Category: M/M Contemporary Fiction

A VVivacious Review: Just A Week (Just A #1) by Jena Wade

Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Seth finds himself in Milton for a week, a town he was happy to see in his rear view mirror when he got out of it at the end of high school. He doesn’t want to be here but as he keeps reminding himself it’s only for a week. A week that suddenly seems too short when he finds himself intrigued by an orange haired skater, but can Seth find time in his carefully planned life to let love run its course…?

This is a sweet story featuring Seth Brown, a guy who has his entire life planned out and Maddox, a guy living life, flying by the seat of his pants. Seth and Maddox are polar opposites when it comes to how they live their lives and that makes their attraction that much more compelling.

This is a slow paced romance, it’s not exactly slow but everything happens in its own time, I guess the right word to describe the pace of the book would be unhurried which is quite ironic considering the title.

Seth and Maddox realise the connection that they share is unique but they can’t decide if a week of knowing someone is something you can base a relationship of off. 

I liked the story, it’s kind of soft and fluffy with no peaks and troughs, sitting in a comfortable middle. Though this book didn’t get a reaction out of me one way or another by the end of the book I found myself rooting for Maddox and Seth.

The main plot of the story is Seth coming to the realisation that life just happens and no matter how much you plan, life has a way of blindsiding you, and that when love comes knocking you really need to embrace it but I also really liked the sub plot of the story which is Maddox making Seth realise that he has been colouring everyone in Milton with the same brush and while some people have hurt him and maybe would continue to do so, there are more people in his home town who would openly embrace him.

Cover Art by Silver Heart Design. I liked the cover especially the silhouette of the skater at the bottom.

Sales Links:  Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 78 pages
Published May 12th 2018 (first published July 5th 2016)
Original TitleJust A Week
ASINB07D239YPZ
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesJust A #1

An Alisa Review: Stowaway Heart by Suede Delray

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

Joel Ricki has decided he’s had enough of being in foster homes. A few weeks before his eighteenth birthday, he plans to grab a bus to anywhere. Before he does, he has only one desire, to see The rock group Unhinged in concert. He doesn’t have a ticket but he’s not going to let that stop him. In fact nothing will stop him from seeing the band that saved him.

Stone Lewis is the frontman for Unhinged. He is gorgeous, and talented. It appears he has everything. Yet he can’t sleep at night and he drinks too much. Consumed by guilt and grief, the nightmares remind him of the brother he lost in a horrific car accident two years ago. Then Joel Ricki shows up on their tour bus and everything changes

This was an alright story but there were just a few things that couldn’t redeem it for me.  Joel successfully gets into the concert but hides out on the wrong bus.  Stone takes Joel under his wing and helps him build a life now that he is free to make those decisions.

Joel has had to do a lot of things to survive the times he has been on the street and wants to escape the endless circle he has been in and we see him get the chance to do this with the help of all the members of Unhinged.  He is very emotionally open and innocent and wears his feelings on his sleeve.  Stone feels responsible for Joel but not just in the older brother sort of way.  Stone hides his feelings behind booze and what his record label wants him to do.  I can’t forgive him for using and hurting Joel the way he did throughout the book though, I just feel that he dug the knife a little too deep before he finally opened his eyes.

The cover art by Martine Jardin is okay gives a nice visual of Stone.

Sales Links: Extasy Books | Amazon | B&N

Book Details:

ebook, 195 pages

Published: April 27, 2018 by Extasy Books

Edition Language: English

Review Tour – Overtime (Cayuga Cougars #4) by V.L. Locey

 

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

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2t5thxR

 
Length: 68,000 words approx.
 

Cover Design: Reverie Formatting and Design

Cayuga Cougars Series


Book #1 – Snap Shot: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #2 – Open Net: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #3 – Coach’s Challenge: Amazon US | Amazon UKBlurbSander March is one season away from the pros, or so everyone tells him.If only Sander had as much faith in his ability as the Cougar coaching staff does. Outwardly, he’s cocksure, borderline bitter, and slightly sarcastic. All that strut and sass hides a wounded soul though. Working to hide a brutal past filled with humiliation, abuse, and a family member who still haunts him, Sander has never found the kind of comfort and understanding he so desperately needs. Until he meets Mateo Castillo, a minor league baseball player for the nearby Elmira Egrets. Mateo and Sander click instantly, and a budding friendship develops between the two athletes.

Mateo then introduces Sander to his boyfriend, Noah Coombs, an aspiring manga comic creator. The three men find themselves bonding strongly, and that slowly gives way to sexual attraction. Eventually, Mateo and Noah invite Sander into their relationship. The path to happiness isn’t going to be easy for Sander as he faces criticism from his friends, teammates, and the press for his choices. The brash young star can handle all that, it’s when his abuser shows up in Cayuga that Sander fears not only for his own safety, but for the lives of the two men he has grown to love. Will Sander’s past tear him away from Mateo and Noah, or will he be able to leave the darkness behind?

Warning – This story has disturbing subject matter.

 



June 13 – BooksLaidBareBoys, Xtreme Delusions, June 14 – The Novel Approach, June 15 – We Three Queens, Bookaholic & Kindle, Nerdy Dirty & Flirty, Love My Reads, June 16 – MM Good Book Reviews, June 18 – Mainely Stories, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, June 19 – Bayou Book Junkie, June 20 – Jim’s Reading Room, Making It Happen, MM Good Book Reviews, Wicked Reads, June 21 – Joyfully Jay, June 22 – Mirrigold, Bayou Book Junkie, A Book Lovers Dream Blog, OMG Reads, June 23 – Gay Book Reviews

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, Dr. Who, Torchwood, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, two Jersey steers and a flock of assorted domestic fowl.


When not writing lusty tales, she can be found enjoying her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

 

A Stella Review: My Anti-Marriage (My Anti Series #3) by DJ Jamison

RATING 4,5 out of 5 stars

Can one drunken night in Vegas and a pair of wedding rings lead to a happily ever after?

Love has never been a good bet for Chris, so going on a Vegas wedding trip for his friends is bittersweet. Especially when Ant, the last man to break his trust, is suddenly along for the ride. Which explains why Chris wakes up in his hotel room with the mother of all hangovers. Not so much why Ant is in his bed … or worse, wearing a matching wedding band.

Ant invited himself on a Vegas trip, gambling on a second chance with the man who got away. He never dreamt he’d be the one with a wedding ring on his finger, but if their predicament gets Chris talking to him again, he’ll make the most of it.

Between keeping their secret from friends and trying to figure out what really happened that first crazy night in Vegas, passions ignite. If they can hold on to their fresh start, maybe the Vegas motto doesn’t have to hold true: What happens in Vegas doesn’t have to stay there.

I’m so happy I got the opportunity to review the My Anti Series by DJ Jamison, I enjoyed the previous books but My Anti-Marriage is my favorite and the reason simply stands in the main characters. I fell in love with Chris and Ant from the beginning. They were likable, fierce and stubborn in different ways, loyal and then adorable.  They had a strong chemistry going on between them, even when Chris was trying really hard to resist his feelings for the man he thought was a cheater.

The story is not only about enemies who turn into lovers, it’s about second chances too and I love both tropes. And not only I got to read this new couple’s HEA, but I was able to meet again the other guys that fell in love in the other books. My Anti-Marriage was a great addition, I found it very well done and although the author gave me the chance to know that the previous main couples are still in love and building their futures as friends and lovers, not once their moments take space from Chris and Ant’s romance, on the contrary they were the perfect frame for another love to begin.

I feel to recommend the My Anti Series to all of you, it’s quick, well written and so engaging you won’t have enough till the end of the last book.

I like the cover art by Lucas Soltow.

SALE LINKS  AMAZON

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 1 edition, 158 pages

Published June 12th 2018 by DJ Jamison

ASIN B07DPLN6LL

Edition Language English

Series My Anti Series #3

A MelanieM Review: ​Silent Hearts by Cameron D. James.

Rating: 1.75 stars out of 5

 

In an effort to forget the past, Jake has anonymous hookups during his midnight shift at a hostel in the tiny Scottish village of Kyleakin. When Grant, a stud from Edinburgh, comes to stay for a week, Jake can’t get the sexy Scot out of his mind. It doesn’t take long for Grant to realize Jake is hiding, running from something, and when he confronts Jake about it, their tentative friendship explodes and living at the hostel becomes tense. Not long after, Jake’s tenuous relationship with his parents crumbles, leaving him with no family and no home.

Through the worst of times, no matter how poorly Jake treats him, Grant always shows up to comfort him. Old anxieties stir with every shared hug, every fleeting kiss, every sensual encounter, and no matter how hard Jake tries to escape from his hurts, the past–and the truth–always seems to find him.

It’s rare I come across books I just want to put down in the first few chapters.  Normally I find something that redeems them, characters, a unique twist in the plot…something.  But in Silent Hearts by Cameron D. James it was just one cringe worthy moment after another or just plain non interest in continuing on that plagued this story for me.

James immediately plops the reader into one of Jake’s nightly blowjobs during his job at the hostel.  Yes, it seems he puts the word out to all the travelers that well, he puts out and all take advantage of it.  You think the management would get a clue.  It’s cold, mechanical, and definitely not sexy.  And these scenes go on for most of the book. Lovely.

Jake himself is a mess of a character.  You get no clue really other than phone  calls back to the states (his relationship with his parents is the only reason this story didn’t fall to the one star rating).  Everything else is left to the author’s guessing game with the readers.  It makes Jake a blank that you care very little for, no matter how much the  other characters tell you should or that they do (a mystery in and of itself).

Then there is Grant, a nice guy who is abused and pushed away by the surly Jake for half the story and then abandoned totally after being a tremendous person.  The author leads you to believe that Jake will end up with Grant and then out of nowhere boom, the love of Jake’s life is introduced in the last pages and an ending that leaves you shaking your head appears out of nowhere with no narrative support whatsoever.

I was dumbfounded.  What a fail.

I may go back to that one star rating after all.

So no.  There won’t be any recommendation here.  I can’t imagine who this book would appeal to.  It’s not erotic in my opinion.  There’s no depth of characterization, the plot is a mess, and no support for the ending.  If you like reading about men giving blowjobs however, then yes, this is the book for you.  There, that’s something positive.

Cover art is ok, nondescript is enough to work.

Sales Links:  Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 110 pages
Published May 8th 2018 by Deep Desires Press (first published March 3rd 2014)
Original TitleSilent Hearts
ASINB07CRH2TQY
Edition LanguageEnglish

Release Blitz for Catch Me (Kitchen Gods #2) by Beth Bolden (excerpt)

 

 Catch Me RDB Banner

 CATCH ME

KITCHEN GODS, BOOK 2

BETH BOLDEN

M/M ROMANCE

RELEASE DATE: 06.10.18

Catch Me Cover 

COVER DESIGN: AngstyG

mybook.to/kgcatchme 

BLURB 

Chef Wyatt Blake is finally ready to move on from his thankless job. He gets no wiggle room, zero praise, plenty of abuse, and on a good day, he might only spend twelve hours in the Terroir kitchens. A friend of his recommends a private chef position, but despite the boost in pay, Wyatt doesn’t want to babysit some spoiled, rich LA family.

Imagine his shock when the family isn’t a Kardashian clone, but Ryan Flores, the only professional baseball player to ever come out of the closet.

Ryan is also at a career crossroads. His team’s management wants to see his more responsible side, which means no more late night hookups and no more adrenaline-charged stunts. When his agent suggests he find a fake boyfriend to give him an air of domesticity, he’s only reluctantly interested.

Until Ryan goes to a local bar and spies the cute private chef he’s supposed to be interviewing the next day. Maybe a quieter life wouldn’t be so bad, as long as Wyatt is part of it?

Wyatt believes Ryan could be more than just a crappy boss, but he isn’t sure about leaving the kitchen for the life of a professional boyfriend. Especially when he wants the reality so much more than the fantasy.

 Catch Me Teaser 1

Catch Me Teaser 2

 

EXCERPT

And he was the epitome of the California boy, Ryan thought as he watched Wyatt carrying his board towards the sand. Blond hair bright under the sun, the tall lanky build, all that tanned skin rippling with muscle.

Ryan hadn’t thought there was a place he could look better than naked in his bed, but he was surprised to discover that he’d been wrong.

There was something in the quicksilver of Wyatt’s smile as he turned to make sure Ryan was still following him. It made Ryan want more from him than just the admittedly mind-blowing sex they had had, which was something he’d thought he’d left behind years ago.

He thought about texting Tabitha and telling her she might be right, but she was already insufferable enough. Besides, if he didn’t tell her, he didn’t put it into words and the truth, while eye-opening, was also fucking terrifying.

“You coming?” Wyatt turned back fully this time, gracing Ryan not only with a quick glimpse of his bright smile, but his entire self. He looked worried, and Ryan wondered how long he’d been spacing out. Not something he usually did—and he’d already spent the morning doing it.

“Sorry,” Ryan apologized. “I was distracted by such a fantastic view.”

“I’ve always loved Huntington Beach,” Wyatt replied.

Ryan snorted. “Not the view I was talking about.”

Wyatt didn’t say anything but the look on his face was enough for Ryan to know that comment wouldn’t always go un-remarked upon. Eventually they would have to address the sexual tension simmering away between them. Eventually they would have to do something about it. And that day was one Ryan eagerly awaited and dreaded in equal parts.

“We gonna surf?” Wyatt asked as they set up their little camp over by one of the piers.

Ryan had tossed the wax over to Wyatt a few minutes before, and had been fidgeting with his tow strap since. He’d wanted to come out here and let the sun and the sand and the waves exorcise his bad mood, but now he wasn’t sure he even wanted to go in the water.

He wanted to sit on the sand and look at the sunlight on Wyatt’s hair, and ask him to tell him more about culinary school and Chicago and Terroir. Even about that nutjob Aquino.

Ryan was not used to wanting to pick social interaction over the adrenaline rush. It was weird, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

“We’re here, aren’t we?” Ryan asked, shooting Wyatt a disbelieving look, even though all the hesitation had been on his end. He wasn’t ready to admit to anyone—never mind Wyatt—that he’d been contemplating something so out of character. “Last in the water buys burgers on the way home.

Beth Bolden Logo

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.

SOCIAL MEDIA 

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/beth_bolden

Website: www.bethbolden.com

Vibrant Promotions Logo

Release Blitz for Rainbow Place (Rainbow Place #1) by Jay Northcote

 

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

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2xXuvRC

 
Length: 54,000 words approx.
 
Cover Design: Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design
 
Blurb
 

Can Jason find the courage he needs to be the man Seb deserves?


When Seb Radcliffe relocates to a seaside town in Cornwall, he feels like a fish out of water. He misses queer spaces and the sense of community he enjoyed when he was living in the city, and decides to open an LGBT-friendly cafe–bar.


Jason Dunn is the builder Seb hires to help renovate the rundown space where the cafe will be housed. Jason is also gay, but unlike Seb, he’s deep in the closet. He’s never had a relationship with another man—only allowing himself the occasional hook up with guys who are prepared to be discreet.


The attraction between the two men is instant and impossible to ignore. But while Seb is out and proud, Jason is terrified of being exposed. With the grand opening of Rainbow Place approaching, tension is growing among some locals who object to Seb’s plans. When things escalate, Jason is forced to choose whether to hide in the shadows and let Seb down, or to openly support the man he’s fallen so hard for.


Although this book is part of a series, it has a satisfying happy ending and can be read as a standalone.

Author Bio


Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England. He comes from a family of writers, but always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed him by. He spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content.


One day, Jay decided to try and write a short story—just to see if he could—and found it rather addictive. He hasn’t stopped writing since.


Jay writes contemporary romance about men who fall in love with other men. He has five books published by Dreamspinner Press, and also self-publishes under the imprint Jaybird Press. Many of his books are now available as audiobooks.


Website
Twitter
Facebook profile
Facebook author page
Facebook author group
Newsletter
Jay’s books

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions