A MelanieM Release Day Review: Tutus and Tinsel (Half Moon Bay #2.5) by Rhys Ford

Rating: 4.6 stars out of 5

Zig Reid-Harris has everything an eleven-year-old girl could ever want: a great home, two fantastic fathers named Deacon Reid and Lang Harris, and all the books she could possible read.

When a school assignment about holiday traditions unexpectedly broadsides her, she discovers burying the past isn’t as easy as it looks, and the stark reality of her life before her adoption sinks in. Ashamed of the bleakness and poverty she came from, Zig struggles with the assignment until an epiphany strikes the whole family—it’s time to start their own traditions.

Zig and her fathers plunge into the insanity of holiday joy, exploring everything the season has to offer and learning how precious family truly is along the way.

The theme of this story, making new family traditions at the holidays, comes about through a fairly typical homework assignment, one I would imagine needs revisiting in RL schools just as it does here in Tutus and Tinsel (Half Moon Bay #2.5) by Rhys Ford. Given the complexities these days in what constitutes a modern “family” and how that family is constructed, I would think that (hopefully) teachers at every level are becoming sensitive to handing out a “simple” homework paper on family’s holiday traditions.

Ford takes our own memories of such an homework papers and perhaps our family traditions and runs it smack up against a small powerhouse of a character called Zig to devastating results. Zig has no past history of “adorable Christmas traditions” having barely survived her childhood to find her uncle. Here that lack comes roaring home and it’s up to her fathers to help her find and create new traditions for them all.

This story roils with emotions. Rhys Ford takes us back into the past, broken shards of parental abuse and neglect that still stab at both Zig and Deacon, and Lang’s there to love and hold both close. I loved seeing all the other characters as well pull together to try different crafts, “trying on” traditions to make their own as a family. This story is excellently written, tightly constructed as I have come to expect from this author, and flows beautifully, full of emotion and heart.

Tutus and Tinsel explores what it means to be a family again at Christmas and shines a light on how exactly something becomes a family tradition in the first place. It’s heartwarming, suffused with the holiday spirit and love. I found it perfect holiday reading.

It is, however, not a standalone story. So treat yourself, if you are not already familiar with the series, to the preceding stories. You will love them!

Cover art: Reece Notley. Love the cover because it captures Tig perfectly with her tutu.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 95 pages
Expected publication: December 21st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 139781644051511
Edition Language English
Series Half Moon Bay #2.5

Fish Stick Fridays

Hanging The Stars

Tutus and Tinsel

A MelanieM Advent Calendar Review: Slow Summer Heat by Renae Kaye

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

A Story from the Warmest Wishes: Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar

Geoffrey Saxon is in his forties, a bit plump, a lot fuzzy, and rather boring in bed—and thanks to a very public breakup, everyone in his street knows it. However, what they don’t know is that Geoffrey sometimes watches his hot young neighbor, Vaughn, in the pool. Vaughn has invited Geoffrey to join his pool parties, but Geoffrey knows it’s only pity.

As if things can’t get worse, Geoffrey’s air conditioner breaks during a heat wave in Western Australia—and just before Christmas. In search of some relief, he camps out in his backyard, where he also has a prime view of Vaughn swimming… naked. When Geoffrey’s injured falling from his spying post, Vaughn comes to his rescue and Geoffrey doesn’t think he can be more horrified.

But he could be in for a sweet holiday surprise. Is he ready to take the dive?

Slow Summer Heat by Renae Kaye is a sweet, heartwarming story about an older man who’s been hurt by his ex and a humiliating breakup to an extent that’s he’s withdrawn from a social life into his house and a lonely existence. Kaye does this type of character really well. You can see Geoffrey quite clearly from her vivid descriptions to his dialogs (inner conversations and those with his gorgeous neighbor).

Geoffrey teeters briefly on the edge of a character that could go into the kink or voyeur as he’s convinced he’s so unattractive that no one wants him, so he turns down his neighbor’s invitations. That leads to spying which leads to other things. With Kaye, you get a great feel as to who Geoffrey is, his background, family, etc. You understand just how badly this past relationship has affected him and why, including the scene made in the street.

What’s missing is Vaughn’s portion. At least I mostly felt that way for me. Geoffrey is our narrator so we see this gorgeous young roofer through his eyes but even with all their conversations Vaughn never feel’s as fully fleshed out a personality as Geoffrey does. That could certainly be due to the shortness of the story. I just wished for more of the man Geoffrey was crushing on all this time.

Still Slow Summer Heat is a cute hot holiday romance. A quick read with a touch of the Australian heat for something different.

Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas. The pool is a major element here so it works for the cover but there should be more to it as well.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 1st edition, 54 pages
Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 139781644050583
Edition Language English

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Advent Calendar Review: Summer Santa by Ward Maia

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Sam struggles with the climate, the job, and the language when he arrives in Brazil after accepting a job transfer. With the Christmas holidays coming, Sam is looking forward to being alone in his small, boring apartment and that’s about it. He wishes for more when his sexy coworker James helps him with a computer problem, but Sam’s too backward to ask him out.

A key phrase in the blurb is “significant low self-esteem” as that is the driving force of this story. His family surprises him with a holiday he won’t soon forget and he bumps into James on the beach and that leads to a night before Christmas Eve that fulfills his dreams. But Sam is not the driving force behind any of these good things, and his insecurity and inability to articulate what he wants form the crux of the story.

It’s evident the author is new as the writing style and repetitive words and phrases are quite elementary—he “found himself” once too often for me. The trope of the cute guy who’s insecure about his looks, his ability to find someone to love him, etc. is overdone and, unfortunately, not one I like at all.

A key element in the blurb is that Sam is a magazine journalist, and yet that’s not mentioned in the beginning pages of the story and when it finally is stated, it’s only in passing. Another issue is the language barrier he apparently can’t get past, and yet that, too, is only mentioned in the beginning and seems to disappear. We never learn whether James is also an American or if he’s Brazilian, and if a native, does he speak English fluently? Because Sam sure doesn’t speak anything other than English. Sam’s family members were a bit OTT as well, especially his aunt and his sister.

Though I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped, others may not be as bothered by the insecure and lonely MC theme as I am and so may enjoy the story.

The cover by Adrian Nicholas is one of this year’s holiday designs featuring two characters in a portal with the lower edges a standard red with large white snowflakes. The characters represent the two MCs, though Sam is much better-looking than one would think from reading the story, and James looks much more like a player than a nice-guy coworker.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 46 pages
Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 139781644050576
Edition Language English

JS Harker on Winter, Characters, and her new release ‘Tit for Tat’ (author guest blog)

Tit for Tat by J.S. Harker

Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host J.S. Harker today talking about the inspiration behind her character Flynn and her new novel Tit for Tate. Welcome, J.S.

✒︎

Hi there, I’m JS Harker. I’m here to promote my new holiday release Tit For Tat. It’s my second book published in the Dreamspinner Beyond line and I can’t believe the year’s flown by. I’m excited to share the new story with you, especially anyone who, like me, would rather be reading in my room than braving holiday parties. I wanted to balance the holidays with the time of year as well.

Call me strange, I actually like winter. Give me snow, long nights, and cold winds and I’m pretty happy. One winter, in college, the Goo Goo Dolls were playing on campus. While my college spread out over several blocks, walking from place to place never took terribly long, so I encouraged my friends that we should walk instead of taking the shuttle out to the arena. Normally, not a problem. But that night? Full blown blizzard. I’m talking the see six feet ahead of you maybe kind of storm. And somehow, I stubbornly made my friends walk it. It’s not something I recommend because wow, it could have gone way wrong. We had a straight path to walk and we knew the campus really well. But it’s been a decade and I can still feel how bitter cold the wind was, the plodding slow pace we had to go at, and the sheer utter amount of snow that was everywhere. That was also the year I climbed the giant snow piles cleared off the parking lots.

Those experiences were part of the inspiration for Flynn, one of the leads from Tit For Tat. He’s a Winter fairy and comes from the part of the fairy kingdoms that resemble wide open plains covered in snow. As much as he loves his home, he also has this need to explore our world. He and Ariel from Little Mermaid would probably make good buddies—they both just have to know what’s out there. Flynn’s gone so far as to get a job in a mall, playing one of Santa’s elves. He gets to see a wide variety of humans there, but it’s Derek, who works at the toy store, that catches his interest.

While confidence and curiosity come naturally to Flynn, Derek is much more of an inside person. He’s insecure, but he still longs to have adventures. He just doesn’t think they’re possible until he meets Flynn. Writing an insecure, introverted character was a little harder for me. In part it was because Derek shares a lot of the same feelings I’ve had and I’m still new to intentionally opening up on the page, but also because he liked hiding away while I was drafting the story. But he’s in awe of Flynn, fascinated by him, and eventually in love with him.

When I was editing Tit For Tat (because of course the muses strike when you’re busy with a project, right?), I got inspired to write more stories set in the same universe. Every novel is a complete stand alone and focuses on a different season. I’m currently working on a summer story and a fall/Halloween adventure. I’m also working on another novel for Dreamspinner that would feature an FBI agent who investigates the paranormal and attracts the attention of an agent of a secret government organization.

Thanks for reading. I hope you’ll check out Tit For Tat, and that your new year is shiny and full of good fortune.

Blurb

Cold has never been so hot.

College sophomore Derek is busy working over his holiday break—but his shifts at the toy store are no hardship if they mean more opportunity to dream about the sexy new guy working as an elf in Santa’s Workshop. When his mother gifts him a bag of cookies, Derek regifts them to Flynn as an excuse to get to know him. Flynn has presents to offer as well, and soon they’re dating, with Derek finding out his comfort zone is bigger than he imagined.

But Flynn is hiding a secret—he’s really a winter fairy whose magic is bound to the season. He can’t stay in the mortal realm, and Derek doesn’t want to lose contact with his family. Can they find a way to hold on to each other when the snow and sugar plums melt away?

About Author J.S. Harker

JS Harker loves stories. She was one of those kids who always had a book in her hands and spent many hours adventuring with her siblings. These days she wanders into her imaginary worlds and conjures up tales of magic, passion, and happily-ever-afters. She currently lives in the part of the Midwest that makes Tatooine look interesting by comparison (not that she’s ever obsessively thought about becoming a Jedi or anything).

Links:

Website: www.jsharker.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JS-Harker-236521747017598/

An Ali Advent Calendar Review: Once in a Lifetime by Cassie Decker

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

All his life, astrophysicist Peter has dreamed of seeing the comet that last appeared on his birthday—and won’t be seen for another thirty-eight years. Since it could be his only chance, he travels to New Zealand. But his dream might be quashed after all when his rental car breaks down on the way to the observatory. He doesn’t even have a place to stay.

Fortunately a New Zealand native with a heart of gold offers assistance. But is kindness the only thing drawing the two men together?

Rangi can’t leave Peter stranded so close to Christmas, and his family has plenty of room—and love—to share. While Rangi is attracted to Peter, he’s seen too many of his friends get their hearts broken by tourists. Will they manage to see the comet on its decades-long journey across the sky… and take advantage of a rare opportunity that might never come again?

This was a sweet story with an interesting premise. I thought it was pretty creative. This author always comes up with unique storylines for her Christmas stories. It was fairly short but you still got a good feel for both of the MC’s. I liked them together and could feel their chemistry. It’s a bit insta-love as most holiday stories are but in this case it didn’t bother me.

Overall I found this to be an enjoyable holiday story and would recommend it.

Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas. Cover is in the style of the Advent calendar series, attractive and eye catching, bright and like the models.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 34 pages
Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 139781644050552
Edition Language English

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: Saving Hannah by JP Barnaby

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

This was a fantastic action drama, with MM romance added. Get ready for a ride on an emotional rollercoaster as JP Barnaby returns with the story of Thomas Aberthol, computer programmer, father of a little girl with leukemia, and ex-con who can’t get a job to afford the treatment she needs. And it’s the story of Aleks Sanna, Thomas’s former college roomie whose kiss one night sent Thomas running to the arms of a woman.

Now, Aleks spots a human interest story about Thomas and his little girl, Hannah, and conceives a plot to get Thomas the money he needs and to get Aleks the man he still desires after all these years.

The plot is complex and is more an action-based adventure than romance—complete with computer security breaches, money laundering, Mafia-type bad guys, kidnapping, FBI, and the threat of prison looming over Thomas’s head. All this while he fights for his little girl’s life as she struggles to barely exist day-to-day until Aleks swoops in with a proposal that Thomas can’t turn down, even if he wanted to.

Over a fairly short time, they rekindle a love that began in college, Hannah gets a new medication that promises a long-term remission, and the bad guys—at least some of them—are caught.

Ultimately, after losing 8 of my 10 fingernails as I chewed them to stubs, the men find a way to get through the crux of their problems and end up together as a couple in love. I’m not calling this an HEA, but it certainly may be. It’s certainly open enough that the author may decide to give these men at least one more adventure together, and I would certainly be in line for that.

I highly recommend this to readers who love a hair-raising action adventure with a nice MM romance added to the mix. Then add a sweet, but terminally ill little girl, some mainstream thugs with underworld connections, and a clock-ticking deadline, and we have a book that’s very difficult to put down, and very enjoyable to read.

The cover by Tiferet Design features a handsome young man on the cover with a little girl standing, back to us, in the background. Very attention-getting—both the man and the design.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Expected publication: December 18th 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 139781640808058
Edition Language English

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: The CEO’s Christmas Manny (Beyond the Boardroom #1) by Angela McCallister

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

From the blurb: Billionaire CEO Nic Price lives for his job. With sales down and grumbling from the board of directors—including Nic’s permanently dissatisfied father—the last thing Nic needs is distraction from the new manny, whose freewheeling approach to childcare is outlandish… and who makes Nic feel things he’s never allowed himself to feel. Ex-teacher Sasha Lindsey is all about fun—that’s the reason people love him, so he has to be. After a bad break-up leaves him jobless and homeless, the live-in manny job with Mr. Price seems like a windfall. But his chemistry with Nic is off the charts, and he can’t afford another workplace romance disaster.

This is a Dreamspun Desires story. As such, it’s based on an old trope: the billionaire falls in love with the nanny, which in this case is the manny. The execution was good overall, but there were segments where it dragged for me and I just wanted it to end.

On the flip side of that, the time it took for the attraction and then the romance to evolve was a plus. I do love a slow-burn romance. There are always pluses and minuses to these trope-based stories. In many cases, it’s nice to see them applied to MM romance, but in some cases, the plot gets bogged down in repetitive detail. In this case, what bugged me most was Nic’s relationship with both parents, primarily his father. He’s the most disgustingly reprehensible businessman I’ve encountered in a while, and of course, a nasty piece of work to his hard-working son who’s dedicated to making their company succeed. Thinking that might even remotely be true in real life hurt down my heart and saddened me so much I found it hard to enjoy the story.

And Sasha was a sweetheart, but another character caught up in the “nobody loves me” trope. For a guy who has so much going for him, his self-worth was sure in the dumps, and he easily thought the worst of Nic. Granted what Nic does is reprehensible (like father like son?) but honestly, I would have loved to see Sasha pop Nic in the nose. In any case, the two fumble their way back together, and we do get a HEA. And we get a nice secondary character in Percy as well, a man who I hope we’ll see in the future.

If you love these Dreamspun Desires stories, you will likely enjoy this rich man/poor man theme.

Cover by Alexandria Corza is done in the style of other Dreamspun Desires books and shows a ferry on Puget Sound in the background and a man in a business suit in the foreground. It definitely represents the story and the bright color attracts attention.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 222 pages

Expected publication: December 18th 2018 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN13 9781644051207

Edition Language English

Series Beyond the Boardroom #1

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Homebird by Amy Lane

Rating : 5 stars out of 5

Crispin Henry isn’t an adventurer. He learned early on that the world is a frightening place and that home is rare and precious. If his friends didn’t drag him to sports games and ill-advised trips to Vegas, he wouldn’t get out at all—and his trip to Munich for Oktoberfest is no exception. But it’s there that he meets Luka Gabriel, and he learns to take a chance.

Luka is a free-spirited world traveler, working at Oktoberfest to feed his enchantment with new places and new people. His only possessions fit in his backpack, and he depends on the kindness of strangers for a place to sleep. Crispin should know better—but he takes Luka’s hand anyway, and together they turn three nights in Munich into the relationship neither of them has been brave enough to risk—and neither can let go of.

When Luka turns up on Crispin’s doorstep before the holiday season, Crispin takes him in on hope alone. Yes, he knows the odds are good Luka will flutter out of his life again and leave him bereft, but isn’t it worth it to see if Luka is a homebird after all?

Yes, I knew to grab that box of tissues beforehand. Check! Because it was going to be one of those Amy Lane stories and at Christmas too! About two damaged men, both broken in much the same way, yet convince by life that the way to mend themselves lay in vastly different and opposite directions for their hearts. Kill me now. The tears already threatened to flow.

But I dived right in, because on this too big for arms outstretched journey, there’s so much laughter, enlightenment, and joy to be found as well as the pain and ache that goes with life and love.

And no one does that as well as Amy Lane.

I mean I had tea out my nose when reading that burrito drive through scene. Priceless! Getting ahead of myself.

But it’s Crispin and Luka’s tentative path towards love and a home that will make this a comfort read for me over and over again. And Crispin’s circle of friends who became Luka’s, well, they were mine almost immediately. How could you not love this diverse group of men whose layers continues to unfold revealing more and more depth throughout the book, more heart, more pain, more of everything. I wanted to hold onto them all and never let any of them go.

The imagery the author uses here, from the birds in flight, to empty nests with bits of colored yarn sprinkled throughout a neighborhood are haunting. They play with your mind and twist into your heart, just as they do in the story, becoming unforgettable. Just as the men they are associated with.

I loved this story. I think you will too. It’s beautifully written. It contains such feeling of family (whoever that may be), recovery, and finding the path home wherever and whoever that may be.

I highly recommend this. And don’t forget to read the author’s forward. I would love to see that photo!

Cover art: Reese Dante. This cover is everything. That’s Luka and the bird with a piece of yarn in its mouth is symbolic of an important part of the storyline.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Expected publication: December 18th 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781644050101
Edition Language English

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Tit for Tat by J.S. Harker

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Cold has never been so hot.

Tit for Tat by J.S. Harker is one of those fantasy holiday stories that had a lot of potential but ended but as a sweet Christmas tale that never delivered on the promise of all the elements it held inside it. There very quite a few things I liked about this story. You have cute single Derek who is crushing on the elf working at Santa’s Workshop next to his Toy Store where he works at the Mall. Only the elf isn’t human, he’s a Winter Fae, complete with snarky, ancient companion (who I really enjoyed, think a wicked Tinkerbell with a penchant for gold spikes and stacks of pennies).

Flynn is an elf out of element…a innocent about the world he is visiting. So he has questions about everything around him, another adorable aspect of the story. As I said there is plenty to like. Harker starts to put everything in place for the romance and cultural smashup. But for me, something got lost. I’m not a fan of instantlove which this turned into. And with the faery kingdom, different fae tied to the various seasons, there wasn’t the world building I hoped to see as a foundation for the other story threads the author ran here and there amidst the romance.

It all culminates in a HFN that is a nice touch that raises as many questions as it solves if you examine it too closely.

So for those just wanting a fantasy holiday story with a twist, Tit for Tat might be the thing for you.

Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson. I’m assuming that’s Derek and not Flynn, so it’s a good representation of the character. Brrrrr.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 242 pages
Expected publication: December 18th 2018 by Dreamspinner Presss
ISBN139781644051078
Edition Language English

A Chaos Moondrawn Review: Strength of His Heart (Enhanced World #4) by Victoria Sue

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Book four focuses on Vance who comes from a family of law enforcement, and his new partner Samuel who left working for the DEA and ATF to join the enhanced FBI unit. One of Samuel’s informants will only speak to him, so they are actually on loan to the joint task force when a bust goes wrong. As there are dead enhanced, the unit starts working the case. They are also working on finding enhanced who are going missing again.

As with previous books, there are a whole lot of coincidences here as the cases being worked overlap. There is a new drug being sold that uses enhanced blood, possibly for blood doping in athletes. As Vance goes undercover as bait, Sam gets kidnapped and his past meets his present. There are flashbacks from Sam throughout the book, showing what he needs to overcome in order to be a good partner and friend. I found the whole storyline with his mom is exploited for closure as well as to set Sam and Vance up with an instant family.

In the previous books, Vance seemed the luckiest of the enhanced with a supportive family, but here we’re shown his insecurities about his size and weight, along with the bullying his parents didn’t know about. Here he comes across as a gentle giant. It’s fun to watch Vance physically protect Sam, while Sam emotionally protects Vance. All of these books focus on the hurt/comfort trope in their own way. Samuel is jaded and ambitious, causing him to stop any sort of relationship with Vance from moving forward. Having said that, the romance between Vance and Sam didn’t work for me as well as the pairings in the first three books. I didn’t particularly like Sam, and I feel like Vance is too good to be true. Because I didn’t engage with them, even the sex scenes didn’t click for me; most of the time Sam seems to be using Vance and pushing him away, hurting him. The epilogue as their HEA is a step too soon and a complete turnaround on Sam’s part.

What continues to give this series its heart, is the children. While introducing new enhanced children to the cast, this book also brings back a few from the past. The continued discrimination against enhanced, is hard to read. The mistreatment of a transgendered enhanced child caused me an added bit of angst. The team continue to fight for the inclusion of enhanced in all aspects of society and for their protection against mistreatment and exploitation.

Vance’s brother Daniel, has taken a leave of absence from the Bureau after working on pedophilia cases. He can’t stomach it anymore. It’s not a surprise when he gets partnered with Eli. Eli has been on the periphery of all the stories–angry and distant. There have been clues his childhood was worse than the rest of the team, so I am expecting his book to be heartbreaking. This comes at a time when they have permission to expand to add more units based on the H.E.R.O model so we’ll have to see how the unit gets broken up for training new recruits. Overall this series is very well written and grabs you by the heart strings, so I will continue to read them.

The cover art by Jay Aheer is dark and eye catching. Love it.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | B&N

Book Details:

ebook, 214 pages

Published: December 11, 2018 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN-13: 978-1-64405-115-3

Edition Language: English

Series: Enhanced World #4

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Tit for Tat by J.S. Harker

Dreamspinner Press Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Blurb

About Author J.S. Harker

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Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson