A MelanieM Advent Calendar Review: Slow Summer Heat by Renae Kaye

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

 

A Story from the Warmest Wishes: Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar

Geoffrey Saxon is in his forties, a bit plump, a lot fuzzy, and rather boring in bed—and thanks to a very public breakup, everyone in his street knows it. However, what they don’t know is that Geoffrey sometimes watches his hot young neighbor, Vaughn, in the pool. Vaughn has invited Geoffrey to join his pool parties, but Geoffrey knows it’s only pity.

As if things can’t get worse, Geoffrey’s air conditioner breaks during a heat wave in Western Australia—and just before Christmas. In search of some relief, he camps out in his backyard, where he also has a prime view of Vaughn swimming… naked. When Geoffrey’s injured falling from his spying post, Vaughn comes to his rescue and Geoffrey doesn’t think he can be more horrified.

But he could be in for a sweet holiday surprise. Is he ready to take the dive?

Slow Summer Heat by Renae Kaye is a sweet, heartwarming story about an older man who’s been hurt by his ex and a humiliating breakup to an extent that’s he’s withdrawn from a social life into his house and a lonely existence.  Kaye does this type of character really well.  You can see Geoffrey quite clearly from her vivid descriptions to his dialogs (inner conversations and those with his gorgeous neighbor).

Geoffrey teeters briefly on the edge of a character that could go into the kink or voyeur as he’s convinced he’s so unattractive that no one wants him, so he turns down his neighbor’s invitations.  That leads to spying which leads to other things.  With Kaye, you get a great feel as to who Geoffrey is, his background, family, etc. You understand just how badly this past relationship has affected him and why, including the scene made in the street.

What’s missing is Vaughn’s portion.  At least I mostly felt that way for me.  Geoffrey is our narrator so we see this gorgeous young roofer through his eyes but even with all their conversations Vaughn never feel’s as fully fleshed out a personality as Geoffrey does. That could certainly be due to the shortness of the story.  I  just wished for more of the man Geoffrey was crushing on all this time.

Still Slow Summer Heat is a cute hot holiday romance.  A quick read with a touch of the Australian heat for something different.

Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas.  The pool is a major element here so it works for the cover but there should be more to it as well.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 1st edition, 54 pages
Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 139781644050583
Edition Language English

Review Tour for Operation Toy Rescue by Sarah Hadley Brook (excerpt and giveaway)

 

 
Length: 29,000 words approx.
 
Publisher: JMS Books
 
Blurb
 

When Jules Evergreen lands in trouble at the North Pole and gets shipped off to Snow Hope Island for ninety days, he never expects to take up the cause of the forgotten toys waiting for new homes. Falling for his new boss is not on the agenda either, but his heart has other ideas.


Felix Winterson has grown up on Snow Hope Island and now runs the place. He isn’t thrilled when party boy Jules arrives, and Felix tries hard to ignore the man’s charms. He has other problems, anyway. For years he’s tried to get Santa to look at the growing inventory of damaged toys in the warehouse, to no avail.


When Jules comes up with a plan to save the toys, the men find themselves working closely together. As Christmas Eve looms, there’s a lot at stake. Can they save Snow Hope, convince Santa to rescue the toys, and fall in love all at the same time?



Dec 15 – OMG Reads, Dec 17 – Mikku-chan, The Blogger Girls, Padme’s Library, Dec 19 – Megan’s Media Melange, Two Chicks Obsessed, Dec 21 – Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, MM Good Book Reviews, Dec 24 – Valerie Ullmer, Bayou Book Junkie, Making It Happen, Drops Of Ink

 

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review here.  We loved it!

 
Excerpt



He was surprised that no one else was in the building yet. Unless they were upstairs in the loft, or locked away in an office. He thought he’d seen Eve’s coat hanging from a peg up front.


Jules opened the laptop and logged in, ready to get started. He really wanted to take that trip to the warehouse with Felix and the quicker he finished logging things in, the quicker that could happen. As he carefully opened a rather large box, he heard a door open and turned to see Felix, Eve, and Zuzu hurry out of Felix’s office. All wore a look of panic and his heart jumped.


“What’s wrong?” he asked as Eve grew closer.


“The Big Guy is coming for a visit three days before Christmas! We just found out. He never does this. Never, Jules.” Her voice rose as she spilled the news.


Jules glanced at Felix and caught his eye, holding it for a moment. “Isn’t Santa coming a good thing?” he asked, confused.


“We don’t know. He never does this. Never,” Eve reiterated.


“She’s right. He doesn’t. What if he wants to make major changes? Or move us to the North Pole?” Felix asked.


Jules crinkled his brow. In his mind, moving to the North Pole would be great. Felix would be closer to Jules. “You don’t want to live at the North Pole?”


All three of them looked at him in shock, their mouths gaping open.


“What?” he asked.


“The North Pole is headquarters. It’s chaos,” Zuzu explained.


Okay, I’ll give them that. But there were good things, too.


“But you’d be closer to …” he flicked his gaze to Felix and felt his cheeks heat up. “The main operation,” he finished lamely.


“But we like it here. Our island is beautiful and we’re like a family. What if we’re torn apart?”


“I don’t think Santa –”


“You don’t know, Jules,” Eve broke in. “Maybe he thinks we don’t do enough to help these toys.”


Felix was vigorously nodding his agreement, so Jules shut his mouth and sat down in front of his laptop, considering the possibilities. He finally glanced back up, his lips curving up into a small smile as he eyed all three. “Then I guess there’s only one thing to do, guys. We need to show Santa how important the island is to children all over the globe.”


“How do we do that?” Eve asked quietly, her brow furrowed.


“By developing a kick ass plan to get these ‘inadequate toys’ into the hands of kids,” he explained, using air quotes. It was really just expanding what he and Felix had talked about last night. But calling it a plan made it feel more real. More promising.


Again, they gaped at him. Well, all but Felix. He was grinning. Happiness filled Jules’s chest and his heart raced as he grinned back, warmth spreading through him. Their gazes held and Jules felt like Felix was peering inside of him. Like he was seeing the real Jules. Not the guy that always screwed up. Not the guy that only thought of himself. But the one that finally — finally — wanted to do something worthy. Something that would bring others joy.


“Jules is right. We need to work together to show Santa we can handle the responsibility of taking care of the toys on this island. To prepare them for new homes. To convince him to take them with him on Christmas Eve.” Felix straightened his shoulders as determination flitted across his face and hope flashed in his eyes.


Jules couldn’t look away. The man was beautiful in every way.


Author Bio

Sarah Hadley Brook lives smack-dab in the middle of the Heartland and is the mother of two wonderful young men, as well as two cats. During the day, she works in the nonprofit world, but reserves evenings for her hobby-turned-passion of writing, letting the characters she conjures in her mind take the lead and show her where the story will go. When not working or writing, she can be found reading, working on dollhouses, trying her hand at new recipes, or watching old movies and musicals. In her ideal world, Christmas would come at least twice a year, Rock Hudson and Doris Day would have costarred in more than three movies, and chocolate would be a daily necessity. She dreams of traveling to Scotland some day and visiting the places her ancestors lived. Sarah believes in “Happily Ever After” and strives to ensure her characters find their own happiness in love and life.



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An Alisa Review: Paradise Lodge by Riina Y.T.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Azariah Bell is a nervous wreck. He isn’t prepared to spend the final week of the year with his best friend, Ky O’Sullivan, lead vocalist for their pop rock band, Moving Insignia—especially after the fight he caused before they parted ways two weeks ago.

Afraid of not being taken seriously by Ky, Azariah was concerned about what confessing his feelings would do to their friendship, or the band. He tried to keep his emotions in check, but instead, he exploded in anger over some petty issue, and now he’s potentially lost Ky forever.

Ky is looking forward to the band’s annual writing retreat for a week of songwriting and recording at a secluded mountain resort. Spending Christmas with his family gave Ky time to reflect on how he’d handled Azariah’s epic meltdown. It wasn’t good, and Ky is determined to uncover the true nature of Azariah’s unusual behavior. They didn’t keep secrets from each other, or so he believed.

Expecting to see the rest of the band when they arrive by helicopter, Ky and Azariah are shocked to learn they are alone at a deserted lodge. When they discover they’ve been set up by their bandmates so they can “sort it out,” their choices are few. But it’s critical for them to resolve their problems if they have any hope of enjoying the new year together, let alone make that new album happen.

A nice adorable story.  Ky and Azariah have been best friends since they met and their band took off but they are both hurting after their last explosive argument.  Neither want to lose the other but are afraid the truth may be worse.

After they find out about their situation, it doesn’t take much time for the truth to come out from both sides.  I could see their biggest fear was losing their friendship but they found so much more together.  I liked seeing them together months later much happier than at the beginning of the book.

I like the cover art by Natasha Snow is cute and one of the standard for holiday shorts this year.

Sales Links: Nine Star Press | Amazon | B&N

Book Details:

ebook, 26,100 words

Published: December 3, 2018 by Nine Star Press

ISBN: 978-1-949909-52-4

Edition Language: English

A MelanieM Audio Review: Q*Pid by Xavier Mayne and Rudy Sanda (Narrator)

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Can a computer program understand love better than the human heart?

Archer, the AI at the dating service Q*pid, realizes humans don’t always make the best choices, so it begins making some unconventional choices for them.

Fox Kincade is the last of his group of friends to be single, so he’s delighted when he discovers a new match in his Q*pid app—one that, according to the new AI wizardry, should be the love of his life. Instead of the woman he’s expecting, he’s paired with Drew Larsen, a shy, somewhat nerdy PhD student who has also grown discouraged with romance.

Drew and Fox have little in common—aside from the fact that they’re both straight. Or so they thought. But as the guys get to know each other, they realize Archer might have the right idea. Their path isn’t smooth, because both need to overcome every idea they have about themselves and what true love might look like. But with the help of Archer—and some friends who have stuck with Fox and Drew through the thick and thin of their relationship trials—they might find their way into each other’s hearts.

Q*Pid by Xavier Mayne and Rudy Sanda was one of those stories I both liked and was left feeling sort of bereft of that happy warm feeling that I get from the romances and stories that I truly love and connect with.  The writing was well done,  the story layered, and the narrator did an excellent job with all the characters and storytelling.  Sigh.

So where exactly was the issue?

I’m not sure.  I like the slow burn stories and boy, was this one.  Both men identify as straight for most of the  story, the only “being” certain they are a perfect match is a AI called Archer, the IA forQ*Pid, who “bends” his creator’s rules and invents an algorithm that goes beyond their client’s checklists into their actual needs and wants.  And then paired them up with their actual mate, regardless of gender.  A company no no and a shock to these men and their perceptions about their sexuality.

The sections where Archer and Veera, his creator, although interesting, and the rest of her team, have a tendency to bog down the flow of the  story.  It picks up once they stop “popping in” often, interrupting the already molasses slow flow of Drew and Fox’s steps towards a relationship.  We do need to understand what when  wrong or right with Archer but the dynamics within   Veera’s team is messy, nasty (and however realistic) takes away from the romance.

The character of Fox is almost another problem in itself.  It takes an inordinate amount of time to actually like him.  And his friend or maybe it’s the voice assigned to his friend by the narrator.  Turned me off totally.  Fox is locked down tight by his background, history and riches. The author has written him as difficult to identify with, surface hard, and far too obnoxious.  Less personality than Archer at the start.  It’s not until he’s halfway into his “non dating” of Drew that he softens and his character changes enough that you can see his potential as a mate for Drew who has been a “real person” from the beginning.

Perhaps that’s it.  There’s been a real imbalance throughout most of the story, with our affections resting squarely on Drew’s side, including that of his neighbor.  Everything with Drew feels authentic.  Role on over to Fox?  Not so much.  It take a while for that to even out, and that happens only towards the last part of the story.

It was Drew that had my heart and he had it from start to finish.  Wish that I could say the same about Fox and their romance.   I think this story came really close on many levels but it just didn’t check all my romance boxes in the end.

Rudy Sanda did a wonderful job with the voices.  The only exception being Fox’s best friend. Chad.  For some reason I found that one extremely irritating and hard to listen to.

Q*Pid by Xavier Mayne and Rudy Sanda (Narrator) ended up being a sweet contemporary romance with some terrific touches.  I liked the  narrator and thought the writing was great.  If this sounds like something you would like, than I recommend it for your listening pleasure.

Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas.  Great cover and I think it’s eye catching in model and colors.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Audible

Audiobook Details:

Audible Audio, 12 pages
Published October 30th 2018 by Tantor Audio (first published August 28th 2018)
ASINB07JNZFMMP
Edition Language English

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Advent Calendar Review: Summer Santa by Ward Maia

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Sam struggles with the climate, the job, and the language when he arrives in Brazil after accepting a job transfer.  With the Christmas holidays coming, Sam is looking forward to being alone in his small, boring apartment and that’s about it.  He wishes for more when his sexy coworker James helps him with a computer problem, but Sam’s too backward to ask him out.

A key phrase in the blurb is “significant low self-esteem” as that is the driving force of this story.  His family surprises him with a holiday he won’t soon forget and he bumps into James on the beach and that leads to a night before Christmas Eve that fulfills his dreams.  But Sam is not the driving force behind any of these good things, and his insecurity and inability to articulate what he wants form the crux of the story. 

It’s evident the author is new as the writing style and repetitive words and phrases are quite elementary—he “found himself” once too often for me.  The trope of the cute guy who’s insecure about his looks, his ability to find someone to love him, etc. is overdone and, unfortunately, not one I like at all. 

A key element in the blurb is that Sam is a magazine journalist, and yet that’s not mentioned in the beginning pages of the story and when it finally is stated, it’s only in passing.  Another issue is the language barrier he apparently can’t get past, and yet that, too, is only mentioned in the beginning and seems to disappear. We never learn whether James is also an American or if he’s Brazilian, and if a native, does he speak English fluently? Because Sam sure doesn’t speak anything other than English.  Sam’s family members were a bit OTT as well, especially his aunt and his sister.

Though I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped, others may not be as bothered by the insecure and lonely MC theme as I am and so may enjoy the story.

The cover by Adrian Nicholas is one of this year’s holiday designs featuring two characters in a portal with the lower edges a standard red with large white snowflakes. The characters represent the two MCs, though Sam is much better-looking than one would think from reading the story, and James looks much more like a player than a nice-guy coworker. 

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press |  Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 46 pages
Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 139781644050576
Edition Language  English

Release Blitz – Kink Aware (Kiss of Leather 9) by Morticia Knight

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Kink Aware (Kiss of Leather 9)

Author: Morticia Knight

Publisher: Pride Publishing

Genre/s: Gay/Genderqueer BDSM Contemporary Romance

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 58 500 words/184 pages

It can be read as a standalone story, although part of a series.

If it is part of a series are the other books also available for review? Yes

Release Date: December 18, 2018

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Buy Links

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Amazon Germany

Kobo

B&N

Pride Publishing

Blurb

Working at Rogue Ink is a dream job for Cruella, especially being around the hunky co-owner, Ray. Even though the money isn’t great, the eye candy and Ray’s caring heart make it all worthwhile. When Cruella risks rejection by inviting Ray to be their partner for a shibari class at Kiss of Leather, they’re thrilled when Ray accepts.

Cruella’s invitation both excites and terrifies Ray. He wants Cruella, but does he also want to become more kink aware? Still, he could kick himself for not making a move yet on the sweet and beautiful Cruella, so maybe this is his chance. His protective instincts have gotten him into serious trouble before, so he’ll be sure not to make the same mistake with Cruella. They’ve made it clear they can take care of themself.

Cruella fears that Ray won’t accept their genderqueer identity and Ray aches to be the strong man Cruella needs. However, when Cruella’s dark past intrudes on their blissful present—Ray’s definition of strength might turn out to be harsher than Cruella is willing to accept.

Excerpt

I don’t know why I torture myself like this.

Cruella slid each delectable garment along the new arrivals rail in the Rags & Rhinestones vintage clothing store, almost drooling over the spectacular collection of goodies that Heath had picked up at an estate sale over the weekend. Their rather limited clothing allowance of the past couple months had gone to purchase rope for the shibari class. They sighed. It would be so worth it if Ray would let them tie him up in bed.

It certainly seemed to turn him on the other night when I suggested it.

If they were being honest, the idea had them rather hot too. When they had originally signed up for the class, the eroticism of the art hadn’t been the strongest attraction to learning shibari. At least not in terms of tying up a partner for sex. Their thought process had been more along the lines of the visual appeal, not necessarily using it as a prelude to, or as part of, making love.

They stepped behind a round rack to conceal their arousal as their mind wandered to Saturday morning when Ray had kneeled before them in the shower and sucked them to completion. While they’d never viewed themselves as someone who wanted to dominate a partner, they’d begun to consider that the desire to do so had been there all along but hadn’t been allowed to flourish.

That sure as hell was the case with Tucker.

Ray on his knees, Ray tied up and at their mercy, Ray beneath them as they fucked him into the mattress—all those scenarios had been playing on a loop in their head ever since they’d last seen him. They knew one thing for sure, when they got together with Ray that night to finally work on their class project, they were going to get a little rope action in bed if nothing else.

“Hey, Cruella. See anything you like?”

Cruella glanced up at the shop owner, Heath. “Hi, hon. Trust me, I see plenty I like.” Cruella let out another mournful sigh. “But I’m broke this month.”

Heath tsked, shaking his head. “I keep telling you, come work for me. You have a better sense of style than anyone who’s ever worked here, and you’d get an employee discount.”

Cruella barked out a laugh. “And never come home with a paycheck. No, they pay me well at Rogue, at least a couple more bucks an hour then I would get for that type of job. Especially since I’m not a manager or anything.”

“I’ll match what they’re giving you right now, with an eye toward making you a manager here eventually.”

Cruella blinked repeatedly as they stared at the tall, blond-haired cutie they’d come to know over the past few years of being a regular at the shop. Heath had teased them more than once about coming to work for him, but had never made such a serious offer. Cruella hadn’t been kidding, though, about never coming home with a paycheck. The killer clothes, shoes and handbags that regularly filled the shop to the brim would suck the cash right out of their pocket. Their buyer resistance was next to non-existent.

“You can’t be serious, hon. Why would you do that? And why do you need a manager?”

Heath draped an elbow over the rail and leaned against the rack. “So fucking serious, doll, you have no idea. Look, to begin with, most of the staff who come through here are either clueless and couldn’t give two shits about fashion or chose this job by wandering down the street until they spotted it and thought, ‘gee, this looks like a great place to steal from.’ I can’t even with these losers anymore.” Heath glanced around the shop, the few other customers in the large, rectangular space seemingly lost in their own perusing. He leaned in closer. “I love this shop. I’m flippin’ proud of what I built up over the past five years. But damn, honey. I haven’t had a social life since I turned twenty-two.” Heath huffed. “And I was only out and proud for two years before that, so this girl hasn’t had nearly as much fun as she should’ve by now.”

Cruella fingered the nineteen-twenties mauve velvet coat that they could totally picture themselves in and considered Heath’s words. “Wow, I guess I never thought about how much work it must take to run this place on your own. Although, the owners of Rogue seem to work nonstop. But at least there’s three of them to handle the responsibility.”

Heath furrowed his brow. “Is that little sweetheart who was kidnapped still doing okay?”

After the dust had settled from the horrible events surrounding Liam’s kidnapping, Cruella had been able to work out that Heath’s shop was where Neal had called the police from.

“He’s doing fine. I think in his case having the responsibility of a new business has done wonders at keeping him distracted and dwelling on what happened.” Cruella chuckled. “Of course, his fiancé keeps him more than distracted enough anyway.”

Heath smiled. “That’s good to hear.” Heath glanced over his shoulder as someone approached the register. “Listen, you think about what I said.” He squeezed Cruella’s arm. “I meant every word.”

Cruella let their finger run down the beaded edging of the coat until they found the price tag. They sucked in a sharp breath as they absorbed the amount of the vintage item. Two hundred and twenty-five dollars. They whimpered. I wonder how much of a discount?

About the Author

Author Morticia Knight spends most of her nights writing about men loving men forever after. If there happens to be some friendly bondage or floggings involved, she doesn’t begrudge her characters whatever their filthy little hearts desire. Even though she’s been crafting her naughty tales for more years than she’d like to share—her adventures as a published author began in 2011. Since then, she’s been fortunate enough to have several books on bestseller lists along with titles receiving recognition in the Rainbow Book Awards, Divine Magazine and Love Romance Café.

Once upon a time she was the lead singer in an indie rock band that toured the West Coast and charted on U.S. college radio. She currently resides on the North Oregon coast and when she’s not fantasizing about hot men, she takes walks along the ocean and annoys the local Karaoke bar patrons.

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A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Home for Christmas (Texas #9) by R.J. Scott

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

One of my all-time favorite books is The Heart of Texas, the first in the Texas series, and Jack and Riley Campbell-Hayes will likely remain my favorite couple of all time in my heart forever. Seeing them now, over ten years after our last visit with them, brought that home to me. This is the story of their son, Connor, all grown up now, and the forever love he finds with River Samson, the man of his dreams. Jack and Riley are present throughout this story, and I must include one statement about them: they are still hot, still gorgeous, and still very much in love. Thank you for including them, RJ Scott!

Now, on to this story. Connor is a really sweet guy. Built like his pappa, Jack, he’s also quiet like him and he’s learned how to sit back, take in the facts, and proceed to fix any situation that comes along. But his friend River stymies him. They had a brief encounter at a frat party and then River ran off. As the story opens, he’s standing on a rooftop in the snow, waving a bottle of booze around. He’s coatless and scares the hell out of Connor, who fears he might jump.

When Connor drags him away, he virtually kidnaps River and drags him home to Texas to the big, noisy, crazy family he loves so much. There he meets Max, Connor’s autistic brother, who’s grown in so many ways. (Another thank you to the author for showing this Max to us.) And he meets Connor’s dads, his sister, his aunts and uncles, his grandmother, and more. In fact, he’s overwhelmed by the big family and wants nothing more than to hide from them and to hide his secrets about his own family.

RJ Scott brings us a beautiful, heartwarming family holiday story, complete with romance and heartache. I really enjoyed this one, but I must say that Connor’s sex scenes with River made me feel a little weird—almost as if I were spying on my own grandchild. It was odd to be present for grownup Connor’s sex life when I was there at the beginning when Riley and Jack selected their surrogate. Needless to say, I skimmed those scenes because I just couldn’t stay there and watch. LOL. May be just me, but eww, I couldn’t do it.

In any event, I believe those who’ve followed the series will love this one. I definitely recommend this to them and to those who enjoy family drama, hurt-comfort, and of course, holiday season romance.

The cover by Meredith Russell depicts a stunning young man with dark hair, wearing jeans, shirt, and open jacket with a snow-like overlay. It’s easy to see how much Connor looks like Jack.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK 

Book Details:

ebook
Published November 28th 2018 by Love Lane Books
ISBN1 39781785641435
Edition Language English
Series Texas #9

Texas Series


Book #1 – The Heart of Texas – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #2 – Texas Winter – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #3 – Texas Heat – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #4 – Texas Family – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #5 – Texas Christmas – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #6 – Texas Fall – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #7 – Texas Wedding – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #8 – Texas Gift – Amazon US | Amazon UK

An Alisa Review : Trusting Jack (MC Securities #1) by Ruby Moone

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

With only a few days to go until Christmas, Michael Cross has to admit there is something amiss about his latest employee, Jack Whelan. Quiet, jumpy, thin… he never seems to eat. He is also incredibly gorgeous with dark spiky hair that Michael aches to touch. But as his boss, Jack is off limits. And when it comes to relationships, he…well, he sucks.

Jack Whelan is at the end of his tether. He’s living rough in the middle of winter, and paying off a massive debt, so getting a job with MC Securities is a lifeline. His new boss is also the hottest guy ever. Geeky, broody, and scarily clever.

When Michael stumbles upon the reality of Jack’s life, he offers to help. But as Michael’s feelings deepen, and Jack’s terrible past catches up with him, Michael has to decide between believing in the awful truth that is staring him in the face, or trusting Jack.

First off I felt this book was more of Jack needing to trust Michael as the one little blimp of Michael not trusting Jack was quickly done and gone.  Michael has stayed away from relationships since his ex tried to hurt him.  Jack is just trying to survive, after the death of his brother and the way his ex cheated him he doesn’t believe he can ever deserve happiness.

I felt that I got the opportunity to get to know both of these characters through their points of view.  I liked how Michael selflessly helps Jack when he realizes what’s going on and he isn’t willing to take advantage of Jack.  Jack has not had a great life and it takes time for him to accept Michael but also make Michael see that he is what he wants.  The story was good I just felt like there could have been more to it or something but I am not sure what it would be, though we do get an idea of who the next book may be about.

The cover art by Meredith Russell is great and I love the visual of Jack.

Sales Link: Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 181 pages

Published: December 10, 2018

Edition Language: English

Series: MC Securities #1

Book Blast and Giveaway for Little Harbour by Sophia Soames (excerpt)

BOOK BLAST

Book Title:  Little Harbour

Author: Sophia Soames

Publisher:  Self-published

Cover Artist: Miriam Latu 

Genre/s: M/M, contemporary romance

Heat Rating:  4 flames

Length: 135 377 words/468 pages

It is a standalone story and is the first book in series of stories set in Scandinavia.

Add on Goodreads

Tagline

A story of love and grief, second chances, and family life. An M/M GFY-ish romance, featuring a hoard of feral children, a stolen pram, a Midwifery blog and an ill advised stint on TV. Oh yes and a Man who has lost hope and another who never gave it up.

Blurb

This is a story about life and death. Because there has never been anyone else for Jens. He had been with Sofie almost all his life, from the day they met at school when they were fifteen, until the day she took her final breath against his chest. She was always everything to him. As he was to her. He never doubted that. Not for a minute.

This is a story of hope, where Axel Kleve keeps himself too busy to even stop and think. Work, sleep, eat, repeat. He loves his job as a Midwife at Oslo’s University Hospital,  He’s good at lecturing and training, and now he has somehow been pushed into running “Ask Axel,” a midwifery blog on PNN.no, the parenting-site everyone in Norway trusts.

This is a tale of second chances. Jens, he doesn’t let himself think of Axel. He doesn’t think of Axel at all. And Axel needs to stop longing for that one crush he’s never been able to leave behind. It’s just plain ridiculous. He should have got over Jens Sommerfeldt years ago.

A song about family and love and happiness found in small doses. Of trying to parent when you don’t know how. Of finding love where you always knew it lived. 

This is the story of a little harbour. The place in your heart you didn’t know was there.

Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US 

Amazon UK

Excerpt

“Can I have a hug? Please?” Axel asks. He can’t help it. He needs one. He needs to know that Jens is still Jens. His Jens. The one who hugged him every time they met up all those years ago. Jens always hugged him to say hello. Always hugged him goodbye. Always. He needs Jens to still be Jens.

Jens doesn’t hug him. Jens body slams him, so hard Axel thinks he might fall over. Stumbling backwards while Jens’ arms are squeezing him, so hard he can’t breathe, and there is hot breath against Axel’s  neck and it is so Jens. All-consumingly Jens. All him.

“I fucking missed you so much.” Jens whispers, his voice hoarse and quiet.

I’m all yours.” Axel whispers back. “I always was.”

About the Author

Sophia Soames should be old enough to know better but has barely grown up. She has been known to fangirl over tv-shows, has fallen in and out of love with more popstars than she dares to remember, and has a ridiculously high-flying (un-) glamourous real-life job.

Her long-suffering husband just laughs at her antics. Their children are feral. The AuPair just sighs. She lives in a creaky old house in rural London, although her heart is still in Scandinavia.

Discovering that the stories in her head make sense when written down has been part of the most hilarious midlife crisis ever and she hopes it may long continue.

Author Links

Facebook: Sophia Soames

Twitter: @sophiasoames 

instagram: sophiasoames

Tumblr: sophia soames

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An Ali Advent Calendar Review: Once in a Lifetime by Cassie Decker

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
All his life, astrophysicist Peter has dreamed of seeing the comet that last appeared on his birthday—and won’t be seen for another thirty-eight years. Since it could be his only chance, he travels to New Zealand. But his dream might be quashed after all when his rental car breaks down on the way to the observatory. He doesn’t even have a place to stay.
Fortunately a New Zealand native with a heart of gold offers assistance. But is kindness the only thing drawing the two men together?
Rangi can’t leave Peter stranded so close to Christmas, and his family has plenty of room—and love—to share. While Rangi is attracted to Peter, he’s seen too many of his friends get their hearts broken by tourists. Will they manage to see the comet on its decades-long journey across the sky… and take advantage of a rare opportunity that might never come again?
This was a sweet story with an interesting premise.  I thought it was pretty creative.  This author always comes up with unique storylines for her Christmas stories.  It was fairly short but you still got a good feel for both of the MC’s.  I liked them together and could feel their chemistry.  It’s a bit insta-love as most holiday stories are but in this case it didn’t bother me.
Overall I found this to be an enjoyable holiday story and would recommend it.
Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas.  Cover is in the style of the Advent calendar series, attractive and eye catching, bright and like the models.
Sales Links:   Dreamspinner Press |  Amazon
Book Details:
ebook, 34 pages
Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 139781644050552
Edition Language English