Category: LGBTQ Book Reviews

A Closer Look at Rory Ni Coileain and her latest, Blowing Smoke, Soul Shares #5 (interview, excerpt, and contest)

Blowing Smoke Final Cover

Blowing Smoke (SoulShares #5) by Rory Ni Coileain
Release Date: July 15, 2015

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Goodreads Link
Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books
Cover Artist: Insatiable Designs

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Sales Links:   Amazon (Kindle)  |  All Romance (ARe) |  Kobo

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvAtyJUkCh0

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Rory Ni Coileain, author of BLOWING SMOKE, book five in my favorite Soul Shares series.

Hi, Rory, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

10 things we didn’t know about you.

    • I skipped first grade after about a month, when it became obvious that I knew everything they were planning on teaching us that year and they couldn’t figure out what else to do with me.
    • You never forget your first Doctor. Mine was #4.
    • I’m a Cancer, a Water Tiger in Chinese astrology, and utterly water-phobic.
    • I’m the evil twin.
    • I have three tattoos. As of yesterday.
    • I have two toenails on each pinky toe.
    • I used to do cross-stitch and Irish crocheted lace, until I acquired a cat who insisted on helping.
    • I came within .01 percent (yes, that’s a hundredth of a percent) in my GPA of being the youngest summa cum laude graduate in the history of my university. The fly in the ointment? My grades in Creative Writing…
    • I’m almost ambidextrous. (If I try to brush my teeth left-handed, I hold the brush still and turn my head from side to side really fast.)
    • I’m the oldest daughter of an oldest daughter of an oldest daughter, for seven generations all the way back to Ireland.
  • Thanks, Rory, for stopping by.  I look forward to more of your amazing Soul Shares characters and universe!

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Lasair Faol, Master of the Fade-Hounds to the Royal court of the Demesne of Fire in the Fae Realm, has been exiled to the human world by the Princess Consort for failing to catch her son’s kidnapper. Bryce Newhouse, Greenwich Village investment banker, is universally loathed by all who know him. Generally, he’s perfectly cool with that, but he discovers what he’s been missing—literally—when he finds Lasair chained in his basement.

Bryce was supposed to receive half of Lasair’s soul at his birth, but thanks to the Fae of Purgatory, the Pattern—portal between the worlds—has been damaged, and Bryce’s soul arrived thirty-one years too late. Now the exiled Fae is the shunned human’s only hope of healing his broken past. And with the fate of two worlds riding on that healing, Lasair is going to have to overcome both his race’s innate mistrust of genuine emotion and his own very unFae awkwardness, to have any chance of reaching Bryce’s impenetrable heart.

Pages or Words: 70,094 words

Categories: Erotica, Fantasy, Romance, Urban Fantasy

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[Excerpt (NSFW) By clicking on the link you confirm you are 18 years of age or older. ]

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

Bryce straightened, stepping out of his trousers and nudging them aside with a foot. He blushed faintly, smiling a little, when he saw how intensely Lasair was watching him.

“I want more of that smile,” Lasair murmured, letting his leggings fall and drawing Bryce close.

“You’re looking at my smile?”   To continue reading..:

 

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

Rory Ni Coileain has been writing almost as long as she’s been reading, and reading almost as long as she’s been talking. She majored in creative writing in college, back when Respectable Colleges didn’t offer such a major, so she designed it herself—being careful to ensure that she never had to take a class before nine in the morning or take a Hemingway survey course.

She graduated Phi Beta Kappa at the age of nineteen, sent off her first short story to an anthology being assembled by an author she idolized, received the kind of rejection letter that fuels decades of therapy, and found other things to do for the next thirty years or so, including nightclub singing, working as a volunteer lawyer for Gay Men’s Health Crisis, and studying ballet in New York City, until her stories grabbed her by the shirt collar and announced they were back.

Now she’s a legal editor, a soprano in her church choir and the St. Mark’s Cathedral Choral Society (unless they’re singing Mozart, because she’s decided that Mozart didn’t like sopranos very much), the mother of a teenaged son, Brony, and budding film-maker (all wrapped up in one amazing offspring), and amanuensis to a host of Fae, Gille Dubh, and shapeshifters who are all anxious to tell their stories, and some of whom aren’t very good at waiting their turns.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rory.nicoileain
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/Soulshares
Twitter: RoryNi
Blog: https://www.rorynicoileain.com

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Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-book of ‘Blowing Smoke’ (Kindle format only). Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the owner and Pride Promotions.

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Check out  the new covers for some of your favorite (and mine) SoulShare stories:

Hard as Stone New FinalDeep Plunge New CoverFirestorm New CoverGale Force New Final

 

 

 

 

 

Tour Dates & Stops:
15-Jul
Velvet Panic
My Fiction Nook
16-Jul
Prism Book Alliance
17-Jul
MM Good Book Reviews
20-Jul
Inked Rainbow Reads
For the Love of Bookends
21-Jul
Andrew Q. Gordon
Jessie G. Books
22-Jul
Dawn’s Reading Nook
23-Jul
Hearts on Fire
24-Jul
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
27-Jul
Bayou Book Junkie
28-Jul
BFD Book Blog
The Blogger Girls

In the Book Spotlight: Tempting Jordan (Second Chances #3) by Andrea Dalling

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Tempting Jordan (Second Chances #3) by Andrea Dalling
Release Date: July 20, 2015

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Goodreads Link
Publisher: Artesian Well Publishing
Cover Artist: Andrea Dalling

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Sales Links:  Amazon

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Jordan Callahan is disillusioned about dating since he caught yet another boyfriend cheating. He’s tired of giving his heart to men who only want his body. At his five-year high school reunion, he meets up with old flame Rick Ferguson. Tall, dark, and bisexual, Rick has been his dream guy since sophomore year. But Rick is in the closet and has dated a string of women since high school. If he gives in to the temptation of Rick’s kisses, his lost love could be his future—or just another in a string of men to break his heart.

Rick has tried to live up to other people’s expectations. Everyone in his small home town is waiting for the former captain of the football team to settle down with a nice girl. Well, girls aren’t in the cards for him, and he’s done trying. He wants Jordan, his best friend since first grade. But a relationship with Jordan means coming out—disappointing his family and inviting ridicule from friends. His golden boy reputation will be shattered if he follows his heart to the only love he’s ever wanted.

Pages or Words: 34,000 words

Categories: Bisexual, Erotica, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, New Adult

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

Jordan’s muscles slackened, and cold anticipation formed a lump in his stomach. Rick isn’t really jealous?

But the feral look in Rick’s eyes said he was.

The hand on his shoulder nudged him toward the ballroom. Did Rick want him? Was that why he’d agreed to come stag?

Rick’s fingers idly tapped the small of Jordan’s back as they walked. The whisper of contact was odd and possessive, and it sent Jordan’s blood surging to all the wrong places. He shouldn’t have had that second scotch. He was relaxed and horny, especially with Rick so close, when he needed to keep his wits about him. Rick would never forgive him if he let something slip about their past together in front of their high school friends.

The tapping continued, revving his nerves into high gear. His fly pressed painfully against his flesh. He turned to Rick. “Will you stop touching me?”

Rick’s easy smile fled. “Why?”

He grabbed the collar of Rick’s shirt and said in his ear, “Because, dumbass, you’re making me hard.”

Rick raised his brows and smirked. They moved forward again. The tapping slowed but didn’t stop.

Sales Links:

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

Andrea Dalling lives in the sexy Southeast, where the summers are hot and the romance hotter. During the day, she’s an award-winning technical writer, but at night, she writes steamy stories. She loves to torture her characters but eventually rewards them with a happily-ever-after. Married to her college sweetheart, she’s a progressive Christian and an advocate for LGBT rights. You can follow her on Facebook (andrea.dalling.romance) or on Twitter (@Andrea_Dalling).

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Tour Dates & Stops:

July 24, 2015
Parker Williams, Bike Book Reviews, BFD Book Blog, Bayou Book Junkie, Havan Fellows, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Molly Lolly, Inked Rainbow Reads, Jessie G. Books, Amanda C. Stone, My Fiction Nook, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, 3 Chicks After Dark, Boys on the Brink Reviews, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, MM Good Book Reviews, Christy Loves 2 Read, Velvet Panic, Nic Starr, The Hat Party, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Chris McHart, Kimi-Chan, Mikky’s World of Books

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Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: PDF Copy of the book.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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A Stella Review: Strange Bedfellows by Cardeno C

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Strange Bedfellows coverCan the billionaire son of a Democratic president build a family with the congressman son of a Republican senator? Forget politics, love makes strange bedfellows.

As the sole offspring of the Democratic United States president and his political operative wife, Trevor Moga was raised in an environment driven by the election cycle. During childhood, he fantasized about living in a made-for-television family, and as an adult, he rejected all things politics and built a highly successful career as far from his parents as possible.

Newly elected congressman Ford Hollingsworth is Republican royalty. The grandson of a revered governor and son of a respected senator, he was bred to value faith, family, and the goal of seeing a Hollingsworth in the White House.

When Trevor and Ford meet, sparks fly and a strong friendship is formed. But can the billionaire son of a Democratic president build a family with the congressman son of a Republican senator? Forget politics, love makes strange bedfellows.

Cardeno C will always have a  special spot in my heart. She was one of the first m/m authors I read and some of her books are in my “all time favorite” shelf. So you can imagine my enthusiasm every time she writes a new story. I enjoyed Strange Bedfellows even if I was a little hesitant. I always stay away from books about politics, most of all because I don’t live in the USA.  I ‘m not so sure if what I’m going to read it will match the reality of the current politics or not. Of course I made an exception for Cardeno, I couldn’t resist. And I didn’t regret my choice.  In a way the book was almost shallow (in a good sense), because it didn’t address political aspects, even if it is full of characters that breathed politics since their birth. To me it was better, definitely easier to follow a story otherwise too heavy and not very romantic. Giving the subject I wasn’t expecting something so light and easy, which I so appreciated. I read it in one stand and loved it.

The story between Ford, the 37 years old republican congressman, son of a democratic senator and Trevor, the 42 years old son of the democratic president of the USA was sweet, funny and sexy. A couple of things I particularly liked: first of all I loved how Trevor wasn’t once mad at Ford for being in the closet. He never pressed him to come out, he was always understanding and accepting of Ford’s fears and doubts. Then  there was Ford. He was my favorite character, so loyal to the family and to a career even when it interfered with his love life and forced him to be in the closet. He had duties and commitments that he couldn’t forget, especially with his father’s delicate health. But there was just one tiny problem, the situation between Ford and Trevor was not just a fling, a friends with benefit thing, they were in love with each other. How to solve it?

The title fit the story very well, cause the Strange Bedfellows is made of each time Ford and Trevor met at hotels to stay together, not to just have sex, but to talk, to know each other better and to Ford to discover how to be out in his family’s world. There are some funny moments too and an amazing HEA, in a true Cardeno’s style. I gave it just four stars cause although it was sweet, it lacked of hot parts and the ending seemed to me a little rushed, I would have preferred a couple of chapters more, not cause I’m greedy, but because it would have deserved more time to develop.

Shortly, if you’re a Cardeno fan you have to read Strange Bedfellows, I’m sure you will love it. If she is a new to you author, this story could be a lovely way to become addicted to her characters.

Cover art by Jay Aheer. What can I say about the cover? Not perfect or eye catching but well done. It is okay, nothing more.

Sales Links:  All Romance (ARe)  |  Amazon  |  Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 174 pages
Published June 26th 2015 by Smashwords Edition
ISBN139781942184300

A Sammy Review: Tin Man (Bliss #1.5) by Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Everything in his life that should have been profound had been nameless. Life and death, fucking and killing—it should have been profound. It should have resonated. He wanted it to, with Ace. He just wanted something to matter, for once.

Tin Man coverAshoka “Ace” King is known as a crim, as are most people living in District Three. Between Morality Laws and rules that target those without jobs or homes, life in Tophet isn’t easy for those not in the upper realms of society. On top of it all, they all have to be on the constant look out for the ATU, a police force known to kill at random.

One unlucky night, Ace runs into a member of the ATU. He’s forced to make a split-second decision that puts his life in danger and makes him a target for the ATU. What he doesn’t expect is for that decision to lead him to Soren Lau, the ATU agent who just couldn’t seem to pull the trigger when ordered.

After a sordid tryst, the two become irrevocably entwined. But they’re on two different sides, and when fate brings them together yet another time, they both have to make a choice and decide which side they want to end up on.

“What would you do?” he asked. “If you were me, standing at the edge of the world. Would you run back toward solid ground, or would you jump?”

“I caught you once, didn’t I?”

One of my favorite things in books is when they are able to build this world that feels so vivid it’s nearly tangible. I was hoping to get that out of this book, and I did. The authors managed to weave in details of life in Tophet without making the book heavy with them, they intrigued me as a reader and made a society that I felt lucky to get to see and lucky to not have to live in… or do I?

Sometimes I think I can read a bit too much into things. My career involves social justice and advocacy, so upon reading this, bells went off in my head. A society where the people meant to protect us are causing harm, particularly to those in poverty? A society that marks people as criminals like it’s a brand that will forever be embedded in their skin? A society divided not by right and wrong but by the money in your pocket? So yeah, let’s just say I connected with that, and as much as it pained me, it was so wonderfully done. This society that is labeled as dystopian but somehow resembles bits of our own? If that’s not intriguing and thought-provoking, I don’t know what is.

But onto other matters, the characters. Ace and Soren together managed to create this almost devastating couple that shouldn’t work but did. Soren is questioning his role and all he’s dedicated himself to, and Ace is struggling just to survive. But these characters are anything but weak. Being able to watch them in their own battles was a real treat, especially when it resulted in their growth.

My absolute biggest complaint is that I wanted more. It ended just as it was getting good, and while I was satisfied to an extent, I definitely will be wanting more not only of this universe, but also these characters. Where do they go from here? I don’t know. I hope that I’ll find out though.

I really appreciate the cover art by L.C. Chase. It is very simple but provides a stark image and helps me visualize Soren without giving me all the intricacies of detail that readers like to fill in for themselves.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing  |  All Romance |  Amazon  | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 134 pages
Expected publication: July 20th 2015 by Riptide
ISBN139781626493285
edition languageEnglish
seriesBliss #1.5

Tin Man by Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau – A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Must Read!

 

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Tin Man (Bliss #1.5)
by Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau

Riptide Publishing
Goodreads Link – Add It To Your Bookshelf
Cover Artist:  L. C. Chase

Sales Link:  Riptide Publishing  |

We have Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau here today to talk about Tin Man, their latest release.  Need a new book to read? Check out Tin Man by Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau – A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Must Read! And don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered in the tour contest!

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Hi! Welcome to Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau’s blog tour for our new release, Tin Man. We’re visiting some of our favourite blogs around the place to talk a bit about writing Tin Man, and sharing some of our influences, our ideas, and even an excerpt or two! Don’t forget to leave a comment, for your chance to win prizes!

Today we’re sharing an excerpt from Tin Man. In this excerpt, Soren is back at headquarters after his encounter with Ace, and afraid his superiors will find out exactly what happened:

 Excerpt from Tin Man:

“Rookie? Hey, rookie, you still with me here?”
Soren swayed a little as Ruby helped him out of the back of the truck. His boots hit the ground, jarring his bones.
“Come on,” she said. She unhooked her water bottle from her belt and gave it to him. “You got yourself a nice concussion, rookie. Don’t pass out on me.”
It wasn’t his concussion making him dizzy. It was fear. Soren unscrewed the lid of the bottle and took a mouthful. He swirled it around and spat. The water stained the asphalt black. Soren watched it spread into the tiny cracks and slowly bleed away.
The rest of the team headed for the showers and locker room. One or two of them clapped him on the shoulder as they passed, but most didn’t. Soren glanced at Ruby, at his helmet held under her arm, and wondered what the feed had showed Command.
He took another swig of water and washed his mouth out again.
She took the bottle from him. “Let’s get you to the medical unit.”
He followed her inside. The sudden shift from sunlight to shade blinded him for a moment, and he didn’t know if Ruby’s hand on his shoulder was to guide him or restrain him. He blinked, waiting for the world to come back into focus, waiting for the blue shapes burned on his retina to vanish.
She steered him down the corridor.
Inside the medical unit, Captain Bernhardt was waiting with the doctors. “Lau.”
“Sir.” Soren tried not to read anything into the way that the captain’s gaze slid slowly over him. How much did he know? The worst thing he could possibly do, Soren knew, was to start offering up excuses too early. Innocent men didn’t do that. Only guilty men and weak men. In this place, they were the same thing.
“Clothes off,” the doctor said, stepping forward.
Soren bent down to remove his boots and socks. Then he tugged his shirt off and dropped it into the bag that the doctor held out. An evidence bag? God. His fingers fumbled with the button of his fly—all he could remember suddenly were Ace’s fingers sliding over his skin, making the muscles in his abdomen dance—then he shucked off his pants and underwear.
“Some abrasions and contusions,” the doctor said. “I’ll document them now and take the photographs in a day or two once the bruising comes up.”
He was talking to Captain Bernhardt, Soren realized, not him. Soren was a piece of evidence now. In some ways, it made things easier. It was useful to disengage himself from this for now, to move how the doctor wanted him to move, to stretch this way or bend that way, and not have to feel the humiliation a person might, with all these gazes on him. He was trembling, though. Couldn’t stop that.
“Hands on the edge of the table,” the doctor said. “Bend over.”
At least Ruby looked away for that indignity. Soren squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. Easy to submit to the humiliation of it when he knew it wouldn’t reveal anything incriminating. The fact that they were examining him there at all, though . . . Why do it in the first place if they didn’t suspect anything?
The doctor moved away at last. Soren straightened up and turned around again.
Then the doctor was back, with a swab. “Open your mouth.”
Soren caught Ruby’s gaze as the doctor poked the swab around. Did she guess why he’d washed his mouth out with her water? Why he’d done it twice? He watched as the doctor slid the swab into a plastic tube and had to fight the crazy urge to reach out and grab it back. There was no point panicking about what the swab might tell Command when his own words might condemn him yet.
Ruby looked away. Yeah, Soren was fucked.
“Okay, Lau.” Bernhardt held out a fresh set of clothes—a white undershirt and boxers. Nothing else.
Soren dressed. His body ached. The doctor didn’t offer him any painkillers, but it didn’t matter. Just because nobody had accused him of anything didn’t mean they weren’t suspicious. Didn’t mean he was in the clear.
Soren knew the worst was yet to come.
Blurb:

Petty thief Ashoka “Ace” King knows better than to get in the way of Tophet’s Anti-Terrorist Unit. Rightfully feared in Tophet’s crime-ridden underbelly, a face-to-face encounter with an ATU is almost certainly a death sentence. But Ace has never been one to follow the rules.

Soren Lau might be an ATU rookie, but he’s not naive enough to believe everything his superiors tell him. Then again, he’s not stupid enough to disobey them, either. If he doesn’t shoot and kill as ordered, he might be next on their list.

But when Soren meets Ace, a moment’s hesitation is all it takes to put both their lives on the line. They don’t know each other, they don’t trust each other, and there’s no way in hell they can both walk away from this alive. But with suspicion and mortal danger mounting against both of them—and the forbidden attraction blazing between them—there’s nothing they can do but try.

Tin Man is out on July 20. You can order it now at Riptide.

Author Bios:

Lisa Henry

Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.

Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.

She shares her house with too many cats, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.

Connect with Lisa:

Blog: http://www.lisahenryonline.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LisaHenryOnline
Goodreads: http://http//www.goodreads.com/LisaHenry

Heidi Belleau

Heidi Belleau was born and raised in small town New Brunswick, Canada. She now lives in the rugged oil-patch frontier of Northern BC with her husband, an Irish ex-pat whose long work hours in the trades leave her plenty of quiet time to write.

She has a degree in history from Simon Fraser University with a concentration in British and Irish studies; much of her work centred on popular culture, oral folklore, and sexuality, but she was known to perplex her professors with unironic papers on the historical roots of modern romance novel tropes. (Ask her about Highlanders!)

When not writing, you might catch her trying to explain British television to her newborn daughter or standing in line at the local coffee shop, waiting on her caramel macchiato.

Connect with Heidi:

Blog: http://www.heidibelleau.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HeidiBelleau
Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/heidibelleau
Email:  mailto:heidi.below.zero@gmail.com

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Giveaway:

Each comment on this blog tour enters you for a chance to win a $20 Riptide credit and an ecopy of Bliss, the first book set in this universe. Entries close July 25, and contest is not restricted to US residents. Remember to leave your email address in the comments so we can contact you if you win!

In the Book Spotlight: The Sidhe (The Heart of All Worlds #1) by Charlotte Ashe by Charlotte Ashe (excerpt and Giveaway)

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The Sidhe (The Heart of All Worlds #1) by Charlotte Ashe

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Release Date: July 21, 2015

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Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/32040943-charlotte-ashe#_=_
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: Sarah Sanderson

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Sales Links: Interlude Press – Amazon

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Since his childhood, Brieden Lethiscir has admired The Sidhe, the beautiful and magical beings native to the Faerie world outside his homeland of Villalu. Though he grew up in a culture accepting of Sidhe enslavement by Villalu’s elite, Brieden finds that he can no longer tolerate the practice when he becomes a steward to Prince Dronyen, who is viciously abusive of his sidhe slave Sehrys. Captivated by the handsome and mysterious sidhe slave, Brieden vows to free and return Sehrys to his homeland.
As they escape the capital and navigate a treacherous path to the border, Breiden and Sehrys grow close. Breiden soon learns both the true power of The Sidhe, and that the world that he thought he knew is not what it once seemed. If they survive to reach the border, he will have to make a choice: the love of his life, or the fate of his world.

Pages or Words: 442 pages

Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

The sidhe was tall, supple and lithe, as all sidhe tended to be, with milk-pale skin that glowed like moonlight over lean, taut muscles. Like all the others before him, he was naked, giving potential buyers a full picture of what they were bidding on.
And he was extraordinary, head to toe.
His chin-length hair was violet-red and it gleamed in the afternoon sun. His lips were pink and delicate with a pronounced bow, his nose had a narrow, smooth slope and his eyes…
His eyes.
It wasn’t that they were the most incredible color imaginable: a storm of deep, contrasting, impossible greens unlike any Brieden had ever seen. And it wasn’t that they were large and almond- shaped beneath a fan of plum-colored lashes.
It was that they were full to the brim with life.
Never before had Brieden seen a sidhe slave with such lively and expressive eyes, even as he stood for auction. Those eyes were not dull or defeated in the slightest. Wary, yes, and utterly devoid of trust, but also blazing.
Blazing like the eyes of that sidhe Brieden had seen at the riverbank when he was twelve years old— the only free sidhe Brieden had ever had the chance to behold.
The elf stood on that platform as if he owned it. As if he were judging every human man before him, and not the other way around.
He tucked a lock of hair behind a delicately pointed elfin ear, then jutted his chin to reveal a chiseled jaw that contrasted beautifully against his tender features.
And though he knew it was insane, Brieden was quite sure that he was in love.

 STRW Author Bio and Contacts

Charlotte Ashe is a social worker by day and a writer of romantic fantasy by night.  A long-time fan of speculative fiction that skews feminist and features LGBTQ characters, Charlotte loves writing stories that are sexy, heartfelt, and full of magic and adventure. She has put her B.A. in literature and creative writing to use over the years as a writer of online fan-based fiction, and her most popular work has drawn more than one million readers worldwide, been translated into several languages, and been featured in online publications including The Backlot.

Charlotte lives in Portland, Maine and can be found sleeping at the beach all summer and clomping along the cobblestones in her Bean boots all winter, writing fairytales in her head to distract from the cold.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Charlotte-Ashe/1416233241994204
Twitter: @CobwebsandAshes
Website: https://www.CharlotteAshe.com

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Contestants must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

Rafflecopter Prize: Grand Prize: $25 Interlude Press gift card; also, five multi-format eBoook editions of THOAW: The Sidhe
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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Tour Dates & Stops:
21-Jul
Prism Book Alliance
MM Good Book Reviews
Multitasking Mommas

22-Jul
My Fiction Nook
Carly’s Book Reviews
Bike Book Reviews

23-Jul
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
The Novel Approach

24-Jul
Parker Williams
Bayou Book Junkie

27-Jul
Decadent Delights
Nephylim

28-Jul
BFD Book Blog

29-Jul
The Hat Party
Velvet Panic
Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

30-Jul
Amanda C. Stone

31-Jul
Inked Rainbow Reads

3-Aug
Molly Lolly
Rainbow Gold Reviews

Early Bird Book Chat: Ingela Boehm on Four Centuries of Gay Love and Not Safe For Work (guest post)

Not Safe For Work cover

Not Safe For Work by Ingela Boehm
Released July 6, 2015

Sales Links:   All Romance (ARe) |  Amazon  |  Buy It Here

We are pleased to have Ingela Boehm here today to talk a little about her latest release and blog about “Four Centuries of Gay Love”.

Four Centuries of Gay Love by Ingela Boehm

With the release of Not Safe For Work, my exploration of gay love now spans four centuries. Of course, there are many advantages to sticking to one genre – historical or contemporary – but I’m just too curious and too easily bored for that. I want every book to feel fresh to me, and one way of doing that is to jump between different eras.

It also gives rise to an interesting question: what is different about being in love nowadays compared to earlier times? Of course I can only speculate. In Rival Poet, I looked at how a same-sex romance might develop in a time when homosexuality wasn’t even an extant term. Back then, ‘sodomy’ was regarded as a kind of nymphomania: sodomites were so oversexed that women weren’t enough for them, they had to have men too. It was also a capital offence, which meant that you could be hanged for it. Luckily, the authorities tended to turn a blind eye as long as you were discreet.

My main character, Will Shakespeare, conceals his attraction to fellow poet Kit Marlowe because he fears for his life and reputation. The only one who guesses what’s going on – Will’s best friend Richard Burbage – accepts him for what he is, but would rather not know the particulars of his love life. Will is extremely lucky to have such an accepting friend, and he keeps the secret from everyone else.

Then again, maybe Will is a bit too careful. In the theater world, love between men is more or less an open secret.

In the 1970’s, which is the period for my ongoing series about rock band Pax, things have changed. Not long before 1975, when the first book begins, a law was passed in the UK that made it legal for gay people over 21 to make love. While many people still regarded it as a sickness, others embraced it and battled for equal rights. In the Pax series, Jamie and Michael learn to walk the tightrope of those shifting attitudes at the same time that they work on their musical career – a difficult task even without the added tension of being in love with the wrong person.

Finally, in my latest release Not Safe For Work, I take a look at how a gay relationship might develop today, when much of life takes place on social media. In the book, Jakob and Leo live in a world where public opinion has changed so much that homosexuality is seen as everyday and completely undramatic. Of course, their road to love is still not bump free: because what happens if everyone believes that you’re in a relationship with your best friend when you’re really not? How do you deny the rumors if people around you are not only fine with it, but they root for you? What if they would even be disappointed if you told them it wasn’t true?

Through social media, Jakob’s most private self is laid out for the world to see. It would be bad enough if only his closest friends were fooled by the prank, but the stories about him and Leo go viral and garner a cult following of young women who perpetuate their fake love story by writing their own ‘fics.’ It becomes a global phenomenon, and it’s all a lie – or maybe it’s not? Maybe that’s what’s most terrifying of all: that there might be a grain of truth in those stories. Even as Jakob realizes that he must deny that there’s anything going on between him and Leo, something holds him back. And although the stories disgust him, he’s unable to stop reading them.

So the characters in Not Safe For Work should really be able to date without problem, but it’s the author’s job to throw a spanner in the works. I like to torture my men, to make them struggle with their identities – and not only their sexuality. If I were asked to summarize my writing with one word, I would say ‘self-acceptance.’ In upcoming works, my characters face issues like class privilege, body image, guilt, prejudice and social exclusion.

That said, I do believe Jakob is the one I treat the worst. His battle is fought in the public eye, when he would really need a vacation on a desert island to digest what’s happening.

Oh well. I didn’t give him that. But I did give him Leo, and that has to be some small comfort.

~ Ingela Boehm

 

Not Safe For Work cover

Blurb for Not Safe For Work…

It’s Jakob’s birthday, and boy is he getting a surprise. His friend Leo has written a sexy blog about the two of them — all untrue, of course. Or is it? Identity hijacked, fake love life laid out for the world to see, Jakob is devastated. He should deny it all, but he can’t stop reading. Soon, he’ll have to confront Leo, but he’s afraid — can there be a tiny grain of truth in those stories?

About Author Ingela Boehm:

Ingela Bohm is a sucker for music and words, and whenever the two go together, she’s on board for the long haul. Every story she tries her hand at turns into a love story at some point, but that’s just her sentimental nature making itself known. She occasionally pretends to be a human being (as long as there are no dogs present), and she spends an obscene amount of time in front of really well-made TV series, trying to riddle out how the hell the bastards do it. Her current projects include part three of the Pax Cymrica series, a twisted, darker story called Mindfuck, and a vampire dystopia.  Currently lives in

You can contact/follow Ingela at:  Goodreads Author Page | Website | Twitter

A MelanieM Review: Roughstock: Blind Ride – Season One by B.A. Tortuga

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

Blind Ride cover 2Jason Scott is at the top of the field in his career, that of professional bull riding.  Jason, along with his traveling partner and best friend, Andy Baxter, are riding the circuit, both hoping to finish at the top of the boards and win enough money to see each of them set for life.  Jason and Bax have been dancing around the fact that they are crazy about each other.  Each is afraid of losing his best friend if they admit how much they actually love each other. It will take something huge to make a change in their relationship.

Being a professional bullrider is a dangerous game and in one horrible instant everything changes for both Jason and Bax.  When a ride on one of the top bulls goes wrong, an injury to Jason’s head causes him to go blind. Reeling, Jason and Bax retreat to Jason’s family ranch to recover and wonder what’s next for them both.  For Jason, it appears his life is over and he has nothing to live  for.  Bax is determined to prove him wrong, both personally and professionally.

Bax thinks Jason can ride the bulls even blind.  But it will take Bax, his love and their small circle of friends to prove to Jason that even blind bullriders have their life and love ahead of them.

I have a huge fondness for both the Roughstock series and its author, BA Tortuga.  So it pains me when I have to report that this story, while having so many of the great qualities I have come to expect from this series, is guaranteed to frustrate the reader to the point that it is hard to recommend it. First let’s look at the merits of this story.

The characters are wonderful.  Jason “Mini” Scott and Andy “Bax” Baxter are typical of the cowboys you will find in the stories of B.A. Tortuga.  Their personalities are so authentic to the bull riding circuit and the locale that I would also expect to run into them at any PBR event.  They become so real that they feel like a part of your family.  And it is this intimacy that connects the reader to them and their futures.  You feel the dust that coats them as they pick themselves up off the arena floor and the pain their profession inflicts upon their bodies.  They are just so realistic that you hurt for them.  And Tortuga is one of the best authors around when it comes to dialog.  The words that issue out of the mouths of her cowboys ring with authentic local flavor and colloquialisms.  And it does so without being hokey or off sounding.  Here they are heading down the road to get supper:

Bax threw his duffel back, too, sliding into the driver’s side. “So, where to? I figure that one little place where you circle your order will be closed.” “There’s that one place by the highway — about twenty minutes out. It’s nothing but old ranchers taking their women out. Nice T-bones.” And he always got tickled by those tables with the ads printed on them. Reminded him of going to auction with Pa-paw.

“That works.” The big dualie slid right into traffic like an elephant into a herd of zebras, Bax muscling them right in.

They scooted down 35, radio blaring. He found a pack of smokes in the console and lit one for Bax, then got himself one. Three days of rest, then Tulsa.

“You think we ought to try and hit home ‘fore Tulsa?” It was kinda eerie sometimes, the way Bax read his mind. Then again, they’d been on the road together for nigh on six years.

“We can. Momma’d like to see us. ‘Course, we could go on to the city. Goof off. Depends on how much you want Momma’s pineapple upside down cake.”

“Oh, I’d rather go see your momma.” That man did have a sweet tooth. Pineapple upside down was Bax’s very favorite.

“Cool. I’ll call her. Let her know we’ll be in.” He took a deep drag, grinned. Lord, lord. “I hope your knee’s up to riding fence.”

“Shit, you know it. Just don’t ask me to walk fence.” Wheeling around a little Honda, Bax started humming with George on the radio, off tune as anything. “Nah. You wouldn’t be worth shit in Tulsa, then.”

They both hooted, and Jason leaned back, easy in his bones. Man, event win number three. Check in his pocket. Him and Bax heading for steak.

Life, she was good.

Of course, we know it’s all going to change and soon.  But in that short exchange we see the ease and contentment of Jason and Bax’s relationship.  It sings of a friendship long established and perhaps much more.

And once they fess up and go for a full romantic relationship, it is still in keeping with their cowboy ways and personalities.  No flowers here.

 It was like a good ride, all motion and want and spinning. He tried to warn Bax, tried to let the man know he was gonna be way quick off the mark, but it wasn’t happening. And it didn’t seem to matter one bit. Bax was pushing him on, making these amazing noises, just as hot for him as the Fourth of July.

Their relationship is hot, sexy, and emotionally deep.  How we fall for them.

Pretty much everything works here for much of the story.  The narrative suffers a bit from almost too much sex.  We want more of Jason coming to grips with his blindness.  And we want to see exactly how Jason, with Bax and Coke’s help, will learn to ride again.  At one point, even Bax remarks that he and Jason have sex instead of talking.  OK, but as a reader, while I love the hot sex, I want more of the relationship that produces it.

After all I have been through with Jason and Bax, feeling side by side with them on their emotional rollercoaster, I want and deserve to have the emotional payoff I expect at the end of the story.  And that is exactly what’s missing.  No “aha” moment, no ending.  Nothing.  It just stops prior to Jason ever getting back up on a bull, even one on his friend’s ranch.  The emotional reward, the moment everything has been building up to never happens. Frustrating? You betcha.  And totally unexpected from this seasoned author.  And it is this aspect that dragged the rating down to a 3 star rating.

So who should read this book?  Well, hard core fans of B.A. Tortuga for one as well as fans of the Roughstock series.  Coke, AJ, Bax and Jason are the core characters of the Roughstock series so its good to have this part of the story.  But that lack of ending just makes me want to grab a beer and go watch some PBR instead of continuing to bemoan what could have been an outstanding book.

Cover art by Posh Gosh.  I like this cover, it feels more representative of the story and characters.  Terrific job.

Sales Links:  Pride Publications |  Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, Pride Publications (a LGBT imprint of Totally Bound, now Totally Entwined)
Published July 7th 2015 by Totally Bound Publishing (first published January 1st 2007)
original titleRoughstock: Blind Ride – Season One
ISBN139781784306397
edition languageEnglish
seriesRoughstock #1
charactersJason Scott, Andy Baxter settingUnited States

Books in the Roughstock series:

Roughstock: Blind Ride — Season One – Novel, m/m, core
Give it Time: the Seven of Wands – Novella, m/m
Roughstock: And a Smile — Season One – Novel, m/m, core
Doce — A Roughstock Story – Novella, m/m
Amorzinhos — A Roughstock Story – Novela, m/m, threesome
Roughstock: File Gumbo — Season One – Novel, m/m, core
Roughstock: And a Smile — Coke’s Clown – Novela, m/m,
Shutter Speed, A Roughstock Story: the Seven of Pentacles – Novella, m/m
Roughstock: City/Country – Novel, m/f
Roughstock: Picking Roses – Novel, m/f
Needing To: A Roughstock Story – Novella, m/m

Upcoming Roughstock Novels
Roughstock: What She Wants – Novel, m/m/f
Roughstock: Tag Team – Season Two – Novel, m/m
Roughstock: Terremoto – Season Two- Novel, m/m

Roughstock Shorts:
Cowboy Christmas (Coke and Dillon)
Barbed Wire and Bootheels (Sam and Beau)
Some Good Doctoring (CB and Jonesy) – Free Read

 

A Mika Review: Wild Pitch (Homeruns #1) by Sloan Johnson

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

WildPitchThere’s never been any question in Sean Tucker’s mind that he’d do whatever it took to make it to the major leagues and be one of the best pitchers of his time. The day he acknowledged to himself that he was gay was also the day he vowed to stay in the closet in order to chase his dreams. The problem is, he never counted on Mason Atley.

Sean showed rookie short stop Mason Atley the ropes, both on the field and off. The two forged a friendship which continued as both of them moved through the ranks of the farm system and into the majors. Unfortunately, there’s always been one secret Mason never felt he could share with Sean. Until now.

For seven years, Sean lived with the fact that he loved a man who would never reciprocate. When Mason admits that he’s always known he’s bisexual but has never allowed himself to pursue a relationship with a man, will Sean be able to put aside his reservations about starting a relationship with the friend he’d always assumed was straight? And more importantly, will they be able to find a way to stay together when their careers keep them apart more than they can be together

Wild Pitch by Sloan Johnson was my second book by this author and first m/m read from her. I went into the book with no expectations or judgments just kindly reading along. Got excited since it was based in Chicago half of the time. I liked the beginning a lot as I really enjoy the friends to lovers trope. I thought Sean expressing his love in the beginning in his thoughts were funny. Being in love with your best friend for years is hard when you have to be around that person, especially someone as likable as Mason.

I had a couple issues with the plot. I felt like Sean should have been happier because he got everything he wanted but it felt like self sabotage. I did not get these reservations because in the beginning this was his dream, to have the love of your friend and your career. Mason surprised me by how easy it seemed he transitioned. I do have a problem with him being “bisexual” for years but being scared to tell Sean. I did not see the point of him stating that, and then being calm about Sean’s feelings.

I mean that the attraction to men never came up in all the years of friendship. I did not buy that Mason was interested in Sean the entire time, but his actions showed he was clueless when it came to Sean’s attraction to him, if that makes sense.

There was no family dynamics to like. His family was non-existent throughout the book except for his sister. Certain comments were made from Sean about his family dynamics, but the readers never seen the family together. It’s almost like Sean would mention something he know his family wouldn’t like, and then talk about their reasoning but all of this is from his point of view.

He had never been with a man, so where did the bi-sexuality come from? I liked some of the characters. I don’t really understand Sean’s family dynamics, it’s like they spoke around the issues that were important. I’m still not sure.

I really liked the first 40% of the story, and then it went downhill. It seemed like the pacing got slower, and it just became wordier as the pages went along. I would had preferred it to be all sugary sweet once the two guys came along, I just felt the second half of the story was unnecessary drama. The epilogue. I felt like it’s something Mason wanted, and I’m glad he was happy.

Cover Art by: I liked the cover model. I don’t know which guy it’s supposed to be, but he’s cute and goes along with what I had  in mind for Mason.

Sales Links:  All Romance (ARe) | Amazon  |  Buy It Here

Book Details:
ebook, 248 pages
Published June 13th 2015 (first published June 11th 2015)
seriesHomeruns #1