A Stella Release Day Review: Runner by Parker Williams

RATING 4,5 out of 5 stars

Matt Bowers’s life ended at sixteen, when a vicious betrayal by someone who he should have been able to trust left him a shell of himself, fighting OCD and PTSD, living in constant fear and always running. When he buys a remote tract of land, he thinks he’s found the perfect place to hide from the world and attempt to establish some peace. For ten years he believes he’s found a measure of comfort, until the day a stranger begins to run on Matt’s road.

He returns every day, an unwelcome intrusion into Matt’s carefully structured life. Matt appeals to the local sheriff, who cannot help him since the jogger is doing nothing wrong. Gradually, after tentatively breaking the ice, Matt begins to accept the man’s presence—

But when the runner doesn’t show up one day, it throws Matt’s world into chaos and he must make the hardest decision of his life.

I’m a fan of Parker Williams works and I have to say I picked this new release because I liked the cover and then simply because it was written by him. I didn’t read the blurb, as often I do when I really like an author. And then I started the story and felt a little scared as something bad happens to Matt when he was just 16 years old. Too many times authors who approach and tell a theme like the one Parker chose to relate, do this in a “too heavy to take” way.

I want to congratulate Mr Williams for another great novel. Although in Runner he is not telling a light and easy story, still he was able to do it without turning it into a mess of tears, sad moments or mournful characters. Sure Matt lives a simply and unconventional life, he has his own patterns to follow, he has some fallouts, he chose to live alone in the middle of nowhere and away from his mum and brother. But most of all what I took and will preserve was his braveness and positivity and willingness to live. In his own way, sure but it was ok.

And then to a beautiful soul like Matt is, you can add another wonderful person like Charlie, patient and never complaining of the neverending little obsessions Matt had. Maybe in RL people like him doesn’t exist (and that’s the only reason I’m not giving Runner the full five stars) but in this story their relationship worked perfectly.

I was so invested in these characters life it was a joy to read the final chapters, yes my heart ached for Matt but it was great to see him still living in his world without upset his routine too much but be able to interact more.

I think the author did a great work and I feel to recommend Runner.

The cover art by Reese Dante is simple and full of light and fitting. I like it.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

ebook, 200 pages

Publication Date: July 28th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN13 9781635338119

Edition Language English

An Alisa Audiobook Review: Pent Up by Damon Suede and Christopher Kipiniak (Narrator)

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

PENT UP: Mix business with pleasure and take cover.

Ruben Oso moves to Manhattan to start his life over as a low-rent bodyguard and stumbles into a gig in a swanky Park Avenue penthouse. What begins as executive protection turns personal working for a debonair zillionaire who makes Ruben question everything about himself.

Watching over financial hotshot Andy Bauer puts Ruben in an impossible position. He knows zero about shady trading and his cocky boss lives barricaded in a glass tower with wall-to-wall secrets and hot-and-cold-running paranoia. Can the danger be real? Is Andy for real?

What’s a bullet catcher to do? Ruben knows his emotions are out of control even as he races to untangle a high-priced conspiracy and his crazy feelings before somebody gets dead. If his suspicions are right, Andy will pay a price neither can afford, and Ruben may discover there’s no way to guard a heart.

This was an interesting story. Ruben and Andy spent so much time circling each other and not saying what they were wanting (personally or for business) it made the story start off slow. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to really pick up until close to the end.

I felt so bad for Ruben; he is trying to pick up his life and his reactions and feelings for Andy are throwing all of his beliefs and previous experiences out the window. We could see Ruben’s confusion and how he didn’t understand his own reactions let alone those of Andy. It takes Andy actually getting hurt for either of them to actually express and acknowledge their feelings to each other. I was glad to see them stop dancing around each other and finally working together.

Christopher Kipiniak did a nice job narrating this story. I was able to keep track of the story and characters which is always nice. I enjoyed the different voices he used for the characters however he seemed to have a bit slower of a talking speed which made the slow start of the book seem even slower,

Cover art by Paul Richmond is nice and I love the visual it gives of Ruben.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Audible | Amazon | iTunes

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 12hrs 46min
Published June 19, 2017 (eb

BA Tortuga on Road Trip Vol. 1 (Road Trip #1-2) (special excerpt and guest post)

Road Trip Vol. 1 (Road Trip #1-2) by B.A. Tortuga
Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza
Published July 24th 2017
Available for Purchase at Dreamspinner Press

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host BA Tortuga here today on her Road Trip Vol 1 tour. She’s brought an excerpt for everyone from the stories! Happy Reading!

♦︎

Hey, y’all! I’m BA Tortuga, resident redneck and lover of wild boys.

I’m sharing an excerpt from Road Trip, Volume I, which has the books Racing the Moon and Steam and Sunshine reprints. MJ is an eco-terrorist on the road and Sonny? Well, Sonny is my favorite redneck of all time and is, quite possibly, my hero.

I hope y’all enjoy.

Much love, y’all.

***

Road Trip Volume I Excerpt

Sonny cursed viciously.

It had been one of the worst days in recent memory. First he’d been out to finish gathering the latest yield from the still to pack it up for the run tonight. Then he’d damned near lost his thumb to the freaking “hiker” with the .38 and the blade big enough to skin a fucking elephant.

And then the goddamned logging shed had blown up, blocking the red dirt road he used to move the product out for a ridge run, leaving him stranded with two days of pork and beans before he had to walk it out, and a failed run that would lose him nigh on five thousand dollars.

Fuck a goddamned duck.

He needed a drink. And maybe to beat Sleeping Beauty to death. The guy was sacked out on his cot, where Sonny had dragged him—despite the throbbing and spurting of his damned hand—looking like some weird, displaced surfer dude with his sun-bleached hair and tanned skin.

Sonny had to fight the urge to kick him again. Really hard.

Instead he lit a cigarette and opened a mason jar half full of ’shine, then sipped as he contemplated his circumstances.

The guy’s backpack hadn’t offered dick in the way of ID. Information, though? Shit, yes. The son of a bitch had a fucking tool kit that was worth more than some folk’s houses. Electronic gizmos. Set of throwing knives. About three days’ worth of high-dollar camping shit. Maps.

A fine compass that he’d confiscated. And detonators. Imagine that. For plastic explosives. Sonny shook his head, sucking down the last sip of ’shine, waiting until his eyes stopped watering to stand and go put a can of pork and beans directly on the burner of his camp stove.

Then he went and woke Sleeping Beauty with a love tap on the chin.

Road Trip V. I blurb

The road to love is notoriously bumpy, full of twists and turns that can throw even the best driver. With obstacles around every corner, Sonny and MJ try to keep it between the lines in two tales that blend steamy romance with high-stakes action and intrigue.

Racing the Moon

Sonny runs moonshine the old-fashioned way. Too bad some fool blew up his road in the Carolina mountains, keeping him stuck, high and unfortunately dry.

Explosives expert and ecoterrorist MJ’s mission is to protect the environment by shutting down a logging company. An encounter with Sonny in the misty forest sheds a new light on his quest, but it’s not until Sonny drugs and kidnaps him for an impromptu holiday that their engines really start to rev.

Steam and Sunshine

A mission they can’t resist lures Sonny and MJ out of retirement when they get word of a man creating dangerous weapons for the government. They head to California to take him down.

What they find is Paddy, a physicist who doesn’t understand the scope of his own discovery, and Neil, his bodyguard. During a wild and unpredictable cross-country ride, an uneasy partnership develops between kidnappers and targets when the four men discover they have a common enemy.

Available July 24 from Dreamspinner Press.

About BA Tortuga

Texan to the bone and an unrepentant Daddy’s Girl, BA Tortuga spends her days with her basset hounds and her beloved wife, texting her sisters, and eating Mexican food. When she’s not doing that, she’s writing. She spends her days off watching rodeo, knitting and surfing Pinterest in the name of research. BA’s personal saviors include her wife, Julia Talbot, her best friend, Sean Michael, and coffee. Lots of coffee. Really good coffee.

Having written everything from fist-fighting rednecks to hard-core cowboys to werewolves, BA does her damnedest to tell the stories of her heart, which was raised in Northeast Texas, but has heard the call of the high desert and lives in the Sandias. With books ranging from hard-hitting GLBT romance, to fiery menages, to the most traditional of love stories, BA refuses to be pigeon-holed by anyone but the voices in her head. Find her on the web at www.batortuga.com

A Lila Audiobook Review: Tall, Dark, and Deported by Bru Baker and Dorian Bane (Narrator)

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Crossing the border into love.

Snap decisions and misguided ideas bring Portuguese national Mateus Fontes and businessman Crawford Hargrave together at the Canadian border crossing.

Mateus is caught in a catch-22. With his almost-expired tourist visa, entrance to Canada is denied, but the US won’t let him back in either. Crawford thinks he’s solved things when he tells the border agent they’re engaged, and it works—except now they have to actually get married before either of them can get back into the United States. But Crawford has been burned by marriage once, and he’s determined not to make that mistake again.

Neither of them expects real feelings to bloom out of their fake marriage, but they do. And the two of them have to learn how to be honest with each other to make things work, which is especially hard when their entire marriage is based on lies.

Tall, Dark, and Deported is the perfect example of green card “fake marriages” trope stories. In that aspect, the author met all the expectations, creating an entertaining love story with three-dimensional characters and beautiful settings.

I love the premise of this story and how their first meeting went. The way they take turns taking care of each other is lovely and their relationship with their family members add to their appeal. This is a slow burn, sweet, fluffy goodness story. Perfect if you want something light and engaging without much angst.

I really like Crawford and Mateus individually. They’re nice characters with great depth, and a lot of potential, but have a hard time connecting to each other. The plans they have for their relationship and what they want from each other work, but when they try to put it together there’s no chemistry. It’s like having two good friends trying to make a relationship work. It gets resolved in the end, but it takes time.

In some parts, it reads a CliffsNotes version of a longer book–rushing to achieve an HEA–when the reader wanted the same amount of detail than before. It felt a little superficial, but it has to do more with length restrictions than lack of development. Overall, this isn’t a detrimental to the actual love story.

Dorian Bane’s narration worked for the story. All the characterizations fit well except for Mateus’s. He sounded more Hispanic than Portuguese, but overall, it was enjoyable.

The cover by Bree Archer follows the Dreamspun series and shows Mateus in front of an orchard–fitting for the story.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner | iTunes | Audible

Audiobook Details:

Narrator: Dorian Bane
Length: 6 hours 30 minutes
Published: June 19, 2017 (Audio Edition) by Dreamspinner Press
ASIN: B071GV8BCT
Edition Language: English

An Ali Audiobook Review: A Day Makes by Mary Calmes and Greg Tremblay (Narrator)

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Mob enforcer Ceaton Mercer has killed a lot of people in a lot of different ways – he stashed the last two bodies in a toolshed belonging to a sweetheart marine researcher in an idyllic island community – but he’s really not such a bad guy. Over time he’s found a home of sorts, and he even learns he’s found a place in the hearts of the people he works with…at least enough so that they won’t put a bullet in his head because he’s outlived his usefulness to the boss.

But he never thought he’d find one day could change his life, and he’s about to discover how wrong he is.

Because in a single day, he meets the man who looks to be the one, the love of his life. It’s an improbable idea – a man who deals in death finding love – but it’s like it’s meant to be. That single day gets weirder and troubles pile up, forcing Ceaton to take a hard look at his dreary life and accept that one day can change everything, especially himself. His future might be brighter than he expects – if he can stay alive long enough to find out.

Lot’s of my friends love this author. I always see her books with 5 star reviews all over Goodreads. So about every two years I feel like I’m missing something so I try one, thinking that this will be the one I connect with. It never works out for me. It’s time I admit defeat. This writer’s story telling style just does not work for me.

This story begins with Ceaton meeting a mob boss and going to work for him. This was where I first had to suspend belief. Ceaton’s character was discharged from the military for not following orders and he did that because he was so full of integrity that he couldn’t follow an order that would kill people, but now we’re supposed to believe he’s thrown all those morals away to work for the mob and kill people? The suspension of belief needed to follow this plot was just too much for me.

The story was slow and repetitive. Lot’s of killings and mob related things. Ceaton doesn’t meet the other MC until the later part of the book and then it is an insta-love thing. I found the ending to be even more far-fetched than the beginning.

The narration was done by Greg Tremblay and I thought he did a very good job. There are a number of different characters and a number of different accents that needed to be done for this story. Some of the accents were Serbian and Russian and I do not know if they were accurate but they did sound different and distinct and I enjoyed the narration a lot.

I rated this based on my enjoyment of the book which isn’t completely fair. I disliked the story itself a great deal but on the flip side I feel like the narration was probably a 5 star. If you typically enjoy this author then I definitely recommend this on audio. I think you will enjoy it.

This cover was done by Reese Dante and I think it’s a great cover. I really like it alot and it was part of the reason I chose to try this book.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Audible | iTunes

Book Details:

Audible Audio
Published June 19th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press LLC (first published April 19th 2017)
ASINB0721R5PTF
Edition LanguageEnglish

Luca Domani on Writing, Books and ‘An American in Venice’ (author interview and guest blog)

An American in Venice (World of Love) by Luca Domani
Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Bree Archer
Available for Purchase at Dreamspinner Press

✒︎

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Luca Domani here today talking about books, writing and his latest release, An American in Venice. Welcome, Luca!

✒︎

An Interview with Luca Domani

How much of yourself goes into a character?

I think that there is always a bit of myself in each of my characters. In An American in Venice, Tom resembles me in that he also is a shy engineer. Like Tom, I also spent a lot of my younger years in school. Giovanni resembles me as well, since he is in the family business; I come from a family of scientists and engineers. He also feels that he is obligated to put aside his dream of becoming an international chef to keep his grandparent’s pizzeria going. In a similar way, I put aside my writing to focus on engineering. When it comes to matters of the heart, I am more like Giovanni – both of us are passionate and stubborn.

Do you feel there’s a tight line between Mary Sue or should I say Gary Stu and using your own experiences to create a character?

This question feeds back into the first one. I do use my own experiences – sometimes directly, and other times for inspiration and starting points. In this story, I also draw heavily on my own time in Venice to create the setting.

Do you like HFN or HEA? And why?

When it comes to romance, my preference is for a happy ending in some form or another. I have been fortunate in love in my own life, and I enjoy reading stories where characters are similarly lucky. I suppose I am a bit of a sap; I wish that everyone could find their special person, including fictional characters.

Who do you think is your major influence as a writer? Now and growing up?

When I was growing up, I tended to write only fantasy stories, so my inspirations included Piers Antony, David Eddings and J.R.R. Tolkien. Later on, I wrote mostly technical papers. Now that I am back to writing fiction, I find myself influenced by my time in graduate school. I prefer to be succinct, and I dislike flowery terms for genitalia and sexual acts. I admire spare prose: The Road by Cormac McCarthy is one of my favorite works. I still enjoy fantasy and science fiction as well; one of my favorite authors is Brandon Sanderson.

How do you feel about the ebook format and where do you see it going?

I think ebooks are here to stay. To be honest, I prefer holding a copy of a book in my hands and giving my eyes a break from the screen. There is something about the smell of a book, the feel and weight of the paper between my finger tips: these are all things that an ebook cannot duplicate. On the flipside, there is the convenience and the thriftiness of ebooks. There is something so wonderful about being able to carry a book in your pocket, or even a whole shelf of books. My hope is that ebooks and paper books can both exist in harmony, although it seems that electronic media is quickly edging out printed media. If there is a future where bookstores and libraries are obsolete, I don’t want to see it.

Do you have a favorite among your own stories? And why?

Well, I have only published two books to date, but I do enjoy An American in Venice, because it also reads as a travelogue. It was fun taking a trip back to Venice through my writing and reliving many of the special memories during my time there.

What’s next for you as an author?

I have another M/M romance in the works. Hopefully I can get over my current case of writer’s block and get it finished! And eventually, I hope to finish my zombie apocalypse novel.

Blurb:

Tom has always been steady and predictable—a formula he’s sure will lead him to success in his career. When his method fails him and he loses his job, he throws caution to the wind for the first time in his life and books a European holiday.

Maybe Tom shouldn’t be surprised that Cupid’s arrow finds him in one of the most romantic cities in the world: Venice, Italy. When he encounters Giovanni working in the family pizzeria, it’s lust at first sight. Their time together touring the city is so magical it feels like a dream. But Tom is shy while Giovanni is charming and flirtatious. Tom has a newfound freedom with his unemployment, while family burdens weigh heavily on Giovanni. Add culture differences and miscommunication into the mix, and their brief romance might fade as quickly as the beautiful dream it resembles.

About the Author

Luca Domani has been writing stories since childhood. Although he has a doctorate in engineering, he has never given up on his dream of being a writer. He adores science fiction and is partial to postapocalyptic epics with zombie hordes, but at heart, he is a hopeless romantic. Luca is married to his high school sweetheart, who is his muse and the love of his life. They reside in Massachusetts with their dog and cat. An American in Venice is his second publication outside of a technical journal.

email: gianluca.domani@gmail.com

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: Devotion (Forbes Mates #1) by Grace R. Duncan and Joel Leslie (Narrator)

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

When Finley Cooper met his true-mate while he was still underage, he thought nothing of what that might mean for their future together. Handsome, alpha-to-be, Tanner Pearce was everything a young gay werewolf might want in a man, but he gets a shock when Tanner refuses to claim him until he’s “of age.” So when Finley turns eighteen, and Tanner still refuses to claim him, he assumes the worst—the man of his dreams doesn’t love him.

In reality, Tanner is afraid that finalizing their bond when Finley is still young and inexperienced may lead to Finley changing his mind later. Tanner wants to be absolutely sure before he goes forward. After all, didn’t that happen to his childhood friend? He wouldn’t survive if Finley left him after they were bonded.

I really enjoyed this story, and to be honest, I believe that a major part of that enjoyment was the life Joel Leslie infused into the characters in this audiobook version. They became real to me and I got caught up in the adventure when Finley felt so lost that he headed out west to visit his grandparents, rather than face a future in his hometown without Tanner. I also appreciated the author’s infusion of new twists into the werewolf story, including their difficulty in being “trapped” in a plane or train while traveling.

And the drama and chase that ensued when Finley thought Tanner was hurt created the perfect amount of adventure to keep the story moving and keep the excitement up. The second half of the story was pretty darn hot, I must say. Personal fan warning: the amount and level of heat that occurs when these young wolves get together is pretty darn high, never mind the excitement generated by vocalizations from a quality voice artist like Joel Leslie.

This one should definitely go on your list of audio listens. I’m looking forward to the next in the series that will feature Jamie, the secondary character from this one—the guy who almost got to have sex with Finley in his bid for independence. Lovers of MM paranormal-shifter romance, fated mates, knotting (!), age gap, and audiobooks will all benefit from adding this to their TBR.

The very attractive cover by Reese Dante features both two wolves and head shots of two young men kissing—all against a background of mountain scenery. It’s perfect for this story.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Audible| iTunes

Audiobook Details:

Audible Audio
Published June 23rd 2017 by Dreamspinner Press (first published September 11th 2015)
ASINB072YHRPWH
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesForbes Mates #1

New Release Tour for The Layover by Roe Horvat (special prequel to The Layover!-guest blog)

The Layover by Roe Horvat
Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Roe Horvat

Released July 19, 2017

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to be a part of Roe Horvat’s new release tour for her story, The Layover. She’s brought the last part of the prequel, The Swiss Experiment for our readers. To get caught up, click on the link provided and then it’s onto The Layover!

The Layover

Blurb

Eight years ago, Ondro Smrek fled Slovakia and the bigotry that drove his first lover to take his own life. The demons proved impossible to outrun, though, and now, desperate for somewhere to belong, Ondro is returning to start over. During a layover in Basel, Switzerland, he meets Jamie, an American living in Scotland who is as brilliant as he is beautiful.
Jaded Ondro never would have guessed he could fall in love during a brief layover—until now. When he is put in a position to offer Jamie comfort without hope of recompense, Ondro doesn’t hesitate. Soon, he catches a glimpse of the home he longs for. But with their separation looming, confessing his feelings would only lead to pain and humiliation. Life has taught Ondro not to hope, but then, he never believed in love at first sight either.

Buy links:

Amazon: http://a.co/gYw9QUa

Dreamspinner Press |Kobo | GoodReads

About Roe Horvat

Queer author, storyteller & graphic designer

Roe was born in former Czechoslovakia and endured a miserable adolescence in the post-communist wasteland. Equipped with a dark sense of sarcasm, they left for Germany and later, Spain.

Finally, they settled in Sweden, where the weather is nasty but the freedom great. Roe works as a motion graphics artist, loves Jane Austen, Douglas Adams and everything in between, preferably by the fireplace with a strawberry daiquiri in hand. Roe writes contemporary romantic fiction – it conveniently balances out their real-life pragmatism.
When not hiding in the studio doing graphics, Roe can be found trolling cafés in Gothenburg, writing, and people-watching.

Get in touch with the Roe:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roe.horvat.98

Website: https://www.roehorvat.com

The Swiss Experiment

Prequel to The Layover

(for #1-5 visit https://www.roehorvat.com)

The stranger didn’t go away—quite the opposite. He just stood there and calmly observed as Jamie flailed and floundered. Jamie held onto his cigarette and stared at the orange tip glowing in the night as if it could suddenly equip him with magical conversational skills or even better, teleport him miles away in a flash.

“Then back to the US?” the guy asked continuing his inquiry about Jamie’s final destination, confident and undeterred.

“No, I live in Scotland,” Jamie elaborated, grimaced, and sighed. The stranger’s interest had Jamie knotting up inside. His stomach clenched, and he felt a shadow of a headache pass behind his eyes. He needed to get to the hotel and lie down. Don’t look at him. “I’m sorry, man. I’m not in the mood,” Jamie lied, trying to appear uninterested.

He was very interested. It frustrated and scared him. He pressed the cigarette in the ashtray with more force than necessary and braved one more, quick glance at the man. And felt immediately naked. The sight of those unusual, almost exotic features, the intense focus of those slanted, green eyes…it accelerated his heartbeat and not in a pleasant way. Abort. Disengage.

Several seconds went by. Jamie could feel the man’s gaze on his profile. Like lightning from a clear sky, an idea appeared, unexpected but very real. With absolute clarity, Jamie knew he could hook up with the guy tonight. The fantasy was so vivid, Jamie shuffled from foot to foot, needing to expel the sudden excess of energy. He could do it. A part of him wanted to. A tiny, muddled, beaten-up part of him grabbed at the thought like a starving man at the last half-eaten muffin on the tray. Just as the rest of him cringed at the audacity of having sex with a total stranger he’d just met at the airport. He was so not that kind of person.

“Sorry, I’m really tired.” That was true. Please, go away.

“I’m disturbing you.” The man nodded once as if agreeing with himself. His foreign accent was unfamiliar. Jamie couldn’t place it. It was something European, but not Mediterranean, nor Eastern Europe, nothing Germanic either. His r was distinct. Maybe Finnish? Or something Baltic?

“I should be apologizing, and you should continue scowling,” the stranger continued, a smile in his voice.

That was… What? Jamie laughed briefly, surprising himself with the sound. The tall, wiry stranger was clever. From the corner of his eye, Jamie noticed a tanned hand with clean, neatly cut nails, elegant fingers and protruding veins. No jewelry. Just practicality, capability and masculine strength. There was character in those hands.

Focus! Cab. Hotel. Bed. Home tomorrow.

“I should get a cab,” Jamie mumbled. Go, just go. Don’t think about it.

He nodded to himself and tugged on his luggage with force. It rolled forward, straining the muscles in his arm and shoulder. Jamie almost stumbled on the curb but kept going. He couldn’t look at the man’s face anymore. “It was nice meeting you,” he blurted, reaching for anything normal to say. There was no answer.

The taxi driver greeted him half-heartedly, reluctantly helping with Jamie’s bags. All the time, Jamie could feel the green-eyed stranger watching him.

Unable to stop himself, he looked back once more. The tall figure in the white shirt and dark grey coat stood directly under a bright white light. In the misty drizzle, with the water-stained glass walls of the terminal behind him, looming and watching… he looked like a noir villain. Jamie banged the car door shut.

To continue reading, follow: https://www.facebook.com/roe.horvat.98

The Swiss Experiment #7 concludes July 25.

*The blog tour is a short prequel to The Layover, in 7 parts, titled The Swiss Experiment. This guest post is part 6 of the prequel.

And Happy Sunday! Playing Catchup! This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Happy Sunday!

With new surge suppressor tower installed and many new power cord backups happily put away, this is one happy Sunday! Now that everything is done, I’m happily typing away, even though storms are gathering with more forecast for tomorrow! Happiness is backup cords!

We had started in on our recommendations for contemporary stories involving soldiers/wounded warriors and you all didn’t let us down. The wonderful recommendations came in and we have listed them below. Thank you to Didi, Ami, H.B., Suze, Jen, Purple Reader, and Shirley Ann for all your great suggestions. Please let me know if I let anyone’s out or if you think of any books that should be included after the fact!

Soldiers and Wounded Warriors Rec List Part II–

Annabeth Albert’s Resilient Heart,
Eli Easton’s How to Walk Like A Man,
JL Merrow’s Permanently Legless,
Jordan S Brock’s Change of Address
Between Ghosts by Garrett Leigh
Annabeth Albert’s Out of Uniform
The Sentinel by Eden Winters
The Telling by Eden Winters
Once a Marine by Cat Grant
500 Miles by Parker Williams
Walking Wounded by Lee Rowan.
I’ll be Your Drill ,Soldier by Crystal Rose.
Shell Shocked by Angelia Sparrow and Naomi Brook.
Soldier by AKM Miles.
Marathon Cowboys by Sarah Black
Special Forces series by Aleksandr Voinov
The Release series by B.A. Tortuga (3 books)
Manny Get Your Guy by Amy Lane

Honor by Cait Forester, Brian C. Palmer
Be Mine (At Last, The Beloved Series #2) by Stella Starling [series should be read in order]
Alpha Barman by Sue Brown
Cut & Run series by Abigail Roux
Strong Signal by Megan Erickson & Santino Hassell
Falling Down by Eli Easton
Latakia by J.F. Smith
Keeping Promise Rock by Amy Lane
Private Truths by C.B. Lewis
The General and the Elephant Clock of Al-Jazari by Sarah Black*
The General and the Horse Lord Series by Sarah Black get my vote as well as others
Sidewinder series by Abigail Roux
Marshalls series by Mary Calmes
Tonlet’s Wes’ Denial

Announcement: The winner of the contemporary section is Shirley Ann! Stella will be in touch with you about your certificate.

Now on to

Part II – Soldiers/Warriors ~ Historical and Science Fiction Recommendations

There are so many wonderful stories that involve the past and the future with warriors and soldiers. Let’s start our next series of lists. Whether the author is Charlie Cochrane or Aleksandr Voinov, their stories will have you under their spells of soldiers past and future.

Some of my recommendations:

Memory of Scorpions series by Aleksandr Voinov (Science Fiction)

Song of the Navigator by Astrid Amara (Science Fiction)

The Borders War (5 books) by S.A. McAuley (Science Fiction)

Promises Made Under Fire by Charlie Cochrane (historical)

The Devil Lancer by Astrid Amara (historical/fantasy)

This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, July 23:

Annnd Happy Sunday! Playing Catchup~
This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, July 24:

DSP GUEST POST Roe Horvat on The Layover
Harmony GUEST POST Annabelle Jay on Caden’s Comet: Book Four in The Sun Dragon Series
Release Blitz Stormy Nights by Jules Jones, Storm Duffy
A MelanieM Review: Force of Nature (Coming About #4) by J.K. Hogan
A VVivacious Review: High and Dry (Mate of the Tyger Prince #5) by Shannon West
A Kai Audiobook Review: Summer Heat by Jay Northcote and Mark Steadman (Narrator)
A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: Devotion (Forbes Mates #1) by Grace R. Duncan and Joel Leslie (Narrator)

Tuesday, July 25:

Treading Water (Forgotten Soldier) by Jessie G Tour _Ena Amanda
Blog Tour *Death by Starlight by Alexis Duran
DSP GUEST POST Luca Domani on American in Venice
A MelanieM Review: A Place for Dreams by Deja Black
An Alisa Review: Rescued by Dakota Storm
A Stella Review: The Garden by Rosalind Abel
An Ali Audiobook Review: A Day Makes by Mary Calmes and Greg Tremblay (Narrator)

Wednesday, July 26:

RIPTIDE TOUR Get a Grip (Bluewater Bay) by LA Witt
Audiobook Release Blitz The Necromancer’s Dilemma by S J Himes
REVIEW TOUR Up In The Air: Johannesburg by George Loveland
An Alisa Review: Up In The Air: Johannesburg by George Loveland
A MelanieM Review: Red, White, and a New Beginning by Thomas Grant Bruso
A VVivacious Review: That Doesn’t Belong Here by Dan Ackerman
A Lila Audiobook Review: Tall, Dark, and Deported by Bru Baker and Dorian Bane (Narrator)

Thursday, July 27:

Losing My Religion by AS Tucker Release Tour
Release Blitz – Clare London’s Peep Show
RELEASE BLITZ Roaring Waters (The Warfield Hotel Mysteries #3) by CJ Baty
A Stella Review: Spun! by JL Merrow
An Ali Prerelease Review: Spectred Isle (Green Men #1) by K.J. Charles
A MelanieM Review: Treading Water by Jessie G
An Alisa Review: Man Candy (Candy #1) by Amanda Young

Friday, July 28:

RIPTIDE TOUR Cutie and the Beast (Fae Out of Water #1) by EJ Russell
RELEASE BLITZ Teresias Bound by Rebecca James
DSP GUEST POST BA Tortuga on Road Trip, Vol 1
Release Tour:Unscripted Love by Aimee Nicole Walker
A Caryn Review: Cutie and the Beast (Fae Out of Water #1) by EJ Russell
A Stella Release Day Review: Runner by Parker Williams
An Alisa Audiobook Review: Pent Up by Damon Suede and Christopher Kipiniak (Narrator)

Saturday, July 29:

A MelanieM Review: Jordan’s Pryde (Pryde Shifter #1) by Giovanna Reaves

A MelanieM Release Day Review: You Never Know by Mary Calmes

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Hagen Wylie has it all figured out. He’s going to live in his hometown, be everybody’s friend, explore new relationships, and rebuild his life after the horrors of war. No muss, no fuss is the plan. He’s well on his way—until he finds out his first love has come home too. Hagen says it’s no big deal, but a chance encounter with Mitch Thayer’s two cute sons puts him directly in the path of the only guy he’s never gotten out of his head.

Mitch returned for three reasons: to raise his sons where he grew up, to move his furniture business and encourage it to thrive, and to win Hagen back. Years away made it perfectly clear the young man he loved in high school is the only one for him. The problem? He left town and they have not talked since.

If Hagen’s going to trust him again, Mitch needs to show him how he’s grown up and isn’t going to let go. They could have a new chance at love… but Hagen is insistent he’s not reviving a relationship with Mitch. Then again, you never know.

Wellllllll……huh. Normally, Mary Calmes can do no wrong for me. I gobble up her stories like mad, doesn’t matter whether they are supernatural love stories or contemporary romances. I just love them. But every now and again, a book like You Never Know comes around that remind me that authors are human and aren’t made to churn out amazing stories like machines. And perhaps we shouldn’t expect them to. But whatever the case, You Never Know just didn’t do it for me for a number of reasons.

It does have that second chance at love element that has served the author so well in her other novels, but not really here. I love this trope, it’s one of my favorites. But you have to feel that the couple is now right for each other, has made amends or grown substantially or done whatever it takes to have their reunion and new relationship make sense once more. And I’m not one hundred percent Calmes makes that argument here. One Hagen Wylie is back after an unrecounted horror of a tour during war time. He was captured, tortured, and the implication is, something heinous happened during his confinement. But it’s never directly spelled out. The reader, however, can read from his reactions to certain things and make their own conclusions. Its pretty obvious with his interactions with Mitch and the things he says what happened to him. But that compounds one of the problem I have with this story. The implication that love can fix anything including deep emotional trauma including PTSD and worse with one leap into bed. Uh no. So strike one.

Two, Hagen already has a love interest. It’s not Mitch, it’s an actor named Ash. So there’s time taken away from the main couple to dwell on this segment. It really doesn’t help that the pictures you get of Mitch make him unattractive in the cowardly personal sense either. Like the kids, not so the man he used to be. Or even the man he is now. He’s still seems to be all about what he wants and needs, not about what is in the best interests of Hagen or anyone else for that matter. Does he press Hagen for what happened to him? No. It’s lets have sex…that will fix it. As you can see, I never warmed up to this character or the pairing. This time unrealistic didn’t do it for me.

If you know Mary Calmes’ writing and characters, then you know how the townspeople feel about Hagen or Hag as they call him. He can do no wrong. They all adore him. They rallied around him when he was hurt and in the hospital, etc. He’s beloved by the community which he serves in a number of ways. Honestly, it’s a character type I have always loved from this author and have never gotten tired of. I love Hagen. I just never felt that any of the men in this story felt right for him. How about that? Loved the kids though.

Anyhow, I’m going to be nice and give it three stars because I loved Hagen and the kids. The townspeople too. Nobody does a warm town and community like that like Mary Calmes. Love infused! So I’m waiting on the next one to come out. Those Mary Calmes fans have already read this. Those of you new to Mary Calme, find Frog or her superlative supernatural series A Change of Heart or the contemporary Timing series. So many to choose from. But I really don’t think I’d start here.

Cover Artist: Reese Dante. It’s a gorgeous cover. But again, does it really connect me to the story?

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 212 pages
Expected publication: July 21st 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781635339079
Edition LanguageEnglish

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Road Trip Vol. 1 (Road Trip #1-2) by B.A. Tortuga Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza Published July 24th 2017 Available for Purchase at Dreamspinner Press

Road Trip Volume I Excerpt

Road Trip V. I blurb

About BA Tortuga

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An American in Venice (World of Love) by Luca Domani Dreamspinner Press

An Interview with Luca Domani

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The Layover by Roe Horvat Dreamspinner Press Cover Artist: Roe Horvat

Released July 19, 2017

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Happy Sunday!

Soldiers and Wounded Warriors Rec List Part II–

Announcement: The winner of the contemporary section is Shirley Ann! Stella will be in touch with you about your certificate.

Part II – Soldiers/Warriors ~ Historical and Science Fiction Recommendations

This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, July 23:

Monday, July 24:

Tuesday, July 25:

Wednesday, July 26:

Thursday, July 27:

Friday, July 28:

Saturday, July 29:

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Road Trip Vol. 1 (Road Trip #1-2) by B.A. Tortuga
Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza
Published July 24th 2017
Available for Purchase at Dreamspinner Press

An American in Venice (World of Love) by Luca Domani
Dreamspinner Press

The Layover by Roe Horvat
Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Roe Horvat