Category: M/M Contemporary Fiction

In the Spotlight: Building Forever (This Time Forever #1) by Kelly Jensen (special excerpt and giveaway)

Building Forever (This Time Forever #1) by Kelly Jensen
Riptide Publishing
Cover Art: Natasha Snow

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Amazon

 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Kelly Jensen here today on on for Building Forever, a story we highly recommend. The author has   brought along a excerpt and giveaway for all to enter.  Check out both below.

Building Forever is the first in a series of standalone novels focused on older characters who think love has passed them by. I loved writing these second chance romances, and I hope you enjoy reading about the books—especially this one because Charlie and Simon will forever be the characters who started me on this journey.

 

About Building Forever

A new town, a new neighbor, and a new chance to build a forever.

Charlie King is doing fine. Sure, he’s a widower raising a teenage daughter who just got her first boyfriend, his book series isn’t writing itself, and he has a crush on his new neighbor — the guy next door. But everything’s just fine.

Simon Lynley is doing better. He moved to Bethlehem to fall out of love and rebuild his career. An affair with his neighbor isn’t part of the plan, but the attraction between them is too hard to ignore.

But when Simon’s ex follows him to Pennsylvania seeking reconciliation, and Charlie’s life starts to feel like a video on repeat, everything comes apart. Charlie worries that he’s failing as a father, and Simon is a distraction he can’t afford. Meanwhile Simon doesn’t know if he could survive being left again, and he hasn’t come all this way to make the same mistakes. But despite their fears, it’s only together that they’ll find the strength to slay old foes and build the forever they’ve been waiting for.

Now available from Riptide Publishing!

Building Forever Excerpt

Charlie’s daughter, Liv, is out on her first date, and Charlie is trying not to obsess over the fact that everything is changing. His daughter has met someone, Charlie has too—and he doesn’t know what to do with all his new anxieties or where to put them. Best friend Phil to the rescue! He and Phil head out for Chinese takeout and a little shopping and Phil does a lot of listening while Charlie struggles to come to terms with the changes in his life.

Everything Is Changing

Charlie followed the girl to a curtained alcove at the rear corner of the shop, accepted two different pairs to try, and pulled on the first. Stepping outside the curtain, he called to Phil, “What do you think?”

“They look like jeans.”

“Well, duh.”

“Why are you trying on clothes?”

“My old jeans are getting pretty, um, old.”

“Liv isn’t going to be coming in this direction, is she?”

“No. Banko’s is in the other way.” Someone had recently reopened the small local theater—and renamed it. Charlie could never remember the new name, though. “I just need new jeans.”

Charlie ducked back into the changing room. He studied himself in the mirror and admired the jeans. They made his legs seem longer and all of him more lean. He didn’t even have to suck in his gut, though that could have been all the jogging and projects around the house. As he turned to the side to inspect his profile, his thoughts wandered toward Simon again.

Would he notice the new jeans?

Did Charlie want him to?

“Here. I picked out some shirts for your updated wardrobe,” Phil called through the curtain.

“Uh-huh.”

Phil thrust a handful of material through the gap at the side. Charlie took the shirts and shook the first one out. It had Cute But Psycho printed across the front. “Very funny!” A muffled snort sounded from near the front of the shop. The second read: Sassy Since Birth.

“I think I see Liv!” Phil called.

Charlie dropped the shirts and scrambled for his own jeans, falling against the wall as he yanked them up his legs—over the pair he already had on. Shit. Tempting as it was to run, getting arrested for shoplifting would stick a wrench in his evening plans. Charlie pulled the new pair off and the old pair on. He pushed through the curtain with his fly half undone and nearly bowled Phil over. A laughing Phil.

“Just foolin’,” his new nemesis reported with an evil grin.

“Jesus.” Charlie melted back through the curtain and into the wall at the rear of the dressing room. He so wasn’t cut out to be the father of a teenager. Then there was this business with the jeans. What was he doing? Why was his life so weird all of a sudden?

“Everything okay in there?” Phil asked from outside the curtain.

Charlie drew it aside. “Yeah. I guess.”

“The jeans looked really good. Clean. Um . . . slimming.”

“Now you’re trying to distract me?”

“Is it working?”

“I dunno.”

Phil took the new jeans from Charlie’s hand. “C’mon, our food is probably ready.”

They paid for the jeans, collected their takeout, and turned back toward the beer store. By the time they got to the truck, Charlie felt drained. Not just empty, but as though he’d spent energy he didn’t have. He leaned against the side of the truck and closed his eyes.

“How are you doing?” Phil asked from his side of the truck.

Swallowing, Charlie shook his head.

Phil came around the back and stopped in front of Charlie. “Wherever you’re doing in that whacko brain of yours, stop. Okay?” Easier said than done. “Liv’s a good kid.” Phil delivered an encouraging shoulder squeeze.

“She was always a good kid. Thing is, she’s not a kid anymore, is she?”

“Don’t make me hug you on Broad Street.”

Charlie let go of something that might have been a whimper.

Phil put on a reassuring expression. “They’re always gonna be our little girls, man. Always. Even when they’re our age and we’re too old to even try for Maximum Overdrive.”

Charlie waved in the general direction of their heads. “Virtual reality. If we can think it, it will happen.”

“That’s kinda your problem.”

Charlie sighed. He wanted to tell Phil he was scared, but Phil already knew. “Everything’s changing,” he whispered instead.

He wasn’t sure Phil had heard him until his friend patted him on the shoulder. “Let’s go home.”

Charlie straightened his spine. He had to own this, whatever it was. The good and the bad. The jeans he could return tomorrow. Simon . . . Simon needed more thought. Liv, though, she was his, irrevocably, until the end of time, and he had no regrets there.

None.

But if he could have done things differently— No. Some things just couldn’t be changed. You had to own them. Fully.

 

About the This Time Forever Series

Small towns and second chances.

Simon, Frank, and Brian think love has passed them by. Each is facing down his fiftieth birthday—Simon in a few years, Frank next year, and Brian soon enough. Each has loved and lost. But for these men, everything old really is new again, and it’s only when they return to their roots that they’ll find their second chances and the happily ever after they’ve been waiting their whole lives for.

This time it’s forever.

This series includes:

  1. Building Forever — releasing October 15, available now!
  2. Renewing Forever — releasing November 12, available for preorder!
  3. Chasing Forever — releasing December 10, available soon!

About Kelly Jensen

If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories about the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.

Kelly is the author of a number of novels, novellas, and short stories, including the Chaos Station series, cowritten with Jenn Burke. Some of what she writes is speculative in nature, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.

Connect with Kelly:


Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Building Forever one lucky person will win a $25 Riptide Publishing gift card and a swag pack of stickers, art cards, and bookmarks! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on October 20, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Review Tour and Giveaway for Boy Shattered by Eli Easton

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Length: 85,000 words approx.
 
Cover Design: Tiferet Design
 
Blurb
 

Brian
You’ll make it out of here, Brian. I swear.
I had everything—school quarterback, popular with girls, and my dad was proud of me. I told myself it didn’t matter no one knew the real me. And then I nearly died. Landon saved my life. He’s the bravest guy I know. He came out a few years ago, proud and fierce, and he ran into gunfire to help others. Me, I’m a mess. Can’t even stand to be in a room with the curtains open. But here’s the thing about losing it all: You get a chance to start over and be someone new. Only how can I move on when the two shooters who attacked our school were never caught? And why do I feel like I’m still in the crosshairs?


Landon
Will you kiss me?
When I came across Brian Marshall,the hottest guy in school, dying on the cafeteria floor, I did what anyone would do. I tried to save him. His request surprised me, but I figured he needed comfort, so I kissed him on the forehead. When he survived and came back to school, he was broken in body and mind. He still needed me, and soon we were unlikely besties. But what I saw at school that day woke me up. I want to demand action on gun control, lead protests, raise my fist. I’ll tear the world down if I have to. And if I can get the man of my dreams and save the world at the same time? I’ll take it. Only I didn’t understand that the horror at Jefferson Waller High wasn’t over.



October 16 – Romantic Ramblings, My Fiction Nook, Kimmers’ Erotic Book Banter, Gay Book Reviews, Amy’s MM Romance Reviews, Dilyana’s World, Funzee’s Cozy Couch, Lelyana’s Reviews, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Boulevard des Passions, October 17 – Love Bytes Reviews, October 18 – The Librarian’s Corner, Xtreme Delusions, Megan’s Media Melange, Urban Smoothie Read, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Reading In Sarah’s Corner, Kaidans Seduction, Dream Love Imagine, October 19 – The Novel Approach, October 20 – Cupcakes & Bookshelves, Book Corner Reviews, Jim’s Reading Room, We Three Queens, Making It Happen, Wicked Reads, V’s Reads, October 22 – Wicked Faerie’s Tales & Reviews, Open Mind For A Different View, MM Good Book Reviews, October 23 – Mirrigold, October 24 – Bonkers About Books, Valerie Ullmer, Sanaa’s Book Blog, BFD Book Blog, Lillian Francis, Jessie G Books, Books Laid Bare Boys, Love, Sawyer, October 25 – Gay Book Reviews, October 26 – Bayou Book Junkie

 

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 5 star review here.

About Eli

Having been, at various times and under different names, a minister’s daughter, a computer programmer, a game designer, the author of paranormal mysteries, a fan fiction writer, and organic farmer, Eli has been a m/m romance author since 2013. She has over 30 books published.


Eli has loved romance since her teens and she particular admires writers who can combine literary merit, genuine humor, melting hotness, and eye-dabbing sweetness into one story. She promises to strive to achieve most of that most of the time. She currently lives on a farm in Pennsylvania with her husband, bulldogs, cows, a cat, and lots of groundhogs.


In romance, Eli is best known for her Christmas stories because she’s a total Christmas sap. These include “Blame it on the Mistletoe”, “Unwrapping Hank” and “Merry Christmas, Mr. Miggles”. Her “Howl at the Moon” series of paranormal romances featuring the town of Mad Creek and its dog shifters has been popular with readers. And her series of Amish-themed romances, Men of Lancaster County, has won genre awards.


In 2018 Eli hopes to do more of the same, assuming they reschedule the apocalypse.


Her website is www.elieaston.com
You can email her at eli@elieaston.com

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A Free Dreamer Review: Yakuza (Guns and Roses #1) by Lilia Blanc

Rating: 1 star out of 5

The people of Tawano are used to the yakuza. They know to avoid them, to get off the streets when fights are brewing. At least, most of them do.

When college student Hiroshi makes a fatal mistake, and finds himself held at knife point, there’s only one person who can help him: Kazuo, the yakuza who controls Tawano, and the one who started the fight in the first place.

They’re completely different, and as their paths keep crossing, neither of them can understand the other—but it’s clear they’ll have to, or the dangers that follow Kazuo could claim more than just the lives of a few city-folk.

Oh boy. This book was a mess. To say that I didn’t particularly like “Yakuza” would be the understatement of the year. I don’t think there’s anything I liked about this book.

I picked this up because I’m a huge fan of Japan but was very disappointed. This has absolutely zero “Japanese vibe”. The MCs have Japanese names and Hiroshi is obsessed with manga but that’s about it.

The writing style was awkward. It read like the text was originally written in a foreign language and then badly translated into English. It annoyed me from the very beginning.

Then there’s Hiroshi. I’ve come across a few too stupid to live characters in my reading life but he’s probably one of the worst cases ever. Seriously, it’s a miracle he managed to stay alive this long. He’s absolutely obsessed with his books. Unrealistically so. He’s caught up in a gun fight, ends up being held hostage, with a knife to his throat, and drops his newly bought book. And all he can think of is his damaged book. Seriously? Oh, and he gets awesome discounts at the bookshop where he works because he’s so popular with the female customers. I’ve worked as a bookseller for almost four years now and let me tell you, that’s not how it works. At all.

Kazuo wasn’t much better. He wasn’t quite as stupid as Hiroshi but he was seriously creepy at times. He turned into an obsessive stalker and endangered Hiroshi. And he just made ridiculous assumptions. Just because a guy forgets a hot bondage Yaoi in your car, doesn’t mean that guy wants to try out bondage himself. Much less with a random stranger who almost got him killed the first time they met. And then turned into a creepy stalker.

After the first couple of pages, I figured this would turn into somewhat hot bondage porn. There’s a completely ridiculous sex scene at Hiroshi’s workplace pretty early on. But there isn’t all that much more explicit sex after that. At least porn would have been mildly entertaining.

It didn’t help that there was a weird love triangle that came out of nowhere toward the end. And the ending itself will definitely disappoint anybody who was at least somewhat invested in the MCs. Personally, I didn’t really care. It was just annoying and ridiculous, like the rest of the book.

Honestly, I can’t imagine how anybody could enjoy this book. The romance is seriously lacking, there’s really only one very explicit sex scene and the rest of the plot is harebrained. Honestly, it reminded me of a bad Yaoi, without the added benefit of pretty pictures.

Sales Links:  Amazon

The cover is okay, I guess. Probably the best part of the entire book.

Book details: Kindle Edition, 220 pages

Published September 4th 2018 by Deep Desires Press

Release Blitz – Fling (A Nothing Serious Novel) by Baylin Crow (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Buy Link
 
Length: 275 pages approx.
 
Cover Design: Baylin Crow
 
Blurb
 

Our time together has an expiration date.


HAYDEN: I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love him.
The only guy I’ve ever wanted sees me as nothing more than the kid next door and his younger sister’s best friend. But when Dean comes home after college graduation, things are different. I’ve grown up, and the way his golden-brown gaze scorches a path over my body tells me he’s noticed. When he makes me an offer I should refuse, I’m caught between my feelings for him and logic screaming that this idea is doomed to end in heartbreak.


DEAN: I’m not interested in anything serious but I need to have him.
I plan on spending a few months at home relaxing before beginning my dream internship. What I don’t count on is my little sister’s best friend sending me for a loop. He should be off-limits, but the pull I feel toward him is too strong to ignore. When I come up with a solution to spend the summer together in secret, I’m sure I have it all figured out. I just need to work him out of my system.


It’s supposed to be free of complications…a fling. By the end of summer, it’s anything but simple.

 
Excerpt
 

I must have drifted off because I woke up dry mouthed and thirsty. After removing Reese’s arm from where it lay on my chest, I slipped my glasses on and climbed off the bed. My steps were light as I slipped from her room and padded downstairs to the kitchen. I grabbed a glass from the cabinet, filling it with filtered water from the refrigerator dispenser.


The cool liquid slid down my parched throat as I downed every drop before refilling it. The second disappeared just as quickly and I set the empty glass in the sink. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I turned to go back upstairs. As I passed through the large foyer, a sound caught my attention and I froze. Keys jingled. Then the lock on the front door clicked once more and the door swung open revealing Dean with a large gym bag slung over his shoulder. He wasn’t supposed to be home until the next day and judging by his wide-eyed stare, he wasn’t expecting to run into me either.


“Hi,” I squeaked, while frozen in place.


He stepped inside, closing the door behind him with a soft snick before re-locking it. “If it wasn’t for the glasses and dark hair, I wouldn’t even recognize you.” He kept his voice low. I’d finally hit a major growth spurt over the last year and had put on enough weight that I didn’t resemble a beanpole. “What are you doing here in the middle of the night, Hayden?” His eyes narrowed in suspicion.


“Sleeping. I got up for a glass of water.” He paused and his lips flattened into a thin line so I hurried on. “I thought you weren’t coming back until tomorrow.”


“I decided to go ahead and make the drive and got a flat for my trouble. Otherwise, I would have been here earlier.” He said with a tired sigh. “It’s good and weird to see you.” His gaze scanned the length of my body and chills raced over my skin.


When I couldn’t find my voice, he adjusted the strap on his shoulder. “I’m beat so I’m going to head to bed. I’ll grab the rest of my things tomorrow.”


I nodded and followed behind him up the stairs. Halfway up, he glanced over his shoulder with a frown but kept going. “Aren’t you headed in the wrong direction?”


“No, I’m staying the night.” Didn’t I already say that? When I paused outside Reese’s room, Dean’s eyes narrowed to slits.


“You’re staying in Reese’s room? I mean, I always thought you two would end up together.”


Why would he think that? Reese had to have told him I came out earlier this year. “We’re not.”


If he heard me, he didn’t acknowledge what I said. “Does Mom know you’re having sleepovers though? Like in the same room?” He didn’t let me respond. Again. “And I’m assuming in the same bed.”


I couldn’t wrap my head around why he was worried. Dean continued his whispered rant, and without thinking, I stepped into his personal space and slapped my hand over his mouth.


The impulsive action seemed to startle us both. His eyes grew wide and he froze.


I couldn’t believe I’d just done that, but he wouldn’t listen. I held eye contact. “Shh.”


Dean didn’t remove my hand, and I wasn’t sure he’d let me finish if I moved it so I kept it there. “Reese and I aren’t together. I’m gay.” He cocked his head and seemed to study me. How could he not know? “She didn’t tell you?”


When he shook his head, I became aware of his soft lips against my palm. His breaths tickled the sensitive flesh and I realized my gaze had locked onto that connection. Clearing my throat, I ripped my hand away.


As I waited for his reaction, I pushed my glasses up my nose in a nervous tic I wished I could kick.


Dean’s gaze roamed the length of my body, making my breathing race in and out of my lungs. His gaze seemed to caress my skin causing butterflies to take flight in my stomach while long, tan fingers rubbed his squared chin. And unless I was imagining things, his pupils had dilated. “How did I not know?”


It was the same question I’d been asking myself. Their mom knew, so why hadn’t Reese told him? “I only came out this year and I don’t advertise it. But I don’t hide it either.”


Having no idea what he’d think, I crossed my arms over my chest and lifted my chin while repressing the desire to flee into Reese’s room.


“Calm down, I get it.” Dean held his hands up in surrender. Just as he opened his mouth to continue, a loud chime cut into our whispered conversation.


“Shit.” He scrambled to pull the phone from his pocket and silenced it. His gaze shot from one end of the hallway to the other as if searching for any sign of someone being woken up. Glancing down at the screen, he scowled.


“What’s wrong?” I asked, my arms loosening and falling to my sides.


Dean’s gaze held mine, pausing long enough that I thought he wouldn’t answer my question.


He stood straight so I mimicked his posture. “Someone I used to date.” He grimaced as if the word left a sour taste in his mouth that rivaled the pit developing in my stomach. I didn’t want to hear this. “Well not date exactly. His name was Brady.” He cocked a brow with a shameless grin.


His words took a minute to process and even when it registered, my shock held me mute. Unfortunately it didn’t hinder my jaw from dropping.


“Oh.” Brilliant response, Hayden.


“Oh?” He snickered. “I guess my baby sister didn’t divulge my sordid secret either? Well, it seems we’ve both had a big year. Honestly, I wasn’t positive I was bi until a few years ago, but it turns out I have a thing for both.” He shrugged, pressed the side button on his phone, and then stuffed it back in his pocket. “This guy, he’s a clinger. I told him I wasn’t looking for anything serious, but I guess he refuses to accept it.”


Offering a weak smile, I attempted to hide the disappointment weighing me down. The blasé way he spoke about hookups made my chest ache. Dean hadn’t changed at all. Not that I’d expected him to or had a right to wish it. “The downside of playing the field,” I managed to make it sound like a joke.
He chuckled. “I guess. Well, I’m going to go…” He hitched his thumb over his back toward his room and turned to go. Rooted to the spot, I stared long after his door closed behind him.

Bios are challenging. I don’t have a clue how to write about myself. Fictional characters, sure! Me? Not so much. Lol. It’s the reason my author bio stayed practically blank until after I finished my second novel.


Who am I? Well, I live in Texas where the heat and I don’t get along. One day I hope to call Northeast USA home. I’m a wife and mother of 2 ridiculously cute kids. I have 2 dogs and 1 cat, the latter of which is a spoiled brat, but she’s my spoiled brat. ❤


I fell in love with writing during elementary school with my first “bare book”. And only within the last few years have I been able to try my hand at it as a career (which I have high hopes for btw!).


Spending the day under a fluffy blanket reading or writing away on my laptop with a mountain of coffee is my idea of time well spent. I get to live so many lives through books that I consider myself genuinely lucky to call myself an avid reader.


That’s me in a nutshell. I hope I’m finding my place among like-minded people. ❤❤❤ And I hope you’ll enjoy reading the stories I write.

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Release Blitz and Giveaway for Roads Series by Garrett Leigh

 

 

Roads Series – Available Exclusive to Amazon and on Kindle Unlimited
 
Book #1 – Slide – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #2 – Rare – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #3 – Circle – Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Cover Design: Black Jazz Design
 
Slide
 

Don’t look back. Don’t you ever look back…


Shy tattoo artist Ash has a troubled past. Years of neglect, drug abuse, and life on the streets have taken their toll, and sometimes it seems the deep, unspoken bond with his lover is the only balm for wounds he doesn’t quite understand.


Chicago paramedic Pete is warmth, love, and strength—things Ash never knew he could have, and never even knew he wanted until Pete showed him. But fate is a cruel, cruel mistress, and when nightmares collide with the present, their tentatively built world comes crashing down.


Traumatic events in Pete’s work life distance him from home, and he doesn’t realize until it’s too late that Ash has slipped away. Betrayal, secrets, and lies unfold, and when a devastating coincidence takes hold, Pete must fight with all he has to save the love of his life.

 
Rare
 
Paramedic Pete Adams lived through the year from hell watching his lover, Ash, fall apart, and the precarious balance between work and home is becoming more strained. His heart is always home, with Ash, but the dark side to his job is weighing him down.


Tattoo artist Ash Fagin is recovering from a nervous breakdown triggered by revelations about his traumatic childhood. His battle with mental illness is far from over, but with Pete by his side, he’s feeling good again, so good he doesn’t notice something missing until it walks right into his living room.


Ash believes he’s had enough coincidence in his life, but when a voice from the past comes looking for him, it takes the devastating injuries of the one he loves most to convince him to let a ghost become the family he never knew he wanted.

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer, currently working for Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing, and Fox Love Press.


Garrett’s debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.


When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.


Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock sitemoonstockphotography.com with renowned LGBTQA+ photographer Dan Burgess.


Website: http://www.garrettleigh.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh

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A Caryn Review: Hard Truths by Alex Whitehall

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

What is family?  For the queer community, that has always been a fraught question, because redefining family as something other than shared history and DNA is something that too many of them have been unwillingly (and sometimes tragically) forced to do.  Friends are the family we choose – but letting go of the family of your childhood and choosing a new one is never going to be easy.  And that’s what this book is all about.

Isaac is a gay man who never came out to his family, though he is openly gay otherwise and has a close network of friends.  He knows his parents are homophobic, but hasn’t even told his sister, although she has her suspicions about him.  His parents are annoying, belittling, and exceedingly negative, and his relationship with them is distant and mainly involves showing up at their house for holidays to get another helping of guilt about why he hasn’t settled down to give them grandchildren.  It was mentioned that his childhood wasn’t much better.  He’s fairly close to his sister though, so was surprised when she showed up for Christmas dinner with a multiply pierced, heavily tatted, non-white man who kept hinting about past incarcerations.  He was even more surprised when that man started hitting on him!  After a very uncomfortable dinner, his sister came clean to him, admitted she brought Logan just to piss off their parents, and also told Isaac she assumed he was gay – and would be interested in Logan.  Which he was, once he found out that all the hints about a criminal past were also fabricated.

Over the course of the the following year, Isaac finds that Logan is exactly who he’s been looking for all his life.  Logan feels the same way.  Their main point of contention is that Isaac is not out to his family, and Logan doesn’t want to be a dirty secret.  Keeping Logan secret from his family is also increasingly uncomfortable for Isaac, but the fallout from coming out is more painful than either of them suspected….

The plot was predictable, as outlined in the blurb, so nothing I’ve mentioned above is a spoiler.  I really do like stories like this, but where there isn’t a lot of plot you end up with a lot of filler.  Which can be good, but here it started being a little repetitive.  The sex scenes got boring, which they inevitably do when there are too many.  And if I read one more time about licking the taste of coffee, or dessert, or wine, or other food out of Logan’s mouth to get to the taste of “uniquely him” or whatever, I was going to scream.  Mention it once and it’s a little sexy, but over and over and I start thinking of dental hygiene, which is the opposite of sexy 😦

Cover art by L.C. Chase is really well laid out, with a great looking model that is perfect for Logan.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 248 pages
Published October 1st 2018 by Riptide Publishing (first published September 29th 2018)
Original Title Hard Truths
ISBN139781626498464
Edition Language English

Release Day Blitz for Pisces Hooks Taurus (Signs of Love #4) by Anyta Sunday (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Pisces Hooks Taurus by Anyta Sunday

Series: Signs of Love #4

Publisher: Anyta Sunday (self published)

Release Date (Print & Ebook): October 16, 2018

Length (Print & Ebook): 69000 words / 285 pages

Order now: https://www.anytasunday.com/#pisces-hooks-taurus

Book synopsis:

It’s a time for searching, and a time for finding, Pisces: keep casting your line and you will hook what you’re looking for.

Zane has it all planned out: land the perfect Meet Cute, fall in love, and live happily ever after.

Should be simple enough if he put his mind to it. A little creativity and some thinking outside of the box, and voila, he’d be married to the woman of his dreams.

It would be perfect.

And it would be before his visa ran out.

But why are his feelings running wild now that the pressure’s on? Why is his picture-perfect plan turning into a muddled mess of morphed metaphors he can’t make sense of anymore?

Just as well he’s met an English professor to help. And even though their first meet is anything but cute, this down-to-earth teacher may just be the realist Zane needs to ground him and give him a shot at love after all.

Don’t cast your line too wide, Pisces. Your perfect catch may already have bitten.

~ – ~ – ~

Pisces Hooks Taurus (Signs of Love #4) is an MM opposites-attract romantic comedy featuring an unapologetic romantic and a broken realist.

More wit, banter and bad puns – and even more heart-stopping slow burn!

Can be read as a standalone.

Tropes: friends-to-lovers, slow burn, will-they-or-won’t-they

Genre: New Adult, light-hearted contemporary gay romance

Exclusive Release Blitz teasers:

Excerpt :

“What is that?”

Beckett’s mum and guests had left, and Beckett had brought Zane and his worldly belongings into an exposed-beam attic with a chain-pull light.

Zane set his box and suitcase against a slanted wall. The small, empty space contained a tiny window, a chest of drawers, and a low futon. Dust spokes glittered under the swaying light.

Beckett pointed at Zane’s box, one brow arched.

Zane laid the bearskin rug on the floor and straightened out the kinks. Beckett gaped at the bear poised as if to eat his ankle.

“I thought it was romantic,” Zane said with a sigh. He rested back on his heels, soft fur against his knees. “Now I’m kinda stuck with the beast.”

“Tough cross to bear.”

Zane grinned. “What’s with the word-wittage, anyway?”

“Word-wittage. Nice alliteration. I like playing with words.” Beckett sidestepped the bear and gestured around the attic. “The wooden slats are creaky, the bathroom is back down the ladder. My sister is returning from Europe Thursday, staying here until she finds her own place. The couch is too small for you, so . . . .”

“I’m totally cool to bunk with you.”

Beckett swept a hand through his hair, gaze darting toward the bed, the window. “There’ll be no bunking.”

Understood. He had a few days to find another accommodation—or convince Beckett that bunking could be fun.

Zane pulled his drawing tablet and stylus from their cushioned compartment. “Did you want to head to Chiffon with your friends? Whatever Chiffon is.”

“It’s a bar where we professors drink pinot noir and pontificate on the pleasures of punning.”

“Um . . . .”

“It’s a pretentious penis party.”

Zane turned around, armed with the supplies he needed to finish—or fix—the comic. “Sounds like a . . . picnic?”

The corners of Beckett’s mouth pulled up. Zane dropped the electronics to the bed and crossed over to the professor.

He tapped a finger against the wine stain at the side of Beckett’s blazer lapel. “Proof that you snorted your wine while we texted? I’ll have it dry-cleaned, if you’d like?”

“It’s not your fault. I’ll sort it out. Use it as an excuse to buy another one.”

Zane caught a whiff of Beckett’s clean scent with a subtle spicing of aftershave. Blue eyes met his, curious and hesitant.

A fat, black spider bungee-jumped from the beam above them and dangled in Zane’s face. He dropped the fingers that had lingered on Beckett’s chest and scrambled to the wall.

“Does a big, strapping man like you need me to remove the tiny bastard?”

“That’s a big, strapping yes.”

A few precise movements later, Beckett trapped the hairy beast in his hands. Insane yet heroic.

The bed squealed as Beckett kneeled on it. Zane crawled next to him, opened the window, and beat a quick retreat as Beckett set the spider free. “The sheets are freshly changed, and you can help yourself to breakfast.”

Fresh bed and breakfast? Lovely. But Zane was more concerned about suicidal spiders. He studied the ceiling with a shudder. “Do you think there are more?”

The window clapped shut, sealing off the cool breeze. “Would you feel better sleeping with my cat?”

Zane’s attention pivoted to Beckett’s hands fitting the lock. Long-fingered, deft, sure. “I’d feel better sleeping with you.”

Beckett let out a strangled sound, swung off the bed, and zipped to the ladder. “Good night, Zane,” he said, and dropped out of sight.

Zane called after him. “Fine, I’ll take the cat.”

About Anyta Sunday:

HEART-STOPPING SLOW BURN

A bit about me: I’m a big, BIG fan of slow-burn romances. I love to read and write stories with characters who slowly fall in love.

Some of my favorite tropes to read and write are: Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Clueless Guys, Bisexual, Pansexual, Demisexual, Oblivious MCs, Everyone (Else) Can See It, Slow Burn, Love Has No Boundaries.

I write a variety of stories, Contemporary MM Romances with a good dollop of angst, Contemporary lighthearted MM Romances, and even a splash of fantasy.

My books have been translated into German, Italian, French, and Thai.

Connect with Anyta:

Author website: http://www.anytasunday.com/

Author newsletter signup: http://www.anytasunday.com/newsletter-free-e-book/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anytasundaybooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/anytasunday

Instagram: https://instagram.com/anytasunday

Giveaway: Win an e-book set of 3 Signs of Love books: Leo Loves Aries, Scorpio Hates Virgo, and Gemini Keeps Capricorn or a reader’s choice of back catalog e-book by Anyta Sunday

Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/88d45f0373/

Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

A Barb the Zany Old Lady: Out in the End Zone (Out in College #2) by Lane Hayes

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Out in the End Zone takes place concurrently with the first book in the series, Out in the Deep End and explains where Evan’s been going while Gage has been hanging out with Derek at their house.

Evan is Derek’s roommate, a happy-go-lucky football player with a good family background. He’s fulfilling his dreams of playing football at a small SoCal college because a deadly accident four years ago took his friend and his dreams of playing pro ball. Now, for some reason, he’s attracted to a guy at a party and not attracted to most of the girls there, including Nicole who is avidly pursuing him, and Amanda, Derek’s ex. The guy is Mitch Peterson, an out-and-proud cheer crew leader who lives with his gram and has a strong Internet following for his vlog. Evan surprises himself by agreeing to help Mitch on his senior project, which will measure the influence of social media on relationships.

They will be fake boyfriends, but the question viewers need to vote on after each video session is whether or not they are real or fake. Seems simple but doesn’t include the fact that Evan is really bi and falls head over heels for Mitch. All the ensuing chaos and happy romantic times are what makes the story interesting. It’s not all as readers may anticipate, and it is a fun book to read. I particularly enjoyed Mitch’s character and even now, a few days after finishing the story, I can clearly picture him and his wide, sunny smile. Evan was great as well, but as is typical in these stories, he dragged his feet a bit too long in coming out to his family and team and that’s hurt Mitch so I’m sure other Team-Mitch readers like me will feel as I felt and want to kick Evan in the pants—a few times!

Lane Hayes does really good character sketches for young adult/new adult stories. This was an amusing premise—a different play on the fake boyfriend trope. It’s nice that it wove in and out with the first book in the series as well. Not everything in life falls in line smoothly and this proves that point well. All in all, this is a sweet and enjoyable new adult story and I recommend it to those who like the fake boyfriend theme.

The cover by Reese Dante features a torso shot of Evan that is quite attractive.

Sales Links: Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Published October 7th 2018 by Lane Hayes
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesOut in College #2