A MelanieM Review: The Burning Magus (Blue Unicorn #3) by Don Allmon

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

JT was a perfectly happy orc building cars in the Arizona desert until his old friend and sometimes lover Austin showed up and talked him into one last crime. Now “one last crime” has snowballed. With a new team of thieves—a supersoldier, a hacker, a driver, a graffiti artist, and a seafaring wizard—JT and Austin are determined to free an artificial intelligence from the dungeon of the Burning Magus.

For JT, this job is more than a prison break; it’s a do-over of The Job That Went Bad two years ago, the catastrophe in which JT lost his closest friend and then chose to abandon everything, even Austin. Maybe this time no one will die. Maybe this time JT can return to Arizona and bury his old life for good.

Except Austin won’t be buried. After two years alone, Austin knows he wants JT—not just as a partner in crime, but as the lover he always should have been. Maybe this time they won’t make the same mistakes, especially when it comes to each other.

With The Burning Magus, Don Allmon brings The Blue Unicorn trilogy to a close and does so in a manner I’ve come to expect from this wildly imaginative author.

I’ve loved and been intrigued by the warped, bleak landscape of the universe that is the setting for this series. The land and people contorted, twisted, and transformed into “otherness”…orcs, trolls, elves, and more. History become fabricated, molded, and then worshiped along various lines as was self created religions. Techno driven cultures, implants, wastelands of the environments and of the soul….nothing that Don Allmon forgot or left uncreated.

That included a trilogy arc of incredible cruelty, betrayal, revenge, loyalty, and love. All done amidst cars, trucks, gadgetry,magic, and carnage.

Oh, and sex, lots and lots of sex.

All that continues here.

At the end I had to think. It was as if the author, in his plotting of the final book, started picking up the proverbial narrative grab bag. “I want that over there, and that, and that.” You, there, honking big thing!, I want you!” And Allmon goes for the gusto with every nutso item the writer gets his hand on. And then brings order to it There’s an skillfully written suspenseful breakin scene! Talk about action adventure right down to the techno spider thingy. And a mad getaway. Heroes in peril multiple times. Bike chases, stolen cars, boats, AI’s who might be alive, and even Godzilla!

Did I mention tentacle sex? And dragons?

And for all this wonderful wild weirdness, Don Allmon doesn’t forget that what we as readers crave is the connectivity. One character to another, the reader to the characters. It’s all about the emotions, the heart, the love. That we also get. Just when we need it the most.

If, at the end of the book, we’re left a little spent, exhausted. Well, that’s to be expected. Look at the path we’ve trodden together. We’ve been shot at, abducted, lied to, wounded, lost our hope and found it again. Along with love. That’s a trip well spent. A journey well taken and one I highly recommend.

Cover By: Simoné. I love these covers by Simoné, they remain some of my favorite. Perfect for the characters and storyline. Fantastic!

Sales Links: Riptide Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 219 pages
Published November 19th 2018 by Riptide Publishing
Original Title The Burning Magus
ISBN 139781626497559
Edition Language English
Series Blue Unicorn

The Glamour Thieves

Apocalypse Alley

The Burning Magus

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Quenched in Blood (Asheville Arcana #3) by Ari McKay

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Will love mean rebirth… or death?

Vampire Julian Schaden has been warning the Asheville Paranormal Council of an impending demonic incursion for more than two decades. Over the past two years, he and his friends have fought as hard as they can with little help, since Micah Carter, the demon hunter who should have led them, shirked his responsibility and then perished.

Desperate for anything that might aid the fight, Julian enters the Carter property and finds something he never dared hope for: young Thomas Carter, the heir to a long line of demon hunters.

Thomas knows nothing about the supernatural world. But the prospect of a real life, outside the sheltered, isolated farm where he grew up, calls to him, and the idea of fighting the Unholy feels right.

Julian agrees to train Thomas even as he struggles against an unexpected, unwanted attraction. Thomas is too young and innocent to get involved with Julian, but opposites attract, and this is one battle Julian seems fated to lose. A prophecy from a dying mage comes with a bleak warning: the upcoming battle will claim Thomas’s life. To keep his home and friends safe, Julian may have to sacrifice the only love he’s ever known.

The Asheville Arcana series/trilogy comes to an end with Quenched in Blood (Asheville Arcana #3) by Ari McKay. Three close friends, Arden Gilmarin, Whimsey Hickes, Julian Schaden, (with former benefits) will have found their mates/lovers and HEA and the series arc resolves with a crashing thunderous finale.

The previous stories have introduced the fact that there’s a major demon in the area looking for an artifact. And to that end the demon will kill, enslave, and perform many heinous actions and be the master ordering the slaughter of many of those close to the main characters here. It’s been a wild emotional ride watching half-elf Arden Gilmarin fall in love with alpha werewolf Eli Hammond in Out of the Ashes, the first in the series. Equally so, Harlan Edgewood, possessed werewolf, fall for mage Whimsy Hickes in Forged in Fire. Whimsy Hickes remains still one of my all time favorite character names. Thank you, Ari McKay!

Now it’s vampire Julian Schaden’s turn. He has had a rough time watching his former lovers and friends find their HEA and mates. He’s withdrawn from everyone into his castle, seemingly to conduct research but mostly to remove himself from the society of others. Meanwhile the threat of the demon and those it is changing to help accomplish its goals is growing stranger.

McKay is excellent at drawing out the suspense while creating anguish over the events and actions of the demon at large. Who and what that demon is will not be revealed until late in the story. As it should be.

The majority of the story is finding Micah Carter, his training, and relationship with Julian. I wish that the story here was longer and maybe stronger. I almost felt that he and Julian needed more time together for their relationship to “gell” as much as the others did. I liked them together but for some reason never quite got as much as a emotional connection as I did the other two couples.

I think that’s because the other two stories didn’t have to carry as much a load as this one did. It had not only Julian and Micah’s romance but the ongoing story exposition, and then the series arc finale. That’s a huge narrative load to carry and I think some elements had to lighten under that burden, the romance being one of them.

I thought the march towards the end and fighting scenes spectacular and heartbreaking. I was so happy with the resolution although again, a little more explanation would have been wonderful. That can be a dicy thing when ending a series.

When I look from the first introduction of the three men to the very last sentence, to the entire series arc, each relationship, the world building, and all the characters (quirks, cultures, and back histories), I think that Ari McKay accomplished a remarkable thing. The Asheville Arcana series is a fun, scary, hair-raising thrill ride of a romance trilogy and this was a wonderful send off.

I definitely recommend this and all the rest.

Cover art: Aaron Anderson. Love the cover with it’s incorporation of an important element of the storyline.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 228 pages
Expected publication: November 20th 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 139781640809444
Edition Language English
Series Asheville Arcana

Out of the Ashes

Forged in Fire

Quenched in Blood

A Caryn Review:Semper Fae (Endangered Fae #3) by Angel Martinez

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

For those of you who thought this would be Zach and Lugh’s story, you are right, but it is so much more…. This book takes our heroes from the upper echelons of the United States government, to a perilous journey to the realm of dragons and wild fae, and they are confronted with danger from within and without, and face a sorcerer powerful enough to control and corrupt all the magical forces in the human world. I’m so pleased with this series, and how it just keeps getting better! I’m not sure that there will be another book in the series, but I am hoping!

At the end of the last book, the Fae had established a permanent presence in the human world, declared themselves an independent country, and Diego was the diplomatic liaison between the two realms. Zach was head of security for the fae, especially for Prince Lugh. Everything was supposed to be straightforward from there, but opening a gate between the two worlds had some very unexpected repercussions.

It all started when Finn developed a magical malady – what the fae healers described as their version of the common cold – that made him miserable and also made him shift uncontrollably. Then other unusual things started occurring, humans developing magical skills, but also the appearance of mythical monsters, vampires, werewolves, and the like. While Zach was struggling with his attraction to Lugh, he was accidentally outed to his parents and went to do damage control, and was bitten by a werewolf as he was defending a couple of kids. Even the fae had no cure for that.

Initially, the story focussed on Zach and Lugh as they worked through the fact that Zach was now a monster dangerous to fae as well as humans, and what that meant for the growing relationship between the two of them. Diego was increasingly concerned by the evidence that magic was getting out of control in the human world. But the story took an unexpected twist that left everyone reeling, and Zach was thrust into the role of leader of the combined fae and human forces to combat the sudden appearance of a belligerent, tyrannical sorcerer who could quite possibly take over the world.

At first I was a little frustrated that I was missing some background elements, and it wasn’t clear exactly where the story was going. But with a little patience, the pieces started coming together and the story took on an urgency that made it a real page turner. And though in retrospect I find myself wondering “Why did that happen like this? Why didn’t they do that instead? Why did the author go in this direction?”, while I was reading I had no such qualms. There was an incredible amount of detail and new information added to the basis set in the first two books, and to be honest at times it was too much. New characters came into the story, some fully fleshed out, and others left me wondering why they didn’t have more to say or do, or why they were there at all. I guess that is one reason I am hoping for more, but I believe Ms. Martinez will have to tighten up what could easily turn into an overly vast and sprawling cast of characters. I got the impression that the world of Diego and Finn and their human and fae friends is much more complete and coherent in Ms. Martinez’ mind, but is so complex that it is hard to put it down on paper in a way that makes it totally clear to the reader.

Cover art by Emmy@studioenp is very pretty, and I love the model for Zach. The font still seems a little odd though…

Sales Links: Pride Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 368 pages
Published October 23rd 2018 by Pride Publishing (first published January 13th 2013)
ASINB07HQ4DXQQ
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesEndangered Fae #3

Kaje Harper on the State of Minnesota and her new release Fair Isn’t Life (author guest blog)

Fair Isn’t Life by Kaje Harper
Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Brooke Albrecht

Sales Links:

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to hose Kaje Harper today on tour for her new release Fair Isn’t Life, a Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Highly Recommended story. Welcome, Kaje.

So you think you know Minnesota… by Kaje Harper

When I decided to submit a Minnesota story for Dreamspinner Press’s series on The States of Love, I didn’t know what I wanted to include. The series includes one romance from each of the fifty US states, intended to give readers a flavor of the region, something unique to where it’s set. There’d been some excellent ones – check out Sarah Black’s War Paint (Georgia) for a recent favorite.

I decided I wasn’t going to start my story in the ice and chill of a Minnesota winter. That’s what a lot of people think about when they hear “Minnesota” and there’s no denying we have stellar winters. Or awful ones, depending on your point of view. We’ve had three feet of snow on Halloween, and frigid lows every winter hit -20 °F at some point. The record low temp in 1996 was -60 °F in the little town of Tower, MN.

Temperance River is a State Park on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota

I love the beauty of Minnesota winters, other than having to shovel that snow. But part of the goal here was to show people things they didn’t already know about the state, or to present things they did know in new ways. So I decided I’d start in the warmth— or lately, more often hot-th— of a Minnesota summer. And with that decided, it was only natural to start at the Minnesota State Fair.

We have one of the largest fairs in the country. In fact, in 2018 Minnesota came in second only to Texas for the number of visitors to the Fair, with 2 million people passing through our gates. Set in the heart of the Twin Cities, on a permanent fairgrounds, it’s an interesting mix of the urban and the rural.

Old traditions like crowning a Dairy Princess— Princess Kay of the Milky Way— and then having an artist sculpt a large bust of her out of butter, linger from the 1960s, 1950s, and earlier. The cattle judging and baked goods and biggest pumpkin contest hark back to the days when Minnesota was a largely rural state, heavy in corn and dairy, hogs and beans, turkeys and sugar beets.

These days, the Fair also has displays of multicultural foods and music, educational booths, plastic souvenirs of all kinds, and huge concerts in the bandstand. The University of Minnesota’s Miracle of Birth center shows the facts of barnyard babies to a million people who’ve never touched a cow. The hulking agricultural tractors and balers that lined Machinery Hill have mostly given way to lawn tractors and snow blowers, with the occasional reaper still standing over them.

The Fair seemed like the ideal place to showcase the dichotomy between old Minnesota and new. Like many other states, we have a progressive urban population and a more conservative outstate one. My two main characters also came to represent some aspects of that, even though they both grew up in the same town an hour out of the Cities.

Luke is a dairy farmer through and through, still in love with a way of life that’s becoming hard to maintain. Mason is flamboyant and loves make-up and folk-metal concerts. And yet they cross those lines— Mason still loving his home town, Luke as a gay man not always comfortable in the church and rural-traditions world where he grew up.

Minnesota has a mixed legacy on LGBTQ rights, too. We were the first state to vote “NO” rather than yes on a one-man-one-woman constitutional amendment, but the vote was very close. We legalized equal marriage before the historic SCOTUS decision, but there are many fundamentalists who were deeply unhappy about that. I have a friend who runs a Gay-Straight Alliance in an outstate school, and those kids have had to fight for their rights. The school board changed rules on them, specifically to make things harder. They get backlash on every Spirit Day and Day of Silence effort.

While Fair Isn’t Life isn’t specifically about homophobia, it definitely affects the story. One of the things I like to write about is the varied shades of homophobia— the fact that there is a lot of space between the cruel name-calling bully or Bible-waving hater, and complete support. A substantial portion of Minnesotans live in that in-between, not rainbow rights advocates, but not haters. They are part of the landscape.

At Pride last year, I had a guy tell me that things are changing slowly for him. When he married his husband (unofficially) fifteen years ago, his dad didn’t come to the wedding and wouldn’t let his spouse into the house, although he kept in touch. Years of partial estrangement led to softening, and they were asked to visit, but to not kiss under his dad’s roof. Now his dad is fine with them together at home, but very uncomfortable with PDAs if they are out to a meal together.

Partial acceptance is better than none, and it gives hope for change. But it can really hurt. In this story, Luke’s dad did his best, for the way he was raised, but that didn’t keep Luke’s heart from aching. We have a wonderful, gay-friendly Twin Cities, but we still have a distance to go.

(3) Minnesota also has a fun side. I didn’t put in some of the great MN stuff I considered. For example, in the Walker Art Center’s Sculpture Garden, the iconic “Spoon Bridge With Cherry” sculpture (yes, a giant cherry) is now joined by a huge blue cock (not that kind, folks. A giant blue rooster.)

Sadly, I couldn’t find a good spot in my story for a giant cock and cherry…

Hopefully, people will enjoy what I did get into my story, both about the state I’ve come to call home, and about two young men with challenges who find happiness in each other.

-Kaje Harper

Nov 2018

Fair Isn’t Life – blurb:

Luke Lafontaine survived the past year by not thinking about the father he lost, the dairy farm he couldn’t save from bankruptcy, or his way of life that vanished with the rap of an auctioneer’s hammer. Cleaning up city folks’ trash at the Minnesota State Fair is just another dead-end job. But at the Fair, surrounded by a celebration of farm life, ambitions he’d given up on and buried deep start to revive. And seeing Mason Bell in the parade—gorgeous, gay, out-of-his-league Mason—stirs other buried dreams.

Mason left his hometown for college in Minneapolis without looking back. Student life is fun, classes are great, gay guys are easy to find, but it’s all a bit superficial. He’s at the State Fair parade route with his band when he realizes a scruffy maintenance worker is Luke, his secret high school crush. Luke should be safely home working on his dad’s farm, not picking up litter. Mason wishes he hadn’t fallen out of touch. He’s an optimist, though, and it’s never too late for second chances. Now he just has to convince Luke.

About Author Kaje Harper

I get asked about my name a lot. It’s not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname. I’ve been writing far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – forty years*), mostly for my own entertainment, usually M/M romance (with added mystery, fantasy, historical, SciFi…) I also have Young Adult short stories (some released under the pen name Kira Harp.)

It was my husband who finally convinced me that after all the years of writing just for fun, I really should submit something, somewhere. My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out from MLR Press in May 2011. I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, both free and professionally published, including Amazon bestseller The Rebuilding Year and Rainbow Award Best Mystery-Thriller Tracefinder: Contact. A complete list with links can be found on my website “Books” page at https://kajeharper.wordpress.com/books/.

I’m always pleased to have readers find me online at:

Website: https://kajeharper.wordpress.com/

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

Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4769304.Kaje_Harper

Photo credits

#1 – depositphotos – https://depositphotos.com/ – standard license

#2 – depositphotos – https://depositphotos.com/ – standard license

#3 and #4 – personal photos, Kaje Harper, 11/01/2018 (content is artwork – not for commercial use.)

Blog Tour for The Billionaire’s Wish (My Billionaire’s Series #3) by Geoffrey Knight (excerpt and giveaway)

THE BILLIONAIRE’S WISH

MY BILLIONAIRE SERIES, BOOK 3

GEOFFREY KNIGHT

GAY ROMANTIC COMEDY

RELEASE DATE: 11.01.18

BLURB

Tis the season to be jolly, but romance writer Matt Darcy is feeling anything but festive. With a pile of rejection letters as high as his latest manuscript, Matt is questioning whether his career as an author will ever take off. And while his perfect husband Cal has planned a week-long trip to a mountain chalet for Matt, Mrs. Mulroney, Mr. Banks, Tilly and Angus—so that everyone can be together and enjoy the lead-up to Christmas—Matt can only hope his feelings of worthlessness and self-doubt won’t ruin the trip.

But when a bump on the head knocks Matt out and he wakes up miles from the chalet, the journey he must undertake is not a trek through the snow, but an eye-opening insight into the lives of those he loves most if he, Matt Darcy, had never, ever existed.

Will Matt let his feelings of uselessness and self-doubt lead him forever into the Forest of Darkness… or will this Christmas open his eyes to the magical truth that it is indeed a wonderful life?

AMAZON US: https://amzn.to/2JMDcjP

AMAZON UK: https://amzn.to/2SRoSL0

The Billionaire's Wedding Teaser 1

EXCERPT

“Hello? Are you alive in there? I can’t find you under all that damn snow. God Almighty, I think this one might really be… no… wait… I see him now. Yep, he’s alive.”

The voice felt distant at first, and was one I definitely didn’t recognize, at least not immediately. All I knew was my head was hurting like hell and when I tried to open my eyes all I could feel was the cold sting of snow, until someone with a gloved hand was wiping the snow away and trying to yank me up.

“Cal? Is that you?” I asked groggily, trying to shake my senses awake as someone pulled me out of the pile of snow I was buried under. But when my bleary eyes finally blinked into action, the person helping me to my feet was—“You?”

“I do have a name, you know.”

“Rashida, right? Rashida Jefferson?”

“You remember!” Rashida exclaimed with a big smile and an even bigger embrace. “It normally takes people a while to remember who I am. You must be good with names and faces. I’m taking you with me to my next dinner party. I am hopeless at remembering who’s who. I try to do the food association thing, you know, come up with nicknames based on who’s eating what at the dinner table, like Charlie Chicken Wings or Clam Chowder Carol, but I end up saying that name out loud and nobody is ever impressed with that.”

She released me, but all I could do was stand there staring at her in absolute, utter confusion. “Clam Chowder Carol? I don’t understand. What’s going on? What the hell are you doing here? I think I may be hallucinating.”

“Just relax, honey. You’re in a little bit of shock. You just got whomped by an avalanche of ice. Cal was right, that awning was totally a disaster waiting to happen.”

I looked around, suddenly concerned that I didn’t see my husband anywhere. “Cal? Where is he? Is he all right?” I called out to him. “Cal! Cal, where are you?”

“He’s not here.”

“Where is he?” I looked around, and suddenly realized I didn’t know where I was either. I was expecting to see the chalet, the awning, our four-wheel-drive parked a short distance away. But there was nothing but snow and trees and stars glittering in the nightsky. “Oh fuck? Where is everyone? Where are we?”

“It’s okay,” Rashida said. “I told you, just relax. Everything’s okay. Deep breaths.”

“I don’t wanna take deep breaths. I wanna know where I am. Did I sleepwalk here? Oh God, I’ve been sleepwalking through the woods. I’m lost, aren’t I?”

“You could say that.”

“But what the fuck are you doing out here?”

“Well, in a nutshell, I’m here to rescue you.”

“But how did you know I was out here? Did you follow us to the chalet? Who are you? Oh my God, none of this is making sense. I need to find my way back to the chalet.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Geoffrey Knight is the author of more than 30 gay fiction novels, novellas and short stories, ranging in genre from gay adventure, gay romance, gay suspense and gay comedies. He is the recipient of two Rainbow Awards including Best Mystery Winner and Best Overall Gay Fiction Runner-up. His work has been featured in several anthologies including Best Gay Erotica 2013, and he appeared as Guest of Honor at the inaugural Rainbow Con in Florida, 2014.

Geoffrey has worked in advertising, politics and journalism, but nothing is as fun as telling stories. He lives with his partner, their baby daughter, two dogs and two cats in a rambling old house in North Queensland, Australia, where the paint is fraying and life is good.

Amazon Author Page

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My Billionaire Series

The Billionaire’s Boyfriend

The Billionaire’s Wedding

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A Chaos Moondrawn Review: Finn (Endangered Fae #1) by Angel Martinez

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

Finn is awake after centuries of Dreaming with no way to get back to the Otherworld now that the Veil is closed. Diego rescued him as it appears he’s preparing to jump off a bridge. Finn is a fae and the city, with all its iron and steel, is killing him. Diego is a kind soul, one who helps people and animals. He also doesn’t believe in the supernatural, even though he writes about it. After a breakup with his jerk of a boyfriend Mitch, Diego tries to be just friends with Finn whilst helping him adapt to the modern world. When his agent lets him stay at her cabin to get away from the city and write, it’s a great way to help Finn get back to nature. This is a fish out of water story that made me laugh out loud several times. Diego is as out of his element in the woods as Finn is in the city. Neither of them seem to take very good care of themselves, so they both need a keeper. As Finn sparks Diego’s creativity, helping him with his book, he heals now that he is free to roam in nature. But not all magical creatures are pleasant and evil awaits in the woods. Diego battles to accept his new reality and Finn’s love.

So many things fall into place when they need to, I think it would be best if I chalk this up to the “luck of the Irish.” This was an easy read and not too scary even though there is violence. If you like when the couple are overly sweet with pet names, you might like this. There are some sex scenes but they are not very long, actually there are so many, they are also skipped over by the author near the end. I think the issue is that it is actually too long. The conflict is resolved, but the story still goes on. (Apparently this was a Christmas story that had originally been separate, but was edited into the end of this edition of the book.) While Diego’s agent and landlord helped move the story along, they are not full fleshed out. I enjoyed the story, but I wasn’t super attracted to it.

The cover art is by Emmy @ studioenp. It is very striking and shows Finn as imagined on the bridge where he meets Diego. I also like the symbolism of the bridge: as him bridging the world between fae and human, also the bridging between corporeal and incorporeal. The crow flying gives a hint at where the story will go. Finn likes bright colors, as they speak to him.

Sales Links: Pride Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:Kindle Edition, 226 pages
Published May 22nd 2018 by Pride Publishing (first published July 2nd 2009)
Original TitleFinn
ASINB07C3MH4X8
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesEndangered Fae #1
CharactersFinn Shannon, Diego Sandoval setting New Brunswick (Canada)

An Alisa Review: Date from Hell by Gareth Vaughn

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

In his desperation to find a date in time for the annual Helloween bash, minor-rank demon Kev summons a coworker he once hooked up with. But when the smoke and sulfur clears, it isn’t demon Ira standing in the ring, but a very perplexed, very human mortal named Archer.

Archer is cute, confused, and willing to consider going as Kev’s date … for a price. Turns out this isn’t the first time Archer’s met a demon, and he wants his soul back.

So, Kev is not your standard demon; he more just seems resigned to his fate. Archer is not happy about being summoned but decides to make the best of a bad situation.

This is kinkier that I had thought, not crazy but just wasn’t what I was expecting or looking for at the time. I liked Archer’s dedication to his brother and felt bad for Kev since he is stuck in Hell due to an ex-girlfriend. I didn’t really feel the connection between the characters but it works out for them in the end.

The cover art by Written Ink Designs is okay but works for the series.

Sales Links: JMS Books | Amazon | B&N

Book Details:

ebook, 73 pages

Published: October 13, 2018 by JMS Books

ISBN: 9781634867535

Edition Language: English

An Alisa Review: Lost and Found (Dave&Carter) by Quin Perin

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

He is…

half my age,

my son’s friend,

and he calls me Daddy.

I bring him to his knees until he does the same to me.

“He was like a greedy little puppy, trying to please me. And goddamn, I needed him to need me.”

A May/December Second Chance Romance. After their first encounter in “Take it All”, Lost and Found explores how Dave and Carter’s relationship took root and blossomed.

I know I am not in the majority here but while I enjoyed the story there were just a few things that bugged me. Dave and Carter continue their relationship in secret for years following their first encounter.

I liked the connection between these two even if Dave continued to deny how deep that connection was. I was glad the Carter was willing to stand up for what he wanted but felt bad that Dave made him a dirty secret. I had trouble with Dave always making a decision he thought was best without any discussion or making sure he had all the information, even if he was the Daddy. I don’t know if I would have been able to go back to Dave like Carter did at the end when he found the truth.

The cover art by X Potion Designs is nice and is similar to “Take it All”.

Sales Link: Amazon to come

Book Details:

ebook, 80 pages

Published: November 22, 2018

Edition Language: English

Series: Dave & Carter

A Free Dreamer Review: Secrets Revealed (Dragon War Chronicles #2) by A.G. Carothers

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Last time on Dragon War Chronicles, we left our heroes fighting for their lives in the midst of battle…

Kollin races against time to get samples of the weapon used in Canada to their lab in Oslo. Kenshin races to get Danica back home in time to save her, Aiden and Xander. Danica’s allies start to converge in Toulouse in aide and help to prepare for what may come.

Will Kollin be able help save Danica, Aiden, and Xander before all is lost? Will Matt be able to track down who’s responsible for a new weapon that threatens them all? What will happen when Danica’s biggest secret is revealed?

Secrets are revealed that will change the future for all dragon and SLIP kind alike.

Warning: This book contains explicit sexual situations that are MM, MF, and MMMF. There are romantic relationships displayed that are MM and some depictions of loving and consensual BDSM relationships. There are also bad puns, a game of tag with an invisible dragon, and lions, jaguars, and bears. Oh my!

After the brilliant first part of the series, I had very high expectations of Secrets Revealed. Sadly, the book didn’t quite live up to them.

The book starts right where the first part left off with such an awful cliffhanger, so we don’t need to wait in agony for too long. That also means this really doesn’t work as a stand-alone.

I really liked all the different SLIPs we got to meet. There are several new species being introduced and it was very interesting to learn more about them. I won’t say too much, but there was this one ritual that I found truly fascinating and really well written.

Just like the first book, there’s hot sex aplenty. We get more scenes between Xander and Matt and I have to say, these two are wonderful together. And I think I read my first ever foursome.

My biggest problem with the book was probably the length, or rather the lack thereof. For a good while, Danica is unconscious, then there’s lots of sex, some romance and a couple of shocking new reveals. But the plot itself didn’t really seem to be going anywhere. All it did, really, was set the stage for the big fight we’ll probably get in book three. It just felt like an interlude, not a real book. At least the ending wasn’t a horribly mean cliffhanger this time around.

While I was a bit disappointed in “Secrets Revealed”, it was a fun read in and of itself, just not with a lot of substance behind it. I’m looking forward to the next installment of the series.

The cover art by Angsty G is really gorgeous. I think I like it even more than that of book one, if only because it’s blue, which is my favourite colour.

Sales Links:

AMAZON US: https://amzn.to/2RwECSl

AMAZON UK: https://amzn.to/2SF0lbP

Book details:

Kindle Edition, 167 pages

Published November 2nd 2018

Blog Tour for Secrets Revealed (Dragon War Chronicles #2) by AG Carothers (excerpt and giveaway)

Secrets Revealed

Dragon War Chronicles, Book 2

A.G. Carothers

Release Date: Nov 2nd

LGBTQ Urban Fantasy/Paranormal

COVER DESIGN: AngstyG/ https://www.facebook.com/Angstyg/

AMAZON US: https://amzn.to/2RwECSl

AMAZON UK: https://amzn.to/2SF0lbP

BLURB

Last time on Dragon War Chronicles, we left our heroes fighting for their lives in the midst of battle…

Secrets are revealed that will change the future for all dragon and SLIP kind alike.

Warning: This book contains explicit sexual situations that are MM, MF, and MMMF. There are romantic relationships displayed that are MM and some depictions of loving and consensual BDSM relationships. There are also bad puns, nebulous taboo content, and a game of tag with an invisible dragon.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42110009-secrets-revealed

Secrets Revealed Teaser 2

EXCERPT

Matt’s lips curled back, and a deep growl came out as he turned them around, pushing Xander against the wall. Claws bit into Xander’s chest as he pinned him. Matt reached back tapping the glass wall a couple of times without looking, music started playing. Xander smiled, putting a hand over the one Matt had on his chest. “You had this all planned out, didn’t you?”

Matt nodded slowly, seductively and kissed him fiercely, all tongue and fang. A deep vibration hit Xander’s chest as he grasped Matt by the hips, picking him up and flipping them around again to pin him to the wall with a thud.

Matt grinned deviously as he reached up, grabbing a hold of the bar higher up on the wall pulling himself up and planting his legs on Xander’s shoulders. Xander growled at the sight of Matt’s arms and abdomen flexing. Xander looked hungrily at him as he grabbed his ass, holding him in place while he licked lightly at his heavy balls, taking them both in gently and sucking ever so lightly. Matt’s muscles flexed, his arms bulging and his abs tightening as he chuffed and moaned.

Xander’s tongue went lower, massaging his taint with each lick. Matt’s unique musk drove Xander’s need to plunge his tongue inside of him. Matt clenched around Xander’s tongue at the sudden invasion. He moaned low and reached down to fist Xander’s hair. He bucked against Xander. Xander gripped his ass harder to keep him steady as his tongue continued to spear Matt. “Fuck! I love your ass.”

With one last thrust, Xander pulled out, licking up over Matt’s balls and up his shaft to his engorged head flicking his tongue across his slit, lapping up the drops of precum. Xander grabbed his legs and put them down. He continued to lick and nip his way up Matt’s stomach and chest. With Matt’s feet planted on the bench, he was taller than him. Xander looked up lovingly and cupped his cheek gently. “Claim me,” Xander breathed out barely audibly, but the want and need in his tone doing the job of carrying the words through the air to Matt’s heart.

A.G. Carothers is actually a dragon very cleverly disguised as a human. They are a non-binary author of LGBTQIA Urban/Paranormal Fantasy, who enjoys writing original and entertaining stories. They are very excited to share the worlds they’ve created with you.

A.G. currently lives in Tennessee with their platonic life partner, who is not a dragon. They yearn to live back in Europe and will someday. In their spare time they are addicted to losing themselves in the lovely worlds created by other authors.

A.G. is committed to writing the stories they see in their head without restrictions. Love is blind and doesn’t see gender, race, or sexuality.

Website: https://www.agcarothers.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ag_carothers

GIVEAWAY

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