Category: M/M Paranormal Fiction

Release Blitz Tour and Giveaway – Any Given Lifetime by Leta Blake

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Length: 70,000 words approx.
 
Cover Design: Dar Albert @ Wicked Smart Designs
 
Blurb



Neil isn’t a ghost, but he feels like one. Reincarnated with all his memories from his prior life, he spent twenty years trapped in a child’s body, wanting nothing more than to grow up and reclaim the love of his life.


As an adult, Neil finds there’s more than lost time separating them. Joshua has built a beautiful life since Neil’s death, and how exactly is Neil supposed to introduce himself? As Joshua’s long-dead lover in a new body? Heartbroken and hopeless, Neil takes refuge in his work, developing microscopic robots called nanites that can produce medical miracles.


When Joshua meets a young scientist working on a medical project, his soul senses something his rational mind can’t believe. Has Neil truly come back to him after twenty years? And if the impossible is real, can they be together at long last?


Any Given Lifetime is a stand-alone, slow burn, second chance gay romance by Leta Blake featuring reincarnation and true love. This story includes some angst, some steam, an age gap, and, of course, a happy ending.

 
Author Bio
 

Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

 
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An Ali Review: Shaker of Earth (SPECTR Series 2, #5) by Jordan L. Hawk

Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Charleston is reeling beneath the onslaught of demons unleashed by the vampire spirit Drugoy and his human host Yuri. Alone and drained almost to the point of death, Gray and Caleb must make their way across a city gone mad in hopes of putting an end to Yuri and Dru. But the other drakul isn’t the only enemy they have to worry about.

After the death of a rogue agent at Gray’s teeth, John’s faith in his lovers has been badly shaken. But when SPECTR Chief Barillo orders the vampire destroyed by any means possible, John and his allies find themselves in a race to find Gray and Caleb before their fellow SPECTR agents.

Because their only hope of stopping Yuri and Dru is by working together. And if they fail to unite, the streets of Charleston will run red with blood.

This was another fast paced installment of the Spectr series.  This story picks up immediately after the last one ended.  Caleb and Gray are in a bad situation and they’re on their own trying to stop Yuri and Dru.  John is with his fellow agents and they’re working to control the violence and chaos spreading through the city.
 
The story was pretty much action from beginning to end.  A lot of things happen and this portion of the story comes to a close by the end of the book.  The majority of the story is Spectr related but John, Caleb and Gray find some time for themselves, some time to repair the damage to their relationship.  It’s only a small portion of the book but enough that things end with their relationship stable again.
 
A new chapter in their lives will be beginning in Spectr  3 and I’m really looking forward to it.  I think the way the author wrapped this up opens the door to many new adventures with these three.  A must read for fans of this series.
 
Cover:  I love these new covers for this series.  I think they are eye catching and will hopefully bring new fans to these books.  I’m really glad the author decided to re-do these.  
Sales Links:  Amazon
Book Details:
ebook
Expected publication: September 14th 2018 by Jordan L. Hawk
ISBN139781941230329
Series SPECTR Series 2, #5

A VVivacious Review: The Captain’s Ghostly Gamble by Catherine Curzon and Eleanor Harkstead

Rating: 2 Stars out of 5

John Rookwood and Captain Cornelius Sheridan have been haunting the very Manor they died fighting over, two hundred and fifty years ago.

On their death anniversary, a couple turns up to disturb their eternal rest and fantastically turn up to be related to the very pair. It soon becomes clear to the ghostly duo that thecouple harbours many misconceptions and in an effort to ensure their happily ever after they play into the gamble of manifesting themselves.

But manifestation can take up a lot of energy, enough to wipe out a spirit from the spiritual plane and as the Captain seems in imminent danger of disappearing from all existence, John Rookwood is confronted by his feelings for his companion of the past two centuries.

I don’t know how people feel about two ghosts getting it on but that is definitely something that is a part of this story, so you might want to confront your views on the same.

The story has an interesting blurb but with some misguidance, it set up a very confusing introduction. It took a while for me to understand what was happening in the story and who all the characters were.

By the time everything was in place and you know what is going on there isn’t much left in the way of plot, just a very elaborate scene featuring ghosts getting it on.

I wasn’t wholly invested in any of the characters because it was hard to relate to them in any real way. The dialogue is very dated, the way our two main characters speak is awkward to the point that it was really funny and so very hard to take seriously. The dialogue might have been the most entertaining thing in this book but not in the way the authors intended.

It is an okay, quick fun read with some heretofore never seen elements that were a little weird in their depiction.

Cover Art by Cherith Vaughn. I really like the cover. This might be the only case of cover models actually resembling the characters they represent that made it one of the best cover. But, I must also commend the choice of background and text, especially the colour scheme and that hint of yellow is delectable.

Sales Links:  Pride Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 35 pages
Published September 11th 2018 by Pride Publishing
ISBN139781786516824
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Review: In This Iron Ground (Natural Magic #1) by Marina Vivancos

Rating:  5 stars out of 5

 

Damien is nine years old when his parents die. What should have been the worst moment of his life begins a journey shadowed by loneliness and pain. The night of a full moon, four years and seven foster homes later, Damien flees to the forest, desperate to escape everything.

Instead, he finds the Salgado pack, and the earth beneath his feet shifts. Damien has seen the Salgado children in his school: Koko, who is in his class, and Hakan, two years older and infinitely unreachable. Damien is suddenly introduced into a world that had only ever existed in his imagination, where there is magic in the forest and the moon. He meets creatures that look like monsters, but Damien knows that monsters have the same face as anybody else.

Over the years, Damien and Hakan grow closer. First, just as friends and foster brothers in the Salgado house, and then into something heated and breathless when Damien joins Hakan at college. Despite what he may yearn for in the darkest part of the night, Damien knows, deep down in that bruised and mealy part of his core, that he’s not good enough to be part of the Salgado family, their pack. He’s not worthy of calling Hakan his home.

Even though he knows in the end it’ll hurt him, he’ll hold onto this for as long as he can.

In This Iron Ground (Natural Magic #1) by Marina Vivancos is as hard a book to review as it was at times to read. It’s also a magical, beautifully written, moving, and literary novel.  Full of unbelievable torture and pain and yet still manages to include flights of hope and passages of teenage normality and then flights of wooded spirituality.  And all the time it’s flowing out from the  wounded soul and form of Damien who ages throughout the story starting from the age of nine when he enters the foster system an orphan.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from that blurb but what I got was an  almost epic exploration of Damien’s journey through life. We jump into Damien’s life with a harrowing look at the  foster system.  Then we and Damien plunge into hell when he is delivered into the  horror of a  foster home and  its carers that will set a pattern for him for the next years that will have you wanting to scream. It’s here, listening to Damien’s “voice” as he suffers, withdraws, and internalizes the messages he’s hearing that the book becomes almost unbearable to read. The abuse he’s suffering during these chapters are the ones that warrants the notes at the bottom of this review.  The damage done, not physically, but mentally and emotionally to Damien is such that he carries it with him through the story, not dealing with how much it has truly affected him until 3/4 of the way through.

But while he’s enduring this, mind you he’s only 13, there’s also hope in the form of a pack of shifters unlike any I’ve read about in other stories.  Vivancos brings in a pack that  is layered with a Earth  religion, a spirituality you can feel amazingly, a pack family that comes forward to rescue, support, and finally welcome the human child.  I won’t spoil how incredible a job the author has done with the Soldado pack but for me they became as alive as a walk in the woods.  They  breathed life and that made their connections to Damien even more magical.

The book is broken up into two parts and yes at times is felt a little long as Damien and Hakan went off to college but this is still such a journey for Damien I can see why the author wanted to include each and every scene.Special details were giving to Damien’s emotional and mental health recovery which is an important element here.  Damien could not recover from the horrific abuse he suffered on his own.  He needed professional help, and with the gentle assistance of his friends, lover and pack, he gets the therapy he needs. Some of his session scenes make a powerful but quiet impact.  It’s a responsible thing to do, in my mind, after reading all the scenes in the beginning, for the reader to see Damien finally emerging into hope and light.

Yes, I loved this story and the amazing characters in the pack.  I see that the author is turning it into a series and can’t wait to see where it’s going next.  I do recommend it but please do pay attention to the warnings below.

 

Cover art: Natasha Snow.  That is a gorgeous cover by Natasha Snow.  The mountains, woods, and wolves.  Perfect.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 325 pages
Published September 3rd 2018
ASINB07GNS5MZ4
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series Natural Magic #1

CONTENT WARNING: This book contains themes of emotional and (nonsexual) physical child abuse and the subsequent emotional, cognitive, and behavioural impacts.   Trigger warning also includes scene of suicide attempt by minor, physical and  sexual child abuse.

This story contains sexually explicit scenes between consenting adults and is meant for an adult audience.

Review Tour and Giveaway for In This Iron Ground (Natural Magic #1) by Marina Vivancos

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Cover Design: Natasha Snow
 
Length: 85,000 words approx.
 
Blurb
 

Damien is nine years old when his parents die. What should have been the worst moment of his life begins a journey shadowed by loneliness and pain. The night of a full moon, four years and seven foster homes later, Damien flees to the forest, desperate to escape everything.

Instead, he finds the Salgado pack, and the earth beneath his feet shifts. Damien has seen the Salgado children in his school: Koko, who is in his class, and Hakan, two years older and infinitely unreachable. Damien is suddenly introduced into a world that had only ever existed in his imagination, where there is magic in the forest and the moon. He meets creatures that look like monsters, but Damien knows that monsters have the same face as anybody else.

Over the years, Damien and Hakan grow closer. First, just as friends and foster brothers in the Salgado house, and then into something heated and breathless when Damien joins Hakan at college. Despite what he may yearn for in the darkest part of the night, Damien knows, deep down in that bruised and mealy part of his core, that he’s not good enough to be part of the Salgado family, their pack. He’s not worthy of calling Hakan his home.

Even though he knows in the end it’ll hurt him, he’ll hold onto this for as long as he can.

CONTENT WARNING: This book contains themes of emotional and (nonsexual) physical child abuse and the subsequent emotional, cognitive, and behavioural impacts.

 

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 5 stars Review here.
Author Bio
 
When Marina was a child she couldn’t sleep. Night after dissolving night she just couldn’t sleep. Nothing much worked – until she started making up stories in her head. Suddenly, the transition into unconsciousness was a smooth dive into calm waters.


Marina is currently in a period of sleepless upheaval, and she hopes writing down the stories in her head will cast the same spell it did decades ago.


Marina hopes to write in a variety of romance sub-genres, from contemporary to supernatural to sci-fi. Her style, however, tends to focus on character-centred stories that explore different facets of the human experience, such as mental health. She also enjoys writing explicit, drawn-out sex scenes, so expect those to be a prominent feature of her stories.


Marina tends to keep to herself unless prompted, so don’t be shy in approaching her! 
 

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A VVivacious Review: Breaking the Bonds (Cascade City Pack #2) by Rebecca James

Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5

A year has passed since the events of “A New Beginning” and Jax finds himself deep undercover trying to find the root of evil that had infiltrated the Human-Shifter Congress.

A year in he finds himself closer to his goal but having to try harder to keep appearances, when he finds out that things are worse than he could have imagined.

Jax finds himself in the middle of an omega sex-trafficking ring where omegas are kept constantly in heat by the use of a compound that is causing a whole lot of side effects in the shifters who have been targeted with it.

It is time for everybody to work together as they break this vicious cycle and overcome the elements who have worked so hard and for so long to destroy any attempts at a peaceful existence between humans and shifters.

I really don’t know what to rate this book, it was a compelling follow-up to this saga but while it lacked the intensity of the first in the Cascade City Pack series that could be because this one was very different to its predecessor. This one is all about the human-shifter dynamics and about breaking the cycle and putting both species on an equal till. Personally, I was very satisfied but the ending felt like coming full cycle it made me feel like this was it and that we were saying goodbye to this series and its characters who we have known for almost five books now and that gave my feelings a very melancholy edge. Most of the times I come out of reading a book pretty sure of what I will be rating it, sometimes as I write the review my rating changes to a little extent as I realise more things I liked or didn’t as I process my thoughts but this one was not one of them. Sometimes and this is really rare because you can most assuredly rate the ones you really like as 5 stars and the ones you didn’t a single and the ones which you liked but not too much three but what do you rate a book that feels unrateable it’s like I can’t quantify the quality that the book has. This is shaping up to one of those books, so I’m just winging it when it comes to the rating. But thankfully reviews aren’t all about ratings and I do actually get to share my thoughts and try to relay in words what I couldn’t in numbers, about this book’s unquantifiable quality.

Like most books in these series (River Wolf Pack, Angel Hills Pack & Cascade City Pack) this book is also told from multiple POVs (I almost wrote all but then I realized that the first two books in the River Wolf Pack series only had dual POVs if even that, I can’t be very sure but I think those two books are told from the POV of both main characters in those books). I personally have been loving this way of storytelling especially as it pertains to this story because there are already a ton of characters I’m invested it and this way I get to know how they all are in a more intimate way as I get to spend some time in their head and see their troubles because not everyone’s involved in human-shifter politics and they have other worries which is immediately brought to fore as we start this book with Sam’s POV and how he isn’t feeling well and how he is worried about his alpha. It was kind of nice in hindsight to have some characters be more grounded. This story ultimately reveals the bigger scandal that was hinted at, at the end of the first book and everyone is distressed by it but not everyone can be directly involved so it was nice to have Sam be worried for other reasons. It was nice for Sid to world towards a human-shifter alliance but in a different way. It added gravity to the sex-trafficking that was happening unbeknownst to many.

I had a moment of epiphany in this book when I was reading Josiah’s POV and it was just the thought that I have known River and Josiah for so long and I still wanted to know more about them. I loved their dynamic in this one, it was more settled and not as explosive as in the previous book but still such a comfortable relationship. I loved how much both Josiah and River have grown thanks to their relationship, how it has opened River’s eyes to being more open-minded and not as entrenched in the past and how Josiah has realized that a bit of caution would be the better part of valour when it comes to jumping into a situation head first. There is still much ahead for these two but it is amazing to see River as the Alpha he is hands down the best Pack Alpha around, he is amazing and David is right when he says that it says something about River that he has not one but two prolific packs to his credit.

David has to be my favourite character. I love him so much and every relationship he has is a treasure to witness. I loved that we could focus on River and David for a bit in this one and see how close these two are and how open with one another. I always love David and Briar because I honest to god forget they are brothers but we didn’t get much of them in this one.

Though we finally got to see David and Jax and considering everything that has happened, these two deserve their happy ending. That scene where David just happens to come across Jax is so surreal, God! These two have such an intense chemistry it is hard to breathe at times.

We also get to see Jax’s POV in this one and it was much needed and I know I really wanted it and I am really happy that I got it. Jax has been in a very tough situation the past year working as a sort of double agent and when he comes across the omega sex-trafficking ring, he is right in the middle of that depravity forced to keep his cover. I really understand all his feelings and for a moment I was scared he would run away but I guess David can work miracles, all in all, the situation kind of forces Jax’s hand but I was so glad in the end, because David, Jax and Brooks deserve a happy ending after all they have been through.

We do also get the conclusion of Jaime and Mark’s storyline and I am happy with how things ended there. I had forgotten a lot of characters because it has been quite a while since I have read “A New Beginning” but the moment I was reintroduced to the characters that I had known but had forgotten somehow I felt as invested in them as if I had remembered them the whole time. I am really happy for these two.

So yeah as the book ended I was really wondering if Rebecca James was ending the series here but then I thought about it and I was like no there is so much more that I need to know especially, about Sid and Grier. Sid is a character that has been very interesting to me and I really want his story to have a happy ending and this twist in the form of Grier seems like a pretty innovative one and I want to see where these two end up.

I am so happy with this one, I love these characters so much and their individual struggles just make them even more endearing but somehow if for some reason this is actually an end I feel like we are leaving these characters at a very optimistic note with a whole world of possibilities in front of them. Until next time!

Cover Art by Written Ink Designs. Loved the cover.

Sales Link:   JMS Book LLC  |  Amazon

Book Details:Kindle Edition
Published August 18th 2018 by JMS Books LLC
ASINB07FZG5H4F
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesCascade City Pack #2

 

 

Blog Tour for The Enchanter’s Flame (The Ellwood Chronicles #1) by Michele Notaro (excerpt and giveaway)

 The Enchanter's Flame Tour Banner

The Enchanter’s Flame

The Ellwood Chronicles I

Michele Notaro

Gay Fiction/Paranormal Romance

Release Date: 08.18.18

 The Enchanters Flame Amazon Cover

 

Mybook.to/EnchantersFlame

 

BLURB

Strange things are happening all around Brinnswick. Things that remind me of a piece of my past I’d rather forget. Girls are being killed, drained of blood, and left with strange markings on their bodies. When I finally connect the cases together, a specialist is called in—though, what he’s a specialist of is beyond me

When the chief assigns him as my new partner for the case, I can’t help but groan on the inside. Why of all people would I be assigned to Ailin Ellwood? The man is a disaster waiting to happen and a jerk to boot. A sexy jerk, but a jerk nonetheless.

What will Sebastian think when he discovers Ailin’s specialty? Will he make a run for it or will he stick around and discover a world of magic hidden beneath the city’s surface?

***The Enchanter’s Flame is the first book in the Ellwood Chronicles. It’s a paranormal romance that contains explicit material and is intended for mature adults 18 and over.***

 

 Enchanters Flame Teaser 1

Enchanters Flame Teaser 2

EXCERPT

I needed to pee, so I set the cat on the floor and went to take care of business. The thought of jumping in the shower while Ailin was out crossed my mind, so I pulled the shower curtain back, but yelled out in surprise. Holy shit! There was a fucking snake in the tub! “What the fuck?” I ran out of the bathroom and scooped up Seraphina so she wouldn’t go investigate the bathroom and wind up hurt, then I ran straight for the phone to call the front desk to take care of it. I had no idea what kind of snake it was or how it’d gotten in there or whether or not it was venomous or whatever. But I didn’t want to take the chance of trying to grab it myself. If it was venomous, I could end up in the hospital.

I picked up the phone and dialed the front desk, but just as the girl picked up on the other line, Ailin slammed the door open and boomed, “What’s wrong?”

I blinked at him as a huge rush of wind came in through the door, blowing the loose side of his hair. I lowered the phone a little and answered, “There’s a snake in the tub.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Who are you calling?”

He looked… terrifying. It was like the wind coming through the door was playing off his emotions. I knew that wasn’t really happening, but he looked as stormy as the weather behind him. “I-I was calling the front desk to come get it.”

“Hang up the phone, Seb.”

“Wh-what? Why?”

“I’ll take care of the snake. They’ll probably just kill it. I can grab him and release him outside.”

I stared at him for several seconds before hanging up the phone. I could see how serious he was, and I knew he was right, that the front desk girl would likely just kill the animal. It seemed like Ailin’s love for animals knew no bounds.

He glanced at me, then noticed the cat in my arms, and his gaze softened a little. “You saved Sera.”

“Of-of course I did. I didn’t want her to get hurt.”

Some of the wind died down. “Thank you.”

He headed straight into the bathroom, so I got up and followed him, holding the kitten tight to my chest. I stood in the doorway to watch him. He made a few sounds, like hissing, and I swear the snake hissed back, then Ailin spoke under his breath, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“How are you going to get—”

I cut myself off when Ailin reached a hand into the tub, and a second later, the snake was slithering up his arm. I took a step backward and stared in disgust. What the fuck is he doing? That thing is going to bite him! Ailin stood and the snake wrapped around his arm, then around the back of his neck.

“Ailin, it’s going to bite you,” I whisper-yelled.

Ailin shot me a cocky smirk. “It’s nice to see that you care, Sebastian, but I guarantee he won’t hurt me.”

“How can you possibly say that?”

He shrugged and I frowned as the movement caused the snake to shift so its head was near Ailin’s throat. “He’s just lost.”

I blinked at him. “Okay, well, go… throw him in the parking lot or something.”

Ailin frowned at me. “I’m going to help him find his home. I think he comes from the same woods we’re heading to, anyway.”

“That thing is not coming in my car!”

Ailin huffed. “You and the car rules again! How can I possibly keep up when you keep adding more and more rules?”

I closed my eyes and my nostrils flared in irritation. “I’m not changing the rules. I told you before I didn’t want a cat in my car, so it’s the same rule… it applies to all animals.” Sera hissed a little at me, and I mumbled down to her, “You don’t count. I like you.” Okay, so I guess Ailin isn’t the only one that talks to her.

“But you changed your mind and let her in. Why would it be any different with George?”

“Did you seriously just name that snake ‘George’?”

“No, that was his name already.”

I had no words for that. “You… you’re not bringing George into my car!”

“Then I guess I’m walking to the crime scene.” He clenched his jaw, then shouldered past me out of the bathroom as I tried to scramble away from the snake. “And you think I’m the mean one.”

Michele Notaro Logo

Michele is married to an awesome husband that puts up with her and all the characters in her head–and there are many. They live together in Baltimore, Maryland with their two young boys and two crazy dogs. She grew up dancing and swimming and taught dance–ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, & modern–for ten years before her kids came along. Now she stays home to write about the sexy men in her head and does PTA everything–as long as coffee is involved. Two other tattooed moms run the PTA with her, and though she wants to rip her hair out from it, she still loves it.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/author.notaro/

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