Category: M/M Book Reviews

Blog Tour for Calling Calling Calling Me by Natasha Washington (excerpt and giveaway)

Calling Calling Calling Me by Natasha Washington

Publisher: Natasha Washington

Release Date: September 4, 2018

Subgenre: Contemporary Queer Romance/New Adult

Tropes/Themes: college romance, first time, fish out of water

Direct Link: https://www.natashawashington.com/books/

Book Synopsis: Patrick Mahoney has one goal in mind: get out of his native Fresno and find freedom in the rainbow and glitter-painted streets of San Francisco. As a college freshman, he’s sure he’ll finally have the chance to be himself, away from the judgmental eyes of his conservative hometown.

Josh Dirda’s never wanted to be tied down before, preferring the emotional ease of the one night stand. But when Patrick moves into the apartment that Josh shares with three friends, Josh is caught up in Patrick’s sly wit and quietly creative spirit. As Patrick’s self-appointed tour guide, Josh can be Patrick’s introduction to the city he loves. But after a drunken Halloween hook-up crosses lines, Patrick and Josh must reckon with their true feelings—and decide whether they can let go of the ghosts that haunt them.

Teaser Excerpt :

“How’s it hangin’, baby?” Patrick heard, and Freddy fell into his space, steadying himself on Patrick’s shoulder. Maybe not the best idea, given that Patrick wasn’t very steady himself.

“I never know how to answer that question,” Patrick said, and it was true. Weirdest idiom. Colloquialism. Whatever. Stranger than a lot of things his grandmother said.

“You are not drunk enough,” Freddy stated, and produced another shot out of thin air, it seemed, and—no. Patrick was saying no.

“No,” Patrick said, “no, I’m good, you have it.”

“I’ve had quite enough,” Freddy said, sagging against him. “Quite—I’ve had a lot.”

This was an astoundingly obvious statement, and Patrick was about to say so when he got distracted by Josh.

Josh, who was making out with a girl in the middle of the dance floor.

Patrick thought it was the same girl he’d been dancing with, but maybe not. The club was dark and the music was loud and Patrick was spinning. Josh cupped the girl’s cheek with one hand and pressed in, closer and harder, and Patrick didn’t want to be here anymore. He wanted to be anywhere but here, anywhere but where he’d grown up, anywhere but where he’d grown up and where Josh had grown up. Anywhere he wouldn’t find his own want staring him in the face.

 

About the Author

About Natasha Washington: Natasha Washington lives in Philadelphia, where she writes queer love stories in both YA (as Sonia Belasco) and romance. She has spent much of her professional life working with young people as a mentor, tutor, or therapist. When not writing, she is likely cooking, taking long, meandering walks, or listening to dance music or 90s hip-hop.

Connect with Natasha: Website | Twitter | Instagram

 

 

Giveaway: Enter to win one of two e-copies of New Adult Romance release, Calling Calling Calling Me.

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A Stella Review: Courted by Sarah Hadley Brook

RATING 2,5 out of 5 stars

Dr. Kevin Matthews is so wrapped up in his work, he hasn’t found time for love or even casual fun in far too long.

When gorgeous new nurse Mac Winters shows up at the hospital, the attraction between him and Kevin is immediate and intense. After several weeks of flirting and heated stares, they finally spend an evening getting to know each other.

Unfortunately, just when things turn hot and heavy, Mac announces he’s abstaining from sex because he’s tired of hookups and wants something real. Then he surprises Kevin by announcing he’s going to court the doctor. Can two modern men have an old-fashioned romance – and build something true and lasting together — while taking sex out of the equation?

Courted by Sarah Hadley Brook is a sweet and quick story about Mac and Kevin and their powerful love at first sight, but as opposed to what usually happens in books (and in real life LOL), Mac wants to take some time to court Kevin before fall in bed with him cause he’s sure the doctor is the right person.

I quiet like the short, fast paced, well written,engaging. It is well done. Still, maybe it is too short, cause there was really no space for some character building. I get to know pretty much nothing about the main couple, apart their daily jobs. There aren’t important second characters. It’s a good short but you need to lower you expectations and just enjoy what you get. In my opinion it could have been so much better if the author had worked more on little details, like just a couple of informations about their pasts or families or friends.

It missed a lot to be more complete and developed. That’s why I can’t give Courted an higher rating. But if you can overlook all these lacking it is a cute story to spend some time in a carefree way.

The cover art by Written Ink Designs is siple and well done, I like it.

SALE LINKS  JMS BOOKS  |  Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 49 pages

Published August 4th 2018 by JMS Books LLC

ASIN B07FRQG3Q7

Edition Language English

A Stella Review: Patchwork Paradise by Indra Vaughn

RATING  5  out of 5 stars

Oliver and Samuel’s relationship is fairy-tale perfect. They share a gorgeous house in Antwerp, go out with their friends every weekend, and count down the days to their dream wedding. But their happy ending is shattered one late night, and just like that, Ollie is left bereft and alone.

The months that follow are long and dark, but slowly Ollie emerges from his grief. He even braves the waters of online dating, though deep down he doesn’t believe he can find that connection again. He doesn’t think to look for love right in front of him: his bisexual friend Thomas, the gentle giant with a kind heart and sad eyes who’s wanted him all along.

When Thomas suddenly discovers he has a son who needs him, he’s ill prepared. Ollie opens up his house—Sam’s house—and lets them in. Ollie doesn’t know what scares him more: the responsibility of caring for a baby, or the way Thomas is steadily winning his heart. It will take all the courage he has to discover whether or not fairy tales can happen for real.

Indra Vaughn continues to amazed me. After the christmas story, The Winter Spirit , I was curious about this new one. I’ll be honest and say I chose to read Patchwork Paradise because from the blurb it reminded me of one of my all time favorite mm book, Second Chance by TA Webb. In fact they have some elements in common, so it was really no surprise I loved this one so much too. From the blurb I understood it had all the things I need to have in a story.

This book is an emotional story, so heartbroken because the author let me meet and briefly fall in love with Sam, and then she took him away from Ollie and me.

I began following Ollie in the great pain that losing the person he shared his life for the last ten years can give. He needed to relearn the daily habits alone and start living again.  Also Ollie had to deal with the attachment to the house he shared with his Sam and the fear of losing it by  the persons he considered his family and are now acting like strangers.

He broke my heart but knowing there was going to be so much more to come, made me fully enjoy even the very bad times. At the end Patchwork Paradise is a second chance at love story and Ollie will heal with the support of amazing friends and an unexpected new love.

The words flew easily, it was a pleasure to read. I loved the story was focused not just on the MCs, it made easy to know the secondary ones pretty well too, even the not so likable ones. Moreover to me the timing was perfect, I think the author did great at balance everything at the right time, it’s a story with no pause, it kept me hooked from the start, still there was no rushing, the events were all very considerate of Ollie life and his grieving.

I really couldn’t find a reason to give Patchwork Paradise less than five stars. I liked all the characters, especially Ollie. I laughed and cried a lot with him. His was a beautiful journey among love, friendships, loss, hurt and love again.

Indra Vaughn wrote another success. Sweet, emotional, developed in time and characters, well written and simply complete in every detail. It’s one of that stories I don’t need to wonder what is going to happen at the end. It truly satisfied me and I’m sure my MCs are living their HEA beautifully.

The COVER ART  is new and lovely.

Sales Links:  Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 2nd edition, 205 pages
Published August 8th 2018 by Indra Ink (first published March 28th 2016)
Original Title Patchwork Paradise
ASIN B07GBHMWWP
Edition Language English
Characters Oliver “Ollie” (Patchwork Paradise), Thomas de Ridder, Milo de Ridder, Samuel Mathieu
setting
Antwerp (Belgium) 
Bouillon (Belgium) 
Belgium

Blog Tour for The Enchanter’s Flame (The Ellwood Chronicles #1) by Michele Notaro (excerpt and giveaway)

 The Enchanter's Flame Tour Banner

The Enchanter’s Flame

The Ellwood Chronicles I

Michele Notaro

Gay Fiction/Paranormal Romance

Release Date: 08.18.18

 The Enchanters Flame Amazon Cover

 

Mybook.to/EnchantersFlame

 

BLURB

Strange things are happening all around Brinnswick. Things that remind me of a piece of my past I’d rather forget. Girls are being killed, drained of blood, and left with strange markings on their bodies. When I finally connect the cases together, a specialist is called in—though, what he’s a specialist of is beyond me

When the chief assigns him as my new partner for the case, I can’t help but groan on the inside. Why of all people would I be assigned to Ailin Ellwood? The man is a disaster waiting to happen and a jerk to boot. A sexy jerk, but a jerk nonetheless.

What will Sebastian think when he discovers Ailin’s specialty? Will he make a run for it or will he stick around and discover a world of magic hidden beneath the city’s surface?

***The Enchanter’s Flame is the first book in the Ellwood Chronicles. It’s a paranormal romance that contains explicit material and is intended for mature adults 18 and over.***

 

 Enchanters Flame Teaser 1

Enchanters Flame Teaser 2

EXCERPT

I needed to pee, so I set the cat on the floor and went to take care of business. The thought of jumping in the shower while Ailin was out crossed my mind, so I pulled the shower curtain back, but yelled out in surprise. Holy shit! There was a fucking snake in the tub! “What the fuck?” I ran out of the bathroom and scooped up Seraphina so she wouldn’t go investigate the bathroom and wind up hurt, then I ran straight for the phone to call the front desk to take care of it. I had no idea what kind of snake it was or how it’d gotten in there or whether or not it was venomous or whatever. But I didn’t want to take the chance of trying to grab it myself. If it was venomous, I could end up in the hospital.

I picked up the phone and dialed the front desk, but just as the girl picked up on the other line, Ailin slammed the door open and boomed, “What’s wrong?”

I blinked at him as a huge rush of wind came in through the door, blowing the loose side of his hair. I lowered the phone a little and answered, “There’s a snake in the tub.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Who are you calling?”

He looked… terrifying. It was like the wind coming through the door was playing off his emotions. I knew that wasn’t really happening, but he looked as stormy as the weather behind him. “I-I was calling the front desk to come get it.”

“Hang up the phone, Seb.”

“Wh-what? Why?”

“I’ll take care of the snake. They’ll probably just kill it. I can grab him and release him outside.”

I stared at him for several seconds before hanging up the phone. I could see how serious he was, and I knew he was right, that the front desk girl would likely just kill the animal. It seemed like Ailin’s love for animals knew no bounds.

He glanced at me, then noticed the cat in my arms, and his gaze softened a little. “You saved Sera.”

“Of-of course I did. I didn’t want her to get hurt.”

Some of the wind died down. “Thank you.”

He headed straight into the bathroom, so I got up and followed him, holding the kitten tight to my chest. I stood in the doorway to watch him. He made a few sounds, like hissing, and I swear the snake hissed back, then Ailin spoke under his breath, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“How are you going to get—”

I cut myself off when Ailin reached a hand into the tub, and a second later, the snake was slithering up his arm. I took a step backward and stared in disgust. What the fuck is he doing? That thing is going to bite him! Ailin stood and the snake wrapped around his arm, then around the back of his neck.

“Ailin, it’s going to bite you,” I whisper-yelled.

Ailin shot me a cocky smirk. “It’s nice to see that you care, Sebastian, but I guarantee he won’t hurt me.”

“How can you possibly say that?”

He shrugged and I frowned as the movement caused the snake to shift so its head was near Ailin’s throat. “He’s just lost.”

I blinked at him. “Okay, well, go… throw him in the parking lot or something.”

Ailin frowned at me. “I’m going to help him find his home. I think he comes from the same woods we’re heading to, anyway.”

“That thing is not coming in my car!”

Ailin huffed. “You and the car rules again! How can I possibly keep up when you keep adding more and more rules?”

I closed my eyes and my nostrils flared in irritation. “I’m not changing the rules. I told you before I didn’t want a cat in my car, so it’s the same rule… it applies to all animals.” Sera hissed a little at me, and I mumbled down to her, “You don’t count. I like you.” Okay, so I guess Ailin isn’t the only one that talks to her.

“But you changed your mind and let her in. Why would it be any different with George?”

“Did you seriously just name that snake ‘George’?”

“No, that was his name already.”

I had no words for that. “You… you’re not bringing George into my car!”

“Then I guess I’m walking to the crime scene.” He clenched his jaw, then shouldered past me out of the bathroom as I tried to scramble away from the snake. “And you think I’m the mean one.”

Michele Notaro Logo

Michele is married to an awesome husband that puts up with her and all the characters in her head–and there are many. They live together in Baltimore, Maryland with their two young boys and two crazy dogs. She grew up dancing and swimming and taught dance–ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, & modern–for ten years before her kids came along. Now she stays home to write about the sexy men in her head and does PTA everything–as long as coffee is involved. Two other tattooed moms run the PTA with her, and though she wants to rip her hair out from it, she still loves it.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/author.notaro/

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A MelanieM Review: In Vino Veritas by Sydney Blackburn

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

 

Anthony Beretta inherited the family winery at the tender age of twenty-four. It’s a struggle to keep it up, but he loves it and is determined to make it work even if it kills him. That is, if a motorcyclist doesn’t kill him first. He initially judges the man, attractive as he may be, on the basis of his appearance and apparently limited vocabulary. He soon discovers he’s wrong, but by then Oscar Kennett has already judged Anthony on his appearance.

Oscar thinks Tony Beretta is uptight and snobbish, and Tony’s speech for the charity they’re working on together reinforces that, even when he finds out Tony did it just to push his buttons. His adorable curls and sexy glasses might not be enough to change his mind, but maybe there’s more to Tony than meets the eye.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story of love found among the wines and  vines.  It was not only a terrific contemporary romance but a great way to connect with an author I hadn’t read in a while, Sydney Blackburn.

Somehow, I manage to lose track of authors and I never figure out why.  Maybe its the flood of stories I get, the titles and series I keep up with. But for whatever reason, some I forget to check up on so I’m thrilled when I read books like In Vino Veritas by Sydney Blackburn and, after finishing the story) to go romping back to Sydney’s backlist to see what I have missed!

In Vino Veritas (In Wine Truth), two men collide literally and make instant snap judgements about each other based on their clothing of the moment and their conversation and language.  Initial impressions couldn’t be further from the truth but it takes wine, a winery, and a celebration to  bring the men together.

I loved both men, their personalities and the chemistry between them did it for me.  The backdrop and foundation of the witery is absolutely  perfect for a romance and the character of Tony Beretta (and his mother).  It’s necessary in order to get into his framework of overworked, obsessive, passionate man in love with his  vines, the art of wine making and the land.  We need to see Tony in his element and we do.  So eventually does Oscar.

I wish we could have had more of Oscar’s background and seen him settled at work but the focus here is Tony and his winery as well as their romance.

I loved so many elements here that I could see a sequel. I enjoyed this couple and the location that much.

If you love contemporary romance, don’t miss out on In Vino Veritas by Sydney Blackburn.  It’s one I definitely recommend!

Cover art:  Natasha Snow.  I love this cover.  Its perfection from the colors to the composition.  It caught my eye immediately.

Sales Links:  NineStar Press  |  Amazon

Book Details:

ebook
Published August 13th 2018 by NineStar Press
ISBN139781949340426
Edition LanguageEnglish

A Stella Review: Flare (North Star #3) by Posy Roberts

RATING 5 out of 5 stars

A love story and a family worth fighting for. 

Hugo and Kevin strive to put their lives back together after tragedy, doing everything in their power to create a stable life. Hugo’s acting career is back on track, and Kevin hires a nanny to help with the kids as they discover their new normal. But when Erin’s parents seek full custody of Brooke and Finn, that stability is shattered.

With Hugo working in LA or New York, the distance from his new family gets to him. At home, the nanny’s hands-on approach leaves Hugo feeling pushed out, so he leaves his beloved apartment and eclectic neighborhood behind to move in with Kevin.

Hugo has a hard time fitting in with the suburbanites with Kevin’s passive-aggressive “friends” making Hugo feel anything but welcome. As the custody case heads to mediation, Brooke is bullied about having two dads, and Hugo realizes his mere presence might be doing more harm than good.

Hugo must decide to stay and fight for his family or leave and let them live in peace.

This is how every author should write. This is how every romance should be, real, true, filled with feelings and emotions so powerful I was often left breathless. And this is how every series should be, with amazing characters, starting from the main ones until the supportive (and not) second ones. Each single character struggling with the real life issues, like all of us do. Illnesses, love, school, work, friendhip, family, being adult or growing up, first love and second chances at love. You can find all of these in Flare and in the North Star trilogy.

Flare is the perfect conclusion for an already perfect series, I’m so sad to let the characters go on with their lives. They made me cry more than once, they made me laugh and dream. I fought for and with Kevin and Hugo for their big family. I loved them dearly.

I am with no doubt addicted to this series, I will share it everywhere and recommend it to everyone. There was no little detail I didn’t enjoy and the writing was so sublime it was a huge pleasure to read these novels. I already was a fan of Posy Roberts but right now I’m feeling more like a stalker, I can’t wait for her to release more stories to fall in love with.

The cover art by Olive Us Designs is well done, it follows the style of the series and I like its darkness.

SALE LINKS  Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 2 edition, 382 pages

Published August 28th 2018 by Labyrinth Bound Press (first published January 12th 2014)

ASIN B07DMQPKJV

Edition Language English

A VVivacious Review: Love Spell by Mia Kerick

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

Miss Harvest Moon, Chance César has a crush on The Harvest Moon Pumpkin Carving King, Jasper Donahue and he is going to make Jasper fall in love with him with the help of his bestie, Emily Benson, Today’s Lady Online Magazine’s Ten Scientifically Proven Ways to Make a Man Fall in Love with You and a love spell (or two) to boot!

Chance is very into following the list, though it was kind of distressing to see what Chance’s allegiance to the list was doing to Jasper and the worst part is we don’t even get Jasper’s POV so yeah, I could feel his distress across Chance’s POV. It was painfully obvious that all these tactics made Chance seem like he was running hot and cold and all the mixed signals would mess with anyone’s head. Personally, all I wanted was for Chance to be himself.

I didn’t like Emily’s character. The only thing I would have wanted from her was two things – one, to tell Chance that he needs to be honest in his dealings with Jasper because what is the point of Jasper falling in love with someone who is not even real and two, that he didn’t need to figure out if he was a boy or girl or both or neither he could be anything he wanted to be and he didn’t need a box, he could just be uniquely Chance and that could be his box if he so desired and since, she did neither, I don’t even know why she existed. She doesn’t even contribute much to the plot and felt very much like an unnecessary character. I am pretty conflicted about her, I wonder if I should excuse her on the grounds of immaturity or the fact that she is just a teenager with no life experience but somehow, I can’t absolve her even with those considerations into place. Simultaneously, I also realise that we actually don’t know anything about her which brings me back to my first point, what was her contribution to the story, it felt like she was a character because someone was ticking off a list which said a female best friend was mandatory to a YA novel featuring a gay guy.

Though I couldn’t get behind Emily’s character I still ended up liking Chance probably because it was easy to see his foibles for what they were and somehow, it’s easy to lose perspective when your own feelings are hanging in the balance and I can somewhat excuse him especially as we see him learn the lesson he needed to learn. I really feel for Chance and being in his head it was really easy to like him because I could see where he was coming from. I really wanted to give him a hug every time he gets conflicted about his gender identity. I really connected with him even though I don’t know how many times I was shaking my head as he went along with things on the list.

I guess my best character in this book has to be Jasper. He was amazing and I loved him truly, I almost think I love him more than Chance. Getting to know Jasper was the real treat of this book and I literally can’t think of one single thing about him that I didn’t like (okay, in hindsight, I can think of one).

I had issues with the book and somehow, I really wanted to shake Chance up and tell him to forget the list and just be himself but despite the list and how much I was dreading the complications of the list the whole time it was in effect, I still found this an interesting read once I got into Chance’s head space. I feel like the ending changed things for me because during the whole list debacle I was like I am going to rate it like two stars or something but then we got to the end and we see Chance learn from his mistakes, learn that he can be himself, uniquely Chance and that significantly redeemed the book in my mind to some extent. I guess what I want to say, is that this book is not a painful read, it wasn’t ever a problem where I had to convince myself to finish the book just because I had to review it, in fact, it was the opposite. I finished it pretty quickly and there was something about this book that had me turning the pages even though I couldn’t stop myself from shaking my head at the words.

Cover Art by Natasha Snow. I love the cover, especially the background which has a kind of magical feel to it.

Sales Link  Amazon   |: Nine Star Press

Book Details:

ebook, 43,300 words

Expected Publication: 2nd edition, August 27, 2018 by Nine Star Press

ISBN: 978-1-949340-50-1

Edition Language: English

Review Tour – Flare (North Star Trilogy #3) by Posy Roberts (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Cover Design: Olive Us Designs
 
North Star Trilogy
 
Book #1 – Spark – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #2 – Fusion – Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Blurb
 

After tremendous loss, Hugo and Kevin seek stability for themselves and the kids. They never expected family and friends to toss obstacles in the way of their happily ever after.


Love and family to fight for.


Hugo and Kevin strive to put their lives back together after tragedy, doing everything in their power to create a stable life. Hugo’s acting career is back on track, and Kevin hires a nanny to help with the kids as they discover their new normal. But when Erin’s parents seek full custody of Brooke and Finn, that stability is shattered.


With Hugo working in LA or New York, the distance from his new family gets to him. At home, the nanny’s hands-on approach leaves Hugo feeling pushed out, so he leaves his beloved apartment and eclectic neighborhood behind to move in with Kevin.


Hugo has a hard time fitting in with the suburbanites with Kevin’s passive-aggressive “friends” making Hugo feel anything but welcome. As the custody case heads to mediation, Brooke is bullied about having two dads, and Hugo realizes his mere presence might be doing more harm than good.


Hugo must decide to stay and fight for his family or leave and let them live in peace.


Excerpt


Rude Awakening

A sharp knock followed by the doorbell clanging woke Kevin and Hugo. They yanked on last night’s discarded clothes and headed downstairs, Lulu trailing behind, her tail wagging a mile a minute.

When Kevin opened the door, a man he didn’t recognize gave him a nod. “Are you Kevin Magnus?”

“Yes.”

Hugo struggled to scoop Lulu into his arms; she was desperate to meet this stranger.

The man handed Kevin a manila envelope. “You’ve been served.”

“What the hell?” Hugo asked as he shut the door.

“I don’t know. Let’s see.” Kevin opened the envelope and pulled out papers. “Notice of Motion and Motion for Change of Custody,” he read, not believing his eyes. He flipped through the pages, scanning to see what this was really about.

“Erin’s parents are trying to get custody of my kids. No way in hell is that happening. No way in hell.”

 

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 5 Star Review here.
Author Bio


Posy Roberts started reading romance when she was young, sneaking peeks at adult books long before she should’ve. Textbooks eventually replaced the novels, and for years she existed without reading for fun. When she finally picked up a romance two decades later, it was like slipping on a soft hoodie . . . that didn’t quite fit like it used to. She wanted something more.


She wanted to read about men falling in love with each other. She wanted to explore beyond the happily ever after and see characters navigate the unpredictability of life. So Posy sat down at her keyboard to write the books she wanted to read.


Her stories have been USA Today’s Happily Ever After Must-Reads and Rainbow Award finalists. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with her family and friends and doing anything possible to get out of grocery shopping and cooking.

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