Category: M/M Book Reviews

RELEASE BLITZ for Trust with a Chaser by Annabeth Albert (excerpt and giveaway)

Title:  Trust with a Chaser

Series: Rainbow Cove, Book 1

Author: Annabeth Albert

Publisher:  Annabeth Albert

Release Date: 08-01-2017

Heat Level: 4 – Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 75,000

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Law Enforcement, Small Town, May/December

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Synopsis

One hot cop. One bar owner out for redemption. One smoking-hot summer fling destined to leave scorch marks…

Mason Hanks has returned to Rainbow Cove, Oregon with one goal in mind: turn the struggling coastal community into a thriving LGBTQ tourism destination. Step one is transforming an old bar and grill into a gay-friendly eatery. Step two? Don’t piss off Nash Flint, the very hot, very stern chief of police who’s not so sure he’s on board with Mason’s big plans.

Nash Flint just wants to keep his community safe and enjoy the occasional burger in peace. He’s not big on change nor is he a fan of Mason’s troublemaking family, especially his rowdy older brothers. But Mason slowly wins him over with fantastic cooking and the sort of friendship Nash has been starving for.

When their unlikely friendship takes a turn for the sexy, both men try to steer clear of trouble. Nash believes he’s too set in his ways for Mason, and Mason worries that his family’s reputation will ruin any future with Nash. Burning up the sheets in secret is a surefire way to crash and burn, and discovery forces a heart-wrenching decision—is love worth the risk of losing everything?

Trust with a Chaser is a 75,000 word stand-alone gay romance with a May/December theme, a hot law-enforcement hero, opposites attract, plenty of sexy times, and one hard-fought, guaranteed happy ending with no cliffhangers.

Excerpt

Chapter One

Mason

When Adam stepped inside the glorified closet I was using as an office, eyes all twitchy and hands wringing a bar towel, I knew I wasn’t going to like what came out of his mouth.

“Sheriff Sexy just walked in. He’s your problem.”

Fuck. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. “Please don’t call Police Chief Flint that. He might hear, and I’m pretty sure he’d find a citation for you. And I am not bailing your ass out.”

“You’re just worried that one of these days you’re going to slip up and call him that.” Adam grinned at me. This was an old argument—he’d been calling Flint that stupid nickname since we were in high school. The hard-nosed cop wasn’t one to cut teen drivers any slack—especially if they were in any way associated with the name “Hanks.” “Anyway, you know he freaks me out. I’ve got no idea what he wants—all our permits are in order, right?”

“Of course.” Standing, I grabbed the folder with the permitting paperwork. I prided myself in the organization I was bringing to the bar and grill that I co-owned with Adam and our friend, Logan. Flint wouldn’t find anything to complain about, not with me in charge. “I’ll go deal with him. You go back to the bar in case we get a rush.”

Adam snorted. Despite it being opening weekend, traffic had been embarrassingly light. We’d worked for weeks transforming the old tavern—a Rainbow Cove institution for decades—into the newly renamed Rainbow Tavern. The gay-friendly bar and grill was our vision for pulling our sleepy little coastal town into the twenty-first century. Logan had crafted a new menu of upscale bar food ready to go, and Adam had innovative drinks specials at the ready. All we needed were customers. And to not run afoul of Nash Flint on our first day of operation.

Flint was a Rainbow Cove institution himself—born and raised here, same as Adam and me, but unlike me, he’d never left, sliding into his father’s shoes as police chief and apparently fitting the role as easily as a pair of broken-in jeans. He’d been Officer Flint last time I’d seen him, almost ten years prior.

Guess I could have seen him had I come down for Freddy’s trial, something I still felt niggles of guilt over, and I told myself that was why my stomach fluttered on my way out to the tavern’s dining room. Unlike Adam, I’d never found Flint particularly…

Sexy. All my thoughts fled as I took in the man sitting in front of the plate-glass window. He dwarfed the small wooden chair, one of dozens that Adam and I had painted bright colors. Broad shoulders stretched the confines of his uniform shirt, biceps bulging under the short sleeves. His cut-glass jaw was firm as ever, as were those hard hazel eyes. But what had been frankly terrifying to my teenaged self made my twenty-seven-year-old libido sit up and take serious notice.

Flint blinked as I approached, head tilting to one side. I’d been getting a lot of that since I’d been back in town. “Mason…Hanks?”

“The one and only.” I stuck out my hand. “What can I do for you, Chief Flint?”

He returned my handshake with a sure grip, only a moment’s hesitation. I guessed he wasn’t all that used to shaking hands with a Hanks. Oh well. I was out to prove to the whole damn town that I wasn’t like my father and brothers, and if I had to start with Flint, so be it.

“Nice place you’ve got here.” His eyes swept around the renovated room—restored antique bar on the far wall where Adam wasn’t bothering to conceal his nosiness, dance floor beyond that, colorful tables and chairs in the front of the bar, only a handful occupied despite the dinner hour.

“Thanks. Our permits are all in order.” I held out my folder. “Liquor license is on top.”

He waved the folder off. “Not worried about that.”

No? Then why the heck was Flint in my establishment? “Good. We’re on the up-and-up. You won’t have trouble from us—”

“Glad to hear it,” he said levelly, eyes skeptical, reminding me that I was, after all, nothing more than a Hanks. “Cheeseburger?”

“Pardon?”

“That Ringer kid didn’t see fit to give me a menu, but I’m trusting you all offer something approximating a burger? Salad, no fries, and an iced tea.”

“You want to order?” I was still struggling to keep up with him.

“This is a food establishment, right?” He shook his head as if he hadn’t expected more from me, and that rankled.

“Of course.” I crossed the room in long strides, grabbed an order pad from the bar, ignoring Adam’s gaping. As soon as I returned to Flint’s table, I added, “Anything you want. On the house.”

“None of that.” He sighed like my very existence was tiring. “Got my meals from the old tavern for years. They kept a tab open for me.”

“We can do the same—”

“Let’s see if you can cook first,” he said, voice drier than yesterday’s toast. “I thought I’d come by, check the place out.”

“Appreciated,” I said and meant it. Business, any business, was good, but people in Rainbow Cove trusted Flint. If he gave us the seal of approval, more locals might give us a try, make us less dependent on the tourist trade that we were going after. Tourism took a while to build, and our grand plans of making Rainbow Cove an LGBTQ travel destination weren’t going to happen overnight. We needed every customer we could get, Flint included, even if he was the unlikeliest of allies.

“You still haven’t brought me a menu.” He shook his head. “But whatever you’ve got passing for a burger is fine. Nothing vegan though.”

“We’ve got local grass-fed beef, third-pound patty on a brioche bun with a pesto mayo and local gouda. Or—”

“I reckon that will do fine.” Flint always had a bit more country than coastal in his voice. Not Southern, but you could tell he was rural Oregon through and through, and I liked the slow, deep rumble of his words. What I didn’t like, however, was the implication in his tone that he wasn’t expecting much from us.

“Sure you don’t want fries? We have hand-cut sweet potato as an option with a chipotle dipping sauce. As far as salads, I’ve got side, Caesar, spring berry and pecan—”

“I’m on duty here. Kind of pressed for time. The burger and a side salad are fine. I don’t need anything fancy.”

Yeah, well, maybe I want to give it to you. I quashed that thought, same as I had the one about how hot he looked in his uniform. Wanting to impress Nash Flint wasn’t going to get me anywhere.

“I’ll put a rush on it.” I made a note on the order pad, not that it was really needed since Logan hardly had a packed house to worry about.

As I walked over to the window to put in Flint’s order, I noticed more than one table giving him curious glances. Hell, maybe I was wrong about any business being good business. Last thing I needed was Flint scaring away what few customers we had. Not that he was known as a gossip or anything like that, but he was awfully…old school. Traditional. The last kind of guy you’d expect to find at a gay bar, that was for sure, and even though we were attempting to attract a mixed clientele, he stood out.

Purchase at Amazon

Meet the Author

Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.

Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two children.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram

Annabeth’s Angels Facebook Group | Annabeth’s Mailing List

 

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An Alisa Review: Resistance (Roguefalls #2) by April Kelley

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

Christian Martin has been in several battles in his life, but the one he has with his mate may just be the one that brings him to his knees.

 

Christian has never had a serious relationship in his life. He doesn’t plan to start with an alpha wolf shifter who thinks he can dictate what Christian is and isn’t going to do. Ward Malone might trigger every warning bell Christian has, but he also triggers every sexual fantasy. Christian wouldn’t mind giving in to Ward if fun was all he wanted. Unfortunately, Ward is an all-or-nothing kind of guy.

 

This was another good story in this series.  We saw Christian and Ward meet at the end of the last book and I was excited to see their story.  Christian has never really had a family and makes a point to not allow close connections with anyone other than Dylan.  Ward throws all of his feelings and plans out of whack.

 

We learn a little more about the world in which these characters live and how much Christian’s childhood has affected his adult life.  Ward thinks he has everything figured out with how their future looks but gets a rude awakening with the others’ reactions.  Both Christian and Ward have to learn to make some compromises for them to work together.

 

We get to see both of these characters while they work out their feelings for each other and, for Christian, those around them.  Ward is confused by Christian’s reaction to him and is willing to walk away if that is what he really wants.  I loved seeing Christian’s team make him really see that there are people there for him and give him the opportunity to go after his mate.

 

The cover art by Erin Dameron-Hill is nice and follows the pattern for the series.

 

Sales Links: Extasy Books | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 107 pages

Published: July 7, 2017 by Extasy Books

ISBN: 978-1-4874-1355-2

Edition Language: English

Series: Roguefalls #2

A Lila Audiobook Review: Personal Secrets (Personal #3) by K.C. Wells and Narrator: Cornell Collins

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Blake Davis and husband Will are delighted when Ed Fellows turns up at the hospital the night their daughter is born—even if he is covered in mud from playing rugby and drunk out of his skull. Team-mate Colin is the Good Samaritan who drives him there, and when Colin takes Ed home, Colin finds himself on the receiving end of a blow-job. He has no problem with that whatsoever. He’s been in lust with Ed since Ed joined the rugby team some fourteen months ago. Only thing is, Colin’s assumed up ’til now that Ed is straight. Except the man sucking him off certainly didn’t seem straight….

Talk about the morning after the night before…. Ed awakens to find a nearly-naked Colin asleep on his sofa. The problem is that for some reason, he can’t get Colin out of his mind. Okay, so it wasn’t the first blow-job Ed’s ever gotten from a guy—or given, for that matter—but that was a long time ago, right? And why does Ed now want more?

With friends Rick, Angelo, Blake and Will to advise him, Ed finds himself on a completely unfamiliar road, as he struggles to accept that maybe the line he is walking isn’t as straight as he’d first imagined….

Personal Secrets is a lovely romance about two men whose friendship transformed into a blossoming relationship. It wasn’t easy but Colin was more than patience with Ed. Their love was simple and their everyday interactions let the reader see how they fall for each and how Ed changed the more time they spent together.

I enjoyed how naturally Ed’s sexuality evolves during the story and how his friends are there when he has questions. There’s no internalized homophobia or traumatic experience. He acknowledges his attraction for Colin and flows with it. There are some misunderstandings between them, but in the end, they were always willing to talk it through.

The story has many sweet and spicy moments and in occasion, I wanted to skip some of the sex scenes to learn more about the plot, but in the end, it worked considering Ed’s new found interest in men and not so straight sexuality.

Plus, we get several updates on Blake’s and Will’s relationship and Rick’s and Angelo’s. They are part of Colin’s and Ed’s story too, not just a figure in the background. The rest of the cast is excellent and we even get a small villain cameo. Overall, a nice addition to the series.

Cornell Collins did an excellent job with the narration. One of my complaints about book #1 was trying to read Ed’s dialogues. The audiobook definitely added to the appeal and highlighted Ed’s personality and attitude.

The cover by Meredith Russell is different than the e-book version, but it has a similar air. It’s easy to identify Colin and Ed, plus, it adds their love for rugby.

Sales Links:  Amazon | iTunes | Audible

Audiobook Details:

Narrator: Cornell Collins
Length: 6 hours 37 minutes
Published: June 12, 2017 (Audio Edition) by Island Tales Press
ASIN: B071ZSX7D4
Edition Language: English

Series: Personal
Book #1: Making It Personal
Book #2: Personal Changes
Book #2.5: More Than Personal
Book #3: Personal Secrets

Rosalind Abel with an Exclusive Excerpt from The Garden (Lavender Shores #2) (tour and giveaway)

The Garden (Lavender Shores #2) by Rosalind Abel
Publication date: July 25, 2017

Cover Artist: AngstyG

The Garden Amazon  Purchase Link

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Rosalind Abel here on the author’s Lavender Shore’s tour for The Garden. Welcome, Rosalind! 

 

✒︎

 

I’m so happy to be here at Scattered Thoughts with all of you for an exclusive excerpt from The Garden.

The Garden is the second book of the Lavender Shores series. Each of the novels can be read as a stand-alone or as part of the series. I’m going to let the excerpt and blurb speak themselves, but I will promise you romance, steamy sex, laughter, all the feels, and a happily ever after. Whether you read The Palisade (the first book in the series) or not, you will thoroughly enjoy this particular visit to Lavender Shores.

The Garden is available from Amazon and is also free on Kindle Unlimited. I can’t wait for you to fall in love with Gilbert, Walden, and Lavender Shores.

For our third stop on The Garden blog tour, I wanted to change things up.  The first two stops were all about Gilbert and Walden’s sexual chemistry, but they also have a lot of sweetness and humor.  I wanted to share a bit of that with you. Walden has just stayed the night at Gilbert’s for the first time, and he’s not quite sure where things stand.  The original plan was for Gilbert to take him back to where he was staying, but it looks like that might be shifting…

Exclusive Excerpt

“So no plans today, huh?”

My heart leaped. “Nope.”

Gilbert walked back to the kitchen. Maybe he was considering asking me to stay, maybe he wasn’t. “Breakfast will be ready soon. Help yourself to the shower and stuff if you need. Got about ten minutes.”

“You didn’t have to make breakfast.”

He laughed. “Well, you may regret that I did. Andrew and his dad are the great cooks. I’m pretty sure I’m in the process of turning the bacon into bricks.”

He could feed me pond scum and I’d be touched he made me breakfast. And rather confused by it. Gilbert didn’t seem the type to cook for a hookup. “In that case, how about I take a three-minute shower instead of ten. That will decrease the odds of burning breakfast.”

“It won’t, actually. No matter what I cook, it goes from raw to burnt. There’s no in-between.” He grinned, though his expression was walled off. “Go shower. Your breakfast is doomed either way.”

“All right, my coffee and I will be back shortly.” I retrieved my bag from beside the bed and then locked myself in the bathroom.

Brushing my teeth made me feel a little more human, and the few sips of coffee mixed with the hot shower eased the baby headache. As the night before, I was getting mixed messages from Gilbert. He was making me breakfast, but there hadn’t been any flirting or touches or hints of sex later. Did he still see me as a hookup? Had I crossed into the friend zone? Was I overthinking coffee and burnt breakfast? Yeah, probably.

After drying off, I put my boxers and T-shirt back on, grabbed my empty mug and left the bathroom.

Gilbert had set the small table by the window overlooking the lake. “I was right, breakfast is burnt, but I’ve got some raspberry preserves, if you cover the bacon and eggs in that, you won’t notice.”

I couldn’t suppress a shudder. “That sounds awful.”

He shrugged. “Actually, it works pretty well. When you cook like me, you learn tricks to cover up what you’ve done.”

“You really didn’t have to make me breakfast. I feel bad that you went to the trouble.”

“I wanted to. It’s nice having—” A blush rose to his cheeks, the first I’d ever seen on him, and he gave a quick shake of his head. “Like I said, you won’t thank me after you’ve tasted it, but my mother is Southern. She drilled into me that you cook for guests. So, I cooked.”

I was a guest. Okay, then. That could be a billion different things. I helped myself to another cup of coffee, more to give my hands something to do than anything else, and then sat at the table while Gilbert brought over the platter of eggs, bacon, and toast. Sure enough, all three were burnt. I grinned up at him, hoping he could hear the humor in my voice. “You weren’t kidding, were you?”

“Nope.” He set down the platter and then twisted to grab a large glass jar off the counter. “Here’s the preserves. Robert made them… er…. Robert is Andrew’s dad.” Gilbert sat and reached out his hand, letting it hover in the air between us.

I took it tentatively.

“You wanna say grace, or me?”

I nearly dropped his hand. “You want to pray?”

He nodded seriously, then a smile broke through. “Damn, I really thought I could pull that off. I so wanted to see your reaction and hear what you’d pray about.” He chuckled. “Though, it’s probably good we didn’t try. I’m pretty certain if I prayed, lightning would be the only answer we got.”

I snorted. “Yeah, you and me both.”

Suddenly we were aware we were holding hands. Granted, awkwardly holding hands, but holding hands nonetheless. I started to pull away, but Gilbert gave a quick squeeze before letting go. “Thanks for staying last night.”

For some reason my throat constricted, leaving me no other choice but to nod. I couldn’t deny I was feeling so much more for him than I should, than made any sense.

Looking uncomfortable, Gilbert focused on his food. He didn’t taste it before lathering the bacon with preserves.

I took a bite of mine, then followed suit.

“Told ya.” Gilbert took a big mouthful of the bacon and gave a satisfied nod. “Robert knows what he’s doing.”

Surprisingly the combo of burnt bacon and sweet raspberry was pretty good. Much better than anticipated. “Huh, you were right. Though I’m not sure I trust you on the eggs and preserves.”

“It’s not as good as the bacon, but it still helps.”

Awkward silence fell, but it wasn’t tense. Nothing felt like we needed to rush through to get it over with. I simply didn’t know what to say. Gilbert didn’t seem to either.

The eggs were terrible, with or without the preserves, so I stuffed them between two burnt pieces of toast.

“Huh.” Gilbert copied and then nodded in approval. “Where were you years ago? You literally just changed my life.”

And no, I wasn’t going to read into that. All he meant was that I’d upgraded disgusting eggs to tolerable. Not that he wanted me in his life. Even the fantasy of that flitting through my mind should’ve been enough to cause me to stab myself in the eye with a fork. “Sandwiches cure anything.”

“Apparently.”

We were talking about food. We had crazy sexual energy, and we were still there talking about food! This had to end. But I couldn’t figure out how to do it, other than standing up and stripping off my clothes. I considered that option, far more seriously than I should’ve. But doing so would’ve required another shot or two of scotch.

“So, I was thinking.” Gilbert’s gaze focused on his sandwich, not darting toward me at all. “I got up early this morning to work on a design that’s due next week. I’m actually pretty close to getting it done. Do you mind if I wrap it up after breakfast? It should only take a half hour or so.”

Seemed like a strange request, but it meant more time with him. Awkward or not, I didn’t care. “No, that sounds good. Like I said, there’s no plans for me to get back to. Take all the time you need.”

“Yeah?” He glanced at me then. “I was also thinking, after I’m done with that, if you wanted to hang out for a while, we could….” He shrugged. “You know….”

My God, he was nervous. I suppose that should’ve been obvious, but the idea of Gilbert being nervous about me was stupid. And kinda wonderful. “I’d like that, and my friends aren’t coming until around noon tomorrow. I’ve got all day.” Maybe I was pushing my luck, but I wanted to make it overtly clear I wanted as much of his time as he was willing to give.

Again, his smile was unreadable. Whether the idea sounded good to him or not, I couldn’t tell. “Okay, great. I’ll wrap the project up.” A familiar glint came into his eyes. “And then I’ll focus on your ass. I had plans for it last night, but I got… carried away.”

“Oh.” The switch was so abrupt that it threw me. My cock was quicker than my brain, however, and it sprang to life, thankfully hidden under the table. At least I supposed thankfully was the right word.

“That okay?” He sounded a bit nervous again.

“Oh, yeah. That’s totally, totally okay! More than okay.”

“Great.” He nodded, and Gilbert was back again. “I’ll wrap this up and then make up for feeding you a burnt breakfast.”

To be continued. . .

You definitely don’t want to miss Gilbert making up for that burnt breakfast.

I hope you enjoyed that glimpse of The Garden, and the chemistry between Walden and Gilbert. Pick up the book on Amazon and visit the town of Lavender Shores at:  http://www.lavendershores.com. Thank you so, so much!  ~ Rosalind

Blurb for The Garden

Beautiful Gilbert Bryant designs jewelry for the rich and famous, and he made his escape from his gossipy little hometown of Lavender Shores. However, with so many friends and family, he keeps getting pulled back. When he attends his best friend’s engagement party, Gilbert can’t help but sample one of the new men in town. It’s just some innocent—or not so innocent—fun. Nothing that will even cross his mind once he gets back to his everyday life.

Walden Thompson dreamed about living in Lavender Shores since he visited as a child. He finally gets his chance, and he embraces the opportunity to start over, to become someone new. He leaves both hurts and dangerous habits in the past, where they belong. When Gilbert crosses his path, Walden gives in to his baser instincts. He can indulge in the carnal pleasures this once and still be okay.

Their few hours together haunt Gilbert, the two-hundred-mile buffer from home no longer shutting out the past or the sexy man he left behind. Walden is just beginning to recover from the smoldering encounter with Gilbert when they are thrust together once more. This time, neither of them can walk away, no matter how hard they try. But when their pasts crash into each other as surely as the magnetism that pulls them together, walking away may be the only option.

About Rosalind

Rosalind Abel grew up tending chickens alongside her sweet and faithful Chow, Lord Elgin. While her fantasy of writing novels was born during her teen years, she never would have dreamed she’d one day publish steamy romances about gorgeous men. However, sometimes life turns out better than planned.

In between crafting scorching sex scenes and helping her men find their soul mates, Rosalind enjoys cooking, collecting toys, and making the best damn scrapbooks in the world (this claim hasn’t been proven, but she’s willing to put good money on it).

She adores MM Romance, the power it has to sweep the reader away into worlds filled with passion, steam, and love. Rosalind also enjoys her collection of plot bunnies and welcomes new fuzzy ones into her home all the time, so feel free to send any adorable ones her way.

Rosalind Abel Information page:

(Rosalind Abel Author)

Blog Tour:

July 25—The Novel Approach

July 28—Love Bytes

July 31—Scattered Thoughts

August 2—Boy Meets Boy

Anne Barwell on Bidding Adieu to her series and her release Comes a Horseman’, Sequel to Winter Duet (guest post and giveaway)

Comes a Horseman (Echoes Rising #3) by Anne Barwell
DSP Publications
Cover Artist: Reese Dante

Available for Purchase at DSP Publications

 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Anne Barwell here today talking about the writing the series finale, and her latest release Comes a Horseman (Echoes Rising #3).  Welcome, Anne!

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Bidding Adieu by Anne Barwell

Thanks for hosting me today as part of my blog tour for Comes a Horseman, the 3rd and final book in my WWII Echoes Rising series from DSP Publications.

I have a Rafflecopter running as part of the tour so be sure to enter.  DSP Publications also have the ebooks for Shadowboxing (book 1), and Winter Duet (book 2) on sale from 17th July-August 4th.

Although I started writing this series with a clear overall story in mind, part of me still can’t believe I’ve finished the final book.  I first began writing the early draft of Shadowboxing in 2002, but shelved it when the thought of all the research got a little daunting.  After my first novel with Dreamspinner Press, Cat’s Quill, was published in 2011, I dusted off the manuscript for Shadowboxing and started writing again. This time the research felt more doable, and hoping I might have a home for it, I went back to the beginning, edited it heavily, and finished the story.  I was delighted when Dreamspinner wanted to publish it, and ecstatic when it and Winter Duet, book 2 of my renamed Echoes Rising series, were republished by DSP Publications in 2016. 

Although this story wasn’t my first published book or series, it was the first thing I’d written that I knew was going to be a novel.  That novel quickly became a three book series, when I realised the story I wanted to tell either needed to be split into a series, or would be one very long book.

I’ve grown attached to these characters, as they’ve been a part of my life for nearly twenty years, and although I’m happy I’ve finally finished telling their story, I’m going to miss them. Despite writing in series, Echoes Rising is the first I’ve finished—although I’m working on completing my others in progress too.  The characters—much like myself—have changed and grown over those years, to the point where I had to rethink some of the scenes in this last story.  They might have worked at the beginning of the series, but these men are no longer the same as they were when they started on this adventure.  They’ve endured many hardships, lost people they cared about, but through it all they’ve built friendships which have impacted their lives. I figure that’s quite an achievement considering that—apart from Matt and Ken—none of them knew each other before the pieces moved into place leading into their mission into German in 1943.

I suspect—considering the strong personalities of these men—that although Echoes Rising is finished, that they’ll find another way to sneak into my writing.  I’m gearing up to set up an author newsletter and will be writing free fiction as a part of that, and Liang is making noises about sneaking into a 1950s murder mystery I want to write.  Matt already has a blink and you’ll miss it cameo in an upcoming release, so watch this space.

After all, these guys are spies, and very practised at getting into places they’re not to be.  I’ll miss the 1940s and WWII as well. I’ve learnt a lot more than I ever thought I would, so maybe other characters from that period still have stories they want to share. Only time will tell.

Finally, I want to thank the readers who have enjoyed reading about my characters’ exploits in WWII. I’ve loved being able to share this series with you. 

Blurb

Echoes Rising Book 3, sequel to Winter Duet

France, 1944

Sometimes the most desperate struggles take place far from the battlefield, and what happens in secret can change the course of history.

Victory is close at hand, but freedom remains frustratingly just beyond the grasp of German physicist Dr. Kristopher Lehrer, Resistance fighter Michel, and the remaining members of the team sent by the Allies—Captain Matt Bryant, Sergeant Ken Lowe, and Dr. Zhou Liang—as they fight to keep the atomic plans from the Nazis. The team reaches France and connects with members of Michel’s French Resistance cell in Normandy. Allied troops are poised to liberate France, and rescue is supposedly at hand. However, Kristopher is no longer sure the information he carries in his memory is safe with either side.

When Standartenführer Holm and his men finally catch up with their prey, the team is left with few options as they fight to keep atomic plans from the Nazis. With a traitor in their midst, who can they trust? Kristopher realizes he must become something he is not in order to save the man he loves. Death is biding his time, and sacrifices must be made for any of them to have the futures they want.

Excerpt:

Matt nodded, his lips moving although he did not speak. He was counting, Michel realized, as they pulled away from shore, and using the rhythm of his movement to distract himself from the darkness.

The moon’s light highlighted the waves lapping around the boat—the water seemed to reach toward them before diving back again. Ken and Matt quickly settled into a unified motion, both focused on what they were doing, although Ken glanced at Matt a couple of times.

Frej signaled for Matt and Ken to change direction slightly and rest the oars. They did that for a few moments, letting the boat drift with the current. If Michel squinted, he could see the outline of the bridge in the distance and several shapes moving at either end of it. The guards on duty would hopefully stay focused on the bridge itself and not notice a small rowboat sneaking over the border. The area was well guarded, but as it had been secured for quite some time, they would not be expecting trouble.

On the other side of the boat, Liang quickly turned and leaned over the side. As soon as he started to make a gagging noise he shoved his hand over his mouth to silence it. If his seasickness got any worse, it would be difficult to mask the noise of him vomiting over the side of the boat. He was doing his best to silence his dry heaving, but his hunched posture suggested he felt miserable and unwell.

Frej leaned toward Ken and gestured. Ken nodded, rested the oars again, and then he and Matt changed direction. Matt was still counting under his breath, and he gripped the oar tightly.

“Who’s there?” The shouted question shattered the silence.

Kristopher glanced around, an expression of panic on his face.

Michel put a hand on his arm to calm him but didn’t dare whisper the reassurance he wanted to. He turned around and strained his eyes, trying to find the source of the disruption. Matt and Ken stopped rowing, the boat drifting back the way they’d come, caught by the current.

He heard boots against wood in the distance—the unmistakable sound of men running, probably over the bridge crossing the Rhine south of their position. “No farther or I’ll shoot,” one of them yelled.

Frej got down on the floor of the boat. Michel and Kristopher followed, then Liang. Matt kept hold of his oar, trying to keep it as still as he could. He leaned down into a crouch, as did Ken.

Gunfire sounded from the bridge. A couple of shots in succession before stopping. Michel heard an engine, a vehicle approaching. A door slammed, and then everything went quiet again. Logically he knew the bridge was a good few kilometers away, but Frej was right about noise carrying on the water. If felt too close for comfort.

Frej waited a few minutes. “Row,” he whispered urgently. “While they are distracted.”

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You can find the list of sites taking part in the blog tour here: https://annebarwell.wordpress.com/2017/07/23/comes-a-horseman-blog-tour

July 25 –  MM Good Book Reviews

July 31 –  Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

August 1 – Two Men Are Better Than One

August 1 – Top to Bottom Reviews

August 1 – Genre Talk at The Novel Approach Reviews

August 2 –  Love Bytes Reviews

August 3 –  Andrew Q. Gordon

August 3 –  DSP Publications Blog

August 4 –  Nic Starr

August 4 – Alpha Book Club

August 7 –  My Fiction Nook

August 8 –  Divine Magazine

August 9 – Aisling Mancy

August 10 – Lucy Marker

About the Author

Anne Barwell lives in Wellington, New Zealand.  She shares her home with two cats who are convinced that the house is run to suit them; this is an ongoing “discussion,” and to date it appears as though the cats may be winning.

In 2008 she completed her conjoint BA in English Literature and Music/Bachelor of Teaching. She has worked as a music teacher, a primary school teacher, and now works in a library. She is a member of the Upper Hutt Science Fiction Club and plays violin for Hutt Valley Orchestra.

She is an avid reader across a wide range of genres and a watcher of far too many TV series and movies, although it can be argued that there is no such thing as “too many.” These, of course, are best enjoyed with a decent cup of tea and further the continuing argument that the concept of “spare time” is really just a myth. She also hosts other authors, reviews for the GLBTQ Historical Site “Our Story” and Top2Bottom Reviews, and writes monthly blog posts for Authors Speak and Love Bytes.

Anne’s books have received honorable mentions four times and reached the finals three times in the Rainbow Awards.  She has also been nominated twice in the Goodreads M/M Romance Reader’s Choice Awards—once for Best Fantasy and once for Best Historical.

Audiobook Review Tour for Personal Secrets by KC Wells

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Audible US | Audible UK 
 
Length: 6hrs 37mins
 
Narrator: Cornell Collins
 
Blurb
 

Blake Davis and husband Will are delighted when Ed Fellows turns up at the hospital the night their daughter is born-even if he is covered in mud from playing rugby and drunk out of his skull. Teammate Colin is the Good Samaritan who drives him there, and when he takes Ed home, Colin finds himself on the receiving end of a blowjob. He has no problem with that whatsoever. He’s been in lust with Ed since Ed joined the rugby team some 14 months ago. Only thing is, Colin’s assumed up ’til now that Ed is straight. Except the man sucking him off certainly didn’t seem straight….


Talk about the morning after the night before….Ed awakens to find a nearly-naked Colin asleep on his sofa. The problem is that for some reason, he can’t get Colin out of his mind. Okay, so it wasn’t the first blowjob Ed’s ever gotten from a guy – or given, for that matter – but that was a long time ago, right? And why does Ed now want more?


With friends Rick, Angelo, Blake, and Will to advise him, Ed finds himself on a completely unfamiliar road, as he struggles to accept that maybe the line he is walking isn’t as straight as he’d first imagined…

July 27 – MM Good Book Reviews, Momma Says: To Read or Not To Read, RAM PA Group
July 31 – The Geekery Book Review, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
August 4 – Bayou Book Junkie, My Fiction Nook, Making It Happen
 

Author Bio

Born and raised in the north-west of England, K.C. WELLS always loved writing. Words were important. Full stop. However, when childhood gave way to adulthood, the writing ceased, as life got in the way. K.C. discovered erotic fiction in 2009, when the purchase of a ménage storyline led to the startling discovery that reading about men in love was damn hot. In 2012, arriving at a really low point in life led to the desperate need to do something creative. An even bigger discovery waited in the wings—writing about men in love was even hotter….

K.C. now writes full-time and is loving every minute of her new career. The laptop still has no idea of what hit it… it only knows that it wants a rest, please. And it now has to get used to the idea that where K.C goes, it goes.

And as for those men in love that she writes about? The list of stories just waiting to be written is getting longer… and longer….



K.C. loves to hear from readers.
E-mail: k.c.wells@btinternet.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KCWellsWorld
Twitter: @K_C_Wells
Website: http://www.kcwellsworld.com

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An Alisa Review: Stormy Nights by Jules Jones and Storm Duffy

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

 

Sex and love, lies and truth, shades in between. Happy endings and might-have-beens. Nine tales of these things between men.

 

This is a nice collection of stories.  Every story was quite different from the others which I always like in a anthology.  While over all I liked this collection of stories they all just didn’t quite hit home with me because they either didn’t feel as if the story was finished or I felt that I was missing something.  These stories are told from one character’s point of view in which we greatly understand what they are feeling or thinking but I didn’t completely connect with the other characters as well.

 

In Gone Fishing Mike is separating himself from the business of his work but finds the lonely beach isn’t quite so empty.  Mike has to put his disbelief aside when he meets Pearl and Malachite.  Both Malachite and Mike decide to explore their curiosity for each other and their physical differences.  Bill bares a lot more for Kevin in Naked but find he enjoys the power play once he gets over his insecurities.  Bill learns more about his partner’s desires but also some more about himself at the same time.  Gavin is trying to get a little more insight into Hugh in One Size Fits All while also trying to indulge in his underwear fetish.  Hugh gives Gavin a firsthand experience in how the leather and buckles works but also give more insight into how he feels for him.

 

Brendan takes a big risk taking on David in Fraudster and gets more than even he bargained for.  While David slowly lowers the walls be built while in prison Brendan also has to open himself up to having another in his life.  In A Sparrow Flies Through two strangers come together for a quick bit of warmth on a cold rainy night.  Jack and Fergal get some wonderful time together in If I Offered Thee a Bargain but it isn’t all they get.  For only seven years they get to experience their love for one another and Jack sees the wonders of Fergal’s home but once Jack returns to his only a day later he is left with only the memories.

 

In Any Port In a Storm Phil gets the chance to get out of his wet clothes at Steve and Julian’s but gets more than he would wish for.  They continue to explore their appetites and the menu for a bit of takeaway.  Guy need a little bit of encouragement from Tristan in Management Practices in order to let go.  But Tristan has to right touch to dominate the other dominating man.  Colin gets even more than his fantasy in Car Wash.  Rod can’t help but admire Colin and his attraction to his vintage cars but is drawn in more during the school holiday while they are alone.

 

Cover art by Natasha Snow is great and works well for this book.

 

Sales Links: NineStar Press | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 120 pages

Published: July 24, 2017 by NineStar Press

ISBN: 978-1-947139-50-3

Edition Language: English

A MelanieM Review: Jordan’s Pryde (Pryde Shifter #1) by Giovanna Reaves

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

All he did was apply for a job and then his world was turned upside down.

Thrust into the world he had no idea about, Jordan Sutton’s only goal was to get a job working for Duncan Pryde of Pryde Industries. He thought werewolves, vampires, and Fey’s belonged in fairy tales, not in the real world. What will he do when he finds out that there’s more than meets the eye to his boss and his family?

Duncan Pryde had too much going on in his life. He became the sole guardian of his twin niece and nephew along with the addition of his pack and company. He had no time to think about a mate when trouble comes to his front door. What happens when the man he hired for one job turns out to be his destined mate? Does he deny what he feels or embrace it?

Jordan’s Pryde (Pryde Shifter #1) by Giovanna Reaves represents three new things for me.  New book, new series and new author.  I picked it up based on the synopsis and the fact that it’s hard for me to pass any shifter story by.  They are pretty much an auto read for me.  Throw in the idea of an Alpha who’s just become the guardian of his young niece and nephew while being in charge of a pack and business empire?  Just seemed too juicy for words.

In fact Reaves takes the story beyond what I had imagined.  Into a universe where there’s murderous hunters, kingdoms to be had, evil plots unfolding and so much more.  I almost wish the author  had left it at the overworked alpha and the adorable employee romance…..almost.   But Reaves started to build something very interesting here with other supernaturals , sanguines aka vampires, along with werewolves, fae along with the human hunters.  As  the author was laying down the foundation for the series and story,  she was also introducing her characters.

Jordan Sutton was an unusual main character, one I alternated between liking and feeling his lack of realistic reactions took me away from connecting with him.  At times I find him charming and others, especially when he’s been smacked in the gut with some unbelievable fact/knowledge, the sort of ‘roll with it’ tendency or lack of shock takes away a layer of depth he’d have  otherwise.  Duncan Pryde is another character I like but sometimes feel that we don’t get enough interaction with him within the storyline.  However, there is a lot going on here as the author scrambled to lay everything she needs for the next books in the series.

I did enjoy the tale, most certainly the children. It has plenty of great ideas and characters.  I love the direction the series and storylines are taking. Several secondary characters found mates with storylines to be resolved in the next book or books to come. Also, a major plot line was left unfinished that may be a series story arc (evil laugh ensues).However, the story suffers also from the need of a red pen and editor.  Things like past and present tenses switched within one sentence (more than once) are noticeable, word choices that are close to what they should be like ‘unmanageable strength instead of unimaginable strength” but even more major, a good editor would have commented on things like Jordan’s lack of appropriate response to shocks to his system and had the author think about what they had written down.  Didn’t happen.

Will I read the next story in the series?  Absolutely.  I want to find out what happened.  And you never know, these other things can be corrected.

Cover art contains a nice element from the series, overall very eye-catching.

Sales Links:  Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 268 pages
Published June 30th 2017
ASINB071JQ1LV8
SeriesPryde Shifter #1