Category: M/M Contemporary Fiction

A Lucy Review: Pisces Hooks Taurus (Signs of Love #4) by Anyta Sunday

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

The Signs of Love series is one of my favorites and one that I have actually read all in the series (rare for me).  While the first, Leo Loves Aries, is my absolute favorite and Theo and Jamie my favorite couple, I have enjoyed them all.  This one, while not my favorite, is a good addition.  Here we have Zane, a New Zealander in America on a visa to see his favorite brother.  Now that his brother and his wife have had a daughter, Zane wants to stay here and be the best uncle ever.  The problem is, he needs to get married but he will only get married for love.  He has less than a month to fall head over heels.  Talk about pressure.

When he is made homeless by a visiting sister of a roommate, he’s a little desperate but his sister-in-law, Anne,  comes through with a possible place for him to stay – with her best friend, Becky.  Zane is absolutely sure this is a great omen and he and his faux-bearskin rug (don’t ask!) Uber over there.  He meets Theo’s grandmother, Darla, who is Becky’s neighbor and tries to impress Becky with talk of Toy Story.  That whole scene was funny.  Particularly since Becky is actually Beckett and is a man.  A man who’s ex-husband, Luke, is Anne’s brother.  Uh oh.

Let’s start with Zane. Similar to Theo, he has dated only women to this point and has zero idea he might be attracted to men.  He is oblivious and clueless, especially about his “bromance” with Beckett.   Zane doesn’t have a great view of himself.  He illustrates comics for someone else. When Beckett asks which brother he is, the dentist or the astrophysicist, he tells him. “The high school dropout.”  The lesser of the brothers.  “I don’t recall anything about a dropout.  Which leaves the youngest brother.  Jacob’s favorite.”  He is so much better than he believes. 

Beckett is a professor who’s husband (Luke) left him two months after their wedding.  It caused a rift with his BFF, Anne, for a while but now he’s over it.  Except he isn’t and while he isn’t a hermit or shutting people out, he’s sad and he’s lonely. “Dark brows gently framed sea-blue eyes that seemed overwhelmingly sad, despite how composed the rest of him was.”  He is quiet and thoughtful.  He loves his job, although struggles when it turns out Luke has been offered a job not only at his university but in his department.

Then we come to Luke because really he is nearly as big a part as Zane and Becky.  He is, to be frank, an jerk.  He was a cheater throughout and he hurt Becky.  “ I was already settled and he wanted adventure.”   When Luke feels bad for a bride left at the altar, he considered what he did to Beckett better because “…we had two hundred people…”.  Ugh, he’s so awful.  He’s rude to Becket, snobby and patronizing. “Sounds like Luke’s problem was that he felt entitled to all the good times without having to work for them.  Romance doesn’t work like that.” 

I think the idea of the green card hanging over the story with only a month to make things happen added an element of pressure to their relationship, which Zane continually believes is a bromance without realizing he’s actually falling.  This seemed so similar to Theo and Jamie that I couldn’t help comparing the two couples and the two stories and this one fell a little short. I felt the slow connection between Becky and Zane.  I absolutely loved Zane’s brother, Jacob, who is a lovely being.  When Zane finds out by accident something Jacob had done for him, I wanted to hug him.  “I was trying to do the right thing.  I love you, Zane. I want you to have the opportunities the rest of us had.”  Jacob believes in Zane, more even than Zane himself does.

The story is adorable (except for Luke, who I really hated) and for slow burn fans, this is it.  More than that, it is two men becoming friends and more while healing themselves. 

Cover art by Natasha Snow shows Zane with his headphones, looking brooding, which wasn’t the vibe you get from Zane at all but the background Zodiac was great.

Sales Links:  Amazon links to come

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 285 pages
Expected publication: October 16th 2018
Original Title Pisces Hooks Taurus
Edition Language English
Series Signs of Love #4

Release Blitz for Building Forever by Kelly Jensen (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Building Forever by Kelly Jensen

Publisher: Riptide Publishing

Release Date (Print & Ebook): October 15th, 2018

Subgenre: Contemporary Romance

Order here:

Riptide Publishing: https://riptidepublishing.com/collections/series-this-time-forever/products/building-forever-1

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/893958

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/building-forever/id1433933530?mt=11

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/building-forever-1

Synopsis:

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.

Teaser Excerpt :

“I wanted to thank you for the flower. I’m, ah, assuming it was you.”

Charlie’s smile widened a fraction. “You need some color in your house. And something bent.” His eyes widened briefly. “Curved, or not straight. Crap. This is why I shouldn’t talk. I’m really bad at this talking thing.”

One corner of Simon’s mouth curled upward. “Are you trying to tell me I’m not gay enough?”

Charlie moved to cover his face with his hands, nearly braining himself with the hammer. Bracing his forearm across his forehead instead, he breathed into a pause, quietly, steadily. Then he dropped his arm, and leveled a direct look at Simon. “I’m sorry I barged into your space, and messed it up with my clumsy come-on. I didn’t stop to ask if you were into guys, or take into account the fact you might have lost someone. Or might not even, you know, want to . . . whatever with me. I just got it into my head that I needed to know what it would be like to kiss you, to kiss any guy—not that you were the most handy one. It’s your eyes. They’re so damn blue, and I haven’t thought about anyone on a daily basis in so long, and I had to know.”

His face was red, and the quiet breathing had accelerated into a soft gasping, as though Charlie had just finished a run. Simon stepped in, closing the distance between them, and paused for long enough for Charlie to step back, dodge aside, or simply raise a hand. Say no. He stiffened a little, eyes widening, but otherwise remained still.

“Any guy?” Simon arched an eyebrow.

“You in particular.”

“Why the ice cream?”

Charlie’s eyelids fluttered, briefly. “Because there’s no way anyone can eat ice cream and feel sad.”

Oh God. Simon’s next breath shook slightly. “The puzzle?”

“Because you needed time to think, and something to do with your hands.”

“What are you trying to tell me?”

They were standing so close together that the straightening of Charlie’s shoulders was a twitch at the periphery of Simon’s vision. The thunk at their feet would be the hammer. Then Charlie was leaning in, a hand rising to curl behind Simon’s neck. He paused there, for the space of a single breath, before pressing his lips to Simon’s in a gentle kiss.

A whisper passed between them, a susurrus of words. Simon didn’t bother figuring them out; he tucked his free hand behind Charlie’s shoulder and pulled him closer, angled his head slightly, and deepened the sweet, tentative kiss.

Charlie’s lips were the sort a man might dream about. Full and plump and utterly distracting. Simon kissed both before tending the top and bottom in turn, exploring the mouth he’d fantasized about. The tip of Charlie’s tongue sent a tingling burn across his skin. He shivered. Goose bumps prickled his nape, his shoulders, his arms. The kiss deepened again, becoming less tentative, less question, more statement.

Simon stroked his hand down Charlie’s arm. The sharp, clean scent of Charlie’s sweat filled his senses. The taste of Charlie thrilled his tongue. Prickling skin gave way to keen-edged arousal. A southward rush of blood.

Head light, thoughts swimming, Simon pulled away. Just his lips. Charlie chased him, caught him in another kiss, and Simon got lost somewhere on the way to reason, answering the surer flick of Charlie’s tongue, the sweetly satisfied exhalation of breath.

Charlie bumped into him, nudging him backward. Simon broke out of the kiss again, stepping away to lessen the chance of losing himself a second time. Third time. The sun could have set and the stars come out. A year might have passed by. As he stood there, panting, gaze locked with one of deep and velvety brown, only the weight of the small pot in one hand served as a reminder of why he’d come next door.

Surely it hadn’t been for a kiss.

He’d have traveled much farther for this kiss.

 

Quotes about the book:

“Jensen’s talent for world-building and memorable, unique secondary characters are on full display here in this fabulous series starter. Deeply felt emotions and a lovely romance have me eager for more in this world!”

  • Annabeth Albert, author of Out of Uniform series

“Moving and well written, Building Forever will leave you with a mansion-sized smile.”

  • Sarina Bowen, USA Today bestselling author of Goodbye Paradise.

About the Author:

Kelly Jensen

If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories of 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, co-written 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: Twitter | Facebook | Newsletter | Instagram | Website

Enter the giveaway: Win one signed paperback copy of Block and Strike by Kelly Jensen.

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Release Blitz and Giveaway for His To Save (Candy Cane Club #2) by Ari McKay

 

Buy Links:

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2yIf9xc

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2yIf9xc

 
Length: 60,000 words approx.
 
Cover Design: Dianne @ Lyrical Lines



Candy Cane Club Series


Book #1 – His To Serve – Amazon US | Amazon UK


Blurb


He’s the perfect sub — gorgeous, responsive, and yet aloof, and every Dom at the Candy Cane fantasizes about claiming the sub who calls himself Saiph.


Nick Tierney sees through the facade of utter submission Saiph projects, and his instincts tell him Saiph has some complicated issues. He would love to help Saiph, but his desire seems hopeless in the face of Saiph’s adamant refusal to do a scene with any of the gay male Doms. Then Saiph offers himself up at the Candy Cane’s charity auction, and Nick seizes the opportunity to claim Saiph for himself, if only for a single night.


The chemistry between them is electrifying in its intensity, but Nick also comes away convinced Saiph needs help. Can he convince Saiph to take a chance and let down his guard enough for Nick to discover a way to help him heal? Or will Nick’s rapidly deepening feelings drive Saiph away for good?

Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who have been writing together for over a decade. Their collaborations encompass a wide variety of romance genres, including contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and action/adventure. Their work includes the Blood Bathory series of paranormal novels, the Herc’s Mercs series, as well as two historical Westerns: Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. When not writing, they can often be found scheming over costume designs or binge watching TV shows together.


Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.


McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.


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New Release Tour for Savor Me (Kitchen Gods #3) by Beth Bolden (excerpt and giveaway)

Savor Me Tour Banner 

SAVOR ME

KITCHEN GODS, BOOK 3

BETH BOLDEN

M/M ROMANCE

RELEASE DATE: 10.02.18

Savor Me Cover 

COVER DESIGN: AngstyG 

BLURB

When Chef Xander Bridges leaves the warmth and safety of his car on a cold, stormy night and approaches a stranger, the last thing he expects to find is a future. He’s wanted to leave his job for a while, but with no good opportunities on the horizon, he’s been stuck in a long, painful rut. But when he befriends the stranger viciously tearing up his own vineyard, Xander discovers something inexplicable. Maybe he’s not the bitter, sarcastic man that everyone, including himself, has endured for years.

Maybe, with someone like Damon in his life, he could be something more. Something better.

Damon Hess doesn’t just want more, he demands it. With his alcoholic past, there are no gray areas for him. Only black and white. In love or not. Sober or drunk. But the chance meeting with Xander opens Damon’s eyes, and gives him a vision full of something he hasn’t experienced in years: hope.

Hope that he can expect companionship and affection, hope that he doesn’t have to grapple with his family’s questionable Napa legacy any longer, and most importantly, hope that there’s a future worth believing in. But the longer he and Xander spend cultivating that future, the more Damon realizes that the key is so much simpler than he ever imagined–it’s Xander.

Savor Me is an 80,000 word contemporary m/m romance starring an irascible man with a soft, gooey marshmallow center and another who knows he likes men, but has never been with one before. It is third in the Kitchen Gods series, but can be read as a standalone.   

Universal link:  mybook.to/kgsavorme

best of series

good luck

perfectly imperfectly 

EXCERPT

Hands down, it was one of the best meals Damon had ever eaten. Even though he’d watched Xander prep it with his own two hands, it was a marvel that he’d done it with only those hands. It was a far better meal than any he’d ever had at Terroir, and that was prepared by an entire staff and countless pieces of expensive equipment.

Xander had come to his house with a bag of groceries and a knife, borrowed a pan and a pizza cutter, and had made an astoundingly delicious meal. It was talent and drive, all wrapped up in one package.

A cute package.

Damon had been telling himself not to notice—or if he was going to notice, then he should just ignore the attraction. But sitting across from Xander, staring at him in the candlelight, it was much harder than he’d imagined. Especially when he looked relaxed and much more at peace than he had that night a year ago.

At first he’d been too worked up himself to notice the anxiousness that Xander wore like a cloak. Or a very difficult-to-scale wall complete with archers equipped with fiery arrows and soldiers pouring boiling oil.

But tonight his guard had fallen a little, and despite everything, Damon wanted desperately to believe it was more than just quitting a job he’d really hated.

Damon wanted to believe the smile on Xander’s face had something to do with him.

“Thank you,” Damon said. “If that was an audition, you nailed it.”

“I know.” He was a little smug, and it was more than a little adorable. The way his nose scrunched up, the eye crinkles, the expressive look in his dark brown eyes.

Damon had imagined he might be in danger, hanging around Xander all the time, especially considering the impression he’d made on him in such a short time, but this was Trouble with a capital t.

“You’d better watch yourself. Not sure your head’s gonna fit back through the back door,” Damon teased.

“You wanted a chef,” Xander said, spreading his arms. “You got one.”

“They’re sort of thick on the ground in Napa,” Damon softly insisted, “but it turns out I’m particular.”

“Imagine that, a Hess particular.” The sarcasm in Xander’s voice cut through the dreamy romantic quality of the candlelight and let in a little of the real world. Specifically his family.

He couldn’t exactly tell Xander he didn’t ever want to talk about his family. After all, this land was their legacy, and his trust fund was making the restaurant a reality. Truth was, he really didn’t want to talk about them, and it felt like Xander brought them up as some sort of defense mechanism. Damon still didn’t understand why, and this was definitely not the first time it had happened.

“What’s your deal with the Hesses?” Damon asked. Might as well be honest, at least before Xander walked back in the house and signed the contract that would tie them together for the near future. Of course, that also meant the question had barely made it out of his mouth.

Something ugly churned deep in his stomach, exactly the opposite reaction he should have had after that incredible meal.

What if he changes his mind?

“Nothing,” Xander said, but his chin was jutting out again, and his fingers were drumming anxiously against the wood tabletop. It sure didn’t look like nothing.

There was a definite voice in his head, begging him to leave it, to make sure he didn’t drive Xander away with his insistent questioning. After all, Xander wasn’t signing with Hess Vineyards, he was signing with Damon, who stayed as far away from his family as possible.

But Damon’s last name was still Hess, and it wasn’t going to change.

“Really?” Damon asked.

Xander sighed. “I said it was nothing, and it is. It’s stupid.”

“I don’t want it to interfere,” Damon offered. “Not with what we’re about to build.”

“It won’t. I promise. I know you’re not your family. And to be honest, that’s what it is. I’ve had a few run-ins with Hess employees. But you’re not like them.”

The thing Damon had discovered before coming back to Napa, and definitely after returning to the Valley, was that he could run as far and as hard as he could, but his family was still his family. Time and distance couldn’t alter his blood, no matter how much he wished otherwise.

Beth Bolden Logo 2

Beth Bolden lives in Portland, Oregon with her supportive husband. She wholly believes in Keeping Portland Weird, but wishes she didn’t have to make the yearly pilgrimage up to Seattle to watch her Boston Red Sox play baseball. She’s a fan of fandoms, and spends too much of her free time on tumblr.

Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published eight novels and two novellas, with Catch Me, the next novel in the Kitchen Gods series, releasing in May 2018.

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Neve Wilder on Cracker Jacks and her new release Centre Of Gravity (Nook Island #1) by Neve Wilder (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Neve Wilder here  today talking about her latest novel Center of Gravity and  Cracker Jacks! Welcome, Neve!
♡

Thank you so much for having me today! So Cracker Jack—yes, the caramel popcorn stuff with the prize—is a thing in the beginning of this book, and I’m going to talk about how it ended up becoming this oddly appropriate symbol for their unfolding relationship in Center of Gravity.To be honest, the whole Cracker Jack idea just popped out when I was writing. I saw Rob, my grumpy accountant, standing at the window, and when I thought about what he was seeing outside, I saw Alex with a box of Cracker Jack in his hand, tossing bits in the air and catching them in his mouth. It was weirdly specific, so I ran with it, liking how the sight threw Rob off and cast him back into his own memories of baseball games and bleachers.

There’s a part in the book where they argue/flirt over the merits or lack thereof of Cracker Jack, with Rob dismissing the treat altogether as too sweet and the prize disappointing, and Alex disagreeing, saying that it’s all about the anticipation and that the prize doesn’t matter either way. It’s a really telling moment of their character—Rob’s grumbly pessimism to Alex’s persistent optimism.

Rob starts to pick up boxes of Cracker Jack to give to Alex, and this thoughtful gesture on his part signals that he’s more into Alex than he’ll admit. As their relationship progresses, Rob begins to realize that Alex might be right: it’s all about the journey. Though the prize in this case—their hard-won happily ever after—ain’t too shabby, either!

 
Excerpt from Center of Gravity. In this bit, Rob and Alex discuss the merits—or lack thereof—of Cracker Jack while Rob tries to rein in his attraction to Alex.
*****

Alex looked up at me again. I thought he might say more about my dad, but instead he tossed a Cracker Jack in my direction, calling out “Catch!”

I had to veer hard to the right to catch it, but I did. The caramel melted on contact and stuck to my teeth. He gave me one of those gleaming, sun-bright smiles. “By the skin of your teeth.”

I leaned over, snatching the box and shaking a few in my hand so I could return the favor. He caught it easily.

“The best part of this stuff was always the prize. They’re not really that good.”

“You’re wrong.” Alex tossed another kernel up in the air for me to catch. I threw up my hand and caught it midair. “The prize is always disappointing. But it’s all about the anticipation, that maybe someday the prize will be really good. Cracker Jack itself is decent.”

“How is that any different than what I just said?”

Alex shrugged. “It just is.” Then, fishing through the box, he pulled out the wrapped prize and tossed it in my direction. “Do the honors.”

I peeled the paper back to reveal a smiley face with a disembodied hand giving a giant thumbs up.

Alex laughed. “See, terrible. But admit that for a second you thought maybe it’d be something good.”

“Not even for a millisecond.” I smirked.

“So jaded.”

I slid the sticker from the backing and held it up on my finger. “It’s all yours, color whiz.” I leaned forward on my knees to stick it in the center of his T-shirt, fist bracing my weight to one side of Alex’s leg as I pushed the sticker into cotton. His chin angled down as he examined my handiwork, and then his eyes met mine, his grin fading. He licked his lips and I had to force a casual smile. Don’t mind me as I try to inhale you.

“Rob?”

First I was just relieved he didn’t call me Mr. Macomb, then came a strange mashup of anxiety and awareness that I was still hovering in his space. It was too damn tempting to stay in that pocket of air scented with his soap, his hair, his deodorant, the Cracker Jack-tinged sweetness of his breath.

“Yeah?” I forced myself back onto my own patch of carpet that smelled of dogs and age.

“Thanks for giving me this job. Seriously.”

I cut a dismissive wave at the liquid green-gold sincerity of his eyes. “Break my heart, why don’t ya.”

His sober expression gave way to another grin, this one mischievous. He was good at layering his expressions with nuance and, as with the paint chips, I was becoming more adept at discerning the undertones.

His brows bounced. “Give me a chance to.”

I tossed the empty box of Cracker Jack at him and stood. I needed him out of the house before I decided I needed him to stay.

“Go home,” I said, not unkindly.

Winslow grunted and huffed air, stretching out long against Alex’s leg and nuzzling his head against Alex’s thigh.

“And take this damn traitor dog with you.”

“Seriously?” he said, his hand sweeping over Winslow’s belly before he stood.

“No. He hasn’t made me miserable enough. Yet.”

 

Buy Links:Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2DTNP55

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2Rln8sB

Length: 98,000 words approx.
Cover Design:Jay Aheer
Blurb

When life comes apart at the seams, love is the only thread that can repair it.


Accountant Rob Macomb has a stable job that he’s good at and… that’s about it. A year of nothing but heartache leaves him seeking refuge from loneliness and grief behind spreadsheets, punishing daily runs, and the occasional anonymous tryst. He wants only to bury the past and focus on his career, but he has one last task to complete: pack up his parent’s quaint beachside house and put it on the market.Alex Andrews is a budding artist with a penchant for Converse, Cracker Jack, and piercings. Family turmoil sidelines his dreams of finishing art school and building a career in three-dimensional design, and now he’s doing whatever he can to keep everyone afloat.When Alex shows up as a part of the moving crew hired to help Rob clean out the house, what should be a simple move becomes far more complex. Because it’s not the first time they’ve met, and their last encounter was memorable for all the wrong reasons.The attraction between them is undeniable and intense, but Rob’s hell-bent on pushing everyone away, and Alex is on the verge of spinning out of control. Can a grumpy accountant and a bootstrapping artist find their center of gravity together, or are they on a collision course to heartbreak?*An emotionally-charged, slow burn m/m romance featuring an age gap, hurt/comfort themes, and a hard-won happily ever after. This is the standalone first in the Nook Island, Georgia series.*

 

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 5 star review here.

Neve Wilder lives in the dirty South, where the summers are hot and the winters are…sometimes cold. She is a mom to three rambunctious weebeasts who have joined forces in a mission to carpet the family home with toys and small items that really suck to step on at six in the morning.


She reads promiscuously, across multiple genres, but her favorite stories always contain an element of romance. Incidentally, this is also what she likes to write. Slow-burners with delicious tension? Yes. Whiplash-inducing page-turners, also yes. Down and dirty scorchers? Yes. And every flavor in between.


She believes David Bowie was the sexiest musician to ever live, and she’s always game to nerd out on anything from music to writing.


And finally, she believes that love conquers all. Except the heat index in July. Nothing can conquer that bastard.

Newsletter: You can keep up with Neve’s future projects by joining her newsletter, where you can instantly download the free Watch Me, Extracurricular Activities #1 short story. The series continues exclusively for newsletter subscribers. Subscribe here: readerlinks.com/l/320361

Author Page: readerlinks.com/l/320362
Facebook Readers’ Group: readerlinks.com/l/320364
Website: https://www.nevewilder.com
Goodreads: readerlinks.com/l/320363
Amazon Author Page: readerlinks.com/l/320389

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A MelanieM Review: Center Of Gravity (Nook Island #1) by Neve Wilder

Rating: 5 Stars out of 5

When life comes apart at the seams, love is the only thread that can mend it…

Accountant Rob Macomb has a stable job that he’s good at and… that’s about it. A year of nothing but heartache leaves him seeking refuge from loneliness and grief behind spreadsheets, punishing daily runs, and the occasional anonymous tryst. He wants only to bury the past and focus on his career, but he has one last task to complete: pack up his parent’s quaint beachside house and put it on the marketCenter Of Gravity (Nook Island #1) by Neve Wilder

Alex Andrews is a budding artist with a penchant for Converse, Cracker Jack, and piercings. Family turmoil sidelines his dreams of finishing art school and building a career in three-dimensional design, and now he’s doing whatever he can to keep everyone afloat.

When Alex shows up as a part of the moving crew hired to help Rob clean out the house, what should be a simple move becomes far more complex. Because it’s not the first time they’ve met, and their last encounter was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

The attraction between them is undeniable and intense, but Rob’s hell-bent on pushing everyone away, and Alex is on the verge of spinning out of control. Can a grumpy accountant and a bootstrapping artist find their center of gravity together, or are they on a collision course to heartbreak?

Center Of Gravity (Nook Island #1) by Neve Wilder is just what I hope for and rarely find when reading a new author and new contemporary romance.  It’s that marvelous, heartwarming story full of just about every  element that grabs at you and compels you to read it!  That once started makes you want to keep going, find out what happens to these men, and dog, and even a house,  and a family on a place called Nook Island.

You get hooked in ever so slowly too.  It’s bit by bit because, trust me, this is a sloooow burn romance.  Not slow as in the slow to jump into bed slow. Nope not that.  But slow to admit the connections that are forming, or have formed between the mixed use artist  and the CPA.  Each has such a heavy emotional set of baggage that is revealed to the other haltingly in steps, some the reader already is aware of as the story is told in alternating points of view.  Such confused and endearing men, totally different and yet, so alike in other fundamental ways.  Of course, it’s a lack of communication and a truly awful beginning that builds a barrier that both need to build a bridge over.  A Jack Russell terror (not a misspelling) paves the way as does emptying and working on Rob’s parents house.

Of course, there’s so much more there.  I could actually write pages about this book.  Wilder’s amazing creation and  use of Alex’s family and father, Rob’s sister Summer, the memories of Rob’s own parents, and, yes, the developing detail that I suspect will become the next story in the series Alex’s  friend in the moving business.

The relationships here are rich, layered, and believable.  People hurt, grow in depth, cry tears that will flow over into your own heart, and when it happen, their happiness becomes yours as well.

Yes, there was one part where the author almost lost me. Whew! Didn’t happen.  Nice save.

I adored this story.  I will be waiting impatiently for the next in the series.  And yes I’m so happy to have found a new author to read.  Win, win, and win.

Totally recommended this one.

 

Cover art: Jay Aheer.  Nice beach scene.  But I wish for a little more elements from the novel.  Just a little too generic.

Sales Links:

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2DTNP55

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2Rln8sB

Book Details:

ebook
Published October 4th 2018 (first published October 2nd 2018)

A MelanieM Review: Love’s Trials (Revolutionary Heart #2) by Janice Jarrell

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

 

Colin and Joshua faced the most harrowing ordeal of their lives with strength and courage. Believing they’d survived their trial, they looked forward to a future filled with happiness only to discover that the worst was yet to come. Sometimes surviving is the toughest trial of all.

After half a lifetime spent in short-term liaisons that allowed no intimacy, charismatic Irish police officer, Colin Campbell, found the love of his life. Dark-eyed, steady Joshua Abrams burned through Colin’s emotional barriers and taught him to look at life through new eyes, eyes that made room for the love and closeness he had always denied himself. Deeply in love and completely happy, their life together remains idyllic and their fiery passion for each other seems limitless.

They survive the Charlottesville ‘Unite the Right’ riots, though not without scars. But later that month Colin’s position with the campus police force places him in charge of an informant program designed to crack a dangerous drug ring. Fully aware of the risks, he swears to Joshua that he will oversee the program without becoming directly involved. But Colin’s promise shatters when he becomes the only thing standing between a young Nigerian exchange student and a deadly drug lord.

Love’s Trials (Revolutionary Heart #2) by Janice Jarrell is another one of those stories whose rating I dithered over.  Well written with a compelling story I need to keep asking myself why the disconnect with it?  Because for me there was one.

It wasn’t totally with the  location and  storyline.  That “ripped right from the headlines” plot about the “Unite the Right” march in Charlottesville is close enough to me that it was more of a local news story here and I have very close ties to UVA.  No, that felt about right, along with all it’s accompanying issues.  Even Colin’s handling and emotions towards a drug enforcement operation on campus, it’s use of students, and the administration’s official view felt realistic.  Although the clumsy  foreshadowing only needed organ music to make it feel completely obvious what was about to happen.

Jarrell does provide all her characters with the use of therapy they need whether it’s physical or emotional, whether its a support system they use immediately or take some time to realize its importance in their recovery (from whatever it is, and whoever they are…its more than one character here).  I did appreciate that element in her storyline.  That she doesn’t traumatize her characters and them have them miraculously jump back to their “old” selves.    But….here’s the  thing….there is a lot repetition here.  Not in what is needed.  But in the actual verbiage.  The characters say much of the same things to each other and themselves over and over again.  Got old.

And that brings me to my final  realization.  Why the disconnect.  It’s because I wasn’t “there” emotionally with these characters.  Had I been in the moment with them all the way maybe their interactions with each other not  felt repetitious  (no, they still would), but at least I would have sympathized with them.  Instead I felt removed from the  action and their relationship.  More of a “huh, that’s too bad” sort of thing than a sniffling heart wrenching  that a great connection brings.  That belonged to a couple from a book I just put down.  Their story?  Totally captivated me from beginning to end while this one felt more like a exercise in how a romance survives a hardship 101.  Someone is talking to you, telling you things the whole time…it never stops.   It feels like an endless voiceover in some sections. “And now he learned his lesson.  He learned (fill in words we’ve heard many times) and will never do it again.”.  I don’t know.  It never left the reader time to become part of the action because we were always being talked to.  That’s my take anyway.

The story ends on a very happy note and the autor lets the readers and her fans know that a third story is in the works that carries Colin and Joshua, along with their friends  Nate and David, into a new novel soon.       Yes, Nate and David are a huge part of this story as well in  case you needed to know.

Love’s Trials (Revolutionary Heart #2) by Janice Jarrell is a contemporary romance full of current new topics and well handled health issues that I appreciated.  I thought it was well written although I had trouble engaging with the characters lives.  I think most readers will enjoy this. It’s part of a series and for the full background on all the   couples and what they have gone through to get to this stage in their lives and relationships, it needs to be read in the order the stories were written.

Cover art: Janice Jarrell.  As the   cover artist is the author, yes that’s an accurate representation of the characters themselves.

Sales Links:

Amazon US 

Amazon UK

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 286 pages
Published September 12th 2018 by Amazon
ASINB07H9H8STS
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesRevolutionary Heart #2

An Alisa Review: Rez Dogs and Scooter Trash by Deirdre O’Dare

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

 

Mike Dufrane fled a traumatic youth, hard years haunted by an abusive biker father, poverty and degradation, by escaping into the military. There he found only more savage violence. Then a chance encounter with an animal rescue group showed him another way. On an Indian reservation in the southwest, he finds a place to make a difference. Rez Dogs Rescue Shelter will be his route to build a positive life. Then a handsome Native American rides up on a Harley and throws Mike’s plans for a loop.

 

Adam was not there when his kid brother needed guidance and a firm hand. Back from two tours with Special Forces, he starts a youth center on the Rez to try to atone for his error but he cannot give up his Harley or his image as one bad ass biker. When an outsider starts a shelter for abused and neglected dogs, Adam initially finds it ludicrous but then recognizes a purpose similar to his own. However, the stranger seems to fear or hate bikers and is reluctant to begin a friendship. When crime and danger threaten both their projects, they have to join forces to prevail and suppressed attraction bursts into flame.

 

This was an interesting story of two people from different backgrounds coming together as their different missions come together.  Adam is trying to make up for being gone when his brother dies while Adam is just trying to do what is right with the mission he feels is best.

 

There is no real connection with the characters but it was a nice quick read.  We see them work on their missions and admire each other from afar until danger comes.  I liked that these two had such different backgrounds but such similarities in them too, I think it helped to bring them together more.

 

The cover art by Written Ink Designs is cute and has the “awe” factor.

 

Sales Links: JMS Books | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 57 pages

Published: September 8, 2018 by JMS Books

ISBN: 9781634867092

Edition Language: English