A Stella Review: Resurrecting Elliot (Newport Boys #2) by Cate Ashwood

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Resurrecting Elliot coverNightmares and panic attacks following a horrific tragedy leave Professor Elliot Lawrence a prisoner in his own home. After months of relying on his sister as his only connection to the outside world, Elliot is desperate for a sliver of independence. But leaving the safety of his home isn’t an option, not yet, and he reaches out in the most innocuous way he can think of: grocery delivery.

Colton Kelly, retired porn star and recent college grad, is struggling at two minimum wage jobs to make ends meet. During one of his grocery deliveries, he meets Elliot. Although the attraction between them is instant, they must first traverse the long road of putting Elliot back together. When disaster strikes yet again, this time in Colt’s life, Elliot’s not sure he’s strong enough to be the man Colt needs him to be.

Resurrecting Elliot by Cate Ashwood wasn’t what I was expecting, at all. I was first waiting for something still set in the porn industry, then reading the blurb I was sure it was darker. I love Cate’s writing and ideas so of course I enjoyed this book, I gave it 4 stars after all. Still, in my humble opinion, I think if she had decided to focus on or emphasize more the struggle both MCs went through in their lives, I could have been reading just what I love to read; maybe it would have been heavier but although I liked Resurrecting Elliot A LOT, too many times it seems to me the story flowed too easily.

The way Elliot could overcome his fears just with Colt’s help was beautiful to watch but was much too simplistic. I know when you close yourself off, after a trauma like the one that hit Elliot, the love of the person you have beside can be strong enough to help you heal but not so smoothly as in this book. Okay it’s  fictional but I’m always looking for reality in my stories. So for me the author made a couple of choices that prevent the book for being perfect like others written by her.

Now I’m going to stop to be so freaking critical and start talking about all the good aspects. First of all the book opened with the marriage of Evan and Bran. Do you have an idea how happy I was? Keeping Sweet, book #1 in the Newport Boys series, was the first book I read by Cate Ashwood and most likely one of the first m/m books I read in the 2013. I fell in love with Evan and knowing he would have had his deserved HEA was beautiful, especially after the little snippet in Thirty Things (https://scatteredthoughtsandroguewords.com/2015/04/17/a-stella-review-thirty-things-by-cate-ashwood/). Also you can read it as a standalone.

Resurrecting Elliot is set six years after the first one,  Colt has quit doing porn and is looking for a job as a teacher. Meanwhile he’s doing a couple of job, one of this as a delivery man. Guess to whom he goes to deliver groceries? Elliot is imprisoned himself a year after watching one of his students take his life. The trauma was so deep he’s having problems to even leave his house. When he meet Colt things finally change. They soon hit it off and start seeing each other first as just friends and then as lovers and Colt is able to help Elliot dealing with his fears and panic attacks. There is a little more I obviously can’t talk about that  was a great closure to Colt and the final push to Elliot to be stronger than ever and overcome the pain.

As every book Cate Ashwood wrote, Resurrecting Elliot was well written, sweet, hard to put down. A truly feel good story. I want to recommend it to all of you.

Cover art by Brooke Albrecht. I like it. Nothing special but simply and clean. Well done.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Published July 20th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781634762250
edition languageEnglish
seriesNewport Boys #2

Newpost Boys Series (Goodreads links -add  to your TBR list:

A MelanieM Review: The Pinch of the Game by Charley Descoteaux

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

PinchOfTheGame[The]FSBeing a witch doesn’t mean one can beat the devil forever.

Jeffrey Overton, unemployed IT professional turned poker player, pushes his luck once too often and runs afoul of the host of an illegal card club. The man sent to escort Jeffrey to a “meeting” about his supernatural winning streak arrives at Jeffrey’s crappy North Portland apartment, lock-picking tools in hand and a charm to block Jeffrey’s magick.

Head muscle for said host, Mike Wells, is a Daisy from Daisyville. He isn’t a witch. What he lacks in magickal talent he makes up for in brawn, so he doesn’t expect the guy he’s after to overpower him. But once Mike renders Jeffrey helpless, he’d rather seduce him than bring him in.

Jeffrey and Michael ditch the “meeting” and end up hunting some of the same people they ran from, trying to get Jeffrey back into his own body. And that’s only part of the adventure. The pair travel halfway across the country on the quietest road trip in history and find missing people, empire-building witches, and maybe even the families they’d both thought lost to them.

I really like Charley Descoteaux because even as sections of this story had me grinding my teeth in frustration her characters of Jeffrey Overton and Mike Wells are so endearing and charming that they swayed me over to their side and kept me there for the duration of The Pinch of the Game.  No matter how many times along the narrative path I wanted to stop due to poor universe construction or illogical character traits, their engaging ways and winning natures carried me through one bumpy writing obstacle after another.

We start off in an alternate universe that’s never really given any explanation or foundation.   There are  witches, but of what type and magical basis we just don’t know.  There are non-magical humans as well, like Mike, but again, little background or history is given.  At first (I missed the note at first), I thought The Pinch of the Game must be part of a series I had missed.  As a stand alone that lack of foundation and grounding in world building leaves this story feeling as though it is the middle part of a much larger story.  What’s worse?  The knowledge in the foreword that this story started out as a short story and was enlarged to this version.  *shakes head*

Jeffrey is a Stumptown witch and “A Stumptown witch doesn’t go far from the source of his power”, except when he does.  In search of his mother, another witch in a bad situation that is never quite explored and whose resolution comes far too quickly for the buildup.  There is some stomach churning body switching and more, none of which really makes any sense which is probably ok because neither does the plot.  I just liked reading about Jeffrey and Mike and their developing relationship.  That saved this story for me.

Of course, the whole thing came close to being derailed one more with a little scene at the end where unexpected and sort of jaw dropping facts came out about Jeffrey.  With no basis laid anywhere in the story for this and no way to substantiate their truthfulness or weigh the impact upon Mike and Jeffrey’s relationship because the story just ends, the reader is just left hanging, wondering again what they had just read.

Only Charley Descoteaux’s terrific imagination and two main characters saved this story from a lower rating.  I love this author but this story was just too disorganized and jumbled to make any sense.

Cover art by AngstyG is wonderful.  I love the design and 20’s feel.  Great job.

Sale Links:  Dreamspinner Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon |The Pinch of the Game Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 98 pages
Published June 24th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781632169068
edition languageEnglish

Dogs Days of August and This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

 

Sirius the dog star

 

The dogs days of August are here and those words have so many meanings, past, and present.  According to the Romans and other Mediterranean cultures, the dog days referred to the heat and the dog star Sirius “burning” so “hot” in the night  and morning skies.  The largest, brightest star in the Canis major constellation, Sirius the Dog Star, also the brightest star that we can see unaided in the night sky, came to be associated in ancient days with the heat of the season when this constellation rose and set along with the sun just as it does now.

When this constellation was high, the shepherds drove their flocks down from the mountain grazing lands into their safer pens close to their villages. Other measures were also taken to safeguard their water supply and gardens. Why?  Because the heat was also driving the predators out of the mountains as well, looking for water and food. The villagers depended upon their dogs to guard their flocks just as some do today. What flock guard dogs can you  name? Maremmas,Anatolian shepherds, Great Pyrenees, Komondors, Kuvasz are just a few breeds that come to mind. They are often raised with the flocks they are meant to protect.  Dogs days indeed.

Which brings me to shelters and adopting a dog or cat or guinea pig or any animal up for adoption.  My local NBC New channel WRC is starting a Help Clear the Shelters program, which I thought was a wonderful idea.  Both Winston and Kirby are rescues and I can’t imagine my life without them, nor my hearthound rescues now gone to the rainbow bridge that came before them.  If I had room and the money, I would go for more.

How about you?  Does your budget (equally important), your house and heart have room for a four pawed, two winged or whatever shelter  animal?  Can you help clear your local shelter out? Or how about fostering?  Our shelters are overflowing with unwanted and thrown away animals.  Its heartbreaking.  And overwhelming.  Please help if you can.

Here are my two rescues…

WinstonII homeIMG_0650

Presently, my dogs are inside playing like mad with their plush  toys and Dingo bones (trust me, its like doggy crack),  We were outside earlier but the wind stilled, the air heated up, and Kirby, our Irish Wheaton that he is, had to come in, even clipped, he can’t take the heat.  Winston can, but won’t leave his buddy and Willow just is ready for a nap behind me in the chair as I write up the schedule.  Home is where my dogs and books are.  Happy Reading!

 

dog-reading blue book

This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Semper Fidelis Anthology CoverUnconventional In San Diego Anthology coverPinchOfTheGame[The]FSDefinitely Maybe Yours cover

Sunday, August 9:

  • Dog Days of August and This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
  • Sunday Afternoon Book Blast: Thianna Durston’s A Good Family Man (Corbin’s Bend,Season Three #8) (excerpt and contest)

Monday, August 10:

  • Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Author Discoveries:  Stella on Wulf Francu Godgluck
  • Cover reveal for ‘Discovery’ by Thianna Durston (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Jeri Review: Semper Fidelis Anthology
  • A BJ Review: Unconventional In San Diego Anthology
  • A MelanieM Review: The Pinch of the Game by Charley Descoteaux

Tuesday, August 11:

  • Aria Grace ‘Looking For Home’ book blast and contest
  • In the Book Spotlight: Lissa Reed ‘Definitely, Maybe, Yours’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Mika Review: Definitely Maybe Yours by Lissa Reed
  • A MelanieM Review: Overly Dramatic by Rebecca Cohen
  • A Stella Review:  Resurrecting Elliot by Cate Ashwood

Wednesday, August 12:

  • Guest Post:Against The Grain by Charlie Cochet‏ (author interview and  contest)
  • A First Look at The First Timers Anthology (excerpts and contest)
  • Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review :Not Safe for Work by Ingela Bohm
  • A Sammy Review: How to Train Your Dom in Five Easy Steps by Josephine Myles
  • A MelanieM Review: Diamonds Edge by Laura Harner (Pulp Friction 2015 story)

Thursday, August 13:

  • Morticia Knight Building Bonds Book Tour and giveaway
  • Book Spotlight: Juggernaut by Amelia C. Gormley (contest)
  • A Jeri Review: On Solid Ground by Melissa Collins
  • A Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review: The Harder They Fall by Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau
  • A MelanieM Review: Redesigning Max by Pat Henshaw

Friday, August 14:

  • Brina Brady ‘Don’t Throw Me Away Book tour and giveaway
  • ‘Justice for Me’ by TS McKinney and BJ Grinder Book Spotlight and contest
  • A BJ Review: The Pillar by Kim Fielding
  • A Stella Review: The Lightning-struck Heart by TJ Klune
  • A MelanieM Review: A Piece of Cake by Mary Calmes

YA Saturday, August 15:

  • A Mika YA Review:  Lucky Linus by Gene Gant

Lucky Linus coverRedesigningMaxFSThe Pillar cover

The Lightning Struck Heart cover

 

 

 

f

 

An Aurora YA Review: Evolution by Lissa Kasey

 Rating: 5 out of 5  ★★★★★

Evolution coverGene Sage has only ever wanted to sing, but his band, Evolution, is pushing him toward the big time. He finds it hard to focus on making musical history when he’s dreaming of graveyards and seeing ghosts. And while all he can think of is hiding who he is from a world unforgiving of anyone different, he discovers he’s also the ultimate snack for vampires and demons. When Gene literally runs into—over—his idol, Kerstrande Petterson, rock god, vampire in hiding, and music cynic, his life falls over the edge into chaos.Jaded by the world and nearly a decade in the music business, Kerstrande thinks Gene wants to use him to make Evolution immortal in more than one way, but he can’t seem to brush aside the young singer’s enthusiasm.Getting involved with Kerstrande drags Gene into otherworldly power struggles. Between the ghosts stalking them, the media painting supernaturals as villains, and a vampire out of control in the city, the only way for Gene and Kerstrande to survive is for Gene to embrace his powers—and his destiny.I really, really enjoyed this book. One of my favorite things about the book was the descriptions. Straight away I had a very clear picture in my head of everything that was going on and that’s one of my favorite things about reading. It can, however, be hard to toe the line between using enough description that a reader can clearly picture the scene and using too much and having your story get bogged down in it which I don’t believe happened in this book at all.

Another thing I really enjoyed about the book was the two point of views for the two different main characters every chapter. It really made them both, especially Kerstrande, more likable and relatable to be able to see what was going on in both of their heads in their own unique voices rather than seeing the entire book through one’s eyes over the other’s.
If I had to nitpick, there was some exposition toward the beginning that slowed the first one or two chapters down, but it wasn’t something I really had a problem with since as soon as the plot got under way the book got right back to a good pace and I was certainly never bored by it, even in the first chapter or two when there was a lot of information.
Overall, it was a fun read, and one that I think was very well written. I would recommend it to people who like supernatural themes and modern fantasies.
The cover art was done by Paul Richmond and I really like it. It’s a pretty simplistic cover, but it has a lot of color and personality. It’s very eye-catching which is something that can always be helpful to a book. All in all, very well done.
Sales Links:  DSP Publications |  Amazon | Buy It Here
Book Details:
DSP Publications (a non romance imprint of Dreamspinner)
2nd Edition, first edition Harmony Ink Press
Release Date: July 28, 2015
Words: 71336
Pages: 250
ISBN-13: 978-1-63476-061-4
File Formats: epub, mobi, pdf
Coming Soon: “Evolution: Genesis”

Its SciFy Friday with Chris T. Kat! Author Interview , New Release Breeding Stations (Alliances #1) and a Giveaway!

BreedingStations

Breeding Stations (Alliances #1) by Chris T. Kat
Release Date: July 27, 2015

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Goodreads Link
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Anne Cain

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Sales Links: Dreamspinner eBook & Paperback | Amazon | All Romance (ARe) |

My Interview with Chris T. Kat On Pets!

Hi Chris, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Tell us about your pets – past or present. Pictures are a must! (Not really, but they would be welcome.)

Do you know those kids that always wanted to have pets, but the parents didn’t allow it? Yep, I’m one of those, although it was only my mother who was against it. My stepfather simply bypassed her by bringing me a pair of SL271818guinea pigs one day. Of course, my mother wasn’t happy at first, but at least she tolerated them. I’m not sure I still have pictures of them, but their names were Ricky and Domingo. Since then, I’ve had guinea pigs pretty much all the time. For the past 13 years, we always had two boys. At the moment, we only have one guinea pig named Sam.sam He’s an old fellow now, and loves to cuddle and sleep in the curve of our arms. As soon as he needs to go pee, he alerts us by pulling at our clothes—that can get a bit painful during summer months, when he nips at our skin.

SL271828As I said we usually had two guinea pigs, and whenever one of them died due to age or illness, we got a new one. But after our Sky died last year, our kids didn’t want a new one. Sky had been very friendly to everyone: he came when you called him, and he always hopped and ran around. He was a real character, and we still miss him. We still have our Sam, and hope he’ll be around for some time in the future.

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Spunky commander Berit Turner is known for two things: his huge libido and his lack of a filter—he says what he thinks. Berit sets his mind on being part of the mission to Ligador, to make sure the planet is habitable for humans. He’s ecstatic when his team is assigned to the task force. A delegation of Nadisc, a humanoid alien race, accompanies them, and passion ignites between Berit and their commanding officer, Tom. But Berit is determined that Tom is just another notch on his bedpost, as he doesn’t do relationships.

The excursion to Ligador goes wrong from the beginning, when they discover Ligador has been established as a breeding station by their worst enemy: the Tash’Ba. Dinosaur-like creatures become the team’s worst nightmare, and staying alive is going to take everything they’ve got… and then some.

Pages or Words: 204 pages or about 65,000 words

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Categories: M/M Romance, Science Fiction

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

Excerpt from Chapter Two

Several alarmed shouts warned me of something going on, but I had no time to process what happened. Something roped around my waist and yanked me over to the side. I crashed into Tom’s chest as a harsh growling sound erupted from his throat.

I tried jerking myself free, but he held onto my wrists with one hand, while his tail kept me tethered to his body. “What the hell?”

Niyara squared off in front of Tom, her dark eyes gleaming with an eerie, demonic red glint where her pupils should’ve been. Her long tail swished from one side to the other and her arm muscles flexed.

“What the ever-loving fuck is going on?” I asked.

“Quiet!” Tom hissed.

My mouth fell open, and I gaped at him. Okay. Enough was enough. I caught the tip of his tail in my hand and pinched it—hard. He roared, but I used the chance to slip free. A Nadisc’s tail tip was the most sensitive part, which came in handy during sex but was a real disadvantage in a fight. Or maybe not. I’d never heard of someone winning a fight against a Nadisc when—

Niyara’s fist closing around my shirt stopped all my pondering. She lifted me off my feet, hissing and boring her eerie gaze into mine. Maybe I should’ve stayed with Tom. He’d felt slightly less dangerous than she did.

Carson appeared next to Niyara’s side, eyes as large as saucers but an equally determined look on his face. He reached out. As soon as he touched her arm, her head whirled around. I held my breath. Would he be able to save me from Niyara’s wrath? She’d seemed rather taken with him earlier. What the hell had I done, anyway, to agitate her?

As I wracked my brain, Carson and Niyara gazed at each other. The next instant he rose on tiptoes and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

She let go of my shirt, and I would’ve landed flat on my ass if Tom hadn’t snatched me around the waist. Niyara rested her head on Carson’s shoulder, which meant she had to stoop because of her height. No one said anything, and no one moved for what seemed like a long time. When she lifted her head, several people—including me—hissed, afraid of what she’d do next.

Niyara bowed her head toward Tom. “I apologize for my outburst. I’ve never encountered a jealousy spell before.”

“Jealousy spell?” I echoed.

She gazed at me, suddenly looking sheepish. “Feeling such a strong connection is new to me, and I didn’t like Carson using an endearment toward you.”

I blinked, then looked over at Carson. He gawked, and his eyes were the same size as before. Would they stay like that forever?

Niyara swept an arm around to include everyone in her proclamation, which resulted in startled jerks and coughs.

“I’m claiming Carson as my mate. Anyone who’d like to object has to fight me.”

No one objected. Everyone seemed busy inspecting their boots or the ceiling. I never noticed before how very ugly the hatch’s ceiling was.

“Berit!” Carson wheezed out.

I sighed and transferred my gaze from the ceiling to Carson. “Congrats?”

Someone cheered and the others followed suit, clapping their hands to add to the noise. Carson was so pale I feared he’d faint, but Niyara cupped his face in both hands and kissed him. After that, he didn’t seem to mind that much, not anymore.

Chuckling, I told the others to open the hatch and take up their position. The hatch opened with the usual buzz, but when I started to walk, Tom’s arms around my waist tightened to an almost painful level.

“Tell them to secure the area and wait for further instructions,” he whispered into my ear.

“Dream on. I won’t do—” My words ended abruptly when the steel bands around my waist left me no room for breathing.

“Now.”

Tom allowed me more breathing room, and I gave the desired order. No one looked twice or questioned my instruction, for which I’d have been grateful on any other day, just not today. Ticking off a Nadisc was a bad idea. One of the worst, really.

We waited until everyone had cleared the hatch’s area. Tom spun me around in his arms and lifted me up until we were face-to-face.

“You accepted me as your leader on this mission, remember? That means no punching me,” I said, “or doing anything that would harm me.”

Tom’s gaze intensified, and my mouth went dry when he spread out a red and orange speckled frill around his neck. I’d read about this display, but had never seen it before. Only a few Nadisc still had those frills—most opted for surgery because it gave away their emotions too easily—and those that did had a very tight control over it.

“But it’s okay for you to hurt me?” he rasped.

I tried to reason with him. “I… look, I’m the commander here. You can’t just order me around or hold me captive, okay?”

“Niyara could’ve killed you.”

I shrugged. “She didn’t, and she’ll just have to get used to the way Carson and I talk to each other.”

The frill around his neck unfolded even more. He said, “I’m not fond of the way you talk to each other.”

I had an inkling where this conversation was headed. I had an even bigger inkling that I’d panic if Tom said anything, so I closed my eyes, wrapped my arms around his neck—over the frill, which was kind of awkward—and sought his mouth with mine.

He opened up immediately, and I dipped my tongue into his mouth, licking along his teeth and eliciting an approving hum from him. Somehow I ended up with my legs wound around him and one of his hands steadying my ass.
When we broke apart for air, he said, “I won’t forget what you did.”

“I’ll make it up to you,” I replied. His eyes lit up with interest, so I added, “Deal?”

“Deal.”

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

Chris T. Kat lives in the middle of Europe, where she shares a house with her husband of many years and their two children. She stumbled upon the M/M genre by luck and was swiftly drawn into it. She divides her time between work, her family—which includes chasing after escaping horses and lugging around huge instruments such as a harp—and writing. She enjoys a variety of genres, such as mystery/suspense, paranormal, and romance. If there’s any spare time, she happily reads for hours, listens to audiobooks or does cross stitch.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChrisTKat
Twitter: http://twitter.com/christi_kat
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/ChrisTKat
Blog: http://christikat.blogspot.com
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Chris-T.-Kat/e/B008FQQH2Q

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Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $20 Amazon gift card.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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A MelanieM Review: Groomzilla by Tere Michaels

Review: 3.75  stars out of 5

Groomzilla coverWhen drama threatens to ruin a romance on a reality show, only a true friend can save a groomzilla’s wedding.

Daniel Green, an event planner with a neat, quiet, orderly life, reluctantly agrees to plan the wedding of his childhood friend Ander, an outrageous fashion designer soon to marry a wealthy entertainment lawyer named Rafe. To complicate matters, the happy couple have agreed to have their wedding made into a reality show—something that practical Daniel isn’t sold on.

Daniel is neither a romantic nor a wedding planner, but he’s the only person in the world who can manage Ander. Distracting him from his mission is Owen Grainger, a too-handsome-to-be-true producer whose quiet charm pulls Daniel into his orbit.

When the stress of the show triggers bad behavior from Ander, co-producer Victor Pierce decides it’s the key to a ratings bonanza, and he begins to undermine Ander and Rafe’s relationship to create more drama. Daniel is determined to protect his friend and his own reputation, but when he finds himself falling hard for Owen, there’s much more at stake than ratings.

Tere Michaels is a author who can tear at my heart with her characters and stories, her just concluded Faith, Love, and Devotion series is a perfect example of that.  So I was curious to see if she could deliver light hearted romance as well.

She does.  Tere Michaels style.

That means that angst, a pinch of sadness and a dash of anxiety gets thrown in with the humor and lighthearted romance.  It all starts with Daniel Green, an event planner with an unhappy childhood only made bearable by a boarding school friend Anders who is now Daniel’s only family.  Ander’s childhood is equally painful and they became each other’s support and heart sibling despite their startling differences in appearance and behavior.  Now Ander is getting married and wants Daniel to plan the wedding as well as be his best man.  Oh, and it’s all a part of a new reality online series.  What could go wrong?

That would be everything.

Daniel and Ander are both two damaged men who have worked through their issues, mostly, to become men who understand themselves and each other.  I loved Daniel, he’s worked hard to get where he is, with his own business, a degree from Harvard but he realizes that he’s starting to coast.  Ander is smarter than his extravagant exterior and I love the surprises that his character continues to deliver throughout the narrative, especially when you least expect it.  They are exactly the type of characters Tere Michaels does best.  Daniel and Ander look so different on the outside, one sort of nicely average, the other peacocky gorgeous, and yet so alike underneath where it counts. The author makes them believable, flawed, and so likable it hurts at times.

Ah, Daniel and Ander. Their relationship dynamics are the heart of the story, not the romance between Daniel and Owen, or even Ander and his fiance Rafe, and that’s probably why I didn’t connect as much as I did with Daniel and Owen.  It was because I was already invested emotionally in the deep friendship of Daniel and Ander and the wedding from hell.  I was so  caught up in what this wedding was doing to their friendship that it almost made everything else extraneous.  I also needed a little more of the Rafe/Ander dynamic, although what I had was delicious, especially those scenes  at the end.  And Victor felt exactly like a reality show “villain” and I couldn’t make my mind up where that  was good or bad.

Owen? Yes, I liked Owen even if I felt I didn’t get to “know” him as completely as I did the others.   I certainly could see him as part of Daniel’s life.  Perhaps if Daniel and Owen had their own story after Groomzilla and left this  one to Daniel, Ander, and Rafe,  that would have made me completely satisfied.  But that’s not how Tere Michaels wrote it, so I will say I loved so many portions of this story, and  the ending left  me  misty eyed and smiling. Those scenes with the video felt as “in the moment” as anything in the story.  These scenes were “character capsules”, delivering a punch of emotion that I had been  waiting for and now got. These were the people I  wanted more of, the ones I had gotten fewer glimpses of as the catastrophe of a wedding starts to overtake the story (pretty realistic element), ones that Daniel was missing too.  Really,that’s was wonderful thing to work into this plot. How the stress  can make the best of us go a little crazy and maybe even lose sight of who we are and who we love.

Oh, Tere Michael, how I love your writing, characters, and storylines. Not familiar with this author? Groomzilla is a fun place to start. I think you will fall in love with Daniel, Ander and Groomzilla.  I know I did.

 

Cover art by Anna Sikorska is cute but suffers from model use overload.  That dark-haired model is everywhere, from books about chefs (more than one) to geeks in love.  He’s cute but over used. This cover makes me think of other books instead of this one. A definite no no.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 160 pages
Expected publication: August 10th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN13 9781634761833

Our Pat Henshaw Interview and Book Spotlight! Redesigning Max
 (Foothills Pride #2) by Pat Henshaw

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Redesigning Max
 (Foothills Pride #2) by Pat Henshaw
Release Date: July 29, 2015

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Goodreads Link
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: AngstyG

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Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Author Interview

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Pat Henshaw, author of Redesigning Max.

Hi, Pat, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Hi! I’m originally from Nebraska and have lived all over the U. S., landing here in Northern California. Now retired, I’ve held a number of jobs including theatrical costuming for the Alley Theatre in Houston, public relations for radio and television at WETA in D. C., and teaching English composition at a junior college in California.

Redesigning Max, the second of the Foothills Pride novellas, revolves around the unlikely pair of interior designer and architect Fredi Zimmer and the CEO of an outdoors equipment store and wildlife guide Max Greene. When he hires Fredi to redesign and update his Sierra Mountain mountain cabin, Max finds his life and heart undergoing a makeover too.

Not everyone in the small Stone Acres, California, community is as excited about Max and Fredi getting together as the guys are. Because Max’s been in the closet so long, he not only has to convince his friends that he’s gay but he also has to convince Fredi, who keeps getting mixed signals from him.

Do you have pictures that you use for your characters? Can you share them with us?

Yes, for this book, in my head I saw Fredi as Chris Colfer, so I watched a number of Glee episodes as well aschris-colfer-2012-tribeca-film-festival-04 ArronEckhartlooked at the accompanying photo of Chris. Max always looked like Aaron Eckhart with the addition of a droopy mustache to me and sounded like Sam Elliot.

What kind of book would you like to write that people would see as a huge departure for you?

I’d love to be able to write a children’s or YA book. Since I’ve never tried to write either one, they would be a larger-than-life departure for me. I’ve already tackled murder mysteries, fantasy (self-published The Vampire’s Food Chain about a vampire becoming a god), and het romance (as well as my gay romance Foothills Pride series).

Have you ever killed a character? Was it traumatic for you? If you haven’t killed one, would you ever consider it?

Not in the Foothills Pride series, no. I don’t think I’ll be killing off anyone in any of the gay romances I write. I have killed off characters in my futuristic fantasy novel, The Vampire’s Food Chain, but he was a vampire who needed killing. And when I was writing murder mysteries, well, a dead body is de rigueur, right?

Favorite location you’ve ever written about?

I like the Sierra Foothills where I’ve set the Foothills Pride series. I was particularly pleased when a friend of mine who grew up in the foothills told me I’d gotten the places and the people right. In fact, she said she knew Lorraine and Bud’s Rock Bottom Café really well. Since I hadn’t based it on any one place, I took that as a compliment. The last time we drove around the foothills I was saddened to see to see the place which I used as Guy’s Stonewall Saloon in What’s in a Name? wasn’t a bar anymore. It seems to be a warehouse now. Darn.

Introduce us to characters from a work in progress

Adam, the main character in When Adam Fell, is a renowned celebrity chef who walked away from his high-profile job in San Francisco to open a small foothills restaurant, Sierra Bistro. There he cooks a one seating prix fixe meal four times a week for friends, celebraties, and millionaires from the Lake Tahoe and San Francisco Bay Areas. Before he turned his back on the San Francisco gig, he was the host of his own cooking show on TV and had written a couple of bestselling cookbooks. Why he left his high-profile job and what he’s going to do next with his life are the focal points of his book.

Thanks, Pat, for stopping by and for the great interview!  Please come back!

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Renowned interior designer Fredi Zimmer is surprised when outdoorsman Max Greene, owner of Greene’s Hunting and Fishing, hires him to remodel his rustic cabin in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Fredi is an out and proud Metro male whose contact with the outdoors is from his car to the doorway of the million-dollar homes’ he remodels, and Max is just too hunky gorgeous for words.

When Max starts coming on to Fredi, the designer can’t imagine why. But he’s game to put a little spice into Max’s life, even if it’s just in the colors and fixtures he’ll use to turn Max’s dilapidated rustic cabin into a showplace. Who can blame a guy for adding a little sensual pleasure as he retools Max’s life visually?

Max, for his part, is grateful when Fredi takes him in hand, both metaphorically and literally. Coming out, he finds is the most exciting and wonderful time of his life, despite the conservative former friends who want to stop his slide into hell.

Pages or Words: 73 pages

Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, Romance

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STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

 

By the time we got to the Rock Bottom Cafe, I felt like I’d bottomed out. I was hungry, tired, and feeling the first twinges of a headache.
Max hadn’t exaggerated about how much I’d hate the Rock Bottom’s decor. It was the worst of rural cafe: hellacious plastic flowers, grotesque plastic-covered booths, peeling gangrene-painted beadboard walls, pockmarked linoleum floor, and faded food-stained menus. It made the cabin look almost palatial, except it didn’t smell as bad.
As Max slid into one side of a booth and I into the other, he said, “Food’s great here. Okay?”
I glared at him, but I had to admit the odors coming from the kitchen wove seductively around us.
After we’d ordered and had gotten glasses of iced tea, which I liberally dosed with artificial sweetener, Max leaned back in his side of the booth and blew out a little breath.
“So guess here’s what you need to know about me.” He was looking at the tabletop. “I was an only kid when my folks died. Raised by my aunt and uncle with their four boys. I was the youngest and nobody cared what I thought, so I don’t talk much.”
Oh dear. I wasn’t sure which of those statements I should answer, if any. My heart bled for the beautiful man in front of me who would give me a raging hard-on if I let my libido take control.
His words and lack of self-pity made me want to create a unique space where he’d feel completely at home and that would soothe him when he needed it. I probably wouldn’t end up his BFF or someone he could unbend with, but I could create a warm cocoon to shelter and coddle the man or let him entertain his friends comfortably.
The image of the young Max feeling like an outsider when he was thrust on his uncaring aunt and uncle to raise was banished by the waitress who put lunch in front of us.
“Oh. My. God!” I nearly drooled into the chili and homemade bread as I tasted them. “This is incredible.”
“What’d I tell you?” Max gloated. “Said you shouldn’t be put off by the decor. Some of us are more than our decor.”
I spooned up a couple of bites, then looked at Max. “You really do think I’m a snob, don’t you?”
Why was it so easy to get him to blush? I hadn’t a clue, but his quick, mercurial red cheeks had me intrigued.
“No, no, I don’t think you’re a snob,” he protested. “I mean, you’re just so….” He waved a couple of fingers at me, but kept his elbows on the table as if protecting his bowl of chili.
“I’m so what?”
Max shrugged. “I don’t know. Beautiful. And fancy,” he added, ducking his head over his bowl.
Ah, I understood now. Max was intimidated by my suit.
“Look, you came to get me in the coffee shop. I was dressed to take a rich lady through her house later this afternoon. I can work in jeans and a T-shirt”—did Max think I wore suits every day?—“or anything I want. Pajamas even. You just caught me on a suit day.” Which, I didn’t add, was too often for even my overblown sense of style.
Now Max was staring at me.
“Yeah, right. You wear jeans,” he scoffed, but looked interested, intrigued.
I shrugged. “Okay, not when I’m with a client. At home I’m way more casual.” I might have sounded a tad defensive.
“Yeah, right,” Max muttered with a grin.
I left it lying there. It wasn’t worth fighting about. But it bothered me that he saw such a divide between us. I was just a man, wasn’t I? Just like him, right? What was he going on about? Sheesh.

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

Pat Henshaw, author of the Foothills Pride series, was born in Nebraska but promptly left the cold and snow after college, living at various times in Texas, Colorado, Northern Virginia, and Northern California. Pat has visited Mexico, Canada, Europe, Nicaragua, Thailand, and Egypt, and regularly travels to Rome, Italy, and Eugene, Oregon, to see family.

Now retired, Pat has taught English composition at the junior college level; written book reviews for newspapers, magazines, and websites; helped students find information as a librarian; and promoted PBS television programs.

Pat has raised two incredible daughters who daily amaze everyone with their power and compassion. Pat’s supported by a husband who keeps her grounded in reality when she threatens to drift away writing fiction.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pat.henshaw.10
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6998437.Patois
Book website: http://whatsinanamenovella.blogspot.com
Website: http://patbooked.blogspot.com
E-mail: whatsinanamenovella@comcast.net
Tumblr: http://phenshaw.tumblr.com/
Twitter: @phenshaw

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Bike Book Reviews
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30-Jul
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31-Jul
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3-Aug
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A Mika Review: Violated by Jamie Fessenden

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Violated coverDerek Sawyer thinks he has it all—a high-salaried position, a boyfriend, a dog, even a new cabin on the lake—until a business trip with his manager and best friend, Victor, shatters his world.

One night of drunken horsing around in their hotel room leads to the most intensely personal violation Derek has ever endured. As if the humiliation of working under his attacker every day isn’t enough, Victor reports Derek for sexual harassment. Now he’s without a job, without a boyfriend, and the mortgage on the cabin is due.

Officer Russ Thomas has worked with rape victims before, and it doesn’t take him long to sort out the truth in Derek’s tale. With his support, Derek finally reports the crime, months after it happened. But restraining orders and lawyers further Victor’s anger toward him, and even though a relationship develops between Derek and the policeman, Russ can’t be there to protect him all the time

This is going to be hard for me to rate, not because of the content of the story but solely based on the execution. I felt this was very much  a one-note novel. I didn’t get a rise out of myself reading this, not one time. Certain parts of the story should demand a certain reaction out of it’s audience, but this did not get one. Reading this story, I feel like the way it was written left it emotionally unavailable. It did not feel authentic at all.  I just felt like I was reading this, and felt completely detached from the story. I reached the end and felt absolutely nothing. I want to thank the author for being bold enough to write about this type of incident. I don’t think people talk about it enough. Going into this I expected turmoil, tears, and just an emotional read and I didn’t get it. I don’t want to say everyone is going to have the same reaction, because they aren’t but it was a straight read through.

The story itself was good. While I liked certain areas of it,  I disliked more than a few of the characters, and the situations that the MC’s found themselves in. The author did a good job on the subject. Its not something we read a lot about in m/m fiction, it had a realistic feeling to it. Derek  reacted like an individual would in this situation to me. A couple of times, I felt myself wanting to throttle him for not speaking up for himself afterwards, but nothing can be done on my time. I applaud Derek for going to work with his attacker everyday and living, surviving, and fighting to get back to himself. This incident brought up Derek’s dislike with himself. I think all the personal issues surrounding his sexuality might have impeded his recovery, but this is only my speculation reading it. Russ was a good guy, and character. I liked Russ with his sister, and I liked Russ with Derek. I did not like Russ on his own. It felt very filler-ish type. Like the author needed some space plugged up so we are just going to put Russ with these random people. I’m saying that not because he needed someone else, I’m saying it like it did not feel real. Where was the connection between Russ and the other two guys? None, I felt zero hints of magic with them. I just think  it added n0thing really except me feeling like it was open space.

Cover Art by L.C. Chase: I liked this cover, very serene feeling. I think Derek had to come to terms with himself before he could love someone else.

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

Amazon links coming Aug. 7th.

Book Details:

ebook, 256 pages, also in paperback
Expected publication: August 7th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
original titleViolated
ISBN139781634764513
edition languageEnglish

A Stella Review: Get Your Shine On by Nick Wilgus

Rating:  5 stars out of 5 ★★★★★

Get Your Shine On coverWhen his mother goes out to party one Saturday night and doesn’t come back, seven-year-old Ishmael Hood is taken in by his estranged uncle Henry and Henry’s live-in boyfriend, Sam. As this unlikely trio begins to build a new life together, they encounter both support and hostility in the small Mississippi town where they live. Seems like just about everybody has an opinion on the matter—and they’re not shy about expressing it.

While this blossoming little family finds its feet, outside forces—and ghosts from the past—threaten to tear it apart. Henry, still trying to deal with the tragic death of his parents, finds himself hard-pressed to open his heart to this needy child.

Just as a little shine begins to come back into their lives, Ishmael’s mother returns, and their world is thrown into chaos.

Nick Wilgus is one of my favorite authors, I have a soft spot for his Sugar Tree series, so every time I know he’s releasing a new book, I start to hyperventilate. Even if his books are not the usual m/m books I read, most of all even if his writing is hard to read for me, I’ve learned to simply love them and wish for more and more of his characters.

Get Your Shine On was another winner to me. I didn’t read the blurb because I didn’t care what it was about, I just cared that it was out. I wasn’t expecting this kind of story, so much (sometimes too much) emotional for me and I wasn’t ready for it. Especially halfway through it when we get some heavy angst. I so hoped,  until the end, that it wasn’t like I suspected to be and when my suspicions became reality they were hard to take; the central part was melting, I had to stop a couple of times.

The style and the language are the ones we used to find in the Sugar Tree series so if you liked that books you absolutely can’t miss this new one. I enjoy Nick Wilgus’ writing so much especially because he talks about children, the not so lucky ones, the same ones that break my heart in almost every scene I read. He writes so beautifully about imperfect characters, in fact there is no one perfect character in all of his books. For example at the start of Get Your Shine On I despised Henry, the MC, so much. I didn’t like how he approached his nephew Ishy, he didn’t get the boy at all and often he was too hard to the little one to my liking. But Wilgus is great at creating well developed characters, some of them will grow in the book and become better people, for other character there will be no hope sadly. Each one of them is well portrayed, from the details, to their background.

What I appreciate the most (cause it’s real) but at the same time I can understand it could be not easy to accept, is a specific quality of this author, so present in this book too. His books are full of crap, the MCs usually have to take it from everyone. There are a lot of homophobic people, too many times the word pedophile is said and it is just one of the nasty things that flew in the books. It’s a trait of his writing that can leave the reader puzzled the first time but later will be understood as the true way to show us a world that truly exists. Moreover the icing on the cake is that all of this is surrounded by a ton of laughter. There are so many funny scenes that balanced the angsty and heavy and sad parts.

As you can see I haven’t talked about blurb, plot or characters, it will be your pleasure to discover them, I’m sure. I just want to mention my favorite character (apart from the little Ishy that filled my heart every time he smiled), because she deserves it. She is Sister Ascension. She was the best, so fierce in her wanting to help Hen and his new family. Religion and I  have a tough relationship and I can’t tell you how much I appreciated the author for giving me a nun as the most positive person in this book.

I want to recommend Get Your Shine On cause it was emotional, funny, too many times really over the top. I can’t have enough of Wilgus’ works.

Cover art by AngstyG. It’s not my favorite by this artist. Not a bad cover at all but not so eye catching. I like it but nothing more. But at the end you could have give me a blank cover for this book, I wouldn’t have cared.

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

Book Details:

ebook 350 pages
Published July 24th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN13 9781634763738
Edition Language English

 

A Stella Review: Breakthrough by J. H. Knight

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

Breakthrough coverThe road to recovery is never easy, even when you’re just an innocent bystander to someone else’s addiction.

For Jack, it’s especially hard because he blames himself for his son Rick’s drug problems. It took Jack over half his life to admit to himself (and his wife) that he was gay, but years later, he still carries guilt over what his realization did to his son.

He never thought Rick’s treatment would help him rehabilitate too, but when Jack meets Seth, the man trying to help his son get back on his feet, it’s the breakthrough he never knew he needed.

I swoon over JH Knight‘s works every time. This week I read two of them: this new novella called Breakthrough and a free story, Just a Feeling. If you love sweet stories like I do, these two are just for you too. The author of the so emotional The Last Thing He Needs never disappointed me. She’s so talented. What I like more in her books is they all are so real, especially this new one. Breakthrough was a quick read, light and funny too. What amazed me was that in just 57 pages she could put so many emotions, I found myself often crying with Jack. We were both a wreck.

I’m pretty sure this was my first book with a Mc as a grandfather, a young one cause Jack is only 49 years old, still I found it interesting. Moreover it was also the first one I read where the focus of the story wasn’t mainly on MCs’ relationship, the spot was on Jack and the breakthrough he’s subjected to while trying to help his son recovering from a serious drug addiction. In only one meeting Seth was the key to finally break the impenetrable wall behind which Jack hides his deep guilty trip over the failure of his wedding and his son’s addiction.

I enjoyed Breakthrough a lot, I put it in my comfort shelf and I am surely going to reread it, but it could have been much better, and that’s the only reason I didn’t give it the full 5 stars. In my opinion it needed just one more little chapter, an epilogue, to know something about Jack and Seth life together, just a little snippet would have been so appreciated, because I saw them together just a couple of times and it wasn’t enough!

Well done JH! Waiting for more by this author, always. Highly recommended!

Cover art by Brooke Albrecht. Honestly this cover didn’t  impress me, it’s well done and the model could fit the story but nothing more. It wasn’t eye catching.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 59 pages
Expected publication: August 5th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN13 9781634763189
Edition Language English