A Barb the Zany Old Lady Advent Release Day Review: Dear Ruth by Kim Fielding

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Dear Ruth,

I’m not in the mood for Christmas. After a romantic relationship went up in flames, I returned to my hometown in rural Kansas. Then my mother passed away. I’m really busy with my job as fire marshal—and now with my mother’s advice column, which I reluctantly took over. There’s a sexy newcomer down the street, a guy with a young daughter and an unfortunate disregard for fire safety. He seems to want to be friends, but that creates problems that may be too hot for me to handle. The last things I need right now are flammable holiday decorations and too much holiday food. How am I supposed to give good advice to others when I can’t seem to get my own life straight?

—Bah Humbug in Bailey Springs

A very enjoyable holiday story, this one is the perfect stocking stuffer—all the goodies of Kim Fielding’s enjoyable imagination into just fifty-two pages. Though short, this one packs a punch.

Bryce Reynolds is the Deputy Fire Chief in the small town of Bailey Springs. Grieving over the recent loss of his mother, he’s not sure he’s going to celebrate Christmas this year in any way other than covering at the fire station for the guys with families. When he spots his new neighbor and his daughter hanging purple lights on their porch, he offers his assistance and finally meets Noah Costa and Harper, who wants to be a firefighter when she grows up.

His mother’s BFF is the owner of the town’s newspaper—still thriving despite the electronic media available. The paper thrived, in part, due to his mother’s advice column, “Dear Ruth.” Now, somehow, he finds himself agreeing to take over the column. Channeling his mother’s thoughts and past words of advice, he’s pretty successful at it. In fact, he’d like to write his own letter—something that would attract Noah to him. Though sure Noah is straight, he can’t help but want a chance to at least kiss the attractive older man. Something about him just rings true for Bryce.

It isn’t until he receives a Dear Ruth letter that asks for advice on how to attract an oblivious love interest that things start to perk up for both men. Do they get a HEA? Well, as much as one can in a short holiday story. But at least they get the chance to find their way to a HEA.

Heartwarming, with the just enough character development to make this a perfect holiday romance, I highly recommend this to lovers of MM warm and fuzzy contemporary romance.

This story does not have the same cover as many of the other Advent Calendar stories from Dreamspinner Press. Cover art is by Alexandria Corza depicts a gift box and fire truck, with the story title written as a gift tag at the top of the page. The cover is simple, colorful, and perfect for this story.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 52 pages
Expected publication: December 1st 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781640802889
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series2017 Advent Calendar Daily – Stocking Stuffers

An Alisa Release Day Review: Fangs and Catnip (Dead and Breakfast #1) by Julia Talbot

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

A romance worth fighting for—tooth and claw.

Solitary vampire Fallon Underwood gets all the social interaction he needs being the silent partner at the Dead and Breakfast B and B high in the Colorado mountains. Change is hard for Fallon, so when his business partner, Tanner, suggests hiring a new manager for the inn, he’s adamant that they don’t need help, especially not in the form of bouncy werecat Carter Hughes.

Carter is a happy-go-lucky kitty, and he loves the hospitality industry, so the D and B ought to be a great place for him. He falls for Fallon as soon as he picks up one of Fallon’s novels, and begins to woo the vamp with gifts. When Fallon finally succumbs to Carter’s feline charms, the results are unexpected, to say the least. Their mating will have irreversible consequences—for their bodies and their hearts.

This was a pretty cute story about a cross species mating and I really liked it. Carter is just starting his first job since finished college, he can’t help but be drawn to Fallon. Fallon has spent so much time alone he has trouble understanding why he feels like he needs to be around Carter so much.

Carter is so bouncy and I think it is adorable. Fallon likes to make everyone think he is the typical broody vampire but there are a few he has allowed close enough to let them see the real him.

This story is told from both of the characters’ point of view and it make it easier to understand their thoughts and feelings. It seemed odd that neither of them really knew anything about mating and how to deal with the problems it caused. I could feel how heartbroken Carter felt when Fallon pushed him away even though he thought he was doing what was best. These characters seemed ruled by their other half’s baser instincts than many I usually read about, but it worked well. The only thing I had trouble keeping up with was the timeline, it all seemed to happen really fast but it would be talked about as having taken time.

Cover art by Aaron Anderson is great and I love the picture.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon |

Book Details:

ebook, 220 pages

Published: December 1, 2017 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN-13: 978-1-63533-977-2

Edition Language: English

Series: A Dead and Breakfast Novel, Dreamsun Beyond

Kelly Jensen’s Counting On You Tour (guest posts, excerpt and giveaway)

Counting on You (Counting #3) by Kelly Jensen
Dreamspinner Press

Cover Art: Bree Archer

Available for Purchase at: Dreamspinner Press |

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Kelly Jensen here today on her Counting on You tour. Welcome, Kelly.

On Dates and Henry and Marc by Kelly Jensen

Disastrous dates have been the hallmark of Henry and Marc’s relationship up to this point. First, they got stuck on the side of the road in upstate New York during a blizzard. On Christmas Eve. Though this wasn’t a date, being trapped together in a rental car gave them the opportunity to finally put some misconceptions aside and actually get to know each other.

Their second date was set for New Year’s Eve and instead of attending the party of a co-worker, they got trapped in the basement of the building. While no one would count that as a good date, Henry and Marc actually had a pretty good time (when they weren’t crawling through duct work).

When it came to writing Counting on You, I really wanted the guys to have an actual, not get trapped anywhere, do relatively normal things and have a good time, date. And they do—or they plan to until Marc takes Henry’s surprise and turns it back around.

I hope you enjoy this excerpt! And if you haven’t met Henry and Marc yet, the first two novellas of the Counting series are discounted through the end of November at all retailers.

Thanks for following my tour! At the end of every post, I’ll be asking a question. Leave a comment with your answer (and your email address), and complete the Rafflecopter to enter! There are two prizes, both available internationally. One winner will receive $15 (US or equivalent) to spend at the Dreamspinner Press store. A second winner will receive the entire Counting series in ebook format, gifted through the Dreamspinner Press store.

Q. Suggest a karaoke song for Henry and Marc!

Counting on You

Henry and Marc can’t seem to catch a break. They’ve had two disastrous dates—the first trapped in a car during a blizzard and the second locked in a basement—followed by nearly two months apart. Even though they work for the same firm, their relationship is held together by flying visits, phone calls, and text messages. A joint assignment in Washington D.C. might be more togetherness than they can handle, however.

Henry is still battling insecurity, and this assignment is too important to his career to mess up. Marc is committed. He’s falling for Henry and looks forward to having him permanently on his team and at his side. But the real test isn’t the assignment. When Marc finally lays his heart on the line, can he count on Henry to be there for him, in every way that matters? And can he do the same for Henry when Henry needs it the most?

Excerpt

Marc moved into the crowded bar. The place smelled like wet wool and desperation. A damp coat hung over the back of every chair, and everywhere he looked, ties were loosened and buttons were undone as men and women laughed together, eager to put the workweek behind them. After finding them somewhere to lean, Henry melted into the throng. He reappeared moments later holding two tall glasses of effervescent amber liquid.

Marc nearly snatched his. “God, I have never been so happy to see a glass of beer in all my life.”

Henry grinned. “I figured.” He lifted his glass. “Cheers.”

After draining nearly half his drink in one extended swallow, Marc found a smile. “Thank you. I needed that.”

“I know.”

“Three more and I might actually start to feel human again.”

“Go ahead, you earned it.”

“We’ve got a deal to construct.”

“Marc, you did more work this afternoon than we might have done together in two days. You were a machine. We’re good. We have enough information to start structuring a new deal, meaning we can take some downtime.”

Thinking about lunch tomorrow, Marc scowled. “That isn’t exactly good news.”

“I could break your leg for you.”

“You think a broken leg would excuse me?”

“Ah….”

Marc tried to drain the rest of his glass but swallowed awkwardly, catching a large bubble in his throat. Wincing, he forced it down. The tears at the corners of his eyes felt ironic.

“You could just not go,” Henry said. The words were barely audible over the buzz of conversation around the bar, but Marc caught them.

“Not how it works. He expects me not to show up.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Never mind.” Marc tipped his head toward the bar. “Get you another?”

“Sure.”

He elbowed his way through the crowd and ordered another round, this time choosing a darker ale. Henry had emptied his first by the time Marc got back and toasted him with the fresh glass. “We’ve got this, Winnamore.”

Smiling, Marc set about killing his second drink. Somewhere around the middle of the glass, he slowed down. The beer was tasty, and his anger had faded. The bar was cozy, the atmosphere more cheery and less desperate than a beer ago… and the afternoon had been too long. Add in the fact his ire had been replaced by a practiced burn, and he really couldn’t convince himself to spend any more of his free time on it.

When the after-work crowd thinned, they found a table and ordered burgers.

Henry made a game out of sorting the sugar packets by color, volume, and ingredients. “Did you know there are about eighteen thousand grains of sugar in a single packet?” he asked.

“I do now. Please tell me you haven’t counted them.”

“No. I tried once. I crapped out at about seven hundred.”

“Seriously?”

Henry chuckled. “No. I got to thirty before my mother swept the sugar off the table and told me to stop counting things.”

Marc laughed. “I can so picture it. Did you use to get up in the night and count the silverware?”

“Of course not. I always knew how many books and comics and Legos and things I had, though.”

“You’re certifiable.”

“All the best minds are.”

Their burgers arrived and the casual conversation continued, warmed by juicy sirloin and another round of beer.

“This is exactly what I needed,” Marc said, leaning back to pat his pleasantly full belly.

“No, what you need is still to come.”

He brightened. “Sex?”

Henry tipped his head back and laughed. “Okay, yeah. Sex is good. I was talking about this, though.” He tapped the upright placard at the end of the table.

Marc leaned forward to read it. “Kara—no.”

“Aw, c’mon. You know you want to. I’ve heard stories. You rock at karaoke.”

“I really, really don’t.”

“Everyone at B and M has heard you sing but me.”

“That’s because you don’t come to Mulligan’s on Thursdays.”

“Yeah, well, I would have if either of us had been in town at the same time, on a Thursday, over the past couple months.”

“Heh.”

“So tonight’s the night. I want to hear you sing.”

Marc cocked his head with a soft “Hmm,” letting beer-and-beef-softened thoughts slip slowly across his brain. “I’ll do it if you do.”

“What? No.”

“You know you want to.”

“That was my line.”

“It’s a good one. I’m borrowing it. You should be flattered. Now….” He held up a hand to ask for a second to make his case. “I’m going to offer a one-time deal.”

“Deal?”

“If you’re too chicken to stand up there on your own, we can pick a song to sing together.”

Henry’s mouth dropped open. Sound might have escaped, but Marc heard nothing but his own laughter.

Dreamspinner Press

About the Author

If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories of the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.

Kelly is the author of a number of novels, novellas and short stories, including the Chaos Station series, co-written with Jenn Burke. Some of what she writes is speculative in nature, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.

Connect with Kelly: Twitter | Facebook | Website

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Release Blitz for Deep Edge (Harrisburg Railers #3) by RJ Scott & VL Locey

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | KOBO | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

Length: 52,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Meredith Russell

Harrisburg Railers Series

Book #1 – Changing Lines – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #2 – First Season – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

One man’s passion, another man’s lies. Can love fix even the darkest of hearts?

Trent Hanson is a figure skating phenom adored by millions around the world. His whole life has been dedicated to the sport he loves even when the sport – and his own family – have turned against him. From the playground to the Olympics to his parent’s living room, Trent has fought against bullies and homophobes to be the out and proud gay man he is. But the constant fighting has left Trent tired, lonely, and skittish. All those fears will have to be shelved though when he’s hired to spend the summer working with the Harrisburg Railers ice hockey team. Who would have guessed that the man fate has decided to pair him off with is Dieter Lehmann, all-around sex god and a man who seems to have everything to prove and doesn’t care who he hurts to get what he wants.

Dieter has spent too many years languishing in the minors and a secret addiction to prescription painkillers means his career is in a downward spiral. His ex is blackmailing him and he’s close to walking away from it all. But when he’s called up in the run for the Stanley Cup to cover injuries he has a taste of what it’s like playing in the NHL and he realizes that a place on the Railers roster is what he wants more than anything. More than listening to his heart, and even more than caring for the infuriating figure skater who gets under his skin. When he crosses the line to get what he wants, he knows he has lost his way. He has to change, but is it too late for both his career and any chance he might have at love?

Excerpt

Ah, agents. They were so lovely – when they weren’t embezzling all your money and spending it on whores, vodka gimlets, and a particularly bad run over a week in Atlantic City. Note to the young and innocent – never let your stepfather manage your money, especially when he’s open about how much he dislikes your gay little ass. That way you won’t end up broke, shamed, and trying to figure out how to keep your mother and grandmother from being booted out of their house while your rink teeters on the edge of financial ruin. Where the fuck had all my happy gone? I wanted it back, dammit!

I moved past the windows that looked down on Philadelphia, my hometown. I’d been born and raised in the City of Brotherly Love. I adored this city, and it loved me in return. Or had. Now I was just the mincing and well-dressed queer who didn’t even have two pennies to rub together. How quickly love and adoration turned to titters and cold shoulders. Drawing my coat around me, I sat down in a plush beige chair and crossed one leg over the other, making sure my coat draped properly over my thighs. I hate wrinkles. And beige. Why were straights so afraid of a little color?

Gayle sat down behind her desk, smiled at me yet again, and folded her hands in front of her. I raised a freshly plucked eyebrow. She was still trying to get a handle on me. Tobey & Troy was the largest athletic representation firm in Philly. They handled most of the Eagles, Sixers and Flyers, as well as several tennis players. And now they had me. Trent Lawrence Hanson. Famed gay figure skater and next in line to be a Dickens character in real life. Please, sir, I want some more. Ugh. As if I’d eat gruel. What if I had to? The thought was too much to bear.

“I think that now that the legal issues with your father—”

“Stepfather,” I quickly reminded her.

“Yes, sorry, stepfather. Well, now that he’s been convicted and is serving time, I think this is the moment to start working on marketing you in a positive light.” She smiled again, nervously, and leveled light blue eyes at me. “Where are you in terms of returning to competitive skating?”

I glanced out the window at Ben Franklin standing atop City Hall. I began running my hands over the thin cotton flaps lying over my thighs.

“I have no money, my professional reputation is shot, and both my rink and my mother’s house are two months away from foreclosure. Do you honestly think I could find the mental clarity and focus to skate again?” As soon as I heard how bitchy I sounded, I placed a hand over my mouth. “I’m so sorry,” I mumbled into my fingers.

“It’s quite understandable,” she replied. She was far too nice to be saddled with a miserable cow-bag like me. I wanted to cry, but didn’t. I’d do that later when I visited Mom and my Lola. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Water would be lovely,” I coughed into my fingers. She rang her receptionist. “I’m better now. See.” I lowered my hand and smiled brilliantly at her.

Gayle nodded, but melancholy lingered in her gaze. A tiny blonde hurried in with a bottle of water and handed it to me. I was about to ask if she could possibly find a cold one, but I bit my tongue. Bitchy Trent had already escaped once today.

“Thank you.”

She nodded and scurried out, closing the door behind her slim backside. Her shoes were terrible. Who wears black flats with a peach dress in late June? Honestly, women, learn how to dress. I took tiny sips of the tepid water. Gayle waited. I capped the bottle and balanced it in my left hand so my coat didn’t get watermarked. I was a beggar now. I had to keep my wardrobe in good shape. Tears threatened again.

Gayle broke into the building weep-fest. “I understand that you’re not mentally ready to return to figure skating. To that end, we need to find you something to do that will bring in good money so you can get your assets back in sound fiscal shape.”

“You mean pull my rink and my mother’s house out of the snapping jaws of foreclosure?”

“Well, I wouldn’t have been quite that dramatic…”

“Few are.” I sighed as I returned to working out the crinkles in my duster.

“Right, well, I’ve been approached by GLBTQtv about a reality show with you as the star.”

My chin dropped to my chest. “Get. Out.”

“I’m very serious,” Gayle said, her smile spreading into a grin. “They’re waving a nice fat contract at us.”

“I’ll do it! Wait. Are there lots of zeros mentioned in the contract?” I was so excited I grabbed my duster and wadded it up in my right hand.

“There are several zeros,” she whispered as her grin grew even wider.

“I’ll do it!” My gods, I was such a whore. Wave a ten in front of me and down to my knees I went. But zeros meant money. Money that would keep my family safely housed and my rink operational. Rainbow Skate was my rink. I’d bought it and refurbished it. It was where I practiced. And it was where little gay and straight children who wanted a safe place to skate and express themselves and their art could come. No hateful slurs or brutes were allowed at Rainbow Skate. That was my rule. I hated bullies. I’d dealt with them from the time I was eight and discovered how fabulous I was on skates and how amazing my sewing skills were. By the time I was fourteen and came out officially, not one person was shocked. My stepfather was disgusted, but then again, he was a thieving twat.

“Wonderful! I’ve read over the contract and it’s pretty straightforward.” I bounced in my seat as Gayle talked. “They’re asking for six to eight weeks with exclusive access to you and the Railers as you work with them.”

The bouncing slowed. “I’m sorry…” I tapped my right ear. “Did you say Railers? What are Railers?”

“They’re the hockey team that’s expressed a pointed interest in working with you on this show.”

I couldn’t control the laugh that burst out of me. I roared so long and so heartily that I was close to hyperventilating when the laughter began to die down. Gayle sat behind her desk, staring at me as if I’d gone around the bend.

“Phew. Oh, my gods and garters,” I panted several minutes later. Dabbing gently under my eyes, I saw a blur of black on my fingertip. “And I thought this was waterproof eyeliner. Do you have tissues?”

She got up , grabbed a box from the edge of her desk, and handed it to me.

“Thank you.” I wiped my finger on a Kleenex, then gingerly pulled a tiny corner under my right and then left eye. “I hate this cheap stuff. I’m going to throw it out when I get home. Why did I even buy anything other than waterproof?”

“Is there a problem with you working with hockey players?” Gayle asked after she sat back down.

I tittered. “How much time do you have?” I asked.

She gawked at me.

“I do not do jocks.”

“But you’re a jock.”

“Uh, no, no, I am not. I’m an artist. I don’t go skating around hitting people in the face with sticks. No, sorry, this sweet thing,” I motioned to myself, “does not do hockey players, footballers, baseballers, basketballers, or those men who run around with nets to catch balls in. Lacrosse! I don’t do them either. I will do tennis players or an occasional fellow skater, but they can’t be on my team. Cat fights amongst team members are so ugly. I rather like Russian skaters. It’s the accent. I once did a Russian skater. He was delicious. I called it my Boris Godunov phase.”

I giggled at the witty, but Gayle simply continued to gape. I was so happy now – why was she being a prude?

“What?” I asked when she didn’t speak.

“Trent, this contract is contingent on you working with the Railers.”

“No, sorry. I don’t do hockey players. Didn’t we just cover that? They’re rude bullies who have never passed up an opportunity to shove me into lockers, dunk my head into toilets, or taunt me in front of everyone at the rink. Nope. Tell them I don’t do hockey players.”

RJ Scott is the bestselling romance author of over 100 romance books. She writes emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men and women who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing.

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

mailto:rj@rjscott.co.uk
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V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock of assorted domestic fowl, and two Jersey steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand. She can also be found online on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and GoodReads.

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A Stella Review: Hard Fight by Laura N. Andrews

RATING 2 out of 5 stars

Out and proud Riley Anderson is dancing the night away at a private gay club when he first notices him. Dark, broad, and with muscles to drool over, it turns out he is MMA fighter Craig “The Lion” Johnson. Passion quickly flares and neither can fight the chemistry between them.

After a couple of false starts, Riley and Craig set out to try this thing called dating for real, but clashes are imminent. Too many lifestyle differences make their relationship difficult, but for Riley, it’s hard to be kept hidden.

Can he endure being a secret lover? Or will Craig put aside his fears of losing his career and decide what is really worth fighting for?

Argh I feel bad to write this review, just last month I discovered this new to me author when I read Trusting Him and I was enthusiastic about it, most of all I was superhappy to be able to have a new story on my hands so soon. But while the first one was a huge success, Hard Fight was a little too much on the delusional side to me. Although I had high expectations cause I found the author’s writing style very good, adored the cover, found the blurb interesting, I have to say I think Hard Fight wasn’t for me at all.

Let’s start with the characters, I couldn’t connect with Craig and Riley at all. I felt them unreal and pretty shallow, especially Craig, I totally didn’t understand him and how he acted with Riley (not just the first time they met) was puzzling. I simply didn’t like him at all and I didn’t want Riley to be with him. From the moment I get it I wasn’t going to love them, everything in the story was meaningless, and I tried and tried again to look for some element to like but found nothing.

Maybe the story should have been developed more because it seemed to me things between the MCs were rushed and that way they lost realism, becoming to be honest a little confusing.

I’m sorry, this book simply didn’t work form me.

The cover designed by Soxsational Cover Art caught my attention at first sight, it’s well done and fitting, I so can see craig on it.

Sales Links: Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 148 pages

Published November 25th 2017 by Hot Tree Publishing

ASIN B075SRP82N

Edition Language English

A Stella Review: Officer Charming and the Prince Who Wooed Him by Sarah Hadley Brook

RATING 4 out of 5 stars

Officer Chad Charming absolutely does not believe in love at first sight, or even love at all. Apple Grove is famous for their Fairy Tale Parade, and Chad is working when a horse carrying the parade’s Prince Charming kicks him, landing him in the hospital.

Jeff Garner’s family has a history of love at first sight and the local high school drama teacher is mortified when his horse kicks the sexiest man he’s ever seen. One look and he knows Chad’s the man for him.

Jeff sets out to woo the man, even though Chad makes it clear he isn’t looking for a relationship. While Chad recovers from his injuries, the two become close, but can Chad ever get past the idea love isn’t real and allow himself to love his very own Prince Charming?

Chad is a police officer who moved to the little town Apple Grove just some months ago to escape the big city life. During a parade, a man on a horse jumps on Chad and he ends in hospital. Jeff is cute, a theatre teacher, not at all Chad’s type. Still his brown eyes and button nose are too much to be resisted and Chad falls for him, even if he isn’t actually looking for a relationship. But Jeff is stubborn and his determination to woo Chad too strong.

I soon fell into the MCs’ lives and liked them from the start, and together they were perfect and cute. They were good persons, caring and loving and loved by everyone.

I adored this story! It simply was exactly what I needed, something super sweet and quick. I read it in a one stand just before bed and it put me in a good mood. It made me believe in love at first sight and dream of Prince Charming. Almost a fairytale story. And sometimes this is what I look for in a book.

The cover art by Written Ink Designs is cute like the story, it’s well done and fitting and I like the colors and font used.

Sales Links: JMS Books LLC | Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 89 pages

Published October 28th 2017 by JMS Books LLC

ASIN B076N443HZ

Edition Language English

A MelanieM Review: The Caretaker (The Sin Bin #2) by Dahlia Donovan

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Who cares for the caretaker when his burden grows too heavy to bear?

Freddie Whittle devotes his life to his cancer patients, cheese, and his overprotective fathers. His big move to Cardiff is tainted by bigot neighbors and a dismal social life. He wants something more but doesn’t know what until he runs headlong into a Scottish-Maori mountain of a man.

Taine Afoa retires from international rugby feeling restless. He left his career behind and relocates for a change of pace. The last thing he expects is to become infatuated with someone who seems far too young and innocent for him. No matter how hard he tries, it’s impossible to get Freddie out of his mind.

Can Freddie handle the intensity of Taine’s naughty sexual desires?

And when the strong alpha male tangles with the playful nurse, will this May-December romance end before it even begins?

The Caretaker is book two in Dahlia Donovan’s international bestselling gay romance series, The Sin Bin. Each one features hot rugby players and the men who steal their hearts.

The Caretaker is the second story in Dahlia Donovan’s Sin Bin series revolving around a group of retired rugby players and the men they love. While the name the sin bin refers to the penalty box in the game, here it evolves into a bar named appropriately The Sin Bin, owned and managed by the group. Freddie Whittle is a character we first met in The Wanderer. He played an important part in the cancer treatment and recovery of Graham Hodson, one of the main characters there. Freddie stood out, even as a secondary character and you just hoped that meant he was coming back to get his own romance. Now here it is.

His romantic match is Taine Afoa, a part Scottish, part Maori retired rugby player who is one of the aforementioned group. He’s older than Freddie, an element other characters need to work through. Taine’s has an unusual history of being abandoned as a baby, raised by a local priest, and has a hamster as a beloved pet. So many layers to this kind man. A lot of kinks as well as we find out as the story proceeds.

He’s the perfect match for Freddie, a man burdened down by two overprotective fathers (think smothered), a job that comes with heavy grief of losing clients you get close to, and neighbors who seem to be constantly attacking him because he’s gay. He needs a huge rugby player in his life and gets one. This is a wonderful romance to watch happen, no instant love. Just a recognition that they work together as a couple and want to see what happens in the future. It’s a HFN ending with a story with a HEA coming up further down the series.

I love that sort of realism that Dahlia Donovan deals with here. We see Freddie’s job and it’s effect on him up close. The maturity and strength it takes to handle that job. Things aren’t perfect, unfortunate or bad things happen to people and they learn to deal. This is a grownup look at life and romance. It’s refreshing, realistic, and wonderful.

The sex scenes are wonderful kinky (erotic spanking) and very hot! It matches the chemistry between Taine and Freddie perfectly. I thought I had my favorite couple of the series down but Taine and Freddie kept growing on me until I have to admit they are right at the top too. I can’t wait for their HEA book to arrive, that would be The Haka Ever After. See the entire list below.

I love this series and all the characters that Dahlia Donovan has created for it. They are so human, some broken, some brave, all intelligent, quirky, and multidimensional. Throw romance into the mixture and this series has an unbeatable combination. It’s one I highly recommend, including The Caretaker.

Cover art by Claire Smith is perfect, and contains an important element of the story. Great job.

Sales Links: Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 244 pages

Published July 8th 2017 by Hot Tree Publsihing

ISBN13 9781925448924

Series The Sin Bin #2

The Sin Bin Series:

1. The Wanderer – BC & Graham

2. The Caretaker – Tens & Freddie

3. The Botanist (short story) – Aled & Wyatt

4. The Royal Marine – Hamish & Akash

5 The Unexpected Santa (short story) – Gray & Scottie

6. The Lion Tamer – Gray & Scottie

7. The Haka Ever After (short story) – Tens & Freddie

8. TBD – Zeb & Silus

9 The Blacksmith (novella) – Ivan, Rolly, & Wes

An Alisa Review: Resurrected (Alpha’s Warlock #2) by Kris Sawyer

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Terry has returned from the shadows of death to be with Clyde, but he has more questions than he has answers. The pack is suspicious, and even his lover has doubts about his outlandish story. Desperate to clear his name and learn more about his forgotten past, Terry embarks on a journey of discovery. What he finds will change everything.

Deep in the pine forest, a tormented creature seeks revenge on the pack that has held him captive. More powerful than the werewolves, he wants to destroy. The hybrid hides among them and waits for his chance to pounce. The Alpha senses that his pack is once again on the brink of destruction, but without Clyde’s warlock, he fears all hell is about to break loose.

This story pretty much takes place right after Cursed. Terry doesn’t know anything about his past but wants to learn while Clyde believes that Terry was the one who murdered the boys from the first book. Clyde continues to have trouble standing up to the others in his pack.

Terry acts much more grown up than Clyde in this story. Truthfully, I’m not sure how his search for his past will really help the storyline. It gave one insight into what may happen but most of it doesn’t seem that helpful. Mostly I feel that Clyde needs to grow a pair as he doesn’t seem like much of an Alpha and doesn’t know how to stand up for himself or those he cares about. I’m not sure how their relationship will continue but I’m sure they will figure something out.

The cover art by Sidney Lowell is a nice picture and follows the pattern for the series.

Sales Link: Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 114 pages

Published: November 16, 2017 by Creative Minds Promotions

Edition Language: English

Series: Alpha’s Warlock #2

C.C. Bridges on Writing, Characters, and their latest release Angel 1089 (Heaven Corp. #1) (author interview)

Angel 1089 (Heaven Corp. #1) by C.C. Bridges

Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase

Available for Purchase at Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have C.C. Bridges here today on their Angel 1089 tour. C.C. has agreed to sit in our author interview chair. Welcome, C.C.

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Interview with C.C. Bridges

Thank you for hosting me today! I’m so happy to be celebrating the re-release of Angel 1089! I’ll be answering some interview questions, and stay tuned until the end for a giveaway!

Has your choice of childhood or teenage reading genres carried into your own choices for writing?

Oh definitely. I started reading science fiction and fantasy when I was about eleven years old, right after I discovered Star Trek. The original series started playing in syndication, and I didn’t have cable TV as a child, so I watched a lot of 1960s TV in syndication. Star Trek captivated me. I started reading the tie-in novels (in face, I still own some of those novels!), and then branched out into the wider sci-fi/fantasy world.

Do you read romances, as a teenager and as an adult?

I do! The first romance novel I ever read was given to me accidentally when I was twelve. The mother of my best friend worked at the airport, and people left books behind all the time. She knew I liked to read, so she gave me a stack from the lost and found. One of those books was a rather steamy romance novel.

Who do you think is your major influence as a writer? Now and growing up?

I think in terms of sc-fi, my major influence is Lois McMaster Bujold. I ate up the entire Vorkosigan books, and absolutely love character driven stories.

Do you have a favorite among your own stories? And why?

I know it’s cliche, but Angel 1089 is probably my favorite. I love the characters, the world, and how I managed to somehow put it all together since it was my first novel.

Thank you for hosting me! I’m giving away four $10 Dreamspinner gift cards at the end of the blog tour. Enter here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/16f80d4e4/?

Blurb

A deal with the devil….

Gabriel 1089 is an angel—an enhanced and cybernetically modified human designed to protect the city in the sky called Heaven. He follows Heaven’s orders and fights its enemies. But when an attack by demons leaves him trapped on the earth below, missing both a metal wing and his network-enabled halo, he’s cut off from his home for good and at the mercy of one man.

Jeff Werth is used to demons in need of his mechanical expertise showing up on the doorstep of the junkyard he runs in Old Trent. However, he doesn’t expect to be stuck with an injured angel. Jeff owes the demons for saving his daughter’s life, so he does what they demand—he nurses the angel back to health and keeps close track of him as a possible pawn in the high-stakes war between Heaven above and the demons below. But he doesn’t expect the effect Gabe has on his heart, or having to choose between his daughter and the man he’s come to love.

About the Author

CC Bridges is a mild-mannered librarian by day, but by night she writes about worlds of adventure and romance. When she’s not busy solving puzzles in an escape room, she can be found diving into comics or binge-watching superhero movies. She writes surrounded by books, spare computing equipment, a fluffy dog, and a long-suffering husband in the state of New Jersey. In 2011, she won a Rainbow Award for best gay sci-fi/futuristic novel.

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ccbridgeswriter

Blog: http://blog.ccbridges.net/

Website: http://www.ccbridges.net

SERIES BLAST : Hunter Dane and Camden Snow Series by Adira August (excerpts and giveaway)

BOOK 1

On His Knees (#1 Cam & Hunter 4Ever)

Author: Adira August

Publisher: RedDeer

Length: 13k words/76 Kindle pages

Genres: Contemporary gay, BDSM, erotica

Blurb:

Sometimes it’s the cop who needs to hit the floor…

As a homicide cop, every blood-soaked crime scene settled in my bones and snaked around my spine. There was only one way to exorcise the images from my soul …

Inside the club, I stopped to scan the room. He was here, Camden Snow. A Norse sex god in the guise of unpretentious youth. Only his ice-blue eyes gave evidence of the Dom who took whomever he wished, whatever way he wanted, with a look and a nod. Merciless.

Cam found me watching him and fixed me with his arctic gaze. This time, I didn’t walk away. He cocked an eyebrow. Well?

The last thing I needed was mercy.

I dropped to my knees.

A frank exploration of the D/s dynamic between two powerful men. Consensual. Adult. Intense.

Buy Links

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Free on Instafreebie until Nov 24th

Excerpt

It was an early summer evening, the sun half set. I was making my way to the door with one of the club’s boozeless Bloody Marys to find a deck chair and keep an eye on whoever came up the stairs. Decide what I wanted after sunset.

The door opened before I could touch it. He paused, backlit by the setting sun. Golden. Glowing. Idealized male beauty wrapped in an invisible cloak of incredible power. He was so careless of it. He scanned me and grinned. As if the sight of me delighted him. No one grinned here. Not with genuine pleasure.

He passed close to me, still scanning. It was the kind of moment that called for locked gazes and hardening cocks. Instead, he happily looked me over like I was a pastry display and he was deciding which succulent treat to select.

Cam was fresh from deep powder and Olympic triumph. Exuding health and vitality and bonhomie and danger.

I wanted to give him everything, simply because he existed. And looked at me.

He reached out and put a hand on the side of my neck, his thumb skating lightly along my jawline and down, across my larynx. My insides turned to water.

Don’t pick me. Please.

His eyes narrowed a little as if he’d heard. His hand tightened – scarcely, definitely – and withdrew.

“Kneel for me when you’re ready,” he said. And was gone.

BOOK 2

Matchstick Men: Hunter Dane Investigation 1

(Book 2 of 3 in the HuntandCan4ever series)

Author: Adira August

Publisher: RedDeer

Genre/s: Police Procedural, Murder Mystery, Contemporary Gay Erotica, BDSM

Length: 48k words/ 274 pages

Blurb:

SEX, GAMES & MURDER Want to play?

It was munch night at the most elite underground BDSM club in the Rockies. Relaxed and informal, highlighted by the weekly Matchstick Challenge game. Detective Sergeant Hunter Dane, reigning champion, looked forward to a relaxing evening to start his 3 days off. A few beers on the deck. An interlude with a sweet sub. Stumping a challenger with a new puzzle. Home early for a decent night’s sleep.

Some people are SO deadly serious about their games.

Now Hunt has a fresh body and a new puzzle to solve in twenty-four hours if he wants to find a killer.

A 48k police procedural with a liberal dose of M/M hotness. Which means our fave full-metal Dom shows up to collect on Hunter’s offer of his … coffer. So to speak.

There are puzzles for the reader and mysteries to be solved. Based on characters introduced in the short story On His Knees.

Buy Links

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Excerpt

Cam looked out the window, leaving me to myself while I drove us through the quiet dark of the Capitol Hill streets. I wondered why this killer wasn’t perfectly obvious to me. I wondered if it was impossible for me to see them, being so close that everything blurred at the edges and melded together.

“Did anyone ever tell you, you think too much?” Cam asked.

“Did anyone ever not?”

“Take the next alley,” he told me.

“What? Why?”

“You need to stop thinking.”

“Cam,” I put a warning in my voice. “There’s not much time-“

The bastard grabbed the wheel and cranked it hard right.

“Shit!”

“Steer!”

I lifted my foot off the gas, or tried to. He had his left hand on my thigh just above my knee, digging in, pressing down.

“Stop it, goddamn it!”

“Pull into that parking lot.”

“Alright! Just let go, for Christ’s sake!”

He released me instantly and sat back. I managed to miss the light pole and the dumpster and slide into a parking space behind a converted Victorian housing psychologists’ offices. An appropriate place to stop when riding with a no limits lunatic.

The offices were dark, now, but the mosquito bulb over the back door and the security lights at the rear of the building illuminated the lot. And the car’s interior. Anyone walking by could see us. If they saw us in flagrante delicto, they’d call the cops.

Cam had gone too far. I shut off the engine but before I could turn and bust his ass, his fingers found my seat belt release and he launched himself up and over the console into my space, his big hands slid down my arms toward my wrists. I twisted sideways and we wrestled for control of my hands.

I was at a distinct disadvantage under the steering wheel. He bent me toward him and my head was on his thigh.

“Stop it, Cam! Not now, we are not playing!”

He fell back into his seat, taking me with him and manacled me with one hand. But we were sweaty from the struggle and I managed to break his grip, freeing my hands.

He didn’t try to regain them. He simply raised himself and laid his body over mine. My head pressed into his crotch, his weight forced me onto the hard lump of the console.

“You can always safeword you know,” he said. I heard the challenge. The taunting. He was having fun.

“Fuck you,” I grunted underneath him.

I’d never safe worded in my life. Not to “red,” anyway. “Yellow” a few times when I had a cramp or was on call and my cell went off with a dispatch tone.

Safewording might have been an option for me now, if his power and the idea of being at his mercy, of which he possessed none, hadn’t given me a blazing erection.

He’d been betting I wouldn’t go there—confident I wouldn’t safeword. He really was good at this.

I felt his hand at my belt in back. Handcuffs. A thrill of fear and excitement made me choke on air. I struggled again, just enough to feel my inability to stop him from doing exactly what he intended. Jesus, I was hard, weeping against my thigh, trapped by the elastic briefs.

My legs were twisted and caught under the steering wheel. His body locked my right arm against the seatback. He deftly handcuffed my left wrist and calmly found my right and ratcheted the other cuff around it.

This was not the infamous Dom of the club, calculatedly giving me what I needed. Not the sexual virtuoso of last night, expertly bringing me everything I never knew I wanted. Pleasures I never thought existed.

This was the sadist in his element. Loving what he did to me because of what it did for him.

Then, suddenly, I knew who the killer was.

BOOK 3

Book Title: Dancing Men: Hunter Dane Investigation 2

(Book 3 of 3—and counting—in the HuntandCam4ever series)

Author: Adira August

Publisher: RedDeer

Genre/s: Police Procedural, Murder Mystery, Gay erotica, BDSM

Length: 70k words/385 pages

Blurb:

You have to bury the past, or the past will bury you.

An ancient burial urn, empty for millennia, is suddenly not so empty.

When Detective Lieutenant Hunter Dane probes the murder at Natural History Museum, it’s his own past that haunts him. To solve the complex case, Hunter needs the talents of Camden Snow, the brilliant, beautiful, “no limits” Dom who’d helped him unravel a very peculiar, and very personal, murder.

But Cam’s ready to kill Hunt, himself! Their high-intensity D/s relationship that began in a playroom, ended in an emergency room.

“If you want to be with me, you’ll have to do more make some big re-entry gesture,” Cam said. “That’s just more drama. You’ll have to work for this, Hunter.”

“All right. What work would that be?” Hunter asked, eager to perform any penance Cam gave him.

“You’re the champion puzzle-solver and ace detective. Unravel a mystery.”

Hunter’s brows pulled together. “What mystery?”

“Me.”

For adults who love some mystery with their men. A 70k police procedural with a liberal dose of M/M heat. The 2nd of the Hunter Dane Investigations. Matchstick Men, their 1st case, also available on Amazon. Their next case, Psychic Men, will be out in spring of 2018

Excerpt

The Mystery

“You are familiar with the Tamil burial jars case I’m hearing?” the judge asked as she led him into her chambers.

“Enough to know the case exists,” he said, putting his professional face on. Why would they need a homicide investigator for an international property dispute? “I should mention I’m acquainted with Doctor St Clair who was appointed head of the research team.”

“I see,” she said, taking her chair but not inviting him to sit. “Do I have to go over confidentiality? I was informed with you it wouldn’t be necessary.”

“It isn’t,” he said.

“Good.” She sat forward and clasped her hands on the desk. “Expert testimony the Court finds to be compelling establishes the impossibility of determining the geographic origin of the jars or when they were created and sealed without extensive testing. There will be a problem of international relations if I award the urns to the Denver museum and later testing reveals clearly that the plaintiff did have standing.”

Hunter nodded. The judge cocked a skeptical eyebrow at him. “You understand the issue?”

“It will look as if we must have known all along and used a technicality in the law to keep the jars here. I imagine they have more than scientific value?” he said.

A slow and very small smile appeared. “Have a seat,” she told him. He did.

“At my request, Doctor St Clare sent a doctoral fellow to take air samples from the jars to determine how long ago they were sealed. That was ten days ago. I received the results on Friday. So did the attorneys. After which, I issued a gag order.”

Hunter waited for her to get to the point.

“I’m curious, detective, what you would guess the tests showed?”

“At least one of the air samples had a much higher level of carbon dioxide than would be present when the jars were made. And traces of methane, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide and nitrogen. Decomp gases.”

Her Honor nodded.

“There’s flesh rotting in one of those jars and it wasn’t put there a thousand years ago,” Hunter said.

Buy Links

Amazon US

Amazon UK

GIVEAWAY

November Rafflecopter Prize 1 x $25 Amazon gift card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SERIES BLAST AND REVIEW TOUR SCHEDULE

NOVEMBER