The Werewolves of Manhattan are Back in AC Katt’s ‘Marking Kane’ (excerpt and giveaway)

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Marking Kane (Werewolves of Manhattan #4) by A.C. Katt
Release Date: March 4, 2016

Goodreads Link:
Publisher: MLR Press
Cover Artist: Lex Valentine

Blurb

Gabriel Martin has hope. Three of the Alphas on the council have found mates in the past year and a half. Returning to New York from Atlanta, he comes across a human who has been raped in an alleyway. The human is his mate, Kane Brady.

Kane has been teaching at the local high school and refuses to rubber stamp the education of their star basketball players—almost paying the price with his life. He’s unusual as he’s a Human Omega but he can’t be intimate with Gabriel because of his horrific experience.

It’s up to the Alphas and their Mates to help Kane recover and accept all that it is to be with Gabriel.

 

Pages or Words: 51,655
Series is best read in order – His Omega, Remy’s Painter, Scarred Mate, Marking Kane
Categories: M/M Romance, Paranormal, Shifters (Wolf)

Excerpt

First Week in December Friday

The faculty room at New York City’s McClellan High School reeked of industrial strength cleaner, sweat socks, and chalk. The walls were made of dirty beige concrete blocks and the linoleum was beginning to crack. Today it was empty save for Coach Tom Hughes and Kane Brady, the junior year English teacher, who were involved in a heated exchange.

“Neither Johnny Sanders nor Deon Jackson did the work. They didn’t turn in one homework assignment all semester, they refused to take all of their tests and didn’t even bother to do their term papers. I have to fail them.”

“Do you realize that Johnny is the power forward and Deon is the point guard for McClellan High School’s basketball team? This year’s team has a shot at the state championship.”

“Tom, they’re not here to learn to play basketball, they can do that on the street or at the Y. They’re here for an education and they won’t get one if we continue to pass students along without them doing the work required to get a passing grade.”

“Are you telling me physical education isn’t important?” Coach loomed over Kane, who was only five-foot-six.

“Physical Education is as important as English is to their development. If they failed to show up for your class, sat on the sidelines for every exercise and disrupted the class on a regular basis what would you do? I know you’ve failed students.” Kane’s eyes blazed.

“I didn’t fail our two, star basketball players,” the Coach huffed.

“Talk to them about what happened. I didn’t want to be unreasonable so when I realized they were on the team and failing my class, I told the boys in November what they had to do to pass. I also told their parents. They didn’t do it. They didn’t turn in one missed homework assignment or the term paper I assigned in September.”

“They don’t have time for all that shit, they have to practice. The other teachers go along. This is your first year here. You fail Deon and Johnny and you’re out on your ear.” Coach drank the sludge they called coffee and stared at Kane pointedly.

“And I’m out on my ear if these kids don’t pass the standardized tests at the end of the school year.”

“There are ways of getting around that.” Coach Hughes was trying to physically intimidate him, and Kane wasn’t buying it.

“So which do you suggest, do I sacrifice their education so they graduate without being able to read passed a sixth-grade level? Or do you suggest I fail them and give them the incentive to pass next semester so they can play ball?”

“These boys can get scholarships for college if they play,” the coach said belligerently.

“And if they don’t do the work here, their professors will fail them because they can’t keep up and they won’t be able to play or pay for the education they were promised.” Kane was practically begging the coach to put the kids and their futures first.

“They have difficult lives at home.” The coach got sanctimonious.

“No, they don’t. They have both of their parents and both sets of parents work. Deon’s father is a policeman and Johnny’s mother is a nurse. I’ve spoken to them and they agree with my decision. Their boys have gotten out of hand. They are aware that their sons have not done any school work for the past two years, with the school turning a blind eye. As I said, I have their full support. The parents would rather have their sons educated than have them only know how to play basketball.”

“They don’t have the mental capacity to do the work.”

“I’d like to see you tell that to their parents. If they were incapable of doing the assignments, I’d suggest putting them in a remedial class, but they can do the work, they just refuse to do it.” Kane glared at the coach.

“One way or another, you’ll pay for this. Those kids were my ticket to coaching college ball and I’m not going to lose out because of you”,” Tom shouted. Kane shrunk back. The coach was six foot six and about two-hundred fifty pounds to his one-forty soaking wet.

“Get them another student to tutor them. If they catch up, I’ll change their grade,” Kane offered.

“Fuck you, Brady. Either you pass both Deon and Johnny, or you’ll pay the consequences. This is what happens when you let fags teach school.”

“I could have you fired for that remark.”

The coach pushed him up against a wall, shook him and said, “Buddy, you’re not going to be around long enough to complain.” He let Kane go and Kane slipped to the floor.

Tom Hughes tore out of the faculty room and down the corridor.

Kane had stood his ground but was shaking in his boots. He wished he had someone to talk to about this, but this was his first year teaching and since he came in August from Indiana, he hadn’t had time to make friends. The coach had been at the school for five years. What is my word worth against his?

***

The coach approached Johnny and Deon in the locker room. “He won’t budge. If you get your papers in, he’ll pass you, if you don’t you fail. You should have made a token effort.”

“Why should we have to be in class with a fag? Why would I want to do work for a fag? He needs schooling of a different kind. By the time Deon and I are through with him, there’ll be a new teacher in English three who gets how to play the game.” Johnny’s smile boded no good for Kane Brady.

“Yeah, let’s see how much he really likes to take it up the ass.” Deon poked his friend in the ribs. “We’ll make it a team effort.” Deon laughed out loud.

“Yeah sort of like a class project,” Johnny smirked.

“I didn’t hear you say that. Remember, if you get caught, it will go worse for you than if you fail,” Coach told them. “You’re courting jail time and then no college or pro team will have you.”

“You’re just as guilty as we are for encouraging us not to participate in that fag’s class and you’ve threatened other teachers before this.” Deon spat. “This one is the first one to face you down. The fag has balls, who knew?”

“If he fails us, you don’t get to coach college ball. If we get caught, you don’t get to coach college ball. It would be in your interest to let us know where he lives so we can take care of business, and to provide us with an alibi if we need one.” Johnny stood waiting for the requested information.

“He sometimes stays late to review papers and make up his lesson plans. You can follow him home. If you get caught, you’re on your own.”

“No, we’re not. You’re right there with us. We told you what we’re going to do, if you don’t report us, you’re as guilty as we are. But, we all know you won’t make any waves because you want that college coaching position.”

“All right, go, do your worst. If you get caught, I know nothing.”

“Right…” said Deon as he elbowed Johnny in the ribs and smirked.

***

Kane hadn’t realized it was after nine. He was grading papers. It was easier to do that at school. Here he could spread out unlike in his efficiency apartment. However, his apartment was only two blocks from work on the edge of New York’s trendy SOHO and convenient to shopping. It also had huge windows which let in more light than the usual city apartment. His was a neighborhood in flux. He lived in an old tenement and there was a pricey new high-rise down the block at Ten Sullivan. It was the tallest building in SOHO.

Kane sighed, gathered up his papers, put them in his satchel and closed up his classroom.

“Good night, Ernie,” he called to the janitor as he left the building.

“Good night Mr. Brady. You be careful. There’s a lot of snow and ice outside and they’re predicting another storm. Schools will probably be closed tomorrow.

“I’ll be careful. Thanks.”

***

Kane shivered in the cold. The walk home seemed more difficult tonight, feet dragging through the snow piles with the wind gusts almost picking him up off the ground. He kept on looking over his shoulder. Kane was sure someone was following him. Every time he glanced backward he saw shadows in doorways.

He looked around again and watched five boys in ski masks come out of an alley. They were walking quickly toward him, with seeming purpose. As they got closer, he realized that they were following him. He began to walk faster. They also picked up speed. Kane started to run.

Buy the book: MLR Press

 

Meet the Author

AC Katt was born in New York City’s Greenwich Village. She remembers sitting at the fountain in Washington Square Park listening to folk music while they passed the hat. At nine, her parents dragged her to New Jersey where she grew up, married and raised four children and became a voracious reader of romantic fiction. At one time she owned over two thousand novels, until she and her husband took themselves and the cat to New Mexico for their health and its great beauty.

Now, most of AC’s books are electronic (although she still keeps six bookcases of hardcovers), so she never has to give away another book. AC is a late bloomer, however, she claims to have found her niche writing LGBT romance.

She hangs out at ACKatt.com and ackattsjournal.com; where she keeps her blog. To get snippets of new releases and Works in Progress subscribe to AC Katt’s Kattery by sending an e-mail to mlhansel@gmail.com.

Where to find the author:

 


BannerTemplate Tour Dates & Stops: March 4, 2016

Parker Williams, Open Skye Book Reviews, Divine Magazine, The Hat Party, Bayou Book Junkie,
Full Moon Dreaming, Alpha Book Club, A.M. Leibowitz, Multitasking Mommas, Outrageous Heroes, Decadent Delights, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Velvet Panic, Happily Ever Chapter,
BFD Book Blog, The Jena Wade, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Unquietly Me, Molly Lolly
Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, My Fiction Nook, MM Good Book Reviews, Bonkers About Books, Mikky’s World of Books, Inked Rainbow Reads

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: Full set of ‘Werewolves of Manhattan’ by A.C. Katt.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prize provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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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

A Paul B Review: Nuts About You (Nutty Romances #1) by Kate Lowell

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Nuts to YouNathan works at the bulk store.  He particularly enjoys when one of the regular customers, Vince, comes to buy birdseed for his feeders.  He also feels a bit guilty.  The reason?  Nathan is responsible for Vince buying a lot of that birdseed.  He is a squirrel shifter.  Nathan’s favorite pastime and obsession is shifting into his squirrel form and watching Vince from on top of the bird feeders.  How can he deny his squirrel self some of the birdseed and nuts that happen to be in the bird feeder?  It is just an added benefit of watching this hot man walking around in his house half dressed.

One day, Vince catches the squirrel sitting on top of one of the feeders.  Tired of having the furry creature stealing the seed from the birds.  Vince throws a shoe at the squirrel, knocking him down to the ground.  Thinking that the little guy is seriously injured, Vince feels guilty and takes the squirrel inside.  Getting nowhere after calling a vet, Vince decides to nurse the squirrel back to health.  After the squirrel fails to escape through a window, Vince is surprised when Nathan emerges from his squirrel form.  Nathan wonders what Vince will think of him now that his secret has been revealed.

This was a cute short story.  The author brings us a different form of shifter and uses his nature well.  There is a focus on nuts in all shapes and sizes.  Nathan is as timid as his animal nature.  The scenes once Vince discovers Nathan’s secret are steamy and flavorful.  Vince’s occupation is put to good use.  The one thing that I did not like about this book is that neither character seems to have a last name revealed.  For me personally, I like characters to have full names.  It  seems to make them more real to me.

The cover art by Ana J. Phoenix is quite appropriate.  It shows a squirrel clinging to a trunk of a tree.  It is a very cute cover for the book.

Sales Links:   ARe | Amazon

Book Details

ebook
Published January 7th 2016
ISBN139780994857019
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesNutty Romances #1

Series:  Nutty Romances

  • Nuts About You (Nutty Romances #1)
  • Rise of the Alpha Squirrel (Nutty Romances #2)

Go Nutty Over Love with Rise of the Alpha Squirrel by Kate Lowell (guest post, excerpt and giveaway)

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Rise of the Alpha Squirrel (Nutty Romances #2) by Kate Lowell
Release Date: February 25, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Kate Lowell
Cover Artist: Ana J. Phoenix

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Kate Lowell here today. Kate is the author of Rise of the Alpha Squirrel and has brought some lively excerpts for us. Welcome, Kate!

*******

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The following excerpts are taken from the best-selling series ‘A Were’s Guide to Living in the Human World’ by Finnley Lakewood, Ph.D, and Gardenner Monk, Ph.D. Please don’t tell anyone where you got these excerpts—I had to take ridiculous risks to get my hands on these books and if they found me, they’d probably eat me.

Appendix B: marking your territory–long-standing tradition or unsightly behavior?

In the were community, scent marking is a common and generally understood occurrence. The differences in styles are generally overlooked, and scent-marking itself is generally encouraged in mixed population areas.  However, the human’s weak scenting capabilities often result in misunderstandings with particularly uncomfortable consequences.

For example, the typical carnivore uses specific pheromones found in urine to mark the perimeter of their established territory. In situations where many weres are living in close proximity, this is an essential step to preventing inter-were violence. However, humans and their essentially inoperative noses will inevitably fail to notice scent markers. Not only does this cause them to invade territories on a regular basis, but the necessary actions required to establish scent boundaries (peeing on fences, doors, walls, furniture, etc) often take on an entirely different appearance and, within their relatively uneducated culture, occasions various, but generally unpleasant, reactions.

In cases where your roommate or another human has caught you in the process of leaving scent pheromones in place, and in the situation where it causes an undesired reaction on the part of the human, your first line of defense should be…

Now more about Rise of the Alpha Squirrel….

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Blurb

Nathan’s met Vince’s family, but Vince hasn’t met Nathan’s, and Nathan would like to keep it that way. Holy smoked almonds, what else do you do when you know how completely nuts your relatives are?

Why, you ease your man into it, by introducing him to normal shifters. Assuming you can find any.

But with a gossipy werehummingbird spreading the news, and a pair of young red pandas wreaking havoc with their fainting goat friends, Nathan’s about ready to climb into a pine cone and pull it in after him.

Then the local playboy weremoose hears about Vince, and Nathan has to find his inner alpha or the consequences will be worse than moldy hazelnuts.

 

Pages or Words: Approximately 24,000 words
Series should be read in order for maximum enjoyment
Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Excerpt

“Breakfast,” Vince said and waved a hand toward the table.

It was a squirrel’s wet dream. Or it would have been, if good-enough-to-lick-all-over-then-eat Vince hadn’t been sitting on the other side of the table. Maybe he could say it was any other squirrel’s wet dream—whatever, it was the breakfast of Roman squirrel emperors.

A pile of thick, deep brown pancakes waited for him in the center of his plate. Raspberries and shaved almonds sprawled seductively over the side of the stack, glistening with sweet, sticky maple syrup. Some of the less audacious ones hid decorously beneath the edges of a heavy daub of whipped cream, but Nathan knew they were there, waiting for him to discover them. He could see them peeking diffidently out, uncertain whether they wanted to attract his attention or not.

And the best part—the most gorgeous massage therapist in the world was sitting across the table from him, watching him with eyes that were dark in more than just the usual way. He looked at Nathan like Nathan was a maple walnut ice cream with a peanut dip. Like he wanted to lick him all over and suck bits of him deep inside his mouth…

Buy the book: ARe  | Amazon

 

Meet the Author

Kate Lowell lives on the east coast of Canada, in an old farm house that has way more personality than it has any right to. During the winter, she spends her time dreading snow, cursing at snow, shoveling snow, and scheming ways to shove it down the kids’ necks. During the summer, she prays not to have snow. 🙂

Kate likes to play in ALL the sandboxes. While her main genres are paranormal and contemporary suspense, she is also interested in science fiction, fantasy and–weirdly–romantic comedy. She’s willing to pay large amounts of money to anyone who can come up with a Time Turner, or find her an agreeable Time Lord to sort out her scheduling problems.

You can contact her at katelowellbooks (at) gmail.com . If you think you’d like to try writing gay romance, come visit her critique group (Link can be found at http://katelowell.com). New members are always welcome.

Where to find the author:

 


BannerTemplate Tour Dates & Stops:

25-Feb: A.M. Leibowitz, Hearts on Fire, Velvet Panic, Nautical Star Books, MM Good Book Reviews

26-Feb: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Inked Rainbow Reads, KathyMac Reviews

27-Feb: Happily Ever Chapter, Molly Lolly, Love Bytes

29-Feb: Nephy Hart, Man2ManTastic, Bonkers About Books, Open Skye Book Reviews, My Fiction Nook

1-Mar: BFD Book Blog, Dawn’s Reading Nook, V’s Reads, Boy Meets Boy Reviews

2-Mar: Bayou Book Junkie, Jessie G. Books, Alpha Book Club

Divine Magazine

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a  Rafflecopter Prize: http://www.stuffedsafari.com/Plush-Ruby-throated-Hummingbird-Audubon-Bird-p/wr-83900.htm.   Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prize provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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A VVivacious Review: Hoofbeats by A.J. Marcus and Nicole Godfrey

Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5
HoofbeatsCole Frasier, a famous horse trainer, has had a troubled year, so when he is offered work at triple his asking price. He jumps at it. But the horse he is working with is much more than just a horse.
 
Derek Dancing Hawk is stuck in his horse form, but something about Cole makes him want to shift. While the bond between the two men strengthens, the shift is brought on when Cole ends up in a fight. But shifting might have just made things worse for both Derek and Cole.
 
While their boss uses the secret to force the two of them in a money-making gimmick, the Enforcers who ensure that the secret is kept are not going to take Derek prancing about as a horse lightly. What fate awaits these two as they find themselves between the proverbial rock and a hard place…?
 
The beginning of this story is bogged down with too many descriptions, most of them unnecessary which makes getting in sync with the book a little harder. As such the first chapter tries too hard to get everyone on the same page. But the moment we get to the second chapter things get infinitely better and the story becomes quite interesting.
 
As such what captured my imagination was Derek as Midnight Blood, there was something about his mannerisms as a horse that were true to both aspects of his being, as a horse and as a human. I commend the authors on getting Derek spot on. Because as a horse he is really able to get across the fact that he is a horse-shifter and a human being. All in all what works is that Derek really gets you on his side from the beginning, with his attitude and his personality.
 
While Cole who has his own issues, finds a challenge in Midnight Blood. But it soon becomes quite clear that Midnight is not just his outside facade of a horse but a remarkable being on the inside. As such Cole comes across as a well-mannered guy who stands up for his beliefs.
 
What I loved about the book was how the story weaves in and out of Derek and Cole’s relationship. How circumstances bring them closer. Also all the little moments they share together are adorable. More than anything seeing them together is the best part of this book and how the story brings about new aspects in their interactions with each other.
 
The story hits kind of a slow patch around the half way mark which seems to drag on forever. In fact this is where story fails to make a mark, the story builds up to a point where circumstances need to be resolved to ensure a future to Derek and Cole’s relationship and personally I don’t think things got handled so well. What should have been quick, decisive and a major relief becomes prolonged with too many unnecessary situations during which Derek and Cole who are the strength of this book hardly spend any time talking and things drag for a quite a long time and ultimately don’t bring a lot of relief.
 
As such a lot of things go unexplained in this book. A major chunk of side characters in this book are the villains. We have the head honcho Mr. Lopez who is a perfect example of a scumbag, Joe who has more brawns than brains and assorted body-guards who are just pains in the ass. And then there is Elizabeth whose character seemed quite unhinged from the very start and seems to be dealt with in the worst way possible and I never understood Cole’s sympathy towards her. While the side characters on the side of good are not much better, there is Mike who would have been a cute addition except he has no role in the story and is just unwanted baggage in the book. I didn’t quite understand Jean she just didn’t give off grandmotherly vibes. The side characters best depicted were the various enforcers Sebastian, Gabriel and Avorial they get the job down without tagging on when not required.
 
What the story needed was a tighter plot, fewer side characters and a bit more background on the retained side characters. But what convinces me this book is worth a shot is Cole and Derek, I mean seeing them together living their life is charming, seeing them tackle challenges and just enjoying life in each other’s company was worth reading the book.
 
The cover is by L. C. Chase. I loved the horses on the cover but the men on the cover didn’t quite match my idea of Cole and Derek.
ebook, 200 pages
Published February 12th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781634768122
Edition LanguageEnglish

 

Best Laid Plans and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

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So, I had this post all planned out, I was going to write this fabulous blog on ideas I had on changing our look, a poll I wanted to create and insert, little creative screen shots of how they might look….and then the flu hit and it all went out the window.  This post barely made it.  I’m telling you, I know that sound wimpy, but its true.

All that will happen next week, I promise.  Change will come with the spring winds.

Until then let the thoughts percolate in your mind.  What changes would you like to see here at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.  You just might see them included in the next big makeover with a prize to that person whose change we select to be included as part of our makeover.  Send them to me at melaniem54@msn.com with the header changes at STRW.

Until then, sniffles and tissues all.  And here is our schedule in the upcoming week.

 

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This Week’s Schedule At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, February 21:

  • Best Laid Plans and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, February 22:

  • Riptide Publishing Tour: The Unicorn by Delphine Dryden
  • In Our Spotlight: Shifting Gears by Riley Hart (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Lila Review: Country Soul by Remmy Duchene
  • A VVivacious Review: Einstein’s Peep Show by Josephine Myles
  • A Free Dreamer Review: Traitor’s Moon by Lynn Flewelling

Tuesday, February 23:

  • Charley Descoteaux ‘Torque’ Keep Me In Mind Tour and Giveaway
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: Let It Ride by LC Chase
  • A Jeri Review: The Law of Attraction By Jay Northcote
  • A BJ Review: Bright Star by Talia Blackwood
  • A Stella Review: Second to None by Felice Stevens

Wednesday, February 24:

  • Can Love Overcome the Pain of the Past? When Adam Fell by Pat Henshaw Answers the Question (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A MelanieM Review: Wolf, by Rory Ni Coileain
  • The Fire King by Ellis Perry: A Dreamspinner Tour
  • A MelanieM Review:  When Adam Fell by Pat Henshaw
  • A MelanieM Review: The Fire King by Ellis Perry
  • A PaulB review: Quentin Hart Vampire Bounty Hunter by

Thursday, February 25:

  • Cover reveal for ‘6 Days to get Lucky’ by LE Franks on February 25
  • BA Tortuga ‘Refired’ Keep Me In Mind Tour and Giveaway
  • A Ali Review: A Frost of Cares by Amy Rae Durreson
  • A VVivacious Review: Hoofbeats by A.J. Marcus and Nicold Godfrey
  • A BJ Review: Prelude to Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts (Claimings 0.5) by Lyn Gala

Friday,February 26:

  • Go Nutty Over Love with Rise of the Alpha Squirrel by Kate Lowell (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Thianna Durston’s ‘Finding His Home’ book blast and giveaway
  • In the Spotlight: Rustic Memory by Nic Starr (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Paul B Review: Nuts About You (Nutty Romances #1) by Kate Lowell
  • A Lila Review: Convincing the Secretary by Ava March‏

Saturday, February 27:

  • ‘Love Unlocked: A Beaten Track Anthology’ (excerpts galore and giveaway)
  • A Sammy Review: Cronin’s Key III by NR Walker

 

 

 

A Ali Review: Spirit by John Inman (audio version), John Anthony Davis (Narrator)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

SpiritAUDLGJason Day, brilliant designer of video games, is not only a confirmed bachelor, but he’s as gay as a maypole. One wouldn’t think being saddled with his precocious four-year-old nephew for four weeks would be enough to throw him off-kilter. 

Wrong. Timmy, Jason’s nephew, is a true handful. 

But just when Timmy and Uncle Jason begin to bond, and Jason feels he’s getting a grip on this babysitting business once and for all, he’s thrown for a loop by a couple of visitors—one from Tucson, the other from beyond the grave. 

I’m sorry. Say what? 

Toss a murder, a hot young stud, an unexpected love affair, and a spooky-ass ghost with a weird sense of humor into Jason’s summer plans, and you’ve got the makings for one hell of a ride. 

This was an enjoyable story with both a mystery and a paranormal twist. The main character Jason is a likable MC and his narration is filled with humor. I didn't find the child very realistic or age appropriate in his behaviors but he was an entertaining twist to the story so I overlooked most of that. I found the end to be predictable but it was one of those stories that still warms your heart so again, I overlooked that too. The story is creative and has a lovely happily ever after at the end. I did this on audio and enjoyed the narrator. He had a nice voice and did all of the different characters well, including the child. I think this will entertain even those who don't typically like paranormal stories as the ghost part doesn't overwhelm.

Cover art by Reece Dante. I like this cover a lot. I think it is a really good representation of the story. It's just spooky enough to draw you in.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Audible | iTunes

Audiobook Details:

NarratorJohn Anthony Davis
Length6 hours and 47 minutes

A MelanieM Review: Sharing the Pond by Alex Whitehall

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Sharing the Pond by Alex WhitehallBrent shows up on Corey and Shane’s doorstep in the dead of winter needing a place to stay—and hopeful his mates will provide it, and not mind he’s a frog shifter.

Being a shifter is nothing new to Corey and Shane, but neither is being mates. They’ve been together since before they first met Brent ten years ago—back when Brent was Brenda. Bringing a third into their relationship is more than a little complicated, but they’re willing to try.

But change is always easier said than done, and Brent wonders if he ever really stood a chance at being happy with the men he has always loved and admired.

So much wrong with this story, its hard to know where to start.  Maybe with the things I did like. The cover was cute.  And Whitehall’s use of a female transitioning to male but in an entirely different biological take was imaginative and full of possibilities.

None of which really worked well here unfortunately.

Reading through to the finish was actually a fight.

I found the characters of Corey, Shane and Brent blurred together, so similar in tone narratively speaking, that after certain plot points were made, they became interchangeable in my mind (especially two of them),   But Whitehall asks  so much from his readers, those already arriving expecting a shifter story true.  But one where a frog comes from wolf shifter parents?   Hmmm, without much back-history or biological groundwork laid-out?  Then he expects us to believe there is a pull of a mate bond between these two men as well when one is already happily mated?  And doesn’t make a case for it in the interactions between them in the scenes that play out.

With all my diminishing interest in the story playing out, I started to notice other things…such as the huge difference in species. Corey and Shane are Northern Leopard frog shifters. Brent is a Common Reed Frog, a west African frog species that have been known to spontaneously change sex from female to male. A plot element that makes sense, but why did Whitehall have the other two be a pond species?If you are going to go to the trouble to  give your shifters specific frog species you ought to make them compatible.  Green frogs and Bull frogs,  Northern Leopard frogs with Pickerel or Wood frogs, and most certainly a Common Reed Frog with fellow tree frogs like even a African foam-nest tree frog or green Congo tree frog?

But a Common Reed Frog and two Northern Leopard frogs.  Now that might present a problem right there.  the Common Reed Frog?  A small tree frog, found in Burundi (I just love saying that name) and other parts of Africa.  The Northern Leopard  frogs? A once common and now rapidly disappearing pond frog of Northern America.  So yeah, that’s not really happening in a splash about in a bathtub.

Why all this preoccupation with the natural history of the frogs?  Because my mind and interest needed something, anything to grasp onto.  The story wasn’t doing it for me, neither were the characters.

Let’s just  say this was one tough read, from shifter history I couldn’t wrap my head around to characters I just couldn’t connect with.  Even the plot was one tough slog, narratively speaking.  And I love shifter stories.

But that cover was really darn cute.

Sale Links:  Less Than Three Press |   Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 154 pages
Published November 16th 2015 by Less Than Three Press
ASINB0184EQ5BG
Edition LanguageEnglish

Its Valentine’s Day and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

200px-FaunusStatue

Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s or should I say Lupercalia Day! Even when young, madly handing  out those cardboard valentines to my classmates in kindergarten, I never heard much or even cared much about the origins of Valentine’s Day.  I don’t remember any teachers talking about it, certainly no bulletin board presentations on it, other than to display our heart artwork such as they were.

Even as I thought about it this morning, the first thought in my head was that Hallmark came up with it as a way to move a ton more cards than ever before and bring the florists and candy industry along with them.  Just a scoosh cynical?  Perhaps.  Maybe I need Stella to write this…

Then I started to look into the history.  Some of it involved St. Valentine (did you know there were 3) and Roman Emperor Claudius who had a disagreement over which made better soldiers, unmarried young men or married men, with Claudius coming down resoundingly on the unmarried side. Which put St. Valentine on the other  (never a good thing with emperors, remember there is a  reason he’s called a saint). Claudius outlawed young soldiers getting married, Valentine continued to marry them…which saw him to an early grave and sainthood.  Going further down the timeline, there’s the celebration of Lupercalia, dedicated to Faunus, Roman god of agriculture and yep, fertility.  That’s the handsome fellow at the top. It involved sacrificing goats and dogs (purity), skinning the goats, cutting the hides into strips and then dipping them into blood.  Young maidens would then be flicked, flogged, whipped (depends on the history you read) with the hides, a practice that all believed would make the women more fertile.  Young unmarried men picked the names of the maidens out of a urn, and spent the night  together or maybe all together.  Those fertility things got a little crazy.

I loved that the articles said the women welcomed it.  Really? Show me the articles. Or did they just put up with it because they had to, culturally speaking.  Why even go there in a article?  Sorry, back to Valentine’s Day again…

Anyhow, all that stuff was declared un Christian and done away with at least on the surface and somehow we arrive at 1400 with rosy feelings intact.  The first valentine we know about was a  poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife (number one) while he was jailed in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. Charles spent 24 years as a hostage and became a renown poet during that time, including writing the first valentine.  Not bad.  Despite being imprisoned for 24 years (in very posh digs I might add) he was married 3 times.

1900 saw the first printed Valentine’s Day cards and the holiday has never looked back.  Here are a few Valentine’s Day statistics for you:

  • Over 1 billion cards worldwide are sent today.
  • Next to cards, are flowers and chocolates.
  • In addition to the U.S., Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, Italy and Japan.

 

Now for some winner announcements…Announcement clip art

  • Winner of Chase Potter’s The Music of the Sphere’s ebook is Carolyn.
  • Winner of  Christian Baines’ Puppet Boy is H.B.
  • Winner of Joe Cosentino’s giveaway for a book from his backlist is Ree Dee.

Congratulations to all three. They have been notified.

This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

 

Sunday, February 14 (Valentine’s Day)

  • Looking for A Valentine’s Day Story?  Check out ‘Love At Roades End’ by Kris T. Bethke (author guest post)
  • Mia Kerick’s ‘The Art of Hero Worship’ release day book blast and giveaway
  • Its Valentine’s Day and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, February 15:

  • Chris T. Kat’s ‘Mending the Rift’ cover reveal and giveaway
  • Dreamspinner Press Author Spotlight: Dormant Heart by Lane Swift (guest post)
  • Voss Porter’s ‘The Wrong Kind of Woman’ cover reveal and giveaway
  • A VVivacious Review: Mute Witness by Rick R. Reed
  • A Lila Review: Pretty Human by Kayleigh Skye

Tuesday, February 16:

  • In the Spotlight: Brad Vance ‘Strength In Numbers’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Need a New Romance to Love? Check Out Love Me Tenor by Annabeth Albert (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Its Love and Kink Time with Morticia Knight ‘Bondage Rescue (excerpt/giveaway)
  • A Stella Review: Strong Side by Alison Hendricks
  • A MelanieM Review: Sharing the Pond by Alex Whitehall

Wednesday, February 17:

  • Dreamspinner Press Author Tour:   Conversation Hearts by Avon Gale (guest post)
  • Grein Murray ‘Capturing Oliver’ book blast and giveaway
  • Michele Michael Rakes ‘Trainwreck’ Keep Me In Mind tour and contest
  • A Ali Review: Spirit by John Inman (audio version)
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: James Eyre by Jade Astor

Thursday, February 18:

  • In the Author Spotlight:  Melanie Hansen on Writing and Love and the Exocism (guest post)
  • Love Science Fiction and Romance? Check out Scardust by Suzanne van Rooyen (excerpt and giveaway)‏
  • Bailey Bradford ‘Dragon Dreams & Fairy Wings’ book blast and giveaway
  • A Lila Review: Love and the Exorcism by Melanie Hansen
  • A MelanieM Review: Acts of Passion By Sedonia Guillone

Friday, February 19:

  • How the Cookie Crumbles (Bluewater Bay, #12) by Jaime Samms Riptide Tour and Contest
  • The Way You Look Tonight by Jo Tannah‏ guest post and contest
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review:How the Cookie Crumbles (Bluewater Bay, #12) by Jaime Samms
  • A Lila Review: Fantasy For a Gentleman by Caitlin Ricci
  • A Stella Review: Patchwork by Indra Vaughn

Saturday, February 20:

  • In the Spotlight: Love Unlocked: A Beaten Track Anthology’ (giveaway and excerpts)
  • A Sammy Review: Cronin’s Key III by NR Walker

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Ali Audiobook Review: Healing Hunter’s Heart (A Little Bite of Love #2) by Charlie Cochet, Narrator Nick J. Russo

Rating: 3.5  out of 5 stars
HealingHuntersHeartAUDSMMonths after being forced to leave his lover and mate Ari Jannsen behind, Hunter Devin settles into his role as Enforcer for the newly formed Deagan Clan under the rule of his new Alpha and best friend Tristan “Trip” Hagan. Along with Hunter’s brother Boone, their nephews, sister, and mother, Hunter finally has the family he’s always wanted, but without his little rebel Ari, his heart is incomplete.

The Hagan Clan is unable to accept the Deagan Clan’s betrayal for walking away and taking the clan’s pups with them. War looms. As both clans plan their attack, a greater enemy plots against them. But Hunter is determined to get his Ari back. Bonds are put to the test and unexpected alliances are made as Hunter and his clan set out to protect their own and end the spreading heartache.
 
 
This was an enjoyable story about two shifters who are separated after a bunch of them branch off to a new clan.  Ari and Hunter have had a secret relationship for years and an act of violence ends up keeping them apart against their wills.  The book starts 5 years previously and gives you the foundation for their relationship.  It then brings us to the current time and we proceed with the current story.  The transition between the two times was smooth and worked well as a storytelling style.  I liked the two main characters as a couple and they had some really sweet moments together.  I thought they were a good match and I liked them together a lot.  The only reason I didn’t rate it higher is the overall story wasn’t my thing.  This is totally a case of “It’s me not the book.”  I found the story to be quite sweet and quite fluffy and while there isn’t nothing wrong with either of those, they’re not  my thing.  I prefer gritty, angsty books.  There are a lot of similarities to the author’s Thirds series and I think if you’re a fan of that series you should definitely check out this one.  I think you’ll like it a lot.  This book is the second in this series but can be read as a standalone.  The author covers the back story well.  The first story in this though is a novella and it is free so I recommend you that you read it first.  
 
I listened to this on audio and have mixed feelings.  I thought narrator Nick J. Russo did an excellent job on the two main characters, Hunter and Ari.  The first part of the book that was almost all them I enjoyed a lot.  Towards the end though when there were multiple characters I found it lacking.  I did not care for a lot of the side character voices.  It’s one of those things that is hard to explain.  I don’t have concrete complaints.  I just didn’t like many of the voices.
 
Cover by L. C. Chase. I like the cover.  I think it is average.  It’s not bad but it also does not stand out.  
Audiobook Details:
Narrator Nick J. Russo
Length 6 hours and 0 minutes
Categories:Audiobooks, M/M Audiobooks