Category: M/M Romance

Like Your Romance Served Up Fresh? Check Out Delivered Fast by Annabeth Albert (excerpt and giveaway)

DeliveredFast2

Delivered Fast (Portland Heat #3) by Annabeth Albert
Standalone  Story. Each book is connected by the city, and loosely by characters
Release Date: May 26, 2015

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Publisher: Kensington/Lyrical
Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde

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Sales Links:  Amazon  – Barnes and Noble

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Portland, Oregon, aka Hotlandia, where the coffee shops, restaurants, and bakeries are ready to serve everything piping hot, fresh, and ready to go—like the hard-working, hard-bodied men behind the counters—with no reservations…
 
Sure, Chris O’Neal has problems. His restaurant is still co-owned by his ex. His flannel-and-tattoos style is making him accidentally trendy. He can’t remember the last time he went out and had fun. But he’s not lonely, he’s driven. And the hot bakery delivery boy is not his problem, no matter how sweet his buns. 
 
Chris is old enough to know Lance Degrassi’s sculpted good looks and clever double entendres spell nothing but trouble. Lance is still in college—he should be hitting the clubs and the books, chasing guys his own age, not pursuing some gruff motorcycle-riding workaholic. Especially when he’ll be leaving for grad school in a few months. But Lance keeps hanging around, lending a hand, charming Chris to distraction. Maybe some steaming hot no-strings indulgence won’t hurt. 
 
Then again, maybe it will…

Pages or Words: 45,000 words

Categories: Contemporary, Erotica, Fiction, Gay fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

From Chapter One of Delivered Fast

The delivery boy had sweet buns. Not to mention prize-winning rolls. He wore a pair of those fancy over-the-ear headphones and shimmied around the white bakery truck, his hips and ass working in time to what was apparently a killer beat. Even the way he climbed into the back of the truck was a choreographed dance. I wasn’t usually one to get distracted by eye candy, but that ass . . .

I’d propped open the service door at the rear of my coffee shop about fifteen minutes earlier, hoping to coax a cool breeze into the stuffy storeroom where I’d been working. I leaned against the door frame, appreciating the unexpectedly fine view in the alley.

When the guy emerged from the truck—headphones around his neck, carrying a stack of pink boxes—I pushed away from the door and met him at the edge of the concrete steps. I tried to play it cool, like I hadn’t spent the last five minutes perving on his world-class bubble butt.

“You’re not Vic,” I said as I ushered him into the hallway that led back to the kitchen and storeroom.

“Nope. I’m Lance, Vic’s cousin. I’ll be handling your deliveries from here on out.” His smile—a wide, toothy grin—was almost as adorable as his butt. The only resemblance he had to my usual beefy delivery guy was in the chiseled facial features and light olive skin. He looked like he’d be right at home playing World Cup soccer for Italy with his wide shoulders, lean torso, muscular thighs and legs. And that ass.

Which I was going to stop thinking about right the hell now. He was too young—I could see that even more clearly under the fluorescent lights of my kitchen. Early twenties, if that. His gelled-up black hair fell across his forehead in artfully bleached strands. Too high maintenance for my taste.

“I’m Chris O’Neal. Here, let me help you with those.” Taking part of the stack from him, I showed him the metal racks where I stashed recent deliveries.

“Nice setup you’ve got here.” Lance looked around the cramped but efficient kitchen area.

“Thanks.” Most of The People’s Cup square footage was devoted to the coffee bar and seating area in the front, so I made do in the back with my organization system, which bordered on the obsessive. I’d installed floor-to-ceiling shelving on every wall, including over the cooktop and counters. The center prep table was where most of the action happened, and its broad expanse was covered with the beginnings of several dishes for tomorrow’s Sunday brunch.

“I’ve been here before with friends from PSU—for your Sunday thing. And during the week once or twice to study.”

I made a noncommittal noise. Great. A college kid. As if I needed to feel like more of an old, cranky perv.

“Let’s get the rest of the boxes.” I herded him back out to the alley. I was eager to get him and his distracting ass on his way. I had several more hours of staging work ahead of me to prepare for Sunday’s buffet. During the week we were just another coffeehouse, but we were known all over Portland for our Sunday brunch.

“So are you the owner? This all yours?” Lance asked as he got another load of boxes from the truck.

“Yeah. Mine and my partner’s. Business partner.” I fumbled the stack of boxes he handed me. Why had it felt so necessary to make that qualification? Like the kid would be in any way interested in my messed-up business relationship with my stubborn bastard of an ex.

Despite his pretty-boy looks, the kid was probably straight; he had a confident swagger girls his age likely found irresistible.

“I’ve been to your other place, too—the one in Northwest. Did the delivery there earlier. I like this location better.”

“Me too,” I said, my voice drier than gin. “Randy give you any issues?”

Randy had his location; I had mine. Our relationship had turned into something out of a bad chick flick, except there wasn’t any cute ending coming.

“Randy? Nah. It was some girl named Becky, with a nose ring and huge gauges.”

I nodded. That sounded about right for Randy’s taste. And I was not going to care whether he was banging her or how long she’d last as an employee. His shitty employee turnover wasn’t my problem. I’d washed my hands of what happened at the 23rd Street store.

“You want a cup of coffee for the road?” I asked before I could stop myself. It was the same courtesy I’d always extended to his cousin and to most of our other delivery people, but somehow my offer felt tinged with more than politeness.

“What do you have on offer today?” His grin was more than a little wicked.

Wouldn’t you like to know? I bit back the flirtatious retort. And what the hell was up with that? I did not flirt. Hell, anything other than bitter and grumpy hadn’t been my MO for months now.
*****
Can Lance bring out the softer side of this cranky chef? Find out in DELIVERED FAST!

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.
Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter.  In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two toddlers.

Represented by Saritza Hernandez of the Corvisiero Literary Agency




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Tour Dates & Stops: May 26, 2015
Prism Book Alliance, Parker Williams, Multitasking Mommas, Bike Book Reviews, Cate Ashwood, MM Good Book Reviews, Divine Magazine, My Fiction Nook, BFD Book Blog, Inked Rainbow Reads, Bayou Book Junkie,
Dawn’s Reading Nook, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Molly Lolly, Tara Lain, 3 Chicks After Dark, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Carly’s Book Reviews, Foxylutely Book Reviews, Velvet Panic, Charley Descoteaux, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, The Hat Party

 

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Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.   Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions. Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $10 Amazon gift card
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Books in the Portland Heat Series to Date:

  • Served Hot (Portland Heat, #1)
  • Baked Fresh (Portland Heat, #2)
  • Delivered Fast (Portland Heat, #3)

A MelanieM Review: The Hidden Wolf (Sapphire Ranch Wolves #2) by Sue Brown

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

The Hidden Wolf coverSheriff Milo Clarke has met his mate, Eli Watkins, and now they’re conducting a long distance relationship while Eli runs the Cavalry, the security firm protecting Joe and Cal at the Sapphire Ranch from the hunters.

The long distance loving is hard on all three of them, Eli, Clarke and Clarke’s wolf, who is becoming more restless as Clarke refuses to shift. When Clarke going to give into the other side of him and how will Clarke and Eli resolve the distance between their lives?

The Hidden Wolf picks up shortly after the events in The Last Wolf.  Cal is in hiding with his mate Joe at Joe’s Sapphire Ranch.  Sheriff Milo is working with his mate, Eli and The Cavalry, the security firm hired to protect what’s left of Cal’s pack and take down the hunters.  Milo, half shifter, half human, is deeply divided as to how to handle his current situation as a closeted gay man and secret wolf shifter and his needs and that of his mate, Eli.  The push to be together, openly is hindered by the pressing need to hide Milo’s status as a shifter to keep him safe from the hunters as well.  Lots and lots of things going on or getting ready to happen.  And that’s part of the issue I have with The Hidden Wolf.  The potential for action and intrigue is present but the focus on the overall plot is sidelined by a side story, however poignant, and the fact that mostly nothing happens except repetitive arguments that go like this….Joe, Eli says “I want you (Cal, Milo) to go into hiding, I want you safe”. (Cal,Milo) ” My place is here with my (mate, job, responsibilities). I can’t go.” Then go back to the first sentence and repeat ad infinitum.

There is an unexplained incident, very mysterious, but nothing really comes of that either, although I believe the author is saving that for the next story.  All in all, very little is added to that interesting wolf shifter universe the author started in the first book and very little shifts in the couple dynamics or character development.  Yes, there is some hot sex, a micro inch forward towards coming out for Milo.  But the expected explosions and denouements are completely absent.  One scene with Milo’s boss that might have been compelling and add more suspense to the story disappears and that ending comes up so abruptly that I thought I had an incomplete copy.  Its as though someone was speaking directly to you and then quit mid sentence.  You are left dumbfounded and wondering what happened and why?

I normally don’t mind any more when a story that is part of a  series or trilogy involves a cliffhanger.  But I do expect a logical framework and at least a few minor plots to be pulled together tightly.  I felt both were missing here.  Why the 3 stars?  Because I still think all the characters show so much promise and charm as does the wolf shifter history that has only been sketched in.  That I enjoyed immensely.

What I need now is that next story…to see if its the glue to bring the first and second book together in a cohesive whole.  I will let you know what I find.

Cover art by Meredith Russell works perfectly for the  men and story inside.  Great job.

Sales Links:  Love Lane Books    All Romance (ARe)   Amazon   Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook
Published May 22nd 2015 by Love Lane Books Limited
edition languageEnglish
seriesSapphire Ranch Wolves #2

 

The Sapphire Ranch Wolves Series to Date:

In the Book Spotlight: “His Womanly Ways” by K. Lynn (excerpt and giveaway)

His Womanly Ways cover

His Womanly Ways by K. Lynn
Release Date: May 27, 2015

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Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: BS Clay

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Sales Links: Torquere Books

STRW Author BookSynopsis

 

Alex is a womanizer. He makes no excuses for it. Yes, he picks up women at the local bar, leaving them with just a memory of a good night and a good lay, but he hasn’t had any complaints yet. That is, until he picks up the wrong woman. Not satisfied to be tossed aside as just another notch in Alex’s bedpost, she curses him, wishing he “knew what it was like for a woman.” And he’s about to find out what she means, embarking on a genderswap journey that he can’t stop.

Alex starts slowly gaining secondary female characteristics. Waking up with his cock gone, replaced by a vagina, was bad enough. Then it gets worse, as his body becomes more like a woman than the man he used to be. Alex tries to hide the changes he’s going through, for fear that someone will discover his secret, but keeping this quite literally “under wraps” might be impossible before the curse runs its course.

With the help of his female best friend, Eve, Alex tries to deal with who he is becoming. He feels like he’s lost his identity, his mind not matching the body he now has. But Eve sticks by him, and they become closer as Alex’s changes progress. What started out as friendship may become something more before Alex’s journey is over. Perhaps this curse was actually a blessing in disguise.

Pages or Words: 65,000 words

Categories: Bisexual, Contemporary, Erotica, Fiction, Humor, Lesbian Romance, Body Horror, Romance, Transgender, Transformation, Genderswap, Gender Change, Cursed

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

“I don’t need you to courier anybody, okay?” he growled. “This is more serious.”

She gave him a raised eyebrow. “I’m not helping you get rid of a body either. That was just a joke. You can’t hold me to anything I say when I’m drunk.”

“Shut up, there’s no dead body,” he said, untying the strings on the front of his sweatpants. “There’s something wrong with me.”

“For fuck’s sake, Alex, I don’t want to see your diseased dick,” Eve said, covering her eyes. “Go to the clinic.”

“I don’t think the clinic can help me with this,” he said, pulling his pants and underwear down and sitting on the edge of the bed in front of her. Alex pushed his legs apart, splaying them so there was no way she could miss the problem when she opened her eyes again.

“Eve, just look,” he urged, looking up at her.

“No!” she said, keeping her eyes fully covered.

“Please, Eve, I’m freaking out here and you’re the only person I knew to call,” his tone was pleading now and he was starting to freak out again. “Just look at me.”

“I told you,” she began as she started taking her hand away from her face, “I don’t want to see…what the hell is that?!” Her eyes widened as she saw him in full glory, her face losing all trace of color as she stumbled back.

“You should know, you’ve got one yourself,” he said with a pasted-on smirk, but his attempt at humor fell flat.

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

About the author:

K. Lynn has been an avid reader and writer since childhood. In her youth, she could most likely be found in the local library, devouring books that covered everything from WWII History to Dr. McCoy’s latest adventures aboard the Enterprise, with some X-Men thrown in for good measure. Once she had read everything that was on the shelves, she turned around and read them again. K. Lynn was also known to create elaborate adventures that more than once made it to the page. Ink-filled papers gave way to overflowing computer memory as the years went on, but the stories never ceased.

While in college, K. Lynn increased her involvement in LGBT issues and writing within the LGBT fiction genre. She has become a long-time fan of the authors that seek to explore the commonality that exists within all sexualities and genders. Most of K. Lynn’s work features LGBT characters, many of whom are in established relationships and show how love perseveres through every trial and tribulation that life holds. She also has a particular interest in seeing transgender characters gain a larger foothold within the LGBT fiction genre, hoping that the market for these works expand in the future.

Where to find the author:

Twitter: @WriterKLynn
Livejournal – (I have a personal one at http://kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com/, but it’s not K. Lynn specific…though I do speak about my writing there and welcome friending)
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6294892.K_Lynn
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/K.-Lynn/e/B009PNS6VS
Website: http://writerklynn.com/

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Tour Dates & Stops: May 25, 2015
Parker Williams, Cate Ashwood, Inked Rainbow Reads, Bayou Book Junkie, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat, Havan Fellows, BFD Book Blog, Molly Lolly, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Happily Ever Chapter, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Divine Magazine, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Chris McHart, Iyana Jenna, The Hat Party, Up All Night, Read All Day, Bending the Bookshelf, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves

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Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.  Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘His Womanly Ways’ by K. Lynn

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The Wolves from Sue Brown’s Sapphire Ranch Wolves Series are Back in The Hidden Wolf (excerpt and giveaway)

 

 

 

Title: The Hidden Wolf
Series: Sapphire Ranch Wolves – Book Two
Author: Sue Brown
Publisher: Love Lane Books
Cover Artist: Meredith Russell
Length: 32,700 words
Release Date: 22nd May, 2015

 

Blurb: Sheriff Milo Clarke has met
his mate, Eli Watkins, and now they’re conducting a long distance relationship
while Eli runs Cavalry, the security firm protecting Joe and Cal at the
Sapphire Ranch from the hunters.

The long distance loving is hard on all three of them,
Eli, Clarke and Clarke’s wolf, who is becoming more restless as Clarke refuses
to shift. When Clarke going to give into the other side of him and how will
Clarke and Eli resolve the distance between their lives?

 

Sheriff Milo Clarke leaned against the kitchen
cabinets as he watched Eli Watkins and his team, the Calvary, remove the
remains of Randy Streerson from the kitchen of Sapphire Ranch. He’d offered to
help and been told firmly to stay the hell out of their way as they committed a
felony.
Staying to one side was a damned sensible move.
What used to be Randy Streerson, the head of a group of hunters that pursued
and killed shifters, now covered the kitchen walls, floor, and dripped from the
ceiling after young shifter Callum Pope shot him with one of the hunter’s
bullets.
Cal was a distant shifter relative of Milo’s. His
father had been related to Milo’s mother. Cal’s father and two elder brothers
had been killed by a band of hunters led by the Streerson family. The pack had
splintered in an effort to survive, and Cal had turned up on Sapphire Ranch
after running hundreds of miles to get away from the hunters, only to discover
the owner of the ranch was his mate. A lot had happened in a few days. Eli’s
men took away what remained of the body and now they scrubbed the kitchen,
surprisingly efficient. Milo didn’t have to be a cop to know this wasn’t the
first time the Cavalry had cleaned away evidence that a murder had taken place.
He was stuck between duty and likely survival. On
one hand he’d witnessed the struggle between Cal and Streerson for control of
the gun before Cal had pulled the trigger. On the other…
How the hell would he explain to his deputies
what had just taken place? They would want to know where he’d been hiding for
the past few days, why he’d been lying to them, who the victim—who was no
fucking victim—was, and what the hell was a shifter?
He was a shifter. At least a half-shifter. His
mother had been a werewolf and Milo could change, he just chose not to. Instead
he lived among the humans as a sheriff and hadn’t given in to that side of him
for over five years except for one glorious moment a few days ago. Milo tried
not to think about it even as his wolf grumbled inside.
Milo watched the team—at least he watched Eli.
His whole attention was focused on the dark-haired man. Just watching him made
his mouth dry and his dick hard. From the second Milo had shifted to prove the
existence of werewolves to Eli and his assistant Ross, he’d realized that Eli
was his mate.
Unable to resist, he’d trotted up to Eli and laid
his head on his lap. Tentatively Eli had stroked his head, and Milo leaned into
the caress, wanting Eli to touch him more. Eli filled his wolf senses. He
smelled woodsy with a touch of citrus. He smelled good.
“Good doggy,” Eli had murmured.
Doggy? Milo gave a low growl at the insult,
grinning in wolfy satisfaction as Eli snatched his hand back. He wouldn’t have
hurt him—much.
And Eli had seemed equally drawn to him, finding
it hard to take his eyes off Milo, even as they’d talked strategy with Joe,
Cal’s mate and the owner of Sapphire Ranch.
But they hadn’t gone near each other, hadn’t
touched each other at all beyond that one brief contact. Milo had been relieved
because they had needed to focus their minds, not their dicks, to defeat the
hunters. Relieved—and frustrated beyond belief to have his mate so close and
not be able to touch him.
There was another issue. They hadn’t connected
telepathically.
Milo had thought that happened immediately. But
he was only a half-shifter, with limited shifter abilities in his human form,
and Eli was a human. What would happen if they didn’t connect? Could they walk
away from each other? It would make life so much simpler.
Milo caught Eli frowning at him, and he looked
away, feeling guilty. Eli didn’t need to know. They hadn’t connected. He need
never know. Milo’s wolf howled inside him at the thought of walking away from
his mate, and for once Milo didn’t try to hush him. The thought hurt his human
side just as much. But Milo had spent his whole life hiding his true nature,
and now, through no fault of his own, everything he’d worked to hide was liable
to be exposed. Among humans he hid the fact he was half-shifter. Around
shifters he tried hard to fit in, even though his human side affected his wolf
senses. And with both communities he hid the fact he was gay.
Milo had spent his whole life in hiding and with one
phone call Joe had exposed him to humans—both as shifter and as gay. He wasn’t
fucking ready for it. And didn’t that suck?
Love Lane Books   – Amazon – All Romance eBooks
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Sue Brown is owned by her dog and two
children. When she isn’t following their orders, she can be found plotting at
her laptop. In fact she hides so she can plot and has gotten expert at ignoring
the orders.
Sue discovered M/M erotica at the
time she woke up to find two men kissing on her favorite television series. The
series was boring; the kissing was not. She may be late to the party, but she’s
made up for it since, writing fan fiction until she was brave enough to venture
out into the world of original fiction.
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Its Danger and Love at Sea with Jane Davitt’s Closing the Loop! ( release day giveaway)

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Closing the Loop by Jane Davitt
Available from Riptide on May 25
Cover Art by L.C. Chase

Sales Link:  Riptide Publishing

A “closed loop” voyage occurs when a vessel departs from a port and returns to the same port upon completion of the voyage.

About Closing the Loop

A week on a tropical gay cruise is just what Lee needs after a bad breakup and a Canadian winter. It’s a shame his ex is on board, but Lee is sharing a cabin with Cole, a hot lawyer who—as luck would have it—is actually from Lee’s city. So when Cole unexpectedly awakens Lee’s kinky side, Lee begins to dream that they can actually take their shipboard romance home with them.
But Cole is keeping secrets involving a troubled young man on board the ship. And Lee, after his recent brush with betrayal, finds it difficult to trust Cole when he says Justin isn’t a rival.

Then he learns the truth and is also drawn into the tragic story. His dream vacation is in danger of turning dark, but he’s determined to navigate Cole and himself to a safe harbor before their blisteringly hot romance is lost at sea.

About the Author

Jane Davitt is English, and has been living in Canada with her husband, two children, and two cats, since 1997. Writing and reading are her main occupations but if she ever had any spare time she might spend it gardening, walking, or doing cross stitch. She’s recently taken up yoga and loves discovering her ability to bend.

Jane has been writing since 2002 and wishes she’d started earlier. She is a huge fan of SF, fantasy, erotica, and mystery novels and has a tendency to get addicted to TV shows that get cancelled all too soon.

She owns over 4,000 books, rarely gives any away, but is happy to loan them, and is of the firm opinion that there is no such thing as “too many books.”

Connect with Jane:
Website: http://www.janedavitt.com/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/janedavitt
Goodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1563721.Jane_Davitt

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Giveaway

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a signed print copy of Lucky Strike. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on May 30. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Don’t forget to add your email so we can contact you if you win!  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.   Prizes and contest provided by Riptide Publishing.