Category: M/M Contemporary Fiction

A Stella Review: A Fighting Man (Men of Manhattan #3) by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

A Fighting Man coverArmy Ranger Slater Cassidy has a very special – very sexy – target in his sights. Meeting gorgeous, smart, uber-snarky Casper Kennedy was the highlight of Slater’s last trip home to New York. The soldier in him carefully plans his conquest. Unfortunately, Casper’s wearing some seriously strong armor and Slater’s charm offensives bounce right off. Casper’s refusal to fall for him is puzzling – not to mention incredibly annoying. When Slater gets leave again after grueling back-to-back tours in Afghanistan, all he wants is another shot at wooing Casper. He jumps right into the battle for the other man’s heart, but Casper does not intend to entertain the troops.

A heartbreaking revelation changes the rules of romantic warfare, and Slater suddenly realizes he doesn’t just want Casper. He wants to capture his heart, too.

 Casper Kennedy is fighting a losing battle. A certain outrageously demonstrative Army Ranger has been a thorn in his side since his last trip home – and the main character in his steamiest dreams. Now he’s back. He launches an all-out sensual assault and no matter how hard Casper pushes Slater away, the man somehow manages to inch closer. So close, in fact, that Casper’s once-impenetrable defenses are in danger of collapsing. Should he throw up the white flag and take a chance at love? Or start firing back and keep his heart protected? When the handsome Ranger shows his true colors, Casper just might have to surrender the fight

A Fighting Man is the third book in the Men of Manhattan series. You can’t help but love this series. These books are all well written and the characters (main and second ones) are so enjoyable and well depicted, I had the feeling of knowing them forever.

Casper Kennedy is a 25-year old administrative assistant. He lost his lover, Mason, three years ago, they were engaged when Mason died in the field. He’s still missing Mason badly, so it’s hard to him to fall for the stubborn Sergeant that has his eyes on Casper.

Slater Cassidy is an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, and from the first time he saw Casper, he knew he had to have the man. Now is coming home on leave for a month. Can it be enough to conquer Casper? He will try everything, from sending him a fake police officer to made a striptease, to a serenade with the Casper film’s theme song.

After losing Mason, Carter is afraid to fall in love again, specially with a military guy, but thanks to an ad campaign and a little jealousy, Slater is slowly making his way into Casper’s life. Will Casper surrender to Slater?

As I already said at the start on this review I really loved this book. First of all it’s a funny and easy reading, I particularly liked the dialogue parts, they were fast paced and entertaining. The double POV use is my fave, cause I need to know what goes through my characters’ mind and in this case, seeing them both struggle with their feeling till almost the end and overcome their fears was heartbreaking and hard to watch without being able to hug and reassure them, but so worth it.

Some parts were really emotional, I’m thinking for example at the family aspect in this story. I ached for Casper, he was very unlucky with families. His parents don’t speak with him since he came out, Mason’s family didn’t even let him know Mason was dead. Finally he has found a new family in Slater’s mum, Raquel,(she rocks!) and in Blaine and Spencer.

There’s a great support cast, funny and strong as Casper and Slater. I can see more couple in the future books.

Highly recommended!

Cover artist by Wilde City Press. Nothing special in this cover and all the others in this series. They are nice to look at but nothing more.

Sales Links:   Wilde City Press     All Romance (ARe)     Amazon      Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 103 pages
Published May 7th 2014 by Wilde City Press
ISBN139781925180022
edition languageEnglish
seriesMen of Manhattan #3

 

The Men of Manhattan Series:

  • A Betting Man (Men of Manhattan, #1)
  • A Marrying Man (Men of Manhattan, #2)
  • A Fighting Man (Men of Manhattan, #3)
  • A Working Man (Men of Manhattan, #4)
  • A Healing Man (Men of Manhattan, #5)

Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review of Take Heart by Willa Okati

Rating; 2.5 stars out of 5

takeheart_exlarge_PNG-210x336Dr Brendan West arrives at St. Hawk’s Medical Center for two reasons: first, because he’s onboard as a temp in the ER to cover for another doctor on leave, and second, because he’s heard great things about this area— stories that made him feel that there’s a charm to the town that brings good things to good people. He starts to feel the peace and serenity of the area and enjoy the charm of the town but is afraid to jump in wholeheartedly because he knows his time here is only temporary.

He meets Evan, a heart transplant patient who’s there for an annual checkup and is immediately attracted, then disappointed that Evan is taken when his partner, Griff, walks in. Griff is sending signals that Brendan is afraid he might be misinterpreting. He feels Griff checking him out but that couldn’t be—because he and Evan are a couple, aren’t they? It turns out that Griff and Evan have been known to take on a third over the years and they would like Brendan to join them for a night, or more, of ménage. He finally takes them up on their offer, and it’s more than he could have hoped for. They want him to stay permanently, but he’s sets his boundaries knowing he’s going to be leaving. The story is mostly about that push-pull struggle to decide what to do, i.e. self-inflicted angst as Brendan hovers between wanting to commit to them and wanting to stay detached.

It’s hard to put into words why this story didn’t grab me, but the easiest way to describe it is that it was as if I went to see a movie where the characters spoke quietly in short, staccato sentences, grunts, and mumbles, and the videographer set the scene too dark to be able to make out which characters were speaking, and then to top it all off, it was hard to see what they were actually doing at the time. I had to reread passages and entire pages multiple times to verify who was speaking. I also had trouble visualizing exactly what position each character was in during the sex scenes, but that may have been complicated by the fact that I wasn’t sure who was speaking so it was just hard to imagine. And why have a sex scene if the reader can’t visualize it?

There were many secondary characters in the story so I kept expecting that some action would take place with them, but they either weren’t important to the story or the interaction didn’t take place on page. One example is Brendan’s boss, Dr. Gabriel. We see him outside of office hours but the “important meeting” he’s supposed to have with Brendan is glossed over in that scene. Most men in the story were apparently gay as well, so perhaps the author was introducing characters who will be featured in future installments of this St. Hawk’s Medical Center series.

And my last issue is that I never really understood why Evan and Griff felt that Brendan was so different that they wanted to make the offer to join them permanent. They certainly had no reason to do so from the beginning since they really didn’t even know him at first, and they had previously played with other men in a threesome, so why he was special just didn’t seem to make sense. Perhaps if the author had filled in more on their background or indicated in some way that they had been searching for a permanent third for a long time, it would have made a bit more sense when they got together with him.

The more I write this review, the more I realize that it feels like I’m trying to remember details of a fuzzy dream, and they aren’t coming to me. I’m going to assume that’s because of my above description of how difficult it was to follow the storyline. So I’ll just end the review by saying that if you love ménage, you might like this, but it’s not something that I would recommend to others looking for a romance novel with a strong storyline.

Cover Art by Posh Gosh depicts a handsome, bare-chested man with a scenic landscape background. Although the cover is attractive, it does not depict details of the story.

Sales Links:  Totally Bound Books    All Romance (ARe)   Amazon    Buy It Here

Book Details:

Novella, word count: 34341
ISBN: 9781784303891
eBook
genres: gay, menage, contemporary, series

St. Hawk’s Medical Series:

  • Take Heart
  • Give Chase

A Closer Look at Alex Beecroft and Trowchester Blues (contest)

magnifying glass and focus

Trowchester Blues cover

 Trowchester Blues by Alex Beecroft

Here today is Alex Beecroft talking about Trowchester Blues, the first in a new series and one of Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words’ highly recommended reads.  Here Alex is talking a little bit about why England as a setting…

I’ve answered so many questions and written so many blog posts about this book that I’ve got to admit I’m running out of things to say, so I’m going to start plundering the questions people have asked me already.

In an early interview, I think with Riptide for their featured author spot, I was asked “Why do you choose to set your books in England?” I gave a short answer there, but I’ve got more to say, so I’m going to flesh it out a bit here.

The first factor, of course, is the simple requirement to “Write what you know.” When I write historicals or fantasies, that part isn’t really important. I imagine things hard, or I do as much research as I can, and – and this is the crucial thing – nobody else knows any better. So I can write whatever I like and nobody can say ‘pah, what do you know?’

But in contemporary life, if I wanted to write a story set in the USA, there would be thousands of people who knew that setting better than me. I’d be working from research and imagination, they’d be working from a knowledge that had settled into them over a lifetime. How could I, a stranger, ever draw a portrait of a location that was anything but a shallow veneer compared to the reality experienced by someone who actually lives there, someone who knows what the nights smell like, and how the dust on the pavements (sidewalks) squeaks under the shoe.

Much better to choose a setting that I know that intimately, so that when my editor says “You’ve said he left his sledgehammer ‘in’ the porch. Don’t you mean ‘on’ the porch?” I can reply “No. The kind of thing you call a porch we call a verandah. “This is a porch in the UK.”

If I set a novel in the UK then suddenly I am the one who has a lifetime’s experience with the mores, assumptions and unstated expectations that rule the characters’ lives. As Oscar Wilde says, Britain and America are two great nations separated by a common language, but we’re also separated by different assumptions and cultures. Fifty Shades of Grey, from what I’ve heard, is written by a Brit who doesn’t really understand how the culture in the US works, and it shows. (Her characters wear dressing gowns instead of robes, and make cups of tea for visiting workmen, which is de rigueur over here but I hear is not done in the US.)

Plus, I know what the evening sunlight looks like on the Peaks, and I’ve experienced the intimidating unassailable politeness of your average policeman, and I have tasted the food, and attempted to hold my own in the relentless banter of your average pub, and I know whereof I speak.

All of that aside, why not set a story in the UK? It’s not the done thing to say so – patriotism is considered a bit suspicious in Britain, a bit vulgar and worrisome, as if it’s a sign that you’re also a closet UKIP member – but I kind of like my country. Admittedly, I don’t know any better, because I’ve never lived anywhere else. But although I hated London, as soon as I moved out into the countryside I felt like I’d come home.

Do you watch Miss Marple? With the gossipy neighbours in their beautiful, twee little villages. Murder, surrounded by dahlias? Those twee little villages actually do exist still. The churches and the ancient monuments, the landscape covered in ruins and history, the summer fetes in which the local vicar has to award a prize for the grower of the best marrow? It’s all true. And having plunged myself into that lifestyle eagerly and discovered the joys of the yearly agricultural shows, harvest festival, Plough Monday and the pagan weirdness of things like the “Straw Bear Festival”, I wanted to celebrate the charming eccentricity and the continued survival of that way of life.Straw Bear Festival

Variety is the spice of life, after all. And despite our reputation for the blandest food on the surface of the earth, you can’t go into a UK curry house and not realize that we also love our spice. There’s a lot to be explored in a country where the accent and the culture can change completely within five miles. Who better to explore it than someone who’s lived it all of their lives?

About Trowchester Blues:

Michael May is losing it. Long ago, he joined the Metropolitan Police to escape his father’s tyranny and protect people like himself. Now his father is dead, and he’s been fired for punching a suspect. Afraid of his own rage, he returns to Trowchester—and to his childhood home, with all its old fears and memories. When he meets a charming, bohemian bookshop owner who seems to like him, he clings tight.

Fintan Hulme is an honest man now. Five years ago, he retired from his work as a high class London fence and opened a bookshop. Then an old client brings him a stolen book too precious to turn away, and suddenly he’s dealing with arson and kidnapping, to say nothing of all the lies he has to tell his friends. Falling in love with an ex-cop with anger management issues is the last thing he should be doing.

Finn thinks Michael is incredibly sexy. Michael knows Finn is the only thing that still makes him smile. But in a relationship where cops and robbers are natural enemies, that might not be enough to save them.

– See more here at Riptide Publishing.  And you can follow the tour here.

About Alex Beecroft…

Alex Beecroft is an English author best known for historical fiction, notably Age of Sail, featuring gay characters and romantic storylines. Her novels and shorter works include paranormal, fantasy, and contemporary fiction.

Beecroft won Linden Bay Romance’s (now Samhain Publishing) Starlight Writing Competition in 2007 with her first novel, Captain’s Surrender, making it her first published book. On the subject of writing gay romance, Beecroft has appeared in the Charleston City Paper, LA Weekly, the New Haven Advocate, the Baltimore City Paper, and The Other Paper. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association of the UK and an occasional reviewer for the blog Speak Its Name, which highlights historical gay fiction.

Alex was born in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and grew up in the wild countryside of the English Peak District. She lives with her husband and two children in a little village near Cambridge and tries to avoid being mistaken for a tourist.

Alex is only intermittently present in the real world. She has led a Saxon shield wall into battle, toiled as a Georgian kitchen maid, and recently taken up an 800-year-old form of English folk dance, but she still hasn’t learned to operate a mobile phone.

She is represented by Louise Fury of the L. Perkins Literary Agency.

Connect with Alex:
Website: alexbeecroft.com
Blog: alexbeecroft.com/blog
Facebook: facebook.com/AlexBeecroftAuthor
Twitter: @Alex_Beecroft
Goodreads: goodreads.com/Alex_Beecroft

Giveaway

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for an e-book from Alex Beecroft’s backlist (excepting Trowchester Blues). Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on February 15. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.

TrowchesterBlues_TourBanner

A MelanieM Review: The Truth as He Knows It (Perspectives #1) by A.M. Arthur

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Lies are the chains that keep you weighed down at rock bottom.

The Truth As He Knows It coverNoel Carlson is now living as a police officer in the town of Stratton, Pennsylvania.  The scars he carries, on body and in mind, are not the only reminders of the gay bashing in college.  It also left his first love and best friend Tristan institutionalized with brain damage. And Noel his only visitor.  Weekly visits to Tristan and some of the comments Noel has overheard at work have kept him firmly in the closet, even to his partner.  Then an official call to an apartment building on a nuisance violation changes all that.

The loud noises from an out of control female bachelor party brings Off. Noel Carlson and his partner face to face with a tied up, dazed male stripper. Since the stripper had violated no laws, Noel lets him go.  Later Noel finds that he can’t forget the gorgeous man in the thong with the butterfly tattoo.

Shane Joseph has had a terrible life and it has left him with overwhelming debts to repay, especially to the brother who sacrificed nearly everything for him. His two jobs, in a deli and as a stripper, leave him no time for a social life.  But when his last job brings a gorgeous cop to his rescue, Shane thinks his might be missing out on something.  Another encounter at the deli reinforces that impression, especially when it seems that Noel wants more than sex and a quick hookup.  Soon a shaky bond is formed and Shane and Noel start to hope that they might even have a future together.

But Shane has huge secrets that he is hiding from everyone, including his brother.  And past history has taught him that lying brings less pain than telling the truth.  But now those lies are piling up and threatening to drown Shane.  Shane wants to come clean to those he loves, including Noel.  But when the revelations are done, will Shane still have anyone to come home to?

Whew!  What an emotionally wrenching read.  A. M. Arthur certainly knows how to build a story complete with strong, vulnerable characters you grow to care about.  A carryover from Arthur’s Cost of Repairs (book and series), the reverberations of the events and gay bashing continue to spread through the storyline here.  The Truth As He Knows It is the first in Arthur’s new Perspectives series that will feature characters from the Cost of Repairs books and new characters such as Shane.  But honestly, as well written as this story is, I’m not sure I’m going to continue on.

As I stated before this author creates believable, viable human beings for her stories.  The settings, locations, and events that occur translate as authentic and real.  For example, the beaten-up old trailer and disreputable, grungy trailer park where Shane and his brother Jason, reside, is so vividly described that the reader will have no problem visualizing such a desperately poor and hard scrabble sort of existence both brothers have been living.  That aura of desperation and near poverty coats Jason and Shane, leaving them both with a grayness that can’t be washed off.  That’s marvelous writing.  And it continues with Noel and Tristan’s relationship, and carries over into all the interchanges and dialog between every main character here.  So why wouldn’t I want to continue? Why? Because of the unrelenting angst and pain these characters go through.

These characters have been abused, raped, imprisoned, beaten, left brain damaged, scarred, impoverished, victimized in almost every way and it’s not just in the past.  Its past, present, (and if I read the clues right), it continues well into their future…books that is.  The pain and abuse rains down on these people like a 40 year flood that’s just getting started.  Just when you think there’s a possibility of something positive happening or a hopeful turn of events,  the author beats the crap out of that bead of light with a steel baseball bat.  It’s not just the characters that are left reeling, but the reader as well.

I can take angst if it is balanced out with scenes that leave the characters and the reader feeling happy or hopeful or even satisfied that all the time spent reading that story was worthwhile.  And for me, that just didn’t happen.  I felt as beaten up as the characters when it was all over.  And the hints and clues laid down by A.M. Arthur for Tristan’s story made me feel worse.

There are other elements that some readers will have issues with like the constant lying and the out of relationship sex, neither of which bothered me. A. M. Arthur lays out a rational and logical reason for both of those things happening, including an abusive background for Shane that makes his bad decisions seem realistic if sad.  No, it’s that I want more in a romance, more love, more hope, less constant  sorrow.  So, I am leaving this story and series right here.  Not all readers will feel the same.  Others will have a higher tolerance for hurt/comfort or near constant angst then I do, and they will adore this story and most like the series too.  Plus its just that well written that you shouldn’t be surprised to find the tears flowing as certain scenes unfold. So…what’s left to say.

I’m not giving any recommendations one way or the other.  Instead, you know what type of reader you are so I will leave the decision up to you.  I have read and loved A.M. Arthur’s stories in the past, including some in the Cost of Repairs series like Foundation of Trust.  Arthur is a terrific writer. I will continue to pick up and read Arthur’s new books as they arrive (mostly).  I will let you all into what I discover!

Cover artist: ?  I loved that cover, intimate and sexy.  Too bad I have no idea who created it.

Sales Links:  Samhain Publishing      All Romance (ARe)         Amazon   Buy it here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 289 pages
Expected publication: February 10th 2015 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
ASINB00ODW2IEM
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://amarthur.blogspot.com.au/
seriesPerspectives #1

Love Times 6 with Storming Love: Blizzard from MLR Press! (tour and contest)

MLRRC

It’s Cold Outside!  Here are 6 stories to Love from 6 Terrific Authors!

Book Name: Storming Love: Blizzard
Set of 6 books – All are standalone

Author Names: Sara York, Neil Plakcy, RJ Scott, Vicktor Alexander, Nicole Dennis, Jackie Nacht

Author Bios:

About Sara York

Writing is Sara York’s life. The stories fight to get out, often leaving her working on four or five books at once. She can’t help but write. Along with her writing addiction Sara has a coffee addiction. Some nights, the only reason she stops writing and goes to sleep is for the fresh brewed coffee in the morning.

Sara enjoys writing twisted tales of passion, anger, and love with a good healthy dose of lust thrown in for fun. Almost a quarter of a century ago she met her lover, falling for him after knowing him for ten minutes. Sara’s passion for him comes out in her stories, mixing with her passion for life, love, and good times, flowing onto the page and becoming tales from the heart.

Sara York

About Neil Placky

Neil Plakcy has been reading romance novels since he used to borrow Harlequins from his mother as a teenager. He is delighted to have his first M/M romance, GayLife.com, under contract with MLR.

  He is the author of Mahu, Mahu Surfer, Mahu Fire and Mahu Vice (August 2009), mystery novels which take place in Hawaii. Publishers Weekly called Mahu Fire “Engrossing… a sharp whodunit,” and the book has received enthusiastic reviews from Library Journal, Out, In LA, and many mystery and GLBT websites.

He is co-editor of Paws & Reflect: A Special Bond Between Man and Dog and editor of the gay erotica anthologies Hard Hats and Surfer Boys.

Plakcy is a journalist and book reviewer and writes author interviews for Gaywired.com. He is an assistant professor of English at Broward College’s south campus in Pembroke Pines, vice president of the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America, and a frequent contributor to gay anthologies.

http://www.mahubooks.com

About RJ Scott

I am a writer of male/male novels and short stories.

Writing MM Romance with a Happy Ever After…

I am in awe that people read my writing and thank you all for taking the time to read, rate and review. Rj xxxxx

About me…I live in the UK just outside London. I love reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror; however, my first real love will always be the world of romance. My goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and more than a hint of happily ever after.

http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk

About Vicktor Alexander:

Vicktor Alexander “Vic” wrote his first story at the age of 10 about his youngest sister and her destruction of the world…with her breath.  Much to his youngest sister’s dismay the story was a hit and became the first story of a series all dealing with the planets that were destroyed by his siblings and their strange quirks and body odors. Vic now enjoys writing about shifters, humanoids, cowboys, firemen, rent boys, fairies, elves, dancers, doctors, Doms, Subs, and anything else that catches his fancy, all sexy men falling in love with each other and having lots of naughty, dirty, man-on-man sex.  Author of the best-selling series, The Tate Pack, Vic is a huge fan of the “happily-ever-after” ending. But while his characters all ride off into the proverbial sunset, all sexually satisfied and in love, they all bear the scars of fighting for that love, just like in real life. Out and proud, Vic does not believe that love only comes in one form, one race, one gender and that not only is gender fluid, by sexuality as well.  Vic loves to make people laugh and when he’s not writing, or rather, procrastinating in writing, he’s reading, playing the Sims 3, hanging out with his very supportive adopted family, talking to his adopted daughter, whom he affectionately calls “Chipmunk”, seeking the man or men who can handle his crazy, stressful, soap opera-esque life and being distracted from his writing by drooling over pictures of John Barrowman, Scott Hoying, Charlie David and Shemar Moore.

http://vicktoralexander.com

About Nicole Dennis:

Ever the quiet one growing up, Nicole Dennis often slid away from reality and curled up with a book to slip into the worlds of her favorite authors. Over the years, she’s created a personal library full of novels filled with dragons, fairies, vampires, shapeshifters of all kinds, and romance. Always she returned to romance. Still, there were these characters in her head, worlds wanting to be built on paper, and stories wanting to be told and she began writing them down whether during or after class. She continues to this day. Only recently has it begun to become fruitful, spreading out to let others read and enter her worlds, meet her characters, and see what she sees. No matter what she writes, her stories of romance with their twists of paranormal, fantasy, and erotica will always have their Happily Ever Afters.

She currently works in a quiet office in Central Florida, where she also makes her home, and enjoys the down time to slip into her characters and worlds to escape reality from time to time. At home, she becomes human slave to a semi-demonic tortie calico.

She loves to hear from readers and fans, so don’t be shy. Find her on the net or send an email. http://www.nicoledennisauthor.com

About Jackie Nacht

Short, sexy and sweet—where a little love goes a long way.

That’s the best way to describe Jackie Nacht’s stories. She was introduced to M/M Romance through her sister, Stephani, and read it for years. Then, she thought it was time to put her own stories on paper. She began writing short and sweet stories that ended with a happily ever after.

Thinking back to her own book addiction, where there were many nights she stayed up way too late so she could read just one more chapter—yeah, right—she decided to write short romances for young adults as well as adults. Hopefully, they will give high school and college students or working men and women something they can read during their lunch hour, in between classes or just when they want to briefly get away from the daily stresses of everyday life.

You can find her on Facebook, Twitter and at her webpage http://www.jackienacht.com

Where to find the authors:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jackie.nacht
https://www.facebook.com/author.rjscott?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/sara.york1?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/NicoleDennis.Author?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/vicktoralexanderb?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/neil.plakcy?fref=ts

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JackieNacht
https://twitter.com/Rjscott_author
https://twitter.com/VVeeB
https://twitter.com/sarayork
https://twitter.com/NeilPlakcy
https://twitter.com/NDennis_Author

MLRBannerTemplate

Publisher: MLR Press
Cover Artist: Kris Jacen

Sales Links available at MLR Press LLC

Storming Love:Blizzard Blurbs:

Storming Love: Blizzard – Jens & Elliot by Sara York (release date: 1/23/15)

Jens Arnesen is only looking for a taste of the city, a place to experience Boston. What he finds is a sexy naked man who ends up being more than he bargained for. Elliot Matthews needs a place to stay until the storm blows over and the airports open. Being walked in on by Jens starts out as an annoyance but grows into the best thing in his life. When the skies clear and the airports open, they have no choice but to part. If only they lived closer to each other then life would be perfect.
When the storm throws them together, can Jens and Elliot make the most of the situation?

Storming Love: Blizzard – Kimo & Mike by Neil Plakcy (release date: 1/30/15)

Former competitive surfer and Honolulu homicide detective Kimo Kanapa’aka is in his element in his home state of Hawaii. But a ski trip with his partner, fire investigator Mike Riccardi, knocks him off balance. As a bitter storm rages outside the condo where they’re staying, one of Mike’s college buddies is feuding with his wife and the other is making sexy overtures to Kimo. Will these tensions ruin the vacation and perhaps even drive a wedge between Kimo and Mike?

Storming Love: Blizzard – Seth & Casey by RJ Scott (release date: 2/6/15)

The blizzard of the century has stranded teacher Casey McGuire and pupils at a country retreat. As a last resort and fearing for their lives he calls his ex, fireman Seth Wild. The same man who promised that he would always be there for Casey.

Seth is on sick leave after a terrible accident leaves him near dead. He’s wallowing in self pity and he’s already driven away the only man who cared about him. Casey. When he receives the call, he is the only person left to help and nothing will stop him.

Because if Seth can’t help, then very possibly Casey and the kids won’t make it out of this alive.

Storming Love: Blizzard – Layne, River & Damion by Vicktor Alexander (release date: 2/13/15)

It has taken Damion Martin six months to finally start to get over the startling break-up from his partner Layne Haylse. They’d been high school sweethearts and blissfully in love. Then the man suddenly wanted nothing to do with him. Having to work with him at Yale University almost every day made the separation that much harder. Meeting the young marketing major, River Cunningham, may just be the ticket to helping Damion heal.

But they say that to every story there’s two sides, and the truth lies somewhere in the middle. When a harrowing blizzard crashes through Connecticut, trapping all three men inside the campus library, they will soon find that sometimes things aren’t as black and white as they seem. When the truth is revealed, it may change their lives forever.

Storming Love: Blizzard – Gavin & Morgan by Nicole Dennis (release date: 2/20/15)

Drained from forecasting both hurricanes and twisters, Gavin Larson, a meteorologist, accepts a request to become the head forecaster for a Philadelphia television station. He goes for a trial time during winter. A calm, quiet winter where he can recharge. Until he discovers a series of potential events ready to clash.

Taking over his family’s position, Morgan Rylee Whittaker III feels the pressure to follow their lofty attitude, he can’t stay hidden in the executive suites. He jumps into the chaos. Bumping into the meteorologist, Morgan feels a thump of arousal, but listens when Gavin locates a dangerous blizzard heading up the coast.

Together, they protect and prepare Philadelphia from the incoming nor’easter. They dance around the steady beat of attraction brewing between them as the storm rages.

Storming Love: Blizzard – Stokes & Ford by Jackie Nacht (release date: 2/27/15)

Ford and Stokes are about to weather two storms; the blizzard coming their way and their growing feelings for one another.

Stokes has been rooming with Ford ever since the first day of college. Although his feelings had started out as friendly, over time, they have grown deeper. He’s fallen for Ford, hard, but how the hell is Stokes going to tell Ford? When college winter break approaches, Stokes decides to take Ford up to his parent’s rental to have a fun weekend with Ford and finally let his best friend know what he feels. However, with a blizzard coming in, they will have to weather the storm outside and in their hearts.
Categories: Vary by book.

Pages or Words: Vary by book
Tour Dates: February 12, 2015

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Parker Williams, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Kimi-Chan, BFD Book Blog, Hearts on Fire, Andrew Q. Gordon, Emotion in Motion, Cathy Brockman Romances, Cate Ashwood, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Bayou Book Junkie, Havan Fellows, Charley Descoteaux, Bike Book Reviews, Carly’s Book Reviews, The Novel Approach, Amanda C. Stone, Molly Lolly, Velvet Panic, MM Good Book Reviews, Divine Magazine, 3 Chicks After Dark, Because Two Men Are Better Than One, Fallen Angel Reviews, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, EE Montgomery, For the Love of Bookends, Nephylim

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $25 GC winners choice and I choice of one backlist from authors on the tour. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

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A Stella Review: The Biker’s Pup by Sean Michael

Rating 3 stars out of 5

The Biker's Pup coverWhip came to the Gay Riders Carnival fundraiser weekend looking for a good time, but what he found was infinitely better.

Whip always has a good time at the Gay Riders Carnival, and this year he’s hoping to meet up with some studs and top last year’s festivities. The last thing he expects when he walks into his cabin is to be nearly bowled over by a skinny lad with a bruised jaw.

Nick came to the Carnival with his so-called Master Dirk, but instead of having a good time, things moved quickly from bad to worse and Dirk responded to his safeword with a punch. Running away and hiding was Nick’s only option.

 Broke, alone and not entirely sure how he’s going to get home, Nick thinks Whip is a dream come to life and he’s just waiting for the other shoe to drop. For his part, Whip is drawn to the sweet pup and falls hard for Nick over the course of the long weekend.

But what’s going to happen when the weekend is over?

 

Being a huge Sean fan, I try to be objective in the rating and not going with 5 stars, so I give this book just 3 stars cause I have to complain with the author about the sex part. I’m used to high levels of hotness and unfortunately The Biker’s Pup wasn’t so hot. And I want to add that if you have some issues with the BDSM world, you don’t have to worry, in this book it’s very light. There’s just a short demo of a figging (I had no idea something like that existed, if you are curious have a look http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figging).

Speaking of the sex aspect, can I have a rant moment please? Some people like to define some of the Sean’s books using the PWP acronym (Porn Without Plot). I know I’m biased cause I’m a Sean fan but I really hate this description, although I’m the first to say there isn’t a lot of plot in this book and in other ones. That’s one of the the reason I read them. The other reason is that I don’t like watch porn, I prefer to read about it. A couple of weeks ago I read Guns, Leather and Tinsel and that was so hot and sexy, I found it compelling. Then a week ago I start the Mannies Incorporated series and there was a plot, not just steamy sex, but a sweet and funny story. I love this author’s writing cause, looking at all his works, I can find the perfect book that fit my day mood.

The Biker’s Pup by Sean Michael is not one of that dark biker’s stories I lately read. What I read was a sweet and tender story, sometimes a little too much, but it was very welcome.

Whip goes to the Gay Riders Carnival weekend to enjoy some fun times with a friend or a sub and to join the Mr Leatherman contest. When he comes to the cabin he rented, he finds Nick, a young man abused by his ex dom, the worst dom ever, who actioned Nick as a slave and beat him frequently. The poor Nick is lonely, without money and without a future.

“…just tell me what you want.”
“A place,” Nicky finally finished. “Like somewhere I belong.”

But Whip is sweet and protective of this scared twink. They soon feel a bond that will lead them to hope for more. Whip will find his pup and Nick an angel, who will help him to straighten out his life.

“Oh… Are you for real? You’re like an angel in leather who showed up just when I needed you.”
Whip snorted. “I’m not an angel, pup.”
“You’re starting to seem like my angel.”

They will spent a weekend together at the Carnival, having fun and some (not too hot) sex and Whip will try to convince his pup to come home with him. But Nick is used to people treating him badly and wanting him just for the sex. Can he convince himself that Whip is for real and for the long haul?

“I’ll hold on tight.”
“I’m counting on it, pup.”

So, if you like some light BDSM with a caring dom and a sweet sub, I can totally recommend The Biker’s Pup to you.

Cover art by Posh Gosh. I’m sorry to say I don’t like it. Of course it’s well done and surely could have been used for another book, cause in my opinion it doesn’t fit the story, or better the characters. The models on the cover really aren’t how I imagined Nick and Whip in my mind.

Sales Links:   Totally Bound Books   All Romance (ARe)      Amazon     Buy it here

Book Details:
Published January 9th 2015 by Totally Bound
ebook, 74 pages
ISBN13 9781784303556
Edition language: English

 

On the Road with A. F. Henley’s Road Trip! (guest blog and giveaway)

Let’s turn up the music, roll down the windows

and head out on the road

with A. F. Henley!

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A Giveaway and Guest Blog  for my newest release… Road Trip

My Road Trip by A. F. Henley

Is there anything more exciting (and at the same time as nerve-wracking) as the prospect of taking a road trip? If everything goes smoothly, it can be one of the best times of a person’s life – odd places, interesting sights, the freedom of the open road, and the opportunity to experience something brand new. I think the idea calls to those of us who still have some of the wanderer buried deep down under the partitioned, organized, drudgery of day-to-day existence.

I took my own road trip while I was working on Road Trip, although mine was more of the Eastern side of the United States as opposed to Boyd’s journey of ‘sea to shining sea.’ It was crazy exhilarating, at times it was more than a little bit scary (yes, things really are different on the other side of that there border), but I can honestly say that I’ve never felt so empowered by something as simple as taking holidays before. I stopped where I wanted to stop, looked at what I wanted to look at, and if the idea of wondering off my chosen path hit me, I went with it.

I learned a lot as I travelled. For example:

• American border guards art not interested in your sense of humor, thank you very much, please step out of the car.

• The people in New York are either pleasantly content or grumpily hostile, and these two personas can be swapped for the either in less than a second.

• Pennsylvania is beautiful—resplendent in hills and mountains with breathtaking views, full of winding roads and courteous drivers, not to mention all kinds of back-to-nature goodness—and you will spend more time looking at your map thinking, how can I possibly not be through this state YET?!, because of it.

• Maryland is a super cool state to travel through because you get to mark off an entire state in what seems like the blink of an eye.

• When something goes wrong on the roads in Virginia, it goes very, very wrong. (By the time I arrived at my destination I had coined, and already begun overusing the phrase, “I blame Virginia for everything.”)

• The Outer Banks in North Carolina is where I will someday go to die. For all the right reasons.

• Unless I end up in Tennessee, as it is almost as beautiful as NC but doesn’t have those super-icky beach bugs. Unfortunately, it also doesn’t have the super-awesome beach.

• There are vending machines in the U.S. for almost everything, including placing food orders (and, apparently, hospital scrubs?!). This makes me far more wary than it probably should. Nothing says technological advancement like the slow but steady removal of human beings from damn near every process known to mankind. One day we’ll have a society with nothing left but the robotics and the government… And there, see? I have digressed. Because that is a story for another time.

See, the most important thing I learned along the way was that there is a whole heck of a lot of truth to the adage that the expedition is just as important (if not more) than where you end up. And if life truly is a journey and not a destination, then I’ll happily take mine behind the wheel of my car, with the sun through the windshield and the radio blasting, any day.

Speaking of the radio blasting… how’s about a playlist to carry us through the rest of the tour?

Until next time! ❤

Blurb & Cover for Road Trip!Road Trip Cover

For as long as Boyd can remember, he’s been pushing pins into a map. Carson City, Las Vegas, Albuquerque—all places he wants to see, for a dozen different reasons that wouldn’t mean a thing to anyone else. When he finally gets a chance to purchase the ’69 Road Runner of his dreams, at a price that even he can manage, Boyd jumps at the opportunity.

Oliver seems like just another kid with a broken dream when their paths cross in Vegas. Against Boyd’s better judgment, he offers to let Oliver hitch along for the ride when Oliver confides the need to get out and get gone.

But it’s not long before Boyd realizes Oliver’s reasons for running are more complicated—and more dangerous—than Oliver let on. But Boyd doesn’t like people who play hardball, and he definitely doesn’t like people messing with a man who’s managed to light a fuse that Boyd forgot he had.

Gay Contemporary Romance
Copyright © 2015 by A.F. Henley
Published by Less Than Three Press

Please note: Novel contains some explicit content.

Purchase Link:   Less Than Three Press

Excerpt

It was just another day—just another twenty-four hour period between all the rest of them. Sure, thirty-five years prior, Boyd’s mother had been forcing out a nine-pound, some-odd-ounces mound of entirely unimpressed infant from the depths of her lady parts, but Boyd figured that was an event that should win her more kudos than it should him. As far as celebrating his birthday went, Boyd’s big plan was the acquisition of a bottle of Jim Beam, followed by the slow-but-steady process of sipping himself into an alcohol-induced stupor.

It hadn’t taken long for thirty-five to catch up to him, and it was one of those birthdays where three and a half decades hit like seven. His back ached from sprawling on cold concrete for too many hours. His finger joints burned from years of gripping air tools and turning wrenches. He was bitter and disillusioned, tired and worn out, and doing his best not to lament over the possibility that life truly was as good as it was going to get.

Until he saw the email.

The auto trader website had promised the best deals in the country delivered directly to one’s inbox, free of charge. Simply enter some personal info, vehicle preferences, and wait. Boyd had been a member for almost four years, but it had got to the point where most of the ‘awesome’ notifications were marked and deleted before they were even read. This one had pictures, though, and even if it would take his ancient computer several minutes to chug them into existence, opening it would mean Boyd could live vicariously with somebody else’s chromed baby for a few moments.

The car was a beauty. The body was mint, the engine supposedly ran like a clock, and it was drive-away ready. So when he saw the price, Boyd almost ignored it. A typo, he assumed. Someone forgot a one. An asking price of six-point-two was unheard of. He even went so far as to close and delete the email, to shut down his computer, locate his keys, and head for the front door before he reconsidered. Because, what if…?

What if finally…?

The Giveaway

On behalf of the tour, please join the giveaway by taking part in the Rafflecopter below. The prize consists of a Vintage ‘Chrome’ and Leather Road Runner Key Fob (can you say awesome Father’s Day Gift?), a $20 gift certificate to the Less Than Three Press book market (free books!), and a signed, print copy of Road Trip (when available). Click through for terms and conditions, further details, and your chance to win! See all the details here: 

** Please note that this giveaway is being offered tour-wide and there will be one winner awarded for the entire event. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

ENTER RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE: a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Author Bio :

AF Henley_Avatar cropped

Henley was born with a full-blown passion for run-on sentences, a zealous indulgence in all words descriptive, and the endearing tendency to overuse punctuation. Since the early years Henley has been an enthusiastic writer, from the first few I-love-my-dog stories to the current leap into erotica.

A self-professed Google genius, Henley lives for the hours spent digging through the Internet for ‘research purposes’ which, more often than not, lead seven thousand miles away from first intentions but bring Henley to new discoveries and ideas that, once seeded, tend to flourish.

Henley has been proudly working with LT3 since 2012, and has been writing like mad ever since—an indentured servant to the belief that romance and true love can mend the most broken soul. Even when presented in prose.

You can find or follow A. F. Henley here:
Website: http://afhenley.com/
Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/A.-F.-Henley/e/B00FIODWSK/
Publisher’s Page: http://www.lessthanthreepress.com/author-a-f-henley/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AFHenley
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AFHenley