Category: M/M Contemporary Fiction

A MelanieM Review: Knit Tight (Portland Heat #4) by Annabeth Albert

Rating:  4.5 stars out of 5

Knit TightIt’s no secret that Portland, Oregon, has some of best restaurants, shops, and cafés in the country. But it’s the hard-working men who serve it all up that keep us coming back for more…

One of Portland’s hottest young baristas, Brady is famous for his java-topping flair, turning a regular cup of joe into a work of art. Every Wednesday—aka “Knit Night”—hordes of women and their needles descend on the coffeehouse, and Brady’s feeling the heat. Into the fray walks a tall, dark, and distractingly handsome stranger from New York. His name is Evren, and he’s the sexy nephew of Brady’s sweetest customer, the owner of the yarn shop down the street. He’s also got a killer smile, confident air, and masculine charm that’s tying Brady’s stomach in knots. The smitten barista can’t wait to see him at the next week’s gathering. But when he tries to ask Evren out, his plans unravel faster than an unfinished edge. If Brady hopes to warm up more than Evren’s coffee, he’ll have to find a way to untangle their feelings, get out of the friend zone, and form a close-knit bond that’s bound to last a lifetime…

I just love Annabeth Albert’s Portland Heat series, but this one fell deep into my heart.  First off…knitting.  Yes, that’s a true pull for me.  Gay knitters in love?  Yes.  Include Albert’s ability to bring her characters to life in every way possible and throw them into the lively, jumbled world of Portland?  Yes, yes, and yes.

Albert introduces us to Brady first, a barista struggling to manage work and family since his parents died and left him the guardian of his siblings.  Brady is such a lovely character, he loves his family, acknowledges that life dealt him the worst possible blow and now moves on with the best dignity he can.  I adored him.  Then add in Evren, a well-known knitter and designer home to take care of his aunt and my love for this story just got deeper.

Evren is the one with the understanding and love of knitting, patterns and fiber.  There is an excerpt from his blog at the beginning of each chapter that makes me wish that I could read it each day and see his patterns…that’s how much I connected with him.  He’s more tentative, with reason than Brady.  His background that comes out plus culture as well as his current situation make Evren’s hesitant moves towards Brady easy to understand and believe.  Brady with his pressures and personality?  That too makes his brashness and attitude real. Two men with a deep understanding and love for family, wondering if they dare try for something more with each other.

Albert’s writing made this story flow quickly while letting me sink into their lives with ease.  I fell in love again and again (as I do with all her Portland Heat stories).

Honestly, I wanted this book to be five times the length.   I could have spent days, months with this characters, wrapped up in their lives, the patterns (of course) and a certain sweater that called out for a picture at the end.   You know those stories that leave you with a warm, you’ve been hugged feeling?  That was this story for me.  I loved it.  And of course, it sent me running to my knitting.

You don’t have to have read the others in the series, each is a standalone story.  I just love them all and recommend not only Knit Tight but all in Portland Heat series.

Cover art by Fiona Jayde definitely works with the knitting needles and sweaters, yes there is a tie in about boyfriend sweaters.

Sales Links:   Amazon | iTunes |  Google Play | Kobo | Barnes and Noble

Book Details:

ebook, 112 pages
Published April 12th 2016 by Lyrical Shine
Original TitleKnit Tight
ISBN 1601835086 (ISBN13: 9781601835086)
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesPortland Heat #4

 

The Portland Heat Stories Are Back with Knit Tight’ by Annabeth Albert (excerpt and giveaway)

Knit Tight

Knit Tight (Portland Heat #4) by Annabeth Albert
 Release Date: April 12, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Kensington
Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde

Blurb

It’s no secret that Portland, Oregon, has some of best restaurants, shops, and cafés in the country. But it’s the hard-working men who serve it all up that keep us coming back for more…

One of Portland’s hottest young baristas, Brady is famous for his java-topping flair, turning a regular cup of joe into a work of art. Every Wednesday—aka “Knit Night”—hordes of women and their needles descend on the coffeehouse, and Brady’s feeling the heat. Into the fray walks a tall, dark, and distractingly handsome stranger from New York. His name is Evren, and he’s the sexy nephew of Brady’s sweetest customer, the owner of the yarn shop down the street. He’s also got a killer smile, confident air, and masculine charm that’s tying Brady’s stomach in knots. The smitten barista can’t wait to see him at the next week’s gathering. But when he tries to ask Evren out, his plans unravel faster than an unfinished edge. If Brady hopes to warm up more than Evren’s coffee, he’ll have to find a way to untangle their feelings, get out of the friend zone, and form a close-knit bond that’s bound to last a lifetime…

 

Pages or Words: 43,000
This, and all the books of the series, can be read as a standalone as each features a new couple.
Categories: Contemporary, Erotica, Gay Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, New Adult, Romance

Excerpt

“Why? Am I turning you on?” My hand wandered over my fly. Not stroking, just firm pressure. We’d danced past sexy talk, far out of the friend zone, now meandering into something dark and heady. I pressed hard against my aching erection as I waited to see how far Ev would let himself go.

“Perhaps. I told you some things, now you tell me. What is your favorite thing?”

“Uh. The long, slow grinding ending in oral that you just described sounds amazing and hits a lot of my buttons. For the record, I’m totally good with…mess. And I like giving oral. Love getting my throat fucked. Being pinned down while grinding or getting my throat fucked, that gets me going.”

Ev was silent a long moment. Perhaps I’d pushed him too far. “Tell me about this throat fucking. How do you like it?”

Aw yes. I’d never had phone sex, but I had a feeling we were about to head in that direction. “Where are you right now?”

“In my bed. With a closed door. Are you going to ask me what I’m wearing next?”

“Knitted underwear?” I laughed as I headed for the bathroom—the one room with a lock. My usual jerk-off method was a locked door and a longer-than-necessary shower.

“Sorry to disappoint. Pajama bottoms. I worry Hala Mira could need me in the night.”

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize to me. I share a room with a ten-year-old. I’m going to the bathroom now, though. And locking the door.”

“You require a locked door to tell me about giving head?”

“I require a locked door, a quiet house, and about three hours to show you,” I countered. “Fuck, Ev. I want you to wear me out.”

“Oh, I could. Do not doubt that, Brady. You want me to wear your throat out? Use you so much you need me to feed you some gelato after?”

“Fuck yes,” I whispered. “I’d like it if you were on the bed or in a chair and I were kneeling in front of you. Or you were standing in front of me. Me on my knees is the key thing.”

“You ever try with your head over the edge of the mattress? It happens that this bed is the perfect height for that…”

“Oh yes. Tell me more. I want to jerk off while you fuck my throat like that.”

“Ah. But I don’t want that. Perhaps we will need to find other occupation for your hands.”

Oh man. Ev knew how to turn my crank big-time. “I’m good with having my hands tied.”

I could tell from his inhalation that it worked for him, too. “How flexible are you?”

“Bendier than I look. I had to do yoga stretching exercises to rehab a skateboarding injury. Turns out I dig it.”

“Nice. Very nice. I like your mouth very, very much.”

“Like the beard? Because if you want my mouth more…exposed, I can work with that. Beard is pure Northwest laziness on my part.”

“The beard is…part of the appeal. Your mouth is very full and your beard always seems like it’s…teasing. I think I want your hair down, though, yes?”

“Go for it.” Getting into it, I pulled my hair free of the ponytail, let it flop against my shoulders. Spit gathered in my mouth like I really was about to get a go at Ev’s cock. Fuck. Just the thought had me throbbing. I unzipped to get a little more breathing room. “I want to—”

Knock. Knock. Knock. “Brady, are you in there? I don’t feel so good,” Jonas called through the door.

Fuck. I kept my curse to myself. “Just a minute, buddy,” I called.

“You need to go?” Ev said in my ear. “I understand.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry.”

“Another time, Brady, another time.”

Even if he just meant the phone-sex version of the fantasy, part of me thrilled to his words. And I was pulling hard for the in-person

 

Buy the book 

Amazon | iTunes |  Google Play | Kobo | Barnes and Noble

 

RC

 

 

Meet the author:

Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.

Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two children.

Represented by Saritza Hernandez of the Corvisiero Literary Agency

Where to find the author:

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

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MM Good Book Reviews, Molly Lolly, Gay Media Reviews, Kirsty Loves Books, Havan Fellows,

Dawn’s Reading Nook, Man2ManTastic, Mikky’s World of Books, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words,

Multitasking Mommas, 3 Chicks After Dark, Rednecks and Romance, Velvet Panic

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Can Ex-Lovers Find A New Future Again? Find out with Black Dust by Lynn Charles (author interview, excerpt and giveaway

Black Dust 900px COVER (web Tumblr)

Black Dust by Lynn Charles
 Release Date: April 7, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: Cover Art and Design by C.B. Messer

Today Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is very lucky to be interviewing Lynn Charles author of Black Dust. Hi Lynn, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

I’m happy to be here! I’m an author, wife and mother living in Central Ohio. I’ve been writing—from lavish journal entries to fictional stories—most of my life. My first novel, Chef’s Table, was published in December 2014 with Interlude Press. Black Dust is about a couple who, fifteen years after a tragic car accident tore them apart, are given a second chance to heal and to love.

  • When did you write your first story/book? How old were you?
    • I honestly can’t tell you when I wrote my first ever story, but I didn’t realize I could write compelling stories until I was in my thirties. I had always had an interest in creative writing and was an avid journaler, but the bug didn’t bite me until adulthood.
  • Are you a plotter or pantser?
    • I am a pantsing plotter? That sounds like I’m out of breath. I like to have some idea where I’m going, but I’m usually pretty free to let the story take me places as well. I am learning in transitioning from writing “stories” to writing books to be more intentional with each scene. What is supposed to happen here? How does it contribute to the movement of the plot? It can’t just be a cute scene because it’s fun to play with the characters.
  • What do you think makes your book stand out from the crowd?
    • I tend to write stories about people who have much of life pretty settled. Mature love, so to speak. Now, their settled life might get upended, or they may realized that “settled” means they’ve let something go they should reach for again, but the men in my stories are grown. Adults. And saying that is not to disparage the younger protagonists that frequent romance novels, because god knows I love to read them too. There is plenty of room in the inn.
  • How do you find or make time to write?
    • Here’s where being a bit older than some of my fellow novelists is an advantage: my children are grown. I am fortunate enough that I was able to quit what was even a part time job to focus more on my writing (and to avoid a working situation that was making me battier than usual). I also have an incredibly supportive husband that says, “Get to it,” when I have fallen behind and need to dip into evening hours to get something done. My creative brain seems to kick in in the afternoon hours, so I use mornings to do the chores of life and work, and the afternoon and evening to write.
  • What do you like to read in your free time?
    • Recently I have been reading books by Indian and Bengali authors as my next book has a Bengali-American protagonist. Generally speaking, I love books with interesting characters. I think I could read a book that’s light on plot so long as the people driving the story have something to say, and they say it in compelling ways. With that in mind, I will always be happy to soak in a great memoir.

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Blurb:

Fifteen years after a tragic car crash claimed a friend’s life and permanently injures his then-boyfriend, Broadway musician Tobias Spence reconnects with his former love. As Emmett and Tobias explore their renewed relationship, the two men face old hurts and the new challenges of a long-distance romance. Will Tobias lose his second chance at love to the ghosts he can’t seem to put to rest?

 

Pages or Words: 312 pages
 Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Excerpt

“I can’t, Emmett. I—can’t go back.”

“Then we are clearly not ready for any sort of commitment.”

“Wait. You won’t agree to—to us—unless I come to Indiana?”

“I won’t,” Emmett said. “It’s all feeling a little one-sided to me, and I’m not okay with that.”

“You don’t understand.”

“I do understand, Toby. I was there for everything that makes you afraid of that place.”

“Yes. You were,” Toby said, taking Emmett’s hand in his. “But my concerns about going back have nothing to do with you.”

“Maybe they should have something to do with me.”

“That’s—” Toby pulled his hand away. “That’s not fair.”

“It really is,” Emmett said. He reached across the table for Toby’s hand again. “Please?” Toby took his hand and Emmett squeezed, holding on as if he might never let go. “We experienced a great tragedy together. And while Scotty’s parents lost their son, no one felt the things we felt. No one else woke up screaming and sweating when we heard the sounds of the crash in our sleep.”

“Emmett—”

“No one else knew the fear of maybe never walking again. No one else lost weight and a semester of school because he might get thrown in jail. No one else felt the things we felt together. That’s all ours. As much as you want to, you cannot take me out of the equation.”

“But, that’s just it, Em. I don’t want to feel those things again. I cannot walk back into that—that darkness.”

Emmett pulled their joined hands to his lips and kissed Toby’s knuckles. “You already have. You have been so enamored­—you’ve practically spent this entire week making love to my scars. You’re there. And it’s not so dark anymore.”

“No, because you’re whole again. You’re not broken anymore.”

Emmett saw it, then. He saw in the way Toby had almost obsessed over the ridiculous tattoo and Emmett’s scars, as if begging for them to also bring him the powers that Derek had wished upon Emmett’s body those years ago. He saw it in Toby’s insistence that they start all over as if the accident never happened, as if the years of silence weren’t strung between them like a rope and plank bridge connecting two separate lands.

So he said it. To give it power. To make it a truth they shared—like their shared tragedy. “And you still are. Broken.”

Toby nodded, grasping at Emmett’s fingers like a lifeline. “I’m so—” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m so exhausted making sure no one knows.”

“Oh, Toby.” All the more reason “trying again” was a bad idea. Unready to let go, Emmett kissed Toby’s fingers again. “Then come to my home,” Emmett offered, trite as it sounded in his own ears. “I’ve remodeled the master and made a party room in my basement for the kids.”

“You’ve never told me—”

“It’s beautiful, really. It’s on a couple of acres, and the back of the property is lined with a stream you can hear from the kitchen when the windows are open. It’s very peaceful. It sounds like you need some peace.”

“You deserve a beautiful life.”

“So let me share it with you. At least think about it?”

Toby nodded and began to clean up. “Will you still come see me in San Francisco after school’s out?”

“I don’t know. I’d really like an answer before I agree to see you again.”

“Okay. I’m sorry it’s not as easy as it should be.”

“I am too, Toby. Being with you was always so easy.”

Buy the book:

 

 

 

 

Meet the Author

Lynn Charles earned her degree in music education and for many years performed and directed choral music. When she’s not writing, she can be found strolling through local farmers markets near her home in Central Ohio in search of ingredients for new recipes. Her novel Chef’s Table was published in 2014 by Interlude Press.

Where to find the author:

 


Banner300x250Tour Dates & Stops:

7-Apr: Love Bytes, 3 Chicks After Dark, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Hearts on Fire, Jessie G. Books

8-Apr: Happily Ever Chapter, Bonkers About Books, My Fiction Nook

11-Apr: BFD Book Blog, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Oh My Shelves

12-Apr: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance, Divine Magazine

13-Apr: Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Velvet Panic, Book Lovers 4Ever

14-Apr: Louise Lyons, Unquietly Me, Havan Fellows

15-Apr: MM Good Book Reviews, A.M. Leibowitz

18-Apr: Alpha Book Club, V’s Reads

19-Apr: Butterfly-O-Meter, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Bayou Book Junkie

20-Apr: Up All Night, Read All Day, Outrageous Heroes, Molly Lolly, Mikky’s World of Books, Inked Rainbow Reads

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Giveaway

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Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review: A Fortunate Blizzard by L.C. Chase

Rating: 5 stars out of 5    ★★★★★

A Fortunate Blizzard coverThis story was outstanding! Heartwarming and heartbreaking, it made me smile, and it made me cry, and I didn’t want it to end. I love these guys!

Trevor Morrison is dying. It’s a few days before Christmas, and his doctor has just told him that it’s likely his last. She didn’t use those exact words, but she did tell him that his kidney function is getting worse, and the dialysis he’s undergone for the past seven years may not be able to keep the kidney functioning much longer. She’s also given him a pamphlet on making the decision to go off dialysis and die naturally, virtually pain free, a decision he’s been leaning toward making. All this wonderful news is joined by more wonderful news—a blizzard is going to make it impossible to fly out of Denver to visit his family in Connecticut for Christmas.

When he gets stranded on his way to the airport, and the shuttle manages to get to a hotel, he meets Marcus Roberts in the bar. Marc is an attorney and a workaholic who is frustrated that he’s stuck in a hotel when he could have just stayed at his office and kept working. But his assistant forced him out, and now his car is out in a snowbank on the turnpike, and he’s stuck in the hotel. At least he has a room, something that is no longer available to the new arrivals.

One look at Trevor and Marc is struck by the need to get to know him. Initially inviting him to his table to talk, and later, inviting him to his room to share the comforts of the hotel room and other things that might arise, Marc eventually realizes that being forced out of the office that day may be the best thing to ever happen to him.

Trevor is very hesitant to allow anyone to get close to him, but Marc manages to squirm his way under Trevor’s defenses, and when the airport is still not open the next day, Marc invites Trevor back to his home to await Trevor’s rescheduled flight out the day after Christmas. Trevor is very clear that this is only a casual encounter, and Marc agrees, but when neither of them is prepared for it, their emotions complicate the casual and make it more.

They spend Christmas together, and Trevor, a renowned artist, manages to get Marc’s creative spark going by using their artistic skills to decorate for Christmas. Marc has not had a Christmas celebration in many years. Estranged from his mother, a woman who stifled his artistic creativity and shunned him for his sexuality, Marc hasn’t picked up a paintbrush in years. However, with Trevor encouraging him, he begins to think that he might have a future in which he can enjoy artistic pursuits and not just use work as his twenty-four hour a day focus.

All good things end, and when Trevor is gone the day after Christmas, Marc realizes that his priorities need a major overhaul, and one of the first things on his list is to find Trevor and convince him that their future is not impossible.

hurt
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, this one is a keeper. I highly recommend it to all lovers of contemporary M/M romance, especially to those who enjoy a tearjerker, hurt-comfort, men with disabilities, and those who just want a book that they can devour from beginning to end with no interruptions. Don’t miss a chance to read this one!

~~~
Cover Art by L.C. Chase is a beautiful portrayal of two young men, one kissing the cheek of the other, set against a backdrop of a snow scene with an empty park bench— a scene mentioned as being one of Trevor’s art creations in the book. It’s the perfect cover for such a wonderful story.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 175 pages
Expected publication: November 2nd 2015 by Riptide Publishing
original title A Fortunate Blizzard
ISBN13 9781626493391
edition language English

An Ali Audiobook Review: Frat Boy and Toppy (Theta Alpha Gamma #1) by Anne Tenino and Nick J. Russo (Narrator)

Rating: 4.5 star out of 5
Frat Boy and Toppy AudiobookBrad is great at meeting other people’s expectations. But his own? Not so much. Take the gay thing. Okay, so yeah. It took a morning meeting with a frat brother’s hairy, naked ass for him to admit it, but he knows the truth about himself now. Let the gay life commence.

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. He hasn’t quite determined how to come out to anyone, even Sebastian, the geeky-hot TA in his history class. Sebastian is everything Brad is not. Intellectual, suave, hairy. Out. And he doesn’t seem interested in Brad, even when Brad makes a fool of himself trying to catch his notice.

Score one for foolery: Sebastian does more than notice Brad; he takes him to bed. Brad’s been with plenty of girls, but with Sebastian, the sex is something else entirely—hot, mind-blowing, affirming, and a little domineering in a way that drives him wild. But when great sex turns into something more—dare he admit the “L” word?—Brad must face the crushing realization that Sebastian doesn’t feel the same. Unless, of course, he does. After all, even grad students can be idiots about matters of the heart. 
What a fun read this was. These two characters were just great. They both had depth and were likable and funny. Watching them begin a tentative relationship was great. Neither trusts the other’s social group and they live different lifestyles. Brad still hides his sexuality and Sebastian very much does not. Despite their differences they find they have enough in common to build a friendship and eventually love. 
This was one of my first reads in the m/m genre and when I had the chance to review this on audio I was honestly a little worried. My tastes have changed and I wasn’t sure if this would hold up to the test of time. I’m happy to say I loved it just as much this time around. I adore both Brad and Sebastian as they fumble their way into a relationship that neither saw coming. There’s some funny dialogue, a sweet love story, little angst and some smexy times. 

I liked the narrator a lot and I thought he did a great job on all the voices. He really sounded like what I thought Brad & Sebastian would sound like (Sebastian’s “yeah?” at the end of his sentences was super charming and kind of hot on audio). The sex scenes were really smoking hot on audio. I mean really hot.( Like I felt guilty listening to this at work hot). This is one of those books where I think the narration actually adds to the story and this is one I highly recommend be done on audio. 
Cover artist L.C. Chase‘s cover is perfection.  I  wouldn’t change a  thing.
Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing  |  Audible | Amazon |  iTunes

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook
Published (first published March 25th 2012)
Original TitleFrat Boy and Toppy
SeriesTheta Alpha Gamma #1
CharactersBrad Feller, Sebastian DeWitt settingPacific Northwest (United States)

 

A BJ Review: Lost and Found by Z. A Maxfield

Rating:  4.5 stars out of 5

LostAndFound_500x750Lost: one dog and two men in need of each other. Found: love.

RV resort security chief Ringo never believed in love at first sight . . . until he saw Gavin playing his sax on the beach for the tourists. But their on-again, off-again affair—even counting all the great makeup sex—doesn’t come close to the relationship he wants. All he really wants for Christmas is a commitment from Gavin.

Instead he discovers that Gavin has had surgery without telling him, so he lays down a relationship ultimatum while Gavin recuperates. Complicating matters even more, Gavin’s beloved dog Bird runs away, and Gavin blames Ringo for the disappearance.

While Ringo throws every resource he has into finding Bird, he learns deeper truths about Gavin—how hard it is for him to trust and how little faith he has in love. Maybe if Ringo can find Bird, he can salvage Gavin’s faith. Maybe this Christmas, they can all find each other.

(20% of all proceeds are donated to the Ali Forney Center in New York, whose mission “is to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) youth from the harm of homelessness, and to support them in becoming safe and independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood.)


I loved this story for so many reasons, and it could have been a five star read for me. First, the setting in a Southern California RV resort was both unique and perfect. It not only shows a lot about the main character Gavin’s personality, but is a rather unique profession for the other MC to work there. And as someone who lives in SoCal and has a family member who actually lives in one of those down in near the beach. SCORE!

Adored both of the characters. They were original, flawed, a bit broken… they felt like real, ordinary guys just trying to make it. Ringo, with his big ethnic family and kind heart, was just so sweet. The way he kept giving Gavin chances rather than giving up on him, the way he looked inside to try and see why he was doing the things he did, the way he saw that the was hurting himself even when he was lashing out at Ringo. I adored how he thought things through and tried over and over rather than giving up on something, and the story of how that came to be a part of his personality from a childhood event felt right.

Gavin, also from an ethnic background but rather than growing up in a close and supportive big family, he’d been neglected and had a hard childhood. Now on his own except for his dog, Bird, he finds it hard to trust that someone can really care for him enough to stick with him and often pushed people away. Yes, he was a badly flawed character with anger management and trust issues that caused himself and others around him hurt. But that was only a part of him, and Ringo saw behind that to all the good and beautiful parts that he hid behind that. Well, these two together just worked for me. The unusual dynamic between them blew me away. The ending was beautiful, but still I would love to read more about them.

The one thing that kept the story from being a five for me was the way Bird was handled. I’m a complete dog person, I own quite a few, and I’d really wished that Bird had been more of a character from the start. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until close to the end that he actually came alive as a character on his own. Before that, he was just Gavin’s dog. In fact it was pretty far into the story before we are even told his breed, which is a chocolate lab, or given any real description of him. In the end, he does get to come alive, but it could have been so much more of a rich and emotional story if we’d been given more about him closer to the beginning. If he’d been a real character from the start.

I love the cover by L.C. Chase! It has the perfect feel for the story…capturing the California beach feel with the Hispanic character and his sax, even his attire is perfect as described. Cover scores a five out of five stars for me.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | ARe | Amazon


Book Details:  

ebook, 140 pages
Published December 2nd 2013 by Riptide Publishing (first published November 30th 2013)
ISBN 1626490856 (ISBN13: 9781626490857)
Edition Language English

A MelanieM Review: Champagne Kisses by Lynda Aicher

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Champagne KissesThe Christmas Eve wedding Evan Cleary pulled together in four weeks is crashing down around him and taking his fledgling event planning business with it. With an empty altar and over a hundred guests arriving soon, he turns to the resistant, gorgeous brother of the runaway groom for help.

When Richard Patterson’s flamboyant brother storms out hours before he’s scheduled to marry his equally dramatic partner, Richard is left dealing with the fallout. The last thing he wants is more drama, yet he can’t deny his attraction to the effeminate event planner trying to salvage the wedding.

Evan thinks his crush on Richard is a lost cause, but one steaming kiss later, he learns different. What starts as a night of hot sex turns into a connection neither expected. But Evan knows their relationship is hopeless unless the ultra-conservative Richard can embrace every part of him—both in private and in public.

Short, sweet and sexy, this Christmas novella is the very definition of  opposites attract. Lynda Aicher starts off on one side of the spectrum with Evan Cleary. Flamboyant, some would say delicate to the point of being effeminate, Evan has worked hard on this Christmas Eve wedding which was to launch his event planning business…even though it had disaster written all over it, starting with the couple in question.

His opposite is Richard Patterson, masculine, solid, gorgeous, someone who has never been attracted before to someone of Evan’s “type”, until now, an attitude that doesn’t sit especially well with Evan.  It’s a night of emotional meltdowns, harsh attitudes, and revelations set amidst a wedding that  anyone would call the wedding of your dreams.  Aicher has described it in detail and I’m sure more than one reader sighed in response.

I liked the clash of personalities which included that of Richard’s  brother and Evan, which had a friendship here too.  There is a bit of hot domination play here and enough drama to satisfy those who need it in their relationship stories.  All in all a satisfying sexy romp.

My only issues?  Some very iffy word choices, a very big no if you are at all familiar with my reviews.  Two words that should never appear with regard to the male anatomy…canal and channel.   And they both appear here.  I just start waiting for the tugboats to appear.  Or river barges or things of that nature.  It almost got this story knocked down to a 3 star but no, the rest of it was charming. When they appear, close your eyes and move swiftly past.  Other than that, this story is a keeper.

Cover art by L.C. Chase is nice but doesn’t have enough details to make it stand out from any other cover.

Sales Links:   Riptide Publishing | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 83 pages
Published December 14th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
Original TitleChampagne Kisses
ISBN139781626493759
Edition LanguageEnglish
URL