Category: LGBTQ YA Fiction

Afternoon Book Highlight: Seven Tears at High Tide by C.B. Lee (author interview, excerpt and contest)

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Seven Tears at High Tide by C.B. Lee
 Release Date: October 15, 2015

Goodreads Link
 Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: C.B. Lee
 Cover Design by C.B. Messer

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Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing C.B. Lee, author of Seven Tears at High Tide.

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

Hi! I’m C.B, thank you for interviewing me on your blog today. I’m from California, and grew up in a small neighborhood that was made up of almost all immigrant families. As a first generation Asian American and as a bisexual writer, I am so excited to be able to write more about characters whose backgrounds are like my own. My current novel is Seven Tears at High Tide, a contemporary romance meets fantasy, where a teenager meets a selkie has to navigate the consequences of wishing for love.

  • What are your ambitions for your writing career?

I would just love to see my stories being read by the people who want to read them. It’s a dream of mine, for people to be able to pick up a story about a character that they might see themselves in.

  • How many published books do you have? Can you tell us something about them?

Seven Tears at High Tide is my first novel! It’s my take on selkie lore, particularly on subverting the trope that follows a lot of the mythology, where a selkie comes ashore and their pelt, and subsequently their freedom, is taken away from them when a human steals it or discovers it. I wanted to write a story where the selkie– and the human both are presented with difficult choices in their relationship, and how they deal with these questions of agency.

  • Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?

Kevin and Morgan are the two main characters, and they’re both quite special to me! I hope readers think so too. Kevin can be quite stubborn at times, and act before he thinks, but he’s got a good heart, knows who he is and what he wants, and that helps him steer through a lot of difficult choices in the novel. Morgan has a few special supernatural abilities, like an enhanced sense of smell and the ability to read people’s intentions and their heart’s desires, but I think what makes him special is his positivity and his determination, and especially how he cares deeply about others.

  • What are you working on at the moment? What’s it about?

I’m currently working on another young adult novel, about a high school girl who comes from a family of superheroes– except she’s nonpowered, and really just wants to prove herself. She ends up getting a job, along with her crush, working for a mysterious corporation which turns out to be run by the town’s supervillain, and these two girls uncover this huge plot that’s more than just heroes versus villains. And they also fall in love.

  • Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?

I try to write at least a thousand words a day, if I have a deadline for a particular project. Sometimes I’ll write more, and often times I’ll write less, but I do try to write every day, even if it’s only a sentence!

RC

Blurb

Kevin Luong walks to the ocean’s edge with a broken heart. Remembering a legend his mother told him, he lets seven tears fall into the sea. “I just want one summer—one summer to be happy and in love.” Instead, he finds himself saving a mysterious boy from the Pacific—a boy who later shows up on his doorstep professing his love. What he doesn’t know is that Morgan is a selkie, drawn to answer Kevin’s wish. As they grow close, Morgan is caught between the dangers of the human world and his legacy in the selkie community to which he must return at summer’s end.

 

Pages or Words: 234 pages
 Categories: Contemporary, Fantasy, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance, Young Adult

 

Excerpt

They wander into the house, wipe their wet feet on the welcome mat, climb up the stairs and giggle as they pass Ann’s bedroom. She’s dancing with her headphones on, oblivious to the open door, swaying to the beat.

In Kevin’s bedroom, he quickly scrounges up some clean shirts and shorts. “Here, you can wear this,” he says, handing an outfit to Morgan and then ducking into his bathroom to change. He peels off the wetsuit and hangs it up in his shower, then leans his surfboard carefully against the wall, eyeing the crack. He’ll have to fix it tomorrow.

When he returns, Morgan is holding onto the wet board shorts, wearing the outfit Kevin gave him. He looks curiously at the rock collection prominently displayed on Kevin’s bookshelf. “These are beautiful,” he says.

“Here, I’ll take that,” Kevin says, holding out his hand for the bedraggled board shorts to hang in his shower. He’s certain now that they’re the ones from the lifeguard’s lost and found. Kevin’s starting to worry that Morgan doesn’t have any other clothes, but he doesn’t know how to bring it up. Money can be a touchy subject.

Morgan holds Kevin’s favorite specimen, a piece of green olivine on basalt. Kevin once almost convinced Ann it was an avocado roll—it certainly looks like one, bright green speckled with sesame seeds, wrapped in dark seaweed.

“That’s from Mexico. My family went on vacation to Baja last year, and I got that out of an old volcano.” He tries his best to describe the sweltering heat and the excitement of finding geodes and cracking them open with a hammer. Morgan listens in rapt silence as Kevin talks about the find and tilts the olivine so it catches the light. He sets it back in its spot behind its label, slowly so as not to disturb the other specimens, and Kevin is quietly pleased with Morgan’s careful appreciation.

“I changed my mind,” Kevin blurts out.

“About what?”

“I do want this to be a date. For us, to do that,” he says, blushing. “I like you. A lot.”

Morgan’s face breaks into a bright, happy smile.

“And what do we do differently, for this to be a date?”

Kevin can feel the heat on his cheeks. “We can hold hands, if you like. Um, or kiss, if you want to. But we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I’m fine just hanging out and watching a movie with you.”

Morgan tilts his head and steps closer. “I want to,” he says, not specifying what, but Kevin knows immediately.

It’s just the quickest brush of lips, but Kevin feels it all the way to his toes. A warm curl of excitement blooms throughout his body, and Morgan’s mouth is warm and wet against his. It’s not like any kiss he’s had, chaste and sweet and over in a second, and yet his heart is still pounding after Morgan leans back. He’s close enough for Kevin to be able to count the eyelashes dark against his cheek.

Morgan ducks his head and asks, “Was that okay?”

Kevin’s a little dazed, but he finds his voice. “Yeah. Yeah, that was great.”

 

Buy the book:

Interlude Press | Amazon |Book Depository | Indiebound 

Meet and connect with C. B. Lee:

C. B. Lee is a bisexual writer, rock climber and pinniped enthusiast based in California. Lee enjoys reading, hiking and other outdoor pursuits. Seven Tears At High Tide is a first novel.

Connect with C.B. at cb-lee.com, on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/authorcblee,

on Twitter @author_cblee, and on Goodreads at Goodreads.com/cb-lee.

 

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Tour Dates & Stops:

15-Oct: Prism Book Alliance, Happily Ever Chapter, Velvet Panic, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My,

Michael Mandrake, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

16-Oct: BFD Book Blog, Books A to Z, The Jena Wade

19-Oct: It’s Raining Men, Hearts on Fire, Bayou Book Junkie

20-Oct: Divine Magazine, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Bike Book Reviews

21-Oct: Amanda C. Stone, Just Love Romance, Mikky’s World of Books

22-Oct: Emotion in Motion, Kimi-Chan, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings

23-Oct: Molly Lolly, Love Bytes

26-Oct: Boys on the Brink Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads

27-Oct: Cathy Brockman Romances, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, MM Good Book Reviews

28-Oct: TTC Books and More, My Fiction Nook

 

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $25 Interlude Press Gift Card to one grand prize winner plus copies of the Seven Tears at High Tide multi-format eBook to five winners. 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 Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review: Pura Vida by Sara Alva ~ Audiobook narrated by Joseph Northton

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5audiobook clipart bw
Pura Vida coverSimon arrives in Costa Rica to spend the summer with his family as his parents seal the deal on a real estate deal while taking the time to enjoy their family. Simon is free to hook up since his college boyfriend has asked for an open relationship so that each can go their own way for the summer. In other words, he isn’t interested in making a commitment to Simon, and Simon is pretty disgusted just thinking about what that lack of commitment means.

He runs into a young man named Juan late one night while walking on the beach. Actually, he literally runs headfirst into a sea turtle making her way to shore to lay her eggs and scares her off. This, in turn, brings Juan out of his cover to berate Simon for being so clumsy and stupid and careless of the nature on the island. Intrigued, Simon learns more about both Juan and the sea turtles, and when the tension between the two heats up, they decide to slake their sexual appetites with each other.

Though Simon and Juan get close over their weeks together, Simon knows that he’s destined to leave and go back to school, and he doesn’t see how he and Juan can create something long term. The plight of the sea turtles and the intrigue surrounding Juan as they fight to keep the eggs from being stolen by poachers bring the two young men even closer. But when Simon’s parents decide to leave the area before their originally planned departure, Simon has to face the fact that he and Juan may never see each other again.

This was a sweet, young adult M/M romance. It was fairly short and not overly detailed, but considering its length, the author managed to convey two very interesting characters and work in the plight of an endangered species. Adding an epilogue at the end to bring readers up-to-date on the status of both young men the next year was just the perfect icing on the cake. Narrator Joseph Northton was good, with clear pronunciation, and good vocalizations for both characters.

I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a sweet young adult romance that would be perfect for an afternoon on the beach or in front of a cozy winter fire.

~~~
Cover art is a split screen with a photo of young man swimming or lying in the sand in the upper panel and a sea turtle in the sand in the lower frame, with the title of the story across the center. The artwork is a faded out gray-and-white and looks somewhat like a faded old photo. Though it does symbolize the story, I found the coloring unappealing.

No Sales Links – free here at the Goodreads M/M Romance Don’t Read in the Closet Event

Book Details:

ebook, 92 pages
Published July 25th 2013 by M/M Romance Group @ goodreads
edition languageEnglish
seriesDon’t Read in the Closet Events settingCosta Rica

More First Lines of Novels, Our M/M Fiction First Line Quiz and This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

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More First Lines of Novels,  Plus Our First Line M/M  Novels Quiz!

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People tend to disagree over what are the most favorite/best loved lines in literature, especially when compiling lists.  When scanning over a number of the Top Ten, the same lines and books appear over and over, but after that? It can get lively.

Sometimes the lists can surprise you, baffle you and delight you.  Here are some of the first lines I found on lists that dismayed, baffled and delighted the heck out of me, and yes, that one huge thing is one sentence.  Read it and weep for whatever emotion takes you and consider if they did their job…made you want to read the book.

What line dismayed me?   This first line found on multiple lists, which I still find dismal. Up to me, this book would have remained unread, even by that year’s standards.

“I was born in the Year 1632, in the City of York, of a good Family, tho’ not of that Country, my Father being a Foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull; He got a good Estate by Merchandise, and leaving off his Trade, lived afterward at York, from whence he had married my Mother, whose Relations were named Robinson, a very good Family in that Country, and from whom I was called Robinson Kreutznaer; but by the usual Corruption of Words in England, we are now called, nay we call our selves, and write our Name Crusoe, and so my Companions always call’d me.” Robinson Crusoe (1719), Daniel Defoe

What baffled me? This one sentence, yes, one line opener.

“Once upon a time two or three weeks ago, a rather stubborn and determined middle-aged man decided to record for posterity, exactly as it happened, word by word and step by step, the story of another man for indeed what is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal, a somewhat paranoiac fellow unmarried, unattached, and quite irresponsible, who had decided to lock himself in a room a furnished room with a private bath, cooking facilities, a bed, a table, and at least one chair, in New York City, for a year 365 days to be precise, to write the story of another person—a shy young man about of 19 years old—who, after the war the Second World War, had come to America the land of opportunities from France under the sponsorship of his uncle—a journalist, fluent in five languages—who himself had come to America from Europe Poland it seems, though this was not clearly established sometime during the war after a series of rather gruesome adventures, and who, at the end of the war, wrote to the father his cousin by marriage of the young man whom he considered as a nephew, curious to know if he the father and his family had survived the German occupation, and indeed was deeply saddened to learn, in a letter from the young man—a long and touching letter written in English, not by the young man, however, who did not know a damn word of English, but by a good friend of his who had studied English in school—that his parents both his father and mother and his two sisters one older and the other younger than he had been deported they were Jewish to a German concentration camp Auschwitz probably and never returned, no doubt having been exterminated deliberately X * X * X * X, and that, therefore, the young man who was now an orphan, a displaced person, who, during the war, had managed to escape deportation by working very hard on a farm in Southern France, would be happy and grateful to be given the opportunity to come to America that great country he had heard so much about and yet knew so little about to start a new life, possibly go to school, learn a trade, and become a good, loyal citizen.”  — Raymond Federman, Double or Nothing, 1971

What delighted me? That I found these opening lines on a couple of lists.

“Where’s Papa going with that axe?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast. (E.B. White,Charlotte’s Web)

“When the car stopped rolling, Parker kicked out the windshield and crawled through onto the wrinkled hood, Glock first.” –Donald E. Westlake writing as Richard Stark, Backflash

The drought had lasted now for ten million years, and the reign of the terrible lizards had long since ended. –Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey

“Nobody ever walked across the bridge, not on a night like this.” –Mickey Spillane, One Lonely Night.

This little hunt so entertained me that I decided to compile a list of my own, with help from the rest of the reviewers here at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.

We started to look for the first lines from some very popular M/M Romance/Fiction stories and we came up with what is sure to be the first of at least 3  Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words M/M Romance First Line Quizzes!

Look for the answers in next week’s Sunday’s post . How many, if any,do you think you will recognize?

 Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words M/M Romance First Line Quiz

In what m/m romance fiction books do these first lines appear?

  1.  “This is the way my world ends.”
  2. “Once upon a time…that’s how the old stories always begin.”
  3. “It was pouring when I walked outside to use the pay phone.”
  4. “He was on his third beer of the evening when he thought he heard a noise in the backyard.”
  5. “His elegantly decorated hospital room looked regal and stately, much like the man lying in the bed in the center of the room.”
  6. “I don’t disagree with you Mother, Clarissa is a very beautiful woman. “
  7. “I wish to buy a boy,” the stranger said.”
  8. “I would say that I never let harm come to him, but in this world harm comes to us all. “
  9. “At eight in the evening on a Friday, Roosevelt High School was dark and abandoned.”
  10. “The whole thing started because of Lizzy’s Jeep.”
  11. “Dad, I’m gay.”
  12. “This is not a coming-out story.”
  13. “He wore the navy suit because it was her favorite, the light blue shirt because when he looked down at his cuff, the slender line of color made him remember her eyes.”
  14. “The smell of cheap motel rooms was comforting to him, like his oldest, rattiest T-shirt.”

 

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This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

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Sunday, October 4:

  • More First Lines of Novels, Our M/M Fiction First Line Quiz and This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, October 5:

  • Cover reveal for J. Johanis ‘Dream Gods’ (cover reveal and contest)
  • EE Montgomery ‘Just The Way You Are’ Keep Me In Mind Tour and Giveaway
  • Coffee Sip and Book Break:  Small Wonders by Courtney Lux (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Stella Review: Blueberry Boys by Vanessa North
  • A Mika Review: Signs of Life by Melanie Hansen

Tuesday, October 6:

  • Book Spotlight: Dragon’s Eye by Lexi Ander (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Author Spotlight Special: Sloan Johnson  “Triple Play”-rescheduled for Oct 2oth
  • Coffee Sip and Book Break:  Roping Him In by Jena Wade (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Free Dreamer Review: Strength To Let Go by Alina Popescu
  • A Barb, A Zany Old Lady Audio Review: Pura Vida by Sara Alva ~ Audiobook narrated by Joseph Northton

Wednesday, October 7:

  • Kate Pearce’s Tribute Series Returns with the Retribution Tour and Contest
  • Valerie Brundage ‘Another Creature’ book blast and contest
  • Coffee Sip and Book Break with Missy Welsh – Take Your Pick (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Stella Review: Base Instinct by Larissa Ione
  • A PaulB review: Shades of Power by Beany Sparks

Thursday, October 8:

  • Grein Murray ‘Keeping Joshua’ book blast and giveaway
  • In the Book Spotlight: Purpose by Andrew Q Gordon (excerpt and contest)
  • A Jeri Review: Let The Wrong Light In by Avon Gale
  • A Free Dreamer Review: First Contact by Alex Gabriel
  • A Mika Review: Redeeming Hope by Shell Taylor

Friday, October 9:

  • Riptide Publishing’s 4th Anniversary Celebration Tour and Contest
  • Coffee Sip and Book Break with P.D. Singer ‘Otter Chaos’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A BJ Review: Winter: Haunted Heart #1 by Josh Lanyon
  • A Free Dreamer Review: To Catch A Threeve by Alexis Duran
  • A MelanieM Review: Where the Grass is Greener (Seeds of Tyrone #2) by Debbie McGowan and Raine O’Tierney

YA Saturday, October 10:

  • An Aurora YA Review: Mad About the Hatter by Dakota Chase

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Has the Answers You Want Next Sunday!

In the Meantime, grab up those old favorites, check out those first lines!  Can’t find the ones above? Ok, how about the ones you don’t need but find that are pretty cool? While you’re at it, write those down and submit them here to us at melaniem54@msn.com to use for our next quizzes.  You’ll never know when a  prize will pop up and you will have a least one line in the “know”.

YA Whistlestop Book Spotlight: Fiery
 by Alyssa Astra

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Fiery
 by Alyssa Astra
Release Date: September 23, 2015

Goodreads Link:
Publisher: Prizm Books
Cover Artist: BSClay

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Buy the book:   Torquere Books

Blurb

Aiden Adams, a transgender teen, begins writing in a journal when he moves to a new town named Ashmore and begins “passing.” He is counting on everyone to believe that he is the every bit the male he appears to be. Writing in his journal helps him unclog his brain as he writes about the daily struggles he faces as a transgender teenager, his painful past that he is trying to forget, the new friends he is making, and the beautiful girl named Abby whom he has fallen in love with. Aiden has already come out to his open-minded mother, but will Abby be just as understanding?

When Aiden loses his journal, he worries that the secret he is trying so desperately to keep will come out. And if it does, how will everyone react? Will Abby be able to cope with everyone knowing that he is transgender? Will his new friends accept Aiden for who he really is—a boy—or will everything fall apart?

Pages or Words: 70,000 words
Categories: Fiction, Romance, *Trans, Lesbian Romance, YA

Excerpt

The beautiful eyes belong to the beautiful girl from the library. The one I notice every day for one reason or another. The one I sketched on a page in my journal. I’m such a creep.
“Hi,” she says loudly.
I take out my earbuds and turn off my radio that’s still in my pocket. “Hi,” I say back.
She’s on one knee to be eye-level with me, but she spins and sits down beside me, really close. Wait a minute…
SHE’S GOT ON THE COOLEST BOOTS!
They’re shiny black leather and they go up to her knees. The bottom of them is a three-inch platform, all clunky and sexy—I mean cool. She has black skinny jeans tucked into them.
“I just wanted to make sure you were alive,” the girl says. “Why are you all the way over here, by yourself?”
“I don’t know anyone,” I admit.
She holds out her right hand. “I’m Abby Abernathy.”
I grasp her hand. Handshakes are always awkward. Her hand is really warm or mine is really cold.
“I’m Aiden Adams.”
“Nice to meet you—now you know someone.” She smiles.
“I guess I do.”

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Meet the Author

Alyssa Astra lives in a mildly haunted house in North Carolina. She started writing stories by hand in high school. Now she types them. When she is not writing she spends her free time attempting art and listening to music.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alyssa.astra.7
Facebook Author Page
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlyssaAstra
Instagram: https://instagram.com/starshinealys/
Deviant Art: http://starshinealys.deviantart.com/
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/starshinealys


Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, The Hat Party, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, The Jena Wade, Inked Rainbow Reads, BFD Book Blog, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, Molly Lolly, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Bending The Bookshelf, Nephylim, Carly’s Book Reviews, Hearts on Fire, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, V’s Reads, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Jessie G. Books, Unquietly Me

 

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘Fiery’.  Must be 15 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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What are you all reading now – part I- and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

What are you all reading now?

I was over at J Scott Coatsworth’s Queer Sci Fi Facebook group (if you love fantasy, science fiction, the discussions held there will blow you away).  Any how, that day authors of  some gay graphic novels were there talking about their latest couples and releases.  I thought the pictures and storylines were hot, hot, hot.

Now I love anime’, cut my teeth on comic books and early graphic novels.  Found Yaoi, never looked further, which was a mistake.   So I took a quick “run” around the web and found some pretty neat LGBTQIA graphic comics out there. ALEX WOOLFSON and ADAM DEKRAKER: Queer Sci Fi ran interview/chat with the creators of The Young Protectors as part of their wonderful Graphic Novel Week.  That started August 25.  Check out the entire week’s contributions when you have the time.  But that made me wonder?

Do you all read graphic comics?  If so, which ones? Which authors? I’ve included a small poll to see how much we  read and follow graphic novels.  Please feel free to chime in with your comments as well.  Thanks.

Now on to this week’s schedule after the poll.

 

 

This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, September 20:

  • KC Wells ‘First’ book blast and contest
  • What Are You All Reading and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, September 21:

  • Enter the Dystopian World of Bane by Amelia C. Gormley (Riptide Tour and contest)
  • Beany Sparks ‘Shades of Power’, book blast and giveaway
  • Coffee Sip and Book Break with Lisa & TJ Oliver’s ‘Uncaged’ (excerpt and contest)
  • A BJ Review: The Complications of T (The Actor’s Circle #1) by Bey Deckard
  • A Free Dreamer Review: The Demon You Know by Barbara Elsborg

Tuesday, September 22:

  • In the Spotlight: Draven St. James ‘Lost in the Fire’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Special Cheryl Headford Guest Post with Character Interview (giveaway and excerpt)
  • A Barb The Zany Old Lady Review: Fit To Be Tied by Mary Calmes
  • A Mika Review: Unbreak Broken by J.K. Hogan
  • A PaulB Review: Not A Line of Bull by Charlie Richards

Wednesday, September 23:

  • Whistlestop Book Blast for Alyssa Astra ‘Fiery’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • In the Book Spotlight: Chris McHart ‘Small Steps’ (excerpt and contest)
  • Its Hot, Its Sexy, Its the Manchester Ménage Collection with Nicole Colville ‘Discovering Dalton’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Barb The Zany Old Lady Review: Other Side of the Line by Marguerite Labbe
  • A PaulB review: Kissed by Nemesis by Andi Anderson
  • A Free Dreamer Review: Such a Dance by Kate McMurray

Thursday, September 24:

  • Coffee Sip and Book Break: Fai Marie Dawson ‘Please Understand’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Time to Heat Things up with H.C. Brown ‘Stalked’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Stella Audiobook Review: Going Up by Amy Lane (Audiobook)
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Empty Nests (Nested Hearts #1) by Ada Maria Soto
  • A MelanieM Review: Tequila Mockingbird (Sinners #3) by Rhys Ford

Friday, September 25:

  • Its Release Day for RJ Scott’s Texas 7 (contest)
  • Coffee Sip and Book Break: Theresa Hissong’s It Takes Two Tour (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Jeri Review: Beautiful Thunder by Louise Lyons
  • A MelanieM Review: Sloe Ride (Sinners, #4) by Rhys Ford
  • A Stella Review: ACID by Wulf Francu Godluck

Saturday, September 26:

A MelanieM Review: Texas Wedding (Texas #7) by RJ Scott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Wynter Review: Training Complex (Training Season #2) by Leta Blake

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Buckle up – Matty’s back!

Training Complex coverFigure skater Matty Marcus didn’t capture Olympic gold, but he won rancher Rob Lovely’s heart.

After Rob sold his ranch and Matty hung up his skates, they started a new life together in New York City. Now Matty has taken on a fresh challenge as a figure skating coach, and Rob’s second career as a physical therapist should be everything he’s dreamed of. But in the brutal heat of their third summer in the city, Rob yearns for the wide-open country, and the intensity of city life awakens Matty’s demons.

Matty asks for increasingly intense BDSM scenes, and his disordered eating and erratic behavior ramp up the stakes. Rob struggles to stay in control, and after a well-intentioned anniversary gift goes awry, he still thinks he can handle the fallout. But the concrete jungle is closing in and his coping skills are unraveling.

Their love is deep, but Rob will have to admit the truth about what he really wants before they both tumble into chaos.

I walked into this novel without knowing anything about the author, much less that it this was actually Book 2 of a series. I never read the first one, so this one left me a little bit overwhelmed.

It was difficult getting into this book. While I do enjoy erotic fiction, starting out with an erotic scene without knowing the characters made following the story an uphill struggle for the first half of the book. It took me a long time to get past the half-way point, and I needed to take plenty of breaks in between.

The horrible Kindle formatting and the lack of cutting conversations so I can follow easier aside, I’m one of those readers who pick up a book to get away from reality. While this novel may be fictional, the main characters – Rob Lovely and Matty Marcus – were too real-life real. These are two people who have issues as deep and numerous as any one of us could have – deeper, in fact, for Matty. Rob’s fight to keep Matty afloat is a struggle too many of us may identify with, and that is where the overwhelming realism hit me over the head.

I’ve come to think, as I finished the book, that the numerous erotic parts in the story was a way to show readers the subtle and not-so-subtle changes that happen to Rob and Matty as the story progresses. However, I felt they were too numerous, and the BDSM scenes may be too heavy-handed for some readers. While the in-between had very entertaining conversations involving other people in the characters’ lives, sometimes the information may have been a little too much.

If there was one thing I absolutely appreciated about this book, it was the information that is exchanged between Sato and Rob. I’m glad Leta Blake shared with her readers the different ways and avenues one can utilize as support if money wasn’t available – and money was tight for her main characters.

I think, as a reader, you’ll either love this or hate it. Check it out. Hate or love, there’s something to be learned from it.

The cover artist is Dar Albert over at Wicked Smart Designs. I think the men in the picture matched the characters of the book quite accurately, and if I was looking at a “Recommended Shelf” full of books, this cover would have been one of the first eye-catchers that get my attention.

Whether or not the novel would pass the interest test as one reads the excerpt on the back cover is another story altogether, but getting the attention of a passerby first and foremost is a very good start for a new book on the shelves!

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

Book Details:

  • Author: Leta Blake
  • Length: 345 pages, ebook
  • Language: English
  • Series: Training Season, Book 2
  • Published: May 11, 2015
  • ISBN-13: 9781626227279

Love a Friends to Lovers Story? Check Out Lodestones by Naomi MacKenzie (excerpt and giveaway)

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Lodestones by Naomi MacKenzie
Release Date: September 8, 2015
Goodreads Link

Publisher: Duet Books, the YA imprint of Interlude Press
Cover Artist: Cover Design by Buckeyegrrl Designs
Cover and Interior Illustrations by Abby Hellstrom

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Buy the book:  Interlude Press |Amazon   |Smashwords  | Indiebound

Blurb

On the eve of a new school year, several groups of college students cross paths as they seek out a secret end-of-summer lake party—including Robin and Charlie, two inseparable friends who discover of the course of the twenty-four hours that their relationship is something much deeper than simple friendship.

Pages or Words: 226 pages
Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance, Young Adult

Excerpt

Larry holds up the flyer to study the map Florence drew. Barry is leaning to look at it, too, when it’s ripped from between Larry’s fingers.

A greasy man in a campus security uniform stands over them with a pinched expression. His faded nametag reads: Ron Anderchuk. “Another one,” he all but growls. “Where in heck did you get this, boys?”

Barry tries his best to look innocent. Which isn’t all that hard, since he knows nothing.

“Found it on the ground,” Larry lies.

“Uh-huh, uh-huh,” the security guy says. “Extra trouble for littering.” He glares hard at the paper for nearly a minute before looking back at them. “You do know parties like this are illegal, don’t ya, boys? And frowned upon by this here establishment.” He raps his knuckles on the table. “I think it best you stick around here this weekend. That would be best, don’t ya agree?” He widens his beady eyes while he waits for their assent.

Barry looks to Larry. Seeing him nodding, he mimics the gesture.

The security officer’s answering grunt sounds disbelieving. He mutters as he walks away; the flyer with their map is gripped in his fist.

“What are we—”

Larry holds up his hand, stopping Barry’s question in its tracks. “Not to worry; I have a photographic memory. I’ve got the map in here.” He taps a fingertip against his temple.

“Even after all of that? And we do have another problem, if Florence is to be believed.”

Larry hums and strokes his chin. He picks up Barry’s tray and they walk to the windows. The orientation officers are indeed spread across the entire expanse outside, handing out pamphlets and organizing games of lawn bowling and oversized croquet. The entrance to the student parking lot is completely blocked.

Barry should throw in the towel, admit defeat and convince Larry to do the same. And he would, if not for one thing. The one detail that has roped him into the excitement over the lake festivities fully and completely is Kate Zimmermann, captain of the Dicaroon Seadogs field hockey team. Barry was looking through the school’s website while Larry was plotting behind him and he caught sight of her picture. He informed Barry that she was one of the girls who was carrying the van’s bench seat into her dorm room and invited him to the party early that morning.

Barry is in love with Kate Zimmermann. He has been since seeing her on the Dicaroon University website the previous summer. Well, he’s in love with the image of her and her red hair and blue eyes and adorable freckles that are so voluminous that they connect on her face. He has dreamed of red-haired kids calling him Daddy and hitting balls with sticks. Possibly. And she’s throwing the party, so even if Barry will never get up the nerve to speak to her should he live for a thousand years, he has to go. For his future dream-wife.

“Well, then,” Larry says. He sets Barry’s lunch tray down on the bussing station and rubs his hands together. “I guess we are in need of a foolproof plan.”

“A stratagem,” Barry says. He feels immediately foolish for being such a huge dork.

But then Larry grins at him. “Ooh, yes, I like that. A stratagem.”

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About the Author


Naomi MacKenzie is a writer and photographer from the eastern coast of Canada. She considers herself a Maritimer first and a Canadian second, or so she told the standardized testing people in essay form during the eleventh grade. She enjoys vegan baking, walks in the woods and, contrarily, hiding from the sun. Lodestones is her first novel.

Where to find the author:

Connect with Naomi MacKenzie at http://naomimackenzie.com/; on Twitter at @_naomimackenzie and on Facebook at Naomi MacKenzie.

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Giveaway

 

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: 1 – $25 Interlude Press Gift Card, 5 e-copies of ‘Lodestones’. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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Tour Dates & Stops:

8-Sep Bayou Book Junkie, Mikky’s World of Books

9-Sep Hearts on Fire, Boys on the Brink Reviews

10-Sep Inked Rainbow Reads, Amanda C. Stone

11-Sep Velvet Panic, MM Good Book Reviews

14-Sep Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, The Novel Approach

15-Sep BFD Book Blog, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Prism Book Alliance

16-Sep V’s Reads, Divine Magazine, Happily Ever Chapter

17-Sep Wake Up Your Wild Side, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

18-Sep Molly Lolly, Love Bytes

21-Sep My Fiction Nook, Jessie G. Books, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My

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