Category: Less Than Three Press

An Alisa Review: Under Five by Michael War

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

Mike is good looking, charming, and has no trouble attracting men—as long as his clothes stay on. But the moment they come off, something always seems to go terribly wrong. When his sister takes him to a faith healer to fix the problem, he is provided with a spell—and left with a lot of doubts.

But after meeting Kevin, Mike decides to give the spell a try…

While there was quite a twist and turn that I didn’t expect in this story it was enjoyable.  Mike can’t help but feel that something is wrong with him that causes him to not have lasting relationships. Though the spell doesn’t do what he expects it eventually gives him the answer he needs.

Mike is self-conscious but at the same time you see him have trouble with listening to others thoughts or problems.  I don’t want to give anything away but when the results of the spell really start to throw a wrench in things you see him really see how he acts.  Mike and his sister both gain more family and acceptance through this story.

The cover art by Aisha Akeju is nice if not typical of many romance novels.

Sales Links: Less Than Three Press | Amazon | B&N

Book Details:

ebook, 41,000 words

Published: May 30, 2018 by Less Than Three Press

ISBN: 9781684312832

Edition Language: English

BLOG TOUR – Under Five by Michael War (excerpt and giveaway)

BLOG TOUR

Book Title: Under Five

Author: Michael War

Cover Artist: Aisha Akeju

Genre/s: Gay, Contemporary, Urban Fantasy

Length: 40 000 words/172 pages

Release Date: May 30, 2018

Goodreads 

Blurb

Mike is good looking, charming, and has no trouble attracting men—as long as his clothes stay on. But the moment they come off, something always seems to go terribly wrong. When his sister takes him to a faith healer to fix the problem, he is provided with a spell—and left with a lot of doubts.

But after meeting Kevin, Mike decides to give the spell a try…

Excerpt

This was the first time anyone asked for the lights to be completely out. I mean, there are some guys who like the dark, but they always want some sort of light coming in. It could be a candle, night light, or just a crack from the closet, just something to keep things from being completely black. But not this time. Carlo wanted the lights completely off. I wasn’t sure whether to be offended, or to simply just go with the flow.  

But it did kind of bother me, even while we were kissing and rubbing each other all over the place. I tried to forget about the fact that we messed around the last time with all the lights on, but it was still nagging me a bit.  

“Everything okay, Mike?” Carlo asked. While I couldn’t see them, I knew his emerald green eyes were pointed directly at me. They were fake, but man, did they compliment him so much.

“Nah, I’m good, just come over here,” I cooed, pulling him up closer to me. We still had our clothes on, so it was easy to grab his shirt and bring him in closer. I wanted to feel his hot breath against my neck, followed by his gentle kisses. The two times we hooked up before, we only kissed, and both times we only had our shirts off. But this time around, I wanted more. I wanted him to take me, to ravage me. To fill me up and not stop until we were both on the verge of exploding.

I could tell that Carlo was a bit surprised, even though I still hadn’t completely adjusted to the dark, but he seemed into it and let me drag his mouth closer to mine. He took his hands and gently placed them on the back of my head, pulling a little on my hair but not enough to cause me pain.  “Don’t stop, keep going,” I moaned. Carlo intensified his kisses and started moving down towards my neck, then pulled back and little and began to pull my shirt off. I started on his before my shirt even hit the floor, and now for the first time tonight, we were both finally showing some skin towards each other.  After a bit of kissing and exploring, I forgot about the light situation. Thanks to the moon beaming through my curtains and right toward my bed I was able to make out where I wanted my hands to go. Carlo had the body type I loved; bearish, with broad shoulders and big, strong arms. But what got me was his chest. In the moonlight and without a shirt, Carlo was simply beautiful. Even though I wasn’t a bear myself, I could appreciate the slight hairy trail he had going from his chest down to his stomach. I could see that the trail went even further, and I wanted him to reveal more.  

Carlo continued to kiss me down my body, but I stopped him right before he got to my stomach.  “Let me take off your pants,” I ordered. I was hoping he would be turned on by the dominance in voice and simply obey. “No, you first. I want to show you everything I have to offer you,” Carlo responded, his hands rubbing the top of my shorts, fingers slightly pushing under the elastic. He let it snap a few times before slightly licking his lips.  I arched up a bit to help him out, and he obliged by grabbing my shorts at both ends and pulled them off along with my underwear. He placed his hand on my now erect cock, then stopped for an awkward minute.

“Something wrong?” I asked.  “No, um, just thought of something,” he replied, giggling a bit before continuing. “Now get ready to have the best sex that you….”  He didn’t finish. How could he now that he was giggling like crazy? I wanted to jump out of the bed right then and there, but he still had my dick in his hand, and even though it was getting flaccid, I didn’t want to make any sudden moves and damage myself.  “Would you mind letting go? I would like to get dressed.” He did, even though he was still laughing like a lunatic. I picked up my clothes and put my underwear on, then went for the lamp by my bed. Carlo was sprawled out across my bed. While his laughing had stifled a bit, his red face showed that something had amused him to no end.  

I slipped my shorts back on and began to gather up his things.  “Oh come on, don’t be that way. I’m sorry. We can still mess around. I just need a minute.” The moment he finished his sentence, Carlo began laughing again. He put his hand over his mouth so it wouldn’t be so loud, but it was no use.  

“What the hell is so funny? I was good enough for you before. What changed now?” I stared him down hard; so hard that I was able to break his laughing fit up once and for all.  

“I don’t want to offend you. You’re a nice guy. I was just taken by surprise. You know how it is with these things,” Carlo stated as he got up from the bed and walked over towards me.  “No, I don’t know. I don’t have a clue about what is going on.”

Carlo took my hand and looked me straight in the eyes with his emerald greens. For a second, I almost melted. But then the laughing started going on in my head again, and my fury came back full force.  Looking at Carlo’s face, I could tell he had something he wanted to say, but just couldn’t. He kept biting his lip, and you could tell he was thinking very carefully before he spoke again. The anticipation wasn’t helping my tolerance, so I knew that I had to speed things up a bit.

“Just spit it out.” Carlo looked at the floor one more time, then right back at me.  “It’s just….well….I…..I didn’t expect it to be so small.” I really don’t remember what happened after that, but I do recall that I was rushing him out in just his underwear, not giving him anytime to put his other clothes back on. He pleaded with me a bit, asking to stay and make it up to me. And I almost did — until he mentioned that his was just used to bigger.

Buy Links

Less Than Three Press

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Barnes and Noble

About the Author

Michael War is a writer whose real life tends to be on the boring side, which is why his imagination seems to float towards gay romance. Aside from writing about beautiful gay men of all types (bears, jocks, twinks) getting it on, he also enjoys writing poetry and screenplays. War holds an MFA in Creative Writing and plans to write more romance themed books in the near future. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook  for updates on upcoming stories or with any questions or comments. Or, you can read his blog for some mindless ramblings.

Social Media Links

Blog/Website

Facebook

Twitter

Giveaway

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BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

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June Continues Romance Month and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

June Continues Romance Month

With a break for Memorial Weekend, we are back at the topic of Romance, Royal Weddings, and stories! Yep, we didn’t forget! Often June is the month that kicks of the rush of wedding season and if its LGBT, it makes no difference, because it’s the weather driving the date as well as the timing.  So it’s back to romance, weddings, and stories!

So first of all  let’s go right to those wonderful recommendations for Royal Wedding Stories.  Here they are:

Royal Wedding Story Recommendations:

From ChaosMoon:

Tere Michaels Faith, Love, and Devotion series and Groomzilla
L.B. Gregg’s How I Met Your Father
E.M. Lynley’s Sex, Lies, and Wedding Bells
Legally Wed by Rick R. Reed
The Best Man by LA Witt
Until You  by T.J. Klune
First Comes Marriage by Shira Anthony
Wedlocked by Ella Fank
Wedding Favors by Anne Tenino

Megan Derr A Suitable Replacement
Megan Derr The Stable Boy
Megan Derr The High King’s Golden Tongue
Amber Kell Orlin’s Fall

Josh Lanyon Other People’s Weddings

 

From H.B.:

Hellion Club series by Aiden Bates (Book 2 and 3 come to mind)
Omega Society Auction by Eileen Glass
Dragon’s Hoard by M.A. Church
The Harvest series by M.A. Church
Wed to the Omega by Ashe Moon
The Pretend Husband by Declan Rhodes
Married for a Month by Cate Ashwood
Married for the Millions by Parker Avrile
Marriage of Inconvenience by M.J. O’Shea
A Marriage of Convenience by Devyn Morgan
Red River by Cardeno C.
Signed and Sealed by B.A. Stretke
Groom of Convenience by by Vicktor Alexander
King’s Conquest by by Valentina Heart

From Jeri:

What Binds Us by Larry Benjamin
Kitto (Tyack & Frayne #4) by Harper Fox
Betrothed: A Faery Tale by Therese Woodson
The King’s Courage (North Pole City Tales #6) by Charlie Cochet
Dear Mona Lisa… by Claire Davis & Al Stewart
Wedlocked (Preslocke #3) by Ella Frank & Brooke Blaine

 

Right now, I’m feeling gobsmacked as the British would say because I have only listed  half of the recommendations! These are wonderful.  I have so many more to give you, and that will come next week because of the length of the list.  And that we will announce 2 winners.

Winner Announcement!

The first winner?  That would be  ChaosMoon.   Congratulations. Please contact Stella at scatteredthoughtsandroguewords@gmail.com to receive your gift card.  Another winner will be announced next week along with the remainder of your recommendations!

Now about romance stories. I’ve read several this week that I just adored and they are all over the place genre wise.  Several I’m reviewing this week.  One, His Leading Man by Ashlyn Kane, is pure romance.  No angst, just lovely sweet road to love and HEA.  It left a happiness in my heart and a perfect way to fall into June.  Another?  A scary, rollercoaster A ride action story and total romance that ends Rhys Ford’s Sinners series, Sin and Tonic.  Angst galore, murder and suspense!  Totally at the other end of the contemporary spectrum.

Coming up I swung from the M/M historical romances straight from the WWI front and pages of Charlie Cochrane’s stories,Pack Up Your Troubles, which broke my heart before putting it back together again to the fantasy of Life Itself by Elizabeth Bones and the magnificent weirdness and horror of Bourbon and Bones by Dorian Graves.  All those are to come.  Be on the look out for them next week and the week after.

Romance across the ages, romance across the genres…even across the species!  Love in every form possible is what we celebrate in our stories we hold close to our hearts.  Vampire or were, WWI soldier or that of a warrior on a world far far away, we are captivated by  love and relationships, personalities and the path to HFN or HEA.

That’s our theme this month.  Chime in, give us more stories, favorite books.  LIstopia!  Here we come!

 

This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, June 3:

  • Cover Reveal Magic or Die (Inner Demons, Book One) by JP Jackson
  • June Continues Romance Month
  • This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, June 4:

  • Ashlyn Kane on His Leading Man (Author Guest Blog)
  • Release Blitz – Out, Proud, and Prejudiced – Megan Reddaway
  • In the Spotlight:  Cash Plays by Cordelia Kingsbridge
  • A Lucy Review: Whatever Comes First by MK Lee
  • An Alisa Review: What It Seems by Sydney Blackburn
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: Hush by Tal Bauer and Joel Leslie (Narrator)
  • An Ali Audiobook Review: All the Way to Shore (Stories from the Shore #1) by CJane Elliott and Tim McKiernan (Narrator)

Tuesday, June 5:

  • BLOG TOUR  Blood Bathory: Absence Of The Sun by Ari McKay – excerpt and giveaway
  • DSP Promo Charlie David
  • Release Blitz – Made In Portugal by Ana Newfolk
  • A MelanieM Release Day Review: BFF by K.C. Wells
  • A Lucy Review: Detour by Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore
  • A MelanieM Release Day Review: His Leading Man by Ashlyn Kane
  • A Stella Review: Out, Proud, and Prejudiced by Megan Reddaway

Wednesday, June 6:

  • Tour: Jaqui the Cat Mysteries by Alexis Duran
  • KICKSTARTER BLOG TOUR for Themensha by MxKnowitall
  • Tour for Mercs by Dorian Dawes
  •  Release Blitz, Tour – Ari McKay – Blood Bathory: Absence of the Sun
  • A Caryn Review:  A Tiny Piece of Something Greater by Jude Sierra
  • A MelanieM Review:  Demon Familiar (Wanted #1) by Bellora Quinn and Sadie Rose Bermingham

Thursday, June 7:

  • BLOG TOUR – Under Five by Michael War
  • JL Merrow on Wight Mischief
  • Series Recap Blitz Marshall Thornton – Boystown Series
  • A Stella Review: Plummet to Soar by  Z.A. Maxfield
  • A VVivacious Review: Military Emancipation, by David O. Sullivan
  • An Alisa Audiobook Review: The Foxling Soldati (Soldati Hearts #2) by Charlie Cochet and Manuel Pombo (Narrator)

Friday, June 8:

  • DSP Publications Promo Alan Chin
  • Release Blitz  – Annabelle Jacobs – Butterfly Assassin
  • Spotlight on Pack Up Your Troubles Series by Charlie Cochrane
  • A Lucy Review: Face the Music (Replay #1) by K.M. Neuhold
  • A Stella Review: His Wildest Dream (Portville Omegaverse #3)  by Xander Collins
  • An Alisa Review: Under Five by Michael War

Saturday, June 9:

  • Release Blitz – Behind The Lights by TL Travis
  • A MelanieM Review:  Sin and Tonic (Sinners #6)  by Rhys Ford

 

 

 

 

A MelanieM Review: The Gallery: The Permanent Collection (The Gallery #1) by Megan Derr

 

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Welcome to the Gallery, where powerful beings enjoy peace, quiet, and the company of each other, where they are free to love as they choose, be it one, many, or anything in between.

The Permanent Collection comprises those paintings which never leave the Gallery. The beings within these paintings have bargained with the Curator to stay on forever in return for gifting him their powers, resources, or knowledge. They help the Curator in running the Gallery, and provide sustenance for the Curator.

Today’s featured pieces include: The Assistant, about a lonely, misunderstood young man and the unusual new job he is offered by the mysterious curator; The Tycoon is about a rough and powerful man who went missing several years ago, and has every intention of remaining so; Three Kings once walked away from their kingdoms, and now spend their days with each other; The Bastard Son is about a man who once fled betrayal and heartache, and now uses his deadly skills and famous sword to defend the Gallery. And in The Demon Slayer, an angel arrives to find the gallery under attack, and soon one demon is slain while another falls…

I have always loved this concept.  The idea of pictures actually being alive and here Megan Derr carries it into an unusual gallery.  This is the first Collection with another installment in the works.  This one introduces us to Rex upon his entrance into the Gallery.  And as he starts to understand it’s peculiarities and occupants, so do we.  It’s also presided over by one very special owner.

Rex, who’s identity is key here becomes a thread that ties all the paintings together, along with its owner.  It’s a unifying touch that pulls all the stories together as a whole, as well as creates a foundation for the set to follow.  I truly loved Rex and wished we knew more of his background.  Perhaps that’s coming still in the Semi-permanent Collection Gallery of Stories to follow (the one that he originally played a part in).

Each painting forms very quick tales of passion and love, flashes of depth (a man alone in a tower) to a twist  on King Arthur to three Kings…all different in taste.  I wanted more of some, not of others.  But with another book to come and an overall arc appearing, I’m hopeful that I’ll see more of these occupants as well.

This us just such a juicy novella…it wets your appetite for more.  More of these fascinating paintings, more of the owner and Rex of course.  And more from Megan Derr.  You just can’t go wrong.

Cover art:  Aisha Akeju.  Not a fan.  Most of the paintings in the gallery are formal and this should have reflected that.

Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press | Amazon

Book Details:

Author’s Note: A few of these stories were freebies on my website. All have been edited for re-release and some, like The Tycoon and Three Kings, have undergone significant changes.

Kindle Edition, 65 pages
Published May 9th 2018 by Less Than Three Press, LLC
ASINB07CQ1SXBZ
SeriesThe Gallery #1

A MelanieM Review: The Dragon of Ynys by Minerva Cerridwen

 

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

 

Every time something goes missing from the village, Sir Violet makes his way to the dragon’s cave and negotiates the item’s return. It’s annoying, but at least the dragon is polite.

But when the dragon steals a person, that’s a step too far. As Sir Violet ventures out to get the missing baker back, however, he quickly realizes things are not at all what they seem..

Ever read a story that made your heart smile? That left you feeling warm, happy, and with an urge to read it out loud to someone?  Children, adults?  Just because you wanted to spread the joy a special tale had given you?  Well, The Dragon of Ynys by Minerva Cerridwen  is that story.

After I finished it, I wanted to grab onto the author and publishers and beg them to put it out in a hardback version, complete with illustrations.  One I could pick up and read to groups of children, no matter the age or even adults for that matter.

This book is charming, adventurous, and brings out the best in it’s characters.  Perhaps in its readers as well because it speaks to the heart in a gentle, kind, and  humorous way.  It has a dragon that steals things because it’s lonely and wants companionship. And just maybe  because certain things strike it as pretty or downright hilarious.  It has a knight named Sir Violet who’s nature is gentle and home loving.  And a village that suits them both.  I mean really, it’s full of characters who are absolutely a delight to spend time with (as you will) and whose lives will pique your interest (oh yes, they do).

I can’t remember reading any novelette I loved more recently.

I need to find more stories by this author.  This story is beautifully written, concise, and yet it flows just as it should.  The characterizations are perfect for the story.  Would I mind a return?  No.  Do I need one? No.  I think its marvelous as it.

Do you love fantasy?  Here’s a jewel you shouldn’t miss out on.  There is a romance but not the one you might be thinking of. Definitely no sex.  I told you I would read this to children.  There is a F/F couple, a dragon and knight to die for and so much more.  I highly recommend  The Dragon of Ynys by Minerva Cerridwen.  

Cover art:  Kirby Crow.  I love it.  It’s perfect really for the tone of the story.

Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 94 pages
Expected publication: May 16th 2018 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781684312863
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Review: Magic Ties Together by Nina Begonia

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Ira has one eye, a back-alley accuracy charm, and a policy of taking what he can get.

Lajos has a sword, a stoic façade that crumbles quickly under pressure, and a mysterious past.

When a routine monster attack leads to the men being magically bound together, unable to part without being violently ill, Ira is horrified. Worse, the link means they can sense each other’s every emotion. And as time goes on, Ira starts to wonder which emotions are truly his, and which are just a result of the magic…

I just love fantasy and always search out new stories and new authors. So I had high hopes for Magic Ties Together by Nina Begonia.  It had a neat, interesting premise that linked the couple right from the start…a type of magic handcuffs.

But while this story did contain some nice elements and places where my interest was definitely piqued, for the most part, it was jammed full of just a weird mixture of not enough world building (had no idea of the sort of world these characters really existed in) and one in which we got far too many extraneous details.  Really should have been the other way around.

The characters started having sex almost immediately, because the bracelets “made them do it”.  Trust me, not sexy at all.  Then there were hodgepodgy creatures whose physical descriptions made even less sense than some of the world building (what there was).

The characters had potential but didn’t seem to reach it imo.  This story is 100 pages yet it felt as though the author was trying to jam 500 pages worth of things the author had in mind for the story that just kept flowing on, regardless of whether it fit or not into the current scenes or storyline.

The ending was probably the best thing about this story.  It was the most pulled together.  The characters felt as though they might actually care about each other but everything leading up to it is such a narrative quagmire.

Not a story I would recommend.

Cover art: Aisha Akeju.  Gorgeous cover, definitely eye catching.

Sales Link:  Less Than Three Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 103 pages
Published April 4th 2018 by Less Than Three Press (first published April 2nd 2018)
Original TitleMagic Ties Together
ISBN139781684312382
Edition LanguageEnglish