Rowan McAllister Talks Covers, Victorian Gothic Romance and her latest novel ‘We Met in Dreams’ (guest post)

We Met in Dreams by Rowan McAllister
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover artist: Anna Sikorska

Release Date: February 27, 2017

Available for purchase at

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Rowan McAllister today talking about her cover for We met in Dreams.

Welcome, Rowan.

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Covers, Victorian Gothic Romance and We Met In Dreams by Rowan McAllister

Candlelight flickering off a darkened staircase. Skeletal branches clawing at a blue-black sky. A crumbling castle with one lit window.

Anyone with a love for romance has to have seen at least one cover featuring some or all of these themes. When I made the decision to dive headlong into delightfully spooky and melodramatic genre of the Victorian Gothic Romance, I had dozens of inspiration pics and ideas for my cover. I’d share some of the pics with you here, but unfortunately I don’t own them. Instead, I’ll urge you to Google image search “Victorian Gothic Romance” and “women running from houses.” It’ll be worth the keystrokes. You’ll have an entire screen filled with smudged pencil, pastel, and charcoal drawings of women in flowing white gowns, in varying states of undress, fleeing darkened hulks of stone or racing down stairs clutching candelabras, as dark shadows loom menacingly behind them. It’s wonderfully moody art.

Now obviously I couldn’t have my hero in a flowing white gown— or I suppose I could have, except that would’ve been an entirely different story— but I wanted the same feel. I wanted that delicious urgency of the fleeing hero and the towering bulk of a darkened and forbidding house. I wanted the decay of winter and the air of neglect, even in a prosperous family’s stately London house. I wanted swooping bats and glowing white apparitions with skeletal hands pressed to window panes… okay I’m going a little over the top here, but you get the gist.

Poor Anna Sikorska, she had to deal with a LOT of “I wants” from me on this one. It’s only once in a blue moon that I have a clear idea of what I want for my cover, and lucky her, she got this one. But she was a trooper and kept at it until this fresh take on the classic theme became reality. I just hope she wasn’t cursing my name by the end of it. And poor Paul Richmond at Dreamspinner Press had to explain to me that there was such a thing as TOO dark a cover. Apparently there’s a little more leeway for ebook covers than ones that will also be sold in print, so I couldn’t go as dark as my soul. I learned something new there— darned reality imposing its rules on my gothic vision. But in the end, I suppose it’s better that you can actually see the cover. That’s kind of important, or so I’ve heard.

A big thanks to Anna for putting up with me and making my beautiful cover, and I hope you all enjoy reading what’s inside We Met In Dreams as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Blurb

In Victorian London, during a prolonged and pernicious fog, fantasy and reality are about to collide—at least in one man’s troubled mind.

A childhood fever left Arthur Middleton, Viscount Campden, seeing and hearing things no one else does, afraid of the world outside, and unable to function as a true peer of the realm. To protect him from himself—and to protect others from him—he spends his days heavily medicated and locked in his rooms, and his nights in darkness and solitude, tormented by visions, until a stranger appears.

This apparition is different. Fox says he’s a thief and not an entirely good sort of man, yet he returns night after night to ease Arthur’s loneliness without asking for anything in return. Fox might be the key that sets Arthur free, or he might deliver the final blow to Arthur’s tenuous grasp on sanity. Either way, real or imaginary, Arthur needs him too much to care.

Fox is only one of the many secrets and specters haunting Campden House, and Arthur will have to face them all in order to live the life of his dreams.

Genre: Victorian Gothic/Historical European

Page Count/Word Count: 268/98,457

About the Author

Rowan McAllister is a woman who doesn’t so much create as recreate, taking things ignored and overlooked and hopefully making them into something magical and mortal. She believes it’s all in how you look at it. In addition to a continuing love affair with words, she creates art out of fabric, metal, wood, stone, and any other interesting scraps of life she can get her hands on. Everything is simply one perspective change and a little bit of effort away from becoming a work of art that is both beautiful and functional. She lives in the woods, on the very edge of suburbia—where civilization drops off and nature takes over—sharing her home with her patient, loving, and grounded husband, her super sweet hairball of a cat, and a mythological beast masquerading as a dog. Her chosen family is made up of a madcap collection of people from many different walks of life, all of whom act as her muses in so many ways, and she would be lost without them.

E-mail: rowanmcallister10@gmail.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rowanmcallister10

Twitter: @RowanMcallister

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Snowblind (Dreamspun Desires #29) by Eli Easton

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Snow, steam, and secrets.

The latest snowstorm carries something unexpected to the doorstep of Hutch’s secluded Alaskan cabin: a stranger named Jude, the most beautiful man Hutch has ever seen. Jude says he’s in the area for a ski trip and that he fled a domineering lover, thinking he could make it into town. But Hutch is a suspicious SOB and treats his unwanted guest warily. The problem is Jude isn’t just gorgeous, he’s funny and smart and flirtatious.

Two gay men snowed in for three days—things happen. Really good things. By the time the storm clears, Hutch finds himself a little too attached to Jude Devereaux, San Francisco-based male model. But is Jude what he claims to be? Or is he entangled in the secrets Hutch moved to Alaska to escape?

I have certain expectations of a Dreamspun Desires title. Romance, a plot from those serial romances of decades ago given a M/M twist and updated, plus a little light hearted “something or other”. I usually get all that, sometimes I get less, often I get more in terms of great characters and plot. Then there’s the times the author gives me a story I just sink right into. Men who are troubled, wounded in some way, irresistible, and so magnetic I can’t pull myself away from their story. Eli Easton gave me all that in Snowblind.

I didn’t expect the darkness I found. Huh. Yes, there are parts of this story that are dark and sobering. Didn’t expect that from a Dreamspun Desires title. Nor can I tell you how they factor into the story because its so much of the wonderful twists and turns you will find inside this marvelous novel. That blurb? Ha! So had me fooled. It will you too. The rich and inventive tale that lies behind that thin facade of a synopsis is suspenseful and character driven and oh so incredible. Usually, the blurb lately has been spelling out the entire story. I don’t know when I’ve been so surprised by a story.

Easton’s writing is so smooth, so vivid that I felt my heart pound at certain moments, and my eyes tear up at others. I love her characters and the way in which the story moved from one man’s point of view to the other’s, a necessary, sometimes heartbreaking perspective.

No, you aren’t getting any details. Anything I say, and I do mean anything, just leads to spoilers and I won’t do it to this book. Grab it up, plow right into it. Make popcorn before you start. Because once you start, that’s it. There’s no stopping until that wonderful ending. Do I recommend this story. Hell, yes! Hutch and Jude will have me smiling for days, maybe weeks. Maybe more. I really love them.

Cover Artist: Bree Archer. The cover works for the branding of the series and the character. I like it.

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 196 pages
Expected publication: March 1st 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1635331463 (ISBN13: 9781635331462)
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesDreamspun Desires #29 settingAlaska (United States)

An Alisa Release Day Review: The Real Thing by BG Thomas

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Bryan Mills has fantasized about cowboys all his life. Real cowboys, that is. He even dresses in what his roommate calls “cowboy drag” when he visits his favorite bar, in the hope of attracting the attentions of a genuine cowboy. But all he usually finds are posers and guys his own age.

Then one night, to his surprise, Curtis Hansen buys him a beer, and Bryan has no doubt this is the real thing. Curtis is a rugged, gorgeous man who is every bit a cowboy. He even owns his own ranch. What follows is about the most amazing night of Bryan’s young life.

But can they move beyond a night of incredible sex when Bryan admits to Curtis that the only horse he’s ever ridden was a birthday party pony? And that he’s nothing but a poser himself? Maybe, just maybe, Curtis can find the real cowboy inside Bryan, and they can ride off into the sunset together!

This was a cute story. Bryan made some mistakes when he first knew he was gay and since then hasn’t been able to really have a relationship or be with the kind of man he wants, a real cowboy. He can’t believe when Curtis approaches him at the bar and spends the night with him.

Seeing everything through Bryan’s eyes we are able to see how truly innocent he is to the world of dating. Curtis has been hurt in the past and seems willing to open his heart to open his heart to Bryan. Both of the characters are adorable and are wonderful together.

Cover art by LC Chase is a great picture of the real thing.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | ARe

Book Details:

ebook, 52 pages

Published: 2nd edition, March 1, 2017 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN-13: 9781635333305

Edition Language: English

A Stella Release Day Review: My Paradise is You (World of Love) by Lucie Archer

RATING 3,5 out of 5 stars

When two very different men are stranded on a deserted island, will opposites attract, or will they end up killing each other—if the elements don’t get them first?

Marc Reed is an expert scuba diver and leads underwater tours of the infamous shipwrecks scattered around Bermuda. When a robbery forces him and his boss’s son—a man he despises on principle—to take shelter on an uncharted island, he might have to reassess his opinion of the spoiled snob.

Ian Blythe-Darcy II lives a life most would envy. He’s a trust-fund kid being groomed to take over his father’s empire of hotels and resorts. But it’s not a life that matches what’s in his heart. He’s in the closet and engaged to a socialite he doesn’t love, but he’s about to get a crash course in being true to himself—and maybe learn money can’t buy happiness after all.

World of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the globe.

My Paradise is You is the first book I read by Lucie Archer, I’m always curious about new to me authors and the cover of this new release is really eye catching; that’s why I was very enthusiastic to read it, plus I enjoyed the stories in the World of Love series I read so far.

I quite liked My Paradise Is You, it was quick and light, the reading flew easily and although Ian is in the closet and engaged with Francesca, there wasn’t really drama or complicate situation, apart from the MCs being stranded on an island together for a week.

I adored how they bickered from the first time they met, the way they teased each other was cute and funny, and gave the novellas a little sparkle needed in a plot like this, pretty simple and granted. It made me more curious to see how it was going to be developed and how Ian and Mark would overcome they differences in backgrounds and lifestyles.

I particularly liked how the author chose for the main characters to wait and be back from the island before they have sex. As I said, Ian is engaged and I (and Mark) would have considered a betrayal versus his girlfriend is they acted on the attraction they strongly feel for the other on the island, instead, as the author did, of explain how things really are to Francesca. I appreciated this choice a lot and in my opinion made the relationship more real and believable.

My Paradise Is You is a lovely reading, it was pleasurable light and I’m curious to see what else Lucie Archer wrote. I definitely recommend it.

The cover art by Bree Archer is a winner, it’s perfect and I love all that blue. And yes, the model is pretty hot.

Sale Links

BOOK DETAILS

ebook, 97 pages

Publication Date: March 1st 2017 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN 1635333423 (ISBN13: 9781635333428)

Edition Language English

Karen Stivali on Characters, Emotional Ties and Moment of Fate (Moments In Time #5) by Karen Stivali ( GUEST POST )

Moment of Fate (Moments In Time #5) by Karen Stivali
Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Anna Sikorska

Available for Purchase at

and Apple

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Karen Stivali here today to talk about her latest release in her Moments in Time series, Moment of Fate. Welcome, Karen.

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STRW: Have you ever had to put an ‘in progress’ story aside because of the emotional ties with it? You were hurting with the characters or didn’t know how to proceed?

Karen Stivali: It’s funny you should ask this question for this blog tour, because MOMENT OF FATE is the first book I’ve ever had this problem with, and I had it in spades.

I write fast. Always have. I finish most books in 2 months or less. Before I start any project I need to see the whole story in my mind and once I do, that’s it, it pours right out.

Except with this book.

It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen the whole story play out in my mind. I had. I knew the characters inside and out and knew exactly what happened—how they met, how and why they bonded, the path that took them from friends to lovers, the secrets that tore them apart, and how they found their way back to one another. It wasn’t a question of not knowing the plot or struggling with any other aspect of the writing. The problem was that I over-related to one of the characters.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not Bryan. Not in any way, shape or form. He’s a young, sexy, charismatic front man in a band and an out and proud gay man. I’m none of those things. Can’t sing a note. Never seek the spotlight. Don’t consider myself particularly charming. And yet, Bryan shares one characteristic with me that threw me for such a loop this was a book that I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to finish writing, even though I really, really wanted to.

So, what was the issue? Bryan’s main challenge in the book is that although he’s one of those people who has always gone after what he’s wanted and gotten it, although he’s a ridiculously hard worker who’s driven to succeed, although he’s stubborn and self-reliant, he’s had a challenge that he didn’t know how to deal with. A challenge he didn’t want to accept and, worse, didn’t want anyone to know about. He has a chronic illness: Lyme disease. While not a fatal illness, like any chronic ailment it presents challenges. Challenges that are ever-changing and, due to the chronic nature, will never completely go away.

From the host of mysterious symptoms that come and go, to the aches and pains, to the unpredictable flare-ups, to the anxiety and panic attacks, he’s had to learn to cope with an array of problems that conflict with his Type A personality and his unwillingness to let anything stand in his way.

How do I know how much of a challenge all of that is? Because I’m a very driven, stubborn, self-reliant person who has had to deal with Chronic Lyme disease for many years.

So, yeah. I over-related a little. Okay, a lot. Every time Bryan had an anxiety attack, I found myself having one. Which meant every time I went back to reread or edit one of those scenes I had another one. I pride myself on never missing deadlines but with this book I blew the deadline by over six months because it got to the point where I couldn’t even open the file. I set it aside, came back to it, had to put it aside again.

The good thing? Part of Bryan’s character arc is that he has to learn that although he doesn’t need to let his illness define him, he does need to learn to work around it. And part of that includes allowing some other people to know what he’s going through. Why he can’t always do everything he used to or the way he wants to. What his limitations are and how much he doesn’t want those limitations to have an impact on his decisions or his goals or how he lives his life. For the majority of the book he’s told no one in his life what he’s struggling with. Just like almost no one in my life knows that I have Lyme. I don’t want to be defined by it either, and I won’t be. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t need to relearn right along with Bryan that sometimes you have to let other people know what’s going on with you, and that sometimes you need to give yourself a break.

That’s not an easy lesson for me. And it wasn’t an easy lesson for him. But it was one he needed to learn and that I needed a reminder of, in a big way.

Blurb

A Moments In Time Novel

Bryan Dane’s been living the dream—photography student by day, up-and-coming rocker by night. His summer goals are to earn his last few credits, graduate from NYU, spend as much time in the recording studio as possible, and survive the next few months without sex so he can complete his yearlong goal of self-imposed celibacy. Everything is on track until he meets Oliver Newcastle.

For years Oliver planned a marriage of convenience with his high school BFF, but now that she’s fallen in love for real with someone else, it’s no longer convenient. So Oliver came out to his family, quit his job, and left small-town New England for NYC, an intensive summer study program, and a chance to find his own happiness.

From the moment they meet, the sexual tension between Bryan and Oliver sizzles. But Bryan wants no part of a relationship, and Oliver wants to sow his wild oats—he just isn’t sure how. Oliver seeks Bryan’s help navigating the NYC gay scene, which throws them together in increasingly more sexual situations until they can no longer deny they’re hot for each other. Bryan is desperate to keep things simple, but fate may have other plans.

This is a standalone novel set in the Moments In Time world. You do not need to have read any of the previous titles to enjoy this book.

Release Date: February 24, 2017

Words 80,385

Pages 244

ISBN-13 978-1-63476-546-6

About the Author

Karen Stivali

Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies, and fictional British men. She’s also the multiple award-winning author of contemporary and erotic romances. She writes novels about love…like real life, only hotter.

Full length bio:

Karen’s lifelong fascination with people has led her to careers ranging from hand-drawn animator, to party planner, to marriage and family counselor, but writing has always been her passion. Karen enjoys nothing more than following her characters on their journey toward love. Whether the couples are m/f or m/m, it’s guaranteed that Karen’s novels are filled with food, friendship, love, and smoking hot sex—all the best things in life.

When Karen isn’t writing (and often when she is), she can be found on Twitter attempting witty banter and detailing the antics of her fruit-loving cat, BadKitteh. She loves to hear from readers (and other writers), so don’t hesitate to contact/follow/like her at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/karenstivali/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenStivaliAuthor/

Website: http://karenstivali.com/

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/karenstivali/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/KarenStivali/

E-mail: karenstivali@gmail.com/

Other books in the Moments In Time series:

MOMENT OF IMPACT (Book 1)
MOMENT OF TRUTH (Book 2)
MOMENT OF CLARITY (Book 3)
MOMENTS IN TIME (a compilation of Books 1-3)
MOMENT OF DOUBT (Book 3.5)
MOMENT OF SILENCE (Book 4)
MOMENT OF FATE (Book 5)

A Stella Release Day Review: Until You (At First Sight #3) by T.J. Klune

RATING 5 out of 5 stars

Sequel to The Queen & the Homo Jock King

Together with their families and friends

Paul Auster

and

Vincent Taylor

request the honor of your company at the celebration of their marriage.

Until You by TJ Klune is the HEA all the fans of Vince and Paul deserved. Maybe we fans deserved it more than the MCs for all the shit we had to read in the previous books (Just joking!).

I can always count on TJ and his writing, I can’t explain how much I laughed reading this new release, how many times I rolled my eyes at Paul and Sandy, how much I wanted to be part of that crazy family of blood related and not people.

This new installment was exactly what I was expecting, crazy and funny and stupid, just perfect and always over the top. It’s what I want from the At First Sight series. I was so happy to have the chance to revisit these favorite persons of mine, not just Paul and Vince, but all the other characters too, I saw a little more of the homo jock king heart and I fell in love again with Corey. I so hope TJ will give me more.

I enjoyed and deeply loved each chapter, each full of not just laughs, but full of what truly conquered me, the positiveness and the emotions, had the book not been so funny, I surely would have cried as a baby, because the love was not only in the air, the love was everywhere and the characters’ hearts were full of it. It warmed my soul and left me with a smile on my face.

I don’t want to spoil the story telling little details, but I want to highly recommend the whole series and if you are missing just Until You, run to buy it right now and read it soon. It’s a winner.

The cover art by Reese Dante is awesome, I like this artist style a lot and this is no exception, especially for the cake topping, too cute.

Sales Links

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 162 pages

Published February 27th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press

ASIN B01NB1N45J

Edition Language English

Series At First Sight #3

A Free Dreamer Release Day Review: We Met in Dreams by Rowan McAllister

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

In Victorian London, during a prolonged and pernicious fog, fantasy and reality are about to collide—at least in one man’s troubled mind.

Fox is only one of the many secrets and specters haunting Campden House, and Arthur will have to face them all in order to live the life of his dreams.

I’m usually not big on historical romance novels, but the blurb was sufficiently unusual and slightly creepy to make me curious. I definitely didn’t regret my choice.

First of all, you have to suspend your disbelief for this story. Fox breaks into Arthur’s house, late one foggy winter night. When Arthur catches him, Fox doesn’t knock him out or harm Arthur in any other way. Instead, he stays for a chat.

Once I got past that slightly strange beginning, I started getting caught up in the story. There are so many unanswered questions and so many secrets lurking here. Is Arthur truly hallucinating? Are the apparitions real ghosts? Or is his kindly uncle plotting against him and there’s a much more mundane reason behind those creepy noises Arthur hears every night? There’s an answer to all those questions in the end, rest assured.

The setting was subtly creepy. Not outright horror-story-like, but just enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end every now and then. I like this kind of subtly creepiness and the author did a brilliant job creating an eerie atmosphere.

While the author managed to convey the creepiness of the setting extremely well, it lacked a “British” feel all over. I think it might have been better if she’d chosen to set this in the USA instead of London. Part of it is probably due to the fact that most of the story takes place in Arthur’s rooms and we hardly ever see the outside world. But when I first read “color” instead of “colour”, I found it really jarring and kept looking for the American spelling. I know it’s pronounced the same, but if a story is set in London and has English MCs, then I expect the British spelling. It should only be a minor niggle, but it started to quite bother me after a while.

The MCs were nice. A little too nice, really. I don’t see why Fox would return to the seemingly insane Arthur and risk a prison sentence in doing so. And Arthur was a little too concerned with everybody else’s well-being.

After all the suspense throughout the entire book, the ending was a little anti-climactic. The revelation felt a little mundane, to be honest.

Long story short, “We Met in Dreams” was good. It might not have been brilliant but overall, I quite enjoyed it. If you like ghost stories and the subtle creepiness they bring, then you’ll like this book.

The cover by Anna Silkorska is perfect for this story. I love the haunted manor.

Sales Links

Book details:

ebook, 268 pages
Expected publication: February 27th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1635332966 (ISBN13: 9781635332964)
Edition LanguageEnglish

An Alisa Release Day Review: Black Market Blood (New Canadiana #2) by Francis Gideon

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

In a world where monsters are known to—and despised by—humanity, vampire Chaz Solomon hides in plain sight as a detective on the Toronto police force. But freedom from prejudice does nothing to alleviate his guilt over the lover he betrayed to gain his label of “normal.” He spends his days living a lie and his nights in a brothel, seeking company and black-market blood.

When a serial killer preying on both vampires and sex workers leads Chaz and his department on a twisted chase through New Canadiana’s supernatural underground, one of the brothel employees, Sully, becomes the only person Chaz can trust. There’s much more to Sully than a pretty face, and he’s slowly breaching the walls around Chaz’s heart with his intelligence and kind nature.

But as the body count rises and conspiracies come to light, the past Chaz has been trying to escape comes rushing back. Sully might accept Chaz as a vampire, but will he forgive Chaz’s other deceptions? And what will become of Chaz’s life if his secret is revealed? Before he can worry about a future with Sully, he’ll have to find the vengeful murderer threatening everything he cares about.

This was a very intense and emotional story; it goes in depth into the world of sex workers from all sides. Chaz has been living a lie since he was given “normal” papers and doesn’t allow his vampire nature to show when not at the brothel. Sully has been working at the brothel for a few years before he meets Chaz at a party and then sees him again at the brothel.

Chaz has been beating himself up over what happened after he was initially turned into a vampire and how he turned his back on Nat after their time together. It takes Sully and the murders of some vampire sex workers for him to get a bit of perspective on his life and is he wants to keep living a lie. Just as he finds some closure for his past he has another wrench thrown at him.

In this story I could feel how broken Sully feels after his years as a sex worker and abuse he suffered as a child. He has a bit of a jaded view of the world, but he still knows there are some people that he can really trust. For all Chaz has gone through he is really quite innocent because he has never had the opportunity to really live his life. I loved how this story fully connected with Never Lose Your Flames near the end and brought the story full circle. I look forward to seeing more of these characters and how they can change the world they live in.

Cover art by AngstyG is great and gives wonderful visuals of the characters.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | B&N

Book Details:

ebook, 330 pages

Published: February 27, 2017 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN-13: 9781635332261

Edition Language: English

Series: New Canadiana:

Never Lose Your Flames

Black Market Blood (New Canadiana, #2)

An Alisa Audiobook Review: Romancing the Wrong Twin by Clare London and Rusty Topsfield (Narrator)

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

How tangled can a romantic web get?

When gruff mountaineer Dominic Hartington-George seeks sponsorship for his latest expedition, his London PA insists on a more media-friendly profile—like dating celebrity supermodel Zeb Z.

Zeb can’t make the date, so he asks his identical twin, Aidan, to stand in for just one evening. Aidan, a struggling playwright, shuns the limelight to the extent people don’t even know Zeb has a sibling, but he reluctantly agrees.

When the deception has to continue beyond the first date, Aidan fights to keep up the pretense. Dominic likes his sassy, intelligent companion, and Aidan starts falling for the forthright explorer. But how long can Aidan’s conscience cope as confusion abounds? Will coming clean as “the other twin” destroy the trust they’ve built?

So… I had a hard time with this story. I thought the concept was interesting, but had trouble with some of the execution. Dominic is forced into a PR relationship to help him get a sponsorship deal and Aiden stands in for his supermodel brother when Zeb can’t make it.

I understood both Dominic’s and Aiden’s points of view in the story, but had a hard time connecting with the characters. Throughout the story it just seemed that they would both internally whine about their situations or the people around them and to me it made them quite off putting. While we see them both jump into a physical relationship without much talk about the future and feelings, I can understand their feelings being hurt through misunderstanding, but didn’t really feel the characters emotions.

Rusty Topsfield did a nice job narrating this story. I was able to keep track of the story and characters which is always nice. I didn’t like some of the voices he had for characters and a few secondary ones seemed quite similar, but the whiny quality of some of the voices he used along with the whininess of the characters didn’t help.

Cover art by Bree Archer is nice and follows the pattern for the series.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Audible | Amazon | iTunes

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 6hrs 21min
Published January 3, 2017 (ebook first published November 1, 2016) by Dreamspinner Press
Edition Language: English

New Love, New Beginnings. This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

New Love, New Beginnings. Hey, Its March!

March sails in this week full of itself! March is a month just popping with meaning and celebrations of all kinds. The Vernal Equinox begins March 20th (although it has felt like Spring here for days). There’s the Ides of March (poor Caesar), St. Patricks Day (get out your green), World Wildlife Day is on the 3rd, International Forest Day is on the 21st and more religious days than I will go into here. Here in the States, even Daylight Savings Time returns (ugh).

For me, however, it signals the return of spring. New growth of all types from buds and tiny leaves appearing from shrub to perennial flowers to birds busy with their nesting building in anticipation of young to follow. The eagles at the National Arboretum have already laid their first egg of the season. Yes, love is in the air whether it be new love or that of established lovers like the eagle pair I just mentioned. Of course, that’s my link to my topic this week and perhaps this month.

Love stories! What’s your preference? Do you even have one? New Love, New Beginnings. Lovers Reunited, Second Chance at Love? I have to admit I have a huge fondness for the second trope. I love it when ex-lovers get a chance to have their HEA, to get that love that de-railed back on track after whatever broke them up and time gone by (go ahead count up the cliches, lol). But then again, ah, those stories of men finding their soul mates and never letting go, no matter the obstacles. They grab me too. Ok, I love them both. How about you? Do you all have a preference? Yes? No? I’m dying to find out. Giveaway time!

Give me your favorites and why.

New Love, New Beginnings Love Story Giveaway

This week its name your favorite New Love, New Beginnings Love Story Giveaway. Random reader chosen will get a $10 Dreamspinner Press gift card. Its a short contest. A new one starts next Sunday. So comment all week along until midnight Saturday, March 4th. Leave your email address, along with your favorite new love stories and why you love them. Winner will be announced next Sunday along with our new contest! Hey, its Spring, lets go crazy with love stories!

This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, February 26:

After the Fire by Felice Stevens Release Day Blitz
In Our Author Spotlight: Catt Ford on Cross My Heart and other releases
Release Blitz – Rick R Reed’s Class Distinctions
New Love, New Beginnings. This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, February 27:

In the Spotlight: Ethan Stone on Hacked Up
INTERLUDE PRESS TOUR Beneath the Stars by Lynn Charles
SNAPSHOTS release blitz by Addison Albright
A Free Dreamer Release Day Review: We Met in Dreams by Rowan McAllister
A Stella Release Day Review: Until You by TJ Klune
An Alisa Audiobook Review: Romancing the Wrong Twin by Clare London and Rusty Topsfield (Narrator)
An Alisa Release Day Review: Black Market Blood (New Canadiana #2) by Francis Gideon

Tuesday, February 28:

RIPTIDE TOUR BLOG and Giveaway: As La Vista Turns by Kris Ripper
Release Blitz/Review Tour – Ghost (Sanctuary #9) – RJ Scott
Release Blitz – Posy Roberts’ Momo, My Everything
A Melanie Release Day Review: Countermind by Adrian Randall
A Paul B Review: Credo (Demon Elite 8) by April Kelley
A MelanieM Release Day Review : Ghost (Sanctuary #9) by RJ Scott

Wednesday, March 1:

COVER REVEAL Between the Secrets by S. Ferguson
DSP GUEST POST Karen Stivali on Moment of Fate
DSP GUEST POST T.A. Chase on Why I Love Waiters
A Caryn Review: Goodnight My Angel by Sue Brown
A MelanieM Release Day Review: Snowblind by Eli Easton
A Stella Release Day Review: My Paradise is You (World of Love) by Lucie Archer
An Alisa Release Day Review: The Real Thing by BG Thomas