Category: LGBTQ YA Fiction

An Aurora YA Review: A Hard Day’s Night by Mia Kerick

Rating: 4 stars out of 5:  ★★★★

A Hard Day's Night coverHigh school senior Kalin (Lennon) Macready knows several facts for certain: John Lennon is his hero. Beaumont Finley Danforth (Fin) is his best friend. And—this is the complicated one—he feels more for Fin than mere friendship.

For weeks, Lennon pesters Fin, who like Lennon admits to questioning his sexual orientation, for a commitment to spend twenty-four hours together exploring “the gay side of life.” Each boy will seek to answer the terrifying question, Am I gay? Fin reluctantly agrees. Lennon pre-plans the day, filling the hours with what he assumes “gay life” is all about: funky hairstyles, fancy coffee drinks, shopping for fashionable clothing, boogying to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off”, and yes, listening to show tunes.

However, Lennon quickly realizes that in creating his plan he has succumbed to the most common and distorted gay stereotypes. Can he be gay and not fit them? And more importantly, is it possible that spending twenty-four hours together will convince Fin that he’s gay, too? If so, maybe Lennon has a shot at winning the heart of the boy of his dreams.

This book isn’t a huge revelation, but it doesn’t pretend to be, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The result is a charming book about charming – if occasionally annoying for the mere fact that they are still teenagers – characters. It’s a fun read, it sends a good message to teenagers that are likely to read a YA book, and it definitely offers some reassurance to LGBT teens who feel that they don’t necessarily fit into the boxes of their gender or sexuality. Even non-LGBT teens or even adults who might be reading the book will hopefully learn from the book to be more accepting and much less reliant on stereotypes to try to figure out someone else’s gender or sexuality.
With that being said, the book does a very good job of getting the message across in a very succinct way without seeming like an after school special. I had a fun time reading it, and although there were some things that weren’t exactly to my tastes, I would definitely recommend it. And as a lifelong fan of the Beatles, it was pretty interesting to read a book that takes place in our modern times and yet has a teenager who is such a fan of the Beatles. I’ve spent a lot of time around fellow teenagers, and it’s pretty difficult to find young people who are still interested in older pop culture.
I think, all in all, this book seems very real, it had an incredibly original concept behind it, and it has a good message without being too preachy. It was a fun read for me, and especially for people who prefer contemporary YAs to fantasy, I think they would really enjoy this book even more so than I did.
Louis C. Harris is the cover artist. For me, this cover was honestly a little much. It isn’t badly done or unappealing, exactly. But my personal preference is a more understated cover, and I will readily admit that I am a minimalist as far as that goes. But, that being said, I do think the cover is well matched to the actual tone of the book. I don’t think someone is going to pick up this book based on the cover and be in any way surprised by what they see. So, although it’s not exactly for me, the cover does its job.
Sales Links:  All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here
Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 1st, 114 pages
Published September 1st 2015 by YoungDudes Publishing
ASIN B013O1V2OE
edition language English

A Stella Review: Free Ride by J. L. Merrow

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Free Ride coverThere’s no such thing as a free ride. Aidan may be only twenty, but he’s already learned that the hard way. Hitch-hiking up from London to Glasgow to keep a promise to a man he’ll never see again, Aidan’s fully prepared to offer payment in kind for his lifts. He’s not expecting a good-looking older bloke to pick him up in a Mercedes — nor that he’ll find John such good company. After a few short hours together Aidan’s already starting to care what John thinks of him.

When slow traffic forces them to get a room for the night, Aidan’s not sure what to do. Putting out as a thank you to a stranger is one thing, but can he really go through with it with the first person he’s come to care for since he made that promise?

And what’s going to happen when they reach their destination?

Free Ride is a short (too short) story by JL Merrow, an author whose style and writing I love very much. I was a little dubious about it, because being just 18 pages, I was really afraid it would be impossible to deliver something believable and complete. I have to stop to worrying about things when it comes to JL! These few pages show the start of a possible relationship between Aidan and John, in a sweet way and with the use of a humorous british language so typical of the author. I know, there are just brief moments  between them, but even if the aim was to just let us know how they met, it was so accomplished. I’m always not satisfied by stories like Free Ride, I think it’s pretty normal to have not enough of a couple if you have loved the few (filling) crumbs you read. I can honestly say it felt right just like that. And moreover I could feel the characters and the chemistry between them. Of course then I went on the author’s website and found out there is a micro sequel to this short story, called On The Beach (you can find it here http://jlmerrow.com/free-reads/on-the-beach/) and I was super happy! I devoured it in a flash.

I want to highly recommend Free Ride. If you already have read something by JL Merrow you know how good she is so it’s a guarantee. If you’re looking for a quick story, full of hope in the future, with an emotional undertone,  this one will be perfect for you.

Cover art by Written Ink Designs. I know, this model is been used a lot on covers lately, so it’s not so original. It’s a shame because it fits the story and it’s a good one.

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

Book Details:

Published July 19th 2015 by JMS Books LLC
Kindle Edition, 18 pages
ASIN B01091D51K
Edition Language English

In the Spotlight: Reckless Hope (Letting Go #2) by j. leigh bailey (author interview, excerpt and giveaway)

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Reckless Hope (Letting Go #2) by j. leigh bailey
Release Date: August 24, 2015

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Goodreads Link
Publisher: Carina Press

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Sales Links: amazon | barnes&noble | kobo | ibooks

My interview with j. leigh bailey

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing j. leigh bailey, author of Reckless Hope.

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

Thank you so much for having me! I’m j. leigh bailey, author of New Adult and Young Adult male/male romance. I live in the Chicagoland area and have always believed that nothing—not race, gender, sexual identity, religious background or paranormal affiliation—should get in the way of the vitally important Happy Ever After ending.

  • Tell us about your book.

RECKLESS HOPE is an opposites attract New Adult romance, in which I’ve paired up a hard-working, super-responsible, over-scheduled guy with a hard-partying, entitled, wealthy adrenaline junkie. Together they discover that learning to trust is a risk, and sometimes the risk is well worth the reward

  • How difficult was it to get into the main character’s head?

There are a few challenges I face in getting into the head of my main characters. I’m neither a young male nor gay. Clearly, I don’t have the exact life experiences that match up to my characters.  But I was once twenty. I struggled to find my way, to define my future. One of the greatest things about writing, or even reading, is that the characters, even the non-human ones, have a shared human experience. We all go through stages of growth, of challenges. We all have periods of grief and excitement. We all fall in love and get our hearts broken. It’s exploring and facing these challenges, and hopefully overcoming them, that make books so much fun. It’s proof, through fiction, that people are capable of surviving and, at least in romantic fiction, achieving a happy ever after ending.

Which all sounds very… philosophical, which isn’t very me. The biggest challenge I face, really, is creating an authentic young male voice. Even when I was twenty, I used words and phrasing that came off as “too adult.” There’s a fine line between language that is so simple or clichéd as to insult young men everywhere, and using language that makes my young men sound like thirty-something women with a love of “big” words. Trying to sound realistic, and not stereotypical, while in my characters’ heads can be a struggle.

  • Is this book a standalone or do you plan on visiting it again?

Reckless Hope is the second book in my Letting Go series, though it, and the others, are stand-alone. They share a common theme, but don’t have any characters or locations in common. I have a couple of characters who are introduced in this book, though, that I may decide to expand upon. Micah’s best friend Jace is kind of a hoot, and I wouldn’t mind seeing him paired up with someone who won’t know how to handle his slightly dramatic flair.

  • Why did you choose to write M/M stories?

I’ve been reading romance since I was 11 years old. Even before that, the television shows and stories I read tended to have a romantic pair-up. Added to it, I read about 100 pages an hour, so I’ve read a lot of different books in a lot of different genres. I went through phases. For a while it was all romantic suspense. Then it was Regency romance. Then it was medieval romance. Then paranormal. If it was romance, I would read it. One day I read a male/male romance and it changed everything. In a male/male romance you have all the same elements that make a great romance, the same kinds of conflict that make getting from point A to point HEA so exciting. But you also have the added conflict of social pressure, the questions of to-PDA or not-to-PDA, out or in. Extra conflict that can make achieving the happily ever after ending more rewarding.

  • Where do you find your inspiration?

For me, I’ll get a phrase or an image stuck in my head. That phrase or image grows into a scene. Next thing I know, I’ve got a story brewing in my brain. Almost always I see an opening scene, or the scene in which the characters first meet, and I see how I want their story to end. Then I get to watch everything unfold from the first meeting to the end, just like I was reading the book as I was writing it. Sometimes I’m surprised at the direction the story takes me, but always the first scene and the last scene stick.

Thank you so much for having me!

STRW Author BookSynopsis

What’s life without a little risk?

Or a lot of risk, if you’re Sebastian Carlisle. He’ll never live up to the legacy of his dead brother, so why try? Being the wild child in a family of stuck-up rich snobs suits him just fine.

Until he meets Micah Burke, and everything changes.

Micah’s got too much going on for a relationship. Even if he could trust Sebastian, a distraction—a sexy, reckless distraction with a death wish—would only derail his carefully scheduled life. If it were just Micah, maybe that would be fine, but his mother and sister depend on him, and he can’t let them down. Or at least that’s what he tells himself.

A hot moment leads to a hot night leads to a connection neither of them are ready for. And when a crisis hits Micah’s family hard, Sebastian will have to shed his bad-boy image and decide whether he can be the man Micah needs—and Micah needs to decide whether he’ll let him.

Book two of Letting Go
Pages or Words: 67,000
Categories: M/M Romance, New Adult, Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

“I thought I knew what kind of person you were.”
“Yeah, you made that pretty clear.”
Micah cringed, but kept going. “You take for granted everything I work my ass off to achieve. It’s easy for you. And now I know there’s more to you than that. I don’t understand your choices, or the need for an adrenaline rush you seem to have.” He held up a hand to keep Sebastian from saying anything. He scooted up, resting his back against the handlebars. “I don’t have to understand. It’s part of who you are.”
“Somehow I don’t think this discussion is heading in a direction I’m going to like.” Sebastian drew his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.
“The thing is, you’re a bad influence on me.”
“I don’t—”
“You don’t even have to do anything. Take tonight, for instance.”
“Tonight?”
“I have a midterm tomorrow. I should be studying. Or even sleeping. Instead I’m here. I never have trouble doing what I’m supposed to do. Setting aside my ‘want tos’ to do my ‘have tos.’ Except around you.”
“I’m not trying to make your life harder. I’m just trying to be part of it.”
“That’s what I don’t get. You could have almost anyone. You could find someone a hell of a lot less complicated than me.”
“You may not believe it, but I don’t mind complications.”

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

j. leigh bailey is an office drone by day and the author of New Adult and Young Adult LGBT Romance by night. She can usually be found with her nose in a book or pressed up against her computer monitor. A book-a-day reading habit sometimes gets in the way of… well, everything…but some habits aren’t worth breaking. She’s been reading romance novels since she was ten years old. The last twenty years or so have not changed her voracious appetite for stories of romance, relationships and achieving that vitally important Happy Ever After. She’s a firm believer that everyone, no matter their gender, age, sexual orientation or paranormal affiliation deserves a happy ending.

She wrote her first story at seven, which was, unbeknownst to her at the time, a charming piece of fan-fiction in which Superman battled (and defeated, of course) the nefarious X Luther. She was quite put out to be told, years later, that the character’s name was actually Lex. Her second masterpiece should have been a best-seller, but the action-packed tale of rescuing her little brother from an alligator attack in the marshes of Florida collected dust for years under the bed instead of gaining critical acclaim.

Now she writes New Adult and Young Adult LGBT Romance novels about boys traversing the crazy world of love, relationships and acceptance.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.bailey.39948
Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/JLeighBailey
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JenniWrites

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Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: An eBook copy of Nobody’s Hero (Letting Go book 1) and an eBook copy of Reckless Hope.  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:
24-Aug

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Velvet Panic, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My

25-Aug

Hearts on Fire, Havan Fellows

26-Aug

Amanda C. Stone, Divine Magazine

27-Aug

V’s Reads, Boys on the Brink Reviews, BFD Book Blog

28-Aug

EE Montgomery, Bayou Book Junkie

31-Aug

Happily Ever Chapter, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat

1-Sep

MM Good Book Reviews, Cathy Brockman Romances, Jessie G. Books

2-Sep

Dawn’s Reading Nook, Book Reviews and More by Kathy, Hearts on Fire

3-Sep

Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads

4-Sep

Just Love Romance, Molly Lolly

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Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Velvet Panic, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My
25-Aug
Hearts on Fire, Havan Fellows
26-Aug
Amanda C. Stone, Divine Magazine
27-Aug
V’s Reads, Boys on the Brink Reviews, BFD Book Blog
28-Aug
EE Montgomery, Bayou Book Junkie
31-Aug
Happily Ever Chapter, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat
1-Sep
MM Good Book Reviews, Cathy Brockman Romances, Jessie G. Books
2-Sep
Dawn’s Reading Nook, Book Reviews and More by Kathy, Hearts on Fire
3-Sep
Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads
4-Sep
Just Love Romance, Molly Lolly

A Mika Review: Lucky Linus by Gene Grant

Rating:  5 out of 5 stars    ★★★★★ 

Lucky Linus coverIs the possibility of fulfilling your heart’s desire worth the risk of breaking it?

Fourteen-year-old Linus Lightman is understandably reluctant to trust his newest foster family, the Nelsons, after he’s bounced through the system since being being taken from his neglectful mother. He’s certain they will reject him when they find out he’s gay, and getting to know them will only lead to hurt later. Trying to cope, he builds a friendship with Kevin Mapleton, and it quickly grows into romance, despite Linus’s fears. Then a video of Linus and Kevin having sex is posted online, and Linus knows from past experience exactly what’s going to happen. This sort of scandal will cost him his new home and Kevin’s love, snatching away his fragile hopes of belonging.

I did not know what to expect out of this book. It was hard for me to read this because I don’t deal with with abandoned children. I knew that going into the story, but I wanted to see if I could. I did, and I would again, because I really enjoyed the story from Linus perspective. Linus never gave up the fight, he was determined not to let his abandonment and neglect bring him down. We see often in real life and in this story how some kids give up after moving from place to place. They lose hope in people, and in themselves. I was angry, distraught reading this, and couldn’t stop crying. I think cried the entire story. I was pleading while reading this book that someone would love him. Linus doesn’t have it easy, but his outlook and attitude is so inspiring. You’d think that he would be surly, down, and depressed. Well he’s not; he’s taking one step at a time. I didn’t know how I was going to feel reading a story about a 14 yr old. This is the youngest age group that I’ve ventured into, and my emotions were put into the ringer. I’m happy with the outcome of the story. I really loved it. 

Goodness when I was reading this, and found out that the setting was in Mississippi. I did not expect good things, let me tell you that. Egg on my face for thinking there’s no good folks in the state of Mississippi. The entire NELSON family was amazing. I really loved them. I related so much to Linus, not just aa child of an addict. I know what it’s like to have a parent addicted to something. I was fortunate enough that my dad raised us. I was also fortunate enough to have my mom in my life. I can tell you I fell in love with Lucky Linus from the very start and  I’ll be on the lookout for more from Gene Gant.

Cover Art by Paul Richmond: I picked this book because of the cover. The cover model is really adorable, and for some reason he pulled at my heart strings. I thought it was a very fitting cover.

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

Book Details:

ebook
Published July 23rd 2015 by Harmony Ink Press
ISBN139781634760706
edition languageEnglish

In the Book Spotlight: The Camp by Victoria Zagar (excerpt and giveaway)

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The Camp by Victoria Zagar
Release Date: August 5, 2015

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Goodreads Link
Publisher: Prizm Books
Cover Artist: BSClay

Sales Links:   Torquere Books  | Amazon

Blurb:

Jesse Harvan comes home from school one day to find his parents have discovered the gay pornographic magazine hidden under his bed. Disgusted, they decide to send Jesse to Camp Grady, a summer camp which prides itself on converting people’s sexuality.

Once at the camp, Jesse meets the other inmates: Charlie, a disabled African-American gay teenager, Natalie, a transgender girl, her sister Lita, Japanese lesbian Sakura, and last of all, Minister Grady’s son Jacob, who works for the camp under duress. These teens must learn to bridge their differences and get along if they’re to beat their common enemy and keep their identities–and sanity–intact.

Pages or Words: 27,600 words

Categories: Contemporary, LGBT Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Transexual, Lesbian Romance, M/M Romance

Excerpt:

I sit in the back of an old school bus that has been converted for the camp’s use. It rankles that I didn’t even get to say goodbye to Sam. Mom and Dad wouldn’t let me near him. I tried to send him an e-mail, but it was blocked. I didn’t have time to figure out how their new family-filter software worked. The next morning, I was on a plane to Pennsylvania, Mom and Dad accompanying me like this was some kind of family vacation. They left me at the airport and went their own way, transferring me directly to camp custody so that I wouldn’t get infected with any gay on the way.

I know I’ll be going back home eventually, but it doesn’t feel like it right now. I feel like Camp Grady will go on forever. My greatest fear is that the me who goes home won’t be the same as the one sitting here right now.

What if they can change me? What if they do have the power to fix me? That thought in my head argues with its natural opposite: I’m not broken. I won’t change. There’s nothing they can do to change who I am.

Last night I scared myself. I went onto the Internet and looked up ex-gay camps, which surprisingly were not filtered out. There are people who claim that they work. That they’ve thrown away partners, friends, and husbands because they’ve been ‘cured’. I read reports of abuse and beatings that made my stomach clench. I cried myself to sleep for the first time in a long time. I’m genuinely scared. How can something like this be legal? Apparently in California it isn’t. I wish I was a San Francisco kid. Maybe then my parents would be cool, and I wouldn’t feel so alone in the world.

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About the author:

Victoria was born in the United Kingdom but emigrated to the United States at age 21. She’s bisexual, genderqueer, happily married, and still shouts in a British accent. She lives with her husband in Pennsylvania where she spends a lot of time playing and talking about video games, especially Japanese role-playing games.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/synthesislandale
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/infinitelovefiction
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/landale
Website http://victoriazagar.com


Tour Dates & Stops: August 3, 2015
Parker Williams, MM Good Book Reviews, Just Love Romance, Jessie G. Books, Boys on the Brink Reviews, Bayou Book Junkie, BFD Book Blog, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Molly Lolly, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Full Moon Dreaming, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, My Fiction Nook, Ogitchida Book Blog, Foxylutely Book Reviews, Inked Rainbow

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Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘The Camp’ by Victoria Zagar Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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