A Stella Release Day Review: No Way Out by Julie Lynn Hayes

RATING 4 out of 5 stars

Wyatt Findley is an up-and-coming artist, attending a prestigious art institute in St. Louis. His mentor, Lukas Callahan, has snagged a sweet house-sitting job for him in a gorgeous home in a well-to-do part of town. Wyatt can’t help but notice two men who live just across the street.

They make an odd couple, since there must be a good twenty years difference between them. And yet there is something about the younger man that calls to Wyatt.

Shylor Lind has been living with Randy Grant for fifteen years, ever since Grant hired Shy’s mother as his live-in housekeeper. But five years ago, their relationship changed when Shy’s mother sold him to Grant and took the money and ran. Since then, Randy has been training Shy to be his submissive, dominating him in every way. There is nothing Shy can do about the situation, and he has nowhere to go, no one to turn to.

And then Wyatt enters his life… and nothing will ever be the same, as Wyatt engages in a battle for Shy’s very soul.

No Way Out was not an easy book to read for me, it deals with some very sensible themes, not all readers can feel comfortable with them. So my advice is to read the blurb carefully, check the tags and when you have all the info, decide to give it a chance or not. Personally I picked the story because I loved the author when she wrote the Crescent Bay Chronicles Series and other titles too.

Although hard to read, I deeply enjoyed the novel, I found it well done and developed. I have to say I particularly liked the character of Wyatt, always so caring and mindful with Shy. Sure, he had no idea how to approach and relate with someone so clueless about everything that happens in the world like Shy, someone who had known nothing outside of his role as slave.

While I adored Wyatt, I had huge doubts on Shy and his personality. A couple of times i have to admit I was scared the author was going to make a huge mess. Because, let’s be honest, she chose to write about a complicated matter, I don’t think it was easy to define and give a life to a character so abused. I was really afraid I wasn’t able to feel him, instead his subtle strength flourished with the help of a gentle man.

At the end, with No Way Out I got a lovely story, sweet and simple yes, but so full of life and hope, so much hope. And now I am very curious to know what it will be of Shy, to see him one more time in the real life he missed for so many years.

The cover art by Christine Coffee is beautiful, it depicts the novel perfectly, all the colours, the lights and the darks, well balanced exactly how well balanced in the plot where all the scenes. I love it.

SALE LINKS Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

The author is donating 10% of the royalties from this book to No Kid Hungry. Visit https://www.nokidhungry.org/

ebook, 200 pages

Publication Date: August 28th 2018 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN13 9781640804982

Edition Language English

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: A Few Good Fish (Fish Out of Water #3) by Amy Lane

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Please tell me this isn’t the last book in this series! Amy Lane had not done an action adventure thriller before this series, but she certainly knocked it out of the ballpark when she matched up a wealthy, handsome, gay, high-powered defense attorney, Ellery Cramer, with the bisexual office PI, Jackson Rivers, who grew up virtually on the streets.

In this third installment, the committed couple planned to take a bit of time to allow Jackson to recover from their last encounter with the powerful rogue soldier, Colonel Lacey, who is apparently selecting certain soldiers to be brainwashed into being killing machines—assassins for hire. Unfortunately, quite by accident, a case falls into Ellery’s lap that is connected, and the two are off on an adventure again in an effort to clear a young nanny’s name in a hit-and-run investigation.

They didn’t know, however, that their every move was being monitored by Lacey and his cohorts through bugs placed in their phones, their vehicles, and in their home—including their bedroom, where the two allow their secrets and their desires free reign. Deciding to get this guy once and for all, they head toward San Diego, his base of operations, after securing their loved ones in safe houses with extra protection.

As unlikely as it might seem, they renew an acquaintance and end up working closely with Ace and Sonny from Racing for the Sun, a story I read quite a long time ago. Now that the author has tied the characters and the circumstances surrounding their meeting and eventual relationship together, I have to go back and read that one again. I need more of those two. And as an aside, I need more of their lodger, Lee Burton, and his new love interest, Ernie (yes—Ernie and Burt!). Both men are instrumental in the plot to get “the bad guys” in this story but their journey to happiness is just beginning so more, more, more, please.

This story has everything I love—super villains, kidnapping, injury, hospital vigils, strong characters, revisits with former MCs, romance, hot sex, supportive family and friends, surprises, explosions, and more. What’s not to like? And by the way, I do believe Lucy-Satan is my new all-time favorite secondary character. That’s Jackson’s pet name for Ellery’s mother. A strong personality, highly intelligent, a force of nature, intuitive, and able to present as a concerned and loving mother one moment and a stubborn attorney and businesswoman in the next. Seriously, it’s really nice to see multiple female characters important to the story who are strong and supportive, instead of nasty and twisted.

There were so many characters in this cast who deserve attention and kudos but not enough space on this page so I’ll just say that this story deserves attention not only for the high caliber of the adventure, but also of the characters—main, secondary, and pets.

Very highly recommended.

Cover Artist: Reese Dante. Love these covers, brands the series with something that at first glance seems whimsical and then perilous with the fish trapped in the water bottle. Perfect.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 290 pages
Expected publication: August 28th 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
Original TitleA Few Good Fish
ISBN139781640808164
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series Fish Out of Water:

A Lucy Release Day Review: Q*pid by Xavier Mayne

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

I had a difficult time trying to decide how to review this because I loved some of it and I didn’t love some of it. Let’s see if I can come up with a coherent explanation. Veera, a very intelligent woman, has come up with a new way of artificial intelligence. She has designed a system, dubbed Archer, that will look past the typical “get to know you questions” of online dating and really look at you to find your perfect match. This means allowing Archer access to everything you do online (a security nightmare no matter what they say and it made my skin crawl) to see what you actually are interested in, not what you say you are. I did have to laugh when we see the chosen people clicking like on puppies and babies and kittens just to make a “cute” presence online known. Tut, tut, boys, Archer is smarter than that.

So we have Fox, the only one of his friends still unattached, who has a standard email rejection letter for women he dates who don’t make the number criteria in the spreadsheet he has, which is the most bizarre thing. “Numbers of attempts to pay the dinner check, and height of heels in inches, and number of visible piercings, and done.” He’s rejected women he likes this way and so is still alone. So the novelty of the Q*Pid trial appeals to him.

Then we have Drew, a quiet, shy, adorable grad student who has an unlikely bestie in Mrs. Schwartzmann but seems to attract the strangest of women. On seeing his coffee table, his last date “As soon as she stepped into my apartment and saw it, she kind of freaked out. She said something about how cheap coffee tables are a product of third-world sweat shops and she leapt on top of it and started stomping on it.” This did not stop him from sleeping with her but relationship wise, it’s a no. Drew also signs up for the Q*Pid trial, hoping to meet someone a little less chaotic.

When the app goes live, it begins pairing people up. Both Fox and Drew are astonished to find out Archer has matched them. Has to be a mistake, neither one has ever been attracted to men before. Veera is nervous but she’s also sort of ticked because Ross, one of the team members, is a total naysayer. He questions why anyone would voluntarily give them access to everything online (I also questioned the same thing) and he is 100% positive this will not only fail but bring lawsuits as well. The day it goes live, he studies his phone, “Just checking to see whether the first violation of privacy suits has been filed yet.”

Secondary characters, Fox’s friend Chad and particularly Mrs Schwartzmann are likeable and loyal. Mrs. Schwartzmann, with her saving food and water for doomsday, made me smile. She is supportive of Drew and he of her, it was a sweet relationship. “Entirely without warning, Drew heard her voice in his head, “I cannot be anything other than what I am.” This is when Drew decides to be completely honest about his profile (and the fact that he watches porn). This actually took a lot of courage because as soon as he decides to watch porn, the laptop camera comes on. Seems kinky. He is matched with someone who seems perfect and it is to Mrs Schwartzmann he admits, “She was exactly what I thought I wanted, and yet she turned out to be not at all what I wanted.” And here we go. I’ll just say, Mrs. Schwartzmann’s response made me want to hug her.

Chad is Fox’s best friend and he’s there for him, trying to make Fox see what is in front of him. I felt bad for Fox at one point, as he is talking about the group that used to go to the diner together and slowly dwindled down to just him as people paired off. “I hate to be the one to break it to you, but we didn’t stop hanging out every night. We stopped hanging out.” Chad, though, is supportive, funny, ridiculous and ridiculously in love with his wife. Both Chad and Mrs Schwartzmann were winners for me.

Back to Fox and Drew. Despite the shock of being paired with a man, they end up meeting and hit it off so well they decide being friends is exactly what they need. They are both lonely, Fox with all his money and Drew with all his academics. They are also both caught being real in front of their laptop cameras, meaning Archer sees. “Why can’t I find the right person and fall in love?” made me want to hug Drew. They are worlds apart financially. Fox lives in a penthouse and drives a BMW, Drew is a grad student. “My people eat ramen twenty-nine times out of thirty.”

We get to see the building of a true friendship with Drew and Fox, as they get to know each other, swim in the river of denial and yet keep coming back to each other for hanging out, cause obviously these are not dates.

I wanted to know what happened with Miyoko, as this was a big thing for Fox and it really wasn’t addressed. I wanted to hug Drew for really putting himself out there more than once, even when Fox was being an idiot. When Fox is so in denial and just keeps looking for that “perfect woman”, Drew is a little broken hearted but he’s open to the fact that what he thought about himself may not be complete. When Fox is matched with his “perfect woman”, a score in the high 90s, (Drew and Fox have a 99.5 compatibility rating), he is appalled to realize that it wasn’t at all what he wanted. He was bored, he was twitchy and he felt like he was sitting with his sister. Luckily, she agreed. Sometimes what we think we want isn’t what we need.

I liked this book immensely. The writing was strong, although there were a few times I had to look up an unfamiliar word. I appreciated that finding out you are not as clear on your sexuality as you always thought you were wasn’t a simple thing to deal with. Did I want to slap Fox with his response to Drew at one point? You bet, I was SO pissed at him. Naked wrestling took care of Fox’s idea that Drew was female. I loved that scene.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a slow burn, sort of “what are we doing” type of story with likeable secondary characters and MC that, especially in the case of Drew, you are really pulling for.

Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas. Its ok. Obviously a hard concept to get across and this is a cute cover, bright and eye catching.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 310 pages
Expected publication: August 28th 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781640802292
Edition LanguageEnglish

Book Blast for The Pearl by Geoffrey Knight (excerpt)

The Pearl

Geoffrey Knight

Gay Romance

Release Date: 01.25.17

ThePearl_cvr

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2ogiFtO

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2P7Nf4u

BLURB

The Top End of Australia—a tropical paradise filled with beauty. Wonder. Danger.

For two young boys growing up in the Northern Territory—half-Aboriginal Jarrah “Jad” Yindi and his best friend Luke Lawson—the remote beaches and aqua waters of the Top End are a playground of adventure. And as two best friends become young men, true love washes over them like the sea upon the sand.

But life is full of challenges and change, and if Jad is to discover who he really is, he must piece together his ancestral past, his dream-filled present and his uncertain future to become the man he was always destined to be.

Through water and fire; through love and loss; through the days of youth to the stories of the world’s oldest living culture, journey across the heart of Australia to discover what’s in the heart of one young man.

The Pearl TEaser 1

EXCERPT

The moon set and the last hour before dawn was the hardest. I could barely see where I was going. More than once my boots slid on a rock and I hit the ground, bruising my side, my back, my thigh.

Slowly the black of night turned to the blue of a new day.

Slowly the stars disappeared and the pink of dawn filled the sky.

And then, with a sigh of relief, I saw the sun break on the far horizon and rise in a wavy ball.

I felt the instant blast of heat.

Then I looked around, and in the light of day I felt so incredibly alone. And so far away from everything I knew and loved.

I was in Arnhem Land.

Vast and roadless.

A sparse landscape of rocks and canyons, scrubby bushland and red sand, most of it untouched by humankind for millions upon millions of years.

And here we were.

Me and Billy Shakespear in our rijis and nothing else.

I squinted into the sun. Billy was still fifty metres ahead of me, his barefoot step certain and unceasing.

My step was more erratic, desperate to keep up. I stumbled on another rock. I felt the bite of the sun on my brown skin which had lightened noticeably from my time in Sydney. My time away from the beaches and waters—my childhood playground—of the tropical north.

“Billy, wait up.” I breathed it at first, unsure of whether or not I really wanted to announce it.

Then my left foot slid forward on a loose rock and I fell backward on my arse so hard it made me grunt in pain.

That’s when I saw what had been sleeping under the rock.

That’s when I screamed out, “Billy!”

Growing up in the Northern Territory, I knew enough about snakes to know an Inland Taipan when I saw one. I’d seen charts. I’d studied it at school. And now I was staring at the world’s deadliest snake as it came swirling angrily through the red sand toward me, heading straight for the clumsy bastard that had tipped over its rock, slithering between my sprawled legs. And me, wearing nothing but that stupid riji to protect me?

“Billy!” I tried to squirm backward, elbowing my way frantically through the sand. The snake was faster than me, relentless in its pursuit. “Billy!!”

The old Aborigine was still fifty metres away when I heard him shout, “Stop! Stay still!”

In the heat of the desert sun, against my natural tendency to run from confrontation—especially one this deadly—I froze.

The second I stopping scrambling, the snake stopped chasing.

Its body was still curled, ready to spring, ready to attack at any second.

And all the while I lay there panting in terror, propped on my elbows, legs spread with the killer snake between my knees, staring at me, its tongue flicking in and out, tasting my fear. Or rather, reading the threat. This much I knew, we learned it in school. Along with the fact that a single bite from an Inland Taipan can kill a hundred adult humans. But hell, when there’s one of them twenty centimetres from your balls, it doesn’t matter what your teachers taught you. You just want that snake gone.

My legs trembled.

That’s when the pearl shell of my riji quivered and picked up the sun.

The rainbow shimmer caught the eyes of the snake.

The Taipan raised its head, not aggressively, but hypnotically.

Its eyes seemed caught in the glint of the pearl shell. Mesmerised.

So much so that it didn’t notice the head of Billy’s spear nudge gently into the sand beneath its curved body.

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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A VVivacious Review: For a Glance (The Serpent’s Throne Trilogy #1) by Dan Ackerman

Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

I am conflicted, terribly conflicted. I picked this book for all the wrong reasons and therefore I ended up putting off actually reading it till the very last moment. One of the reasons that I was put off by this book was Lucifer himself. There was a time when the Devil was elusive but now he is all over my TV, it just doesn’t hold the same appeal but I knew I had to read it and I did and I was kind of swept up, up and away.

I don’t know what to categorize this book as, since it takes place almost exclusively in Hell with a few forays into Earth, so it is definitely fantastical and we deal with a lot of demons and angels so definitely paranormal and there are elements of love scattered all throughout and in-between the never-ending introspection of the Satan. It is a weird book and if someone had described it to be, I could have probably never imagined myself liking it but I really enjoyed reading it.

“I don’t know, I can’t decide. There’s a litter of kittens in my bedroom, sweetest little things you can imagine, wobbly on their legs, prancing around but as soon as I lie down to sleep, I’m Everest and they have to climb me.”

Reading this book made me feel like for a very short time I got a whiff of a story that came as quickly as it disappeared leaving me bereft and hungry for more. It’s kind of like a day in the life of Satan kind of thing except we are with him for more than a few days. It was really interesting having this take on the world-weary Satan in love with so many around him but unable to keep them close. It was weird how much he loves so many of his children, his demons, the Fallen and the very concept of love.

“Love can do things to you, it’ll have you doing things you never thought you’d do.”

“Ah, love is one thing. And it always meant more to you than it did to us. But we were Hell-born and you were an angel.”

This was such a novel concept, a Satan that loves at times I would even forget who he was and just accept this take on him but then he would turn around, all the darkness hiding beneath would seep around surrounding you like a dark damp cloud. For a character I had thought was done to death the author managed to make him so much more interesting, the Devil capable of devouring any and all but, as he tells his father, “Ever your creation—as much as it chafes me, Lucifer”.

This story follows Lucifer as he interacts with the lives of five other characters:

1. Jack – Jack is a human in love with a demon named Eodus, and Lucifer agrees to give Jack permanent residence in Hell if he were to kill someone for him in return.

2. The boy trapped in the Fourth – The Fourth is the part of Hell where the souls that damn themselves go. The boy is trapped in an endless cycle of reliving his torment and he finds himself in Hell because his parents always said he would end up there.

3. Mercy – The woman who tries to assassinate the Devil so that she will be accepted into her family again.

4. Ira – The whore on Ninth who looks just like Eodus and fascinates the Devil from the moment he lays eyes on him.

5. Junius – Oh! Junius is special. “Everyone knows it. Junius, the one who leaped after you. Your most trusted and faithful, all the way up on that pedestal where you keep him.”

Though my most favourite character of this story after Satan himself was Imogen. She was amazing. I just really liked her and I don’t know why because as I sit here typing these words I realise that we actually don’t know anything about her but I like her, I really do. Sometimes you fall in love with a person for the words they use even though their words never reveal anything about themselves but sometimes they end up revealing more than we realise.

I loved how Hell was structured and how it works and I loved a whole lot more characters than I realised as I type up this review. I need to talk about how much I love Rema and Inri both characters I hope we get to see more off.

Though I loved how this story was told as if you are travelling with a storyteller in a caravan and you start hearing the story after its already begun and have to leave the caravan before the story is over. It feels that way although I think I must confess that it doesn’t appear or feel incomplete. It is very much a whole story but it gives the feeling that it is part of so much more. I don’t know where this story is supposed to go but I am not opposed to finding out.

I loved the cover. I liked the colours used and the fonts and how the front is actually a map of the Ninth and actually gives a lot of details relevant to the story.

Sales Link: Amazon

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: October 1st 2018 by Supposed Crimes, LLC
ISBN139781944591779

A Free Dreamer Review: Incubus Honeymoon (Arcana Imperii #1) by August Li

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

As the so-called magical creatures go, I’m low on the hierarchy, and my powers aren’t much good to human mages. I’m a lover, not a fighter, through and through. I’m also selfish, lazy, and easily bored. But I’m damned good at what I do.

Too bad that won’t get my arse out of this sling.

Do one—granted, uncharacteristic—good deed, and now I’m held hostage to an arrogant faerie prince, trying to track down the one who summoned him while dodging gangbangers, gun runners, and Nazis. Add the powerful mage guilds scrambling to gather firepower for some doomsday event they’re sure is around the corner, and my cushy life of leisure might be nothing but a memory. On top of that, something’s compelling me to change on my most fundamental level. I’m not sure what I’ve got myself mixed up in, but nothing will ever be the same.

Bloody hell.

===

Featuring a new twist on urban fantasy combined with fast-paced action and intrigue, the Arcana Imperii series books are standalone adventures, each completely accessible to new readers.

I probably wouldn’t have picked up “Incubus Honeymoon” if it hadn’t been published by DSP. The title kind of leads you to expect lots of sex and not much of a plot. But since this is a DSP title, I knew there would be mostly plot and little to no romance in it. And that’s exactly what I got. This is, first and foremost, a fantasy novel that also has some elements of romance and sex in it.

The blurb promises “a new twist on urban fantasy”. That’s almost an understatement, if you ask me. While the elements the story is made up of aren’t exactly new, the combination of said elements was what made this book truly unique.

We have three very different protagonists in this story. Blossom is your typical Fey of the old stories: a ruthless bastards who only ever does what suits him best. Then there’s Dante, a normal human who knows nothing about magic but who’d do everything to keep his little sister safe and happy. And finally we have Inky, an incubus and the only one of the trio who has something resembling a human conscience. I don’t think I actually liked either Blossom or Dante, but that was fine. I definitely understood Dante’s motivations and Blossom is Fey and Fey are always jerks.

The plot itself is truly breathtaking. There’s so much action and drama and so many hidden layers, it was really hard to put the book down. This is an urban fantasy setting and the author does a brilliant job of combining the fantasy elements with current events. Climate change, Trump, terrorism and nationalism were cleverly interwoven with the magic of the story. That’s one of the things that really stood out to me and me absolutely love this book.

As I’ve mentioned above, there really isn’t much of a romance to be found. There’s an established couple that becomes quite important but their love is not a main focus at any time. There are a few semi-explicit sex scenes and a few more off-screen, which makes sense, considering Inky is an incubus. But again, the sex was not a focus point.

Oh, and there were cats. I love cats and well-written cat characters are always a huge bonus for me.

This was shaping up to be a 5-star-read for me. But there were just too many POVs throughout the story. Sometimes it actually got a little confusing because of that. Ultimately, that’s the thing that made me knock off half a star.

“Incubus Honeymoon” is the first part of a new series by this author and it shows. While the story doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, the plot quite clearly isn’t fully resolved. And I’m really looking forward to what happens next.

I can’t believe this is my first book by August Li. He’s obviously a brilliant author and I’ll need to check out his other works.

I think this book will appeal to all fans of urban fantasy. It’s definitely an interesting new twist on well-known fantasy elements. Read it, I’m sure you’ll like it.

The cover by Blake Dorner is perfect. Inky looks exactly like I’d imagined him and he has his super cute cat with him.

Sales Links: DSP Publications | Amazon

Book details:

ebook, 274 pages

Published July 17th 2018 by DSP Publications

A Lila Audiobook Review: Stand by Your Manny (The Mannies #3) by Amy Lane and Peter B. Brooke (narrator)

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Learning to trust and falling in love.Sammy Lowell has his hands full juggling his music, college, some pesky health problems, and making the uncles who raised him proud. He needs help fulfilling his after-school duties with his siblings. Nobody can be in two places at once—not even Sammy!

An injury puts Cooper Hoskins in a tough spot—if he can’t work, the foster sister he’s raising can’t eat. But years in the foster system have left Cooper short on trust, and opening up to accept help isn’t easy.

Luckily, family intervenes—Cooper needs a job so he can care for Felicity, and Sammy needs someone who can see past his illness to the wonderful things he has planned for his life. Each heals the damaged places in the other’s heart. But falling in love is a big responsibility for young men deep in family already. Can the two of them get past their fear of the immediate future to see forever with each other?

Stand by Your Manny brings another chapter to a series that stands aside from others due to the timespan between installments. It is necessary to read, at least, book one in this series to have a better understanding of the characters. It’s refreshing to see a young character turn into an intelligent young man between stories.

This is a story of discovering, not only of love but of what a family constitutes. Due to Cooper’s and Sammy’s age, it’s easy to think about this book as a YA story. We get to see how hard they worked to accept help without losing their independence. They become a team without realizing it, and shortly after, start a relationship based on honesty and innocence.

I enjoyed the UST in the story. It turns into part of the characters and their slow discoveries. The enjoyment of their new found relationship and their love for their families it’s an integral part of their path. We get to experience a range of emotions that felt real, not only for the characters but for the readers.

Getting to see the previous couples is an added bonus. They played a special part on Sammy’s and Cooper’s relationship and it’s exciting to see how much they have grown and learned about each other. I really love how Channing and Tino dealt with a growing Sammy. It was adorkable.

It was disappointing that John Solo was not the narrator of this story. He did an excellent job bringing the previous two books together. In this volume, we get Peter B. Brooke as the narrator. He adds that young tone to Sammy and Cooper without jeopardizing the previous characters we love.

The cover by Bree Archer follows the pattern of the series as well as the collection, giving us a peak of Sammy and his music room.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner | iTunes | Audible

Audiobook Details:

Narrator: Peter B. Brooke
Length: 6 hours 01 minutes
Published: July 17, 2018 (Audio Edition) by Dreamspinner Press
ASIN: B07FMF4BG4
Edition Language: English

Series: The Mannies
Book #1: The Virgin Manny
Book #2: Manny Get Your Guy
Book #3: Stand by your Manny

Series Review Tour and Giveaway for Shadow Unit Series by Jamie Lynn Miller

Shadow Unit Series

Book #1 – Broken Soldier Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #2 – Rogue Solder Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #3 – Hunted Soldier Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #4 – Dying Soldier Payhip

Series Blurb

Meet Sergeant Connor Finley and Sergeant Shawn Weller – elite covert ops soldiers with Shadow Unit – a joint UK/US anti-terrorism task force.

Connor and Shawn’s harrowing missions take them across the globe from London to Kuala Lumpur to India to Pakistan to Bangladesh and Sierra Leone. Fighting to stem the flow of ever-increasing terror attacks and to protect innocent civilian lives, they battle arms dealers, drug smugglers, biological weapon threats, and a madman hell-bent on revenge, facing death at every turn. Their private lives are fraught with struggles as well, both Connor and Shawn battling personal demons from their past that threaten their future.

Amidst a backdrop of guns, bloodshed and violence, Connor and Shawn’s love and dedication for one another never wavers, standing resolutely side by side, drawing strength from each other to continue their never-ending fight.

August 27 – Making It Happen, Jim’s Reading Room, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, August 29 – MM Good Book Reviews, September 5 – Drops Of Ink, Amy’s MM Romance Reviews, Mirrigold: Mutterings & Musings, Book Review By Virginia Lee, We Three Queens

Author Bio

Jamie Lynn Miller has been writing fiction since childhood and decided to take the plunge and go pro in 2008, finding to her amazement that people truly enjoyed her love stories. She’s a romantic at heart, and her tales reflect the desire we all have to find “the one,” persevering through trials and heartache for that happy ending.

Jamie has a degree in fine arts and has spent the last twenty years working as a graphic designer, though she’d much rather be writing. She was born in Chicago and still lives there today with her husband and their two furry, four-footed children, er… cats.

If she’s not brainstorming story ideas, you can find Jamie at a sci-fi convention, in front of a furnace doing glass blowing, or on a mat twisted into a yoga pose.

Email: jamielynnmiller@live.com
Blog: http://www.jamielynnm.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jamielynn.miller.3

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Release Blitz – Promises by Ruby Moone (excerpt and giveaway)

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | JMS Books

Length: 32,000 words approx.

Publisher: JMS Books

Blurb

Captain Charles Hawkins has returned from the Napoleonic wars desperate for solitude. When the man who saved his life asks a favour, he feels honour bound to agree, but the request fills him with horror.

Sebastian Farrah knows the only useful thing he can do with his life is join Wellington’s army. He has tried everything else and failed. He agrees to his brother’s ridiculous request to spend a month in the country because it is the only way his brother will agree to purchase him a commission.

Charles and Sebastian clash but quickly form a bond that deepens into much more. However, they are running out of time. Charles begs Sebastian to stay, but Sebastian knows to do so he will be forced to reveal what it is that stopped him from succeeding in everything. The shameful secret he carries from the schoolroom.

Excerpt

Another week passed, and Farrah had become an integral part of the household. He was everywhere. Working in the garden, eating with him, accompanying him when he left the house to tour around the estate, working with him with the shipping company, although he was still curiously resistant about that. Charles watched him apply himself to his evening meal with gusto. The man ate like a horse but hadn’t a spare inch on his frame. All the physical work meant that he had arrived in reasonable shape for someone who did nothing but gamble and drink, but now, now he was bursting with good health, humour, and a physique that made Charles want to weep with envy as he thought about his own skeletal frame. There was a warmth to his companionship that made getting up in a morning easier. He realised just how much he was enjoying having him in the house. As they talked, he hoped that he was helping Farrah to see that there were options open to him that didn’t involve him risking his life on the continent. To see that there were a whole host of things that he was good at. Farrah’s comment about the army being all he was good for had stayed with him and it surprised him how annoyed it made him that his family had allowed him to feel that way, and constantly surprised that Farrah seemed to believe it.

Coulson arrived with the tea tray and Charles smiled as he realised Farrah had lost that slightly frantic look he’d had on realising there was no port or brandy on his arrival. When Coulson had retreated, Charles raised his cup in a toast.

“Congratulations on another sterling week Mr Farrah.”

Farrah laughed and raised his cup in response. “Congratulations on putting up with me for another week. You deserve a medal, Captain Hawkins.”

“Nonsense. No medals required.”

Farrah tilted his head on one side and observed him. “You really are the best of men. I know I’m not easy to have around. Too loud, too … much.” He laughed again.

And there he went again. He really seemed to believe that his company would not be valued. That he would be some sort of burden. Charles was stunned when he realised that in that moment he wanted nothing more than to take him in his arms and tell him in no uncertain terms that having him in the house was no hardship, and not only that, he discovered he wanted to hunt down the people who had told him that he was a burden, or a nuisance, and hurt them. It was a disconcerting.

He had to fight to retain his composure and answer in kind. “Piffle. You’ve brightened the place up no end. Once you’d sobered up, that is.” He kept his tone light, but his heart was thumping.

“Really?”

For a big, handsome, seemingly confident man sometimes there was a hint of such wistfulness about him, and it was there full force in that softly spoken word. It was filled with such fragile hope it hurt something inside Charles.

“Really.” Charles spoke softly and something in Farrah brightened. “Now, stop fishing for compliments and tell me what the plan for tomorrow is.” He had to resume his usual brisk tone because if he didn’t, he would have … Charles’ heart stopped in his chest. Oh God. Oh God.

He wanted to kiss him.

My name is Ruby Moone and I love books. All kinds of books. My weakness is for romance, and that can be any kind, but I am particularly fond of historical and paranormal. I decided to write gay romance after reading some fantastic books and falling in love with the genre, so am really thrilled to have my work published here. The day job takes up a lot of my time, but every other spare moment finds me writing or reading. I live in the north west of England with my husband who thinks that I live in two worlds. The real world and in the world in my head…he probably has a point!

Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/RubyMoone/?ref=bookmarks
Twitter – @RubyMooneWriter
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rubymoone/

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Release Blitz and Giveaway – Burning Fall (Hot Seasons #1) by EJ Smyth

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Length: 31,443 words.

Cover: EJ Smyth

Blurb

Opposites attract, but can they ever work together?

Damien is an ambitious young lawyer. After moving to Germany, he doesn’t expect to feel quite so out of his element. Apart from hating his job, a rumor spreads that he is a homophobe.

To redeem himself, he is put in charge of the firm’s signature event Burning Fall. He has no choice but to hire Yannik, a gorgeous yet unconventional event manager.

But from their first disastrous meeting, everything possible goes wrong.

Can the two men find a way to work together, or will Damien’s career, Yannik’s future, and the most important client event of the year go down in flames?

Find out in this steamy and fun short novel, the first book in Frankfurt Hot Seasons.

Author Bio

Hi there! My name is EJ Smyth, I live in Frankfurt, Germany and I’m passionate about romance. Not luffy-duffy romance, but stories with other elements mixed in. Paranormal romance, romantic thrillers, gay romance, if it’s got two difficult characters finding each other, I’m on board!

I write at my living room table, usually covered with folded laundry because I couldn’t be bothered to tidy before sitting down. And my kids are teenagers, so not much help there either <eye roll>. I do love having them around and I’ve gotten used to writing with a background noise of Grand Theft Auto and teenage histrionics. Maybe that’s why I prefer writing action scenes over descriptive settings! Except for the 18+ scenes which I have to write in a separate room, because, well, embarrassing…

I’m currently working on a series of short stories Keith is Awesome about a young man exploring his sexuality. Not something I’ve ever written before but the research alone was quite a bit of fun Check out my Pinterest account to see my inspiration. I love to talk to my readers, online and offline, so please feel free to drop me a line!

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