In Our Contemporary Romance Spotlight: Adulting 101 by Lisa Henry (tour/giveaway)

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Adulting 101 by Lisa Henry
R
iptide Publishing
Cover art by L.C. Chase

Read an Excerpt/Buy It Here

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Lisa Henry here today  with her most recent release, Adulting 101.  Welcome, Lisa.

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Hi, and welcome to the blog tour to celebrate the release of Adulting 101 by Lisa Henry. I’m visiting some of my favourite blogs around the place to talk about writing Adulting 101, some of my influences and inspiration, and even sharing an excerpt or two! Don’t forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a prize!

Blurb

The struggle is real.

Nick Stahlnecker is eighteen and not ready to grow up yet. He has a summer job, a case of existential panic, and a hopeless crush on the unattainable Jai Hazenbrook. Except how do you know that your coworker’s unattainable unless you ask to blow him in the porta-potty?

That’s probably not what Dad meant when he said Nick should act more like an adult.

Twenty-five-year-old Jai is back in his hometown of Franklin, Ohio, just long enough to earn the money to get the hell out again. His long-term goal of seeing more of the world is worth the short-term pain of living in his mother’s basement, but only barely.

Meeting Nick doesn’t fit in with Jai’s plans at all, but, as Jai soon learns, you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to have the adventure of a lifetime.

This is not a summer romance. This is a summer friendship-with-benefits. It’s got pizza with disgusting toppings, Netflix and chill, and accidental exhibitionism. That’s all. There are no feelings here. None. Shut up.

You can find out more about Adulting 101 at Riptide.

About Lisa Henry

Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.

Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.

She shares her house with too many cats, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.

Adulting101_TourBanner

Giveaway

Each comment on this blog tour enters you for a chance to win a $20 Riptide credit and an ebook of your choice from my back catalogue. You’ll also win a super secret cute little gift that’s very close to my (and Nick’s) heart! Entries close August 20, and contest is not restricted to US residents. Remember to leave your email address in the comments so I can contact you if you win!

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Marriage of Inconvenience by M.J. O’Shea

Rating: 3.75 stars rounded up to 4 stars out of 5

perf4.250x7.000.inddLights, Camera, Lies.

Kerry Pickering has a problem. As a publicist for Hollywood bad boy Jericho Knox, it’s Kerry’s job to keep Jericho in the news. So far, Jericho’s partying and public escapades have made it easy. But Jericho has a secret, and when that secret is revealed in the most spectacularly disastrous way, it’s up to Kerry to spin it.

The team decides the best course of action is to make the public fall in love—with Jericho’s secret committed relationship. The one that doesn’t exist. Yet.

The team wants someone they can trust. Someone in the inner circle. That someone is Kerry. But what will happen when Kerry realizes that for him, the romance is no longer pretend? Can Jericho love him back, or is he just playing a role?

Marriage of Inconvenience by MJ O’Shea was another fun read in the Dreamspun Desires series from Dreamspinner Press.  Who hasn’t seen those tabloids or TMZ? Right, expose’ city!  Here M.J. O’Shea uses it as the launching pad for the story and the romance of Marriage of Inconvenience.  Jericho Knox literally gets caught with his pants down by the paparazzi and now its up to his agents and publicists to put a spin on it that his followers will not only swallow but eat up and make him even more popular.  Hmmm.  What could that be?  Well how about a secret romance?  Now all they need is someone to fill the role.  Turns out the perfect person is the one who came up with the plan. Kerry Pickering.

Author O’Shea does a lovely job of defining her characters.  We get conflicted closeted Jericho risking his career in a seedy  bar, we understand shy driven Kerry trying to hold onto a job that isn’t the dream he hoped it would be.  Hollywood full of smashed hopes and fake imagery.  We get it.  Both Jericho and Kerry have to find their way through to their own reality about themselves and the possibility of a future together, if there’s even is one.   That’s both the fun and the drama of this story.

It moves along quickly, the romance builds nicely and the ending when it happens, although I felt it was a little rushed, was still the happy ending I expect from this series.

I happen to love the Dreamspun Desires Series.  Really its almost impossible to go wrong here.  The stories are quick reads, fun, wonderful romances.  The tropes usually recognizable and they translate well into M/M fiction.  What’s not to love?  I highly recommend you try them.  Why not start here?  Work your way through the series.  They make great summer reading or anytime of the year.

Cover art by Paul Richmond shows a brooding cover boy.  Not my favorite cover for the series.

Sales Links

        

 

Book Details:

ebook, 214 pages
Expected publication: August 15th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634775287 (ISBN13: 9781634775281)
Edition LanguageEnglish

A VVivacious Release Day Review: Coin of the Realm by Michael Murphy

 
Rating: 3 Stars out of 5
 
Coin of the RealmTimothy is struggling to make ends meet as he tries to put himself through college. When one after the other jobs don’t pan out, Timothy ends up becoming an escort.
 
Then one day he gets called on to service a high profile guy. But just how powerful is this guy? Timothy is just about to find out how much…
 
Timothy finds himself in a fairy tale only to realise that every good fairy tale has behind it an equally evil villain.
 
Coin of the Realm is a pretty straightforward story. It is also quite predictable only because two-thirds of the book is revealed in the blurb itself. The first hundred plus pages of this book basically rehashes everything that you already know if you have read the blurb.
 
This book is extremely well written and well planned. Time is devoted to every aspect of the story but since a lot of the story progression is revealed in the blurb, it takes some time before the story becomes less predictable and more interesting.
 
What I liked about this book were its characters Jared, Timothy and Agent Robinson. The characters are fleshed out and since the story spends quite a bit of pages developing the main relationship, it doesn’t feel rushed or implausible. Personally the characters are the best part of this book.
 
Because of the circumstances most of Jared and Timothy’s relationship is mediated by way of Agent Robinson and Agent Robinson kind of out-shines the MCs at points in this story. I loved Robinson and I loved how hard he works to get Jared and Timothy’s relationship back on track and how he ran interference for these two.
 
I would have liked a bit more focus on the element of power which was introduced in this story. We are talking about the most powerful man in the free world and he never, even once, wonders if his lover loves him just because of his power. I mean you can view it from a million angles but you can’t just ignore the appeal of power, the fact that power makes people infinitely more desirable than they may be.
 
During their first encounter there is this palpable air of power that permeates the atmosphere but it is subsequently unrealistically toned down.  I mean I would have liked more awe, much more awe and it would have been nice to see people, kind of, making, a bit of, a fool of themselves around someone with that much power. I mean a little sycophantic behaviour was a definite requirement.
 
But for the most part of this book the power element is sorely lacking till the person in question ends up feeling just like everyone else, which I agree he is, but it would have been nice to see the reactions of new people meeting him contrasted with the reactions of those who were closer to him. Basically everyone ends up him treating him like just another person and not the most powerful man in the free world.
 
This absence of power would have been completely okay except for the fact that this book kind of hinges on Jared’s power. Also the fact that Jared is such an admirable human being maybe makes it harder for him to exercise such great power without appearing at least a bit evil. So in other words the author sacrifices power in lieu of Jared’s character development. But truthfully if this element had been explored more this book could have been one of a kind.
 
I feel like this book has a lot of elements and if justice had been done to at least a few crucial elements this book would have been amazing instead of the sweet one time read it turns out to be.
 
Cover Art by Paul Richmond. It is a good cover that fits the story.

Sales Links

        
Book Details:
ebook, 210 pages
Expected publication: August 15th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634775325 (ISBN13: 9781634775328)
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Real World (Love is Blind #2) by B.A. Tortuga

Rating: 4.75 stars rounding up to 5 out of 5

Real WorldDan White is trying to acclimate to civilian life after a long career in the military with multiple combat deployments.

Now he’s home in the Austin area, living with his brother Dixon, Dixon’s husband, Audie, and their two nine-year-olds. During the New Year celebration, Dan meets Abraham Weldon, and the connection is instant.

There’s a kiss. There’s a dance. There’s a proposition.

Then Dan finds out Weldon is bisexual.

And a dad.

With five kids. Five kids, one of whom is a blind fifteen-year-old.

Weldon has been in love twice in his life—with his high school best friend, Blake, and with his wife, Krista, who he met in a Dairy Queen as she was crying over a positive pregnancy test. Love number three hits Weldon like a hammer when he meets Dan.

But since Dan isn’t interested in a guy with kids, they might only get one night together.

When I read Ever the Same (Love is Blind #1), I fell in love with the families and characters that B.A. Tortuga created for that story.  I certainly couldn’t wait for this series to continue. Real World (Love is Blind #2) brings us back to those families and couples with Dan White, ex soldier adjusting to civilian life and brother to Dixon, blind musician who we met in the first story.  Dan’s not adjusting very well, but he’s living with Dix and his husband Audie and their kids so civilian life is up front and in his face every day.    So are the connections to Dix and Audie’s friends and the community which brings a meeting to Weldon and a “oh so hot we might combust” connection.  Until reality sets in when information is exchanged and Dan finds out that Weldon is a dad of five and bisexual, way more than a man who feels he’s not ready for commitment can handle, leaving a very disappointed Weldon in his wake.

How I love a story where a couple must over come obstacles, inner obstacles they create for themselves, in order to be together.  This story is chock full of those. Here in Real World those barriers feel so completely authentic and believable when it comes to the characters who are trying to work through their feelings and doubts about their relationship and walls they built up around themselves.  And no one here has walls higher than Dan White.  Walls against dating bisexual men, walls against men with families, and one by one…we watch those barriers fall…prey to the charm and love of Weldon and his brood of kids.  What a group of kids they are too.  Snarky, drama filled, lovable, not so lovable, crying, every adjective you want to throw in here.  In short, a very realistic family of children that will grab at your heart, especially the eldest who will have his own heartrending story thread to go through.

I haven’t forgotten Weldon.  That character…well, he’s a man that will tug at you all the way through the story.  He’s a loving father, a vulnerable man, who’s trying to balance his families needs with his own. You just end up aching for him when Dan turns away time and again.  Trust me…there are places you will want to shake that man!  Isn’t that great writing?  Yes, I say it is.

B.A. Tortuga has a way, whether its by her ear for the vernacular or locale or just knowing people and family dynamics, of being able to create characters that are so real, so believable that they pull you into their story and lives that you ache for them, get mad at them, yes, want to shake them and finally rejoice in their happiness at the end when they pull together and realize they can make it as a couple and as a family.  That happens here in Real World, a book I loved even better than the first story in the series.  That’s saying a lot.

Do I recommend this story?  Absolutely.  Grab it up and the first in the series too.  I can’t imagine what’s coming next but I know I can’t wait to see what develops.  There are more White boys although they are supposedly straight.  Hmmm.  We’ll see.

Cover art by Bree Archer. I love this cover.  Its just perfect for the story and its heartwarming too.

Sales Links

        

 

 

 

Book Details

ebook, 290 pages
Expected publication: August 15th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634773748 (ISBN13: 9781634773744)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series: Love is Blind

Ever the Same
Real World

 

An Alisa Audiobook Review: Hell on Wheels by ZA Maxfield and Narrated by Nick J. Russo

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

HellOnWheels_Audiobook (1)Nash is the reliable one in the Holly family, the guy everyone counts on to keep things going. His genius twin brother is off at university, so Nash runs the family’s auto repair business and cares for his partially-paralyzed little sister while his crackpot father invents. His life seems mapped out for the foreseeable future, however much that might chafe.

 

So when Wolf’s Landing actor Spencer Kepler-Constantine lands in his life, Nash is ready for a diversion. Spencer is in the middle of a very painful, very public divorce and isn’t ready for a relationship—not that Nash wants one. But they both need a friend, especially one with benefits.

As they grow closer, Nash starts to see his family in a whole new light. Do they really need him so badly? Or does he simply need to be needed? Then Spencer’s ex reappears with a grand romantic gesture, and Nash has to figure out what he wants—and how to get it—before Spencer’s gone for good.

 

Nash is content if not happy with his life; he spends his days working on cars and helps his father raise his sister.  He has resigned himself to his reality and doesn’t look for anymore than what he has.  When he meets Spencer he doesn’t know who he is at first, but is instantly attracted to the man.

 

This story was told from both characters’ points of view, which made understanding their thoughts a bit easier.  Nash needs to be needed and when he finds that he really isn’t everything is thrown out of whack, but he learns there are different ways to be needed.  While Spencer has to get over his relationship with his ex before he can really have one with Nash.

 

Nick Russo once again did a wonderful job narrating this story.  I could connect with the characters through the voices and emotions he portrayed.

 

Cover art by LC Chase is nice and follows the pattern for the series.

 

Sales Links:  Riptide | Audible | Amazon | iTunes

 

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 6 hrs 56 min
Published: July 20, 2016 (ebook first published December 1, 2014)
Edition Language: English

Series: A Bluewater Bay Story

Things Are Heating Up All Around Us and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

sun thermomterThings Are Heating Up All Around Us

August Heat is the name of a short story by W. F. Harvey, penned in 1910.  It tells the tale of two men, previously unknown to each other who find out through slim connections that one will be murdered by the other.  It ends with the character Withencroft writing the day’s events as Atkinson sharpens some tools: “It is after eleven now. I shall be gone in less than an hour. But the heat is stifling. It is enough to send a man mad.”

Ah, yes, the wonderful August heat!  Whether you are the characters of Harvey’s August Heat, or August Heat (Commissario Montalbano #10) by Andrea Camilleri, Stephen Sartarelli (Translator) or the families, cowboys and ex soldiers in BA Tortuga’s story, Real World, where the Texas heat is as real as the men and situations she writes about in her Love is Blind series,  the searing heat of the summer acts like a main character of its own in novels and real life all over the world.  This series is rapidly becoming a favorite series of mine.  But that no surprise as I include that author as a favorite writer to rec as well.

We have a number of release day reviews this week, as well as audiobook reviews and regular reviews too.  If you love fantasy, be sure to check out Blaine D. Arden’s Forester Trilogy which is ending with Full Circle: Forester Triad Act Three (Tales of the Forest, #3) and can be found complete in A Triad in Three Acts which will also be reviewed this week.  Plus you won’t want to miss its stunning covers.  Ali is reviewing a book that she thinks will be in her top 10, will it be in yours?  Check it out.  Plus I have Christian Baines back with his long awaited sequel to The Beast Without, The Orchard of Flesh (Arcadia Trust #2) by Christian Baines.  I have a author interview and giveaway.  Don’t miss that either.  What a week we have in store.

Plus this will be our last week for our old look.  Next week, a new look, a contest to welcome in something entirely different.   Stay inside, away from the heat, unless you’re in the Southern Hemisphere where its winter and  cold.  Grab up some books to read either way.  Be here with us all week!  Leave your comments, we love hearing from you.  Now for this week’s schedule.

summer heat

This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

 

Sunday, August 14:

  • This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
  • Things Are Heating Up All Around Us

Monday, August 15:

  • A MelanieM Release Day Review: Marriage of Inconvenience by MJ O’Shea
  • A VVivacious Release Day Review: Coin of the Realm by Michael Murphy
  • A MelanieM Release Day Review: Real World by BA Tortuga
  • An Alisa Audiobook Review: Hell on Wheels by ZA Maxfield

Tuesday, August 16:

  • In the Spotlight:  Adulting 101 by Lisa Henry (Riptide Tour and Giveaway)
  • Blog Tour, Giveaway and Author Interview – Priest and Pariahs by Mann Ramblings
  • Dreamspinner Author Guest Post and Book Tour:  B.A. Tortuga and the Real World
  • A MelanieM Release Day Review: Flying Fish by Sedonia Guillone

Wednesday, August 17:

  • Series Recap Tour – Blood Moon Alliance by  SA Welsh
  • A MelanieM Release Day Review: Relative Best by Pat Henshaw
  • A Paul B Review: Psychic Says by JJ Black
  • An Alisa Review: Softpaw by Osiris Brackhaus

Thursday, August 18:

  • New cover reveal: Jamie Deacon ‘Caught Inside’ (cover reveal and giveaway)
  • In Our Spotlight: Lilah Suzanne ‘Burning Tracks’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Release Blitz & Review Tour – Blaine D. Arden – Full Circle
  • A MelanieM Review:  A Triad In Three Acts by Blaine D. Arden
  • A Free Dreamer Review:  The Cop and the Drifter by Christiane France
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: Moment of Truth by Karen Stivali

Friday, August 19:

  • In the Spotlight: The Orchard of Flesh (Arcadia Trust #2) by Christian Baines(author interview/giveaway)
  • In the Review Spotlight: Sarah Madison’s Fool’s Gold
  • A MelanieM Review: Fool’s Gold by Sarah Madison
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: Turning the Page by Andrew Grey
  • A MelanieM Review: The Orchard of Flesh (Arcadia Trust #2) by Christian Baines

Saturday, August 20:

  • An Alisa Review:Behind the Uniform Anthology
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: Hexbreaker by Jordan L. Hawk

An Ali Release Day Review: Spindrift by Amy Rae Durreson

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

SpindriftWhen lonely artist Siôn Ruston retreats to the seaside village of Rosewick Bay, Yorkshire, to recover from a suicide attempt, he doesn’t expect to encounter any ghosts, let alone the one who appears in his bedroom every morning at dawn. He also doesn’t expect to meet his ghost’s gorgeous, flirty descendant working at the local museum… and the village pub, and as a lifeboat volunteer. But Mattie’s great-great-grandfather isn’t the only specter in Rosewick Bay, and as Siôn and Mattie investigate an ill-fated love affair from a bygone era, they begin a romance of their own, one that will hopefully escape the tragedy Mattie’s ancestor suffered.

But the ghosts aren’t the only ones with secrets, and the things Siôn and Mattie are keeping from each other threaten to tear them apart. And all the while, the dead are biding their time, because the curse of Rosewick Bay has never been broken. If the ghosts are seen on the streets, local tradition foretells a man will drown before the summer’s end.

This author’s book A Frost of Cares is one of my top 5 books of this year so I was really excited to see that she was doing another romance/ghost story.  I have to say this didn’t disappoint.  There are two stories intertwined.  There is the current love story of Sion and Mattie and there is the love story from the past.  The story of Mattie’s great-great grandfather and a man named Joshua.
The writing was excellent and the imagery was so well done that I could picture myself there.  The story was downright creepy at times and I was glad I wasn’t reading it late at night.  Sion and Mattie were both well done characters and at first I thought they were too different for me to find a believable love story but I was wrong.  Over the course of the story it becomes apparent that they are complimentary for each other. Their story is both love story and a story about forgiving yourself. I also enjoyed the story of the men from the past although it was a melancholy tale.
This was a unique and creative story that was really well done in all aspects.  I highly recommend this.

Cover Artist: Brooke Albrecht:  I like the cover.  It didn’t really stand out to me but I thought it was nice.

Sales Links

        

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Published August 12th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634775244 (ISBN13: 9781634775243)
Edition LanguageEnglish

A VVivacious Review: Orientation by Rick R. Reed

 
Rating: 4 Stars out of 5
 
OrientationRobert and his lover Ethan have drifted apart to the point that they are mere strangers living together. As things between them worsen Robert wonders if he ever truly loved anyone other than his first lover Keith who died of AIDS.
 
Then on one particularly lonely night Robert comes across a suicidal girl, Jess but it appears that there is more going on between Jess and Robert than either can guess at first. But what exactly does this sense of familiarity and love translate to between a gay man and lesbian?
 
I really think this book is not aptly named, I mean I don’t think it ever deals with orientation, I mean the characters in this book are not conflicted about their orientation and neither are they troubled by it. While this book ends on a note that kind of stresses orientation, this book is truly just a story of love.
 
It is a very engaging story. I read this book at a stretch; I just couldn’t put it down. It is a short book but what I liked about it is that the story never becomes predictable. What kept me turning the pages one after the other was the fact that I had no idea where this story would take me or how it would end.
 
Our MCs are Robert and Jessica who are both in ways dealing with loss. They bond over this fact but what truly makes them want to be with the other is the fact that there is a deeper sense of familiarity and love that underlies there meetings. Since the moment they met Jessica has felt that she is meeting someone she already knows and loves. Complicating this fact is that even though they feel love towards the other their orientations are completely incompatible. This story also follows two other characters, Ethan, Robert’s boyfriend and his drug dealer, Tony.
 
This story really focuses on its characters, you can sympathize with Robert’s desire to be blind to the obvious, to not have to face his boyfriend’s infidelities as well as his potentially lethal lifestyle and bury that under the joy of having someone else who understands his love for Keith. While Ethan’s struggle with his addiction is painful, he is wasting away and try as he might to climb out of the abyss he is in, he only ever manages to dig himself deeper. Tony’s guilt over being the reason many people have lost touch with themselves and his shame over not being able to give up the opportunity to make just a little more money is honest. And then there is Jess who is reeling form loss, is burdened by her lack of finances and struggling to understand these new feelings that have awakened in her… for a man…
 
This story really ties together the lives of these four characters and makes for a compelling read. This book is firstly about love and secondly about the human condition. It is an amazing read.
 
Cover Art by Wilde City Press. I liked the cover but I’m unsure as to how it relates to the story.
Sales Links
Books Details:
Wilde City Press
Kindle Edition, 2 edition, 192 pages
Published July 25th 2016 (first published May 7th 2008)
Original Title Orientation
ASIN B01J4KIP94

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: Expanded Hearts (Heartland #2) by Logan Meredith

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Expanded HeartsPsychologist Victor Mascari and his partner, spa-owner Derek Jameson, have been together eight years, but their relationship is still evolving. Derek distrusts monogamy because of his parents’ messy divorce, but as marriage equality advances, Victor’s doubts about their open relationship are growing. He doesn’t necessarily want a legal union, but he’s increasingly concerned about how others view them.

When Victor comes home to find Derek with another new conquest, he’s annoyed… at first. As he gets to know Antonio, Victor discovers the young man is intelligent, self-assured, and charming. This time, it’s Victor who is intrigued by someone else and Derek who thinks Victor’s interest is crossing the lines they’ve agreed on. If Victor wants to keep Derek, he’ll have to let Antonio go.

But Antonio is in real trouble and has nowhere to turn. Victor and Derek take him in, and it soon becomes clear how well he fits into their lives and how strong the bonds between all of them are growing. A committed relationship between three men—all very different in age and background—is enough of a challenge, and then the horrifying secrets of Antonio’s abusive past emerge.

I honestly did not expect to enjoy this story as much as I did. Open relationship? Ménage? The blurb intrigued me, however, and I’m so happy I took the plunge. What the blurb doesn’t tell us is that Antonio leaves shortly after he and Victor get to meet and talk for a while, and part of Victor’s intrigue with Antonio is his feeling that Antonio was hiding too many personal details, over and above the fact that he ate breakfast as if he was starving, and his clothes were worn beyond what’s considered fashionable. When he happens to meet him once again, he arranges to treat the young man to lunch.

When Victor’s partner, Derek, a gorgeous, tall, muscular black man finds out, he blows his top. He feels as if Victor went behind his back and arranged a date. And that’s totally unlike Victor, the forty-something, slender, self-effacing psychologist. There are so many starts and stops and complications between Victor and Derek about Antonio that even his name begins to drive a wedge between them—all this without Victor ever even taking Antonio to bed. And Antonio has disappeared anyway, so why the continued strife, Victor wonders. But all of that drama added to the three-dimensional character-building the author put together so that we become as entangled in this story as the characters are.

As it turns out, there’s so much more to Antonio than either man knew, and his background turns out to be positively heartbreaking. He’s also linked to one of Victor’s patients, and his hoped-for relationship with Antonio, whether real or platonic, will definitely cause Victor trouble with his professional ethics.

Once they have found Antonio, reconciled their differences about him, and brought him under their wing, rather than finding peace, the intrigue surrounding Antonio follows him, and not just from outside sources—Derek’s mother comes into play at this point in the story when she happens to drop by and “catch” Victor with Antonio. Unfortunately, she not only never accepted Derek as gay, she never supported his eight-year relationship with Victor—primarily because Victor was both older and white. Her character is very reminiscent of a Bible-thumping wicked witch, and she positively reels when she finds out from Derek just why the “boy” was brought into their home. Her prejudices know no bounds, and she’s possibly one of the best/worst examples of a nasty mother I’ve read.

In the early stages of the story, I found myself aggravated as I read—first by Derek and then by Victor. I wanted them to find some common sense and just get going, but around the 40% mark, I realized I was so caught up in the story and the drama surrounding Anthony that I couldn’t put the book down, and I stayed up late one night just to get to the conclusion. It was very, very good, and I recommend it to all my fellow MM romance lovers.

The drawn cover by Paul Richmond isn’t very appealing, mostly due to the colors used, but it does closely represent the three characters who ultimately form a strong ménage relationship in this story.

Sales Links

        

Book Details:

ebook, 224 pages
Expected publication: August 12th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634775376 (ISBN13: 9781634775373)
Edition LanguageEnglish

SeriesHeartland #2

A Paul B Review: Ashley (Demon Elite 5) by April Kelley

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

AshleyAshley Wilkins is an asshole and he knows it.  He is the Demon Elite’s interrogator and he’s damn good at his job.  However, Ash has used methods in the past which would not pass muster with the Geneva Convention.  And Ash feels guilty about this.  When a video of teammate Raven’s kidnapped brother Iain shows up, Ash cannot help but feel for the young man being tortured by the underlings of Victoria Mize.  The fact that Iain is cute as hell makes him want to take action.  While viewing the video, Ash finds a key clue as to the location where Iain is being held.  Justin assigns his interrogator to go out in the field and help with the rescue effort.

Iain Liron knows his brother has worked for a government agency.  Having just come out of rehab, Iain loves his job at a local coffee shop.  One day, his brother’s boss kidnaps him to use as leverage against his brother to make him do her dirty work.  He is hanging around in the literal sense with his arms tied above him hooked on a meat rack.  The beating he received is meant to serve as a message to the Demon Elite squad but Iain is not sure if his brother’s team will be able to rescue him in time to save his life.  When help does arrive, his rescuer is the most gorgeous man he has seen.

While clearly attracted to Iain, Ash believes that he is not good enough for him.  His life as an interrogator means he has done thing as bad as or worse than what was done to Iain while he was being held.  He feels that Iain could not possibly feel anything but contempt once he knows the full extent of what he has done.  Iain meanwhile tells Ash that everybody has something in their past.  Iain is a recovering addict and has learned to take things one day at a time.  Throw in Iain’s overly protective brother Raven and this relationship definitely has its problems at the beginning.  When the threat to the Demon Elite’s partners comes to their lakeside safe house, the men must mobilize to neutralize the situation before one of their loves pays the price.

This fifth book in the Demon Elite series once again goes to the theme of redemption for both the team member and the rescued love.  Both men know they are imperfect men and each tries to cope with it in their own ways.  Ash will do some sort of good deed without his team’s knowledge.  Iain just wants to get his life back on track after getting involved with drugs.  By the end of the book, Ash realizes that Iain means that he does not care what he does for a living and begin to move forward with their relationship.  I cannot wait for the next book.

The cover art by Latrisha Waters follows the pattern of the series.  Ashley is on the cover, shirtless, with the Demon Elite crest in the corner.  The model looks like what I would think Ashely the “farm boy” would look like.

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Book Details

EBook, 111 pages
Edition Language:  English
Published:  August 12, 2016 by eXtasy Books
ISBN:  978-1-4874-0844-2

Series:  Demon Elite: