Category: M/M Romance

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Rag and Bone (Rag and Bone #1) by K.J. Charles

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Rag and BoneIt’s amazing what people throw away…

Crispin Tredarloe never meant to become a warlock. Freed from his treacherous master, he’s learning how to use his magical powers the right way. But it’s brutally hard work. Not everyone believes he’s a reformed character, and the strain is putting unbearable pressure on his secret relationship with waste-man Ned Hall.

Ned’s sick of magic. Sick of the trouble it brings, sick of its dangerous grip on Crispin and the miserable look it puts in his eyes, and sick of being afraid that a gentleman magician won’t want a street paper-seller forever—or even for much longer.

But something is stirring among London’s forgotten discards. An ancient evil is waking up and seeking its freedom. And when wild magic hits the rag-and-bottle shop where Ned lives, a panicking Crispin falls back onto bad habits. The embattled lovers must find a way to work together—or London could go up in flames.

Set in the world of A Charm of Magpies, this is the story of Crispin Tredarloe and Ned Hall, who according to the author’s note, were featured in her short story “A Queer Trade” within the Charmed and Dangerous: Ten Tales of Gay Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy anthology. Though I didn’t read this short prequel, I was easily able to follow this story as a standalone.

Crispin is a graphomancer, a practitioner of blood writing, a rare talent. Graphomancers use writing and drawing to practice their magic and can draw an injury or death for those they wish to harm. But Crispin doesn’t have good control over his skill, and after having been used by the infamous warlock Mr. Marleigh to assist him in his evil mission, he’s more than happy to take the advice of the justiciars and study with Dr. Sweet, a visiting professor who is well-versed in graphomancy. Crispin needs to learn how to use his talent without relying on the pen Marleigh directed him to create, a pen which uses his own blood to write. And he’s trying to do all this under the watchful eye of the justiciars, many of whom believe he’s a warlock and unable to learn a non-threatening way to use his gift.

Ned is a waste man, collecting paper from all over town to sell for a penny a pound. His quarters—a small corner of his part of a store he shares with a rag-and-bottle shop—are filled to the brim with paper and the accompanying paper dust. But he has a little corner in which his bed is squeezed, and it’s there that he and Crispin find their moments of happiness in the deep of night. And on one of those nights, they discover a burning heap in the middle of the rag-and-bottle shop next door, and the heap turns out to be Mr. Voake, the owner. The other mystery surrounding the burning corpse is the presence of a jug from which the song Scarborough Fair seems to be originating. The only one who can hear it is Ned, a man who is not born to the world of magic. But it appears he has a rare talent for hearing things related to magic that others cannot.

Ned sets off alone to discover if any other rag-and-bottle shops have reported a death and is dismayed to find that there were indeed more. In fact, Ned’s discoveries lead him to the conclusion that evil magic caused the deaths. When Ned disappears, he’s able to connect with Crispin through Crispin’s magic and, together, the two have to fight off a very ancient and very malevolent spirit that has managed to come to life. The story is very exciting, complex, and intriguing from that point on, not only due to the frightening discovery they make, but also due to the consequences the men face when a justiciary investigation, led by Stephen Day, uncovers the magical power unleashed by Crispin as he and Ned fought for their lives.

Though I enjoy this author’s work, it took me awhile to get into this story. I believe it’s due to the fact that I didn’t enjoy this couple, as a couple, as much as others in the Magpies world. Tristan was very unassuming, with low self-esteem and a high quotient for misunderstanding the comments others made about him. Ned was smart, but very defensive about being a person of color in the world of magic, including the dreaded justiciars. Possibly due to the circumstances and time period of the story, neither man was overly demonstrative with the other, and I just didn’t feel the loving bond of a strong connection as I did with Stephen and Crane, or with Jonah and Ben (Jackdaw).

If you are a fan of KJ Charles’s work, by all means pick this up. The history and feel of the era, the complexity of the mystery and magic, and the chance for a quick revisit with Stephen Day and Mrs. Gold, all make this one well worthwhile. Though I personally didn’t connect with the MCs, I still enjoyed the story, and I’m looking forward to more tales from this world.

~~~~~

Cover Art by Angela Waters clearly depicts both MCs in period attire. Though it’s in color, it gives the impression of having been done in daguerreotype, thereby making the photo appear authentic.

Sales Links eBooks:  Samhain Publishing | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 146 pages
Published March 1st 2016 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Original Title:Rag and Bone
ISBN139781619234734
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesRag and Bone #1, The World of A Charm of Magpies

A VVivacious Review: Souls for Sale Series (Books 1 & 2) by Asta Idonea

Rating: 4 Stars out of 5
 
Souls for Sale seriesThomas Ives has a made a deal with the devil, for which he has given up his chance at heaven, or has he…?
 
Saul is a demon deal-maker extraordinaire, always ready to go the extra mile to secure a soul. But he doesn’t know the night he is in for when he gets Tom to sign on the dotted line.
 
In the weirdest twist of fates, a night of passion see these two beings falling in love. But hasn’t Saul already condemned his lover to a lifetime of misery in hell, isn’t Tom’s soul condemned to eternally burn in the fiery pits of hell, well not if Saul has a say in it…
 
This book comprises of two stories TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY DEMON and HELL TO PAY.
 
“Twenty-First Century Demon” is a short story telling us how Saul and Tom met while “Hell to Pay” follows these two as they are on the run from the demons of Hell.
 
These books are written (mostly) in first person, but what is unique about these books is that the reader is a known presence to Saul and Tom, but again mostly to Saul as he actually makes comments on what he believes to be are the reader’s thoughts, indirectly it’s like he is talking to us and we are following him all around, even when they have sex so basically he refers to us (the reader) as a demon-groupie and a voyeur (and he would be right). This was indeed a unique experience and what I liked about this way of writing is that it got me involved in the book really fast.
 
Now again if you remember I said mostly first person that is because we have three narrators – Tom and Saul who both use first person in a talking to a third person way and then there is Baruchiel who is talked about in the third person. But these are all technicalities that don’t detract from the reading experience, in fact Saul’s “talking’ really had me engrossed in the story from a very early stage.
 
To some extent it is hard to find the basis to Saul and Tom’s love, if you ask me the best explanation is love at first sight/sex because this is the one aspect of the book which is extremely vague. They fall in the ‘I am ready to take on hell for you’ way in the span of hours, this decision changes their entire lives, forces them on the rum from Hell and frankly I don’t understand how it is possible. This is exactly where Saul’s “talking” comes in handy because even though I am sceptical of their love which has sprung up out of nowhere, the fact remains that it seems like he is telling me a story which makes me give him creative liberty over the events.
 
Now if you just push the details of how they fell in love aside the premise of the rest of the story is really interesting. Tom, Saul and Baruchiel are all extremely likeable characters and you will get caught up in their drama.
 
While I loved Tom and Saul’s extraordinary love and all their small moments that they share, what I loved most about this book was the story of how a demon falling in love can rend heaven and hell into chaos. The story is interesting and appealing in the way angels and demons always are. I loved Baruchiel as the little angel trying to do good and taking on big bad demons in the name of love.
 
More than a love story this book is appreciable because it has an awesome plot given a nice execution with very likeable characters and the premise is such that it has a lot of potential which the book successfully delivers.
 
Overall if you like a good old angels and demons story with heaven and hell settling disputes because a demon falls in love with a human, this story is just for you.
 
Cover Art by 8th floor studio. I loved the cover it is vague but at the same time it is a picture trying to get something across, and it is eye-catching.
Sales Links:  Wayward Ink Publishing | ARe | Amazon
Book Details:
ebook, 139 pages
Published February 5th 2016 by Wayward Ink Publishing
ISBN139781925222784
Edition LanguageEnglish
CharactersSaul, Thomas Ives, Adramalech, Baruchie

A BJ Review: Solid Education by Bianca Sommerland

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Solid EducationGage Tackett comes off as a bad boy—detached and maybe a little dangerous. Definitely not Vet Sciences Professor Derek Paulson’s type. Which he tells himself, repeatedly, every time the other man attends his class. Until the day he looks over to see Gage’s seat is empty.

When Gage arrives at Derek’s veterinary clinic with a frostbitten stray dog, the lines of their teacher/student relationship are blurred. Derek realizes his most difficult student has a few things to teach him. Things he’s more than willing to learn.

This was a new to me author, and one who I noticed writes mostly in the M/F romance genre. However, the cover drew me in on first glance–I’m a sucker for both dogs and blonds. For the most part, I really enjoyed the author’s writing style. But there were several times when I found myself confused, when the guy’s conversation just really lost me.

I am a totally dogaholic, so I thoroughly enjoyed the parts of the story about the dog(s). Derek being a vet, Gage a vet student and former military dog handler still grieving the loss of his service dog, Gunner. Then the rescue of the stray, and the way Matty brought the two men together and even changed the path of their future. All of that was sweet and completely awesome. I loved how Derek used Matty to get Gage into his bed (not for sex, mind you, but for snuggling and cuddling). So sweet.

However, when it came to the guys themselves separate from dogs, well, I admit that it took quite a while for me to connect with either man. I feel that I would have enjoyed this much more if both Derek and Gage were more fleshed out more in ways outside their connection to dogs.

Derek came across as haughty and aloof at first, and while we get to see later that it’s due to his having been hurt before—well, there wasn’t enough backstory of that to make me feel enough for him to truly understand why/how a man of his looks and station in life would so readily pull away from wanting a real relationship and begin to act as he was. I mean, hell, we all get hurt. That’s life.

Gage’s loss of Gunner, his military dog was poignant—the visit he makes to the military dog memorial had me close to tears. But there was little background on Gage himself, really. And while it was mentioned that Gunner had helped Gage with the nightmares (obviously due to PTSD), the details on what incident or incidents started them were missing.

The build up of sexual tension and chemistry developing between the two worked well, but I felt let down when the actual sexy bits arrive. For me, they felt rushed, almost skimmed over, which kept them from being as hot as I’d hoped for.

Overall, this is a sweet story that any dog lover should enjoy. Aptly showing how the love a dog can enhance and change our lives.

Sales Link:  Amazon


Book Details:  

Kindle Edition, 142 pages
Published September 14th 2015
ASINB015EPMZCG
Edition LanguageEnglish

Its Release Day for A.M. Leibowitz’s ‘Anthem’ (excerpt and giveaway)

Anthem1_1024x1024

Anthem (Notes from Boston #1) by A.M. Leibowitz
 Release Date: March 1, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Acquitted Books
Cover Artist: Brett Kessler

Blurb

Trevor Davidson has everything going for him. He’s just moved out on his own with three friends, and he’s landed a job as music director at a large Boston church. He has high hopes for marrying his long-term girlfriend and settling into a comfortable, devout lifestyle.

Andre Cole has spent the past few years throwing himself into a dead-end job at a Cape Cod-based call center. When an opportunity to move back to Boston arises, Andre believes it will be the do-over he needs to put his past behind him.

A chance meeting in a club on New Year’s Eve brings Trevor and Andre together for a brief but steamy encounter. Both assuming that’s the end of it, they are unexpectedly thrown back into each other’s lives when Trevor’s church hires Andre for their website design. While Andre is content at first to move on, Trevor’s conflicted feelings bubble over into his songwriting. Before he can stop it, his ode to Andre becomes an inadvertent Christian radio hit.

Unfortunately for Trevor, he isn’t the only one who knows the song’s hidden meaning. Someone has leaked the story and upended Trevor’s life. In order to put the pieces back together, he needs to learn to be honest with his girlfriend, with Andre, and especially with himself.

 

Pages or Words: 85,000 words/270 pages
 Categories: Bisexual, Contemporary, Polyamory

Excerpt

A sliver of light and the door thumping shut alerted him to the presence of someone else. His hands stopped moving, hovering over the keyboard. He looked up to see Pastor Bret standing at the back of the aud.

Trevor jumped, his face flaming, and he was glad for the dim light hiding the red flush he was sure marked his cheeks. “Uh…hi?” he squawked out.

“Don’t stop on my account,” Pastor Bret said. “The song is fantastic. You’ve been holding out on us, acting like you didn’t have anything big for the recording. Where’ve you been hiding that one?”

Covering his tracks, Trevor joked, “Under my hat.” His stomach churned.

“Uh huh. Well, I’d like to see you finish up your new song so we can use it. How long do you think it’ll take?”

“It’s about done, but—” He coughed, stalling while he worked out what to say to Bret to put him off. “I was thinking about changing some of the words, though. It’s not—I mean, it doesn’t specifically say God or Jesus, and it probably needs some other fixes. You know, so it sounds more…spiritual.” Trevor gritted his teeth in frustration as the inspiration for the song rose to the forefront of his mind.

Bret looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. Can you play it for me?”

All the blood which had previously rushed to Trevor’s face drained away, and sweat trickled down his neck to his collar. “I—”

“Not sure you want anyone to hear it til it’s perfect, eh?” Bret laughed. “Come on. Don’t worry that it’s not good enough.”

Oh, God, help me! Trevor prayed. “Okay,” he heard himself say, even though he’d really meant to say, No way in hell.

He played the opening chords and began to sing, quietly at first and then with more confidence. “You touch my heart…”

He immersed himself in the song and in the memories he’d drawn on to write it. It didn’t matter what it was about; he was perfectly capable of making it sound like a love song to his God. He kept his gaze trained on the chord sheet in front of him, not daring to look Bret in the eye just in case. When he was through, he let the note fade away and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to see Bret’s reaction.

It took a moment, but Bret finally broke the silence. “Wonderful. I wouldn’t change a thing. When we have a thousand members all singing this together, they’ll all know who they’re singing it for.”

Trevor’s immediate reaction was, No, they won’t.

Buy the book

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

BannerTemplate

Meet the Author

A. M. Leibowitz is a queer spouse, parent, feminist, and book-lover falling somewhere on the Geek-Nerd Spectrum. Ze keeps warm through the long, cold western New York winters by writing about life, relationships, hope, and happy-for-now endings. In between noveling and editing, ze blogs coffee-fueled, quirky commentary on faith, culture, writing, books, and hir family.

Where to find the author:

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, The Hat Party, Three Books Over The Rainbow, KathyMac Reviews, BFD Book Blog, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Bayou Book Junkie, Elaine White, Unquietly Me, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, MM Good Book Reviews, My Fiction Nook, Happily Ever Chapter, Molly Lolly,

Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Alpha Book Club, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Louise Lyons, Boys on the Brink Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads, Love Bytes, Velvet Panic, Kirsty Loves Books, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Cheekypee Reads and Reviews

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a prize. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

A MelanieM Review: Lovers Leap by JL Merrow

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

LoversLeap_600x900If they looked, would they ever leap?

Good-looking, confident, and doted on by his widowed mum, Michael is used to thinking only of himself. Getting shoved off an Isle of Wight pier by an exasperated ex ought to come as a wake-up call—but then he meets Rufus and he’s right back to letting the little head take charge. Rufus is cute, keen, and gets under Michael’s skin in a disturbing way.

Would-be chef Rufus can’t believe his luck when a dripping wet dream of a man walks out of the sea on his birthday, especially when Michael ends up staying at the family B&B. Life is perfect—at least until Michael has to go home to the mainland.

Rufus can’t leave the island for reasons he’s entirely neglected to mention. And though Michael identifies as bi, breaking his mum’s heart by coming out and having an actual relationship with a guy has never been his plan. With both men determined to keep their secrets, a leap of faith could land them in deep water.

I just  love JL Merrow and her ability to deliver characters that, whether you adore them, look at them with a little dislike and (yes, contempt for some), always feel downright real and human.   In Lovers Leap, Merrow delivers just such a story full of characters that are almost guaranteed to put readers down on one side or the other.  I fall firmly down on the side that sees this as a story full of characters that I understood, believed in and even when I was less then fond of their actions, I accepted them once I got the back history and foundation upon which they were based.  That’s wonderful storytelling.

The character in conflict, for the reader, himself and Rufus?  Michael, the man who came from the sea…the reason for which is one that is startling and is probably the basis for many readers dislike.  His actions that follow don’t help.  But there is something, as Merrow has written him, that draws you in, a certain vulnerability that pays off the more the story unfolds.  There are some very serious issues for Michael to deal with, his sexuality, his faith and family, and some are deeply shattering as the story unfolds.  Especially when it comes to his mother.  All his prior arrogance and obnoxiousness in words and deeds?  Well, there are reasons and a basis for all of them and Merrow lays it out for us like a very sad banquet.

Rufus is not without deep issues himself.  They too start at home with a father and stepmother whose fragile relationship with each other and perhaps Rufus is keeping them all tied in a knot that might be choking them in the B & B in which they all work and live.

Lovers Leap is all about twin needs that speak to each other without Rufus and Michael realizing how much at first, and then slowing pulling towards each other, with humor, with heartbreak, with passion…in true English form on the Isle of Wight.  I even adored the best friend, and her surprise coupling.  Definitely could have used more of them.

If you like your main characters with flaws that you can handle, you know a little gruff, nothing too bad, certainly not obnoxious or bi, perhaps this isn’t your story.  But if you love layered characters, people who need to work on themselves, and relationships that need just that bit of luck as well as love?  Don’t let Lovers Leap pass you by.  I highly recommend it and can’t wait to see what the Isle of Wight inspires JL Merrow to write next.

Cover art by Lou Harper is well done and indicative of the characters and story. Loved it.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 202 pages
Published February 27th 2016 by Riptide Publishing
Original TitleLovers Leap
ISBN 1626493820 (ISBN13: 9781626493827)
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Review: Wolf, Becoming by Rory Ni Coileain ( A Release Day Redux)

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Wolf BecomingVolyk learns very young that he has to hide what he is—oboroten’, shape-shifter—after his father is killed and skinned by a hunter, and the pack that takes in his pregnant mother is hostile to his kind. When Volyk is ordered to fight the pack’s beta to prove his fitness, but instead obeys his hormones and tries to mount him, he’s declared an abomination and forced to flee.

Ilya, too, hides a secret. Being young and gay in modern Russia is dangerous, and he knows it. But the truth eventually gets out, and his brothers lure him into the forest to kill him. They’re stopped by Volyk, who hides the mortally wounded Ilya in his den. The only way to heal the human is to turn him into an oboroten’.

Unfortunately, Ilya’s gentle nature is ill-suited to the life of a wolf. But when Volyk’s old pack returns, seeking to take away Volyk’s magickal den, Ilya will have to embrace—truly become—the wolf Volyk made him to save both his mate’s life and his own.

Very few authors do primal, elemental characters like Rory Ni Coileain which is very good for this story full of such characters.  They feel steeped in Mother Russia and the ancient earth they trod on and the blood they easily spill.   It may take place in Modern Russia but the actions and dark emotions feel anything but.

Those hatreds and fears are timeless and the author makes us experience it through her story and the lives of characters of Volyk and Ilya.

I found Wolf, Becoming to be part old Grimm fairytale and part shifter romance,  with some horror story thrown in for good measure and it all kept me enthralled.

Volyk’s past is one we are tumbled into at the beginning of the story and its heartbreaking.  Nor does it get any better for him as a young kit.  For him life is one of loss, endurance, and pain.  Then a chance meeting with Ilya changes everything for both of them.  I love the language that Rory Ni Coileain employs in her narrative, somehow it seems old and modern at the same time, anchored in the past with Volyk and yet modern with Ilya, the freshness of the current times must coming from  him.

There are some things I would have loved to have seen enlarged on here, Marik is a formidable and evil character, one that this author does so well.  I’m torn between wanting to have more and less of him.  And definitely wanted more of Ilya and Volyk’s relationship.

As it is I can absolutely recommend Wolf, Becoming to all lovers of shifter romance and romance in general.  It kept me enthralled from the first page until the end and the storytelling was everything I expect was this wonderful author.

Cover art by Maria Fanning is beautiful and perfect for the characters.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: February 24th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781634771405
Edition LanguageEnglish