Category: M/M Paranormal Fiction

An Ali Release Day Review: Breaking Hell’s Rules by Lyssa Dering

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
breaking-hells-rules-by-lyssa-deringWhen succubus Reth finally meets their soul quota and gains freedom from Hell, they decide to take up residence in New Orleans. Immediately they discard the body they’ve been wearing since 1952 and slip into something a little more virile, pleased to find they get a cozy apartment for their trouble. Too bad the apartment has a joint lease with their body’s ex-boyfriend Jude.

Jude is walking around with a black eye and a bad attitude, and when Reth tries to explain things, Jude doesn’t believe them. Plus, he refuses to move out. Reth doesn’t want to take Jude’s soul, and they really like this body. So they show him some succubus action minus the soul-grabbing, hoping to scare him off.

But they never expected for the mortal to take a liking to them. And they never could have predicted just how pure Jude’s soul would be. When Reth unwittingly commits a sin against Lucifer, they’ll need Jude’s help to avoid an eternity of suffering… For them both.
This story was a mixed bag for me.  Some of it I liked a lot but some parts didn’t work for me.  I loved the concept of the story and all of the paranormal characters that were in it.  I thought it was a really unique idea for a book and the plot drew me in right away.  One of my issues though came up right away and that was that Reth was supposed to have no gender and therefore was referred to as “they” or “their”.  It kept confusing me and pulling me out of the story.  I would have to re-read sentences to figure out if “they” was Reth alone or Reth and Jude.  It also didn’t make a lot of sense to me plot wise because initially Reth explains that gender is just for humans but then every other paranormal creature in the story, including another succubus, are all assigned a gender and called “he” or “she”.
The biggest issue though was that I just didn’t feel any connection or love between the two MC’s.  There was a lot of telling me that they loved each other but not a lot of showing.  None of it felt believable to me.  Jude barely batted an eye to find out his boyfriend was dead and his body was now possessed by a demon.
There were a host of great side characters in this and I especially enjoyed the hellhounds.  It’s a cool world that the author has created and I’d like to see this turn into a series so we could see what happens to some of these creatures.
There were parts of this I really liked and then the above mentioned things that didn’t work for me.  Overall I would say it was a good read and I liked it well enough to check out some more works by this author.  If you’re looking for something outside the norm this would be a good pick.
Cover:  I think the cover is great.  I like it a lot and think it is perfect for the story.
 
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Book Details:
Kindle Edition
Published October 10th 2016
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Its Release Week for Lyssa Dering’s Breaking Hell’s Rules (excerpt and giveaway)

Breaking Hell’s Rules – Lyssa Dering

Author: Lyssa Dering
 
Length: 25,000 words
 
 
Blurb

Freedom wasn’t supposed to be this dangerous…

When succubus Reth finally meets their soul quota and gains freedom from Hell, they decide to take up residence in New Orleans. Immediately they discard the body they’ve been wearing since 1952 and slip into something a little more virile, pleased to find they get a cozy apartment for their trouble. Too bad the apartment has a joint lease with their body’s ex-boyfriend Jude.

Jude is walking around with a black eye and a bad attitude, and when Reth tries to explain things, Jude doesn’t believe them. Plus, he refuses to move out. Reth doesn’t want to take Jude’s soul, and they really like this body. So they show him some succubus action minus the soul-grabbing, hoping to scare him off.

But they never expected for the mortal to take a liking to them. And they never could have predicted just how pure Jude’s soul would be. When Reth unwittingly commits a sin against Lucifer, they’ll need Jude’s help to avoid an eternity of suffering… For them both.




Excerpt

The room was thick with tension, but Jude was feeling reckless. He set the cards back on the table and came up to Reth’s back, pressing his lips to the top of his spine. When Reth didn’t tell him no, he settled his hands tentatively on his hips.
Reth turned his head, looking at Jude over his shoulder. When he next spoke, it was in a near-whisper. “I already told you this wasn’t a good idea.”
“I’m just…” He sighed. He didn’t know what he was doing. He’d never touch a stranger like this, or someone he’d only rubbed up against once. He stepped back, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweats. “Sorry. This is stressful. Everything is stressful.”
“I understand.” Reth turned around, abandoning his cabinet search for alcohol. He averted his eyes but then focused them back on Jude. “I need you to do something for me, even though you’re stressed.”
“What?”
“Don’t tell anyone what I’ve told you. About what I am. About what you saw.”
Jude couldn’t help but laugh. Who would he tell, anyway? His mom? She didn’t need to hear about his love life, especially when it was a mess. She’d taken a couple of years to be okay with him being queer, but demons? That would take her years to get comfortable with. And his best friend Brett was always traveling for work and wasn’t great at long distance communication. “They’d think I was crazy.”
“Good. Actually, it might be better if I left. And you could pretend Tyler ran out on you.”
The mention of Tyler pinched Jude’s chest. “He did run out on me. Basically.”
“Perfect.” Reth tried to leave the room, but Jude grabbed his fingers.
“Hey, wait. What’s going on? You can tell me.” Reth stilled but didn’t say anything. “We already decided that you were staying, that you were going to help me with the rent. Just tell me what’s going on so we can handle it.”
Several strained seconds passed in which neither of them moved. Then Reth turned around and pulled Jude into a searing kiss.


Author Bio

 

 

Lyssa Dering is an author of queer erotic romance. She writes about damaged characters in impossible situations who, despite often horrifying struggles, will always get their happy ending.


Twitter: http://twitter.com/lyssadering
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/lyssadering
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/lyssadering
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100013162894226
Website: http://lyssadering.com

 

 

   

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A VVivacious Review: The Alpha’s Revenge by Shane Keleher

 
Rating: 2.5 Stars out of 5

the-alphas-revengeJustin meets Parker one night in a bar and is instantly intrigued. Little does Justin know that that night marks the end of normalcy for him, for come tomorrow he will faced by the fact that werewolves are real and he is one of them.
 
Parker’s family is a family of hunters so he knows that the thing that attacked Justin is actually a werewolf but he finds it hard to tell Justin the truth because Justin is turning out to be more than a one night stand for him.
 
This is the first romance book I have ever read that would have been much better for me had it had less romance and more focus on the story. In hindsight this story would have worked out better if it didn’t have the romance tag attached to it because I personally could not get behind Justin and Parker. They seemed forced, it was almost as if you could feel the presence of a third entity directing the events in this story.
 
This story has two journeys one is the journey of Parker and Justin and the other is Justin’s journey as a werewolf.
 
I loved Justin’s character and I really liked how he handles the rapidly changing status quo of his life, as much of the story is from Justin’s point of view you really get to dig deep into his character. Also since you are mostly in Justin’s head it makes the werewolf aspects of this story much more interesting. The story of Justin being turned into a werewolf and how he comes to terms with his new identity is the best part of this book and I loved it.
 
In most werewolf romances that I have read werewolves are not the traditional monsters they are considered to be. So for me reading a story in which werewolves are monsters was a change and I liked how the author handled that facet of this book. Also I loved werewolf Branson, I was really impressed with his character and he was one character I wanted to know more about, also I loved the interactions between Justin and Branson. They shared an interesting dynamic that I would have loved to see explored more.
 
I didn’t really like the couple of Justin and Parker as it never made much sense to me. Their initial attraction seemed forced and the fact that I found the sex scenes in this book extremely boring didn’t help matters afterwards. I don’t know what it was about the sex scenes in this book but they just seemed so dry, they read like a laundry list of steps to be followed during the course of sex. So yeah for me this couple just didn’t work.
 
Also the fact that we only get Parker’s POV a few times in the beginning made me feel a little distanced from his character. Since the story actually involves both of Parker’s older brothers’, Colin and Max, as well the fact that we don’t get to see their relationship from Parker’s POV kind of hinders the story. I for one really wanted to understand his relationship with his brothers better because that particular aspect of this story is like a bag of worms just threatening the well-being of this story.
 
Overall I feel this book would have worked out better as an adventure-verging-on-a-thriller story then it did as the romance it was forced to be.
 
Cover Art by Ginny Glass. I liked the cover, it sets the tone for the book quite well.
Sales Links
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Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 181 pages
Published September 8th 2016 by Loose Id LLC (first published February 2nd 2014)
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Book Blitz for The Wolves of Daos 5 by Rebecca James (Excerpt and Giveaway)

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Title: The Wolves of Daos 5

Series: Wolves of Daos 5 1

Author: Rebecca James

Publisher: Rebecca James

Cover Artist: Brandyjo Newton

Release Date: September 24, 2016

Heat Level: 4 – Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 195

Genre: Romance, Science Fiction, mpreg, shifter, paranormal,

Add to Goodreads

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Synopsis

Michael has wrestled with anxiety his entire life, and finding out he’s half-werewolf doesn’t help matters. When bond-mate, Quinn, takes Michael to the werewolf colony, Michael finds more surprises in store for him, and some may be more than he can handle.

Excerpt

Looking over his shoulder as they walked, Michael saw that the milling crowd that had been gathering at the palace gates now filed in behind them, as though they’d been waiting for Quinn and Michael’s arrival in order to be admitted. Looking ahead, a vast courtyard lay before them with pruned hedges and extensive gardens that had been cut back in preparation for the coming winter. Michael’s heart picked up when he spotted what appeared to be several huge lizards lounging in the inner courtyard near the front of the palace where he and Quinn were not, thankfully, headed.
“Komodo dragons?” Michael asked.
“What? Oh, yes. We brought them here from Indonesia. Very effective deterrents to trespassers.”
“I’ll bet.” Michael stared at the frightening creatures.
“This way,” Quinn said, setting off toward the side, passing through an archway and along an ivy-covered wall where two guards led three chained and naked men headed for a door leading away from the main part of the stone structure. Quinn propelled Michael toward a larger iron door at the far end of the narrow lane. Michael couldn’t help but stare at the men. Were they slaves? They certainly appeared to be, with their dirty appearance and hands and feet manacled and the long chain connecting them one to the other.
“Prisoners,” Quinn said, as though answering Michael’s unasked question. Sometimes he really did seem to read Michael’s mind. “Escor. Scum.”
The corridor leading to the door was narrow and crowded. Quinn wrapped his arm around Michael’s waist and maneuvered them through, while Michael continued to stare at the prisoners. He’d never seen anyone like them; completely hairless, lacking even eyebrows and lashes, with long, slim feet and oddly-shaped heads. Two large werewolves wearing red tangas and brandishing curved sticks urged the prisoners along. As Quinn and Michael passed the line of men, one looked directly at Michael, his silver eyes with dark, vertical pupils reminding Michael of a snake. Michael thought they must be contact lenses—he’d seen some that gave a similar effect. As Michael returned the gaze, quick as lightning, the man’s tongue darted out, thin and forked, touching Michael on the arm at the same time that Atlas yelled and pulled Michael backward until his shoulder hit the opposite wall. Quinn threw himself at the prisoner, his hands around the man’s thick throat.

Purchase

Rebecca James | Amazon | Smashwords | ARe

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Meet the Author

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Rebecca James writes m/m and m/m/m romance in the contemporary, paranormal, and sci-fi genres. Writing has been her passion since childhood, but it wasn’t until recently that she got up the courage to publish. She lives in the southern United States with her husband and three children.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | eMail

 

Giveaway

One lucky winner will get an ebook of their choice from Rebecca’s backlist

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A Jeri Release Day Review: The Ghost in the Mirror (Samuel Dexter #1) by Faith Gibson

Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

the-ghost-in-the-mirrorIf you are looking for something a little different, look no further than The Ghost in the Mirror. Sam Dexter “Dex”, is injured while on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. When he wakes up in the hospital, he finds his memories gone- even the woman claiming to be his grandmother brings him nothing. He is sent home with her to recover, and while he wants her to tell him everything, she wants him to try to remember things on his own.

While in the hospital he was seeing visions of his military brothers who lost their lives. He chalked it up to his head injury and tried to forget about it. Until he starts seeing a little girl when he gets home. After finally admitting to his grandmother what he is seeing, she tells him of HER grandmother who was said to have the same gift.

And so begins Dex’s quest to find out what happened to the little girl and along the way is reintroduced to his high school love Orlando, Orlando’s nephew- who seems to have a special connection with Dex, and Orlando’s sister.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because although the ghost element could have been really cheesy- it wasn’t at all. Four stars  instead of higher because I don’t think the way Dex dealt with- or didn’t deal with- his amnesia were very realistic. He just seemed accepting of the fact that he had no memories and wanted to get them back. I wanted him to get mad. Throw a fit. Yell at someone. But he was very complacent.

I am going to hazard a guess that this book is the beginning of a series. Although a good story in and of itself, there is a lot of set up for future books.  I look forward to reading them and watching Dex regain more and more of his memory.

Cover art by Jay Aheer is eye catching and perfect for the story.

Sales Links

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Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 267 pages
Published September 29th 2016 by Bramblerose Press LLC
ASIN B01LBWB6S0
Edition Language English
Series Samuel Dexter #1

In the Spotlight: The Ghost in the Mirror by Faith Gibson (excerpt and giveaway)

Title: The Ghost in the Mirror (Samuel Dexter #1)
Author: Faith Gibson
Genre: M/M Romance
Release Date: September 29, 2016
Photographer: Randy Rls Sewell

What do you do when you have no memories of your life except the one moment that took everything away?

My name is Dex and I’m a Marine. Somewhere in the horrors of the sand overseas, an explosion took out not only most of my unit but also my memories of everything that happened before that day. When my memories don’t return, the explosion also ends my career in the military. That one moment costs me everything.

Starting from scratch sucks. I don’t even know what foods I like or what types of music I listen to. Am I a boxer or briefs man? Do I like women or men? I also have to figure out what I’m going to do with my life from this point on.

While adjusting to my new life, I start seeing things — things that no one else can see. I think that maybe my head injury caused more than amnesia. When one of my “visions” won’t leave me alone, I have no choice but to believe in ghosts.

Along with the ghosts during the day, at night I dream vividly of two men. But are these two men merely dreams, or are they memories? When one man steps through the door of my hospital room, I have the answer. This man literally tries to lead me down memory lane, culminating in a searing kiss. Too bad my brain isn’t cooperating, because this man is breathtaking.

With the help of my sassy grandmother, I begin to rebuild my life.

I am Samuel Dexter, and these are my stories.

WARNING: This book contains scenes that might be considered triggers for some. Sam is a Marine involved in an explosion. This book also (mildly) describes children being kidnapped in the past and their remains found later.

 

“Let me say I love the characters in this book!” – Tasty Wordgasms

“It draws you in and you have to keep reading.” – Alpha Book Club

“Love, love Faith!!!! I highly recommend this book. Another smashing success by a very talented author.” – Reader Review

I sat down on the stump and allowed the sound of the water to soothe my soul. When I had complained about karma coming after me for some wrong I’d done, Grams chewed my ass out and said I was being kept alive for something I had yet to do. Fate had tried to kill me twice, and I had survived both times, so I obviously had a purpose for still being here. That purpose manifested itself in front of me. I was so used to Cindy being around me now that I had stopped being surprised when she showed up. She climbed down the bank and stood in the water.
“Can you feel that? Can you feel the water rushing over your feet?”
She shook her head no. The little girl bent down and tried to run her hand through the rolling water, but nothing happened. It was in that moment that I vowed to stop being a whiny bitch. This little girl had lost her life, most assuredly in a horrific way, and I was complaining because I was alive. She floated back onto the bank and walked toward me. Cindy climbed up on my lap and leaned her head against my good shoulder. I would have given anything to feel her hair tickling my neck. This precious child needed comfort, and I couldn’t give it to her.
“I’m sorry I got hurt, but I promise I’ll start searching for clues again real soon. I have to go to see Dr. Carr tomorrow, so I’ll stop by the old fairground then.” Her essence combined with mine briefly, letting me know she was okay with what I had said. It was the strangest feeling, having another entity flow through you. She leaned back and mouthed something. Of course I couldn’t hear her and reminded her of it. She jumped down from my lap and mimed singing into a microphone. “You want me to sing?” Cindy nodded so hard, her hair bounced up and down. “Okay, kid. It’s your ears.”
I’d been in a pensive mood ever since Orlando’s visit at the hospital, so I decided to sing something upbeat. I started belting out Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours”, and my little ghost started dancing. She grabbed the sash of her dress, holding on to both dirty ends as she twirled around, making her blue dress float around her. For the first time since she appeared to me, Cindy smiled, and I laughed. I was so caught up in the connection between the two of us that I didn’t hear the footsteps behind me. When a voice joined mine, blending in perfect harmony, I froze and Cindy disappeared.
I wanted to stop singing so badly, but I wanted to continue hearing his beautiful voice worse. I closed my eyes and sang, because if I looked up at Orlando, I’d have probably done something really unmanly. Like cried. And begged. And begged while I was crying. I’m not sure what I’d have begged him for, but it seemed the right thing to do. After the song was over, only then did I open my eyes. “We always did sound good together,” he whispered.
“I wish I could remember that.” I spoke honestly, keeping my eyes to the spot where Cindy had been. “I want so badly to remember it all, and I bet you’d probably like to forget.”
“Honestly? Yes. Most days I would like to forget I ever met you. Then there are the good days I cling to what we had and hope it wasn’t my only shot at ever finding love. But if it was, then at least I knew a love like no other.”
Orlando’s words killed me. Stabbed me in the heart, twisted, and pulled the organ out of my chest, tossing it to the ground where it landed with a flat thud at my feet. Then I remembered that he had a wife and child. If what he just said was true, he didn’t love his wife. God, how screwed up was that?
“Before we get to the reason I’m here, would you mind telling me who you were singing and laughing with when I walked up?”
Well, fuck.

 


Faith Gibson is a multi-genre author who lives outside Nashville, Tennessee with the love of her life, and her four-legged best friends. She strongly believes that love is love, and there’s not enough love in the world.
She began writing in high school and over the years, penned many stories and poems. When her dreams continued to get crazier than the one before, she decided to keep a dream journal. Many of these night-time escapades have led to a line, a chapter, and even a complete story. You won’t find her books in only one genre, but they will all have one thing in common: a happy ending.

 

When asked what her purpose in life is, she will say to entertain the masses. Even if it’s one person at a time. When Faith isn’t hard at work on her next story, she can be found playing trivia while enjoying craft beer, reading, or riding her Harley.

 


 

Faith is the author of The Stone Society, a paranormal, post-apocalyptic shapeshifters series; The Music Within, a MM romance series; and The Samuel Dexter books, stories about a retired Marine ghost hunter who has lost all his memories from before the accident that took him out of commission.

Want an Authorgrpah?  Head over to http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/authorFGibson now

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An Alisa Review: A Little Blood (The Blood Bond Trilogy #1) by Aimer Boyz

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

a-little-bloodCan you handle forever?

Eternity comes with a price. Forever is a lonely word and Etienne Vaillancourt needs more than blood.

Andrew Delaney needs to pay down his student loans, maybe save enough money to fix up his relic of a Honda. No rush, Andrew’s got his whole life ahead of him.

But one lifetime isn’t always enough.

A chance meeting in a movie theatre is the start of a future neither man had thought possible. A future together … if they can handle forever.

 

I really enjoyed this book.  The main characters are wonderful with great secondary characters to enhance the story.  The author didn’t try to completely change how many would think of vampires, but also wasn’t too cliché either.

 

Etienne has been alone a long time, it’s better to keep his secret and to not get attached to his food.  However, Andrew completely throws him for a loop when they begin talking at the movie theatre.  They quickly grow to care for each other, but neither really know how they want to navigate their relationship.

 

Etienne and Andrew feel an immediate connection to each other when they meet that only grows with time.  This story was told from both characters’ points of view which gave me the opportunity to see both characters feelings.  Etienne would do anything to protect and be with Andrew, but is afraid of his reaction.  Andrew needs to decide if forever if what he really wants.  I can’t wait to read more stories in this series.

 

Cover art by James at GoOnWrite.com is perfect for this book.

 

Sales Link: Amazon

 

Book Details:

ebook, 235 pages

Published: September 9, 2016

Edition Language: English

Series: The Blood Bond Trilogy #1

A Paul B New Release Review: Unsafe Exposure (Hidden Wolves #4) by Kaje Harper

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

unsafe-exposure-by-kaje-harperWildlife artist Dylan Shore is accompanying his sister Frankie as she being Northwestern University.  He decides to go to the zoo to see if he can find anything interesting to draw.  Sitting at the wolf exhibit, a group of young men come up to him and ask why he did not pay respect when he came into pack territory.  Thinking his only way to prevent from being killed by this gang, he runs.  While he can outrun most everybody, these four not only keep pace but are actually gaining ground.  Only when a car pulls up along him does Dylan find an actual escape route.  He jumps in the car and they put the gang behind them.

Alex is a statistician doing medical research in Chicago.  As fourteenth in the Seattle pack, he is the lowest ranking werewolf there.  When he sees a strange werewolf running from members of the Chicago North pack, he decides to give the man a break, hoping the others don’t recognize him or his car.  After all, as a low ranking visiting wolf, you don’t want to piss off your hosts.  As he gets to know Dylan, there are two things that surprise him.  First, Dylan is a gay werewolf.  Second, Dylan has no clue that he is a werewolf.  It is no wonder that Dylan does not understand pack protocol.  With members of the Chicago North pack after both of them, Alex must now educate what it means to be a shifter.  But when both are captured and taken to a military research facility, Alex’s mission changes.  Now he must keep both of them, along with a young shifter boy, alive in order to escape.  When the escape occurs, it will have far reaching consequences for the werewolves not only across the country, but the world.

I have enjoyed Kaje Harper’s Hidden Wolves series from the start.  This is the fourth book (not counting two  interlude titles) to the series and as such should be read in order in order to understand the over-arching story lines. The series is a bit darker than most shifter series.  The emphasis is on pack politics and hierarchy, along with doing what wolves need to do to advance.  In fact, Aaron calls his mate “eleventh” during official pack business.   They are human wolves.

As for this book,  I like that the first part of the book focused mostly on the new characters that are introduced here.  There are mentions of the leader of the Alpha Council and the alpha of the Chicago North pack but do not play a major role until later.  In fact, the main characters of the previous books do not appear until two thirds of the way through the book.  Simon and Paul’s two kittens (both of whom think that they are wolf pups) make a cameo as well.  I await the next book in this series.

I like the cover by Winterheart Designs.  It has our two young men causally dresses as if going out in the Chicagoland area.  Below them is the skyline for Chicago.  Above them are wolf eyes watching out over the scene.  This fits the model of the other covers in the series.

Sales Links

MLR Press LLC

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Book Details

Ebook, 393 pages

Edition Language:  English

Published:  September 9, 2016 by MLR Press

ISBN:  978-1-944770-32-7

Series:  Hidden Wolves – add to your Goodreads shelf here: