Category: LGBTQ Book Reviews

A MelanieM Review: Blind Man’s Bluff (King of Hearts #3) (Pulp Friction 2015 #10) by Havan Fellows

Rating: 4 stars out of 5:

 

Blinds Man's Bluff coverIn a world where supernatural creatures openly exist, who can blame them for coalescing in one of the most fascinating and erotic places on earth? Welcome to New Orleans.

His modus operandi is to feed and leave…

Laurant never repeats a meal. Not that his hors d’oeuvres complain. The incubus enjoys meeting every one of their needs multiple times over, leaving them in a blissfully sated state of mind for days—sometimes weeks—afterward. So, even though Laurant’s power is diminishing, why hasn’t he sought nourishment these past months since that explosive true feeding in March? For once in his centuries-old life, he realizes he doesn’t want just a snack…he wants a mysterious feast.

He has powers and no idea how to use them…

Gun has done his best to stay away from the sexy as hell incubus despite all his taunts and teases. Avoiding the demon was simple at first…but Gun’s powers are awakening and they like the sex demon. A lot. Now it isn’t so black and white, especially when Laurant focuses all his stimulating attention on helping Gun find his origins. But the once vivacious incubus doesn’t appear his lecherous perky self anymore. Gun jealously thought he found sustenance with others, but perhaps not. Maybe Laurant needs him again…and maybe Gun is okay with that…

They just might be on the verge of overcoming all the obstacles in their way…that is until those special three little words are whispered with the strength and magick to tear them apart completely.

In the Pulp Friction universe, the third round of stories always brings the heartbreak and the action.  The characters always seem to end  up at the edge of a precipice and the only way out is down.  Oh, the angst and suspense!  In Blind Man’s Bluff (King of Hearts #3), Havan Fellows stays true to the pulp fiction formula and heightens both the emotional tension between Laurant and Gun as well as the relationship “high stakes” that comes with trying to combine an incubus with a taste for men and a sexy man who is more than anyone can figure out, including himself.  Gun is that true unknown quantity.  He has no memory of how  or what he is.  But clearly from past events, he’s not human. But the answer to what he is remains illusive.  Until someone from his past arrives in town to supply the answers. Or do they?

Gun is a wonderful character, made all the more remarkable because we have come close to knowing who he is ( his pov as supplied by Havan Fellows is a large part of the narrative).  Still what type of supernatural being Gun is remains an unknown.  But the clues are starting to pile up and the assumptions being made aren’t pretty.  That’s a huge amount of power he is capable of wielding, turning him into a weapon that can tilt the outcome of battles.  But whose side is he on? And what battles are looming up ahead? Some  of the answers start to fall into place here.

But the drama that pulls at me is on a smaller, more personal level.  That’s the tentative relationship forming between Laurant, the incubus who has never had a “special someone”  before, and Gun, the man who doesn’t  know who he is. Plus there is the added question of whether he can trust the politics that pull at Laurant constantly over his feeding and choice of partner.

Oh, Laurant.  how can such a sex on two legs demon come across as so vulnerable?  The author manages to make Laurant accessible and emotionally open, even as his actions and words give off an opposite impression.  I love this incubus.  He’s both troubled and troublesome.  He’s the gregarious man at the party and the lonely man in his heart.  How do you not find him charming and worthy of his own HEA?

Here it almost breaks and for so many reasons.  The other couples are acting uncharacteristically mean towards each other, all the close friends support for this unusual circle of friends seems to be breaking down and there is a darkness feeding the instability and pain erupting all around them.  Typically, this story raises more questions than it answers…perfect for a Round Three story.  I expect that and now eagerly await story number four.  As hearts break so I hope they will be mended.  Soon.

I love this series and characters.  They are wonderful, sexy, and unique.   If you are new to the Pulp Friction inter-connected series and groups of characters, then please realize these are not standalone stories.  They must be read in the order they were written.   I have listed them below.  Check them off as you go.  They are all on my Must Be Read  lists for this year!  Grab them up and get started today.

Cover art by Laura Harner.  These covers are getting better and better as well as darker and darker.  It goes along with the emotional tone of the stories and events that are occurring.

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

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 58 pages
Published June 30th 2015 by Appleton Avenue Publishing
ASINB010PIZQ7S
edition languageEnglish
seriesPulp Friction 2015 #10, King of Hearts #3

 

 

About Pulp Friction 2015

Lee Brazil ~ Havan Fellows ~ Parker Williams ~ Laura Harner

The Pulp Friction 2015 Altered States Collection.
Four authors.
Four Series.
Twenty books.
One supernatural finale.

Spend a year with the creatures that go bump in the night…fighting for their rights to exist and protecting the innocents of The Big Easy. A diverse group of friends trying to find their place in a world they never had to “fit” into before.

Although each series can stand alone, we believe reading the books in the order they are released will increase your enjoyment.
Round One:
Drawing Dead (Jack of Spades: 1) by Lee Brazil
Blind Stud (King of Hearts: 1) by Havan Fellows
The Devil’s Bedpost (Four of Clubs: 1) by Parker Williams
Diamonds and Dust (Ace of Diamonds: 1) by Laura Harner

Round Two:
Dead Blind (Jack of Spades: 2) by Lee Brazil
Stud Player (King of Hearts: 2) by Havan Fellow
Up the Ante (Four of Clubs: 2 ) by Parker Williams
Diamond Draw (Ace of Diamonds: 2) by Laura Harner

Round Three:

Dead Button (Jack of Spades #3)  by Lee Brazil
Blind Man’s Bluff (King of Hearts #3)  by Havan Fellows

A Stella Review: When Will I See You Again (Crescent Bay Chronicles #1) by Julie Lynn Hayes

Rating:  4.5 stars out of 5

When Will I See You Again coverRaoul Marchand is the crown prince of Charisma, the infamous night club in Crescent Bay, renowned for its supernatural clientele. He has the pick of any and all men, but he cares for none. He uses them and throws them away again, and has done so for some twenty years, in the aftermath of a tragedy that robbed him of what he loved most in the world.

Alexx Jameson is an idealistic would-be reporter with the Crescent Bay Chronicle. Presented with an opportunity to write a story on the Marchands, he eagerly grasps the chance to be a real reporter. His friend, Chronicle receptionist Miller Fenwick, suggests they go to Charisma to do a little research. Alexx isn’t sure that’s such a great idea. After all, he’s still under age, being only twenty. No problem, Miller can fix that! Added bonus, there’s a full moon tonight.

When Alexx first encounters Raoul, it isn’t exactly in the way he dreamed of, and he’s sure he made a terrible first impression. But Fate throws them together under unforeseen circumstances, and the attraction between them can’t be denied.

Can Raoul let go of the past long enough to find his future with Alexx, or is he doomed to repeat past mistakes?

When Will I See You Again by Julie Lynn Hayes is one of what I call “feel good” books, the kind of book, when I finish reading, I feel so satisfied. This book has everything I like to read, lovely characters, hot steamy sex, good plot and great HEA, plus a welcome (to me) amount of sugar. It hit one of my softer spot, the sweetness. That’s exactly why I enjoy Julie Lynn Hayes’s work so far so much. She can write stories that stay in my mind and my heart for so long. The one between the innocent, mouthy Alexx and rough Raul is unforgettable and the attraction is strong and compelling. There’s a little supernatural aspect that bring our heroes together that make this book almost a second chance at love story and it just add a special touch to their love.

I read this book a couple of times and every time I like it more, every time it was hard to put down. I can say it’s my favorite by the author.

It’s not just a simple paranormal story between a wolf shifter and a human. Of course it’s romantic, sexy and real in the unrealistic world it is set in, real in the romantic love between MCs and the power of friendships. Moreover there’s a mystery to solve that will affect their lives greatly.

So if you enjoy a book with a well developed plot as well as a good romantic story with some paranormal throw in it, When Will I See You Again is exactly what you are looking for. It’s well written and there is a sequel I begged for, called When Will I Be Loved, beautiful too.

Cover art by Trace Edward Zaber. I love this cover, the solitude I can feel coming from the lonely wolf will be rewarded at the end.

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

Book Details:
Published February 6th 2013 by Amber Quill Press, LLC
Kindle Edition, 292 pages
ASIN B00IA6Q77Q
Edition Language English

Crescent Bay Chronicles series
When Will I See You Again #1
When Will I Be Loved #2

Get Hot and Sexy with Cari Z’s Where There’s Fire (Panopolis #2) (giveaway)

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Where There’s Fire (Panopolis #2) by Cari Z
Published by Riptide Publishing
Release Day:  July 13, 2015

Cover Artist: L. C. Chase
Pre-Order/Sales Link:  Riptide Publishing

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STRW Author BookSynopsis

Making a name for myself as a Villain in Panopolis is hard work. Six months ago, my boyfriend broke me out of jail. Now he’s spending most of his time defending our turf against other Villains he accidentally freed along with me. And my new psychic powers are not only impossible to control, but they’re also giving me migraines.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. My skills are improving every day, and Raul—aka the Mad Bombardier—and I have never been happier. That is, until my first solo job is interrupted by a mysterious woman who tells me that Raul has been kidnapped by a ruthless new Villain. The only way to free him is to do a job for Maggot, a man with scary ideas and an even scarier superpower.

I can’t go to the cops or a Hero for help. Odds are they wouldn’t listen to me anyway. If I fail, Raul will be killed. If I succeed, we’ll both be bound to a man who’ll stop at nothing to put Panopolis on the path to civil war.

It looks like the only way to win is to take out the competition.

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

Cari Z was a bookworm as a child and remains one to this day. In an effort to combat her antisocial reading behavior, she did all sorts of crazy things, from competitive gymnastics to alligator wresting (who even knew that was legal!) to finally joining the Peace Corps, which promptly sent her and her husband to the wilds of West Africa, stuck them in a hut, and said, “See ya!” She also started writing, because some things she just thought she could do better. She’s still climbing that ladder, but can’t stop herself from writing, or from sharing what she creates.

Cari enjoys a wide range of literary genres, from the classics (get ‘im, Ahab) to science fiction and fantasy of all types, to historical fiction and reference materials (no, seriously, there are so many great encyclopedias out there). She writes in a wide range of genres as well, but somehow 90% of what she produces ends up falling into the broad and exciting category of m/m erotica. There’s a sprinkling of f/m and f/f and even m/f/m in her repertoire, but her true love is man love. And there’s a lot of love to go around.

Cari has published short stories, novellas, and novels with numerous print and e-presses, and she also offers up a tremendous amount of free content on Literotica.com, under the name Carizabeth.

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Connect with Cari:

Website: http://cari-z.net/
Blog: http://carizerotica.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/author_cariz

Cari is Riptide’s author of the month! Read her interview on Riptide’s website: http://riptidepublishing.com/authors/cari-z

STRW Spotlight Contest Header

The winner of the Where There’s Fire blog tour will work with Cari to name a character in the next Panopolis novella! Comment on this blog tour to enter in the drawing. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on July 18. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. Entries. Please leave your email in your comment so we can contact you if you win!  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. 

 

Panopolis Universe

Panopolis_SeriesCover
Panopolis, the City of Heroes: a place where exciting things happen every single day. Things like mad science, reckless public endangerment, corporate espionage, and political puppetry.

You’ve got to wonder, why would anyone ever want to move here?

And once they get here, why would they ever want to stay?

Maybe for the excitement of watching real super-powered Heroes battle it out with Villains every day—preferably from a few hundred yards back. Maybe for the chance to become one of those Heroes, brave and stalwart and always doing the right thing.

Or maybe . . . just maybe . . . some people stay because they prefer to take their chances with a Villain or two.

Books Include to Date:

Love a Menage? Check Out Blended Family (Briar Rose #3) by Sean Michael (excerpt & Giveaway)

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Blended Family (Briar Rose #3) by Sean Michael
Release Date: July 15, 2015

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Goodreads Link
Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: Kris Norris

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Sales Links:   Torquere Press

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Matt and Adam are back and this time they’re welcoming two established Master/sub pairs who want to play together. Without ruining their friendship.

Subs Peter and Max have been best friends forever, since before they met their masters. They were lovers once, but both men needed the influence of a Dom to stay on an even keel. Happily in love with their masters, Devon and Swan, the boys nonetheless want more.

Devon and Swan care deeply for each other and are willing to give becoming something more a try and the Briar Rose seems like the perfect place to give it a go. As neutral ground, if things go wrong, they should be able to put the whole thing behind them and go back to their lives as simply friends.

Can Devon, Peter, Swan, and Max become the blended family they yearn to be?

Pages or Words: 36,000 words

Categories: BDSM, Contemporary, Erotica, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Menage/Poly, Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt


Matt filled out all the paperwork and double-checked his e-mail, making sure that he was on top of everything. The truth was that he was thinking about everything but the guests they were expecting today.

They’d had couples’ stays overlap before, and once there had been three couples all wanting to learn rope bondage. That had been fun — day after day of demonstrations and checking the Doms’ work.

This was different, though.

Today they had two couples coming in who were friends and had decided they wanted to try playing together, perhaps becoming a foursome. Without ruining their friendship. That was the trick.

They were coming for over a week to work with him and Adam.

Matt wasn’t sure what to say to them. This didn’t seem like a BDSM situation, but a marriage counseling one. Adam had been sure they could help them, though, and he trusted his sub completely. That didn’t mean it was going to be easy.

 

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

Often referred to as “Space Cowboy” and “Gangsta of Love” while still striving for the moniker of “Maurice,” Sean Michael spends his days surfing, smutting, organizing his immense gourd collection and fantasizing about one day retiring on a small secluded island peopled entirely by horseshoe crabs. While collecting vast amounts of vintage gay pulp novels and mood rings, Sean whiles away the hours between dropping the f-bomb and pursuing the kama sutra by channeling the long lost spirit of John Wayne and singing along with the soundtrack to “Chicago.”

A long-time writer of complicated haiku, currently Sean is attempting to learn the advanced arts of plate spinning and soap carving sex toys.

Barring any of that? He’ll stick with writing his stories, thanks, and rubbing pretty bodies together to see if they spark.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004713810507
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWrites
Twitter: @seanmichael09
Blog: http://seanmichaelwrites.blogspot.ca

Final


Tour Dates & Stops: July 13, 2015
Parker Williams, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Bayou Book Junkie, The Hat Party, My Fiction Nook, Inked Rainbow Reads, Havan Fellows, Hearts on Fire, Full Moon Dreaming, Up All Night, Read All Day, BFD Book Blog, Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance, Kimi-Chan, Iyana Jenna, Dawn’s Reading Nook, VS Reads, Charley Descoteaux, MM Good Book Reviews, Velvet Panic, It’s Raining Men, Michael Mandrake, Molly Lolly

 

STRW Spotlight Contest Header

Enter to win a  Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘Briar Rose: Blended Family’.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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YA Saturday ~ YA Reviewer Aurora on Her First Novel, Beneath The Scales (YA LGBT Fantasy)

 

 

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Beneath The Scales by Aurora Peppermint
Released July 9, 2015
Published by Harmony Ink Press
Cover art by Anne Cain

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More from Aurora on her first novel, the YA fantasy Beneath the Scales, released by Harmony Ink Press.  And if you missed her blog yesterday, you can find it here along with the giveaway!  Enjoy.

Hi everyone!

So as many of you know I’ve been working for a really long time to finish, submit, edit and make into being my young adult novel, Beneath the Scales. It has been a labor of love every step of the way and I am so proud and so excited to be sharing it with everybody now.

The cover art was done by the lovely Anne Cain, who I’ve always been a huge fan of and was extremely lucky to get as my cover artist. And the book is now on the coming soon page at my publisher, Harmony Ink! What that means is that you can pre-order it, you can go and check out the blurb, see what it’s about and whether you’re interested, and see the cover art on the official site.

Thank you all so much and I’m so, so excited for this! Check out the book below and that great cover!

          – Aurora

STRW Author BookSynopsis

A desperate quest forces a young man to question all he knows about truth and loyalty.

Fifteen-year-old orphan Martus is struggling to provide for his magically gifted sister, Elsaben. Stealing and working shady jobs might feed them, but it doesn’t bring in enough for the arcane books and training she sorely needs, and he knows he can’t keep it up forever. His reputation as a troublemaker is starting to put him in danger.

When Elsaben is carried off by a dragon who attacks their village and burns it to the ground, Martus swears revenge, expecting to either die or return a hero. He isn’t prepared for what he discovers in a cave in the mountains.

If he can put aside his prejudices, he might find a chance for a better life, a faithful new friend, and the opportunity to help someone more like himself than he realizes. His adventure could change everything—even the beliefs he’s always taken for granted.

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

Martus ran a hand lazily through his hair, then trailed his palm down to rub at his eyes, and finally let his arm flop down onto the bed beside him. It was light out already and he had to get up, much as he didn’t want to, but he was going to postpone waking fully as long as possible, just as he did every morning.

As a boy who had been punched in the stomach many times before, it was easy to recognize the feeling, but, through the crack of his eye—rather than the angry ex-lover of someone he’d pulled into his bed the night before, as he would usually see—his curly-haired little sister was visible.

“Mar! Up, up, up! You promised you’d take me with you today! ‘Member?” Bright eyes peered down into his, and Martus easily threw an arm around the small girl and pulled her off his stomach, mindful of her head when he plopped her down on the wood floor beside him.

“Yes, Elsaben. Sh.” Pulling a pillow over his face for a moment, Martus heaved a loud sigh, then tossed the pillow to the side and sat up. “Wh—” A yawn cut his question off, and his eyes wrinkled shut for a moment. “Where d’you want to go, darling?”

“I want to go wherever you go, Mar! “ Elsaben grinned, flopping on her stomach to grope under his bed before standing triumphantly with a bent up stick in her small hand, “You have my sa-word!” Martus couldn’t help laughing at that, ruffling his little sister’s hair and standing up.

“All right, then, little warrior, get dressed.” As he spoke, Martus tugged on his shirt and went looking for his day pants. The siblings didn’t have much since their parents died, but Martus always made sure his little sister had the basic necessities—clothes, food, water, something that could at least pass for a house—and a little more when he could manage it.

“Bet I’ll be ready quicker than you!” With that, Elsaben was out the door and hurrying down the stairs, hair flying out behind her.

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

Beneath The Scales Cover

A Mika Review: Death’s Ink-Black Shadow (More Heat Than the Sun #6) by John Wiltshire

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Death's Ink Black Shadow coverIt takes a certain kind of courage to live as if favored by the gods, ignoring the ever-present ghosts of your past—or perhaps not bravery, but arrogance. And maybe not even that. Ben genuinely believes that the past is behind them—that they deserve to enjoy the life they have created. So it’s not hubris that leads him to overlook the signs that Nikolas does not share his faith, it’s love. But Nikolas knows something is coming. He can’t stop it; he can only decide how he will choose to face it. And without Ben’s support, he is entirely alone.

Honestly, I was so underwhelmed reading this! Nothing magnificent happened, nothing explosive. Everything was meh.  I’ve seen everything here before in other stories so I saw it coming here. It’s getting repetitive with Nik shutting Ben out, Ben getting whiny and doing something extreme. Ben finding out the truth that was right there in front of his face, and feeling bad about how he acted, it was underwhelming to say the least.

I found myself coasting along throughout the book. It did not feel like the usual emotional journey that J.W presents us with. I’m finding myself thinking it’s the same scenario with these two just different settings with a regurgitation of their feelings. 

There was one seen where I felt a spark of something good happening, but after the truth came to light then noothing spectacular happened further in the book. I think the problem is that we’ve built this series up to be so amazing, and not it’s in book 6.

What more is there to happen with this couple? I think they need a good therapy session because we can’t continue to go through this! Of course I’ll continue the series, but I’m going in extremely cautions with the next book.

Cover Art by: I like the cover, I don’t know the reason behind it. I’m still not sure about it. It’s beautifully done though.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 239 pages
Published June 19th 2015 by MLR Press
original titleDeath’s Ink-Black Shadow (More Heat Than the Sun, #6)
edition languageEnglish
seriesMore Heat Than the Sun #6

Books in the Series:

Love is a Stranger (More Heat Than the Sun #1)
Conscious Decisions of the Heart (More Heat Than the Sun #2)
The Bridge of Silver Wings (More Heat Than the Sun, #3)
This Other Country (More Heat Than the Sun, #4)
The Bruise Black Sky (More Heat Than the Sun, #5)
Death’s Ink-Black Shadow (More Heat Than the Sun #6)