Category: M/M Romance

A Mika Review: Dangerous Spirits (Spirits #2) by Jordan L. Hawk

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Book 2 in the Spirits Series
Previous Book: Restless Spirits

Dangerous Sprits coverAfter the events of Reyhome Castle, Henry Strauss expected the Psychical Society to embrace his application of science to the study of hauntings. Instead, the society humiliates and blacklists him. His confidence shaken, he can’t bring himself to admit the truth to his lover, the handsome medium Vincent Night.

Vincent’s new life in Baltimore with Henry is disrupted when a friend from the past asks for help with a haunting. In the remote town of Devil’s Walk, old ties and new lies threaten to tear the lovers apart, if a fiery spirit bent on vengeance doesn’t put an end to them first.

Classic Jordan L. Hawk, amazing characters, plot and ending. She has shown us different races, ethnicities, and genders in this series. I love how they all come together; it’s definitely why she is one of my favorites. This is a really good continuation from book one. We start off 6 months after the tragic incidents at Reyhome Castle. Henry and Vincent have managed to combine their businesses and have a store in Baltimore. They are going strong with their work and Jo & Lizzie aren’t far behind. Henry and Vincent each think they are doing well, but doubts come out throughout the story.

Poor Henry and his good guy ways, he’s ashamed when they don’t get a grant. Instead of being forthcoming, he decides to take a little white lie that somehow blossoms into something huge. Their relationship is a sore point for Vincent. Internally he is dealing with acceptance and abandonment issues. Henry is internally thinking he’s not good enough. Argh!!!! I just wanted them to talk to each other. Goodness gracious even in the 1800’s men were stubborn. We are introduced to some new characters, who right off back I don’t think they are sincere in their reasons.

The group heads to Pennsylvania to deal with the burning lady. I loved this ghost story. As usual her plots are wonderful, exciting, and pulls you in like we are riding along with the group. Another amazing story from one of my favorite authors. I’ll continue to read anything by this author.

Cover Art by Jordan L. Hawk, Another great cover. I love this portrait of Henry; I’m crossing my fingers that the next one will show Vincent or a group with Jo and Lizzie. I love these covers, really beautifully done.

Sales Links:   All Romance (ARe)  | Amazon | Buy It Here
Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 157 pages
Expected publication: September 15th 2015 by Widdershins Press LLC
ASINB01255T684
edition languageEnglish
seriesSpirits #2
Books in the Series:
Restless Spirits (Spirits, #1)
Dangerous Spirits (Spirits #2)
Dangerous Sprits cover Restless Spirits cover

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Author Discovery: BJ on Author Lia Black

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BJ on Author Lia Black

With the plethora of competent m/m authors around these days, we fans have a daunting variety to choose from. I’ve sampled and enjoyed a book or two from hundreds of authors, but there’s only a handful whose books I just can’t seem to get enough of. Their books call my name the second they’re released. Lia Black is one of those authors.

She’s published five m/m novels to date, and I’ve devoured every single one with relish. All were five star reads with one exception that I rated 4.25, not because of the writing… oh, wait a minute, maybe it was the writing. Because what else was it but her brilliant writing that got me so thoroughly invested in (or should I say in love with?) the two main characters that I just couldn’t stand it when they were separated for a portion of the book? The frustration of that separation made me want to scream. And that right there is a key to why she’s one of my favorite authors.

Lia Black’s storylines suck me in; her characters fascinate me; and her writing always works its way deep down into the recesses of my neglected, dusty, middle-of-nowhere heart and plucks at my emotions. Hard.

Lia’s writing is a bit hard to pigeonhole. Her goodread’s author page states that her work is fantasy, sci-fi, LGBT romance. But that doesn’t quite tell the whole story. You see, Ms. Black does tend to live up to her name. There are dark parts in each and every story I’ve read by this author. Sometimes very dark indeed. So, if you want light and fluffy with a cherry on top, you should probably look elsewhere. But if you’re okay with a story that can make you gasp, that can smash your heart into the gutter and step on it, then ever so tenderly and exquisitely rip it to shreds before putting it back together—read on. You won’t be disappointed.

This author’s characters are sometimes broken yet not angsty, glamorous yet sad, weird yet beautiful, extreme and even gross yet still awesome and cool in their own right. Some of them even have long hair (well, what can I say, long-haired men are a thing for me so I had to mention that!)

And her writing makes me feel… a lot. Sometimes that means quivering in disgust and wanting to roll into a ball like a pill bug and hide but being too entranced to put the book down and do it. Sometimes it means aww moments when my heart wants to melt in my chest cuz I’ve just fallen in love with a character she breathed such life into that I have a clear picture of them in my head, not of a generic sexy man that could fit for a character in any number of stories I’ve read, but someone I feel like I could pick out in a crowd… one I could pick up my paint brush and paint a portrait of except I usually don’t, because I wouldn’t do him justice since I paint dogs and not people.

Lia Black’s stories leave emotional paper cuts on my heart. They’re by turns exhausting, frustrating, horrifying, amazing, fascinating, and touching. But always riveting, and always, in the end, healing. Deliciously dark stories that somehow light me up inside.

I think this excerpt from my review of Fidelity sums it up well: “Not for the faint-hearted, one particular scene at the beginning took my breath away with its grisly, shocking cruelty. But amidst the bloody battle scenes, there is humor, small joys, and sweet tenderness. Amidst the dismantling, I was put back together. The ride to get there was gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, and painful to read. I absolutely loved it.”

So if you’re looking for something different, something to expand your boundaries or to touch on places that maybe you haven’t explored, something to make you feel and not always in a fluffy, sweet way—look no further. Read Lia Black. And if you need help picking which of her books to start with, check out the links to my full reviews below.

Oh, I have one other thing to say about her writing, and I really hope she’s reading this. I desperately need to read more.

About The Author

Lia Black tends to do everything the hard way; beginning with being born backwards into the world and now Lia Black Iconraising a teenage daughter by herself in conservative Upstate NY. Her career choices are no less extreme, including occupations of fine artist, computer geek, firefighter, and mortician’s assistant— just to name a few.

A fellow Author describes Black’s mind as “a glorious kaleidoscope of f*ckeduppery”; she loves the challenge of writing about people who probably have no business being together on the same planet, and who occasionally deal with questionable sanity/morality. It’s fun to glue broken things together and try to make something interesting and new.
–She especially loves broken boys who have lots of fascinating pieces.

Her characters often suffer through the worlds she creates for them, which leaves them a little cranky and sometimes less lovable than others in a romance genre. Yet Black swears that someday, “there will be comedy.”

Follow Lia Black at:  Goodreads | Website | Twitter |

BJ’s Reviews of Lia Black’s Novels

Spiretown coverFidelity coverA King's Ransome coverWhere The Willows Won't Grow cover

Goodreads Link                          BJ Review Link

A King’s Ransom                              BJ’s Review

Spiretown                                           BJ’s Review

Fidelity                                               Link to BJ’s Review

Where Willows Won’t Grow          Link to BJ’s Review here

Author and Book Spotlight: Jordan L. Hawk and her latest release, Dangerous Spirits (Spirits #2) (author interview and giveaway)

Dangerous Sprits cover

Dangerous Spirits (Spirits #2)
by Jordan L. Hawk

Cover art by Jordan L. Hawk

Sales Links:  All Romance (ARe) | Amazon  |  Amazon UK | Smashwords | Nook  |  iTunes

I’m happy to welcome Jordan L. Hawk here to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words to talk a little about her latest release, Dangerous Spirits, her writing process and the paranormal world. Welcome, Jordan!

. Good morning! I hope you all had a great weekend. This is just a quick note to let you know my latest novel, Dangerous Spirits, hits the virtual shelves today.

I can’t wait to share it with you. I think it contains one of the creepiest scenes I’ve ever written, although that might just be because I based it on a childhood fear. But don’t worry, between the scares there’s still plenty of romance and drama with Henry and Vincent! Can these two opposites forge a relationship that works for the long term, or will the heat that flared between them at Reyhome Castle burn out?

And yes, before you ask, Jo and Lizzie are both along for the ride once again. 😉

Dangerous Spirits Coming Sept 15

My Interview with Jordan L. Hawk

  • I love the name Dangerous Spirits. Where do you get your inspiration for your titles and even your characters?

Thanks! I try to keep the titles in a series linked somehow if I can. So all the SPECTR books are called “___er of ____” all the Whyborne & Griffin titles are a single word that usually (but not always) refers to the location where the action is taking place, and all the Spirits books will have the word “Spirits” in the title.

As for characters, I usually have a vague idea who one of the MCs might be, then ask myself who would be his opposite on the surface. So with Spirits, I wanted one of the characters to be a medium who was a bit decadent, into fashion and art and the like, witty and confident. So I figured his apparent opposite would be more into the physical world and science, rather on the stuffy side, and more insecure. Voila, Vincent and Henry.

  • Are your stories long in coming together or can they sometimes just spring to life in a burst of creativity that you fill in with details later?

It’s a bit easier in an established world, but some stories just come together more easily than others. The SPECTR books pretty much go from outline to finished first draft without a lot of rewriting and frustration. Whyborne & Griffin usually means a lot of rewriting and digging deeper to get at the aspects of the story. Spirits seems to be somewhere in between. Although I did end up throwing out the entire original outline I had for Dangerous Spirits about 10,000 words into the book. It was one of those things that looked great in planning stage but didn’t work at all when it was time to put it on the page.

  • What first prompted you to write?

I don’t remember ever not wanting to write, honestly.

  • Favorite paranormal character?

I’m not sure I have an answer to that. I love too many!

  • If you could create a world to live in, what would be a favorite element?

If I could create a world to live in, it wouldn’t look anything like the ones I put my poor characters in. Those are just a bunch of deathtraps.

I dunno, I really like seeing how far and fantastically modern technology has progressed in my lifetime. So I’d probably build myself some kind of sci fi utopia.

  • If you could have one magical power as part of your personal makeup, what would it be?

Probably some kind of telekinesis so I could get things down off the high shelves. 😉

  • What’s next for Jordan L. Hawk?

I’m currently working on Whyborne & Griffin 7, due out in December. I’m also in the planning stages for a follow up novel to “The Thirteenth Hex” (in the Charmed & Dangerous anthology).

Thanks for having me on the blog!

Please come back and see us anytime, and bring us many more stories!

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

 

The Spirits Series – Historical Paranormal

The Spirits series takes place in the latter part of the 19th century, and features the adventures of a man of science, Henry Strauss, and spiritualist medium, Vincent Night. The series came about because I always wanted to write a haunted house story, and what better period to set it in than the Victorian era, when the interest in seances and spirits permeated all levels of society?Dangerous Sprits cover

Blurb

Book 2 in the Spirits Series
Previous Book: Restless Spirits

After the events of Reyhome Castle, Henry Strauss expected the Psychical Society to embrace his application of science to the study of hauntings. Instead, the society humiliates and blacklists him. His confidence shaken, he can’t bring himself to admit the truth to his lover, the handsome medium Vincent Night.

Vincent’s new life in Baltimore with Henry is disrupted when a friend from the past asks for help with a haunting. In the remote town of Devil’s Walk, old ties and new lies threaten to tear the lovers apart, if a fiery spirit bent on vengeance doesn’t put an end to them first.

About the Author

Jordan L. Hawk pic

Jordan L. Hawk grew up in the wilds of North Carolina, where she was raised on stories of haints and mountain magic by her bootlegging granny and single mother. After using a silver knife in the light of a full moon to summon her true love, she turned her talents to spinning tales. She weaves together couples who need to fall in love, then throws in some evil sorcerers and undead just to make sure they want it bad enough. In Jordan’s world, love might conquer all, but it just as easily could end up in the grave.

Contact/follow Jordan L. Hawk at:  Goodreads | Twitter  |  Website  | Facebook

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Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter prize of one of Jordan L. Hawk  novels. The winner will get to choose a eBook, from Jordan L. Hawk’s backlist, winner’s choice (excluding Dangerous Spirits).  You must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Open worldwide.

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A Stella Review: Beyond the Surface (The Breakfast Club #1) by Felice Stevens

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Beyond the Surface coverOn 9/11, firefighter Nick Fletcher’s world changed forever. He’s unable to rid himself of survivor’s guilt, made worse by the secret he hides from his family and co-workers. Nick’s life is centered around helping burn victims, until he is reunited with the man he’d once loved but pushed away. Now he has a second chance at a love he thought lost forever.

For fashion designer Julian Cornell, appearances mean everything. His love affairs are strictly casual, and the only thing he cares about is making his clothing line a success. A chance encounter with the man he loved long ago has Julian thinking for the first time in years there may be more to life than being seen at the best parties and what designer labels to wear.

When Julian’s world takes an unexpected turn, it’s Nick who helps him regain perspective on what matters most in life. Julian, in turn, helps Nick accept who he is and understand he isn’t responsible for tragedies he couldn’t prevent. Lost love found can be even sweeter the second time around and after all the years apart, both men learn to look beyond the surface to find the men they are inside.

“I see the real you, the man underneath the scars at the surface. Those mean nothing to me. I’ve looked beyond that. A person’s body is merely a place card for their soul, their heart, and their mind. And in that respect?” Julian bent down and kissed him softly. “You’re the most perfect man I know.”

Beyond The Surface was my first Felice Stevens book and it will not be my last. I know it sounds rhetorical but I really loved her writing style a lot.

This story was a joy to read, a hurt/comfort book hard to ignore since it’s well written and so full of good feelings. I was afraid it was going to be more angsty since Nick being there on the 9/11. Instead everything was showed us in the perfect way, delicate and thorough. It simply filled my heart.

I love “second chance at love” stories and this one was amazing. After being left by Nick without a second though in high school, Julian met him again almost twenty years later; Nick who, in spite of everything, is still the man of his life. Both their lives have changed so much, but the chemistry is still there waiting for them to act on it, especially for Nick to finally be brave and come out. Pretending to be straight is what Nick has done all this time, afraid to disappoint his family, already wounded by his injuries and impossibility to work as a firefighter anymore. He’s afraid when he shouldn’t be cause his family is really great. That’s one more thing I liked, the acceptance and the no drama his coming out was met with. Beautiful and light to see.

“I’m gay.” Julian expelled a long breath and leaned his forehead against Nick’s.
“Thank God.” He kissed Nick then, a soft sweet brush of his lips like the wing of a bird. “It’s the first step. I’m so proud of you.”
Nick kissed Julian back, and he knew he’d finally come home.

There is a great second characters’ cast, some made me laugh, others, the boys and girls at the burn center, broke my heart with their pain and their courage, but they represented the turning point in the MCs’ relationship. In a couple of scenes that played around these young people, I admit I shed some tears, almost of all them were happy tears. It’s an emotional book so it was inevitable.

Beyond the Surface is the first book in a new series called The Breakfast Club, set around three young friends who are used to meet for breakfast. Julian is one of them, then there’s Marcus, club owner always looking for the next man to seduce, and the sweet and shy geek Zach. I’m dying to get their stories too. With this first installment, Felice made me fall in love with her talent and her boys and I’m waiting for the next couple.

Highly recommended!

Cover art by Reese Dante is sweet and simple, it fits the book perfectly in every little detail.

Sales Links:  Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details;

Published August 17th 2015 by Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Kindle Edition, 229 pages
ASIN B013JB97QY
Edition Language English

 

A Sammy Review: Cronin’s Key II (Cronin’s Key #2) by N.R. Walker

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Cronin's Key II cover“I am forever by your side.”

“As are we,” Jodis said.

Finally, Alec smiled. “Just like the musketeers, huh? All for one and one for all.”

Cronin pulled back a little so he could see Alec’s face. “They weren’t vampires.”

Life hasn’t been a picnic since Alec MacAidan had his world turned upside down. Finding out you’re fated to a vampire, have pretty much been stalked by another since your birth, and are some kind of mysterious key that could save the world is a lot to swallow. But now that he’s started to embrace it, Alec wouldn’t change a thing.

But if he thought there would be rest for the wicked, he was wrong. With rumors of vampire covens fleeing Russia and disappearances in China, there’s no mistaking that Alec’s job as the key has come into play again. But this time, it’s not his life on the line, it’s his forever.

Completion.

Alec understood now what that really meant. It wasn’t some prudish, polite way to describe an orgasm. It was to be at one with Cronin, to be whole, to be complete.

To be fated.

I was beyond excited to read the second book in this series. The first set a great stage for world building and a lifelong (and then some) romance between Cronin and Alec. In this book, we get even more of that world building and romance, and let me tell you, Walker cranks up the steam.

One of my favorite aspects of the first story was the alternate history, and we got even more of that here. Hell, I’d have loved for pages of it (though most readers wouldn’t, so I understand her limiting it.) The author did a nice job of balancing the copious amounts of information with humor and the rest of the story so that it didn’t feel to heavy or like a huge info dump.

And that humor… oh that humor. It was just spot on. I adore Alec and in this book we got to see more of some past favorites and meet some new ones. I hope to see more of Jorge, and even when Alec and Cronin’s story concludes, I’d love to see what Walker could do with Jacques or Kennard. They both have a lot of potential as stars in their own stories.

But… I do have a bone to pick. Or, well, a few. First, the editing. I literally cringed at some of the mistakes. Commas were missing at points, commas were thrown in where they shouldn’t be, words were wrong… it’s a shame, because someone should’ve picked up on those things before it was published. Normally I can get over a few mistakes, but there were enough in this one that I was actually distracted a few times when reading.

Another issue I had was luckily resolved, and that was the portrayal of Dissociative Identity Disorder (or DID, as most people in the field would call it.) I was glad things changed at the end, because I was pretty unhappy with how this was written.

And then my last issue was with how quickly things happened at the end and the lack of emotion I felt for those parts. It was like two books of build up to that moment and… well, it basically went out with a little whimper instead of a bang. I’d love to see Walker push for more emotion in those parts of her story. Make it less of the motions and more of the feelings. In the end, it just felt too neat and clean. And when we found out who was behind stuff… it literally was like “huh? Oh… okay.” I was totally bummed by that.

Still, I love the world building and the characters, and I can’t wait to read more of these two.

The cover art by Sara York is a nice compliment to the first. It’s still not the prettiest thing in the world, but it ties in with the story and the series.

Sales Links:  All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 195 pages
Published May 22nd 2015 by N.R. Walker
edition language English
series Cronin’s Key #2

Early Morning Coffee Sip and Book Break with See You In The Morning by A. T. Weaver (excerpt and giveaway)

SeeYou 2

See You In The Morning by A. T. Weaver
Release Date: March 4, 2014

Goodreads Link
Publisher: A. T. Weaver
Cover Artist: Ken Clark – Photo from Dreamstime

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Buy the book:  Amazon  |  Smashwords

Blurb:

Jake wonders if he’ll ever find a long-term, loving relationship like his parents have. After all, same-sex marriage is a pipe dream. Then he meets Dave. From the first kiss, they know they belong together. For over fifty years they’re together, living their happily ever after in spite of bigotry. They raise four wonderful children, always counting on the promise they give each other every night – “see you in the morning.”

Pages or Words: 336 pages, 71,733 words
Categories: Fiction, Gay Fiction, Love Story, M/M Romance

Excerpt

(hankie alert)

Jake walked into the cottage, laid the rose on the hall table, removed his jacket and hung it on a hook inside the hall closet. He took Dave’s green sweater from a hanger, slipped it around his back and hugged himself with the sleeves. The scent of Dave’s favorite aftershave filled his nostrils. My dear one, what will I ever do without you? He picked up the rose, stuck the stem through a buttonhole on his shirt and went into the kitchen. He took two glasses from the cupboard and pushed a button on the refrigerator door. Ice and green tea flavored with honey and ginseng poured into the glasses. He frowned at the glasses and set one on the table. I guess I only need one glass.

His shoulders drooped and his feet shuffled as he walked to the living room. He felt much older than his seventy-six years. He set the glass on the table next to his favorite chair, sat and pushed a button on the arm of his chair. Across the room a huge screen nearly the size of the wall rose up and displayed a menu. He pushed another button and an old-fashioned photograph appeared on the screen. Memories flooded his mind.

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About the Author

Meet A. T. Weaver:

              A. T. Weaver is the pen name of a divorced grandmother of eleven, great-grandmother of one. She lives with her cat, Cleopatra, in downtown Kansas City, MO.

When she was growing up, the word gay meant happy and carefree and homosexuals were called queer or ‘one-of-those’. However, she never heard those terms until she was married and a mother. When two men moved in down the street from their mobile home, her husband had to explain they were queer. As far as she was concerned, they were just a couple of men sharing a trailer.

In 2003, through a TV show called Boy Meets Boy, using the sign-on of ‘alixtheweaver’ she ‘met’ over 3,000 gay men in a Yahoo group. These men called her ‘grandma J. and educated her as to the inequalities suffered by the LGBT community She became a staunch ally. She visited one of the men in San Francisco who lived just up the street from the Castro. As he showed her around, they stopped in front of what was once Harvey Milk’s camera store. Her question, “Who was Harvey Milk?” started her education into Gay history.

After the passing of Prop 8 in 2008, she attended her first ever protest rally at the ripe age of 65 where she held a church flag across the street from WBC protesters.

A. T.’s aim is to move you in some way. Whether you laugh or cry, love it or hate it, she welcomes all comments, whether good or bad.

Where to find A. T. Weaver:

RC


Tour Dates & Stops: September 14, 2015

Parker Williams, Jessie G. Books, Mikky’s World of Books, Havan Fellows, Bike Book Reviews, The Jena Wade, BFD Book Blog, Bayou Book Junkie, Inked Rainbow Reads, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Happily Ever Chapter, 3 Chicks After Dark, It’s Raining Men, Michael Mandrake, The Hat Party, Divine Magazine, Three Books Over the Rainbow, MM Good Book Reviews, Andrew Q. Gordon. Molly Lolly, Kimi-Chan, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My

Final AT Weaver Revised

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: 2 Print copies and 3 ebooks from back list.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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WillPride

An Aurora YA Review: A Hard Day’s Night by Mia Kerick

Rating: 4 stars out of 5:  ★★★★

A Hard Day's Night coverHigh school senior Kalin (Lennon) Macready knows several facts for certain: John Lennon is his hero. Beaumont Finley Danforth (Fin) is his best friend. And—this is the complicated one—he feels more for Fin than mere friendship.

For weeks, Lennon pesters Fin, who like Lennon admits to questioning his sexual orientation, for a commitment to spend twenty-four hours together exploring “the gay side of life.” Each boy will seek to answer the terrifying question, Am I gay? Fin reluctantly agrees. Lennon pre-plans the day, filling the hours with what he assumes “gay life” is all about: funky hairstyles, fancy coffee drinks, shopping for fashionable clothing, boogying to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off”, and yes, listening to show tunes.

However, Lennon quickly realizes that in creating his plan he has succumbed to the most common and distorted gay stereotypes. Can he be gay and not fit them? And more importantly, is it possible that spending twenty-four hours together will convince Fin that he’s gay, too? If so, maybe Lennon has a shot at winning the heart of the boy of his dreams.

This book isn’t a huge revelation, but it doesn’t pretend to be, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The result is a charming book about charming – if occasionally annoying for the mere fact that they are still teenagers – characters. It’s a fun read, it sends a good message to teenagers that are likely to read a YA book, and it definitely offers some reassurance to LGBT teens who feel that they don’t necessarily fit into the boxes of their gender or sexuality. Even non-LGBT teens or even adults who might be reading the book will hopefully learn from the book to be more accepting and much less reliant on stereotypes to try to figure out someone else’s gender or sexuality.
With that being said, the book does a very good job of getting the message across in a very succinct way without seeming like an after school special. I had a fun time reading it, and although there were some things that weren’t exactly to my tastes, I would definitely recommend it. And as a lifelong fan of the Beatles, it was pretty interesting to read a book that takes place in our modern times and yet has a teenager who is such a fan of the Beatles. I’ve spent a lot of time around fellow teenagers, and it’s pretty difficult to find young people who are still interested in older pop culture.
I think, all in all, this book seems very real, it had an incredibly original concept behind it, and it has a good message without being too preachy. It was a fun read for me, and especially for people who prefer contemporary YAs to fantasy, I think they would really enjoy this book even more so than I did.
Louis C. Harris is the cover artist. For me, this cover was honestly a little much. It isn’t badly done or unappealing, exactly. But my personal preference is a more understated cover, and I will readily admit that I am a minimalist as far as that goes. But, that being said, I do think the cover is well matched to the actual tone of the book. I don’t think someone is going to pick up this book based on the cover and be in any way surprised by what they see. So, although it’s not exactly for me, the cover does its job.
Sales Links:  All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here
Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 1st, 114 pages
Published September 1st 2015 by YoungDudes Publishing
ASIN B013O1V2OE
edition language English

A Jeri Review: Not Safe for Work by L.A. Witt

Rating: 3 stars out of 5  

They’re a match made in the dungeon…until their secret gets out.

Not Safe For Work coverBored senseless in a meeting, architectural modeler Jon McNeill amuses himself with a kinky dating app on his phone. Then the app matches him with another user…who’s six feet away. Suddenly Jon finds himself on the same page as someone way above his pay grade: millionaire property developer Rick Pierce. His firm’s biggest—and hottest—client.

The app isn’t kidding either. They’re a perfect match. Jon’s a Dom, Rick’s a sub, and bondage is their thing. Both guys are well into their forties, know their way around the bedroom, and definitely appreciate a good suit. And the best part? They’re a match outside the bedroom too.

But office relationships aren’t easy to keep a secret. When the truth comes out, Jon is certain he’s about to get fired. Instead, his bosses throw him a curve ball—an ultimatum that puts both his job and his relationship in jeopardy.I love that so many books are bringing modern technology and phone apps into their story lines. This book has a fictional app called “Leathr” which is like Tindr, but for the kinky set. During yet another boring meeting, Jon quickly checks Leathr and finds a match, not in the same zip code, but in the same room. A quick glance around the table and he figures out his match- his firms newest and biggest client.

They meet for a drink to see if they are compatible, there are definite sparks and they begin a relationship that they both think is about the kink only. But it isn’t.

While I really enjoyed the relationship between Rick and Jon, especially the covert nature of keeping it a secret at work, the BDSM part of the book left a bit to be desired, in my opinion. I hate to say it, but I feel like this is another case of jumping on the BDSM bandwagon without knowing enough about it.

If we leave the BDSM in the background (which is a bit difficult since that is what their relationship is built on), it was a really good story. I liked that they were both in their 40’s. That their knees ached and their bodies took a bit more time to recover.

They also really talk to each other. Like, honest conversations about life. I feel that this is lacking in so many books. I liked reading an adult conversation. And while they both had their histories- of course, they are in the 40’s- they both willingly and openly went into a relationship together.

While the cover art is definitely hot, I don’t see either character looking like that. But it would still pull me in enough to at least read the blurb.

Sales Links:  Samhain Publishing  and other links coming soon.

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 341 pages
Expected publication: December 15th 2015 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
ASINB013HUV8RI
edition language English