through. Most of those lives, I’ve been with Stowne, and I remember a lot, but some issues, like their excitement over holidays, have eluded me. I’ve been reading about different Yule traditions online and in the stack of magical books I left behind, but I feel I’ve barely scratched the surface, and I’ve been asking Stowne questions every night while we cuddle in bed. “They’ve gotten excited every sabbat and esbat since we’ve been together, but they seem even more excited about Yule. Why is that?”

“You don’t remember?” Rayne shifts the lower portion of their form to what resembles flowing blue pants, making it easier for them to sit. “You’ve celebrated Yule with Stowne for centuries, and during your last two lives, you actually let them bring in a tree every year as long as it could be replanted afterward.”

“Yeah, Stowne told me.” I sip my coffee then rise from the table in search of the quart of cream we keep in the homestead’s old Kelvinator fridge. “But that doesn’t explain why they’re so happy.” I add three heaping teaspoons of sugar to my cup, deep in thought as I stir. I remember that Stowne and I built this homestead together in the early nineteenth century. That version of me was Irish and desperate for a home that resembled Ireland, and this place certainly looks like pictures I’ve seen. My motivations might change each life, but I’m in many ways the same, and I always try to come here, to reach Stowne and this mountain. That’s what I’m told, anyway, but I don’t actually know.

My heart, however, says this is correct.

Here’s the thing about me and my memories. This life, I left Northeast Tennessee when I was eighteen years old. Actually, I didn’t just leave, I ran. I ran from my mother and her chronic mental illness, from everyone I thought wouldn’t accept me as genderqueer, from the magic I wasn’t ready to understand, from the looming pile of memories I’m now sorting through. But mostly, I ran from myself. Now I’m back, and I’m trying to cram three thousand years into my head, but I sometimes think space is running out.

“Stowne loves every sabbat, but especially Yule.” Rayne shrugs hard enough to fling water across the table top. “Oops.”

“It needs cleaned anyway.” I return with a dishrag, sitting across from Rayne as I wipe up. “Why Yule?”

“It represents rebirth.” Rayne stares at me with their blue eyes wide and one pale, translucent brow cocked, the look they always give me when I should be remembering something. “Re-birth.” Their stare becomes hard.

“Oh.” I bite my bottom lip to hide my embarrassment. Sure, rebirth. Myrebirth. Stowne sees Yule as a chance to celebrate my return to Embreeville Mountain. I’m almost thirty years old, a tiny blip in the grand scheme of time and infinitely younger than Stowne, even when you add all my lives together, but they want to celebrate like it’s something new. More so this year because it’s our first Yule together as eternal lovers.

Yeah, I’m immortal now too, but that’s a story for some other time.

“So…” I take a deep breath and scratch beneath my undercut at the stubbly hair that’s already growing back. “What do I need to do?”

“Act happy and don’t get in their way.” Rayne takes the dishrag to the old enamel sink, wrings it out, and drapes it over the side before turning to face me. “All elementals love the Winter Solstice, what you call Yule. Even death elementals like Exan. But you don’t remember that either, do you?”

“Afraid not.” I finish my coffee and go to the sink to stand beside Rayne, looking out the window to where the mountain rises behind the house in shades of tired brown splashed with winter evergreen. “I wish I did.” And I really do. It might help me to understand all this. “It’s like Christmas, isn’t it? I mean they’re similar, right?”

“In some ways, yes. But others…” Rayne shakes their head, this time slinging water from their deep blue locks. “Drains and dribbles. I’ll call it back.” They chant low, drawing the water to their form, smiling as it disappears into their bare, puddling feet. “I think you need a holiday refresher.”

“A refresher?” The house smells like cedar so I breathe deep. It’s not a bad smell. In fact, it’s fresh, clean, and familiar. Yes, I remember having a tree in this house before and Stowne’s joy each time. “Are you going to tell me about all those holidays?”

“You’ll do best to remember for yourself.” Rayne smiles as they glide toward the living room. “That tree needs water.”

Author Bio

AUTHOR PHOTO - Mama Me and the Holiday Tree - Jeanne GFellersBorn and raised in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Science Fiction and Fantasy author Jeanne G’Fellers’ early memories include watching the original Star Trek series with her father and reading the books her librarian mother brought home. Jeanne’s writing influences include Anne McCaffrey, Ursula K. LeGuin, Octavia Butler, Isaac Asimov, and Frank Herbert.

Jeanne lives in Northeast Tennessee with her spouse and their five crazy felines. Their home is tucked against a small woodland where they regularly see deer, turkeys, raccoons, and experience the magic of the natural world.

Author Website: https://jeannegfellersauthor.com/

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/Jeannegfellersauthor/

Author Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jlgfellers

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/106949.Jeanne_G_Fellers

Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/jeanne-gfellers/

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jeanne-GFellers/e/B01N0YWCT7/

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REVIEW TOUR – False Flag (The Phisher King, #2) Clancy Nacht & Thursday Euclid

NEW RELEASE

Book Title: False Flag (The Phisher King book 2)

Author: Clancy Nacht & Thursday Euclid

Publisher: Eine Kleine Press

Cover Artist: Clancy Nacht

Release Date: November 6, 2018

Genre/s: gay romantic suspense, political, Daddy kink

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 60 000 words /268 pages

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Starting Nov 6: The Phisher King will be available for free on Kindle.

Blurb

Sequel to Rainbow Award-winning m/m romantic thriller “The Phisher King.”

FBI Agent Callum Riggs and hacker Hunter Walsh have settled into a quiet, contented life together with their Pomeranian, Bruiser. Under a hostile new administration, Cal’s changing duties at the Bureau frustrate his career and personal ambitions. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Cal, Hunter pursues vengeance against his would-be rapist Chad, following him into the heart of Seattle’s blossoming Alt-Right scene.

Will Cal’s handsome former partner Justin Barnes and Hunter’s mounting pile of secrets drive a wedge between them? With Barnes trying to woo Cal away from his current life, Hunter in too deep with a band of White Nationalists, and the authorities focused on all the wrong suspects, will Cal and Hunter find a way to save Seattle before tensions explode?

This sexy 60k romantic thriller contains: an undercover Pomeranian, a buff FBI agent who likes being called daddy, and a pink-haired hacker who has serious issues with authority.

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About the Authors

Clancy Nacht
Clancy Nacht is a bisexual genderqueer person who lives in Austin. Clancy has published several bestselling romances. Many of her books have been honored with Rainbow Awards; Le Jazz Hot won for Best Bisexual/Transgender Romance & Erotic Romance. In 2013, Black Gold: Double Black was a runner-up for a Rainbow Award. In 2015, Gemini won an Honorable Mention for Gay Erotic Romance and in 2016, Strange Times won an Honorable Mention for Science Fiction. Wyatt’s Recipes for Wooing Rock Stars was a finalist in the highly competitive William Neale Award for Best Gay Contemporary Romance. The Phisher King won second place in the Rainbow Award for Romantic Suspense, 16th for Gay Book of the Year.

Thursday Euclid
The Thursday Euclid is a strange and elusive creature dwelling in the Texas Gulf Coast region. Frequently mistaken for Bigfoot, Chupacabra, or the monster of the week, he is, in fact, a 30-something black sheep with a penchant for K-pop, geekery, and hot and sour soup. When he’s not playing Dragon Age or SWTOR, he’s probably watching B-movies or talking to his best friend and frequent collaborator Clancy Nacht. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, or email him at thursdayeuclid at gmail dot com.

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A MelanieM Review: Boy Next Door (Hot Off the Ice #5) by A. E. Wasp

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Hockey superstar Joey Luciano has always been good at being whatever people needed him to be. The fans want a good-looking fast-living party boy? Enter ‘the Looch,’ Joey’s carefully created public persona. But the cracks in his mask are starting to show, and he’s begun to lose touch with who he really is. It’s going to take someone who’s been there from the very beginning, to help him find his way home.

Coach Liam O’Reilly always had a very clear picture of what his life should look like. Falling in love with the infuriating, passionate, stubborn, and endlessly fascinating boy next door was not part of the plan. But when Liam’s carefully constructed life fell apart one Christmas Eve, Joey Luciano was there to pick up the pieces. Now Liam can’t stop wanting him.

The passion blazing between them on the ice and behind closed doors could leave both of them badly burned. But through the smoke, Liam can see glimpses of a future brighter than any he’d imagined, a future worth risking his career and reputation for, if only he is brave enough to reach for it.

But Joey’s got a secret he’s keeping from everyone. If it gets out, it could be the end of everything.

I really enjoyed the Boy Next Door (Hot Off the Ice #5) by A. E. Wasp.  It has so many elements I love in a contemporary romance, starting off with hockey players and hockey coaches in love combinations.  Or just a hockey element.  That always draws me in.  Wasp also has another aspect to this series and story I adore.  Large families that support the main characters!

Families easily identifiable by location (Boston), ethnicities (Irish and Italian), long association (neighbors), and even intertwined relationships.  This extended main cast is a huge factor in connecting the reader to the character of Joey Luciano (the Italian family) and Liam O’Reilly (the Irish one),  In a totally current and hilarious format, we often see the family members communicating with each other via group text.  It’s never overdone, totally funny, and very realistic.  It’s has the feel of family and truth.  And it brought these people and their lives right into my heart.

Joey, “the Looch” Luciano, is a 25 year old  with a lot of issues. On the outside, he’s let this “Looch” character he’s created take over his life (brash, outgoing to the  extreme that it seems like he’s hogging the media and outshining his teammates.  No one is happy with him, including himself.  On the inside it’s worse.  Wasp has created Joey as a insecure person, low self esteem to the point that he seeks approval from every source and everyone without asking himself why he needs it so.  This is an enormous issue, obviously.  Not his only one. On top of this Joey is dealing with the fact that he has loved Liam since he can remember, a love that he has never looked at what that meant.  Why?  Because he shrinks from being called gay or even bisexual.  Which imo is totally misused here with regards to Joey.

Joey is someone who has lacked self examination for most of his life and it’s not until he gets involved with Liam that he smacks into some hard realities for himself.  At about 51 percent, we get these musing from Joey…

“What did people see when they looked at him? Could they tell he was having sex with a guy? Probably not. He looked as normal as Paul and Robbie. And he wasn’t gay gay. If anything he was bisexual like Liam.”

There are so many flags in those sentences that show exactly how messed up Joey is over not only his sexuality but homosexuality in general.  Being gay isn’t “normal”?  He also has issues with femme versus masc. And as is worked out down the story, Joey really doesn’t enjoy sex with women, so no, not bisexual.  Yes, some of this flags get addressed, not as many as I wished but a lot.

There are so many broken layers to Joey, it’s just one right after enough. Panic attacks, health issues, and more that need to be seriously addressed. Are all given the depth of attention I would wish or deserve? Perhaps not but they aren’t blown off either. Believable, authentic cracks in this man.  Kudos to A.E. Wasp for creating such a character.

Liam is a strong character, older by 10 years than Joey.  I liked him and their relationship but honestly wondered if the author was going to use their hot, and admittedly kinky sex life as a bandaid for all of Joey’s deep problems.  Thankfully, the  answer is no.  Wasp let me wonder about that, while I enjoyed Joey and LIam working out their relationship and then gave me everything I hoped for in the ending of this story. That included my Washington Caps winning the Stanley Cup this year!  And therapy for Joey.  Win win.

The humor here had me cackling!  Whether it’s Knock Knock jokes or Liam’s younger brother Patrick trying to get Liam to switch out his posh furniture for a huge leather sectional that all the young hockey players can come over and watch TV on saying”

“It’s the traditional furnishings of our people!”

Well, this book and dialogue crackles with fun, the knowledge of what it is like to be young, in love, or a hockey player, or to just do dumb things.  And all of the above.

Yes, plenty of angst too.

If I also have a complaint, its the actual lack of hockey.

We get headlines, sports feeds,  but  little actual ice time.  These men are passionate about ice and hockey.  So where is the time on the ice?  Where is the sense of team?

We get little of that except towards the very end in the important game.  I wish so badly we had had lots more of that action throughout the story.  Then we could understand why Joey and Liam’s actions carried the weight of the love of ice behind them that they did.  I felt that was missing because we never really saw Joey on ice for the majority of the book.  We were told about it but never actually “felt” it through the character. And I felt that was a mistake.

But did I love this story?  Yes I did.  I thought the author did a tremendous job with the characters, actualizing a man on the brink of a life change for himself and letting us travel some of the journey with him.  Scary, messy, not totally complete, a work in progress as they say.  I think Joey would agree with that and be happy.  So would Liam and the rest of the two families.

I definitely look for more in this series.  I recommend this one for all lovers of contemporary romance and hockey and even a little love of spanking!

 

Cover art: Ana Phoenix.  Nice cover but doesn’t quite get the age difference.

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

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Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 462 pages
Published September 21st 2018
ASINB07HL6TTW9
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesHot Off the Ice #5

 

Book Blast with Reviews – Boy Next Door (Hot Off the Ice #5) by A. E. Wasp (excerpt)

BOOK BLAST

Book Title:  Boy Next Door (Hot Off the Ice #5)

Author: A. E. Wasp

Publisher:  Self-Published

Cover Artist: Ana Phoenix

Genre/s:  Contemporary Gay Romance

Heat Rating:  3.5 flames

Length:  100,000 words/432 pages

It is a standalone book.

Add on Goodreads

This is a story about losing the path and finding yourself.

It contains kissing, yelling, spanking, and carb-loaded family interventions. 

Blurb

Hockey superstar Joey Luciano has always been good at being whatever people needed him to be. The fans want a good-looking fast-living party boy? Enter ‘the Looch,’ Joey’s carefully created public persona. But the cracks in his mask are starting to show, and he’s begun to lose touch with who he really is. It’s going to take someone who’s been there from the very beginning, to help him find his way home.

Coach Liam O’Reilly always had a very clear picture of what his life should look like. Falling in love with the infuriating, passionate, stubborn, and endlessly fascinating boy next door was not part of the plan. But when Liam’s carefully constructed life fell apart one Christmas Eve, Joey Luciano was there to pick up the pieces. Now Liam can’t stop wanting him.

The passion blazing between them on the ice and behind closed doors could leave both of them badly burned. But through the smoke, Liam can see glimpses of a future brighter than any he’d imagined, a future worth risking his career and reputation for, if only he is brave enough to reach for it.

But Joey’s got a secret he’s keeping from everyone. If it gets out, it could be the end of everything.

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US

Amazon UK 

Excerpt

“Hey,” Joey said, looking up from his phone as Liam fell into the bathroom. “Took you long enough. I’ve been in this fucking bathroom for ten minutes. It’s not that nice. One of those for me?”

“Fucking hell,” Liam said.

Those were the first words he’d spoken to Joey since Christmas Day. Jerk. Stupid gorgeous jerk.

”Okay, then.” Joey reached for one of the shot glasses and downed it, coughing a little from the tequila burn. He’d been expecting whiskey. “Tequila?” Bad things happened when they drank tequila.

Liam nodded and poured the other shot down his throat.

“Gina?”

“Who else?”

Who else but his big sister would do that? Of course, he’d known they were planning on trapping him in the bathroom. He’d also known Liam would do what they wanted, too. The O’Reilly-Luciano double-team had a ninety-five percent success rate.

He’d gone along with it because someplace, not even that deep inside, he desperately wanted to see Liam again. To see if Liam would still have the same effect on him as he had since puberty. Joey licked the last drop of alcohol off his lips, feeling a tingle of lust when Liam dropped his gaze to Joey’s mouth. Yeah. Still, the same effect. Stupid, good-looking smug bastard.

Liam set his glass on the counter with a thud, and then closed the distance between them, forcing Joey to look up to meet his eyes. Sometimes Joey really hated being four inches shorter than him.

“Nice outfit,” Liam said taking in the remains of Joey’s hastily-constructed pirate costume; red and black striped nylon pants ending in a ragged cuff just below the knee, black patent-leather Doc Martin boots, and a wide gold sash tied around his waist. He’d lost his shirt somewhere in the club. The way Liam couldn’t tear his eyes away from Joey’s tattoos made the loss of the two hundred dollar shirt totally worth it.

Liam picked up the end of the sash, sliding the silky material through his fingers. “How come every time I see you, you’re wearing some kind of costume?” Last time they’d met, Joey had been dressed as Santa.

Liam, of course, was his normal GQ self in dark trousers, a white dress shirt, and one of his vast collection of purple ties. The perfect simplicity of his clothes making everyone else look like they were trying too hard.

“How come every time I see you, you’re overdressed?” Joey asked.

Liam ran his hand through his thick red hair. “At least I’m not wandering around half-naked, letting everybody and their brother get their eyes all over me.”

Joey’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

Liam scowled. “It’s a snake pit out there. I got groped half a dozen times walking here.”

Joey leaned back against the water-splattered sink counter. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Your point is?”

Liam stepped close enough that their thighs brushed. Dropping his hand heavily on Joey’s shoulder, he watched transfixed as his thumb traced the curve of Joey’s collarbone. “My point is, that maybe I don’t like the idea of you getting pawed at by a room full of drunks and puck bunnies.”

Joey knocked Liam’s hand away. He had to be fucking kidding. “Tough shit.” Joey pushed himself upright, poking Liam in the center of his (distractingly firm) chest, hard enough to make him take a step backward. “You got no right to tell me what to do or not to do.”

About the Author

After time spent raising children, earning several college degrees, and traveling the world with the U.S. State Department, she is returning to her first love – writing.

A dreamer and an idealist, Amy writes about people finding connection in a world that can seem lonely and magic in a world that can seem all too mundane. She invites readers into her characters’ lives and worlds when they are their most vulnerable, their most human, living with the same hopes and fears we all have. An avid traveler who has lived in big cities and small towns in four different continents, Amy has found that time and distance are no barriers to love. She invites her readers to reach out and share how her characters have touched their lives or how the found families they have gathered around them have shaped their worlds.

Born on Long Island, NY, Amy has lived in Los Angeles, London, and Bangkok. She currently lives in a town suspiciously like Red Deer, Colorado.


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